oink oink

Just so you know -- being a Barathrum doesn't pay.

Gotta stay away from that Indian food. Can't seem to figure out when enough is enough.

Ok, I seem to be complaining a lot today. Sorry about that.

I'll be quiet now.

gonna make it

It has only been about six years since we last moved. But it seems so much harder this time. Is it my age? Or is the whole thing like childbirth and I've just forgotten the pain I endured last time?

So far, I've thrown my back out, fallen twice, put my hand through a sheet of glass, had various splinters, strains and pulled muscles. Maybe it is my age. Or have I always been so clumsy?

Anyway..

Sunday is the day. If I survive that long.

I guess most new beginnings come at a cost. Maybe we appreciate it more that way? I hope so!

I keep reminding myself that in a week, this will all be behind us. We will be well on the way to settled in our new home in our new town. We will soon find a new church and make new friends. Ahhh. What would we do without hope?

skyline drive

My daddy used to drive us over this road for thrills. Actually, it's a bit more thrilling now than it was then. I can hardly stand it.

This is where my photo on the left was taken -- overlooking my hometown.

The photo in the post is one I found on-line.

Just thought I'd share. If you're ever in Canon City, Colorado check it out. It's even free.

word for wednesday

Barathrum -
A person who eats like they were a bottomless pit

I wouldn't know anything about that, of course.

I would like to see you work that word into your writing, though. No, you. I don't want to.

good news!

Walden Media has made a movie about Nessie! Watch the trailer.

Evan Almighty

Angie Hunt said that this is a good movie. She is a novelist extraordinaire, so she should know a good movie when she sees one. Right?

Well, anyway. We went to see it. And I loved it.

It isn't 100% correct theology - obviously. But there are some great lessons in there. As well as some humor and all the rest that makes a movie fun. I also enjoyed the visuals of what it might have been like in the original flood. The animals. The way he built the ark. The sheer magnitude of the flood. That part was cool.

Here are a few of the lessons:

~God doesn't care a whole lot about our plans.

~When God wants us to do something, He'll also tell us how.

~Everything God does is because He loves me. (You)

~He's really not concerned about what people think of us.

~Disobedience usually only delays the inevitable obedience.

~Obedience might cost you.

~Radical faith will be ridiculed.

~When you hear from God, others won't always understand.

~God always knows what He's doing.

Friday Feast

From Friday's Feast

Appetizer

Name a funny habit you have.

Dividing food between the two sides of my mouth. Eat one peanut on the right side. Eat equal sized peanut on the left.

Also, I eat potato chips from smallest to biggest.

Soup

If you could instantly know how to play a musical instrument, which one would you pick?

The Cello

Salad

How long is your hair?

Just past my collar bone

Main Course

When was the last time you forgave someone, and who was it?

Last Sunday. It was someone I don't even know.

Dessert

What is your favorite kitchen appliance?

The refrigerator, or the stove. What would I do without those?

thirteen positive things about packing for a move

1. Cardboard smells neat

2. I get to see stuff I haven't seen in years

3. Finding the end of the tape strengthens my nails

4. My arms were getting flabby

5. I have an excuse for a messy house

6. My chiropractor needs the business

7. We didn't need all that money just lying around anyway

8.

Ok, if you can finish my list - feel free! That's about as positive as I can get at the moment.

word for wednesday

kakorrhaphiophobia -
A fear of failure

fat

I have been fat. I guess I still am by our society's standards.

I have mixed feelings about this video. Look at it first. Then I'll tell you what they are. Be warned there are a few "bad words" like the B - word. But it's worth watching.

Hat tip to Lisa Samson.

I love her attitude. I do agree that weight is just a number and it isn't a definition of who you are. We do need to learn to see past a person's size.

I weigh 155-165. I am content with how I look. How counter-cultural is that?

I agree that you shouldn't put off life until you wear a certain size.

I do think overweight is unhealthy after a certain point. I feel better than I did 50 pounds ago. I know too many people suffering because of weight related issues to write it off as causally as she does. When she's a few years older and her knees are giving her fits, she might re-think some things.

But on the other hand. The lady in this clip is probably in better shape than I am. She plays sports and swims. I play with a laptop and read. I can't go upstairs without puffing. So health is about much more than weight.

What are your thoughts?

um, have we met?

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death.

Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions.

Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention.

Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution.

Stop criticizing and start creating.

Stop playing it safe and start taking risks.

Expand your horizons.

Accumulate experiences.

Consider the lilacs.

Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can.

Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God.

Burn sinful bridges.

Laugh at yourself.

Keep making mistakes.

Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks.

Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself.

Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.

And remember: If God is for us who can be against us?
--Mark Batterson, in "In A Pit with A Lion on a Snowy Day."

idi-what?

We were dining on some delicious BBQ yesterday and commenting on the selection of sauces on the table. One was purportedly spicy and my husband said that it would put hair on your chest.

My boy looked at him and said, "That's one of them idiom thingies."

My girl got aggravated because he wasn't supposed to learn that until fifth grade and he's only finished third.

Whatever. Got a dictionary?

america's pastime

"I never blame myself when I'm not hitting. I just blame the bat, and if it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if I know it isn't my fault that I'm not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?"

Yogi Berra

My husband and kids were playing "Bat and Ball" yesterday, which is just, you know, hitting the ball with the bat, when my daughter missed a pitch. My husband said, "That was a perfect pitch!" And she replied (in all seriousness), "I know and I had a perfect swing. They just didn't connect."

my daddy

My dad is one of a kind.

He loves us. Would do anything for us - his two girls.

He kinda probably missed not having a boy to do boy stuff with. But my sister and I did our best.

We both went shooting with him.

I took up fishing and my sister hung out in the garage doing car stuff.

We both loved trips to the dump. It didn't hurt that we often went for ice cream on our way home.

My dad is also a bit goofy. He has a sense of humor that has rubbed off on both of us and has caused a lot of weird looks from other people who just don't get us. That's cool though. I like it.

Happy Father's Day -

yeah, and what's your point?

"Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right."
- Henry Ford

"Do, or do not. There is no 'try'."
- Yoda

contentment

In light of my last post, I thought I would offer some help:

Rules of Contentment
Allow myself to complain of nothing, not even the weather.
Never picture myself in any circumstance in which I am not.
Never compare my lot with that of another.
Never allow myself to wish that this or that had been otherwise.
Never dwell on the tomorrow; remember, that is God’s and not ours.
E. B. Pusey

thirteen choices

A friend and I were talking the other day about the abundance we have in this country. But also about the discontent that everyone has. We have more stuff, more choices, yet, everyone wants more. Disgusting really. The reason for this discontent, I am convinced, is that we are constantly bombarded with images of all the wonderful things that will make our life complete. And we buy it. Literally.

If you have ever been to a third world country or a former Soviet country, you know how many choices we have. Ever talked to a missionary who came home to be blown away by the deodorant selection in the super market? Or maybe she was just blown away by the super market?

Our grandparents had coffee. That's it, just coffee. No choices. Chock-Full -O -Nuts for my southern friend's grandma. Folgers for mine. My friend has several selections of caf and de-caf and syrups, too. I'm not a big coffee drinker, but the stuff I have came from Rwanda.

Our grandmothers had maybe three seasonings. Yet they could sure cook!

So I am listing thirteen things where we have too many choices.

1. Dining out - the number of restaurants and the selections on the menu

2. Grocery stores - which store should you go to?

3. Shampoo - thick hair? thin hair? Lavender or citrus? which brand?

4. Pop - Coke, diet Coke, Cherry Coke, Lemon Coke, or Pepsi? I'll have rootbeer.

5. Automobiles - four door? Two door? What color? How many horses? What options? Gas or hybrid?

6. Mascara - longer lashes or thicker lashes? Brown, black or blue? waterproof or not?

7. Cereal - it has it's own aisle!

8. Toothpaste

9. Toothbrushes!

10. Bras - underwire? wireless? padded? pink, blue, purple, black? straps or no straps? seamless?

11. Cooking utensils - rice maker, wok, steamer, bread machine, crock pot, tortilla press, etc

12. Medications - aspirin, non-aspirin, aspirin substitute, cough with cold, cough without cold, fourteen kinds of allergy medicine that all do the same thing.

13. Churches - type of music? Elders or deacons? Tongues or no tongues? Liturgy or no liturgy? Dressy or casual? Building or school? Denomination?

Ok, so no wonder Americans are so stressed out! We spend all our time making decisions and we don't even realize it! Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it.

wednesday wisdom

"The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work."
- Emile Zola (1840-1902)

a heart like His?

I really quite enjoy being an ostrich. There are so many things that I would rather just not think about. I'm happy here. Let's leave it at that and leave it alone.

But noooo. A wonderful writer, Lisa Samson, has to have a heart for making a difference. And I happen to read her blog. I thought about not clicking the link. It would be easier. But she had to go and say this: "I truly believe part of being a follow of Christ is to open your heart to pain like He did in order to love like He loved."

Well, shoot. If that don't just yank your head right out of the sand.

It's not like I don't know this stuff happens. But I certainly think about it as little as possible. So I had no idea of the extent. What about you? Wanna take a look? Zoe Children's Homes.

this guy's pretty smart

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein

ouch

I hope none of you just got dumped. I saw this writing prompt and couldn't resist.

List the seven worst things to say to someone who just got dumped:

1. Well, you had that coming.

2. Can I have his number?

3. I knew he was too good for you.

4. Come over tonight and meet my brother.

5. How did you manage to mess that up?

6. Oh my gosh! This is tragic. What in the world are you going to do now?

7. Don't feel so bad. You managed to keep him longer than all the others.

You got any?

thursday thirteen

I decided to do one of these things. The right way to do it is to be part of a loop of other Thursday Thirteeners and look at each other's blogs, but I don't wanna.

I just want something to blog about.

So, here are thirteen things I would like to do before I die:

(In no particular order)

1. Get a novel published

2. Spend some time in the UK

3. Learn to belly dance

4. Become proficient at housekeeping

5. Operate a backhoe (had a chance and missed it due to illness! Dangrabbit!)

6. Learn Spanish

7. Take an art class

8. Take a cross-country road trip

9. Own a horse

10. Climb Pikes Peak

11. Write a Bible Study

12. Overcome fearfulness

13. Learn to swim

wednesday wisdom

There is more to writing than writing.

This morning I was at my friend Lauri's house looking at writing books and talking about writing and stuff. And also borrowing some of said writing books. I told her that I don't do prompts and exercises very often because I feel like if I'm going to be writing, I should be writing my book. Not just stuff that is pointless. But she said that it all counts.

Just like I can't expect to sit down and play a concerto the first time I touch a piano, I shouldn't expect to be able to just write a good novel the first time I really write.

I can't just sit and paint a masterpiece, either.

These things take practice. So instead of feeling like I am wasting time by doing writing exercises, I need to realize that they are as necessary as practicing scales or learning the basics of perspective. They are important for shaping me into a real writer.

Another aspect of this is the research. I feel like that is getting in the way of writing, taking up my time. When in truth it is an integral part of the process. I can't write a good book without good research!

All this talk about not wanting to waste my precious time. I spent the last week with a very sick husband, so I didn't get any writing done. But I did manage to spend way too much time reading blogs and playing games!

We are moving and I'm packing so I can't write, but somehow, I haven't really packed all that much and I have had a lot of fun reading blogs and playing games.

So enough with the excuses! Some of those books I borrowed have some excellent exercises that will actually be useful. Maybe even can be used in my book.

So I may not get many words added to my book, but that doesn't mean I won't be writing.

Well, after we move that is.

library fun

Make your own card catalog card, (remember those?)

Nod to Wunderfool

avast, ye matey

Know why a pirate wore a patch over his eye? I do.

It wasn't because he poked his eye out. Well, maybe there were a few pirates who wore one for that reason. After all, they did run with sharp objects in their hands.

But the most likely reason according to the Mythbusters is that it maintained night vision in one eye.

So when me has to go below decks for a fresh jug o' rum, I move me eye patch to me other eye and aye! I can see me rum!

Also, if I want to ambush some scallywags in the middle of the night I use me night eye and the advantage is mine! Arg.

Pretty clever, them pirates.

not really, (a rebuttal)

I've been thinking, and I'm not really a believer. At least not the kind I implied in the previous post. When you believe something you KNOW it. It is unquestionable in your mind.

I will not debate with anyone whether or not there is a real Nessy. Or that crop circles are anything other than pranks. So, no - I don't really believe those things. I hope those things. I would like for them to be true. But to say that I believe is overstating.

I believe that oxygen is good for me -- not just good, necessary.

I believe that what goes up, must come down.

I also believe in God. That He is real. He is in control at all times and of every circumstance. He is good. He is faithful. He loves us. On and on, actually. There is a lot I believe about God.

I believe in Jesus Christ and the salvation He died to provide for us. Because He loves us and is faithful and is real and is good, etc.

I will debate these truths. I would die for some of them. They are as true as the fact that I need air to live. These things, I believe.

do you believe?

I am a believer.

I like to know there are things out there that we haven't figured out. Some people can't stand the idea of the unexplainable. They have to try to explain it. I don't want to have it all figured out. What fun is that?

I believe in Nessy. Now, of course this can't be THE Nessy they just filmed. Even Loch Monsters die sometime, but I'm sure she had offspring. Look at this story and tell me what you think.

I think she is probably some kind of serpent or something. Nothing weird. Something normal - just mysterious.

I love mysterious.

I also want to believe in Big Foot, but I guess I am going to have to give up on that one. It's hard to believe a species could live in this country and not be photographed. Or for someone to find the remains of one.

I know crop circles can be formed by people - but does that mean they all are??? hmmm?

And how do we know we are the only life forms in the universe? If God populated another galaxy, what makes us think it's our business to know? Is He obligated to tell us?

I am open to all of these ideas, but only because to me they show the Glory of God. The vastness of creation. The things out there that we can't understand. The mysteries. They all point to His greatness.

And even if all of these things are nothing more than myths. God is still glorious! I don't need a Loch Monster to prove that.

Friday Feast

Hello there, faithful readers!

Today I am preparing a feast for you al la http://www.fridaysfeast.com/

Appetizer

Name something you think is “the best.”

A sampler platter of:

Ranch Foods Direct meats - http://www.ranchfoodsdirect.com/

Pixar movies

My boy and my girl

My DH

Naked Juice

Soup

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 highest), how stressed are you today?

I will say I am at a 8 or 9. And that is down from a 13 a couple of days ago!

Salad

What kind of cleanser do you use to wash your face?

SilkSkin - http://www.silkskin.com/ - it's "the best" stuff I've found.

Main Course

Tonight is a blue moon! What is something that you believe only happens “once in a blue moon.”

My kids agree with each other!

Dessert

When was the last time it rained where you live?

Wednesday night it poured and hailed, too.