I can't take myself anywhere!

So my highly skilled husband does my clothing shopping. Left to myself, there's no telling what I might wear. Yesterday, he kindly came home with a very cute, modest, and trendy outfit. One that makes me feel young and hip. Well, I wore it today, feeling very sophisticated, young, trendy, cute, modest, proud, and having a spring in my step. Had anyone ever looked so well outfitted as I did? I took my hip little dog walking in the park, tip-toeing through the tulips, and then I did grocery shopping at two stores and I ran into a friend from church, too. I got home and made my lunch, and then I discovered the real reason all eyes were on me and my slick new outfit--it was because I had forgotten to take the big adhesive size tags off! Talk about your Halloween nightmare. That's what I get for being so cocky. You can put the girl in smart and sophisticated clothes, but you can't make the girl smart and sophisticated.

Kindness, books, and 2 movie references

Have you ever gotten a gift so kind, so thoughtful, that it just made you giddy, like a small child, running around like a happy chicken with its head cut off? Philippians 2 tells us to "look also to the interests of others." I briefly mentioned in a post long ago my admiration for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. The wit, humor, and good grammar contained in these books have gained my utmost respect. I think any human person would enjoy them. Just a day or two ago, I received a package in the mail. It was a package like no other package. One of my favorite related readers of my blog, and a conniseur of fine books, had sent me the last book in the series. I almost cried at the sheer kindness, but I was able to K.I.T. : Keep it together, keep it together, keep it together.

Happy New Year's, King Alfred!

So it's not really New Year's Day unless your'e counting from last Oct. 25, which is perfectly fine if you ask me. Today is a New Year's Day for me because I have made a resolution. Recalling the orderly and disciplined life of King Alfred the Great, who began translating the Bible in the seventh century, I have been inspired to divide my day into three portions of 8 hours each. One portion will be for sleep. One will be for cleaning the house, taking care of the dog, working out, reading, praying, and generally being productive and maximizing that time. The final portion of the day will consist of recreation and rest, relaxing with friends and family.

Affliction reflections

My closest friend tells me I am an excellent friend, and a good listener. I am always there for here. I wish I could say that I go out of my way to be that kind of a friend, or that it is even a choice I have made. The truth is that all that virtue was "forced" on me. Not being able to drive, I have no choice but to be here for her always, and to listen to her. Am I glad? Yes. If it takes illness and limitation to make me available as a daughter, sister, wife, friend, aunt, who always will have time to sit and chat, then I am very glad for my condition.
I went to a memorial service yesterday for a dear sister in Christ, a woman loved by many. As much as this woman and I had in common, it was not until she was forced by her illness to stay at home and be still that we got to relate to eachother as sisters and co-heirs of the grace of Christ, as women, wives, friends and ladies who like to take pictures.
God has His greater purposes in mind in all the joy and sorrow that comes in to our lives. He can be trusted whatever our present circumstances, and we who are His children can be certain that He is always working for our good.

A new horizon, a replacement, and a questionable word

There is something new on my horizon-it is a new journal. My previous journal is now completely filled-and if youv'e been a long time reader of my blog, you know I really mean COMPLETELY, as I waste no paper leaving spaces to denote a new entry, but rather I simply change ink color. The beloved "old" and now obsolete journal was given to me by a very thoughtful friend. Each page has a little dog in the corner, and the cover features a red-headed woman sitting at a sidewalk café with her little dog. It could almost be me except that the red hair is on the wrong head. The new journal was also a gift-from me to me. It has a thick plastic cover which is a beatiful replica of a clear blue sky with some beautiful cumulous clouds.
As I was attempting to fall asleep last night, surrounded by my housemates (Mr.M to the left and Rufus the little red dog to the right), I thought about my new journal. I also thought about how I was slowly being squeezed into an ever smaller sleeping space. My guys were squeezing me out! I was squoze. I experienced a squeezing, and now I have been squozen.

. . . Jokers to the left of me, clowns to the right . . .

Only one thing is necessary.

We had a surprise party at our house for my dearest friend's birthday. Thirty, flirty, and thriving. I'd been planning it for a while, attending to all the details by way of delegation. As I sat outside not an hour before the party, I realized my worry over the details was senseless; we already had the one and only thing we needed, a handful of good friends. The decorations, clean house, food, music, and well-groomed dog were nice, but like Solomon says in the book of Proverbs, "It is better to have a bowl of vegetables in a house where there is love, than to have a five-course meal in an empty house." (Otis Merster Version)

SO . . .

I just got back from a business trip; actually my husband had the business, but my business is my husband, so you could say I, too, went on a business trip, although my business consisted more of shopping and sightseeing and going out to breakfast and dinner, and taking after-dinner strolls with my husband-generally just being a wife. We had a lot of fun. It was a huge Audio Engineering Society conference in San Fran. Yesterday after shopping (I found the most wonderful shirt!), I saw "Little Miss Sunshine." Pretty funny-definately worth renting, movie theaters are ridiculously expensive, and at home, you have your own chair, some food, your own bathroom, and hopefully a floor no one's spilled soda or ice cream on. I'll put some nice photos on my flickr page.

A miscellaneous marriage moment, missionaries, and a missing diamond.

The evening started off well, with a regularly scheduled trip to Target for some various necessities. We bought our necessities, and on our way out, ran into the friendly four-member Fickett family. We chatted a while, and were soon met by Mr. and Mrs. Wolf, missionaries to the Jewish community. After some small talk, and some laughing at our all having skipped evening church in order to go to Target, we parted ways, and Mr. M and I went a few doors down for dinner. After our enjoyable edibles, we ran into the friendly Fickett foursome on their way out of Target, and they passed on the sad and enthralling news that a woman had lost the diamond out of her ring somewhere in Target. So Mr. M and I intended to go find the lady's diamond and be heroes. We walked into Target, and sitting near the door were the Wolfs -not wolves-, and so we just sat with them chatting, learning all aboot Canada, Canadians, and the French, and we all shared our testimonies, and quite a few laughs. Mr. M and I did get to do a quick run around the store in search of the missing jewel. No luck. Now we are just imagining a twenty thousand dollar diamond in a vacuum bag that will be thrown away without a second thought.