Happy...

...Birthday, Dear Blog! I can't believe it's already been a year! 

Celebrate!

If I Were...

If I were a smoker on a day like today I would have inhaled a pack and a half on my lunch.

If I were an alcoholic on a day like today I would have sidled up next to a bottle of Jack--forget the Coke-- right as I walked in the door.

If I were a compulsive buyer on a day like today I would have maxed out my credite card.

If I had a gambling problem on a day like today I would have hopped a plane to Vegas and let the dice fly.

If I had an obsessive complusion disorder on a day like today I would have come home and organized my bookshelf by author and genre, and my clothing by color. (Though if I were OCD those things would already have been done huh?)

As it stands I bought the only thing I could think of to comfort me:

Sadly while typing this blog I reazlied this makes me a something: a stress eater!

I'd like to thank the Maniacal Mother who makes my life hell on a daily basis, the corrupt healthcare system in America, and all the companies out there charging me monthly bills for their services... you just made my gain a pound or two.

Glen Yoder and the Night Fire

Ham Days. Ham Days. Man I love Kentucky!

Last night Glen Yoder and the Nightfire (being Dusty, Sam, and Matt) kicked butts and took names during Battle of the Bands.

Other bands included such rock 'n' roll greatness as:

• Resin 8 (with their hit single, Resonation... clever huh?)
• Chasing Layne (do yourself a favor and click here... but be prepared!)
• Twelve 43 (guitars were out of tune... pull the plug!)
• The Jack Thomas Band (John Mayer covers)
• Downpoint (not even memorable enough to merit a little commentary here)

With the exception of The Jack Thomas Band, the rest were shredder, Warlock playing, distortion pedal toting, lame-a$$ metal!

A Vineyard goer put it best when he said:

"Glen Yoder and the Night Fire-battle of the bands winners: this makes me happy because a band composed of folks from the worship ministry at the Vineyard went out and kicked secular metal in the head, and did it on their own stage- I love it."

And the best part is, now d. and I can pay rent! Being married to a musician (albeit not a full-time musician) does have its perks. And I love, love, love seeing the Lord provide for us through a competition sponsored by Miller Lite. 

(take that Lifeway!) :)

All I Want For Christmas Is...

... a Dyson Ball!

However, Dusty made a good point today: someday (ah that proverbial someday!) we'll be able to buy a vacuum cleaner without it being a Christmas present. Because really, who gets a vacuum for Christmas anyways?

Until that someday I'll just stick to my Bissell.

Call the Po Po!

Dusty and I went out to the grandparent's house this evening to drop off some yard sale stuff. 

We got out of our cars and heard... the most terrible, juvenile shredding guitars I've ever witnessed in my life. 

Apparently these kids have only learned three chords so far, and they felt the need to crank up the amps, open the garage doors, and have at it.

We walked up the steps and my grandma has phone in hand and says, "I'm callin' the police!"

She calls, voices her complaints, which I'm sad to say sounded like an old lady, and hangs up, satisfied.

We herded into the kitchen to make some dinner and discovered we had the perfect spot to watch the action go down: right out the kitchen window!

Long story short, the deputy shows up, literally sneaks into the garage and cuts the kids off in mid-chord #2 of the three chord repituare. They stick their arms out in an, "I didn't do nuthin'" kind of way and eventually lower the garage door.

I've never seen a more satisfied face in my life than that of my grandmother easing into her chair to watch tv this evening. 

 She called the law and the law won.

Newlywed Snapshot

It is 9:58 pm. Dusty and I are in our pajamas.

I'm searching Indian art online.

He's watching/ making fun of America's Got Talent. (Jerry Springer is the host? Seriously?)

When did my life take such a turn?

Perhaps it was 5.17.08?

Yard Sale!

For the ten people that actually read this blog...

I'm having a yard sale this weekend at my grandparent's house on Saturday. Saturday ONLY. Starts at 8 am but if you're an early bird, I'll be ready for you!

If you need directions to my grandparent's house, message me or call. 

Come buy something and help us move to Vine Grove!

out,

e.

Mother India

My too cool friend Andrea introduced me to boston.com's Big Picture section this weekend. To put it lightly, I am in heaven.

I came across the section about India and literally squealed. Please do yourself a favor and check it out here.

My favorites are: 5, 9, 14, 17, 32

To put it lightly, I must go to India before I die! Here is my actual favorite picture, just as a teaser so that you will check it out.

(**author's note**: I did not take this picture! It belongs to the boston.com/bigpicture section. It's their's. Not mine. Please don't sue me.) 

:)

Monday...

...yeah I think that pretty much sums it up.

One Reason Why...

... I am a huge nerd.

We did indeed drive to E-town to make this purchase because Campbellsville Wal-Mart has yet again failed me and proved its inadequacy. (Don't even get me started on how much the "books" section lacks! Gah!)

Have not started it yet as I am doggedly wading through New Age/Yogic musings from Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love. (Would add picture but gChrome is asking me to kill this page... what?)

I'll let you know when I reach a verdict. I'll leave you with proof that I'm not the only nerd out there who went to great lengths to get this book.

Emily's MeThinks

Sometimes I read books that make my mind work in overtime. I become extremely aware of the passing, random thoughts that I have throughout the day. 

Today, I became especially aware and remembered a lot of them. So here are some "MeThinks" from September 16, 2008:

• "I wish my car was black."
• "What if my head was the size of an adult but my hair was the size of a child's?"
• "How can kids get sticky eating toast?"
• "What if the colors that I think I see are really not the right colors at all and everyone is just humoring me?"
• "McDonald's workers have two goals at work: to take a break and to take a smoke. In that order." (No offense to Tasha, who is the exception to this thought.)
• "That trash smells like Kid C." (Kid C was a child in class who had two accidents of the number 2 variety.) 
• "Why is it that I am only content with a large drink while Old Man sitting next to me is happily sipping on a small?"
• "Oh... senior discount."
• "There are so many shades of blue."
• "How do you describe the word 'squiggle' to a three year old?"
• "Should I dress up for Halloween at school? Can I get out of work that day if I say I don't celebrate it? Perhaps I should form a fast conviction about this."

Insurance Barbie

Today "Insurance Barbie" randomly called me to see if I needed a quote from Anthem.

"Thank you very much," I said, "but I've already been declined by you guys."

We got to talking because I was in such a good mood about it and I told her the reason I got declined was stupid. We got to talking some more and she agreed. 

So now she is doing research and getting me answers. I hope that answer is a policy number and a new insurance card. But I'm not holding my breath.

And, due to the lovely wind storms in Louisville I will be kept on the hook for a couple more days. Just enough time to get all stressed out about it again.

Wishful Thinking

Is it bad that I wish the powerful windstorm that has crippled Louisville would have made its way down to Campbellsville? 

I just don't want to go to work tomorrow.

Selfish me. Here... I just slapped my wrists. :)

Good luck to all you people in the Ville. Drink up and have fun!**

(**I just watched a news story about the windstorm and a grocery store worker said the thing that is selling quickest is beer. Who'd have thought?)

Mother Knows Best

If I had to chose anything about my apartment that I would change, it would come down to the bathtub. The floor was black-ish/grey and dingy looking.

Not that it's never been cleaned. I've tried Clorox, Lysol Bathroom Cleaner, etc. But nothing would take it off. So I assumed it was actually clean, but stained from years of other, more negligable renters.

But it was still always on my mind, especially while I was showering. So I hadn't entirely given up on trying to get that stuff up.

One day while strolling through Wal-Mart I came across Comet, the powder cleaner. My mother uses Comet and I mean she uses Comet. I don't think I've ever not seen it in the bathroom growing up. And our bathrooms were always spotless. 

So I picked up a can of it and it's sat for quite some time. Until today... we have friends coming over to watch football tonight and there's no motivation like "outsiders" to get your living quarters looking appropriate. 

I put Dusty in charge of the bathroom and he tackled that shower with the Comet. 

I. Am. Speechless. It looks like a completely new bathtub! Not a hint of black or grime. Just nice, white porcelain.

I'd like to thank my husband for working so hard, and of course, my mother for proving even from 600 miles away that she knows best. 

Recently Purchased

Anyone who knows me knows that I am fascinated with other countries. I've found myself making lists about countries that I want to visit and for what specific reasons. I even have an imaginary budget in my head that will eventually allot for Dusty and Emily's Excellent European Adventure.

To satiate my curiosity though I read book after book about other countries. I've been on a Middle East kick for over a year, but that's 

to be expected. Once you go there you can't get it out of your mind. I guess you might say I'm ruined for it.

So imagine my chagrin when Dusty told me he had to buy this book to read for class:

Ha! And it's been on my list for quite some time! But that's not all! I accidentally may have ordered two more! 

The above book is about Ethiopa, HIV, and adoption. More on that in perhaps some much more future posts.

A while back I read a book about Iran. In it, the author explained why Salman Rushdie is an outlaw. (It's because in his book The Satanic Verses he depicts the prophet Mohammad, which in Islam, from what I gathered, is bad news bears.) I've heard this book is also excellent, so I put it on my list and am giving it a chance.

Me & Books: Unhealthy addiction? Perhaps not. Productive hobby... yeah. Let's call it that.

Three Kids, Five Senses

I am blogging just to be blogging right now. Frankly, I've had a mind numbingly terrible day. And there is a cute guy and a good book waiting for me in the bedroom. Soon, I will be back there.

But today,  I was in Bowling Green doing the last of my glorified babysitting for the Baptists. Today was by far the easiest $12/hour I've ever made.

I had three girls: 1st grade; 2nd grade; and 5th grade. 1st grade and 5th grade were sisters. 2nd grade has never met a stranger. They got along swimmingly!

I did a lesson throughout the day about our 5 senses. (Yes, I stole the topic from work, but I made the activities up mostly on my own.) The biggest hit of the day was, by far, the frozen tempra paint.

Take some Dixie cups and pour in washable paint. Cover each cup with aluminum foil. Insert wooden craft stick. Freeze over night and viola! Frozen paint that eventually melts into goo and is doubly fun to play with.

My favorite part was when the girls decided that red and white really do make pink. That's when the project really took off.

In other news, I have yet again been denied health insurance. I will save you all the gory details, but let's just say there are some things in my home that are broken now that weren't before I got the official letter. I believe the type of fit I threw would be called blind rage.

I even unknowingly locked d. out of the bedroom. He's a super star though and picked the lock when he heard crashing noises.

I'm not making this up.

Good night. For all of you out there who have health insurance: consider yourself blessed. :)

I Got the Blues

Dusty is studying for his first test of the semester. 

Half of me wants to rub in the fact that I don't have tests to study for anymore.

Half of me wishes I had someone to talk to whose nose wasn't buried in a boring psych book.

What's a girl to do?

Chrome

Check it out and make the switch here.

(Thanks to Adam T. for this discovery.) 

Oh Baby! Part 2

I totally stole this picture from my father in law's blog. Ain't no shame! Here is Aubri and Gabby-via-Aubri at 33 weeks I believe...? Could be wrong, but I'm close.

Abbey of Gethsemani

Today D and I attended mass at the Abbey of Gethsemani, just up the road in Trappist, Kentucky. (I say that like I knew Trappist existed before today. Rest assured, I did not.)

The grounds of the monastery are beautiful and I can only imagine what they will look like once Fall strolls in. It was very peaceful and quiet outside. Here is the entrance to one of the gardens that I just loved!

The service itself was interesting. To be quite frank, I was bored. I can't help it. It's not that I didn't appreciate the intimacy of the service and the orderliness of the liturgy. I was just really bored.

It started out with the monks singing and chanting. We sat in the back and the book instructed us to "sing along quietly."

Then we all strolled up to the front for Mass. I've never been sprinkled with holy water before, (though I almost bought some in Jordan at a gift shop because is said, "Holly Water from Real River Jordan!") The main guy in the green robes (clearly I'm so out of my league here; I'm sure he has a real name and that he's important) spoke about leading wayward brothers and sisters back to the Lord. It was short and sweet and he spoke in such a way that demanded attention. I liked that.

I only got the take half of the Eucharist as the monk on my left, the one with the real wine ran out about three people ahead of me. Enough of the big gulp folks!

To see their website click here.

TIME to TYPE!

I'm just going to rant for a while about nothing in particular.

Here I am, sitting at the apartment alone. Again. D is at band practice for Battle of the Bands in Lebanon on September 26. That's right... the band competition during "Ham Days." Kentucky is so strange sometimes!

Click here for more BOTB info. It's going to be quite interesting. I read this Topix forum from Lebanon about how people are mad that there are no "local bands" in the competition. Glen Yoder Band you better wear your extra tight pants! These people seem vicious! :)

In other news it looks like this is going to be an interesting NFL season. So far today we've seen Brady drop out with a knee injury (there goes the Patriots' season I'm afraid); we've seen the Steelers upset the Texans (I knew they could do it); and horror of horrors (at least for me) the Colts are losing at home! Gag.

Also, is it just me or is Bob Costas everywhere lately? Sunday night football officially has the two most obnoxious sportscasters in history. (Apologies to all you Bob/John fans.)

Here is the most current picture that I have of Dusty and me. I like it a lot because D is cheesin' so bad! He's so funny sometimes!

Good-bye.

Continental Politics

This weekend I spent some time in Paducah doing Extended Teaching Care for a conference. It's glorified babysitting, really but the pay is good and it keeps me happy.

They put us up in a hotel, and thankfully this place is nice enough to serve us a continental breakfast. Yaay.

I stumbled down the stairs with my suitcase, grabbed a donut, and started watching some morning news show doing a segment on women starting to imitate Sarah Palin's style. (PS: Love her, don't like him. What's a girl to do?)

I couldn't help but overhear the conversation next to me between a father of non-national descent (not telling what, because I'm not singling out any single nationality) and his teenage daughter. She had asked her dad who Sarah Palin was and the father proceeded to explain that she was the Republican VP candidate.

He then proceeded to bash Sarah about her 17 year old daughter who is expecting a child. Here are his exact words,

"She has a 17 year old who is pregnant. An unwed mother! (At this point he literally spit on his plate.) She cannot even control her family, let alone control a country!"

This conversation left me feeling disconcerted for numerous reasons, not the least being that I have an awesome sister-in-law who is expecting a child in similar circumstances.

If I were to offer a rebuttle to this man (and thankfully, I did not!) it would go like this:

The office of President and Vice President of the United States, thankfully, is not about control. It's about leadership. It's true, Ms. Palin could not control her daughter's action. But I feel that by their choice to keep the baby she is leading her daughter in Truth and into a mature adulthood.

And after all, sir, isn't that the way you hope to raise your daughter? Maybe you aren't so different from Ms. Palin as you might believe.

Weekend Conversation

This weekend I watched some pretty interesting Baptist kids in Paducah.

These two girls, one age 4 and one age 6 were playing house and they wisely decided to share their baby. Suddenly, Age 4 takes the baby for her own and Age 6 says,

"Hey! That's our baby! A-R-E, our!"

DNC vs. RNC

I watched the Dems put on their show last week. I'm watching the Republicans dance to 80's music this week. And I am still a

swing voter.

A swingrrrrr!

Bring it on.

False Alarm

My Papa called me tonight. He left this voicemail that was all out of breath and it said, "Emily, call me back as soon as you get this!" click.

A bit of backstory: In the time that I have owned this cell phone number, four years, I cannot recall a single time that my Papa has called me. It's always via my grandma.

So I get worried.

I try to call back; busy. I try again; again busy. I try four or five times and get busy-ed. So I turn my car around and head to their house. I call my parents to see if they are on the phone with them. No luck, but I do sound the alarm and I found later that in the time span it took me to drive to their house, a number of hypotheses were formed by both parties:

• Grandma has fallen, the phone fell off the hook and Papa is freaking out!
• Sally, the dog, is dying and they are too overtaken with grief to think clearly!
• Papa has fallen and Grandma is not there. And the phone has, mysteriously, fallen off the hook!
• They have both fallen and the phone... well, you get the picture.

So I get there, and all the lights are off. This is also rare. I walk up to the door and am greeted by my bright, smiling grandma. "Hey honey! What are you doin' out here?"

Me: "Well, I got this voicemail from Papa and I was just checking on you all."

Grandma: "Oh, that! He was callin' to see if you could help him hook up his new _________ (insert hand gesture here) TV controller thingy."

Me: "Remote?"

Grandma: "Yeah, but he figured it out right when you got there!"

Me: "Of course he did! Why was the phone busy?"

Grandma: "Hmm? Oh, I was talkin' to Lynn. Are you ok?"

False alarm. Crisis averted. The grandparents are as fine as fine could be. Thank goodness.