Making too much of nothing or creating one unholy mess

Title: From "True to Life" by Uncle Tupelo. One of my definitive college life songs.

Picture: Ukarumpa airstrip - where Kristen, Jeff and kiddos will be taking off from sooner than I realize! Ah, the beautiful Highlands. Where the heat never withers and where the snow never falls.

Yesterday Dan surprised me and picked me up for lunch! Having an unemployed husband DOES have it's benefits, you know. Surprise lunch dates are never something I'd frown upon. We went to Wendy's and thanks to my weakness, I tried their new Bacon & Bleu burger. (Side note: can't remember the last time I had a fast food hamburger.) My already volatile stomach definitely didn't approve of my choice. I'm still paying the price.

Praise the Lord Jim Bunning came to his senses and let the poor unemployed people get some money to live off of. Come on, man. I know you're trying to make a point about having money before you spend it - but does the word EMERGENCY mean anything to you??? It wasn't even a vote for a long-term plan - just a vote to allow people benefits for 30 days while Congress buys themselves some time to decide on a more permanent fix. I would totally stick up for him, but I'll be honest, he kind of seems like an a-hole. Sorry.

I'm usually making the five-minute drive home from the gym between 5:45 and 6:00 every morning. The local Christian radio station (shout out to 91.3 WCSG!) uses the 5:30 - 6:00 time slot for Focus on the Family. I think they must've been airing James Dobson's last address before resigning or something. Anyway, he was reading this letter that he'd written to his wife years earlier (I think?...I missed the first few minutes) and it was THE most astounding thing I've ever heard. I've searched the internet trying to find the recording or a transcript but I just can't. What I wouldn't give to hear that again. Oh man...I was in TEARS...within the five minutes it takes to get from the gym to home.

Alice in Wonderland? No, thank you. It looks scary, and since the cartoon is unsettling to me, I can't imagine how this new re-make would affect me. (Movies that always scared me as a child, and consequently still do: Alice in Wonderland, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins, Babes in Toyland...pretty much anything that has unexplained phenomena. I think that's an early glimpse into my need for control and rationalization.) I always tell Dan how scary I think it looks and he agrees, giving the impression that it's weird and trippy. The other day my sister-in-law (Jessie) told me that Dan asked her if he could go see it with she and her boyfriend! The little sneak!!!

In one hour Dan will be purchasing our 3rd anniversary activity. Tom Petty is stopping through Detroit and Chicago on his summer tour. We weighed the cost vs. fun options. What won us over (for the Chicago trip) was that the concert is super close to our anniversary. For our first anniversary we spent a day in Chicago and wanted to make it a yearly tradition. So with sentiments weighing to the west rather than the east, we're buying tickets and booking a hotel!

I had a really good quote to include on this entry from my devos this morning, but forgot to bring my book with me this morning. I'm not reading any life-altering books with mood-altering quotes, so sadly, the end of this post will be slightly dull. Although...through Grace & Power, I'm getting an up-close and personal look at Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. and Adlai Stevenson, which is exciting. Anything that can build up my knowledge of the JFK administration! Bring it!

Can't wait to visit this little town! 24 days until Seattle/Poulsbo!