a thankful november: my bed.

2 Nov
Do you love your bed?
I love my bed.
Some people don’t have beds.  I’m thankful for mine.
As I wash my sheets and dream of sleeping in a newly-made bed tonight, I realize I probably spend too much time in bed.  I’m a solid eight-hours a night kind of gal, mostly due to boredom and a flexible work schedule.  Perhaps the washing of sheets will wash away the nightmares and dreams I’ve been having.  [Last night I dreamed that I went to the dentist and had nine cavities.  Then I was at McDonald’s and it took over an hour to get my fruit and walnut salad.  Then there was something about a kidnapping; I don’t quite recall now which is probably best.]
Simplistic statement though it is – I love my bed.  The end.
In other news, Paige and I saw Argo this afternoon.  I feel more intelligent for it.  

a thankful november: tator tots & two year olds.

1 Nov
Happy November!
[It’s November.  When did that happen?  Okay, fine.  I know.  It happened today.]
In an effort to become a more regular blogger once again and in light of the thankful hearts that are shared this month, I, Lindsay, pledge to blog on a [nearly] daily basis something for which I am thankful.
[Did you get that?  Mouthful.  Nearly daily basis?  There may be a few holes due to being away from computer, not for lack of being thankful.]
A thankful November.  I tried to be creative with the title.  Thank-vember?  Novemb-itude?  Then I gave up.  Onto the important part –
Today, November 1, I am thankful for tator tot casserole and two-year olds named Jackson.
I went over to a family’s house for supper tonight.  They are parishioners and ones I sadly haven’t gotten to really know in my year here.  Their second child is being baptized at the end of the month and baptisms are always my pastor excuse to invite myself over.  Their two year old is pretty subdued in church.  He’s a great kid.  Put him in his own territory – his own living room – and high on sugar from yesterday – watch out.  He was running around, making awesome dramatic facial expressions, and making slurpy noises when he wanted more to drink.  Absolutely hilarious.
It was great fun for this pastor to eat in a house with a crazy two year old.  I usually sit on my couch watching television while I eat; this was a great change of pace.  And we had biscuits with dinner.  Carbs.  [Yum.  Something I don’t buy myself.]
And so today, I am thankful for tator tot casserole around a table with fun parishioners and their crazy two-year old.

boo.

31 Oct
Happy boo-day.
I think the goblins are out to steal my focus today.  I’ve been sitting at my desk for the last half hour with nothing to show.  [Except to discover that the Smitten Kitchen – a blog I will partially credit my love of cooking and exploring recipes over the last few years – has a cookbook.  It appears to be nothing short of gorgeous.]  I plan on writing a sermon at some point.  And going to buy candy to hand out tonight.
I think my introvert was taxed tremendously yesterday and I’m still in recovery mode.  It was a full afternoon of pastoral visits and then a 2.5 hour evening meeting with pastors and lay folks.  If I didn’t have to talk at all today, I think that would be my picture of perfect.
I know you’re wondering – did you dress up today, Pastor Lindsay?  You might look at my hair and think so.  I tried a new curly-hair drying technique [scrunch with tshirt and dry upside down] and my head resembles that of Medusa.   My hair is a fright.
I don’t really know why I tell you all of this.  This is likely to be one of the most random blog posts I’ve written but perhaps spitting this all out here will prompt me to focus on, oh, work?  Here’s hoping.

thief of joy.

30 Oct
This is a summary of my night:

I could completely unload my self-insecurities on you but I will save you the bore.  Today was a great but long day.  I fear by the time I arrived at my evening meeting with a bunch of fellow pastors, I was worn thin and ripe to feel inadequate against their successes and extroversion.  Now that I’m home with a glass of wine, I’m trying to end my night on a positive note.  If I had a blackboard, I would write over and over, I will not compare myself to others.  I will not compare myself to others.  I will not compare myself to others.

It’s hard for me.

But you know what does bring me joy?

wacky dreams.

29 Oct
I feel like I’m living in wacko-dreamland lately.  I wake up with odd inclinations towards obscure storylines that were reality to my dream self.  I figure some of these dreams – dreams of hostage situations, spying on people, trying to access information off of another’s laptop – are induced by my joy in rewatching the television show Alias.  All Alias-like situations.  Other dreams of long-lost friends contacting me, joining parties, and shopping together I figure are all indications that I miss my long-lost friends!  It’s been an odd combination of waking up at 2am freaked out and lovely dream conversations with friends.  Strange indeed.
Not a dream?  The phone call I just received from Los Angeles.  Hi, this is so-and-so from MasterChef.  Just checking in – we still haven’t received your home video.  Um, hi.  I thought I had only those first three days to complete it.  That was two weeks ago.  Please just disqualify me.  If you were to get it in today, it could still be in time.  What?!  There was a twinge of excitement … but then I realized I had a full slate at work, that I still didn’t want to cook and plate an impressive meal, and I still don’t want to be a MasterChef.  I told him I was bowing out.  He seemed really confused by it.  Oh, okay. Have a nice day.  You too, sir.  You too.

whose mom are you?

26 Oct
Hanging out with first graders is fun.  It was my second time volunteering at the elementary school, my every Friday gig.  Today, the refrain I heard over and over was, “Whose mom are you?”
I told one little red head boy with Ron Weasley-like facial expressions that I was no one’s mom.  That I was just a friend.
He scrunched his face up and asked me again, “Whose mom are you?”  
I’m not a mom.  I’m just a friend.  Is that okay?
Ron Weasley-like facial expression.  No response.
Okay.  Can you go and send Lily out to meet with me now?


We worked on sight words.  That use is a tough one.

three places on a thursday.

25 Oct
I left work shortly after 4 today, leaving behind a nearly complete sermon [*blog high five*].  I drove to the southern edge of the Cities and I went to three places.  This is how those places make me feel –
Place #1: Byerly’s wine and spirits.  I was early for my appointment at place #2 and had already decided it was a wine kind of weekend.  Byerly’s was on my way and so I pulled in the parking lot and walked through the automatic glass doors.  Immediately, I was approached.  It’s the first day of our wine sale.  Buy one, get one half off!  She was very excited about it.  I acknowledged the greeting.  Another person approached me thirty seconds later.  Has someone told you about our wine sale?  Yes.  Can I help you find something? Something in particular you are looking for?  Here is where I stumble.  How to tell the wine snobs at Byerly’s that my indication of a good bottle of wine is a funny name or silly label under $10?  Hmm.  I always feel like a baby wine drinker in wine shops.  I bought two bottles; one is very large.  The other is normal sized.  Working on the large one now.  It has a rooster on the label.  Silly.
Place #2: Beau Monde Salon.  Hair cut time!  Happy hair cut dance!  I love getting my hair cut.  I love how it feels afterwards and – though she is no Brent – I do like my current stylist, Tiffany.  She is fun to talk with, remembers me, and hasn’t once asked me what my dating status is [the flaw of so many hair stylists].  Happy hair cut dance!
Place #3: Lakeville Super Target.  My favorite Target.  The Target of all Targets.  I didn’t really need anything but rinse aid for my dishwasher and dental sticks for Mabel, but you know how Target works.  Buy-three-get-one-free method hand soap, $10 worth of my favorite yogurt not available at the local HyVee, and stocking up on toothpaste equaled a whole lot more.  Target makes me happy.  The kind of happy American consumerism wants me to feel.  I can’t help but bow to such consumerism when hand soap and Fage yogurt is involved.

I have a problem.

24 Oct
Parenthood.  [I write this through Parenthood tears right now]

Modern Family.  [favorite]
The Daily Show.  [I think Jon Stewart is so absolutely distinguished and hilarious]
The Office.  [I’ll hang on until the end]
Once Upon a Time.  [addicted]
Downton Abbey.  [so good]
White Collar.  [waiting for new episodes]
The New Girl. [sometimes]
Glee.  [occasionally]
Alias. [rewatching]
Conclusion: I have never watched so much television in my life.  
Maybe it’s something about living by myself.  Something about living in a corn field.  Something about needing something to lose myself in after a long day of work.  Something about that darn roku that makes my shows so readily available all the time.  [And that list is without my CBS shows which I cannot access on my roku.  Add a little Big Bang and HIMYM too.]
Quick.  Someone get this girl a new hobby.  
Or can someone come over and shut off my television at 10?  That would be helpful too.

frolicsome.

23 Oct

Source: flickr.com via Zanny on Pinterest

vacation.

22 Oct
I feel like I needed to come back to Austin to rest up.  From vacation.  It was a busy one.
Vacation got a late start.  Originally, I was going to drive home to Wisconsin on Saturday morning but then MasterChef excitement entered the equation.  I was going to go home Saturday night but then MasterChef excitement continued through Monday.  [which meant church at ROG went on Sunday morning as Mabel and I hid in the parsonage, pretending we weren’t there.]  It was late Monday night when I finally stepped foot at my mom’s on Aarback Road and it was for the last time.
Going home meant staying at this home [where my family has been since I was 16] for the last time.  My mom has sold the house and is in the process of building another.  The current home must be moved out of by mid-November.  The future home will not be done until mid-December.  My mom is moving into my grandparent’s for the month of limbo and that means I am homeless when I drive home for thanksgiving.  [There’s a couch out there somewhere with my name on it.]
It was super crazy and weird to stay for the last time in this house.  I’ve moved enough in my life to not be super attached to locations or houses, but this place was still home for the last 12 years.  Super weird.  But seeing the skeleton of the new house come together was exciting too.  And seeing my mom excited about it makes me excited.  All will be well.
So there was that.  And there was hurriedly finishing a baby quilt for Banana, Kim, as I went to her baby shower on Saturday before driving back to MN.  [I was in such a rush to finish it and wrap it for the shower that I forgot to take a picture of it!  It was chevron stripe-y in cream, brown, red, green, blue, and polka dots.  Super cute, if-I-don’t-say-so-myself.]  There was a movie night with Aunt Kari and cousin Molly.  We had family over one evening for dinner since my brothers from Appleton and Alaska were home too.  Alaska brother taught us a new card game – Sheepshead.  Super complicated and fun.  Visiting all sorts of family and friends and beginning to reread Harry Potter rounded out the all-too-fast week.
We didn’t see this.  Pitch Perfect was the movie of choice.

Look at this little man with huge eyes!  A banana baby.

Molly and I colored with cousins Logan and Kennedy.  We created a combination sheep and buddy.  [A compromise made because Lindsay can’t make sheep faces.]

Mabes.

Baby shower for Kim and Mike!  As indicated by glass in bottom left corner, there was much wine at said shower.
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