Setting a Record.....

I've been wanting to set some personal records. While I wish I had some awesome record to report, like reading the Bible every single day for a year or running a mile in seven minutes or volunteering every single week, I am instead reporting a personal record for cupcake consumption. Or rather, icing consumption. I've taken to just eating the icing off the top of cupcakes to preserve more stomach capacity for the really good part--the pure sugar icing.

I did not set out to set this record this weekend, but like many wonderful things, this was unintended. Last Tuesday I began searching on the Internet for restaurants and bakeries to visit on my trip to Nashville. I came across Darlene's Kakes (it's just OK....not exceptional, although I was impressed with the peanut butter icing which is fairly rare in bakeries). As a surprise, I decided to order a dozen for Donatello, whose sweet consumption can almost rival mine. I thought he'd especially appreciate these cupcakes since they had peanut butter icing.

Well Donatello had also decided to surprise me.....with cupcakes from the best bakery (at least when it comes to icing) ever. Party Favors in Brighton, MA makes the most delicious and sweet icing that I've ever tasted. Donatello and I discovered it several months ago when we were knocking around Brighton and decided to share a cupcake. The icing is about an inch thick if you choose the right cupcake (one with decorations such as a flower or the Cookie Monster).

Check this bakery out if you're ever up in or around Boston

When I got to the hotel room, I found a note that led me to a scavenger hunt....ending in the refrigerator with a container with five cupcakes! Exciting! I proceeded to eat the icing off of four of those over the three day weekend. I also managed to eat five or six of the cupcakes I bought Donatello (he was busy with the cookies I had brought him and real food). That brings my cupcake icing consumption to the grand total of 11. I'm not going to try to top that as it's just not healthy.

Did anyone else set any records this weekend?

As different Donatello and I are, there is one thing for sure....we both like cake! Check out our photos from a recent wedding....

My Boyfriend Looks Like a Child Molester

My boyfriend (a.k.a. Donatello....doesn't he look like the Ninja Turtle?) has taken up the habit of occasionally growing a mustache that resembles handlebars. Oddly, I don't mind (probably because normally he is, as a friend put it, a "cutie patooty"--I'm not so sure on the spelling there), although objectively he looks disgusting. Plus whenever I'm tempted by Donatello's normally good looks to be disobedient, I pull out a wallet size photo I have of him with his mustache.

In some photographs he reminds me of a television star from my childhood....Magnum P.I. Other times he reminds me of this man at the park who used to give me candy and ask me go for a ride in his car as part of our little secret. Hmm.

Website Share

I was reading a devotional on Charles Stanley's, or rather In Touch Ministries' website, and I realized that I should share it with my faithful readers (all three of you)! I always enjoy them and find them relevant, and I hope you will too.

Daily Devotional

Living in this world but not being of it

My great-uncle Joe, known at Mercer University as Papa Joe, first introduced me to this idea that Christians are called to live in this world but not be of it. I had Joe for two classes at Mercer, and he was always challenging my way of thinking and pushing me to become a better and more thoughtful citizen and Christian. At the time, however, I wasn't really a Christian. I was still trying to logically work out what I believed.

Now that I am a Christian, I've given the notion that Christians should not conform to our culture a lot of thought. The oddest thing made me think about this issue. I was having my highlights touched up, and my hairdresser and I discussed the Asian "spas" which are basically places of prostitution and can be found throughout Macon. Lamar, an advertising company, sells billboard space to these spas. And I wondered if a Christian owned the company.

Since that conversation I have been thinking about the ways that I am "of" our culture. As I grow in my relationship with God, I see more and more ways that I want to change. For example, two summers ago I loved the show Nip/Tuck. I watched it every night on F/X. Once I started working on my thought life and obedience to God in the context of sexual morality, I found that that show made it very difficult to not think about sex.

When I examined the way my family was celebrating Christmas, I realized that we had bought into this secular/consumeristic version of Christmas. We didn't even talk about God or Jesus's birth and instead focused on buying gifts for everyone. I'm happy to say that we've cut back a lot on the gift giving, and more of my family attended the Christmas Eve service with me this year. I also felt better about the gifts I gave as I gave my niece a "date" with me to the pottery place and a really cool illustrated children's Bible.

While I know that growing as a Christian is a process, it's amazing to me how many non-Godly ways of thinking I still have. Just in the way I initially respond to different situations is almost always a worldly response based on non-Biblical principles and beliefs. It's also amazing to me how, statistically, Christians look very much the same as non-Christians. For example, the percentages of Christians who have premarital sex or get divorces doesn't really vary much from the percentages of non-Christians who do the same.

I have so many more thoughts about this, but I'm at work! I'm curious to read others' thoughts and ideas about these issues as they've been weighing on my mind a lot lately.

I LOVE My Nieces!!

I have the best nieces in the world. I could never completely describe the happiness they bring to my life, but it will have to suffice to say that they bring me immense joy.

Alaina is the oldest and will be six years old next month. She is in kindergarten, and her class has eight Hispanic students in it. Certain family members who will remain unidentified are racist, and needless to say displeased with the classroom demographics. Please note an interesting tangential point: this particular family member claims that he is not a racist but is rather just "prejudice." My ex-boyfriend (who for blog purposes will be called Sampras) also claims that he is not racist but is rather prejudice. Of course, my follow up query to this claim is always "Aren't you prejudice against these certain individuals because of their race/color?" Ok, so anyway, given this family member's racism, it was particularly ironic when Alaina came home from school with her first crush...Carlos. When asked about why she liked Carlos, Alaina explained that he was really good at art (even better than her) and was very smart. When asked how she knew that Carlos was smart Alaina explained that Carlos could speak two languages--white and Mexican. When asked if she meant English, Alaina exclaimed "He can speak three languages." My mother explained that people from Mexico speak Spanish, and Alaina was even more impressed with her crush who she then declared as being able to speak four languages.

Also in nice contrast to "racism" and/or prejudice based on race, my other niece Lauren's (see her beautiful photo below) favorite toy is Dora the Explorer who is Hispanic.

Lauren never takes a bad photo and is absolutely gorgeous. She is charming and playful and loves to ask people "What are you doin'?" repeatedly....like 20 times in a three minute phone conversation. She is also easily entertained by Donatello's mouth-made flatulence noises, which always leave her smiling and glancing around to determine who made the sound.

My only complaint is that I do not get to see them enough. I hate missing ballgames (Alaina plays t-ball), parties (looks like a skating party will be next), lazy days, and all the funny things that they say and ask. I am so glad to be an aunt--it's the best!

Happy Birthday to My Favorite Jorts Wearing Ninja Turtle!

Happy Birthday Donatello!! I hope your 26th year is as excellent as mine was. I hope you know that you are the only person I like (besides young children) who wears jorts on a fairly regular basis. For my dear readers who do not know what jorts are, I have posted a photo of Donatello sporting jorts and included an excerpt from Donatello's commentary on Jacksonville, Florida.

For those of you who don't know, Jacksonville is perhaps the greatest town ever. It has the highest % of JPSF in the northern hemisphere(jorts per square foot). You will find more fat, bald, mulleted men sporting this fad than you ever care to see. My three favorite type of Jorts are:
1)Classic Levi Jorts
2)Stonewash Wrangler Jorts
3)Self-made black Wrangler Jorts
I have tinkered with the idea of making designer jorts out of some Diesel jeans, or some Abercrombie jeans, but there is one inherent problem... the crowd you associate with when wearing jorts, might think you are stuck-up. They are by nature a wild and unruly group, and might react with violence.

As you can see, Donatello is both funny and fashion forward. I wish him a most wonderful year.

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately..."

“Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life?” asked Thoreau over a century ago. If only he could see America today.

I am constantly amazed at how hurried and harried we are. How overwhelmed I feel. A friend wrote me the other day of all that he needed to do and asked rhetorically “If it ever ends?” I suppose it does—when we die. What is so remarkable is all of the “time saving devices” we have invented and incorporated into our daily lives. First we have the alarm clock to make sure we artificially rise to begin our day. For me, it’s a cell phone. The cell phone is incredibly convenient and allows me to “save” time by talking while I’m in my car, at the grocery store, on the treadmill, in the shower, or multi-tasking in any number of other ways. I wonder—would I feel compelled to keep in touch with so many people on a fairly regular basis if I did not have a cell phone at my constant disposal? I know I wasn’t as nearly in communicado six years ago when my cell phone was relegated to the trunk of my car and only for emergency use. Now I can’t imagine life without it. I can’t remember the last time I went much more than 24 hours without talking to someone.

Hmm….what other time saving devices are there? Oh, the Blackberry. I’m glad to say that I’m not addicted to that as well (the law firm where I work is just now catching onto Word and e-mail). It just seems like a way for your employer to exercise control over your “personal” time as well. My friend T.H. that worked at a large firm in Atlanta received research requests via e-mail as early as 5:00 a.m. and on Sunday afternoons. Even my friends with less consuming jobs feel compelled to constantly check their e-mail.

Speaking of which, e-mail is another “convenience” I’ve come to use with a ridiculous amount of frequency. I able to keep up with a lot of friends that way—and avoid the annoying game of phone tag. I also fear that I spend well over an hour of my free time each day on the internet, whether it’s e-mailing (why have I dismissed quality conversation for quantity?) or checking out all the sites I’m compelled to visit every day like www.craigslist.com and www.thesuperficial.com (I’m most ashamed of that one). Hmm…internet—time saving or time suck?

I could go on and on with my rants about our self-proclaimed “progressive” inventions, but instead I think I need to reflect on how I can change my life to best use modern technology without sacrificing living. Am I really living if I send 10+ personal e-mails a day, 10+ text messages, check four e-mail accounts as well as my online banking, have 5-10 personal calls each day, watch an hour or more of TV some days, and work 40-50 hours a week? Throw in volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters and a weekly Bible study and voila the anti-thesis of one of my favorite mantras written in Walden: “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!”

I think I’ve just stumbled upon the beginnings of a New Year’s resolution….now watch me come up with some very complicated plan to make my life much more simple….Alas, I’m going to try because life is entirely too precious to not live every minute of it. And truly live it rather than rush through it, head down and stuck in a computer, cell phone, and in constant communication with others.

"All Relationships are Controlled By the Person Who Cares Least"

Hmm…ran across this quote today, and it rang true. I’ve certainly been in relationships with an imbalance of feelings (writing the word “power” was my first instinct; that is telling, isn’t it?). Can a relationship be healthy if the members of it are on different pages? For example, if one person wants to spend more time together than the other. Or if one person wants to get married and the other hasn’t thought about it, is that relationship necessarily unhealthy? Because in that situation, the person who does not want to spend as much time together or get married has the “control.” Unless, of course, the person wanting to spend more time together or get married sets an ultimatum. Shouldn’t having to set an ultimatum be a sign?

But when you’re the person who cares the most, it’s a most desperate of feelings. And when you’re the person who cares the least, it can be hard not to abuse that situation. It’s sad to see how we treat people when they let us. Alright, just my random thought of the day. Oh, a semi-related quote from Matchbox 20: “Be my savior, and I’ll be your downfall.” That’s a promise which could easily be kept.

Pride & Prejudice

I’ve been accused of being terribly unromantic, although my brilliant friend who made this assertion believes that my affinity for sending/receiving letters and packages makes me slightly less so. I do not completely understand what his definition of a romantic is, but I can assure you that it does not comport with our culture’s skewered concept of the word. I believe my friend is referring to my logical mind, particularly when it comes to relationships. I’ve often wanted to give dates a five page questionnaire prior to our first date—trying to reduce the intangible to a test of sorts. Sure it is somewhat practical (see the success of websites like Match.com), but it is terribly unromantic to think that relationships can be reduced to some type of formula. In fact, I proved my own desired methodology wrong last May when I met a 25 year old who lives 1200 miles away and would have failed my questionnaire simply based on age and geography. Upon meeting him, my excitement/feeelings for him far outweighed these "problems." Imagine all the joy (and Inside Out Reeses) I would be missing out on if I had ignored my feelings as a result of practical considerations.

So anyway thinking about this genius friend and romance reminds me of the e-mail I received from him on Valentine’s Day. Instead of trying to explain his feelings on VD (my mother’s nomenclature for the holiday, which I find hilarious), I’m pasting a portion of an e-mail he sent me on February 14:

“With no disrespect for your cookies or cupcakes, I personally score Valentines as the nadir on the holiday score card. The crass commercialism generally makes me feel like I ate a Hamdog [a hamburger with chili, cheese, bacon, etc. that is served on a Krispy Kreme doughnut]. Perpetuating the notion of it being a barometer for romance makes it the most ironic of holidays, as I see it as the asylum of the intrinsically unimaginative and unromantic. It only wants a heart shaped tub and a bottle of cheap champagne in the Catskills to reach perfection. Forgive me the cynical venting; I had to keep a stoic stance going all day as the kids still think it's cool and I'm against jading them prematurely.”

Wow. I told you my friend is brilliant. My response did not do his e-mail justice, but just so all of your curious minds know how I feel about VD (in case you were going to send me flowers….please note: I will accept gift certificates to Spa Sydell in lieu thereof):

“Although I agree with your scathing review of Valentine's Day and have often said that it is a Hallmark created holiday promoted by florists who charge 3x their normal prices (and deliver subpar products), restaurants that are overcrowded and overextended, and the candy industry, I don't think VD is all bad. My take is that (1) any holiday on which you are encouraged to give/receive candy has some value, (2) if that is what it (sadly) takes to get some people to be nice to others, then it is better than nothing, and (3) I look good in pink, so VD provides yet another designated day on which I am to wear that color. Plus being sour grapes doesn't change anything and watching men scramble around the mall/grocery store is entertaining. So I refuse to buy cards or flowers or go to a restaurant on VD, but I still made a card for my niece and ate a few chocolates.”

Ok, anyway I originally was talking about romance. So I never go to the movies, but I actually felt compelled to see one this last weekend. Pride & Prejudice. I’ve never read the book, although I feel like I should. There are a lot of books (and museums) that I feel like I should enjoy, but I do not. Oh well. The movie was AWESOME. It was so refreshing to see a movie in which no one got naked, cussed, had sex, etc. Keira Knightley did not look as hot as usual (for my male readers), but the sentiment of the movie was lovely. I simply cannot write a review that does the movie justice, but I am pasting in a link to a fantastic article that discusses the important themes in the movie including what people are really searching for—a different kind of romance than we typically think of in our society. It’s a notion of love and romance that I find very appealing and that is much more biblical than what we are typically exposed to in popular culture.

http://www.kintera.org/site/c.7nKFISNvEqG/b.1206821/
k.B54F/The_Virtues_and_Values_of_Jane_Austen.htm

What I Love This Week....

"Dancin' where the stars go blue, dancin' where the evening fell..."

is the beginning of the song I've placed on repeat this week in my car (compliments of my friend Carson--Ryan Adams' CD Gold). I have so much to be thankful for, so I though I would write about what I love this week. So...this week I love that song ("When the Stars Go Blue"), wrapping Christmas gifts in newspaper (although wrapping paper is pretty, it's incredibly wasteful of both landfill space and money), mailing packages, venti upside down caramel macchiatos (and the fact that several employees at Starbucks now know my name and a special button has been added to the register for my upside down preference--they even know me when I order at the drive through--fun!), looking at photos from Thanksgiving (for example the photo of Lauren following her Aunt Ally's example and brushing her teeth), chicken caesar salad from Offbroadway, my beautifully decorated Christmas tree (thanks Sambo), asiago bagels with sun-dried tomato cream cheese, and kind of getting back into the swing of working out.

Things that I'm not that crazy about this week: the post office's hours, billing, the distance between Boston and Macon, lack of free time, being responsible, Reeses's peanut butter (what a disappointment--it's OK after a few tablespoons full with chocolate chips sprinkled on top), and leaving my cell phone charger in Calhoun and being too cheap to go buy another one.

What do you love this week?