- Wearing the fun new hoodie that my brother J and his girlfriend R gave me for Christmas
- a few brief moments in worship at church this morning
- getting to take communion as Christmas draws to a close and the new year grows close
- I'm still doing the operation world daily prayer for a country, and loving it.
- trying out the new nail art kit mom and dad gave me for Christmas on my toenails. Let me tell you, I'm going to have some fun and professional looking toes from here on in!
- magic bags (I'm fighting a cold, and having a hard time getting warm, and these have been fabulous)
- the freedom to say no to a set of plans for the evening, in favor of recognizing what my desires and needs really were
- a long hot bath, reading a novel
- writing the reverb 10 post for today, and remembering some of the great food I've eaten this year
- the simplicity of a chef salad for supper, after a few days of nothing but very rich foods.
- catching up on my email inbox (now totally caught up!)
- ordering a movie online that I can't wait to collect some friends to watch together
- time with family, but also time alone.
- smiling at mom's face when her family called her from their get together, just as their football team (they're from Wisconsin, guess which "cult" they're a part of?) won their game today
- having a spot to curl up in mom and dad's basement for the evening, free from the pressures of my living situation at grandma's, and close to family, but still alone.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 133
Today's Daily 5:
Reverb 10: Day 26 - Soul Food
Today's Reverb 10 Prompt:
December 26 – Soul Food
What did you eat this year that you will never forget? What went into your mouth & touched your soul?
(Author: Elise Marie Collins)
Anyone who reads my daily 5 lists on a regular basis knows that food has an amazing power to make me smile and that it often makes the list of things I'm thankful for.
That said, a couple of meals this year stand out.
I've had some pretty great food prepared by family members this year, including yesterday's turkey dinner. (And I say that as someone who actually doesn't like turkey!) I have a cousin who is training to be a chef, and the food he and his mom have been preparing for our family gatherings has been pretty incredible. Yesterday's meal included appetizers, a soup course, a salad course, and then the main buffet dinner, and it was fantastic, particularly the spinach salad my cousin made. So good.
I ate some "new" foods this year, including the "butter burger" from Culver's in Wisconsin and Minnesota. My dad had been raving about that burger for a while, and I have to tell you, it was pretty tasty.
Some of my favorite food memories from this year involve friends, and the best of those happened during my trip to California. One of the first things we did after I met my friend in the airport was go for lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory. My friend introduced me to a dish called Mizithra, and, well, I may have fallen in love. (So in love that I was absolutely delighted to discover that I can get that particular delicacy here in Calgary, and that I found a friend who would indulge my tastes and meet me at Old Spaghetti Factory here for dinner!) In California I also ate the best steak dinner I've ever had, some fantastic authentic Mexican food, and what was quite possibly the best cheesecake I've ever eaten (and I say that as someone who doesn't like cheesecake very much!) Oh, and I almost forgot, but I had these crazy good chicken bite things for breakfast on the way to Disneyland. I can't remember the name of the fast food place where we got them, but they were TASTY, and I've wished since that I could find them here.
And then, there's the comfort food category. For me, that includes Almond Joy bars, Vietnamese, Subway, and Macdonalds. Almond Joy bars fall into a unique category, because they can't be purchased in the part of Canada that I live in, so any Almond Joy in my possession is either purchased when I travel, or sent/delivered to me by friends who live in the United States, or travel there for work or pleasure. The other three categories are simple, because I order the same things every time. At Vietnamese restaurants I always order "bun" - rice vermicelli with veggies, pork, and spring rolls. At Subway, it's always a turkey breast sub on honey oat bread, with lettuce, cucumber, sub sauce, sweet onion sauce, and light mayo. At Macdonalds, it's some combination of a cheeseburger, fries, and mcnuggets. These are the foods I eat when I want familiar and happy.
I love that taste has the ability to make me smile, and I look forward to meals, particularly when I can share those meals with the people who are dear to me. There's something unique and beautiful about sharing fabulous food and conversation with loved ones that I can't quite put words to, except to say that it is fabulous, and I long for more of those moments.
December 26 – Soul Food
What did you eat this year that you will never forget? What went into your mouth & touched your soul?
(Author: Elise Marie Collins)
Anyone who reads my daily 5 lists on a regular basis knows that food has an amazing power to make me smile and that it often makes the list of things I'm thankful for.
That said, a couple of meals this year stand out.
I've had some pretty great food prepared by family members this year, including yesterday's turkey dinner. (And I say that as someone who actually doesn't like turkey!) I have a cousin who is training to be a chef, and the food he and his mom have been preparing for our family gatherings has been pretty incredible. Yesterday's meal included appetizers, a soup course, a salad course, and then the main buffet dinner, and it was fantastic, particularly the spinach salad my cousin made. So good.
I ate some "new" foods this year, including the "butter burger" from Culver's in Wisconsin and Minnesota. My dad had been raving about that burger for a while, and I have to tell you, it was pretty tasty.
Some of my favorite food memories from this year involve friends, and the best of those happened during my trip to California. One of the first things we did after I met my friend in the airport was go for lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory. My friend introduced me to a dish called Mizithra, and, well, I may have fallen in love. (So in love that I was absolutely delighted to discover that I can get that particular delicacy here in Calgary, and that I found a friend who would indulge my tastes and meet me at Old Spaghetti Factory here for dinner!) In California I also ate the best steak dinner I've ever had, some fantastic authentic Mexican food, and what was quite possibly the best cheesecake I've ever eaten (and I say that as someone who doesn't like cheesecake very much!) Oh, and I almost forgot, but I had these crazy good chicken bite things for breakfast on the way to Disneyland. I can't remember the name of the fast food place where we got them, but they were TASTY, and I've wished since that I could find them here.
And then, there's the comfort food category. For me, that includes Almond Joy bars, Vietnamese, Subway, and Macdonalds. Almond Joy bars fall into a unique category, because they can't be purchased in the part of Canada that I live in, so any Almond Joy in my possession is either purchased when I travel, or sent/delivered to me by friends who live in the United States, or travel there for work or pleasure. The other three categories are simple, because I order the same things every time. At Vietnamese restaurants I always order "bun" - rice vermicelli with veggies, pork, and spring rolls. At Subway, it's always a turkey breast sub on honey oat bread, with lettuce, cucumber, sub sauce, sweet onion sauce, and light mayo. At Macdonalds, it's some combination of a cheeseburger, fries, and mcnuggets. These are the foods I eat when I want familiar and happy.
I love that taste has the ability to make me smile, and I look forward to meals, particularly when I can share those meals with the people who are dear to me. There's something unique and beautiful about sharing fabulous food and conversation with loved ones that I can't quite put words to, except to say that it is fabulous, and I long for more of those moments.
Such Relief
I read this passage the other day, and was so struck by the "out" it offers. Such relief in not having to work to make myself respectable.
Hebrews 9:15 (The Message)
"Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God."
Hebrews 9:15 (The Message)
"Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God."
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 132
Today's Daily 5:
- Dad's "famous" hashbrown breakfast
- good times with family (even with changing dynamics that I sometimes struggle with)
- fun giving presents
- opening a few different gifts that made me smile
- opening apples to apples after almost picking it up at work yesterday in exchange for a donation. I would have taken it, but my brother gave it away to a client, and while I wasn't that disappointed, I did harass him about giving away "my" game all day yesterday. Then I opened the gift he and his wife purchased for me this morning and turns out he'd given it away yesterday so as to not ruin their gift for me today! Oh, we laughed!
- watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas" for the first time ever - I loved it! (so thankful for the friend who gifted it to me earlier in the week)
- great food prepared by my cousin (training to be a chef) and his mom (the one from whom he got the passion for great food)
- tried something new food wise (didn't like it, but working on being open to expanding my palate and horizons and willing to try new things)
- stealing a few minutes to just read quietly
- curly hair - I loved the way my hair turned out today, with minimal effort
Reverb 10: Day 25 - Photo
Today's Reverb 10 Prompt:
December 25 – Photo – a present to yourself
Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.
(Author: Tracey Clark)
I spent a few minutes scrolling through photos from the last year and realized that this was definitely a year where I spent a lot more time behind the camera than in front of it. Since I find photography therapeutic, that's not really all that surprising, but it does make it interesting to try to find an image that best captures me from within the past year.
I narrowed it down to these three images.
A dear friend who I met in person because of this blog took the first shot. It's taken at the beach at Coronado, and I love the smile that I'm wearing. It's a smile that reflects the fact that I was resting, that this trip was an escape, to find joy and to pray. I love the ocean and being near the ocean on a sunny day in early fall was just about perfect. I also love that I'm wearing a scarf in this photo. I wear them most days, and almost all of my scarves have a meaning or a place attached to them. That particular scarf was a gift for my 27th birthday, and was purchased in Germany and mailed to me from the Czech Republic by my dear friend and former roommate, L.
The second photo was a self-portrait, taken in either Bragg Creek or Kananaskis, on a late fall day. I was out hiking with my mom and her cousin, and I was happy. I love being in the mountains, and as I recall, that day was particularly lovely.
The third portrait is also from California, and was taken by a mutual friend of myself and the other LP/CA, the friend I flew to California to meet. I love that this photo shows a friendship that has been full of laughter, and that it showcases some very happy memories. That particular day we attended a Moroccan Tea, and that tea is one of my favorite memories from that trip.
December 25 – Photo – a present to yourself
Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.
(Author: Tracey Clark)
I spent a few minutes scrolling through photos from the last year and realized that this was definitely a year where I spent a lot more time behind the camera than in front of it. Since I find photography therapeutic, that's not really all that surprising, but it does make it interesting to try to find an image that best captures me from within the past year.
I narrowed it down to these three images.
A dear friend who I met in person because of this blog took the first shot. It's taken at the beach at Coronado, and I love the smile that I'm wearing. It's a smile that reflects the fact that I was resting, that this trip was an escape, to find joy and to pray. I love the ocean and being near the ocean on a sunny day in early fall was just about perfect. I also love that I'm wearing a scarf in this photo. I wear them most days, and almost all of my scarves have a meaning or a place attached to them. That particular scarf was a gift for my 27th birthday, and was purchased in Germany and mailed to me from the Czech Republic by my dear friend and former roommate, L.
The second photo was a self-portrait, taken in either Bragg Creek or Kananaskis, on a late fall day. I was out hiking with my mom and her cousin, and I was happy. I love being in the mountains, and as I recall, that day was particularly lovely.
The third portrait is also from California, and was taken by a mutual friend of myself and the other LP/CA, the friend I flew to California to meet. I love that this photo shows a friendship that has been full of laughter, and that it showcases some very happy memories. That particular day we attended a Moroccan Tea, and that tea is one of my favorite memories from that trip.
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