This made me LOL

Hey, Bode! This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs.

In an AP report today, Bode Miller said, "As far as my own personal involvement, I would not change anything. I had an awesome Olympics. My preparation certainly could have been different, but I'm not a guy who looks back." Bode! Turn around!! You didn't finish your last event because you skiied into one of the gates. This is not good! I can't help but wonder if he might have won at least one medal if he'd been partying less and training more. I know it's his life and his choice, but sheesh! If this guy hadn't been taking up space on the team, someone else might have had a chance to give it a shot. This whole thing makes me peaved. Not because he cost the USA team some medals. I couldn't care less. It bothers me because this hedonistic, selfish brat has gotten way too much attention. Not to mention the fact that when you drink and ski you are putting yourself and those around you in danger.

Friendship Friday Five

Thanks to the Rev Gal Pals there is always something new and interesting to write about on Fridays! This week, five friends who have been there for you.

1. Cindy- There's not enough room to say everything, so one story. I am not famous for my abilities as a long distance driver. Three hours and then I'm ready to pull over and let somebody else have the keys. Cindy knows this because she and I have gone on many a cross country youth outing together. This summer when I moved from Chicago to Philadelphia, I drove by myself. (SodaChick was with the grandparents. Hubby stayed back to sell the house.) Cindy called me every couple of hours just to see how I was doing. It made a long trip go faster and it made the loneliness less. Those are the kinds of things that she does.
2. Sara - Little sister number 2. When I moved to Chicago in 1995, she was there. I am so glad she was holding the net so I wouldn't fall.
3. Lisa - Little sister number 1. When the rest of the family moved to Illinois while we were in college- we stayed in Colorado. We did all the family holiday things. We double dated. We kept our boats afloat, together.
4. Ann - College roomie. Seminary classmate. She helped me through grief and heartbreak and challenges to my faith. She's a wonderful pastor.
5. Lutheran Zephyr- When you move to a new city, you're not always lucky to find a new friend right away. Not me! A cool wind blew in and there he was. He listens, he kvetches, he asks me out to lunch for no reason at all. He has good stories about his cool daughter and his smart wife. What more could you ask for?
   

How to hang up your coat

First of all, this is not my closet. I just wanted some art to go with this. Silly, I know. Second, my husband actually came in the office tonight to give me instructions on how to hang up my coat. According to him, there is a right way and a wrong way. Personally, I feel that hanging the thing up at all is an accomplishment. And I am always delighted when SodaChick picks hers up off the floor. Anyhow, there are two pieces to hanging up your coat correctly. 1) Don't fight the curve in the hanger. If you're using a cheap dry cleaner hanger, this is not an issue. But if you inherited some of those nice wooden hangers from your grandmother's estate, make sure that the coat is hung AROUND the hanger. 2) There is apparently a correct direction to hang your coat. They should all face the same direction. I don't know if it's always the same direction or if it varies with whichever closet you're working with. It might have something to do with which hemisphere you live in, but I'm not sure. Bottom line, I hung my coat up the right way tonight. I am pretty certain that my salvation is not dependent upon this issue. So I'm not inclined to give it a lot of thought in the future. What troubles me is that my hubby actually thinks there is a correct way to do this. I figure if the coat stays on the hanger and doesn't leave a sleeve hanging outside the door, it's "mission accomplished!" Ah well. My Simpson Personality is probably the explanation for all of this. [See previous post.]

Yes! There IS a Simpson's Personality Test and Alas, the news is not good....

You Are Barney

You could have been an intellectual leader... Instead, your whole life is an homage to beer You will be remembered for: your beautiful singing voice and your burps Your life philosophy: "There's nothing like beer to give you that inflated sense of self-esteem."

The Simpsons Personality Test

It's like changing your hair color!

Okay, I got bored with the way my blog looked. Give it a couple of months, I'll probably change it again. Maybe I could change it to fit with the color of the liturgical season?

Is this what Tom Hanks' doctor meant when he said he had a "Brain Cloud"?

Seven Song Meme

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to. If you're reading this... consider yourself tagged. Just post a note that you've joined in!

1. "When God Made Me" by Neil Young. The refrain has been haunting me for days. The tune is stuck in my head and the words have made for some interesting prayers.
   
2. "The First Cut is the Deepest" by Sheryl Crowe. I love to listen to her best of album on my commute, turned up to a very loud roar. Loud enough to embarrass my daughter.
   
3. "Defying Gravity" from the soundtrack to "Wicked". Also best listened to at a high volume. I first heard this song at a time when I needed to defy some gravity of my own.
   
4. "Popular" from "Wicked." Too much fun! Kristin Chenowith is so good at being perky, annoying and rude in this song.
   
5. Whatever is on "Radio Disney." I tend to listen to a lot of NPR in the car. But when SodaChick gets in the passenger's seat, watch out! It's a lot of bubble gum pop. I don't like it, but I do get to listen to it.
   
6. Whatever SodaChick is playing on her Ipod. I can hear the sound echoing out of her head. And when she sings along- oh my! Not a good thing. But she's happy! Lately we've heard John Lennon's "Imagine" quite a bit.
   
7. Old movie musical songs. This morning it was "Good Morning" from "Singing in the Rain" Last week it was something from "Easter Parade." I love old musicals and the music gets replayed in my head quite a bit.
   

Cooking with SodaChick

SodaChick is one of my daughter's many alias. (She's the one in the middle. It's a photo from about eight years ago. I had posted a more current one but she made me change it. Not sure she'll like this one any better.) She is a budding chef and lately weekends have brought experiments. This Saturday it was Canneloni. This was not your typical twelve year old trip to the kitchen. There were shallots and heavy cream involved. A tomato cream sauce from scratch and yours truly got to debone two pounds of chicken thighs. The fun part was putting the filling in the food processor and then watching SodaChick fill the wrappers and place them in the various baking dishes. The results were FANTASTIC! Unfortunately, the recipe called for a small bit of nutmeg. SodaChick did not like the nutmeg. So while her father and I oohed and ahhhed, she munched on garlic bread. Last night she cooked for her dad while I went off to an event. (See blog below.) SC made parmesan cheese balls- a pastry like thing with sauce to dip in, boxed tortellini and a homemade alfredo sauce. If I didn't know better, I'd think the kids was Italian! But unless the Vikings travelled far south and married some good southern cooks.... It's fun to watch my daughter grow in this activity she enjoys so much. It brings out her creative and brave spirit. Watch out, Betty Crocker!

Recording Session for ELW

Last night I had the privilege of attending a recording session for the first Setting of Holy Communion for the new Evangelical Lutheran Book of Worship- aka the ELW or "the new red book". And it was stunning! The tunes were singable and yet not boring or trite. The melodies fit with the meaning of the words. There are all kinds of possibilities for instrumentation. And an added plus, the presiders won't have to learn a new chant tone as those small pieces have been recycled from the LBW with updated language. Although the recording was done on a pipe organ, the tunes would also be marvelous with piano and flute. I have listened to a lot of liturgies over the last few years, having served a congregation that knows at least ten different settings. And I am glad to say, that this new setting is good. And I'm looking forward to hearing what comes next.