Back home again, jiggety jig. Well, that is to say, back with family. We are currently residing in a rather new rental home that is gorgeous, but entirely not what we are used to here in the Great Plains. There is a dishwasher, for pete's sake!!! I actually had to ask my 6-year old sister how to run it when Mom and Dad were out having dinner. She didn't know either, so we spent about a minute looking at the machine full of dishes, and finally one of the two of us suggested putting the newly-discovered dishwasher solution in the designated compartment in the door. Miraculously I pushed the right buttons in the right sequence, and the thing produced automatically sterilized dishes in about an hour.
Now the thing about dishwashers is that they don't ever actually WASH the dishes, they simply squirt water and soap suds at the dishes and then rinse it. Therefore we have to make sure the dishes are mostly clean before we put them in, which in my mind is half the job so why not do the other half while we're at it? However since there are now 7 people living here, 'just doing the other half' would take the hour that the dishwasher covers. Okay then.
Anyhoo. Am done with Christmas shopping and did about two thirds of my wrapping last night with my sister. She brought down two mugs full of egg-nog topped with some gourmet cinnamon purchased at the World Market and a bowl full of peppermints and we listened to christmas music on the computer whilst sharing war stories of how this or that was purchased. half the fun of Christmas is not neccesarily the GIFT but the story that goes WITH the gift. We don't do huge gifts here, like i-pods or what have you, but a small collection of tiny gifts that we put lots of thought and hopefully less money into. It drags the time gathered around the Christmas tree out longer, more laughts, more time to eat whatever ambrosia my Mom has concocted for that year, more stories shared.
Looks like we'll get a white Christmas, which is awesome, and the temperatures have stayed above 0 for two days. Happiness!
It's wierd living in this new house (the farmhouse was almost 100 years old) with mocha-colored walls and new kitchen appliances. But its been fun, also helping mom pick out new furniture and hear amazing stories about how so many people around the country even have chipped in to bless the socks off my family.
Now I have to go finish reading a book for class (two more chapters left!!) write a report on it, figure out what reading reports I have left on it, and then that class will be DONE. Which will be 3 out of 4. Whahooo!!
~Princess Ouch~
Living day to day trying to keep Christ as the focus
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Plans... as it were
So I am making my way across the Upper South/General Midwest back home to the Great Plains. This might be the worst-planned trip I've done in a while. My communication - especially with those at home - has been random, spur-of-the-moment, sporadic, and sparingly done. I was going to stay with my friend Kristi but we had a mix-up as far as communication went and that ended up not working out, so I'm staying with Amy. Which is fine, fun, and not a problem in either camp, just not what was planned on. However the PLAN wasn't really well developed or communicated in the first place.
The good news is that Amy, Kristi, and I are all Missions Majors, single, and young, and therefore perfectly fine with hopping around, switching plans, revising things here and there and postponing things or adding things or what have you.
However, on my family's end that doesn't work so well. There are far more people involved, car situations to manage and figure out, work schedules and co-ops to work around, parents don't enjoy driving for hours and hours in the wintertime as my peers and I (who think we've accomplished something all grown up and independant when we semi-risk our lives pulling a stunt like hours and hours driving thru cornfields after missing the right exit on the interstate and not wanting to back-track so pull out the map and revise our plans so that we keep moving forward, albeit at a far slower pace than on the interstate) and have been under intense stress and bizzare living arrangements for a while which makes spur-of-the-moment plan changes or sketcy communication an unwelcome complication.
So then therefore, I once again must pull myself back out of the clouds and back into reality where people are considerate of one another and communicate, and don't do things madly dashing about without thinking things thoroughly through and planning logically.
I will say its a good conviction to have such wake-up calls to my absent-mindedness, but I'll also admit to the irritation I feel when people can't do things as haphazardly as I do. In my mind, it's not that big of a deal and merely something to work around: a puzzle to be conquered.
But that's the thing about considering others. My own mindset is not the only one to consider. One day I too will quite possibly be managing a large(r) number of people, be working with adverse circomstances and challenging scenarios.
It's always a huge debate within myself between what my friends at college call "The Gypsy in Rachel" - to simply drop all and travel wherever, whenever, contact people when I show up or when I get to where I'm going .... or afterwards - and the need to be considerate of others and keep them happy and considered and pleased with me. Where I'm at or where I'm going is what is in my mind - where I have been (if I'm focused on where I'm at) or where I am (if I'm focusing on where I'm going) for some reason doesn't register as important. This is useful in ministry in that it helps putting oneself whole-heartedly into whatever is being done immensily... but it's TERRIBLE if there's people in one's life - say a Mom - who care and are effected by decisions.
So... all that to say... apologies all around to those who weren't communicated with effectively this trip cross-country. Hopefully with the acquizition of a cell phone I'll be easier to get ahold of.
Oh... wow... I'll own a cell phone again....
Not sure whether to gasp in pleasure or groan in dread.
Off to do some reading before bed.
~Princess Ouch~
(literally in this case)
The good news is that Amy, Kristi, and I are all Missions Majors, single, and young, and therefore perfectly fine with hopping around, switching plans, revising things here and there and postponing things or adding things or what have you.
However, on my family's end that doesn't work so well. There are far more people involved, car situations to manage and figure out, work schedules and co-ops to work around, parents don't enjoy driving for hours and hours in the wintertime as my peers and I (who think we've accomplished something all grown up and independant when we semi-risk our lives pulling a stunt like hours and hours driving thru cornfields after missing the right exit on the interstate and not wanting to back-track so pull out the map and revise our plans so that we keep moving forward, albeit at a far slower pace than on the interstate) and have been under intense stress and bizzare living arrangements for a while which makes spur-of-the-moment plan changes or sketcy communication an unwelcome complication.
So then therefore, I once again must pull myself back out of the clouds and back into reality where people are considerate of one another and communicate, and don't do things madly dashing about without thinking things thoroughly through and planning logically.
I will say its a good conviction to have such wake-up calls to my absent-mindedness, but I'll also admit to the irritation I feel when people can't do things as haphazardly as I do. In my mind, it's not that big of a deal and merely something to work around: a puzzle to be conquered.
But that's the thing about considering others. My own mindset is not the only one to consider. One day I too will quite possibly be managing a large(r) number of people, be working with adverse circomstances and challenging scenarios.
It's always a huge debate within myself between what my friends at college call "The Gypsy in Rachel" - to simply drop all and travel wherever, whenever, contact people when I show up or when I get to where I'm going .... or afterwards - and the need to be considerate of others and keep them happy and considered and pleased with me. Where I'm at or where I'm going is what is in my mind - where I have been (if I'm focused on where I'm at) or where I am (if I'm focusing on where I'm going) for some reason doesn't register as important. This is useful in ministry in that it helps putting oneself whole-heartedly into whatever is being done immensily... but it's TERRIBLE if there's people in one's life - say a Mom - who care and are effected by decisions.
So... all that to say... apologies all around to those who weren't communicated with effectively this trip cross-country. Hopefully with the acquizition of a cell phone I'll be easier to get ahold of.
Oh... wow... I'll own a cell phone again....
Not sure whether to gasp in pleasure or groan in dread.
Off to do some reading before bed.
~Princess Ouch~
(literally in this case)
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Thanksgiving retrospect
I really ought to be writing a book report right now.
However, I've been responsible for the last hour addressing homework-related issues, and so I'm gonna sneak in a few moments of fluff before going back to attempting this whole 'responsible adult' growing-up nightmare that I keep trying to wake up from. :-)
Thanksgiving week was the week after Finals. I didn't have any tests, but I did have a group project the week before that I somehow got through even though I had given myself a minor concussion, and had a church-plant-proposal-presentation the next week as well as worked 20 hours at my job. And tried coordinating with my excellent professors of different classes how to manage finishing the homework that slipped in October and the beginning of November. Bleh.
So Thanksgiving week I was burned out. I worked on homework for my Great Books class, which I am officially DONE with (hallelujah!), planned Thanksgiving dinner with my 8-month-pregnant-friend Samantha, ate, felt guilty for not getting more homework done, tried to figure out which place to get the windshield of my car fixed (and did a lot more relying on Robbie than I needed to but he was able to get a great deal at a decent place after haggling for about a week, so in the end it was good, but it was interesting getting to that point. Mechanics and their ilk are scary. Having girls handle car problems is like sending your wife to Home Depo or some other work-tool-infested warehouse. Double the time, money, and energy is spent, usually the wrong thing is purchased, the salesman and the customer is frazzled and frustrated at the end of it, and the end result is a lecture on gender roles, the degradation of our society, something about day timers, and a second trip by the husband to get the right tool commences. All that to say, I'm glad Robbie was there to figure stuff out 'cause I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I don't know that he did either, but he looked a lot more confident and his voice is deeper than mine so carries more weight with the burly mechanics and glass-replacement dudes), and tried to get my room somewhat clean.
Thanksgiving day I went to Sam and Andrei's at 10. We ate breakfast and then started cooking at about 11. Our menu was:
Refrigerator Rolls
Corn Casserole
Green Bean Casserole
Mashed Potatoes
Canned yams with marshmallows and brown sugar
Stuffing
Chicken
Dutch Baby/German Apple Pancake for desert
We decided to cook a chicken instead of a Turkey because there were only going to be five of us, and we figured we wouldn't eat an entire turkey before it went bad. The birds at Wal-Mart were humongous.
So Sam started getting the ingredients for the stuffing together and I started on the refrigerator rolls. I had never made them without mom watching over my shoulder, and so over-heated the milk, the yeast didn't get creamy like the recipe said it would and then once everything was mixed I put the dough straight into the fridge instead of letting it rise first.
So Sam and I giggled about how we were bound to mess SOMETHING up on our first thanksgiving cooking away from Mom's (it was her first Thanksgiving as a married woman) and I put the cloth-covered bowl in the semi-warm, turned-off oven to let the dough rise and began making the green bean casserole.
A little bit later Sam opened the oven and was greeted by cheerily crackling flames.
Apparently I hadn't told her I put the dough in the oven, or she had forgotten, and I hadn't heard her when she said she was going to preheat the oven for the stuffing.
Woops.
So she reacted by shutting the oven door and calmly calling her Romanian husband, and I reacted by opening the door and trying to beat the flames to death with another dishtowel.
Andrei walked in, threw us both out of the kitchen, and began filling a pan full of water and dousing the flames, dough, and oven whilst asking what on earth we were thinking by putting cloth and a plastic bowl in an oven of all things. I meekly tried to explain that that's how you let dough rise, and received a lecture on how his mother is a chef and she puts her dough on top of the fridge to rise, not in an oven!!!
Mihai, Andrei's father, was visiting from Romania and chuckled heartily while helping Samantha open windows to let the smoke out.
"You are not the first to do such a thing, Rachel. Do not fear, for you will not be the last as well." he said reassuringly at my flaming-red cheeks.
So back Samantha and I went into the kitchen and Samantha wiped out the oven and the floor while I tried to salvage the dough.
We both laughed that most people were experiencing trauma with the Turkey, but we decided to be non-conformist and have flame-broiled rolls instead.
Robbie came over at 2:45 and found Andrei and Mihai carving little holders in some decorative miniature gourds and pumpkins to hold tea-candles so that Samantha could make a fall centerpiece. The men talked while Sam and I finished a few things and about 3:30 we took some pictures before digging into our feast.
After dinner and desert Andrei read some out of Deuteronomy and the New Testament, and then we prayed in a circle, thanking God for the blessings He had given us and praying for friends and family members who didn't know Him.
The guys then fell into talking about linguistic properties of Mandarin, Romanian geography and evangelistic opportunities at seminary and the general city-wide area while Samantha and I collapsed in the living room, hoping that the guys would notice our prostrate state and give us foot massages. They, being guys, God love 'em, were dense, and kept discussing theology. But they did migrate to the living room and sat with us during their discussion.
Robbie drove me home soon after that and we laughed and talked for a while and I tried to get him to see the profound benefit of listening to Gaelic music before I headed up to bed. I'm not sure he learned his lesson about the tunes very well, but that's okay. He still hasn't quite accepted the value of Veggie Tales yet either, but guys are sometimes slow learners. Can't move too quickly with these deep, profound life lessons. ;-)
Anyway it was a good thanksgiving. Now I am off to write a book report.
~Princess Ouch~
However, I've been responsible for the last hour addressing homework-related issues, and so I'm gonna sneak in a few moments of fluff before going back to attempting this whole 'responsible adult' growing-up nightmare that I keep trying to wake up from. :-)
Thanksgiving week was the week after Finals. I didn't have any tests, but I did have a group project the week before that I somehow got through even though I had given myself a minor concussion, and had a church-plant-proposal-presentation the next week as well as worked 20 hours at my job. And tried coordinating with my excellent professors of different classes how to manage finishing the homework that slipped in October and the beginning of November. Bleh.
So Thanksgiving week I was burned out. I worked on homework for my Great Books class, which I am officially DONE with (hallelujah!), planned Thanksgiving dinner with my 8-month-pregnant-friend Samantha, ate, felt guilty for not getting more homework done, tried to figure out which place to get the windshield of my car fixed (and did a lot more relying on Robbie than I needed to but he was able to get a great deal at a decent place after haggling for about a week, so in the end it was good, but it was interesting getting to that point. Mechanics and their ilk are scary. Having girls handle car problems is like sending your wife to Home Depo or some other work-tool-infested warehouse. Double the time, money, and energy is spent, usually the wrong thing is purchased, the salesman and the customer is frazzled and frustrated at the end of it, and the end result is a lecture on gender roles, the degradation of our society, something about day timers, and a second trip by the husband to get the right tool commences. All that to say, I'm glad Robbie was there to figure stuff out 'cause I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I don't know that he did either, but he looked a lot more confident and his voice is deeper than mine so carries more weight with the burly mechanics and glass-replacement dudes), and tried to get my room somewhat clean.
Thanksgiving day I went to Sam and Andrei's at 10. We ate breakfast and then started cooking at about 11. Our menu was:
Refrigerator Rolls
Corn Casserole
Green Bean Casserole
Mashed Potatoes
Canned yams with marshmallows and brown sugar
Stuffing
Chicken
Dutch Baby/German Apple Pancake for desert
We decided to cook a chicken instead of a Turkey because there were only going to be five of us, and we figured we wouldn't eat an entire turkey before it went bad. The birds at Wal-Mart were humongous.
So Sam started getting the ingredients for the stuffing together and I started on the refrigerator rolls. I had never made them without mom watching over my shoulder, and so over-heated the milk, the yeast didn't get creamy like the recipe said it would and then once everything was mixed I put the dough straight into the fridge instead of letting it rise first.
So Sam and I giggled about how we were bound to mess SOMETHING up on our first thanksgiving cooking away from Mom's (it was her first Thanksgiving as a married woman) and I put the cloth-covered bowl in the semi-warm, turned-off oven to let the dough rise and began making the green bean casserole.
A little bit later Sam opened the oven and was greeted by cheerily crackling flames.
Apparently I hadn't told her I put the dough in the oven, or she had forgotten, and I hadn't heard her when she said she was going to preheat the oven for the stuffing.
Woops.
So she reacted by shutting the oven door and calmly calling her Romanian husband, and I reacted by opening the door and trying to beat the flames to death with another dishtowel.
Andrei walked in, threw us both out of the kitchen, and began filling a pan full of water and dousing the flames, dough, and oven whilst asking what on earth we were thinking by putting cloth and a plastic bowl in an oven of all things. I meekly tried to explain that that's how you let dough rise, and received a lecture on how his mother is a chef and she puts her dough on top of the fridge to rise, not in an oven!!!
Mihai, Andrei's father, was visiting from Romania and chuckled heartily while helping Samantha open windows to let the smoke out.
"You are not the first to do such a thing, Rachel. Do not fear, for you will not be the last as well." he said reassuringly at my flaming-red cheeks.
So back Samantha and I went into the kitchen and Samantha wiped out the oven and the floor while I tried to salvage the dough.
We both laughed that most people were experiencing trauma with the Turkey, but we decided to be non-conformist and have flame-broiled rolls instead.
Robbie came over at 2:45 and found Andrei and Mihai carving little holders in some decorative miniature gourds and pumpkins to hold tea-candles so that Samantha could make a fall centerpiece. The men talked while Sam and I finished a few things and about 3:30 we took some pictures before digging into our feast.
After dinner and desert Andrei read some out of Deuteronomy and the New Testament, and then we prayed in a circle, thanking God for the blessings He had given us and praying for friends and family members who didn't know Him.
The guys then fell into talking about linguistic properties of Mandarin, Romanian geography and evangelistic opportunities at seminary and the general city-wide area while Samantha and I collapsed in the living room, hoping that the guys would notice our prostrate state and give us foot massages. They, being guys, God love 'em, were dense, and kept discussing theology. But they did migrate to the living room and sat with us during their discussion.
Robbie drove me home soon after that and we laughed and talked for a while and I tried to get him to see the profound benefit of listening to Gaelic music before I headed up to bed. I'm not sure he learned his lesson about the tunes very well, but that's okay. He still hasn't quite accepted the value of Veggie Tales yet either, but guys are sometimes slow learners. Can't move too quickly with these deep, profound life lessons. ;-)
Anyway it was a good thanksgiving. Now I am off to write a book report.
~Princess Ouch~
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