Johanna Name Day

In Hungary, they celebrate their names.  Each day of the year is given a name and everyone celebrates their name on their particular day. My name day is March 28th. So on Saturday I celebrated with my friends! Here are a few pictures. It was a wonderful night dancing, hanging out and enjoying needed time with some great friends! 

Water Fountains

As I was doing a Bible Study this morning it asked a great question.. 

What are the water fountains of our life? 

Even if you aren't a God-lover..think about this question.. what are the things which we find sustainability from. What are the things that make us thrive and give us refreshment?  Are they a lasting fulfillment?

As God-lovers, Jesus should be our only water fountain. We should go to him and drink from his word, intimate time and love daily.  I will be the first to admit that often, I do not always go to him to fulfill and satisfy me. I was thinking, "what are the water fountains in my life?"  

The first I would say is relationships. It is much easier to go to my sister, best friend and parents before I approach Jesus. I am an extrovert and when I'm with people, I find great refreshment from relationships. If you get right down to it, they are just human and when I'm alone they aren't what sustains me and they don't give me lasting fulfillment. Don't get me wrong, I think that relationships can draw you closer to Jesus and they are vital to life. It is just when they become a a Coca-cola when you are thirsty and not water and when you are finished drinking that coke you are still thirsty. 

So.. what are you water fountains? 

"If we are full and satisfied in Jesus Christ, we don't need anything else. Our hearts have found complete satisfaction, and are in need of nothing."--unknown

Snow flurry Thursday

Thursday's are my favorite because I don't teach till third period. I leave my house around 9 to get to school by 930. I walked out into the very brisk morning and it was snow flurrying! How crazy is that?!! I didn't mind it but its just crazy! 

Yesterday, my students were tired as it was a late class (5th period). I said "you guys need a bunch of choclate to wake you up!!"  You would have thought I said, "You guys can go home and no more school this week!!" since their eyes lit up so brightly.  I teach them during 6th period as well and so I went downstairs to the "bufe"(snack shop) and bought 3 choclate bars for my cute kids. They couldn't belive that I bought them choclate and gave it to them. 

I've been doing a bible study about Ruth. I have been constantly reminded of doing kind things for those around me. I could see that this simple act of kindess towards my students showed them that I loved them and thought that they were important! The best part was that God was glorified by this action. Even though I couldn't eat that choclate because of Lent.

so what act of kindness will we do today?!! 

urgency

I know that I still have a few months left... but the sense of urgency is starting to build in my heart. 

This past Sunday, I heard a sermon about living as if its the last days. Last night, I heard someone share about the need for God in Europe by just being.. by "showing up" in places and letting the younger generation talk. 

As I teach, as I walk around, I feel this sense of urgency.. I'm feeling out what it means. 

Obviously.. in life we have moments where we need to do things, where time is running out. I know that for this period of time..its running out. I have been reassured that my time in Hungary is not finished. I'll be back in some capacity. It is trusting that those times will happen and leaving that to God. 

I've also been wrestling with singleness...don't get me wrong. I enjoy being single. I'm not dying for a husband.. I mean.. if he knocked on my door after this post.. I'd be a happy gal :) You see, since I went to college later.. I met loads of people who were younger than me.  My friends who were my age and older were getting married and I could live the single life with my younger friends. Now, I've gotten to the point where the people my age are having kids and the younger ones are getting married. I'm moving back to the land of Married with the exception of 2 or 3 friends. I'm excited to get to know spouses and enjoy friends as they have found their love.   It's easy here.. many people are single. Only one married couple..... so daily, I am praying for the endurance I need and the truths that I have to hold so tight to because it will not be easy :) No matter what, I'm excited for the next change.. but so far..nothing's going to be easy.. and why did I think that moving back to America would be a breeze?! 

Don't Worry

I'm not turning my blog into a cooking website..I just do a lot of cooking. 

Last night, as I went to bed my head was pounding from an intense headache which did not go away until I took medicine at 7:00 this morning.  I went to sleep at 10:15 and didn't wake up until 7:30.  I had sms'd my colleague and asked her to take our first class because I was non-functioning.  Thankfuly the meds worked. I noticed a runny nose.. I'm not getting sick.. I'm getting my spring allergies! Thanks dad and mom :) hehe. 

I've been working hard on planning good lessons and bringing things together for the future teacher.  I hope we have found this person but let's keep praying that everything works out! I love being back at school and haven't felt tired. I'm so thankful for all the rest I had. I'm resting now and just doing a few things before I get another good night's sleep!! 

20 of 365

1. Great Lessons with my kids

2. Yummy dinner with my friends then the Cosby Show

3. Leftovers for lunch so I don't have to make anything!

4. A day off from exercising

5. Having everything finished before 9pm ;) 

Another yummy dinner

This has been a yummy week to live at my house :) Last night, we ate Indian food and tonight I made Falafel. 

Here's a picture of our yummy dinner...

Falafel is quite easy to make..here's the recipe:

• 1 (19 ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
• 1 egg
• For Frying:
• 1 cup of vegetable oil. 
• 
  

Mix all the ingredients together. Make it to 2-inch balls then flatten them down to be about 1/2 inch.  Lightly fry then move to a baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Serve with tzatiki sauce, lettuce, tomato, tahini or just eat as is! 

My new favorite Breakfast!

My dear friend gave me this recipe and I've made it three times. It's very yummy, healthy and very delicious.  I love making it with peaches, apples and cinnamon and many other yummy fruit.

Baked Oatmeal

1/2 cup oil
1/2 brown or white sugar
2 eggs

Add:

3 cups oatmeal
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups of milk

Mix in as much fruit as you would like.  Our favorites include:  Blueberry, Peach with ginger, and Apple, cinnamon, pecan.

Bake in a 9 x 11 lightly greased pan for 25 minutes.  350 degrees.

oh yeah..19 of 365

1. waking up to sunshine and blue skies

2. running a mile without dying first

3. having the shopkeeper aske me if I needed any help in English..I was at the "american store"... then proceeding to help me find everything on my list. 

4. watching movies with some of my favorite girls

5. getting to talk to everyone in my family

a great Saturday

It was a blue and clear Saturday here in Budapest. I love sleeping in on the weekends and not setting an alarm.  I woke up, made some coffee and baked peach oatmeal.  

I then did some Internet, then did some grocery shopping and went for a run/walk with my sweet friend Caroline. It was a blast to exercise and spend time with my good friend. We went on Margit Island in the middle of the Duna. I wish I had had my camera. The island was littered with people and you could sense that spring was here or at least everyone was begging it to come!

Spring and Fall are my favorite times of year.  Spring because of the newness and warmth.  Fall is my favorite because my birthday and school supply shopping ;). 

There was a girls night movie night at Caroline's so we met there to watch North and South. No, not about the USA but the UK. I've put the picture of the BBC cover. It is a mini series and we watched all of them!  It is your typical romance 19th century British movie which I adore. I worked on my knitting.  I have almost finished knitting a blanket which is over 6 feet long. Just about 6 more rows then I'll be finished!! I'll post a picture! 

I'm just thankful that I'm not sick and I can enjoy a good Saturday at home!

March 15th

Today we had a celebration at school for March 15th.

Here's a bit of history:

On March 15, 1848 mass demonstrations in Pest and Buda enabled Hungarian reformists to push through a list of 12 demands. Faced with revolution both at home and in Vienna, Austria first had to accept Hungarian demands. Later, under governor and president Lajos Kossuth and the first Prime minister,Lajos Batthyány, the House of Habsburg was dethroned and the form of government was changed to create the first Republic of Hungary. After the Austrian revolution was suppressed,emperor Franz Joseph replaced his epileptic uncle Ferdinand I as Emperor. The Habsburg Ruler and his advisors skillfully manipulated the Croatian, Serbian and Romanian peasantry, led by priests and officers firmly loyal to the Habsburgs, and induced them to rebel against the Hungarian government. The Hungarians were supported by the vast majority of the Slovak, German and Rusyn nationalities and by all the Jews of the kingdom, as well as by a large number of Polish, Austrian and Italian volunteers.^[39] Some members of the nationalities gained coveted positions within the Hungarian Army, like General János Damjanich, an ethnic Serb who became a Hungarian national hero through his command of the 3rd Hungarian Army Corps. Initially, the Hungarian forces (Honvédség) defeated Austrian armies. To counter the successes of the Hungarian revolutionary army, Franz Joseph asked for help from the "Gendarme of Europe," Czar Nicholas I, whose Russian armies invaded Hungary. The huge army of the Russian Empire and the Austrian forces proved too powerful for the Hungarian army, and General Artúr Görgey surrendered in August 1849. Julius Freiherr von Haynau, the leader of the Austrian army, then became governor of Hungary for a few months and on October 6, ordered the execution of 13 leaders of the Hungarian army as well as Prime Minister Batthyány. Lajos Kossuth escaped into exile.

Following the war of 1848–1849, the whole country was in "passive resistance". Archduke Albrecht von Habsburg was appointed military governor of Hungary, and this time was remembered for Germanization and oppression pursued with the help of Czech officers.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary

18 of 365

I haven't been consistent in my Grace moments.. reflection of my life..perhaps?

1. I got great news that I can go back to work tomorrow! 

2. Shannon is living with me for a few weeks and its so wonderful to have someone around. 

3. I got to talk to my dad! I miss my family.

4. I watched the Cosby show which really makes me laugh..a lot.

5. I mopped, scrubbed and cleaned my apartment..spring cleaning anyone??

Looking forward to the weekend!!

Tszatiki Chicken Salad

Since I cannot go out and about in the world..I've been trying some new recipes. 

Tszatiki Chicken Salad:

Salad (your choice of lettuce)

Cherry tomatoes (halved)

Olives (i prefer Kalmata)

Chicken Cutlets

Tszatiki Salad Dressing packet

Natural Plain Yogurt

Salt, Pepper, Paprika

I made the Tszatiki Dressing then used some of it to marinate my chicken. I marinated the cutlets for about 20 minutes then I grilled them using my grill pan. I made the salads the topped them with the chicken and added some dressing.  This is healthy, low fat and delicious!! Yummy!! 

Sorry I don't have a picture :( 

Rest

Its a sunny Tuesday morning --windy and cold.  I am home this week. I'm sick with swollen tonsils. It's been a trying week.  I got this cold one week ago and did my best to fight it off. There were many teachers who were missing from school so I continued to go to school even though I should have stayed home.  My throat got so bad that my tonsils are now swollen and its hard to swallow and breath.  Its much better now because I'm on anti-biotics.  So, I'm resting.  I'm reading, knitting, resting, and watching movies. Its funny, every month I will have had a week of rest from school.  I like to think that God is preparing me for some big stuff because I need this rest. He knows that I don't slow down much otherwise..

I should learn from this lesson.. resting is important.. Taking a Sabbath is crucial. 

I often feel that I'm on this time limit..I only have 3.7 months left here and I don't want to miss anything. I want to see a lot of people, do a lot of things but I need to stay healthy so I can see and visit all these people!! 

So, I'm resting now...

Sunny Sunday

Now, this picture wasn't taken today..but I didn't bring my camera with me. Today, I met friends for lunch at Szerai.. the famous Turkish Restaruant that my dad likes..LOVES. Aftewards, we decided to walk to a coffeeshop called Semaramies. Forgive the spelling. We walked from the Turkish Restaurant to Vaci Utca along the river. Today was warm..47 degreesish and sunny. It was beautiful and to be outside was wonderful. Then my friend Andris and I walked across the Danube and went back up towards parliment so I made a gigantic U :)

It was so nice to be outside and I only hope spring is coming. Sorry for all you East Coast dwellers who are having a wintery mix :)



17 of 365
1. Yesterday, I got to see Shannon who had been in India for 6 weeks. It was so good to reconnect and share what has been happening.
2. I had a wonderful morning of watching church from home and drinking my favorite coffee.
3. I got to eat a gyros and a turkish tea from Szerai.
4. Talking about deep subjects with close friends and sharing dreams.
5. Doing my homework before 9pm :)