New Year, New Rants....

  So just finished up my 3rd attempt at making Fudge.  The first time, I discovered how Hershey's makes it's syrup.  The second time, the middle was gooey, this time.....er.....not sure, waiting for fudge to cool and set.

....hmmmmm.....still don't know what 'sheen' is, as when it looses that, is indicator to stop beating and pour into pan....

..On the upside, have emptied about 1/2 a liter of milk into saucepan, and will be enjoying some pretty amazing hot cocoa/chocolate in just a few!  Aren't you jealous now?!?

...yeah, I wouldn't be either.

N-E-Way, Marius was home for like 2 whole weeks for Christmas and New Year.  Was so nice to have my little family all together for the holidays, this year was especially nice, since Marius' 2 brothers and 1 sister were all together for the first time in over 13 years.....there's a lot to be thankful for.

  We spent more than we should have on food - of which I cooked - I lived in the kitchen beginning Christmas Eve and ending the day after New Year!  I was T.I.R.E.D.!

  But as I said, it was totally worth it.  Money is made to be saved and to be spent, especially on special occasions such as this was for us!  Now if MY family would have been able to have been here as then too, well, I think I would have died right there, flown up to the pearly gates and asked St. Peter to pinch me to make sure I hadn't dreamed it all up!

...wooops, I hear the milk hissing at me......until later....

Is God There?

  So I went to a pentecostal church here in Tulcea this morning with my sister in law.  My Romanian is still very, VERY, limited so I understood pretty much nothing.  The services here are much different than what we experience back home, there is a lot of standing, sitting kneeling & praying, then singing.  The several different men got up and spoke, reading scripture [i think], then more down on the knees and praying. 

  I didn't know if people were "speaking in tongues" or just praying out loud in Romanian.  I didn't feel God's presence, and I couldn't help but wonder if it was because I didn't understand anything being said, or if it's something else.  Kinda made me wonder. 

  I know that most of what goes on in the mainstream churches in the U.S. is heretical and un-biblical, so it made me wonder if some of the 'charismatic' move has moved on over here too.  I believe in God, His son Jesus, the crucifixion, resurrection, etc.  However, I don't necessarily believe in the whole slain in the spirit & speaking in tongues, 'holy laughter', etc. that runs rampant these days.  Most of that seems demonic, not righteous and holy.  BUT, I do believe that a fraction, a very small fraction of it is real. 

  I think mainly I've just seen the Word so twisted and convoluted in "churches" - that it has left a really bad, bitter taste in my mouth.  I try to not judge and not be bitter, not be so cynical about it, but I guess the whole fool me once: shame on you, fool me twice: shame on me, kinda fits the bill here.  I've been fooled one too many times by charlatans and false teachers, and propho-liars!  I can count on 1, ONE, hand how many TRUE men/women of God that I know, who are teachers/preachers.

  Anyway, so do you think it comes down to understanding what is being said in order to feel God's presence, or is it like most everything else in churches these days - a big show that induces psychosomatic sensations, i.e. the power of suggestion?

Benefits of being motherless

  Well, first of all, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.  Since my hubby is working in Italy, and it's just me and the kids, we aren't really doing T-day here - too much food, for just me and 3 small kids.  And people here don't really do cornbread dressing, so, oh well.


So the temperature is starting to drop, it's 8 Celsius today, and my friends over in Prauge got the first snow yesterday.  Not to mention that they were predicting this winter to be the coldest Europe has seen in about 100 years.  So I needed to put anti-freeze in our Volvo station wagon - yeah, I drive a station wagon!


Marius was like just go get some anti-freeze and put it in the car, you're supposed to flush the system, but just put some in the resevoir, but don't start the car, I'll deal with all that when I come home at Christmas.  And so I went this morning, after bringing the kids to school, and bought some anti-freeze and water.  I then walked back my bloc where my car was parked, and proceeded to flush the system myself.

I got strange looks from passer's by, I mean most men here don't know what they are doing when it comes to cars, much less, (God forbid) a Woman!!!!

  But there it is, my car is now safe for winter, with fresh anti-freeze & water sitting peacefully in the radiator and it's resevoir.

This is where I'm grateful to my mom for not being around while I was growing up.  I love my mom and all, but it actually worked out better for me that she wasn't there.  If she had been, then I don't think I'd have the awesome relationship with my dad, that I do have.....

....and he wouldn't have taught me to change tires, brake pads, oil, and flush a cooling system.  I wouldn't know where spark plugs where, what they do or hot to change those either.  I wouldn't know where to find the steering & brake fluid, or bleed the brake lines; making sure to pump all the air out of the lines to avoid catastrophe!

If mom had been there, I would have learned about make-up, hair, and how to dress myself.  But then I wouldn't be able to take of myself in regards to car mechanics (making sure I don't get ripped off by a mechanic), or stranded on the side of the road and at the mercy of whatever freak happens to stop to "help" me!

I guess the draw back to that I always related better to guys than to girls.  I could talk "shop" about cars, hunting, guns, politics, history, etc.  Where all the girls ever wanted to talk about was clothes, shopping, boys, make-up, clothes, shopping, boys.....

...you get my point.  The draw back to that was that guys always viewed me as one of them; "one of the guys".  Which was cool, because that usually meant I had a shield from the weirdos and creeps, on the other hand, it kinda cramped my style while on the 'dating scene'.  Even if my guys didn't scare a potential suitor off, then I did, because they realized they couldn't pull the proverbial wool over my eyes! 

But then, I met a few guys like my husband, who were awed that I could cook well, wash clothes, be girly, but wasn't completely reliant on them to do all the "guy" jobs.  That I could hold my own with them, even if that lug nut was screwed on just a bit too tight, and I needed their muscle to loosen it for me.  They were just genuinely impressed that I knew which tool to give them when they asked for a crescent wrench!

So thanks mom, for leaving me in dad's hands!  Without his teaching, I'd be up a smelly creek without a paddle!