be brave * take a class

the title almost sounds like it could be one inspiration rather than two! be brave and take a class!!

there is actually a class that i've been thinking about taking, purely for fun

the school is prarieview... http://www.prairieview.ca/Prairieview_School_of_Photography.html
it looks super cool, and like it would be tons of fun. although then i would probably want to buy a new camera... hmmm this is sounding like even more fun! but i may just have to wait for a bit

i like the idea of taking a class just for interest sake, i've always liked the idea of auditing classes, so that you can just sit there and soak it in, because you want to, not because you're trying to pass
so, that idea is always on the back burner

hmm being brave. i felt less than brave twice this weekend, and both involve animals!
we were camping this weekend, and i was in the washroom and went to wash my hands. i went to the middle sink and was about to put my hands under the tap when i jumped back. there was HUGE gross beetle laying on its back flayling (how do you spell that?) it's legs around... yuck. so i moved to the next sink only to look up to see the biggest month i've ever seen!!! literally, it was the size of a pancake, but so not as good as a pancake. so then i jumped back, ran to the third sink and got out of there as quickly as i could

then, the second unbrave moment came when i was walking back to the tent and i saw this bird. so i was watching it as it was flying and then it swooped down so low, i thought it was going to land on my head! so i squated down so fast and let out a little yelp. i was glad it was early in the morning so that no one saw! what a wuss. i ran back to the tent and snuggled up to my husband, safely away from moths, beetles and swoopy birds. phew!

be part of a team * take nothing for granted

so i forgot to write yesterday, but my day was full of good things anyway!

at work i finished making the binder with all the notes on how to do my job. it looks so nice and clean and organized! love that

then shauna came over for supper and we enjoyed some delicious asparagus and cheese ravioli, with spinach and cheese tomato sauce and fresh cucumbers as a cool crisp side dish

then we were off to the first summer service of 2009. at 10 to seven i was literally the only person in the sanctuary!! but in true mcivor summer form by 7:05 people were there (never as many as a regular sunday service, but still good). i find summer services refreshing, as they are relaxed (time wise), people have chosen to come specifically for church (rather than a sunday morning ritual/habit), there is time to share where we see God working, or where we feel that he's not, there is time to pray and not be rushed, there is a children's feature, and we have a chance to hear and see their childlike faith. refreshing. i sat with lisa, simon and marcus. i just love those boys. i hope that they will continue to let me love on them. one of my favorite things that i've done this year so far is sit in their kitchen and watching marcus climb on the counter to make me some coffee. he was so pumped about being able to do it, and he was good at it! and that evening while i was waiting for the coffee i was able to watch simon eat an icecream cone... with his whole chin. they are such precious guys. and russ and lisa, well... they are invaluable to us.

then it was time for caregroup. God thank you for my caregroup! it is so nice to be with them, laugh with them, shake our heads at some of the ridiculous things that are said, eat gelati, browse jewelery and just catch up. lisa buller we miss you! this is a very special group.

and then we ended the evening with a tour of james and carmyn's apartment. it is so nice and has so much character. love it.

i haven't even talked about my "inspirations" and evidently i haven't really needed them yet.
be part of a team, whenever i hear team i think sports.
and well, sports are not my forte. i played baseball when i was a kid, but was so nervous that the ball would actually come to me that I just stood there biting my glove. good thing i could sing... music or sports, that's often how its divided.
but i really am part of a lot of teams, all depends on how you look at it
i'm part of teams at church, worship teams, volunteer teams, worship committee
i'm part of "teams" with my husband, with my families
i'm part of a Kindred Production team at work, and part of the Conference team at the office
it's nice to be part of something larger than yourself

and take nothing for granted
this made me think about a little blessing i received in the mail yesterday. it's the picture that is at the top of the post.
a couple of months ago, michael and i started sponsoring a very special little nine year old boy from Burkina Faso (where mike grew up). His name is Boureima Keima. we received our first letter from him yesterday, and that was the picture that he included, he's pretty good i think!
his letter was written in someone elses writting (his writing looks like he's younger than nine) but he tells us about his family. he has 2 brothers and 1 sister. his father has died and his mother has AIDS (he says its an "incurable disease" i'm assuming its AIDS). wow. take nothing for granted. i can't even imagine being nine, with no dad and a mom so sick. Boureima is a part of our family now, Michael and my first kid :) (he'll have to wait quite a while for any siblings!)
i thank Jesus for bringing Boureima into our lives and hope that we can learn to appreciate life and love in general thru getting to know him. and I hope that he can feel loved.

take nothing for granted, that is certainly something i've been learning this past year. i don't think i took Jay for granted, but I don't think I realized how blessed I was until he came and was taken so quickly. i don't think i'll ever take him for granted, or how his little life taught me so much about love. genuine. strong. overflowing love! Jay, you're so special! i will alwyas love you little sweet pea. and never will i forget you, you are a gift.

try a new recipe

i love trying new recipes
however, at the same time... if i find something good i will make it over and over and over

examples:
my granny's recipe for cookies : toll house cookies, works every time
stir fry with peanut sauce and rice noodles... my own concoction that i started making when we got married, and i'm sure one of these days michael will wish i had never come across it (meaning that when i don't know what to make... i make that!)

i received a whole bunch of cookbooks as wedding/shower gifts, and i spent some time flipping through them marking recipes that i would like to try
problem is, it's way quicker for me to go to my favorite cooking/baking website (http://www.cooks.com/) and search a topic and find a new exciting recipe on there!

i've begun making my own recipe book. a few years ago i typed out my mom's favorite recipes into a binder for her, and i have since recopied those recipes for myself, ripped recipes out of magazines, copied recipes out of books instead of buying them (only a couple times... sometimes i photocopied...) because i just want to have a book that is the best of the best.

and other times i take recipes and modify them, to make them my own
a couple months ago leah and i modified a recipe to make "leah and ashley's chocolately moist apple banana lite on the sugar muffins" altho i think we had a better name at the time. this name certainly is descriptive if nothing else!

so, i encourage you to try a new recipe, if it's bad, throw it out and try a new one! and if it's good, well... modify it and create things like "ashley's never fails perfectly peanut-y rice noodle stir fry"
mmm delicious

Here is one of my delicious finds: try it i dare you! (except mom, don't try it, it has feta!)
********************
Artichoke and Feta Hot Dip

1 can artichoke hearts (drained and chopped)
8 oz crumbled feta cheese
1 cup mayo
½ c grated or shredded parmesan cheese
2 oz jar of diced pimientos drained
1 garlic clove crushed

Mix mayo, garlic and pimiento. Add drained and chopped artichoke hearts.
Preheat oven to 350.
Fold in the cheeses (they’ll melt thru the whole dish).
Transfer to 9” pie plate or 3 cup baking dish.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. After the top is browned and the cheese is melted and bubbly, carefully remove the dip from the oven.
Allow to set before serving.
****************************

on a side note, right now it feels like michael and i are on vacation
we are in our jammies and came to sit outside on our front step. there aren't many street lights on our street so it is delightfully dim, we've seen a few people walking around and even someone driving by really slowly (we think maybe it's our new neighbour just checking out their place?)
michael is smoking a cigar (from cuba, if i close my eyes it actually smells like we are in cuba!)
and we are sipping deliciously dark coffee... mmm
also, since our internet is 'borrowed', it works better outside than inside! who knew?
i told michael that it felt like we were on vacation and he said that we should try always sort of feel like that, so true, a vacation that never ends!

go where you've never been

easy one! i love traveling, and trying new places.
our family rarely goes to the same place when we travel (we did go to florida a few times, but always stayed in different places in florida)

go where i've never been to me means taking risks, trusting instinct, letting God lead the way, having fun and just going for it!

the other half of that for me would then be "go where you've never been, and remember the places you have!"

enjoying the places you've been, the memories you've made, inside jokes, special stories, new experiences... even the bad not so delightful memories, they are all part of the experience.

speaking of places we've been... i have some pictures from the weekend to show. I took 300 pictures but will only post a couple on here!! enjoy

drink plenty of water * worry less * love what you do

i'm about to try and fall asleep in my comfy bed next to my husband
we have the fan going almost full speed, as this is the first evening it's actually felt hot in our house (due to outside weather instead of the furnace!)
i'm updating my ipod so i can listen at work and we're watching an episode of friends
i shouldn't have said i would have to try to fall asleep, truth be told, as soon as i put my head down on the pillow i will be out
we got home so late last night (1 am) and it was back to work first thing this morning!

i went past the hospital to see my grandma after work and she was wearing her dentures!
you can tell it's been a good day when she's wearing her dentures. it takes some getting used to now, but her spirits were very good and her feeding tube is out, so she felt good today.

so now, to catch up on my 'daily inspirations'

drink plenty of water... mmm water. i find there are some times in the day when all i can think about is how good it would feel to chug a giant glass of ice cold well water

when i think of a hot summer day i think of being at home in anola playing in the yard with my brother, and when it was so hot that we would go to the side of the house, turn on the outdoor water tap and drink straight from it... mm refreshment
drinking plenty of water is something i do happily and willingly!

worry less... i don't think worrying is too much of a problem for me. depends on the day i guess. i don't worry as much as i overthink, or is that the same thing? i don't think it is. either way, doing that a little less would be nice!

and love what you do, mm this is a good one
i'm more for loving what you do rather than doing something to please other people
again this weekend i had to stand up for myself and explain yet again why i chose not to pursue music therapy right now. i was even told that i should 'just get a degree' so that i was 'more valuable' to people. interesting. all of that is more important than happiness? not to me

i'm happy in my job right now. there is a lot of admin work, which i find enjoyably repetitive, but to make it even better there are tons of challenges to the job that keep me thinking and working hard. i think that maybe if i was just answering phones it would get overwhelming, but there are always things to figure out and learn.

at the same time, if my contract is done in march (if elenore decides to come back), i think it will be fun to look at my options. i have some ideas in mind, but i'm going to mull them over in my head for awhile. ask if you're interested!

either way, i think it's very important to love what you do. and to just enjoy life! even if i had the worst job, i would still have the rest of the day evening and weekend to love other things that i can do! hopefully this week we will plant some flowers, i would LOVE to do that. :)

stay posted, i'm going to put up some pictures from the weekend tomorrow i think.
xox