June's Jaunts
The majority of June I was still in the States and occupied with more family time, camping, and packing up. Today marks a week that I've been back in Honduras, and it's been rough. It's so hard to leave my family, and this time was especially hard because of losing my Granddad. Returning, I have also encountered lots of typical Third World inconveniences and problems that are more challenging when you're coming from somewhere where you aren't facing those kinds of issues. But, I am slowly settling in again. Part of the key to that for me surprisingly is in cooking. I'm not really sure why, but I feel at home when I am creating in the kitchen even when my kitchen has no working sink, is overrun by ants, and is suffering the after-effects of my husband's temporary bachelorhood. It's a simple way to feel slightly in control of my environment even when everything around me seems swirling out of grasp. Organization, making grocery lists and meal plans, and writing out all those bullet points of things I need to do, while an illusion of stability, are still things that provide a sense of secure normalcy for me.
A Good Read
I didn't get a whole lot of books completed just because I had too many interesting ones at my disposal, and I wasn't sure where I wanted to start. Plus, I still had a couple of books in process. So, this is the one book I've been masticating slowly for the past four months that I did finish today.
Courtesy of Amazon.com
1) Secrets of Your Family Tree: Healing for Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families by Dave Carder, Dr. Earl Henslin, Dr. John Townsend, Dr. Henry Cloud, and Alice Brawand. I bought this book in a buying spree of books by Cloud and Townsend after I took an interest in their book, Boundaries. This book was very interesting to me as I work with lots of people who come from traumatic childhood and home-life experiences. My husband is also a child of divorce. But beyond what you would typically expect to be covered in a book about dysfunctional families, they also cover less noticeably dramatic topics that can still be harmful and require recovery--things like codependency and church hurt. The last chapter also examines how the church should operate to truly serve as a hospital for the emotionally wounded. One of my favorite aspects of the book was how it analyzed how people's childhoods can dictate the kind of church atmosphere that they will feel drawn to later in life. That was information I have never seen in any other counseling book I've read. As Raúl and I are developing a life together, we're also encountering a lot of areas where our childhoods have differed greatly. And, some of the information in this book was helpful to be able to identify what kinds of things we want to be a part of our own family culture and what kinds of negative experiences we had in childhood that we want to seek God to recover from and avoid repeating. I'm not going to share any excerpts just because the excerpts I copied into my journal are all particular to my own life situations and relationships. But, this is a book worth taking the time to read even though it takes a while to process. Each chapter has some questions that follow to offer some self-reflection pertinent to the chapter's topic. This is a book I will likely refer back to in the future.
Culinary Winners
1) Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Lime Juice. When I was growing up, my mom didn't really like Brussels sprouts, so I can't remember ever eating them. Over the last couple of years, though, they have become a treat that we often make. It started when I came across some Brussels sprouts in a super market here. Our vegetable options are often limited, so I'm always looking for some new ingredients to play with. In general, I always believe that roasting vegetables or cooking them in a way that causes caramelization is far better than steaming or boiling. This simple recipe from Martha Stewart was my go-to when I first starting making them, but now I just kind of go by instinct. Absolutely cut your sprouts in half so that they cook through (and have more surface area for caramelization flavor.) Don't forget the lime (or lemon) juice. It absolutely makes them better.
2) Caramelized Onions. In the spirit of caramelizing stuff, I've been making more caramelized onions lately. Ever since I was a kid, I haven't really liked typical cooked onions. I think it's a texture thing--they're too crunchy and have too much of a biting taste raw, but they're too slimy cooked. With that said, in adulthood, I've learned to enjoy pickled onions as part of what we call encurtido here, which is basically pickled vegetables, or caramelized onions. Caramelized they're good on steak, but I also recently added them to some soup. (Or you can go all out and just make French onion soup.) I don't have a go-to recipe for this though a Google search will turn up what you need to know. The key, for me, is to let them sit in the heat long enough to caramelize but not so long that they burn. I also do recommend adding some salt, a little sugar, and de-glazing your pan with either cooking wine or vinegar.
3) Steak and Shrimp Hobo Packets. When my family goes camping, my mom typically plans out our meals ahead of time, and she keeps an eye out for new camping recipe ideas. So, this is her winner. A hobo packet apparently is just a bundle of foil that you fill with your choice of protein, your choice of vegetables, fresh herbs, and spices. We've made these before when camping, but this was the first time we tried them with steak and shrimp. It was good! My mom has an herb garden filled with sage, oregano, cilantro, basil, dill, and rosemary. So, we took along some fresh herbs which were a great addition. I like to add Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and/or lemon juice, but the meat will also be better when marinated beforehand. We also haven't had great luck with potatoes in these packets just because they take so long to cook. You want to try to keep your packet full of things that cook at the same rate. And, make sure that your foil is sealed well (two layers is best), and that you place your packet either in the campfire or on the grill in a place where it will receive sufficient heat to cook. I've also been known to just make these in my oven at home.
What I've Watched
1) Thor: Ragnarok. I was behind on watching some of the Marvel movies before I watched Avengers: Infinity War, so I caught up some in watching this movie. It's unlike any of the other movies in terms of its type of humor and really quirky characters and settings. Thor's character is humbled and grows in many respects, and I enjoyed seeing more of the Hulk's personality since Bruce Banner is usually the focus in terms of character development. Since Infinity War picks up exactly where this movie leaves off, it was interesting to see the events that led up to that start.
2) Ocean's Eight. I went to see this with my husband a couple nights ago in theaters. I was surprised that he wanted to go since not all men seem to be on-board with the trend of all-women casts re-making movies that have previously had all-male casts. I should note that my husband is notorious for falling asleep at the movies, and this movie was no exception. But he said he did like what he was awake for. Haha. I also enjoyed it. The cast dynamic is pretty fun, especially the interactions between Cate Blanchett, Sarah Paulson, and Sandra Bullock. This isn't the greatest movie in the world, and as far as a female character really being powerful and exciting, Wonder Woman does a better job. But, as cliché as it may sound, as a woman, it is empowering to see women playing roles that are typically only written for males. It is interesting to see how a female would approach the problem solving of a detailed heist. Ocean's Eight takes cues from the Ocean's Eleven trilogy, but it feels like it's own thing. It has its own type of humor. I feel like comparing the two in terms of which is better misses the point. Men and women are fundamentally different, with their own strengths and weaknesses. We just approach things differently, but that doesn't mean one is better than the other. Those differences are an aspect of story-telling that I enjoy. So, all in all, it was fun to watch especially because I felt like, for the most part, the characters were allowed to act like women and not like women who are trying to act like men.
3) A Little Help with Carol Burnett. This show, on Netflix, features Carol Burnett as host as various guests (including celebrities) come on the show to ask for life advice from five children. The cast of children rotates from episode to episode, and there are some adorable ones! I especially love Robert's orneriness and demands to be able to finish his thoughts. Their suggestions sometimes display a great depth of observation or are just outrageous. I also really enjoy the segment when they ask kids to give the meanings of common sayings like "beat around the bush." It's very formulaic and cutesy, but it's also a nice escapist respite when life feels too complicated. It's a nice reminder of how a childlike outlook on life and in faith could and should look in the midst of trials.
Small Joys (in no particular order)
1) Ollie's Bargain Outlet. On a shopping excursion with my Grandmom, we stopped at an Ollie's Bargain Outlet. Sadly, from what I can tell, Ollie's only seems to have locations as far west as Tennessee, but what a gem! I was in book heaven there. They have all kinds of stuff from clothing to household wares to books to toys and snack food. I got some amazing book deals there--books that were on my list to purchase from some of the authors I most enjoy and other books that just caught my eye. If you ever find yourself near one, it's definitely worth it to stop in just to see what you can find.
2) Chris Pratt's MTV Movie and TV Awards Speech. I have always really enjoyed Chris Pratt as an actor. His humor reminds me of my brother's sense of humor, and he just carries himself in a way that feels like he could genuinely be the kind of person who'd be fun to be around. I've seen some of his Christian-related posts or comments from his Instagram account mentioned in the media before, but I especially enjoyed this speech. What was covered in mainstream media kind of sugarcoated how direct his message of God's love and Jesus' sacrifice really was. As someone who finds myself praying for famous people sometimes, seeing his determination to share what he believes in a room full of people who could easily be considered the hardest to reach with a message of love (especially in light of so many recent celebrity suicides), gave me hope and made me just a little bit weepy. If you're going to watch it, please watch the whole thing.
3) Playing family games. On my mom's side of the family, we play games because my mom is the game lady. When all of my cousins and siblings and I get together, it becomes our natural instinct to play games together. I was really blessed to be able to see a couple of my cousins who I haven't seen for a long time, and we had a lot of fun spending time together over card games and board games. Our go-tos are usually Balderdash, Cranium (my brother and I make the best team), and Scrabble. But, we've also been known to play Apples to Apples or Clue and just recently tried Speak Out.
This is not our Serro Scotty camper, but this is what it looks like courtesy of NationalSerroScotty.org.
4) Camping with my family. It had been a couple years since I'd last been in the States for a summer and been able to camp with my family. Camping is something we did all throughout my childhood sometimes with other relatives or with family friends, and we really enjoy it. We have one particular state park that we frequent that is near where my dad grew up. So, there are a lot of traditions that we've developed over the years from tubing down the river to getting soft-serve ice cream at the local store. My parents have also fixed up an old 1966 Serro Scotty camper to be functional, and it's become a staple in the camping adventures. That's where I slept during this past trip. My aunt usually comes with us, and my grandmother often joins us around the campfire. The only downside is that it never lasts long enough. I look forward to the day when Raúl can come along.
That's my recap of June. I do hope to get back into the normal swing of blogging as I was before. There are a lot of emotions and memories and thoughts I want to process, and I have several notes on my phone with topics that interest me or events that sparked my thinking. I just haven't had the time to sit down and process enough for something to come out in fluid words.
If you happened to miss the above links, here they are:
1) Martha Stewart's Brussels Sprouts Recipe: https://www.marthastewart.com/316075/sauteed-brussels-sprouts
2) Chris Pratt's MTV Movie and TV Awards Speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EihqXHqxri0
Thank you all for your valuable time in reading!
A Good Read
I didn't get a whole lot of books completed just because I had too many interesting ones at my disposal, and I wasn't sure where I wanted to start. Plus, I still had a couple of books in process. So, this is the one book I've been masticating slowly for the past four months that I did finish today.
Courtesy of Amazon.com
1) Secrets of Your Family Tree: Healing for Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families by Dave Carder, Dr. Earl Henslin, Dr. John Townsend, Dr. Henry Cloud, and Alice Brawand. I bought this book in a buying spree of books by Cloud and Townsend after I took an interest in their book, Boundaries. This book was very interesting to me as I work with lots of people who come from traumatic childhood and home-life experiences. My husband is also a child of divorce. But beyond what you would typically expect to be covered in a book about dysfunctional families, they also cover less noticeably dramatic topics that can still be harmful and require recovery--things like codependency and church hurt. The last chapter also examines how the church should operate to truly serve as a hospital for the emotionally wounded. One of my favorite aspects of the book was how it analyzed how people's childhoods can dictate the kind of church atmosphere that they will feel drawn to later in life. That was information I have never seen in any other counseling book I've read. As Raúl and I are developing a life together, we're also encountering a lot of areas where our childhoods have differed greatly. And, some of the information in this book was helpful to be able to identify what kinds of things we want to be a part of our own family culture and what kinds of negative experiences we had in childhood that we want to seek God to recover from and avoid repeating. I'm not going to share any excerpts just because the excerpts I copied into my journal are all particular to my own life situations and relationships. But, this is a book worth taking the time to read even though it takes a while to process. Each chapter has some questions that follow to offer some self-reflection pertinent to the chapter's topic. This is a book I will likely refer back to in the future.
Culinary Winners
1) Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Lime Juice. When I was growing up, my mom didn't really like Brussels sprouts, so I can't remember ever eating them. Over the last couple of years, though, they have become a treat that we often make. It started when I came across some Brussels sprouts in a super market here. Our vegetable options are often limited, so I'm always looking for some new ingredients to play with. In general, I always believe that roasting vegetables or cooking them in a way that causes caramelization is far better than steaming or boiling. This simple recipe from Martha Stewart was my go-to when I first starting making them, but now I just kind of go by instinct. Absolutely cut your sprouts in half so that they cook through (and have more surface area for caramelization flavor.) Don't forget the lime (or lemon) juice. It absolutely makes them better.
2) Caramelized Onions. In the spirit of caramelizing stuff, I've been making more caramelized onions lately. Ever since I was a kid, I haven't really liked typical cooked onions. I think it's a texture thing--they're too crunchy and have too much of a biting taste raw, but they're too slimy cooked. With that said, in adulthood, I've learned to enjoy pickled onions as part of what we call encurtido here, which is basically pickled vegetables, or caramelized onions. Caramelized they're good on steak, but I also recently added them to some soup. (Or you can go all out and just make French onion soup.) I don't have a go-to recipe for this though a Google search will turn up what you need to know. The key, for me, is to let them sit in the heat long enough to caramelize but not so long that they burn. I also do recommend adding some salt, a little sugar, and de-glazing your pan with either cooking wine or vinegar.
3) Steak and Shrimp Hobo Packets. When my family goes camping, my mom typically plans out our meals ahead of time, and she keeps an eye out for new camping recipe ideas. So, this is her winner. A hobo packet apparently is just a bundle of foil that you fill with your choice of protein, your choice of vegetables, fresh herbs, and spices. We've made these before when camping, but this was the first time we tried them with steak and shrimp. It was good! My mom has an herb garden filled with sage, oregano, cilantro, basil, dill, and rosemary. So, we took along some fresh herbs which were a great addition. I like to add Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and/or lemon juice, but the meat will also be better when marinated beforehand. We also haven't had great luck with potatoes in these packets just because they take so long to cook. You want to try to keep your packet full of things that cook at the same rate. And, make sure that your foil is sealed well (two layers is best), and that you place your packet either in the campfire or on the grill in a place where it will receive sufficient heat to cook. I've also been known to just make these in my oven at home.
What I've Watched
1) Thor: Ragnarok. I was behind on watching some of the Marvel movies before I watched Avengers: Infinity War, so I caught up some in watching this movie. It's unlike any of the other movies in terms of its type of humor and really quirky characters and settings. Thor's character is humbled and grows in many respects, and I enjoyed seeing more of the Hulk's personality since Bruce Banner is usually the focus in terms of character development. Since Infinity War picks up exactly where this movie leaves off, it was interesting to see the events that led up to that start.
2) Ocean's Eight. I went to see this with my husband a couple nights ago in theaters. I was surprised that he wanted to go since not all men seem to be on-board with the trend of all-women casts re-making movies that have previously had all-male casts. I should note that my husband is notorious for falling asleep at the movies, and this movie was no exception. But he said he did like what he was awake for. Haha. I also enjoyed it. The cast dynamic is pretty fun, especially the interactions between Cate Blanchett, Sarah Paulson, and Sandra Bullock. This isn't the greatest movie in the world, and as far as a female character really being powerful and exciting, Wonder Woman does a better job. But, as cliché as it may sound, as a woman, it is empowering to see women playing roles that are typically only written for males. It is interesting to see how a female would approach the problem solving of a detailed heist. Ocean's Eight takes cues from the Ocean's Eleven trilogy, but it feels like it's own thing. It has its own type of humor. I feel like comparing the two in terms of which is better misses the point. Men and women are fundamentally different, with their own strengths and weaknesses. We just approach things differently, but that doesn't mean one is better than the other. Those differences are an aspect of story-telling that I enjoy. So, all in all, it was fun to watch especially because I felt like, for the most part, the characters were allowed to act like women and not like women who are trying to act like men.
3) A Little Help with Carol Burnett. This show, on Netflix, features Carol Burnett as host as various guests (including celebrities) come on the show to ask for life advice from five children. The cast of children rotates from episode to episode, and there are some adorable ones! I especially love Robert's orneriness and demands to be able to finish his thoughts. Their suggestions sometimes display a great depth of observation or are just outrageous. I also really enjoy the segment when they ask kids to give the meanings of common sayings like "beat around the bush." It's very formulaic and cutesy, but it's also a nice escapist respite when life feels too complicated. It's a nice reminder of how a childlike outlook on life and in faith could and should look in the midst of trials.
Small Joys (in no particular order)
1) Ollie's Bargain Outlet. On a shopping excursion with my Grandmom, we stopped at an Ollie's Bargain Outlet. Sadly, from what I can tell, Ollie's only seems to have locations as far west as Tennessee, but what a gem! I was in book heaven there. They have all kinds of stuff from clothing to household wares to books to toys and snack food. I got some amazing book deals there--books that were on my list to purchase from some of the authors I most enjoy and other books that just caught my eye. If you ever find yourself near one, it's definitely worth it to stop in just to see what you can find.
2) Chris Pratt's MTV Movie and TV Awards Speech. I have always really enjoyed Chris Pratt as an actor. His humor reminds me of my brother's sense of humor, and he just carries himself in a way that feels like he could genuinely be the kind of person who'd be fun to be around. I've seen some of his Christian-related posts or comments from his Instagram account mentioned in the media before, but I especially enjoyed this speech. What was covered in mainstream media kind of sugarcoated how direct his message of God's love and Jesus' sacrifice really was. As someone who finds myself praying for famous people sometimes, seeing his determination to share what he believes in a room full of people who could easily be considered the hardest to reach with a message of love (especially in light of so many recent celebrity suicides), gave me hope and made me just a little bit weepy. If you're going to watch it, please watch the whole thing.
3) Playing family games. On my mom's side of the family, we play games because my mom is the game lady. When all of my cousins and siblings and I get together, it becomes our natural instinct to play games together. I was really blessed to be able to see a couple of my cousins who I haven't seen for a long time, and we had a lot of fun spending time together over card games and board games. Our go-tos are usually Balderdash, Cranium (my brother and I make the best team), and Scrabble. But, we've also been known to play Apples to Apples or Clue and just recently tried Speak Out.
This is not our Serro Scotty camper, but this is what it looks like courtesy of NationalSerroScotty.org.
4) Camping with my family. It had been a couple years since I'd last been in the States for a summer and been able to camp with my family. Camping is something we did all throughout my childhood sometimes with other relatives or with family friends, and we really enjoy it. We have one particular state park that we frequent that is near where my dad grew up. So, there are a lot of traditions that we've developed over the years from tubing down the river to getting soft-serve ice cream at the local store. My parents have also fixed up an old 1966 Serro Scotty camper to be functional, and it's become a staple in the camping adventures. That's where I slept during this past trip. My aunt usually comes with us, and my grandmother often joins us around the campfire. The only downside is that it never lasts long enough. I look forward to the day when Raúl can come along.
That's my recap of June. I do hope to get back into the normal swing of blogging as I was before. There are a lot of emotions and memories and thoughts I want to process, and I have several notes on my phone with topics that interest me or events that sparked my thinking. I just haven't had the time to sit down and process enough for something to come out in fluid words.
If you happened to miss the above links, here they are:
1) Martha Stewart's Brussels Sprouts Recipe: https://www.marthastewart.com/316075/sauteed-brussels-sprouts
2) Chris Pratt's MTV Movie and TV Awards Speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EihqXHqxri0
Thank you all for your valuable time in reading!
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