For all of you who read my blog, I wanted to show my appreciation.
This is my Christmas gift to you, from one blogger to another.
I hope you enjoy.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Go big or go home.
Sometimes you have to go big or go home.
Each department at work was given an ugly brown paper cutout of a christmas tree to decorate and post on the door. I don't get to use my creative side very much at worked, so I immediately started scheming big for the contest, and definitely encouraged some friendly competition amongst the other departments.
We decided to go with a music theme because so many people in my office have a musical background. For the tree, I decoupaged the background in sheetmusic and cutout little music notes for ornaments. I also strung ribbon across it, and made a big star out of pretty paper for the top. There are also christmas lights poking through. It's hanging from the door, which we wrapped in red wrapping paper. All of this is in addition to the Christmas decorations my office puts up every year: a tree, some garland, some lights, etc. If that wasn't enough, I brought in a red cozy chair, and next to it I strategically placed a bowl of candy. My laptop is also sitting next to the tree with a looping video of a crackling fire. And i'm of course listening to Christmas music.
So we unveiled our cozy winter wonderland this morning, and the judging is tomorrow. The best part is that I have a front row seat to see people's reactions as they walk by. Some of them are hilarious. I've had people say they're gonna come back with their laptop to sit down and study for finals. Some people laugh. Others just stand in awe. We're only supposed to be judged on the tree itself, but when you create an atmosphere like this, how can you lose?
I'll keep you updated tomorrow after they vote.
These are dark and difficult to see because they were taken with my phone, but this is the view from my desk. Plus, we have overhead lights off to help set the atmosphere. (We're pretty serious.)
This past weekend was fun - busy, but fun. Narnia, lunch with Stella and the girls, Sturgeon's Christmas party, Prickett's college study break party, and worship worship worship and church. I'm excited for our Indian dinner with Navigate tomorrow night to get us pumped for our trip this summer. Also, I could eat Chicken Tikka Masala from Anmol all day every day - but I have a sneaky suspicion it will not taste the same, and definitely 100x more spicy when we're actually there.
Each department at work was given an ugly brown paper cutout of a christmas tree to decorate and post on the door. I don't get to use my creative side very much at worked, so I immediately started scheming big for the contest, and definitely encouraged some friendly competition amongst the other departments.
We decided to go with a music theme because so many people in my office have a musical background. For the tree, I decoupaged the background in sheetmusic and cutout little music notes for ornaments. I also strung ribbon across it, and made a big star out of pretty paper for the top. There are also christmas lights poking through. It's hanging from the door, which we wrapped in red wrapping paper. All of this is in addition to the Christmas decorations my office puts up every year: a tree, some garland, some lights, etc. If that wasn't enough, I brought in a red cozy chair, and next to it I strategically placed a bowl of candy. My laptop is also sitting next to the tree with a looping video of a crackling fire. And i'm of course listening to Christmas music.
So we unveiled our cozy winter wonderland this morning, and the judging is tomorrow. The best part is that I have a front row seat to see people's reactions as they walk by. Some of them are hilarious. I've had people say they're gonna come back with their laptop to sit down and study for finals. Some people laugh. Others just stand in awe. We're only supposed to be judged on the tree itself, but when you create an atmosphere like this, how can you lose?
I'll keep you updated tomorrow after they vote.
These are dark and difficult to see because they were taken with my phone, but this is the view from my desk. Plus, we have overhead lights off to help set the atmosphere. (We're pretty serious.)
From left to right: tree, crackling fireplace on my laptop, and decorated paper tree.
a sideways pic of the tree.
The sitting corner with chair and candy.
Friday, December 10, 2010
musings on creation.
yesterday was pretty fabulous.
I came home from work, played a little guitar to plan for Sunday's worship set (I have too many songs, which is the best problem to have), then our first netflix movie had arrived (yayyyyy for netflix), so i had the joy of watching Yentl....after months of talking with Elisa about wanting to watch it. Why do we love the movie so much? I can't quite put my finger on it, but i'm sure it has something to do with Mandy Patinkin. And the best part was that the roommates got sucked in, too. Surprisingly, Sam couldn't get enough. And then we ordered Indian food for roommate Christmas/hangout/Sarah's birthday night. But we didn't do many Christmassy things because it was 24 stinkin degrees outside and no one wants to go get a tree or go to the basement to get decorations in the arctic. So we curled up with Yentl and Chicken Tikka Masala and my heart got really excited to be going to India this summer. And my intestines are praying for the strength to endure the spice. Then Sam and Sarah went off to study and Elisa and I watched White Christmas. I fell asleep, but the good chunk that I watched made my heart even warmer.
Especially this:
This weekend will be filled with Narnia (maybe), lunch with girlfriends and Elisa's grandma Stella (adorable), christmas party at the Sturgeon's (oh how i miss them) and church Sunday. It seems that warm, fuzzy feelings will continue. Which is wonderful, considering the 14 degree weather that greeted me this morning.
Musings on Creation:
I was sitting in bed this morning, reading Acts, and eating a clementine. I love Acts, but kept getting distracted by my clementine. Do you realize how perfect an orange is? It was ideally created for snacking. I was suddenly struck by the fact that there is no way that this orange just existed or evolved on its own.Someone constructed it perfectly - I mean, it has a protective covering, and then each slice is delicately wrapped so that you can peel apart and eat each piece. It leaves the option for sharing, or for saving some for later. AND it's delicious. I used to say that fruit is God's candy. It's beautiful and delicious and perfectly constructed. Look at an orange. How could that just "happen"? Someone designed it, and my tummy delights in His creation.
There is also a paper christmas tree decorating contest at work - each department gets a brown paper christmas tree cutout and you have to decorate it and post it on your door. i dont want to give too much away, but we are so totally gonna win. i'll post pictures next week when it's all ready to be judged. just you wait.
I came home from work, played a little guitar to plan for Sunday's worship set (I have too many songs, which is the best problem to have), then our first netflix movie had arrived (yayyyyy for netflix), so i had the joy of watching Yentl....after months of talking with Elisa about wanting to watch it. Why do we love the movie so much? I can't quite put my finger on it, but i'm sure it has something to do with Mandy Patinkin. And the best part was that the roommates got sucked in, too. Surprisingly, Sam couldn't get enough. And then we ordered Indian food for roommate Christmas/hangout/Sarah's birthday night. But we didn't do many Christmassy things because it was 24 stinkin degrees outside and no one wants to go get a tree or go to the basement to get decorations in the arctic. So we curled up with Yentl and Chicken Tikka Masala and my heart got really excited to be going to India this summer. And my intestines are praying for the strength to endure the spice. Then Sam and Sarah went off to study and Elisa and I watched White Christmas. I fell asleep, but the good chunk that I watched made my heart even warmer.
Especially this:
This weekend will be filled with Narnia (maybe), lunch with girlfriends and Elisa's grandma Stella (adorable), christmas party at the Sturgeon's (oh how i miss them) and church Sunday. It seems that warm, fuzzy feelings will continue. Which is wonderful, considering the 14 degree weather that greeted me this morning.
Musings on Creation:
I was sitting in bed this morning, reading Acts, and eating a clementine. I love Acts, but kept getting distracted by my clementine. Do you realize how perfect an orange is? It was ideally created for snacking. I was suddenly struck by the fact that there is no way that this orange just existed or evolved on its own.Someone constructed it perfectly - I mean, it has a protective covering, and then each slice is delicately wrapped so that you can peel apart and eat each piece. It leaves the option for sharing, or for saving some for later. AND it's delicious. I used to say that fruit is God's candy. It's beautiful and delicious and perfectly constructed. Look at an orange. How could that just "happen"? Someone designed it, and my tummy delights in His creation.
There is also a paper christmas tree decorating contest at work - each department gets a brown paper christmas tree cutout and you have to decorate it and post it on your door. i dont want to give too much away, but we are so totally gonna win. i'll post pictures next week when it's all ready to be judged. just you wait.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
I don't claim to know a lot.
Ok, maybe that's false.
But I don't claim to know a lot about music videos.
At least not lately.
I'm totally open to hearing your input.
This day and age, in the year 2010, what, exactly, is the point of a music video?
I mean, really? Are there people who turn on VH1 and just sit and watch music videos? Are those people out there somewhere? MTV doesn't even really show music videos anymore, does it?
Anyhoo, the cause of this question was the flipping of channels while house-sitting this weekend (which, might I add, was fabulous). I stumbled upon the new Kid Rock music video.
This is what I was able to glean from the video:
Hi, I'm Kid Rock. I'm standing in a field with a fancy expensive guitar that is not plugged in.
I'm wearing sunglasses although it appears to be dusk.
Hold on a sec, now I'm on a beach and my hair is blowing in the wind.
For your visual enjoyment, let me show you a clip of the field and the beach at the same time.
Sometimes I like to ride a huge motorcycle down a long road.
I don't wear a helmet 'cause i'm Kid Rock, but don't worry - i'm still wearing the sunglasses.
I like to play my guitar on the beach. It's another guitar that better matches the color pallette of the sand and the sea. But there isn't a place to plug it in. Don't worry, though, because i'm just gonna fling my hands in the air anyway.
I got tired of the motorcycle, so now i'm gonna chill in my fancy old car. It has a set of big bull horns on the grill and shot guns for door handles because i'm Kid Rock and I do what I want.
When I lift my hand up in the air I look like a rockstar.
I just don't really understand the point. I don't get the message other than he was "Born Free" in America...I feel like a lot of money was spent for him to stand with a guitar in some of the prettiest places that God has created just to announce some kind of ownership of his freedom. Here's the video so you can decide for yourself:
On a much lovelier note, Thanksgiving was wonderful - I ate good food with good people and had good solitude time while housesitting, as well as got a little bit of Christmas shopping done. It was cozy. And for a much more cozy video, one that I saw for the first time last night that made me cry I was laughing so much about it.
RAE - you will LOVE this video.
You're welcome.
Ok, maybe that's false.
But I don't claim to know a lot about music videos.
At least not lately.
I'm totally open to hearing your input.
This day and age, in the year 2010, what, exactly, is the point of a music video?
I mean, really? Are there people who turn on VH1 and just sit and watch music videos? Are those people out there somewhere? MTV doesn't even really show music videos anymore, does it?
Anyhoo, the cause of this question was the flipping of channels while house-sitting this weekend (which, might I add, was fabulous). I stumbled upon the new Kid Rock music video.
This is what I was able to glean from the video:
Hi, I'm Kid Rock. I'm standing in a field with a fancy expensive guitar that is not plugged in.
I'm wearing sunglasses although it appears to be dusk.
Hold on a sec, now I'm on a beach and my hair is blowing in the wind.
For your visual enjoyment, let me show you a clip of the field and the beach at the same time.
Sometimes I like to ride a huge motorcycle down a long road.
I don't wear a helmet 'cause i'm Kid Rock, but don't worry - i'm still wearing the sunglasses.
I like to play my guitar on the beach. It's another guitar that better matches the color pallette of the sand and the sea. But there isn't a place to plug it in. Don't worry, though, because i'm just gonna fling my hands in the air anyway.
I got tired of the motorcycle, so now i'm gonna chill in my fancy old car. It has a set of big bull horns on the grill and shot guns for door handles because i'm Kid Rock and I do what I want.
When I lift my hand up in the air I look like a rockstar.
I just don't really understand the point. I don't get the message other than he was "Born Free" in America...I feel like a lot of money was spent for him to stand with a guitar in some of the prettiest places that God has created just to announce some kind of ownership of his freedom. Here's the video so you can decide for yourself:
On a much lovelier note, Thanksgiving was wonderful - I ate good food with good people and had good solitude time while housesitting, as well as got a little bit of Christmas shopping done. It was cozy. And for a much more cozy video, one that I saw for the first time last night that made me cry I was laughing so much about it.
RAE - you will LOVE this video.
You're welcome.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Bambi Goes To Seminary.
Why are you downcast, my soul? Put your hope in God.
Awake, my soul.
Yes, my soul, find rest in God.
Praise the Lord, my soul.
Return to your rest, my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.
I'm in a bit of a stalemate. A little bit of a slouch. A little bit of a valley. It's not dark, it's not scary, it's not super difficult. It's just kind of....bleh.
I don't wake up well in the morning, and when I do, I tend to fall back to sleep.
My room is a disaster and I avoid cleaning it.
I'm behind and I cannot focus for more than 5 minutes to get any of my Navigate reading done.
Things are messy and undone and my answer to productivity has been to sleep or turn on the tv.
This is not me.
David commanded his soul to hope. He commanded his soul to wake up, to rest, to praise. I want to command my soul, but I don't really feel like it. Could someone please command me to command my soul? Or command my soul for me?
On the way to work this morning, I turned on Bless the Lord - I often pick music in the car that I hope will 1) wake me up 2) put me in an attitude of praise for the day 3) get me focused on God.
My thoughts are often drifting and distracted, but I at least try to control the background music. And sometimes it works - even if just for the 15 minute car ride.
Today, as the song was building up to the glorious part where the music cuts out and the harmonies yell out, "BLESS THE LORD, OH MY SOUL!" and my soul was starting to listen and respond, I had to bring my car to an almost complete stop as I let 2 beautiful deer cross the road right in front of me onto the Seminary's campus.
Deer are my sign - some people have rainbows, red balloons, shooting stars, dolphins - things that they are especially sensitive to that, cheesy as it may seem, always seem to come at the perfect time and remind them of God's presence and love in a particular moment. When I go home, I beg for deer. There are a few places, on the back roads of South County, that I frequently seen them, or have had to stop for them in the past. For some reason, I remember those exact places and my heart kind of begs God to see them each time I drive by. I really don't see too many deer in Massachusetts - especially crossing the street in the daylight. I also don't often find myself in a place here where I feel like I need to beg for deer. But this morning, in a place where I was commanding my soul to praise the Lord and my soul was responding, rather than trying to command God to reveal Himself to me, He did just that.
I can't say that i've been good at commanding my soul all day today. It has been slow and I haven't had much work to do. I'm dreaming of Thanksgiving and my mini vacation and the moment when my room will be clean and my feet will be warm on someone else's heated bathroom floor. It's work. It's exercise to command my soul. Right now, it wants nothing more than to just be lazy and complacent and stay in this slump. Ice cream on the couch with 3 hours of tv sounds great to my soul right now. Snuggling up for a nice long nap sounds good right now. But I was encouraged this morning. When I command my soul to praise the Lord, my Lord responds and receives the praise. And my soul is lifted.
Awake, my soul.
Yes, my soul, find rest in God.
Praise the Lord, my soul.
Return to your rest, my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.
I'm in a bit of a stalemate. A little bit of a slouch. A little bit of a valley. It's not dark, it's not scary, it's not super difficult. It's just kind of....bleh.
I don't wake up well in the morning, and when I do, I tend to fall back to sleep.
My room is a disaster and I avoid cleaning it.
I'm behind and I cannot focus for more than 5 minutes to get any of my Navigate reading done.
Things are messy and undone and my answer to productivity has been to sleep or turn on the tv.
This is not me.
David commanded his soul to hope. He commanded his soul to wake up, to rest, to praise. I want to command my soul, but I don't really feel like it. Could someone please command me to command my soul? Or command my soul for me?
On the way to work this morning, I turned on Bless the Lord - I often pick music in the car that I hope will 1) wake me up 2) put me in an attitude of praise for the day 3) get me focused on God.
My thoughts are often drifting and distracted, but I at least try to control the background music. And sometimes it works - even if just for the 15 minute car ride.
Today, as the song was building up to the glorious part where the music cuts out and the harmonies yell out, "BLESS THE LORD, OH MY SOUL!" and my soul was starting to listen and respond, I had to bring my car to an almost complete stop as I let 2 beautiful deer cross the road right in front of me onto the Seminary's campus.
Deer are my sign - some people have rainbows, red balloons, shooting stars, dolphins - things that they are especially sensitive to that, cheesy as it may seem, always seem to come at the perfect time and remind them of God's presence and love in a particular moment. When I go home, I beg for deer. There are a few places, on the back roads of South County, that I frequently seen them, or have had to stop for them in the past. For some reason, I remember those exact places and my heart kind of begs God to see them each time I drive by. I really don't see too many deer in Massachusetts - especially crossing the street in the daylight. I also don't often find myself in a place here where I feel like I need to beg for deer. But this morning, in a place where I was commanding my soul to praise the Lord and my soul was responding, rather than trying to command God to reveal Himself to me, He did just that.
I can't say that i've been good at commanding my soul all day today. It has been slow and I haven't had much work to do. I'm dreaming of Thanksgiving and my mini vacation and the moment when my room will be clean and my feet will be warm on someone else's heated bathroom floor. It's work. It's exercise to command my soul. Right now, it wants nothing more than to just be lazy and complacent and stay in this slump. Ice cream on the couch with 3 hours of tv sounds great to my soul right now. Snuggling up for a nice long nap sounds good right now. But I was encouraged this morning. When I command my soul to praise the Lord, my Lord responds and receives the praise. And my soul is lifted.
Friday, November 19, 2010
to the left of center.
1) I didn't realize that I had made 50 posts in my blog already. This is number fifty one. Really? What have I talked about for 50 posts? Maybe i'll celebrate when I get to 100. Strike that - that's pushing pathetic.
But....tempting.
2) I was driving to work today when I suddenly realized how poor the allignment of my car is. How is it that I didn't realize for however long that I need to hold my steering wheel a few degrees to the left in order to keep it driving straight? I've been so mentally consumed with the fact that it almost stalls out at every stoplight to notice that it doesn't even drive in a straight line when the wheel is unattended. I realize a little bit of a curve is probably natural. But this isn't exactly "slight." We're talking some serious "veering" to the right if I let go of the wheel. How is it possible that I did not notice this? Then my thoughts turn to the amount tension my left wrist has been withstanding for however long as I hold the steering wheel in place, to the left of center. (I also noticed that I tend to hold the steering wheel with my left hand - or at least hold it in place with my left while texting, curling my hair, applying lipgloss, and baking a cake with my right. JOKES.)
But then, naturally, on my way to work at 7:45 in the morning, I start thinking about the amount of tension in my life that I cause or that I don't even realize I put up with. This for example - I didn't even realize that I was exerting extra energy to hold my steering wheel in the place it needed to be even while driving straight. Or this morning, I spent way too much time trying to put curl into my hair, which does not naturally enjoy being curled or staying curled. The attitude of my hair as I try to do this is nothing short of tense. "Jenna, we've been through this a million times. I'm straight. And I'm thin. And I don't like curl. You won the war of the bangs, but i'm not letting you have this one."
And then I got to work and these thoughts stop. Anti-climactic, I know. Maybe i'll process these thoughts more someday. But today is Friday.
3) I went to the dentist this afternoon for the first time in about 5 years. College and moving to Mass and lack of good dental insurance have caused major procrastination in this area. It was a fairly good visit, but I always leave the dentist feeling a little confused about where I stand with them. It's kind of like we just had a DTR that really didn't clarify a single thing, and I know i'm going to have to go back to resolve some details, even though there were a few really great moments in the conversation. Congrats on only having one cavity, but we might see more with the x-ray. Stay tuned. You have beautiful teeth, but please come back next week for a big needle filled with novacane and a filling. You have a little gingivitis, but no plaque! You're great at brushing, but let's work on that flossing. You have a beautiful smile, but lets rip out your wisdom teeth. Really, it's not you, it's me....
4) Pumped to be going to the theater tonight (please re-read that sentence with a snobby British accent on the word "theater" - actually, so it's more like "theataah"). Meeting up with a group of friends to go see El Schwab rock it in 2 Gents of Verona in Rockport. Pumped.
But....tempting.
2) I was driving to work today when I suddenly realized how poor the allignment of my car is. How is it that I didn't realize for however long that I need to hold my steering wheel a few degrees to the left in order to keep it driving straight? I've been so mentally consumed with the fact that it almost stalls out at every stoplight to notice that it doesn't even drive in a straight line when the wheel is unattended. I realize a little bit of a curve is probably natural. But this isn't exactly "slight." We're talking some serious "veering" to the right if I let go of the wheel. How is it possible that I did not notice this? Then my thoughts turn to the amount tension my left wrist has been withstanding for however long as I hold the steering wheel in place, to the left of center. (I also noticed that I tend to hold the steering wheel with my left hand - or at least hold it in place with my left while texting, curling my hair, applying lipgloss, and baking a cake with my right. JOKES.)
But then, naturally, on my way to work at 7:45 in the morning, I start thinking about the amount of tension in my life that I cause or that I don't even realize I put up with. This for example - I didn't even realize that I was exerting extra energy to hold my steering wheel in the place it needed to be even while driving straight. Or this morning, I spent way too much time trying to put curl into my hair, which does not naturally enjoy being curled or staying curled. The attitude of my hair as I try to do this is nothing short of tense. "Jenna, we've been through this a million times. I'm straight. And I'm thin. And I don't like curl. You won the war of the bangs, but i'm not letting you have this one."
And then I got to work and these thoughts stop. Anti-climactic, I know. Maybe i'll process these thoughts more someday. But today is Friday.
3) I went to the dentist this afternoon for the first time in about 5 years. College and moving to Mass and lack of good dental insurance have caused major procrastination in this area. It was a fairly good visit, but I always leave the dentist feeling a little confused about where I stand with them. It's kind of like we just had a DTR that really didn't clarify a single thing, and I know i'm going to have to go back to resolve some details, even though there were a few really great moments in the conversation. Congrats on only having one cavity, but we might see more with the x-ray. Stay tuned. You have beautiful teeth, but please come back next week for a big needle filled with novacane and a filling. You have a little gingivitis, but no plaque! You're great at brushing, but let's work on that flossing. You have a beautiful smile, but lets rip out your wisdom teeth. Really, it's not you, it's me....
4) Pumped to be going to the theater tonight (please re-read that sentence with a snobby British accent on the word "theater" - actually, so it's more like "theataah"). Meeting up with a group of friends to go see El Schwab rock it in 2 Gents of Verona in Rockport. Pumped.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)