Category Archives: Christmas

Quite An Excellent Day With Amy and At Church.

Posted on 9 January 2011 | 2 comments

Today I met Amy at the worst Starbucks in the Midwest. If you are ever traveling across I-70, never, I mean never, stop a the Starbucks in Richmond, Indiana just off of I-70 on US-40. You’ll wait forever, and your coffee will be substandard. I have to admit, though, that today my Americano was tasty, and Amy’s cappuccino actually looked like a cappuccino. Well, at least it did until she put in the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and made the top part of the foam all pocked and strange. The Mexican restaurant on that exit is delicious and it’s where we usually have lunch or dinner when we meet. Next time, we’re meeting in Indy at Peppy Grill, so there’ll be a bite more to do than walk around the tiny mall and hang out at Starbucks. It’d be sweet if Becs would come along, too, so we can all hang out together for a change.

Amy and I had one of the best times we’ve had recently, in my opinion. Lots of honest conversation. Lots of laughing about stupid things. And shopping at Goodwill on 99 cent Sunday. We didn’t find anything worthwhile, although I did have to restrain myself from buying (count them) three different White Trash Nativity Scenes.I already have around 40 of them in my collection, one of which is missing its Baby Jesus, because the cats just keep stealing him, manger and all, and hiding him somewhere. It’s sad, really, the way Mary and Joseph continue to sit there staring at a place where Baby Jesus should be. All the while he is probably in the duct work, or in the basement, or inside of one of the couches. Who knows? But they remain vigilant in their never-ending pose of parental adoration. Sad. The other excellent part of the day today was that Matt, our preacher at Commonway, spoke about the book of Lamentations in the message this morning. He talked about how we need to stop looking back on our lives, wishing for the “good old days.” Instead we need to plant ourselves in our realities and spread roots. We need to be hopeful within the situations we find ourselves in. In other words, we need to stop wishing to be in other places in other times, and we need to ground ourselves where we are. At first I was a little resistant to the message, but then I realized that was probably because he was talking to me in a lot of ways. And using my favorite book of the Bible to do it. Good stuff.

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Posted in Christmas, Coffee, Food, Grace, Relationships, Religion

Egg Nog Waffles. Hookah Initiation. Joseph.

Posted on 22 December 2010 | Leave a comment

Let’s begin with Joseph. For some reason, whenever I hear of a meditation on Joseph of the Christmas story variety, I get a little pissed. In my mind, I wonder what else could possibly be said about a man who had so little to do withe actual Christmas story. As Sojourner Truth points outs about Jesus, “Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him” (Ain’t I a Woman). For as little as Joseph appears to play a role in Christmas, the gospel of Matthew does spend the better portion of the first chapter giving Joseph’s lineage. I assume that means that even though Jesus isn’t technically Joseph’s son, Joseph is still important in the life of Jesus and in the eschatological timeline of the Christian church.

Despite my reluctance to recognize Joseph as someone worthy of lengthy discussions at Christmastime, and despite my desire to scream, “Can’t just one Christian holiday be about how God used a WOMAN?!?”, I have to admit that God sometimes goes to extreme measures to get me off my high horse. This time, though, a simple article did the trick. And, what’s even better is I found this short meditation by accident, via Twitter. Frank Viola writes in Remember Joseph: Rethinking Righteousness, “Today, I’d like to give Joseph his due. By my lights, Joseph was one of the most righteous men who ever lived.” That’s a pretty powerful statement. More righteous than Noah? More righteous than Job? More righteous than (fill in any person who is described in Jewish Scripture as blameless or righteous)? Really.

Viola continues by explaining Joseph’s righteousness like this, “I’m sure Joseph’s blood boiled when he heard that the woman who was betrothed to him in marriage was pregnant . . . and not by him. But because he was a righteous man, he showed mercy. He treated her as if he were in her own shoes and was guilty of what he had assumed she did.” Um, yeah. How many of us would’ve done what Joseph did? How many of us would stand beside someone who was in Mary’s shoes? Think about it really hard. Would you? Would I? Could we do it without patting ourselves on our backs or privately commenting that we are just doing it because that’s what a good Christian would do? Can we live as Viola describes Joseph? He writes “It is to react like Jesus, living void of self-righteousness.” This is the part of this meditation I loved. Viola reminds us to be vigilant in our dealings with others, because our own character is really what God is testing and proving. This holiday season can I behave this way? Can I live void of self-righteousness?

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I initiated my hookah today. I used molasses tobacco, and spent about half an hour listening to Christmas music, contemplating life, and smoking shisha. I love being Greek, and I need to go to Greece sometime in order to experience where I come from. THe only drawback to going there is that I’m afraid I won’t want to come back!

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I took the dogs for about a two-mile walk this morning, and when I got home I realized the reason I love breaks and summer is the ability to live slowly. I got up at 7:30 AM. walked the dogs around 8 AM, and made breakfast around 9 AM. This is the way my life is supposed to go. Slow, easy mornings. Now it’s noon and I have already exercised, made food from scratch, done laundry, relaxed, socialized via Twitter and Facebook, and written more than I have on any day since school started. Come to me summer, and don’t fail me Winter Break! On break, it’s all about the victuals.

Delicious vegan Egg Nog Waffles (substitute ground flax seed and water for the eggs) I made for breakfast! Yummy.

And the delicious dish I am calling Penne and Faux Sho Cheese that I made for lunch.

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Posted in Christmas, Feminism, Food, Relationships, Religion, School, Teaching, Vegetarian or Vegan, Writing

Diligence. Running. Diet. Merideth. Attitudes.

Posted on 3 December 2010 | 1 comment

It’s difficult for me to keep up with this blog since no one can actually see it anymore. I know now how my students feel when they write essays that are simply for my eyes, so I know that my teaching will be entirely different next year from what it is this year. It’s really hard to come here time and again to write, just like it is really hard for them to muster up any level of caring about their writing when they view it as simply an assignment. Next year, I am hoping to help them do assignment that will have a bit more exposure, more influence in their culture. But for now, I will occasionally write for you, my faithful and devoted reader(s), and they will write for me and each other. It’s an exercise in non-profit diligence.

I wish I didn’t teach until 9AM. If so, I could run in the morning without having to get up at 5AM. I am not so much fun when I get up at 5AM. In fact, I am quite grumpy when I get up at 5AM. You wouldn’t want to be around me when I get up at 5AM. Seriously, 5AM is bad. For me. However, what running I can eek out is going well. I am back to pre-injury speed, which in the running world, is more like a slow walk compared to where I should be for my age. I blame it on my girth. I’d like to strap a one-hundred backpack on some of these scrawny little runners and see how fast they go then!  They’d then be thrilled they could move their 200-plus-pound frame across flat land at 12:30 a mile. That’s pretty fast for a rounder! 🙂

The diet has changed. I am trying to only eat whole foods. The 1200-1500 calorie thing worked for about two weeks until I felt as if I was starving to death. Along with not liking to wake up at 5AM, I really don’t like to wake up hungry. When my stomach’s growling is more effective than my alarm clock, I realize I am no longer dieting. I am then starving myself. I am trying to transition to eating things like sweet potatoes, broccoli, barley, oats, nuts. You know, whole foods. I feel better, but last night I caved to a craving and ate pizza. Without cheese of course. And tonight I am having some beer and probably some other unhealthy food, like fries or whatnot.

On a very different note, I’d love (still) to go into business with Merideth to open the “Hoot and Whatnot,” the coffeehouse/bar/bookstore/general store conglomeration that we fantasized about so long ago. I can’t wait until Christmastime when she and her sister are going to be here. I only wish the time would be longer, and the days less packed with family events. Everything changes, but everything’s changed. We’re old. We’re married. She pregnant. We can’t just lie around all day eating peanut M&Ms and watching bad movies. We have to behave like adults. Sigh.

Adults. How do they behave? Badly, usually. I am trying with all of my might to help my workplace not be such a den of negativity. It’s like the beginning to Richard 3, “Now is the winter of our discontent,” only without it “made glorious summer by this son of York.” It’s just a pit of despair.

I am hoping to make it into sunshines and rainbows!

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Posted in Beer, Christmas, Family, Fat, Goals, Relationships, Running, Teaching, Writing

Shortbread and Chai.

Posted on 23 December 2009 | Leave a comment

Never let anyone tell you that making chai tea from scratch is less expensive than buying tea bags of chai at the store. That person is lying to you. And probably smiling while they are lying to you. It is not less expensive. In fact, it is much more expensive, but the taste is outstanding and you can add your own mix of spices, which only includes those you enjoy. This is the trade-off in the land of chai.

Do you remember in middle school when you watched those economics movies that talked about trade-offs, supply and demand, and other economic concepts that seemed so cut and dry. They seemed too easy to be true, and for the most part, they were. Maybe they were true, just not simple. For each action there are multiple trade-offs. It isn’t like you choose the yo-yo or the teddy bear. You are also choosing the American factory worker or the Malaysian factory worker, you are choosing the plastic verses the fabric, you are choosing minimal packaging or no package or excessive packaging, and you are choosing a sedentary activity (cuddling the bear) or a more active toy (if moving your arm can be non-sedentary). Those fucking films made it seem like the choice was simple. One toy or the other toy. They lied, too, like the articles online that said homemade chai is cheaper.

I guess I am not so concerned with the cost of the chai as I make myself out to be. I really am not concerned with the price at all, because the tea is part of my Christmas gift to my family. (I am hoping none of them read this before Friday. Sorry, Abs; though you already knew anyway.) I also made some other delectable snacks that will join the chai in the gift bags. However, I sort of cheated on part of the presents because I reused instead of hand-making; I recycled instead of creating my own.

I cheated completely on William and Shannon’s gifts. I tried in vain to make hot cocoa mix from scratch, and it kept tasting like dried milk, cocoa, sugar, and salt. So, I went and bought a big container of cocoa mix and marshmellows and simply divided it into bags for their gifts. I am sure they will appreciate my generosity without even knowing it. They should; I am making special cookies for them, too.

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Today has been a weird day because I got up so early to take Elizabeth to Indianapolis to catch her train. The Amtrak station is a little sketchy. There is no checking in like there is at the airport. You just sit on the bench and wait until someone comes walking through and says, “All aboard!” For real, the woman came out of the back room and yelled, “All aboard,” as she walked toward the elevator. Then everyone just walked up the stairs or took the elevator to the upper level of Union Station where the train sat outside. The way it is set up is weird because the trains sort of go next to the train station now instead of going through it like they used to. I mean, seriously, “All aboard!” I loved it. I hope Elizabeth makes it to Dallas unscathed, and I can’t wait until this summer when we take the Greyhound to see the Chavez/Lewises.

When I got home from taking her, it was around 6:30 AM. I walked the dogs, took care of the cats, and then fell asleep on the couch at around 10:30. I hadn’t fallen asleep last night until 11:30 or midnight, so I was exhausted. When I woke up, it was 1:30 PM and  most of the day was shot. I took care of the other critters I am watching, and then came home and worked on Christmas presents.

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My brother and I decided to create a fun event: instead of paying to go to Indy to run on New Year’s Day, we are holding our own run around Minnetrista. I think it will be fun. Basically, the idea is that we are just running for fun. You can run around the loop as many times as you want n two hours, and then we will all have some food and hot cocoa together. I am making cheap shirts for me, Bec, Adam, and William. Everyone else will be jealous. I think it would be fun if this turned into an annual event, but I won’t hold my breath.

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I am thankful that Georgie’s surgery went well.

Exercise: walked the dogs three miles

Food: chili, milk, toast, tea, shortbread

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Posted in Christmas, Family, Food, New Year, Relationships, Running, Winter Weather

My Bald Head Scares Iz

Posted on 22 December 2009 | 3 comments

I went to the 505 tonight to spend some time with Ed and Abs. They just got back from Frankenmouth and brought all sorts of amazing gifts back with them. Iz picked out some sweet breast cancer socks and a rubber ducky Christmas ornament for me. They also brought back bread and fudge. I am so spoiled.

I learned tonight that my bald head scares my god daughter. I took off my Oscar the Grouch hat because my head was getting hot, and she ran over to her dad and gave me a strange look. I put my hat back on. When her mom came back into the room, I tried to get Iz to make the same funny face so I took off my hat. Iz started crying and ran to her dad again. We were completely stumped by her reaction, though, because she has seen my head bald countless times. However, this time she freaked out.

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Today I was able to purchase all the supplies to make my Christmas presents. All in all it is considerably less expensive to make gifts for people than to buy gifts. I would love to explain what I am making, but I will have to wait until after Christmas to explain because some people who will receive these gifts read this blog and I don’t want to ruin what little is left as a surprise. I hope it all works out okay.

I think I can experiment tomorrow after working some more on my dissertation proposal. Tomorrow will be a long day. Getting up at 3AM to take Elizabeth to Indianapolis will be a good way to start the day. My plan is to take her down there,  to come home and walk the dogs, then to go back to bed for a bit before getting up and reading and writing for the day. I will also be cat patrolling tomorrow, cleaning litter boxes and feeding felines. Sweet.

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I am thankful for time spent with family, even when it is stressful.

Exercise: walked the dogs, ran 2 miles

Food: banana, juice, chocolate milk, tea, decaf Americano, Indian buffet (too much food), chocolate mousse cake

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Posted in Christmas, Dissertation, Family, Food, Relationships