I'm in need of some serious fashion help ladies! I mustered up the confidence to go shopping today only to be disappointed and confused once I got to the department store. Where do I start? I have no idea what is going to look good on me! Seriously, I've made it through the last 27 years without having the slightest idea of how to dress this body. I want some simple pieces to wear when we go out. My work attire is chosen for me by someone with even less fashion sense than myself so I want weekend/evening wear that will allow me to feel feminine and flirty without looking like I'm trying to be 16 again.
It wasn't at all fair of me to once again try to go clothes shopping while on my period, but for some reason that is when the shopping bug hits me. I'm certain it's because I feel fat and ugly. Oh the wonders of womanhood.
I'm giving myself the rest of this week off from diet and exercise and will start back fresh on Monday. I'm too tired to even think about physical activity right now, but I know I need to get back on track.

nablopomo



Anyone else up for the challenge?

From Kristen

Those AmEx advertisements in magazines...
First it's my turn:

My name: Sandra
childhood ambition: To be a "baby nurse"
fondest memory: every summer I spent in Pennsylvania
soundtrack: Good Monsters
retreat: a warm bath
wildest dream: Life on my farm with the occasional shopping trip to Europe
proudest moment: Adopting Erin
biggest challenge: not giving up
alarm clock: the radio
perfect day: coffee, quiet time, dinner with the entire family!
first job: newspaper girl
indulgence: chocolate
last purchase: groceries
favorite movie: Everafter
inspiration: life
My life: is about change
My card: is Visa debit card..I agree with Aola, credit cards are evil!
Now it's your turn...

It was a good weekend, a really good weekend. Saturday we went to a haunted cornfield maze. It wasn't as scary as I expected, but I did jump several times. Erin loved it. She loves all things freightfull. We came home to chili and cornbread. Sunday we went shopping for my Halloween costume. David and I are going to be Mary Poppins and Burt. I found a hat, jacket, skirt and little bow tie for $14 at Goodwill! I already have a carpet bag and umbrella. The only things I need to complete the costumes are a black jacket and hat for David and a white shirt and gloves for me.
We are hosting a murder mystery dinner party next Sunday so we bought supplies for that. We are going to have the party in one of the storage units to add to the spooky feel. It should be fun.

Disneyland was great! It was VERY crowded, but we expected that. My favorite ride was Peter Pan's Flight. I guess I'm still just a kid at heart. Erin loved The Hollywood Tower of Terror. David loved Pirates of the Caribbean.
I got to take a picture with Marry Poppins. It was the highlight of the trip! I told you I'm a kid at heart!
Life is good. I'm learning to live for now and not worry so much about tomorrow. I'm trying to enjoy being here in this place at this time rather than wish I were somewhere else.
I finished "Velvet Elvis". It went along nicely with "A Generous Orthodoxy". Both are about loving everyone and thing well. So, I am praying for more love, more compasion, more grace. It isn't easy to give so much of yourself when it feels like just living sucks you dry. When I finished both books, I felt completely overwhelmed and lost. Both of these books showed me how selfish I can be, and it didn't feel good.

I finished "A Generous Orthodoxy". The book is full of more than I can ever share here and I am still soaking up much of what I read. What I have absorbed thus far is that a generous orthodoxy is one of acceptance. It meets people where they are not to conform them, but to love them. It doesn't set out with the thought of changing anyone but rather loving everyone. It's broad scope is wide enough to let everyone in because it understands that we are all God's creation, made in his image. The fact that a person doesn't accept this makes it no less true. It seeks to learn from other people what is right and good and true about God and to give back what it has learned is right and good and true about God. It understands and accepts that it doesn't have it all figured out. It sees faith as a continuous journey rather than a well worn path. This generation picks up forging the path where the last one left off.
Perhaps the author says it best,
"To be a Christian in a generously orthodox way is not to claim to have the truth captured, stuffed, and mounted on the wall. It is rather to be in a loving (ethical) community of people who are seeking the truth (doctrine) on the road of mission (witness, as McClendon said) and who have been launched on the quest by Jesus, who, with us, guides us still. Do we have it? Have we taken hold of it? Not fully, not yet, of course not. But we keep on seeking. We're finding enough to keep us going. But we're not finished. That, to me, is orthodoxy-a way of seeing and seeking, a way of living, a way of thinking and loving and learning that helps what we believe become more true over time, more resonant with the infinite glory that is God."

I recieved Velvet Elvis yesterday. I can't wait to read it. I'm in the middle of A Generous Orthodoxy which is good. It confirms much of what I've been feeling over the last few years.
My wonderful husband bought me this. I felt a little sick as he paid for it and had to talk myself out of returning it several times. It's so hard for me to spend money on myself even if I have been saving up for 2 years for this paticular item.
We are going to Disneyland this weekend. I am so excited!
Is anyone else watching Heroes?

For Aola; a bright spot.

This is an exerpt from this article in The New York Times.

Yet, when asked about the killings, most people here seemed focused on forgiveness, faith and a determination to move forward.

"You think about them, you cry about them, you pray for them," said Lizzy Fisher, an Amish grandmother who is close to several great-grandparents of the slain girls. "And then you have to let go of things you can't explain."

Asked whether anyone in the community felt angry about the killing, Ms. Fisher seemed aghast.

"Oh, no, no, definitely not," she said shaking her head vigorously, standing behind a screen door at her house along Bachman Town Road in Ronk. "People don't feel that around here. We just don't."

Barbara Beiler, a friend of a pregnant teacher who was in the classroom but was released by Mr. Roberts, said the woman, whose name has not been released, had told her, "Even when the gunman was in the room, she felt like there were angels present."

"These are people," Ms. Beiler said, "with unshakable faith."



I love the comment about letting go of the things you can't explain. Modern society demands a reason for everything, but no reason given could ever be enough.
The little farm I love and hope to move to is nestled in the middle of Amish country. When I think about the Amish way of life, one word comes to mind; simple. Their simple way of life is a reflection of their simple faith. They don't feel the need to complicate things by searching for a reson for something that is beyond reason. Instead, they will mourn, forgive, and let go. The world will see this example of their faith magnified. If there is any bright spot in such tragedy, it is this.

I'm currently reading A Generous Orthodoxy. Has anyone else read it? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Words do nothing to describe how proud I am of him and how much I love him.
We were surrounded by friends and family yesterday as we celebrated Davids graduation and my heart was filled to overflowing. We are so blessed.