Like Rolling off a Blog

Happy New Year! 

Yesterday was my final day as advertising manager of Moody Publishers. Monday, Lord willing, will be my first day as Vice President of Special Markets for New Dimension Media . So today I decided to get my hair cut. What? Who cares? No, really. A new look for a new year. Right now, all three of our offspring, along with their spouses, are headed downtown to ring in the New Year on Navy Pier. I am so grateful for CTA's penny special! The "girls" and I went for an "ah" day -- no, that's "spa" day -- to prepare for the the New Year. Hence my hair cut. And Lara's . And Britany 's manicure and waxing. But probably the most appreciative was Ingrid. One whole hour of foot massage ! Hey, for a woman who is almost 7 months pregnant, THAT is a treat! She actually fell asleep during the process! So looking back ... life has been good. And looking foward ... God is good, so bring on 2005!

Did you have an excellent Christmas? What IS an excellent Christmas? There are so many "true meanings of the season" bantied about, that it is really hard to discern. The allegory I like the best is about a boy's birthday party. Well, people just THINK it is his birthday, and so they invite a whole bunch of people, decorate elaborately, make an incredible spread of goodies to eat, and then, get this ... they create a list of gifts THEY want! And do you know what? Everybody else is in on it except for the boy whose birthday it was supposed to be. He isn't even invited! Ridiculous, isn't it? The initial sentiment is good -- celebrate the birth (although we don't really know the date) of Jesus. But Scripture doesn't give us a date, or a mandate for that matter, for the celebration. Down deep (and some will have to dig WAY down) we realize that the gift of Jesus didn't come at His birth. It came at His death, and more importantly His resurrection. The...

I thought I would share a recent request from my "little" brother Dan, because I've been so out of blogworld touch lately. This should bring any prying eyes up to date ... And remember that as with all email trails, you have to read from the bottom up! Hey there, Danno! Oh, yeah, we got kind of side tracked about the job, and the Christmas cards are woefully behind (due to the fact that I've been paying a lot of attention in other directions). If the job hadn't come looking for me, I probably wouldn't have looked at it, but there's something about that story -- "The Lord said, 'I sent three life rafts for you, and you didn't take them.'" So, if this is my "life raft" then who am I to disregard it? Enough for the pontificating ... My new job title is "Vice President of Homeschooling and Special Markets" for New Dimension Media (a division of Questar Video). www.ndmquestar.com. The senior v.p. marke...

Definition: not to be believed. But you can believe it: The Incredibles is a great movie! Caution for kids under 8 perhaps, just because of cartoon violence, but other than that, another superb Pixar movie. I am not your typical movie critic. I don't know all the lingo for the nuances of theatre. But in my humble opinion, this movie has what it takes on several levels of excellence. First, the animation work is top notch -- what else would we expect from Pixar, right? Secondly, the story line is enough to keep an audience engaged, from preschooler to grandparent. But what tops it all is the message of the story. THAT is what is so refreshing about this particular film. It is all about using the gifts you have, for a higher purpose, and what happens to the hope and emotions of an individual who is not using their gifts to their full potential. Amazingly, it totally affirms marriage, longsuffering love, family ties, and upholding one another. But never in a preachy way -- ...

Hahahaha. I'll bet I got your attention on that one! Actually, I'm speaking about my breakfast... sorry. Pomegranate sounds downright decadent, doesn't it? When I was in fourth grade, I remember meeting friends behind the schoolhouse at lunchtime or recess and digging into an exotic treat -- a pomegranate. Now, how we got such an exotic fruit in Conrad, Montana, I'll never know. Unless you did it just right, it was a fairly messy thing to open and eat. I have since gained some experience in this skill. So this blog qualifies as a fluff piece today. Never hurts to have something that takes the mind off current events or the cares of the day, like a post regarding the optimum way of mining a pomegranate! First off, there are some real benefits to eating a pomegranate, not the least of which it will cure your curiosity about this biblically mentioned fruit. One serving size (fruit exchange) of a pomegranate is 1/2 cup. Doesn't sound like much until you start tak...

I find it quite amazing that this country can be almost so evenly divided. Yes, President Bush took more votes , and a higher percentage of the vote, than any other president in the past couple of decades. But 51% is narrow. It certainly does not constitute a landslide, and that is what concerns me. What has happened to the conscience of this nation? Obviously, 49% of the population no longer has a moral compass upon which to make their decisions. President Bush is very upfront that his compass is the Word of God. It is also disconcerting that 49% of the voters no longer think that the individual should be responsible for self-governing. They would rather abdicate to government involvement in every area of life. On this matter, the populace is quite schizophrenic -- wanting total personal license, while holding an entitlement mentality. Perhaps that isn't so schizoid after all -- "it's all about me." Have we forgotten that the "government" is to be rep...

Until three years ago, I didn't think "conflicted" was a bonafide term. But now I are one! No, just kidding. Boy or girl? (I expect you to eat this post after you read it, because it shouldn't be around when the next generation can put sentences together.) If you had asked Andy or Ingrid two weeks ago what gender of baby they preferred for a firstborn, they would have concurred that they wanted a boy. Ten days ago Ingrid underwent the ultrasound that was to dispell all doubt, and what do you know ... they had a modest baby! Not to be fooled, they made another appointment. One week ago today they anxiously waited as the ultrasound tech patted and rolled and otherwise looked into the inner realms of the baby's home -- you might say it became a "womb with a view!" Ah, I've always wanted to use that line! The baby fluttered, sucked a thumb, scratched the head, and finally, finally, came around to where the tech could get a good look at ... it's...

Quite some time ago, my husband and I decided that we should sit through all the credits at the end of a movie. In the words of the Muppets: Hey, they're all related to somebody! So at the end of the movie we saw today, we dutifully sat through the ending credits, while other less-enlightened theater-goers got up and left. Obviously, those who were still sitting around us already knew what was coming. The movie we saw was Napoleon Dynamite. No comment. But there was an entire scene at the end of the movie that no one would have known was there, unless you'd been subjected to ... I mean, had seen the movie before. Number one: someone please clue me in to any possible meaning for this movie! Other than extremely exaggerated loser characters. Number two: my take-away value from this is that sometimes you get a surprise just by being patient. By sticking it out until the bitter end. I imagine in days to come I'll repeat some line from this movie and think it humorous, but...

Which File Extension are You?

No wait, it's another personality quiz ! Just when you were getting comfortable with yourself, another IQ test, personality quiz, enneagram, or HR tool comes out. Some of them are pretty accurate, and some are just downright crazy. Now, you have to be a certain personality type to even take these tests, so the results are skewed right there. Unfortunately, I'm one of those people. To get a true representative sample of the population, you'd have to FORCE some accountant types to take these quizzes, because they will most likely feel it is a waste of their bean-counting time. But do people who are drawn to online (and paper) tests get along with each other? Hmmm, I have a theory. Mostly, yes. Because they have a fundamental desire to understand the human psyche in common with one another. BUT, on the other hand (besides wearing a glove) they are also potentially stuck on self -- always digging and never quite coming up with the final answer -- who am I, really? So, please l...

To be guilty or not to be guilty, that is not a question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to have coveted and lost, or to have caused covetousness ... is also not a question. Both apply. Christians routinely use the jargon of "I covet your prayers." Admittedly, I loathe that phrase. And it doesn't even stand to reason, since we are called in the Ten Commandments not to "covet." So, please, friends, choose another phrase. On the other hand, I am horribly guilty of coveting. I see a BMW convertible sportster race down the road and think -- wow, I wish I ... Or someone tells me of an inheritance, or a new and bigger home, or even how well they slept last night! And pow! I'm hit again with how covetous I can be. On the third hand, I (and I presume several others out there) am also guilty of causing others to covet. When one (meaning me) shares a good fortune, aren't we potentially causing others to wish they had that same good fortune? Som...

A parenthetical part of life between the births of Adam and Ingrid was the loss of a baby through miscarriage at 10 weeks gestation. I still don't know the cause, but it was very sad. On the other hand, it was God's good pleasure to instead give us Ingrid! My OB thought he could control the size of my babies by putting me on the diabetic exchange diet -- or perhaps get me to take up smoking, but I wouldn't go for it. Consequently, I had a very healthy diet during my pregnancy, but still gained 42 pounds. Still no ill effects of blood pressure, blood sugar, etc. Just the normal achies, nausea, and sciatica. This was the first of the three births where my own mother was going to be visiting us and helping with the boys. They had been out of the state and the country for the other births, and Mom came back from Germany this time; in fact, a week early, since no one exactly can predict a birth date. This baby was due January 20, which came ... and went. My OB was convi...

Between the birth of Marshall and Adam, there was a TV show referencing police work. The constant throughout the show was the line "one-adam-twelve." Not being in police work myself, I couldn't tell you what this code means, but it came to mean something quite personal to our family! When Marshall was about 18 months old, I started having baby hunger again. Within two cycles, my desire was granted ... We had moved to a small community and I was getting to know my OB. Home pregnancy tests were not as sensitive as they are today, and I had to wait for two weeks "late" before getting an accurate reading. As I was waiting, I went to get my hair cut, and the hairdresser asked if I was pregnant. I looked at her incredulously because I knew I hadn't said anything about our intentions. I said, "Well, I'm waiting to find out" to which she replied, "Don't bother; you are!" She could tell just by the way the hormones had changed my hai...

The early months of pregnancy are somewhat of a blur, but I did have "morning" sickness. Funny -- it was actually in the evening. I struggled with indigestion frequently. Even water caused me queasiness. But as I've learned, that is a good thing. It means my HcG had kicked in and was doing its job. Just so you know -- and I'm taking a risk here -- I did have some alcohol during those first three months. In retrospect, I'm wondering whether that has caused any type of metabolic problem. It certainly didn't impair Marshall's brain! I remember lying in bed one time, in our lovely townhome in Sacramento, and staring at my 8-month-gestational girth. Lo and behold, my entire abdomen shifted from top to bottom (or perhaps the other way around). I had just witnessed the turning head-down of my little one. How exciting! Because I just loved getting kicks and prods, and thought it was so fun to poke my side and get a response. I never had any sonograms, as the...

Please don't read this if you a) think "birth stories" are sappy or b) have dastardly intentions of where to post it. A few short weeks ago, our youngest-born, Ingrid (known to the family as Pee-Wee), called me. This is not unusual. She and I enjoy chatting. As a matter of fact, we come from a long line of mother-daughter chatters. But I digress. She was concerned because she was "late" and this was not an expected event. I asked her about symptoms, and sure enough they sounded like an early pregnancy. She left for the local discount store to stock up on twin-pink-stripe tests and upon her return called me again. Nebulous. Okay, try again. Tears, sobbing. I was a bit concerned, not knowing where her emotions were headed, so I asked (duh!) "What's wrong?" Her reply was heard between the sobs and deserves to be "inked" for the baby: I'm just so happy! I, the now beaming grandma (oh, wow!)-to-be, became an instant research m...

Can anyone tell me when I'll quit worrying about my children? Okay, I know that "worry" is not what Christians are about. It is to be "concern" followed by prayer; but it may just be semantics. So, to make myself and you, Dear Reader, feel better, I'll use the word "concern." I'm concerned about my children's marriages, their health, their spiritual discipline(s), and their futures. I try to remind myself that all of these things are in the hands of God, Who loves them infinitely more than I ever could, and also has the power to do something about it. But then I'm reminded of the quotable quote of a little boy in Sunday School: I need someone with skin on. And yes, I know that Jesus is that person, but frankly, He doesn't visit me in the flesh (not that I know of). When Mark (hubby) and I took spiritual gift inventories years ago, Mark scored way HIGH on faith, and I scored abysmally LOW. That was helpful to me, because I thin...

On my semi-long commute in to downtown Chicago, I listen to the morning show without fail. This morning I heard the song by Greg Long, entitled " Fifteen ." I found myself weeping. It caused me to consider what types of things move me to tears. As I think of more, I'll add them ... perseverance in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds an underdog crossing the finish line a child's "ah-ha" moment of learning the mental picture of me crawling into the lap of the Father to tell Him my cares the brokenness of one who realizes his/her sin praying for the crushing needs of another love prevailing the grace and mercy of God's forgiveness compared to the weight of my sin a handmade gift the birth of a baby the legacy of a loved one When a piano string resonates with a note, it is a wonderful thing to hear. When tears resonate with the heart, it is a wonderful thing to bear.

There is really nothing new under the sun . When my family was getting set to leave the country in 1967 (no, we weren't escaping the Viet Nam era. My dad was assigned to Japan .), we stopped in San Francisco to visit my uncle. He was attending Berkeley for his doctoral program. Yes, the heyday of Berkeley. While we were in San Francisco, we took a side tour through Haight-Ashbury . During a stop, I picked up a free Haight-Ashbury newspaper. Well, "newspaper" in a loose sense. Very loose. Stream of consciousness, anything goes, question everything, don't tell me what to do or what not to do. And so went the sixties. What goes around comes around, and the children of the children of the sixties are now reliving our experiences -- in the blogging world. The main difference is that now anyone with a computer can choose to read the stream of consciousness, anything goes, question everything, don't tell me ... So my dilemma is this: do I put brakes on or not when ...

A cloud hangs over this day. Just say the date and certain feelings begin to rumble around inside. Like knowing where I was when JFK was shot; like the feeling one gets on the first day of school as an elementary student; like smells that automatically trigger nausea; that is what this day is like. I was sitting at my computer in my previous office. Alternately staring out the window and paying attention to my work on the screen. Listening to WMBI online (funny how we can only hear a Chicago station on our computers in downtown Chicago). I heard Dave (news) punctuate the air with the news that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. "What a horrible accident," I thought. Tuned to the online news service at the same time for any updates, when Dave came back on saying a second plane had hit. This was no accident. The office was buzzing by now. The TV in the conference room was pushed into service as several of us took turns watching the news. Then when one went into th...

I'm a bit fuzzy around the edges, but there's a solid core. 

Even the pain of a frap brain freeze won't stop some addicts! 

It is my contention that, as members of the human race, we are ALL addicted to something. We long for connectedness, and addiction is a modified form of connection. So ... I'm "connected" to coffee ! It must flow through my veins. Complete with steamed nonfat milk, of course. I do enjoy it a "latte." You may have already noticed that I am also "connected" to puns. It is my creative outlet, that part of my brain that just loves to use items (or words) for purposes other than their original intention. So if you have any wonderful creations -- words or crafts or foods -- that extend beyond their blase borders, let me know! Just got back from my morning coffee and I'm now ready for the rest of the day -- connected to it, in fact.

Horsetail Falls with a Rhonda "sign" in front.

GORGEous scenery, don't you think? 

Okay, so I just read Britany's post regarding the fact that she can't finish anything. Well, I start things, finish them, and then let them lie there forever, never to be renewed. Therefore, I have a family webpage that rarely gets updated, pictures that sit in their original cardboard frames (no lovely matting or framing), etc. Is this just another something that I will begin and not return to? No, please (or is it, no, thank you). Maybe this will fulfill my need to empty my brain at the end of the day. But someone will have to "blog" my memory, or it won't get done. Some people have memories like steel traps. I have a memory like a steel sieve, give or take a few facts. I'm looking forward to this, especially since my kids seem to be enjoying theirs. Ssssh, don't tell them that the parental units are actually technologically savvy. Until the next time I remember to jump off a blog ...