Tuesday 12 November 2013

Six Months!

As of a week ago, Jesse and I have been married for six months.  Six months!  It is amazing how fast the time has gone, but at the same time it almost feels as if we have been married forever.  I love getting to share life with him.

For our "Six Month Anniversary" we celebrated with sparkling apple juice in canning jars, a special meal that Jesse made for me, and a movie.  We are so busy these days that we treasure the times that we get to have together when we can ignore the incessant demands of school, work, and other commitments.

Here is a short pictorial summary of our first six months.  I have thoroughly enjoyed our marriage so far!  I was going to write some profound thoughts about love, psychology, and God, but I have not had time to formulate my thoughts into words.  So stay tuned for that some day!  For now, all I will say is: I love my husband!


We had the most beautiful wedding I could have ever imagined.  Photo by David Peters
We had a relaxing honeymoon on the east coast of Canada.  This photo is on a beach on PEI.
We ended our honeymoon in Ontario where we had a reception with Jesse's family.  This is a picture with his grandparents.
It was fun to be able to dress up in our wedding clothes again and take more photos - this time with horses!
Back in BC, we set up our small apartment.  We love having people over.  In this picture we had my parents and grandparents over for dinner.
Jesse got to summit Mt. Baker with some friends
On Needle Peak, one of the most amazing hikes I have ever done!
On Lady Peak with Jesse's brother Andrew and our friend Rebecca.  (We did lots of hiking this summer!)
We got to host a Thanksgiving Dinner at our apartment for some friends.

Friday 25 October 2013

I Love Theatre

I love theatre, and today I was reminded again why.

Well, there are many things that I enjoy about it: being on stage, drawing people into a story, costumes (I still love dress-up!), and the many other branches of the arts that are represented in promotional materials, sets and music.

But what I love most about it is the community.  Theatre brings people together in a way that I haven't experienced with anything else.  As a cast (and crew) you are there for each other, learn from each other, encourage and challenge each other, and laugh together (a lot).

In the practice today for the play I am currently directing, The Secret Garden, we were working on memorization.  A few of the actors were away because of various commitments, and so I decided that memory work was a better use of our time than trying to do run-throughs with half of the cast missing.  We sat in a circle and went through the dialogue scene by scene, first with the scripts and then trying it without.  I thought that the practice went very well, not just because we covered quite a few scenes, but also because we had such a great time while we were doing it, actually spending a good portion of our time laughing.  What was so funny?  Tones of voice, paraphrased lines that only got across the rough meaning of the lines that were supposed to be said, looks of terror on faces as they realized it was their line next, fake laughter that inevitably lead to real laughter.  It doesn't sound so funny in writing, but it was an opportunity for a good laugh, which can be hard to find in the stresses of papers, midterms, and daily problems.  There was no need to feel awkward or self-conscious, because everyone knew that everyone was in it together.  Everyone made mistakes.  No one had it perfect.  And we were a team.

Whenever I think about the community that is formed around a play, I think that it is a picture of the Church.  A group of people gathers together in a common purpose.  No one has it all figured out, but they are there to help each other, encourage each other, and challenge each other to do their best.  It is a safe place to step out of your comfort zone, try something new, and be empowered.  It is an opportunity for discipleship, mentoring, and teamwork.  And the best part is that it doesn't just stay with that community: others are welcomed in with open arms.  In theatre this happens with the performances, when the audience is invited into the story of the play.  And as the Church, our calling is to reach out to the world around us, welcoming them into our family.

No wonder theatre is such a source of joy for me.

Tuesday 22 October 2013

Kitchen Crazy

Jesse was gone all day on Sunday, and apparently when he is gone I go a little kitchen crazy... and this was the result.

I need to be careful, or he will go away more often!

I decided to make turkey tetrazinni with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, but I didn't have egg noodles... no problem, I'll make my own egg noddles!

I never made noodles before.  It was a very interesting process - easy, but time consuming!

The noodles took only seconds to cook

I used goat cheese and almond milk, so Jesse could eat it!

And I decided to make a cake too... mainly because I wanted to use up some of the store-bought jam that has been sitting in our fridge for months!

Nutella makes a great icing!

Pretty cake!  (Mrs. Blenkin's chocolate cake recipe - so easy and yummy.)  Side note - that's my new mug in the background, I love it!

A fancy supper for Jesse when he got home!

Monday 21 October 2013

Fall Happiness

Happiness is...

Unexpected afternoon sunshine
Crunchy autumn leaves

Being finished your last midterm


Hello World!

Yes, I have decided to start a blog.  Why, you may ask?  It is primarily because I enjoy sharing things from my life, but I do not want to become annoying on facebook.  Now I can happily chat away about the things I love on this blog, and you only need to read about it if you want to!

Enjoy!