Two Bags, One Giant Waste

Before our 4 day Winter Camp excursion, we realized I didn't have a medium-sized duffle bag, in which to hold a small trips worth of luggage. We're used to the month-long trips which require a large suitcase. Upon realization of our need, I took a trip to TJ Maxx to find a nice, but inexpensive Duffle Bag and perhaps something to keep all my bathroom belongings in as well.

I was successful not only in finding a cute Sky Blue Adidas Duffle, but also in finding a Very Adorable Black with White Hearts Bag which I will use as a Bathroom Bag for this trip, but will double well as a Fun Bag.

As fun as it was to find and purchase these bags was, I was slightly disappointed to find they were stuffed FULL of paper that was probably made to fill bags, for no real apparent reason... that matters anyway. I exclaimed "They could have at least used recycled paper!" Well, they may have, but it seemed so pointless! I know they wanted the bags to look full on the shelf, but that still didn't make me feel any less bad about it.

Here, you see the two bags I purchased:

Here, you see the BIG bag of lots of filler paper...not to mention, a plastic bag to hold the aforementioned purchased bags. I tried telling the cashier lady I didn't want a bag for my bags. She must have been so focused on trying to FIT the two purchased bags into the plastic bag that she didn't hear me. I didn't argue. I know, I was bad. Maybe next time.

Believe me, there is more paper in this bag than there looks to be. I promise. Lots more.

The Science of a Snow Fort

Jim & I joined the Youth Group for a VERY AMAZING weekend of spiritual growth and challenge and, of course, fun in the snow.

One of the games we played was called "Find the Counselor." Jim was working on the bus (he was the bus driver) and I took the challenge to hide. I was a little nervous of the idea, knowing I would be in a cold hiding place for who-knows-how-long. But, I employed my very strong and brave hubby to conspire a hiding place with me and together we dug a snow fort...well, really it was a hole...into a 5 or 6 foot snow drift (with a hammer, our only available tool).


I kind of felt like a Sardine packed in ice. Although I was hoping for somjething big enough to sit up straight in and read a book and munch on a couple of delish Chocolate Chip Cookies, it was an awesome hiding place and no one found me!

It was awesome for a couple of reasons:

1) I could keep digging myself into it as I hid without being spotted or heard.

2) The snow acted as a sort of absorber of sound and heat (the sun was shining right over it!).

Needless to say, I was cozy and warm (sweating, really), well hid, and proud of our Snow Fort Hiding Place.

Unfortunately, I was disqualified, which really kinda stunk, but oh, well. Apparently, my co-counselor, LeAnn (pictured with me below) and I were both supposed to hide in the SAME place and once the kids found us (together), they had to bring us back to The Lodge for points or something. Here's the really sad part. They found my co-counselor FIRST (she and I strategized to hide on OPPOSITE ends of the camp). So, basically, I was not even being sought out. LeAnn had to call me to tell me the game was over. After nearly and hour and a half of digging, my Snow Fort was pointless. Well, sorta.

Later, we played a Digital Picture Scavenger Hunt and one of the pictures we had to take was "in an Igloo." I wasn't letting my Snow Fort go to waste, so my team took an awesome "Igloo" Picture and scored a Ten. And we got TWO girls to fit in that little hole in the snow. Go Us.

I'm Proud of My Hubby

If you know Jim, then you're probably just as proud to know him as I am to have him. I have a list overflowing in my head as to why I am so proud of my Hubby. But, I know that list is quite limited to my experience. If you know anything about James Engle, then I'm sure you can contribute to my list. That's exactly what I'm going to encourage you to do in the next moment. Please, if you can, pretty please leave a comment on this post (try not to be anon) and tell me why you are proud to know him. This will not only make me beam with utter joy, but it will probably be quite the encouragement to Jim as well. Let's say that this is a belated Valentine's Gift from me to him. (I love you, J - Happy Valentines Day, belated.) My list follows, I hope you can add to it! Please, don't feel limited to a few things if you're as thankful for Jim as I am.

1. He tells me he loves me everyday.

2. He washes the dishes almost everytime.

3. He likes to make up songs that consist only of the word "bum," and he's really good at it, too.

4. He always lets me have the not-burned toast, pizza, or whatever I happened to overcook that night for supper, if I make supper, which brings me to number 5.

5. He doesn't mind that I don't cook for him everyday, because I stink at grocery shopping.

6. He puts my needs (sometimes not really even necessary needs) above his own. ie: my need for an Outback Cheesecake splurge over his need for socks or shaving cream.

7. He can fix anything. Seriously, hire him out if you need a job done; we could use the money.

8. He is patient, patient, patient and angers at nothing. (I know this because I've tried.)

9. He's really ticklish, but stops tickling me when I say I'm gonna wet my pants, even though he's knows I'm lying, when he hates losing the Tickle Game and has to say "Uncle." (Basically, he lets me win the Tickle Game, like, everytime.)

10. He gives me a shopping budget of, let's say, $20 and almost always gives me $10 over when all is said and done. I really think he's planning that it's going to be a certain amount and always goes $10 under budget just to feel special when I thank him abundantly for giving me $10 extra. Hey, it's possible - but not likely, which is why I'm proud of him. He wouldn't do that...I don't think.

11. When we're at a restaraunt and I get something icky that I thought would be good, He always eats it and gives me the yummy meal he originally ordered.

12. He suprises me with flowers and jewelry. And chocolate. *sigh*

13. He says "Thank you."

14. He makes me laugh hysterically.

15. He's good at math, so I don't have to think numbers. Oiy.

16. He can build things. And make them look nice. And functional.

17. He says "pursey purse" when referring to my uh, purses.

18. He doesn't mind staying up really late just to talk.

19. He loves to preach God's Word.

20. He bakes really awesome cookies!

21. He loves to serve God.

Ok, your turn.

Things I'm Thankful for: A to Z

I'm going to try and keep an ongoing list of Things I'm Thankful for: A to Z. This is my first list (and it will change through time, I'm sure). It will be permanently located on the right side bar of this blog for frequent editing. But, for my Thakful Debut, I wanted to make it a post so you are more likely to see it and hopefully be motivated to make your own Thankful List (in whatever creative format you choose, not limited to A to Z lists). Leave a comment so I can come to your blog, Facebook or whatever and read your list, too!

Acting. I wish I could do more of it. And Ariel, he knows lots about computers and he's our friend.

Bass Clarinet. I play it and love it and wish I had one. And Baptist Mid-Missions. And my Big Brother Ben. (That would be Three Points in Scattegories!)

Camp. Iowa Regular Baptist Camp & Whispering Cedars Baptist Camp in NE.

Dollars & Sense...Provided by our Faithful God.

Empty sink of dishes.

Fruity Flavored Jelly Bellys. FBBC & TS. Free Rent. Family!

God's Wondrous Love and Gina.

His Sacrifice for my Salvation and Hanna.

Immanent Return of Christ. The Iowa State Fair. And Iowa.

Jim, Juice (Welch's Grape), Jesus, The Jacksons and My Little Dream of Josephine. And Journals. And Jenna's fun to read blog. (Link also provided in right side bar called A Very Fun Blog to Read.)

Karis. It means "Grace" in Greek.

Loss of weight. If it happens.

Main Street in Mingo, IA. It's where we live when we're not traveling. And MythBusters.
And Moms.

New Life! And Nancy.

Opals. I have one in my engagement ring.

Pennies I find on the ground and People who read my blog. And Pasta. And Pastors Hartog III, Pierpont and Janke (in no particular order)...ok, Pastors in general.

Questions. Mine always have an answer in the Word of God. Quirkiness. It makes me laugh.

Reading books that take me into a new world of imagination and Rose Marie.

S for Sarah. Duh.

Travel. I do it for a living. And Tulip Time in Pella, IA.

Unusual Situations that make me laugh. And words that begin with "U" because there's not that many.

Vocabulary. I love it. Vocal chords. I like to use them.

Waking up every morning to God's new mercies. Work that Jim gets so we can buy groceries.

X - it's Roman Numeral for 10

Youth - I try to keep it. Yorksire Terriers - I don't want one, but they're cute, I guess.

Zippers that I can't sew into garments yet.

The Loser of Organization - Part 1

Let me tell you a little story about me when I was just a wee one. I'm not sure what ages the term "wee one" covers, so I'll just say I was about 9ish, maybe. I had this great talent for organization. Yes, you heard me, I was organized. I spent much of my time making up charts for what I was going to wear for the next week, to do lists for the care of my Cabbage Patch Kids, and so on and so forth.

This childlike organization came to a screeching halt one sad day when friends came over to play and my "What to Wear List" was discovered by my teashing and untoughtful peers. I will never forget that day I vowed to not be a "dork" and I nearly lost all interest in organizing.

Some of those natural skills have been used from time to time. Being an Administrative Assistant forced them to resurface and now, being a wife, a missionary, and well, face it, a human being, I think I'll have to dig deeper for that long lost talent for organization. In the past year or so, I've tried, to no avail. Here's proof:

1. I bought a handy dandy calender that doubles as file folders when the month is done. That way, I could file each month of important documents as I went. Unfortunately, I purchased the calendar in 2006. It's still in pristine condition, but completely unuseable.

2. I also bought a great Full-Sized Breifcase looking thing (DayPlanner, I think it's called) to keep track of meetings, phone calls to churches, contact info and the like. Guess what, it's beautifully kept...because it hasn't been used...for over a year. Thankfully, though there is hope for this one. It's not limited to a specific year, but it will be once I start using it - and that makes me afraid to use it since I'm not confident I'll be consistent. Oh, Vicious Cycle.

3. We purchased a cute little 2 drawer filing cabinet on sale for $40, fun colored folders and printable folder labels to start our home office. Now, about 8 months later, the drawers are filled with stacks (not rows) of unorganized, some unidentifiable, papers, junkmail, magazines and most anything that measures 81/2'' x 11''. The Folders remain unlabeled and unopened.

As you can see, I'm basically a loser when it comes to organizing. And it drives me as much nuts as it probably does Jim, who is patient beyond belief. So, I MUST, I have no choice, re-learn to organize. It would be nice, though if we spent much of our time in the same geographical location...but alas, we live on the road, making organization that much less attainable, in fact, pert-near impossible.

The Date We Went On that was for The Hubby

Being married to a Michigander (which would make me a Michigoose ???), I get the privilege of experiencing Michigan Type Stuff like, beautiful lakes, cute little islands, Lighthouses (someday), Detroit Smog...oh yeah...and Auto Shows.

Jim rarely ever speaks out when it comes to doing what HE wants to do for dates. He's so extra sweet that he always picks dates that are related to my desires. Most recently, though, my dear husband spoke out and for about two weeks covertly mentioned the Detroit Auto Show and how going would make him so very happy.

So, I got it in my little head to give him the only cash I had ($20) and told him, "Put this toward the Auto Show Date."

The Jimmy Smile that I love spread across his face and I knew I had just made him a happy man. Now, I just had to bear the outcome...I had to spend hours looking at shiny, expensive cars for no real productive reason at all. Man, I love him.

We planned the day (Thursday) we would go on our Auto Show Date. Deep down, part of me dreaded it and sort of wanted to back out, but the other part of me (the part that apparently loves my hubby more) wanted nothing more than to see my Jamie drool and ooh and ahh over cars. A favorite pastime of his. I know I'm not at the Date in this posts order of events...but I'll show you a few sneak preview pictures now to break up the monotony a bit.

The only "not fun" that Jim had was when he realized that Pontiac must not be coming out with a new Grand Prix and that they must be replacing it with the almost equally cool Pontiac G6. Note the frown.

These are like the little cars we saw in Germany all over the place...but the ones in Germany were smaller still...what were they called? Mini Coopers?

Look at the HUMONGOUS speed-o-meter in that little car. This picture was hilarious cause that's not me or Jim pointing at the speedometer. It's some lady that happened to point, just when I was taking a picture of the thing she was pointing at...what a coincidence. We had a nice laugh.

I would have bought it for him....except.

Now, I wasn't totally in objection to this Date. Really, I love Classic Car Shows. I enjoy playing the game where we try to guess the make, model and year of the car just by the headlights and front end before it passes us on the highway or interstate. So, I'm not completely Anti-Car stuff. Just so you know.

Thursday came and after circling whatever building we needed to get to like 6 times to get good parking, we finally arrived at the DETROIT AUTO SHOW. *Gasp* and, I must admit, after the shock of paying to walk wore off, I had fun. I busied myself taking artistic type pictures of car emblems I liked (Audi, VW, Jaguar) and the floor (for a powerpoint background maybe). My favorite part was watching Jim get in line...yes, you read that correctly...GET IN LINE to SIT, I tell you, SIT in a car. Giving up my reluctance, I joined him, again discovering that I was actually enjoying myself.

shiny audi

shiny-er


I think I like the VW Rabbits b/c of the cute little bunny...

This is my Picture of the Floor that doubles as a PowerPoint background. You can use it...if you want. It sparkles.


He waited in a short line for this one...I think is the Pontiac Solstice...or is that the Saturn convertible name...I have NO idea. It has something to do with some weather term.

I also worked out a bit

and found a really cool (probably multi-million dollar) display that snowed.

The Detroit Auto Show is apparently a BIG deal out here. Yes, my ignorance becomes more evident. Parents get their kids out of school to experience this annual event. I suppose the desire to attend the event is something like Tulip Time in Pella or even the Iowa State Fair. EVERYONE must go. So, go we did...and along with going...I liked. Vroom, Vroom. "Honk, honk, rattle, rattle, rattle, crash, beep, beep," and all those other car sounds, too.

After our Auto Show Adventure, we took off on the PeopleMover (way fun) to Greektown! I was overwhelmingly excited for this part of the date. First off, it included food. Second, it was Greek. Third, there would be fire and yelling of the word "Opa!" which, in German, means Grandpa, but in Greek is the equivelent to "Yee Hah!" (That's what the Greek Guy at the Restaurant said anyway.)

Waiting for the PeopleMover

He yelled the syllable "O" in "Opa" for about 45 seconds

In the end, it was a very fun Date. I would even do it again. I smell a tradition coming on...

If I Have to be Velcro...

...I would be the soft, non-abrasive side and I would make Jim be the rough, spiny side because that's what his face feels like when he waits too long to shave. I often beg him to move past the spiny, ouchy stage to the soft, non-abrasive stage of facial hair. But, alas, he refuses. He likes to be as clean shaven as possible - the goatee is an exception because last time he shaved it, I cried.

All that to say, "Opposites really do attract."

Back in October in the Never Sleeping City of New York, I had a thought provoking conversation (apparently so, as it's been provoking thoughts for nearly 4 mos now) with Miriam about our relationships with our husbands and how the oppositeness of our personalities really does make us functional (even fruitful) and not just crazy-go-nuts. By the end of the conversation, we had a short list of Opposite Attracting things (that function only when they are operating together with their oppositeness) to give us somewhat scientifc and logistic proof that we were indeed getting somewhere with this long-believed theory.

Velcro being on the list of things that provide funcion because of differences. In no particular order, the list went on: magnets (duh), zippers, static electricity, traction, Me & Jim, locks & keys...you get the idea.

You may not know Jim very well....for that matter, you may not know me that well either. So, instead of teasing you by just telling you we're opposite, I'll give you a little peek into our inner-workings so you can see exactly how very opposite we are.

Jim:

He's the strong silent type. He thinks before he speaks and thinks before he makes decisions. He's patient and non-confrontational. He's practical and sensible, rarely imaginative - unless it has to do with building something. He's literal and easy-going.

I, on the other hand:

am the talker. more expressive, opinionated and, face it, louder. I think while I talk and make decisions. Or maybe I should say I talk while I think...I'm impatient and feel better about communicating my thoughts and am therefore, blessed with the gift of confrontation. I'm only practical sometimes, after I come down from the high of being passionate about a matter. Often, I am over imaginative. I'm convinced Unicorns exist(ed). I'm less literal and more poetic and I'm so easily moved emotionally that "easy-going" would be an inaccurate assesment of my personality.

There you have it. Yet more proof (like you asked for it) that opposites attract: I'm attracted to Jim and he's attracted to me. We're not sure how it happened...well, we know God did it and we know He did it for a VERY good reason.

Jim and I are learning everyday that our differences can be our greatest strength or our biggest weakness. So, as long as I get to be the soft part of the Velcro, the positive side of the magnet or the key instead of the lock....I think we can make this work.

From 2007

A Collage of Pictures!

Responsitunity

So, I made up a New Word and I quite like it (See Above New Word).

I need a definition to go with my New Word and I think it will go something like this:

Responsitunity: An Opportunity to Be Responsible.

Hey, not bad for a beginner WordMakerUpper. All joking aside, I think it's a good reminder for me that the Responsibilities of Life shouldn't necessarily be looked at like they're such drudgeries - dull, irksome, and fatiguing work : uninspiring or menial labor (Merriam-Webster). Rather, I should be looking at the things I "have" to do as Opportunities - a good chance for advancement or progress (Merriam-Webster). That is, a good chance to advance the Glory of God and the Cause of Christ.

So, today, when I "have" to do the dishes before they pile up and produce a most undersireable stench - a characteristic repugnant quality (MW), I can look at is as a Responsitunity, an opportunity to be responsible so that God may be glorified in me. Although, I think Jim already did the dishes.