Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday, Mom! I hope this year is full of spring! I love you!


(This picture was taken outside of Chappell Hill)

Photo Hunter: Hope

This week's theme feels so appropriate for a new year! This past semester was extremely discouraging for several different reasons and even on New Year's Eve our attempt at celebrating turned out to be disappointing. Mom and I tried to see the fireworks display at the Hong Kong Harbor, but the streets were packed several blocks away so all we could see were a few puny fireworks from the top of one building. All in all a bit of a letdown.

My friend, Meg, asked how the new year was since it was still 2008 in her time zone and I told her about the disappointing celebration, along with the good things -- a long sleep and a finished book. I got her email back saying, "I hope the rest of your 2009 is a lot grander than your first few moments of 2009..." As I was moving on to the PhotoHunter reminder email I was thinking in response to Meg, "I'm hopeful" and found the word "hope" as the theme. Coincidence? I think not.

Now, the picture...there is no greater hope than the hope of salvation and abundant life which can only be found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. This is my friend, Alyssa (bright green swimsuit), right before she was baptized while we were in Thailand.

I never put much stock in the change of year because while it is advertised as "new" nothing actually changes any easier than it does any other time of the year. Still, it is a natural stopping point so may 2009 be a year of hope.

Photo Hunter

Photo Hunter: Squeaky

I have never met a swing, particularly of the porch variety, that was not squeaky. Our swing was no exception, yet we still enjoyed employing it for phone calls and the occasional homework binge if the weather was good. In this picture, Rachel is installing a hammock for a couple of days just because she had a hammock for a couple of days. Under the right circumstances, she can be squeaky too.

Sorry for the delay, the time change and diversions got the best of me.

Photo Hunter

Merry Christmas to All

I am writing from the end of a wonderful day, celebrating the beginning of the biggest adventure of all -- the life of Jesus Christ leading to the sacrifice to redeem us all. May the surprises this day brings be full of joy, love, and laughter and pave the way for your own adventure!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

(Mis)Adventure in Trial and Error: Pumpkin Bread

Last year I decided to bake pumpkin bread for all of my friends for Christmas even though I had never made pumpkin bread before. I baked for the better part of two days and let my roommate lick the bowl and while I never tasted a loaf, it seemed like a success.

As early as August, friends were asking if I was going to do the same thing this year. I gave a hopeful response and was fortunate enough to be able to make (and eat!) a trial batch as I provided the pumpkin bread for Thanksgiving. There were pale spots in my bread and my sister told me that my baking soda was out of date. I suspected that it was simply the fact that the pumpkin had not blended in fully since I knew I was having trouble with the mixing.

During the Christmas (finals) baking season, finding time was quite difficult to negotiate, but I managed to pull together a thorough and rather smooth crop. I had an often interesting time trying to make deliveries, and missed a couple of people which gave me a chance to have a appropriately meal-like snack for the long plane ride (on an airplane that naturally served very edible food). Ah, success.

Then...

I arrived at my Mom's and found that she was making pumpkin bread for the staff at her office. We agreed that it was a wonderful, simple gift idea for large masses of people and I watched as she gathered her supplies together including...a mixer. A MIXER? Who knew that you could use a mixer? All of my embarassment and woes and right-arm-muscle-soreness could have been prevented by a simple technique. A mixer. Anyway, the one inherant and unavoidable problem with pumpkin bread is the 50 mins that it takes to bake, so Mom could not finish all of her batches at a time. I offered to finish the last batch so that they would all be ready on the same day. I was pumped to start another round of baking armed with my new knowledge. Here's the result:

Terrible!

Worse than any of the others!

Mom said it tasted good though.

Breaking The Silence

After several weeks of neglect, I am now ready to revisit this blog and give an update on my life that is not given in a picture based on a theme.

Major Event 1:
Cyrano de Bergerac finished up two weeks ago and the performances were impressively smooth. The techs and dresses had been a long and painful process, then the storm suddenly abated. There were a few minor problems throughout, but overall it was quite graceful until our last performance. During the first act, the pit was lowered partway with a step unit leading in and out. At the very end of the act, I was supposed to raise it from backstage so that Cyrano rose while delivering highly inspirational lines and epic music swelled in the background. There is always a moment of hesitation between me pushing the button and the pit raising in which I would never breathe. That last day, my breath was stopped for too long and I realized that the pit was stuck. I ran quickly to the basement and checked the settings - everything was correct. We had an emergency setting for Act 2, so the play proceeded as if nothing was wrong. I flipped the breaker off and back on and we tested the pit during the action. It was working again. For the next scene change, I took a run crew member onstage and we took off the step unit. Awkward! Afterward, we took apart the set and walked away--Cyrano is finished.

Major Event 2:
Finals. A few synonyms: nightmare, delirium, ordeal, tribulation, thorn in my flesh, and, because Merriam Webster gave it to me, bummer. My list at the beginning of the week read 21 projects in 4 1/2 days. The main point is, I survived.

Major Event 3:
I told several of my friends that it would not be enough for me to leave town for Christmas, instead I needed to leave the country. The fortunate happenstance and the basis for this almost-joke is that I am indeed out of the country. Last Tuesday my sister dropped me at the airport for a 24 hour trek to the far east. Emphasis here should be placed on "far." After another delusional day, the semester's woes have finally worn off in exchange for days with the madre, seeing the sights, shopping, and sitting at the apartment. Of course, there are office lunches and a girls (should that be girl'z?) night also in the mix. Now, I am cozy and snug and enjoying the big city life that is decidedly NOT America.

It is likely that I will write again soon, now that vacation has come, but I might be visiting pandas or having tea at a fancy hotel. Regardless, stories and pictures are sure to follow.

Photo Hunter: Wide

For me the most wondrous and widespread thing on earth is the ocean (specifically the Atlantic). So here is my niece and I standing at the brink of the greatest Wide I know.

Photo Hunter