Spring Break Cleaning?

Once I actually realized that my family was far, far away and I was here all by me onesie, I decided to capitalize on the opportunity and plan some fun and frivolity to while away the time.  Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans...

Instead of fun and frivolity, I find myself cleaning.  I know.  There is something inherently wrong with combining Spring Break and Spring Cleaning, but the fact is that OCD does not regard one day or festival above another...and when OCD demands a thorough cleaning, though it be Spring Break, the soul which it inhabits, obeys.  (If he commandeers another of my perfectly good holidays, I may be begging for an exorcism of the OCD demon.)

Here's where I began: I emptied son #2's room of every single thing:

After which I cleaned curtain rods, windows, ceiling fan, chair rail, baseboards, and floors.  I then proceeded to clean ALL THE THINGS before moving them back into the room.  One of the ideas behind doing this is to get rid of stuff, but this one is pretty good about doing that himself on a regular basis.  I think I ditched 1 coat and a few school papers...AND ABOUT 137 AIRSOFT PELLETS!!!!!! (deep cleansing breath...).

When I go through this process, I learn things about my children based on what things they have chosen to keep and the way in which they organize them (or don't).  #2 is very organized and purposeful and methodic in all of this.  He likes to collect things, but these things are sorted and contained.  If you open the main drawer of his desk, he has sorted pens, pencils, highlighters, rubber bands, etc.  You know...the way things OUGHT to be!

I was also reminded, as I've told you before that he has a protective "hero" instinct...as reinforced by the fact that THIS is what he stores next to his bed.

Remind me never to startle the child in the middle of the night!

1 room down...too many to go...and I'm already tired!  Getting old.  Very, very old.  Sigh...

Vacation Time

Vacation Time = Reading Time.  What else is a girl gonna do who's holed-up in a cabin for 10 days with the In-Laws?  Well, besides hike through the mountains, lay on the beach, ride bikes and go boating on Lake Tahoe.  But other than THAT?

I make my choices carefully.  This time I have opted to take several books which have been given or suggested to me in the last year:

The Hole in Our Gospel - this was recommended by an old friend, who apparently thinks I need to be challenged spiritually.  Thanks a lot, Richard. 

The idea behind The Hole in Our Gospel is quite simple.  It's basically the belief that being a Christian, or follower of Jesus Christ, requires much more than just having a personal and transforming relationship with God.  It also entails a public and transforming relationship with the world.

Failure is Not an Option - Gene Kranz's account of his years at NASA.  A birthday gift from LAST summer that I'm just now getting to.  Thank you, Bill & Barb. 

Kranz reveals little-known details to demonstrate the leadership, discipline, trust, and teamwork that made the space program a success.

Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend - a compilation of stories, essays and poems written by women on the topic of baseball.  Also recommended...by a FB friend whom I have never met.  Thank you, Bill Feil.

And finally:  I can't believe I'm admitting this publicly, but I have begun reading The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo - A NYT bestseller which was recommended to me by...shall I say...an elder gentleman who knows I like to read.  Thank you, "Grandfather", for broadening my literary horizons. 

So, wish me happy reading and know that you probably won't hear from me for a week or two, unless I unexpectedly have access to a computer while I'm there!

Oi-Vay

Remember those frequent speed limit changes about which I previously complained?  So...yeah.  Apparently I missed one of them on the way home.  That $200 which I so frugally saved by cleaning the rental house myself, is now lining the pockets of the Alabama State Highway Patrol. 

I Love the Beach

Wow

From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be exalted.

I HAD a Dream

I've been camping out near a naval base in northern Florida for the last couple of weeks and the daily flyovers have reminded me of  a dream I relinquished long ago.

From my mid-teen years until well after college, I had a dream of becoming a fighter pilot.  Really.  I'm not sure exactly what initially sparked and held my interest, but I have a long-standing love affair with speed and adventure, an attraction to risk and a desire to surprise people by doing what is not expected of a girl.

Don't get me wrong.  I had no desire to shed my femininity (though I've always had a bit of the tree-climbing tomboy in me), I wanted people to be shocked that I was a daring fighter pilot because of my femininity.  Those of you who know me...feel free to laugh at that.

I wasn't fully free of this dream until my first child was born.  I admit, even now, when I hear that roar overhead, the adrenaline starts pumping.  The difference is, I no longer feel the urge to DO something about it...just smile and enjoy the rush...vicariously. 

Marlboro Man Cab

I sit here basking in one of those rare discoveries for me...a wine which I love from the first sip to the last.  But this one is even more rare...because it ISN'T!  It's readily available.

All too often I taste a wine I can't wait to have again, only to find it is no longer available or it's inordinately expensive.  This one, however, is neither.  For most of us, at $16 it's not going to be an everyday bottle, but it qualifies as a regular.  I'm speaking of Rodney Strong's recent vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon.  Both the '06 and '07 vintages are quite good (the '06 is slightly better). 

It possesses those characteristics that I consistently, yet inexplicably, find desirable in a wine.  I am not a trained connoisseur, so my description is limited to my own layman's terms: it has an earthy, musty, smoky flavor reminscent of the barnyard...and which I have therefore dubbed "Marlboro Man."   That's the highest compliment I can assign to any wine.  Here is a readily-available, reasonably-priced, American-produced cab that brings it all together for me. 

551

That's how many of my steps it takes from the door of the house I'm occupying this week to the beach. 

Yes.  I counted them.  Out of curiosity, not out of an obsession for counting...though I do have that.  I often find myself subconsciously counting things...like the # of panes in a window, or the stripes on a wall, or tiles on the floor or stairs to a landing.   I also find myself mentally tracing lines and shapes and patterns through bricks, wood planks, wallpaper designs, etc.  Are these normal behaviors?  Does every mind operate this way or is it just mine?

I wonder if it's the same kind of brain function that causes me to "see" words in my mind.  What I mean is...I don't naturally see the "thing" which the word represents.  I first see the word itself...the written "composed" word before an image of the thing presents itself.  Is it similar to my compulsion to diagram sentences in my head?

I think all these behaviors may be related to my need to find order and structure in all of life.  I need to see the way things fit together and understand the relation of "this" to "that."  It's the way my mind makes sense of things.

And yes.  That means that when I indulge myself in a bag of M&M's or Skittles I visually, if not literally, sort them by color, just as I do my socks in the drawer.  Yes...of course they all have to face the same direction.

OK!  Enough already.  I begin to think myself deranged!

But you'll excuse me...I have 551 steps to walk to enjoy today's sunset.

I encountered another living soul today...a rare occurence in this veritable ghost town.  Apparently the Florida beach, in the middle of February, holds little attraction for normal people.

On my daily walk through the neighborhood, I heard a woman talking excitedly and I happened upon her suddenly.  She was alone.  Her appearance belied her state of mind...long grey hair, a quirky hat and a brightly-colored eccentric combination of apparel.  Her hands were dramatically elucidating her words for her invisible audience.  She seemed unphased by the appearance of a real human being and her monologue continued unabated.

For those of you who have attended the Whitaker Music Festival at the Missouri Botanical Gardens and have seen the "dancing lady"...that was this woman!  Happily inhabiting her own universe in the middle of a gated resort community. 

I was simultaneously amused and saddened.  What has her life been like?  Is she aware of her eccentricity or is she oblivious to it?  Is she distressed over her madness or is she happy in it?

I don't know.  All I know is that I hope she isn't alone, and I hope she has her very own Randy Stone.

Observations From A Roadtrip

Alabama really IS beautiful, as her welcome signs boast.

She also boasts:

The greatest # of tailgaters per capita...HOLY COW those people are impatient!

The most frequent speed limit changes.  I passed through dozens of reductions and accelerations from 65-25 and 25-65...in 10 MPH increments.  Aaaaaaagh!!!!

Real men.  Dozens of them on their Harleys in 45 degree weather, and trust me...on a bike, that's COLD!!!

Reba McEntire's vocal twin.  She mans the cash register at a backwoods gas station in Jasper, AL.  When I averted my eyes from her face, which bore absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to Reba's, I could have sworn she was in the room.  Not just the southern accent, but the word and phrase formation...uncanny.

Yes.  All of my observations were about AL, but out of the 12 hours I spent on the road, it seems 11 of them were in the great state of Alabama!!

In-Flight Entertainment

We catch a flight tomorrow morning for the California city which can make 8 days living with the In-Laws, not only bearable, but pleasantly anticipated! San Diego...here we come!

These flights to CA take 4-6 hours, depending on our route, stops, changes and layovers, plus we have to arrive at the airport AT LEAST 2 hours before our flight. So each of us takes a bag full of activities to occupy ourselves along the way. Can you guess whose bag is whose?

Bag #1:

1) Playing cards

2) Harry Potter VI (re-reading...in reverse order)

3) Mini DVD player

4) Waterhorse

5) Harry Potter IV (movie)

Bag #2:

1) Moneyball

2) The World is Flat

3) Basic Economics

4) The Outline of Sanity

5) i-Pod - Gillian Welch, Miles Davis, The Wailin' Jennys

Bag #3:

1) WCA Offensive Playbook

2) MO Driver's Handbook

3) Nicholas Nickelby

4) Clif Bars

5) i-Pod: Coldplay, Gaelic Storm, Relient K

Bag #4:

1) We Were One: The Battle for Fallujah

2) My Grandfather's Son

3) Free Adult-Beverage Coupons

4) Beef Jerky

5) i-Pod: Jimmy Buffet, Commander Cody, Meatloaf

Guesses, anyone? Whad'ya mean it's kinda obvious?! So, what do our choices reveal about us? Anyone care to psychoanalyze?

I won't be blogging this week...not that that's anything NEW! But I don't think I'll have access to the internet, so entertain yourselves elsewhere!

Back From NOLA

New Orleans surprised me. Not only is its downtown "proper" much larger than I anticipated, it is sprawled out in a way I never imagined. Satellite and aerial footage don't translate into reality for me.

NOLA is very much alive and very much a mess. We spent Sunday afternoon in the French Quarter where we sampled a variety of seafood at the ACME Oyster Company. The Chargrilled Oysters were simply fabulous, and we acquired a taste for some local brew as well (ABITA Amber and Turbo Dog). From there we walked through the Quarter, which was teeming with tourists, locals, marching bands - big football week, you know - and street performers. Of course we made the compulsory trek to Cafe du Monde for some to-die-for beignets and cafe au lait, then hung around Jackson Square for a little while. New Orleans has a decidedly un-Southern flavor and, to me, it felt much more like San Francisco than anywhere else I've been (except for its visual tributes to Southern Civil War Generals!)

Pastor Gibson (of Redeemer Presbyterian Church) told us that some - maybe even a good deal - of the messes we saw existed before Katrina, and have only been exacerbated by the storm. One of the most striking aspects of the city is that the majority of the neighborhoods don't fit in a category of "well-kept" or "slummy," but are a curious mixture of both...maybe 4-5 houses on a block would be really nice and the rest in varying degrees of disarray or reconstruction...or vice versa.

Apparently the flooding from Katrina occurred in similarly random patterns - one block would have 18" of water, a block or two over would be virtually dry, while the next might have 4' of standing water. Some of our best times this week were spent hearing people's "stories"...and they all have them. While we stood around waiting for homeowners to show up, or for dumpsters to arrive, we were able to engage with neighbors who are eager to tell their personal Katrina experience.

I was likewise struck by the resiliency of many residents who remain astonishingly hopeful in spite of the devastation and the many blunders by those on whom they relied for help. There is still an incredible amount of restoration, demolition and rebuilding to be done, yet residents expressed such gratitude at our coming to gut a couple houses...you would've thought we were building something new and beautiful. After all this time, the simple act of tearing out the old helps them cling to the hope that it will all be made new again.

The greatest encouragement arising from the rubble of New Orleans is that, in wake of the governments' failures, The Church is the one who is stepping up to the plate in a way that is too obvious to be ignored. Almost everything is being done by the People of God, and the Good News of the Gospel is being proclaimed loudly and clearly by the Church's sacrificial service.

Pray for renewal of the hearts, minds and culture of New Orleans, as the physical surroundings are renewed.

Friends In Low Places

We just returned from The Garth Brook, as our foreign hotel concierge called it.

And.....

I must say.......

I liked it. It pains me to admit it, but "the truth will out."

I actually had no idea what to expect, since I've never attended a REAL concert before. The kind where everyone remains seated and nobody screams don't count as real concerts.

For those who care, here's the scoop:

First of all, thanks to our host, we had terrific seats! The concert began around 7:40 with Trisha Yearwood (GB's wife) performing a couple of her old songs. She has an excellent, strong voice, but is unimpressive as an entertainer. She finished by about 8:00. We then waited while the stage was re-configured for Mr. Brooks, which took about 20 minutes, after which we waited and waited and waited some more. For nearly an hour, we received no communication about the delay...so I decided that Garth must've dropped dead of a heart attack or something and the powers-that-be were trying to decide how to inform the crowd without inducing mass hysteria.

In the meantime, the crowd inside the Sprint Center grew restless and performed round after round of.........the WAVE! Yep. The wave.

Finally, just before 9pm, Garth made his grand entrance. Not too grand or flashy, but fun, as he sprang onto the stage from underneath. We stood for the next 2 1/2 hours singing along with all the old Garth favorites...yes, I said "we." You see, I married a country music fan and thereby inherited a couple of Garth's Greatest Hits CD's...and I used to listen to them quite often. I might have even enjoyed them. Maybe.

Unlike his wife, Mr. Brooks is the consummate performer/entertainer. It was obvious that he was in his element and enjoying every minute as the recipient of our attention and adulation. The little hair he has left is completely white, but his energy and stamina were equal to a much younger man's.

So, even though I would never have pursued tickets for Garth Brooks on my own, and really did go because it was DK's birthday, I actually enjoyed the concert a great deal! Of course, the rest of the trip, hanging with our friends, wasn't half bad either. It pays to have friends in low places.

Boots Required

O, the things we do for the sake of "one-anothering" the Body of Christ. This may be my greatest sacrifice yet...

See, I have this girlfriend (whom I will refrain from calling a redneck), who LOVES country music. She eats, drinks and breathes it. Now, if you met her, you would never GUESS this about her...I certainly didn't. It's true nevertheless and this friend just had a birthday. For her birthday she invited my husband and me to join her and her husband at a country concert...but not just ANY country concert - a GARTH BROOKS concert. Now, you can't get much more bona fide country than that, can you?

The real sacrifice is laying aside my pride when people find out that I'm going to a GB concert. I have not revealed it to anyone (until now), but somehow the word is out...people KNOW! So, just so you all know...I AM DOING THIS FOR MY FRIEND. It is a supreme sacrifice of love. And the kicker? AFTER we accepted the invitation....OUT OF LOVE, I might add...they informed us that cowboy boots are required! Oh, dear.

This whole friendship-love-sacrifice thing just isn't all it's cracked up to be... ;-)

Happy Birthday, DK!

Old Girlfriends

Tonight I head down to Lake of the Ozarks with seven of my girlfriends from church. We've done this every November for 9-10 years now. When we started, most of our children were quite young (toddler- grade school) and most of us were dirt poor. Now 5 of the gals have kids in college, although the prolific ones among us still have little ones (3 is the youngest), and none of us are all that poor now either. We used to head out on our 3 1/2 hour drive late on Friday evening and we'd drive home Saturday night. Over the years, we have stretched the time on both ends...now leaving on Thursday afternoon/evening and coming home Sunday evening!

We laugh a ton, make fun of each other and ourselves (mostly each other), drink good wine and eat gourmet food in the evenings, and spend our days at the outlet mall. It's refreshing, even though we sleep little and go, go, go....

I thank God for the steady friendship of Christian women from whom I learn to be wiser, and with whom I can relax and enjoy the bountiful gifts we've received from our Father. And, of course, where would we be without faithful husbands who give us the freedom to do this?!

I'll not be blogging until at least Sunday PM. See ya!

San Antonio?

It's a BUST!

In spite of everyone's encouragement to the contrary, we made a practical decision based on the following:

1) The alloted time is too short - we have talked of going there for some time and this whirlwind trip would be our one shot...we would not have nearly enough time to do all we would like.

2) We couldn't see friends - there are two people I would like to hook up with if we go there and this timing doesn't work for that.

3) Steve's work - this is Steve's busiest time of year...he was willing to do it, but it will add some pressure to him unnecessarily.

4) It's too expensive - we always tell ourselves we'll get off cheap because the flights are free, the rental car is free, the hotel is free...but when we started listing all the things we would actually spend $ on (babysitting, nice food, tickets, attractions, etc.), it didn't add up for such a short trip.

So, thanks for your input, but in the end, the pragmatist trumped the romantic.

Monterey

Well, you know, Monterey gets a bit monotonous after a while:

This was Thursday evening's sunset:

This was Friday evening's sunset:

This was Saturday evening's sunset:

O-K, so maybe there was a little variety! They threw in a bagpiper on Saturday. Actually, we watched the sunset on Saturday from Spanish Bay golf course where the bagpiper closes the course each evening, beginning at the 1st hole and ending at the 18th...very cool.

The place we stayed was one house in from Ocean View Blvd. We only had to walk a few yards to get to the beach. Here's the neighborhood:

This is the house to the left of ours:

This is the house to the right of ours:

This is the house directly across the street:

This is our house:

It was comical...the interior must be original to the house, including the furniture...it was all very 50's.

And here's the house I want to buy in Pacific Grove (that's really where we were...) Look at all the photos of the interior and tell me this house isn't ME!!

Hey, I gotta go to choir! I'll talk more about Monterey later...

65 & Sunny...or Sunny & 65

Tonight my husband and I head to CA...to the Monterey/Carmel area. We will be joining his brother, sister and their spouses. They are an easy group to be with, so it should be a great time!

From what I understand, we will be visiting wineries on our first day then the boys will be playing golf the rest of the week. I have purchased several books to read:

East of Eden (apparently Steinbeck spent some time in Monterey and his Cannery Row developed out of his time there...)

Leepike Ridge (this is a recent publication by Nathan Wilson...supposedly an intelligent, rollicking boy's adventure story)

The Long Walk (a WWII story of some prisoners' escape and their arduous odyssey to freedom)

I don't know if I will have access to internet while I am there, so I may not post until next Monday...have a great week, everybody!

I Know How It Ends

This morning at exactly 3:34am, I finished reading Harry Potter VII. Being alone in airports and on planes for about 12 hours yesterday worked greatly in my favor!

While in Tahoe, Aunt Jan insisted we stand in line at midnight at a quaint local bookstore to purchase our copy...I didn't argue for long, but issued fair warning that I might be less-than-sociable from the moment the book reached my hands. Somehow, no one seemed to mind....hmmmm.

Tahoe is nothing short of glorious. We spent two mornings out on the boat, absorbing both the natural and man-made beauties. It is like nothing I have ever seen. The weather was ideal...50's at night and low 80's during the day...what more could a soul ask for? Life is beautiful.

The Joy of.....In-Laws?

In a couple of hours I head out to the airport. I will be whisked away to CA where I will spend the next four days with the women from my husband's family.

Before you pity me too much, let me remind you that Steve's mom, Gloria, is a hoot and the quintessential life-of-the-party no matter where she goes. She is incapable of encountering a human being without either learning his life story, or revealing her own. His quirky Aunt Jan possesses a subtle, sophisticated sense of humor, and his sister-in-law Shari is a normal gal who loves to talk. THEN...there is Steve's sister, Sheri, who isn't afraid to remind you that she remains SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE THRONE even outside her own house. And I love her for it. Her college-age daughters are delightful - Allison is the SOLE OCCUPANT OF AN INTELLECT within the group and together we can irritate the rest (especially the queen) by discussing matters about which they have zero knowledge. Kaly is competive and rarely loses anything...from Spit to Scrabble to the "who-got-the-most-gifts-on-this-trip" contest.

Anyway, we will spend Friday and Saturday at Aunt Jan's place in Lake Tahoe - easily the most beautiful place I have ever been...gorgeous hiking views - and we will play games, laugh and eat great food. Aahhh...life is good...even with in-laws.