a new verse

While researching Bible verses on friendship tonight (and if you ever need to find a passage of Scripture based on a phrase or word and your Bible concordance doesn't have it, I strongly recommend www.biblegateway.com), I found this really cool verse:

He who blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, It will be counted a curse to him. ~ Proverbs 27:14

Now I have to admit, I do find it funny when Bobby sings to my nieces or the Belarussian kids to get them up in the morning. And I don't mind when he sings to get me up in the morning, but I don't like the "exhortations." And to find that there's a Proverb about that is even funnier!

digital converter boxes

It's now official...both of our TVs are plugged into their soon to be required digital converter boxes. We did the tiny tv in our bedroom a long time ago. We suddenly had double the stations, but the reception was delayed about 2-3 seconds. We discovered that when Bobby would have the tv on in the living room, then would move to the bedroom to start getting things ready for the next day. Being the sweet man that he is, he'd leave the tv on for me while I finished up in the living room or kitchen. If I'd go to the laundry room, I could hear both tvs at the same time, and they were NOT in sync.
I like having more stations to choose from, though we're puzzled how to figure out what comes on when. I also like the increased clarity that usually comes with the picture. What I don't like about the boxes is that it's not uncommon for the signal to come in distorted and we get pixel boxes instead of a picture. Another disappointment is the volume. It's not uncommon for the volume to become blaringly loud when a commercial comes on, and then the second commercial is extremely soft. When the program returns, it's at the volume we originally set. Strange.
One very cool feature of the boxes, is that the channels program themselves into the remote during setup. Once I turn the tv and the box on, I can use the box remote to switch stations, though we have to use the tv remote to handle volume. The box remote does have a volume control, but the changes are so minute it's not worth fooling with. But I do think it beats paying for cable or satellite, especially as we don't watch a huge amount of tv.

jury duty

The first time I ever received a summons for jury duty was while I was overseas in China. The request came the day before I left, and I had to leave a message on someone's answering machine that I would not be able to show up. The crazy thing was that I didn't consider SC my home, but had changed my address there because that's where my parents were at the time.

The second time was a few years ago here in NC. I was so excited! I had always thought it would be cool to be on a jury. We sat and waited for 3 and a half hours for the interview process to start, only to be told thank you, go home, the case has been settled out of court. I was not happy with the waste of my time and was also disappointed.

My boss got called in Monday, and we all expected her back Tues, or at least the end of the week if she was selected. Before she left the courthouse Monday they were "bonded" for two weeks. She's on a "wrongful death lawsuit" and the slowness and inefficiencies are driving her crazy. And that got me to thinking.

I've always thought it would be cool to serve on a jury, but I really wouldn't want to decide whether or not someone was innocent or guilty of something based on limited information. And too many times, for various reasons, juries are not allowed to hear everything involved. How can you make a sound decision without all the facts? When I really stop and think about it, I wouldn't like the responsibility of deciding someone's guilt or innocence, and that's really what a jury does.

I suppose that's what growing up does for you: it modifies or destroys your childish concepts of cool. But if I do ever get selected to a jury, I don't think I'll be one of those people who complain about it. But who knows? That could change, too.

no, nO, NO, No, no!

Today is my protest blog.
Protest #1: This day has flown by, and I fear it's going to end before my to do list does. Sigh. I don't like how time seems to speed up faster and faster each year. Where did 2008 go? And yet I want this week to hurry up and end because that means payday! Whohoo!
Protest #2: Kay Hagan voted for the tax evader as head of the Treasury Department! AAAUUUGGHHHHH!!!!!!! At least if she keeps making such stupid mistakes it'll be easy to replace her in 6 years!
Protest #3: Exercise. I hate it. I don't care what people say; it does NOT make me feel better; it does NOT give me energy; and it does absolutely NOTHING for my mental well-being. And yes I will grudingly, unwillfully admit it does help you lose weight....in the smallest nanograms possible.
Protest #4: Target, even though they advertised it in Sunday's paper, did NOT have the Fireproof dvd today, and I used my 10% off coupon today. GRRRR!!!! big whoop!
Protest #5: American Idol and the Biggest Loser are both coming on tonight, at the same time. And it's not all that often there's anything remotely interesting on television. Bah humbug! I don't have my quilting frame set up yet anyway.
Protest #6: Laundry...did you honestly expect me to write something positive here?!? Sigh...okay...I'm thankful we have automatic washing machines and dryers.

smells and odours

There's some odours that just seem to permeate everything...cooked cabbage, fresh cut flowers, smoke, fish oil, dirty diaper pails, and cleaning supplies. There's probably more to that list, but those are just the first few that came to mind. Then there's the smells that I absolutely love: fresh bread, just baked chocolate chip cookies, vanilla scented candles. And then that line gets drawn. You know, you're burning a candle to kill the sneezy smell of Mop-N-Glo or clorox, rejoicing that not only is the floor clean but your house is actually starting to smell good, too, when someone comes in and says, "You know that candle is stinking up the house." or something to that affect.

Come to find out, when Bobby was growing up, many of the field hands who worked with them in tobacco didn't bathe (and many of them didn't wear deodorant, either). They would use vanilla flavoring as a deodorant or perfume to mask their body odours. Now, I love the smell of vanilla, but I can't say I'm too crazy about the smell of body sweat. And I can imagine that vanilla mixed in with body sweat in 100 degree summer weather, plus fertilizers and tobacco plants was not a pleasant scent. My nose sniffs a vanilla candle and my senses are pleased. Bobby smells one and is instantly reminded of the tobacco fields. So I seldom burn the fragrance I enjoy. After all, there's a multitude of fragrances out there that I do like that don't make me sneeze.

There was one other time there was a good scent/bad scent mix-up. My last year in China, the school's foreign affairs office took us to a field trip in the southern part of our province (Ningxia). We visited the ruins of Buddhist temples, as well as the ones that had survived in the caves and on the mountaintops. While at the top of the mountain, we entered one where people were burning incense. Within a few minutes, my sinus ways were clogged, I was starting to feel woozy, and I knew if I didn't get out of there quick I was going to be sick. (Similar to the effect fresh cut flowers sometimes have on me.) As I turned to look of an open window or door, the British teacher behind me, who was of Chinese descent, sighed and said, "Ummm, this smell takes me back to my childhood. Isn't it great?" I was appalled that something I found to be a stench was actually a comforting, sweet aroma to someone else.

I think about smells and stenches quite a bit, but I had never compared it to our lives as Christians until yesterday. Our pastor preached from somewhere in II Corinthians (I think). While his whole sermon was about telling people about Jesus Christ, one of his points was that some people will find our views and beliefs as a pleasant smell. Others will find it a stench. But all that really matters is that it is a smell pleasing to God. That's a little freeing...(but who doesn't want to be considered a good smell?)

and along those lines...Kohl's has these cute little bottles advertised in their sale paper...called reed dispensers...there's also a small line about Yankee Candles...WHAT on earth are those things? Does anybody know?

oh me, oh my, oh groan!

Yes, I'm aware that I've already posted a blog today, but it's my blog so I can post as many times as I want! hehehe

The bad thing about cleaning up is that you find things. Sometimes that's good. I actually found money in TWO different coats/jackets when it snowed. I layered up, and voila! (I think the English translation of that is "There it is!" But I also found a newspaper clipping from last July for a website I've been meaning to look up.
www.adultfitnesstest.org
It's the website that details how to measure your physical fitness, as well as you BMI (body mass index). According to this site, I shouldn't try the first part of the test because I am woefully inactive, but I'm thinking I might try it. I mean, hey, I'm not one to push myself too hard when it comes to exercise. I know the results will be bad on every test they show, but I am thinking about doing the 1 mile walk and the sit-ups test. Then I'll test myself again in June and beam with the improvement. Okay, I probably won't beam, but I'll nod and say, "Hmm...could be worse."
So for everyone who wanted to get physically fit as a New Year's Resolution (or lose weight, or fit back into the skirts in your closet, etc), we are now almost one month out. Here's something you can actually easily sink your teeth into and go for. I double dog dare ya.

civil rudeness

After the booing of former President Bush during the recent inauguration, I found President Obama's thank you to Bush a nice and civil comment. And while he mentioned no policy by name or anyone in the Bush administration by name, Obama then proceeded to bash Bush in a very civil tone. I'm still not totally sure how I feel about that. I know the two blatantly disagreed with each other, but was the speech a backhanded slap at the outgoing administration, or simply an announcement of what's too come?

It reminded me of stories from 200 years ago. The Union Army occupied Baton Rouge and other parts of Louisiana, and the women of the city were most unhappy with the situation. They would hold their noses every time a Union soldier walked by, or make snide remarks. Fed up, the officer in charge decreed that any woman showing disrespect toward a soldier would be treated as a prostitute. After a number of upperclass women were arrested and thrown in jail with a group of prostitutes; the actions ceased. Kind of. The women stopped holding their noses or making snide remarks, but instead would move to another sidewalk if a Union soldier walked by. And they took to doing their own housework during hours of army drills. More than one soldier found himself wearing the contents of a chamber pot that were emptied out the window. I don't know if or how that situation was resolved, whether the soldiers quit drilling in the streets or if the ladies finally started being nice, but it reminds me of the current political situation.

I like to think had I lived during that era, that I would have been a woman of grace and humility, wise as a serpent but harmless as a dove. Given that I laughed the first time I found the above story, I fear I may have been just as heedless and disrespectful as the women of the past. And what about now? When I encounter people who are blatantly disrespectful of Bush, or who lavish praise on Obama and his Civil Right plans for the GLTB community, or his extreme stances on abortion rights, will I be able to calmly disagree and respectfully state my opinion? Or will I follow suit and return trash talk? While we don't have chamber pots today, I do think my Grandma's term of "potty mouth" aptly describes many things we've heard lately. And as I think on Scripture's command to be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us, I hope I'm not only ready with the answer, but with the proper attitude as well.