A Good Addiction

I'm hooked. Found this through a link at Michelle's blog, she got it from a friend of hers. You go to this site and play a vocabulary game. For every right answer, they donate rice to countries in need.

Wanna play? I got to level 42 before I was stumped and then spent another half an hour going between level 38 and 41, never made it back over 42 but earned over 2,000 grains of rice today. In the words of a famous governor, "I'll be back . . . "

Mr. Positivity

J. had his first indoor soccer game of the season tonight. He's playing with his old coach and a few players from his rec league and some new guys getting ready to transition next year to a higher level of play (classic). So the boys started off the game, many of them not even knowing each others' names. They were playing a team of boys a year older than they were, a team who had been playing together for a few years, and the team was a ability level a couple of steps higher than our team had ever played. Things didn't look good.

The boys held their own but by half time the other team was up 4 to nothing. J. went in as goalie for the second half and my heart dropped. Would he get discouraged as this very talented team continued to rack up goals? He did good on a couple of saves and then went to kick the ball out to his teammates. After a scramble for the ball, a teammate of J's kicked the ball to him in the goal box and J. reached down to pick it up - an apparent violation in Indoor soccer. The other team was given a direct kick, where they basically get to stand about 15 feet back from the goal and try to kick it in the goal. J. took his position and at the last second, Brad called to him to put his hands up. Number 7 from the other team took a few steps and then drilled the ball right at J's head. The ball deflected slightly off his hands but hit his face and neck hard enough to split his lip and leave marks on his neck from the stitching of the soccer ball. (He probably would have been knocked out cold had he not had his hands up.) He saved the goal but unfortunately as he was stunned and trying to catch his breath, another player caught the rebound and kicked the ball in the goal before J. could get his wits about him.

Brad was fortunately right by the goal box and motioned for the coach to pull J. from the game for a break. The trooper was back in about 5 minutes later, playing mid-fielder and hustling just like nothing had happened.

After the game and after making sure he was really ok, I asked him, "Do you know who that was who kicked the ball at you?"

He looked at me confused, "No."

I pointed at number 7, now talking with his mom and coach. It was Jacob Roloff, of "Little People, Big World" the TLC show about the Oregon family that lives just a few miles from us.

A huge smile came on J's face. "Cool. It's kind of like he autographed my face. Do you think they filmed it?"

My son, my hero. What an incredible attitude - the kid hasn't met a person he couldn't see the good in. While we don't hold anything against Jacob, I certainly could have understood my 10-year old being a bit put out with the kid who nearly knocked him out cold with the soccer ball. I am so proud of J. and the young man he is becoming. Let's just say the girl who ends up with this kid as a husband someday is going to be one lucky chick!

Are you busy?

I've been asked to speak at my weekly women's Bible Study and the title they gave me is "Are you busy?"

It's a topic they've given me a couple times in the past. I'm still trying to figure out, is that because I have good things to say or because my life is such a textbook example of a 21st century woman who hasn't quite figured this one out? Needless to say, God has prepared me for answering this question by giving me one of the most challenging years of my life (pace-wise, keeping up with everything).

In the past, I've often approached this topic from the place of we all need to slow down, pace ourselves, take a break, etc. But I feel a change in my heart and soul these days. I'm not sure the answer is learning to say "no" or putting boundaries around ourselves. I look at the examples that God gives us in the Bible of men and women who made a difference and the thing I keep coming back to is that they were available when God called. I think it's not bad to be busy, but the more important question is what is it that I'm doing and why am I doing it? I know for myself, I can spend hours shuffling things around my house, starting and stopping different projects and generally just "looking" busy without really accomplishing much. I'm coming to realize, especially when it comes to wanting to do what I really want (writing) the fear of failing at that task is easily tempered by the excuse, "I'm just too busy right now." This equation can fit in any area of my life - marriage, parenting, church, work, etc.

So what about you dear blogging friends? What do you do to make sure the business of life doesn't take over your lives? How do you make sure what you are doing is the real thing and not just filling the minutes and hours of our days with "stuff". What are some of your best strategies you've discovered to keep your schedules in line. Especially around the holidays, what do you do to keep yourself from being over scheduled? I promise you'll all get credit for your answers and I'll be bragging about the great wisdom of my blogging friends!

It counts . . . right?

My first publishing credit. I wrote lucky chapter 13 of this book almost a year ago. The book came out last week and I got to hold it in my hot little hands and see my name in print. Very cool. Very inspiring. It certainly won't make me famous and probably only a few folks will know where to find my chapter and name in the book, but for the first time, I really feel like when people call me a writer, I might not just have to cringe and look over my shoulder to see if someone's waiting to bust me for being a poser. I guess if you're published, you're allowed to be called a writer.

Just finished a very busy time of year at work so I'm hoping the fall and winter season will offer some more time to get fingers to the keyboard. Earlier this week I received a gentle kick in the but from my patient husband. I've been talking about a particular writing project for a while now and the poor guy got sick of the talk. He told me, "Go look at the computer screen." There was a title page and table of contents for my book project all written out and ready to go. The poor guy had even gone as far to write the acknowledgment for me. "I would like to thank my adoring husband for kicking my butt to write this book. Someday, I can send my kids to college with the money made from this project . . . " Got to love a man of vision and action!

To top it all off - I got flowers today from a couple of my dear friends. Just because. Isn't that awesome?

If you're interested in the book, find it here.

Why I love and serve my God . . .

This year has been one of such growth for me in so many ways. God has been working on my heart opening my eyes to the differences of aligning myself with people of faith and actually following Him. I am called to do more than just sit in a pew on the weekends, or write a monthly check, or throw up some half-hearted, pious sounding prayers and platitudes . . . I am called to serve.

And it hurts. It pinches my toes like my heels did last night after wearing them for 14 hours. It keeps me up late at night working on the computer. It gives me headaches and and makes me sweat buckets in a hot kitchen, but it also gives me the prickly tears behind my eyes as I think, "I could do this all day, every day Lord when you show up like this."

Last night I was part of a unique and wonderful event at our church. Our church is a multi-ethnic church with Korean, Hispanic, Chinese and East Indian fellowships that are all a part of our church body (not just renting our facility). And yet, we support each group's needs by having separate meeting times as well as corporate services. The problem? Many of us tend to stay in the comfort of our own ethnic fellowships (including anglos) and we don't get a chance to really connect with others.

A dear Korean sister came to me with an idea last spring for an event specifically designed to bring the cultures together. Last night we had our first "Celebrate Culture!" event. We designed it to highlight one of our ethnic fellowships each month and learn about the culture, history, language and traditions of that culture. We hoped we could get about 50 women interested in attending.

We had over 100 women sign up for the event! Each table of 8 women had representatives from at least 3 different ethnicities. I could not stop crying as we set the room with beautiful artifacts and my Korean sisters (many whom I met for the first time last night) were dressed in their traditional costumes. Women cooked all evening long so we could all sample at least 5 different Korean dishes. We practiced greetings in Korean and learned to say "thank you". At the end of the evening, one of our sisters from the East Indian Fellowship invited women back next month to celebrate the culture of India.

The night was an incredible picture of God's grace and goodness and love. Like a love letter written just to me, the evening went just as I envisioned. Women connected with other women outside their own culture sharing experiences and celebrating the culture of a significant group of our church family. All the women were incredibly supportive and I can not believe how good it felt to be in a room like that. I told God all night long, "God - this is you. This is you here. This is what it should be like every day."

I'm hoping that all who attended felt the same way.

Still here . . .

Hello friends. Sorry I've been a bad neighbor lately, but I've been sneaking looks at your posts here and there and been thinking of you lots! Everything is fine with me and the family, just took a bit of a break from the blog for a bit. It was nothing personal - just a chick who couldn't put two intelligent thoughts together and felt like she didn't have much to add to the conversations of bloggerdom.

I promise a longer post will come soon but until then, just wanted to let you know I was among the land of the living and appreciate those of you who have checked in and wondered where I was at. You guys are the best! Love and peace to you.

The jig is up . . .

Last night as we were saying goodnight, N. lets out a squeal as she hugs me.

"Oh my gosh! Mooommm, I'm taller than you!"

"No you're not," I say. "I was leaning. I'm just not standing up straight. See?"

I pull myself all the way up to my 5 foot 3 inch self and stand nose to nose with her.

Crud.

"Mom - I AM taller than you!" she squeals.

"Brad - come here!" I call in desperation. Surely his desire to keep this teenager in her place will convince him to side with me at least this one last time. Nature is surely not going to let me get away with this much longer.

He brings the ruler over and we stand back to back and I know what's coming.

He holds the ruler still and we back away from it. It's tilting about a half inch higher in N's direction.

She giggles uncontrollably and does a little happy dance. "I'm taller than yu-u! I'm taller than yu-u!" she sings.

"Oh yeah? Well, I can still ground you missy! Now get to bed!" I give her a playful swat on the backside. But nothing will ruin her good mood.

Truth is, I think she's been taller than me for about 2 months but just didn't realize it. It was fun to see her confident and happy about this new season of her life, but it left me a little melancholy. My baby is really, literally, growing up.

Writing - an argument for human cloning

The closer I get to feeling like maybe I am actually a "writer" (still without the capital "W" - baby steps now people, baby steps . . .), the more I think I might be interested in volunteering for a human cloning project.

There simply isn't enough time in the day (or night) to get everything done and write like I really want to write. And so, I think I'd like to place my order for a few more Kim's to take care of some of life's other tasks so I could be free to spend my days at libraries and coffee shops writing the articles, novels and blog posts that are blooming in my brain like rampant, genetically mutated dandelions that no amount of procrastinating will destroy.

So here's my cloning shopping list:

Cooking Kim: This gal would have the job of shopping, researching healthy recipes, finding ways to trim the bad stuff out of our family's diet and still making sure our sweet teeth are good and happy. She would shop, cook and watch cooking shows and throw the occasional classy dinner party as well as taking care of all holiday food preparations year round.

Merry-Maid Kim: This lucky chick would get clean-up duty including washing sweaty soccer uniforms, Brad's paint covered work clothes and the dreaded bathroom cleaning chore. She would also get kitchen clean-up and all those purging projects around the house. Like getting rid of 10-year old magazines that somehow can't find their way to the recycle bin.

Working Woman Kim: She would bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan (na-naaa-na-na). This lucky lady would get to work with wonderful people and work on interesting projects with undivided focus and concentration, wowing everyone with her knowledge, experience and creativity. She would do all of this without the distractions of thinking, "Wow - I'd really rather be writing a scene for my novel rather than this annual report" or fight the urge to spice up her marcom writing with vocabulary and descriptions that have no place in a conservative work place.

Media-savy Kim: She would keep up on all of my favorite shows, alerting me to the "can't miss" episodes but letting me skip the less than stellar ones. She'd preview movies for me so I could never waste time sitting through something that wouldn't inspire or motivate me in my own creative journey. She'd help me never sit through another bomb of a movie like "Premonition" (two hours of my life that I'd REALLY like back Lord, thanks!). M.S. Kim would do the same for me with books and magazines also, weeding out the duds and fluff and flagging articles that would help me develop story ideas. Oh, and when I eventually get around to buying an i-pod, she'd figure it out for me and load all my favorite music on it.

Yup. Human cloning - I think it's just the ticket for my writing career. Where can I sign up?

Summer Favorites

Dear sweet Amber checked in with me the other day. I haven't meant to neglect blogging. Really - I've been reading all of yours and commenting here and there. I guess I've got a tiny bit of bloggers' block. When I would sit down to write, all that would come out was complaints and grumblings about unmet expectations for the summer and how busy we've been and yada, yada, yada . . . so I just did us all a favor and abstained. But I think it's time to get back in the grove and so I'll take a page from wise friends and others who have inspired me to think thankfully and gratefully for the blessings of this summer. Here's a few pictures of my favorite summer moments.


Camping at Pacific City, OR - warm temperatures, lazy days and fun with my favorite three people in the world.


J as "Charlie the Crazy Cat Guy" in his theater camp's production of "A Fractured Fairy Tale". He loved theater camp and now when anyone asks what he wants to be, he replies, "I want to be an actress." (Actor buddy, actor . . )


N and I decided to be part of history and attend one of the local "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" events. But in true fashion for our family, we punked out at about 11:30 pm and went to Target the next morning to pick up our copy of #7. We had a great evening out though and enjoyed the enthusiasm of the hard-core fans.


The family reunion shot. A tough week for me but there were some fun parts and it was great to see family from out of state.


My kids' new hobby. Makes my blood pressure go up but they love it. We're already talking about getting wetsuits for the colder weather so they can keep practicing. I think a trip to Hawaii sounds more fun.


This guy posed for me on a trip at the Oregon Zoo's butterfly exhibit. Wasn't that nice of him?


These cute kids posed for me also - after being bribed with a warm elephant ear and a promise that they could ride the thrill ride after mom took pictures for 20 minutes in the butterfly display!

Yup - it was a tough summer with lots of work and meeting the needs of others but there were definitely some highlights. And for that, I'm so thankful.

What was your favorite part of summer?

Hide the sharp objects . . . .

. . . there's a teenager in the house. That's right - today my baby girl turns 13. She was born at 10:21 pm on a hot summer night 9 days late. The first words out of one of the nurses when they put the girl on the scale to weigh her was, "Oh my God!" Turns out my little princess was not so little. She was 10 pounds 15 1/2 ounces at birth. I joke that if Brad had taken me to dinner the night before, we could have put on that last half ounce and had ourselves an eleven pounder.

Truly, it was wonderful having a big baby. She was healthy and sturdy and didn't feel like she was going to break when you picked her up. I remember going to a breastfeeding clinic a few days after she was born and the other moms there were just amazed at the baby girl's size. She never wore 0-3 month clothes and only wore 3-6 month clothing for about the first 6 weeks. A friend of ours at church just recently had a 10 pound boy and I saw him today and it brought back wonderful memories of my summer baby girl.

Now she is a teenager and that extra size that she has carried for her whole life is more of a struggle than a blessing to her. Now we walk the fragile tightrope of working for a healthy self-image that brings about positive changes and not negative feelings. A sweeter and more loving girl, I couldn't ask for. She is so much like her dad - very relational, gets along with everyone and lives to spend time with the ones she loves. She's great about being honest with me and is quick to apologize when she knows she's gone over the boundaries too far. I love that she has inherited my love for reading and the theater. We saw "Hairspray" together last night and had fun singing the songs and talking about the movie on the way home. There are some great things about her getting older and sharing more grown-up experiences with her.

A good friend who was one of the first to visit us in the hospital after N. was born came up to me at work today and put a hand on my shoulder. With a knowing and concerned tone, he asked, "How are you doing?" (He's raised his own teenage daughter, now in her twenties and married.)

"Two arguments already and it's only 9:00 am in the morning. I think I have a teenager in my house," I said.

Happy Birthday sweetie girl! Love you tons!

Knock, knock . . . . anybody home?

Okay - I know that strong, independent, confident women of the world don't feel the need to apologize just because they fall behind on a few blog posts, but for the few of you out there who know me and read my stuff . . . you know that the British part of me won't get by with that. Sooo

I'm very sorry for the lack of posts and not letting you know my status for the past 23 days. Please forgive me for being rude and not checking in.

Seriously. I didn't mean to take that much of a blogging break. The demands of our lives these days have made it nearly impossible to spend more time at the computer than what was required for work and quick checks of email. I wish I could say that I was busy landscaping my back yard, or I was busy learning how to windsurf and that I was spending all that time I would be blogging outside enjoying the lazy days of summer, but lazy is the last word I would use to describe the summer!

Not that it hasn't been fun. Just a wildly, crazy, lots of obligations kind of fun. (With work thrown in there for good measure.) Rather than bore you with it all, I'll give you the quick bullets:

- Brad is currently working as our church's interim High School Director. The new guy will hopefully be here in Oregon in a few weeks but Brad has been doing an awesome job keeping a HS program afloat for the very discouraged kids who have been without a leader for 18 months. We have had the incredible privilege to spend lots of time with great students and some awesome adult helpers who have stepped up to the plate in this area.

- Brad is also trying to fulfill promises made to friends and co-workers to paint houses. He does this in his "off" time from the High School Director position. Translation: we haven't seen much of each other this summer.

- The kids have been in and out of different camps this summer. The boy is currently in his second week of drama camp and is loving it. The girl is making mom proud by helping out at our church's Vacation Bible School this week by letting 2nd grade girls crawl all over her for a few hours a day. We also had fun serving as childcare helpers for our church's ESL classes offered to the Hispanic community. We practiced our very limited Spanish with the kids while their parents practiced English.

- We managed to sneak away for a few days at the beach. Just the four of us. It was heaven. They are my favorite people to be around. It's the one thing that has kept me going during the craziness.

- Seeing some of the blockbusters. "Transformers" and "Harry Potter 5" have been favorites so far. Going to see "Hairspray" with the high school girls tomorrow night and will take my sweetie pie to see "Bourne Ultimatum" as our first night out alone this summer when it opens.

- Celebrating birthdays. The boy on the 7th. Mine is today and the girl's is on Wednesday. I got a brand new, red, shiny . . . vacuum cleaner. It's AWESOME! (Or as Brad would say, "It really sucks!") Seriously, it's like the Cadillac of vacuums and I love it. I plan on using it tonight - with my new birthday pjs on!

- Trying to grab snatches of creative time. Not much time for this but I'm starting to feel the misery of not getting enough time to write. I made myself journal for a half an hour this morning as a gift to myself. It was bliss. I really wanted to start a new writing project today to celebrate my birthday, but the journaling will have to do for now. And this blog post - that counts too, doesn't it?

Please know I've been sneaking peeks at your blogs and I hope to get back to a more regular routine again soon, but please don't be surprised if another little stretch goes by before I post again. Until then, know that I'm thinking of you all and hoping that you are enjoying the special blessings of summer with those who are close to you. Take care!

Happy Birthday!

(The birthday boy with his favorite cousin)




How could I know that raising a boy would be so much fun? Those brown eyes of mine looking back at me and crinkling around the edges when he's laughing . . . that awesome sense of humor that amazes me coming from one so young . . . the creative imagination that from the day he could talk, has never ceased to amaze me . . . that uncanny ability to figure out complicated math and mechanical issues beyond what I would expect at this age . . . those sweet bursts of affection that melt my heart. Who knew a little guy could capture my heart like this?

Happy Birthday Bub! I love you!

True Confessions

First, a bit of business. Kamsin tagged me ages ago (well, ok, a week ago) and I need to follow through here. So here are the specs . . .

1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each participant posts eight random facts about themselves.
3. Tagees should write a blogpost of eight random facts about themselves.
4. At the end of the post, eight more bloggers are tagged (named and shamed).
5. Go to their blog, leave a comment telling them they're tagged (cut and run).

Now, just to be fair, it is a holiday here in the states, so we here at ETS will make this a self-service tag. Play along if you're in the mood.

And so, without further delay, here are eight amazing, silly, little-known facts about Kim G.

1. My first kiss was when I was 15 years old and was with a 23 year old guy. (OK - sound horribly gross and even illegal now, but back then it was very heart pitter-patter making.) It never went any further than that but I had a huge crush on the dude. He worked at the video store across the street from the taco joint I worked in.

2. I can make an awesome burrito. My kids say every time we have burritos for dinner, "It's a good thing you worked in a taco place when you were a kid so you could learn to fold burritos." They don't teach that stuff in school, ya know. (Well, maybe they do in home economics . . .) My favorite part of working in the taco joint was eating fresh fried chips right out of the fryer when they were still hot. Yum.

3. I cry like a leaky faucet. Not so much at real life stuff any more (except when there's kids involved in tragedy) but at any movie, tv show, documentary or even commercial with a sentimental twist to it. (My daughter seems to avoided this genetic mutation, but alas, the boy seems to have inherited it. He wept during the movie "Happy Feet" when they banished the penguin. Poor kid - either the girls are gonna love him for this or he'll get the crap beaten out of him by the boys.)

4. I just finished reading a book that was the kind I'd love to write with deep, complicated characters and themes of faith and forgiveness, but it had some rather - er - graphic, steamy scenes in it that would have surely earned it a NC17 rating had it been a film. But I loved it anyway. ("The Secret Sisters" by Joni Rogers if you're interested.) I admire someone who can write a realistic sex scene. That's something I'm not sure I could ever do.

5. Things I don't think I could live without in my life: tea in the morning (English, black tea - none of the fruity, grassy, herby stuff), Clorox wipes, books and a daily dose of world news from NPR.

6. I prefer to be alone rather than go to a party most days, but I don't think anyone would call me a hermit. I do love to meet new people but I always feel like I must "work" to make the relationship move forward instead of just leaving it at the acquaintance level. The thought of that often robs the joy of the new friendship and thus, I think it's just easier to stay at home. Sick - I know.

7. I've become a bit of a magazine junkie lately. I've subscribed to four new ones, Vogue, Popular Photography,Wired and Good magazine (whose tagline is "For people who give a damn") I've picked up cards for two design magazines that I'm thinking about subscribing to. I've also picked up recent newsstand copies of Vanity Faire (the Bono issue) and Portland Monthly and checked out vegetarian cooking mags from the library. Someone stop me!

8. If I could change anything about my physical appearance, I think I'd change the color of my hair. I'd make it darker or lighter - it's kind of a nothing special brown. Maybe I'll join Laini and dye it pink! I'm pretty happy with the rest of me with the exception of the extra pounds I need to loose (but that's my fault not God's!)

OK - off to start the marathon day of cooking for tonight's block party. The boys next door (who are now in their twenties with kids of their own) are counting on my brownies for tonight. Musn't disappoint them!

Happy 4th to you all!

Huntin' Fairies

Today we took a field trip. The kids had worked hard on chores all week so we decided to go out for a fun lunch downtown at one of our favorite places on Hawthorne. Pepino's has wonderfully authentic Mexican food in a casual atmosphere and for very reasonable prices. I had the fish tacos, the kids had chicken soft tacos and we all agreed it was much yummier than a trip to a fast food joint.



Look at the cool window panes that hang from the exposed beam ceiling.

Then it was down the street to Powell's to pick up our copy of Blackbringer. Sadly, it wasn't on the shelf yet but after asking the rather grumpy lady in the children's section to please check for the book, she found it in the back. (Sorry Laini - I tried to get her to put copies on the shelf but she told me she didn't have time to do it just then. I managed to squeeze one copy on the shelf and left it facing out so passers-by could see it.)


The tweenette treated us to a reading of the prologue and part of the first chapter on the drive home. Laini writes with such incredible detail and I love the fairy world she has created. We had many discussions about some vocabulary that wasn't all to familiar to the kids (imp, perpetually and scarab) so I think reading through the book will be a great family time.

Again I just want to encourage you to get your copy soon! You can order from Amazon here. But what a fun afternoon to go downtown and mosey through fun shops. I'm a firm believer that book buying should be an experience beyond just sitting at your computer even if it costs a bit more. You can't get a whiff of that smell through the computer - you know the one, pages, ink and magic - that come when you step inside a book store. That my friends, is a fix for my spirit.

Congratulations Laini!

A Bundle of Joy

Today is the birthday of my bloggin' friend Laini's new book, Blackbringer. What a joy and inspiration it has been to follow the process of getting her first book published. My kids and I can't wait to read it! Go out and get your copy today.

Don't just sit there . . .

your kids' brains are crying for a story that will keep them up nights propping their eyes open with toothpicks until they can just

read

one

more

page . . .


Oooohh . . . dontcha love a good book?

The Time Bank

Wouldn't it be great if there was a time bank where you could make deposits and withdrawals just like a real bank. Or, where you could make exchanges or trades? Or people could donate to your fund like a needy cause.

One of the biggest frustrations of my life is when I watch a movie or tv show that, well, to put it gently, smells like last Thursday's garbage. I absolutely hate that 20 minutes after the credits start rolling that I walk around muttering under my breath, "Man . . .I wish I could have that time back. What a waste!" There have been a couple of those recently. I suppose that's why I always watch tv and movies and try to do something else at the same time so I don't feel totally ripped off if the show is a stinker.

It happens in other areas of my life as well. Sometimes, I'll sit down at the computer to check emails and a few blogs and two hours later I'm still sitting at my desk with nothing really productive to show for it. Lately, I'm beginning to feel like I might need a technology fast. I'm sure I'd be amazed at how much time this little machine takes from my days.

Time is a precious commodity for two of us in our house. Our accounts are near the "red zone". Summer is here but Brad and I are busier than ever. Brad has taken an interim position as the director of High School ministries and we're trying to work as a team to help the students hang in there until we can hire a full time pastor for the position. He's painting and trying to tie up loose ends at school as well. I'm helping with our church's ESL program once a week and have had many requests to take pictures at special events lately. Add to that work, keeping the house running and planning the Reunion from Hell, things are a bit nutzo.

And yet there is at least one person walking around our house uttering those unthinkable words, "I'm soooo bored." Like I said, wouldn't it be great if I could put some of her free time into my account? Where are the lazy days of summer and could they kindly make a deposit into my account?

Here's where I'd spend it:
- wait for the hummingbird to drink from the flowers outside my window and try to take his picture
- paint my nails
- finish my books
- make a new necklace
- read all my magazines I haven't read yet
- make strawberry jam
- take my kids swimming
- take a bike ride to the park
- call a friend
- write a letter
- take a nap
- blog just a bit more regularly
- write my novel

No one TOLD me it was so good . . .

Okay friends. I'll admit I'm a latecomer on this one but in the last two weeks I've just discovered a little gem that sparkles like a diamond ring in the noon-day sun for this information collecting gal.

National Public Radio

Why, why didn't anyone tell me there was such a delightful place on my radio where I could hear interviews of the most INTERESTING people? Like the Oceanographer and his actress wife who have started a foundation and present their message about the need to take care of our oceans in an off-Broadway play? Or fascinating, intelligent interviews with celebrities like Andrew and Elizabeth Schue (promoting their new film "Gracie"), and the guys in the new movie "Knocked-up" (one of my favorite celeb interviews ever - hysterical!) and one of the coolest, smartest rock stars ever - Bono. I've heard a series of stories on the Six-Day War, commentaries on the ending of "The Sopranos" and the history behind Ronald Regan's "Tear down the wall . . . " speech.

And their voices. So many rich, honey-sounding voices as they come off my radio. They sound like their sitting in the seat next to me giving me my own personal update on the most interesting things going on in the world.

I'm addicted.

I was thinking I wanted an MP3 player for my birthday next month to load my new "Dreamgirls" and John Mayer CD's on but now . . . I'll be looking for one that's got a radio on it as well.

Edited to add: To find your local station, go to www.npr.org and click on the top where it says "stations". You can put in your zip code and it should tell you where to look for your local station.

PS - My hubby wrote an incredible post about a day in his classroom and he's feeling a bit blue that not many people have read it. Can I ask a big flavor of you my bloggin buddies? If you have time, go here for a good story of what it's like to teach sixth grade.

Speakin' of school, only two more days - woo hoo!

The Neighborhood Watering Hole

Well, I'm happy to report that my efforts to attract some bird life to my backyard have been successful. I'm not quick enough to capture them with the camera but we've had a variety of little birdies visiting our lovely feeder and snacking as they make the rounds of the neighborhood. As an added bonus, we even had a little hummingbird visit last night to sip from the lovely little red flowers on a bush my mother gave me last year. (Sorry - I'd tell you the name if I could but I haven't got a clue!)

The problem is that our squirrels have discovered the bird feeders as well. One guy (not a very bright one) chewed through the rope that held up the bird feeder JT had made from a kit. Not just a thin rope. A 3/4 inch nylon rope. Stupid squirrel. A full bird feeder of premium (translate: expensive, already shelled seed) dumped all over the ground and the feeder can't be repaired.

The other feeder is made of copper with a copper chain so I know it's safe from the fate of the other. It hangs on a shepherd's hook by my fence but the darn squirrels have figured out a way to shimmy up the hook and hang upside down while helping themselves to the fillet mignon of bird feeders. I filled the feeder on Sunday and it was empty by last night. There are four of them, two older squirrels (mom and dad?) and two juveniles and I think the word has spread in the family that the buffet is on.

So my dear blogging friends, any advice for me? How do I keep the nice squirrel family from being piggy-poos at my bird feeders?

PS - I found out last night that my dear friend Rene reads my blog but doesn't leave me comments. Hi 'Ne! Miss you! Glad you guys are ok from the nasty tornado that blew through! Scary! Now leave me a comment you lazy thing! ;) Love you!

Keeping my Promises

I promised a post every day and I'm dead on my feet tonight but don't want to disappoint.

Not much juice left to write anything creative so I'll just share another quote on writing.

A certain skinlessness goes with the ability to observe and describe feelings. This does not make for blithe unconsciousness. Writers are doubters, compulsives, self-flagellants. The torture only stops for brief moments. Erica Jong, "Fear of Fifty"

Juggling with Chainsaws

Did you see the very passionate verbal exchange between Rosie O'Donnell and Elizabeth Hassellbeck of The View last week? I'm sure you have. It's been all over the media. Their choice words for one another vigorously defending their points - wait - what were their points?

Or, in more recent news, the email that infamous celebrity Nichole Richie sent to all of her closest skinny, alcohol swilling friends, inviting them to her place to "drink until we pass out," to celebrate the brave men and women who sacrificed for their country? A simple friendly invitation to a Memorial Day barbecue she claims. A joke. And no, she didn't really have a scale at the front door weighing the girls like the invitation threatened: "No girls over 100 pounds allowed."

Then there's dear Lindsay. The sweet faced little one who stole our hearts in the delightful remake of "The Parent Trap" seems to be caught in a trap of her own these days. The trap of bad decision making and not having the good sense to at least make those bad decisions away from the flash bulbs of the ever-zealous paparazzi.

Choices. Life is full of them and the consequences to them can be great. They can ruin friendships, ruin careers, take us on a path of destruction and heartache. Or, choices can give us power. They can give us a voice. They can open up possibilities we never imagined would be ours for the taking. They can take us down the road of blessings, give us our heart's desire, bring us joy and peace we never thought possible. Our choices can inspire others and be the catalyst that makes this world better rather than worse. Build people up rather than tear them down.

I don't know what choices to make in all the unknowns in my life right now. I just know that I'd rather choose to juggle live chainsaws than intentionally hurt people with my words and actions. And yet, sometimes I fail. We all fail. So I can look at these celebrities with disdain and judgment and whisper a, "Thank goodness that's not my problem!" or I can offer up a little prayer for them all and ask that they get help and encouragement in their lives to make good choices.

Come to think of it, couldn't we all use that?

Candlelight Bliss

It's a season of introspection for us at the G-house. Things are changing. Kids are growing, becoming more independent and yet more in need of guidance and our time than ever. We are questioning. How are we doing as parents?

We have neighbors in transition. We lost our dear Mrs. T. earlier this year and for the past two weeks our beloved neighbor, Mr. R. has been struggling to survive serious heart problems. He's in the same wing of the local hospital where we said our goodbyes to Mrs. T. We've been trying to be good neighbors, caring for Mrs. R. in crisis and still watching out for Mr. T. who has now found a "lady friend" and tells us he is engaged. My Grandfather and my Uncle both married quickly after becoming widowers and it turned out badly for both. Needless to say, I'm cautiously optimistic for my dear neighbor but I hope the outcome is good.

We are questioning our roles at church. Where should we be serving? Are we going through the motions and falling in where others expect we should? Are we really using our gifts and passions for the Lord? Are we being a blessing to others or just spinning our wheels?

Me - I'm struggling with the desire to just shut the doors and hide for the next 29 years. If I didn't know better, I'd say I've got an acute case of people-phobia. (Maybe that's why blogging looks so good again all of the sudden!) My book club that I used to love is meeting tonight and I have absolutely no desire to go even though they are all lovely women whom I really like and respect.

Last night, Brad and I sat on our patio by candlelight. We laid it all out on the table so to speak and talked for nearly two hours about these topics and others. It was bliss. I am so amazed how God picked this man, the perfect man for me, to sit across from me on a warm spring evening and make everything OK just by listening and really hearing me.

When we finally came in at 11:00 pm last night, I said, "Can we do this every night?" He smiled and took my hand and I knew, that if I wanted, he'd be there every night with the candles lit. Yep, I picked a winner. I love you babe.

Blog or Bust

In my efforts to reform my bad habits, I'm going to try to post every day this week. Even if it's something short and sweet, I've got to get back into the practice of putting words to paper - or to screen, so to speak.

I thought I might take time to write about the reunion today, but that topic really needs more time (and just the right frame of mind). Maybe I'll tell you about a dream I had last night instead.

There's a woman at my church who is very respected and very wise. We've known each other for years as her kids are just a bit younger than I am. I respect her faith and her leadership. She was the first woman I ever heard speak from the pulpit of my church. We've worked together now for a couple of years on the women's Bible study team and earlier this year we all took a "strengths finder" test. We were amazed to see that we shared 3 of the 5 strengths. We're a lot alike in many ways.

And yet, this year, for some reason, we seemed to bang heads in discussions during our leadership training. Mind you, not knock down, drag-out things but conversations where I questioned some of her positions in light of the changing hearts and needs of women who are walking into our studies. I think we really agree on the core issues but some of the others, we seem to land at different conclusions.

Last night I dreamed we were at a retreat together. I was in our room listening to a secular CD and she stood outside the door and wouldn't come in until I turned off the music. She then began to lecture me about having too many secular influences in my life.

I won't bore you with our argument but let's just say I woke up with my heart racing and my mind whirling. At one point when I had stated my position in my dream she sighed heavily and said, "Well OK. I guess we'll let you help out at Vacation Bible School this summer." I wanted to scream at her - "I NEVER SAID I WANTED TO HELP OUT AT VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL THIS SUMMER! I SAID I WANTED TO WRITE STORIES THAT APPEAL TO ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE AND POINT THEM TO GOD!" Do you think maybe I have some frustration with her not "hearing" me this year?

Dreams are such funny things. I haven't seen this woman for a few weeks and yet, it's obvious that this issue is still in my heart and my head somewhere and will need to be dealt with. I wonder, is she just the representation of the fear I have that my "Christian" friends won't understand that perhaps the things I want to write won't be found in a Christian bookstore?

Add it to the list . . . the things that seem to stall me out.

And to top off the morning and my new commitment to post every day this week, here's a quote I "creatively borrowed" from someone else's blog awhile ago and sits on my desk for inspiration.

"I want to assure you with all earnestness, that no writing is a waste of time, no creative work where the feelings, the imagination, the intelligence must work. With every sentence you write, you have learned something. It has done you good. It has stretched your understanding. I know that. Even if I knew for certain that I would never have anything published again, and woudl never make another cent from it, I would still keep on writing. Brenda Ueland, "If You Want to Write"

Top Ten Reasons I'm a Flake

For your reading pleasure, I humbly offer . . .

Top Ten Reasons I have been a Flakey Blogger in the last month

10. Yard work. Though Mr. G. has done most of the hard stuff in this area, there's plenty of the administrative, managerial type work that has kept me busy. Sitting on my hiney on our comfy deck chairs sipping lemonade and saying, "Yes honey. I think shimying 25 ft up that ladder to trim wayward branches on that tree is a mah-ve-lus idea. *sip, sip* You go right ahead and be careful now!"

9. Making sure the feathered friends in our neighborhood don't starve. (See my last post.)

8. End of the school year broo-ha-ha. OK - I'm married to a teacher and I still don't understand this one. Why do teachers wait until the end of the year to do all the big report projects and testing? We've been learning all there is to know about Rhinoceros Beetles and Uterine Cancer. Go ahead, ask me a question . . .

7. End of the school year broo-ha-ha part deux. Not only do we have academic projects up the ying-yang, but they decide to do all the social activities at this time of year. Field trips, parties, field days, carnivals etc. Add church stuff to the mix and the little calendar boxes are looking pretty full these days!

6. Slow time at work. "What???" you might be saying. How is that an excuse for not blogging? You should have plenty of time on your hands. Yes, friends, it's true. There is a bit more flexibility and open space in my brain and in my time thanks to a slow down at work but unfortunately, my brain tends to hunker down in "power-save" mode during those times. I haven't done anything with my personal writing projects in weeks (head hung in shame). Any advice on this? I don't want to go back to the way it was (insane busy) but I need to find a happy place where the momentum of work and personal life keep me creative.

5. Playing with, er . . . learning how to use . . . the camera. Took a "day off" last Friday to play while the kids were at school and went back to the rose garden to try some more rose pix. Gotta love those digital cameras and the macro setting. It's the closest thing to meditation or yoga for me. Breathing deep, holding the camera still and trying to capture just a tiny bit of the beauty before me.

4. Planning the "Reunion from Hell" for my family this summer. Don't ask. I'll be blogging plenty about this in the days to come. I've said it before, I love my family, but in small doses. Someone had the brilliant idea that we spend 6 days in Sunriver this August together. (I'm praying for an emergency Root Canal that week.)

3. Speaking of dental work. Had my first crown put on. Agghh. That puppy hurt! My mouth was sore for over a week. (OK - lame excuse. I don't need to talk to type but I'll use it anyway.) But let me tell you, I have the best dentist in the world. He called me the night of my first appointment, the one where it felt like he drilled ten teeth down to nubby stubs while his lovely assistant nearly drown me with the slow trickle of water on the back of my throat. He called me at home at 6:30 pm that night just to check on me. I told Brad he was lucky he was such a good cook or I just might have to leave him to run away with my dentist.

2. Raising a tween. She turns 13 in less than two months and boy howdy, do we all know it. My brother-in-law said once raising a girl is "a fast ride on the Hormone Express". That pretty much sums it up. We've had lots of slamming doors (well, ok - not lots but some) PLENTY of ATTITUDE (with capital letters, a hand on hip and sneer on your face) and a fair share of DRAMA come our way. With more to come - oh joy.

1. And (drum-roll), the number one reason I haven't been a very good blogger lately is . . . . I have been trying to get through the 19 million books I have started reading in the past few years and are at various points of completion. I really had envisioned that by taking a vow earlier this year to buy no more new books and read the ones I have, I would see some progress. So far, not so much. The fun thing I have done for myself is start a new novel (one I bought a year ago). Haven't read one of those since January and I miss a good story. It's called "The Whole World Over" buy Julia Glass. She's the one I borrowed the title of this blog from (Three Junes). Seven pages into her new book, I remembered why she is one of my favorite authors. One of the characters laments how he "thinks too much" (something I can totally related to) and says "It wears down your soul. It's like grinding your spiritual teeth," Yes, yes, yes! Dear God, could I please write like that someday?

More soon . . . thanks for hanging in there with me!

Bird Envy

Last weekend, as we lingered on my in-laws patio after a scrumptious Mother's Day Barbecue, I watched in amazement as no less than 4 different varieties of birds snacked at one of their feeders. They were gorgeous and wonderful after-dinner entertainment.

Yesterday, I was at a friend's house out of the city and watched humming-birds and yellow breasted finches and red winged black-birds all find a snack in her back yard.

Something, stirred inside of me. I want pretty little birds visiting my back yard. I went to the store and bought premium, already shelled bird seed and filled three feeders in the back yard. Brad hung the bird house that he and the boy made from their Father/Son retreat back in March. I planted new, bright flowers in my planters.

OK birds . . . you can come now. Here birdy, birdy . . . .

Hmmm . . . not many takers yet. In the first 24 hours, only one very skeptical looking blue jay who took a nibble and then moved along.

Could it be I live in a community of bird snobs? Is my yard not good enough for their standards? I know we're all waiting for the world to change, but me, I'm also waiting for the birds to come.

(The birds in the photo came in a rush of wing-flapping and chirping on a Saturday morning last year. They are Cedar Waxwings and out Red Hot Firepokers are in full bloom again and we're waiting for this flock of birds to come back.)

The fun parts of being a mom . . .

Breakfast made by my favorite cooks. Strawberries and biscuits, a family tradition.
A book written by my favorite author. (My son - An alphabet book of Mom. My favorite entries: "A - You are awesome." "O - You are organized." and "V - Man, you are valuable.")
Music from my pre-teen daughter that she knows I'll love.
Flowers from my loving husband.
Precious time with my family. A wonderful mother's day!

Drinking from the Well of Inspiration

Here's a few nuggets of wisdom from artists through the ages to inspire me today. Feel free to share your favorite inspirations!

Since you are like no other being every created since the beginning of time, you are incomparable. Brenda Ueland, Writer, Journalist

Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything. Eugene Delacroix, French Romantic Painter

It is within my power either to serve God or not to serve him. Serving him, I add to my own good and the good of the whole world. Not serving him, I forfeit my own good and deprive the world of that good which was in my power to create. Leo Tolstoy, Author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. Joseph Chilton Pearce, Author

I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues. Duke Ellington, Composer, Musician

“We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves. Creativity is God’s gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.” Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way

Now, what are we waiting for? Let's go play!

Bless your buttons . . .

I have the nicest most supportive blog friends around. Thanks for your kind words about my poem. I hope that I didn't demean the writers of poetry by my comments in my last post. I have great respect for them as writers. I think it's the most difficult form of writing in fact. If I choose to read poetry for pleasure, I'm much more likely to choose one of the classics the "newfangled" poetry (anything written after 1800) tends to make my head spin to the point of making me feel lightheaded (ok - that's a bit of an exaggeration).

In college I took a class entirely on Shakespeare's sonnets. I love the musical form of this type of poem and - well - anything that is written by the Bard is top shelf in my book. The professor made the class one to remember. He was a visiting academic originally from Scotland. Can you imagine the music of that poetry read by an educated, flamingly homosexual (by his own admission)5 foot tall Scottish chap? It was glorious. He was delightfully animated and expressive and the great imagery just leapt off the page. The guy was an expert in his field and I think I stressed out over my papers in that class almost more than the ones I wrote for my Medieval Lit. prof who was like a female drill sargent. Thankfully, I fooled him into thinking I knew what I was talking about and he generously graded both my papers with an "A".

Here's one that I really enjoy . . .

Sonnet 60
Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end,
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
Nativity, once in the main of light,
Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crowned,
Crooked eclipses 'gainst his glory fight,
And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth,
And delves the parallels in beauty's brow,
Feeds on the rarities of nature's truth,
And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow.
And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.

Sunday Scribbling - Ocean

I am NOT a poet. I struggle with the idea of poetry. It's so subjective, so personal, so - not what I love about literature. It's not a story, not a piece of a story. It's like a slippery, jello-like, unstructured piece of a person's soul. I always feel weird writing poetry - like I'm trying to bead with a blindfold. Like I'm trying to write with my left hand instead of my right. It feels awkward, but I'm trying to experiment a bit with this foreign form and seeing how it might improve or refine my other writing.

Here's one I wrote during Spring Break while we were at Pacific City after a long walk on the beach by myself. God and I had a long conversation and I wrote this in response.

I wished for the glimmer
of a stray diamond to catch my eye
the promise of a problem solved.
You gave me a garden of jewels
shining, shimmering in the sand
all mine, with no cost
and a promise to bring
beauty and worth to this broken shell.

A dry well . . .

I started a Sunday Scribbling . . . and couldn't finish it.

I go to your blogs and read them and open a comment window

but . . . I'm out of words.

I started an article that I want to submit, but I can't seem to finish it.

I look at the notes for my novel, and I smile, and then I frown. No time for that right now.


The past few weeks have been filled with ideas, dreams, instruction, conversation, contemplation and work. Beetle projects, cranky pre-teens, conversations with caterers, business card designs, Bible study edits and plans for new ministry projects.

My dreams at night are filled with fights with bobcats, giant bears and searching through rooms of houses that are unfamiliar to me.

I've had a great couple of weeks where many of the projects that I've worked on have been recognized and praised. People have been overly generous with their kind words and yet, my well feels empty. How can this be? I feel connected to my God but my life feels like a whirling twister picking up bits of this, bits of that and leaving a mess behind it.

And so my friends, that's why the blog has been a bit empty. That's why I haven't been leaving you messages in your comments. I want to write. I want to share. I'm not sad. I'm not discouraged. I'm not upset. I'm just empty.

I'll work on getting filled this weekend. But don't give up on me, okay? I'll be back. Pinky swear.