Thursday Things: Spring

A random list to celebrate the day before the day before the weekend:

1. A girlfriend of mine lives alone and sleeps with a butcher knife under her pillow, because: burglars. Awhile back, her new cleaning lady found the knife under the pillow and brought it into the kitchen to be washed, no questions asked. It was then that my friend knew she would keep the cleaning lady forever and ever, amen.


2. A sign you are getting older: when you and your girlfreeens are getting ready to go out and someone adds "pluck chin hairs" to the list of preparatory to-dos.
 

3. Last week, I was able to go on a short walk and discovered that the roses had bloomed while I was in bed. My neighbors are especially fond of roses, so every home has buffets of them lining the lawn. I was tempted to walk up into their yards to sniff-sample each variety, and was delighted to find one home with a bush hanging over the sidewalk. I must have stood at that bush for five minutes, drinking in every fragrant bloom.


4. My little brother and his wife are the only of my siblings with a front yard, so they are the first to carry on our family's Christmas tree --> Easter cross tradition.

Doesn't it look great?


5. I went to church last Sunday. I told you that already, but it was such a glorious experience, I had to tell you again.


6. One afternoon last week I was lying in bed feeling rather achy with longing. I longed to exercise, to play, to socialize, to dance, to work full time, to go to school full time, to travel, to find and marry a good man, to have babies, to eat chocolate and pasta and enchiladas and drink coffee thick with cream. All the longing swelled and caught in my throat and I was tempted to have a good pity party. Living with all those unsatisfied desires can make me feel like I've gotten the short end of the stick. But then I had a revelation:

I wouldn't have desire if the object of that desire didn't first exist. I wouldn't long for chocolate, for example, if cocoa beans-turned-to-chocolate didn't exist. We have so many desires because the world is full of so many objects of desire. Everywhere we look, God has created people, things, and opportunities that awaken deep longing because they are good and beautiful. And isn't it marvelous that God filled the world with so many glorious things when he didn't have to?

Isn't it marvelous that he made coffee beans, and taste buds, and white sandy beaches, and music, and mountain springs, and endocrine systems, and hands for holding, and eyes for gazing, and hearts for loving, and bodies for procreating, and minds for learning?

God's generosity is lavish, and our desires can be reminders of all the dazzling gifts he didn't have to put in the world but did. I think this means that our desires, unsatisfied though they may be, can ultimately be celebratory signposts pointing to God's goodness. Some of us just happen to get extra regular signpost-reminders. ;)

Happy Thursday, friends of mine.

Cheering for you, Home Skillets. 

-SJ


P.S. Thank you for all your prayers. I haven't seen any improvement yet, but I'm relieved to have so many people pleading for healing on my behalf.


© by scj

Thursday Things: Shift

1. The plumber just left. He's been a regular visitor this week, ever since my bathroom flooded. Again. Thankfully, because my bathroom flooded twice in the first four months I lived here, I've been on diligent "flood watch" and caught it early. No damage was done and I don't have to move out. *insert deep sigh of relief.*


2. The plumber and I are becoming great friends. We have jolly laughs together because he's a jovial guy, and because bathtubs and toilets are funny.

3. If you would like to pray for me this week, you can pray that my plumber and landlord are able to troubleshoot an effective solution to all these floods.


4. The tow truck driver and I are becoming friends, too, as my car broke down again two days before my bathroom flooded. He's a friendly guy who grew up in east L.A. before he moved to the beach. He is well acquainted with the gang culture of east LA, although he was never in a gang himself, and has fascinating observations about gangs' views of justice and loyalty.


5. And hey, the mechanic and I are becoming great friends, too, Jack. He's Greek with an accent that'll make you smile. He calls me "lady."

"Sorry, lady."
"Tell you what, lady."
"Take care, lady."

It's rather endearing.


6. My car didn't start when I returned from my vacation in Washington. Two AAA technicians and I tried to start my car at least 20 times over a period of two days with no success. And then, as soon as we'd dropped it off at the mechanic, it started. Just like that. And it started every time the mechanic tried for three days after that.

I suppose there is a law of the universe that states that if your car won't start for days, all you need to do is drop it off at the mechanic and it will magically start.

I do not love this law of the universe.


7. In fact, I haven't loved the inconveniences of the last few days, and I've been writing rather ungrateful mental letters to God this week that go something like this:

Dear God,

I'm tired of car problems, floods, and bills. It is really, really not fair that you keep allowing (or making) all this bad stuff happen.

Love,

Sarah


8. Writing ungrateful letters to God only feels good for about three seconds before I realize that my ingratitude is devouring my joy, and my criticisms of God are ridiculous. These are first world problems I'm dealing with — problems I wouldn't have if I weren't so privileged. And here I am complaining when my comfortable life of privilege doesn't go the way I want.

And what in the world makes the clay think it can advise the Potter?

I realized my letters to God needed to look very different. I needed to see my life with new, grateful eyes. So I imagined what sort of letter God might write to me explaining what he sees when he looks at my inconveniences.

It went something like this:

Dearest Sarah,

I know this is uncomfortable. Don't forget I'm closer than the freckles on your nose every time your bathroom floods, gas leaks, car breaks down, or the earth quakes. None of this stuff can happen without my knowledge. Nothing your heart feels escapes my attention and care. And nothing bad ever stays all bad. I transfigure it and use it to do good things. This week I am doing good things.

Count the friends you've made since you moved to this bungalow. There are the neighbors you stayed with during the earthquake, the neighbors' workmen who helped you push your car, the AAA technicians, the tow truck driver, the mechanic, the folks at the car rental place, and the plumber and his entourage.

I don't want you to stay cloistered away in your bungalow, depressed from the illness you've experienced and disconnected from your community. Your tendency is to withdraw when you're tired and discouraged, and I want you to live fully, in relationship with the people out your front door. I will save you from the consequences of your tired tendencies, and I'm using these inconveniences to do it. I am merciful.

I also want you to experience the health I've given you. Look how you've handled all this! You wouldn't have had had the health to do it at this time last year. And you wouldn't know what your body is capable of if you didn't have to navigate these frequent inconveneinces. Notice the healing work I've done in your body, and take heart.

I'm doing good work inside of you, but I'm also doing good work outside of you. There are lots of people in your community who don't know how much I love them. They need to know, somehow. Gas leaks, car problems and floods are a few of the ways I pull people together so the people who know my love can tell the people who don't know it yet just how wonderful and unfailing my love for them is. Every inconvenience could be an opportunity to share the world's Best Ever News with a soul that needs to hear it.

And finally, you never know, Sarah, but that the money you pay one of the people who have solved your problems is an answer to his prayer for financial provision. I'm always at work doing things you can't see. Good, awe-full things.

I love you to the moon and back. Actually, from heaven to earth and back again. Don't you ever forget that.

Love,

God


9. This morning I opened my Bible to Luke 21:12-13 in which Jesus foretells wars and persecution of Christians. He states,

"But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness."

My problems are so insignificant compared to the suffering of persecuted Christians. And yet God uses their startlingly painful problems to complete his Great Commission. Surely he can use my first world problems to do the same.


10. Slowly, I'm beginning to view my inconveniences with gratitude for the good things God is certainly doing. It's easy to fall back into anxiety and ingratitude though, so I regularly have to look for the signs of God's goodness in my life.


11. Get a load of this proof of God's goodness:

I was walking to my car after work earlier this week when I saw this sign:

This may be the most brilliant mission trip fundraiser I've ever seen.

I was in puppy heaven.

(Quick, go find a pet store, and go inside and stay awhile!)


14. Thanks for sharing the good and the bad with me today, my friends. Happy Thursday (almost-Friday!) to you. And if it's not happy, I pray that, at the very least, it's full of grateful joy.

-Sarah



© by scj

Thursday Things: Photobomb

1. There is a scary thing that happens with greater frequency as I age:

I meet a girl and think she is lovely.
I assume she's about 6-8 years older than I am.
I discover she is my age.

Folks, IT'S HAAAAAPPENING......! I am beginning to look older than I feel inside. And although I know I'm still a spring chicken, my internal monologues are beginning to sound like the things I used to hear older, graying people say:

"My wrinkling skin sure does belie my perky soul."

"This body of mine ain't got nothin' on my youthful spirit."

"How did my body run ahead and age like this, when my soul hasn't aged a day?"

Etcetera etcetera.

There is nothing to do about this but grieve. And buy eye cream. And plug my ears when my friends talk about being middle-aged (is 29 middle-aged?! It can't be...) And look forward to heaven.


2. My family does not think this is the cutest dog they ever did see.

"Its eyes have been photoshopped; those are human eyes," one of them said. "That thing is disturbing," another said. "Sarah. Ummmmm. Hmmm."

Someone call the optomotrist. My family needs glasses.


3. This is one of my favorite pictures of all time. Notice the looks of unabashed delight etched on our four childish little faces as we whiz down Splash Mountain for the first time.

Or not.

Our faces. You guys. The fear. The panic. The thought that life may soon be over. This picture makes me howl with laughter. Actually, it makes everyone in my family howl with laughter. We love texting it to each other periodically.


4. My friend mentioned "heckleberries" in a text last week. As in, "What the heckleberry?" I wondered, what is a heckleberry like? I think it must taste tart and zippy and come in all sorts of colors — purples, blues, reds, yellows, depending on where it grows. And it grows everywhere. The mountains of Colorado, the plains of Minnesota, the streets of New York.

Also, I think it is a mischief-inducing berry. Take care when eating heckleberries; you never know what they'll tempt you to do...

Hmmm, what else do we know about heckleberries?


5. My autocorrect keeps turning "heckleberries" into "huckleberries." I used to love huckleberries, but I I have not eaten them in 20 years. The last time I ate huckleberries I was with Jake Long up in Indian Heaven. For hours we laid in a huckleberry patch swallowing fistfuls of berries while our siblings filled their berry-picking buckets nearby. We ate until our fingers were stained purple and we had no appetite for lunch. Or dinner. Or huckleberry pancakes the next morning. It turns out eating buckets of huckleberries can make a kid feel really sick. That week I vowed I'd never eat a huckleberry again. But a heckleberry, well, that's another story.


6. Last week, at the Valentine's Day dinner the boys prepared for us, I got photobombed. That is, I made the mistake of leaving my phone unattended on the table. Three minutes and 300 photos later (I do not exaggerate), I retrieved my phone. But you don't photobomb Sarah J. without receiving retribution. That is, you don't photobomb me with at least 5 of those 300 photos being posted for all the world to see.

Robert Carter, you're a selfie bomber extraordinaire. 

7. Happy Thursday, everyone! The weekend is aaaaalmost here!


-Sarah

 © by scj

Thursday Things, on a Friday: "F-l-a-b"

1. Some friends and I went to the Orange County Fair on Wednesday to celebrate my dear friend's birthday.

I haven't been to the fair in years. I've either been A) way too busy to do anything social-ish, or B) way too sick. Now that I'm recovering from busyness and illness, I get to enjoy a rather thriving social life. It turns out social lives are way.fun. Who knew.

Unfortunately, the wrinkles that are slowly forming around my eyes and across my forehead have been accompanied by a tendency to get queasy on any ride that spins quickly. It's a shame, because I've always loved quickly-spinning rides.

So I stuck to non-quickly-spinning rides like the ferris wheel and this amazeballs slide.

2. Whilst at the fair we determined that, should I ever cut bangs, it will look A) decent:

or, B) awful:

Given my odds, I don't think I will be cutting bangs anytime soon.


3. I am hoping my white raccoon eyes in the above pictures are a trick of the light. If not, then I may want to consider removing my grapefruit-sized sunglass lenses when I lay out...


4. I've been home since Monday, and I haven't had a deep belly laugh since then. That's because little brother is up in Washington, while I'm down here. And boy, that kid makes me laugh till I cry. Every.single.time. we're together.


5. In one of the college English classes I teach I get to teach my students to identify logical fallacies. I think I will use Macklemore's "Same Love" to do this.


6. Fair music makes for good dance-walking music. And dancing-walking at the fair makes for cool pictures.

Photo credit: My dear friend Tammy.


7. I just remembered I had a dream last night that I was dating Ben Aaron, the dance-walking king. 
(Click on the link in #6 to check out Ben's dance-walking video).


8. I recently started a tutoring business, which means I get to spent time with students in K-12th grade these days. Yesterday I was working on reading with one of my 2nd grade students.

We were playing a spelling card game, and I noticed he had the letters to form the word f-l-a-b.

I knew he wasn't familiar with the word, so I helped him out.

"You can spell the word 'flab' with your cards," I said.

He sounded it out and correctly formed the word.

"Flab is the loose skin and fat on our bodies," I explained.

His eyes lit up. "Oh!" he said. "My mom has LOTS of that!"

Just one of a thousand reasons I love working with kids, folks.


Happy Friday, y'all! I hope your weekend is just grand.

-SJ


© by scj

Thursday Things: Gloating and Guacamole

I'm reinstating Thursday Things, because I still think compiling a list of the week's random stuff is one of the most fun ways to celebrate the fast-approaching weekend:


1. Since I moved down here nine years ago, I have routinely gotten two songs stuck in my head: "Puff the Magic Dragon" and "Feliz Navidad." As I am prone to roam the house bellowing whatever song is stuck in my head at the moment, you can imagine I make a truly delightful roommate.


2. When I was in first grade I sometimes played at a friend's house whose family lived in hills overlooking the Columbia river. One sunny afternoon, my friend and I sat on her deck and watched the sailboats glide by while we ate a lunch of blueberries and noodles with butter. It was one of the most glorious afternoons of my 7-year old life. I cannot help but fondly remember it when I eat noodles with butter for dinner, as I did last night.


3. If Harry Potter is not one of your good friends, then your life has the potential to be 37% happier. Just sayin'.


4. Rexie, so dubbed by my girlfriends and me at my toast to God's goodness, is as youthful as he was when he was gifted to me four weeks ago. This has got to be a record for a helium balloon. I think he likes hangin' wit me.

5. I love that I overhear students saying things like, "We have got to develop a robust theology of angels, regardless of what society says about them" in the halls of the university where I teach.


6. There is an avocado tree on our property that likes to tantalize me with its avocados hanging far, far above my head. Homegrown avocados are of course much cheaper than store-bought avocados, and they are one of the tastiest things on God's earth. So I often try to outsmart our avocado temptress with step stools, rakes, brooms, and nets. The neighbors have been known to laugh at me so loudly I can hear them from their living room.

Despite my best efforts at procuring the green fruit, I am rarely successful. Which is why I was delighted today to find that the three avocados I've been trying to reach for weeks fell to the ground within hours of each other. If you need me this weekend, you can find me sitting under the avocado tree eating homemade guacamole, and gloating.

7. Two days ago my microwave started sounding like a banshee. Now you know.


8. Apparently yesterday was national siblings day. Thank goodness for Facebook, or I would have never known about this splendid holiday. In honor of my four hilarious, thoughtful, talented, intelligent, one-of-a-kind siblings, I'm posting a family picture. Better late than never:

Happy weekend, everyone!

-SJ


© by scj

Thursday Things: Six

1. I made brussel sprouts this week. Aren't they beautiful?

There are two keys to making brussel-sprouts-that-taste-so-good-they-rival-cheesecake (seriously): 

1. A good balsamic

2. Bacon

Bacon is always the answer.

2. I've caught the cold that's kept my students sniffling this month. So rather than spend the week galavanting about with friends in costume, I've been writing like a fiend, eating lots of chicken soup, and sipping tea/dancing/husband-finding/countryside-romping with these girls:

3. I seriously feel so good, you guys. Even with this cold, I feel ten times better than I did a few months ago. It turns out having my tonsils removed was one of the best decisions I've ever made, besides following Jesus of course. Now that my body is no longer fighting a constant infection it is more easily repairing the internal damage from the mono, and it's doing normal things like thinking clearly and waking up rested in the morning.

It's all so thrilling.

There are 26 keys on this keyboard that I could use to explain just how thrilling—how wildly delightful—it is to feel so normal. But these keys aren't enough. You'd probably understand best if you could watch me run up the hill behind my house, or splash free and full in ocean waves, or do the moonwalk in my socks after dinner.

I'm thankful for your prayers, and would love continued prayer for complete healing this year.


4. In other news, it dropped below 70 degrees here the other night.

It was quite a shock to my system.


5. My iPhone camera got too full this week so I had to delete scores of pictures. I could not, however, bring myself to delete this one. I like having it handy on my phone.

What does this garden squash remind you of?

I cannot look at it without seeing a third grade Veggie Tales character who really, really needs to go to bathroom.

I smile every time I see it.



6. Soon I'll be blogging about this trip:

Photo by Mayra Long

In the meantime, Happy Thursday, everyone!

Sarah

© by scj

Thursday Things: Road Trip!

Praise to the God who delivers us from trials and tribulations.

I have finished grading.

I've been belting this song this week:

It puts things in perspective.

And now that I'm free as a bird I'm off to visit an old friend, Andrea.

I met Andrea almost nine years ago at a father/daughter camp that my dad and I attended as one last 'hurrah' before I moved down to L.A. to attend Azusa Pacific University.

I was nervous about two things that first day of camp: 1. Living in a cabin with a bunch of strangers for a week.  2. Moving 1,000 miles from home to go to college a couple of weeks later.  So you can imagine my sweet relief when I walked into my assigned cabin, introduced myself, and discovered that one of the other daughters—bubbly, kind, and hospitable Andrea—was going to be a junior at Azusa Pacific.  I wouldn't be all alone down in big, busy L.A. after all, and this whole cabin thing could be just grand.

My scanner isn't working, so I've taken pictures of pictures with my iPhone.  I'm on the far left, and Andrea is right next to me.  Our cabin (and our dads) ditched camp one day and went on a field trip to Ashland, Oregon, home of the Shakespeare festival, and home to these cute-as-a-bug's-ear headbands.

All it took was a trip to the swimming hole, a few rounds of the plastic cup game (clap clap, pound-the-table, take-the-cup-and-move-it), and a trip or two across the ropes course for me to fall in love with Andrea for life.

Here we are about to perform a father/daughter rap for the camp.  It was an epic affair. Andrea is third from the left in the black shirt.  I now own the red hat she is wearing.  It is my favorite hand-me-down hat, in case you were asking yourself about that.

Our dad-dizzles.  Mine is on the far left, apparently working up his rap fever.  Andrea's dad is the fourth dad from the left.  He's an amazing tennis player, as is Andrea.

Nine years later Andrea's married and living in a home of her own with a guest room that's all set up for me this weekend.  And so I'm off to visit my dear friend out in wine country where the sun shines fierce and dry.

I'll take a picture or two for you.

Happy Thursday!

S


© by scj

Thursday Things: Camera Happy

I've become a photography fiend.

It's not that I have a nice camera (hello, Instagram), and it's not that I have a good eye, it's just that there's a two year period of my life that I didn't document with pictures.

I didn't forget to document; there just wasn't much of anything to document.  I was sick in bed most of the time, staring at the ceiling, or sitting out on porch watching my flowers grow.

There are only so many flower shots a girl can take.

So now that I'm up, moving around, and participating in a life that's more normal, I'm a little camera happy.

I've become that girl at every party who takes pictures of strangers, uncle Joe's plate of food, the dandelions out back, and the pile of shoes by the door.

I've also begun to dabble in videography.  I'm thinking of premiering my most recent work featuring the wildlife on my back patio as they prepare for the 2016 Olympics. You should see the lizards do push-ups.

Unfortunately, my computer has been running a little funny lately—no doubt from the hundreds of photos and videos I'm uploading every week.  I may need to stop taking pictures of every weed I pull out of my garden.

The upside of being bogged down with so many photos is that I've got ample fodder for my Thursday Things list to celebrate the week.

And so, without further ado, I give you Thursday Things, a photo journal to celebrate the week.


1.  We had a Jackson family reunion of sorts last week.  I thought it would be just a few aunts and uncles and a handful of cousins, since everyone else is scattered far and wide.  But then, glory of glories, my sweet grandma showed up.  It was such a delightful surprise.

Isn't she lovely?  Check out her stylin' sunnies.  

The reason for the reunion was this little guy.  

Meet Lil' Rad, everyone.

He's my cousin's first baby. Isn't he the sweetest wittle thing you ever did see?  And lands, look at all that hair.

There is very little in this world that tops hanging out with grandma, lil' Rad, and everyone in between.


2. This week I ate a rainbow orange, minus the GBIV.

It was one of the most thought-provoking things I've ever eaten.

It made me wonder:

What it is about the red section of this orange that makes it absorb every color of light, except red?

And why does the yellow section reflect the yellow in light, instead of orange or red?

Also, is the yellowness actually a part of the orange?

Or is it just something that the hardware in my head makes me see?

If God looked at the orange would he see red, orange, and yellow?


These are the things a philosopher thinks when she eats a rainbow orange.


3.  I spotted this lone rose on my walk the other day.

Isn't she romantic?

She is as tall as I am.  I wonder how she got that tall?  Perhaps she is an overachiever.  Or perhaps her pituitary gland has been over-activated.

Either way, she is the belle of this beautiful border.

4. As some of you know, I live on a property with two other families.  We call our community 'The Compound.'

This is a picture of the Compound Kids.  We are called this because we all live on the Compound.

Very clever and cutting-edge, I know.

From left to right: Me, Kathryn (sadly covered in shadow), Laura (and baby Addie), and Luke

Our lovely compound mumsie is taking this picture just outside of El Cholo, one of L.A.'s finest Mexican restaurants.

Luke recently got a job up north, so they will be moving soon. We're all trying to get as much time with them as we can before they go.  We'll miss them somethin' fierce.

5. I spotted Peter Rabbit the other day.

No doubt he was on his way to the garden for some tasty radishes and lettuce.

I think he had the right idea.  I'm off to water my garden, where I will no doubt take pictures of every dirt clod and leaf I see.


Orevuar,

And happy Thursday!

~S


© by scj

Thursday Things: Thursdays are for Lovin'

The sun is shining, the birds are twittering all cheerful, the lawn mower is rumbling, and I've got a cuppa tea to coax me awake.  Because I'm plumb tuckered out, and I need a little something extra to get me going today.

And so, in addition to my enlivening cup of berry blossom tea, I'm making my list to celebrate the week.  Because, despite my overall state of grogginess and disorientation, there are lots of things I'm lovin' this week.


1. I love vegetable garden season.

I love picking out seeds,

tilling rocky soil,

and watering in the cool of the evening;

and then months later making fresh pesto with basil,

and eating cherry tomatoes warm and plump off the vine.


2. I love the entrance to our vegetable garden.

I don't walk into our garden; I steal into it: quiet, with bated breath, relishing the colors and smells, soaking up the silence.

Basically I pretend I'm Mary Lennox from The Secret Garden.


3. I love it when I run into an old student on campus and the first thing he does when he sees me is laugh—

not because I am talking to myself (because I probably am),

and not because I've just run into a tree or tripped over a curb (because I probably have),

but because it feels good to laugh, and it feels good to know people who will laugh with you about nothing in particular.


4.  I love it when students yell and wave at me across campus.  I love yelling and waving back.


5.  I love walking down the crowded, main campus walkway and overhearing funny snippets from student conversations.


6. I love it when I'm in the middle of a conversation with a friend, and suddenly I'm struck by how funny and random our conversation snippets would sound to an outsider.

Consider two real-life examples:

Exhibit A:

Me: I don't really like it when people call me 'sweetheart'.

Friend: Me neither.

Me: Why do you think this is?

Friend: To me, sweetheart connotes spineless and docile.  Don’t call me sweetheart, call me sweetpunch.  Give me a little credit here.

Exhibit B:

Friend: Any advice for how I should be when I see *Sam*?

Me: Just treat him like he’s your long lost friend from camp.

Friend: Yep, I was planning on making that my mojo.

Me: Do you know what a mojo is? Because I don’t.

Friend: I think it’s an agenda.

7. I love that I've discovered the place our Molly-dog hides all the objects she's stolen, so that I can find my hiking shoe when it goes missing.

Molly-dog, you may be smart and sneaky, but I'm onto you.


8. I love playing the guitar.  I've just started learning, and I don't sound great, but everything about it brings me pleasure.  The challenge, the possibilities, the callouses that are finally developing on my fingers.  It's all so satisfying.

I had my friend take pictures of me playing all the new chords I've learned, so I wouldn't forget.
This is an F#,  although when I play it it sounds like pea soup.

9. And last but not least, I love ya—every last one of you. Thanks for being my friends.


Happy Thursday,

Sarah

a.k.a. Sweetpunch

a.k.a. Stealthy thief-dog stalker


© by scj

Thursday Things: Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

This week I’ve been falling asleep to the liquid laughter of spring rain dancing on the roof.  My little brother gets married this weekend, so I’ve come home to the Pacific Northwest for Easter break.

It's been a right good time.  I'll write about the Easter and wedding festivities in next week's posts; in the meantime, here's a Thursday list to celebrate the week.

1. I never tire of the expansive skies.

This is the view on the way home from the Portland airport.
 It always thrills me.  On clear days you can see Mt. Hood to the right.

2. I am never prepared for the frigid temperatures.

3. Thank goodness the clouds parted and we had sun for a few days.  Little brother and I took advantage of the warm weather and went on one last roller blading trek around the neighborhood before he gets married.

I have grown rather cautious in my old age and convinced Aaron to wear wrist guards and knee pads along with me.

I was also determined to also wear a helmet before venturing beyond the driveway.

4. All I could find was this hard hat.

5.  Fortunately my mom was able to dig up a couple of helmets from the bowels of the garage—probably from the same place all of the stray socks like to hide.

It was a much better look.  Aaron was especially fond of his platinum helmet.

6. My aunt, uncle and grandma flew in from Phoenix for the wedding two days ago.  My grandma is spunky, hilarious, and a fashion diva.  You never know what treasures she'll pull from her closet.

Most recently she unveiled a rather unorthodox fur.

Is it a mink?

A fox?

Or a weasel?

Whatever it is, I'm afraid it's going to walk off when no one is looking.


7. This last picture sums up the rest of the week, aside from family, Easter festivities, and wedding prep.

Notice my hair.  This is post-workout hair.

I went to the gym earlier this week and worked out for the first time since I got sick 19 months ago.  I am so thankful for continued healing, and Oh! how I have missed the feeling of sweat pouring down my face, lactic acid flooding my legs, and sharp pain spreading through my chest.  Hallelujah.

Notice my outfit.  Clearly looking good is a priority when I'm vacation.

This is the face I make when I realize how amazing my outfit is. The dark circles around my eyes are from tear-streaked mascara.  I watched almost an entire season of "The Voice" in three days.  Boy is that show a tear-jerker.  Beautiful stories, beautiful music.  The fingerprints of God all over these people.

I just love vacation.

© by scj