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Friday, January 31, 2003
When I got home this evening, there was a little "giftie" awaiting me in my mailbox--a royalty check from the woman for whom I illustrated a children's book. Forty-three bucks and change--much needed, and not too bad, considering we did the book five years ago (!) and I definitely didn't expect to still be getting money for it. Sandy self-published the book, with I think a 1,000-copy run. I have been getting a check every six months since, and it's always a nice surprise. Considering I laid down about $150 today, keeping the land line and cell phone connected, it was great timing.
posted by #Debi at 10:56 PM | permalink |
0 comments | I was just surfing a couple of new blogs and was reminded of a picture God gave me a few years ago which I never put down on paper. The picture in my head is mainly of a brick or stone wall. There are all these hands reaching up towards the top of the wall, which isn't seen in the picture, and other hands reaching down towards the the upward-reaching hands. There are hands of all colors, ages, and sexes in the picture--not just white hands reaching down to black hands, male down to female, or vice-versa, but all the hands are indiscriminately mixed. The wall has breaches in several places, some cracks and some holes, some piles of rubble on which to stand. Through the holes and cracks in the wall can be seen a lovely meadow, with trees and mountains in the distance. I've never actually tried to draw this, partly because I put it to the back of my mind through inertia and the "cares of this world", but mostly (I think) because I've never felt that I could do it justice. I feel an urge to try now, though. I think I will try to finish it in time to be a sort of worship installation for when it's my turn to "facilitate" at VBCC, which could be as soon as March. posted by #Debi at 10:15 PM | permalink |
0 comments | Tuesday, January 28, 2003 Help! I've been made into a cyborg!
I know you are, but what am I?(she said in her "PeeWee" voice.) He he he!! Thanks, Andrew, for the link.
posted by #Debi at 6:10 PM | permalink |
0 comments | Friday, January 24, 2003 "We must not be unjust and require from ourselves what is not in ourselves. Do not desire not to be what you are, but desire to be very well what you are." ~ Francois de Sales (1567-1622) "Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living." ~ Anais Nin, writer (1903-1977)
posted by #Debi at 5:39 AM | permalink |
0 comments | Thursday, January 23, 2003 Check out The Vine for my account of seeing "The Last Temptation of Christ" for the first time. It was pretty good, overall. Back over at Nowheresville, I got my first "blog-comment proposal" (she said with her tongue firmly in her cheek), from this guy. Had to turn him down, though. First of all, he's probably way too young, and secondly, I try never to marry people I've never met. :^) I got word today that there is overtime in my immediate future. Normally, I like overtime because I like money, but it's just such a bummer to either go in early or stay late when the weather sucks this bad. I absolutely hate the cold! The roads are mostly cleared after our mini-blizzard of last night, but people are still driving like idiots and having totally avoidable accidents all over the place. Oh, well, at least tomorrow's payday--maybe that'll soften the blow some. (Ooh, no pun intended!) I finally had my appointment with the personal trainer at the gym Tuesday. It was fairly disappointing, overall. We did finally get to actual working out, but the first half of our session was spent with Lee trying to sell me a package of more personal trainer sessions. They get like $30 a session for that! And they want you to pay for 3 sessions a week. That's $360 a month! If I had that kind of money, I'd buy a house and set up a personal gym there. Ridiculous! Anyway, I guess I'll figure something out. I hope to find someone who is willing to give me an idea of which machines I need to use to get a decent, allover workout--not something for someone whose goal is to be in competitions and such. I do still plan to get in on the yoga classes, too. I haven't made it to those yet. I confess to feeling a little intimidated after Tuesday's experience. Sore, too! :^) posted by #Debi at 6:48 PM | permalink |
0 comments | Sunday, January 19, 2003 Boy, I think I may have put my foot in it this time! I have been following with interest a discussion going on over at Nowheresville, concerning whether or not the term "Reformed" (as it applies to the author's denominational ties) is a relevant term. After struggling with myself for a couple of days, I decided I had to put in my two cents' worth. Here is an excerpt (OK, most) of my comment: "I think (hope) that you are being led by the Holy Spirit in your current train of thought. Of course "Reformed" is a useless term, just as is Southern Baptist, Church of God, or Catholic (in its common usage). All of these denomination titles are products of men, not God. At the core, we are all (or should be) followers of Christ, first and foremost. I have not been trained in Reformed theology, I have no idea what TULIP is, or sotierology, or lapsariansm, other than big words to make the user sound important. What I do know is this: "if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Rom. 10:9) I also know that "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise...He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2Pet. 3:16) Not the "elect", everyone. Also, concerning gifts, Peter said, "The promise (of the gift of the Holy Spirit) is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord will call." (Acts 2:39) If you read this passage in context, you will see that Peter is explaining the phenomenom of speaking in tongues to those who had witnessed it. I am by no means implying that one has to exercise gifts of the Spirit in order to be saved, but those gifts were certainly not meant to cease, and they have not. Healings still happen, as do words of wisdom, miracles, and the other gifts mentioned in 1Cor. 12. I am not trying to be divisive or controversial or anything like that, I just think that the whole discussion here is a moot point. All of the denominational trappings are just that--trappings, not essential to the message of the Gospel." I will probably be banned from visiting his site after this (just kidding--I hope), but I couldn't help myself :^). posted by #Debi at 6:56 PM | permalink |
0 comments | New weight lost: 2 pounds Total lost since January 1st: 4 pounds What a surprise! I have done nothing consciously to promote weight loss this week--in fact, I expected to have gained back the 2 pounds I had lost. I ate fast food a lot this past week, due to the fact that I didn't feel like standing long enough to cook anything. Oh, well, I'll take it however it comes, I guess. I ended up rescheduling the appointment I had Friday with the personal trainer at the gym. I called him to consult about whether I should reschedule or not, because of the hip thing being not totally healed, and he agreed that it would be better to wait. So I will go Tuesday after work. I am actually looking forward to it, because I am finally doing something about the extra weight. I want to be thin(ner) again! I have done nothing constructive this weekend (much). I hope to remedy that today, with the usual laundry, etc. I have also purchased fabric and plan to design a purse. I know any guys that might be reading have all checked out by now, but this is a big thing for me. It's my first try at designing in a long time, and I'm really looking forward to it. Who knows how it might end up? If it comes out well, I'll try and post a photo. Speaking of photos, I am in the process also of putting together some online photo albums at Yahoo. Once it's up and running, I'll post the address. The first 30 MB are free, which may not be enough. I've already used 16%, and only have a small fraction of the pics I want to post uploaded. Well, if I am going to get all that stuff done, I'd better get started. Off to the laundramat! posted by #Debi at 11:07 AM | permalink |
0 comments | Thursday, January 16, 2003 OK, Laura is a very bad girl for feeding my silly quiz addiction. (That is, my addiction to silly quizzes.) Here's the results of the latest one:  Strawberry: 50/100 Pear: 20/100 Banana: 80/100 Tomato: 20/100 Lemon: 0/100 Take the What Fruit Are You? test by Ellen and Aaron! Somehow I knew before I clicked the final button what the result would be.......(sigh....) Thanks, Laura! posted by #Debi at 10:15 PM | permalink |
0 comments | I just found this movie link on a non-Christian blog: Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter. And we wonder why the unchurched have "issues" with the church! posted by #Debi at 8:00 PM | permalink |
0 comments | Monday, January 13, 2003 Random musings.... I went to the chiropractor this morning, and feel a lot better. I have to go back again tomorrow for (I hope) the final session. I was amazed at my lack of mobility when I went in, and more amazed at the improvement as I left. As I told Laura Ogle via e-mail, if I feel like having a pity party, I just think about our "virtual friend" Kyle and all the stuff he's been through lately, and things are back in perspective. Here's something you might think a bit incongruous in my character--I am really a little excited about the Lexington Horsemen coming to town. It's "arena football" (as in American football, not soccer). I've never seen arena football, but it sounds like a good time. The Horsemen are part of the National Indoor Football League (or NIFL). Yes, I am a Lexingtonian who is not a basketball fan. I much prefer football or hockey, and now with this new acquisition, we have a football, hockey, and baseball team! Granted, none of them are major league or anything, but they're fun, all the same. And, finally, here's a quote I found interesting, from the Word-A-Day email for today: posted by #Debi at 7:43 PM | permalink |
0 comments | Sunday, January 12, 2003 I have been in pain since Wednesday. I'm not sure what's up with that, but I hate being in pain. I think it's a sciatic nerve thing, which I haven't really had with such intensity for about 10 years. I guess I'll try and get in with the chiropractor tomorrow. I've been putting it off, because I thought it was just a passing thing, but it doesn't seem to be, so I'm just gonna have to break down and go see Dr. Baker. I guess the fact that I went to the gym probably didn't help any, but I was tired of putting it off. But hey, I finally went to the gym! One of my co-workers went with me to help me not feel so out of place the first time, for which I thank her very much. We mostly spent time on the treadmills and took the tour of the place, which is very cool, I must say. I am really gonna like the Cardio Cinema, which is a darkened room with treadmills, stationary bikes, and ski machines (ala NordicTrack) all facing a huge screen on which they play movies. The distraction is just what I need to keep from getting bored and noticing that I am actually working out. I have an appointment with a personal trainer, Lee, on Friday. The membership comes with one free session with the trainer, to get you started and help you figure out how to use the machines and which one to use. They also have nutritionists on staff, and I hope they will help figure out a diet that takes the Graves disease into account. I meet with Ariana (one of the nutritionists) before my time with Lee. You all pray for me when I meet with him--he sounded distressingly like a drill instructor when I spoke with him Friday night, telling me that if I was late I would be subject to "more crunches". More P.T., sir, more P.T.! We like it, we love it, we want more of it! Matt and Brian and I went out last night to dinner and to see "Catch Me If You Can". It was a pretty good movie, made better by the fact that it was "inspired by a true story". It's amazing what that kid did, without the aid of Photoshop! The production design was especially good--they really captured the feel of the mid-'60's, especially in the titles and such. After the movie, we went to our now-favorite Mexican restaurant in Georgetown and split 3 ways a double order of fajitas. Yum! Then we went to Brian's, where he said, "Stay as long as you all want!" (One of these days he's gonna learn not to say that--we finally left around 12:30 AM.) I found, through Randy Bohlender's blog, a link to a new word-of-the-day site to add to my stuff to read. Thanks, Randy, for feeding my addiction! posted by #Debi at 1:35 PM | permalink |
0 comments | Thursday, January 09, 2003 OK, Matt McDonald is a genius! (No, really, hear me out!) He has figured out the mystery of the "poseurs". Or, at least, how to get rid of them. Go to Enetation and log in, go to settings and look to where it says, Comments, 1 Comment, More Comments. If the word "poseur" is in the box, simply change it back to "comments", and you're good to go! How cool is that? As to why it happened in the first place, my theory is that it's a conspiracy by the French Canadians to overthrow the US. :^) Thanks again, Matt! posted by #Debi at 6:36 AM | permalink |
0 comments | Tuesday, January 07, 2003 Those of you who visit here regularly know that I don't often post political happenings, mostly because I'm usually not informed enough to speak intelligently about politics. To paraphrase an old saying, if you can't say something intelligent, you ought not say anything at all. But, I did happen to catch portions of George Bush's speech today in Chicago while listening to Rush Limbaugh. I am very excited about what Mr. Bush is planning to do--it is something that should have been done in the first place, and probably would have, if he'd had the support of Congress at that time. Here are some excerpts of the speech: "Americans today are paying about a third of their income in taxes. All of this puts pressure on family budget, and, therefore, clouds our economic future. Americans facing these struggles are due to receive additional tax relief in 2004 and again in 2006. Republicans and Democrats in Congress already approved these tax rate reductions, and the time to deliver the tax rate reductions is now when they can do the most good for the American businesses. For the sake of economic vitality, I'm asking Congress to make all the tax rate reductions effective this year. And the tax cuts should be retroactive to January 1. Upon passage, I will order the Treasury Department to immediately adjust the amount of money withheld for income taxes so that Americans will keep more of their paychecks right away.... We also know that middle-income families need additional relief. So today, I'm asking Congress to speed up three other tax reductions promised in 2001, tax reductions that will help our middle-income families. Instead of slowly reducing the marriage penalty until 2009, we should do it now to help 35 million married couples. Instead of waiting until 2008 to move more taxpayers from the 15 percent bracket to the lowest bracket of 10 percent, we should make that change now and help 2 million working Americans. And instead of gradually raising the child tax credit from $600 to $1,000 per child by the year of 2010, for the benefit of 26 million families, we should raise it now." Read the entire speech here.
posted by #Debi at 6:23 PM | permalink |
0 comments | Monday, January 06, 2003 Well, it's been an interesting day today--we got sent home early from work today. At like, 2:30 in the afternoon. Not (as would normally be the case in a "going-home-early" scenario) because we ran out of work, but because some idiot saw fit to fax us a bomb threat. It came in to the fax machine just by my desk and was picked up by one of my co-workers. Because of the wording of the note, it appeared to have been sent from within the building, but I'll let the police sort that out. In any case, there we were, all outstanding in our field--err, out standing in the parking lot, that is--when the supervisor tells us that it's going to be at least an hour before they would be done searching the place, so we might as well go on home. That kinda sucked because I was actually having a decent day and I'll miss the pay from those last 2 hours. But I got home and caught up on all my neglected housecleaning. (Nah, who am I kidding?! I came home and took a nap!) Anyway, maybe some of it will get done tonight. That is, if I don't get too involved watching Joe Millionaire. Yeah, I think I'm gonna tune in, at least for the first episode. There's just something hightly amusing about a bunch of little gold-digging pretty girls getting duped. (That's if the premise Fox is promoting on TV is accurate.) It should be interesting to find out what all the hype is about, anyway. Check out the Ziggy cartoon that was in yesterday's comics. It pretty well sums up my prayer to God for this year. (OK, not really--well, maybe.) It is, I guess, the best way to look at all the stuff that went down this past year for me--that God knew I could handle it, even if I didn't. And I really do want to continue to grow in what I can handle--I just really don't want to have to put it to the test quite so much this year. In any case, the rambling is starting, so I'll just quit while I'm ahead. posted by #Debi at 6:49 PM | permalink |
0 comments | Sunday, January 05, 2003 Weight loss: 2 pounds Total lost since January 1st: 2 pounds Well, not bad for first week in, eh? Of course, I've been in bed most of the weekend, putting down the last of the germ invasion. (I'm feeling much better now, thanks very much to those who were concerned.) We'll see if I can keep the momentum up, and the pounds down. One of my co-workers has agreed to go to the gym with me, hopefully one day this week. I feel inspired to get down to business. I've found yet another blogger to add to my growing blogroll, Fragments~From Floyd. He's a wonderful storyteller from Floyd County, VA. Alan, I think you especially will like his stories, since he writes a good bit about the beauty of nature. His style reminds me, for some reason, of an old friend of ours, Dan Pence. He's got the same down-to-earth, yet somehow poetic, thing happening. Anyway, everyone check it out--I think you'll be glad you did. posted by #Debi at 9:57 PM | permalink |
0 comments | Saturday, January 04, 2003 It's been a relatively unproductive day today--I've been feeling "puny", as Andrew Careaga would say, for the past couple of days, so I basically slept away most of the day in a cold-medicine induced stupor. What time was not spent snoring (yeah, I snore when I'm congested), has been pretty much spent online, catching up with blog reading. I have done a little refurbishing to the site, updating the link to Laura Ogle's site to reflect her new home, removing one site (Scaryduck), because it was starting to get just a little more vulgar than I was comfortable with, and adding a few new friends to the blog roll. Thanks to Jordon Cooper, I found a source for more fonts (because one can never have too many fonts), and Mike Todd's blog. He has some really interesting things to say--check him out. He's got some great quotes about faith, and a link to a great little animation a la the Apple Switch ads. If you're an Apple fan or a Star Wars fan, you'll enjoy it. posted by #Debi at 5:52 PM | permalink |
0 comments | Wednesday, January 01, 2003 Happy New Year! I know I'm late getting started on the well-wishing, but I've been busy formulating and carrying out New Year's resolutions. Two of the main things I wanted to accomplish today were catching up on laundry and...um...coloring my hair. So I'm typing this with the coloring gloves on--what a treat. An interesting challenge, to be sure. I did get the laundry caught up, thank you Jesus; about 7 loads worth. While doing so, a couple of interesting things occurred. I sat down and made up my list of New Year's resolutions, which I'll get to in a minute. The other was that I got a phone call from a very good friend who lives in Norway, Toni Johansen. She's American, her husband Espen is Norwegian. It felt a little Twilight Zone-ish to receive an international call while in the laundramat. I'm afraid I'm not quite so cosmopolitan as I'd like to think I am. Anyway, Toni called to let me know that she and her family will be in town at the end of January, which is cool because I was just thinking of taking a couple of days off at that time. They might even be moving here for good, if they can find work. It'd be nice to have them around. OK, on to the resolutions list. I made a "top ten" list, in no particular order of significance: Well, that's not so much, eh? I have purposely not quantified a lot of these goals--any steps toward maturity in these areas is a good thing and I tend to want to snap my fingers and be perfect. I'm close, but..... :^) posted by #Debi at 5:44 PM | permalink |
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