Victor Hugo on Fashion

Gringoire's attire leaves much to be desired, and Frollo tells him as much. Gringoire's defense:
"But how can I help it, my reverend master? The blame rests with my old coat, which basely abandoned me in the depth of winter, on the pretext of falling to tatters. What could I do? Civilization is not yet so far advanced that one may go stark naked, as Diogenes of old wished to do. Besides, a very harsh wind was blowing at the time, and the month of January is not a likely season to attempt to introduce this new fashion with hope of success." - "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"

my friend moe

so i was on the phone with my friend moe the other day, when the battery started to die. i went upstairs to get the charger, then proceeded to think of something else i needed.
i got back downstairs and told moe, 'ugh. i just went upstairs to get the charger for my phone and guess what i forgot up there.'
moe: 'um...your phone?'
me: 'my phone?'
moe: 'yeah, you forgot your phone.'
me: 'really? my phone? i forgot my phone upstairs?'
moe: 'yeah!'
me: 'um, sweetie? then how am i talking to you?'
moe: 'oh.'

Fit for a KING

I went to the Swedish Institute on Thursday to see the exhibit, "Fit for a Queen: The Nobel Gowns of Sweden's Queen Silvia." It featured dresses the Queen has worn to the Nobel Prize dinner over the years. There were some truly beautiful dresses there.

And it got me thinking. To go to this exhibit, I dressed nicely. Not really fancy, but there was no way I was going to go wearing jeans. That just didn't seem right. Also, I found that I walked straighter when I was there - like I was in the presence of something greater.

I was raised with all sorts of Swedishness around me. As I got older, I got kind of burnt out with Swedish stuff, though. Seeing these dresses, along with the pictures of the King and Queen that they had all over, made me want it back. Suddenly I remembered that when I was in Sweden I noticed that every Swedish home had a picture of them somewhere.

And all of this got me thinking that there must be some spiritual parallel here. J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were firmly against the loss of the esteem people had for royalty. They believed that only through that earthly picture, could we understand what it meant to have a KING above us. The book 'Mere Theology,' which talks about some of Lewis' core beliefs, says, '[Monarchy] is vital because it reminds us that we do not live in an egalitarian world but rather in a world in which hierarchy exists at all levels.'

Along with this thought, was the fact that I refused to go in jeans. I wanted to look nice (and if I had had the time to shave my legs, I would've gone in a skirt), even just to be in the presence of the gowns. I know GOD doesn't care what we wear to church. I do, however, firmly believe that we shoud give HIM our best. The pastor said today (regarding something else, but it can still be applicable) that while people think of church differently today than they did 50 (heck 15) years ago, there is still the matter of respecting the house of worship.

I know there are more parallels, but I don't know how to put them into words. Suffice it to say that I believe there is something to the fact that gazing upon the loveliness of the queen made me want more of her and her people.

oh, i guess i do kind of have one more baseball thing, but it's not really - it's a justin thing

his fiancee came with him to the ground breaking on friday. as they were leaving, he opened the car door for her all gentlemanly-like. i like it when boys do that. :)

i do have a non-baseball thing to post, but it's long, and it's late, so i don't want to start it now. perhaps tomorrow.

sorry - more baseball (it's just that time of year)

then last night i went to the game, and it was sad. not many yays. however, when we were down about 7-1 in the 7th inning or something like that, the crowd came alive and yayed like crazy. the lady next to me, who was watching the game, said, 'why are people cheering?' she had seen a routine strike. while she was watching the game, however, everyone else in the dome was watching the score of the white sox game on the scoreboard, and ryan garko had hit that grand slam. awhile later the indians scored again, to more cheering and a loud cry of 'go cleveland!' cleveland has never had so many fans here.

and then on friday...

my dad came into my work at 8am and said, 'can you be sick at 11?' turns out justin morneau was breaking ground on a field he had dedicated money for, which happens to be near my work. seeing as my boss likes baseball, i managed to finagle my way out of work for an hour to run over there. :) and my dad came by and picked up one of the residents so she could see justin, too. :) i didn't get an autograph, but she got her picture taken with him (one of the benefits of being a little old lady with a walker), and we all got free long-sleeve t-shirts. and of course we got to see justin. ;) very exciting. and that's what made me make it through the day after the sleepless night.

why i sounded like a drunken monkey

ohmigosh! thursday night - best game ever! total play-off atmosphere (and totally i'm sure the closest to a play-off game i'll actually be at). it was nuts. my ears still hurt. let's see. how to recap. hm...

slowey was rockin' it. yay! loud dome!

mauer got an rbi. yay! loud dome!

denard and go-go colided, and brian buscher didn't make a throw, so bad guys didn't get out. boo. quiet dome.

slowey got hit by a line drive to his throwing wrist. boo. he then couldn't throw right to get people out, bad guys scored lots. boo. quiet dome.

we started coming back a little bit at a time. yay! loud dome!

we kept doing that. Yay! loud dome!

8th inning we tied it up. YAY! LOUD DOME!

10th inning. YAY! Loud Dome!

they walked punto. YAY! Loud Dome!

they walked denard. YAY! Loud Dome!

little runt casilla got a base hit to score punto and win the game! YAY! LOUD DOME!

LOUD DOME! LOUD DOME! LOUD DOME! LOUD DOME!

LOUD OUTSIDE THE DOME! LOUD OUTSIDE THE DOME! LOUD OUTSIDE THE DOME!!! LOUD OUTSIDE THE DOME! YAY!!!!!

Hey, Mr. Hillman

'member when you said this: "...if Royals manager Trey Hillman had to give an edge to one of the two teams as the race reaches the home stretch, [he said] that it would belong to the Twins...'even though the White Sox have slugging, I like these guys a little bit better,' Hillman said." - 'Hillman gives division edge to Twins: Kansas City manager picks Minnesota to win AL Central,' By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com
we'd appreciate some help here.

oh, i will say this now, though, cuz i won't want to tomorrow, but i promised him i'd post it

ryan garko is my baseball hero of the day

his grand slam against the white sox saved our cute heinies

totally couldn't wait to get on here earlier to post

totally need to go to bed now, though. more later.

it is so absolutely gorgeous out!

and i'm inside cuz computer's the only thing i can do cuz i'm so tired i'm gonna die! :(

wedding cards

i think i'm lactose intolerant

Movie Review: "Made of Honor"

I don't really have much to say about it. It was good. I liked it. But it felt like it was missing something. I'm not quite sure what.

It did make me think of SDBGF, and I'm never quite sure if that's a good thing. He wasn't a playboy who looked like Patrick Dempsey, but he was my best guy friend, and I'm sad that he's gone. My mom once said about the possibility of dating him, "Is he someone you'd rather marry or someone you could give up if you met someone else?" That is how I'd know. (After much serious soul-searching, I had been thinking the latter anyway, but he kind of made the decision for me.)

Anyway...enough of my perseveration on my three year old personal life. Someday something new will happen to me and I'll be able to tell you about a new SDB. (Until then, sorry, you're stuck with the same story.)

Basically I think this is a movie to rent, not to buy. I wouldn't mind seeing it again, but it's not one I would watch all the time. One major plus to it, it has Patrick Dempsey, which is always a good thing. There's a moment near the end when he steps out of a car and you see the Scottish highlands behind him, and wow. It's pretty. ;) And that's my review.

terms and agreements

i wonder how many people actually read those

headline on netscape homepage

"comfort food: bread pudding recipes"
really? bread pudding?

i don't want to go to Bible study tonight. i'm so tired i feel like my head might explode, but it's the first one (the first Bible study, not the first head explosion), so i really don't want to miss it (if it were the first head explosion i would want to miss it). so i guess i'm going.

apparently my standards are lowering - like alot

two nights ago i had a dream that i married jim halpert.

last night i dreamed that i was having an affair with bruce willis.

my freaky story

on my way to chelleybutton's last weekend, i stopped at the library to drop of some books and quickly check my email. i left my car doors unlocked and the driver's side window down.

upon coming out of the library, i got into my car, and promptly noticed that my passenger window was down. i had not put it down. i know i didn't. and yet, it was down. everything was still there, nothing else seemed to have been touched, but the window was definitely down, and i had definitely not done it.

my only two suspects were my brother and the cook, but seeing as sancho lives in wisconsin, and the cook very much insists that it was not him (and that he wishes he would've done it), i have no idea who would've done it. or why. it's very freaky.

too funny - no, really!

i was at the library yesterday and came across this. http://www.blogonoscopy.com/2008/07/looks-like-someone-beat-you-up-and.html
[i ended up having to leave the library cuz i was laughing so hard, but couldn't laugh outloud cuz i was at the library, so my eyes were watering and i couldn't breathe. :))]

gotta love dolores

my boss came into work the other day and said hello to dolores.
dolores: why does everyone keep calling me dolores?
my boss: because that's your name!
dolores (snickering): i know. i was just testing you.

my boss: i saw your sister was here yesterday.
dolores: my twin sister?
my boss: yes.
dolores: do you think we look alike?
my boss: well, your eyes are the same.
dolores (snickering): no, they're not. she has her eyes and i have mine!

i rock

so last night in the 3rd inning i said that alexi casilla (not a homerun hitter) was going to hit a 2-run homer to tie the game.
in the ninth inning, alexi casilla hit a 2-run homer to tie the game.
and then we proceeded to win. you're welcome boys.

Book Review (albeit a tad early): "Captivating"

I loved "Wild at Heart," by John Eldredge. So when I heard that he and his wife Stasi had written a "woman's version," I was excited. It has now been sitting on my shelf for a couple years, along with dozens of other Christian books that I don't have the energy to read. I finally decided to be ambitious and try it now, though (actually I started a month or two ago).
So far - not impressed. Like I said on Photoqueen's blog, "the first 75 pages are all about how we've been scarred by our abusive/neglectful parents and how we're 'wounded' because of how men have treated us in the past. sorry - but i have a wonderful family and thankfully can't say i've ever really been mistreated by a man (i'm extremely spoiled [blessed], i know)."

Finally getting past that, it seemed like it might be getting better. I'm now on page 128. Still not impressed. With their adamant "we're not like other books" attitude, I had been hoping that they would not be like other books. But now I keep seeing the same old 'JESUS is the only Lover you need, so be happy' bit that I, as a single woman, hear everywhere.

Trying to be inspiring, they said, "A woman becomes beautiful when she knows she's loved. We've seen this many times - you probably have too. Cut off from love, rejected, no one pursuing her, something in a woman wilts like a flower no one waters anymore. She withers into resignation, duty, and shame. The radiance of her countenance goes out, as if a light has been turned off." Sorry - that did not come off as inspiring. That came off as totally describing me and making me more depressed than I was when I started this book.

I'll finish it. I'm hoping they'll come to some grand and profound conclusion that will help me understand that GOD is pursuing me and that that's an amazing honor and just so much more wonderful than I can imagine. For right now, though, I just want to throw the book across the room.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY DIANA!!!

i woke up to the sound of the freeway this morning

which means there's more traffic, which is because the bridge is open! yay!

blood update

they took some today, so hopefully that's done now

i have a headache

i'm guessing it has something to do with running into the wall really hard with my head last night

the problem with a 3 1/2 hour nap

it's now 1:04am

by popular request ;)

chelleybutton watched this and decided she wants me to marry a twin :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHleGen4leU

WELCOME BACK, MY CUDDYER!!! :D

My boyfriend's back and you're gonna be in trouble (Hey-la, Hey-la My Boyfriend's back)

If you see him coming, better cut out on the double (Hey-la, Hey-la My Boyfriend's back)

You been spreading lies that I was untrue (Hey-la, Hey-la My Boyfriend's back)

but look out now, cause he's coming after you (Hey-la, Hey-la My Boyfriend's back)

Yeah, he knows what you've been trying

And he knows that you've been lying

He's been gone such a long long time (Hey-la, Hey-la My Boyfriend's back)

but now he's back and things'll be fine (Hey-la, Hey-la My Boyfriend's back)

You're gonna be sorry you were ever born (Hey-la, Hey-la My Boyfriend's back)

Cause he's kinda big and he's awful strong (Hey-la, Hey-la My Boyfriend's back)

Hey, he knows I wasn't cheatin'

Now you're gonna get your beatin'

What made you think he'd believe all your lies? (wa-ooh wa-ooh)

You're a big man now, but he'll cut you down to size (wa-ooh)

Wait and see!

My boyfriend's back, he's gonna save my reputation (Hey-la, Hey-la My Boyfriend's back)

If I were you, I'd take a permanent vacation (Hey-la, Hey-la My Boyfriend's back)

Hey, I can see him comin'

Now you better start a'runnin'

(wa-ooh, wa-ooh)

(wa-ooh)

Wait and see!

My boyfriend's back, he's gonna save my reputation(Hey-la, hey-la, my boyfriend's back)

Yeah, my boyfriend's back

Well look out now, my boyfriend's back

Well, I can see him comin' so you better get a'runnin' a'right now

My boyfriend's back.....

Movie Review: The Dark Knight

1) Heath Ledger is beyond creepy.

2) Fifteen years later, I'm still in love with Christian Bale.

this is the twins video i had to watch

it's from may, but chelle hadn't gotten to see it yet, so it had to be seen (my boyfriend's just too dang cute ;) )

http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200805122688687&c_id=min ("cuddyer makes an artistic catch")

can i go, too?

3 year old colin (on seeing a herd of birds fly by): look! at dems...all dose eagles!
me: all those eagles?
colin (very excited): dey're goin' to mcdonald's! :D

Psalm 67

May GOD be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,
that THY way may be known upon the earth,
THY saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise THEE, O GOD;
let all the peoples praise THEE!
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for THOU dost judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon the earth.
Selah
Let the peoples praise THEE, O GOD;
let all the peoples praise THEE!
The earth has yielded its increase;
GOD, our GOD has blessed us;
let all the ends of the earth fear HIM!

I like that the psalmist asks for GOD's blessing upon us in order that GOD may be known. I also like how he says that GOD should be feared because HE has blessed us. Clearly, GOD's blessing shows HIS power, and HIS power should make us shake in our boots. Praise GOD!

dear chelleybutton

you turkey-butt! you wrote on my wall!

a few pics from my vacation

my 'hermitage' a view from my hermitage
faith night

(sadly the best i could get - darn having no zoom. everett and baker are in the middle, slowey is the hand reaching for the mic behind the chapel leader on the left, because also sadly, i somehow deleted the other pic, in which slowey is not behind the chapel leader.)

i'm tired of automated calls

politicians, timeshares, home loan agencies...the best was the other night when we got one from a bank at 1:30am. nice.

Victor Hugo must've read "A Series of Unfortunate Events"

"It is certain that if Ravaillac had not assassinated Henry IV there would have been no documents of his trial deposited in the Rolls Office of the Palace of Justice, and no accomplices interested in the destruction of those documents; consequently no obligitory fire, for lack of better means, to burn the Rolls Office in order to burn the documents, and to burn the Palace of Justice in order to burn the Rolls Office; therefore, there would have been no fire in 1618. The old palace would still be standing with its old great hall; and I might then say to the reader, "Go, look at it," and thus we should both be spared trouble, myself the trouble of writing, and the reader that of perusing a banal description. This demonstrates the novel truth - that great events have incalculable consequences."
- "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"

if i ever get my bum out of my job...

i'm gonna still have to go visit cornelius. he missed me this week. 'i looked for you every day! i missed you. i like it when you come.' and you should've seen the smile i got. i love that guy. :)

something that will make me sad

the next person who writes on my wall on facebook will bump sven's bday greeting off of there :(

i still think i'm being told something

The text for the sermon on Sunday was 2 Timothy 3:14-17 - you know, that text about the Bible being useful and whatnot. Two things my pastor said:
'Every text would say something to me if I would listen to it.'
'Things are only useful to the people who use them.'
In other words:
'Get your butt in the Word, Melilot!'

also

one of my other errands was to get the attachment that allows me to download pics from my cell phone to my computer (cuz otherwise what's the point of a camera phone?). i've been putting that off because i figured i would do it when i went to the clinic cuz they're right by each other. (i also had to go when i could get cute because of the woo-woo verizon guy.)
so after not getting my lab work done, i walked over to the store, and didn't see him there. so i asked the women at the counter, and they just kind of looked at me, and finally one went to check the schedule to see when he was coming in. 'he'll be here in 22 minutes.'
i said, 'ok, i'll come back later,' and the women looked completely baffled and like they thought i was a hussy. seriously people, can't a girl just want to give the commission to the guy who helped her before? and can't a girl want to see the woo-woo boy? come on ladies, surely you must understand.
but now i have to go back, and i have to go back today instead of next week when i go to the clinic, because i know when he'll be there and those women probably told him some girl asked for him, and it would be weird to not go back after specifically asking. oh drama drama.

still more blood fiasco-ness

somehow i've been forgetting to take my meds on time lately (i think because i have no schedule what with being on vacation), but in all my hustle and bustle to get out the door this morning i somehow remembered that i hadn't taken them, so i rushed back upstairs and did so. i got to the clinic, they took me into the lab, and the nurse said, 'so when did you take your meds last?'
doh! yeah, remember how the reason i had to reschedule originally was because they needed the blood right before i took my meds? yeah. oops.
so i had to reschedule again for next thursday.

i don't want to go to bed. but i have nothing to do otherwise, and i have to get up to go to my blood appt tomorrow morning (if i actually have one - who knows with that receptionist if i actually do or not), so i really should. i just don't want to.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DIDDER! :D

faith night

It was so fun! Ok, so we lost the game (and it's my fault cuz I wore the jinxed shirt), but it was a good game, and Chelley bought me a hot dog. :) And the concert was good, even though I didn't know alot of the songs.

The best part of the night, though (except for getting to hang out with Chelleybutton), was definitely the player testimonies. Poor Chelley, when they introduced who was speaking I started hitting her arm and saying 'I'm so excited! I'm so excited to hear them! I can't believe how excited I am right now!' I felt like a 10 year old girl at a Jonas Brothers concert.

Anyway, so first they introduced the Baseball Chapel leader (who seemed very nice and like he loves the LORD), and then he introduced the players - Adam Everett, Scott Baker, and, yay!, my dear Kevin Slowey. Sadly (and naturally) we were sitting behind some very annoyingly distracting children, so I couldn't focus on the boys as much as I would've liked, but I still really liked what I heard.

>>Everett said he's been a Christian for a long time, and that his brother dying last year has affected his walk with GOD, making him want to live every day for HIM while he's here, and looking forward to when he'll see his brother again. [He also apologized that he wasn't staying around for the concert, but he just got back from a 15-day road trip and his in-laws had the kids for the night so he was going home to his wife.]

>>Slowey talked about the peace that his faith brings - the peace that passes understanding. No matter what's going on aroung him, he knows that GOD is in control. He again mentioned that he likes the psalms. He feels he can relate to what the authors and singers of these songs were feeling [for someone who wants to be known for being genuine, it makes sense that he would like the openness of the psalms]. He also likes them because they're easier to read than Leviticus. :) Also, he mentioned how important it is that his be a daily walk with the LORD. He said there are times even on the mound when he reminds himself that all that matters is CHRIST. He talked about how important fellowship with other Christians is to him, and again said that he appreciates Baker's encouragement. [If he ever needs female fellowship and encouragement, he can feel free to contact me. ;) ]

>>Baker talked about growing up in a Christian home, saying that going to church wasn't a choice. He then said that when he got older he saw that making the decision to walk with the LORD - well there was no other choice. JESUS is the only Way, and following HIM is the best decision he's ever made. He also said that he knows that people are watching him, and he wants to live in a way that honors GOD. And his favorite parts of the Bible are the epistles, as seeing all that Paul went through helps him know that he can make it through, too. He also said that he knows that JESUS is his Rock and his Redeemer, and so he, too, has peace. [And when he was all done, cute little blond boy went running up to him all cute like, and he scooped him up and then went and tussled the curly hair of another cute little blond boy. What a nice daddy.]

And that's what made Faith Night so special.

chelley was here!

yay! i like that girl. she's fun. :)

chelleybutton and i are still alive!

no thanks to the 3 people who ran red lights at us this weekend, though!

withdrawal

my mother was concerned that i would be going through withdrawal from my blog.

that really wasn't the problem. i was going nuts not knowing how my boys were doing.

my retreat

it was good. just walking onto the grounds it felt like a blessed place, and the minute i walked into my cabin, it felt like a giant weight was lifted off my shoulders. it was just so simple. i spent the first night just sitting on the porch enjoying the trees. i didn't think, didn't pray, didn't read my Bible. i just enjoyed GOD's creation. it was wonderful.
the next two days i enjoyed my porch some more, walked along some paths there, and spent time in my cabin reading the Bible and praying. by about 3:00 yesterday i was getting bored, but that was due to lack of people, not lack of anything else, so i went to the group supper, which was good.
i don't know what else to say about it. it was really peaceful, i survived the rusticness (actually i liked it - made things simpler), and i would recommend it to anyone who was thinking of doing something like this.
as i was walking along the paths for the last time last night, i thought of a song that i hadn't thought of in years, "simply beautiful," by nouveaux (which is a band i'm sure none of you have heard of, but i really liked).

"while peace like a river runs into the setting sun
mercy painting the sky
nothing to analyze - making the simple wise
looking through humble eyes it's beautiful
simply beautiful"

almost here!

my trip starts tomorrow! i'm so excited! but now, in addition to cleaning, i need to be packing. and that whole deciding which books to bring thing is very difficult.
as is accomplishing those tasks when i'm on the computer instead. oops. :)

hobbitsister once said she has cleaning ADD

i definitely do, too. i just get so bored. maybe it would be better if i cleaned more often so it wouldn't take so long.