And apparently Star Wars

Hello peeps in blog-land.

This has been one of those weeks where there has been so little and so much going on all at the same time that I find myself quite speechless.

Shocking... yes, I know.

Today I mainly wanted to let you all know that I've been busy rewriting my "About" page. It is done and up. You can link to it above or see it here.

I am also working on a list of favorite posts to give anyone new here a feel for what this blog is about... which in a Seindfeld-esque sort of way is "nothing."

So, if you have a particularly favorite post that sticks out in your memory, please leave a comment and tell me. You don't have to remember a title or date or anything. You could describe it like a Friends episode title... "The one where..."

I seriously need to stop watching re-runs.

Have a great day and may the force be with you.

Wordless Wednesday - A newly coined word

"Sunlashes"

Coined by my 7 year old.

Find other Wordless Wednesday posts at 5 Minutes for Mom.

All thinking aside, I have some feelings on the subject

I was asked to participate in a leadership class on Sunday nights at our church over the next few weeks. In fact, it was really weird how it happened.

I got a note about it from our worship pastor in the mail. It was addressed to me, but it read, “Dear friend,…” and proceeded to tell me that he had submitted my name for this class. Honestly, I didn’t pay much attention to it figuring that he had sent this same letter to a bunch of people in the worship ministry. And, I’ve never thought that he considered much about me at all… much less that I was a leader in the worship ministry.

But then, I also got an email from our children’s pastor that she, too, had submitted my name for this class.

OK, o-KAY. I get it. I’ll go.

We’ve talked about several aspects of leadership so far including hard skills (what a leader does) and soft skills (who a leader is). The hard skills include: crafting a vision, building a team, being an agent of change, executing/getting things done, communication, and inspiring others. The soft skills include: life long learning, authenticity, having emotional intelligence, possessing key character traits, people skills, and social intelligence. We are only about half way through this list and still have several topics to go, but this is a nice point for me to stop and take inventory of what I’ve learned so far.

I found it interesting that the same week that we talked about authenticity was the same week I had lunch with my bloggy friend at Notes from the Wall. One thing we recognized while we were at lunch was that some of our online relationships are more authentic than those in real life.

This was evidenced this past sunday when a dear woman who I have considered to be a mentor for many years came up to me and said, "My daughter says she knows more about you than I do now... she found your blog."

I find it interesting that at church we can walk around with the beautiful mask on and let everyone think that everything in our lives is just peachy. But on our blogs, we tend to tell the truth.

Why is it easier to tell the truth to people whom you do not necessarily see day to day?

For me, personally, I have such a hard time completing a thought when I speak that writing allows me to form my thoughts in to coherent sentences without being interrupted. With as long as it takes me sometimes to complete a thought verbally, I am assured to be interrupted as some point.

But this past week, we talked about emotional intelligence: understanding the emotional world in general, properly managing our own emotions, and properly responding to other people’s emotions. This is where I had a personal epiphany this week.

I took several personality profiles throughout college. The main one indicated that I respond to things from a feeling perspective rather than from a thinking perspective. I’m a feeler.

Well, I found out pretty quickly in the real world of business and banking that I couldn’t expect to be taken terribly seriously in business matters if all I talked about what how I felt about a topic. So, as a conditioned response, I began speaking about things as a thinker. “I think (this or that)” versus “I feel (this or that)”. This became such a habit that it is still with me today. I think I might even be considered a closet feeler at this point.

So, in the discussion this past week, we were instructed to respond to “head” (thinking) statements in kind (with “head” statements) and to “heart” (feeling) statements in kind (with “heart” statements). And it was at this point that I realized where some of my frustration has come from in dealing with other people when they do not respond to me the way I think (or feel? I’m so confused) they should.

I am putting statements out there externally as head statements, and yet, internally for me they are heart statements. They are being responded to as head statements, when really what I’m looking for is a heart response.

I’m putting one thing out there, and expecting something completely opposite in return.

It definitely keeps my hubby on his toes.

It really was quite an epiphany for me. And hopefully a moving forward point.

I feel better having said all that.

I also feel very itchy… still.

And I feel like the itching will never end.

But I also feel like the internet has shown me that there is always a worse situation than what I am in.

Miracle Monday - Praying for a Miracle

Today’s Miracle Monday post is not so much about a miracle that has happened, but a miracle we are praying for.

If you didn’t know, my parents are missionaries in South Asia. Their names and exact location cannot be published for security reasons.

They are overseas with a 2 year mission program designed for retirees. They are sent over and paid a salary for jobs that they do within our mission organization for our denomination. Along with their job responsibilities, they have involved themselves with several groups and put themselves in the position to minister to people in the country where they are currently living. It all keeps them very busy.

Recently violence and persecution toward believers has increased in the areas outside of their city, and it seems to be getting closer and closer to them. From reports we are hearing pastors have been murdered, homes and churches burned and many families displaced as they flea for their lives.

It is a serious situation. One that would not have come to my attention were it not for my parents’ presence in this area.

Right now we are praying for a miracle. For divine intervention on behalf of these believers as they follow the Father’s leading. For peace as they face horrendous atrocities. Wisdom on when to stand and fight and when to run.

Pray with me, friends. Pray for my parents and their safety. Pray for them as they minister to locals in their area who have been personally affected in these attacks.

Pray, believing.


You can find further information at the go2southasia.org website and specifics are located here.

To find other Miracle Monday posts, visit A Mom's Life.

Foodie Friday - Resources

It's possible that this may be my most random Foodie Friday post to date.

I got some bumps earlier in the week that I wrote off as bug bites. But then more and more showed up and began itching. So I called Thursday morning and was able to get in to see my doctor that afternoon. I also called my mom to confirm whether or not I'd had chicken pox.

So I went to the doctor... I had to step on that dreaded scale... and I had to get a shot.

Now, I'm currently known around my house as "Queen Itchy." If you'll remember from the Pixar movie Monster's Inc., the abominable snow man relays to Mike and Sully how big foot wore poison ivy on his head and called himself King Itchy. Well, now I'm the one with poison ivy. And here's the culprit:




My beloved herb garden. I was working in it and the rest of the flower bed on Sunday and don't at all remember seeing anything that looked like poison ivy or poison oak. It's stealthy. And vicious. Much like the devil himself.

So after the doctor and getting the kids shipped off to soccer practice with their dad, I headed to the grocery store to get a steriod cream perscription filled (which is NOT working by the way). While I was waiting, I wandered around the store, just enjoying being in the grocery store without kids. Because if you have kids, you most likely know that grocery shopping ceases to be any fun with them around.

And as I was wandering, I picked up a few extra things. You know, for the sake of research...




Which leads me to my topic for today. Resources. Specifically cookbooks.

Now, as you can see above, they come in many shapes, forms, and fashions. I find that having a variety to pull ideas from is helpful in my kitchen.

So many of what used to be considered gourmet restaurant type dishes are making it into the home kitchen these days. There is such a greater appreciation now (as opposed to in the past) for cooks and chefs. Evidenced by the crazy popularity of people like Emeril Lagasse and Tyler Florence. So with this rise in popularity has come an influx of cookbook resources on the market.

1. The Periodical

Even the periodical comes in many forms from the Rachel Ray magazine, to Southern Living, to Food & Wine and Gourmet. While I have used recipes out of almost all of these publications, I do not subscribe to all of them. I may pick one up in the airport for plane reading material or at the grocery store on a lark. But they do not serve me well on a regular basis. What I want from a periodical is methods and explanations to help me learn. Therefore, the one I do subscribe to is Cook's Illustrated. You've probably "heard" me sing it's praises before, and I'll do it again.

This is the magazine version of the public television program, "America's Test Kitchen." They take no advertising, so when they do food or product comparisons, I feel like they are giving unbiased opinions. Also related is Cook's Country which is similar and includes quick fixing recipe cards that you can punch out of each issue.




2. The Specialty Book

This is definitely not your mother's cookbook. There are entire cookbooks dedicated to variations of a single food, cooking method, or dish, like Risotto as pictured below. I also have in my library specialty books for chocolate, and baking. These are wonderful resources for really honing your skills in a certain area or giving you ideas for branching out beyond the way you might normally prepare a dish.

3. The Theme or Celebrity Book

This is different from the Specialty book as it may have a collection of recipes from many different genres of food but they are tied together by a theme or celebrity personality. Take, for instance, the Today's Kitchen cookbook pictured above. There are a lot of different types of recipes from a lot of different celebrity chefs, but they are tied together by the personalities of the Today Show cast. Or, for instance, in my library, I have several books based on the "French Classics" theme. Another variation of this might be the fundraiser cookbooks that we all have in our collections. These books are good to just see a variety of different recipes from a variety of sources.

4. The Old Standard

It never goes out of style, does it? It's the same cookbook your mother used... maybe even your grandmother... just a slightly updated version. Mine was up to date (kind of) when my dad gave it to me in college. I could never get rid of it, even if it is out of date, because there's something so familiar and down-home about it.

So what does one look for in buying a new cookbook? Well, obviously it depends on what you're looking for. This is something that you have to try several kinds of books and see what you like.

If you're anything like me, you'll choose books with beautiful pictures. I love pictures, especially beautiful pictures of food. But for a periodical, you would love the utilitarian no frills just give me the right information look.

Or, maybe you're like my friend Lolly and your favorite resource is the phone book.

You know, whatever works.

eeewwwwww!

One of the fun things Sarah got to do this summer was to go to a couple of classes/camps offered by our city's parks and recreation department.

One of them was called Creative Cooks. She's a girl after her mother's heart, I tell you. They made several edible creations and had a great time.

The other was called Camp Einstein and was science based. This gene, she got from her daddy. She had a great time and the worked with several different polymers (what ever that is).

It was either on Thursday or Friday of that week that she came home and informed us of the following very matter of factly, "Owls eat rodents and then throw up the bones. They catch them and eat them and then, blech, they throw up what they cannot digest, like the bones and stuff."

This was not a tidbit of information that I think either her daddy or I were really aware of so we acknowledged it as such and were ready to move on. Until she informed us that she brought some home to show us.

WHAAA?

Thankfully it wasn't the wet mess I was expecting.

But I can just see it now. They find this on a nature walk that afternoon and the teacher asks if anyone wants to take it home. Sarah raises her hand and says, "Oh, I want to." The teacher thinks for a minute back to the previous day when we were late to pick her up because the babysitter got lost and decided it would be a fair payback.

Oh, yes, I can see her sideways glance right now.

And thus you have my Wordless Wednesday post from yesterday.

Yes, they are likely rodent bones, brought home not by my son, or a cat or anything normal, but by my daughter because they were the vomit of an owl. Lovely.

So, a big shout out to Bethany at beyondthismoment who was closest in her guess in yesterday's comments.

I can mail you a prize wrapped up in a paper towel if you like...

Or maybe I'll just drop it in the trash.

Thanks for playing along with me, y'all. I enjoyed seeing what y'all had to say.

Wordless Wednesday - Take A Guess

I am very curious to hear what y'all think this is a picture of.

And on the eighth day, God created...

the internet. It's a wondrous thing, is it not?

I always thought I was pretty forward on all the computer stuff. I mean, this is how I grew up. But I find that I’m crawling my way into the 21st century.

I remember going to computer time as early as 4th grade. Our elementary school was one of the first in the district to have a computer lab. It was experimental. You know to make sure the whole computer thing was going to stick. We worked on 1st or 2nd generation Apple computers doing very simple learning programs. But we were cool.

I also remember taking a computer word processing class in high school. I had already taken typing, in which we actually typed on, you know, typewriters. But that experience in WordPerfect did little to really prepare me for the real world of computers.

I actually had quite a bit of computer exposure through my schooling years since my mom taught computer science and all. But most of what she did was WAY over my head and out of my league. Still is.

BTW - Did you know computers have their own language? I thought they all spoke English since that’s what shows on my screen.

I really started using computers, though, on a regular basis in college as I was writing papers and doing all manner of projects on PowerPoint by the time my senior year rolled around. However, Al Gore still had not invented the internets at that point and the email and I, we were not close friends yet. Oh, I had an email account through the school that I accessed one time, I think. But email was not the common thing that it is today.

(Yes, I hear you young-uns whispering about how old I must be.)

My love relationship with email and the internet came several years after college while I was working in banking. Once I quit my job when my first child was born, I told my man that I HAD to have a computer and internet access at home. So he was kind and got me hooked up with dial-up.

What a mighty good man he is!

And now, here I am, tapping away on my lap-top that is wirelessly hooked into my lightning fast cable internet. I have a blog, I am on twitter, and I just last week, set up a facebook account. I honestly have no idea what I’m doing with any of it… but here’s something I’ve noticed.

I have met some really neat people on the internet.

My first experience was after Sarah’s birth and also in the wake of 2 miscarriages in the fall of 2001… 7 years ago. I found a wonderful community of women on babycenter.com. I could talk to people who had children born in the same month/year as Sarah. And then, I was able to talk to other grieving moms who had or were currently experiencing the same things I was. Even to the point that there was a specific place for those of us who had experienced multiple miscarriages.

After a period of time, I moved on from that community, having not really made lasting friendships there, but having had the opportunity to write a lot of what I was feeling at the time… before blogs were a “thing.”

I didn’t return until a few years later when I found out I was pregnant again. I was terrified. I didn’t want to, but I went back to that online community of multiple miscarriages for support. And support, I found.

And talk about friendships. There is a group of us that still keep in touch.

So I have been well familiar with internet relationships for a while. However, it has only been in recent weeks that the internet world has become reality for me.

I had the opportunity to meet several of you at the LPL conference and Siesta Fiesta in San Antonio. However, as we all know, due to circumstances out of my control, I was not able to really spend any appreciable amount of time with many of you. And that really bummed me out. Totally.

But I got to have lunch today with a very special blogger friend. I honestly don’t even know how we found each others blogs. You know, click here, then there, then, oh, this is interesting. And whammo, the next thing I knew, we had totally connected.

And what a joy, to sit there, across from someone and be able to just chat away having never met her before face to face.

But we know each other. Just like I’ve gotten to know many of you. And I long for this to be a place where we can share, cry, and laugh until we snort or blow milk out of our noses.

Because we're friends.

And that's what friends do.

Immesurable Blessings

I touched on this a little on Friday, but I didn’t fully develop the thought until after I published my post. And by that point, it was, like, 1:30 am and I needed to get some sleep.

There are two ingredients to a party. People and food. No matter what the occasion, at least around here, where ever there is a gathering of people, there is usually food. AND, where ever there is food, the people… they come.

The enjoyment of the two go hand in hand, in my opinion. Maybe it’s a holiday gathering of family with turkey and all the trimmings. Or perhaps it’s a back-yard barbecue with kids screaming and playing in the background. Or, like our case on Friday, it’s an intimate gathering of friends around an exquisitely decorated table with a carefully planned out wanna-be gourmet meal.


The combination of the two ingredients significantly impacts your enjoyment of the occasion. If one is lacking, the whole evening may be mediocre and unmemorable at best. Or it could be completely shot at worst. But, if the gathering of people matches the atmosphere and food, then you could have the make-up of a great event that will leave you talking about it for days and wanting to do it again way too soon.

I’ve experienced both extremes. We have had occasions in the past where the people we invited came from several different groups of friends and therefore there was no cohesive conversation. We’ve had occasions where the atmosphere or food was not conducive to good interaction.

However, our combination on Friday night was perfection for me. Ten of us gathered around a table and talked about everything and nothing at all. We laughed until some of us cried, and others of us had to go to the bathroom (because you know, we’re females and we’ve given birth to babies). We ate and drank and shared stories about our children and about the great and mighty things God has done in our lives recently. My friend Cristel wrote a great post about our evening.


I got to thinking while we were all gathered around the table that evening how blessed I am by the friendships I have. How we all bring different things to the table (so to speak). For Friday night specifically, I brought the food to the table. Keal prepared the table itself, and oh what a beautiful job she did. Greg brought the wine. Erin contributed her fondue pot. Sarah & Steve brought the conversation and comic relief. How true is that of all our friendships?

All my friends bring something different to the table of my life. Some bring stimulating conversation. Some bring the ability to challenge me on matters of faith. Some are great shopping partners. Others help take care of me and my family when things are not going well. Some are encouragers. And still others are there to make me laugh until milk comes out of my nose.

But all of them, every single one, is a gift from God. I needed this reminder of how immeasurably blessed I am by each of them and each of you.

Thanks and Giveaway Winners

Can I just say I was WAY blessed by all of your comments the other day.

Asking you guys to tell me something about yourselves was totally a last minute thing. I totally just expected you to just tell me, "I like the color blue." But you totally exceeded my expectations.

Oh my goodness... could I just say totally one more time?

But I digress...

My point is that it just so blessed me to hear a little about all of you.

OK - so I went all technologically advanced with this thing and used random.org to get the winners of this here little giveaway.

Here are your random numbers:
8
7
5
Timestamp: 2008-09-13 16:55:39 UTC



8 - twinkle - Lifeway gift card
7 - the g's - Beth Moore booklet
5 - beyond this moment - Beth Moore booklet


So email me your address and I'll get these great goodies in the mail to you.