Quotes for the Week

"Patricia, I want you to try something. It's a relaxation exercise I do in situations like this. I want you to close your eyes and breathe deep. Picture a peaceful mountain stream. Now picture yourself drowning the kidnapper in the stream. We're taking a rock from the stream and raising it above with your hand, and with tremendous force you're bringing it— " -Fiona Burn Notice

"There is no heresy or no philosophy which is so abhorrent to the church as a human being." - James Joyce

"I better make this clear: no leader is beyond rebuke, correction or exhortation. And if you think you are then it's the beginning of the end. But what I'm focusing on here is unwarranted criticism or unfair treatment. If the sermon you are preaching or the vision you are casting is from the Lord, then people aren't rejecting you. Don't personalize the rejection. I think this is one key to evangelism: if you personalize the rejection you'll stop sharing your faith." - Mark Batterson

Coupons

Coupons have changed my life. Not as much as Jesus, but still alot.

I hadn't really thought about it that much until my friend Tina was in town a few weeks ago. Tina lives in Indiana now and I don't have company over to my place anymore, so no one had been there to point out the changes.

When Tina and I were in our hayday and every night there were 15 people at my condo, I was broke. I had bought my first place when I was 22 and trying to keep the bills paid was tough (but totally worth it). So I had the cheapest of everything- the bad paper towels that really don't work, the scratchy toilet paper, the hand soap that smells funny etc. And most of the time, I didn't really have that much of anything in the house. Often times I would be trying to make things last until the next paycheck so I would be rationing toilet paper or shampoo for a few days. This is the world Tina remembers.

Then coupons happened. I know they have been around forever, but only in my world since my sister introduced me to the concept at the end of last year. And now when I go into stores (after a little prep work) I give them shiny pieces of paper that I cut out of my sunday paper and they give me toilet paper for little or no money. And paper towels. And tooth paste. And shampoo, razors, food etc. The list goes on. So I take as much as they will give me and stick it in every nook and cranny at my house.

And you know what? None of it is scratchy anymore. I use toilet paper with lotion in it. Or air pockets. I use paper towels that you can rinse and re-use and have pictures of licensed characters on them. My soap smells like a million bucks. It turns out the free stuff is better quality than the cheap stuff.

So two weeks ago when Tina hollered through the bathroom door "Oh my gosh, you have toilet paper everywhere!" I yelled back "Yep, they don't make me pay for it anymore!"

And I laughed.

Father's Day

I haven't blogged about Father's Day yet! We had Father's Day over at my sister and brother-in-law's new house, which is mostly finished. It's gorgeous. I can't wait until they can move in so I can come visit.

Anyway, Missy did a great job getting the food ready and Jonathan did great on the grill. We had corn on the cob, hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, potato chips etc. The weather was beautiful and we got to sit on their back porch and just hang out.

There was also cake from Jamie's Bakery (if you have never had cake from Jamie's Bakery you aren't ready to die yet). It was a really cute cake to celebrate the upcoming baby, with pink and blue icing and storks. There were no small pieces so we all enjoyed a huge chunk of cake with ice cream. (If you check my sister's blog, I believe there are pictures.)

It was fun to be with the family and catch up, since even though we all live in the same area, we don't see each other very often!

Tonight

Roll Back the Clock night at Harbor Park. $.25 hot dogs and Diet Coke. That's good stuff!

Kicking Myself for no pictures!

I actually had a really fun weekend and am very bummed I didn't take a camera around with me!

Friday night my friend Misty, her husband and son were in town. It's been about 2 years since I have seen them and I had never met their son, Ajoni, before. He's 18 months old and so much fun! We had dinner at Surf Riders on Laskin and went down to the boardwalk and hung out for a bit. An 18 month old looking around at the tourists was hilarious. It's been a few weeks since I was down at the beach, so it was nice to just go and walk around. After that, I went home and ran to the gym to do some weight training. It was nice and empty- turns out no one lifts weights at 10 p.m. on Friday night!

Saturday morning I headed to the studio to teach my first piano lesson. One of my voice students, Hannah, has been dying to take piano but her parents really can't afford it. So, for the summer, I agreed to go half piano and half voice to see how Hannah does. If she really picks it up and works hard I am hoping to make some kind of arrangement for her in the fall.

After that I fought the crowds at Old Navy to buy $2 tank tops and was also able to buy maternity clothes for my sister. Woo hoo! I have been wanting to do that for a while! I ran into my friends Laura and T.J. there so Laura helped me with the maternity clothes. My sister and I don't have the same taste, so a second opinion is pivotal.

Saturday night I met up with an old friend for coffee at Barnes and Noble, which actually ended up being water on the bench in front of Barnes and Noble since we couldn't meet until 9:30. She's a piano teacher, loves the outdoors, loves Jesus and is going to be an aunt in January as well. We have a lot in common so I am hoping the planets will align more frequently and we will be able to hang out. Our schedules are insane!

Quotes of the week

"By selecting, interweaving, and prioritizing our values, we define who we are- or atleast who we want to be." - Doug Lennick & Fred Kiel, Ph.D. Moral Intelligence

"Courage doesn't have anything to do with medals. It's simple. You run to the gunfire, not away from it." -Jethro Gibbs NCIS

"If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. The more intelligent and more gifted the person God creates, the greater the capacity to love and to be a positive force in the universe, but also, if that person rebels, the greater capacity to cause evil, to inflict pain and to cause unhappiness. " C. S. Lewis The Question of God ( An amazing book if you are looking for something to read)

"We like to talk big. Vampires do. 'I'm going to destroy the world.' That's just tough guy talk. Strutting around with your friends over a pint of blood. The truth is, I like this world. You've got... dog racing, Manchester United. And you've got people, billions of people walking around like Happy Meals on legs. It's all right here. But then someone comes along with a vision, with a real... passion for destruction. Goodbye Piccadilly. Farewell, Leicester Bloody Square." - Spike Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

If you haven't seen the movie, you should give it a viewing. It's several years old, so it shouldn't be too hard to get your hands on. I was just watching this part today and it still gives me chills.

"...the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked further back, into the stillness and darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards" (C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, 1950).