My top ten healthy affordable foods

My top ten healthy affordable foods

10. Simply More Peanut Butter-
This is my favorite new peanut butter that is sold only at wal-mart in my area unfortunately. I hate going there. It has added fiber and protein from flax seed and it has a great consistency.

9. La Tortilla Factory Tortillas
These are awesome tortillas that are high in fiber and taste really good. They are HUGE as well. I made amazing burritos last week with these.

8. Laughing Cow Cheese
This low-fat cheese is my crack. Not really but I put it on everything from baked potatoes to wheat thins. It is creamy and delicious. I recommend the garlic and herb flavor.


7. CLIF Kids Z Bars
These have the great taste and energy giving properties of a cliff bar for a fraction of the calories and about half the size. They are perfect when I wake up before working out or after work when I am hungry during my commute. P.S. They are cheaper in bulk at Sam’s Club.

6. Eggs
Yes as simple as it is eggs. I really love them and would eat one everyday if it was healthy. I often eat an egg and a half (1 full egg with an additional egg white). For breakfast I put it on an English muffin or alone. I have dabbled in egg substitute (mostly in baking) but still feel strongly about eating the real thing.

5. Silk Light Soy Milk
I have for years had an aversion to soy milk for no real reason. I decided to try it when I found out it has less calories than real milk and I was pleasantly surprised. I really like it. I sometimes buy the light vanilla and chocolate versions for an extra special treat.

4. Black Beans
I did not eat beans at all, period, until last year. Living in Philly I tried new things, beans being one of them. I LOVE black beans. Alone, in a burrito, in soup, mixed with rice, quinoa, and veggies, the possibilities are endless. Close runners up in the bean world are chick, kidney, and great northern.


3. Arnold Sandwich Thins
These one-hundred calorie wonders save my life. I use them for breakfast sandwiches, Boca burgers, and I even put cream cheese on them sometimes. They are a great sandwich making tool.

2. Greek Yogurt
I love the thick creamy ness of Greek yogurt. Some people equate the texture to sour cream, but I still like it. I get the fat-free version and mix it with fruit for a mid-morning snack. I also use it to bake with to reduce using oil. It is a great source of protein.
Quick tip regarding Greek yogurt: It is more expensive than regular yogurt, so I looked up online and found a way to make it myself, kind of. Get a big tub of regular, plain, fat-free yogurt, line a strainer or colander with paper towels and empty the entire tub into the strainer. Put the strainer in a bowl and let it sit in the fridge over night. All the extra liquid will drain off and voilia, Greek yogurt for half the price!

1. Apples.
I eat an apple every day. They are amazing, cheap, and versatile. In oatmeal, with peanut butter, baked, or all by themselves, apples really are a magical fruit.
So I am a fan of honeycrisp apples, but they are super expensive so I usually just buy a couple every few weeks. I consistently buy 7-8 gala apples a week, and at the store a few weeks ago they were selling them in cute little paper bags for 99 cents a pound. I grabbed a bag and weighed it to make sure I wasn’t buying too many. I went to check out and was surprised because my total was more than I thought it would be. I got to the car and looked at my receipt and realized that I bought $11.00 worth of honeycrisp apples! Opps. It was a happy mistake that I enjoyed, but will make sure I never do again.

can I go back to college?

Wait. I am still technically in college according to my brand new shiny Easter University college ID, (which I got to pick out the picture myself). I feel like the real world (aka a nine to five job) isn't all that it seemed to be. I am really enjoying my job (adult ESL) but it is really weird to have such a huge part of my week dedicated to one thing. It will take some adjustment.

College. Is currently eating my lunch. I went to Philly last week for ten days for my Urban Studies Graduate Program Residency (it looks more important capitalized). I spent my days in a class room for the entire day. It was good. I met lots of awesome people. Hung out with old awesome friends. I decided that I really love this program. What don't I love do you ask?

Oh maybe the 15 books I checked out at the library today to help me write my thesis proposal. I am excited about the paper and my topic (systemic racism in America). But really Dr. Corbitt do I have to have this many sources? So maybe grad school is a little harder than undergrad. OK it is. Feel sorry for me. Or hang out with me so I don't go crazy.

On a lighter note Catlin and I visited the North Texas Volunteer Center Warehouse last week. The place I work (http://www.arlingtonreads.org/) is a member of the organization which means we get shopping access to the giant warehouse with brand new donated goods. What did I buy? Oh approximately 8 decorative pillows for $2 each. Yes read it and weep. Working for practically no money rarely pays off, but in this circumstance it did.

Rebekah

Cooking in our new house!

Well I am officially a resident of the Oak Cliff area in Dallas. I worked all last week and loved it. I am working with an adult literacy program in Arlington as the Student Director. I think I am really going to learn a lot and love it. My family came to town this weekend bringing furniture and organizing our tiny apartment. I looks really great now, thanks to all the Welch's. Tonight I went grocery shopping and have planned out my meals for the week. Working for Americorps I will live on a really tight budget. Because of this I am going to be really mindful about the food I buy and eat.
Tonight Catlin and I made a big pot of soup to eat at different times this week. It is a recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook. This is a vegetarian cookbook that is my absolute favorite. All the recipes use tons of fresh vegtables and other interesting combinations. The author also hand wrote and illustrated the entire cookbook. Love it!

The recipe was really simple. I change a few things however to take the Weight Watcher point value down.

• Two medium tomatoes
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil (I changed it from 2 table spoons)
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 3 medium cloves of garlic
• 2 stalks celery
• 2 cups diced sweet potato
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. tumeric (i didn't have any, and it still tasted fine)
• 1 tsp. basil
• dash of cinnamon and cayenne
• 3 cups water
• 1 medium bell pepper
• 1 1/2 cups cooked chick peas

Catlin chopped up all the veggies except the tomato, bell pepper, and chick peas and added them to a pot with the olive oil over medium high heat.

After letting the onion get soft (about ten minutes) The water and spices were added. This was left to simmer for 15 minutes. After that the remaining vegtables were added. It is done whenever they are soft enough for you! The spices can be tweaked and the vegtables can be substitued.
The weight watcher value for 1 serving (out of 6) was 7. I tweaked a few amounts and got it down to 3 points per serving. Pretty good. It was filling too.

Next time I will try to update with pictures of the apartment!

Rebekah

Fast Food Salad?

Weird post I know, but not so weird if you have been driving a lot lately trying to find some healthy fast food options. I have been doing Weight Watchers since June and have really liked it. I really enjoy cooking healthy food and finding healthy options everywhere I go. So today I thought I would share some of my fast food knowledge. I gained a lot of fast food information this year when I was really living on a budget and when fast food was often what was most accessible and affordable. So here is my review of four different fast food salads.

Rated from my least favorite to favorite.

#4 Sonic's Sante Fe Grilled Chicken Salad

I purchased this salad in Wichita Falls, TX when driving from Dallas to Amarillo. I ordered it and was pretty disappointed with it. The chicken itself was fine, but it had melted the cheese into the salad before I even got it. The cheese was gross, because it is the same kind they use on their coney dogs. Gross. The lettuce was also questionable. Overall not my favorite. It might be the location though.

Nutrition--Calories 310--Fat (g) 12--Fiber--6 WW points--6

Dressing--The only one at Sonic with any hope to spare you fat and calories is the fat free Italian.calories 40--Fat 0--Fiber 0 WW points--1

#3 Arby's Farmhouse Grilled Chicken Salad

Catlin and I went to Arby's this weekend after attending church in Brenham. I used to get the turkey sandwich here thinking it was a healthy option. After some research I discovered it is actually one of the most unhealthy things on the menu. So this time i opted for a grilled chicken salad. It came with bacon in it but I took it out. Overall the taste of this salad was pretty good.

Nutrition Calories 229--Fat 11--Fiber 3 WW points 5

My big problem with this salad is the dressing. I asked to look at the nutritional information for the dressings and I was disappointed. None of them were fat free and the Balsamic dressing, which is usually a healthy option was not healthy at all. I ended up getting the balsamic dressing and using a tiny amount.

Balsamic Dressing Calories 130--Fat12--Fiber 0 WW points--4 (perfect example on how dressing can ruin a healthy salad)

#2 Chick-Fil-A Chargrilled Salad

I love Chick-Fil-a. They are a great place with quality ingredients. Even their food that is fried isn't terribly unhealthy. This salad is usually something I pick up at the airport. It has always been fresh and good. No complaints.

Nutrition Calories 180--Fat 6--Fiber 3 WW points--3

Dressing- My favorite is the fat-free honey mustard
Calories 60--Fat 0--Fiber 1 WW points 1
Overall the healthiest salad on the list.


#1 McDonalds Southwestern Grilled chicken salad

I came across this salad by accident. This year I walked by a McDonalds everyday on my way to work. I never stopped thinking that all they had a fried nastiness. One day however, my roommate Lu and I found a coupon for buy one premium salad get one free. We were feeling healthy that day so we tried it. I have always been skeptical of fast food chicken, thinking that it is more likely than not not real chicken, but I gave this a chance. The salad is very good. The chicken is warm and it has a great black bean and corn relish. It is so good that is really doesn't need too much dressing. I would eat this salad any day for lunch. It is not quiet as healthy as the chick-fil-a salad, but the taste i think is much better.

Nutrition Calories 320--Fat 9--Fiber 6 Weight Watcher Points--6

dressing Newmans Own Balsamic

calories 40--Fat 3--Fiber 0 WW points 1

Hope you enjoy my extended research on fast food salads. I will add more if I come across anything to go on the list.

Rebekah

Long time.

Since it has been since about May since I have posted on here there should be a lot for me to update you on.

In May my good friend Lauren "Hall" Gaines and her husband Chris came and visited. We did a whirlwind tour of Southwest Philly complete with cheesesteak and water ice
In July three of my Roommates and I rode what is called a casino bus all the way to Atlantic City. The way we heard this was supposed to work was that we payed $30 for the ride and when we got a casino we would be given $30 in casino money that we could cash out whenever we wanted. What really happened though was that we were mislead and that we had to gamble the entire $30, which none of us really wanted to do. We ended up playing the slots and miraculously made enough to pay back the $30 we spent to get there. Other than that Atlantic City was fun. We walked to boardwalk and sat on the beach.

My roommates and I had a lot of good times. One night for our weekly family night I suggested that we do 80's glamour shot night. As you can see it was a big hit. We always found weird ways to entertain ourselves over the course of the year.

For my roommates Lu's birthday we had a banana pudding party and invited all of our neighbors. We made a huge tub of pudding and sat outside all night visiting and eating. It was a lot of fun.

We finished our year well. We spent weeks packing and cleaning out our house. It was bittersweet to pack up our lives and say goodbye to the neighbors that meant so much to us. I really learned to live simply and well this year, and it was hard to close this chapter in my life. We ended the year with a week long retreat with all the other Mission Year teams from our area in the Pocono Mountains. It was relaxing and fun. After that my roommates and I played in Philly for a few days, and I might or might not have gotten a tattoo. Then I came home. I have been in TX for a little over a week. I spend last weekend with Brooke and Averie in the mountains and tomorrow I am heading down to College Station for Brooke and Kelley's graduation. I will start work in Arlington on August 29th. Life is back.

Something else that shaped my year happened in July. My grandma had a staff infection that she got in early June. She was put into long term care and was there about three weeks to control the infection. When she was about to be released in early July she started to get violently ill. Things moved really quickly and they found out that she had another internal infection that had gotten into her bloodstream. She got sick on a Sunday and we pretty much knew by Tuesday that she wasn't going to make it. They moved her into hospice on Wednesday, which is the same day I got in from Philly. She was in hospice a week and it was really hard to watch her die. The bright part of it was the amazing time I got to spend with my family. Literal hours upon hours of togetherness. My grandma was an amazing woman and it was wonderful and bittersweet to celebrate her life with others that loved her.

Rebekah

what's next...

Well, I am officially moving to Tx in the fall. I have decided to settle in the Dallas area, so I can co-habitat (spelling?!?) with my friend Catlin. I am excited to be coming home to the lone star state, but sad at the same time to leave Philly, which is truly an amazing city. I am going to be doing grad school via the internet (we shall see how that goes) and try to secure some kind of income/job. Right now I am looking into positions with Americorp. They would be amazing because A. They pay some of your student loans (grad school) B. It would be excellent experience in the field I am interested in (community development) and C. they give you money to live on. Awesome. I don't really want to head into full-time crazy employment right away, so hopefully this works out and most everyone will be happy.

Hold in your excitement.

I am going to post some pictures here on Friday, because life has been pretty darn funny lately. Some of the things that happen don't have pictures to go along with them, so I will simply tell you about them. Lu and I have been trying to compile a list of the funniest things that have happened to us in Philly so far. Here are some of the highlights.

1. The other night this kid got on the trolley carrying his laptop. Ok normal right, except his laptop was on. He was watching an Anamae (anna may, anami, anamei??!?!), (i have no idea) movie with subtitles. weird.
2. I have entered into slightly illegally activity with my friend the security guard at the grocery store. He sees my roommates and I go to the store in order to rent movies from the redbox (www.redbox.com i highly recommend it) Last night he called me into his "office", introduced himself, and then proceded to show me all of these pirated movies he had. He had the new star trek, angels and demons, and many more. I didn't really know what he wanted me to say, so I just congratulated him. He then asked if I would be interested in buying some. I am not really interested but I have him my phone number. Bad idea? Perhaps. I will never buy one though, I just think the security guard is really nice.
3. The other night our 15 year old neighbor Liz was over with the 1 year old she babysits, Rhiana. Rhianna= the funniest baby in the world. On Saturday she took off all her clothing (diaper included) and danced for about 30 minutes. I felt like I was in a movie, or a trippy cartoon, but it was all real.

So that is life right now. Chris and Lauren Gaines were in town Monday which was awesome. We saw my neighborhood, got stuck in traffic for a long time, and then ate Philly cheesesteak and water ice. It was a lot of fun.

I will keep this blog updated on my next life steps when I figure them out myself.

rebekah

Shirley, Barbara, a Microwave?

The title says it all...well almost. For some reason people here go crazy when the temperature hits above 75. (we don't have to talk about life without air conditioning in 90 degree weather, I am coping) Sometimes the weather makes people say strange things..i guess. I have been called a lot of weird things in my neighborhood. Usually they are really generic however like, "white girl", "baby", "little momma", and a various assortment of other endearments. This week however the men in my neighborhood have outdone themselves. Sunday was a beautiful day. Think 80 degrees, sunshine, and a cool breeze after months of horrendous freezing cold temperatures. I got home from church and was heading to the store to buy some items. (I am actually really proud of what I bought (all the ingredients for a birthday celebration for under $10) maybe I should write a book). I was heading out the door and two gentlemen walked by. I said my friendly hello and one of the said, "hey Shirley". No... I don't really understand. Perhaps my sundress made him think of an older lady named shirley...or maybe I just look like a shirley. Also this week I was called Barbara by another person in our neighborhood. Sometimes I think people look at me a quickly try to insert a generic name.
The next best part of my week came when after work one day Lu and I were sitting on the front porch. We saw a man get out of a car with a microwave. It seemed normal enough, perhaps his had broken and a friend had given his. We thought nothing of it until we heard a scraping sound. Yes, this man was dragging the microwave by the cord along the sidewalk. Best moment of my week.
Moments like that are when I love my neighborhood the most. Deep joy.

help me, help you

I am officially selling stuff. For the month of April mission year (http://www.missionyear.org/) has recieved a match that makes every gift in the month of April doubled. So, if you feel so compelled please visit this website and enjoy? https://www.missionyear.org/match/welch

I have been trying to be creative about my mission year fundraising and have spent part of the week sewing things to try and sell. All proceeds will go towards my teams general fund for mission year, and will be doubled as listed below.

So long story short, if anything I post looks excting to you, shoot me an e-mail before Sunday at 6 p.m. rebekahwelchster@gmail.com and go to this link https://www.missionyear.org/match/welch and donate whatever you want. We will work on an honor system here. So. If you don't see something you like, I may be able to whip something up, if you conatct me soon.

Happy easter all.

Rebekah

23

Today is my birfday, as I like to call it. It came at a wonderful time this year seeing as I am home in Amarillo for my spring break. I have already had some wonderful celebrating for my 23rd year. Before I left Philly for spring break my roommates made a wonderful cake for me. They tried to keep me out of the kitchen so I would be surprised and ended up telling me I couldn't come in because they were ashamed that they were eating chocolate chips out of the bag and they thought I would be upset. I got over it, (originally I was mad because they wouldn't let me in the kitchen. That night I was wearing a great pair of wedges that I found on the street on the way to work. Woodland Avenue= constant accidental garage sale. p.s. the shoes fit me perfectly, just like cinderella.

Me wearing the shoes I found and holding the wonderful cake. Thanks roommates!

Next I went to Dallas for a weekend of fun with my favorite ladies from college. They surprised me with pudding cups, a knitting book, a littlest pet shop bird, and a muscle shirt. They are too good to me. Brooke made me some wonderful cupcakes as well.

the ladies at the deep ellum art festival. Sounds cool, but it mostly consisted of people selling weird jewelry and lizard wall hangings.

Since then I have been home spending time with my parents and grandma. I have had a lot of time to relax, read, and sew. All being some of my favorite things. This morning for my birthday I got to go get my teeth cleaned in Fritch (hometown) at my Dad's office. As my sister Deborah and I were leaving we took pictures of the main street to show our friends where we really came from.

Yes, this is where I spent the first 18 years of my life. My parents made sure we spent a majority of the summer at camp and other places, which is probably one of the reasons I still don't live there.

My grandmother sent me a sweet card today saying that she knew I was special when at the age of four I spent almost an entire day dressing a redressing a pet rock with a piece of fabric. Oh how far I have come.

rebekah

cake balls and higher education

Today I borrowed a car and drove about 13 miles and entered an alternative universe. Some friends and I went to Eastern University to talk to the School of Leadership and Development about further education. It was really weird being on a college campus, especially one full of trendy Christians. That is something I don't see very often. The upside was getting a free lunch in the cafeteria. I never thought I would actually be excited about something like that, but Mission Year has completely screwed up my life in more ways than I can even count. Overall it was a good day that brought about thoughts about the future. More to come about that I am sure.

Other than that I just wanted to post some pictures of March, which has by far been the busiest month of my life. It has flown.

Because I have not the computer smarts, the patience, nor the energy to figure out why the pictures are out of order this is a backwards slide show of the past few weeks.

Brooke A. Cunningham came to visit. We saw most of what Philly had to offer, including Danny Bonaduce of Partridge Family fame.

We went to the art museum (free in Philly on Sundays) and spent a few hours looking at ancient art. We didn't walk around together because after many years as friends (almost 10) we have figured out that we are very different people, down to the way we walk around museums. Brooke is slower and more methodical, where as I am more of a skimmer, breezing through sections, not spending too much time anywhere.

The Liberty bell. After nearly seven months in Philly I still don't completely understand what the big deal is.

The weekend of the Gaines wedding in Texas! Target is fun. The dollar section is funner (i know it's not a real word). My friends from college are the fun-est. We laughed a lot. Thank you Bre for the valentines day episode of 30 rock. I will always think of you when I microwave a donut.

The Gaines. There was christian rap at the wedding. I danced a little more than was probably appropriate. Hot, hot, hot in the church.

Blue angels. Need I say more?

Lilly and I made cake-balls in Philly. It was a grand experiment. I saw the recipe on a website and attempted to replicate it without having it in front of me (no Internet at our house). The result was kinda tasty, kinda chunky.

My Mission Year team with our adopted mama Janet Samba. She gave me a small sequined purse. She knows the way to my heart. She cooks for us a lot, and has probably used thousands of gallons of oil in her lifetime frying things.

So this has been life lately.

cats?

It has been a long time since I have had time to post on this thing. My life has been pretty hectic over the past few weeks and I have barely had time to think straight. One of the things that has been keeping me busy is this video project I have been working on for the SWCDC. It is a project that kind of got thrown in my lap because none of the people that are actually employed there have the time/desire to work on it. The project is a community formed documentary about a garden that some ladies started in the late 90's a few blocks from my house. The idea of the video project is to involve to community in the film making process. So the people involved in the garden and the video project helped film, transcribe and edit the film. This might sound easy, but when you are working with 60-70 year old ladies with no prior knowledge of film editing (and why should they have this knowledge?) it is a challenge. Needless to say I have learned a lot about film making in the past few months. If you want to check it out this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjqwD5Mn49c should get you there.

On fat Tuesday I went over to the nursing home to visit because one of the residents told me that there was going to be a parade. I am never one to refuse a good time so I headed over and found all the residents dressed up with Mardi gras masks and beads everywhere. The social hall was decorated beautifully and they had hired two people to be singing old time songs for the residents. Everything was going good until the parade started. When it started all the sudden there were older ladies that worked at the nursing home dressed like cats coming around the residents and purring at them and getting up in there faces. I was pretty scared 1st. because they looked really creepy and 2nd because I was really confused why there were cats at a Mardi gras parade. My confusion was soon ended when more people started coming out dressed in outfits that were themed by famous Broadway musicals. Some of them were Phantom of the Opera, Westside Story, and South Pacific. If I could give more details without going on for way too long, I would.

Then last weekend I was lucky enough to get to go to Brenham, Texas for the wedding of Lauren Hall and Chris Gaines. It was a beautiful weekend with sweet time with friends. The wedding was really special and this had nothing to do with the fact that I had fake eyelashes on. Yes fake eyelashes. The make-up lady asked if I would like fake eyelashes and I thought, “Hey, I will probably never get asked this again” so I said yes. So for the night of the wedding I was sporting more make-up and accessories than have ever been on my face before. Special. The weekend was so good. I ended it Sunday morning with some of my closest friends drinking coffee and eating breakfast at one of my favorite College Station spots, La Bodega in short sleeves. I really love Texas weather.

Brooke comes to town on Friday, so I am sure I will have some more stories soon.

coming soon

(me this morning before heading out)


I have had this weird obsession this week with the myers-briggs personality test. My co-worker at catholic social services carrie and I were talking about it the other day and I was filled with this huge desire to know my type. I had tested this summer as, an ESTJ which is often referred to as leader, or overseeer. I was the only one in our Mission Year city to test this way, and I just wasn't sure that it was me. So this week I took the myers-briggs test roughly 10 times and came up with a lot of different things. I am a little crazy. The one that I think is it is actually ESFJ, extroverted (just slightly), sensing, feeling, and judging. Here is a little blurb about the ESFJ person.
"ESFJs are responsible, dutiful, observe traditions and follow rules. ESFJs have a deep concern for others and often end up as caretakers. They are sensitive to criticism and have a need to be appreciated for the good they do for others. ESFJs are understanding, generous, have a quick wit and a knack for composition and beautification."
I am not positive that this is me, but it is the closest I have gotten, so let the crazy obsessing end.

Next. I had a really good week with God. He revealed a lot to me, but mostly how I struggle so much with seeing myself I worthy. I had it thrown in my face this week, (in a good way) that God loves me exactly where I am at spiritual, physically, and emotionally. Last night at city-wide the guy that spoke talked about John 15, the vine and the branches. This passage in the past has always made me nervous about my fruit production and how I was doing on the works end of things. I actually didn't like it very much. But last night we talked about how the only imperative/command in that section of scriptures is to abide in God. Not to go and bear fruit. He doesn't tell us to bear fruit he just asks us to abide in Him. Thats it! The message translations actually says to make your home in Him. So that is what I am dwelling on, simply making my home in God. Mission Year can be dangerous because we 'do' so much. We volunteer and try to help people and it can get a little defeating at times when things don't go how you think they should, or if things go really good you start thinking that you are pretty awesome. This puts it in to perspective for me, and I needed that.

I wrote and article for our local paper this week about my team. I made up all the quotes because my roommates wouldn't give me any. Here is the link if you want to check it out. http://www.southwestcdc.org/pdfs/SWGlobeTimes.pdf. So speaking about my team, starting next week I am going to start doing video interviews of my roommates to post on this blog. I got a new computer for christmas and it has a web cam built in and I feel like I should use it for something. So after reading the articles if you have any questions for my rommates post them in the comments and I will ask them live, on my blog. I know it's a little nerdy, but I appreciate weird things like this and most of my friends so as well.

Peace out.

rebekah

LOVE part 2

I realize that when I titled my last blog post, LOVE, people may have thought that I was in love. But actually I am not in love. Not in love with a specific person. But there are lots of things that I love.

· I love natural peanut butter…I have been stockpiling three jars that I brought home from Christmas. Central market brand is my favorite.
· I love reading a book that will make me laugh out loud. I tend to not love the heart-wrenching serious stuff that makes me cry. For example I just read this book called, Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos. It was yes, a little shallow with a predicatalbe happy ending, but I laughed so much that I looked a little crazy.

· I love when my best friend Brooke draws pictures that are hilarious and confusing at the same time and mails them to me. (i.e. a fairy with a semi-automatic weapon)
· I love snow days.
· I love dancing in my living room with my roommates trying to burn off the calories we just ate at dinner.
· I appreciate, and maybe even love a good cardigan, especially in this climate.
· I love good music, and finding good new music. Current loves are The Welcome Wagon, Fiction Family, and Feist. I love learning a CD and knowing where are the good lines and songs are.

· I love going to sleep when it is raining.
· I love a lot of housewifey things like baking, cooking, sewing, and crafting. I realize all of these are a little old lady-ish, but I actually do love doing all of these things. I also get a sick thrill out of cleaning out the refrigerator. Like taking everything out of it, scrubbing it, and then organizing it. I really don’t like to clean anything else.
· I love the book of Isaiah in the bible.
· I love discovering new books and authors. This year I have discovered Nouwen, Thurman, Manning, and Varnier.

· I love finishing a journal I have been writing in for a long time.
· I love my friends that I went to college with. The ones I lived with and the ones I didn’t. I had way too much fun, and I am only now realizing how lucky I was.

· I love and sometimes hate community.
· I do love my family as well…which is good because I will see them tomorrow!
I hope this post wasn’t too sickening.
rebekah

LOVE

I am happy to share with you all Mission Years February plug for funds. If you feel like giving, mission year is a completely legit organization that if a worth wile use of your funds. Think about it.

https://www.missionyear.org/love/rebekahwelch


I will write a real blog soon. Currently I am really tired though and I can't think straight enough to get any thoughts together.

love love love,

rebekah

Turbo Jam

The newest trend in our house is work out videos. I consider this trend to be good. Past 55th street trends were raw brownie batter eating, crocheting, and in general just eating/making sugary food. So since most of us in the house decided to be more 'healthy' this winter, work out videos seemed to make and appearance. It started when I got out my 20 minute pilates DVD from my senior year of high school. This was a good challenge for a few days. After that Tera pulled out her huge collection of Turbo Jam DVD's. I had never experienced Turbo Jam before, and lets just say that it is an experience, (especially for a coordination challenged person like me). So after a few 20 minute sessions every once in a while we went crazy on Sunday afternoon. Tera, Lilly, and I completed one 20 minute learn and burn work out followed by a 40 minute sculpt session and lastly a 20 minute ab session that was really painful. Climbing stairs and moving my stomach has been a challenge.

Other than obsessively working out (not really) things have been good. Amy and I got to see our favorite baby Rhianna the other day. Our neighbors babysit her every Saturday and I always look forward to seeing her. She is honestly the funniest baby ever. I can't wait till she starts talking.

In other unrelated news my family will be in Philly in a little under three weeks to visit me for the weekend. Then three weeks after that I will be traveling to Brenham TX to be a part of the wedding of Lauren Hall and Chris Gaines! After that a certain best friend is coming to visit me! So spring is going to be eventful no doubt.

That's all for now. I will try to encourage something funny to happen with the kids today in aftercare at Cornerstone. The funniest thing that happened yesterday, and its a little more creepy than funny was this kid "john" who is in kindergarten whispering "i killed a fat man" under his breath repeatedly while doing homework. Its always the small things that make me laugh.

p.s. Oh, I forgot to officially announce that I have been accepted to Eastern University for the MA program in Urban Studies with a concentration in Community Development! Whoop!

drama queen

I am officially not as good at east coast living as I thought I would be. I had this romanticized idea about winter on the east coast from christmas movies based in new york. I always just assumed I would automatically enjoy the brisk, cold weather and take to it quickly. Wrong. My body has gone into shock this week. I am wearing multiple layers of hats, scarves, and gloves and I am still shivering. I really try my hardest not to be dramatic, but I am acting a little like a drama queen in this weather. I completely understand why animals want to live in our house. I actually have a little (a very little) compassion for the squirrel that was living in our house. For those of you who haven't heard the story of the squirrel here is a quick synopsis.

On my last night in Philly before Christmas break my roommates and I discovered an animal in a closet. In said closet this animal had made a nest with Tera's clothes and pieces of paper and had chewed through a plastic laundry basket. What is the animal you ask. Oh, just a full size SQUIRREL. Sick. So we all flipped out and shouted profanities and cried and laughed and then we called the landlord. Thus the landlord sent over a man who when we answered the door was holding a big stick. He told us he was a redneck from Florida and that he was going to kill the squirrel. So then "Steve" we will call him had a change of heart and decided to try and catch the squirrel in a box. Bad idea Steve. The squirrel, who we thought was tired and half dead, was not. It ran into one of the bedrooms, then it ran up Steve's leg and arm and jumped into Sara's bed. We all freaked out. I jumped onto a chair, and then the squirrel ran downstairs and then proceeded to get stuck in our radiator. After a few more minutes of the squirrel freaking out and running around we somehow managed to chase it out the front door,crazy night.

Some in our house think that the squirrel has taken up resident in our house again. We have no way of knowing for sure, but for now there has been no concrete evidence.

This week has been good in other ways. I completed a tax training through the Benefit Bank this week. It was weirdly exciting to learn about filing taxes. I have no idea why I liked it so much. I made friends with one of the ladies taking the class and I picked her brain about working the non-profit world and living in Philly. She did better than me in the cold weather because she is from Michigan. Oh Texas, how you have spoiled me.

For curriculum we are reading Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. I highly recommend it. It has always been one of those books that I have wanted to read, bought to read, borrowed to read, but never really did it. Big mistake on my part for waiting so long. It is excellent. I am most attracted to the way the Manning talks about why Jesus is so close to children, and those with childlike hearts. He mentions the incompetence of children and how they really don't have the ability to do lots of things for themselves, and how God longs to do far more for us than we allow Him to. A seemingly obvious thought, but still so hard for my mind to grasp.

I hope everyone has a great week.

back.

As of 2:30 yesterday afternoon I was a citizen of Philadelphia again. I was greeted by the great Philadelphia airport and was invited to wait for my luggage for 30 minutes. Good welcome. Despite not ideal conditions I got back to my house and was greeted by all the christmas decorations that I promptly took down and threw them down the basement stairs. Once that was over i popped a few benadryl and slept for about ten hours. It was glorious. I was slightly groggy this morning though and had and interesting walk to work. I had forgotten how much I really like my 30 minute walk to work. It is sometimes a pain and often boring, but there is something really therapeutic about that walk. I see friendly and unfriendly people, and look at the murals, and I always debate going into dunkin' donuts for a coffee. When I am almost to work I usually get accosted by the hack cab drivers on Woodland who ask me if i need a ride anywhere. You would think after four months of seeing me walk everyday that they would understand that I am never going to take a ride in their cars. No offense to them however, I am sure they are wonderful gentlemen.

My two weeks at home were good. I got the see a few friends and family and spent a lot of time consuming mexican food. Christmas was spent in Amarillo with my mom's side of the family. It was good we ate lamb. For one of the first times ever my family opened presents on Christmas eve, which I enjoyed. My favorite gift, probably the rolly bag my mom got me. Cute and practical. We opened presents at my grandma's the day after christmas with my aunt and uncle.

New Year's eve I drove to Dallas and met up with seven of my closest friends. We all crammed into a hotel room and every choreographed a dance to Bossy to welcome Brooke back from France. She of course was overwhelmed. She actually wouldn't come into the room while we were doing the dance, which worried me. She ended up not being emotionally scarred from it however. On New Year's day we woke up early and ate at the unbeatable Cafe Brazil, and then I headed to my grandparents. Rachel and I might or might not have gotten lost. At my grandparents my entire family met up to celebrate the holiday. The day after was Grace Brazile-Watsons wedding which was a good time for all. The next my family and Brooke headed to Amarillo in my dad's highlander and arrived home on Saturday. I got to see some Gladies on Sunday who surprised me with a visit to Amarillo. We cooked dinner and laughed. The next morning at 6:30 my mom drove me to the airport, and I was gone.

So my two weeks home was good, and I am looking forward to more fun in the months to come.