Staff Training

I thought horsemanship was a lot but the past few days have been intense. Camp Tecumseh has a very high reputation nationally and I'm beginning to see why. They have adopted the 'swing the lamp' or 'go the extra mile' philosophy and it makes camp both an incredible but also very exhausting experience. The past few days have been fun and exciting as nothing around here is done in the typical manner but I have also been overwhelmed. All those things that set Camp T apart from other camps are the things that take effort and training. We've had clinics on creative counseling, how to write personal parent letters about each child that passes through, whole child development, check-in scenarios, health, nature connection, and I think you get the point. Sometimes they'd bring something up that I never would've thought about but sure enough, it can happen at camp and we need to be prepared. What I love is that they take the time to set aside a week just to prepare us for the best experience this summer. And mixed in with all that is the fact that their motto is 'I am third' and the mornings include chapel, the evenings involve cabin devotions.

So while there's a lot to learn and much to remember, it's been such a fun learning process. Today instead of simply telling us places we can go for weekly camp-outs, we tromped all over the camp and practiced setting up hammocks by the river and a tent in the meadow. We built fires in a wet forest (oh yah it rained ALOT) and learned how to use the telescope. I can't describe how amazing it was to have a day romping around in God's glorious creation but I do have a few pictures. Enjoy :)

Oh and quick apology for the fact that I'm doing this on my phone so autocorrect may do some silly things and formatting might be odd. 

Each group was given a bird name and we were team Robin. Our leader (in the blue) gave us all mud marks at our first stop so of course he was marked too.

One of my favorite co-counsellors. She's from Brazil and that automatically gains her five points :)  We got to visit the mini farm and play with chickens. 

The fire Eduardo and I built.  Will it burn?

Maybe...

Yes!!!

Moving on from the forest we trekked through the woods to the river. I hope to camp here sometime. Quite relaxing. 

After setting up hammocks we moved on to the south pasture which is on the edge of the woods. There we enjoyed a hobo dinner which is something we will do with campers. It marks the first time I tried a veggie patty and it was delicious! Mix it with some carrots, apple, onion, potatoes, garlic, some spices and a little ketchup and you've got a class one hobo meal. 

We've had photographers tracking us all during training so with the setting sun we played around jumping and spelling out TECUMSEH with silhouettes. 

Right now I'm chilling in a library with just a few other people while most of the other folks mingle in the fellowship room. After a day of being immersed with people it's nice to have some quiet time :)

Oh, and if you ever need to know how toake a towel chicken give me a holler. I've got you covered. 

Have a great week everybody!

Hello From Camp

I've been silent for a while because life has been really busy. And it's good.

Last week I met some of the barn staff and rode 24 horses in two days. Good thing I had a break two days to go visit my nephew because it made me quite sore!  We also cleaned out one of the mini farms and loaded chickens, two stubborn pigs and several other little friends into a trailer. You don't want to know how many girls it took to catch the pigs :/

This week the horsemanship training began at camp Sunday afternoon and has kept all of us trainees busy from morning til evening. Then in the evening we get to write lesson plans so really there's not much of a break but I love it.

Sometimes meeting new people is really intimidating to me which may seem contrary to how you view a very social person. However even tho I like being around people I do not like the initial introduction. It's so awkward and I'm awkward so it's all just really awkward. This whole camp experience has given me many opportunities to practice and I've found that it's definitely fun to make new friends BUT personal time is so very important.

The past two nights I've sat out by myself on the platform of a slide (quick escape if I were to be pursued by night critters) by myself and those moments in creation with stars, God, the Bible, and my journal have made these past few days worth every moment. And there have been many other things I enjoy.

Some countries represented by counsellors are Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, England, and Ireland. Lots of great accents :) The foreigners are some of my favorite people and having five brazilians in horsemanship training has been so much fun.

About horsemanship training: we start around 9 after a breakfast at the dining hall (mmm gotta love camp food!!!) and do activities from playing games to teach our campers to riding horses and even teaching lessons to each other. There are about sixteen in the group give or take a few and six of us are equine counsellors. The others are regular counsellors who will be certified in horsemanship so even tho they won't be spending as much time in the barn they still will use the skills. Some of them had never been on a horse before but have so bravely risen to the challenge and it's been a fun mix of skill levels. We're always learning no matter how much we know and this week has been a perfect example of that.

Right now I'm chilling in the fellowship room of one of the lodges with some fellow counsellors. It's where we get wifi and comfy couches. Right now I'm soaking up the calm before the storm. Campers arrive June 8th which means that all next week will be spent on all-staff training.  Never before has training been so fun so it's been quite an adventure.

I better sign off for now read up on my manual and all the packets I've been given to be an effective equine staff!!!

Oh, and by the way, today marks my twentieth year on this planet so I have officially lived my last day as a teenager. Yikes! Any advice for the twenties?

Just Horsin' Around

For the first time in a very long time, when people ask what I am doing, I feel like I have a decent reply: I'm working at Camp Tecumseh.  Don't get me wrong, living in California and nannying Calvin were good ways to spend my days.  It's just that whether or not you realize it, there's this expectation out there that we need to have a good answer that the world can understand.  I've struggled with this since I quit college two and a half years ago and quite honestly I don't know when I'll finally feel like I have a good reply.  Maybe when I'm a multimillionaire with three houses and a  boat.  Then people will see I've done something worthwhile.

Just kidding.  I hope I never have three houses and a boat.   Or three houses.  Or a boat.  Unless it's a canoe or kayak. 

Lately I've come to better grips with that feeling of 'I'm not going to give them the reply they're looking for' so it's more a thing of the past.  But then there are days like today when I get off work early and have a free afternoon that I remember most nineteen-year-olds out there have real jobs or go to college.  Good for them.  Someday that might be me.  For now, I'm going to make the most of these days and cherish each and every one of them like dark chocolate 'cause oooohhh, that's my favorite! 

It is a true story that I'm working at Camp Tecumseh.  Although when you have a lot of fun at your job is that considered work???  I quite literally spend my days horsing around. 

At the start it wasn't the most, eh, thrilling job out there.  My first day was spent in a tack room polishing the leather on 32 saddles!  Thankfully some of them were mostly synthetic so I didn't have much polishing to do on those but it was still veeeerrrryyyy monotonous.  The next day I polished more leather.  Then one day I scrubbed dirty, hairy horse blankets and another day I raked sticks from around the arena.  Okay, you get the picture.  There are certain jobs that take some imagination to fit in the fun department. 

But then there are those jobs that really are just plain enjoyable.  I get to chase around horses (in the mud!) and wave my arms like a maniac then follow them in the barn and pet their silky faces.  Sometimes when we're not watching them close enough they partner up and let each other out of their stalls which makes for an interesting welcome when I walk in the barn.  Oh, just a horse wandering around like no big deal.  In addition to time in the barn I've gotten acquainted with the animals at the mini farm which includes: a sheep, a goat, an alpaca, a donkey, a calf, rabbits, a duck, and chickens.  And today I got to dirty up my hands while we planted the garden.

See, isn't that exciting???  I happen to enjoy {most} of it.

Now, before I make it sound like I work my tail off (yah, like you were thinking that), let me assure you that it's been a very relaxed schedule which I'm enjoying, like chocolate, remember?  My boss has children that she likes to welcome home from school so the latest I've worked til is four and there have been a number of days, like today, that she has an appointment or errand to run so I just work half  a day.  This week I've been cleaning FBi for a few hours each evening so that helps me feel a little more...responsible.  Then there are days that I sacrifice self and pocket book to go to Michigan to babysit my nephew--like next Wednesday!  I'm definitely looking forward to getting my hands on that little stinker!

I know it's just a phase and before I blink I just want to breathe it in and savor it like you know what.  And someday, someday when life is crazy busy and I wonder what really matters anyway I'll wish I could just go horse around.

Have a good weekend, everybody!

Ixtlan 2015

Almost a week later I'm finally getting around to posting about my trip to Mexico.  I'd been rolling it around in my head, making a trip that is, for a little while.  Seeing as Grant and Hannah move back in a week, I knew that if I wanted to visit while they were down there it would have to be soon. Then I went to Haiti so I figured that would be my mission trip for the year.  Well, turns out that one evening back in early March while I was Skyping the Herrmanns we got talking about me making a visit which turned into finding cheap plane tickets which turned into me buying cheap plane tickets.  It being so spur of the moment I managed to plan a trip out of the country over my dentist and doctor appointments as well as the symphony Leah had so kindly bought tickets to for my birthday.  The first two were easily changed but I missed the symphony and hope to make it up to Leah someday!  Other than all that, it was a perfect week to go.

Overall, it was a really good trip.  There were definitely some emotional swings through the week.  Some of those fears that seized me the last time began rising up again and one particularly difficult day as I was wrestling with my selfishness and doubting God's good plan for my life I remembered why being there was so difficult.  But below are many reasons it was good to go back along with a few of the few pictures I took.

Spending time with the people down there was a blessing.  I am especially thankful for all the Herrmanns did for me a year ago and again during this week.  If I had a picture of Grant and Hannah it would likely be around the Settler's board where Hannah and I solved all of life's problems and occasionally remembered before Grant reminded us that it was our turn to play.  But I have no picture to show so you'll just have to take my word for it.  Ivory and I spent a lot of time together those ten weeks of 2014 and although I knew she wouldn't remember that, it was heartwarming that she warmed up so fast.  We read books, made cookies, colored, and went on walks.

 

Walks.  That's another thing I love about Ixtlan.  People walk everywhere.  Sometimes when Ivory and Titus needed to get out of the house we'd buckle them up in the double jogger and stroll around Ixtlan while they munched on crackers and banana.

 

 

The sights of Ixtlan haven't changed much but that's okay.  I take great delight in seeing scraggly trees growing by brightly colored houses, clothes drying on a barbed wire fence, or a group of older men sitting in the plaza wearing cowboy hats. 

 

 

 

 

The fresh produce is another wonderful thing about Ixtlan.  When you can run twenty yards up the street for tomatoes, sugar, or whatever's missing, life is simpler.  Some of the produce is in the market down the hill a little ways but within easy walking distance.  Just looking at the variety of fresh fruits and vegetables is fun not to mention the cheap cost.

 

 

 

And speaking of cheap, Hannah had a garage sale on Friday and Saturday.  It was fun to see her in her element, bartering with the Mexicans and getting rid of the things she didn't want to move to the States.  I made sugar cookies to sell because the school children really enjoy frosted sugar cookies and some of them walk right by the Herrmanns on their way home from school.  Turns out they were not the hot item--curtains are surprisingly in demand in Ixtlan.  Hannah had a woman ask if she was going to sell her living room curtains which were still hanging in the living room windows.  I'm not sure if the woman ever understood that the things outside of the house were for sale, not the things inside.  Oh well, it made for some interesting conversations!

 

It was good to be back at Jovenes, women's Bible study, and singing in Spanish.  On Sunday after the singing in the evening, Matt and Ruth went to visit a sister in a nearby town so Caleb and Abby stayed back at the church.  A group of us decided to walk down to the plaza for some garbanzos and corn.  Mmm, mmm.  Gotta love the street food!

 

There were other special moments throughout the week, but I won't bore you with all the details.  Overall, it was just good in a hard way to go back to the place that challenged me to grow and to reflect on God's faithfulness.











My Take on 'Tacos de Ixtlan'

Ok, here's the recipe I promised in the last post.

First of all, disclaimer!  While these are more like Ixtlan tacos than anything I've had outside of Ixtlan, they are still very different than the real deal.  If you want Tacos de Ixtlan you'll find them in Ixtlan.  However, I will say that when I took a bite I could definitely tell what I was trying to mimic.  And since most of you probably haven't had the real deal I bet these will be some of the best tacos you make!  Also, my version is a little lighter using chicken instead of pork which is the biggest difference between these and the real deal.  If you want to substitute the chicken with pork, go for it!  I hope to do the same sometime!

The salsa verde recipe is close to one that Hannah learned from a woman in church and the recipe a gal from our favorite taqueria wrote for her.  Salsa is kind of a signature item for each taqueria and our favorite happened to be just a few doors down which was all too convenient.

Here's a step-by-step with pictures.  Mom, now you know why I took a picture of chicken in a skillet ;) The whole recipe is written below.

What you'll need: tortillas, chiles in adobo sauce, onion, tomatillos, jalapenos, garlic, cilantro, limes, and chicken breast (not pictured).

 

To begin, make the salsa verde.  Husk 1.5 pounds of tomatillos and rinse.

 

Put them in a pot with some water and two medium jalapenos, stems cut off but core not exposed.

 

Bring to a boil for about 7-10 minutes until tomatillos and peppers are soft but not mushy.  You don't want to cook them as much as just soften them.

 

While salsa ingredients are on the stove, prepare the marinade for the meat.  Open one can of chiles in adobo sauce (found in the Mexican section of the supermarket) and pour into a blender with ~1/3 cup of water.  Pulse until smooth.

 

If you have thick chicken breast (or pork), slice it in half the long ways so it will cook faster.  Then put it in a container and sprinkle salt on meat. Rub in and pour adobo sauce over chicken.  Coat and refrigerate for several hours.

 

By now your tomatillos should be getting done.  When they're soft, strain them and put them in a *clean* blender.  Add a large clove of garlic, a handful of cilantro, and the jalapenos. Blend until very smooth.  Add about 1.5-2 tsp salt.  Warning: it has some heat.  It may be best to add just one pepper first if you're sensitive to spice but you may find that you want more than two peppers in which case you'll want to boil more than two with the tomatillos.  Put the salsa in the fridge to cool or leave at room temperature until dinner.

 

I recommend cutting up the onion, cilantro, and lime garnishes after making the salsa and marinating the meat to have them ready to go.  Once I started preparing the tacos there was no time to dice onion or trim cilantro.

 

About thirty minutes before you're ready to eat it's time to start preparing the tacos.

 

To prepare the tacos, heat an iron skillet over medium high heat with a liberal drizzle of oil.  Once the pan is hot, add half the chicken breast and drizzle oil over the top of the chicken breast. You definitely want some extra oil swimming in the pan. Not super healthy but better than deep frying the meat like they do in Ixtlan.

 

Cook the chicken about five minutes on each side. It's okay for it to get dark spots and be well done. You'll be pouring salsa on top so if it's a smidge dry it won't hurt anything. 

 

Remove chicken breast to cutting board and dice into small pieces, almost like it's been chewed.  Sounds gross but that's how they do it.  I cut mine into strips first, then cubes, and then just went at it until it was in pieces.

 

You can start warming tortillas after the first batch of chicken is chopped if you're feeling like superwoman.  Or you can wait til all the meat is done.  If you choose to multitask,  heat a nonstick skillet over medium/low with some oil while you're cooking the other half of the chicken,.  Now, here's where pork would definitely make a better taco because they dip the tortillas in the oil that the meat is cooking in before placing them on the griddle.  I dipped a few in the meat fat but since there wasn't much fat from the chicken, I ended up using mostly oil.  Either way, make sure there's enough oil that the tortillas get soft. Also, make sure that the pan isn't too hot and your tortillas don't overcook to crunchy.  They should cook long enough that they get nice and soft, almost soggy but not quite.  I started in a cast iron skillet but switched to a bigger nonstick which worked better.  The bigger the skillet or griddle the faster your tortillas will cook and the sooner you'll get to dive into these scrumptious tacos!

 

 

Important note: small tortillas are what we're looking for here!  Mine were 4 1/8 inches in diameter, and yes, I literally got out my ruler and measured them right now because it's important that you have something very small like that!  Also, since two are better than one you're going to use two tortillas per taco.  That's how it's done down there.  Taco Bell, you have much to learn.

 

As you warm tortillas and chop meat, you can assemble the tacos and put them in a warm oven.  It took me a little while to have enough ready.  These guys are really small so they're easy to put away.

 

Assembling is simple.  Just layer two tortillas, top with some meat, fold, and put in a dish to keep it warm.

 

And when you're done, you should have something like this:

 

I kinda cringe to call them Tacos de Ixtlan because they really aren't. But they are still very good and relatively healthy.

 

The nice part is that you can leave the shredded cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, and olives in the fridge.  The simple toppings they use are chopped cilantro, finely chopped onion, a pinch of salt (coarse of course!) and lime.  Unfortunately I forgot to pull the lime out of the fridge.  Not sure how that happened because besides the cilantro, tortilla, and salsa verde it's my favorite part! Ha, so I pretty much like everything about these!

 

Some great things to serve the tacos with are poppers, Spanish rice, refried beans, and your favorite Mexican pop.

 

The process may look intimidating but really it's pretty simple and I hope you give it a try!

 

Now for the real recipe...

 

Makes about 16 small tacos

 

Salsa Verde:

1.5 pounds tomatillos, husked and washed

2 medium jalapenos

1 large clove garlic

Good handful of cilantro (optional but delicious!)

1.5-2 tsp salt, or to taste

 

Cook tomatillos and jalapenos until soft.  Strain and put in blender with garlic, cilantro and salt.  Serve cool or at room temperature.

 

Tacos:

32 4-inch corn tortillas

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast or pork

1 can chiles in adobo sauce

1/3 cup water

oil

cilantro

lime

onion

salt

 

Blend childes and adobo sauce with water until smooth.  Cut meat into thinner pieces lengthwise if thick.  Rub with salt and pour adobo sauce over meat.  Refrigerate several hours.

 

Prepare garnishes: cut limes into squeezable chunks, snip cilantro into small pieces, and mince onion.

 

About thirty minutes before you'd like dinner, begin preparing tacos.  Heat oil in a pan.  Cook half the chicken, about five minutes on each side or longer if needed.  Add oil as needed.  When chicken is done cooking, remove from pan and place on cutting board.  Add other half of chicken and oil.  Meanwhile, cut chicken into strips, then cubes, and dice into small pieces.  Begin preparing tortillas by dipping in meat fat and/or oiling pan.  Warm over low/med heat until soft and tender. 

 

To assemble taco, layer two tortillas and add meat.  Fold and place in dish in warm oven.  Repeat until all tacos are assembled.  Serve with garnishes and salsa verde.  Don't forget the lime! :)











A Good Day

I had a really good day today.  Like really really good and I'm not sure why.

Well, okay, I have an idea.  This morning I got to FaceTime Calvin who I left almost two weeks ago.  It was hard to leave my lovable nephew and Jim and Maria who did so much for me while I was there.  Those were precious days I will never forget.  My love/hate relationship with technology is heavier on the 'love' side when I'm able to FaceTime with Calvin and see that irresistible little grin.

Mid morning Mom and I went riding and I finally got to get back on my horse that has been injured since the beginning of March.  He tore his knee on his left rear leg to the tendon which didn't get ripped (thankfully) but took some time to heal.  Being on my favorite horse in my favorite time of year with my favorite Mom definitely contributed to a good day.

I realized I was in an extraordinarily good mood when I walked out of the dentist office with a bag full of goodies after getting my teeth cleaned and said out loud 'I love the dentist!'

That has never happened.  Ever.

After having my teeth nice and squeaky clean I went to Mexican tienda, singing 'God Is So Good' on my way in the parking lot because that's one of my favorite songs right now.  Inside I found some amazing Mexican food products which made me very happy.  Yesterday I got back from a week in Mexico (blog post coming soon!) and after eating tacos and/or quesadillas every day I decided I really wanted to make some good authentic tacos for mi familia.  Pardon the Spanglish.  I'm still in a weird mood.

Then I went to another supermarket and found prepared Starbucks Caramel Macchiato on clearance for half price. Six servings for the price of one drink at Starbucks!  Score.  While at that same supermarket I was reminded by their banners and specials on avocados, limes, tomatoes, and garlic that Cinco de Mayo is approaching.  Although it really isn't a big Mexcian holiday, it is a good chance to pull out that recipe for chicken enchiladas, Spanish rice, or...stop by my blog soon for my take on 'tacos de Ixtlan' which will really be nothing like tacos de Ixtlan.  They won't be as much of a mockery as Taco Bell at least.

When I got home from the dentist, Mexican store, and supermarket that sold cheap Starbucks and reminded me of Cinco de Mayo, I got a call from the horse lady at Camp Tecumseh saying that starting Monday she could use help getting the horses and barn prepared for camp.  Happy day!  She emailed me some time back telling me she'd need help and to get in contact after I got back from Mexico so I knew I'd have something to do but wasn't sure how much she'd need me or when I'd start.  Now I know that I actually have a plan for the next several weeks.  Like somebody mentioned on another blog recently, God always provides even though He sometimes waits for the last minute.  There's just so much joy in serving a God that sees the whole picture.

I think part of my giddiness was just the fact that I'm home.  I've learned a lot on my various travels this past year and couldn't thank God more for how He has grown me.  He has shown me that 'anywhere with Jesus I can safely go'.  Yet He has also shown me that there is significance in being home.  While I may be too attached to this earthly home, someday I will have a heavenly home that will be right where I belong.  It will be my comfort zone, my safe haven.  Everything will be right and good and I will be...home.  Maybe today was a small glimpse of what that will be like.  Simply the feeling of 'this is what my heart has been longing for!'

Maybe I'm setting myself up for disappointment and maybe God has yet another journey in store for me (well, besides Camp T which is coming up rather quickly).  For just one day He gave me a delightful sense of being home and blending the new person with the old place.  Thank You Lord.  You are so good to me!

Cowboy Up

This past weekend was a big one which explains why Calvin took frequent naps today.  Thursday afternoon Maria, Calvin, and I piled into the car and headed south until Monday morning.  We discovered that when taking a baby anywhere for a few days you might as well just rent a U-haul.  How can somebody so small require so much room in the car?

Our goal was to surprise the family who thought we were coming on Friday evening.  Us sneaks, it worked!  One reason for the visit was because the Hoosier Horse Fair was at the State Fairgrounds in Indy on Saturday and it had been several years since Maria went.  Turns out that it was all us girls, Calvin, and Mary Lydia who loaded into the big white van early Saturday morning for a day full of horse goodness.

Watching Calvin take in his surroundings and discover his love for horses was so fun.  Yes, he is a horse lover (like he had the choice).  We can tell already that he will make a living out of bronch busting and cattle driving. Doesn't he look fit for the job?

In all seriousness, he did thoroughly enjoy his very first real life pony ride (I figure rocking horses and Sandy, the mechanical pony at Meijer, don't count), getting his boots shined, and perusing the aisles of horses.  He's not a fan of the horse that whinnied right in his face but he calmed down after a minute.

Dad, Danny and his friend joined us for the rodeo later that night.  After watching cowboys get whip-lashed on the bronchs, Calvin decided that there might be better options for the future besides riding buckin' bronchos.  He decided that cattle driving and horse training would be exciting enough.  I know this because he tells his nanny everything.

We were all sooo exhausted by the end of the day (my phone tracked that I had walked over 15,000 steps!) but it was so worth it.  It was such a great way to spend my last weekend with Calvin.  Being with him at home in Indiana and around horses was like the best of both worlds. 

*Sigh* I'm gonna miss that kid.