Marriage According to Desmond

So, tonight Desmond was trying to explain to me what it meant to be married. And his idea of what it meant to plan a wedding. Complete with proposals and "the booking". In about three different accents. Yes, that would be my brother for you.

So, without further adieu...Marriage According to Desmond.

the poppyseed chicken attempt.

So, tonight I cooked dinner for the family. I know, scary, right? But, it's okay, Mom helped me "velvet" the chicken. Actually she did it while I slept this morning. It's apparently a very important step in the process of making poppyseed chicken. You, too, can learn how to velvet chicken by going here. :)

I used this recipe from Kelly's Korner recipes:

Ingredients:

2 or 3 chicken breasts, boiled and cut into small pieces

1 16oz. Sour Cream

2 cans Cream of Chicken

2 tbsp Poppyseeds (I don't measure, I just shake a ton in!)

1 tube Ritz Crackers

1 stick of butter

Directions:

Mix the first 4 ingredients and put in a baking dish. Cover with crushed up Ritz crackers. Melt a stick ofbutter and pour on top. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350.

We served it over leftover coconut rice from last night's dinner and I think it tasted better than it would have over regular rice. Overall, the "Poppyseed Chicken attempt" was much better than the "Minute Rice Chicken and Rice attempt" from earlier this summer. It was so good, in fact, that I forgot to photograph the evidence until it was halfway eaten. Oh well.

Max decided not to join the madre, padre, and I on the Poppyseed Chicken adventure. He chose to go the Eggo waffle route so he could sing the "Do you like waffles, yeah I like waffles" song. Below, is a picture of Max and I displaying our love of the waffle.

As you can tell, it has been another not so ordinary, fun day in the Adam household. On to school supply and clothes shopping tommorrow, and preparing for the Alabama Prospective/ Potential/ some P-word Teacher Test on Satuday.

represent.

Who do you go for?

No, really....who do you go for?

Let's say for example that you are a fan of the best football program in the SEC nation (that would be Auburn, if you were wondering). You go to all the football games and wear your blue and orange. You know all the words to the fight song and you love cheering your Tigers on to victory. You have 3 AU bumper stickers and car flags for every window. But then- IT happens. Auburn gets beat by Bama in the Iron Bowl and the program goes down hill. The coach gets fired. The fans are sad. You decide to take down the car decor and quit wearing the blue and orange everyday to work. You don't get as pumped up and stop going to the games. You still like Auburn- you think they're pretty cool and all- but you don't fight with the Bama fans at work and you might be spotted in some crimson. I mean-deep down inside (really deep) you still bleed blue and orange. But, you won't make it known unless you're asked.

Okay, I'm sure you can see where I'm going here.Why do we call ourselves Christians if we're not going to act like it? It's like being a fickle fan. You're only a christian when it's convenient. I know, I'm not perfect, I don't always act in the most Christlike of ways, and I don't want to seem like I'm pointing fingers. So, in all seriousness, if I say something in this post and then you see me do it later--tell me. Don't let me be a hypocrite.

It all started when I read a note a friend of mine posted on Facebook about the need for girls to dress modestly in the summertime. She said, "Although the idea of a cute TINY bikini might seem more appealing, I warn you ladies of what you are doing to your witness and to the eyes of men. We are called to glorify Christ in all that we do. Do you agree? While I'm sure you do, are you glorifying Christ with your body? (1 Corinthians 6:20)". Oh-and Facebook. When you post those "really cute beach pictures of you and your BFF in your "itsy-bitsy yelllow polka dot bikini" for all the world to see, are you respecting your brothers in Christ?  Yes, we are sharing about all the really cool/neat/awesome things we did on our trip...but can't we do that without the stumbling blocks? Are we glorifying Christ in what pictures we post? Now I'm guessing this doesn't just apply to the modesty issue...are you putting things out there that don't accurately represent the Savior residing inside of you?

A study that the Burma Group did before publishing the book unChristian found that a majority of Christians did not act that much differently than their nonChristian counterparts. In the study they conducted, young Christians were just as likely "to gamble, take something that didn't belong to them, physically fight or abuse someone, get drunk, to use an illegal nonperscription drug, told a lie, gotten back at someone for something he or she did, or to say mean things behind someone's back. No difference." The author puts it this way: If you were to place the Christians in one room, and the nonChristians in another room, you could not tell the difference on lifestyle choices alone. In another survey they did, 84% said that they personally knew at least one committed Christian. Only 15% thought the lifestyle of those Christians were different from the norm. This is sad. What kind of example are we showing for Christ if we are living as if we are of the world? We aren't accurately representing the call of Christ to the world.

We are called to live in this world, but not of this world. We are called to a higher purpose-to be set apart. Leviticus 20:23-26 says "You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them. But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from the nations.You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds. Do not defile yourselves by any animal or bird or anything that moves along the ground—those which I have set apart as unclean for you. You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own." We are becoming increasingly poor witnesses of a life and mind transformed by faith. If we (the Christians) can't represent Christ in the world, who will? I know, it's hard. God never said it would be easy-only that he would always be there. Here are three tips for the climb:

1. Ask yourself, "Does my life point people to a life in Christ that bursts with freedom to love, restoration, purity, and transparency?"

2. We all need friends (that are believers!) to help us stay accountable and to keep us straight and focused on the end result. Find someone. Surround yourself with like minded believers and remove yourself from harmful relationships. It's alot easier to represent Christ when the people you are around are representing Christ.

3. Examine what you are putting out there on the internet. Are they things that are glorifying to God? Would you be embarassed if your parents/pastor/Jesus saw them?

"So the truth is that I'm fighting. I'm fighting sin with everything I've got. Some days I fare better than others. Odds are that if you're calling me a hypocrite, then you caught me on one of my worse days. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I let you down and disappointed you. But the truth is that I'm not giving up or letting go. I've encountered a God who promises the battle will end in victory-life instead of death. So call me crazy-but I'm holding on to that promise. I'm also trying to uphold the standard God has set. They're pretty high, and some days I just find myself laying on the ground, staring at the ceiling. But then I feel and urge, to get up and fight once again."
- Margaret Feinberg

So...who are you representing?

show us your life!

So, as I'm sure I've previously mentioned, I'm a blog addict (or blog stalker...but I prefer addict to stalker) and one of my absolute favorite blogs to read is Kelly's Korner. She has some of the cutest, coolest things. Anyways, these past few months, she's been doing this BlogHop called "Show Us Where You Live". Not in a creepy, stalkerish, which-house-on-the-street-are-you-kind-of-way, but show off your living room/dining room/playroom thing. Which is all good, unless you are the eighteen year old living in a dorm room/nineteen year old living at home with the parentals. I mean, my kitchen in AU wasn't much to brag about. It consisted of a microwave sitting on top of a refridgerator. See?

As you can tell, it was kind of hard for me to do "Show Us Your Kitchen" week. And then, I guess you could say once I moved into the new room, we kind of had a dining area. One that doubled as a desk when I was studying and a great place to play mancala. But, the dining area really didn't last once I determined the space was needed more for studying than for eating cereal and ramen.

Now, "Show Us Your Master Bedroom" and "Show Us Your Children's Rooms" would also have been fun to do. If I had a Master Bedroom and some children with rooms. But, seeing as I was confined to lovely room 301....that was not an option. If we had "Show Us Your Super Amazing Smallish Dorm Room That You Share With A Roommate"...well...that might have been possible. But, "Show Us Your Foyer"? Well...I still am not sure what a foyer is. So. Can't do that one.

I mean, I could have taken pictures of my home-home. But, I don't think the madre would appreciate that too much with the munchkins that run around the house and don't clean up after themselves. But, for your enjoyment...this is what my door looked like at Christmastime.

And then last week, we got to "Show Us Your Children's Birthday Parties". Great idea to get ideas for 6 month old Baby Harper's party, but I really don't think she wants to know what I've done for my birthday. I mean, this one time when I was four...we had a party for my daddy and I made everyone wear hats.

That's what happens when I plan parties. Everyone has to wear a hat. I think that's why when we threw parties for people in Auburn I was designated as the cake batter and frosting eater rather than the party planner. Though, I was the one that chose the venue for Kayla and Lyndsey's joint birthday weekend extravaganza.

So yeah. Now we're to "Show Us Your Wedding Dress" week. And once again..I'm not married. But, I decided to play along anyways. Because I should be studying for the APTT, but I would rather procrastinate. So, as of today, money no option, this is what I like:

I want a princess wedding, and yes...I have it all planned out. I had to find something to do other than study, right? It's all planned out. I'm going to get married a Cinderella's Castle in DisneyWorld ( I know, you can't. But...I can dream!) to a German prince from France that lives in Morrocco named Pierre. He just doesn't know it yet.

And we will live happily ever after with our fourteen cows, seventeen llamas, fifty-six maids/butlers/cooks (those kinds of people) and seventy-seven children (and their names will all start with the same letter....we might just have to repeat a few names. the Duggars will be jealous).

And that's my life. :)

fun in the sun.

Last Saturday, my family (plus Rachel) began our journey to St.George Island.

First, we packed up the car and began the first leg of our journey. The car was really full because my family doesn't really know how to pack light. We haven't ever taken a beach trip for a week before, so we had to bring anything and everything we thought we might possibly need.

We met the family at Nichols, a seafood restraunt near where my Grandpa lives. We met him and Miss Cherry there to have dinner and visit for awhile. Then, we drove to Niceville and stayed in a hotel for the night. Sunday morning, we drove to Ft.Walton Beach to go to church with my mom's cousin and her daughter. Then, we finally headed to St.George Island!

We spent the next few days at the beach and the pool (you know, trying to get rid of the pale skin before beach pictures later in the week!). And spending time with Grandma (teaching the little girls how to sew!) and the little cousins.

On Wednesday, we went oyster hunting. Or rather, we attempted to catch some oysters. Or rather, Daddy and Uncle Jeff tried to catch oysters until they realized that it was high tide and they couldn't get out deep enough. It was an experience to remember though, you could tell we weren't locals because we went down the wrong path (aka...the swamp!) and got horribly muddy.

The next day was my birthday. Yep, that's right...I'm now nineteen! We celebrated my special day by eating cake (Funfetti, of course!).

And that night we went to eat at the Blue Parrot where I tried some more oysters (I tried my first on Sunday night) and my parents tried to act gangster. I'll let you determine if they were just posers.

Of course, we couldn't go to the beach without taking stereotypical family beach pictures, could we? The wind and sun were both pretty bad, so the pictures weren't perfect, but we got a few good ones, I think. Love my tanlines? I know, they're pretty amazing. :)

That was our trip. Oh-and all those books I bought before the trip? I only finished one-The Memory Keeper's Daughter. It was a great book-highly recomended if you were wondering. :)

here comes the sun...

So, I am leaving on Saturday to go to the beach for a week with my family and my best friend, Rachel. Seeing as we don't think we have wifi or a television, I made a few purchases at Target and Books A Million to entertain me. I mean, you can only play Apples to Apples and UNO so many times before you lose your sanity. So, I thought I would share with you my "Beach Reads 2009 edition" before I leave.

• Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay: De Rosnay's U.S. debut fictionalizes the 1942 Paris roundups and deportations, in which thousands of Jewish families were arrested, held at the Vélodrome d'Hiver outside the city, then transported to Auschwitz. Forty-five-year-old Julia Jarmond, American by birth, moved to Paris when she was 20 and is married to the arrogant, unfaithful Bertrand Tézac, with whom she has an 11-year-old daughter. Julia writes for an American magazine and her editor assigns her to cover the 60th anniversary of the Vél' d'Hiv' roundups. Julia soon learns that the apartment she and Bertrand plan to move into was acquired by Bertrand's family when its Jewish occupants were dispossessed and deported 60 years before. She resolves to find out what happened to the former occupants: Wladyslaw and Rywka Starzynski, parents of 10-year-old Sarah and four-year-old Michel. The more Julia discovers—especially about Sarah, the only member of the Starzynski family to survive—the more she uncovers about Bertrand's family, about France and, finally, herself.
• The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards: Edwards's assured but schematic debut novel hinges on the birth of fraternal twins, a healthy boy and a girl with Down syndrome, resulting in the father's disavowal of his newborn daughter. A snowstorm immobilizes Lexington, Ky., in 1964, and when young Norah Henry goes into labor, her husband, orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Henry, must deliver their babies himself, aided only by a nurse. Seeing his daughter's handicap, he instructs the nurse, Caroline Gill, to take her to a home and later tells Norah, who was drugged during labor, that their son Paul's twin died at birth. Instead of institutionalizing Phoebe, Caroline absconds with her to Pittsburgh. David's deception becomes the defining moment of the main characters' lives, and Phoebe's absence corrodes her birth family's core over the course of the next 25 years. David's undetected lie warps his marriage; he grapples with guilt; Norah mourns her lost child; and Paul not only deals with his parents' icy relationship but with his own yearnings for his sister as well.
• Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult: Perennial bestseller Picoult delivers another engrossing family drama, spiced with her trademark blend of medicine, law and love. Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe's daughter, Willow, was born with brittle bone disease, a condition that requires Charlotte to act as full-time caregiver and has strained their emotional and financial limits. Willow's teenaged half-sister, Amelia, suffers as well, overshadowed by Willow's needs and lost in her own adolescent turmoil. When Charlotte decides to sue for wrongful birth in order to obtain a settlement to ensure Willow's future, the already strained family begins to implode. Not only is the defendant Charlotte's longtime friend, but the case requires Charlotte and Sean to claim that had they known of Willow's condition, they would have terminated the pregnancy, a statement that strikes at the core of their faith and family. Picoult individualizes the alternating voices of the narrators more believably than she has previously, and weaves in subplots to underscore the themes of hope, regret, identity and family, leading up to her signature closing twists.
• Crazy Love by Francis Chan: Have you ever wondered if we're missing it? It's crazy, if you think about it. The God of the universe--the Creator of nitrogen and pine needles, galaxies and E-minor--loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrifi cing love. And what is our typical response? We go to church, sing songs, and try not to cuss. Whether you've verbalized it yet or not.we all know something's wrong. Does something deep inside your heart long to break free from the status quo? Are you hungry for an authentic faith that addresses the problems of our world with tangible, even radical, solutions? God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working harder at a list of do's and don'ts-it's falling in love with God. And once you encounter His love, as Francis describes it, you will never be the same.Because when you're wildly in love with someone, it changes everything.

In other news, I came across a really neat site this week called Gives Me Hope. It was formed as a response to the popular site FML. The site owners put it like this: "We love FML, but FML can be a downer. And we're completely exhausted by the negativity of the mainstream media. We're tired of hearing about what's wrong in this world. That's why we created GivesMeHope.com. GMH is where people share with the world their most hopeful, uplifting moments and allow others to draw strength from their experiences. It's like Chicken Soup for the Soul - the 21st Century, Twitter-style version. Because with all of the hurt and suffering in the world, who couldn't use a few more reasons to hope each day?" I really like this site, it brings a smile to my day and I highly encourage you to check it out for yourself.

i'm so gangster you can find me baking cookies at night...

Top 5 favorite YouTube movies of the moment:

5. "25 Things I Hate About Facebook"- I know, I'm totally guilty of doing most of the things that Julian Smith hates about facebook, but still....

4. "Nail Salon"- Better than Bonquiqui. Like times a million. Because, we all really want to know what the Chinese ladies behind the counter at the nail salon are really saying.

3. "Los Dientes" - I like this. It may be creepy to some, but I find it hilarious.

2. "I Work At Subway"- To the tune of one of my favorite songs...about one of my favorite restraunts.

1. "Thug Story"- If they sold this on itunes, I would buy it. Taylor Swift may be a better rapper than me though. Because "I like your shoes. They're white and blue. With pink and yellow polka dots too" just doesn't have the same ring as "I'm so gangster you can find me baking cookies at night" does it?