Angie's Aim

Yes, Lisa, you are the virtual par-tay's booty-baggin' baby!  Looks like your clever multiple-comments ploy actually did boost your chances!  Unbelievable!  So get ready to surf... you've got 50 big ones beggin' to be spent!  Anyone have suggestions for what she should spend her prize money on at CBD?  Did anyone get any good books or music for Christmas? 

I tell ya, I wish I could be Oprah for a day and just give away all my favorite things to all of you - some of my favorite people (and definitely some of God's best!).  But in case that never happens, I hope you'll settle for my words on a computer screen... (posted a bit more regularly!!!).  And believe it when I say...

You are loved. 

No, really.

The usual apologies for not being as committed to blogging as I ought to be… and you know I oughta be committed! :-) After all this time, the pressure is on to produce a post that was worth the wait… But instead, I’ve decided to bribe you with a way fun gift!

It’s that time of year again… And it’s my pleasure to host our virtual Christmas party! It’s a conversational come-and-go that will last from now ‘til Christmas day. And as a token of my appreciation for your friendship, encouragement and the time you’ve taken to read this blog (or continue checking for a new post!)… one of you will shop online with your...

$50 gift certificate to Christian Book Distributors!!! 

Exciting, isn't it!!! 

The Fine Print: The comment you make to this post serves as your chance to win! And this time, multiple comments mean multiple chances to win! The party will end at noon on Christmas day and the drawing will take place that afternoon. Winner announced by 5pm .

To start the small talk, I’ll shorthand the last few months just to catch up a bit. Feel free to comment on anything and everything - or in true Seinfeld fashion, nothing!

Boo to You! I hosted a Halloween get-together at my place. We listened to spooky stories about rabid raccoons, hitchhikers and what happens at the morgue and we read The Cremation of Sam McGee!

Downsizing. Finally traded in my gas guzzler! Didn’t go hybrid, but definitely went for better fuel efficiency – opted for a crossover vehicle.

I love me a road trip! Broke in the new ride on an excursion to Atlanta to visit friends Ryan & Amanda Gray (and brand new baby Jaxon) at the Newnan Church of Christ. Also re-connected with Duane Bates, another friend from Lubbock days who now works for Habitat for Humanity. Since he’s in PR, his name out-googles all of ours! (So I thought I may as well drop it here!) Then I met up with more friends to hear Rob Bell speak downtown. Again with the name dropping!

Turkey Day. Prepared Thanksgiving for Three. Had the parentals over for a fun feast!

Confession: I’ve watched every single hokey holiday movie on the Hallmark channel and fa-la-la-la-Lifetime while decorating, shopping online, wrapping gifts and cooking. You’d think I’d tire of the predictable plots, but no.

Incredible Edibles. This will be the first year I attempt to make a gingerbread house. Without eating it.

Latest greatest food finds: 

Voortman’s Flaxseed Cookies – delish!  Ever-so-yummy Yogi Teas. They’re incredibly aromatic and flavorful. And glogg - A Scandinavian warm mulled wine for wintry days. Find recipes online or pick up a starter bottle the next time you're in IKEA.

Most significant moment: My dad & I do this thing – trying to one-up each other on who can get in the last word on “I love you.” And the last word is “more!” After a visit one evening he told me he loved me as he was leaving and of course I responded with “I love you more.” He chuckled because he’d been gotten! Then he says, “But really, hon… I love you more than anything.” After just a few seconds he adds, “Well, except for…” and he points to the sky. My heart was full.

Favorite Mama moment: I can’t decide between when she was talking about how nice it would be to have “TeeBo” to record her television shows or when she called to ask if I wanted any “rotisserary” chicken.

Currently Reading:

Grave Matters: A Journey Through The Modern funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial by Mark Harris

Ex Gays? A Longitudinal Study of Religiously Mediated Change in Sexual Orientation by Jones & Yarhouse

Magazines on my coffee table:

Dwell, The Oxford American, Relevant, Weight Watchers and Rolling Stone – which I didn’t subscribe to. It just mysteriously started arriving. And I’m okay with that.

Recently added on i-Tunes:

Say by John Mayer

In The Colors by Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals

If I were wearing a t-shirt, it might say:

Heavily medicated for your safety

Sorry about global warming. It’s my fault -- I’ll take care of it.

Sometimes I wonder… “Why is that Frisbee getting bigger?” …and then it hits me.

I DEMAND JUSTICE. But if there be injustice, let it be in my favor.

Everything I say is fully substantiated by my own opinion.

My day isn’t done until I’ve horrified a complete stranger.

Some days, it’s not even worth chewing through the restraints.

My Christmas wish for you:

May your holiday season be filled with the wistful glow of Christmas lights, pockets full of spare change for the Salvation Army bell ringers, music that moves you, some really great conversations dotted with laughs (and even a few tears), intentional time with your God, spinach dip and cocktail weiners and sausage balls and peanut brittle and fudge and peanut butter balls and... Oh, sorry... I sorta lose my train of thought when I get started on food!  And may you get caught underneath the mistletoe!  Wait... that's my wish!

Now it's your turn.  Leave a comment.  Go ahead.  Make my Christmas Day!

Well, 8 things about this ineffective blogger! My friend Kristi tagged me.  Fingers crossed,  it will be my catalyst to get back on the blogging bandwagon! Certainly no shortage of things stirring within me, just a shortage of time to organize my thoughts and express them to you in this journal. So, let's get back to the superficial, shall we... Here are 8 things about me that just might make you consider unsubscribing to my RSS feed...

1. I wave at cows.

Being the communicative person I am, it’s no stretch for me to carry on conversations with grocery store clerks or chat it up with total strangers. But it seems to be getting a tad out of hand… I first noticed this at a retreat I attended in which we took a vow of silence for a chunk of time – which did not seem to slow me down one bit. I employed every non-verbal cue known to man, carrying on entire conversations with body language and facial expressions. I possibly missed my calling as a mime. Also, during the New York trip, making eye contact with folks in Chinatown almost bought me hundreds of fake Prada and Gucci bags! But most recently, while driving down the country road that leads to my home, I found myself waving at a cow that happened to look at me as I passed by. I kid you not. And, no, the cow did not wave back.

2. I enjoy folding towels, cutting cakes and slicing breads.

Okay, so it wouldn’t make for an appealing ad in the personals… but I like this more than pina coladas and gettin’ caught in the rain! It’s probably borderline OCD, but until this, too, gets out of hand, I prefer to think of it as something that makes me cute and quirky! I’m not picky about everything being neat and tidy (just drop by my house unannounced and you’ll find this to be way understated!), but I do like to see towels all folded the same way and desserts sliced uniformly.  Is that so wrong? 

3. I wrote my eulogy several years ago & have been trying to live up to it ever since.

I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed with death, but I do (oddly) find it a pleasure to consider.  (Just to clarify - death, not necessarily the process of dying)  It will be my soul’s re-birth; the beginning of the never ending... And because I take this slant, I think graveyards are lovely places. And I'm intrigued by the idea of old-timey home funerals, where the family and friends actually prepare the body for burial. I am very vocal about not wanting to go the “fancy casket” route. Skip the cement vault and all those pricey “extras.” The pine box works fine for me.

4. I have mooned someone in broad daylight.

It only takes one good lesson to find out that following the crowd is dumb. I learned mine in the summer of ’87. I was our school’s first mascot and got to join the cheerleaders for summer camp at Ole Miss. There were mascots from everywhere! Most of them were cheerleaders who didn’t make the cut, so they got stuck with being mascot. But I wanted to be a part of the cheerleader ‘in crowd’, so I followed their lead… which meant swooning over our mascot coach.  He had made it to the big time in mascot terms… He had been a Disney character! We were  wowed. He was a hottie for sure, and really great at pulling pranks on us girls. So in a wild-eyed moment, one cheerleader-reject pipes up that we all ought to moon him when he comes into the room… No time to think… here he comes… So, we line up, bottoms pointing toward the door… The door cracks open and so do I... Guess who was the only one to drop her drawers? Yeah. Mortifying! I tried to redeem the whole experience by winning the Master Key To Spirit award at the end of the week, but that couldn't eclipse the full moon.

5. I have been fingerprinted and photographed.

Long story short, my arrest stemmed from a ticket for an expired registration sticker – which I immediately updated, but sorta neglected to take care of the ticket. It was a non-issue until a few years later when I was pulled over for speeding… rushing to work since it was my turn to get the donuts that Friday. Unbelievably (after stating my poor defense) I was hauled off in the back of the police car, leaving the donuts on the front seat of my car sitting on the shoulder of 34^th street. I mention the donuts because that was what my co-workers seemed to be most concerned about when I called them from jail. Yes, jail – where I was approached by a scruffy individual with eyes barely open who wanted to know what I was in for… After smiling for the camera and being teased by the policemen that the fingerprinting ink would wear off in about a week, I was dismissed. Too stunned to even cry! And I have never failed to keep my vehicle registration up to date since.

6. I dig NPR.

I'm pretty sure I don't fit the typical listener profile... Sorry, NPR, but you are stuck with me!!! My favorite podcasts are NPR’s news quiz show Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me and Ira Glass’ compilation of stories called This American Life. And I dig other shows like Speaking of Faith, Fresh Air, All Things Considered, etc. 

7. I like thin lips.

I'm referring to coffee cups, not people! I love me some coffee, and I’m as picky about the cup as I am the bean blend. If the cup’s too large, the coffee gets cold too fast. And it's a must to put any creamer or splenda in the cup first. So when I pour the coffee, no stirring is necessary.  And a thin lip makes for the perfect sip, without leaving a dribble down the side of the cup.  Dribbling down my chin, however, is a different story. 

8. Going to public restrooms is very ‘routine’ for me.

Emphasis on routine! I’m one of “those” people who take forever in the bathroom. The system demands it - an entire routine in which nothing is touched unless it has been sanitized by the gel I carry in my purse. I’ll spare all the details here, except to say I’m definitely a foot flusher.

I stayed up (too) late last night writing this! And Kristi is to blame! But maybe it'll do until I'm able to post something of substance! Thankfully, there are plenty of great blogs out there, old and new, to fill in my gaps. And I’m randomly reading yours… just in lurk mode lately!  Thanks to all of you who keep checking in on my blog - now that's faith! 

Today I’m Nashville-bound. Time again for this year’s ZOE Conference – a great time to take a closer look at how I’m living out God’s calling in my life. And no better place to do it than in the presence of those who are deeply devoted to examining how the overflow of that calling translates in everyday life, in the ways we worship our God and in what we do on Sunday mornings. This year’s guest speaker is Brian McLaren.   

BTW, I’ll have a chance to check blogs and e-mail in N’ville… so let me know if anyone who stumbles across this is planning to attend. It would be great to see you there – and maybe get a thin-lipped cuppa coffee on me! :-)

I just went to my second follow-up appointment with the doctor who performed my lap-band surgery. I’m hesitant to share the numbers with you, because they mean different things to different people. My total loss so far, which would bring most folks to their goal weight, is only a start for me. But I suppose losing 42 lbs is something to be celebrated regardless! Bear in mind much of that is due to the pre-op and post-op liquid diet. The rest is due to the hard work that surrender requires.

As of now my band has not been tightened, so I do not feel any restriction when I eat… That may seem odd (because that’s what it’s there for, right?!) but my doctor is of the mindset that I should lose as much weight as I can by following their food restrictions and exercising before we begin to adjust the band. This trains me to do the work rather than relying on the band. It should be a *help* to me, not some magical implant that allows me to eat whatever I want and still lose weight. In case any of you are still searching for that program, let me save you some time – it doesn’t exist!

And as with most things, there are loopholes in this system. If people really have a heart to cheat, to indulge… they can employ their most clever efforts to make that happen. So much depends on the deepest dedication of the heart. And for the most part, I’m there… but I’ve had several weak moments that have led to slip ups. Nothing detrimental… I’m talking about eating too fast, eating more than I should, testing the waters in advancing on to a food that’s not allowed yet. And even though I can “get by” with those things, it’s a slippery slope & I fear what it might lead to. It’s such a challenge to be faithful in the small things.

Realistically, I have barely gotten out of the starting gate in this marathon, so it’s not quite time to be planning trips or anything… But I have an opportunity that I just can’t pass up! My friend Greg has been planning a trip to New York to see the first few days of play at the US Open with another friend of his - who bailed on him at the last minute. Fortunately I’m willing to step in! Anything for a friend! :-) It will still be a challenge for me, but it’s one I’m up for (one which wouldn’t have been a consideration pre-surgery). So, I’m thankful for Greg’s lame friend… because now I have the chance to see some awesome LIVE tennis and see New York City! Another highlight will be the chance to meet fellow (ex) blogger Little Light while I’m in Manhattan! How great is that!

BTW, we’ll have several days to explore the Big Apple before the tennis action begins. I’d love to hear any suggestions for how to spend some of that time from those of you who’ve already taken a bite out of the Apple. All input is welcome, so please share!

It's been quite a week for me...  I was down about half this week being sick, as well as heartsick over the Minneapolis bridge collapse...  And with my “to do” list growing longer and longer, I’ve decided the best way to tackle it would be to take a day off and go see a movie! Fortunately, The Bourne Ultimatum opens today… not a tough decision for me since I’ve re-watched Identity and Supremacy in preparation! 

And even though I’ve been barely here recently, my blog agenda has been growing as well… I have several ideas stewing for some possible posts that might allow me to play amateur journalist; also The Chronicles of Martha are yet to be revealed; and finally, I’ll have an update on my “weighty matter” coming on August 15^th (just for you, Susan!).

I’m sure this post does nothing but make me a tease, but I couldn’t bear to start the weekend (albeit a little early) without sending some love your way.  May you pursue your best today... whether it's the 'same-old, same-old' or a long-awaited TGIF or a sweet escape to a favorite flick...  And may you be filled with mindfulness of the One who sustains you every day in every way...