Tasty Tuesday...

The Gluten-Free Bible 

After checking in a few stores in Belize City, and the health food stores in Belmopan and Spanish Lookout, I finally have all of the flours that I need to make the gluten-free flour blends that this book recommends.  I am looking forward to trying out some new recipes this week!

Summer Reading

Here are a few of the things I picked up while we were in the states.  I guess I should have looked around for some 'just for fun' reading too...but I didn't.  Since the space in our suitcases was at a premium I had to be selective. 

Counseling Through Your Bible Handbook

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God

Change Your Brain Change Your Body

So what are you reading this summer?!

Lolita's broken life...

 Excerpt from Lolita,
 by Vladimir Nabokov                         

"I'll die if you touch me," I said.  "You are sure you are not coming with me?  Is there no hope of your coming?  Tell me only this."

"No," she said.  "No, honey, no.

She had never called me honey before.

"No," she said, "it is quite out of the question.  I would sooner go back to Cue.  I mean-" She groped for words.  I supplied them mentally ("He broke my heart. You merely broke my life").

                                                                     

It took me years to face this book.  Other books by Nabokov are not so difficult to read.  I knew that it was about a middle aged man and his relationship with a 12 year old girl.  I didn't think I had the strength to make it through a book like this.  I read it while we still lived in Russia.  It was a difficult read.  It broke my heart.  It moved me to tears and it made me angry.

Vladimir Nabokov is quoted as saying:

Some people, and I am one of them, hate happy ends.  We feel cheated.  Harm is the norm.

I disagree.  Harm should never be the norm.  

But, sometimes it is. Each week there are children and teens whose lives, hearts and spirits have been broken. Some of them are brought to their knees by their life circumstances. Others were abused or mistreated by someone who was supposed to care for them.  These dear ones often struggle to conceive of a power great enough to mend their lives, heal their hearts, replenish their spirits and redeem all of the suffering they have faced.

I still believe though...that healing can begin with a whispered prayer calling forth the Light of Healing.

Join with us in prayer for those who are still victims.

Please remember the Lolitas of the world.  

Free is good...

Just in time for the holidays there is a free book available for download on Amazon.  

click here to download

Even if you do not own a Kindle go and check it out anyway.  You can download Kindle for PC or Kindle for Mac or Kindle for Iphone and still be able to read this book.  I just started reading my copy and so far so good...and besides...it's free!  

Reading vs Reality TV

I saw this photo in my Google+ stream and cracked up laughing.

And then I saw this one and it was not quite as funny to me. 

I already confessed to enjoying reality tv so this second photo hit me in a different way.   I was slightly offended.  I mean, come on, I read.  My books are not jumping off of the shelves in protest when I watch Food Network Star or Amazing Race.  My Kindle for PC downloads and the hard copies of books that I own are all doing quite well.  They are not neglected one bit.

Reading challenges me, it makes me think,  it enlarges my vocabulary and enriches my spirit.  When I sit down to watch Food Network Star I get inspired by the creativity I see with food.  When I watch Amazing Race sometimes I see glimpses of places we have been or places I desire to learn more about.  I see people stepping out of their comfort zones to take on challenges that leave me speechless.  Watching these types of shows is a relaxing escape.

I agree that reading can take you away and give you an escape too.  I still get caught up in a good book now and then that I cannot put down until the wee hours of the morning.  As a child I climbed the tree in our front yard with a book and spent long summer days traveling all around the world while resting in that tree.

So lighten up book snobs.  There is plenty of room in our lives and in this world to enjoy some of what reality tv has to offer and still keep our books happy.  uh oh...I think a few of my books might be making a run for it!

Tasty Tuesday

I just started reading The Help.  And so far so good.  One thing I enjoy is noticing what kind of food they talk about in whatever book I am reading or movie I watch.  My first cooking experience based on a movie was making beignets inspired by The Princess and the Frog.  They are pretty yummy!!

Now I am ready to tackle caramel cake.  It was mentioned in the first chapter of The Help.  I have never tasted a caramel cake but since caramel is one of my favorite flavors I am willing to give it go...and I am sure that Tom won't mind helping me eat it.

The author, Kathryn Stockett, provides a recipe for the frosting click here and I found that a few bloggers like Jen & Company and Alpaca Farm Girl have already posted recipes for the cake.  Even Paula Deen has a recipe but I don't think I have enough butter in the house to make hers!

There are even some cupcakes inspired by the book made by Cupcake Project.  And 20/20 did a story on the book and sampled Caramel Cake  This is a tough decision as to which recipe to try.  I may have to break down and try more than one of them.

A strong contender is this one from allrecipes.com  It looks simple and simple works for me.

I think it might be time for slice right now!

free is good, right?!

Here lately I have been reading books from Kindle.  I don't own a Kindle... but I do have Kindle for PC downloaded on my laptop.  I love being able to read in bed without needing a light. And I truly love not needing to wait for a book to be delivered to me.  It just takes seconds for a book to appear and I am off in another world. 

The only downside is that you have to act on it right away because they are not offered for free for very long.  

One of the places that I hear about the free books is from friends on Facebook or from bloggers like Karla Meachem at Empowering Christian Women.  Last night I did a search on Amazon.com and found several  free books to add to my collection!

Crime and Punishment

Pride and Predjudice

Digital Disciple

A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World

Circle of Friends Cookbook: 25 Slow Cooker Recipes

It Happens Every Spring (The Four Seasons of a Marriage Series #1)

Lie Down in Green Pastures

No matter what genre of books you are looking for you will find something for free in that category and if you find anything that looks interesting let me know... because free is good, right?!

Greenhouse Bookstore, Istanbul

I sent an email to the kind people over at the bookstore and she sent me great directions! We started at Taksim Square, took a bus to Besiktas, and from there walked over to board the ferry to Kadikoy. After a 20 minute ride you land at this station. This is the front of that building. With your back to this building walk to the crosswalk.






















When you are standing at the crosswalk you will see this building directly across the street. Walk to that building and take the sidewalk to the left (just follow the crowd!)






















You will see this Starbucks after you follow that pathway to the next street over... cross to where the Starbucks is and walk to the right of it. Follow that walking street up one 'block'.
























When you reach the intersection you will see this church. Turn right at that street. The street name is Murhurdar Caddesi but knowing that didn't help as there was no street sign there... just turn right at the church!


















Walk up that street until you get to Burger King and turn left.

























And although this photo is shot from other angle you will see the bookstore on the right side of the street about 8 doors up from Burger King!


















Enjoy your time there and trust me it will be worth the effort!!

A write up of the bookstore is located here... It is on the Asian side of Istanbul, and they have the largest selection of books English that we have seen so far. The bonus for us was the wide variety of Christian books. After spending 5 years shopping at a Christian bookstore in Krasnodar with only Russian books to offer this was a real treat to our souls!

books, Books, BOOKS!

It has been a joy to find several different bookstores that have books in English! We are stocking up on gems to take back home with us.

Paulo Coelho, J.D. Salinger, Toni Morrison and few others have already found a place in our suitcases!

Russia's Anne Frank

I just started reading this diary of a teenage girl, Nina Lugovskaya, who grew up during the Stalin years. After her father's imprisonment the entire family comes under scrutiny. The house is ransacked and her diary is found. Because of the dangerous thoughts written in her diary, Nina, along with her mother and sisters are sentenced to 5 years hard labor in the Gulag followed by 7 years exile in Siberia.

Here is one example of her counter-revolutionary thoughts:

Maybe I should just poison myself? Sometimes I want to, you could say I dream about it, but I know for certain that I won't do it.

Her thoughts were those of a 13 year old girl who was frustrated with trying to figure out if a certain boy at school liked her or not. At this time in Russian history, however, just this mention of suicide was considered a sign of a degenerate thought crime against the state.

Thought for Today

We are a family of readers... Earlier this week I was reading a book of lists called Lists to Live By and came across this list that truly spoke to my heart!

17 Ways to Encourage Reading
1. visit the library
2. watch movies of classics
3. create a reading nook
4. listen to books on tape
5. act out stories together
6. be a reading role model
7. get your child a journal to record his/ her
thoughts and read them again later
8. read classic books aloud
9. subscribe to children's magazines
10. help your child write and illustrate his own book
11. tolerate comic books
12. keep reading time quiet
13. pursue special interests through books
14. attend a book signing
15. break long books into manageable chunks
16. visit bookstores
17. introduce series books

Some of my favorite memories as a family come from pursuing our common interest in books... you can ask Spencer about getting lost in Beverly Hills looking for the LA Book Festival. Or ask Nathan about being in line at midnight to get the latest Harry Potter book! We love books, yes we do!




PS. the leak in the kitchen: two plumbers came out yesterday and after looking at the leak left to go get their boss... we have not seen them since. We have a call in to find out if they are coming back today. The saga continues!

early spring cleaning

Friday, December 21, 2007

Our bookcases were a mess. We had books double stacked and laying sideways on top of books standing up... I decided that before I could decorate for Christmas, I had to do something with that bookcase! This was no small task. The bookcase is floor to ceiling and goes the full length of the wall.

I organized the books by subject matter and as I cleared a shelf I dusted it off. Tom and Spencer also helped with deciding what to keep and what to give away.

We ended up with six bags of books to give to the International School for their library. It was a relief to get it all done and we have decided that we should do this as a yearly project!

Ruth Bell Graham

Thursday July 5,2007












Blessings in the form of a book from the Billy Graham Association came the other day... As a way to commerate the dynamic life of wife and mother Ruth Bell Graham they are giving away a book of her poetry. Her poetry is written from the heart and initially was not intended for publication.

What a delight it is to read through the thoughts and feelings of such a remarkable and godly woman!

The Second Half of Marriage

Can you relate to any of these?

• You have teenagers who will soon leave the nest.

• Your own parents are aging.

• You were recently invited to a 25th high school reunion.

• You exercise more and burn fewer calories doing it.

• You just received an invitation to join AARP.

• By the time you get your spouse's attention, you've forgotten what you were going to say.



If you found yourself answering yes more often that not then the book The Second Half of Marriage might be for you!

David and Claudia give 8 challenges couples must face to successfully navigate a marriage in the second half.

I am currently reading this book and have gained new insight, been inspired and educated along the way!

Additional marriage resources from the Arps can be found here:

http://www.marriagemissions.com/index.php

one wrong letter

I sent an email in Russian to my friend Olya to tell her that I found a book by a Russian author. I tried to type "he wrote The Turkish Gambit" but, what I typed was "he urinated The Turkish Gambit".... typing one wrong letter can make or break you. Hopefully, she will get a good laugh and understand what I was trying to say!

the week in review

Tom's parents are back with us... they traveled last week and left us alone in the house. Fortunately, we were all good and nothing got broken while they were away.

We did have an issue trying to make microwave popcorn. I teased Tom for burning a bag and then I did the same thing. At least the burned popcorn smell was gone before they got back home!

We had a quiet week. Most of the time we were not even in the same room with one another. Tom watched Basketball in one room, Spencer was on the computer, I watched TV in another room and Nathan was either at work or in his room on the computer.

Yesterday, we went to New Beginnings Church of God as a family. Nathan didn't have to go to work until 3:30 so we were able to enjoy the service and then lunch afterward. Spencer and I had gone the week before and I had dropped one of our prayer cards in the offering plate and asked them to pray for us. This week when we greeted the pastor after the service he recognised us and said that he had been praying for us!

After lunch we came back to the house and Tom's folks were here. They had just gotten off the road. Tom watched a basketball game and then took a nap. Nathan had to go to work and Spencer and I took off to check out a new Borders.

As Spencer was buying a Russian history book the cashier, Esther, told him about an author who is very popular in Russia right now. Boris Akunin is a mystery writer. She didn't know if it had been translated into English or not. She had read the book in German. After chatting with her a bit we thanked her, left Border's and went over to Barnes and Noble and found several books by Akunin. We came home with only two. The Turkish Gambit and Sister Pelagia & the White Bulldog.

As Spencer and I talked about The Turkish Gambit we realised that we have already seen the movie. We have also seen another movie based on a novel of his called The State Councilor. Both of these movies broke box office records in Russia.

CookBook Search

I found this one in New Mexico
















and I found this one here in Texas at Sams for a great price!



















Before we left New Mexico I spent time with Mom looking through her cookbooks and the Betty Crocker one looked very good to me so when I came upon it at Sams I decided to go for it!

The More-With-Less Cookbook was recommended by Debbie P. in Russia. I don't think I need to look for anymore cookbooks. Especially since there are other things on the list of "things to buy in America" and Tom says that most of our purchases will need to be mailed home so our suitcases are not overweight!

Russian Al Anon materials arrive!

We finally have the materials that my home group from California sent! We are excited that the new group can move ahead and start meeting... and yes, since we are on our way back to the states soon they will begin without me but that is okay.

This package was sent out in November and just reached us on Thursday!

Frequently Avoided Questions

by Chuck Smith Jr and Matt Whitlock

I cannot believe that I was up early to go shopping and now up late to read one more chapter of Chuck Smith Jr's book. I hope that you check it out.

Tom recommended it to me a few months back... I just now picked it up and cannot put it down!

best laid plans

I set my alarm to get up and go hear the Briscoes before school. I woke up, turned off the alarm and laid back down for a few minutes... 2 minutes before the seminar started this morning I woke up again!

I was up late having a discussion with Nathan. That was worth missing out on the seminar this morning.

Update:

McDonalds has a new billboard up here saying "Coming Soon".


McDonalds was supposed to be here this summer... we are still waiting!

Great Reads:

if you find a copy of "The Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgarov then read it! Tom and I both finished it and it is great at helping understand Russian culture, religious beliefs and it is just a good well written book.