{ Turning 27 }

Recently I reflected on the almost 27 years of life that God has given me. I consider moments in my life where I could have died, but lived. I consider the humble family that he made me a part of, the sweet new family that I will soon be a part of, and the wonderfully funny, charming, and loving man I will marry in two months. I consider friends who have been through it all with me. God has been really good.

{ Invites }

Some invites went out. Not all. We need more addresses. We totally DIY'd them using the free invitation suite from weddingchicks.com. Is it DIY if you just print them out? Questions for another day... Thanks, Wedding Chicks! We got them printed at the UPS Store in Roseville. Thanks, UPS Store!

I did wonder if perhaps they looked too cheap. Would people care? Our envelopes are not lined. They're not in DOUBLE envelopes. But you know what, at the end of the day, who cares about what kind of paper your invites are on and whether we embossed our initials or whatever.

Sylvie: wow it's monday and our invites already reached some people
Joe: oh
Joe: cool
Sylvie: ok so
Sylvie:: now you really have to marry me
Joe: crappity 

{ Hair }

Joe: So um....
Joe: I love you very much!
Joe: No matter what
Joe: And...
Sylvie: me too!
Joe: I'm just wondering...
Joe: What's up with your hair? :)
Sylvie: LOL
Sylvie: i curled it
Sylvie: is it crazy
Joe: Ahh
Joe: It looks a little crazy, yeah, at least to me

{ Wedding Dress Shopping }

I've purchased and received one wedding dress so far. I see now why people say white is not a flattering color! It's not that I was unhappy with the first dress, but I would honestly need to shape A LOT MORE to pull it off. So off I went to buy dress #2. Good thing my Fiancé is so understanding! Each dress cost less than $200, I hope to sell or donate the one that doesn't win out.

11/21/2011
Sylvie: last dress i promise
Sylvie: :)
Joe: no problem sweetie
Joe: if you need four more, that's fine too
Joe: Cause I love you! and you're my sweetheart

{ The Iniquity of Us All }

Lately, something that has been sticking with me is the idea that sin hurts. Even when sin doesn't happen to you directly it still hurts, it's still painful, and it's so sad. And then, I think of Jesus who bore the sins of us all.

I thought of it this way: Sin = pain, so Jesus + ALL sin = the ultimate pain. More than the physical pain he endured, I think of the emotional and excruciating pain to his holy heart. It makes me so sad. It also gives me great appreciation for what he did. For the first time yesterday I realized I really, really am a sinner.

Below is Isaiah 53:4-12, written hundreds of years before Jesus was even born. Reading this yesterday made me mourn for Jesus for that moment, because even though words like "crush", "scourging", and "pierce" were used, again, it wasn't about the physical pain he endured but the deep pain of sin that he bore. Seriously!

......................................................................................................

4Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
         And our sorrows He carried;
         Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
         Smitten of God, and afflicted.

5But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
         He was crushed for our iniquities;
         The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
         And by His scourging we are healed.

6All of us like sheep have gone astray,
         Each of us has turned to his own way;
         But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
         To fall on Him.

7He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
         Yet He did not open His mouth;
         Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
         And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
         So He did not open His mouth.

8By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
         And as for His generation, who considered
         That He was cut off out of the land of the living
         For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?

9His grave was assigned with wicked men,
         Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
         Because He had done no violence,
         Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

10But the LORD was pleased
         To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
         If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
         He will see His offspring,
         He will prolong His days,
         And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

11As a result of the anguish of His soul,
         He will see it and be satisfied;
         By His knowledge the Righteous One,
         My Servant, will justify the many,
         As He will bear their iniquities.

12Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
         And He will divide the booty with the strong;
         Because He poured out Himself to death,
         And was numbered with the transgressors;
         Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
         And interceded for the transgressors.

{ Engaged }

I am engaged! Check out my awesome .gif ;)

{ PMS }

Looked through my chat logs to see how often I mention the word ‘pms’… it’s a mental, emotional, and physical state of misery, I tell you..

Today

Sylvie: i think im pms'ing

Feb 1st

Sylvie: im pmsy

Dec 21 2010

Sylvie: i must be getting pms-y

October 22 2010

Sylvie:: i'm emotional from pms right now

August 2010

Sylvie: i am pmsy

March 8th 2010

Sylvie: i'm on PMS x 100

Has it really been this long?

Hm,  I haven't blogged since September 2010.

Bread Salad

I’ve been making a bread salad for a few months now. It's essentially a deconstructed sandwich --fun to make, easier to eat, and dare I say more delicious?

Here’s what I typically use:

• Goat’s milk sourdough bread from Lunds/Byerly’s (sooo good all by itself)
• Goat cheese (chevre, not feta)
• Smoked prosciutto or regular prosciutto
• Leafy greens (spinach, arugula, romaine, whatever..)
• Avocado (optional) 
• Crushed black pepper (optional)

All I do is tear, crumble, or cut each ingredient into bite size pieces, toss the “salad”, and mix in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil if I feel like it. The prosciutto adds saltiness while the goat cheese adds tart. And that's all I need, I’m not really a salad dressing kind of girl unless it's interesting or homemade. If you add lemon to this salad it gets too sour so I skip it. I’ve made a variation of this salad with and without spring greens and it’s been fine. I’ve also mixed in avocado chunks, giving it a creamy consistency. Lately I've been into adding red pepper flakes to my salads too.

It’s not quite a panzanella salad (Panzanella is an Italian bread salad made with Tuscan bread, cucumbers, some sort of vinaigrette, tomatoes, olive oil, basil) but maybe what I’m making is a version of panzanella? Who knows… Hope you get to try this sometime. I could see smoked salmon as an excellent substitute for prosciutto.

Es muy wow!

My co-worker Camella (whose blog is The Ladies and Gents Auxiliary) and I decided that www.esmuywow.com would be a cool domain name to buy...so we did it...and now, I welcome your ideas on how she and I can make at least $1 million.

Thank you.

{ A bug-free camping park }

Would you believe it if I told you I used to dig for worms with the boys and threw them at girly girls? I can't believe it happened either... Now, at the sight of certain bugs (including worms) I've been known to cry, run, swerve, yelp, and so on.

One day I'd like to fish from the river, build a fire, forage the woods for herbs and mushrooms, and cook it for dinner! I love the idea of canoeing, barbecuing, and picnicking. A strange desire for a woman who hates all things creepy-crawly.

Thus, I propose a bug-free camping park. I am not the lone lady with these fears! I have a feeling that a bug-free camping park would be quite profitable. Ladies: wouldn't you enjoy the great outdoors sans bugs SO MUCH MORE? Gentlemen: Aren't you tired of your lady's tireless reactions to those buggers? I hereby give anyone permission to capitalize on this idea.Yadda, yadda, you don't have to tell me this isn't feasible or disruptive to the environment.

Next I propose a hat with a bug net entirely around it. But not just a practical bug-net hat thing--make it fashionable! Please note: drawing below is by no means what I regard to as stylish. I just have no artistic talent:

Ah! I just did a Google search. Surprisingly, one such hat does exist. Behold the Delux Spring Ring Head Net. Make this hot pink and I’ll consider it ;)

Laughable Pho

I ate at Big Bowl last night. I eat there once every couple of months, just long enough to forget why I hadn't been back sooner. Afterward I always remember why... Big Bowl isn't very good. Can’t blame them for lacking in quality and authenticity, this is what probably suits the palates of their primary audience best. And it works, Big Bowl customers eat it right up…

At Big Bowl I ordered what was labeled “Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup (Pho)” -- oh, pho at Big Bowl? What eventually came out resembled pho enough, but in taste? Big Bowl's "pho" is literally chicken stock with a few pieces of rice noodles and basil thrown in there. You look at it and you have to chuckle a little.

Farmer's Market Pasta

I made dinner last night. After the car accident and a horrible and terrible and awful experience at Namaste Cafe in Uptown, it was so nice to come home and make a dish that actually tasted good. The only thing that didn't come from the farmer's market was the pasta and the balsamic vinegar, so I named this Farmer's Market Pasta.

Ingredients:
Some olive oil
Some shallots
Little bit of garlic, crushed
Asparagus
Splash of balsamic vinegar 
Tomatoes
Spinach
Basil
Cooked pasta

Naan Naan Naan Naan

I'm always on a quest to find the best [insert latest thing I'm into]. Lately I've been craving naan, especially when I'm eating Mediterranean food (Emily's Labanese Deli, Marina's Grill & Deli). Instead, Mediterranean food is paired with pita-ish flatbread (which is still good, but not naan). Fortunately, naan is a staple at any Indian restaurant and I love Indian food too...

Down the street from work is this little Indian restaurant called Jewel of India. I would argue that buffet style is the best way to enjoy Indian food. Prior to buffet style awesomeness, I was always ordering unappetizing, mysterious, and disappointing entrees. No disrespect but I honestly still don't know the name of  any of the dishes I enjoy via the Indian buffet line.... except naan. Naan yum yum.

So here we are... A challenge to find a naan that beats the naan at Jewel of India. I'll update this as I go:

Great India in Brooklyn Center -

• Verdict: The naan tastes and looks like thick French crêpes. It isn't a naan that can stand on its own but has a decent and subtle flavor. 
• Cost: Four orders of naan bread came to $8.XX  
• Naan rating: 6 on a scale of 1 to 10 

Curry Up in Maple Grove - 

• Verdict: The naan is similar to that of Great India and yet so bland. So disappointing! There was no sweetness, no flavor, no saltiness. 
• Cost: Two orders of this came to $6.XX
• Naan rating: 4 on a scale of 1 to 10 

Open to naan recommendations :)

I'm anti-promiscuity

I'm tired of loose and easy men and women... I just think promiscuity is the root of so many social issues today.  Have your monogamous and pre-marital sex, but stop having unprotected and casual sex!

So serious...