What I'm reading

The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart
Amos and I have listened to the other Benedict books, and we love them.  The books are about two orphans and two runaways who are brought together by Nicholas Benedict to form the Mysterious Benedict Society, with the goal of defeating the evil Ledroptha Curtain.  This book is about Nicholas Benedict's extraordinary childhood. We like this one so far, too.
(The Mysterious Benedict Society, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma)

A View of the Nile by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea
I love Fernea's books.  This one tells about her years living in Egypt with her anthropologist husband and three children.

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Hosseini's third book, this one also revolves around an Afghan family.  It explores the consequences of choices.  I like it, though the content of the book is rarely pretty.


My goodreads account says I'm also reading The Meaning of Marriage: Finding Happiness in Your Most Profound Relationship by Timothy and Kathy Keller, Serving as Senders by Neal Pirolo, and Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.  What is more accurate is that I've read a good part of each of those books, and they have been laid aside, at least for the time being.


I just finished Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.  It is a young adult book set in World War II, telling the story of two best friends.  One girl is a pilot and one girl is a spy.  About half the book is told from the Scottish spy's angle, and the rest of the book by the English pilot's.  There are lots of details, several plot twists, and a few crazy connections between all of the characters.
I loved it.  Code Name Verity was very sad at some points, but also very interesting and extremely well-written.  I listened to it as an audiobook, and it was excellent.  It is read by two different ladies and is put out by Bolinda audio.  I highly recommend it, though it is not appropriate for young audiences (even though it is technically young adult).  I got my copy from the local library.

Open Letter to the Lord of the Universe

Amos is a college graduate, and I am a college graduate and teaching credential holder. We reside in Southern California and both hold two jobs each.  We live in cheap housing, spend a very small amount on groceries, and eat out probably five times a month, at most.  We pay our bills on time, including our car payment and student loans.  By all accounts we should be living the good life (if you believe the messages painted on our city buses).

Yet we make it by with a rather small surplus every month.  So small, in fact, that we can't afford to pay for benefits, even for one of us.

And then there is Obamacare, which says that we must have benefits or we will be fined hundreds of dollars per month, and we still won't have benefits.

And I'm afraid.  How can we pay for everything and not become homeless, when this bill goes into effect next year?  What if one of us gets sick?  How will we pay for dental care, which is sorely needed?

And then I think, "I'll write President Obama a letter and explain everything.  I'll send it to the White House, and he will read my touching, reasonable, persuasive letter and drop his bill."

And then I think, "What if it never reaches him?  I know he doesn't read all his mail; I know that there are employees who have probably read thousands of just such letters, and that the letters have probably been filed or tossed.  Oh dear!"

And then I think, "Who needs the President?  I have the Lord of the universe on my side, and He hears me night or day, rain or shine, hell or high water, for better or for worse, in sickness or in health, private care or Obamacare, till death we are united."

And so I put fingers to keyboard to write a prayer letter to the Lord of my life, who will sustain Amos and I through it all.  This is not easy to write, and even harder to live, but I do believe this prayer and trust that the Recipient will read it and act.

Lord,

You put President Obama in power, and You turn and have turned his heart where You will.  For some reason that we cannot see, You allowed this bill to be passed, and now millions of people will have to pay, literally.  It is scary, and we do not like it at all.  It doesn't seem to be the right thing for You to do.

But God, we place our sure hope in You, Your character, and Your Word.  We do not hope in men who fail or bills that pass or bank accounts that just won't fill up. You are the sustainer of our lives, and we rest in You to care for us.

Help us neither to be lazy and listless nor to work ourselves to death.

I echo Psalm 112,
"[The righteous man] is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
His heart is steady, he will not be afraid."

I claim Psalm 118,
"I shall not die, but I shall live,
 and recount the deeds of the LORD."

Lord, You wrote these truths, You will bring these to pass because You cannot lie.

We do not know what the next year will bring, but we trust You to be true to Your Word and to care for us, through thick or thin, rich or poor, in sickness and in health, from this time forth and forevermore.

Trusting and trying to trust,

Jennica-Ayelet

Tea Rex

I admit it: I am nearly twenty-seven years old, and I love picture books.  I'm pretty sure that the librarians think I'm weird for always checking out picture and chapter books, but I try not to pay attention. :)

Tea Rex by Molly Idle

Tea Rex by Molly Idle is my most recent favorite picture book, though I've also enjoyed I Want My Hat Back and This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen, Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by James Dean and Eric Litwin, and One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo and David Small (more on this one later, perhaps).

Anyway, Tea Rex is a book about a sister and brother who invite a t-rex to their tea party.  The medium is beautiful colored pencil, and the illustrations interact with the text in a hilarious way; totally worth any weird looks. ;)

Serving himself some tea with the help of a hapless teddy bear!

I think this is hilarious...a "tea rex" tea infuser!

Ouch

It is Saturday!  I taught every day this past week, and it was a little crazy.  I worked with mainstream kids, special ed kids, and autistic kids (one of whom could be possessed, which is scary).

Now it's the weekend.  Amos is taking a nap, and I'm stuck on the couch with a terrible crick in my back, neck, and shoulder.  I hope it gets better soon! :P  Here are some things I would be doing if I felt better:
-Mixing gyros for dinner
-Experimenting with my chocolate muffin recipe (I want to add a peanut butter ribbon next time)
-Sweeping the floor
-Cleaning the bathroom
-Printing out prayer support forms for our missionary friends, whom we'll see tomorrow!
-Thinking clearly so that I could write an e-mail back to my friend, who took a lot of time to answer a question (it will come eventually, Heather!)
-Sitting out in the backyard reading Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot, A View of the Nile by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, or Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Instead I believe I will lie here and find out "whodunnit" in Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express.  I love audiobooks!

Rose in bloom

Just some roses from right down the street.  I always take the time to smell them when I walk to the library, which is at least once a week.  I'm thankful for the people who planted them! :)

Maqloobeh/Chicken Biryani Recipe

My friend Heather recently posted a recipe for maqloobeh, an Arabic dish.  I wanted to try it, but I wasn't sure how long it would take or what it would taste like.  Plus, when I looked up other versions of maqloobeh, each recipe seemed to list different ways of cooking the ingredients (apparently it is a very versatile food).  After debating which recipe to use and how to create this dish which would hopefully taste good, I decided to combine the recipe for maqloobeh with my memories of chicken biryani, which Amos and I had in Bangalore last summer.  I know I like Indian spices; I'm not so sure about Middle Eastern (though I'm sure I would like it if Heather made it...I just didn't want to take that chance myself, haha!).  This is my inexact-but-still-usable recipe combining the two.  Enjoy!

Maqloobeh/Chicken Biryani

1 1/2 - 2 cups rice (I used 1/2 cup white rice, 1 cup brown Jasmine rice)

1 onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1 - 1 1/2 lb. chicken breast, diced

1-2 tomatoes, sliced

1/2 baked potato, sliced

1 cup chicken broth/beef broth

Pulao masala (NOT curry powder; get this at an international grocery store)

Salt

Cinnamon

Black pepper

Cayenne pepper

Garlic powder

Ginger powder

Cardamom

Cilantro

Add water to the rice.  Rinse carefully till water is almost clear.  Drain most of the water and leave the rice for now.

Set the bell peppers in a small bowl.

Cook the onions over medium heat till barely soft and light golden in butter and oil in a pot with a fitted lid; set aside in a bowl.

Pour 1 tablespoon oil in pot.  Add 1/2 tablespoon pulao masala, 1 teaspoon salt, a few dashes black pepper, one tiny dash cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon ginger and cardamom.  Mix with the oil till fragrant, 1-3 minutes, over medium heat.  Add a few tablespoons water if necessary to prevent burning; keep stirring.

Add chicken pieces to pot.  Stir to coat; chicken should be well-coated. Keep stirring, cook till chicken is mostly white, about 4 minutes.  Turn off heat.

Mix 1 teaspoon pulao masala, 1/2 teaspoon salt, a little garlic powder, and a little cinnamon to wet rice.  Stir to coat.  Set aside

Add onions on top of chicken.  Add bell peppers.  Add tomato slices.  Add rice.  Shake carefully to settle (do NOT stir!).  Add broth, then water till 1 cm above rice.  Add potato slices.

Over high heat, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium/medium low; liquid should be simmering rapidly but not boiling.  Cover and cook till water is absorbed.

Flip carefully onto a plate/platter/serving dish.  Leave for a few minutes before removing pan.

Sprinkle generously with cilantro.  Serve with plain yogurt.  Add more salt and cilantro if needed.

Takes about 40ish minutes

Serves 4

Cats, ants, and coffee grounds

I did it.  I finally picked up a free bag of coffee grounds.  Starbucks provides these huge packages of used coffee grounds for enterprising people like me who are trying to get rid of pests.  (Okay, maybe the grounds are really for gardens...maybe.)

Amos and I have a narrow sideyard/patch of dirt that runs the length of our house and leads to our backyard.  Unfortunately, the neighborhood cats think that our sideyard is their litterbox.  Our manager comes along and rakes it out every once in a while, but still...who wants to smell cat waste every time they walk to or from their car?!  Not I!

I went to the grocery store after church today to get some cereal, and when I walked in the door, I looked to the left and saw the little Starbucks kiosk.  Aha!  I wouldn't have to visit an actual Starbucks store and awkwardly grab a bag and run; I could just get the grounds here!  I lugged the moist bag, which threatened to empty its contents at any moment, around the store and back to my car.

After arriving home, I brought the package inside and let it be while I mixed up some bagels.  Leaving the bagels to rise, I stepped back outside to survey my weapons: leaf rake, garden trowel, coffee grounds.  I chopped up the dirt with the trowel, raked the dirt back and forth a bit, and got my hands very dirty spreading out the grounds.  Here's hoping the local cats don't like coffee!  I'm also hoping it will take care of the really annoying, tiny, red grease ants that keep popping up in our kitchen.  Come on, coffee!  "Fulfill your ministry!"

Favorite places: Amos

Going to try a little series about my favorite places.  These posts will pop up every once in a while, i.e., they will not come one right after another.

First up: AMOS!  Amos is my absolute favorite place to be.  Please enjoy some pictures from "the early years."

I love him so much.

First few weeks of dating, 2008

Crazy spaghetti dinner party, with root beer floats and boyfriend head, 2008

At Hart Park, 2008

Santa Monica, 2008

GO Sunday recap

Thank you to those of you who prayed for me and for GO Sunday!  I think it was a really good event!  Now we just need to maintain the momentum we gained yesterday; we don't want missions to be pushed to the back of our church's mind.

It was a good Sunday!  It was a little stressful when one missionary family overslept their alarm and showed up late to set-up; when our pastor rushed by us saying "Compress! Compress!  Compress!" right before we were going to speak a second time; and when the congregation failed to understand Rachel when she said, "greet one another" (they sat and stared at us...awkward!).  Oh dear!  We'll just look back and laugh, I guess!

Some people signed up to pray for individual missionaries, and a few of the children's Sunday School classes were taken outside to learn about our missionaries.  One of the Sunday School teachers remarked that even she didn't know about all our missionaries.  Our newest elder, Nigel, bought Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot for his sixth grade daughter, a book that she asked for; that alone made my day!

Thank you for praying for the weather, too!  The wind only started up right before the end of the third service!  We are very thankful that God granted us favor with the weather. :)

Now it's Monday, and I'm taking the day off.  Time to drink chai, listen to The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie, and later, return some library books and read Through Gates of Splendor myself.

Recipe: Ginger Chicken Rice Bowl

I made this on Tuesday and really liked it.  I initially made it with noodles, but I think it would have been better over rice.  This recipe includes the adjustments I did make (cabbage, orange juice, pepper flakes, etc.) and should have made (rice, cashews, etc.).  I hope you like it!

My Ginger Chicken Noodle Bowl dinner...pretty good...made it in 25 mintues!

Ginger Chicken Rice Bowl

General idea taken from Lovely Little Snippets
Serves two

Brown and white rice, cooked

Sauce *Disclaimer: These measurements are approximate*
1/4 cup Soyaki sauce from Trader Joe's
1/8 cup soy sauce
1/4 tsp sesame seed oil
2 pinches red pepper flakes
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice (NOT concentrate)
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 chicken breast, chopped in bite-size pieces

1 tbsp corn starch
1-2 tbsp cold water
1 tbsp soy sauce

2 green onions, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped (any color; I used yellow)
3/4 cup cabbage, chopped
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions
Start the rice.
Mix the sauce ingredients in a skillet, heat to boiling.
Add the chicken, stir, reduce heat to medium, stir, cover.
Meanwhile, thoroughly mix the corn starch with the cold water and soy sauce.
When the chicken is cooked, stir in the corn starch mixture and cook sauce and chicken over low heat until thickened.
Add the vegetables.  Stir.  Replace the cover to steam the vegetables.  Stir, taste, adjust seasonings, and serve over brown and white rice.

More Variations
- Steam some fresh zucchini and serve on top of the chicken and noodles (don't stir the zucchini into the chicken or it will take on the flavor of the sauce and turn mushy).
- Stir some cashews  into the chicken mixture, right before serving.
- Serve with noodles instead.  Mix the noodles with a little Soyaki before topping with the chicken mixture.

GO Sunday

Most of you know that I'm a substitute teacher, but how many of you know or remember that I'm also the missions coordinator at my church?!  I started my job back in February, and it's been a little crazy so far.  This Sunday is our first annual Missions, or GO, Sunday.

Some of the things I've done so far...

-ordered balloons

-bought picture frames

-returned picture frames

-bought more picture frames

-bought picture frame stands

-bought bright cardstock

-ordered prayer cards

-ordered prayer cards

-ordered prayer cards

-ordered more prayer cards

-arranged meetings

-attended meetings

-e-mailed many, many, many people

-printed pictures for the frames

-designed maps for the frames

-ordered books

-ordered kids' books

-ordered a suggestion box

-ordered squishy world globe balls

-ordered bookmarks

-printed support sheets

-printed instructions

-printed diagrams

-typed up innumerable documents

-used highliters

-talked to lots of people

-given written directions

-given verbal explanations of the written directions

-designated tasks

-etc.

I still need to...

-print prayer brochures

-figure out how to keep the frames on the frame stands

-receive, review, and suggest edits to a missions video

-create slides for Sunday

-write scripts for those of us speaking in church

-attend a few more meetings

-talk to our church ministry assistant about logistics

-receive all the prayer cards!

-buy a few tablecloths

-clear up confusion about Sunday morning responsibilities

-label the rest of the books

-make sure that certain announcements are included in the slides and the bulletin

-etc.

We only have six days to go, and hopefully the rest of my to do list will be finished by then!  Please pray that our church will get involved in supporting our missionaries through prayer and communication, that it won't rain on Sunday, and that it won't be windy!

Thanks to Rachel for designing all of our media!

Nineteen and counting...

The other day I had eighteen nineteen (I missed one at first) books and audiobooks and one movie grouped around our coffee table.  The coffee table serves as the library book bookcase.

Books from four different library systems

Soon after I look this picture, I returned four books and picked up another three or four. :)

I found a jackpot at the library a few days ago!  I got ten books for $2.50!

American Girl books for $.25 each!

A few days before I found a Marguerite Henry book and a Virginia Lee Burton book, which prompted me to check out a few more Burton books (see above).  Each were $0.25, I think.

Brighty and Katy

And finally, a few weeks ago we found the following at Goodwill, for about $15.00.

Thrift store finds

Chester Cricket's New Home wasn't that great, but the rest are okay.

From these posts it probably seems like I spend all my time at the library or Goodwill...not quite, but close! ;)  Our friends Tim and Shaunna like to go thrift store shopping too, so we might go with them sometime; should be an adventure.