20 February 2009

7 Quick Takes on Friday

1. Tonight is DATE NIGHT!!! It's our second date night this week and our third since we moved here in October! Pretty exciting. I love how a destination at the end of the day can motivate one to move through a day.

2. Several cool things are happening in the coming week. First, my Grammy is returning home under hospice care and 24-hour care on Monday. Second, Annalivia's birthday party is Tuesday night. Her 4th birthday is Wednesday. So is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. I also have doctor's appointments and other things the other days. It's going to be a busy week.

3. Our church is showing the movie Fireproof this weekend. Dennis and I saw it last weekend and really enjoyed it. I was pleasantly surprised by how well-done it was and I thought about it a lot this week. I realized while watching it that, these last few years, I really like being stretched theologically in pretty much any direction. I'm recommending the movie to most any theologically conservative friends. I've also been recommending it to theologically liberal friends who are able to find value in theology with which they may not be comfortable. This means I've recommended it to exactly one lib. theo. friend.

4. Has anyone else noticed that boys you knew in 7th grade either look exactly the same 20 years later, or radically different, but not very often anything in between? Facebook has been proving this to me lately. One of my recent Friends has reminded me of this, so I went back and checked the photos of the other kids I knew back then, now grown. I swear, there are varying degrees of change among the girls, but for the most part, the boys are either larger versions of their 7th grade selves or their fathers.

5. Thanks to our Valentine's Day brownie making experience, I've realized that the effect of those specialty pans that bake brownies into "edges" can be accomplished with a muffin tin. Just make sure the tins are well-oiled or sprayed and keep an eye on the brownies because they cook quickly. Muffin tins make great brownies though -- chewy and delicious.

6. I have never taken a picture of my pregnant belly before, even in my other pregnancies. I have a large belly anyway, so I never really wanted a pic of it being even bigger. Plus, I have to give myself shots that make it all bruised and icky looking. Last week, though, it occurred to me that I'd like to have a picture of me pregnant. So far, every attempt taken by myself is just ridiculous because the lighting is terrible. And I keep forgetting to ask Dennis to do it. Yesterday, I gave Annalivia my camera and asked her to take one. I ended up with six pictures -- two of my head, one of my knees and three of the wall behind me. Maybe this weekend, we'll get an actual photo accomplished. Though you should not look for it here.

7. Yesterday, I was in northern Illinois at the doctor's office. I stopped by an Amish store on my way through the country and picked up 20 jars of this wonderful no-sugar added jam they carry. It is made with just fruit, white grape juice concentrate and pectin -- no splenda or anything -- and is soooooo delicious. I have been unable to find it anywhere else, so I bought it in bulk yesterday. Last night I carried it in to the house but did not put it away before dinner. About halfway through the evening, Annalivia came upstairs to tell me that she had put the jelly away in the refrigerator so it could get cold. She talked about how heavy the bags were and how she had lifted them very carefully into the refrigerator drawers. She was really proud of herself. I went downstairs and she had crammed the bags into the produce drawers in the bottom of the refrigerator. It was pretty sweet, if you'll pardon the pun. I love glimpsing altruism in my kids.

7.5. Northern Illinois is supposed to get 6-8 inches of snow tonight. Down here, we may get some accumulation. Welcome back, winter. Now, go away.


More quick takes are over at Jen's.

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