The Sweet Escape

I've been MIA.

Mainly because I've been feeling dead tired. I realized that the last time I actually took time off work was in February to go to Seattle.

There was a week taken off in July to work at Pemberton Music Fest with Ang and Domi followed by helping Farrah run a kid's camp in Whistler- while both were fun they were hardly a "break."

Standing on the other side of my holiday I realize just how tired I was. Thank God for sun, sand and turquoise seas to recharge the soul.

You know that feeling when you wake up after suffering the worst migraine or flu... that first day that you feel better?

That's how I feel.

My Ever Changing Blog

As the layers of the onion are peeled back, new insights are revealed.

First: I am a screw up...

...and by the grace of God, my weakness and inconsistencies don't have to define me. I can readily admit that others DO seem to do a better job of loving people- their actions speak SO loudly.

Second: So what?

Does that mean I shouldn't try?

It can be very intimidating when trying to make a positive change. Aside from the effort and personal challenge it poses, there is always the threat of hypocrisy.

Take making the choice to become a vegetarian, for instance. Sure, there is the initial discomfort of trying to figure out what to eat, and I can admit that some things (like junkfood meats: chicken nuggets, salami, bacon) smell SO good, but what is more unsettling is where does one stop? What about leather, dairy, eggs, seafood? It's a contradiction to be a vegetarian who wears leather and drinks milk from huge milk farms with exactly the same conditions as feed-lots.

...And so the well-meaning vegetarian is either criticized for being a hypocrite or they're sent running for the hills.

Third:It's a journey

Any choice to live more ethically is AMAZING. Period. I hate how positive action is cheapened by all the things you're "not doing"

If it was really that easy to have no inconsistencies then we'd all be saints.

...and while it is tempting to point a finger and say "while at least I don't ---" what does that achieve?

The well-meaning vegetarian is not choosing to be a vegetarian for all those angry meat eaters who are so bothered that they don't eat meat: well-meaning vegetarian is doing it for the environment and/or the animals.

I take renewed comfort in Mother Teresa's quote: "We can do no great things, only small things with great love."

I don't care if you're a vegetarian who wears leather or a meat eater who refuses to have dairy- what matters is that you're trying: you're putting one foot in front of the other...

It's On

They're going on tour!!!

I'd better start collecting pop cans so I can go! I nearly hyperventilated at Gwen's concert June '07... I plan on completely passing out at the No Doubt concert.

Merry Mix*mas

Christmas is just over one month away. I plan on getting into my decorations tomorrow, but before I deck any halls, I need music.

I've spent the better half of the afternoon rearranging my itunes library so that I have Christmas music for every mood. I downloaded Sufjan Stevens' Christmas album for something a little different.

This year I plan on doing Christmas a little differently. I plan to try really hard not to get sucked into all the consumerism and excess that often characterizes our North American holiday.

I know that it will be easier said than done as my love languages are quality time and gifts, but I have been feeling that Christmas has gotten a little out of hand over these past few years. Besides, whether I like it or not, it'll be a hard-candy Christmas with Scotty's return to school... so I might as well embrace it.

And who says rockin' around the Christmas tree (click here) is for the rich?

Creativity and dressing like a pirate aside…

...there are other bonuses to upcyling. One of them being that it’s one of those hobbies that SAVES you money (hmmm… more money in my pocket AND entertainment? … Dang).

I’ve saved a lot of money, which is good because we have less than we’ve ever had (I've chosen to embrace the "going-without" lifestyle, I believe it tends to make the good things in life that much sweeter). I have done a lot of mending too. Normally I would’ve just tossed inexpensive items, and replaced them, but instead, I have got good mileage out of my sewing kit.

Mending ain’t so bad if you can do it with your favourite movie on in the background.

Recently, it came to my attention that I am actually wearing-out some of my clothes. I have this cream racer-back tank top that I love, and I’ve worn it a ton of times as a camisole. The seams just started to go because it has been washed so much. In the past I would’ve just tossed it. I think it was $8 brand new, and would’ve only cost $15 to replace; however, I am not allowed to buy “new.” So I was forced to mend it. It saved me $15 bucks and took 20 mins from start to finish. I realize that those simple mending jobs all tallied up have saved me a nice little stash of cash over these past 9 mos.

And that’s just money saved on replacing what you had. Most people shop to find new looks, or to update what they already have. Even if I find great deals, I never walk out of a mall with less than $50 worth of goods. Say I only hit the mall once a month- even so, I have saved $450 on the new stuff.

I have, however, been shopping. I have hit Value village a total of 3 times, and each time I have come out with an oversized bag-full of clothes to the tune of $60 a pop.

So I have spent $180 on clothes rather than $450 (and that doesn't include all the meding I've done).

And lets just say… even though I am a bargain hunter at heart, I definately spent more than $50 a month on clothes.

Oh Beppi

“Tough Times Cheap Wines”- Beppi Crosariol

Beppi has been thinking about building a recession cellar of wines costing $15 or less.

According to Beppi, the place you can get the most bang for your buck is the unoaked (oak meaning that toasty vanilla character) whites (no time in the barrel means savings).



*Leaping Horse Chardonnay. California. $12

“Compltely unoaked, it still manages to deliver the big tropica fruit flavour and buttery opulence of many oaked, warm weather counterparts, but with a fressness that makes a versatile food partner.”

*Jacques & Francois Lurton Les Fumees Blanches Sauvignon Blanc, France. $11

*Rene Barbier Classic White. Northern Spain. $10

*Blue Nun Riesling, 2007. Germany. $10

Be sure to look for Riesling on the lable or you will end up buying “the generic kitchen-sink Blue Nun blend that served as a sweet gateway drink for North American pop drinkers of the 1970’s… this is made from higher quality grapes… it’s not only an eye-opening value, but its off-dry character makes it a nice partner for spicy Thai dishes.”

There are cheap (recession-friendly) reds too.

*Roodenberg. South Africa. $15

“some readers may recall it… At one point, before the apartheid sanctions pulled it from the shelves, it was among the bestselling reds wines in the country… it is a full bodies, round, chunky wine.”

*Zuccardi Fuzion Shiraz Malbec. Argentina. $7.45

“I’ve raved about this before. It is a runaway bestseller in Quebec and Ontairo. And it remains a standout in price-quality ratio.”

*Santa Julia Malbec, 2008. Argentina. $9

This one is from the same winery as the above. Made the Wine Access “Killer Values” list.

*Argento Reserva Malbec. Argentina. $13

Also made the “Killer Values” list.

And the there’s even Bubbly to be recommended by Beppi.

Apparently if you don’t have tins of cash to throw down on a bottle of bubbly, your best bet is to go with something from Spain. “No country produces such consistently balanced, impressively complex sparkling wines.”

*Segura Viudas Brut Reserva. Spain. $14.95

Mother Teresa's Shoes

On Saturday evening some of my family hopped into my mom's minivan to make the trek out to Abbotsford to hear Shane Claiborne speak.

I was so excited to have my mom, brother and sister-in-law accompany us because Shane Claiborne's example had instilled sense of hope in me that I had never really felt before, and I was thrilled to share that.

Truth is, it's not Shane Claiborne that I am so enamoured with, it's his Jesus.

As I said before, I needed that spiritual smack upside my head that Shane's words gave me two years ago and he didn't dissappoint.

Luckily I brought my notebook.

While he spoke, I scribbled down points I wanted to think further on, to mull over, pray through and try to apply to my own life.

There were a few moments that I had to swallow hard. Partly because I felt so convicted, that looking at my own life and choices objectively leaves so many loose ends, so much unfinished, and much of my life falling so short of what God desires of me. The other part of me had to stop from breaking down because I caught glimpses of this God that I take for granted. This God that changes people so drastically if they are only willing to submit to Him. This God that loves me despite all my messiness, and more importantly, can use me even though I often feel so hugely inadequate.

One story that hit me like a ton of brick was from some of the time Shane spent in Calcutta working alonside Mother Teresa.

When entering the church to worship, it was customary for everyone to remove their shoes, and it was during these times that Shane noticed that Mother Teresa's feet were very deformed. So deformed, in fact, that Shane thought that it was perhaps due to leprosy.

He didn't dare ask.

One day, while talking to one of the other sisters, the subject came up. The sister asked if Shane had noticed Mother Teresa's feet. She went on to tell him that they get donations of shoes only once and a while, and there are only just enough for each person to get one pair. When the shipments come in, mother Teresa would sort through all the shoes. She would look for the worst for wear pair, and then she would claim them for herself.

Mother Teresa never wanted anyone to wear a pair of shoes that were in worse shape than her own.

It gives new light to being the hands and feet of Jesus.

As I sat listening to that story, much of my life began to swirl in my head.

I've never let her Jesus go that deep into my life. I make selfish choices all the time, and what's worse is that I rarely even realize I am doing it.

While I left feeling as though I fall so short...

...But I also left knowing that my God can use even me.