oh no you di-uhnt!

I'm living into the title of this blog today.
Brace yourself.

I have files. Lots of them. 5.5 years worth actually. They're important - to me, to the company. They fill 6 boxes. This is your cue to ask: why would you keep them in boxes and not a filing cabinet?

I work for a technology company. Paper files get no respect. I sit in a hallway. I have enough room to keep active files, but not archives. That's okay. I don't need to be close to them or anything, I just need to know where they are and have access to them. All of them. At any time. (Because I need control - there, I said it).

I keep them in the corner office.

New guy hasn't said anything about sharing his office with my files - not even a "wow - you're organized - I love sitting so close to your alphabetization."

Today I sat and watched other guy carry six bankers boxes past my desk, in the hallway.

"Where are you going with those?"
"Away."
"What's in the boxes?"
"I don't know."
"Where'd they come from?"
"Corner office. New guy needs the cabinet in there, so I emptied it."

So now I get to unpack boxes and find room for them in my hallway and I'm just glad it's Friday. Grr.

Happy Anniversary to Us! (belated...)

I found this entry in my archives - I never posted it. It's from June 26th.
It's still relevant.



I realize I'm paying homage to my marriage a bit prematurely - the ol' anniversary isn't until Monday. But they're inducing my sister's labor tomorrow. So I'll have more important things to say in the next 48 hours or so. (Or for Jen's sake, 24 hours or so).

In the meanwhile, I just have to say that there are about a million reasons why I love my husband. Here are a few.

• He makes me laugh.
• He's strong.
• He's gentle.
• He knows things he has no right knowing. Like the fact that you're not supposed to lay a refrigerator on its back. And tool stuff and handy stuff I can't even begin to describe.
• He calls me baby and I don't feel demeaned.
• He usually smells good.
• He's really very handsome.
• I have honestly never met anyone who dislikes him.
  
• He can carry the whole load of groceries in one trip.
• He vacuums because it makes me sneeze.
• He takes me camping and we wear dorky head gear (see above) and laugh a lot.
• He takes me out of my comfort zone and I still feel safe.
• In the winter, he goes to bed first and warms up my side.
• He makes me feel beautiful.
• He has patience for my weaknesses.
  
• He makes me proud.
  
• He has crazy adventurous stories about growing up in the Philippines.
• He doesn't watch football. Or golf.
• Sometimes I can't tell where he ends and I begin.
  
• He still has friends from high school. I think that says a lot about a person.
• He calls his dad "daddy." And he has tattoos. I think the word I'm looking for here is well-rounded.
• He thinks I'm the best cook ever.
• He loves God more than me.
• He makes 2 years of marriage feel like an instant.
  

I'm to the point now where I can't imagine not being married. Where would I ever spend all this mushy energy?!

Sometimes I need to ask myself

Convicted? Or stubborn?

Eager? Or impatient?

Right? Or just a different kind of wrong?

Objective? Or apathetic?

Safe? Or self-centered?

Funny? Or mean?

Driven? Or greedy?

Content? Or Happy.

Before

And After

You can't see them, but there are ornaments in the trees. And I'm working on the wreaths...
Now we just need snow!

my list

- thank you for the first sip of coffee, and the couch on which I taste it, and the Bible over which I drink it, and the dark in which I savor it and the house in which it brews.
- thank you for down comforters and fuzzy slippers.
- thank you for Keith.
- thank you for in-laws that feel like blood.
- thank you for a family that communicates.
- thank you for a roof and a yard and a mortgage and a job to pay for it.
- thank you for a belly that's too round with "blessings."
- thank you for my friends and for laughter and for trust and for consistency.
- thank you for memory.
- thank you for sidewalk chalk, basketball hoops, and wii.
- thank you for the flavor mint.
- thank you for leaves that crunch and snow that silences.
- thank you for mittens and kittens and puppies.
- thank you for music.
- thank you for forgiveness.
- thank you for my care group.
- thank you for Ogre Sized Peanut Butter M&M's
- thank you for that moment at the end of the night, when the kitchen lights are dim and my spirit is settled, and my wine glass is full.
- thank you for loving me and hearing me and leading me.

the biggest of my peeve's

I am often called upon to proofread at work.
Websites, package copy, video graphics, you name it - I'm supposed to know how to spell it. And punctuate it. (And they say I'm not using my degree...)
BY FAR the biggest offense in this office is the abuse of apostrophes.
I've been giving this lesson for FIVE YEARS!!
Some would say I'm maybe a little hypersensitive about apostrophes, but I just can't understand why it's so hard to understand. Even if it's counterintuitive to you, the rule isn't difficult to remember... And a careless mistake here and there is okay. But why...WHY do you ALWAYS have to insert an apostrophe? Sometimes they just need a break!

So there we were...
On a peaceful, relaxing weekend...
I couldn't help but be a little distracted...

What's NOT to be thankful for?

I got it good.

Last Sunday, Keith and I had the privilege of sponsoring Lily's baptism. I'd pray for my niece whether I was her godmother or not. But the honor of standing in front of my "home" church and committing to do so is a pretty big deal in my book.










This weekend, we stole away for a little R&R... in a heart shaped hot tub :)


I have friends who argue over who's turn it is to dog sit.
I have a husband who makes me laugh just by doing what comes naturally.

We go to a church that makes me weep.
Tears that respond to children making confession of faith, racially mixed parents adopting yet another race's child, worship leaders who sing with my soul. Sermons that could be personal letters addressed to me.

Then we get home... to our house... the house that we own...that's still cool, even when you spend all day raking...


And as soon as we spend more than 10 minutes outside, there is a neighborhood full of kids playing in our yard.


And at the end of it all, the whole family heaps on the couch. At the moment, I'm not sure which one is snoring the loudest.


But my heart is still and glad. And oh so thankful.

Thank you Mr. Shatner

I just had my first successful bid on Priceline and I must say... I feel like a WINNER!
I'm not the traveler, my boss is. And I didn't save any money, my boss did.
But it really is the little things that make my day.
And my day is officially made. I feel great!




(until I think about it for too long and then I feel like a real loser.)

"circle of life" or "justice" (depending on my stage of life)

I had dinner with a dear friend last night.
While we were visiting, her husband called to report that he was locked out of the house.
I gave my dear friend a pretty hard time about that.
I have never known anyone to get locked out of things more than her... and now her husband.
But I paid for it.

Scene: morning, exterior
Keith: "You have keys?"
Sara: "oh, you're kidding."

The good news is we got in the house pretty quickly - like in 3 minutes.
The bad news is we got in the house pretty quickly.
I see a weekend project of installing glass block basement windows in our near future...

another lesson from Israel... sort of

Fact:
Traveling to cool places for work with your husband is not romantic.

Fact:
Traveling for work with your husband inevitably leads to some sort of sex joke from colleagues that definitely qualifies as sexual harassment, but somehow it's okay because they're talking about your husband. That pisses me off.

Fact:
Traveling for work with your husband doesn't actually satisfy your desire to travel together - rather, it intensifies it.

Fact:
My husband recognizes all this and has booked me a room here for the weekend.

Fact:
The idea of getting away, just for a night, makes putting up with a "Let's see how many times we can say 'that's what she said' today" competition a little easier. (I wish I were kidding...)

Thanks for the support

It's so nice to know everyone's behind me.
That they have my back.
Even without needing to assk.
I really appreciate it, butt I'm waiting for it to get old for all of you.

Oh yeah, and thanks for the memories - of course I remember that one time when...
...I broke my elbow tripping on my bedsprsead.
...I feel hard and fast at the winter retreat with everyone watching, all the while gloating about how smooth I was.
...I got hooked to the pole when we were sledding... right as all the cute boys pulled up...
...I fell during a marching band rehearsal, wearing my snare drum, getting called out on the speaker from the podium...
...I was in marching band.

You guys are the best.

Lessons from Israel v.2

Required reading for today's lesson: Genesis 16, 21:8 -21.

Bottom line?
Jews are from Isaac. Muslims are from Ishmael.
They both come from Abraham.

The conflict over land between Israel and Palestine fascinates me only slightly less than it pains me. Isn't there enough on this planet for everyone? Can't we all get along? How'd it all start? Will it ever end?

I'm embarrassed to say I never paid attention to Ishmael before. And I'm much, MUCH more Western than I'd like to admit.

If you had asked me a month ago to do word association for "Ishmael", I would have said Moby Dick.
And if you had said "Ishmael" and "Bible", I would have said "Moby Dick."
And if you had said "Ishmael, Abraham's other son", I would have said, "what?"

Isn't it fascinating that God gave two sons to Abraham. Gave them both to Abraham through unlikely sources. Brought them both to death's doorstop. Saved them both by providing for their needs. Promised them both a long lineage of favor.

Is the tension in Israel really part of His plan all along? How are we to make sense of that? I'm doing some reading up on that. I'll keep you posted.

coccygeal contusion

Living in Michigan all my life, I survive the winters in a state of anxiety.
It's not if I'll fall, it's when.
And until I do, once a winter, I'm on edge.
Looks like I'll be able to chill out this winter because I fell this morning.
Hard.
Friggin frost. It's not even Thanksgiving.
I wiped out taking the dog out - slipped on the top stair of the deck and thudded down three more.
Bottom line (pun intedended) is that I either bruised or broke my tail bone. No need for an x-ray as the treatment is the same - just drugs.
And yes, I will be sitting on this little dream boat for the next week or so...

Lessons from Israel v.1

Kids play in a universal language.


I don't speak Arabic. They don't speak much English.


But the kisses I received as we left these angels let me know we're friends now.


And you thought I wanted brown babies BEFORE...

we're home

I'm still not quite sure what to say about Israel. Great shoot, great people, great trip. I understand the conflict, but I sure can't make sense of it. It's kind of like if the US owned Mexico, and was 100x more aggressive about protecting the border. Even then, I can't make sense of it. I don't think we're meant to understand hate. Still too jet-lagged to get much deeper...