Beware the Ides of March!

Recently I went to Barnes & Noble. I cannot spend a lot of time in a place like that because I find quickly that I have no self control. I love books and I want to own them all. I purchased 5 books on that trip - a soup cookbook, an ethnic food cookbook (both from the bargain priced section), The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, Grimm's Fairy Tales and a copy of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The cookbooks are because they were really good deals and sounded like they had some good stuff in them. I read cookbooks for pleasure sometimes. I think I might have more cookbooks than my parents do now. I do use them!

The Hiding Place is just a good book that I would like my own copy of. It didn't break the bank, either ;). Grimm's Fairy Tales is a classic and I would like to be able to read it and read it to others. I have a two year old moving in to my apartment in one week, so it might get some use while she is here. If nothing else, I'll read it.

Julius Caesar is an interesting choice for me. I have not historically been a big Shakespeare fan. It is mostly because I find plays harder to read than novels. I also tend to prefer prose over poetry, so a play written in verse isn't usually the first thing I would choose to read. That and Shakespeare just reminds me of required reading in high school. So when I wandered through the Shakespeare section I perused the titles for any of the plays that I remembered enjoying more than others. I picked up Julius Caesar because I have never read it. Why this one wasn't required in high school is something of a mystery, especially since we read other plays of his multiple times over the course of 4 years. I chose to try this one out because the play is only on the right side of the book and the notes are on the facing page, so there's no jumping to the bottom or end of the book to check the notes - they are there for you as you go along. So now I am reading Shakespeare. So far the experience has been pleasant. Hopefully I'll start reading more now. I tend to read in spurts and I've been going through a literary famine for too long.

Speaking of reading, I have gotten magazine subscriptions somewhat mysteriously. I had a subscription to Newsweek that just ran out. I have no idea where it came from and really don't like Newsweek, so I never read it. Yesterday I got Men's Vogue in the mail. What on earth? I threw it away. Really not my thing. Where are these things coming from?

So my new sofa is arriving tomorrow. This is sooner than I had planned, so the living room is going to be full of places to sit for the next week. Things are going to have to be moved around a lot to accommodate the furniture then moving. It will all be over soon! I'll try to take pictures of things in their various stages so you can all see what fun I'm having. ;)

Prayer Request

Please pray for Ezekiel. He's 8 months old and an MRI revealed a mass in his brain. I don't have more details than that, but God knows what's going on!

Pie, Second Edition

I made a peach pie yesterday. It was more lazy than the last pie, but in a different way. I bought pie filling and pie crust mix. So I added water to the pie crust, mixed, rolled, put into pan, added filling, made a lattice top crust and baked. I actually liked the pie crust, so that tells me that it's good stuff ;). It baked really well and was easy to work with, both before and after baking. It was more of a thin, soft crust rather than flaky, for texture references, but that's perfectly fine with me. I'll have to keep Jiffy pie crust mix in mind for the future, but also remember to buy two cans of filling instead of just one, since the pie was rather thin, if I decide to go with the easy way to make pie.

Mom, I cheated on my crust. It was easy, tasted good, and I still got to sprinkle cinnamin and sugar on the scraps. Perhaps one day I will try my own, but for now, I found something that works. :)

Living Room

Not long before I left California I went with some of my friends from church to the Hollywood Bowl for a concert. It was a French themed evening, featuring music from France, music about France, can-can dancers and a French band. The French band sang a song called "Living Room" that was all in French, except for part of the chorus:

Living, living, living room...

I have no idea what the song was about other than that right there. Odd though it may be, when I went to update my blog, that's what came to mind.

My roommate is moving out in 13 days and is taking the couch, chair and TV that are in our living room. This means it's time to redecorate. Today I made the first major step and ordered a small sectional sofa that should seat 4 comfortably and possibly another person as well. One side of the sectional folds out into a 6 inch "mattress". I doubt that it is the best bed ever, but it should suffice to hold a guest, or two if they really like each other. I have been watching sales and there was a pretty good one this weekend, and since they contact you in 1-2 weeks to schedule delivery, the time was right to buy. Any earlier and I might have to find a place to put an extra sofa and any later and I go through life with no living room furniture for longer than I care to.

I would like to thank the governments of the United States of America and the State of New York for helping me save up money to fund this project. The money they have helped me save will cover the cost of a new sofa and a new television, perhaps with a little bit left over for the purchase of artwork or a chair.

In other news, from the rumors around the office, the individuals chosen for the job for which I interviewed in January have been selected, and I am not one of them. I am okay with this. I have not been told officially one way or the other, however. Rumor also has it that next week we will be told what our wage increases, effective in March, will be. This rumor indicates that they will be very nice increases. We shall see.

Recurring Dreams

Along the recent blogging theme of recent dreams, I have two that haunt me from time to time. They are related dreams but different. One is trying to find a place to answer nature's call and the other is trying to find a place to shower.

The first is something that I dream sometimes when I really do need to use the restroom. I can remember traumatizing toilet dreams from when I was a child. I can find toilets, but none that are in working order. They are filled to the brim, just really dirty, or in a public place where there is no privacy. I go from restroom to restroom (and there are always several of them) and can never find a toilet that I can use. It's disturbing.

The second is similar. I want to take a shower, but the places I find with showers have windows that can't be covered, doors that can't be closed, or are just in the middle of rooms full of people that I cannot find a way to make private. I will find one that looks like it is safe to use and suddenly discover some reason why it can be seen by any number of people.

I'm not sure what these say about me (other than I like to shower in complete privacy and was about to use a toilet when it overflowed when I was a kid), but they are recurrent themes. Both dreams are full of distress, and nobody else seems to think that anything is wrong with the situation...

Be Lifted Up

Because Erin asked...

1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY?" YOU SAY?
Cowboy Take Me Away (Dixie Chicks) - I guess that's a "Yes"?

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Sparks and Shadows (Twila Paris) - This could mean...anything

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (Fernando Ortega) - I guess I like the strong, silent type...

HOW DO YOU FEEL NOW?
Blessed Be Your Name (Newsboys) - Can't argue with this one!

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Seeing & Singing (Matt Redman) - Interesting, I like...

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
In Christ Alone (off of a compilation CD) - ;)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Goodbye Earl (Dixie Chicks) - Um...do they want to kill me or kill someone for me or think that I want to kill someone?

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Mass in C Minor, K 427, "Great", Sanctus (Mozart) - I don't even know how to respond to that

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN?
Innocent (Third Day) - My thoughts are innocent? Is that what that means?

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Bodas De Prata & Quatro Cantos (Yo-Yo Ma) - Okay...

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
House of Memories (Ten Shekel Shirt) - Couldn't this be applicable to almost anyone? It's like a fortune cookie's response...

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Nothing But the Blood (Matt Redman) - True.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
If the Fall Don't Kill You (Travis Tritt) - Really, this isn't my aspiration

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
La Vita E Bella (Nicola Piovani - Life is Beautiful Soundtrack) - That's a nice response!

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Too Country (Brad Paisley) - Doubtful

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Requiem in D Minor, K 262, Introitus: Requiem Aeternam (Mozart) - I would love to have this played at my funeral. This really is what came up!

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Awesome God (Michael W. Smith) - I never thought of that as a "hobby"...

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
The Danse (Caedmon's Call) - Taken literally just from the title, I guess I'm afraid of dancing. The song is about how creation is a dance and the fall was a missed step and how we should yield all of our steps to God. I guess yielding is a scary thing. It was actually the topic of this morning's sermon!

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Sancta Maria (Charlotte Church) - I'm a closet Catholic?

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Love Is a Sweet Thing (Faith Hill) - I guess I like them

WHAT IS THE THEME SONG TO YOUR LIFE?
Dust on the Bible (Mac Wiseman) - I don't read my Bible often enough, apparently.

WHAT DESCRIBES YOU?
This Is My Father's World (Chris Rice) - Rather indirect answer, don't you think?

WHAT WILL YOU NAME THIS BULLETIN?
Be Lifted Up (Paul Oakley) - Well, there you have it.

Just like Mom

I now have an iPod.  I wanted to be just like my mother.  She got hers first.  Is it sad that my mom got an MP3 player before I did?  Or does it just mean that she's on top of things?  Anyway, it's cool and I like it.  I have lots of music and the New Testament on it already (over 15 GB) and have ordered an FM transmitter/charger for the car so I can listen to my iPod in my car as well.

For those of you who care, it's an 80 GB black iPod classic.  It's pretty.