Well, it's official...

1) I'm immune to brain freeze
2) I'm a minor celebrity.

So, I have a friend who is a DJ at a local radio station. He found out that I and another friend of mine have never had a brain freeze. So... he invited us to come into the studio this morning to experience our first brain freeze. They bought two Freezonis from QT (I had the blue raspberry) and had us slurp them down as fast as possible. We did that, and neither one of us got brain freeze. We did have watery eyes, frozen esophagi and stomach aches... but NO brain freeze!! So... there you have it. I'm a genetically engineered slurpee-sucking fool. :)

Check out the broadcast here.

(I'll be available for signing autographs from 9-11 AM tomorrow morning!)

~Krista

A Question for my Brother...

David,

Now that you're all grown-up, now that you have two little girls of your own, I'm wondering... wondering if you still dislike that picture... the one I have hanging in my bathroom... the one of the little girl who is half-naked... leaning over to inspect her belly button.

Just curious.

Krista

Se Magnifique!

I cooked dinner for some friends last night (Jim, Babs and Matt... who all have birthdays within the next ten days). On the menu? Parmesan crusted chicken with sage-butter sauce, roasted potatoes with garlic and rosemary and baked asparagus. And there's only one dessert fitting for the April birthdays... Italian Cream Cake with vanilla ice cream. It's probably the most difficult meal I've ever attempted, and if I may say so, it's probably the tastiest, too! It was a day-long event, because I left for the grocery store around noon and work pretty much straight through until the meal was served at 7:30 PM. I really enjoyed it, too... though I guess I appeared "stressed" once my guests arrived. (I attribute that to the specific point in the cooking process... where everything was happening at once and required close and immediate attention.) But, I suprised myself. I shant cook like that every day, but it makes me think I could be a bit more creative in my meals (for myself and for entertaining).

Mom... you'd be so proud!! You, too, Sis!!

Me and the girls! 

Natalie (approx 8 mo) 

A Dose of Encouragement

To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to this weekend. I mean... I was, but I wasn't. The Gathering had a weekend retreat for Founding Members. Although I was looking forward to the retreat... it's been a long and fairly awful week... and last week was spent on the road (to KC and back). So, in many ways, I would have preferred to stay home this weekend. However, once I got to the retreat and had a chance to dream big with some of our other Founding Members, I was encouraged. We took time to eat together and play together. (I rather enjoyed a two hour break we had this afternoon. I took the time to just wander around the retreat property and visit with friends.) But, I REALLY enjoyed our brainstorming sessions and goal-setting. I truly appreciate the encouragement I get from being reminded I'm not alone in this great adventure God has set out for us. This weekend reminded me that we're all united in our vision to reach people for Christ here in Tulsa and abroad. It's so exciting to hear the passion of others for their ministry areas. I also feel encouraged by people who are looking to play an even greater role in the ministry.

Besides this weekend, I've been encouarged by two other people recently... one who has just recently come to know Christ and one who is still seeking. It's so exciting to have a front row seat to watch God move in the hearts of people. Isn't THAT what it's all about?

But, I suppose it's natural that all this excitement would be followed by exhaustion. I'm pooped!

G'night. (Don't forget to turn your clocks forward tonight!)

What is it about crying...

... that gets your nose all stuffed up?

This is Teo... kinda. (Remember this one, Teo? Serves you right.) 

Teo, Teo, Teo

Well, I was scorned yesterday by my friend, Teo, who complained that he was not mentioned very often on my blog-site... something about being "un-blog-worthy." I quickly pointed out that, though he was not always mentioned by name, he was often referred to as "my friend" and in the pronoun, "we." But, to make him feel better, I thought I'd mention his name here...

Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo.

Teo's name by the way is Matt, but that would be easily confused with my other friend, Matt, who I also occasionally mention. I'm not sure where "Teo" came from, although the Spanish name for Matt is "Mateo." I remember "Teo" first being popularized on a certain canoe trip... which is where my corresponding nickname, "Keo" was born.

Here are some other uses for the name "Teo"...

Go On, Get Your Teo Out!

A Different Kind Of Company. A Different Kind Of Teo.

Welcome To Teo Country.

I Was a Teo Weakling. (Ha! I'm not making this stuff up, folks!!)

Teo Really Satisfies. (Mm-hmm.)

Cleans Right Round The Teo.

Only Teo Has The Answer.

(Slogans compliments of The Advertising Slogan Generator.)

So, all I have to say now is... Teo... are you happy?

It's me...

100 Questions

I "stole" this from another friend's blog site. :)

1.First grade teacher's name: Mrs. Wakeman
2. Last word you said: "tonight”
3. Last song you sang: "Feeling Good” (singing along w/ a song by Michael Buble)
4. Last person you hugged: My niece, Natalie
5. Last thing you laughed at: My niece, Natalie?
6. Last time you said I don't remember: I don't remember
7. Last time you cried: My eyes got a bit teary talking to someone last week about my Grandpa Looney (who went to be with our Lord in 2001).

.:PRESENT:.

9. What color socks are you wearing: Mostly dark red
10. What's under your bed: Probably some dust bunnies
11. What time did you wake up today: 10:00 AM when my phone rang
12. Current taste: Toothpaste
13. Current hair: Brown with golden highlights
15. Current annoyance: An achy body. I haven’t felt well today.
16. Current longing: Health and Wellness :)
17. Current desktop background: A beautiful picture taken by my friend, Teo, in La Jolla, California, where we visited this past September. It has some daisies in the foreground and waves splashing on a rock in the background.
19. Current hate: Sore throats
20.Current favorite article of clothing: Probably my new jeans I bought for my supposed trip to Guatemala. :)
21. Favorite physical feature of the preferred sex: Smile
22. Last CD that you listened to: I’ve been transferring all my CDs to itunes, so I’ve been re-listening to a bunch of my old CD’s. Most recent may have been a “Best of U2.”
23. Favorite place to be: Coffee shop with a good friend
24. Least favorite place: Mowing my yard in the heat of the summer (most any other time, too)
25. Time you wake up: Weekdays – anytime between 5:30am and 7:30am.
26. If you could play any instrument: Guitar (have one, but don’t play it very well)
27. Favorite color(s): Fall colors – brown, navy, black, dark red
28. Do you believe in an afterlife: Yes!
29. How tall are you: 5’7”
30. Current favorite word/saying: It’s not my favorite by a long-way, but I’ve been working on perfecting my use of the words “affect” vs. “effect.” Those throw me every time!
31. Favorite book: Other than The Bible...I really like “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”
32. Favorite season: I love them all! Spring is particularly great, because everything is blooming!
33. One person from your past you wish you could go back and talk to: My Grandpa Looney

.:FUTURE:.

35. Where do you want to go for college: N/A – Been there, done that. Went to Emporia State University in Emporia, KS.
36. What is your career going to be: Who knows. I’m a CPA, but I suppose I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. :)
37. How many kids do you want: I don’t know… 2 or 3?
.:HAVE YOU EVER.:.
39. Said "I love you" and meant it?: Well, sure.
40. Gotten in a fight with your dog/cat/bird/fish, ect.: No.
41. Been to New York: Yes, it was awesome!
42.Been to Florida: Orlando only.
43. Been to California: Yes… La Jolla (suburb of San Diego) is one of my favorite places to visit!!
44. Been to Hawaii: Nope.
45.Been to Mexico: Yes – a couple of times. Once to Juarez (just across the border from El Paso) for a missions trip in college and twice to Ensenada (just south of Tijuana, Mexico and San Diego) for work… I used to have an audit client down there. That’s how I was introduced to San Diego and La Jolla! It was awesome!
46. Been to China: Nope.
48. Dreamed something really crazy and then it happened the next day: Not that I can think of.

.:RANDOM:.

What happened to 49-51???

52. Do you have a crush on someone: “Crushes” are so elementary.
53. What book are you reading now? I’m reading several, but the one I’m reading for “fun” is “700 Sundays” by Billy Crystal.
54. Worst feeling in the world: Crushing my finger in a broken chair at Chili’s. Ouch!!
55. What is the first thing you think when you wake in the morning?: Do I HAVE to get up?
56. How many rings before you answer: 3 or 4. I like to answer earlier, but I usually have to run through my house looking for the cordless phone.
57. Future daughter's name: I really like Luella, but I haven’t completely decided I want to subject a child to it. I’ve heard it recently, though, so maybe it’s gaining some popularity. I believe it was my great-great Grandmother’s name.
58. Future son's name: Grandma Looney has started naming them for me. I believe Gabriel is at the top of the list. :)
59. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal: Not most of the time.
60. If you could have any job you wanted: I would be independently wealthy and be able to volunteer my time.
61. Who do you wish was with you? I sometimes wish my family was closer.
62. College plans: Again… been there, done that.
63. Piercings: One in each of my ear lobes. That’s it… promise, Mom!!
.:THE EXTRA STUFF:.
64.Do you do drugs: No way!
65. Do you drink: Not usually
67. What kind of Shampoo and Conditioner do you use: Right now… Aussie, or whatever that stuff’s called. Sometimes Herbal Essence.
68. What are you most scared of: Sharks… and someone breaking into my house at night.
69. What clothes do you sleep in: Pajama pants or shorts and a T-shirt, generally.
70. Who is the last person that called you: Melody… to see if we were still on for breakfast this morning.
71. Where do you want to get married: Tulsa… I suppose, though I’m not “married” to the idea.
72. If you could change anything about yourself what would that be: I wouldn’t be so busy all the time. I think that would lead to a variety of other healthy changes.
73.Who do you really hate: Pine nuts.
74. Been In Love: Yes… there’s a car I’ve been eyeing lately… :) Oh.. with a person? I’d rather leave that to your imagination.
75. Are you timely or always late: I’m very punctual.
76. Do you have a job: Yes.
77. Do you like being around people: Yes, very much, though a certain amount of alone time is healthy, too.
78. Best feeling in the world: Loving and being loved... or losing my stomach on a roller coaster :)
79. Are you for world peace: Um… duh.
80. Are you a health freak: No, unfortunately not, though I don’t mind healthy foods.
81. Do you have a "Type" of person you always go after?: Someone who is grounded and growing in their relationship with Jesus Christ.
82. Do you want someone you don't have: Always have, probably always will.
83. Are you lonely right now: Not this moment, but it’s not unusual.
84. Ever afraid you'll never get married: I wouldn’t say “afraid.” It’d just be nice to know.
85. Do you want to get married: Yes. I think I’d enjoy it. Plus, it would be nice to have someone with whom to serve.
86. Do you want kids: I think so… though I’ve noticed they’re an AWFUL lot of work

.:IN THE LAST 48 HOURS, HAVE YOU:.

87. Cried: No
88. Bought Something: Yes... groceries, coffee product from Starbucks and 2 meals
89. Gotten Sick: Maybe… I haven’t completely diagnosed my current condition, but I’m not feeling real well – weird throat, sore muscles, stiffness, etc.
90. Sang: Not too much… maybe along with a CD or the radio.
91. Said I Love You: Yes… I’m sure I probably said that to my family (sister, bro-in-law and niece) as they were leaving.
92. Wanted To Tell Someone You Loved them: I suppose.
93. Met Someone: No one new… but maybe tonight.
94. Moved On: No.
95. Talked To Someone: Yeah… quite a few someones… (
96. Had A Serious Talk: No.
97. Missed Someone: No.
98. Hugged Someone: Chelle, John and Natalie
99. Yelled at Someone: No.
100. Dreamed About Someone You Can't Be With: Is that a “literal” dream or “figurative” dream? Until I know, I’ll refrain from answering.

MB

Wow! I went to see Michael Buble in concert tonight. He was pretty amazing. I expected the singing to be awesome, but he turned out to be quite an entertainer as well. He did some impressions and made a fair amount of jokes. I was a bit disappointed at some of the swearing and off-colored jokes, as I would have expected it to be a "G-rated," family-friendly show. In fact, there were two young children sitting in front of us. But, save that, it was excellent. His voice is so clean and smooth. My two favorite songs are "Home" and "Feeling Good." You can see the videos here.

I was also excited to learn that the poet, Billy Collins, will be in Tulsa at the end of April. I have one or two of his books, but one of my all-time favorite poems of his is "The Lanyard." My question to you is this... does the poem make you laugh or shed a tear? Apparently it's produced both responses. I'd like to know what yours is.

A nugget of wisdom from the side of a Starbucks cup

"It's difficult for people to get rid of junk. They get attached to things and let them define who they are. If there's one thing I've learned... it's that you are what you can't let go of."

-Brian Scudamore, Founder and CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?

What can't you let go of?

itunes

Well, I've discovered itunes. :)

Exposed

I was reminded this evening of a funny story...

One weekend, quite some time ago, I spent a good bit my Saturday cleaning my bathroom floor... mopped it "hands-and-knees" style until it was spotless. I spent the balance of the day working in the yard. I don't know about you, but when I mow the yard and do lawn work, I'm usually covered from head-to-toe in dirt and grass clippings. This particular day, I came inside and stripped down so as to not track everything through the house. But, when I got to the bathroom, I stood in the doorway wondering how I was going to get across to the shower without getting the perfectly clean, white-tiled floor dirty. I had been standing there a few moments when I looked up and realized that I had opened the blinds while cleaning the bathroom!!

I quickly forgot about the white tiles. :)

Happiness is a cigar named Serendipity

Yeah, I don't know what the subject title is supposed to mean. I went back to that slogan generator website and tried it with the word "serendipity," which is one of my all-time favorite words.

I've been a bit down this week... no particular reason for it. I guess maybe it could do with the fact that I'm supposed to be in Guatemala, and instead, I'm forced to be in my same old boring routine. But, beyond that, I have no real reason to complain. (Though that won't stop me...) I'm a bit frustrated by my yard. It needs some major attention. Part of me is anxious to get out there and work on it, but the other part of me is completely apathetic... wondering if it wouldn't be better to still be in an apartment. I sat out on my porch for a bit tonight... something I've been a bit timid to do lately. It was enjoyable... nice weather... nice light breeze. I was a bit startled, though, when a vehicle pulled up and stopped in front of my house. It was just my neighbor from two doors down inviting me to a "purse party" at her house on Sunday.

I had more I was going to say about my dullness of mood, but those thoughts are probably better left unwritten. :)

Grounded

Well, most of you probably know by now that the trip to Guatemala was canceled... within 17 hours of take-off. :( I guess the building supplies didn't clear customs, so the trip was postponed. Hopefully I'll be able to go if it's rescheduled... though my passport expires later this month. I guess we'll see what happens. I went ahead and took today off work... since no one expected me to be there this week anyway. It was an enjoyable day... slept until 8-ish, got up and went to walk at La Fortune Park (while talking to Mom on my cell phone), visited with Babs and got to watch Baby Luke for awhile and researched about non-profit accounting software on-line. Oh, I almost forgot... I also voted. All-in-all it's been a good day... great day, actually. I think I could be happy not working (in a regular job anyway).

I'm also caught up on 24... though it took 12 hours of viewing, instead of the 8 I mentioned in my last blog posting. Had I gone to Guatemala, I'd probably be a couple of SEASONS behind by the time I got back.

Well, since I'm going back to work tomorrow, I s'pose I should get in bed.

G'night, All!!

Abstinence

Well, I'm not sure I blogged about it, but we finally finished the first season of "24." It was awesome, though I was very disturbed by the turn of events in the last episode. :( To quote Matt, "I'm not sure I'm up for another season... it's quite an investment of time" (or something to that effect). I was a bit disappointed to hear that, though I can certainly understand the sentiment.

Well, Mom and Dad were in town this weekend. Mom had her nose stuck in a Janette Oke book, so we didn't have much interaction with her. ;) JK, Mom. (I'm glad you enjoyed your book.) We had a nice time visiting, eating out and doing a bit of shopping/preparation for Guatemala. (Dad and I leave on Friday!!!!)

Jump to Sunday night when Matt stopped by my house to pick up the DVD player he'd loaned me. He came in, and the first thing he said was, "I have something to tell you, but you're going to be mad at me." I was a bit dumbfounded at first, because it would take an awful lot for me to be mad at Matt. I was trying to imagine what bomb he had to drop. (I'm sure all of you reading can see where this is going.) He went on to tell me that he had watched the first EIGHT episodes of Season 2 of "24." EIGHT EPISODES!!!!! Not one, not two... EIGHT!!! And to compound matters, I'm going to be out of the country for ten days. Who thinks Matt possesses the self-control it will take to refrain from further "24" viewings until I'm home? Yeah... me either. :)

The Ultimate Stain Remover...

Since some of you asked... yes! Vinegar is an effective agent at removing coffee stains. It comes with my highest recommendation. :)

Michael Buble & Aqualung

These are two of my newest CD's. I like them both very much. MB will be in Tulsa in March! I already have my tickets to go. I particularly enjoy his song, "Home."

On a more interesting note... I have a headache. Okay, maybe that's not more interesting. :)

Vinegar...

... it's the coffee stain remover. :)

Well, well, well... it's been awhile. I'll do my best to catch you all up. Skiing... Winter Park... last week... with Tim, Laurel, baby Seth, Carrie and Matt. A good time was had by all, and we didn't have any major mishaps. I'll tell you this, though, there is just nothing like snow skiing. I wish there was, because it pains me to only be able to ski three our of 365 days a year. It's the most amazing thing... being out in God's creation... freezing my rear off. I'd also be in much better shape if I could ski a bit more often.

I arrived back home last Wednesday night, so Thursday night started with a phone call from my neighbor telling me that our neighborhood was under a police barracade and helicopter search due to some sort of criminal being in or around our neighborhood. Fortunately they were gone when I arrived home; however, I didn't have a warm-fuzzy feeling. That pretty much passed when everyone showed up for small group. We had 20 this week!! Wow! It's fun packing my house out like that, though I know some folks are not likely to keep coming if we have such a large crowd. That's why I'm happy that we'll be starting another new small group in the next few weeks!

Other news... coffee stains... I got those as we were pulling out of Winter Park last Wednesday morning. We stopped for some coffee, and I ended up spilling a good deal of it on myself. Fortunately it didn't get all over Matt's X5 (he likely woulda killed me). But, I was coffee-stained for the entire trip. After doing a bit of research on-line, I learned that vinegar is a good agent for removing coffee stains. I've tried it, and the jeans are in the dryer as I write this. (Please keep your fingers crossed!) They looked pretty good coming out of the dryer, but sometimes wet clothes can have a misleading appearance. So hopefully I'm not locking in a nasty coffee stain.

Lastly... I've now received all of my shots for my upcoming trip to Guatemala. Those include shots for... typhoid, hepatitis A, tetanus and measles. I also got a flu shot, since I was already being pricked. :) And I've just driven over to Walgreens to pick up my chloroquine medication - that's an oral medication to protect me from Malaria. Ah... the joys of being over-medicated and protected from foreign agents in random Spanish-speaking countries. :)

Hasta luego!

Okay, I know I said I was going to bed, but...

I just read David's blog, and I felt like I should blog a bit about my week. It's been kind of a crazy week. Our pastor at The Gathering lost his 27 year old brother this week. (I don't mean he can't find him, I mean he died tragically.) There are also other random issues facing some of our leaders. So, Wednesday night, I had some bizarre dreams - nightmares actually - that seemed very spiritually charged. I woke up feeling attacked spiritually. I spent a bit of time in prayer - just praying for everyone in my small group and at The Gathering... praying for protection and encouragement... also thanking God for each of them. Another girl in our group told me she had a similar occurrence Wednesday night - woke up, sat straight up in bed and just felt attacked. Most of the time we just float through life, not thinking too much about the situations and circumstances around us, but now that we're really stepping out to follow God in this huge way, we've started to see the opposition work against us. And why wouldn't we? The Bible tells us that when we're following Christ, we're going to face persecution.

So, several verses have come to mind this week... James 1:2, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds..." And tonight at small group, we took a look at Ephesians 6, where it talks about wearing the full armor of God for protection.

I met with several friends last night for a time of prayer - just encouraging one another and falling on our faces before God to ask for his strength and support. What an AWESOME God we serve!! "God's will is not always easy, but it's always right." (That's a quote from someone. Maybe Tozer?)

Slopes of Pure Happiness

Well, sports fans... We're under 36 hours to ski-time. :) We're going to head out early Saturday morning, so I've started in on the packing. At this point, I'm just biding my time until then. I thought about taking a sick day tomorrow, as I've had some sort of sinus infection a good deal of the week. But, I will probably go in to work... at least for awhile... if for no other reason than I can't find my cell phone and think it's possibly sitting in my office. I also lost my drivers license recently, but I've rectified the situation. I thought it might be helpful to get a new license since I may be driving this weekend. And, I figured Matt would appreciate it, since I'll be driving the X5. :) :) :)

I'd love to talk more but I should really be in bed. I wanted to say "bye," because I may not have time to blog tomorrow evening.

G-bye, folks!!

Fill It To The Rim With Krista.

Happiness is Krista-Shaped.

Make Room for the Krista.

I'm a Secret Krista Drinker.

http://www.thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan.cgi?word=

11 hours and counting

Well... I've watched three more episodes of 24... and that was after a Super Bowl party at The Gathering last night. It was a good crowd... lots of food, games and fun. During the half-time, we had a "Gathering Idol" competition. They had six individuals/teams perform a variety of songs - everything from "Achy, Breaky Heart" to "Oops! I did it Again." It was pretty entertaining. Fortunately I avoided the stage. I did, however, participate in another contest where I and a variety of other contestants had to eat ten crackers and try to be the first to whistle. It took a good while just to get the crackers down. I didn't win. :(

So, my question is this... who won the game?

:)

Okay... I'm exhausted... probably from the late-night 24-watching session. G'night, all!

Marathon

I know, I know... I should be in bed, but I thought I'd take a minute to blog before crawling in. :)

As you all know by now, The Gathering is planting a new church in Tulsa. So obviously, there's a lot of work to be done. We have a "launch team" that is working through the details of incorporation, fundraising, budgeting, researching facilities, etc. So, we're meeting every other week, as we have been for some time. Today was a regularly scheduled meeting... held at my house. The meeting is supposed to be from 10 AM to about 12:30 PM, but we're notorious for running late. We met until closer to 2 or 2:30 PM. However, a couple of folks stayed past (about 3-3.5 hours past) that time to discuss additional topics. So, needless to say, that made for an awfully long meeting. I was fairly wiped out afterwards.

The remainder of the evening was plenty enjoyable though... dinner w/ Jim, Babs and Matt at Pei Wei... then back to Matt's for a movie - Zorro. (It's a bit cheesy if you ask me.) But we yucked it up for a bit and, as always, enjoyed the fellowship.

With that said... I'm off to bed. Sleep well, everyone!

"There are some weeks I have quite a pile of socks collected there!"

I realize it's now 4-5 weeks into the New Year, but I just ran across this "NEW YEAR'S GAME" in another blog, and thought it was interesting. You're supposed to "tag" others, but I'll just leave it here. If you happen to read it, I'd encourage you to follow the steps below...

1. Go into your oldest blog post
2. Find your 24th post (or closest to)
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to)
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions

Have fun. My sentence is in the title of this entry. :)

How it started

I thought I'd elaborate a bit more on my previous post. Teo was in town this past weekend, so in addition to working a generous number of Sudoku puzzles, we rented the first DVD of the television series "24." For those of you who are unfamiliar, each episode occurs in real time. So, the first DVD documents the first four hours (midnight to 4 AM) of the first day of the series. After watching just the first episode or two, I could tell I was hooked. In fact, we couldn't find the 4 AM to 8 AM DVD, so we had to purchase the entire first season at Target! We still only made it through the first eight hours! So... I have a long way to go. To give you an idea... I'm up to 8 AM the first day. The series is currently in season 5 (i.e. - the 5th day), about 4 AM or 5 AM. So, I'm basically four whole days (92 hours) behind. But, after looking at the current season website, I've determined it's not best to view them out of order. So, I won't start watching the current season until I get caught up (if I actually get caught up).

24

Yes, I'm addicted.

The Plans

You may recognize this verse, and maybe you find some comfort in it like I do...

Jeremiah 29:11 - "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

Well, I've been reading through the book of Jeremiah, and I thought the context of the verse above to be particularly interesting. Basically, the Israelites had been taken into exile - into Baylon - by King Nebuchadnezzar. Well, a young punk-prophet speaks up one day (in front of Jeremiah and other priests/people) and says, "the LORD says that within two years, the Israelites will be free and be able to return to Israel." Jeremiah gives him a warning that peace and prosperity sound good and may gain him some momentary popularity, but he won't be believed unless it actually comes true. Long story short, The LORD reveals something different to Jeremiah, and he tells the people that they will spend seventy years in Babylon...

"When seventy years are completed... I (the LORD) will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place (Israel). For I know the plans I have for you..."

Isn't it funny that when we think of that verse or quote that verse, we always imagine that promise in the near term... next week, next month, next year. God was telling the Israelites that he had good things planned for them... but they were going to have to be patient. In effect... "you might as well get comfortable, because you're going to be here awhile." Apparently they had some lessons to learn first.

So, it makes me wonder... how many lessons do I have to learn? I guess I better get comfortable. :)

Cozy feet

I thought I'd include a picture for you of what I have on my feet as I'm blogging here. They're very warm and cozy... a bit challenging to walk in. But, I suppose they're really not made for walking. So, instead, I'm relaxing in them. :) They were a Christmas gift from a good friend, who obviously cares about the comfort of my feet.

Foot duvets 

Well, it's official...

The Gathering is becoming its own church! It's been a long-time coming, but we're moving forward. Up until this point we've been a ministry of Southern Hills Baptist Church, the church I've been a member of for nearly seven years now. But the church voted unanimously this past week to support us as a new church plant. There are so many questions yet to be answered, but it was officially announced tonight at The Gathering. So... it's now public knowledge.

It means a lot of work ahead, but I'm excited to see where God will lead us and who he will bring along side of us in this adventure!

I'm sure you'll be hearing more on that later.

Divine Intervention

Okay, I know it's kind of an odd time of the morning to be blogging. And, I'm still half asleep, so I won't promise this will make too much sense. But, I'm going to blog about a dream I juust had. If I wait, I'm guessing I won't remember it. And, yes... I'll be crawling back in bed when I finish blogging. I probably wouldn't have woken up or gotten out of bed except that I must have dreamed my cell phone rang. So, I got up to check that. :)

I don't recall all of the details of the dream, other than I was out and about in my car. In the dream, it was a very small car. (Okay, seriously people, I'm typing here with my eyes closed. How funny is that?) I was in kind of a rural area, so there wasn't a lot of traffic. I came upon an area where some road construction had been taking place, but the roads were open, but the survace was like this extremely thick, soft mud... maybe something like 6 or 7 inches deep. I didn't realize until it was too late that other cars had apparently been slipping in the mud. I think it was a bit like hydroplaning... everything was fine until I tried to slow down or stop. So, when I hit the brakes, I sunk down into the mud and began to swerve. Fortunately I avoided hitting anything, but I ended up in a ditch on the side of the road. By the position of the car, I knew there was no way I could pull it out or get it out on my own. In the dream, I either didn't think I would be able to find anyone at home who could come help me, or maybe I didn't have my cell phone (though, as mentioned above, I dreamed shortly after than it rang). Anyway, I was there fretting over how I'd get the car out. It seemed just beyond my reach... like the car was small enough that it was nearly possibly (yet I knew it was impossible) for me to get it out myself. I'm not sure what took my attention from the car, but when I turned back around, the car was no longer in the ditch. It was sitting just out of the ditch, slighty disassembled (though easy enough for me to re-assemble) and all clean. I remember being so thankful and believing it a true miracle... that God had been my rescuer.

What do you think it means? I'll give it some thought and blog about it later. In the meantime, I'd be happy to hear YOUR thoughts. :)

Okay... I'm going back to Zzzzzzzzzzz....

Rollercoasters

Seems strange that something I love so much in a tangible form can be so unpleasant in metaphorical terms. It's been that kind of week. I'm just tired... and yet can't sleep. I'd like to tell the operator to kindly stop the ride so I can get off.

Reminds me a bit of a clip from one of my favorite movies...

The Country

This is a poem by one of my favorite poets, Billy Collins...

The Country

I wondered about you
when you told me never to leave
a box of wooden, strike-anywhere matches
lying around the house because the mice

might get into them and start a fire.
But your face was absolutely straight
when you twisted the lid down on the round tin
where the matches, you said, are always stowed.

Who could sleep that night?
Who could whisk away the thought
of the one unlikely mouse
padding along a cold water pipe

behind the floral wallpaper
gripping a single wooden match
between the needles of his teeth?
Who could not see him rounding a corner,

the blue tip scratching against a rough-hewn beam,
the sudden flare, and the creature
for one bright, shining moment
suddenly thrust ahead of his time -

now a fire-starter, now a torchbearer
in a forgotten ritual, little brown druid
illuminating some ancient night.
Who could fail to notice,

lit up in the blazing insulation,
the tiny looks of wonderment on the faces
of his fellow mice, onetime inhabitants
of what once was your house in the country?

Happy New Year, Folks!!

Well, I think I've been blogging about a year now. I'll have to check that out when I finish here. :)

I slept in NYE... until maybe 8:30 or 9 AM. We were hosting a NYE party at Matt's house, so Matt and I hit the grocery store by 10:30 or so and spent the rest of the day baking and preparing food, save the short break we took to take lunch over to our friends, Jim & Babs. Luke was there, too, but we didn't take him any food. However, we did get to see him eat baby oatmeal for the first time. (Go Luke!)

We were hoping to have time for a break, but that never happened. We worked up until it was time for the evening's activity - The Amazing Race!! Tim & Laurel put together an "Amazing Race" for twelve two-person racing teams. It was quite a site, I'm sure. We were running all over Tulsa... finding clues and performing strange tasks. I have a video that I might be able to attach (with some help from David...). Anyway... Matt and I ended up winning the race!! It may have helped that the race ended at his house, so we had a certain advantage when we left the final stop with the (eventual) second place team. :)

Then we just partied down the rest of the night. Sounds like most everyone was sore from the race! Or... I could've been sore from laughing so much at the party. Mainly I laughed at JW for trying a bite of bleu cheese and gagging on it. :)

There are probably more details to share, but I'll have to do that in person. I'm tired and need to get in bed.

Happy New Year!!

Well, well, well. Do I have some stories to tell about Christmas 2005! It was a wild and crazy time. :) Actually, it WILL go down for the record books. Here's how it went...

Thursday, December 22nd...

I left Tulsa and rolled into KC around 3:30 PM, met up with my friend, Mike, and spent the afternoon with him (and a couple of friends who dropped in and out). Then, that evening we met up with a group of his friends for dinner and drinks at the Country Club Plaza. The food and company was all excellent (as to be expected). Mike was kind enough to give me a cheese serving tray for Christmas... most people have to be getting married to get such a gift! (Btw... Mike's in a great deal of trouble, too, because we had agreed NOT to get each other gifts... so I thought. Actually... that probably just means that I'M the one in trouble!!!)

I arrived home at my parents somewhere after midnight. Mom & Dad were in bed, but I let them know I was home.

Friday, December 23rd...

I got up somewhere around 8:30 AM and was informed by my Mom that if I wanted to go shopping with her and my sister (I did), I needed to be ready by 9 AM. So, I hurried and got ready and spent the vast majority of the day shopping. I bought very little, because I already had my Christmas shopping done (save the gift for Mike!). But, I had a very enjoyable day with Mom, Chelle and baby Natalie. (Yes, I got to tend to the baby!)

We arrived home fairly late in the afternoon and made preparations to head to Michelle & John's house for the evening's festivities. (The entire family was to congregate there for "Christmas dinner," spending the night and then opening gifts the next morning.) Said festivities took place and we eventually all settled in for the night. I slept in a twin bed in the spare bedroom with my niece, Erin, on a pallet on the floor.

Christmas Eve - Saturday, December 24th...

Baby Natalie started fussing about 5:45 AM, at which time Erin decided to crawl in bed with me. I was feeling a bit funny... sort of nauseous. I laid there a few moments but then got up to check on Chelle and the baby. I saw with her in the living room as she fed the baby. My nausea continued until the point I broke my fifteen year non-vomitting streak. I spent some quality time hugging the toilet that day. In fact, we had to open Christmas presents in between hugging sessions. So, the day was passed by 1) hugging said toilet, 2) sleeping, 3) opening gifts and 4) lamenting the fact I couldn't share in the holiday treats being enjoyed by my family.

That night, circa 8:30 or 9 PM, we made the decision to try and make the treck back to my parents' house. (I could continue my recovery from a full-sized bed that way.) I was feeling much improved and had even attempted some crackers and 7-UP... even a bit of chicken noodle soup. My Mom was kind enough to drive me. Half way through the 15-minute drive, I asked her to stop the car. I started thinking the trip wasn't a very good idea. Not only had the vibrations made me a bit queasy, but I was getting very light-headed. Mom pulled the car over, I fumbled around to get the door opened and I imagined piling out of the car and laying spread-eagle on the cold ground, in the cold night air. Instead, I laid out across the seat... and leaned back onto my Mom's shoulder. She later said I was sweating profusely. I'm not sure I really remembered everything that happened there, other than I leaned out of the car to cool down in the night air. I guess it's what I needed, because I was eventually recovered enough to finish the trip.

Christmas Day - Sunday, December 25th...

First of all, I should back up and explain that my parents had both had this strange "stomach virus" earlier in the week before I came home. So, there were certainly questions as to the contagiousness of the illness. I opted not to go to church, but since I felt better, I got ready to go over to my Aunt's house for the "big family" Christmas get-together. Our family convened after church at Mom & Dad's and we debated as to sanity of attending the big group function given our history of and potential future illness. We finally called and gave them a warning, but our presence was nevertheless requested. So, we all piled into two cars and headed for my Aunt Linda's house. By "all," I mean all of us except for my brother-in-law, John. He was already feeling a big uneasy, so he headed home. Good for him he did... he did a fair amount of toilet-hugging at home. My sister was not as fortunate. She did her toilet-hugging at my Aunt Linda's house. I figured we'd be the first of the family to leave, but we actually ended up being the last of the crew to leave. We toted my sister home, and she nearly made it; however, instead of running into the house to do her duty, she ran to the back of the driveway and delivered the last of her Christmas lunch.

At that point, we had two down - Chelle at Mom & Dad's house and John at his. Since we wanted to be one big happy, puking family. Dad went to fetch John so we could tend to them and the baby (who fortunately did not get sick) all in one location.

From Linda's house, David, Sarah and Erin all headed back to their house to meet Sarah's sister, Desiree. She arrived in town about 6 PM and had a plane flight early the next morning out of KCI. (They were making preparations to leave for the airport around 3:45 AM.) Mom assured them to call us if they were sick and needed any assistance with those plans.

Early, early Monday morning, December 26th...

Baby Natalie started fussing around about 2:45 AM. Since her crib was right next to my bed, I got up and tried to lull her back to sleep. No luck. Mom was sleeping on the couch (displaced by the sick couple), so I woke her to prepare a bottle (as I had been instructed before going to bed). Mom warmed up the bottle and was simultaneously startled by a ringing phone. Yup... you guessed it. David, Sarah and Erin were all sick. My Dad was shortly out of bed and out the door to go pick up Desiree and get her to the airport (afterwards returning to the other infected home to care for the suffering inhabitants). By that time, everyone was roused. Chelle, John, Mom, me and the baby all sat around the living room... agreeing it was an odd time for "family time." But, it was a rather humorous time marveling at the turn of events.

After catching a few more winks (until nearly 11 AM), we visited a bit more... talking of how memorable this Christmas would be, though maybe not for the reasons we had hoped. :)

I left for Tulsa a couple of short hours later.

What I learned...

If I'm going to be sick like that, I'd rather be sick around my family than anyone else. They love me and accept me... REGARDLESS. They even clean up after me (thanks, Chelle)! Though I'm sure we'd all have preferred NOT to be sick, it was neat that we could all take turns taking care of each other... moral support, making chicken noodle soup, holding someone's hair back, rides to the airport, etc. I have a very special family. And that was the best gift of all this Christmas!!

First of all....

I'd like to welcome my friend, Mike, to the world of blogging. It's a grand adventure, and I know you'll love it!

Christmas Parties, etc.

Well... 'tis the season. :)

Last Thursday was our small group's Christmas party. We had a lovely time - I think 17 people. We did what we normally do... visit and eat. We had a lot of good holiday snacks, and everyone seemed to enjoy standing around and chatting. But, we took some time to gather around and read through the Christmas story (Luke 2:1-20) and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas - the gift our Heavenly Father gave us in Jesus Christ his son! Then we sang some Christmas carols and shared in a special time of prayer. Other activities included an ornament exchange and more visiting/eating. Later in the evening, some of us gathered around the guitar and piano to sing some of our favorite hymns and praise songs. It was a very enjoyable evening. Those folks are so good for me.

Last night was our company Christmas party - quite a far cry from the small group party. :) A friend of mine was gracious enough to accompany me, and we had a good time. There were lots of food/beverages, interesting conversation and gifts exchanged. We had a "dirty Santa" gift exchange, where we were supposed to bring a "round" gift. I received the best number - #1. But, I was plenty happy with my original gift - ROUND Tortilla chips and salsa. Fortunately it was never stolen. All-in-all, it was an enjoyable evening as well. Though I don't have much in common with my co-workers, they're an entertaining lot.

So, that brings you somewhat up to date. I have nearly all of my Christmas shopping. What's ironic is that the gift I have left to get is the person's name who I was assigned for our family gift exchange. (Yes, that's YOU, Dad!) He can be somewhat challenging to buy for. I have part of his gift, but I need to get it finished up and wrapped. I think everything else is covered. So, my Christmas tree is looking perfectly happy with a small multitude of gifts under it.

Can't wait to see everyone up in KC! I'll be up there shortly!

Upon request... 

Sole Survivor

Well... she did it! Danielle "Dani" Boatright... Sole Survivor (Survivor Guatemala), winner of $1,000,000. I can't believe it really. I know I'm silly, but I had to dig out a picture to show my Tulsa friends - It's a picture of me and Danielle from my 13th birthday party. Very funny... and I'd post it here, but it's a rather humiliating picture of myself. :)

But... congratulations, Danielle! We've enjoyed watching and rooting for you!

You're Beautiful

I've found a new song I like - James Blunt's "You're Beautiful." It's kind of a depressing sort of song, but I'm somehow attracted to it. I was playing it here on the computer, but for some reason, I guess I can't blog and listen to it at the same time. Maybe I'll try it again now that I have this window up...

Ah, here we go. I have it playing now. I'm disappointed to see that it's been approximately six weeks since my last blog. No... I didn't forget my blog site, though I haven't thought much about blogging lately. I'd like to say that's because my life has been full of excitement lately. Unfortunately, I don't think that's the case. However, we are deep into the holiday season now, so I'll blame some of it on that. I have my Christmas shopping started... most of the "little things" bought, though I still have some of the bigger gifts left to buy.

I dunno... I think I'm getting kind of lazy lately. I can't seem to get myself in bed at a decent time, which means I'm not getting up very early in the mornings, which means I'm not working out. I have plans in my head to change that, but so far it hasn't happened. The Survivor Guatemala finale is tomorrow night. I think after that I may shut my TV down for awhile. In fact, it almost sounds good to me to take down the entire entertainment center... force myself to be more creative with my time. But, speaking of the Survivor finale - my classmate from high school has made it to the final four, so that should make the finale very interesting. Only sad part is that it airs during church tomorrow night. I think I'll just miss the first hour but high-tail it home to catch the 2nd hour of the finale. Maybe I can drag a couple of people over for an impromptu watch party.

Well, it's nearly 2 AM. I suppose I should force myself to crawl in bed. I suppose the two cups of coffee I had after 9 PM didn't help. Ah... caffeine... gotta love it!

Have a good night, world.

Don't Wait...

I was just reminded of this verse…

Ecclesiastes 11:4 (NIV) - "Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap."

In other words… "If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never plant anything and never harvest anything."

It's a nice reminder… we can sit around and wait until conditions are just perfect before we do anything… or we can step out, make plans, take risks and watch God produce the results.

That's pretty cool.

~Krista

Principles

"I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad - as I am now. Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth - so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane - quite insane: with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs. Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations, are all I have at this hour to stand by: there I plant my foot."

Charlotte Bronte, in "Jane Eyre"

Reason

"I can live alone, if self respect and circumstances require me so to do. I need not sell my soul to buy bliss. I have an inward treausre, born with me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights shoud be withheld; or offered only at a price I cannot afford to give. Reason sits firm and holds the reins, and she will not let the feelings burst away and hurry her to wild chasms. The passons may rage furiously, like true heathens, as they are; and the desires may imagine all sorts of vain things: but judgment shall still have the last word in every argument, and the casting vote in every decision. Strong wind, earthquake-shock, and fire may pass by: but I shall follow the guiding of that still small voice which interprets the dictates of conscience.'"

Charlotte Bronte, in "Jane Eyre"

The necklace

I received this forward today and thought it was worth archiving. :)

The cheerful little girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box.
"Oh mommy please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please?"
Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face. "A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.
Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere, Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night as he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"

"Oh yes, daddy. You know that I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh, daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection, the one with the pink tail. Remember, daddy? The one you gave me. She's my very favorite."

"That's okay, Honey, daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"

"Daddy, you know I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."
"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you."
And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.

"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"

Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, daddy; this is for you."

With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny.

He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the genuine treasure.

So it is, with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful treasures. Isn't God good? Are you holding onto things that God wants you to let go of? Are you holding on to harmful or unnecessary partners, relationships, habits and activities that you have come so attached to that it seems impossible to let go?

Sometimes it is so hard to see what is in the other hand but do believe this one thing
God will never take away something without giving you something better in its place.

Tranquility is Overrated

"It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquillity: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it."

-Charlotte Bronte, from "Jane Eyre"

Well... at least I know I'm not in a coma!

I completely smashed my finger on Wednesday night. Somehow I got it caught under the edge of my chair at dinner. The padded portion of the seat had come loose from the metal chair frame at the right front corner. So, as I was sitting down, and scooting my chair in, somehow my finger got in between the "padded" portion and the frame. It probably wouldn't have been near as bad if I hadn't been in the process of sitting down. I wasn't expecting it, so I think I wasn't sure what had happened... just that my finger was in incredible pain. It happened so fast, and yet it seemed it took forever for me to realize I had to stand up to get my finger out. Talk about pain! I honestly don’t remember the last time I was in pain like that. Surely I’ve been in more pain than that, but honestly… that could be about the worst (physical) pain I’ve ever had. I was just sitting there a few minutes not talking, because I didn’t think I could talk… particularly without crying. Then finally I tried to squeeze out a few words. I was slowly regaining my composure until someone asked how I was. Then I just pretty much lost it. Tears started streaming down my face. That continued for several minutes. Finally the throbbing dulled enough for me to continue on fairly normally.

I have a nice little bruise spot showing through my fingernail. A friend of mine has kindly suggested that the nail will probably fall off. :( I'm hoping that's not the case, as I don't think the squishing had any direct impact on the nail bed. But, I suppose only time will tell.

I did talk with a doctor-friend of mine today. She said that one of the tests to determine whether a patient is in a coma is to take a pin (pen?) and add a good deal of pressure to the fingernail (due to the fact it's such an intense pain). So... at least I'm thankful to know I'm not in a coma.

Frozen Grapes

They are my new favorite delicacy. :) I hadn't really ever thought about it, but a lady in the grocery line recently noticed that I was buying grapes and asked if I ever freeze them. So, I now bring them home, wash them and throw them into an old plastic ice cream container. It seems to meet a need... good healthy snack, refreshing, etc.

They come with my highest recommendation.

Blog Spam

I've been annoyed lately with the spam comments I've had on my blog. It's somewhat a challenge keeping up with them. But, I just discovered an option under my settings that turns on a "word verification." It asks someone leaving a comment to verify a word. This stops the spam and annoys any friend who wishes to leave a good-hearted comment.

So... friends.... please let me know if the word verification is so burdensome as to cause you to stop making comments. I would rather delete a thousand useless spam comments than miss one sarcastic comment from you. :)

Thanks!

My first time

Well... I ran my first 5K this past Saturday. I knew I could run the distance, but I was still a bit nervous about it. A friend of mine had talked about running but decided not to. So, I was half relieved and half nervous that no one would be running with me. I was a bit disappointed in that I stopped and walked part of the race. I attribute that to two things...

1) The course was very, very flat. Without the variation of inclinations, my left shin was experiencing a good deal of pain.

2) There was a 10K race as well, so I kept seeing the 10K markers... thinking I was much further along in the race than I really was. So, when I thought I was nearly done and saw the 2K marker, I was fairly overwhelmed.

But, I did finish the race, and I finished under the time I expected (barely). I won't post that here, though. Maybe when I improve my time significantly I'll start publicizing that information. I should mention... it will do you no good to look for the results. I actually paid for someone else's registration. So, I ran under a pseudonym. And if that's not enough, for some reason, even the pseudonym didn't make it into the race results. :)

True Love

I think the sign of true love will be when someone spends his hard-earned cash to play ridiculous games at the fair in order to win an unusually oversized stuffed animal for me.

A New Direction

Ah... at last... Fall is upon us!! The wind slowly stopped blowing from the south and started blowing from the north. It's brought some long-awaited cooler weather. It's supposed to get down to 49-degrees tonight, with only a high of 70-degrees tomorrow. Whoo-hoo!! I arrived home this evening after work and opened up several windows so as to have a nice breeze blowing through the house. It provided a nice change. I've also turned my A/C off... The electric company probably won't be happy, but I'm ecstatic!

So, welcome to Fall... another good reason to write a poem. I may have to do that later, though. It's past my bedtime.

G'night, y'all.

Weekend w/ Nat, et al.

I had a pretty busy weekend - went up to KC to spend a bit of time with my family. We had a family baby shower for Natalie on Saturday and her baby dedication at church on Sunday. The trip was way too short, but I was happy to be there. I would typically stay with my parents, but they had other company (namely my Grandma, Aunt Janelle and Uncle Eddie). So, instead, I stayed at Michelle's and John's AND NATALIE'S!!! So, I got some great quality time with the baby. I didn't even mind the occasional burping (Nat seems to love spitting up on her Aunt Krista!) and diaper changing. She's a real cutie, so somehow the rest doesn't bother me.

But, hats off to Michelle and John... and all parents for that fact. Parenting is not even comparable to a full-time job. It never ends...

Anyway, I've included a pic below so that you can get a small glimpse at Natalie's cuteness.

Nat 

Poems about Pancakes... Banana Pancakes

The following poems are dedicated to all of the banana pancakes in La Jolla, California...

Cove Cakes

Come to me, my darling pancakes -

Onto my fork and into my mouth!

Verify your status among all

Edible delights.

Cause my tastebuds to explode in jubilation,

And sing your praises in all restaurants, so everyone may

Know of your succulence and

Elevate your name on menus everywhere, thus

Securing your place on breakfast plates, both now and forever.

Banana Pancakes

As the first morning light pours into the room,

I feel a faint breeze across my cheek

as it makes its way in from the salty sea.

A seagull, acting as my own personal rooster,

wakes me from a peaceful slumber.

Oh what a day! A perfect day, I'd say!

After pulling on my faded jeans and getting dressed,

my feet take me instinctively to a quaint cottage -

the quintessential place for a leisure-filled day like today.

The menu begs for my attention, overwhelming me with possibilities -

a million varieties of eggs alone!

But, there's really only one choice for me - banana pancakes!

I KNOW I just had them yesterday,

but I'm helpless to resist their sweet and powerful invitation.

The pancakes swim through my senses - not just my tastebuds.

I know understand the woman behind me taking pictures of her breakfast.

How long can this last, you ask? Not long enough.

Before I know it, my bare plate stares me in the face,

asking me where my beloved pancakes have gone.

But, never fear! There's always tomorrow morning!

La Jolla

Well, well, well... I've finally experienced the worst of La Jolla's weather. It's been lightening most of the night. (This after the most amazing sunset tonight.) The lightening has been pretty spectacular, but has still stayed a fairly good distance from us. And the thunder has been plentiful... mostly the low-rumbly variety.

I'm reminded of a time I was in Ensenada, Baja California (not too far south of here), and some locals were trying to apologize for the 75-degree and sunny weather... the kind of day we midwesterners wait for all year long and then cherish for days and years to come.

I kept expecting it to pour down rain, because it seems that thunder and lightening of this kind are almost always companions of a wonderful thunderstorm. However, after what seems like hours of thunder and lightening, it only rained lightly, sprinkled really. It was enough for me, however, to get up out of bed and close the door to the veranda. And that was really more for the benefit of the homeowners than for my protection. In fact, I may open it again now, as it doesn't seem to be raining any more.

My trip has been delightful so far, if you were wondering. It's so nice not to be constrained by a daily planner. We get up when we will, eat at our leisure and do whatever we want, whenever we want. We've pretty much lounged around here - have done some reading by the pool, napping (for certain) and have taken some leisurely strolls down to the beach, occasionally stopping to play near the water's edge. I've more than once come home with the bottom of my pantlegs soaked with ocean water and coated with sand. We've also eaten at some nice restaurants... mostly choosing local flavor over any chain. Our only "deviations" were Wahoo (known for their fish tacos) and In-n-Out Burgers; however, even these are found only in California (or at least in this region of the country). My favorite have been some of our breakfast selections - Harry's and The Cottage. We made a trip in to the Gas Lamp District last night for dinner. Our selection was a place called "Johnnie Love's." It had a live jazz band and the best pork chop I've ever had.

I'll probably have more stories to add later, but really we've just kicked back to relax, so that limits some of the stories. I'll tell you about the books I'm reading later, too, as they have nothing to do with La Jolla itself.

Nat

I've included the best pic I have so far of my 4-week old niece, Natalie Renee. She's a cutie, no? :) I haven't seen her since her third day of live, but she'll be coming to visit me on Friday!!!! I'm very excited to hold her. I've had much more face time with the Tulsa babies, so I'm anxious to catch up on holding my niece. My 3-year old niece, Erin, will also be in town this weekend, and her birthday was last week. So, we may need to have a bit of a celebration when she gets here, since I wasn't able to make the party last weekend.

Well, I've been feeling kind of sickly today... nothing real particular... just not quite right. I stayed home as to make a quick recovery. So, I s'pose I should be in bed.

Have a good night, all!

Natalie 

Das bebes

Well, I had the babies (and parents) over tonight for dinner. I made my Grandpa Looney's "saucy chicken and rice." Mmmmmm. I haven't had it in ages, and it wasn't as good as I remember Grandpa's being. But, it was pretty good. I was hoping to make his hard rolls, too, but my lawn needed some serious attention, and it won out.

Luke & Seth are both pretty cute. I was hoping they would be a bit more lively, though. They just slept most of the time. It was good to get everyone together.

I'm anxious for my fam to come next weekend for Labor Day. I'm looking forward to seeing them all. But, I'm particularly looking forward to seeing my new niece, Natalie. :) I'm sure she's changed a ton in these past few weeks since she was born!

Claim to Fame

I just found out that one of my high school classmates is one of the cast members on the next Survivor - Survivor Guatemala. I guess I'll be watching. It looks like she's an early pick to win, too (based on the casino odds)! Good luck, Danielle!

Birthdays

Well, I turned another year older this week. Thirty-one seems quite a bit older than even thirty did. Oh well. I had fun celebrating with friends. Wednesday evening, my friend Matthew gathered several of my friends for dinner. We went to P.F. Chang's. It was the first outting with Tim & Laurel and baby Seth. So... I chuckled to myself during the dinner... as we struggled to find a place to put the baby. (I think he finally ended up under the table!) I just sat there and thought... "welcome to a new of life of friends with kids." But, we had a great time. Matthew paid for everyone's dinner, so that was a special treat! After dinner we went back to his house for cake and ice cream. It was a Chocolate Ganache cake that said, "Happy Birthday" in red lettering. It was yummy.

Thursday night (my actual birthday) was small group night, and I wasn't sure whether or not they were even aware of my birthday. I later discovered that they were WELL aware. We had Bible study at the regular time, but about 8:30 ten to fifteen more people came over to join the party! We had some good eats and fun games - including "Pin the Tail on the Donkey."

My notable gifts included... a bracelet, three tiered glass candle holders, a SNL video (best of Christopher Walken), Tuti-Fruity candles, soap from the Red Dirt Soap Company, the Beatles 1 CD and a small picture frame.

At some point this week, I tried to remember how I celebrated my Tulsa birthdays...

1999 - Went to Eskimo Joe's in Stillwater with the Mag 7
2000 - Ate with nine of my friends at Cardigan's
2001 - Moving Day (moved into a new apartment)
2002 - Celebrated August Birthdays over at Andra's house
2003 - Ate dinner at P.F. Chang's (with Matthew and Erin)
2004 - Semi-surprise party thrown by Matthew, and nearly slept through dinner with some friends on the day of my birthday (this one deserves a whole separate blog)!
2005 - Described above. :)

Coffee Cups, etc.

Hello good people of the blogging world! I haven't posted for nearly a week, and I've been missing it. I visited some friends the other night, and they were threatening to hunt down my blog. So... let me know J&B when you find it... :)

I had to get over to Pier 1 tonight, because I had a gift card that I thought would soon expire. (I realized after getting there that I have another year before it expires.) It's not that I don't like Pier 1 or can't find things there I like. The opposite is more the case. I like so many things that I can't decide on one thing to use the gift card on. I'll think... "oh, that's neat," but "I guess I really don't need that." So, I vascillate between liking things and vetoing them because of their impractical nature. But, I finally decided on something tonight - two somethings actually - twelve somethings, really. I bought a set of heavy ceramic mixing bowls (4 total) and eight coffee cups that look to be hand-painted - with brilliant colored vertical stripes on them. So, I ended up going over my gift card amount by $25. Figures. But, I think I'm happy with my selections.

So... I'm debating something recently... maybe you can help! I'm wondering if it's a terrible waste of money to hire someone to clean my house. Here lately I'm doing good just to get it picked up. It would make me feel much better to know it's getting a good thorough cleaning (dusting, moping, etc.) at least once a month. But, obviously it will cost me... probably between $30 and $50/month. I dunno. In some ways it seems like something I should be doing myself. But, I'm NOT doing it. And, I have a hard time truly relaxing when I there's cleaning yet to be done. So, I'd love for you to weigh in on the matter. Seriously, I want your opinion!

~Krista

Retrospect

We seem to be shaped and formed by so many things... some things we choose, others we do not. And often we do not know which things cause the most dramatic impact on our lives until we look back, many years later and see the path we left behind.

Curiosity

Why am I so afraid to know what would happen
If I stepped out of the boat?
In many ways I long to know
What it might be like
To feel the water beneath my feet -
For there to be a firm support
In the place I least expect it -
To step out, with my eyes firmly fixed

On He who can calm the storm
And bring unexpected change in every situation.
Why must I live so safely,
Surrounded by unwritten rules,
Which tell me that to step out is to risk my own life?
But then I'm reminded...
"Whoever wants to save his life will lose it,
But whoever loses his life for me will save it."

Baby-mania

Sorry for my delay in posting, but it's been a busy week. Here's the score...

Michelle & John - had Natalie Renee (my 2nd niece) on Monday (8/1)
Jim & Babs - had Luke Everett on Tuesday (8/2)
Tim & Laurel - had Seth Timothy on Friday (8/5)

How crazy is that?!?! My sister and my two dearest sets of married friends all had babies this week. I've seen all the babies, and they're all pretty adorable. I know each of these couples (as first time parents) are in for quite a radical change in their lives. But, I can't help but believe these radical changes may also affect MY life.

Ah, I feel a season of change coming on...

Anemia

I was scheduled to give blood today, but fortunately my iron-levels were too low. I say "unfortunately," because I had such a bad experience the first and only time I gave blood. No... the phlebotemist didn't poke around in my arm too many times. The actual giving wasn't too bad. But, I was worthless the rest of the day... and I ended being sick all week long. I realize these things may not have been directly related to giving blood. So, I keep telling myself I'll give it another try, because I really do think it's a good thing to do. But, I always leave a bit happy when I find out my iron levels are just low enough that I can't give. :)

Have a happy night. We're still in the countdown...

Social Butterfly

I was kind of hoping Baby Natalie would make an appearance this weekend. I've been waiting for the call. Odd thing is... I've received phone calls during the night the past TWO nights! Craziness. I rarely get calls after I've gone to bed, so it's been very odd. My first thought is.. "what's happening?"... then "who could be calling me at this hour?"... then... "oh my goodness... Michelle's gone into labor!!!!" However, that's not been the case. Two nights ago, I had a call about 3:45 AM. There was no one there. So - wrong number or something. Then last night, I got a call at 1:15 AM, but it was my friend, Mike, trying to convince me that Michelle had gone to the hospital. I didn't fall for it, though. I felt pretty certain I would have gotten a call before Mike! :) I better anyway!!!

So, it's actually worked out well that there hasn't been a baby yet. I had no less than five different offers for fun activities today - 1) go to the lake with my friend Melody and her family, 2) have dinner over at my friend, JW's house, 3) drive-in movie with a large group of friends, 4) dinner/cards and Tim & Laurels and 5) dinner/etc. at Jim & Babs'. Obviously it wasn't humanly possible to do all of those. So, I ended up doing #1 and #2. They all sounded fun, though. The lake was particularly fun! I was a bit hesitant for several reasons... 1) the baby watch, 2) needed to mow my lawn, 3) a bit of a 3rd-wheel arrangement, 4-10) swimming suit. :) But, in the end, I thought it sounded like a lot of fun... and I was right!! We water skiied and tubed. I wasn't planning to water ski, because last time I tried, it was a miserable failure. But, I went ahead and tried it anyway. It wasn't great, but I did at least get up... if only for a few BRIEF moments. I have a nice bruise on my inner thigh, though. I though I had enough padding there, but apparently not. :) So... it was tons of fun, and I got some sun. But... now I'm fairly exhausted. So, I'll say goodnight now.

"Goodnight!"

"Diary of an Old Soul" by George MacDonald

How many helps thou giv'st to those who would learn!
To some sore pain, to others a sinking heart;
To some a weariness worse than any smart;
To some a haunting, fearing, blind concern;
Madness to some; to some the shaking dart
Of hideous death still following as they turn;
To some a hunger that will not depart.

To some thou giv'st a deep unrest - a scorn
Of all they are or see upon the earth;
A gaze, at dusky night and clearing morn,
As on a land of emptiness and dearth;
To some a bitter sorrow; to some the sting
Of love misprized - of sick abandoning;
To some a frozen heart, oh, worse than anything!

The messengers of Satan think to mar,
But make - driving the soul from false to feal -
To thee, the reconciler, the one real,
In whom alone the would be and the is are met.

It's raining babies!

You've no doubt heard of the song, "It's Raining Men." Well, very soon, it's going to be raining babies. Here are the official due dates...

Aug 8 Michelle (my sister)
Aug 10 Laurel
Aug 18 Babs

So, as you can see... it's going to be a crazy month of babies. We're really expecting Michelle's and Laurel's any time. Since Chelle is in KC, I've let her know that Friday afternoon (7/29) would be a good time to go into labor, as that will allow me to make it up there for the whole experience. I saw Laurel tonight. She's waddling quite a bit more than normal and seems to be very uncomfortable. I think Tim's expecting it sometime in during the coming week.

Anyway... I continue to pray for these ladies and these families. Not only are they dear friends of mine, but I have at least a vague idea as to how dramatically their lives are about to change! I'm anxious to bear witness to all these little miracles! :)

By the way, folks...

... I made it to 3.0 miles last week. Some people can make it in 30 minutes. I made it in a month. :)

An Attempt at Nose-Piercing

This past weekend, I pulled a wire hanger from my closet and noticed a moth (not a moth, really, but a piece of fuzz) floating near my face. With my cat-like reflexes, and forgetting what I held in my hand, I attempted to swat at it. As I did, the hook of the hanger caught my right nostril. Ouch! I thought I may have pierced my own nose, it hurt so bad. I expected there to be blood pouring out of my nose, but I apparently didn't injure it too badly. It just hurt like the dickens.

So, beware, my friends, of the nefarious wire hanger.

Some big shoes to fill! 

Erin 

Erin & Aunt Krista 

Fathers and Daughters

It was brought to my attention today that boys/men can be intimated about dating a girl who has a strong relationship with her father. I hadn't ever thought of that before, and I wouldn't have guessed that to be true. But, I checked with a guy friend of mine tonight, and he seemed to agree. (The original statement was made by a girl-friend of mine.)

I guess the theory is that if a girl has a good relationship with her father, that usually means he's very involved in her life. It also implies that he'll be attentive to who she's dating and will go to great lengths to make sure she's only getting the very best. So... obviously the bar will be set very high for any potential suitors.

That makes perfect sense to me. It just makes me wonder if I'm a little bit too verbal about how wonderful my father is. :)

Love you, Pops!

Sacrifice

I'm not exactly sure what I want to tell you tonight. I have a variety of thoughts running through my head. First, I'll tell you about the softball games last night. We had the early games (6:30 and 7:30), which is unfortunate given the heat advisory. My best guess is that it was somewhere between 101 and 105-degrees when the first game started, with the sun blazing down on us. The first game was pretty miserable... measured both in sweat and score. :) But, I did catch a nice line drive. (I was playing 2nd base.) It was hit pretty hard and stung a bit when it hit. The umpire standing behind me asked me later, "did that scare you?" I'm not sure if expected that a ball hit like that would be scary for a girl or if HE was just scared of it. Either way, I responded, "no." I mean, it was hit right to me. I didn't have to do anything... except sacrifice a blood vessel in my finger. It's nice and purple today. :)

We were trailing pretty bad in the second game, but in the very last half of the last inning, we scored five runs and tied it up. Surprisingly, we held them for two or three more innings! Finally we up at bat again (bottom of the 8th inning, I think). First two batters (including myself) got out, but then one of the guys on our team got a home run... not out of the park, but far enough out that he could fly around the bases! It was an exciting end to a soggy evening.

Go Team!!

There IS such a thing as a stupid question

“There’s no such thing as a stupid question.” I’m sure you, like me, have heard this phrase a countless number of times – usually it’s coming from the mouth of a teacher or supervisor of some sort. Well, I was put here on this earth to prove those people wrong! Now, I could give you a multitude of examples of truly stupid questions I’ve asked, but I’ve reserved this place to tell you about the quintessential stupid question.

I used to be an auditor in a public accounting firm, and I traveled around to various client offices to perform financial statement audits. In the course of my work, I got to know personnel at each of my clients; however, some clients were fairly sizeable, so I didn't know all of the personnel. I’ve got pretty good at calling up someone from a client’s phone list, introducing myself and then going to meet with them in person. Okay, I think that’s enough background. One fine day I needed to call someone in the credit department at my client’s office. The room I was sitting in was practically in the middle of the credit department, so I knew when I phoned “Amy” that she was, most likely, sitting right outside my door. In fact, as I was talking to her on the phone, I noticed a girl right outside my door who was also on the phone. Her back was toward me, though, so I couldn’t verify it was her. So, in all my brilliance and professional training, what was it I asked so as to verify it was her?

“Are you on the phone right now?”

I Can't Hear You!!

Well, I don't know what it is. Maybe I'm developing allergies. Many people say, "I never had allergies until I moved to Tulsa!" So... maybe they're just now hitting me. No, my nose isn't running, and my eyes aren't watering. However, my ears are plugged up. It's not extreme, just annoying. It almost feels like I'm at a high altitude and my ears need to pop. Or, it kind of feels like I have a head cold... with none of the other symptoms. Physically I feel fine.

So, I've had some friends and co-workers suggest that a decongestant might help... or maybe an antihistamine. I haven't made it to the store yet to get anything. It's been going on for two to three weeks now... about the same amount of time I've been running. Hrmmm...

I have definitely been outside more this year than other years, so maybe there's some truth to that. Of course, maybe I'm just losing my hearing. :) Several of my friends may agree with that... "what?"

Speaking of running... I'll be doing that again in the morning. So, I best crawl in bed. Zzzzzzz....

Countries

Here's a list of other countries I've been to...

Mexico (Juarez and Ensenada through Tijuana)
Spain (Madrid, Burgos, Segovia and San Sebastian)
France (Paris)
Germany (Kiel, Berlin, Lubeck, Frankfurt airport)
Bahamas

I think that's it. Here I felt like a world traveler. I guess I had better get busy traveling!!!

States

Here's a list of all the US States I've been in...

Kansas
Oklahoma
Colorado
Missouri
Nebraska
Texas
Arkansas
New Mexico
Arizona
California
Utah
Illinois
Michigan
Florida
Georgia (Atlanta airport only)
New York
Washington D.C.
Maryland (Airport to D.C. only)

I think that may be it. I don't have a map sitting here with me. I'll have to verify later. It also seems like maybe our family went to Wisconsin?? I'll have to do some investigative reporting to figure that out. :)

Progress

I've been running fairly consistently the past few weeks. I'm back up to 2.25 miles. (The most I've ever run at one time is 3.0 miles.)

It's strange that I would be running at all, given my history with running. My Senior year of high school marked the final year of physical education, and one of the "tests" we had to take was running the mile. Our goal: run it under 8 minutes. I guarantee you, I've never run an 8 minute mile. Supposedly we would have three attempts to master this 8-minute mile. I had P.E. the last hour of the school day, and it just so happened that our softball team had a game right after school. Most of the girls on the team decided to walk/jog the mile slowly... figuring they'd have other chances to run the mile. I, on the other hand, was determined to NEVER RUN THE MILE AGAIN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!!!!! So, I ran, and I ran hard. You'll be happy to know that I finished the mile in 7:59!!!!! Yes... it was a modern-day miracle. However, I didn't make the softball game. I was so exhausted from running that I finally told the girls to leave without me and tell the coach I wouldn't be at the game. It took me quite awhile to make my way to the office (upstairs and on the opposite side of the school)... in fact, I had to stop and sit down in the hall to rest up for the remainder of the journey. When my mom came to pick me up (probably 20-30 minutes later), apparently my face was still beet red. But on a happy note... I made an "A" in P.E. that quarter. All of my softball girlfriends never had another chance to run it and so got "B"s.

You probably wonder how I ever even thought to start running again. Well, my last year of college, I had a crazy group of friends who made a pact. Among other things, this pact called for each of us to get at least three cardiovascular workouts a week. They were easy to get if we were all doing something together... raquetball, tennis, etc. But, I didn't have a good activity to do by myself. (There were harsh punishments for not getting the activities in. Mostly the punishments consisted of taking someone - the person who called you out on not getting them done - to dinner. Obviously to "call someone out" first, this meant frequent midnight calls at the designated end-of-the-week. I even got a call near midnight in a hotel room in NYC. Fortunate for me, I had run stairs in the hotel... my sister, however, was not so dedicated and suffered the consequences when she returned home.) Anyway, I decided to go running one day... see what it must be like. I remember being impressed that I could run one whole mile without stopping (after five years or so of NO running). I made the mistake of mentioning that to one of my friends. He suggested we should run together, which I quickly shot down. One day at work, though, he left me a note that said, "Would you be interested in either running or playing raquetball after work?" I responded, "RAQUETBALL would be fine." However, somehow he overruled me, and we started running together. As they say, "the rest is history."

I haven't run all the time since then, but I have found a few people here and there who run and keep me consistent for a period of time. So... hopefully this current trend will continue. :)

Another SYDM Uncertainty Quote...

"There is only One who is certain; everything else exists in the realm of uncertainty. To place our trust in anything other than God is nothing less than superstition."

SYDM Quote on "Uncertainty" - by Erwin McManus

"Don't wait for Him [God] to remove all the uncertainty. Realize He may actually increase the uncertainty and leverage all the odds against you, just so that you will know in the end that it wasn't your gifts but His power through your gifts that fulfilled His purpose in your life."

100 lb. Weight Around My Ankles

This past weekend was extremely busy and didn't allow for much R&R. So, naturally, I headed into the week feeling very stressed and overwhelmed. It just seems that I have so much to do and I'm falling further and further behind. My house is a wreck, and every night seems filled with responsibilities. Though I should have attacked some of those last night, I came home, did a bit of reading, napped for about an hour and just took it easy. It's amazing... I can't really fully relax, though, with a messy house. I was supposed to go to St. Louis this weekend with a group from church for a mini-mission trip. However, I've made the command decision to stay home and catch up on things. I was going to need Friday off for the trip, so I think I'll go ahead and take that day off anyway. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

I'm feeling unsettled about a few things right now, and I'm looking forward to jumping a couple of years into the future. I'm reading "Seizing Your Divine Moment" right now, and the chapter I just finished, Chapter 3, is on "Uncertainty." So, I suppose it was very timely. The one certainty (and really ONLY certainty) we have is God. That should be enough... right?

Reflections on days past

Well... it's official. I'm old. I actually used the phrase "when I was in my twenties" today. I caught myself as I was saying it and realized it's the first time (probably of many times) I've used that phrase. Golly.

It's been an enjoyable but busy weekend. I had two softball games last night. I started out being fairly disappointed in my play, but I ended up hitting pretty well and making a few good plays. (I also made a few bad plays to balance it out!) We ended up losing the first one (barely) and winning the second (barely). But, all in all, it was a fun night... good weather... it helped that we played the later games (8:30 and 9:30). After the games, a couple of friends came over and watched a movie. So, it made for a really late... I mean... early night. (3 AM to be exact.)

I ran around most of the day today... met some girlfriends for lunch. We've been reading the book "Wild at Heart" and trying to learn a bit more about the men in our life. (I know... you're asking "What men?!?!") Anyway. All I've gleaned from the book so far is that I do not understand men in the slightest. And, I'm starting to rethink my need for one. After that, I ran about town to get a shower gift for a co-ed cookout/wedding shower for this evening. Bought some stuff for them... bought some stuff for myself, too. I got home just in time to get ready for the shower. The shower was fine. I was stressed out on the way over there... I've just had way too much going on lately. And... the cake I had ordered looked absolutely terrible. Matt and I took a picture of the cake to serve as proof to take back to the store where it was purchased. However, unbeknownst to me, Matt erased the pictoral proof and was about to re-take a picture of the cake when he dropped his camera into the cake. No kidding, folks. He wiped out a nice chunk of the icing.... it figures of course that the crappy writing remained unharmed. So he spent the next half hour trying to remove icing from his digital camera. But, I think the shower was a success. It was nice to see Joe & Allisha (who will wed two weeks from today). I think we helped them get a bit more prepared for their new life together.

I'm home now and ready to crawl in bed. Tomorrow's going to be a booger of a day.

Krista

Great Expectations

A friend pointed out to me today that I've lagged a bit behind in posting to my blog. :) So... here goes. I won't attempt to catch you up, because way too much has happened this past week. However, most of it isn't that notable.

I spent this past (4th of July) weekend in Kansas City visiting my family, attending weddings, host(ess)ing baby showers, painting trim and playing with my niece. It was an enjoyable, but incredibly busy weekend. While I was home, I took time to visit my Grandma. I hadn't been there long... just barely sat down when Grandma maneuvered around to look at my hands. She said, "I was just checking to see if there was a ring on your finger yet." Ha! I responded, "Did you think there MIGHT be?" I haven't given her (or the family) any reason to hope that might happen in even the distant future, so I was a bit surprised and actually thought she might be confusing me with someone else. :) She said, "you never know." Well, Grandma... I pretty much know. Then she went on to tell me about how her sister, Esther, never got married... never seemed interested in it. I think she meant it to be somehow encouraging... Um.... thanks, Grandma. :)

Well, I've started running again and will do so tomorrow morning. So... I'm going to hop in bed. But first... MY highlight from the weekend was seeing my niece... she gets very excited when Aunt Krista comes to town! And I can (obviously) use the confidence builder!!!