A Real Snow Day

I woke up this morning, looked out the window, and everything was white! Snow - real snow! Now if something like this happens in Texas (which in never really does), everything would shut down. People would lock the doors, board up the windows, pull out the canned goods, and take off of work/school for a week. Here, everything went on as normal. People were even out jogging with their dogs! So I pulled out my spatula (primarily used to flip pancakes), scraped the snow off of my windshield, and crept down the road to work. Several times today, I caught myself staring out the window mesmerized by the snow. This is something I'll have to get used to.

Enchilada Dinner

Tonight I tried my mano (hand) at black bean, chicken 'n' spinach enchiladas (aka "beaspinckenchiladas"). I went to the grocery store yesterday to load up on all of the goods: beans, enchilada sauce, diced green chilies, tortillas. And where would I find these items in the Portland grocery store? The "ethnic foods" aisle, of course. The choices were slim and the prices were high, but the meal came together nicely and was pretty tasty, if I may say so myself. That should satisfy my mexican food cravings... at least for now!

Beaspinchenchiladas
(a combined recipe from Southern Living and Emily Belf)

3 cups cooked chicken
1 (15oz) can black beans
1 (6oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup salsa
1 small can chopped green chilies, drained
2 cups (8oz) shredded Monterrey Jack or Mexican blend cheese
8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 (16oz) can enchilada sauce

Stir together the first 11 ingredients and half (1 cup) of the cheese. Spoon mixture evenly in each tortilla and roll up! Arrange in a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce over wrapped tortillas. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Top with remaining cheese and bake uncovered for 5 minutes. BUENO!

Portland Spirit

This afternoon, I attended the Portland Blazers vs. New York Knicks NBA basketball game. My friend Esther got us tickets, so we walked across the Willamette River on the Steel Bridge and into the Rose Garden Arena. I enjoyed watching the first half of the game and clapped when Portland made a basket. But by the second half, I was on my feet cheering for my home team! It turned into an extremely exciting game and the Blazers ended up winning literally at the last second. The Knicks were ahead 108-107, but Brandon Roy got the ball with 3 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter and made the winning shot at the buzzer. The crowd went wild! When we walked outside, we were greeted by a drizzling rain. But our spirits weren't dampened - Go Portland!

Irresistible Revolution

I've found over the past week that it is easy to make judgements. For example:
- Texans wear cowboy hats and boots, have big hair, drive trucks, and love Chuck Norris.
- Portlandians (?) wear skinny jeans and beanie hats, have a lip/nose ring, dreadlocks, soul patch, and drive Subaru Outbacks.
- Christians listen to only Christian music, wear purity rings, are right-wing extreme fundamentalists, and don't know how to have a good time.

Tonight I went to a friend's church to hear Shane Claiborn, author of Irresistible Revolution, speak. I have never read the book or heard of the author, so I didn't know what to expect. The speaker came onto the stage: tall, skinny, dreadlocks, do-rag, glasses, long goatee. I have to admit that I was somewhat judgemental at first, but this man who is living "the simple life" challenged my unnecessarily complicated life. I am sure that if he had lived during Christ's time on earth, he and Jesus would have been best friends. Here are some thoughts that I wrote down and would like to share with you...

• Christianity is spread not through force, but through facination.
  

• When the disciples asked Jesus, "Are you the one we've been waiting for or should we expect someone else?" Jesus replied, "Go back and report what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor." If someone were to ask us "Are you a Christian?" would we be able to reply, "Tell me what you hear and see."

• You can have all the right ideologies and still be mean.

• Fascinate the world with grace and interrupt injustice with your life.

• Sometimes it's easier to love orphans in Africa than it is to love the people we live with.

• God, give us fresh ears to hear the whisper of your love.

• Our God is a god who, for some strange reason, doesn't want to change the world without us. We ask, "God, why don't you do something?" and He replies, "I did. I created you." We are to be His hands and feet on this earth.

Northwestern Hospitality

I've been overwhelmed by how friendly and welcoming everyone up here has been. On Monday, several of my coworkers took me to lunch at a wonderful restaurant called Beaches. We walked in the door and above was a chalkboard that said "Welcome to our Special Guest: Mary Carter"! Apparently my boss had told the resteraunt that this was a special lunch to celebrate my first day of work.

My aunt's prayer group has been praying daily about my move to Portland and my search for a place to live. I got an email from on of her friends inviting me to attend a college grad Bible study and meet her daughter who is my age. Another one of my aunts friends drove by a rent house that I heard about just to see if it was in a good neighborhood. So thoughtful!

Tonight a friend invited me to a gathering with his "community group" from church. We enjoyed an interesting tortilla, egg, tomato and cilantro dinner and then we played a fun "get-to-know-you" game called Big Happy Family. The game is actually one that my family plays at Christmas, so I had a slight advantage. (I ended up winning the game, but that's beside the point.) I'm getting connected with so many wonderful people around the city.

Everyone has been so welcoming to even me, a young Texas girl with an accent. No homesickness here!

Moving On...

Signs I'm in Portland, not Texas:

- reset all of my clocks to PST

- took the keys to my Waco house off of my key ring

- pulled out my gloves and scarfs

- set Oregon NPR on my radio

- can't satisfy my mexican food cravings

- enjoyed the scenic drive to work

- experience traffic and get lost frequently

- conciously said "you guys" instead of "y'all"

- receive comments on my "accent"

Down the Road...
"What is that feeling when you're driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? — it's the too-huge world vaulting us, and it's good-by. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies."

- Jack Kerouac
On the Road

Across the Country

I made it to Portland - finally! After 24 hours of driving, flying, layovering, diverting and busing, I arrived in my new hometown. (Coming Soon: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles II, starring Mary Carter!) Due to heavy fog at the Portland airport, my plane was not able to land on Saturday evening. I've never been to Seattle (and I didn't really care to go there this past weekend) but that's where I ended up. After hours of sitting in the airport, waiting to see what the airline was going to do with us, we were all shuttled to a hotel where we got a little sleep, then put on a Grey Hound Sunday morning and bussed into the city - welcome to Portland!

I am grateful to be staying with some of my family, the Moores, while I get settled in the city and look for a place to live. I started my new job today and had a wonderful first day of work at The Murdock Charitable Trust! I couldn't ask for a more welcoming office or more friendly coworkers. I can already tell that this job is going to be a wonderful experience which will challenge and strengthen me, professionally and personally.

An exciting journey is beginning. A new chapter of my life is opening. Emotions are running through me: excitement, nervousness, anxiety, fear, anticipation.

Miles Between...
"You can kiss your family and friends goodbye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you."

- Frederick Buechner
Telling the Truth