Food For Thought

Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are his.

He changes times and seasons;
he sets up kings and deposes them.

He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.

He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells in him.

~Daniel 2:20-22

Things That Did Not Happen To Me Today

1. I did not get married (I just thought I'd clarify that since it seems to be such a popular past time these days)

2. I did not get approached by a weird man at McDonalds

3. I did not give anyone on the road between here and work a sarcastic thumbs up

4. I did not forget to set my alarm (like yesterday)

5. I did not believe someone when they told me something even though I believed that THEY believed it

6. I did not figure out why people are mean

7. I did not see an elephant

8. I did not use all of my time effectively

9. I did not physically touch a single person all day long (I just realized that right this second while making this list....who says these blogs aren't thought provoking....?)

Things That Happened To Me Today

1. I accidentally listened to a Clay Aiken song.

2. I was thwarted in my attempts to find a professional and mature way to call someone an idiot via email

3. My favorite restaurant neglected to give me a fork for my "to go" salad causing me to contemplate the practicality of trying to eat a salad with my fingers.

4. I drove for nearly 20 minutes with my left arm unnaturally extended over the right side of my body just to prevent getting a sunburn through my window. I hate it when I forget my sunscreen.

5. I used baby powder in my hair so I could sleep another 20 minutes and not have to get up earlier to wash it.

6. I emailed approximately 5 people to tell them about someone I don't know and will never meet breaking their back and being in the hospital as if they were a close friend. (I'm sorry-- I happen to really like Jim and Pam on The Office! So sue me.)

7. I sent 3 emails to myself

Advice on Women:

To all of you single men out there looking for love-- let me offer you a tip. Hanging out the window of your car as you exit the drive-thru at McDonalds to tell a passing female (whose identity does not matter for this cautionary tale) that she's "looking pretty cute" and then asking her if she's single (since the nameless female is just going to lie to you anyway and tell you that she is not, in fact, single) is NOT the way to meet the love of your life.

I'm 99.9% sure.

Have you ever had someone tell you something so far out of the bounds of information you'd ever want to know that you have no idea how to respond and all you can do the whole time they are talking is try to think of ways to make yourself NOT laugh because even a smirk would not be appropriate in this situation? And then you wonder why you are worried about restraining yourself to an APPROPRIATE response to a completely INappropriate story that you never wanted to hear in the first place and yet there's no denying that you don't want to make the aforementioned "someone" feel bad for completely grossing you out.

A Defense of Mellow Music

It has happened of late that my musical taste has been challenged (by someone who shall remain nameless but lives in Nebraska) as being "too mellow" and my favorite songs are apparently too "slooowww". And while I freely acknowledge that my iPod on shuffle can sometimes take on the tempo of a Eastern European funeral, I feel this is an unfair criticism.

(Sidenote: you may at this point be saying to yourself "Eastern European funeral"? What in the name of failed communism is she talking about? I can only tell you I don't know...that's what came out when I was typing, so that is what I'm sticking with)

Anyhoo......I feel that mellow music often gets a bad rap. No, it isn't peppy and happy and the type of thing to make you bounce all over your car. And true, it can often be so moody and dramatic that it makes you feel way more "deep" and "introspective" than is probably wise while driving your morning commute...but the point remains that mellow music is important! Why? Well, it is my contention that more often than not-- it is the mellow music that is actually SAYING something interesting or thought provoking. We all know I like to analyze things, and this includes my music.

In case you still don't a)believe me or b)know what I am talking about....let's do a little exercise in comparing/contrasting the lyrics of mellow music vs the lyrics of peppy music....and you shall soon see what I am talking about! (bonus points for anyone who can ID the songs!!)


"Mellow" Example A
I was just guessing at numbers and figures,
Pulling the puzzles apart,
Questions of science, science and progress,
Do not speak as loud as my heart


"Peppy" Example A
All you people look at me like I'm a little girl
Well did you ever think it'd be ok for me to step into this world?




"Mellow" Example B
I found us in a photograph
I saw me and I had to laugh
You know, I'm not who I was
You were there, you were right above me
And I wonder if you ever loved me
Just for who I was



"Peppy" Example B
Mary Anne and Wanda were the best of friends
All through thier high school days
Both members of the 4H club
Both active in the FFA




Are you starting to see the difference? Did I make my point?


...........








(OK, here is where I make my confession that I only half mean what I said above. I love peppy songs as much as the next girl...and I honestly haven't been able to get "peppy" example B out of my head since I copied the lyrics.....but my point is really only this: DON'T DISS MELLOW MUSIC KATIE. I guess I could have started with that, huh?)

Making Myself Smile

Quite a few obnoxious things happened today, but instead of rehashing all of that (and really-- who wants to hear about the things that go WRONG?)....I am going to share the little things that made me happy today.

1. Discovering that The Frames are in a musical/movie that was shown at Sundance. And I will never get to see it in a theater since I live in OK, but that is what Netflix is for, I guess.

2. Looking at the team lineup for the Irish National Rugby team with Cheryl.

3. The clouds right before sunset.

4. The fact that my middle toenail isn't going to fall completely off like I thought it was, which would have made open toe shoes an impossibility for most of the summer (what? I know that's totally gross-- but I'm looking for the positive, people! It's not my fault I don't have much to work with right this second...besides, not wearing open toe shoes ALL SUMMER would have been highly annoying)

5. Finding an extra 50 cents in the bottom of my purse

6. Finishing a piece of jewelry that I actually get to keep



Annnd hm. Well, 6 is kind of pathetically small, but that is all I am coming up with right this second. But you know, it isn't about the quantity-- it is about the quality! And non-falling off toenails is quality positiveness....so there.

Brave New World

I've really got to stop taking my laptop with me when I travel to see various little people......they always become much more interested in it than in me.

I can't compete with an iBook! When will I learn??

Random Self-Focused Facts For The Day After May 1st (sometimes known as May 2nd)

*I don't understand how anyone can NOT like peanut butter

*It worries me that I'm wrong when certain people in my life agree with me

*I often wish that there was a mirror that made us see the things we refuse to see about ourselves.

*I cannot stand to listen to Bill Maher say one single word. The man could open his mouth to tell me about the weather and I'd STILL want to smack him.

*I don't know how to reconcile the warriors of the Old Testament with the message of Christ in the New Testament.

*My greatest pet peeve is being told to calm down.

*I only like birds in theory

*I don't sing along to the radio as much as I used to, and I don't know why that changed

*It annoys me when people are not satisfied with deluding themselves and must make others agree with their delusions as well. It annoys me even more when other people actually do it. I probably greatly annoy people when I don't.

*I eat far too many apples

*I don't think I wash my sheets as often as you are supposed to. I don't even know how often you are supposed to.

*I think Harry Reid is a disgrace.

*I don't remember a time in my life when I didn't obsess about a chosen television show

*I hate the ice cream truck that circles our neighborhood

*I'm not sure how morally correct certain fertility treatments are

*I think many churches are often country clubs with Bibles

*I don't know what I think of a world where we will tell a million strangers our every thought in the comfort of invisiblity but we can't find a way to know our neighbors names.