The Answers, Part 4

And now for the conclusion of the revelation of Sara's quiz answers.

Question #9 - Which 80's movie have I never seen?
The correct answer is ET. Of course, that's not the only movie I haven't seen. If you know me well enough, you know that it's hard to use movie references with me because I haven't seen a LOT of movies. On the other hand, in the 80's, my sisters and I used to watch the same handful of movies over and over again: Goonies, Dream a Little Dream, and, our favorite from which we can all recite just about every line to this day: Clue. (Cheri and I even received the movie from Joleen for Christmas this year. Thank you Santa Joleen!!! Now we can torture our husbands with it!)

Question #10 - How do I feel about little quizzes like this one?
I love quizzes!!!!!! If you answered differently... well, I guess you need to get to know me better!

And the winner is...

NerdMom of Nerd Family. She correctly guessed that the line was from Prince's song "1999". Remember when 1999 sounded futuristic? Now it is, well, so 1999. Happy New Year!!!

The Answers, Part 3

Question #6 - What is my favorite beverage?
I like coffee, tea, and Coke, but I LOVE Pepsi! Most people got this wrong but understandably so considering my answer to question 3!

Question #7 - For Christmas I want a:
surprise. Getting something I don't know I want is way more fun than getting something I already know I want. Brad took this even one step further this year and got me something he knew I would want but that I didn't even know existed: a Guizmo.

Question #8
My Myers-Briggs personality type is:
Unfortunately the test gave you a point for answering ESFJ, which is wrong. The correct answer is ENTJ.

The rest of the answers tomorrow!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here's the line for this New Year's weekend:

They say two thousand zero, zero, party over,
Oops, out of time!

Email me with your shot at the title and artist.

The Answers, Part 2

Question #3 - What indulgence did I give up for the past three years?
This is the answer that needs the most explanation. Some of you (you know who you are) will argue with me on this one. The correct answer is sodas. Technically: buying sodas. More technically: buying sodas for myself. Three years ago our church began a fundraising campaign for our new building. We made a three year commitment and I decided that we could give more if I gave up ordering a soda with dinner when we went out (something I loved to do) and buying sodas at the grocery store (something I rarely did). Being the rule-oriented person I am, I started to question my commitment: Did I give up sodas completely? What if I was offered a free soda? What about buying sodas for guests to my home? So I had to come up with some rules that were consistent with the purpose: Free sodas were okay. Buying sodas when expecting company was okay, but I would buy what they would want, not necessarily what I wanted AND I wouldn't open a bottle of soda for my own consumption but would drink it after a guest had opened it. Oh yeah, and when pregnant and nursing (21 of those 36 months!), sometimes I justified a soda purchase in order to keep myself hydrated. So there's the long explanation to the short question. Oh yeah--the three years is up and I'm buying and drinking lots of my favorite soda now. But which one is that? You'll have to wait for the answer to question number 6!

Question #4 - I met Brad in college:
We weren't in the same calculus class, Brad never lived in the dorms, and I never went to a frat party. We met at an InterVarsity event.

Question #5 - What is my favorite TV show of all time?
This was a tricky one considering how much I write about American Idol. And I like all the shows I listed a great deal. But Whose Line is it Anyway beats them all by a landslide.

More answers tomorrow!

The Answers

Here I will begin to give reveal the correct answers to my quiz. I'll do two or three at a time so I can finish them this week.

Question #1 - What is NOT one of my dream jobs?
Definitely medical researcher. I love science and all but am bored (and grossed out) by most things medical. And I'm not really big on the research part either.

Question #2 - How old am I?
31. No explanation needed.

And the winner is...

Santa Claus!!! Okay, so nobody got it this week. I'll assume it was because everyone was too busy celebrating, not because you didn't recognize it, right? Well that line is from U2's Christmas hit: "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)".

80's Mystery Song Lyric

While you're doing your last minute shopping/wrapping/baking, try to place this line:

They’re singing deck the halls
But it's not like Christmas at all

Email your answer here.

This Week's Most Sung Non-Christmas Song

"I Will Lift My Eyes" by Bebo Norman
iTunes link
amazon.com link

Quizzes, Contests, and Christmas

I didn't mean for the quiz about me to replace the weekly song lyric contest. I kind of forgot it was Friday. The next few Fridays may or may not have contests depending on my busy-ness with Christmas and then taking a week's vacation after that. Maybe I'll aim for Thursdays instead... We'll see. Anyway, I think I will reveal the correct answers to the quiz about me in about a week or so. But I'll just do one question at a time--that way I can give explanations and tell you the question I almost put in its place and what option E would have been had there been one... Not that I put that much thought into it or anything... Ummm, okay. So that's for next week.

The countdown to Christmas is on. Like everyone else, I get a little stressed around this time, mostly trying to figure out how I'm going to do everything that needs to get done (shopping, cooking, baking, gift-making, wrapping) when the schedule is packed with extra stuff (Christmas parties, choir rehearsals, and family get-togethers). Until the last day or so, though, I have really been enjoying the season, not worrying or stressing about anything. It hit me last night that I had four celebratory meals to prepare over the next eight days, no menus planned, and was going to be out of town for two of the days. And then there are those gifts I started making that aren't quite done. So I'm feeling it now, but it'll all get done somehow. Even if I have to forego the weekly song lyric contest. (Was that the sound of blog-readers everywhere crying?)

The Quiz of All Quizzes

All right faithful (and not so faithful) blog readers, here's your chance to see how well you know me! Take the official test!

Create your own friendquiz here

Jeremiah: A Comedy

When you read, do you see the characters and story play out like a movie in your head? I do. I thought everyone did but I've been told that's not true. Well, if you're one of those who doesn't, you're really missing out.

My Bible study has been on break since Thanksgiving so, for some reason that I don't remember or maybe never had, I decided I would use this break to read the book of Jeremiah. Even if you've never read it, you probably have the impression that it would be filled with doom and gloom, and your impression is right. But the thing is, the movie in my head, while dramatic at times, is mostly a comedy. I'm only about halfway through, but so far God has instructed Jeremiah three times to buy things. Now, remember, this guy is a prophet of an unpopular God, and his message is mostly "repent or die"--Not a fun guy to be around. Who would employ him?--I'm assuming this is his own personal money he's spending. I don't think he's getting reimbursed out of the temple's Prophetic Object Lesson Supplies fund. And it's not just the buying things: First God tells him to buy a linen belt and then tells him to bury it, ruining it. ("Thanks, God. I finally thought I might be able to dress with some style... But not now.") Then God tells him to buy a pot ("Great! That'll spruce the place up a bit!") only to be told to break the pot to pieces. Then God tells him to buy a yoke and put it on himself no less. (I imagine he's thinking "I am NOT going to destroy this too!") And while in an argument with the false prophet Hananiah, his opponent removes the yoke and, yes, breaks it. I can't wait to find out what happens next when God tells him to buy a field!

But it's not just that. As I mentioned, Jeremiah was not the most popular guy. In fact, many people wanted to take his life and he knew this. By no coincidence, often the recipients of the messages God spoke through Jeremiah were the very people who wanted him dead. Now I don't know how these messages got from God to Jeremiah to the recipient. Sometimes I picture Jeremiah first writing the message on a scroll to be read to the recipient, but sometimes I picture God telling Jeremiah to go the person but that Jeremiah doesn't actually know the message to speak until he's standing there with the person/people face to face. Either way, but especially with the latter, Jeremiah has to be rather uncomfortable delivering a message like this: “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ...You said to Zephaniah, ‘The Lord has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the Lord; you should put any madman who acts like a prophet into the stocks and neck-irons. So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you?'" How can that be delivered in a way that wouldn't be funny to watch, especially if Jeremiah wasn't completely prepared to speak about himself like this?

Anyway, I'm obviously enjoying this book. There's a lot of good serious stuff in there too, but I figured you'd get that stuff on your own.

And the winner is...

... April, 80's music queen! She recognized this week's lyric from "Sussudio" by Phil Collins. Congrats April!!!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

After taking a week or two off from this little contest, it's back!!! Here's this week's line(s):

She makes me nervous and makes me scared
But I feel so good if I just say the word

Do you know it? Email your answer (title and artist) to me here.

6 Weird Things About Me

I know.... Only six? I'm only listing six--there's not room for an exhaustive list. I was tagged by April which was a tricky (and successful) way of getting me to post something. So where do we start...

1. I hate to dress up--unless it's to really dress up. Give me jeans or an evening gown, nothing in between.
2. I studied computer science in college and loved every moment of it.
3. Along those lines... as a kid I loved math and thought that it might be hard to get a job using math because everyone would want that kind of job.
4. Instead of putting on a sweatshirt, I've wrapped a blanket around my shoulders to keep me warm because it seems cozier, even though it makes it hard to type.
5. I can write backwards (mirror-image) almost as fast as I can write forward.
6. I love wrapping Christmas presents.

I always wonder if what seems weird to me is what seems weird to others. What do you think? Do I qualify as weird?

The List

I just gave up looking for a list I made a few years back. If I had found it, I would have published it here. It was a list of things I was thankful for. A long list. Several (nine, I think) Thanksgivings ago I casually mentioned to my newlywed husband that I thought I might try to list a thousand things I was thankful for before the holiday arrived. (It's always been important to me to celebrate the meaning of each holiday in some personal way, not just focus on the fluffy stuff.) Probably in an attempt to save me some disappointment, my sweet husband (who knows me better now) told me that I wouldn't be able to make a list that long. Instantly I had a challenge that I had to conquer. I found a fresh legal pad and started writing. Page after page I wrote. Day after day I wrote. I'm not quite sure if I made it to 1000 or not but I know I had at least hundreds of things listed. I thought it would be neat to find that list and read over it. (And count it of course.) In the past nine years I have only accumulated more reasons to be thankful so I should be able to make the 1000 if I hadn't already. Maybe I'll have to start over. Should I go for 2000 this time? (Just kidding Sweetie!!!)

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Don't forget to take a moment yourself during what might be a very busy Thanksgiving day and consider what a long list you could write as well!

And the winner is...

Andy Beltz!!! Congrats Andy--your 80's music knowledge paid off! Well, not in the sense that you actually win anything... This week's line was from a-ha's Take On Me, a definite 80's classic!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Let's see if this week's contest goes better than last week's...

So needless to say I'm odds and ends
But that's me, stumbling away

Know it? Email me the title and artist.

My Last Week

I have really had trouble keeping up on the blogging! Mostly I just haven't had anything to say. (Which is an excuse even I don't believe.) This last week has been a little crazy: Last Tuesday afternooon my one-year-old daughter woke up early from her nap crying. I went in to see what was up and she was fine. I hugged her and laid her back down. About 20 minutes later more crying and I open the door to find--well, not a pretty sight. She was sick and I had a huge mess to clean up. My Fresno sister was supposed to be over at any minute with her newborn and my SoCal sister was about 30 minutes away from my house coming to visit with her baby boy. The 48-hour sister-fest I had planned on enjoying was suddenly replaced by a week of cancelled plans, staying home, and wondering who was going to be sick next. I am very glad to be well again. Spending an afternoon with stomach pains so bad you are hoping you throw up makes you appreciate your health once it's back!

Plans cancelled:
- Playing with nephews
- Staying up late with sisters
- Dinner out with sisters, mom, and families
- Baking Christmas cookies with sisters
- Choir practice (twice)
- Bible study
- Leading worship
- Dessert event at church
- Picnic at park with friends

Sickness schedule:
- Tuesday/Wednesday - baby girl
- Thursday/Friday/Saturday - me
- Saturday/Sunday - my boy
- Monday/Tuesday/??? - my hubby (though he doesn't seem to be getting the worst of it)

And the winner is...

...no one! Want a second chance? How about:

Dont worry 'bout nothing cause it wont take long.
We're gonna put you in a trance with a funky song

You say you still don't know it, huh? Really, I think some of you are afraid to own up to knowing the words to this New Kids On The Block song: "Hangin' Tough"! At 13 I never would have admitted to liking their music, but once my little sister finally stopped playing her Hangin' Tough cassette over and over, I did sheepishly ask to borrow it.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

I've got one for you this week! Here it is:

Don't worry 'bout nothing cause it won't take long

Email me the title and artist. First one with the right answer wins!

Boasting in My Weaknesses

A few weeks ago I wrote about my experience leading worship that particular week and I wanted to share another experience from the week before last. One of the things I have been learning is how, when we allow Him, God works through us. That doesn't sound so profound. It's not that I didn't already know this, I just hadn't experienced it to this degree before. Normally our worship team rehearses on Tuesday and then Thursday morning we just sort of set up and warm up together--we don't have time to actually go through all the songs that morning. On this particular week, one of our key members (everyone is key when there are only four of you) was scheduled to be out of town during our Tuesday rehearsal but back in plenty of time to play and sing on Thursday. Our reheasal time on Tuesday went a little shaky, but fine. Thursday morning I arrived at church and our pianist was there but just barely: having just arrived in town the night before (instead of Tuesday night), with no luggage, and a sick kid at home. She hadn't touched a piano for the past week, let alone practiced this week's music. Not only that, but the first song we were playing I don't play on guitar so it's all her. We got through the song after a rough start and the rest of the songs went pretty well. I was content just to see God get us through without any major problems under the circumstances we had. But I usually settle for less than God desires: Over following week I received so much feedback on how meaningful of a worship time it had been to many of the women, with several people specifically noting that first song! All I can say about this over and over is: It is so much not about me. It is so much not about me. I've always felt that I have to be doing my best in order for God to work through me the most. Apparently it's not true. As someone told me the other day, sometimes we just have to get out of the way to let God work.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)

And the winner is...

April, who recognized this week's line from "We Are the World" by USA for Africa. Now who doesn't remember that song? I remember feeling like I was changing the world just by singing along!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here's this week's line:

We are the ones who make a brighter day

Email your answer here.

Summer's End

It's been a while since my last post. I apologize about skipping Mystery Lyric Friday. I'll try harder this week.

A while back, I wrote about summer and how I love summertime and going barefoot. Now the hot weather has turned to only warm. The inflatable pool is deflated and in its place is a big muddy spot in the middle of the back lawn. Pumpkins, scarecrows, and gigantic inflatable spiders are popping up in people's front yards. While I love the weather turning cool as much as I love it turning hot, there is something definitely bittersweet about fall. Maybe it's because I know that short days with foggy weather is ahead. But I'm dragging summer out as long as I can. The time doesn't change for another week so we still have sunlit evenings. For the past several weeks, my family and I have been walking a lot in the evenings, often to a restaurant for dinner, sometimes up the road to Starbuck's. Tonight we stayed home. We barbecued some burgers while the sun was just getting ready to set, made some fresh guacomole, and peeled a mandarin orange picked from my mother-in-law's tree this weekend. In what other time and place do you get to enjoy an end-of-summer barbecue with fresh, ripe citrus fruit? I know it won't be long until I'll have to live like summer is gone, but you'll have to drag me kicking and screaming and barefoot.

And the winner is...

My sister Cheri! She was one of many who correctly answered C+C Music Factory "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)". I am sure that those of you who missed this one thought it was this song but also knew this song wasn't released until Dec. 1990--and that's why you didn't submit your answer. Right? Well, I did poor research up front, thinking I saw the release was in 1989 but apparently it wasn't until 1990. Sorry about that. But based on the responses I got, maybe I need to do a 1990's mystery lyric every week... Hmm... Personally, I don't consider the 90's a period of great music. Then again, a lot of my favorite songs are great music either!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here it is--this week's lyric. Maybe a little different than usual. I'm not sure if it's harder or easier though. Mail me the title and artist.

Jump to the rhythm jump jump to the rhythm jump

And the winner is...

April! April correctly recognized the line from Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon" and has been singing it ever since! Read all the lyrics here or watch the video here.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Loving would be easy if your colors were like my dream

Send your answer (song and artist) to me. I'll post the answer and the winner later on!

Hangin' Out at the Chord House

I've been meaning to mention a useful site I found quite a while ago. If you play guitar or piano at all, check it out. It's the looknohands.com chord house. Enter the Guitar Room (or Piano Room if that's your thing) and select the chord you want to learn about. It shows you the fingering, the notes you're playing, and let's you hear what it sounds like. You can even add multiple chords to a list and then have it play through the list. And this seems to be a pretty exhaustive list of chords (unlike some of the other references I've found), including different options for the same chord. The Advanced Guitar Room lets you do the same for alternative tunings and includes scales as well. (I stick to the Easy Room.)

The funny thing is, on occasion, I've even used this site backwards: I'm playing a chord, but I don't know exactly what chord it is. It's pretty quick and easy to go through the list (especially if I know it's some type of E chord for instance) and find the one that matches the fingering I'm using.

I'm a Student Again!

I haven't been a student for almost 10 years but here I am in school again. I am enrolled in The School of Women's Ministries. It's set up as a two year certificate program with six all-day sessions over the two year period. The first session was Saturday. It was really good and I am looking forward to more. I have some reading and writing to do over the next few months before the next session and I thought I might use the blog to occasionally share what I'm learning an maybe even as a springboard for some of the writing.

Just so you know: I never liked reading and writing throughout school. I did it, and I did it fairly well, I just didn't like it. It's just been in the last few years that I have developed a love for reading. (I'm really glad because it fits well with my love of books--finally I'm actually reading the books I buy!) I've always avoiding writing. I really don't know why--I think it's because I get overwhelmed trying to organize all my thoughts. That, and research for writing normally requires reading. But I think I will be okay with it now. I may actually enjoy it!

And the winner is...

TraciHux!!! Congratulations Traci for knowing this week's line was from John Cougar Mellencamp's "R-O-C-K in the USA". Read the lyrics for the whole song here.

It's Back - 80's Mystery Song Lyric

Back by popular demand, the mystery song lyric of the week! Read the line(s) below and be the first to correctly identify the which 80's song and artist it's from! Email your answer to me and I'll post the correct answer and winner later on!

They come from the cities
And they come from the smaller towns

Hungry-Israelite Thinking

Shortly after God led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, they started complaining that life was better back in slavery than on their way to the promised land. Every time I read this I think how ridiculous these people are. They just witnessed God instantaneously starting and stopping all these plagues in response to Pharoah's actions. They just saw Him hold back tons of water so they could cross a sea only to see the waters suddenly released to swallow up their pursuers. And at that time they praised God for doing these things. But a few weeks later we find them grumbling in hunger: "If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt!". How fickle! Where's their faith? Don't they remember what God did? Don't they know what God is doing?

Those are my usual thoughts about the Israelites. Today I'm not quite as harsh on them. The last couple of weeks, anyone who cared (and some who didn't) listened to me go on about how excited I am to be leading worship for my Bible study and how God has been using that to strengthen my faith, to trust Him more, to pray more, and on and on. He has made Himself so evident to me in so many little ways, it has been amazing. And, the worship times have been going amazingly great. Well, today's worship time was a little off--nothing went wrong, it just wasn't amazing, like the last few weeks have been. That's all it took for me, like the Israelites wanting to go back to Egypt to die because of a little hunger, all day I've been battling these thoughts about how terrible today went (it wasn't terrible) and how ridiculous it is for me to be doing this (I know this is where God wants me). Occasionally I remember my excitement from just yesterday. That helps. Then I realized that I was acting like the Israelites in the desert. How fickle! Where's my faith? Don't I remember what God did? Don't I know what God is doing? No, I don't always know what God is doing, but I do remember what He did. And I'm going to have to operate on that, not on my irrational hungry-Israelite thinking.

My Husband's Poetry

Usually I reserve this blog for my own writing but tonight I make an exception. My dear husband who gave me my shiny new iPod (on which I'm currently listening to Relient K "For the Moments I Feel Faint"--great song) accompanied the gift with a card with a cute inscription that I publish here with his permission. I hope you get as good a chuckle from it as I did!

If you wish the sun to stop its shining, and this would bring you delight, then I shall take hold of it, and fight with all my strength 'till it succumbs to my might. If a single flower should curl but the corner of thy mouth into a smile then I shall search to the ends of the earth and give you enough to strethch a mile. If this gift should be what you desire and it will bring you joy, then I shall go to Amazon.com and click buttons as they have never been clicked before and choose super saver shipping to have it delivered to thy door.

Long Time, No Blog

I thought I was going to start posting more often once I got into a normal routine with all sorts of stuff starting up for the fall. I actually did pretty well for about a week... and then dropped the ball. Well, let's try again. Here's a sampling of what I've been up to:

• It's football season and that means one thing: Fantasy Football! Watching football is just more interesting to me if I have some personal stake in it. This is my family's second year of having our own little Fantasy League (through Yahoo! Sports). I'm ranked 4 of 8 right now but should be moving up after tonight's game!
• I've been leading worship for the Women's Bible study I attend. Between picking out songs, practicing guitar, practicing with my team (one on piano plus two more vocalists), and then other setup type of things, this has been keeping me pretty busy--but I am having an absolute blast doing it!
• I've been keeping up on house-cleaning a little better than usual--though there's always more to be done!!!
• New to my small but growing collection of electronic gadgets: a black iPod nano. I've been loading music on there and, of course, listening as well!

5 Words

I've been tagged again! I love this stuff. This one's a word association thing. Here are the five words I was given (by April) and the first words that came to my mind:

Guitar - strum
Paper - shred
Laundry - basket
Shoe - repair (though I've never had a shoe repaired!)
Slap - face

I'll tag Pat, Jules, and Cheri. Here are your five words:
Pear
Beyond
Blue
Calculator
Shrub

WWII Correspondence

Here's something you'll want to read. I can say that confidently because I'm about the least likely to enjoy this sort of thing, and, yet, I can't get enough. Carl Schaad of Blog Hero has been posting a set of letters from WWII one by one. Each personal letter is written to a man named Charles and signed Margaret. You can read all about how he found the letters here. Then catch up by reading the first few here. (Scroll to the bottom to read the first one first!) He's posting one a day and there are 31. I've never cared for "history", but it is beyond interesting to me to read about individual people who lived in the past.

Number Fun

Over at Math Trek I read about this Number Gossip site. You can enter your favorite number(you do have a favorite number, don't you?), up to 10000, and find out all the properties about that number. There are all these properties that I'd never heard of before tonight, most of them with names that peak your curiosity: happy, hungry, lazy caterer, and apocolyptic powers to name a few. Fortunately, they are all defined so you can figure out how to calculate the properties of all your favorite numbers greater than 10000 on your own!

Ask A Ninja - "Summer Jobs"

Upon occasion, I visit askaninja.com. I love this stuff. If you haven't seen any of them before check this one out. I can't get enough of this--it's hilarious!

It's a Party!

Yesterday we had a construction-themed birthday party for my now-three-year-old. It was first shot at planning a kids' party where the birthday boy and guests actually understand what's going on. I'm really against the whole invite-every-kid-your-child-knows, impress-the-kids'-parents, rent-a-bounce-house-clown-ice-cream-truck-marching-band kind of party for a three year old child. I loved the simple birthday parties I had growing up and want to make the same kind of memories for my children. So I decided on making it a construction party since my boy loves tools, and my husband and I had a great time coming up with names for the food and decoration ideas. We went to more effort than I had planned on, but not overboard. Everyone there had a great time including me. Here are some pics:

Three three-year-olds. (Birthday boy on right.)

Tool "tattoos"

Build-your-own hotdogs

Dirt cake (which is neither dirt, nor cake)

And the winner is...

April again!!! I also give an honorable mention to my sister Cheri who, in the past, has commented that she never gets any of the lyrics but would if I posted a line from this song. Both girls recognized the mystery line was from "We Built This City" by Starship, once voted the worst song of all time.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Okay, I can't miss two weeks in a row. So here's this week's lyric, as late as it may be...

Say you don't know me or recognize my face

Email your answer (title and artist) here. I'll post the answer and winner later!

Tag! I'm it!

You can thank Jules for giving me something interesting(?) to post about. She tagged me after being tagged twice. So she double-tagged me! By the way, thank you Jules, I've always wanted to be tagged! It's a dream come true! So here we go...

One book that changed your life:
The Grace Awakening, by Charles Swindoll
One book that you've read more than once 856 times:
Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See, by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
One book that you’d want on a desert island:
A matchbook! Ha ha ha! (Sorry, I couldn’t pass that up.)
One book that made you laugh:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
One book that made you cry:
Guess How Much I Love You, by Sam Mcbratney and Anita Jeram
One book that you wish had been written:
Don't know!
One book you couldn’t put down:
The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas
One book you are currently reading:
Revolution in World Missions, by K.P. Yohannan
When a Woman Discovers Her Dream, by Cindi McMenamin
What’s So Spiritual About Your Gifts, by Henry and Mel Blackaby
One book you've been meaning to read:
Birthright: Christian, Do You Know Who You Are?, by David Needham

5 Things In My Purse:
My top 5 (meaning the things that are literally on top right now): pen, phone, sunglasses, Tic Tacs, library card
5 Things in my closet:
For fun I’m choosing the closet we use for storage: maternity clothes, wrapping paper, my Mom’s Christmas present (first time I’ve started Christmas shopping so early!), cameras and accessories, gift bags
5 26 Things in my vehicle:
24 animals, 1 Noah, 1 ark (empty)
5 Things in my freezer:
leftover oatmeal cake (from my birthday), a lasagna (just in case), brown ‘n’ serve sausage, pine nuts (last much longer stored there), purple hippo Boo Boo Buddy

So, now it's my turn to tag someone. Hmmm... That requires readers.... Readers that have blogs.... Readers that have blogs AND haven't already answered these questions... This is getting tough! So, I'll tag NerdMom, NerdDad (can't wait to find out what's in your purse), and my blogging sisters Cheri and Joleen (new to the world of blogging as of today!). I can't wait to read your answers to the same questions.

And the winner is...

... April! Congrats April for recognizing the line from "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves!!! Read the entire song here.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

I used to think maybe you loved me, now baby I'm sure

Does that sound familiar? Email me the song and artist from which this line comes. First right answers win!!!

Flo Paris: Practice Room

I've got a new CD I've playing over and over: the recently released album "Practice Room" by the very talented singer-songwriter (and family friend) Flo Paris. I love the first track, "Not I" , which you can listen to online: Since hearing it the day my CD arrived, I haven't been able to get the catchy, but not simple, melody out of my head--I just have to keep listening to it over and over. "The Love That We Have Found" is another favorite of mine. Every song on the album expresses a situation or feeling in a way that, coupled with the unexpected melodies, draws you in. Flo lists Caedmon's Call as one of her musical influences and you can definitely hear that in both the lyrics and music. Flo's distinct, strong voice lends itself well to the folksy style of music she writes. Check out her site and if you like what you hear, support an independent artist and buy her album, too!

And the winner is...

We have two winners this week! Maya was first to correctly identify the artist of this song as Madonna. Jules of Family Jules also knew that the line was from the song "True Blue". Congrats Ladies!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

It's that time of the week again.... So put on your thinking cap (if it fits over your big hair and 4 inch diameter fluorescent pink hoop earrings) because it's time to guess the title and artist of the 80's song that contains these lines:

You're the one I'm dreaming of
Your heart fits me like a glove

Email your answer here.

Go West!

Last weekend we took a little trip to Paso Robles ("darn near paradise" according to one billboard) and to Avila Beach. Apparently everyone and their grandmothers read April's post about Avila Beach because it was pretty crowded. But we were able to find our own little spot near the water. The kids (and adults) had a great time playing in the sand and the water. The waves (and undertow) were particularly strong that day and the waves were pretty high (and breaking quite close to the shore). I imagine that had I checked into kayaking that day, it wouldn't have been allowed.... Anyway, here are some pics!

More To Come...

I'm writing to say I'm not writing. I have been running around non-stop the last four days straight. I want to write about some of the running around (the more interesting parts, of course) but just haven't had time. But you can look forward to some beach pictures and a review of a new CD.

And the winner is...

NerdDad of Nerd Family! NerdDad correctly identified this line from Don Henley's "Boys of Summer". I thought this was an appropriate song as summer seems to be drawing to a close. (That used to happen at the end of August back when I was a kid.) And what happened to it? (This summer, that is.) All of a sudden kids are getting ready to go back to school, families are taking their last-minute vacations.... Well, I refuse to go with them! Long live summer!!!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here's the line of the week. Guess the song and artist and email them here.

I can see you
Your brown skin shinin' in the sun

What I've Been Up To

(I know that to be grammatically correct the title should be "To What I've Been Up" but that doesn't sound quite right...)

I'm not a big jewelry wearer. Not that I don't wear big jewelry, just that I don't wear jewelry very often. But when I do, I want to wear something that's "me" which is generally not what I see in stores or in my mess of a jewelry box. So this last week I decided to make a few necklaces that are "me". Below you can see my handiwork, be it ever so simple...

New Species Discovered

Tonight after dinner my husband and I were helping my son look through his latest issue of Wild Animal Baby. We were pointing out and identifying pictures of different animals in the magazine when I asked my almost-three-year-old what one of them was. He answered "orange-chicken-bear." My husband and I both looked at him searching for clues as to what he meant and then looked at each other and started cracking up laughing. If you eat at Panda Express as often as we do, and you love their orange chicken as much as we do, then you may have figured out that the animal in question was... you guessed it: a panda bear. So, as of this evening, in our home, that lovable endangered species has a new name: Orange Chicken Bear.

And the winner is...

April of 10:15 ON A SATURDAY NIGHT. I want to give an honorable mention to tracihux who remembered for the first time to check my blog and gave me the right answer only moments after April's. Both ladies recognized the line from Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger". See the entire song here.

Roddick vs. Pong

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Sorry, this is so late, but at least it's here. This one falls under the (large) category of Sara's all-time favorite songs...

Risin' up, back on the street

What and who is it from? Email your answer here.

And the winner is...

Denise, friend of Jules! Denise is so good, she actually knew the answer without even reading the question! (Though it may or may not have been read to her over the phone.) She recognized the line from Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'". Congratulations Denise! Check back here every Friday for another mystery 80's lyric!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here's this week's line...

It’s a long day living in Reseda

You know you know it! Email the title and artist to me here!

Rescue Me

Rescue Me
by Sara Edwards

Rescue me from myself.
I need a savior.
Rescue me from myself.
I'll be the ruin of me.
Rescue me from myself.
I need a savior.
Rescue me from myself.

There's a part of me
Takes pleasure in
Things that cause me pain.
And I'm findin' out
As I look around
That there's no one left to blame.

Rescue me from myself.
I need a savior.
Rescue me from myself.
I'll be the ruin of me.
Rescue me from myself.
I need a savior.
Rescue me from myself.

I despise my thoughts,
I despise my acts,
Every word and every deed.
How much longer can
I win this game?
Come Jesus make me clean!

Rescue me from myself.
I need a savior.
Rescue me from myself.
I'll be the ruin of me.
Rescue me from myself.
I need a savior.
Rescue me from myself.

Rescue me.

Restaurants and Kids

I really hate to complain about stuff. Seriously. I'd like to only say good things about people and places, even if I have to leave out the other 99.9% of the truth sometimes. So that's why I'm going to tell you about two restaurants tonight, instead of just the one bad one. It's not a bad restaurant actually. Just not good for kids. Fairly recently, Fresno got a Cheesecake Factory. I had heard good things before and since they opened, and since the family was shopping nearby this afternoon, so we decided to have a nice dinner there instead of fighting the mall food court crowd. The hostess seated us and handed us our menus. Four identical menus for my husband, two-year-old son, one-year-old daughter, and myself. I asked the hostess if they had a children's menu. No, she said, but assured us we would find many kid selections on the regular menu, especially in the appetizer section, since the portions are smaller. A quick glance at the appetizers revealed eggrolls, spicy quesadillas, and buffalo wings. Those all sounded great to me but there was no way my son would eat any of those. The server came to take our drink orders. We asked if they had any kind of juice for the boy, apple perhaps. We have apple cider, she said. My husband then commented, You guys just don't like kids around here, do you? It's not that we don't like kids, she started. She pointed us to the appetizer menu and concluded by saying that, no, they're not kid-friendly. She left and the woman at the table next to us leaned over and said they were having the same problem. I started looking around the restaurant. We were sitting near the entrance so I saw every party the came in and went out. It would be conservative to say half of them included children. And, in case you are not familiar with The Cheesecake Factory, this is not the sort of restaurant one would consider "fine dining". (Restaurants that have ads in their menus rarely are.) When we were done eating, the server came with the cheesecake menu, which, at this point we had no interest in. She feigned interest in my daughter and then asked if we wanted some cheesecake. Upon our declination of her offer, she tried to help justify our answer by saying that our daughter was being a little fussy. First of all, we can just not want cheesecake. Second, don't tell someone their baby is being fussy--especially when she is presently quiet and smiling. So in conclusion, don't bother trying to take your young children to The Cheesecake Factory. (The food was great, just go alone.) If you really want to take your kids to a popular chain restaurant (also fairly new to Fresno) take them to Claim Jumper. This place (like most normal family restaurants) has a great kids' menu, that is made of paper and comes with a few crayons and pack of oyster crackers. Not only that, but for babies, they have a FREE snack plate with two kinds of cheese, a generous slice of turkey, mandarin oranges, and applesauce. They even have a special plastic placemat they adhere to the table in front of the high chair. Last time we were there, our daughter was occasionally squealing happily despite our best efforts to quiet her. We were sitting near the kitchen and I saw one of the server (not ours) walking our way with a blueberry muffin. He smiled at our girl as he approached and sat the muffin on our table. After we mentioned that we had not ordered a blueberry muffin, no matter how large and delicious it looked, he explained that the manager sent it over because she thought our daughter was cute. I'll never know if "cute" meant "loud", but it doesn't matter. They were more than accomodating and we will go back.

And the winner is...

April of 10:15 ON A SATURDAY NIGHT--the only one who (told me she) knew the correct title and artist of this week's 80's song: Paradise City by Guns 'n' Roses. You can read the lyrics to the entire song here.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

To go along with the topic of my previous post, here's this week's lyric...

Just an urchin livin' under the street
I'm a hard case that's tough to beat

Sound familiar? Email me the title and artist. First one with the right answer wins!

More Than You Want to Think About on a Friday (Sorry!)

Yesterday, I was talking with a friend and the subject of the US public welfare system came up. My friend, who will remain nameless for this story, said what I or most any other friend of mine would have said: The government shouldn't be taking care of the people who are supported by welfare, the church should. Being in an argumentative mood, I asked what she was doing about it. How was she eliminating the need for government welfare? Could she name one person/family she had helped? Now please understand, I wasn't attacking my friend, but using her to have an argument with myself. And though I hung up the phone more than 24 hours ago, the argument is still going on in my head. I have many thoughts and I'll try to share them in an organized manner. (We'll see how that goes...)

1. I'm not going to build a big case that Christians should be giving to the poor, orphans, widows, etc. I'm working on the assumption that that is required. But I will throw in a few thoughts on that: a) the "church" (who is called to support needy people) is not some organization but a group of believing individuals. b) There seems to be a common comparison in scripture between spiritual wealth/need and physical wealth/need. (I didn't say correlation, but comparison.) Kind of like how the relationship between Christ and the church is compared to that between husband and wife. We are called to give to both the spiritually and physically needy. I don't think we can dismiss the call to the physically needy as symbolic anymore than we can dismiss the commands given to husbands and wives and symbolic.

2. So what am I doing about it? My normal answer: I give money to organizations who feed hungry people. I think this is good. I'm not sure that we are necessarily called to do more than that. And yet... There's something inside of me that just knows that is an excuse. Inside, I breathe a sigh of relief because now I don't have to get my hands dirty. Just write a check. Voila! The hungry are fed! Besides, there's more to it than food. What about other living expenses? What about other needs that aren't fixed with money?

3. Who is "needy"? Is anyone in the United States really "needy"? I've heard people say that in the U.S. we really don't know what need is. Every nook and cranny of settled land is plumbed with working sewer systems and clean water. I imagine you can't get further than 100 miles from a grocery store. I don't know how true this is. I know there are people in my own city who may not have eaten today. I call that "needy".

Questions I haven't had time to research/think through yet.... (not that the last questions had definitive answers)

4. What do you do when your life doesn't intersect with lives of needy people? A few days ago I was thinking about how I was praying prayers of mediocrity. I hate that. I want God to work mightily in my life and all around me, yet I pray that he would keep/make things "okay". But I realized that sometimes I think I limit God by the way I live my life. I don't take risks. I hardly leave my house. (Not that God can't work mightily in my house, but still.) I don't interact with many people, especially people that might believe or think differently than I do. All that came rushing back to me as I started thinking about meeting people's needs. But am I supposed to go out looking for needy people, befriend them, and take them under my wing or what? That doesn't seem quite like the right thing.

5. Are we called to take care of the needy outside the church or only other believers?


Okay. There might have been more. If I think of anything, I'll add it in the comments. So, what do you think? Do you agree or disagree with any of that? Do you think any of it is misrepresenting scripture? I look forward to your comments!

Monday Laugh

I laughed when I read this and thought you might too...

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all the conflicting medical studies:
1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausage and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. -- Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

And the winner is...

Brad (who happens to be my husband)!!! I'm so proud! Brad knew the line was from Men at Work's "Land Down Under". Admittedly, I don't think I would have got this one, though many of you seemed to think it was easy one. View the lyrics to the entire song here.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here's this week's mystery lyric! Email me your guess of song title and artist. I'll post the winner and the answer later!

I said, "Do you speak-a my language?"
He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich

Good luck!!!

Craziness And Its Theme Song

Warning: This is an atypical sad post.

These last few days have been a little crazy. And I'm not even trying to use that as an excuse for not posting. My craziness has only been the residual craziness (and therefore, not the full brunt of craziness) of friend NerdMom's craziness. (I sure hope "craziness" is a word or the grammar police will be all over this post!) You see, for the last 3 months, she has been expecting her fourth child, but just had a miscarriage. She is a woman of great faith (though she might not admit it) as you can see in her hope through this trial. Read about it here and here. (Look for my appearance as "friends" in the second post!)

A while back, after another friend's miscarriage, I wrote this yet-to-be titled song. I think this is a good time to share it...

The day God gave you life
The smiles all around, they multiplied.
I couldn't conceal the joy I felt inside.
Such overflowing joy, I cried.

Hope of future life,
Hope of future love,
I wish I'd known you more.
Oh, hope of future life,
Hope of future love,
I'll always love and adore you.

I can't always explain
The way God moves His hand, oh I've tried.
But I want so much to understand
So I look for the good and I cry, I cry.

Hope of future life,
Hope of future love,
I wish I'd known you more.
Oh, hope of future life,
Hope of future love,
I'll always love and adore you.

The first face you ever knew
Was the face of your Savior, not mine.
But someday soon, you'll meet me too.
We'll walk hand in hand and we'll cry, we'll cry.

Till then you'll be my
Hope of future life,
Hope of future love,
I wish I'd known you more.
Oh, hope of future life,
Hope of future love,
I'll always love and adore you.

And the winner is...

April of 10:15 ON A SATURDAY NIGHT! And I know the rest of you that were pre-teen to teenage girls in the 80's all sang along with Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know", too, even if you don't want to admit it!

How will I know if he really loves me
I say a prayer with every heart beat
I fall in love whenever we meet
I'm asking you what you know about these things
How will I know if he's thinking of me
I try to phone but I'm too shy (cant speak)
Falling in love is all bitter sweet
This love is strong why do I feel weak

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Sorry for the lateness of this week's contest! Better late than never, here it is:

There's a boy I know, he's the one I dream of

Email me with the title and artist.

Adventures in Potty Training, Chapter 2

This one isn't so much an adventure as an update. Many of you have been through potty-training before. (I mean on the trainer side--I hope if you're reading this that you yourself already use the toilet quite successfully!) So perhaps you're familiar with some of the more common challenges associated with the process: frequent trips to the potty, cleaning up accidents, avoiding public restrooms, and many, many more. My biggest challenge though is this: My son has a bladder of steel. This morning, for instance, he changed out of his Pull-Up and into underwear at 7:00AM. He did not pee until 7:30PM. In case you missed it: 7:30PM. Oh and he had many fluids in between. Now, he did pee in the potty--that part was great. But the kid would rather wait until he gets to wear a Pull-Up and suffer the discomfort than go in the potty!

And the winner is...

This week we have two winners! Maya was the first one with the correct title which was "Can't Fight This Feeling" and NerdDad of Nerd Family was the first one with the correct artist: REO Speedwagon. Congratulations to both!

No I can't fight this feeling anymore
I've forgotten what I've started fighting for
It's time to bring this ship into the shore
And throw away the oars forever

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here's this week's lyric...

It's time to bring this ship into the shore
And throw away the oars forever

Name the song and artist. Email your answer here.

And the winner is...

April of 10:15 ON A SATURDAY NIGHT. Congrats to April and a special congratulations to my readers who were finally able to get one right!!! (That was intended to be a compliment, not the insult it came across as.) The line is, of course, from Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy". (Sorry for leaving that tidbit out in my original post.) Next week's will be a little more challenging.

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there!!!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

I am sorry for posting this so late--I totally lost track of what day it was! So, here's this week's lyric.

Here's a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note

Email me here with your an answer.

Run With Abandon Revisited

Over a year ago (has it been that long???) I posted the lyrics to a song I wrote. (Read that post here.) At the time I really wanted to include a recording but didn't. But here it is. I finally sat down this afternoon and recorded it, sloppy guitar playing and all! Listen to "Run With Abandon" here.

Adventures in Potty Training, Chapter 1

I figured, why not include everyone else in this great adventure of potty training my first child. I'll try to keep it clean...

Today's worst moment... All-out temper tantrum with flailing arms and legs and top-of-his-lungs screaming all because he needs VERY badly to pee but doesn't want to do it.

Today's best moment... Yelled down the hall from the bathroom in a sweet two-and-a-half-year-old voice: "Mommy, I doing it!"

Today's funniest moment... "Mommy look at me!" coming from a bare-bottomed boy with bright green Toy Story 2 underwear worn on head like a well-fitting cap. Apparently at this age your bottom and head are the same size.

Today's most insightful moment... The boy's daddy contrasts our frustration and dwindling patience as parents of a squirming child who refuses to go potty to God's never-ending patience with His children who squirm and wiggle and refuse to do His will.

A Couple of Notes

First: I AM working on my little redesign, but I haven't had a lot of time. I've had a few minutes here and there but not minutes that contiguously form hours and such. Anyway, it is coming.

Second: My posts may be intermittent as they have the last week or so. I'm working on potty training my son. It is quite time-consuming and, more than that, mind-consuming. Something had to give and blog-writing and -reading has had to suffer. I will be very thankful when we're out of this phase! I'll try to post something quick whenever I get a chance.

In the mean time, here's something fun to do: puzzability.com. They have fun little puzzles, some updated weekly, some daily. I haven't been there for a while but used to visit everyday!

Marriage

My sister Cheri has some great thoughts on marriage over at The Barber Shop. Check it out.

Along the same lines: Congratulations to my wonderful husband who has made it through nine whole years with me as his wife--not always an easy feat!

And the winner is...

April or 10:15 ON A SATURDAY NIGHT! The correct answer is "Time After Time" by one of my all-time favorites: Cyndi Lauper.

Butterfinger Pie

Yesterday I prepared two Butterfinger pies for my sister's birthday. She requests this pie every year and I've been happy to make them for her the last couple years because they're so easy and, of course, delicious. Want to make one too? Here's all you need:

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream
8 2.1 oz Butterfinger candy bars
2 prepared pie crusts (graham cracker, chocolate, or my sister's favorite: shortbread)

Let the ice cream soften while you break the candy bars into small pieces. Combine the ice cream and candy and spread into crusts. Freeze overnight.

Yum!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here's this week's line:

Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick, and think of you

Sound familiar? Mail me your answer to what song and who did it. First one with correct answers wins!

From My Hometown

The Kern County, California, Sheriff's Department orders plain white patrol units and has the graphics applied locally. In this case, what they ordered was not quite what they got. This car was driven for 1 week before an officer noticed what the graphics company employee did on the passenger side of the car. The employee did this on his last day working for the graphics company before he retired.

A Peaceful Moment

Breakfast time is always busy: Bottle for the baby. Milk for the boy. Coffee for me. Do you want your bagel toasted? Oh, we're out of bagels. When we finally sit down to eat, it's one bite for baby, one bite for me, one look at the puzzle of the day on my calendar. Repeat, adding the occasional Keep your spoon over the bowl. But for one moment today, in the midst of all that, I was sitting alone on my back patio sipping my coffee, enjoying the cool of the morning. Truthfully, the kids were still there, quietly eating, one on each side. And I wasn't quite outside, still a few feet away, separated by a screen door. And sure, the coffee was instant. But I was enjoying the morning for that moment. Part of me would love to spend the entire morning like that each day. But I know I would so easily tire of it, take it for granted. But to have one moment like that in the midst of such busyness makes it sweeter, a gift from God, something I am still savoring 6 hours later.

And the winner is...

*** I apologize that I didn't get this posted earlier--my internet was down last night and this morning and then I spent the rest of the day barefoot in Porterville. ***

And the winner is... April of 10:15 ON A SATURDAY NIGHT! Congrats to you April for your fine job of correctly identifying Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart". Thanks to NerdDad of Nerd Family for sending this trivia about the song from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Eclipse_of_the_Heart: At its peak, it sold 60,000 copies per day, and approximately 5-6 million copies in total, and was number 1 throughout (almost) the entire world charts according to Bonnie Tyler's greatest hits manual. It is therefore widely considered not just a hit but a "smash hit".

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Time for another round of Name That 80's Song! Email me with the title and artist of the song that contains this line:

We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks

The first person with the correct title and artist is the winner. I will post their name and blog, along with their correct answer, of course, late tonight or early tomorrow. Good luck!

Sara's 80% Rule

A while back I said I would tell you more in a later post about how I like to finish things to about 80%. Since I am out of things to write about, today is that day.

So, as I said, I like to finish things to about 80%. I guess it would be more accurate to say I like to achieve about 80% of what would be perfection and then stop working on it. Let me give some examples: I don't write "rough" drafts of anything. Or, rather, my "final" draft IS my "rough" draft. I remember learning to write essays in 5th grade. The teacher had us write about something or other and then explained that she would mark up our papers and have us rewrite it. I thought this was ridiculous. Why spend time rewriting something that was pretty good already? If I can spend an hour working on something (anything, not just an essay--stay with me, here) and get it to 80%, why would I spend another hour to get it to 95? Because that's what it would be, right? This is how I do almost everything. I do something the first time (play a new sport, try a new hobby, whatever) and everyone says "Wow! You've never done this before? That's amazing!". Well, what are they going to say next time? "Good job. But work on this over here." What? Work? I don't think so.

Obviously, I don't quit everything after the first time. This is about my 125th post to this blog, for instance. I have things that I am more passionate about. Things I will do regardless of what people say. (Well, not regardless, but with less regard.) And I have some things I do that I can't stand to leave at less than 100%.

So, there you have it--Sara's 80% Rule. Feel free to apply it yourself! And let me know how it works out for you!

NOTE: The remaining 20% of this article would not have made much difference, had it been written.

Barefoot Summers

Memorial Day has come and gone, June is two days away... The time of barbecues, swimming pools, and sunburns is here! I love living in California's Central Valley because summer lasts so long. We normally have barbecue/swimming/sunburn season from April to November. Sure, much of it is near 100 degrees, but still! One of my favorite things about summer is going barefoot. As much as I like to buy shoes, I like even more to not wear them. I grew up in Bakersfield, CA but now live in Fresno. One of my sisters (Joleen) who also lives in Fresno and I have noticed a trend. It doesn't always apply but often does: People from Bakersfield prefer going barefoot. And my corollary: We love summer. If you were to go a grocery store on a summer weekend, when I was growing up, you would see that most of the people there were a) wearing swimsuits, b) buying meat, charcoal, and beer, and c) barefoot. Okay, most adults usually had at least one piece of clothing in addition to their swimsuit. And not everyone was barefoot, but some were, and I don't think I've EVER seen that in Fresno. I miss that. So, my carefree days of leaving my house without shoes are gone, but you can't take summer away from me! Start the barbecues and get out the sunscreen--summer's here!

And the winner is...

Hale of De do do do, De da da da! Congrats to Hale and everyone else who correctly identified this week's mystery lyric as part of the great song "Small Town" by John Cougar Mellencamp.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

I hope this one's not too hard...

No I cannot forget where it is that I come from

Email me your answer. I'll post the winner and their answer late tonight!

And Another Thing...

I have an idea for a new look for this blog. I should have more time next week and might be able to work on it then. No promises. But I'm not revealing anything until I put it up. And then you can tell me if you like it or think it stinks! Of course, if you have some great idea, I'm always open to inspiration!

Personality Differences

I'm sorry I haven't been posting real regularly. I've been busy. (By the way, I can't stand it when people use that excuse.) That reminds me of an interesting little thing that will become the subject of this post...

I have taken many personality tests. (Believe it or not, the tests say I have one!) Most of them break all personality types into four or sixteen (four major, with four sub-categories in each) categories. One of the tests with four categories was explaining differences between the four using this example: You are scheduled to meet a person at a particular time and place. The Dove personality (this test used bird types to identify the personalities) will be on time and not mind if you are late. The Owl will also be on time but will be bothered if you are late. The Peacock will be late, but not mind if you are also late. The Eagle will be late, but will be upset if you are late. So you want to take a guess at who I am? Yes, the ridiculously selfish Eagle. That's right, my time is more valuable than yours. Isn't that ridiculous? The sad thing is when I heard it, I knew it was true of me, and so I've tried to let the Peacock tendencies I have take over in these situations. Of course that still means I'm running late. But at least (now) I won't yell at you when you are too!

With which bird do you identify?

What Happened?

I went to a wedding this weekend. I stood in the foyer waiting to sign the guestbook when I realized I hadn't been in a church like this one for a long time. The walls (in the foyer and the sanctuary) were covered in long, dark wood strips reaching all the way to the high ceiling (probably about 80 feet at its highest point). Above the door were several stained glass windows. The sanctuary was long and tall and, at the front, had a big raised "skylight" of stained glass artwork. My husband who is a structural engineer made the observation that nobody would build anything like this anymore because of the cost. I agreed, pointing out as an example that our church is in the process of building a new facility that will be large and metal. But I kept thinking about this. It would be irresponsible, I reasoned, to spend twice as much money as necessary to build a church building just to make it ornate. But this thinking doesn't fit with what I read in the Bible...

Exodus 25:1-9
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution. "This is the contribution which you are to raise from them: gold, silver and bronze, blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goat hair, rams' skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood, oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastpiece. "Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them. "According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it. "

For the construction of the tabernacle, God asked the people to contribute, not just general building materials but their finest possessions to adorn the place. The next few chapters go into the details of all of it and it is to be a place full of, essentially, artwork and fine craftsmanship.

2 Chronicles 3: 5 - 7
He overlaid the main room with cypress wood and overlaid it with fine gold, and ornamented it with palm trees and chains. Further, he adorned the house with precious stones; and the gold was gold from Parvaim. He also overlaid the house with gold--the beams, the thresholds and its walls and its doors; and he carved cherubim on the walls.

This passage refers to Solomon building the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. Again, a more-than-functional, highly adorned place.

I imagine (though I don't have anything to prove this) that that temple was the probably the most beautiful building in Jerusalem. So why do the most impressive new buildings in my city house retail stores and movie theatres? What happened? Certainly there are many churches throughout the world that have become icons of architecture because of the beauty of their design. But have any been built recently?

I find myself using the reasoning some of Jesus' followers used in Mark 14 when a woman poured very expensive perfume on Jesus' head. "Why has this perfume been wasted? For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor." Jesus, of course, defends the woman's actions and even promises that she will always be remembered for doing this.

So I'm left with these questions: Is it a waste to make a place of worship ornate for God's glory? If no, then is it wrong to spend as little as possible just to make it functional, freeing up the money that would have been spent on ornamentation to be used for other good purposes? What happened in the history of the church that has led us to value economy for God's glory over beauty for God's glory?

And the winner is...

April again! She's quick and she's right. Read April's blog 1015 ON A SATURDAY NIGHT. She and quite a few others knew the line was from U2's "With or Without You".

80's Mystery Song Lyric

It's time for everybody's favorite part of the week: Sara's 80's Song Lyric Contest!!! Name the title and/or artist of the song that contains this line...

Sleight of hand and twist of fate

Email your answer here. First one with the correct answer wins!

Lack of American Idol Commentary

I haven't said anything about American Idol here for several weeks now. I didn't get any complaints so I don't feel too bad. But I feel a little bit bad just because I was so consistent for so long and then just quit. But I haven't even watched it for the last several weeks for various reasons. I guess this last part isn't as fun for me as the earlier parts. I guess I just feel it doesn't make that much difference at this point. Once it was down to the top 6 or so, they were all very talented, and winning is only go to help them go so far if they can't hold their own without having the world watch them on TV twice a week. So, in my mind, it's as good as over until the next round: Come September, whose names are you still going to remember?

Re-post: New Blogs

Blogger has a weird thing where the date and time you start writing a post becomes associated with that post, even if you don't post it for a few days. This happened with my "New Blogs" post (see below). Anyway, since I figure many of you missed it since it was buried under earlier, but later-dated entries, I thought I would re-post it here...

I've been meaning to introduce you to some of the blogs I've been reading of late. As I mentioned in a previous post, friend and loyal reader April finally caved to the pressure and started a blog which she may or may not ever post to, but already has several times. Yea April!!! Read her blog 10:15 ON A SATURDAY NIGHT here.

You can also read de do do do, de da da da (which, incidentally, is quite difficult to type) by friend, reader, and April's husband: Hale.

Family Jules belongs to another friend and reader, Jules. She's currently got a very funny video you can check out over there. She also has a weekly movie line contest that I lose every Friday.

I've been reading Shlog by Shaun Groves. He is neither a personal friend nor a reader. At least not yet anyway! He's always got great thought-provoking stuff there.

While I'm sharing some blogs I've been reading, I thought it might be fun to find out what my readers read. So, what is one blog, other than mine or your own, that you read on a regular basis?

And the winner is...

April of 1015 ON A SATURDAY NIGHT! (That's right, for those of you regulars around here, April now has her own blog!!!) April (as well as quite of few others) knew that this line was from "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" by Georgia Satellites. Thanks to NerdDad who sent this link to some misunderstood lyrics from the same song.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here's this week's lyric. For some reason, this has always been a favorite song of mine. Of course, that fact will probably not help you figure out the answer, even if you know me.

I got a little change in my pocket going jingle lingle ling

What song is it from? Who sang it? Send your answer to me and I will post the winner and a link to their blog late Friday.

New Blogs

I've been meaning to introduce you to some of the blogs I've been reading of late.

As I mentioned in a previous post, friend and loyal reader April finally caved to the pressure and started a blog which she may or may not ever post to, but already has several times. Yea April!!! Read her blog 10:15 ON A SATURDAY NIGHT here.

You can also read de do do do, de da da da (which, incidentally, is quite difficult to type) by friend, reader, and April's husband: Hale.

Family Jules belongs to another friend and reader, Jules. She's currently got a very funny video you can check out over there. She also has a weekly movie line contest that I lose every Friday.

I've been reading Shlog by Shaun Groves. He is neither a personal friend nor a reader. At least not yet anyway! He's always got great thought-provoking stuff there.

While I'm sharing some blogs I've been reading, I thought it might be fun to find out what my readers read. So, what is one blog, other than mine or your own, that you read on a regular basis?

I Had A Dream

I had a dream of a blog post. I would tell of how I went to the Central Coast for a few days and got to hang out with sis, bro-in-law, and nephew. And most of all, I would recount the excitement of the kayaking my sister and I did. I would include a picture or two of the shore taken from out on the water. I would tell of the interesting sea life I saw and I would tell you how much fun I had paddling along and how sore I was the next day. I would... but... they wouldn't rent us kayaks because it was too windy!!! Both of us were SO bummed--we were so looking forward to kayaking together. Well, we got to hang out together anyway. And we discovered a new drink with classic taste and rebellious temperature: 20-degree Below Hot Chocolate.

I also had a fun time just hanging out with my fam and seeing my baby girl play in the sand for the first time. (She thought it was tasty.)

You can see some more pics at The Barber Shop here and here.

And the winner is...

This week's honor goes to NerdMom of NerdFamily. Congratulations to all those who correctly answered "Walk Like an Egyptian" by the Bangles!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

You have until Sunday:

All the old paintings on the tombs
They do the sand dance don't you know

What and who? Mail your answer here.

Treasure Hunt

You know the classic question: "What would you do for a million dollars?" Last week I learned my answer to a variation on that question: "What would you dig through the trash for?"

Monday I realized that I thrown out UPC codes I needed for a free offer I was going to send in for. Not only had I thrown them in the wastebasket, but my husband had already emptied all the wastebaskets (including diapers) into one big bag and deposited that into the big canister outside, where many similar looking bags already resided. The offer was worth a net $22, and I decided digging through all that wasn't worth $22. (ThiswillworkMan AKA IcanfinditMan thought it was.)

Q - Would you dig through the outdoor garbage can to find $22?
A - No

On Wednesday, my stepdad was looking through my newspaper for a ($13 value) coupon he wanted. He didn't find it and I suggested that maybe it was in Tuesday's paper, but I didn't see it lying around. A few minutes later I opened the recycling can in the kitchen to toss something and saw Tuesday's paper buried under various cans, bottles, boxes, etc. I decided to grab a couple sections and search for the coupon which I quickly found.

Q - Would you dig through the indoor recycling can to find $13?
A - Yes

Now, would it have made a difference if in the first case it had been cash, instead? Maybe. I don't know. So what about you: What would you dig through the trash for?

And the winner is...

... no one. So sad. No one won this week. This one is from one of my all-time favorite songs, but obviously it is unmemorable to many: Asia's "Heat of the Moment". This next week's will be easy. I promise. Really.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here we go again. Another week, another lyric. Again I have tried to make this just the right level of difficulty. Here it is:

I never meant to be so bad to you
One thing I said that I would never do

What's it from and who's it by? Email me with your answer (or guess for that matter). Have fun and good luck!

Swim Lessons

For the past seven weeks, my 2-1/2 year old son and I have been taking Mom-and-me swim lessons. Every time he has had to put his head under water he has absolutely hated it and firmly declared that he is not doing it again. This last week, though, everything changed. He didn't resist. He didn't cry or complain. I think he may have even liked it. Needless to say, I was so proud of him! Way to go my boy!!!

Monday Blues?

Monday got you down? Check out HappyNews.com, a news site that only publishes happy news. Seriously. It's real news, just minus the stories that are at all depressing.

And the winner is...

NerdMom!!! Congratulations on your victory NerdMom! Visit her at NerdFamily, a blog I read quite regularly. This week's lyric (or verse, as the case may be) is from Peter Cetera's "Glory of Love". Tune in next week when I promise I will use a line everyone should get.

80's Lyric - Round 2

Apparently I managed to make this contest even MORE difficult. I apologize for stumping everyone. So, instead of giving the answer away, here is round 2: same song, same line, but the entire verse:

Sometimes I just forget
Say things I might regret
It breaks my heart to see you crying
I don’t wanna lose you
I could never make it alone

Email me your answer here.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Thanks to all who gave me feedback on this feature and how to make it more fun. More is always welcome! The general idea I got was: Make them a little easier and non-searchable. I'm not certain, but I think this one fits the easier part. Still working on the non-searchable part.

This week's lyric:
Sometimes I just forget
Say things I might regret

First one(s) to email me the correct title and/or artist will be listed here later tonight. Good luck!

My Verse

I've heard a lot of Christians mention they have a "life verse": a particular Bible verse that is meaningful to them. A couple of years ago I got rather distressed over the idea that I should have one and I don't and is it because I just haven't found it yet or is it because I can't commit to one verse to cover my entire life. I gave up and forgot about it really. Until the other day. I read this verse that so resonated with me. It states one of my core life philosophies (something I didn't even know I had until I typed this sentence). I knew it was a "Christian" idea but didn't know it was really in the Bible. Deuteronomy 15:10 says:

Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.

I've seen this to be true in so many people's actions and even in my own life. When you give or serve freely, God blesses you; not just what you have given, not just the aspect of life out of which you gave, but blesses you in all aspects of life. My philosophy has always been: If you see something that needs to be done, do it. If someone needs help with something, do it and have fun doing it. Is it going to mess up your schedule? Yes. Is it going to cost you money? Yes. Does it matter? Somehow no. Somehow, maybe not immediately, but at some time, you look back and realize you're in a good place and that you couldn't have arrived there without the giving and serving. And you don't miss what was lost. Reading this back it sounds cheesy and rather cliche, but I'm just saying I've found it to be true. So does that work for a "life verse"?

Goodbye Ace

Tonight's American Idol bottom three were a bit of a shock: Ace, Paris, and Chris. And Ace went home. As April commented on the last post: Kellie has a huge fan base for her to be in the upper four after such a poor performance. Very interesting. We'll see what happens next week!

American Idol

It's been a few weeks (well, two) since I've commented on American Idol. Overall, tonight's performances were really good, but boring to me. (Not my kind of music.)

My prediction for the three with lowest number votes:
Elliot
Kellie
Paris

Who I think will win:
Chris

And the winner is...

...Brad, AKA ThiswillworkMan! He correctly answered "Jump" by Van Halen. Based on rumors I hear, he may or may not have used the help of an internet search engine. And he may or may not have done so in order to impress his wife. Since that is not against any rules (there aren't any), especially when attempting to impress a spouse, I officially declare Brad this week's 80's mystery song lyric winner. Congratulations ThiswillworkMan! Unfortunately he doesn't have a blog so I can't provide a link for him. The sad trend (of blogless winners) continues.

On the subject of this weekly contest I would love some feedback: Have they been too hard? Too easy? What would make it more fun? Please leave a comment or, if you prefer, email me. Thanks for your input!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

I think I've got an easy one for you this week. When you've got it figured out email me here (title and/or artist). Now let's show April she's not the only one who knows 80's music. Here's the line:
I've got my back against the record machine

Some Assembly Required

I live in an abnormal household. Well, I suppose we are abnormal for many reasons but I will expose you to only one in this post. We recently bought some new furniture for our office: a computer desk and two bookcases. They came in pieces. You think that's a bad thing, but, see, this is where we're abnormal: We love this stuff. At times, my husband and I have actually argued over who was going to put something together. Other times I've assembled things before he's had a chance to in the name of being "helpful." I love to assemble things quickly. He loves to assemble things correctly. This difference only caused a few problems for us this time.
First of all, we were at about step 12 of 28 when I picked up a portion of the desk to get it into position and didn't give it the support it needed, ripping the particle board at the places it had been connected. Ouch. It looked bad. But not to worry, with his cordless drill and bottle of Gorilla glue attached to his duct tape belt, ThismightworkMan (my husband's new superhero name) arrived on the scene! In no time he had the sub-assembly back in order. The next problem we encountered was a shortage of screws. This desk literally had 15 different types and sizes of screws and bolts. I sorted and organized them so they would be easy to find at each step. But we were missing two of one type. No problem-- not for ThismightworkMan who found a spare screw with smaller head and a washer to work for one replacement. For the other missing screw he used his favorite special power (air compressor + cutoff wheel) to shorten a spare screw that was the right size but too long. Finally we had all the pieces assembled! We slid the file-sized drawer into its opening. Why wouldn't it close? It was stuck on something. Something on the sides of the drawer weren't allowing it to close properly. The screws holding the slides on the drawer were getting caught because...you guessed it: They were the missing screws! But would ThismightworkMan be thrown by such a discovery? Of course not! With some smaller spare screws and a few drops of Gorilla Glue he had the entire desk together and working as if his silly wife had never touched it. If you're out there ThismightworkMan... Thank You!!!