Turkey Time

So Thanksgiving is upon us and the time to gorge yourself has finally arrived.  Of course I don't intend to gorge, I'm sure no one really does, but it happens and can't be helped.  So deal with it.  Since we got invited to a friend's house this year, I have no need to prepare the normal meal...but I got a turkey anyways.  Since the turkey has been thawing, I keep going back and forth on an important issue.  No, not the brine, the brine is a given.  How to cook the bird.  Normally we stick it in our showtime rotisserie, and it turns out awesome.  But because the bird is always in motion and self basting itself, we don't get as much drippings as normal.  Because of this I feel the gravy suffers, as does the potatoes and stuffing.

So the question is applied, to Rotisserie, or not.  We'll be cooking the bird on Friday or Saturday, so stay tuned for the final results...

The Holidays...

So is anyone else looking forward to the holidays?  I'm not sure if I am, or if I'm not.  Don't get me wrong.  There are a lot of aspects about the season that I love, but then there are some I think I could do with out.  I hope to openly convey my feelings about both.

Thinking of this in time-line pattern, first on the list is Thanksgiving.  Typically, we would make some kind of trek to see family, but this year we're staying put.  Which isn't a bad thing, we've done it before.  This year feels different, and I can't explain why.  We got invited to go to a friends house, which I'm totally up for. (This guy can cook! Ask me about his balsamic reduction)  Since I love to cook, I'm hoping to do a thanksgiving style dinner at home as well, or at least cook the food and eat it as left overs.  I'd like to make a sandwich with some thinly sliced turkey (brined and cooked rotisserie style), some mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and gravy...all wrapped up in a nice warm roll....on a snowy day.  Doesn't get better than that, does it?  I think once I get one of those, I'll be happy happy.

Don't get me wrong, my life doesn't revolve around food, however I do like having meals to look forward to.  Lately I've been experimenting and cooking new things.  They've all been good, but nothing with that 'wow' factor.  Sheperd's Pie, Chili Verde are two dishes that stand out.  Both were good, but could have been better with little tweaks.  So moving on, there's my mom's birthday, Isaac's birthday, and then Christmas.  Now that is something I'm looking forward to. Mix in company holidays and it will almost be a two week trip!

First we head down to Concord, CA where we'll be staying a small moderate temporary living establishment. Centrally located, and relatively close to my favorite Mexican Restaurant, El Faro!  I give this place a 6 on a scale of 1-5.  We'll be hanging with the family for about 5 days, then it's up the coast to the in-laws in Oregon.

(Because I know my mom is thinking it, our house will be occupied by a heavily armed friend and our man-eating dogs)

We'll be up in Oregon for almost another 5 days...of course I don't know what we'll be doing, but last time we were there, there was talk of going to the coast.  So I guess it's all weather permitting, but it's still gonna be fun.  The down side is the driving...this is going to be a looooong trip.  Hopefully the weather is good and the roads are clear.

Peace!

(interesting, that in a holiday post, the only picture I put up is a burrito....)

Aspiring for the most promising results

So at work today, a few of us would use the term....do (action) and hope for the best.  Apparently that is frowned up, so in jest we now say 'Aspiring for the most promising results', because in some situations that's all you can do.  Faith is required and every aspect of life requires a little faith. (not a George Michael song).

2 or 3 weeks ago, I'm having a conversation with my pastor, just your basic chit chat, nothing too deep.  And we talked about travel and kept talking about Mexico, well one thing led to another and he stated that we (our church) needed someone like me to grab the ropes on something like that and run with it.  Before I knew it, I'm maping out travel plans, I'm contacting Missionary camps that house American groups, and organizing meetings.  Am I in over my head, or am I being drawn by a little bit of faith.

All through high school and beyond, I've had a calling to the mission field, but never had enough courage to take that plunge of full time missions.  I did a 3 month stint at a place called Rancho Agua Viva during the summer of 96.  And that was one of the hardest summers of my life, not just physically, but emotionally.  During that time, I did make some good friends whom I'm still in touch with today.  As a matter of fact, two of them are running the camp that I'm hoping to stay at next July.  Las Tres Palmas is part of Real Life Ministries and run by Dennis and Debbi Hollenbeck.  Dennis and Debbi were staff at Agua Viva during my 3 month stint and a cool set of people.

The heart is willing, but sadly we live in a society where that just isn't enough.  I would like to ask for prayer for several things over the next 8 months....

• Prayer for those who are called to this ministry
• Prayer that the resources needed are provided
• Prayer that this is God's will

-Brian

I am

I blog, therefore I am....seriously though, since I woke up this morning, I've been thinking about taking some lamaze classes.  I'm not pregnant or anything, I'm just having trouble breathing...

chili verde tonight....WOOT!