In lieu of the profound

Hey, Betty?

Yeah Ruby?

I think that girl is lookin at us.

So what?

So, she's takin pictures. Is she looking for evidence?

Evidence of what??

I don't know. Proof maybe?

She doesn't want proof. She's just admiring our beauty, elegance and grace.

Why would she do that?

Because we're at the FAIR. We're here for everyone to admire our beauty, elegance and grace! HERE to be looked at. That is what The Fair is for!

Mom and I have a tradition. The opening day of fair is always half price admission. Since all we truly want to do is eat all that gooey, deep fried, incredibly unhealthy fair food, we figure that's the perfect night to go. This year my sister joined us!!! Yay for family bonding!!

I have been noodling over some profound thoughts I want to share .... but I'm just plain tired. I want to go to bed. But I don't want to leave these pics in the can too long. So, without further delay, I give you our County Fair.



Because I have never been early for anything in my entire life, including my own birth, my sister ended up picking me up to meet our mom. "My Chariot awaits!"

What would a county fair be without oversized farm animals? Of course, I do have this ridiculous dream of getting my picture taken beside every oversized animal sculpture in the country. This makes two. And, please thank me, there are any number of pig jokes in my head that I am refraining from using for the sheer fear that my actual friends will skewer me for thinking so little of myself. Or that the strangers reading will skewer me for thinking so little of pigs. Either way .... I'm restraining myself.
Also worth noting, the odd pose of legs is an attempt to look skinny. Trying to twist myself sideways so as to take up as little space as possible. Clearly this was a fantastic idea.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My companions, while I'm waiting in line.

On our way to get cheese curds I noticed this sign. Hmmm, we'll need to revisit that.

While waiting for our corn dogs and brat, my sister spied this sign and commented:
"I don't think I would trust the 'egg salad' at the fair"

Also while waiting for the corndogs and brat I spied this nifty machine.
If you actually enjoy shaved ice,I'm sure this is a FANTASTIC contraption.
We're not really 'shaved ice' people though.
We're more 'shake' people.

An attempt to be artistic, before I realized I had a large smudge on my lens and nothing was going to come out right anyway.

I had this idea. It always starts like that with me. I thought

"How funny would it be if I could get a picture of myself blowing the powdered sugar off the funnel cake while I eat it???"

Because, really, we all have done that.

You go to take a bite and breathe just wrong and whoosh out goes the powdered sugar like dandelion seeds.

Alas, we were unable to capture the whoosh of powdered sugar.

But the funnel cake was PERFECTLY DONE. Swoon ...

While eating the funnel cake I noticed this sign. And I have to wonder ...

Why do Lutherans have a corner on the coffee market???

Then on to the cream puffs and eclairs. Two and two my mom said. Me? What are you Chuck Woolery?? Do you remember that show? That dating show ... you know the one ....

Cream puffs and eclairs safely tucked away in their bag for the trip back to their new home.

My sister got one of these frozen cheesecakes. It was really good she said.

I took the picture because I couldn't help but wonder

What Exactly ARE Monkey tails??

I still don't know, I didn't want to be scared by the answer.

See how good the cheesecake thing is? Not only is she smiling, she has a halo effect, AND

the cheesecake thing isn't melty at all. That's how quickly it's getting consumed!

We are now revisiting the deep fried cookie dough.

This, however, is the deep fried caramel apple pie that they also offered.

No word yet from mom on how good it was.

Here is my deep fried cookie dough.

Jury is still out. It was kind of like the deep fried twinkie I got a couple of years ago.

Sounds really good at first blush, but after the 2nd bite you realize that some things are too good on their own to be deep fried in a vat of god knows what kind of oil.

But they came from Emma's cookies. And I took a picture of this sign for perspective, and much more importantly because I own this sign and have it up in my kitchen!!

Of course, there is the obligatory wanderings through the vendors. Who knows which vendor might have a good pen or a great giveaway. This place, however, already got some of their business. My mom just wanted to find a guy to ask him about the landscaping she recently had done. It was actually a very ingenious and beautiful display they had set up. Certainly the prettiest by a long shot.

And, lo and behold, the EXACT guy that sold and did my mom and sister's landscaping was THE guy there tonight. So she got to talk to him directly. And ask him if he was married. Again.

Along the lefthand side of that top picture I could hear a bird chirping. I couldn't help myself but to explore. Here he is. John. As in soon to be John Doe. He does NOT look happy about this bucket .....

Inside that landscaping place they had these fantastic rock sculptures.

I want one.

I just have nowhere to put one.

But you should get one.

It would look great in that one spot of yours.

My coworker's brother owns this business.

Good peoples.

Go get a woodburning stove.

It'll save you a ton in heating costs this winter.

One of my favorite things about the Fair is the people watching.

Not only did I get to personally confirm approximately 60% of WI citizens are overweight.

But I got to confirm about 2-3% are also pregnant.

Who's been dumping their fertility drugs down the drain? Knock it off, seriously!

But, seriously, the opening night is the coronation of King and Queen of whatever.

And you get to see random high school kids walking around in suits and prom dresses.

It's kind of amusing.

And then you see things that make absolutely no sense at all. A couple years ago I heard a comedian opening for Bill Engvall ask @ our own Fair

"Since when is lingerie in for 12 year olds?"

Because that was the style of shirt everyone was wearing. That nylon/rayon stuff that had spaghetti straps and essentially looked like lingerie.

I saw this and thought "Since when is dressing like a hooker in?"

And, you can't see the worst of the 3. Her foot is just to the right of the right-hand girls right foot.

Her skirt, if you can call it that, was about 6 inches long and a half inch longer than the tunic top she was wearing. And her shoes were serious hazards. I'm honestly surprised any of them could walk. At all. Girls, let me give you a thought

"The kinds of guys this is going to attract ...

are NOT the kinds of guys you're actually going to want to keep around for long!"

And then this poor fellow. All I could hope was that he had children somewhere and that he'd won this. Beyond that, there are no words.

And, let's round it out with a few pretties.

Just some lilies I took @ the landscaping display.

Enjoy!!

Worth noting. A profound post may have taken less time. These pictures are a PAIN to get uploaded on here! Also, I have a sugar headache. Stupid, lovely, deep fried, fair goodness.

I can't resist sharing

I am crazy. But then by now you should know that. I got a new "dream" a while back. The kind of dream that becomes the goal for your life, your purpose, defines your mission statement. Not the weird Dali kind of dream where clocks drip and yet it doesn't freak you out at all. That's bad pizza. Not that kind of dream.

People ask, What did you want to be when you were a kid? I have absolutley no idea. I don't have any recollection at ANY point of my childhood where I thought "I want to be THAT!" Not once. Those same people say "If money were no option, what would you do because you loved it?" The vast majority of the time my answer to this revolves around some form of gluttony, laziness and is always incredibly self-serving. These questions have never helped me.

But my Pastor has been preaching a series out of Joshua. And he has talked ad nauseum about "your" Promised Land. So I began praying about it again. Asking God to give me a fresh vision for my future. Because I had this verse floating around and around ..... not really floating, mostly darting around and around and around "Without vision the people perish." I wasn't really interested in perishing so much. So, I needed a fresh vision. I used to have one and a very well-intentioned person killed it pretty effectively in a single swoop a few years back. But for quite awhile there I was visionless.

So I prayed. And I got an answer. I had to pray persistently. I prayed while out walking and while out cycling. I said random momentary prayers at stop lights. And completely different prayers when work was making me feel like throwing things. And one day while I was out cycling He told me where we're headed. And i thought "Oh, ok, that's cool. So, here we go then, huh?" And the next day I went for a walk and began asking again for vision and help etc and He said "We're done with that." Umm, ok, right, yeah, 'cause You answered that yesterday. Almost made me stop walking I was so startled by the incredibly quick response.

So, I've been mulling over this new dream. And in the drafting of this blog I think part of the reason I never knew what I wanted to be when i was a kid was because it hadn't dawned on me yet that I'd be good at it nor that you could make money at it. You see, I absolutely loooooved to read. From 1st grade on when Mrs. Hermanson taught me how to read, I read every single thing I could see. I read billboards and posters and the items in the grocery store. Every blessed thing. And books books books. In 3rd grade I was advanced to our higher-level reading class because I was such a good reader. As a child I simply used the stories to get lost and transport myself elsewhere. My family was great as a child, my school-life not so much. So I enjoyed the escapism of books. Also as a child, I had no clue that one set out to write a book nor that you could actually make money at it! So, I think that may have been why becoming an author never occurred to me.

The most fantastic part of the dream receiving is that within a week I had ideas for two more books. I'd gotten an idea for a novel a couple years ago. I've since gotten another idea or two for books, and at one point I had two titles but no clue what the book would be about! No I'm not going to tell you my titles, nor am I going to tell you my book ideas. Copyright gets a little sketchy at times, and I'd rather keep those to myself for the time being.

Having explained all this, it occured to me a few weeks ago that I told a good friend I was going to start working on a book and got a minimal response back. No elation for me, no encouragement, nothing significant that I can recall. And since my brain, literally, NEVER shuts off, and because of that I analyze every single nuance of every single thing around me, just to keep busy you know, it occurred to me that maybe this good friend didn't respond because they didn't believe I was a very good writer. humph. Now what does one do with that?

I freaked out a bit for a week or two. And then decided that I needed to open up my novel that I had started way back ago and see what I thought of what little bit I had written already. Before the dream. And if it was any good it would confirm for me that I'm on the right track. And if not, then I'll have to go back to praying again, or go for non-fiction.

It took me awhile, but I finally opened up my novel the other night. I had totally forgotten my prologue!! Again, grabbed me right off and I sooooo wanted to know what happened to Claire! So, it was confirmed. And I'm kind of excited about it. Actually I'm kinda freakin stoked about it. So, I decided to share the prologue here and see how many of you would like to read the rest of Claire's story. Leave me a comment and let me know, mkay? Good.

Without further adieu:

The Story of My Life: Claire (working title, subject to change)

Prologue:

PROLOGUE
I shouldn't have been so surprised. I mean, people had told me that he was coming after me. They had said that he wanted me. A few even told me he would never give up on getting me. I just didn't get it. No one else had ever wanted me that much for that long. By the time he found me, I figured he'd given up a long time ago. Which is probably why it surprised me so much to turn around and realize he was still there waiting with a big grin on his face. The kind of grin you see on Christmas Morning. Which makes even more sense I guess, since that's when he found me.

I feel the need ... the need for

Okay, well not a 'need' like one 'needs' to breath and consume sustenance. But a need that many many people understand. I have never before truly understood this thing. I've heard people talk about it and I scoff. Usually while eating something high in fat, or sugar, or sodium, or a combination of all and calories to boot.

I noticed it first last week. It reminded me of the time 4 years ago when I suddenly realized I was antsy @ work. Just antsy about being in the same place for too long. Antsy to be moving on to something else, something new, something exciting, something with a fresh challenge. At that time I stayed where I was because I realized that antsiness does not translate well on a resume. Especially when immediately preceeded by a year of unemployment cleverly disguised under direct sales and temp jobs.

This time, when I felt the antsy, I ignored it a day and chalked it up to indigestion. But then it hit the 2nd day as well. And no indigestion blaming this time. I had an epiphany ......

I WANTED TO MOVE AROUND!!!!!

Like, physically, move my body, use my limbs and muscles for something other than simply keeping my job and feeding my santa belly. (you didn't know I had a santa belly? i do, it jiggles like a bowl full of jelly, often of it's own accord) And my preferred form of movement is my bicycle.

I (heart) my bicycle.

(HEART)

I SAY.

If I were smart enough to remember the rules of haikus etc from 5th grade english I might try to pen something poetic about my bike. However, the only thing I remember from 5th grade was the warning we got about laughing at the words penis or vagina during sex ed.

Instead I will say that I finally understand why runners keep running. Probably also why spinners keep spinning. And possibly any number of other sports people keep doing whatever it is their sport requires.

I get it!!!

That antsy feeling, once I recognized it for what it was, almost felt, seriously, like an incredibly mild twitch in my muscles. Unfortunately, I didn't 'feel 'able to go out on any rides. I had, I thought, a few too many things going on those couple of nights and didn't make it happen. Saturday I got to run an errand like a mile or so away, which I rode. But, It was windy and my legs were losing their conditioning so they were pretty sore. But it still felt good to get out. Plus a random guy yelled a potentially flattering obscenity towards me, so I could feel good about that. Although I did go home a different way so I wouldn't pass that house just in case he was psycho.

But I was able to go for a long ride again tonight, and just breathed those deep lung cleansing breaths I talked about before. And thought about little or nothing the entire ride. Except how I neeeeeded to get this post up. And how much I suddenly understand a runner's need to run! Suddenly I do not think they are all absolutely out of their friggin minds. I stand by my motto that "I don't run unless you are chasing me . . . with a knife." But I will cycle, happily, often and looooong rides.

As soon as I figure out how to be certain I avoid carpal tunnel at the same time. Something about how I balance against my handlebars hurts my hands a bit.

anyway,

Plus, I met another new friend. I named him Chuck. Because I thought he was a woodchuck. But now we think he was probably a groundhog. I only got a couple of pictures of him though because I was waiting for him to move, which he did, waaaaay faster than I thought he could and thus, he disappeared before I could get more pictures. Plus there was a stupid chain link fence between me and Chuck and my camera insisted on focusing on the chain links instead of Chuck.

My first glimpse of my new friend.

"Hark me thinks yonder is the sound of danger!"

"or it could just be my santa belly, which is cleverly hidden amongst this dead grass"

"Nope, it was danger, I'm outta here"



"Did i leave any snacks in here last time I visited??"




This little spot where the arrow is pointing is where he seriously 'hid' amongst the gravel. He ran so fast and I could NOT snap pics that fast and then I looked away to steady my bike so I could get off and get closer to the chain link to get his picture and 'shwoosh' he's gone! but that little brushed out part, that is Chuck's doing.

Project Rescue - more soapbox

I put up that blog about the movie Taken about the modern day slave/sex trade.

You know I feel strongly.

I have subscribed to a couple of different blogs and newsletters, mostly of Christian organizations, to keep me up to date and aware and prayerful of the situations and needs around the world in this area. Tonight I got this praising/testimony one from Project Rescue. You read it and not be moved. I dare you.

Prayer Needs July 2009

Dear Friends,
We wanted to send you an update on the prayer request we sent out a few weeks ago. The little 11 year old girl ("Tina") that we were praying for has been released by her mother and has been moved out of the brothel into a safe school for girls! We continue to pray for a safe transition and that the Lord will keep his hand on Tina's life and will bring other young ones out of the brothel and into a safer place. We also pray that the Lord will open doors for the mothers of these little ones to leave the brothels and find new life in Christ.

Below is a reflection from one of our Project Rescue colleagues working in Tina's hometown.

"Tina moved into her new home today.

³Behold, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation" (II Cor 6:2)

I read this last night as I prayed for today's trip to the brothel. I felt God telling me to relax and to get good sleep, that the prayers of many others were going to carry His plan through. Despite the sense of heaviness, I slept.

I awoke to a hot dusty morning and began to pray, and the statement was on my mind-- Today is the day of salvation. Instead of fearing disappointment, I knew God was asking me to believe in faith, and I wrote it in my journal and asked God to have His perfect will in Tina¹s life today. For the first time H (another worker) could not come, and I headed to meet colleagues at our usual meeting place near the RLD alone. Together we walked down the busy street to the brothel area...it was the longest walk of my life...but with each step I heard it louder: Today is the day of salvation. Not for anyone else's glory but God's.

We arrived at the doorway and greeted the ladies. A few steps up Sunita (the girl's mother) was sitting, her makeup done nicely and her hair done up in a fancy knot...she was clearly going somewhere. She motioned us upstairs and inside was Tina in a cute dressy outfit, glowing with excitement, pulling her few things together-- some soap, a toothbrush, a couple outfits. Her mother lovingly oiled her hair and braided it perfectly. And there, waiting for us upon arrival was another little lady from the brothel next door with her 3children sitting around her. She told us that she wanted to send her children with us, but the most urgent was the little five year old girl sitting next to her. This young mother, Doma*, told us she had paid for each of her kids to stay in hostels, only to find out they were abused and neglected. She asked hundreds of questions like, "Is there a guard at the home?" and "Do they really go to a good school?" and THEN she brought her"husband" in, introduced us, and explained all the reasons why she should send the kids with us. She asked if she could come with us and see the home. Within 20 minutes we had several mothers and 10 children who are needing a home. The ONLY problem is that Tina has taken up the last spot in the girls' home, so there is only the home for boys. I looked over at Doma's little 5year old, Pooja* and...well, something will be done about the lack of a girls' home, I am sure of that. There was only room for 8 in the vehicle and we already had 7, so we assured Doma that she could come see the home next week, but we allowed little Pooja to take the trip with us today.Before anyone could change their mind we said, "Let's go!" and made a beeline down the street for the vehicle.

Before I knew it I was crammed in a jeep with 5 ladies and two girls. Tina got motion-sick and vomited everywhere, and Pooja fell asleep in my lap. I sat there with Pooja in my lap thinking, This has got to be my best day in India so far. We drove the hour to the home and took time to get Tina settled in. The other girls welcomed her and chatted with her, we had a snack, and then it became time to leave with Sunita. This was when Tina realized she was saying Goodbye to her Mamma, and stood at the gate in tears, waving goodbye. My colleague watched and said, "She will be miserable like this all week, but then she'll never want to leave".

I PRAY that it is so.
I PRAY that the buzz of excitement about our "boarding schools" continues.
I PRAY that Tina feels the love and the peace around her even tonight.
I PRAY that even as she misses her Mamma, she remembers she is safe.
I PRAY that she learns quickly that God is her loving father who will never harm her, leave her, or let her down.
I PRAY that God's first rescue through us will be a tale of His faithfulness, and will result in MANY girls' lives--healed and whole.

Seeds had been planted.Those seeds were watered by the prayers that went before me today.
Those waters broke a dam of Spiritual darkness over the darkest of prisons.
May the floods of HOPE continue to flow in that place till EVERY woman knows and tastes of eternal freedom.
Thanks to your intercession, the waters are flowing. Thank you."

We truly value and appreciate your prayers. They are moving mountains!

Sincerely,
David and Beth Grant
info@projectrescue.com · Toll Free 866-862-0919 · Local 417-833-5564 · Fax 417-833-5568www.projectrescue.comP.O. Box 922, Springfield, MO 65801

Yeah Toast!!

Not necessarily at all "patriotic" but I wanted to share (and later on be able to FIND) this video. If you need a giggle ... check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGZf9XeR7O0

Finish What You Start - Trailing Thoughts

Last weekend I went on a bike ride. I had tried a new route prior to that and ended up walking down an incredibly steep hill. 10 feet from the bottom of the hill some 8-year-old goes flying by me and blows through a stop sign. A part of me wished for that kind of carefree-ness, but the bigger part of me could only think that she totally could have gotten creamed if any cars had been going through the intersection at that time.

All of that to say that last Saturday I had decided to try a different route. One that did not involve a hill which requires me to consider whether or not to take my life in my own hands and hope for the best. This route was thus longer. A mile or two probably, although I will be the first to tell you my spatial reasoning abilities are sorely lacking. I can tell you how much postage to put on any given envelope, but I can't tell you how far it is to the post office.

It was a Saturday, which meant I had spent the morning consuming coffee, and I think a Kwik Trip muffin. Possibly a Fruit n Grain bar before I left. Not a whole lotta nutrition, and a whole lotta stomach-upsetting-items.

8-10 blocks from home I start thinking "I don't feel very good. My stomach is feelin icky."

A few more blocks and I'm thinking "Maybe I'll go back to my original 8ish mile ride instead of anything longer."

Another block and I'm thinking about cutting my ride in half by cutting a left and hooking onto my trail over halfway through my usual ride.

And at this point it occurs to me "You never finish anything!!!"

And I don't. We took this handy personality test at church once a few years back, according to that, I am an Otter. One of the hallmarks of an otter is that they are the social butterfly, fun-to-be-had-i'm-there, I know everyone! person(s) in your life. The downfall of an Otter is that we get bored very easily and thus, seldom finish projects. Now at the time we took this test I was quite proud of myself because I could say "Well, God and I already got that all figured out! I simply don't start the project to begin with! I just daydream about it until the urge fades and move on to the next dream!!"

I realized on this ride ... that is not anything to be remotely proud of. Because on the rare occasion that I do, in fact, decide to actually accomplish something, whenever I quit becomes "close enough" for me.

And I quit.
a lot.

I get a couple of fitness magazines. I earned free subscriptions online ... get this, by redeeming MyCokeRewards points! And those i get from drinking full-sugared Coca-Cola!! I find that deeply ironic and endlessly amusing. But I digress, for the purpose of amusement, but digression still.

I got the magazines in the hopes that they would help inspire me and motivate me. Because I get bored so easily I have never been able to stick to any form of an at-home work out plan. So, I thought these magazines would have different plans all the time and I could just do whatever the workout is in whichever magazine I prefer that month. I have had a poster for a beach-body workout on top of my TV for 6+ weeks. Not that I expect to ever have a beach-body, but that is definitely a digression worthy of it's own post!

I did the work out last week Thursday for the first time. I did two of the 7 moves and "decided" that it was enough. I got into the kitchen and started putting together my lunch and thought "You, never finish anything!" I didn't like that feeling. I didn't like that idea at all. I hated it even more because I then added, "For pete's sake, you're 31-years-old, and you give up so easily!" So, I went back to the poster and did the 3 others I could do. One of them was truly impossible given the precarious state of my ankle at this time, but that was a sincere concern against real and potentially permanent and expensive injury.

Can you imagine how much better I felt knowing that I truly had done almost an entire workout! Just for me! Just for my own health and mental wellness! Just because I had decided I desired to do one!!

Back to the bike ride. I am at this "Maybe I'll cut my ride short ..." moment and have that thought all over again. "You never finish anything!" And I think, "No, I'm not pukey, I'm not going to faint or pass out. You are doing what you set out to do!"

And I did. I took a beautiful ride, half in town, half on our lovely trail. I thoroughly enjoyed the breeze and the sunshine. I was amused significantly at the many people I passed and their smile/not smile responses.

And I was proud of myself. I am 31-years-old and I am finishing things. I am starting things that stretch me, and I finish them. Or I give them true and honest, sincere effort and get close to finishing. I'm incredibly sad that it has taken me until 31 to do so, but I did.

And I made a new friend!!

Hello, my name is Pee-tah.

This is my friend, Lou-ee. He's a cardinal.

Did you hear that???

No, seriously, I heard something.

Duh, that was my mom, I'm late for dinner! Bye!!

Okay, a little snack for the trip back home.

Bye!!