weekend happenings

Ok - first of all - what happened to fall and why is it summer again? It's so confusing... I thought winter came after fall... and I have all these cute, new fall outfits to wear and it's too warm...

I went to see a Christmas movie this weekend wearing a tank-top, short skirt, and sandals... That just does not seem right. The movie (Surviving Christmas) was actually surprisingly funny. Of course, I went into it with zero (or more like -10) expectations thanks to my best friend who thinks Ben Affleck is the Anti-Christ (or wait - I think that's Karl Malone - not sure what the official terminology for Affleck is...) Anyway - now I know why Todd is always having totally low expectations, it really makes things seem better!

On a completely different note, my "intergenerational choir" (still haven't decided on a name) sang in the 11 o'clock service at our church today... It was an historic moment - we had drums... Yes, those evil instruments that are frequently mentioned in the Bible as instruments of choice... It was all good. Haven't received any hate mail yet.

Oh - and Happy Halloween...! We had some fun-filled pumkin carving take place earlier today and then of course took our little pilgrim (don't ask) out to gather lots of candy... She was quite successful with 140+ pieces.

I think that's enough for now...

older than i look?

So - at Rebecka's bball game today (pics to come), the mom next to me thought that I was Rebecka's sister. "You look like you're 14 or 15!" Ehm - no... I don't know if it was the childish curls framing my face after my recent run or the fact that I hadn't had time to put on make-up yet... In any case - this happens to me all the time...

On the first day of my first teaching job (Jr High music) the principal saw me in the hallway and thought I was one of the students... I was 21...

On the first day of attending our church in Waco, an elderly couple behind me introduced themselves and asked who I was. "Oh, I'm the minister's wife..." To which they responded: "You don't look old enough to be married!! You look like you're still in High School!" I was 24...

And every time a new employee at work finds out I have a seven-year-old, they exclaim: "You don't look old enough to have a child!" I am 30...

And I'm loving it!! :)

field trip joys (and firsts)

Park in long distance parking (it was open - yay! hate when i have to go to economy parking)... Take the fun-filled shuttle ride to the terminal - today I decided to make conversation with the person next to me for the first time... Vandy professor of literature on his way to Yale - who would've known?

Walk over to the security place (printed boarding pass at work)... Take off shoes, take out laptop, put it all on the belt, go through the thingy, hear the security dude say "Have a nice flight!" and for the first time manage not to say "You too!", put shoes back on, put laptop back in bag, grab the stuff and head for the gate.

Once there, try to do some work - suroundings too distracting... board - who took all the overhead compartment space? dig out papers to read, and for the first time ever - ignore papers and go to sleep... my, i must have been tired! I missed the drink and pretzels, and woke up to "ma'm - u need to put your seat in its upright position for landing..."

Get out of the plane, ride the little Hertz shuttle to the car rental place... First time to rent a car (always been riding along with someone). It was quite a smooth experience despite the fact that my name wasn't on the board and I actually had to go into the little booth to get my car (apparently a first-timer thing).

Drive to corporate apartment - get lost (naturally - first time staying there) - finally find it... take off shoes and sink into the sofa. Power up computer, and yeh...

Wonder what adventures tomorrow will hold???

hilarious...

ok - everybody may have already seen this, but just in case...

Electronic voting machines in Florida, Bush Wins Florida!

really busy these days - going on another field trip tomorrow - oh joy! :)

one more week...

My friend Mark emailed me the link to the Bush Relatives for Kerry site.

Check it out.

My favorite quote:

"I'm voting for John Kerry because I'm a Christian. I know that my second cousin, George Bush, claims that he is the anointed leader of the American people and that God told him to run for office. I believe he may even believe that. I don't."

I really hope that America makes the correct decision next Tuesday...

what's important

Whew - been busy... i can't believe how long it's been since i wrote something!!! ;)

Anyway - early this morning I had a revelation. Rebecka crawled into bed with us at some point during the wee hours and laid her head on my arm... I gave her a big hug and had this overwhelming sense of knowing exactly what was important in life... It's not work, it's not being able to run 13.1 miles, it's not wearing the latest fashions (although - that is fun!), it's not keeping the house spotless at all times, etc, etc...

It's this little human being lying next to me in bed (and the much bigger human being lying on the other side of me... ;) What a responsibility! I stress about being a good parent a lot. I know all the theories behind raising a smart, well-adjusted, and healthy child. I wish I didn't. Because there's no way to do it all. I'm not sure when Rebecka last had a vegetable... I'm not sure how many hours of TV she watches every day... But - I know this...

The next time she asks me to wrestle - I will... and the next time she asks me to help her with a messy art project - I will... and the next time she asks me to play pretend games with her stuffed animals - I will...

But this is cool... Whenever I feel like I'm a bad parent, I go look at a little poem that Rebecka brought home from school one day. It goes like this:

HOME
Home is comfortable
Home is where people love me
Home makes me feel like a new day

Ok - she's fine. :)

The human hamster wheel

Some runners think that people who run on treadmills are sissies... If you're not out there in the sweltering heat risking dehydration during the summer or slipping and sliding through icy streets in the winter, you're not really a runner.

Well, I LOVE the treadmill. I love it because it provides climate control (unless you place your treadmill outside, of course), it tells me exactly how far I've run and how fast I'm running, and it gives quick access to bathrooms should a sudden urge arise...

Did you know that the first treadmills were used on farms to generate power and in jails to punish prisoners!?! I'd take the treadmill over highway cleanup any day... ;)

Having said all that - nothing beats a early fall run in the woods, watching the world awake, and listening to the sounds of nature... Hmmm, makes me want to go to the lake.

oatmeal

Those of you who interact with me on a daily or almost daily basis know that oatmeal is my breakfast of choice 99.9% of the time... In fact, it's not just breakfast, it's a spiritual experience.

It took quite some time for my pals at work to convince me that instant oatmeal is a viable option... but once I got over that barrier a whole new world opened up to me - oatmeal at work! And now I can't really function if I don't start my day at work off with a good bowl of this wonderful porridge. :)

Anyway, when I'm at home, I still cook my oatmeal the old fashioned way - on the stove... And this week I had a new oatmeal revelation... the one minute 'Quick Oats'... I've seen this option at the store and always shied away from it, thinking that it must not taste as good or have the same perfect consistency as 'Old Fashioned Oats' - because - if it did, why would you ever buy the 'Old Fashioned' variety??

Hello, why didn't I try this years ago? Think of all the time I could've saved. There is absolutely no difference folks! So why on earth do people still buy the 'Old Fashioned Oats'? It's a mystery.

Tabita oatmeal trivia: I eat it with milk in the bowl at home, but at work I have it with milk on the side... don't ask...

with the times - part 3

cell phone: 'check'

yes - it's true - it's really true!!! i'm cool now.

and my phone is soooo cute! i'm excited.

breaking news from Sweden

So - nobody who reads this blog would probably care, but four bears were hit by a train in Sweden today...

"Why would four bears be on a train track at the same time?", you may wonder. Well, according to the investigators they were probably munching on the remains of some other animal who had previously been hit by a train...

And isn't it ironic... don't you think?
A little too ironic... and yeah i really do think...

ok - it's late... time to crawl into bed and watch some online swedish news... :)

sleepovers...

... are awesome!

especially the ones Rebecka gets to go to... :)

american sex lives

interesting show tonight on abc...

did u know that 57% of Americans have had sex outside?

read all about it...

with the times - part 2

ok - so maybe i was too with the times...

several friends told me about the security issues with google desktop, so i went ahead and uninstalled it...

and guess what happened? my browser opened and google asked me why the heck i decided to uninstall it... freaky!

it is here

rebecka's t-shirt came today! doesn't she look excited?

namur has a new US distributor

yeh - that would be me.

i have two big boxes of t-shirts if anyone wants to buy (they're only $12!!!)

and now i can receive payments via paypal (yeh - this is what prompted that)...

check the shirt out at namur.nu - go to 'order' and then scroll down almost to the bottom and there's a hunky guy in a tight variety of it...

i think i'll be getting cds and other fun things soon... i'll keep you posted!

with the times

so i feel like i'm making strides towards becoming more with the times...

i downloaded this super nifty google tool that searches your hard drive while you search the web... check it out here...

and i signed up for PayPal this morning... :)

now i just need a cell phone, an mp3 player, and the TV-B-Gone and i'll be all set.

TV-B-Gone

ok - this new gadget is going to make hanging out at airports so much more entertaining...

someone please get me one!

disgusting

btw - does anybody else find the USA Today commercial with the nude dude in the hotel disturbing?

there is a reason why (most) males should wear lots of clothes...

fitness room joy

there were extra towels, "Brush Mountain" water, a bathroom, the treadmill looked like it was actually manufactured in this decade (or possibly toward the end of the last), AND like every hotel fitness room i've ever been in, it was wonderfully empty...

to top it off, the shower had this stay smart shower head by kohler which allowed me to wash my hair in a fraction of the time that it typically takes.

it's going to be a good day! :)

field trips

rebecka went on a field trip to chattanooga yesterday - she came home with tales of clown fish, carousel rides, and overpriced souvenirs made in china...

anyway - made me think of field trips way back when and the joy and excitement that accompanied such events. the special brown bag lunch, being allowed to wear jeans (yes - i went to a strict christian school in SF), exploring, learning...

and imagine this - today i got to go on a field trip!

the flight was delayed 1 hour, the chef at O'Charleys made our dinner last 1 hour and 45 minutes (apparently he overcooked the meat for the black and blue salad), we had to drive 2 hours to get to the middle of nowhere in NC to finally arrive at the hotel around 10 pm local time...

but - my room has a king size bed, there were chocolate mints on the pillow, there's high speed wireless, AND best of all - there is a fitness room... field trip is looking good so far... :)

ps - thanks to my sweet friends who made my not so great morning turn into a much better noon, afternoon and evening... friends are awesome. i'm so lucky.

some days...

today is one of those days when i would just like to stay in my pjs, curl up on the couch with a fleece blanket, and watch chick flicks all day...

but alas...

maybe it will get better.

Bush too liberal?

Watched some fun-filled American Morning on CNN at the gym this morning as I sweated on the elliptical machine. Btw, if you're one of the people who think that running is boring/too hard/scary/dangerous or whatever, the elliptical machine may be a good alternative for you. It'll give you a great cardio workout while sparing your knees. Downsides are that you either have to buy one, steal one, or join a gym and, of course, there are no elliptical machine races...

Anyway - Soledad is back on AM after what seems like a very, very long maternity leave (do you get double the time with twins?). Yay! I love her...

So - according to the AM news ticker a recent Gallup pole shows that 14% of Americans think that Bush is too liberal?!?!? Please tell me that is scary.

Oh, I just ordered this shirt for Rebecka. I'm so excited. I was kinda wanting to get the "Mommy wants a new president." variety, but they were out of her size.

to get a cell phone or not to get a cell phone...

...that is not the question for most of my friends.

But I've never had a cell phone... Well, we had a family cell phone once, but I threw away the charger when I got a little carried away during some insane cleaning frenzy, and since then we haven't had one...

Recently, I've found myself in several situations where a cell phone would have been handy indeed. Like the night I was walking home from the Blindside concert and there was a pack of wild dogs blocking the way to my car. Or the lunch a few weeks ago when I thought we were supposed to meet at the restaurant and my friend thought she was supposed to pick me up. Or the time I lost the car key in the park and the only other key to the car was locked in the car. Or the day when a walk around the lake almost didn't happen.

Yes, a cell phone would be nice... But is it worth the money? The cheapest I could find that meets our family's needs is a family plan with T-Mobile for $50 for two lines (and of course, that's not including tax). But to make it simple, that's $600 per year. That's 6 pairs of Brooks Glycerine running shoes. That's also more than half the price of a ticket to Sweden during the summer season.

All that for convenience? Still pondering.

The God Gene

The cover story of TIME magazine this week is called "The God Gene". There's a study out that indicates that we may be born with a gene that determines whether or not we will be religious or believe in some higher being.

Hey - sounds like the scientific proof for predestination! :)

Of course, the gene doesn't tell you what to believe... and interestingly enough, the same "scientist" has not found any evidence that there is a homosexuality gene.

Wait - hasn't anyone figured out that science and religion don't go together? Science is about proof and facts - God is about faith and mystery.

Makes me think of the controversial Michael Polanyi Center at my alma mater Baylor University. This center was quietly established a few years ago to study creationism or "the intelligent design of nature". When the faculty (especially some of my friends) found out, they obviously questioned the reputation of Baylor as a university, but many were afraid to speak out in fear of the administration. Gotta love the warm Christian atmosphere that exists at this fine Baptist university.

I'm not saying that I think that science contradicts religion - just that science should not be used to try to "prove" the existence of God, or that God created our universe, or that Noah's Ark really happened. We cannot prove these things - we can just believe or even wonder or doubt and embrace the mysteriousness of it all.

water

The topic of the youth program at the retreat was "Finding God in Nature" (or something similar).

On Saturday we explored how we could find God in water and how water is such a significant part of Christianity and spirituality. Water is relaxing, refreshing, rushing, flowing, and life giving. However, water can also be deadly and dangerous... So water can at the same time be a symbol of rest and serenity as well as a reminder of how fragile life really is and how important it is to have faith through the stormy times...

I didn't have much trouble finding God in the beauty that I attempted to capture in the picture above.

hike

On Saturday afternoon I went for a wonderful hike with a group of people from church aged 10 to 80... :) Amazingly beautiful.

Is there anything better than tromping around in the woods on a sunny fall day?

back

tired, happy, tired - yeh.

will post some pics soon...

i need to take a nap.

wait - aren't retreats supposed to be rejuvenating and relaxing??!?!!

oh yeh - that's if someone else is in charge... :)

frenzy at the Green house

well - i got through my 5 meetings and finally managed to eat lunch at 3 pm - unheard of! i typically eat like every 3 hours (i think i may be related to the hobbits) - and when i don't... well - it's a bad thing... :P

anyway - cut out early to hang with the in-laws who are in town as part of their annual cross-country trek. went to Rotiers' for dinner - mmm - chocolate milk shake - mmm...

i have to leave for a retreat tomorrow morning at 8 am... before that i have to pack, shower, prepare youth activities, sleep, run, shower, dry hair (well - might skip that phase), get dressed, eat, pack some more, get child ready, make sure i have everything together, and put it all in the car.

yeh - what am i doing posting stuff to my blog right now?? i've got stuff to do!

laundry

I love being able to start a couple of loads of laundry in the morning and come home and it's all clean, dry, and put up... :)

Yes - my husband is a domestic god (as much as I am NOT a domestic godess). He is also a Ph.D. student in Modern European Church History - "Modern" = reformation and later - it's all very much over my head, but he's darn good at it... In addition, he welcomes our only child, Rebecka, home from school every day and helps her with homework and spelling words. Did I mention that he cooks 90% of the time and likes to polish furniture?

Yeh - it's nice to be a working mom... :)

btw - I'm wearing Birkenstocks with white socks today... I'm not sure this is ok with the fashion police, but at least the socks are not bright green as they were for church this past Sunday. Rebecka was embarrassed. I'm pretty sure God didn't care... :)

this morning

I discovered when I got to work that I had left my laptop at home. It made me say a bad word (several times - shhhh!). Good thing I live 1.8 miles from work and that I had a slight buffer before my first (out of five) meeting of the day. And on the upside - on the way back home, the engine of my car actually warmed up so I got some heat... yay! :)

btw - I've been playing the same song over and over in my car non-stop for two weeks. It's "Where is the Love" with Black Eyed Peas. It is an awesome song - and if you haven't heard it, please download it NOW (legally please...). I'm am forever indebted to my good pal Melissa for getting it for me - and just having one song on a CD is awesome - don't have to worry about hitting repeat!

The ride from home to work is about 1 1/2 "Where is the Love"... :)

Favorite phrase: Wait - I can't decide... It's all so good...

Just read the whole thing here.

spreading the blogging

i'm so happy that since i started this blog a few days ago, two of my friends have joined the blogging world:

papiliomarcellus & my favorite wisconsinite

other blogging friends:

fognoge - world's greatest living composer - really :)
appwiz - got me blogging - thanks!
crazed mofo - don't go there if you don't like four letter words... ;)

i just had this thought that the people that will appreciate this blog the most are the previously unfortunate recipients of my many nonsensical emails - now i can put all my nonsense here... hope you guys are happy!! :)

food

food is an interesting thing... i think about food a lot.

when you're a runner you have to. your body craves good food.

today i had:

breakfast - oatmeal with walnuts, raisins, applesauce, and soy milk

this is my standard work day kick-off meal - can't live without it.
there's nothing like coming to the office after a 2 hour workout - starving - and turning the laptop on - stumbling into the kitchen while it boots up - and preparing a bowl of steaming oatmeal to eat while checking the morning emails and blogs...

ok - snack - nature valley chewy granola bar (fruit and nuts) - graciously bestowed upon me by one of the dev managers... :) and probably some lovely flavio hot chocolate (only 66 calories!)

lunch - whole wheat pita with hummus and a tasty apple

second lunch - plain non-fat yoghurt with granola and dried fruit

dinner - some scary frozen skillet meal with chicken and pasta (thanks for cooking honey!)

dessert - lovely strawberry sundae crunch bar :)

snack - graham cracker w natural pb and soy milk

and i am satisfied...

food is awesome!

oh - forgot the starbursts i snuck in during piano lessons (supposed to be for bribing the kids to practice)

my bro-in-law

David Green - consultant for Sun Microsystems - and one of the smartest people I know.

He's a rock-n-rollin' relative - and here is what he has to say about Kerry's response to the minimum wage question:

"...and like most of what he (Kerry) says, not too impressed. :-)"

How can we win you over dude??

The conversation around the Thanksgiving table this year should be lively indeed... :)

fountain - part 3

and here is the fountain - as requested... including the two canadian moose from "brother bear"

debate musings

Loved Kerry's response to the minimum wage question...

Good Lord! I had no idea the minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 for SEVEN years!

In Sweden there is no minimum wage, rather it is set by an industrial collective agreement - but it seems to work - at least there people who work full-time can easily support themselves...

It's funny how here "union" is a bad word...

Yeh - I view everything through the lens of how things work in Sweden... Sorry! Can't help it. :)

Another highlight was when Kerry pointed out that faith is about helping others... Thank you John! if all christians in this country realized this we wouldn't need welfare! It disgusts me to think about how much money is hoarded by "faithful" christians... I think it makes God cry...

And don't even get me started on health care... It's funny how we care more about exploring space than making sure that everyone can afford to go to the doctor... and what is it with Americans' obsession with going to the doctor anyway?? The doctor cannot make your cold go away!!! Eat oranges, rest, and feel better... :P

Politics is so much fun.

running

went for a fast and fun run in the mist this morning...

this is the time of year when i think at the beginning of the run: "i should've put on more clothes" and think at the end of the run: "i'm glad i didn't put on more clothes"

i love fall!!!

speaking of running - i'm so thrilled that this month's Runner's World featured John Edwards on the cover rather than the obvious alternative - this is the only magazine i read on a consistent basis and as much as my husband makes fun of the "scientific findings" in this outstanding journal, i think it's great - and now i like it even better!

Edwards actually spoke of his running on the Tonight Show last night - Jay asked who would win a 5K (Edwards or Bush) and Edwards replied something about Bush standing on the sidelines of the football field with pom-poms... :)

did anybody else notice the resemblence between Edwards and Harry Potter's Professor Lockhart with all that smiling he had going on?

oh - and if any of you are not already running - please start now - it will change your life.

choir names

so i direct an intergenerational choir at my church - and yes - we have members from ages 14 to 80!

anyway, right now we're the "Intergenerational Choir" (boring!) so i asked the choir members to attempt to come up with some suggestions for a more interesting name.

well, one of our basses came up with the following list:

1. Psalm Pilots
2. Golgotha Borealis
3. Greenest Pastures
4. Be Attititudes
5. On Körs
6. His Tree Singers
7. The Certainty Principle
8. The Counter Terror Choir
9. Beyond Belief
10. Fearless Forgiveness

and being the geek that i am (ok - maybe not - it's all relative) i really like #1

but #8 is fun too... :)

#9 probably best in reality?

God is not a Republican or a Democrat

my brother namur told me about jim wallis, a liberal evangelical who had a few things to say about "the jesus factor".

wallis writes for a magazine - sojourners, which is "a Christian ministry whose mission is to proclaim and practice the biblical call to integrate spiritual renewal and social justice"

one of the things that they are currently doing is to get people to sign a petition called "God is not a Republican or a Democrat" in order to get it published in newspapers across america.

this makes me think that i'll come back to the site again...

naturalization

received a letter from the dept of homeland security today...

i'm now scheduled to take the test that will determine if i know enough about US history and government to be a worthy US citizen.

a few sample questions:

How many stars are there in our flag?
Who was the first president of the United States?
What date is the Day of Independence?

yeh - you get the picture... i'll be studying real hard for that one. ;)

at least i get a reason to take off from work one day and go to memphis!

anyone wanna go??!?! if so, mark your calendar for dec 14 - unfortunately the grizzlies aren't playing that day, otherwise it could've been a really fun-filled trip...

i sure wish i'd gotten all of this done before the election!

norwegians

i'm typically not too crazy about norwegians (being swedish i'm pretty much not allowed to) - but this is cool:

tellhim.no

fountain part 2...

well - there was not much water left in the fountain this morning... :) wonder why?

but at least no computer parts were damaged... however, i'm thinking i may need a little reminder in outlook about this - along with the daily "fill out time for previous day" and the weekly "get the cans from the kitchen" (yes - i'm in charge of recycling here)

had a fair 6 mile run today - some days are so easy - others are so hard... being awake in the middle of the night listening to some spectacular thundering probably didn't help...

ps - soccer makes my feet hurt

fountain

i have one at my desk now... it's such a happy thing...

just a little nervous right now, b/c i forgot to turn it off...

intro

my friend rohan insisted on this blog... should be fun... :)