Love to live. Live to love.

Grand tour: Korean apartment edition

2012-02-10T00:57:00.001-05:00

We moved in! Pictures of the new home, everyone's favorite part.

This is our front door as seen from the inside of our apartment. It's kind of tricky and narrow to get the view from the outside. The door with the wooden frame is a sliding door. Just past it is a foyer with a closet for shoes to the left (so much room for shoes, but no room for jackets...). The door you see with the silver handle is the actual locking door to the apartment. They have electronic door locks here, so we use a pass code instead of a key to get in. The door opens to a hallway. It's a three floor walk up, with us on top. Parking is underneath the building (it's kind of on brick stilts), so it's six flights of stairs to get to our place. I won't need to do a legs workout again for a long time!

When you walk through the front door, this bathroom is immediately to your left. I think the toilet seat may be heated, but I haven't attempted translating the Hangul yet.

The bathtub is big and comfy. Everything is covered in tile with a drain in the floor. There is also a faucet about knee high on the wall across from the sink...not sure what that's meant for.

Straight ahead when you come is our living room. The floors are wood laminate throughout except for the tile bathrooms. The walls are white -get this- sparkly. I'm not even kidding. You don't notice it right away...it's not blinding or anything. It's just kind of "not quite right" and hysterical that the walls and even some of the fixtures and cabinets have a definite glitter quality to them.

The first left is the bathroom and the second left is the master bedroom. The bed is platform style "Korean Queen" which is basically the same as an American queen. There are three closet sections: one for Husband, one for me, and the third for randomness.

The master bathroom is connected to the master bedroom. Watch your step entering. It's about a 6 inch step in and out of the bathrooms. I think this is because of the traditional Korean style shower, which only this bathroom has. Look closely and you'll see the shower head in the upper left corner of the picture. It hangs over the sink and when you use it -not that I've tried yet- the whole bathroom is your shower. Good luck!

Exiting the master bedroom, you come back through the living room. The tall white box in the corner is not a refrigerator. It's an air conditioner! All the furniture came with the apartment. I'm so glad we brought our rug.

Charlie's glad we brought our rug, too! It took him a few days to get used to the hard floors. For a while there he was just hopping between rugs. He didn't want to jump on or off any furniture because he was afraid of slipping. Husband bought Charlie this squeaky duck, which totally makes up for the lost toys in Michigan. It is his favorite now!! It reminds me of the old Nintendo game Duck Hunt.

Passing the living room on your left, next comes a wide open space that ~~we don't know what it's for~~ would be great for parties. There's a water cooler to the right of the frig. The frig by the way has a little trap door for easy access to milk and other things you want within arm's reach.

Just before you reach the dining table is a door to the left, which is the office. It came with a desk, chair, and bookshelf.

Keep walking through the kitchen and dining area and there is a third bedroom to the left. We have the TRX hung there and a bunch of boxes inside the room. Straight ahead with the sliding doors is the laundry room. It has a drying rack suspended from the ceiling with a pulley to bring it down when you're ready to hang things on it.

The washer/dryer is an all in one unit. While it takes a few hours to do a load, it works well. I'm still not sure what most of the settings are (will be working on that because I just about shrunk most of my jeans), but we have a translated cheat sheet for some of the options.

Exiting the laundry room, the kitchen is on your left again. It's sweet and simple, but just what we need. I really like the modern design. The dish drainer above the sink is so handy!

The first dinner in a new home is always Sloppy Joe's for us. It's easy, good, and simple.

The gas range was pretty easy to operate, but the oven was a different story. I converted the Celsius to Fahrenheit, but my broccoli was still frozen after twenty minutes. Apparently there is no pilot light, so you have to push in the knob first to get the gas burning. Good thing I didn't fume out the place. We kept the fan on the rest of the night just to be sure.

This is the view from the kitchen and dining room out towards the rest of the house. The foyer area is on the left, followed by the doors to the bathroom and master bedroom.

We have great built-ins in the dining room. The light fixture is strange because it, too, is sparkly, and it also has stars, moons, and hearts on it! I would have adored it in fifth grade.

This may be the best part of the whole place: our new Keurig coffee maker. It is fun, easy, and delicious. Come over and I'll make you a cup:)

It's starting to feel like home around here now. Thanks for coming by for a visit!

Chasing the sun

2012-02-09T22:58:00.002-05:00

My travel to Korea is complete. Last Friday/Saturday I journeyed from Detroit, MI to Seoul, South Korea. Total flight time was 15 hours with a two hour layover in Chicago. It was such an experience! Funny how international travel brought out my hermit-like qualities. Normally I'm quite the extrovert while traveling. I'm not the person who initiates more than small talk with total strangers, but I am the person who listens and engages in conversation for as long as you want to talk!

The trip began at my sister's house early Friday morning. We left for the airport at 4:30 am; plenty of time for the drive and an early breakfast stop at McDonald's (try the oatmeal...it's delicious!). We planned to stop at a bathroom shortly before arriving at the airport, especially because my latte had seriously gone through me by that time. Enter major problem: no bathrooms anywhere and the only place to park is the parking garage. The minutes ticked by as I weighed my options and analyzed if I could really hold it all the way through check-in and security (I rarely see bathrooms before security...why is that?), and I had to go even more. My prediction about having to hop over the laps of fellow passengers had come to fruition early. I had to go NOW. Luckily Twin Sister is a nurse and self-admittedly doesn't get grossed out by much. It was HER advice that I go in her car, in a cup, in the parking garage. Humiliation at its finest! At that point though, I no longer cared. While Twin Sister walked the dog, I filled that dang cup, tossed it into the corner, and never looked back.

The first leg of the trip was easy: Detroit to Chicago. Piece of cake. The tricky part was discovering that once in Chicago, I had to exit the terminal, re-check-in on Korean Air, and go through security for a second time. I am clearly a newbie at international travel.

I also had to convince the Korean Air check-in staff (who later checked my boarding pass at the gate and traveled on my flight...good thing I just acted naive instead of really embarrassing myself by becoming irate or something) that it really was okay for me to be on this flight with my dog and no return ticket. And it was okay -technically- just not their preferred method. I assured them that I had the funds for a return ticket and that I would be returning within the 90 day visitor allowance even though that second part is not at all true.* Hey, at least I didn't sign anything. I believe I also blurted out something about waiting to see when my friend was going to have her baby to decide when to get my ticket...

In case you were wondering, yes, flying Korean Air does feel rather like this (above). It's like a flying resort up there! I don't recall quite that much romance, but I did get free wine!

My seat was not one of these amazing numbers, which fold out completely flat, but maybe next time.

It actually looked a lot more like this. Even in economy class though, it was awesome. I was welcomed by -literally- the world's sweetest, kindest, and skinniest flight attendants. Waiting for me in my seat was a blanket, pillow, slippers, toothbrush, headphones and bottle of water. Each seat also has an individual TV monitor. The only drawback was there was no way Charlie was going to fit under the seat. He is only 10 pounds and his carrier is the size of a backpack. These seats though -even though they let me pay $200 to put my dog under one of them- are definitely not made for more than a pair of shoes (because you're supposed to wear your slippers during the flight) and a small purse to fit underneath. Another good reason to fly first class next time!

Very lucky for me, Korean Air was kind enough to ask ahead of time the person who was supposed to sit next to me if she would be comfortable by a dog. She wasn't, so they changed her seat. That meant the one empty seat on the whole flight was next to me. Charlie had a whole seat to himself! He wasn't actually able to sit on the seat -which he would've LOVED- but he had plenty of room in his carrier on the floor. The man two seats down from me (who I later learned was married to one of the flight attendants after I saw him get his third free alcoholic beverage) and I used the extra seat to stow our freebies and neck pillows.

The food on Korean Air is awesome. Pictured is not my exact meal, but it comes pretty close. Yes, that is real silverware, free wine, and tea for afterwards. I got two meals, a few snacks, and as much juice, tea, and water as I wanted. Also, they leave food for you even if you're sleeping.

The flight attendants on Korean Air are incredible. There are about 50 of them -or so it seems- and they actually WORK, imagine that. They are busy the entire flight. They are wonderfully pleasant. They care about their jobs. Their uniforms are really cute and feminine.

It was a long flight. This leg was 14 hours. It went by more quickly than I expected due mostly to watching two movies and being really sleepy from staying up late the night before. I actually only read a few pages in my book because I kept dozing off. It was scary though traveling so far alone. It was really sad walking away from Twin Sister at the airport. I was anxious about if the dog would start barking or peeing during the flight (both of which did not happen...he was amazing and quiet, a real trooper). I spent the first hour of the flight quietly looking around at everything and wondering about the slippers, the bowing, and if I was following the proper Korean customs to properly receive my tea and snacks. Then I promptly fell asleep. I ate a lot. It was so good! I was hermit-ish, only talking here and there to the man with the flight attendant wife. I watched our 4,000 mile flight path on the monitor: North from Chicago, over Canada, West across Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, skirted the edge of Siberia, Southwest on to Seoul. I didn't realize at first that we'd never see darkness on this flight. We were flying west the whole time, so we were literally chasing the sun.

Seoul Incheon International Airport is where I arrived. It is rated best in the world! It was a breeze to go through immigration, baggage claim, quarantine, and customs. Matt was waiting for me with beautiful yellow orchids. It was the best thing ever to see, hug, and kiss him again! A two hour drive in the dark meant I didn't get to really see Seoul, but I was okay with that at this point. There will be another opportunity for that.

We arrived in Songtan. Matt parked the car on the base and met me outside the pizza place (we thought I couldn't yet get on base, but later we realized I could have). While I was waiting Charlie pooped in a circle around me on the cobblestone, I had no bag to pick it up with, and Matt brought napkins from the nearby McDonald's to clean it up. I just stood there, mortified. Home with Husband and pizza, however, was wonderful. It was delicious and home-y. I know you'd think I'd have Korean food my first night here, but don't judge unless you've made the trek. Pizza was perfect. We have a whole year for Beef Bulgoggi.

More to come soon. Next up: our Korean home.

*Don't worry. I'm really not breaking the law. In an upcoming post I'll tell you all about my fancy new SOFA stamp and how it allows me to stay here for a year.

Here we go

2012-02-02T11:46:00.001-05:00

Everyone is reminding me today that at this time tomorrow I will be on my way to Korea. Thanks for freaking me out this morning, everyone. Just kidding, sort of.

I just keep telling myself I'm getting on a plane just like any other plane trip. I'm just flying home.

Okay, so I've never been to this home before. I've been staying in other people's homes for six weeks. My husband has been in Korea for almost a month, but has only been in our new home for six days. By the way, he's still living out of his suitcase, too. Also, we're hoping for a good WiFi connection in the airport so we can contact each other when I arrive, and -did I mention- he doesn't know how to get to the airport yet because his GPS is stuck in the Hangul language mode?

Whoa, back up. Sorry, I did not mean to complain. I'm reminded of my old boss, Nina, from the CSU Campus Activities Center. She would always say "A thousand things went right today."

She is absolutely right.

The pup is ready for travel. It's a good thing, too, considering three days ago I was calling the ER vet about his allergic reaction to a routine vaccine. I didn't mention that tidbit to the USDA animal export folks though...figured we could just keep that to ourselves. He's been so adaptable through this whole six week trip to Michigan. I think he going to do great just curling up inside his carrier for 15 hours. I kind of wish I could join him there.

All this time with the family has been wonderful.

The best parts have been:

Seeing everyone multiple times in the same trip

Walks in the snow

Relaxing with family doing the everyday things like watching TV, going to Target, and doing the dishes

God time in the quiet snowy woods

Great food with my favorite people

Cooking with and for family

Nice guest beds all cozy and ready for me

Sleeping in any time I want

Traveling with just one suitcase

Quiet coffee in the morning when we're all trying to pray, but we keep talking instead

The next time I write I'll either be in Korea or stuck in some random airport trying to figure out how to say bathroom in Japanese.

When people talk about adventure, they mostly refer to the grand romance of a new and exciting journey. In reality, it's just as much that as trying to hold your pee for five hours because you don't want to cross over your plane seat mates for the 15th time, talking to five people before discovering your suitcase is actually in Guam, taking a birdie bath in an airport bathroom sink, and asking a total stranger if you can borrow their phone to call your ride.

The real grand romance is what you feel once at our destination when you're struck with the bewilderment of what you just accomplished and that you arrived safely despite your obstacles. It is empowerment, strength, and an unexpected eagerness to venture again.

Adventure is the story you get to tell at the end of the day.

***********************************************************************************

Dear God,

You are wonderful, good, and true. You are the one in whom I trust and from whom I receive all strength and grace. I love you and I choose you. Please protect me and all my fellow travelers during our journeys and at our destinations. This is my heart, but let your will come, not mine. I praise you because you are God. You work all things out for the good of those who love you.

Amen.

How NOT to make chocolate pancakes

2012-02-01T10:34:00.001-05:00

Twin Sister and I craved chocolate chip pancakes last night for dinner. We thought it would be a great time to make them ourselves, and that part was exactly true.

Discovering we didn't actually have chocolate chips, but having peanut butter chips instead, we opted for chocolate flavored pancakes with peanut butter chips. We envisioned pancakes that would taste like cookies.

Oddly enough, our first mistake was looking for a recipe. We found one online which is not even worth linking for you because no one else in the whole world needs to make that recipe! They turned out so strange; rubbery, somewhat jello-like, sort of resembling cooked chocolate pudding. They were a disaster.

In hindsight we realized the best method would probably be to make regular pancakes, and add cocoa powder and some extra sugar to offset its bitterness.

The toppings, however, we had just right: more peanut butter, bananas, syrup, shredded coconut, and whipped cream.

More importantly, the company and the memory can't be beat.

Winter wonderful

2012-01-28T13:29:00.001-05:00

I love winter.

I love wonderful white snow, the view across the frozen lake, tossing snowballs to my dog, walking through the quiet woods, waking up to wonderland.

This was the lakefront view at my In-Laws' cottage this morning. Still dark, quiet, just black squirrels chittering in the birdseed outside. The picture doesn't even do it justice. It's serene. It's the best part of winter, and lovely hibernation from the not-so-good parts. I've been hiding out here since Monday and wish I never had to leave.

Tomorrow though I make my way downstate to celebrate with family the new adventure that is my year living in South Korea. At the end of the week the trip officially begins and I become a real international traveler (I'm not sure I can count Canada. Maybe the cruise to Bermuda counts?)!

I'm so excited, eager, hopeful, naive- I'm sure, but mostly feeling quite chill...ready to take things as they come. I hope that feeling sticks as much as the snow has!

Mrs. Loznak

2012-01-20T14:14:00.000-05:00

Web-sourced photo of my old alma mater, Perrin Palmer Elementary.

Speaking of memory lane, I stopped by Kroger for some groceries the other day. While I was inspecting the produce near the store's entry, in walked Mrs. Loznak, my fifth grade teacher.

She was a touch surprised to see me. Maybe the fact that I haven't lived in this town in ten years had something to do with it. We said hello. She was obviously wanting to get her groceries more than make small talk with a student from 17 years ago. Holy cow, does that make me feel old! Maybe "holy cow" makes me old, too. One day my kids will make fun of me for being so 90s.

We moved on to our separate grocery lists. As we went through the store, our paths crossed several times, and I just couldn't help but think of all the ways Mrs. Loznak, back in fifth grade, had so much to do with who I am and what I know now.

I compared price per ounce for different sized bags of pecans.

Thank you for math skills, Mrs. Loznak.

I analyzed sodium content for various brands of black beans.

Thank you for good judgement about nutrition, Mrs. Loznak.

I bought quinoa.

Thank you for encouraging me to try new things, Mrs. Loznak.

To all the teachers, old and new, your work was and is so worth it! Thank you for the humility to plant seeds and gracefully allow someone else the harvest.

Testing

2012-01-19T16:05:00.001-05:00

Testing, testing, will this work? Blogger app and site are lacking with iPad compatibility and ease of use. Will the email method deliver?

Memory lane

2012-01-19T14:30:00.000-05:00

After dropping Husband off at the airport last week -for his maiden voyage to South Korea- I decided to take the scenic way home, the back way on Airport Rd.

The drive to and through my little hometown was a true trip down memory lane. Let the stream-of-consciousness ensue.

There are barns everywhere here. Some are dilapidated, some are shiny new. This is so peaceful here.

Corn fields for miles. I bet that is one with mint. Oh, I miss that summertime aroma with the windows down in the country.

There's the road Husband's aunt and uncle live on. I remember double dates with his cousin.

Here's DeWitt Road. Mom's reminder, "Be careful on the big curve on DeWitt Road!"

I pass tractors and country drivers. Maybe I'm used to city traffic now.

A dairy farm. I forget all about holding my breath. Remember how we could smell it at the high school sometimes on a windy day. When was the last time I saw a dairy farm?

Close to town now and my now Mother-in-laws reminder to newly licensed sons: "Twenty one's coming up!"

Into town, there's the house of the youth group leader. I guess her front porch view is that factory now.

I lived down on Morton street. It was a mile walk to the City Park Pool in the summer. I think we paid 50 cents to get in.

Quik Stop is all boarded up now. We would go there and put in just a couple bucks, always with cash. Remember the chocolate malts with the wooden "spoons".

I remember when that courthouse was built. We all called it the mountain at the end of Clinton Avenue.

The car wash is gone, just an empty lot now. I guess I'll go to the one uptown.

That tire shop used to be a chinese restaurant. I think it was a pizza parlor before that. At least it's not the other way around.

There's the Rite Aid where Marcy worked in the photo department. That was when it was new, twelve years ago now.

The Baptist Church is bigger than ever, still not as big as the city block sized ones in Texas though.

Husband's grandma used to manage The West Side Deli. Amazing how that's still the same after all this time.

I remember getting stuck in the slush in the middle of Old 27 on my way into work at Mancino's. That was a great first job. Husband kids that he dated me for forty percent off grinders and pizza.

Things have changed plenty, yet they're still the same. I think that's the same anywhere.

Funny that Korea, half the world away, "looks just like here".

I think it's true that God gives us just enough change with the seasons and sufficient sameness with the repetition of a year to satisfy our need for novelty and comfort.

The food I eat

2012-01-12T10:25:00.000-05:00

I read a few interesting articles this morning about the "Standard American Diet". One suggested reasons to change our thinking and refer to it as an industrial diet. Another was a proponent for concepts like soaking grains and choosing chemical-free foods. A third, from the Mayo Clinic, offered a more general opinion of good nutrition. There are so many schools of thought. Many of them contradict each other, even while offering very convincing evidence.

So, because everyone else is doing it already, I decided to offer you my version of healthy, too! Thanks in advance for humoring me.

First, know my frame of reference: I'm kind of a hippie, I actually find the science part of nutrition very interesting (except for when I was in college and had to do it...alas), and I'm the weirdo who enjoys grocery shopping.

This is my basic strategy. It helped me lose 15 pounds, which I've kept off for over a year. When I eat this way more often than not, it helps me feel good mentally and physically. It is intrinsically motivating. HOWEVER, I am far from perfect. Just see yesterday's post. Luckily, perfection is not the goal!

The strategy:

1. Eat whole foods.
-This does not require you to shop at Whole Foods, but you can if you want to. I have heard the prices aren't bad if you actually buy whole foods instead of the natural, yet pre-packaged stuff.

-Whole foods are things you can recognize obviously without having to think too hard because you can SEE them: fruits, vegetables, real meats, milk, nuts, herbs, spices...

-Try sticking primarily to the perimeter of the grocery store. The is not my original idea, by the way, but it really works!

2. Read every ingredient label. I rarely look at the nutrition facts. I find them to easily be just as misleading as the Food Pyramid. What am I checking for?
-A short list (within reason appropriate to the nature of the product).

-Real foods, nothing artificial (including dyes, sweeteners, petrochemicals, and other strange things that require a dictionary).

3. Ask if I really like this food and want to eat it.
-It's easy to think natural and organic foods are good choices, and sometimes they are. As I began this journey though, I remember being really excited about organic poptarts. Does anyone really need a poptart? I think my $3.99 could be much better spent.

-I am all for trying new foods. Speaking from experience here, start slowly (My husband has the best advice. What he wanted to say was, "What were you thinking?" I wasn't.) to avoid a trash can full of spoiled Peruvian vegetables next to an empty pizza box at the end of the week.

4. Cook simply.
-I don't make a lot of casseroles. They usually require cheese or a creamy soup to hold them together, two things I like to use more sparingly. I also don't use a lot of recipes. I just make chicken with rice and green beans, and that's really all it is. I play with spices and herbs. Limit your experiments to two or three spices/herbs at a time though! Think about combinations restaurants put together.

-Breakfast is usually fruit with nuts, or fruit, spinach, or salsa with eggs. Sometimes we have ham or bacon with our eggs. Occasionally we have toast, yogurt, or cheese. We save things like pancakes or French toast for the occasional weekend treat. I don't buy much cereal or English muffins because they usually just sit in the cupboard. We drink coffee with cream for Husband, milk for me, and love the taste of raw sugar.

-Lunch is almost always leftovers from last night's dinner. We pack it in single serving containers when we put it away the night before. Easy.

-Husband rarely has time for lunch, let alone a snack. I have a tendency to make cake or pie into a snack. When i'm thinking clearly, I try to make it milk, nuts, or fruit.

-Dinner is meat + vegetable + whole grain. I try to make meat and whole grains each about 1/4 of our plates, and veggies about 1/2. Often it's more like 1/3 of each. There's always a fat, too, in the form of oil, butter, avocado, cheese, or nuts.

-I do all the cooking because of Husband's work schedule. I really like cooking, so cooking from scratch is fun for me instead of a hassle. Still, if you keep meals simple, you can get dinner done in 30 minutes. Simple meals also help to make that time relaxing instead of hectic. I like to drink my wine while I cook instead of while I eat!

5. Eating out; more about how much than what.
-I used to try to order something really healthy when going out to eat, and I usually walked away disappointed. Now I order something moderately healthy, but still tasty, and regulate my portions.

-We eat out about three times a week, twice for dinner and once for lunch. I try to think ahead so I don't end up having a weekend binge. Also, eating out is a great time to try new foods that may be difficult to make at home.

-We love lattes, but now I get them with no whipped cream or sauce on top and half the flavored syrup. We get them about once per week because there's a Starbucks right by church.

What about you? I would love to know what you do about what to eat!

Retain what is good

2012-01-11T14:07:00.003-05:00

Why do I choose things that aren't good for me when I know they make me feel bad? I guess this question is the signal of a true addiction. Why bother fooling myself?

Last night I ate four brownies. This morning I woke up and had another...and then went back to sleep. Two hours later I apparently felt like having dessert after breakfast, and had another. Had is exactly the right word, too; because at that point I didn't even enjoy it. I just consumed it.

Alas, my post is not intended to be about what I did wrong. Quite oppositely, it's about what I do right. In the spirit of blog-stalking, I'm tagging up with Small Notebook again for a keep/drop list. (I really need an iPad tutorial because in addition to not knowing how to insert pictures on here, I also don't know how to make a link. The touchscreen makes half of what you do incredibly easy and the other half more complicated.)

http://smallnotebook.org/2010/04/16/taking-care-of-me/

Keep: Dessert (from real ingredients that are still recognizable)
Drop: Super sweet and processed treats that just end up making me feel bad

Keep: Grace towards myself and others
Drop: Bullying the imperfections

Keep: Playing
Drop: Working out

Backwards upside down

2012-01-09T16:31:00.000-05:00

**If you happened to view this post within the first few hours it was originally posted, it has been revised now. Sometimes passions in my heart become arrogant and unmerciful when they escape into my words. I apologize for not showing grace, and hope that editing myself will show real love that erases my initial crudeness.**

It's back to the blog for me in 2012!

I welcome you back to reading here as well. Happy new days, new opportunities, new joys. I'm glad to be here. My mind has been abuzz the last few weeks with thoughts I'd like to share here with you. I'm also glad to be blogging via my lovely new iPad, thanks to Husband this Christmas. One drawback I just realized, however, is that I don't actually know how to upload a picture -even from the Internet- on here without having memory. I will be working on this. My temporary fix is to upload pictures via my Mom's desktop.

The real thoughts on my mind tonight -and often lately- center on how drastically backwards upside down God's perspective is from our own. That is of course a lie though. We are the ones who have it backwards upside down. I have been learning -sometimes painfully- that God's ways are higher than our ways. I understand so little, and I find myself asking frequently to be humbled, begging to be set straight so I can understand the Truth.

In a sermon tonight, the pastor described the gifts the Magi brought to Jesus. Pagan men, following astrology alone, came to an infant Savior. The gifts they offered represented the magnitude of His mission: King, God, Sacrifice. The pastor suggested gifts we could offer Jesus in this new year; perhaps a few extra minutes with him each day or giving up foul language or dirty jokes.

These offerings are important because Jesus wants to transform us completely. He wants our prayer, worship, and fellowship; yes. He also desires our everyday thoughts, words, and actions; our communication, body language, inner mumblings; the way we spend our time, talents, income; our heart of hearts in all things. Transformation is a work in progress, a work of transforming our everyday ordinary.

Jesus has no need to receive gifts from us. It is us who have the need to give to him.

He wants all of our lives so he can transform us backwards upside down and give us real life in Him.

Oh, the struggle and joy to remain present to the guiding and prompting and intervening of the Holy Spirit.

His ways are not like our ways.

Backwards upside down.

Rich can be poor. Poor can be rich.

Misfortune can be opportunity.

Pain can be joy. Ugly can be beautiful.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-12T15:35:00.000-05:00

On Friday Husband and I attended the squadron Christmas party at a charming restaurant downtown. We had a great time: Good wine, good friends, and a delicious cajun meatloaf. We didn't win the ugly Christmas sweater contest, but we had many compliments on our home made Christmas sweaters (complete with shoulder pads in mine)! They only cost $7, a random assortment of craft items from my school boxes, and a little bit of sewing effort.

And now it's time.

Moving this week. Christmas next week. It all happened so fast, but I know we made the most of our seven months in Arizona. We really enjoyed living here, and perhaps we will again some day.

This is my last blog post of the year. I'm off to celebrate and visit with family and friends before heading to Korea in January. I will be back on the blog in 2012. Until then, I wish you a wonderful Christmastime filled with love, laughter, and life. Enjoy the little moments. The rest will fall into place. I pray the peace, hope, and love of Christ are with you this Christmas and always.

Merry Christmas and God bless you!

The coconut kind

2011-12-05T19:15:00.002-05:00

Lately (we move next week!) the name of the game is Use Up What's In the Cupboard. We've had a few strange meals, and if I were a meaner woman I might see what I can come up with just to see the look on my husband's face. There was even one day last week that I proclaimed we needed take out instead of my latest cupboard scraps concoction.

I've been doing pretty well using things up. For two weeks we had no bread, and now that I decided to use up the flour and yeast, we have two loaves. We're having grilled sandwiches twice for dinner this week, so it's okay.

Other things haven't worked out as well. I thought I'd use up brown sugar and pecans by making a pecan pie, but now I made chocolate chip pie instead. I still used things up, but I have an entirely unopened bag of brown sugar to give away.

One of my things to use up has been a few over ripe bananas in the freezer.

I have always loved my Mom's banana bread. Warm with butter, mmmm. And I've been using her recipe myself for a long time. Sometime during college I experimented by adding chocolate chips, and that became my new favorite. Most people who know me know I love to add chocolate chips to just about anything.

Last spring, before our first move of 2011, I made banana muffins. Apparently, there are always extra bananas before a move. Maybe that will become a family tradition of ours. When I made banana muffins in the spring, I experimented with different varieties: maple almond flax, dark chocolate coconut, and chocolate almond coconut. They all turned out fabulous!

Today I think I have another new favorite, that oh-so-wonderful dark chocolate almond coconut variety! They are perfectly delectable.

Here is the basic recipe with my alterations noted.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. shortening (I use either butter or coconut oil instead.)

1/2 c. sugar (For muffins/bread with coconut I use regular sugar, but otherwise, try maple syrup or honey. Also, 1/4 - 3/8 c. is usually plenty no matter which sweetener you use, and a liquid sweetener doesn't seem to change the consistency of the bread or muffins.)

2 eggs

1 3/4 c. flour (Sometimes I sub in 3/4 c. whole wheat flour and/or replace 1/4 c. of the flour with ground flax seed.)

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. soda

1 c. mashed ripe banana

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional) (I've never cared for walnuts. I use chopped pecans or sliced almonds. Dried cranberries or cherries are also good.)

(I love to add 1/2 c. chocolate chips. Semi-sweet, milk, and dark chocolate all turn out wonderfully. Mini chocolate chips melt into the dough though.)

Directions:

1. Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs and beat well.

2. Mix dry ingredients, add to creamed mixture alternately with banana, blending after each addition.

3. Bake in a greased 9x5x3" loaf pan at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until done. Recipe yields 12 regular-sized muffins; bake for about 15 minutes or until done. Recipe yields 48 mini muffins; bake for about 10 minutes or until done.

Sneak peek

2011-11-29T14:34:00.002-05:00

Our Christmas presents are ready!

I'm so glad. I previously mentioned my goal to get all our presents bought, made, and wrapped before Thanksgiving. Although that didn't quite work out (at a certain point you look at the big picture and realize the hurry required would negate the goal -peace- and so you choose to simply put the work down until time welcomes it again), they are ready now. And it feels so good that they are there in their pile ready to be loaded into the Jeep when the time arrives.

I am especially excited this year for these four beauties: the handmade gifts for the women in my immediate family. Here is a sneak peek for now, and sometime after Christmas I'll show you more.

Merry Christmas!

Confession

2011-11-28T16:48:00.005-05:00

Confession: I consume way too much stuff.

I take, buy, and eat more than I need. I over-consume. We've talked about this, I know. But it has hit me afresh.

Many Americans are over-consumers. Myself included. I think pretty much all of us recognize the problem and its many, many ramifications. Many of us don't want to consume so much stuff, and we try not to, but we fall back into our well-trod path

Is this you? This is me.

Over-consumerism has become ingrained in our cultural identity, like pasta with Italy, safaris with Africa. I don't think it was always this way, but somehow instant gratification and getting so much of what we want became the norm.

Somehow I chose to let it become my norm.

This is definitely not how my parents taught me to spend! They taught me to be frugal. Just buying something on sale is not frugal. Buying what you need and a little of what you want; that is frugal.

I've been paring down the stuff all over our house. This cleaning out of home has been equally a decluttering of mind and heart. The list of what we no longer have is really long.

The list of what I have acquired new, however, is atrocious.

I'm about to show you a very scary picture. The faint of heart should avert their eyes.

All other purchases aside, these are the clothes I bought and those that were given to me this year.

THIS YEAR!

Do I dare tally the tanks, sweaters, and dresses for you? Oh, what the heck.

{8 sweaters, 5 dresses, 3 skirts, 1 scarf, 3 shorts, 3 jeans, 1 pair khaki pants, 1 pair sandals, 2 belts, 5 tanks, 6 undies, 1 pajama pant, 2 nighties, 4 bras, 3 socks, 2 pairs running shorts, 4 running shirts, 1 sports bra, 1 fleece coat, 22 shirts}

78 new things.

The grain of salt you can take with this is that I did need to buy a lot of new clothes. After losing 15 pounds, very few of my old clothes fit. What you see here is around 80% of my closet.

Hopefully -and I really think it's true- a regular year would have me consuming 50-75% less.

Grain of salt taken, this is still so many clothes! For one person. For one year.

And this is what I bought used. One single, solitary pair of jeans for $7. It just makes me wonder what good could have been done with the money saved from not buying so many clothes in the first place or buying more of them used.

In the name of transparency, let's dig deeper. Please Father God let me not be the only ridiculous person who needs this lesson desperately.

Approximate spending:

8 sweaters x $15 each = $120

5 dresses x $30 each = $150

3 skirts x $20 each = $60

1 scarf x $10 each = $10

3 shorts x $15 each = $45

3 jeans at ($30 x 2) + ($7 x 1) = $67

1 pair khaki pants x $20 = $20

1 pair sandals x $35 = $35

2 belts x $13 = $26

5 tanks x $8 = $40

6 undies x $3 = $18

1 pajama pant x $5 = $5

2 nighties x $15 = $30

4 bras x $35 = $140

3 socks x ($5 x 2) + ($0 x 1 gift pair) = $10

2 pairs running shorts x $20 = $40

4 running shirts at ($0 x 3 "free" race shirts) + ($10 x 1) = $10

1 sports bra x $40 = $40

1 fleece coat birthday present x $165 = $165 (I'm still counting this because the cost came from my shared account with Husband.)

23 shirts at average of ($15 x 20) + ($0 x 3 gift shirts) = $300

--------------------------

=$1,331

Have mercy on me, please. Let's say this ridiculous total is the amount to buy one brand new, basically-from-scratch wardrobe for an average woman who obviously has more than her needs met. Truly, aside from old t-shirts and a few pairs of pants left over from college, I had about ten other things that fit. The wardrobe total doesn't seem as crazy when you consider I don't usually replace my wardrobe every single year.

Remember, hopefully a regular year would have me consuming 50-75% less. I know this is true. While I've always had a vice for new clothes, I really, truly don't usually spend or buy this much. And I really needed clothes that I would feel good in, in my new self. For these reasons, I don't feel as guilty.

However, it's still $333-665!

$300-600 for something that we don't actually even have a line item for on our budget. We've just included it somewhere between $50 miscellaneous and ____(apparently the cottage fund)____. We need to fix this.

Let's think more reasonably. What clothes could I reasonably need to replace in a given year? Remember, I'm working from home so I won't need to purchase dress clothes for a long time. I only wear my current ones about once a week.

Projected spending:

1 pair jeans x $30 = $30

2 bras x $30 = $60 (I need good ones, but I can save a bit by buying them on clearance.)

4 shirts (1 per season) x $30 = $120

Socks, underwear, & accessories = $30

-------------------

= $240

That sounds much better to me, -doable- and it's only 18% of what I spent this year.

Why all the transparency? Why the juicy confession?

Because the budget doesn't lie.

Here at the end of the year is where I'm starting to see my poor choices add up. We have a lot of unexpected expenses right now for the move and our vehicles. In other years our budget always had cushion to absorb these extra expenses, but apparently not The Year Brooke Bought A New Wardrobe. Luckily our savings account is stronger than ever, but it just stinks to have to pull from there when we've worked so hard to build it up.

Because being responsible with what I've been given is important to me,

I have plenty of clothes now until they become worn out, and

I want to try a new approach.

I want to buy what I truly need, and only occasionally what I want. I want to replace only those clothes that become worn out.

So I took this pledge.

And this next year will not be characterized by consumerism but by contentment.

I will practice contentment.

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what is is to have plenty. I have learned the secret to being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Philippians 4: 11-13

"Keep your lives free from love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13: 4-6

Twelve in 2012

2011-11-21T18:00:00.003-05:00

{Troubles in Blogland: On several occasions now I have written posts that proceed to spontaneously delete themselves. The frustration makes me want to plain quit sometimes. Alas, I continue and try again. Those posts do always seem to be the most wordy, can-she-spit-it-out-sometime-today writings. Here I go again with what I hope to be a more succinct, pleasant read, even though it may not have the same sassiness and passion of the original post.}

My last post has me thinking about priorities.

Did you ever read that email forward about priorities; the one that describes to put the rocks (most important) in the jar first, followed by the pebbles (those things of moderate importance), and last the sand (least important)? It says if you put the sand in first, there will be no room for pebbles and definitely not rocks. However, if you put rocks in first, there will be room between them for pebbles, and plenty of room yet for sand.

The next year is going to be a big one. The Year I Lived In Korea.

I want it to be good, to be great really. I believe it will help to prepare some goals, just to make sure all the big rocks fit. I've made my Thirty Before 30 list, and it's going pretty well. This will be a tangible way of fitting some of those things and a few others into 2012.

Twelve in 2012:

{First, I need to frame my 365 1/4 days so they don't slip away from me without meaning.}

1. Read Scripture first. I always feel better when I do this. When I do other things first, my day just becomes a mess. I need this to be healthy and centered.

2. Write right away. I love to write here, in my journal, and on my up and coming children's education website. Why do I always put this on the metaphorical back burner? Or sometimes off the stove entirely! I write best in the morning, and I want this to be my second priority in the day. It is after all the very work I feel inspired to do in this season.

3. Use afternoons for to-do's, to-make's, dog to-walk's, body to-exercise. I am most productive in the afternoon with a lot of quick tasks to check off. I don't do this well in the morning because, after all, I have the whole day to get them done.

4. Use evenings for relationships: to spend time with Husband, make new friends, and enrich relationships with family and friends through phone calls and Skype.

{Next, I want to make sure my year in Korea is characterized by the adventure it should be.}

5. Explore Korea. Don't sit at home watching TV (not that we'll have one...a TV doesn't quite work with our allotted 600 pounds of household goods) when I could be out experiencing this new culture!

6. Embrace travel. Travel Korea and to other countries, too, like Japan, Thailand, and New Zealand. I might never get another chance to be in this part of the world. I want to embrace the opportunity.

7. Eat. I don't want to be a glutton. I just want to enjoy the food and the eating without worrying about food journals or calorie calculations. I have kept this weight off for over a year. It's time to tune in to my stomach full time and enjoy eating the way it was designed to be enjoyed.

{I hope for a year of heart and head transformation.}

This is a 30 mm bullet (actual shell, replica -uh- whatever the top part is called...). Matt has hundreds of these at his disposal in the gun of the A-10!

8. Support my husband. Sometimes I forget he will have the task of defending South Koreans and their way of life. I am so proud of him for offering his skills on their behalf. However, I'm sure our whole worldview is about to change drastically. Also, I'm so glad we're bringing the little dog because Husband is going to be really busy at work. Thank goodness there will be other wives there who can become my insta-friends!

9. Volunteer in a Korean orphanage. I don't know exactly what this will look like, but I am so convinced I should go there.

10. Love God. I want to learn to love God just because he's God, not because of what he will do for me or because I want to go to heaven.

11. Trust God. I want to learn to trust God with the next ten minutes. Even with this list, I long to recognize that I plan my course, but God determines my steps. I don't want to get wrapped up in doing all these things this year or next year or in my life. I just want to trust God with what he's offering me for these next ten minutes.

12. Prepare for the next chapter God has in store for us: The Year I ________.

Thinking about Christmas

2011-11-15T10:56:00.005-05:00

I have been thinking a lot about Christmas lately.

Husband thinks I'm a bit crazy. Perhaps he is right. It wouldn't be the first time!

He's not thinking about Christmas yet (isn't Thanksgiving first, he says) because he has so much on his brain right now. He's 3 flights away from being mission qualified in the A-10! In fact he's flying one of the flights right now!!

Husband tries to comfort my "crazy" by reminding me that we get the best part of Christmas: all the enjoyment with none of the fuss. He's right, really. We won't be decorating, planning, or baking because we'll be moving.

He also knows his words are to comfort rather than inform because he knows how much I really enjoy decorating, planning, and baking. It's okay. I'm not sad because, like he said, we still get to enjoy and celebrate Christmas. In fact, I'm delighted that we get to do so together, because at first we thought he might already be in Korea by Christmas.

My thinking about Christmas in the middle of this move is mostly about traditions. What I realize more and more with each year that we are married (and in the military) is that we need traditions for our individual family, especially for when we have kids of our own, AND the only way they will work is if they are highly flexible. We both have family Christmas traditions from our childhoods, and I know we want to adopt some of them into our own family. The big thing, though, is that we can't make them place-specific. Because of our high family mobility rate, our traditions will only be as good as their ability to travel with us.

The other big thing is that I want our Christmas to look much more like this:

than this:

I am just not into hoopla, glitter, and commercialism. I don't do Black Friday. It's just not for me. I don't like the clutter of objects or commitments. I don't even care for tinsel. I love snow on pine cones, laughter with friends and family, and quiet thought nestled next to the Christmas tree. I just want meaningful, simple, pure Christmas.

After all, Christmas is about Love the Person, and learning to let that Love characterize our lives. In a non-stressful way, by the way. Loving is not about how much we do, but with what kind of heart we live. And I love that because it is simple. I can do simple.

I haven't had a chance to talk to Husband yet, but I think I've come up with some traditions we'll both appreciate. Not so much that we'll stress out about getting them "done"; not so little that we'll feel like we're chocking up the holiday season altogether because of our military mobility situation; enough that we'll have that familiar spirit of the Christmas season to look forward to each year as our family moves and grows.

What do you think of this plan?

Pre-Thanksgiving:

1. Practice thankfulness while choosing, making, and wrapping presents. (Ah, two things in one: Thanksgiving thankfulness and Christmas gifting! I want to give gifts, but I don't want to be overwhelmed with them in the quick weeks right before Christmas.)

Advent:

1. Advent calendar with daily devotions, fun activities, and ways to be love-in-action for others. (I won't have this ready for this year, but I'd like to make one that we can reuse year after year. I've seen some great ideas from friends, such as using a muffin tin with numbered covers over the openings. I'd love to hear your ideas or tips for this!)

2. Advent wreath at dinner. (On account of the move and just now planning it, I won't start this until next year either. I know how I want to make it though, and it looks something like this one, just scroll down to see it. I think it'd be great to light the wreath candles at dinner, and do the Advent calendar at this time. We could have until the next evening's dinner to meditate on the devotion, do the activity, and/or implement the love-in-action, such as doing something kind for a stranger. We could discuss what we did that day while eating dinner. I love this!)

3. Decorate the house Thanksgiving weekend with candlelight and while playing Christmas music. Sometimes we have a fake fireplace going on our TV via the internet. (I love how this sets the mood for the whole season. I prefer a tree, the nativity, and a wreath on the door in addition to a few other decorations. During seasons like this one though, when we're moving out December 16, I think I'll just stick the wreath on the door for a couple weeks, enjoy it whenever I open the door, and box it up quickly and easily while we're packing!)

Christmas:

1. Homemade pizza, drive around looking at Christmas lights, and open gifts on Christmas Eve wherever we are with whomever we are with. :) (This is a big tradition for Husband and I am so glad to have adopted it. For the gifts, we're do one "big" -relative term, yes- gift or three small ones for each of us as well as for those hypothetical future children. We still give to our immediate families for now, and while I hope to follow a similar principle it varies with the year.)

2. Read the story of Jesus' birth. (I have never actually done this at home with either family at Christmas, but it is something I would love to start. The other Christmas stories like The Night Before Christmas would be welcome and fun as well, I just want the one about Jesus to come first.)

3. Enjoy church as a family, then relax the rest of Christmas Day with coffee, playing with presents, fun games, puzzles, movies, playing in the snow, etc. and a good meal.

I am smiling as I write because I am so excited to have these simple, lovely traditions! Best to proof them with the Husband before I get too eager though:)

I'm sure other things will come along: Christmas cookies, cards, events with family and friends. Surely all these things will come and go, and some will find their way into our traditions as well. I'm not planning on stressing about these and only these traditions for the rest of time. I'm just excited that, even with the changes in home and location each year, we will have identified our priorities and can treat them as such.

The Small Notebook has some excellent posts about Christmas. Enjoy them via these links:

Thinking Ahead for the Holiday Season

The "Use What We Have" Christmas

Beyond the Tension: Having Christmas with Joy!

Christmas at Home (Wait...Whose Home?)

Making Christmas Traditions You Like

Come As You Are: Christmas Without the Frenzy

When Christmas Isn't How You Wanted

Christmas Eve - Accepting the Imperfection

Enjoy!

I'm following their stories

2011-11-10T00:41:00.004-05:00

I see her post and I remember.

She is in Ecuador; she and the other bloggers at the Compassion child development center this week. They bring Hope to the families. (Click on the sidebar to join me in following their stories.)

They are close to my Diego, his home a long two day drive to the south.

I don't even know words for this, and I wonder how they'll ever be coherent enough for "Publish Post".

My heart gets so wrapped, tangled, intertwined in these stories of families. I read about families who I don't even know, but I see that they struggle and hope, struggle and hope, hold onto hope.

And then I get a letter in the mail from Diego, and he's colored me a truck again with a sun. And did you know that all the way over there in Peru the children still draw suns with smiley faces on them?

And this little boy doesn't ask for a soccer ball, his favorite, or money for a better home. He wants to know what I like to eat. I tell him lasagna and steak. And he asks me to pray for his parents, that they will come to know Jesus.

Jesus. Hope. Cling to the Hope with the capital H. The only Hope that stands firm when circumstances steal your footing.

And my heart warms that this five-year-old boy, across to another continent, knows the Hope that holds him.

Healing hope

2011-11-04T15:38:00.006-04:00

I dedicate this post to my hardworking, always persevering, constantly hoping, most tender-to-me Husband.

They thanked us from the beginning, and their thanks came with a warning, too.

A warning that there would be many of these conversations.

"How does this work, again?"

"Well, you remember, just like this."

"Okay, now about that other thing. What does that stand for again?"

"How are we supposed to make that work?"

"I don't know. That's how it is every time."

"I just wish I could see you more. And I wish you could be less stressed, too."

"I know Babe, me too. But it will get better."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

A warning that it would not be easy.

A warning that we would sacrifice much.

An instruction that when they cling together...

...so will our need be, too.

And we cling to it, Love. The thanks is for it. The warning is hold fast to it. It alone will see you through.

And so we let go of the disappointments, no life clinging to that rock. We take captive the ugly thoughts, conquer the stress, and wipe away the tears, again.

We choose Hope. We hold fast to His promises. There, in the Hope, is where we find Life in the battle.

When you are trusted with much...

...much will be asked of you.

Accept it with a smile, and choose Hope. Choose fullness of life. Only in giving life, giving an offering of self, is life itself resurrected.

Altar linens

2011-11-03T09:00:00.001-04:00

Our Church uses special linens for the altar when we consecrate the gift of bread and wine to God, to remember the sacrifice of body and blood from God.

Like any other linens, they must be washed. At our new church I decided to volunteer to help meet this need.

It was a bit confusing at first. The linens came with instructions for washing, drying, ironing, and folding. The instructions even included using starch, which was a whole new world for me. Husband's experience pressing uniforms in the military was very helpful in this area!

Once I got the hang of it though, and discovered I was not in fact going to scorch the perfectly white linens, it was a beautiful thing.

It took watchful, careful hands to wield the hot iron and simple linen cloths gracefully, albeit not perfectly.

I thought about Jesus as I worked. I thought about his enormous sacrifice. I thought about the Joy set before Him. I thought about the gift of life He offers each day. Life through following The Way.

I thought about how this life requires watchful, careful hands to wield it gracefully.

Ugly chair make-over

2011-11-02T09:00:00.001-04:00

I can't seem to find the pictures of this chair originally, back when we bought it from a local thrift store this spring. That is not necessarily a bad thing! It was pretty ugly back then.

First we replaced the ugly periwinkle and stained chair pad with a crisp, sleek black one. This was a great first step, but it was clear it needed to be refinished, too.

Refinishing was difficult. We realized when we found the chair that the chair and ottoman were slightly different colors. It turns out one is Beech and one is Birch. What you might not know until you've spent a few afternoons on the hot patio with the stain out is that Beech and Birch take stain very differently! I ended up having to sand off and redo much of the stain in order to get the colors close.

You can hardly tell unless you look really closely. And at the end of the day, close enough was good enough for me!

Inside the box

2011-11-01T20:35:00.001-04:00

I'm kind of a nut for home organization.

Or school organization within the home, as the case may be.

Yup, a nut to every last inch of the closet.

(All of this takes up half of our guest room closet, which is improvement from when we moved in and it occupied 90% of the space! It's weeded out, consolidated, and packed more efficiently now.)

I don't just make it neat and clean. I make it strategic!

This summer I overhauled my classroom supplies. I sorted out the old, useless, and unwanted. Then I categorized puzzles, word games, decorations, posters, even music by which month of the school year I would use them in.

I find it much easier to organize school supplies by when you will use them (we study insects in May so the bug puzzle goes in the May container) than what they will be used for (the dinosaur, world map, and bug puzzles all together in one container).

I also made lists of the contents of the boxes, so if you wanted to pull out such-and-such from the October box in February, you would know where to find it and where to put it back to.

(I plan to print these lists, but currently they are on the computer. This is nice, because when I'm planning activities for my "blogsite" I can look at the list of supplies to help with ideas.)

Originally I put everything in paper bags because that was what I had at the time. Especially with our impending move though, I knew I wanted them in something stackable, transportable, and transparent. Fifty bucks in plastic tubs later, my stuff is ready for then.

Then being the time and place God wants me to teach again. I believe there is one. Despite a temporary and fleeting thought to ship all of my stuff to Africa instead of store it, I've decided to keep it.

One day I will teach again.

One day I will teach my future hypothetical children as Husband and I lovingly refer to them:)

One day I may teach in a classroom again.

One day I may travel to schools to bring programs to them.

One day I may choose to host a preschool in my home.

One day I may teach or care or love little children with this half closet full of supplies in some way that I have yet to imagine, fathom, or understand.

One day I will know, and it, too, will be very good.

Birthday banner

2011-10-04T15:59:00.002-04:00

I love to make things, especially to things give away, but I don't want to make junk and I don't want to give people junk.

As a member of a very crafty family, I have made lots of stuff over the years: picture frames, jewelry, pictures, clothes, blankets, etc. The list gets even bigger for the rest of my family: birdhouses, crosses, halloween costumes, bunny rabbit dolls, paintings of all varieties with many mediums on all kinds of surfaces, murals, prints, clothing, quilts, furniture, rugs, and more.

Some of the stuff I have made has been great, but a lot of it has been junk. I mean, sure, it was a great thought at the time, it's special that it was homemade, and I'm sure it was appreciated on some level. But most of the time I really didn't consider the item's longevity, functionality/usefulness, or whether its recipient would like it as much as I did.

If those gifts ended up in a Goodwill box, I am not disappointed or all too surprised. I am all about reducing the clutter.

That is exactly why I am trying to give more thoughtful, useful gifts.

Not everything has to serve some grand purpose. It's okay to have a few things that are purely decorative, like a bedskirt or my favorite silver leaf knick-knack from the CSU bookstore. I don't like to dust though, so -for me- I would rather have useful things that are also decorative. Multi-purpose is also awesome.

As such, I made this banner for my sister's birthday. I made a similar one with different fabrics for my Mom's birthday in April. Sorry, Mom, that yours was the test model and has a few stitching defects. I learned a lot about banner-making from that project!

I also "made" her these towels. I actually bought the towels from Target, then I appliqued the circles. I love it because they match the style of decor in her home perfectly.

The use for the towels is obvious. For the banner though, I have high hopes that it will be something to use for years to come for all kinds of family celebrations, be them birthdays, holidays, or work promotion parties!

I've tried to make them match the tastes of the recipient so that they will be a joy to look at, really make your heart happy, a reflection of the receiver, something you'll want to keep on display not just the day of the party, but perhaps a week or so just to keep the celebration going.

This picture of the banner totally made me laugh because it kind of looks like a bunch of thong underwear hanging on the line!

Happy birthday, Lisa! Yes, Marcy, yours is soon to come:)

The dog

2011-10-04T15:38:00.004-04:00

He goes by many names: Chuck, Charles, Pooper, Little Dog, Shadow, Dog, No, Fluffy Ears, Curly, Pup, Little One, and most recently Micro (because of his new microchip, but the name was just so fitting for this little guy).

That paw out in front and the way he paws the air with hopeful anticipation is Charlie's way of saying, "Play with me!"

So play we do...with the reindeer costume. What was once a funny costume is now a jingling tug-of-war toy.

I'm surprised only the velcro has fallen off so far.

The most durable sqeaker ball Ever, and Charlie's favorite. Yes, the green ball with the polka dots is still a close second.

I bet you can't catch me...

Pooped from play, he claims the couch, unless we move somewhere else. Then he'll snuggle up right next to us wherever that may be. Loyal to a fault.

And a friend for all times. When a birthday package arrived a few weeks ago, and it was just Charlie and I at home, he immediately helped me unwrap it. At first, I almost scolded him for digging in, but then I realized he was just remembering the fun of Christmasses past.

Little Dog will be tagging along on our journey to South Korea this winter. Perhaps we will even rename him Big Expense. We truly considered a new home for Charlie, but the truth is we would really miss this little ball of energy and love. Sure, we'll have to board him during some of our travels, and we do have to pay $125 each way to fly him across the ocean. But when Husband is working late or I am feeling homesick, I know Charlie will come on over with his head down low and his tail wagging high, ready to bring up my spirits.

Enough, more of the good kind

2011-09-19T16:12:00.009-04:00

Enough.

Enough already.

I have enough.

Stop hounding me with more, with better, with newer, with nicer.

I have enough.

I am enough.

God is enough.

"Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God." {Proverbs 30: 7-9}

"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: 'He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.'" {2 Corinthians 9: 6-9}

He's scattered them in my bank account. He's scattered them in my home. He's scattered them in my heart. Pour me out, Oh Lord.

"Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: 'He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.'" {2 Corinthians 8: 13-15}

Pour their hope into my heart.

God is enough for this. Hope and faith are knowing and trusting that we can have just enough now -not hoarding, storing, stowing away- and still have just enough later.

More to read, if you dare, from some of my new favorite blogs:

So That Others May Simply Live

Conviction, Not Guilt

What Do Kids Really Need

The Opulent Ability to Give

Meeting the Neighbors Next Door

The Other Side of the Fence

The Fishermen's Field

Who Really Loves That Way?

Scaffolding

2011-09-15T18:03:00.006-04:00

Something new is starting.

Well, just as soon as I take the necessary time to extract the ideas from my mind and translate them into something that can be seen on your screen, then it will surely be starting.

I've had ideas stewing for a while, and although I've been saying them out loud for a time now, I feel like my speaking them has remained part of the process. Only now do I feel secure about what the product will be. I say this because I have a new kind of peace that it is altogether something I can and want to do in terms of both the type and amount of time required.

I am excited!

I have been working -slowly but steadily- on putting together a play-based early childhood education curriculum. It's basically just lesson plans. As a teacher I never had enough time in one grade level to create the type of lesson plans that I wanted; ones I can take always with me as a framework, adding, subtracting and changing it as needed and desired, but a good, solid framework nonetheless. Lessons that are in-tuned with the real needs of children, relevant to their experiences and the world around them; lessons that work together in a meaningful flow from lesser to greater complexity yet are intertwined in just the right way; yes, this is it!

Scaffolding lessons. In child development theory, scaffolding refers to the just-right balance between too little and too much help in a child's learning. It is the zone in the middle -the Zone of Proximal Development- in which children learn the most.

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This morning I noticed that this Zone is where God places each one of us, so that we too may learn the most. He doesn't sacrifice our safety unless it is necessary, but sometimes pain is the catalyst for learning.

Psalm 18 describes the way God supports us perfectly.

"He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me." Psalm 18: 16-19
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My original intent with the lessons was to create a curriculum that I could use, but that might also become a published book. I believe this is attainable and would be awesome, but I ran into two problems: 1) I'm really not motivated at this point in my life to begin and carry out this enormous project, and 2) I realized the perfect "curriculum" would basically be the one School for Little People (at which I taught pre-k for 2 1/2 years) created for their staff (along with a few additions and some editing it would make a fantastic book, but if and when that happens would have to be in conjunction with the school and its teachers). My other similar idea was to make a website out of the contents of the book, but I basically ran into the same two problems as stated above.

Listening to God's scaffolding for how I could offer my passion for play-based early childhood education here, now, and within this military lifestyle in a way that would be neither too little or too much, I finally found the way.

Bubble wrap. Yup, you heard me.

Thank you, Lisa, for the awesome birthday present and enormous amount of bubble wrap that came with it. I will be donating it to a friend; the bubble wrap, not the present!

It goes like this: I love play and I love showing little people how to play (okay, they don't need much showing, but they do need some direction!), especially with the everyday type stuff around them. It is fascinating to me! Also, I have had a number of friends who are parents ask me for suggestions about what to do with their kids that will be simultaneously educational, playful, and age-appropriate.

Bubble wrap!

In the coming weeks I will be creating a website, which you will also be able to access from this blog. On it I will be using my teacher training and experience to offer ideas for parents (or teachers or babysitters or whoever is interested) for what on earth to do with their kids all day (you know, besides wiping noses and behinds and cleaning up the path of litter that follows them). The website will include play-based lessons and activity ideas. I can hardly wait!

So, what about bubble wrap?

If you don't have any at home, you can look for it at recycling centers or possibly ask for a donation of used bubble wrap from department stores. Otherwise, it can be purchased by the roll at Target, Wal-Mart and the like.

The best and most obvious choice is to pop it! Instruct your child to keep the bubble wrap away from faces and especially mouths, as well as anything hot of course, or something that could become clogged like the toilet or sink. Then again, in that case you might choose not to plant the idea in their heads!

Let your child hold a piece of bubble wrap about 1'x1' and pop it as they please. Talk about how it sounds, feels, and looks before and after it is popped. Allow them to pop it with fingers, elbows, feet, toes, and knees. If you like, turn on music and allow them to pop to the beat as they parade around the living room.

Bubble wrap is also a wonderful way to do print-making. Print-making is when you take an image from one surface, apply an ink or paint medium to it, and transfer (print) the image onto another surface. A sheet of popped or unpopped bubble wrap is your print. You will also need paper and paint.

In a prepared space (i.e. the table or patio floor covered with newspaper, your child covered with a paint smock, and all pets secured in a separate room) allow your child to apply tempera paint to the textured side of the bubble wrap. They may use their hands or a brush, and cover as little or as much of the bubble wrap as they choose. You may explain that painting more of the bubble wrap will make a bigger picture at the end. Feel free to experiment with multiple colors as well.

When the wrap is painted, lay the paper on top of it, and model how to press the paper onto the bubble wrap. Slide your hand over the paper to make sure all parts of the wrap have come into contact with the paper. Help your child slowly and carefully peel off the paper. Wha-la, a bubble print!

I was inspired by this idea today, realizing it would be just the type of thing I will be posting to the upcoming website. Enjoy and, as always, I'd love to know your thoughts.

Life long learner

2011-09-13T14:30:00.002-04:00

I have never been one for primping. I'm generally a wash-n-wear, make-up-free, no-ironing-please kind of girl. I like getting ready to be quick and hassle-free. I do own a straightener, hair dryer, curling iron, and three or four pieces of make-up (use them each about four times a year). Whenever I use them though, it doesn't take long before the curl falls or I get tired of being careful not to get make-up on anything.

I don't like to fidget, and these things make me fidget.

I do, however, like to look decent (particularly my hair because it's probably my best feature), and it occurred to me recently that a five-minutes-or-less, not-going-to-fry-my-hair routine is something I could do and would maybe even like.

In addition to all that, I also realized the desert has been destroying my hair. My split ends are actually fringe and my hair looks like it belongs on a horse!

The problem is, I don't really know anything about doing hair. Everything I learned about person grooming came from sitting on the end of my Mom and Dad's bed watching Mom get ready in the mirror. This is also how I memorized a flower for every letter of the alphabet. Seriously!*

Introducing the mayonnaise treatment.

This looks like something I would have done at age 13, having read about it in some magazine with JTT on the cover. While I have heard of applying mayonnaise to your head, I'd never actually tried it until Sunday.

According to the recipe I used, just mix mayonnaise with a bit of vanilla extract (to tone down the disgusting mayonnaise smell), and apply all over to hair. Check. Then wrap in plastic wrap for about an hour. Check.

It was disgusting, but it worked!! After a thorough wash and condition my hair felt and looked fantastic!

Mayonnaise treatment was step one. I also stopped by Target for split-end repair treatment, leave-in conditioner, and a brush. Yes, I haven't had a brush since 2003. I think I forgot what they were for, but thanks to Aveda (click the "How to make coarse hair smooth and straight" video), now I know!

The procedure does require three arms, but you can attain a moderate degree of success using just two. I was actually pretty shocked that I pulled this off, even with a $5 brush instead of the $20 one advertised in the video. Three days away from turning 28, and I finally learned how to do my hair!

I'm pretty sure this is more than you cared to know. For some reason I couldn't help but share.

*P.S. Anemone, Bluebell, Calla Lily, Dogwood, Exacum, Forget Me Not, Geranium, Holly Hock, Iris, Johnquil, Kalanchoe, Lily of the Valley, Morning Glory, Nasturnum, Orchid, Pansy, Quince, Rose, Sunflower, Tulip, Uvalaria, Violet, Wysteria, Xeranthamum, Yarrow, Zinnia. I have no idea if half of those spellings are correct.

They do exist!

2011-09-06T20:15:00.003-04:00

I absolutely love fall, mostly for its warm colors and cool, crisp air. Living in warm climates for the past six autumn seasons has been disappointing because my two favorite things about fall have been largely absent...at least until after Thanksgiving, by which time I'm ready for winter!

Even though I haven't been able to see fall outside, I always decorate for it inside, starting with the front door.

I created this door decoration from pieces at Hobby Lobby several years ago. While I've admired its color and texture, I also thought "fall-colored" berries looked kind of made up. I had never seen anything like that actually occur in nature (naturally occuring, by the way, is my favorite kind of decoration).

To my delight, and I admit bewilderment, I discovered today that "fall-colored" berries actually do occur in nature! And in Arizona of all places.

I found these on a bush while out walking Charlie. Aren't they great? I think I will start a collection inside a glass bowl or vase.

On another note, even though it feels and looks (almost) nothing like fall around here, I have the windows open. Yes, it's 91 degrees (a 20 degree cool down for us). Yes, I have perfectly good air conditioning. However, I am also really in need of some fresh air!

I have been working on refinishing that Ikea Poang chair we bought at a thrift store a few months back. Due to threat of rain I again brought it in off the back patio into the dining room today. I had just put a coat of varnish on the bottom sections and needed a safe place for them to try. The stifling stench of the varnish filled the main area of our apartment. I turned on all the fans.

Still smelling after a trip to Target and the Post Office, I returned the chair to the safest side of the patio, hoped for the best, and opened up the windows! Yes, I opened up the windows!! For probably the first time since we moved in and checked that they worked properly. Even though the A/C will have to run a bit more while the fresh air pours in, it will be worth it. The scent of rain in the distance and the cooling respite of clouds makes the windows open even more lovely.

And, yes, that is a wooden spoon propping the window open...reminds me of my childhood:)

Oh, and this is me apparently feeling cute yesterday and taking a self-portrait after getting all cleaned up from running the Saguaro 8-Miler. It was a great day and an even better run!

Who first

2011-08-21T17:20:00.003-04:00

Before you can know the what, when, and why answers to this life, you must first know who.

Who are you? Who are you in God's eyes? Who has he made you to be? Who are you - by what name?

It's hard to know. We try to ask and think it's our own head creating the answers we want to hear. It's confusing.

Start here: Ask yourself, and tell God, what you love.

And in this you will find who he has made.

Thanks in the dining room

2011-08-19T08:34:00.000-04:00

Thank you for the way the sun shines through this window,

for the color of woodgrain, shades of brown, and the delicate yellow textiles.

Thank you for the pretty pink, bright and humming, which makes my dining room a peaceful refuge.

Scrambled eggs with fire-roasted salsa, banana with cinnamon.

Thank you for food so tasty it nourishes the soul, too.

Steak with red-wine marinade "reduction" gravy, baked green beans and baby red potatoes.

Thank you for dinners together here, wholesome and delicious.

Desert run and burrito bowls

2011-08-10T19:29:00.008-04:00

We went for a drive in Saguaro National Park this weekend. The only way through the park is an 8-mile loop-shaped road with lots of hills.

How hilly? Well, hilly like this.

On Labor Day, we will be running this road for fun at 6:30 in the morning. Well, us and 1198 other crazy people.

Why are we doing this, you ask. Won't it be about 100 degrees, you ask.

I don't know why, really. Just like I'm not really sure why I signed us up for that half marathon in October. I guess it's just because we've never done it before.

Sometimes I drive around town and think: I have never been in this place right here before. I like that feeling of a new place, a new sight, a new experience.

Oh, and then there's the view. This picture isn't even the half of it. Yesterday I was there doing my first practice run (quite the steep learning curve to go along with the steep terrain), and the view was just spectacular. It was cloudy overcast all over for the first hour or so. I wish I had a camera! The ridges and valleys are covered in green cactus and shrubs. This one valley with a stream running through it looked like Jurassic Park with cactus! It was gorgeous, and made me smile big four miles into the desert.

On another note, I made a delicious dinner recently. I copied it from Chipotle:

Burrito Bowls

First make this taco seasoning.

Next, put 1-2 pounds beef (I think I used round steak, it was on sale.) in crock pot on low, cover it with taco seasoning, and simmer all day, stirring occasionally.

Heat some black beans and cook some rice. Gather cheese, salsa, sour cream, avocado, and chopped lettuce.

Make your bowl in this order: rice, beans, beef, salsa, cheese, avocado, sour cream, lettuce.

By the way, if you're watching your weight, the serving pictured above comes in at about 500 calories. Just be sure to use about 1/2 cup each rice and beans, 3 ounces beef, 1/4 cup cheese, 1/4 avocado, and 2 Tbsp. low-fat sour cream.

This was so good that I ate my leftovers for breakfast!

Enjoy!

Peachy

2011-08-05T15:19:00.000-04:00

Today I open a gift from the freezer. I defrost it for 3 minutes. It is a personal-size peach pie just for me. Because I worked hard this week, darn it!

While baking this confection took an afternoon, I am delighted I acted on the idea to make individual pies in a muffin tin and FREEZE them. They are perfect! We don't have too much pie, or too little.

The crust, peach pie filling, and whipped cream recipes below are all from my fave cookbook, Food to Live By.

Sweet Pie Crust
(Makes enough for 2 single-crust pies or 1 double-crust pie, 8 to 9 inches in diameter; also enough for 12 thick-crust muffin-sized pies AND 2 8-ounce ramekin pies)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus flour for rolling out the dough
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup ice water, or more as needed

Directions:
1. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor and pulse to blend. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal. **I just used a pastry blender.

2. With the machine running, add the ice water and process to combine, about 5 seconds. Do not allow the dough to form a solid mass or it will be tough. Test the dough by pinching a small amount between your fingers. If the dough sticks together, it is ready. If not, add an additional tablespoon of ice water, process briefly, and test again. **I used a combination of pastry blender, spoon, fork, and fingers.

3. Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface and divide it in half. Form the dough into two flat disks, patting it just enough to hold it together. Wrap the disks tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days. The wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Let the frozen dough thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling out. **I didn't have the patience for all this. I wanted peach pie by 5:00! I formed the dough into two balls, kept them in the bowl, and put the bowl in the freezer until I was done making the filling!

4. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap it (for a single-crust pie you'll need one disk of dough; for a double-crust pie you'll need both disks). If it was refrigerated for more than 1 hour, let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to soften slightly. Lightly dust a work surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll the dough into a round about 1/8-inch thick and 2 inches larger than the pie plate. **I made my dough about 1/4-inch thick (I love thick, chewy dough!), and cut it to size with a cocktail glass dipped in flour.

5. Fold the dough in half or drape it over the rolling pin and transfer it to the pie plate. Press the dough firmly into the pie plate and brush off any excess flour with a pastry brush. If there are holes or cracks, patch them with small bits of the overhanging dough or press the dough back together. **I did lots of patching with my muffin-tin method, but they turned out delicious!

6. For a single crust pie, trim the dough with a pair of kitchen scissors, leaving a 3/4-inch overhang. Fold the edge under to form a double layer and crimp or flute it. For a double-crust pie, fit the dough for the bottom crust into the pie plate and trim the dough even with the rim. Roll out the second disk of dough. Place the filling in the bottom crust and place the dough for the second crust on top. Trim the top crust with scissors, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold the top crust under the edge of the bottom crust, and crimp or flute it to seal. Cut 3 slits in the center of the top crust with a sharp knife to allow steam to vent as the pie bakes. **I made a single crust pie, but made a crumbly-sweet topping from an apple crisp recipe.

Whoo!! That's a lot! This is going to be a LONG post! See ** for short-cuts!

Fresh Peach Pie

Ingredients:
1 egg white
About 12 medium-size (2 1/2 pounds) yellow-fleshed peaches, preferably freestone, or nectarines **Freestone would have been SO much easier. I think mine were the Cling variety.
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp pure almond extract
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg **Fresh? Right, right from the jar.
1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

Directions:
1. Brush the bottom and side of the crust with the egg white and refrigerate it, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours. **I skipped this entire step. I didn't really see the point. If you know the reason, please fill me in.

2. Cut the peaches in half through the stem end. Peel the peaches, remove the pits, and slice each half into 4 or 5 wedges. Place the peaches in a medium-size bowl and add the lemon juice and almond extract. Toss to coat. **The process of peeling and slicing the peaches was tedious and ugly. I have since heard the note above about Freestone peaches (for which the peach pit separates freely from the peach flesh), and blanching peaches quickly in boiling water, then in ice water to easily remove the peels. They just, um, peel right off, or so I hear:)

3. Place the brown sugar, cornstarch, and nutmeg in a small bowl and stir to combine. Add this to the peaches and stir to coat the fruit thoroughly. Set the peach mixture aside.

4. With the bottom pie crust(s) in the muffin-tin or pie plate according to your method, spread the graham cracker crumbs evenly across the bottom of the pie crust(s). Spoon the peach mixture over the graham cracker crumbs.

5. Follow the above directions for the top pie crust if you are using it, or sprinkle on the crisp topping if you are using that. Transfer the pie(s) to the freezer for 15 minutes.

6. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place a rimmed baking sheet on the oven rack.

7. Place the pie(s) on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking the pie until the crust is golden and the peach juice bubbles up through the slits (or around the crisp topping), 30-40 minutes (I can't remember how long it took for the individual pies).

8. Let the pie cool on a wire rack, then serve warm or at room temperature. The pie can be refrigerated, covered, for 1 day. To rewarm it, bake it in a 325 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes. When the pies have cooled sufficiently, store them in zip-top freezer bags, removing as much air from the bags as possible.

Sweetened Whipped Cream

Ingredients:
1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
3 Tbsp. confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Chill a medium-sized mixing bowl and mixer blades in the freezer until ready to use (at least 20 minutes). **I couldn't wait longer, so I think I did this for 10 minutes...turned out fine!

2. Add the cream to the chilled bowl. Beat the cream, using an electric mixer, starting on low and increasing the speed as the cream begins to froth. **This was so much fun for me and my brand new hand mixer!

3. Gradually add the sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until the cream holds soft peaks, 2 to 3 minutes. For the best texture, use whipped cream immediately, or refrigerate, covered for up to 1 hour.

The whipped cream was absolutely divine. I think it would work just as well in smaller amounts, too. I already don't like to buy Cool Whip, but I may not even buy Reddi Whip anymore!

We ate these ramekin peach pies with the fresh whipped cream together with coffee garnished with whipped cream for breakfast one Saturday morning. I think I will have to make this for my next batch of guests!!

Thank you for the gifts

2011-08-03T10:49:00.010-04:00

Wow, whoa, deep breathing sigh.

I'm reading One Thousand Gifts this morning, written by the blogger I've mentioned Ann Voskamp. I began reading her book a few nights ago after purchasing it at a going-out-of-business book sale. It begins with her take on what happened in the hearts of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It makes more sense to me, resonates more, than all the other interpretations I've read.

Other interpretations always say Adam and Eve thought God was holding out on them by not allowing them to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. I agree that they probably thought God was holding out on them; keeping something they wanted from them for his own good. I can see quite easily how -with a little distortion from the serpent- God's choice to restrict this tree could be construed as holding out on them. Still, I didn't really understand how this applied to me. I think that's because I couldn't relate it to a personal experience of thinking God has been holding out on me.

Personally, it brings more clarity for me to read "thought God was holding out on them" as "thought they deserved/were entitled to everything yet God wasn't giving them everything". Adam and Eve had so much, this whole beautiful garden. There was one more thing they wanted though. And if God wasn't going to give it to them, they would take it themselves.

Whoa, that sounds familiar! After all, it's just one more thing.

Adam and Eve had perfect lives before this. Really. Not the I'm "perfect" in my imperfections kind of perfect lives. They had all their needs met. There was no sin. They lived in minute-by-minute closeness with the God of the universe. They were even given the entire freaking world to rule and subdue - all its beauty, adventure, resources. All of it was God's gift to them. Then God added one teensy, weensy disclaimer. If you eat from that tree in the middle of the Garden, you will die. No more endless goodness on earth. There will be evil, too; hence the name of the tree. Was God holding out on evil in this world? Adam and Eve chose (thanks to their gift of free will) a life of both good and evil. Do you think this is true? Please, tell me if I'm going out on a limb. I don't want to mislead anyone, including myself.

With the assistance of temptation by Satan, who (as Ann points out in her book) also wanted more and was ungrateful for what he had (which is how he became Satan), the ungrateful thoughts of Adam and Eve (God holding out on them) became ungrateful actions (eating of the tree). (Sorry for so many parentheses. This paragraph could use a flow chart!) God gave us everything, including himself, and we were not satisfied. We wanted -and were out to get- that which we could not have, did not yet have. Sin entered the world.

There are so many ways in which I, too, am not satisfied.

Please note I am not referring to a hunger for good things. "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4:8-9). These are the things of God. There are many things we strive for, however, that have nothing to do with God and his will for our lives, yet everything to do with wanting more, insecurity, and generally attempting to fill ourselves with things that are not God. To rid your life of these things, fill yourself to the brim with God's gifts. They are all around you, moments filled with his presence and purpose.

Oh, Lord, to be content with now. Oh, Lord, to be grateful with now, for this, for here in this place you have given me now. Oh, Lord, thankyou for the gift
of rain,
of early morning talks,
of coffee outside,
of a curious pup,
of bare feet,
of fresh air,
of droplets cool on the face and the toes,
of a smooth pen,
of fresh water,
of a full stomach,
of your wisdom,
of your love.

Thank you for the gifts.

Summer harvest soup

2011-08-02T21:41:00.000-04:00

I guess I've been on vacation. Or maybe I just haven't been very inspired lately. Either way, I do have some pictures saved up to share with you. And where there are pictures, then I can always find something to say.

This is my favorite cookbook. I've been gradually cooking my way through it, and I've picked up the frequency a bit this summer.

Several weeks ago I made this:
Summer Harvest Soup

I thought it was delicious and liked the way it incorporated new (to me) vegetables. Husband appreciated it for its dipping qualities as he tends to shy away from heaping doses of vegetables. We always make soup with paninis.

Ingredients:

2 T. olive oil
1 large leek, both white and light green parts, rinsed well and thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
7 cups reduced sodium chicken stock
3 small carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick (about 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup trimmed and sliced (1-inch pieces) green beans
1/2 cup trimmed and sliced (1-inch pieces) yellow wax beans*
1 cup diced (1/2-inch dice) baby summer squash*
1 cup diced (1/2-inch dice) baby zucchini*
1/2 cup fresh shelled English peas
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels (from 1 ear)
2 cups diced vine-ripened tomatoes
2 T. coarsely copped fresh basil
1 T. fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly shaved Parmesan cheese or pesto (optional)

*Either I couldn't find these items or they were too expensive for my budget, so I substituted extra of the other vegetables in their places.

I didn't realize how much fennel smells like licorice. I also didn't know that leeks are from the onion family, and thereby make a good subsitute for onions. I love cooking!

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over low heat. Add the leek, fennel, and bay leaf and cook, stirring occassionally, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft and fragrant but not browned, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the wine, increase the heat to medium-high, and cook until the wine is almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. (Pour yourself a glass, too.) Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer.

3. Add the carrots, green beans, and yellow beans and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add the summer squash, zucchini, peas, and corn and let simmer until the vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes. Do not overcook or the bright vegetable colors will be lost.

4. Add the tomatoes, basil, thyme, and parsley and let simmer until heated through, about 1 minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Discard the bay leaf. Serve the soup immediately, garnish with ribbons of Parmesan or a dollop of pesto, if desired.

This soup also freezes well. Allow the soup to cool, then pour it into quart-sized zip-lock bags, and store the bags horizontally/flat in the freezer. When reheating, defrost the bag for 10 minutes in a sink of water, then warm on the stove or in the microwave.

More recipes and stories to come soon!

Gratitude

2011-07-15T17:00:00.002-04:00

How do I say this? I want to tell you about my new participation with Compassion. For some reason I assume you'll think I'm being arrogant, bragging about putting my money here. But, the truth is, you know my heart and know that is not it. Likewise, I know your heart and know you will not judge me either.

It is about people. It is about love. It is about the challenge of the Gospel.

The reality is that compassion is overwhelming when you think about it long enough to let it sink in. That's called stirring your heart, because when you stir the fire that is the Spirit, it burns afresh and you notice Him there again. You hear Him, and you respond out of your heart.

I receive a picture in the mail and I remember, but how could I forget, these children. It was a just a week or two that I was so on fire, and spent all weekend on the computer watching videos about orphans, learning about why AIDS is really such a problem, contemplating giving man a fish or teaching him to fish.

What if I have enough to do both?

So often, I ponder that question, "If I give to him, how will he use it?" But Jesus didn't ask us to give with strings attached or based on conditions. He asked us to give freely, with generosity of heart, giving all that we have, all that we are.

I thank you, Beth, for your constancy of generosity with Compassion and the loving dedication and sacrifice that washes your life white. I thank you, Kimberly, for teaching me about giving, about embracing moments, about the ways little things and deep gratitude bring people together, and for your persistence for God, especially through Samaritan's Purse. I'm grateful God has made a Church-home for you. You two have planted good seeds. You tend the garden daily. For your labors, I drip with gratitude.

God has been using A Holy Experience to speak to me this summer. I read through her stories like someone's about to take the book from my hands. I just want one more page. The one I keep coming back to is about cookies...go figure:)

The way Ann tells it, she was standing up in front of her Church on Compassion Sunday telling her story about visiting her sponsored child in Guatemala and the life-changing impact it has had on her. She speaks about the weeks after the visit, and the disillusionment. Life-changing. Is my life-changing? I want it to. I want my Spirit to be stronger than my flesh. (You would not believe how many clothing catalogs have come in the mail since I put in writing my prospect of not buying clothing for a while!)

As she recounts the events to her home Church, and encourages them to engage in the life-changing, she offers them cookies. She has a few boxes and hands them to some boys in the front row. They are thrilled to get cookies at church! She informs them that there are enough for everyone, but they will have to share. Share. Three boxes for the whole Church.

The boys don't want to share. There don't seem to be enough. There parents make them, of course.

The point, as I'm sure you see, is that there is enough for everyone. We need not worry about our clothing or food, as recounted here in Matthew 6.

I swear I've posted about this somewhere before. Please forgive me for my redundancy. It's just that, too many cookies make you sick! Even if you develop such a tolerance for large amounts of cookies as I have disgustingly done, too many still makes you sick! You may not notice right away. Others may not notice right away. You may even store up the cookies and try to trust that you'll eat just one a day. Does it work for you? It doesn't work for me. If I have them, I eat them. All. For my sake and theirs, I want to give the cookies away.

I'm running a half-marathon in October. I'm running in honor of two things: perseverance (in developing a strong Spirit..."Yes, I will run to that tree -I mean cactus-, and the next one...) and giving away the cookies (sharing my time, talent, and treasure).

If I pray while I run, it goes much better. It gives me so much joy to pray for people while I run. It also helps keep me from thinking about running, or more specifically, keep me from thinking about stopping running. I would also be thrilled to raise money for Compassion through this run.

I have a proposal.

Post a prayer request comment below and I will do three things:

(1) Run one mile (during training) praying for your request,
(2) Run one mile (during the event) praying for your request, or possibly less depending on number of comments:), and
(3) Donate $10 to Compassion on your behalf.

Please join me! Thank you!

Less stuff, more freedom

2011-07-08T11:34:00.000-04:00

I can vividly remember traveling home for Christmas with my old college roommate and a stuffed-full green duffel bag in tow. Even the times I flew home, that medium-ish blue suitcase of mine would carry so many clothes I'd have to let the expandable zipper open. And there would be a carry-on, and a purse. Maybe, just maybe, the purse would fit inside the carry-on. What I did with the Christmas presents? I guess that was back when you were allowed two carry-ons!

Each trip thereafter (when I remembered the weight of my stuff), attempts would be made to simplify, to downsize. I would even make packing lists weeks ahead of time (me, can you imagine?) to try to narrow my cargo down to the essentials. The allure of "stuff" was strong though, even when you knew it shouldn't be. When you see family twice a year, you want to look your best, show off all your nicest things. So, if you're home for a 20-day college break, you bring 20 tops to wear, right? And you might as well bring the brown and the black shoes and the boots because what if you want to wear that top or this one? I really did this!

And I really did this.

It took a long time to engrain in me the concept of less is more. Intuitively, less is not more. Less is less. In practice though, less stuff means more freedom - less baggage, more carefree - less worry, more focus on family - less focus on self, and more time - less time waiting for lost luggage!

Over the years, my baggage has been reduced tremendously. I care less about what I have and more about who I have. I spend less time choosing clothes and more time choosing contentment. I do this because, for, and with a husband who reminds me we don't want to move that and a Savior who reminds me where to find my treasure. I don't do this well. This is simple, yet hard. Why, I wonder, do I want to or expect myself to hold on to these things?

I have learned a few things:
1. Don't bring workout clothes in the winter. If you do, you will workout once because, after all, you brought workout clothes all the way there. If you do not, and you want to workout, there is this thing called borrowing or you could just workout in your pj's and wash them. Yes, people don't mind you using their washing machines.

2. Bring 1/2 - 2/3 the clothes you think you need, closer to 1/2 for long trips. Again, washing machines. Also, rewearing. Third, spending half the day in pj's with coffee (or in swimsuits if you're traveling during summer) anyways.

3. Limit your shoes. Black or brown? Pick one and go with it. You automatically cut down on shoes, belts, tops, socks, jackets, and maybe even bras. Choose one everyday shoe, and maybe one more just in case you're like Cindy and your sandal breaks at the restaurant:) Wear one of the pairs, as well as one of everything else, on the plane (or in the car), of course.

4. Travel size is worth it. I used to bring full-size toiletries when I was going home for a long trip. It is so unnecessary. You will realize this about the time you're drying off your shampoo bottle and trying to stuff it into a gallon-size zip-lock bag. Either take travel-size with you or buy travel-size when you get there. There's always a grocery store on the way home from the airport, always.

5. Limit your literature. Take one book only, not the one you're about to finish reading. Tear out a few sodoku or crossword puzzle pages instead of bringing the whole book, because -really- who can choose between sodoku and crosswords? Bring a journal, sure, but not your Bible. Maybe this sounds harsh, but there are two much lighter options: a) read scripture online, such as at biblegateway.com or b) borrow a bible from the people you are visiting. It's the most popular book on the planet; they probably have one somewhere.

6. Carry-on only. When you do all this, you will have just the essentials, and they will fit inside a carry-on. Did I mention bring only one coat and wear it (or carry it) in the airport? The flight attendants really won't hold this against you.

Wow, I did not foresee this becoming a travel post:) Back to the clothing issues...

Recently I have found extra encouragement in the area of simplifying at Small Notebook. Her series about making under your closet could change your life!

How to Downsize Your Wardrobe with Common Sense

The Closet Make Under: Out with the Old

The Closet Make Under: Buying the New

The Closet Make Under

I did this, made under my closet. It's a new sensation to wear my clothes often. I'm serious! That is probably sad, I think. Today I realize this is the third time I've worn this top in a month. But why not? - I love this top! Now I get to enjoy it even more instead of feeling bad about still not wearing that tucked-away top in the back of the closet, unworn...as if my clothes have feelings?!

I am toying with the idea of not buying any new clothes or shoes for a long time, til my birthday, til after the half-marathon, til Christmas, maybe a year from now?

These shoes, however, are one thing I've bought recently that actually adds to the simplicity. They go with everything; but not like those old flip flops that sort of go with everything, yet actually go with nothing well. Plus, they make me feel pretty.

Simple, pretty, easy-to-wear - yes, this is how it should be.

We come to

2011-07-03T14:50:00.000-04:00

How does it happen that we have so much trouble doing the good we've set out to do?

This morning Husband and I listened to a discussion about spiritual warfare from the Wild at Heart Platinum Collection Audio. Eye opening, as usual. And you remember, remember how this was once fresh in your mind. Remember your promise never to let yourself grow stale or your heart become hardened. You remember the freedom.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

Last week was one of those weeks for me when I was questioning the meaning of this whole thing: why we're here, who we are, what we're doing or supposed to be doing. I know the truth: we're here to love, for Love, to know Love. Grappling with the how and when, where, and who is...hard. Yet I have these opportunities right now in this time with these people, so that must be the how, when, where and who.

We spent hours yesteray in 115-degree heat sweating it out to see the sights of the desert museum, and then, after lunch, the air museum. They were both amazing things to see, but I had to keep myself present in that. The heat has a way of sucking the niceties right out of us, if we let it. Our patience fades, our bodily needs become priority number one, and it is all too easy to forget what we set out to do. It's all too easy to be quick to anger or judgment or pride or any number of things we know we want not.

On the drive home we came to a corner where there was a man with a cardboard plea for help. Weeks ago Husband and I had tucked a few MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) into the back seat of the car for just this situation. Over time they had made their way to the "way back" behind the back seat, and somehow in the moment with the man on the corner our desire to help was almost immobilized simply because we became transfixed on the slight inconvenience of the miniscule distance (four feet?) between us and the MREs. I'm astonished how our desire to help was almost squashed by our laziness and fatigue. And maybe some pride or embarrassment or sabotage from somewhere.

Be on guard. Be alert. What are the fruits of this? Test them against the truth of Scripture. Check them with what you know of the character of God.

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the siful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." Galatians 5: 16-17

Husband was driving and couldn't do much about it. Thankfully, moments before the light turned green, I climbed over the console, to the back, snatched the meal and Matt handed it to the man. I'm sure he'd have preferred money, but seemed delighted with the 3,000 calorie gift nonetheless.

All this and then, today in church, the song Song of the Body of Christ by David Haas, and Jesus brought these words to me (Lyrics in black, my thoughts in green).

Refrain:
We come to share our story.
Our story, all together we share our story, the story of God's love, redemption, and rescue.
We come to break the bread.
"And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf." 1 Corinthians 10: 16b-17 We must break the bread so that there will be enough for all.
We come to know our rising from the dead.
We come, come to the earth, come to life here for these things. We come to understand the hope, the joy, the beauty of rising from one who lives in the world to one who walks in heaven, from who one survives to one who lives fully with Christ.

Verses:
1. We come as your people.
We belong to the one true God. We are his, and he is our life, our love, our hope.
We come as your own.
We are your family.
United with each other, love finds a home.
We all are family in you. When we unite, love is there. Nurture the love, care for it, protect it, share it.

2. We are called to heal the broken, to be hope for the poor.
The bread came to be broken so we wouldn't have to be. Yet we are called to be like bread, giving of ourselves to make others more whole, all in the name of the One Loaf.
We are called to feed the hungry at our door.
There are hungry right here where you are, where I am. Wherever I go, they will be. What can I offer for nourishment right here where I am?

3. Bread of life and cup of promise, in this meal we all are one.
Cup of promise. Jesus promised us so much: hope, love, life.
In our dying and our rising, may your kingdom come.
In our dying to sin and rising to life, in all these things, may your kingdom come closer and closer, may our will become one with yours.

4. You will lead and we shall follow, you will be the breath of life;
living water, we are thirsting for your light.
You give breath to life. You are the very essence of life, of living.

5. We will live and sing your praises.
We WILL live. In alleluia, we praise you, Lord.
"Alleluia" is our song. May we live in love and peace our whole life long.
Love and our peace are in us, even in this world around us. Love and peace sustain us. We come so that we may live this way, Your Way.

We come to... We come-to. We wake up. It is put freshly in our minds. We will remember. We will live this way. We will live by the Spirit.

A holy experience

2011-06-30T15:20:00.004-04:00

Thank you, Jenn, for introducing me to this amazing blog, A Holy Experience. Ann's words are inspiring. I still have tears in my eyes from reading these posts:

No middle ground

An endless celebration

About the author

Her words resonate with me so deeply, so purely. Love and relationship and living. This is life, this is the way. Sometimes my heart aches against this temporary life I live, people coming and going so frequently. Relationships come and go with the seasons. It feels like we aren't here long enough for relationship, for loving well. But maybe that's the point. Maybe our life is temporary, coming and going in the right amounts so that we are here and there just enough to love in the ways God has made for us.

A full house

2011-06-30T14:38:00.001-04:00

My idea of a gift: people to cook for and with.

I received my gift last week when my friends Beth and Becca came for a visit to Resort a la Keilen (a.k.a. our new apartment with the fantastic pool). We were so delighted to have them, so we made this:

Spinach and Red Pepper Farfalle with Cream Sauce

It was very easy. We just kind of made it up.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. chicken breast, sliced in half horizontally
1 pkg. Farfalle pasta
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bag fresh spinach
1 large red pepper, seeded and sliced
Italian marinade (we made one from a recipe found online...olive oil, water, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and several herbs)
Beth's cream sauce (I think it was butter, flour, white wine, milk, cream, salt, pepper, and basil)
Shredded parmesan cheese
Pine nuts

Directions:

1. Prepare marinade and marinate chicken for about 2 hours.
2. Drain at least half the marinade and bake chicken at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until done.
3. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
3. Using cast iron skillet, heat olive oil; then saute onion and garlic until browned. Stir frequently. Add red pepper; cook until tender. Add spinach; cook covered until wilted.
4. Call Beth to remember how to make cream sauce:) Or, I think: melt butter in small sauce pan, stir in flour. Add a little white wine. Warm the milk, and stir into the mixture over low heat. Add a dash of cream and seasonings to taste. Stir frequently.
5. Use the pine nuts and paremsan cheese for garnish.

Beth and Becca enjoy our family style meal. I am reminded that I love this, and prepared meals for Matt and I this way for a week:)

He really does like it. "Green stuff" just makes him nervous.

The next day we made dirt cake!

Charlie stared at us intently, waiting for anything to drop. He eventually got his wish, too, because it's hard to pour oreo crumbs without spilling any.

For future reference, it's also hard to make oreo crumbs in the first place unless you own a food processor or something (which I don't).

Three Bs knowing dirt cake will be at least as much fun to eat as it was to make.

The only picture of just Beth and I,and it's basically a picture of my forehead.

I couldn't find gummy worms so we used "Sluggles". You have to put something in dirt cake, we supposed, but the "gummy flavor" really permeated the chocolatey flavor. Maybe next time we'll just have dirt and mud, sans Sluggles.

Taste test approved.

Maybe next time we won't make such massive quantities of dirt cake either? We ate our fill, and then had to give some to the neighbor (who prepared a delicious meal of London Broil the night before Beth and Becca flew back home)! I still need to get that bowl back...

Strubbler (long u)

2011-06-29T11:55:00.006-04:00

I came up with something new this morning. As soon as Blogger lets me upload the pictures, I will post them here for you. I decided to make some kind of baked fruit thing to use up the managerie of fruits in my refrigerator, but I couldn't decide between fruit crisp (with that buttery cinnamon-y topping I grew up calling strudel) and fruit cobbler (with its more wholesome seeming breakfast-y, biscuit-y topping).

I made both!!

Well, I mean, I didn't make two "baked fruit things". There's no way too of us could reasonably consume the equivalent of two pies. I just put two toppings on one "baked fruit thing". The result is delicious!!

Here's how I did it:

Thankfully the recipes for fruit crisp and fruit cobbler are side by side in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (the one I grew up calling "The Betty Crocker Cookbook" for some reason...).

1. To start I cut up and put into the pot the fruit I had on hand (for me it was two apples, two peaches, about 6 strawberries, roughly 1.5 cups frozen blueberries). I followed the recipe by adding cornstarch and sugar, and when it was thick and bubbly transferred it to a glass baking dish.

2. I prepared separately the cobbler topping and crisp/strudel topping. The cobbler topping went on first, then the strudel. I baked it at a median (between the two temperatures specified in the recipes) oven temperature (375 degrees, I think) for a median duration (22 minutes, I think). I have a hot oven (right, Beth?! :), so you may have to adjust appropriately for yours.

3. That's it! The final product has a lot of topping, or maybe I didn't have quite as much fruit as called for in the recipe. Either way, you can adjust the amounts according to your liking. It comes out kind of like coffee cake with fruit on the bottom. Maybe I could call it Fruit on the Bottom Coffee Cake? Not very catchy. Perhaps Crispler? Cobdel? Strubbler? Hmm, better think of a name that actually makes someone want to eat it!

What name ideas do you have?

On top of Mount Lemmon

2011-06-28T13:20:00.000-04:00

We have visitors! Mom and Alan came to spend a few days with us recently as part of their multi-destination trip to the western U.S. The weather here, of course, was quite toasty so we headed up to Mt. Lemmon for a refreshing retreat.

The road up the mountain makes for a beautiful drive. I've heard you go through more ecosystems in less vertical feet than anywhere else on earth...or something like that. Regardless of the exact fact, it was pretty neat to see the transition from desert scrub to saguaro cactus forest and then onto mountain scrub and coniferous forest.

Me and Mom on top of the mountain. What a great view! We're so glad you guys came, and glad we could enjoy the mountain together.

Me and husband. This picture might make it to the Christmas card:)

Alan and Mom enjoying being part of the scenery.

They even have a ski lift on Mt. Lemmon for the two weeks or so each year that there is snow enough for skiing.

Due to fires in the Coronado National Forest, we weren't able to stop (except for one visitor center, no hiking) on the way up the mountain. Quite hungry and needing a restroom at the top, we took the opportunity to enjoy the Aspen views and delicious food at "the restaurant".

The restaurant was called The Iron Door. We heard their specialty is pie, and after trying some we are believers! It was wonderful.

One more picture of the view from the top, at 9,500 feet (and 68 degrees!).

Saguaro cactus forest...yes, it's considered a forest.

The drive down the mountain offered excellent views of the mountains surrounding Tucson. Pictured are the Tucson Mountains to the west.

Rebuild

2011-06-22T09:34:00.003-04:00

I realized something truly amazing and wonderful this morning (up in the morning coolness with coffee on the patio is always an opportunity to realize something truly amazing and wonderful): this has been the best year of my life.

Twenty seven is a fantastic age, joblessness has been a huge blessing for me and my husband, and I feel more the person I am meant to be with each passing day (minus a few exceptions, of course).

My year in review:
-Ended a wonderfully challenging year of teaching kindergarten.
-Began a season of serious transformation for my body, mind, and soul.
-Vacationed at the cottage for three weeks, which was heavenly and restorative. I also dared to drop a water ski and try slalom skiing, which has provided inspiration for other kinds of dares, too.
-Learned that husband got an assignment to fly A-10s; the fulfillment of all he's been waiting for.
-Studied scripture weekly with a tightly-knit group of amazing women I am blessed to call friends.
-Participated in life with family and friends more completely than it seems I ever have before.
-Practiced prayer, forgiveness, and what I think I'll call "purity of communication" with regularity.
-Took initial action on several big ideas to include volunteering, running, and writing.
-Practiced putting myself second with sporadic success.
-Realized sometimes we don't want an old tower with repairs that are patched, taped, and glued on. Sometimes we want to demolish the old tower, start fresh, and rebuild something wonderfully new. Sometimes this is God's choice for us as well.

Welcome

2011-06-15T21:47:00.005-04:00

I am excited to share with you photos of our new guest bedroom. I'm thrilled, of course, at the prospect of having guests (especially overnight because I love getting to wake up and enjoy coffee in pajamas with company and when I'm the company), but some of my enthusiasm is also because this is our first actual guestroom.

Let me tell you, the room has come a long way! This is before we unpacked. All the boxes with pink duct tape (thank you, Jenn!) and blue bins are from my classroom (and there are many more).

And this is what it looks like now:

I love the fact that we didn't have to buy a single thing to outfit the room. The bed and bedding used to be in our room. We made the end table from old cottage remnants Up North. The dresser used to be Marcy's, which I think Dad got out of a dumpster. A few years ago, Husband painted it and added the new drawer pulls. Lisa made the sunset painting (with water color and q-tips, no less), I did the curtains out of extra fabric and an old duvet cover, and the tea cup and saucer belonged to my Great Grandma Bradley. Can you believe we had all this and more between our one bedroom apartment and storage unit?

On the other side of the room, a handmade afghan from my Grandma rests on the chair, and the bookcase is the one we had to repair after the move.

If you do come for a visit, in addition to these lovely accommodations, you can also expect that we will cook! I had to take this picture of one of my favorite things about this new house:

I have a whole drawer in the kitchen just for spices!!

I got the idea to put spices in a drawer like this a few years ago from my friend Debbie (thanks, Deb!). I have wanted this ever since, but -until recently- didn't have nearly enough space for it.

Thanks for listening, and welcome to our home! If ever you find yourself coming this way or in need of a vacation, just let us know and we will gladly have you.

Can't help myself

2011-06-14T20:55:00.003-04:00

I don't usually do product endorsements on my blog, but today I just can't help myself, and this is why:

I tried a few summery clothes on at Old Navy last week. I found this adorable shirt! It's even cuter on than in the picture, which is hard to come by. It has a camisole underneath, which is attached to the flowy floral tank at the shoulder. I had to order online to get the right size (I suggest getting one size smaller than usual). It -and several other things I ordered in order to get free shipping (half of which will be returned as it turns out)- arrived today. It was so pretty that I didn't even want to take it off, but I did because I had to clean house and didn't want it to get Win-dex all over it.

All that to say, so many women out there would love this top, so go out to Old Navy and try it on. We all want a few cute tops for summer, but sometimes the process can be agonizing and time-consuming. Take my tip if you're interested in a breezy shirt that is as comfortable as your old faded college t-shirt, but as pretty as a sundress. It also comes in yellow floral, green, and orange!

And Courtney, I thought of you right away. You would love this!

There was one more shirt worth mentioning if you are living anywhere really hot! This top is light and airy, but has adjustable straps so it doesn't come down too low. It has a shirt tail hem, which gives it that fun casual/pretty balance. It comes in other colors as well.

Coming soon: our guest bedroom retreat!

Left overs

2011-05-31T16:41:00.007-04:00

Ever since Easter I've been reading the Book of Acts, a few chapters each week. As the Book describes the Early Church, I am captivated with the way they "do life together" (I love that expression that I've heard so often from Beth's Church in Colorado). It's so challenging to me the way they share their possessions and money. I want to live that way, but I don't. Listen to this:

"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need." Acts 4:32-35, emphasis mine

Today's mail brought a copy of North Texas Catholic, a newspaper we've been receiving ever since we registered at our church in Texas. It's been coming to our home monthly for probably three years, yet I think today -when it was forwarded to our new address- may be the first time I actually read it. It's a good thing I did because it carried quite a message to my heart.

The article that caught my attention was called "Connect with the Poor," and it described a social ministry conference. The speaker (Jack Jezreel, founder of JustFaith) spoke boldly about engaging Christians in social justice ministry, especially through relationship-building and direct service. One section of the article described a "hunger banquet," which was used as a tool to bring to light the reality of the issues of hunger and food insecurity. Here is an excerpt from the article:

"The heart of the Hunger Banquet involved people experiencing the disparities between the rich and the poor in a visceral way. Though some at the banquet received full meals, Price said most of the people at her table received just toast with a cheese spread.

'It made us think about food insecurity and why it exists in our country.'

The Hunger Banquet was an eye-opening experience for many conference participants, explained Laura Sotelo, director of parish relations for Catholic Charities Fort Worth.

'You could feel the uncomfortable disparity between the simulated rich and poor guests,' she added. 'Sometimes forcing ourselves into the other person's shoes is exactly what it takes to understand and empathize with others in our community.'"

Upon reading this, I began to imagine what I would do and what the people at the conference must have done in this situation. I imagine those with full plates started sectioning off their meals and scraping it onto the plates of those who only had toast. I'd like to think that's what I would do. I want to live that way, but I don't.

Several months ago, Husband and I became convinced that we should give more of our income to support the Church. After discussing it together and with some good friends, we decided to give 10%, which meant multiplying our previous giving by 15! Don't be impressed by any means. I confess we waited until we were quite comfortable financially before we allowed our hearts to be open to giving anything remotely worth putting on a tax return. We had been very selfish, and in fact -while God gives us joy about offering more- maybe we still are selfish because we are eating full meals while there are people out there eating toast.

We are still giving out of our wealth. I long to give out of our poverty (Luke 21: 1-4). How is this done? I pray God will change my heart -and my head- drastically.

As soon as I finished reading the above-mentioned article, I immediately thought of the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. John 6: 1-15 retells the way a crowd of 5,000 had gathered to listen to Jesus. They needed to be fed, and Jesus used the five loaves and two fish of a boy to do it. Jesus gave thanks for the food, and the disciples distributed it to the crowd. After the whole crowd ate until they were satisfied, the disciples were still able to fill twelve baskets with left overs! (I love the way I now see -after revising this post so many times- the way even this is a metaphor for the Church. Jesus gives the food, the disciples distribute it to those in need. There is more than enough of Him to go around, and we follow Him with great satisfaction.)

I always saw this story as a great miracle, but now I also recognize the lesson in it. It begs the question, am I taking until I am satisified -until my needs are met- or am I consuming until I am stuffed? When I eat until I am stuffed, there probably aren't any left overs for anyone else. This is just as true with food as money as possessions as anything else. I may even ask myself, am I leaving the leftovers to waste, or am I gathering them up to use them well?

When Acts describes the absence of needy persons among the believers, it doesn't say everyone has the exact same everything. The way I read it: where there is satisfaction in the presence of Jesus, there are left overs. Where there are left overs gathered and offered, there will be no one in need.

I think this type of gathering and offering develops faith more fully, from which further offering flows. A deep well of faith, is what allowed the poor widow to give all she had to live on. God's challenge to love is here. However, as usual, there's more (and this is why Christianity fascinates me so):

"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied...But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry." Luke 6: 20-21a, 24-25a

Be poor before God. Be hungry before God. Be aware of my need for His grace and provision, and seek Him with my whole heart.

*********************************************

P.S. I started to include the section below in my post originally, but decided it didn't really go with what I was talking about. Even so, I have been thinking about this scripture for a few days. It was very challenging for me, and I was glad to gain some clarity, as described below. I thought it might be helpful to you as well.

The story in Acts that immediately follows the one about the believers sharing their possessions, is one I had never read before. Acts 5: 1-11 describes a man and his wife, Ananias and Sapphira. They decided to sell a piece of property; giving some money to the apostles for the Church and saving some for themselves. When individually confronted about it by Peter, each of them lied. Upon lying, and Peter revealing that he knew the truth about their actions, they fell dead! They fell dead! Verse 11 reads: "Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events." Great fear would seize me, too! Rather, it really should seize me now.

Husband and I talked about this last night. He remembered the story from grade school, of course. He remembers everything from his Catholic school upbringing; they really did a fantastic job! I was so focused on what happened to the people (the part about falling dead), but Husband mentioned that the point may be their hearts. He described what is also in my bible's study note: Ananias and Sapphira had the right to keep for themselves whatever amount of the money they chose. The sin that caused them to fall dead was lying to God when they tried to make it appear that they had given everything for God's people although they had not. The study note goes on to say "it was important to ... leave no doubt that God will not tolerate such hypocrisy and deceit".

Fear should seize me that I would not attempt to deceive God. Faith should fill me that I would rejoice in doing good works for his glory!

Our new place

2011-05-25T13:49:00.013-04:00

Hello, welcome to our new home in the desert! This post is picture-packed. Enjoy!

Our "villa" apartment shares only half of its exterior walls with neighbors. And because it's a single story section of the complex, it feels like a townhome.

That's our door to the right. And a fellow student/friend from TX lives to the left. The window to the right of the door is the guest bedroom. Don't you love the burnt orange color of our new home?

I forgot to take a real entry picture, but this is the living room. To the right of the brown table with the lamp is a coat closet, and the hallway to the bedroom side of the house. Hubby was busy doing work on the TV computer; busy enough that he didn't mind being in the pictures. I wonder if he realized they'd go on the blog? He must have; he knows me too well!

We have an actual dining room this time, complete with room for the chairs and the bench. Seating for six; we're ready for company! The door leads to the patio, and a turn to the right brings you to the kitchen.

The patio is officially my favorite place. Mornings and evenings here have been bringing temps in the 60s. Even though we're close to our neighbors, the pretty landscaping outside makes this space feel like a private retreat...at least in the morning. It's almost Noon as I sit out here writing, and I just heard a neighbor shout, "Do you have underwear on?" A little boy's voice responded, "No, [something, something...underwear]!" Haha, oh the joys of parenthood, I'm sure!

Our kitchen is so much more spacious than before! That's a pantry to the right of the frig, and a desk all the way in the back of the picture on the right. Hubby and I can fit in here at the same time! If we so chose, we could even open all the appliance doors simultaneously!!

As you enter the hallway, the guest bedroom is to your right. I will post a picture of that some other time, as it is currently filled with boxes, packing paper, and the bookcase that got broken during the move. Its closet is the home to my many, many classroom supplies. When the movers were bringing things inside, Hubby kept saying he had no idea how much I had from my classroom! He wasn't around to see me transport everything from my classroom to storage last year. Hopefully I will find a way to use it all again. A friend has me thinking a lot about tutoring. The smaller scale feels much more appropriate to my personality.

This is the den, office, Husband's room, etc. He is really glad to have this space to himself, especially for when he needs to study. Sometimes I sit on the couch in there and just watch him, though, glad to have him back home. The longer I sit around though, the more likely he is to ask for help studying. Good thing I don't mind too much:)

Next thing down the hall is the laundry room. We also call this Charlie's room because we put a baby gate up to keep him in there when we're gone. It's going okay so far. He's adjusting really well, so hopefully it just keeps getting better!

Finally, our bedroom. The first few days we kept waking up at 5:00 am on account of the early sunrise in Arizona. This weekend we put up our curtains, and now we don't have to wake up quite so early! It's very peaceful.

This is our master bathroom. We have more storage than we know what to do with! There is a closet behind the door, opposite the sink, which houses everything. The cabinets under the sink have all of about two things in them. We also have a really large bathtub, but I have yet to try that out.

The closet is also huge. We have both dressers in there. There are even more shelves to the right, but I didn't get them in the picture. It's great to be able to spread out, but we might be spoiling ourselves if we end up with a smaller place next time.

That's it for the inside. We are very happy with our new home, and especially glad to be moved in and unpacked.

These pictures are our apartment neighborhood. See what I mean about nice scenery? I love the shade, especially! The manager told us this area usually stays 10-15 degrees cooler than the rest of the city because of its elevation/location. Thank you God!!

The mountain views aren't too shabby, either!

Last minute projects

2011-05-06T18:20:00.005-04:00

There are definitely other things I should be doing this week, but I couldn't resist finishing up these two sewing projects. There are more projects to go (mostly clothing alterations), but those will have to wait. They're summer clothes, so hopefully I'll get to them before winter!

The first project is an apron. Me and my Bible study gals have been talking about doing this for months, and we finally got around to it! I think it turned out great, especially for a first try and a home-made pattern!

If you'd like to put in a Christmas or birthday request, go right ahead:)

The next project was making some knock-off Pottery Barn pillow covers. I love these covers and have been admiring them in the catalog each month, but didn't quite want to pay the money.

Above is the Pottery Barn version, and below is mine.

Charlie sure seems to like them! He moved from his usual corner of the couch over to the opposite end, and cuddled right up next to them.

Well, that is all for now, and that is all for a while. I will post again in a few weeks when our move to the southwest is complete, and we are settled into our new desert home.

Happy May everyone!

Seem or see

2011-04-28T22:28:00.001-04:00

http://www.ransomedheart.com/more_dailyreading.aspx?id=4%2F28%2F2011
In these Ransomed Heart daily emails (link above) and through John Eldredge's books I have heard this question many times: "Will we leave our small stories behind, and venture forth to follow our Beloved into the Sacred Romance?"

I hear this and my heart shouts, "Yes, yes, of course I will!" The reality of this question and this proclamation are difficult, but they are also simple.

What is our small story? Is it our daily, "ordinary" life? No, it can't be. The Bible tells us all the time how God uses ordinary people and the ordinary events of their lives to fulfill his extraordinary purposes. He tells us what great plans he has for each of us.

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to propser you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the Lord, and will bring you back from captivity.'" (Jeremiah 29: 11-14).

This must mean our lives are much more extraordinary than they seem.

Seem. How do things seem? Scripture gives us numerous examples of things not being as they seem. Most recently on many of our minds is the Resurrection. It seemed like all hope was lost in the crucifixion. As Mary Magdalene sees the empty tomb, it seems that someone has taken Jesus' body , rather than that Jesus has Risen like he said he would (John 20:10-18). As John and Peter walk on the road to Emmaus, it seems that Jesus was perhaps just a prophet, rather than the Messiah. And even as they meet Jesus on the road, he seems to be just an outsider, who knows nothing about the crucifixion (Luke 24: 13-35). Things are not as they seem.

Our lives seem like small stories, but they are actually the extraordinary stories of God's people.

The difference between how things seem and the reality of our big roles in God's story is how we SEE. It was not until John and Peter had spent the whole day with the man they met on the road to Emmaus, and while they were breaking bread with Him no less, that, "Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him," (Luke 24:31). It was not until Saul was knocked off his donkey and had scales removed from his eyes that he turned his life from persecuting Christ to following Him. It was not until Joseph learned in a dream that Mary had conceived through the Holy Spirit that he saw the real situation at hand.

"Will we leave our small stories behind, and venture forth to follow our Beloved into the Sacred Romance?"

Venturing into God's big story does not require creating a big story of our own. The story is already there. To be in a romance, one must simply allow oneself to be swept up into it. It just requires an openness and desire to have eyes to see the truth, a positive R.S.V.P to His invitation. The invitation comes now. And all throughout our days it comes again and again, asking us to live life with him moment by moment.

"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." Ephesians 1:18

It's all about the eyes:

1 Samuel 15: 17- "Samuel said, 'Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.'"

Psalm 119: 18- "Open my eyes tat I may see wonderful things in your law."

Proverbs 4:25-27- "Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil."

Matthew 6:22- "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness."

2 Corinthians 4:18- "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Hebrews 12:2- "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

What I've been up to

2011-04-25T13:03:00.003-04:00

Here's a sneak peek at my latest project. Does anyone (except Lisa, who I told) know what it is? It was exciting to get to buy pinking shears (or zig-zag scissors, as Lisa remembered them from when we were little) for the project. I bet I can find all kinds of ways to use them!

The project is a birthday gift for my Mom, who will celebrate her very-much-still-in-her-40s-ness this Wednesday.

Love you, Mom!

I've also been busy preparing for our move and our new home. Given that the military is moving us, it seems there shouldn't be much to do, but there is plenty of organizational, errand-running, selling-on-Craigslist type stuff to do to keep me pretty busy. We've already sold a boat and a car, now on to a bathroom shelf, water ski, desk chair, washer, and dryer!!

I'm also enjoying coming up with decorating ideas for our new home. Curtains for the bedroom have already been ordered...found a terrific sale at J.C. Penney.

Okay, off to call the utility companies, movers, and work on Craig's List.

Have a great day!

http://www.ransomedheart.com/more_dailyreading.aspx?id=4/21/2011

2011-04-21T09:56:00.000-04:00

http://www.ransomedheart.com/more_dailyreading.aspx?id=4%2F21%2F2011

Red chevy cavalier

2011-04-13T15:50:00.007-04:00

Pictured here is me with the Cavalier the day before we sold it. Hubby cleaned the outside, me the inside, and then I took it for a nice, long drive while listening to The Bangles on cassette! I also got pulled over for the rear brake light that's been out since about 2006! No ticket, no worries.

I meant to blog this a few weeks ago, when it happened: we sold the Cavalier. A family who needed it found us, and it was time to let go. I planned to write all about its history and sentiment for you. Instead though, perhaps you will enjoy the same information we shared with its new owner. For some of you this will surely bring back memories...

(Click to enlarge the letter. It is posted as three separate images.)

Spaghetti sauce revisited

2011-03-23T15:33:00.002-04:00

I tried a new variation of my spaghetti sauce recipe on Monday night. While the taste in the original recipe was delicious. the sauce was a bit thin. Husband and I love thick sauce that doesn't leave your plate all watery. This alteration fits the bill:

For the tomato sauce, substitue 6 oz. of tomato paste plus 6 oz. of water. Multiply the herbs, spices, and sugar by 1.5. Also, I used 2 small tomatoes (plain, not cooked in olive oil, parmesan and garlic, and it turned out just fine).

Enjoy!

A la Matt

2011-03-22T12:56:00.003-04:00

I planned to make tilapia for us for dinner, but had no idea how. I asked Matt for suggestions...which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Usually he is wondering how I could decide what to cook, but not how to prepare it. Sometimes, that's just as far as I get. You know what I mean?

Matt's suggestion, as usual, was so perfectly simple that it couldn't help but be absolutely delicious. He reminisced about eating foil fish dinners at some hole-in-the-wall restaurant in northern Michigan with his Dad many years ago. Inspired by that, and using what we had on hand, this is what he created.

Whitefish with Butternut Squash and Green Beans

The before picture. The camera battery died before we got an after photo!

Ingredients:

2 tilapia fillets, thawed (or other whitefish)

1/2 bag frozen chopped butternut squash

1/2 bag frozen cut green beans

4 Tbsp. butter

Several dashes each of garlic salt, pepper, salt, and brown sugar according to your liking

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Lay a large piece of foil on cookie sheet. Place ingredients on foil in order of ingredient list. Lay a second large piece of foil over fish mixture and crimp all edges tightly together to seal ingredients inside.

3. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

We served this with Creamy Parmesan Risotto (from a box). It would also be delicious with mashed potatoes, rice, perhaps bread (I bet this would be delicious to soak up the melted butter!), or maybe even pasta.

Enjoy!

Rule of 3s

2011-03-22T12:55:00.000-04:00

My Dad used to say things happened in threes: people died in threes (I remember him saying this in particular when John Denver and ... two other famous people died.), people were born in threes (well, except for his twin daughters, but he made up for it by having three daughters altogether, so...). I guess it's one of those things that works when it works and you don't talk about it when it doesn't! Ha:)

Anyways, I've got a great rule of threes for you inspired by Aunt Holly the Great.

Three uses for three oranges, three limes, and -okay- one lemon.

To begin, slice the three fruits horizontally.

1st use: take the end orange slices (the ones with just a little bit of flesh on them) and put them in a pitcher. Add to it slices of lemon and limes. Fill the pitcher with ice cold water, muddle (haha, I learned this term while making mojitos with Beth last summer!), and wha-la, an icy, summery, citrus-y drink to share! Thanks for the idea, Aunt Holly (who made something like this last summer while we were camping)!

I'll give Holly credit for these ideas, too, because it would be just like her to use these fruits for all they're worth!

2nd use: Store the remaining orange slices in the refrigerator for convenient snacking.

3rd use: Chop up the remaining bits of citrus rinds and put in the garbage disposal for easy cleaning.

I guess I just feel like a regular ol' Little Suzie Homemaker today, and I'm quite okay with that. Baking bread, grooming the dog, getting groceries, sewing some old clothes, vaccuuming, etc. - that's what my day will consist of. Maybe it's a good thing when your "work" and your "day off" begin to resemble each other? Thoughts? Threes?

(Like a day off, B?)

52

2011-03-15T20:14:00.005-04:00

Happy birthday, Dad!

Today is my Dad's birthday. He would be 52 years young. To celebrate, I made chocolate cake and danced in the living room to my Beatles CD all day. I even worked out to it!

The picture on the left is Dad with Charlie several years ago. This pup is five now, and here he is with me on the right. Matt took this picture the other night when I fell asleep with the dog.

It's a good day to have this little dog Charlie. As I cry looking at Dad's picture, he hates to see me sad. He comes up to me to nuzzle and lick my face. If I smile, it will be made better. He knows this. He is just like Dad.

Happy birthday to the very best Dad.

These two songs have been the most in-my-head and dance-in-the-living-room-able.

Can't Buy Me Love

A Hard Day's Night

Enjoy!

Exhausted

2011-03-09T14:31:00.005-05:00

I am exhausted. And I am reminded of the purity of childhood.

This morning I FINALLY took real action on my interest in volunteering. I have been wanting to volunteer somewhere ever since school got out last May. Let the excuses abound: Over the summer it didn't happen because we were out of town for 2/3 of it, not to mention I was recuperating from a very tough school year. In the fall, I was going to volunteer at a few places, but they didn't work out for various reasons. I started watching Connor though, and it was just enough "outside" time to keep me sane and connected with others. Once I stopped watching him, I mostly focused on enjoying friends for a bit, especially before they moved. Then there were the holidays. Finally, this winter I was determined to forget all my excuses and make the most of my last few months here. I decided on a place to volunteer; weeks of phone tag ensued to no avail. Alas, however -and now that it is spring, I ran into my old boss Faye at United, of course. It was decided.

I would help at my first real workplace, School for Little People.

Here I am posing with my second class of two-year-olds after our trip to the fire department. Why, yes, I believe that fire hat is flying.

So, this morning I headed over to SLP. I visited with all my old friends from the staff, caught up on who's teaching who and where, and then went to work organizing the library. All I have to say is I am exhausted because I have not had so much conversation and activity packed into three hours in quite a while. I didn't even work in a classroom -which, if I did, I was expecting would be a snap to get back into, but seeing twelve kids in one ten square foot area was enough to overwhelm this out-of-touch teacher!

I am also reminded of a metaphor (for approaching the Kingdom of God like a child) I witnessed yesterday while riding my bike. I was riding down the paved trail, the one families often walk on, too. I approached a small group of women and children. The women saw me 20 yards away and began to corral the kids. The children, however, were oblivious to the presence of me on my bike until I was riding right passed them. This struck me as I passed one of the children, and heard a small excited voice say, "Mommy, a bike!"

The mother's preparation to avoid the danger of the bike was good. Without it someone could have been hurt. I'm wondering though, was the child's presence in the moment better? Kind of like, Martha's preparation in the kitchen was good, but Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus was better.

It reminds me of something Matt read recently in Francis Chan's book Forgotten God. The author was describing how we so often say we want to do God's will in our lives. This is good, of course, but we often talk about this in terms of the whole big picture of our lives all at once. We look so far ahead that we often miss this moment. He challenges us instead to ask God's will in our next ten minutes. Maybe this is better. We probably need both. I love this idea because, in doing so, we invite God into the real action of our lives, not just the planning team. What an adventure this can be.

All this talk about children has inspired me to do another thing children often do...take a nap when they are tired. Good night!

Yes, this is it

2011-03-09T10:00:00.000-05:00

The news is so sad. The world is so broken. In our daily lives is so much discontent. There is joy in there somewhere. There is real love, buried in the rubble of ... whatever it is we're doing. We do have hope of better living.

If you want to solve a problem, do you attend to the symptoms? Where there is sadness, plant love. Where there is brokenness, bring repair. Where there is discontent, make contentedness. Yes, that seems to work, but only temporarily. Soon sadness increases and you pour on more love; brokenness resumes and you bring more reapir; discontent returns and you attempt to create more contentedness.

To really solve a problem of course, we must attend to the cause. We must transform the heart. Continually in every moment. A single moment without the heart gives foothold to sadness, brokenness, discontent. Transformation, like metamorphosis is not a one time thing. It is a cycle of life that continues to give new life.

http://www.ransomedheart.com/more_dailyreading.aspx?id=3%2F4%2F2011

Scrumptious jambalaya

2011-03-03T10:52:00.003-05:00

This is another paleo recipe...among my favorites. And I promised to my friend Jenn that I would post it so everyone could reap its tasty rewards.

Jambalya

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. olive oil, plus 1 tsp., divided

1/2 lb spicy sausage, sliced (look for andouille sausage)*

1 c. chopped onion

3/4 c. chopped green pepper

1/2 c. chopped celery

1 tsp. cajun seasoning, plus 1/8 tsp., divided**

1 bay leaf

16 oz. tomato sauce

2 c. chicken broth

1 1/2 c. water***

1 1/2 c. finely chopped cauliflower

Dash of cayenne pepper

1/2 lb. shrimp

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil, sausage, onion, peppers, and celery. *I used ground sausage because I had it left over from using the other half pound in a breakfast. As such, I cooked and drained the sausage, then followed through with this step.

2. Saute for around 5 minutes, then add the seasoning and bay leaf. Cook for 1 minute more. **I just estimated the seasoning here and with the shrimp (below). I hardly ever measure seasonings. I used this recipe for the seasoning, which I also estimated...may be why it had a good kick to it! Adjust for your preferences.

3. Add the tomato sauce, chicken broth, water, and cauliflower. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. ***Looking back, I can't actually remember if I added the water in this step. Regardless, it had plenty of broth to it, so you may choose to skip the water. It's up to you.

4. Meanwhile, in another skillet, saute the 1/2 lb. of shrimp, 1/8 tsp. cajun seasoning, and a dash of cayenne pepper in 1 tsp. olive oil. Saute for 2 minutes, then stir into the jambalaya.

Enjoy!

Eating the paleo way

2011-03-03T10:33:00.002-05:00

About a month ago Matt and I decided we would experiment with paleo eating. Paleo eating adheres to the idea that our distant hunter-gatherer ancestors were exhibited greater overall health than we do in our modern society because of the food they ate and lifestyle they lived. That being said, the idea is to eat more like they did.

Curious about this idea, we ordered the book The Paleo Solution, and I read up on the nitty-gritty how's and why's of the concept. The eating plan limits the eater to meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts, oils, and small amounts of natural sugars (no dairy, grains, or legumes!). The evidence was pretty convincing and we decided giving it a shot couldn't hurt, but would also be the only way to see for ourselves if it delivered the health benefits it promised.

After trying it, we agreed with others that 100% paleo eating is both unneccessary and extremely difficult. We did not want our food and its paleo-ness to act as some kind of idol in our lives. We've since switched to approximately an 80% paleo diet, and are loving it! The book comes with 30 days of recipes. Not all of them resembled food (as we're used to) and some of them contained food combinations I would hardly recommend, but many of the recipes were delicious!! I've uploaded lots of pictures of these recipes, so over the coming weeks I will continue to post them for your viewing pleasure.

Chicken Apple Hash

Ingredients:
2 tsp. olive oil
6 oz. chicken (we used left over rotisserie chicken)
1 medium to large apple
2 tsp. cinnamon or allspice (choose your favorite...we chose cinnamon)

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over mediumheat. Shred and add the chicken. Grate the apple, then add to the pot with your spice of choice. Cover and cook on medium-low, stirring frequently. Once the apple has cooked down and become soft, it is ready to serve.

By the way, this is intended to be a breakfast.

Grain-free Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is paleo, but not from our book. It was created by a couple in Pennsylvania who eat paleo and write a blog called The Food Lovers' Primal Palate with their amazing recipes.

When we tried these, Matt and I agreed they taste almost like an Almond Joy candy bar! I guess it's the combination of almond flour and coconut oil.

Enjoy!

Too good to be true pancakes!

2011-03-01T21:12:00.001-05:00

About the time I thought to take a picture of these beautiful gems, this was all that was left of them! Not that you need a picture to know what a pancake looks like, but it just makes the blog prettier, you know?

My wonderful Stedman family has an amazing recipe for whole wheat pancakes. Carrie-Mom has worked all kinds of recipes to make them healthier. Her pancakes are one of them, and they are certainly top-notch. I've been making them for several years as my go-to recipe. No more boxed mixes around here.

As much as I love Carrie-Mom's recipe, I have been thinking about what kinds of baked goods would do okay with a substitution of applesauce in place of oil, and maybe agave nectar in place of sugar. The pancakes seemed a good place to start. The result is a bit lighter and fruitier. I hope Carrie-Mom approves!

Ingredients:

1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. white flour
1-2 eggs
1 3/4 c. milk (for about half of this amount, I used vanilla almond milk)
5 Tbsp. agave nectar
4 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
6 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients first. Then add wet ingredients and whisk together. Drop ladlefuls (I like to use a medium-sized ladle for pancakes, muffins, cupcakes. It's so much less messy than a spoon!) onto hot griddle. Cook until bubbles form on the pancake's surface, then flip. Remove when lightly browned and cooked through.

This recipe makes 12-14 six-inch pancakes.

I like to serve this with butter, real maple syrup (Grandpa's, of course!), strawberries and blueberries. Matt prefers his with butter, syrup, and bacon!

Enjoy!! (Did I mention they come in at around 25 calories per pancake? That's about 1/4 the usual pancake calories. Eat up:)

Here is our puppy-dog being cute.

I took a random, arm-stretched-out picture of Matt and I and it actually turned out great...on the first (not fifteenth) try!

Birthday weekend

2011-03-01T20:54:00.000-05:00

We were lucky enough to celebrate two birthdays while in Dallas over Presidents' Weekend. Hubby just turned 28 the week before and our favorite little boy turned 2.

We used the birthdays and the long weekend as a wonderful reason to get together with the Killian family. Our mutual friends, the Pellegrins, also came for the visit. We basically spent the weekend eating and playing.

The restaurant right outside the hotel had the most wonderful breakfasts. Soon I will have to try to make their "Anaheim Scrambler" (scrambled eggs with thick-cut bacon, cheddar cheese, avocado, green onions, ... can't remember what else) as well as their "Baked French Toast" (cinnamon-y bread pieces baked in custard and topped with warm maple syrup).

We also enjoyed a bit of shopping, because our hotel was attached to a fancy-shmancy mall. Most of all though, we just hung out (in the four-star hotel Courtney got us for $58 a night!), and enjoyed each other's company and laughter.

At the mall play area are Connor and James on the left, Jude and Jenn on the right.

Hardworking mama Courtney takes Jacob with her everywhere. Isn't he cute?

Matt and I help babysit now and then. Nice how we just sit back and let him get into stuff, eh? That's my wallet in his hands...always teaching him such great things. The best one this weekend was how if he asks really sweetly and relentlessly, I will give him a small piece of gum (which he will swallow in five seconds and ask for more).

The end...back to the real world.

New season

2011-02-28T09:39:00.001-05:00

You may have noticed a pleasant change in blog-scenery. I changed the main picture and a few of the colors because, in these parts, it is quite obviously a new season!

The winter snow storms (thank Goodness we were lucky enough to have two this year -and neither impeded our Christmas travel!!) are long gone. Just as quickly as the cold cloudy skies receded Northward, our usual sunniness resumed. Don't get me wrong. I love sunniness. Nine months of sunniness, however, can -at times- be too much of a good thing.

In addition to the change in blog-scenery, I have also changed my hair!

Um, yikes!

For most people, a new hair cut isn't a big deal. I, however, have sported the same hair for most of my life. In fact, while I was getting my hair cut, I mentioned to my hairdresser that I've only ever had four people cut my hair: my mom for the first 15 years, then three other women, one in each of the places I've lived. Oh, wait, I just had a fourth person come to mind.

Anyway, the first major change came in 7th grade when I grew out my bangs...oh how I "wish" I could share that yearbook photo with you! Then, every few years I would go through a cycle of getting some kind of trendy-ish cut (one that usually did not take into account my features or styling preferences whatsoever!), followed by a long season of growing it out, then trendy-ish cut again.

As such, and never having fully learned my lesson, I present to you the shag:

Well, at least that's what my hairdresser called it. I was going for some kind of Jennifer Garner meets Penelope Cruz with a touch of Reese Witherspoon thing. Nonetheless, I think she's exactly right. I've got a shag.

It's okay for the most part, except this forever-in-my-eye, not-as-long-as-I-thought-it-would-be piece of bang in the front. And then there's the issue of actually styling it...

My frequent get-out-of-bed-comb-and-go technique is not quite as useful with the new cut. So, I think I've decided -maybe actually for good this time- that comfort and ease are way more important to me than style no matter what.

I think I'll be fine once the bangs grow out. (After all, I do really like the extra layers.) But, until then, bobby pins are a girl's best friend.

Best spaghetti sauce ever

2011-02-09T20:53:00.000-05:00

Ahem, I would like to announce an actual original recipe!

Brooke's Best Spaghetti Sauce

A few weeks ago I was having a throw-what-you-have-together-and-call-it-dinner night. The result was better than I could have hoped for! I will make this sauce again and again for sure. Matt agrees, it is the best.

Ingredients:

14.5 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes (Muir Glen makes the fire roasted variety -maybe other brands do as well-...the taste is awesome!)
8 oz can tomato sauce
1 whole tomato cooked with olive oil, garlic and shredded parmesan cheese (um, this was a random item from the refrigerator...probably not essential, but thought I'd include it just in case it is, in fact, essential:)
1/2 onion, chopped
4 tsp minced garlic
12 oz ground beef
3/4-1 tsp each dried basil, oregano, and marjoram
1 Tbsp olive oil
Dash of salt, crushed red pepper, and onion powder

Directions:

1. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet. Drain, transfer beef to a medium-sized bowl, and return skillet to the stove.

2. In the same pan (you gotta love that, right?), saute olive oil, onion, and garlic until onion and garlic are soft and slightly browned.

3. Add remaining ingredients, stir, and simmer for about 10 minutes.

4. Return beef to the skillet and simmer 5-10 additional minutes.

**Just in case you'd like to turn the best spaghetti sauce into the best baked spaghetti, (as shown in the photo) here is my version of doing just that:

Best Baked Spaghetti

Ingredients:

1 recipe best spaghetti sauce
1/2 pkg spaghetti noodles
4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
Dry grated parmesan, garlic salt, and basil to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Cook spaghetti according to package directions and drain.

3. Place drained spaghetti in 8x8 glass baking dish. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese to taste. Top the spaghetti with the sauce, then mozzarella, spreading each evenly over the preceding ingredient. Sprinkle to taste with garlic salt and basil.

4. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and slightly browned. Remove from oven and let sit to cool and thicken for 5-10 minutes.

Enjoy!!

The picture above is also spaghetti, but different sauce and different noodles. I made it last week with spaghetti squash! Many of you probably already know about spaghetti squash, but I had never known what it was before, never! I was following a recipe and kept wondering what it was going to be like to have my spaghetti sauce on top of squash...didn't sound like the world's best idea to me.

Despite my reservations I tried it, and I am still amazed. It looks like squash and cooks like squash, but after you bake it the most amazing thing happens. The smooth flesh instantly transforms into thin noodle-y strands when you scoop it out! I'm serious!

Some of you are thinking I'm an idiot, but imagine if you were a kid (um, like me) wouldn't this be the most amazing thing? It got me thinking, for one thing, that this would be an awesome science activity to do with kids. They would eat it up, hahaha.

Okay, enough already. If you haven't tried it, go for it. Even my husband loved it, so you are safe. Enjoy the recipes and God bless!

Just because

2011-02-05T13:55:00.009-05:00

A few weeks ago I made an impromptu road trip to Colorado to visit my best gal pal. She was going to be home alone for MLK weekend, so I decided to leave my hubby home alone instead of her, and set out on the ten hour drive.

The drive to Colorado is pretty dull...until you reach Colorado that is. Once you see those mountain peaks ahead of and around you, how can your heart help but soar? We filled the weekend with lots of good times (mostly inside due to my at that time very new toe injury) eating and talking and hanging out. Since the last time we visited, we have both acquired a dog, so we also had the interesting but enjoyable task of acquainting our dogs to each other.

Hers a 40 lb. pitbull/beagle and mine a whopping 9 lb. toy poodle, can you guess who called the shots? Ironically, it was Charlie, our fluffy white and black shadow! It was pretty fun to watch. Eventually they warmed up to each other more, and it was really sweet to see the lion and the lamb sleeping on the couch together (unfortunately I accidentally deleted those pictures from my phone).

I took all of these pictures with my phone while driving. It's not my best idea ever, but I was pretty bored and confident in my abilities to drive straight and level for hours at a time. The mountain picture was taken south of Pueblo, CO, I believe. The moon picture was taken somewhere between small towns in western Texas. I thought it was neat, and trying to get a clear picture that also didn't have cell phone towers in it gave me something to do around hour seven or eight of the drive.

I also promised pictures of the husband in the tree. Matt and I are self-proclaimed MovNat students, I think. It's a pretty cool philosphy that basically boils down to exercise, but in practice is way cooler:) Give it a try and you may get a few strange looks from passersby, but I also assure two things will happen: you will have FUN playing like a child and your body will feel better for it.

So how did Matt get in the tree? Well, there's a video on the MovNat website that describes how (I'll let you check it out there from the expert Erwan Le Corre so I can't be held liable...try it first in a place that is soft underneath!), but it's actually not that hard! This is coming from a girl who cannot yet do a pull-up, so you know you can trust me. I cannot yet do it on a tree branch this high, but I am able to do it on some monkey bars that are a foot or two lower to the ground.

I'm sure there will be more to come soon regarding our natural movement adventures. Take care!

God, starring as protagonist, director, and producer

2011-01-31T09:31:00.005-05:00

**If you read this this morning, it got mysteriously posted before I was finished. I think it had to do with my computer shutting down. Anyway, it was almost done, but I didn't get to wrap it up. So if you want to be wrapped up, please procede to the ending.** :)

Good morning! I have mentioned before the daily readings Husband and I receive from Ransomed Heart Ministries (the people who've written Wild At Heart, Captivating, The Sacred Romance, Epic, Love and War, Waking the Dead, etc. - they are some of our favorite authors). The daily reading, which is available as a free email subscription, is an excerpt from one of the books they have written.

This morning I was catching up on a few of the readings from the past few days. They were all good, but the one for today really caught my eye. The last few sentences, to be exact. Take a look and see what you think.

(Click on the image to enlarge it.)

Wow, to think of it that way, with God as the central character. God is the hero. God is the one we're identifying with and rooting for. God is.

This idea of God as the central character, yet also being the author, made me think of watching Braveheart this weekend. During the movie, you get so caught up in the character of William Wallace; his passion, perseverance, goodwill for his countrymen. He is courageous, smart, and talented. His purpose is so clearly good, and not just good for his own sake, but good for all people. He is stirring up their hearts, pleading for them to leave behind their play-it-safe* attitudes, and join him on his quest for real live freedom. Then at the end of the movie, as the credits rolled, I noticed that Mel Gibson is protagonist, director, and producer of this movie.

I am NOT saying Mel Gibson is God. Please don't misread me. What I am saying is that, likewise, God is the protagonist, director, and producer of our lives. He is stirring up our hearts (have I shared the chocolate milk analogy from my pastor yet?), pleading for us to leave behind our play-it-safe* attitudes, and join Him on his quest for real live freedom. The battle/journey/quest/adventure is happening regardless of your participation. Sorry to quote from Transformers, but "When you look back on your life, don't you want to be able to say you had the guts to get in the car?" Don't you want to know you took the risk ? It it doesn't work out, you can always come back to before, although I don't suspect this will be the case.

*This verse from The Message version of the Bible has become increasingly important to me lately:

"The master was furious. That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? ... Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And, get rid of this 'play-it-safe' who won't go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness."
Matthew 25: 26-30

Odds and ends

2011-01-26T11:06:00.003-05:00

One month into the new year and so much is already under way. It seems like every January Matt and I start thinking about making our place new again. I clean it top to bottom and together we dream up ideas of how we want this home or our next home to be. Lucky for us we have the same ideas in mind!

Among the ideas has been a Poang chair from Ikea. We had plans to head to Dallas to get one. Then, while I was walking Charlie one day, I saw this one on the sidewalk outside a local thrift store. I could hardly believe my eyes. I literally stopped in my tracks because this was clearly going to be a deal!

I took the dog back home, hopped in the Jeep, and went back to see what they were asking. As it turns out, they wanted about 25% of the cost of a new chair! It needed a little elbow grease and laundry soap, but it was a good deal in my eyes. Now that it's cleaned up, we are thinking about getting a different color cover, but even with that it will still cost less than half the price of a new one. What a bargain!

I have been planning our next place for months, and part of that plan has included some kind of work space for me. I have a lot of ideas in my head for different projects (sewing, jewelry-making, etc.), but I need a place for them to be out instead of on the kitchen table. Finally it occurred to me that there was no need to wait until we moved. For no more than the $16 cost of this cute table cloth, I turned our old, sitting-in-the-corner card table into a one of a kind workspace for me!

This I thought would be a cute story. A few weeks ago our little dog Charlie was shivering because he had not yet dried from his bath a couple hours prior. He was sitting there staring at us (not that that is unusual). I picked up this throw blanket from the back of the couch. Thinking he knew just what I was going to do (which he did), Charlie laid down in his dog bed and let me wrap him up like this. What a sweetheart. He stayed like this, all wrapped up, for hours. At some point in the night I guess he got too warm and decided to climb out and sleep atop the blankety softness. Lucky dog.

And, just like that, we became dog people. Huh, I never saw it coming...

In other news, just about two weeks ago I attempted barefoot running! Matt has been doing this for months and having a grand time with it. This was my first time, and I was also really enjoying it until...I stubbed my toe. Now, hear me out, "stubbed my toe" might be underestimating it. I was running barefoot on the side walk, didn't bring my foot up enough (maybe I was tired or something as I'd run almost a mile barefoot by then?), and ripped off a good chunk of skin from the top of my toe and my the nail. Sorry for the mental image, but I made sure the actual image (above) would be clean.

After almost two weeks, I am back to walking normally now, and am pretty certain I have successfully avoided both serious infection and the risk of an ingrown toenail. I'm sure you wanted to know all of that! Nonetheless, I know I'll be trying it (the barefoot running) again soon. Does anyone out there have any tips for keeping my tootsies injury-free? I'd love to hear them!

Next up, my impromptu trip to Colorado, Matt the tree climber, and homemade spaghetti sauce!

Four years

2011-01-25T11:07:00.000-05:00

Our fourth anniversary has come and gone (geez, that was fast!), but I still wanted to post this photo to commemorate it.

Husband and I have been married for over four years now! So much has happened in this time; so much change in us and our families. Four years ago I was half way through my first year of teaching and Matt was half way through pilot training. We were eager to get married and it was a very exciting time.

We love each other even more now, but I know neither of us could have predicted the places life and God would take us. I also know neither of us would have chosen them, so it's a darn good thing God is the one leading instead of us!! His plan always turns out so much better than our own. Praise to Him whose wisdom is beyond this world.

This is the first anniversary for which Matt and I have not been home celebrating Christmas. We were actually at our own place, by ourselves. We decided to spend the whole day together without phones or TV or computer. It was beautiful weather, so after waking up late and lingering over breakfast, we played in the park with the dog. In the afternoon, we enjoyed a nap and relaxed. That night we went to Pasqual's restaurant, where we had a dream dinner. It was a simple sirloin steak (but with this divine red wine reduction sauce) with asparagus for me, green beans for him, and the most incredible candied sweet potatoes for both of us. For dessert, we had buttermilk pie. (Courtney, it was not as good as yours or mine:)

We were going to allow ourselves a movie out, but the high price for low selection had us opting for a quiet, cuddly movie at home instead.

The End to another great anniversary day.

Transition

2011-01-24T20:33:00.000-05:00

So, now that Matt's done flying T-6's he get's a break right? Right! (Haha, as in, said with sarcasm.)

We did get a short trip home for Christmas, and a day to recover when we got back. About December 29th though, Matt was back to work studying to learn...the next plane. This one, by the way, he's only flying for about 40 rides (I think). He'll be done by the end of April.

He's in transition right now, learning the T-38. He flew the jet three years ago, but has long since forgotten much of the information about it. As such, he has about 20 flights to get "spun up" as he calls it so that he can show what he knows next month in IFF. It's a stressful time, but also very hopeful. We are so eager to get to the A-10.

If you're a praying person, feel free to send one up for him!

The Fini Flight

2011-01-24T20:25:00.000-05:00

Matt finally enjoyed his Fini ("fini"shed) Flightin the T-6 in December. Unfortunately, due to communication difficulties, we didn't make it out to the ramp to see the taxi in, but we did get there just as they were exiting the aircraft.

Here are Matt and Paris "Toad" Hollis. They flew in one plane of the twoship formation. Along with them were friends and fellow IPs James "Storm" Killian (also on his Fini Flight) and Andrew "Bean" Pellegrin. They were able to take the planes for the entire day and head to San Antonio for their favorite burger joint, Chester's. What a day at work, right?

Out of the plane, Matt safely stows his patches as he knows just what is coming next...

...the cold water spray blasting from a fire extinguisher, courtesy of Matt "Jigga" Lowe, who will also be in Matt's upcoming IFF and RTU classes.

All is well between friends though, especially considering my Matt will probably get this Matt back the next week (when he has his own Fini Flight)!

Lots of students and fellow IPs showed up to watch the production and show support. Thanks everyone! (They also knew that showing up would mean they could partake in the Qdoba goodness that would follow without feeling guilty...).

Here we are with the Killian family, left to right is Courtney, Jacob, Connor, James, Matt, and me. They have been our best Texas friends. They began their assignment here just before us and we have been right beside each other the whole way. They moved on to their new assignment in December, just a week after this Fini. We definitely miss them a lot, but have plans to "see you soon" often. The friendships are definitely the best part about the Air Force from a spouse perspective. You meet a lot of great people, and even though you move apart, you know they will always be there for you and vice versa.

Courtney with little Jacob all tucked away napping.

The squadron commanders spoke about James and Matt. It was great to hear their words of affirmation about James' and Matt's work here as well as the faith they have in them for what they will accomplish in the future.

After all the formal stuff had passed, it was time for Qdoba tacos and beer. As usual, Matt teaches Connor all kinds of valuable life skills. I know Courtney and James will sorely miss these life lessons while they are away. :)

The one where I really, truly, this-time-I-mean-it catch up and stay caught up

2011-01-19T17:00:00.003-05:00

Grandpa and Grandma visited in early December and we were so excited to have them! They were on there way to Arizona for the winter, and stopped to visit with us for several days. They arrived on Tuesday, I believe (if I can remember that far back...). We enjoyed dinners, walking, talking and laughing, and Rummikub playing. On Thursday of that week, Matt gave us a tour of his squadron. Here we are out on the ramp in front of Matt's former plane, the T-6.

We were able to go out to the ramp, check out life support, see some T-38 take-offs and landings, and see -of course- many static plane displays around the base. We attempted to do a simulator, but let's just say we ran into a few technical difficulties. Nonetheless, it was a great tour (the husband is an excellent tour guide), and Grandpa especially enjoyed it.

Matt and I out at the jet. This is the day before the Fini Flight.

Question and answer time.

Pretty soon he'll be flying something with two real jet engines and sans propeller again!

Grandpa and Grandma also stayed for the Fini Flight, which is coming in the next post. Thanks so much for the great visit Grams and Gramps:)

Jealousy and envy

2011-01-07T14:39:00.005-05:00

I have about 25 things I would love to write about right now. So many ideas and pictures are swirling through my head; things I want to share, things I want to show, things that are just fun or new or cute or happening.

All of that I will set aside now to share one thing with you that I learned five minutes ago. Praise God that he has revealed this to me! I hope he has already shown it to you as well. Thank you, Lord, for finally getting it through my head (at least this time) that often the internet isn't the best source of information. Sometimes I should go to The Source first. It might take a little looking, but like all treasure, it is clearly worth the HUNT!

Yesterday and today I spent a lot of time on YouTube because I was captivated by one Francis Chan sermon after another. Today my clicking led to a depressing video about Oprah, which basically portrayed her as the antichrist. I don't want to talk about that right now, but something she said was intriguing. She mentioned that the moment she began to question God and seek alternative philosophies came when she heard in church that God is jealous. She interpreted this as God was jealous of her, and because that didn't seem right to her, she went looking for hope somewhere else.

Anyhow, this got me thinking: how can God be jealous (Exodus 20:5) if God is love (1 John 4:8) and love is not jealous (1 Corinthians 13:4 **this is not exactly right as I will describe in a few paragraphs)?

Good question, right? Well, I thought so and I definitely did not know the answer. The question stewed in my brain for a few hours today before I decided to look up the answer in Scripture. Funny how I considered looking all kinds of other places first. As if Wikipedia or something would know better than God himself! I knew this seeming discrepancy could not be true, and I wanted desperately to understand it for both my own sake and the sake of anyone else who might ask me or wonder it in my direction.

Sorry for such a long story, but I am a rambler:) What else can I say?

I turned to the concordance in the back of my bible and looked up "jealous". All of the references (in my small concordance) refer to God's jealousy, no one else's, and are mostly about situations in which people's behavior has made God angry in the old testament. Except one. The one that is not about God and is not in the old testament is 2 Corinthians 11:2 (I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy.).

Now I'm curious, what is godly jealousy? I look up the verse and the cross references and study notes on that verse and so on. I find that God's jealousy involves situations in which people are not honoring him or each other as they should. They are not showing love. I come upon 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 **(see note above), which is well known for the way it describes the truth about love:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a

IT DOES NOT SAY LOVE IS NOT JEALOUS! It says love does not envy. This is new to me. In my head, they have been the same. Jealousy and envy, synonyms, right?

I thought they were synonyms, but when you look them up in the dictionary, they clearly are not:

Jealous: "1 a: intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness b: disposed to suspect rivalry or unfaithfulness 2: hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage 3: vigilant in guarding a possession"
Jealousy: "1: a jealous disposition, attitude, or feeling 2: zealous vigilance"

1 Envy: "1: painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage 2 obs: MALICE 3: an object of envious notice or feeling"
2 Envy, envied, envying: "1: to feel envy toward or on account of 2 obs: BEGRUDGE, to feel or show envy"

This is the point at which I think I must be the only fool who has seen this incorrectly. I am humbled. I thought I knew what this famous verse said, but I really didn't. And my arrogance in thinking I knew the meaning of it could prevent me or others from real belief, if gone unchecked (Like Oprah, for one! It makes me wish I could call her up and say "your disbelief is based on a misperception". How different might things be? How do we tell her? She is so influential, but she desperately needs this grain of truth. It could change her life!). That's scary and really shows me the importance of not just kind of knowing scripture, but really knowing it.

God is jealous because he has a zealous vigilance for what is right, justice and faithfulness. He is intolerant of things that are not loving. He works for the good of all because of the greatness of love. Envy, on the other hand, is wanting something you do not have merely because you want it for your own sake. This is not love. This is the opposite of love.

Two different things. One that is true of God and is good; one that is not true of God and is not good.

So much to share, so little time

2010-12-08T08:09:00.003-05:00

I have been wanting to write more lately to share our adventures with you, but the time keeps slipping away. And I probably won't be here much anytime soon as I will be spending as much of the next 11 days as possible with one of our favorite families -the Killians- as they are moving to Shreveport, LA and we are going to be lost without them. I probably won't be back on here until after they move. It's so sad to have a good friend move away, but I will save the story for later.

For now, I couldn't help but sneak on here to share with you a funny moment from last night. My husband Matt is becoming quite "choosy" as he grows older, as I suppose all men do. I think it is just striking me lately with the way he cares about little things that sometimes even I don't care about.

Matt likes drinks. Now, I don't mean he likes alcoholic drinks, even though he does. What I'm talking about is the fact that he'd rather drink anything else than water.

The man also eats! He was not a fan of this particular meal...

He's always asking for this tea, that juice, or this pop from the grocery store. I, on the other hand, drink water 99% of the time so I usually don't even notice when we are low on said drinks.

Yesterday while I was out I went to CVS to get the certain tea, and then over to United to get other groceries. We were having company and I do like to make my hubby happy, so the contents of my cart included cream soda, beer, chocolate milk, and wine in addition to the favorite tea from the previous store. Hours later, after dinner, we are relaxing on the couch and I mention something to Matt (who has already had a tea, a beer, and now is on to a cream soda) about the drink selection in the frig. Wide-eyed and excited he says something like, "Yeah, I know! I opened the frig and there was so much to choose from I didn't know what to do!" Me: "So you decided you'd have one of everything?" Him: "Yeah, pretty much." And then the biggest grin.

Matt's best day ever.

He also added that the assortment of miniature candy bars for dessert was also "just right". Oh, it's the little things:)

I met my goal!

2010-11-24T09:06:00.007-05:00

I did it! I met my goal of losing 15 pounds!! I can officially check off numbers 7, 11, 14, and 21 from my "30 Before 30" list.

Before and after, June and November, 2010 are pictured above. Just like in the commercials, I'm also tan in the "after" picture! Haha, that was not planned! The first one just happened to be not only before losing the weight, but also before spending several months outside running and three weeks at the cottage water skiing.

15.4 pounds, 3.6% body fat, and 22.5 inches is the total change (plus, back to my just-started-college-have-not-yet-discovered-the-never-empty-table-of-cookies-yet size!!). I feel like a new person! It's really strange, but really good. And all I really want to say in posting this is (1) I'm really happy and proud, and (2) you can totally do this, too, if it's something you need/want!!

I don't want to sound like some kind of advertisement, but I never knew how much 15 pounds would change me (both by gaining in the first place and by losing after the fact). It's still hard to believe this has even happened. I felt chubby from ages 13-26, half of my life. For most of that time I wasn't really that chubby, I was just a teenager thinking I needed to look like a model. Then between the end of college and my first few years being married and holding a real job, I gained 15 pounds. I didn't like it, but I just worked on making it the new normal. It wasn't normal though; it was uncomfortable.

Quitting teaching in May offered me a lot of free time; time to be free of this weight. It wasn't easy and it took about two and a half months longer than I anticipated. I remember back in July crying to Matt about how much of a struggle this has been for me for a long time. I really, really didn't believe in myself in this way, and quitting teaching had really slashed my confidence across the board.

I brought it to God, and he literally said, "Brooke, you're going to have to actually try." I was surprised and realized he was exactly right. I had the mentality that I could just casually work out and eat better and just quickly become healthy. It wasn't that easy, for sure, but once I started trying, it wasn't as hard as I thought either. The main thing was persevering in believing I could do it.

I wanted this change to be lasting, so I didn't do anything crazy. I simply exercised more and ate less. I didn't even go to the gym. I worked out at home with the TRX, walked, ran, and biked. Also, the types of food I was eating were fine, it was just the portions that were outrageous! Oh, and thanks to my friend Beth, I logged all of that exercise and eating into FitDay.com. I think I would have gone crazy without FitDay (which is FREE) because it calculates your foods, calories, exercises, nutrients and everything for you with all kinds of graphs and scales. It made it SO convenient (once you get the hang of entering food into the log online, it goes quickly and I found myself really looking forward to it).

Anyway, that's it. I just really wanted to share this with you! It's so very empowering and confidence-boosting. The biggest thing is that I feel like now that I know I can do this, I know I can really do "all things through Christ" (Phil. 4:13). I wonder what's next...

Korea and Dog's First Hike

2010-11-23T08:57:00.002-05:00

I logged out of my email this morning to see this article on Yahoo News. Normally I would probably pass it up, but with all the recent discussion in our home about potentially moving to Korea (via USAF) I was intrigued enough to read it. I am pretty uneducated when it comes to history and international affairs/politics, but I have come a long way through The School of Matt's Personal Knowledge. To his credit, he really knows his stuff. He's always been interested in history (he nearly majored in it), he's very knowledgeable about it, and he makes it so someone like me can understand!

Anyways, "skirmishes" as the articles refers to them, seem fairly common between "the Koreas" (as Lisa and I have begun to refer to them), but this one got me thinking about our potential move there. Plenty has to happen (if you're in to acronyms, they are TX, IFF, and RTU) before this could occur, but there's only about a year standing between now and then. If Korea's in the Plan, I'm all for it.

As I mentioned before, I've been meaning to catch up on posting. A few weeks ago, we made it up to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, pictured above. It is just an hour or so north of us, and offers light hiking, decent views, and famous Meers cheeseburgers! The burgers are definitely the best part, and you feel better about eating the gigantic thing after walking around on the trails for a few hours.

We brought Charlie with us for his first hike. It was pretty hilarious to watch our fluffy while poodle jump, climb, and scramble up large rocks and in between cacti. He LOVED it, and was actually really good at it! His only probably was moving so fast that his lungs couldn't keep up!

I love this picture. Charlie looks huge compared to the earth below; like he's standing on top of the world.

Matt and I really enjoyed getting out of town and into nature...so much so that we went again a couple weeks later:)

A bit of this and that

2010-11-15T15:26:00.003-05:00

Aahhhh. Deep breath. It is (finally) a delightful time to write to you. To me. To whomever (definitely me), if anyone, reads this blog.

The last few days have been marked by remarkable frustration. Nothing big - no need to worry. It was just one of those bouts of not-being-able-to-put-your-finger-on-it-ness that had me in a funk. It started with Veteran's Day (no offense to the Veterans; I'm very grateful for you). Matt had the day off, which made it feel like Saturday. Then Friday (he went back to work) felt like Monday, and Saturday felt like -well- Saturday, but then Sunday felt like Saturday, too (we thought the Killians were going to have their baby, and due to a series of events neither of us went to church, so a day off without church of course feels like Saturday). You would think three Saturdays would be awesome, but it was just rather strange for some reason; hence, the funk.

Wow, I am really ranting and pouring on the parentheses. You're so patient to read this. Anyway, today, after a delicious night's sleep, the funk is gone! I prayed and prayed and tried to see the positive. I tried with all my heart to put my "delight in the Lord," and he delivered "the desires of my heart" (peace and lack-of-funk) for sure (Psalm 37:4). And so it is no coincidence that I would be delighted to write to you now.

It is quite lovely as I sit here and write to you with a hot cup of one of my favorite brews. This tea is actually a kids' tea, the package covered in giraffe spots, but it is sooo good. My throat was a bit scratchy, so I thought this "throat coat" might do the trick. Also, it is made even better by the 60 degree air that is filled with a healthy dose of midwestern style cloudiness above. Maybe it will make you laugh, as it does me, to know that whenever it is overcast here, it reminds me of home! Heck, I'm even wearing a sweater!

My posting has been so sparse in the last few months. I have no idea why except that I seem to make every other thing a priority. Well, there's a bit of a new game plan and it includes a bit more time for posting. This is good because, I like being able to share with you about what's going on in our lives.

There are lots of little things lately, many including this new dog of ours. Here he is, a bit cautious looking, after our first at-home haircut. I took him to PetSmart the next day to have them trim it up and do his face. It looks much better now! In fact, it's grown out a whole month's worth, which tells you just how long it's been since I've posted.

Coming this week to blogland: dog's first hike, adventures in babysitting, and a few good recipes.

For such a time as this

2010-10-12T10:45:00.004-04:00

I want to share with you an excerpt from my journal writing this morning. Keep in mind my current context of studying Esther (and her confrontation with her own destiny) with my group of women and Beth Moore's Bible study book.

"I was thinking about Mrs. Head. She left such a rich legacy. Some of it was with her work with children at the Child Development Center, but so much of it had to do with her character, her home, the way she lived her roles as wife and mother. She and Colonel Head did a lot during her life: raising a family (even while abroad), sponsoring many cadets and their families, writing a book, traveling, living for You.

They had so much in so many ways. In one way, they had a lot of things, but it was always so clear that those things were about what could be done with them -even if it was 'just' be beautiful or tell a story. And they didn't just tell any story. They told their story.

Now, I know I'm not Mrs. Head, and my story isn't going to look the same, but I'm pretty sure there's something -a destiny- equally important to fulfill. I guess the point -at least in Mrs. Head's case- is that destiny took a lifetime of 'little' things to fulfill it, but also, we don't know how long that lifetime will be. We must use the present for the Lord. We are brought into each day 'for such a time as this' -for such a time as today."

Mrs. Head was Matt's "sponsor-Mom" at the Air Force Academy. She passed away suddenly in December of 2007, but not without first touching many, many hearts and lives.

Esther was a secretly-Jewish woman made Queen of Persia in the time of Xerxes. During her reign, the whole Jewish people in Persia were sentenced to death because of one Jewish man's actions. In the face of fear and possible death, Esther chose to return to God in order to save her people because she was brought to "royal position for such a time as this" (Esther 4:14).