Story Time

Well, I decided to get the pictures of my breakfast/lunch up (mainly because I'm in love with the bowls Nate got me):

The oats had 1/2 cup oats/water/milk, 1 Tbsp milled flax/dried cherries/almond butter. A little plain, but still tasty!

The leftover brussel sprouts from last night:

And my AB+J on a sandwich thin...yum!

OK, so for dinner tonight we had Roasted Shrimp + Orzo Salad! Here's the recipe:

• 1 lb raw shrimp
• 3/4 cup orzo pasta
• 1 container (~2 cups) grape or cherry tomatoes
• 3 cups baby spinach
  
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup EVOO
• 1/2 cup leftover pasta water
• Garlic, basil, red pepper flakes, salt + pepper
• Feta or Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400. Boil orzo until 3/4 of the way done, about 6 minutes. Drain.
2. While the orzo is boiling, combine lemon juice, olive oil, spices (I didn't really measure anything, but I would say about a tsp of each is a good starting point) and whisk to combine. When pasta is done, whisk in leftover pasta water before draining. Pour drained pasta into lemon mixture while you do the remaining steps.
3. In a pan over medium heat, heat 1 tsp EVOO. Pour whole tomatoes into oil and cook until the skins start to burst, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt + pepper. Add spinach at about 8 minutes and let it wilt with the tomato sauce the remainder of the time.
   
4. Drizzle shrimp with 1 tsp EVOO and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in a single layer for about 8-10 minutes at 400, or until done.
5. Mix it all together and CONSUME!!!

Tomatoes before:

Tomatoes after:

Fresh-squeezed lemon juice...mmmmmm :)

The spinach right before the wilting process:

Right before the big mix:

Finished product! Top with a little cheese and you've got a fantastic, light dish!

Yesterday I said that I was writing a story, and that this story was inspired by this blog post from Donald Miller. Basically, it's another way of viewing a New Year's resolution, or really any goal in general: approach it as though you're writing a store. Because guess what? You are writing your story with every breath you take! I thought that was a phenomenal way to look at this, and so thankful that Nate shared this post with me.

That leads me to this: what is my story? What is the end result that I want to accomplish this year, or even in life? The best and most motivating thing I could think of was to be able to fit into my wedding gown again in time to do some bridal (yes, bridal) portraits by my birthday, September 28. I was never in love with the pictures I had done before we got married, and to be quite frank, I "let myself go" after the honeymoon. Something I've always dreamed of doing is having my husband take pictures of me in my wedding gown :) And so now I have a goal, and the time from now until my birthday I will be writing the story with that ending in sight!

Another story I'd like to write this year ends with me taking on freelance writing jobs and using my own photography and writing to convey a healthy lifestyle to the world. I know I've started that story through writing this blog every day, but my dream is to inspire women around the world to take charge of their lives, to KNOW themselves. To do this, I've purchased a domain name (to be revealed at a later date and time :), and am taking the steps to create a full-blown blog-site (thanks to Jessica Claire for that little diddy!). We've been so blessed with all of the options for communication in this world, and I hope to be able to take advantage of it!

I'm still formulating more stories for my life, but as of right now these are the two that I've been able to fully think through. Now I need all of you to help hold me accountable to these goals! I promise to work hard and share every good and bad thing along the way, and I truly believe that together we can all see the success of community and hard work!

I challenge you to read Donald Miller's post and consider this: What is YOUR story going to be this year? Be sure to share it below so we can all work together with you!