The Square Peg

I'm a little behind in doing this but I've been kinda busy.

Our request to change our leave date (which we asked for in case the orders didn't get here soon) was accepted. We fly out January 24th. And five months after receiving notification of our upcoming change of station, we got our orders. Now the pace picks up for us...scheduling packing shipments, shipping the truck, turning in my car (it's a lease) and deciding what goes in the suitcases and carry on bags will dominate our thoughts and direct our energies over the next 7 weeks. Those things will also be the direct cause of our stress and headaches during that time, as well as some time after.

We went to Louisiana to visit our friends for Thanksgiving. We had a great time and after having so much fun with Cheryl's girls, I am seriously petitioning God for granddaughters (just not right now).   Annaliese and Eleora played hopscotch and colored on the front porch with me and it rained during the night before we left. When Eleora woke up and saw our artwork had vanished, she told her mom our "skips" were gone. Here are a few pictures that are too cute not to share with you.

 

• the EXTREMELY hot fire at the weenie roast. It was so hot Cheryl thought I was going to walk away from the bonfire with a tan.  The roasting sticks weren't long enough and I was afraid my eyebrows were going to be singed off. (When you read that last part, I hope you read 'singed' with the j sound. If you read it with the g sound, you're probably wondering how a fire could sing my eyebrows off.)
  
• the Tea Party...it was the first tea party I've ever attended. I wish I would've had time to go buy a hat and gloves for it.
  
• the four pounds of spinach dip Cheryl and I consumed at Grandmother's house on Thursday. Well, Troy said it was 4 pounds; Cheryl and I swear it couldn't have been more than 3 - 3.5 pounds tops.
  
• Eleora's sign language/hand gestures when asking for pumpkin bread. She looked like she was snapping a pencil in half while asking, "Miss Eva, can I have a piece of pumpkin bread?"
  
• Kael's numerous reminders to Moose that the boys had to play Halo before bed time. Kael's only 7 years old but he had more kills than Moose did.
  
• Watching Home Alone in the dark and hearing the kids laugh and shriek all the way through it. Especially when Joe Pesci's character's head caught on fire.
• Trying to corral the two dogs when they were in the room with the little kids was like trying to nail Jello to a tree. I think Gabriel got knocked down and/or bumped a record number of times. To say he didn't appreciate it would be putting it mildly.
  
• The ridiculously long, wrong, King Kong trip and order at Starbucks on Black Friday night. (OK, so King Kong wasn't involved in any way, but I wanted to include another "ong" word.) I bet Troy never suggests stopping by Starbucks again. The girl at the window actually told him, "it's Black Friday and we had our butts handed to us all day long." Troy's order was the only one that was correct on the first go-round, even though all the drinks had been repeated to us correctly when going back over the order.
• Troy's one good eye - So Troy has something wrong with one of his eyes and it requires drops to be put in it. The drops cause his eye to dilate...yet he still beat Moose at golf. And read street signs from far distances. And spotted details the rest of us missed in the video game we played. All with "my one good eye". LOL

Moose recently pointed out something about me I was unaware of:  I have special food requirements for specific activities. I'm not talking about having turkey at Thanksgiving or ham at Christmas; honestly, I could take either one at either holiday or during the year. I have no preference whatsoever. But a road trip just isn't right without Cheetos Puffs to go with my Diet Coke. I rarely buy Cheetos Puffs for the house, but I never go on a road trip without stopping at a gas station to buy a 99 cent bag of those crunchy, air-filled treats that leave my fingers covered in orange residue.

And last night I discovered I have a special food for Skype: popcorn.

There's no point to this post other than to share that weird tidbit with you. You may now resume your regularly scheduled life, already in progress.
Peace.

The only reason we have a kitchen is because it came with the house. :) I don't like to cook and I despise baking (except brownies). I do, however, like to eat.  Anybody want to volunteer to buy this cake mold and make something yummy for me? Pretty please? I'll say nice things about you in my blog if you do. :)

So I was cutting up an avocado for my sandwich a while ago and noticed the sticker on it read "green acorn". After briefly wondering why an A.C.O.R.N. sticker was on my avocado, I realized what it was really from: the green acorn squash I bought at the store yesterday. Upon closer examination, I discovered the following:

My spaghetti squash had an avocado sticker on it
my green acorn had a "lite slimcado" sticker on it
my butternut squash had a spaghetti squash sticker on it
and my 'lite' avocado had a butternut squash sticker on it.

Based on my past experience with things like Aqua Reefer, Epileptic Testicles and Wordless Wednesday, I suspect this is the work of the inked and mischievous Drewby. If you see him, beware. He'll mess with your food & food lists. Don't say I didn't warn you. Oh, for those who don't know, here's what he looks like.

I’m writing a book and the subject is about sex. But I’ve been suffering from writer’s block recently and haven’t been working on my book, so a friend suggested I write at Starbucks. I wasn’t sure I’d like it or be able to concentrate, but thought I’d give it a shot and went yesterday for the first time. I was at Starbucks for about 2 hours and totally tuned out the music playing in the store while my fingers typed away. Until I was about ready to leave.

The music playing?
“Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green.

Followed by:
“Sweet Surrender” by Sarah McLachlan.

And the couple sitting across the store from me?
Having a mini-makeout session. Must’ve been the music.

If your life had background music, what would one of your songs be? One of mine would probably be the chorus of “Unwell” by Matchbox Twenty. For those who aren’t familiar:

“But I’m not crazy, I’m just a little unwell
I know right now you can’t tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you’ll see
A different side of me
I’m not crazy, I’m just a little impaired
I know right now you don’t care
But soon enough you’re gonna think of me
And how I used to be…me”

I knew that a song could jog your memory, sometimes taking you back in time, reminding you of where you were, who you were with, and what you were doing. That can be a good thing or a bad thing. :) And I knew that smells could do the same thing. Every time I smell Love's Baby Soft perfume, I'm suddenly back in junior high school goofing off with my friend Doug in class.

But today I learned that sound can have the same effect. It was our first time to swim without Mocha. I wasn't facing the pool when Moose jumped off the diving board and cannon-balled his way into the water. But right after I heard the first splash, it hit me square in the face as I waited for the second splash. Oh yeah, she's not here anymore.

Moving on isn't easy. It's a come-and-go sort of thing. I got misty-eyed earlier today and told Moose I missed his dog. He asked if I was sorry we hadn't waited until Monday like I originally wanted to. I told him I wasn't because it would've hurt next weekend the same as today. I wouldn't go backward but moving forward is tough.

Now, onto the 8's. It's coincidence that 3 of my recent posts have been about numbers; that's not the new theme of this blog.

Crazy Eights
8 Things I’m Looking Forward To:

1. Watching Moose accept an award he's being given: "Warfighter of the Year". I don't know what it means, but it sounds really cool.
2. August-when my BFF Cheryl & her family come to visit.
3. Making gluten-free bread in the bread machine I just bought from a friend. It better be good.
4. Getting this house organized & the doors painted.
5. Hanging out with some of my girlfriends later this week.
6. Washing all the laundry this week (and right after that, I'm gonna go volunteer to get a root canal w/o novacaine).
7. Watching Tasha try out for So You Think You Can Dance
8. Going to Starbucks to work on my book.

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Ate breakfast at Chick-fil-A with Tasha & Moose.
2. Went to Travis & April's to hang out, drink coffee & eat Krispy Kreme donuts.
3. Went to the Dollar Theater to watch 17 Again...again. Loved it as much the 2nd time as I did the first.
4. Went to PetSmart to look at the dogs up for adoption. Saw an adorable Mastiff/Boxer mix who was the color of peanut butter with black flecks in her coat. Gorgeous!
5. Took Zoe for a walk and noted how weird it felt not to have 2 dogs.
6. Did the grocery shopping. They still had that creepy Andy Baldwin cut out at the end of one of the aisles. That thing's got to go.
7. Read a book (not the whole thing).
8. Got confirmation about something I've been suspecting a while.

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

1. Play the drums.
2. Sing. Well.
3. A back handspring.
4. Play the piano.
5. Learn to do the Shoulder Shiggey as well as Tasha.
6. Learn Spanish. Again.
7. Lose 50 pounds. Without having to work for it.
8. Move to the northwest. Or overseas. Or to Alaska. Or anywhere that has 4 different seasons. I've been living in places that only have 2 seasons since 1993.

8 Shows I Watch:

1. So You Think You Can Dance.
2. LOST.
3. Criminal Minds.
4. Big Bang Theory.
5. Fringe.
6. Gary Unmarried.
7. The Mentalist.
8. The Ellen Show.

8 Favorite Fruits:

1. Cherries.
2. Blueberries.
3. Raspberries.
4. Blackberries.
5. Pineapples.
6. Strawberries.
7. Kiwi
8. Cantalope.

8 Places I’d Like To Travel:

1. Spain.
2. Australia.
3. Germany.
4. Italy.
5. Scotland.
6. Cruise around the world.
7. Alaska.
8. Fiji.

8 Places I’ve Lived:

1. New York.
2. California.
3. Washington.
4. Tennessee.
5. Texas. Twice. Liked it both times. Except for the heat.
6. Kentucky.
7. North Carolina. Oh, God, please--never again.
8. Georgia. Twice. Don't like the heat. Or the humidity.

Where next? :)

Have you ever stopped to think about why you believe what you believe? I’ve been examining some of the beliefs that formed in my heart and mind while growing up, and realized not all were intentionally instructed. Many were passed on with specific intent. Some were accepted and I took ownership of them while others were rejected and I formed different beliefs. But more was caught than taught. Perhaps that’s true of you, too.

I was told that God created everything, and that He loved it all. And I believed it. But I didn’t like church much as a kid; it was full of rules (mostly “don't’s”; very few “do’s”) and righteousness seemed to be measured by what I subtracted from my life, rather than by what I added to the world. This disturbed me.

Nobody ever instructed me to “be prejudice”, yet racism and bigotry were never classified as unChrist-like by the church we occasionally visited. In fact, I don’t recall it ever being mentioned. But even as a little girl, I knew hating a group of people for something they couldn’t control (skin color, eye shape, etc) was not only ridiculous, it was wrong. I didn’t want somebody to dislike me because I had brown eyes or was left-handed. I was fascinated by our different skin colors, though.

I loved milk when I was little. White milk and chocolate milk have similar chemical structure, and I thought they were both delicious. And in my five-year-old mind, I likened ethnicity with milk. For real. I deduced that God liked white and chocolate milk. And since I knew chocolate came in milk and dark varieties, I concluded my Panamanian next-door neighbor was milk chocolate flavored, and my upstairs African neighbor was dark (fudge) flavored. I couldn’t figure out what kind of milk Asians were (I didn’t know about buttermilk then), but milk was milk, and it was all good; the strawberry kind, the chocolate kind, and the white kind I poured on my Fruit Loops every morning.

I’ve been attending church most of my adult life. And the math I’m most concerned with is the REALationships being multiplied as a result of truth + love.

Diversity doesn’t = division; unity doesn’t require conformity.
I’m just sayin’.

What an incredible day! Good coffee, great weather, and lots of fun!

Communion with coffee & donuts was pretty cool. And the sugar was a good fuel boost for the climb.

I wondered on the way to Stone Mountain how long it would take us to get to the top, but after getting out of the car and feeling so small against its sheer size, I figured we'd be doing well just to make it all the way up. We weren't far on the trail when Moose, Drew & Tasha each stumbled within a few minutes of each other.

The view from the top was hazy, but spectacular.

We wondered if the H marked a helicopter landing pad, or the portal entrance to Hell.

Going down was as challenging as going up. I commented as we started our descent that whereas they'd only stumbled and didn't fall, I'd actually fall and walk out of the park with a skinned knee. And about halfway down my left foot slipped on a wet rock, my right knee buckled, and I landed on it.

Beautiful, isn't it? :-)

Stone Mountain info - The top of the mountain is 1,683 feet above sea level. Carving depicts three Southern heroes of the Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. Carved area covers three acres, is recessed 42 feet into the mountain and situated 400 feet above the surrounding ground.

For your reading pleasure, I am enclosing bits and pieces of some of our conversations today. Enjoy~

We reached a level area on the way up and paused to enjoy the view.
Brian: "Oh, good Kodak moment."
Drew: "There are no bears here, Dad."
A little while later we reached another nice viewing area and Drew hollered "Kojak moment!" How does he even know who Kojak is?

Tasha (3/4 of the way up the mountain & breathing heavily): "Gosh, this is kind of taxing on my respiratory system."
Drew: "Yeah, it's hard on my reservoir system, too."

Tasha (to Brian regarding his hiking boots): "Are those steel-toed boots?"
Drew: "No, his toes move sometimes."

Drew (dodging a very large mosquito): "Holy crap! That wasn't a mosquito; it was an Apache helicopter!"

Hope you had a good Easter, too!
Peace.

I’m so excited about Sunday! Forty-five days ago I told you about my decision to take part in Lent because I wanted Easter to be at the forefront of my mind this year. I have seen that desire reached. I’ve been keenly aware of this Easter season and have spent a lot of time thinking about different aspects of its meaning. I have also participated in a 28 day challenge to read the book of Matthew, one chapter each day beginning the 28 days before Easter. This challenge was extended by Pastor Pete in Nashville whose blog I read. You can read Without Wax here. This 28 day challenge has been instrumental in narrowing my focus during this time.
Today’s reading was chapter 26 and something struck me as I read.

Verses 40-41When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, “Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don’t wander into temptation without even knowing you’re in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”

Oh, that describes me so well sometimes! I can’t count the number of times I’ve wandered into temptation inadvertently. And like so many others, I’m both eager for God and too lazy to leave the coziness of the fire. But I love that Jesus gave the solution before He even pointed out the problem; stay alert and pray. Since I strive to be a person who is proactive rather than reactive, that’s right up my alley. By staying alert and praying, I can curtail the problem.

I told you I wanted to find a unique way to culminate the Lenten season and celebrate Easter. We decided to go hiking at Stone Mountain in Atlanta on Sunday. We’re gonna find a trail, hike up a hill, sit together and enjoy God’s creation. Don’t tell the kids, but we’re going to take communion in a different way. Since Jesus is the bread of life, and bread comes in many forms, we’re going to pick up donuts (preferably Krispy Kreme) to symbolize the body that was broken for us. I want us to associate the sweetness of the donut with God’s sacrifice for us. I often say that coffee is God’s nectar, and since I joke that it’s what gives me life in the morning, we’re going to use coffee to symbolize the shed blood. Like I said; unique.

I woke up with the thought of coffee permeating the entire essence of my brain. Most days, on a scale of 1 to 10, I’m about a 2 or 3 with regard to desire for coffee. This morning I was a big, ol’, fat 15. I honestly thought (for a few minutes) I was going to break my coffee fast. I don’t need to spend the money, don’t need the calories, and don’t need the sugar. But I wanted it.

I found out last night at dinner that Catholics partake (on the Sabbath only) in whatever it is they gave up for lent. And this morning I wanted to be Catholic. Real bad. But as much as I wanted coffee, I want this Easter season to be more more.

I’m still thinking about how I want to mark this Easter and the ending of Lent. I have an idea but I’m going to keep thinking it over and share it with you later. But I will tell you that this idea involves special shoes and, of course, coffee.

Ciao!

I’ve heard about Lent throughout my life, but never actually celebrated Lent personally. Until now.

For the past few years, I have felt as if Easter had sneaked up on me and was gone before I knew it, but I determined this year would be different. I wanted a fresh perspective for Easter this season and there’s nothing like intentional, laser-focused awareness to bring about a change of view (and heart). This year I am contemplating Easter and celebrating its meaning in a very deliberate way; by giving up coffee during the Lenten season.

I spent nearly two weeks thinking about what I would give up for Lent to assist with my paradigm shift. I considered giving up carbs, soda, caffeine, TV, and the internet before settling on coffee. I even toyed with the idea of doing it backward and adding something new into my life rather than removing something. But in the end, I kept coming back to coffee. I consider coffee to be my greatest indulgence, so giving it up will be a meaningful and challenging sacrifice for me.
I expect it won’t be easy. I expect to be challenged. I expect to miss it. But each time I think about coffee, I’m going to redirect my focus onto Easter’s meaning and purpose. I’m not sure how I’ll mark the finale of the Easter season yet. But I’ve got 46 non-coffee-drinking days to consider it.

Do you celebrate Lent? If so, I’d love to hear about what you’re giving up and why.
Peace out.