the commute...

Now that we're living on the southside, I'm spending alot more time in the car driving to and from work. This is probably the primary downside of our move, but it's a small price to pay to be able to use this house for the time being. In order to make the drive more bearable, I've been listening to books on cd. I've always enjoyed passing time in the car this way and Luke and I often listen to books on cd whenever we are driving any sort of distance.

A couple weeks ago I listened to, "I like you: Hospitality under the Infuence" by Amy Sedaris. It was very humorous and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Amy Sedaris is extremely witty (although somewhat crass at times) and while the book is hilarious, it also offers some helpful tips and interesting party ideas.:) Last week I listened to, "2001: A Space Odyssey" by Arthur C. Clark. It was a great listen. I really like the movie and was interested to to hear the book that it was based off of. The forward offered an interesting aspect to the book and movie combo; apparently Stanley Kubrick (who directed the movie) decided that he wanted to make a sci-fi movie about man's place in the universe and so he came to Clark and requested that he write a book for him to make movie out of. Kubrick was pretty involved in the writing of the book. From what I understand they were writing the screenplay at the same time as the book. I just found it interesting that the book was written in order to make a movie. Anyway, the book is great and it makes a great companion to the movie. Where the movie is somewhat vague and mysterious, the book goes into detail about the thought processes of David Bowman & Hal etc. Both are excellent by themselves, but together they make a great pair.:)

This week I'm listening to "Rosemary's Baby" by Ira Levin. I'll let you kow how it is.:) I love that my work let's us check things; we usually have a decent selection of books on cd, so I should have plenty to report on in the coming months.:)

thoughtful communication

I recently read an article in a Yoga Journal magazine concerning a topic I have devoted some thought to in my life: the words we speak, how they affect others and the value of silence. To quote the article: “Our bodies and subconscious minds hold the residue of every kind or cruel word we’ve ever taken in.” The article takes a more metaphysical approach than I want to get into, but the crux of what they are saying is important to understand as we live our lives. The words we say have the ability to build up or damage those within hearing distance. Words have a power that should not be taken lightly.


I have often been hassled about my tendency towards quietness and the fact that I don’t necessarily like to talk a lot. I won’t pretend that this is a conscious decision on my part, it’s really just my nature/personality, but I will say that if I don’t have something to say, you probably won’t find me running my mouth. It took me years to become even remotely adept at small talk (something I still struggle with) and it wasn’t until my college years that I really felt comfortable talking to a stranger. I don’t see much point in talking just for the sake of talking. That being said, I don’t judge people who are naturally more outgoing than me (shyness can be a bit of a curse in our society), however I don’t have much patience for those who feel the need to constantly fill silence. I happen to enjoy a bit of quiet once in awhile. I value it. And I will admit that it is one of the reasons I was attracted to Luke; he didn’t feel the need to talk all the time or to impress me; we both understand the meaning of companionable silence. There have been times in my life where I wished to be a better conversationalist, but overall I have learned to accept my own communication style.:)

Whether you are a quiet person or a talkative outgoing person, the article offered some good, practical advice to consider and to help a person think before speaking. Consider these three questions: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? These questions are of course somewhat open to personal discretion (depending on your definition of these things), but they do provide an excellent guideline for us as we consider our words. Imagine if we took the time to answer these questions before speaking? How many remarks would we keep to ourselves? The flip side of this is that there are times when we should speak because it is necessary, but where we might try to convince ourselves otherwise (a particular dilemma for Christians). Asking ourselves these questions should help us evaluate when to speak and when not to speak.

Several years ago I made a conscious decision to try to say something positive when a person I knew came up in conversation (particularly when this had a negative tone). I know I haven’t stuck to this 100%, but after awhile it became somewhat second nature and something I still attempt to abide by. I have much to learn and progress to make with my words, but thinking about it is at least a start. I need to challenge myself more about this and strive towards wisdom and discretion in my conversation habits. Let’s start changing our thought patterns in an attempt to be more thoughtful speakers.

ode to an iron skillet

I love my iron skillet- If I could choose only one pot/pan in my kitchen, it would be my iron skillet. This may be due, in part, to the fact that Luke and I love breakfast food for any meal of the day and that the iron skillet is perfect for eggs, sausage, bacon, even french toast or pancakes. Early in our marriage, I introduced Luke to my version of the egg sandwich and the rest is history (they are pretty much a staple for us:). My iron skillet is the most used pan in my kitchen and I've found it to be extremely versatile. The iron skillet is the perfect tool for browning meat, sauteing vegetables, grilling chicken or fish, frying rice... you name it. It is easy to use and easy to clean, which is a winning combination.:) I use my iron skillet so often that I don't even have a place for it in a cabinet, it just sits atop the stove waiting to be put into service.
So here's to you iron skillet! You make my kitchen happier, my breakfast tastier and my life easier.:)

the time has come...

for the big move. This Saturday is our moving day. We've already made alot of progress and brought a few loads of stuff down in an effort to expidite things this weekend. Of course there is still plenty of packing to finish up-- not the least of which is my kitchen.:( Things are getting done though, and I know everything will work out alright.
I'm not going to lie, moving sucks. It's alot of effort and very tiring. This one lacks the usual excitement of new surroundings and bigger and better things, but we feel so grateful for this temporary solution. The one thing I always like about moving though, is being able to go through things and rid ourselves of uneccessary stuff. Even though we moved just a year ago, we had accumulated so much again. So far we've brought 3 large bags of clothing etc to goodwill and sold 6 paper bags worth of books, dvds, cds etc to half price books (the benefit of that being a bit of cash:).
Other than all the hooplah that moving entails, we've: filed our taxes, moved my studio to share with another artist, enjoyed last weekend with my longtime friend Samantha & her boyfriend, caught up on Lost, started the fantasy baseball season (this applies only to Luke:), attended a roller derby... and generally kept very busy. We've appreciated everyones prayers and support as we go through this challenging time and try to understand what's next.

this wasn't exactly in the five year plan...

So... it's been a rough couple of weeks. Coming to grips with the fact that we do have to move has not been easy. Sometimes God's timing is difficult to understand, but we fully trust that His plan is far better than ours.:) Still, it's hard not to feel like we've taken several steps back in the proverbial "five year plan". I am, unfortunately, someone who is easily prone to discouragement/depression and I've been thankful for Luke's tendency towards optimism during this time.

While I tire of and get discouraged by all the economy talk, this economic downturn has quickly become a big, unavoidable aspect of our lives. I know we are not at all alone in this and I feel for the many others who have been even more adversely affected by these circumstances.

Even in this challenging time Luke and I have much to be thankful for (Luke’s severance package, my job & health insurance being near the top of that list). Although we are sad to be moving out of the apartment we love, we were thankful that our lease was up at a providential time and that we are able to depart without having to dip into our savings to make rent. Grandma Judd is graciously allowing us to stay in her old house for the time being until we figure out what God’s plan is for Luke’s job situation and for our next place of residence. We are so grateful to her for letting us live there for awhile.

We have confidence that everything will work out in it’s time and are comforted to have a God that will always care for our needs. Matthew 6:25-33 is a pretty awesome scripture to consider during this kind of difficulty:
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” That is a pretty sweet promise.:)

So, life might not be ideal right now, but it will come together one of these days.:) We have been very thankful for the love, support and prayers of our family and friends; the awesome comfort that it is should not be underestimated.

On a quasi side note, I was reading an article in Nuvo last week about how more people than ever are turning to food banks for help in providing for their families. So far the food banks have been able to reach their needs, but this may not be the case for long if they don’t get more donations. So I’m thinking of bringing a box to church each week and hopefully collecting non-perishable food donations that Luke or I will take responsibility for getting to a donation center. Maybe when you are in the grocery store, consider grabbing a few extra canned goods to help out. Heads up, church people!:) (I’ll send out an email too).

a weekend in chi-town

Luke and I had a great time in Chicago and South Bend last weekend. We enjoyed getting away just for a bit and doing something different. We stayed the night at Steph and Jeremy's Thursday and then took the train to Chicago Friday morning. The train got in about 10:30 so we had plenty of day left to tool around town and try to figure out the transit system (thankfully Luke has amazing map skills and an inate sense of direction:).

Friday, after checking into our hotel, we went to Wicker Park area. The park itself still had a bit of the winter dead feeling, but it was a nice warm day so we enjoyed walking around a bit. There's also several cool shops in the area. We particularly liked Reckless Records (they sell used vinyl, movies, cds etc) and Myopic Books (awesome used book store!). After Wicker park we headed to Wrigleyville to check out Goose Island Brewpub (great beer). That evening we went to Rosebud's on Rush (highly recommended by Elliot and Ashley) and had some amazing Italian food.

Saturday Steph and Jeremy joined us in Chicago. It was a bit cold and rainy, but not too bad. We went for a late breakfast at Yolk (an excellent breakfast/lunch joint) and then headed to the Art Instititue. I've been there a few times, but always enjoy going back and taking in more of it. One of my favorite pieces I saw this time was "the Picture of Dorian Gray" by Ivan Albright (who has been dubbed a magic realist). Having recently read the book it was based off of (by Oscar Wilde) it was pretty cool to see it depicted in painting form. I believe this piece was done for a film adaptation of the book. I don't think I had ever studied any of Ivan Albright's work before; it's pretty amazing stuff. His detail is really unbelivable. You have to see it to fully comprehend it.

After the Art Institute, the four of us grabbed a bite to eat and headed for the train. We had an uneventful, but enjoyable trip back. It was fun to get to visit with them. Luke and I spent the night at their place again and then headed back home Sunday afternoon. It was a great, relaxing weekend. We're hoping to get to Chicago more, now that we know our way around.:)

i suppose it's time for a post:)

I don't really have a whole lot to say, but I figured it was time for a new post.:) Life has been alright... not a whole lot has changed, which sometimes gets discouraging. We have a lot to be thankful for though, so we are trying to focus on that.:) We really appreciate everyone's prayers for Luke's job situation and all that it entails.

We celebrated Luke's birthday last week-- he now joins my age group and can no longer call me "old" as he likes to do for that month and a half that we are different ages.:) His birthday fell on my day off, which was nice. We were able to sleep in and go see "Slumdog Millionaire" (highly recommended) and then I prepared the meal of his choice (italian beef, asparagus, mashed potatoes, balsamic strawberries and lemon glaze cake:).

Luke and I will soon be celebrating our 2nd anniversary (time flies:). I have the weekend off and we haven't really been anywhere in awhile, so we decided to do an inexpensive South Bend/Chicago trip. We wil be driving up to SB Thursday night and staying at Steph and Jeremy's and then taking the train to Chicago Friday morning and staying over to Saturday evening before returning to SB. Using priceline we were able to get an awesome deal on a hotel and we are hoping to maybe go to a museum and just do some sight seeing. Steph and Jeremy are going to join us Saturday for the day, which will be fun. We are looking forward to it!

Another fun thing we did since my last post was to go see "the General" at the IMA. This is a Buster Keaton classic, but neither of us had ever seen it. It's a silent film and the IMA presented it with a live chamber orchestra playing the score. We both had a great time. The movie is hilarious and having the live music made it pretty awesome. I loved the emphasis on visual humor that the movie employed. If you haven't seen this movie, you should. You will enjoy it. I guarantee this.

I guess I had more to say than I thought...:)