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. :)

Fa, la, la, la, la

Hanging out at the Rush homestead since Tuesday night. It's been a wonderful, relaxing, fun several days. Jeremy's parents joined us for about a day and a half, and the house was warm and full -- just how it should be. Today was our family Christmas. Jeremy and dad then headed off to the Chiefs game, hopefully the rain won't dampen their spirits too much (pun only sort of intended ;) Seven minutes into the second quarter we're up by 7....go Chiefs!!!

May God bless you with joy, peace and comfort.

Merry Christmas!

in case...

...anyone was worried (note the heavy sarcasm in my tone), i have finally done some Christmas shopping and am actually almost done. Now comes one of my favorite parts of Christmas...anticipating the (hopefully) excited looks on the faces of my friends and family when they open their gifts.

Christmas shopping

I feel behind on my Christmas shopping, but am working to get over that. By shopping, obviously, but also on not feeling behind. I think the feeling stems from my housemate having all of her Christmas shopping done. But as Jeremy reminded me...there is no behind or ahead, simply a deadline. My deadline happens to be a little early than some (we're celebrating with our Wilmington family on Dec. 19 and leaving to be with our biological families on Dec. 20) but doable. At least, that's what I tell myself! I enjoy the change of pace during the holidays -- regular activities are replaced by shopping, wrapping, writing Christmas cards, partying, caroling, decorating, and sometimes cooking or baking. Problem is, some of those regular day-to-day activities can't be ignored forever. Finding balance, that's the key. Finding time to enjoy those unique holiday activities while still making sure day-to-day life doesn't get ignored. And all this while remembering to relax and avoid the frenectic pace that can accompany December. Okay, just rambling now.

in other news, we went to see Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe last night. In my opinion...fabulous! Of course, I love the books, so I'm a little biased, but I still think it's a good movie. Courage, adventure, sacrifice, second chances...great stuff.

you would think....

...that since a Christmas station on satellite radio would play quite the variety of Christmas music. I like Christmas music, cheesy, non-cheesy...doesn't matter. I can even put up with listening to it all day at work but I really start getting grumpy when I hear "The Twelve Days of Christmas" for literally then tenth time in a nine-hour period of time. 10 times people! Please, XM Radio. No more "12 Days." No more.

I'm thankful....

for Jesus, grace, and the hope of eternity
for a wonderful family
for friends who are family -- those near and far
for a sexy husband who's also my best friend
for changing seasons
for all the free coffee I can drink!
for laughter
for the time to read good books and watch good movies
for music

Not an exhaustive list by any stretch of the imagination, but what's on my mind today.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!

Goblet of Fire

Saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire tonight. Really good. Followed the story really well, especially considering how much you have to leave out in those movies. And you could see why they changed the things they changed; it all made sense. From a pure "film" standpoint, I'm not the best reviewer...I'm too wrapped up in Harry Potter from the book/story standpoint. But I can definitely say I enjoyed it. (oh, and Ralph Fiennes is going to make an awesome Lord Voldemort).

nanowrimo

Jasmine posted on her blog that nanowrimo is humbling. Have to say it's true. Doesn't seem like it should be so hard -- a little less than 2,000 words a day for 30 days. For me...HARD. I'm doing good to pump out 1,000. 1,500 is an awesome day. And every day for 30 days...HARD. But it's good for me, right? Good to push myself, right?

Here's to pushing yourself.

movies

Went to see "Brothers Grimm" last night at the dollar theater (it's kind of sad when I read my friend Jason's blog then come and write something about a movie that's been out for a while since it makes me feel behind the times. Oh well. :) . I have to say I enjoyed it, despite it's silliness and despite the fact that it wasn't widely liked. To me it had a similar tone to Van Helsing -- a fun, fantastical romp. "Van Helsing" just had a little bit darker tone and a little more action. Which is interesting because one friend that I went to see it with stood up afterword and basically said "what the heck was that" and not because he was impressed. Yet this same friend liked "Van Helsing" enough to own it. And the same reasons that he didn't like Brother's Grimm are the same reasons a lot of people didn't like "Van Helsing." I will never understand people.

I also rented "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" last weekend. Good movie, but another case of the book was better. But the actresses were awesome.

movie trailers

I love a good movie trailer. To me, if I watch a movie without some trailers in front of it, I feel gypped.

However....

What I don't like are movie trailers that give the entire movie away....the plot, the twist, the funny stuff, the dramatic stuff, the beginning, the middle and the end. Leave a little to the imagination people! Make me want to see it! Don't make the trailer all I want to see!
What I also don't like are completely misleading trailers. Now, I know enough to know that sometimes movies get further editing/reworking after the trailer is cut together. Understandable. But haven't you ever seen a trailer for a movie, then gone to see the movie and thought you were in the wrong theater? (or that your dvd got switched with another). Sometimes, what you acutally see is dissapointing (see: Cider House Rules). Often, it's a pleasant surprise (see: Wicker Park and most recently In Good Company).

What do you think?

Yankee Rebel

So my friend Jason posted a link to a quiz similar to this a while back. But now I want all of you dear readers to let me know....yank? rebel? or somewhere in between.

http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html

p.s. I'm 50 % yankee

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Saw this at the dollar theater the other day and I have to admit I can't remember the last time i laughed so hard at a movie. Granted, I was in a very silly mood that night, but still. It tickled my funny bone anyway. A lot of that has to do with Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka who was pricelessly neurotic, crazy, and just plain silly. I didn't really enjoy the first Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie. As a child, I found it just creepy. So if you love the original movie, you may hate this movie (a girl at work did). And the grandpa (who I last saw in Waking Ned Devine) was great as well. All the cast were very well chosen and their characters well-played. If you're in a silly mood and you haven't seen it yet...watch it!

Go Astros!!!

World Series baby!!!

Music

At my former job in the suburbs of Houston, Texas, my office-mate (and co-worker, and friend) used to play DJ for us, and one recurring artist was David Gray. I haven't listened much to David Gray since then, but recently I copied a bunch of music from a friend's computer and guess what....there are a few David Gray songs on there! So as I sit and listen to them (sitting at a computer), it gives me nice warm-fuzzy feelings about sitting at a computer at a huge brown formica and metal desk.

Will I ever be able to listen to these songs and not be at a computer? We'll see.

Listening to: David Gray (duh!), White Ladder

yay fall!!!

Autumn is my favorite time of year. No questions. No doubt. I love the feel, the look, the smell...I love being able to live in my jeans again and wear long sleeves, sweatshirts and jackets. I love curling up under blankets and not because the air conditioning is set to sub-zero. I love not needing air conditioning; I never realize how stale the air is until I start breathing it fresh from outside again. I love hot apple cider and pumpkins (and pumpkin pie).

Happy Autumn everyone!!

Restlessness

Why is it that sometimes all I want to do is curl up with a good book. But usually when I can't. But when the perfect curl-up-with-a-good-book moment presents itself I feel restless and confined in my house. Is it the book? The house? The fact that I only slept four (interrupted) hours last night? The book, I can remedy. The house...well, I can go to a coffee shop or something. As for sleep, can't go back in time.

Just ramblin'

even though I don't live in Houston......

GO ASTROS!!!!!!!!

A difference

I enjoy rain most of the time. I have been known to applaud a rainy day even; especially if I don't have to get out in it. But I realize today that it makes a big difference when all of a sudden you live in a neighborhood where half the streets flood whenever you get torrential, downpouring rains such as we've been having the past few days.

But I still like rain.

Interesting names

Sometimes I wonder what parents are thinking when they name their children. Are they thinking at all? Granted, I've never had the honor of having to come up with a name for a child -- something they'll have with them forever. Or at least until they can legally change it. But who in their right mind names their kid

Nature
Tiger Lily
Shithead (for real, people. pronounced Sh-teed)
Emergency (also for real. pronounced eh-mer-gahn-cee, emphasis on the third syllable)
Cinderella Snow White (full name, first, middle and last)
And best of all....Douche. (why??????)

And none of these names are rumour. All witnessed first hand by friends of mine. Anyway. Just in case you need a Thursday afternoon laugh.

Listening to: Titan Moon K108, "You Go Away"

here's a funny

So, yesterday at work my friend/co-worker was talking about a t.v. show she was watching in which one woman called another woman a whore. The slandered woman indignantly replied, "I'm not a whore, I'm a barrista!"

This is funny when you remember what I do for a living right now. In fact, I think it should be my new catchphrase, don't you?

Rita

Okay, so accidentally posted a blank one. Anyway....

Just wanted to let all my homies in Texas know that we're praying for you out here. Love you all!

Rita

t.v.

A couple of weeks ago some friends of mine decided that we should watch the first season of Lost on dvd before the new season comes out. I was excited about this because for various reasons I had missed a big chunk of the season. So now I'm prepped for next week, but I've just got to say, how has anyone been able to wait a whole summer to see what happened!? Craziness.

I am also excited because supposedly Junebug is finally coming to Wilmington movie theaters. So maybe I'll get to see it before too long.

Peace

Ophelia

For those of you who aren't hurricane trackers, there's a little girl sitting off the east coast named Ophelia. She's a category 1 predicted to land really close to where I live on Tuesday. It's interesting to watch the response in light of Katrina. The North Carolina governor declared a state of emergency in order to call in the National Guard; one of the islands in the Outer Banks has issued mandatory evacuation; and people around town are stocking up on their hurricane supplies. I wonder how many hurricane seasons this uber-preparedness will last through.

On a different note-
Due to our move to North Carolina and a broken VCR, I missed a lot of Lost. In fact, I pretty much didn't watch the last third of the season. But I'm so excited that season 1 is out on DVD! I'm hoping to get it all in before the second season starts.

Oh, and the OC started last week. Yay! (my guilty pleasure, what can I say). The first episode was odd. Very non-first-episode, as someone on a message board put it. But still good, and leaving a lot of room for a good season. We'll see how it goes. Last season, while not as terrible as some would have you believe, had its dissapointments. But Trey is gone, Kirsten seems like her old self, Seth and Summer are together which can be good, Jimmy's around for at least a little while, and Julie is Julie.

Reworking

In a recent post I mentioned that I was having a friend edit/critique a mystery that I've written. Well, I got it back and I am really pumped to start making it better. This is the first time since creative writing in college that I've seriously attacked a project with the intent of making it a first-class read. Also a little daunting though. We'll see how it goes.

A question

Why do people insist on having someone or something to blame for everything that happens in this world? Why must it be someone's fault? Sometimes there is a target for blame, but you know what? Shit happens. Period. Welcome to the world.

Policies

A person I know has been sick for a while...the kind of sick where you have good days and bad days and can't really nail down what's wrong. Last week though, she got really bad and had to go to the Medac (critical care facility), who sent her to her doctor. Now, my friend doesn't have insurance, and had to go to the doctor several months ago as well. She has about a $1,000 bill with them, and has been paying on it faithfully every month. Well, this last visit they asked her how she was planning to pay her new $350 bill and she said that she had planned on just adding it to her existing bill. They sent her back to a little room with, I presume, a business manager-type person who told her that if comes again and can't pay the full amount, they won't treat her.

What?!?!?!?!

I'm thinking if someone is faithfully paying you back, then does it matter that they can't pay every bill up front? It really made me angry at that doctor's office. It's a medical group, so I guess that's why they have the impersonal touch, but still. You'll see people who don't pay (because Medicare pays for them) yet you won't see someone who will eventually reimburse you 100% of your bill, which I'm pretty sure Medicare doesn't do. Fortunately, I know for a fact that not every doctor is that callous.

I know everyone has differing opinions on healthcare (my current theory is that insurance screwed everything up by forcing doctors to jack up their prices so that you HAVE to have insurance) and I sure haven't figured it out, but I wish there were some way to make it less difficult.

I know that everyone out there is bound to have differing opinions on health care

vulnerability

A couple of days ago I emailed one of my first completed short stories in about 10 years to a friend to look over and edit. Lesley has this story, although she's a very busy girl what with moving and working and trying to finish a novel; and I've decided it's good to have at least two or three people who look over your writing because different perspectives are good. So I sent it to Adam. Adam and I are co-workers as well as friends but I'm still nervous. Sending out something creative into the world to be examined, critiqued and even judged is a little scary. You have to separate yourself from your work, but every story has a little bit of me in it. I worry that people will read what I write and think I'm weird or crazy, but mostly I'm afraid that they'll read it and pity me because I think I'm a writer, when in reality I have no skills at all.

My solution? The ostrich approach. Head in sand and all that.

What about all you other creative types out there?

quiz

Well, Jason had this on his blog, and since I can never resist talking about myself here goes....

Seven things I....

Plan to do before I die:
1. learn to swim
2. learn to play the guitar
3. hike the Appalachian Trail
4. become a published author (not as ambitious as Jasmine :)
5. take Jeremy to Europe
6. run a 5k race
7. visit Prince Edward Island

Things I can do:
1. make a fantastic cup of coffee
2. write
3. play the piano, although not as well as I used to
4. spend an entire day watching movies OR reading a book ;)
5. bake a loaf of French bread (just discovered this one tonight)
6. take a pretty good photograph
7. drive a stick

Things I can't do:
1. surf
2. play any woodwind or horn instrument
3. tolerate rudeness or meanness
4. see without corrective lenses
5. whistle
6. reach the top shelf of our kitchen cabinets without standing on a stool or a chair
7. go for long periods of time on very little sleep

Things that attract me to the opposite sex:
1. kindness
2. Christian
3. eyes
4. smile
5. genuineness
6. hard body ;)
7. being named Jeremy Waters

Things I say most:
1. "I was like..."
2. "Good morning, what can I get for you?"
3. "Would you like any cream or sugar?"
4. "I love you"
5. "Fantastic"
6. "Thank you"
7. "I'm hungry"

Celebrity Crushes:
1. Hugh Jackman
2. John Cusack
3. Bradley Cooper
4. Ewan McGreggor
5. Jason Statham
6. That's all...
7. I can think of

People I want to take this quiz:
1. Erin
2. Steve
3. Nicole
4. Katie
5. Lesley
6. Dave
7. Jeanette

Even after...

...a few weeks, I have really nothing to say. Is my life exciting or what? Everyone check out Steve's blog, though. i heard about Pat Robertson on NPR today, and boy....CRAZY. Like, lock-him-up-in-a-padded-room-crazy. Who says stuff like that? On TV? Even if you think it. People, those are the things you keep between you and....well, you.

In other news, the parents came to visit for several days. It was so great to see them; one day I hope that I'll be able to see them more often. I do okay living so far away, except when they leave after a nice visit. It was a very relaxing trip; played a lot of cards, watched a lot of movies, most of which I had seen before but one of which was Texas Rangers (Dylan McDermott, James Van Der Beek, Usher -- which, by the way....what????) a movie I had never seen before. Wow. Who knew Texas was made of cheese. :)

my stint as a matchmaker

Okay, so a while back I mentioned how I was setting up two friends on a blind date. Finally happened and...success! I mean, they aren't declaring undying love or anything, but that's a little farfetched, despite what people like to tell you. But they exchanged phone numbers and both said they'd like to hang out with each other again, which I consider success.

Oh, and in a somewhat related vein....on the date (which was a double date because my friends Camille was a little nervous having never been on a blind date before. But which was more fun for me anyway because I got to witness the fun first hand) we watched the movie Swingers which I had never seen before. But I've got to say I really enjoyed it. It wasn't what I expected from what people had told me, but I found it amusing and entertaining which is about all I need from a comedy.

Happy Monday everyone!

confessions

I'll confess. About a year and a half ago (give or take) I stumbled upon a web site I know many of you are familiar with -- televisionwithoutpity.com. Fantastic web site where admitted t.v. junkies write witty and sarcastic and sometimes scathing recaps of many current hour-long television shoes, cable and network. Anyway, if you have a favorite t.v. show or shows, you should check it out.
But my point is...you should also check out the Tubey Awards. This is where loyal readers submit categories and nominations for those categories regarding the 2004-2005 television season. Some categories include standards like favorite actor, favorite actress, best new show, best returning show, etc. But my favorite categories are the ones like best performance by an inanimate object, best "hell, yeah!" moment, least favorite character, and most redemptive character in an otherwise sucky show. Now, since I don't have cable and haven't for the past year, I couldn't really comment on a lot of the nominations. Technically, my vote isn't as balanced since I can only compare a limited number of the nominations. But who cares! It's just plain fun.

Now go vote!

too junky, perhaps?

Ebay, how you have failed me. I listed three items on ebay last week, selling only one and only for $2.77. Were my sights set too high? Too low? (after all, I didn't have a reserve price). I haven't decided yet if I'll try the other two items again, or just thrift store them.

contradictions

I love when I have the opportunity to be a contradiction. For example...because of my short (5 minutes) commute and Jeremy's long one (30 minutes) I've been driving the truck to work. And sometimes, I am in the mood to listen to NPR. Contradiction: a girl driving a rusted-out pick-up truck listening to classical music. Sometimes I'm not a contradiction -- I'm as predictable and typical as you would find. But I love those moments when I manage to slip out of the mold.

Ah, ebay

I'm attempting my first sales on ebay. Junk, really. But junk I want to get rid of and I hear that people buy junk on Ebay, so....we'll see.

Speaking of things that are definitely NOT junk...my friend Erin Lonard sent me the CD that she made to raise money for her family's upcoming adoption. And it. is. awesome. Erin, you totally blew me away. Thank you for sharing your heart with the world.

living at the beach

Is it okay to rub it in that I live 15 minutes from a beautiful beach? I never really considered myself a beach person...always was a mountain-girl at heart (and still am) but I'm really growing attached to the sound of waves, the smell of salt water, the warmth of sand between my toes. And the best part is seeing the beach in all seasons and all weather -- in the hot summer, when the water feels so refreshing and in the winter when it's wild and cold and empty. In the morning when the water is a clear, cool blue and you can watch the beach slowly come alive, and in the evening when everything is cozy and mellow.

okay...I'm done waxing "eloquent" for now. :)

And speaking of nothing...anyone as I excited as I am to be reading the new Harry Potter book? Any Harry Potter fans out there? Any Harry haters? because I'd love to change your opinion. ;)

back to the real world

One of the best things about camp is that it truly takes you away from the world. For a week I existed in an isolated world where the biggest worries were looking for scorpions in my shoes. It's a great place to remember what's important...and what's not. So while I'm bone tired from a week of keeping up with teenagers and 44 hours of driving, I'm feeling deep down good. Because in addition to isolation there's the goodness of seeing old friends and giving to others.

blind dates

I'm setting two people up on a blind date this week, a girl I go to church with and a guy I work with. It's really fun! I wish I lived in a culture that used matchmakers because I could get all over that career. Although I am a little nervous that if they don't have a good time they'll both hate me. ;) Anybody out there with some good blind date experiences? I've never been on one myself, and of course you always hear about the bad ones.

In other news...camp next week. Jeremy and I are driving (aak!) to Oklahoma to be counselors at Camp Sooner again. We're leaving Friday. It should be a lot of fun. It'll be good to see some of the Tomball crew again, as well as the rest of the camp people. Last year I was a cook, and this year I'm a counselor, so it'll be fun to do something different this time and get to spend more time with the kids.

Happy Fourth!

Watching a garden grow

I've been watering my friends' garden for the past week while they are out of town. It's still in the early stages of growth. Except for the cayenne peppers which are hitting their prime and the sugar snap peas which have passed their prime. The tomatoes are starting to ripen and other plants are beginning to flower. But gardens are interesting to me, because you wait and wait and wait for things to grow and bloom and produce, then one day you walk outside and....tada! The plants are six inches higher. A week later you go out and...tada! Flowers or fruit or vegetables have appeared. Do we just not notice the growth until it's significant or do the plants grow in bursts. And why do they always grown when we're not looking?

Happy Friday!

Regardless of whether or not you're working (like me) or relaxing this weekend, take some time to enjoy the company of friends or a hobby or a pet or family or a good book or a good movie....whatever makes you smile. And take some time to call up a friend you haven't talked to in a while.

Later

change

All things must change to something new, to something strange. -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This is a plea to anyone who feels stuck in a situation and therefore feels very discouraged and/or unhappy:

Do something about it.

I know, I know. it sounds easy to say it and it's hard to do. Believe me, I know. But if you never try, you'll never know, right? Look good and hard at what's holding you back....is it worth your misery?
But I can't do a complete 180, you say. Well then, there has to be some way to still do something beginning with perspective. The Bible study I attend is studying the Old Testament book of Ecclessiastes, otherwise known as the book of meaninglessness. Sounds depressing right? But it's not. It's all about perspective. Let's take Bob for example: Bob lives in Cityville (know it's lame, but just go with it) and hates it. His friends and family are all hours away and he hasn't really found a place there. But at this point, he doesn't feel like he can move because of his job. Bob becomes depressed and bitter. Then one day, Bob decides he's tired of being depressed and bitter and realizes that in the grand scheme of things, where he lives doesn't matter; it's meaningless, if you will. And even if he can't change the big, he can change the little. He starts taking one day at a time; doing different things; looking for joy in something besides where he lives or where he works; focusing on the good.

An overly-simple illustration I know, but my plea is still the same: don't let anything steal away your joy. Take it back, even if that means acknowledging a sucky situation and just choosing to ignore it. Even if it means braving the uknown. Even if it means risking failure to try something new.

If I sound preachy or self-righteous, I'm sorry; not my intent at all.

until later...

Garden State

Watched Garden State last night and enjoyed it....Steve, you were right. :) However, stupd Blockbuster online sent us a DVD that crapped out in the middle. So i missed about three scenes in the middle -- it froze up during the hampster burial and let us return to the action when Largeman and Sam were in a bar right before jumping half-clothed into a pool with a bunch of other people. Has anyone seen this recently enough to fill me in on the missing chunk?

But aside from that, I liked the movie a lot. I loved the character progressions and randomness and humor and heart. And the actors were all fabulous. I did think it sad though that part of the main character's big epiphany was that this life was all there is, so he better live it as hard as he can. While I can jump on board with the live life to its fullest part, the best thing about life is that this ISN'T all there is.

So....

Moving...done. Unpacking...mostly done. Let's all breath a sigh of relief. Now, if I can just remember to do all the other little things I need to get done.

Thought of the day: how much stuff is too much stuff? I ponder this question every time I move, and have yet to come up with a satisfactory answer.

Peace.

Miriam's back!

My car (Miriam for those out-of-the-know) is home from the mechanics and (so far) running right again! It's very exciting, and a real load off my mind. We had some friends here who suggested a mechanic, and it turned out to be a good reference, which is also a nice thing.

We're moving this weekend. Just down the street, but packing is still a pain and I HATE it. Oh well. It'll be over soon.

Anyway. That's a nutshell of what's going on with me right now. I've watched House of Flying Daggers and Thelma and Louise (can you believe I've never seen it?) this week. Both good movies, although I liked House of Flying Daggers better. Really stellar fight scenes, expectedly good cinematography (I know that's spelled wrong) and a good if simple story; one of those classic stories that can be just as moving even if you've heard it before.
Thelma and Louise was interesting because it could have been terrible, but it wasn't. The main police officer was kind of annyoing to me; I didn't feel like they really illustrated his motivation very well, which to me made his actions seem too out of the blue and intense. But Gena Davis and Susan Sarandon rock the house. Oh, and Brad Pitt looks almost like a skeleton he's so skinny.

Happy Friday.

movie notes

I know I'm behind on my movies these days, but everyone should see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Great movie. A little odd and different, so if you don't like odd and different you might not like it. But I thought it was really creative and poses an interesting question...if we knew the outcome would we still make the same choices?

Happy weekend!

Fairness???

Fair warning: this is a rant about a somewhat controversial subject. Today in the Wilmington newspaper there was an article about a bill that's been proposed in the state legislature that would allow illegal immigrants -- excuse me..."undocumented students" -- to pay in-state tuition rather then out-of-state if they are North Carolina residents. Opponents pointed out that this would just increase the odds of actual American citizens being pushed out of spots at colleges and universitieis. Supporters said the higher tuition just hurts these students and that making education easier will benefit everybody. Oh, and we're also supposed to be offended because these same illegal residents can't get federal aid like grants and student loans.

Am I the only one who is dumbfounded by all of this? I am all for immigration. I am all for individuals and families moving to a country where they can find better opportunities for themselves and their families. I want these immigrants to have equal opportunties as American-born citizens, with no fear of discrimination. I have the deepest respect for people brave enough to uproot their families and enter a new culture with a new language and customs. It's really awesome. But why can't people do it legally????? Hundreds of thousands of people have immigrated legally and we as a country are spitting in their face by allowing -- no, by making it easy -- for people to live, work and study illegally. And we're not only mocking them, but ourselves and our own laws by essentially rewarding people for breaking the law. This is insane! How about next time someone goes out and steels a car, we just let him or her keep that car, as long as they really need it. After all, it's not fair that they should be penalized just because they don't have a car like everybody else, right?

Utter. Madness. I mean, if we aren't going to enforce our own laws, then let's get rid of it. by all means, open the borders and let it flow. But if not, then let's actually enforce the law. Let's stop doling out health care and education to people who aren't paying taxes. Let's help them go about things the right way, instead of positively reinforcing -- rewarding -- illegal behvior.

okay. rant over.

June, june, june

It's not even June 1, and already the month is jam-packed. On Friday, Jeremy's parents come into town for a few days. June 11-ish, we move to a new house, and before that have to get ahold of our new landlord for some lease and pre-lease discussions. Somewhere around June 15, Jeremy's brother comes to visit. And in the midst of all of that are the usual: work, laundry, cleaning...oh yeah, and getting our decrepit cars fixed. I am looking forward to all of these things, especially the visits from family, and really want to savor and enjoy their visits, not view them as one link in an endless chain of events. Last night, I nearly had a nervous breakdown thinking about it all, but my wondeful husband reminded me that the only thing to do is take each event, each day one at a time. And when you look at it like that, it really isn't as overwhelming, but I have a hard time with that, you know? Piece by piece, moment by moment, one at a time. Why do I have such a hard time with that? I love it in theory, and have even vowed that our next home-improvement project will be tackled that way, but sometimes I take the whole "keeping an eye on the big picture" to the extreem.

a day at the grocery store

Why would a person spend a day at the grocery store, you might ask. Well, you might if you were getting paid to be there. No, I don't work at the grocer store, but I am occassionally scheduled to man the coffee bar owned by our coffee shop. But that's not the point. The point is, it's BORING. Seriously, one day I read two Entertainment Weeklys cover to cover, did two crossword puzzles and read at least two chapters in the book I was reading. Needless to say, any time I'm working there I'm always trying to occupy my time, and last week I decided to exercise my writing skills a little by practicing my people descriptions ( I had read an article on that in a Writer's Digest magazine), trying to make my descriptions more interesting and alive. So I got out my notebook and started describing various grocery store employees. It was actually very interesting and fun, although technically I guess I was "reading a book by it's cover." What made it more interesting was later in the week hearing someone I work with comment about the same people....the difference being she actually knows them a little better. It's always fun to see how your first impressions jive with reality. And it was fun creatively to stretch myself, trying to get away from "She had dark eyes and blonde hair and a pretty smile." or "His eyes were as blue as the sea, his hair like corn." whatever.

Okay, so not terribly interesting post. just a slice from my life. happy Memorial Day.

I'm terrible at titles

I'm also terrible at all decision-making, or at least most of it. But let's not dwell on that. Let's dwell on a very hilarious and happy movie that I saw last night: Bride and Prejudice. For those of you who haven't heard of it, it's a Baliwood (India's Hollywood) remake of Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice. Bride and Prejudice is a full-scale musical extravaganza complete with colorful costumes, cheesy songs and exuberant dancing. It's a little like watching a Disney cartoon musical but live-action, and a little like watching a classic musical such as South Pacific or State Fair. For a modern remake of Pride and Prejudice it remains very true to the original story, although it does add a cultural element -- modern versus traditional, England versus India, America versus India. Fans of the t.v. show Lost should know that the actor who plays Said is one of the main characters. Basically if you enjoy movies that are outrageously cheesy, but don't take themselves seriously, and if you want to see a little bit of India, here some great Indian music and end the movie wanting to dance...then you'd like Bride and Prejudice.

A little bit of everything

So...

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith was pretty sweet. I mean, it's Star Wars, so color that with whatever that means to you (if you hate Star Wars, you'll hate this; if you like Star Wars you'll like this; etc.). One thing I really noticed especially was how much the soundtrack rocked. It really added to the emotion of the film.

On the vehicle front: AHHHHHHHH!!!!! That's all I can say. But I'm feeling more optimistic today that it will soon be fixed. I guess this is what you get for driving around a car with 149,000 miles on it.

Other stuff: I've realized that I put too much stock in things, life being "in control." I want things to be ordered, stable, ducks-in-a-row type stuff but you know what? Life isn't like that. I can't control it. I'm not the one in control and the sooner I realize that and just hop along for the ride, I think the better off I'll be. Not that it's a bad thing to want order and stability -- it's just part of my personality I think, and not a bad part. But my problem is that I try and put my faith in that rather than where it belongs -- in my Lord. Anyway...deep thoughts for my day off (which...I also have tomorrow off, the first Saturday in at least two months and I'm so excited!).

Happy Friday, ya'll!

vehicle frustration or why friends are the bomb

So the transmission went out on our 1980 GMC truck (and most of you who know me are not at all surprised I'm sure. After all, the truck is just a miracle on wheels anyway). Sharing a car until Jeremy can get it fixed has been tricky, but thanks to rides from friends it hasn't been impossible.

Then today, the Honda won't start. And I had to be at work at 6:30 a.m.

What a way to start the day, right? Two cars...two cars down. Which just reafirms my dream and desire to live someplace where I don't have to own a car at all. Or I can at least get to work and the grocery store without a car. Public transportation is something this country really needs to get a handle on. I mean, I know that we're a nation that's in love with our vehicles, and that's not inherently bad (my sources tell me it helped us win WWII), but come on people. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. Those are not dirty words.

Okay, rant over. Now to the good part of the day. If I didn't already know it, Jeremy and I have some awesome friends. Not only have they dropped us off at work, picked us up from work and unflinchingly let us borrow their cars, they didn't bat an eye when I called at 6:30 this morning to borrow the keys to their car so I could get to work. It always humbles me when I think of the kind of true and generous friends God has blessed me with (and not just here in Wilmington -- in Houston, in Arizona, in Arkansas, in Georgia, in Missouri...), and that has never been more apparent than the past couple of weeks.

oh, and does anyone know someone selling a running-condition vehicle for under $500? (haha...in my dreams. Doesn't hurt to ask though, right?)

peace

Other people's expectations

There are certain expectations that society puts on a person; certain "norms" that most of us feel some pressure to live up to. Now, some of these are good and productive for a harmonius society -- the expectation to not be a murderer for example. But others I'm not so sure about. Like the expecation to have a certain type of career or a certain kind of home. But why do we let ourselves feel pressured by this? Okay, I'll just be honest: why do I let myself be pressured by this; by what other people think? Are there people out there who can honestly say they don't care what other people think, and if you're out there.....how do you do it!!!!???? I try, and sometimes I just go ahead with what I want to do despite how strange it might seem to some people. But deep down I wonder what those people DO think. But I'm working on it. Thankfully I've got some wonderful friends and family who even if they think something I do is weird, they never show it and are nothing but supportive; I hope I never underestimate that blessing.

who knew

Blogs are popping out of the wood-work! Who knew that so many people are keeping in touch/expressing themselves/igniting discussion on the internet. It's like I've now been inducted into a secret society with friends that I've known in other contexts for years. Fabulous.

Also randomly fabulous:

Cars that no longer overheat (this is a shout-out to Jeremy, who has once again breathed life into my Civic, thanks to a God-given ability to work on cars).

Ansel Adams calendars

Chocolate biscotti and fresh coffee

Lime (the color and the flavor)

God's faithfulness

Hot-Lanta

Just got back from visiting my good friend Lesley in Atlanta this week. An awesome trip, if not nearly long enough. We did have some crazy times getting there and back. On the way there we discovered our slight radiator leak had become a raging river of leakiness. Jeremy replaced the radiator on Monday (the first day of our trip, but fortunately the day with no activities planned) so we could get home. And on the way home on Wednesday, there was a bad wreck on I-20 in Columbia, SC that included a Medi-Vac which meant the interstate was shut down and we sat in Columbia for two hours.

But aside from those two things, we had a great time. Atlanta is a cool city, and it's always nice to see good friends. Lesley is one of only a few friends from college that I've actually gotten to see since graduation, and now that we live in North Carolina we're actually within driving distance which rocks. I've had a little post-trip funk though. Why is it that seeing people after a long absence often makes you miss them more? It's as though it reminds you of how much you wish you could be with them in person all the time. Ultimately though, I am thankful when I do get to see those friends, even with the post-visit ache, because there are a lot of people I love who I haven't seen at all in quite a while.

"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them" -- Ralph Waldo Emerson