Praying for Bananas

My parents have had this banana tree in their backyard for years now but it has never borne any fruit.  Its big green leaves swayed around almost like a promise of something to come, but I think until now, they've only ever been there for show.

I've been spending a ton of time in the backyard as to soak up as much of this wonderfully cool and temperate weather before the 100+ degree wave comes to smack me in the face #DesertLiving.  On one of these little afternoon siestas, I looked at the barren banana tree and prayed that God would bring fruit to it.  Why not?  I giggled at myself and continued to read my book.  I had forgotten about that little prayer almost instantly.

Friends, would you believe that not 2 weeks later, this big beauty came out to say hi to the world?

big, light, geometric, beautiful banana tree leaves

Why am I still so surprised when God answers even my fleeting prayers?  I think that He might have fun answering these simple and practical prayers because they might increase our hopes to pray for things that require more faith. 

Just for fun, I thought that I would also pray for my lemon, avocado, and apple trees to grow...

Here are some more shots from my "winter" siestas in the backyard.  I'm thinking of turning these pictures into magnets as a gift for my parents.  Hopefully they like my little homage to all of their hard garden labors!

Like a Tall Glass of Lemonade

I don't remember where I saw these little beauties, but I had to snap them because they reminded me of pink lemonade- don't you think?  Not that Southern California has been cold at all this last Winter, but it's been getting even warmer for us and it's put me in the mood for such a cool drink.  Not to mention that the first days of Lent have been reminders of the fast-approaching Spring.

Anyway, I spent the first part of the day making some lemonade and enjoying my book outside.  Oh, yeah, and here's a little song (by Jeremy Passion, fellow Filipino bradda) appropriately called "Lemonade."  Take it easy, friends, the weekend is almost here!

 

 

 

I love tossing fruit (these are blackberries) into my drinks because I love how juicy they are after having soaked in the beverage for a while.

Ingredients

1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice (~5 lemons)

4 cups of water

1 cup of ice (I like it crushed)

3/4 cup of sugar (more or less to your taste)

*if you don't have fine super fine sugar and have to use granulated sugar, like me, it's easiest to heat the 4 cups of water and dissolve the sugar in there first.  Then, I let the sweet water cool and add the rest of the ingredients afterward.  I learned this trick after a few trials of crunchy lemonade...

What I've Been Reading

How is it already March?  I guess the days would go by more quickly with some good reads to pass the time.  This cold weather makes nostalgia sit in the air and it has made me want to turn to familiar childhood classics, so you'll see a number of them here.  These old characters, fuzzy slippers and a warm cups of tea have made for cozy afternoons in.  Anywho, this is what I've read so far in this 2014 year!

 

1.  Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie- "To live will be an awfully great adventure."
    I've always been curious to see how the Disney adaptations stand up to their original stories.  I'm surprised to say that they stayed pretty true to Peter's character- a haughty and irreverent (but sometimes sentimental) boy who fancies himself invincible.  How ironic that children, as fragile as they are, are also teeming with a boundlessness that really does make them untouchable.  I think that Peter Pan, at least in part, is celebrating this duality.


2. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde- "Nowadays people know the price of everything but the value of nothing."
    It's a lesson about facing yourself and it's a hard lesson at that.


3. Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery- "It is such a mysterious place, the land of tears." 
   Very few books can make you change the way you see the world in so few pages.  Reading this book is like walking through a dream where the concerns of your everyday life seem to fall in distance.  By the end of it, you hope that you will love better and live more simply.


4. Tattoos on the Heart by Fr. Gregory Boyle- "Can we stay faithful and persistent in our fidelity even when things seem not to succeed?  I suppose Jesus could have chosen a strategy that worked better (evidence-based outcomes) - that didn't end in the Cross- but he couldn't find a strategy more soaked with fidelity than the one he embraced" 
   Stop me now, lest I quote the entire book.  What a wonder- this is a must read.


5. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame- "...and still as he lived, he wondered."
    A book about being content- all you need are loyal friends, a warm hearth, good food, and a patch of grass near the river.  Mmm, I feel like I could read this book at every Spring and rejoin the merry company of Mr. Mole, Ratty, and MacBadger.


6. Making Room for Leadership by M.K. Morse- "A leader who uses his or her power well seeks to understand other views"
    I read this book as part of a women's leadership book club.  It was helpful to talk about power dynamics and how we must use what power we have to influence for God's purposes on this earth and it includes creating space for the marginalized to come to the center.  An interesting read for anybody in even non-religious leadership.

Dogs of My Life

Here's one pup that is just the best at cuddling.  Webster is one of the chillest dogs in town, and some of my favorite moments are when he mills about the porch to bask in the sunlight.  I'm a sucker for animals, I can't lie.

Haha, he's so tired of me taking pictures of him- but I can't help it, he's so still he's the perfect pet to snap!

It's a Natural Walk

I went out for a little nature walk the other day and I liked the place that I found so much that I re-visited it the next morning with my parents. I've had a lot of time with my parents lately since moving back in with them and it's surprising what I've been realizing about myself while in their company.

The infallible labels of mother and father that you hold as a child (I recognize that I'm lucky enough to say that I have grown up with good parents) become translucent and you begin to see your parents as people: people with flaws, people with interests, people with dreams unfulfilled, people with secrets, people with hopes, people who try to live their lives as best as they know how.  You see them as people who were once where you currently are and despite the scrapes that you might've incurred along the way, the whole thing makes you want to applaud them for having made it out alive and kickin'.

In my mid/late-twenties, I've found myself where nobody in their mid/late-twenties expects to be and that's back at home with the parents, almost completely financially dependent on them.  But, it doesn't feel like bottom: it feels like a gift to be with them.  I think I'm going through a cherishing phase right now.  I know that I'm one of the lucky ones who can say they had a loving childhood, but I almost wish that more people my age had to live with their parents so that they could cherish them and make peace with their pasts.  It's not like any of us are getting any younger.

Anywho, I'm getting sentimental.  Here are some photos from our walk

I have no idea what kind of bird this is, but he let me get pretty close to him to take a photo so I think he must be friendly!

Pictures taken around the Jurupa Regional Park

Playlist- Good Morning Sunshine

Not waking up to my alarm + taking too long to get ready = bad habit of Eleanor starting off her days late.  You're familiar with this problem, yes?  To help remedy this, I've made a morning playlist in order to help me time my mornings better- I should be finished by the time the playlist is through.  Here are some songs from that playlist! Just a little sum'n, sum'n to get ya moving in the morning.

Gourds with Mackenzie

A few weeks ago (I know, I'm super behind), I visited Kenzie, one of the lovely ladies that I lived with this summer.  We spent the afternoon chatting, laughing, and cooking.  I'm sure that we caused quite a ruckus.  It was wonderful.

I don't have a picture of my gorgeous, curly-haired comrade (because I'm a forgetful fool) but I hope you enjoy the details of our afternoon spent in her airy apartment.  We made a sauce with some butternut squash and ladled it over some spinach pasta.  I don't have an exact recipe (I tend to eyeball things and do trials by taste) but here's my best guess at what went into the dish (below the last picture).

Ingredients

butternut squash (1 gourd)

minced garlic (about 2 cloves)

salt (to taste)

parmesan cheese (to taste)

milk (1/2 cup)

butter (1/4 cup)

olive oil (1 tbsp)

whatever pasta you like

(takes about 30 minutes altogether- but remember, I'm guessing!)

1. Fill a pot to about 4-6 cups of water.  Salt the water liberally.
2. While you wait for the water to boil, peel your squash and cut it into about 1-inch cubes (if you want them to cook faster, then cut the squash into smaller cubes).  Let the squash boil for about 10-15 minutes or until it mashes fairly easily to your touch).  Because these gourds can be quite firm, this task can be pretty laborious and might take some longer than others so you might want to get this step started a little bit before you begin boiling the water if you suspect you'll need the time.
3. While the butternut squash is boiling, begin cooking the pasta.  Follow the instructions on the packaging of your selected pasta.
4.  When you suspect that the squash is under 5 minutes of being done, add olive oil to a deep pan on medium-high heat.  Add minced garlic and let roast for about 30 seconds (or until golden).
5. Add butter to pan and let melt.  While butter is melting, add drained squash to the pan.
6. Begin mashing squash with fork or whisk.  Slowly add milk (about 2 tbsp at a time) until you have your desired creamy consistency.
7. Add salt and parmesan cheese to taste
8. Put it all together and you got a tasty, vegetarian meal! 
9. Optional*: add basil or rosemary to garnish.  And if you want to play into the flavor of the squash, add a dash of cinnamon, cumin, or nutmeg to your sauce for a little depth!
10. Enjoy! 

Magic Makers

I'm one of those creepy people who likes Disneyland to levels inappropriate for their age bracket.  At one point, I was frequenting the park so much that I had even begun creating passing friendships with some of the ride workers (I'm both terribly embarrassed and slightly proud of this fact all at the same time).  However, the inevitable happened and my coveted, most beloved golden ticket to the magical kingdoms of Adventure, Fantasy and Tomorrow was torn from my grips: in other, less hysterical words, my annual pass expired.

I hate to admit how truly devastated I was- still am- at this.  The days just seemed a little less golden. 

I think I know why us Disneyland ex-pats find life on this side of the turnstiles so somber and it's because Disney creates all of the magic for you; Snow in southern California?  Sure, why not!  Barbershop quartets singing your favorite tunes?  Please enjoy these luscious harmonies with a delicious churro!  High five-ing most beloved characters from your childhood?  ...I think that's Burt the chimney sweep over there!  Fly over the city lights of London and into a starry night sky?  You bet!  Jovial laughter of children and of children at heart?  Better than the sound of our sweeping orchestral suites- which are playing 24 hours for your entertainment, by the way.

I won't deny that I've retreated many a time to this wonderland after a hard day; it's as if I could forget everything for a few hours and become part of these fairy tales where villains are vilified, heroes are heroic, complex emotions could be expressed freely in song form, and where flying is just a happy thought and some pixie dust away.  But life isn't like this, is it?

Save the long lines and overpriced food, it's really easy to be happy here.  However, not everyone has this privilege to do away with the difficulties of everyday life- escapism in practice is often times less cute and lighthearted.

I realized- albeit, forcibly- that I could no longer rely on Disneyland to be my source of ease and fun: I had to make my own magic.  I thought, "I should try tandem biking myself with friends instead of just watching the Dapper Dans do it.  And it's January, I should really just go to a place where it's actually snowing."  You see?  Creating my own magic.

This is not to say that I don't miss Disneyland because I do.  But, we all know that there is life to be lived in full out here and so, I'll try my best to continue filling my days with family, friends, good food, good music, and lots of flowers, without the help of Mr. Mouse.  So, attempt #1: visiting the LA Arboretum and Botanical Gardens with my cousins!

The Spirituality of Making Stuff

The 20 mph winds of Southern California brought with them an insatiable desire for lemon bars.  Just kidding, I always want lemon bars- any lemon flavored pastry for that matter.  There is nothing so satisfying as eating food that you've made from scratch.

While waiting for the lemon bars to cool off, I sat at the piano and worked on recording a rough draft of  this song.  Of course, I didn't get to have an orchestra nor Gene Kelly in my production but by the end I thought, there is nothing so satisfying as playing through a beloved piece of music.

Soon, idle hands needed a new activity and I began to paint a journal that I got from a work conference this last week.  I wasn't expecting it to look any certain way, I just wanted to paint.  As the paint dried, I mused that there is nothing so satisfying as beholding something you've just painted.

One of my favorite things about God is that he is an artist.  I think that God likes that he's a creator of stuff- trees, fish, molten lava and people alike.  As an artist- whether ye be a butcher, a baker, a candlestick maker, a painter, a dancer, an engineer, a musician, a poet, a chemist, or fashion designer- we create stuff and in doing so, we get to take part in that sacred activity which is, I'm sure, one of God's most favorite things to do.  So, create on, friends and glory be to the One who painted the sky into existence, danced the celestial beings into luminance and baked up this little life of ours!

 

Pictures from my Instagram

Lessons Learned in the Mediteranean

Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, France... of course this trip was supposed to change my life.  I learned a lot about my family, about the cultures that I visited, and about myself and how I would like to see parts of my life be lived out.  The following list is not comprehensive, but it's a start. 

Here is my best attempt at putting a bow on this incredible, can't believe it happened, I'm so crazy privileged, experience of a lifetime.  Lessons learned:

Don't feel guilty about resting.  There's a thing called siesta, look it up.

Eat slowly.  Taste your food and be okay with reclining at a table surrounded by loved ones for a few hours.  Being with family and friends is not a waste of time and in our multi-tasking, social-media centered culture, we have to make conscious decisions to be fully present with each other.

A leisurely walk is a gift.  Take care of your feet because you never know where you'll decide to adventure next.

Invest in things that will last.