It's Tuesday, which means time for another list! I'll try to make it a short one, since today's entry may be rather long.
Before the list, let me address the recent big news in my life: John and I are getting married!
He proposed last Saturday evening, before Easter. The short version of the story is that we went to dinner at a swanky restaurant downtown, and then he proposed at Furman. Like many Furmanites, most of our first dates involved long talks while walking around the lake, so it was neat to head back to our old stomping grounds.
The extra part of the story is that earlier in the day, when we were practicing a little bit of softball, I caught a fly ball....with my mouth. So the evening that the whole engagement/proposal went down, I had a hugely swollen lip, some bruising on my chin, and a very sore jaw despite spending much of the afternoon with an icepack to my face. John told me it looked like I had Botox - on only one side. I wasn't in the best mood when the date started, but I sure looked funny!
The swelling went down very dramatically during dinner - we were actually both shocked at how fast it went down, considering that the ice earlier had not helped at all! I found out later that my mom called her sisters after John and I left for dinner (she had a hunch), so they were all praying for my lip to heal quickly. I believe in the power of prayer, so I just think that's a neat part of the story. Besides, who else gets a softball in the face and a diamond ring in the same day from the same guy? Or a proposal with a busted lip?
We're trying to plan a wedding this summer. Yes, as in 'summer 2008.' Yes, as in 'we're completely flippin' crazy.' If we can't work out an available date/venue for this summer, the wedding will have to wait until Christmas, because he will have no good breaks before that in his pharmacy school program.
I promise this will not become a completely wedding-obsessed blog - but if we're only engaged for like 4 months, you'll have to forgive me if that's most of what I think about for the next few months! In honor of that, 2 goofy lists:
What We Need
1. A date
2. A place for the ceremony (since my church meets in a high school)
3. A place for the reception
4. A marriage license
5. Food
6. Music
7. Drinks (at this rate, lots of them!)
8. Just about everything else...
What We've Got
1. A bride
2. A groom
3. Rings (John already has my wedding band!)
4. Strong likelihood of oppressive South Carolina mid-summer heat
5. Yep, that's about it.
Any suggestions/tips are welcome. Also, if you care to read any more about the story of John and I, our good friend Vance put a great blog entry about us here. Thanks Vance!
25 March 2008
21 March 2008
The Ragman
As I was reading this modern re-telling of the Crucifixion and Resurrection earlier today, it brought to mind the poem/short story below. It's one of my very favorite things. I heard it read aloud as a child, but I still deeply love this re-telling today and I hope you will read it and savour it. Sorry about the strange formatting - it didn't copy into the blog very well.
Wishing you a victorious and hopeful Easter.
The Ragman
I saw a strange sight.
I stumbled upon a story most strange like nothing my life,my street sense, my sly tongue had even prepared me for. Hush, child. Hush now and I will tell it to you.
Even before the dawn one Friday morning I noticed a young man, handsome and strong, walking the alleys of our city. He was pulling an old cart filled with clothes both bright and new, and he was calling in a clear, tenor voice: "Rags!" Ah, the air was foul and the first light filthy to be crossed by such sweet music.
"Rags! New rags for old! I take your tired rags! Rags!"
"Now, this is a wonder," I thought to myself ,for the man stood six- feet-four, and his arms were like tree limbs, hard and muscular, and his eyes flashed intelligence. Could he find no better job than this, to be a ragman in the inner city? So I followed him. My curiosity drove me. And I wasn't disappointed.
Soon the Ragman saw a woman sitting on her back porch. She was sobbing into a handkerchief, sighing, and shedding a thousand tears. Her knees and elbows made a sad X. Her shoulders shook. Her heart was breaking. The Ragman stopped his cart. Quietly, he walked to the woman, stepping round tin cans, dead toys, and Pampers. "Give me your rag," he said so gently,"and I'll give you another." He slipped the handkerchief from her eyes. She looked up and he laid across her palm a linen cloth so clean and new that it shined. She blinked from the gift to the giver. Then, as he began to pull his cart again, the Ragman did a strange thing: he put her stained handkerchief to his own face; and then he began to weep, to sob as grievously as she had done, his shoulders shaking. Yet she was left without a tear.
"This is a wonder," I breathed to myself, and I followed the sobbing Ragman like a child who cannot turn away from a mystery.
"Rag! Rag! New rags for old!"
In a little while, when the sky showed grey behind the rooftops and I could see the shredded curtains hanging out black windows, the Ragman came upon a girl whose head was wrapped in a bandage. Her eyes were empty. Blood soaked her bandage. A single line of blood ran down her cheek. Now the tall Ragman looked upon this child with pity, and he drew a lovely yellow bonnet from his cart. "Give me your rag," he said, tracing his own line on her cheek, "and I'll give you mine." The child could only gaze at him while he loosened the bandage, removed it, and tied it to his own head. The bonnet he set on hers. And I gasped at what I saw: for with bandage went the wound! Against his brow it ran a darker, more substantial blood - his own!
"Rag! Rags! I take old rags!" cried the sobbing, bleeding, strong, intelligent Ragman. The sun hurt both the sky, now, and my eyes; the Ragman seemed more and more to hurry.
"Are you going to work?" he asked a man leaned against a telephone pole. The man shook his head. The Ragman pressed him: "Do you have a job?" "Are you crazy?" sneered the other. He pulled away from the pole, revealing the right sleeve of his jacket - flat, the cuff stuffed into the pocket. He had no arm. "So," said the Ragman. "Give me your jacket, and I'll give you mine." Such quiet authority in his voice! The one-armed man took off his jacket. So did the Ragman - and I trembled at what I saw: for the Ragman's arm stayed in its sleeve, and when the other put it on he had two good arms, thick as tree limbs: but the Ragman had only one. "Go to work," he said.
After that he found a drunk, lying unconscious beneath an army blanket, an old man hunched, wizened, and sick. He took that blanket and wrapped it round himself, but for the drunk he left new clothes.
And now I had to run to keep up with the Ragman. Though he was weeping uncontrollably, and bleeding freely at the forehead, pulling his cart with one arm, stumbling for drunkenness, falling again and again, exhausted, old - old and sick - yet he went with terrible speed. On spider's legs he skittered through the alleys of the city, this mile and the next, until he came to its limits, and then he rushed beyond.
I wept to see the changes in this man. I hurt to see his sorrow. And yet I needed to see where he was going in such haste, perhaps to know what drove him so. The little old Ragman ... he came to a landfill. He came to the garbage pits. And then I wanted to help him in what he did, but I hung back, hiding. He climbed a hill. With tormented labour he cleared a little space on that hill. Then he sighed. He lay down. He pillowed his head on a handkerchief and a jacket. He covered his bones with an army blanket. And he died.
Oh, how I cried to witness that death! I slumped in a junked car and wailed and mourned as one who has no hope - because I had come to love the Ragman. Every other face had faded in the wonder of this man, and I cherished him; but he died. I sobbed myself to sleep. I did not know - how could I know? -- that I slept through Friday night and Saturday and its night, too.
But then, on Sunday morning, I was awakened by a violence. Light - pure, hard, demanding light - slammed against my sour face, and I blinked, and I looked, and I saw the last and the first wonder of all. There was the Ragman, folding the blanket most carefully, a scar on his forehead, but alive! And, beside that, healthy!There was no sign of sorrow nor of age, and all the rags that he had gathered shined for cleanliness.
Well, then I lowered my head and, trembling for all that I had seen, I myself walked up to the Ragman. I told him my name with shame, for I was a sorry figure next to him. Then I took off all my clothes in that place,a nd I said to him with dear yearning in my voice: "Dress me.."
He dressed me. My Lord, he put new rags on me, and I am a wonder beside him.
The Ragman, the Ragman, the Christ!
By Walter Wangerin, Jr. from "Ragman and Other Cries of Faith"
Wishing you a victorious and hopeful Easter.
The Ragman
I saw a strange sight.
I stumbled upon a story most strange like nothing my life,my street sense, my sly tongue had even prepared me for. Hush, child. Hush now and I will tell it to you.
Even before the dawn one Friday morning I noticed a young man, handsome and strong, walking the alleys of our city. He was pulling an old cart filled with clothes both bright and new, and he was calling in a clear, tenor voice: "Rags!" Ah, the air was foul and the first light filthy to be crossed by such sweet music.
"Rags! New rags for old! I take your tired rags! Rags!"
"Now, this is a wonder," I thought to myself ,for the man stood six- feet-four, and his arms were like tree limbs, hard and muscular, and his eyes flashed intelligence. Could he find no better job than this, to be a ragman in the inner city? So I followed him. My curiosity drove me. And I wasn't disappointed.
Soon the Ragman saw a woman sitting on her back porch. She was sobbing into a handkerchief, sighing, and shedding a thousand tears. Her knees and elbows made a sad X. Her shoulders shook. Her heart was breaking. The Ragman stopped his cart. Quietly, he walked to the woman, stepping round tin cans, dead toys, and Pampers. "Give me your rag," he said so gently,"and I'll give you another." He slipped the handkerchief from her eyes. She looked up and he laid across her palm a linen cloth so clean and new that it shined. She blinked from the gift to the giver. Then, as he began to pull his cart again, the Ragman did a strange thing: he put her stained handkerchief to his own face; and then he began to weep, to sob as grievously as she had done, his shoulders shaking. Yet she was left without a tear.
"This is a wonder," I breathed to myself, and I followed the sobbing Ragman like a child who cannot turn away from a mystery.
"Rag! Rag! New rags for old!"
In a little while, when the sky showed grey behind the rooftops and I could see the shredded curtains hanging out black windows, the Ragman came upon a girl whose head was wrapped in a bandage. Her eyes were empty. Blood soaked her bandage. A single line of blood ran down her cheek. Now the tall Ragman looked upon this child with pity, and he drew a lovely yellow bonnet from his cart. "Give me your rag," he said, tracing his own line on her cheek, "and I'll give you mine." The child could only gaze at him while he loosened the bandage, removed it, and tied it to his own head. The bonnet he set on hers. And I gasped at what I saw: for with bandage went the wound! Against his brow it ran a darker, more substantial blood - his own!
"Rag! Rags! I take old rags!" cried the sobbing, bleeding, strong, intelligent Ragman. The sun hurt both the sky, now, and my eyes; the Ragman seemed more and more to hurry.
"Are you going to work?" he asked a man leaned against a telephone pole. The man shook his head. The Ragman pressed him: "Do you have a job?" "Are you crazy?" sneered the other. He pulled away from the pole, revealing the right sleeve of his jacket - flat, the cuff stuffed into the pocket. He had no arm. "So," said the Ragman. "Give me your jacket, and I'll give you mine." Such quiet authority in his voice! The one-armed man took off his jacket. So did the Ragman - and I trembled at what I saw: for the Ragman's arm stayed in its sleeve, and when the other put it on he had two good arms, thick as tree limbs: but the Ragman had only one. "Go to work," he said.
After that he found a drunk, lying unconscious beneath an army blanket, an old man hunched, wizened, and sick. He took that blanket and wrapped it round himself, but for the drunk he left new clothes.
And now I had to run to keep up with the Ragman. Though he was weeping uncontrollably, and bleeding freely at the forehead, pulling his cart with one arm, stumbling for drunkenness, falling again and again, exhausted, old - old and sick - yet he went with terrible speed. On spider's legs he skittered through the alleys of the city, this mile and the next, until he came to its limits, and then he rushed beyond.
I wept to see the changes in this man. I hurt to see his sorrow. And yet I needed to see where he was going in such haste, perhaps to know what drove him so. The little old Ragman ... he came to a landfill. He came to the garbage pits. And then I wanted to help him in what he did, but I hung back, hiding. He climbed a hill. With tormented labour he cleared a little space on that hill. Then he sighed. He lay down. He pillowed his head on a handkerchief and a jacket. He covered his bones with an army blanket. And he died.
Oh, how I cried to witness that death! I slumped in a junked car and wailed and mourned as one who has no hope - because I had come to love the Ragman. Every other face had faded in the wonder of this man, and I cherished him; but he died. I sobbed myself to sleep. I did not know - how could I know? -- that I slept through Friday night and Saturday and its night, too.
But then, on Sunday morning, I was awakened by a violence. Light - pure, hard, demanding light - slammed against my sour face, and I blinked, and I looked, and I saw the last and the first wonder of all. There was the Ragman, folding the blanket most carefully, a scar on his forehead, but alive! And, beside that, healthy!There was no sign of sorrow nor of age, and all the rags that he had gathered shined for cleanliness.
Well, then I lowered my head and, trembling for all that I had seen, I myself walked up to the Ragman. I told him my name with shame, for I was a sorry figure next to him. Then I took off all my clothes in that place,a nd I said to him with dear yearning in my voice: "Dress me.."
He dressed me. My Lord, he put new rags on me, and I am a wonder beside him.
The Ragman, the Ragman, the Christ!
By Walter Wangerin, Jr. from "Ragman and Other Cries of Faith"
20 March 2008
TV Update
I watched part of the Jon and Kate Plus 8 marathon on TLC last night, and I really think it might have raised my blood pressure a little bit to hear Kate yell at Jon that much.
Big Night
I'm going to my first rec league softball team practice tonight.
Wait, make that my first softball practice ever.
I've never played softball in my life.
I've never played any sport that requires hand-eye coordination, just cross-country and soccer.
[Note: I was a varsity cheerleader for one year in high school. But I don't argue for that stint to be considered a sport. While some cheerleaders do work hard and should be considered true athletes, I was not one of them. I was actually, truth be told, quite terrible. I think my entire role was to look cute, yell loud, and serve as the squad peace-maker among 9 hormonal, body-image-distorted, and just plain mean teenage girls.]
This should be fun, folks.
In other sports news today, I did enter a "pool" on ESPN.com with some friends. Unfortunately I didn't put any money down, but we'll see if I gain any bragging rights! Highly unlikely.
Come to think of it, I didn't get the work pool organized this year. Ooops!
Wait, make that my first softball practice ever.
I've never played softball in my life.
I've never played any sport that requires hand-eye coordination, just cross-country and soccer.
[Note: I was a varsity cheerleader for one year in high school. But I don't argue for that stint to be considered a sport. While some cheerleaders do work hard and should be considered true athletes, I was not one of them. I was actually, truth be told, quite terrible. I think my entire role was to look cute, yell loud, and serve as the squad peace-maker among 9 hormonal, body-image-distorted, and just plain mean teenage girls.]
This should be fun, folks.
In other sports news today, I did enter a "pool" on ESPN.com with some friends. Unfortunately I didn't put any money down, but we'll see if I gain any bragging rights! Highly unlikely.
Come to think of it, I didn't get the work pool organized this year. Ooops!
11 March 2008
To Do List
I'm going to try to continue with Tuesday Lists. First of all, it's fun and it makes me at least focus long enough for an entry a week. Also, I agree with the author of this blog that a person's lists often say a lot about that individual (i.e. "to do" lists, places they wish to travel, things they hope to accomplish in their lives, books they are reading, etc.). On that note, this list of my ongoing/upcoming Things To Do should be a pretty good picture of my life from now through mid-April.
This week:
1. Make Easter basket cupcakes with my little niece when my sister-in-law and her kids come visit this week. Then play, play, play, play with my niece and nephews!
2. Go/keep going to BYOBible on Tuesday night(s). Then go/keep going to trivia afterwards at Connolly's.
This week:
1. Make Easter basket cupcakes with my little niece when my sister-in-law and her kids come visit this week. Then play, play, play, play with my niece and nephews!
2. Go/keep going to BYOBible on Tuesday night(s). Then go/keep going to trivia afterwards at Connolly's.
3. Buy a gift for and attend a friend's lingerie shower this Saturday evening.
4. Meet some college friends in Boone this weekend. Enjoy the mountains.
Next week:
1. Keep the infant nursery Sunday. Hopefully I won't pick up virulent baby cold germs.
2. Celebrate St. Patty's Day!
3. Start softball practice for co-ed league BSUMC team. Games will be on Thursday nights starting in April.
4. Take my cousin to see Casting Crowns if I can get tickets through work. She would love that!
5. Send out Easter cards with daffodils on them to family. I've never sent Easter cards before but I LOVE daffodils so I couldn't pass them up.
3. Start softball practice for co-ed league BSUMC team. Games will be on Thursday nights starting in April.
4. Take my cousin to see Casting Crowns if I can get tickets through work. She would love that!
5. Send out Easter cards with daffodils on them to family. I've never sent Easter cards before but I LOVE daffodils so I couldn't pass them up.
Upcoming:
TBD: Buy a laptop.
TBD: Register for an evening Spanish class for the late spring/early summer.
23 March: Celebrate Easter in GVL with my family and John! Easter celebrations will also include a baby shower for my cousin and his wife.
28 - 30 March: Go to ATL for bridesmaid dress shopping for a friend's wedding.
5 April: Attend a class/session on Microsoft Outlook at BJU. Yep. Bob Jones. I learned a lot in my Excel class there!
TBD: Buy a laptop.
TBD: Register for an evening Spanish class for the late spring/early summer.
23 March: Celebrate Easter in GVL with my family and John! Easter celebrations will also include a baby shower for my cousin and his wife.
28 - 30 March: Go to ATL for bridesmaid dress shopping for a friend's wedding.
5 April: Attend a class/session on Microsoft Outlook at BJU. Yep. Bob Jones. I learned a lot in my Excel class there!
11-13 April: Go to TN for the weekend. Celebrate John's birthday.
19 April: Attend an Intro to Graphic Design session at BJU.
26 April: Donna and Drew's wedding in GVL.
19 April: Attend an Intro to Graphic Design session at BJU.
26 April: Donna and Drew's wedding in GVL.
07 March 2008
In the Interest of Full Disclosure...
I'm allergic to kiwis.
Not the birds. Not the people from New Zealand. Not the New Zealand national rugby league team.
Oh, Wiki tells me that I'm supposed to call them "kiwifruit" now.
I think that may be the only food I'm allergic to that I've discovered -- so far.
I think that may be the only food I'm allergic to that I've discovered -- so far. 05 March 2008
Wednesday Woes
Apparently my sweet Honda, Merle (short for Merlot, his dazzling deep purple color), needs a new transmission.
Ouch.
The good news is that it's not an immediate, must-fix-today kind of problem. They said ol' Merle could last a while on his current failing transmission, but it's not recommended. Although, with 183K miles on him, I'm not sure if Merle will get a 1600$ fix, or if I'll look for a new used car.
[Internal dialogue: It is Wednesday, right? The days are running together lately. Double check. Yes. It is Wednesday.]
Oh, those Wednesday woes.
Ouch.
The good news is that it's not an immediate, must-fix-today kind of problem. They said ol' Merle could last a while on his current failing transmission, but it's not recommended. Although, with 183K miles on him, I'm not sure if Merle will get a 1600$ fix, or if I'll look for a new used car.
[Internal dialogue: It is Wednesday, right? The days are running together lately. Double check. Yes. It is Wednesday.]
Oh, those Wednesday woes.
04 March 2008
Tuesday Lists
John suggested that I post a list of some kind every Tuesday. I'm not sure how well I'll do with an "every week" kind of routine, but I'll give it a shot. It may become a monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually posted list entry, depending on how well I take to this blogging fancy o' mine.
Probably anyone who is reading this knows that I recently moved back into my parents' house for a while, due to some highly questionable activities that were going on in my former apartment building. Well, while I was living alone in my apartment, I was too cheap to pay for cable (or internet!), so I used bunny ear antennae to pick up the salt and pepper versions of CBS and the local Fox affiliate. I was completely content with virtually no watchable programs for six months. But, now that I'm back into a home with cable, I have dramatically expanded the list of shows I watch. One of my friends at work and I were discussing this recently. I don't watch any shows religiously -- I don't even know what day each of these shows come on -- but I do enjoy stumbling upon these titles.
Current TV Shows I Like (non-ranked order):
1. Jon & Kate Plus 8 (TLC) - Seriously, this show sucks me in! But I think control-freak Kate can be fairly rude to her long-suffering although somewhat-disinterested husband Jon. Ah, I still love 'em. They have cute kids! [Except Maddy, because she's just plain annoying!]
2. My Big Redneck Wedding (CMT) - How can you not love a show that capitalizes on all the worst Redneck stereotypes? Ha, and the couples are so creative when planning their wedding festivities: mattress-surfing, mud-wrestling, demolition derby driving, pig-hunting, mechanical bull riding, getting married under an arbor of beer cans....This show can't be beat.
3. Kyle XY (ABC Family) - I have no idea what's going on in this show, but I still watch it when I stumble upon it. Seriously, no idea. None. I think I'm gonna have to rent the Season 1 DVDs.
4. Friends or Gilmore Girls reruns - Never get old.
5. Bulging Brides (WE) - I like to watch how stupid the girls are on this show. They buy their wedding dresses 2 sizes too small and then complain about how they can't get into them, despite their 400000000000 calorie "diets" of rich food and alcohol during their pre-wedding showers and events. This show pairs them with a trainer and nutritionist to try to fit in their dresses in 6 weeks.
6. Extreme Makeover Home Edition (ABC?) - I love this show. I'm looking forward to Oprah's Big Give show too.
7. Sex and the City reruns (TBS) - I'm not really crazy about Sex and the City, but it often comes on right when I can't sleep, so I get pulled in. It's good insomnia TV.
8. What Not to Wear (TLC) - I used to be so addicted to this show. The addiction is not as bad anymore, but I do still enjoy it.
9. The Office - Now that I've borrowed the DVDs from my friend Adam, I'm looking forward to actually watching them in real time when the episodes start back.
My old favorites round out the list: History Channel Modern Marvels, the Weather Channel (for the weather, not the shows), cable news shows, CMT when they're actually playing music videos, and most movies on ABC Family or TBS. I will watch game shows and sports if I'm hanging out with other people, but these shows are current my TV "comfort food."
Probably anyone who is reading this knows that I recently moved back into my parents' house for a while, due to some highly questionable activities that were going on in my former apartment building. Well, while I was living alone in my apartment, I was too cheap to pay for cable (or internet!), so I used bunny ear antennae to pick up the salt and pepper versions of CBS and the local Fox affiliate. I was completely content with virtually no watchable programs for six months. But, now that I'm back into a home with cable, I have dramatically expanded the list of shows I watch. One of my friends at work and I were discussing this recently. I don't watch any shows religiously -- I don't even know what day each of these shows come on -- but I do enjoy stumbling upon these titles.
Current TV Shows I Like (non-ranked order):
1. Jon & Kate Plus 8 (TLC) - Seriously, this show sucks me in! But I think control-freak Kate can be fairly rude to her long-suffering although somewhat-disinterested husband Jon. Ah, I still love 'em. They have cute kids! [Except Maddy, because she's just plain annoying!]
2. My Big Redneck Wedding (CMT) - How can you not love a show that capitalizes on all the worst Redneck stereotypes? Ha, and the couples are so creative when planning their wedding festivities: mattress-surfing, mud-wrestling, demolition derby driving, pig-hunting, mechanical bull riding, getting married under an arbor of beer cans....This show can't be beat.
3. Kyle XY (ABC Family) - I have no idea what's going on in this show, but I still watch it when I stumble upon it. Seriously, no idea. None. I think I'm gonna have to rent the Season 1 DVDs.
4. Friends or Gilmore Girls reruns - Never get old.
5. Bulging Brides (WE) - I like to watch how stupid the girls are on this show. They buy their wedding dresses 2 sizes too small and then complain about how they can't get into them, despite their 400000000000 calorie "diets" of rich food and alcohol during their pre-wedding showers and events. This show pairs them with a trainer and nutritionist to try to fit in their dresses in 6 weeks.
6. Extreme Makeover Home Edition (ABC?) - I love this show. I'm looking forward to Oprah's Big Give show too.
7. Sex and the City reruns (TBS) - I'm not really crazy about Sex and the City, but it often comes on right when I can't sleep, so I get pulled in. It's good insomnia TV.
8. What Not to Wear (TLC) - I used to be so addicted to this show. The addiction is not as bad anymore, but I do still enjoy it.
9. The Office - Now that I've borrowed the DVDs from my friend Adam, I'm looking forward to actually watching them in real time when the episodes start back.
My old favorites round out the list: History Channel Modern Marvels, the Weather Channel (for the weather, not the shows), cable news shows, CMT when they're actually playing music videos, and most movies on ABC Family or TBS. I will watch game shows and sports if I'm hanging out with other people, but these shows are current my TV "comfort food."
03 March 2008
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