This week's graces

1. Calamine lotion, and lots of it. It even makes me a happy shade of pink, and happy thoughts can go a long way right now.

2. Receiving my Prophets midterm grade. All I have to say is... dude.

3. The husband made scones from scratch.

4. Starting my Prophets paper, more than a week before it's due. I'm hoping to finish it to enjoy Andrew's birthday party.

5. Getting new cross stitch projects for the summer. Babies are on their way (not mine, might I add), and I want to make them blankets!

6. Being asked to be an assisting minister at church. My first attempt is tomorrow... I've just been praying to God that I perform as an act of worship in His name.

7. My Early Church History study group going out for frozen yogurt. They said they didn't help me study for my Prophets midterm, but they sure wanted to help me celebrate my grade.

8. Laughing a lot with my husband and my brother on our theories on the space-time continuum. It's been great entertainment.

9. Getting to see one of my childhood friends perform at the El Rey Theater, and open for the Indigo Girls to boot! I'm so awed by Matt's musical talent, and it's wonderful that he gets to do something he truly loves.

10. Acquiring a hummingbird squatter. He likes to sit on the tomato cage, and normally sits there all day long.

11. Cherry season. I actually saw Rainier cherries at the grocery store, and that made me smile.

TGIF

1. A calm morning, having coffee with the husband.

2. Getting to talk to Jill. I miss her, and I'm glad she's willing to listen to by bizarre questions and that she has an open mind when she listens to my theological babbling.

3. Getting to have a long conversation with my brother.

4. Multicolored Goldfish crackers.

5. Old U2 CDs.

Sing, Sing, Sing. And I've sung!

1. Getting to have lunch with Joyce. I haven't seen her in a month and I've missed our weekly lunches. Silly when this little thing called life gets in the way.

2. Tap class. And the relief that I only have to learn two routines for the summer recital. I thought I had to learn three. There's only so much room in my brain to spare!

3. Reading completely absurd books in Barnes & Noble this afternoon. Especially "The Complete Idiot's Guide to 2012." Weird, but great for killing time.

4. "No Line on the Horizon" on vinyl. I'm so happy more albums are being produced on vinyl again...

5. After a few months of searching, I finally found a replacement for my worn out Target canvas sneakers. This entry is bittersweet, as the near-deceased pair of sneakers was purchased for $2.50, and I definitely got my money's worth, as I purchased them almost five years ago. (Can you tell I have a hard time letting things go?).

You may think that I'm out of hand, that I'm naive, I'll understand

Unfortunately, I did something not so intelligent yesterday... If I drink too much caffeine too quickly, I tend to become violently ill. I unfortunately forgot this in the midst of studying for my midterm. My study group met at IHOP yesterday morning, where I ordered a pot of coffee. Our waiter constantly refilled my cup, thereby providing me an endless stream of coffee. By the afternoon, I was really, really sick. I'll spare you the gory details, but let's just say it wasn't pretty. This not-so-pretty picture now leads into my five grace items for the day.

1. I did not barf all over my blue book for the midterm. I also did not barf all over the test paper. This is not good only for me, but the TA who will grade my test, and the professor who will record my grade.

2. I had ice cream for lunch. It was yummy.

3. I was able to attend Bible study at church since I finished with my midterm at a decent time. I was only five minutes late! We finished up Ecclesiastes, which was definitely interesting. We especially got a good laugh out of 12:12b, "Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh." Especially since I took my midterm right before Bible study. Lee and Carol just laughed and patted my arm. After Bible study, I was able to talk to Henry about my paper that's due in two weeks. Henry's been such a great support system in this seminary journey. I'm so blessed to know him (and of course, my fellow students and wonderful Bible study leader!!!).

4. The husband selected my music for the drive to campus. It was nice to listen to New Order again. Especially the first verse of "Regret."
      "Maybe I've forgotten the name and the address
      Of everyone I've ever known
      It's nothing I regret
      Save it for another day
      It's the school exam and the kids have run away"

5. The husband and I are going to see a play tonight for our date night. It's called "Ixnay," performed by the East West Players. Included in the cast is Matt Braaten, the husband's doppelgänger and the youth minister at Salem!

Lazy Saturday

1. Beautiful, absolutely gorgeous weather.

2. Listening to "Clare de Lune" and music by Satyajit Ray on "The Darjeeling Limited" soundtrack.

3. Taking a nap longer than 30 minutes (try two and a half hours!)

4. Eating a piece of triple chocolate cake from Porto's for breakfast.

5. Reading a review for David B.'s new book in the LA Times. I can't wait to go to the library...