Create. Creativity. Creation. Creator.

I like these four words more than most. I feel like the first three bring the last to life for me - When I create things or do something creative I am reminded of who I got the knack from.

I've discovered soup recently. I love good soup, but to a fault I think. I ate at this great little soup shop in Frankfurt last fall with my friend Hannah and it was perfect - atmosphere, soup, bread, the works. This only fueled the flame that burned to learn how to make good soup. Too much pressure, yes! Soup is super easy to make and I only figured that out over Christmas. We get a box of fresh veg every week from some local co-op thing and we sometimes don't go through it fast enough therefore soup goes on the menu. The most recent was a squash and leek soup. Seriously, this was incredible and it was nothing to do with me. I browned some leeks while my squash was roasting, added chicken stock and blended it together. End result was soup so good I had to refrain from eating the entire pot in one sitting!

In the midst of creating something like this soup, and getting so excited about the result, I'm reminded of where I came from - where my roots are, in a creative God. Like when the little kid finally catches the football from his football-star dad and he feels like all is not lost - his father's legacy has been passed on and he has been inducted into a new world. Or something else for those that don't do well with the sport analogy...

I like these creative moments... good reminders. Today's soup shall be a leek, shallot, carrot, potato and big blue pumpkin thing. oh! and fluffy biscuits (not British cookies, but real American biscuits!).

apple tart!

I just watched The Take Home Chef and he made this incredible-looking apple tart - I WANT IT! On the list for next desserts to make:

reveal, unveil, release, etc.

Have you ever had a conversation with someone and they shared with you their impression of another person - you then meet the said person and you get a different impression? How much of the difference is due to what we bring out in others? Who are we in relation to others - what we release in them and empower them to be? I have been thinking about this lately - how can I bring out the beauty and greatness in others?

On the other side of the argument is the disparity between what certain people bring out in me as well. I went on a date the other day and at the end of the night I was convinced I was a really boring person. I'm not boring. This guy, who is really great mind you, and I did not bring out the most exciting things in each other on this date though. No harm on either part, but a realization that we may not be the best combo. On another date I laughed a lot, felt wonderfully awkward and intriguing. I like that.

Note to self - date the boys that unveil your favorite characteristics

as the pendulum swings...

In some ways, living in another country, away from deep roots and people that have known you since you were five, affords you freedom to do anything. There are consequences of course, but no one to be accountable to but yourself. I have sought communities of accountability for most of my life - whether it is accountability in the sense that people expect the same "you" they have known for years or an accountability found through shared values and a commitment to living life in an honest and growing environment. Coming to London, and Ricky in particular, has given me the opportunity to let my pendulum swing as far as I'd like with only my own convictions to guide me. Result: I've found that my pendulum doesn't swing very far, even if it can. I love adventures and spontaneity but my middle name isn't danger - it's Marie, plain and simple.


Good things to learn about myself. This self-knowledge usually only comes out in those conversations about "the craziest/most dangerous/wildest thing you've ever done"
in which I don't have a lot to contribute. I like my plain jane Leah Marie Miller self though:)

take state in 2008

I remember shouting a variation of that at some sporting event in high school, except of course that was a decade ago. Today I don't live in a "state" that can be "taken" in 2008. I live in Millend, within Hertfordshire which is in the Three Rivers District or something like that. No states to take for me.

Ringing in the New Year Ricky-style meant me working at the pub and hanging out with the greatest crew of regulars ever.

These are my people here.