One of the fun things I have found myself doing more of lately is cooking and trying new things I'd been wanting to try for awhile.
This morning, for example, I finally tried out this recipe for making Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup. We are blessed to live in a city that has a million Starbucks (at one point our city had more Starbucks than the entire state of West Virginia). Not that I ever go...in fact, I've only been twice since we moved here 9 months ago! But there's something comforting just in knowing that they're there. But I digress...
Even though we live in Starbucks land, there is one very sad (dare I say, tragic?) difference between Chinese Starbucks and American starbucks....no special holiday drinks! :*(
That's right, no Pumpkin Spice Latte or Peppermint Mocha. (sigh) But that's where the Market2Meal blog saves the day! It turned out decently....might have had less to do with the syrup itself and more to do with the fact that I used the dregs of the morning's coffee and milk that came out of a bag that I heated up in the microwave. : )
I have to share what a victory even the process for finding the ingredients to make the syrup was. I had been wanting to make the syrup when I first saw it posted on the Market2Meal blog a month ago. But also, I only two of the four spices I needed. Nutmeg and cloves are rather hard to come by. A friend kindly gifted me a ziploc baggie of ground nutmeg from her stores, and so I was left to find ground cloves. I knew that my sweet mom was soon sending us a package which would contain all that I needed, but I felt like the need for cloves was a personal challenge. I not only needed them to make the syrup, but also needed them to make pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, and mulled cider. I found ground cloves online (the wonders of online shopping in China is another post altogether), but I needed the help of a Chinese friend to order it. Last Saturday we were having some Chinese friends over, and I had it in my mind that I wanted to make mulled apple cider. I knew that I had seen cinnamon sticks at the spice market, which got me to thinking that if they had cinnamon sticks there, they might also have whole cloves. I was determined to find out. Thanks to Google Translator, I figured out how to say cloves in Chinese (丁香, ding1 xiang1, for all my other China-dwelling friends) and set off to the market with the girls. I was stunned at how easy the whole transaction was. I simply walked up to the rows of spice bins, asked the lady (who was nursing her baby) if she had 丁香 and 肉桂棒 (rou4gui4bang4, cinnamon sticks). She said she did, put a bunch of both in two bags (about the same amount as you would find in the little McCormick tins in the States), and told me how much it cost. 4 kuai. Seriously? 63 cents? It was an I heart China moment, for sure. The mulled cider turned out beautifully, but still the question for finding ground cloves remained. Then along came my friend with the handy grinding attachment on her blender. A few seconds of pulsing, and voila! ground cloves.
Other adventures I've had in the kitchen this month...
...making my own mayonnaise (because I had run out of the kind I usually buy and really wanted to eat a BLT for lunch, plus my friend had recently been telling me how much better homemade is than store-bought)
...which I then used to make spinach dip (because homemade mayo only keeps for a day or two and I definitely had made way more than I could use up on a BLT)
...for which I had to make my own cream cheese (so easy and has inspired me with all kinds of possibilities)
It sounds like I'm boasting, huh? I think I am, a little. Be gracious towards me in this? When you daily lose your pride because of your inability to accurately communicate your most basic needs or when you have to ask someone what the differences are between all the different kinds of toilet paper at the store because you can't read, you gotta look for confidence where you can find it! : )
I'm starting to realize though that I may be using cooking as a form of escapism from the pressures of living cross-culturally and trying to balance a potentially unrealistic number of responsibilities. I suppose there are much worse forms of escapism I could be pursuing, but I certainly don't want to neglect other responsibilities just for the sake of making yummy comfort foods (click here on the dangers of baking bread)
Pray for me to have wisdom in this. This one interest is such a mixed bag of motives. Do I cook because I find it more personally pleasurable than playing with the kids or studying Chinese? Or do I cook because it brings me joy to serve my family in this way and creating happy memories for them, which is pleasing to God? Am I being worldly by being overly preoccupied with food (Philippians 3:19, Colossians 3:2)? Or am I being godly by receiving with thanks good things which God has blessed us with to enjoy (1 Timothy 4:3-5, 6:17-18, James 1:17)? To cook or not to cook, that is the question. The comment is now open for advice! : )
psalms
I'm the type of person who, when it comes to my devotional life, really needs a plan. Now, I am all about leaving space in our quiet times for the Spirit to speak very personally to our hearts, but more often than not, for me, that speaking often comes through the "assigned" portion of Scripture for that day. October came along, and since I didn't have any other study I was going through, I wound up falling back on the plan that I have for when I don't have a plan--reading the "Psalm of the Day." This is great and simple plan that Adam picked up from Don Whitney, one of his professors at Southern. The plan is this...whatever day of the month it is, read that psalm. You can also then add the number "30" to that psalm and read another, and then add "30" to that psalm and read another, and so on until you run out of psalms. So, for example, on the 16th, I would have read Psalm 16, Psalm 36, Psalm 66, Psalm 96, and Psalm 126. Now the beauty of this plan is that you don't have to read every one of those. I like the fact that you can scan a variety of different psalms and then spend focused time on one which seems to strike you. Not only that but you can spend time with the psalms in a number of different ways--inductive study, meditation on one verse, praying through the psalm, reading along with a commentary, etc.
I say all that simply to give some background to my month in the Psalms. I was particularly struck one day by this verse in Psalm 56: "For You have delivered me from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life." vs13
What a clear, succinct, beautiful way to describe why God has rescued us through Jesus--so that we may walk before Him in the light of life. I found that my time in the Psalms was helpful in growing in understanding of how to do that. What exactly does it mean to walk with God? A good start might be talking the "Psalm a Day" challenge, and let God use the Psalms to teach you how to walk with Him more closely.
I say all that simply to give some background to my month in the Psalms. I was particularly struck one day by this verse in Psalm 56: "For You have delivered me from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life." vs13
What a clear, succinct, beautiful way to describe why God has rescued us through Jesus--so that we may walk before Him in the light of life. I found that my time in the Psalms was helpful in growing in understanding of how to do that. What exactly does it mean to walk with God? A good start might be talking the "Psalm a Day" challenge, and let God use the Psalms to teach you how to walk with Him more closely.
crickets
Do you hear them chirping over here at this blog?
Sorry about blogging drought, folks. I promise we're still alive! To quote a kind friend who emailed to make sure we were alright due to my absence in the blogosphere, "I realize there is a better world (the real one), so hopefully you're living life to the fullest in that one." And that's just what we've been doing! Life this month has been B.U.S.Y. Every day I have about a dozen different blog posts in my head--pictures I want to post, videos I want to share, deep thoughts I want to "verbally process" via blog. But as I wrote back to my friend, when it comes to the limited "spare" time I have, blogging never seems to make the cut (although I sorely miss it and find it very therapeutic, plus it makes me feel more connected to all you loved ones over there on the other side of the sea). Because of all the things I just listed, I really want to try to find a way to make this blog thing work with my life. Pray for me?
In reward for your patience...
Sorry about blogging drought, folks. I promise we're still alive! To quote a kind friend who emailed to make sure we were alright due to my absence in the blogosphere, "I realize there is a better world (the real one), so hopefully you're living life to the fullest in that one." And that's just what we've been doing! Life this month has been B.U.S.Y. Every day I have about a dozen different blog posts in my head--pictures I want to post, videos I want to share, deep thoughts I want to "verbally process" via blog. But as I wrote back to my friend, when it comes to the limited "spare" time I have, blogging never seems to make the cut (although I sorely miss it and find it very therapeutic, plus it makes me feel more connected to all you loved ones over there on the other side of the sea). Because of all the things I just listed, I really want to try to find a way to make this blog thing work with my life. Pray for me?
In reward for your patience...
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| Caroline put this net over her head the other night and said, "Look at me! I'm a basketball!" |
What our family might look like if we had a boy...
Another expat family in our complex has this precious red-haired baby...between our two families, we just might have the highest concentration of red-heads in the city! Although the other night on the subway, Katie and I were standing next to 3 pairs of couples, all of whom had bright red hair! I have no idea where they were from--the language they were speaking was completely unintelligible to me! They looked at Katie and smiled though, convincing me once again that there exists an universal fraternity of red-heads.
Birthday party, China-style
We had a new first last night...attending a Chinese birthday party. One of Katie's classmates had a birthday party last night and was kind enough to include our family! I must be completely honest, though...it was only half-Chinese. The boy's father is an American who doesn't speak any Chinese (his kids are fluent in both languages), so we were wondering if, in part, we were invited just to keep the dad company. :0) All the same, we were invited, and we went...and had a great time. It was really great to get to know this family better, and we got the chance to meet more of Katie's classmates' families too.
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Katie with some little girls from her class. She told me that the one in pruple is her best friend from school and the one right next to her is her second best friend. She had no idea what the girl on the right was named. I'm amazed she can remember their names at all!
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| What Chinese birthday party would be complete without fireworks? |
Chinese people typically don't make a big deal out of birthdays (a tragedy, I know!). For example, when our tutor accidentally told us when his birthday was, we decided to have a party for him ('cause who doesn't like a birthday party?). He was somewhat embarrassed that he had told us when he realized we wanted to make a big deal about it. We explained to him that, as Americans and as Christians, we love birthdays and that he shouldn't feel bad because it was giving us great joy to celebrate him. He is a brother already, but we really felt like this was a great opportunity to help him understand God's great love for and delight in him. The day before his birthday, he said, "Mary, this is the first time I've ever been been aware of and looked forward to my birthday." Can you imagine? Oh, how the One who knits us in our mother's wombs and writes all our days in His book before one of them comes to pass, the One who sings love over us, the One who brought out the best wine to keep the party going, the One who sent a host of angels to celebrate the birth of His Son, surely He is One who loves a good birthday party.
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| The birthday boy with some of his biggest fans |
Flashback: Great Wall of China, Spring 2011
Sorry for the kooky angle halfway through. Let's just say I'm not the greatest camera person in the world...
Dancing Queens
It looks like I finally figured out a way to compress our videos so they would upload! Hooray!
Recent conversation with Caroline
(As I got her out of bed the other morning)
Me: Good morning, Care-bear!
Caro: I sept goot. I have happy deems.
(can you tell what I usually ask her first thing every morning?)
Me: Oh, good. What did you dream about?
Caro: Cookies.
Me: Wow, what kind of cookies?
Caro: Pink cookies.
Me: What shape were they?
Caro: Green and blue.
Me: (trying again) Were they shaped like anything? Like circles or hearts or stars?
Caro: (very confidently) Triangles.
Me: Oh, wow, pink triangle cookies. Were they yummy?
Caro: Yes.
Me: What did they taste like?
Caro: Um, pirates.
Never a dull moment around here, folks!
And for your viewing pleasure (hopefully, if it will upload), Caroline's favorite hobby of late is "reading" to herself. The words she says as she "reads" are quite amusing.
Me: Good morning, Care-bear!
Caro: I sept goot. I have happy deems.
(can you tell what I usually ask her first thing every morning?)
Me: Oh, good. What did you dream about?
Caro: Cookies.
Me: Wow, what kind of cookies?
Caro: Pink cookies.
Me: What shape were they?
Caro: Green and blue.
Me: (trying again) Were they shaped like anything? Like circles or hearts or stars?
Caro: (very confidently) Triangles.
Me: Oh, wow, pink triangle cookies. Were they yummy?
Caro: Yes.
Me: What did they taste like?
Caro: Um, pirates.
Never a dull moment around here, folks!
And for your viewing pleasure (hopefully, if it will upload), Caroline's favorite hobby of late is "reading" to herself. The words she says as she "reads" are quite amusing.
Baking less bread
Came across this excellent article the other day via Ann Voskamp's blog. As a believer who regularly struggles with attempting (and, of course, failing) to secure a righteousness for myself apart from Christ, I resonated deeply with many of the temptations this man mentions. This article is primarily aimed at homeschooling families, but I think any family who desires to be intentional in their parenting could benefit from this article.
Here's one of my favorite snippets to entice you to read more. (Note: where it said the word "homeschool" I have substituted the word "Christian.")
In the [Christian] community I have observed that there can be a great emphasis on outward appearance, whether it is dressing for excellence, modesty, grooming, respectful manners, music style, or an attitude of sober reverence in worship. Some even take their children down a country path of humble fashions, raising food, and making bread. Nothing is wrong with any of these things, but we must be careful - we can model for our children outward changes and easily fall into molding their behavior and/or appearance, while missing their hearts. In some circles emphasis on the outward is epidemic.
"A friend of mine, a homeschool mom, just passed away of cancer. In the week before she died, I asked her if she had any regrets in her life. She told me she wished she had baked less bread - she said if she had it to do over again she would buy bread and spend more time with her children. She had invested time and energy in pursuing the "path" because she thought it was part of the spiritual [Christian] package."
"She wished she had baked less bread." I love that line, for I feel it captures the spirit that so often catches me, namely, neglecting "best" things for the sake of "good"things. I pray that I will remember this sentence throughout the day and spend less time baking less bread. :)
PS-a friend of a friend (and this friend too)! recently wrote this blog post that I commend to you. A lot of what she said inspired me, but at the end in particular she has a couple of really good paragraphs about creating space in the day to"hear the hearts of her kids."
PPS-I would be remiss if I failed to note that one of the friends I linked to above just received the devastating news that she (a mother of three sweet and small boys) has breast cancer. Cari is one of my most favorite and precious friends from our time in Louisville, a woman I deeply love and respect and who has loved and cared for me well in spite of myself. I encourage you to check out her blog, where she honestly and transparently writes about her life. But I'd also like to encourage you to go to this site and consider contributing to a fund set up in her honor that will go towards the cost of her cancer treatments.
Here's one of my favorite snippets to entice you to read more. (Note: where it said the word "homeschool" I have substituted the word "Christian.")
In the [Christian] community I have observed that there can be a great emphasis on outward appearance, whether it is dressing for excellence, modesty, grooming, respectful manners, music style, or an attitude of sober reverence in worship. Some even take their children down a country path of humble fashions, raising food, and making bread. Nothing is wrong with any of these things, but we must be careful - we can model for our children outward changes and easily fall into molding their behavior and/or appearance, while missing their hearts. In some circles emphasis on the outward is epidemic.
"A friend of mine, a homeschool mom, just passed away of cancer. In the week before she died, I asked her if she had any regrets in her life. She told me she wished she had baked less bread - she said if she had it to do over again she would buy bread and spend more time with her children. She had invested time and energy in pursuing the "path" because she thought it was part of the spiritual [Christian] package."
"She wished she had baked less bread." I love that line, for I feel it captures the spirit that so often catches me, namely, neglecting "best" things for the sake of "good"things. I pray that I will remember this sentence throughout the day and spend less time baking less bread. :)
PS-a friend of a friend (and this friend too)! recently wrote this blog post that I commend to you. A lot of what she said inspired me, but at the end in particular she has a couple of really good paragraphs about creating space in the day to"hear the hearts of her kids."
PPS-I would be remiss if I failed to note that one of the friends I linked to above just received the devastating news that she (a mother of three sweet and small boys) has breast cancer. Cari is one of my most favorite and precious friends from our time in Louisville, a woman I deeply love and respect and who has loved and cared for me well in spite of myself. I encourage you to check out her blog, where she honestly and transparently writes about her life. But I'd also like to encourage you to go to this site and consider contributing to a fund set up in her honor that will go towards the cost of her cancer treatments.
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