March 22nd:
It is funny how waking up a few hours later makes everything you do throughout the day seem longer. For example, after I wake up at 8:30am, my one hour of devotions seems to take up more time than it does at 6am. Of course, it make mathematical sense when you figure that you've reduced the total number of hours available to use, which makes each hour you spend a greater fraction of your day. In other words, one hour is typically only 1/15th of my day, but when I wake up later, it might end up being 1/12th or 1/10th of my day. I wonder if our minds (or at least mine) operate on proportions rather than actual increments of time. Just an interesting thought I had while cleaning this kitchen floor this morning.
After my devotions and exercise, I (almost) caught up on my emails. Around lunch time I made some baked zucchini - this time I breaded them (dipped in egg, then rolled in Parmesan cheese and Saltine cracker crumbs with garlic powder). While they were baking I mopped the kitchen floor and thought about fractions of time. Enjoyed my lunch and indulged in a Pepsi too. [As a side note, my eating is much more disciplined. I no longer eat with the fear of not getting enough throughout the day. And I've significantly cut back on sugars and other comfort food ... not counting the pb cookies mentioned later. Thankful for God's help in managing this on a daily basis.]
Stacy and I went for a walk around the market, then I went to Dan and Julie's for dinner. Dan shared his recipe for eggplant (you sweat the eggplant first, which removes the bitter juices) and mascarpone cheese, which we had along with penne and homemade tomato sauce. So good! I am definitely making this in the future. Afterwards we took a taxi back to John and Mary's and watched one of my old time favorites - The Man from Snowy River! Mary made chocolate peanut butter cookies (of which I consumed far too many.) Enjoyed watching the movie with the group. I almost felt like I was back home!
March 23rd:
Went to fellowship this morning and taught the children's group. I had them memorize "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right" and we made a list from A to Z of all the ways they can obey their parents. We practiced obeying with "Helen Says" and then I told them the story of the two sons - one who said he wouldn't obey, but repented and went, and the other who said he would, but didn't actually obey.
After fellowship, I ate a snack, then listened to a sermon on Spiritual Warfare by Pastor John. My allergies have been acting up (must be Spring)! Because they make me so tired, I ended up taking a nap in the afternoon. Made gingersnaps, emailed back home, and did some research on foods I can eat to help reduce allergies. I'm going to try an anti-inflammatory diet (basically a lot of fruits and vegetables and Vitamin D) to see if that helps any.
For dinner, the team met up at Vin House and I had a Philly Steak. It was pretty close to a Philly back home, but without Swiss cheese. We walked to Mazi Market afterwards (it was SUPER busy because of the Nawroz holiday), then took a taxi home. Mary made Snicker milkshakes and shared some with me. At 8pm, I Skyped with Jessica and we shared about the week's events. Off to an earlier bedtime.
