Whole foods

Whole foods...nope, no the store. I'm talking about eating foods the way that God created them. I've been trying to cut back on artificial ingredients, preservatives, etc. Cooking more things from scratch is quite the adventure. I've learned that it is totally worth it. It's kind of nice eating things where I can pronounce all of the ingredients. This weekend, in light of the winter weather, I'm making snickerdoodles, pizza pockets, popcorn chicken, and strawberry bread. It's nice to put things in the freezer and have super quick meals later. Even though eating and cooking this way are admirable, it's important not to let this lifestyle become an idol. It's easy to say, ''it took so much time to make this and I don't want to just give it all away; I want to keep it at home to enjoy it.'' However, God has blessed me with so much. It should be a blessing to share what I have with other.

Liberty Bowl

On New Year's Eve, I left for the Liberty Bowl. It was a long, but easy road trip. We rung in the New Year on Beale Street. The tradition in Memphis is a guitar drop outside of Hard Rock Cafe. The next day, we watched the Liberty Bowl parade (thank goodness for hot chocolate from Starbucks. We also stopped by the Memphis pyramid, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, the Mississippi River, Elvis' mansion, and Graceland. While the Pirates lost, it was still a great game to watch. However, I've never been so cold in my life. Even though I was surrounded by Arkansas fans, there was plenty of Pirate spirit. Stay tuned for pictures.