A Purpose for the Vanilla Bean!

I told you that I would blog about whatever ended up becoming of the vanilla bean I purchased so, here it is! I made vanilla bean ice cream! It was delicious, I must say. I made it for my dear friend, Beth's birthday because there was truly no better occasion for such things. The process was pretty awesome. First of all, making homemade ice cream is fun enough as I have discovered since my brother got me an ice cream maker for my birthday. But, add a vanilla bean into the mix and it's just tons of fun!
Apparently the part of the vanilla bean that you use is all inside.. so you must first slice it open.

So I laid it out on the cutting board and sliced it open long ways, revealing the lovely, tiny seeds inside. Then, using the knife, I scraped the seeds out into the rest of the ice cream mix. It got kind of messy!

Then I put the husk of the vanilla bean that I had scraped clean into the mix also to boil out the rest of the flavor. It was removed later on when it was all cleaned out and used up.

Then everything was put into the ice cream maker until it was thick and creamy. It was so delicious and the flavor of vanilla beans is really quite different than the flavor of imitation vanilla extract that we are used to. This was one of the best ice cream recipes yet and definitely a lot of fun to make!

I hate, hate, hate it.

But, I'll make it.
Yesterday, Donavon (I'll have to get used to this name thing..) moved back to Belton where he goes to school. It's only an hour and a half away and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he'll be back as soon as he can. I also know that he has to be there because it's where he's called to be right now. He has to finish school and he has to do it there. I know that I have to be here. I have to be with my family. I know that he'll be completely done with school in 9 months. I know that we'll still see each other pretty often. And I know that we will talk on the phone before and after and in between everything else going on in each of our lives. I know that many people have to say goodbye to their loved ones for much longer periods of time. I know many girlfriends have to say goodbye for years while their boyfriends are over seas in the military. I know that this is nothing in comparison. I know that he loves me and would choose to be with me, if it was his choice. I know that I love him and can only believe that we'll be together eventually. But I also know what it's like being long distance because until this summer it was all we had known. And now I know that I can make an informed decision on the matter and say that I prefer living in the same town. I know that we will talk but we will live seperate lives. He will live his in Belton and I will live mine in College Station. We won't know what's going on, how each other are doing or feeling until we get an update on the phone. He'll be very busy this semester taking at least 16 hours and working close to 40. I don't have a car nor do I have the permission from my parents to drive out of town. Therefore, in order to see each other he will have to drive here in between all of the other things he's doing. Probably between work on Friday and church on Sunday morning. But, I know he'll come. What's hard is the day to day things. Missing him and not being able to hug him or hold his hand. Having something to say to him but not saying it because it takes me forever to muster up the courage to be open, even with him, and I don't always have enough time on the phone. Wanting to share my life with him but not even sharing a church, a town, or time. I hate, hate, hate it. But I will make it. I know God has a reason for this time just like every other time in the past. Last semester was really hard but we grew because of it and learned how to be a long distance couple even better. This summer was really wonderful and we grew because we had to learn how to be a short distance couple, something that was harder than we expected. But now we've learned how to do both to some extent and I know we'll only grow from here. We're obviously not done. We have, by no means finished all the lessons on being a couple! And I know this semester, we will learn new ones. I'm not excited to be away from him and it's already hard, but I am excited to grow and learn and become stronger and understand each other and God's plans more clearly. I'm also excited about other things, having nothing to do with out relationship. Obviously, if God does not want us to be together yet, He has other things in store for both of us. As much as we wish what was in store was more time together, we want exactly what God has in store more than anything that we could come up with on our own. If this is the way it has to be, then this is the way it should be. I miss him so much and it's really hard but I would choose nothing over growing closer to Christ and the only way to do that is to stay where He puts us.

My boyfriend needs a name...

because referring to him constantly as, "my boyfriend" is pretty lame. I don't want to use his real name because no one else on my blog is referred to by their real names. He has been called Donavon as a nick name for a while now by my brother so I think I'll use that one. At least until he reads this and complains. :) So for now, my boyfriend, is Donavon. But not really.

p.s. Please do not think of him as a guy with bushy hair and a mustache who sings Mellow Yellow. Or, a less than straight man with slicked back hair, which is based on no one particular but I could just see that image building in your head based on the name. If you must equate him to another Donavon.. I guess it could be Donavon Frankenreiter because I like his music. But if possible, think of him as a Donavon you've never met, or as the one you already know that is him because you really know him. Ahem, moving on.

Maddens!

We marked another one of the list yesterday! We ate at a restaurant called Maddens that is located in downtown Bryan in the same building as Old Bryan Marketplace, an antique/novelty shop. It was so much fun!!! We loved it. The atmosphere is really fun and interesting, the wait staff was super nice and helpful and the food was fantastic! I wish I would have brought my camera because everything was so pretty. I think it's really neat when a chef takes the time to not only make food that tastes good but that also looks good. I got crab cakes and my boyfriend got roasted chicken. We had a mozzarella and roasted tomato salad for an appetizer and raspberry iced teas. Everything was wonderful! It's reasonably priced especially for the time that was obviously taken to make it look so nice. It's a neat building and location. It was lots of fun and we'll definitely be back. 5 stars!!

20 months and Cafe Capri!

Yesterday was 20 months from my first date with my boyfriend. Silly, I know. Why do I keep up with it? What significance does the 20th month have, anyway? None, really. I keep up with it because it's fun and the 20th one just sounds a little more exciting than the 19th so we decided to celebrate. We got dressed up and he told me that for our anniversary we would check another restaurant off the list. We went to Madden's and they were all full but very polite and gave us a $10 gift certificate to come back! Score! Then we went looking for another place to eat that was on the list. I didn't actually bring the list so I didn't have the oh-so-helpful addresses of the restaurants...oh well. Eventually we found Cafe Capri which is an Italian cafe type restaurant that was on the list. We very much enjoyed it! It was busy and kind of loud, a little different type of atmosphere than we were expecting, but still fun. The bread, dipping oil and salad was not that impressive but not bad. The oil was really just balsomic vinegar and olive oil as far as I could tell. We got an appetizer of mozerella squares which were very yummy! They were like parmesian encrusted cheese sticks only, in a flat square shape. The menu is not too big and a lot of it is fairly generic Italian food but it's also more like cafe prices. We chose two of the most expensive and most exciting entrees and they were only about $13 (which is not bad for the most expensive!) and very good! I got penne pasta with portabello mushrooms and lobster in a white, creamy, smoked gouda cheese sauce. MMMMMM!! He got a different penne, lobster dish with spicy, cajun seasoning. Also, very good but I liked mine better. All in all, a good experience! Then, we came home and layed on a blanket in our backyard looking at the stars. A good way to spend our oh-so-important 20 month anniversary!
p.s. Capri is the name of an Italian island. :)

Gazpacho Blanca

I made this for the first time yesterday. It was quite fun to make, mostly because I had never seeded cucumbers before. Anyway, if you didn't know, gazpacho is a cold, cucumber soup. My family had mixed feelings about it but everyone was a good sport and at least tried it. I personally, liked it, but would probably prefer it as an appetizer next time instead of the main course. I made homemade, country white bread to accompany and garnished with sliced roma tomatoes and lemon wedges. I actually made the soup the night before so that it could chill overnight which worked out quite well. It was weird having my whole meal ready the night before! Anyway, it was fun and different so all in all, a good experience.

My super exciting World Market find!

That's right. It's a vanilla bean. Two actually. I was really excited to find this as I've recently found several recipes that don't call for vanilla extract but actually call for vanilla beans. I'll be making something smashing with these. Probably ice cream.. mmmm.

Update on the Summer thus far....

At the beginning of the summer I made a list of things that I hoped to do more of. This is the update on those things. Unfortunately, just like a new year's resolution, it hasn't turned out exactly as I would have hoped. You've probably guessed this since blogging was one of the things on the list and that obviously hasn't really happened. Well, first off, the summer is not over yet and I'm still working on it. This should be evident in the fact that I just posted not too long ago and this is in fact, another post...proof that I'm blogging more! Also, some of the things have happened and some of them have been pushed to the back burner as other, unforeseen things took the front ones.
Side note: I just realized how much I like that analogy. The fact that I'm always cooking for 10+ people means that I'm usually using all 4 burners on the stove and it's definitely true that the pots that need more attention are always in front. hmmmm. Nice job, analogy inventor man/woman.
So to go through the list, reading has not happened near as much as I would have liked it to. It's weird that it's one of my favorite hobbies yet one that gets neglected the most. I think it's because it's not usually something that I feel like I have to do, just something that I want to do. So the have-to's take precedence. Anyway, I have been reading Discipline by Elisabeth Elliot and it has been wonderful. Other than that, my reading is still in a slump.
Cooking, this has improved! I'm really excited because it's happening more and more each week. This is the first week in quite some time that I have actually done the requested 5 real meals a week and I think it will be happening more consistently in the rest of the summer and the fall. I have also been able to make more exciting meals again as I've had a little more time to plan them out. More on this later.
Bible study, this is really hard to confess to. I have not been doing a consistent Bible study at all this summer. It's terrible. I've been trying to keep God as the central focus of my life as hard as I can while neglecting to read His word near as much as I should. This is an oxymoron, if you were wondering. I'm changing this because it's utterly ridiculous.
Outdoor activities, another that started to happen and then altogether ceased. It's so flippin' hot! I started out the summer going a few bike rides with my boyfriend which were marvelous...but that hasn't happened real recently. We have been swearing all summer to go canoeing (is this a word?) and I still really, really hope we do. But, it is so hot that if we do this, it may be the last thing we ever do.
Working out, this is one that was going really good at the beginning and has since slacked off. I'm still hoping to get back to it. I do a lot better with this one when I have a more structured schedule to my week. It's kind of hard for me to just randomly work out whenever I have the chance, due to the fact that I'm diabetic and this is really disruptive to my blood sugar. My blood sugar has also been crazy lately which makes it harder all together. But, it can also be really good for my blood sugar if I do it consistently. So, it's still high on the list and will hopefully happen a lot this fall with (hopefully) the help of an insulin pump.
Fun, intentional, time with people I love, this has happened some. Every one's schedules are crazy in the summer so this has been a little tricky. But, I have been able to spend a lot of time with my boyfriend. Compared to how much time we get together during the year, it's amazing! I've been able to meet for an hour or so almost every week to sit down with Everly and Beth to discuss the book, Discipline, that we are reading together. This has been so, so incredibly good. I underestimated the significance of having time officially dedicated to discussing each other's lives and relationships with Christ compared to just being around each other each day. This has been fantastic. It's also been nice seeing more of the whole family since I'm not in school and most of my schedule involves the whole family. So if we're busy, we're busy together.
OK. That's the current update. I'm hoping to post later about my exciting find at World Market and what I'm making for lunch. So, ttfn!

The Official List of Bryan/College Station restaurants

My boyfriend and I love trying new restaurants and do so as much as possible. He's always asking me where I want to eat and I have tons of places I want to try. Unfortunately, many times when we decide to eat out and are trying to think of one of the many restaurants that we want to try, we can't remember what they are until we're too hungry and end up eating somewhere that we already know. I'm hungry most of the time and I get really hungry fast... so the deciding process ends up being pretty short. He probably gets pretty frustrated with me always asking him to take me to a new place and then forgetting what that new place was when it's time to go. That's why we came up with a brilliant plan to have a list. An actual tangible list instead of a running one in our heads that we can't find in time. I told him I would make a real list and promptly started scribbling things down in my Lisa Frank note pad which is always in my purse. He said he would only follow it if it was official looking and on real stationary instead of my Lisa Frank note pad. Side Note: Lisa Frank is still awesome. Besides that, my lovely sister, Everly, gave it to me. In my mind, it is just as official as so called real stationary. Ahem, back to the list. So I gave in to his request (because I really like when he buys me food) and made a real list on official looking stationary. I wrote the restaurant names, location, and price range for his convenience. :) We've already tried one on the list and we've only had it a few days! The place we tried was called Haiku Japanese and Korean. It was exciting because it was on the list and I really wanted to try Korean food. It was a let down because the food was not so good. Very bland and not very fresh tasting. Plus, the environment was not the most authentic or even interesting for that matter, except that there was an indoor coy pond, which was pretty cool. So, all in all, not the best. But, more importantly, we tried somewhere on the list and now we know what it's like! I count it a win. So, I'll post the list for all to see and as we try somewhere, I'll review it! There could definitely be more restaurants added later. I know they probably seem pretty random but they're the main ones I could think of that I wanted to try for some reason and hadn't yet. Also, if you're reading this and have tried any of them, let me know what you thought!

1. La Riviera
2. Madden's
3. Square One
4. Bodega Coast
5. Naked Fish
6. Fontana's
7. Cafe Capri
8. Fat Burger
9. Truman's Chocolates
10. Luigi's Patio Ristorante
11. Christopher's World Grill
12. La Bodega
13. Papa Perez
14. Haiku Japanese and Korean
15. Herbert's Cajun Cuisine
16. Antonio's Pizza
17. The Republic
18. Serendipity