Adventures in Cooking, Churching (again), and Hiking

Adventures in Cooking:

So last Thursday we went out for coffee with some people from the church we went to last week. One of the girls recommended a cookbook called "The Girl Can't Cook" (And she wants to be a chef, will be going into culinary arts in January, this book was just given to her because it has great recipes in it)

Anyways, so I got adventurous. I bought some salmon to make "Grilled Salmon Skewers on Mixed Greens with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette" (p. 107)

Oh boy, were these ever TASTY! It was really quite simple (except the skinning of the salmon part... that was hard. The recipe calls for skinless salmon but the store didn't sell it without the skin) Here's my finished product:

Adventures in Churching (again):

We decided to head up the street a few blocks to another local church. This one actually kinda reminded me of Burnett, and all the songs we sang I actually knew. "Beautiful One", and "Did you feel the mountains tremble" among others. The sermon was interesting as well. As we were leaving, one girl said to us "I don't think we've met before" ... and we started to chat. Well, I think we keep going to these churches on just the right days. Last week the other church was serving cake. This church, once a month, hosts a lunch for everyone! So she invited us upstairs to have soup with her and some friends. It turns out that her parents actually live in Maple Ridge and go to Burnett!! They are also really good friends with Jason's uncle... Talk about a small world! All in all it was a good time, and they insisted that we take home a package of leftover buns and some soup too. Good times!

Adventures in Hiking:

Since we moved here I've been trying to get into better shape. Every other day I've gone out either walking, jogging, or biking. Sunday afternoon the College and Career group we went to last week had planned a hike. We met up with them at the church and headed out. We went to a mountain called "Sugarloaf Mountain" Well, no one told me how steep some of it was going to be, and boy did I feel outta shape. I was in the back of the pack the whole time (of course I just said I was making sure the boys in front of me kept the pace haha) ... It wasn't too bad, but it was a really hot day, had to be in the 20s ... About halfway up, (when there was no turning back) the leader said to us "Oh and I'll remind you that right now is PEAK TICK SEASON so make sure you check yourself thoroughly when you get home." .... Peak tick season?!?! Uuuugggghhhh so gross!!! I wanted to turn and run at that point ... but I didn't of course, because who wants to be known as 'The Girl Who Runs Away Halfway Through A Hike"? Lucky for me, I got home tick-free and with only a scratch on my leg... A mighty scratch actually from when a large boulder decided to give way when I was standing on it. And some girls on the hike have decided to go on weekly hikes, which I have said I'd take part in. Only next time I'm going to be more prepared, with Deet in hand and a hat and anti-tick vibes. Should be great. I'm also gonna step up the training regime and try to get myself in shape faster. :)