Labor of Love

Yesterday I had the pleasure of being support person for a girlfriend who had her second baby.  Babe was early so her husband didn't make it home in time from overseas (he's home today).

What an exquisite privilege that was!  The story of the labor and birth is her story to tell, not mine, so I'll leave it out but wow!

I feel a little bit lonely today.  (I know this has nothing to do with me at all but the beauty of this being my blog is I can make it be about me!  Ha!)

Do I wish it was me having a baby yesterday?  Not really.  But I wish I had had the chance to experience a natural birth like she did this time around.  Do I want the months ahead of getting used to the feedings and everything else all over again?  Not really.  Sleepness nights?  Hey, I'm up most nights anyway so why not.

I just already miss that baby!  He's in a Special Care Unit because he was early and I went and sat with him there while my girlfriend got herself sorted out.  Couldn't stop looking at him.

Do I wish I could go there today and sit and sit and sit with him again?

With all my heart.

Maybe they'll let me tomorrow...

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http://yocarrot.blogspot.co.nz/

Inspirational Boasting

Interesting title, don't you think?

Well, it's like this.  I'm quite proud of myself and I want to tell you why.  But it's not just because I feel like tootin' my own horn; I also want to inspire you to think about what you're spending your money on and how you can make some changes, do some things yourself, and save.

I'm talking about in the kitchen.  First of all, I wish you could see my kitchen and you'd be proud of me immediately without even knowing what I have to say.  It's not really a kitchen, it's more a kitchen-in-a-hallway...  and I have one working burner on the stove (the rest are on high at all times from the minute you turn them on).  But whatever.  It is what it is and there are plans for me to one day be able to overlook the backyard.

Let's start with breakfast.  I love going out for breakfast more than any other meal but there's just not the money to do that anymore so... must bring a yummy breakfast to the table here.

Frittatas!  Use up what's in the fridge from the week and make a yum frittata on the weekend.  Vegetables, potatoes, couple eggs and some cheese on top.  Divine.
French Toast!  Waffles!  Pancakes!  Egg McMuffins!  And, for extra special, Eggs Benedict.  The hollandaise is not hard to do at all; don't let anyone tell you any different.

Get some oranges and make a marmalade if you're into that kind of thing.  Easy as to make and so much more delicious than what you'll spend  your money on in the store...  I have a recipe if you're interested.

Now, let's face it, if you've made any of the above suggestions for breakfast, you're not going to want lunch.

But.  If you didn't already use up everything in your fridge for a frittata, make a pizza!  You can put virtually anything onto a pizza and it's yum.  And you don't need fancy sauce.  Tomato paste works a treat.  Mix some oregano with it if you want.

Or pull out that homemade marmalade again and have it with some cheese and crackers.

Wraps!  Are you growing lettuce?  Pick some, add feta cheese and some apple chutney you've made from scratch (I have a recipe!).  Delicious and easy.

How about soup?  Soups are so easy and don't cost a lot of money at all.  Especially if you make it all yourself.  I mean right down to the stock.  If you ask me, that's the most important part of a soup anyway and, once you've used stock you've made yourself, you will never want to buy it from the store again.  Want to know how?  Let me know.

I used to hate tomato soup as a child but homemade?  Different story!  Make a huge pot of it and freeze portions so then you have fresh tomato soup whenever you feel like it.  While you've got tomatoes, also make a sauce!  Fresh tomato sauce whenever you want it!  Or tomato relish!  Imagine.

Do you have too many vegetables that you're just not getting through in the fridge?  Make a piccalilli!  That is so yum on sandwiches and wraps.

Have you ever made your own fried rice?  Oh man, I could eat that every day!  Fish and chips are a big thing here.  So we have our own!  Get some beautiful pieces of fish, crumb 'em and cook 'em at home.  Cut wedges out of a few potatoes and roast them, sprinkle with salt and voila!  There's your chips!

Hmmm... maybe I'm going to turn this into a food blog.  Recipes anyone?

Chapters

Upon reflection over the past few weeks, I do believe it's true I'm
forced to close another chapter in the book of life with my son.

I used to sing to him every night at bedtime.
That part of our routine has quietly, gently drifted away.
He's too determined to get into the next chapter of whatever
book he's reading to wait politely as I fumble through my singing.

Just before I admitted defeat, we were singing Jesus King of Angels
by Fernando Ortega. A lovely benediction, I think, to 8 and a bit
years of singing to my son.

Jesus, King of angels, heaven's light,
Shine Your face upon this house tonight.
Let no evil come into my dreams;
Light of heaven, keep me in Your peace.

Remind me how You made dark spirits flee,
And spoke Your power to the raging sea.
And spoke Your mercy to a sinful man;
Remind me, Jesus, this is what I am.

The universe is vast beyond the stars,
But You are mindful when the sparrow falls,
And mindful of the anxious thoughts that find me, surround me and bind me...


With all my heart I love You, Sovereign Lord
Tomorrow let me love You even more.
And rise to speak the goodness of Your name
Until I close my eyes and sleep again.

Jesus, King of angels, heaven's light,
Hold my hand and keep me through the night.

Over the Rainbow...

I have been blessed with the outside, slim chance of being able to make a dream come true.

Will it happen?  Don't know.  But the possibility... 

The possibility itself is almost too much to bear.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
There's a land I dreamed of once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true

Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far
Behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly.
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then oh why can't I?

If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?

My New Zealand From a Simple Foody Perspective

I'm getting used to the fact that occasionally someone will present me with a half-full bottle of wine.  Think about it, if you opened a bottle the night before, had a glass and it was lovely, wouldn't you want to share it with your friend the next night?  Sure you would.

Someone once brought me a loaf of white bread.  I didn't know what to do with it.  She explained, "well, you said you were having sausages for the kids..."  Children love sausages and the way they like 'em best is bbq'ed and then wrapped in white bread with tomato sauce on top.

Sausages are very popular here and you can get all kinds.  The butcher I like best has some amazing varieties.  I was just there this morning stocking up so in my freezer now are:  Beef and Guinness, Chicken Cranberry and Chestnut, Morrocan Curry (those are lamb), and Beef and Mushroom.  YUM!

Chorizo is hit or miss.  I seldom find it how I remember it from home.

I'm still looking for a really sharp and satisfying cheddar cheese.  I had one I loved but don't see it on the shelves anymore.  Hate it when that happens!

I'm almost ready to try vegemite... At least now I can tolerate the smell of it.

I will never be ready to add beets to my burger OR  a fried egg which, if you put the two together and add tomato sauce, would be the definition of a proper Kiwi burger.  Poor Greg has to go home to mum if he wants one of those!

Dried fruit appears in the strangest of places.  An otherwise perfectly good chocolate chip cookie for instance.  I must admit, though, I now make date scones I'd be proud to serve to any of you!

Greg made dinner the other night -- Mouse Traps.  Toast topped with mashed potato and ham (or bacon or whatever) and then covered with cheese and put under the grill until the cheese melts.  It was the yummiest comfort food ever.  Who knew.

A good go-to dinner for Lloyd if he's too hungry to wait?  Baked beans on toast with a fried egg on top.  He loves it!

I've never had more tea in my life!  Got some downtime in the afternoon?  Have a cup of tea!  A friend comes 'round for a visit?  Put that kettle on!  A cup before bed is a lovely way to end the day.  (I love my coffee still, that'll never change.)

Food, Food, Food!  Grounding.  Reassuring.  Comforting.  Bonding.  Satisfying.

Inane Meanderings

Have you ever stopped to consider how ridiculous we all look walking around the shops with our shopping trolleys/carriages/trundlers (yes, I sometimes see the word 'trundler'!!)?  Vying for space in the busy aisles.  Small children squirming around in the back or tightly strapped in their seat up front.  Needs and wants slowly beginning to fill up the leftover space...

What really annoys me is when people leave the control of their trolley in the middle of an aisle while they stroll said aisle in search of who knows what!

The other day I was walking onto the school grounds and I heard someone behind me.  Just one pair of dress-up boots on a mission... The urge to start walking faster so those boots on a mission couldn't pass me was almost too much to bear.  You know what I mean, right?  Incidentally she passed me.  She always will.  I have no idea in the world who she is but she's a fast walker; it's not only her boots that are on a mission!

What is this unspoken but clearly palpable sense of competition between the mums at school?  Or is that just me being insecure.  Because I'm getting really sick and tired of feeling inadequate because I arrive to school without a stroller/pram/buggy/toddler because I'm a mother with 'only one child'.  I'm still a mother, you know!  (And I'm sick of feeling like a solo mum at church every week but that's an entirely different meandering and not at all inane.)

And, come on, you cannot honestly tell me those who arrive to drop off/pick up every single day, morning and afternoon, in their work-out gear have been working out all day every day, all week, week after week after week.  Really?  And in makeup?  I don't think so.

What on earth is with the term Car Park?  I'll never get that.  It's a parking lot for heavens sake!  And there are even Trolley Parks!  What?  Do the cars and trolleys have a play date while we're in doing our shopping??  I don't think so.

I don't think so.

Emmanuel

I still sing to Lloyd sometimes when he goes to bed. Our repertoire isn't huge but it's big enough that he sometimes has requests (and we always end with You Are My Sunshine, that's a given!). Quite often he requests "that Emmanuel song".

Because he knows what that beautiful name means; bless his heart!


God with us.

If only we were capable of grasping the meaning of that word. Imagine.


With us!   The good, the bad and the oh so ugly. But let's concentrate on the good part.

With us. Full stop. Not matter what, where, when or why. No matter how far we've strayed from the foot of the cross. Almighty God is with us.

This is a comfort to an 8 year old boy struggling with who knows what sometimes.

What about the rest of us?

Jesus, name above all names.
Beautiful saviour.
Glorious Lord.
Emmanuel, God is with us.
Blessed redeemer.
Living word.

Over All

This is my Father's world, and to my listening ears all nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres. This is my Father's world: I rest me in the thought of rocks and trees, of skies and seas; His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world, the birds their carols raise, the morning light, the lily white, declare their maker's praise. This is my Father's world: He shines in all that's fair; in the rustling grass I hear Him pass; He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world. O let me ne'er forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. This is my Father's world: why should my heart be sad?

The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!

God reigns; let the earth be glad!

Time Keeps on Tickin Tickin Tickin...

Three years ago yesterday I arrived in Auckland on a one way ticket. Took quite a while before I would call it home (took 6 months to even find a home!) but now, one school, two jobs, two cats and three chooks later, it is.

Numbers

In No Particular Order...
15, my favorite number
45, how old i am
8, the age Lloyd is almost
3, years we’ve been living in New Zealand almost
4, the date in March we’ll have been here 3 years
3, my siblings
1, how many hands I need to count my dearest friends
4:29-31, my favorite Bible verses, they’re in Deuteronomy
8095, miles between Auckland and Nashville
8999, miles between Auckland and Newport
12, hours I’m paid per week at my current job (pathetic, eh?)
10, sleeps Greg will be away next month
10, years we've been married in November
49, my house number, my in-laws' house number, my sister-in-laws' house number
9, my brother-in-laws' house number
13, years I've known Greg

Alas Poor Theo

Theo was a lovely cat
Who never had to kill a rat
His sneezing drove us 'round the bend
But if did not matter in the end
He used to sleep upon our bed
And when 'twas cold atop our heads
Upon a gloomy summers day
Alas poor Theo passed away
But as we sadly watch the rain
At least we know he's not in pain
By Greg & Lloyd