Nobody’s reading blogs right now… November 27, 2009

But I stole this meme from The Jos.  Feel free to play, and leave a link in the comments if you do!

Things you have done during your lifetime:

( )Gone on a blind date

(X) Skipped school

(X) Watched someone die (my dad)

(X) Been to Canada

( ) Been to Mexico

(X) Been to Florida

( ) Been to Hawaii

(X) Been on a plane

(X ) Been on a helicopter

(X) Been lost

( ) Gone to Washington, DC

(X) Swam in the ocean

(X) Cried yourself to sleep

(X) Played cops and robbers

(X) Recently colored with crayons

(X) Sang Karaoke (if at a relative’s house counts

( ) Paid for a meal with coins only

( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch

(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t (photograph weddings, to name one)

(X) Made prank phone calls

( ) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans

(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out your nose

(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue

(X) Danced in the rain

(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus

(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe

(X) Watched the sunrise with someone

(X) Blown bubbles

(X) Gone ice-skating

(X) Gone to the movies

( ) Been deep sea fishing

( ) Driven across the United States

( ) Been in a hot air balloon

( ) Been sky diving

(X) Gone snowmobiling

(X) Lived in more than one country (lived in Brazil for a summer)

(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets

(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish

( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser

( ) Seen the Statue of Liberty

( ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle

( ) Been on a cruise

( ) Traveled by train

(X) Traveled by motorcycle

(X) Been horse back riding

( ) Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR

(X) Been to Disneyland (I would think Disneyworld counts)

(X) Truly believe in the power of prayer

(X) Been in a rain forest

( ) Seen whales in the ocean

( ) Been to Niagara Falls

( ) Ridden on an elephant

( ) Swam with dolphins

( ) Been to the Olympics

( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China

( ) Saw and heard a glacier calf

( ) Been spinnaker flying

(X) Been water-skiing (oh, was that painful!)

(X) Been snow-skiing

( ) Been to Westminster Abbey

( ) Been to the Louvre

( ) Swam in the Mediterranean

(X) Been to a Major League Baseball game (go Twins!)

( ) Been to a National Football League game (but I’d like to)

Yikes October 16, 2009

This video made me cry.  I can be quite emotionally volatile when pregnant, especially when it comes to babies.  Thank goodness the baby survived!

Something Trippy October 8, 2009

Have any of you ever watched The Wiggles?  A sweet co-worker passed along a few DVDs to us a few months ago and we watched one of them with Anja this week.  Wow, that is some weird stuff.  It’s like the proverbial train wreck (so awful you can’t look away).  I can’t believe they’re the highest grossing entertainment group in all of Australia!

I think my cold has gone to my brain, because I have nothing better to offer than this pathetic observation.  Hoping the fluids and rest will do me good by tomorrow!

Sunday Sunshine 09.13.09 September 13, 2009

Contrary to last time, This Is Why You’re Thin.  Thanks, tranabanana, for the link!

The mother in me cries when I read these posts, but the Christ-lover in me acts.  There are so many great organizations out there who help these sweet, needy children.  Are you supporting one?

5 Grammar Mistakes That Make You Sound Like A Chimp – I’m sure I’m guilty of some of these!

The Wonder of It All August 24, 2009

Where does our wonder go as we age?  Do we become so jaded by seeing the same things over and over that we lose any sense that they are special?

My daughter, bless her childlike heart, is thrilled by the smallest of things: a partially-deflated balloon, a bite of Mama’s cookie, raindrops.  Yesterday Husband and I had to do a bunch of unexpected painting and taping, and in an effort to keep her out of our hair (and paint out of hers), we plunked her in front of Planet Earth.  The exclamations of awe that poured out of her mouth at every item made me wish I had an old-fashioned tape recorder handy.  “Ooooooooh!  A BEAR!”  “Wow!  What’s that?  It’s…WA-ter, and it’s dripping.”  “Mama, yook!  The birds, they flying roun’ and roun’, and then, the TREES!”

I just stared at her, a little tearful at her joy.  God, grant us to have childlike wonder at Your creation each day.  Let us not take each bendable finger, each fluttering leaf, each thunderhead, for granted.

A Minnesota Staycation – Day 1 August 9, 2009

Starting last Sunday, August 2, we took a week-long staycation.  There is much to do in the Twin Cities, and in the three years we’ve lived here, much of it has remained undone.  I’m merely chronicling what our week looked like, in hopes that it might help out any other Minnesotans (or Midwesterners) looking for ideas.

Day 1 included:

• Sickness (both Anja and I were getting over nasty colds, putting a damper on our plans).
• NY-style pizza, picked up for us by Husband.  Unfortunately, it was hard for me to taste.  I liked the texture, and Husband raved about the sauce.  He, however, is biased, since he likes NY-style in general.
• A walk.
• Cost of $17.00.

Stay tuned for the recaps of the rest of our staycation throughout the week!

More Weirdness from Husband July 17, 2009

He sends me the most odd links throughout the day.  These don’t really have any political point, they’re just funny.

Amazima July 6, 2009

You will notice a new “quote of the month” (yeah, it’s been a few months…) and a new banner in my sidebar.  I’m not much of a banner person, so when I put one up, it is usually something very near and dear to my heart.

I spent quite a while tonight reading through the blog of Katie, a young woman who left everything she knew and, in the name of Christ, started a ministry in Uganda called Amazima.

Since 2007, Katie has brought food, teaching and the Gospel to over 300 children, including 13 that she now calls her own.  Did I mention?  Katie is 20 years old.  Praise God for people like her, who live in faith and stir it up in us by how they live.  If you want to read more about the history of her ministry or the ways you can donate (anywhere from a $10 chicken to sponsoring a child for $300/yr), click on the Amazima banner on the right.  You won’t be sorry.

And if her story touches your heart like it did mine, spread the word.  It is, after all, The Word.

A Fun Meme I Stole June 6, 2009

from Kelly.  It’s called 8 Things.

8 things I am looking forward to:
1. Feeling better
2. Decorating a house the way I want (even if it has to be this one)
3. Fresh (RED, not white!) tomatoes
4. Our staycation this summer
5. My bed
6. Sidewalk chalking with Anja
7. Three months of warmth before winter comes again
8. Getting my photography website and gallery cohesive and completed

8 things I did yesterday:
1. Edited photos
2. Colored with Anja
3. Did chapters in my book study “Lord, Heal My Hurts”
4. Made pancakes for myself while Anja and Husband had pork chops and sweet potatoes
5. Sent a gallery invitation to a wedding client
6. Called my mom
7. Looked at junk mail
8. Worked out

8 things I wish I could do:
1. Be as consistent with my quiet time as I used to be
2. Get by on 7 hours of sleep a night the way I used to be able to
3. Have a garden
4. Bottle Anja up at this age
5. Discover a cure for cancer (ditto, Kelly!)
6. Get back into peak shape
7. Travel more
8. Have a few hours a week alone in my house

8 shows I watch:
1. Dancing with the Stars
2. Survivor
3. The Office
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

8 favorite fruits:
1. Peaches
2. Bananas
3. Pineapple
4. Blueberries
5. Strawberries
6. Cantaloupe
7. Apples
8. Clementines or Mandarin oranges

8 places I’d like to travel:
1. The Caribbean
2. Asheville, NC
3. New York City
4. New Zealand
5. Prince Edward Island
6. Vancouver
7. San Antonio (again—I loved it there)
8. The South (I don’t really know where, just somewhere I can be called “honey” and served grits and sit on a porch in really hot, humid weather)

8 places I’ve lived:
1. Small Town, Minnesota
2. Fargo, North Dakota
3. Fortaleza, Brazil
4. Grand Rapids, Minnesota
5. Frankfort, Illinois
6. Twin Cities, Minnesota
7.
8.

Feel free to play, too, if you’d like!  Leave me a link in the comments if you do.

Adoption Fraud May 14, 2009

This is a very scary, yet eye-opening article.  Be sure to click the link for the slide show on the bottom to read about real life examples before dismissing it as a hoax (as I might have).