12.30.2010
Year in Review: First Lines, etc.
First lines of the month, 2010.
January: I don't know how it happened.
February: It's amazing to observe Juliette's development - her language, humor, physical capabilities, etc.
March: A beautiful yet bittersweet change is afoot.
April: That Target. Always zeroing in on my demographic with such precision I'm sure they've been reading my diary.
May: In reality, my to-do list is currently cluttered with a seemingly endless number of moving-related tasks.
June: Well, here we are in our treesy little western suburb of Chicago, though our furniture won't arrive until Saturday...ish.
July: Juliette's smile makes me so very happy.
August: I didn't really expect to take any vacation for several months yet; after all, my first pastoral contract stipulated no vacation until after a year, and from what I understand that's pretty standard in the working world.
September: This week, Juliette started full-day pre-school two days a week.
October: This video leaves me speechless.
November: I voted.
December: Winter really began today, which is to say we had our first overnight snowfall - five or six inches, with a lovely little flurry continuing to fall this moment.
**
To say that a lot happened with our family in 2010 is a bit of an understatement. Some but not all of our whirlwind year is reflected by the first lines exercise. Pardon the run on sentence, but: Juliette's best friend moved away, I accepted a new call and prepared to say goodbye to a beloved congregation, Juliette had surgery, Ben graduated from Cal State Dominguez Hills, I helped organize the 100th Anniversary Celebration of SBCC, we moved across the country into a house we'd only seen on the internet, I started working as an associate minister, I spent a week in Collegeville playing catch-up for all the writing that didn't happen in the first six months of the year, I turned thirty, Ben got a great job after a brief but stressful job search, Juliette started attending two new schools, I slowly but surely worked on my book manuscript. At some point along the way Juliette turned into a full-fledged kid.
Any year with this much change certainly has its share of low points, but there was plenty of joy scattered throughout. The weekend we spent in Zion at the Illinois State Beach was a highlight we cherish - a much-needed Sabbath - and seeing more of our Midwestern family and friends has been a great blessing.
2011 will bring more changes, as every year does. But thankfully not of the moving-across-the-country sort. Two of those are sufficient to last me a lifetime.
Happy New Year.
January: I don't know how it happened.
February: It's amazing to observe Juliette's development - her language, humor, physical capabilities, etc.
March: A beautiful yet bittersweet change is afoot.
April: That Target. Always zeroing in on my demographic with such precision I'm sure they've been reading my diary.
May: In reality, my to-do list is currently cluttered with a seemingly endless number of moving-related tasks.
June: Well, here we are in our treesy little western suburb of Chicago, though our furniture won't arrive until Saturday...ish.
July: Juliette's smile makes me so very happy.
August: I didn't really expect to take any vacation for several months yet; after all, my first pastoral contract stipulated no vacation until after a year, and from what I understand that's pretty standard in the working world.
September: This week, Juliette started full-day pre-school two days a week.
October: This video leaves me speechless.
November: I voted.
December: Winter really began today, which is to say we had our first overnight snowfall - five or six inches, with a lovely little flurry continuing to fall this moment.
**
To say that a lot happened with our family in 2010 is a bit of an understatement. Some but not all of our whirlwind year is reflected by the first lines exercise. Pardon the run on sentence, but: Juliette's best friend moved away, I accepted a new call and prepared to say goodbye to a beloved congregation, Juliette had surgery, Ben graduated from Cal State Dominguez Hills, I helped organize the 100th Anniversary Celebration of SBCC, we moved across the country into a house we'd only seen on the internet, I started working as an associate minister, I spent a week in Collegeville playing catch-up for all the writing that didn't happen in the first six months of the year, I turned thirty, Ben got a great job after a brief but stressful job search, Juliette started attending two new schools, I slowly but surely worked on my book manuscript. At some point along the way Juliette turned into a full-fledged kid.
Any year with this much change certainly has its share of low points, but there was plenty of joy scattered throughout. The weekend we spent in Zion at the Illinois State Beach was a highlight we cherish - a much-needed Sabbath - and seeing more of our Midwestern family and friends has been a great blessing.
2011 will bring more changes, as every year does. But thankfully not of the moving-across-the-country sort. Two of those are sufficient to last me a lifetime.
Happy New Year.
12.27.2010
The Lara Update
I had lunch with my childhood friend Lara today. I hadn't talked to her in about fifteen years, save for a few emails in college. I had worked myself into a tizzy on the way down to the Italian restaurant halfway between our houses. Does being kindred spirits at age nine ensure you'll have anything to say over lunch at age thirty? In this case: yes. A whole heck of a lot to say over lunch at age thirty. At one point there was a chance we might actually turn thirty-one before we could finally rip ourselves away. It was far from a normal conversation, but in the best way possible. Amid regular catch-up conversation and regular grown-up conversation (I giggled when the phrase "building equity" came up; it was just so surreal to talk about long term financial planning with Lara), we essentially maintained a two-hour brainstorming session, recalling escapade after shared childhood escapade. I knew there would be things she would remember that I'd long forgotten, and vice versa. It was the conversational equivalent of reuniting one of those broken-heart best friend necklaces; all this time, she's been walking around with half of the story.
The only disappointment was that I forgot to ask the waitress to take our picture. Next time.
The only disappointment was that I forgot to ask the waitress to take our picture. Next time.
12.25.2010
Merry Christmas!
A lovely Christmas tree...
A festive tale...
A Christmas Eve Snow...
And a Christmas morning house call from a very real Santa Claus...
And lots of other stuff didn't make it onto the camera...
Our Christmas Eve family advent candlelighting; we brought one of our nativities to the table and Juliette played with it during the prayer. She knows all the characters by name.
Two Christmas pageant services for which I was primarily responsible; both went off beautifully, and worshipfully.
Seeing Juliette waving like crazy from across the sanctuary before the first service, trying to get my attention.
Drinking hot chocolate and reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever in my pajamas after Juliette went to bed and before I headed back for the second of the two Lessons and Carols services. (To put it differently: spending the first of the two Lessons and Carols services at home in my pajamas. Ahhh.)
A truly breath-taking Lessons and Carols service. I'd been so focused on the pageant services, I hadn't really given the later service a whole lot of consideration beyond preparing for my parts. It was incredible.
Scraping snow from the car four times, back and forth from church. Definitely worth it for the White Christmas effect; we're heading over to the sledding hill soon.
Still to come: turkey and cranberry sauce and stuffing and mashed potatoes and a homemade Granny Smith pie.
Just the three of us, just right for this particular Christmas.
Merry Christmas!
A festive tale...
A Christmas Eve Snow...
And a Christmas morning house call from a very real Santa Claus...
And lots of other stuff didn't make it onto the camera...
Our Christmas Eve family advent candlelighting; we brought one of our nativities to the table and Juliette played with it during the prayer. She knows all the characters by name.
Two Christmas pageant services for which I was primarily responsible; both went off beautifully, and worshipfully.
Seeing Juliette waving like crazy from across the sanctuary before the first service, trying to get my attention.
Drinking hot chocolate and reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever in my pajamas after Juliette went to bed and before I headed back for the second of the two Lessons and Carols services. (To put it differently: spending the first of the two Lessons and Carols services at home in my pajamas. Ahhh.)
A truly breath-taking Lessons and Carols service. I'd been so focused on the pageant services, I hadn't really given the later service a whole lot of consideration beyond preparing for my parts. It was incredible.
Scraping snow from the car four times, back and forth from church. Definitely worth it for the White Christmas effect; we're heading over to the sledding hill soon.
Still to come: turkey and cranberry sauce and stuffing and mashed potatoes and a homemade Granny Smith pie.
Just the three of us, just right for this particular Christmas.
Merry Christmas!
For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
12.21.2010
Ten on Tuesday
1. Nothing went as planned today. The plan was fairly loosey-goosey anyway, as Juliette's church preschool is closed this week. But the stomach flu (Ben this time) has a way of changing plans. I'm really, really hoping that I can avoid getting sick at all, let alone before the big Christmas Eve pageant services.
2. We also had a decent snowfall last night. We took turns shoveling out the driveway. Nothing like Shoveler A suffering from the stomach flu and Shoveler B paranoid about a chronically bad back to make one desirous of a snow blower. Maybe our push reel lawn mower can serve as the carbon offset? Now I just need to find a justification for the cash expenditure. Perhaps avoiding steep chiropractor bills?
3. I'm so excited about my lunch plans for next week. I'm meeting my childhood friend Lara at a nice Italian place midway between our houses - about a half hour away. I was grinning like a fool when I got off the phone with her. She sounded... wonderful. I suppose there's the chance we could sit down and not know what to say to one another, but I think it's more likely that we just won't even know where to begin.
4. My writing group had a family potluck last weekend, and it was, in a phrase, off the hook. The spread was beyond delish - baked brie, garlic mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry relish and applesauce, turkey, and the impressively prepared and surprisingly tasty goose. I wasn't super optimistic about the goose - as I admitted to our dinner companions, I'm not adventurous with poultry- but it was great. I made two pies, pumpkin dip for pears, and homemade bread.
5. If you've been on the internet for more than thirty seconds in the last week, you've probably already seen this. But how charming is this video?
6. I've read 33 books in 2010 (29 in 2009, 50 in 2008). Lately I've been on such a YA lit kick I've worried that I was subconsciously padding my numbers.
7. Angie Lucas's NOT Shopping List is really funny.
8. I really like this family photo of us. It was taken the day we joined the church:
9. My hair is definitely as long as it's ever been in my life. It's making me a little crazy; I keep accidentally zipping it into my jacket. I have a loooong way to go before I can chop it off to donate it to Locks of Love. I'm waffling if I can make it... one day at a time.
10. My second post for The Christian Century went live yesterday. The thrill is not gone. :)
ETA: And post #3. That's it for now.
2. We also had a decent snowfall last night. We took turns shoveling out the driveway. Nothing like Shoveler A suffering from the stomach flu and Shoveler B paranoid about a chronically bad back to make one desirous of a snow blower. Maybe our push reel lawn mower can serve as the carbon offset? Now I just need to find a justification for the cash expenditure. Perhaps avoiding steep chiropractor bills?
3. I'm so excited about my lunch plans for next week. I'm meeting my childhood friend Lara at a nice Italian place midway between our houses - about a half hour away. I was grinning like a fool when I got off the phone with her. She sounded... wonderful. I suppose there's the chance we could sit down and not know what to say to one another, but I think it's more likely that we just won't even know where to begin.
4. My writing group had a family potluck last weekend, and it was, in a phrase, off the hook. The spread was beyond delish - baked brie, garlic mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry relish and applesauce, turkey, and the impressively prepared and surprisingly tasty goose. I wasn't super optimistic about the goose - as I admitted to our dinner companions, I'm not adventurous with poultry- but it was great. I made two pies, pumpkin dip for pears, and homemade bread.
5. If you've been on the internet for more than thirty seconds in the last week, you've probably already seen this. But how charming is this video?
6. I've read 33 books in 2010 (29 in 2009, 50 in 2008). Lately I've been on such a YA lit kick I've worried that I was subconsciously padding my numbers.
7. Angie Lucas's NOT Shopping List is really funny.
8. I really like this family photo of us. It was taken the day we joined the church:
9. My hair is definitely as long as it's ever been in my life. It's making me a little crazy; I keep accidentally zipping it into my jacket. I have a loooong way to go before I can chop it off to donate it to Locks of Love. I'm waffling if I can make it... one day at a time.
10. My second post for The Christian Century went live yesterday. The thrill is not gone. :)
ETA: And post #3. That's it for now.
12.15.2010
Ode to Fake Uggs
Let me begin with an admission: I don't like Uggs. They became newly popular while we were living in California, and there is just something completely inexplicable about seeing people trouncing around at the beach - even on a fifty degree day - wearing ultra warm footwear.
I also question the "taste level" of Uggs (as Heidi Klum would say). I've loved ugly footwear in my time. I spent about a decade in old school Birkenstocks and used to believe that Converse were only perfected when they were covered in graffiti (9th grade graffiti of choice: Tori Amos lyrics and Charles Dickens quotes). The particular brand of ugly that Ugg sells has just never been my thing.
That said.
A couple months ago, I bought a pair of fake black Uggs from Target for $20. And for the past couple weeks - ever since the temperature dropped below thirty degrees - I can hardly bear to wear anything else. Even though they are lined with polyester instead of sheepskin, they are so warm. I'm even coming to terms with their uggliness. Since they were so cheap, I figure I can wear them in all the salt and slush without worrying about ruining pricey footwear. All the better.
That said.
They are not the most professional shoes out there. I can't imagine Peacebang would give them her blessing. So today, despite the ongoing freezing temperatures, I broke down and wore my Danskos. It was the first time all winter I've been miserably cold - shivering in the car, making the embarrassing Willis cold-weather whinny, etc. The worst part is I never really got warm again. I've been home for hours - I even added another layer of socks - and my feet are still ice blocks.
So, maybe I just need to buy another pair in brown and restore my professionalism in April. The last thing I need is to get cold feet about winter.
I also question the "taste level" of Uggs (as Heidi Klum would say). I've loved ugly footwear in my time. I spent about a decade in old school Birkenstocks and used to believe that Converse were only perfected when they were covered in graffiti (9th grade graffiti of choice: Tori Amos lyrics and Charles Dickens quotes). The particular brand of ugly that Ugg sells has just never been my thing.
That said.
A couple months ago, I bought a pair of fake black Uggs from Target for $20. And for the past couple weeks - ever since the temperature dropped below thirty degrees - I can hardly bear to wear anything else. Even though they are lined with polyester instead of sheepskin, they are so warm. I'm even coming to terms with their uggliness. Since they were so cheap, I figure I can wear them in all the salt and slush without worrying about ruining pricey footwear. All the better.
That said.
They are not the most professional shoes out there. I can't imagine Peacebang would give them her blessing. So today, despite the ongoing freezing temperatures, I broke down and wore my Danskos. It was the first time all winter I've been miserably cold - shivering in the car, making the embarrassing Willis cold-weather whinny, etc. The worst part is I never really got warm again. I've been home for hours - I even added another layer of socks - and my feet are still ice blocks.
So, maybe I just need to buy another pair in brown and restore my professionalism in April. The last thing I need is to get cold feet about winter.
12.14.2010
Ten on Tuesday
1. Between the Californians boasting about their 80 degree weather and the Ohioans posting snow day updates and photos of buried automobiles, Facebook has been quite the weather report lately. Last time I checked it was 7 degrees here, but we were mercifully spared the worst of the storm.
2. Two nights ago I tried to make coffee to brew for the next morning, and accidentally brewed it right then and there at 10:00pm. And then last night I made up a new bread recipe (based very loosely on the good old WHO bread) and realized this morning that I'd set the cycle to run without the benefit of the little metal kneader. Fail.
3. Our church provided materials and devotionals for families to make Advent wreaths for home, and it's been such a lovely new tradition. We light the candle(s), read a brief scripture and reflection, discuss a couple questions, pray, sing a carol, and then Juliette's favorite part: getting to blow the candles out. We haven't managed to do it every night, but I think we'll try to do it every year.
4. Juliette and I went to a Christmas carol sing-a-long at church on Sunday afternoon. When the band started in with "Away in a Manger," Juliette perked up and hollered, "Jesus?? I have that book!!!"
5. That book would be the toddler Bible she picked out at the library and is mildly obsessed with. It is not the toddler Bible I would have selected, with the tasteful pictures and richer language. It's the one with the cartoonish characters and a blond Jesus and disciples who, despite looking like they are three years old, sport handlebar mustaches. It kind of reminds me of how I'd hoped Juliette would like Olivia, and her Nick Jr. show of choice was Wow Wow Wubbzy. What can you do? A girl is entitled to her own aesthetic, I guess.
6. I'm not anywhere near the biggest fan of Glee - the vast majority of the songs drive me bonkers, and the writing is so uneven we can usually call whether it will be a good or bad episode within the first minute of dialogue. But sometimes they pull out an episode so great I'm glad we don't give up on it. We're a couple weeks behind, but the Furt episode was incredible. Even if the wedding was wonky.
7. We have a tree! I should probably take a picture of it. It's shameful how long it's been since I've taken a picture of anything.
8. Erica and I went to the Over the Rhine concert on Saturday night. It was a great night, even if it was rainy and cold. I'm still daydreaming about these cabbage/ginger/toasted coconut wraps Erica ordered at the Thai place before the show, and of course the show itself. Seeing OtR in Chicago made me feel ever more at home here.
9. And, the new Over the Rhine album (The Long Surrender) arrived this week. I've had the mp3s for awhile, but it's different holding the album in hand, driving around town with all the songs on repeat. I'm a little sad that my name was left off the contributors list, but glad that my mom's wasn't. The album sounds beautiful - Joe Henry really is a great producer - and while there are a couple songs I really don't care for, there are more songs that I positively adore.
10. I was invited to write three lectionary blog posts for The Christian Century. I couldn't say no (let's just say I very much want to write for the Century, and that I have a stash of rejection letters to show for it), even though there were many very good reasons to do so. The first one went live yesterday.
2. Two nights ago I tried to make coffee to brew for the next morning, and accidentally brewed it right then and there at 10:00pm. And then last night I made up a new bread recipe (based very loosely on the good old WHO bread) and realized this morning that I'd set the cycle to run without the benefit of the little metal kneader. Fail.
3. Our church provided materials and devotionals for families to make Advent wreaths for home, and it's been such a lovely new tradition. We light the candle(s), read a brief scripture and reflection, discuss a couple questions, pray, sing a carol, and then Juliette's favorite part: getting to blow the candles out. We haven't managed to do it every night, but I think we'll try to do it every year.
4. Juliette and I went to a Christmas carol sing-a-long at church on Sunday afternoon. When the band started in with "Away in a Manger," Juliette perked up and hollered, "Jesus?? I have that book!!!"
5. That book would be the toddler Bible she picked out at the library and is mildly obsessed with. It is not the toddler Bible I would have selected, with the tasteful pictures and richer language. It's the one with the cartoonish characters and a blond Jesus and disciples who, despite looking like they are three years old, sport handlebar mustaches. It kind of reminds me of how I'd hoped Juliette would like Olivia, and her Nick Jr. show of choice was Wow Wow Wubbzy. What can you do? A girl is entitled to her own aesthetic, I guess.
6. I'm not anywhere near the biggest fan of Glee - the vast majority of the songs drive me bonkers, and the writing is so uneven we can usually call whether it will be a good or bad episode within the first minute of dialogue. But sometimes they pull out an episode so great I'm glad we don't give up on it. We're a couple weeks behind, but the Furt episode was incredible. Even if the wedding was wonky.
7. We have a tree! I should probably take a picture of it. It's shameful how long it's been since I've taken a picture of anything.
8. Erica and I went to the Over the Rhine concert on Saturday night. It was a great night, even if it was rainy and cold. I'm still daydreaming about these cabbage/ginger/toasted coconut wraps Erica ordered at the Thai place before the show, and of course the show itself. Seeing OtR in Chicago made me feel ever more at home here.
9. And, the new Over the Rhine album (The Long Surrender) arrived this week. I've had the mp3s for awhile, but it's different holding the album in hand, driving around town with all the songs on repeat. I'm a little sad that my name was left off the contributors list, but glad that my mom's wasn't. The album sounds beautiful - Joe Henry really is a great producer - and while there are a couple songs I really don't care for, there are more songs that I positively adore.
10. I was invited to write three lectionary blog posts for The Christian Century. I couldn't say no (let's just say I very much want to write for the Century, and that I have a stash of rejection letters to show for it), even though there were many very good reasons to do so. The first one went live yesterday.
12.04.2010
Winter Wonderland
Winter really began today, which is to say we had our first overnight snowfall - five or six inches, with a lovely little flurry continuing to fall this moment. I was actually so excited about it that when I heard the snow plow barrel past the house at 4:00am I was tempted to run to the window for a glimpse of the snow-covered world.
We made snowballs, tried (unsuccessfully) to build a snowman, took turns shoveling the driveway, and generally just marveled at how exquisitely beautiful everything was. Then we headed down the street to the park, where there is a gentle sledding hill perfect for an almost-three-year-old. So much fun.
I've been anticipating winter with equal parts excitement and dread. So far, I've appreciated everything about the Midwest so much more, noticing all these details that I took for granted when I lived my first twenty-two years on Midwestern soil. I worried that if I love spring and summer and autumn more than I did before, I might also hate winter more than I did before. And I hated winter a lot. One doesn't move to Southern California on accident.
I know that there's a huge difference between the first picturesque December snowfall and the thirteenth late February blizzard, and let us not even speak of the gaping crevasse between 30 degrees and -10. But so far so good. So far - and this is something I've never uttered before in my life - I kind of like winter. If we have even a handful of mornings like this perfect morning, I'd venture to say the season shall be worth the trouble.
We made snowballs, tried (unsuccessfully) to build a snowman, took turns shoveling the driveway, and generally just marveled at how exquisitely beautiful everything was. Then we headed down the street to the park, where there is a gentle sledding hill perfect for an almost-three-year-old. So much fun.
I've been anticipating winter with equal parts excitement and dread. So far, I've appreciated everything about the Midwest so much more, noticing all these details that I took for granted when I lived my first twenty-two years on Midwestern soil. I worried that if I love spring and summer and autumn more than I did before, I might also hate winter more than I did before. And I hated winter a lot. One doesn't move to Southern California on accident.
I know that there's a huge difference between the first picturesque December snowfall and the thirteenth late February blizzard, and let us not even speak of the gaping crevasse between 30 degrees and -10. But so far so good. So far - and this is something I've never uttered before in my life - I kind of like winter. If we have even a handful of mornings like this perfect morning, I'd venture to say the season shall be worth the trouble.
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