Loven It

Remember that magazine? Highlights? In every doctor’s office in America. Oh the joy of the doctor’s office. Making learning fun since 1946.

#1: Michael Buble

Got free tickets from work to see Michael Buble live and in concert at the Save Mart Center on Tuesday. Crystal Dower and I got all gussied up for the event. The opening act we thought was lame until we realized they didn’t have a band and were making all of the “instrumental music” without instruments. AMAZING! Check out Naturally 7 on youtube if thats what blows your skirt up. Michael was crass, but enjoyable none the less. And from where we sat in the not-quite-the-nose-bleed-section only appeared to be about an inch tall… very strange for such an arrogant little man. I’m glad I didn’t pay $160 for tickets, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself, the company and the music.

#2: Getting pulled over

On our way home from the concert, Crystal and I got pulled over. Apparently Crystal has a headlight out. After explaining to the cop that we were on our way home from the concert and that Michael was “a bit more crass than we expected” Crystal handed her license to him only to find that it was expired. At which point he ran my license and I had to drive Crystal home. Relatively uneventful it may seem, except that we were pulled over in front of Fashion Fair Mall where Crystal works and the security guard came to point fingers and laugh all the while humiliating Crystal. HILARIOUS! If you would like a copy of the surveillance footage, email me and I will get an additional copy from Jose the security guard. Free bag of popcorn with video.

#3: Jeff came home from his trip. Its fantastic to have him home and not away. And … well thats pretty much it for that one.
Lowlights - the lesser known childhood commentary

#1: Someone in advertising got fired at work. Felt really bad for her. Didn’t see it coming. And thats really all I should say about that. I hope she finds work soon and that its something that she’s good at and that she loves to do. Here’s hoping there aren’t any more firings in the works and at the very least, that I’m not one of the unsuspecting schmoes.

#2: I weighed myself for the first time in 18 months and … it wasn’t pretty.
I’ve whined about it ever since and dragged Jeff out of bed this morning to go running with me. Maybe dragged is too strong a word. I mumbled “do you want to go running” and he popped right out of bed, got dressed and waited about 15 minutes for me to follow suit. And then we headed east and “ran” to the first cross street where I thought I was going to die. We then proceeded to walk swiftly for the remaining 7/8 mile.

Thats all for me. Hope you all have a magical mothers day.
*Highlights/Lowlights are in order of occurrence and do not reflect the preference of the author. The fact that my husband coming home is ranked #3 means nothing.

Jeff’s out of town.

Whenever Jeff goes away, I go for walks. At least on the first night that he’s gone. Mostly because I like to have something to tell him when he calls and says “So what’ve you been up to?” He never expects exercise to be an element of my alone time. And he gets that sound in his voice like he’s impressed with me. I like that sound. Its the cherry on top of the icecream sundae. Not only did he think of me, not only did he call, but he was surprised by me, impressed with me. That little sound helps me get through another morning of waking up to the alarm clock without a husband there to reset it for half an hour later, or to gently coax me into wiping the sleep away from my eyes when all of the half-hour-laters have run out.

So anyway, I went for a walk. And, as usual, I fell in love with my neighborhood. I am always taken aback when I come face to face with the charm of this place. Houses from every decade since the 1920’s. All intermingling along tree lined streets. In the shade of the criss crossing branches you find putting green lawns and colorful gardens. Cobblestone pillars and pathways. Rounded doors, red doors, shutters with shapes carved from the center. And oh the eaves. Eaves straight from storybook cottages where Grandmother’s bake goodies and children are nestled snug in their beds.

My favorite houses are the ones with lights on. Lit up inside. Lights in the living room, lights in the kitchen. And people! Men & women sitting on sofas and around tables, smiling and laughing. Houses filled with chatter and with light. Or a single sillhouette reading under the light of a lamp. I feel like an intruder peering into the windows of beautiful houses. Theres something intimate about them. Some sweetness not intended to be shared with me. Its romantic. A smattering of innocent romance. Not Hollywood romance, not something cheesy or cliche. Just an air of goodness. I feel like I’ve missed something wonderful if I just walk by without a glance. Who can keep from slipping a finger in the frosting of a birthday cake when nobody seems to be looking?

Mmmm… frosting…

I’m getting real tired of all the political commercials….especially the ones about props 94, 95, 96, 97….the indian gaming ones. I got my primary election guide in the mail and I’ve read in it a bit and I still don’t know what/who I’m gonna vote for! All I know is that having Arnold speak on commercials to try and gain favor with any audience is probably not a great idea…where is Carrifoenyuh anyway? If anyone has any insight into all the political garbage please do tell!

I’m soon heading off to dinner at Red Robin. mmmmmmmm! Gonna get me a A-1 Peppercorn Burger. If you’ve never had it, or been to Red Robin for that matter, you really haven’t lived yet! If I was to add up all the $$ I’ve spent at Red Robin since starting college in ‘02 I could probably resurrect the economy of some small poverty-stricken African nation……dang….not good! Anyway, that was comepletely worthless information for you….I’m out!

J

Satan, Lucifer, the Devil, the Father of Lies, the Evil One, Bally Total Fitness…they’re all different ways of saying the same thing. At first I thought I might have been being a bit dramatic, but then I was reading the Word and I found confirmation! 1 Jeffrolonians 5:8 says, “Stay Alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the Bally Total Fitness. It prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour!” (NJT) I leave the decoding of the translation abbreviation to your imagination, it shouldn’t be to much of a stretch for you. Anyway, all this to say that I’ve been to the gym twice now and its real good and real bad all at the same time…nuff said!

Wow, what a week. I’ve been to Lemoore 4 times in the last 2 weeks and 3 of those times were just last week. The Lord is definitely doing something in Lemoore, Eve and I just need to figure out if this is the best place for us to join Him in his work…the place He wants us to be. So, if you’re a praying person we’d definitely appreciate your prayer along those lines! Be sure to let us know if he says something to ya about it.

On a more serious note, I was doing some message prep in Luke 15 this afternoon and read this: “Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.” I know that at first glance that doesn’t seem like much, but something about it really hit me. Those guys never went to listen to the Pharisees and Scribes teach because they only taught law and condemnation. Jesus taught love…and there is where I think I find the difference. There was something so intriguingly different about Jesus and his message that it attracted the “worst” of sinners, and these sinners didn’t debate him and point out his hypocrisy, they listened to him. Wow. When was the last time a notorious “sinner” often came to listen to you talk about Jesus without debating you and presupposing your hypocrisy….I know it doesn’t happen very often to me. Maybe its because I often fail to truly live an intriguingly different life with an intriguingly different message backing it up. What separates us as Jesus-followers from “the crowd?” Just a thought to chew on!

that’s all for now……

-J-

Finally made it to the gym. Couldn’t pay for an entire month without actually seeing the inside or sitting on one of those bicycle machines, now could I? One small step for Eve, one big step for Eve’s behind. No, I’m not over proportioned or flabby really. But those of you who know me (I’m assuming all of you or you wouldn’t be reading this oh so fascinating blog) know that a walk around the block is my idea of a marathon. The most regular exercise I’ve gotten in a long time is walking up the stairs at work to the second floor and if it didn’t have a landing half way up there, I probably would concede to the elevator. So yes, it is a big step for Eve.

And my trainer, you ask. Yes. I said trainer. He’s not only an ex-marine. He used to train marines. Gloat gloat, gloat gloat. I should’ve known what I was in for when he left us on the bikes for 10 minutes as a “warm up.” Yes. I said 10 minutes as though that were a long time. And I meant it. We pushed up, curled up, jumped up, lifted up and bent our bodies into strange positions. It hurt. Word to the wise. He’ll keep asking “how are you feeling” until long after you feel like dieing. You’ve got to come up with a good excuse, like dizziness or severely labored breathing before you get a break. Luckily, or unluckily to be more precise, I experienced both symptoms and thus ended the journey to hell before actually pulling into the station.

Have your legs ever felt like jello? Real jello? In all reality, it was a decent experience. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not about to pay to go through that on a weekly basis. But I feel a bit more confident walking into the gym. You know, like I almost have a right to be there. I plan to become familiar with some bicycles or walking machines and take a pilates class or two for my abs. In fact, I would even venture to say that I want to go back. I want to get healthy. Tomorrow, my stiff, sore glutes may try to convince me otherwise. So keep asking me about it or the glutes may win.

Eve

Hey Ya’ll,

At the urging of one of my best friends, my wife and I now have a blog. We’re hoping to update frequently! I’m watching the Jacksonville/Patriots game, desperately hoping that Jacksonville can pull off a miracle. I’m quite convinced that the Patriots are in cahoots with el diablo himself! Anyway, check back soon!

Jeff