Hooked

Ben and I are hooked on Threadless.

When I tell people about this place, most people don't know what I'm talking about. So I thought I'd share.

Threadless is a website where you can order t-shirts, usually with very cleaver and funny designs. People can write into Threadless with ideas for new t-shirts and designs of their own, they are voted on and if your design gets picked to go to press...you get paid for it. How awesome is that!

Ben has SO many great ideas for new t-shirts so hopefully we can have some Ben inspired shirts in circulation soon. Could be interesting.

I thought I'd share some of the t-shirt designs that I have purchased...mostly for Ben:

"Birthday"

"Camouflage"


"Fail"

"Lemon Aid"


"War and Peas"

A Night at the Opera

I just bought tickets for Phantom of the Opera. I have LOVED this production since I was a little kid. I actually have had the entire script since I was little. I have a book with all the pictures and behind the scenes production notes from the early versions. I've played the music on the piano for years, listened to the Broadway soundtrack countless times...you could say I'm a Phantom Phanatic. :)

When Ben told me he had never seen it before I knew the next time it came to town we would be buying tickets...no matter what.

2 weeks from today we will be there. The countdown has begun and to gear up for that night...I will be listening to the soundtrack non-stop now.

Celebration of 7's Begins

Aug 7th: Happy Birthday to my nephew Jake! He turns 3 today but we are planning a family party for him on Sunday which will include one of his favorite things...watching planes at the airshow.

Soon to come:

Sept 7th: My 24th birthday. Don't know exactly the plans but Ben has something up his sleeve.

Oct 7th: Happy birthday to my other nephew Sammy! He'll be 1 year old. We'll probably have a big party for him like we did for Jake's 1st birthday. I'm sure a lot of smooshing cake between the fingers will be involved too.

Dec 7th: Ben and I celebrate our 1 year anniversary. Again, Ben has some plans going on that I have no idea about.

Summer Scream Week

It is a week that Ben looks forward to all year. He starts to map out his strategy and plan of attack on the other teams...even before the actual teams are formed. He lives and breathes competition. And the energy overload that comes with a summer camp of junior highers is too much that Ben pretty much can't talk about anything else in the weeks before the event begins.

Ever since he left Sunday morning, I come home to a quiet apartment everyday. Normally I'd love this but I'm getting to the point where I'm used to having Ben there. I now spend nights reading my books (which I can now enjoy uninterrupted) or catching up on some favorite reality shows (which I can enjoy also..without whining).

But most of the time I've been playing with my rabbit, who doesn't really offer much other than a few acrobatic flips and mid-air kicks for some entertainment. It's cute...it's almost like he knows that I'm lonely and he is trying desperately to help.

Ben is having a blast and I can't watch him have fun. I want to be there so bad but I just can't take work off...well, I could but it's not the easiest thing to do. I find myself realizing how much I love coming home and having him there or just knowing that at some point during the day I get to see him, Summer Scream weeks throw off my routine. :)

Only two more Ben-less days. Good thing because I've got a tired and worn out bunny on my hands.

What is Love?

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.' Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth' Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.' Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.' Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.' Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.' Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss' Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you're at Christmas and you stop opening presents and listen.' Bobby - age 7

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,' Nikka - age 6

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.' Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.' Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore' Cindy - age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.' Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.' Elaine-age 5

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.' Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.' Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.' Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' Karen - age 7

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.' Mark - age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.' Jessica - age 8

Currently Reading...

The Shack. I'm almost done, only a couple chapters left.

I know there is a lot of controversy surrounding this book. Church leaders slamming it for it's off-beat theology, others claiming it to be life-changing and a book that brought God into a new light.

However to interpret this book is up to the reader themselves. You may be one who knows about the controversies and puts up a great defensive barrier before even picking up the book. Or you may be one who approaches the book as purely fiction, a good read...and nothing more.

I chose to pick up the book with an open mind. I deliberately chose to not read any reviews or listen to any one's conversations regarding the book so that I wouldn't be influenced either way. And I'm so glad I did.

Even though I'm not completely finished with the book I have a pretty good grasp of the concept and direction the writer is going. But I kept reminding myself...this is fiction.

If you haven't read the book and you wish to, you might not want to read the rest of my post...I wouldn't want to spoil too much or even be one of those people whose insights enable other's thoughts on the matter.

Throughout reading the book, as I said before, I intentionally kept my mind open to all possibilities. Sure, the author might have some interesting takes on God, Jesus, The Spirit and many other things but I didn't want to discredit him and shut it all down before I actually gave it a little more time and thought. I'm not saying I agree with him totally..by any means. But there are some very valid points and some truth in his writing which were encouraging to me as I read them. Those feelings that he portrays the main character, Mack, having are feelings that I have felt before. Those questions that Mack so genuinely asks are questions I think most people have cried out wondering what the answers were.

It took me a bit of time to get passed Mack's first meeting at the shack. I'm sure many people were stumped by his encounter. At first I laughed. Of course the author feels he needs to be politically correct. Woman, black, Asian, middle eastern...and later on Hispanic, all rolled into one to create the Trinity and other attributes of God.

But then I thought. Why not? I kinda like the spin the author took on it. It took me awhile to get passed it but I thought, I'm glad he didn't limit the image of God. Putting the image of God into writing and into an actually picture is impossible anyway. So I'd like to think the author did the best he could, to make God a tangible image to a very hurt and lost man (Mack). I'm sure some people would totally argue with me on that because it is a little out there...but that's what happens when I keep an open mind. I don't like putting God in a box and limiting Him on how He can show Himself to others.

There's so much more to the book that I could write about and maybe after I finish it I'll post again. But for now I'll just end with:

This book is a good read. It is fiction. People can take from it what they wish. If they feel moved by what he says, great. If they are angered at what he says, that's fine too.

I've heard that many church pastors and other leaders have requested their congregations to read this book. For what reason, I don't know. It puts pressure on people to dig for some great meaning and inspirational enlightening and it elevates the expectations for a book. A book that wasn't even meant to be published in the first place, it was just to be for the writer's family and friends. He was encouraged to get it published by those close to him. It wasn't meant for the public to pick apart and criticise. So I don't think he had a preconceived agenda to change people's vision of God or their beliefs. He simply just took what was going on in his mind and heart and put it onto paper.

If I were given that opportunity I'm sure my vision of God and my jumbled thoughts on my life and my life with God and all the questions I have...well, some people may think I'm a little wacky and out there too.

Undo

Wouldn't it be great if life included an "Undo" button?

When you think everything is going great, then something happens. Something stupid is said and you make yourself seem like a complete fool. Or something hurtful comes spewing out of your mouth and it was never intended to translate the way it did. Or in a fit of anger you do incredibly irrational things, resulting in embarrassment.

These are times where I think an "Undo" button would be very helpful. Actually there are a few keys on the keyboard that would be useful. "Backspace", "Delete", even "Home"...basically any keyboard function that will take me immediately back to the beginning or to the specific place where things went wrong and need to be corrected.

If only it were that easy.