| Monday, October 29, 2007 |
| Just Kidding? |
OK Friends. So maybe I was just kidding... not kidding in like a "I knew this was going to happen sort of way" but more so... I needed to take some time to figure out how to revamp my blog so it felt more like me, where I'm at today.
That said:
http://easterncaramella.blogspot.com
I'm not sure I really like the template yet, but I will get it there yet. Oh yes, I will. I'm in a new phase of life and perhaps this NEW BLOG will help me work through all my thoughts; as I share thoughts, pictures, recipes, food inspiration, etc... ENJOY! |
posted by Erica @ 8:10 a.m.  |
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| Tuesday, October 23, 2007 |
| The Time Has Come. |
To say good bye to blogging.
'Tis true my friends. This lovely blog has taken me to some crazy places... Colombia was the reason I started this thing, and though Colombia still plays a huge role in my life, the time has come to be a little more present and to process my thoughts in a different setting.
I am on facebook and email if anyone wants to keep up with me. Add me as a friend, drop me a line, let me know how you are doing. Pero, eso es el fin de este blog. (But this is the end of this blog).
Much love, and remember... Mean people make little mean people, so be nice! :) |
| posted by Erica @ 10:33 a.m. |
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| Sunday, October 21, 2007 |
| When Troubles Come, and My Heart Burdened Be... |
This weekend has been one of great clarity and much prayer/talking to God. Once more, I feel like I had allowed my eyes to fall off of Jesus. Have you ever entered a time of stress or discontentment that builds and builds and builds? Because I feel like that is what I am finally coming out of. I didn't talk about my stress, didn't talk about my heart (realistically)... and it built up to something so much bigger than the real problem inside of my heart.
This week I finally told Tim that I needed a break. I needed to get away. So "away" we went. We stayed at a local Saskatoon hotel, checking in Friday night and getting a late Saturday afternoon checkout. Seriously, it was such a beautiful time... but let me back up to the beginning of my enlightenment...
Friday morning I had a LOT to do to prepare and get ready for this weekend. So, you can only imagine how impressed I was when my beautiful, beautiful Jeep betrayed me by not starting. While calling a tow truck, a shop and Tim (in tears that time) I cried a lot... angered I expressed my frustation to Jesus - "why Lord... I have so much to do, etc... etc..."As the day went on, and I got the initial situation taken care of, it turned out to be quite the blessing, because then I could work from home, think through some things calmly and get them done. (In hindsight, it's not quite the blessing, because I found out at 5PM that the bill is going to be almost $1200. YIKES. Anyway... stay focused.)
So, towards the afternoon, I started really processing through this funk I seem to have been in. I finally put in a worship CD by Selah. I used to listen to this CD and oh man... the songs really impacted me. I haven't listened to it in probably 2 or 3 years. But once more, the words and music absolutely spoke to my heart and led me to Jesus. It was ridiculous good. I've missed worshipping in this fashion... I used to do it all the time; put in a CD, open the Word. Those are some good times.
Two songs lyrics I was impacted by:
You Raise Me Up: "When I am down, and oh my soul so weary... when troubles come, and my heart burdened be. Then I am still, and wait here in the silence, until you come and sit awhile with me. You raise me up so I can stand on mountains, you raise me up to walk on stormy seas... I am strong when I am on your shoulders, you raise me up to more than I can be..."
Part the Waters/I Need Thee Every Hour"When I am think I'm going under, part the waters Lord, when I feel the waves around me calm the sea. When I cry for help oh hear me Lord and hold out your hand. Touch my life, still the raging storm in me. I need thee every hour, most Gracious Lord... I need thee oh I need thee... every hour I need thee, oh bless me now my Saviour, I come to thee... I need thee every hour, in joy or pain, come quickly and abide or life is vain... I need thee oh I need thee... every hour I need thee. Oh, bless me now my Saviour, I come to thee."
So. What is the moral of this story? The moral of this story is that I was reminded once more this weekend to constantly be placing my eyes on Jesus. It doesn't matter what personal stress, frustration, confusion we have... we gotta take it to him. I think I made a grave error in speaking with humans about my heart status in this last week. As I've prayed throughout this weekend, that fact has been very clear to me. I confused my need to vent with God's desires for me. Yes, I think He is fine with us letting off a little steam every now and again... but I also think He desires us to have those conversations with HIM. And, I feel like by taking it to Him, it's not this mountain in front of me that it has felt like... it is simply life. But with Him, life isn't so difficult.
Another moral of this story is that I had a PHENOMENAL weekend (so far... it's Sunday morning). Getting "away" was the perfect, perfect, perfectest idea ever. We went swimming, ate really good food, watched as much of the Food Network as our check out time allowed and talked. Tim = good man for putting up with me this last week(s)...
PS: I had this Applewood Chicken at the hotel... it's a stuffed chicken breast with Applewood Smoked Bacon and mozzarella, served with whipped garlic potatoes and fresh grilled vegetables. RIDICULOUS good.
PSS: I would LOVE to be putting up pictures here folks... but I need a digital camera - so, if any of you are talking to my parents anytime soon - let them in on that idea as a Christmas gift, OK :) Haha... |
| posted by Erica @ 8:07 a.m. |
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| When Troubles Come, and My Heart Burdened Be... |
This weekend has been one of great clarity and much prayer/talking to God. Once more, I feel like I had allowed my eyes to fall off of Jesus. Have you ever entered a time of stress or discontentment that builds and builds and builds? Because I feel like that is what I am finally coming out of. I didn't talk about my stress, didn't talk about my heart (realistically)... and it built up to something so much bigger than the real problem inside of my heart.
This week I finally told Tim that I needed a break. I needed to get away. So "away" we went. We stayed at a local Saskatoon hotel, checking in Friday night and getting a late Saturday afternoon checkout. Seriously, it was such a beautiful time... but let me back up to the beginning of my enlightenment...
Friday morning I had a LOT to do to prepare and get ready for this weekend. So, you can only imagine how impressed I was when my beautiful, beautiful Jeep betrayed me by not starting. While calling a tow truck, a shop and Tim (in tears that time) I cried a lot... angered I expressed my frustation to Jesus - "why Lord... I have so much to do, etc... etc..."As the day went on, and I got the initial situation taken care of, it turned out to be quite the blessing, because then I could work from home, think through some things calmly and get them done. (In hindsight, it's not quite the blessing, because I found out at 5PM that the bill is going to be almost $1200. YIKES. Anyway... stay focused.)
So, towards the afternoon, I started really processing through this funk I seem to have been in. I finally put in a worship CD by Selah. I used to listen to this CD and oh man... the songs really impacted me. I haven't listened to it in probably 2 or 3 years. But once more, the words and music absolutely spoke to my heart and led me to Jesus. It was ridiculous good. I've missed worshipping in this fashion... I used to do it all the time; put in a CD, open the Word. Those are some good times.
Two songs lyrics I was impacted by:
You Raise Me Up: "When I am down, and oh my sould so weary... when troubles come, and my when my heart burdened be. Then I am still, wait here in the silence, until you come and sit awhile with me. You raise me up so I can s tand on mountains, you raise me up to walk on stormy seas... I am strong when I am on your shoulders, you raise me up to more than I can be..."
"When I am think I'm going under, part the waters Lord, when I feel the waves around me calm the sea. When I cry for help oh hear me Lord and hold out your hand. Touch my life, still the raging storm in me. I need thee every hour, most Gracious Lord... I need thee oh I need thee... every hour I need thee, oh bless me now my Saviour, I come to thee... I need thee every hour, in joy or pain, come quickly and abide or life is vain... I need thee oh I need thee... every hour I need thee. Oh, bless me now my Saviour, I come to thee."
So. What is the moral of this story? The moral of this story is that I was reminded once more this weekend to constantly be placing my eyes on Jesus. It doesn't matter what personal stress, frustration, confusion we have... we gotta take it to him. I think I made a grave error in speaking with humans about my heart status in this last week. As I've prayed throughout this weekend, that fact has been very clear to me. I confused my need to vent with God's desires for me. Yes, I think He is fine with us letting off a little steam every now and again... but I also think He desires us to have those conversations with HIM. And, I feel like by taking it to Him, it's not this mountain in front of me that it has felt like... it is simply life. But with Him, life isn't so difficult.
Another moral of this story is that I had a PHENOMENAL weekend (so far... it's Sunday morning). Getting "away" was the perfect, perfect, perfectest idea ever. We went swimming, ate really good food, watched as much of the Food Network as our check out time allowed and talked. Tim = good man for putting up with me this last week(s)...
PS: I had this Applewood Chicken at the hotel... it's a stuffed chicken breast with Applewood Smoked Bacon and mozzarella, served with whipped garlic potatoes and fresh grilled vegetables. RIDICULOUS good.
PSS: I would LOVE to be putting up pictures here folks... but I need a digital camera - so, if any of you are talking to my parents anytime soon - let them in on that idea as a Christmas gift, OK :) Haha... |
| posted by Erica @ 8:07 a.m. |
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| Wednesday, October 10, 2007 |
| Re: Dear Mr. President |
Okey Dokey. Listening to the radio on the way to work this morning and P!nk's new song, "Dear Mr. President" was on. Read the lyrics (as best typed while listening to the song):
'Dear Mr. President, come take a walk with me
Let's pretend we're just two people and you're not better than me...
I'd like to ask you some questions, if we can speak honestly.
What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?
Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep
What do you feel when you look in the mirror?
Are you proud?
CHORUS:
How do you sleep while the rest of us cry
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye?
And tell me why...?
MUSICAL INTERLUDE
Dear Mr. President,
Were you a lonely boy?
How can you say no child is left behind
We're not dumb and we're not blind
They're all sitting in your cells...
While you pave the road to hell.
What kind of father would take his own daughters rights away?
What kind of father would hate his own daughter if she were gay?
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say...
You've come a long way... from whiskey and cocaine.
Repeat Chorus
Let me tell you about hard work, minimum wage with a baby on the way
Let me tell you about hard work, building a house when the bombs have gone away
Let me tell you about hard work, building a bed out of a cardboard box...
You don't know nothing bout hard work, hard work, hard work...
How do you sleep at night... How do you walk with your head held high...
Dear Mr. President, would you ever talk a walk with me...?'
What are your thoughts? I'm interested to know other people's reactions/thoughts. Comment away. |
| posted by Erica @ 12:08 p.m. |
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| Wednesday, October 03, 2007 |
| Youth Advance |
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| posted by Erica @ 7:52 a.m. |
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| Friday, September 28, 2007 |
| Prince Edward Island |
Why am I going...? This is a question many of you have asked of late.
And now, even though I have not received my formal acceptance, I will tell you all.
In a nutshell... because I love:
...Cooking....
.... and Cutting....
... and really, really, really good food!!!...
.... and because someday I want to be one of these people....
.... and I will do all of this at Holland College (Culinary Institute of Canada)...
HOW EXCITING!
Like I said, my acceptance isn't final - but my old file (in which I was accepted) has been reopened. Pray with us as we enjoy this final year in Saskatchewan before heading out to the East Coast! It's so exciting to think of this adventure ahead of us... and sometimes scary too as I think of the magnitude of what it is we've decided on. Crazy to think this dream of mine is becomign a reality & that I get to do it with my best friend standing with me in support...
GOOD TIMES! |
| posted by Erica @ 5:38 p.m. |
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| Thursday, September 20, 2007 |
| Popcorn |
I love it.
For the wedding, someone got us a set of bowls that are all a different colour with "popcorn" written on them. Someone else got us a popcorn maker (three people actually), and another person got us a BUNCH of popcorn & flavourings. I don't know why, because we didn't register for any of it.... BUT - I am SO glad.
Lately, late at night when I'm sitting with the hubs on the couch, we pop up a nice big bowl of popcorn. It's a time of great simplicity and is just so comfortable. I've decided that popcorn is the best comfort/warm food of all.
It's a simple delicacy that life offers - to sit in silence with one you love, life does not get any better than that.
I was reminded the other day, yesterday actually, that GOD's love, enjoyment, joy, heart, etc... is even greater than our love, enjoyment, joy or heart for/in our fellow humans. As much as I love anyone I love... HE LOVES ME MORE.
Someday, I am very excited to enjoy some popcorn with EL SENOR!
Amigos - no se si todavia ustedes leen mi blog, pero espero que en Colombia todo esta bien! Estoy hablando en este 'post' sobre el amor de Dios por nosotros, que su amor y amistad y gozo es mas fuerte por nosotros que qualquier amor tenemos por nuestros amigos, amores, etc... Mijuqueros - tenemos que recordar las cosas que aprendiabamos en la montana en Velez - tenemos que vivir solo por DIOS! "Por mucho tiempo busque... una razon para vivir..." La razon es Dios, y solo Dios. Pensamos en cielo - un dia, vamos a quedarnos en los pies de Dios... y que dia!!!! Les quieren muchisimo! Por siempre, tuyo... Negrita!
PS: I always check my Spanish with Free Translation to make sure I'm not butchering it... and sometimes it is REALLY funny how the computer translates.... for example - Negrita is a nickname I got in Colombia from my friend Leidy about how my skin is so white... when really it means dark girl(Her nickname was Monita... white girl). In the translation, it translates that to be "BOLDFACE!" I thought it was funny and chuckled to myself... sigh, is that even funny for anyone else???! Haha... |
| posted by Erica @ 7:29 a.m. |
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| About Me |
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Name: Erica
Home: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
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The success of love is in the loving - it is not in the result of loving. Of course it is natural in love to want the best for the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not does not determine the value of what we have done.
Mother Teresa |
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