A Modified Birthday Letter

GPB and LSG last summer - photo by DMM

I wrote this two days ago, on GPB's birthday (Sept 9). I vacillated as to whether or not I should actually post it -today I decided that I didn't really care if it was a tiny bit mushy - he deserves this post!

Happy Birthday, Ghetto Phone Boy!

G, you grow daily in your spiritual walk, and you're a true Barnabas - and I hope someday everyone you know will read of him and think of you. Your care, respect and appreciation for my sister is the very best, and I'm so happy that God brought her such a great guy. You are such a steadfast friend - you've been my brother's good buddy, and you've been my good friend - especially when you've given advice and encouragement exactly when I needed it.

Most of all, though, I've watched you grow and mature during difficult situations God has given you, and I see you desire to be a real peacemaker.

We love you dearly.

(and no, I didn't get through writing this without tearing up just a little bit. I'm a softie!)

All my love. Happy Birthday G!
Ains

PS, Today you were awesome as usual, proving to me how caring and respectful you are of all of us in our family. Thank you for trusting me, and being my friend.

A day dedicated to God, but relaxing by ....

watching sports!

I wonder if most would define me as a fanatic...? I can't believe I forgot how exhilarating it is to watch football! I can't say that I'm terribly upset that Moss has been traded, and I'll miss the incredible catches he's able to accomplish, but the drama off the field...not so much. My Vikings Jersey (kids size - far less expensive!) will need to be changed, as I've worn #84 for 7 years. Number 11 will be next up.

And then, of course, there is THIS! We are waiting with bated breath - our two favorite players are in the final! Not so bad. Our favorite to win the US grand slam is Agassi (US citizen), but Federer is the likely winner, and with his ability, we're just wishing he'd resign his Swiss citizenship and come play for the U.S!

Too late to read blogs

So, I was just surfing blogs, and as I clicked from one to another, I coulda sworn I saw a very creatively named blog. I clicked back, and stared at Manolo's for a good. long. time. Not seeing it, and knowing that The Pioneer Press used to have a section of their Bulletin Board called creative hearing, I figured this was a case of creative seeing (not hard, considering my contacts are in desperate need of change.)

But then, I threw it into Google - and I didn't believe it, but there is a blog out there named
"Narcoleptic Squirrel."

I haven't read through it much, but the title itself made me laugh. Scroll down to the bottom of this page to read about its namesake.

I'm going to stop watching it, but it was worth it today.

This post could be subtitled "See Katie Couric speechless -- for two seconds."

Mississippi Governor gives Network News a polite smack down.

MSN Video tends to take the video clips down within about 48 hours, so check out the video titled "Mississippi Governor talks about cleanup" with that in mind.

Does Jesse need a dictionary?

Ok, so I decided that my original post bordered on the mean, instead of snarky, as meant.

So, here's another equally snarky post , and enjoy the "Pearls" below, which is hysterical no matter which way you cut it. :)

Much Better than what the Today Show is saying

I found this on www.simuljustusetpeccator.blogspot.com , a website by David Skinner, a PCA pastor in Beloxi, MS. It was linked to by www.PCAnet.org, the PCA's (my denomination)website. This was his post on September 3rd.
I thought I would just link and post a short part, but it is Just. So. Good. From C.H. Spurgeon, I'm assuming it is from his "Morning and Evening Devotions."

Morning, August 31

"On mine arm shall they trust."--Isaiah 51:5

In seasons of severe trial, the Christian has nothing on earth that he can trust to, and is therefore compelled to cast himself on his God alone. When his vessel is on its beam-ends, and no human deliverance can avail, he must simply and entirely trust himself to the providence and care of God. Happy storm that wrecks a man on such a rock as this! O blessed hurricane that drives the soul to God and God alone!

There is no getting at our God sometimes because of the multitude of our friends; but when a man is so poor, so friendless, so helpless that he has nowhere else to turn, he flies into his Father's arms, and is blessedly clasped therein! When he is burdened with troubles so pressing and so peculiar, that he cannot tell them to any but his God, he may be thankful for them; for he will learn more of his Lord then than at any other time.

Oh, tempest-tossed believer, it is a happy trouble that drives thee to thy Father! Now that thou hast only thy God to trust to, see that thou puttest thy full confidence in Him. Dishonour not thy Lord and Master by unworthy doubts and fears; but be strong in faith, giving glory to God. Show the world that thy God is worth ten thousand worlds to thee. Show rich men how rich thou art in thy poverty when the Lord God is thy helper. Show the strong man how strong thou art in thy weakness when underneath thee are the everlasting arms. Now is the time for feats of faith and valiant exploits. Be strong and very courageous, and the Lord thy God shall certainly, as surely as He built the heavens and the earth, glorify Himself in thy weakness, and magnify his might in the midst of thy distress.

The grandeur of the arch of heaven would be spoiled if the sky were supported by a single visible column, and your faith would lose its glory if it rested on anything discernible by the carnal eye. May the Holy Spirit give you to rest in Jesus this closing day of the month.

Thoughts on Katrina

I have to admit, during the past week, the words of my mouth have not been overwhelmingly sorrowful for the people of New Orleans. I am sad and sorrowful for those who have truly lost their belongings and even lives to the storm; However, most of what the news is reporting are people whining in the face of disaster. I suppose the mourning will come later. For now, the news and blogs feel justified in pointing fingers.

And so, John Piper has once again risen with his words to help us re-adjust our view of humanity and God in this disaster.

Was Katrina Intelligent Design?

Contained in that article is this quote, one that struck me as so powerful:

Our guilt in the face of Katrina is not that we can’t see the intelligence in God’s design, but that we can’t see arrogance in our own heart. God will always be guilty of high crimes for those who think they’ve never committed any.

Update on Andy's Mojo

Yeah, the fact that I'm blogging about this is a bit stupid, but American Express actually came up with something clever in response to Andy Roddick's loss, and the subsequent jokes.

Friday Photo

DMM, and I'm fairly certain Migo is on her lap.

Before she went to the cabin, We were noticing how big Migo is getting, and how he's already starting to lose the puppy look, and get the doggie-look (still obscenely cute). So I thought I would post one of the first pictures we have of him with her.

I kinda retract my statement

McEnroe isn't completely worthless.

Courier: (regarding Nadal, and his skintight shirt). "Also, Nadal has said that he doesn't work out at the gym."
McEnroe: "I've also never yelled at an ump."



Nadal is not my favorite. This is an understatment. I made mom smile by saying, "Can you imagine his conversation with Nike about his shirt?"

"I want it TIGHT! So the women, they can see my pectorals!"

Holy. Cows.

(That's a shout out to iTones, by the way.)

I used think Bill Gates was pretty cool, but now? Google, You have my heart.

HUGE hat tip to Andrea. Click over to her post, she does a better review than I would.

Do it. You'll like it!

(I just flew from Red Lodge, MT to LSG's college - high atop a "mountain." Un.believable.)

Noooooooooooooooo! and Random Thoughts on the US Open

Madre made both of these points:

So, (1) this will probably be the last time American Express makes a tongue in cheek assumption about Andy's Mojo; (ackkk, you've got to watch the conclusion for true irony)

But (2) we don't believe in jinxing.

(Insult to injury: It was Andy's birthday).


Still, it's quite unbelievable that we won't get to see Roddick for the rest of the US Open. While I am always an Agassi fan first, Roddick has been moving up in the Ainsley stock lately.


-I'd MUCH rather have heard Brad Gilbert call this game, instead of McEnroe. McEnroe and Courier blather on about themselves far too much, saying nothing of consequence or interest about the players or their game. Gilbert is even handed, speaks from the view of a coach, therefore not needing to deal with the monstrous ego McEnroe can't see around.

-Second in the Noooo! category is that LSG and my favorite former-number-one-now-underdog once again has lost. As much as I admire Federer's game, am astonished by Safin, and grow to like Roddick, all the while loving Andre, nothing will keep me from watching -if they show the match - and cheering on Fererro. No matter how many times he loses!


(Photo from www.usopen.org . )

Tuesday Comic (replacing Tuesday Quote for this week) 

The offical start of National Conference Season:

I had a panic dream last night.

In it, a director of a different department was pointing out (in a fairly cavalier way, I might say!) that I only had 6 days, not four weeks, to get all my events in order, and process the 30-some registration items I'm doing.

Thankfully it wasn't the last dream I had, so I didn't wake up in the panic!

I'm a hypocrite

In this contest your challenge is to take modern products and display them in a vintage light, through advertisements.
From Worth 1000.

A Better, Larger, Clearer version


I'm a hypocrite because I think the dig at Starbucks is accurate and funny. And I'm still going to visit this business - frequently.

A word of warning: Worth 1000 is a cool website, a compilation of contests of the best and funniest photoshopped images under different categories (for example, "Mate a Movie" merges two movies to make a funnier version - "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" includes another famous Smith - not Brad Pitt.) I didn't see a lot of inappropriate images, except in the "Vintage Ads" category. A few of them were sexual in nature, and I'd rate of them as PG-13 to R. So, enjoy, but be aware that those are there.

Back to School, Reading Blogs

Dear LSG (and everyone else),

You're back at school! And now that you're back, you'll be studying, studying, studying and...reading blogs. So, here's my update on what I read daily. (most of these are on my blogroll, but, eh. I need something to write about...)

Brittle Crazy Glass. DMM is my good friend, who lives directly upstairs for the next two days, before she moves to her new home. :) DMM, we need an update! It's almost been a week!

Dooce. LSG, we know better than for you to check the blog, of course. The rest of you, this is one of the funnier, crass-but-not-overwhelmingly-offensive weblogs on the web. She's also the most frequently read private blog in blogdom.

LarkNews. Some months its better than The Onion in satire. Actually, it IS funnier. Especially finding out your Horoscope and your Prophetic word. I highly recommend.

Of course, Ask The Pope, but LSG, you already know about it. You'll get to know Pope Benedict in ways you'd never think possible.

For the very best reminder of home: LBImaging.

See Life Differently and Palm Tree Pundit have both been on mini-hiatus, as has Le Sabot, but worthwhile blogs when you have more time to browse and read.

For the exercise of your brain, The Banty Rooster and his sister, The Radley Porch.

And finally, the blog I'm reading with much of the anticipation every day is The Shoe Blog by the Monolo. He rocks in every way. This is the blog of the clean, funny and informative, and Little Shoe Girl, It revolves around SHOES! More importantly, his latest entries have been on the shoes of the tennis! Can we ask for more? I think not.

Lv,
Ains

Its official

GPB: Yellow, Green, Orange, Purple, Red
Me: Green, Yellow, Orange, Red, Purple.

I'd tell you Madre's, but she says that the order she eats her Skittles is private. Big Little Bro eats peanut-butter M&Ms, so he doesn't enter in.

Which ones do you eat first and last?

Defeating the purpose

Seen on the side of a popular running route: Young woman, in running gear, walking and talking on her cell phone.

You can't leave it at home for 30 minutes?

Tuesday Quote

My 6th Grade teacher would put a weekly quote up on the chalkboard (before whiteboards) each week. This one stuck with me.

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."
Abraham Lincoln

Here are a few more from Mr. Lincoln:

"I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day. "

And

"I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it."

:(

The opposite of this post now needs to be said. I know Thanksgiving will come around WAY faster than I think, but I really hate saying goodbye to my sister.

Luv ya, LSG.

A Tale of Two Movies

Within the last 4 days, I've watched two movies that both firmly live within the category of "Chick Flick."

The first, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" sounds as though guys would go running, and honestly, they very well should. BUT, it was a date with my sister, and we both thought it was fairly cute and even a bit poignant. By the world's standard this movie is squeeky clean. By ours, it's better than average. I'd say that most people on Christian Spotlight had it right. There are a few there that took some parts a little too seriously, but as you get older, I guess you're just relieved when a movie gets through itself without those scenes that make you go, "why would they put that in there!?"

Which is the perfect segue my second movie, "The Wedding Date." Now that the guys went screaming for the exits on "Sisterhood," ladies, it's your turn. I can't tell you how glad I am that things prevented my sister and me from going to this in the theater a few months ago. I can say with full confidence that there is not a movie I can recall that nears this one in utter ...."terrible-ness." It's just horrid.
Mostly it feels as though they showed the movie to preview audiences, got such a bad review that they went back and forced it into formula. Beyond that, the script obviously wasn't very good to begin with, and with the choppy editing, you have no idea why Dermot Mulroney would fall for Debra Messing's character. I agree with Christian Spotlight again: She's always beautiful in the movie, but it's not enough for this movie. And I'm not that picky of a romantic comedy watcher.

To be perfectly honest, at the end I wished they would remake it with a FAR better writing, directing and editing. They really ruined it. Like the one lady says, just go watch Pretty Woman again.

house hunters

cute little place. We'll see if it's still available tomorrow.

Filed under "Innnteresting."

Windows Worm Spreads Quickly - Yahoo! News

ABC News producers had to use electric typewriters Tuesday to prepare copy for their "World News Tonight" broadcast, according to spokesman Jeffrey Schneider

One wonders if the worm affected the use of the teleprompter, as I'm a (not so devoted) Fox news watcher, and didn't see it. I'm supposing not.

I'll tell you what I AM a devoted watcher of: This!

Tuesday Quote on Wednesday

"I'm just glad I made it through yesterday"
~Ainsley


Ok, granted, I'm being the tinest bit 'cheap' on the quote, but it's true! And it's also the only thing going through my head right now. Up yesterday and at work by 6:30 a.m., worked until 8:30 p.m. between both jobs.

Now, my brother does this daily, so I shouldn't think too much of myself, but the last hour was both mind and feet numbing. Actually, come to think of it, his last day working 12-13 hour days is tomorrow! Congrats, B!

My new addiction

http://sudoku.com.au/ - the ones I do
http://sudoku.com./ - the rules (click on the left hand side)

I read about the craze a while ago. I started out yesterday on the one our local paper prints up. I worked on it from 1:30 to 7:30, (heh, also watching a tennis match) and finished it! In the interest of full disclosure, I should also say that we found the site that "helps you out" if you need it. I needed it - in the form of 3 filled boxes, a filled-in column and Madre and the Bro helping out in the end
(The one above is not that difficulty level, by any stretch).

Note the check mark next to "easy" on the ones I do! The Bro is more naturally talented at Sudoku, which stands to reason - computer guru, guy, blah blah blah.

Friday Photo

Sunset Sky

Well, most people don't anyway, so do we really need to?

Late one night, at the event I recently went to oversee, the instructor teaching basic Peacemaking skills noticed that a page was "missing" from the manual going over the "Four G's of Reconciliation." (Glorify God, Get the Log out of your own eye, Gently Restore, Go and be Reconciled) She figured out the mystery, and said this to the students the next day:

"As I was preparing to teach this, I noticed something. If you look at page 24, you'll see that 25 seems to be missing and it jumps to page 26. Now, you'll also notice that it's the second "G" - "Get the Log out of your own eye" that is missing. And as that's my least favorite "G" of the four, I wasn't too upset. BUT if you turn page 26, you'll notice that the page was just bound backwards and page 25 is there. So, we'll still have to keep "Get the Log out," but I suppose it's good that we not mess with scripture."

I get to work with the funniest people ever.

And I thought I had it bad...

MSN Money - Extra: Even affordable housing increasingly out of reach

I'm currently looking at the Billings housing market, planning on buying something (condo/townhome/1950's house) within the next year and a half or so. In reading this article (which I nerdily find facinating), I noticed two things:

First off, my CA Friends, you're so screwed

and secondly, My Minneapolis friends, you're going to be screwed soon: "But Lipman said cities like Tulsa and Minneapolis, which had traditionally been thought of as more affordable, are now a concern."

If you really want to feel good about your chances at owning a house(or bad - I'm not sure what Hawaii's housing is like, but I'm thinking "not cheap" ) check out the "Gauging affordibility" table about halfway down the article.

Tuesday Quote

A little background: Jenn is a Minneapolis friend of mine (now in CA)- one of the most fun people on earth, and can get me to go out with her just about anytime she asks - and STAY out, far past my bedtime. I returned home Saturday night after staying up with Jenn and friends until 4:30 Friday night/Saturday morning.

Ains at church: "I'm so tired."
Madre: "Jet-lag?"
Ains: "Jenn-Lag."

Strange things happen when you grow up

Like kyping an alcoholic drink from your younger brother's legitmate stash. With his permission, of course.

But, he's legit! Its so odd to think he's old enough to buy alcohol.

Checking in.

Well, I've made it to the second part of my trip. Last weekend I was in St. Louis - finished that event up.

This week I'm hanging out with friends, and marveling at how few of them have either a) internet or b) a phone cord. I'm seeing the depth of my addiction - Quoth Ains to iTones (one of the few with internet): "Uh, can I get my internet fix?"

I've got a few work things to get done, and -ha ha! - neither a or b is available to me. I may end up getting my work done the old fashioned way - document to floppy, floppy to different computer, one hopefully with internet. Strangely the port in my computer (very, very old laptop) allowed me internet in STL now doesn't in minneapolis. Not sure what that's all about.

Well, I'm off. iTones and I are heading out for either a walk or shopping. I'm betting it's the latter.

Friday Photo

Tough Guy.

Blogging lite

Well, I'm off. I'm heading out for work to oversee an event and hang out with some of the best counselors and conciliators in the nation. Heh. I get paid for this!

Then I'm heading to The Cities, my old stomping grounds. Hanging out with all my college girlfriends and buddies. Hopefully it'll be a really relaxing vacation.

God is sovereign! Amazingly, almost all of our "crowd" will be in town, even though none of us specifically planned it, and we're spread around the nation from California, Montana, Wisconsin and China. A small window of opportunity to hang out, but God knew from the beginning. It was a great surprise He planned, really.

The only downer is that I'm feeling something coming on - and I'm not sure if its allergies (I am one of the most allergic people on earth) or if it's a cold. Please pray for me - traveling with a cold is so miserable, but so far it hasn't slowed me down that much.

Blogging: sporadic, as determined by my internet access, but I'll try. Until then!

A tiny bit belated, but...

Happy Birthday to you, Trae. I love ya. See you Sunday!

Tuesday Quotes again on Wednesday

Watching Jay Leno last night (while packing). Bill Maher was on. Very common philosophies on fidelity by humorists:

Bill Maher: Any woman over the age of 9 who asks why a man cheats is an idiot. Men are wired that way. (He went on to say that most women want to get married. And as men are wired to cheat, women are wired to create a nest.)

Chris Rock: A man is basically as faithful as his options.

Of course, Chris Rock’s statement is funnier, but they both hold the same worldview. By the way, I don’t buy either one. But Chris Rock’s made me laugh. Bill Maher was mildly funny at times, but not enough that I’m going to buy his book.

Really good Therapy

One of the best photos I've ever taken, in my opinion. Probably just because I love my sister!

There are more here - DMM got herself a black lab puppy from the litter. (my aunt and uncle have bred labs for 20 or so years. They again swear this is the last litter.)

I get my film developed today, so I'm sure you'll see more of these.

Real Sex Follow up

Following up on my comment here. From Real Sex, by Lauren Winner:

"This is how sin works: it whispers to us about the goodness of something not good. It makes distortions feel good. It tells us we'd be better off with pleasure in hell than sanctification in heaven."

- and later she makes this very good point -

"If our feelings could be trusted - If we felt good every time we did something good, and felt bad every time we did somthing bad - we would need neither biblical guidelines of right behavior nor a community to help hold us accountable to those biblical standards."

Friday Photos

Photos from our recent Peacemaker Puppets, mentioned here.

Puppets dancing....

Kids dancing (or Jumping, rather)

Blessed are the Peacemakers

For they will be called sons of God.

Matthew 5:9

Not only collecting Crap, but "working is painful," on top of it.

FOXSports.com - Tour De France- Armstrong won't work 9 to 5 in retirement:

"No, never,' Armstrong said recently. 'Life is funny, sometimes we have to do things that we don't want to do, but nine-to-five sounds really painful.'"

Unless you've lived through not being able to pay the bills, because you've worked as temp help, and your income is sporatic, to put the nicest spin on it. Unless you've learned that spending what you want, when you want, lands you in debt. Unless you're a normal human being, thankful that you have a job to go to.

But, I don't have Sheryl Crow and fame to live up to, either.

Or in other words, we've got too much crap.

Self-Storage Nation - Americans are storing more stuff than ever. By Tom Vanderbilt"

"But living in a land of wants, not needs, creates its own dilemmas, as evidenced by the concurrent rise of stores like Hold Everything and the Container Store—stuff to hold stuff. Note the curious growth in the 'home organization' market: reality shows like Clean Sweep and magazines like Real Simple, or, more strikingly, the robustness of the National Association of Professional Organizers, which saw a 50 percent rise in membership in the past year."

Eeiiinteresting. Elsewhere, the auther says "So, let's get this straight—houses got bigger, average family sizes got smaller, and yet we still need to tack on a billion-plus square feet to store our stuff?

Tuesday Quote(s)

When we’re not sure about God – about his goodness, his love, or his control over our circumstances – when we begin to believe our lives are meaningless and beyond hope, when we lose the energy or the will to face another day, unbelief has set in.

Unbelief never travels alone, but brings bitterness and other sins of the heart.

Carolyn Custis James, When Life and Beliefs Collide

had you been here, you'd have heard...

{Lonesome Dove in the background}
Ains: "Did you know Diane Lane is in a romantic comedy coming out soon?"
Madre: "I wonder what's happened since Lonesome Dove - Diane Lane looks like she's been on a starvation diet."
Ains: "Mom, it's Hollywood. They've all been on starvation diets."

Oh, and Happy Birthday!

That's the Birthday Man (a.k. The Bro) on his 21st a few days ago. The Madre did a great job of hitting the dollar store for lais, balloons and a very Rat-Pack era looking plastic hat. On which yours truly wrote a very difficult "Happy Birthday" and "21." Then we (Madre, Little Shoe Girl, and Ghetto Phone Boy and me) surprised him at work. They're nice enough to let us crash the party.

Happy Birthday Bro. You Rock.

Friday Photos

Clarks Fork Canyon - From our recent trip through Sunlight Basin to Yellowstone Park

Enjoying a little Bubbly (not worth even the little we paid, if you remember) in front of our cabin #3

A movie I'm not necessarily recommending

I watched Before Sunrise last night - finished it before it needed to go back.

And actually, I'm not recommending it at all. A few reasons why: I watched all of it, but for the last quarter or so, I took my contacts out, and being as I couldn't find my glasses, I listened to the dialogue. Yup, I'm fairly blind. I can't really tell you for sure or not whether there was anything offensive. If there WAS an offensive scene, there was little sound to suggest so.

But it's a movie mostly about two people telling each other what they think. None of you will be surprised to know that it's mostly worldly blather. But there were two quotes I really liked.

Jesse: You know what's the worst thing about somebody breaking up with you? Is when you remember how little you thought about the people you broke up with and you realize that is how little they're thinking of you. You know, you'd like to think you're both in all this pain but they're just like 'Hey, I'm glad you're gone'.

(Responding to Celine's contention that conflict isn't all bad, that there are good things that come out of conflict)
Jesse: I don't know, I think that if I could just accept the fact that my life is supposed to be difficult - You know, that's what to be expected -then I might not get so pissed off about it and I'll just be glad when something nice happens.

Anyway, the first one I liked because -ha!- it's so true. The second one I like because it seems to me that Americans are in denial about the difficulty of life. Jesse says it perfectly. Even as he's saying it, you can tell he's not going to actually let his lower his expectations for an easy, conflict-free life.

And, yeah. Even though I'm not overwhelmed with Before Sunrise, I'll probably watch Before Sunset. Roll your eyes now.

For the Coffeaholics everywhere

Actually, fairly accurate. There were a few questions I could have gone either way.

Hat tip: Little Miss Reformed. This is the best quiz blogthings has put out.

You Are an Espresso

At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Tuesday Quote

I just like this quote. It's been around a long time, and is fairly famous.

The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing.
Blaise Pascal

Blessed

Trae left on a jet plane this morning, going back home to Wausau. We had a great time - here are a few thoughts from this weekend:

1) Montana tends to not mark exits and highways well. (I told Trae that it's because we don't want visitors finding all the good spots and then staying here. Of course getting "lost" had nothing to do with our catching up and my not paying attention.) We had the privilege of visiting Warren, WY, a town so significant that it doesn't appear on Google maps.

2) Yellowstone animals are fairly acclimated to cars.

(You’re hearing "holy crap!" in the background. I mean, how often do you see a coyote trotting up the road like he owns the park? Christian or Molls will now tell me that it isn't unusual to see coyotes near humans.)

Also seen incredibly near to car: Elk and bison. Seen via high-powered scopes (and a bit more exciting than coyotes and elk): Wolf eating dead bison; wolf chasing off two black bears trying to eat said bison; Grizzly mama with her two cubs.

3) Sad moment: Knowing that we should be appreciating the beauty of Paradise Valley SO much more than we were, but absolutely numb toward it, we had seen so many beautiful places and spectacular scenes. We are truly blessed.

4) Everyone on earth should - at some point in their life - go to Chico Hot Springs and eat at the (very expensive) hotel dining room. Worth. Every. Penny.

5) Not worth every penny? Arbor Mist “wine.” But under the mountains of Cooke City, sitting on the porch of our little rent-a-cabin, it was worthwhile.

6) But the absolute best moment was realizing how normal it was to be road trippin', hanging out with one of my very best friends in the world after not seeing each other for a year. Realizing that, no matter when we see each other next, we'll be right back at that comfortable place. And that, even if it's in heaven, we'll always be blessed with this friendship- which has become so wonderful because it's weathered difficult times, not in spite of them.

Love ya, T. Congrats on your engagement, sweetie! ;)

Natural Beauty

View of the Clarks Fork on the way to Cooke City

More of God's Creation

So, as I was searching for hotels, I followed this. If you want to be mildly amazed at Google, you can do so, as well.

Go to www.maps.google.com
enter "Cooke City, MT"
Click Satallite images.


Anyway, I thought it was cool. Cooke City is where Trae and I'll be staying right before we head into the park.

For a picture of Yellowstone's Mammoth Hot Springs, Go to lbimaging

God's creation

Between These pictures and These pictures, I'm made aware of how he's given us an awful lot of places that inspire our awe.

A thought for each day I haven't posted

Things I've thought about blogging this week and I've just been busy and lazy:

1)Wow. If you look at my blog, you'd think it was winter up here in MT. It's not.


2) It's really disgusting how many people search for Layton Hewitt. Seriously, eugh. He's the reason I've had an obscene number of hits on my site this week (considering I haven't posted a thing.) And also, Mwah-ha-ha! I'm not sure why I don't like Hewitt, except that he's never lost his punk attitude. Even Andy Roddick has lost a lot of his punk attitude. You'd think getting spanked by Federer in their last 8 matches would bring Hewitt down a notch, but no.

3)I'm WAY excited that my WI friend Trae will be here next Friday! Woo! If I'm REALLY ambitious, mabye I'll even take some pictures that will reflect the current season.

4)Our church worship team finished their cd, and it's only a matter of time until I get my own copy. For right now, I stole it from the VP of the ministry and ripped it onto my computer (I don't have a burner, so its safe). It's been a good way for me to entertain myself as I log in longer-than-usual hours this week.

and 5) These next weeks are going to be very busy: I'll be traveling for 4 out of 6 weekends. I'll be going to Yellowstone Nat'l Park; Bozeman MT; St. Louis, MO; and St. Paul, MN. Squeeze in two jobs, and we'll see what kind of state I'll be in, come August 12-13.

Friday Photo

My friend KB and I go on photodates - this was taken out west of town. I like this because is reminds me that the past wasn't that long ago - our city is taking over, but there's still a lot of old school Montana to go around.

Someday I'll have to figure out how to capture the shine from the sun bouncing off of the fields of snow. It was close-to-blinding, and I'm sure the camera adjusted appropriately so that I had a picture. This'll do.

You can be too!

Thanks to DMM and Anne. I feel special.

Friday Photo

Winter Wheat

Reminding us all of cooler times. Of course, it has nothing to do with my procrastination in developing my film...

Comments during "Cold Mountain." If you haven't watched it - Spoiler warning.

-commence the chase scene
Me:"Don't die, don't die, don't die..."
-fight scene continues. Jude Law and Freaky Evil Albino Guy shoot it out. Jude Law is still standing.
Me: "HE DIIIEEESS! NOOOO!" Mom and LSG start laughing at me.
-Jude Law spits blood, thereby confirming the worst, as though the director could really have pulled the wool over our eyes.
"I hate this movie."

The Madre: "Ok, and the one guy gets shot, is in the snow forever, bleeds all over the place, and he lives, but the hot guy?"
(Madre, me and LSG) "The hot guy DIES."

I did like this quote: "They call this war a cloud over the land. But they made the weather and then they stand in the rain and say 'S***, it's raining!'"
Ruby's crying made it more poignant. Of course, she gets the guy, and her dad doesn't die, so...yeah.

I have no idea how accurate this is.

I got hooked pushing the "Next blog" button last night. Ran accross this on another blog. (I guess I probably should have saved the site to give proper credit, but oops, I had already closed the window.)


A cockroach will live nine days without its head, before it starves to death.

A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

A snail can sleep for three years.

All Polar bears are left-handed.

American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first-class.

Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.

Butterflies taste with their feet.

Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, dogs only have about ten.

China has more English speakers than the United States.

Donald Duck comics were banned in Finland because he doesn't wear pants.

Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.

Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie.

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.

If the population of China walked past you in single file, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.

If you fart consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.

If you keep a goldfish in a dark room, it will eventually turn white.

In ancient Egypt, priests plucked EVERY hair from their bodies, including their eyebrows and eyelashes.

It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

Marilyn Monroe had six toes.

Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than all of the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.

More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane crashes.

Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.

On average, people fear spiders more than they do death.

One of the reasons marijuana is illegal today is because cotton growers in the '30s lobbied against hemp farmers, they saw it as competition.

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.

starfish haven't got brains.

The ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.

The most common name in the world is Mohammed.

There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.

TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters on only one row of the keyboard.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

You are more likely to be killed by a Champagne cork than by a poisonous spider.

You can't kill yourself by holding your breath.

You share your birthday with at least nine million other people in the world.

One of these players is not like the others... (sing it with me!)

Marat Safin

Layton Hewitt

Roger Federer

Based on perceived exertion, who looks most likely to win Wimbledon? ;) That picture is just par for the course when it comes to Federer - everyone else is grinding out a win, and he's lookin' like he's breezin' through.
Which is why our family is always so stunned when we watch him play. He makes it look SO easy.

Greatest American vote

Ever since my sixth grade teacher daily wrote Abe Lincoln quotes on the chalkboard, I've been a fan. So, basically for that reason alone, I voted for him.

Since 1991

My current "woo-hoo!" file contains this Read Through the Bible for Shirkers and Slackers." (via Megan via Anne) Yes, I not-so-proudly state that I am, indeed, a Bible reading shirker and slacker. I'm your typical "Start in Genesis and read through about Cain and Abel and then get distracted by some other thing and forget that I even tried to start reading through it" person.

On a really sad, pathetic note: the Monument (or "gravestone") to one of my first attempts still resides in my first Bible. At the beginning of each book of the Bible, they split it into easy-to-get-through sections with little check boxes. Oh, that wonderful sense of accomplishment! Within your very grasp - simply check the box off when you've finished it! (heh. right.)

Well, I think I started in 2nd Corinthians. I KNOW I got through Chapter 3, checking off the boxes with perfect little checkmarks. The reason I know I got through Chapter three? All those little empty boxes I didn't check off stare at me, forlorn. Unchecked. Since 1991.

So, I'm quite proud of myself that I've made it through a week of this present Read Through the Bible schedule. Yes, I almost fell asleep during Romans (Saturday night, reading right around 11:30 PM) But I've made it through all of them this week, so far.

The best part is knowing that if you miss a day, you're not really behind. In fact, you don't ever really have to "catch up." I recommend you read the article Margie wrote to go with the schedule ("Still Winter, 2002"). It's really humorous, and it might even inspire you to read through the Bible, too.

Tuesday Quote on....TUESDAY!

Concurrence is when two actions occur simultaneously, or concurrently. It means that God is good and absolutely sovereign over all things, yet at the same time, we are not puppets or robots but have real choices and willingly exercise our wills. Furthermore, we are responsible for our actions and suffer real consequences for them. The Bible teaches all of these ideas repeatedly, emphatically, and concurrently. The challenge for us is to avoid choosing one truth over another, and instead hold them all simultaneously.
~Carolyn Custis James, When Life and Beliefs Collide

File under: Enjoying the simple things

Cleaning my room, thereby positively affecting my entire "can do" mood for the weekend/this week.

Finally getting MS Money and Outlook back on my iPaq, after it had crashed and my USB cord died 4 months ago. Yea! Order in my world again!

The look on Sports-Trivia-Guru GPB's face (playing "20 Questions" Board Game) when LSG discarded "Lou Gehrig" as his bonus round card, because she didn't know who he was. "Lou Gehrig? you discarded LOU GEHRIG? I woulda gotten that one!"

Laughing at LSG's excited and TOTALLY OUT OF PLAYING ORDER guess of "Ground Beef!" To the clue of "I sometimes come with tacos or burritos." Laughing even harder when she dejectedly stated, "I shoulda guessed beans," STILL out of playing order, RIGHT before it was her turn. Laughing really hard when I informed her it was now her turn, and the clue was "I can also come come crushed or frozen," and GPB said, "Maybe it is beans..?" (It was "A Margarita.")

Good Times. And by the way, the four of us got worked by the Madre at this game.

Friday Photo

The Antique Table
My cousin and I found a sweet little antique shop in Bozeman, and I had a great time snapping photos and talking to the little girl who decided to follow us through the store.
This photo of a dollhouse kitchen set is my favorite [in other words, it only goes downhill from here ;)].

Tuesday Quote on Thursday

It was God’s good pleasure to join you to himself in such a way that his name is at stake in your destiny… in such a way that what becomes of you reflects upon his name.

~Carolyn Custis James, When Life and Beliefs Collide

Kurt and Wesley Meet Chocma

I thought I would post this for my Friday Photo, but it's likely that I'll have a photo to post tomorrow.
This is the artistry of one of "My Kids," drawn last night.

The Best Sound in the World

Silence....




but only when you realize it's because 10 kids are so engrossed in the story that they've even forgotten to draw pictures.


Does a heart good.

Actually, I'm probably an A-

You Have A Type B+ Personality

B+ You're a pro at going with the flow You love to kick back and take in everything life has to offer A total joy to be around, people crave your stability. While you're totally laid back, you can have bouts of hyperactivity. Get into a project you love, and you won't stop until it's done You're passionate - just selective about your passions

Do You Have a Type A Personality?

Everything you wanted to know about me and books

Delighted to be tagged by Anne:

(1) Number of books I own - Oh, gosh. probably in the hundreds. Right now they're split between 1) Packed in the back of The Gracious Landlord's office storage area, 2) in my room on the one bookshelf I fit in there, and 3) childhood books that I left at Mom and Dads. I've never gotten rid of any books I've bought, except to sell textbooks back, and I still have most of my Communication textbooks.

(2) Last book I bought - Obviously, Valley of Vision. Before that, The Great Divorce - CS Lewis (The Madre's reading it) and Pierced by the Word - John Piper.

I also have a $30 gift cert to our local Bible Book Store, and I asked Anne what I ought to buy with it. Anne! Mom already has a lot of them! :D So, I'm still trying to figure out what to buy. I'm looking seriously at "Here I Stand (bio of Martin Luther)" and Sketches of Church History. If y'all have recommendations, POST THEM IN THE COMMENTS! I like good (cough-easy-cough) biographies and encouraging, practical books, in the vein of "Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands," "When People are Big and God is small," etc.

(3) Last book I read - I just finished "Pierced by the Word" last night for my devotions. I'm presently reading Wild at Heart, but very sporadically (it's the equivalent to a kid having to eating brussel sprouts for me, but without the benefit of veggie goodness). I was going gung-ho on a biography of Stonewall Jackson, but I put it down for some reason, which likely will necessitate my re-reading half of it.

(4) Five books that mean a lot to me: (aside from the Bible!)

1. The Peacemaker by Ken Sande- I grew up with it's principles, and I believe my mom's insistence on true biblical peacemaking has directly affected our family, helping to make us what we are - close-knit, loving friends, able to stand together through suffering.

2. Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands - by Paul Tripp. I'm still making my way through this one, but Tripp is an amazing biblical counselor and writer, whom I've had the privilege of having lunch with, cracking a joke at which he laughed. (Not to put him up on a major pedistal - I know that Christian and Molly both had him/saw him regularly in school, and he's likely much more "real" to them.)


3. Let me be a Woman - By Elizabeth Elliott. I read this a long time ago (and it needs to be revisited), but I was left with such a sense of joy and satisfaction in who God had made me, as well as encouraged to be who God wants me to become.

3.5. Heh. I guess I can't keep it only to Five! I'd definitely say that "When Life and Beliefs Collide" by Carolyn Custis James absolutely increased my knowledge of God when going through the hard times. More importantly, it encouraged me to strongly advocate for women to know their Theology - Here's an excellent quote: "Good theology coexists with broken hearts, shattered lives, and unimaginable pain. It produces a reservoir of patience toward ourselves and others who hurt and cannot understand what is happening."

4 - A Godward Life by John Piper - In college, I read this as a devotional, and love, love, LOVE it!

5/5.5 Redeeming Love/A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers - I 'randomly' picked up a Voice in the Wind off of a "Recommended by our Staff" at a St. Paul library, the summer of my sophomore year in college. I absolutely didn't expect it to be a Christian book, and I certainly didn't expect fiction to challenge my spiritual life the way that it did, in the character of Hadassah.

Redeeming Love is a great book, with a bit more secular feel to it, because it was Rivers' first book after becoming a Christian. It does a wonderful job of reminding us of our true nature - we return to our sin because it is what we know, not recognizing that the Love of our Life has saved us from our spiritual prostitution, and is always pursuing us, loving us and calling us to love Him.

I'd tag a bunch of people, but my circle of known bloggers is small!

Meeting God

I bless Thee that great sin draws out great grace,
that, although the least sin
deserves infinite punishment
because done against an infinite God,
yet there is mercy for me,
for where guilt is most terrible
there thy mercy in Christ is most free and deep.

Strengthen me to give Thee no rest until Christ
shall reign supreme within me
in every thought, word, and deed,
In a faith that purifies the heart
overcomes the world,
works by love,
fastens me to thee,
and ever clings to the Cross

Excerpts from “Meeting God,” The Valley of Vision

Friday Photo Returns

Well, after letting my disciplined life go south for the last two weeks, I'm trying to pick it up again. And with that, I post a Friday Photo. That's the gracious landlord in front, The Bro next, with Ghetto Phone Boy driving (and blocked from sight by) Little Shoe Girl on the third 4-wheeler.

About this photo: it was taken last summer by DMM, not me.

Also, Most of my friends and readers also read Banty, who informed us of this blog, which I've added to the blogroll. If you haven't seen it, click through! I have to give it up to the Legal Bean. D, your photos are phenomenal.

To be so close...

Words of Faith - Billy Graham - MSNBC.com

No, all roads don't lead to God, but for someone to say they thirst, and not quite believe in Christ, it makes me hopeful and sad all at the same time.

But Billy Graham loved to preach, respected the form and used it to its fullest effect. He understood that preaching is essentially the presentation of a spiritual argument, which means that a sermon must be filled with ideas, not just feelings.

To preach you must be smart, you must have faith and you must be able to simplify words without simplifying ideas. A preacher must then move beyond the logic of debate and into the world of personal peril and fear. A great sermon must be heard as if it was addressed only to you, the listener. It must first describe the storm in your life, and then it must offer you a compelling course to get through the storm and into quiet seas of love and hope. That hope must be simple and childlike but never childish. It must be a daring hope that inspires—not just deductively proves—the postulates of its argument, and that hope must be consonant with an ancient religion and not just a passing snapshot of what you decided to believe today.

A sermon must be worldly without being trendy, humorous without being irreverent and certain without being arrogant. Understood this way, almost nobody can give a great sermon, and if you attend services regularly, you will certainly confirm that fear. That is why I so admire Billy Graham. He could really preach.

If you love Billy Graham, you'll appreciate how this Rabbi honors him. His writing is convicting to me, as I am not a gracious person when faced with the beliefs that differ from my own.

{And as an aside, all of his requirements of a great preacher are also embodied in my Pastor. I'd guess that many Reformed preachers are good that way.}

Friendship

Thanks to Divine Miss M, who, on request, went down to my room, rummaged through my incredibly messy room to find my devotionals, then through my mess of paper in front of my TV, all for a gift certificate that I had no clue where it was - and then ultimately decided I didn't need- in order to get a copy of Valley of Vision from our church's book nook.

Many thanks again, to Divine Miss M, for picking me up for lunch, but first driving me to church to kype said copy of Valley of Vision, and not getting really irritated when we walked in to find the copy gone. And thanks again for listening to me talk (in detail) about how I was going to swipe a copy from work and replace it with a copy that I'd order from the church later, obsessing over something fairly easy to come by.

Oh, and I ended up buying the copy from work, as it was the last one, and no one knew why we had it.

So, DMM, you ran me around for very little, except to once again prove to me and everyone else in the blogsphere that you are a most patient person.

Love ya. Have a good time this weekend.

I can't think of a title.

From a quiz titled,"What's Hot":

Having good credit. But you may not want to get as much credit as Walter Cavanaugh of Santa Clara, CA. He has 1,397 individual, valid credit cards and has a total credit worth of more than $1.65 million. Imagine all the monthly statements!

Moreover, can you imagine the junk mail he gets??

Keeping it Simplistic.

I'm trying to get through "Wild at Heart." I have looked it up on Diet of Bookworms and a few other searches, so I'm thoroughly aware of the book, its popularity and the serious manipulation and misuse of scripture to back up John Eldridge's personal theories. I'm on the 3rd chapter. Made it through a chapter and a half last night in about 45 minutes. It's a REALLY hard read {roll eyes}.

I'm already bringing my own bias to the book: You see, it's my-ex-The-Artist's book. And, yes, I've been asked - Then why would I read it? You broke up, remember? Well, he thinks its a really great book, and I think it would be a good way to establish passport with him. He already told me that I confuse him because I'm both the most loving person he knows, but also the most critical. (Mweheheh - Welcome to reformed theology 101! Your first class is now over. Have your assignments to me by Friday.)

So, I'm trying to get through this book, because I know when I return it he'll ask if I've read it and brace himself for a scathing critique. And while I Ab.So.lutely disagree so far with this book on so many levels that I can't count them, I'm hoping that perhaps by reading it, giving it the proper due it deserves (TRYing not to chuckle sardonically) and then giving some general disagreements, he might actually THINK through the theology of this book.

So far, it's theology is: God is in heaven, waiting and watching guys and what they do, delighting when men go out and be Men (Definition supplied by Mr. Eldridge). He's a God that takes Risks (capital R) and because Mr. Eldridge prefers the idea that God is like him (so far in the book, Mr. Eldridge doesn't seem to care much about being like GOD, because all those different traits of God seem to confuse Mr. Eldridge. Gotta keep things simple, here), he doesn't want to wrestle like Jacob did with God - but this time over the age old question of "Is God more in control, or is Man?" Well, He defaults to the answer of "Man - mostly because others have thought about God's sovereignty, Man's responsibility and it's all very confusing. So, go hang out in the wilderness! Fun times."

Also, I just got to the part where women's strength is in their beauty and their seduction. I am SO happy that women don't need to be critical thinkers, be wise, be productive and efficient, or be loving toward their children, being so strong in their own faith as to assist their children and husbands in their faith. Gosh, and to think that I just wasted 27 years of my life trying to live a faith-filled life, now to find out that the trait of seduction that I ALREADY possess is all I need.

Ok, I'm done for now. I'm sure I'll continue to rant about this book online because then I won't to The Artist, and avoid destroying any possible friendship we might have. And No, he doesn't know my webpage address.

One thing I do have to give up to Eldridge is that he desires guys to be masculine, and I'm all for that. There are few things better than seeing a capable, strong man at work. Trust me, I live in Montana. We have them. I like men who aren't femmie. I just don't think that the Bible elevates that characteristic to the level that Eldridge has.

I do have to say that I went from reading W.A.H. to "Pierced by the Word," by John Piper. Talk about sweet and filling spiritual food! And WHAT a juxtaposition!

But you would be fed with the finest of wheat;
with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."
PS 81:16

That's what a complete view of God is. Finest wheat and sweet honey. Ultimate Satisfaction.

True 'dat.

Over It

Well, I finally got the Cathartic Break Up CD made. I had about 4 songs too many to cram onto one cd, so I made Volumes 1 and 2 and titled it "Over It."
I'm really liking Volume two a lot, but I liked all of those songs before the breakup, so they don't have as strong of a connotation to The Artist as they could.

Vol. 1
Only hurts when I'm breathing - Shania Twain
Probably wouldn't be this way - LeAnn Rimes
Tonight I wanna cry - Keith Urban
Songs about Rain - Gary Allen
Everytime - Britney
Train in Vain - Annie Lennox
One - u2
The First Cut is the Deepest - Sheryl Crow
Somebody's Cryin' - Chris Isaak
All I want is you - U2
Do what you have to do - Sarah McLachlin
Dreamscape - Shelby Lynne

Vol. 2
See if I care - Gary Allen
You'll think of me - Keith Urban
Piece of my Heart - Janis Joplin
Anything but down - Sheryl Crow
Stupid - Sarah McLachlin
Behind these Hazel Eyes - Kelly Clarkson
My Happy Ending - Avril Lavigne
Stronger - Britney Spears
Where is the Love - Black Eyes Peas
How am I doin' - Dierks Bentley


Kinda reminds me of Whitney Houston's "Best of" 2-cd pack. The first was titled "Throw Down" and the second was 'Cool Down." I still have Cool Down, but I'm sure Throw Down is scratched to oblivion somwhere. I'm not the best caretaker of CDs, sometimes.

Ok, I'm revising - I really like Volume One, too! It's just a lot more laid back.

Oh, and P.S. - say what you will about Walmart, they're online customer service reps are INCREDIBLY helpful when you have problems downloading and sharing songs.

Mweh heh.

Woke up this morning thinking, "What have I COMMITTED TO?"

Panic in the streets of Ainsley's brain.

The funniest possible thing said on TV at 11:45 PM

"The stampede of wild elephants through a pygmy village will thrill you!"

~the trailer of "Tarzan the Apeman" shown on TCM.

Yes, Yes, I'm sure it will.

"Who are these people?" - Revisited

Hey, it's updated. Feel free to check it out :)

Sunday School Kids

For the last 2 weeks I've been thinking about doing something - one of those things that, when I'm sitting around enjoying the time I have off from one of my two jobs, I think "Are you crazy?"

I'm thinking of reading to my sunday school kids "The Tower of Geburah" by John White. The crazy part is that it's going to take at least a couple of months to get through the book (it's long, and I don't want to deal with 8-11 year olds for more than a few hours at a time). So, there goes my summer Thursday nights, in essence.

But even the downsides don't deter me. I've been mulling this over, taking polls of parents, and everyone thinks its a GREAT idea (well, of course parents think it's great - someone read to their kids? An Allegory? and talk about Christ? What's not to love? Ok, the driving, but besides that!)

But I'm even excited. I just don't know where I'll host it. The thing is, I don't have all the things figured out (the Event planner in me is going nutty) But I think I'm just going to jump in and do it.

I'm now it!

Anne slapped me on the arm and yelled "You're IT" before running the other direction toward the house.


Total number of films I own on DVD/Video:
Uh, I own about 9. I'm at the Madre's right now (and I live/sleep elsewhere) so I'm guessing, but I think I own 9. However...142 between my brother, Little Shoe Girl, Ghetto Phone Boy, my parents and the DVDs that I keep here. I don't know if this is sick or normal. (And no, I didn't spend time counting each one- we've all got this sick accounting thing goin' on in our family, so we have a list of them, which made it fairly easy to count.)

The last film I bought:
ugh. I think it was Princess Diaries 2, I'm sorry to say. I thought it would be as cute as the first. I was wrong. The last movie the family bought was Phantom of the Opera.

The last film I watched:
I just caught the last 20 minutes of Seabiscuit. Before that it was Open Range. The last movie I REALLY enjoyed was National Treasure.

Five films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me (in no particular order):
About a Boy, Casablanca, An Affair to Remember, A Christmas Story, 13 going on 30 (I LOVE the dance scene).

All of them don't mean anything in particular to me. Movies that mean a lot to me are those in the vein of "Luther."

Ok, I tag the ladies at Kindred spirits! That takes care of all 5! (Amanda's exempt, cause she's a tiny bit busy right now.)

Stealing a page from PalmTree Pundit

Since I haven't been blogging much, most of my regular viewers have become a hitting the site a bit more infrequently (sorry guys!). This being the case, almost every time I check my stats, someone has been led to my site by google or yahoo - and some of their search terms are pretty interesting!

Search terms leading people to my site:

• britney spears and esfj
• what is your first expression to your husband when you are pregnant
• good nicknames for tall people
• ghetto phone (I think this is funny - why does this person want to see a ghetto phone?? Moreover, did they find what they were looking for?)
• find the origin for the phrase "the face that launched a thousand ships"
• and 7 people trying to find lyrics to "We've got more bounce in California"

and the longest one? that would be:

guard your heart friendship relationships christian test and build the relationship in real-life settings.

To you, my friend, I say - please, read my blog, but I'm obviously not the best at building relationships in real life settings!

{And also? This is not being formatted the way I want, when it's published. I hope that list bullets aren't a necessity for reading this blog, because I'm TRYING. I really am. Blogger's just being stubborn!}

$33 and an urge to drive to Wausau.

It’s day three of Life Without the Artist. Saturday night we broke up. I’ve been doing the normal things I do after the relationship goes south – digging out all past Break Up CDs I make for catharsis, looking for new breakup songs, slowly telling people, responding with a nod to their “Boy you look like you’re doing ok,” noticing how much more cuddle time I give to the Min Pin (dogs are invaluable at times like these). Mostly missing him and hearing how everyone thought that there was something generally wrong with the relationship, but they’re still really sorry.

But most of all, I have an urge to drive 3 hours to Wausau. (Where?) Yeah, that’d be Wausau, WI, where my friend Trae lives. The thing is, Wausau isn’t 3 hours away anymore. It used to be, before I moved back to my hometown. Before, I could always depend on a three hour drive to clear myself of all the confusing feelings you feel after a break up – missing someone, not liking them all that much, REALLY liking them, fear, sadness, despondency, all those nice things. And then, just about the time my head would clear and that ache in my heart would leave, I’d be at the place where I knew I was truly loved and we’d get beer and really-bad-for-you-but-it-tastes-oh-so-good food and laugh about all the college times we had. Generally revel in the friendship that only “going home” (for both of us) could separate, but not break.

So, I’ve got $33 in my pocketbook. It occurred to me now that I’m practically rich this weekend (I get paid next week) and that whatever I would have done with the Artist now won’t drain my cash flow. (I really have an urge to go on a shopping spree, but $33 wouldn’t satisfy my kind of spree-ing.)

And I’ve got an urge to drive to Wausau. But I can’t, because driving 15 hours is too much. So you know what it meant to me to find an email from Hotwire.com the day after we broke up, before anyone knew we had, with this message:

Hi,

Trae has booked the following flight through Hotwire and asked us to forward the itinerary to you. Please note that flight times reflect the airports' local time zones.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trae has included this message: I'm on my way

Now I just need to wait 6 weeks.

She takes a vacation...but only in her head.

Man, I can’t believe that it’s been a whole week since I blogged! Unfortunately, there’s no good reason for me to have not posted SOMETHING. So here I post.

Within the last week I:

· Went to dinner with the Artist and his Mom
· Played tennis (got a tennis lesson from, rather!) with Little Shoe Girl
· Watched Little Shoe Girl and Ghetto Phone Boy whale on the ball, showing the Madre and I what tennis really is
· Listened to a Pastor from Bangladesh give one of the best presentations I’ve heard
· Participated as a Wedding Assistant for a wedding and the rehearsal the night before
· CLEANED OUT MY CAR! YEA! (Also went to Wally world and grabbed an Apple-Cinnamon air freshener. Bad Part? Makes me hungry when I get in the car.)
· Considered starting a reading “club” for my Sunday school kids during the summer (I’m thinking of reading aloud to them a book heavy in allegory, and we talk about it) I’m not sure, though. I don’t want to start something I can’t finish.
· Went to Lunch with Mother Hen and Little Chick. Taught Little Chick “Tasty Soup!” as in, “Mama, can I have some Tasty Soup please? Mmmm!”
· Watched “Open Range” with The Artist
· Watched part of “The Village” with The Artist (It’s been rainy lately, otherwise we tend toward walks)
· Watched the story about Aron Ralston with Little Shoe Girl and The Madre. Devoid of any biblical lessons, they talk a lot about “spiritual” things. Mom thinks he’s crazy because he’s still going out and climbing/doing outdoorsy things – with a prosthetic. I told her that it’s not so crazy – Every guy I work [at my part time job at the Outdoors store] with would likely do the same.)

I guess the thing I’d talk about most would be filed under “Bridget Jonsing” if I had little categories to file these under, like dooce or the rooster.

Anyway, remember this? Well, I’m not the most consistent “exerciser.” Since that post, I have had off and on weeks. Right after I met the Artist? Doin’ pretty good in the exercising department! Since then? eh…not so much. Part of the problem is every time I start on myself {i.e. “uh, little too flabby. Better make working out a priority again”} I go hang out with him, and he’s just so Big and Tall! So then I feel little, and neglect to work out. Which is a VERY BAD HABIT of thought to get into! Can you imagine the day when I'll say “Oh, well, I’m 190 (5’4”) but he’s still 230, so I’m not THAT big!"

So, I bought a subscription to Shape Magazine a while back and have read every one of them, but wasn’t sure what to do with some of the fitness schedules they offer. So, on Sunday (a Very Big Exciting Day) I ripped out all of the fitness plans from all of the magazines I’ve gotten so far, went through them, found the ones that work best for me (I don’t have a lot of access to weight machines) and wrote myself up a schedule for this week. I need to enter next week’s into my little Yahoo Calendar and print it off, but so far (two WHOLE days! [editor's note: It's now THREE!]) it’s worked really well. I don’t have to think up something to do each day, and it’s not just running for 45 minutes.

The hardest part is getting up at 5:30, but thankfully the Artist has put us on a self-imposed curfew of 9:00 pm, so I tend to return home then either way (whether I’m with him or my family) because I’ve gotten used to it. So, I already have a built in schedule to help me go to bed early.

I just keep thinking, “I wonder how long this will last!”

Oh, the long absence? Yeah, really there's no legitimate reason.

Ok, I have this long post "all ready to go" except for formatting. It shall be coming very soon.

You are Marianne Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are impulsive, romantic, impatient, and perhaps a little too vocal in your honesty. You enjoy romantic poetry and novels, and play the pianoforte beautifully. To boot, your singing voice is captivating. You feel deeply, and love passionately.

I love the end of Sense and Sensibility when Colonal Brandon is reading to her and tells her he's leaving for a few days. The look of concern and sadness on her face is perfect.

The rest of the movie isn't compelling for me, and especially not the scene where Emma Thompson loses it because of Hugh Grant.

Yes, that's right. I beat Divine Miss M

It's likely only because she's pouring her holy thoughts into her papers.

Ok, edited to add: I just checked "dooce.com". Here's part of Heather's "who I am" page:

This website chronicles my life from a time when I was single and making a lot of money as a web designer in Los Angeles, to when I was dating my husband, to when I lost my job and lived life as an unemployed drunk, to when I married my husband and moved to Utah, to when I became pregnant, to when I threw up during the pregnancy, to when I became unbearably swollen during the pregnancy, to the birth, to the aftermath, to the postpartum depression I currently suffer. I talk a lot about poop, boobs, my dog, and my daughter. I love pop tarts, nacho cheese doritos, Britney Spears’ chest, and Britpop. I am always constipated.

Dooce.com's Gematriculator rating?

75%! 75% Good!

This thing's broken.

Your turn

And I think you ought to take the test and post your results. Just for fun.

BUT most importantly, post the fictional characters that you're like!

My Patron Saint, if I were catholic and neurotic

Ok, First the disclaimer:

I realize that any person ought to not put a lot of stock in these personality tests. As my Mom, Pastor, M.Div friend, or Mentor would tell me – and you – Sin has a lot more to do with problems of life, the Bible with the remedy, etc.

Anyway, all that said, a good friend wanted me to take this test. I’m an ESFJ, an Extroverted Sensing Feeling Judge. Which all that put together, “tells” me that I’m a Guardian, with the subcategory of Provider.

Here’s a quick description:

Provider Guardians take it upon themselves to arrange for the health and welfare of those in their care, but they are also the most sociable of all the Guardians, and thus are the great nurturers of established institutions such as schools, businesses, churches, social clubs, and civic groups. Wherever they go, Providers take up the role of social contributor, happily giving their time and energy to make sure that the needs of others are met, that traditions are supported and developed, and that social functions are a success.

Providers are skilled in maintaining teamwork among their helpers, and are also tireless in their attention to the details of furnishing goods and services. They make excellent chairpersons in charge of social events. They are without peer as masters of ceremonies, able to approach others with ease and confidence, and seemingly aware of what everyone’s been doing.

Ok, so that all sounds good, but besides being somewhat interesting, why would I post it?

Well, a few months ago, The Bro and Ghetto Phone Boy asked me what celeb would I have play me. I said, “oh, Natalie Portman, or Mandy Moore,” because I look somewhat like them.

The Madre Piped in: “Tell them who you thought.”
The Bro: “Courtney Cox.”
“I don’t look like Courtney Cox.”
“No, but you’re JUST like Monica!”
“I’m not THAT anal!” (The Madre “loves” that word)
{The Bro and GPB look at each other.}
Me: “Shut up.”

So, at the end of that test? They have examples of real-life and fictional ESFJs.

And there she was, under the fictional list: Monica! The patron saint of Ainsley.

(Except for the living with her boyfriend part, and all the other stuff that I don’t do that she and Chandler did. And I’m not even nearly as big of a clean freak. That would be the Artist.)

But the “I know!” part? Yeah. That’s me.

This is impressive to me, since I can't make it up the smaller Mountains of Montana!

MSN Travel First & Best:

"But these seminal achievements pale next to the objective that we are reporting, exclusively for MSN, over the next weeks: the attempt by Ed Viesturs to be the first American to complete the quest to summit all 14 peaks in the world over 8,000 meters (26,250 feet), into what climbers call 'the death zone'—all of them without bottled oxygen, the ultimate in physical and mental challenges. The final summit in Viesturs' odyssey is the 8,091-meter (26,545-foot) Annapurna, perhaps the second-most famous Himalayan mountain after Everest, and notably more difficult and dangerous to climb. Statistically it is the world's most hazardous mountain: roughly one climber dies for every two who reach the summit.

The club of 8,000-meter conquerors is tiny. Only a handful of people have ever attained this utmost coronet (Austrian Reinhold Messner blazed this conceit in 1986), and no other American has come close. Ed, who is known for his judicious approach to mountain safety, has twice turned around on the 5-vertical-mile-high frozen monolith of ice and stone that is Annapurna, citing suboptimal conditions. But the stakes are higher now than ever before in this 18-year pursuit. Ed is on the far side of his middle 40s and has a wife, Paula, and three young children—Gil, 7; Ella, 4; and now Anabel, born just last October, awaiting his return. He now climbs to come home."

Friday Morning

This morning – what a perfect morning! I walked out in my Friday-oh-how-I-thank-God-for-Casual-Fridays clothes. I’m doing a serious sporting of casual today. I mean, I’m wearing things that are nice, but they’re definitely casual. Basically a black tee-shirt and a black Patagonia hoodie. Now, Pata being expensive, I figure I can get away with it. Also, everyone knows that I work on Fridays at the place that gives me a discount on their merchandise, therefore allowing me to own ANY Patagonia at all. (I don’t like to pay a lot of money for clothes.)

Anyway, this morning is 50 degrees and perfect out. Not too cold, not too warm. The kind of morning that you want to say, “Ya know what, screw work. I’m going to go grab that book that just needs to be finished, a cup of coffee that tastes like straight French Vanilla creamer, and sit on the deck, watching the sun move across the great Big Sky.”

But I was responsible and didn’t.

Georgia, always on his mind

Hello to the one-formerly-known-as-Ghetto-phone-boy, who is now enjoying 70 degree weather in GEOR-gia (yeah, it's going to be in the 70's here, too), but likely is enjoying the company of one (1) Little Shoe Girl more than that weather!

Have a great time packing, guys. Mweh heh heh. And lugging it home!

And GPB, how about THAT STINKING DRIVE UP THE HILL?! Just wait until LSG makes you do it TWICE A DAY. You'll be happy that Zimmerman Trail is only a few hundred feet. It's just enought to make one from the Western states admit it's a mountain just because they're sick of the drive! (It's not, by the way, you Georgians. It's a hill).

I asked the head of the P House (at the at the bottom of the mtn) if he noticed a tangible increase in excitment in the air. He laughed and said no. I told him I didn't believe him.

(Shall we take bets to see if they check this before heading home on Friday? I'll put a buck up that they don't!)

May Flowers

Divine Miss M, Your tulips are up! They put a smile on my face when I come to work!

The Manolo says

Little Shoe Girl, I've added Manolo's Shoe Blog to the sidebar. You shall forever be changed.

For everyone else, if you haven't found this blog yet, it's both informational and ...undeniably hysterical. I love funny blogs. And as Little Shoe Girl (obviously) has a thing or two on me when it comes to fashion and shoes, I need this website. ;)

Here is the example of the wit and wisdom of the Manolo.

Here also is the good advice from the Manolo to the brides.

I'm back!

A Random Mind/Divine Miss M (they're the same person, if you didn't know) tagged me. Here we go:

If I Were. . .
Here's the scoop on how to play:

I pick 5 occupations out of the list below and post my answers. Then I tag 3 other people to post their answers on their blog. If I tag you, and you don't want to be a part of this, then that is okay. Just let me know and I'll tag someone else. Make sure you note who tagged you!

The "questions": If I could be a scientist...If I could be a farmer...If I could be a musician...If I could be a doctor...If I could be a painter...If I could be a gardener...If I could be a missionary...If I could be a chef...If I could be an architect...If I could be a linguist...If I could be a psychologist...If I could be a librarian...If I could be an athlete...If I could be a lawyer...If I could be an inn-keeper...If I could be a professor...If I could be a writer...If I could be a llama-rider...If I could be a bonnie pirate...If I could be an astronaut...If I could be a world famous blogger...If I could be a justice on any one court in the world...If I could be married to any current famous political figure...

If I could be a musician: I would be a backup singer to someone famous. You get to sing harmony (which I tend to do anyway, after 6 years of choir) and you don't have the freaky fans and stalkers. Also, travel! And hopefully, money.

If I could be a writer, I'd like to be the female John Grisham. Easy, fun to read. Many twists.

If I could be an architect, I'd recreate the exquisite beauty, style and detail of homes during the turn of the century. (In my dreams, I would take the floor plans of some of the mansions on Summit Avenue and create my own home. This was a thought/dream before God put the conviction that materialism is too rampant in America. And not in a legalistic way. Just.... we can do so much more with our money than build gargantuan, ornate homes.)

If I could be a bonnie pirate, I'd be the Dread Pirate Roberts.

If I could be a chef, I would create food with all the tasty-ness of full-of-fat food, with none of the calories. No strange aftertastes from nutrisweet or splenda.

And I tag Transcrap, Little Shoe girl (you can post a reply, because you don't have your own blog) annnndddd....Anne. Oh, and if you guys don't want to, uh, no problem. Just don't let me know, because I don't know any other bloggers "personally"!