It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's a persimmon!

When we were in I/P, the places we stayed fed us very well. The last place we stayed was a Lutheran Hostel in old city Jerusalem. They fed us breakfast and dinner. Breakfast was buffet style with the same things on it every day. But at dinner, we got different food every night. It always included soup, salads of some sort, sides, the main dish, and a dessert. Sometimes the dessert was jello or chocolate pudding with fruit in it, or cake of some sort. But often, our dessert was fruit, which was wonderful. One time in particular, we had this fruit that looked a lot like an unripened tomato. But, it was NOT a tomato. The flesh was kind of hard, but it was very edible, and the inside was very sweet and juicy. I had NO idea what kind of fruit this was, so I just Googled it. It's called a Sharon Fruit because it is grown in the Sharon Valley. It is also known as a persimmon. Here is the picture. If you ever see one, I recommend trying it.

The last post title didn't make much sense!

Last night, as I started writing my post, I was interrupted. Some pals came up after they got done playing volleyball at a sports place here in SeminaryTown. So, we were talking for a while and I quit writing. So, when I came back to it, I had lost my train of thought (although I'd rather talk to friends than keep my train of thought most times).

Anyway, the last post is so named because I already have a "Bucket List." I don't think I've ever posted it here on my blog, but I do have it on my Myspace page. Sometime I will post it on over here, just in case you are curious. :) ha.

So, I'm going home this weekend to be with my family because we are going to Ma's facility to celebrate her birthday with her. She turned 68 on the 21st, but the fam decided to push back the celebration date because they figured I'd be really jet lagged from my trip to Israel and Palestine. Good thing. I'm fairly excited to go because I get to see ALL 3 OF MY NEPHEWS! I love those children. They're special little people. And before I start gusing, I'm going to sign off for now. Have a marvelous day.

I already have one, so I'm not a poser.

Tonight, "J" and I went to dinner and to see "The Bucket List." It was an all around good time.

We ate at Perkins, because we both have an appreciation for places such as those. After dinner, we went to the movie theater and bought the tickets and went in. There were lots of older folks in there. It got us both to thinking... But, the movie: Good premise, originality, funniness, seriousness, and thought-provokingness all rolled into one. I laughed because I told J my hunch about the special coffee in the movie, and it turned out that I was RIGHT! Ha! My stupid random knowledge helps me look smart sometimes!

So, anyway, that was my night, and now I'm dreadfully tired. Goodnight.

A non-Israel Story

Tonight was pretty darn cool.

Some of the people in the dorm got together and made dinner for whoever wanted to come. They made rolls/biscuits, spaghetti and sauce, cookies, and brownies. Another person brought crackers and some really awesome cheese. I contributed salt and pepper, and I dried a bunch of dishes. Plus, I'm funny; who doesn't want me around? ha.

After dinner and dishes, I went with "J" to keep him company as he worked on some stuff around campus. It was cool. I got to see parts of the seminary I don't get to see, and it was good company.

I had to be back at my room at 8:00 though, because another friend wanted to take some of my pictures that she didn't get when we were in Israel and Palestine. So, she came and copied some while I sorted through all my souvenirs from the Holy Land and tried to remember what was for whom. I think I'm pretty much set for who is getting what. Now, I just gotta give it to them. :)

After a while, another friend came up, and we were being goofy and she was looking at what kind of food I have in my room, just for kicks and giggles. She asked why I have eggs in two places in my fridge and I told her that the three in the door are REALLY old. So, she dared me to break one open into the toilet. I couldn't resist, so I took it into the bathroom, cracked it, and waited for the yolk and white stuff to come out. But... It didn't! They're THAT old! Hehe. So, I accidentally dropped half of the egg into the toilet. We were laughing, and I was thinking, "I AM NOT putting my hand in there to get that out!" So, I flushed it. Then, my pal came and we wanted to see if a whole egg would flush. It will. So then, she took my last Old Rotten Egg, and threw it down into the bowl that was not full of water. It cracked a bunch, and then we flushed it, too.

Well... Toilets aren't really made for flushing whole eggs, so my poor commode was having some difficulties. It wasn't overflowing, but it was just acting weird. So, I went and got the friend, who by this time had gone back to do something else. I needed moral support. We got the community plunger (GROSS) and I plunged my toilet. It went back to normal within 30 seconds. I learned my lesson. Don't flush raw eggs. Or any eggs, for that matter. Weird. I know. Haha.

I just thought I would share this story because I was laughing so hard I was SCREAMING! Seriously. So, that's the story on that. Peace out.

The view

Here is a picture of the view from our first room. You can still see the buildings a little on each side, but I zoomed so they wouldn't be taking up much of the photo. Also, I included the view from the Christmas Lutheran Church, because it is right by the "hostel" part of the ICB.

Our first accomodations

First, these are my shoes that looked SO suspicious to the security at O'Hare. :) ha. I'm just giving them crap. They're keeping us safe.

These are pictures taken in my first room in Israel/Palestine. It's modest, but in all reality, all we did was sleep in there. I was more than happy.

Woops

I slept way too much this afternoon, and thus, I am still awake at 6:30 a.m. My bad. Ah well. I reckon I'd better start regaling you with the stories of our trip, and hopefully later, I will post some pictures.

We flew out of Chicago-O'hare on Thursday to catch a connecting flight to Frankfurt, Germany. At O'hare, we went through security; having our bags and shoes x-rayed and what not. They asked me, "are these your shoes?" When I said yes, the security folks said, "We're going to look them over." I said, "ok." They took my shoes to a table and took these tongs with something like tissue paper and wanded them. Obviously they were clean, and so they gave them back to me. The day-glo orange shoelaces probably looked suspicious. :) When we got to Germany, we got on a plane to go to Tel Aviv; THE most secure airport in the world. It was daylight there, in part due to the fact they are 8 hours ahead of midwest time. Our guide met us in the airport and we walked out to our bus. These two people would move us around and give us boatloads of information the next couple of weeks.

We were all pretty tired from the flying and what not, so most of us slept some on the bus from Tel Aviv to Bethlehem. Naim talked over the microphone in the bus some, but I think he knew we were all just exhausted, and so for the most part, he let us sleep. When we arrived to Bethlehem, we had to go through an Israeli checkpoint at an opening in the separation barrier to get into the actual city. By then, it was getting dark, so our driver said something in Arabic and Naim told us that Atah (the driver) said, "We have 20 Americans on board." and they let us in, no questions asked. Only about two minutes after the checkpoint, we had to get off the bus and walk the rest of the way to our accomodations because Old City Bethlehem has WAY TOO narrow of streets for a huge honkin' tour bus to navigate. The walk is only about three or four minutes, so it's not bad. Plus, weather over there right now is around 50 degrees or so, so we were doing okay. We got to the International Center of Bethlehem, which has accomodations for tourists, a media center, a college, a church of the ELCA, and a few other things involved with it. We had chosen roommates beforehand, and when our luggage came to the ICB, we took it, along with our room keys and pretty much, we went to bed as soon as dinner was over.

Food in Israel/Palestine(I/P from here on out) is interesting. I couldn't even tell you what we had that first night. I remember there being pita bread, soup, some kind of salad, a main dish, and dessert. I wasn't that hungry because we ate multiple times on our flight, and I was more tired than anything.

My roommate, "A" and I went to our room, got ready for bed, and went to sleep around 8:00 P.M. and slept until about 7:00 A.M. It was a good thing we got to rest up because the next day, we were slated for much activity.

I have lots to tell

But right now, I am dreadfully tired. It's 2 pm. here, but my body is still on Jerusalem time (10:00 pm).

A few quick notes:

I checked my sitemeter thing, and I have received a HUGE number of hits because people are searching for the hymn, "Thy Holy Wings" this past few weeks. I'm amazed, and I wonder what is increasing that number...

I'm anxious to check my snail mail box because I've been away so long. I'm not sure if I can get over there today, or if it's locked. I'll have to check the website.

Israel and Palestine was an incredibly interesting trip. I took hundreds of photos, met with all sorts of people, and had my eyes opened to more of what the situation is for those people. The prayers for peace for that land are truly needed, and so is an understanding that we are only shown one side of the news for that region.

I am so tired that I am dizzy. That's what I get for being a good little girl and getting up for church despite the approximate 48 hours I went without lying down to sleep in a real bed, and only catching an hour here and there on buses and planes. I'm going to go before I fall off the chair! Check back, and thanks for not giving up on me in my absence!

T-minus 23 hours, 50 minutes and counting!

Okay, we're really leaving the seminary at 9:30 a.m., but we don't take off in the plane til about 3:30. But, the time is getting here! This will probably be the last time I blog for about 18 days or so. :) Pray for us on our trip! Please and thank you.

With that said, I need to work on packing my stuff and whatnot. I've been doing laundry like a madwoman today, and my last load is down in the dryer. Now I'm trying to make sure I'm not going to be the dork with the hugest amount of luggage. I want to be like everyone else in that regard.

Anyway, we're going to be going all over Israel (except the Gaza Strip, so I'm told) and I'm very excited. We're going to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Via deLarosa, the Church of the Mount of Olives, Jericho, Nazareth, and all over the place. I'm going to take a gazillion pictures with my NEW camera, and hopefully post some of them on here. I also am going to make a presentation to show my home church because what good is taking pictures if you can't be obnoxious and show them to everyone? :) Ha.

There are many trips this J-term, and I hope everyone has a safe and great time. Some of the trips are domestic, while some others are international. I am so grateful for this opportunity, and I just hope and pray we are held safely, and that we learn a lot in the coming 17 days. Blessings to you all. Peace out.

3 hours, 52 minutes and counting!

So, here we are with a few hours left in 2007. There is a party going on down in the refectory that started at 6:00, but 6:00 is too early. I'm going for the fashionably late thing, and I'm going to go at 9:00 or so. Ok, I'm lying; I'm waiting because SCRUBS is on! Ha. I think I'm going to make popcorn as my snack to share, because that's what I have and everyone loves popcorn.

Anyway, 2007... Some highlights:

1.I moved to seminary and started CPE. CPE was a great experience for me and I met a lot of great people. I miss them, but sometimes some of us still talk. Good times.

2.Sunscreen was born!!! Yay! He's adorable! I love that child like crazy. He's seven months old now and he's so adorable.

3.I made LOTS of AWESOME friends! It's amazing that there are so many awesome people in one place.

4.I passed Greek! Woohoo!

There were several more great things, but those were the highlights. Thanks for reading, my dear and loyal readers. I wish you the best of celebrations, and be safe.

Oh, and this post sets me over the number of last year's posts! Got it in under the wire!

Time is fast approaching!

I am leaving for Israel on Thursday! I can't believe it. I'm going to be out of the country for 17 days. This is going to be a week of firsts. My first airplane ride without jumping out, my first time seeing an ocean (if I will be able to see it from the plane; I'm thinking cloud cover, here). My first time using my passport. I'm so excited.

YS and I went to Peoria today to do some shopping. I needed to get some stuff for the trip. I think I have everything I'm going to need. Hopefully, anyway.

I need to write down some information to take with me, and I need to pack and check and recheck to make sure I have everything, but I'm excited. I even got my hair trimmed up tonight (By a professional, even!) in anticipation of going.

I hope everyone else who is gearing up to go someplace for J-Term is getting excited as well. I'm confident there will be many interesting experiences. I'm excited to go, to experience, to come back, to share, and to here other people's experiences! Pretty much, I'm just excited all around. Yeehaw! Peace out, ya'll.

Christmas

Here I sit, with 34 minutes and change left to Christmas day. I have had a pretty good holiday, although it's been different. My whole family never got all the way together, but I did see all of them at one point or another. Sis, BiL, Howard, Sunscreen and I went and visited Ma in the home on Christmas Eve and celebrated with her then. Younger Older Brother and his wife and son went to see Ma tonight. When they got there, Oldest Brother was there, sans his wife. Shortly after YOB arrived, I did, as well. We spent several hours with her, so that was something.

I also went tonight to see Grandma and celebrate a little with her. We're not advised to take either Grandma or Ma out of the home. Ma, because she would put up a fight in going back, and Grandma because it is too physically taxing on her body.

Sis didn't have a real tree this year. She had this really sparse, "Charlie Brown" tree that she put silver and gold decorations on. No lights. The first real, in the living room tree I saw was tonight at YS's house. It was pretty, but it made me realize I missed having a big, real Christmas tree all decked out with ornaments that we've had FOREVER, and with big colored lights on it. But, circumstances change, and it's important to change with them.

On Christmas Eve, I got to church and sat down at a table in the fellowship hall because I'm still not feeling 100% from being sick. I was talking with some people and found out a really cool guy from church died on Sunday. I was bummed. They were snowbirds, and so he died in Florida, but they're coming back this week for the funeral. I can't believe he's gone. He wasn't even that old, and he seemed to be in great health. He and his wife used to come in and eat at Restaurant and tease me in a good natured way. I'm going to miss the guy. I'm sure they would appreciate prayers. You may not know their names, but God does.

While I was sitting there, Pastor came up to me and said, "I need to talk to you for a minute." So, I followed him to his office. I figured he was going to ask me to help lead worship. I'd done so in the past, and I had been in to have a chat with him on Tuesday and he mentioned it. So, he said, "Here's what your parts are, and this is what you do." So, I was like, "Cool, I can handle that." And then he went over behind his desk and brought out a gift bag and said, "The congregation got you a gift." I said, "Really? That was nice. They didn't have to do that." And he said, "But they wanted to." And he set the bag on the table and said, "Take a peek." So, I read the card that was attached to the handle and looked inside and said, "Are you serious?" And I pulled out a Canon Sure Shot digital camera. The card had said, "Trish, Enjoy your trip to the Holy Land. Take lots of pictures! We would be happy to see them. Merry Christmas." Awesome! I had mentioned in passing a good long while ago that I was pumped because YS's boyfriend was going to loan me his digital camera, but Pastor said that they thought I should have my own. Wow. I am so blessed to be in this family of faith. So many of them stopped and chatted with me after the service and asked about life and about everything. They really care about me, and I really care about them. I think and hope this is the way it's supposed to be; what with all this love and stuff. They're over the top with showing me love sometimes, but I'm so grateful.

So, besides having no beef balls, no egg nog, no pickled herring, and no Christmas tree, it was still a pretty good holiday. Somewhat bittersweet with what is going on with Mom and all, but still more good than not. I hope you all had a marvelous, fantastic day, and that you are trusting in the promises of what the future holds. Peace out, y'all.

Oh, p.s. 8 more days or so til we leave for ISRAEL!

My hiatus

I haven't posted in a few days because I've been siiiiick. Ugh. Oh well, I'm glad it was now, and not in 11 days when we leave for ISRAEL!!! Woohoo! Speaking of Israel, I need to get my report done. But, the book hasn't come yet. However, I did see a smidge about my "site" on the History channel today: The Holy Sepulcher. Neato, Chuck.

Anyway, I'm feeling human again, so that is a good thing. I get sick every year around this time. At least it's predictable.

It's snowing a little bit here, but I don't expect it will accumulate much. maybe 1/4 inch or so, at most.

Oh, I'm watching the History Channel some more, and they have a show on all about some stuff we learned in Foundations of the Church. Wowza! It's actually kinda neat. And speaking of school, I got a B on my final Exegetical paper. The professor wrote at the end, "You got solid credit for the course. Good Job!" Sweet!

After this post, I want to write at least two more so I can be at least equal to last year's posting level. Much to your chagrin, I'm sure. :) Ha. J/K, J/K...

Alright, and with that, I'm out, y'all. Have a happy day.

Cool little song

Back in November, for the seminary's "Considering Your Call" weekend, a "coffeehouse" was held. Coffeehouse is a time where talented people from our seminary community showcase their talent. And let me tell you all something: This community has some AWESOME talent. One of my friends sang the song, "I don't want to live on the moon," from Sesame Street. She used to work at a pre-school, and so she learned the lyrics and the guitar chords and what not. I don't remember having heard this song from my Sesame Street Days, but it was worth finding. For your viewing pleasure, here is one of the many videos from YouTube.

Who knew?

Wow, ever since I posted Ma's recipe for the WORLD'S BEST EGGNOG, I have gotten lots and lots of hits to my site. As a matter of fact, if you Googe, "How to make the world's best eggnog," my blog is the number one hit. People are getting ready for the holidays, I guess. I'm serious though, try this recipe. It's delicious. Even if you've had eggnog before and didn't like it, you should try this recipe.

Anyway, the Castle is pretty empty by now. Most of my friends have already left to their homes and or holiday destinations. I got to drive a friend to the airport today, even. He's going to Washington State. I don't blame him for not wanting to drive. Unfortunately, he didn't move his car before he left, and I think the maintenance people are planning to plow the parking lot tomorrow. I guess they will just have to work around his vehicle. I am staying here until Monday though, because I need to read a bunch of stuff and write a two page report on a site in Israel that we are going to visit in only a few short weeks. I can't believe it. I also think I may go Christmas shopping tomorrow. It's so convenient having a mall that is five minutes away. Sweet! City living is pretty cool.

So, anyway, that is my life right now. I'm hoping that some of my graded things will find their way into my mailbox on Monday before I leave so I can know more of how I did. Who knows? I'm out though. I am going to straighten up my room. See ya.

Watch out below!

Ok, first thing is first... I'm done with this semester. I'm fairly confident that I passed everything. The only thing I'm even slightly worried about is Exegetical Readings in the Greek New Testament, but I think I passed. I hope, anyway.

We had our history test today. Everyone was worried about that one. We studied SO hard, and came together to share knowledge. It was wonderful. Many of us walked away feeling much more confident about this test than the last. WooHoo.

Tonight, a friend invited me down to his place at some of the campus apartments. We watched my skydiving video, the movie, "Saved," and then we went to the park in town to look at the Christmas lights and support a good cause. It was an all around good night, except for the stuff leading up to hanging out...

I had to go run an errand, and as I was going out to my car, I saw a Seminary Volunteer having some difficulties getting out of her parking space, due to all the snow and ice. I shoveled some tracks for her and then another seminary friend came and we pushed her out. That was cool; I was glad to help. That's not the bad thing leading up to the hanging out.

Then, I was scraping the half inch of ice off my car so I could drive it, and I scraped up one of my fingers. Not too bad, though. And, the same seminary friend who helped me push the volunteer's car out helped me chip off the ice. So, that's not the bad thing, either.

When I got back from running my errand, I piddled around my room for a bit and was heading out to go to the apartments. I planned on walking because it's only a short walk. Another classmate was trying to get out, but the car was having difficulties. But, he managed to get out and make it out of the parking lot. I was proud because he is one of our international students who is not used to snow.

So, when I got down to the apartments, my friend said that he couldn't get his car to move at all. I helped him shovel a bunch of snow from around his car. He laid some salt and kitty litter and then another friend came and helped us push his car out. The friend I was going to hang out with, "J," parked it someplace where he wouldn't get stuck. We were heading toward the apartments, J holding the three buckets of stuff, and me carrying the shovel when all of a sudden I slipped and fell down really hard. J came over quickly and was like, "OH my! Are you ok?" I was just sitting there and I realized I needed to answer, but it knocked the wind straight outta me. I managed to whisper, "I'll be alright. I just need to stay here a second." So, I laid down. J came and took the shovel away because I was lying on it. I just kept repeating, "I'm okay, just give me a minute." Then we were laughing and I made a joke about how my breathing made me sound like I was giving birth. After a couple of minutes, I got up and we hung out. That was fun, although I had a monstrous headache and ended up cutting the night somewhat short. But, alas, what are you going to do? Anyway, my head is still hurting, so I'm going to go now. Stay safe in this winter weather!

World's Best Eggnog

This is the WORLD'S BEST eggnog. Courtesy: Ma's collection of favorites.

Eggnog Saronno

6 egg yolks
1/2 Cup sugar
1 quart milk
3/4 cup Amaretto di Saronno
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 Cups (1 pint) heavy cream
6 egg whites, stiffly beaten

In a saucepan, combine egg yolks, sugar and milk. Beat until smooth. Stir in Amaretto di Saronno. Stir over low heat until mixture thickens slightly and coats a metal spoon. Cover and chill. Stir in vanilla and 1 cup of the cream. Pour mixture into a 2-1/2 quart punch bowl. Beat remaining cream until stiff. Fold cream and egg whites into milk muixture. Serve at once, garnished with dollops of additional whipped cream and freshly grated nutmeg. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

in an effort to make myself laugh...

I've begun looking at all these lolcats things. Here's a funny one (but not of a cat).


moar funny pictures

Suck.

Got some bad news earlier this afternoon. It has thrown me for a loop. I'm trying to decide how to feel about it. I think I'm going to go out to my car and scream for a little while.

I just felt like running.

Make sure to say the title of this post in a "Forrest Gump" type accent.

I just got back from taking my garbage out to the dumpster. The way I go involves going to the basement, past the "Re-formation Room," and out the door right by the little shed that has the trash and recycling.

I also go by the youth room.

As I was coming back from dropping off my bag of garbage, I ran down the hallway past the workout room, and then stopped as I came to the stairs to bring me back up to my room.

"What is the point of the story, already? Jeez!"

Ha. Well, the point is, I realized that I pretty much ALWAYS run down that particular hallway after I'm done taking my garbage around. And it's just interesting because I don't run very much. But I think all this running could have something to do with the fact that this hallway has kids in it a lot! Maybe a little bit of their energy is "present" in the place.

Stop rolling your eyes.

I'm not much one for the whole, "Oh, a part of you is still here," blah blah blah. It's just interesting that that hallway INVITES me to run in it. It's probably my own mind that says, "Kids are here! Kids have energy! You have energy, too! RUN!!!!!!" Ha. Anyway, I thought it was worth sharing. Have a delightful day.