Rising Up on the Surf

As most of you know, this past week I had the incredible opportunity to attend CCO's annual Rise Up event in Vancouver (west-coast is the best coast guys!). These last few days I was hit by the waves of Christ, tumbling in the turbulence of grace and mercy, but cleansed deep within my soul by the time I was swept to the shores. I wish I could have gotten up and ridden the waves, but I was much more comfortable swimming through the challenges and experiencing the "spiritual pickling".

Not everyone has the courage to step out on to the beach and jump into the waves:

Some people fear the size of the waves, that it'll come over their heads.

OR

That the waves will have more power than their own strength. 

But I believe that those two assumptions are more important than anything if you want to see a huge change in your life. You have to encounter a large, powerful wave in order to fully understand the abilities of the water. Every time you let the wave overcome you, you are taken safely back to shore, ready for the next time you choose to leap even further into the depths of the blue...

_____________________________________________________________

Well, would you like to hear what really happened this week?

I'm glad you kept reading, because that means you said "yes". Saying YES was the primary event of this conference...

Did you already sign in?  Yes.
Would you like some coffee?  Umm, is that even a question? Yes.
Have you been having a good time? Yes.
Are you ready to take a leap of faith? Well, as long as I don't fall, then yes.
Did you encounter Christ?  Absolutely.

Along with saying YES to everything I also:

-Heard some incredible speakers, some with great socks, others with very "creative" children
-Met SO many new and old friends, talking my mouth off twelve hours every day
-Received Penance from a priest named Fr. Jim who encouraged me to "stop letting the rotten fruit rot you"
-Had many meals with many people (two things I LOVE!)
-Sat down and just absorbed a woman named Trish's testimony of faith and missionary work
-Ran down the harbour of Vancouver
-Examined the plating of our dessert with my fellow Achitect and Landscaping preists, Fr. Eric and Fr. Toby
AND finally, -Reconnected my wifi (WIreless FaIth) with God



SO, if you have any questions or would like to go for coffee to discuss all the little details about my experience with Christ, please get in contact with me, because I'd love to share my story and hear many of yours!

Sending you all some love this New Year!!   -Ash

DAY 1: Roommates and I waiting for the room...

DAY 2: Dinner at Nero Belgian Waffle shop

DAY 2: Walk down the Stanley Park harbor-front

DAY 4: Leaving for mass at Holy Rosary Cathedral 

DAY 5: The last view from our room on the 8th floor (first day of the New Year!)

Running into Screen Doors

As we all know, birds have a tendency to fly into windows, while dogs seem to run into screen doors. As humans, we too find ourselves running into screens, but not always the ones associated with patio doors. We tend to be stopped abruptly by choices, BIG choices. And here I will talk about one of the biggest choices: marriage.  

SO, did you know there is a beautiful screen that may hit you in the face? Yup, it's called a veil. Not only is this sheath of material a symbolic image of marriage, but it also symbolizes purity. As a woman becomes a wife, she will lift up her veil and give her whole soul to the man she weds, and in doing so, leaves behind her innocence to receive gracious love, bold and true.

A veil is also worn to "hide" the beauty of the bride until her fiance bestows his vows, allowing him to lift up the head piece and discover his wife in a new light for the first time. 

                                                     

A veil is more than just a pretty piece of tule on the wedding day, it is an amazing message of chastity and a screen that literally will hit you in the face (ladies)... so be cautious where you're walking, whether it's out onto the deck or down the aisle... 

 "She is clothed in strength and dignity" 

Proverbs 31:25

(SIDE NOTE: In the last two months 3 of my friends have been engaged and I am so, so utterly thrilled! Congratulations Drew, Chantal and Richelle!) 

Cutting Edge

Well, what an interesting last two months it has been here in culinary school. All I can say so far is, "I am not just your typical housewife cook anymore" and "I need to get a gym membership". 

Sure, you can say I am having an exceptional time here at the OC, but things aren't always so pretty. The industry is tougher than steel, but many restaurants continue to use aluminum as their go-to metal. So far, I've had people say my tartar sauce tastes like ranch, that my speed-walking through the kitchen freaks them out, and I've also had the remark from my own teacher/chef that I tend to cook like a "mommy". None of this has bothered me to the point of leaving, but as a professional cook, they tell you repeatedly that "attitude is key to being a great chef". I take this statement seriously and whenever my chef says "add more love to your dish" I sneak in a few pinches of sass as well. I am not sure how my peers feel about that ingredient of choice, but the tall bearded guy wrapped up my knife in saran wrap after I teased him. 

Here are the top 3 most prominent points to notify you readers about my experience in culinary:

1) Practice melon-balling on a melon first.

My first (and only) "war wound" was with a melon baller, which I used to core half an apple. Now this instrument is typically used to make pretty little circular-shaped melon for pretty little fruit salad bowls but, they never told you the edges where SHARP! It was pathetic really, and my chef even had to call first aid to have a band-aid put on me. The guy who wrapped my thumb gave me his business card for future reference... Uh, thanks?

2) ALWAYS wear fresh socks.

So, as you should know, cooks are on their feet all day long, which means they are in their shoes all day long, so fresh socks everyday should do the trick, right? Well... it doesn't, but it's nice to smell less stinky by using fresh socks everyday, than double stinky using the same socks twice. I mean, at least you're just reading this, because actually smelling a full locker room at the end of class when everyone takes of their work clogs is just rancid. 

3) Only take nibbles.

We have to taste all food we make, which is a lot... AND sometimes my chef will just hand me a piece of pastry crust or a spoonful of chocolate mousse, which I can't say no to, because I HAVE to taste it. All I can say is I eat a lot of food during class and I need to start working out again...


Well, there you have it folks, the introduction to culinary school, thus far. It's been a chopping-onion fiasco but with good memories to keep... maybe not fingers. 

The Mssng "I" // Part One

It all started during the first few chapters of Eat, Pray, Love... I decided I wanted my own quest for that often-sought-after quest to finding your "inner peace" or rediscovering the true worth of your life. 

We live in a world where most people's next ambition is at the top of a mountain, or also known as the term climax, but once they hit that point, then it goes back down to the low slope at the bottom of the valley. People get hyped about their next "big gig" or the next chapter. I used to see life like this, but the more I opened up and listened to what people were saying, it sure wasn't those big

moments that they claimed to have cherished the most. The best memories, as you all darn well know, come from moments you never even planned. 

So, my friends, I have become a searcher in the common days of life for things that sparkle. 

Now by sparkle I don't mean glitter glue and a bunch of 5-year-olds. By sparkle I mean that split second in a day when you look up at the pink haze in the clouds and feel as though you are speechless of thought. That's the kind of thing I look for in my day-to-day. 

Oddly enough, sparks fly all throughout our days, but sometimes we never give them a chance because we are "too busy" or in a rough mood. Let's change that! 

Find the gratitude in things that you never did before. Pull an Ashley and admire the clouds, but please don't follow suit as much as to walk into a peers backpack. 

Health-Freak Hiking

How to survive in the wilderness on kale chips and chickpeas...


SO, as many of you may know, and many may still be oblivious to my love of food, it should be no surprise that I am blogging about my "healthy hiking alternatives". Since my start of back-packing in 2013, I have adjusted my straps numerous times, and have also found some surprisingly simple changes to my squished and most-often melted menu. 

Let's take a closer look into the "average" back-pack vs. mine, to understand what I mean by this new term "Health-Freak", coined on me when I stated I liked fro-yo more than ice-cream:

The typical hiker's food sack includes:

-Trail mix, always
-Oatmeal
-Some form of gnarly and tough meat, and a lot of it
-Coffee (most of the true adventurers will have some)
-Babybel cheese
-A large amount of some gluten-full base layer (eg. Naan, wraps, pita)
-Smooshe (aka: melted chocolate, pronounced smoosh-EH by us Canadians)

-Candy 
-Clif Bars


Then there is my food sack:

-Trail mix, as usual
-Granola
*wait for it, wait for it!*
-Dried apples, strawberries, pineapple (mango if I'm lucky, or have a heavy cash flow)
-Kale chips & seaweed
-Falafel patties, fried and dried (a mixture of ingerdients with chickpeas)
-As fresh as can be, straight from the sea candied salmon
-Peanut butter (NEVER LEAVE WITHOUT IT)
-Fruit Plus snack bars
-Veggie chips that end up as veggie crumbs, but still tasty
-Home-made energy bars with loads of protein

I mean, what can I say? I love my greens, and I am perfectly happy to pack 10 extra pounds if it means I get to be labelled a Foodie. 

Below you will find my most prized pieces of fruit and veg, pre-dried today:

I enlarged this baby so you can just about see all that vitamin K going on! 

People Counting

So, many people count sheep when they need to sleep, or they count their fingers when doing math-related work, but recently I was given the opportunity to count people, as a job. Yes, people. I work for the government now, counting people...

As many of you Canadian folks know it is the year of the Census, and I am happy to announce my recruitment onto a BC team! Normally I'd say I'm a people-watcher, but now I'm a people-counter! Cool, eh? 

As part of my guidelines for working in a Government occupation I have to keep things confidential, so this is about as much as I can tell you: I got another job.

Heading Home

So here I am, with news for you, that I am heading home...

I was accepted into the program I applied for and will be moving to the Okanagan this fall, excited and scared beyond measures.

 It has been a difficult few months, isolated in a new town with few friends, working and praying for what the future may hold. I have been on top of the world, singing and dancing while enjoying the West Coast waves, and I have also been in the dumps, wishing I had a friend to share in my adventures. Through it all, though, I have held close to family and have discerned where I am to be in the next year to come. I chose school. 

I love to learn and there is so much possibility in the unknown. I want to continue growing in my abilities and move forward in my ambitions.

 I am always scared of the future, but I keep reminding myself that I can't decide the future, I can only decide the here and now, so I must relax and focus on who I am today. 

If you have ever loved a place so dearly, you will know, because you continue to come back.

Here I go, taking the jump, and how I will land, only He knows...