Remodeling

My favorite Burger King is "closed for remodeling." This is what the sign says. If you look BEHIND the sign, you see dirt. A nice flat piece of dirt ready for the rebuilding. Rebuilding and remodeling are two very different things.

If you don't know me very well, let me just tell you that giving up BK is withdrawal similar to what I imagine alcoholics might endure when they enter AA. Of course I could just drive to the other end of town and eat at that Burger King...but it's just not the same.

So for now, I drive by the "closed for remodeling" BK with much sadness.

And in honor of their new look (you know...the dirt?) I've given my blog an overhaul. It might stay - it might change again. You never know. I was just tired of green.

Bits for Sunday, June 17, 2007

I have been writing so much this week that it seems my brain has dried up. I know, I know…you think you’re going to get out of reading…but nah. Even in the dried up days, I find something to say.

Life is fun. I’ve decided that. I can’t remember who I was talking to the other day…but we were pondering the great questions of life…with no real successful answers, you understand. We talked about how life doesn’t always (or perhaps EVER?) turn out the way we plan. But I’ve decided that even so, life is still fun. Or at least it can be if you let it.

One evening this week, during my nightly exercising ritual, I walked past the tennis courts on campus, and I heard someone yelling my name. A couple of the girls from the office were out playing tennis and invited me in to play. Mind you, I’ve not set foot on a tennis court since junior high, and my skills were questionable at best then. I bravely stepped behind the net and promptly missed more balls than I care to admit to you. But it was fun. Even looking like an idiot, flailing all over the court, missing half the balls and hiding from the other half, it was fun.

Friday night I came home from work and decided to work on my landscaping. Please remember, I live next door to professionals. My work pales in comparison. Some people would say “Just hire them to work on your yard.” Well, first of all, that would cost more money than I think my yard is worth…and secondly, where’s the fun in that? Even though I’m not a personal fan of manual labor, there is (don’t tell my parents I’ve learned this) something to be said for the satisfaction of a job well done. I drove to Home Depot, bought some edger stone, and proceeded to spend the rest of the evening digging holes, lining up the edgers and filling in the gaps with stone. I was caked in mud from head to toe. I don’t even think I ever encountered that much dirt as a kid. I had to completely hose down my arms and hands between every edger stone…and yet I thought to myself this is fun.

Last night some of my friends from high school came over for a game night. I would call it my second annual game night – but the first one was back in March. Guess that’s more than annually. Anyway, I’m typically not a fan of games. At church parties, I’m the one volunteering to sit out any round of catch phrase. Board games stress me out and raise my blood pressure. And sports games…well…I lack the eye/hand coordination. (See previous story about tennis.) But last night the three of us sat at the dining room table for about five hours and played games. I learned all kinds of new games – and really enjoyed them. In fact, at one point, we laughed until we cried. And despite my normal distaste for games, it was fun!

One of the game night guests had unearthed a video that I didn’t even know existed…from our fourth grade year. What a bunch of fashion statements we were! Anyway, it was a Christmas video, in which one other girl from my class and I had the duet for “two teddy bears” in a rewrite of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Most of the time, I stood swinging from side to side with my arms crossed, looking rather bored…which was probably code for embarrassment. At least it should have been.

In the fourth grade, my life plan was to grow up, go to college, be a teacher (or a secretary), get married, and have two kids.

The fourth grade plan didn’t really work out, but that’s okay. I think I forgot to work any sort of fun into the life plan of the fourth grade. What good is it to have a job, a husband, and kids if you don’t have any fun along the way?

I was looking at an old journal this evening – from back in 2004. I was not having fun then. I was stressing about the decision to purchase…or not to purchase…my house. I wrote about Philippians 4:6, which says Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Those were days of great anxiety for me. According to the fourth grade plan, I was going to be married and teaching (or secretary-ing) when the time came to buy a house for the family of four. I wasn’t supposed to have to make that decision by myself, and I was scared to death I’d do the wrong thing.

Much prayer was poured into the house decision and I felt very much at peace that God would provide a way for me to live here if I just trusted Him and followed His instructions as they came. And just a few days later, I signed four billion papers that made the house mine. Being a homeowner has had its anxious moments. Mostly when things break. I’m not handy with broken things. But every time that happens, I just remind God (okay, so I’m really reminding myself…just by talking it out to Him) that we have an agreement. I have chosen to stop stressing (as much as I am able) so that I can enjoy what I have…which is a house. And great friends. And no tennis skills.

That verse works. Still works now. It doesn’t mean that life is without frustration. But if I can look under the frustration…life is fun.

REBUILDING: Just an Update

I have not posted any Kansas updates for a while because...I didn't really have any. That a good enough excuse?

But last night I called out that way to complain about the creepy old man that hit on me in Wal Mart. My poor brother-in-law answered the phone and got the brunt of my grossed-outedness. I figured it's good practice for him...Cassie's surely coming up on some of those years herself. Anyway, he was a good sport and said EWWW along with me. He was busily working on some more insurance lists. This one was for books he had in his library. I can totally feel his pain on that list. I came home from the tornado wreckage and started itemizing my own stuff in case this ever happens to me, and I started with the books. Just pulling them off the shelf and writing them down was exhausting. I cannot even imagine trying to remember them all. It would have been impossible.

They're still working on options for rebuilding. Rebuilding the house will happen - just the location is unsure at this time. It is possible that they might end up on a property other than the one they were on before the great wind of 2007. 

Cleanup continues to go on. Lori said that there were still over a hundred properties on the MDS cleanup list. That seems like many still left to do, considering how much has already been done. And that's just the MDS list. There are other services cleaning up other properties! 

Speaking of MDS, I found the following stats on their site - and I thought they were kind of interesting. They've had a total of 1911 volunteers on the Greensburg project (YAY- I'm in that number!). They have started 170 properties and completed 55. That is a lot of work in just a little over a month!

Lori is still working at the MDS "Greensburg Headquarters" - a camper parked on the church lot. This week she worked 8-5, which was a lot for her! (Her real job is working in a school, which has much shorter hours...and summers off.) Jeff is helping with building plans and other pastoral duties (and the book list). Oh, and listening to me complain about creepy old men. :)

Cassie is busy...being 17, I guess! I haven't had a chance to talk to her recently. She's hanging out with her friends or boyfriend when I call, normally. She's been pitching in, though, and keeping in the loop of what is going on in the world of cleanup and planning ahead. 

If you are wondering what sorts of things could still use prayer, here are some suggestions - 

* Wisdom for general church building plans. A committee has been formed (of course) and they meet weekly, I believe.

* Wisdom for parsonage location. Please pray that they will find just the perfect spot - whether that means relocating or staying where they were before the tornado.

* Safety. With town being so scattered, they do lots of traveling here, there, and everywhere. Please pray that they will stay safe!

* Healing. Even though they weren't hurt in the tornado...there's still heart hurt that creeps up now and then. I'm actually very amazed at how well they're doing. I'd be a basket case...which I'm sure surprises no one. But they're walking on with much dignity and grace! Because of prayer, I know.

Lori does read my blog (when the computer feels like working) so if any of you want to leave her a comment, she can pick it up here. I had spam problems a while back, so I took away the permission to leave anonymous comments - but if you don't have a Google login, you can get one and leave a comment with that.

Photo Shoots and Other Humiliation

Last summer I was in a photo shoot at work. My first ever such adventure. The goal was for one of the 2 billion (perhaps slight exaggeration) pictures to end up on a billboard for some of the graduate programs. After being assured that said billboards would not be anywhere in my own personal driving vicinities, I agreed. The whole process of the photo shoot was very interesting (and long and hot!) - and for some of the pictures, I was even dressed in scrubs. Just what the world needs...me as a nurse!

ANYWAY, when I came back from Kansas, Rachel (one of my work buddies) called to inform me that a larger than life picture of me was in the building where we work. I went to work on the one vacation day I had left, and sure enough, there I was! Apparently in addition to a billboard, it's also a floor display picture!

So...I took a picture of it - and then a picture of me with it.

Just a little side story of humiliation regarding the actual billboard. (I don't think I blogged about this. I couldn't find it anyway. If I did...sorry for the repeat.) Last March, I went to one of Brent Vernon's concerts and after the concert, he and Marie and I stood around talking. Brent is from Florida, by the way. He said to me, "Oh! I was going to tell you...I was driving through Cincinnati last week and..." He got about that far and my face turned 400 shades of red. I knew that Cincinnati was a target location for the billboard. I had this horrid feeling that he had seen it.

Seeing my face turn red, he said to me, "You know what I'm going to say, don't you?" Um, yeah. I squeaked, "You saw a billboard?"

So humiliating.

Big Big Fire!

Okay so if you don't watch Desperate Housewives, that just looks like a bad title. Really it was one of Susan's more "duh" lines on the show, but it amused me so I used it.

Last night, a little before 10, I was trying to wind down at the end of my long sick day in seclusion. (Mama raised me that if you're too sick to go to work, you're too sick to go anywhere else...so even though I felt better by evening, I didn't go exercising or to Wal-Mart.) I heard TONS of sirens, so I did what any perplexed girl does...I called my Mama.

She has a scanner. Other people watch TV. Mom listens to the scanner. And sometimes it comes in handy. Case in point:

(Photo from Chronicle-Tribune website.)

Turns out it was really a big deal! After about an hour of Mom calling to update me on the fire just a little bit away from my house, one of my friends called to see if I wanted to go scouting with her. So I broke the "stay home if you're sick" rule, ignored the fact that I was wearing ill-fitting clothing and hadn't showered OR brushed my Farrah hair all day, and headed out with her in search of good fire views.

We were in good company with the rest of the COUNTY. My goodness, you'd think people had never seen fire before! But then what can I say? I was one of them.

Even my parents left home and drove the twenty minutes into town to get their own fill of the sight.

This morning, any glow left over from flames blended in with the sunrise, but I think the worst of the fire is over. Now it just stinks. Literally.

From Mia to Farrah

Well I no longer look like Mia Thermopolis. This is a good thing. But as always, a new cut takes some time to "break in." It doesn't help that in addition to needing to "break it in," I'm also trying to grow my hair just a bit. It's in that painfully awkward stage where I really want nothing more than to chop it all off and find some sassy style...but I've worked so hard to get it this long that I really just can't bring myself to do that. Yet.

Yesterday's styling attempt went bad and it reminded me of an even more awkward stage in college when I looked like...something went wrong. So today I decided to curl it with a little flippy-do. The attempt was highly successful but WOW do I ever look like Farrah Fawcett! Hmmm...maybe a little less flip is in order?

I'm just trying to hold to my reputation of ever-changing hair. People know me for a different style every day and a different color every month. This time I went with golden highlights. But anyway, about the style....give me time. I'll get it right.

Flour Child Cupcakes

Check out the new link for Flour Child Cupcakes.

My friend Sarah Rife creates these amazing cupcakes, which are very yummy! She recently got her blog up and running - complete with pictures and descriptions! If cake baking and decorating is really not your thing...she can help!

Bits for Sunday, June 10, 2007

I’ve been spending most of my spare moments proofreading this book that I’ve been writing. Proofing is hard work, not because of grammar issues (I hope!) but because I’m trying to make footnotes. I am pulling much of what I’ve written from the Bible. Each chapter has a section of Scripture associated with it, and much of what I write comes from within those verses. But sometimes I’ve made mention of things found elsewhere in the Bible. I decided I wanted to know where every bit of it was located – partly for any reader who would need to know and partly because I wanted to make sure what I was writing lined up with the Bible and not just my imagination.

This process takes a while, and if it weren’t for my new best friend, biblegateway.com, I’d probably still be back on chapter one, sitting at my desk with my NIV Bible, my KJV Bible, and my KJV concordance, trying to find my passages. I’ve had to call for reinforcements a couple of times. Once, my friend Kari’s husband (a brilliant Bible scholar) sent me a page and a half of amazing help. I know he has many better things to do with his time…I was so impressed that he took that much time just to help me! And once I had to call Dad, who promptly sent over a couple of really old reference books that explain the general culture in Jesus’ day. Found my answer right away!

But though I am not a connoisseur of Bible references (which is why we have biblegateway.com, I guess), I do have a newfound thankfulness for the people who laid a great foundation for me. I told Mom (while trying to reach Dad for the help on life in Bible times) that I know a lot of things…and I don’t know why I know them. I had written details into my chapters that I knew were true…but I didn’t know how I learned them. I just can’t remember a time when I didn’t know them.

Though a frustrating problem when writing a book, what a great problem to have!

During my formative years, I was quite a vocal protestor of the lack of cable TV in our home. “Everyone else had it” and I found it quite unfair that my TV viewing was limited to 5:00 reruns of Little House on the Prairie. But since I couldn’t watch TV, I read. Before I was old enough to be introduced to the world of fiction, I read Bible stories. Tons of them. Actually, even before I knew how to read, I would listen to Dad’s version of Bible stories every night before I went to bed.

And I had dozens of cassette tapes of the Children’s Bible Hour; I listened to hours of Bible stories dramatized on those tapes. In fact, this past year when I watched the movie One Night with the King (the story of Esther), I remember thinking that the guy who played Xerxes in the movie didn’t put the emphasis on the right part of one of the sentences pulled from the Bible. I had remembered that one line from a Children’s Bible Hour tape all these many years later!

Dad taught me early to love a good bit of trivia, and I loved to take on both my parents in a rousing round of Bible trivia. I don’t know that I won all that often, but I held my own for my age! Sometimes I’d just sit and read the trivia cards so I could be prepared for next time. (Even today, I’m not sure I could win against Dad. How about we just not play and then I won’t have to know for sure!)

My Mom did a great job of teaching me Bible verses – one for every letter of the alphabet. Just this year I’ve started implementing alphabet verses for people that I pray for, and it’s a concept I learned from Mom when I barely knew how to read! And even though I have yet to know where many of the verses reside, I know the words they say.

And all of the teaching didn’t fall to my parents. I remember sitting around the ultra short (for adults, anyway) table in the second grade Sunday School classroom with my brand new red Bible, learning how to look up Bible verses. All of us had matching Bibles. Well, the boys’ Bibles were blue and the girls’ Bibles were red, but otherwise, they matched. And June Jackson taught a bunch of second graders how to look for the book first and then the chapter and then the verse. I’m sure that had to be an exhausting task for her. (Teaching Sunday School to second graders in and of itself is a medal-worthy cause.) I still have that red Bible tucked away in the attic. I had to keep it. It held a memory.

Just this week at work, I ran into the man who taught me the books of the Bible. He came into the pre-Sunday School assembly every week and taught us all sorts of songs. Among them were the songs for the Old and New Testament books. I still sing those songs (silently) every time I get to the easily mixed-up books. I didn’t think of it when I saw him…I was so shocked to see him for the first time in 20 years that I am afraid I handled the meeting none too gracefully. But if I see him again, I’m going to thank him for taking the time to teach us those songs. They still come in handy for me.

I say all of that to say thank you to the people who took time to teach a kid some stories, some songs, some Bible navigation skills. I don’t have kids…and Kaegan and Braeya’s Bible involvement begins and ends with sleeping on top of it while I’m trying to read. But for those of you who do have kids, make sure you start them early.

And it can be done! Today when I had lunch at Faith’s house, her two year old was munching on a French fry and singing “The B-I-B-L-E” – and she had it all right! Every word and most of the notes!

Working Weekends

One thing I like about my job is that it has standard office hours...with the exception of about three times a year. Every now and then we have to pull a Saturday or holiday. Today is just such a day.

It's thrown me off all week...I never knew what day it was because the end of the week seemed so far away. And today, as I rode to Arby's as part of the "lunch pickup" crew, I wondered why so many businesses were closed. Oh yeah. It's Saturday.

Honestly, it's been a pretty fun day. We didn't have to report in until an hour later than normal, so I got to sleep in like it was a Sunday, at least. We probably will get to leave a little bit early, we all got to enjoy lunch together, and the people who have been in to see us are at least nice!

Still, I will desperately miss my "free day" this week. I've been sitting here making a list of errands for when I get away from the office, and I might just take a nap. Because I can.

Becoming Mia

PHATS: Go into the comments to the next to the link Skyepuppy left for you. Mia before.

Remember Mia Thermopolis? The Princess Diaries? BEFORE the makeover?

Welcome to my current look.

My hair has developed an unruly life of its own. This morning I nearly shaved it all off before coming to work. But I refrained.

I'm trying to grow my hair and it's in that "oh dear" stage. It needs thinned, it needs dyed, it needs highlighted, it needs shaped, it needs HELP.

Tonight I shall call the hair lady. But until then, you may call me Mia.

(Too bad my makeover won't come with a country on the side.)

Tuesday Randomness

There is a REBUILDING post below this one - in case you're here for tornado news.

This morning, I woke up at 2:12. One of those sit straight up in bed, heart pounding sort of awakenings. I looked over at the clock and then looked the other direction to see the clock in the bathroom. (My OCD always needs to make sure they agree.) I couldn't see the bathroom clock. Where it should have been was blackness. That was interesting to me, but my 2:12 brain couldn't quite piece it together.

My first coherent thought was that I hoped my parents were okay. They had gone to the airport to pick someone up and the plane was multiply delayed. The last I'd heard from them, they were expecting it to arrive sometime after 1 a.m. It was such a Lifetime movie moment to sit straight up in bed and wonder if my parents were, in that minute, driving down the median, asleep. (You think I'm kidding...this has happened to us before.)

I realized I was very hot - and then I discovered my air conditioner was being stupid and not really spitting out cold air. So I got up, turned on the fan, went back to bed, and pondered the missing clock. I had nearly convinced myself that Braeya had knocked it off the toilet in one of her toilet flushing attempts and maybe the sound of it hitting the floor awakened me. Just as I was about to drift off to sleep...I heard pounding.

I was sure someone was trying to break in.

Then I figured it out. Both of my ding dong cats were IN the bathroom, and they'd closed the door. That was why I couldn't see the clock. The pounding was the two of them trying to open the door.

I don't have time for this at 2:12.

Fortunately, I had the day off today. I enjoyed a couple of adventures, including lunch at Skyline Chili. Haven't been there in years. And I was so proud...I ate in the restaurant all by myself. I'm growing up!! And then tonight, my friend Tina took me to Payne's Frozen Custard. Very yummy. I'll be visiting there again!

Hopefully tonight will be a little more on the calm side. Of course I have had about 4 cups of coffee since 4 p.m. Tonight might start very late for me.

PS - My parents arrived safely at home sometime between 3 and 4. No sleeping behind the wheel. My Dad, however, loved my impersonation of my Mom - "I just don't like you being out on the road this late. I worry. How am I going to sleep? I wish you wouldn't do this." Oh yeah. I've got it down pat.

REBUILDING: One Month Later

I had all these great plans of making a "one month later" post - and totally spaced it. Yesterday was actually the one month anniversary of the tornado out in Greensburg. It seems like a year ago. I guess I can only say that because I'm not there staring at it every day. But it really does seem like such a long time ago that I even went out there, let alone when the tornado happened.

But here is a little bit of an update for you.

* Lori, Jeff, and Cassie have spent about a week in their "new house" - the mobile home that they're currently occupying until a new permanent one can be built. (More on that below.) They seem to really enjoy their own space and they're building up some of the comforts of home. Lori told me today they got a stand for the TV and longer cables, so now she can actually sit on the couch and watch TV at the same time. They seem very satisfied with the basics they've acquired and the beginnings of normalcy that are returning to their lives.

* The congregation voted Sunday to rebuild both the church and the parsonage on the original locations. My understanding is that some rezoning will be taking place throughout the town as they plan to rebuild, so part of these plans are contingent on the rezoning plans. But if that doesn't affect them, they'll continue where they were before.

* Greensburg has a new mayor. I read that on the Wichita Eagle website - and Mom told me that the new mayor is a member of Jeff and Lori's congregation.

* There is a MASH style hospital in full operation in Greensburg. I'm not sure that Alan Alda is employed there - and goodness knows we hope that Jamie Farr isn't!!!!

* I also read on the Wichita Eagle site that US 54 opened Monday - one month after the tornado. If you've not been to Greensburg, US 54 runs directly through town. It had been closed to public traffic since the tornado, because dump trucks were using it to haul debris to the nearby landfill. Greensburg residents were permitted to drive through - and I learned while riding with Cassie that driving behind a dump truck is dangerous! We had to slow way down to avoid being hit by flying debris! Mom also told me that the amount of debris hauled to the landfull was equivalent to a football field size building, ten stories high.

* I'm sure Phats, especially, will be thrilled with this one. Phil Stacey (American Idol contestant) performed a benefit concert to a sold out crowd of 2900. Phil is originally from Wichita. (By the way - happy birthday, Phats!)

* According to...guess what?...the Wichita Eagle...a K-12 school will open on August 15th. Throughout the summer, they plan to bring in buildings to host 28 classrooms, 4 offices, a gym, and a cafeteria.

* For those of you who are Greentownians - apparently Lori wrote an article that is in the June edition of the Greentown Grapevine. She's way less wordy than I am...so you should be safe. I think. I haven't actually seen the article yet.

* And in other YAY! news - the College Wesleyan Church Men's Glee Club (I think that's what they're called!) held a concert this past Sunday evening and took up a love offering for Lori, Jeff, and Cassie. The concert was really good...I especially enjoyed the Southern Gospel set. (Big shocker there, eh?) I have to say...rarely do I stamp my approval upon anyone who sings Gaither Vocal Band music, because if you aren't David Phelps, don't sing him. BUT - this group really did a fantastic job and I enjoyed clapping along from my SECOND ROW seat. MOTHER chose the seats. I said, "Really, Mom. I sit in the second row in the morning...don't you think I should be able to enjoy church from the way far back at night?" Apparently not. It was actually kind of neat to see her reaction to the love offering announcement. I knew about it but she didn't and she looked up at the screen, saw their picture, and burst into tears. FINALLY! A moment when someone besides Bekah cried!

SO....until I have more news...bye!

Bits for Sunday, June 3, 2007

I’ve learned that when God tells me something one time, He really means it. When He tells me twice, I better hurry up and get it, because the third time might not be so pretty. This morning’s church service brought about a “twice” in my life. So I have spent much time pondering this afternoon, hoping to really get it.

About two weeks ago, at work, during office devotions, one of the girls read a little something about the Israelite spies who were sent into the promised land to scout out the good and the bad. I don’t know who wrote the devotional or where she got it, but apparently it was part of God’s teaching in my life. Good thing I didn’t call in sick that day.

I know that account up and down – or at least I thought I did. But I’d never before considered what she read. I always thought the spies came back with a bad report because they were just so scared of everything they saw. They went into this land and everyone was so tall and everything was so big and they felt so little…and they just chickened out. But what the devotional suggested was that they were so overwhelmed by the greatness that they thought it best to stay safely within the mediocre they knew.

Granted, the Bible does say that the spies came back (except for the brave Joshua and Caleb, of course) and spread a “bad report” about the land they explored. But when I read the contents of the bad report, I saw a bunch of excuses. “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are…The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size…We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

Hmmmm…seems to me that with different details, I’ve had this same conversation with God. “I can’t go there…I can’t do this…I can’t think about that…this is too much…that is too hard…blah blah blah.”

Though I can only speak for myself, I know that sometimes I would genuinely like to “go there…do this…think about that.” It’s not that I’m scared of what I see. But the enormity of what I see overwhelms me and I squash the possibility that it could be mine.

I gave much thought to the office devotional that day and thought very seriously about how it applied to my own life and fears. I wonder if I’m missing the enormity of what God has planned because, like the spies, it overwhelms me so much that I prefer tostay scared of it and don’t even try. Maybe God wants a little bit more of the Caleb spirit in me. (Caleb and Joshua were of the opinion that they should go for it. They saw the blessing in the enormity.)

So after munching on that for a few days, I arrived at church this morning and the sermon was about…guess what? The same passage. But today the focus was on how the promised land was an eleven day journey from bondage, but the Israelites turned it into a forty year excursion.

I’d have made a great member of the exodus.

If there is a way to turn an eleven day adventure into a forty year ordeal, I could head the committee. I’m queen of making things more difficult than they have to be. Just ask anyone who has worked with me through the years.

Even though I was slightly distracted by the four year old who sat with me this morning (I’m pretty popular among the preschool crowd), I caught enough of the sermon to know that this was my second warning. Not only am I to avoid being overwhelmed by the enormity of my future, I’d better not be turning my life into a procrastination party.

Gulp.

They go hand in hand, I think. I keep procrastinating, thinking that eventually, I won’t be so overwhelmed. It didn’t work out so well for the Israelites. The only ones who actually got to move forward and enjoy the overwhelming blessing were those who weren’t afraid to try to get it.

Point well taken, God.

I’ll try not to make You come back for round three.

Adventures in Spaghetti Sauce

I haven't written because....

1. I've been very busy...and busyness gets on my nerves. It cuts into the time I normally blog and scrapbook.

and

B. Not much has happened that I can blog about - at least right now. It annoys me when my brain is so busy but the information needs to stay within the confines of my brain until further notice.

But lest you think I got sick or went missing (I'm sure you were so worried) - I thought I'd post about something...anything.

So I'll write about spaghetti sauce.

Last night I came home from work very hungry. Sometimes having a slow day at work makes me hungrier than the days when I am busy. I didn't want the standby of salad or deli meat or chicken nuggets, but I wanted to eat before any major cooking dish would have had time to cook.

So I made spaghetti. Not only is it filling, it's a great fake out for my head - making me think I've cooked when really I haven't. I pulled the beef out of the freezer and started defrosting it, I put the water on to boil for the spaghetti, and the beef had JUST started sizzling in the skillet when I realized a terrible thing.

I was out of spaghetti sauce.

I am NEVER out of spaghetti sauce. If anything, I usually have about six jars of it. Spaghetti sauce and ice cream. Two things you'll always find in my house. (Not together, of course.) Immediately I panicked. What to do? I thought of switching the plan and making sloppy joes - since the beef was already going. But I had two problems there - no hamburger buns AND no can of sloppy joe sauce. Didn't I just go grocery shopping?

Somewhere, I was convinced, I had a recipe to make spaghetti sauce. I could almost see it on the page of a Quick Cooking magazine. But I have about seven years' worth of those magazines and did NOT have time to pilfer through them all. Fortunately, I remembered it was in one of the very first issues, and I found it quickly. I had all but one of the ingredients, so I decided to go for it.

Pulled out the one can of tomato paste in my cabinet - and found that it expired in 2005. Woops. Any other weekend, I might have risked it, but this was too busy a weekend to start out with food poisoning, so I pulled out a jar of pizza sauce and a can of diced tomatoes and decided that combo would have to suffice.

I threw in all the other spices and tried valiantly to wait for it to simmer the allotted 20 minutes. I cheated a bit there and started eating after just 10 minutes, but let me tell you - that was some GOOD sauce! :)

So that's been my big adventure. Hopefully more REAL adventures are soon to follow.

REBUILDING: The Move!

As Lori puts it: "After the house that blew away and the white house and the blue house, we have our new house!" Or at least that's pretty close to what she said. Guess that means I should have taken it easy on the quotation marks.

Yes, moving day arrived for them! Fortunately it was a pretty easy move - not that much stuff. The furniture they were able to get has all arrived, been assembled (at least the pieces requiring assembly), and they're ready to go! Or rather, ready to stay!

Lori and Cassie both sounded very excited about having an evening at home to...sit on a couch...eat dinner in their own kitchen...sleep in their own rooms...talk on a real phone. Little things that we take for granted, but when you go without for almost a month, you definitely appreciate!

Midnight has sniffed around a bit and decided her favorite spot is under Cassie's bed. She's camped out for a nap!

And so begins the next phase of getting back to normal! They are finding things they need and didn't realize they didn't have...like dish soap. For now the dishes hide in the dishwasher. (Isn't that why dishwashers were made? It's sure what I use mine for!) And Lori said she finally sees why calendars are still on sale in the middle of the year. Some blow away. For now, she thinks maybe a dry erase calendar is best.

So that's the latest from life on the Kansas front! Oh - and Lori said that Mark Schultz is stopping in Dodge City to hold a benefit concert and then he's headed for the tour-o-Greensburg. I was really excited about that and then she said, "Who is Mark Schultz?" In case you second that opinion....you can go here to read the news release on the concert - and then you can pilfer around his site for a while.

Proofreading

I'm trying valiantly to spend less time in front of the TV and more time doing the things I should be doing...which would be pretty much anything EXCEPT lounging in front of the TV.

One thing I really want to complete is this book project. I've written it in its entirety (I think) - and now I'm in the proofreading stages. Being a perfectionist can be a blessing at a time like this. It can also be a curse. Right now I'm painstakingly picking through every sentence, trying to make sure I can account for everything I've said. (It's a Bible study of sorts and I want to make sure I'm accurate on my points.) I've only had to call for reinforcements twice, so that's good. Thank goodness I know some Bible scholars!

I'm learning that there are many things I thought I knew from Scripture - but maybe I only know them from tradition. They're hard to track down for footnoting purposes! If it weren't for biblegateway.com I'd be in BIG trouble.

So I vowed to spend an hour on it tonight and ended up closer to two. Part of that was getting stuck on a Leviticus law and spending time on the phone with my Dad trying to figure it out. He knew it WITHOUT biblegateway.com - he's a smarty, that Dad of mine!

So for now, I give up reruns of Dharma and Greg in favor of the red pen and study Bibles. Hopefully it will be worth it at some point!

REBUILDING: More Pictures and Some Updates

Lori called yesterday and was very excited to report that their temporary housing (mobile home) has been delivered! They won't be able to move into it until next week because of details...you know...electricity, stuff like that. But it is there, within view, and that is a good and exciting thing!

In addition, they were able to get some new furniture! Some was donated (brand new donations, not even used!) by a disaster service. This wasn't the Mennonite Disaster Service - I'm thinking maybe Church of Christ or something like that. Part of it they were able to get through disaster relief vouchers. Anyway, they have the basics now! As nice as a home is, it's even nicer when there's something inside it! She was very excited to know she had a bed and couch and that sort of thing.

It's amazing to me to see what all wonderful donations are made through services like that - and even through the vouchers from various places. Some of the things they've gotten have been because of those kinds of relief efforts. I didn't even know this stuff existed to this degree until now! What a huge blessing!

Here are a few more pictures for you - probably the last of the tornado pictures. Julie sent me her pictures this week, and these are some of the ones she took:

This was taken at the John Deere dealership. As you can see, this one relocated from its place in the "for sale" lineup.

I felt the need to offer further proof that I did participate in real work. :) No, I'm not giving Lori a foot massage. I was helping her pick up debris in the yard. It was around this very area that I found some of Cassie's medals and pins from sports.

I had posted some pictures from Lori's school earlier (I think) - but this one cracked me up because you'll notice the roof is gone but the post it notes on the door survived. Some people from my Sunday School class said we should send this to 3M as proof of a good product!

Right before Julie and I got in the car to head home, Jeff took this picture of us in front of some rubble by the auto body shop. I don't believe it all fell like this - I think this is a scooped up pile. Still shows you the amount of stuff there was to clean!

REBUILDING: More Pictures from My Trip

Here are more of Julie's pictures - These were taken immediately following graduation.

Cassie, Me, and Lori. Yes, Cassie and I have heard we look a lot alike. I find that amusing, since I think she looks a lot like her dad - and he and I are definitely not related.

Cassie, Lori, and Jeff (or Russ, as Lori calls him now...if you missed that post, it came from a Hardees jacket he got after the tornado. It had the name Russ on the front.)

The gang's all there! Well, minus our parents, of course. Julie, Cassie, Lori, Bekah, and Jeff. I especially appreciated the wind's restyling of my hair by the time pictures rolled around.

Bits for Sunday, May 27, 2007

Ahh…a long weekend. I love long weekends. There’s something so beautifully refreshing about knowing you have extra time off work and you don’t even have to dip into the vacation supply to get it.

But then there is always the question of what should be done with this precious surplus of time. On one hand…what a wonderful opportunity to do some of those projects that should be done but just never seem to fit in with the normal daily routine. On the other hand…shouldn’t a holiday be celebrated with something fun?

Usually I make the mistake of trying to do the projects AND the fun – and then I end up needing a vacation day to recover from my holiday.

I spent much of last week contemplating my upcoming long weekend. Here was the mental list I made:

* Make and write thank you notes. Mom, please skip to the next bullet point now…I know you’ll be so embarrassed at this one. I have yet to make and write thank you notes for my birthday gifts from TWO WEEKS ago. This is very unFreelanlike. Let the record show…I was raised better than this. It’s just been too busy a month and I didn’t get it done. Still not done. Maybe tonight.

* Picture duty. I have a couple of picture projects – related to recent tornado trips – that need to be accomplished. Shouldn’t take long to do them…it’s just a matter of sitting down and actually completing the tasks. Still not done. Maybe tonight.

* Scrapbooking. What is a long weekend without a little scrapbooking thrown in? Prior to this weekend, I was behind as far as March. (For those who may not know, that is not good.) As of today I’m caught up to April – so I still need to revisit the dining room table mess just a bit more before all is said and done. I’ve been doing a little bit each day, though, so that’s good!

* Recipe catch-up. One of my birthday gifts for some of my friends this year is giving them a new recipe card each month. May’s card still isn’t done for any of them and May ends THIS WEEK! Maybe tonight? Tonight will never end, apparently.

* Movies. Again – what is a long weekend without some movie watching! It’s a staple treat for the extra time off. CHECK! Watched two movies Friday night – while scrapbooking. Hey, some things have to be multi-tasked in order to be done.

* Marathons. I pulled out the TV Guide first thing this morning to see what channels were carrying marathons tomorrow. That’s one of my favorite things about holidays. I was excited to see that Spike is carrying an all day CSI marathon. I can have my fill of Nick…sigh of happiness. (Of course I’ll have to watch WHILE scrapbooking…)

* Yard work. I lucked out yesterday because I spent most of the day at a wedding. I lucked out today because I don’t do yard work on Sundays. I will wait to see what sort of weather tomorrow delivers. If it’s nice, I have to spend some time mowing the yard and planting flowers. And if it’s really nice, I’ll get to simultaneously work on my tan! (Yes, there is a tan. You have to look carefully to notice it…but it IS there.) Stay tuned for updates!

* Sleep. CHECK! I cuddled up under my fleecy blanket and took a nap this afternoon. It was one of those naps where I slept so hard that when I woke up, I had no idea what day it was. In fact, I woke up, rolled over, looked at the clock, saw that it said 3:15, and thought it was 3:15 MONDAY AFTERNOON! I thought I’d gone to bed tonight and not awakened at all until 3:15. Now I’m good at sleeping in, but usually noon is the latest I stir without an alarm. I was devastated. I thought I’d lost my entire holiday! It took about two minutes for me to realize I’d only taken a Sunday afternoon nap…and probably slept less than two hours at that. Good grief. Even thought I feel good from that nap…I’ll probably sleep in tomorrow too…just so I have my days and nights mixed up in time to return to work.

* Write. Last night as I was cleaning the house (until midnight), I got my first over-the-top writing inspiration in a long time. So I’ve decided I should take full advantage of it while it’s here. This afternoon (after realizing that it’s not really tomorrow afternoon) I’ve been parked at my desk, surrounded by scribbled copies of my book project, proofreading and updating. Have a feeling there’s a few more hours of this ahead too.

So my mental list turned into a marathon of “MUST DO ALL OF IT!” Sigh. Once more…I need a long week instead of a long weekend!

REBUILDING posts

I know my Mom is handing out my blog site to some of you just to read updates on the family, so I thought I would introduce my new format. If you are here to read about the tornado updates and don't want to read my randomness other than that, then starting today, you can look for posts with REBUILDING at the start of the title. Anything else is just my own thing. You're welcome to read any of it, of course, but I am trying to make the tornado related posts a little bit more easily noticed.

By the same token, if you don't want to know about tornados anymore, skip anything with REBUILDING in the title! :)

And of course, anything posted prior to today is still available under its original title - all of it in the archived month of May!