Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thank You
At the moment I am swimming in a sea of love. From my friends, who arranged a ride so I could come visit, to my awesome fiance, whose sweet note was waiting for me when I returned home, to the several friends who have offered to go out of their way to celebrate my upcoming marriage, to the ways God keeps reminding me of His goodness and faithfulness... And I have to admit that I am a little overwhelmed by how many people are willing to drive 10 hours out of their way just to attend a bridal shower, or share a meal with me. I am blessed by all the loving people in my life.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Sick smell and the Wedding Epiphany
I spent the better part of the last week in bed with the worst cold/flu sickness I've had in a while. As if living in Rescue didn't provide enough isolation, my parents also insisted that I be confined to my bedroom, so as not to contaminate the rest of the house. Because when you are really sick not contaminating others should be the chief concern. There wasn't much need to check on me, since they were able to hear me coughing my lungs up through the closed door. (I may buy them a bottle of Lysol as a peace offering.) Sadly, be locked up means that my room now smells like sick person, which is a problem now that I can smell again...
Thankfully I am well on my way to being healthy again, except for a nagging cough. At least I am sounding less like a smoker. And most important, I am well enough to head south for the weekend! I am stoked that my friends from home took the time to arrange a ride for me to OC, so I could see them before the wedding. It always makes you feel loved to have people go out of their way for you. I happen to have some pretty sweet friends!
Today I looked at my wedding invitations and realized the response cards don't match the invitation. It is totally my mistake- I ordered the invites in black ink and the response cards in purple ink. (Who knows what I was thinking...) As I sat there looking at the mismatched cards, I had my wedding epiphany. I realized how much I really didn't care that my invitations didn't match.
It turns out that I am really horrible at wedding planning, and I am pretty okay with it. Instead of worrying what other people will think about my chosen decor, I am just excited that I am getting married to an amazing man. It is going to be a great day!
Wedding guests- be prepared to eat off disposable plates!
Thankfully I am well on my way to being healthy again, except for a nagging cough. At least I am sounding less like a smoker. And most important, I am well enough to head south for the weekend! I am stoked that my friends from home took the time to arrange a ride for me to OC, so I could see them before the wedding. It always makes you feel loved to have people go out of their way for you. I happen to have some pretty sweet friends!
Today I looked at my wedding invitations and realized the response cards don't match the invitation. It is totally my mistake- I ordered the invites in black ink and the response cards in purple ink. (Who knows what I was thinking...) As I sat there looking at the mismatched cards, I had my wedding epiphany. I realized how much I really didn't care that my invitations didn't match.
It turns out that I am really horrible at wedding planning, and I am pretty okay with it. Instead of worrying what other people will think about my chosen decor, I am just excited that I am getting married to an amazing man. It is going to be a great day!
Wedding guests- be prepared to eat off disposable plates!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Random Facts
I was bored this morning, so I compiled the following list of things you may or may not know about me (and may or may not be interested in knowing).
1. I can’t stand it when grout is stained or dirty, especially in the kitchen.
2. I have been knitting the same scarf on and off for three years…
3. I really wish I felt comfortable on a dance floor because dancing looks like so much fun from the side-lines.
4. In June I am marrying the only boy I’ve ever kissed or dated!
5. I hum to myself a lot, often without realizing it, and when I am driving by myself, I sing along with the radio/cd very loudly.
6. I’m shy and can be very quiet at first, but once I’m comfortable, I talk WAY too much.
7. I think frogs are cute and I would love to have an elephant.
8. I have flat feet, and they get very sore if I have been walking/standing for a long time.
9. It really is the simple things that make me happy: like laying on cool cement on a warm day, and watching the clouds, or driving through the country with the windows rolled down and the music playing, curling up next to my love with a good book…
10. I used to write a lot more than I do now and sometimes I worry that I lost my imagination in the process of becoming an adult. I miss writing stories and poems…
11. I like to experiment in the kitchen and I rarely follow a recipe exactly.
12. I think bitter can be tasty. I like strong black coffee, dark chocolate (over 70%), most cheeses and the taste of some hard liquor.
13. I like old movies.
14. I tore the meniscus in both of my knees while playing water-polo. At one point, my knee was locked in a 90 degree angle for several days when part of my torn menisci got jammed in my knee joint. I was supposed to have surgery, but opted to wait… indefinitely.
15. Both of my thumbs have been dislocated several times (another water polo injury), but I have learned how to pop them back into place myself.
16. I’ve never broken a bone, or had surgery, but I have needed stitches at various points.
17. As a child, my most beloved toys were a big brown stuffed bear, named Browny Bear, and a baby doll named Thumbelina, which belonged to my mother as a child and whose stuffing was constantly falling out.
18. I admit to owning CDs by Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Anastasia, and Randy Travis.
19. I think garden gnomes are creepy…
20. I love choral/vocal music, especially Gregorian chants, sacred harp, and pieces composed by Eric Whitacre.
21. Lots of noise and large crowds overwhelm me. I prefer one-on-one.
22. I cheated twice in school (8th and 10th grades) and was caught both times.
23. I’m usually too embarrassed to say anything if I am served the wrong thing at a restaurant.
24. I like my bed to be a squishy cocoon of soft blankets. :-)
25. I still watch reruns of the Cosby Show.
1. I can’t stand it when grout is stained or dirty, especially in the kitchen.
2. I have been knitting the same scarf on and off for three years…
3. I really wish I felt comfortable on a dance floor because dancing looks like so much fun from the side-lines.
4. In June I am marrying the only boy I’ve ever kissed or dated!
5. I hum to myself a lot, often without realizing it, and when I am driving by myself, I sing along with the radio/cd very loudly.
6. I’m shy and can be very quiet at first, but once I’m comfortable, I talk WAY too much.
7. I think frogs are cute and I would love to have an elephant.
8. I have flat feet, and they get very sore if I have been walking/standing for a long time.
9. It really is the simple things that make me happy: like laying on cool cement on a warm day, and watching the clouds, or driving through the country with the windows rolled down and the music playing, curling up next to my love with a good book…
10. I used to write a lot more than I do now and sometimes I worry that I lost my imagination in the process of becoming an adult. I miss writing stories and poems…
11. I like to experiment in the kitchen and I rarely follow a recipe exactly.
12. I think bitter can be tasty. I like strong black coffee, dark chocolate (over 70%), most cheeses and the taste of some hard liquor.
13. I like old movies.
14. I tore the meniscus in both of my knees while playing water-polo. At one point, my knee was locked in a 90 degree angle for several days when part of my torn menisci got jammed in my knee joint. I was supposed to have surgery, but opted to wait… indefinitely.
15. Both of my thumbs have been dislocated several times (another water polo injury), but I have learned how to pop them back into place myself.
16. I’ve never broken a bone, or had surgery, but I have needed stitches at various points.
17. As a child, my most beloved toys were a big brown stuffed bear, named Browny Bear, and a baby doll named Thumbelina, which belonged to my mother as a child and whose stuffing was constantly falling out.
18. I admit to owning CDs by Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Anastasia, and Randy Travis.
19. I think garden gnomes are creepy…
20. I love choral/vocal music, especially Gregorian chants, sacred harp, and pieces composed by Eric Whitacre.
21. Lots of noise and large crowds overwhelm me. I prefer one-on-one.
22. I cheated twice in school (8th and 10th grades) and was caught both times.
23. I’m usually too embarrassed to say anything if I am served the wrong thing at a restaurant.
24. I like my bed to be a squishy cocoon of soft blankets. :-)
25. I still watch reruns of the Cosby Show.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
All Grown Up… and Clueless
When I was a kid, adults were so cool. They had responsibility, authority and knew what they were doing. They had answers and knew how to make things happen. They reeked with confidence when they made phone-calls, paid bills, filled out forms and demanded service. Or so I thought…
I am now an adult, at least on paper, but I find myself totally devoid of that wisdom and confidence, I once assumed came with adulthood. My daily reality has become a practice in humility, realizing how much I don’t know. As I daily sort through the piles of immigration forms, vendor contracts, bank statements, loan repayments, tax papers, rental listings, insurance papers and medical bills, I can’t help but feel clueless and inadequate. What is this mountain of adult-sounding terms that I am supposed to somehow be acquainted with? Where did it come from?
My mother’s advice: “It is okay to ask questions if you don’t understand.” This is very good advice, if I had a clue what sort of questions would be helpful to ask:
“Excuse me, Mr. Help-line Man, who barely speaks English. Can you please explain to me why it takes 45-70 days to change my direct debit payment to another account, but only 1 day to slap me with a late fee?”
Does it get easier, or do we just get better at faking it?
I am now an adult, at least on paper, but I find myself totally devoid of that wisdom and confidence, I once assumed came with adulthood. My daily reality has become a practice in humility, realizing how much I don’t know. As I daily sort through the piles of immigration forms, vendor contracts, bank statements, loan repayments, tax papers, rental listings, insurance papers and medical bills, I can’t help but feel clueless and inadequate. What is this mountain of adult-sounding terms that I am supposed to somehow be acquainted with? Where did it come from?
My mother’s advice: “It is okay to ask questions if you don’t understand.” This is very good advice, if I had a clue what sort of questions would be helpful to ask:
“Excuse me, Mr. Help-line Man, who barely speaks English. Can you please explain to me why it takes 45-70 days to change my direct debit payment to another account, but only 1 day to slap me with a late fee?”
Does it get easier, or do we just get better at faking it?
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Mistaken Identity
For some reason people keep mistaking me for being younger than I really am. When I was a child, I wanted to look and feel older. I no longer have that need, but at the age of 23, after graduating from university and getting engaged, I find it more than a little annoying to be mistaken for some one who qualifies for the 12 and under discount.
It was annoying when I was asked my age at a PG-13 movie. (I was 17, holding car keys, and standing next to my 12 year old brother, but they asked me my age, not him.) It was annoying when my younger brother’s middle school teacher asked me if I would be joining his class soon. (My brother is 5 years younger than me, and I was in college at the time.) It was annoying last year when I was out for drinks with a couple friends, and the waiter wasn’t convinced my I.D. was real. It was annoying last month when I volunteered to help in the nursery at church and they didn’t put me on the list because they were waiting to find an adult volunteer to pair with me. I mean, come on people! I have been an adult for over 5 years now. And I haven't been 12 for well over eleven years!! You'd think that some one as boring and serious as me would be mistaken for older, not younger.
Some people suggest that it is my height, or lack of it, that leads to the confusion. But seriously, I am not that little (5 ft-3in). My friend, Akin, is shorter than I am and she isn’t mistaken for a pre-teen. A couple friends suggested that the problem is my lack of makeup. Others suggest the culprit is, as Akin loving calls it, my baby blonde hair. But I can think of plenty of bleached blonde bimbos that no one mistakes for children. Perhaps I am just missing the super-sized chest to go with the hair?
I have experienced years of these mistakes, and I still don’t understand. My family is just as perplexed as I am (only they also think it is hilarious and frequently find opportunities to tease me about it). My fiancé is totally freaked out by all of this. He just turned 30, and now fears he is some kind of perv for planning to marry what appears to be a 15 year old.
I guess I had better start wearing makeup and stilettos.
It was annoying when I was asked my age at a PG-13 movie. (I was 17, holding car keys, and standing next to my 12 year old brother, but they asked me my age, not him.) It was annoying when my younger brother’s middle school teacher asked me if I would be joining his class soon. (My brother is 5 years younger than me, and I was in college at the time.) It was annoying last year when I was out for drinks with a couple friends, and the waiter wasn’t convinced my I.D. was real. It was annoying last month when I volunteered to help in the nursery at church and they didn’t put me on the list because they were waiting to find an adult volunteer to pair with me. I mean, come on people! I have been an adult for over 5 years now. And I haven't been 12 for well over eleven years!! You'd think that some one as boring and serious as me would be mistaken for older, not younger.
Some people suggest that it is my height, or lack of it, that leads to the confusion. But seriously, I am not that little (5 ft-3in). My friend, Akin, is shorter than I am and she isn’t mistaken for a pre-teen. A couple friends suggested that the problem is my lack of makeup. Others suggest the culprit is, as Akin loving calls it, my baby blonde hair. But I can think of plenty of bleached blonde bimbos that no one mistakes for children. Perhaps I am just missing the super-sized chest to go with the hair?
I have experienced years of these mistakes, and I still don’t understand. My family is just as perplexed as I am (only they also think it is hilarious and frequently find opportunities to tease me about it). My fiancé is totally freaked out by all of this. He just turned 30, and now fears he is some kind of perv for planning to marry what appears to be a 15 year old.
I guess I had better start wearing makeup and stilettos.
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