Then Sings My Soul Saturday: National Anthem

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For more Saturday music, check out Then Sings My Soul Saturday every Saturday hosted by Amy at Signs, Miracles and Wonders.

7 Quick Takes: 07.03.09

1. Conversations with PinkGirl.

PinkGirl: “Mom, when I’m on Broadway, I bet I can get you in to see my show for FREE!”

Me: “I’m sure you can get free tickets (because I am SURE you will be on Broadway!) but I think we would have to pay for our airplane tickets and hotel.”

PinkGirl: “Mom. I will be on BROADWAY. I will have thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars. I think I can pay for your hotel.”

Me: “Well, thanks!”

2. I Need a Replacement Pantech Breeze Cell Phone for My Dad. If you have one – or know of someone who has one and doesn’t need it anymore, let me know! He lost his cell phone yesterday. We just got it for him in January. The Breeze is marketed specfically for retired people and it was really the PERFECT phone for him. Big buttons, large font on a good size screen, good volume . . . PERFECT for him.

Unfortunately, since he’s not eligible for an upgrade yet, it’s $279 to replace, but AT&T can give me an “exception price” of $179.00. OUCH. So I look on eBay. I found 12. 12? On EBAY? And the prices are not much better than AT&T.

Me: “I can’t believe I only found 12 of these on eBay! What’s the deal with that?”

(pause)

Me: I suppose, since it’s marketed to retired folks, it makes sense. I’m thinking there are a lot of retired people out there who (first Husband chimes in) don’t know how to use eBay. arrgg.

My dad was so upset when he called me to tell me. I could tell he was feeling bad about himself for losing it, saying things like “I knew better . . . ” I kept telling him how losing and breaking cell phones is jut something that happens. To EVERYONE. FirstHusband’s Blackberry survived a ride on Space Mountain, although in 3 pieces (one of them missing). FavoriteSon let a girl “see his phone” and she dropped it from the very top row in the bleachers at a track meet. I threw my Treo at the floor once during a mom meltdown. I dropped my Centro while fumbling to answer it and broke the LCD screen two months after buying it.

Last year, after my mom left, I put my dad on my plan. We have AT&T and it’s only $10 a month to add a line, so it really helps him out because he’s on a limited income. I’m going to replace my dad’s phone for him. He feels really bad about losing it. But I don’t have an extra $179 either. So after calling the phone all day and having it go immediately to the “the AT&T customer you are trying to reach is unavailable” message, I figure one of two things. It is broken. Or it’s at a place of business where their policy is to turn off the phone and wait for someone to claim it. (Disney’s policy, by the way.)

(That second one it just not nice. I understand they are concerned about privacy and being sued and all, but seriously. Everyone knows the easiest way to return a found cell phone is to immediately look for the address book entry marked “home” and call it – or a frequently dialed number that looks like someone the owner might know well. It’s like finding a wallet and opening it to find the person’s id.)

So after a few hours of calling the phone and having it NOT ring, I suspended the number. I checked the usage online and it was 0 of 0 on data and 37 minutes on talk, so no one is using it. I’ll go to AT&T today with an old sim card and see if they can use it to get my dad’s number on FavoriteSon’s old Razr while I find my dad a new Breeze. If they can’t use the old sim card, it will cost $25 for a new one.

3. Still Decorating . . .

Finally used my $25 eBay gift certificate from Christmas! I bought this for the Laundry Room door because it is NEXT to the bathroom door downstairs and I do NOT want ANYONE who might be visiting to mistakenly open said laundry room door accidentally while looking for the bathroom door.

I bought this for the bathroom door – again to correctly steer visitors to the correct door.

This is for FavoriteSon’s room:

Notice there is no photo of the laundry room? Thank goodness I didn’t put my camera in there or you might not ever see another photo on this blog again.

4. Wearing White? The “color” I’m supposed to wear this week for Praise Team is white. WHITE. Remember when I said I had to wear PURPLE and I didn’t own any purple? Well, trust me, given my gynecological history, other than a few casual shirts, I do NOT own any WHITE.

But now, two months post-op, the fact that I can now boldly wear white is sinking in. Not sure what I’m going to do with that.

5. Macy’s Buy One Get One 50% Off! Went to Macy’s yesterday, looking for something white to wear (no luck). Standing there, sifting through the sale racks, I hear “Yes, ma’am. You buy the first bra, the second one is 50% off.”

What? What?

Last week, I wrote about my “find a new bra experience” and that I bought two. One for $34 and another for $36. I didn’t mention that I was going to go home and get a few more on eBay, cheaper. Found them on eBay for $20, plus shipping. This sale made them $25 each and since I might actually FIND something white to wear, I might need a white bra on Sunday, so I bought them – no waiting.

And as a follow-up to last week, I’m not in love with the a Bali “Passion for Comfort” Full Coverage T-shirt Bra. The elastic tends to curl inside the fabric on the sides. Still LOVE the other one, though!

6. Bought a New Mattress! FirstHusband has been complaining about our mattress for months. So yesterday, when he had the day off, I suggested that we buy a new mattress. (I think I can sleep on anything – I don’t know from good mattress to bad mattress.) Anyway.

When FirstHusband started complaining I asked him to note the mattresses he slept on while on travel. (Yes, he had to travel to get a good night’s sleep.) He liked the Serta Perfect Sleeper something or other model – at the Hampton Inn. Further research found that the Serta Perfect Sleepers sold to consumers are NOT the same sold to hotels. Hotels get double sided, FLIPPABLE mattresses. Consumers do not. You want a Serta mattress like you slept in at a hotel? You have to buy it through the hotel! Who knew?

But that requires shipping. And waiting. And I don’t even want to think about a possible return. We happen to have, in town, a mattress factory. “The Original Mattress Factory.” Their standard practice is to make double sided, flippable mattresses. And you can even sign up for their regular “It’s time to flip/turn your mattress” email list! (They even have a pretty good return policy – up to a YEAR and you pay 25% of the lowest of the mattress you pick instead. Unless you buy a more expensive mattress, in which case, you add the difference.)

I wasn’t home when FirstHusband and FavoriteSon dragged/pushed/hauled/wedged/squeezed the mattress up the stairs, but I understand it was an experience of the $10,000 AFV variety. When I got home, they were taking the old mattress and box springs to Goodwill.

I sent a text to FirstHusband: umm. I can’t get in my own bed.

FirstHusband: Get a stepstool.

HOLY BIG GIRL BED, Batman! That thing was HIGH. Last night, FirstHusband lowered the rails about 4 inches and I STILL need a stepstool – no kidding! I’m not sure if I’m going to need the rails lowered again. I wouldn’t need a stepstool, but the dust ruffle would puddle on the floor.

And you know I need a dust ruffle. There’s some serious storage under that bed.

7. 3 Day Weekend! FirstHusband is smoking ribs and chicken. We’re taking a load of meat and some dirty rice over to some friends later as they settled into their new house. They’ve been living in an RV and their kids have been sleeping in a small apartment on their property for months. We met them through FavoriteSon, his friend is their son.

They raise butterflies. Is that COOL or what? They sell mostly to weddings and schools. Here’s an interesting tidbit. Do you know how to pack butterflies for shipping? (Gently) Close their wings and slip them into an envelope. I still don’t understand why their little legs don’t break.

We went to the movies last night. PinkGirl begged us to see Ice Age. In 3D. It was painful. We even had to pay EXTRA for the glasses. Which they wanted us to “recycle” (give back) at the end of the movie. I don’t think so. We took ours home and can now throw away all the paper 3D glasses we’ve kept to watch the 3D movies we have on DVD.

I feel the need to fill boxes with stuff and go to Goodwill. After I go to our friend’s new house, I will feel this need even more.

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Join in with your own 7 Quick Take Friday post at Conversion Diary hosted by Jennifer!

Pragmatic Summer Recipes

Kristin over at We are THAT Family is is hosting a themed edition of Works for Me Wednesday this week! Here are some of my favorite summer recipes! Click on the links for the original post and the ingredients/recipe.

Chicken Grape Salad

5 Minute Panera Wanna Be Salad

Wannabe Salad Ingredients

Panera Wannabe Salad

5 Minute MorningStar Burrito Lunch

5 minute MorningStar Burritos Before

5 minute MorningStar Burritos Done!

Mom’s Pasta Salad

pastasalad

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Find more ideas over at Works for Me Wednesday, hosted by Kristen at We Are THAT Family.

Works for Me Wednesday posts prior to February 2009 are archived at Rocks In My Dryer

PinkGirl: Part of Your World

This is one of the songs PinkGirl has been rehearsing for the last two weeks as part of “American Idol” day camp.

PinkGirl posted about it on HER blog too. And she LOVES comments!

I’m slightly proud.

7 Quick Takes: 06.27.09

1. Burning Gas, Burning Time. Two kids in two day camps in two different areas of town. I HATE it when I can’t go an entire week on one tank of gas. I filled up last Saturday and only made it to Thursday night. arrgg.

2. A BIG THANK YOU to Mary the Macy’s Bra Lady!! I went there to try on the bra that Tina recommended, but they didn’t have any, so I just told Mary what I wanted in a bra and she walked right over to the one I needed. Ladies, don’t you just LOVE bra ladies? My criteria? Full coverage, lightly lined, seamless, tshirt smooth and MOST importantly – side support. And the straps HAVE to be short enough. Bra manufacturers sometimes don’t realize that short girls (I’m 5′4″) need shorter straps. Way back before Oprah did her “bra show” I wore a 36C and I had quite a bit of “underarm fat.” After Oprah’s bra show, I sought out the Victoria’s Secret bra lady and discovered I was a 38D – and I had NO underarm fat. I looked like I lost 10 pounds just by changing my bra. Amaz zah zing! So what bras did I buy this week? Bali Concealers Beautiful Underwire Bra and a Bali “Passion for Comfort” Full Coverage T-shirt Bra which is a convertible (can criss-cross in the back) bra.

3. I am NOT crafting. I just have to paint some mats for the lyrics I framed for my master bedroom. Last week I mentioned that I wanted to frame lyrics. I found some frames at Kohls on sale for 55% off ($15 each)! I had printed the lyrics on beige paper, and the mats are beige – and the wall is beige. Boring and invisible. So I have to buy some acrylic paint at a craft store. Not a big craft store fan. Crafting makes me break out in clutter.

But. Back to the lyrics. FirstHusband came up with the song “I’ll Still Be Lovin You” which was sung at our wedding.

I mentioned last week that we were stumped trying to pick a second song to quote. After much listening, thought and discussion, we finally settled on the chorus from Jimmy Buffet’s “Changes in Latitudes”

It’s kind of a “before and serious” to “after and easy going” transition. It fits.

But you can see the reason I need to paint the mats, right? The look is much too . . . beige. I’m thinking red. I’ll post pictures after I paint. It should be easy. The mats aren’t beveled, just a straight cut.

4. Bought a DRESS. Actually, I bought three dresses. I don’t really wear dresses. But it is too HOT. I’ve been wearing long pants to church on Sundays and I sing in the praise team, so I’m up front, under hot lights. Melting. Last week, I prayed “THANK YOU GOD!” all the way home because we only live ten minutes away. I couldn’t WAIT to change! This week, I’m wearing this:

The other two are both cotton, probably too casual to wear for praise team. But they BREATHE and are so cool and comfortable. Well, as cool and comfortable as you can get during the summer in Florida.

5. eek. gotta run. Going to Disney’s Animal Kingdom for a family event sponsored by FirstHusband’s employer! I’ll finish the list ASAP . . .

I’m BACK. Went to Animal Kingdom last night! It wasn’t as unbearably hot as we expected, thank goodness. We arrived in time to go on the sunset safari, which is a safari ride, well, at sunset. Very nice. Although, I had COMPLETELY forgotten that the ride was so bumpy. Eight weeks post-op was a little too soon for that ride. By the end, I was holding my abdomen with one hand and griping the side of the bus with the other. We saw some amazing animals.

Then a catered dinner INSIDE (think air conditioning) one of the park restaurants. Very nice evening.

6. What’s On Your Nightstand Carnival from 5 Minutes for Books.

The Novelist by Angela Hunt. From Publisher’s Weekly: “Jordan Casey is the pen name for Jordan Casey Kerrigan, grandmother and author of a bestselling adventure series. She agrees to teach a college night class on writing fiction and is challenged by an irksome student to ditch her formulaic approach and try writing something from the heart . . . As she writes, her desire to change her 21-year-old son Zachary’s chaotic life as a suicidal addict becomes an impetus for a story she wants to communicate about life, loss and second chances (told alongside mother and son’s actual plight). God, she believes, is the ultimate writer, complete with an outline for one’s life story—yet even the characters in the hands of a novelist have choices. Jordan’s reality and fiction alternate and finally converge as Hunt spins her tale . . .”

Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope From Publisher’s Weekly: “In a widely reported incident in 2006, Laura Van Ryn and Whitney Cerak, students at an evangelical college in Indiana, and their families were victims of a ghastly mistake: the wrong girl was identified as the survivor of a car crash that claimed multiple lives. Only after five weeks, when the girl emerged from a coma, was the error discovered.”

These families are an amazing witness. One of those situations where God “works all things for good.”

arrgg. Gotta break again . . . finish soon.

Okay, I’m back. again.

Teenage Boys: Surviving and Enjoying These Extraordinary Years

Here are some of the highlights for me: “It is our job to assume full responsibility for what our kids are hearing. This is a huge leap from what most of us have been taught about communication. It puts the entire burden of communication solely on the speaker, not the hearer. In other words, the meaning of your communication is the response you get.” and

“Confidence comes from knowing, not just talking. Confidence comes from competence not from persuasion. If, in a loving and accepting relationship, you encourage your son to focus on skill building, confidence will come.

The Complete C.S. Lewis Signature Classics The Complete C. S. Lewis Signature Classics includes: Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Problem of Pain, Miracles, A Grief Observed, plus The Abolition of Man.

I’ve finished “The Problem of Pain.” It was my first complete reading of a C. S. Lewis nonfiction book. I’m officially a fan of C.S. Lewis. And the cool part is that I don’t agree with everything he says. I actually find him to be a bit of a bore sometimes.

But wow. He makes me think.

7. Bought my own copy of C.S. Lewis Signature Classics with a Barnes and Noble gift card. (I was reading a library copy) My book arrived Thursday. With a torn dust jacket. I actually bought a NEW copy of a giant book for more than $30 and it’s damaged. arrgg. The shipping box wasn’t sealed all the way and there was no packing material. Never ordered from Barnes and Noble before. Not impressed. Now I have to return the book, because if I keep it, every time I read it, I will be irritated.

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Join in with your own 7 Quick Take Friday post at Conversion Diary hosted by Jennifer!

7 Quick Takes: 06.19.09

1. Let’s play a little game. I’ll give you an answer and you guess the question. Ready?

Answer: A rock, a piece of glass, a shell, a 2 inch sliver of a dinner plate, a screw, a piece a straw from a kid sippy cup, a plastic straw wrapper from a juice box, a LOT of paper and some disgusting stuff I didn’t recognize.

Question: What we found in the “fine filters” when we took the Kenmore Whirlpool 665 (Model 66516912001) dishwasher apart. Ewww.

FirstHusband threw away the pile of crud before I could take a photo. Sorry.

2. A BIG THANK YOU! To Jake at the forums for www.applianceblog.com for the info and PHOTOS! Last week’s Quick Take post showed a photo of what my dishwasher was wasn’t doing. Disgusting crud left on our dishes.

FirstHusband started making “buy a new dishwasher” noises, but I actually LIKE my dishwasher. Well, I LIKED my dishwasher and I wanted it back. So I relied on the power of the Google search string and found a forum with discussion and instructions and photos . . . which led to a pretty cool date night.

What? Saving $500 plus dollars by spending Saturday night taking apart, cleaning and putting together a dishwasher isn’t a great date?

3. Mother/Daughter Talk

PinkGirl: Mom? I don’t like the hair on my legs.

Me: Honey, it’s normal. All your friends have hair on their legs too. (pause) Well, I think they all do. I can’t imagine 3rd graders shaving their legs.

PinkGirl: When do girls shave their legs?

Me: Well, I don’t know, we’ll pay attention to what other girls your age are doing and then we’ll decide. In American culture women shave their legs and under their arms, so when you start to grow hair under your arms, we’ll definitely know it’s time.

PinkGirl: (totally quiet in the back seat of the van)

I glance at her in the rear view mirror and she’s got the one eyebrow up, disgusted, “you’ve GOT to be kidding me” face and she says:

“Gruh hu hu hu OSS“

Bwahahaha!

4. Bought our vacation on eBay! Going to Ocean Walk in Daytona again! Pretty sweet deal! I’ll write about it AFTER we go, like I did last year. (If you’re interested in the resort, I put lots of photos of the room and the views at www.KeepandShare.com The photos were summer of 2008 and they are beginning renovations in September 2009)

I can’t WAIT to sit on the balcony and watch this again:

p.s. Dear blogging friends: Please stop announcing when your house will be empty if your name and location are anywhere on your blog. It’s probably a long shot, but it creeps me out to think someone might read exactly when you are going on vacation and target your house while you are gone. Talk about vacation AFTER vacation. Thank you. I feel much better now.

5. I’m Decorating. And don’t really decorate. I’m not that good at it. I mostly just organize in an aesthetically pleasing way.

I especially have trouble with art. We moved in this house in 1996 and before last weekend, the walls of our bedroom had absolutely NOTHING on them. After my surgery, spending so much time in my room, in my bed, I was pretty much HATING my bedroom. I want a “haven.” Not a room with a bed in it. FirstHusband and I went out together and found some things we both liked.

With one giant, vaulted ceiling wall left still bare, we were at a standstill. Photos? Another picture of a red tree? Word art? word art. hmmm. Lyrics. So I asked FirstHusband:

“What song lyrics would you pick to be framed for our room – and you are NOT allowed to pick Jimmy Buffet’s Let’s Get Drunk and . . . “

He said, “Well actually, my first thought was “I’ll Still Be Lovin You” by Restless Heart.”

We had that sung at our wedding. Husband points.

Now it’s my turn. After his selection, I first thought of “You Bring Me Joy” by Anita Baker because it was the song we danced to at our reception. But written lyrics just aren’t the same as Anita wailing “YOU BRING ME-EE JOY . . . ” It just lost something in the translation from sound to paper. And I really don’t ever call FirstHusband “baby” so . . . You Bring Me Joy is out. I’ve been listening to music all day, trying to figure out what to use. It has to be something meaningful to both of us. Since his selection is so serious, I’m thinking maybe funny. Like Peel Me a Grape It takes us back to the Cadillac Lounge on the Disney Wonder. But no. We are searching for the second song together. I’ll update when we pick something.

6. Two Post-op Appointments in the last 10 days. GYN says I’m clear but it will take about a year until I’m “fully recovered.” The plastic surgeon was happy about my recovery except for my belly button. It was starting to keloid so he injected the scar with steroids. The good news? My lower abdomen is still swollen and I’m still so numb I didn’t feel ANYTHING. I’m continuing to use Mederma and I go back in 6 weeks. I’m still not allowed to do a full sit up, but I am allowed to ease back into strength training as long as I don’t do ANYTHING that hurts. okay then.

7. TV 14. FavoriteSon just turned 14 last week. He knew that one of our (FirstHusband and I) favorite tv shows was “Big Bang Theory. It displays that “TV 14″ notation at the corner of the screen and he suggested that he was now old enough to watch it. So. We let him. After finishing the first DVD, we had a serious and rather lengthy discussion with him about premarital sex. (there’s some sexual innuendo in that show). It was a good discussion. Really good. In the world, not of it. In the world, not of it.

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Join in with your own 7 Quick Take Friday post at Conversion Diary hosted by Jennifer!

7 Quick Takes: 06/12/09

1. “crud.” That’s what our dishwasher is leaving behind. It is also what I am saying about the fact that our dishwasher is not washing our dishes.

Crud is NOT the word I used when I Googled my Kenmore model and found a forum with over 750 entries by owners who have problems with this dishwasher. Instead, I said, “ARRGG!” What? I love that word. Try it. “ARRGG!”

2. “EWWW!” That’s what I said when I sat down at the piano to help PinkGirl with her scales and smelled cat urine. EWWW is also the word I used when I saw the output tank of my SpotBot after cleaning the source of the stanky smell. I will spare you a photo.

3. “Dang It!” That’s what I said when I saw cat foot prints on the SpotBot track marks the next day. I need to get some Enzyme cleaner. Fast.

4. “Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow.” That’s what I said over and over again the day after using my SpotBot on said carpet stain. On my hands and knees for 15 minutes moving my arm back and forth while holding the SpotBot wand and my abs are KILLING me. I thought it would be okay, it’s six weeks post-op for cryin out loud. Ow.

5. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!” That’s what I said to FavoriteSon this week! 14 years old! When did THAT happen?

6. “Bummer.” That’s what I thought when FirstHusband sent me a text message on Wednesday night that read:

“On the ground in Birmingham. Wasn’t planning to be in Birmingham today. Always a risk flying into Atlanta.” and then “Finally . . . 4 hours late.”

He sat ON the plane, ON the runway in Birmingham for THREE HOURS waiting to fly into Atlanta on Wednesday night.

Then I said “Bummer” again on Thursday night, when I got this text:

“Plane late out of Atlanta. Currently scheduled to land in Orlando at midnight. Be home around 1am.”

And no, he wasn’t sitting in the Atlanta airport that entire time. He flew from Atlanta to somewhere else and back between Wednesday and Thursday evening. He got home around 1:45 this morning and was already at work before we got up this morning. BUM. MER.

7. “YES!” That’s what I said when I got rid of graciously mailed out FOUR, count em’ FOUR free books to other paperbackswap.com members. Let the purging continue! Want a free book? Join paperbackswap.com, list some of your unwanted books, PICK ONE from my list and I’ll send it to you FREE!

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Join in with your own 7 Quick Take Friday post at Conversion Diary hosted by Jennifer!

I miss SPF2 Coppertone suntan OIL.

We’re trying to work out a week at Daytona Beach Ocean Walk Resort again in the next few weeks. Last summer, we stayed there for 5 nights. SO much fun! I posted photos and a kind of review last year. We loved the fact that everything we wanted to do was within walking distance. We parked the van in the garage when we got there and didn’t get back into it until the day we checked out. The beach, two pools with a lazy river, entertainment complex with movies, restaurants, shops and across the street a water park, arcade, laser tag, go carts, mini-golf and the BEST? A SPA at the hotel that accepted the Spa Finder gift certificate I won at a Christmas party, so I even got a massage! GREAT vacation. Bought it on eBay. Seriously. GREAT deal.

I’m a Florida girl. I went to the beach on Saturdays, some when I was in high school, more when I was in college. I remember I parked my car on the beach at New Smyrna once. (It was allowed back then.) Hung out with friends all day. Then the tide came in. Not good. The tires did not budge. Not good. No cell phones back then. Just lots of freaking out about how much trouble I was going to get in and how I was going to get the car home with an engine full of salt water. Thankfully, lots of tanned, good looking guys, drippin in machismo, surrounded my Mustang and pretty much lifted it out of the sand and back a few feet before it was completely water logged or dragged out to sea and turned into an artificial reef. What? I was 16. I thought it could happen.

So I’ve been to the ocean a few times. Mostly the east coast of Florida. Daytona Beach, Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, Jetty Park, New Smyrna . . . I love the beach. Kinda. Here’s a few things I’ve learned about myself:

I DON’T like swimming in the ocean. I’ve gone in far enough to STAND and catch a wave with a boogie board or a raft, but actually SWIM in the ocean? No. Riptides. Fish touching my legs. The movie Jaws. eek.

I DO like walking, basking, sleeping and reading on the beach. I know I’m not supposed to sleep and bask – skin cancer – I know. I don’t really do it anymore. We all lather up SPF50+ now. But the days of SPF2 Coppertone Suntan OIL? I can still smell it. The deep brown skin and bleached blond hair from a bottle of Sun In spray? Good times. Good times.

I DO like sitting on the beach, building sand castles and sand . . . stuff. Digging trenches. Burying my feet and legs. Digging up sand crabs for bait. Sand fills up in your bathing suit bottom and you have to trudge out to the ocean at least waist deep and do a little dance, hopping nobody has goggles and can hold their breath for a long time.

I DON’T like going to the beach for the DAY. The 60 to 90 minute, sand in my pants, wet bathing suit, sticky skin drive home is miserable. HATE that.

I LOVE going to the beach when we stay overnight. Spending the entire day outside in the sun and sand and getting to take a shower IMMEDIATELY after. Then going out for a bucket of Cajun shrimp and ICE cold beer at Bubba Gumps. Then waking up the next and doing it all over, but with different sea food at the end of the day? Like maybe blackened mahi mahi? Oh, now why did I go there? I’m ready for vacation now.

I LOVE sitting out on the balcony of a hotel at night, listening to the surf and (hopefully, if the moon is right) watching the waves.

I DO like walking on the beach at sunrise and sunset. Breathtaking.

I DO like riding out the channel at Cape Canaveral in a boat EARLY in the morning. You can actually FEEL the tension sliding off your back behind you as you get farther away from land.

I especially like standing on the top deck of a Disney Cruise Ship as it makes its way down the channel.

I DON’T like walking on the beach at night. The scurrying little sand crabs freak me out. If I walk at night, I want a flash light. A BIG one.

oh. And my final DON’T like? Shaving my legs the same day I’m going to the ocean. ow. ow. ow. ow. Shave the night before. Trust me.

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To find out what others learned this week, check out What I Learned this Week hosted by Musings of a Housewife.

Thanks, Kristin for inspiring this post!

bah-donk-a-donk butt.

note to self: choose on purpose.

Summer can be a little busy. We can find ourselves out and about. And hungry.

Yesterday, I had a Quarter Pounder with Cheese for lunch. No fries, and with a Diet Coke, but still. Today, I had my FAVORITE salad, a Grilled Southwest WITH the southwest dressing even. So yesterday? 510 calories and 26 grams of fat. Today? 420 calories and 15 grams of fat. Still not great. But better. Not better than eating at home. But better than the day before. And really, that’s all I’m going for.   Better than the day before.   Baby steps. Baby steps. (and I’m filling out the exercise log again)

At McDonalds . . .
A Quarter Pounder with Cheese from McDonalds has 510 calories and 26 grams of fat.  (bah-donk-a-donk)
A Grilled Chicken Southwest Salad has 320 calories and 9 grams of fat.

The Southwest Dressing has 100 calories and 6 grams of fat.  (bah-donk-a-donk)
The Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing 40 calories and 3 grams of fat.

At Pollo Tropical . . .
The Caribbean Chicken Fajita Platter has 690 calories and 26 grams of fat.  (bah-donk-a-donk)
The Chicken Regular TropiChop® w/Yellow Rice & Vegetables has 330 calories and 5 grams of fat.

At Del Taco . . .
The Chicken Cheddar Quesadilla has 570 calories and 29 grams of fat.  (bah-donk-a-donk)
The plain ol’ Nachos have 370 calories and 21 grams of fat.  (bah-donk-a-donk)
A Taco has 130 calories and 7 grams of fat.
The Grilled Chicken Taco Del Carbon has 150 calories and 5 grams of fat.
(and this one’s for the rest of the family)
The Crispy Fish Taco has 300 calories and 17 grams of fat.  (bah-donk-a-donk)
(and this is for FirstHusband)
The Deluxe Taco Salad has 850 calories and . . . wait for it . . . 46 grams of fat.  (bah-donk-a-donk)

At Subway . . .
A Six Inch Turkey Breast Sandwich has 290 calories and 4 grams of fat.

YO! Julie! Go to Subway! Eat Fresh.

And avoid bah-donk-a-donk butt. (I love this commercial!)

15 Books, 15 Minutes, A Lifetime

Lisa Writes linked up to a book meme that looked very interesting.

List 15 Books in 15 Minutes – Books I’ve read that will always “stick with me.”

1. The Bible (that’s easy)
2. My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
3. Decisionmaking and the Will of God by Garry Friesen
4. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
5. Faith Based Parenting by Dr. Tim Kimmel
6. The Taste of New Wine by Ken Miller
7. What’s Next by Rena Pederson
8. When Work Doesn’t Work Anymore by Elizabeth Perle Mckenna
9. Guilt Free Living by Robert Jeffress
10. Where is God When We Hurt by Philip Yancy
11. Stop Screaming at the Microwave by Mary Lo Verde
12. The Family Manager by Kathy Peel
13. The Aladdin Factor by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
14. You Can Negotiate Anything by Herb Cohen
15. Communicating at Work by Ronald B Adler and Jeanne Marquardt Elmhorst

This list sends my thoughts all over the place.  Memories, realizations, reminders . . . I don’t know if I’ll post it, but I may come back and expand on these – what main concepts I took away and how I’ve incorporated them into my daily life.  For now, I wanted to get the list done in 15 minutes – without distractions.

Thanks for the link Lisa!

If you want to participate, check out some of the original memes at:

Booking Through Thursday
Shelly’s Bookshelf

55 minutes.

In the last few weeks, I’ve spent hours reading much on the paradox of evil and suffering vs. a loving and all powerful God. Hours. I’ve been thinking. learning. praying. blogging.

I began with the personal belief that God is loving, all-knowing and all-powerful – in spite of the evil and suffering in the world. I intentionally choose to accept this paradox. Intellectually, I don’t understand it. Emotionally, I hate it. Spiritually, I believe it.

But I was not ready.

Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you. [Peter 3:15]

I had no answer other than, “I don’t understand it. I hate it. But I believe it.”

Not very pragmatic. So I went to books, as usual. I seek knowledge, as usual. I read C.S. Lewis for the first time. (The Problem of Pain) I read Philip Yancy for the first time. (Where is God When It Hurts?) I read Lee Strobel for the first time. (The Case for Faith) I read Herbert Lockyer. (Dark Threads the Weaver Needs) I’ve got a book list including John Piper’s Spectacular Sins and others. I’m still reading and I’m sure I’ll continue blogging about my learning curve and thoughts. But.

Today I watched a 55 minute video and it pulled everything together. E V E R Y T H I N G.

I paused it. Rewinded a few times. Made notes. Typed minute 48. Minute 48 is compelling to be sure. But the truth is that the entire video is compelling.

If you have ever – EVER – considered the “Is this all there is?” question, I promise you that this 55 minutes of your time won’t be wasted. Randy Pausch’s last lecture pales.

Rachel Barkey is dying of cancer. She is 37. She has two children under 5 years old. This is her testimony. Four things she has learned:

Know God.
Know Yourself.
Know the Gospel.
Know your Purpose.

She says in her blog that she wants to “finish well.” Helping to share her message is one small thing I can do to help her finish well. I can also pray.

Don’t have 55 minutes in one sitting? Watch a little at a time. Break it up and watch each of these “things she’s learned” separately. I challenge you, I encourage you, I beg you – to take 55 minutes out of the busyness and redundancy of daily life and think on these things.

Here’s minute 48:

“I am dying.

But so are you.

Neither of us knows if we will even see tomorrow. And perhaps the reason that I am suffering now, the reason that God is waiting to bring judgment against all the evil in this world is because he is waiting for you. For you to acknowledge your sin and to turn to him for forgiveness.

Maybe you are the one we are waiting for.

Jesus suffered. God did not spare him. Why would he spare me? If my suffering would result in good for you? If my suffering is the means that God would use to bring even one person to himself, it is an honor for me to suffer.

Does that seem strange?

I suppose it does.

But really, it is the only way that all of this makes any sense at all.

A God who sees my suffering but is is unable, or worse, unwilling to spare me? A God who sees my suffering but allows it? With no greater purpose or hope? My God is able to save me and he will. But save me from what?

From a life without him.”

Rachel’s message contains my answer.

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Thank you JanMary for the link to this powerful video.

dog and cat theology? or retarded cats?

Elle at A Complete Thought recently noted that her top post was entitled “Dog and Cat Theology.” Deep stuff.

Today one of my search strings was “how do you tell if your cat is retarded.” I’m assuming they ended up HERE. Not so deep stuff.

FirstHusband, FavoriteSon and I all cracked up. Then FavoriteSon said, “Makes you wonder what their cat is doing.”