On the lookout for a new place to call home...

With marriage comes a lot of changes. When Matt and I got married we moved into a beautiful and quaint 3 bedroom 2 bath house in Petaluma with the best landlords (my in-laws) in which we currently live. As much as we love Petaluma we've decided to move ourselves to Santa Rosa in hopes of getting more involved with our Church and close married/single friends (and Petaluma friends, yes we will miss you too...lol). I am so grateful for the abundance that God has provided for us but it's kind of scary moving into a home, being on a title, paying a mortgage and creating a new home elsewhere.  All of that in being only 6 months married can add a lot of stress and worry. I'm reminded of a verse that brings me comfort in times of stress, 
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:28-31)


This is an awesome reminder that God is faithful and strengthens me when I feel weak in all the craziness that is my life. It comforts me and gives me peace. In other news, in an attempt to be more healthy Matt and I have started a nutrition transformation 30 day program. It's made by a company called Isagenix and we have no complaints so far. We are excited to not only relocate but also to be healthier and to feel better most of all :). I hope you all have a lovely weekend. 

Welcome!

 

Yesterday this little cutie was born to Matt's bro and sister in law! My husband is SOOOOO excited to have a niece so close to him (to spoil :). We are both super excited to babysit as well and hopefully that'll dim our desire to have a baby of our own anytime soon. Welcome to the world Hazel Maylene Sangervasi!

On other news, our house is coming along slow and sure. My husband will be unloading some boxes from one of our guest rooms today and organizing it so I can go through and hopefully get rid of alot of it! He has big plans for his "man cave" and wants to get that room cleared ASAP :) I am also sketching out plans for our backyard so that hopefully we will have a beautiful garden/hangout area come next Summer :)

Unfortunately I haven't done ANY art recently due to my house still being unloaded and I'm having big time withdrawals! I have a huge canvas that I have big plans for so I have been collecting various things to bring together a beautiful end result. I hope you all are having a very happy Monday so far!

xo Rachael

Guess what I did last weekend?

I apologize for not writing in a long time but as some of you know I have been nursing my husband back to health.

It all started about a week ago where things progressed quickly from a cough into severe abdominal pain, nausea and fever. On Sunday around 4am we both knew that something wasn't right. After talking to an on call Clinic Doctor at Kaiser in San Rafael he instructed us to come in immediately. After a quick consult they admitted Matt and did a number of labs and a chest x-ray. The ultimate diagnosis was bronchitis mixed with the flu and an infection. After spending about 10 hours of him being given 3 IV bags of fluids (due to severe dehydration), 1 bag of antibiotics and a syringe full of pain medication they discharged us. I felt so bad for my husband and am so happy that he is feeling MUCH better. So a lesson to everyone is; if your symptoms progress over a span of a few days call your Doctor and get advice. Don't just let it go! It is so important to stay hydrated and if you can't keep food or fluids down for a few days, most likely you're going to be dehydrated! I am so glad my sick husband is more like himself and that he is getting much needed rest.

Beyond grateful...

Happy 4th everyone! Today is a day to be grateful for the many amazing freedoms that we have! And speaking of being grateful, there has been a recent chain of events that has made me EXTREMELY grateful.
I have been working at the same Cardiology office for 9 years and going to school part time in addition to working full time. My dream has always been to be a part of patient care and to eventually become an RN (Registered Nurse). For the past year I was able to help in the Back Office and train be a Medical Assistant until we developed more space for me to work in that dept. full time. I didn't care where I was, I just wanted to be able to have more interactions with the patients and to be closer to my field of interest. A couple weeks ago my Office Manager called me into her Office and said that the Doctor's voted me to be a part of our recently started Vein Department, Sonoma Vein. Of course I said yes! Last week was my first week of training and there is ALOT to remember. Despite my feelings of being overwhelmed, I knew that if this was where God wanted me, I would do my best. That alone brought me comfort.
My job entails many different aspects of a working Office. I'd be scheduling patients, dealing with insurance companies getting prior authorizations for procedures and most importantly, assisting with the many procedures that we do (Sclerotherapy, Laser DV Ablations, etc.) I will directly be working with the Doctors and patients to further understand this aspect of medicine and I am scared but excited.
I feel so blessed to be so believed in by the Physicians that I work with. It makes me more confident in not only the job that I do but in the values I believe in. I hope that in my work ethic that the staff  and patients see Jesus in me. I hope to exemplify the love that Christ did to us. I hope to serve those that are hurting physically and spiritually to share the truth of who Christ is. Please pray for me in these changing times!!!

www.sonomavein.com

La-Dee-Da

Hello friends, I've had a busy last few days!!! Sunday was Father's day so I decided to put together a basket for my padre and padre in law in which I attempted to make them homemade caramel corn. It turned out delicious but I think I overcooked the sugar just a tad an it kind of crystallized on the the popcorn. But oh well, it was still yummy.....

 For Father's Day my mom enlisted me on pie making duty (Coconut Cream Pie) in which I used my Cuisinart food processor for the first time to make my first attempt at a homemade pie crust! I over worked that a little too much too (see a trend here?) but it tasted delicious and was nice and flaky! The pie ended up being thicker than I thought it would so we decided to call it a Macaroon pie. It tasted good :) On Monday I made homemade chocolate chip banana bread and it was sooooooo good. I think I am going to make more and freeze it so that we can enjoy it all the time!

Last night was Taco Tuesday and a special appearance was made by the Keogh gals (well Kassie is a Reed now, but you get my drift..) and I was so glad they came! We ended the night beating each other up on a Wrestling video game Matt has and I don't think I've ever laughed that hard....so hilarious! Us four are also going to see the final installment of the last Harry Potter and I am so excited, yeah! If you don't know already, I am kind of a Harry Potter fanatic...and by kinda I mean alot....

Tonight I am meeting 2 of my bridesmaids for dinner whom I haven't seen since my Wedding and I am so excited! I always love hanging out with them because they always give me great advice on relationships etc. They are definitely 2 lovely ladies who love the Lord and who strive to know Him better and that just makes them fantastic!!!!

Tomorrow I think Matt and I are going out to a Bible camp in Sebastopol to visit some kiddos so until then enjoy your Wednesday folks!

It's a cupcake kind of Friday..

 I made these beauties for a Young Adult group at the Wallace's tonight. They are Boston cream pie cupcakes and they are so easy and delicious! Happy Friday everyone!

All Things Good

 So I got my hair done last night and it turned out exactly the way that I wanted it! My hair lady is seriously a creative genius and I wish I had her skills!!!

She did an A-line with red and orange AND re-did my feathers! Can anyone say awesome?! I am super stoked!
Last night was Taco Tuesday and we had about 15ppl over. Our house was packed but it was packed with ppl we loved so we didn't mind :) Tonight we are having our married friends Dan and Kassie over for dinner and we're having lasagna, french bread and salad! I am so excited to catch up with them and hear about their updates on life, new house potential and their baby! I haven't seen Kassie since my Wedding (which she was in!) and it is about darn time! I love having a place of my own where I can have peeps over and just hang out, it's truly a wonderful thing! Till next time, love you all :)

Haircut/ color = about flipping time!

So tomorrow I have a hair appt. scheduled with the best hairstylist evah, Corrine Matej @ The Powder Room (go check her out!) Normally I wouldn't submit a blog just about a silly ole haircut but this haircut is super special because I haven't done my typical "crazy" haircut/ color combo in forever! I've been growing my hair out for months (only trimming and touching up my blonde streak) in hopes that it would be beautiful and healthy for my Wedding day, but now that day has past and I am going crazy! I can't wait for Corrine to get her beautiful hands on my hair so I can feel like my normal old self again!!!!!

 Extreme A-line anyone??? Yes please!!!

This is why my husband is the best!

He got me flowers just because!!!! Aren't they beautiful?! And yes they are really this vibrant!

Taco Tuesday

Happy Tuesday everyone! Last night I made an awesome Weight Watcher buffalo chicken pizza and cucumber and avocado salad. It was so easy and full of flavor (and even better, low in fat!)

Matt and I are really trying to eat healthy and lose weight so I am only using WW and other low fat recipes in our daily dinners. I seriously love cooking and now that I have my own space it makes me want to quit my job and just cook all day (although, I don't know how Matt would feel about that...lol). Tonight is our weekly Taco Tuesday night which is a very special night in which we basically invite friends over and eat tacos together (surpised, I know...).
Married life is so awesome because everything I do now involves Matt and we can have cute themed nights and just be with each other. I love it!!!! God definitely knew what He was doing in putting us together. :)
Our house is coming together and day by day I am unpacking boxes one by one, trying to find somewhere to put all of my stuff. Last night Matt had to go to the Theater to go oversee while the Gilead staff filmed a video for Summer Camp. While he was gone I packed his lunch, did the dishes and hung some artwork up on our walls (it was driving me crazy having blank walls!!!) I hope to eventually find my acrylic paint and paint a piece for our living room but currently it's lost in the sea of boxes. It's so fun to have a house that I can nest in!!! I am so blessed to have a beautiful home, a wonderful husband and wonderful friends and family and those blessings only come from the Lord! Appreciate all that God has given you today because we don't deserve any of it! Happy Taco Tuesday :)

Thanks Aunt Judy!

So my aunt got Matt and I an awesome cookbook for our Wedding. It's called Eat What You Love by Marlene Koch. It's compiled of super easy, low fat and delicious recipes and is perfect for someone like me who works 40+ hrs! Last night I made 2 delicious recipes and Matt was literally licking his plate (you think I'm joking....I'm not!). I used some steak instead of beef because that's what we had in the fridge :) Enjoy!

Tex Mex Chili Bake

2 tsp EVOO

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 minced garlic clove

1/2 pound lean beef

1.5 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 (4oz.) can diced green chilies (I used fire roasted!)

1 (15oz.) can pinto beans (rinsed and drained)

1 (14oz) can tomatoes (I used stewed tomatoes with garlic)

1 Tbsp tomato paste

3 corn tortillas

2/3 cup reduced fat Mexican shredded cheese

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro (optional)

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic, stir and cook for 30 seconds. Add beef, cumin, chili powder and cook until beef is no longer pink.

3. Stir in chilies, beans, tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Spray a 9 inch pie plate with cooking spray. Lay 1 tortilla on the bottom. Spoon half the beef mixture on top. Put 2 tortilla  on top followed by the rest of the beef mixture. Place remaining tortilla on top and load on the cheese!! Sprinkle cilantro around edges if using.

5. Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes or until hot (& cheese melted). Cut into wedges.

Serves ~4ppl

Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese

  1.5 pounds of Asparagus spears (washed and trimmed)

2 tsp EVOO

Salt to taste

Fresh ground pepper

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

 

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. Toss Asparagus spears with EVOO, salt and pepper.

3. Spread evenly into a single layer on a flat baking sheet. Roast for 10-11 minutes or until fork tender.

4. Sprinkle with Parmesan right before serving.

Serves ~4ppl

I'm a newb.

Okay all, I have joined the Blogging world. At first I thought ppl that had blogs were kind of lame (and had too much time on their hands) but more and more I have become more interested by it. With my recent Wedding (May 14th whoop whoop!) I thought this would be a good way to share with others my life as a newlywed. Plus I just got a smart phone and I can now update things more frequently. :) Hopefully this will be the first of many posts :)