Archive for September, 2005

fifty things i love.

Monday, September 26th, 2005

In the spirit of Kristin, I present 50 Things I Love:

1. Daniel – and I miss him dreadfully right now. He’s in Ohio for a week. It’s not that we are terribly clingy. I’m just use to having my best friend around. And I feel like part of me is missing.

2. My mom and dad – they are dear, wonderful people. I know they love me with an undying love and that means more than anything else. I love the moments when I really step back and watch them. For instance, when dad was helping Daniel load our dining room suite (we got a dining room suite this past week!) onto the truck – it was so tender. The two men I love more than any – working hard and both shooting me glances to make sure I approved. And the other day when I went to mom’s house and found her sleeping on the couch. She was tired, headachy – but she suddenly grew very wiggly when I told her that the furniture was Just Down Stairs!

3. Going to the Piano Studio in Anderson and listening to Daniel tear up the Steinway and Petrov. Oh, that we could have one now!

4. Comfortable shoes – unlike the brown ones that hurt my feet last week. Argh!

5. Ritz crackers and peanut butter

6. Gloria 34 by Taylor Sorenson

7. Selling things on Ebay

8. Silky red ribbon with embroidery

9. Feeling peace wash over you

10. Good customer service

11. Practicing flute etudes

12. That it’s only 116 days until I become Mrs. Daniel Bergey

13. Newborn puppies

14. The USPS crate that rides in my trunk every day now – all ready for eBay packages

15. Reading the prayer that will be read at our wedding

16. Services at Grace

17. My Country Apple scented dish detergent

18. Cold drizzly rain on a hot summer day

19. My frilly blue skirt

20. Buying wondrous things on Etsy (and hopefully selling things one day)

21. Giving Him every area of my heart – even the Secret Rooms

22. Singing with Daniel and Natalie

23. Really large, colorful file clips for the office

24. Having a stack of books that are To Be Read

25. Conversations with my Aunt Judy at the mailbox

26. Signs of fall

27. Having brothers and a little sister (soon)

28. Lazy Sunday afternoons

29. White grapefruit juice (sidenote: Daniel was drinking some the other day and after a little kiss I said, “you smell like communion.”)

30. Fixing a roast in the crockpot

31. The little wicker basket that holds everything at night – my watch, my glasses, my phone, the Book I’m Reading and so much more.

32. My navy blue flannel sheets – especially when hot out of the dryer

33. Running into friends or family at the grocery store and such

34. Audioblogs – only from people I know

35. Talking around the proverbial water cooler – and the real one, too

36. Finding an old “garageband mixdown” of Daniel’s – in which he sings four different parts. Quite impressive.

37. My elephant table by my bed

38. Sincere, honest friendship

39. Clearing my desktop off

40. Brand new Doc Martins

41. The Etsy Time Machine

42. Having the ability to make a positive difference in the future of a company

43. St. Ives lotion

44. Classical music

45. Imagining drawing for a living

46. Being knowledgeable about current events

47. Children’s naivety

48. Kissing Daniel in the middle of the Valley and hearing my parents shout (as they walk down from Granny’s), “that’s not how you do it! This is how!”

49. Removing stumbling blocks

50. Realizing that all that matters is what I do with today

26 items.

Monday, September 19th, 2005

A – Art in the Park: Falls Park (at the West End Shops) hosted Art in the Park this weekend.

There were all sorts of things to do (see the chat below) but our favorite was the bluegrass music down by the river.

B – Bible: While browsing at Lifeway this weekend, I decided to purchase a new Bible. I broke it in on the way home from Anderson and I absolutely love the feel of the pages. I’m not the type of person who hates getting a new Bible because it won’t look worn enough (and people might think I don’t read it! gasp!). I love new Bibles.

C – Camera: CompUSA had a sale going this weekend and I finally purchased a new digital camera (Jason, Amber – do you guys remember going with me to buy my very first one? It was at Best Buy and I was graduating the next day if memory serves me correctly). It is a Canon PowerShot S2 IS (5.0 Megapixels and 12x Optical Zoom).

D – Details: After listening to Jon talk about revamping his wardrobe (with a personal tailor at Men’s Warehouse), I decided to add a few things to my fall wardrobe. Somewhat random things: sparkly black heels, one really great large necklace that perhaps evokes vintage charm, a silver ring with a large pearl, a thick leather belt, beaded embellished hoops, a thick shawl for blustery days (while walking downtown Greenville), a fur scarf, a a shimmery bag and black leather boots. Twill be fun.

E – eBay: Daniel found this lovely fact: eBay and the U.S. Postal Service offer co-branded shipping boxes for Priority Mail. They can even be delivered to your house!

F – Flickr export: This is a really handy tool (especially since I’m uploading lots of pictures from my new camera) for Flickr but it doesn’t seem especially faster than the Old Fashioned Uploading to Flickr.

G – Gilmore Girls: I disliked the first episode of this season. Very much. I spit on it.

H – Hospice – In a wild and crazy move, I suddenly donated my TV to Hospice. We’ve been talking about doing this and now it is officially gone. And since the only thing I was even watching on TV was Gilmore Girls – and since I’m quite bitter about the first episode of the season – then, flphf! It’s gone.

I – Internet speed – In an unprecedented move, (like the above), Charter Communications is now accessible to The Valley. I have cable Internet! And a lovely WiFi network. And note that cousin-boy-Jon said, “Just in case you were wondering, your WiFi network doesn’t reach here in my bedroom.”

J – Jon Heder: In another wonderful bit of acting, Jon Heder added a bit of off-kilter humor to Just Like Heaven.

K – Kerry: While shopping at Kudzu (not related to Shane Blake), I ran into Kerry and her mother. I haven’t seen her since the wedding but she looked lovely as if Marriage is Suiting her.

L – Lost: Ambs called me on Saturday and said a little girl had found something underneath one of the seats in her car. And it was mine!! Apparently I had left a Bible in her car about a year ago. I’m not sure what that says about me. It’s not that I haven’t read my Bible in a year. I suppose I just wasn’t attached to that particular one. And I’m really not sure what it says about her cleaning underneath the seats of her car. Hehe.

M – Music: We had a bit of music fun this weekend. Daniel serenaded me for quite a bit of time. Here he is- in the middle of a song.

N – Novels:

Reading for pleasure, reading a novel while you are on the bus or the train or the subway,reading a biography instead of returning all your boss’s e-mails, reading philosophy in the back of a seminar that your corporate team sent you to, reading a short prose poem translated from Spanish by your favorite Chilean playwright in the coffee shop, reading a movie review on line at the place where you pay bills when you are too late to mail them – just reading novels and books in general will greatly aid you in your pursuit not to be rich, if only in their sheer time-as-money-wasting capacity. It makes a practicing nonbazillionaire like myself tremble to consider how much money I could lose reading Anna Karenina.

 – Excerpted from How Not to Get Rich Or Why Being Bad Off Isn’t So Bad, by Robert Sullivan

O – October fun: Make candles, knit a blanket, read a book, buy ski mittens, eat crisp fritters dipped in warm maple syrup, rake leaves, make a harvest basket with tangerines, apples, nuts and a wild surprise.

P – Patriarchs: I’m beginning the new Beth Moore study on Encountering the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Q – Quail: Jon is somewhat bitter about my lovely Wi-Fi network. He still has dialup. And when I mentioned that I was enjoying the speed immensely, he threatened me with a voodoo doll. Yes, that’s right. And then he said, “that’s what you get for telling me to get quail when you know good and well all I can get is manna.”

R – Reedy River: During Art in the Park, we were able to see Reedy River Falls again. It was sweet because that’s where Daniel and I went when we first met. The park bench. The tender hug. The not-saying-much.

S – Stolen: This post idea. From Kari. Please forgive me. =)

T – Tocjan – It is my official Klingon name.

U – Umbrella: It’s a blue-tinted, transparent umbrella with a metallic handle. From mightygoods. Hooray for stuff!

V – Veer: Although I normally just use Veer for their delicious wallpaper, I adore this orange laptop bag. It’s just a bit pricey.

W – Weight Watchers: After enjoying a little too much good food lately, I’ve signed up with WW and I’m counting points for a little while. It’s all in good fun and the Grilled Tilapia with Mango Salsa is quickly becoming What I Eat.

X – X-ploding Dog: Since Human Resources is one of the hats I wear, I think I should include this picture in the New Hires folders.

Y – You Tube – It all started with Daniel discussing the 30th Anniversary of the Slurpee. So, I made two silly videos commencing the fact. But then I realized he had been wrong. It was back on July 13 – and it was the 40th Anniversary. Thus, it made the Slurpee videos seem even more silly. Enjoy.

Z – Zapper: You know it’s the later part of summer when the bug zappers have thick, hearty sounds.

healthier path.

Saturday, September 17th, 2005

Beth Moore says, I just don’t understand a God like ours. Isn’t it enough that He pulls a life out a pit? Why would He also go to the long-term trouble to teach that messed up child to walk a healthier path – even when it was two steps forward and one step back? And why would He care enough to rebuild a broken mind, one patient piece at a time?

I’m learning to be less selfish on this healthier path. I’m an only child trying to mesh with a boy who is use to fair-and-square with siblings. I rearrange furniture creatively and based on how I feel. He likes to analyze and measure and plan it all out. I like to change my mind at the last minute. He likes to Stick To The Plan. When I’m frustrated, I like to walk away and just change the subject. Or hide. But he wants to talk. I’ve always had a hard time with that.

The ups and downs are little too frequent and yet I’m hoping that it is at least a continuous uphill struggle. A healthier path. It has taken a few heartaches, harsh words and a lot of tears. But this is all about a new beginning and about two hearts becoming one.

But as I sit on the couch tonight, watching Daniel playing the guitar and singing – I know all is well.

things that make me happy, part 1.

Thursday, September 15th, 2005

Making lists in my little red book
Red flannel pajamas
Freshly mown grass
Seeing the moon during the day
The feel of the carpet on my toes
Grilled chicken, fried okra and mashed potatoes from Cracker Barrel
Daniel’s hugs
Morning light streaming into the living room
The realization that I’ve changed the way I eat sandwiches since I met Daniel
Hand shadow puppets
Nocturne in E flat major by Chopin
Forgiveness
The amazing blessings of God
Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion magazine
My red teakettle
Sweet potato sticks from Little Pigs
My sparkly swingy earrings
The feel of “being with it” when I wear my iPod ear buds
Classical flute pieces
Getting new books in the mail
Large colored sticky notes
Villeroy & Boch Cottage Red
casual china
Low calorie frozen mocha’s from Tiger Bean
Adventures in Odyssey
Wikipedia
Rosemary sprinkled on hot, fresh bread
Chocolate and pink combinations
New cd’s: Why Should the Fire Die – Nickel Creek, Hymned – Bart Millard, Nothing is Sound – Switchfoot, Amusing – Chris Rice (oh, and getting the Switchfoot cd for $5.97)

things of late.

Tuesday, September 13th, 2005

Stingy Bees & Limping: About a week ago, I got stung by a bee and found (through much pain and limping) that I am allergic to bees. Thankfully, my reaction wasn’t as horrid as it could have been. It is only necessary that I keep Benadryl with me, not a shot.

Telling Friends Goodbye: Hannah, who I have known for all of her life, left for college this past week. Our so-long was bittersweet. The Open Road is a blessed gift but also quite overwhelming. She and her twin sister, Heather, have been dear friends to me. They’ve been my after-church-supper buddies, the girls who shriek by me in their green car, the girls to ask about where the cutest purses can be bought and Hannah (with her soulful sax) and Heather (with her rich clarinet) have played with me in the church orchestra for years. Heather is facing her own Open Road (with school beginning in January and a Boy on her arm). I’m excited about their new chapters but also cautious because I know that it is most difficult to keep your soul steady during the winds of change. Hannah and Heather – my prayers for you haven’t stopped and I love you both dearly.

New Beginnings: New Beginnings is a class that was just started at Grace. It is unlike any Sunday School class I’ve attended – and it’s uniqueness is enjoyable. Pastor Jeff is leading the class and we are basically soul-searching on the truths we hold dear. Daniel and I really like the class and I think it’s just what we need. Perhaps my only hesitation is that I’m sadly surprised at my lack of depth in reiterating why I believe what I believe. Hopefully, these morning sessions will help me grow.

A New Home: We’ve found the apartment where we are going to live and it’s about 25 minutes away from The Valley. I’m going to have to get used to a different post office, restaurants (Cracker Barrel is building right beside us), dry cleaners and yet the beauty is that I am minutes away from I-85. The apartment itself is adorable (3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, dining room, living room, lots of linen closets and a balcony with french doors) and the complex seems to have a warm, friendly atmosphere. Lots of kids running about, jump-rope games, smiling faces and great parking! What is really overwhelming is to think about all the packing I’ll be doing in the next four months.