Sweet Dependence

James "Rhio" O'Connor Scholarship Essay

2010-02-08T09:04:00.000-08:00

Some may say that I have had an easy life so far. My parents are still together and in love, I come from a white, middle-class family, and was encouraged to attend a university. Yet as I take a step back from my day to day routine and contemplate my life so far, I wouldn’t call it a cake walk. The challenges I have faced, although not as earth shaking as some, have formed me into the person I am today. I have struggled and learned in the classroom; I have dealt with my ethical stances in a public college that doesn’t agree with me; I have learned responsibility by living on my own.

Someone once told me that Good is the enemy of Great. This has always stuck close with me throughout my life thus far. Being complacent about doing a good job easily keeps you away from accomplishing extraordinary things. James “Rhio” O’Conner could have fallen into this very same trap. Hearing he had a year to live, he could have reflected on all that he had lived through and decided that he had lived a good life. He could have chosen chemotherapy and watched the last months of his life be swallowed by miserable pain. But he didn’t. He chose to step above what was expected. He rose to the challenge and pioneered new options by his extensive research and tenacity. He chose the road of Great and let the road of Good fade away in the rear view mirror.

O’Connor was diagnosed with mesothelioma, which is a cancer that attacks the linings of your organs, such as the pleura of your heart and lungs. The cells begin to uncontrollably divide and will invade and damage the tissue and organs around the cancerous area. The mesothelium, the lining, that is targeted protects organs and also produces a lubricant for organ movement. By damaging this, there can be friction because of a beating heart or expanding lungs which would cause shortness of breath, inflammation, and obvious pain.

During my junior year of high school, my aunt contracted non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It was the first way I had ever been touched by cancer and left a deep impression on me. I saw her go through all of the chemotherapy and the pain and sickness that caused. I also saw her as she went through stem cell replacement therapy. It was sickening to me to see her in so much pain when I could do nothing to help. During this time I often wondered what I would do in her situation.

If I were to contract a cancer such as mesothelioma, I would do everything within my knowledge and power to overcome my cancer. I would research and learn everything I could about the cancer itself and treatments available. I, with help from my family, would look in books, academic journals, talk to doctors I know personally and contact those that are specialists in the field.

I would choose to be a fighter because my life is not mine; it is God’s to give and take. Who am I to say I am ready to go before He does? Who are the doctors to number my days? The Lord will go before me and has my days ordained (Ps 139:16). I would rejoice in the opportunities given to me to impact lives around me and encourage others going through a similar battle. But I would not give up. Giving up would be succumbing to Good, to Okay. I choose Greatness. I choose to fight. I choose life.

There are too many beautiful things in this life to not fight for a chance to enjoy them: the feeling of sun on your face, the smell of the ocean, the birds’ song in the early morning, a baby’s laugh, chocolate truffles, a kiss, the feeling of loving support from your family, winter’s first snow, a parental hug, helping your own children on their wedding day, watching your own family grow through the generations. I would never give up on my opportunity to enjoy these things to the fullest. This life we have is so beautiful, and I want to enjoy every last drop.

A Mother's Radiance

2009-07-29T20:23:00.000-07:00

Something beautiful happens when a woman truly embraces motherhood. Her focus shifts from herself to her children and family. There is no time for vanity and selfishness. Vanity is turned to virtue, self to selfless. This sacrifice of a mother has rewards in character and heart. Although the beauty of her youth may fade, the beauty of her virtue will illuminate her. And that, my dear friends, is the beauty that will last.

Scones: Like a Muffin with Class

2009-07-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

Since scones have become the favorite food of this food-fickle female, I thought I'd share my favorite recipe. I have a tendency to over do things until I've killed them, whether it's eating a particular thing, wearing something again and again, or doing an activity until it's no fun at all, but I'm being careful with these because I like them too much for that. (But just so you know, I know not whether they are truely proper or Scottish.)

Proper Scottish Oat Scones

I'd Like a Croissant Please

2009-05-20T22:02:00.000-07:00

Where I learned most all of my French vocabulary :)

An Observation While Walking

2009-05-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

I love how trees uproot the sidewalk.

The Ent in them knows they are meant for something wilder, and they won't stand for it.

Winners!

2009-04-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

With boxed granola bars being so expensive and not all that tasty, I've been wanting to try my own for awhile. This was the first option and they are good. A little bit more like a glorified oatmeal cookie, they have incredible cinnamon nut flavor. Here's the original recipe. (I used almonds instead of pecans and raw oats instead of toasted this time.) Happy baking!

PS- Sorry about the angle, my computer skills can't quite put it in the correct rotation when uploading. And I would have put up a prettier picture of the actual cut squares except they cut a little rough, making them quite homely for photographing.

Carmina Burana

2009-04-16T09:09:00.000-07:00

Last night I went and saw Carmina Burana for the first time, and those of you who are familiar with it can imagine my thrill. It was magnificent. When I was little I remember judging beauty of music by dancibility. Thank goodness tastes change, and now I can say that I would much rather listen classical music forever than the latest Miley Cyrus hit. There is something about choral music and a full symphony- cliches aside, it tickles and delights my ears more than anything else. The genius it takes to construct it is so intensive. It's complicated, it's long, it's a journey the composer leads you through. There is a definite sense of delayed gratification while you sit for an hour and a half or more. It takes patience, but the beauty is correspondingly deep. It's well worth it.

I can honestly tell you that I've lost touch with pop culture. I don't know who's pregnant, engaged or making a comeback. The Office is even losing its appeal, but I know I'm gaining something that's far more precious: Less of an 'entertain me!' mindset. I now use a little more patience with my entertainment while still learning not to take life too seriously. I want less Brittany, more classical, more sunshine, more cheese, more laughter, more child's play, more baking, more fresh tilled earth, more gratitude for the grace all around me.

But so as not to take me too seriously in my musing, here's a little something from my reading that made me laugh out loud (If you have a good sense of humor and need a laugh, I highly recommend Alice in Wonderland. Alice is clever and practical, not at all like the ditz they have in the movie. But there isn't room to go there now):

"You can draw water out of a water well," said the Hatter; "so I should think you could draw treacle out of a treacle well - eh, stupid?"

A Someday Hope

2009-02-03T21:06:00.000-08:00

The Children's Hour

BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

Between the dark and the daylight,

When the night is beginning to lower,

Comes a pause in the day's occupations,

That is known as the Children's Hour.

I hear in the chamber above me

The patter of little feet,

The sound of a door that is opened,

And voices soft and sweet.

From my study I see in the lamplight,

Descending the broad hall stair,

Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,

And Edith with golden hair.

A whisper, and then a silence:

Yet I know by their merry eyes

They are plotting and planning together

To take me by surprise.

A sudden rush from the stairway,

A sudden raid from the hall!

By three doors left unguarded

They enter my castle wall!

They climb up into my turret

O'er the arms and back of my chair;

If I try to escape, they surround me;

They seem to be everywhere.

They almost devour me with kisses,

Their arms about me entwine,

Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen

In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!

Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti,

Because you have scaled the wall,

Such an old mustache as I am

Is not a match for you all!

I have you fast in my fortress,

And will not let you depart,

But put you down into the dungeon

In the round-tower of my heart.

And there will I keep you forever,

Yes, forever and a day,

Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,

And moulder in dust away!

The Ol' Resolutions

2009-01-05T21:41:00.001-08:00

It's been awhile, with many thoughts going unrecorded, since my last post. But as the New Year rolled around I figured that a few resolutions were in order.

1. I'm going to buy and cook food in smaller quantities. Being raised in a Costco family, this will not be an easy transition, but all the food wasting that I have been doing needs to stop.

2. I'm going to celebrate more fully. No longer will Lent go by half heartedly observed, or cards and presents not sent. Friends, be prepared for a year full of the joy of the Lord!

And although that is only two, I'd rather keep those than have a list of twenty good intentions that are never acted upon. Blessings in this fresh, new 2009!

Be Here Now

2008-11-19T22:13:00.000-08:00

Enjoy this little drop of amazing. It's so beautiful in it's simplicity.

It's songs like this that inspire my musical side to express itself.

2008-11-19T20:56:00.000-08:00

I fear, my beloved girl, little happiness remains for us on earth; yet all that I may one day enjoy is centred in you. Chase away your idle fears; to you alone do I consecrate my life and my endeavours for contentment.

-Victor Frankenstein from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

2008-11-16T16:43:00.000-08:00

The poet only asks to get his head into the heavens. It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens into his head. And it is his head that splits.

-G.K. Chesterton

A Better Way To Eat Your Crispy Rice

2008-11-08T21:14:00.000-08:00

My Grandma told me that these are the "everyone brings them to the church potluck because their easy" dessert; I disagree. Maybe it's something that is more common in Montana, but these babies seem to be virtually unknown around here. And since they are a favorite of mine I thought I'd share them. They're easy and amazing.

Scotcheroos
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup white corn syrup
1 cup butterscotch ships
1 cup milk chocolate chips
6 cups rice crispies

Bring the corn syrup and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until blended then stir in rice crispies. Spread into a buttered pan (We usually use a 9x11) Melt the chips together and spread over the top. Let it cool before cutting it into squares.

Some Reformation Cheer

2008-11-04T16:56:00.000-08:00

This is absolutely amazing! It made my day and is well worth your time. Favorite line "Now let's raise our steins and Concord books together in this place, and spread the word that catholic is spelled with lower case."

A Beautiful Reminder

2008-11-02T12:45:00.000-08:00

Psalm 13

How long, O Lord? Will you forget
me forever?
How long will you hide your
face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my
soul and have sorrow in my heart all the
day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted
over me?

Consider and answer me, O Lord my
God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep
of death,
lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed over him,"
lest my foes rejoice because I am
shaken.

But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully
with me.

This is probably one of my favorite psalms. Not only do I love that it is short and sweet, but the last two verses are so powerful to me. David is crying out to the Lord in distress, yet he still see's God's goodness and grace- trusting in his steadfast love, rejoicing in his salvation, and realizing how bountifully the Lord has blessed him. What a beautiful reminder of how blessed our lives are, how much joy we have in our salvation.

A Crafty Craving

2008-10-30T21:52:00.000-07:00

Today I was over taken by an intensely crafty urge. I don't know exactly where it came from or why, but I wanted to create something beautiful and useful. More specifically, I wanted to sew, which is almost comical since I haven't sewn anything since Junior High Home Ec. But still, since my afternoon was free, I took off to the fabric store to see what I was drawn to. I didn't take into account, however, the fact that those beautiful fabrics you are in search of are very cleverly hidden among the not-so-glamorous prints of McDonald's characters and cheap purple spandex. It wasn't until I had been there over an hour that I walked by the sale table one more time before I found it. My friend Heidi was making fun of some horrible shag-carpet looking fabric before she picked up this one. Although it reminds me of in the Sound of Music when Maria makes clothes for all the children out of the curtains, I think it's great. I haven't quite decided what I'm going to make out of it, but I'll be sure post a picture whenever I finish, and that goal is set for sometime next summer.

Just for fun

2008-09-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

A blog of a blog that I love has a give away every fornight and the things are always great. You should go check it out:

Amoretti: Hooray for English Imports!

New Apartment

2008-09-06T09:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have officially moved into an apartment. It's been a little bit of an adjustment to go from living at home to living with three other college girls, but so far it's been really great. I absolutely love how great I get to eat, in contrast to all the joys I've heard about cafeteria food. The other new "freedoms" haven't really made an impact- like staying out as late as you want, etc. But that's probably because my early bird tendencies are still holding on. Our new little place is absolutely adorable and once I find the cord for my camera, I'll post some for your enjoyment.

All for now,
TiAnna

The Time of My Life

2008-08-29T01:17:00.000-07:00

This song was just given to me and I've fallen in love with it. I've always like Mark Schultz's voice and the song is so precious. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

PS- Sorry that the video isn't that great. The audio is the point anyway. Also, thank you Oliver for the help with embedding.

Femina

2008-08-29T01:07:00.000-07:00

A blog was recommended to me about a year ago and it has been such a blessing to my life. Mrs. Wilson and her daughters share a lot of wisdom, laughter, and soul fattening tips that are simply wonderful. This particular post was written some time ago, but it has recently been on my mind more. I hope you enjoy this great lady as much as I do!

http://femina.reformedblogs.com/2008/05/06/courtship-grammar/

The Eggplant Dilema

2008-08-29T00:51:00.001-07:00

As many of you know, I'm a little new at gardening. This year we decided to go big and stay home, so we have quite the load a produce. Most of it we can eat right up, but I have one vegetable in particular that has been giving me a little trouble: Eggplant. I picked, literally, 19 the other day and had no idea what to do with them. I asked around and got some great recipe ideas that I'm eager to try out. I'll try to keep everyone posted with my reviews of the recipes that I'm able to try so that someday, when you have too much eggplant, you'll have a little direction.

My first try: Roasted Eggplant Dip.

This was really good and disappeared quickly. It uses a lot of garlic but is so worth it. I didn't have any mint so we just did without and it still was great.

1 large head garlic1 eggplant (1-1 1/4 pounds), cut in half lengthwise
1 small onion, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 ripe tomato, cored, sliced in half and seeded
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Set oven racks at the two lowest levels; preheat to 450°F. Peel as
much of the papery skin from the garlic as possible and wrap loosely in foil.
Bake until the garlic is soft, 30 minutes. Let cool slightly.2. Meanwhile, coat
a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place eggplant halves on the prepared baking
sheet, cut-side down. Roast for 10 minutes. Add onion slices and tomato halves
to the baking sheet and roast until all the vegetables are soft, 10 to 15
minutes longer. Let cool slightly.3. Separate the garlic cloves and squeeze the
soft pulp into a medium bowl. Mash with the back of a spoon. Slip skins from the
eggplant and tomatoes; coarsely chop. Finely chop the onion. Add the chopped
vegetables to the garlic pulp and stir in the lemon juice, mint, oil, salt and
pepper.

A New Phase Has Come

2008-08-29T00:14:00.000-07:00

Me: Hello, my name is TiAnna.

Crowd: Hello TiAnna.

Me: And I have been a bum blogger.

Crowd: Some clapping.

Whew. Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I'm moving onward. My summer has so far been very full and I've even had some lovely ideas for posts lately, but I just haven't put the time into it that I would like. And so, now I have little bit of catch up to play. With many of my good friends leaving town or simply disappearing down Deer Park Rd, I've had some time to think and I just had some thank you shout outs.

To all my friends, thank you for the great years that we had, the homework struggles, the team bonding, cheering to a level of crazy at games, Pendleton, Pre Chem, all of the Sweethearts bowling and all, the deep talks, Jug Ball games, Fall In, convicting confrontations, sight reading in choir, Junior Skip Day, the Harvey Dent rally at Pikes Place, homecoming, and late night basketball that sadly won't be repeated. I loved playing barefoot soccer this summer and getting together, even though it was a little sparse. I wanted to especially thank Miss Kate for walking me through one very hard night- You're the best. To all of you guys, I love you and will keep you in my prayers as we are in separate places this year. May God bless you in your new relationships and may the diligence of the Lord flow through your veins :)

A Summer's Eve

2008-07-20T23:02:00.001-07:00

Although Katie has already expounded on the not-so- great side of summer, I did want to put in a plug for the good side. Today, after the especially intense heat, I got to spend a few minutes outside in the cool of the evening picking these little babies, well I'm not sure if the picture shows it, but many of them are actually quite huge. And then I was able to spend another hour or more in the kitchen toodling around, cleaning them up and just enjoying my family. Summer evenings are great because they are so relaxed-bed times have been suspended until the fall to make way for the laid back summer mornings and so family time seems to be more easily found. I love sitting outside on the patio with my family sipping iced tea and watching the sunset without getting chilled. Be sure to take advantage of these nights before the night starts coming faster and colder. Take a walk, ride a bike, go for a night swim, listen to some Jack Johnson, have friends over for dinner or simply enjoy the solitude. Carpe Diem and Happy summer to all!

A Challenge From Lewis

2008-07-11T17:41:00.000-07:00

A few friends and I have been going through Mere Christianity this summer and in my reading last night, Lewis was talking about many topics of social morality. In chapter three, book three, he discusses the point of charity in a way that was truly convicting. Take heed of this man's great wisdom.

"Some people nowadays say that charity ought to be unnecessary and that instead of giving to the poor we ought to be producing a society in which there were no poor to give to. They may be quite right in saying that we ought to produce that kind of society. But if anyone thinks that, as a consequence, you can stop giving in the meantime, then he has parted company with all Christian morality. I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them. ... For many of us the great obstacle to charity lies not in our luxurious living or desire for more money but in our fear- fear of insecurity. This must often be recognized as a temptation. Sometimes our pride also hinders our charity; we are tempted to spend more than we ought on the showy forms of generosity )tipping, hospitality) and less than we ought on those who really need our help."

French Stir Fry

2008-07-07T00:04:00.000-07:00

My beautiful friend, Kate, decided to post our newly made cookie recipe, and so instead of being redundant, I'll just add something of my very own creation. This was a pretty big hit at my house.

French Stir Fry

Brown one chopped onion, add 2 crushed cloves of garlic and 5-6 pieces of chicken (cubed). Cook thoroughly. Crack two eggs into the pan and let them sit for about a minute before stirring them in to finish cooking. Add 3 stalks of chopped celery, 1 1/2 cups of finely chopped carrots, 1/3 cup olive oil (give or take) and soy sauce until you like it. Use rosemary, fresh is the best, but dry works fine, celery salt, kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper for seasoning. Let is simmer for about 5 minutes and serve over rice.

Sweet Dependence

2008-06-27T15:11:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to drop a quick note to give my psychology teacher credit for actually naming my blog. She was discussing the collectivism culture and how they could imagine a "sweet dependence" where that idea is apparently disgusting to all of us. She is, of course, more liberal than I would like and going to be quite the challenge, but the phrase stuck with me none the less.

Too many dandelions

2008-06-26T20:01:00.000-07:00

I've always struggled with the idea of having my own blog. It sounded exhausting, but today I found out that I actually already had one. And so, I'm going to give it a shot, but there are no promises on consistency or wit. So, onto something from my own mind.

Yesterday I was working in my garden, which sounds nice and romantic, but with the hard ground and weeds I felt more like Drudge in Mr. Sensible's radish garden than a truly successful gardener. All the same, I couldn't help but notice the difficulty I had with a few patches of the larger weeds. They had flourished, somehow, in the hot weather and were a little tough to unearth, where as the newly sprouted ones popped right up. What a great reminder of our sin. When it is small and new, it still takes work to make things right, but it is much easier than if we let the sun go down while we are still wallowing in our bitterness, anger, resentment, etc. In that time the seed soon gets to be more than we realize and when it comes down to the weeding the task seems daunting. The point is to not give the devil a foothold to begin with. Do not let his little sin-weed take hold and flourish so that we are not trying to play clean up with the big prickly problems that are the worst and most painful to pry out.