Candlelight

It's been an admittedly long time since I've updated, and for that I apologize. Not that anyone reads this.

I adore candlelight. Perhaps because it can be so many different things.

• Romantic
• Scary
• Soft
• Gloomy
• Comforting
• Welcoming
• Hopeful
• Foreboding

I think, in a lot of ways, candlelight is like people. No one person is all good or all bad. A lot of things make up not only who we are, but how we respond to certain situations.

And for those of you wondering, I'm thinking about it because last night I burnt popcorn in the microwave and it filled the whole house with smoke. I read that one way to dispel the smoke, in addition to opening the doors and windows and turning on the fans (which I did, despite how cold it was and the fact that it was after midnight and I jumped every time I heard the voice of a random college student walking by), was lighting candles.

It worked. Kind of. It's still lingering. Fortunately, the alarm stopped beeping.

Go Cubs

Mike and I went to two Cubs games this weekend. I'm not a Cubs fan (Go Sox), but I'll still admit that I had a great time. Watching the game take place in front of you is sooooo much more exciting than watching it on TV. It probably helped that the Cubs won on Saturday. That made it better.

Just for the record, Wrigleyville is expensive. The hot dogs were $4.25. Pizza was $4.50 and I saw the beer lady going by and have never been so relieved that beer tastes nasty. Can you say $6.50 a can? Ridiculous.

I did buy a shirt. It's pink and it's cute. Of course, now I have to deal with Mike saying that I'm a Cubs fan at heart, and I really don't know what I want. Shows what he knows. :)

Stress-Free Writing

It's been too long since I've posted. I felt bad about that until I popped over to my roommate's blog and noticed she hasn't posted at all there this year. (Check it out, she has a link to a blog she was featured on, there... so proud.)

It's funny, the other day I was contemplating how, for me, writing isn't just my job. It's how I process and how I feel better and happier and how I work through things. Today, I opened one of my writing newsletters (I was a little behind, give me a break), and in it, were a bunch of responses to Dawn Copeman's article about life block, and writing as therapy (article in the newsletter).

When I'm mad, I write. When I'm happy, I write. When I hate the world, I write. When I'm tired, I write. You get the picture. It's my way of working through things, finding solutions and just getting it off my chest. I was pleased to learn others feel the same.

I read, somewhere, that many authors wrote their best books when going through something that shaped them, somehow. What they wrote about doesn't necessarily have anything to do with what they were going through, but the two played off one another. Like, working on a solution to another's problems (fictional or otherwise) helped them solve their own. Or at least helped them through.

I'm out. Need to finish working before going to Celi's graduation (from her master's program). Congratulations, Celi!

When is "Enough" Enough?

The Bush Administration was by no means perfect. I can say that without a hedge. But they didn't send us $750 billion into ear-marked debt, which I personally see as a good thing. The Bush Administration didn't try to control the minute details of people's business and personal lives. Again, I see this as a good thing.

I've read a few articles this week that are kind of disturbing, the most recent of which came from my room mate: Obama Wants to Control the Banks. THAT scares me. And THIS article has a point. While dish washing detergent is probably a bit extreme, I agree that the "straw that broke the camel's back" is just that: a straw. Something unimportant and minute.

And, if it comes to something like this, where does that put me, as a christian, in terms of supporting my government, which God says is ordained by him, and supporting my fellow Americans?

Puppy Owie.

My puppy has an owie. Her collar isn't stopping her from licking it. The veterinarian told me I could try shorts instead. Unfortunately, I don't have shorts. I tried one of her dresses, upside down. That didn't work, either. So I tried a pair of my pantyhose, with the legs cut off. That didn't work. so I added her collar. And then I added her collar with the collar on backwards around her waist. She's not happy. I'm not happy. I think, though, that after nearly an hour of frustration - on both our behalfs - she's given up.

She sure is pissed (and I can't blame her). I think I need a new plan. Any ideas?

Mystery of the Sugar Cookies

Last week some time I got it into my head that I should send sugar cookies to my boyfriend, decorated all pretty for Valentine's Day. I thought if I sent them out by yesterday (Wednesday, February 3), they might actually get there on time. Note: might.

So, Tuesday night, Lindsay came over and we baked cookies. I figured I could send Mike about two dozen for him and some of his buddies and keep a dozen for myself. Lindsay made hers primarily for her husband, which only makes sense.

We mixed in the ingredients, stuck in the fridge, popped them on a cookie sheet and voila, beautiful cookies.

At least, that's how hers turned out.

Mine spread across the cookie sheet, making one huge uneatable cookie. Literally uneatable. They were still sticky and hot and I'm pretty sure they were mocking me. Never have I been so humiliated in cooking. Never has such a thing happened to me before.

Lindsay gave me the rest of her cookie dough, once she felt she'd made a sufficient number of cookies. The 11 I made from her batch turned out perfectly. What the heck?

We have no idea what happened. The only difference I can recall is hers were in a glass bowl and mine in a plastic.

So, this morning, I'm trying again. He'd better be grateful.

First In, Last Out

So, Desiree and I are on the way to go skiing with my family, and we're stopped at some town in PA. Right now, we're watching the movie "300." Tons of people told me that I wouldn't like this movie. This is my third or fourth time seeing it, and let me tell you: I'm not disappointed.

Any movie that has men - people - fighting for a cause has my full support. End of story.

But watching this movie with Dez, who's not seen it before, gives me a different perspective on it. She was, frankly, astonished when she realized that the King was fighting on the front lines. The thing, though, is in a culture like that, a nation of soldiers, the King would HAVE to be a soldier. And there was a time where the King was to be the first one into battle and the last one out.

Whatever happened to that mentality? The mentality where if you fight for something YOU fight for it - you don't send someone else to do it for you?

"Freedom isn't free at all. It comes at the highest of costs - the cost of blood."