When Lightning Strikes

It's common talk around the water cooler by now that we have had some crazy storms this summer. We've had tornados hit in our general vicinity. We've had flooding and winds and all sorts of craziness. Bad storms are becoming old news around here. So it wasn't surprising that Thursday night we were expecting another storm. We had one wednesday night too, so why not Thursday?

I went to bed in normal conditions. No wind, no rain, no storm. Sometime during the night I awoke from a sound sleep to a sound unlike any thunder I had ever heard before. I don't even begin to know how to describe how it sounded but it was loud and close and really freaked me out. I remember my voice saying out loud, "What the heck was that?" Then I clung to John as my racing heart gradually resumed it's normal rate. After that initial "wake up" boom the storm was there. It was thundering, lightning and raining alot but nothing like that explosion to start it all. I didn't think much of it after that and eventually fell back asleep.

The next morning when I went out to my car to go to work I discovered what I think we heard and that is a tree getting struck by lightning in front of our apartment building. I saw splinters of wood strewn all over the parking lot and then saw the tree stripped of bark all the way down in certain parts and charred. Creepy. So I can tell you that when lightning strikes close to home you'll know it. And even if you're asleep, it will wake you up cause it's a crazy terrifying sound.

Bugs, Bugs and More Bugs

I have to start out this post by saying that I really hate bugs! That being said I have sort of a strange fascination of nature and seeing bugs or other critters, as long as they pose no direct threat to me, mostly meaning, when they are dead.  Take, for instance, the spider pictured below.

I would say this spider would be very scary if it were alive. I mean look at the meat on it's bones! However, when I found it in my room at work it was dead. Even then it was hard for me to get too close and it took me almost a week before I worked up the guts to sweep it up and throw it away.

The next photo is of a daddy long legs that was camped out in a corner of my work room. He didn't really bother me because he just stayed in his corner during the work ours. But I did think it was fascinating that one day I looked over at him and he was feasting on a roly poly. And not only that, but not shown in the picture is that he had 3 other roly poly's on the floor. For other meals? Dessert? One can only speculate. The picture is very blurry because I could not bring myself to get any closer than that to a live specimen.

I'm seriously getting itchy just writing this post and I haven't even gotten to the main part yet. The main part is that John and I became aware that we were living with some bugs, quite a few actually. I am not talking about your spiders that show up once in a while or even those ghastly monster centipedes though I abhor those despicable creatures. We actually still don't know exactly what they are. However we do know what they are not, and that is bed bugs.

A few weeks ago now we had discovered some bugs under our bed in a pull out wood drawer we used for storage of linens. There were only a few but with John's job and all the outbreaks of bed bugs in the news we were certainly leery. We washed the drawer and all the stuff inside and hoped that was the end of it. However, it was not to be. We tore apart our whole bed set and threw out almost everything under the bed. Much of it was infested with these tiny bugs. We vacuumed and cleaned as best we could. We inspected every inch of everything around the bed. Oddly enough there were no bugs on the bed, box spring or frame. So that was a plus. We still weren't sure though. I brought a specimen to work to look at with a magnifier and they looked a little like a bed bug in the early stages. I had a friend look at it who had bed bugs before and he thought it looked similar. That was enough for us. So we were 99% sure we had bed bugs at this point.

Magnified many times. The actual size is like 1-2 mm. Very tiny.

Then I found some bugs in our closet as well. That was the last straw for me. We called our apartment complex to let them know our fears and they said they would send a pest company to take a look. That was last thursday morning when I called. I took a 1/2 day and off on Friday. We had alot of work to do. We inspected every item in our bookcase from pens to paper and bagged in sealed bags. We bagged all our clothes in the closet as well.  Basically everything from our shelves and closets got bagged or thrown out. We vacuumed everything. It was a ton of work and by Saturday I was exhausted.  Plus I wasn't sleeping at all because of the bug situation and wondering if they were coming for me in my sleep.

I will say that through this whole ordeal God had given me great peace. Other than the not sleeping part I was rather calm about everything. I think John and I were both just learning to be resigned to the reality of the situation and the fact that we had little control. We could only do so much. Some good did come of things too. We drew together very well and made a great team. We also got rid of a bunch of stuff and were reminded again of how much unnecessary stuff we own and can do without. I also found a skirt I thought I had lost 2 years ago. That was really exciting and I wore it Sunday.

I think the most frustrating part of this whole ordeal, other than the bugs themselves, is our apartment complex's seemingly lackadaisical approach to this problem. I called thursday morning and was told she would call for pest control and let me know when they could come. No one came and I never received a call. Thursday evening John went to the office and talked to the manager. She said she would send someone the next day that she didn't even know about the problem. I was home all day. No one came. I called and was assured they would come Saturday. Saturday by 11:30. No one. I called and she could not guarantee me they were coming but she would find out and call me. No call, but they did come. He wasn't in our apartment too long, but did a quick inspection. He was 100% sure they weren't bed bugs so we were extremely relieved as you can imagine. He did not know exactly what they were but thought some kind of beetle. I've never seen anything like them before.

So anyway, we celebrated having peace of mind and no bed bugs. Of course that doesn't take away from the fact that we do still have some sort of little creatures that think they are welcome when they most certainly are not. He said he would come back this Wed. to spray. Did not come. We called the pest company and they said they would get back to us. No call. The office called me and the manager didn't even know he came by on Saturday so there is lots of miscommunication. She said someone was going to come by this morning to do an inspection again (I did tell her about saturday but she insisted). So I said fine and left out a note with specimens, etc. I got home from work and no one came. I went to the office to find out why not and was told they already did the inspection saturday (DUH!) and no one would be back to spray til mid next week. Really?!

So now here I sit. In front of me is a giant pile of our stuff in oversized plastic bags. Over a week ago I called to report some bugs and if it was not for our diligent efforts at cleaning and killing bugs every day who knows how bad things would be. I voiced my frustration about our apartment being torn apart and the lady at the office actually told me that I could put all our stuff back. Excuse me? If you had bugs crawling on the walls in your closet, would you put your clothes back in? If your closets were going to be sprayed with some sort of pesticide would you want your clean clothes in the same room? I think not!

So we'll see what happens next week in this continuing saga of the mysterious bugs. In the meantime I will just continue to be grateful that they aren't bed bugs. At least I can sleep with that knowledge, though I am still itchy from all this writing about bugs. Yuck!

Spontaneity is the Spice of Life!

I am a planner. I plan everything and sometimes have to remember that life can't always be planned. Today was a day, however that I did not plan. I was spontaneous and a simple question turned into a wonderful date with my husband. 

After church today we had one errand to run, go to Target. We headed to our car in the church parking lot after the service and that's when I asked my simple question, "Do you want to walk?" (Target is not that far from church) My wonderful husband said yes (even though it was in the 90's today). So we started out on our trek to Target. Most of the side streets were shaded so that helped, but the closer we got the less shaded it became and we were both pretty hot by the time we got there. 

We had a leisurely stroll through Target picking up the few items we needed and cooling off in the process.  We made another spontaneous decision at that point and that was to go out to lunch to the little fast food restaurant by Target. They have great gyros and ice cream. So we went to Nikkos for lunch, split a gyro and fries and then got some delicious flavored soft serve ice cream to go. 

It seemed like a good idea to me, in theory, to walk back with our ice cream in tow so it would keep us cool on the "long" journey. Well....it turned out to be quite the adventure being as hot as it was outside. The ice cream was melting as soon as we got outside and we couldn't keep up with it fast enough. By the time we were halfway back the ice cream was gone and what wasn't gone was on our hands, faces and shirts. It was only then I had the thought, "Maybe it would've been better for us to get it in cups." But then we would have missed out on the fun of ice cream on a hot summer day! 

And all that happened just because I asked, "want to walk?"

Maybe I should practice spontaneity more often.

Destination: India

I am sitting here listening to the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack as I write this for a few reasons. One reason is because I have it stuck in my head and really like it and the second reason is to continue to get into an Indian frame of mind. Today we "went to" India via food and travel dvd. Pretty much the same way we went to Japan a while back. This time though we brought some friends along with us for the ride. That was a nice touch!

I will admit traveling to India was much more difficult a challenge than Japan. For starters I had little idea what anything would taste like only having tried Indian food once in my life many moons ago. Even then I don't know what I ate. So choosing recipes that would be enjoyed by all was not easy. I had picked up a cookbook from the library but had to scrap that. However, by the end of the week with still no idea what to make I hit the jackpot with the Food Network website. I found a million recipes that sounded delicious. Then it was just a matter of narrowing down what I wanted to make. That was a challenge too for this indecisive girl.

Menu:

Mango Iced Tea
Nan and Another wheat flatbread (the name escapes me)
Dips for the bread given to me by my dear friend Lisa (Dal Makhani & Palak Paneer)
Hot Indian Snack Mix
Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower & Potatoes)
Basmati Rice (This came out perfect following this recipe. I didn't even need the rice cooker)
Coleslaw with Cumin-Lime Vinaigrette
Vegetable Curry with Mango Salsa Sambal
Dessert: Mango Kulfi (Indian Mango Ice Cream) 
This one did not work out :(
Dessert: Vanilla ice cream with mangos, raspberries compliments of Lisa, and chocolate syrup


Once the menu was decided the next challenge was finding all the ingredients. Luckily we live in a very international city and I was able to locate an Indian grocery store not too far from our place, Patel Brothers. So John and I headed out on our first adventure there. It had really tight aisles and was busy but we were able to find everything we were looking for.

Spices and snack mix I got from the Indian store.
We also got some flat breads not pictured.

Next step was shopping for produce. I think I picked a recipe with about every vegetable imaginable. I actually felt bad for the checkout girl because I had a billion bagged veggies.

I love how fresh and inviting the colorful vegetation looks!

Only when I got home did I realize the mountain ahead of me. While all those veggies look delicious and they are, they needed to be prepared. And that means lots and lots of chopping. So I turned up the Indian tunes I got from the library and had at it. By the end of the night I had just about used every container I owned to store the veggies til morning.

After church today the cooking began and did go rather smoothly. The real question of course would be if everything was edible and tasty. It was hard to take pictures during the process because John was drumming so I was on my own to start. I did not have enough hands or time to do both, but we did get most of the finished dishes on camera. I was very excited that things seemed to be looking very much edible and smelled very aromatic.

One of the flatbreads. This one was a huge hit and I will definitely buy again.

Aloo Gobi. So Delicious and easy and I will be making again.

Coleslaw. This one I could have done without, but it was ok. We have lots leftover if you want any.

Once John got home he was able to help me with some dish washing, table setting and last minute photos before our guests arrived.

Who knew this tiny kitchen could be so international?

The bulk of the Vegetable curry. I did not get a shot with it all together.
Everyone did enjoy this though. Looks like Veggie stew.

Our semi-finished table, minus sliverware, glasses, tea, main dishes and some flatbread.
So in other words we didn't get a great "finished" shot either.

We finished everything up and just set the table when our guests arrived. I had to ask myself how many people I was cooking for because it looked like a feast. But of course I hadn't tasted anything yet. I know, that's a chef's number one rule about cooking, taste everything. Well, I guess it's a good thing I'm not a chef. I'm just a girl who likes to cook. There is no Chef Ramsey in my kitchen!  It wasn't too far in though that I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. It was all good and everyone enjoyed it. We ate a lot and have a lot left over for this week. Yay for leftovers!

We so enjoyed our lunch together and after a brief clean up were able to watch a few travel dvd's about India. It is such an interesting culture and country. There is a vast array of diversity in food, culture and ethnicities between the various parts of the country that I was not aware of. Following our film trip we headed back to the table for some dessert and good conversation. Our time was drawing to a close, but what a sweet time it was.

Some of the dvd's and books I got from the library to aid us on our "journey"

It was so much fun to take some people along with us on our "trip." We did pray briefly for India before dinner and then again after our guests departed. In a country mostly Hindu or Muslim they are in need of the truth as well.

If I had to do it again I may have picked a simpler recipe than the one I did for the curry. It was pretty complicated. However, it all turned out great and I am so excited that my husband allows me to be creative and daring in the kitchen. So far so good. Well.....other than the dessert that flopped, but I will blame that on a lousy recipe :)

I feel like this trip was a learning experience for me in so many ways. Sometimes I allow myself to get so stressed out and most often its unfair expectations or burdens I put on myself. Then I get mad at myself and that stresses me out more. It's not a great cycle. And often I just need to let go, to give up control, to shrug my shoulders and say ok, let's do it and not look back. I second guess, and third guess and so on myself until I drive myself nuts. Anyway, so God was revealing some of this to me this morning as he filled me with his peace and love. I am so amazed by the God I serve.

Secondly it was very cool to get out of my comfort zone in the kitchen. I was using new spices and new recipes that I really had no idea of the taste. I'm not even sure what it's supposed to taste like. But it all worked out.

Thirdly, we were built for relationships. Deep friendships are such a gift and I cherish moments of connection with others. I was so thankful for our companionship this afternoon and just struck again by the goodness of  a God who blesses us in so many ways!

Fourthly I think I am discovering another passion in me that I never knew was there. God has totally been showing me who he made me to be and it's really cool. When I went through my life-changing discipleship/ missions program I chose a life verse for myself, one that I thought reflected my purpose in life.

I chose 1 Peter 4:8-10 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in it's various forms."


I could understand why I felt this was a good verse for with everything except the hospitality part. I don't grumble, but I never thought that was something I was very gifted at. However, God is revealing otherwise to me. He has been showing me what an act of service, love and in turn worship this act can be. We may not be able to eat a feast everyday, that would be gluttony, but if anyone graces us with their presence at our house then I think God approves of us fixing a feast for a King. Because ultimately our goal is to give back to Him what He has given to us and to share His love with others.

I am so thankful that God knows us better than we know ourselves and continues His good work in us. This trip to India has been a wonderful journey and though it had it's moments of frustration and exhaustion it was also completely enlightening and uplifting.

Where should we go next?