2 jobs and a house.

I still don't understand how a month goes by without me having time to write in this even if it's just something short.  God has been so incredibly faithful (as always), and everything wrapped up nicely last week. 

I decided to go ahead and take the unpaid internship at Oxfam with a commitment of 4 months.  My manager had mentioned there was a part time role in International HR that they were recruiting for internally that she wanted to put me forward for, so I applied for it and started my internship.  I had a few other interviews at a university and at an events/conference planning organisation while I was waiting to hear back about the part time role at Oxfam.  Turns out I got an interview for it on Tuesday last week.  They called me 3 hours later to offer me the job, and I started last Friday.  I think I have broken the record for the quickest turn around from intern to permanent staff.  So I am the new Business Support Officer for International HR and Talent and Resourcing.  :D

Meanwhile, I was offered a second part time position at the events/conference planning place as an Events Executive.  They have worked with my days at Oxfam so I am able to work both jobs.  Although I am not particularly interested in pharmaceutical conferences, the logistics and planning behind them should be great fun.  Especially as a lot of them are international, and in a few months time, I might get to travel for them.  :D  Those of you who know me know that I love nothing more than planning things and traveling.  (Aside from my husband and making yummy things in my kitchen.)

So with the job situation settled, Simon and I found a house that we will hopefully be moving into next Friday.  I say hopefully because we haven't gotten the official okay yet, and we have to be out of here by the 18th.  Anyway, the house is so much closer to Oxford than we are now--about 20 minutes away--which, as all Texans know, is nothing (especially when compared to the 1.5 hours+ it has been taking us each way). 

Plans for returning home for the holidays are looking rather dismal due to my 2 months of unemployment.  Really disappointing, but I am hoping to be able to be there at the beginning of next year if possible to see everyone!

Look for another post in about a month!  Hopefully I will have some pictures of our new house to show you!

xoxo
m

well fall is upon us.  it's really strange because i feel like i should still be wearing short sleeves and shorts everyday (thanks to all of those years of belated falls in texas), but am constantly surprised when the air is much colder than anticipated.  i am having a hard time letting go of summer this year, which is especially strange as fall is my favorite season.  this year it is less glamorous than usual.  and more rainy. 

we are quickly coming upon our move out day and still have not found a house that is suitable.  there are plenty of houses, but nothing is really right.  too expensive, not big enough, really ugly, really old, furnished, too far away, too soon, too late, and the list goes on and on.  oh well.  if worst comes to worst, we will end up homeless, but the good news about that is we will be able to get a dog.  :)  (i kid.)

i have officially been unemployed for a month now.  it's been okay but i'm going a bit stir crazy in the house by myself all day.  on the bright side, our clothes which have been in piles since we moved in are finally folded and put away.  i have been keeping busy applying for jobs, finding little projects to keep me occupied (like cleaning out closets), and going to interviews in oxford.  they are starting to pay off as i have had 2 job offers so far.  i'm not really sure if either place is where i want to be, and i am torn.  i could have this job that i'm not actually sure what i would be doing, but it's for quite a good international charity with quite a good salary.  i could also have a job as a personal assistant to a central operations controller at a company i'm not interested in with also a good salary (i go for the second interview tomorrow).  or i could go for an unpaid internship for 4-6 months at a charity that i am really passionate about.  the good news about that is that there is quite a good possibility that i would be able to work for them after the internship is over. 

so you can see my predicament.  yes, things will be tight money-wise for a while, but it might be worth it in the end.  and there will always be pa/admin jobs after i get finished with the internship if i don't get offered a job.  so i need opinions.  and prayers.  pleaseandthankyou.

xoxo
m

so it’s official...

I suck at blogging.  I am well aware that it has now been 2 months since I posted, and have no other excuse aside from the busyness of life.  I am deeply sorry (not that anyone but my mom really cares--love you, mommy).  I think one of the main reasons I have such a hard time keeping a steady blog going is because it is very difficult for me to sit down and put my thoughts on paper.  I feel like I have to have this massive post together every time I blog, and maybe I just need to get over that.  I would like to know where the people who actually blog regularly find the time.

After Simon and I got back from our honeymoon in Italy (it was amazing, thanks for asking, and pictures are up on Facebook), my discontent with my job imploded inside of me.  I had a few--okay more than a few--meltdowns, and after much prayer and going back and forth, I finally felt like God was telling me to step out on a limb and trust Him.  So I turned in my 2 weeks notice and said goodbye to Starbucks--hopefully forever (as I type this I feel a sense of pending doom that I will have to return at some point).  I've been taking some time to start figuring out what it is exactly that God wants me to be doing.  I've also been applying for A LOT of jobs, which has been pretty much fruitless until this week.  Now I have 2 interviews lined up for the next week(ish).  I'm not sure if I am holding my breath for either of them, as I would really love to work for Oxfam (for all of you Texans reading this, Oxfam is a massive charity that helps people in 3rd world countries).  That seems quite far out of reach despite the many contacts I have made and the oodles of positive feedback I have gotten from them.

I have split my time between job hunting and house hunting as Simon and I are moving again.  The job he started in July is in Oxford, and he has been commuting about 2.5-3 hours roundtrip every day (poor baby).  Needless to say, he is exhausted and tired of all of the driving.  We have been looking at tiny towns outside of Oxford that are amazing and where the housing is cheaper.

I am excited and scared about this move.  I was telling Simon the other night that I feel like a nomad.  I don't know where home is.  Moving back and forth between 4 different universities and 2 countries and several cities has left me feeling out of place, and I don't actually know where I belong anymore.  It is difficult as I don't make friends particularly well.  Maybe it's not an intimacy issue as previous counselors have insinuated.  Maybe it's just that it is really hard to invest so much time and energy and get attached to people when I just have to leave in 6 months.  Anyway, just a fleeting thought.  There may be more on this in other posts if God starts digging in my heart about this issue.

So I feel like this whole year has been an ebb and flow of God showing me His faithfulness and then testing me to see how well I do in trusting that.  I think I've gotten to the point now where I am okay when things are not seemingly good, but there are still those moments of panic that rise up in me at times (like when our bills are due and we are at the end of our overdraft).  But...He has not failed me yet.  He has always been faithful to provide with everything that we need exactly when we feel like we are at the end of our ropes.  Still there are things that I have to deal with.  Disappointments that are really big.  Like the fact that we won't be able to go back to Texas for Thanksgiving like we were planning.  It is seemingly impossible.  But you never know.  God has all kinds of tricks up His sleeves...

(On a side note from all of this, you may remember Popeye from previous posts.  Well I am sad to announce that Popeye has moved.  The last time I saw her was 2 Fridays ago when she came to visit me and got quite annoying what with her ALWAYS wanting to be on top of me, so I chucked her out of the house.  About 10 minutes later, it started torrentially down pouring and she disappeared.  Her owners moved house last weekend, and so we have new neighbors.  I was thinking about making them some tasty goodies to say "Welcome to the neighborhood" but Simon thinks it is a stupid idea.  We will see how lucky they end up getting.)

xoxo
m

Strawberry Pickin' and a Finger Lickin' Good Time

Ah strawberry season is upon us.  I don't know about you, but there is nothing I love more than fresh strawberries.  So, this post will be completely dedicated to strawberries and you will finally get your hands on some of my secret recipes (which I know you have all been dying for...right?).

Simon and I went strawberry picking at a pick-your-own garden center the other day.  It was a really beautiful day, and the strawberries were delicious.  We may or may not have been unable to keep ourselves from eating them straight from the vine.

 

So first up is one of my favorite things to have with strawberries.  Cream.  Ruth's Chris Steakhouse has the best cream I have ever had in my life.  And so I have replicated the recipe.  Here we go.

Ingredients 
2 cups heavy cream (or double cream if you're in the UK)
1 cup sugar (divided use)
10 egg yolks, fresh out of the shell (use less if you want a thicker cream)
1/3 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions
Place cream and 1/2 cup of sugar in a saucepan on the stove. Mix well and heat until it starts to boil. (Be careful so that cream will not boil over.)

Crack eggs to separate yolks from whites.  You will not need the egg whites for this recipe, so save them for another recipe I will post soon!

In a stainless steel bowl, mix egg yolks, 1/2 cup of sugar and vanilla until well blended and sugar is dissolved. Whisk simmering cream into egg mixture and transfer to top half of stainless steel double boiler. Cook for 8 - 12 minutes, until sauce thickens and coats the back of the spatula, stirring constantly.

Use the spatula to pull the sauce away from the sides and fold it back into the center of the bowl.  Pass through a fine china cap (fine mesh sieve) into a container. Place a plastic bag filled with ice cubes into the sauce, then put the saucer container into an ice bath to cool it. When cool, remove the container from the ice bath, remove the bag of ice from the container and place the container in the refrigerator.

Now on to...
Strawberry Jam
(This recipe can be modified to make a smaller amount.  The way it is, it makes 4 500g jars.)

Ingredients 
1.5kg strawberries
1 lemon, juice only
1.25kg sugar

Directions
Remove the leaves and cut into small pieces (or into large chunks if you like bits in your jam).

Put the strawberries and lemon juice into a large, heavy-based saucepan and simmer them very gently for an hour.  (It looks a little gross, I know.)

Stir in the sugar and turn up the heat.  You will be able to tell when the jam is done by dipping a spoon in, getting some of the jam on the bottom and holding it horizontally.  It should form a "firm drip."  At this point, skim any scum off the top of the jam. Set aside until a skin starts to form.

Pour it into jars, seal, and let them cool.  This is good for up to a year, but I highly doubt you will be able to make it last that long.  :)



And last but not least...when you have strawberries that are on the verge of going off, use this recipe to salvage them.

Strawberry Sherbet

 
 Ingredients:

1 pint ripe strawberries, tops cut off
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt, any variety
2 tablespoons strawberry jam
1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:

1. Cut berries into slices (this helps them freeze faster).  Lay berries on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Freeze until solid.

2. Place berries and all remaining ingredients in food processor and process until smooth. 

Or in the off chance that you put everything into the American blender and try to plug it into a power converter instead of a power transformer in the UK and it makes a loud bang and starts smoking and your husband says its on fire and you have to flip the breaker after your plugs don't work anymore...in that case, put the stuff into a bowl and whip our your hand mixer.  It will not be as good.  But beggars (in foreign countries) can't be choosers.
And if you do get to use a blender, you may have to stop it and scrape the sides a few times to make sure all the frozen berries are blended in.

3. Serve at once. It is amazing with a little fresh grated lemon peel on top, if you have any handy.  And with any luck, you'll have what looks like the picture at the top.  Good luck, mine didn't turn out that way.  :P


Well, we are off to Italy for our honeymoon this week, so check back soon for updates from that and other recent adventures in our lives :)
<3
m

an update of life.

so now that you've all seen my house, it's time for a little update about life in the uk.

i started my job at starbucks about 4 weeks ago.  i can hardly believe it's been that long since i've moved.  (almost 2 months since i got married too!  where does the time go?)  i'm currently working on finding a new job.  while i am so incredibly grateful that God has provided me with this job for income and adjustment purposes, i am feeling the need to do something greater with my life than serve people coffee. (so if you think about it, send up a prayer for me!)

simon is finishing up at uni--he's taking his last exam as i'm writing this.  he graduates next month and we just found out today that he starts his first real job on july 1st with an international market research company in oxford.  i'm so proud of him!  :)  so over the next few months we will decide if we are going to stay put in guildford or make the move to oxford. 

we have developed a loving relationship with a neighborhood cat we call popeye.  (sorry if the following picture is quite gruesome.)  he/she(?) is missing an eye, which i'm sure is just a battle wound from the mean gray cat that roams about, but is really sweet and so we loveitandhugitandsqueezeitandfeedit.

okay, you get the point.

in a couple of weeks, we are heading to tuscany to have a proper honeymoon.  i can hardly wait.  

ahhh...doesn't this look amazing?!

the summer is finally upon us (minus a couple of really cold days here and there) and i'm getting excited for a beach trip to west wittering that simon and i have planned on our day off together next week.  

we have recently discovered this amazing pairing...

...and are hoping to have a housewarming/cheese and wine party in the near future.

so that's my life basically.  

and here's a sneak peek of my next post:

i made this happen.  well.  and God and the sunshine and the water.  but whatever.

<3

a tour of our house.

this is us leaving Texas with all of our bags at the airport.

and now for a few pictures of our house when we first got here...

we had no furniture when we moved in, but have been able to get some really great pieces that we love.

when we got to the uk, simon's family had moved in a couch and a mattress for us to sleep on.  

we redesigned the couch a bit, so it looks a little more modern now than it did before.  (and it's a sofa bed for all of my lovely guests to sleep on when they come to visit!) 

BEFORE:

AFTER:

 (this is george.  he was a little scared of his new home at first.)

we got this really great tub chair from Interios.

we took a break from furniture hunting for a couple of weeks, but one weekend, we found a bed frame, desk for our nook, and a dining room table and chairs--all used but all really great quality and great prices.

(this is bert and ernie.)

now we're just looking for a chest of drawers and a nightstand for our bedroom (and possibly some outdoors furniture for our decking) and we will be set.

and that's the tour of our house mostly.  i'm saving the best part (aka the kitchen) for another post.  also there will be recipes.  and then you will understand why i am gaining weight.

<3

a little peek at where i was in march...

This is a post I wrote a little less than a month before I got married.  It's quite long and deep, so buckle up.  And up next should be a post with pictures (if I can get my camera to start working!).
<3

I have felt so many things this week.  I've felt so loved by so many people and yet let down by the people that are supposed to be closest to me.

If I've learned anything in life, it's that people are not dependable.  They lie, they make promises they don't keep, they let you down.  Not to say that I am not guilty of these things.  God has been working on my heart for the past 6 months to be a woman of my word.  To stick to the things I say and be consistent.  This is really hard for me to do.  I am quite happy to stay in my comfort zone of being alone, but have missed so much because of this.  Not to say that I haven't stepped out occasionally, but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to do as I get closer to moving and leaving behind everyone I've known.  It is easy to keep my heart closed so I don't get any closer to people.  So it doesn't hurt so bad when I leave.  So I don't feel so lonely when I have no one.  It has become really difficult for me to invest my time or heart into people that I will not speak to in a year.  And yet.  Every moment is an opportunity for impact, whether we realize it or not.

I think I've been running from things my whole life.  Things that make me uncomfortable or things that hurt.  I run from things that aren't easy, because it is easier to run than to stay and fix the problem.  I avoid confrontations by bottling up things and keeping them to myself instead of sharing my heart with the ones closest to me.  It has been easier for me to shut my heart down than to hurt as badly as I have in the past.  And in turn, I have hurt the one person I never want to hurt.

I want to be someone that people see as stable and strong and consistent.  I want to create a home that radiates with love.  Where people leave with seeds planted in their hearts and their spirits a little more full.  I want my home to be a safe haven for everyone, but I especially want it to be a place of healing for my and his hearts in particular.  Although I have dealt with a lot of things in the past year that I've needed to deal with, I still don't think those wounds are completely healed.  It takes time, and I understand that.  But during the process I think I've caused more damage than anything.

Maybe growth starts with a tearing down of the old.  And so as I gear up to start out my life as a married woman, a whole new horizon comes into view.  I have no idea what lies ahead, which is scary and very inconvenient for my planning self.  I just have to let go and trust that God has the perfect job for me and the perfect job for him, a place for us in a church, and good friends that will invest in us and that we can invest into.  That He knows what spots in our hearts we need to heal in each other.  That He knows the areas we will be stretched in as we adjust to a new way of life and learn how to walk in that.

From today's God Calling:

"You do not know all that this time of converse with Me will mean to you.  Did not My servant Isaiah say, 'They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.'

Persevere in all I tell you to do.  The persistent carrying out of My commands, My desires, will unfailingly bring you, as far as spiritual, mental, and temporal things are concerned, to that place where you would be.

If you look back over My Words to you, you will see that My leading has been very gradual, and that only as you have carried out My wishes, have I been able to give you more clear and definite teaching and guidance.  Man's ecstasy is God's touch on quickened, responsive, spirit-nerves.  Joy.  Joy.  Joy."

The last part strikes home with me today in particular.  As I look back over the past year, I can see His hand making a path for me and guiding me gently along that path.  At the beginning of 2009, I couldn't have imagined I would be standing where I am today.  But as I have walked the path of the unknown, so to speak, I can clearly see the things that were needed--the breaking of hearts and soul ties, the healing of deep, deep wounds, and all the while, the newfound feeling of a steadfast and patient love that I have never known or understood while Simon was put in my life and gently nestled into my heart.

Never has anybody so consistently represented God and His love to me.  I am often caught off guard by his gentleness and unconditional love.  Even when I hurt him, he's there waiting for me.  He is patient with me as I struggle with so much that he cannot comprehend.  He forgives me when I can't even forgive myself.

I want nothing more than to be able to give him the things he has given me.  And I have no idea where to even start.  So.  I start at the beginning.  From scratch.  Being gently led as always into the life He has for us.