Sunday, December 25, 2005

Merry Christmas!

Something I've realized while watching my niece and nephew rip open their presents and become instantly disinterested with that one while they run for another present to open.... my manicure is not condusive to putting together toys and opening toy packages that are not only child proof but aunt and uncle proof too. I guess this is why I don't have kids now, I want a nice manicure, so I can't have kids. :) Just kidding - Christmas was fabulous this year, we spent yesterday morning doing the family thing since my brother had to go to his inlaws this year.... It felt like Christmas morning yesterday with my whole family there and a nice breakfast etc etc - then we did the Santa thing this morning at my sister's house and Charlie and Kate are possibly the cutest kids on the face of the planet - but we all already knew that anyway right? ;)

Saturday, December 24, 2005

Christmas Eve

Tonight I helped performed the Christmas Eve service at my home church in Liberty - Liberty Christian Church. It was really great to see my home congregation and just be there for such a special service. Leading worship has become somewhat complacent for me, since it is actually a job for me now, so it was nice to be in a place where it was rather special! I helped lead along with Dave Culver and Aaron Todd who is also a Timothy at our church. He is starting seminary in January and currently works as the director of youth ministry (I think) at Hillside Christian Church. Who would've though two of us from that youth group age group would have ended up in the ministry? It was wonderful to see everyone and I'm sorry I could chat more with everyone there - but they should know how much it meant for me to be there and that I'm so thankful for such a wonderful and loving church family!

Friday, December 23, 2005

Christmas Eve Eve

"Was it hard to see Brandie and Jason together?" - I almost didn't even notice, so no, it wasn't hard to see them in general, or even see them together, I really don't care that they are dating - if they are happy, I'm happy. Instead, it was horrible to see you and have you buy me dinner and open the door for me and call me "girlie" and "blondie" like you always have - but then I knew that at the end of the night you weren't going to say "I love you" when I walked out the door - but that I was still going to want to say it to you.... Why are you the one who said "I Love you" first - but now I still feel like I'm in love with you? Why can you separate your feelings and not confuse a Christmas kiss with somethine more, something that still lingers, or does it? Why am I the one that broke it off because I was in self-preservation mode and thought that it was better for me - but in the end I'm still the one hurting? Why am I in constant self-preservation mode, trying to prevent myself from getting hurt, but in the end it hurts more?

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Mr. Gingerbread Man - Where are your balls?


I made a gingerbread house with my niece, nephew and sister today and Kate wanted to know where Mr. Gingerbread man's (gum)balls' were... how do you answer that?

Sunday, December 18, 2005

One Semester Done

I'm through my first semester of seminary! I can't believe it's already over - it feels like I just moved here! It was an amazingly easy transition though and I have enjoyed every minute of being here so far. It was definitely a much easier transition than going to undergrad - I remember having a really hard time with that. Anyway, I have one semester of Hebrew, Theology and Intro to the Bible under my belt! And with decent grades - a definite bonus! Now I start January term, Jan 2 - I'm taking "Judeo-Christian Dialogue" which I am pretty excited about. It should be a really interesting class. But for now, I have two weeks off class and one Sunday off from work, so I will be home for about 6 days - it will be great to see my family and friends and good way to spend the holidays!

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Overreacting

So I know I'm probably overreacting to this whole situation, but I am ABSOLUTELY devasted at my computer. I feel like I can't breath and that I'm going to vomit every time I think about it. I mean, I guess it's nice knowing that I'm going to be getting a new computer in the next few weeks, but I honestly don't care. I would rather spend the rest of my entire life not using a computer if it meant that I could have my hard drive back. I have hundreds of dollars in downloaded songs, another couple hundred in downloaded applications and programs, and how do you place a value on the memories of the last three years of your life? Every picture I've taken in the last three years was on my computer, and I had no way of backing them up, so no - I have no back up - I know I should have done something - and thanks for reminding me - but no that's not helping me any. I still feel like I've lost someone in my life that I deeply cared about, not my computer, I'm not that ridiculous - but every picture, every memory, every graduation memory, every picture I had of my niece when she was born, every picture I had of my grandfather in the last three years, my brother's wedding - I could go on and on and continue to cry about it... I'm absolutely paralyzed and have no idea what to do about it....

Monday, December 12, 2005

My Computer Crashed

Soooo - my computer has decided to crash - dead - died - can't bring back to life - can't retrieve any data - can't use it at all - can't get my final papers off the hard drive - dead. Perfect - the week before finals and my computer decides to die.... that's fabulous, especially since my notes for all my classes is on my computer.... how do you tell your professor that your computer actually ate all your notes and has since died, so the computer can't give it back? Think they have any simpathy? Let's hope so! And if you know of any companies having a good deal on computers or have any suggestions concerning laptops/desktops - buying a new computer.... let me know - I'll be in the market for a new computer the day after Christmas!!

Saturday, December 10, 2005

The Real Night Before Christmas

T’was the night before Christmas
and all through the town
not a sign of Baby Jesus
was anywhere to be found.

The people were all busy
with Christmas time chores,
like decorating, and baking,
and shopping in stores.

No one sang, “Away in a manger,
no crib for a bed.”
Instead, they sang of Santa
dressed up in bright red.

Mama watched Martha Stewart,
Papa drank beer from a tap.
As hour upon hour
the presents they’d wrap.

When what from the TV
did they suddenly hear?
Except an ad, which told
of a big sale at Sears.

So away to the mall
they flew like a flash.
Buying things on credit
and a few on cash!

And, as they made their way home,
from their trip to the mall,
did they think about Jesus?
Oh, no… not at all.

Their lives were so busy
With their Christmas time things.
No time to remember
Christ Jesus, the King.

There were presents to wrap
and cookies to bake.
How could they stop and remember
who died for their sake?

To pray to the Savior,
They had not time to stop.
Because they needed more time,
to “Shop ‘til they dropped!”

On Wal-mart! On K-mart!
On Target! On Penney’s!
On Hallmark! On Zales!
A quick lunch at Denny’s.

From the big stores downtown
to the stores at the mall,
they would dash away, dash away,
and visit them all!

And up on the roof,
there arose such a clatter,
as Grandpa hung icicle lights,
up on his brand new step ladder.

He hung lights that would flash.
He lung lights that would twirl.
Yet, he never once prayed to Jesus,
Light of the World.

Christ’s eyes…how they twinkle!
Christ’s Spirit…how merry!
Christ’s love…how enormous!
All our burdens, He’ll carry!

So instead of being busy,
overworked, and uptight,
let’s put Christ back in Christmas,
and enjoy some good nights!

Friday, December 09, 2005

This is REAL snow!


When the weathermen in Kansas City forecast snow - they mean SNOW like this picture of my parents back porch.... now when they predicted snow in Kentucky - everyone on the news made such a huge deal and freaked out the entire city, closing tons of schools, including two colleges that I know of, and made for just all out pandamonium. But turns out we got sleet/freezing rain and less than an inch of snow. Now to prevent myself from becoming the big bitch that I'm sure people will assume me to be if I keep going on and on about this sort of thing, I'm going to make fun of KY once - and once only - concerning this subject and then let you judge for yourself. When you say snow, you better be talking about at least 3 inches, because unless all the grass is covered and I can't see the topes of blades of grass, it doesn't count. Learn to drive on slick roads people, I've seen people freak out when it rains and drive crazy like that in the summer. You may be able to move away from snow people, but you can never move away from rain, so learn to drive in any kind of slippery weather starting with and including rain. No you don't need to run to the store and stock up on milk and canned food everytime it threatens to snow. If people in Colorado can somehow manage and somehow don't need to run to the store...um....everday, then so can we. I'm just amazed and I guess very thankful that I grew up in the midwest where you can appreciate a good snowfall and teach your kids to do doughnuts in the parking lots rather than teaching them to freak out at the possibility of snow. Ok....ok...I'm done now....maybe...

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Touche Yosef....touche

Yosef's Top Ten Things to Do if Another Bush Wins in 2008 (not necessarily recommended -- just possibilities)

10. Find a way to kill off mass quantities of brain cells so you can actually start believing what Bush says. It'll make life easier. Ignorance, after all, is bliss.
9. Cry.
8. Prepare to bomb another country whose populace is generally "darker" than our Anglo ruling class... ...under false pretense of necessity and hocus-pocus groundless intelligence that exploits many Americans' cultural and geographic ignorance, once again reemphasizing our stupidity and general unworthiness to the rest of the world. Woo, that one was smokin'.
7. Get one of those dumbass bumper stickers that'll say something like, "Don't blame me, I voted for ________"
6. Apologize for your country's general stupidity and ignorance anytime you go overseas and meet people who'll ask you questions like, "Why did zee Americans elekt Meestar Boosh again?"
5. Engage in finding, chemically, "alternate realities" as a form of escapism
4. Prepare for Israel and Palestine not to resolve anything, with our full backing
3. Prepare for the passing of the "Super Patriot" Act -- whereby Arabic as a spoken language is simply outlawed.
2. Change your name from Habib to Mark
1. Move (to Canada, Netherlands, etc.)
Ok, now how about some predictable commentary (a.k.a., Republican/right wing backlash) about how if I don't like it here, I SHOULD just move and good riddance (i.e., the redneck "love it or leave it" philosophy, which defeats the whole purpose of democracy and intelligent, critical discourse in an open society, etc.). C'mon! Any takers? I'm tingling in anticipation of the comments I may get...

Loose Screw

It's official - it's been confirmed - I've officially been diagnosed as medically having a screw loose. :) I went to the dentist today - the implant that is screwed into my jaw up to my eye socket - all good, so no worries. But the screw that screws into the implant may be stripped or may just be loose, so nothing too big, just routine kind of stuff for me! But yes, you can now officially accuse me of having a screw loose.... oh lord - who knows where this will lead!

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

I've Never...

I got this in an email... what the hell - lets make it all public :)
(X) smoked a cigarette
(X) crashed a friend's car or relative -I crashed into Pam's car with mine the night before we left for our cruise! Ham! :)
( ) stolen a car - and why would you be admitting this to all your friends on email?
(X) been in love
(X) been dumped
(X) been asked to be a God Parent
( ) been fired
( ) been in a fist fight
(X) changed a tire
(XXXXXXXXX) snuck out of your parent's house - I wouldn't have had a social life in HS had I not!
(X) had feelings for someone who didn't have them back - don't know - they were confused :)
( )been arrested...
(X) gone on a blind date
(X) lied to a friend
(X) still have friends from grade school
(X) skipped school
( ) seen someone die
( ) been to Canada
(X) been to Mexico
( ) been to Africa
( ) been to China
What the heck - where are all the other cool countries in the world like New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Spain, Amsterdam, Belize, and Grand Cayman?
(X) been on a plane
( ) purposely set a part of yourself on fire... WHAT KIND OF A QUESTION IS THIS!
(x) eaten sushi
(X) become a minister .... I'm in the process - and what kind of question is this - are there honestly that many people doing this? Because where are they if there are that many people
(X) been water-skiing
(X) been snow-skiing
(X) met someone from the internet
(X) been at a concert
(X) taken pain killers
(X) love someone or miss someone right now
(X) laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by
(X) made a snow angel
(X) had a tea party (as a kid) - I had one on my 20th B-Day in NZ too :)
(X) flown a kite
(X) built a sand castle
(X) gone puddle jumping
(X) played dress up - my mind is in the gutter-I'm going to hell :)
(X) jumped into a pile of leaves
(X) gone sledding
(X) cheated while playing a game (do drinking games count?)
(X) been lonely
(X) fallen asleep at work/school
(XXXX) used a fake ID - again I wouldn't have had a social life in college had I not!
(X) watched the sun set
(X) felt an earthquake - in NZ - they have over 10,000 every year!
(X) been in a tornado
(X) slept beneath the stars
(X) been tickled
(X) been robbed
(X) been misunderstood
(X) said something your sorry for saying
(X) petted a reindeer/goat/kangaroo
(X) won a contest
(X) run a red light/stop sign
( ) been suspended from school
(X) been in a car crash - I swear it wasn't my fault!!
(X) had braces - and EVERY other tooth problem you could imagine
(X) felt like an outcast/third person
( ) eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night
(X) had deja vu - does it count that you've been to the Night Club Deja Vu? ;)
(X) danced in the moonlight
(X) liked the way you looked
( ) witnessed a crime
(X) questioned your heart
(X) been obsessed with post-it notes (Don't hold this against me please)
(X) squished mud through your bare feet
(X) been lost
(X) been on the opposite side of the country - all sides of it!
(X) swam in the ocean
(X) felt like dying
(X) cried yourself to sleep
( ) played cops and robbers - again my mind is in the gutter - but no - haven't done this one :)
(X) recently colored with crayons - I work with 3 year olds every W & F - what do you think?
(X) sang karaoke
(X) paid for a meal with only coins - I don't think a meal - but definitely gas!
(X) done something you told yourself you wouldn't
( ) made prank phone calls
( ) cut down your own christmas tree
( ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) danced in the rain
(X) written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) watched the sun rise with someone you care about - yay for Fiji!!
(X) blown bubbles
( ) made a bonfire on the beach
( ) crashed a party
(X) gone roller-skating
(X) had a wish come true
(X) gone skydiving
(X) gone bunjee jumping
( ) ever had anyone throw you a surprise party for your birthday
(X) kept up with family and friends thru the email
( ) entered anything into the county fair
( ) allowed your pet to do things you would never allow your child to do

Friday, December 02, 2005

Awkward Stage

So when they say that everyone goes through an "awkward stage" - I was the epitome of awkwardness in 6th grade - I think I take the cake on everyone. Besides the fact that my parents decided to buy me some ridiculously oversized glasses when I couldn't see the chalkboard anymore and I was TOTALLY a school nerd because I really liked school and did really well at it, I had the worst of teeth/braces problems. Kids - I've had two teeth missing from my mouth since I was in 6th grade... fabulous eh? Granted, they put braces on me which covered up that fact, so it wasn't quite as bad, but then I had to have about 5 surgeries to correct my teeth and get implants that are screwed into my jaw pretty much up to my eye socket, and then of course the re-constructive gum surgery.... yadda yadda yadda.... I thought this was all over. I thought I was all done. Well turns out my implants are moving and having problems, so I'm going to the dentist next week - which makes me nervous in and of itself not knowing this dentist, but I'm going back because I have to get it all corrected again. I'm really quite upset about this, I really thought going through that awkward stage was over. I've always been a big smile-er, and big on facial expressions - so the fact that my smile isn't what it is supposed to be is really really distressing to me. I may be vain - but it really is a huge issue of self esteem if you can't smile like you want to. Just a laugh or when it's time for family pictures.... I hate that I may have to start this crap all over again - I hate that I have to feel like I'm in 8th grade again and the awkward girl that no one wants to talk to because her teeth look weird. Plus the dentist office called my house today to check and see if I had a cell phone. She said, "It might snow tomorrow and we want to make sure we can call all of our patients if the doctors can't come in." - I'm really not going to like KY in the winter with everyone freaking out about snow. Damn it - learn to drive in the snow - people in Denver - hell people in Missouri do it all the time - every freaking year! - OK, I guess I'm taking my frustrations out elsewhere....