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work in progress.

22 Mar
I sat in a theater, with every seat filled, next to my bestest, Sara, tonight and watched a work in progress.  I’d tell you the name of the film, but I had to sign an agreement that I would not use facebook, blogs, twitter, etc. [or any social media site that had not yet been created before the printing of the agreement.  seriously.  it said that.] to share what I saw.  They threaten legal actions to be taken if that was proven to be the case.  I mention not the title of the film and, hey.  Try searching for my blog on google.  It doesn’t exist.  It hides from the man.  [or at least then men for whom I signed the agreement.]
I woke up to an email this past weekend – an invitation to the screening of a motion picture that’s due for release in July.  The email came from a site on which I’ve bought movie tickets before and, heck yes, I’ll drive to Eden Prairie, wait in a line, sign a legal agreement, and surrender my cell phone to security for a free movie.  Not to mention a free movie starring – 
just kidding.  I can’t say.
It was just a really funny process.  I signed up online and the confirmation I received said we must report to the theater an hour before the movie was scheduled to start.  We arrived and found there was already a line.  We stood and filled out our legal paperwork.  We waited some more and then were subjected to a purse search and were ‘wanded’ by a security guard.  [Legs shoulder width, arms up and the wand.  You know.  The wand.]  We also had to check our cell phones at the door.  [Boy, did we feel naked for three hours.]  All the while, seemingly important people talked on walkie talkies and paced the corridors.
This was apparently the first showing of the movie, announced the guy who was big and important and wore his clothes a bit too tight and told us they’d just flown in from LA to do the screening.  [the audience clapped at this.  lame.]  He stood in the front of the theater to address us, right next to the guy with the video camera that I’m pretty sure filmed us through the whole movie, recording our reactions.  It was our job to sit back, enjoy, and then remain in our seats for ten to fifteen minutes following the film to fill out forms regarding what we thought of the movie.  Everything from the music, the scenes we liked the most and the least, and the websites we visit most often.  [I nearly put down workingpreacher.org.  so kidding.  but not.]
Again, for a free film that was pretty flippin’ hilarious with some romance thrown in, I’ll fill out an evaluation form.  Please and thank you.  It was a great night to end the dreary weather day – shopping the housewares at Kohl’s, eating Punch Pizza [thanks to Lauren for sharing this coupon on fbook earlier; click over and use it through thursday!], and seeing a free movie, all with Sara.  An adventurous friend, a better-than-I-expected [did I mention free?] movie, and too much laughing at a Bath and Bodyworks store equals a fabulous evening.  Thank you and good night.

what up, wednesday.

16 Mar
As Seinfield was a show about nothing, thus is this blog post.  [I never really got into Seinfield; I didn’t really understand it.  Bet you have real high hopes for this post now, eh?  Not.]  I think I’ll talk about the good things of today, I thought as I walked up to campus for a meeting.  I wanted alliteration in the title (always good) but ‘wonderful wednesday’ was a little too rainbows and gumdrops for my taste.  So I go gangster on you instead.  [Right, you think.  Lindsay?  Gangster?  Synonymous with DON’T GO TOGETHER.]
what up, wednesday. *head tilts back in oh-so-cool acknowledgement*
What’s up today?
A date [okay, appointment] with Brentt, my hair stylist;  
AND lunch out with Katja, M.’s mom;
AND plans to spend lots of time crafting with M. next week while she’s on spring break;  
AND a new-to-me fondue pot, courtesy of Katja; 
AND the watching of last night’s Glee, which I really appreciated and enjoyed;
AND p. 12 of the Concord, Luther Seminary’s student paper; 
[Who’s that girl with the snarky look?  Yup.]
AND a meeting about my children, youth, and family thesis, which I’m now totally excited to write;  
[Who’s the crazy lady who likes to write papers?  Yup.]
AND it was sunny and nearly fifty and I wore flip flops;
AND stopping at Starbucks to chat with friend, Cassie, while my eyes were dilated after an eye exam;
AND time to quilt tonight;
AND should I keep going?
What’s on your what up, wednesday list?  
I hope you can mentally make a list like this for your own day.  It’s not to say that your whole day has to be peaches and ice cream; mine wasn’t.  [And peaches and ice cream?  Why would I use such a comparison?  Ack.  No thanks.]  I could have told you how I shelled out lots of money for an eye exam and contacts on top of it.  I might have mentioned the load of midterms I feel weighing upon me.  I could have talked about any number of things that didn’t go spectacularly on this day like the matching blisters on each of my pinky toes due to a pair of shoes.  
But eh.  Why focus my energy there?  Not today.  Not worth it.  Instead –
Source: google.com via Hana on Pinterest

[Easier said than done.  But let’s give it a try.]

steeples & stilettos.

13 Mar
Once upon a time, there was a new blog.
This blog was written by three beautiful ladies.  All in their twenties, these gals were studying to be pastors, a profession most typically associated and dominated by the male sex.  Men.  And – truth be told – old men at that.  Obstacles, questions, and musings resulted as they confronted, negotiated, and played the system, aka ‘the man.’  The system of seminary, the musings on being young leaders, the questions of being fashionable in church leadership.  [Yes.  It is possible.]
Big questions.  What does it mean to be female and a pastor?  What will it mean to be a young female leader when a church – unintentionally out of necessity – requires that you fear not bats and their inevitable reign in the education wing hallway?  How high of heels is too high when leading worship?
The three beautiful ladies sought to answer these questions, to share fashion fascinations, and to talk about life in general.  A new blog was born.  [Plus there was that whole class project assignment that needed to be fulfilled …]
Megan, Cassie, and I are just starting out at Steeples & Stilettos.  The site was launched on Friday with introductions and the beginnings of what will be.  It will be ever-changing and we hope to keep it going with our life thoughts and church experiences long after we graduate.  

Ten things I’ve learned this semester:

13 Mar
[I hope you’re not expecting academic or theological revelations.  You probably should read a different blog if that’s something you crave …]

1.  Margarita salt is essential on rim of said drink’s glass.  [I’ve thought otherwise until recently.  But this also isn’t to say that I drink these daily.  Or weekly.  Simply occasionally.]

2.  Reading for class really is optional, even if the professor says otherwise.  [Ask nearly any of my senior classmates about the amount of reading they do.  Seriously.]
3.  One box cake mix will yield 35-38 cakepops with the large Pampered Chef cookie scoop.  Recent experiments look promising with use of small Pampered Chef cookie scoop.  Yield average pending.
4.  Happy hours on Thursday evenings highlight one’s week.
5.  I’d rather clean than do schoolwork.
6.  Dogs are expensive.  [Learned in research of labradoodle and goldendoodle puppies.  I want one when I get my first call.]
7.  Professors are people too.  [I’ve gotten to know many professors this year beyond the typical student/professor interaction.  It’s been enjoyable.]
8.  An occasional Saturday night of quilting and watching Lord of the Rings is not at all overrated but rather necessary and lovely.
9.  An iPhone is a regular treat, especially using the Carcassonne app to play the really nerdy game with my friend, James, while he’s on internship in SD.
10.  Watering an indoor plant using an ice cube will prevent that sudden rush of water from the bottom of the pot, as the ice cube will melt and gradually soak in, a trick I use with this guy to the left.  [I haven’t killed it off [yet], Karen!]  

ridiculous.

7 Mar
I can laugh at myself.  Here is the perfect example.  You can laugh too.  It’s ridiculous.
It was a balmy 25 degrees on Saturday when I – along with Kim, Krissy, and Lynn [meet them in the previous video post] – boarded a shuttle bus that took us to Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis.  Then I jumped into the frozen lake with gal pal, Rachel Green Sara, and her mom, Jenny.  We were team ‘Just Add Water,’ wearing aprons with ugly frill, oven mitts, and carrying kitchen utensils [a whisk for me].  There were also swim caps.  I’m not sure anyone looks good in such a weird stretchy thing, but I certainly looked horrid.  I will, however, thank the swim cap for keeping my head dry.  I am certain that not having a head of wet hair helped a lot when enduring the cold water and air.
But really, besides looking ridiculous [which was the goal to begin with], it wasn’t bad.  It was actually a lot of fun.  After the count of “1 … 2 … 3 … PLUNGE!” we jumped and then got ourselves out of the water as quickly as we could to run to the hot tubs.  Honestly, I’d do it again.  It was fun.  And just enjoyable to watch people’s reactions when I told them what I did this weekend.
In total, there were 2900 plungers at this specific plunge, raising over $600,000 for Special Olympics!
Thanks to those who pledged for my plunge! 
 

video post.

6 Mar

All your questions will be answered by clicking play.

[Further posts regarding my weekend of visitors and pictures of the polar plunge will follow.  For now, this is all you get.  Make as much sense of it as you can …]

I fell in love.

2 Mar
With straight line quilting.
I’ve loved the look of it for many months, seeing straight-lined quilted items on blogs many-a-time.
I’d always wanted to try it but call me chicken.  The actual quilting of quilts is the part that still trips me up. Ask me and I can easily point out the errors I’ve made while quilting my previous quilts.  I’m not quite sure how my machine works in this step or how to really go about it.  
I’m in the process of putting together two simple flannel kid-sized blankets to send to my friends, Jenni and Joe.  Jenni is a high school bestie of mine; Joe her flannel-wearing husband.  A very exciting thing happened for Jenni and Joe a few weeks ago.  After months of waiting and paperwork, they welcomed their first foster child – nay – foster children into their home.  Imagine going from zero children to an instant two children, ages one and two.  I can only guess that sleep is at a minimum but hope that blessings are overflowing.  You can read more about Jenni and Joe’s story here, on Jenni’s blog.
I wanted to make a little something to send their way and am of firm belief that one can never have too many blankets.  They are solid panels of flannel with a little more flannel in between for warmth, but I wanted to quilt and bind them to give them that look and feel.  
So there I was tonight, straight line quilting.  
It’s going super well so far (fingers crossed), except that I chose my own death as I spaced the lines so close together.  Lots of lines.  Lots of thread.  It’s a learning experience (as all my quilts are) and I know better how to do this next time around.  (But I still maintain this one will look awesome!)  I found myself tonight saying, “I’ll sew one more line and then do my homework.”  “Just one more and then I’ll do the dishes.”  “Just one more …”  I finally sewed just one more and now I’m here, not doing homework or dishes, but updating ‘da blog.  (And after this, pretty sure I’m going to bed!)  I can’t wait to finish them, put the blankets (along with a few other goodies) in a box, and send them off to Jenni, Joe, and their two little munchkins.  I hope they get used and dirty, washed and loved on lots by the children.

where for art thou Gnomeo?

13 Feb
In the course of the last month, I bet I’ve had at least a dozen people email me, post on my facebook, text me, or tell me in person about Gnomeo and Juliet, the animated movie that was released this past weekend to theaters.  I complain not, but just find it humorous how gnomes and Lindsay are forever connected.  I walked out of church today with Mark, the “dad” of my Stillwater family, and he asked if I saw the movie this weekend.  I said I did, gave him my one sentence review, and then he kinda laughed and told me I was doomed to have people connect me with gnomes for the rest of my life.
That’s probably a true story … but not a bad story.  Much of it is probably of my own doing.  (Um, this blog title?  Consistent visits to gnome park last year?  I was in a town where most were so accustomed to the gnomes that when I talked about them, I was laughed at and stuck out.)  My fault.  And that’s okay.
I saw Gnomeo and Juliet on Friday.  Opening night.  In 3D.  (I hate 3D, mainly because it’s more expensive and it can make me a tad sick to the stomach. I didn’t catch that detail when looking at movie times.  Why is everything coming out in 3D now?  urg.)  Three friends and I trekked to the theater and joined families, teenagers, and few-to-no people our own age for a tragic gnome love story.  I’ll be honest – I thought the first fifteen minutes or so weren’t so great.  But then the pink lawn flamingo showed up, a Banana computer, and funny little bunnies hopping all over the place made me laugh.  Probably not as funny as I had hoped, but the cute factor was consistently high.  I give the movie four gnome hats.  (Out of a possible five.  All with a slight bend in them, of course.)
Three favorite things from the movie experience: First, whenever gnomes touched, it made the clinky sound of ceramic hitting ceramic.  Giggle.  Second, the little girl behind us who kept saying, “They kissed!” over and over after Gnomeo and Juliet smooched.  Third, I would not be lying if I said I brought my red gnome hat to the theater.  I would, however, be lying if I said I wore it for longer than three seconds.  (Just long enough to prove to my friends – and those who sat in the immediate area around us – that I do, in fact, have a gnome hat.  Also proven here and here.)

cakepop madness.

12 Feb
I’ve talked about them before – cakepops.
Here they are again, in full force.
First, I sent conversation cakepop hearts to my mom and sister.  My sister wrote a thank you on my facebook wall, leading my dear cousin, Connor, to comment in this manner:
“Yeah, Lindsay, thanks for the cakepops, o wait.  I don’t think I got any.  I’m expecting them in a few days!  O by the way, chocolate on chocolate.  Thanks in advance.”

It doesn’t take much to make me feel bad and it takes little to force to me to make cakepops, so these were sent out early last week.  Cupcake bites.  For cute.  I sent them in an egg carton for shipping protection and added cute factors.  I told Connor he had to share with the rest of his family.  Share, he did, but not before eating seven of them himself.  That’s a lot of cakepop.  [Photos courtesy of my iPhone – an app with fun photo edits.]

More cakepop wonderfulness has ensued.  I’m on a team of seniors planning a dinner/party/worship for the evening of the 23rd – the night we receive our regional assignments.  I’m on the food committee with Kevin.  In addition to catering in Pizza Luce, we’ll be serving up cakepops.  

Today was the day the creating happened.  Well over two hundred cakepops – baked on Thursday, rolled on Friday, and dipped today.  Phew.  A crew of seven of us melted, dipped, sprinkled and wrapped.  I now have five galloon-sized ziploc bags of cakepops in my freezer, waiting for the night of the 23rd.  I don’t want to see another cakepop until then.

snowshoeing.

29 Jan
My January class was over [as of yesterday morning].  
The temperature outside was 30 degrees.  
I had an afternoon free and was ready for a new adventure.
proof.
I went snowshoeing yesterday with four classmates.  I was worried it might be yet another disaster – that’s what happens when Lindsay tries new winter sports.  Disasters.  (I’m still embarrassed about this ski outing a year ago.  *shaking head*)  For this outing, I remained on my two feet the entire time; in fact, Joel was the only one to hit the ground, and I think most of those falls were intentional.  And it was super fun.  I’ll be watching the end-of-season clearances to see if I can find myself a decent pair to own.  [And until then, who wants to go again?!]

We went to the Elm Creek Park Reserve in Maple Grove, rented snowshoes for $5, and made our way out on the trails for a couple hours.  It was wonderful to leave the city for a bit as we crossed tributaries, meandered about on a frozen pond, forged our way through thorny bushes, and walked the groomed paths.

Joel – the troll under the bridge [naturally] – attacks us.

  

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