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jlf_05
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Name: Jessica
Country: United States
State: Michigan
Metro: Grand Rapids
Birthday: 7/24/1978
Gender: Female
Interests: Kayaking, hiking, camping, stained glass projects, reading.
Occupation: Other
Industry: Nonprofit
Message: message me
Member Since:
8/30/2005
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| the breakupdear xanga blog. you've been good to me for over three years. however, I've moved on. It's me, not you. I just needed some change in my life. I'm trying to work on some stuff and I just didn't feel like we could stay together anymore. Well, actually, now that you ask I did find someone else. I still really hope we can be friends so you can check me out at:
http://jessicafick.wordpress.com/
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| a budding charismatic?We've been teaching Reuben to pray before meals and though he hasn't said anything about Jesus, he enthusiastically says "amen!" when we pray. When he's really hungry he'll say, "amen! amen! amen!" before we even finish praying.
Tonight when I was driving up to Ferris State to speak to students about becoming modern-day abolitionists in the issue of human trafficking, I was praying aloud in the car. As I prayed, asking Jesus to open hearts of students to have compassion on child sex slaves, to empower me and a few other things, Reuben said "amen! amen! amen!"
I'm not sure if it was because it was close to dinner time or because he was eating cheerios and thought something more substantial would be coming if he said amen. | | |
| the bacon debateA few years ago I was making breakfast when I still lived with my parents. I was about to cook the bacon in the microwave when my dad stopped me and said- "cook it in the pan, it gets crispier." Being their stubborn first born child I insisted that while my dad had his preference for cooking bacon that our methods really yielded the same results. For what ever reason this escalated into a heated debate about the merits of cooking bacon in the microwave vs. cooking it in a frying pan. For those of you who know my dad- it is rare when he raised his voice. Nothing like a family breakfast to start an argument!
A few years later; same scene, different kitchen. "Don't tell me you're going to cook the bacon in the mircrowave!" Dave told me with a sad face as I covered the strips of turkey bacon with a paper towel. "Why?" I ask, not remembering the Leep family bacon debate of 98'. Dave replies "It doesn't get as crispy in the microwave, it just gets dry and brittle." Thankfully that didn't turn into an argument but now every time I cook bacon, I have to microwave it before Dave can object. When he cooks bacon, he cooks it in a pan. We have agreed to disagree.
Tonight I was talking with my neighbors Dan & Meggan as our kids played on the porch. Dan and I were joking about not knowing what to make for dinner since our spouses with the culinary skills were absent over the dinner hour. When Meggan arrived at home, she hadn't eaten dinner so I told her about the tasty BLT (with sharp Wisconsin cheddar!) that I ate for dinner. "Meggan cooks bacon in the microwave- she just gets the precooked stuff" Dan quipped.
I proceed to tell them about the Fick bacon debates and Meggan chimes in that her mom & mom's boyfriend have the same debate! Meggan and I both agree that it's less messy when you microwave it & still tastes as good. Viva la microwaved bacon!
So blog friends- where do you stand in the great bacon debate? Is there any actual culinary proof of the crispiness factors of microwaving vs. pan frying? I'll give a red gummy bear to anyone who can provide me with some hard bacon facts. If this were a more interesting blog perhaps I would have posted about Sir Francis Bacon, father of inductive reasoning, or even Kevin Bacon of Footloose fame. | | |
| Please Stop ByAs I've been talking to friends across the country it seems like I keep hearing the same things- "It's hard to meet friends & develop close relationships." It seems the older you get, the more difficult it is to both find time to spend with people and feel the freedom to let people into your life. Especially with friends that you can just drop in on to visit, it seems rare these days that people's lives are that open to spontaneous visits.
Part of me wonders if it is because it feels too uncomfortable for people to see how we really live- the cereal bowls still on the table, laundry piled on the couch waiting to be folded, or the car in the driveway that's weeks overdue for a wash. When I stop to think about what holds me back from spontaneously inviting people over- it's usually that I'm worried about the impression my stuff will or won't make. My living room is too cluttered with toys, the bathroom sink hasn't been wiped down in a few days, I don't have a plethora of beverage options to offer a thirsty guest. The list goes on inevitably for my excuses why it's better for me not to be hospitable.
When I realize that these things are may be holding me back from the kind of spontaneous, authentic relationships I really want, I try to put it in perspective. When I look back on life will I remember the laundry on someone's couch or the really great conversation or meal we shared together? When I open my house will people feel cared for and listened to by me or will they remember the pile of dishes in the sink? Do people in far less privileged places across the globe let their homes of corrugated tin roofs and dirt floors prevent them from hosting friends and neighbors?
Obviously we want our living spaces to facilitate relationships rather than detract from them. Smelly dishes and piles of clutter on furniture really can make people feel unwelcome and uncomfortable. But I wonder if we're so consumed with our life or homes looking like a page out of dwell (my fave design magazine) that we miss the opportunity to develop relationships and actually build the kind of lives we long for?
As strange as it sounds, I've been trying to plan more space in my life to have impromptu visits. Dave and I love going out for brunch after church but with Reuben's nap time coming on the heels of the end of the service, and not having unlimited brunch funds, we've been trying to be ready to be hospitable. Making sure we spend a little time on Saturday picking up, baking blueberry muffins to freeze & having lot of eggs in the fridge are ways that we've been preparing to build relationships with friends and not have to schedule it weeks in advance.
So, this is an open invitation to stop by. Even if there are piles of mail on the dining room table. Even if we're getting ready to mow the lawn. | | |
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