Any B.I.T.C.H. Can Cook... at least I hope so!

I have a couple of disclosures.

1.) I am a B.I.T.C.H. - or at least I hope I am.... a Babe In Total Control of Herself [I didn't come up with that myself... see below!]

I recently moved away from home and out into the "real world."

I have quickly discovered that being away from my mom's good home cookin' and out of college where I once had access to a decent meal plan makes eating a bit tougher than I anticipated.

2) I can't cook. It pains me to acknowledge this but - at least at this point in life - it is true.

I attempted egg-drop soup once but put the egg in too early. This resulted in something more like juicy scrambled eggs. It was an epic fail :/

But, I'm trying to get better.

Fortunately, I have the perfect cookbook to help me.

Someone gave this cookbook to my 80-year-old grandmother but she did not need or want it:

Yes, that is correct: someone gave my 80-year-old grandmother an animal print cookbook with that title.

The first page clarifies that they are really talking about any "Babe In Total Control of Herself" which is where I got that from :) Very Southern Belle Feminist, right?

 Lucky for me, my grandmother thought I might appreciate it so she sent it my way.

Not only does the book have quotes (which I LOVE) intermingled with the recipes but the recipes are on my level.... i.e. they even have a recipe for how to make a grilled cheese. While I can actually make that, I can't make much more than that.

In addition to a bunch of basic recipes, this book has a great section on "Household Hints" that explain different pan sizes and ingredient substitutes as well as spice selections and so much more... it truly is the perfect cookbook for someone who is new to the world of cooking.

If you too are a Babe (or Boy) In Total Control of Yourself who is in need of some culinary guidance then feel free to order your own copy here.

What is funny is that in researching this post, I realized my cookbook is one of many in a series of provocatively named cookbooks that cover a variety of dishes and cooking styles. Check those out too if you're interested!

While my rudimentary diet of pb&js and fruit has a positive in that I've lost a pound or two, I figure that when the kids I babysit are eating precisely what I am... it might be time to "spice things up."

So, here's to hoping that any B.I.T.C.H. can, in fact, cook!

Rekindling an Old Love: More Slam Poetry!!!

You may have seen my previous posts on slam poetry. It is becoming a bit of an obsession for me... at least for entertainment on rainy days.

I have acquired some new favorite videos during all of these afternoon summer showers ;)

I just thought I would share some....

This girl (Lacey Roop) just might be my new favorite because she gets so passionate.

And this guy is very clever with "What Teachers Make" and funny with "The The Impotence of Proofreading."

This lady has a poem that is only ONE. MINUTE. LONG!?!

And these are some cool Christian poets that bring the Gospel in a very unusual but awesome way through "Does Anybody Even Know that You're a Christian" and "Almost Saved."

Of course, we've got to have a girl power one too: "What Women Deserve."

What is even cooler is some guys pushing for what women deserve in "This is For You" and "Distinctly Beautiful."

Gah! I have even more but I'll share those in the future :)

I hope you enjoy these!!!!

Bringin the Gospel to the Ghetto

"I'm afraid to die."

That came out of the mouth of a 10-year-old little girl named Kayla that I met doing Vacation Bible School in Washington, D.C. last week.

Kayla is about to be a fifth grader. Fifth graders should NOT be worrying about dying.

But in Kayla's neighborhood - a ghetto just outside of D.C. - dying is a reality.

My group of fifth graders for the week; Kayla is in the middle with the white bow

This place in DC was truly dangerous. And I was not just a frightened Southern Belle exaggerating the situation.

• One boy saw an old man killed: two teenagers had asked the old man for cigarettes but the man lied, saying he didn't have any so when he turned his back, they stabbed him... just for some smokes.
• A local lady who worked in the neighborhood told us the first day as we were handing out flyers that we should NOT walk around there, that it was too dangerous and even she ran to her car every day when she left work. (Despite this, many of these children walked home alone because their parents never came to pick them up.)
• A man who worked with the center where we held the VBS told us that statistics show most of the children in that neighborhood - most of the kids we met at our VBS - would NOT LIVE TO BE 18. 

And these kids know that.

Kayla knows that.

Death is a reality for them.

They grow up losing family members. They don't make many friends because they lose those too.

Most depressing: they don't have dreams because they probably figure they'll lose those as well. Most kids have the cliche dreams of growing up to be a firefighter, a ballerina, a singer, etc. These kids in D.C. did not know what they wanted to be. They had not let their minds wander that far down the road. They did not have anyone in their lives encouraging them to think that far into the future.

So I tried to.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

                                                                                                       - Jeremiah 29:11

But they could not grasp the concept of hope.

They. Had. No. Hope.

They did, however, have HURT.

Every single one of my 10 year olds had been hit or hit someone within the previous month.

When I suggested they hug instead of hit they looked at me as though I were crazy. BUT, I understand why: I come from a different culture. I come from a place where neighborhoods are safe, where people don't die for a pack of cigarettes. I have never hit anyone (other than my brother.... but siblings are kinda a given, right?).

Still, I was hoping they could understand the concepts of mercy, forgiveness, and love:

"But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love."

                                                                                        - Nehemiah 9:17

Ultimately, though, these children were angry. They were afraid.

They have lived a hard life and, according to statistics and stories, most of their lives will be cut short. So, like Kayla, they are afraid to die.

In a last ditch effort to give them some hope in a way they could grasp it, I told them

how NOT to be afraid to die: heaven.

I told them about heaven being a place full of love and laughter where they could be safe and surrounded by friends and family who believed in Jesus WHERE THERE WAS NO HURT. And that they could get there by asking Jesus into their heart.


That broke MY heart.

The best that I could offer them beyond the free meals and hugs for a week was a better view on death:

"He [God] will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever."

                                                                                 - Revelation 21:4

"There he will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears."

                                                                                  - Isaiah 25:7-8

______________________________________________________

Through my heartbreak of bringin' the Gospel to the ghetto, I realized I am living in a bubble.

A bubble of comfort.
A bubble of blindness to others suffering.
A bubble of limitation on my Christianity. 

This mission trip BURST MY BUBBLE.

And I am sooooooo grateful for that because before this trip I was not doing this: 

"Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people."

                                                                                        - Psalm 82:3-4

"Jesus answered, If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

                                                                                       - Matthew 19:21

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."

                                                                                           - 1 John 3:17-18

Those are only a few of many verses that call for Christians to care for the poor.

I hope reading them - and perhaps even this post - helped to burst your bubble of comfort and blindness and limitation.

"Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." [whether it is in D.C., on the other side of the world or in your own neighborhood.]

                                                                                       - Isaiah 1:17 

A Letter: Girl Talk Through Tunes

To All My Single Ladies -



As for the guys who read my posts, sorry; this one's for the girls. Too many of my friends have come to me recently sharing stories of heartbreak and Lord knows I've experienced that, too. So this is a letter for them and any woman who has learned that:

• men and mascara always run
• their guy should've said no to another girl
• love done gone
• they're now rollin in the deep of what might have been
• they'll forever be asking "why not me?"
• and any other thing that led a boy to break their heart

Ultimately, it's ok because everybody hurts sometimes.


Just tell that boy to leave the pieces when he goes and find a picture [of him] to burn. Next, and most important, get yourself to your closest good friend and a glass of wine.


In case you're in a state where you can't tell yourself, a good friend can point out that "he" is clearly insenstive and that you are:

• nobody's fool
• tough and a fighter
• going to grow a little bit stronger every day 
•  wrong again if you think you won't find someone better 

In fact one day, you'll look back on him and be able to say "There's more to me than you and I'll never again want to go back to you." And if the guy never gave you a chance at a relationship, you'll be able to say "You're the best thing I never had because I'm not settlin' on anyone but my Mr. Right."


And have no fear, there are Mr. Rights out there that do know how to treat ladies the way they deserve to be treated.


Besides, if I were a boy, I'd know that there could never be a more beautiful you because you are perfect just the way you are.


Take heart that God has blessed the broken road. Though your guy maybe hasn't met you yet, you'll find him and he'll say "let it be me" that you choose. 


Until then, head on out in your red high heels and make any man dumb enough to let you walk away realize that when he was with you, those were the best days of his life.


And these single days you're in now could be the best days of YOUR life.


Take advantage of them.

Don't tell me you need a man because there are plenty of empowering and inspiring independent women out there.


Join their ranks and put your records on to rock out, single and ready to mingle ;)




                                                                                                       You Are Loved,
                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                              Love Me

The Death of a Child - Media Coverage (or lack thereof)

I'm sure that, by now, you have all heard about the Casey Anthony case.

How could you not with all the media coverage devoted to it???

And with all due respect to the memory of sweet and innocent Caylee, I just wish the media would pay even HALF as much attention to other children who are dying too young.

Poverty.com has a tally of how many lives are lost each hour to poverty-related issues.

According to their website, hunger:

• kills about 25,000 people EVERY DAY
• this is one person every 3.5 seconds
• most of the victims are children

And as for AIDS: 

• it is second only to Black Death as the largest epidemic in ALL of history
• 1.5+ million people die from it each year
• this amounts to 1 death every 20 seconds 

Similarly, tuberculosis:

• is thought to have killed more people than any disease EVER
• one million people die from it each year

The website also details the deaths from other poverty-related diseases like malaria and measles. 

But we NEVER hear about them.


Each of those lives lost deserve as much attention as Caylee Anthony got.

Here is a way you can help out by writing a letter. While you're at it, send one to your local newspaper or television station to request their coverage on the issue.

Or support World Vision. Their tagline is "Poverty kills 24,000 children each day. Help one child."

I hope you'll do that - help (at least) one child.

How Our Luggage Had a Better Vacation than Us ( and other tid-bits of bad news from our Andrews Family Adventure to Nova Scotia)

It's true. Our luggage had a better vacation than we did.

We left America together with all of our luggage BUUUUUTTTTT we didn't all make it to our destination that way.

DAY 1 OF OUR VACA:

Bad News Number 1: 

We were on the tarmack for an hour and a half in Atlanta. They kicked 3 people off the plane because we were "over crowded." Thank goodness none of us were selected as one of the 3.

Bad News Number 2:

They pulled some luggage off the plane.... "some" being 30 bags and there were only 70 people on the plane!?! We thought there was a bomb or something because what looked to be a swat team of sorts came rushing out to remove the luggage. Fortunately, there was no bomb BUT they said the bags were removed because there was a weight imbalance due to too much fuel.

"Too much fuel"????? Dear God, how do you not anticipate the equivalent of 30 bags worth of extra fuel?

That sounds like poor planning to me. I was beginning to get VERY nervous about this plane taking off.
But, thank the Lord, we took off - and landed - alright and made it safely to Halifax.

Bad News Number 3: 

We made it; our bags did not.


Well, in full disclosure, I must admit that one bag did make it: mine. This, however, was for the best of the group, I swear ;) Not only did it mean my spirits would remain high but also, I am the notorious over-packer of the family. Had my Daddy's bag been the only one to arrive, we would have been screwed; he packed like 2 pairs of pants and 3 shirts for the whole week while I, on the other hand, had like 10 pairs of pants, 12 shirts, 4 jackets and lotion, band-aids, Q-tips, etc ;)

Ok, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration but you get the picture: I came prepared! So I had lots to share :)

Bad News Number 4: 

We were told that the other 3 bags would all arrive together via Detroit that night at 9:30 pm.We had reached the airport at about 4 so we figured we would just explore the downtown area and grab dinner before swinging in to get the bags once they arrived.

They. Did. Not. Arrive. At. 9:30.

There were storms in Detroit so the plane was delayed til 12:30am.

DAY 2 OF OUR VACA:

Bad News Number 5: 

We checked into a hotel for the night. The bags still had not arrived at 12:30; the flight from Detroit was canceled. Annnnnnnnnnnndddddd, it still had not arrived the next morning. The next available flight out of Detroit was not until that night so we pressed on to our final destination leaving our address for them to courier our bags to.

Bad News Number 6:

Our address we had been given (and the one we gave to the airline to send our bags to) was incorrect.

No lie.


Not only did that throw us off when we were trying to find the house we were renting for that week but we thought there was no way in heck the courier would get our bags to the right place now.

Bad News Number 7: 

My period arrived a week early. I don't say this to gross y'all out or to explain my pissy behavior with the airline (believe me, their lack of efficiency would have brought out my frustration regardless!) BUT I tell you because it is relevant later ;)

Bad News Number 8: 

When we finally reached our rented home at the correct address we had to find the key. It was left in the bbq pit... sketch. BUT it wouldn't open the door!?! It was getting stuck and wouldn't turn. We didn't know what we were going to do.

While my brother and Daddy - both engineers - were diligently working on jiggling the lock just right, all of a sudden my mom appears from inside the house and opens the door.

She had walked around the house and found an open window, managed to climb in and saved the day :)

This was a re-enactment to document mom's determination... nothin' a woman won't do to get to the bathroom a lil quicker ;)

Bad News Number 9:
Next, after having to wait an hour, we finally meet our land lord, big Dave. He informs us that the dishwasher definitely does not work and that the washing machine may - or may not - work. We were really counting on that washing machine to clean my mom, dad, and brother's one pair of clothes. Fortunately, it did work and we washed their outfits each night. Bless them.

Bad News Number 10: 

Big Dave also informed us about the recent coyote attack on a nearby hiking trail. When we asked what had happened he said, and I quote:

"A young woman was attacked and killed by a coyote... they're not sure what happened but they figure she was probably menstruating - somethin' like that that attracted them."

In case you've forgotten, refer back to Bad News Number 7 ;)

Oh, joy to the world. Now I was certain I'd be attacked and killed out on the trails. My family had the same thought as they quickly shot me a glance after he mentioned that; I forgot to mention that they were all well aware of my predicament because we had to make an emergency tampon trip to the grocery store!

Good and Bad News Number 11: 

Mom's bag arrived in Nova Scotia :) But not my Daddy's or my brother's :(

It seems our bags were not all together as we'd been promised.

But, as I noted, our bags had a better vacation than ours. It seems mom's had taken a trip from Detroit to New York??? However, we still did not have the bag. We were FOUR HOURS away in our rental home. They promised to fly it over first thing in the morning.

 DAY 3 OF OUR VACA:  

Bad News Number 12: 

Mom's bag was not flown out first thing in the morning which would have gotten it to us in an hour. Instead, it was sent via car which would take 4 hours AND, in case you've forgotten, refer back to Bad News Number 6: they did not have our correct address. Though we had called and given the airport the correct one, we had no way to know they had forwarded that information onto the courier.

Fortunately, though, Mom's bag did arrive by early afternoon :)

Bad News Number 13: 

Big Dave had warned us about bugs being out. We figured we're from South Carolina and have dealt with mosquitoes out the wazoo so we'd be fine.

Wrong.

Their mosquitoes are like small birds.... easily twice as big as ours.

When we saw the locals wearing these, we were worried:

We bought bug-spray or "fly lube" as the locals called it but the bugs were persistent. When we smacked at them it looked like we were mass murderers because blood would get alllllll over our hands : /

Bad News Number 13 - Part 2:

Their mosquito bites turn into huge welts so it effectively looked like I had contracted chicken pox or something! I attracted a LOT of them so I guess it just means I was really sweet ;)


Bad News Number 14: 
We finally tracked down my dad and brother's bags... in Bangor, Maine. I told you our luggage had a better vacation than us! However, we could not confirm if they made it to the Nova Scotia airport or not because we could not find the phone number to the airport they had been sent to and for some strange reason, the airport we had flown into did not have this other airport's number either.

Bad News Number 14 - Part 2:

We called 411 for information to get the airport's number... but the automated response was in French. We don't speak French. I'm sad to say my semesters of French were of no help to me so we couldn't understand it :(

DAY 4 OF OUR VACA:

The final 2 bags arrive at last!!!!!!!!!!!! 

And, though we had a lot of bad news in the beginning, our vacation was ultimately a success. 

We went on beautiful hikes: 

Saw gorgeous scenery:

 

Kayaked St. Ann's Bay: 

And even took in a little Canadian history at Fortress of Louisbourg and the Alexander Graham Bell museum.

 Me and the people of the fort after dancing "Lord Byron's Maggot" - I wish I could say I made the name up BUT I didn't

But, wouldn't you know it... 

Bad News Number 15: 

Even though my Daddy said lightning doesn't strike the same place twice, optimistic that we'd have smooth sailing all the way back to South Carolina, our flights were delayed coming home :( 

Despite 14 hours of travel back home, I'm happy to report that ALL of our bags made it back the same time we did!

And while I would NEVER recommend Delta airlines to anyone after this fiasco, I highly recommend that you visit Nova Scotia :)

Your Dash: sharing a thought-provoking poem

I'm in the "real world" now.

I get up early and grocery shop and even was lucky enough to find a job.

Though my job may not pay a lot and it will only last the summer, it is going to be the best foundation I could hope for to begin the rest of my career. I'm starting out in the real world as the Mission Team Coordinator for Lowcountry Ministries.

Aka: my job is to go out in the community, serve, and love on people - and help others to do the same.

See? I told ya. It is a great first step into the real world.

It is helping me keep things in perspective as I figure out what to pursue in my future profession.

Thanks to my job and my great boss, Larry Leming,  I was recently reminded of The Dash Poem by Linda Ellis which also helps me keep things in perspective.

So, regardless of where you are in your profession or the real world, "would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?"