the joke's on me: the nesting to do list that never got a chance

For posterity's sake & for a laugh to look on later, here's the nesting list I wrote on November 28, days before our baby made his early debut & made it obselete. The ones in red are items I think I finished before Ransom was born, the ones in green are items that were finished afterwards, and the ones in black are what are still to be tackled:

clean bathrooms
play the piano
AJ's clothes in bedroom
find place for crafty stuff
work request for Willy-garbage disposal, spot in ceiling
banners in living room
paintings in closet
kitchen corner-clean up!
make waffles & freeze them
pregnancy pics with AJ
finish recording
finish getting Christmas gifts together
box to Goodwill
prewash cloth diapers
figure out line dry system for diaper covers
get matresses for company to use
spice shelf-finish & put up
read Isaiah
take recycling to Fred Meyer
dust
finish packing bag for hospital (as we were hastily leaving after my water broke)
make Jamie Oliver's sourdough bread
make Jamie Oliver's banana honey bread
tour of hospital
take care of pumpkins
make granola
paint toenails
get all thank you notes finished
organize recipes
put ultrasound pics in baby photo album

write, right (in my best British accent)

Saturday was infused with influence from Britain. Made scones. Made loose leaf Lady Brit tea. Watched Jamie Oliver make tiramisu. Wore Andrew's London hat on an excursion where I pored through a Jamie Oliver cookbook (recommended by a friend). Andrew & I then went home to eat our version of banger & mash (sausage & potatoes) & mushrooms, and capped off the evening watching Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World.

I like our interests, unintentionally themed days.

appreciation

Today I'm appreciating. God's provision for my sister's new job, seeing a huge rainbow over the city as I was on my way outside to do laundry, having lunch & an afternoon with my husband, Coralie's apple butter, the wondrous effect of dryer sheets softening our clothing, being productive in my profession, the stuff you missed in history class podcast...these little things.

tea for Christmas

I was permitted an early Christmas present from Andrew & was so delighted with it that I'm devoting pictures & an entry to it.


Busted out the Brown Betty teapot for this one! I love the beautiful way that the tea is wrapped. The paper around the tea has gold crowns on it, which I am thrilled to be able to use to make cards or other crafty things with. Two mornings in a row I've enjoyed English Breakfast tea, and I'm looking forward to having more today as I attack some reading I've been meaning to do. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Tea with Jane Austen, and some plays from my former drama instructor in college.
Thank you Andrew for the gift of British tea! You know me so well, know how much I am enthralled with England, with good tea & you truly take delight in watching me enjoy these things. And how that puts me in mind of God's love...what enjoyment he feels when I'm enjoying what he's given me, but deeper... How I come alive when I'm delighting in Jesus, truly.
Don't mind me, just processing some things.
I enjoy so much more what I've been given, simple as they may be, when I'm on track.

Wit from Trader Joe

We get the "Fearless Flyer" in our mailbox, an advertisement from Trader Joe's. I appreciate the creative ways the products are described & the titles they're given, especially the humor inserted into the ads.
You see, my sisters say I have a corny sense of humor (a blend of my mom & dad's, mostly mom) but all of my sisters laugh at my jokes, so wouldn't that mean what they think is funny is the same as what I think is funny? So, really, we're all corny... :)
Here are four highlights from May's "Fearless Flyer" that I found to be a bit amusing:
~"Without my morning coffee I'm just like a dried up piece of roast goat." -Johann Sebastian Bach
~In a twist on an old adage, life gave us strawberries, so we made lemonade. (for Strawberry Lemonade ad)
~"What's that? You want a snack that's crunchy and satisfying with no added guilt? You're desirous of a dippable delight that is decidedly cabable of holding its own? Surely such a thing cannot exist in the known universe. First, don't call us Shirley... (that's where I loose it...ad for Honey Whole Wheat Pretzel Sticks)
~Some things just go together naturally. Gilbert & Sullivan. Lennon & McCartney. Sonney & Cher. Rice & Beans. Mmmm, rice & beans. (ad for Rice & Bean Chips)
~Top Ten Reasons to Shop at Trader Joe's...
10) Our Legendary Parking Lots
9) We Feature Trend-Setting Hawiian Fashions
8) Free Use of a Shopping Cart
7) Our produce sections are excellent alternatives to Internet dating services
6) We have a Captain, but no Tenille
5) You can eat on the cheap, but tell your friends you're practicing "frugal chic"
4) All Trader Joe's are climate controlled for your comfort
3) No flat screens anywhere in sight
2) Our doors slide open automatically
1) What other grocery store makes you Top Ten Lists?

My friend Mrs. P tagged me on her blog to do the following. Hope you enjoy my musings here...

8 things I’m looking forward to:
1. Minneapolis this month
2. living in Oxford, England someday
3. being a part of Andrew's small group tomorrow (I'm usually at work when they meet, but they're meeting on my day off this week)
4. seeing family as soon as we can
5. going to the ocean again
6. having at least five children & noticing their quirks & wondering at God who designs people to love Him
7. growing old with Andrew
8. 2010 & Campus America (www.campusamerica.org) oh YES!

8 things I did yesterday:
1. walked to & from work
2. had a cleaning frenzy at 10:30 pm & a passionate desire to vacuum our apartment
3. made fajitas
4. began reading "The Alchemist" for Book Club #1 called The Frugal Chariot
5. decided it's time to be artistic again
6. marveled at Andrew doing the dishes for me
7. worked on saying encouraging things
8. skimmed through RELEVANT magazine

8 things I wish I could do:
1. live near family
2. send Andrew on a shopping spree in Guitar Center
3. be set loose in Borders & buy anything I like!
4. attend a roaring 20's party without the bootlegging & gross stuff...think "Thoroughly Modern Millie"
5. graphic design
6. sew very well
7. speak many languages
8. kill debt monsters (be a philanthropist, too)

I'm going to tag Rachel from the blog "Life or Something Like It." Start mulling it over!