Travel Journal - Birmingham, pt. 2

Day Fourteen - The next day started at the laundromat, followed by a trip to the library, where the visitor's center is. It was not easy to figure out how to get there, but I managed, and the people were helpful (though they don't let out-of-towners use their computers, which was annoying).
From there I went to Tolkien's church, the Oratory, which was absolutely beautiful. It gave me a sense of awe, yet also felt comfortable. I then poked around the area, finding the (speculated) Two Towers, a pub that was mentioned in FOTR (which I had been told not to go to, so I just took a picture from the outside), and one of his homes. I went back to the Oratory to try to take pictures inside, but there was a woman there praying and I didn't want to disturb her. She was there when I went back a second time, so instead of taking pictures I took the time to pray. A better option anyway.
At Oxonmoot I was talking with someone about my trip. She said I seemed to be interested in churches. I hadn't thought of it like that; it was just that I wanted to see and experience Tolkien's churches, my ancestor's church, C.S. Lewis's church, and go to a Welsh church. But as I prayed in Tolkien's church it really hit me why I'm so interested in churches. I'm interested in those who have gone before me in the faith. I'm interested in the faith they modeled, and in the interest it shows that they had in my faith, whether they would've thought of it that way or not. I'm interested in the connection through the years and across denominations. I'm interested in my True family and genealogy. That's where the interest lies. It's a beautiful thing.

Travel Journal - Birmingham, pt. 1

Day Thirteen - Sadly after Oxford came Birmingham. Now, in all fairness to Birmingham, it was between Oxford, which I had felt I didn't have enough time in, and Wales, which I couldn't wait to get to. But in all fairness to me, everyone turns up their nose to Birmingham, and I've since heard it called the armpit of England. When I was at Oxonmoot, I was talking with a man who had written a book about all the Tolkien places in Birmingham, and a few times he said, "You're going alone? Hm...," concernedly, once following it with, "Well, be sure to tell someone where you're going before you head to that one..."
As for lodging, I had been looking forward to what I thought might be the cutest place on my trip. Turns out it smelled like a musty basement, my room desperately needed to be dusted (I ended up doing that), and the cup and hotpot I had been given were dirty. The sheets and towels were clean, though, so I figured I could deal. I didn't like the neighborhood, but figured if I were home before 7 (which I tried to make 6), I'd be fine. Turns out the whole city is that kind of neighborhood, so there was nothing to be done anyway. I spent the first day there kind of moping because I didn't know where to go or what to do (the neighborhood had nothing), and sadly got to the laundromat too late. So yeah, that was my initial feeling toward Birmingham.

happy birthday, my cuddyer!

it may have been years now since you were a twin, but you're still my boyfriend, so a happy birthday i wish to you!

p.s. while i don't like that you're a met cuz i'll never get to see you, it's mr. mookie's team, so i still have a soft spot for them, so at least there's that.

why does this purse make me think of the monster book of monsters?

Movie Review: "Maleficent"

Not much to say about it. It's a nice little story, and a fun movie to watch, but I felt it was lacking something. Maybe they should've added ten minutes to get more story development? I don't know. Maybe it's also that I love "Sleeping Beauty" and the evilness that is Maleficent. She is the best of all Disney villains. Trying to make her nice, just didn't quite work for me. I'd say it's worth watching, but yeah. That's really all I have to say.

small group from the new church

i was excited to go on sunday, but came back feeling a tad disappointed. the people were nice and seem knowledgeable Scripturally, but i felt like something was lacking. it was very quiet, for one thing, which is fine, but i was wanting some good spiritual discussions and it felt like they were pulling teeth to get people to talk. no, i didn't do any talking, but i was still trying to figure out how this works. we had lunch together, which was nice, then sat and talked about the sermon. but it seemed lifeless. 'i liked when he said...' 'i hadn't thought of...before.' there was no discussion happening. everything was just answered with a 'mm.' i need to give it a few more tries, i suppose.

one of my favorite shots in moviedom is in 'goblet of fire,' when they show the stained glass window after showing neville upset because of the crucio curse. because of the rain, it looks like the window is crying. at first i thought it was moving (not literally) because it gave a face to the mood at the moment. then it dawned on me that she's alice longbottom, and the tears were of the pain she endured. they are also those she would shed if she were able to understand all that her son has been through without her there, including his emotional distress at this moment after seeing a small glimpse of what she went through. it shows that she is trapped, unable to get to him to comfort him. it's her crying for her son.
then last night, after seeing it how many times, i noticed one more thing: she even looks a bit like 15-year-old matthew lewis. good job movie people.

spiritual post #2

encouraging that girl at small group last week meant three things: 1) that she was encouraged, 2) that i was blessed, and 3) that i would be under attack this week. why on earth did i not think of that third thing and dive into my Bible and prayer immediately? 
i was on a spiritual high for a day or two, and then i made a couple dumb choices which i knew would bring me down (but i'll be fine this time, really, it's okay - no! that never works!), and which then put me in a bad place for when this work week started. and so i've had a rough couple days.
yesterday i messaged chelleybutton from work, saying, 'please pray!' and she responded with, 'i'll pray!' and 'here are words that you need to hear!' thank You, God, for chelleybutton. :) she encouraged me (well, more like very nicely kicked me in the bum) to get praying and read the Bible (and to do so daily, which i haven't done in i don't know how long). stuff i know, but stuff i needed to hear in a caring, non-preachy way, which she managed to do.
one of my reasons/excuses is that it's hard to read and pray when i never have quiet time at home. i've never alone for very long, and my room isn't the most conducive to sitting and reading, as i have slanted ceilings. i wanted to get my butt in gear tonight, and my parents were going to be gone, but i had church, so i wouldn't get my home alone time. so today i hemmed and hawed, and eventually decided i was more in need of alone with God time right now than i was in need of the encouragement from my church ladies, and so i stayed home.
definitely the right choice. i prayed and read for nearly 3 hours. it was beautiful. i feel refreshed, and am definitely craving more. i loved it. which means i'm about to be attacked again, but hopefully as this is coming fresh of last week's debacle, i'll remember to stay prayed and read up. and so now i'll ask all of you to pray that for me. i may have had a great night alone with God, but i do still need my blog ladies. :)

one of the best descriptions of what someone with depression needs that i've seen

spiritual post #1 (that should've been written last week)

last week at small group, i had the opportunity to encourage/admonish someone. i don't speak up often there, as most of the struggles are not ones i have gone through, so i don't really have much to say. this time, however, the girl was struggling with depression, struggling with every day seeming the same, struggling with not knowing her purpose, struggling with, not being suicidal, but wanting to die, and, she was embarrassed to admit, struggling with turning 30. i thought, 'oh my gosh, i know every single one of those things.'
i let the other women speak first. they are a fountain of wisdom, and as elders (church title, but also i suppose in years, but only by about 10-15 years) i think we all feel that they should lead. however, i knew right away that i had to share, and as i listened, i got the feeling that they hadn't necessarily been in her shoes. and so finally i got to share. i was so blessed by it, and i believe she was, too. you don't want to be told, 'God's got this,' when you're going through depression. you want to be told, 'it sucks. but you're not alone. i've been there, too.'
it's so encouraging to me to see that i can use what i've been through to help someone else. i sent her a message on fb, too, because i have so much more i would love to share with her, but fb won't let me send a friend request, and the message went to her 'other' folder, so who knows if/when she'll ever get it. i would love to be able to get together with her some time, but didn't get the chance (rather, didn't make the opportunity because i thought i could friend her on fb) to get her number after group. hopefully next week i'll be able to do so. i'd like to be able to minister to someone like that.

"someone like you"

i like the song; how can i not, it's adele. i sing along loudly. but it always drives me nuts when she says, 'i hate to turn up out of the blue, uninvited.' no, you don't. if you did, you wouldn't have.
and then today it was hitting me, 'why are you so shy? it's not like you to hold back...' yeah, well, y'all aren't in the same place you used to be. he's protecting himself, his wife, his family, and ultimately you, too.
i'll still like the song because i just do, but good grief she needs to learn to respect the sanctity of marriage.

my most recent playbuzz result

i should have green hair. "You are probably romantic and seductive. You have an energetic personality that makes you the life of the party." 
uh-huh.

p.s. to the oscars post

if andy samberg had married me instead of his wife, his date would've had a prettier dress. just sayin'. (sorry it's not a cuter picture of him - so hard to find a pic of the dress where the lighting didn't wash it out to the point where you couldn't see how ugly the top of it is.)

also, while the song is obnoxious and has seriously misguided lyrics, mr. samberg looked like he was having so much fun being part of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwjUm8Lz7Y4

girls *headshake*

once a month we have happy hour after work. we didn't in february, though, because angie and i are the ringleaders of it (slightly ironic as i don't drink in public and she doesn't drink at all) and she wasn't able to attend. so since it had been so long since we had gone out, we both got cute for it, wearing cute clothes and doing our hair and she fancified her make-up.
the other people who we always hound to come with us (and who basically always do) are thing 5 and game of thrones sword guy (from now on known as gotsg). they said they were coming today. unfortunately, however, gotsg ended up having to pick up his brother who was having car troubles. before he left, though, he came into our room to apologize for not being able to go. seeing how dolled up angie was with her make-up and all, he commented that she was looking good today. 
to which my brain, because i'm a girl, went, 'uh! i look cute, too!'
at which point he must've heard my brain, because he turned to me a second later and said, 'and you, *tck* always - lookin' [pointing from his eyes to me], you know what i mean?' at which point angie was probably thinking 'uh! i always look cute, too!' but then he followed all that by, 'can't just compliment one.'
i didn't actually ask angie how she felt about her being 'today' and me being 'always, ' but it was probably about the same as i did being the afterthought and the 'can't just compliment one.' i'm going to ignore the rest, though, and just go with the 'always' and be proud of him for knowing that complimenting just one girl can hurt feelings and/or start a war. :)

Oscars 2015 - special for Kimberly :)

I think I must have been fairly underwhelmed by this years Oscars. It didn't even occur to me to do a post. I would guess that a big part of that had to do with the fact that the stupid tv people weren't showing dresses on the red carpet. They were talking about fashions, but not showing them. And when they did talk with someone, it was always a male. Hello! The Oscars are like a wedding - the point is the dresses! Yeah, there's other stuff thrown in, but the reason people watch is to see what the ladies are wearing.
I also had higher hopes for Neil Patrick Harris than what he ended up doing. So yeah, not necessarily feeling it this year.
It had it's moments, though.
I loved J.K. Simmon's speech. Thank you, sir, for not thanking all sorts of random people, but for showing us all how to thank the people who matter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29GIiTP4-WY
Eddie Redmayne was adorable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVayilpfT_M
I've always said that it's a shame that Lady Gaga's Lady Gaga. Stefani Germanotta actually has a lovely voice. She tried a little too hard to sound like Julie Andrews in her "Sound of Music" tribute, but given the way she introduced Dame Julie, I think that was her trying to make it a genuine tribute. I thought she did a very nice job, though she could've left her dress alone. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSgQqSmZz6k
(I don't know why the clip cuts out a couple lines in the middle and adds them to the end, but every video of it did. Also, Scarlett Johansson was probably on the worst dressed list, but we'll never know because they didn't show people. Okay, I take that back. There's no way she wouldn't be.)
I don't remember what else I thought. Hobbitsister would have to fill us in.

no church is perfect

baby dedications today:
Hannah
Emma
Lucas
Elsa

Gilbert
Constance
Cornelius

further proof

my new church just sent out an email calling daylight savings time an affliction, including a verse to encourage our soon-to-be-weary hearts.

i always thought the gerber baby was a boy

but i guess not. but how cute did she turn out? :)