Countdowns etc.
Jon's 27th birthday: 12 days
Baby shower I'm throwing for Ricci: 30 days
Trip to Germany: 43 days
Bridal shower I'm throwing for Katrina: 65 days
3-day cruise to Baja: 85 days
Katrina's wedding: 93 days

Mood: thoughtful, "listy" (want to make lists)
Music: City on a Hill (I think this is the original one)

A good friend asked me yesterday how I'm doing. Not as a wife/employee/friend, etc., but personally. How I'm doing personally. How am I doing personally? I realized that I really do define how I'm doing by external things ("How are you doing, Katie?" "Great! Jon and I are doing really well, my job's exciting and wonderful, and I'm having a good time working on the house"). I also realized that that is completely backwards. Ashley put it well when she said basically we should be focusing first on our walk with/faith in God, reading His Word and spending time praying, etc., and then use that as a lens through which to look at the rest of our lives.

I've felt far away from God in the past months (feelings aren't all important, I know, but I just remember much more of a closeness that isn't there now because I'm not spending time reading and praying). It's like everything's going fine and great in my life... I like my life. But how much better would my life be if I were in the Word daily and looking at things through the lens of my faith in Jesus Christ?

We had a fun, nice, busy weekend, which included dinner out with Jeremy and his new fiancee, lunch and new condo viewing with Katrina (my college roommate) and (her fiance) Phil, a surprise 30th birthday party for Rob, a terrific church service including a message from 1 Samuel, and normal things around the house including completion of a 5-hour editing job.
 
Oh, and I'd like to echo Lori's comments: I hate the new "user-friendly" blogger setup.

I'm trying to create one of those borders across the top of this page (to the left of the "archive" stuff), but I am HTML impaired. Can anyone help? I tried it, but it wouldn't stay at the right size or would change places if the window minimized. I don't know how to do tables or anything.
 

 

Oh well, no big deal if it doesn't work.

Our friend, Jon's former roommate, Jeremy, is engaged (finally)! When Jon told me Jeremy was engaged and that he had talked to him on the phone, I asked, “Who’s he engaged to?”
Jon said, “Oh, I didn’t think to ask.”
I asked, “How long have they been dating?”
“I don’t know that either.”
“When’s the wedding?”
“I have no idea.”
Ha! Do guys even talk? We're going out to dinner with them tonight. I don't think we know the fiancee, but I'm looking forward to meeting her.

OK, this is rather juvenile of me, but I just read these in the archives of someone else's blog and found them so hilarious!

WOULD YOU RATHER...
eat a shot glass full of live wasps OR eat a shot glass?
shave your mom's bikini line OR your dad's butt?
be ruled exculsively by your heart OR exclusively by your mind?
only be able to tell lies OR have to scream out every true thought that crosses your mind?
take back one thing you said or did OR say one thing you never said or did?
have a small butt on your forehead OR two little feet dangling beneath your chin?
walk around all day with a dead mouse in your butt OR a dead frog in your mouth?

We went to Inka Mama's today for a coworker's birthday, and it was really good (Peruvian food)! I got the Salpicon de Pollo, a delicious salad with chicken. I can't believe I've never been to this place before. I counted the salad as 8 WW points, but it might have been even fewer--excellent!

The shower on Saturday for Kim went well. I think 18 people were there, and I realized that that is about the maximum seating capacity in our house (including bringing in extra chairs). 15 would have been a little better, but we all knew each other so sitting close was OK. Kim got some really cute things for little Samuel. Oh, and I liked the cucumber sandwiches I made but decided I'll make them on Ritz or Wheat Thin crackers next time instead of the cocktail rye bread. And I don't need to make quite as much.

Here's one of the things I got for Kim (it's a hoodie robe & washcloth set):


The rest of the weekend went by really quickly. Jon had a work event he had to attend for most of Sunday, so we didn't have our usual church-lunch-relax day. But we did go out to dinner with Scott and Kim on Saturday night, which was good since we hadn't seen them in almost a month (they were on vacation for most of that).

I don't like stirring up controversy. And I'm no (academic) theologian. But some Christian doctrines/theologies get me so upset and frustrated and flustered, especially when I think about how many people believe them. It makes my heart ache. And I don't get upset because the beliefs "sound wrong." No, I've read and researched (the Bible and various commentaries by authors on different sides) and prayed, and I know what the beliefs are. I hate arguing about it--no one I've talked to about it has ever changed his/her mind (plus I get flustered and know in my heart what to say but it doesn't come out clearly. Jon's much better at this--keeping a clear head in any situation). I just hate the idea that these beliefs are perpetuated in schools and churches and evangelism.

Countdowns etc.
Baby shower I'm throwing for Kim: 3 days
Jon's 27th birthday: 27 days
Baby shower I'm throwing for Ricci: 45 days
Trip to Germany: 58 days
Bridal shower I'm throwing for Katrina: 80 days
3-day cruise to Baja: 100 days
Katrina's wedding: 108 days

Mood: content
Music: Next Door Savior ("A Collection of Hymns") I really like Fernando Ortega and especially love "How Deep the Father's Love."

Having such a nice weekend makes it difficult to come back to work! We had a great 3 days. My boss let everyone go home 2 hours early on Friday, so I ran errands and got a bunch done before Jon got home. On Saturday, we went to breakfast at Ruby's and then mostly did work around the house and waited for my lovely washer and dryer to be delivered. We also went to Ellie Vreeland's 2nd birthday party. (Will we invite a whole bunch of adults to our children's birthdays? I'll have to think about that one.) On Sunday, we left the house at 9:00 a.m. to get down to Lantern Bay Amphitheater in Dana Point, where Coast Bible held its 4th of July church service. The service was excellent. It was followed by a great church picnic. We left the picnic around 2:00 and went to a few stores to find the right hook-ups for the washer/dryer (we had some already, but they weren't long enough to do what I wanted to do, which was make the washer go on the left and the dryer on the right. Our house was built for it to be opposite, but that would mean the washer and dryer doors would open toward each other, instead of away from each other). Then we went to the Rileys' house for another 4th of July picnic at 3:00 and stayed until 8:00! By 8:00, I was getting anxious to try out my new machines, so Jon took me home, hooked everything up, and I had fun. By Monday, I was searching around the house for things to wash. :) On Monday, we also went out to brunch at Denny's, and we got the house nice and tidy for our mid-day visitors: Al and Janet Richer. Al and Janet are missionaries stationed at the Bible school Jon went to in Wisconsin. They were out in Scottsdale, AZ, visiting their son and decided to "swing by"! They'd never been anywhere in California besides LAX, so we took them to Laguna Beach and walked around, then we ate at BJ's. I'd met them once before. It was fun watching Jon reminisce. They ended up staying the night on our air mattress--we were glad to have them (and help them save motel money!)!

Introvert/Extrovert
Something I've known about myself for a long time but only recently was able to put into words is the fact that I need to be alone to re-energize. I guess that means I'm an introvert, but I don't know if I understood all of the implications of that word until recently, when some people we know were having a rough time and had to live with us for a while. I'm accustomed to getting home from work around 5:30 and having at least an hour--often more--to myself to veg, read, watch TV, clean, and start thinking about what to make for dinner before Jon gets home. I didn't realize how much I need that, and it took me a little while with these people living with us to realize why I was so down/depressed and tired--no alone time meant no rejuvenation!

Jon is an extrovert and almost always would rather spend time around other people, not alone. I think he tries to understand me in this area, but it must be hard for him since he really can't relate. Thankfully, being with Jon is just the same for me energy-wise as being by myself. I guess that's because I don't feel like I have to constantly make an effort to fill up silences or entertain him or even to put on a happy face if I'm not happy. Thank goodness for my husband.

We're going to see Spider-Man 2 tonight. Sam on channel 5 said good things about it, so I'm looking forward to it.

Ricci should be here any minute to have lunch with me. I hope she's "showing" (5 months pregnant)!

Overwhelmed
I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I took down my wall calendar here at work to write in what's going on in July, August, September, October, and things are already too full for my liking. Most of the things are fun things, but I get overwhelmed thinking about all the planning I have to do for them.

July:
3-attending birthday party for friends' 2-year-old (no planning)
3-staying around the house until the new washer/dryer are delivered
10-throwing baby shower for a friend (still need to organize/plan for food, furniture rearrangement and getting more chairs)
sometime-need to coordinate with tile guys (when installing? Do we need to buy the grout and stuff ourselves? What about the baseboards and carpet--will they take those up or do we need to?)

August:
7-doing things for Jon's birthday (August 3) (everything's set)
21-throwing baby shower for a friend (still need guest list from her; will buy materials and make invitations and need to plan the rest of the stuff. Thankfully, all the guests will be different from the July shower, so I can do the same foods and decorations; will probably even make the same invitations since her baby is also a boy)

September:
3-12-going on trip to Germany (packing and getting ready for trips like this sometimes make me anxious. Will need to get a little something to bring to our friends)
25-throwing large bridal shower for a friend (have started planning this one but am frustrated with the lady who offered to help and offered her backyard/garden as location. Respond to my e-mails, lady! I will do invitations, games, vases for flowers, one food dish, coordination of other helpers, more?)

October:
15-18-going on cruise (this doesn't make me as anxious as the Germany trip because it isn't as long, but it is the weekend before this next thing)
23-bridesmaiding in wedding (need to decide if dress fits OK or if I should get it altered...it's borderline and looks OK if I stand up super straight, which I never do. Need to find out which days I'm going to have to take off work for pre-wedding activities. Gift? Shoes? This day is also Lucy's 18th birthday)

Random thoughts
So things are actually setting in that annoying salesperson Kate is actually gone. Her last day was about 2 weeks ago. I'm loving this. I'm no longer wondering if I really want to answer my phone when it rings. My heart no longer drops when I receive a new request and wonder who the salesperson is. This is great!

Our floor tile finally came in. We bought 700 square feet of the stuff back in November (that's right, 7 months ago) and were told it was out of stock but would be in by January. Obviously, January came and went, and so did February, March, April, May... In May we went in and picked a new tile that was more expensive (but we didn't pay anything). That one was out of stock too, but it just came in this past week. They're delivering it for free today... I'm not too impressed with their customer service. But pretty soon we'll be able to get rid of our 1977 brown carpet. Yay!

I still can't wait to do laundry. The washer and dryer are being delivered on Saturday.

My husband is working so hard. It's definitely wearing on him that the company isn't doing much better. He's putting in all this work without a whole lot of "return on investment." :( I made some of his favorite food (my meatloaf, which I never had growing up but which isn't too bad, and my mom's potato casserole, and salad too) last night because I see how hard he is working and I love him.

Lucy
I just found out that Lucy did get into the school she wanted to go to! She applied last year to James Madison University (JMU) and George Mason University (GMU), but George Mason was just because she felt like she had to apply to more than one; she really wanted to go to JMU. All of her close friends also applied early decision to JMU and got in; Lucy got deferred/put on the waiting list. :( So she applied at the regular application time and again got put on the waiting list. If you know Lucy, you know that she doesn't get very emotional or too attached to anything; she's so easy-going. But she really wanted this. Only last month did they find out that her high school was reporting her GPA incorrectly (some of her honors classes in California didn't transfer over correctly to Virginia), so the high school did contact JMU to let them know of her higher GPA, but still nothing. Housing applications were due to the school for Fall '04 students last week, so when that date came and went, I think Lucy just resigned herself to being happy about GMU.

Then today, she got a phone call: she's in! JMU, here she comes! I'm so excited for her. She's going to major in Political Science, thanks to an amazing teacher this year at her school.

Well we did it... we bought way above what we were planning for the washer and dryer, but I am so excited. I love them. And we got 12 months 0% financing plus free delivery and $250 in (possible) energy rebates (possible because they're first come, first served).

Whirlpool Washer:

Whirlpool Dryer:


I can't wait to do laundry!

I'm sitting here during my favorite time of week! Friday late afternoons are the best... just an hour left of work (um, and blogging counts as work), plans for a relaxing weekend, sleeping in on Saturday.

I bought a print of "America the Beautiful" by Wendy Wegner last week, and I got a frame for it this week. It has all of the colors I like (reds, blues, and greens), but this is the first "folk" kind of art I've gotten. I'm going to have to get used to it! I got a very simple dark wood frame for it and hung it above the couch in the living room (took down all the other stuff that was there except for a plate).

Countdowns
Baby shower I'm throwing for Kim: 15 days
Jon's 27th birthday: 39 days
Trip to Germany: 70 days
3-day cruise to Baja: 112 days

So, we need a new washer and dryer. My parents gave us their old ones when we bought our house, because they were moving across the country and wanted new ones themselves. So these 20-year-old machines have been working just fine (though only one cycle--out of four--on the washer works, and only two work on the dryer). I think the machines crossed the line, though, when the dryer door broke, and now we are using a cardboard tube to hold the door closed while clothes dry. It's kind of ghetto but funny. Sears has a 12-month, 0% financing deal going on right now (and free delivery), so I think we're going to head over there this week to check out our options.

Dream sets below!

Noooooooooo!

Which "Saved By The Bell" Character Are You?
I never wanted to be Jessie! And I've never been addicted to caffeine pills. :)

Thanks to Lori for finding this quiz.