2008 October | chatting at the sky

early voting

October 31, 2008

Your comments on my last post made me cry. In a good way. I wrote it to process through some of that unshakable fear. So thanks for being my sounding board.

The car is totaled. We figured it might be, as there were lots of “crumbs” on the street after the accident. (The twins tend to think of messes in terms of food. You understand.) I guess that means we are in the market for another car. And The Man seems to think this one needs to be a mini van. I am officially and absolutely a mom now.

In other news, I voted today. I stood in line for an hour and twenty minutes. I found a comfortable spot against a piece of wall in the gym of the recreation center. Then, I watched along with my fellow voters as thirty senior citizens did slow bicep curls to the tune of The Phantom of the Opera. If I were 75 years old and showed up for my Friday morning exercise class to find an audience of bored voters wrapped around the gym, there is a strong possibility I would fake a heart-attack to get out of it.

I brought a book because I knew there would be a wait. There was a lesbian couple in front of me and a woman behind me with strong coffee breath who was very concerned about her name change form. My book became more of a prop as I became increasingly interested in the people around me. Guess what Coffee Breath and the Chatty Beekeeper behind her talked about? Coffee. And Bees. Not kidding.

Turns out Coffee Breath is a divorced nurse who was married for a year when she and her husband decided to call it quits. And Chatty Beekeeper is trying to find his way in a single world after so many years married.

He is going to a concert tonight.

My eyes shut instinctively and my body tensed in anticipation of an awkward exchange. Is he going to ask her to join him?

He didn’t. I exhaled in relief, glad I didn’t have to listen to her hazelnut flavored rejection of him, right there in the line to cast our vote for the next President of the United States.

Have you voted yet? What conversations did you eavesdrop on? If you’re waiting to vote on Election Day, do me a favor and listen. We could write a best-seller on these voter line conversations. I know we could.

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the eighth day

October 27, 2008

Rest. Play. Reflect. Do whatever feeds your soul.

Take one day a week to remind yourself that you are not a machine.

Rob Bell

Sunday tipped over and spilled all over Monday.
I’m allowing my soul to rest. Join me?

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senior photos: take two

October 24, 2008

Last weekend, I did a photo shoot with a couple of girls who are best friends. One of them will use them for her senior photos and the other was just along for the ride. This is what happened between the mom-approved shots.

Balancing on a very small pillar.

Acting like a kid.

Trying not to laugh.

Laughing anyway.

And a little bit of dancing.

Filed Under a photographer 27 Comments

Twilight

October 23, 2008

I did not plan to write about the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer mainly because of the vampires. That is not my favorite. I have tried to explain the books without using the words ‘vampire’ and ‘love story’ in the same sentence and it is not possible.

Now please excuse me while I clumsily grope for my dignity as it flies swiftly out the window.

Seriously, here’s the truth. I liked the books. However, I am not going to tell you to run to the nearest bookstore and buy the Twilight series and here’s why:

I don’t want anyone to say Emily recommended they read a book about vampires. That is not what I want to be known for thankyouverymuch.
Even though I liked them, my primary hangup with the series revolves around the fact that the main character had no life until she found her soul mate. I take issue. I gag on my own spittle. I object.
Once you start it will be hard to stop until you are done. Nobody has that kind of time.

If you haven’t read these books, here is the basic story line. A seventeen year old girl named Bella moves from big city Phoenix to small town Forks to live with her father. She basically hates life until she meets a fellow student named Edward. He is dazzling. He is mysterious. And, she later finds out, he is a one hundred year old vampire frozen in time at seventeen.

As I was reading, I was rooting for them, cheering with gusto. I gave myself permission to be silly and ridiculous and swoony. It was fun and entertaining. As the series continued, I honestly grew tired of cheering for them. I wanted to allow the book be what it is without over analyzing. But the codependent-you-complete-me kind of love that they had for one another was a bit over the top even though I can be a sucker for swoon.

The books are said to be clean, though dark, romance for young readers. As a mom, however, you may hesitate to share this series with its intended audience: your 13-year-old daughter. I wouldn’t let mine read it. And as much as I tried not to let the vampire part bother me, there were times when it did. If you are sensitive to that, it may be something you can’t overcome.

After my last post, some of you expressed concern about the dark theme of these books, questioning if it was appropriate for believers to read. I’ve struggled with how to address that issue, as I don’t think there is one way to look at it. Since I’ve read all four books, I was clearly not bothered enough to put them down, but I understand why someone might be. I found this article written by Mark Matlock on Christianity Today’s website that speaks to this topic, if you are interested.

I noticed another article in Leadership Journal, a magazine for church leaders. In the Toolkit section of the current issue (Vol. 29 Number 4), Twilight is highlighted as a relevant book in popular media: “While the content may be a bit racy, the novels do raise important questions about personal responsibility and consequences.”

I do have specific opinions about different parts of the series, but I didn’t want to have to write this post under a spoiler alert. Perhaps I will post some of those in the comments section. So if you read the comments, consider yourself warned.

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bliss for the little sis

October 20, 2008

Warning. This post has a lot of links and I am sorry. I am also sorry if you inadvertently revert back to seventh grade when everyone went on that weekend retreat except you because your Great Aunt Patsy Lou was in town and your Mom would NOT listen to reason and let you go. And then all your friends came home and talked about it and were BFFs. I really hope this isn’t like that.
I spent the weekend with my sister in Nashville for BlissDom ’08. If you are unfamiliar with Blissfully Domestic, you should check it out. It is an online magazine that covers a variety of topics including marriage and family, home keeping, frugal living and fashion rules – to name only a few.

Karla and Alli are the co-founders of the magazine. With the help of some fabulous sponsors (Epson and One2One Network) they hosted a conference completely free on Saturday in Nashville. That is a big deal, y’all. There was swag. There were door prizes. It was pretty much awesome. And free. Thanks to the sponsors who think those of us who blog have an influence.

The Nester was on a few of the speaking panels and I, in true little sister fashion, tagged along: completely decked out in an outfit that came directly from her closet. She has a big ‘ole post on her blog that you should check out. Everything she said about everyone she met, I pretty much feel the same. And she posted stolen photos, so that’s kind of exciting.

The first time I attended an event that included other bloggers was at She Speaks back in June. That is where I first met Robin of Pensieve. The Nester and I were blessed to have her as a roommate (as well of Karla, who I also met at She Speaks).
This is Robin. She is grounded and funny and has a great accent. She is the editor of Inspired Bliss and also the Religion and Philosophy editor for Blog Nosh Magazine.

If any of you are bloggers who have never met another person who blogs in real life, let me encourage you to do so. Even if it is simply someone you’ve been reading who you know lives close. Arrange to meet for coffee. I have discovered that the women I connect with through blogging are women I connect with in real life. Seems obvious, but you know there’s always that question in the back of your mind: is this woman for real or typing from jail? In a man’s body? It is the creepy Internet, after all.

Speaking of meeting other bloggers: THANK YOU for your responses to my question from Monday. I enjoyed hearing all the reasons why you write and read blogs. Overwhelmingly, we blog for connection.

I asked the same question of the women on one of the panels during the conference because I believe it is vital for us to remember the purpose behind what we do. Honestly, blogging takes up space in my psyche and I have to remember the purpose for that space. It is valuable real estate, after all. It is replacing something that previously existed in that space and without a clear purpose, I feel like I’m wasting time. I’ll save that purpose for another post, though.

One last thing about the conference, I was blessed with another spontaneous surprise:
I got to meet my Fairy Blog Mother. In case you don’t know what that means, she designed my blog. She did not attend the conference but she lives in the area and she and her friends Kim and Rachel got up early Sunday morning just to come have breakfast with Nester and me. I was so touched that they would go out of their way to do this. When she was designing this layout for me, we emailed a lot and kind of got to know one another. I always wanted to meet her but never EVER thought I would. A sweet gift that I didn’t even know to ask for.

So that concludes my spontaneous adventure. It was a lovely, unexpected thing to be able to take off in a car with my sister and drive many hours and drink lots of coffee and eat Blizzards from DQ and laugh until we…well, you know. Speaking of underwear, I am glad to be home with a full supply.

Filed Under a sister 31 Comments

why do you blog?

October 20, 2008

I’m back from my week of spontaneity and I look forward to telling you more about it. But first, I would love to hear from you!

In two sentences (one would be even better), I want to hear why you blog. If you can’t narrow it down to one sentence, feel free to simply process in the comments section. I’m all about processing.

If you don’t have your own blog, I would love to hear why you read the blogs you read. There is no right answer, of course. Just your highly valuable opinion. Now go!

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spontaneous blessings

October 16, 2008

In the name of being spontaneous (yes, I’m still being spontaneous), a trip that was supposed to be two days long has turned into six. I feel 10 years younger. Especially since my mom has done my laundry. Twice.
These girls are one of the many blessings I have received on this spontaneous trip. The Nester and I made plans to have lunch with Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs 31 Ministries. I attended several of her sessions at the She Speaks conference in June and was immediately drawn to her girlfriend speaking style and her willingness to speak truth with the perfect blend of confidence and grace. Sitting across the table from her, those qualities were displayed even more. She has a unique ability to cast vision for others and encourage them in that. If you don’t know anything about Lysa or Proverbs 31, let me encourage you to check them out.

Kristen of Beautifully Imperfect called me an hour before lunch. Spontaneously. She has never called me before. She even had to track down The Man to get my number. I am so glad she did. She is a friend from my hometown who is recently married and new to this big city (some of you may remember these photos from her wedding). She heard I was visiting and hesitantly asked if we could get together. Within the hour, we were sitting for lunch together and I truly believe it was a divine appointment. She is a writer. And as we listened to her talk about how she reluctantly decided to begin writing again through blogging, I felt as though I was watching the beginning of a dream take hold in her. I can’t wait to continue to know her better through her writing.

This week has been crazy and unpredictable. I’m still not home and I have a spontaneous road trip with my sister to look forward to. That’s right. I am thankful for the blessings available even in the midst of chaos. I am thankful for the money to buy new underwear because I didn’t pack enough. I am thankful for a sister who lets me borrow her cool clothes because I didn’t bring any. Speaking of chaos, check out my first attempt at taking the above photo with the remote. I need to practice being inconspicuous.

Filed Under a friend 26 Comments