Gas

So, how about those gas prices?
Actually, I'm not bringing it up for a debate. Everyone would agree that rising gas prices are a pain in the wallet, and it seems everyone has theories abut why it's happening what and how to change it. All of that is a conversation for a different day.

That said, I saw this cartoon and I liked it. Enjoy!

If you can't laugh at yourself...

So, I had a coffee date with Suzanne this week. We had planned to meet on Thursday evening. Most weeks, I am yawning by 8pm on Thursdays. This particular Thursday, I had had a cavity filled only a few hours prior to our meeting. So, when I was getting ready to head out to Starbucks, I was already red-eyed with exhaustion and my mouth was numb on the right side. I was concentrating on whether or not I was drooling without realizing it. I'm not saying that these conditions are to blame for what happened next, I'm just setting the stage.

So I throw on a fleece and I go to the door where there is a long metal tray filled with shoes for when people walk in the door. I tend to be the member of the household who changes shoes most often, so I have many shoes in this tray. I slip on my shoes, and out the door I go to coffee.

I get there about 5 minutes early and find a table to sit and wait for Suzanne. I'm sitting in typical girl fashion: crossed legs, top foot swinging. I look down at my swinging left foot:



Upon seeing it, this is my thought: "Hmmm, that's funny... I thought I put on the grey (gray?) shoes when I left." I was even a little disappointed because the grey shoes matched what I was wearing better than the black shoe I was seeing. I almost moved on to think about something else, when I suddenly had an instant replay flash through my mind of my right foot stepping into a grey shoe just before leaving the house. Now my thought is this: "No........ Surely not...."
And despite the part of me that screams out not to look, that ignorance is bliss, I force myself to look down at my right foot. This is what I see:



I cannot begin to explain the horror, and perhaps if you had been there you might have seen the physical manifestation of my inner panic. I swear, at that moment, a neon blinking arrow popped up next to my table, pointing directly at my feet. I pulled the 'ol look-around-to-see-who-sees and to my relief, the world at that moment did not seem to care much about my shoe debacle. As it turns out, people go to Starbucks to meet with other people and drink coffee, not to shoegaze and journal about fashion accidents.

I briefly tucked one foot under my rear in an effort to hide my error, but then I just felt like a phony. I decided to suck it up and hope that the other patrons assumed it was crazy shoe day at my work.

And when I got home, I laughed till I cried.

Do you feel lucky?

Last weekend my sister had the coolest birthday party ever. She and all her guests got to fly in small airplanes for free! We have a group here at a small airport who is trying to get kids interested in flying, so they have monthly events where families can come and the pilots donate their time, their skill, and their gasoline to give as many kids as show up a free airplane ride in a small plane. I absolutely love these planes and I was recruited to take some photos of the event for the association's website (here). What I took has not been posted yet, but here are some of my favorite shots:

In return for taking pictures, I also got to fly. I rode in the yellow plane pictured above. It was awesome- we flew south over Shriever AFB, East out to goodness knows where, and back around to the airport.
The flight was quite interesting and fun, until about 5 minutes prior to landing. We had just reached a point farther east than I have ever seen, and we were flying over large green crop circles and sparse 'farms' with trailer park farmhouses. None of this evoked any fear until I turned my attention from the ground below and looked at the instrument panel. There, directly in front of my seat, silently screaming out to me "why haven't you noticed me???" was this sticker:
"STANDARD AIRCRAFT??!!"
What is not standard about it? Why is it in quotes? Nothing in this warning made me feel the least bit safe. So, despite the fact that I got to fly for free in a sweet-looking "airplane," the last 5 minutes of the ride were spent in vivid day-mares about my death on the eastern farming plains of Colorado.
But it turns out that even non-standard aircraft can fly successfully. And I lived to tell about it.

pumpkins can win contests

I know this because my pumpkin did just that. I attended a lovely fiesta called "BYOP" and there was a contest for the best carving. We were assigned teams randomly, and my partner was a nice guy named Kevin. I had not met him before, but it turns out strangers can carve pumpkins together without any problems.

This is our winner. We won silly putty and a 3-pack of Pop Rocks for our efforts (which turned out to only have 2 packs in it).


A shout out to Toby, who lent his creative ability to me by creating a template for my pumpkin. I did not use said template, mostly because it was largely incomplete and also quite nonsensical. But I still think the inspiration helped me know what not to do, and therefore contributed to the win.

Clothing of mountains, and other thoughts.

It's here. (begin mental recitation of "Jaws" theme)

Ok, I will admit, I don't actually know when the first day of winter is, but I have decided to say it is here. As a native Coloradan, I think I have the freedom to choose confidently how to term the time of year, because I know that my departure from fact is not due to misinformation. I am merely acting out of the freedom we Coloradans have to experience multiple seasons in and out of season! (still with me?)
And even if you want to argue the fact and maintain the integrity of fall's calendar presence, I'm okay with that, as long as you can grant me the one thrill of my winter experience:

The annual clothing of Pike's Peak!

I realize I'm a bit late on this observation, because the true day of draping was actually two Sundays ago, but it was weak. It was the natural equivalent of putting on a thin shawl. Make no mistake, I was thrilled to see it, but the real joy came yesterday, when the Peak finally got to wear a coat. I don't know why this change is so noteworthy to me, I guess it's just my personal measure of the change in season.
I feel it similarly in the summer. The day the peak disrobes always brings a smile to my face (and a little blush on the mountain's behalf, because it really is a little naked and vulnerable looking- ESPECIALLY above timberline, if ya know what I mean).
But no matter your views on indecent exposure in the high country, you have to admit that the sight this morning of snow blowing off the top of the Peak was beautiful, if you got the chance to see it. If not, keep your eyes up, it will happen quite a few times over the coming months, and the last thing a Coloradan should do (native or transplant) is become oblivious to the natural beauty of God's creation. We're blessed every day to see even the tiniest glimpse of the majesty of a Creator who could think to create something so phenomenal to my mind. It calls to mind a line from a song by Shawn McDonald:
"The same hands that created all of this/they created you and I/What a Beautiful God"
Imagine-
The privilege of being created, known, sought after, and loved by One so artistic, wild, powerful, and detailed - it's beyond logic, and it's definitely beyond words I can provide.

What's your favorite part of the season change? We asked this in a meeting the other day, and I loved to hear the answers.

Best weekend ever

It was a lovely weekend. Here are some of the reasons why:

1. I got two new books, the first of which is an incredibly well-written and creative novel. It also presents the gospel in a refreshing and weighty light. And shouldn't the gospel be weighty? It's a beautifully heavy thing. Savage and excessive. If you have the urge to read a new book and think more seriously about the love of the Lord, read this book: Demon: A Memoir by Tosca Lee. Sounds counterintuitive by the title alone, but trust me. Well, at least trust me so far. I'm not even done yet and I am endorsing it! That could be some sort of book reviewing faux pas.

2. I spent some time with a good friend having coffee and reading in a cozy little coffee shop. It's the simple things.

3. Craig Gross, pastor for XXXchurch.com, came out to our church on Sunday morning. Very compelling speaker. He has a call to ministry that I think very few would be willing to answer- walking into the world of pornography to speak the truth of Christ's love in a dark place. If you want to know more or hear more, go to their website. They also have podcasts of a radio show on itunes.

4. Sunday afernoon, I went driving in with some friends up to see the beautiful Colorado aspen trees turning. We drove up to Cripple Creek, stopping along the way to take some pictures of a season beginning to change. It was beautiful. Then we drove further up, to Victor, Colorado. Victor is a tiny little old mining town. People still live there, but there are lots of mines around the city that are old and abandoned. There are also a lot of great buildings in the town that are still standing with a lot of character and history built-in. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the afternoon:



I could post about a hundred more, but I will leave at that for now. It is enough to say that it was a perfect first weekend of Fall, and I wanted to share. (and get back to blogging after a long hiatus, oops!)
I hope your weekend went well, too.

Workaholism: the slippery slope

It has come to my attention that, given the right job, I am a workaholic. I have noticed this in a very short time, considering I have worked in this new position for a total of two months now. I have thought of battling this disease with a 12-step program, but I don't think it's that serious. I can stop anytime I want. Just one more file review, and that's it, I swear. Ok, maybe two, but after that, I will seriously quit. (for tonight.)

But really, for now, I am ok with this reality in my life. I don't have a family of my own or a marriage. I have the freedom and desire to devote more of myself to my job than is required, and I would prefer that than to struggle with apathy or distaste for my job. I know that if I didn't enjoy my job as much as I do, I would have an easier time leaving things at the office, but as it stands, I consider it grace that God has led me to a position that I find both challenging and enjoyable. It's a great fit for my personality and a great balance of the things I value about my field and the preferences I have in work style. It's not always sunshine and roses. There are many situations that are difficult and disheartening. But for each of those, there is another encouragement to be found. And every situation is an opportunity to serve and build a positive relationship with the family I am working for. Even in the most frustrating of cases, I am reminded that when it seems I can do nothing to help a family, I can pray. Which is more effective and powerful than I understand. I am learning to believe it by my actions, because I think belief is more than agreement with an idea or theory. It is an action and a choice. Belief is a repetitive, conscious effort to live in line with an idea. It is not a solitary, passive declaration of thought.

And on that note, I am retiring. it's already too late for deep thought, but I've done my best.

Word.

I ran across a great quote today.

"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug."
-Mark Twain

I wholeheartedly agree. I think there are far too many words we use too often and too lightly. There are also many words that are completely misused altogether. It can really get to me.

Yep, I'm that girl.
It's where my analytical bent meets my inner bookworm.

Here are some of the words I think top the list:

Love (don't even get me started on this one)
Hope
Faith (as in "have faith")
Awesome (Does everything referred to as 'awesome' actually inspire awe?)
Like (self-explanatory)
Joy

I could probably come up with a lot more, but it's the end of the day and I am tired. But just as a note: it's no coincidence that most of those words can be found in the Bible. One of the biggest reasons such misuse bothers me is because of the weight such words should carry for us. They pertain to lofty and beautiful things. Why aren't we more careful with them?

Thoughts?

prodigal blogger

So...I've had this blog for almost 2 years now, and I have had nothing to show for it. I never deleted it and then, over time, I forgot about it, and it wallowed in a pool of loneliness. But recently, I have been inspired to try to take up blogging again, and I remembered this poor lonely space on the web. It held no grudge against me and it cried no bitter tears, it simply welcomed me back with a sparkling blank page and open arms.
A very lovely reaction, I thought. Which made me want to use this blog all the more.

So, for the inaugural post, I am going to introduce you to me in a nutshell. I am quiet, analytical, and a bit of a daydreamer. I am going to like the blog thing if I can keep up with it because I love to write. I live in Colorado, and I am hoping to find time to explore more of the beauty around this state after taking it for granted for quite a while. I am working on some personal goals- becoming a runner, and working my way up to hiking a fourteener. I have a LONG way to go, but you have to start somewhere, right? Other things you will find true of me if I can transfer myself to this page:
I love my family.
I am a total nerd: a grammar policewoman, an office-supply-store fanatic, and a compulsive reader.
I love my job.
I love to think deeply about theology, ethics, psychology, and anything involving logic.
I love to play outside.

It is my dream to own a horse one day.

For now, I think that's enough.
It's way past my bedtime.