December 31, 2009

From The Treasury of Daily Prayer:

Eternal God, we commit to Your mercy and forgiveness the year now ending and commend to Your blessing and love the times yet to come. In the new year, abide among us with Your Holy Spirit that we may always trust in the saving name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

St. Nimatullah Al-Hardini

Tuesday we drove to northern Lebanon to Kfifan. We visited the monastery there, which was the last home of Fr. Nimatullah Kassab Al-Hardini. One of the things he's remembered for, besides his faith and supposed miracles, is being a teacher of Charbel Makhlouf, now known as St. Charbel.

The monastery. It's a beautiful building and the views are incredible.


The chapel. As you can see it's still decorated for Christmas.


A closer view of the creche. You see creches all over Lebanon during the Christmas season. Every home has one under or near the tree, businesses, schools (religious or secular), public squares, roundabouts. And guess what?! Muslims are not offended by them! (Where does our country get that stupid idea anyway?)


Wax figures of Fr. Nimatullah teaching Charbel.


Fr. Nimatullah's tomb.

After our visit we stopped at a traditional Lebanese restaurant. I don't know how Lebanese can eat the way they do and not end up huge! You sit at the table, eating the mezzah (a never-ending supply of appetizers) for about 2 hours before you even get the main course...usually BBQ. Grilled chicken (called shish tawouk), grilled kafta, etc. Oh, my word! But at least I don't have to cook dinner and breakfast is light.

Andrea Bocelli - Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful)

Amen!

Bowie Meets Crosby

I love this one!

Christmas 2009

Yummy little birdies. One of the more...interesting...dishes on the table. And in case you're curious, no I didn't try them. I just can't make myself. It's all I can do to watch Baba eat them.


This display at the church we attended for midnight mass had 'Word' in different languages. The creche was on the Arabic, as you can probably tell.


The view from our cousins' back terrace. If we could find some land near here we'd be thrilled. Except it would involve either changing the kids' school or a very long commute. Of course, buying land and building a place wouldn't necessary happen real close together. LOL

Wednesday at around 1 a.m. Baba arrived. We finished up our Christmas shopping and that evening. While he and the kids went out earlier in the day, Aunt and I made kibbi and sambusek. It's still in my freezer waiting for me to cook.

Thursday we opened the gifts. We had plans to drive to a cousin's house (the sister of the one whose balcony has that gorgeous view above) for dinner and then sleep over at her brother's. It was either open the gifts or take them with us and it was easier to do the former. The kids had a blast and we saved some back to have out the next day for the visit from Santa while we were gone.

I got my Lutheran Study Bible. Whoohoo! So far I've read one thing out of it. We've barely been home and when we have been I've been trying to catch up on laundry and cleaning. (You do NOT want to know what the cat had for me clean up in her bathroom.)

Last night, around 10:30, Baba's aunt (his father's SIL) passed away after a long illness. Baba and I went to the funeral this afternoon. The church was decorated for Christmas and was absolutely gorgeous. Aunt said that it was the same church where my in-laws were married. She was well-loved and even though I'd only been to her home a few times, it felt strange to be there without her. She was a very sweet lady.

Christmas involves a lot of visits and I'm hoping that tomorrow we can fit a few in. Baba has some work to do tomorrow that has to be e-mailed in so I'm hoping that he can get it done. He was going to go to bed early so he could wake up really early and get it done so he can go to church with us. We brushed the cat instead. Oh, well, if he sleeps through (which he needs to do) then he have some quiet time while the kids and I go.

I'm thinking tomorrow for lunch would be a good time for that kibbi and sambusek. After I make a run to the supermarket. They're open on Sundays but close in the afternoon so I can't forget about it. If we don't make it to anyone's house tomorrow I can think of worse things. It would be nice to spend a lazy afternoon and evening at home. Well, not too lazy...laundry needs doing if there's enough water. But that's hardly a lot of work. Toss in washer, fill with detergent, and turn it on and wait. Oh, yeah, real back-breaking. LOL

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope it was a good one.

A Charlie Brown Christmas - Christmas Time is Here Song

Oh, the memories!

Who Started Christmas?

This morning I heard a story on the radio of a woman who was out Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything else imaginable. And after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the elevator with her two kids.

She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year. Overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, getting that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, making sure we don't forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.

Finally the elevator doors opened and there was already a crowd in the car. She pushed her way into the car and dragged her two kids in with her and all the bags of stuff. When the doors closed she couldn't take it anymore and stated, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up and shot."

From the back of the car everyone heard a quiet calm voice respond, "Don't worry we already crucified him." For the rest of the trip down the elevator it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

Don't forget this year to keep the One who started this whole Christmas thing in your every thought, deed, purchase, and word. If we all did it, just think of how different this whole world would be.

-- Author Unknown

The Boss

I'm home again now. The last time I was a SAHM was when we lived here the last time. I've sure missed it. It has me thinking back to those times too.

When the Peanuts were born, Baba was working overseas. In fact he left a few weeks after we found out I was pregnant. We called him with the news after an ultrasound told us there were two. He came home for their birth and left again when they were 2 1/2 weeks old. I was home with the kids from then until we moved to Q8 3 years ago. I've missed it so much.

One of the things I loved was how the Boss would help me so much with the babies. He was always willing to give a bottle (or two) whenever I needed him to. We were homeschooling so part of it may have been the fact that it was an interruption, but even when it was TV time he was happy to.

We usually got a 2+ hour nap out of them in the morning, thanks to a couple of swings bought with a gift card from the fire department where Baba and I were volunteers (no, I wasn't a firefighter myself-LOL). It's amazing how much school you can get done in that time.

The Boss is still my helper, though they're not as agreeable as they used to be. But they still love and adore him. It's just veiled in messing up his room, arguing over PS2, etc.

Oh, the good old days!

Fairuz Jingle Bells فيروز ليلة عيد

Enjoy!

Fairuz Jingle Bells فيروز ليلة عيد

Enjoy!

Ugh!

More rain today. It rained all night. I kept hearing drops in my plastic buckets all night. One is right next to the head of my bed. The garden is so water logged that the dog refuses to go to the bathroom there. I can't really say that I blame her. So it's upstairs for a walk in the rain for her. Oh, well, she enjoys updating her FB status and reading other dogs' comments.

In an hour we'll head to taekwondo. There's a new market nearby that I'm excited about. While the Boss is working out I'll pick up a few things. Very handy and big enough to have guys loading the groceries in my car. Sweet!

I'm half way through the tests I have to grade for the end of term. I might start on the remainder tonight or just wait until tomorrow. I'll check the forecast and see what my options are for tomorrow. I'd rather do something else but I need to get these done. I'm NOT going to put it off until Sunday night. I'm NOT.

Well, this was certainly a boring post, huh? Well, it's been a rather boring day. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Yeah!

Yesterday was my first day as a SAHM!

I cleaned the kids' rooms while they were at school and then made supper while we waited for Aunt to arrive. She came to sleep over and go with me this morning to the Boss's assembly at school. I checked the forecast for today on a local TV channel's website and it said to expect "tons of rain" today. Is "tons of rain" even a meteorological term? Anywhoo, they sure hit the nail on the head. It started blowing last night and at 3 a.m. I was awakened by a HUGE clap of thunder. It knocked off the power (and a car alarm or two) and I had to get up to turn off the emergency light. The guy doesn't turn on the generator at that time of night (can't say I blame him) and it was a bit too bright to sleep. You could hear the wind blowing too.

There was some pretty impressive lightning on the way to school this morning. It was raining cats and dogs. Luckily the drivers who normally turn off their brains when they get behind the wheel of a car tend to flip them back on when it rains. Well, most of them do, anyway.

After the assembly I ran home to get Aunt to her car so she could go to work and then I grabbed the gifts for the counselor at school (I'm her Secret Santa). I also found out who mine is...the P.E. teacher. He sure knows how to buy for a woman...chocolate in every gift. Today I got a Lindt chocolate along with a pretty Kleenex cover and a snowgirl and ornament. I've barely ever spoken to him except to say HI in passing. He caught me with my last gift as I was walking out into the rain so I just gave him a quick thank you to his adorably accented Merry Christmas. So when I got home I dropped him an e-mail right away. I decided that I would treat myself to the chocolate and poured a big glass of milk and checked mail and favorite forums for the hour until I had to leave again to pick up the kids.

They kids got out at 12:30 and don't go back until the 7th. That's 17 days of holiday for them. Baba's coming next week and that should keep us busy.

Tomorrow I go to school to drop off my last gift and pick up the last of the tests. Then it's home to work on the living room. If it's rainy again I'll take advantage of the lack of good driving weather to do more so we can maybe play or visit a bit on Saturday. Or I might just sit and cross stitch while the kids watch a movie. Or maybe both. Ahh, freedom!

Halaylouya Nizar Fares and Group

Enjoy!

Laylet 3eed NIzar Fares Jingle Bells White Christmas

Enjoy!

At last!

I'm a SAHM again! Whoohoo!

Getting to where I love this song

We bought a Christmas CD a few weeks ago that has this song on it. Today one of the other classes in the program at the kids' school danced to it. I've had it on my mind all day.

Enjoy!

Adorable!

Today the Peanuts had their Christmas program at school. They were adorable! The Diva's class danced to Jingle Bells in Arabic and the Boss's class danced to Last Christmas. I call him the most Lebanese of the three but I think when it comes to dancing his Swedish fourth shines through. LOL


After I dropped them off home with Aunt I headed back to school for two classes. My independent study wasn't there so it was just the one class. When I got home the Peanuts were eating lunch and then we took Aunt back to Sin El Fil to get her car. (She was hit several weeks ago and the guy who was at fault is paying for everything himself.) Traffic is horrible in the city so I was a bit late picking him up but not too bad. I took the kids home and left again for my doctor's appointment which took longer to drive to than to go through. Then I came home and made pasta in tomato sauce and realized from now on I need to use twice as much pasta than I used tonight.

I also made up a batch of brownies. The kids have been asking for more and I need something for the gal whose Secret Santa I am at school. So why not kill two birds with one stone? I just wish my oven wasn't so hot. I set the timer for 20 minutes for a 30 minute baking time and it still started to smell as if it was burning. Ugh! Anyway I'll post the pic and recipe tomorrow. I took the pic but I'm going to take advantage of internet trouble to get to bed early.

One more day!

Rain, rain, go away!

It's been raining all day. For a while this afternoon the internet kept going out and lightning was messing with electricity and generator. Oh, and when I say "rain", I don't mean showers. I mean it's been coming down buckets. I heard this strange noise coming from the this afternoon terrace. When I went outside I saw the drain bubbling. Water is supposed to be going down the drain, not coming up it.

Then I went upstairs to the street to flip the switch for the generator. The man who owns the generator turns it on but sometimes our switch flips off. Usually when we have something turned on that's too much for it but sometimes just for the heck of it. Today was pretty much just for the heck of it.

I went upstairs and heard that strange bubbling sound but much louder. The two drains over my neighbor's terrace were bubbling over. When I looked out into the street I couldn't see it. I could only see the water flowing down the street. Oh, and the thunder and lightning have been setting off car alarms right and left. Makes for a few laughs.

Since the streets were flooding we decided that we didn't need to get the Boss to taekwondo that badly. Good thing. While we were watching our favorite TV series about a teenager who grows up and leaves his small Kansas town to be a superhero the generator flipped off...for the heck of it. So I waded, literally, to the switch and when I went to the bedroom to put on dry socks I heard water dripping. The leak in the ceiling is back, even though it was waterproofed this spring, and I got a couple of buckets. But I noticed that there was a lot of water near the door (I have a door instead of a window that goes onto a smaller terrace in the garden). It must have been leaking longer than I thought. But as I tried to mop it up there just seemed to be more and more. Turns out it was coming under the door from the little terrace. Wonderful!

I called the Big Prince (yes, I know...I still need a new moniker for him) and he brought over his shop vac. We also borrowed a pick from the neighbor. The dirt is higher than the terrace next to my door. That's why the water is coming under my door instead of flowing out into the garden. The Big Prince, who was dressed very nice from being at work all day, went out in the rain and moved some dirt to help it drain. There's still some water on the floor but once we're off generator I'll take the shop vac to it.

So now we're back in front of the TV, enjoying a pretty good connection now, and hoping the car alarm thunder stays away for a while.

So, how's your day going?

An Early Christmas Present

The Night before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On Cupid! On, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

Comfort food

The other night I made chicken and rice pilaf. The Boss likes it, the Diva thinks it's OK, and the Little Prince whines about it. I compromise with him...he can eat just the rice and nuts. I figure he's getting some protein from the chicken broth it's cooked in so it's a fair compromise. If I don't make an issue of it then he'll probably be more likely to come around. He's not crazy about chicken but the chicken he does like he can inhale. The recipe calls for half a chicken so I cooked all of it for the broth for the chicken and rice and saved the bones and half the meat I de-boned for later. Tonight I made chicken soup. The recipe calls for rice, but since we'd just had the pilaf the other night I thought I'd do something different. The other day I bought alphabet pasta and tonight I replaced the rice with the ABCs. The kids should enjoy it if they ever get their papers cleared off the table and get it cleaned off to eat.

Here are the recipes. I may have posted the pilaf recipe before. If so, just scroll down to the soup.

Chicken-Rice Pilaf (Djaj mah Ruz M'falfal)

1/2 chicken
5 cups water
1/2 cups almonds (blanched)
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 Tbsp butter
2 cups rice (soaked for 30 minutes...vital if using brown rice)
3 cups chicken broth (use at least 4 if you're using brown rice since it takes longer to cook)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
cinnamon to taste

Cook chicken in the water until tender. (BTW, if you don't want to mess with a whole chicken, just use bone-in chicken parts. I used the equivalent of a whole chicken and stored the remaining cooked chicken in the frig with the bones to use for stock.) Remove from liquid, debone and set aside. Save the liquid.

Brown almonds and pine nuts in butter in a saucepan. Turn heat to low. Stir until a golden color. Drain rice and add to the nuts. Saute on low heat for 1 minute and add chicken pieces, salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Bring to boil on high heat, cover, and simmer for about 20-30 minutes. (Brown rice takes longer, especially if you forgot to soak the recommended time.)

Chicken Soup (Shourabit Djaj)

1/2 chicken (cut up)
10 cups water
1 cup rice (washed and drained)
salt, pepper, and cinnamon to taste

Wash and clean chicken pieces and place in large saucepan with the water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Skim off the foam, cover and cook over medium heat for 60 minutes. Or, if you're using chicken leftover from the pilaf (or something else) place the bones in the water and cook until you have broth.

Remove the chicken (or bones) from liquid. If using chicken pieces, debone. Return chicken to liquid or add leftover chicken. Add rice, salt, and pepper and cook for 25 minutes.

Serve with crisp pita bread pieces (pita bread toasted in oven for a few minutes and then broken up) dropped into the soup.

All I did differently tonight from the above was replace the rice with the ABCs. Seasonings and other ingredients stayed the same.

Sahtayn!

A little girl's prayers

Tonight I was hanging some laundry on the drying rack in the living room. We were on generator so I couldn't use the clothes dryer on the terrace to dry the mops so I'm hoping the chauffage will help dry them tonight. As I was hanging them the Diva grabbed my Treasury of Daily Prayer and asked if she could pray. I told her of course and she sat on the couch closest to me and started turning the pages.

Something you have to understand about the Diva is that she can be a bit difficult to understand. Her speech is rather immature but you can understand her more easily if you ask her to slow it down a bit. But when she doesn't know the words to something she just kind of mumbles it and sounds like she's saying them. So that's what she did. I could catch a few words like "Dear Lord" and "Joy to the World" but I also heard "Barbie" and "princess". I'm pretty sure those words are not in the TDP. So asked her, "Are you praying to God or to Santa?" She said, "It's Christmas."

OK, that pretty much answers that question.

Cinnamon Muffins

Sorry I don't have a picture for you but I wanted to share the recipe while Pam's reminder was fresh in my mind.

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup raw brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted

Mix the dry ingredients and then add the milk, egg, and butter. Mix well. Fill greased muffin tins about 2/3 full and bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Enjoy!

Sundays

This is one of the Advent wreaths at church (the other is on the altar). I was so happy to walk in last week and see it up. I love Advent. I was also glad to see the gorgeous Christmas tree up this week. I need to get ours down. I hope we can figure out how to put it together.

After church I dropped the Boss off at a friend's house to work on a school project and then spend the afternoon playing video games. The Peanuts and I came home and I made pizza. I have a really good recipe for crust that I've tweaked to make it healthier. Of course, I'm sure the nutrition is somewhat compromised by the salami I put on it, but oh, well!


2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp yeast
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil

Combine the dry ingredients then add the water and olive oil. You might need to add more water about a Tbsp at a time. It should be a bit stiffer than biscuit dough. Place in a lightly greased pizza pan and top with your favorite toppings.

I make my own sauce. I take half a jar of tomato paste, oregano, basil, onion powder, garlic powder, and sugar, add a bit of water, and stir. Spread it on the crust, top with salami, shredded mozzarella and shredded Parmesan and bake for 20 minutes at 400F. Yummy!

This morning I made us a bit late for church by making Cinnamon Muffins for breakfast. They were so yummy. And they work well with replacing white flour with whole wheat. I'll post the recipe another time. I'd have to get up and walk a few feet into the kitchen and I'm feeling rather lazy right now. LOL

Ministers show unity regarding traffic challenge

St. Barbara

Today is St. Barbara's Day. It's celebrated here instead of Halloween. Kids dress up and go from door to door, singing a song and getting either candy or money. The Boss took the Peanuts around our building and the building across the street. They got some candy and some money. They wanted to go to the square and buy some candy but we're on generator so no street lights so NO WAY!

It's fun to watch the reactions of the kids who come here. Elektra hears them coming and starts barking like crazy. By the time I open the door they're up on the landing. The last one was almost back up to the ground floor and wouldn't come back down even when we said it was OK.

The kids still want supper though...the sugar hasn't gotten to them yet. I'm going to take advantage and put them to bed. Getting them to sleep might be an entirely different matter.

PC greetings

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