Life is Beautiful (or so The Afters say)

I couldn't agree more...

And here's proof:

This is my niece, Nicola Joy.  Isn't she precious!?  For the record, I didn't pick out that shirt, but I think her Auntie Larissa has some great taste in clothing for the wee thing.

May 10th is her birthday.  My sister (her Mama) had a birth that I think I might be envious of someday... I'm hoping there are quick labor genes in my DNA too!

The Afters sing:
"A brand new life, a mother's prayer
Shooting stars, and ocean air...
These are the things that make us realize
Life is beautiful."

I love how a new baby is such an incredible reminder of how God gushes love over us, and works sovereignly in our lives in beautiful ways.

I pray that my dear Nicola will always know the depths that we, her family, love her, and how much MORE the unmeasurable love her creator has is for her.

Welcome to a beautiful life, sweet little girl!

My Marathon Undertaking

I have long wanted to run a full marathon. There's something that seems so... you know, MASSIVE about it, and I love the romantic idea of miles and miles of endurance and tenacity and enjoying beautiful settings... I just so want to be a runner (I think it's an identity issue I struggle with - probably that whole "achievement=value" thing I seem to be running into a lot...), and it seems like my criteria for that are always shifting.

My latest shift has been to that of a marathoner.

Thus, in pursuit of my dream of actually calling myself a runner, I'm training for a marathon.

Actually, that's not entirely true. I was inspired by my cousin Valerie, who completed her first marathon last year. Valerie has played sports her whole life and been super active as an athlete, but she didn't do "running" just for the sake of it. However, she's been converted (yay!) and she talked me into training at the same time as her over Christmas.

Since I've run several half marathons (some for which I've trained significantly more consistently than others!), I know the basic gist of preparing to run a marathon (ie: LOTS of time!), but I've always felt like with a half, if you're in semi-decent shape, you can pull the distance out of sheer determination and at least finish!

Marathons seem like more serious business. Which is probably why I want to do it.

(Have I mentioned how I like a good challenge?)

Anyhow, my sister and her husband are prepping to go to the Solomon Islands as missionaries with Wycliffe Bible Translators. That's also a BIG undertaking. Even bigger than a marathon - it's like prepping for a LIFE marathon! I want to support them and help them get there, so I figured I needed to get creative with how to raise awareness of what they're doing and (hopefully) raise money for them to go toward their support and moving costs.

Running seemed like a good solution.

Rather than running the marathon in June I've been training for (which has a, like, $100 entry fee, which is actually pretty cheap for a marathon!), I decided I'd run a marathon... but I was going to just map out the distance in my community and tell as many people as possible what I was doing, and invite people to contribute toward Meg and Andrew in conjunction with my run. I'm sending what I would have spent on an entry fee to them, and I invited people to pay $1/mile for the run.

Here's the link to the facebook event if you're interested: Fly the Coop FundRun Marathon

The response has been significantly more than I expected. Our family's dear friends (and also Wycliffe missionaries), Russ and Lynda, offered to match the first five people who give $2/mile ($52) toward Meg and Andrew, which was just met today... which means that Meg and Andrew have at least $500 plus my $100 coming there way - and a number of other people have said they're going to give the $1/mile amount too. (I didn't really have a "goal" amount set that I was trying to raise for them when I started, but now I think it would be SO cool if this marathon brought in $1,000. We'll see how close we get!)

Seriously, though - how cool are the people I know?! The outpour of love and support is SO cool! I even have had several people offer to run legs of the race WITH me on the big day (June 16th), which is super cool!

So, I've been training like I mean it. Which basically just means that I'm being far more consistent with my training schedule than I usually am. This week, for example, I ran a 9 mile distance on Sunday (4 miles of which were UP HILL with an elevation gain of about 1,000 feet, at the END! Thank you, dear boyfriend, for living at the TOP of the highest hill in the area! :-)), and then 3 easy miles on Wednesday, 5 quick miles on Thursday (quick for me, at least!), and another 3 pretty rapid miles today. I get to do 7 miles on Sunday.

I think that's the coolest thing about training for this run so far. I actually feel like I've recaptured the JOY of running in conjunction with a good challenge. Often I've felt like I'm either running for fun, or I'm running to train - but they cannot be synonymous. That hasn't been the case this time around. Maybe that'll come later, but for now, I genuinely have been enjoying my runs. I get to listen to podcasts and think and pray and watch beautiful scenery.

It's sort of like what I always imagined long distance running should be, in fact. And that's fantastic!

The Magic of Black Beans

No, I'm not talking about the fact they they make you musical, I'm simply talking about how amazingly versatile they are!

I realize I don't often post about food on this blog, but I can't help wanting to share what I've been doing with black beans lately!

First, my family LOVES these dessert treats that we call "Mint Bars." They're like brownies... with mint... on crack! (I mean, they're that addictingly good)

Here's the original recipe:

Brownie Base:

2/3 c butter or crisco (I hate crisco, so I always use the real thing)

4 sq unsweetened baking chocolate

Melt together on top of a double boiler.

Mix:

2 cups brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Add to chocolate mixture

Blend:

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Add dry ingredients to chocolate mixture and mix well.

I altered it to include the following:

1/2 cup ground black beans

1/2 cup applesauce

4 Tbsp coconut oil

12 Tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 c brown sugar

1/4 c sugar in the raw

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 c whole wheat flour

Spread evenly in 12x18 pan

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes

The only alteration I would make is to add the third egg to the altered recipe. It is just a touch on the cakey/dry side, and I really like my brownies a little moister. Rather than just pure fat from the butter, I added fiber, protein, and applesauce - how cool is that!?

After the brownie base layer, you're supposed to put:

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine

4 Tbsp milk

1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract

a touch of green food coloring.

I tried to use a tip I'd picked up from my friend Danielle's blog about using beans to stretch the frosting - I ground of garbanzo beans and added coconut milk (the garbanzo's are a little drier than the black beans and my food processor wanted a little more moisture). I ended up adding TOO much coconut milk, so I kept having to add powdered sugar, and other than not having the butter, I'm not sure that part was all the much healthier.

Then, last, you're supposed to put a glaze of the following on:

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

5 Tbsp margarine

melted together

Once again, beans played a part here. I mixed 1 cup dark chocolate chips with 2-3 Tbsp coconut oil (enough to make it kind of "runny"), and then another 3/4 cup of pureed black beans.

Voila! Beans to the rescue! I haven't calculated out exactly how much healthier it is (it still isn't exactly what I'd call "good" for you, with the massive amounts of sugar!), but it's better!

Then tonight I'm making up a sandwich mix for my date with Gabe tomorrow. I have canned tuna, and usually I would use mayonnaise or cream cheese to mix with it and make it into a spread. However, I'm currently trying to avoid dairy products (or at least really limit them) because I'm trying to isolate what is causing my skin to act like it's allergic to being alive. SO, rather than a dairy-product (and/or unhealthy option) to mix with the tuna, I pulled out my trusty, pureed black beans and some hummus and some salsa (homemade by my fantastic beloved!), and mixed all of that together with the tuna to make a spread... and it tastes pretty darn good!

Mmmm... I do so love beans! Fiber, protein, such a good "filler"... gotta love it!

Anyone else have any tasty tricks for helping "healthify" foods of any kind, and/or good dairy alternatives? Chime in, please!

Feminism and Masculinism

I was reading a blog post tonight about feminism and I responded to it. Part of what I wrote in the "comments" section was:

I would say that I am a strong feminist in my own definition of feminism - which is that each woman should and does have the responsibility to discover what gifts and talents and desires God has uniquely gifted her with, and how best to develop and utilize those talents for the glory of God, the good of the people she lives in community with, and the sacred honor she carries as an image bearer of God.

After I'd finished writing it, I read back over it and realized that I really liked that definition! Likewise, I think I appreciate the same idea translated to define "masculinism." Thus, "masculinism," in my mind, is:

Each man should and does have the responsibility to discover what gifts and talents and desires God has uniquely gifted him with, and how best to develop and utilize those talents for the glory of God, the good of the people he lives in community with, and the sacred honor he carries as an image bearer of God.

I think in the Christian circles, people are often frightened by the idea of feminism. It's seen used synonymously with abortion, homosexuality, degrading men, anti-marriage, disrespect, and atheism. I can understand why conservatives are alarmed. I read some feminist theory in some of my literature theory classes and, honestly, I don't remember much and I didn't like it much (borrrr-ing - sorry Wendy... I probably just disappointed you with that!), but I do recall getting a lot of that general feeling because feminist theory seems to have evolved into a sort of banner for the people that are assumed to be society's "under-appreciated." But that doesn't necessarily negate the usefulness of the term, for me, with a different definition (as I've mentioned).

In essence, from my understanding, the feminist movement first developed from a position of women feeling like they didn't have a choice in how they were going to live their lives (ie, marriage, career, etc). Maybe the desire to have that choice is wrong, maybe it's right - it doesn't seem to me like a lot of women in Bible times had a huge choice in how they were going to live their lives in terms of careers, but nor would I say that the life and times of Bible characters was also free of sin's dominance and a skewed perception of how the world is "supposed" to be.

But now, in 2012 in the USA, women do have a LOT of choices. Sometimes they actually probably have less choices in certain areas than they did 60 years ago, but in some areas, they have more choices. As a product of a society that believes in the value of educating women, not being forced into an arranged marriage, and self-sustaining career options (among other things), I'm grateful for those choices. I loved getting an education. I have very much liked living 24 years without being required, obligated, or expected to be married already. I enjoy my job and the work I do very much, and appreciate the opportunity to be responsible for myself and choose how to bless other people using the financial means that God provides me through my job. Overall, I have appreciated the impact of feminism in my world.

However, I also think the choices women have need to be applied in a noble, honorable fashion. And the same goes for men. If choices, after all, are what feminism is about, then I think feminism can indeed be a God-honoring thing.

I would broaden it, though, and say that feminism AND masculinism can be God-honoring things. Because human's free will can be a God-honoring thing. Or, on the reverse, it can be horribly detrimental to the state of society, the world, and our souls specifically. Check out the Bible for examples of that!

Thus, I have scripted my definition of both feminism and masculinism, and they both assume some vital things - I did that on purpose. Namely, both definitions assume that each individual is responsible for him or herself, each individual is capable of discovering their God-given gifts and talents (which I believe is best done through an individual relationship with the Creator-God!), and each individual is responsible specifically for choosing how best to glorify God, serve in community, and respect the image of God in her or himself with those talents and gifts.

Fundamentally, I think that way because I don't think of life as a right that we have on our own merit, but rather a right that has been given to us by a God that is the source of all life. Therefore, I have all the rights that He has bestowed on me - which is the right to choose between good and evil, right and wrong, blessing and cursing; essentially life or death. At stake in that choice is all of the unique, individual, me-ness that God has given me as he formed me to be me.

Overall, I am a feminist. Because I do believe in a woman's right to choose. In the same way, I am a masculinist because I also believe in a man's right to choose. But, perhaps where I differ from conventional thought that touts that phrase, I think that there is fundamentally a good choice and a bad choice. There is right and wrong. But I - nor society, nor the popular vote - do not decide what is right and wrong, God does. And I believe that I - along with every other person in the world - will answer to God for those choices.

So, have your choices. I want mine. Because I want to choose right. And at the end of my life, I want God to look at me and look at what I've done with the things He gave to me to be valued and invested in others, and I want to hear Him say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

Happy Birthday to Me!

My 24th birthday was at the end of January, and my dear, wonderful, adventurous boyfriend managed to create a fabulous surprise - and the best part was that I didn't get my present ON my birthday, I found out about it, and had to wait for several additional weeks. Now, some people might not like this approach, but as someone who loves anticipated surprises (ie: knowing something good is coming, but having to wait for it to actually happen and/or find out what it is), I fully appreciated having the weeks of anticipating what he had managed to plan for me.

It ended up that we added another adventure to our "date days." (past adventures have included exploring creepy, abandoned houses and old bunkers on our first date ever, when we realized we were, in fact, dating; exploring the Oregon coast and going to flight museums and the Tillamook Cheese Factory and eating amazing food; visiting Vancouver, BC, and being tourists; searching for treasures at the local liquidation store; going to a live-music showing of The Fellowship of the Ring for Gabe's birthday; and wine tasting and all the adventures of trying to chug 8 types of wine in 45 minutes so we didn't keep the owners open late at Bloominghill Vineyards...) THIS adventure involved snowshoeing and spelunking - and an unexpected blind double date.

Gabe and purchased a snowshoeing/Ape caving adventure through Rare Earth Adventures, and we set off last Sunday on our adventure. We were anticipating being a part of a large group, but it ended up that we were the only people who had signed up, so it was us and the couple that led the trip.

They were terrific! Young, funny, cool. They kept us laughing and gave us freedom to "customize" our trip (which involved a little impromptu sledding!). We ventured on snowshoe to the FAR end of the caves (consensus: snowshoeing is hard work! I was pretty tired!), then left our snowshoes and poles with one of the guides to be hauled back via sled, and we descended into the cave and came back underground. By the time we reached the end, I think I was more stumbling than walking, but getting to scramble over huge piles of rocks and climb down "lava-falls" and take in the sparkling reflection of our headlamps off the dam ceiling was pretty neat. It was Gabe's first time through the Ape Caves, so it was fun to see his reactions too!

In all, I felt very much known and loved and celebrated - Gabe did a fantastic job of picking something unique that I would enjoy (and enjoy being able to do WITH him), and making it a memorable day.

I do so love that man - he's a keeper!

Narratives, Running, and Snapshots of Life

I decided it was high time I post another blog, even though I feel like I don't have any idea what to focus this blog on, and, as a result, I'm not very inspired.

That's kind of how I felt when I went for a run this morning. I wasn't very inspired - in fact, I delayed going for about an hour and a half - but eventually, I did. And I traversed my 6 mile course (in the POURING DOWN RAIN, might I add!) before I really even realized that I was done. And then I felt really good.

Well, that's not QUITE true. I did feel good, of course, but I'm not sure how I could run 6 miles without knowing it. It was long while I was going, but once I was finished, it felt like it had been brief.

Maybe that's how life is. It just keeps happening... Sometimes there are definite things I look forward to, and sometimes there are definite things I do NOT look forward to, but mostly it's like time keeps marching along, and I'm shocked to realize it has passed so soon... when I even have those moments and realize it has, in fact, passed.

My students seemed to be feeling this concept this week. I have two sections of English 100 this quarter, and we've been working on narratives. In fact, I have a whole stack of papers sitting on my dining room table which I probably SHOULD be working on rather than typing this, but I'll wrap this up shortly and get to them soon :-) Time after time they've said to me, "I don't know what to write about!" I should listen to my own advise - everyone has thousands of stories, just tell one of them!

So here's a brief one: last night I watched Up with Gabe. I started it a year ago, I think, on my way to Niger, but I couldn't get in to it (it probably didn't help that I was on my third or fourth movie in a row at the time). I basically ruled it out as being a movie I wouldn't like, and I haven't attempted it since. Gabe and I had planned to spend some time together last night, but he was tired and asked if we could keep it low key. Although I'd taken a 2 hour nap yesterday afternoon and DID have some energy, I'm usually pretty happy to be low key with my boyfriend. "Low key" typically means some kind of awesome tea concoction, maybe a tasty snack (like Gabe's homemade salsa), and getting to curl up on a couch next to him which might sound like it's primarily romantic, but it's also incredibly practical in the sense that he generates heat like a propane heater set to "high," and my core body temperature is typically 2 degrees BELOW the "normal" human range, so in the winter when I can never seem to get warm, it is FANTASTIC!

Anyhow, I suggested a movie or cribbage, and since Gabe doesn't know cribbage and he would've had to put some effort into learning, we ended up with Up.

It is precious. I mean, I know people who rate those kinds of things listed it as some high number listing for best movie of the year or something, but it really is so cute! That old man was so crusty at the beginning, but with such a soft spot, and the little kid (Russell?) - gosh, can you get any cuter?

I was full of "Ohhh," and "Ahhhh," and sniffs (yes, I cried - Gabe's shoulder could prove it), and at one point I glanced at Gabe to see if he was crying, and he smiled when he saw me looking at him.

"What?" I asked, and he replied with something like, "You know, I do love this movie, but I'm really enjoying watching it this time, because I get to watch it next to you."

And I realized in that moment that I'd hit one of "those" moments - moments when you don't realize that time is passing, but you get a brief second to grab a mental snapshot of it before it slips away. That look of his eyes smiling at me in the TV light, the security of his arm around my shoulder, the knowledge that we had nothing pressing to do or anyplace to be, we could just spend time together, watching a movie and enjoy it together. It was like so many of the scenes IN the movie - all of Ellie's adventures that were moments in their life, but precious to her.

Maybe that was part of what I felt today as I finished that 6 mile run, and I thought to myself, "Those 6 miles actually went pretty fast, even though they didn't seem it when I was on mile 2." It was just a run. One of the same routes of done probably a hundred times. But it wasn't just a run, either - it was a run TODAY, when my body was free to go, when I chose to go, and maybe more importantly, when I chose to appreciate it.

I want to treasure those moments. Maybe that's why I feel like I want to blog more - because blogging forces me to recall and record those snapshots of my life.

The Family's New Year Greeting

Dear Family and Friends,

The Shulke Family recently gathered to enjoy each other's company and celebrate the birth of Jesus. We pray that you have been surrounded by love and friendship durinBg this season as well.

Olivia (14) regularly awes our family with her body's ability to grow up and up and up! She's passed by or caught up in height to all of the ladies in the family and so far continues to do her sister Danielle proud by not abandoning the soccer field for some wimpy indoor sport (like volleyball or basketball. She was the second leading scorer on her Middle School team and has her name engraved on a HUGE trophy as the Coaches Award co-recipient. Olivia is an avid horsewoman, controlling the growing herd of five horses with grace and skill. She thoroughly enjoyed getting to hang out with her various cousins over the past year, and together they make quite the horse crew – including winning first place in the Castle Rock Parade with their memorial tribute to Grandpa Floyd Shulke!

Max (14) also impresses our family with his growth – in height and strength. He is a force to be reckoned with in impromptu wrestling matches (as Olivia can attest to). He and Olivia both completed their Hunter's Safety Course this year, and many early mornings this fall found them astride their horses, heading into the woods with their day's provisions in hand. Max’s favorite store is Cabela's and any excuse to stop is always artfully argued. Max's passion is guns and knives, and any use for said items results in quick volunteering! The rest of the family appreciates getting to sample Max's venison jerky and smoked fish –fruits of his sportsman skills.

Heather (21) enjoys her Psychology studies at Northwest University. She plans to graduate next December. When she is home she practices analyzing family dynamics (SMILE!). She continues to play libero for NU's volleyball team (1,000 career digs at NU – 1300 career digs total). Her team went to conference playoffs finishing fourth. She was named Player of the Week twice during her season, All Conference First Team, All Region Honorable Mention, and National Scholar Athlete (Yeah, that's our girl!). In her spare time, she works as a nanny, coaches a U-15 tournament volleyball team, and develops her creative cooking skills. She will get to gallivant overseas this spring on a mandatory class to the UK. Lucky!

Danielle (23) continues to teach full time at Lower Columbia College in the Language and Literature department. She lives with Grandma Jean, which has been a rewarding and challenging experience this past year full of transitions since Grandpa’s Floyd’s peaceful death at home in April. Danielle has stories she'll remember with fondness for years to come that Grandma has told her. Dani went to Niger in February with a church team from Seattle to work in a hospital. She got to fill a variety of roles, including teaching, pharmacy assistant, photographer and C-Section observer. She'll probably be staying close to home due to teaching piano lessons, instructing at LCC, and a special fellow named Gabe, who lives locally. She still manages to find adventure in the form of a photography side business and training for half-marathons.

Megan (now ageless, since she's married) and Andrew recently moved from BC to Andrew's native region of Hamilton, Ontario. Megan acquired her Permanent Residence status to live and work in Canada, which has been nice since the Colorado-based job that she was doing remotely ended in the spring. After completing some preparatory language classes and orientation in the past year, the Van Andels received their assignment with Wycliffe Bible Translators to work in the Solomon Islands, are currently raising support, and hoping to depart for overseas next summer. Andrew and Megan also recently announced that they will welcome Baby Van Andel in May, Lord-willing!

Debbie had an interesting year on the health-front: a kidney stone and multiple re-checks, along with a meniscus tear knee surgery. She is thankful for her job and health insurance. She now feels much better on her exercise walks. While she was laid up, Debbie made it through several missionary biographies, as well as orchestrating the mess hall for Cousin Camp on the Shulke Farm. Her days include early morning tutoring sessions before work and keeping the business of Castle Rock High School Associated Student Body in order. She was pleased to make it through her first state audit without a “finding.” Debbie appreciates her Auntie Cherille and sister, Amy, who have come to help as Grandma Sonel faces knee replacement surgery and recovery in January.

Joe was able to attend the Washington State Conservation District Convention in Cle Elum held at a picturesque resort. With the help of family and friends Joe put up 300 ton of hay which enhances the reduced poultry income and Debbie's salary. He monitors his mother’s medications and much of her care nowadays. He also continues as one of Heather's volleyball team's most faithful fans, traveling many miles to attend her games.

We are thankful for our friendships. We pray many blessings for you in 2012!

The Shulke Family