Pouting.... but Thankful

It's raining. And I'm hungry. And tired.

And I want to go home.

I've been eating less and working out more (in mental preparation for the abundance of food that will be everywhere next week) and it's making me a complete grump.

I think.

Remember the cabbage I made a week ago? I'm still eating on it... I'm tired of cabbage. I need a burger with cheese and bacon and a side of ranch dressing to dip it in.

I'm trying to get all those last few things done before we leave for Texas on Friday afternoon. Friday afternoon when I leave work just a little early to make that 6:00 flight.

I need to:

Stop by and pick up a prescription

Figure out if I have enough contact solution and face wash and toothpaste to make it through a week away

Get the most recent choral music (for our Christmas concert) on my iPod for practicing while I'm gone

Decide on a lighthearted, fiction, book to take along with me

Oh, and pack!

Sometime after choir rehearsal tonight and after a youth leadership meeting tomorrow night, I need to finish packing. The weather in Texas is so different from what it is here this time of year, I'm excited about ballet flats and cropped jeans and short-sleeves for awhile. It's so much easier to pack for warmer climates. Even on our long Boston week-end-getaway all those sweaters and coats and scarves took up so much space.

It's not like I really need to worry all that much. I can run to Wal-Mart or Target or CVS for anything I need. I can shop in my mom's and sister's and best friend's closets for any clothes I might need to wear. But I'm still taking 4-5 pairs of shoes!

...

I'm looking forward to wide open spaces & quietness.

Just being in the same room with family is enough for me. There's just something that isn't eroded by time and distance. We're solid. There's a automatic comfort and gladness; it is what home really means I guess. It's something I don't get to feel all that often. I mean, my NYC family is my NYC family, but my own flesh and blood can't be replaced. We are silly and loud and have inside jokes and memories that immediately pour out of us.

I'm looking forward to doing whatever each day brings. And just going with it. I'm trying to approach this week as a week of true rest and renewal. I haven't been home since Thanksgiving last year, and I'm in need of some Texas air.

Movers and Shakers

I am a homebody. Normally, I'm content in the stillness of our small, own space. We rarely, DO anything on weekends- considering that we live in New York City. We hardly take advantage of the night life or dance scenes or live music or "no cover" bands. On most evenings we simply choose to stay in.

But this weekend was different. Friday night, before the sun even set, we had a wedding to attend. A 5:00pm wedding on 11/11/11. And the party went well into the night. Our night, of course, ended prematurely at 10:00pm, but that was enough wedding celebration for me. Food galore: buffets full of appetizers, carving stations, a swan created out of fruit, passed h'orderves, a four course meal, two open bars.

There were bins and bowls full of candy with those metal scoops which I couldn't resist. Now we have enough grape gummy bears and blue tootsie rolls to last us for months. I think Chris and I had the most fun in the photo booth.

In between eating and drinking and dancing guests could use all sorts of props and basically act ridiculously silly having their picture made. After the booth deposited your photos you were instructed to cut out a strip and tape it into a photo album for the bride and groom. There were metallic pain pens available to write your own message beside your pictures. Give me a glass of champagne and a metallic paint pen; the fun will never stop!

We had a blast dancing, meeting some new people and having good conversation with old friends. I got to wear a borrowed blue dress that made me feel great. So this whole "getting out" thing, I guess it's not so bad! Even though we left before the cake was cut--- at 10:00pm.

And we opted out of the Free (although no small fee for the father of the bride I'm sure) shuttle vans that were taking guests from the venue (in Queens) to Times Square. The party was to continue there at a bar they had booked for the evening. This is for big time party people. Not people like myself who top out at two glasses of vino.

HOWEVER, let it be known the fun did not stop there. The Chambers had another night of dinner and dancing at a church-wide event Sunday night. From 5:30pm-10:00pm the congregation of Trinity Baptist Church were invited to a TEN celebration.

We have just completed a church-wide book study (TEN) which is based on John 10:10 "I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." It was a great book (not in stores until Jan. 2012) that taught me many things. There isn't sacred and secular- there just is who you are and what your faith is. It should be one. It should be you.

God has a purpose for your life (cliche I know) BUT- find it, chase it, do it. Don't leave your options open. There shouldn't be a PLAN B. There should just be you, doing the thing God called you to do. Oh, and when you don't do what God's called you to do, it doesn't just effect you. It effects everyone. Choosing your way, or an easier way, or waiting for your ship to come in and not getting off your butt- yeah, that's just selfish. Fear is rooted in self reliance. Rely on God- because he's already got the victory. (And now I will step away from the pulpit...)

ANYWAY- Sunday night we Celebrated big with a semi-formal party. It was so much fun. We had a delicious meal prepared by an amazing chef in our congregation. There was live music, a deejay, and even (gasp...!!!) dancing.

The Chambers- we can party when we want to.
We can be cool.

Veggie Stew

1 ginormous head of cabbage - $3.00

1 onion- .60 cents

2 tomatoes, 2 zucchini & 1 clove of garlic- $6.00

2 big fat carrots- $1.65

All this plus maybe a little brown rice and turkey sausage (I gotta keep my man full, and veggies just might not do it.) You'd actually probably laugh if you saw how I portion this completed stew out. I ladle "mine" into my individual corningware: veggies only. I add some sort of meat and carb to Chris's servings. Not that I don't need protein and carbs, but I like veggies alone more often that not. And I'm a HUGE freak about my personal portion control.

Which is why at Le Pain Quotidien this morning when I said, "just a splash of half-and-half" I meant just a splash. It made me a nervous wreck letting someone else control my coffee to milk ratio. But I managed.

...

Making my last veggie stew of the season tonight with ingredients from the farmer's market leaves me a little saddened. Although the Union Square Farmers Market is open year-round, four days a week- the season of bounty is drawing to a close...

I love walking the market and wandering through the stands. I bought these items from four different farmers & I also just had to buy two more apples. Even though I already have three waiting to be eaten.

I just love farmers and farming and the smell of onions and fennel and wet wood at the farmers market.