various things

Our trip to Texas and Missouri (briefly) was nice. We were gone a whole week, and I enjoyed the break. The families are good; my niece is as cute as they get (I know...I'm partial). once I get around to downloading pictures off my new digital camera, I'll try and post some on here. My dad's getting ready to retire next year, and he's pretty excited about it.

I'm frustrated these days because I put some things off and now have only 13 days to try and register for graduate classes for the upcoming spring semester. Only problem is, my username and password (given to me by the school) won't work on their web site (where you register) and of course the offices are closed right now for the holidays. !! we'll see what happens. I may be starting in the spring or fall instead. Oh well. Guess it'll be a learning experience either way, right? :)

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Lone Star State!

Today

Today, I'm working at Mattox Family Practice. Our good friend Dr. Mattox and his staff (his wife Kathy and our other good friends Ryan and Nicole) are out of town for the week, so Jeremy, Jeanette and I are taking turns answering the phones and manning the office while they're gone. It's nice -- I'm spending most of the day just chillin.' I've checked e-mail, done some web surfing...I brought my book and a movie, and I'm hoping to write a little as well. (of course, we all know how undisciplined I am in that arena). Anyway, just a little ramble.

'Tis the Season

Sometimes during the Christmas season I feel Scroogy: what's the point? I ask myself. Hopefully I'm celebrating Jesus every day. But still, it's important to really meditate on it now and then. And what about gift giving? Sometimes it feels like checking names off my list is more important than the giving itself. So I examine the reasons why I'm giving. Obligation? Or love. Honoring the gift given to me by the Father by giving something to someone else. So in that spirit, maybe I should be doing more charitable giving. Of course, that happens all year as well. And what about traditions? I had a long think about that last year, and realized that any time we establish traditions with our family or friends, it's not always (or usually) about the traditions themselves, but about bringing us closer together, celebrating our love for each other. So the key to keeping the holidays meaningful for me: being deliberate. At least, that's what I've come up with for now. :) Deliberately being thankful, loving, generous, thoughtful...at least, trying to be these things. I am far from perfect after all.

Peace

keith mccord

Mine and Jeremy's friend Keith McCord passed away Friday evening from cancer. He wasn't quite 30, married with a tiny baby boy named Lincoln.

It's odd. I'm probably a minority in this, but Keith is the first friend I've known to die; my other experiences have been with grandparents, etc.

Keith was an interesting guy. Pretty cynical, but we just gave him a hard time about it. He was super creative -- a writer, a musician, an artist. He loved computer games -- he and Jeremy could play for hours. Okay, days even when they'd get together for gaming weekends. He was a good friend. I got to know him best one semester at college when there were some difficult things going on; he had a lot of good advice. He and Jeremy were much closer than Keith and I ever were; they were housemates for a while. I know Jeremy will miss Keith.

Peace.

purple and black and blue

Those are the colors of my toe. Well, the colors are beginning to fade, but last week at this time they were nice and bright. Because I broke my toe. The middle one, to be exact, which is a big pain because you can't avoid the middle toe when you're walking and I'd been doing really well with exercising, but everything I like to do puts pressure on the broken toe. (sigh). Sorry. Whine fest is over. Maybe I'll learn to be less of a klutz. ;)

did you vote???

Today, as I was waiting outside the polls (after voting, of course) for Jeremy and Jeanette, I heard someone who had just exited the polls tell someone else that they voted for someone "because they have the same name as NASCAR driver."

Long live democracy. :)

Pumpkins

This post really isn't about pumpkins, but I couldn't think of a better title. :)

So, I got accepted to North Carolina Central University's master's program for Library Science. Yay! Now I can be the nerd I was always born to be. :) I probably won't start until next fall; summer at the earliest. But that's okay. With the business starting up this summer, I think I need only one major life happening/change/activity at a time. For my own sanity and stress level.

We watched the movie "Thank You For Smoking" a couple weeks ago. It was pretty funny. As far as theater movies go...I've seen Marie Antoinette and The Departed recently. (two in one month! Crazy). I enjoyed Marie Antoinette a lot more than I expected. You alternately feel sorry for her and think 'what are you thinking!' She (and King Louis) come across as very real, sympathetic characters. Kind of young and stupid, but you kind of don't want to blame them for being young and stupid. The movie really made me want to learn more about the actual history of that time period. Oh, and the music and sets and costumes were great.

The Departed was really good as well. A gangster movie for sure (language, violence, etc.), so if you don't like that genre you probably wouldn't like it. But it's a head trip in a good way. At least, I thought so. My friend Ryan didn't really like it.

Anyway.... happy Thursday!

Ummm....

....don't have much to say, but I feel like my blog is neglected. :)

Went shopping today; let's hear it for birthday money! But I bought a red pillow for our khaki couch that in no way matches our other (maroon and navy and khaki striped) couch. Somehow, I thought the maroon was more red...negative on that. So...keep it with forward thoughts (I'd like to get a neutral-colored slipcover for that couch) or return it?

That's about it for shallow thoughts today. What about deep thoughts? you ask. Well, the biggest deep thought around here lately is not worrying about the future, but taking things one day at a time. Reminding myself that God is in control. Also, I'm trying to decide what to do about grad school. Once again, I missed the deadline because part of my application somehow didn't show up in their office -- even though I know it got mailed. So do I say, oh well, and wait until summer? Or do I just say, forget it, and look at something else (cooking school, maybe. or landscape architecture. who knows). or even just forget it and enjoy life as a lifetime barista and wanna-be writer. (that's a whole other struggle right there. Why can't I make myself sit down at the computer every day???? What's my problem???? besides the obvious laziness, of course. And how do I fix it.)

Still enjoying fall. With all the pine trees around here, I don't get to see too many leaves turn (a few). But I'm lovin' the air and the smells and the light.

Later

So...where did September go?

Yeah...the last 30 days or so have just slipped by. Pleasantly, but without making much of a fuss, and without lingering that's for sure.

I may have mentioned Team in Training and Jeremy and I training for a marathon/half marathon. Well, unfortunately we're not going to continue the training this time. Since it's a fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, participants are required to raise a certain amount of money. Today we had to recommit or bow out. If we recommited then we had to personally guarantee the full fund raising amount, regardless of how much we raised. Our fundraising didn't go like we hoped, and we didn't feel that it was a good time to guarantee almost $5,000. So...maybe another time. On the bright side, I feel like the training we did thus far was beneficial...I might even consider myself a "jogger" now. :) and we did manage to raise some money for cancer research, so I feel proud about that.

Jeremy and Dijana and Dean Shelby are visiting this week. It's been just what I needed...old friends whom I miss dearly. Now if we can just get some of our other dearly missed friends to visit! (hint, hint) I guess we could visit too, to be fair. :)

Anyway. Happy almost the end of September. And happy fall!!

some movies

It was a movie watching weekend, so I thought I'd pass along some recommendations. Went to the theater and saw Invincible with Mark Wahlberg. I really enjoyed it. It's based on the true story of Vince Papale, a walk-on player for the Philedelphia Eagles in the 70's. (sorry, don't remember the exact year). A feel-good, sports movie, yes. But a good one. It really makes you feel for Papale.

Also watched Dear Frankie and Prime (both rented). Dear Frankie is a Scottish movie, about a boy whose mom pretends to write him letters from his dad, then one day has to hire a guy to be the boy's dad for the day. Sounds like it might be annoying (the lying) and contrived, but it's not. To me anyway. The movie makes you sympathise with the mom, while still thinking her choice is pretty stupid.

Prime is about a 37 year old woman (Uma Thurman) who starts unknowingly dating her therapist's (Meryl Streep) 23-year-old son. Funny and dramatic, and of course Uma and Meryl are great. The son (I didn't recognize him from anything else) is good as well. There are a lot of very realistically awkward scenes, which is fun. And I like that it's a romantic movie where I can't guess if the couple ends up together or no until right at the end.

Hmmm...

Read a good book last week: A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. Disclaimer: the book has a LOT of language in it; enough language to be rated R if it were a movie, but no other content issues. Anyway, it's about four people who end up on the same building New Year's Eve with the plan to jump and commit suicide. They end up talking themselves down and the book is basically about what happens after. It's a book that could be depressing, but somehow isn't. And it isn't a "Disney" ending either so...anyway, I enjoyed it.

What's new

I haven't been on the computer as much lately, but we finally set up our home office, so it's more convenient now. Disorganized still....but convenient. :)

So here's something new (and something some of you may be getting a letter about in the next month or so): Jeremy and I have signed up with Team in Training. What is Team in Training? you might ask. Well, it's a fundraiser for the Lukemia and Lymphoma Society. We train for some kind of endurance race, and while we train we raise money. Jeremy's training to run a marathon and I'm training to run/walk a half marathon. I did my first day of training yesterday..three LONG miles. :) But I'm excited. (excited and out of shape)

Other than that, Jeremy is now "Texas Joe's Construction, LLC" so that's exciting too.

And today the most exciting thing is a break in the oppressive heat. Yay!!

Peace

a little of this....a little of that

So, Texas Joe's Construction has officially opened up shop. For anyone who doesn't know, Jeremy has started his own screen porch business. Starting a business is scary! But we prayed about it a lot, and I am confident knowing God is in control.

Work has been a little different lately. My boss moved away, one of the full time baristas was hired as a manager, and one of the other full time baristas got a new job at an architectural firm. But the change is all right. Just takes some getting used to. On a semi-related note, I learned about something called Wickles yesterday. Anyone ever tried Wickles? check this out: http://www.wickles.com/wickles_pickles.php.

What else....
I saw Pirates of the Caribbean 2, and enjoyed it. I'm excited to see how they wrap up the trilogy. I also went to see The Devil Wears Prada. It was funny and very enjoyable. All of the actors were fantastic.

Anyway, I'm tired and feeling the opposite of verbose, so peace out.

hitting the ground running

Camp was really great. There were some challenging moments, and it was hot of course, but that didn't detract from the week at all. I felt like I interracted with the kids a little more/better this year, so that was cool, and I got to know the counselors better this year as well, which was awesome. Plus, it's always nice to get so far removed from every day life....it's nice for getting a little perspective back.

Of course, now it's back to life. I'm trying to regain some discipline with my writing, along with keeping everyday life things in order (you know...stuff like cleaning house, grocery shopping).

anyway, that's all for now. Peace.

Oklahoma...

Off to camp! I'm sad that Phil won't be there this year :( but that's life. Let's hear it for vacation!!!

VBS

So, this week at our church is Vacation Bible School. I LOVED VBS as a kid. The church I went to growing up always went all-out for VBS. Lots of decorations, awesome skits....it was a blast. One of my favorite years, was the year my dad (who has volunteered for a while at VBS) swung across the baptistry on a "vine" and wrestled a "crocodile." That, and getting to finally be in the big kids class, i.e. fifth and sixth grade taught by Francie Brock, who did a great job at helping us feel like cool big kids.

So what about all you out there? VBS, anyone? Any fun memories?

McDonalds coffee

I'm not a huge McDonald's fan, but there will always be a soft spot in my heart for the burger chain because it always makes me think of my Grandpa Blair. Grandpa loved to stop by McDonald's for a cup of coffee, and he'd always buy us kids an ice cream cone.

Grandpa Blair was a simple man, but a loving, warm, fun, kind, generous man. He liked to sit outside on a summer evening and watch the sun set, watch the fireflies come out, watch the grandkids run around the yard. He loved living up on the hill across from Uncle Burl's field where he could just look out and see trees and cows and grass. He loved drinking coffee, listening to country music, playing his guitar or banjo, and watching the evening news. He loved to read...pretty much anything, even my school books. And he never minded telling a story or two, especially of days on the old farm. And he loved his family.

My Grandpa Blair died last week, not unexpectedly. I flew out Friday for the Sunday funeral, which was a celebration of a full, rich life. A weekend full of family and memories. We'll all miss him, but we know that he's waiting for us somewhere, sitting on a front porch, drinking some McDonald's coffee.

odds and ends

So, next week Jeanette (our friend and housemate) and Ryan and Nicole (friends) are going out of town (separate trips, just happen to coincide). Jeremy and I will be watching their dogs -- Jazz, Bristol, Chaucer and Winston. Yes, you counted right. That's four dogs. Fun times ahead, people, fun times ahead. Fortunately, we spend nearly every day with Chaucer and Winston, and of course live with Jazz and Bristol. But it'll be a housefull.

Photos from the trail

dirt and water

The weekend in the mountains was fantastic! Some fun trip facts:

1. Numerous creek crossings and I only fell in (just my feet) twice. Let's hear it for wet hiking boots!
2. The first part of the trail totally kicked my butt....I wish I were in better shape. But since I haven't actually backpacked in 10 years, I think I did pretty well.
3. The first part of the trail was also very overgrown and hard to follow; so, needless to say we got off the trail for a while. Thankfully, my hubby is pretty awesome with a compass and a map, so we found the trail just fine. Let's hear it for trail blazing!
4. staying at a nice bed and breakfast after a couple of days on the trail and before driving 6.5 hours is a fantastic idea. Ahhhhhh.....

Hopefully in a week or two I'll have some pictures to post.

Off to....

...the mountains. Everyone have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend!

Prayers

Please pray for Jeremy's friend Keith McCord (a roommate from Harding). Keith and his wife Stefanie just had a baby...which is the wonderful, good news. The bad news is Keith has melanoma in his spleen, head, hip and another place. He's headed to M.D. Anderson in Houston in the next week or two to try and get in on a trial there. Thanks for praying.

still here...

...still kickin'. Our friend Sonya is in town this week, so that's fun. And Jeremy and I go on our weekend trip in a couple of weeks. Other than that, not much else is happening. Saw Mission: Impossible III, which was a good, fun dose of entertainment. Hope everyone out there has a good week.

a couple of movies

Okay, everybody go out and rent the documentary Mad Hot Ballroom. It is awesome! It's about a program in New York City public schools that teaches fifth graders ballroom dancing; then they have a city-wide competition. Not only will it be entertaining and educational, but listening to those fifth graders will totally bring you back. I mean it people...watch it.

The other two movies I've watched recently were Casanova and Aeon Flux (going for opposite ends of the spectrum here). Casanova was all right. I slept through part of it, so I may have missed some good parts. It reminded me a lot of Shakespeare's comedies -- set in Venice at about that time, lots of confusion and mistaken identity, and it was kind of bawdy (isn't that a great word?). There were quite a few funny parts.

Aeon Flux was pretty good; it had a nice twist and some nice action and a really freaky girl who had her feet replaced with hands. (Ewe, ewe, ewe). If you like science fiction/action movies you'd probably like it. Jeremy liked it a lot and he'd seen the anime series.

That's all for now!

Lime green

I met Lesley (Ralls) Howe the first day of my first ever semester at college. She was in my "Impact group," one of those things they have for freshman during that cheesy orientation weekend. The first time I met her she was wearing a pair of lime green Doc Martin Mary Jane's. These particular shoes made an appearance at least two or three times a week after that and now, that color always, always makes me think of Lesley. Lesley is one of the coolest people I know, and she doesn't have to try very hard either. She's a theater girl. She's confident, and kind, and thoughtful, and funny, and fun, and sometimes crazy -- but in a good way. ;) Love you Lesley!

speaking of bathroom monkeys.....

This has been a busy week! I've started a freelance gig for the Judge Alex t.v. show (thanks to my buddy Jason) where I research small claims at my local courthouse. So my usual routine got altered a bit, plus we had a birthday party and getting Jeremy ready to go out of town this weekend. But tonight it's raining and I have no where I have to be, so it'll be nice to hang out at home.

Peace

God things

Jeremy was in a car accident last week. He's all right, but only because of the grace of God. See, he typically drives his motorcycle to work. Thursday was no exception, however the job site happened to be near our neighborhood, so he stopped at home to pick up a tool he'd forgotten in the truck over the weekend. The truck hadn't been run in a few days, so he just decided to take it to the job site. Because of that, when a 17 year old in a Ford Ranger ran a stop sign and ran into him, Jeremy was in his big 'ol pickup instead of on a bike. Praise the Lord! Sadly, the truck may have to be put to rest. Jeremy's pretty bummed...he's put enough sweat, and time, and heart into the truck that he said it would feel like a family member dying. But God's got a plan for everything.

ahhhh....

yesterday we hung up the hammock that I got for Christmas. Mmm...fabulous. Everyone should own a hammock. Especially a big two-person hammock because when you lay in it you feel like you're just floating in a big cacoon.

stupid cardboard boxes

Well, the garage/attic organization was a success....except that I ripped a big hunk of skin off of my pinky finger on a cardboard box. All those exposed nerve endings...let me tell you it hurts. Irritating. But, not as painful as some things I guess (Patti, I'm thinking of you and your tooth...ouch!) so I'll count my blessings.

Today

Today is one of my days off this week. I enjoy having a day off during the week because I can get things done while everyone else is at work; of course, that doesn't always happen. :) Today, my project is some garage/attic reorganization. I know, I know....sounds daunting, doesn't it? But it shouldn't be too bad. We cleaned out our garage several months ago, so it's mainly just straightening up kind of stuff. (and remember, we've only lived in this house a year. Not as much time to accumulate). And the attic...well, I just feel like organizing lately, what can I say? I'll let ya'll know how it turns out.

blue skies, green grass, strong breeze

Patti shamed me into writing. ;) just kidding, about the shaming I mean. Patti did gently remind me that I'm horrible about posting (although my friend Steve is worse).

I watched Memoirs of a Geisha this week. It was really good; I'd read the book, and naturally think it's better, but only because there's more to it, which is natural. It's interesting because the story is about a world with a lot of things wrong with it, a lot of stuff that morally I really don't agree with. But at the same time, it doesn't try to convince you that the world of a geisha is okay, just tries to tell you a story about it. Ultimately, it's a story about the choices we make, and what happens when you really have no choices. As far as the movie goes, the actors and actresses are all fantastic, and the costumes and setting are really cool as well.

Let's see what else I can say....I'm working this weekend, but had last weekend off so it evens out. Plus it's nice sometimes to have days off during the week while everyone else is working. Yesterday I spent all day shopping for a new warm-weather quilt for the bed. Ironically, I ended up just buying a white cotton blanket. But it was fun, so I guess that's what matters, right? :)

Everyone have a good weekend!

random

Got a letter from my cousin Ryan today in United Arab Emirates. Reminded me that one of the fun parts of having friends and family all over the place is getting mail with really cool postmarks from all over the place. Just looking at return addresses is an exercise for the imagination sometimes. Of course, this doesn't outweigh the non-funness of living far away from those same friends and family.

Watched the movie Shall We Dance tonight. It was good; a nice look at being yourself and being honest with yourself and with others; with not being afraid to want to change things about your life. I even liked Richard Gere, and I don't always like Richard Gere. :)

Happy weekend!

I'm searching...

...for a game (not a board game; an active game) that can be played in a large group and with adults and children both. Any suggestions???

Bill's Hot Dogs

This past weekend Jeremy and I and several friends from church (Glen, Camille, Jeanette, Matt, Nicole and Jenny) went to Elizabeth City, NC to sing at a Gospel Rally being held at Roanoke Bible College. They'd asked us to sing a few accapella songs as special music. It was a really, really fun and relaxing couple of days. As Nicole put it, we got to leave town, sleep late, eat junk food, watch sports (March Madness, anyone?), play cards, and sing....and do it all with friends. All in all, a great time. And we rode in the church van which gave us all flashbacks to high school and college.

Since then, I have managed to get some kind of mild stomach bug, but it appears to be the short-lived kind, thank goodness. I don't do well subsisting on nothing but applesauce and saltines.

Entertainment, etc.

Yay Amazing Race!!!!!! I have to say, for anyone watching this newest installment, that I really, really hope that Eric and Jeremy are the next to go because their disgusting comments toward the girls (and all women actually) are getting very, very old. Enough with the frat boy personnas.

Watched a couple of movies this week/weekend. Shaun of the Dead, and Flightplan. Yes, I realize how totally different these movies are. Flightplan was very suspenseful, I thought, and well-done. I like Jodi Foster as well as Sean Bean and neither dissapointed me.
Shaun of the Dead was.....hilarious in a bizarre, twisted kind of way. I wasn't planning on watching it, not being a fan of zombie movies at all, but this isn't your typical zombie movie. I would discribe it as a British movie about clueless, slacker, 20-something guys and their relationships with girls, their parents and each other. With zombies. Flesh-eating zombies.

Anyway. Tonight it's either Cinderella Man or Walk the Line (I know, I know...I'm terribly behind).

Later.

a good scrub

Up until maybe a month and a half ago, I'd never scrubbed a floor in my life. Oh, I've mopped plenty, but never a down-on-your-knees-Cinderella-type scrub. But about a month and a half ago I decided our kitchen floor needed that kind of scrub. Why? you ask. Because the white, grooved linoleum is a magnet for dirt. It's a gray floor, not white, and we mop regularly. So I thought, let's see if scrubbing works. Did it? well, it looked better, but not crystal clear. Was it worth it? not really. But I did get a good upper body workout! My second scrubbing experience happened today at work. Long story short: everyone has to scrub two tiles a day until the floor is better. This is a floor that somehow (depsite daily mopping) looks even worse than my kitchen floor. I've seen people scrub it and it never seemed to help. Apparently, our boss-boss thought differently and told us so in very condescending and demeaning terms. Needless to say, while I was scrubbing, I was mentally telling him exactly what I thought of his so-called "leadership style". Interestingly enough, when I was done (with visible improvements made on my section of the floor) I felt much better. Guess a little physical labor is good for the soul. And thankfully, God once again had my back, because this individual never showed up (as he occassionally and unexpectedly does) while I was working leading to words that probably should not have been said.

pictures

Here are some pictures of the new motorcycle....oh, and Jeremy's new "I'm giving up on the razor and scissors" look. :)

New things

Crash course on some of the new happenings in life:

My little brother is having a baby! Yay!!! Due October 20. Maybe he/she will be born 10 days early on my birthday. Wouldn't that be fun?

Jeremy bought a motorcycle. I've only ridden it around the neighborhood, but it's really cool. A 1982 Suzuki GS1100. He's been riding it too work, so it's also been nice to have my Honda back on a daily basis. I even vacuumed it out on Sunday! I'll post pictures of the bike as soon as we get some uploaded.

I bought fun things to organize with today! This may not seem like news, but for me this signifies an extra good day.

I have an ear infection for the first time since I was in grade school.

Jeremy and I are planning a weekend backpacking trip in the North Carolina mountains. Fun! Anybody been backpacking in the Appalachians? Any suggestions?

I finally finished reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. An excellent book. Very old-school British vibe with a fantastical twist (19th Century England plus magic).

I'm studying for the GRE which I am scheduled to take Feb. 28. Pray for me on that day! As things stand now (particularly with the quantitative, i.e. math, section) I'll need as much help as I can get.

So that's about it. The boring and the exciting (which, I realize, isn't even all that exciting).

Peace

a couple of movies

On Monday, I went with some girl friends to see Junebug (there's an old theater in town that has an independent movie series every week or two). I really enjoyed it. Jason told me I'd like it, and again, he was correct. It's a very realistic movie, but without that depressing "life totally sucks" attitude that a lot of "realistic" dramas take on. Yeah, the relationships between most everyone in the film could have stood an overhall, but there was a little bit of hope at the end. And as far as the characters went, there were times when I loved each character, and times when I couldn't stand them...kind of like a lot of real people out there! Amy Adams' character was the one exception -- I liked her all the time. Well, and maybe the dad too. I also appreciated that they portrayed the South without making fun of it.

Second movie I've seen recently: Elizabethtown. I made the mistake of reading too many reviews on it....and most critics didn't really like this movie at all. So I was distracted by their voices in my head. But overall I enjoyed the movie. It had a kind of disjointed, mismatched feel during the first half, but I think it kind of worked because it's a disjointed time in this guy's life. If I had to sum up the movie it would be sweet and quirky with a kickin' soundtrack. It's one I think I could watch again and enjoy more.

Happy Friday!

Fudge

(as part of remembering friends series)

My Granny Blair always made fudge at Christmas -- with everyone's favorite recipe off of the marshmellow fluff jar. So now, whenever I make fudge at Christmas (because of course I have to carry on the tradition), I think of my cousin Ryan Sundlie and how when we were little we would eat fudge and play Barbies in my Granny's bedroom. Ryan is the coolest -- he's an artist, a lover of literature, an outdoorsman, now a teacher in the United Arab Emirates, and one of the best "sneaker and hider" around. He's open, friendly, adventurous, down-to-earth and lots of fun. And even better...he's family!

List-time

I am, if nothing else, a copy-cat. Imitation is still the sincerest form of flattery, right? :)

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. babysitter
2. restaraunt hostess
3. newspaper reporter
4. barrista

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. Sense and Senisbility
2. Waiting for Guffman
3. Lord of the Rings trilogy
4. White Christmas

Four books you could read over and over:
1. Anne of Green Gables series
2. The Last Silk Dress
3. Harry Potter series
4. Zion Covenant series

Five places you have lived:
1. Portland, Oregon
2. Independence, Missouri
3. Searcy, Arkansas
4. Houston, Texas
5. Wilmington, North Carolina

Four t.v. shows you watch:
1. The Amazing Race
2. Lost
3. The O.C. (I know, I know... guilty pleasure)
4. Bones

Four places you have vacationed:
1. Spain
2. England
3. Chicago
4. San Antonio

Four web sites you visit (nearly) daily:
1. Yahoo mail
2. various friends' blogs
3. televisionwithoutpity.com
4.

Four favorite foods:
1. Anything Italian
2. Peaches and strawberries
3. Mexican...especially if it involves homemade tortillas
4. My mom's chicken noodle soup

Four places you would rather be (if I had to...I like here just fine right now):
1. Laying on the beach
2. Hiking in the mountains (or sitting in my mountain cabin)
3. With family
4. Hanging out with friends I haven't seen in months

Morning and Night

When someone asks me "Are you a morning perons or a night person?" I generally say night. Mainly because on most days I'm in a semi-comatose state for about an hour after I wake up. But I've recently begun to question whether or not that's changing...by necessity. Being a shift worker my schedule changes weekly, but 98 percent of the time I either have to be at work at 5:30 a.m., 5:45 a.m. or 6:30 a.m. Occassionally, I get to sleep in and arrive by 7 a.m. Fortunately, I live about 8 minutes from work. But still. At first I naturally balked at having to set my alarm clock for 4:45 a.m. That's the middle of the night!! But in the past year I have grown to love the perks of early rising: being off work by 2 p.m., sometimes noon or 1:30, thereby having afternoons free to get things done or even nap and then get things done. I've grown to enjoy the silence and freshness of the time just before dawn, and I like to watch the sunrise, to watch the world wake up.

Of course, on my days off, I sleep late. And I'm tired a lot because I usually don't go to bed early enough.

Am I turning into a morning person? Is morning person/night person a strange and irrelevant concept? Just rambling.

Blue Converse All-Stars

Next in my series on remembering friends....(and I promise they won't all involve a pair of shoes).

I have a pair of classic low-top Converse shoes. "Chuck Taylors" as my friend Curt used to call them; and I'll admit something to you all: these shoes are an out-and-out copycat purchase. My first college roommate Sonya Sawyer wore a maroon pair almost every day our freshman year, and, well, in this case immitation is, in fact, the most sincere form of flattery. Naturally, when I wear them now (much less frequently than I did then, but often enough to justify their existence) I think of Sonya. Many things make me think of Sonya, and in different ways; but in relation to my Chuck's, I think of getting to know Sonya. Of finding a friend who grew up in California -- quite a bit removed from my home of Missouri -- but who almost instantly became a soul friend. Sonya knew more about music and liturature than I did, but we had very similar tastes. She was a bit more of a free spirit than I was at the time, but just by being herself she encouraged me to let loose a little. And she always -- and I mean ALWAYS -- understood what I meant, no matter how convoluted it sounded; even if I didn't understand myself.

The best part? Even though we naturally kept growing and changing, exploring different paths, and moving half-way across the country, Sonya is still a soul friend. Guess that's kind of part of the definition, huh?

Do you ever feel....

....like you're just on the edge of crazy?

;)

Red shoes

So I'm starting a new blog series: posts about how certain things remind me of certain friends; I think it'll be a fun way to ponder the impression different people have left on my life, even in small ways. So today...red shoes and Lani Dalzell.

I have a pair of red leather shoes, I think you'd call them mules (they have no back, but a very flat sole so they're not really clogs). They have a tiny bow on the toe, which is rounded. They make my feet look small, they're really comfortable, and every time I wear them I think of Lani Dalzell. Why? you might ask. On a basic level, I think it's because Lani had a pair of really fabulous red loafers; she was one of the first people i'd ever met who wore a pair of red shoes on a regular basis and looked great and natural in them. But on a deeper level, it's also because red shoes remind me of Lani's personality -- her creative and free spirit, her love of life, her sense of adventure, her love, her warmth and her hospitible and welcoming nature. When Jeremy and I first moved to Houston and began attending church at the Tomball church of Christ, we decided to attend Dan and Lani's small group Bible Study (on the recomendation of Curt and Rachel Grubb). We both immediately felt comfortable and welcomed. For me, it was like being at home; like Lani was my big sister and Jeremy and I were just part of the family. That feeling and relationship continued for the next three years. It filled up a piece of my heart, and I miss the Dalzell's a lot.

And that's what I think about every time I wear my red shoes.

New Year's Resolutions

Love 'em? Avoid them? Make them? Break them?

A new year is a nice, well-defined, fresh start and fresh perspective. A natural place to make and re-evaluate goals. For the last few years I've avoided writing down any hard and fast resolutions....my resolution has been to try and set goals throughout the year. But maybe I'd see more success if I made some defined resolutions. Or maybe I'd just dissapoint myself. I'm generally a hard and fast person -- by that I mean I like structure, closure, defined boundaries, etc. But somehow I shy away from that when it comes to goal setting (or resolution making). Maybe I'm just lazy. Maybe I should stop analyzing things so much. :)

So seriously, what about you? To resolve or not to resolve, that is the question.

back to earth

So, Christmas was fabulous, and seeing my family was fabulous. Naturally, the day I get back I get sick and lay around in bed for three days with a fever and a cough and congestion. Let's hear it for sinus infections! But thankfully anti-biotics, rest, and vitamin C work, and now things are back to full form. I hate being sick! Sure, having an excuse to lay around and not do anything is nice in theory, and sometimes in practice, but not when there are so many other things you want to be doing. And I really hate having a cough and I really hate producing so much snot. (gross, I know, but true).

Okay, enough of the H-word. I'm thankful for a return to good health, that's all. :)