so today . . . i went to costco. this wasn't a fun trip--we needed food! i've never gone on a thursday before, but after today, i think thursday will be my new "going to costco" day. there were very few people there--i didn't even have to wait in a line to check out!
anyway, i had picked up bananas, tillamook cheese (because, why eat any other kind!) broccoli, and salad mix and was headed for the refrigerated foods. i usually don't eat the samples that are out, but today they were giving away tidbits of scrambled eggs. i LOVE scrambled eggs, but i just got the results back from my most recent cholesterol test . . . and then i noticed that these were not your average scrambled eggs. these were 95% egg whites (i'm not really sure what the other 5% was) but they looked and tasted like real, whole eggs. so, with my cholesterol numbers in mind, i found the product and put it in my cart. feeling pretty pleased with myself for my healthy choice, i went around the corner to the cheese. i added a big bag of tillamook shredded cheddar cheese (because we already know how i feel about tillamook cheese) and also a big block of processed swiss american cheese (which i'm sure is mostly plastic, but i like it!)
as i continued down the aisle, i was suddenly struck by what i had just done. so i stopped, and looked at the bag of tillamook shredded cheese--it had 25 mg of cholesterol per serving. then i looked at the other tillamook cheese--also 25 mg of cholesterol per serving. i checked the plastic swiss cheese and found that it had a mere 15 mg per serving. but i still wasn't too alarmed, because after all, i had just put that egg white product in my cart and it had 0 mg of you know what. so every day that i ate that instead of eggs, i would be avoiding lots and lots of cholesterol--i was sure of it. lets see, i thought, how much will i be saving. i checked the label and it said a real egg had 5 mg. WHAT?!?!? you have got to be kidding me! so if i'm doing the math correctly, 1 serving of cheese is equal to 5 eggs?!? oh boy, am i in trouble . . .
i love cheese, almost as much as i love dark chocolate and o'henry bars. i don't think i can go even one day without it. but now that i have read that evil label and know it's contents, i will feel like i'm poisoning myself whenever i have a toasted cheese sandwich (you know, the kind where the cheese gets all melty and gooey . . . ) or a quesadilla--even if it is on a whole wheat tortilla. of course, i will still eat them--i will just know i shouldn't. i hate those food labels!
on the upside, i can now eat REAL eggs with no guilt at all!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
up close and . . . joshua
so today . . . i'm conflicted. i have a couple of different ideas about what i could write today, and i don't know which way to go . . .
let me just start by saying i am craving brownie bites! this is diandra's fault. she brought them into the house yesterday, generously shared them last night, and now i want more. i looked in the kitchen this morning to see if any were left over, because i woke up thinking "brownie bites?" but they were gone. i thought about them off and on all morning. i finally texted diandra so that i could at least share my pain, and she replied that there were a few brownie bites left, but they were in her room. yeah!!! of course i was still at school, so all i really had was the PROMISE of brownie bites, but that was something . . .
the funniest thing that happened to me today, again, was joshua. first thing this morning, i was sitting at a table with some kids who were coloring, and i was reading some stuff online--ok, i was on facebook. while my ears were tuned in to what was going on around the room, my eyes were focused on the computer screen. and then suddenly there was a face right in front of me--RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME--our noses were actually touching. when i moved back enough to focus on the face, i saw it was joshua and he was just smiling away and he said, "did you see i am here?" i just cracked up!
he always has a story to tell. and when joshua talks to me, he likes to stand right next to me while i am sitting in my chair--this puts our faces at the same height--and he stands really close to me. sometimes he puts his arm around my neck, and sometimes he puts his little hand on the side of my face, and he talks a mile a minute barely stopping to take a breath. today he was telling me about how he had made a raptor noise in the car on the way to school with his mom. and then he demonstrated. let me just say, if i had been driving that car and he had made that noise, we might have been in a ditch (if california had ditches!) it was shrill and it was loud, and he had the facial expression to go with it. so he is standing there telling me this story, and suddenly he moves in, and our noses are touching again. and, again i just laughed. i don't know what it was, but for some reason today he felt the need to keep putting his face right in my face so our noses would touch. and then he would look into my eyes and smile.
those are the moments when i love my job.
and now, i am going in search of those brownie bites . . .
let me just start by saying i am craving brownie bites! this is diandra's fault. she brought them into the house yesterday, generously shared them last night, and now i want more. i looked in the kitchen this morning to see if any were left over, because i woke up thinking "brownie bites?" but they were gone. i thought about them off and on all morning. i finally texted diandra so that i could at least share my pain, and she replied that there were a few brownie bites left, but they were in her room. yeah!!! of course i was still at school, so all i really had was the PROMISE of brownie bites, but that was something . . .
the funniest thing that happened to me today, again, was joshua. first thing this morning, i was sitting at a table with some kids who were coloring, and i was reading some stuff online--ok, i was on facebook. while my ears were tuned in to what was going on around the room, my eyes were focused on the computer screen. and then suddenly there was a face right in front of me--RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME--our noses were actually touching. when i moved back enough to focus on the face, i saw it was joshua and he was just smiling away and he said, "did you see i am here?" i just cracked up!
he always has a story to tell. and when joshua talks to me, he likes to stand right next to me while i am sitting in my chair--this puts our faces at the same height--and he stands really close to me. sometimes he puts his arm around my neck, and sometimes he puts his little hand on the side of my face, and he talks a mile a minute barely stopping to take a breath. today he was telling me about how he had made a raptor noise in the car on the way to school with his mom. and then he demonstrated. let me just say, if i had been driving that car and he had made that noise, we might have been in a ditch (if california had ditches!) it was shrill and it was loud, and he had the facial expression to go with it. so he is standing there telling me this story, and suddenly he moves in, and our noses are touching again. and, again i just laughed. i don't know what it was, but for some reason today he felt the need to keep putting his face right in my face so our noses would touch. and then he would look into my eyes and smile.
those are the moments when i love my job.
and now, i am going in search of those brownie bites . . .
Monday, March 2, 2009
making new friends
so today . . . there was giggling coming from the family room.
this is a fairly unusual occurance, because usually, in the evening, i am in the family room by myself while rollie is catching up on sports and stuff in the "man room" and diandra is out doing whatever it is she does when she is not at home. and except for the click of the keys on my computer, or the low voices on the tv, it is quiet.
but tonight the family room was inhabited by two girls who were giggling. actually, they are young women, but i guess to me diandra will always be a 'girl.' (i wonder if in my mom's eyes i am still a 'girl' even though i am now a mom of a grown up girl of my own!) they had snacks and they were watching a long awaited event. they would laugh at the same things, gasp at the same moments and of course, eat snacks! they made each other laugh, they talked about what they thought would happen next, and during the commercials they got to know each other better. because that's what happens when you are making a new friend . . .
friendship is a precious thing. i have lots of people in my life--and i even like many of them--but just a few are friends. it can be hard to find people who share your interests, "get" your sense of humor, understand your dreams, and like you anyway. it can be risky to answer the question, "so, do you like . . . ?" not knowing if your answer is going to be the deal breaker of a developing friendship or if it will be met with the hoped for response of "me too!" so tonight, it was fun for me to get to see two girls becoming friends--especially since one of them is my daughter. i hope this is just the beginning of the giggling . . .
this is a fairly unusual occurance, because usually, in the evening, i am in the family room by myself while rollie is catching up on sports and stuff in the "man room" and diandra is out doing whatever it is she does when she is not at home. and except for the click of the keys on my computer, or the low voices on the tv, it is quiet.
but tonight the family room was inhabited by two girls who were giggling. actually, they are young women, but i guess to me diandra will always be a 'girl.' (i wonder if in my mom's eyes i am still a 'girl' even though i am now a mom of a grown up girl of my own!) they had snacks and they were watching a long awaited event. they would laugh at the same things, gasp at the same moments and of course, eat snacks! they made each other laugh, they talked about what they thought would happen next, and during the commercials they got to know each other better. because that's what happens when you are making a new friend . . .
friendship is a precious thing. i have lots of people in my life--and i even like many of them--but just a few are friends. it can be hard to find people who share your interests, "get" your sense of humor, understand your dreams, and like you anyway. it can be risky to answer the question, "so, do you like . . . ?" not knowing if your answer is going to be the deal breaker of a developing friendship or if it will be met with the hoped for response of "me too!" so tonight, it was fun for me to get to see two girls becoming friends--especially since one of them is my daughter. i hope this is just the beginning of the giggling . . .
Sunday, March 1, 2009
and the band played on . . .
so today . . . is sunday. that means church day for me! my day starts early, because i lead worship in our youth alternative service and we meet to rehearse at 8:30--although it is usually closer to 9:00 before everything is set up and ready for us to begin. but i have to be there at 8:30, because i am the leader . . . whether anyone is there to lead or not!
today there were issues and glitches, and it was almost 9:30 before we got started! that only gave us about half an hour to run through all seven of our songs. this particular band has only been playing together for about three months, and we are still learning how to play nicely together so we NEED to rehearse! finally we got started, and things went really well--the set was good, the vocals were good, and the instruments seemed to be working well together. when we got done, i thought how great it was that we were starting to mesh as a band. i was really excited for church to start.
we took a little break before the service began, and then met at the cross to pray. this always helps us to focus and kind of mentally get ready for what we are about to do. we were excited! it felt like it was going to be an awesome day.
and then it happened . . . during the very first song one of the strings broke on the guitar. i could tell something was wrong, and i looked over at isaac, who plays the guitar, and there was the string bouncing about, loose. this is not a good thing! i was trying to figure out where we would have a long enough break for him to replace the string, but isaac just kept playing. and playing and playing and playing. we completed the whole set with just five strings on the guitar. there were a few times when it was distracting to me, and i'm sure it was distracting to isaac, but he just kept going. i was so proud of him! he didn't let that broken string stop him from worshipping this morning, even though things weren't going perfectly.
our church is so cool! and the service that i attend is the best! at least i think so. it is dark, it is loud, stuff happens, but we just keep going. it isn't about who is dressed the best, or who has the best voice, or who plays perfectly. it is about God--and that is all. teenagers and young adults (and some not so young adults) sing and clap and move around and praise God during worship time. they get up out of their seats and go to the cross to pray whenever they feel like it. and they don't care who sees them go or what anybody else thinks about it, because they know that for us, church isn't about that. it is about God--and that is all.
i feel very blessed today for the role i get to play in that service. we have awesome teens and young adults in our church, and i am so glad that every week i get to see them and talk to them and watch them become the people they were created to be. they are goofy and funny, wild and weird (and i mean that in the nicest possible way, because i love them!) but they love God and are serious about their faith. i don't know how long i will get to lead worship in there, but it doesn't matter--i will still be there, in the gym, worshipping God along with the kids. because it isn't about me or how old i am or about what other people think. it is about God--and that is all.
today there were issues and glitches, and it was almost 9:30 before we got started! that only gave us about half an hour to run through all seven of our songs. this particular band has only been playing together for about three months, and we are still learning how to play nicely together so we NEED to rehearse! finally we got started, and things went really well--the set was good, the vocals were good, and the instruments seemed to be working well together. when we got done, i thought how great it was that we were starting to mesh as a band. i was really excited for church to start.
we took a little break before the service began, and then met at the cross to pray. this always helps us to focus and kind of mentally get ready for what we are about to do. we were excited! it felt like it was going to be an awesome day.
and then it happened . . . during the very first song one of the strings broke on the guitar. i could tell something was wrong, and i looked over at isaac, who plays the guitar, and there was the string bouncing about, loose. this is not a good thing! i was trying to figure out where we would have a long enough break for him to replace the string, but isaac just kept playing. and playing and playing and playing. we completed the whole set with just five strings on the guitar. there were a few times when it was distracting to me, and i'm sure it was distracting to isaac, but he just kept going. i was so proud of him! he didn't let that broken string stop him from worshipping this morning, even though things weren't going perfectly.
our church is so cool! and the service that i attend is the best! at least i think so. it is dark, it is loud, stuff happens, but we just keep going. it isn't about who is dressed the best, or who has the best voice, or who plays perfectly. it is about God--and that is all. teenagers and young adults (and some not so young adults) sing and clap and move around and praise God during worship time. they get up out of their seats and go to the cross to pray whenever they feel like it. and they don't care who sees them go or what anybody else thinks about it, because they know that for us, church isn't about that. it is about God--and that is all.
i feel very blessed today for the role i get to play in that service. we have awesome teens and young adults in our church, and i am so glad that every week i get to see them and talk to them and watch them become the people they were created to be. they are goofy and funny, wild and weird (and i mean that in the nicest possible way, because i love them!) but they love God and are serious about their faith. i don't know how long i will get to lead worship in there, but it doesn't matter--i will still be there, in the gym, worshipping God along with the kids. because it isn't about me or how old i am or about what other people think. it is about God--and that is all.
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