May 2009

As soon as I got home, Eric was so excited. He said he had something that would “make my weekend.” I admit, I was skeptical–didn’t we just have a weekend? I went through a mental list of things it could be–student loan gets paid off, a vacation somewhere for the summer, going back to Paris? Still very unsure of what he meant, I thought the opportunity had past and that he was just being his silly over-enthusiastic self. But I was wrong.

Looks like an ordinary string of lights, right? Wrong.

Looks like we’re going to have us some little bitty hummingbird babies. I’m sure the cats will be glued to the window, when they finally see the bird and keep us updated. I hope I can grab a photo of the little ones. They’ll going to be super teeny tiny-because mama isn’t that big herself. I’m excited.

Peace!

It is so hot here. In the upper 90’s and without A/C, I’m pretty useless. I spose I’m a bit of a pansy. So in no particular order, here’s my weekend wrap-up. Photos would have been nice, but you know I didn’t manage to take any. You can improvise with some visualization.

1. I found a great way to eat spinach. I put frozen strawberries, frozen mangoes, spinach, some whey protein, plain yogurt and some water in a blender. I mixed it all together and it tasted like berry smoothie. No spinach taste, but all the nutrients! Awesome.

2. Hee Haw Hayride was the musical put on by the 7th/8th graders at our school. It was super-cute. They even made fun of all the staff with bogus newspaper headlines. Eric’s was, “Pastor Eric Caught Buying New Clothes without Holes!” He does wear a lot of distressed tee shirts and holey jeans. Too funny.

3. I attempted one prototype of my shirt for ordination weekend. It wasn’t quite what I wanted, but helped in the process. The scalloped ruffles are way too cute. I’m in love. I’m going to work on grading my basic bodice sloper and see where that’ll lead me. That’s on tap for tomorrow, depending on the heat situation (it is only supposed to be in the 70s). I may just melt into a puddle instead.

4. I’ve continued reading some library books. I’m nearing the end of Girl Meets God. I didn’t expect much, but I’ve been blown away. The author has one Jewish and one Christian parent. She chose to become an Orthodox Jew, then shortly after that became a Christian. On top of that she is an academic who majored in religion. I love her historical insights, her ability to explain complex theological situations simply, and her authenticity at how hard certain aspects of Christianity are difficult for her-evangelism, sexual sins. In a way it reminded me a bit of More, Now Again, which I read my junior year of college. Though I found Elizabeth Wurtzel’s book to be a bit whiny and haven’t experienced that at all with Girl Meets God.

5. I’ve been weightlifting 2 or 3 times for the last 3 or 4 weeks. I’m in love. I have muscles popping  up everywhere. Watch out Michelle Obama! I’m hoping to start adding more cardio to the mix. Still debating about Team in Training. Though, one our good friends is likely to sign up too, so I’m sure I won’t be able to stay away.

6. Random Team in Training info. Eric and I’ve raised over $15,000 fund raising for 4 different TNT events. The entire organization celebrated their 2oth anniversary in 2008. In 2010 they expect to reach $1 billion in total amount raised! Ryan O’Neal also has CML and takes Gleevec.

7. I was finally a match for a taste test. I’ll be testing ice cream/popsicles on Wednesday and get paid. I’m very excited.

Peace!

I received a letter from a friend living in Paris today. We both went to Paris as part of Baylor in Paris in the summer of 2002. We stayed with the same host family. We had a blast. We learned a lot about French history, the language, and even more about ourselves. We laughed until our stomachs’ hurt the day I lamented at dinner with our host family, “I can’t cut the cheese.” It was the second to last course of our meal and I quite literally was having a tough time cutting off my portion of cheese for the evening. It was too difficult to try to translate the euphemism. I was grateful to have a friend who understood the humor in my slip that evening, as well as the frustration of navigating a foreign land and language with me.

I was lucky enough to return to Paris for the summer in 2003. She is just now returning for a stay longer than a vacation.

She closed her note saying that her glass of red wine had been finished and so she too must sign off. I immediately poured a tiny glass of wine to write her back. It was only 1:45 in the afternoon, and I come from a “you shouldn’t drink before 5 pm” family, so it was a bit odd. Not so odd I didn’t drink it, just odd.

Paris holds a special place in my heart because I’ve done a lot of growing there. It was my first opportunity to really figure life out on my own. It was simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating. It held unmet expectations. Like I always thought I’d enjoy it with my dad, walking down the Champs Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe. This has yet to happen and I don’t expect it to anymore, but not out of disappointment. I’m amused because I realized recently that I thought I was done growing when I left Paris at the end of July 2003.

Do you have a “Paris?” If so please share.

Peace!