Lily One Month Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Click here to create your own Shutterfly photo book.

wedding photos

Click here to view this photo book larger

Click here to create your own Shutterfly photo book.

Have I really for reals not posted anything since last July?

::blinks::

::remembers the last six months' worth of craziness::

That does make sense now that I think about it...

So it's a new year. New season. thinking about making some fairly large changes in the near future, some daily shifts in habits and thoughts also. convicted in several areas just this weekend that I want to grow in - really want to, not just "oh yeah... I should do this, shouldn't I..." and hoping that it sticks this time. I think it will. God is good that way - never calling me to something for which He does not also provide grace.

today's song...

Morning by morning I wake up to find
The power and comfort of God's hand in mine
Season by season I watch Him amazed
In awe of the mystery of His perfect ways

All I have need of, His hand will provide
He's always been faithful to me

I can't remember a trial or a pain
He did not recycle to bring me gain
I can't remember one single regret
In serving God only and trusting his hand

All I have need of His hand will provide
He's always been faithful to me

This is my anthem, this is my song
The theme of the stories I've heard for so long
God has been faithful, He will be again
His loving compassion, it knows no end

All I have need of his hand will provide
He's always been faithful to me

Things I love right now.... and what I think of Las Cruces. Cuz I think that's the most frequently asked question I get. Lol.

* Chai tea lattes from sbux. The best. Specially when they come once a month or so. You really appreciate the rich taste more then. :)

* The best pair of black heels ever... I call them my "character shoes", because they *have* character! Non-boring, totally cute, found them *on sale*- and most wonderful of all - so comfy. They're my new favorites. Which says alot, cuz I do like my shoes. ::grin::

* The little Kraft caramels - you know, the ones that come wrapped in the clear plastic? I used to sneak these from the pantry during the night and then, when room-cleaning day came around, act totally surprised ... "How'd all those wrappers got under my bed? I really don't know! ... well, maybe I had a couple..." Haha. Now I can enjoy them guilt-free. ;) *and* use them to make german chocolate chip caramel brownies. Drew says they're the best brownies he's ever had. (score!)

* Helping with the children on Sunday in the one-year-olds room... they are so adorable. And I love when two of them latch on at once! And I get them to calm down and stay in all during the sermon! Here's where I get to use all my years of sibling-training. (like. where my siblings trained me what to do. Not the other way around. I don't want you thinking we're teaching them to do head-stands in CM or anything. ;)

* Figuring out how to be a homemaker. I love laundry (mostly), and dishes are okay (although I overheat too easily when my hands are plunged in the water, and so I'm never quite caught up), and getting all of the crannies and drawers and random spots in the house neat and orderly makes my heart smile. My cleaning house moods come in spurts though, and usually at ten or eleven or one at night, when I really should be slowing down... that's where the "figuring it out" mostly comes in! Also organizing things permanently. Not so great at that. But thinking up little touches - keeping a sudoku book and pencil in the bathroom, or finding the perfect place for those green and blue Ikea tea candle holders where it just matches and brings out or adds to the color in everything else in the room, or rearranging the furniture just so to make more space (and there's no room to really move anything! so that was a proud moment), or hanging our lovely wind chime over the kitchen sink cuz there's no place outside for it... hahaha.

* Breaking the rules of grammar - mostly, capitalization (can you tell?). I know how it all works, and I won't grammatically or spelling-wise(ally?) wreak havoc - I'm a bit much of a proofreader nerd to do *that*! - but I like the breeziness and informality of not-capitalizing-everything-that-really-should-be.

* Which leads to the next item... I love books about the English language. Or language in general (such as the tome with the intriguing title, In the Land of Invented Languages. Fascinating!!). Or books and bookstores. A good portion of the books I've been pulling from the shelves at the library recently have been about word origins, or words that other languages have that express concepts that English just doesn't have a word for, or about phrases, or living in the Welsh town of Hay, which is a little town with (i think) 40 antiquarian bookstores? It's blissful to read them. Though I can never remember any of the best words. Like the word in Hebrew (or Yiddish?) that means "a beautiful bride", used on her wedding day, even if she isn't that pretty - because she is lovely and beautiful in her husband's eyes, and everyone realizes and honors that on their wedding day. there's a similar word for babies (who are all precious and beautiful in their mothers' eyes!). Isn't that a great word to have? And I can't remember them!

* And also. Robin McKinley's books. I've been in a RM kick for several months now. Beauty, and Spindle's End, and Chalice (loved that one!), and The Hero and the Crown, and her short stories, and I'm in the middle of The Blue Sword right now. I so love her way of writing (so... lyrical, and poetic, and ... graceful? or rambling? like ivy...), and the stories are captivating, and the characters wonderful and flawed and human and inspiring.

There. That's a little snippet into my life. :)
_____
So I think the question I get asked the most is, "So how do you like Las Cruces?" Since I'm relatively new here and all. Well, to answer, I do like it, for the most part. It's small, and has a charming feel (in places), and feels very small-townish to me... though it's overwhelming for several co-workers, who come from little towns with one stop-light.

What do I like about it? I love Coas, the used bookstore downtown that just goes on and on and on... simply amazing to wander through and get lost in... and they take our duplicate books (and I'm still discovering the books we both had copies of!) and give us store credit (yesss!). I love Caliche's, the best frozen yogurt I've had, with amazing mix-ins; I love Zeffiro's, a local pizza place with a real brick oven, the best french onion soup ever, and pizzas to die for (lemon and asparagus with prosciutto? A.Maz.Ing.). I love the Organ mountains to the east, especially when there is snow tipping the peaks. I have yet to actually visit them and hike or wander around though. I love that everything is so close, especially when compared to Phoenix. I love the farmer's market that meets downtown every Saturday - lots of creative things to see and gawk over (and a couple things that I want to pick up before we leave for reals - a dried red chile heart-shaped wreath for one :)! I do like my job ... most of the time. Surrounded by intriguing and classic and interesting books... most of which I have no time to read... it's sometimes exhilarating (so many books!!!), sometimes discouraging (so little time!).

I don't like that there's not much to do... if Drew and I want to go out, there's window/shopping at the mall (which has very little selection) or Target or several other places; there's the movie theater (and everyone else has the same idea when we do!); the bowling alley is rather seedy; and there's not much else. I don't like the politics - work politics, or politics-for-real - or the fact that nothing really works the way it's supposed to (it's slow, and not well organized, and just very New Mexican in general. If you've lived here, you'll know what I mean.). I don't like that we run into Drew's clients all the time, as it's rather awkward... I don't like that because it's so small, there's not much room to meet people and make friends... as it is, our circle of friends already intersects with Drew's circle of clients in several areas! And I really don't like that El Paso is a good 40-60 minutes away, and that's where our church is, which is a struggle. I love the church. I miss being able to hang out or do coffee with fifteen minutes' notice.

But all in all, I like LC. I couldn't live here permanently (no way!). But for now, it's where God's called us, and He's definitely given the grace to enjoy our time here.

I's sorry.

I should really try to keep this updated more frequently, but life has been flying by in craziness and storms (and thunder, literally, this past Saturday morning...)! Weddings and guests in town and work and spending time with my love and with good friends and attempting to keep house and make it homey...

So along that topic, what tips would you give to someone -who is renting an apartment and is thus limited in what they can do- for cheap decorating/general homeyness? What touches do you particularly like that make a room just that much more welcoming and friendly and easy-to-use?

And I'll post more later... when I have time or something to say... :)

Book Ideas

You would think that, because I work at a library, I would never be at a lack for books to read. Nope. I think that there are so many that come through that are just not worth reading that I've gotten jaded and can't find the good stuff, or the gems that are worth it, even if they look just like every other book out there. So... does anyone have any good suggestions?

I'm up for almost anything. For example, I've read recently a style book (what to wear/do and what not to, that sort of thing), several books on language (foreign words for which we have no easy English translation, the history of invented languages, etc), Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series (to see what I thought of them - a la the Harry Potter and Twilight series, and The Shack - I don't mind reading controversial things to know what all the fuss is about, and then deciding what I thought. Plus when I have kids and they ask, I can tell them my thoughts and not just, "I heard this this and that".), Creators by Paul Johnson (see previous post), a book of baby names (no, don't get all excited, it was just for fun!), a Quick Cooking for Two-type book, Howl's Moving Castle, ... As you can see, I am up for most anything. The exceptions - no horror or gruesomeness, and I haven't read too many "thriller"-type books either.

I am leaning more towards lighter fiction right now, as I am recovering from a severe head cold and can't think too deeply. I also think Jane Austen is on the lighter side. Love kids' books too, so no age limit! :) Suggest away!

Hot cocoa deliciousness.. and book finds

This is why I looove working at the library: I get to rummage through the books and media as they come in, and grab the ones that look good, without having to go through the shelves or have any particular idea in mind. This has led to some serendipitous finds (I love that word, btw... serendipity. Just say it. It sounds perfectly lovely.)... and some that make me laugh... such as:

- Chowder (don't remember the author), a hilarious children's book about a dog named Chowder, who is spoiled by his owners - and quite human in some ways - but wants fun company, and finds it in an unexpected place. The illustrations are wonderful, and you can't help loving the lopsided, droolly bulldog. This book reminded me a lot of my dad's stories waaay back as well - I think that's partly why I loved it so much.

- I can't remember the title of this movie, but the very prominent sticker proclaimed it as the "best Nazi Zombie movie *ever*!". I had to laugh at that, and then wonder.... how many Nazi zombie movies are there?!

- Oklahoma!, performed on stage with Hugh Jackson as Curly. I'd never seen the play before, was having a sucky day at work, and then couldn't help but laugh when I saw that. So of course I had to get it. I figured - if I'm going to see it ever, I might as well see this version, right? Didn't love it (except for some of the songs - those were fun!), but it was fun to watch.

- Creators, by Paul Johnson. We were supposed to read one of his history books as a supplemental book in high school (although, to be honest, I think I got about ten pages in and decided to switch to another book!), and I've heard good things about him. this book is not near so thick as his others, and as it consists of biographical essays or sketches of some of history's most famous creators - ranging from Bach and Chaucer and Austen to Dior and Disney and Picasso, I figured.. why not? It's pretty interesting so far. I like that he doesn't simply name their accomplishments and the significant dates of their lives, but goes into why and how they did what they did. I'd recommend it. :)

- and my current favorite, and the reason for this post.... a childrens' book - The Mitten, retold by Jim Aylesworth. The story was okay, but the back featured a recipe for Grandma's Delicious Hot Cocoa... and being a sucker for hot cocoa, I checked it out on a whim, and am now drinking the best hot chocolate that I think I've ever had. :) I'd post the recipe, but I'm still not sure how recipe posting and copyright and all that works.... So go find it yourself. Get Chowder while you're at it too. ;)

Down by the bay...

..where the watermelons grow / back to my home / I dare not go / for if I do / my mother will say... "Have you ever seen a llama / wearing pink pajamas?" / Down by the bay!

So, last night I introduced Drew to Raffi via Youtube. Understand, I grew up watching this video and singing/dancing along - I still remember most of the words and which songs are coming up next! - but Drew had never heard of it. And I mean, with classics like "Six Little Ducks" and "Baby Beluga" and "A Peanut Butter Sandwich" (made with jam / One for me, and one for David Amram / a peanut butter sandwich made with jam / yum yum yummy yum yum! // I can think of witches good and bad / but the best wich that I ever had / {I think you can tell where this is going!}), he was really missing out.....

Anybody else even know who I am talking about?

Snippets

- I killed my wonderful, faithful Mac laptop (Shadowfax) last year, in July? Thus the date of my last post and the reason for the silence. Thanks to some sweet friends in Phx, we now have a working Windows computer and thus access to the great world again! (and I do mean that. When you live some 40+ miles away from everyone in your church, and 6+ hours away from your other church, it's hard to keep up with people sans internet and email...)

- In September, we moved apartments: from being on the outskirts of town, about 10-15 mins away from work, we moved several miles down Main street and are now only about 5-7 mins away from work. Thus giving you an idea of how small Las Cruces is, haha. Seriously, I can count on running into at least 2 people Drew knows every time we run an errand or go out on the town; generally it's closer to 7-8. It was a big day when we ran into someone I knew (a co-worker) at our local bookstore, and since I am so used to Drew knowing *everyone*, I neglected to introduce the two of them until it was too late...

Anyways. Our new place has less square footage than our old place, but we love the layout so much more! It felt like home from the beginning - much cozier and better laid out (I have a feeling the grammar is off... please forgive me! It's late... :p) than the other. And the kitchen... Oh. My. Gosh. Is amazing. Spacious, and we have our own washer and dryer (praise God!), and so much more in the way of counter and cupboard space, and our Very Own Pantry. It's totally the little things that get me excited. :)

- We celebrated our second Christmas together (in December, duh). :) Around September we decided to attempt to make gifts for our immediate families; of course, between his five siblings, parents, and spouses, and my eight siblings, parents, and grandparents, we got in over our head and are still working to finish several things! Drew got me "Up", the new Pixar flick (we cried when we saw it in theatres {yes, ::aw newlyweds::}), and I got him "Star Trek" (which he has watched several times already! I love that I know him well enough now to pick out good stuffs, yay!), as well as sundry other fun gifts - scarves, wallets, notepads, old classic movies*, Vintage Scrabble (exchanged for Vintage Clue, lol)... and I had SO much fun decorating our tree and discovering all the cute things we found on super clearance last year. I have *such* a smart hubby - sale shopping for holiday items after the holiday is totally his idea!

*which is totally a gift of love on Drew's part, as he hates old B&W flicks, but he knows I love them. <3

- Not much else big or exciting happened in the past six months, lol. We've had the joy of having several people over to stay with us in our new place; I'm still organizing (NOT my strong suit!) and settling into the homemaker gig (I say that, yes realizing the importance and privilege and joy that comes with the calling, but I haven't yet found a short name that covers all that well.) and learning a bunch of stuff.

- And no, I don't know how to drive a stick shift yet; and no, we are not pregnant yet; and yes, I will be running off to bed shortly... :) G'night all!

P.S. Please ask any questions you have that I can write about... I tend towards writer's block when I actually sit down to write... :)