Sand Fantasy

Okay, so I may be the last person on the block to know about this, but my friend Kym introduced me to something really cool tonight. It's called sand art, and if you go on YouTube you can find several videos on it.

The ones that I like the best are done by a lady, Ilana Yahav. Ilana is a sand animation artist.
Using only her fingers, Ilana draws with sand on a glass table. If you attend one of her live performances, a video camera is trained on the glass table and the images are then projected up onto a screen so that all can see. My favorite of them all is "Just Imagine". Her website is www.sandfantasy.com . Following are excerpts from her website telling about her art form...

'Ilana draws on sand, using only her fingers. As she weaves together sand, lighting and music, Ilana creates incredible three dimensional vistas they play out in perfect time with the musical accompaniment, Indeed, it is difficult to decide if the music accompanies the work of art, or vice versa Ilana's fingers dance in the sand on the glass to the music, the resulting aesthetic dynamic is powerful and moving. Ilana uses this original technique in the creation of advertisements and image building clips.'

'The art of "Sand Fantasy" was created for specific song lyrics and themes, where some of the clip messages were presented as a story created by sand. The show is created not only after a song's main message and spirit, but is also synchronized with the rhythm and music.
The combination of the production of music clips with this unique art usually raises tremendous interest in the local media (TV, newspapers, magazines) and helps enhance public relations for the singers or musician involved.'

**For those of you who make a habit of watching Animal Planet, they used sand art for a marketing series. Amazing animal pictures! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvFBcUb9mZ0


****While you're at YouTube, check out this video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY-XTs-9Psk Wish we could have done something like this when I was in German class!

This and that

The countdown is on...it will be only a few short weeks until I am boarding a plane and flying to see my sister and brother-in-law. It feels like I need to cram in as much summer as possible before I leave, so I've been filling my days to the brim.

Yesterday I spent time moving stuff from one classroom to another at the school in preparation for summer school, which starts next Monday. I also spent time getting copies done, and trying to think through some lesson plans for certain kids. After I was done with that, I rode my bike over to Kym's house and ate a salad with her, while playing with Jaxxi. We had an enjoyable few hours playing with the baby, and enjoying the cooler, rainy weather on the front deck. In the afternoon I did some cleanup around the house, getting dishes and things like that completed, and then went out to mow the lawn. The recent rains have made it so that it is too wet to get in and mow, but still make the grass grow more! It looks like I need to borrow a baler now, and maybe in a few days I can make a hay bale! :) I was a sweaty mess when I was done--the humidity yesterday was something else!

So far today I've gone on an early morning walk around Marion with my friend Julie, run some errands downtown, and I'm in the middle of making some homemade yogurt. This afternoon Kym and I will go for haircuts--I know, I lead an exciting life! :) It's been good to have a few days of relaxation though, I like spending time in my own home, something that I don't seem to do much!

Tomorrow the big thing on my calendar, aside from my morning walk, is learning a new sequence for massage class. I'll be learning side-lying massage, and prenatal massage, so that I can give Heidi some massages while I visit. It's important to be trained in the specific strokes, because certain types of massage and work on certain pressure points actually start labor, which is not something we should do at this stage! Maybe if she's overdue and ready to pop at Christmas when I visit, but not at this point! After massage class, I will hop into my car and head to NE to visit Grandma and Grandpa J. Tim and Terri are on vacation right now, so I'll be doing some of the farm chores while I'm there. This is the first time I'll be back since they sold the animals off, so I'm not sure how I'll react to it all. I've tried to prepare myself as best as I can for the change.

Date night with Grandma

Tonight is date night with Grandma B, and everyone is coming in my direction. After my 5 mile bike ride around the lake this morning I started on the ribs so that they could bake all day, and hopefully fall off the bone by tonight. I even made my own BBQ sauce for them. I also was blessed that Heidi and Terri were online and I was able to chat with them for awhile.

I've been busy picking up the house a bit, folding and putting away laundry, although I'll save my major cleaning for Friday in order that everything is ready for my purse party. I also had my TM1 final today--the full Swedish body massage sequence. I was a bit nervous, and made a few mistakes, but overall it went really well. I have a meeting on Friday with the ladies at the massage clinic to go over procedures and expectations. I'm eager to start moving my things into "my" room, and decorating the room to make it my own.

When I got home, I baked a quick loaf of beer bread for dad--carbs, carbs, carbs! ;) Pickerings will be coming over after dinner for some more talk about our summer travel plans.

The rest of the week is going to be some more "deep" cleaning of the house, getting curriculum and plans done for summer school, May girl sleep over, purse party, and maybe a few other fun projects thrown in there!

Erica's South Beach-Style BBQ Sauce
1 1/2 medium sized onions, chopped
2 T. garlic, minced
Drippings from meat
1 cup water
4 T. vinegar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp. Splenda
2 tsp. mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
2 T. Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce

Saute onions and garlic in the meat drippings. Add in all other ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes.

Great News!

Summer, or what I've had of it so far, has been busy. Our family had a wonderful, wet trip to Indianapolis. Upon re-entry in Marion, the week was busy rushing around catching up and preparing for Becca's beautiful wedding this last weekend.

Our garden is bountiful, and rewarding us with an enormous amount of produce. We've got lettuce, spinach and cilantro coming out of our ears--a good problem to have, if you ask me! We've harvested all of our cauliflower by now, and I have put some in the freezer for later. Our broccoli plants are doing really well too. We've got little jalapenos, bell peppers and tomatoes putting on. Our bean rows are nice and straight, our cucumbers are spreading out their winding tentacles, the onions are slowly growing bigger, and the potatoes are flowering and bushy. I think we'll be blessed with more than enough--plenty to can, freeze and share with others.

I've canned some salsa verde already. I cut part of the cilantro plants out (it barely made a dent in it!), and added jalapenos, tomatillos, garlic, onions, lime juice, and a few pablano peppers. It's a beautiful green color, and can burn your skin off! I accidentally splashed some in my left eye, I thought I was going to have to go to the ER! Thankfully I was able to wash out the eye with cool water and plenty of tears.

My good news for the day is that I've officially now been invited to join the massage clinic here in town. As early as next week I can move in and start setting up a client base. Yippee! I need to figure out how I want to advertise, and how I'm going to go about all of this... I want to at least make enough to cover the rent for the room I'll be occupying, and not be "out" of any money at the end of the month! If you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them! Of course, I'd welcome any of you to be my clients! ;)

Summer--already slipping away?

Yes, I know that summer has just begun, but to me it seems like it will soon be over. Please don't misinterpret my words! I am NOT complaining, just noticing that each day in my coming weeks/months has a specific task/chore/purpose attached to it. I feel as though I'm measuring out the minutes, and weighing the importance of each appointment--whether it is worthy of my precious "free" time and attention.

Yesterday was my first day of summer--I spent it by waking up early and meeting Julie at 6:30 for a walk around the lake. We then proceeded to spend several hours pulling every weed we could grab from the garden, raking and hoeing, plus harvesting several heads of lettuce, some cauliflower, and part of our abundant spinach row. After picking all of the produce, we spent several hours washing and bagging everything. We ran into a minor problem when the sink wouldn't drain--but thankfully Quinn is a plumber and fixed the problem when he got home from work. Julie and I also completed the mural we have been working on in her basement. We need to finish up a few things, and then find a way of sealing it, but pictures will soon follow. It is a tropical oasis, perfect for those dreary, winter days when you need a bit of the beach!

I didn't get home until mid afternoon and then started mowing the lawn--we've had plenty of rain these last weeks, and the lawns around here show it! Grass seems to grow quickly, and then add frequent rain into the equation and you get to mow pretty often. Since there is rain in the forecast for the rest of the week, I decided I needed to snatch my chance and get it done with. I've already mown several times this spring, but I have a neighbor behind me who hasn't at all. The grass is several feet high at this point, and I'm wondering how long it will be before they break down and hire a tractor to come in and do it for them. It does look like they tried to mow part of it a couple weeks ago, but it must have been too much for the mower, because they just have one strip mown through the middle and then the rest has been left!

This morning was pretty overcast, so Julie and I opted to bike around the lake instead of walking--just to make sure we could get back to their farm quickly if the sky decided to open up and really rain. We had a few random sprinkles, but overall it was pretty dry. Absolutely beautiful ride, although my thigh muscles didn't appreciate all of the hills today! I didn't stay as long today, as I needed to get home and then head to Newton. I met up with Becca and did some pre-wedding (coming up this Sunday!) shopping. We went out for coffee and talk about wedding plans, and teaching--Congrats to Becca on her new job--3rd grade teacher in Wichita at Harry! Then I headed over to Arlin and Maretta's for a Buller family ice cream social. Anthony brought his new girlfriend Ferrel, so we all had a great time grilling her! Ferrel held her own, so I don't think we've scared her off, yet!

Tomorrow I need to go though some stuff here at the house and see if there is anything I want to sell at a garage sale on Friday. I also need to get my massage stuff ready for Sat.--I'll have a booth set up in the park for Chingawassa days. Feel free to drop by for a chair massage--in 5 min., 10 min. and 15 min. time slots!

"Tuning in" to the right broadcast

Near car accidents...field trips....crowds....noise...chores at home...a never ending "to-do" list...general end of the school year chaos at work...

Daily life can wear my soul down, making me tired. Thankfully, God's beautiful landscape is out there waiting to renew me. I've been going out to Julie and Quinn's quite a bit recently...watching the horses gallop over the pasture...the baby chicks scurry across the yard...the sun setting through the trees, spreading vibrant colors across the sky...plucking wily weeds from our straight rows of potatoes, onions, lettuces...

When I'm spending time outdoors, I'm in a world filled with beauty, far, far away from my everyday cares and worries.

Jesus also left the crowds behind and went to the wilderness to pray. For me, spending time in God's creation is a form of prayer and thanksgiving for all I have been given, but also a way of feeding my spiritual body. The pastor of the small congregation I attend here in Marion said something a couple of weeks ago that has stuck with me ever since--he said, "if you are tired of doing ministry [which I feel applies to teaching!], check and see whether you are being fed spiritually."

Am I being fed, filled to the brim, renewed for my ministry? How do my community--my church congregation--my personal devotions feed me? Am I doing enough? Am I doing too much of the "other" stuff that fills my life?

As this last week of school winds down, I'm eager to find more moments that I can snatch, leaving the crowds and cares of life behind.

I like to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station,

through which God speaks to us every hour,

if we will only tune in.

-George Washington Carver

Preparing for summer

Tonight is a bit cooler than it has been recently, and I thought I'd take advantage of it. Knowing that much warmer weather is coming, I spent the evening doing some baking--something I won't be doing much of in the next couple of months. A couple nights ago I put the ingredients for pizza crust in my bread machine so that I can freeze some par-baked crusts for quicker (i.e. cooler!) meals this summer. I'm looking forward to some pesto and mushroom pizzas with them!

Erica's Whole Wheat Pizza Crust Dough (makes 8 personal size crusts)

1 1/3 cups warm water

3 1/2 T. olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups all-purpose white flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp. yeast

1. Add ingredients in the order given into the bread machine pan.

2. Start dough cycle (my machine is about 1 1/2 hours).

3. When the dough is done, remove it from the pan and make into 8 small round balls, or put into a Ziploc baggie and into the fridge for later use.

4. Roll out dough into small circles on a floured surface. Pierce the dough so that it doesn't bubble when par baking.

5. Bake in oven for 3-5 min. at 350 degrees F. (flipping partway through time) until both sides are lightly browned, but still pliable!

6. Remove from oven and let cool. Prepare for the freezer by putting wax paper between layers and then storing in the freezer.

7. When ready to use: Take as many as needed from the freezer, let thaw a bit, and cover with favorite toppings. Bake until toppings are cooked through. My favorite toppings are basil pesto, onions, mushrooms, goat cheese and mozzarella. Yum!

Happy Belated Mother's Day!

To all of you mother's/grandmother's/aunts out there, Happy Mother's Day. I hope you had a wonderful, relaxing day spent with those you love. Mom, Dad and I spent the evening out at the reservoir last night, after a quick trip to see Quinn, Julie and our massive garden.

I provided sausage and fish to grill, and a couple sides, and mom and dad added a salad and dessert to the meal. It was a beautiful evening, high water and a gorgeous sunset, plus some old Marion teaching friends happened to stop by.



It has been awhile since I posted, mainly because my life has been pretty busy lately. Since my last posting, I have finished up my A and P/Pathology course, at least for this semester--yippee! Next semester I'll be driving both Tuesday and Wednesday evenings for A and P/Pathology, but at least I get a break for a few months now. I'll be continuing my tutoring during the summer to see whether I can get ahead a bit there.



Last Friday I had my first paying massage "gig". I took a personal day and went to Remington schools (it was Teacher Appreciation week) and did massage all day for their teachers--paid for by their PTA group. All staff members were given the chance to sign up for a 10 min. chair massage. Although it was a bit physically tiring for me, I had a wonderful time. Carolan (my tutor) owns a massage clinic here in town that is affiliated with the hospital, and we had several conversations throughout the day about whether or not I will be joining the practice. It sounds as though in the next few weeks it will all begin to fall into place, and I can start working there in the evenings, weekends and this summer. The whole day was good for my soul--after an especially trying week.



This weekend was beautiful, I spent time on Sat. out at Julie and Quinn's working in the garden--we harvested some spinach, broccoli, and radishes, and went to a friend's cabin up by the lake to cut fresh asparagus. We also moved the baby chicks from one pen into the bigger pen with the bigger chickens--quite an experience for all involved! Now Julie and I will have to clean out our garden shed again, since we had been using it to keep the babies out of harms way.



I also spent a bit of time making some homemade granola, which turned out wonderfully, if I do say so myself! I ended up giving some to Mom for mother's day.



Erica's Sugar-Free Granola

4 cups oats

1/4 cup coconut

1 cup mixed dried fruit (I used dried blueberries, cranberries, cherries, and raisins)

1/4 cup slivered almonds

2 tsp. Splenda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon



Mix dry ingredients with 1/2 cup canola oil. Spread evenly on baking sheet. Bake at 300 degrees F, for 15 minutes, turning frequently. Watch carefully that the fruit doesn't burn!

Message of Hope

As we drove throughout Oklahoma City this past weekend, I began to notice a statement that kept cropping up, seemingly repeated on every third or fourth bench we passed. It really struck home with me, and reminded me of the importance that the dialogue between God and myself should hold. There were several times that I tried to capture a picture like the one below, but there were individuals sitting on the benches. I wonder if they even had a passing thought over the message they were leaning against, or whether the bench provided just a place to momentarily rest for them.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

-Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

When things don't seem to be going my way, may I not become restless in the uncertainty--but rejoice in the assurance that God will provide for me, and rest in the knowledge that I will be taken care of according to His greater plan. All I have to do is ask!

Though you have not seen (Christ), you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

-1 Peter 1:8-9 NIV

Oklahoma City Memorial Weekend

This weekend was the 7th Annual Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. Although I didn't participate in the marathon, the 1/2 marathon, or even run (I did try to jog to the bathroom once!) this weekend, I did enter the 5K fun run/walk.

The Gates of Time: Twin gates frame the moment of destruction (at 9:02) and mark the formal entrances to the Memorial. The East gate represents April 19, and the innocence of the city before the attack.

My friend Christina and I headed down to OK city on Friday afternoon after work. The drive down went well, and we were able to check into the motel without too many problems (there was a bit of road construction that we had to fight through.) After checking in, we headed to a local chinese buffet. It was wonderful, several rows of hot chinese foods, a cold buffet of veggies to have stir-fried (like Mongolian BBQ), and a sushi bar. I was in heaven! It was even more enjoyable when we got the check--it was less than $10.00 for each of us to eat, plus we could have had salmon, chicken, steak, lobster, etc...cooked to order and included in the price! What a find, and definitely a repeat for next year! By the time we were done, it was time to head to bed.

Sat. a.m. we woke up and ate breakfast at the hotel, and then headed into downtown OK City. We paid our $5.00 parking fee and walked down to the Cox center to pick up our t-shirt and entry packet. There is also a health expo going on that we walked through--I purchased some nice new inserts for my athletic shoes, and also got a free chair massage. When we had gotten our share of freebies we headed for the park that is nearby. Running concurrently with the Memorial celebration is also the Arts festival that is held in the botanical garden downtown. Throughout the park there are booths with fine art, culinary art (yummy!) and performing arts. For lunch I had a lamb gyro and pita chips with hummus. Christina chose the German meal--Knockwurst, Rotkraut, Saurkraut, fried potatoes, and a roll. We wandered around the art booths, and watched several musical acts before just strolling through the botanical garden, and then sitting beside a fountain for awhile.

One of many of the visual arts displays.

Included in the displays are artists actually in the middle of their art, talking through their craft and answering questions for people.

Coi pond in the Botanical gardens, and various views of the gardens. The greatest thing about the entire thing is that dogs/animals aren't allowed in the park--no worries of stumbling across anything when you want lay on the grass and enjoy your surroundings.

Christina had to finish a paper so we headed back to the motel. I took a nap while she did her homework. Mom and Dad joined us at about 5:30, and we headed to a nearby steak restaurant--Cimarron's. We all enjoyed a good, and very filling meal before heading back to the motel to sit outside and catch up on our reading, while enjoying the beautiful evening. We headed to bed early.

We woke up at 4:00 this morning in order to shower, grab some breakfast, and catch the shuttle bus downtown for the 6:30 start time. There was a bit of a break-down with the bus shuttles, but thankfully we all got where we needed to go. We headed for the starting line (and our place at the back of it!), catching the last part of the sunrise service.



At 6:30 the race started, but it was a good 10 min. before our end of the line had moved enough to cross the starting line. For anyone who hasn't experienced this weekend memorial, you need to! It is the very definition of the expression "a sea of humanity". It is amazing to see the people all stretched out, never seeming to end. I kept trying to get a picture of it, but I'm not tall enough to capture the sheer enormity of it all.



Mom, Dad, Christina and I all walked in a group, weaving in and out of the people around us that were going slower. This weekend draws people from all over the world. At one point this morning, Mom was trying to get around a group of (loud) New York men, who wanted to know why she wasn't using her turn signals! Thankfully, everyone is united in the reason we are there walking/jogging/running, and it is like walking with a group of friends--eager to talk, and hear your stories, as well as share their own. Dad got split up from us for awhile, so I wasn't able to see him with his "crush and throw" motion at the first water stop...I guess he'll just have to go next year so that I can see it! :) When we crossed the finish line for our 5K the 1st guy was finishing his 1/2 marathon! It was amazing! It was still too early for us to head back to the hotel, so we walked over to the memorial and walked around. I'll include some pictures (items in green are taken from the memorial brochure) and my thoughts will be in blue.



The Survivor Tree: 90 year-old American Elm stands as a profound symbol of human resilience. The message on the stone surrounding the elm reads: The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated; our deeply rooted faith sustains us.



Field of Empty Chairs: 168 chairs stand as a reminder of each life lost, symbolizing the absence felt by family members and friends. The chairs are placed in 9 rows, representing the nine floors of the building. The chairs are placed according to the floor on which those killed worked or were visiting. The chairs are designed in two sizes, the smaller size representing the absence of 19 children. The field's perimeter matches the footprint of the former Murrah Building.



Reflecting Pool: The pool occupies what was once N.W. Fifth street. Here, a shallow depth of gently flowing water is intended to help soothe wounds, with calming sounds providing a peaceful setting for quiet thoughts. The West Gate represents 9:03, the moment we were changed forever, and the hope that came from the horror in the moments and days following the bombing.



Children's Area: In the aftermath of the blast, countless expressions of encouragement were received from children. A wall of hand-panted tiles sent to OK City in 1995 by children illustrates that caring.



The Fence: The first fence was installed to protect the site of the Murrah Building. Almost immediately, people began to leave tokens of love and hope on the fence. Those items now total more than 60,000 and are collected and preserved in the archives.





"We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity."



This was left by one of the rescue workers the day after the blast.



























Along with a marathon, 1/2 marathon, wheelchair marathon and 5K, there is also a Kids marathon. It was really neat to see them racing the last leg of their race!





















This is the reason why we do it, and why I will continue to go back and participate. It is hard to keep the tears back when you see person after person that was affected that day.

Mom and Dad--it was pretty bright at the memorial, so the pic didn't turn out as well. We're pretty proud of Mom and her first athletic medal! :)



Christina and me on the way back to the hotel after the race. Tired and sweaty--ready for a shower and the drive home!

Recent happenings in pictures

I wrote about our recent snow storms, but hadn't had a chance to upload these pics. My thinking frog was a bit confused in the rapid changes of weather lately, I think!

MCC sale was last weekend. Freak snow storm on Friday, and a beautiful day on Saturday. New additions to the sale this year were a children's auction--complete with a clown auctioneer, and our friend Whitney! Which one is Whitney though?

We love you Whitney! :)

My friend Julie's birthday was yesterday. She's addicted to two things: chocolate and Coca-Cola, so I decided to mix the two together for her gift. Quinn was in charge of cooking last night, but I volunteered to bring a cake. Some of you know that I used to work in a chocolate shop. It's been awhile since I've spent time doing "fun" work like chocolate work, but I figured this was the perfect excuse to play! First I heated some white chocolate and colored it Coca-Cola red. Luckily, I had purchased some molds from the lady I worked for in college, and I happened to have some coke bottles in the mix.

I first started on the detail work on the coke bottles, inlaying the red chocolate. Once that had set, I melted milk chocolate and poured it on top. Unfortunately, I don't have all the tools that I worked with at the shop, so they weren't perfect, but...I did the best I could! :)

Once that was done, I drew out the Coca-Cola lable on parchment paper. I then outlined the red chocolate on the parchment paper, making sure it was thick enough, so that it wouldn't break when I tried to take it off the paper. All those loop-d-loops make it pretty difficult!

The final product--2 layers of Devil's food cake, chocolate fudge frosting, Coca-Cola label, with a large Coke bottle on top, and 8 mini Coke bottles on the bottom. Once I got it all together, I headed out to Julie and Quinn's (they live out by the County Lake). Unfortunately, the cake stand toppled over midway there. I was ready to cry! All that hard work! Thankfully, I was able to repair the cake (for the most part, at least) before Julie saw it.

Pictures from tonight (4/25/2007) Enjoying good fellowship, and home-made icecream after a fantastic meal at Arlin and Maretta's house.

Adam is really starting to scoot around by army crawling on the floor, and is able to walk when holding on to things around him. He is growing up so fast!