pop culture & other thoughts about shallowness

So… In five hours and 49 minutes it will be a new year. 364 days ago I had great expectations for 2006, and I have to say, I wasn’t totally disappointed. Blown away, really, at how fast it’s gone by. I can’t believe in just a few hours, it will be another year. 2006 was a good one for me; probably one of the best I’ve had in a long while. I could repeat it if I had to.

We’re really not doing anything to celebrate tonight. Nothing cool, that is. Since it would be ridiculous to actually pay for babysitting, we didn’t even bother to do more than rent a movie and buy some popcorn and a six-pack of Shiner. We’re actually high-fiving ourselves that we plan to stay up until midnight. Did I mention we are uncool?

I have thoughts about my one 2007 resolution pursuit, but more on that tomorrow. For now I just want to reflect on good-ol’ oh-six. Here goes…

• Overall best thing that happened: I’d have to say our Fall Trip - it was such a great time of family bonding, it really focused us on the task ahead, and to top it off, we got a ton done.
• Overall worst thing that happened: Hmm… It really was such a good year, I guess I can only say back in April, when Kabob, both of Kabob’s parents, and I all got violently ill simultaneously for about 24 hours, while they were in town visiting.
• Biggest change from 2005: Chickpea started walking in January of this year (seems eons ago now). That changed… well, pretty much everything, from how we organize our house to how we have fun.
• Favorite family memory: Another tough one. It’s pretty hard to narrow it down, so I’m just going to say it’s a tie between Chick’s first sight of snow and Chick’s first sight of the ocean. Both occuring on our Fall Trip.
• Favorite movie: The Nativity Story. But a quick scroll of this site reveals that I saw three new movies this year, so this is saying jack squat.
• Favorite book: Blue Like Jazz. I realized that I never finished it due to a certain little girl’s birth, so I re-started it. Amazing, amazing, amazing.
• Favorite musician: I’m very old-school in this category - I’m pretty happy with my U2, Dido, The Cure, Coldplay, and David Gray. But this year I grew to appreciate Arcade Fire and Sufjan Stevens, the latter barely scratching my learning surface, so far.
• Favorite TV show: Easy - Project Runway.
• Favorite and/or most-used website: I’ll cheat and say my personal bloglines, which has the 50 or so sites linked that I check regularly.
• Most applicable Scripture: “Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.” -Psalm 37:3

Alright, I gotta get the toddler down to start our wild and crazy revelry - so more from me next year!

We’re back in town. And it feels good but… surreal. We spent the day sleeping in (me, 7:30; Chickpea, 10:45), devouring BBQ for lunch, having an unusually-productive “family meeting” during Chick’s nap, feasting on cheap Tex-Mex for dinner, and then scouring the town for Christmas lights. Only most the lights we enjoyed were the tail lights in lanes of traffic as we (unsuccessfully) maneuvered toward the Zilker Tree, and strolled disappointedly down 37th Street - they really don’t have many lights out this year. Oh well - familiarity is still comforting, in its own traffic-ridden way.

This is the warmest weather we’ve seen in six weeks, although Austin welcomed a cold front last night. Both Kabob and I admitted to not really feeling the “Christmas spirit” this year, and we’re sure it has to do with not having a place of our own, to see the ornaments that drift us back to our honeymoon or to Greece, and to not really be getting many Christmas cards like we usually do (though I can’t blame anybody… where would you address it? (you can ask, if you want, by the way)). We’ve been on the road so much that we can’t think straight (What day is it? Which time zone are we in?), so the holiday season has pretty much been a blur.

But that doesn’t mean we haven’t been blessed. We really have. Oh, have we been blessed. In the past 11 and a half weeks, we’ve experienced four-foot snowbanks, a balmy day at the beach, and everything in between. And those have all been side effects to the nitty-gritty blessing of sharing life with some exceptional people - those who want to partner with us (check out the thermometer on the right, by the way!), and those who are walking the same path with us. We are hand-in-hand with some wonderful brothers and sisters, and my heart swells when I think of the myriad of folks heading out in the next few months, to all over the world - quite literally. We are blessed to be part of such a fellowship.

But even more, we are blessed with our simple calling. Not a day goes by when either Kabob or I comment, “Man, I can’t imagine doing anything else with our life,” and the other nods in agreement. We are so, so blessed - humbled, really - at this privilege that only comes from the Author of life. And we share it with so many of you, who have decided that the Father is indeed calling you to play a part in this great adventure. Thanks for that.

So I’ll end this evening sharing this great post from a woman doing something similar with her life. Do you read her blog? You should. It will open your eyes and bless your heart.

Alright, off to snuggle on the couch watching Scrubs, and then it’s bedtime for me. Over and out.

Hello, my name is Toblerone, and I am a slacker blogger.  (pause while you respond with dutiful “Hi, Toblerone.”)

Really, people.  This is the slowest I’ve blogged since the inception of my cyberspace corner, almost two years ago.  And I know most of you haven’t noticed, or at least don’t mind, but it bothers me.  It’s always been my outlet, my nook to practice writing, to, at minimum, inflict myself with my inner Grammar Nazi.  At its basest form, it’s my place to share cute Chickpea stories and photos.  And it hasn’t even been that lately.

So my apologies.  Chickpea is still cute, and has been growing like a weed on our fall journey.  I have more photos to upload, and since several of you have “hinted” that I need to get on the ball with that, I promise to get more up in the next few days.  Her vocab has taken off like a rocket, and while she’s still behind most kids her age in that arena (which has never bothered me in the slightest), it really amazes me how much she understands.  As of late, the cutest thing has been hearing her call out to Oreo, the cat.  It sounds something like “Roreroreroro.”  She’s also learned the delightful English concept known as ‘articles,’ so she’s naming everything with an article in front, regardless of whether it needs it.  So she’ll point and say, “a flower,” “a moon,” “a banana,” “a daddy.”  We respond by pointing back and saying, “a Chickpea.”

I’ve been reading some good books, about four at a time, as usual.  Two are about the country we’re moving to (if you want the titles, let me know, because they’re good).  I’m also enjoying The Mommy Manual, and Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood.  Good stuff.  Thumbs up.

I iTuned (can that be a verb, Grammar Nazi?) myself a Christmas album.  It has a few classics - Dean Martin, Ray Charles, and the like, but the good new stuff is Sufjan Stevens, Sara Groves, Sarah MacLachlan, Chris Botti, Michael Buble, and Third Day.  My unwritten rule for Christmas music is “new musicians, old classics.”  I’ve never liked newly-composed Christmas songs - call me Clark Griswold, but I really only like the classics like “Joy to the World” and “O Come O Come Emmanuel.”  But get modern voices to do them well, and I’m sold.  So my compilation -also a thumbs up.

So Christmas…  It’s been on my mind, for obvious reasons.  But it’s surreal to think that this might be our last one in the States for awhile.  I’m okay with that, really, but it is a bit emotional for me, to be honest.  We’re here and all, and are enjoying the best parts about it (family, freedom to worship, etc.), but I miss having a home for the holidays.  I miss having a tree of our own, having my own kitchen with the right spices, seeing our stockings on the mantel.  My mind often drifts to our three boxes in storage of Christmas decor, because I know I won’t get to see the ornaments from Martha’s Vineyard until next year (if they survive the Giant Move).  I like making chocolate-covered pretzels and pumpkin bread, and I miss not doing that.  I don’t even remember if I kept my loaf pans.  This in-between time…  It makes the holidays weird.  But I guess it forces us remember why we celebrate.

Okay, Jakers is almost over, and then we’re off to the park.  It’s sunny outside, so I take the vitamin D whenever it’s offered.

Hello, my name is Toblerone, and I am a slacker blogger.  (pause while you respond with dutiful “Hi, Toblerone.”)

Really, people.  This is the slowest I’ve blogged since the inception of my cyberspace corner, almost two years ago.  And I know most of you haven’t noticed, or at least don’t mind, but it bothers me.  It’s always been my outlet, my nook to practice writing, to, at minimum, inflict myself with my inner Grammar Nazi.  At its basest form, it’s my place to share cute Chickpea stories and photos.  And it hasn’t even been that lately.

So my apologies.  Chickpea is still cute, and has been growing like a weed on our fall journey.  I have more photos to upload, and since several of you have “hinted” that I need to get on the ball with that, I promise to get more up in the next few days.  Her vocab has taken off like a rocket, and while she’s still behind most kids her age in that arena (which has never bothered me in the slightest), it really amazes me how much she understands.  As of late, the cutest thing has been hearing her call out to Oreo, the cat.  It sounds something like “Roreroreroro.”  She’s also learned the delightful English concept known as ‘articles,’ so she’s naming everything with an article in front, regardless of whether it needs it.  So she’ll point and say, “a flower,” “a moon,” “a banana,” “a daddy.”  We respond by pointing back and saying, “a Chickpea.”

I’ve been reading some good books, about four at a time, as usual.  Two are about the country we’re moving to (if you want the titles, let me know, because they’re good).  I’m also enjoying The Mommy Manual, and Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood.  Good stuff.  Thumbs up.

I iTuned (can that be a verb, Grammar Nazi?) myself a Christmas album.  It has a few classics - Dean Martin, Ray Charles, and the like, but the good new stuff is Sufjan Stevens, Sara Groves, Sarah MacLachlan, Chris Botti, Michael Buble, and Third Day.  My unwritten rule for Christmas music is “new musicians, old classics.”  I’ve never liked newly-composed Christmas songs - call me Clark Griswold, but I really only like the classics like “Joy to the World” and “O Come O Come Emmanuel.”  But get modern voices to do them well, and I’m sold.  So my compilation -also a thumbs up.

So Christmas…  It’s been on my mind, for obvious reasons.  But it’s surreal to think that this might be our last one in the States for awhile.  I’m okay with that, really, but it is a bit emotional for me, to be honest.  We’re here and all, and are enjoying the best parts about it (family, freedom to worship, etc.), but I miss having a home for the holidays.  I miss having a tree of our own, having my own kitchen with the right spices, seeing our stockings on the mantel.  My mind often drifts to our three boxes in storage of Christmas decor, because I know I won’t get to see the ornaments from Martha’s Vineyard until next year (if they survive the Giant Move).  I like making chocolate-covered pretzels and pumpkin bread, and I miss not doing that.  I don’t even remember if I kept my loaf pans.  This in-between time…  It makes the holidays weird.  But I guess it forces us remember why we celebrate.

Okay, Jakers is almost over, and then we’re off to the park.  It’s sunny outside, so I take the vitamin D whenever it’s offered.