Made Me Glad...

man, this song has been a huge encouragement to me lately.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0Zc_VWJJoI

The Pink Bible...

i've been getting organized in my office at home...helps give me distractions while working on my thesis...hehe. well, i was going through some books and stumbled across a little pink bible. i opened it up and realized that it was my grandma helen's. a gift from my grandpa. after they passed on, my dad gave it me.

i've been leafing through it lately, and i've got to tell you about this thing...it's amazing!

my grandpa decided that grandma needed a pink bible because that was her favorite color. :) but more than that, he wanted to be sure that important points or verses that would apply more to her were highlighted for her as she read. so he sat for weeks and went page-by-page through the ENTIRE bible, underlining everything that he thought was special.

it's amazing!!!

i don't know if you would agree, but that's one of the most romantic things i've heard in a long time. :)

one of the biggest desires of my life (when the time is right, of course) is to just have someone courageously step into my life that wants to know me, and somehow in even the simplest ways, they let you know that they see you and are witnessing your life unfold. i don't know if i'm explaining it just right, but it's how i'd like to love and be loved. i guess it's how i think god does it, and how he'd like us to love as well.

i don't know if i'm explaining it just right...but, i guess that's why grandma's bible seems so special. he went through it with the "who" of who grandma was in his mind.

hottie...

Auntie the Lamp Shade

i went shopping with my 4-yr-old niece on sunday. i love all the things she thinks about and discovers. she's such a delight.

well, my niece likes shopping as much as i do...actually, more...hehe. and she was UBER-determined that i get a shirt on the clearance rack at target. to be honest i was more than shocked at how adamant she was...it's a purple multi-layered lacey thing.

not exactly my idea of heaven.

i couldn't pass it up though...i mean, seriously..."auntie, it's PURPLE!"...i guess it's the new pink. (and i had the receipt...hehe.)

so, i just put on the clothing of questionable origin and purpose...over another shirt, mind you...modesty first. ;)

i look like a 70's lamp shade. no joke, no lie...

but...i'm keeping it!

we all need a little lamp shade from time to time...:)

A "Shout Out" to the Frosty

i was on my way home from the princess party tonight and decided that i "needed" a frosty. hey, i pretty much was on a juice diet all day and had to strain my stomach muscles to suck in all night...so i had one coming. ;)

you know what i realized???

i dare not say...but i'm going to anyway...

the vanilla frosty is actually BETTER than the chocolate!!

i KNOW! it's sooooo bizarre. but it's totally true.

i recommend you test it out sometime...either order one with someone and just get the opposite flavor or get two of those junior size ones...one chocolate, one vanilla.

it's a---MAZING!

Oh my gosh!...the ONE negative to my tattoo!

i get to go to a princess party for a bunch of little girls tomorrow night...thanks, dawn! and so i've been going through my princess dresses to see if there's one i can fit into (still in 'getting-back-into-shape' mode) and it's dawned on me that my splendid tattoo is really quite visible in all but one!!!

oh...my...gosh! i've found one negative in my world of positives concerning my little wonder. at least it's a negative in this setting...or maybe an unnecessary distraction...:(

well, i hope to god i can suck in for a minimum of two hours...because that's what it's going to take to fit into the one that hides it. grrrr!

A Sucky Day!...or Adventure!

i've had a horrible cold lately...one that's knocked me on my butt. i had to take yesterday off work because i was so miserable. that, of course, bothered me immensely...i had a ton to do and could only sit at home with a snot-exploding head, checking facebook for sanity.

i went to bed last night praying that i would be better in the morning...and i was a bit better. still not 100% though. so, i doctored myself with more meds, and i took a little more time getting ready (my first class wasn't until 11am).

and then i was off...

HAHAHAHA! sorry, i have to laugh about it now...in the moment it wasn't all too funny...

apparently, moisture has been building up on some "idle control" mechanism in my engine...moisture that also freezes in sub-zero temps. well, it decided to freeze on my way this morning JUST AS I WAS ACCELERATING!

you know what that means???

my car kept on and kept on accelerating...and braking wasn't much of a dent in it's gumption.

i was FREAKING OUT!!!!

so, i was not only sick and drugged to high heaven...but driving a torpedo on self-destruct mode.

i had to whip off hwy 95 onto this road by a little lutheran church...took that corner at mach 4 million! grabbed the emergency brake and saw my engine do rpm's that i didn't think possible.

and then i shut her down...

and then i called my dad.

i had my meltdown in the time it took for him to arrive, and considering all the history he and i have with my blunders and strange happenings, he knew i had "leaked" my tear ducts dry when he got there. so he gave me very simple and clear step-by-step instructions..hahaha!

and somehow we got ourselves to the service dept. dad then gave me the cue to get in his rig....he was taking me to work! yep! no slacking despite looking like death-warmed-over and being thrown into a james bond thriller!!! and by the time we got there, he'd told me some crazy driving stories from his experiences, almost wheelee'd us in the school skating rink known as a parking lot...and parked his car on the sidewalk for doorside service.

at this point i would like to say that this is all an exaggeration...but sadly...it's NOT! hahaha!

so, i'm so thankful for god and my dad! even though it sucked to be hit when already down...:( it reminded me that we never are too alone and that god's idea of an adventure is sometimes a bit different than mine. :)

Belton...

every now and then, i check some stats and am completely shocked...actually not, to be honest.

the point is proven all over again. so sad.

isn't it ironic? (don't ya think?...as alanis would say)

Oh Taco, Fair Taco...

i just have to admit this...i LOVE tacos.

LOVE THEM!

i realized today that i pretty much always have a container of taco meat in my frig with all the other fixings just because i never know exactly when i'm going to need one.

and by 'need' i mean...i'm serious! :)

so, this blog will serve as my ode to the taco...yet another reason i believe there's a god.

The Affliction...

i feel like i get caught between polar opposites that exist in my nature. do you ever find that you have a couple of character traits that conflict with each other?...creates a really odd internal battle sometimes.

well, i have one of those going on right now. the restorative side of me...that is the part of me that believes (sometimes irrationally) in the potential of people and situations no matter how dire. and the loyal realist side of me...that is the part of me that tries to shake out what's really going on and will quickly recall the past (sometimes negatively so) in the assessment of people and situations.

makes for a messy moment. a tug-of-war between optimism and pessimism.

both, ironically, really help me in moments that require strategy...and usually the right one wins in those moments. well...ideally...hehe.

but what to do when it isn't so clear...to go with 'restore' or to go with 'reality'???

obviously, it seems prudent to nestle the situation in god's hands...counting on his redemptive vision and his reality. but releasing my control so his story can play out?? man, oh man, that can be a tough one sometimes...

We've Left the Planet...

unbelievably, our culture will stand to be the contradiction in terms yet again. we boast mlk's dream that man be judged "not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character"...and then what do we do??? in one inaguration day...we elevate a plain and simple man to god status...why?...because of the color of his skin.

it's all over the media...

unreal!!! and head-shakingly ironic!!!! we are still defining (and celebrating) the measure of a man by something other than what our standard should be..."who" he (or she) is.

and i totally get that it is meaningful in the sense of how far we've come in history...but to make this guy the antithesis of the "dream"????

how small!!!

do people not get what mlk's dream was? that "the content of his character" would be considered far above and beyond race, faith, factions and on and on and on.

and so, while we've celebrated the victory of skin color equality, we completely ignore the intolerant separation (on ALL sides) between genders, religions, denominations, parties, groups, classes...which, in truth, are far more accurate encapsulations of the fullness of what the "dream" refers to...oh ya, we've come soooo far.

the broadness of the "dream" continues to be so unfortunately misunderstood and narrowed...so off point.

strange, strange, strange...

Dear Mr. President...

i heard a statistic yesterday that absolutely shocked me...that 80% of americans think you are going to make all their problems disappear.

umm...whoa.

so i guess i'm just writing you to know that there are people out there that don't put all their security in your presidency. i mean, seriously!...what insane expectations!...especially when most of our problems actually come from our self-centered, entitled cultural "standards".

so if you ever need a break, please feel free to come over for dinner. we can chat...;)

Wanna "Conversate"??

oh my gosh...i overheard someone say "conversate" today. i just need to take this moment to speak it outloud into cyberspace...

"conversate"...not a word.

we can have a conversation or converse with each other...or just have an all-around good talk.

but alas...we don't conversate.

ok...my work is done here.

My Crazy Shoes...

i love weird shoes. it is unfortunate that i was given big feet to support my height. otherwise, i'd be buying a new pair per day. all shapes and sizes and colors. actually, now that i think of it, it's probably good news for my budget that my feet don't always fit my passion....

crazy shoes.

i've been bopping around the last two days in these puppies. i LOVE them.

unfortunately, not all people are fans of my fetish. i get weird looks sometimes...comments...but i don't care!

life is too boring without flavor...:)

A Song For Someone...

i haven't been able to get this song out of my head all day...so i found the lyrics and it made sense why. so, if it's time to move on...this song is for you! (lyrics below...)


I'm not afraid of anything in this world
There's nothing you can throw at me that I haven't already heard
I'm just trying to find a decent melody
A song that I can sing in my own company

I never thought you were a fool
But darling, look at you
You gotta stand up straight, carry your own weight
These tears are going nowhere, baby

You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment and now you can't get out of it
Don't say that later will be better now you're stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it

I will not forsake, the colours that you bring
But the nights you filled with fireworks
They left you with nothing
I am still enchanted by the light you brought to me
I still listen through your ears, and through your eyes I can see

And you are such a fool
To worry like you do
I know it's tough, and you can never get enough
Of what you don't really need now... my oh my

You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment and now you can't get out of it
Oh love look at you now
You've got yourself stuck in a moment and now you can't get out of it

I was unconscious, half asleep
The water is warm till you discover how deep...
I wasn't jumping... for me it was a fall
It's a long way down to nothing at all

You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment and now you can't get out of it
Don't say that later will be better now
You're stuck in a moment and you can't get out of it

And if the night runs over
And if the day won't last
And if our way should falter
Along the stony pass

And if the night runs over
And if the day won't last
And if your way should falter
Along the stony pass
It's just a moment
This time will pass

A Body Image Recommendation

alright ladies...and guys if you have any lady in your life...it's time for a body image recommendation.

get yourself photographed!...and i don't mean a couple of snapshots...i mean a portrait sitting!

if you are at all like me in the body image department, actually putting yourself in a situation where you are on display...having your beauty (or lack thereof, so you may incorrectly believe) captured...it can be a traumatic thought and/or experience. (i actually wanted to throw up my first time!...oh dear!)

but because there's freedom when we choose to walk through our valleys, i say 'go for it!'...let those wounds rise up, let healing waters flow over them...and actually see the "mountaintop" when it comes to your REAL and TRUE beauty. (screw the wrinkles, rolls or stretch marks!!!) :)

my body image was way out of whack for years! first, i grew so fast and was really embarassed by it. always taller than everyone else...always noticed because of it (or so i thought). second, i thought i was way too fat...began a series of bouts with starving myself. got really thin...unhealthily so...still felt worthless. (go figure!) third, because i was so sure of my ugliness, i tended to put myself in situations that only validated it. and i pretty much thought any opinion to the contrary a lie.

so i haven't always believed a genuine beauty was in there...nor have i always put myself in situations that affirmed that beauty or called it out.

but we can!

so, if you feel like it's time to get up outta 'ugly' and call out your beauty that IS there...how about a little step???...a portrait session!!!

i'll come with you! we'll have so much fun!

Sometimes...

...i wish i could just be a "jesus lover". not a "christian"...not an "evangelical".

all over america there exists a mode of 'christianity' that stands firmly on the tenet that "life is found in knowing propositional truths"...the bulletpoint faith. that followed by a whole mess of people charging into the world to confront all the "un-knowing". or to totally remove themselves from it to hide in fear of all kinds of falsehoods showing up on their doorsteps.

it's so frustrating to me...so, so, so out of balance!!!

making a living faith into a religion of "the proud and the pansies"...and that's exactly what it looks like to our culture.

so sad.

and for those that think i might be out in left field thinking that truth is unimportant...not at all. it's just that "truth"...in order to be real and relevant...needs something far more fundamentally intimate to be hung on. apart from a foundation of real relationship with a loving god, truth becomes a legalistic tug-of-war...very circumstantial...and very hypocritical.

don't believe me?...look at statistics on kids raised in "truth-only"...they shockingly drop the bulletpoints for all the ridiculous entitlements our culture offers as a fill for their basic, god-sized, relational holes.

oh that we could know that we are made for a relationship beyond our wildest dreams. one that actually births trust...love...faith...obedience...sacrifice...holiness...

it's what jesus said before he went to the cross to die for my heart and yours...

"After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."

doesn't say "know about"...it says "know". it's the "know" that assumes a relationship (check your greek...it's so graciously true!). and with god, it's not just a relationship that gets us "outta hell"...no, it's "father", "lover", "king", "friend"...it's "god with us".

alas, i'm not a flee-er...despite the cultural disdain for my "christian" title...a sourness which is so NOT based on a church living out the love of christ and thus becoming despised...i'm not outta here yet. people lost in a religion of "fact ackn0wledgement" need the "divine dance" just as much as someone who doesn't know.

Greatest Treasure

The Greatest Dignity of All 01/16/2009 (Ransomed Heart On-line Devo)

He enables us to love. He gives us the greatest treasure in all creation: a heart. For he intends that we should be his intimate allies, to borrow Dan Allender’s phrase, who join in the Sacred Circle of intimacy that is the core of the universe, to share in this great Romance.

Just as we have lost our wonder at the world around us, we have forgotten what a treasure the human heart is. All of the happiness we have ever known and all of the happiness we hope to find is unreachable without a heart. You could not live or love or laugh or cry had God not given you a heart.

And with that heart comes something that just staggers me.

God gives us the freedom to reject him.

He gives to each of us a will of our own.

Good grief, why? He knows what free-willed creatures can do. He has already suffered one massive betrayal in the rebellion of the angels. He knows how we will use our freedom, what misery and suffering, what hell will be unleashed on earth because of our choices. Why? Is he out of his mind?

The answer is as simple and staggering as this: if you want a world where love is real, you must allow each person the freedom to choose.

(Epic 50-51)

The Drummer Girl...One Can Dream.

can i be honest??...i LOVE drums! i LOVE percussion!...and so wish i had the rhythm to be a drummer! but alas...my rhythm abilities are lacking. so i actually put in a request to god that maybe he let me be in the percussion section...with some actual abilities...when i get to be done here. wouldn't that be fun? :)

so...here's a fun latin disco number from the 70's. (perhaps time for another living room dance session?)

Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet...

i woke up to this song in my heart...very simple song, but so, so true for this gal. :) the originally recorded version is so precious (and it's below this one). it's an old man singing it over and over...

Where's our wonder?

From an on-line devotional: Epic (pgs 44-45)

We have grown dull toward this world in which we live; we have forgotten that it is not normal or scientific in any sense of the word. It is fantastic. It is fairy tale through and through. Really now. Elephants? Caterpillars? Snow? At what point did you lose your wonder at it all?

Even so, once in a while something will come along and shock us right out of our dullness and resignation.

We come round a corner, and there before us is a cricket, a peacock, a stag with horns as big as he. Perhaps we come upon a waterfall, the clouds have made a rainbow in a circle round the sun, or a mouse scampers across the counter, pauses for a moment to twitch its whiskers, and disappears into the cupboard. And for a moment we realize that we were born into a world as astonishing as any fairy tale.

A world made for romance.

Take Your Toys and Go HOME!

i've had more than enough of the critical and controlling people of the world!

they suck the life out of ANYTHING!

i know that eventually these people "take their toys and go home", making it about everyone else and their problems...so, i'm wondering...is it bad to actually recommend it rather than wait for them to decide the inevitable (making lives miserable in the meantime)?...grrrr!

An "Ah-hah" Moment for This Girl

when we don't live with an open hand...we become doomed to a life of legitamacy.

meaning...

if we draw our life from people, work, circumstances...and as such then have to have a tight hold on all of them...we curse ourselves to an existence of proving ourselves or our agendas...just to keep them in our grasp.

but when we live with an open hand...drawing life from it's authentic source...we are free to be as we truly are...and are free to let go...

and in that great irony that i often find with god...chosing that way opens our eyes to a great community that would rather walk together...through any challenge...than stand divided.

i have found myself in a situation sometimes...related to a ministry that i care very deeply about...where i find that i'm trying to legitimize who we are and what we stand for. a step back from the situation, and i find it ridiculous because god is having his way and doing wonderful, marvelous things in the lives of the people there...and he never needs my "backup". but in the heat of it...well, i start to try to "prove" whatever i think needs to be proven in the first place. (nice pride reaction, don't you think?) :)

totally asinine when i really look at it! first, i'm not the proclaimed defender of anything. and i'd be prudent to ask the big "g" if he even wants me to step up to the plate and take a whack at something. and second, no one in the history of mankind has been able to legitimize a thing to people that don't want to see it. critical natures, judgments, gossip...well, you can't fight through that with the best of evidence...you know?

and i just realized that...actually, i think god just whispered it...living with an open hand requires...no, it FREES us...to just "be". to be HIS. and in that "being", we are able to let go. we can get out of god's way, let him do his thing, and join him where he wills.

and "come what may" is truly ok...because it's not about keeping everyone in the "happy camp"...including myself...it's about being his and coming alive.

ah-hah!

Heart "Pop"...

i had the most wonderful experience the other day...

made me bawl in my hallway...

i got home from work on tuesday, pulled into my garage...and heard this "bam, bam, bam" sound above me. quickly moving through the "stalker lives elsewhere" or "burglar with a noise problem" alternatives, i realized that someone was on my treadmill in my little office upstairs.

so i went up the stairs and saw a pair of shoes, a school bag, and a letter jacket. it was my niece, sarah, getting more in shape for basketball.

can i just tell you that i was filled with the most amazing delight and joy to see her? i was so excited to peak in and check on her.

and something just popped open in my heart...like a film around it burst...my heart grew! and i bawled...

i know it sounds odd...you may just have to go with me on this one. but for a gal that is in utter control of her sanctuary...and what delights happen when in this place...a "surprise" which could have so potentially been a "bother", god grew into "joy"....sheer, god-sourced delight in who this darling niece is!...and i was excited to share whatever with her.

he's so sweet like that!

funny thing was that i was telling my mom about it the other day...and she told me that she had been praying that god would give me that gift sometime!

again...he's so sweet like that! i sooooooo love him!

Winter SAD's...Get Vit D-3!!!

my brother-in-law rommel is from the philippines. tropical all year round...

so moving to minnesota where winter is a lengthy ordeal, 'seasonal affective disorder' (SAD) has been a very real and depressing occurence. they've tried everything...even that uv lamp that fakes a tropical ray of sun. and that does help somewhat.

but this winter!!!!...he was told to also take vitamin d. (d-3, to be exact!)

he is the most "himself" that i've seen in this season! it's amazing!

so...i'm on it too!

it's great for immunity, bones...good stuff all around.

Another "JHB" Tale...

"jhb" means "junior high boy". these guys give me some of the best stomach aches...from laughing so hard.

so one of my jhbs came to my office this week to tell me a "secret"...

he came in and said, "i have something great to tell you!" he was really excited so i, of course, told him that i couldn't wait to hear about it.

so he leaned in and whispered, "i'm growing hair!"

uh, almost spit out my diet coke...

.....?
.....?
.....?

what...to...say...

so...hesitantly...i said, "wow...that's great...right?"

he said, "i get to go get my first razor today! i'm so excited!!"

so, of course, we "yahoo'd" and "yippee'd", and he showed me his peach fuzz.

:) i love jhbs.

that IS so cool! and i'm so glad he has parents that let something like be the REALLY BIG DEAL that it is for a young man.

Adding Penguins To My List...

i have a "list". fullllll of all kinds of things that i want to see or do in my lifetime. they range from the very simple and cheap to the more lofty...but regardless, whenever i think of something more, i add it to the list...and then cross them off when i've completed them.

(watch a sunrise, smoke a cigar, get a tattoo, make indian food...it goes on and on.)

it's good for the heart!

well, i realized this morning that i've never seen a real, live penguin! how i've made it through 3 decades without seeing one is a bit shocking to me, but i'm thinking that seeing a penguin is something i need to do.

so...they made it to my list this morning.

now i just need to make it happen... :)

Hair Change...

k, so i'm going to grow my hair out again. i'm missing the options...

so in the meantime, i have to find some intermediate styles to pass the time. it's tough going from short to longer...tricky stuff!

so i'm borrowing from 'selene' in 'underworld'. she's got a style that survives even the toughest battles with strange beasts. so, it should get me through tough days with the junior high kids...hehe.

unfortunately, the hair style does not also come with the ability to wear black leather war fatigues...that involves a treadmill, weights and serious amounts of tape. ;)

Trinity...

hero alert! :)

A Gift That Left Me Speechless...

i received an interesting gift a few weeks ago...totally left me speechless. it'd take too long to describe, but let's just say that if anyone knows this simple, quirky gal well enough, it...was...amazing!

i wish i could find more words to say how special it was to me...hence, the speechless.

the other part to the story, though, was that it ended up being more special to me than to the giver. and that's totally fine and how things work out sometimes...but it got me thinking...

i really can't wait for the day when i can give and receive a meaningful gift in a way that i can't right now. i know that sounds stupid, but a single gal doesn't get so many "meaningful" gifts or get the opportunity romantically-speaking.

it'll just be really nice someday to really be able to give and receive in an "i love you" sense.

(and for you who typically join me in the gutter...no, i'm not even talking about that right now! i know...it's shocking!) ;)

Getting on God's Page...

sometimes i wish i knew what in the world god was up to. you know the things that you just can't understand? the things that just don't make sense? the things you'd like to see changed or solved?

turns out he's far more interested in relationship than all my agendas and strategy ideas...hehe.

but, in the time it's taking for me to accept that 'his ways are not my ways' (that they are, in fact, BETTER than mine), i occasionally find myself on a totally different page that him...i picture the two of us each inviting the other to our respective sheets.

and imperfectly, of course, i tend to find that his "page" is a far, far better read than mine...

and the thing is that it's not that solutions and methods aren't important to him. it's just that he is 'emmanuel', the 'god with us' kinda god. he wants us to live a "with god" life. do it all...together.

it's the "real" that he's operating in....and grrrr...the one i keep forgetting.

Competition Bummer...

i used to be a very fearful, insecure girl. that made me into a classic nonexistent "hider". thanks to falling in love with god, it's been getting less and less all the time. not perfect by any means...and sometimes still a wrestling match...but it's less and less. i'm definitely more content with being 'messy beautiful'. ;)

well, i've been noticing that as we begin to discover and really experience who god is (our father, our romancer), we start to hear him speak to our hearts about who we really are. the shoe that fits. square peg, square hole. and just naturally, we start stepping into things that we never dreamed of in our isolation tanks. it's so wonderful that it works like that! encouraging for anyone stepping into the troubled waters that typically keep us living in the flesh (less than human).

BIG CELEBRATION IN ORDER! and we should be like that to each other! strengthsfinders says that one of my strengths is "harmony", so maybe it comes from that little "how can we get along and work together" irritation...but i think we should all be so excited to step into our greater humanity, be a part of helping that happen for each other, find ways to work together out of that...and celebrate it BIG TIME! at least, that's my ideal...:)

so why am i babbling on about all that?

well, lately, god has given me some more opportunities to explore the particular voice that he's perhaps given me. yet, the response i've gotten from a few is a competition of sorts. like a need for some feather-floofing on their part. the funny thing is that if those people knew even remotely the road i've walked down to get to the place where i'll even accept the challenge...hahahaha...it's been a battle! not to parade in the least...oh my gosh, no! my mind doesn't even go that way. no, the battle's been completely terrifying...to dare to even show up!!!...to dare to twirl at all.

and the internal party i have when it's over is that i lived! hahaha!...not that i've somehow one-upped someone else.

so their reaction makes no sense to me...especially since i'm in constant admiration of their passions, new steps, all the possibilities. so it's a huge "HUH?" for me...

our giftings or interests don't exist to diagnose deficits in another...but it seems like some people can't be ok with what someone else may have in their bag.

is it an insecurity in one's own giftings...or a jealousy? i don't know...

but regardless, it leaves me pondering what in the world to even do or say...because it means that they may be more comfortable with me not being "me" in order to feel better about themselves.

but going backwards?...back into the cage?...not an option for this gal.

Enchanted...

this is one of my favorite movies. you know why it gets me so much???...two people living in stories that aren't meant for them.

this scene just made me cry and cry in the theater because it's so frustrating!...they are "so close" to stepping into the life that allows them each to really be themselves...it seems just out of reach.

she could step out of the fairy tale and into a story that lets her just be the real her...

he could step out of all the controlled ways of living into a freedom he's long forgotten...

thankfully, they each choose to step into the stories that they were fitted for...and i didn't have to throw my popcorn at the screen. :)

but it does remind me...from time to time...to ask myself if i'm living god's authentic story for my life...messily but uniquely his and mine...or if i'm living a story that's less than what i'm meant for...perfectly fake. good to think about sometimes...

MN: Sooooo embarrassing!!!

My friend Bynthia posted this today with the following comment. It's an article from the Wall Street Journal. So embarrassing!!!

"Minnesota has lost all credibility...just like in Washington a few years ago...keep counting until Franken "wins." Your vote was worthless. Franken taking that many votes while no other DFL candidates on the ballot gained is statistically impossible. One can only hope he goes to jail for this. Incredible, shameless, repulsive fraud."

Funny Business in Minnesota
--
If MN became the laughingstock of America when it elected a pro-wrestler, it is now the laughingstock of the world. Much revenue will be lost from conventions & other events that will no longer seek a venue in this state. Minnesotans should worry about a stolen election in which every dubious ruling seems to help Al Franken.
--
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123111967642552909.html

Chasing Pavements...

umm...ya. 'nuf said there. but, i love the passion in the chorus of this song. this gal's got pipes...

here's the link if you want to see the extremely odd video. otherwise the song is below... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz7vGW2_5c0&feature=related

Tattoo Coupon???

i got a 50% off coupon for a holiday tattoo! apparently, previous customers earn another visit during the holidays.

proving once and for all that true pain has a TON of gain!!! ;)

but it's sooooooo tempting! i'm serious!!

alas...i can't get one on a whim. no, my adventure has to be far more thought-out...well, and frankly it has to be firmly in my mind for a consistent 4 years. hopefully, the design too. it'd be a lot to regret as a whimsy decision...

so, goodbye coupon...maybe in a few years we'll meet again...

I have no response to that...

so, it turns out that my friend melise has shot and eaten a variety of dinners in her lifetime. not deer...well, not from her own gun. no, far more creative morsels for this one's palette. thankfully, nothing like "cat". (not that i'm opposed to feline demise.)

i just simply have no response to that.

a little awe, i guess.

awed and speechless...