Christmas Cheer Creepiness

Our apartment door came with a handy dandy little hook. So, we added some Christmas cheer.

Cute, simple and cost only $1.Our neighbors (whose door is directly across the hall) also added some Christmas cheer.

Nice, but this is what we see every time we leave the house. Is is just me or do her eyes look totally creepy.

Thursday

It's Thursday night and a) I'm actually done with work after going to 7 counties today b) the season of Survivor is over :( This means that I actually find myself with free time. Go figure! After playing catch-up during my snow day yesterday, I am totally planning to waste time tonight. ... Just because I can.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Sneak Peek

Well, the holiday season fully upon us (as evidenced by the 1 night this week that we don't have full). And let me tell you the holiday traffic does not make me full of good cheer. (but that's beside the point). For Christmas this year, Josh and I are receiving round too of our fishy friends. After the last catastrophe difficulty we were hesitant, but here are the results of some fun Christmas spending. :)

These are a few of my favorite things ...

Music

Really good live music

Played by my church...
... And my sweetie
(and including the cello)

Ahhhhh.

Celebrating

Jack & Lyndsay have become a special part of our lives here and they got some great news this week. The adoption referral they have been waiting on came! They have a beautiful baby girl and will travel to get her probably in March. If you haven't checked it out yet, their beautiful story shows how God has been at work.

You know you want to

Okay, so I'm becoming a fan. I first heard of JJ Heller when I downloaded her cd (for free, all legal like). I was distracted by other new tunes and did not come to fully appreciate the album until later. But it's becoming one of my favorites (whoa!)

Go here. Now. Trust me. It's not a whole album. But JJ Heller has put out a GREAT song for free download.

Ebay is not my friend

I was just doing some online shopping and happened across what I think will be the perfect gift for my sister-in-law, Megan. It was on an ebay auction that was ending in about 45 minutes. One person had placed a bid, so I was watching faithfully in the background - ready to swoop in a steal it at the last minute. This is one reason why I dislike the auctions - you have to keep track of the clock.

I went to place the bid with less than a minute to go and it brought up the login screen! I thought I was logged in, so this brought a moment of panic while Josh put in his info for me. But we placed the bid with 2 seconds to spare and were the winner of said awesome gift. Yeah. Only I looked at it and it was the wrong size! I thought it was one size fits all, but what item ever is.

To make matters worse (or better depending on how you look at it). I did a search for the item I DID want and there it was - glowing with it's "buy it now" price that was $0.50 less than what I paid. Grrrr. So, now I am the proud owner to two - and I hope whoever I outbid will still be interested when I try to resell the original. Not cool.

Just for Fun

So, I was reading a random blog and they had this ... challenge that sounded like fun. You find the book nearest to you, turn to page 56 and type the fifth sentence.

The book that is actually nearest to me is a commentary on Romans. (I wish I was reading it, but actually I needed something to put my keyboard at more of an angle.) I did actually look up page 56, but the sentence was so long that I refuse to type it.

So, I'm cheating. The next nearest book is one from the library that I have not read called The Moonlit Cage.

" The thankful quiet and the warming effects of the tea made me sleepy."

How appropriate. I'm feeling sleepy right now. :) Now you try.

Some tidbits and my song of the moment

~ Josh turned the heat on! Okay, so he says he did it for me, but I did not cave. :) The thermostat is now set on 58. I'm still in layers, but I'm not complaining. ~


~ We had an awesome weekend with the fam. I didn't take many pictures because I was determined to enjoy every minute of hide and seek, reading books, giving advice on new glasses, playing cards, watching movies and of course, snuggling with Gage. I did manage to sneak in this one though. Isn't he a natural? ~

~ I just finished the last book of the Twilight series. It was so hard to put down. I think I'm becoming a fan in spite of myself. It's probably time to read something with a little meat to it though. ~


~I love Sara Groves. I've heard her Christmas cd is really good too. My song of the moment ... ~

What I Thought I Wanted by Sara Groves

Tuxedo in the closet, gold band in a box
Two days from the altar she went and called the whole thing off
What he thought he wanted, what he got instead
Leaves him broken and grateful

I passed understanding a long, long time ago
And the simple home of systems and answers we all know
What I thought I wanted, what I got instead
Leaves me broken and somehow peaceful

I keep wanting you to be fair
But that’s not what you said
I want certain answers to these prayers
But that’s not what you said

When I get to heaven I’m gonna go find Job
I want to ask a few hard questions, I want to know what he knows
About what it is he wanted and what he got instead
How to be broken and faithful

What I thought I wanted
What I thought I wanted
What I thought I wanted
What I thought I wanted

Staring in the water like Esops foolish dog
I can’t help but reflect on what it was I almost lost
What it was I wanted, what I got instead
Leaves me broken and grateful

I’m broken and grateful
I want to be broken and grateful
I want to be broken, peaceful, faithful, grateful, grateful
I want to be broken, peaceful, faithful, grateful, grateful

Brrrrr

The thermostat in our apartment says it is 56 degrees right now - INSIDE. Josh and I have not turned the heat on yet. He likes it cold and we both like dreaming about what the electric bill will be this month. Keep in mind that we are on a second floor apartment, so we can feel the neighbor's heat some. But I think this is the coldest it's been in here.

I almost caved and turned it on this morning. I was so comfy and warm under my (many) blankets. It was hard to let them go. I don't want to be the one to do it though. Now it's almost like - if he can take it, I can take it. Ridiculous I know. It's going to happen soon, but for now I'm going to put on some more layers.

Precious

Meet Gage Daniel. He kindly waited until I arrived to make his appearance around 4:30pm - much more exciting than any election.

More where that came from

The results are in!

It's over. I'm not surprised, not upset, just thankful that the political ads are over!

Moving on. Today is a very important day as well. Gage is coming! And I'm thinking a drive to Cinci isn't that far. :)

Twilight

I started to wonder about Twilight because of the Facebook flair. And there was a lot of it. So I decided to see what all the hype was about and requested the book from my library. ... in August. I didn't think to look how many people were in front of me, but when it hadn't come in by the end of September I looked online. I was sixth. So last week I finally finished it.

Mostly I enjoyed the book. It was a little slow starting out but got to be a real page turner. I read 3/4 of the book in one sitting. I mean it is about a girl who falls in love with a vampire, so there's the obvious tension there. Edward has got some chivalry going on. Maybe if all teen boys were a couple of centuries old they would be gentleman too.

I mean, I would say go for it. It's a good read and original (or the first like it that I've read). The thing that bothers me is that the book is primarily a romance written for teen girls. And is is very sensual. They don't do more than kiss, but ... I don't know how to explain it. I guess there is just a lot of emphasis (and description) of the chemistry between them. Her love also tends to be kind of obsessive. So I guess I just wonder if the young'uns are being set up for a fall into reality. But I guess in some ways that's as much a commentary on our culture as it is the story.

Halloween D.C. style

This Halloween, DC had it's first (hopefully annual) Halloween Bash/Fundraiser. While, it wasn't quite the success we hoped it would be - we did still manage to raise a few funds and have a good time doing it. Josh and I, being the last minute procrastinators that we are went as a millionare (I'm made of money) and someone with multiple personalities. (And spent a grand total of $2 on "costumes") I would have to say that my favorite part was seeing all the little dressed up kiddos.

Just a little update on DC. Most of you know that DC is the youth center in the mall where Josh has been working for the last 18 months. DC is really unique in that it takes a place where kids are already hanging out and uses that opportunity to build relationships, have a positive influence, and share the love of Christ.

All that to say - they are about to have some big changes. DC is having a lot of trouble with funding and it looks like we may have to go to being a fully volunteer run organization. This will mean that the hours DC is open are cut back to weekend only. This month is kind of crucial to the whole process, so we would love to have you praying with us.

1) We need volunteers to make it happen. More people will have to be committed or it just won't work.
2) Josh and Jack are both now looking for another source on income. Since we are committed to where we are, this will mean something outside of his degree (which has been challenging so far).
3) The leadership of DC need wisdom to know if this needs to be a transition or an ending. Part of that will depend on volunteers, but even without salaries, rent will have to be paid.

Thanks, friends. I'll keep you updated. :)

My life in bullet points

• Josh took the batteries out of my mouse. I don't know why. I want them back though because touch pads are not as cool.

• I wanted to share my favorite picture from last weekend, but it's so hard to choose just one!

• 

• I had a great weekend this week too, but no picture evidence. It was nice to just relax and have fun with Andrea and Emily that included many of my favorite things - seeing them of course, going to the movies, Gondoliers, shopping + great sales, starbucks/barnes & noble. I'm ready for a repeat just talking about it.
  
• This is the third week that I have gone without being in the worship service. I miss it. And I love that I actually miss it.
  
• Less than two weeks before Gage makes his grand entrance.
  
• Beth Moore + Psalms is awesome. I, however, am a slacker.
  
• Did I mention I love good sales? This weekend I bought 5 tops and a dress for an average of $2.51 per article of clothing (yes I did just pull out the calculator)
• My car is starting to act it's age. Something else needs fixed. I mean, I shouldn't complain because the way car things run, an extra $40 isn't too bad. But the new tires it needs aren't going to feel too good.
• Josh has an interview on Tuesday. They definitely called him up awfully quick, so hopefully that's a good sign. On the downside, it's not full time, but has potential to get there.
  
• I finished Twilight ... tonight. I will be reading the rest of the series, but am not exactly sure how I feel about it. Eventually, I'll give details, but I'm still formulating right now.
  
• Good job to anyone who did more than skim this list. (There will be a quiz later)
  

For you married people

You HAVE to see this video - a song about "business time". But nothing crazy, so you can watch too Mom. It is hilarious. Josh and I saw it on the retreat last weekend. Oh and if you're not married yet, of course it's not like that at all. Especially the part about nothing on tv. :)

Oh yeah

And I also meant to say that
1) We had an awesome weekend, resulting in some awesome pictures that I will share shortly
2)All our fish died. Sad.
3) Seriously, every day we woke up to a dead fish until they were all gone. Sad and frustrating.
4) I am supposed to be working right now. Also sad. Mostly because I'm not doing it.


So, I should probably go do that now. ... because putting it off just makes it take that much longer ... and it won't take that long if I start now ...


... sigh...

okay, okay, I'm going!

Who you calling old?

I bought this new purse. I don't buy a lot of purses because (other than the obvious that they cost money) I don't switch them around much. I thought this one would be good since it had brown and black so I never have to clash. I wanted to get *ahem* someone's opinion on it and they said it looks like an old lady purse.

Now I don't always take this persons fashion advice, but now I'm scared to take the tags off. Will I actually carry it or will I think it looks too ... mature.

So I'm taking a vote. Do you think this is cute and stylish? Ugly as sin? Nice for someone a little older? Let me know what you think and you could win a purse of your very own! (For only $15.00 shipping and handling and a short trip to Walmart.)

I know

I haven't been around much this week. I've thought about blogging, but a couple things held me back.

1) My wonderful new computer has Windows Vista. I was told Vista is a pain, and it is true. I have spent hours trying to get everything to work right, including being able to log-on to some stuff I needed for work. And discovering after Josh and I both worked on it, that the cd we have to install the printer is not compatible with Vista, so we had to unistall it and download instead. So, I didn't really want to be near my computer. Theoretically, everything is working now. :)

2) This has been a stressful week. Partly because I let myself get behind in everything. And partly because we are going away for the weekend. So not only did I need to catch up, I needed to get ahead in things like work and laundry.

BUT, did I mention we're going away this weekend? Woohoo! I am ready for a break. The ministry team at our church has a retreat every year and since Josh is part of leadership at DC we get to be included. So, not only are we getting away, but we are going with some great friends. We are leaving tonight so I better go get busy.

It's Here!

I am the proud of owner of a new Toshiba laptop. (That looks something like this minus the frog.)

My Dell served me well - okay it served me - through all of college. And after all the work I do on the computer at home, (like real work that I get paid for, not just this kind of thing) it seemed like time. It was overdue for retirement anyway.

We ordered from Overstock last weekend and it arrived today. That's great service for only a $2.50 shipping charge. Now I just have to get all my files switched over and we're good to go.

Say it isn't so

Sadly I have to admit that I am much more interested in who get voted off than who gets voted in.

Look what I found!

I love this girl! And this pic. :) I love that Krystal is one of my longest friends. And that can't get rid of me since she married into the family. ha! AND that my new little nephew will be here in five short weeks.

More fishy fun

Our tank has grown some in the last few weeks. Well, the tank is the same size, but it now has more in it. :) I thought I would introduce our new fishy friends.

This is the underside of our chocolate chip starfish, Episky.









These are our clownfish. The orange one is Lumos and the black one in Nox. They're buddies.







This is our bright little crab. His name is Diffindo.













And lastly, even though he has been with us the longest, is Reparo. Reparo is pretty timid, so it's harder to catch him swimming around in the tank.


That's probably all the additions for now. We may expand more as more funding comes through. lol Mostly it is Josh's hobby. He has to do all the dirty work like add more water and check the levels, blah, blah. I just get to sit and enjoy. They are pretty relaxing.

You ain't got no alibi

Last weekend we celebrated our church turning four. After church services we went out to the park/lake for a picnic. The weather was absolutely perfect, btw. Of course, we had potluck style so everyone brought food. I made a cake on Saturday night and even had some confetti icing on hand so it could be festive.

Instead I ended up with this ...
U-G-L-Y

You would think it's hard to screw up a cake mix and can of icing. But I made it look easy and I'm going to share my plan with you so you too can make an ugly cake.

Step 1: Remember, you will be traveling with this cake, so you need to easily transport it. After considering the size and shape of your cake-taker bake a round cake.

Step 2: Go to get cake-taker (while cake is cooling) and remember that you don't have a round one after all. It is a rectangle.

Step 3: Put icing on first round. Set second round on top of first and realize that it is upside down leaving the two highest points of the cake touching and resulting in a large gap all the way around.

Step 4: Try to fill the gap with icing and realize that you are running out of icing.

Step 5: Also now see that gravity is taking hold of your cake and the top round is breaking into large chunks.

Step 6: Figure at this point it can't get much worse, so go ahead and force the lid on even though the cake is too tall.

Step 7: Go to Kroger and buy a pre-made cake.

aww man!

I was just uploading some pictures to my computer and realized I thought I had uploaded a whole group of pictures that aren't there! This wouldn't be a problem except I already deleted them from my memory card. :( So I don't have any pictures now from our trip to the Creation museum. bummer.

wohoo weekend

I'm am so ready for this weekend.

Usually when people talk about seasons in their lives they are referring to circumstances. Well, this season is literal. It's called the holiday season. And maybe you haven't felt it yet, but I'm feeling it. ... to the tune of 10-20 extra hours of work per week. I'm not complaining because we can use the extra $, but I have come to appreciate my weekends so much more. :)

I'm ready for the Cafe, the our church birthday, and dinner with the Taylor's. Who knows, maybe I'll even do some laundry. ... maybe.

New reads

These new books made me very excited.

Due to the fact that we have driven alot this weekend, Josh and I have already read 100 pages. :)


This is another new read that I am really enjoying. The ladies will have our second session tomorrow night. I'm so glad I am able to participate.


This also makes me excited. I love fall! But I can't believe it is almost October.

They sucked me in

I did eventually go the the grocery store the other day. I try to shop the sales and get some good deals. Kroger was running a special where if you buy 15 of a combination of certain items, you get $3 off your final purchase. Mainly these items were the ones that have the school box tops. Most of them were also on sale

I walked by the Hamburger Helper because even though we eat it, we don't have room for 15 boxes of the stuff. The caught me on the breakfast isle those. The sale price was pretty good on some cereal, then some bars I wanted to try ... and that's when they sucked me in.

"Well, I already have 4 items, I might as well see what else there is."

"Well, this is more than the other brand, but if I buy it than I can get $3 off"

At one point, I realized that this would probably involve spending more money (in price differences) than I would save. But by that time I was getting tired, had 12 of their items in my cart, and was NOT putting them all back. Just three more anyway.

I realize at this point, that yes, I am blogging about grocery shopping. Sad, I know.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Speaking of being sucked in...

We had a funeral this week. Patronus is no longer with us. It sad because we literally watched him die. He tended to hang around one area and not swim that much, so I was excited to see him swimming around. He was swimming straight up the tank and swirling around. It looked like dancing. We were thinking that he finally was getting used to the tank and to us. Then he laid down on the bottom of the tank, did a little flip in the water, and died.

So now, even though I want Reparo to start swimming around and not be frightened of us anymore. When he started playing with his reflection in the glass last night, I figured it meant he wasn't going to make it. Still there though! Maybe we'll buy him another friend this weekend.

Could've

Today was a pretty good day. At least it should be a good day, but I'm feeling rather hormonal and therefore a little crabby.

I could post the picture we were able to capture of our new fishy friends.

I could post something about the haircut that was supposed to be a trim, but ended up a new style instead.

I could post about the awesome weekend we had in Ohio and the adorable pictures I have of my nephews aka "best buds".

I could post about the crazy windstorm that knocked out power and almost made me miss a visit with Lindsey and Nick. Yet this is so minor compared to what other places are experiencing.

I could post the picture I snapped today of a huge chicken statue.

I could. And maybe I should, but I'm thinking I'll just curl up with a blanket and a new book instead. :) Good night friends.

It's a little fishy

Here's Josh getting everything ready for our own aquarium. I'm so proud of him for reading the directions. :) We bought this "30 gallon" (that's more like 18 or 20 gallon) fish tank off of craigslist so that we would have a tank large enough to get some saltwater fish. Which also means that we will be able to keep a seahorse in our tank eventually (like when they are back in stock and we know how to not kill it).

Our first pet(s). :)

I promise there really are fish in there. They don't like us too much yet, and mostly hide out behind the rocks. But we're hoping they get used to their new home and start swimming around soon. Or at least come out when they get hungry.

Pick a number

1 - number of times i actually cooked today
-OR-
number of new contracts i got this week

2 - number of fish we bought! (i'll introduce you to Reparo and Patronus if they ever come out of hiding)

4- number of people who will immediately know where we picked those names :)

5 - number of times i thought today that i really need to go to the grocery store

11- number of names that i waited until today to report on (and just finished 30 minutes ago)

15 - number of months josh and i have been married

16 - number of blogs i am now "following"

19 - number of receipts i finally wrote down today in the checkbook

83 - number of pictures i finally downloaded to my computer

I need a vacation because of vacation

Playing catch-up from work may be profitable, but I'm tired of it. I worked like 12 hours today and now I get to go to bed so I can start over again tomorrow.

On the plus side I had a wonderful visit with my amazing family. One day I'll download the pics so you can see how cool it was. And now the weekend is only two days away!

Overheard

At the courthouse yesterday I was standing nearby when an older couple came up to get their drivers license renewed. And when I say older, I mean like should they really still be driving old.
There is a form that the courthouse requires them to fill out with basic questions like address, etc. The woman came across one that obviously had her stumped.

[Reading from the form] "Are you a US citizen?"
Elderly woman: "Is that a yes or no?"
Clerk (very patiently): "Well, are you a US citizen?"
Elderly woman: "Well, yes, I imagine - don't you?"

For some reason I really got a kick out of it.

"I'M NOT YELLING, I'M JUST LOUD TEACHING!"

Ha! This one's in honor of my dear old dad. And somehow I managed to learn to drive.

The Floor War

Is it really only 9:30? It feels later. Does it make me an old married woman if I'm ready to go to bed right now? In my defense I have been at war. I went to DC today armed with a bucket, a mop, some Pinesol, and 2 gallons of water. Three hours later, I think I won, but I'm paying for it now. Who knew that mopping could be so physically demanding?

Last weekend I had war with the kitchen floors at our apartment. I was sore, but that was because I scrubbed with 409 and a washrag on my hands and knees. Even with the mop it was quite the workout. Of course the fact the DC is larger than our entire apartment may have contributed to that. So I banished dirt while burning calories. Take that!

New, free tunes

I have been loving my new tunes lately so I thought I would share with you all. FREE MUSIC! Does it get much better?

I was sent an email to get free music and discovered an awesome website called NoiseTrade.
You can get free music by sending an email (offering free music) to three friends or pay whatever price you choose. This was so much fun. I was able to download Derek Webb and Jill Phillips. I did have some trouble with the download for Alli Rogers, but I'm not sure why. So check it out and send me and email if you find a new sound you like. :)

Also, this artist is offering a free download of her newest music. It's pretty good. Original.

TEN.

This is Matt and Jackie.


We went to college with Matt (hey cool shirt, Matt) and met Jackie through him. Matt was the best man at our wedding and we hadn't really seen them since then. Roadtrip! Josh and I had a blast hanging out in Tennessee, getting to see the church where Matt works, getting an icthus engraved on Josh's arm, and just relaxing.

The guys went disc golfing on Saturday and left Jackie and I to play with pretty paper for hours - aka make cards. Ahhh. It was so nice to see them again and just to get away for the weekend. It was totally stress free if you don't count the traffic we hit on the way down and the way my stomach flip-flopped when they brought out the needle at the tattoo shop.

Speaking of work

Good ol' Cracker Barrel with their good ol' country cooking. I have received my first (and only) star. This star not only means I made it, but that I got a bit of a raise in my hourly pay.

However, I will not be getting any more stars, because as of next week I will not be working at Cracker Barrel any more. That's right, I quit. I'm so a quitter. And I'm glad.

It wasn't really a bad place to work. I wasn't a big fan of the sales part. Not really my thing. But mostly I'm just a wuss and it was way harder to have two jobs than I thought it would be. I mean I worked like three jobs in college and took classes. But I guess you have to love your job and work for really awesome people to survive that. The whole night thing and never knowing until a few days before what nights they would be - definitely didn't like it. It made it very hard to have any social life/ever cook dinner for my hubby/keep volunteering at DC. All things that I enjoy very much. (Remind me of that later on the cooking thing. )

So now, thank the Lord (and I mean that literally) I got an increase in my pay for the day job and it made me feel like I had more of a choice. So, goodbye Cracker Barrel. I may still shop in your clearance corner, but it won't be as good without my employee discount. Although I guess I'll get to keep the apron.

Weddings are fun (and work)

I got connected with Leigh through some friends at our church. She is a wedding planner and does a great job at it. Every now and then she hires out help to do the set-up and decorating for a wedding coming up. I'm not sure if it is something that will continue in the future, but I've been able to help out twice now and had a lot of fun.

The first I only worked for about 4 hours, so I wasn't there to see the finished product, but it was on it's way to ah-maz-ing. The "theme" was East India. Not a theme really because that's where the couple was from. She used a lot of bright colors and fabrics to decorate with white lights behind them to brighten things up. The pictures aren't that great, but I had to share anyway. And Andrea, I totally thought of you when I took these. :)



The other wedding was an all day thing and unfortunately I only got one picture. I was pretty much exhausted by the time I left. It was gorgeous though. The wedding took place outside by a lake and then everyone went inside for the reception. This one's for you, Lindsey.

Mammoth Cave ... Finally

Ever since I came to Kentucky, I've been wanting to see Mammoth Cave. I mean it's like one of the natural wonders of the world or something. That's pretty cool. It's a shame to be close enough for a day trip and not ever go. So, after 4 years, we finally made the drive and spent the day exploring the park along with a cool tour of the cave. And on my birthday! It was a great day and here are some pictures to prove it.




It was also horribly humid while we were there. I'm not sure if it's always like that because of moisture from the cave or if we just picked a good one, but the cave felt awesome once we got down there. (The hundreds of steps on the way back up however...)



As we were walking on the path, we came across the cute baby deer. I guess it's a little late in the season to see one that young. It was totally unafraid of us and so close to the trail! The picture doesn't even do it justice.

On a side note, it is amazing how much my husband likes to admire deer in the spring/summer and hunt them later in the year. :)






And just because I love the way this picture turned out.





















My talented hubby took this one.






Ahh, just looking at the photos makes me want to go back.

Let's backtrack a little...

... I was not looking forward to this day, but it has turned out to be pretty good. Mom's surgery went very well. I talked to her this afternoon and she sounded good. She said she may even be able to already tell a difference in the way she feels.

The funeral, well, it went as well as a funeral can I suppose. It was a Catholic funeral, which was a little distracting to me because it was a new experience. I didn't get to sit with my hubby since he was sitting with the other pall-bearers in front. But I did get to sit with his family. And just for the record, I like my in-laws. They've really made me feel like part of the family.

So now, it is only 6:30 and I am at home for the evening without things waiting. Well, there's always laundry, dishes, the huge pile of clean clothes on my bedroom floor, dinner I haven't made yet... but I've gotten pretty good at ignoring them. I'm ready to enjoy an evening at home.

And since I have been a very bad blogger lately, I thought I'd take some time to get caught up on the exciting happenings of life in KY.

Where to start?

I guess I just want to share some stuff going on. Tomorrow is going to be a tough day.

First of all, my mom is having surgery on her thyroid. They're (hopefully) fixing a whole lot of stuff and she will return home feeling wonderful. This also includes removing a tumor.

Josh and I will be attending the funeral of his grandmother. She passed away this last weekend after struggling with health issues for years. He will be a pall-bearer.

This is also my beloved's birthday. Poor guy. So please say a prayer for him and my mom.

A new addition

A little snapshot from our weekend ....

I mean really

So, one day I'll upload the pictures off my camera and have some great new posts. But for now, I just have one question ... how many phone books does one person need? Seriously, I think there's been one outside our door every day this week. (Well, it's only Monday, so ... today anyway). We're up to four now. What a waste.

Quite the find

With my "hardearned" birthday money I got some new music for the road. The artist that has me singing along right now is Brooke Fraser. If you have not heard her yet, check it out 'cause she rocks. (Well, mostly it's acoustic but you know what I mean.)

I was so excited to find this new artist and share her awesomeness, which would then rub off slightly on me for telling you all about her. But today, Emily ruined that by blogging about none other than Brooke Fraser. Yes, it's a cool song. Yes, it's about C.S. Lewis. Yes, you should still check out Brooke Fraser. But now I no longer get the awesomeness. How do you always find cool new artists? (And why don't you mention them sooner?) Oh, well.

And yeah. My song of the moment is Shadowfeet. It's just the right length for my drive to good ol' CB.

Walking,stumbling on these shadowfeet
toward home,a land that i've never seen
I am changing: less and less asleep
made of different stuff than when i began
and i have sensed it all along
fast approaching is the day

[CHORUS]
when the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
when the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
when time and space are through
I'll be found in you

Theres distraction buzzing in my head
saying in the shadows it's easier to stay
but I've heard rumours of true reality
whispers of a well-lit way

[CHORUS]

You make all things new

[CHORUS]

[CHORUS 2]
When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
Every fear and accusation under my feet
when time and space are through
I'll be found in you

Now wait just a minute

Working at Cracker Barrel, I end up talking to a lot of different people. My favorite is meeting people who are traveling and finding out where they're from and where they're headed. Last night I met a family from California.

But every now and then I have conversations and I'm not sure quite how to react. Like the man who told me a story about bringing home a Nat King Cole cd for his wife and how she liked it because he's black. How do you respond to that?

Well, last night was interesting. I walked up to talk to a woman who was trying on an embroidered denim jacket. The woman looked mid-forties and was tall and slim. She told me that she was trying it on to give as a gift to her mother, but that her mother was shaped differently than her. I think her exact words were tiny in the shoulders and thicker in the middle. She was debating between a medium and a large and asked my opinion. Then the kicker ...

well, what size do you wear?

wow, I'm shaped like your mom? thank you. i was trying for the pear shape

would you mind trying it on for me?

as long as the guest is happy. :)

Yet another reason

As if I needed another reason to enjoy small group. How peaceful is that?

A Wild Experiment

I finally downloaded pics to show the wild and wonderful experiment that was cooking wild turkey for our small group. Here's how it went down ...


Step 1: Prepare all ingredients
lots of chopping ..... was that a feather?!? ....
roadtrip

(That glass bowl is totally not mine, but it looks like something they would use on those cooking shows.)




Step 2: Fry onions and green pepper in butter.













Step 3: A little salt, a little pepper, a little garlic powder ... and it's starting to smell good in here.










Step 4: Mix peppers and onions back in with meat. Simmer down, simmer down now. We're almost there.
















Step 5: Ta-da! (You can even see the steam rising.)









I would call that success!