Traginas. Every Time.

I'm pretty happy that it's Friday.

Daniel and I watched Gentlemen Broncos last night. Daniel described it as "Perfect."

I...

I am without words. It probably ranks in the top 3 of my "strangest non-foreign movies I've ever seen."
I don't even...I have no idea. So...weird...
The kind of weird that is too weird to laugh at. You just sit there, with a furrowed brow and a confused smirk on your face. Am I missing something here?
I'd say it seemed like the filmmakers were high on something, but they're Mormons. So that theory is out.
Instead of weird, one might call it awkward. The whole movie was awkward. But now that I think about it, Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre were pretty awkward. The first time I watched Napoleon I remember sitting in the theater with that familiar, confused smirk on my face. What the heck was that?

Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords was pretty stellar in the movie. He plays a famous Sci-Fi writer named Ronald Chevalier (make sure you pronounce it shev-al-ee-ay) whose lost his touch, and his publishers are threatening to drop him if he doesn't provide them with a decent story.
There's one scene in the movie that was, without a doubt, utterly hilarious. It involves Chevalier, an aspiring young Sci-Fi writer, and troll names.
There were several scenes in the movie that made me cringe - one involves a very strange hand massage, and one involves vomit and kissing. Yeah. Sick.

Since I wrote the above something has happened that may change things.

Daniel called me and we started quoting lines from the aforementioned awkward movie, and we were cracking ourselves up.

Why are those movies like that?

I'm going to let this marinate for a little while.

In other news...

Last night Daniel and I also had dinner with some friends (I am so thankful we didn't watch that movie with friends), and dinner was so delicious.
They grilled burgers for dinner, but these were special burgers.
All it took was a thin patty of ground beef, a mixture of cream cheese and jalapenos, and another thin patty of ground beef, sandwiched together and grilled. Voila: special hamburgers.

Yum.

Also, these friends of ours had a baby in March. So I spent half of the night holding a soft, sweet baby girl. Ahhh, Heaven.

The Ranch - 2010

I spent hours - hours I tell you - going through pictures and editing last night. It was so much fun.

But I only made it about half way through the pictures from The Ranch. I haven't even gotten to the pictures of me shooting a rifle.

Yeah, that's right.

The Ranch will forever have a special place in my heart. Every single memory, down to the last detail, brings me joy and warms my heart. Do you have any memories like that? It's kind of hard to describe the fondness I feel.

It may not look like much, but this ranch house is the most wonderful place on earth. Green shag carpets included. I was "warned" about the green shag carpets, as if it were a disclaimer for how "old and primitive" the ranch house is. I think everyone was a little worried that this here city girl would turn up her nose at such things.

But they were wrong. I loved the green shag carpets. I might even get my own green shag carpets some day.

It's retro-chic.

I had no idea what to expect from our little weekend trip. I'd heard about The Ranch since I was but a wee lass, but I'd never been. And once Daniel and I finally committed to going, I started hearing a lot of, "Don't set your expectations too high!" "The Ranch isn't fancy." "The Ranch is just the basics."

The Ranch was just the basics (think 10 people sharing one bathroom basic), and it wasn't fancy. But honestly, I couldn't have set my expectations high enough. That is what made it so wonderful. Sometimes in life it is necessary to step away from being busy and constantly connected, and spend some time sitting on a quiet, breezy porch with old friends. The only sounds that surround you are swinging screen doors and the occasional cow-bellow.

 

It was like stepping into another time, long ago.

I fell in love with this little white church, sitting up on a hill about 3 miles down the road from The Ranch. It looked so quaint and peaceful, I had to take a picture.

Have I mentioned the food? Good, solid, cowboy food. Meat, potatoes, beans, apple pie, coleslaw, homemade ice cream, s'mores (and the occasional salad). It was heavenly.

And to top it all off, I was with my love. He has been working crazy 12 - 15 hour days lately, and the time together without even the possibility of work interrupting (no cell phone reception!) made the vacation feel like a true oasis from the daily grind. But my goodness, does that man love his work. And that makes me happy.

We're so in love.

As a side note, girls, cute bangs don't really work on the windy plain. Not at all. They just like to split right down the middle and look really attractive.

And it was fun to see Daniel wrestle cattle. More on that later.

If you want to see more pictures so far from The Ranch, go here.

Dazed

This weekend felt like a dreamy stretch of days.
It was only three days, but it felt much longer. And I mean that in the best sort of way.
We were up with the sun and long into the night, experiencing the simplicity and beauty of country life, refreshing old friendships.
I say dreamy. I can't think of another word to describe the peaceful, steady passing of time. All signs of the life we daily live were left behind; no phones, no computers, no TV, no busy streets.
We rode horses out into a golden pasture; the grass looked like waves in the wind that strongly swept across the fields. I went for a run down a long country road in the middle of a cool night, lit by the bright moon. We sat on a dusty porch and feasted with tired cowboys. We gathered around a pancake feast on Sunday morning and listened to one another, sharing learned wisdom, praying together.
The air smelled like earth and hay. And sometimes cow poop.
I have so many pictures, but we stumbled in from a delayed flight around 11:30 last night and after a little sleep, I'm at work again. I'll work on posting those soon!

Highlights of Weekend Life

-Discovering the amazing world of Indian food at Clay Pit. Twice in one weekend, which was heavenly and a huge mistake all at the same time. Gastronomic overload.

-A mango margarita

-Watching a mediocre movie with friends (Sherlock Holmes - eh...)

-Saturday morning at Once Over.

-Saturday afternoon at Cafe Medici.

-A graduation party that involved Rudy's Barbeque, good friends, wonderful conversation, Fantastic Mr. Fox on a movie screen on the terrace, and twinkle lights.

-A refreshing (but heavy--remember we ate Indian food twice this weekend) run on Town Lake with my handsome husband. And we took a minute off of our mile time!

-Attending a "Public Square" on Bioethics at Redeemer. These sorts of things make me feel intelligent.

-Discovering that Central Market is a ghost town on Sunday evenings, so I can take my time smelling peaches in the produce section without feeling rushed.

-My morning coffee at Once Over.

-Emails from a good friend

-Eating at Polvos with friends

-Looking forward to a long weekend in New Mexico

I can smell the creosote already.

Concerning my dysfunctional relationship with espresso, etc.

I am blogging on location. 
Right now I am sitting in a dark corner of my favorite coffee shop, Once Over. 

I truly, truly love this place with all of my heart. I come here often - kind of to an embarrassing degree - but I think they appreciate it. On the weekends Daniel and I typically stop by twice a day. Usually they will keep a tab open for us, and we will drink espresso to our hearts' delight.
I come here so often that when I walk in, they start my drink without even taking my order. Skim Latte with Vanilla. On Saturdays it's always "for here," Sunday mornings "to go," and on week days I bring my own cup for a $.15 discount. Or something like that. 
The "baristas" are sweet, good people who are always personable and kind. 

And then there's the coffee. 

So smooth, so rich, so gooooood. It feeds my soul. Sometimes when I drink Once Over espresso, a few liturgical words will cross my mind. Something about "those things which are necessary to our life and to our salvation." It's just that good. And it's pretty much ruined me for all other coffee. "No one does it better." 

. . .

In other news (I know, I say that a lot. I've tried to come up with another "bridging" phrase, but why? Who cares? Not me. Not really), Daniel and I survived the last night of the decade. Or will December 31, 2010 be the last night of the decade? I don't really know. We had a great time either way. I know I said we wouldn't be staying out all night like crazy people. And we didn't stay out all night. But we did stay out until, like, 12:30 AM. We began the evening with a lovely dinner at Polvos (the Cerveza fajitas are da bomb diggity), where our friends the Baileys, Daniel and I shared a pitcher of frozen Margarita(s?). 

It was strong.

It always is at Polvos - another reason why I love that place. But because of the strength of their liquor (btw, the letter "Q" button is missing on my keyboard. I'm not sure what happened to it. It's all part of having a ghetto laptop. Should laptop and ghetto even be in the same sentence?), I had to take a few minutes to get it together...we all did. So after taking it easy for a few minutes, suddenly we looked up, and it was 9:30. Already! 
We made our way over to Shane and Cassidy's big party, and basically the party started when we got there. Everyone was excited we'd shown up and it made me feel happy :) Also, they served me champagne with some sort of berry-flavored liquor mixed with it. That made me feel happy too. 

(In order) Amy, me, and Cassidy feeling happy. 

I also made a new friend, her name was Andrea and she was funny. She also is BFF with a girl I work with. Or...with whom I work. I hate to end on a prepostion. A thousand apologies.
Small world!

Here are the girls at the party:  

The lovely hostess herself

Daniel is, like, so cute.

We ended up hanging out until the clock struck midnight. Then we made some noise Then we danced around to some groovy music. Then suddenly Daniel came through the front door to let me know he had walked four blocks to get the car and it was waiting outside for us to leave. It was very abrupt. But not in a mean or rude way. Just abrupt. We said goodbye, I cried the whole way home (not really), and then I fell fast asleep in the comfort that the next day was a HOLIDAY and I didn't have to go to work.

Happy New Year! 

Post Script: something personal.

A Notable Success

Daniel and I have just returned from the Christmas party. It was great fun. In the White Elephant gift exchange I walked away with some Coffee Liquor. I would call that a notable success.

This is Cassidy. She doesn't actually work with me. Her mother-in-law is my boss and we go to church together. I love her and I think she's lovely. And she always says things like, "I want to trade closets with you," which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. We also want to have babies together. (I mean at the same time...does that make sense?)

 

This is Heather. I actually do work with her (she's on the right). She and her husband Jeremy are expecting their first baby next June. Since I'm with her every day, it's been fun to experience all the ups and downs of pregnancy...without actually experiencing it. I think she's having a girl--even though everyone else thinks she's having a boy.

Finally, here's "the girls." We all work together, and tonight we partied together. Women, women everywhere.

Doesn't my head look large?

I never, ever remember opening my mouth half way like that, but it always looks that way in pictures. 

The biscotti and Hot Artichoke Dip were a big hit. I'll have to try that again sometime.

Holy Cannolli!

http://www.bakerella.blogspot.com/

Ohhhh myyyy.

I'm on this whole healthy eating thing.

I just want to say--it is difficult to live with someone who doesn't have to eat healthy. While Daniel is enjoying his chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream I'm trying to control my sugar cravings with a glass of skim milk (which actually works, surprisingly). I'm not a total stickler. Usually on the weekends I'll allow myself to a few treats or a drink or two. But I'm determined to live a healthy life. For the children.

I've never been a huge fan of vegetables, but I have actually found some fun recipes. For example: two nights ago I sliced some green and yellow squash length-wise (a julienne slice), spread it on a cookie sheet, sprinkled a bit of salt and pepper on it, and stuck it in the oven for a few minutes at 300. It was a hit! Daniel and our guests ate every last one of them.

Baked squash fries?

Tonight I'm having a couple of girls over to bake and decorate some cupcakes. We are having a little farewell party for one of our co-workers who is moving away. Hopefully I'll be able to manage the temptation of cake and frosting that I will have before me. But...I have to taste-test everything right??

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cluady326/2766855757/

In other news: there was a solar eclipse in Hong Kong yesterday! There are a few people on Flickr that posted photos. Neat.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24367308@N05/3745698013/

Something New

This evening I tagged along with my friend Cassidy as she had her bridal portraits done.
I took a few pictures myself--from a distance. I didn't want to get in the photographer's way. I don't want to spoil the surprise of her wedding day, but she posted a couple on Facebook, so I think it's ok to post them here!
Obviously, I edited the photos a little. And I don't have Photoshop, so I did what I could with iPhoto. The evening sun was so beautiful and I wanted to give them a little "ethereal" boost.
It was really fun. And Cassidy is like, the most gorgeous person alive. And she takes good pictures.
It's disgusting.

In other news, we are puppy-sitting for the weekend. A friend from work left town and needed a place for her little dog Chewy to stay. So here he is.
He's normally an only child, so it's taking him some time to adjust to my crazy, retarded, rambunctious Yorkies. They don't quite know what to make of him.
They're so retarded.

But I love them.

Oh, how I love them.
I think it's a disorder.

I'm Blogging?

I suppose it's been long enough. I've been so busy you know, with the stuff of life. Work, basically. And a wedding here and there.
This evening Daniel and I sat on stone benches in front of the Cafe Medici drinking a Toddy SS and brainstorming for a speech that he'll be delivering to a crowd at a Texas Tea Party Rally on Independence Day. I don't like giving speeches, let alone standing up in front of a crowd. I think I've said before it makes my palms sweat and my neck gets splotchy and I get cotton-mouth. But I can write a speech. I think.
In high school I was chosen to participate in a speech meet and the topic I chose was abortion. You know, I like to keep things neutral, non-polarizing.
Three days before speech meet I had to present my speech, completed, to the Rhetoric class and after 4 excruciating minutes Mrs. Brunson asked me to sit down. After class she told me she thought, from a competitive stand point, that I was going to fail miserably and embarrass the school unless by some act of God I got my crap together before Saturday morning (perhaps not in so many words).
Well, that evening I went home, wrote out a speech based on my index cards, stood in my closet, and read my speech to myself ten times before setting it aside.
Apparently those readings committed the speech to my memory it because I recited it to judges, competitors, and other students word-for-word on Saturday morning without even glancing at my note cards. And apparently it was a good speech because the crowd was nearly in tears by the end of the speech and I won the gold medal. I think I told some gut-wrenching story about a girl sitting in a clinic. Juno totally ripped me off.
Unfortunately Mrs. Brunson wasn't there to hear it. I think she was watching some team present a puppet show or some kid recite a humorous monologue. She was very surprised to see me win and she didn't conceal her surprise at all.
It must have been adrenaline.
I hate public speaking.
All that to say is: I could never, would never do what Daniel is doing on Saturday. When I think about it, it makes me want to vomit. I'd rather vomit than give a speech.

In other news...I am blessed. I got to see my parents and brothers last month and they were able to stay with me at my own house! Daniel and I loved having a house full of family. Hopefully we'll be able to return the gesture someday soon.
I was in the wedding of a great friend last weekend. It is good to be confident that a friend is marrying a good man.
I wore a yellow dress and about ten minutes before the ceremony I ripped a hole in the front of it with my pointy shoe heel. That was kind of awful but I don't think anyone noticed because Courtney and Ryan were so stunning.
One moment framed in my mind: walking a crosswalk on Guadalupe with the wedding party, all dressed in our yellow gowns, holding Courtney's train to keep it from dragging on the street.
It was a lovely wedding :)
Well. That's all for now.

...and it was at that time she realized she was a very dull girl indeed.

Ah.
I’ve been bitten by the blog bug again. I’m not sure what happened or when it happened, but it did and I’m glad.

This morning has gotten off to a sort of pitiful start. Just the sort of morning I love.
Fletcher pooped on the floor this morning somewhere between his kennel and the backyard. Sad, isn’t it? After eight hours sleeping in a kennel, he couldn’t hold it another second. Although his incontinence may have something to do with the fact that DG lets the pups out of their kennel and gets them all riled up. Meanwhile, I’m standing in front of the mirror fixing my hair saying, “Don’t be surprised when one of them has an accident. Don’t you realize they’ve been in a kennel for eight hours?!”
Right again.
Speaking of me always being right, on Sunday I told Daniel that “a prudent man would have thought to bring an umbrella.” We got caught in the pouring rain and his excuse for not bringing an umbrella was, “it was only sprinkling when we left the house!”
Then I threw out my “a prudent man…” line and he told me, “I don’t think you’re using that term correctly.”
“Excuse me?” I asked him, “You are questioning my word usage? Do you not know whose daughter I am?? Are you sure you want to do this?”
Unfortunately for Daniel, he isn’t genetically wired to back down from a fight—even when it would behoove him to do so.
So I whipped out my phone and logged onto Dictionary.com.
Prudent: adjective; careful in providing for the future; provident: a prudent decision.
I don’t think he learned his lesson. In fact, I think he was only defending himself because I hurt his feelings by saying he wasn’t prudent.
That’s kind of sad…

Where was I?
A pitiful morning. I stole a Dr. Pepper. Literally. I stole it (but not from a store…just from a person. I’m not that depraved. Well…). And I’m blogging.

So, I’ve gotten to a place with my new(ish) friend Amy B. We’ve started the nickname thing, which is always fun and means you will be best friends forever. At least, with me it does because it takes a special person to give me a nickname that sticks. And I’ve always wanted a nickname. My high school nickname “Meat” was simply awful—although associated with fond memories. But I am not the sort of person that you would feel comfortable nicknaming “Meat.” I would make sure of that.
But I digress.
I call Amy B. “A.G.O.B.” Those are her initials (including maiden-name). She simply calls me KG, which I like. And other people have started to catch on. I know, I know. It is both lame and weird that I get excited about these things, but I can’t help it. I’m half of a middle child and it makes me feel special and wanted, even though I’m not as smart as my older brother. What? Who said that?
I also think it’s “cute” that we call our husbands DG and JB. It makes one feel as if one is a close friend of another friend, even though one might not be.
But really, we are best friends.

Perhaps I should get to work.

Take is easy.

P.S. Incontinence: adjective; unable to restrain natural discharges or evacuations of urine or feces.
Ew! Ha ha!
I'm four.

Spooked!

Happy Halloween!
It's been a long day here at amco.

Tonight we're having a Reformation Day celebration/drunken revelry at the Stearns' house and I am ready.

Five mo' minutes.

This weekend is packed with fun churchy things and I am looking forward to it...and a good game on Saturday.

Gotcha! Ha--like I give a crap about the football game.
Don't tell Ed White I said that. We're watching the game at his house on Friday night. The Whites are...enthusiastic football fans.

I don't have much to say. A couple of people were "let go" (gotta love those euphemisms!) today and it has me down. Losing your job is more and more difficult the older you get and the more responsibilities you have. It's very sad to see. And it has everyone else a little spooked. How appropriate on Halloween. There are whispers...
Who will be next?
I feel safe for now, but I guess its dangerous to say that! It's not due to the economy--actually sales are up. It's just "restructuring."
Pray for those who are losing jobs!

Back on Track

Well, here we are again. It's a Monday; I'm at work.
This will actually be a short work week for me. Amy, one of my best friends, is getting married this Saturday in New Mexico and I'll be in the wedding. So early Friday morning I'll be flying out of Austin for the weekend. I have a feeling it will be a whirlwind weekend, but I'm looking forward to a few days in lovely New Mexico. Maybe I'll get in a couple photos of the mountains and such. I still haven't posted my last batch of pictures from little Noah's birthday! Which takes me back to last week...and how horribly awful it was.
Looking back, and even in the midst of it all, I was well aware that there are many people who face much greater challenges and worse situations than what I was facing. I am blessed with many things and I am very thankful. But last week was emotionally difficult for me, I was ill in a terrible way, and to top it off, I was extremely tired from working two weeks straight. Good thing hair shows only happen about once a year.
I like my work, but I could never like my work enough to regularly give up the time I have on the weekends to be with my husband, my church family...my puppies. The older the get (I know...I'm not that old), the more I realize how much more important love and community in the Body of Christ are than financial success. I don't believe one should be lazy. I don't believe people should turn from the work they are called to in the name of "socializing." Although...if you happen to be a missionary this looks a little different for you, I think.
The point is, I don't think any amount of money or opportunity or even sense of obligation is worth losing your family over. Apart from loving, honoring, and worshiping God, loving one another is our highest priority.
Maybe it's easy for me to say this because I'm so not financially successful! :)

Daniel turned 24 yesterday.
I'm learning the benefits of having mutual friends. When we were first married we had our "own" friends. That's not necessarily bad, but it's been neat to see our lives come together more and more the longer we're married.
Thanks to our friends' suggestions, Daniel thinks I'm "awesome" and my gift was "awesome" as well. To the average person, a frolf bag with backpack convertor straps may seem like a silly gift. But not my husband. He thinks it's awesome.
It was a good birthday for him. We had a great lunch at a pizza place on Guadalupe called the Mellow Mushroom with the Baileys, Shane, the (Brady) Allens, and the Whites. It was quite a treat. Later in the afternoon Daniel was able to test out his new frolf bag along with his new putter disc, a gift from the Baileys. Last night we went to dinner with Daniel's mother, his brother Zach, Zach's girlfriend Lynsey, Shane, the Baileys, and the Allens. All together it was a lot of fun...and too much food. I might not be hungry for several more days.

Before Sunday we spent most of our weekend with Shane's family. Shane's older brother and his precious wife Courtney are planning to move to Austin from Kentucky, and they were here all of last week checking out this amazing city. We all already just love them and are ready for them to move here now, but we have to wait until January. I'm so looking forward to their move, and I'm excited for new friends!

Now, my dear readers, I must turn my attention to organizing spreadsheets and product orders. But I wanted to spent a few minutes reminding you of just how great I am at mindlessly rambling, and why you stop by here everyday...or once a month...or so...

Giddy

There have been some recent developments at work that have Yours Truly feeling hopeful this morning. Can't say exactly what just yet, but I think it's going to be good.

Work is busy with activity surrounding the show. Everyone's exhausted from a long week of work, but they are also excited and pumped. You can feel the energy! It's pretty neat. I'm looking forward to tomorrow and Sunday when I'll actually be able to be at the Convention Center in the middle of everything!

Meanwhile, don't believe that I would ever take a night off from good times! Tonight we are celebrating little Noah's birthday at the Koplins' place. As is typical, Shane will be cooking. He had some great ideas for the party. He'll be making homemade versions of the typical, quick-fix foods that kids like: chicken nuggets and macaroni & cheese!

I'm taking my camera along so I can capture some of the action. It'll be lots of fun!

I feel like I am sitting in an icebox with icecicles dripping off of my nose.

Watched the debate last night, it was okay. Sarah Palin was cute as could be, and she said some good things. There's something that really bothers me about Joe Biden--maybe it's the fact that his hair reminds me an awful lot of Donald Trump or it could be that he's been intrenched in Washington politics for 35 years. Why would anyone do that? I could pose the same question to John McCain and his 25 year career there. It just proves that all politicians are doing in Washington is trying to stay there as long as they can. Not fighting for the rights and protection of the American people.
However, the blame ultimately falls on the heads of the American people that continue to elect the same old, crusty politicians over and over and over and over and over.
What I saw last night was that the McCain/Palin ticket is not standing up for conservatism. It was a continued effort to look like it's possible to stand in the middle of the aisle. If it is possible, they certainly haven't figured out the trick.
I honestly believe if McCain would stop running around the issues in an effort to sound like Mr. Maverick (oh my goodness. Just stop it with this "maverick" garbage.), and actually took the side of conservatives, he would have this election in the bag!
If he would have said "absolutely NOT" to this ridiculous Bail-Out, and been a voice to those who see this disastrous plan for the political cow manure that it is, this election would be his.
But he went right along with it. These days when I hear Obama and him speak, it just sounds like the same ticket on either side.

I think Obama is going to win this election.

Oh, help us, save us.

Confessions

Well, not really.

Today has been a whirlwind! Most jobs I've had in my life I was such an insignificant employee that leaving for a week was no biggie. Here, I'd like to think I'm a little more valuable. Because I had about 8,000 things to do this morning. It's all good though. I like my job.

Everything is in a state of chaos right now because of the show coming up this weekend. I found out this afternoon that I've been selected to work the main stage, so I will be smack dab in the middle of all the action. I'm so excited!

Gina (who I've told you about) is who I'll be working with, so it should be fun and really interesting.

Although I had almost every day off last week, I felt a little worn out heading into this week. It was a satisfied, happy worn out. But bittersweet. It is always hard to say goodbye to my family! I take comfort in the fact that God is good and gracious to us--I've already seen my family much more than I thought I would this time last year (can you believe it's been a year?!).

I'm thankful (once again) for the great friends that surround Daniel and me. We are understanding the meaning and value of community in Christ's Body, and what an encouragement it is to us! Through my friendships I am being sharpened and taught.

It is such a joy to gather with friends and feast, drink, discuss, share, play, and laugh together. One afternoon we'll be playing frisbee golf, that evening we'll sit at Central Market with wine and cheese while listening to live music, or watch The Office together, or study the Scriptures, or make homemade pizza together.

And what's even better: the more the merrier. We are all eager and joyful to add friends to the fun. I think C.S. Lewis once said that was the sign of a truly good friendship...maybe? It makes me think of Philippians 2:

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from
his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,
then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one
in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but
in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not
only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

It is my hope and prayer that God continues to grow these friendships and this community, and that we would all be filled with His love and encouragement for one another!

As iron sharpens iron,
so one man sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17

Ruthlessly stolen from Flickr.

(A) Good Friday

Happy Friday, my dear friends!

Last night my Thursday night friends paid a visit to First Thursday on South Congress. We had a great time being outdoors, walking around shops and checking out the vendors. Later in the evening we ate dinner at Guero's which I really did not enjoy. In fact, I hope I never eat there again!

The company was marvelous. Josh and Amy, Shane, Zach, Lynsey, Annie, Foster, and The Koplins all made an appearance.

Daniel has been feeling inspired after reading my dad's latest "Lundgaard Prayer Letter." He seems to have been touched by the idea of living in close, Christian community. In many ways I've felt like we can relate to that with our current friendships and relationships. There is a close-knit system of love and support and we are eager to welcome more people into our community. It's almost crazy how much time we all spend together!

We bombard the Koplins at least twice a week. They have such a great "party house" :) And we all just love them so much. Great people!

Tonight "the girls" are getting together for an evening of dining, dessert, and shopping. Should be a lot of fun and I'm really looking forward to it.

On a political note: I thought McCain said a lot of great things in his speech. I particularly agreed with what he had to say about schools. The government isn't doing anyone any good by throwing more taxpayer money at failing schools. The whole system needs a serious facelift, and Americans must have the freedom to choose what kind of schooling they want for their children. It is utterly ridiculous that Obama includes "good education" in his list of things that Americans need the government to provide for them.

I have to gush about my new job for a minute. I just love it. Last night I stayed an hour late finishing up a project, and I told Robyn last night, I'm enjoying the responsibility of dead lines and the accomplishment I feel when I meet those deadlines. And I love that people can hand work to me and trust that it will get done. I get most of the "overflow" work from all different departments, with projects and reports to complete for purchasing, sales, franchise development, etc. and I like the experience and knowledge that this work provides.

The people I work with are hard workers with great attitudes (for the most part) and it's obvious that they all feed off of each other. Yesterday was by far my most difficult day so far, but it wasn't a bad day. Challenges and difficulties come with any kind of work, and a little stress here and there can be great!

Folks, today is a great day. The air is dry and breezy and the temperature is mild (well, for Austin), and it's FRIDAY!!

Face Time

*I wrote this yesterday and forgot to post it!

Last night my best friend Christi and I caught up over coffee. Even though we live maybe five minutes away from each other, we've had a hard time connecting lately. Life has interfered.

As Christi and I have gotten older our day-to-day lives have definitely become separate. It takes an effort to keep in touch. But it is worth it. I've said before, she knows me better than anyone...and what's crazy is the fact that she still loves me! And I love her. I can be honest and open and completely real with her and feel safe and comfortable--and I believe it's mutual. Perhaps it's not always been that way. We're not who we were when we met at 14, but we've grown and changed together, and our friendship is strong and genuine.

Last night we got into some good conversations. One in particular was about our generation and what the internet has done to us. We were reflecting on times that we've run into old acquaintances, and how, when they've told us about their lives, we've already known everything they told us because...we read about it on Facebook.

In response I told her how our pastor preached through a passage in Proverbs about wisdom; one of his points was how the company we keep reflects wisdom (or lackthereof). He joked: Who's on your facebook page?

But I thought about that joke later. Seriously. What can people tell about me from my Facebook page?

Christi said that after realizing exactly how much she knew about these people she didn't have a relationship with, she was a little disturbed. People have been saying it for years, but it's true: technology has really changed the relationships in our lives!

I don't think facebook is inherently bad. I love facebook! But I also don't want to have friends on facebook for the sake of having friends on facebook. It's so pointless and impersonal and makes me feel shallow.

Technology has opened wide the doors of communication. We are always connected. Thanks to the internet I can email back and forth with my parents overseas and read my dad's blog and see pictures of friends and relatives at the tips of my fingers. But I don't want to lose completely the value of face time. I think we could all use a little techno-fasting and immerse ourselves in silence. Are we afraid of silence? Sometimes I feel like I am.

But just think...

Wouldn't it be nice to sit down with a friend over coffee or go for a walk and not be interrupted by some alternate conversation over text or a phone call? Or be sitting at dinner and not have to be a part of someone else's cell phone conversation? I'm guilty of doing this to people!

My dad has always been very conscious of cell phone etiquette (though I haven't met many other people who are even think twice about when and where they use their cell phone).

Just some thoughts.

My friend Courtney and I have often said we think we'd fit right in a Jane Austen novel. Why? Because we love to take long walks and talk. I've always noticed that many of the best conversations in Jane Austen novels and movies happen on walks and in letters.

One thing I love about being in Europe is all the walking. The way their cities and towns are designed and their transportation systems give opportunity for plenty of walking. Instead of buzzing along in the car with the radio blaring, people walk.

I love that!

I think I'm an old soul. Go for a walk!

The Dreams That You Wish...

The Thursday night friends are back in action after a long hiatus. Daniel and I were invited to Shane's Place (I capitalize that because we've made a funny out of it--based on "Old Gregg" by The Mighty Boosh. In other words: we're just weird) for another one of Chef Shane's amazing dinners. Last night it was shredded chicken, guacamole, and black bean tacos. I asked Daniel to pick up my camera for me earlier in the day so that I could share some of Shane's amazing cooking talents with you, but alas...he forgot.
Which, I now realize, makes us even because I forgot to bring put his golf clubs in my trunk this morning so he didn't have to drive to Cedar Park to get them. Whoops.
Anyway, it was heaven in my mouth and it was also nice playing a little catch-up with Shane and Fos(ter). Unfortunately, Annie was unable to be there because she's off being the amazing person that she is, voluntarily driving to Houston to take care of her grandmother's ailing sister. She's incredible, I tell you! One of those rare people that is willing to do things that most people think "someone else" will take care of. She's that "someone else" who serves and serves and serves--despite the fact that she is swamped with work and summer school finals and signing apartment leases and moving. I told you, I have a-mazing friends.
So we all cuddled up on the couch, the three boys and me (okay, so there wasn't a lot of cuddling going on...but I found it pretty funny that we all sat ourselves down like sardines on the couch), and watched Batman Begins. That wasn't exactly the plan, but the boys were being boys and I wandered off (all 6 feet) into the living room and started flipping through channels.
I caught sight of the imposing Wayne Manor and new the movie was just beginnning. Hence the watching party.
As it ended I jumped up and said, "Let's go see The Dark Knight on IMAX!"
But Daniel used his weekly veto to ruin my life. Well, not really, he just said "no." And I, being the sweet, submissive wife that I am, threw a huge baby fit and he had to take me home and lock me in the closet said, "Okay, sweetie."
After a while we said our goodbyes, and as we were walking down the stairs to the parking lot, I noticed a familiar shadow dart across the wall. It was a huge la cukaracha. I grabbed Daniel's arm and hissed, Look! A cockroach! That one looks ready to fly!
We hesitated for a moment, but I resolved to slip past the vermin quickly and quietly.

Well, you know what happened next.

I heard it's wings flutter, followed shortly by a buzz, signaling to me that the beast had taken flight. And I did what any normal person would do: I started screaming my face off and ducked for cover, nearly flinging myself down the stairs.
Unscathed, I made it to the ground level away from glaring lights and flying pests. I stopped and looked back to make sure my fearless husband had survived the event, but he was no where in sight. I heard a voice over my head and looked up to see Shane hanging over the railing, "What's going on?"
"Uh, nuthin. I just got attacked by a flying cockroach..."
"Oh...Where's Daniel?"
"Well, I don't know."
At that moment I looked down the long hallway to see Daniel coming down the steps on the other side of the apartment building.
I guess he couldn't take it. Couldn't run the gauntlet like his tough wife.
What a wimp!

P.S. Daniel and I are living in Josh's old bedroom, and I've discovered some interesting truths. Like: he was so fed up with his brothers stealing his clean clothes out of his closet that he installed a doorknob in his closet door that had a lock on it. And only he held the key.
Now I have fears of getting locked in the closet and no one being able to get me out.

End in Sight...

...Tonight we're getting the moving truck and hauling off 90% of our belongings to storage, and the left over 10% to the space that's been carved out for us by my dear in-laws.

Daniel made it home safely from New Orleans, but only after a delayed flight and some woman accidentally grabbing his bag off of the rotating belt. Thank the Lord, she realized her mistake and came back with the bag just as Daniel was filling out the appropriate forms. The point is, he eventually made it home. And there was much rejoicing.

When we walked in the door Friday evening, the plan was to grab our things (including the dogs) and bolt out the door for Rockport. But instead, we were taught a little lesson in flexibility.

Earlier that morning I had given both the dogs a bath, blow-dried them, and clipped their little nails. As I was clipping Kingsley's nails he started squirming and I clipped the quick. His feelings were deeply hurt, and his poor little paw was bleeding slightly. After examining the wound, it looked only minor so I locked the dogs up and left for work.

Well, that afternoon we came home to discover that Kingsley had been licking his paw all afternoon and was still bleeding--and we discovered this after he had run across the apartment and over our bed, leaving little red dots of puppy blood everywhere he took a step. We set to work spot treating the carpet and bed spread, and stuck him in a kennel until we figured out what to do with him. I called the vet and she told us to cover the bleeding nail with cornstarch, which would have been just fine normally...only we have nothing in our kitchen these days. So we got everything packed up and ran to the store to buy a little cornstarch for the poor thing.
Worked like a charm!

Eventually we made it to Rockport and had a fun weekend visiting with my brothers and grandparents. Saturday we went to the Aquarium in Corpus Christi and went to see The Dark Knight in the evening. Sunday afternoon we went to the beach and caught crabs and shrimp and other weird things that swim around in the ocean. I have a lot of fun pictures from the weekend (and from Josh and Janean's rehearsal dinner), but I can't find my little camera cord in the chaos that is my apartment, so those will have to wait.

Right now I'm longing for a little down-time. Not necessarily time off of work, but a little recreation here and there: coffee-shop conversations with Annie, movie-watching with my Thursday night friends, one of Shane's home-cooked meals with a glass of red wine, summer tv-watching with Christi, Bible studies, these are the odds-and-ends of my life that God has blessed me with.
Busy life can be good and has its place. Especially because it reminds you of the beauty in simplicity and the gifts we so often take for granted.

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought;

and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.

~G.K. Chesterton

As Ozzie Would Say...

I'm goin' through changes.

But I suppose you noticed that.

At the moment I'm loving simplicity and a few redish accents here and there. Perhaps it was the wedding colors this past weekend that put it in my mind. Speaking of the wedding, I guess I haven't said a word about it!
Let me take this moment to say: it was beautiful. The colors were deep red, rust, dark brown, and of course, white. What's that you say? Those colors sound rather autumnal? Well they were, my keen reader. The wedding was originally planned as a fall wedding, but the kids just didn't want to wait that long. For goodness' sake, they've been dating for over six years!! It didn't matter, though. The colors were rich and elegant, perfect for an evening wedding.
The site they chose was Vintage Villas, an estate out in the hills overlooking Lake Travis with a lovely event center. The side facing the lake and sunset is a wall of windows, creating a sweeping view of the orange sky and sparkling water. It was just exquisite.
The wedding itself wasn't half bad either. The bridesmaids were beautiful and the groomsmen were handsome (one in particular, oh baby). Janean was stunning in her intricately beaded ivory gown, accented at the waist with a rust-colored sash matching her bridesmaids' dresses. The musical accompaniment was a solo cellist who played a selection of classic pieces.
Now, as some of you know, I had a relatively large wedding and wouldn't change that for the world. But I'm also becoming a big fan of the small, intimate celebrations. There were only a hundred or so guests at Josh and Janean's wedding, and the setting was elegant but personal--and in no way stuffy. As near as I can tell things carried on without a hitch. The guests and wedding party were fed a gourmet dinner and the maid of honor and best man lifted their glasses with touching speeches (that left Yours Truly with some runny mascara). Soon after the toast, the cake was cut and the guests adjourned to another room where the dance floor had been cleared, and we all danced a happy jig deep into the night.
Later, Janean and Josh's guests showered them with lavender seeds as they ducked into a get-away car that whisked them off to the airport where they would leave for a Hawaiian honeymoon the next morning.
And there was much rejoicing.

---

P.S. I know I said I would provide you with lots and lots of photos...but I ran into a little problem. Although I wasn't an official member of the wedding party, I'm married to someone who was, and that kept me very busy all night long. In the minutes leading up to the wedding I was outside handing out programs. While inside I was seated on the front row, far left, and the camera angle would never have worked. After the wedding I was in a lot of the wedding photos. And during the reception I was at the head table. Finally, I was just having so much fun being a part of the celebration, that I decided to leave the moment-capturing to the professionals and tuck my camera away for the evening.
And I just can't apologize for that! I took a few here and there, and I'll try to get my hands on some so I can share them with you.

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Also, let me draw your attention to my blogroll: I've added a couple new favorite sites including The Inspired Room, This is Glamorous, and Bella Pink Cafe. These probably won't appeal much to the masculine readership, but I just love reading about and looking at pictures of people and places more organized and tasteful than Yours Truly. And maybe, just maybe, some of it will rub off on me.
Enjoy!

Poor, unfortunate souls

"To imply that one person is homeless, destitute, dirty, drunk, spaced out on drugs, unemployable, and generally miserable because he is 'less fortunate' is to imply that a successful person - one with a job, a home and a future - is in that position because he or she was 'fortunate.' The dictionary says that fortunate means 'having derived good from an unexpected place.' There is nothing unexpected about deriving good from hard work. There is also nothing unexpected about deriving misery from choosing drugs, alcohol, and the street.
If the Liberal Left can create the common perception that success and failure are simple matters of 'fortune' or 'luck,' then it is easy to promote and justify their various income redistribution schemes. After all, we are just evening out the odds a little bit. This 'success equals luck' idea the liberals like to push is seen everywhere. Former Democratic presidential candidate Richard Gephardt refers to high-achievers as 'people who have won life's lottery.' He wants you to believe they are making the big bucks because they are lucky. It's not luck, my friends. It's choice. One of the greatest lessons I ever learned was in a book by Og Mandino, entitled 'The Greatest Secret in the World.' The lesson? Very simple: 'Use wisely your power of choice.'"

--From Neal Boortz's Texas A&M Graduate Commencement Address

I'm not a huge fan of Neal Boortz. Usually when I listen to him on the radio I have to turn it off because I get so mad. But I read his entire commencement address and couldn't agree more. I think he told those students who had been sitting under the teaching of Liberal professors for so many years exactly what they needed to hear.

On a less political note: It's Thursday! Which is just fine by me because I have the day off tomorrow.
It will officially kickoff Josh and Janean's Wedding Weekend, and I'm so excited. I mean, the wedding is great an all, but I'm also pretty darn excited about getting all gussied up: getting a manicure tomorrow, decorating for the rehearsal dinner, doing something fun with my hair for the wedding. And I have these killer shoes that I cannot wait to wear. Even if my feet are bleeding by the end of the night.
Oh, the sacrifices we women make to be fab-u-lous.
Plus it will be a great opportunity for me to practice taking pictures. Of people, no less. I have issues with my indoor picture-taking because I'm not a big fan of the flash, and I'm still learning how to get the settings right. It usually takes a few practice photos.
I'll be trying to take a few pictures this weekend. A lot of the family will be in town, and I think we're going to have a grand ol' time.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but I totally love my friends. In particular: Christi and Courtney. Last night we "had coffee" for about four hours, and I had the time of my life! I've been so busy lately, it felt like I hadn't seen them in weeks...in fact, I don't think I had...
Anyway, more fun to come: Christi and I are going to see Mamma Mia tonight at a super-nice theater in CP, and I am SO excited.
What? You don't like ABBA?
The Dancing Queen was totally, like, my theme song! I was counting the days until I was seventeen so I could sing that song and dance and jive, having the time of my life. See that girl? Watch that scene! Can you dig it?
I must say, it's going to be interesting seeing Colin Firth (Mr. Darcy!), Meryl Streep, and Peirce Brosnan in a musical. My expectations are, shall we say, not the highest. But it should be fun anyway. Those ABBA songs are just so upbeat and fun, how can it not be one big singing, dancing party?!

Hopefully I'll get the chance to write more before the weekend is over (heck, I might write more today...it's pretty early still!), but I'm not going promise you the world unless I can deliver!

xoxo