Passing Seasons

What is it about the season that gets us so excited and in a flutter, only to come crashing down when its all over? Holidays are like a drug. They give us an unnatural high in which we revel the daylong. Suddenly, without warning, we come crashing down with a headache and a heartache.

I am a victim of this drug. For weeks I baked and cooked and decorated. I shopped and wrapped with care and dreamt of the smiles that would appear from said gifts. I yearned for the family and anticipated the dear friends. Then all at once it was upon me. Trips to the airport were made, and bedrooms were filled. Soon we were laughing and singing and eating like crazy. I enjoyed every minute of it. Even being woken in the night by a crying baby at 4 am. I relished it.

My sister and her husband and their ADORABLE baby were with us for ten glorious days. My friend, Bruce, came for four. We all had such a fantastic time. I can’t begin to tell you all the good times we had. Between our new stove, Javier’s new gun, Granny’s fruitcake and Abigail’s little washer machine, it was a perfect Christmas. We sang the most beautiful song at the candlelight service on Christmas Eve. We ate the most delectable foods. We played games and went on walks and talked until we all collapsed each night with exhaustion.

Then one day I woke up, and we packed everyone in the car, and they were gone. Everyone. Suddenly my house was empty. There were sheets to wash, and a refrigerator that looked like World War II. When I said my farewells at the airport, I felt okay. I was still feeling the residual giddiness from the week. When I got home, I thought I would be sick. It was all over. Somehow, I found the energy to undecorate the tree and strip the beds. I felt bereft and depressed.

I needed some TLC. I was just so blue and tired. It was, after all, New Years Eve. Mom and Dad had plans, and Granny had plans, and my plans were up in the air. I went to go take care of some Internet business and then just sporadically decided to take a walk on the beach. My heart was so full. As I walked, the Lord enveloped me in His love. He game me a spectacular sunset with which to say good-bye to the old year. He gave me encouragement from His Word, which I had brought along. I was uplifted. When I got home, I had just what I needed: confirmed plans, a quiet house to myself, a frozen pizza, and a chick flick. After my film I joined some fantastic friends for a Twilight Zone marathon, and rang in the New Year watching a crab pot drop downtown with my community. It was perfect. It was just what I needed.

The Lord sees that we are dust. He sees that we are so desperately weak. He knows my frame, and when I feel that the slightest breeze will crack me into a thousand pieces, He finds the gentlest way to whisper His love to me, and remind me that though the season has changed, and though my friends and family have returned home, He is still God, and He never changes. For someone who has SUCH a hard time with change, THAT is a comforting thought. ☺

Malachi 3:6a “ For I am the Lord, I change not…”

What is a Doula?

Dear friends,
Since I have decided that I want to pursue being a Doula after my Herbalism Program is complete, I decided to shed a little light on what a Doula really is. In the past, I have had a hard time explaining to people what a Doula is exactly. I did a little research last week, and have found out some very good things that I can share with y'all.

1) Doula comes from Ancient Greek δούλη (doulē) meaning "female slave." (this is from Wikipedia). In other words, a Doula serves as sort of a "lady-in-waiting" for the pregnant mother.

2) A Doula is a "birth companion" of sorts that helps a mother with everything from doing research and making informed decisions for her labor plan, to be there to support her and help her through her labor. She assists with breast feeding and post partum recovery.

I hope this helps !

Journey West to be completed Later...But for now...

Hello all,
SOO as it turns out, my computer is having issues and so I am not able to post the rest of my pictures from my Journey West. The rest included Vegas, Grand Canyon, Crater Lake, Seattle, and Vancouver Island. It was a beautiful time and it was pure joy to see a very dear friend, Bjorn Stime marry his lovely bride.

Life has been moving right along here on the East coast. Since I arrived back on this side of the country I started working at Carteret Community College. I am an English tutor. I man the "Language Lab." People needing help with Enlish homework, grammar or writing papers come to me for help. Otherwise I just sit in here and work on my own stuff. Right now I'm learning how to knit socks. I will post a picture of my completed sock when I finish it. It is NOT easy. I had to rip out the heel and do it four times. I really enjoy knitting though which is a new developement. I've always been kind of a crochet type of gal.

My herbalism program is coming along. I'm supposed to finish lesson 11 today and 12 by the end of this week. I'd better get crackin'. Right now i'm practicing doing health analysis and evaluation on people. I did one on myself, a friend, and now I've got to finish one for a family member. I find it extremely exciting to look at someone's health history, family history, current symptoms and issues and to do research to find out what nutrients in foods, supplements and botanicals can help them. I love it. I absolutely can't wait, however, until I finish this and start working on my Doula certification. That is my real passion. I love pregnancy and everything about. I love ministering to pregnant women. I like reading about and developing botanical medicines and treatments for them. My latest project was a sitz bath mixture for post-partum healing. I got some ideas from my instructor, Mrs. Shonda Parker, and then also from another herbal company. Here is what I put in the mixture:

Post-Partum Sitz Bath:
I used Equal parts of
Comfrey leaf
Plantain Leaf
Lavendar Flowers
Chamomile Flowers
Calendula Flowers
St. Johns Wort
Arnica Flowers

Then I filled the rest of the bag up with Sea Salt. The finished product filled up a gallon zip-lock bag.

This isn't my mixture, but I thought it was a nice idea to put it in a mason jar and you could even tie a little ribbon around it!

I gave this and some other pregnancy goodies to a friend of mine for her baby shower. I've also made homemade Baby Bum Balm, and Baby Powder. I get most of my herbs from www.bulkherbstore.com and www.morethanalive.com they are great resources!

Other than that folks, i'm busy with my granny, with my family, cleaning my house using the AMAZING flylady system, and walking the beauiful Carolina beaches. Holiday preperations have begun. Stand-by for great recipe's and homemade gift ideas. See ya!

Maria's Journey West, Part 2: Family Joy

So After I left Atlanta, I had a great opportunity to discuss my views of marriage with a Greek man on the plane. I was glad that it was fresh on my mind, due to my late night post just hours before. When I got to Albuquerque I was so excited. I knew that my sister was getting there around the same time. I love her baby!!! She is the cutest. SO anyhow, she and her hubby got there about a half-hour later, and we all piled in the car to head to Nani and Tata's house. Nani and Tata are my mom's parents. We drove up and in seconds were enveloped in hugs and kisses from my sweet grandparents, brother, sister-in-law and sweet nieces. What JOY!!! Minutes later we were whisked off to a beautiful sunny park where we waited for admittance into our rental house. As we sat under a big tree and laughed, snacked, and played with the babies, I thought about how wonderfully blessed I was. Dad and Paul joined us and we were soon walking around and exploring our new little "casa."
The house was a little adobe place with an unmistakeable southwestern feel. It was complete with a lion claw bath tub and nice outdoor patio. It was perfect for us. We had the best time. Being with my sisters, my brothers and nieces was like heaven for me. However, for the first time in my life, I felt lonely in my own family. Mom and Dad had eachother, each of my siblings has their little family unit, and Paul had some friends in town. I felt a little alone, and found that I had alot of time to myself. I poured this time into reviewing a young adult sci-fi novel for a friend of mine. I enjoyed the idea of reading with a critical eye. I think reviewing books may be something I might enjoy doing in the future. So it was a quiet and a peaceful time. There were days, however,that were busy and full. The day we threw my Nani's birthday party was one of those.
My Nani turned 80, and as always with the Baca's, we had to have a big party. It was a HUGE success. We had music, dancing, great food, and lots of family. I've learned a lot of things from my Nani, but the most important thing I think I've learned from her is to enjoy life. She enjoys every minute of every day. I want to be like that. I want to be positive and enjoy the lonely times as well as the busy times. I want to thank God for every circumstance. Spending time with my family was just pure joy.

P.S. Pictures to come...

Maria's Cross Country Journey Part 1: Change

The first leg of my journey is in Atlanta. I've been here since Wednesday. My friend Ali got married today-actually yesterday I guess, and I was a bridesmaid. It was a flurry of preparations, and activity. However, the weekend was a HUGE success. Amazing food, exciting venues, people and events made this an extremely memorable time for me. I will admit, it was not easy watching yet another one of my friends get married, nor was it easy to see yet another one of my best friends move far away. I've never been good with change. Yet there were other feelings I experienced as I performed my bridesmaidenly duties this weekend.

I've been to many weddings in my life. Some were exciting, somewhere dull. There were some that have left me still scratching my head. As a whole, I would say that I enjoy weddings. The romance, the righteousness, to me its a constant reminder of God's love for me. Its a beautiful picture of what Christ has done for us. People get so worked up about marriage. They wonder what the point is. Marriage is no longer necessary for intimacy and procreation; it's no longer necessary for companionship or for the good of society. Why get married? It is an unnecessary step on the path to a happy and care-free relationship.

Marriage means that you have to answer to someone else, that they own part of you. Marriage means that you can never go out with anyone again, and that your social life is basically over. This is what society at large thinks. They don't see it. Yes, it is hard. Yes, you do have to give things up, yes its painful at times and yes it is sacrifice. That my friends is the beauty of the thing. It is Christ. It is him give His life for us. It is Him being beaten and abused for our benefit. He didn't do it because of what He could get out of it. He didn't do it because of some fuzzy feelings He had about humanity. He did it because God commanded it. He did it out of obedience. Marriage is obedience. You might tilt your head to the side and say, "Well God never commands us to be married." You're right, He doesn't. But He tells us to love over and over and over again. THEN He paints all these amazing pictures of the bride waiting for her bridegroom, preparing herself for his arrival. Suddenly it becomes clear. Marriage is this incredible gift that we have been given to show people active, concrete Gospel. To show people sacrifice, selfless love, redemption, and obedience. We marry because we want others to see Him, and because we want to bring glory to God.

So as I put on my bridesmaids dress today, and curled my hair, and walked down the aisle, I thought about being the last of my college friends to marry. I thought about how my best friend Ali was getting married and moving away. But as I lay trying to sleep tonight, I thought about Jesus, and what He did for me. I thought about how many people would come into contact with Ben and Ali and see Christ through their marriage. I thought about how many children they might have that will also, God willing, bear the name of Christ and bring Him to others. So I hope that some people who grumble about marriage or are marriage cynics will have seen this wedding today and will understand that pain and sacrifice is what makes love, forgiveness, and mercy shine so much brighter. I hope they will see a picture that looks like a human, giving His life and suffering, so that someone else might live.

And thus the first leg of my journey comes to a close. I left "Cabbage Town" yesterday morning and I leave Atlanta in about eight hours. I will never forget this weekend, and I hope that I'll never forget what an unbelievable gift I have been given from God.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

Long Lapse

Yikes!
So its been a long time since I last blogged. I haven't blogged literally all summer. Well its been a busy one, let me tell you. I have visited the Hernandez family and I intend to blog about protesting at the abortion clinic, I visited my new DEAR friend Cara Jones, and i'll have a whole post about her too, and we had my grandparents here for two weeks. I feel like there is so much more but I can't remember all that has gone on. Now I am in the midst of preparing for my LONG JOURNEY across the west. I will start out at my dear friend Ali's Wedding, and then follow that up with a family reunion in Albuquerque NM. Then from there i'll be driving up to Vancouver for a wedding by way of Salt Lake City UT as well as Northern California, Seattle and Portland. Its gonna be great so stay tuned. I also have to recipe posts coming up- one for face cream, and the other for strawberry rhubarb pie. Lots to come, God Bless ~ Maria

Puttin' Up Strawberries

Howdy out there,
Well life has been a little crazy here on the East coast, go figure. I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Atlanta to visit my dear friend from college. We picked out bridesmaid dresses for her upcoming wedding in August, and spent some time getting reacquainted with one another. Its amazing how you can keep in touch with someone through letters, phone calls etc., and still not be aware of all the changes going on in and around them until you are physically with them. I have never dealt well with change, so it was difficult for me to process all the changes and understand where she is and how she got there. However, I serve a merciful God, and through all my melancholy, tactless blunders and emotional spasms, God gave us a sweet and memorable time together.

I promise, I WILL get to the strawberries...

Two more things to note:
1) I recently saw the latest adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's, "Jane Eyre," and was sorely disappointed. Apparently, (according to the afore mentioned friend's fiance)literary critics consider the portion of the story surrounding Jane Eyre's cousins to be unrealistic and disconnected with the rest of the story. This is because they view Jane Eyre as an independent woman striving out into the world to proclaim her independence and her will to be free from any master. This is a feminist viewpoint which is not only inaccurate but also offensive. How dare they turn a such a deep meaningful story about a woman's search for love and righteousness into a story about a search for independence! Jane Eyre is a love deprived person who wants nothing else in the world but love and familial connections. She feels a void in her latter days at school and seeks to fill it by finding a governess position. She is not seeking a career, she is just trying to find out what the ache and longing is within her and is under the impression that she will be joined with a family this way. She is forced to leave there against everything that she feels. She wants to be tied forever to Mr. Rochester, but she leaves because she knows that she will answer to God for her actions if she does not. When, with St. Jean, she finds out that she is a rich woman, she ALSO FINDS OUT SHE IS INDEED RELATED TO HIM AND HIS SISTERS! She weeps with this discovery, She is SO happy to finally have found what she was looking for. She never wanted independence. She wanted love. Alright, I'm off my soapbox now.

2) I recently made my own skin care line: cleansing grains and moisturizer. I will post pictures and such very soon. I have not yet made a toner.

OK FINALLY! What you've all been waiting for, the first glimpse into my 2011 canning season. It has begun!

All of my materials gathered and clean. We're ready to start!

Beautiful berries, rinsed and ready for the sauce pan.

Boiling berries, filling the house with a heavenly smell.

Putting it in the jars is tricky. Not boiling your fingers off is the key.

The finished product!

See folks, not as hard as you thought! More to come....

Maria