Wednesday, April 29, 2009

The month of April has not been my most favorite month in the past year. It's been very busy! Shall I list it out?

1. Transferred to a new office (same company) on April 1st.

2. Cooked Easter Eve meal and Easter dinner for 20 people and had to deal with all the family drama there.

3. Emmy had to get shots again this month. :-(

4. Spent 4 days in Charlotte, NC, for training for my move to our other office.

5. We did take a day trip to Savannah, GA, on the first Saturday of April. It was fun, but we did get rained out.

6. Have tried to adapt to a new routine. My days start much, much earlier, which has made my time with Emily a bit shorter every day. Jonathan loves it though, as Emily sleeps in more, so she is more rested and cheery in the morning.

7. We've had very little time for just the three of us, with people in and out of the house. Hopefully, that will change coming up here in May, as we get things lined up for our own living arrangements.

We are praying for a wonderful May, and an awesome finish to the work week for me (I need it for office production and so does our checkbook!). I'm trying to balance work and family and taking care of myself, so we'll evaluate as the new month begins.

Be blessed! :-)

Monday, April 27, 2009

Easy Quick Breakfast

Okay, as a very busy working mommy, I'm always on the look-out for easy and quick meals. Here's a new one I did today for us:

Bacon Egg "Cups
"

Ingredients:
4 eggs

4 slices turkey bacon

1/2 pound sausage or 4 links of sausage, cooked and crumbled
shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray. Line bottom of four muffin cups with loose sausage so that it covers the bottom of each one and pat down.

3. Wrap bacon around inside "wall" of each cup.

4. Crack an egg in each bacon "cup".

5. Sprinkle each with cheese.

6. Bake 20 minutes until cooked and golden brown.

Enjoy! :-)


Tuesday, April 14, 2009

The Twilight Saga & My Thoughts

I was recently introduced to new series of books and read through them to see what all the hype was about swirling around them. This is not really a review, but my thoughts that I've compiled regarding the four books by Stephanie Meyer, "Twilight", "New Moon", "Eclipse", and "Breaking Dawn".

*spoiler warning* I will mention some spoilers, so if you don't want to know how it ends, you might want to stop reading now.

In a nutshell, Belle, our heroine, falls in love with Edward, who happens to be a "vegetarian" vampire, who feeds off of animals and denies his lust for human blood, as does the rest of his coven-family. The books center around their relationship, and Belle's relationship with Jacob, her best friend, who becomes a shape shifter werewolf, the only true enemy a vampire has. Eventually, Belle yearns to become a vampire herself, so she will never have to be separated from Edward, her soul-mate. Edward is reluctant, as he believes to turn her will take her soul, but demands that if she insists, that she become his wife first. They do marry, and get shockingly pregnant, a huge surprise becomes vampires can't conceive together, but apparently vampires and humans can. The pregnancy kills Belle, but Edward turns her into a vampire before her heart stops beating, and thus, she becomes immortal with him. Their daughter becomes a figure that brings unity to humans, vampires (vegetarian and non-vegetarian alike), as well as the werewolfs, and thus the saga ends with Bella, Edward, and their daughter living immortally happily-ever-after.

*Note* This is not the type of book I usually read. I love the fantasy genre, but have never been drawn the romanticism of vampires, so this was a step-out for me to read this series.

Thought #1: One of the huge positives I see with these series has to do with Belle and Edward's relationship; it is flawed. They fight and argue, miscommunicate (a lot), give and take, and also wait until their wedding to consummate their relationship, though their honeymoon was not a dreamy fantasy - it was filled with conflict. Nowadays, you don't see a lot of abstinence and self-control in mainstream America, especially pointed at teens (however, I think they could have saved themselves some heartache in that area while they were dating by avoiding some temptations all together, but that is just my two cents on that). In addition, I think the author builds up the sexual aspect a lot for a series aimed at teenage girls, and is setting them up for disappointment in real life. Goodness, I wish I had fireworks with my first kiss, instead of the reality of awkwardness most people experience! :-p But Edward and Belle's physical relationship is a high-note, as Edward resists Belle again and again (both as a vampire and as a man), as much as she pushes and tempts him.

Thought #2: Is the other end of the spectrum with Edward and Belle's relationship. Belle routinely lies and tries to hide her relationship from her father, and is amazed at herself at how the lying and manipulation becomes easier throughout the series. Edward finally forces her hand and she has to let him know about them, but he never knows the whole truth until the very end. In the end, however, everything is hunky-dory with them, once he has turned her. It ends very happily-ever-after, and in my option, a little too perfect.
Thought #3: The vampires are very glorified in this series (obviously), and this bothers me some. The myth of vampires is rooted in the belief that they are evil, souless, and doomed. The "Twilight Saga" portrays them as immortal good beings, as Edward's coven/family denies their human bloodlust. Throughout the book Edward is compared to angelic beings, and even a couple times, Belle thinks of him as an immortal god. I was struck that in the scene where Edward shows Belle why he skips school on sunny days - they are in a mountainous meadow and he steps into the sunlight for her, and shows her that his skin is like sparkling diamonds in the sunlight. Anyone else get the jolt of a comparison of Jesus' transfiguration? And that leads me to...
Thought #4: There is is subtle religious doctrine evident throughout the books. In a sense, one could almost come Belle to Mary. Self-sacrificing, pure of heart, immune to the supernatural talents of the vampires, she becomes miraculously pregnant with an immortal half-human, half-vampire child, when all thought vampires could not bear children. Then in a violent birth, she dies, and Edward "resurrects" her, into her perfect immortal form, where she and her husband and daughter live out their afterlife in our time. On a similar note, their daughter, Renesemee, is a savior-figure to the various races affected in these books. I know Ms. Meyers was a graduate of Brigham Young University, and though I'm no expert on Mormonism, I do know a few main points and see the influence in the writings, whether she made it intentional or not.
So, what was my option?
They were a fun read; I couldn't hardly put them down as I wanted to see what happened next. Book Three, "Eclipse", was probably my least favorite, as the plot wandered all over the place and mostly focused on the relationship problems Belle and Edward were having.

Yet if Emily was 13, would I let her read them? Nope. And not for the religious standpoints - my hope for Emily is that she will be well-taught in the truth to recognize what is and isn't. No, my objection is that there is too much undercurrent sexuality, and the disillusion of relationships. Not every man (and exspecially teenage boys) as self-controlled as Edward is portrayed, and won't stop and flee when the temptations come. Belle is the one who is aggressive with Edward in this area, and hates the idea of marriage. In fact, she felt horribly trapped when Edward gave his ultimatum- no marriage, no sex, and was resentful towards him for saying that and sticking to it. Not the role model I want my daughter to have.

Would I recommend this series to others? Perhaps, but there are better fantasy series out there. Of course, Tolkien is a favorite, but for newer material, Christopher Panolini's "Inheritance Cycle" comes to mind first - the writing and story lines are much, much better.

I may write a formal critique later. I actually am reading through them again, slowly, to explore some of my first initial thoughts of the books, instead of reading to see what happens next. In the meantime, if you are die hard Twilight fan, don't crucify me for my observations.

Monday, April 13, 2009

He Is Risen...

...yet why the not-so-quiet discord in my heart?

Not my favorite Easter this year, but it's hard to put my finger on it.

Some of it is disgust of the commercialism of holiday, everything from the focus on big Easter dinners to the Easter bunny to Jesus action figures (we turned down the one Emily was given).

Some of it was family stuff - drama and feeling like an outsider on one end to be incredibly homesick and withdrawn on the other.

And I guess the rest of it is personal. I'm discontent with my own relationship with Christ, that I've allowed mediocrity and "acting religious" to creep in. I could blame a variety of things - our environment in the Bible belt probably being the biggest one I could point to, but in reality, it's me and I have to be accountable for my own actions (or lack-thereof). *sigh* So I struggle with self-blame, again. I hate being a perfectionist; I hate feeling like a failure. I already beat myself up when my performance at work isn't up the standard I've set for myself, or when I missed my first milestone of Emily's when she pulled herself up to her feet earlier this week or when Jonathan and I go to bed angry at each again. I hate that I am only human and can't do it all on my own.

However, what would my need for Christ and His resurrection be if I could do everything on my own?

Zilch.

There's always a reason for everything, and maybe all the building up of the last few weeks is pointing to that - I can't. I simply can't. I will not be the perfect wife. I will not be the world's best mother. I will not always be one of the top producers for our company.

I hope I find freedom in that.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Savannah or Bust!

So I'm sick again.

At first I thought it was allergies, but I think it's just a very bad cold. Saturday was probably the worst day of it, so I'm hoping I'm on the mend, especially since we are going to Savannah today! :-) Jonathan, Emily, and I need the little mini day vacation; we like to go to the beach in the spring before all the tourists arrive. And as I haven't spend much time in Savannah before, Jonathan's arranged for us to take a scenic trip on a River Boat on the Savannah River, which should be pretty cool. I'm sure we'll be posting pictures this week.

Sorry to keep it short and sweet, but I need to go back to bed. I'm finally feeling tired again.

Adios!