(via Closet Cooking)

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin, toasted and ground
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (19 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into bit sized pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into bit sized pieces
• 1 zucchini, cut into bit sized pieces (optional)
• 1 tablespoon chipotle chili in adobo sauce, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup corn, fresh, frozen or canned
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. Simmer the quinoa in the water until absorbed, about 20 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a pan.
3. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
4. Add the garlic, chili powder and cumin and saute until fragrant, about 1 minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes, beans, peppers, zucchini, chipotle, oregano, salt and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Add the quinoa and corn and simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro.

That dinner hit the spot!! And it came together very quickly! Love that! We didn’t use the canned adobo chiles because they gross me out! We’re definitely on our quinoa craze, but we agreed that our favorite combo so far has been the Thai Fried Quinoa.

Boyd was extremely jealous that I was the one who got to lick out the Nutella jar. It’s not my fault that chocolate is bad for dogs!!

That’s irresistible, right?! He was prancing all over the place, just waiting for that jar.

Apparently, I’m no longer immune to his charms.

That’s right. After I licked it clean, I cleaned out the jar and put peanut butter in it so Boyd could lick it too!! I put in some time tackling the laundry and the kichen tonight so I can enjoy my half day tomorrow.

By the way…

It looks like Boyd has a distant relative named Lupo (Cocker Spaniel) who has been adopted by the Prince & Princess. How cute are they in their matching boots? I wonder if Lupo eats socks like Boyd! P.S. Did you know Kevin shares a birthday with Prince William? I wish I could share a wardrobe with Princess Kate!

Tonight’s workout was an underwhleming 3.90 miles since a major grocery shopping trip was on the agenda. Once again I managed NOT to by the Flamin’ Hot Cheeto Puffs. I’ve never had them! They’re on sale for $1.99. 2 Greek Yogurts = 1 whole bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheeto Puffs. I could do food math all day. If only the nutrition facts were equal, I’d DEFINITELY go for the Cheetos!

Do you spoil your pet? Yes. I don’t know why. He definitely does nothing to deserve. We say every day,”Boyd, you’re lucky you’re cute.” Part of what makes it not cute is how obedient he is when he wants something…. but otherwise he is insanely stubborn!

Best thing you bought at the grocery store this week? I’m really excited for my dark chocolate almond milk and my english muffins and raspberry jam!

P.S. Mom, do you remember that children’s book about the dogs being home alone? There was something in it about not being able to eat chocolate! I wish I could think of the title!! I remember there was something at the beginning about the kids having to go to like sports practice, and then the dogs like pawprints, etc. That’s very hard to Google, but maybe they still have it at the Wabasha Public Library.

I was planning to attend with my running/donut baking buddy, Brooke, but our gym is really hard for a visitor to find. So that didn’t work out. I ended up slipping in for a song or two, but it was really hard to see and too many people just shaking it at random for me to really know what was going on!

The free food, however, I no problem with! I don’t even have to tell you who that brownie belongs to, right? I’m ashamed that my gym was offering brownies. I bet they weren’t the sketchy kind made with black beans either (just kidding – I’d probably like those). I was actually craving the pineapple after my workout. (I showed up before the Zumba party to do 1.53 miles of stairs + 3.58 miles normal).

For dinner, I whipped up some loaded naked taco salads. The key to my salad making is to use as little lettuce as possible. I’m just not a fan of lettuce.  At least I had my avocado! It still wasn’t very ripe so I mashed it like crazy and added salt + cilantro. It was good, but I don’t really like eating salads for supper. Especially in the winter. I feel like I need pasta or bread or something hearty to keep me warm at night! I can’t help it. It’s how I feel. But whenever I’m thinking this, I try to remember that Bob Harper says to keep it “lean & green” in the evening.

I also couldn’t help the fact that I needed  fro-yo last night. I really did! We were both in pajama pants and it was cold out, but we still went! Kevin could tell that I was at the point where I wouldn’t stop talking about it for two hours if I didn’t get any. And we DO have at least three fro-yo spots within a 1-block radius! That I know of.

My flavors: cheesecake, angel food cake *topped with a little cherry*, and cake batter. The cheesecake was awesome. The angel food cake I wanted to love, but sadly, it had kind of a weird texture.

We cheated on Yogurtini again and went to Nella’s around the corner. I’m just not a fan of Yogurtini’s current seasonal flavors: Maple Bacon Donut & Snickerdoodle.

Kevin was skeptical about the topping selection, but I think he was won over by the HUGE chunks of Reese’s PB Cups!

Best Facebook status of the week?

Hooray! I’ve been thinking about it ever since I saw it. So yesterday, in honor of it, I decided to get my Starbucks iced!

I probably haven’t had an iced latte since October! It was nice!!!

 What would your ideal temperature be? 80. Seriously. Maybe even 85.

Do you drink iced coffee/drinks in the winter? Not really. I did not sacrifice my fro-yo, but the frequency is definitely down. 

Any Fat Tuesday festivities? Nice ones, like Zumba. That’s really the only reason I knew it was Fat Tuesday. Haha. Last year at this time we were celebrating carnaval in the Dominican Republic… going downtown during one of those nights probably rates as one of the top five dumbest things I did while living overseas. It way too wild and definitely dangerous. But the daytime cultural things are cool to see!

In the mix:

• half box of quinoa
• black beans
• corn
• red onion
• chicken w/bbq sauce
• mozz & cilantro to garnish

What was missing: avocado!! Wah!! But this combo was still a winner! You can check out What’s Gaby Cooking if you’re the kind of person who likes thorough directions!

My dessert: A spoon full of Nutella. Kevin’s dessert: finishing off the can of pink frosting in the fridge.

But not 5 minutes later, I found him with Nutella jar in hand. And a very defensive look on his face.

Speaking of defensive. Want to know something cool? I’ve been racking up Yogurtini trips tonight! When Kevin forgets to bring me leftover Hershey’s coconut kisses from like he promised, I earn a trip to Yogurtini. When I feel sick after the gym, I earn another trip!! That’s two!!! I’ve tried to claim a few more throughout the evening, but Kevin claims that only he can dole them out.

A while later, I snacked on a 100-calorie pack of kettle corn. So did Boyd. He also got two strawberry marshmallows and the empty frosting can. It’s a really good night for him!

Earlier…

I’ve been feeling like I’ve been doing a lot of “junk” miles lately. Unplanned. Not pushing myself. Not making any progress in particular. So I decided to push myself with a little tempo action.

Check out this workout from Runner’s World:

Double Tempo Run: In this workout, you give yourself a substantial recovery period of 5 to 7 minutes sandwiched between two tempo-paced runs. Once again, warm up by running 2 miles and doing some strides. Then do a 15-minute tempo run. While this initial tempo run is hard enough to fall in the tempo-run effort zone, it should feel like it’s more on the comfortable side of the comfortable-hard effort scale.

After a recovery jog of 5 to 7 minutes, run a second tempo run of about the same length. The pace of this second tempo run should be slightly more aggressive and feel like it’s more on the hard side of the comfortable-hard effort scale. Part of this perception will be from the fatigue induced by the previous tempo run, and part because you’re actually running a little faster. As you get stronger, you can extend the length of each run until your total time at tempo pace reaches 45 minutes.

The advantage of this type of tempo workout is that with the lengthy recovery period between the two runs you’re able to run more overall volume at tempo-run pace. This means you’ll spend more time working at your lactate threshold.

I ended up doing 2 miles for a warm-up, 20 minutes tempo + 10 minutes recovery + 20 minutes tempo. I didn’t realize i was only supposed to be 5-7 minutes of recovery time since I didn’t write it out on a post-it. Oh well. I’m sure that extra 3 minutes didn’t hurt. I ended up covering 8.1 miles. On a Monday! Yay.

You can use the Runner’s World training calculator to choose a good tempo pace. Mine came out to be 7:48 so I kept it between 7:35-7:50.

Is it okay to say that I’m really proud of myself for pushing through that workout? I got a killer stomachache almost immediately when I started running, and I did stop during my “recovery time” to go to the bathroom real fast. But other than that, I stuck to it. I would’ve never done so well tonight if I hadn’t gone in to the gym with a plan, so I’m so glad I did!

What’s your favorite thing to eat straight from the jar/can? Frosting. The funfetti/rainbow sprinkle kind.

Kettle corn or regular popcorn? Kettle. Which surprises me because I’m totally a salty person, but I like to have a little flavor in there too.

Favorite part of your Monday? The few minutes Kevin and I spent hanging out after dinner before he had to start to do homework. When we were parting ways he said,”this was the best part of my day.” Awwwa… That got a big reaction out of me so half an hour later he had to be like,”Remember when I said it was the best part of my day?” Haha.

This weekend has been super booked for us after being gone last weekend, and I’ve totally been oversocialized. Our last event of the weekend was Marriage + Class, and we were sooo looking forward to coming home afterwards to some peace & quiet. I made some homemade pizza with my favorite toppings green peppers, onions, and pineapple. Mmmmmmm!! Kevin’s side had no piña and a lot of jalapeños.

I know my friends are going to die when they see this, but Kevin had been casually mentioning that he thought it would be fun if we did a puzzle together sometime. So I surprised him with one on Valentine’s Day! We didn’t really do anything big since I was planning to plan (yes, I plan to plan!) it over last weekend and we ended up in unexpectedly in Chicago! But he still got his puzzle!

He hid behind the table because he didn’t want all my readers to see him in pajamas again. Outed.

Yeah. Let’s be real. I’m totally faking it here. I’m never that intent about anything – except maybe Garmin stats. But I did go through all the puzzle pieces to flip them over and check for missing edge pieces! There are 1000 pieces! And I didn’t say,”Am I there yet?” Not even once.

In my defense, I’ve put together 3 pieces. And finding the missing edges really helped Kevin out. Or maybe he just says that because he’s a sweet husband.

By the way, I chose this Flags of the World puzzle. It was between puppies and some sort of a geographical theme. I went with flags because I felt that learning about them might help me in one of my vicious Corrie versus Jeopardy!-on-tv matches! Hopefully someone in the gym will hear my yell the answer to an obscure flag question and be really impressed. These are the things I strive for in my puzzle selection.

Our biggest fear? You know Boyd is going to eat a puzzle piece, right? And that’s it! That’s the end.

He’s just waiting….

No, we didn’t have two kinds of pizza tonight. This is pizza I made on Friday night, and felt the liberty to share now since this post had “pizza” in the title. I love a good pita pizza, don’t you? This variety had bbq sauce, black beans, red onion, pineapple, and mozz.  We each ate two. And a half.

Do you like puzzles? Not really. Why do you think I’m blogging right now? I do LOVE a good crossword puzzle. But I have too many gaping holes in categories like “sports” and “anything in pop culture that took place before 2000.”

Ever tried Cross Fit? Or want to? Not yet. Although I have done quite a few at-home workouts that would be similar (but not as hard!).

How long do you think it will take us to finish this puzzle? I’m thinking I’ll probably invited someone over to dinner before it’s done. And then things are going to get ugly. We’ve been working on it about 1.5 hours now and the border isn’t even finished. Just to give you a hint.

They’re easier than you think! And they’re extremely donut-like! I was afraid they would just be heart-shaped cupcakes. Not even sure why that would be a bad thing, but I was happy nonetheless.

Baked Funfetti Donuts (via cookies&cups)

In mixing bowl beat all ingredients on medium speed for 30 seconds.  Transfer batter in a ziplock bag.  Cut of the corner of the ziplock and squeeze batter into each donut mold, filling 2/3 full.  Bake for 7-9 minutes until the tops are slightly browned and spring back when touched.

Check out cookies & cups for recipes for a glaze AND a frosting. You need both! Definitely!

You want the Chocolate Nutella version? All I did was switch up the cake mix flavor and mix up a glaze powdered sugar, 2 TBSP of Nutella, and milk.

My beautiful baking buddy! Can you believe we baked donuts instead of ran today? Oops! I did sneak in a quick twice around the block (1.58 miles) before she showed up. Nothing like a 12 minute run to burn off my Saturday morning antsiness.

Later this afternoon, we finally got the chance to meet up with some old college friends of mine. We’ve been trying to find a time to get together basically since we moved to Denver, but we finally made it happen!

We decided it would be cool to meet alongside a big, muddy, snowy hill for a true test of my outdoorsiness.Ryan is an accomplished photographer who likes to photograph adventurous things so we did a little trail running photo shoot. Kevin and I seriously had a blast slipping and sliding all over the place and arguing over who has better running form. Thankfully, the weather cooperated so I wasn’t freezing to death! I know it’s hard to imagine, but some of them may turn out better than some of my iPhone self-portraits!We’ll give you a peek someday. I didn’t even bring my baby iPhone out there in the elements. I’m sure I would’ve dropped it down a hill somewhere. Afterwards, we enjoyed dinner and catching up with the whole family. We even shared some of our donuts because we’re so nice.

We got home nice & early so I tricked Kevin into a quick gym trip. Kevin: “Can I have a donut first?” Seriously? Who asks that?

These are the socks I had to wear since my one good pair was sopping wet.  What about the 12 pairs of socks I got for Christmas? Boyd has been chomping them down one by one.

And these are the pants my husband chose to wear:

Green machine!!!! I ran another easy 2 while he hung out on the elliptical. Right about now we are totally lazing it up on the futon. We have another big day tomorrow!!

Favorite kind of donut? Not a huge fan. I go for the sprinkles and the long johns. I guess I need to learn how to bake long johns.

Do you wear pjs in public? I did so regularly in high school. Very regularly. But after living in the DR, I don’t think that’s ever going to happen again.

Cookies & Cream PB Cookies (via Plain Chicken)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
12 Oreo cookies, crushed
granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder and flour. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Add crushed Oreo cookies and mix until combined.

Shape rounded tablespoons of dough into balls (small cookie scoop). Roll balls in additional granulated sugar to coat.  Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Flatten in crisscross pattern with fork dipped into sugar.  Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned.

And I didn’t use just any old Oreos!!! I used the Happy Birthday Oreos! They are awesome. I resisted one, because one = twelve when it comes to Oreo eating, but I did lick the bowl I crushed them in. They definitely smell like cake! And they have Sprinkles. So yes, I’ll pay $1 more for 10 or so less cookies! And I’ll do it with a smile!

I’m smiley this afternoon! I’m pretty happy to be home for the weekend. I changed into workout clothes within 5 minutes of walking in the door, and I’m off to try out a new workout dvd I got in the mail. It’s like a treat!! I’ll tell you about it later, I’m sure!

And now for the song!! I’m bananas for this song. I’ve listened to it 5 times since Kevin left to go back to work (haha – sucks to be him!!).

Kevin really loves it when I sing the chorus around the house. You’ll see why!!  And I haven’t even told him yet that the band is from Australia. His favorite place ever.

Anyways. It’s going to make you want to do a silly happy dance and you can download it for freezies.

What’s a fave song you’ve listened to lately? I’m working on a playlist to be shared someday in the near future. But my music snobbishness has really dulled over the last few years so it’s taking some work!

This Hopscotch to Curl move is my new favorite. You should probably try it! I love double-tasking moves! It was part of a bonus workout I earned. Nothing I love like a workout that earns you badges and extra workouts!

Strawberry milk to refuel! I accidentally dropped the straw in the box after my first sip! What newb!

We decided to take it easy on date night this week since we ate out in the airport and whatnot this weekend so we went “cheap” at Panera.

I love my double soups!! Black Bean + Chicken Sonoma Stew. This is the third time I’ve ordered that soup. And I’ve picked out every single pea every single time.

Guess what? We chose Panera because of its key location — across the street from the library!

We had a hot date reading travel books and vacation dreaming! Don’t you love his hot socks? They’re my fave!

And we came prepared! Did you expect any less? Kevin bought me Jelly Bellies for the first time ever! I’m sure it’s the first time I asked, but still! They were awesome.

Day after Valentine’s Day they had new Hershey’s Kisses out! With coconut. Like we could resist that. And they were so delicious. I’m forcing Kevin to take them to work tomorrow so I don’t finish them off!

I couldn’t resist looking at the DR book! I love looking at the tips for tourists!! Hehe. They make me giggle. The only thing I’d seen was the monument. Ah, the wonderful monument. I was too busy with my M.Ed and my long distance boyfriend to be taking beach trips!

Luckily, the international travel section is in a low traffic area!

These were our top picks. I’dreally like to go to Austria someday and see/hear all the nerdy music stuff.

Plus this paragraph won my heart:

Ahhh… emotions about coffee.

Kevin: “What so like people all over the world like coffee?” Uhhh… yeah. Someday I will win him over to love coffee! I’ll never forget that was Grandma Mary Kay’s only concern about us getting married. Haha. He’ll drink a mocha when pressed, but can barely finish off a Tall.

What city/country would you most like to visit? Vienna, Greece, Ireland, and Spanish-speaking countries are high on my list. I also really want to go to D.C. I’ve never been!

Favorite vacation you’ve ever taken? Probably visiting the States when I lived in the DR. Lol. That sounds hilarious, but I missed Kevin. Not to mention the shopping!

Favorite Jelly Belly flavor? Man, I loved those Juicy Pear Jelly Bellies.

Related Fun Article: Most Romantic Places to Kiss Around the World

(Mischief  Champion)

So I just sat around looking sullen while Kevin ate breakfast and drank a few sips of my coffee. It’s always too hot for me until I get to work!

Around 10AM, my stomach had righted itself, and I dug out my PB Puffins. Yay!! I actually stayed at work for a lunch meeting today! I’m such a young professional! Haha. We ordered Jimmy John’s which I was a little skeptical about, but it turned out okay. Trust me when I say that I Googled the nutrition facts to find something that wasn’t a complete carb trap. The Veggie Club has 773 calories and 38 grams of fat – FYI!

And some chocolate for my afternoon snack!! I love these little guys. They’re on sale this week at King Sooper’s! I remember always wanted to buy the mini chocolate soymilks when I lived in the DR, but I actually did the peso-dollar calcuation (for once in my life) and they were about $3 a piece!!

Today’s workout: 5.10 miles running + a kettlebell workout!

We completed a version of this Summer Bikini Blast workout from MyoMytv. I always study the videos and take notes before I go to the gym. I swear I was even dreaming about kettlebell form last night! I kid you not!

I actually talked Kevin James into trying it! That’s a miracle. He’s usually very skeptical of the tabata-ish workouts I do. It’s probably because I make so many painful noises. I got to practice my personal training skills on him! His squats and lunges made me very nervous!! We really need to work on his form!

I will say he took my pointers very well. And he should. They were mostly direct quotes from the like of Jillian Michaels! He did get a little sassy with me a few times, but I know it’s tough being beat by a girl. I got my karma for being a pain because I cranked my neck weird while doing show-off jumping jacks. It takes a special to feel the need to show off during jumping jacks… It still feels weird to turn my head!

Today I conquered one of my fear vegetables. Kale!

Whole Grain Spaghetti with Garlicky Kale & Tomatoes.

It was NOT love at first bite. But after a few tries, it tasted kind of like a crunchy spinach/broccoli type thing. I like spinach and broccoli!! I’ll keep working on it!

My other fear food is edamame. Yeah, I thought it was a vegetable there for a second. Give me a break. It looks like peas! Yuck!

I tricked Kevin into doing dishes while I constructed the ultimate chocolate dessert for him. Really, it was just leftovers of the 2-ingredient fudge and last night’s cake crumbled up in a mini trifle bowl! I licked the frosting knife for my dessert. My life is so rough. Haha.

Kevin also scored these questionable chocolates that I found on my desk this morning….  What a brave soul.

What about you? Any chocolate and/or pb today? Both. Kind of.

Any fear foods/vegetables? Not to be confused with vegetables you dislike. Ones that you are actually afraid to try.

Would you eat a questionable sweet? Just something to think about.

P.S. Thanks for all your sweet requests for the second installment of our How We Met series. These things take time. I have to wordsmith them, unlike my daily onslaught of words posts!

]]> http://corrieanne.com/2012/02/15/chocolate-pb-fear-vegetables/feed/ 10 corr coffee dogs peanut butter puffins silk pure almond dark chocolate kettlebell rack red whole grain spaghetti with garlicky kale & tomatoes ultimate chocolate dessert questionable chocolates http://corrieanne.com/2012/02/15/3-day/ http://corrieanne.com/2012/02/15/3-day/#comments Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:27:00 +0000 Corrie Anne http://corrieanne.com/?p=4712 Continue reading →]]> Knocking them off the list!

And doing it pink!

Today was our first time trying out the pool at our gym. It was tricky! I had a hard enough time getting my swim cap and goggles on let alone swimming!! I had Coach Kevin at my side giving me pointers (he was a lifeguard and taught swim lessons), but I ended up downing a lot of water up my nose. By the time we got home, I was super nauseated.

My sweetheart made me some Annie’s mac ‘n’ cheese in bed while I digested my chlorine. It passed after about 30 minutes, but I’m nervous about swimming again!!

I think it’s safe to say that Kevin’s a LOT more precise in his cooking than I am. Since we were away all weekend, we didn’t really have time to plan surprises for each other. Instead, we opted to make dinner together.

While Kev Kev was working on dessert, I tried out Crunchy Oven-Fried Ravioli from How Sweet Eats. I can’t really report on the recipe since I neglected to cook the ravioli before coating it with the crunchy stuff. And I didn’t measure a thing. Ah, well.

We couldn’t resist a little heart-shaped goodness! A mini chocolate cake for Kevin, and just frosting for me. Two knifefuls! Yum!

Bite.

Sweethearts!

I love a good Peter Pan collar!

And a good twirl!

My other Valentine! We’re looking more & more alike, right? His curly ears are almost the exact same color as my curly mane!

Any tips for a newbie swimmer? Especially on goal setting and not digesting the water!!

Favorite type of collar? Peter Pan. Here’s a cool Peter Pan collar DIY!

Do you and your pet look alike? Just checking!

Pssst! In honor of Valetine’s Day, I started writing our How We Met story. Check it out: K&C Part 1: He’s from Winona!

Okay, so obviously my besties know. But in the past, I haven’t felt the urge to shout it from the rooftops usually awkwardly deferring to Kevin or mumbling something incoherent about “through a friend of a friend of a friend.” Which isn’t even exactly true.

Can I tell you from the beginning? Because I’m a hopeless romantic, and I really want to. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that I spent some time in the Dominican Republic.

Sadly, I was far from the beaches in Santiago de los Caballeros

I moved down there almost immediately after college and spent three years teaching in a private bilingual missionary school. When I moved there, it was my first time leaving the United States ever.  Needless to say, it was a bit of an adjustment for this freckle-faced girl from Minnesota!

I was 24, and rapidly approaching 25. 25 was always the age I said I would get married. As I mentioned, I’m a hopeless romantic, and definitely intent on seeing my Cinderella ending come to fruition. But I also have a suppressed rebellious streak which meant I was really savoring my days as an independent woman. I was always flat broke, but if I wanted to spend my last peso on imported Sabra hummus and Dominican shoes – that was up to me!

I remember this was the lovely mug shot I sent with my applications to international schools!

My options in the romantic department were rather limited while teaching in the Dominican Republic. Do you have any clue what the male-female ratio is in a Christian school overseas? It’s not pretty. What about a Dominican man, you ask? “Are you racist?” my students would ask (anything to get me off topic!). While my Spanish was improving daily, I have enough communication issues in my first language! Don’t even get me started on the cultural differences in dating!  Despite many proposals that first year, I managed to stay single and ready to mingle!

I prayed about it that summer while I was home in Minnesota. I really did. I poured my little heart out. I was deeply encouraged by the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1, and I came to a renewed peace that the Lord was in control.

It’s about to get good, guys.

That summer I spent some quality time with one of my best friends forever, Deidre. And when I say forever, I mean forever. We’ve been friends since we were born, and conveniently, our big brothers were too! Deidre and I have this thing that we say,”In the cookie of life, friends are the chocolate chips!” All this to say, that she has always been a trusted confidante and we can talk about anything. In fact, we probably have talked about everything!

One day,  we were having a heart-to-heart-talk one day about my love life and lack thereof. She suggested online dating. As we discussed it further, I was rather intrigued with the idea and figured,”Why not?” I was leaving to go back to the Dominican Republic in a few days, so I considered it to be a risk-free venture. I would have nothing to worry about with stalkers or accidentally being matched with an ex-boyfriend. So eHarmony it was! I signed myself up for some kind of free trial, filled out the lengthy questionnaire, and it was go time!

I can’t believe I remember it exactly, but I do! My first reaction to seeing Kevin’s little profile picture was,”He’s from Winona!” I think I was talking to Deidre, probably via one of our famous rapid-fire Gmail exchanges.

The first picture I ever saw of Kevin James

In the off-chance that you’re not familiar with Southeastern Minnesota geography, Winona is a mere 30 minute drive from my hometown of Wabasha and home of the nearest Target!

The first picture Kevin ever saw of Corrie Anne

August 2009 was the first time I saw Corrie Anne on eHarmony.  Little did I know we would be married within two years.  You see, I was just was just having some fun on eHarmony talking to a lot of different girls.  What do you expect when they send you 5-10 new matches a day?  The first time I saw her, I thought she was cute and her profile was interesting, but I didn’t send a message.  Maybe I didn’t send one because she lived in the DR, which I didn’t even know what “DR” stood for at the time. Or maybe it was something else.  I really don’t remember exactly.  Eventually I gave into those baby blues and that cute earmuffs picture she posted.  At that point there was no turning back because I just made the best decision of my life.

To Be Continued…