The trip to Will's was great. Can't believe it is only a week until I leave for Dan's in Germany! I haven't even started packing! (Of course, I'm living out of suitcases, so how hard could it be?) I will have to be careful not to bring anything prohibited. Maybe I should make a list and check it against the airline's website.
I finally found the Lego set that David wants for Christmas! It's set 7259 - the Star Wars ARC-170 Starfighter. Dan was stressing a little when he told me they were sold out in Germany and also on the Lego website. He will be relieved to know I found one in Texas.
I left Will in a similar predicament; he still doesn't know what to buy for his sons. I wonder if my parents ever worried about what to get me for Christmas. Somehow I doubt it. They never seemed stressed, anyway.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
NO! HO! HO!
Hoo Yeah! I finally finished reading John Grisham's Skipping Christmas! (after it sat on my nightstand forever) Very funny, but the movie was funnier.
If I ever meet Mr. Grisham, I'm going to suggest he make a movie sequel with Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis. The next one should be about Blair's wedding to Enrique. I think Mr. & Mrs. Krank would have a real time meeting the new In-Laws and hosting the reception in their back yard (with all the neighbors invited, of course). Dan Aykroyd could officiate the ceremony...Can't you just see Vic Frohmeyer as a JP?
If I ever meet Mr. Grisham, I'm going to suggest he make a movie sequel with Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis. The next one should be about Blair's wedding to Enrique. I think Mr. & Mrs. Krank would have a real time meeting the new In-Laws and hosting the reception in their back yard (with all the neighbors invited, of course). Dan Aykroyd could officiate the ceremony...Can't you just see Vic Frohmeyer as a JP?
NEW BLOG
Occasionally, I'll write a post about one of my "Passions of the Moment." Rather than filling up this blog with them; I decided to post a new one each day in my NEW BLOG! I named it "I Like Blogger." There's a link on my profile.
Check it out!
Check it out!
L + O + V + E = COURAGE?
I feel like I'm standing at a doorway in my life and staring into the keyhole.
Here's where my mind was all last week: Are courage and love the same thing? Or are they so intertwined that they are inseparable? Can cowardice and love coexist...cohabitate in a soul? Are they mutually exclusive forces? And what about the mother who makes decisions to protect her children? Is she motivated by fear? Are her actions loving? I guess it takes courage to tell a child, "No." Does all love require courage? Is love the only weapon we can use to defeat anxiety and fear?
I wrote an earlier entry about three people I admire. While journaling about them, I realized their common trait: they weren't too afraid to love. Don't misunderstand. Their stories didn't involve romantic love between two people, but love as a general motivation for living. Love was the reason for everything that they did...or dreamed of accomplishing. Love made them dream big. But fear could have kept them from acting on those dreams: fear of rejection, of failure, of repeated mistakes, of loneliness, of discomfort... cripling, disabling fear. But in all three stories, love won out. Fear was repelled by love, cast out, displaced...love left no place for fear...because love had filled them up (perfect love casts out all fear), made a home for Himself in them. He had taken ownership and recharted their courses.
I want to be like that.
Here's where my mind was all last week: Are courage and love the same thing? Or are they so intertwined that they are inseparable? Can cowardice and love coexist...cohabitate in a soul? Are they mutually exclusive forces? And what about the mother who makes decisions to protect her children? Is she motivated by fear? Are her actions loving? I guess it takes courage to tell a child, "No." Does all love require courage? Is love the only weapon we can use to defeat anxiety and fear?
I wrote an earlier entry about three people I admire. While journaling about them, I realized their common trait: they weren't too afraid to love. Don't misunderstand. Their stories didn't involve romantic love between two people, but love as a general motivation for living. Love was the reason for everything that they did...or dreamed of accomplishing. Love made them dream big. But fear could have kept them from acting on those dreams: fear of rejection, of failure, of repeated mistakes, of loneliness, of discomfort... cripling, disabling fear. But in all three stories, love won out. Fear was repelled by love, cast out, displaced...love left no place for fear...because love had filled them up (perfect love casts out all fear), made a home for Himself in them. He had taken ownership and recharted their courses.
I want to be like that.
Friday, December 02, 2005
DANIEL IST EIN GUTER BRUDER.
No need to send a search party. I'm not dead, just off on an extended weekend. No posts until next week sometime. Hope my multiple postings today will tide you over. (This special message is for the 3 of you who read this blog.) If you get bored, you could post a comment (especially you, Daniel!)
SM + ART
Yet another installment in my ongoing discussion of a favorite subject:
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I asked my friend Erin to offer her own definition. She's an artist; her work is whimsical. It reminds me of story book illustrations. Here's what she had to say on the subject:
"Art is a process by which an artist (read: any person breathing) removes from themselves an idea, image, emotion, or statement to share with others in a heard, felt, seen, tasted, or even smelt way. (Wouldn't you consider a perfumer an artist?). Art is sensory and emotional."
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I asked my friend Erin to offer her own definition. She's an artist; her work is whimsical. It reminds me of story book illustrations. Here's what she had to say on the subject:
"Art is a process by which an artist (read: any person breathing) removes from themselves an idea, image, emotion, or statement to share with others in a heard, felt, seen, tasted, or even smelt way. (Wouldn't you consider a perfumer an artist?). Art is sensory and emotional."
A R T P O V
My friend Algernon had something to say about Art. He should. He is a professional artist. He's actually the best portrait artist I've ever met. And his graphic design blows my mind. Anyway, he explained it to me this way -
"I have a particular way of looking at things. I see the world in a unique way. Art allows me to share that viewpoint with other people. They get to see the world from my vantage point."
How beautiful is that?
"I have a particular way of looking at things. I see the world in a unique way. Art allows me to share that viewpoint with other people. They get to see the world from my vantage point."
How beautiful is that?
KATIE & AMBER
Katie and Amber have been best friends forever. They share lots of inside jokes. I've picked up on a few of them. My favorite one goes way back to when they were little girls. I think they got the idea for it from some kids' book or something Amber's Mom used to do with her. Once in a while they will do this routine. The dialogue is always different, but the theme is the same.
Amber will ask, "Katie, do you love me?"
And Katie will say, "Yes."
And Amber will ask, "Will you always love me, Katie?"
"Yes, Amber, I will always love you."
"What if something bad were to happen to me? Would you still love me then?"
"Like what, Amber?"
"What if I had stinky breath? Would you still love me?"
"Yes. I'd love you and give you a breath mint!"
"Well what if I became a clown and wore big shoes and had a big red nose?"
"Of course I'd love you, and I'd buy you a little car for you and your clown friends."
"What if I grew a second mouth - on my forehead? Would you love me then?"
"Yes Amber. I'd love you and listen to you twice as much!"
"But what if it were really bad? What if I grew warts all over my nose and a hunchback and breathed fire and grew really long black toenails that smelled like rotten peaches?"
"I'd still love you. And I'd I'd be your friend Amber! Because that's what friends are for!"
"I love you, too, Katie."
"I know you do, Amber."
Amber will ask, "Katie, do you love me?"
And Katie will say, "Yes."
And Amber will ask, "Will you always love me, Katie?"
"Yes, Amber, I will always love you."
"What if something bad were to happen to me? Would you still love me then?"
"Like what, Amber?"
"What if I had stinky breath? Would you still love me?"
"Yes. I'd love you and give you a breath mint!"
"Well what if I became a clown and wore big shoes and had a big red nose?"
"Of course I'd love you, and I'd buy you a little car for you and your clown friends."
"What if I grew a second mouth - on my forehead? Would you love me then?"
"Yes Amber. I'd love you and listen to you twice as much!"
"But what if it were really bad? What if I grew warts all over my nose and a hunchback and breathed fire and grew really long black toenails that smelled like rotten peaches?"
"I'd still love you. And I'd I'd be your friend Amber! Because that's what friends are for!"
"I love you, too, Katie."
"I know you do, Amber."
PAINT BY NUMBERS
I've been thinking about these 2 paintings this month. Maybe it's because I was having a discussion with a friend about art. What is the definition of "Art," anyway?
BROKEN RECORD
OH THANK GOODNESS!! I thought I was going insane. I kept hearing this phrase repeating in my brain like Chinese water torture or Native American war drums, "Hannity & Colmes... Hannity & Colmes... HANNITY & COLMES!!!"
But I had no idea what this phrase meant or where my brain picked up this piece of mental belly button lint that just wouldn't seem to shake out of the dryer filter that is my brain. My best guess up until just a minute ago was that it must be some brand of shoes. That explanation seemed to fit the name, but it still didn't explain how the phrase turned into a skipping record on my mental turntable.
But then, while typing last night, I glanced up at the TV and noticed the show on FNC. You'll never guess which one it was... I feel so much better; now I can forget it. It all makes sense now. Whenever my brother is home, the TV stays on Fox News. He even has his satellite radio tuned to it. Duh! Of course it's a news show.
Does your brain ever get stuck in spin cycle, or am I alone on this one?
But I had no idea what this phrase meant or where my brain picked up this piece of mental belly button lint that just wouldn't seem to shake out of the dryer filter that is my brain. My best guess up until just a minute ago was that it must be some brand of shoes. That explanation seemed to fit the name, but it still didn't explain how the phrase turned into a skipping record on my mental turntable.
But then, while typing last night, I glanced up at the TV and noticed the show on FNC. You'll never guess which one it was... I feel so much better; now I can forget it. It all makes sense now. Whenever my brother is home, the TV stays on Fox News. He even has his satellite radio tuned to it. Duh! Of course it's a news show.
Does your brain ever get stuck in spin cycle, or am I alone on this one?
JON HEDER
Oh my gravy! I watched an interview on HBO with Jon Heder (you know, the actor who portrayed Napoleon Dynamite). He looked so different! I wouldn't have recognized him if they hadn't had a big ND poster sitting next to him.
Did you know that he drew all the pictures that "Napoleon" drew? That's pretty impressive. He said that he tried to make them as terrible as possible.
That movie is in my Top 10. They say people either love it or hate it.
Since the battle lines have been drawn; I guess I should ask which side you've chosen. So are you pro or anti dynamite?
Did you know that he drew all the pictures that "Napoleon" drew? That's pretty impressive. He said that he tried to make them as terrible as possible.
That movie is in my Top 10. They say people either love it or hate it.
Since the battle lines have been drawn; I guess I should ask which side you've chosen. So are you pro or anti dynamite?
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