come, see

moving day!

2009-12-14T18:44:00.002-08:00

I'm a little sad right now.

It's not that I don't like Blogger, I just am ready for a change. An upgrade, if you will.

So long, Blogger. You are like a comfy pair of boots that I've had for years. But the hole in the sole and the worn down tread leave me cold, wet, and wanting more. Thanks. It's been real.

Now you can find me at http://fowlerama.wordpress.com/

snow day

2009-12-13T21:50:00.002-08:00

We had quite a bit of snow today, and it was unexpected which made it even better. When we walked out of church (which was the children's Christmas program...) the ground was covered and more was falling. So of course as soon as we got home we took Lola out to play in the snow. It was so fun! I've also downloaded a few new actions and textures and enjoyed playing around with them in Photoshop. Then we took a nice walk in the snow and ended the day having dinner with friends at Coza! So I'd say it was a good day all around. :o)

3...2...1...

2009-12-12T16:27:00.002-08:00

DONE!

I've been "disciplined" and avoided the internet for the past few weeks because I've been working hard on wrapping up the wedding photos from my friends' wedding in October. I'll post some on my photogblog soon.

Also, just a heads up, I have decided to move my blog to Wordpress.com I love Google, probably always will, but Blogger just doesn't have the kahones that Wordpress has. Plus, I can consolidate my blogs, having a common dashboard and central location for checking/updating blogs.

Also, only four days until we head south for Christmas! :o) I've already watched Elf 3 times... and I may or may not be watching it right now as Buddy calls Miles Finch an angry, South Pole elf.

Cleanliness is next to Godliness

2009-11-28T20:05:00.002-08:00

So I spent about 6 hours today scrubbing my bathroom and kitchen. I had my rubber gloves on so long my hands smelled... not so good. For almost the last four years I've been trying to find a cleaner that actually gets/keeps glass shower doors clean. I think I found that today. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It works quite well and thought I'd share that with you.

I also thought I'd share another way that Brian and I (but mostly I) have been keeping our lives a little more organized. I've never been one for planning. I.e. in school, if the teacher asked for an outline, I would write the paper and then give them an outline from that. For some reason it's hard for me to sit down and map out thoughts. But I forced myself over that hump (it took a good hour the first time) and started making weekly meal plans. From there I can make a very good grocery list, making sure I have every little thing I need.

Here is a link to the meal chart I made. I also included a place to keep track of my water, coffee, and soda intake and my exercise.

And here is a link to a blank grocery list I made. (There are two blank lists on one page.) It's organized according to the layout of the grocery store I always go to, but you could make your own according to how you like to shop.

Do you have any tips or tricks that make your life easier? I've been eyeing these recipe jotters thinking I could easily make may own version...

Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T10:37:00.003-08:00

We had an awesome time celebrating Thanksgiving this year! I even got to watch part of the parade! Our wonderful friend's family hosted Brian, me, and two of our Canadian friends for the Big Meal. It was a mini project reunion, minus the other half of our team from this summer.

Here are some photos from Turkey Day:
Megan cooking pancakes for us.

Megan and her jersey from Hjorring Fortuna. (I know I didn't spell it right... I don't speak Danish.)

Brian getting familiar with the rules before they dove into Uno Madness.

Let the Madness begin!

Megan freaking out as the tiles popped. They don't call it Madness for nothin.

The delicious spinach salad with pears, parmesan, and homemade vinaigrette.
And some reading material about Fortuna.

Tim was ready for the man food.

Laura, our hostess, showing off the beautiful sweet potato pie. (She did the marshmallows, Fred did the rest.)

Fred carving the bird. It was so good. He's quite the chef. I won't tell you his secret for getting such a juicy bird. ;o)

Megan diving into the goodies. She cleaned her salad plate first, so I suppose it's okay.

Thanksgiving Eve

2009-11-25T16:01:00.002-08:00

I know it's been a long time since I blogged, and I know you've been checking here everyday for the past month crying, waiting for us to check in, desperate for news from the Great White North. Well we're back! Alright, enough of that. ;o)

These past few weeks have been busy but good, sorting through things and figuring out life together. The rain has set in. It's dark by 3:45. I feel like a bear getting ready for hibernation in my cave. But I'm so excited about Turkey tomorrow! For the last 3 years I haven't celebrated Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving. And worst of all, I haven't watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!!!! But I will tomorrow. :oD

I've updated my photogblog so you can check that out. Also, you can check out my Flickr site any time to see what we've been up to in pictures.

Also, life update, we got Blackberries. Was it a good idea? We'll see. But so far so good! I always have my calendar at my fingertips and don't feel the urge to respond to every single ding. Plus, it has BB Messenger which means I can text anyone with a BB for free any time.

That's all for now. It's date night and we rented Four Christmases. :o)

Quinoa Recipe

2009-10-22T19:47:00.003-07:00

In an effort to be healthier, we are making some lifestyle changes including daily vitamins, exercising more (okay, that's just me), and changing our diet to include more natural, whole foods. Part of this diet change is to incorporate more protein in every meal and snack. I have been searching for good recipes for home made granola bars, oat meal, and general recipes with quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah by the Canadians), millet, and kamut. Those last three I hadn't heard of before a few weeks ago. Well, I have a good recipe for quinoa and thought I'd share it with you. I adapted it from a pasta dish I used to make.

Ingredients:
1 C quinoa (rinsed and lightly toasted in the pot you will cook in)
2 C water (vegetable stock or chicken stock would be good too)
1 C shredded cheese (parmesan or cheddar would be good)
1 large zucchini, chopped into bite-size pieces
2-3 roma tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped into bite-size pieces
extra virgin olive oil
S & P to taste

Directions:

Rinse quinoa and toast on medium heat, stirring until it's dry and slightly brown. Add 2 C of liquid and bring to a boil. Cover with lid and simmer on med-low heat for about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
Chop zucchini and tomatoes and place in a mixing bowl. Drizzle with e.v.o.o. until coated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (I like to use Montreal Steak seasoning sometimes).
Spread the zucchini and tomatoes on a baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and broil until they are brown and look nice. You may want to oil the baking sheet with Pam or e.v.o.o. on a paper towel.
When everything is done, add the vegetables and cheese to the quinoa and stir until the cheese is melty throughout. Enjoy!

enlightenment and cortisol

2009-10-21T13:00:00.003-07:00

I had the most enlightening and helpful doctor's appointment yesterday afternoon. I left my naturopath thinking, "I wish I knew this 5 years ago. I wish everyone knew this!" You may not know, but I've been dealing with health issues that flared up this summer and have been going to a naturopathic doctor since we got back in September. It feels so good to finally know what's behind all of these symptoms that I didn't think were related. I'm going to be a little more open in this blog than normal because I feel like it's beneficial for you. Over the past few years, pretty much since graduating, getting married, moving to Canada, and starting a new job, I've had various different health issues that were wearing on me. I have been having irregular heartbeats, suffering with depression that was set on from seasonal changes, feeling quite sick/nauseous a lot more than a normal person should (but I wasn't pregnant), feeling tired and weak, lack of clarity (can't think of words or put my thoughts into cohesive sentences so much so that I knew something was off in my brain), sleeplessness at night, extreme anxiety, cuts and bruises seemed to take longer to heal, and I just didn't feel like my normal, generally positive self.

My doctor determined that I have "21st Century Stress Syndrome." In other words, I have adrenal fatigue. You're probably familiar with the phrase, "fight or flight." Well, in our culture we can't fight or flee from most of our stressors so we're stuck and our body takes a beating because of it. When you experience stress, your brain sends signals to your adrenal glands, which are located on your back over your kidneys. Your adrenal glands then release cortisol. When enough cortisol reaches your brain, you experience the, "Okay, everything will be okay. I'm going to figure this out..." feeling. But if you've been under a lot of stress consistently or a major stressor (like unemployment or being in a job you hate, death of a loved one, major life changes, etc.), your adrenal glands can't make the cortisol fast enough and your body begins to feel the effects of it.

Cortisol does a lot for your body other than helping you feel calm. It regulates your blood sugar levels and sodium levels, helps maintain a healthy white blood cell count, makes you feel awake, helps your immune system, helps you remember things, acts as an anti-inflammatory (it reduces histamines so if it's low or missing, you may feel like you're having allergy attacks that you've never had before), and more stuff that I can't remember. (Ha.)

I feel better already, mentally that is, just knowing what's going on. I have started taking some supplements and have talked with her about lifestyle changes including diet and exercise which should help. It's good to know that I'm not going crazy and it wasn't all stuff that I just had to live with. I will get back to normal soon. :o)

If you want to read more about it, here's a good article from Project Aware. If you read it and feel like it's describing your life, talk to a professional. I had never heard of a naturopathic doctor while living in the States, but perhaps there are more out there now. Their goal is to get you back to good health naturally, not just treating the symptoms but taking care of the root issue. Seriously, I feel like my life was a piece of paper full of dots and she connected them all and now I have a picture of a flower.

what do you see?

2009-10-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

when you see this blog, do you see chocolate?

wedding photos

2009-10-20T09:36:00.006-07:00

So I officially completed my first wedding as a paid photographer. :o) I learned quite a bit and am still a little sore, but I had a great time and am so thankful for the opportunity. Here are a few of the things I learned:

Most importantly, I could not have done it alone. Beth, you are awesome and I'm so glad to work with you. hmm... something about FowlerFisherFotography has a ring to it. ;o) Perhaps it's the hunter-gatherer part of me that likes the name.
I will wear my Uggs next time.
Professional wedding photographers must have their own special work out routine which includes lots of squats and other such awkward poses.
In order to be a healthy photographer long-term, I will have to learn some hand stretching techniques. Seriously, I had "the Claw" by the end of the night. ;o)

I'm planning to post some of my favorites of the bridal portraits from a few weeks ago now that the Bride is officially married and the Groom has already seen the dress. You can check them out on my PhotogBlog: http://carolinaphotography.wordpress.com/

bridal portraits at the mental hospital

2009-10-07T16:05:00.002-07:00

This past weekend I got to shoot my friend's bridal portraits. It was quite an adventure! (I would post some pictures, but I don't want the groom to happen upon them before the wedding, so I'll wait until after they're married.) We wanted to get some shots at River View Hospital in Port Coquitlam. It used to be a mental hospital but has not been in service for over 20 years. According to Brian, that was my first mistake, going to an abandoned mental hospital. But it has such beautiful landscaping and architecture. There are actually brick buildings with white columns; a rarity in these parts. Here's a collection of photos to give you a feel for it.

Well, the bride was all decked out in her dress, hair done, vail on, shoes shining. We start walking to a building and a security guard comes out of no where and in broken English explained that we weren't allowed to take pictures on this part of the property. When we asked where we could take pictures his response was, "Maybe down closer to the hospital." Sign number two that this might not work out.

So we drove a bit further into the property and parked near some cottages just above the hospital (where they are filming something... I have a feeling they're filming a scary movie or Smallville or something). We walked over to the cottage, found some nice shade, and snapped a few pictures. Then as we were walking back to the car, two more security guards pull up, one behind my car and one beside my car. Sign number three. One guard steps out of his car and is wearing rubber gloves. My camera is already in its bag and I'm putting it in the back seat of my car. But I think to myself, "He's either going to take my camera or make me delete the pictures... Oh boy." But the bride was very amicable, explaining that she had spoken with so-and-so in the offices about taking photos and was under the impression that it was okay. The guards were both kind, but firm, explaining that it was not allowed. "This is a private property. There's no harm in walking around, but you're not allowed to take photos." Our reason for being there was very obvious, which wasn't for the bride to take a stroll or break in her dress. So with a "Congratulations, but you're not allowed to take pictures..." we got in the car and drove off, camera and pictures in tact.

It was a fun day with beautiful weather, albeit a bit harsh for portraits but great for capturing the beautiful landscape of BC.

That's another thing that makes me happy, when I can see all of the beautiful mountains around here, capped in snow, against a bright blue sky. :o)

I would be kicked out of the Optimists' club.

2009-10-02T13:00:00.004-07:00

I am not an optimist. I used to be. I am not any more. I believe the digression from Optimist to Pessimist started after the finale of the final episode of Gilmore Girls. Since then I have realized life doesn't wrap up nicely all the time. We may get the outcomes we want, but struggle quite a bit getting there. Not that I consider Luke and Lorelai's relationship (I wish I could say marriage, but we'll never know, thanks Warner Brothers) or anything about that show to be an accurate reflection of life. I just hated the ending.

All that to say, since I've realized I'm a Pessimist, I'm going to try to make a mental list every day of things that made me happy. For instance, I let the fact that I have to return my yoga ball for the 3rd time really get to me (I was ready to break something). Instead of continuing to list frustrations, I am going to list happy things.

I was able to run on the treadmill for over 25 minutes without stopping! (That's huge for me.)
I think Lola is finally learning her name! (She looks at me when I say it. But I think she would look at me if I made any sort of noise to distract her while she is resting.)
The weather is becoming chilly--which means we're closer to Christmas and Christmas cups at Starbucks!
I got my jeans repaired (after leaving them on the floor of my closet for over a year) and it feels like I'm wearing a new pair! Without the cost!
My sister will be here one week from today! (*Hoping for good weather.*)
I had sushi for lunch!

See, already I'm in a better mood. What made you happy today? Share it with me :o)

I'm So Proud

2009-09-28T09:38:00.002-07:00

Yesterday was Brian's first home game with his new team, Delta United. I'm so proud of him because he scored the game winning goal to defeat West Vancouver 2-1! (This was shortly before he got whacked in the face and went down for a minute.) West Vancouver is the top team in the league--last year they won everything, league cup, Proventials, and Nationals. (He also had an assist earlier in the game for the first goal. Just thought I'd throw that in there.)

It was a gorgeous day, cool but sunny. There were plenty of fans watching, way more than would come out for his games last year with North Van. And there were actually other wives/girlfriends! I'm normally the only wife in the stands. We also had other friends from church with us. It was quite enjoyable having friends to sit with. One of our friends, Dave, is a Scotsman and a true football fan. No matter where Brian's games are across the Greater Vancouver area, there is usually at least one European man in attendance who can't hide his passion for the game. And yesterday it was Dave. Ah, I just had a good chuckle remembering Dave yelling at our forward to "get his wee self back on side."

*Side note: Never able to understand offsides in soccer? Check out this article. I'm proud to say that after three and a half years of marriage and a life filled with soccer, I have come to understand this and can effectively explain it. :o) I'm quite proud of myself.

Anyway, just thought I'd share a bit of joy with you today. Go Brian!

almost!

2009-09-21T15:54:00.004-07:00

We are almost Canadians! Today we went to the border to complete the year long process of receiving our permanent residency! Basically that means we have a green card. We can travel into Canada more easily (hopefully) and can work or take classes or pretty much do anything but vote. It has been quite the lengthy and pricey process but I think it was worth it. Next: getting a Nexus pass.

All of our free time lately has been spent either watching Lost (which I have to pay attention to) or doing soccer-related things (which I should pay attention to), so I apologize for the lack of blogging.

Water For Life

2009-09-11T15:42:00.002-07:00

One of the many ministries under our parent organization is a ministry called GAiN. That stands for Global Aid Network. This summer I got to hear a bit more about the work they are doing, especially in Africa. I've written before about our fellow co-worker and friend, Albert Martens, who did the Marathon Des Sables across the Sahara. He partnered with GAiN again this year at the Marathon Des Sables, but did not finish. You can read his story here.

I was moved to tears after watching this video clip from GAiN. I just thought I'd share it with you today.

09.09.09!

2009-09-09T08:45:00.001-07:00

Happy 09.09.09!!!

We should have a party.

2nd blog

2009-09-08T13:24:00.003-07:00

I decided to create another blog where I can showcase my recent/favorite photos that I've been taking. As much as I love Flickr for its photosharing abilities, it is not very user-friendly for browsing and, let's be honest, it doesn't look too pretty either. So you can check out my new blog here:

http://carolinaphotography.wordpress.com/

Hope you enjoy it!

2/11 days

2009-09-06T16:43:00.003-07:00

I have accomplished so much! I am quite proud of myself (and Brian) as I look around our place. So neat and tidy. I'd say it's been a very productive long weekend. And I still have tomorrow to relax. In addition to tidying and purging our place, I acquired a new lens for my camera. :oD It is the Tamron AF 17-50mm f/2.8, which I purchased from a friend. So excited to play with it! I've loved my fixed 50mm f/1.8, it takes great pictures, but I'm tired of running backwards because I can't fit the whole subject in the frame. I'm also excited about taking pictures for my friends' wedding in October! I love shooting people. (With a camera.) And my bunny. Any sort of portraits and candids really.

Now I'm off to watch some more Lost. :o) Jill, we must meet up soon so I can borrow season 2. And perhaps we could get bbt! It's been a long time since I had some... probably May.

Now I'll leave you with a relaxing image from our wonderful vacation so you can kick back and relax too. Bo)

Oh, if you're wondering what the title is about, 2 days until I can own The Office Season 5 on DVD and 11 days until The Office season premier!

LOST

2009-09-03T13:35:00.002-07:00

I'm officially a fan of Lost. I know what you're thinking, how could I stomach a tv show that is about a plane crash when I'm on a plane every month. Well, during the first episode or two I did cringe and look away a little, but I got hooked! I started watching season 1 when we were at home and only made it half way through. I need to know what happened! Claire just came wandering back into the cave and I don't know what happened to her or her baby! If any of you have season 1 and wouldn't mind letting me borrow it, let me know! ...but in the mean time, don't spoil anything for me please :o)

And thanks Jill for lending me the next few seasons... I'm hoping to catch up before the last season starts in 2010.

So much to figure out...

2009-09-01T21:10:00.002-07:00

We've been home for just under 24 hours. Piles of things have moved all over the house, shrinking and growing as we unpack, de-clutter, and clean up our stuff. I've restocked our kitchen, made enough spaghetti sauce for at least 10 more meals (thanks Debbie!), and purged our closets of unused/unwanted clothing. I'd say I've about as much work as I would have done had I actually lived here this summer! Ha!

But enough thinking about the stress this year has brought; it's over and done. I'm looking forward to fall and winter so much! I love the cold weather, change of seasons, change of wardrobes... just a great time of year. I'm also looking forward to NOT seeing my suitcase again for a few months. Seriously.

I also have lots of mini projects in mind for the next little bit... we'll see how they span out. There are lots of seashells to be bleached, pictures to be organized and printed, new recipes to be tried. I'm also going to try to be more consistent in my blogging. I have been MIA in the electronic world for a while. Kind of nice.

Well it's time to wind down and warm up my sheets. :o)

Project Book

2009-08-16T14:26:00.001-07:00

Well, it took long enough but I finally finished the picture book from the AIA Soccer Paraguay Project. You can sneek a peak by clicking on the link to the right. -->

hydration

2009-08-11T06:30:00.003-07:00

So Brian has been in Nicaragua for a week now and I have been in NC for almost as long. I think I've had the better week. ;o)

However, both places have been ridiculously hot so we've both been drinking lots of water. Hopefully wherever you are, you're staying hydrated, too. And, if you're in Nicaragua with Brian, hopefully you're getting a little more to eat than rice and beans to eat now. ;o) I got to talk with Brian last night and heard about his very long weekend in Leon. Early Friday morning they took the AIA Nicaragua team (and the 4 North Americans that Brian brought with him) to another part of the country where they slept on a mat on a tile floor, played games in extreme temperatures, refused to use the disgusting showers more than twice, and were only fed rice and beans for 4 days. Poor guys :(. But I'm sure the Crusade headquarters where they are staying now feels like the Shangri La what with the cool/cold showers, beds, ceiling fans, and armadillo soup! JK. They pretended to feed us armadillo soup the last time we were there in February, but it was really just all the "left-over parts" of a pig.

Can't wait to see you Brian! Enjoy your last few days!

welcome back

2009-08-03T10:32:00.002-07:00

This has been the busiest year of my life so far. Phew. Thanks for bearing with us, praying for us, and just being there.

Today marks the beginning of the last tour for Brian and the beginning of being able to relax for me. I dropped Brian off at the airport this morning (*sniff*) and came back to finish cleaning the house and packing my stuff to catch my red-eye tonight and be in Greensboro tomorrow morning!

If you don't know what we've been up to this summer, here's a quick run down:
-June 6 - July 6 -- Paraguay Project (Asuncion, Paraguay)
-July 8 - July 24 -- Men's Paraguay Panama Tour (Asuncion, Paraguay and Panama City, Panama)
-July 26 - July 31 -- Staff Conference (Whistler, BC)
-August 3 - 14 -- Brian in Nicaragua on tour and Becca to NC
-August 15 - 31 -- VACATION!

Be sure to check out our happenings in photos in our Flickr site (there's a link on the right of this page). I'm realizing more how much I love photography... and did my best to only upload the ones that are worthy of your time. I took almost 3,000 pictures in South America... and about 200 in Whistler. I'm so thankful for my camera! Hope you enjoyed your summer!

24 hours

2009-06-05T23:04:00.002-07:00

This time tomorrow we will be on the first of many planes on our way to Paraguay! I'm finally getting excited! But I'm definitely going to have an overweight bag. There's no way around it. plus, Brian is going to have to check 3 bags! We have to get all the gear for 2 teams down there between the 4 of us who are leaving from Vancouver... not an easy task.

I know I've shared lots about our hectic stressful lives lately, sorry about that. I was just trying to think of lighthearted stories I could share... But there haven't really been any. Yesterday in the office, I was about 2 inches away from crying (because of another passport issue) and announced to the males in the office that I may start crying but not to worry because I just need to get it out. Some of the younger ones just sort of looked at me funny and the married ones nodded and went back to work. You know how awkward guys get around crying girls. ;o) But you'll be happy to know that even though my eyes filled with tears, I didn't actually cry. I didn't want to weird out our new interns too much and leave them with the only memory of me as the crazy emotional chick.

Throughout these past chaotic weeks, I have been making more of an effort to actually spend time with the Lord. Granted that doesn't always happen, but I've been reading through the Psalms again and I'm just reminded of how easy I have it. Yeah I have plenty of messes to clean up so to speak, but I don't have random dudes (including the king or my own offspring) hunting me down. David does such a good job of pointing me back to the right perspective. I really can take hope, be patient, and wait on the Lord. I pray that each night I can rest in this truth.

In the mean time, if you would like to follow along with us while we're abroad, we will be updating a blog with the happenings. The first week will be quite busy as we will be running Training Camp (the team gets to know each other). But we (that would be me and the mouse in my pocket) hope to update it every few days. Here's the link: http://www.athletesinaction.com/athletesinaction/myweb.php?hls=10318

Also, in case you're interested, here's a rundown of our next few days:

ETD Vancouver 11:30 PM June 6
ETA Toronto 7:00ish AM June 7
ETA Miami 1:00ish PM June 7
ETA Panama City, Panama 7:30 PM June 7
ETA Santiago, Chile 4:00 AM June 8
ETA Asuncion, Paraguay 4:40 PM June 8
ETA my pillow 8:30 PM June 8 :o)

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. We'll catch you on the flip side (of the equator)!

forget the countdown

2009-06-03T10:21:00.003-07:00

So we're a few days away from leaving and things are finally feeling close to being ready to go! I'm getting more excited to be in Paraguay... but I'm not looking forward to the 40 some hours of transit again. I don't know how Brian and I keep getting stuck with these donkey flights. I know it's possible to get to Paraguay in just about 24 hours. Anyway, it should be worth it and this time next week we'll be a few days into our first ever international Soccer Project!

Please keep us in your prayers these next few days. We're wrapping up lots of details and thankfully our intern, Benjamin, has taken a big load off of us. We have our bunny sitters lined up for the summer and our apartment is close to being clean enough! We're finding it hard to quit working at the end of the day simply because there's always something to work on. Pray that we will get good rest these next few nights and make it to Paraguay in good mental and physical health.

I will leave you with this relaxing image :o)

11 days

2009-05-26T15:38:00.003-07:00

I've been avoiding thinking about how soon we're leaving for Paraguay. But I made myself count the days so I could have a title for this post.

Brian and I are working hard to get ready for the trips ahead. We just sent out our newsletter for the summer (if you didn't get one and would like one, send us an email). I'm trying to have a good, positive outlook on this summer. And I'm beginning to get more excited about traveling, but I'm still quite overwhelmed.

This past weekend we were able to get away to Bellingham, Washington for a few days. It was nice to leave computers and cell phones behind, return to the mother land, and walk around Target and Super WalMart. All I could think was, "I love America." I found some little tooth brushes that don't require water! I stocked up on those. I can now brush my teeth whenever I feel like it even though I'll be stuck in the middle of the row of seats on the 8 hour flight!

I also stocked up on Goldfish. We always take a huge Costco size box of granola bars and chewy fruit bars with us, but this time I get Extreme Cheddar Goldfish, too!

Another thing I love, anything mini or travel sized. Seriously. If it's baby-sized, I need it. Because of this, I love the travel section in Target. WalMarts are hit-and-miss, but Target's travel section is great.

Another thing I love, words that sound like bad words. ;o) I don't cuss, so if someone thinks they heard me drop an s-bomb (especially in the office), I usually get the high-eyebrowed, open-mouthed, head jerk. I know this because last week I discovered Ship Happens. So, in the midst of the hair-pulling fiascoes of the last few weeks, I would sporadically (or frequently) announce, "Oh well! Ship happens!" I also threw up my arms and proclaimed "Serenity now!" That got a few laughs. It was all I had left to do before breaking down into tear.

My friend introduced me to Ship Happens. I can get packages shipped there (just across the border from us in the US) and save a bundle on international shipping costs! And it was only $4!

Please keep us in your prayers as it seems that whenever we chop one thing off of our to-do list, two more grow back. I am constantly reminded that I can't do this job. I cannot make things happen. I cannot cause someone to do something or even feel something. I cannot force things. I am simply being used by God. My strength is too weak. My mental capacity is too small. What a relief.

it looks like we made it

2009-05-15T18:52:00.005-07:00

I've been feeling like maybe I was a little too harsh in my last blog. I've always been a what some may call a softie or a push over, though, and I don't want to be any more. So I don't think I was too harsh, but either way I'm glad this week is over. Although I know the stress won't leave until I know the girls are in Paraguay. I just want to get home and play some Lego Star Wars on the Wii!

In the mean time, enjoy this video :o) ...oh I love Canada.

(FYI, dropping the puck is equivalent to the tip off in basketball or singing the Star Spangled Banner at a baseball game.)

it's just another manic monday

2009-05-11T18:25:00.002-07:00

Today was a very tough day.

I think that's why I enjoyed the little clip (below) that I found on CNN.com. It's 6:26 and I'm ready for bed. I'm in my sweatpants (okay, Brian's sweatpants) and a t-shirt, lovingly dubbed our uniform. Brian has just declared that he quits.

We've had a heck of a time this year getting our students to do what they are supposed to in order to get ready for tour. I don't like to complain or even think about this stuff outside of work, but I'm expecting to hear from an angry mom sometime soon. Mom, how do you do it? How do you deal with angry parents who get frustrated when they have to do some extra work because their kid didn't do what they were told? Even though they've been told at least once a week via phone calls and emails and even facebook, I have yet to see every girl's passport information or health insurance information (I could go on). That means they aren't supposed to travel with us. They leave in one week. I'm starting to wonder what it will feel like when/if it all gets done.

With every generation of college student that passes through our tours, they seem to be getting less and less responsible. Is it because they played kiddie kickers and were told, "It doesn't matter what the score is. Just enjoy the game." Well, what is supposed to keep them responsible to their team? Why should they play hard and hone their skills? How are they going to deal with the mental stress of an angry coach down the road who lays into them for messing up the easy lay-up?

When did it become okay to just text or email your leader and tell them that you can't make it 15 minutes before you're supposed to show up? I guess that's another topic all together. Or maybe not.

Any way, I've learned a lot about how I want to raise my kids. I want to teach them to honor their word. How to read (instructions) with understanding and follow through on any action points. But most of all, how to make wise decisions based on God's perspective and enjoy the opportunities God presents to their fullest. I'm still learning this one myself, but hope to pass it down.

By the way, we're taking students who were born in 1990. 1990! I remember that year! I feel oddly old. ;o)

nice

2009-05-11T15:27:00.001-07:00

This just made me smile :o)

Obama Talks Hoops With Carolina Tarheels

hmm

2009-05-03T22:54:00.002-07:00

Okay, before I write this blog, I have to admit that I was Googling myself. There, I said it. But it was because Brian wanted me to find some random picture for me to use as my facebook profile pic.

Anyway, I found this website using one of my pictures! http://blogs.bnet.com/intercom/?p=695

What do I do with that?

it's been a while

2009-04-30T21:03:00.004-07:00

I know it's been a while. We've been traveling a lot but we're home until the first week of June. Last weekend we enjoyed the arrival of spring in the lower mainland. We spent the day Saturday at Stanley Park with Deb and Ryan taking their engagement pictures. Then we spent the afternoon Sunday in Abbotsford with the Guynups taking pregnancy pictures. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the weekend :o)

46 hours in transit

2009-04-05T14:02:00.003-07:00

We got back safe and sound last night after almost 48 hours in transit. We left our hotel in Paraguay at about 3:30AM Friday morning, Eastern time, and arrived at our house last night (Saturday) just before 11:00PM Pacific time. I'm trying to do the math... but my mind is kind of swimming so I'll let you do it. We're so glad to be back. Brian's at a soccer game now. He's such a dedicated player. You're probably thinking, "Brian's crazy! He just got back less than 24 hours ago and he's playing in a game!?" But I think it'll be good for him to get out of the house and run around for a while in the sunshine. Especially since we're finally out of the heat that we experienced in Paraguay that was in excess of 100*F/37*C plus humidity. I'll be uploading pictures soon... (they're already on Facebook if you're interested.) As for me, I'm doing loads of laundry and I'm sure I'll be napping here soon. ;o)

We're back to work first thing tomorrow and we'll be working hard until we leave again on Thursday for VACATION! We're so excited to make it back to the states this year for Easter. We love our families so much and only get to see them about once a year, so this trip will be a special treat for us. Plus, we're going to be master travelers this year practically living in airports.

I don't want to think about that now though. Now, it's back to watching Gilmore Girls and catching some zzz's.

I forgot to count down

2009-03-27T14:05:00.002-07:00

So we leave in about 14 hours for Paraguay. I'm feeling... not ready. I still have to pack and clean the house. I wish I could fall asleep tonight and wake up the next day in Asuncion. That would be so awesome. According to my friend Vicki it's possible with the right pills. ;o) But that would mean Brian would have to drag me through some pretty major airports.

Would you keep us in your prayers this next week? We're only gone for one week this time, 5 days in-country. Brian and I are going as AIA Canada liaisons and we're hoping to meet with some pretty important diplomats and federation officials. We are hoping to "schmooze" our way back into the system. Ever since we started sending teams to Paraguay we've had the First Lady of Paraguay ushering us through. But her husband was not reelected last year so we're having to re-establish connections. And if you don't know us, we're likable people, but we're not really schmoozers.

That said, I'm going to do my best to just enjoy the experience. Plus we get to add another flag to our world map!

"Sunny Fayings"

2009-03-24T22:50:00.003-07:00

Brian and I have this jar where we write down "Sunny Fayings" (that's "funny sayings" scrambled a bit) that accidentally spill out of our mouths. I thought I'd share one with you. I was reminded of it just now because my pen name with Blogger is mellamovaca. That's Spanish for, "My name is Cow." Or literally, "They call me cow." Brian likes to give me a hard time, it's his way of teasing me and loving me. That's fine. Yesterday he was giving me a hard time for blogging and got himself in a tizzy and twisted his words and called me "mellacovama." I did a sort of double take, turning to look at him as he hung his head realizing that he'd flubbed. It sounded strangely close to my new president's name. So I really did have to do a double take, wondering what he was saying and then I realized. We had a good chuckle.

A classic of mine that just spills out every time is "chidewalk salk." For some reason I have to think really hard before I can say "sidewalk chalk."

Another favorite quote from Brian, "Meef."

I love Brian. :o)

mulling-ness

2009-03-24T21:11:00.004-07:00

Today was my last official day on campus at SFU. I realized this yesterday so I had a little time to mentally prepare. To be honest, I've felt it coming for a long time. You're familiar with my transition from C4C into AIA. But just because I felt it coming doesn't mean it's a bad thing. I've been prepared for this moment and knew when the time was right for me to leave the campus ministries side of things, the Lord would usher me through. And He did.

I'm still mulling it over. It's been a part of my life since I got here really. Amy was the first person I remember meeting as she picked me up somewhere in Burnaby (I was so new and had no clue where anything was) and drove me to campus... and I'm pretty sure it snowed so much that the campus closed. If that wasn't my first day then it was my second day. I remember meeting Jill and talking in Simon C's about Ignite since I would be emceeing. I remember feeling like I was a lot farther away than I was simply because I didn't understand any of the Asian languages being spoken around me in the cafeteria. I think my first friends up here were all from SFU C4C. And I think most of them were Asian. But I didn't realize that fact until much later as I looked through pictures... and I stood out. The fact that I didn't realize it at the time just goes to further prove that I am indeed Asian on the inside because it felt so natural! ;o)

I have such fond memories. It's been good for me to sort of ease off of campus, kind of like I was being weaned, for lack of a better way to describe it. I don't think I could have handled an all-of-a-sudden type ending. Like I felt the first semester after I graduated and all of a sudden I didn't have to go to class or write papers or do projects.

Yes, I am still mulling.

actually monday

2009-03-23T21:20:00.002-07:00

So today was actually Monday and it felt like one. Brian and I got our Yellow Fever vaccinations last Friday before our short trip to Paraguay this coming weekend. The RN told us we would probably feel sick, flu-like symptoms a day to a week after the shot. I was feeling it today. But that meant that I had an excuse to come home and turn my brain off; to relax even though this week is full of last-minute, high-stress events and decisions to be made.

So Brian and I turned off the TV, turned on some music, and spent some with God, together. It was just what I needed.

We were listening to Tenth Avenue North's album, Over and Underneath. You can check out some of there songs at their MySpace site and a music video for Love Is Here. They sound a bit like Switchfoot -- in case it sounded familiar but you couldn't put your finger on it. Their lyrics really hit home for me, expressing in words how I feel on the inside. Take a minute and listen to Hold My Heart, if you have time.

Monday/Friday

2009-03-20T15:45:00.002-07:00

It's just been one of those days. Brian and I were informed just over a day ago that we have to go to Paraguay in a week to set up for our upcoming tours. So we ran around all day getting travel visa stuff done, getting shots, mailing stuff, etc. But it's Friday. Even though it felt like a Monday, it isn't! I can sleep in tomorrow. I can let the rain lull me to sleep. I can stay up, watch Gilmore Girls, and crochet as long as I want. ...or at least until Brian gets home from his game. ;o)

I hope your Friday has gone well and you're enjoying the end-of-the-week happiness!

madness indeed

2009-03-19T19:02:00.002-07:00

Do you think Shakespeare foreknew how huge March Madness would truly be when he wrote, "Beware the ides of March"? I've always loved following my beloved Tar Heels but this year was my first time actually making a bracket. It's exciting, but I'm not a risk-taker! I'm too much of a perfectionist and I don't get to enjoy the games because if my picks don't make it, I feel like a failure! I think I would be a dangerous gambler. Regardless, even though I'm living North of the border where college sports aren't a big deal, the NCAA tournament has our office in a buzz. Perhaps that's because I work with athletes, but still.

I thought I'd share my bracket with you, so far I'm not doing too bad...
Click here to see my bracket.

slideshow from Nicaragua

2009-03-19T09:40:00.000-07:00

I just figured out how to do this. Enjoy!

just thought i'd share...

2009-03-18T15:22:00.001-07:00

When will the madness end?

another book

2009-03-18T13:48:00.001-07:00

I made another book, this time with pictures and journalings from our trip to Nicaragua. (see the link on the right) I've really enjoyed being able to make my own picture books. It's faster and easier than making scrapbooks, although I do love scrapbooking. Now I just have to wait for it to arrive!

:o)

Happy St. Paddy's Day

2009-03-17T20:20:00.002-07:00

I hope you wore green and if you didn't that you got pinched!

Today was my first day on campus since a week before our Nicaragua trip so it was great to finally be back. I went sharing for the first time this semester and realized again how much these students need to hear the Gospel, to be told the Truth, and to be offered a relationship with their Creator. Two of the three girls that my friend and I talked with were not spiritual and had no desire to consider any spiritual issues at this point in their lives. Understandable when they're having to work and go to school full time and haven't faced any major challenges in life.

The third girl that we talked to was Muslim. I knew this walking up to her as she was wearing a hijab. I think it was one of the most genuine conversations I've had in a long time. We learned about her background, her culture, and her religious beliefs. I appreciated her openness but at the same time, my heart was breaking at her contentedness with Islam. So as we left we prayed that the Lord would bring many more people into her life to share the love of Christ with her, especially while she's here in North America and it's legal!

I spent a while reflecting on my time sharing in the morning before I had to lead my Bible study. I've been discouraged with my Bible study so far because for the first few weeks only one or two girls were coming, and not consistently. I felt like my time was not being spent in the best way, like I was wasting my time driving to Burnaby and the girls' time was being wasted because they weren't putting in any effort. But today was definitely encouraging. We got through a lesson--but more than that, we connected on a deep level as we discussed the significance of the Deity of Christ. This basic fact is so important and yet so simple that it's often overlooked or minimized. The whole day was a good reminder for me of the power I have in Christ.

rain rain go away

2009-03-16T13:55:00.003-07:00

The rain is starting. I don't like this time of the year here in the Pacific Northwest. Yesterday we had snow flurries which were pretty as they fell, but didn't amount to anything. Today it's just rain. Looks like it's going to be rain from here on out. I enjoyed the sun while it lasted.

But spring is coming! The cherry blossoms will be in bloom soon and the dandylions. I like dandylions because I feed them to Lola. She gobbles them up! It's quite funny to watch her eat one because the whole time you're thinking, "How is she going to eat the blossom end!? It's as big as her head!" But then, munch munch munch, and it disappears into her mouth!

Speaking of Lola, it's been a few months since we got her spayed and her fur has still not grown back where they shaved her. The fur over the incision has grown back in, but none has come in around it. Is that normal? She doesn't seem to mind, but it's kind of sad looking.

whew

2009-03-09T18:37:00.002-07:00

So it's been a while since you last heard from us...

Our tour to Nicaragua ended when the guys left dark and early Sunday morning (March 1st). Instead of staying through Thursday, we decided to come back early since the Nicaraguan director left and our purpose for staying was to meet with him. So, dark and early on Tuesday morning we left for the airport... Then, at about 4:45AM, when we were about 15 minutes from Managua International a pickup truck traveling in the opposite lane coming towards us slammed into a tree in the median causing the tree limbs to crash our windshield, continued up onto the median, flipped on its side as it slammed into a light pole and electric pole, causing the power lines to snap and pop the top of our car and causing the poles to crash to the ground right behind us, leaving the truck on its side billowing smoke and stopping all traffic just behind us. We truly believe that the Lord sent his angels to protect us as there was barely a mark on the taxi and no one in our car was even close to being injured. Thank you Jesus.

So we eventually made it home and had a day to do lots of laundry all day Wednesday. Then late Wednesday night, Brian got sick with food poisoning! It was getting quite bad and I eventually took him into the ER around 3AM because he was getting quite dehydrated, unable to keep anything in him. I couldn't wait too long because I knew I wouldn't be able to carry him.

Needless to say, these past 4 or 5 days have been loads of laundry and trying to recuperate. We were back in the office day, full steam ahead!

I'll be posting pictures from the tour on my Flickr site soon, so be watching for that. Peace out!

2009-02-24T15:13:00.001-08:00

I finally had the chance to sit down and update our AIA Soccer blog so go check it out if you want to follow along with us. AIA Soccer Blog :o)

we're here!

2009-02-21T18:31:00.003-08:00

We made it to Nicaragua without any hiccups! Thanks for your prayers. It's funny how little things can grow and grow in your mind and you're convinced that something is going to go wrong in an irreversible way... but it's only in your mind. I also love the fact that God has a sense of humor. Earlier in another blog I expressed my concerns about carrying the laptops over the border into the US. I was convinced in my mind that they were going to go through every single bag, find 11 laptops that all look exactly alike, take Brian and me in for questioning and then force us to surrender the computers at the border and reprimand us severely. For the last few hours before we left our house, I spent time praying, committing our trip and all of its details to the Lord (especially the border crossing). And I felt slightly better... but not really. Then, when we were driving to the meeting point where we would all load a bus and head down to Seattle, we passed a church whose message board on the road said, "Don't worry. There is a God and He loves you."

Pretty simple yet perfect. And I felt like God put it there just for me and then chuckled a bit when I read it. I love that.

So, yeah, we're here and it's been beautiful weather so far, not too hot, lots of wind, and cloudy. Thanks for your prayers! I'll be updating the AIA Blog, so check that out to get the guys' perspectives on tour. AIA Soccer Blog :o)

5 hours

2009-02-19T19:48:00.003-08:00

So we're all packed and ready to go. ...and now we just wait. It's a pretty good feeling but at the same time aggravating. I get to sit here for a few hours and think about all the things I may have forgotten. But at least I get to do it watching my favorite TV shows!

Please do keep us in your prayers for smooth sailing. Also, you can keep up with our AIA Soccer blog here: http://www.athletesinaction.com/athletesinaction/myweb.php?hls=10311

We'll begin updating it once we get there. And thanks for your support!

2 days

2009-02-18T13:13:00.002-08:00

Today has been a fairly productive day so far. My goal is to get lots of laundry done and start packing things in bags. Yesterday we received 11 laptops that are being donated by a local businessman to the CCC director in Nicaragua. So we're planning to take them to him, giving each one of our guy's a laptop to put in their checked luggage. But for some reason I'm feeling very anxious about crossing the border with them. I just keep envisioning the border patrol searching each of our bags (this will be around 2:30-3:00AM on Friday), finding a bunch of computers that all look alike, and then holding us at the border for it. Really, they shouldn't need to look in any of our luggage at all because none of it is staying in the US. I just always seem to be "greeted" by the grumpy border patrol people. I'm also afraid that one of our guys will say something not smart and draw attention to it. But more than this, I don't want to spread my anxiety to anyone else. I know I shouldn't be anxious. I know people have been carrying "contraband" into closed countries for years, and this situation isn't nearly as risky! Will you keep us in your prayers for smooth border crossings? Perhaps as you fall asleep on Thursday, or if you're on the East coast as you wake up on Friday morning, send up a little prayer for us. Thanks.

3 days

2009-02-17T14:43:00.005-08:00

Ok here's my day so far:

7:30 - wake up late and have a pillow crease on my face for a good hour and a half but go into the office proudly nonetheless.
8:30 - start to enjoy a cup of freshly brewed Starbucks Christmas blend because Vicki has spoiled us and I just can't stomach the "coffee" that the office brews for free.
9:00 - drive over to WalMart to drop the car off for an oil change before we drive to Seattle
9:30 - get back to the office after walking back from WalMart; answer a few emails and write a few letters including one that will hopefully make our border crossing easier... *fingers crossed*
10:00 - walk to Costco to get a few items. Costco is right next door, no biggie. I didn't think I'd be there for more than 30 minutes total.
10:10 - walk up to the Optometrist counter to pick up Brian's contacts.
11:00 - finally get contacts and pay for them. Yes, I stood and waited for 45 minutes while the only man working attempted to fix a pair of glasses, knowing that as soon as I walked away he'd be done. Vicki was helpful and went to get things while I stood. Flash backs to my childhood while mom waited in line for something and I went in search of her items.
11:30 - walk to lunch with a friend. Very nice break.
12:30 - back in the office and answer a few more emails.
1:00 - walk back to WalMart, purchase $130 worth of items that barely fill two grocery bags... That's an awful feeling, but it was mostly medications for all the potential scenarios we'll face in Nicaragua. Then pick up the car which ended up being more than a simple oil change. Not too surprised.
2:00 - pick up Brian to run to the bank
2:30 - treat myself to a tall raspberry java chip frappuccino blended coffee for a job well done.
3:00 - I'm writing this blog because I'm amazed at how much I've gotten done! And every time I left the building or came back I took the stairs! Except this last time because we were carrying lots of gear that has now made our trunk smell like soccer. Soccer does not smell good.

:o)

3.5 days

2009-02-16T21:41:00.003-08:00

I was trying my hardest all day to remember the things I need to get before we leave... and as soon as I sat down to make my list, all I could remember is granola bars. But I ran hard at the gym and now my body and mind are feeling like mush. So I played a little Mario Kart Wii which got the blood pumping. I was told to stop playing at 8:53 because 24 starts at 9:00. Phew. That could have been a close one. So I'm sitting here still trying to make my list...

Meanwhile, Lola is literally going crazy. I wish we owned a video camera. She is out of control. Sprinting across our small living room + slippery laminate floors = sliding into the wall around the table like someone on the downhill luge. She has had some ridiculous jumps, at least 10 feet across in the air, slo-mo, Air-Jordan style and I'm not exaggerating. Serious, neck-breaking binkies, sprinting around the table, running straight into my feet. Man I wish I had a video camera! There she goes again!

4 Days

2009-02-16T11:06:00.002-08:00

We have been busy preparing for our first tour of the year... and we're only getting busier. We leave this Friday at 1:00AM and should arrive in Managua, Nicaragua late Friday night. We're flying out of Seattle Tacoma and we found out this weekend that there is a massive amount of construction on I-5 Southbound--the highway that leads from Vancouver to Seattle.

We also had one last meeting with a bunch of the guys last night. Things are coming together, but to be honest a few of the guys we're taking seem to be lacking what I refer to as "life skills." These skills come in to play when one needs to arrive certain places at certain times with certain documents. These skills are necessary for survival when one is in higher education, traveling (abroad or just in general), making it to a doctor's appointment, etc. So keep us in your prayers for smooth sailing all the way to Nicaragua, please.

Today my goal is to get our monthly newsletter out, catch up on preparations still underway for our Paraguay tours, star packing, and not go insane as they saw through some metal vents that connect to a vent-bypass that is right next to my desk. :o)

Seriously the most fun in the whole wide world!

2009-02-08T16:08:00.002-08:00

Last night I figured out how to play Wii Mario Kart with friends in Virginia online! It was seriously the most fun I've had all year. If you have a Wii and access to WiFi, please let me know and we can play sometime! And Bickhams, let's make a date!

When did Google become a verb?

2009-02-06T15:00:00.010-08:00

Everyone knows someone who likes to email unnecessary amounts of forwards with content that is typically gloom and doom, threaten ultimate death, or grant you a wish. I have one in my extended family. (If you're reading this, it's not you.) Fortunately, I don't feel bad about deleting them without paying much attention to their content. My mom, who is not said person, recently sent me a forward that I actually enjoyed. It was definitely forwardable. But I thought, rather than forwarding it on and being labled a forwardiot, that I would share just a little bit of it with you so you could enjoy a chuckle or two. :o)

Do you know a Grady? If so, jump on that!

I'm not even sure what they meant to write...

Remember Mr. Yuk?

Easy mistake.

Bahaha! I'm reminded of a joke: How do you get a one-armed blonde out of a tree?
Wave.

Thanks anyway.

Yeesh.

I love playing this in the grocery store!

This has small town written all over it.

Good question.

Maybe when he gets out of the clink he could get a job as a plumber.

Definitely in my top 5 from this list.
...mmm Qdoba sounds great for dinner.

I was going to quote my favorite lines... but it's pretty much all of them.
He's offering to pay, but not until we get back. Smart. Thinking ahead. I like that.
What kind of weapons travel well through the fourth dimension? I know, a bow staff.
Safety not guaranteed. Oh, of course.
I find a little bit of comfort in the fact that he's done it before. Clearly he learned that it's too dangerous to go back alone and unarmed.

Creepy Governator.

A 10-Year-Old Divorcée Takes Paris

2009-02-04T12:09:00.002-08:00

I have a row of bookmarks across the top of my internet browser window of sites that I check frequently throughout the day including my gmail, Flickr, CNN.com, and (you guessed it) Facebook. I feel quite connected with the rest of the world when I'm able to catch up on things this way. Especially since we live on the West coast of the Great White North, I feel disconnected to my friends and family back home, so I count heavily on Facebook and CNN.com to keep me up-to-date with the latest headlines.

Last night I was checking out CNN.com and saw this headline:

A 10-Year-Old Divorcée Takes Paris

How could I not click the link and try to understand what this very odd title is referring to?

It's about a little girl named Nujood Ali from Yemen who was, until recently, the youngest known divorced person on this planet. My heart broke as I continued to read her story written up in this TIME magazine article. It goes on to explain her escape from a marriage to a man three times her age who beat and raped her every night. Her bravery has opened doors to matrimonial prisons similar to hers and our eyes to a world that has previously been kept under shrouds and sand.

I feel like God has been opening my eyes to this culture. In the last little bit I read The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, Blink by Ted Dekker, and watched Kingdom of Heaven, all taking place in the middle east at various times in history. That area of the world has such rich, deep history steeped in traditions and rituals. I'm overwhelmed at the thought that everything I believe as Truth comes from a Man who belongs in that culture.

Salaam `alaykum, Nujood.

2009-02-02T09:29:00.002-08:00

Today, like everyone else, I'm quite interested to get a look at the Superbowl commercials that I missed. Yesterday I was so excited to hang out with friends, watch a little bit of football, and laugh at lots of highly-anticipated, over-priced commercials. But this year Canadian television was filtered so that we got plain old everyday Canadian commercials during the Superbowl. Thank you, CTV. I wonder how much they charged the Canadian Government for the Canadian Forces commercial they played every break? Or how much they charged PetroCan and the Olympic committee for their commercial for the 2010 Olympics Glasses that they're pushing? I do believe... that it's going to be crazy around here in about a year.

Seriously, I scanned every channel from 1-999 before and during the first dozen commercial breaks. All CTV.

But I'm thankful that Fox Sports has them all readily available to watch, and in Canada even! (I can't tell you how frustrating it is to miss a TV show that I follow religiously (The Office) and not be able to catch it online (NBC.com) simply because I live 15 miles north of the border. And I don't feel like taking the time to find it elsewhere in the plethora of "watch TV online" sites.)

What was your favorite commercial? So far, mine is Pepsi Max: I'm Good.

Stuff White People Like

2009-01-30T09:36:00.002-08:00

I've been following this blog for a while and found a clip about it on CNN. Thought I'd share it.

It isn't embedding properly, so here's the link:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2009/01/29/dcl.lander.stuff.white.people.like.cnn

new bunny

2009-01-23T15:42:00.003-08:00

Lola got fixed today. She's been quite naughty lately. We're hoping that spaying her will level out her hormones and calm her down a bit. We're going to pick her up this evening as a brand new bunny!

Vitamin D

2009-01-22T09:24:00.004-08:00

I mentioned before about how foggy it's been here lately. Well, I read in the newspaper that today marks the 19th foggy day. I'm not trying to complain, I've just never experienced this much fog for a consistent amount of time! I thought I'd let some pictures do the talking for me.

Sunset over downtown Vancouver this week as seen from Cypress Mountain.
I knew the sun was out there!

Downtown Vancouver as seen from Mt. Seymour. (Photo by Mike Tranmer)

Here's what you should be seeing from Cypress. (Photo by Static Kitten)

And here's what you should be seeing from Mt. Seymour. (Photo by Gordzilla1)

Vancouver really is a gorgeous place. Too bad you can only enjoy it a few months out of the year.

Obama-overload

2009-01-20T12:56:00.003-08:00

As you well know, Obama is officially our new president. Congrats to him. However, I'm feeling quite overloaded with Obama-related news. Even/Especially here in Canada.

Seriously.

So, as a preemptive strike against mental exhaustion over all things Obama/Presidential/Red white and blue (can you tell I've been watching 24?), I thought I would check up on some other news. There's got to be other things happening. Don't get me wrong, I'm not plugging my ears and singing, "I can't hear you! I can't hear you!" I'm just in need of a short break.

But while visiting CNN.com, I felt like I had to search an abnormal amount before I could find out what else is going on in the world. Sorry, Jon, if you're reading this, but even FoxNews.com is inundated with DC-related stories.

However, I did find this article regarding the US Airways crash on the Hudson and thought I'd share it with you. Such a crazy story. Can you imagine, even though they probably lost a lot of their personal belongings, how pumped those people are feeling now? And today of all days?

In the words of Aretha Franklin, "God bless America." I pray that He does.

mr. golden sun

2009-01-17T16:43:00.003-08:00

The sun has finally broken through the clouds! Can you believe we haven't seen the sun since last year!? Granted, that's only two and a half weeks, but it's felt like longer. Especially since the greater Vancouver area has been covered by a shroud of heavy fog for the last week. Seriously, coming home from the gym the other day I almost missed our street because I couldn't see the street sign from the road.

This is what it looked like at noon all week.

Of course it's quite dark outside now because the sun likes to be down before 4:30 in the winter up here. But we enjoyed the sun while it lasted. Now if only the piles of snow would go away...

Another thing I haven't seen since last year--sushi. So I'm getting some for dinner. Can you believe I haven't had sushi since November? *eyes wide & head shaking*

How's the weather on the East coast? Have you guys started to thaw?

inspiration

2009-01-13T16:15:00.004-08:00

This past weekend we had AIA Staff training and got to catch up on the happenings of fellow AIA Canadian staff members. I think one of my favorite people there is Albert Martens. He lives in Manitoba, so we only see him twice a year at the most. But he was such and inspiration to me--not only in is physical discipline, but also in his attitudes, personality, love for others (especially his wife), and all-around giddy-ness.

Albert is a runner. I truly believe that God created some people, not many, very differently from the rest of us. Those are the people who enjoy running in excess of 20 or 30 miles. I married someone similar to this... but not quite that extreme.

We heard from Albert this weekend about his ministry within AIA, AIA Run. He's pioneering this ministry to reach out to runners around the world. As he explained, running is quite a lonely sport in that you are by yourself from start to finish. He told us about his attempts a few years ago to finish the Marathon des Sables in the Sahara. (He's completed it many times, but did not finishe the last one.) Into the first few days of the trip, he'd set up camp at the check point and was preparing his dinner (that he'd carried with him) on a camp stove. He pulled out a packet (which he didn't read at the time) that said "DO NOT EAT" from his new day pack thinking it was seasoning for his food. Later he had massive stomach pain, but carried on after the doctors checked him out. But before he made it to the next checkpoint, he realized he wasn't going to make it much longer and so sent off a flare and signaled for the medics to come find him and take him to the hospital. Thus ended his Marathon des Sables.

Here's Albert's blog post about the Marathon des Sables. Scroll down most of the way to the "EMOTIONS" section to hear his story about that day and to see more pictures.

In addition to lots of Canadian marathons, Albert also completed the Badwater Ultramarathon in 2004. Brian and I watched something on the Discovery Channel about the Badwater Ultramarathon, not realizing we know someone who has completed it. We were shocked at what people willingly put themselves through. The Badwater footrace is through Death Valley in CA. The temperatures are so hot that the runners have to keep their shoes on the white lines of the pavement, otherwise the asphalt will melt their soles!

Albert crossing the finish line at the 2004 Badwater (from the Badwater website).

Albert hugging one of his crew members.

Albert with his crew holding the flags of Benin and Canada.

Here's an article from Adventure CORPS (the organization who hosted the Badwater) about Albert and his personal footrace.

So if you, or someone you know, would be interested in Albert's ministry, let me know and I'll pass on their information to him. It is his desire to encourage fellow runners not only through Spiritual support, but also tips on running, nutrition, and other aspects of physically and mentally training for a marathon.

I also thought I'd let you know I'm planning to run in the Vancouver Sun Run! (As long as we're back from Easter Vacation.) It's only a 5K, but it's my first official. It's my goal to jog the entire thing... so I'm building my running base and hope to be ready to run at least half an hour without stopping. We'll see how it goes!

a voice for the voiceless

2009-01-12T20:25:00.002-08:00

I just received an email from a friend asking me to sign a petition. Usually I stay away from petitions unless I'm informed well enough to make an intelligent decision. However, when it comes to standing up for the unborn, I don't have to think twice. If you are in agreement with the Word of God or just have your own convictions that draw the line at ending the life of an unborn child, would you sign the following petition?

Fight Freedom of Choice Act

If you feel strongly about this as well, would you pass it on to friends and family and give them the opportunity as well. Here is the web address: http://www.fightfoca.com/

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"

even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:11-16

Livin' on a prayer

2009-01-06T13:49:00.002-08:00

That's been my theme song this past little while with all of our weather issues out here. For the past two days it's taken us at minimum an hour to get in or out of a parking spot near our house. We've had an overabundance of wet, slick snow and we do not have a vehicle built for these conditions. Nonetheless, we made it in to the office today and will not be driving near our house until all of this mess is gone. On top of that, our car is broken. I don't know what the piece is called, but it was hanging off the underside of the car and seemed pretty important. It has been acting like a tiny snow plow or anchor, preventing us from getting over even the tiniest pile of snow. But the rain has come and I'm hoping the snow and slush'll be gone for good soon.

Oh, and I haven't seen Lola since the end of November and won't get her until next weekend. I hope she remembers me!

I ELF'D US!

2008-12-22T17:02:00.000-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

1 day

2008-12-01T09:33:00.002-08:00

We leave in less than 24 hours and there's about 22 hours worth of stuff to do so that should give me a buffer of 2 hours in case something comes up...

I haven't been home since last Christmas and I'm super excited to go back. But it still feels like a month away. The first thing I'm going to do (after hugging my family, of course) is eat some good Chickfila and maybe *fingers crossed* see some Christmas lights.

To do before departure:
-gym
-laundry (2-3 loads)
-vacuum
-dishes
-shower
-(I almost forgot) PACK!

2 days

2008-11-30T20:37:00.003-08:00

So my idea was to blog everyday for the past few days until we leave to go home, but obviously that did not happen. I feel like I've been going non stop and will not stop until January 15th. Maybe we'll take a few days to just sit by the fire when it gets closer to Christmas... I'll work on that.

We just got back from our American Thanksgiving dinner with our American friends and a few Canadians. I'd say we did it up right. And it's better late than never! I represented the south with sweet tea and home-made macaroni and cheese. There was a big turkey, gravy, stuffing, potatoes, green beans, yams, candied salmon (representing the pacific northwest), other vegetables, and two pies for dessert. However great the evening with friends was, I had a moment of limbo in the car on our short ride home. Where is my home? Not really here. And not in NC anymore. Yeah, my stuff is all here. And a little bit is still in Greensboro. They say home is where the heart is and I can't find that place! It's a weird and unsettling feeling, very much like limbo. Or purgatory if there was such a place... Sorry to end on a down note. This may help! (It's a random rabbit I found on YouTube, not Lola.)

5 Days

2008-11-27T15:00:00.003-08:00

Only 5 more days until we're home! I know I haven't posted much lately, sorry if I let you down. Life has gotten so busy. I always look forward to this time of the year. I love the holiday season more than I love summer. I love the cold weather (my body wasn't made for heat and sun...), the yummy food, the lights, the music, and I especially love how everyone comes back together. It's hard not being home today for Thanksgiving. But I'm consoled because I know I will be there in less than a week. Today will be spent wrapping up loose ends in the office and making plans for the next month. I know that doesn't sound super fun, but I will make it bearable by pumping my Christmas music and munching on some puppy chow. :o)

one more thing

2008-11-07T19:37:00.002-08:00

There's one more thing about Canada I forgot to mention.

Canadians, you hold the golden ticket of all passports.

You can get into any country quickly and easily and more than likely in a welcoming manner. Use it! Canadians, you live in a wealthy country where you can safely learn and teach about your faith without worrying about being physically harmed (granted, you will find opposition especially if you express a faith in Jesus Christ and the Bible). In fact, your passport makes international travel so easy that the Amazing Race will not allow Canadian contestants because you will win hands down!

Why I Love Canada

2008-11-06T12:08:00.002-08:00

I do love Canada. Maybe not in the same way that I love America, but still. In response to the responses I received from my Canadian friends (Holla!) here is a list of the things I love about Canada:

There is a holiday almost every single month.
Alex Trebek is Canadian.
I've started using the agreeing "hey" at the end of my sentences when germane. Brian doesn't like this. But it feels so good!
Vancouver is definitely the prettiest city I've ever lived in. Majestic mountains, ocean, and city convalesce creating a gorgeous place to live.
Like Jill said, there is never a shortage of sushi and bubble tea! 珍珠奶茶
I have so many Asian-Canadian friends! And, this is important, they helped me discover my true self. While I'm white on the outside, what you do not see is that inside I am yellow! I'm an egg! If I had not moved here, I might never have known!
A new mom gets a full year of paid maternity leave.
Summer is beautiful, not muggy and so humid that you start sweating immediately even if you're not doing anything.
It's impossible not to recycle. There are bins all over the place!

Okay, that's all for now. Oh Canada! I'm soon to become a permanent resident of yours.

I still love America

2008-11-05T11:31:00.003-08:00

I know I haven't written much in a while, but what can I say? Life's been busy throwing unexpected curve balls my way. I thought I'd pick back up where I left off and join the millions who are probably voicing their opinions about November 4th, 2008 on their own blogs today.

I just want you all to know how much I love America. Every time I cross the border from British Columbia down into Washington and see Old Glory flying high above the gas stations and farm houses, I feel like I'm back home. Technically, I'm still about 3,000 miles from my real home in NC, but it feels like home nonetheless.

Even though we're living abroad, Brian and I were responsible citizens of the USA and cast our ballots for this November election about a month ago. What a night. I was sitting at home on the couch by myself (Brian was in North Van for soccer practice) when they officially announced that the projected president-elect is Barack Obama. (Now that I've included his name in my blog, I wonder if I'll get any Google hits...) I'm not going to make any projections or assumptions, I just want you to know that I still love America.

So here are some things that I love about America:

Cheaper gas. Over the summer we were paying the equivalent of over $5.50/gallon up here.
Parking spaces that are big enough for me to get out of my car comfortably without doing the weird, side bend thing with my body.
There's a larger variety of things to choose from and they're cheaper! That includes, but is not limited to: lots of flavors of pop tarts, coke, hershey's kisses, m&m's, and other junk foods and many many kinds of cereal.
Cereal is less than $7.00 for a small box. A gallon of milk costs less than a gallon of gas.
The iTunes store has so many more TV shows and songs to choose from.
The post office is open and mail runs on Saturdays. The mail actually makes it to its destination and often in a timely manner.
Houses that are about my age still look like they're in good condition. Here, a house that was built in the 80's doesn't seem kept-up and is bound to be bull-dozed within the next 18 months.
I can park my car on the street without worrying about someone breaking in to steal whatever I happen to have lying in the back seat, including a bag of trash.
Starbucks is cheaper.
Books and magazines are cheaper.
Jeans are cheaper.
Shoes are cheaper.
Pretty much everything at WalMart is cheaper.
Chick-fil-a.
Wallgreens.
Cheerwine.
There exist strip malls which generally include at least one of the following stores, sometimes all: Target, Michael's, Toys R Us, Old Navy, and some sort of sporting goods store and book store. And those strip malls are kept nice and clean. Here's one near my house in Greensboro, NC.
So many people that I love and have had to leave behind.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I've felt the distance so much more lately and it makes my heart heavy. If you're reading this from the US and you're part of our friends or family, know that we love you and we miss you every day. It's not always easy being so far. But this is our life for now.

Canadians you probably didn't know are Canadians

2008-10-02T10:17:00.006-07:00

As I've lived here in Canadia for the past two and a half years, I've learned lots. I've learned how to properly use the word "eh." I've learned that there are three periods in hockey... not very symmetrical if you ask me. I've learned that the Quebecois (pronounced Ke'behKWAH, those who live in Quebec) are quite proud of themselves, so much so that they would rather secede from Canada than remain one of it's 13 provinces and territories. But I am constantly learning (maybe I should say realizing) more and more famous people are actually Canadians, especially in the comedy genre. So I thought I'd share some people you probably didn't know are Canadians... you may be shocked but you'll certainly be informed by the time you finish reading this!

Canadians you probably didn't know are Canadians:

In the TV & Movies Category:

Jim Carrey (It explains so much...)
Pamela Anderson (I couldn't find a wholesome picture I wanted to link to, but I know you know who she is.)
Keanu Reeves (Neo's a 'Nuck! (A Canuck is a Canadian...))
Kiefer Sutherland (Yep! Jack Bauer is Canadian!)
Donald Sutherland (Kiefer's dad, if you couldn't tell from his picture)
William Shatner (You have to respect Canada now!)
Martin Short (Every party has a pooper, that's why we invited you, George Banks!)
Dan Akroyd (Probably over half of SNL's classic comedians...)
John Candy
Phil Hartman
Rick Moranis (He shrunk some kids and busted some ghosts.)
Kristin Kreuk (Smallville--Superman's love interest)
Matthew Perry (Could he BE any more Canadian?!)
Victor Garber (You may not know you know him, but you know him.)
Tom Cavanagh (The bowling alley lawyer we all know as Ed.)
James Cameron ("I'm the king of the world!" would be quite different without him.)
Brendan Fraser (Mummies and such.)
Jason Priestley (Before my generation... but famous nonetheless.)
Alex Trebek for $800!
Leslie Nielsen (And don't call me Shirley.)
Joshua Jackson
Neve Campbell (Meh...)
Peter Jennings (The face of America...)
Devon Sawa (What's he up to these days? Remember Casper?)
Elisha Cuthbert (Kim Bauer, Jack's daughter)

In the random Facts Section:

Alexander Graham Bell (How many other things did our elementary teachers neglect to tell us...)

Music:

Nelly Furtado
Sum41 (Guitar hero!)
Barenaked Ladies (A million loonies or a million dollars?)
Neil Young (Again, not my generation...)
Sarah McLaulin (At least one of her songs can be heard at every High School Prom across North America)
K. D. Lang
Nickelback (This is how you remind me)
Our Lady Peace

And some you probably do (should) know you know:

Mike Myers
Howie Mandel
Avril Lavigne
Alanis Morissette
Celine Dion
Michael J. Fox
Tom Green
Wayne Gretzky
Shania Twain

Is there anyone I'm missing? (Well, there's lots of people who are famous in the adult industry, but I don't think that's something to brag about.) The Great White North has so much to offer! I hope to keep learning more and more.

another binky

2008-09-27T16:05:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to share something that made me smile. :o) This is what Lola does quite frequently.

genius

2008-09-23T12:27:00.005-07:00

I've recently discovered the new genius feature in iTunes. I'll admit, as a conservative PC user, I was a bit skeptical at first. Every time I've had to update iTunes something quirky goes wrong with it... and just makes me dig in my heels as a PC user against Macs. But after having my hard drive wiped clean because of a virus, I had to download all of my applications again, including iTunes 8. Well, I tried it out yesterday and I must say, I rather like it. I simply start playing a song that I feel like listening to and click the genius icon and voila! Genius takes my song selection, compares it to what other iTunes users, and choose songs from my library that others have paired that song with to create a playlist. I'm excited to see what it can do with all of my Christmas songs...

Here's a screenshot of my iTunes, letting genius make a playlist from one of the classics, Breakfast at Tiffany's by Deep Blue Something. (Click on the screenshot to see a larger version.)

Oh, and I could never quite understand that one line... "and I said what about Breakfast at Tiffany's. She said I think I remember the film line. As I recall we both kind of liked it. And I said well that's the one thing we've got." And there you have it! Hopefully we've cleared that up for everyone who ever made a fool of themselves mumbling along, making up words to that part.

virus

2008-09-19T09:03:00.002-07:00

My computer has been sick this week and the IT guys are still working on it... so that's why I haven't been able to blog. Just FYI. I will update you on our lives when I get my lovely computer back fully repaired!

lola

2008-09-12T13:40:00.002-07:00

Celebrating her new-found femininity!

LUSH

2008-09-12T08:56:00.003-07:00

So one of my pictures got published in an online map of Vancouver! I don't really know much about the website, but they found my picture on Flickr and I gave them permission to use it. :o))) You can check out the website here.

This is the picture they found.

thoughts

2008-09-09T12:12:00.003-07:00

Two of my friends from App have joined The Traveling Team since graduating. The Traveling Team had quite an affect on me when I was in school, opening my eyes to the state of the world. They offered staggering statistics, especially about how Christians world wide are spending their money. For example, less than 2% of the total worldwide income goes to Christian causes and less than 1% of that goes to work among the unevangelized. You can check out other information by clicking on the "Resources" link and then "State of the World" from their homepage.

I stumbled upon this article by Jack Rose (also under the "Resources" link) answering the question we've all had, "What about the people who have never heard of Jesus?" It gave me goosebumps so I thought I would share it.

Wow, what a God we serve who will reroute missionaries, send dreams, and even rebuke Peter to get the good news of Jesus to those who are responding in obedience to Him. All of our examples here are described as worshippers and God fearers. Yet, they didn't know about Jesus, so what did God do? He changed the course of history to get the Gospel to them. Ever since God redirected Paul away from Asia to Macedonia, the Gospel has gone west. It moved from Jerusalem throughout the Roman Empire and Europe, down to Africa, across the ocean to the Americas, and now is moving across the Pacific Ocean to Asia. Many leading missions teachers believe that the Gospel will continue this course of spreading until it gets back to where it started...Jerusalem, and then the whole earth will have the good news of Christ, and it all started with Paul being led by the Spirit of God to Lydia. Rejoice, for our God is one who is merciful to the seeker...those who are humbly responding to revelation. So, how is this still happening today?Listen to what is being reported about God's miraculous outreaches to those who can't hear of Him without it:

"More than one-third of the converts to Christianity in Turkey say they came to Christ because He appeared to them in a dream...a team from Fuller Seminary in California documented 600 cases in which Muslims found new life in Jesus because of dreams or visions." Stories of not only Muslim men and women, but many other lost souls, finding Jesus through miraculous means are flooding in off the mission field. Many have shared that a man in a white robe with a beard and scars in his hands has appeared to them and given them an address or directions of where they can find the TRUTH. When they arrive at the specified address, they meet a missionary who gives them a Bible and shares Christ with them. They immediately remember the scars in the strange visitor's hands when they hear of His crucifixion. God is going out of His way to get the truth that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world to those who may not ever hear otherwise. Our God is so merciful. Jesus is the only way. God will not make another way besides Christ, but God will make ways for the lost to meet this Shepherd King. Remember, God isn't going to decide one day to just allow every nonbeliever into Heaven, but to those that are responding to the light that they have, He is giving more light. In order to be saved, they need the light of Christ to shine on them. Let us pray that like the wise men of old, the lost of the world would follow the light of God to Jesus, and let us think of how we might get the good news to those who have not heard.

Let Isaiah, 9:2 be our prayer: "The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them."

back in action

2008-09-08T12:09:00.002-07:00

We had quite an eventful weekend. Upon arriving home from work, Brian found Charlie in his cage surrounded by a mess... we'll just leave it at that and spare you the details. Charlie's stomach was quite upset and Brian had to clean it up. As soon as I got home from the gym, I found more of his mess and could hear his stomach gurgling quite loudly. It's very dangerous and often life-threatening for rabbits to have stomach problems, so I called the vet and we decided to take him in. While we were there, I asked the vet to confirm Charlie's gender for me because for various reasons over the past few weeks, I've been doubting that Charlie is male. Turns out, Charlie's a girl!

So I changed her name to Lola. I know, Charlie could be a perfectly fine female rabbit name, but I just like Lola better. It was a tie between Tink and Lola. Tink short for Tinkerbell and also rhymes with Bink. If you've never had a pet bunny, you probably don't know what a binkie is, so here' s the best picture I have of one:

This picture is mid-bink. When bunnies are happy they have uncontrollable jumps and twitches which someone somewhere along the way affectionately named binkies.

Here's a video if you still don't get it:

Brian decided if he had to have a girl bunny (he was VERY disappointed with the whole discovery) he preferred the name Lola. So that settled it. We've been giving Lola her medicine everyday and she's much, much better. It's quite funny giving her medicine to her... if only we had a video camera to share it with you. We'd also need another set of hands to run the video camera as it takes both of us to administer the medicine.

On Saturday we finished most of the little things that needed to be done around the house like hanging pictures and putting the finishing touches on things... I guess that could go on forever though. And on Sunday, Brian had his first game with his new team, the North Vancouver Eagles. I'll try to find their website and post it in the sidebar. It's weird watching Brian play in a blue jersey when he's been wearing red for so long... I'll post some pictures of his games soon. Even though the team is quite a drive (usually about 45 min one way depending on traffic), I think it was a good move since Brian has a relationship with several of the guys already. Plus, he's been made captain and gets to play center-mid (as opposed to somewhere on the back line where his previous coach always put him).

we're back

2008-09-03T09:59:00.006-07:00

So we're back from vacation and getting back into the swing of things. Florida was great... even with the hurricanes. I've decided God did not create me for hot environments--I don't get tan and I prefer a snow storm to a hot sunny day. But the vacation was great nonetheless.

Guess what I did yesterday! I joined a gym! My friend Vicki and I are officially members of She's Fit, a women only gym. And it's only $15 a month! Hooray. I hate the thought of running outside. Now I can run on a treadmill with my own flat-screen TV no less than 2 feet from my face!

Guess what else I did yesterday... I bought season 4 of The Office. A bit overpriced, but well worth it. Too bad half the season didn't happen because of the writers' strike.

So hopefully you can guess what I'll be doing with my spare time. That's right, either jogging at my gym or watching The Office! ...If only the TVs at the gym had DVD players, too. Then I could do both at the same time.

My favorite episode from this past season.

ho hum

2008-08-18T14:01:00.003-07:00

I was feeling fine this morning, but now I'm starting to feel the Mondays settling in. It's only 2:00 and I've pretty much done everything I needed to this week. Oh well.

I feel like I haven't had a summer. And it's getting harder and harder for me to remember the date. So I bought a calendar to settle that last problem. And we're headed off to vacation on the beach soon, so hopefully that will help with the first problem. But seriously, last week was the only week of warmth I feel like I've had since last summer. Up until we left for South Africa the weather never turned warm. It was quite cold, if you don't believe me check the weather channel stats for Langley, BC in June... I don't think it got above 55 F. Then we got to Africa and were surprised with a slap in the face of cold weather--seriously I know what you're thinking, "Winter in Africa? It's Africa. It's still mild." Well you're wrong. There was frost most mornings the first week we were there. Then we came back in time for the heat spell to end here and the cold rain to settle in.

So, we're headed off for vacation to Florida thanks to Brian's grandparents. A BIG thanks, actually. ...But now that it's hurricane season we might not have the best luck with weather again. I guess if I have to I'll just buy a UV lamp to sit under and a CD of waves crashing, put on my sunglasses and some banana boat sunscreen and hang out in my basement. B-)

But that's just worst case scenario.

2008-08-11T13:51:00.002-07:00

You can read more about our daily activities in South Africa at the AIA Blog.

Ball boys watch and wait to throw in balls during the Swaziland National game. Check out the cool African-colored FIFA ball!

LOTS OF PICTURES

2008-08-07T11:10:00.002-07:00

Lots doesn't do it justice... I took over 3,000 pictures in South Africa. Granted, the majority of them are because I used the continuous shooting mode during games. And there were lots of games. So, of course, they're not all good, but I've posted (and I'm still posting) the better ones
to my Flickr site. Check them out when you've got time!

we're back.

2008-07-23T20:22:00.002-07:00

We got back into town yesterday evening and by 6:30 we were both completely dead. South Africa was awesome... and don't worry, lots of pictures will come soon enough. (I think I took close to 2,000. Yes, you read that right, a 2 with 3 zeros.) For now, check out the blog we had going while we were there: AIA Soccer South Africa blog.

boxes and boxes and boxes

2008-06-25T13:35:00.002-07:00

people, i see you! let me out!
Originally uploaded by beccacfowler

We leave for South Africa in one week. Notice that was written with a period, not an exclamation point. But before that, on Sunday, we move all of our belongings into a garage. That means that we have to be ready and packed for South Africa on Saturday. And we'll be homeless for a few days before we leave. But thankfully friends of ours will be out of town and are letting us stay in their place.

We've spent the majority of our free time packing boxes and trying to get ready to move this weekend. I'm not feeling the crunch... but I'm sure come Sunday I'll feel it. For now I'm just really enjoying the sunshine. It's not hot outside, maybe 70 at the highest. But I can see all the mountains and I can feel the warmth of the sun on my face. Oh, and I got my hair cut. Love it!

My new hair cut.

Just thought I'd share our Father's Day card with you. It makes me chuckle.
You could say I LOL softly.

This one makes me LOL heartily. I love our bunny. I took this picture after setting him up on the window sill. He was not pleased as his furry paws don't handle well on smooth surfaces.

sunset over the blue ridge mountains

2008-06-18T09:17:00.001-07:00

sunset over the blue ridge mountains
Originally uploaded by beccacfowler

Brian and I were reminiscing lately about being back in NC during the summer. How great it would be to spend some time back in Boone and drive along the parkway just in time to catch the sun set over the mountains. That would be so sweet. In lieu of an expensive trip back home, we decided to make our own sunset. It's definitely not as pretty as God's. But we tried! Hope you enjoy it! :o)

funny bunny

2008-06-13T15:52:00.002-07:00

Here's some funny pictures of our funny bunny.

i wish i was here

2008-06-09T16:02:00.001-07:00

open air
Originally uploaded by beccacfowler

This picture was from our trip to Nicaragua back in May. Oh how I wish I was back there. It was hot and humid and sunny and I loved it. We've had nothing but rain, clouds, and cold since Thanksgiving. Seriously, I'm having to wear pants and jackets. And it's June! I'm wanting to boycott the rain and protest for sunshine, but Brian said that won't work. Here's to wishing! Cheers!

sundry travels

2008-05-30T15:38:00.002-07:00

the dining hall
Originally uploaded by beccacfowler

We've been CRAZY busy for what seems like the past 5 weeks. I know we haven't been busy all that time, I'm just saying it feels like it. This past weekend we worked to get the AIA women's soccer team off to Paraguay successfully and worry-free. It wasn't easy but we did it. The weekend before that was full of packing up our belongings in anticipation of moving and then other soccer stuff. The weekend before that we were returning from our trip to Nicaragua. The weekend before that we were leaving for Nicaragua. And so on.

I've posted lots of pictures from our trip to Nicaragua on our Flickr. So check those out and pretend like you traveled with us!

a gray kind of day

2008-05-11T19:44:00.001-07:00

a gray kind of day
Originally uploaded by beccacfowler

I took this picture outside of our house today. It stopped raining for a bit this afternoon and the sun tried to come out. This is after about, oh I don't know, 6 straight months of rain and clouds. I'm so ready for summer. It feels like it's been cold and rainy since October.

I guess I'll get my fill of warm weather this week. We're headed down to Nicaragua tomorrow for the week. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for us there!

After hearing all about the crazy weather lately in Myanmar and the southern States, it makes me ask the question: "Is this new? Or has extreme weather always existed like this, but we just never heard about it?"

With increasing technology, I can see pictures of the devastation within minutes on CNN.com. Friends of ours are even in Myanmar and the surrounding islands now.

It's so easy to get overwhelmed with the constant barrage of bad news at home and abroad. But we can't let it control our lives so much that our normal way of life is disturbed. Like the Beatles said, life goes on. La la la la life goes on.

yes, that's a real bald eagle.

2008-05-01T19:24:00.003-07:00

George alights
Originally uploaded by beccacfowler

This past week, my best friend from back home got to come out and visit. It was so great! Thank you to her husband for lending her to me for so long. :o)

We explored all over Vancouver... including IKEA, Burnaby Mountain, downtown, Stanley Park, and White Rock. We saw this pair of bald eagles in Stanley Park, it was quite cool. I'll post some more pictures of our adventures. You can see even more on the Flickr site. (Or scroll down and click on the link on the right.)

South Africa AIA Tour Video

2008-04-16T15:39:00.003-07:00

We just wanted to share this cool video made by our Canadian AIA Soccer staff who are living and working in South Africa.

disapproval

2008-04-13T20:00:00.002-07:00

disapproval
Originally uploaded by beccacfowler

This photo marked the end of our walk around the neighborhood to take pictures of the sakuras.

Brian picked up a dandelion (the germs of the flower world) and thought he'd wipe one on my face while I was taking the picture from the following blog "sakuras." I was trying to take a picture of myself so I could assess the damage. It didn't pick up the yellow smudge on my face very well; though it did pick up the annoyance I was feeling. ;o)

sakuras

2008-04-13T19:56:00.001-07:00

pink
Originally uploaded by beccacfowler

The cherry blossoms have been blooming for a week or so but we just had our first clear day with blue skies. Brian and I went for a walk so I could take pictures of them. I could take pictures all day... but Brian got a bit antsy/impatient.

I'm quite excited for summer to be coming. I was sad when things wrapped up on campus, knowing that I wouldn't be seeing those great students and coworkers again for a long time. But summer brings warmer weather, sunshine, and a new job. I'm officially AIA Soccer staff, full time. And it'll stay this way from now on.

In the fall I'll be on campus one day per week and working with Brian in AIA the rest of the time. We're excited to see where God is leading us, even though we don't know.

We're also pretty sure we've found an apartment to move into. I'm excited to be in the new place, though I will miss the family (but not necessarily the noise) and the coolness of a basement suite in the summer.

Hope you are all doing well!

hiding

2008-04-10T17:49:00.001-07:00

cutie
Originally uploaded by beccacfowler

This is Charlie hiding. We like to play chase with him.

Things are finally slowing down around here. This was my last week working with campus stuff, next week it's gung ho for AIA.

But I'm exhausted. My forearm hurts from bowling. And I found out from my physiotherapist friend that my hips are so badly out of alignment that it's giving me bad neck problems that lead to headaches. It also explains the sharp pains in my leg, my inability to do a sit up (seriously, I haven't been able to roll up from the ground to do a sit up since middle school), and why I haven't been able to touch my toes in a long time. But I'm glad I've found out why all these little quirks with my body are happening and now I can do something about it!

Also, we're moving soon! The time has come to leave our basement suite and get out on our own. NO, WE'RE NOT HAVING A BABY. We're just ready to move.

Have a great end of the week!

AHH! chipmunk voice

2008-03-25T15:46:00.003-07:00

yawn!
Originally uploaded by beccacfowler

Charlie is healthy. We took him to the vet today.

This is Charlie yawning... although it looks like there should be a high-pitch screech coming from his mouth, it was silent. Bunnies are quite quiet. The only sound Charlie makes is a purring, wheezing sound which means he's happy. And from time to time he'll thump his foot if he's not getting the attention he wants or is put back in his cage before he's ready.

Funny bunny.

chewing

2008-03-24T21:17:00.003-07:00

chewing
Originally uploaded by beccacfowler

Charlie has brightened our home so much! I'm so glad we got him. Brian even likes him! And I think Charlie likes Brian quite a bit. Bunnies show their affection by running in circles around your feet (CHECK!), snuggling with you (CHECK!) and licking or nibbling you (CHECK!). The ultimate sign of affection is if the bunny chooses to groom you, licking your hair.

So Brian tried to test this method...
by putting his head on the couch...
next to Charlie's face...
and sure enough Charlie sniffed him for a minute and then nibbled Brian's ear!

Brian immediately jumped up and ran to the bathroom yelling, "HE BIT ME! CHARLIE BIT MY EAR!" He sure did. I'm sure it was just a nibble, but Brian's ear was swollen and red for a while. Charlie just went about his business, hopping around and cleaning himself.

He's so cute. But I'm afraid he's sick. We're taking him to the vet tomorrow.

Chinese Bible

2008-03-09T22:35:00.002-07:00

Chinese Great Commission 2
Originally uploaded by beccacfowler

I love how multicultural my campus ministry is at SFU. I have more Asian friends than ever... and have found out since moving here that I myself am truly Asian on the inside. They call me an egg... white on the outside, yellow on the inside. And yes, I believe I can properly use chopsticks. ^_^

2008-03-03T14:20:00.005-08:00

Charlie looks like a loaf of bunny bread.

I wish I had more time for crafts. Since I was blessed with and amazing new camera this past winter, I've taken over a thousand pictures. But what have I done with most of them? Well, honestly they're not all worth keeping. :o) But I wish I had time to scrapbook, make cards, or even shadow boxes with them! Every time I walk by the scrapbooking store, I think about all the possible crafts I could do! It's endless really. And who gets any pleasure out of just looking at pictures on my computer? For now I'll post a few of my most recent favorites.

Charlie conks out on the couch after running and hopping for a while.

Brian gets airborne heading a ball.

I like my friend's Converse All Stars.

Jesus was just a man...

2008-02-19T15:32:00.003-08:00

I don't want my life to be forced or fake. The Lord has been teaching me so much about how I am supposed to live as a follower of Jesus. I say it's "so much" but really, it's just one thing over and over: that I can't do it in my own strength. I'm not supposed to. Yet that is totally the opposite of how I've grown up. My whole life has been about toughing things out, dealing with pressures out of my own mental and physical capacities.

From the words I need at any given moment, to decisions that need to be made, to even simply riding in the car, I realize that I am filled with God's Holy Spirit and that is the state I move forward in. But I confess, it's so easy to slip back into my old way of doing things. Like silent snow flakes falling and hiding the ground underneath them, my old thoughts pile up on top of the simple truth that I have an alternate power source to rely on.

This is part of what Jesus meant when He said we could do far more on earth than He did.

In John 14:12, Jesus says this exactly: "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."

It's not that Jesus expects us to perform miracles of healing and changing water into coke or even to simply convince people of His existence by our own ability. He is expecting that if you believe in Him, you too will be filled with God's Spirit.

This leads me to another amazing concept that the Lord is helping me understand--Jesus was 100% human. Let me say it again in another way, Jesus Christ was God embodied in human form, but He was completely and utterly a man. He was no superman with a magical touch like a fairy or some kind of super hero. He gave up his "God card" so to speak. He could have done those miracle transactions on earth and put them on His "God card" but He didn't.

This is what Paul begins to unveil for us in Philippians 2. Jesus, "who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!"

Maybe your mind is sharper than mine and you're already thinking what I'm about to say...

If Jesus was simply a man, if He gave up His "God card" and was completely human, how did He perform those miracles?! (This is where I always get goosebumps.) Jesus Christ never dipped into His deity but instead relied on God's Spirit, prayer, and the Word. "Jesus was man as God intended man to be." (Ian Thomas) Jesus possessed all the qualities of humanness except sin and was able to have perfect communion with God. When Jesus asked the Father to change the water to wine, God did it. When Jesus prayed over the loaves and fish, God multiplied it to feed thousands. (If you want to learn more about this "hypostatic union" as the theologians call it, may I suggest this article by Dann Spader. I learned much about this concept from him and he offers many other resources at the end of the article.)

Let this settle in your mind for a moment. I hope I don't offend you when I say Jesus was just a man. Obviously He wasn't "just" anything, He changed the entire course of human history. But it's worth saying it that way just to knock you off your balance for a moment.

Knowing this truth can shed a great deal of light on ourselves as human beings including a couple of specific conclusions:
1. The resources that Jesus used are still available to you and me.
2. Jesus is our perfect model for life! (Hopefully a more achievable model for you now.)
3. We underestimate what God wants to do through us.

Thank you for reading this far, if you made it this far.

"So many people minimize the obedience of Christ by saying, 'of course Jesus obeyed, He was God and had God's nature in Him; He had no choice.' Scripture does not allow us to draw this conclusion. It presents Christ as a man who faced every temptation and succeeded, not because He relied upon His divine nature, but because He relied upon the Word, prayer, and the Spirit. And He succeeded all the way to the cross--even death on the cross."
Dr. Bruce Ware, Southern Seminary

a new addition to our family

2008-02-16T21:52:00.003-08:00

We have a new baby!

...Did I trick you? Sorry. :o) We got a new baby bunny! His name is Charlie and he's about 8 weeks old. He's so much fun, he's even trying to type with me right now. Here's a few pictures of him. You can find many more on our Flickr site from the link on the right side of this page. We love him already!

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AHH! chipmunk voice