things and food

As our life settles into a pattern, I have less to write about. Or perhaps the daily living just does not seem as interesting as exploring, processing, and change. The changes are slowing and everyday we work, eat, sleep and so on. In other words, this post will be fairly boring.

So, today I was basically kicked off orientation at work. Not in a bad way, they said I was doing great and ta-da you are off orientation! I am not sure how I feel about it. It is not that I can't handle the patient care and all the paper work associated with healthcare. It is just that I am slow and still on the steep learning curve.  The pace and requirements are very different from floor, which is what I am used to. I am not experiencing anxiety, fear, and/or dread, I just hate the period where you know you could be better, faster, and stronger (Daft Punk shout out for Davis) but it will only come with more time. Patience is not a strong fruit in my life...

So what else are we up to? We are slowly making and building connections. To be living in an area of over a million people, we actually run into familiar faces often in our community. Salt Lake City itself is not very large, so we've been walking Ingrid or at a store and run into people we actually know.  Our neighbors are all nice, we've met most of them but can't say I remember all their names. Even if I can't remember all the names of people we've met through work, church, and neighborhood, I hope we can be salt and light to those we encounter. We are trying to collect contact information (thanks to libby's encouragement) and throwing ourselves out there and inviting people for meals. We've hosted small group a few times. Ingrid loves the influx of people to visit. Our days fill up fast and life is flying by still.

One of our favorite pleasures in life is food. Davis and I try to adhere to a primal/paleo type diet. We are not super strict but cooking at home we usually do fairly well. We do a weekly date night and alternate between less or more pricey as well as whose turn it is to pick. When we started this, we had a hard time deciding on where to go so we established the turn system and if it is not your turn then you do not get to complain about the choice. We still consider each others desires but clearly you can see it was Davis' week.

German food in downtown SLC

it did not disappoint young german lad, davis

Davis did a little internet research and found a german butcher/deli type place. He was super pleased with the results and immediately decided we needed to frequent it. It was quite good. We will have to go back just for their assortment of german chocolates and candies.

best ice cream sandwich ever

 We've been exploring the different little shops tucked in throughout the neighborhood. There is a tiny but adorable and pricey unique grocery store that sells a variety of unique beverages, cheeses, meat as well as the traditional apple and potato. This little goodie caught my eye and I couldn't resist (see not super strict with the primal thing). It was well worth it too. So refreshing and delicious for a hot Saturday afternoon snack. Oh, by the way, I am loving not working on weekends!

delicious miracle

Now, it may not seem like a big deal, but this strawberry represents victory to me. I have planted strawberries the past three summers. This is the first whole berry I have been able to eat. The first year, they would be almost be ripe and would go to the garden to pick them and some critter had already eaten half. Last year I planted no joke about 20 baby strawberry plants. Nothing ever came of it until this year but I am not there to eat them. (Libby, I am glad my strawberries converted young Viola!) So when my plants this year started producing fruit I guarded and watched them carefully. This berry survived Ingrid's explorations, weather, bugs, and our poor gardening skills. One day when our roots are more permanent, I want a huge strawberry patch.

cauliflower tortillas

 Tonight we tried some new recipes. The cauliflower tortillas turned out better than expected and actually held together about as well as a corn tortilla. Living far from the ocean, we often crave seafood but rarely buy it for various reasons. We became even more serious about our meal planning recently and added a seafood night into the rotation. They turned out quite tasty for not being super traditional. We will be perfecting these in the future.

fish tacos on cauliflower tortillas

After dinner, Davis went to a manly gathering with church folk. I took Ingrid for a walk. The sunset was stunning behind the silhouetted buildings. It has been quite warm recently but it cooled off a bit this evening and lighting  was perfect. As I climbed the steep streets, I am always thinking. Either about who lives in that house/apartment and what it looks like on the inside or about living faithfully in all the big and little things of life. I know I've written about it before, but what does it look like to live in grace. How can we be warm, loving, patient and generous in even the most basic things? Most of our Christian life isn't stunning or heroic. I have been praying about this a lot lately. Just some thoughts.

good evening SLC

Anyways, that is all for today. The 6 am work start has made me quite sleepy.