After The Holiday

Christmas was a bit crazy, but it went well over all. I put together the green bean casserole, candied yams, corn pudding, and banana pudding the day before, then transported them to my dad's and cooked them there. I also made the ham and heated up the frozen rolls (everything else was entirely from scratch, I deserved a break on the rolls) at my dad's house too.

My sister gave me the prettiest red apron with off-white polka dots and lace, my dad gave me a pretty necklace with fake pearls, and my mom gave me a pastry blender, pastry cloth, and 12-inch oven and stove top safe fry pan. Can you tell what my current obsession is?

However much I love my family and am glad they like my new hobby (food), I find myself thinking, "I am so glad I only have a week left before I go back to Kentucky." I am sure I wish will myself home every once in a while in the next few months, but family can be crazy stressful. I worked out 6 days week when I was only supposed to work out 5. I just couldn't handle not moving and needed to do something to wear myself out. When I asked my mom about Alice's idea that, if I come back to O-town and get my MBA, it is about the same price to pay for therapy if I live at home as it is to pay for me to get my own place and not need therapy. She asked why would need therapy if I lived at home and I tried to avoid answering her with some mumbling about stress and not having my own place and being at "that stage of life." She kept pressing though and finally became upset and began to cry and defend her messy house and crazy relations with my dad and sister. Argh.

Anyway, I currently waiting for my mom's non-boyfriend to pick me up and take me to the oral surgeon so I can have all four of my molars removed, oh joy. I will not be able to eat practically anything for 3 days or so and probably will not be well enough to cook either. I am preparing by setting up my station on the couch. The sheep icepack that my sister brought back from her trip to New Zealand is beside the couch, along with my camera, several issues of The Economist, my PC, and of course, the tv remote. I ordinarily dislike tv, but even I will admit that it is a source of worthy entertainment when I am feeling absolutely awful for multiple days.

Back Home for a Bit

Leaving campus for the last time as a student last Friday was bittersweet, but honestly, it was much more bitter than sweet. I have no real job, no real grad school plans yet; just working as a live-in nanny for the family I have been a part-time nanny for for the past two years. After making 6 quarts of turkey chili for my Bible study's Christmas party and enjoying food and fellowship with them, I got ready to leave for Florida Saturday morning.

About the first hour into the drive home on Saturday, my mother called me to inform me that my sister is being sent to an inpatient center in Maine because her mental illness is such that neither of my parents know how to live with her and she refuses to live with my mother. Then I get a call that evening from my dad who says that he has talked to his friend's wife who is a counselor and she says that 5-day a week counseling at home will be better, so Mary is no longer going to Maine. Sunday morning rolls around and mom convinces dad to send Mary to Maine at lunch after church, so mom goes out and buys all of the clothes Mary will need. That evening, my dad is unsure again. On Monday, my dad informs my mom that he bought the plane tickets for him and Mary to go up to Maine, but he tells Mary of the plans that night and she flips out and says she wants to do the 5-day a week outpatient. So now she is not going to Maine. It's been terribly stressful, especially with my parents fighting about it and the psychologist and psychiatrist not being on the same page either.

Ed is really playing mean this week. I am so tempted to work out all 7 days a week. I know, I have the power not to, but he is so forceful when I am at home in the environment that it all started in. I met with my nutritionist and she suggested that, instead of paying for the expensive weekly therapy that will probably be required if I move home for grad school, I should just ask my parents to use that money to pay for my own place. It's either fight for what I have worked through with Ed and pay lots of money to do it, or have my own place and continue only going to therapy occasionally. Having my own place seems a lot easier and less stressful.

In other news, I am making all of Christmas dinner (remember the fiasco with Mary refusing help on Thanksgiving and saying that I would do all of Christmas?). I wish she would help. Cooking with people is one of my favorite activities. There is something bonding about working together to create what provides vital nourishment to our bodies. Oh well.

The Christmas menu is (drum roll):

Honey-praline baked ham
Corn pudding

Green bean casserole

Candied sweet potatoes (no marshmallows!)

Frozen sister Schubert's rolls (I gotta have a little break somewhere)

Banana pudding pie

Voyage of the Dawn Treader

At about 10am yesterday, I received a call from my roommate inviting me to the US premiere of the Voyage of the Dawn Treader that night. The catch was that I was at work and would not get off 'till 5:30pm, but in order to make it to the premiere, I had to be dressed in formal wear and ready to go by 4pm. I quickly called my boss to ask to get off work early and she graciously agreed to come home early.

Going in to the theater, I asked for a water, since there was free coke, sprite, and diet coke, and popcorn available, but the boy at the table refused. However, he offered to get my roommate anything she wanted, including the candy items that were not supposed to be free to us.
When we were being assigned seats, I asked to have 4 together, so all of my friends could sit together, and the usher refused. However, when he saw my roommate come in and realized I was one of her friends, he promptly re-directed us to 8 free seats in the front.

The movie was fantastic. It was really cool to see the actors who portrayed Lucy and Edmund and to hear them explain for 5 minutes what the movie meant to them. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is my favorite book in the Narnia series. I must admit, the story is not particularly thrilling compared to the other Narnia books, but the symbolism is powerful and it is almost impossible to escape the deep meaning it has on our lives and relationships with Christ.

Edmund is the key character in the story and he is the one I most relate to, mostly because of his continual struggle with the White Witch. She shows up in different forms, with different words, but never gives up trying to take him away from his purpose, from living the true live, from following Aslan. She uses so many lies and tricks and sometimes they seem so real.
I especially love how the results Eustace's own faults and sins (Eustace's pride/bigotry ends up turning him into a dragon) are used for good when he helps to save Edmund and the crew from Edmund's own dark night (the sea serpent that Edmund dreams up).

It is such a powerful story. It was beautiful to watch Reepicheep row his boat into Aslan's land. I loved the line, when he lays down his sword on the beach, "I won't be needing this there" and with a burst of energy, excitement, and full confidence in Aslan, he grabs his perfectly-sized boat and goes over the wave. I wish to be brave and have a faith like Reepicheep's, but I am also so grateful that Aslan never gives up on Edmund, no matter how many times he lets the lies deceive him. There is always his own perseverance, a friend, or Aslan himself to speak the truth and wake Edmund out of the trance.

The White Witch for Edmund is like my Ed.