Monday, May 20, 2013

lately...

In my ears
The Oh Hellos - Through the Deep, Dark Valley

I've been listening to this album on repeat. Over and over and over again and I can't get enough of it. Usually my life and my days are so full of noise that I don't have time right away to listen to lyrics {this isn't ideal, but it's my current state of reality} but I enjoy the musical-ness of it. After listening to this album for probably the seventh time in a row, some of the lyrics stuck out and sunk in and I realized that they are likely Christians. Which is pretty cool. I like it when people who love Jesus make great art/music.

Such great music.


And how amazing is this one:


In my heart & in my house
Pizza night

We'd already done one pizza night and it ended up being on Mother's Day with me working pretty hard to make enough pizza from scratch to feed 14 adults. I had a few helpers, but it was a bit lonely and not very much fun although I do enjoy serving people and loving them by feeding them.
Last night, though, we made pizza night a team event and I had tons of cheese graters, veggie choppers, and pizza dough mixers. The music was playing and I took the opportunity to grill one of our interns on his love life. Because I can. Ha!
I looked around at our team enjoying pizza and as I continued to roll out the dough I smiled deeply and felt incredibly satisfied. This is what I want and this is what I envision when I say I love to host people. I love having people in my home and eating together. This is, I think, the ultimate goal of hospitality. Not rushing around doing it all on my own, but the loving each other, the talking and laughing with each other and the eating and preparing together.


On my Kindle
Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist {on sale for $3.99 today!}

This book is delicious and inspiring and hopeful and exciting.
I've been reading it and wanting to shout "YES!" at so many moments, but I don't because there's usually a sleeping baby within earshot.
It's a collection of essays about life and faith and celebrating the two with friends around your table with amazing food. And how we all should do it. Here are a few quotes:

"Life at the table is life at its best to me, and the spiritual significance of what and how we eat, and with whom and where, is new and profound to me every day."

"Get comfortable with people in your home, with the mess and the chaos. Focus on making people comfortable, on creating a space protected from the rush and chaos of daily life, a space full of laughter and safety and soul."

"I want my kids to learn firsthand and up close that different isn't bad, but instead that different is exciting and wonderful and worth taking the time to understand. I want them to see themselves as bit players in a huge, sweeping, beautiful play, not as the main characters in the drama of our living room. I want my kids to taste and smell and experience the biggest possible world, because every bite of it, every taste and texture and flavor is delicious."

So good, right? Ugh. So good.

Oh did I tell you I ate grasshoppers? I was influenced by my own child. We had fried grasshoppers one night but I was putting Blaise down for bed. The next afternoon there were some left over and Jude picked one up and said, "Can I eat it?" and I said, "Sure!" and he seemed hesitant so I encouraged him to try one. He said, "Can I stick my tongue on it?" and I told him that he could and when he licked it, his eyes lit up and he said they tasted salty and then promptly stuck the whole thing in his mouth and went back to eat a few more. Then he handed me one and asked if I would eat one.
People. It's a grasshopper. It's gross looking. I could see the eyes! But I couldn't say that I wasn't willing to try something to Jude when he had just shown me that he was willing to try something new. So I popped one in. It wasn't bad. Kinda like popcorn. I was expecting a spurt or something disgusting. But it was fine. Then I even ate one again so Jamie could get it on camera. Because I'm awesome like that.

9 comments:

  1. Yes! So glad you're reading Bread and Wine. May just need to re-read it again with you already! And yes, nsenene does taste like popcorn to me! Glad we agree. But I, too, can't get past the eyes! Love you friend!

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    1. Yes. Definitely re-read it again.
      I think I'd like the hard copy of this book to have in my kitchen for the recipes. Oh! I just had a BRILLIANT idea. I'm going to email it to ya.

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  2. Yes, you are awesome. And Granny has eaten grasshoppers too(in Mexico) but eating shrimp was a big step for me, so I may have some self talking to do!! I'll have to see that video of you doing it.

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  3. Wow thoroughly enjoyed this post! I'm loving The Oh Hellos!!!! SOOO good! I love that little stick video too. Also I am envious of your hostabilities :) we rarely have people over and I"m not super confident in my own kitchen but would love to have what you described in my house and often! Sounds like a great book :) Also I love that pizza photo super artsy :)

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    Replies
    1. They are good, eh? Love them.

      And I think you just need to figure out what having people over looks like for YOU. It doesn't have to be gourmet - I think you need to read her book. It's incredibly freeing for those who don't love to cook (but love to eat - ha!) as she says you can start with some frozen pizza, a bagged salad and a bottle of wine (or whatevs :D) and just be yourself, and love others. Which I think you and Sam do really well. :)

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    2. So I know this a bittie between sisters, but I love Shereen's comment - its so...how I think lots of us feel. But I love your reply cos its so loving to your sister and its just so...nice to see the love!

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  4. i love the Oh Hellos! so good. :) yes i changed how many exclaimation points and 'O's in So just so i didn't copy above. hahaha. only i would notice that.

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    Replies
    1. Haha, that's hilarious. I totally wouldn't have noticed.

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  5. AWEEEEESOME blog. All of it. I'd write more but I'm can't right now but I knew I'd forget to comment if I didn't do it IMEMDIATELY. which is like IMMEDIATELy, but a new mom sleep deprived version. I'm miling that excuse. Which is like milking, but a bit different. :) Love ya. Listening to that band now. Way to eat a grasshopper! xo

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