Churchy stuff

For all you closet Psalty lovers out there, please check out this funny, funny video here.

Saddleback Church was holding a conference for worship leaders and played this video right before Psalty came out to lead everyone in a song!! How fun!

And if you've been going to church for forever, then you'll love reading Stuff Christians Like.

Some of my favorites.... Prayer scoring guide, bulletin art, greeting people around you, and (for all of you who went to church back in the hymnal days) singing the 1st & 3rd verses of hymns.

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New faves

Here are some new (to me) products that I am loving right now...

Mentha Lip Tint
Silky, shiny gloss with a hint of color and a double dose of peppermint flavor.

(I think they might also have wintergreen flavor - but whatever. That's for weirdos.)

I can't help but smile when I put it on - it's so tingly & refreshing. Plus, it also makes me feel fresh-breathy.

Skin Milk
Purchasing a lotion-type product is a challenge for me. A much bigger challenge than it should be, really.

Regular old lotion just doesn't cut it. After a couple of hours, my skin feels parched and like I'd never applied lotion at all. So I've discovered that using a body cream or butter is the way to go. It's heavier, it lasts longer, my skin feels softer and I just generally love it.

However, I'm a bit of a Scrooge McDuck and it was killing me (and my budget) to fork over serious $$$ for the good stuff. I stumbled upon my new fave while checking out my new fave place to shop.

At $5, it's a skin care bargain! Plus it has a yummy, yet totally mild scent - which is perfect. My hunky husband has a very sensitive sniffer and strong smelling lotions make him feel gaggy - which is not the desired response when snuggling up next to him on the sofa.

So, gentle reader, what about you? Have you discovered any can't-live-without-it products recently? I'd love to hear about them.

Especially if it gives me an excuse, I mean... a reason to head back here.

Which, not coincidentally, is right next door to here. Which is where I found the most adorable summer shoes. Which I would totally post a picture of, if only I could find a picture of them anywhere on the entire world wide web.

(I'm realizing now that I probably could have just taken a picture of the shoes myself rather than spending 30 minutes looking on a bazillion websites trying to find this elusive photo.)

Oh well. Imagine your favorite shoes here:

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Sheesh!

Ever have a day when you drop a lot of stuff? Not in a metaphorical or spiritual sense - but in an actual, physical, butter-fingery sense.

It's not so surprising, really. I mean, I do have quite a klutzy history. But today seems messier than most.

So far this morning I have...

- spilled water all over the kitchen trying to fill up Janie's water bottle.

- run over my own toe with a shopping cart. Ouch. Plus it ruined the at-home pedicure I gave myself last night. (Janie offered to kiss it and make it better - but I thought it would look weird for my child to be kissing my foot in the middle of the grocery store.)

- dropped a container of alfredo sauce while putting away groceries. It broke. And it was a big mess.

- pulled a pan out of the cupboard to make mac & cheese for lunch. The lid fell off the pan. It dropped into the bowl of cat food in the corner. Cat food and bowl pieces flew around the kitchen. It was another big mess.

That's it for now. But it is, after all, only 1:00 in the afternoon. There's still plenty of time for me to break something else! To protect my carpet, I'll be using my grown-up sippy-cup for the rest of the day!

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Four things

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. For most of my teenage years I was a professional babysitter
2. I eventually moved up to jewelery salesperson at a local department store
3. My perfect summer job during college was Quality Control clerk at a local cannery
4. And my most favorite job of all - full-time mama

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Pride & Prejudice - the way long A&E version
2. Sliding Doors
3. Anne of Green Gables
4. Elizabeth

Four places I have lived:
1. Valparaiso, Indiana
2. Glenview, Illinois
3. San Luis Obispo, California - my most favorite place to be in the whole wide world
4. Modesto, California - home of several national scandals

Four TV shows that I watch:
1. Mad Men - my new, most favorite show
2. Friday Night Lights - if you're not watching this show, you really should
3. Assorted reality shows - The Amazing Race, Project Runway, Top Chef, etc.
4. The Closer

Four places I have been:
1. Maui, Hawaii
2. Tijuana, Mexico
3. Pismo Beach, California
4. Catalina Island, California

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Carbs - all types
2. Sparkling apple cider
3. Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate
4. Zucchini squash- I'm suddenly very into this delicious vegetable

Four things I am looking forward to this summer:
1. Vacation with hubs & kiddo
2. Hanging with my college roomies at the beach
3. Getting a flip flop tan
4. After dinner walks around the lake

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The good stuff

Recently, during a play group, one of the other moms started singing a song that took me right back to 1982 (give or take a few years).

If you were part of a children's program in any church in the 80's - then you'll recognize these lyrics...

Have patience, have patience
Don't be in such a hurry
When you get impatient
You only start to worry
Remember, remember
That God is patient, too
And think of all the
Times when others
Have to wait for you

You may even have memories of some poor volunteer dressed up like a big blue hymnal named Psalty.

Well, after hearing my friend singing this childhood favorite, I couldn't get the song out of my head! I had to find it! It was no where to be found on iTunes, but I did track down a copy of the CD on sale for $3.



It arrived today and we listened to it during dinner. It was every bit as fabulous as I remember. I admit that some parts and a little goofy - and I'm not a fan of listening to the dialogue from the acting part of the musical between the songs.

But each song brought back memories. It's really amazing, that 25 (or so) years later, I can still remember the words to almost every song.

Which makes me think, of course, about what Janie is busy memorizing and I'm wondering if knowing the words to the Little Einsteins theme song is going to help her make good spiritual choices as a young adult.

I don't know if Janie will ever be in a musical with a giant blue hymnal, but I do know that I want to be more intentional about filling up her mind with the good stuff.

It's hard, because so much of Christian children's entertainment is either ridiculously lame or really annoying or sometimes both. So if anyone (all three of you who read this blog) have any good ideas about CDs and DVDs of the non-lame, non-annoying variety, please let me know!

In the meantime, I'm off to search the web for more childhood churchy memories (that have been transfered from audio cassette to CD) to share with my kiddo!

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Overheard

Rob:
"Janie, what do you think? Should we have a new baby in our house? Would you like a new baby brother or sister?"

Jane:
"No. No babies. No brothers. No sisters. Just Jane."

*Disclosure: Nope, not pregnant.

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My favorite job

The other morning I had to go into the office for a meeting. Thankfully, Rob was able to work out his schedule so that he could be with Janie while I was participating in actual-office-y stuff for an hour.

Side note: I quit working full time when Janie was born, and at the time I wondered if I would miss being a Working Woman with my little cubicle and dressy shoes and lunch meetings and big projects.

As I walked up those long stairs toward my old office today, I saw a couple of folks scurrying about with that all-too-familiar freaked-out I've-got-a-huge-deadline look in their eyes. And I realized...

I. don't. miss. this. at. all.

Well, I miss the paychecks. But all the politics and stress and the inflated sense of urgency about every little thing... I can say with certainty that I'm happy to be in my new line of work.

Anyway.

After my meeting, I headed over to one of Rob and Janie's favorite hang out spots - Chuck E Cheese. I found them having snack and enjoying the stage show.

Soon Janie was showing me all of her new gaming skills and running from ride to ride to show me all of her favorites.

She completely schooled me at the water gun game.

And stuck a pose with her buddy Chuck.

As I followed her around with our little cup full of tokens, she had a bright smile and kept up a steady stream of commentary.

And I realized, not for the first time, that when I quit that office job for my new mommy job, I was trading up.

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