Bits of Randomness

My idea of a perfect day is staying at home. Days like that are rare around here. There's always some type of running around to be done. And though summer is drastically slower than the school year, I'm still running more than I care to. Last week swim lessons had me on the go, this week it is VBS. Remember last year when I couldn't find a free VBS for my kids? And I just couldn't (and wouldn't) cough up the $20 per child cost to send them? Well, let me tell you that working for a publishing company has it's perks. Especially if that publishing company is known for their Sunday school and Bible school curriculum. This week, Will and Sarah are going to work with their dad and attending an on-site Vacation Bible School (free, of course!). They're actually testing next year's VBS curriculum and I guess that makes W and S the guinea pigs. Should be fun. Abbey and I are going to pack a picnic and meet them there afterwards for lunch. And we'll probably do that just about every day this week. So for this week anyway, I'm back to living my life in 3 hour increments.

Yesterday afternoon I had to make a grocery run. I wanted to go without kids and since Saturday was consumed with birthday parties and other kid-centric activities, grocery shopping was bumped to Sunday afternoon. And Sunday was already a full day. Went to church, had a picnic at the park with friends, spent some time checking out the house our friends are renovating to "flip" and then arrived home about 3pm. I had already made my grocery list, but I flipped through the Sunday coupons and clipped some I'd use, then quickly cleaned out the fridge to make room for what I planned to bring home. As I was cleaning out the fridge, I discovered some leftovers I thought would be perfect for the kids for dinner. And I mentioned to John the endless options he had for feeding the kids. Because when I go to the store alone I like to take my time and it can easily be a 2-hour trip. He sent me off saying I should take my time...enjoy being alone (albeit at the grocery store!) and not to worry about dinner. So that being said, I didn't feel guilty when I talked for 20 minutes to a friend I ran into. And I wasn't guilty when I saw another friend and talked for 20 minutes more. But I felt very guilty (and pretty mad too) when my cell phone rang and it was John wanting to know how "close" I was to being finished because the kids were hungry. They wanted french toast, which he is completely clueless about how to make, and he wanted to know my status to see if he could hold them off until I could get home to make it. Arghhhh. Two hours ago, the man was telling me to take my time and he'd take care of things at home...but this phone call felt like a summons. So, I finished up my shopping and headed home. Lugged the stuff inside (okay, J actually brought most of it inside) and put it away (a chore in itself) and immediately, again immediately, started cooking dinner. And was verra, verra mad about it. You better believe they're all having leftovers tonight. And if I hear any complaints, I just might go on strike.

While shopping yesterday, before the "phone call", while leisure was still an option, I perused the self-tanning aisle for the umpteenth time since March and finally put the Neutrogena spray in my cart. I've used Neutrogena for a long time now, but the bottle I've been using the last three summers will spray no more. I liked the pump spray, but now it's a fine mist spray and after using it last night, I think I'm in trouble. Streaky trouble that is. Yuck. I've been hoping since like April that I could just get outside and get my tan the natural way. At our altitude it doesn't take long. But it's either too cold, or the wind is gusting at 70mph (seriously), or it's cloudy, or my kids have urgent needs every two minutes and call me back inside. And it's just not the same quiet backyard anymore now that the single guy-next-door-who-worked-all-day-every-day-and-was-never-home doesn't live there. We're glad a nice family has moved in, but good lord, I never realized just how quiet our former neighbor was. And I'm pretty sure my mouth hit the floor when I heard our new neighbors want to get some chickens...so they could have fresh eggs, ya know. I'm thinking this whole neighborhood thing is overrated.

Like I said in the title...bits of randomness. More than you care to know I'm sure.

On a serious note, I counted this moring and we know 32 people who are going to Africa this summer. Thirty-two is a lot. Three are going to Ethiopa to minister to women with fistula. 11 friends are currently in Swaziland. They are actually two families that we know from church and I've been keeping up with their experiences on Tom's blog. If you get a chance, watch some of the video. It's very cool. And I cry every time I watch it. Next month, our church is taking 18 people to Rwanda. One guy from our small group is going and honestly, I am very jealous that I am not to be a part of this trip. While reading The Poisonwood Bible a few weeks ago, I fell in love with that land and the people of that land. That may sound silly, but it's true. I can't fully explain my fascination with Africa but right now it feels intense. So next up on my reading list are two books about Africa. One is called Left to Tell written by a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. The other is Cry-The Beloved Country. The first is non-fiction (I'm told it's compelling enough to keep the pages turning) and the other is fiction. So, I'm off to put them on hold at the public library.