TIP: PREPARING FOR A BIKE RIDE

I love summer because I get to do a lot of outdoor activities; plus I have a longer daytime to do them.  Do you love summer too?  


One particular summer activity I've been enjoying in the past 2 years is BIKING :-).  This year especially, I'm grateful that I have recovered from my accident injuries and get to enjoy biking as much as I did before.  On weekends, Marcel and I love to do a longer or climb ride to practice our endurance and see beautiful views along the way.  Though we are not experts, we'd love to share some tips that work for us to prepare for the weekend bike ride.  Please note that this is not an extensive list.  Impacts may also vary among people.

WHAT TO EAT

• DO carb load by eating healthy portion of carb (rice, pasta, noodles, etc) starting two days before the ride.  You need carb to increase the glycogen storage for your energy
• DO continue to make healthy and wise food choices
• DO eat breakfast the morning of the ride.  I like to eat a banana (source of potassium; good to avoid muscle cramp) and half-sized power bar with water
• DON'T eat spicy, greasy, too much fiber and/or dairy food the night before or the morning of the ride.  They may cause you tummy some discomfort; especially dairy if you are lactose intolerant
• DON'T eat excessively or too little

HOW TO SLEEP

DO get 8 - 10 hours of sleep/night starting from 2 days before the ride.  Enough rest combined with proper amount of carb consumption will boost up glycogen storage in your muscle.

WHAT TO PACK

• DO pack lightly
• DO pack energy-boosting snacks such as banana, power bars, or chocolate
• DO pack enough water or energy drink
• DO bring direction (bike path)
• DON'T pack unhealthy non-energy-restoring snacks such as chips and candies
• DON'T pack spicy and/or salty snacks because they make you parched

WHAT TO CHECK

• DO check the brake
• DO check the tire pressure
• DO check the weather

May your bike rides be more enjoyable!

NEW KITCHEN GADGET: CROCK POT

Happy Thursday, Everyone!!  I'm so glad it's Thursday because that means Sunday is coming soon ... my favorite day of the week!


Anyway, my new kitchen gadget has finally arrived 2 days ago: a crock pot/slow cooker.  It took me 2 years to ponder whether I really needed a crock pot.  The main thing that drove me to get a crock pot was Marcel's short endurance in eating the same food.  Normally, he only eats the same food twice.  And me cooking once a week doesn't really help here.


I heard a lot of good things about the crock pot... that it would save time in cooking, cook juicy and tasty meat, serve warm meal when you get home, bla bla bla.  But I wanted to give myself some time to really assure that this is going to be a good investment that my family can take advantage of.


So I researched and asked around.  Finally, it came down to 2 criteria on what I was looking for in a crock pot:

1. Automatic keep-warm to avoid over cooking if I don't get to it in time
2. Removable crock so that I can wash it in the sink after each use

Of course, a reasonable price will be a great plus too :-).  After 2 years of waiting and hunting, I finally fixed my eyes on Hamilton Beach 33967 Set 'n Forget 6-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker.  I got it for 25% off too.


I couldn't wait to start cooking with it.  So last night, I made my very first crock pot meal: Chicken Noodles Soup.  :-)  I woke up this morning to a fragrant house.  I'm so glad how it turned out.  The meat's so silky, juicy, and easily off the bones.  The veggies were tender.  Yummyyyyyyy!  Tonight, hubby will have a warm soup for dinner.  Yayyy!  And I don't need to rush to go home, cook, shower and go to Small Group.  We will have an extra hour to cuddle after work ... thanks to my new crocky.  Yayyy!

Fresh from the crock pot

Recipe can be found here

May this be yummy for your tummy too!

NEW BRANCH FOR MY NEW TREE?

I got this tree from Marcel in February 2010.  It was bushier before.  But 2 of the stems (on the left) slowly lost their leaves.

Earlier this week, I was turning the pot so that the sun light can hit different parts of the plant.  And this is what I found.  HAHAHA, how exciting!  I think it's a new branch.  It looks so cute.  I'm so happy to see my plants are growing so healthily.  

May this be blossoming!

QUIZ: HOW MANY FRUIT(S) OF SPIRIT IN THE BIBLE?

Same rule: do not peek the Bible before you answer this.


Q: According to the Bible, how many number of fruits of the Spirit that characterize a Christian life?


a. 7
b. 1
c. 9


A: There is only ONE fruit of the Spirit according to Galatians 5:22-23.  The fruit of the Spirit is a manifestation of a transformed life that embraces nine attributes: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  When we let our life be transformed by the Holy Spirit, we will RECEIVE ALL of these nine attributes in ONE FRUIT.  They come in a package and are not individual "fruits" that you can pick and choose.


Isn't that amazing?  Isn't that a blessing?  When Marcel brought these verses up to my attention the other day, I was rebuked.  What a gentle reminder to daily:

• "Do everything in love" even when I don't feel like it - 1 Corinthians 16:14
• Find my strength in the joy of the Lord because the world can't take it away - Nehemiah 8:10
• Cast my anxiety on Him and find peace in Him because He cares for me - 1 Peter 5:7
• Realize that disappointments, trials, hardships, waiting, and tests of faith will produce patience - James 1:3
• Use my tongue to say something kind because it will leave a lasting and positive impact to that person and can only do me good (not bad) - Proverbs 12:18
• Continue to do good to those who disappoint or hurt me, are different from me, or embrace values I disapprove even when my unmerciful nature tries to take the toll on me  - Luke 6:27
• Be a faithful steward of God by responsibly managing my time and possessions and also caring for my ministries - 1 Timothy 1:12 
• Read and receive the Word of God with humbleness even though I have read or heard It so many times before because It is good for my soul - James 1:21
• Consciously resort my default reaction to self control instead of anger even when I'm hungry (Marcel knows best that giving one taco to a hungry wife isn't a good idea) - Ephesians 4:26

May this be a blessing!  And thank you for participating in the Quiz.  :-)

FIFTH GRADE ASSIGNMENT

I was forwarded this encouraging illustration from my friend's dad.  I thought I would share with you too.


A 5th grade teacher in a Christian school asked her class to look at TV commercials and see if they could use them in different ways to communicate ideas about God.  Here are some of the results:


1) God is like Bayer Aspirin.  He works miracles.
2) God is like a Ford.  He's got a better idea.
3) God is like Coke.  He's the real thing.
4) God is like Hallmark cards.  He cares enough to send His very best.
5) God is like Tide.  He gets the stains out others leave behind.
6) God is like General Electric.  He brings good things to life.
7) God is like Walmart.  He has everything.
8) God is like Alka-Seltzer.  Try Him, you'll like Him.
9) God is like Scotch tape.  You can't see Him.  But you know He's there.
10) God is like Delta.  He's ready when you are.
11) God is like Allstate.  You're in good hands with Him.
12) God is like VO-5 hair spray.  He holds through all kinds of weather.
13) God is like Dial soap.  Are you glad you have Him?  Don't you wish everybody did?
14) God is like the U.S. Post Office.  Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor ice will keep Him from His appointed destination.
15) God is like Chevrolet.  The heart beat of America.
16) God is like Maxwell House.  Good to the very last drop.
17) God is like Bounty.  He is the quicker picker upper.  Can handle the tough jobs.  And He won't fall apart on you.


May this be a blessing!

GROWING CHERRY - DAY 3 (07/14/2010)

Day 3 -- Wrap cherry seeds with damp cloth and store in refrigerator

Now that all the seeds are clean, they are ready to be prepped for germination.  To do that, the cherry seeds need around 90 - 120 days of cold damp condition before another 90 - 120 days of warm damp condition.  

So let's start with the cold damp stratification first.  I do this by wrapping the seeds with damp cloth and then placing the wrap in a zipped bag.  Finally, I toss the zipped bag in my refrigerator.

For the next 3 - 4 months, I will continue to check on the wrap to make sure that the cloth remains damp.

I know growing cherries from seeds requires lots of patience.  I also read that cherries grown from seeds won't taste as good as those grown from grafting method.  But let me give myself a try.  I'm fine with whatever these seeds will produce ... either cherry blossoms (cause they are pretty) or cherry fruits (cause I can make them into my cherry garcia ice cream).

At this point, I'm basically in a waiting game.  I may post a monthly update from now on.  Can't wait to see how these turn out to be!!!  Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

May this be blossoming!

GROWING CHERRY - DAY 1 (07/12/2010)

Day 1 -- Clean all cherry pulps


I am not a cherry person.  But my sister is.  She bought a big bag of cherries the day before she went back home.  Now, I'm left with the remaining half to finish.


As I was munching the cherries this afternoon, I thought to myself, "Hmm, can I grow cherries from the seeds?"  And the research began.


So here you go.  This is my Day 1 of the cherry experiment.  For the next 2 days, I am going to soak these seeds in fresh water to loosen up the pulps.  I will be changing the water twice a day to keep the water fresh.  And hopefully, by the end of the 2nd day, I will have clean seeds to work on. 


Not sure if these seeds will grow or not.  Will they be cherry blossoms or cherry fruits?  Well, I guess I'll find out in the next few months.

May this be blossoming!

SIX BROMELIAD PUPS

I took a day off this past Tuesday.  At first, Marcel and I were planning to go out of town for our anniversary.  But his work called him for an immediate-deadline task.  While Marcel was at work, I did some gardening.  


Awhile back, I shared with you my Valentine's gift from Marcel.  A tree with 4 Bromeliads.  Here is the picture of the Bromeliads when I got them 5 months ago.

Over the next few months, the red on my Bromeliads started to fade.  And the edges started to brown and curl.  My mother in-law said that they needed to be taken outside to get more sunlight.  So I did it.  Yes, they didn't curl as fast as before.  However, they didn't seem to look healthier either.


I did my research on Google and found that Bromeliads would die after they bloom (bloom = the red leaves) and produce pups (baby Bromeliads).  The cycle from growing leaves to producing pups takes about 2 years.  Well, I wasn't sure how old were my Bromeliads when I got them.  I was just too excited of getting new plants at the time.  HEHEHE.  The thing is, I didn't see any pups.  All I could see was the red continued to disappear leaving me with 4 pots of green Bromeliads.  :-(


AND THEN!!!  This past Tuesday I was gardening and cleaning my outdoor "garden" (well, not really, my patio I meant).  Guess what I found?  I found 6 pups from the 4 Bromeliads I have.  Below are the pictures of each Bromeliad.  The pups are still soooooooooo little.  They are probably hard to see.  Only the pups from the second Bromeliad that you could see clearlier cause they are relatively bigger.  YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.  I can't wait to see them grow big enough for me to re-pot.  :-)

[Click to enlarge]

May this be blossoming!

NEWBORNS CRY WITH AN ACCENT

Happy Thursday, Friends!


I ran into this article yesterday as I was waiting for Marcel to come home.  The article is about the new finding that newborns cry with an accent.  Infants recognize the melody of their mother's language and use that to control their cries.


Hmm, the next baby to come out around me is Little Joan.  I never really paid attention in the past.  But now, I can't wait to see if this finding is true through Little Joan hihihi.  It will be quite interesting if it's true.  My future baby will have Sundanese accent HAHAHA.


Anyway, back to escalation matrix.

LOVING HARD-TO-LOVE PEOPLE

THE STUDY

Our One Month to Live study last week was based on 1 Corinthians 3:12-14.

"If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, be cause the Day will bring it to light.  It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.  If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward."

In summary, there are 3 methods [fire] God uses to cultivate [drill/test] Christ's character [quality] in us to build a lasting legacy:

1) Problem that always comes with a purpose

2) Pressures of life to smooth our edges 

3) People in our lives

THE CHALLENGE

Our challenge for the week was to show love to the last 5 people in our call log.  For me, one of the people was my older sister.

THE EXPERIENCE

I don't know about you.  But for me and my sister, we ALWAYS have this love-and-hate relationship.  I miss her when she's far.  But I argue with her when she's close.  She can't stand how I'm becoming more americanized by following all the traffic rules.  I can't stand her for being so complainy (Why is the pasta green?  Why is the rice cooker taking 45 minutes to cook?  Why don't you have more furnitures at home?  Why do you live in 3rd floor?  Why can't you choose an apartment with an elevator?  WHY WHY WHY?)  An hour after she landed, I thought to myself, "Oh no, it's going to be the longest 10 days I will ever have."

It had to get worse before it got better for us.  At the end of the day, "You know what, we shouldn't talk for awhile.  You irritate me.  I irritate you."  So the next car trip we had, I was sitting at the back seat with her.  But every question directed to her was addressed as an open-ended question, "Anybody has a lip gloss?"  I mean seriously, Marcel and my sister's male guest could not have a lip gloss.  Obviously, only one other person could have a lip gloss.  Duuuuuuuuh.  Yet, I was being childish and selfish like that.  Talking about being a good role model ... NOT!  *yeah, not my proud moment, friends*

I was already at the end of the string before I was reminded about the challenge.  I prayed that God would show me how to love my sis-zilla (that's how I called her at the end of the day).  Opppssyy.  

The next day was her birthday.  I only had 5 hours of sleep that night because I stayed late to finish up work in order to leave early for my sister's birthday.  Guess what I did at 7 o'clock in the morning?  I was making dumplings for my sister!!!!  I mean, I normally get up at 9AM to go to work and rarely serve Marcel quicky cereal for breakfast.  And I made what for my sister?  I couldn't believe myself either.  Also, I didn't get up on an alarm!  Normally, I would snooze for an hour before, "Ahhhh, gotta bike now.  Or I'll be too late!"  The Holy Spirit SERIOUSLY woke me up that morning and made me cook hot breakfast.

And my friends, those dumplings were the start of our BFF relationship.  I haven't argued with her since then.  We're now so touchy feely, sending lots of "muach muach" throughout the day, and offering help anyway possible.  WHAT A CHANGE a prayer (and/or dumplings) can do huh?  Although I still have 3 more days before she leaves and anything can happen till then, I consider the past 6 days a wonderful work of the Holy Spirit.

THE TAKE AWAY

God uses people in our lives to enrich our character, to chip away at our selfish edges that prevent us from loving others the way Christ does.  Every one of us has people in our lives who are hard to love.  Just because we love someone doesn't mean that the relationship will go smoothly.  Remember that God is using people as His chisel to chip away everything in our lives that doesn't look like Christ so He can make our life a work of art.

May this be a blessing!