Laugh

flotsam and jetsam

Way too much to catch up on from the past two weeks...

  • I started something new that may continue as a weekly ritual. (As much as I try to fight it, I am a pretty predictable person; I enjoy routine and tradition more than I wish I did at times...) Four-Minute Friday. I think of a theme or a starting point, start the clock, and just start writing. For four minutes. And I just see what comes out. I expect those posts will always be rather short and fairly random.
  • A few weeks ago I got published in an online magazine. I am overwhelmed by the response I've continued to get from it. It's amazing...
  • Spending 3 days "unplugged" was hard. I missed feeling connected as only the internet can make me feel.
  • Niel and I have now been married for over 7 years! (Congratulations to us!) The best is yet to come, my Hombre...
  • Natalie left today. There is a strange hollowness in my house. In my heart. I miss you so much already, 'talia. (And it must be said: You left your mark behind. Starbucks enchanted the visiting pastors tonight with that lovely noise you taught him!)

words to live by

I've never gotten a speeding ticket in my life. And it's not because I'm a perfect, law-abiding, speed-limit-driving citizen. I speed. I've just never been ticketed for it.

Until now.

In South Africa, cameras along the highways take grainy black-and-white photos of lead-footed drivers. I had four pictures taken, all on one day. And subsequently mailed to me with a request for payment.

It's just like a visit to Sears Portrait Studio.

From zero to four tickets overnight. "Go big or go home" is my new motto.

flotsam and jetsam

This week went by unbelievably fast...

  • Youth camps ended Sunday afternoon, leaving everybody pretty exhausted, but internally energized.
  • The interns' family members (who were visiting for Family Days) flew home;I got teary watching the goodbyes at the airport.
  • I really enjoyed getting to know the parentals while they were here with us. We had a brief Q&A time with them (on our fun overnight safari), and they asked some great questions. I always love hearing Niel share how he started Thrive and what lies ahead for us. His passion is so evident; it's one of the things I love most about him.
  • I spent a few days up in Joburg with the interns and some of the staff, volunteering at a Willow Creek conference. We made registration packets, stuffed thousands of lunch bags, and served however needed. I really enjoyed seeing our team in action. Everyone worked hard and maintained positive attitudes -- during the busy work times as well as the lulls -- and I was proud to hear how much the Willow staff and other volunteers appreciated not only our help, but our presence.
  • I learned that Panama is the only place in the world where you can see the sun rise on the Pacific and set on the Atlantic.

I am spending this week unplugged... No internet. No email. No blogging. (I cringe at the thought!) Comment away so I have lots to smile about when I get back online!

the potato salad that wasn't

It seems the potato salad was doomed from the start.

A faux pas led to over-boiled, mushy potatoes. But we thought they might be salvageable after an overnight stay in the refrigerator.

The next morning, they were still mushier than they should have been, but usable. There was hope for a still-successful potato salad.

But there seemed to be too few potatoes for the 30-something people we were going to feed. So we prepped and boiled the rest of the tubers we had in the house. Needing them to cool quickly, I put them in the chest freezer.

While waiting for them to cool, I cooked up the other ingredients. I mixed the "sauce" that would finish it all off. And then I went to sit in on a camp session.

Coming back, I checked the freezer. Potatoes were nice and cool. Ready to combine all the ingredients, I strolled into my kitchen.

One of the housekeeping ladies had come in while I was out. Rebecca wonderfully washed dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and mopped the floor. In doing so, she must've moved my bowls of tater salad goodness, because I couldn't find any of them. No potatoes. No sauce. No bacon. I looked everywhere, including inside the microwave and stove. Nothing.

No Rebecca either.

When we finally tracked her down, she sheepishly held up a grocery bag...full of all my potato salad ingredients.

Oh well. It wasn't meant to be.