Barbecue Chicken Pizza and the Parable of the Yeast

My weekends are quiet. In fact, so quiet, that I got the edits to a manuscript back to my major professor in record time. Well before she needed them (gold star for me from me)!

My weekday nights are quiet too. There are no pranks being pulled, no shenanigans. My partner in crime is off at class, prepping for a big exam.

Today is my last day of summer. I spent the morning combing through a delightful essay I stumbled upon called "The Gender of God in the New Testament and the Spirituality of Women." Then I headed off to a dentist appointment, ran a few errands collecting red onions and gouda cheese, and watched episodes 10 and 11 of season five of Breaking Bad. I started watching the series about three weeks ago. Yeah...

Tonight promises to be full of Breaking Bad and barbecue chicken pizza. My favorite.

C-H-E-E-S-E-A-N-D-O-N-I-O-N-S
oh no

As I was warming the yeast in water and making the dough, watching it rise, I reflected on The Parable of the Yeast, which I had never read or learned before this morning...

He spoke to them another parable. The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened. (Matthew 13:33) 

This parable follows The Parable of the Mustard Seed, one many of us know. Both of these parables contain nifty metaphors for God, in one God is feminine, the other God is masculine. A baker, a farmer.

Food for thought. And food for bellies.

Gouda cheese, red onions, chicken breasts cooked in Sweet Baby Ray's

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Well, hello there...

It's been over six whole months. And to think I used to update daily!

Why the hiatus? My last blog post just cannot be topped. I came here every-so-often to update but nothing could really top it. Nothing felt important enough to share while We're Engaged! would be officially moved into the past. So I set up a wedding website and continued to update the bomb dot com with my Instagram feed of little and big moments in my life and mostly pictures of food. And neglected you, Dear Blogosphere.

I always get butterflies as I relive these moments. I am so lucky.

Texts when Sean actually received the diamond.
Always the prankster.

But I am back! I cannot believe it has only been six months. By the same token, so many things have happened since then. 

We celebrated our engagement and St. Patrick's Day with corned beef and friends!

My little niece, Daphne, exclaimed that her favorite President is Obama. What more can you really expect from Nisson ladies?

She also gathered about three Easter eggs.

My mom proved that she's the toughest cookie (and the sweetest too).

I finally finished that little master's thesis and acquired some fancy schmancy letters after my name (that's Natalie, the Master of Science to you).

My sister, Emily, and brother-in-law, Taylor, announced that Daphne is getting a younger sister this December! I cannot wait to meet you, Evie!

We went to Disneyland.

We visited family in Salt Lake City.

We found the most beautiful Church to tie the knot: the Carmel Mission Basilica! It's going to be amazing. We also found our reception venue: Los Laureles Lodge.

We camped in Yosemite.

We partied in Las Vegas.

We adventured into the Redwoods.

I've had several wonderful conversations with Ali who is studying abroad in Santiago!

Facetime froze at a hilarious moment.

We celebrated the legal recognition of Sarah and Gloria's marriage!

Wow! A lot happened in six months.

And today, I begin my fifth year in graduate school. How time has zoomed right by! I am excited to jump back into coursework, my research, data collection, and a side project I'm working on. By this time next year, I hope to be Mrs. Natalie, ABD--All But Dissertation. Lots of work ahead!

Happy autumn! I "leaf" you with this adorable photograph of Ben.

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