Blue Like Jazz: Live

The Blue-Like-Jazzers spent last night with the author of our current study book, one Donald Miller. Em and I got there first to save seats, and we were peering at the men in the front of the room curiously, trying to decide which of them was Donald Miller. We found one gentleman who seemed to fit the part- he was in his 30s, had funky, blonde hair, wore flip flops with his blazer and T; Yes. This, we decided, was Donald Miller. Because this author is "cool," and this blonde trendy guy looked like a Donald to me! As it turns out, trendy blonde guy was not our guy at all, but rather one of the worship leaders. It figures the trendy guy would be a music person. I should have known better. Donald Miller ended up looking not at all what I would have pictured. He's a "Fatty Mcfunny!" Em and I exclaimed once we discovered the author's identity.

(sidenote: the term Fatty McFunny term is meant to be endearing and not offensive. It denotes my personal preference in guys who have a great sense of humor and are built like a Teddy Bear or a football player- they have some stock and meat on their bones. I think it stems from my desire as a girl to feel protected and safe with a guy she is dating. Also my dad is not a small man, so take that Freudian philosophy as you will. end sidenote)

So Donald ended up being this 6 foot 3-ish jolly, 34 year-old, happy-go-lucky guy, and of course, he did not disappoint us in the humor department. Yet he was able to command the audience's attention and bring home poignant thoughts on the lack of our fundamentalist Christianity. He espoused beliefs on adhering to a set of principles or following these amount of steps in this number of days to be considered a Christian. Instead, he proceeded, it is all meant to be about relationships. The metaphors in the Bible, he said, the shepherd to the sheep, the father to the son, the bride to the bridegroom, all describe how we are to view our relationship with Christ. To Love, Donald reminded us, is to give up everything to be with that person- in life and in death. Anything less than that kind of love cheapens love altogether. So it forced me to think. Here in Postmodern America, where I have never experienced any kind of threat to freely practice my religion, have I really died to self? Have I really given up everything to be with Christ? Have I really given up anything at all?

I know the answer is yes, I have made sacrifices along the way to deepen my relationship with God, but they have been small in comparison to many. I long to figure out the so-called reckless abandonment that comes with fully loving God, and living my life with an eternal perspective.

Then Donald Miller got to the crux of his talk. He started drawing all these religious parallels between Romeo and Juliet and the struggle of Shakespere's day between the Catholics and the Protestants, also Christ's relationship to the church- but I'm not sure how much I buy into all that. At the very least, it gave me something to research further for myself, and really made me want to go home and watch Baz Lurhman's Romeo & Juliet!

Lisa, Mary Anna and I stood in line afterwards and got our picture with him. He seemed genuinely surprised that we would find his book worthy of a Bible study topic, and was really a nice guy to meet.

Bizarro Emily

So Saturday night Laura made her famous homemade quesadillas (dangit, Napoleon...) and we had a little dinner party of sorts. George was there of course, as were Mary Anna and Emily. The first thing my mom says to Em when she sees her is,
"when did you get your hair cut?"
to which Emily replies,
"a few weeks ago."
"But it wasn't that short when I saw you last Sunday at Cracker Barrell,"
Mom commented. All of a sudden, Emily gets this funny look on her face and says,
"I didn't go to Cracker Barrell last Sunday."
Well everybody starts dying laughing, because Mom and Dad swear up and down that they saw Em and even talked to her! Apparently Emily's Bizzaro twin pretended like she knew Mom and Dad, gave Mom a hug, and told them she couldn't talk because she was on the phone with her friend from Spain!

There is a Seinfeld episode that talks about how everybody has a bizarro twin somewhere in the world- a person who looks exactly like you but is no relation whatsoever. I have come to the conclusion that Emily's Bizarro twin lives in the Cool Springs area.

Either that, or both of my parents are seeing things; kind of like, big, big birds on the roof of our house...

A fun website

I found the link to this blog on another blog, which shall remain nameless. I aboslutely love this website. From what I gather, it's run by two photographers, and they just post colorful pictures. Pictures like this make me want to be a photographer...to see the world the way they do. I don't think I ever stop and think about how colorful our world is. Anyways, I'll stop trying to be poetic now. Just click here and it will take you to the Catchy Colors page. Enjoy!

the most boring blog ever

Okay- I have resolved myself to blog before the work day gets too busy, but here's my predicament: I have nothing interesting to say this morning! No funny stories, or hip-hop moguls' names to comment on. I think perhaps I have become boring. My routine life finds fewer and fewer "blogworthy" moments. Somewhere along the way I have become stuck in a rut! So here's what we're going to do- we're going to have a relaxing weekend and get rejuvinated for next week's Big Move. (Get ready Chateau Bradley, I'm Comin' Home.) Plus I'm registering for dance classes and finalizing more details of the Even Bigger Move (aka New York City, a few months down the road...). (NEW York CITY????). So I guess my aim this morning is to give you a few sentences just so you know that I am alive and well- oh- one thing of note- I did see March of the Penguins on Monday night.
Take these chanceeeesssss, place them in a box until a quieter time, lights down you up and die!
Oh sorry- wrong animals marching. But the movie was fantastic. Hearing Morgan Freeman narrate I kept expecting to see Tim Robbins show up in a prison uniform but still the movie did not disapoint. The film follows the trek of the Emporer penguins from the ocean to their mating ground 70 miles away, and ends back in the ocean with the baby penguins. There is phenomenal footage shot from antartica and the whole spectacle caused my friends and I to wonder how anybody can doubt the existence of God when the animals have this "unexplained" process down to an art. Def. a must see.
Sorry to cut this short, but things are hectic already. Have a good 'un.

86 the P

Sory kiddos, but in the land of work and craziness, the ole' Diva domain has been forced to take a back seat for a few days. (Does anyone but me ever really notice when this happens anyways?... Buehler?...) I promise to make it up to you though. Hopefully you haven't already heard about this- it's from yesterday's news, but being a busy diva myself, I too am a day late in hearing the big announcement. Yes folks, you read it here Second.

The artist formerly known as P. Diddy, who was the artist formally known as Puff Daddy, also the artist formerly known as Sean Puffy Combs, and you guessed it, the artist formerly known as simply Sean Combs, has changed his name once again. He shall now be referrred to as just "Diddy." Yes, you heard me correctly- P Diddy has dropped the P like a bad Mase record. And the hip-hop mogul (there's that word again) even brought it upon himself to make this announcement formal on NBC's Today Show yesterday!! “I felt the ‘p’ was coming between me and my fans,” says Diddy. Katie Couric feigns interest: “Wow…” (what. a diddy.)

smile, and enjoy your wednesday- the work week is at its glorious mid-point.

My little burrito

Ok, those first two pictures I posted don't even really look like Wilson. Here are some new ones from last night. This is Wilson asleep in his "Moses basket." I keep calling him, "my little burrito." As you can see, he loves to have his hand up next to his face. I promise not to keep posting a million pictures, but i wanted you to all see a more realistic picture of him. Mom and Dad are doing well - pretty tired, but they're hanging in there. How cute is he?

A modern day miracle...

Seriously...anyone who wants to witness a miracle...just wait until someone close to you has a baby. It's absolutely amazing.

Meet my nephew, Robert "Wilson" Borders, born yesterday August 11th at 1:35 pm. He weighed 6 lbs 10 oz and measured 19 1/2 inches. He is so adorable and has the cutest shriek of a cry. It's probably not so cute at 2 am, but I found it endearing none the less. So from now on, I'll probably never see any of you ever again, because I'll be with Wilson. It's been nice knowing you, though...really! :)

I'll post more as I get them - these are the only ones my mom sent. I'll be sure to post some of Wilson and me.

~Auntie Em

you can tune a piano...

Good morning friends- not sure what all those ads-disguised-as-comments were all about from yesterday- if they continue to pop up and get annoying, I may have to ix-nay the anonymous omments-cay, so those of you who particuarly enjoy your anonymity will have to break down and create a user id. Mostly I said that because I wanted to use the word anonymity. It's a favorite of mine. As is snafu. And crisp. But we won't go there this morning.

Instead, a co-worker Joel, brought up an interesting point this morning. Why is it when talking about a sandwich, we refer to it as "tuna fish." Why not just say, I went to the store to buy a can of tuna- no wait- that's from a theater monologue I did in high school- but no, instead we usually refer to this smelly food as "tuna fish." Of course I am not a fan of tuna fish (or any fish really...), but why ever say "Tuna fish?" Why not just tuna? You call it "swordfish" or "catfish" because there is something other than an aquatic being that shares its name. Otherwise, I might confuse it. Do you have a feline or a fish for a pet? If you just say "cat," I might assume the first- and we all know what happens when one assumes. But really, what if I do have an aquarium in my apartment, and I own a pet catfish? (Aren't their whiskers cute?) I'd have to be specific by saying "catfish." But as far as I know, there is no other tuna by any other name that would smell as sweet. So let's all make a conscious effort from now on to call it by its proper name- Tuna.

Because remember, you can tune a piano... But you can't tune a fish.

Does it get any better than this:

it's almost 5 o'clock, and I'm listening to J. Timberlake's Cry Me a River on launchcast radio. (I'm still mad that Ooscar chewed up that cd!) It makes for a great end to a so-so day. I wasn't as busy today so the work hours crawled by a little more slowly than usual. Anyways- due to the blah-esque day (didja like that made-up adjective?) I don't have much to share, but I found this quote amusing from an article I was reading about the Marlins this morning:

(Quick aside. This just in. Florida might need to drop the name ''Marlins.'' The NCAA has just voted to eliminate Native American Billfish nicknames. Now back to the column).

Yeah. Sorry bout it, but I got nothin.

aaaaaand, I'm spent.

a day late...and a late morning

5:45 am - the time I set my alarm for in the morning.
7:30 am- the time I leave the Penthouse to go to work.
7:37 am- the time Rhonda Lu woke me up this morning.

eek and Egads. Apparently my alarm shuts off after snoozing for an hour, and when that hour came and went this morning and I was still asleep. It's an awful feeling waking up more rested than usual but full of dread knowing you're going to be super-late to work. Good to know about that alarm thing though. My name is Amanda, and I'm addicted to snoozing. Yes, that's right- I've admitted my addiction and said it out loud. I'm a snoozer. So sue me.

Anywho- everybody and their dog is ordering Christmas music right now, so it's our busy season at work. I know many of you are disapointed when Monday hits and there's no weekend update blog, so here we go, a day late and a dollar short.

My weekend got started on Friday afternoon with a happy hour at Cozy Mel's with all the girls from work. It's so much fun to hang out with work people outside of work because they act differently, and talk about non-work-related topics, so you realy get to know a person in this environment. Later I met up with Ari and her crew for a little birthday celebration hang-out time, followed by a late night at the Brentwood Waff. Y'all, I am not kidding, we had the scariest guy waiting on us, and every time he came to ask us if we needed anything I burst out in nervous giggles! It made for an interesting couple of hours. (Shout to Rhonda, the ex Waffle House waitress- you know how I like my hashbrowns- scattered, covered, smothered, & diced!) (ps, whoever decided that "chunked" would be a great way to serve hashbrowns is dumb, because the word chunk is just Not appetizing.) (and FYI, Rhonda really was never a WH waitress, she just lied and told me that one time and I believed her.) So that was Friday.

I slept in on Saturday, laid out for a few hours at the pool with Em & Rhonda, tried to read an article about the Pope in my New Yorker magazine, and my gosh, you practically have to have a phd to understand anything in that article, so I traded that in for something that was more condusive to poolside reading- my In Style magazine. Man, I love that thing! It's my monthly treat! Sat night we had a Ginormous group go bowling for Emily's birthday. Mary Anna made cupcakes, Lana brought her bowling shoes (I don't know why that's funny to me!), and Brad Johnson and I made up what we liked to call Golf Bowling- lowest score wins! Brad won once and I won once. It was a sad night at the Franklin Lanes for us! Lisa and Mary Anna tried to capture on film what they like to call "that aint right" moments so they could post them to their blog. Not sure if they found any blogworthy shots, but we all had a ton of fun. Later Em and I fell asleep watching Shag for the finale of the birthday celebration.

Sunday was pretty laid back- an usually unscheduled day for me- until 6 oclock when we got my small group and Allison's small groups together for a dinner at Allison's condo. The food of course was great- you can never have too many deserts- and the conversation spanning a variety of topics such as Michael Bolton: lame, or gulity pleasure?, classic Nick-at-Night shows such as Salute your Shorts, Hey Dude, and You Can't Do That On Television, rapping through the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (Weez, I thought of you!), Bathroom Antics Part 2: the ghostwipe and "stalling out," and oh-so many more. Afterwards Mary Anna and I wasted brain cells and $8.50 a piece on Wedding Crashers. Don't go unless you're a guy- it's more of a rental-esque movie. But it was fun getting to hang out with her at least.

So anyways-the birthday celebrations are finite, the weekend is a distant memory, and it's another busy day here. Kairos tonight. Lots more churches to sell choir music to. Hope you're enjoying your Tuesday, wherever you are!

bathroom antics

For those of you who rely on this site as a source of sheer entertainment, you're in for a real treat today I think. For the minority of readers who were expecting a profound political statement or some morsel of useful knowledge, you're out of luck today (and pretty much every day for that matter)!

While in the restroom here at work lately I've noticed that there is this lady who every time she enters a bathroom stall, there follows a rattling of paper. Of course I'm already in a separate stall so I couldn't figure out what all the rattling was about. I kept thinking, is she opening a new roll of TP every time she goes to the bathroom? That's a little OCD, don't you think? But then it dawned on me yesterday: she's one of those people who use the paper seat protectors.

I always see them in the dispensers on the wall here in our bathrooms right next to the sinks but thought, who actually uses those here? We're all friends; we're all sisters in Christ here- we work together every day. Are we so mistrustful of one another that we have a need for paper toilet seat protectors? I mean, in a public bathroom, yes, by all means, go ahead and partake of the paper seat-protectors, or use a few strips of TP to protect you from those nasty germs, but here at work? Please!

It reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine freaks out that her co-worker is using a p.t.s.p. but it's weird especially for Elaine, because the only women using this particular bathroom are Elaine and this other lady. Elaine feels insulted- does this co-worker think she's dirty and full of germs? And I feel insulted as well! I shower. I keep clean. And in fact, I read a study the other day that claims you are more likely to pick up germs in your office cubical environment than you are in a public restroom toilet. Apparently there are more germs lurking in the air you breathe and share with your co-workers at your desk than there are say, in an LA McDonalds bathroom. So what are we paper-protecting ourselves from? Wouldn't it make more sense to cover our desks at work and phones and computer keyboards with fitted, disposable paper covers? I mean, heck, I'm probably contracting some dreadful disease just typing this to you right now- that's right people, I am risking my life for you. Sure makes you think about using that p.t.s.p. next time doesn't it?

The Storyteller

the Storyteller
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

Last night dad and I enjoyed one of the coolest concerts either of us will ever attend. Tom T. Hall (who most of you who are reading this have never even heard of), is a favorite of Dad's, and has become a favorite of mine over the years. This was a rare appearance for Tom T. who has long since been retired, but he still had the audience in stitches with his stories, and his clear, recognizable voice kept me holding my breath until each song was over. We were fortunate enough to have front row seats, so I got some great pictures and even some (Sssh!) video of some of the stories he told. Dad looked around the audience and saw several industry people he knew who were all sitting behind us, and he just grinned as he stated proudly that we got to sit on the front row with Miss Dixie. (Miss Dixie of course, is Tom T.'s wife.)

I was raised listening to the story songs of Tom T. Hall. If you want to study some clever songwriting, take a look at The Storyteller's lyrics. He puts stories in words the way you would hear them spoken, and paints word pictures so strongly that even on a first hearing you can follow every image in your head. He told the story behind my all-time favorite Tom T. song last night, which he told us ahead of time, would be his encore! ("I don't believe in planned encores," he said. "If you plan on doing it, it's just another song.") He had a friend who was a psychiatrist- "I couldn't afford to be a patient, so I was just a friend," Tom said. His psychiatrist friend suggested he make a list every day of all his problems in life, that way when Tom read through them he would see that there were fewer problems in his life than he originally thought, and would discover how trivial some of these problems were in reality. Well this activity depressed Tom T., so he decided instead to make a list of all the things he loved, came up with the song "I Love."

I love, little baby ducks, old pickup trucks, slow moving trains, and rain.

I love little country streams, sleep without dreams, sunday school in may, And hay

And I love you too

I love leaves in the wind, pictures of my friends, birds in the world, and squirrels

I love coffee in a cup, little fuzzy pups, bourbon in a glass, and grass

and I love you too

I love honest open smiles, kisses from a child, tomatoes on the vine, and onions

I love winners when they cry, losers when they try, music when it’s good, and life

And I love you too

birthday #2

Ahhhh... the joys of coffee. It's keeping me going this morning. I often delude myself and pretend I'm still 21 and in college, and then I wonder why I can't function anymore in the mornings after being out late (read: past 10 o'clock)! Say it with me: 21 and in college- maybe if I say it enough it will become true!

We went to Jonathan's to celebrate Ari's birthday last night- we, being myself, Angela, Ari, and Flyboy, who drove in from Texas as a surprise to the birthday girl. Singing 3 part harmony over the music at the bar- is there anything more fun? We should take our act on the road, girls! I left Jonathan's late, and then ran into my Walmart Neighborhood Grocery to gather supplies to prepare for the next birthday, which happens to be today. (Happy 23 Emmy Sue!) Here I am, about to pass out from exhaustion, and I'm baking cupcakes at 12:30!!! I think I ate about as much cake batter as I put in the cupcakes!! (Isn't that the best way to bake though?) Needless to say I was a little loopy this a.m. when Rhonda and I got up to finish decorating the 'birthday hallway' in the Penthouse and make the birthday girl the traditional chocolate chip pancakes!

Man, oh man, is that coffee working though! 4 cups later and I'm going strong here at bbmpi today. Good thing too, cause it's a busy one; lunch plans with a friend from "Pirates in my Pants" and then a date night with Dad tonight to see Tom T. Hall. Finally, we culminate by celebrating the birthday of Miss Emily Elizabeth Borders, affectionately known as Emmy Sue, e.e. borders or soon-to-be Auntie Em!

Em is 23 years old today (yep, she's a youngin) (but not as young as me- remember, I'm 21 and in college!), and a fellow Native Nashvillian. There are few of us out there, so we stick together! Little known facts about Emily: she makes a mean chocolate chip bundt cake (not sure what the official name of that tasty treat is, but trust me, it's yummy), she cheerleaded in high school, does an amazing elephant impersonation complete with arm motions, and is the voice of reason and maturity in the Penthouse even though she's the youngest of the 3 roommates! Emily enjoys cheering on her Baylor Bears, watching (and falling asleep to) the classic 80's movie "Shag," and wows us occasionally with her hot dance moves! Have a great day, Emmy Sue!

modern day fairytale

a birthday story.

Once upon a time, 24 years ago to the day precisely, there was a beautiful princess born in the Bluegrass state. Her name was Princess Celia Ariana Bryant, but nobody could pronounce that, so everyone just called her Ari. Ari spent her childhood roaming about the country with her mother, Queen Celia, until finally, one day, the beautiful Princess Ari was all grown up, and desired to go to school. Being a Muggle with no magical powers, she was not admitted into the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, so she settled for a school in the Commonwealth of Kentucky; a little school called UK, which happened to be known for their basketball almost as much as their pension for attracting men of the homosexual nature (Oh wait- maybe those were just our friends). Either way, Princess Ari decided to study music and it was there that she met her fellow DIVA Amanda.

DIVA Amanda was a priss and wannabe princess from Nashville,TN, and Princess Ari was not so sure she was going to like Amanda. For Amanda, you see, liked the Backstreet Boys at that point in time, and this made her very uncool in Princess Ari's world. Conversely, Princess Ari was loud and opinionated and DIVA Amanda was not sure she and Princess Ari would get along. One day these two unlikely friends discovered their joint dislike of a mean, evil professor named Dr. J, and this bonded them together, and they were the best of friends forevermore.

To this day, if you see Princess Ari or DIVA Amanda they are not far from each other's thoughts, and they enjoy encouraging one another in their quest to find their respective (prospective?) handsome princes.

The End.

What IS a Hokie anyways?

Another one bites the dust! I have coerced yet another friend into joining the Wonderful World of Blogging. Here you can read all about my trip to Vrginny on Heather's blog. (Oh yes. She's gone up and done it.)

But of course, I have to get my two-cents in as well, so here are the weekend highlights, according to yours truly:

• *eating Momma B's chocolate chip cookies in the car on the way to Blacksburg
• *finally meeting "Craig & Jenny" aka Heather and Jacob's married couple friends, Joe & Jana
• *sadly enough, yes, getting lost on a loop hiking trail around a mountain lake... it was not what I was thinking when I suggested we go on a hike in the mountains of Virginia... I admit I was picturing more of a Radnor Lake-esque trail but with more of an incline... nice wide paths lined with cedar chips- none of this scaling rocks and dodging sketchy holes that looked like they might house a family of snakes... hmmm. (This made me decide that once in New York I'm going to find a gym with Virtual Hiking- a stair climber and a video screen in front to give the illusion of hiking outdoors!) (This is an awfully long bullet point, don't you think?)
• *Must Love Romantic Comedies, but Must Love Dogs was two thumbs up if you do!
• *Beating Heather in a 3am game of Pop-culture Trivial Pursuit
• *eating Momma B's chocolate chip cookies for breakfast
• *laughing hysterically at the geek who wrote out the number Pi in the dust on the front window of the Virginia Tech Engineering bldg.
• *giggling with Heather as we wrote "helpful" formulas such as a2 + b2 = c2 and E=MC2 on Jacob's office research marker board
• *helping out the Roanoke Lifeway store by straightening their shelves... force of habit for me and Heather
• *finishing off those yummy chocolate chip cookies... I don't think Jacob even had one!
• *Singing Ray Charles a la Rudy Huckstable
• *hearing Heather tell "The Fishes of the Sea" story on Jacob and laughing each time as it got funnier (for us, anyways!)
• *Music theory lessons with Heather in the OG, and in the shoe section of Dick's Sporting Goods (keep working on those "fractions" Weez)
• *the bizzare feelings of being uprooted from a subway in Manhattan one weekend to the rolling hills and small town life of Blacksburg, VA the next!
• *and finally... seeing my "best friend Heather from home." You may know her as HBo, Weezer, or Heather Bowlman, but she's my oldest pal, and it was great to spend some time with her and Cubby Hubby Jacob as well. (Thanks Jake for going to the Chic movie with us!) See you in 2 weeks, H!

the best laid plans

So yesterday Lana (which we recently discovered is 'anal' backwards) and I had plans to go walking at Radnor Lake after work. Well in case you didn't notice, it happened to pour down rain yesterday afternoon. Or in case you don't live in the Nashville vicinity, it poured down rain yesterday. And by 5 o'clock, while it wasn't raining anymore, it sure looked like it ws going to any minute. (Ok, let's be honest- we were looking really hard for an excuse not to go walk!) So Lana and I debated: to walk or not to walk, and then she tells me about a friend from Lexington who was in town for a work conference. He wanted to see her, and she really didn't feel like going out to eat with just him, so what did we do? Well of course we had to be good friends to Lexington Boy, so we canceled our plans to walk, and graciously offered to have dinner with him and his coworker. I know what you're thinking- how generous were we to give up our exercise time to have yummy food with people we'll probably never see again! Skip forward to me and Lana back at the Penthouse.

"It's still light outside," I said to her. "Let's just go walk around the apartment complex."
So with our tummies full, we changed clothes and set out to walk. Only excepting we stopped into Rhonda's room and started looking at Rhonda's old pictures with her and John. The next thing I knew, I looked out the window and it was completely dark outside! Lana left soon after, and I marched into the living room, determied to do some form of physical activity. I popped in our Mari Windsor pilates video and made it through half of the (mere 20-minute) video before my energy was completely zapped, so I went to bed about 15 minutes later!

Isn't there some quote about the best intentions or the best-laid plans or something that applies to this story? I'm sure there is. If not, allow me to coin another one: Best intentions are, at best, just intentions. Sleeping and eating are much more fun. And you can quote me on that.

catch phrase

So, you know, I was driving home last night and you know, called back Corbin, the director for the Secret Garden at Boilerroom Theater, and you know, he told me he didn't have a part for me in the principals, but you know, he would like to cast me as one of "spirits" in the ensemble. Would I be interested in doing that?

You know Corbin, I don't think I would! And would you PLEASE stop saying "you know" after every phrase??? Every. Single. Phrase! Of course I didn't say that- I said I'd think about it and check my dance class schedule, and you know, I'd call him back in a day or two.

My store!

My store!
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

OK, so there's just way too much to wrote about from this past week's mission trip to New York. Instead I have posted several pictures and commented briefly on them so you can get the jist of it. During the weekdays, we painted a middle school in the Bronx partnering with a program called New Hope New York that has a project it sponsers called "Paint the Town."
Our nights were free in the city, and we stayed in apartments right near Times Square. The first few days I was enthralled with the lights and hustle and bustle that encompassed Times Square- by day 3 or 4, I could not stand having to fight my way through all of teh "tourists" to get where I was going! Ha!
This store was just calling my name to take a picture in front of it. "I like pink. Pink is my signature color."

Brooklyn Tab

Brooklyn Tab
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

Not at all what I pictured it to look like, but the service was unlike anythng I've ever een to. These people know how to praise the Lord! The praise and worship was great, and the famous choir sang "My Life Is In Your Hands," which is one of my favorite Brooklyn Tabernacle songs we sing in the BBC choir. It was a total God thing too, because when I was waiting in line to get in the church that morning (yes, you have to wait in a line that spans a few blocks!) I thought to myself that I would just love it if the choir sang that song. 2 hours and 15 minutes later, we were on our way to explore Chinatown and Little Italy in the pouring on-and-off rain.

Roomies eating Dolce in Little Italy

Roomies eating Dolce in Little Italy
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

Here we are, the girls of 123 W. 44th st. # 5D, enjoying some desert at a cafe in Little Italy. The gelato was yummy, and so was our waiter. I actually ordered a cannoli just to keep him coming back to our table! (You all know how I love me some Italian Mens!) So we exchanged flirtatious smiles throughout our stay, and he grabbed my camera off the table to take a picture of the 4 of us girls. Trust me, I got a card from that place so I can go back next time I'm in the city!

painting the hall

painting the hall
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

This is Alicia demonstrating a big part of what we did. The school was bulit in 1937, and has not been painted or repaired since, save some new windows 15 years ago. We are hoping the new spruced-up building will have an impact on both students and teachers. Did I mention the 100+ stairs we had to climb multiple times a day? 4 floors plus a basement- this building was huge- oh, and no air conditioning either. We sweated it out while working joyfully. Seriously- as the days went on, and we became increasingly more tired and sore, the attitudes of the team remained joyfully focused on the task at hand. This made it easier to get the job done.

a view of the Bronx

a view of the Bronx
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

I took this from the 4th floor in our school. The neighborhood is most definitely run-down, but it still has character. I would get off the subway each day, admire my surroundings and just smile thinking about where I was. I am in love with this city for sure. A point of interest- the school is only a few blocks away from Yankee Stadium.

Eleanor & Amanda conquer "Wicked"

Eleanor & Amanda conquer "Wicked"
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

This was the one show I was dying to see, and we were extremely blessed to get 2nd row seats on our first night in the city. Some friends of friends won lottery tickets and gave their tickets to us. We now love these friends of friends. Also, notice how well Eleanor's and my outfits coincide with the color scheme of the poster!

Kelly's Mural

Kelly's Mural
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

It was brought up that Kelly Carter was a profesional artist, so she was given a huge wall outside the school on their playground to paint. Apparently the school has a hard time keeping the graffiti off of the wall, but in the city, wherever patriotic paintings or tributes to September 11th are portrayed, the graffiti artists leave it alone. It is our hope that this mural will make their play area a more pleasant place to be, and that the Gospel will be proclaimed through the scripture verses on the mural. Kelly and the others who worked on this were able to talk with several kids and members of the community who passed by to see who we were and what we were doing, and many pitched in and helped! It took them only 3 days to start and finish the whole thing!

Starbucks on the stoop

Starbucks on the stoop
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

There's a Starbucks on every block in Manhattan I think- I had to have my coffee fix at least one morning- those lates nights and early mornings were starting to wear on me. PS, right next to the Starbucks in Times Square was a Sephora store that I passed by every day- and I never even went inside. I know myself too well to know that I am a terrible window shopper. I opperate under the philosophy of "I see, therefore I buy," so if I don't see the makeup, if I don't enter the cosmetic heaven, then I'm not likely to make an unnecessary purchase!

Chris & Julie painting the doorframes

Christ & Julie painting the doorframes
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

This is what we did our last 2 days. We took Sharpies and wrote Bible verses on the door, and then painted them Kentucky Blue. Each door took 20 or 30 minutes to paint, which was a major pain(t), but it made such a difference in the hallways and rooms. The task was not so much fun for the vertically challenged however, who had to constantly go up and down on chairs to reach all the nooks and crannies. But look at these kids and their teamwork here!

Me Christa & Eleanor at Shea Stadium

Me Christa & Eleanor at Shea Stadium
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

Ok... so we Went to Shea stadium on Wednesday night, the Mets were playing San Diego, but we didn't actually go to the game. We left the apartment an hour after the start of the game, and didn't anticipate the 45 minute commute by train to get out there. But hey, the Mets at least did win.

An amusing name for a restaurant

An amusing name for a restaurant
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

Well, I guess the sign says it all- no guesswork as to the type of cusine they serve here, no sir! Here in front are Christa, Reagan, and Eleanor. We four shared a slap-happy dinner full of laughter. The waitress refused to bring Christa a straw, and we girls picked Reagan's brain on important subjects such as this: When a girl wants to tell her friend that she looks nice and ready to go out for the evening, she says, "you look cute," or "that shirt is cute." So what do guys say to one another?? I don't think Reagan ever really got a chance to answer because the 3 of us kept butting in with our own suggestions.

4th floor classroom

4th floor classroom
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

The first classroom I helped paint on Monday. Two coats of paint and a lot of squatting and reaching later, the kids will have a fresh new classroom they can take pride in. We prayed for the kids and teachers in each room before we painted them, for we know that this act of service was not just about paining a school, but establishing a relationship with this community.

Me & Jeff Goldblum

Me & Jeff Goldblum
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

Sorry, I know it was a Mission trip, but this may have been the Coolest moment of my week! I walk by the theater, where I had just seen The Pillowman that night (co-staring this quirky actor favorite of mine), and there he is, signing autographs! I told him I had a crush on him after seeing Jurassic Park and Jeff got a kick out of that. Too bad I didn't get to cozy up to Billy Crudup- the leading man in the play- for he was nowhere to be found. bummer.

Monet's Waterlillies

Monet's Waterlillies
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

This was so incredible to see in person. Cliche Monet yes, but still one of Mom's favorites. My favorite was a huge Renoir painting. There was too much to see, and our feet were throbbing. Plus we got lost in the museum a few times. Thank goodness for the people who work there that can point you toward the exit!

skyline from the Met

skyline from the Met
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

This was taken from the roof atop the Metropolitan Museum of Art- I took this, after I think, Eleanor sat on what she assumed to be a concrete block, but what the museum people regarded as "art."

fitting in already

fitting in already
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

This is me, pretending to be enjoying happy hour on top of the MET and look like a "true New Yorker." I wasn't faking the phone call though- I really was checking my voice mail- I learned the hard way of the faux pas of answering your phone in a museum!

no title necessary- this is just funny

no title necessary- this is just funny
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

I saw this bagel place while Christa and I were strolling down the streets of the upper East side and had to take a picture. Who decided this would make a good name for an eating establishment??? Well, it definitely catches your attention, that's for sure!

Sponge Bob in Times Square

Sponge Bob in Times Square
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

He was in front of Toys R Us- I couldn't resist this random photo-op, so I pulled Julie and Sarah Nall in with me for good measure. This was taken our last night in the city- and it was Sarah's 23rd birthday.

NYC Mission trip Blog

Well hey there, kids. Guess we have an ongoing trend with these mission trip blogs- but aren't they great?? I actually don't have anything to do with the creation of this one, so if I do make it to a computer I'll probably post to the divadomain. But check this link as well to see what our team is doing.

32 of us head out early Saturday afternoon to spend a week in the Big Apple where we'll be painting and cleaning up an inner-city middle school. Mostly this is just a trip so we (Brentwood Baptist) can scout out the Bronx area where we'll be working to possibly start planning a new church for this area. I struggled with feelings of guilt for several months and weeks leading up to this trip. Was this just a cheap, glorified vacation for me? We'll be working from 8-5 every day, and granted, it will be hard work, but all our nights are free. I will have free reign in New York City- one of my favorite places in the world to see friends, go sightseeing, and see as many shows as is financially possible! What kind of mission trip is that??? I knew beyond doubt that God wanted me on this trip though, the same way I felt him lead me to South Africa last year, but not reaffirm that for this year. So why was I feeling guilty for planning to go to on this Kairos mission trip to New York when I felt pulled by the Lord to be there? All I can say is that I have prayed about this trip a Lot, and here I am, still leaving tomorrow.

It has finally been impressed upon me that our team is like Joshua and Caleb, sent in by Moses to scout out the Promised Land. We will go in, see the giants, but see the overwhelming goodness that God has for us there as well, and we will go back to the elders and report what we have seen. Yes, we will be doing visible and tangible good works for this middle school and this area, but our experience will be our own lives changed, and the lives of the people we encounter through this trip- both in NYC and back here in TN. The actual physical labor we are doing is only a small part of the big picture. God has much bigger things for us I think, and I'm excited to see what that is.

4th of July on the 13th of July

Ok. I finally submit to the masses who are pestering me about this belated blog. I don't even know what was so significant about the weekend that has caused all the hype, so post a comment if I've left out your favorite 4th of July weekend moment.

We had our annual Bradley Beach Bash at the house- this was our 10th year to host the shindig. It began as a way to get all of the family on my Mom's side together, as we are rarely all together, residing in Wisconsin and the extreme northern and southern parts of Indiana, plus us in Tennessee. This year was the smallest get-together to date, with my Aunt Lisa & Uncle Jerry, my cousin Eric, his friend Mark, and my grandfather making the trip down. Most of the time is spent outside on the back patio eating and drinking, with everyone sitting in a big circle of chairs talking late into the night.

I took Eric and Mark, both newly 21, downtown to Tootsie's, which they said was so crowded they felt like they were in a concert, and The Stage, where the guys were amazed at the size of the bar and how many people were packed in. "There's more people in here than in my entire home town," Eric exclaimed. In true Harris Boy fashion, Eric did get sick while we were out, though thankfully outside in the alley by the Stage, and not at the bar like his brother last summer.

Eric, who is usually pretty quiet, gets quite chatty when drinking we observed, and he and I had some great talks about politics on Sunday night. It became kind of a joke that he was talking so much, so Jerry told him "you're not gonna have a hangover tomorrow; you're gonna have a sore throat!" A classic Jerry quip, and most definitely, the quote of the weekend.

The fam left on Monday (the 4th), Emmy Sue finally got back in town (Hooray!), and Rhonda and I met up with a bunch of people downtown for the fireworks. Lana was with us again this year, and had little kids turning around staring at her for being more enthused than they were. "Can you believe it's someone's job to design fireworks all year?" I said.
"I should have majored in Firworks," she said matter-of-factly.

Happy Independence Day. Pictures to follow soon.

nashvillefireworks1

nashvillefireworks1
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

Eric talking politics

mom-spring-summer-2005 040
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

...and probably talking about how oneday Richard Nixon will be hailed as one of the nation's greatest presidents...

Nashvillefireworks2

Nashvillefireworks2
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

Things you don't often hear at work

An email went out to a group of people, inviting us to lunch.
My response:
Here's an excuse you don't normally hear, but I have to go buy tap shoes on my lunch break.
Coworker #1's response:
Not s'posed to go shopping while you're hungry. You might end up with
more tap shoes than you need. You should eat first.
Coworker #2's response:
And wait 30 min...before...buying...?

And later on, I walked over to another guy's cubicle. "Don't take this the wrong way Chuck," I said, "but it smells like Guinea pigs over here." I began to explain that the scent was distinctly the smell of cedar wood chips that are often found in the aquariums and cages of small rodents such as gerbils and guinea pigs. We took turns smelling Chuck's lunch bag- but the origin of the scent could not be determined. All I know is my nose knows what it smelled ("and it wadn't no brimstone.")

Dennis the Menace

Hooray for Hurricane season. And I mean that not in a morbid, getting-a-thrill-from-the-misfortune-of-others-kind-of-way. I just revel in the awesomeness of the power of these tremendous storms. The way they build their strength as they churn through the water and take last-minute turns in direction fascinates me! Back in the day when I had zilch to do in the summertime, I would stay glued to the weather channel. My first weatherman crush was Jeff Morrow during Hurricane Andrew in '92. (I know. I'm a total nerd.) Now we have our first Major hurricane of the 2005 season. (Major meaning a category 3 or higher) Last I heard, he was a category 4 but was expected to weaken at landfall in the gulf-coast-U.S.

This is what I do on Fridays when work is boring. So there :oP to all the people (Dad!) who have yelled at me for lack of blogging: 2 blogs in one day!

an evening at the Rural Brewery

Ah, to be 21 again. That’s what I sighed as I dragged myself out of bed this morning. How in the heck I went out on “school nights” during college and still managed to make it to class in the mornings, I’ll never know, but this DIVA seems to have lost some of her spunk!

Ari’s Flyboy Bart was in town last night, so he, Ari, Tom, Sally, Angela, and myself met up at McCreary’s Irish Pub in Franklin. It’s one of those places that we all had all heard of but never been to- well, all of us except Bart-the-Texan. We had a blast running everybody else out of the restaurant with our boisterous conversation, ordering beers with quirky names like “Holy Grail Ale,” “Hobgoblin,” and “Waggledance” (With that last one you had to waggle from side to side after taking a drink.) and then reading the description or history of the beer on the bottle. One that Tom ordered- a double chocolate Stout or something- had an ellipsis on the can’s description! Something to the effect of, “pour the contents into a glass and wait… then enjoy the rich, smooth chocolaty taste.” Who puts an ellipsis on a can of beer, honestly? A few others:

Woodchuck: on tap- I thought I’d died and gone to heaven!

The Skullsplitter: a beer that Bart ordered with the picture of a Scottish Viking man on the label. “He looks like a man’s man,” he said, “but he also looks kind of gay.” Angela’s response: “well, if he’s a man’s man, than he Would be gay.”

Blue Moon: you drink this with an orange or lemon garnish (think Corona with lime), and we sang every Blue Moon rendition we could think of (“Wasn’t this song out when you were little, Bart?”)

And the best???

The Hebrew Messiah: With a name like that, it has to be ordered! We joked that you could order it, but no one knew when it would actually be available. Who knew there Was such a thing as a Hebrew Messiah? So Melissa, our good-natured waitress, came to the table after Bart put in his order and said, “the Hebrew Messiah won’t be available for another thousand years- you’ll have to order something else.” Pure classic.

One of those annoying questionaires people send when they are bored:

1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? Amanda Lynn Bradley
2. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? A hot pink or magenta of some kind
3. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? “My best friend Heather from home”
4. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Point Break
5. FAVORITE HOLIDAY? Cliché, I know, but Christmas is the best
6. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD? My Barbie doll house
7. WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? Looked at Em’s Moldova pictures, did some laundry, talked on the phone, watered the plants, and painted my toes- all in all a very productive evening!
8. FAVORITE SMELL? Baking cakes, beach-ball plastic, & gasoline fumes
9. CAN YOU JUGGLE? No
10. HOW MANY COUNTRIES HAVE YOU VISITED? 4
11. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? Scary movies, roller coasters
12. WHERE DO YOU WORK? Brentwood Benson Music Publishing
13. Does it bother you that there are only 13 questions? of course!

Your turn. Comment away- it's much better than emailing 20 of your friends and making them do this!

Snake Busters

When there's somethin strange, in the neighborhood- who ya gonna call? Snake Busters!

That's right, your truly was on snake patrol Thursday evening, along with my brave and heroic father. Last weekend Dad had spotted a snake skin in our backyard, and he watched as the snake slithered under our deck and beneath our hot-tob, out of his reach. Mom refused to go outside pretty much all week, and all yard work was halted until the until the snake had been apprehended. (Let me also preface this blog by stating that my mother is deathly afraid of "wigglies;" so much so that she averts her eyes whenever they come onto the television, and one vacation, Laura scared her with a fake wooden one in a giftshop so badly that Mom refused to buy Laura any kind of souvenir on that trip.)

I arrived at the house Thursday afternoon to Mom yelling at me as soon as I walked in the door. "The snake's back!" she hollered. Laura saw him this afternoon before she went to work. Apparently our cold-blooded friend had wandered into the sun to warm himself when Laura startled him (or her), and he/she slithered back under the hottub, though just inside it where he (or she) could still be seen.) Once dad got home he and I went out there to see exactly where it was, and try and figure out how in the world we were going to coerce it out of its hiding place. (I grabbed a pair of kitchen tongs- Mom wasn't too thrilled about that!) Getting a little too curious-George, I peered at the unwanted guest in our backyard from a platform a little too closely, and scared the snake, who retreated out of sight, further beneath the hot tub. It was now Dad's turn to be not-so-thrilled with me, because now he had to take off the whole front wooden panel of the hot-tub so we could find the little bugger. Oh, but that was after we turned on the hot tub jets to see if the snake would perhaps be jarred by the "Really Loud Noises!" and crawl on out. No such luck. So crouching down on the patio, flashlight in hand, I finally spotted the reptile- only after mom practically threw my glasses at me before running back up the deck stairs- it sucks not being able to see! But he was partially hidden under a pile of leaves inside the interior of the hot tub, which was a jumble of wires and electronic do-dads. Getting this snake out was going to be no easy feat.

I stood behind dad with the flashlight so he could see the Wiggly, an empty bucket close by so we could catch him and release him far away from the back yard, while dad took a small rake and carefully negotiated the handle through the mess of wires so he could clamp down and scoop the snake out. Of course the snake would not go down without a fight, and though dad got him with the rake, our little friend wrigged free and disappeared again under the leaves and wires. I got to crouch down and keep watch while Dad went to get the leaf blower so we could clean out from under the hottub and eliminate the cold-blooded creatures hiding places. As chance would have it, the snake grew impatient that he was being threatened, and as soon as Dad walked away, the Wiggly stuck his head out from beneath the pile of leaves and started slithered forward.

I screamed for my father, meanwhile keeping an eye on this thing, thinking, "surely he'll stop once he sees that I am bigger than he is." Again, no such luck. I screamed for my dad again while the snake inched closer and closer, his mouth open, ready to attack. The one good thing about this sudden moment of aggression from our scaley serpent was that now we could see the thing to trap it. Really, we weren't aiming to kill him. I know many people in our situation wouldn't hesitate to do so, but I can't help it- I'm a humanist, and I can't help but feel guilt whenever I'm responsible for killing one of God's creatures. Except for spiders. The remorse passes quickly after I've smashed them to smithereens with my shoe. But of course the snake doesn't know we're merely trying to relocate him- and can you blame him? I mean, the Indians or Native Americans- whatever you want to call them- they put up a fight when the white men came in and not-so-politely asked them to move as well. (Plangent, anyone?)

So yes, here we are, the snake is inching towards me and all I have is a flashlight in my hand, and Dad swoops in and saves the day by trapping the Slitherin mascot with a rake and a garden hoe. The pesky thing put up a fighting lunging toward the gardening tools and trying to bit anything he could clamp his teeth into. I reached over quickly and placed the bucket to where dad could easily drop the snake into it, and wouldn't you know it, but the rake got caught on some of the hottub wires. My first instinct was to reach over and unhook him, but I saw the snake who was fighting mad by this time and thought better of it. Finally untangling the tools, Dad was able to drop the snake into the bucket, and suddenly I heard mom's applause ring out from the overlooking bedroom window where she watched the whole dramatic-yet-comical ordeal. "I had to see for myself that you really got rid of it and not just tell me you did," she said. I actually had already tried that once- I told her we got him and the snake was gone a few days earlier and unfortunately, she's not that easily hoodwinked.

And they all lived happily ever after- the snake was dropped into a weedy,grassy spot down the street, Mom was free to roam the backyard again (after of course she lined the outside fence with Snake-be-gone), Dad was the hero of the day, and I, his right-hand-man, was free to enjoy a nice bowl of Bluebell ice cream and stay up late watching baseball and scrapbooking, reveling in the fact that I had Friday off of work. What a dramatic start to my long weekend!

mary anna, dave barnes, & me

mary anna, dave barnes, & me
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

Finally... the picture you've all been waiting for! Here's where Mary Anna and I met Dave Barnes at Dancin in the District. I talked to him about South Africa and Mary Anna discussed MTSU Campus Crusade. I think he loved both of us and would have married us on the spot if polygamy weren't illegal in this state :o)

whataburger

whataburger
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

Wow... What. A burger.

!

"I love you period. Do you love me question ma-ark? Please! Please! Exclamation point. (I wanna hold you) in parentheses."

Punctuation is a funny thing. And lately I’ve found myself addicted to the exclamation point! It shows excitement, and enthusiasm; my genuine interest, and communicates my good mood. But I find myself writing notes to customers at the ends of orders and ending them in exclamation points:

Thank you for your order!
Let me know if I can do anything else for you!
Your rep is Amanda, ext 3324!
Email address is as follows!

Ok, maybe that’s a bit hyperboles- exaggerated, if you will.
But it makes me think of Meg Ryan in “You’ve Got Mail” where she goes off on young girls with one name, like Kimberly. “Hi, I’m Kimberly!” Have I become That Girl- the one who is obnoxiously chipper? “Hi, I’m Amanda!” At least in writing, I fear I might be. I re-read my notes, and worry if I appear too excited, so I tone down my narratives with a smattering of periods; the boring dot that has no emotion. In this way I try to avoid becoming an offender of the “using too many exclamation points” disease. But sometimes an extra one slips out into my writing. But I don't care, because I have a four-day weekend ahead of me! And a SOGWEAW lunch! And friends and family coming into town! And Emily returning on Monday! Who could possibly begrudge me my exclamation point today I ask you?

post-pity party

wow! I feel like George Bailey- you all were very kind in your words of affirmation. Thanks for your support. I realize I have a lot of work to do as far as dancing goes, but the goal is attainable, and I know what I need to do to get there.

We had a "Come to Jesus Meeting" at work this morning- that's what everyone calls Joel's little pep talks where he basically tells us we haven't been doing our job, and opens the floor up for suggestions on ways to fix this. Just like the dancing dilema in my personal life, I know the things I have been neglecting in my professional life and I know what I can do to fix them. Sometimes you just need a swift kick in the pants to get you motivated.

non-dancing queen

I hate starting Mondays off on the wrong foot, but the end of my weekend sent the beginning of my week into “wrong-side-of-the-bed territory.” I had the worst call-back audition of my life last night, following a particularly bad call-back a few weeks prior, so I’m batting a thousand as far as those go lately. Basically I have just learned a hard lesson. I should have taken dance classes over the years. Those that I took when I was 4 with Miss Cathy don’t seem to count- even though I looked particularly cute in my Donald Duck dance outfit (my dad would especially agree!).

I’ve realized that my singing can only get me so far- and even my acting- but that the deciding factor when doing musical theater auditions is the way you move on stage, and how quick you can learn dance combinations. This is a little disheartening as I’m only just now coming to this realization, a little late in life. At those callbacks last night I felt like a girl from the trailer park touring a million dollar home- wanting to live in one of those homes but facing the stark reality that she’ll never be able to afford it without a little work. It made me long for the days of opera when I could just stand there and sing pretty.

But what’s an aspiring actress to do? She’s buying tap shoes, for one.

Order in the court

Why does the fun stuff always happen to Heather? Drama and excitement seem to follow this girl wherever she goes. Yesterday she was overjoyed as she pulled a special envelope out of her pile of mail. Flipping through the stack of his-and- her bills, junk mail, and coupons to local businesses that you never use- there it was. Though it was not your run-of-the-mill IRS refund check, publisher’s clearinghouse winning announcement, or a letter from a long-long friend. No, my friends, she got a request from the United States government… to fill out a questionnaire for potential jury duty.

“Thoughts of the Michael Jackson trial and the Pauly Shore movie were all I could think about,” she said excitedly. “It’s for a federal court so this could be a big capitol case,” she gushed. Only Heather would get excited about jury duty. “What about the kind of cases where they cut you off from society to prevent you from being influenced by the media,” I asked. “You know, where they make you all stay in a hotel and don’t let you watch tv.” “Do they take your cell phone?” She asked. Apparently that was the deciding factor to whether or not jury duty was all she had cracked it up to be. “If they took my cell phone I don’t know what I would do.” “This,” I added, “is blogworthy- you getting excited about serving jury duty!” Although in her defense (pun absolutely intended) it is something most people will never get to do, so I guess I can see her cause for enthusiasm. I’ll update you all on the outcome of her trial if she does indeed get called to serve her country in this unique way.

the fabric of our lives

Drifting in and out of sleep while I hit my snooze button, I faintly heard a conversation on the radio this morning. Gerry House was having people call in and tell about their favorite t-shirts. What a loyal piece of clothing, when you actually stop and think about it! I mean, t-shirts speak volumes about a person. Ad the best part about them is the longer you have them, the softer they are, the better they fit, and the more history they tell.

We have a Murray State t-shirt that was my mom’s in college that got passed down to me and then to Laura, and now it is so worn that no one can wear it, for fear of the whole front decal, cotton and all, ripping off. I guess my favorite is my blue Kentucky shirt; a Kentucky-blue shirt with a white Kentucky across the front. It’s the one I reach for first in my overly-stuffed t-shirt drawer (Why do we do that anyways? We'll have a million t-shirts and wear the same 5 or 6!). So a big shout-out to those articles of clothing shaped like a letter- I never knew how good I had it in college when I could wear them to class every day! Now the trusty cotton garments must be relegated to weekend wear or after-hours lounge apparel.

Have a favorite T? Feel like sharing?

weekend ramblings

I finally heard from Mrs. Borders today to say that the group landed and are fine in Chisinau. I was relieved to finally have some verbal confirmation that Rhonda and Emily were safely there- it was a very parental feeling that kicked in as soon as I knew their plane had taken off from Nashville- I just wanted to know that they had reached their final destination safely! Although I say safely, and Mrs. Borders also told me that there was a small earthquake in Chisinau soon after they arrived. How crazy is that? Talk about spiritual warfare in an unexpected sense!

Today has been full of family time in doing yard work, getting some sun-therapy by the pool, and grilling out for dinner tonight. Tomorrow will be too, as we celebrate Father's Day. I am so excited about my dad's Father's day present that it is killing me not to be able to say ("I don't wanna say!") what it is.

Last night I finally watched the movie Closer. It was absolutely fantastic. I will pre-empt that by saying it was yes, a lot about sex, but also cinematically brilliant. Natalie Portman is one of my favorite actresses and she is luminescent on film. The four actors were amazing, but one of my favorite things about Closer was its use of music. It's what I pay attention to when watching movies- I can't help it. In one of the first scenes there was Mozart opera playing- I didn't know which one it was, but it kept showing up all over the film. There would be a dissonant dominant 7th chord just as something dramatic or poignant happened in the movie, and the music aided in moving the action along. Finally, upon reading the closing credits, I gleefully discovered that the omnipresent Mozart opera was his infamous "Cosi' fan tutte," loosely translated as, "Women are like that." How clever of the director to use this opera, whose plot follows 2 couples who betray each other! I realize the majority of filmgoers would never get this connection, and yet I appreciate the director's attention to detail in this sort of thing for those that do.

Officially roommate-less

Well, the girls are on their way to Moldova, via a flight to Atlanta, then on to Amsterdam followed by a 2 hour drive. They won’t actually arrive at their final destination until tomorrow morning, 8:30 Nashville time. I feel like such a mom, but I’ll feel so much better when I’ve had conformation that they are safe on the ground.

It’s weird knowing they are both on a plane and that I won’t see them for a while. It will be weird getting ready in the morning, knowing I don’t have to beat Rhonda to the shower, or won’t have Emily plop down on my bed to do her makeup. The good thing will be that our water bill should be considerably less for this month- that, and the fact that they are going to a foreign country and proclaiming God’s to people who have never heard the Gospel. I’d say that’s a pretty good thing. Why is it though that it’s easier for a person to get on a plane and cross and ocean to tell people about Jesus than it is to share Christ’s love with a coworker? Why is sharing our faith something we generally find ourselves having to think about, and when we do think about it, we ignore those thoughts for fear of ruining our image in front of people we have to see on a day-to-day basis?

Scott brought this up at Kairos Tuesday night, and Emily made a comment about it on yesterday’s post- but he said we are all missionaries; we’re just either a good one or a bad one. That was such a profound statement to make- one I’m sure made most people there, including myself, a little squeamish. Something else that makes me squeamish? When coworkers tell me about their nose-hair clipping habits. Seriously, people. I don’t make this stuff up.

BBC Moldova Mission Trip Blog

Keep up with Emmy Sue & Rhonda Lu and their travel companions at this "blob" address.

Moldova or Bust

Once again, members of the Penthouse residence are heading overseas for a mission trip- that’s right- I said members, plural. Only this time, it’s Emily and Rhonda who are going, and me who gets left behind. The two of them are traveling tomorrow with BBC to Moldova, the poorest country in Europe, and formerly part of Russia to work with orphans. (Correct me if I get any of this wrong, girls) They will lead a primitive form of VBS through the aid of translators, and teach these kids about God’s love for them who have never heard the Gospel before. The camp is for the orphans who have absolutely no where else to go in the summer, so as a result, the majority of the orphans in Moldova end up on the streets, as there are not enough of these summer camps available for them. I’ve watched as my roommates prepare for this trip, and cannot imagine how heartbreaking it is going to be for them when they see the living conditions of these precious children. Instead they must focus on changing the lives of a few to in turn affect many more.

The second week, Rhonda will come home, and Emily will stay on as a second BBC team arrives. They will be building beds for orphans through a ministry called Sweet Sleep started by fellow BBC member Jen Gash. (Why is it that some people just have those names that naturally have to be said, first and last together? Jen Gash- she would never be just Jen. Same goes for my friend Jon Cate. It must be those 2 one-syllable names.) Sweet Sleep started after Jen Gash took a mission trip to Moldova a few years ago; a country with an overwhelming orphan population. She witnessed the terrible living conditions of the Moldovan children, and decided to do something about it.

Rhonda will be gone for 10 days, and Emily for a full 19! So I just wanted to take a moment to share with you guys the amazing step of faith and obedience to God’s calling that my 2 wonderful roommates are taking. Please pray for them and the rest of their team as they prepare to show these kids God’s love for them. The Penthouse will be quite the quiet place for a few days.

The girls

The girls
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

"Spring Break '05"
dinner at the Back Porch in Destin
Some fine, lovely ladies, if I do say so myself (and I do!)... and if you'll look carefully, at the botoom of the picture you can see noneother than famed Wild-at-Heart Brad's head! Isn't he gorgeous?

Boofer and the Queen of Sand

Boofer and the Queen of Sand
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

The Penthouse Pets

The Penthouse Pets
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

Amanda Jane, Emmy Sue, & Rhonda Lu

Calling all Brad Fans

Thank you MSN for giving me the best gift possible when I opened up your webpage this morning. In keeping with the theme of top 10 lists from yesterday, we have a new top 10 list for today.

Brad Pitt's Top 10 movie roles

And for you ladies out there, the list is even complete with pictures. Oh yes. It's going to be a good day ;o)

Amanda's Top 10

Rhonda and I were talking last night about some fun things to do in Nashville while her friend Shelly is in town. I suggested she take her to Pancake Pantry. Rhonda wanted to know if I wanted to go with them, and I said, as if I would EVER turn that place down! So it got us laughing at the things you will never here Amanda say (I also did some pondering and added a few others to last night’s conversation and made it an even Top 10):

1. I’d rather go to the mountains over the beach any day.
2. I’ll have the scallops, shrimp, and lobster for dinner please.
3. Sushi? You bet!
4. Sorry, no dessert for me tonight.
5. I’m sorry, I can’t go shopping with you- I have to work out.
6. I’m tired of Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets- can we watch
something else?
7. I was so busy at work today that I didn’t send out a single email
8. I was so busy at work today that I forgot to eat lunch (do you know
there are actually people out there who DO THIS???)
9. I think I’ll sit this Pancake Pantry visit out
…And last but not least…
10. Do you have this in anything Other than pink?

Doh!

In the hierarchy of Brentwood Benson, Dale Matthews is the Big Cheese. And as a new hiree, of course he doesn’t know my name, nor will he ever probably. However, I will always be known to him as the girl playing solitaire. Yes. This actually happened yesterday.

My team moved all of our desktop computers into the large conference room for some new computer training, and my back was facing the glass wall of the room. It took awhile for everyone to get set up, and I couldn’t open the programs I needed because my computer wasn’t hooked up to the Internet yet. So I did what anyone would do! I opened up Spider Solitaire to pass the time until we got started. Of course Dale Matthews chooses this moment to step out of his office and walk by the conference room. He sees my computer screen, and opens the door and calls out Marvin, my team leader. Marvin comes back in a few moments later and passes me a note asking me to close the game, which I promptly did. Only later did I find out that it was Dale behind all of that. I liked to have died! Of course Dale wanted to know who I was, and Marvin says he defended me and bragged on me, but the damage had been done! I will just avoid eye contact with the man for a while, which shouldn’t be too hard to do because I think I’ve seen him 3 times in the 3 months that I’ve been here. So much for first impressions- and I didn’t get to finish the game either, which Really irks me!

The Diva Domain is famous!

...in Perry County Indiana! I predict that in another year, mine will be the most widely read blog in America. Alright- maybe not. But I have to admit it is pretty cool to see my name in print!
Click here to see the article- scroll down a few paragraphs till you see the blurb about the DivaDomain. Thanks to my uncle Michael for passing this on to mom who then passed it on to me.

Nashville Star, Cannelton-style

The Bradley family piled into the Bug Saturday morning for a quick trip up to Indiana to see family. And as usual, our family get-togethers always bring laughter. First, we get into Cannelton and are attempting to park the car at the house and there are all these barefooted kids on their bikes just standing in the street and staring at the car! Apparently not many people in those parts drive Volkswagen Beetles. The kids asked us, “What’s it like to ride in a slug bug?“

We got there at 11am, and Laura went to the fridge to get a Mountain Dew. She reached in and pulled one out, opened it and took a drink before exclaiming that she had accidentally grabbed a beer! We kidded that our newly 21-year-old had done this on purpose. My grandfather has his canned drinks lined up in rows at the bottom of the fridge so it really was an honest mistake. I tried to drink the beer but at 11 am it was too early, and I was still too full from breakfast to even enjoy it. Alcohol absuse, I know, but we poured it out and got her a Mountain Dew (for real this time).

Later that night Laura and I were privy to witness Karaoke Night at Bear’s. (Don’t worry- we went to the Pumper first and I got to hear Jimmy’s infamous rattley laugh.) Bear’s is down the street a little ways, and named after the owner Bear, who is 87 years old! His son was bartending that night, and he is in his 60s. The place was “packed” according to my cousins, but to someone who is used to fighting the Tin Roof on a Saturday night, this was nothing. I quickly became known as the “Nashville Star” thanks to Ryan who was putting my name in to sing songs and paying the dj to get them to the top of the request stack. Only after he did that would he ask me if I would sing, so I had no choice but to belt out the Sheryl Crow- Kid Rock duet with Ryan, and sing “When you say nothing at all” and “Blue” by myself. The locals were appreciative except probably the ones who took their karaoke very seriously and thought they were practicing for American Idol. It was not a pretty sight nor sound.

Finally my aunt Lisa came over on Sunday afternoon to catch Mom up on the latest small town gossip, which is always amusing. They talk about what’s going on with their brothers and sisters, and Lisa told us what happened to her son Chris one day while he was working at the volunteer fire house. It was right after the pope died, and some crazy lady called in (who also happens to be the relative of another relative) (everyone’s related in small towns it seems) and asked my cousin to ring the new fire bell in honor of the pope. Lisa said that Chris went “ring ring” and hung up on her. Not nice, no, but absolutely hysterical at her expense anyways.

So those are the weekend highlights. The fam is good- the littlest cousins keep growing, the little cousins aren't little any more, and the older ones are married and having kids of their own! And me? I'm just sittin on the dock of the bay, wasting time...

Wild at Heat, Part Deux

Let me set the stage...I took the book Wild at Heart with me to the beach this weekend. I've read it before, but I wanted to read it again b/c (1) I want to read Captivating, and I thought it would be nice to read this one again first and (2) a group of guys at church just read it, so I thought if I wanted to discuss anything in this book with a boy, this would be a good time to do it since it's fresh on their minds. Sidenote: was it a coincidence that Wild-at-Heart-Brad started talking about it (insert dreamy sigh)? Just kidding...

Ok, so this morning several of us got together for breakfast to say goodbye to a young lady that works upstiars in the Provost's office. There was a good mix of genders, ages, races...some people I knew, some I didn't. Somehow we got to talking about football (and not just the fact the Vanderbilt is terrible at it). This older lady (in her mid-sixties) says, "Football is so dumb. I mean, think about it...it's a bunch of guys running around a field knocking each other over. It's such a childish thing really." My first thought was, "Well I happen to love football, and it's so much more than that." But my second thought (since I'm reading this book) was, "That's exactly the mindset that has caused men to lose their masculinity in society today. That's exactly what John Eldredge is talking about. We've told men it's bad to be aggressive - it's childish. Instead, be gentle...be nice...be pacifying...be a doormat." Those are all good qualities (except for the doormat), but do you think a girl wants to marry a guy that fits that description? Not I said the fly. Eldredge also makes a point, though, that men should not live vicariously through watching sports on TV - they should have an adventure of their own. But what's wrong with men being men? That's the part of God's image that makes them men. I don't know if I'm making any sense at all...it was just interesting to read this book and then right there in front of me was an example of what Eldredge meant. He said that every man desires a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue. Well I'm sorry, but it takes more than nice, gentle, and well-behaved to accomplish those desires.

As promised, the long-awaited story about Wild-at-Heart Brad

Saturday night the 5 of us pile in the car and drive to Destin to the Back Porch restaurant to have dinner. And as is common, there was an hour-and-a-half wait, so we went out back (to the back porch) and found us a table in the sand to sit while we waited. Correction. Rhonda and Mary Anna found a table, while Emily, myself, and Lana parked the car. So we get to the table and there is a table full of young attractive guys sitting next to us. Apparently a few of them were sitting at what was now “our table,” before the rest of us got there, and so darn it, we just all had to pile in and make room for 2 of them to sit with us!

One of these men happened to be who is now known as Wild-at-heart Brad. He was tan and had brown hair, brown eyes, and these cute little glasses that made him look very intelligent. Well Brad perked up after we ran into people from church and he asked us where we knew them. This started an amazing stream-of-consciousness conversation where he told us all about a fantastic Joel Osteen book, the new Chris Tomlin cd, and finally, you guessed it, the book Wild At Heart.

Wild-at-heart Brad had us eating out of the palm of his hand with his southern accent talk about the necessity to get back to the order of love-marriage-sex, and how a man trembles at the sight of a woman’s naked body, and how he wasn’t really having fun with all these wild and crazy friends of his that were celebrating one guy’s bachelor party. I was sitting directly across from Brad and I know my mouth must have been gaping open in disbelief! Here we are on the beach, in the middle of Destin, talking to a beautiful Christian man, and it was such an encouragement to us girls. The guys are out there- they do exist- or at least one of them does- and we were all prepared to fight for him.

In true girl fashion, Emily and Rhonda both googled him yesterday and found his company’s website (It's the Hattiesburg, MS branch). Alas, we have no last name for our dream man, and no way to contact him. Not that we would, I mean, we’re not complete stalkers, but as single women I really think that God placed Wild-at-Heart Brad in our paths as an encouragement to us, as if to say “Continue being faithful, girls, I am providing for you.” Thank you Lord for that blessing. And did I mention he was beautiful?

Laura's (belated) 21st Birthday post

21st birthday- group 1
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

Ok, so here I am blogging exactly a month late- but better late than never. If you really want to know, it was my ability to post pictures that was holding this thing up!

Little Sis Laura Lu turned 21 a month ago today, May 1st, and what follows is proof of a birthday celebration she will not soon forget.

The eve of her birthday started out with her and some friends at Joe's Crabshack, then we moved the party to Demonbruen at midnight, to On the Rocks. Here, multiple drinks were placed in front of Laura that she proceeded to consume in just under 2 hours' time, so needless to say, she didn' t have a single drop to drink the next day, Sunday, her actual birthday.

On the Birthdday girl's commeorative day, we hosted a Luau for her at the house, complete with beach music, decorations, and a roasted pig on a platter.

Her friends came over, had a few drinks, ate some yummy food, and good times were had... see the visual proof to follow.

Laura's Birthday Hat

DSCN0745_0037
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

we made her wear it... but I think she enjoyed it!

The roasted pig

DSCN0743_0035
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

Notice it's complete with an apple, and a lettuce and tomato garnish!

the birthday girl

the birthday girl
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

"W" is for Wasted

21st bday laura & george

21st bday laura & george
Originally uploaded by pinkukfan.

Lulu and Jorge at On the Rocks