cookiegirl's Xanga

Feels Like Home

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:50:19 GMT

Happy November.
I am a newly arrived Vancouver immigrant.

Awoke at 6am, which was really 7am, after a solid sleep on the loft bed.
It is quiet here. I like it.
The unpacking of boxes continues. Brain is unceasingly making decisions on how to place and organize, how to give each item a place to belong (Is this why we call our things belongings?). The sustained brain activity tires me.

Last night I tried to rest, only to get up and unpack a few more boxes. There are brief moments of true rest, when I am thankful, when I surrender. I am learning to let go, to believe in my faith, to trust that things will be fine without the effort of my worry. To be faithful and to worry are a direct contradiction, I am learning.

It is truly a beautiful morning.
I really love this couch.

When people say they are bored, don't they really mean that they are lonely?

Breakfast at Bon's
We help ourselves to coffee and serve refills to one another. You can chat about your weekend, where you're from or where you're moving to, and tell stories about your experiences.
You can be quiet amidst the hub-bub and read a few pages from your book. You can make faces at the baby sitting at the next table, welcoming the child into the morning ritual. Someday you can say the you've been coming here since you were born.

Quotes from a Four Year-Old

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:12:35 GMT

Sometimes Nyomi calls me on the phone, usually when she is expecting me to visit. It is always so endearing to hear her voice, charming and innocent, but tinged with impatience, asking me when I will be available, letting me know that she is already waiting, giving suggestions on what we should do or where we should go.
"Are we going to Disneyland today?"
"Can I show you the dinosaurs at Metrotown? We need to follow the map!"
"How old is Micah turning? Did you know I am already four years old? And then I will be five, and then we will both be six!"
"Do you like tea? I like hot chocolate. Coffee is nice. Do you have it with nuts?"
"So you will come over right away, after you have your coffee, after you go to your meeting, right?"
"okayseeyousoonbyebye!"

Friday, August 14, 2009

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:58:00 GMT

Calm me, O Lord, as you stilled the storm. Still me O Lord; keep me from harm.
Let all the tumult within me cease. Enfold me, Lord, in your peace.

After the Heatwave

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:03:30 GMT

cold cool morning
mind already racing
reminder to rest in Your Word

James 1:22-27

²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

²⁶If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Weekends

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 05:52:06 GMT

Friday:
Cleaned the bathroom :)
Read on the patio with perfect coffee
Lunch with my brother at a neighbourhood Vietnamese cafe
Mani/Pedi
BBQ at Pru's
Food prep at Coleen's

Saturday:
Read on the patio with perfect coffee
Made cookies for Grandma
Made couscous salad for Monday
Friends got married!
Good BBQ food
Thunder and lightning!
After party with unlimited beer and ice cream, deep fried wontons and SATAYS!

Sunday:
Read on the patio with perfect coffee
Friends had a baby boy!
Listened to a friend
Praised God with a DJ and MC, electric guitar
Played tagged with 3 kids
Got a fabulous jacket on sale
Walked The Drive and spent $7.50 on food.
$.50 on organic lemonade, sold to me by a 5 year-old, to give all proceeds to the homeless.
$1.00 on one cup of jumbo blueberries
$3.00 on half a plate of indian food (I bargained from $6!)
$3.00 on the "best cappucino in Vancouver" at Joe's Cafe
Reflected on the Sabbath day, on worship, knowing the poor, and life transformations
Played glorious beach volleyball
Mario's Gelato!

Been totally spoiled lately. But still so much to pray for. Lots on my heart, happy but still heavy. Sam leaves for 5 weeks tonight to be culture shocked by family history and present. Hope he does okay.

Summer is Here

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 05:04:29 GMT

It just sank in for me on Thursday afternoon - I was free! Since the beginning of May I had been bound to books, preparing for the course (which was amazing) and then afterward preparing for the papers that were due. I believe summer arrived while I was on the island but I didn't let myself feel it lest I be distracted from the thesis that was forming in my head. Sure, there was lots of "natural light" while I was reading, but that wasn't summer. It was just long days.

But now.
Now.
Summer.
Is.
Here.

How do I know? I had 2 kinds of ice cream on Friday. Spent the day with Nyomi buying fruit and bread, on the playground, having cookies, at the carousel, having ice cream, by the lake. And THEN I was blessed with Montreal smoked meat for dinner. And what a fine, fine dinner it was. A beautiful day of sunshine made even more gorgeous by wonderful, glorious, meat. I love being an omnivore. And then topped with ice cream from God - Coffee Crisp Ice Cream. Don't tell me it's on sale at Superstore for only $5.99 - ignorance is better for my waistline. Then a movie, a powerful story, and then late night bubble tea, waiting outside in muggy evening heat. Nothing says summer like waiting in line...

Today, a lazy Saturday morning, washing the car, then getting a haircut, finished with crazy voluminous curls. With the dark sunglasses I felt like I was in disguise, and it was hilarious. Off to a BBQ to bless dear friends for their upcoming bundle of joy. Woman'ed the grill of satay and veggies. What says summer louder than satay? Tried the warm and wonderful curry peanut sauce with everything - carrots, celery, nachos, pita bread... even chocolate brownies. I tried to invent Malaysia Reese's Pieces but I don't think it will fly. It wasn't bad but it wasn't really good either. Nice try though. Everything is just a vehicle for peanut sauce.

Prayer for ministry and leadership and direction. God is so good, and we are so blessed to have each other. I can't wait for tomorrow at the beach.

Weekends are awesome.

Pace

Sun, 10 May 2009 19:41:58 GMT

This little patio set (which I got for FREE) has become my new sanctuary, my breakfast and reading nook. How perfect it is that the mini-yard of this townhouse only gets sun from about 9:30-11:30am, when the birds are chirping, the breeze is light and traffic has not yet begun it's stirring.

The cherry blossom tree has now littered the green grass pink and the pedals threaten but have yet to drift into my coffee cup for a forbidden sip.

This spring has been one that I have truly witnessed newness of life, with all the anticipation that it brings and the joy which we have yet to fully understand.

I keep using the word "yet"... hmm... I think I see a theme here...

Time to get back to reading.

Numbers

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:57:29 GMT

My life is almost like a Mastercard commercial.

Regent College... $475.00 per credit, 3 credit course
plus $400 for food/lodging for 2 weeks
plus $35 registration fee
-------------------------
= $1860.00

2008 Income tax return
= $1876.00

God is so good.

I won't even get into how the whole Macbook deal went down but I think I saved around $250 bucks. Not to mention I've practically already got my money's worth on this thing. I use it more than my Canon camera. That's A LOT.

Still being stretched, still trying to live out my faith, still failing most of the time.

It's all good.

Happy Pie Day! Weber Q Episode 7... 8?

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 18:38:58 GMT

Okay this is what I've done this morning... I think it took longer to type this all out than to do it!

made coffee
3/14 = pie day
found 2 cans of peaches in the cupboard
started moving all the cans from top to bottom cupboard
reorganized other cupboards to consolidate coffee/teas and spices
got a chair so i could reach top cupboards
moved the chair to clean the inside of the microwave from the chili i heated up yesterday morning and splattered everywhere
surfed the internet to rest my arms and looked up peach pie recipes... here is my "rookie" recipe:

Jo's Leftover Peach Pie

Strain juice out of 2 cans of peach halves you found in the back of the cupboard.
Dump into bowl and squeeze the juice of a half a lemon over it.
In another bowl, combine the following:
1/3 cup crushed walnuts,
1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice (didn't have nutmeg so this was the closest I could get - else it's 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, maybe)
1 tbsp brown sugar

Arrange peach halves (center up) in the one Tenderflake frozen crust you had leftover in the freezer - take one at a time so you don't pour in the bit of juice leftover in the bowl.
Add a spoonful of cornstarch to the bowl to use up the juice (probably 30ml cornstarch with 30 ml juice? I don't remember) and mix to thicken. Add walnut mixture in and toss. Oh, add a few drops of vanilla extract too.
Evenly sprinkle crunchy mixture over the peaches in the pie. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 F on the lower rack (I don't know why, but that's what I did). Remove to cooling rack and let it sit for 45 minutes at least. Then take a few pictures and dig in.

I actually baked it at 350 for about 10 minutes, then cranked it up to 425 for about 20 minutes more after checking some other recipes. Do whatever you like. I don't know if this even qualifies as a pie because there's no top but peach halves look very pretty with the walnuts inside. Maybe more juice and cornstarch if you want the filling to be more gooey but the peaches stayed more intact this way and I kinda like it. Quite sure I'll never make it same way again... that's the way it goes!

So by this time it's maybe 10:30 and I'm getting hungry. My awesome friend Eva had made me chicken satay that needed to be grilled so then I fire up the barbeque and get started...

Open fridge door and get out marinated chicken satay, the bag of red peppers.
Look in cupboards for skewers, then change my mind because it's too messy.
Get distracted by cupboards and reorganize a bit more.
Notice the experimental yam* bought on Wednesday and go online to look for bbq yam recipes. Here is what I came up with:

Aromatic BBQ Yam Steak Fries
Cut yam into wedges, think a little bigger than steak fries.
Drizzle and toss with olive oil (a.k.a. e.v.o.o.).
Add sprinkling of salt, dried basil and dried rosemary and toss some more.
Place on bbq and turn every 4-5 minutes over medium heat for about 20 minutes or so.
Drizzle more e.v.o.o. as needed about halfway through and sprinkle with brown sugar too. Remove from bbq onto one of those super cheap ikea plate/bowls and sprinkle with brown sugar and dash of cayenne pepper. Cover with foil so it melts the brown sugar and doesn't dry out.
Eat at your leisure as you blog about your food-adventures.

That was a good one. Had the bbq on pretty low heat and it worked out well because I cooked the chicken satays on the left, yams on the right and had one red pepper in the middle. Fell in love with grilled peppers over the Weber-Q episode 1. Something to salivate over, messily eat with hands, sweet like candy, smoky rich flavour... *makes Homer Simpson drooling noise*

So it's only 11:45 by the time I turn off the propane and I'm super stuffed right now on pie, chicken, and yams. The pepper has been ignored because I can't type with messy fingers. I drizzled honey over the chicken because it got a bit dry and then swiped peanut butter on the side of the bowl to dip.

My morning of fasting, cleaning and praying has turned into a crazy feast.

Why does this always happen to me?

* I like to buy different food products I don't usually eat so I can learn to use it. I bought canned crabmeat (like canned tuna) from Costco ages ago and finally made a crab-pesto cream sauce with pasta on Tuesday - that was awesome. Come to think of it, the little jar of imported pesto was bought even longer ago!

Someone didn't get the message...

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 05:49:23 GMT

There was a freak snowstorm this afternoon. Again. Plus, it was sunny at the same time. Too bad we couldn't get some rainbow popsicles out of it... or even a decent rainbow. It's like the weather was schizophrenic.

I thought we talked about this already. Psycho.

(No offense to anyone who actually has schizophrenia. The rest of us are just trying to cope with it too.)