Live Out Loud - Adventures of a mom

"Sounds to me you are very courageous" - said my therapist. Courageous?  Are you kidding me?  I may be obedient, faithful and a hard worker.  But brave?  No.  You are mistaken. "No, not brave.  Courageous " - answered my therapist. Courage exists despite fear.  The two co-exists.  It  is the ability to   confront something painful or difficult or dangerous despite any   fear.  Bravery  is the ability to confront something painful or difficult or   dangerous without any fear. Me, courageous?  You must be mistaken.  No matter how often people told me I was courageous, I struggled to see that.  What I saw in me instead was a person full of fear.    For the past year or so, I have been working hard.  Yes, hard work.  Deep cleaning.  It has been hard, but also very invigorating, eye-opening and renewing.  I started seeing a therapist thinking I would just get some support and t...

"It only takes a spark  To get a fire going   And soon all those around    Can warm up in its glowing That's how it is with God's love   Once you've experienced it   You spread His love to everyone   You want to pass it on " I learned this song when I was a teenager.  Back then, all I thought about was that it was our job as Christians to pass on the message of Jesus to others.  I loved the song, but lately, the song has taken a new meaning for me. Growing up, my family was not really big on Christmas.  It was coming to Canada, and being welcomed into other people's homes, that got me 'hooked'.  I remember being invited into people's homes for sleepovers, Christmas bake-athons and for huge family dinners.   I wanted that.   I wasn't quite sure what "that" was,  but I knew how it felt - it was warm, and it felt good. And so, every Christmas, as part of our new family tradition, I bake and share the goodies...

  If you are up for something different, you are in the right place!  These Marshmallow Clouds are not your standard cookie.  They are so good you will not be able to put them down after one bite! They look outright UGLY but they taste heavenly! Trust me! The secret? Mini marshmallows! Ingredients: 3 cups all-purpose flour 2/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (you can also do 1/3 of cocoa and 1/3 of coffee granules or Horlick) 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 cup white sugar 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed 1 cup salted butter, softened 2 large eggs 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract 2 cups (miniature) semisweet chocolate chips 8 oz miniature marshmallows, frozen Yields 3-3.5 dozen The key?  FREEZE the mini marshmallows.  The longer they are frozen the better.  If they are defrosted and soft when you bake them, they will make a gooey mess Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 400F 2. Flour mixture:  Combine flour, cocoa and baking soda. Set aside. 3. Combine sugars in a la...

 I love scones!!! If you care for savory scones, this is my go-to recipe!  Hope you enjoy it Buttermilk Cheese Scones

  Do you like shortbread cookies? They are one of my favourites!  I love how they melt in your mouth!   Earl Grey Modification This is a recipe my friend Mei shared with me (Thanks Mei!).  It is super simple!  I have used it as a base and have also modified it to add Earl Grey tea.  Both are delicious! Shortbread Cookies

 In the middle of the pandemic, I had visited a friend who had a big property.  The previous owners had been avid gardeners and had left a lot of 'goodies' my friend was benefiting from.  I had never seen the rhubarb plant and was fascinated when she showed it to me.  I remember its taste.  In my early years in Canada, many families would invite me to their homes and for dessert I remembered them serving me something very red and sour.  Well, I found out my kids had never seen nor eaten it, so I decided to ask my friend for some 'samples' and made this pie. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/acqHnAz4HIU Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

 There is a story behind this recipe.  This is how I lured my husband into noticing me!  Back in High School, we were foreign students far away in a small town in Alberta.  I don't even know when I had learned how to make Shake n Bake, but I made some and took it to the Dining Room to share it with other students.  Later Stephen would tell me that was when he first set his eyes on me!  He had never heard of Shake and Bake and did not know it was so easy to make. If you don't know how to make it, here is the video.  I made it as part of a lesson I taught my students. Shake n Bake Chicken

 To vent:   to express (an emotion) usually in a loud or angry manner Do you let your kids vent in front of you? When they were toddlers, I let them vent more. I would empathize and say things like "Oh, did you hurt yourself? That must hurt!" or "Oh no! Did your sister eat all the popcorn?  No wonder you are crying!" But as the years went by, something strange happened.   I stopped accepting my kids' frustrations. In my mind, they were signs of immaturity, selfishness and lack of independence. Here is the irony. I often complain to my husband that what I need more from him is not a problem solving machine.  I need him to listen to me and to let me vent and 'get it out of the system.' I tell him things like, "I just need to vent.  Once I get it all out, my head will clear up." Does this sound familiar? Why is it, then, that I find it repulsive, embarrassing, and unacceptable, to see my kids vent? If they don't vent with me, how and where do...

As a third world kid, I always struggled to find a niche.  My dream was always to blend in.  But before you say anything, let me speak up.  This went deeper than a teenager's desire to fit in and find her place in her world.  When I say I wanted to blend in, I mean exactly that...I didn't want to stand out. No matter how much I tried, no matter how fluent my Spanish was, no matter how culturally relevant I had learned to become....I would always be Chinese first to my friends. You might smirk at what I'm about to say, because I know it doesn't jive well in our North American psyche.  But I still remember...I must have been in my tween years.  Our home's dining room had wall to wall mirrors.  And though I don't remember the context of the meeting, I remember my mom holding the two palms of her hand to the two sides of my face.  She forced me to look at myself in the mirror and asked me: "What do you see?" I got angry at mom and tried to bru...

This is a piece a student of mine wrote.  The student wants to share it with you all.  I pray this encourages you if you have been sharing your live with others, and if you haven't, that it causes you to stand up and engage in mission.  God has humbled me much in the last 2 years through many of them. May their voice bless you, challenge you and lift you up too! ************* Sandy has been  my ESL class teacher and also has taught me about the Bible for one and half years already.  I always think I am a lucky woman, because I met  her only after landing in Canada three months. I still remember it was winter of 2018, just  before Christmas. When I entered the ESL class, many students were discussing Christmas parties with Sandy. They had learned a unit on Using Western cutlery. I was attracted immediately and joined the party the next class. Sandy made a lot of different types of cookies for her students. During the celebration, Sandy gave us a speech....

 Yes, this is not a normal year.  Because of the pandemic, we cancelled our yearly camping trip to Sandbanks.  Watching the news and Twitter feeds, I just didn't feel we could truly relax and enjoy it even though the park opened in June. But as the months lingered on, we knew we needed to get out - or try to be creative.  In early July we tried.  We took a Monday off work and ventured to Sibbald Point PP for a day trip.  Not having been out for almost 5 months, we weren't sure what to expect from the park, the public and especially from ourselves. I knew they were restricting entry, encouraging social distancing and adjusted amenities and facilities.  What I didn't know was whether there would be crowds, whether they would adhere to the rules and more importantly, if I would feel comfortable. The test run was eye opening -- as soon as we turned into the park, we were met by a row of cars.  First shocker.  It wasn't crowded, don't get me wrong...