Mexico Mission

Paul and I recently returned from a week long mission trip in Mexico. We went down with a group called Lutheran Border Concerns. The purpose of the trip was to build three houses for three needy families in Tijuana. Nine of us spent eight days building the nicest houses these families may ever hope to own, which is shocking indeed.

A typical neighborhood street in Tijuana

Being in Mexico was a very eye opening experience. I have simply never before seen the kind of poverty that is so common place in our own North American corner of the Third World. There are no building codes, so people erect shelters where ever they can using whatever they can find. Some "houses" are little more that a tarp stretched across the sides of two other houses. Many homes lack foundations and solid roofs, and a great number of them look like they are falling down the sides of mountains. The houses we built were of superior quality because they had concrete foundations and waterproof roofs.

Even amid the abject poverty, the Mexican people have a strong sense of hospitality, and they know how to have a good time. Everywhere you went the streets were filled with Rancho music and the strong scent of fresh corn tortillas being cooked over fires. The families we build houses for had almost no money, but they fed us lunch everyday. The widow my group was building for, Tarhabia, even bought us soda the first day we were there- a rare treat reserved only for honored guests.


It was great fun getting to know Tarhabia. She had turned every available inch of her marginal plot into productive garden. She grew most her own food, including corn which she ground into tortillas and fed us every day.

Learning to build a house was also lots of fun. I enjoyed the process far more than I expected to. My favorite part was working on the roof, but I also loved hammering nails anywhere they
 would let me. They also let me use the skill saw, but that was not one of my favorite things...

Surprise birthday party!

The pastor's family that ran the mission was great.The pastor's wife's sister is a doctor, so they are much better off than their surrounding neighbors. Mexican's know how to have a good time: They made us fish tacos one night (delicious), and on the last night we were there, they threw a surprise birthday party for one of the guys! Mexicans know how to party. ;-)







Enough talk, here are some pictures:

On Sunday we took the day off and went to a little tourist town on the beach. Paul and I ordered this to share.

These are "Gringo Chilis." We thought that meant they would be mild, so I stuffed a whole one in my mouth. They were not. mild. at. all. The whole table had a good laugh, and my mouth has almost regained feeling. ;-)

Safety standards we high of course ;-)

The mission where we stayed- a little rustic but very livable

Markie, our wonderful cook!

Our group's fearless leader, Pastor Burch

Good lookin' guy on a roof ;-)

A pelah- a typical sink in Mexico

The whole group

Our team (with the addition of Carolina, who worked at a different site.)

This was another family we built for. They needed somewhere to put all those kids!!!

The finished house

Memorable Memorial Day

We had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend with our friends Scott and Elisa. Scott and Elisa got married about the time Paul and I finally moved in together. Elisa's father is a second career pastor, and our families were at the Seminary at the same time. We even worked at the same summer camp! (We never actually met in Fr. Wayne though...)

Like Paul, Scott comes from a farming family in a state too far north to be inhabited without government incentives. Scott and Elisa moved to California a few weeks before we did, and will be leaving about the same time we do. (Scott is doing military missile training at the Vandenberg Airforce Base.) We all love Issues Etc., Lutheran Satire, and German beer. Yep, we have a lot in common...

Except that Scott and Elisa are expecting their first child within the week!!!

And so, with Elisa so pregnant she can hardly move, we decided to make a weekend of it! Last October, Paul and I began hosing a Sunday night book study at our house. People from the church take turns bringing food, we eat, drink, and work our way through Lutheran literature. We just started the book "Blessings of Weekly Communion." It's a real page turner...

Our fearless Pastor Burch and lovely wife, Markie.

Actually, it's a fantastic book, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about God's objective presence in the Divine Service. People at the book study have really enjoyed it so far.



Anyway, the book study has become Paul's and my social hour. People sometimes come early to hang out (this week they brought wine!), and a good number of people always stay long after the study has finished. There have been many Sunday evenings when the last person is waving goodbye around midnight. We love it.

Roland, who is a wonderful individual

Our good friends, Pat and Dick

This Sunday, after the book study, Scott, Elisa, Paul, and I decided to live it up one last time before Jr. gets here. We fixed up the guest room, and the Brobergs stayed over slumber party throw-back style!

Elisa and I went for a late night Starbucks run, and stayed up talking until much too late. Paul and Scott went straight to bed. For good reason. At 3:00 A.M., those two crazy people left to hike a mountain. Scott and Paul had talked for a long time about hiking up Bishop's Peak, a mountain not too far from here, and watching the sun rise from the mountain top. Elisa and I slept in...

Apparently they reached the summit right as dawn broke. Sounds like fun except for the 3:00 A.M. bit...

Truckin' along!

Elisa and I had much more pregnant-lady friendly plans to hike a flat, paved nature trail out to the beach. By the time we had woken up and gotten ourselves put together, the guys had already come back down the mountain! They joined us on our leisurely stroll, and we had a great time. (I was glad to have Scott there just in case baby Broberg decided it was time to make an appearance...)

This water was extremely cold!

We hiked the trail, ate a delicious sea-side lunch, splashed in the ocean a little, and headed to our respective homes where Paul and I napped away the afternoon.




It was a lovely Memorial Day with lovely friends.

Noms

As predicted, last week I went on an intense food kick. I spent the week cooking and eating, and eating and cooking. And when I wasn't doing that, I was wishing I was cooking or eating. At the end of the week, my pants informed me that food obsessions are hazardous to your waist line...

It was't all bad though. In fact, I have been inspired by salad.

Well, actually, I have been inspired by this blog post: How to make a 400 Calorie Salad (I strongly recommend it) to eat more salad in very creative ways. Paul and I have been loving the salads, and it makes for a healthy improvement on our usual cold-cut lunches. I baked some whole wheat rolls from scratch, and they really round out a bowl of veggies topped with chicken, hard boiled egg, avocado slices, and a scoop of hummus for dressing.

The endless pies, pancakes, biscotti and experiments in a skillet were somewhat less helpful. But they were delicious!!!

A fun week indeed! 

Join me next time for "Gym Memberships and You."

Foods and Phones

I am terribly inspired right now. Since wrapping up my almost full time tutoring gig, I have rediscovered my love of cooking. I've spent a wonderful week with my kitchen, taking time and having fun with dishes like chicken cordon bleu served with artichoke and french bread dipped in lemon butter, tilapia with asparagus risotto, and homemade pizza with sauce and crust from scratch. I made a couple meringue pies, but my meringue needs a little work. They worked out well at Christmas, but this time the pies went watery on me... Tonight I made pan-seared Tilapia with asparagus risotto and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Yes indeed, it has been fun times in the kitchen.

If you know me, you know that when an interest strikes it doesn't just strike a little. No moderation at all, that's my motto! And so, when I can't be in the kitchen cooking, I've been exploring recipes and foodie blogs. There is so much cool stuff out there! My favorite is a blog I just discovered today called "Can You Stay for Dinner?" You should totally check it out. Not only is the girl's story quite inspiring, but her recipes look absolutely amazing. I've already picked three to try next week!

Depending on how long my cooking kick lasts (because, if you know me, you know how unpredictable my kicks are...), you will probably be seeing some pictures of my kitchen exploits.

In the meantime, don't try to call me. I won't answer. Not because I don't want to talk to you, but because my phone met a watery end this past laundry day. It's not all bad though; after extensive research I found a very reasonably priced pay-as-you-go smart phone plan. (Only $30/month for 1200 minutes, 1200 texts, and 250MB data!) I bought a used Motorola DROID 2 on Amazon, and I should be online by next week!

Coupons!

This is a proof post for those of you who claim that couponing doesn't help you save on "real" groceries. While I admit that, for the most part, couponing results in toothpaste out the ears and an over abundance of razors, it can indeed prove very useful in reducing an overall grocery bill.

Today was my biggest regular grocery coupon win thus far.

Pictured below are:

• 2 half gallons of milk
• 5 lbs of frozen chicken breasts
• 2 boxes of Post Honey Nut Shredded Wheat
• 2 bags of fresh express salad
• 2 boxes of deli shaved ham
• 2 bottles of Dial hand soap

 

The total?

$9.90

I love couponing!!!

I have answered the skeptics, now if you'll excuse me, I need to find some place to put all this toothpaste.......

Procrastination

It’s a foggy afternoon here in “sunny” Santa Maria. My floor is covered in coupon clippings yet to be filed, and my dining room table is buried under three feet of lesson plans and myriad curriculum materials. The bathrooms are dirty, the kitchen is a mess, the receipts aren’t reconciled, and I have no idea what’s for dinner. Seems like an excellent time to write a blog post!

Things have been pretty hectic in the Ferderer home for the past several months. In early March, I threw a baby shower for my good friend Elisa. On the day of the shower, our friend Trina ran into some housing problems and had to crash with us for a week. The day after she left my sister, Michelle, came out for a long visit. We had an absolute blast with her, but after all of that we were looking forward to a slower pace. It was not to be. On the last day Michelle was here, I got a call with a job offer from a tutoring company. I am now employed by Xamaze Tutoring, a company that offers remedial tutoring to low scoring students in Title I schools. Because they took me on late in the semester I had to double up my hours to finish all my students’ programs before their deadlines. I was given eight high school students who all needed to complete 14 hours in 30 days. Add to that my private pre-calculus student, and now you understand why I haven’t been calling…

I have enjoyed the tutoring experience, though it has left me despairing about the state of education in the U.S. I have three 10^th graders who do not know what nouns, verbs, or adjectives are. I have an Algebra student who does not know multiplication facts, and a geometry student who can’t do a lick of Algebra! According to my employers, I am supposed to affect a 25% increase on these students’ standardized test scores. Good luck to me…

I will be glad when this tutoring job is over. Paul and I have realized we don’t have much time left in Santa Maria, and there is still so much to see and do! Starting next weekend, we will be packing in the fun times and adventures- all the things we want to do before we leave. I’ll try to keep you posted.