portland.

once upon a time i packed up all the necesseties for a spontaneous overnight road trip and headed to portland with my friend dorina. it's spring break for me, so we decided that we'd get out of town and have a mini adventure! she has a good friend from high school who lives in portland, so we already had a place to stay, and since she grew up there, she could show me all the best spots to see.

it was a drive full of good conversation and music, with the first stop in portland at a home grown little bakery where every baked delight begged to be the focus of my camera lens. we walked along the main street in that part of town and stopped in many of the abundant little boutiques to admire. from there, we headed to the waterfront and then to downtown. i found a couple of shirts on bigtime sale at the gap, what a deal! then we went to another part of town, 39th street, where we did more of the same. boutique shopping until we got hungry, then pizza at an old pizza shop where dori used to eat all the time! we topped that off with some gelatto and more walking, then set up camp at starbucks to relax and read for a little while. dinner at pf changes (mmm, lettuce wraps!), the well-known powell's bookstore, and then a drink (which none of us actually finished because they were so strong) with dori's friend kristen at a place called beaker and flask. kristen (a science nerd like myself) picked the place because she thought the drinks would actually be served in beakers and flasks, but not quite. it was still fun though, dori thinks the two of us are long lost twins. i think i might agree. then home, to sleep in one of the most comfortable beds i've slept in since i've moved here. i forget that the bed at my house here isn't really that comfortable after all...last night i felt like i was sleeping on clouds!

overall, it was a fun fun trip, full of good friends and good food, shopping and walking. i always love to explore new cities! the end.

tea party.

last saturday my friends dorina and kelsey hosted a tea party for all the girls. there was a great turnout- probably around 15 showed up! i went over to dorina's house early to help bake cinnamon scones. the dough was so delightful and i like it better than the scones themselves! that's typical though. i think batter is always better.

the tea party relates to something that mark said in a sermon a few weeks ago. in a matter of weeks, mars hill will be hosting it's biggest service ever, inviting all the mars hill campuses to come together for the first time since the 90's for a huge easter celebration at quest field. the point? essentially, to practice what it will be like in heaven! mark preached on the parable of the great feast, pointing out how the host prepared an exquisite banquet, but those who said they would come made up excuses instead. so he sent the word out to the poor and homeless, the broken and the dirty, inviting them in to the decadence. the host wasn't stingy, and he celebrated lavishly, in the same way that there will be feasting in heaven, with the best of meats and the finest of wines (is. 25:6)- our God is generous. and we will be dressed in fine linen, white, representing that we are clean, righteous, redeemed in Christ (rev. 19:8). the invitation is extended to all. in the same way, we here should be practicing such hospitality! we should be celebrating the fact that our God is great, and that he redeems. so mark challenged us all to throw a party, to invite people from all walks of life, neighbors, friends, co-workers, and when they ask what the occasion is, to tell them that we are practicing for heaven, celebrating because our God is worth it. he gives generously and we want to as well.

so here's to a tea party with cinnamon scones, all done in the name of a gracious God!

a smattering.

well i won't even bother trying to catch up on everything since the last time i posted, there's certainly no time for that. the days are still packed, with work soaking up a fat 11 hours tuesday through friday. it always seems so much more chilly when i'm scraping ice off my car at 6 in the morning in the dark. i've devised a new breakfast and i'm quite enjoying it- old fashioned oatmeal with peanut butter and cinnamon. it's like eating a cookie, seriously. and it's nice and warm to gobble up before i jump in my 30 degree car, or to eat at the stoplights from a thermos on my way to work. i have quite the routine down these days.

and yet i still manage to find time to cook once a week at least. i've been borrowing cookbooks from the library- giada de laurentis' pasta for every occasion, ina garten's back to basics, and martha stewart's great food fast. they all have some great stuff in them, i'm considering actually purchasing one of the three. this past week i made a blue cheese alfredo sauce that i had over whole wheat penne with sauteed mushrooms and onions.

the week before it was a veggie pasta bake. and this week i'm making salmon corn chowder. last week i also managed to bake up some pumpkin bread and some killer mint brownies, they might as well be fudge. it's a good thing they're about gone, i can't keep my hands off of them. (community group is always a great excuse to bake up a treat). i also have 4 very brown bananas hanging out on my countertop...banana bread is next on the list. i promised my friend jill at work that i would bring her some. that was going to be tonight's treat, but susie and i ended up cooking dinner for our neighbors across the street (turkey meatloaf was my contribution, cheesy potatoes was susie's). we're headed over there as soon as the potatoes are done.

i've also been renting books on cd from the library, which makes the drive go by much more quickly. next on the list: sense and sensibility by jane austen.

the weekend before last i got to go to a seminar put on by my church on marriage and family. it's not as wierd as it sounds, there were plenty of single people there. we'll take all the biblical advice we can get on things such as that! it was a day full of great information. now i'm not married, but here are some of the highlights that i picked up on from a single gal's point of view:

-women often get a negative vibe from the biblical word "helper." the speaker pointed out that when you need help, you go to someone strong, someone you can trust, someone who can help you. it's the same idea: women are helpers to their husbands in the strongest sense of the word.
-there is a reason for romance. it is the ultimate reality- it is the way the Lord pursues and loves us. through our marriages, the gospel is proclaimed.
-men are always asking the questions "am i man enough for this?" while women ask "do you really like me?" when both respective parts are answering that question for their partner on a regular basis, it is a life-giving relationship, full of freedom.
-everything of worth is costly, and everything good takes time and effort.

i took at least 4 pages of notes, so to condense down to 4 points is hardly doing it justice. if you're curious, check it out on http://www.marshillchurch.org/. for more of mark's preaching on the matter, check out this page: http://blog.marshillchurch.org/2010/12/14/how-to-honor-your-wife/. good stuff.

we had a long lunch break during the seminar, which can be summed up in one photo:

berry cobbler a'la'mode.

and i'll leave you with that.