Where Have I Been?

When Shannon tells you you're shannoning, you know it's got to be true. Well, I have good reasons, people.

On May 16, um, shall we say my "employment status" changed. You can call to get the full story. Anyway, Martin and I decided that I've been wanting to work from home for a long time, and we're taking this opportunity to make that a reality.

The following weekend Janelle and Amanda came to visit. We also had a freak cold snap - it was rainy and in the 70s on Memorial Day weekend, when it had been 109° just days before! We had a lovely time with the ladies, and we were sad to see them go. (I'll post pictures whenever Janelle gets around to sending them to me.)

On Memorial Day, we threw a last-minute party, the perfect party if I do say so myself. No RSVP, very little set-up, everyone brought their own meat and a side to share, and they came and went all day. We had a great time with everyone who showed up, and it only took 30 minutes to clean up after! Of course, the weather returned to normal and it was warm and sunny and Martin burned his head.

All the while, we've been working on the impending E3 move. This next weekend, June 8, we'll be meeting on Sunday mornings (currently we're on Sunday evenings) in a movie theater. I'm very excited about the change, but it has been tons of work to get all the stuff organized, signage designed and printed, postcards, web updates, etc.

Not to mention that we went to Nashville for a friend's wedding. (Lisa Shaker's daughter and Dan's sister, for those of you who are wondering.) We arrived at 2:15 PM on Friday, the wedding was at 6:30 PM that night, then the reception, then we flew out the next afternoon at 3:05 PM. We were literally on the ground 24 hours and 50 minutes. Martin edited a quick preview video for a party to be held Saturday night, on Saturday morning, and we were exporting and burning the DVD in the car on the way to the airport. He did a fantastic job, by the way - it was a candlelight ceremony, which makes it very difficult to do video! You should see the final project... it's gorgeous.

So, needless to say, I've been busy. And when you're working from home, there's no "off" time. I feel like I work more hours now than I ever did before. (And then, just when I'm feeling successful, Martin asks, "But how much of that is paid work?" and I realize how much free work I do. Oh, well, treasures in heaven, right?)

The Weather and Other Ramblings

We haven't quite hit our summer stride yet, but it's been consistently in the high 80s to 90s for the past few weeks. I hear that we're looking to pass 100° next week.

What's hilarious is that I'm sitting here in my office, wearing a light sweater over a tank top, with my space heater blasting. The other residents of the office are on a drastically different temperature setting than I am, always. They have the front door open and the AC on.

This office never gets below 72, and ironically I think it's colder inside during the summer months than it is in the winter. (I use "winter" loosely here, as we usually stay in the 40-60° range, and it doesn't last very long.) On my lunch break, I usually go sit somewhere in the sun in my car, and warm up.

I'm also cold at home, where I cuddle up in a huge fleece blanket when Martin turns on the air. Last night, I was finally comfortable in our bedroom, and Martin was literally sweating. I know this is a common imbalance in marriage, but I think we're even more out of sync than most couples.

That's why I love AZ. It's hot most of the time, and whenever I'm freezing inside, I can go outside and warm up.

So why am I going to Seattle this weekend?

Friday Few Showers High 51°F Low 39°F Precip: 30% Wind: SSW at 6 mph UV Index: 4 Moderate Humidity: 71% Sunrise: 6:01 AM Sunset: 8:14 PM Occasional showers possible. Highs in the low 50s and lows in the upper 30s.

Saturday Mostly Cloudy High 63°F Low 46°F Precip: 10% Wind: SE at 7 mph UV Index: 4 Moderate Humidity: 66% Sunrise: 6:00 AM Sunset: 8:15 PM close More clouds than sun. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid 40s.

I'm going to freeze!!!

I'm flying out Friday morning to attend a Father/Daughter event with Nick. I'm coming home Sunday morning, so it will be a very short trip. I'm also flying standby, so I'm going to try to pack light (no liquids!) and carry on. I'll have to borrow warm clothing, which is fine, because I don't own much!

Golden Shower

Last night someone wet the bed. We're 90% sure that someone was JT.

We thought that getting another puppy would make our lives easier, and it definitely has improved JT's quality of life, but nothing has been easy.

I thought, with JT being older and already housetrained, that she would just follow his example and it would be easy to integrate her into our household. Not so much. She's way more aggressive than JT, and has taught him all sorts of bad tricks. On the other hand, he has been no help training her.

So, anyway, back to the wet bed. At 2 AM, Martin woke me up, made me get out of bed (I was ready to throw a towel on it and go back to sleep... I don't make good decisions in the middle of the night), cleaned the mattress and changed the sheets.

Needless to say, I'm really tired this morning. What's most frustrating about this is that it was JT, not Roxy, who wet the bed. He hasn't done that in months.

Any advice from you dog people?

Janelle finally sent me more pictures from Analise's party.

They are great examples of:

1. Why iPhones aren't called iCameras.
2. How pictures sometimes aren't worth 1000 words.
3. How great it is to get together with friends that make you feel like you've never been apart.

Games

If you have known me for any length of time, you know I like to play games. Any kind of board or card game, really. Not so excited about video games, although I can play Tetris for hours.

Sidenote: Now it's been said that I'm competitive, but it's really a misperception. I like to trash talk, for the sake of the talking of trash. And I don't care what rules we play by, but I do like to know the rules and then play by the rules we agreed on. (This comes from growing up with my little brother, who always cheated at games. He stole money if he was the banker in Monopoly. He lied when I hit his battleships. He's grown up to be a respectable adult, and I don't think he's extended his cheating into real life, but I still watch his hands when we play cards. And now someone else in my life does the same... but more on that later.) In the end, though, I don't really care if we win or lose (but like everyone, I prefer winning), but it's the playing of the game that I love.

In the past few weeks, I've had the opportunity to play games on three occasions, and it's been so much fun. I played Balderdash with a large group (I would recommend a smaller group: it took FOREVER to get through one round!) and learned the words aprosexia, bathetic, and prunella. Truly, my life has been enriched. Of course, the last person you'd expect to cheat, Brad, was cheating in the last few rounds. At least he was man enough to admit it. Although I'm not sure how we all missed that he was looking up the words on the computer in front of us. So, Brad, when I tell you that you're just like a brother to me, what I mean is, you cheat just like my brother.

Then, we had an impromptu get-together and ended up playing one of my top 3 favorite games: Cranium. When we lived in Tulsa, Martin and I played this game so often that we actually knew most of the answers on the cards. It's been a while, and I think they've got new cards, because I only recognized one card, and it was a song I had to hum, so it didn't matter that I knew what it was. This game is so much fun, and you always end up laughing at someone's humming skills or acting skills or drawing skills. Especially when someone is doing a Sensosketch (which is like a Pictionary card - you have to draw a picture and have your teammates guess the word, except you have to do it with your eyes closed!) and his teammate doesn't realize he has his eyes closed, and says, "Dude, you draw like a retard!" Or when the person you're trying to imitate is Joe Friday, and your teammates have already guessed "Friday", and you say, "My first name is like, 'a cup of (blank)'", and your teammate yells out, "Tea Friday!"

A few nights ago, we got together with David & Emily and ended up playing DVD Trivial Pursuit. It's a slightly dumbed-downed version of the original game, but they still beat us by a huge margin. However, the last question (that we played anyway... we called the game for time and there was no chance of a last-minute rally for the Leeuwners) from the DVD played a tune and you had to identify the boy band. This was the song: (at least I think it was, which is kind of the point). David guessed *NSYNC, and I jokingly said, "How do you know it wasn't Backstreet Boys?" Turns out, it was the Backstreet Boys! I laughed, because I really didn't know either way, and said, "I don't know these boy bands. All I know is Justin Timberlake was in *NSYNC and Nick Lachey was in Backstreet Boys." Apparently, I don't even know that. David (how does he know so much about boy bands?) pointed out that Nick Lachey was in 98°. I had to look it up in wikipedia just to see who was in Backstreet Boys. (No one who's done anything since, I guess.) And I still can't name a single *NSYNC song! (Upon consulting the wiki... I see Bye Bye Bye. How could I forget that song?!) Anyhow, the point is... for all their records, promotions, videos, merchandise and hype, we still can't tell them apart. Or maybe the lesson is that if you're not a 13-year-old little girl, there's no way your brain can hold such useless information.

Whatever the game, I just love to play with friends. It's such a great way to get to know someone better, and makes great memories!

Where Am I?

Or, where have I been? Well...

We had our first Sunday morning service with Desert Vista Church this past weekend. Our current series is "30 Days to Live", so that's what the banners are for.


Martin leaves today for his first trip back to the Motherland. Fatherland? I'm not sure. Anyhow, he leaves tonight, and won't be back until after Thanksgiving. (No, Mom, murderers won't read my blog, google my address and kill me in the night. Besides, I have a killer dog to protect me.) He'll be seeing family, old friends, and attending his 10-year reunion.

Other than that, I'm keeping busy with work and all the side jobs of Iris Media. I'm looking forward to going to Seattle to see my mom for Thanksgiving, and I'm very excited to be attending an InDesign seminar on November 30 (David, want to go with me?), so hopefully I'll get some mad skillz.

OK, back to work. It's still month end.

Turn That Off!

I was listening to the radio at lunch today, and a certain song came on that I hate so much that I changed the station. There are only a few songs that prompt that strong of a negative response from me, and I was wondering: What songs do you hate so much you can't listen to them?

I can only think of two that make me turn the station, although there are many songs I hate:

More Than Words by Extreme
It's the combination of the long man-hair, which I can't see on radio but I can't help but picture it, the acoustic guitar with male harmony, and the horribly lyrics that make this song unbearable. Why they continue to play it is beyond me.

Hero by Enrique Iglesias
Which is ironic, because I love, love, love his father's music. But his whiny voice and dumb lyrics make my blood pressure rise, not that it takes much these days.

Very Distracted...

This week, I've been distracted.

I've been on myspace about every 3 minutes, and I started a facebook account because my brother is on there. (Anyone else on facebook? Seriously, what does it mean to "poke" someone?)

So, sorry for the lack of posts. If you're on any of the other sites, or Flickr, add me as a friend! I am a social butterfly.


And belated congrats to Scott & Amanda:
Welcome, Alex!

Blonde Again

So... on Friday, I got a haircut and color. I like the color, but I'm not convinced she knows how to cut hair.

Sick

Sorry I've been less than bloggerful this week. I got some kind of bug on Sunday and it's been haunting me all week.

Finally went to the doctor yesterday, and heard these reassuring words: "I don't know."

Yeah, that was my diagnosis. Where's Dr. House when you need him?

Just kidding. My doc was great. He said he didn't know what I have, but I was the sixth person to come in this week with the same symptoms. He said that he's followed up with two of them, and they're better, so I won't die.

Rx: Two Prilosec a day and plenty of yogurt.

The Wonder Years

wonder
noun
1. The emotion aroused by something awe-inspiring, astounding, or marvelous
2. Something that causes feelings of wonder; "the wonders of modern science"
3. A state in which you want to learn more about something [syn: curiosity]

When is the last time you felt wonder?

If you're like me, it's been a while. The ability to wonder diminishes with age. Experience lessens our capacity to wonder. Perhaps it's that there are fewer "firsts". As we age, there is less newness to the things that surround us. The world is mundane. Events are routine. Life loses its luster.

Watch young children, and you will see wonder. (Do you remember the magic of Christmas morning as a child?)

As a child, I wondered at movies. The town we grew up in had only one movie theater, and there was not much else in the way of recreation. Only one title showed per week, every night except Wednesdays, but Friday nights were the biggest night for the town to go out to the show. The previews we saw on TV as "coming soon to a theater near you" would arrive 6 months later, if at all. You can imagine the anticipation of waiting for a movie to arrive. Expectation was high. The night of the movie, we would arrive a half hour early, and wait in the line that wrapped around the corner. We would pay for our tickets ($3, if I recall), and go inside. In the tiny lobby, there was a concession stand with the usual fare. The aroma of fresh, salty, buttered popcorn would waft into the theater as you entered. The theater was huge, with a balcony. It was usually dimly lit when we entered. We would sit and wait for the previews to begin. (This was before the commercials and music that fill the waiting time.) The lights would go out, the curtains would open, and the screen would flicker to life. Oh, the thrill! The anticipation! The expectation of wonderful things to come. The darkness enveloped us and transported us to amazing places.

Even to this day, after seeing thousands of movies, I still get a tiny thrill when the lights go out.

Wonder is a powerful emotion, and it's not caused by small things. It's caused by grand events, marvelous sights, and magical moments. Joy is easily felt, with the right outlook. Happiness, even surprise, bubble up quickly and without much provocation. A funny card. An unexpected plot twist. Finding a good parking space.

Wonder must be experience on a greater scale. As an adult, there are still a few moments of wonder:

• The first time I saw Eastman Curtis give an altar call at a youth conference.
• Glimpses of my husband's wedding ring the first few months of marriage.
• Endless vistas of clouds from an airplane window.
• The gorgous horizon as we drove into Phoenix for the first time, with the majestic mountains and regal cacti.
• The first time I peered over the edge of the Grand Canyon.
• The first Sunday morning at The Life, looking at the crowded seats and it hit us: "We did it!"
• Last Saturday night at The Life, when God moved and we abandoned our schedule to let Him.
  

What makes you wonder?

I'm Thankful

At Bible study last night, we talked about how our thoughts and words shape our lives. The antidote to worry (or stress or negative thinking) is praise and thanksgiving. So... here's what I'm thankful this morning:

• A husband who loves all of me, not just the nice or sexy parts. He finds my habit of taking three months to unpack from a trip amusing. He endures my desire to do laundry only every few weeks with patience and only hints gently when he's down to the last pair of clean undies. He's got a great sense of humor about most of my annoying habits, and allows me to be me most of the time.
• Pastors who are truly wise. Brad blew my mind last night the way he handled a certain situation. When I would have (and did) reacted with condemnation, he spoke with authority, love and compassion. He and Noelle teach me so much in the way that they live their lives and deal with tough situations.
• A mom who knows even at 30 I'm not too old to get an Easter basket!
• My DVR. I know, it's sad, but it frees me up to do what's really important and still catch all my shows.
• A workplace that is fun, relatively stress-free and calm enough that I can usually steal a few minutes to blog. A boss who's crazy generous, and who genuinely has my best interest at heart.
• A husband who works extremely hard to provide a good life for me. (I can be thankful for him twice!) He's managed to network old relationships, develop new business, and maintain a great relationship with his former employer so successfully. Although I knew he could do it when we took the leap over a year ago, I thought that it would be rough, and some months would be very tight. We have been blessed with more than enough, and have never had to wonder if we could pay the bills.
• A bounty of relationships here in Arizona. It's never not felt like home. Whether it's the ones we brought with us or the new friends we've made, I have never felt alone or without a network of support. I know that I am blessed and that God has brought each of you into my life. I hope that I can be as much of a blessing to you as you all are to me.

That's a small start to a big list from a full heart. Even as I write, my heart swells with gratefulness to God for all his favor and blessings.

What are you thankful for?

I'm Alive...

... but the beginning of the month is the busiest time for me at work. I'm thinking deep thoughts and will post later this week, I promise.

I'm as sick of the spanking post as I'm sure you all are.

And since I promised I'd share my own views, here they are*:

I was spanked as a kid, and although I am sure there were hundreds of spankings, I only remember two.

One of them I remember because my brother framed me and I got in trouble for something he had done. That's OK, though. I'll get him back one of these days.

The other time I remember because of how embarrassing it was. My brother and I were playing at a friend's house, and I was old enough to have a crush on the guy, so I might have been 7 or 8. There was an unloaded BB gun, and although my mom had warned me not to point it at anyone, for some reason I pointed it at my brother's face. My mom spanked me with a bundle of dowel rods (our usual wooden spatula was at home) and broke them! It didn't even hurt that much... it was just so humiliating.

What I do remember from my childhood is that I knew that I knew that I knew that if Mom said she was going to spank me if I did something, she would. There was no idle threatening or counting to three in my house. If you were told not to do something, and you did it, you got spanked. That consistency taught me (quickly!) to do what I was told. Although I don't remember the spankings, and I'm sure there were many, I had a respect for authority and boundaries from a very young age.

That is why I will spank my children. I believe that if you are consistent with discipline when your child is 3 or 4, you won't have to be fighting with an uncontrollable 8-year-old or trying to make a 15-year-old understand boundaries. Teaching obedience, self-denial and respect at an early age should make parenting your child a blessing as he grows. I think that's in the Bible somewhere.

I do think that how you spank is very important. You have to connect the punishment to the action. I believe that you have to point out to a child the behavior that is wrong and clearly explain the consequences for continuing that action. (Of course, once you've told your son repeatedly that pushing a friend is wrong, you don't have to warn every time he does it. You can just spank.) Then, when the child chooses to do wrong (instead of unknowingly doing wrong... so-called "honest mistakes"), he has chosen his punishment over doing right.

Follow-up after the spanking is important, too. I never doubted that my parents loved me, even when I was unjustly punished. There was never a period of coldness after the spanking. After the punishment has been given, the child should be warmly welcomed back into family life, shown affection and forgiveness. A child needs to know that she is still loved and accepted, even when she does wrong.

As several of the comments pointed out, discipline for a child does have to take in account that child's personality and temperament. So I'm not saying that when I have children, God willing, I may not employ time outs or privilege restriction as punishment. I'm pretty sure I won't count. But don't hold me to it!

*All comments on parenting are coming from someone who has never had children. So take it for what it's worth. It's easy to know everything now, but when I've had 4 hours of sleep and my 2-year-old dumps his cereal on the floor and then pees on the carpet, I'm not sure how much of my own advice I'm going to remember to follow.

In both senses... I've been lost to the blogging world the last few weeks, and I am excited about the return of Lost.

This Wednesday, Lost returns with 16 new episodes! Although the weak have lost heart (Martin), the true believers are elated.

As for blogging, I have been busy at work training the new girl (the third generation of "new girl", for those of you who are keeping track), and it means I've had no down time at work. I promise, in a few weeks, I'll be back to my normal blogging self.

10. Laying flat on my back on a heating pad for three days... I think the pain is stress related, because I don't recall lifting anything heavy.

9. Working, working, working at work. Mostly catching up on filing and getting ready for another new girl. (Thanks, Cristin, for helping me out!)

8. Finally getting my windshield replaced. I've had a crack in it for 14 months! It is now a shiny sore thumb on my filthy car. Maybe once it stops raining, I'll clean my car up to match.

7. Watching a marathon of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip on Bravo. Matthew Perry is fantastic, and Amanda Peet, who I usually hate, is wonderful. It's on my DVR lineup now.

6. Making travel plans, rentals, purchases, schedules, etc. for the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Orlando. This is my least favorite part of what we do. I enjoy going to the NRB, but I hate all the work that goes into getting there. My boss keeps saying every year that this is the last year we exhibit... I hope he means it!!!

5. Checking out the brilliance on indexed. (Thanks, Matt, for the link! I love it!) This one is my favorite! >>>

4. Designing the graphics for our booth at the NRB. You can take a peek at them here.

3. Trying to get our January budget caught up with reality. I always procrastinate things I think are going to be complicated. It didn't help that the files were on my flash drive, which Martin left at Noelle's house for a couple weeks.

2. Wishing Martin were home to keep me warm! He's in Michigan with Brad and Wes at Rob Bell's Isn't She Beautiful conference. I can't believe how cold it's been here! Thank God we have heat now.

1. Waiting for the return of Lost. Oh, Jack, where art thou?

So we're back from Seattle...

• It only rained two of the five days we were there, so it was an unusual Christmas. This was my first Christmas in Seattle with no snow.
• My mom's new house is beautiful. This is the best home they've ever lived in, by far. They deserve great things, and I am happy for them.
• My grandpa passed away on the 23rd. I got to see him on Friday, and he died the next morning. It was a good homegoing for him, and although we are sad, we know he is in a much better place. I am so grateful that he hung on long enough for me to get there.
• Martin finally learned how to play poker, and he is very excited about it. Watch out, guys!
• Martin was asked by two different people at the airport if he was a UFC fighter because he was wearing his sweatshirt. I was sitting at the gate, reading my book, and I looked up to see him staring dreamily into the distance. "What are you doing?" I ask. He tells me he is thinking about training and fighting in the cage. He's got it all worked out: how his shoulders that dislocate easily can be an advantage. Please, someone, talk him out of this.
  
• We need to take down our Christmas decorations, because we're hosting a UFC night at our house on Saturday. Tito Ortiz v. Chuck Liddell: it's going to rock!!!

We got back late Tuesday night, and I haven't seen or heard from any of my friends (except for Tonya) since. It feels so weird to be disconnected from everyone... I miss you guys!

XXX

Yes, that's right. For the next 365 days, I am triple-X rated. At least that's easier to say than th... thu... thu... not 29 anymore.

I pondered the meaning of this day while in the shower this morning. I had some really deep thoughts. And since it's my birthday, you have to listen to them. I'm a survivor, really, and so I am going to develop some coping skills to make it through this decade:

1. I've decided to go with the Roman numeral expression of my age, because it's sexier.
2. This is the year that I start demurring to reveal my age.
3. And for the heck of it, I'm going to start lying about my weight and height! Heck, for a 125-pound woman of 6'2", I'm positively malnourished!
4. In keeping with #2, I shall go with the first word that comes to mind when speaking or blogging, and make everyone else just look it up if they don't know it!
5. I've decided that 30 is the new 12 (as the assurance from my boss' brother on Monday that "30 is the new 50!" did nothing to relieve my anxiety), and I have the acne to prove it. So if I roll my eyes and you and mutter "Whatever" under my breath, you know why.
6. The main reason I so feared this tomb... er, milestone... was not so much the agedness as what it signifies in my life. Ever since I actually was 12, I've had ideas of how my life would progress. I've hit the college, marriage and house goals, but I can't help but feel like we've failed on the kids goal. Also, at this year, I thought I would be a "grown-up", and I don't feel like one yet.
7. In keeping with #6, I've decided to no longer define myself by accomplishments, but by who and what I am.
   I am someone who cries at the homeless shelter when we run out of food.
   I am someone who laughs loudly at The Office, every time.
   I am someone who will show up to your kid's birthday party and every time you move, even if it's twice in the same year.
   I am someone who admits freely that she is wrong, when it happens, which is rarely.
   I am someone who does Sudoku puzzles... on the toilet.
   I am someone who takes three months to unpack.
   
8. I pondered whether or not someone of my numerical advancement should still color her hair on a whim, but I decided that it's still appropriate for another decade or so. My uncle Duane will be so pleased.
   
9. I will take comfort in the fact that many, many others are much, much older than me. And they seem to be doing quite well in their pulchritude.
10. Although my memory may slip as the years pass, I'm still lucid enough to remember who was nice today and who was naughty, and revenge will be sweet when their time comes.

So to the many, many of you who have called, emailed and texted their birthday wishes, thank you for thinking of me. Your friendship warms my heart.

And so it begins...

No, I'm not talking about my birthday again.

Today the influx of Christmas gifts at work began. This morning, we received a "tower" from Harry & David (see picture at right).

Thank goodness it contains more fruit and cheese than chocolates and sweets, but those will come soon. More chocolate and caramel corn and candy than the four of us can eat, and it seems like it never ends!!!

We immediately broke into the baklava... oh, it was good and so sweet! The lemon shortbread is also so tempting.

The last few years we've sent gifts from Hershey's, but as sick as we get of chocolate and sweets, we looked at alternatives this year and sent gifts from Usinger's instead. They sent us several gift packages to sample (just one of them pictured at left) and we are still working on the summer sausages, cheeses and spreads. It might not be much healthier than a load of chocolate, but it is tasty!!!

I have seriously gained about 15 pounds since I moved to Arizona, and I fault this workplace for it. Between the fully stocked fridge, freezer and snack cabinets; the four-course work dinners with "mandatory" dessert; these delicious gifts; and my boss' pressure to eat all the time, I have no chance to stay slim!

In two weeks,
the world
as we know it
will end...

Let's start the Christmas list:

• Scooba
• These lovelies
• Or these
• Or these
• This with this (in parrot)
• This (in buff white)
• Or this (in green)

Anyone else want to share their wish list?