235/365.

Girls in the Kitchen. 

This evening I learned a yummy snack called pakora from my sweetest girls and we shared it with the neighbors. :) 

234/365.

Burger. 

Not sure if this photo corresponds to this day precisely, but I want to include it anyway..

The sweet Pences treated me to an All American lunch...it was quite tasty. 

225/365.

Iftar!

Finding myself in the midst of Ramadan, a traditional 40 day fast that is annually undertaken by Muslims worldwide, the building staff invited me for some snacks at sunset, (no eating or drinking from sunup to sundown).  Below you can spot yummy puffed rice mixture along with dates, fresh fruits, sweet juice and some mighty warm company as a part of today's breaking of the fast.

 

221/365.

Fruits of the Day.

Peyra, lebu, er anar.

Mmmmmm....

187/365.

Mangoes.

Tonight I cut up a lot of mangoes by lantern light. A lot.

184/365.

Preparations.

Tonight I was getting things in order for a party. A party on the roof.

120/365.

Eggplant Parmesan.

Today beautiful Danielle had Claire and I over for a very tasty dinner followed by chocolate cake with sprinkles. (yum...)

114/365.

Pretty Girl.

This is my beautiful friend.
And she made me a beautiful homemade meal for my birthday!

Expert Multitasker.

111/365.

Signs of Summer.

Really green Greenway.

Lovely walking buddies.

Hamburgers with the Bierbaum Jrs.

Ben on the grill (even grilling pineapple!) and Mary Beth working her magic inside.
Thanks for having us over, cousins!

And the rest of us, of course, snacking and goofing off. :)

This is Steve, the Bierbaum's dog.
He's the newest addition to their fam and fits right in...
except he's not allowed to eat the burgers.

Found this little gem in the corner of the Bierbaum kitchen.
It's a fun idea to think of saying all of this to one person.

107/365.

Encouragement.

This is the first official 25 cents donated to support my mission fellows program in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It came from my dear sister, Amy, who has been reminding me all along that raising the funds I need in such a short time frame is not beyond the Lord's capabilities.
She is so right.

Today Amy also got one step closer to truly appreciating coffee.
She now fully understands that the value of a cup of coffee must never be measured only by its amount of caffeine, but by the content of the roast.

Finished off the evening with dinner, dessert and interesting conversation shared with my beloved Aunt Ellen. The banana cream pie recipe I experimented with tonight was not the most successful...you just shouldn't mess with some of the classics. Notice her ring. It is our aunt-niece ring.

94/365.

Easter.

Christ Is Risen.
I am thankful.

Here's where the morning was spent worshiping.

Also included was fellowship over a delicious breakfast.

And more beaching and bike riding.

And some shadow dancing, of course.

The Third Day. A Good day.

72/365.

Vestiges.

Some evidence that the burgers on the grill we had tonight were de-lish.

63/365.

A day of birth celebration unlike any other.

So, this pretty girl + this pretty girl

+ this amazing meal + ice cream cake

= one mighty day of receiving an overwhelming amount of
love that I do not deserve.

Note:
- Roses to the left of Claire were sent from Miss Lisa T.
- Meal sweetly prepared by Ellen and Preben Enger included kebabs, potato salad, green salad, and sparkling cran-apple juice.
- Amazing Dora the Explorer Balloon behind Shireen is, well, amazing.
- Not pictured: Manager's Special lilies.

59/365.

Vafler!

Well, Preben proved himself already with Bapa Pancakes so his Norwegian waffles were simply gourmet!  Shown below with homemade blueberry syrup.

Bra jobba bror cokk! 

57/365.

Bread Under Construction.

Found this print hanging in Panera (likely place).
It reminded me how much I love bread and how important it is for keeping bellies full across the world.

Here are some facts and figures to chew on.
Here's how to help this second.

49/365.

That kind of aunt part II.
Chicken Pot Pie.

He's still my favorite at this point!

47/365.

Breakfast for Dinner.

Preben's pancakes were very close to Bapa panckes. Amazing.
(Nothin' like the Holtum in-laws!)

41/365.

Jimmy John's

Take anyone else back to Athens?
Definitely one of the perks of Houston.

(Still free smells!)

37/365.

Meatlover.

We always make heart-shaped meatloaf on February 14th.
It came a little early this year.

Sweet heart, right? (pun intended.)

19/365.

Fine dining at Paul's.

The Hungry Company.

The Chef.

The Meal.

Good Stuff.

I also had to include this one I got of lovely Danielle
in action. I just love her expression when she's capturing a moment. She's priceless.