7 Quick Takes

--- 1 --

Last weekend I ordered two meals from an Indonesian woman. She makes Indonesian meals every Saturday and you put in your order and pick them up and pay in cash. Since there is NO Indonesian food in Dallas (it's the fourth most populous nation in the world... why is it so underrepresented!?), this is the first Indonesian food I've had in two years.

IT WAS AMAZING

I mean... I was just in heaven. It was a simple meal of Indonesian fried chicken, spiced potatoes, spicey vegetables, half a boiled egg, and amazing Indonesian yellow rice.... but oh man, it was SO SO SO good. Like being home. I'll absolutely order again.

From Summer 2009

-- 2 --

I've been blogging about vocation, career, and calling. Wresting through it all has been really helpful, and has given me peace and contentment as well as a drive to take my admin job seriously. Part 1 (vocation in church history), Part 2 (what scripture says), and Part 3 (my conclusions) are over on my theology blog.

-- 3 --

7 Ways our Siblings Shape Us on US News & World Report was interesting. For instance - if you felt like your parents favored one sibling over another, you're more likely to be more jealous of your spouse. On the other hand, those with a sibling of the opposite sex generally have a much easier time interacting with and hitting it off with the opposite sex in general. Fighting with our siblings might drive our parents crazy but it also gives us the tools to do conflict resolution as adults. Also, in an attempt to carve out our own identity within our family, we often push to be different then our siblings - which sometimes narrows our options but helps with the development of a unique identity.

-- 4 --

Eugene Cho at Beauty & Depravity asked for recommendations of three favorite films that average folks may not have heard of before. I listed Reign of Fire (a dragon fighting action flick that sounds as cheesy as all get out, but was actually really good), God Grew Tired of Us (incredible documentary about refugees), and The Namesake and Monsoon Wedding (two favorite movies that focus on Indian culture and are very entertaining). And then I came back later and added On Golden Pond, and for the kids, War of the Buttons.

-- 6 --

I've been thinking about comforting those who mourn because one of my friends from work is dealing with her mom's death this week. It's tragic and horrible. In the midst of it I vividly remembered when my grandmother died. I was a senior in high school overseas and had never experienced the death of anyone close to me before. My friends Jon and Jared called as soon as they found out and asked what they could do. At that point I was fine, but Jon came up to my house and spent the whole day just being there with my family. He asked all about grama, he sat in the kitchen and made me laugh while I made a pie, and mostly was just THERE. It struck me, looking back, how much his simple presence meant on that day when I was not yet able to grasp the grief. Jared and Jon... such great guys.

-- 7 --

This week I got sucked into reading the saga of Pioneer Woman and Marlboro Man. Pioneer woman is a wildly popular blog of a woman that lives out on a ranch and takes amazing photos and posts amazing recipes. I've visited her blog to print off her recipes a few times, but this week I stumbling on the her chaper-by-chapter posting of the romance between her and her husband, who she deems Marlboro Man. IT IS SO FUNNY. She writes it like a harlequin romance novel, overly dramatic and passionate. Definitely worth a read, ladies. Start from the beginning!

And... head over to Jen at Conversion Diary to read more Quick Takes!