What should I do?

I have a problem on my hands. Back when I was about 11, I started collecting Beanie Babies. What can I say? All the other kids were doing it, and they were super cute and inexpensive. Before too long, my collection grew to about 65!

I just pulled them out of my parents' basement yesterday, thinking I would pick out a few to keep and get rid of the rest. Well, I can't sell them because they have little value any more. But my problem is this: I still think they're really cute! What's wrong with me? I can't bring myself to give them away.

But what's a grown woman of almost-25 going to do with 65 Beanie Babies? I welcome your suggestions.

Weddings make me happy

This is my friend Sarah. We've known each other since we started college at Valparaiso in the fall of 2001. We became really good friends in the spring semester of 2004 when we were roommates. She had spent the previous semester in Cambridge, England and I had been in Reutlingen, Germany, so we were both in need of a roommate. Seemed like a good solution to room together.

Sarah and I have different personalities, but despite these differences (just in personalities, not in opinions!), we got along really well. We were the only two people in our class with the exact same major--BA in church music with piano as our primary instrument. (But we both like singing better. :) And that spring semester of our junior year was important for church music majors. We had our church music class together as well as our practicum, other music classes, and Chorale. And since we knew we worked well together, we roomed together on Chorale tour, which was a long one! And you know what? We never fought. I don't think we even got sick of each other. And even though we have not spent as much time together since that semester, we've kept up with each other through graduations, different jobs, moves, and she was a bridesmaid in my wedding.

And now my friend Sarah is getting married herself! Her Chris is a really great guy, and I know they will be very happy together. After their super-fun bachelor/bachelorette party on Friday (combined, because that's more fun), I am very excited for this wedding and am honored to be a bridesmaid. There's nothing like getting together and having great beer (at Harrison's and Rock Bottom) with genuinely friendly people.

This one's for you, Sarah and Chris! I wish you many blessings in your married life!

My Funny Husband

Erich and I are watching "Entourage" on DVD. In one episode, one of the guys buys an injured racehorse to save him from the glue factory. After it ended:

Erich: Will you buy me a horse for my birthday?

Me: . . . sure.

Erich: (incredulous) WHY??

And then I laughed for ten minutes.


P.S.: I have so much posting to do on so many topics! And yet, I have so little time to post. I feel bad about this. :(

It happens in the midwest too

There was an earthquake last night! Or, I should say, early this morning. Erich and I are quite disappointed that we slept through it. Apparently people in the Chicago area had furniture moving around. And we slept through it! Yaaargh!

Oh well. I felt an earthquake once before, during the summer of 2004. The windows rattled. <sarcasm> And that's about the most exciting thing that ever happens in the Midwest. </sarcasm>

Did anyone else feel it? If so, I hope you had a great earthquake and no damage!

Link

I do not want this man as my president

There, I said it.

[quotes are taken from here]

This is from the other day:

"It's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations," he said, according to the Huffington Post Web site.

Here's his follow-up today:


Transcribed:

"I said something that everybody knows is true, which is that there are a whole bunch of folks in small towns in Pennsylvania, in towns right here in Indiana, in my hometown in Illinois, who are bitter. They are angry. They feel like they've been left behind. They feel like nobody is paying attention to what they're going through. So, I said, well you know, when you're bitter, you turn to what you can count on. Some people, you know, they vote about guns, or they take comfort in their faith, and their family and their community. And they get mad about illegal immigrants who are coming over to this country, or they get frustrated about, you know, how things are changing. That's a natural response. Now, I didn't say it as well as I should have because, you know, the truth is that these traditions that are passed on from generation to generation, those are important. That's what sustains us. But, what is absolutely true is that people don't feel like they're being listened to, you know, and so they pray and they count on each other, they count on their families. You know this in your own lives. And what we need is a government that is actually paying attention, a government that is fighting for working people day in and day out, making sure that we are trying to allow them to live out the American dream, and that's what this campaign is about. We've got to get past the divisions, we've got to get past the distractions in our politics and fight for each other."

Mr. Obama is doing an abysmal job of appealing to the small towners of Pennsylvania and Indiana. I HOPE. I usually don't jump into political arguments, but this really angers me. Is it just me, or does he seem to be implying that government done his way can replace religion? That's certainly the gist I got from this rambling. The simple folk must be thinking, "Oh, gee, no one's paying attention to me, so I guess I'll try guns and prayer." Give me a break.

These are issues that many people care deeply about, and he brushes them off, claiming those people are "bitter." Here's a tip, Barry: when people care about things, they want validation. So thank you for exposing yourself so clearly as someone who will not validate those bitter, praying, simple small town folk.

Then again, it's understandable that Obama would think faith=frustration, given that his own "ex" pastor hates America. I suppose now that his campaign has taken off and he will create the government of everyone's dreams, we all won't need petty things like prayer. Sure, we can keep those traditions cuz, well, like, you know, they're important and stuff. Let's just get over that little faith stumbling block and put away your guns (those nasty crutches for bitterness) and I'm sure you'll love all the immigrants once you get to know them, and then we can all start living the American dream! Which is. . .what?

I don't like Hillary Clinton either, but she at least knows how to validate people:

"The people of faith I know don't 'cling to' religion because they're bitter," she said. "People embrace faith not because they are materially poor, but because they are spiritually rich."

People really need to open their eyes about Obama. Look beyond his demeanor, his words, and see him for the man he is. He doesn't care about you. He doesn't know you, he's not one of you. And he's getting bad at pretending he is.

Tagged

I was tagged by pianomomsicle from her blog.

The Rules:

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Hmmm, this seems a little familiar. That's okay, I can come up with many more things about me! Here we go:

1. Whenever I get back from Europe, I'm astounded at how much bigger everything is here, especially cars and roads, and I bemoan the fact that American suburbia is completely pedestrian unfriendly. I live about 1/8 mile from a Jewell-Osco, but it's a really ugly walk.

2. I have very sensitive hearing. I had suspected it for many years, but then I had my hearing tested once during college, and it was confirmed. There's a scale from 0-100 for different types of sounds, 0 being perfect hearing and 100 being profoundly deaf. Most people are in the 20-40 range for most areas of the test--I hovered around the 5 mark. Since I'm not an audiologist, I can't elaborate any further. But seriously, be impressed by my hearing. Anywho, that means TVs can drive me batty and there are certain rooms in museums that I can't linger in because the security devices emit high-pitched noises. And the family joke is, I can hear my brother breathing in his bedroom when I'm downstairs in the family room on the opposite end of the house. Har har.

3. I will try any type of food, and I will probably like it. Notable exceptions: cilantro and truffles (the fungus, not the chocolate). GAG!

4. I have an abnormal uterus. You can read all about it in my other blog. (Disclaimer: unless things like uteri and fertility specifically interest you, you probably don't want to read my other blog. This doesn't offend me.)

5. I miss Erich. :( This isn't weird or random, but it's true right now. He's in Spain until Sunday.

6. I'm a little bit addicted to FreeCell. I'm going through all the games in order (I'm on #358 out of a million, so I'm, like, halfway there, right?). I even recently got Erich, who is not the obsessive type, on board and he plays it a lot now too. I'm kinda proud of that fact. Of course, I know it's only a matter of time before he gets much better at it than me and I won't be so proud any more.

7. I can and have watched HGTV for hours and hours on end. First of all, they have a great logical flow to their programming. Second, they employ blatant TRICKERY wherein the end of one show leads into the beginning of next without a break and before you know it, you're hooked in for another half-hour. It's inspiring though: sometime soon I shall post nice touches I've added to my domicile, thanks in part to HGTV. And also, I want a new house.

I'm going to break the last two rules of this meme. If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged. The end!

Spain!

Well, Erich and I are off to Bilbao, Spain today. He's going for work, and I'm going because I can. I'm really looking forward to it, but I haven't done a lot to prepare. I plan on reading the guidebooks on the way there. This will be my fourth time in Europe, and it's starting to feel just slightly routine. Looking back, I'm really proud of my international travels, and I owe it all to my extremely generous and supportive parents. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

My first time overseas was two and a half weeks in France during my senior year of high school. I stayed with a family (their daughter had stayed with my family a few weeks before), and it was such a wonderful experience. I was in a suburb of Paris and my school group went in to the city at least six full days, I think, often with some free time for us to explore. It was my first time really getting to know a city, and I may still be able to say that I know Paris better than I know Chicago. During that trip, we also toured Chateau country. I lived the French life and had some wonderful, home-cooked French and Vietnamese food (my French mom was Vietnamese), and needless to say, my French language skills improved by leaps and bounds in those few weeks.

The exchange program got me totally hooked on Europe. I felt certain I would return in college. I knew Valpo had many overseas programs, and in the beginning I thought most seriously about the study center in Cambridge, England but gradually forgot about it. During my sophomore year, one of my friends mentioned going to Reutlingen, Germany and I immediately got very excited. I knew I had to go. Within a few weeks I applied and was accepted to spend the following fall semester in Reutlingen. For sixteen weeks, I had classes four days a week, traveled around the continent most weekends on a Eurail pass, took organ lessons at a school for church music in a neighboring town, and lived the college life...in Germany! The whole experience had its challenges, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

The following spring semester, I was fortunate enough to travel to Germany again with my college choir, the VU Chorale. Not only did I get to return so soon to the country I had gotten to know and like, but I also got to sing with a phenomenal choir in some really significant and beautiful places, including Thomaskirche in Leipzig (the church of J.S. Bach), the Schlosskirche (a.k.a. Castle Church, a.k.a. place of Luther's 95 Theses) in Wittenberg, and the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedaechtniskirche in Berlin. And this really awesome and cute guy from Valpo in the Reutlingen program came up to hear us sing and I hung out with him. He, sadly, had a girlfriend, but I still ended up marrying him. :)

Yes, I have been very fortunate in my travels. I'm so happy to be going to Europe again. I've never been to Spain and I don't know any Spanish, and because of my past experiences, that doesn't make me nervous in the least. I can't wait to experience Bilbao and write all about it when I get back!

Cold

I appreciate the change of seasons. I believe I probably appreciate summer more because of winter's existence. I love spring when it's just budding and blooming, that warm wave in the air that wakes up the grass. (I always say I can smell the photosynthesis and it's fantastic. Erich wants to find some way to prove whether what I'm smelling is actually photosynthesis.) I like summer when I can wear skirts and flip flops all the time. I like the crisp air of autumn when the leaves are changing. I even like snow, when it's pretty and sparkly around Christmastime, before it turns into disgusting mounds of icy dirt. I'm a born and raised Midwesterner and this is "my" climate.

BUT

Even though I've always felt a bit down in February and March (and even, most years, April) when winter is supposed to be fading and then gone but isn't, I'm starting to really, seriously feel like I want to move somewhere warmer. Exactly a year ago, Erich and I were in San Diego and it was the best place ever, climate-wise. And don't even get me started on Hawaii. I wouldn't need hideous mountains of ancient snow to help me appreciate the natural beauty of that great state. I could certainly handle living in Texas or Florida, or somewhere southern where winter is chilly and not horrendous.

Just, please, get me away from the kind of place where the temperatures drop below freezing in early December and stay that way and it snows on St. Patrick's Day. And if we could arrange it so I could still see my family all the time, I'd be set.