Wednesday, already?

• Have I mentioned recently how much I love spring?  All the flowering trees and early flowers…*contented sigh*

• I have a bird feeder which I finally filled a few days ago.  The birds have found it, and yesterday there was a goldfinch and a pair of cardinals there.  There were also some less pretty birds, but those ones were fun to watch!

• I woke up to my radio this morning (which is unusual), and it was playing “Let it Rise,” a lovely praise chorus. What a great way to start the day!

• I graded all but four papers yesterday.  This is quite an accomplishment.  I also had sorted them so I could grade them worst-to-best, so these last four won’t take long at all.  And then I’m done grading until the final portfolios next week.  Lovely! 

• I made pies yesterday.  One I have to take to CU with me.  That one’s cherry.  I also made a fresh strawberry pie which I gave to our next-door neighbors.  She was very excited.  It is so nice to do kind things for people.  I should do them more often…

• I’ve been able to exercise outside all week.  I  outside exercising in the morning!

So I think that’s about all the happy thoughts I have this morning, but I thought I’d share them with you.  Enjoy your Wednesday!

Random Tuesday Things

I don’t have
much to tell you about yesterday (classes, meetings, driving, grading), so I
decided to do the list post going around.  Enjoy!

You can only type ONE Word!
Not as easy as you might think. Now copy into your xanga, change the answers to suit you and
post it . It’s really hard to only use one word answers.

1. Where is your cell phone?…….  purse

2. Where is your significant other?….. bedroom

3. Your hair?….. wavy

4. Your mother?…. remarkable

5. Your father?…. smart

6. Your favorite thing?….   books

7. Your dream last night?…. spiders

8. Your favorite drink?…. water

9. Your dream/goal?… children

10. The room you’re in?…. loft

11. Your hobby?…. knitting

12. Your fear?…. failure

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years?…. unsure

14. Where were you last night?….. home

15. What you’re not?….. tall

16. Muffins?…. rarely

17. One of your wish list items?…. courage

18. Where you grew up?… Cedarville

19. The last thing you did?… email

20. What are you wearing?…. sweats

21. Your TV?…. huge

22. Your pets?….. imaginary

23. Your computer?…. laptop

24. Your life?…. blessed

25. Your mood?…. tired

26. Missing someone?…. no

27. Something you’re not wearing?…. makeup

29. Favorite store?… bookstore

31. Like someone?…. hubby!

30. Your summer?… coming

32. Your favorite color?…. blue

33. When is the last time you laughed?…. class

35. Who will resend this? …. most

36. Food…. fruit

37. Favorite word….. “Si”

Crazy West Virginia weekend!

So on Friday evening, after we got home and packed quickly, we headed for West Virginia.  We got out about 4:50 in the afternoon, heading East on I-70, so of course, we got stuck in rush hour traffic.  We got dinner in Zanesville and then drove on, chatting over our McD’s.  And we drove.  And talked.  And drove some more.  Into W. Virginia.  Into Pennsylvania, then south, back into W. Virginia. And finally got to Morgantown, home of West Virginia University and Corey Zink’s wedding.

We got to our hotel, a golf resort called Lakeside, and from our first meeting (we and the resort), we were somewhat less than impressed.  The service was well below stellar and the buildings were newly-renovated and clean, but still very 70s in their appearance and construction.   Oh, and the parking lot was FULL of redneck vehicles: trucks, trucks with trailers attached (parked across 4 spaces), trucks with taxidermy or construction businesses advertised on the doors, and one truck with a stuffed mountain lion in the front seat (I’m not kidding).  Apparently, it was very high-class for W. Virginia (there were wedding receptions/dinners all weekend at this place), but I guess we’re just snobs from Ohio…

On Friday night, I realized that I’d left my makeup at home in its drawer.  So we did some driving around to find a place that might sell the basics of makeup, but had no luck.  So Eric took me back to the hotel and then headed out for some guy-time with his friends.  And the exit their hotel was at had a WalMart.  Of course, it did.  So he had a good time, got back to our room about 12:30 am, and when we got up and ready in the morning, we drove back to Exit 1 and bought me some makeup at the Walmart. 

Then we headed back to our exit where the church was for the 10 am wedding.  It was a brand-new church building, and the wedding was very nice.  We hung around there for a bit, talking to Eric’s friends from college, before we all headed over to the brunch reception (omelets, bacon/sausage, egg casserole, fruit salad, etc).  We stayed there until about 2:00 when everybody started packing up to head out. 

We spent the rest of the day goofing off.  We drove to an Arboretum and hiked there for a bit.  We ran into another couple from the wedding whom we spent about an hour walking and chatting with. They’re very fun people!  Then we drove back to our hotel, but through the city, instead of on the highways.  Morgantown is not a hard town to navigate once you figure it out, and all the hills make it very interesting scenery.  We ended up going back out for dinner and then crashed for the night at our hotel.

Sunday morning, we packed and loaded up, stopped at a Bob Evans for breakfast and drove the 4 hours home.  It was a long drive, but we made it!  I graded some in the afternoon, and Eric worked in the basement.  Small group was a social event, so we didn’t go.  Instead, we had dinner and crashed on the couch for the evening before heading to bed. 

So, all in all, it was a lovely weekend.  And now it’s back to routine for the LAST WEEK OF CLASSES!!!  (Can you tell I’m excited about that fact?!?)   Anyway, have a lovely, lovely Monday!!

I Spring!

That’s what I kept thinking yesterday when I went outside, opened windows, smelled the fresh air, read a book in the sun.  How very, very nice!

I enjoyed my day without teacher responsibilities.  During the day, I accomplished a number of cleaning chores I’d been putting off: vacuuming, sweeping the kitchen floor, cleaning the counters, starting various organizational projects. I also goofed off, wrote some, read some, and watched a little television in there, too. 

Eric got home about 4:30.  I was reading outside when he arrived.  So we chatted outside for a while which was so nice!  We grilled steaks for dinner.  YUM-MY!  And grilling makes for such easy clean up after dinner, too, which I love!  After dinner, we both did something we hate doing: Eric went and got a haircut, I cleaned the bathrooms.  I was finishing up just as he drove back in the garage.  Perfect timing!  Then we spent the rest of the evening watching television together. 

Oh…last night, I woke up about 5:30 and realized the bed was shaking.  It stopped while I was trying to figure out what Eric was doing.  Turns out he was awake, thinking the same thing about me.  And it wasn’t either of us.  There was an Illinois earthquake that we felt move our bed in Columbus!  Crazy, huh?

Anyway, today is Friday (in case you’d missed that! )  I have normal classes and a faculty meeting at 10:00.  Then I’ll be heading home as quick as I can so we can get around and head out for our weekend.  We’ll be driving to WV tonight for Eric’s friend’s wedding tomorrow, and we decided to stay two nights there to get a whole weekend away.  Yesterday, Eric found out that there’s going to be a guys’ gathering with the groom after the rehearsal dinner tonight, so I’m sure he’ll go to that.  Baring any major traffic issues, we should arrive just about in time.  I don’t know what the rest of the weekend will hold (other than the wedding), but it should be good.

Happy Friday!

I have no work to do for CU in any way today: no grading, no prep work, no nothing.  Today, I don’t have to think about teacher-stuff.  Lovely!

I have no idea what I’m going to do with my day, yet.  I will need to put the trash out, and do some household chores (vacuum, bathrooms, etc), but those won’t take very long.  It’s supposed to be a gorgeous day, so I will have to find reasons to go outside a lot, too.  Other than that…I’m open to suggestions!

Yesterday wasn’t too thrilling.  I finished workshops.  I went to chapel to see my colleagues get awards.  I had lunch with Mom and Karen (who was down showing off Jason at CU and Wittenberg).  I drove home and got a rotisserie chicken for dinner.  The evening was pretty much spent relaxing.  I talked to Kimberly on the phone for a bit, and we watched a movie (Live Free or Die Hard – pretty good, funny in places) and then went to bed. 

I guess that’s everything I’ve got today.  Sorry to be so boring.  I’ll work on it for tomorrow’s post!  Happy Thursday!

I doubt today’s post will be as creative as yesterday’s.  If it is, then my creative juices are functioning outside my control, and I apologize now for anything that they say.

Seriously, though, I don’t have much to write about. 

Yesterday – I graded my papers, I played games, I checked Xanga, I dropped off the recyclables and put gas in my car, I wrote some, I got dressed up, I drove to CU (at 5:00), I had dinner in the President’s Dining Room in honor of Mr. Ed Spencer’s retirement, I drove home, I goofed off for a bit, I went to bed.

Fun stuff from yesterday – I sat with the Moores and the Messers at dinner, and we had far too much laughter at our table. That was enjoyable!  Especially Julie’s stories about her dad, who still thinks Mike Huckabee is running for President and who just about ordered her to vote for him. 

Today – Well, so far, I’ve gotten up, made Eric’s coffee and lunch, and loaded the dishwasher.  The rest of the day will be a pretty normal Wednesday, I think.  At least it’s the last day of workshops.  These are very mentally exhausting for the teacher, so I’m always glad when they’re done.  Anyway, I don’t think I have any plans for the evening either yet.  So it should be an uneventful day!

Fun stuff for today – Well, I think it might be too early for anything fun to have happened yet.  I’ll keep you posted…

Happy Wednesday!

It’s a Tuesday Countdown…

• Ten: the gallons of gas I will need to fill my car with today
• Nine: the number of papers I have left to read today  (I’m done grading!!!)
• Eight: the latest I hope to leave CU tonight. I have a dinner to attend at 6:00, and I want to be home early.
• Seven: the approximate time Eric left for work this morning. 
• Six: more days of class this semester, and the number of pairs of shoes I’ve bought in the last couple of weeks.
• Five: the approximate time Eric has been getting home recently
• Four: more days until we leave for West Virginia for Eric’s friend’s wedding this weekend
• Three: number of days we’ll be at a hotel this weekend (Friday-Sunday) just relaxing together
• Two: the number of outlets now in our master bathroom (Eric finished his project last night)
• One: a link for all you cake decorators out there who need a new idea.

Happy Tuesday!

It’s cold again.  I know it’s only for a day or two, and mostly in the mornings, but seriously, I am SOOOO looking forward to it being 50+ degrees when I get up!  I had to wear a sweater to church yesterday, and I told one of my friends that it was really hard to pick one because, in my mind, I’d already put away my winter clothes, even though they’re still in the drawer.  But at least it doesn’t look like frost will destroy all the plants as happened yesterday.

Funny t-shirt for all you English majors.  Look here for others that we “nerds” might find funny…

The weekend was pretty uneventful, but relaxing.  On Friday night, we had dinner with our supper club.  Our small group is so large that we’ve subdivided for these events, and each group will meet 3 times before we rearrange the groups and get to know some other couples better.  Our dinner was fabulous (I took the pie and ice cream), and we watched Princess Bride and laughed a lot after dinner.  Oh, and we watched out the windows at the storm that passed to the north of us that set the tornado sirens off.

Saturday was a mostly home day.  Eric worked in the bathroom; I cleaned around the house.  We both goofed off on the computers a lot.  I ironed.  We bought new desk chairs and plastic things to go under them at Office Max (I think), and then we came home, ate dinner, and watched Star Wars Episode II.  Then to bed!

Sunday was a bit busier.  After church, we goofed off some, had dinner, and I graded.  Then I made a taco dip for small group (I had salty snack) and Eric and I made another chocolate meringue pie because he needed pudding.  It’s always fun to cook together.  Then a short rest and off to small group. 

This morning starts another normal week.  Only two more to go (and then finals).  I’m ready to be done!  Happy Monday!

So yesterday’s discussion was certainly an interesting one…thanks to everybody who commented!  And it seems that “controversial” topics are a good way to revive a slow Xanga day…I had hundreds of footprints yesterday.   Anyway, I don’t think I will begin the day with more debate.  But if you want me to share my opinions on something (anything!), just ask.  I just LOVE to wax eloquent.  Ask my sister…

Yesterday, was a productive day.  I went shopping in the morning.  I bought 3 pairs of shoes.  A couple of days ago, I started weeding my shoes out and putting some pairs (old ones, uncomfortable ones) in a pile for Goodwill.  But that also meant that I needed 3 new pairs of summer sandals.  A white sandal, a black dress sandal, and brown casual sandals.  And I found them.  Check out This, This, and Here!

After shoes, I needed some groceries, so I went to both Sam’s Club and WalMart in about 90 minutes!  I got in, got what I needed, got out.  And the cute little greeter at Sam’s saw my CU sweatshirt, and said his nephew attended there years ago and his church was sending children to Junior Jam soon.  So fun!

I spent the afternoon grading and writing on Xanga.  I got all but one paper graded, but I have time to do it today, so I will.  I just didn’t care enough about hydrogen fuel cells to grade the paper fairly, so I decided it would be better to leave it.  I also talked to my sister for a while in the afternoon.  Then in the evening, we had dinner and watched television and played on the computer.  I also finished a book before bed.  Lovely, relaxing evening!

Tonight, we are going to some friends for a supper club, which should be fun.  I have to bake a pie when we get home though.  I better rush home after school, or I’ll never make it!  Anyway, Happy Friday to you all!

My Perspective on Christian Fiction (hereafter called CF):

Let me begin with two caveats.  First, keep in mind that I do sometimes read CF.  Honestly, Redeeming Love by Rivers is one of my favorite books.  And I have read Kingsbury’s first Baxter series (all 5 books), and I cried when the mother died.  I have read other books that have been recommended or I’ve just picked up for a light read.  So I’m not opposed entirely, all the time.  Second, I am not accusing anyone who likes these books of being less spiritual, less thinking, less anything.  I’m not sharing these thoughts to put you down (if you like CF).  However, I do have my own opinions about this genre and here are my primary concerns:

1. These books are not realistic.  Take Kingsbury’s Baxter family, for example.  How much can one family go through in five books: cancer, AIDS, 9/11, premarital sex, cohabitation, affairs, adoption scandals, drug addiction, near-drowning, family crises, personal crises, and on and on and on…  Seriously, it just doesn’t happen like that. 
     Also, all the “bad” stuff all works out fine in the end.  Regardless of the family crisis, no one stays angry
or holds grudges. They forgive and move on.  The sister whose daughter is nearly drowned and suffers brain
damage (Book 4) “really” struggles to reconnect with her role as mother
but finds herself blooming into a tender-hearted woman who can even
love her husband after he basically deserted them out of guilt. 
     And the “happy ending” is guaranteed, even if it takes a couple of books to come. Take the ending of Book #1 of the first Baxter
series. It was so frustrating to me!  After struggling like a “good
wife” to reconcile with her wayward husband, he’s tragically (yet
conveniently) murdered at the end of the book, and two books later,
she’s married to her first love whom she should’ve married after high
school. 

2. These books can be emotionally unhealthy.  Sometimes, CF novels are pretty much emotional porn for “good” women (sorry if that offends people).  It’s addicting, and we have to have the happy ending where “the girl waits patiently for her good, though slightly flawed man until through struggles and separation, they are finally united in eternal bliss”.  It’s escapist.  It’s shallow.  It makes us wish our husbands really did those kinds of things (when they don’t always) and really were those kinds of men (when no such man actually exists anywhere).  A more realistic story for Baxter book #1 would have been to watch the reconciled couple actually fight (for 4 more books) to have a marriage that was based on love and honored God.  Instead, the struggle was replaced with his murder and her eventual marriage to her “true” love.  And honestly, because they were so “perfect” for each other, the new couple wasn’t very interesting for much of the other books. 

3.  The end result of #2 is that CF books are good for a light, mindless read.  You don’t have to worry about sex  (or other “bad” stuff) popping up, but neither do I get any glimpse into a real struggle.  “Happy ever after” doesn’t help me live this life; it gives me a place to escape from it.  And while that can sometimes be a good thing (I told you I do read the books sometimes), that is ALL that most Christian women read.  And they “live” vicariously through these, often historical, novels where men and women were exotic and strange and find themselves in some new and exciting circumstances every other chapter.  They are romanticized.  Everyone loves these books about the Amish communities, but my in-laws live very near some Amish, and they aren’t much like these books would suggest. It’s a false, shallow world where the stuff that happens in our lives doesn’t happen.  And exciting, romantic things happen instead. 

4. And finally, call me a snob, but CF is not good literature.  The people you meet in CF aren’t really well-done characters who grow organically and change into better, more human people through suffering.  The plots are cheesy, driven by emotion instead of real action and the choices of the characters.  They try so hard to avoid all the “bad stuff” in secular novels that they become moralistic, and thus, most of them lack any real value. 

So that’s part of my problem with CF.   There are other issues I have (why would an unsaved person even want to be the kind of people described as “Christian” in those books most of the time?  Why would I, for that matter?), but that’s enough for now.  Feel free to respond.