Making Pepper Jelly

A few days ago I spent the afternoon with my friend Marie.  She is a lady that I absolutely adore!  Her children range in age from like 8-18 (four boys) and are some of the most well mannered kids I have ever met.  Marie makes homemade pepper jelly every summer with the peppers she grows in her garden.  In case you didn't know this already I am a big fan of pepper jelly.  I sometimes buy the Harry & David kind but not often since I'm poor.  Well...Marie invited me to come spend the afternoon at her house and learn to make pepper jelly.  All she asked me to bring was some jars and some sugar.  She grew all the peppers herself.  And she had the vinegar and pectin.  I came home with ten jars of pepper jelly.  I had so much fun.  I had intended to post pictures but I got so caught up in actually making jelly I forgot to take pictues of us making jelly. 

While we were waiting for the jelly to cool a little Marie told me about how to make other kinds of jelly.  She said if you can make one (and I did in fact make a batch of the pepper jelly) that you can make any kind.  I am excited to try and make some strawberry jam.  I am excited to have a skill that I have always wanted.  I feel like I can make something and give it to people as a gift and they will think I am so cool for knowing how to make this! Ha!  I am such a dork.

So this has me thinking about other things I want to learn to make.  So I am making a list of the things I want to learn to make.  I already have a list of things I want to learn to do.   I will probably post these at a later date.  I am excited that I am learning how to make things from scratch.  Oh, this is a random side note but my grandma gave me a bunch of vegetables from her garden so I am cooking lots of FRESH things this week and that makes me happy too! 

I guess this post was kind of random...but it's all I've got for now!

The Chronicles of Narnia

In March I started reading the Chronicles of Narnia series.  This was the first time I had read these books.  I remember in college I went with a group of friends to see The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.  It was actually a midnight showing and was used as an outreach event to tell people about Jesus.  When the movie was over I said to one of my friends who was with me "That would have been a really cool book."  He looked at me like I was crazy and said "It is a book."  I think I probably said hmm.  I don't know why, but not only had I never read these books, I had never even heard of these books.  So, I decided I would read them.  Then you know how that goes, that plan got put on hold...then I kind of forgot about it.  Then awhile back the whole boxed series showed up in a book order I was sending home with my students.  I decided I would buy the series for myself and finally read them.  I originally thought I could read them all in March.  I probably could have if I had been able to stay focused.  And if I had not decided that was also a good time to read the House of Night series.  So, I just finished the last one on Tuesday night.  Here are my thoughts...

I chose to read the books in the order that they were in when I got them.  I did some research before I started reading because I know there is some dispute as to what order the books should be read in.  Here is how I got them (it was labeled 'Author's Order'):

The Magician's Nephew

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

The Horse and His Boy

Prince Caspian

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Silver Chair

The Last Battle

I was not really sure about reading The Magician's Nephew first since it was not the first movie.  My only exposure to this series had been the first movie.  I am so glad I started with this book and I am so glad I followed this order in reading the books.  My favorite part about this first book was reading about the founding of Narnia.  It could have been so easy to get lost in the other stuff.  The strange dialect.  The characters who seemed not fully developed in a literary sense.  But then it gets to the part where it talks about the Lion's Song.  About how Aslan himself called Narnia into being.  About everything springing up and being brand new and being like things they had never seen before.  I was in awe.  It was beautiful and inspring and tear jerking.  I wondered a lot about how this compared to the creation of the world. 

The next book-The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe-was all I had expected it to be since I had seen the movie.  However, as it usually is, the book was better.  I usually like to read books first because the amount of detail that is in them that it is just impossible to include in the movie.  I enjoyed reading about all the things I had enjoyed watching.  The shapes that came to life and danced in the fire while Mr. Tumnus first played his song for Lucy, the emotion when he realized what a horrible thing he had done, the despair Edmund felt when he realized he was wrong about the Whtie Witch, the way Aslan spoke and roared and commanded his followers.  It was beautiful.

The Horse and His Boy was an interesting read.  For those of you who are not familiar it is simply a story about an adventure that happens while the children are in Narnia.  It is in the years between when they defeat the White Witch and when they go back through the wardrobe to find that though it had been many years in Narnia (almost a lifetime) it had been only fractions of a second in their own world.  Nothing happened that left me in awe, but this book was a quick and easy read.

Prince Caspian is maybe my favorite of these books.  I loved it so much I have decided I want to name a kid after Prince Caspian.  Caspian is brave and valiant and a gentleman.  He leads his people with ease yet gives respect to Peter the High King.  My favorite part of this book is the description of the battle.  I could literally see this happening like a movie in my head.  Few books pull me in the way this one did.  I love how when Aslan asks Caspian if he is prepared to be the King, Caspian says no and Aslan knows that is exactly what will make him a great King.  Peter and Susan so bravely and willingly walk away from Narnia in this book.  Some may not see it this way, but to me it was about sacrifice.  Peter would have loved to stay in Narnia forever and ever.  But he was willing to leave because he knew that was what Aslan wished. 

After reading Voyage of the Dawn Treader I watched the movie and was so disappointed in the movie.  I could so identify with Eustace.  It is so easy to think that I have it all together.  I love how he talks about being scratched out of the dragon.  He says that it hurt but it was worth it.  I love Reepicheep.  He is so ready to take on any adventure for Aslan.  How many times could we benefit from that example?  To be ready and willing to go into the unknown in pursuit of our God.  This books surprised me in it's descriptions of places.  I enjoyed the adjective rich text.  My favorite part of this story was when Aslan told Lucy she would have to come to know Him by another name in her world.  How profound.

The Silver Chair was one of the hardest for me to read.  It was slow going.  I had a really hard time getting into the book, but once I did I read the last half pretty quickly.  It was a good story about the rescue of Prince Rilian.  It just seemed somehow disconnected from the other books.  And I guess I don't have much more to say about it.

The Last Battle.  Oh how I enjoyed this book.  I was not expecting it to end the way it did.  If you are reading this blog, you MUST read the book.  And when you do I want to hear all about your thoughts.  I don't want to give everything away, but I guess I assume that most people have read this.  The fact that the author refers to the world as "Shadowland" is perfect.  I like that it's talked about how when they go into "Aslan's Country" it is like Narnia and also like their world but somehow better and brighter as if they has been only looking at a reflection.  And as beautiful and awe inspiring as it was to read about the founding of Narnia, it was just as tragic to read about the end of it.  Not at all what I expected, but satisfying. 

So, that said I am now done reading The Chronicles of Narnia.  I am going to start reading the True Blood series next.  Don't think I can pick anything much different from Chronicles of Narnia than that.  I now anxiously await the rest of the movies to come out.  I will be interested to see what movies they make and what movies they don't make and how they do them.  And that is all my thoughts on that!

Update

So I think this blogging thing would be so much easier if I had the internet at my house!  Oh, and on top of that my computer crashed.  Lame.  Good thing Ben pulled my hard drive.  He saved it and turned it into an external hard drive so all the stuff that was on my computer is still there...there is just no computer anymore.  I am hoping that that doesn't add a whole new level of difficulty to working on school stuff at home.  So a lot has happened lately.  Let me think.  Here is a quick update...at least the things I can think about...

*I had my birthday.  It was maybe the best birthday I have had in a long time.  First of all Alisa was here.  So I started my birthday with her singing to me and Charline texting me shortly after midnight.  This reminded me that I have two of the very best friends ever!  I woke up to birthday greetings from my family which is a tradition in my family and I love it.  I miss the days that we all lived in the same house and I got woken up to in person birthday greetings...but phone greetings are good too.  I love this tradition.  When I have a kid(s) I want to always wake them up on their birthday and tell them the story of how special they are and how God brought them to me cause those are some of the best moments.  The day continued by me finding out that Erica was in town two days early.  I got to go spend some time with her and Trevor for the morning.  Then I got to have lunch with Ringo.  I was so thrilled that he was in town and the timing was perfect.  I met his friend, we had lunch and then went to the high school to show her where we went to school.  This was so fun!  Then I took a nap and got ready for Bible School.  At Bible School the kids all sang to me.  After Bible school Shelley and Charline came over for cake and punch.  My day was so great.  My friends and family are so amazing.

Me, Ringo and his friend!

*I got to have lunch with Erica, Jamie and Alyse.  We started out with Trevor but he did not want to be at lunch so he hung out with his daddy and we had a girls lunch.  It was so good to hang out with them all at the same time.  We wished that our friend Dana had been able to make it, but she couldn't come.  Alyse entertained us all.  She talks so much!

*Oh, our family celebrated other birthdays!  We had birthday parties for Alyse, then Hunter, then Levi.  Levi was so sleepy at his party he couldn't even really enjoy opening his gifts.  I love seeing him discover new things though.  I am amazed by little kids!

* I went to the Kindergarten Conference at the Lake of the Ozarks.  This is where lots of Missouri kindergarten teachers get together for a few days to learn about new things in education and ideas about bringing fun things into your classroom.  It was pretty good.  I got some good ideas and I got to know the girl I will be teaching with next year. 

*I went to see the newest (and last ever) Harry Potter movie which was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.  Gosh I love that movie.  I did not read the books when they first were popular.  I was not part of the crowd who stood there in line waiting to get a book.  I was a late comer to the HP phenomenon.  But I did in fact read every single book BEFORE I watched ANY of the movies.  I prefer to have my own pictures in my head of how the characters look before I see them on screen.  I read the books quite quickly and then saw all the movies.  The last one I went with Mepps and I waited in line to see the midnight premiere.  It was well worth it.  As a matter of fact I am going to see it again tomorrow night with my sister. 

I am sure that there are more things I could write about to update you on my life...but I guess that's all I can think of for right now.  I still have some things coming up this summer and soon it will be back to school.  Soon it will be time to navigate my way through the chaos of kindergarten while adding as much sparkle as possible.  When I think about all the new adventures that lie ahead of me I am excited and nervous all at the same time.  Some kind of big things are happening in my life...things that will eventually be a whole other blog post and that I am excited for you to read.  Basically I guess until then I am just trying to stick to the status quo! 

That's all for now.  I finally finished reading the Chronicles of Narnia books so I'm working on writing a review for them.  :)

My Dad Rocks

**Note-I wrote this yesterday, but didn't get it posted.**

Earlier today one of my friends put as her Facebook status "my dad is cooler than your dad".  It was cute.  I could see her saying it.  But then I thought, no way, my dad is way cooler than any dad I know.  I have been blessed to have a lot of good men in my life.  It has been a joy watching some of those men (like my brother Neal) become amazing fathers.  Fathers who are active in their children's lives and aren't afraid to play with toys and act silly.  The dynamics of the father/child relationship fascinate me.  So today here are some reasons why my dad rocks...

*He chose to be my daddy.  He could have picked someone else.  That's the reality of adoption.  My daddy picked me-bald head, chubby cheeks, chicken pox and all-he picked ME.  Because of that choice I grew up knowing that I would never be alone in the world. 

*He taught me about hard work and surviving the hard times.  Let me just clarify that I was a brat when I was little.  (Some may argue that I still am a brat!)  I was probably really demanding and wanted lots of things.  My dad worked hard (as did my mom) so that we could have the things we needed and wanted.  When I was very little he worked on building bridges.  He would be gone for days at a time.  I know it was hard to be away and it was hard work...but he loved us enough to make sacrifices for us.  That never changed.  I can not even begin to fathom the things my dad has given up so I can have a good life. 

*He showed me what a good husband and a good father does.  My daddy cooks, cleans, does laundry, helps with homework, plays baseball in the yard, works with 4-H animals...he does it all.  He taught me by example the way that I should expect to be treated.  He taught me that I am worth much more than I often realize.

*He makes my friends feel loved.  In college my friends and I would call my dad about everything.  What kind of meat should we buy to grill or how do you get charcoal to light or what do we do if our sink is leaking.  We just knew that he would know.  And he always did.  Through the years I have had several "best friends".  My dad has always welcomed them and wanted to help them as much as he wanted to help me.  From giving advice on water leaks and car problems, to mixing drinks, to buying my friend a tire when she was visiting...he makes my friends know that they are welcome and loved in my family.

Quite simply...my dad rocks.  He always tries his best and everything he does and has done in his life has been for the benefit of his family.  I love him so much!

And because this year I had the honor of meeting Doug I have the number one reason why he rocks...

*He always WANTED me, even when he couldn't keep me.  He never gave up on me.  And when he found me he did not try to pressure me into being a part of his family.  He let me take my time and let me know that there was always a place for me there.  And he did not try to make my relationship with my daddy any less important.  He (and Dawn) acknowledged from the beginning how important my family is and how thankful they are that I had a good life.  

I am so lucky to be surrounded by such cool guys.

Class Reunion Planning

I have been a blogging slacker lately.  In my defense I have been super busy with other stuff.  Like watching multiple seasons of Dawson's Creek on DVD and unpacking TONS of boxes from my storage building and buying vintage Cabage Patch dolls and antique books at estate sales.  Also, I don't have the internet at my house currently.  I know...I've reverted to the dark ages.  Today I have lots to say but I'm gonna have to break it up into multiple posts due to time restrictions.  Right now at this very minute I am sitting in my office at church (where I am the Administrative Assistant and Children's Ministry Coordinator) and I am actively finding ways NOT to work.  I should be planning fall curriculum or working on Bible school stuff...but instead I'm writing this blog about something that has consumed much of my time lately...my high school reunion.  That's right folks...I graduated from high school ten years ago.  That makes me feel really old.  So I am going to be posting about party planning for the reunion.  (The event planner in me is so excited about planning this and sharing about it that it's almost disturbing.)

This is the invitation I designed for the event.  This weekend I got them back from the printer and I immediately found a flaw.  Not in the printing but in my design.  The yellow circle is slightly misshapen.  But I still love them.  And better yet I designed them.  I didn't have to order a pre made design from somewhere.  No, they're not ultra special or anything.  But it's a start.  I scribbled out my phone number on this one before I posted it.  But if you're reading this you probably already have my phone number. 

Other reunion updates...I have gotten addresses collected of about half of my class.  I am still working on the others.  I am searching online for graduation party decorations that say Class of 2001 but have had no luck so far.  I am thinking about designing some.  I am also considering doing cupcakes as favors...but the night could progress into more...uhm..."celebrating" (there is a bar next door to the event location) and carrying around cupcakes would not really be an ideal situation.  We'll see what happens.

Ok, that's all for now.  Back to work.  Later I plan to write about why my dad rocks.

Sunshine and Summertime

As of today I am officially done with teaching first grade at Paris Elementary.  I moved all of my stuff out of the room this morning.  I left it with blank walls and basically the way that it was when I found it four years ago.  With a few more games and puzzles and books on the shelves than before!  I do not feel like I am "in" the Kindergarten room yet since I can't move my stuff in until August.  The prospect of teaching Kindergarten is so exciting to me.  I remember my time with Mr. Leader's Kindergarten class in Maryville.  I am so excited for the possibilities.  Next fall I will welcome to school for the very first time the Class of 2024.  But enough of that for now...

Right now it's summer.  Time to think about summer.  There is so much for me to do this summer.  I am leaving on Thursday for a four day meeting.  Then I have a LONG summer of no work.  What in the world am I going to do for the summer you might ask...well, I would like to have another job.  Extra money is always good, right?  But in reality that might not work out for me.  So instead here are some things I want to do this summer...

*Finish unpacking the things I moved into my house last summer.  Ha!  I'm slow at unpacking and moving I know!  I want to unpack everything and organize everything.  I also would like to do some minimizing of the things I own.  Streamlining maybe.

*Paint my Sunday school room and do some organizing work at church.  We have rooms that are not at all being utilized because we have so much JUNK in them!

*Help plan and attend my ten year high school reunion.  I have nothing else to say about this one yet.  It's overwhelming to me.

*Hang out with my friends.  Especially those who are moving soon and those who are coming home to visit that I never get to see...Yes, Rica, that's you!!  I mean, it is summer break, I can't spend the whole time organizing and working.

*Finish a scrapbook.  I must admist I don't feel totally confident about being able to get this project done.  I don't even know exactly where to start actually.  But I'm gonna try.

*Write letters to people.  Real, hand written, snail mail correspondence.  I am particularly excited about this one.  I worry that letter writing is a dying art.  I have a really good friend who asked me recently (in a beautiful card none the less) if I would like to continue keeping up with her via written correspondence.  I am thrilled about this and plan to write her my next letter tonight!

Ok, that is a start of my list of things to do this summer.  Just a start.  I am sure I will think of more as the summer continues.  And of course there are always tons of little everyday things going on.  I am excited that summer is here.  I am excited for a break.  And I am excited for all I am going to get done.  There will be LOTS of chaos and I personally can not wait!!

Do You See What I See?

Do you ever look at someone and think “Man, I really wish they could see what I see.”?    This happens to me often.  I like to watch people.  And in this sport of people watching I have come to be pretty good at reading people.  I can often pick up on unspoken tension or underlying subtleties.  Twice recently I have had overwhelming thoughts of how I wish people could see themselves the way that I see them.  I have thought this about a lot of people in my life, but today I am writing about two people specifically. 

The first is a girl that has been my best friend for years.  I met her in my freshman year of college and, despite the fact that we did not like each other at first and had negative opinions of each other,   we have been friends ever since.  We have been in a few fights in the past several years.  We have even had fights where we didn’t talk for a few weeks.  But even when we fight we are still best friends.  When I have a good day I want to tell her about it.  When I am pissed I want her to be pissed with me.  When my heart gets broken I know I can always talk to her.  She is that kind of friend who is a forever friend.  The one that when I’m eighty and sitting on my porch drinking lemonade she is still going to be my friend.  So, this friend…well she sometimes does not believe in herself.  She wonders why she is not someone else, someone better than herself.  What I wish she could see is that there is no one better.  She is absolutely fantastic.  I wish that she knew she is beautiful and funny.  I wish that she could feel confidence in herself the way I have confidence in her.  She has the knowledge and ability to change the whole world.  She longs to be protected and adored.  I know that she will find those things.  If I could tell her one thing it would be that I hope she remembers that even when it hurts God is refining her into someone that will glorify Him in all she does, and that is a wonderfully beautiful thing.  You my best of all friends are simply amazing.  You amaze me daily and I hope the people you chose to let in your life know just how lucky they are to have you around.  I just wish that you could see what I see.

The second is a guy that is actually a new-ish friend.  Even though we have only been friends for a little while we connected right away.  On like the third or fourth day that I had ever known him he said in a video interview that even though we just met it felt like we had known each other our whole lives.  I could not have said it better.  I have come to think of him like a brother—and if you know how much I love and adore my brothers that is saying a lot!  We don’t have a lot in common besides music.  He knows more about the world (in a global perspective sort of way) than I could ever hope to know.  He is an athlete.  He is a musician.  In a recent conversation with him we were discussing the next big step in his life.  He has chosen to move approximately 868 miles away from his home to pursue higher education.  I am amazed (and I’ll admit slightly jealous because I love the area he’s moving to) at this next step in his life.  However, in my conversation with him he said a lot about how he is not ready to leave and what it comes down to is that he is afraid.  I think he is afraid he will fail.  He spoke about his mom and how she is so wonderful and helps him so much and does so much for him.  He talked about his friends and his girlfriend and not being around them.  What I wish he could see is that he has the ability to do anything he chooses to do.  Yes, it will require a lot of hard work.  But he is more than capable of doing that.  I wish that he believed in himself the way that I believe in him.  I wish he knew that he is brilliant and that his knowledge of people and culture far surpasses that of most people twice his age.  I wish that he could see forward to where his life will be in a few years.  I wish that he could see the way that when he speaks with authority people listen and that gives him the ability to command and lead.  I wish he knew and understood the depth of his talent.  He told me once "with great power comes great responsibility".  Well, my friend they are both yours to have.  And I promise that I will be there to celebrate your successes and encourage you through your failures.  I wish you could see what I see.

Does anyone else ever have these moments?  Times when you can see all that someone else could do and be if only they could see it to?