Go Check This Out

My friend Adam T. is preparing for the Thunderdome!

Check out his blog here and help keep him accountable through the month of April. Should be an interesting 31 days...

...and no, this isn't an April Fool's joke either. Not his style.

Weeknight in the Country

We are so old and boring.


Double Trouble!
Really nothing to do around here folks, except take pictures of ourselves and then blog about them. I'm even boring myself with this blog post.

Currently Loving

What are you currently loving?

Duplicity

Saw Duplicity tonight and I recommend it. It was definitely not what I thought it would be. There is some minor language and of course they are shown in bed together (though nothing explicit thankfully) but all in all I was impressed that the makers didn't throw in the usual (unnecessary) violence and sex. It was a straight up spy story and a pretty good one at that!

Clinicals

My first day of clinicals is tomorrow.

I'm a sminch nervous because I don't really know what to expect.

I hope I jive with all the residents I work with. I want to be good at this. I want this to possibly to turn into a career.

Basically, I hope I don't hate it. Because then I will feel like I've wasted a lot of time, energy, and money and something that I'm not going to use.

That would be like my four-year degree all over again...

360--Full Circle?

Happy 360th post! I wish I could write about how my life has somehow "come full circle" or use some other sort of clever, geometric comparison but it's just not going to happen. So don't get your hopes up. :)

However three monumental things have happened in the last 24 hours, and I know you're all dying to know!

This is my to-do list for the week:

I actually got everything done before Friday! Scratch that, I just got it done. Period.

I want to be very clear on something: this never happens. I guess the warmer weather is energizing me or something.

The second monumental thing happened last night in that Rudy didn't flee when I approached him with the camera. Usually he heads for his favorite hiding spot: under the chair. I don't really know how he gets under there but he does. So far he's found a set of keys, some lip gloss, and a flashlight.

Ahhh the wonders of having hand-me-down furniture! You never know what you'll find. (Legend has it that the couch in one of the youth Sunday School rooms had a gun in it when they were unloading it! I don't know whether or not to believe that.)

He does not look amused. I've yet to get a good shot of his thumbs though. I'll keep trying, they're so crazy.

ALSO the third monumental thing that has happened is that I bought fabric today to make my own shirts. And they're cute shirts, too! This ain't your grandma's sewing pattern!

Is it just me or does this blonde girl look like she's in pain?

I'm planning on making two of the red one with little fluttery sleeves; one of the tanks on the bottom row, and one of the tank to the right of the red one with little fluttery sleeves.

Let me clarify: Laura is helping. I mean really helping. Like, I'm going to observe while she makes them and then perhaps try my hand but not before I observe! Because fabric ain't cheap, even when you get it off the bargain rack.

(Though is still somehow cheaper than actually buying a shirt. Plus I can be like, "Oh this old thing? Yeah... I made it." boo-yah.)

peace,
e.

Every Minute

There's this song by Sara Groves that I absolutely love. (Side note: I used to not really like her stuff because her lyrics were, in my mind, "weird" but that's just because they're actually really good and I was just shallow. A few years ago I rediscovered her stuff and fell in love. I even had one of her songs sang at my wedding.)

She has this one song called Every Minute that contains some of the best lyrics for the way I feel about life right now:

And I wish all the people I love the most
Could gather in one place
And know each other and love each other well

And I wish we could all go camping
And lay beneath the stars
And have nothing to do and stories to tell
We'd sit around the campfire
And we'd make each other laugh remembering when
You're the first one I'm inviting
Always know that you're invited, my friend

You know who you are, friends and family. I wish I could make this happen. If there's one thing I've been experiencing here in this most recent part of life is lack of friends.

Not that I'm lonely or sitting in my house crying all day. And I know I have friends. But they don't just randomly come over with buffalo meat to grill (Sam!) or with entertaining stories to tell (Andrea!) or with laughter from back when we were naive freshmen in college (Erika!) or with a guitar ready to chill at the lake (Garrett!).

There are some friends that I like to get tired and emotional with.
There are some friends that are fun to eat PIE with.

(Devon, you're exempt from all this because you only live a few minutes away. And we might even get to see each other next week if we don't forget about some random other plan we had!)

And who could forget family? I don't feel as though I'm lacking too horribly in that department, as my in-laws live a hop-skip-and-jump away and my aunt, uncle, and cousins go to Buck Grove, but it would be SUPER if my parents/bro lived closer. Hey family: we're close to southern Indiana now. What are you waiting for?!

And I know that we are here for a "reason." And I know what that reason is: Jesus. Plain and simple, nothing else to it, nothing else to seek out Jesus. And I am content in my circumstance.

Just thanks Lord for Facebook, blogs, Skype, and cell phones! Without that I might have to hand write letters or something. Then I really would be sitting in my house lonely and crying.

Because I don't have any stationary, you see.

My Life In Song Titles

Dusty just posted this on his facebook and I thought it was pretty clever. I don't like writing facebook notes though, because that's what my blog is for. Here are the rules:

Using ONLY SONG TITLES from ONE artist, and using each title only ONCE, cleverly answer these questions. (My artist choice is Ryan Adams.)

1.) Are you male or female: Hey Mrs. Lovely

2.) Describe yourself: Beautiful Sorta

3.) How do you feel about yourself: Life is Beautiful or Elizabeth You Were Born to Play That Part... except I would change Elizabeth to Emily, of course.

4.) Describe your current guy/girl situation: Love is Hell (just kidding!) real answer: Two Hearts

5.) Describe your current location: Magnolia Mountain

6.) Describe where you want to be: City Rain, City Streets

7.) Your best friend(s): No Disguise

8.) Your favorite color is: My Blue Manhattan

9.) You know that: This House is Not For Sale

10.) What's the weather like?: Blue Sky Blues

11.) If your life was a TV show what would it be called?: Sweet Lil Gal

12.) What is life to you?: Pearls on a String

13.) The best advice you have to give is: Don't Ask for the Water; To Be Young (Is To Be Sad...)

14.) If you could change your name what would it be?: Amy

Visit ME(ade) Co.

Go to this website.

Ah... Meade County! This is where I live. Watch out! I could be sending you an e-card soon!

The R. Adams Update

Well it's officially been a week since d. and I went to see Ryan Adams at the Palace. It was a great night, but we've been painting all day so frankly, I only have the energy to upload some pictures. Love me or leave me!


Coooold, cooold roses! This is how dark the stage was the whole time. Of course.

Here's a video just because I'm nice. This may have a hugely bad word in it. Sorry.



All in all the trip was pretty fun. It's always great to see friends from Campbellsville! They didn't play Carolina which was just really a bummer. And I'm also glad that we didn't pay full price for our room at the Galt House. Next time I'll try the Seelbach or the Brown.

When Innocence Makes You Feel Like A Loser

After Sunday School I had a chat with one of our little youth girls. Before I tell you our conversation, watch this clip from The Office. If you can't watch it all, speed up to 1:15.


We were talking about how she volunteers at a local library. (The local library to be precise. It's not like I'm in a metropolis here.)

Me: "Oh, that's my dream job! I would love to work at a library!"

7th Grader: So that's what you're going to college for?

Me: "Well, no. I've already been through college actually."

7th Grader: Oh, so what did you go for?

Me: "I got a degree in Educational Ministries."

7th Grader: So... what's that?

Me: "Well, I could um, I could well... I could like write Bible studies or lesson plans for people to do Bible study."

7th Grader: So you went to college to be a Sunday School teacher?

Me: "Um, well, no it's a little more involved than that. I mean, I would get paid to like, you know write... Bible... stuff."

7th Grader: Oh well, I'm pretty sure the people who teach Sunday School here get paid.

Me: "Ahhh... not quite sure about that. I don't think I would want to be a Sunday School teacher anyways."

7th Grader: But you've been to college. What do you, like, do?

Me: "Uhh... I don't really do, anythi-- so you say you're in Beta Club, huh?"

All I've been able to think about today is her saying: "What do you, like, DO?"

I feel like Michael did at the end of this video. I was literally thinking in my head, "Subject change! I need a subject change!" And it's not that this girl didn't understand the point of my degree. I just literally don't "do" anything.

I guess in this day and age that's weird. Maybe I'm a waste, who knows?

But I know I'm not paying $30,000 worth of loans to be a Sunday School teacher! (Call it pride, but that's the part that hurt the most!)

Night all Night!

Well I finished Night in one sitting. I think I was too scared to put it down, because the prospect of having to read it again in the morning was just too much.

Seriously, read this book. It's terrible in a good way. By that I mean it's a good book, but the subject matter is literally terrible. (I've read a lot of books that are terrible in a good way come to think of it. An Ordinary Man, Speak Rwanda, There's No Me Without You. Check them out!)

So I guess I'll be moving on! I've found that I've been alternating between fiction and non-fiction and I also want to read something as unemotionally involving as possible so I've chosen:

To be honest I don't know much about this book. I picked it up at a thrift store for a quarter because the synopsis sounded good. One first impression that I do gain from this it has "genre confusion" issues. Is it a children's book? Is it young adult? Is it adult with a child for the main character? Who knows? Other than that, I know that Frederic Durbin is a fantasy-horror writer. It makes me a bit hesitant to pick it as I just read the ultimate horror story, but I think it will be ok.

I hope.

Do You Watch It?

One of mine and Dusty's favorite shows to watch is 30 Rock. It comes on Thursday nights right after The Office and it's hysterical. I've been quoting this scene from last week for days:



If you don't watch it, you need to. If you are coincidentally busy on Thursday nights, you can catch it on Hulu.

Oh, I love Hulu. So, so much.

Next Up...

I have just finished reading The Opium Clerk by Kanul Basu.

I didn't mind this book but I'm glad to be done with it. I think it was very well written but I had a hard time following the storyline, which is rare for me. If you have an appreciation for time period novels, India, or the opium trade, I'd say give it a go. Other than that, don't waste you time.

And that's really all I have to say about it!

My next book to read is:

I'm a little nervous as I know it's going to be an emotional read. If you haven't heard of this book before it is the memoir of Elie Wiesel's experience in a Nazi death camp, his survival, and his grappling with how this could be allowed to happen. (I'm sure I'll be able to come up with a more eloquent summation after I'm done!)

Here's to reading and sticking to your commitments! I have yet to buy a book yet and have officially crossed 3 off my list.

This is getting hard.

Unashamed

I have unashamedly stolen this from my friend Adam's blog. But it looks so fantastic and I got so excited when I saw the preview that I had to put it on here!

Exhaustion

Concert update is coming soon. When we got home I got distracted by the mass amounts of housework that needed to be done:

So we started in on the vacuuming, the laundry, the etc. (Notice I say we. Dusty's momma raised him right!)

But, oh well geeze, I guess I can give you a little nibble from the show huh?

That's how dark the stage was the whole time.

Oh Ryan, you're so edgy and misunderstood.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Saw this on one of my favorite blogs and laughed out loud. Literally.

If you aren't a regular reader of the blog Indexed you should be. It's pretty humorous.

And this is so you can't pinch my blog.

Camera

All right folks, I'm beginning to search for a new camera. I currently have a Kodak Easyshare V550. It's a sturdy little thing, having survived a near death experience atop a mountain in Petra, Jordan and never having its own camera case, but truth be told I'm over it. It's time to put the Kodak out to pasture and broaden my horizons.

I'm looking for a good deal and something for a more experienced user. I'm definitely not even up to the level of amateur photographer. (I consider myself a "picture taker" still, not photographer.) And I don't want another Kodak or Sony.

I'm open to suggestions! If you have a camera that rocks and you'd like to recommend it, let me know!

Good Picture

Dusty and I have been having a bit of a good picture deficit lately. By that I mean every time we take a picture together one, or both, of us looks stupid.

But I think we're back on the ball! Check out this great picture from ice skating last night, in which Dusty was on the ice and I was not.

Of Websites and Women

Dusty has the new and improved Buck Grove Youth website up. Click here to see his masterpiece, made on his Mac, of course.

This week we started doing Topics. We had the kids write down any question they had about life, love, and other mysteries and Dusty chooses one or two and we just debate it. Dig into it. Kind of fight about it. It's quite fun.

Next week we are discussing the role of women in ministry. I recently read a blog post on Burnside Writers that I found quite humorous about this topic. You can read it here.

I don't think we quite knew what a can of worms we were opening! Pretty much everyone had an opinion on it right from the get-go. It should be an interesting discussion. I'm just really glad that the group gets excited about this. I hope that these Topics will be something that will drive them to really look in the Word to see what the Lord's opinion on things are. I know I didn't do that enough in middle/high school.

In other news, we found Rudy! He was hiding under a chair, which has quickly become his favorite go-to spot. Usually it's only when someone rings the doorbell or opens the front screen door. Other than that he's very loving and likes to just chill with us on the couch. (And climb onto Dusty's computer while he's trying to read stuff, which I really enjoy!) I'm afraid he's shown no interest in hunting anything, other than a cozy spot on your lap. Good thing I bought some mouse traps today. (To put in places where Rudy can't reach, of course.)

T-Minus One Week

This time next week I will be enjoying the oh-so-sweet sounds of these guys:

To make it even better they're playing here:


And we are staying here:

I'm expecting nothing less than perfection. Or maybe just a really good time. I'd settle for that.

Can You Feel It?

I'm working around the house today and I'm noticing a change in the air. Birds are chirping--loud! I have found two spiders and one beetle in my home already (if it's not one thing it's another!), and yesterday I walked outside without a coat!

Soon these trees in my backyard will be rewarded for making it through the ice storm with beautiful buds and leaves.

I sound like an old hippie right now but Spring is coming everyone! I can hardly wait!

Forgotten Victims//Compassion

Today P. Dave gave us some really good words about compassion. He used Merriam Webster's definition which I have decided I love: sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it. I love stories in the Bible where it talks about Jesus having compassion for a person, a crowd, whatever. It reminds me that I am one who has been an object of His compassion. He saw my distress and went to great lengths to alleviate it--to the point of death.

And he has given us that same charge!

What is there in your life that causes a flood of compassion to rise up in you? In my case it is the cause of the poor, of widows, and orphans. Just today I read an article about the changing roles of Iraqi war widows. (Click here.) And I felt compassion. I want to DO something!

My challenge to you this week is to find something to "feel compassionate" about! I'm going to give you a good starting place so you have no excuse.

I know some of you have heard me talk about this before but Compassion International is an organization that allows you the chance to make a difference in a child's life. For $32 a month you can become a child's lifeline. You can join in praying not only for them, but for their family as well. You'll also have the opportunity to write and receive letters, make sure they have Christmas and birthday gifts, and possibly travel to visit them. (And spare me this business about tough economic times. We are part of a Kingdom economy!)

If you look through the site and decide that Compassion is not for you, ok. We can still be friends. But again, I do challenge you to get compassionate this week.

Do it! Just do it!

Rudy, My Feral Barn Cat

Throughout this whole mouse ordeal, Dusty and I have joked about this scene from our favorite TV show The Office. (Please excuse the quality of the recording, I randomly found it on youtube!)



Well, Dusty and I are about to get our very own feral barn cat!

Meet Rudy:

Rudy is one of Dusty's parent's cats. Notice in the picture how Rudy has an extra claw on his paw. He's got thumbs! All the better to get the mouses with! He's also got a very relaxed, chill demeanor. He's the epitome of a "cool cat!"

The story goes that a while back Dusty's parents booted all the cats out of the house and the cats have held a grudge ever since. I've always felt the hostility as I walked onto the porch, the cats' eyes boring holes into my heart. The want in!

While we were moving, one of them, Rocky I believe, got brave and made a mad dash inside. He was quickly shown his place in the world.

Rudy may not realize it yet but his world is about to drastically change. And so is mine. In all my 23 years I've never owned a cat, nor has my family. Anyone with constructive suggestions is welcome to comment!

Bring on the cat! The exchange is set for Tuesday. Aubri is being delegated the task of bathing poor Rudy. And I get to go buy kitty litter. Ah geeze.

No Place Like Home

I just wanted to take this opportunity to announce that I will be making a trip out to Missouri in April!

I could squeal I'm so excited, though I've been doing plenty of that this week with the mice, so I'm content to sit here and sip my water and say that I can't wait. Seriously.

Mainly I will be there to visit Hrababy and his lovely parents/siblings before they had back to Indo. I would also like to enjoy city lights for a little bit, which I am not getting enough of here.

Really, Louisville is closer to me now than ever. I just like to complain about how "far" out in the "country" I live.

So for all you Kansas City readers (the 5 of you out there!) be looking for me to grace you with my presence sometime next month. I know you can hardly wait, but seriously now. Calm down and contain yourselves!

How My Evening Was Ruined

Every time I say the word "ruined" or joke about how my evening has been "ruined" I think of this family guy clip:



But what happened last night was no laughing matter, and literally, my evening was ru-eened!

We... saw... the... MOUSE! It skittered through the living room, right out in the open and headed for the basement. The nerve!

And as all my friends and family have so lovingly pointed out, where there's one, there's sure to be more! That's exactly what I want to hear.

Now I've lived in places that have had to deal with mice before. Will anyone forget the infamous mouse/bird duos we got on Duffy Street? I think not. We shall prevail victorious! For now we've got the kitchen lined with traps. (And please spare me the whole, "traps are cruel, blah, blah, blah.") I'm thinking about getting a dog or maybe a cat. Ugh. I can't bring myself to get a cat. Dogs are good at catching mice too right? Please tell me they are...

Hopefully soon Dusty and someone from the church will be going around and sealing up all the entry points. I just need to be even more freakish about keeping the kitchen clean (didn't think that could happen but I'm finding out its possible!) and just wait it out.

Next time we move, we better be inside a major city limit. :)

Guess Who Came To Visit Last Night?

Gabriella visited us last night in all her 4-month-old splendor!

In all fairness Ed, Laura, and Aubri came as well but I can't hold any of them.

I think she pulls the Nifty Knitter cap off quite well!

I've Got The Urge

I want to go somewhere. Like right now, I want to pack a bag, hop on a plane, and go somewhere! There are a few problems with this: 1.) I don't have a valid passport anymore, thanks to my recent marriage and 2.) $$$.

If I could go anywhere in the world, I would go to one of these places:

Maybe I would go to Bangladesh to visit Mukti, our Compassion child. Then I'd hop over to India, because it's the number one place in the world I'd like to go.

Or maybe I will go back here, because it's foreign yet familiar. This is a trip I would make Dusty come with me on because I want him to see all the cool things that I did.

Or maybe I would head to Addis Ababa for a reconnaissance trip. Ethiopia is a country that my heart is growing fonder and fonder of, yet I know hardly anything about it.

So! Say I handed you a plane ticket to a place of your choosing. Where would it be?

Vamping

(toying around with this song. forgive me for the lack of structure.)

you're the only God who has walked among His people
you're the only one who bothered to come to us
you put on a tent of skin and made your home among us
you lived and breathed and laughed and cried and loved

the leaders did not believe you for who you said you were
the zealots and pharisees and rulers of the land
but you took that simple fisherman and covered
him with your wings and showed him
signs and wonders on the earth

you're the only God who has walked among His people,
you're the only one who bothered to come to us

those men who followed you they thought
you came to set a kingdom of mortar and
stone and buildings firm and strong
but you had other notions and brought your
Father's kingdom
signs and wonders and miracles abound

the woman who ate your crumbs, the man with no sight in his eyes,
the children dying, the demons in the man,
the tax collector, the harlot, the sinner
and the miscreants all came and you had
compassion

4 Months!

"I'm how old?!"

Happy four month birthday Gabriella!

After Much Deliberation...

... this week in my goal to read all the books I own that I have not read I finished Breaking Dawn and also read The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis.

After allowing myself to be immersed in mind-numbing fiction I've decided that the Lewis book was a little over my head. But I pushed through and gleaned what I could from it.

Call me Gomer but I'm going back to fiction! My next read will be (drumroll please):

Hope it's good!

Bee Yourself

Today after church we walked up to the house and someone had left us another bag of goodies.

I'd like to take time here to give mad props to the wonderful folks at Buck Grove for making Dusty and me feel so welcome. Also, I may never need to buy paper towels again. Thank you!

Wanna know what was in one of the bags? Take a look:

This may mean nothing to you but let me elaborate. The Gerkins family of Buck Grove Baptist Church happen to be some of my closest neighbors. (And I can't even see their house from mine if that gives you any idea!) They seem to be very, very sweet and one of their daughters is in the youth group.

Ok now go back and read the label. That's right! They have a bee farm! It made my heart happy!

Cuz I L-U-V honey.