I think I can, I think I can

I have a headache, withdrawal symptom of no food I think. Day 2 of the post-Christmas diet, I CAN do this!

On better news I'm 4/5ths of the way through my second assignment... roll on 21st century architecture.

Feeling and love

Week 3ish of church...

As I understand it, feelings don't really come into love. Swooping gushes of joy are a an extraneous bonus. Talking of the incarnation this morning we were told, 'if you don't feel excited and joyful, you should!'

Actually I feel quite overwhelmed, and it all seems so removed and heavenly that it feels difficult to relate this to my life here and now. I'll acknowledge the incarnation is amazing, but do I feel joyful? Should I feel joyful? I don't think it matters what I feel, it IS.

On a good point I talked to an old friend of my mum's and she said it had made her day to know that I'm okay. That was nice.

One of us reads books so the other doesn't have to

... is the philosophy in the Foster household, I'm sure you don't need to guess which one of us is which!

One of my unspoken resolutions for 2008 was to read more quality books and stop borrowing so much chick lit from the library. I kept a list in the back of my diary so I could check if the quality has improved and I think it has a little... out of a grand total of 44 books read this year (that I've remembered to write down anyway) I can highly recommend a handful!

I've already blogged on The Shack and The Rules of Parenting so here's the rest in no particular order:

Saturday by Ian McEwan - the most quality writing I've ever read
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
Beloved by Toni Morrison - if you want to understand why Obama being black caused such excitement read this
Chocolat by Joanne Harris
The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg
The Island by Victoria Hyslop
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates - film coming on 30 January 2009 with the lovely Kate and Leo.

Awesome homemade present from Ben

Preparation

I love setting tables, something about the anticipation and prettiness. This is for Christmas breakfast tomorrow morning.


Happy Christmas everyone!

Reasons to go to church

1. Not missing out - some Christians somewhere might actually be having a good time together.

2. Soaking in all those pearls of wisdom that old people have... not only the old people, just learning from people at different stages of life.

3. Living as a head Christian isn't very fun - you know how it feels if you've been stuck in the house and haven't spoken a word out loud all day?

4. Understanding more about and getting closer to God - reading theory is all very well but there's something different about doing and observing faith.

5. Meeting new people, making new friends

The Rules of Parenting by Richard Templar

Perhaps a little bit prematurely I've been dipping in and out of this book lately. Before you all get excited we are not having children yet as they would probably appreciate a bedroom. Getting onto the proprty ladder is our first priority.

The Rules are in 100 bitesize chunks in 10 chapters covering staying sane, attitude, discipline, personality, siblings etc. It's been interesting for me reading it because it's enabled me to put my finger on things that weren't right during my childhood and it's helping me discover why and what would have worked better. Beyond that it's really helping me take in what an awesome responsibility being a parent is.

I highly recommend it whether you're a parent, thinking about it or you have children who have moved away - it even has a section on dealing with grown-up children! It will probably stay on my bookshelf for years and years.

Goop

Goop is a nice website, at least I like it's concept. Written by Gweneth Paltrow but down to earth (apart from the massive budget you would need to try some of her recommendations in hotels and restaurants!)

Interior design - temples

I'm studying a really interesting course in interior design, currently working on my second of 12 assignments. This one is looking at the influences used in buildings from the 16th to 21st centuries.

For instance, how many times have you seen a Greek temple? Never been to Greece?

Temple of Zeus


Chatsworth, Derbyshire


Holkham Hall, Norfolk


Marble Hall, NU's head office in Norwich


City Hall, Norwich


Not very interior, but architecture is turning out to be a fascinating and important starting point. An interesting point is that interiors tended to match exteriors quite rigidly right up to perhaps the mid 20th century. Now it's much more likely that you might find a sleek open-plan minimalist interior in the shell of an old farmhouse cottage.

I'm enjoying The Home Show on Channel 4/4OD at the moment with the yummy architect George Clarke. I'm a sucker for makeover shows but this one is really inspiring and has some great tips on styles around the world. It's great for hearing vocabulary I've come across in my course being used in context, helpful for distance learning.

The Shack

I've been off work for the two days now (flu) and, being bored and sleepy, a book while wrapped up in bed is the perfect way to pass the hours. Yesterday I finished The Shack, a book I came across by chance while looking at books in Tesco months ago for a birthday present.

The blurb says... 'The Shack wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?"' I've rarely pondered much over that question, maybe I've never dealt with pain big enough to have to question God's ultimate goodness.

For me what really touched me was the portrayal of God. For ages now I've been stuck in what I feared God would call a lukewarm mindset. I haven't stopped believing that God is awesome and worthy of praise but I couldn't muster up any excitement or real-ness about that. God was becoming a distant being, someone who might love me a bit but would one day judge me and reject me for having such a passive and small faith.

I don't want to spoil the book for anyone who might want to read it but I think it's completely changed my attitude. I'm not worried anymore! God and I are going to take this tiny seed of belief in my heart and make it grow again.

I highly recommend reading The Shack - I'm definitely going to revisit it soon.

Bendy bus

A little bit of Norwich made an appearance on Top Gear this week!

Freaky rainbows

This was on the Telegraph website today, how cool!

My monk book - part 1

Ben laughs that I call this my monk book but he would get confused if I refered to it with its title, and there's lots of interesting things in it to talk about.

My monk book is one I came across in the library, Finding Sanctuary - Monastic Steps for Everyday Life by Abbot Christopher Jamison who was involved in The Monastery programme on BBC a couple of years ago.

The first part is Everyday Life - How did I get this busy? Abbot Jamison talks about the search for real sanctuary and how to build this in the midst of everyday life. 'Sanctuary' means a holy place of refuge. The word has been commercialised in the shape of package holidays, spa breaks etc but those things can only provide a brief refuge, and not a holy one.

Abbot Jamison reckons the entry to true sanctuary is VIRTUE. This is Psalm 15:

LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?

He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart

and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman,

who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the LORD,
who keeps his oath
even when it hurts,

who lends his money without usury
and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be shaken.

He says: 'You cannot mistreat people one moment and then find sanctuary in the next. Finding the sacred begins with the recognition of the sacred in your daily living... ...Virtue is the recognition of the sacred in daily life.'

The rest of the book talks about parts of the Rule of St Benedict. The first one is silence which I'm having a go at, so I might blog on that soon.

Ode to country living

These are pictures from our walks around Suffolk (which is a really pretty county). And thus our dream of owning a little country house of our own was born.

So we're moving back to Norwich instead!! Which SUCKS!! But we'll be able to save a tonne (well maybe just enough) money to get a mortgage on a little patch of England.

When we get fed up with the noise of the traffic and not being able to go on country walks by stepping out of our front door, and when the bin men wake us up and the neighbours bang on our terraced walls these are the pictures that will be in my mind.

We're moving back to Norwich

Is all decided and deposit paid for our new rented flat off Dereham Road.

Woe for leaving Diss :(

Holidays

After going to Wales and getting the car we've been planning loads of things we want to do and places to go. Suddenly we have holiday plans for the next three years!

Italy is top of my list - I'd love to soak up some sun, stay in a Tuscan villa and see some culture and art. But this will have to wait until 2010.

For 2009 Ben fancies climbing Ben Nevis and I need to catch up with family (especially my ancient Grandpa), so Scotland it is. We'd like to experience some Celtic spirituality so I'm thinking a trip to Iona would be good.

Make me a Christian #2

After dubious beginnings the third (final) episode was really encouraging to watch. I recommend it!

My recent web wanderings

online church


housewife forum


napkin folding guide


maps for walking and holidaying



yoga postures and how to do them


Cornwall

And the best one...

The Great Idea of our Faith

I've been watching Make me a Christian on 4OD with interest, especially after Make me a Muslim was on not so long ago. The concept is to get a group of people to live like Christians for three weeks in the hope that they will experience God and maybe convert.

I think the programme causes more questions than it answers. It seems a pretty backwards way to explore Christianity. The people seem to be expected to give up some entrenched habits immediately, like Kevin who has slept with loads of girls behind his girlfiend's back. It emphasises the stereotypical view of Christians as people who don't do certain things, rather than using their experience as an opportunity to delve into why they feel drawn to finding out about Christianity.

For some, like lap dancer Faye, stripping away the ungodly habits seemed a good way for her to reassess her life and think about her self-image etc, but it seemed to leave more dispair and emptiness than joy and completeness. I can't see the sense in asking people to give up things when they haven't yet asked God to help them. I think faith leads to actions, actions don't necessarily lead to faith.

Make me a Muslim was insteresting (although you have to wonder how accurate these reality things are!) There are similarities which always make me think maye the two religions aren't so different in essentials after all. But I wonder if this is because people will always find at least a degree of peace when they actually make the effort to seek something and find meaning in it. Taking timeout to pray/meditate in whatever form is probably always going to strengthen the soul in some way because it encourages you to be still and silent and practise things like forgiveness and humility. Sharpening the saw is one of the Seven Habits!

This bit of an article I read in Relevant Magazine today sums it up:

Imagine for a moment that you have no recollection of the life and message of Jesus Christ. And imagine that someone who knows this message well comes to tell you about the Christian faith. They say to you:

Jesus came to earth and died so that you could attend weekly meetings and give Him a slice of your income. You should, therefore, modify your behavior so as to fit in and believe exactly like we tell you to believe and resist getting too excited, for that would be in bad taste. Then you will fulfill your duty and rid yourself of guilt.

Would that be something you would accept? Probably not. Would those sentiments be true to the life and message of Jesus Christ? No, they wouldn’t. And yet that is where many of us find ourselves today.

Now imagine again that you know nothing of the life and message of Jesus Christ, and someone who knows this message well comes to share it with you. Their life is compelling and authentic. Perhaps they don’t fit all the Christian stereotypes, but they are driven by an otherworldly passion and commitment. They say to you:

The reason we don’t do things so well and there exists so much sorrow, death and injustice is that our sin permeates this world. Yet, this great God became like us because of His great love and, amazing as it seems, sacrificed our sin and guilt on the cross. If only we will accept his gift of salvation and surrender to His leadership, God will ignite a new passion inside of you.

Would you be more likely to connect with that message? Probably. Would those sentiments be truer to the life and message of Jesus Christ? Yes, they would. They comprise the great idea of our faith.

Our Welsh holiday

Thought I'd blog about what we've been up to recently. Back in July we had a week off and went to Wales, our first road trip and camping trip together!



We drove to Brecon for the first few days and got close to nature at Priory Mill Farm where we camped. The silence was bliss - apart from the roar of the River Honddu a few metres from our tent! The Welsh name for Brecon is Aberhonddu - on the Honddu.



We made friends with the guy in the next tent who was on a fishing trip with his dog. He caught us a brown trout one night. We had a real campfire every night and toasted marshmallows. It was really nice to enjoy the peace and be away from the busyness of life.



We visited Brecon Cathedral and climbed Pen Y Fan -the tallest mountain in the Brecons:



We didn't take in any scenery because we were shrouded in mist bt the time we were on the ridge and couldn't see a single thing over the edge when we got to the summit! It was a nice gentle walk despite the horrid weather, only took about 4 hours to get up and down.


For the next few days we went to Cardiff to see brother-in-law and fiance in their new house. Ben turned 21 and we had a barbeque with our new extended family. We also had our first ever trip to IKEA which was AWESOME!

Dear Alfredo

Dear Alfredo

I was so excited to hear about your offer!

I wonder if you can help. You see, I have a very great problem in that (I'm a little ashamed to say it - you might have guessed by my name though) I'm a girl. I don't have a penis at all at the moment! Are you able to help? I might need a bulk order - do you think 10 would do it?

I await your advice

Many thanks

Laura

Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:48:32 +0200
From: dwthomerm@thomer.com
To: lbehe@msn.com
Subject: From Alfredo Elliott

The Pe ktk n uo is Patch
Pen qfe is Patch will help you expand,
lengthen and en ild lar fm ge your pen wts is and
experience several major changes in your se qks x life! l

Dear Patrick

Hello Patrick

What an interesting name - a joining of the Chinese and Irish heritages - wonderful!

You have been randomly selected to be given Fives Millions Pounds Stirling as part of my benefactress programme for people of Irish/Chinese heritage. To qualify you need to reply confirming that you are of Irish/Chinese heritage and give me your bank details. The funds will be transferred immediately and will take 3-5 working days (African time) to clear.

Please reply very urgently - it is imperative that I get your response.

If you are the first of my five choices to reply I will also give you my bank details and you can drain my account for all it's worth - all completely legal and free!!!!

Please reply VERY urgently!!!!!!!!

Yours with love and affection for the Irish/Chinese heritage

Laura Erin Gok Wan Brown

---

> To: laurabrown17@msn.com
> Subject: KINDLY CONSIDER MY PROPOSAL
> From: wangquin@yahoo.co.uk
> Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:07:55 -0400
>
> Good Day,
>
> Let me start by introducing myself.I am Mr. Patrick Chan director of operations of the Hang Seng Bank Ltd Hong Kong.
>
> I will need you to assist me in executing this Business Project from Hong Kong to your country.
>
> Five millions Five Hundred Thousand United State Dollars only in my branch.Once the funds have been transferred to your nominated bank account we shall
> then share in the ratio of 60% for me, 40% for you.Should you be interested please send me your,
>
> Full names,private phone number,current residential address to my private (Email: mail2.patrickchan@yahoo.com.hk)
>
> Kind Regards,
>
> Mr. Patrick Chan
> mail2.patrickchan@yahoo.com.hk
>
>
> I need your response on this

Tree people in Thetford Forrest

George Orwell's diary

Starting from today George Orwell's diary entries from 70 years ago are going to be posted as a blog. Will probably be an interesting read.

http://orwelldiaries.wordpress.com/

I've been thinking about:

* interior design courses to set up a business working from home
* degrees in English
* primary school teaching

I need a plan...

Sunset in Cromer

Last Friday Ben and I drove straight to Cromer after work and had the most relaxing evening ever, finished off with this spectacular view over the sea...

Life update

Today is my 9th baptism anniversary :) It's a happy memory because I had this feeling of intense joy as I was lifted from the water and it always makes me remember the good bits about belonging to God.


Haven't blogged for ages not because of lack of things but because life is crammed full of living at the moment... well, kind of! Enduring the working week and playing hard at the weekends.


Both DH [dear husband in forum speak - I've been browsing a housewife forum recently!] and I are looking for jobs on and off. Ben needs a better all round job - better appreciation, opportunities, pay etc, and I need a new challenge preferably close to home. Interviews and job applications seem to take a lot of time and energy with some promise but no results yet.


Life is busy - since the addition of blahcar to our family we've been commuting together which is a LOT cheaper than the train (even counting in the cost of tax, insurance etc!) but means we're out of the house for the time our work overlaps - often means days of 13 hours out of the house which is so TIRING! It's the annoying kind of tiring as well, not because we're doing anything particularly stressful but because we don't have time to recharge between work days.




This is what our car would look like if it was pimped and had all its hubcaps - it waas missing one to start with and Ben left another one by the side of the road when it nearly broke down the first time! This morning it just conked out at traffic lights!! It's a love-hate relationship.


Weekends are my sanctuary at the moment. We've been making the most of the car, going to the beach and to places we've wanted to explore but never been able to. Even had an improtue barbeque with Ben's parents on that scorching hot weekend a couple of weeks ago which was nice to be able to do. Trips to the sealife centre, Gressenhall and Holkham beach are in store soon. I'm starting to appreciate Norfolk and its countryside as my home land lately, it's a nice to feel like I belong somewhere.

The summer will bring a trip to Cardiff to see Ben's brother and his new fiance in their new house (they got engaged this week!) and also a stop in Windsor on the way home for Ben to do a bungee jump (yes, a BUNGEE JUMP!) for his 21st birthday. Rather him than me!


I'm thinking of exciting things to do at the moment but not getting much opportunity to do them yet... I've been thinking about starting/hosting a book group for a couple of months now and as soon as work situations settle down a bit I'll be starting an interior design course.

Just now I'm in the forum waiting for Ben to finish work at 9pm. Really looking forward to the weekend!

Chicken pie - yum

A Monday recipe, perfect for using chicken left over from the Sunday roast.

Make Delia's shortcrust pastry and wrap in clingfilm. Leave in the fridge while preparing the pie filling.

First, make a white sauce - melt a small knob of margerine in a saucepan and stir in about two tablespoons of plain flour to make a smooth paste. Add milk a litle at a time to make the amount of sauce needed - stir this constantly to avoid lumps! Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, boil some chopped carrots.

Bacon, onion and courgette are also really tasty in chicken pie - fry the onion and bacon lightly before adding, but corgette won't need cooking first.

Add the chicken, carrots and any other ingredients to the white sauce. Keep stiring it regularly while you roll out the pastry. Put the white sauce mixture into a pie dish and top with the pastry. Brush with a little milk (optional).

Put in a hot oven - at least Gas 6 or 200C - for about half an hour or until the pastry is crusty. Serve with fresh veg or mashed potatoes.

Photos

My favourite room in our house is the lounge/dining room. These are it's four corners...



This is the mirror I painted last week...

Today we finished off the last room in the house (6 months after moving!) and cleared out a load of junk from the study. Ben made use of it to do a job application today...

And this is the current fridge message, it's from a poem by Yeats but we keep running out of letters...

Our new home 2

Our new flat is starting to feel more like home, especially with the arrival of some very patiently and eagerly awaited furniture. Our first grown up furniture (ie not flat pack from Argos) was mulled over for a long time and we finally took the plunge a couple of weeks ago and bought our first proper dining table. Ben has been busy fixing mirrors and curtain bits to walls and I painted a mosaic mirror last night.


I'm still discovering new parts of Diss, especially as the weather is starting to brighten up at the weekends and I can go out running. There are a few quaint courtyards with delightful shops - if you've ever driven through Diss you might have only seen the horrid main road lined with supermarkets and heard the rumble of the (supposedly) regular London to Norwich trains, but it has many hidden delights and is a lovely place to live.

Pictures to follow later once I've cleaned the house!

Leek and carrot soup

2 medium sized leeks
1 large carrot
25g cooking margerine eg Stork
2 pints of vegetable stock - can be made with Oxo or Knorr cube



Chop the leeks long ways then into small slices. Sweat in a saucepan with the margerine. Add the carrot, chopped into small pieces. Once heated through add the hot stock. Leave to simmer for 2-3 hours. If desired blend half of the soup to make a thicker consistency. Serve hot with fresh bread.

The greatest fun you can ever have with your other half...

... is karaoke courtesy of Youtube.


Search for all your favourite songs and sing along - if you're unsure of the words have a lyrics website open alongside!

Shrove Tuesday

Delia to the rescue again!

January reads

I'm keeping a note of the books I read this year in the back of my new diary. January has been a mixed month, each book good in its own way. A lot of these were Christmas presents. Saturday was definitely the highlight, The Savage Garden disappointingly the lowest point I've visited in a while. I heard mixed reviews of the latter and although the plot had the potential to be gripping the prose lacked fluidity and it was impossible to get lost in.

This is what's been occupying my 30 minutes on the train each day:

Chloe by Freya North
Saturday by Ian McEwan
The Savage Garden by Mark Mills
Bridget Jones 1 and 2 by Helen Fielding
The Daydreamer by Ian McEwan
My Best Friend's Girl by Dorothy Koomson
Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella

Taking me into February is Beloved by Toni Morrison - a book I studied for A Level and haven't revisited since.

On my list to get hold of is On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (do you see a theme emerging?! I've just discovered him and he's totally awesome) and Marshmallows for Breakfast by Dorothy Koomson. I've been blacklisted by the library for owing them too much though so will have to steal Ben's card until a cheque reaches them!

The greatest fun you can have with your other half

You'll never guess what it is...

Into the second month of the year

Janaury seems like the quickest month ever and at the same time the slowest. The beginning was spent with a quiet new year, seeing family and meeting Ben's maternal grandmother for the first time, all of which seems an age ago.

Since then Ive been super busy at work training seven new entrants who are all fresh from college, without much experience of the working world and with no idea what an annuity is. I'm their trainer for 8-10 weeks with my friend and colleauge Lauren. Today was tough as one of the newbies is seriously underperforming compared to the rest and I had to give feedback to my manager so he could consider if it's going to be worth spending time training him. Being a trainer takes much more time than a normal 35 hour week.

As a result January has flown by and I haven't started on many of my new resolutions, which are:

1. Lose winter/Christmas weight and maintain enough for the nurse to not look condescending at my next checkup
2. Whip finances into shape
3. Invest time and effort in a lot of relationships - increasingly this is turning out to be important at work as well in order to progress
4. Practise flute - I don't want this skill to rust any more than it already has
5. Complete my Certificate in Financial Planning 1 - boring but has to be done, another work thing
6. Finish my patchwork quilt - a project I've had going for many years since I was given a kit one Christmas. It's made steady but very slow progress and I'd like to have it hanging on the wall by the end of the year.

The Daily Motivator

http://greatday.com/ is a nice website, it has a daily motivational message without any added cheese.