I've upgraded to semi-outdoorsy!

This past weekend, Nick and I, along with three other couples, stayed at a cabin on Table Rock Lake. That's right - three whole days to swim, kayak, and generally be outdoors. Now, I'm really not the outdoorsy type and right now pretty much anyone who really knows me is probably thinking that I was most likely bored out of my mind all weekend. But you would be wrong. I had a blast!
The girls all got in the water and we joined our rafts together to create a party barge. We floated around and at one point Nick even tied a rope onto his kayak and dragged all four of our rafts around the cove. I wish I had a picture of that one, but I don't.
One thing that I really loved was kayaking. Nick and I spent a good amount of time paddling along the shoreline and exploring the coves. It was incredible! (A quick side note: I went kayaking for the first time back in April and by the time we were done, my arms and shoulders were killing me. Since then I've started doing yoga on a regular basis and I'll tell you what - paddling was a piece of cake this time! In fact, I even kayaked mulitple times in one day.)
We even took our sweet little Oliver with us. He didn't like swimming, but he definitely liked floating on the rafts, riding in Nick's kayak, and playing with Dave & Randi's son, Ben.
I know that some of you are probably still in shock that I willingly participated in outdoor activities and, yes, enjoyed them. Others are wondering who I am and what happened to the real Jerilyn. Well, I did manage to stay true to Jerilyn form this weekend - I finished the final 80% of a book I was reading (I am SO my mother's daughter).
So there you have it...to the shock and surprise of many (including myself) I have officially upgraded to being semi-outdoorsy!

Chicken pot, chicken pot, chicken pot pie...

My blog isn't as focused on food as my sister-in-law foodierachel, but I had a victory in experiemental cooking tonight and I just have to share. I don't know many people who don't enjoy a homemade chicken pot pie, but some versions of the recipe are so time consuming that this classic dish falls to the wayside during the week. But not this one, friends!
This is all you need:
2 cups of cooked chicken breast, shredded
18 oz. of mixed veggies
2 cans of condensed cream of chicken soup
2 packages of crescent rolls

Piece together an entire package of crescent rolls in the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate (grease it first!!).
Mix the shredded chicken, veggies, and soup and pour into the prepared pie plate.
Take the second package of crescent rolls and piece them together to form the top crust.
Bake at 350 degrees for an hour and you've got a super tasty dinner. How easy is that??

This was a quick post, but there are more to come, including pics of our weekend at the lake and highlights from Indy07!!!

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

No, it's not Christmas - it's even better. It's the start of Pittsburgh Steelers' training camp!
Growing up, training camp wasn't just this little event we saw clips of on the news. For Steelers fans, it's the start of four months worth of football, tailgate parties, and the hope of yet another Superbowl Championship.
Training camp is something most Pittsburgher's have experienced. I took tons of trips up to St. Vincent College in Latrobe to sit on a steep hillside and watch the team practice. We had no idea who anyone was since they didn't have names on their jerseys, but by golly we were hot stuff going to watch training camp. And if you timed it right and could wiggle your way up to the front of the line, you might just get to shake the hand of a player as they walked to or from the dorms they were staying in (which, by the way, weren't too shabby. The news always showed extensive clips of players moving in to training camp, unloading their big screen tvs, stereos, and all of the luxuries they could possibly fit into a dorm room).
Some of the best memories from my childhood include Sunday afternoons in the fall when we'd come home from church to tune in to the Steelers game and listen to Myron Cope do the play by play. Who's Myron Cope? Only the creator of the Terrible Towel and classic phrases known to every Pittsburgher, such as "double yoi", "hmmm hah", and the "Cincinnatti Bungals".
A lot of times we'd even eat some Pittsburgh classics like pierogies and Italian hot sausage while we watched the game. (In a future post I'll include recipes in honor of the first regular season Steeler game).
Some people don't understand the dedication of Steelers fans. Anybody can root for a team, but Steelers fans bleed black & gold. We don't have fight songs - we have Superbowl songs. We don't wave towels - we wave Terrible Towels. We don't have good plays, we have plays that have gone down in NFL history, like the famous Immaculate Reception and the more recent Divine Interbention. Ridiculous? Not to a Steeler fan.
But really, the most amazing thing about Steelers football is how it unites an entire city. Regardless of individual religion or politics, there's one thing everyone can agree on - there's no one better than the Pittsburgh Steelers.
If you don't hold an allegiance to a certain team, I'd invite you to become a fan of the greatest team around. And if you do have a team that you root for...well, it's only a matter of time before I convert you to the black & gold.
Here we go, Steelers, here we go! Pittsburgh's goin' to the Superbowl...

You're tall... (A Public Service Announcement)

Over the course of my life I've come to find that any sentence that starts out with these two little words 'You're tall' can only end with me left irritated, offended, or amazed at the ignorance of others.

Today I went to Walmart with my friend Mary. As we stood in an aisle looking for an item, a woman who was about 5'6" turns to me and, in her ignorance, says "You're tall. Can you grab that bag off the top shelf for me?" I can't tell you how much I hate that question. She might as well have said, "Since you're freakishly tall for a woman, why don't you use your go-go gadget arms and grab the items that we mere mortals could never even hope to reach." To her credit, my good friend Mary (who stands a respectable 5'5") jumped in and provided a much needed joke, saying "Yes, I am tall and I'd be happy to get that for you."
In case you're wondering, I did help the woman, but it took everything in my power to keep from saying, "Sure I'll help you, but since you're so short would you mind grabbing something for me on the bottom shelf?"

Even though I really dislike when people say stuff like that, it's the completely inconsiderate comments that blow me away. A few weeks ago I was at Walmart (I don't know if rude people are just drawn to this place or what) and as I started down one of the aisles, this guy started backing away from me like he'd just seen a Sasquatch or something. He stood next to his girlfriend and I happened to inch closer to them in my search for the Great Value peanut butter fudge cookies. What does this guy do? He jumps back and goes "Ahhhh!!! I'm scared of tall women. They freak me out!!" As I gave him the look of death, I couldn't help but wonder why a person would find it OK to talk about another person's stature as if it was a hideous deformity.

While I normally take these happenings in stride (yes, an insanely long stride), I would like to take this opportunity to answer some questions for those of you who are vertically challenged.
1. The weather up here is rainy and overcast.
2. Yes, I am very tall. Good catch on that one.
3. I buy my clothes at Amazon Women Outfitters.
4. To achieve my height my parents fed me a steady diet of high protein shakes and, of course, the gene-altering shots that my doctor gave me throughout adolescence helped, too.
5. Being tall is great. I wouldn't have it any other way...or should I say, I can't have it any other way.

So if you ever find yourself tempted to make a potentially offensive/completely ignorant statement about one's height, just remember that we tall people are able to see your bald spot and we're not afraid to comment.

(Note: Despite the sarcastic nature of this entry, I absolutely LOVE being tall. It's awesome and I would highly recommend it to anyone.)

The value of good friends and a greasy burger

I know that this sounds like a fairly serious subject for a first post, but it's going somewhere, I promise. Yesterday afternoon was probably one of the crummiest days of my life, second only to today. I suffered a big disappointment and just felt overwhelmingly defeated in life. As it clearly states in the girls' handbook, when you face a situation like this, there's only one way to treat it: self-medicate with incredibly unhealthy food and, if possible, ice cream.
I followed the handbook's advice and headed straight for Burger King. A BK Stacker and half a container of french fries later, my mood had improved a bit. A dose of ice cream followed, but I still had that lingering feeling of disappointment in the back of my mind.
Ready to face a new day, I went off to work this morning and was surprised to find myself getting teary not once, but twice in my 6 minute drive to the office! Still nursing my wounds, I put on a brave face and attempted to get on with my work, but not without first asking for help from the person who I know has always been there for me: my mom. If there was ever a person you want to go to when you're feeling low, she's the one. She lets me be angry and frustrated about my situation and then gives me the BEST pep talks in the entire world. I told her that I'd need an extra dose of prayer to get through the day and she came through. Shaking off those nagging feelings of self-doubt, I plowed ahead with my work. After all, Indy07 is only three and a half weeks away!
You've got to know that I don't just have co-workers at my office, I've got incredible friends. We're talking fabulous friend jackpot. After explaining my situation, I was flooded with words of encouragement - not false compliments or well wishes, but truly uplifting words. Things were definitely looking up and my mood had seriously improved.
It still amazes me to think that even in what would appear to me to be setbacks, God still has a plan. And not only that, He provides the encouragement and support that I need in those times in the form of family and friends.
This morning, in our staff devotions, the verse we focused on was Isaiah 40:31. It says, "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." It's funny how the most appropriate verse can hit you at just the right time. This was a huge encouragement to me today, and maybe it can be for you, too.
I promise my next post will be on the lighter side!!!