Come and See!

I don't know if you've seen my husband (still sounds new!) Isma's website, but I thought I'd show it off before I go to bed today. For the majority, just enjoy looking at his photography, the photos he's particularly proud of. And for those of you practicing Spanish, see how much you can understand of the meat of the site, the blog.


http://iarenzana.com/

Every decision requires a death

About a week ago, Isma received a letter from Moody Bible Institute that he's been accepted for the upcoming school year! We're really excited about the upcoming adventure, though the excitement is tempered with some sadness. A friend of ours, Ben, recently said that for every decision or action we make or do, something else has to die. We are beginning to realize how true the statement is. For Isma to study, his job must die and all of the implications of having such a good job must die as well. For us to move to Chicago and make new friends, some closeness here must die.


But not everything dies. Somethings, rather, change and shift as distance grows for some and closes for others. Some relationships will strengthen with proximity, some will wane as the miles grow between, some will go into hibernation, and others will stay the same. But even change is a death to something, a death to the status quo, to things always being identical to the present. And of that, I am striving to not be afraid.


When June comes, I'll try to accept the odd mixture of sadness, joy, and nervousness and know that the ones we love are doing the same. I pray that everyone in our life will accept the death of yesterday and celebrate the birth of tomorrow.

A New Year

2011 has come to an end, and 2012 is now a week old. I remember when Colin, Mom, Dad and I used to sit down around the kitchen table and tell our New Year's Resolutions while Mom wrote them down on a steno-pad. I think I promised to stop chewing my nails (check), stop hiding to read when I wasn't supposed to (pretty much, check), and read my Bible more (back-slid, uncheck).

After that year, I don't remember making resolutions. But thinking back at the past year and now looking forward to the one to come, I don't think it would be a bad idea to have some goals (and some eyes reading this to perhaps keep me a bit more on track).

This past year was consumed by wedding planning: the dress, the ceremony, the premarital counseling, the trying not to go crazy. Then the wedding itself, the honeymoon, and the first months of marriage getting used to living with the man I've decided to spend my life with. (yes!) That being said, this next year may be a year of many changes as well, so here's what I want to look forward to in 2012 (in no particular order):

• Have a new teaching job in Chicago


• Get photos out to everyone in the wedding photos


• Pray more fervently


• Create a devotional routine


• Write at least one blog entry a week


• Call my family more


• Call or write my friends more


• Start an exercise routine

Here goes!

Chard Cheese Bake

When a friend of ours, Karin Harper, moved from Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) to Austin, Texas she gave me one of her cookbooks that I now LOVE. I like to think that I helped her save the overweight bag charge on the way to the states. It's called Simply in Season and goes through the seasons with reasons according to available local produce (for North America). I've been trying to go through it to find delicious and healthy meals for the two of us, full of disguised vegetables. It's going well!

This one is called Chard Cheese Bake. I'd never had chard in my life before making this recipe. If you took spinach and celery and made their atoms smash together, I think the result would look and taste like chard. It turned out well and would definitely make it again. The biggest problem was what to do with the leftover chard. Any suggestions?


1 pound / 500 g Swiss chard or spinach (chopped)
Cook and throughly drain.
4 eggs (beaten)
1 cup / 250 mL milk
1cup / 250 mL Swiss cheese or another cheese (shredded)
1 cup / 250 mL bread (cubed)
1/2 cup / 125 mL green onions (sliced)
1/4 cup / 60 mL Parmesan cheese (grated)

1. Wash and chop greens.

2. Steam leaves (2-5 min)

3. Steam stems (4-8 min)


4. Chop bread.


5. Combine the rest of the ingredients with the cooked greens.


6. Pour into a greased 2-quart / 2-L baking dish. Cover and bake in preheated oven at 375F / 190C until set, 30-50 min.



This recipe comes from: Simply in Season edited by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert, Herald Press, 2005

Easiest Spanish breakfast

Yesterday I had the day off, so I took some time to make one of Isma's favorite breakfast foods. Here's how it goes.

1. Take some tomatoes.



2. Peel them.
3. Put them in the blender.
4. Spread on toast and eat with a little olive oil and salt if desired.



Mmmm.

Conclusion

Last entry I told you about one of my friends who was trying to raise money to get music stands for class...well, he reached the goal and the stands will be shortly on the way. I'm surprised but happy that he was able to raise the money so quickly, that people responded so well to the school's need. Congratulations Matthew and all of your students! Here's his thank-you letter:

Dear All,

I can't thank you enough for how much you all have reached out with such amazing generosity so quickly. I was able to get my project fully funded in a week, and that is a testament to the compassion of so many great people who care so much about music, especially in my community. When I asked for your help, you all gave so quickly that I didn't even have time to reach out to all possible donors--you beat them to the punch! This is benevolence at its best: people practically competing to see who can do the most good the fastest. My students will also be incredibly grateful. This is a need that the band has that would not have been met if not for your compassion, and it will meet the needs of future students for several years. This outpouring of support for the importance of music in our schools, especially here, will be an incredible encouragement to students showing how much they and their pursuits concern others; this is exactly the kind of support students need at this age.


I am privileged to know many of you already and regretful for those whom I don't.
With gratitude,
Mr. C

Needed: Music Stands

Back in college I had the rare privilege of having many music major friends. And while some of those interesting friends graduated to become starving artists (though if you ask for a name, I could not help you), quite a larger number grew up to be starving band teachers. Starving may be an exaggeration, but it will do for my post today.

I want to highlight what one of my friends, Matthew Carnagua, is trying to do for his band class. Due to budget cuts, the school can't afford new music stands to have enough for all of the students, so he's decided to raise money himself for the class. He explains the circumstances much better in his page on DonorChoose.org. Go check it out and help their music class!

Here is a link to Matthew's page on DonorChoose.org...click here to see more information.