Cupcakes!

I baked chocolate mocha cinnamon cupcakes last weekend for my good friend, Laura's, birthday and I must say that I was quite proud of the results. So in response to my sweet friend Anna's request, I'm posting pictures of the butterfly cupcakes I baked and decorated for Laura. Here you go...

Better Late Than Never

I snatched this picture from my brother's blog because I don't have any pictures of my mom from her younger years. Lem, pictured here when he was about 2 years old, posted this picture up in his blog the other day and I have to say it's one of my favorite ones of her. It captures the essence of my mom - and if you look closely, you can see it in her eyes.

Happy Mother's Day Ma! I love you to bits!

Sacred In The Ordinary - Part 8

It's been a while since I've posted my ongoing "Sacred In The Ordinary", so here you go.....

1. My anxiety levels have shot up in the last few weeks and rightly so because it's that time of the year where I face the unknown once again. Will I stay or will I go? My work visa expires at the end of the month and so I will be once again trekking up to Niagara Falls to renew my Trade NAFTA (TN) visa at the border. This particular visa is good for only one year, hence, my yearly road trips up north. And of course each time I go renew it, I run the risk of getting a big fat NO from the Trade NAFTA Specialist at the border because the TN is only supposed to be a temporary visa.

I've been getting this visa for the last 6-7 years.

In my head I know that God is in control of the situation, however it's not resonating in my heart. I need to rest...I need to trust...I need to surrender.

"Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,
I behold Thee as Thou art,
And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,
Satisfies my heart;
Satisfies its deepest longings,
Meets, supplies its every need,
Compasseth me round with blessings
Thine is love indeed!" - Jean S. Pigott, 1876

2. Last night I got together with my friend Bethany who lives around the corner from me and also goes to my church. She is in the process of raising support to work as a long-term missionary in Mundri, Sudan. Bethany has lived in Africa, teaching in Uganda, leading interns through her job at World Harvest , while traveling back and forth from the US, preparing for the work that God is calling her to do there. What incredible grace that God has given this dear friend of mine as she moves forward in obedience to minister to the people of this war-ravaged county. It was so encouraging to hear Bethany's heart and her passion to work with the women and children who have suffered much trauma and loss in this country. It's also given me a fresh perspective of my own life here in North America, where I tend to get caught up in "stuff", complaining about not having enough "stuff", worrying about finances, arguing over petty grievances with family members, etc...and the list could go on and on. "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" (Matt 16:26)
In looking at the bigger picture, attaining material goods or status is useless because it offers no certainties, not permanent security, or no lasting inheritance. Only Jesus can.

3. This will probably be mentioned quite a bit during the summer months, but I have to say that I am starting to have this love affair with Philly Flavors, which boasts the best of Philly's Italian Ice. And I concur! Move over Rita's Water Ice.......Philly Flavors, here I come! They also serve ice cream sundaes, soft ice cream, milk shakes, yogurt ice cream...the works!

4. Philly Flavors is about a good 15-20 minute walk from my place and so with Georgie in tow, Bethany and I walked over to Julie's place to pick her up for a water ice/ice cream run last night. Walking down Fairmount Avenue with my sweet friends gave me this sense of joy that can only come from Jesus. What precious gifts these women as they offer their friendships and share their lives with me. I am so thankful for them.

5. Friday nights when I can sit in front of the television in a vegetative state after a very long week. Sounds a bit loserish, but I really don't care. In fact, I was so excited to just be able to tune out life for a few hours and immerse myself in something totally unrelated to child welfare.

April Showers

I had my good friend Liz over for dinner earlier this evening, satiating our palates with this yummy new recipe that I found in my Real Simple magazine, chicken with tarragon and leeks. Before I went into work this morning I dumped most of the ingredients in the crock-pot and let it work its magic throughout the day. It was delish! Super easy to make and yet incredibly tasty. I am so in love with crock pots!

So I'm assuming the picture above has some of you scratching your heads. Yes, I know we look like a couple of missionaries in Afghanistan. But that is not the case. After dinner Liz and I decided to head out to Philly Flavors for some water ice, with Georgie on hand. Given that there were thunderclouds overhead, we were somewhat in denial that it would start raining during our walk down to Fairmount Avenue. Well wouldn't you know, it starts to pour as we walked along Brown Street, right behind Eastern State Penitentiary. We had on our scarves (both gifts from friends of mine who brought the scarves back to the States from Uganda and Kenya), so we wrapped them around our heads to avoid getting soaked. Smart, I know. Thankfully we were only a few blocks away from my good friends, Jonny and Laura's place, so we booked it to their block. Their house was a blessed sight and fortunately they were both home! We looked like a couple of drowned rats and Jonny in his Irish brogue stated that we looked like Muslim missionaries going door to door. That, of course, was not the case. All we wanted was an umbrella to borrow for the 6 block walk back to my place. It was all very amusing, for Jonny and Laura of course. And as we walked away with umbrella in hand, a fond farewell of "Goodbye Burqua girls" was declared by Jonny. Smart-ass that he is. :D

Laughter ensued for the rest of our walk back to my place. Both soaked and disheveled, we decided that it probably was a "kodak moment" which we needed to capture. It was good times. Good times.

Sacred In The Ordinary - Part 7

1. I just got back from home group and while the discussion was somewhat cerebral, I left feeling cherished and so delighted upon by the One who designed me.

2. Over the last 6 or so months, been feeling somewhat restless and discouraged with this season of life that I'm in. I had this idealized notion of where my life should be at this stage: married, raising a family, career mom, 2.5 kids, living the cultured and seemingly aware urban life, etc... But alas, these intimations have not come into fruition. And with that, I have questioned, "Has God forgotten me?" I know He hasn't. I suppose it's all about perspective. God has been teaching me how to look at things with a grateful heart, no matter what season of life I'm in. And for now, He has placed me here in Philly to give hope and joy to the children and families I am working with. With that, He has also surrounded me with this amazing community of believers who sharpen and challenge me, yet at the same time show me in so many ways Jesus' love.

3. Walks along Kelly Drive with Georgie.

4. "Creation Appreciation" along Kelly Drive. And I'm not talking about the flowers and the trees here. ;)

5. Silly emails and bantering back and forth with my good friend Iowagirl, (who also works with me). I think of Iowagirl whenever I read this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.

Sacred In The Ordinary Pt. 6

It was a very long work day as I had to give a training for prospective foster parents and adoptive families this evening. I just got home about 45 minutes ago. I would have arrived home earlier had it not been for the fact that I drove in circles around my neighborhood for about 20 minutes looking for parking. So all I want to do right now is complain about how crappy my day has been, rant about the people who've seriously annoyed me today, and bemoan the fact that I'm feeling like my life is absolute crap at the minute.

But, I won't.

I figured this is probably the best time for me to think about the "Sacred In The Ordinary", the grace that's been afforded to me today and even in the last few days, no matter how shitty of a day I've had. So here goes.....

1. So I had a dental appointment today, which I usually look forward to every six months. Yes, call me somewhat demented, but I've always liked going to the dentist. The crazy thing is, as a child, I had many dental problems which of course resulted in many trips to the dentist. Some of my dental issues as a kid were fairly serious, what with some surgeries and tooth extractions that I had to endure. (Hey, I was an immgrant kid coming from a country where I did not receive proper dental care!) Was I traumatized? No. I think it was my childhood dentist, Dr. Kennedy, who made going to the dentist a relatively "positive" experience. He specialized in pediatric dentistry, which in all likelihood is probably the reason why going to the dentist does not give me the shakes. He was that good. But I digress. I love my current dentist, Dr. Nepa, and his most awesome staff! They really do make going to the dentist quite painless and enjoyable, with their welcoming smiles and friendly chatter. Yes, call me weird. Anyways, after an x-ray, a quick scaling, a jiffy polishing, and a refreshing rinse, I was finished. And no, I do not have any cavities. My dentists loves me. :)

2. Drinking an ice cold Yeungling Beer with my friend Liz on Friday night, while she gave me a detailed account of what causes an inverted uterus. If you watched ER last Thursday night then you'll know what I'm talking about. And yes, Liz used to be a labour and delivery nurse at HUP (Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania). Let's say that it was a gripping conversation. I really ought to think about becoming a nurse because I seriously find this kind of stuff fascinating.

3. Sunday afternoon naps with my sweet Georgie burrowed under the blankets at the foot of my bed.

4. My mom is on vacation at the moment, visiting with her youngest sister and her family in San Diego, CA. My brother and his wife are also with her on this trip. Mom called me the other day, just to let me know that she and Lem were driving through Sunset Boulevard on Rodeo Drive. As many times as mom's visited LA, she has never driven through Rodeo Drive. She had such delight in her voice, I found it so incredibly amusing.

5. It is now almost an hour after I started typing this post, where at the start I wanted to bite someones head off. Now, I'm actually smiling as I finish typing up this post. I guess this is another example of Sacred in the Ordinary? :)

Have a good night everyone!

Sacred In The Ordinary - Part 5

1. So Philly was walloped by a nor'easter last Sunday night, which lasted into Monday. We apparently got about 4-6 inches of snow. It's funny how the entire city shuts down when it snows and people stay in from work because of their fear of driving in the snow. I was one apparent "crazy" ones who braved the roads and drove into the office. My job is about a 5 minute drive from my place and I didn't think the roads weren't going to be all that bad; all I had to do is drive really slowly and cautiously. I arrived at the office safely around 9:30 AM and there were many a parking spots right next to our building!

2. The reason why there was so many available parking spots at work was because there only about 10 of us brave souls who drove into work. Yes, we are committed social workers. :) Nevertheless, it was actually really nice to work in a very quiet office that day. No distractions and no phones ringing off the hook.

3. Driving home from a client’s home last Wednesday, my car suddenly decided to break down in the middle of the 95. So lovely. What’s even lovelier is that my Triple A membership expired not to long ago and I kept putting off renewing it. Smart, huh? Nonetheless, my good friend, Iowagirl, came to the rescue with her Triple A card and a ride home. The tow truck came and towed my car to the garage.

4. The reason why my car decided to break down was because the timing belt needed to be replaced. So I am $470 poorer, but at least my car is safe to drive.

5. Phone calls from my younger cousin, Hormone Happy Boy (remember him?), checking up on me. This kid makes me laugh with his crazy antics. I love him to pieces.