Song of the day

"Airplanes" by Local Natives. I was telling Little Bear about this song, and its awesome accompanying video, this weekend. Here it is!

Whole wheat crepes with fruit and nut compote

OK, I have to brag. I just made the best meal yet on my Daniel Fast! It was beautiful, delicious, nutritious, and surprisingly easy.

I made this recipe, making some substitutions for the sugar, all-purpose flour, and soy margarine with applesauce, whole wheat flour, and vegetable oil. I made the batter last night, covered it, and stashed it away in the fridge.

This morning, I concocted what turned out to be a very tasty topping/filling for the crepes:

-1 C fresh blueberries (or any other berries would be good!)

-1 sliced banana

-A dollop of no sugar added applesauce (maybe 1/3 cup or so?)

-Handful walnuts, crumbled into smaller pieces

-Enough water to make it sort of soupy

-Cinnamon (I didn't have any, but I think it would've been perfect in this.)

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Smush some of the berries with a fork. Heat on high. Allow mixture to boil for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Look for fruit to soften, and sauce to turn purple and thicken up a bit. Spoon into crepes. Roll crepes up. Top with remainder of sauce.

Here's how they turned out!

Daniel Fast: Day 5 Observations

I am now on day 5 of my 21 day Daniel Fast, as you probably guessed by the title of this post. So far, a few things have become very clear to me:

-I eat a LOT more food on this fast! I guess it takes a lot of vegetables, fruits, and nuts to fill me up.

-I also eat much more often- and I normally have 3 meals a day, along with a morning, afternoon, and sometimes evening snack!

-Each day, it gets a tiny bit easier.

-It's surprising how not having my one morning cup of coffee left me with a splitting headache!

-It's great how having a couple ibuprofen with breakfast helps that problem.

-And finally, God is amazing. He's showing me what sustains me; He's providing me with all I need.

Oh, and I heard this song today, and was so encouraged. Enjoy!

Love for the Day

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

-Lamentations 3:21-23

New Year

WOW I can't believe it's been so long since I've blogged! I hope you have had a fantastic Thanksgiving and Christmas. I've been thinking recently about New Year's Resolutions, and I couldn't really think of any...until today.

Allow me to share with you what I ate last night- after dinner, mind you:

-A bowl of oatmeal

-A veggie sausage patty

-3 Rocher chocolates

-A 3 oz. cup of Haagen-Dazs ice cream

Needless to say, I awoke this morning with that familiar feeling of "Oh no, I didn't...I did." I don't know how much of my late-night eating is emotional, and how much is a side effect of my nighttime medication, but the entirety of it is, well, not needed. I get plenty to eat throughout the day.

I get a daily devotional email for women, Encouragement for Today, from Proverbs 31 Ministries. Today's edition contained a verse that really resonated with me:

"... make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance..." -2 Peter 1:5a-6a (NIV)

I pondered this verse. I lacked self-control, but it is something that is added to knowledge. Do I have knowledge? Do I have goodness, onto which knowledge is added? I did a Strong's number lookup for both of these virtues. OK, I concluded. I have faith. That's a start.

Then, somewhere online this evening, I stumbled upon the Ultimate Daniel Fast. It is a three week partial fast, based on that of Daniel. It involves abstinence from certain foods, combined with ample prayer time. Call me kooky, but the idea of fasting intrigues me. It is definitely a neglected spiritual discipline these days. Perhaps it can draw me closer to God and away from food for comfort. The website is here, if you want to read about it for yourself.

Just to be sure, I'm going to read the book of Daniel tonight and pray about it. But I'm considering participating in the January 2011 fast, from the 9th to the 29th.

Sooo... anyone want to try it with me? Anyone??

Thank you, internets...

...For the adorable hilarity that is Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. Squeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Alexander: "Truth"

This song makes me feel so many different things (inspired, shaken, strong, lonely...) I had to share it. I think it's so honest and beautiful.

Heart at Work

Last week at work, the condensation from my drink dripped onto my call sheet. It formed the shape of a heart! I liked it. I picked it up to show my co-workers, that's why it has that drip from the bottom. Here's a pic:

Best Coast: Boyfriend

This song has been sloshing on the shores of my brain for a couple weeks, like some lazy late-summer wave. Enjoy!

Politeness

I really value politeness. I try to be polite to everyone, but I don't adhere to it at all times. I am a firm believer in the hand-written thank-you note, the timely RSVP, etc. So when was watching a rerun of The Office recently, I cracked up when I heard this quote by Andy Bernard:

You give me a gift? BAM! Thank-you note! You invite me somewhere? POW! RSVP! You do me a favor? WHAM! Favor returned! Do NOT test my politeness.

...Not so bad!

Yesterday morning, I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth extracted. I was so nervous- not about the pain, but about the anesthesia. I'd never been "put to sleep," before! Jesse graciously came along to be my driver/ hand-holder/ caretaker. Beforehand, a surgical assistant explained post-op instructions, and gave a similar brochure to Jesse, explaining that I "probably wouldn't remember this conversation." She also cautioned him that I may be unstable on my feet afterwards, and would need a watchful eye walking back to the car.

She took my vital signs and hooked me up to a heart monitor. Dr. Scheideman entered, rocking purple scrubs and round tortoise-shell glasses. He put a reassuring hand on my shoulder, and told me I would take a short nap, and then it'd all be over. I barely felt the tiny pediatric needle to start the IV. I heard him say, "I've started the medicine, let's see how that feels." The ceiling began to ripple, and then I was out. Just as suddenly, I was awake again. I wasn't nauseous, dizzy, or in any pain. In fact, my entire mouth was numb. The nurse tied an ice pack around my jaw. They asked if I felt like I could get up. I did, still feeling fine! I walked, unsupported, to the car. I was pleasantly surprised at my own lucidity. (For some reason loopy-ness was one of my fears about this whole thing.)

Jesse, I've got to say, was awesome. He kept an eye on time (time to change gauze, to take more medicine, put the ice pack on/off). He got me anything I needed or wanted. He rubbed my feet! He definitely deserves a gold star.

And I highly recommend Dr. Scheideman and his whole team if you need to have any oral surgery!

So, long story short, this was another experience that I worried about for nothing. Who has two thumbs and is glad she got it over with?

THIS GIRL!

Thanks, Ma!

It is great how moms can teach you valuable lessons by not doing or saying what you expect!

On Wednesday or so, my boss decided we should have a potluck lunch this Friday. Last night, I was telling this to my mom. "But," I lamented, "I have no idea what to make!" This was her cue. I held my breath for her to say, "Why don't you come over Thursday evening, and we can make (insert usual crowd-pleasing dish here)?" No such luck. All she offered up was, "Make something you like," along with, "I'm sure you'll think of something great!"

I racked my brain. I scavenged the internet. I knew that I wanted to make something healthy and fresh, as well as some sort of sweet baked good. Finally, I settled on Quinoa Avocado Salad, and Pumpkin Angel Puffs.

When I returned home from Target today, ingredients in hand, it hit me: this might be a lot of work! Had I gotten in over my head? Would my co-workers even appreciate these foods? And, more importantly, were they really worth my buying an $11 bag of quinoa?

I shook off my doubts, turned on my Musica en Español playlist, and got to work. In no time, it seemed, I was drying the last of the dishes, with my potluck contributions stowed away in the fridge.

I learned the following from my culinary efforts this evening:

-Quinoa doesn't take very long to cook at all

-Wearing an apron makes me feel like a productive chef

-Angel food cake batter= very fluffy

-Things that touch the oven's heating element, including cupcakes, catch on fire

-Homemade whipped cream is not only easy to make, it tastes heavenly

So thanks, Ma! I never would have learned these lessons without, er, with you!

Here's one of my Pumpkin Angel Puffs:

4th of July

Today my brother's sweet fiancee sent me a pic of Little Bear and I from the 4th of July. I love how she described it, that he looks like he's admiring me, "secondary to the fact that his eyes are closed." I thought the color, composition, and overall feeling of the pic were great- I had to post it here. :)

A Song & Verses for This Evening

Hi friends. Sorry I haven't written in so long! Things have been very busy up here in the treetops. I will try to write more later. But for tonight, I'll leave you with a song and some verses.

So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life- not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time...Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. 2 Tim 1:8-9, 12

Hallelujah!

I'm an award-winning nest-maker!

So, remember my post about my nests appearing in an exhibition? Well, the art show in which they debuted has won an award! Common Ground at Artes de la Rosa was voted Reader's Choice for the Best Gallery Art Show of the Last 12 Months in the FW Weekly's Best of 2010 Awards! See for yourself here! I am feeling like one proud bird.

Jam of the Day (Yesterday)

Matt & Kim's Cameras. Enjoy!

The prettiest things I've seen all day...

...Can be found right here. Swoon!

Last Night's Dream: An Apple, A Flood, A Supper...and A Nosebleed

So if you know me, or have just read the title of this post, you know that I have very strange dreams. But this one was especially strange, and especially vivid.

I dreamt that I was working in a school, and got a wicked nosebleed. (In real life I got them all the time as a kid, and now I still do occasionally.) I went to the school nurse, who, strangely enough, gave me a pill to take. I was concerned that it was an MAOI drug. (Really? Who dreams about this kind of stuff?) Would it interact with my prescriptions? I guess I wasn't that concerned, because I took it anyway.

The bleeding stopped, and I went back to class. I found that all the students had been taken to the gym, because there was a flood! I helped get them onto their buses to go home, and then boarded one myself. It was something between a bus and a big rig.

When I got on, I found it was filled with my family, friends, and co-workers from current and past jobs. They informed me that we were all going to my apartment for a dinner party! Initially, that made me excited. Then I thought, "Oh crap! My apartment is a mess!" As we rode through high, muddy water, I visualized a plan to run ahead of everyone, dash up the stairs, and at least tidy up the apartment.

We arrived, but everyone climbed the stairs right on my heels. Almost immediately, it seemed like people were having a fantastic time. Everyone sat at one long table, each guest placed next to others to produce great conversation and laughter. Pleased with the event, I rose from the table. I grabbed an apple from one of the edible centerpieces (?), taking a bite as I walked away. Then I choked on it! I stood with my back to the crowded table, trying to pull the pieces of fruit from my throat. All I could grab onto were tiny shreds of its peel.

That's when I woke up, coughing and gasping. Crazy, huh?!

So here's what dreammoods.com says about some of this dream's elements, some of which are pretty spot-on for me right now:

Choking

Choking dreams are often a fearful experience and it is not uncommon for dreamers to awaken from them. To dream that you are choking on an object, suggests that you may find some advice/remarks/situation hard to swallow or difficult to accept. Alternatively, you may feel that you are unable to completely express yourself in a situation. In particular, if you are choking on food, then it may be an expression of self-guilt and unnurtured feelings. If you are choking on smoke, then it indicates something you are unwilling to confront.

Flood

To dream that you are in a flood, represents your need to release some sexual desires. If the flood is raging, then it represents emotional issues and tensions. Your repressed emotions are overwhelming you. Consider where the flood is for clues as to where in your waking life is causing you stress and tension. Alternatively, the dream indicates that you are overwhelming others with your demands and strong opinion. Still another interpretation could be your desire to wipe everything clean and make a fresh new start.

To see a gentle flood in your dream, indicates that your worries over a certain matter will soon be swept away.

Nose

To dream that you have a bloody nose, means that your character is under attack. If your nose is stuffed up, then it suggests that you unable to freely and fully express yourself.

Party

To dream that you are at a party, suggests that you need to get out more and enjoy yourself. If the party is a bad one, then it indicates that you are unsure of your social skills. If you dream that you are at your own birthday party, then it represents appreciation of the life you have.

Beautiful

I happened to be in the car at times so that I heard this song (Mercyme's Beautiful) twice yesterday. Brought me to tears both times, so I figured I'd share it.

Haiku: To the Audible Breather Next to Me in Spin Class

I pedal so fast

But it is not fast enough

To shake your whistling