Spicy Veggie Peanut Noodles

Ingredients:

A package of pasta
Half a cup of peanut butter
4 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tsp of cayenne pepper
1 tsp of sesame seeds (optional)
2 cups of fresh spinach
2 chopped tomatoes
- I used "Berkeley tie-dye" heirloom tomatoes from the Lakeshore Farmer's Market in Oakland but of course this is optional since you would ONLY see this in the Bay Area :)

Boil pasta. Mix peanut butter, soy sauce, pepper and sesame seeds in a separate bowl while pasta is cooking. When pasta has been drained, while still hot, mix in the peanut mixture. Add more soy sauce as necessary. Add spinach, mix until slightly limp. Add tomatoes.

Voila - yummy veggie dinner in no time!

David's Visit

Well David is here to visit. We have had a great time, eating great food and as always having deep, mind bending conversations. Today David did some research on the internet on his favorite flower, the Helleborus, otherwise called the Christmas rose because it grows in the winter and there is also an old legend that it sprouted in the snow from the tears of a young girl who had no gift to give the Baby Jesus.

David says he is going to really dive more into plant knowledge and start learning genuses in depth one by one. He sounded excited and joyful at the prospect and it reminded me of when Mother Teresa said that it is when we feel a quiet joy and underlying peace, we know we are on the right path.

I am feeling more thankful than ever to God for the Love He shows to me and my family. I feel lucky to be His daughter and to rest in His arms in the journey of life, wherever it takes me.

I really like my job, I am learning a lot but as always it is just another stepping stone in the journey of life, in my journey towards Him, towards His plan for me on earth and ultimately to an eternal resting in His arms. I pray for continued grace to keep things in perspective and remain always standing by to do whatever and go wherever God calls me.

Retreat - St. Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises

There is so much to mention to everyone. I recently began a new job at StubHub.com. It is completely different from my old job in every way and I feel lucky to be there every day. I am sure I will write more about it sometime soon.

But that is not the big news. I recently went on a retreat. I stayed in a big beautiful house in the middle of the woods all by myself for 4 days. It was a wonderful experience and I think if I continue to ask God for the graces He provided me during that time, it will prove to be one of the most pivotal spiritual experiences of my life.

The retreat was based on St. Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises. Each day I was given 5 exercises to meditate on for one hour each. I told my spiritual director that it was like making someone run a marathon after training by walking around the block. At first I completely resisted it. I felt angry and grumpy. But eventually I got into the groove of constant prayer and it really ended up beginning to feel quite blissful.

During the retreat I felt very clear messages from God gently pointing out the things in my personality and in my disordered view of the world that are preventing me from hearing His voice clearly.

Some of these things were:
1. Minimizing the gravity of my sins past and present
2. Clinging to an idea of what it means to "help people" (my life's goal) and resisting any plans from God that don't fit into what exactly I see as doing that
3. Putting other things, even good things, before my life's purpose - to praise and to serve God

There are many other things that came to the surface during the retreat, much too personal to itemize on a public blog but suffice it to say, I really feel like a changed person. When I left the retreat, as I was driving away, tears were rolling down my face.

The time I spent with God those few days was a little slice of heaven. And I urge each and every one of you to carve out just a little bit of time each day to spend with Him in contemplative, silent prayer.

You will not regret it.