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!!!

The Mobius Bench

I've always been intrigued by the Mobius strip--you know, where you take strip of paper and make it a loop, first giving it a half twist? According to Ivars Peterson: "Ever since its discovery in 1858 in a purely mathematical context, the Möbius band has played a role not only in mathematics but also in science, engineering, literature, art, music, dance, crafts, playthings, puzzles, and magic tricks." The latest discovery: You can sit on them, too. Actually, the bench pictured here has been at the Shops on Lake Avenue in Pasadena, California since 2003. Read more about it here. See more pictures here and here.

Peeps A-Plenty

Check out NerdMom's post on everyone's favorite Easter-time treat: Peeps!

And the winner is...

...April again! Congrats April on your awesome 80's song knowledge! You rock!

The line was from Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker", which was actually released in 1979, (though it was played plenty in the 80's). I will try to only use songs released in the 1980's--this exception was a mistake on my part! Sorry!

I also apologize for the delay in posting the answer. I spent many of the last 24 hours fighting with my computer while trying to uninstall/install software. I was replacing Norton Internet Security, which, much like a hawk, was holding on with all its might, its claws dug firmly into every application I have. It wasn't until this morning, after some sleep, that I was able to pry the last talon away. And I'm still cleaning up feathers.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Your love is like a tidal wave, spinnin' over my head

Sound familiar? Tell me what and who it's from here. The answer and winner will be posted late Friday.

Bruchko

I have finished my first book of the year. (Yes, I know it's April.) My bro-in-law Gabe gave me Bruchko by Bruce Olson for Christmas this last year. The note on the package said it was "off the hook" and, being as un-hip as I am, I thought it was some sort of clue as to what was inside (like a phone or a new-fangled fishing pole), not that he was just saying it was cool. Well, Gabe was right: This book is off the hook. It's about a guy who goes and lives with this Indian tribe in South America to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's a really amazing story and one of those books you don't want to put down. Near the end the story gets kind of choppy, like he got 80% through and just wanted to finish the darned thing. (Somepost I'll tell you why I relate so well to that.) Anyway, I highly recommend the book.

Unbelievably Mandisa

All three American Idol contestants in the bottom three tonight had never been in the bottom three before: Mandisa, Elliot Yamin, and Paris Bennett, Mandisa having received the lowest number of votes. This is so hard to believe (even though I did mention her in my previous post)! Regardless, I expect she's going to have a lot of opportunities when her contract with Idol is up. So, next week Bucky's got to go. Speaking of next week, did Ryan Seacrest really say they're doing music by Queen?

American Idol

Who's going home tonight? Country week should have been Bucky's time to make himself look like he belongs in this group, but he didn't take the opportunity. His performance last night was okay but he's just missing that star quality. I missed Taylor's performance last night, but I'm wondering if people are getting a little bored with him. And Mandisa has been a little off the last two weeks, even though I think she's definitely final four quality. Well, it will be interesting to see which way it goes.

Happy Birthday Blog!

Tomorrow, April 1, is my blog's first birthday! As this day has approached, I've thought that With Reckless Abandon should start acting like the grown-up blog that it is. I've been posting more frequently, have a weekly feature, and have even seen some international traffic (although I'm pretty sure my Italian visitor was here by mistake). I'm eventually going to post a picture, too. Thank you to the handful of readers that have been reading from the start and the many more that have, for some reason or another, decided that reading my blog is worth a minute of your day! If you're new here, and like what see enough to check back occasionally, drop me a note and let me know you're here! And if you're from Italy and you're not here by mistake, please accept my apologies. I would say something nice in Italian here but I don't know any Italian words, only food.

And the winner is...

...that 80's girl April!!! She correctly recognized this week's mystery line as Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer". Way to go April!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Gina works the diner all day

What's it from? Who's it by? Tell me here.

Scout Songs

When I was very young, my older brother was a Boy Scout and my dad was a Scout leader of some sort (I think even after my brother was no longer a scout). I would often go to the meetings with my dad, so he has always joked that I was an honorary Boy Scout. Since I spent some of my formative years attending Boy Scout events, I was quite excited when I happened across scoutsongs.com, a virtual songbook. I looked up my favorites and they're all there! I grew up singing Pink Pajamas. In fact, even though I knew the tune was from a better-known song, for the longest time I seriously thought the chorus to the Battle Hymn Republic went:
Glory, glory, hallelujah.
Glory, glory, what's it to ya'?
Another longtime favorite of mine is Johnny Verbeck. If you grew up with Scouts too, enjoy!

Get a Blog

If you have read the comments on the previous post, you noticed that every winner of the Friday lyric contest is blogless, I repeat, blogless. And since they have no blogs to which I can link, they are requesting Starbuck's prizes. Well, I have a few words for these "winners"... Kick your Starbuck's habit and start a blog! (I say this to them because I know them personally. If you're new here, don't worry, I don't treat all my readers this way.) But maybe you can help me out: If you want to give away Starbuck's gift cards (say you own a Starbuck's; or maybe you can't stand the stuff but people keep you giving gift cards; or perhaps you're the president of the Corporation for American Coffee Addiction) and you want to donate Starbuck's prizes for 80's lyrics winners, I will gladly accept the donation and distribute the prizes. Yes, April, even retroactively.

And the winner is...

...loyal blog reader Maya!!! Congratulations Maya!

The line was from "Always Something There to Remind Me" by Naked Eyes.

I was asked by one reader if the prize for this weekly contest could include some link love. The answer is absolutely. Just make sure you include a link to your blog when you email your answer.

Congratulations to all of you who got the right answers!

Speaking of song lyrics...

If you're like me, you've often wondered what in the world Yankee Doodle has to do with macaroni. You know:

Yankee Doodle went to town, riding on a pony;
Stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni.

I always thought it was one of those things that got changed over the years through a series of misunderstandings. I was wrong. "Macaroni" is Merriam-Webster.com's word of the day today. Read on.

macaroni \mak-uh-ROH-nee\ noun
1 : pasta made from semolina and shaped in the form of slender tubes 2 *a : a member of a class of traveled young Englishmen of the late 18th and early 19th centuries who affected foreign ways b : an affected young man : fop

Example sentence: "If he...talks about London and Lord March, and White's, and Almack's, with the air of a macaroni, I don't think we need like him much the less." (William Makepeace Thackeray, The Virginians)

Did you know? As you may have suspected, the "macaroni" in the song "Yankee Doodle" is not the familiar food. The feather in Yankee Doodle's cap apparently makes him a macaroni in the now rare "fop" or "dandy" sense. The sense appears to have originated with a club established in London by a group of young, well-traveled Englishmen in the 1760s. The founders prided themselves on their appearance, sense of style, and manners, and they chose the name Macaroni Club to indicate their worldliness. Because macaroni was, at the time, a new and rather exotic food in England, the name was meant to demonstrate how stylish the club's members were. The members were themselves called "macaronis," and eventually "macaroni" became synonymous with "dandy" and "fop."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Now I'll be able to rest easier--one more of my life's mysteries solved.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

I'm going to have to start posting my Friday feature on Thursday nights since I'm not able to get to the computer until 9:30 AM (Pacific). Well, to make up for the late posting of the question, I will not post the answer and winner(s) until Monday. (Okay, maybe that has more to do with the fact that I will be away from the Internet until then.) So here it is:

As shadows fall, I pass a small cafe where we would dance at night

What and/or who is it? First with each answer gets all the fame and fortune associated with having your name posted on my blog! Email answers here.

My Idol Picks

And now for my latest top-4 American Idol selections:
Mandisa
Chris Daughtry
Kellie Pickler
Katharine McPhee

Mandisa and Chris are my favorites. They both were amazing tonight. My guess for who's going home tomorrow: Lisa Tucker.

Locals Only

For those of you in the Fresno area: If you haven't tried Mother Mary's Wood Flavored Pizza yet, you've got to try their garlic knots. If you have, you know what I mean. They're covered in garlic butter and parmesan cheese and you get a dozen of them for five bucks! Don't let Mother Mary scare you off with her wooden spoon.

Getting Sucked In

I'm on the countdown for the upcoming women's retreat I'm attending: 4 more days to go! I'm counting down partly because I'm looking forward to it but partly because I'm co-leading a craft project at the retreat. Saturday I was cutting paper. I've been busy punching holes in paper bags today. Tomorrow I will tackle ribbon cutting. We are making these very cute scrapbooks out of paper bags. (Did you even know you could do that?) Hopefully the prep work we're putting in will make it fun and easy for the ladies who participate this weekend.

I love doing crafty stuff. I love making all kinds of things really. I like to cook. I like to sew. I like to write songs, blog entries, and code. But I decided a long time ago: I WILL NOT GET SUCKED INTO SCRAPBOOKING!!! Every time I talked to a scrapbooker the first thing out of their mouths was always "I'm so behind." I have enough things I'm behind on--I don't need to add another. A friend used to tease me that she was going to drag me into it. Her husband said it was repayment for getting her started drinking coffee. (I really still don't know what I had to do with that Jeremy.) I resisted for years (literally). But I give. In the words of Mr. Sparkle "Join me or die. Can you do any less?"

Baby Got Book

I just watched this video at Two Blonde Boys. Watch it. It's hilarious!

And the winner is...

Congratulations April (totally an 80's girl) for correctly answering this week's 80's lyric...
Everybody Have Fun Tonight
Wang Chung

New Friday Feature!!!

Let's try something new! Every Friday I will post a line from an 80's song. You email me with title and/or artist. I'll post the winner(s) (first with correct title, first with correct artist) later that day or on Saturday. I'll try not to make them too easy or too hard. Here's today's mystery song lyric:

I'll drive a million miles to be with you tonight

So if you're feeling low turn up your radio.

Email your answer here.

38below 6feetunder

One of my regular reads has been 38below, an Accuweather.com blog. It was originally a mechanism for getting feedback on their website redesign efforts which were completed about the time I started reading, maybe six months or so ago. The blog has been discontinued due to mysterious corporate reasons left unstated by blog author Carl Schaad. (My guess is it has something to do with the website redesign being complete.) But Carl has started his own personal blog that you can read here. Take a read. He's a funny guy.

My Idol-less Week

It's a sad thing, but I didn't get to watch American Idol this week. I didn't even record it to watch later. Instead I was trying to get my 2-1/2 year old to go to bed. (And yes, I missed the entire two hour episode that way.) I watched the results show last night, though. Even without seeing the performances, I was shocked to see Ace and Lisa in the bottom three.

Say Goodbye to Gedeon's Smile

That's right. Gedeon McKinney didn't make it to the top 12. Neither did Will Makar, Kinnik Sky, or Ayla Brown. The only surprise in all this was that Kevin Covais IS in the top 12. Whether that has anything to do with VoteForTheWorst.com's support for him is questionable.

My Idol Picks

I agree with Maya's recent comment on my previous American Idol post: Chris Daughtry rocked last night! Unfortunately, he was really the only one. In fact, he's the only male in my picks for the Top 4. (It's not too early for picking the top 4, is it?) Here it is, the next in what has become a series of weekly Thursday posts...

Sara's Picks:

Paris Bennett

Kellie Pickler

Mandisa

Chris Daughtry

Lazy Quantum Computer

It's kind of like me in high school: not doing the assigned reading but still getting a decent score on the pop quiz. From "Easy Answers: Quantum computer gives results without running" at Science News Online:

Physicists have long known that quantum computers have the potential to race
through calculations trillions of times as fast as ordinary computers do. Now,
it seems that those machines may not have to calculate at all to deliver
answers.
That seemingly absurd possibility, which was advanced as a theory
several years ago, has now received experimental verification. What's more,
although previous calculations indicated that such an approach would work only
half the time at best, the new study suggests that it could become completely
reliable.

Apparently we may not even have to run computers in the future-- They will just have to exist. And maybe we can do away with that, too. Seriously, though, this sort of experiment challenges what seems like common sense (that is, that it would have to run to give a correct answer). It makes you (well, me, at least) wonder if it can really be true. Maybe I'm just too simple. Any thoughts? (Nerd Family, I'm calling you out on this one--You can't be silent on a topic as nerdy as quantum physics.)

Read entire article, if you dare, here.

I Am Lisa

Take The Simpsons Personality Test and find out which Simpsons character you are...

I Am Lisa Simpson

A total child prodigy and super genius, you have the mind for world domination. But you prefer world peace, Buddhism, and tofu dogs. You will be remembered for: all your academic accomplishments Your life philosophy: "I refuse to believe that everybody refuses to believe the truth"

I think this was pretty accurate although I'm sure I was one question away from being Marge. ("Don't look at me. Just because I'm holding a pair of scissors....Scissors which I need to, uh, to... gussy up these curtains.")

First Cuts

In case you missed the American Idol results show--and you care--and you read my blog (does that leave anybody???): We said goodbye to Becky O'Donohue, Stevie Scott, Bobby Bennett and Patrick Hall tonight. I don't think any of them will be missed too terribly.

One irritating thing Ryan Seacrest kept saying during the show: "That just goes to show that no one's safe." Of course no one's safe--they're all going to be eliminated, save one. That's the whole point. I know, I know: I'm not supposed to actually listen to the words coming out of his mouth, they're just there to fill space.

That's a Wrap

I've been motivated to post to my blog today because at church this morning I learned that a blog is a "frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts." I was convicted about the "frequent" part. This is my 64th post to this blog in its 10 month lifetime. I don't know if you'd consider that frequent. So anyway that's what I learned at church today. Seriously, we just started a sermon series called "blog: Big Lessons on God". You can download the service as a podcast at the NewCov site. (Or you should be able to within the next day or so.)

After church, my husband finished up a project he's been working on for me: This very cool wrapping paper rack (pictured here), with storage for ribbons, bows, etc. and gift bags too! We designed it together, he built it, and he just installed it this afternoon. (Sorry ladies, he's taken.) So, I spent some time transferring colorful paper products from a big plastic bin into this new rack and I made a very interesting discovery: I have a WHOLE LOT of gift bags. Multitudinously more than I thought I had. (There are more than what is in this picture.) This led me to ponder the reason for this. (Why can't I just leave it at I have a lot of gift bags?!) I keep and reuse bags from gifts I receive. (I hope that's not bad etiquette or something.) I rarely buy gift bags, so most of the ones I own once contained gifts for me or someone in my family, but probably me. I like gifts. Feel free to send me one. But not in a gift bag please. But to get back to my pondering: Based on all these facts, I came to the conclusion that I have received multitudinously more gifts than I have given. So I think I'm going to start giving more gifts. I'm not going to invent holidays or anything like that. But I think there are probably times when a gift would be appropriate yet not expected, and I'm going to start erring on the side of giving. Not just to deplete my gift bag supply, of course, but because I really do like giving gifts. And I don't want my new rack to break under the stress of holding all those bags!

My Idol Picks

The final 24 have been chosen. (Of course I'm talking American Idol.) Here are my picks:

Who I like:
Kellie Pickler
Taylor Hicks
Chris Daughtry
Will Makar
Stevie Scott

Who I think will win:
Paris Bennett

And Another Thing

A few weeks ago I volunteered to lead worship for my Thursday morning women's Bible study. It's something I had thought about doing, but didn't think I could commit to at this time for various reasons. But in a matter of about an hour a few weeks ago, each one of my reasons became invalid. So last week was my first week. Every little mistake I made (and there were about a hundred in the three songs), I just cringed internally, and kept smiling and singing. At one point, I looked out and noticed that the women were singing, some of them looking like they were really worshiping. That was a very cool moment. Immediately afterward all I could think to myself was "I'm never doing this again. I'm never doing this again." over and over. I kept telling myself not to say this aloud because I knew I would feel differently by the next day. And I did. All I can say is that God is VERY big. I feel so incapable of doing this. (Much more incapable than I thought I was!) It is refreshingly humbling. There's something about laying it all out before God and saying: This is all I've got. It's yours if you want it.

Twelve hours left until showtime. At least Simon Cowell won't be there!

I'm Back

... Not that I went anywhere. I was here. At the computer. On the internet. Everyday. It's terrible really. It's as if I was driving by your house on a pleasant day, and you were there in the front yard watering your lawn, and I didn't even bother to pull over and say "Hey, don't you have sprinklers?" And there have actually been things to blog about (about which to blog?) and I just thought it would be easier on me to not blog. But no. Blogging provides some sort of release. My problems become yours. I walk away relieved and you walk away laughing. We both win. And I don't even have to pay you.

So here's my bloggable story from two weeks ago. After Bible study, I went out to lunch with some friends. (At DiCicco's on Nees for those wondering now and those who will wonder after reading this.) There were about 12 of us: half adults, half kids. The place was full (and rather small). We were talking and laughing and eating. This man got up from his table in the middle of the restaurant, came toward our table, looked right at me and angrily said something like "It's really inconsiderate of you to let you kid make so much noise in here" and he motioned to my two-year-old son. I was shocked. Certainly my son was making noise. So were the other kids (and adults) in the restaurant. But enough noise to warrant this rebuke? When the man started talking, I seriously thought I must know him from somewhere, that he was joking. When I couldn't place his face and he kept talking I realized he was serious. It was like in a movie: Everybody in the restaurant stopped eating and talking and was just watching. I tried to control the simultaneous rage and tears that were welling up inside of me. "Do you have any suggestions?" I asked, wondering if he could come up with something short of duct tape. "Yes I have children," he blurted. "I didn't ask if you had children. I asked if you had any suggestions." My question caught him off guard and he stammered a little. "I'm not a parent. I... I mean, I'm not the parent. I just think you're being inconsiderate." He turned around and went back to his seat. I turned back to my friends and tried not to totally lose it. (I didn't want the guy to have the satisfaction of knowing he disturbed me so deeply.) Everyone else in the restaurant was apparently afraid of getting yelled at, so conversations started back up very quietly. The hostess at the restaurant told one of my friends that this man eats there regularly and has yelled at other customers before. That made me feel a little better. This was such a surreal experience. I kept replaying it in my mind for the next three days. I hate doing that. But it really was an awful experience.

I Am The Next American Idol

Okay, so, I'm not. But someone will be. The 2006 season started this week and I caught most of the Chicago and Denver audition shows. I enjoy watching people make fools of themselves as much as the next guy, but it would have been nice to see more than three or four of the people that were actually good. One thing I've learned from watching the not-so-great auditioners is that I want to be humble--if for no other reason than pride makes you look so stupid. Whether it is flaunted in an I-don't-care-what-you-think attitude or disguised with false humility (and I've tried both) you end up looking like such a fool. I'm sure that's a verse in Proverbs..."The proud man looks like a fool" or something.

Poor Tin, The Lowliest of Metals

From Merriam-Webster...

The Word of the Day for January 6 is:
tin-pot • \TIN-POT\ • adjective : two-bit, small-time
Example sentence: Petty despots and tin-pot dictators often pay lip service to democratic ideals to give their regimes an aura of legitimacy.
Did you know?Tin has never commanded as much respect as some other metals. As a reflection of this, its name has long been used in terms denoting the tawdry or petty. "Tin-pot" has been used for minor or insignificant things or people since the early 1800s. "Tinhorn" has named fakes or frauds (especially gamblers) since the 1880s, and "tin lizzie" has been a nickname for an inexpensive car since Ford introduced the Model T. Another example is "tin pan" (as in "Tin Pan Alley"), which referred to the tinny sound of pianos pounded furiously by musicians plugging tunes to producers.

Apparently You Can't Plow Rain

Got this one from 38below:

Milesburg, PA - Although area man Sam Johnson, known as "Buzz" to his friends, doesn't miss the sub-freezing temperatures, he's completely disgusted with the recent lack of snow.
"I ain't complaining 'bout the temperatures, no sir," Johnson said Thursday by phone, "but there ain't been no snow, and that's no good."
Johnson explained that he runs a snow removal service for Milesburg and the surrounding area, and the lack of snow has been a drain on his business.
"It just ain't snowin'. Ya know I can't plow the rain. No one wants rain removal. Rain is for the summer, see?"
Johnson said the last two storms were okay but nothing to write home about - or take to the bank.
"That last one was what, 7"? Them weather people are crazy. I got up in the morning and there weren't nothin' but an inch of sleet. Weighed the whole thing down. By time I made the rounds some folks had done it themselves. Didn't pay real good."
Johnson isn't taking any solace in the near term forecast either.
"I been checkin' it and checkin' it and it just says rain! I can't plow rain, you best write that down. I need snow, lots of snow. Heavy snow, so folks won't try to tackle it themselves. I don't see none in the forecast though."
When asked what else he might do, Johnson was uncertain.
"Well, I got a truck and a plow. I'm thinkin' of hauling wood for folks, plowin' stuff. If anyone needs anythin' plowed I can do that." Under his breath he added, "Can't plow no rain though."
The forecast for Milesburg, PA doesn't look good in the near term; the first possibility of snow is on January 14, and that's only expected to be a few inches. Johnson didn't want to hear it.
"You know why they call me Buzz?" he asked. "I'll tell you why; cause I got short hair. That's why! I'm gonna move to Syracuse if this keeps up."

Sara's Library

I am quite proud of myself for reading as much as I did during the past year. (I think I read only 3 books the previous year.) So I thought I would share my accomplishment with you by listing the books I read in 2005 and books I hope to read in 2006. Maybe you'll find something to add to your reading list for this year!

Read in 2005:
Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas by Ace Collins
Love Your God With All Your Mind by J. P. Moreland
The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
The Game Makers by Philip E. Orbanes
The Case for Easter by Lee Strobel


Hope to read in 2006:
Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams
A Mom After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George
Bruchko by Bruce Olson
Birthright: Christian Do You Know Who You Are by David C. Needham
The Chronicles of Narnia (7 books) by C. S. Lewis

30 days until Groundhog Day

Did you ever wonder what Punxsutawney Phil does during the rest of the year? Well, thanks to Carl at 38below, I found out here.