Christmas Cooking

I am no food blogger. Though I secretly wish I could cook, eat, and get paid for it. Or better yet, travel and eat. But alas, it probably doesn't work that way anyway.

However, I have been cooking and eating recently... And paying for it in pounds...haha. I need to make a resolution this new year, but that's another story.

Baking had been good since if we #bakeitforward on social media, Food Network donates a dollar to No Kid Hungry. But this next little treat isn't baked. It is pan fried to perfection. Meet Caroline's first Ravioli:

With the help of the Ravioli cutter/squisher (or whatever that tool is called) I have to say that these were probably the tastiest and easiest things to make. The hardest thing was hand shredding the parm..but now I have extra arm muscles on that side.

Unfortunately, we don't have a recipe since my stepmom and I just love winging it in the kitchen. But this is what went in it: ricotta, mascarpone, parmesan, spiral ham my daddy slow cooked a couple days ago, spinach, black truffle salt. The dough is just water and flour, and I didn't see what went into the cream sauce other than heavy whipping cream and the nutmeg I ground to keep my arm muscles strong...haha.

But it was delicious!

O'ahu Living

Being in Hawaii with a local is awesome. I think I am seeing and doing things I wouldn't as a tourist. After stepping off the plane, my friend Kai met me with a Lei...which was something I always saw on TV and of course was overjoyed to get.

We have been to a couple different beaches, and some local eateries, as well as hikes. I got the most helpful spontaneous body-boarding lesson with her dad and caught some awesome waves that I could have never done in the Atlantic.

Also, the Honolulu marathon passes by the house at mile 22 so I have decided to take on the most run road in America and finish the last 4 miles on diamondhead volcano with team "Yoloha", (all of us former missionaries and Kai's sister).

It's really good to be here.

Prospective

It's been a while... But I will probably be saying that often. Alas...here in O'ahu, I have had the opportunity to think.

I purposely came here knowing that seeing old team members in a new light would be beneficial to processing this past year of travel and trial. But honestly, my best processing moment came from an online conversation with a teammate that couldn't make it here.

When I first left the mission field, I was so ready to be done. I was exhausted, indignant, selfish, and hurt. Each emotion building on the next. Recently, I have been reading Danny Silk's, "Keep your love on" and its been a game changer.  Looking back, I was seeing all the ways I failed at communication, love, and selflessness.

However, after this conversation...I saw. That I did the best I possibly could at the time. No 20/20 hindsight, coulda, shoulda, woulda, is gonna change that. And the lessons I am still learning from the times when I wasn't even close to doing well, are priceless.

So, in a slight jump back Mrs. Frizzle in the magic school bus, its okay to "take chances, get messy, and make mistakes." Because coming out of this on the other side is probably the most difficult and rewarding thing I have ever done.

I am so grateful, honored, and blessed.