saturday

i have a friend who doesn't have facebook [shocking, yes.] anyway, she called me the other night to tell me on the phone she got engaged.  :) isn't that so fun!  it's fun that she's engaged and it's fun that she called. and it feels even more special because it's not like everybody and their mom and their grandma knows from facebook, but just the closest friends that she would actually dial up.

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our small group might sign up for a benefit 5k for Easter weekend.  i exercise pretty regularly these days but i'm still scared of running.  i might try to run/walk 3 miles today and see what happens.

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ben and i are planning a potential trip to a concert in indiana this may.  we have friends in indiana, friends on the way, it'd be close to kentucky where there are more friends (and pretty scenery), we like the artist, and we like road trips. so, why not?

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i've been working on a quilt all weekend.  [side note: there are 5 really nice quilting stores in Lincoln plus a JoAnn's and a Hancock Fabrics.  doesn't that seem like more than the appropriate amount for the size of the town?]

this is a crappy picture i took from my phone at a bad angle.  but you get the idea :)

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my current sewing addiction means less time for reading.  meanwhile, all the books i requested from the library just happened to come in. and these are big books! like 500 pages! (i'm like a child in that a big book with small writing is intimidating.)  So, the one's on the shelf are In the Garden of Beasts, The Warmth of Other Suns, and The Secrets of the FBI.  Have you read any?

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the backspace key bit the dust yesterday :(

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i've been doing a bible study in James and i'm legitimately sad to see it come to an end.  God has taught me so much through the day-to-day lessons and through the weekly teachings from Beth Moore [more to come on that another time].  Let's just say, life-changing.

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last week, we went to a rockin' choir performance by the Star Singers of Aldridge Elementary School.   Honestly, it was very enjoyable.  Less than an hour, well timed, efficient transitions, cute songs, and some jazz hands.  As a HUGE critic of bad school music programs, I really liked this one.  Of course, I was bound to love it since one of my 2 favorite Aldridge musicians was in it :)

a lot of 5th graders! 93 to be exact

the most important start singer :)

the boys with their super cute, organized and efficient music teacher. (will wasn't performing in this one)

happy saturday,
renee

trippy quilt

so as you know i'm in this quilting class.  it's really great and the teacher's awesome, although i'm not crazy about the pattern for the quilt.  she suggested i make a mini project since i'm just starting.  so i've been working on it for weeks and here is the result (so far...)

that took a lot of guts to share on the world wide web. because, well, it's not the most beautiful quilt in the world.
actually, it makes me dizzy.
ben was complimentary of it, but we agreed that it's kinda trippy.
at the same time, i'm super proud of it... because it took FOREVER to cut all those tiny little pieces and put them all together and it's kinda cool how it comes together.
speaking of coming together, the colors/fabrics did not come together like i thought.  i figured picking out the fabrics would be the easy part, but apparently it's not.  it's hard to know what they'll look like all chopped up into various shapes and sizes and pieced together.

(oh, that one's not quite done... still need to add a border, the back and all the stuff that actually makes it a quilt.)

in other quilting news, i cut 175 5-inch squares during a downtown abbey marathon last night (thank you, netflix) for my next quilt project.  this whole process is very addicting.  you think, okay just 10 more squares. but then why not 20. or 100!
the project is a large patchwork quilt - pieced together at random.  mostly red with pops of turquoise and a couple other colors. saw this idea in a book. we'll see if it turns like it is in my head.

Here's some of the fabric (there's a couple more colors yet to be cut!)

back to cutting... did i mention it's addicting? ;)

next quilt...

i usually arrange my schedule so that my entire friday is free to substitute.  but if i don't get called, or it's a holiday break, i have the entire day free.  it's a fun time to do some sewing, which i am slow at and need LOTS of time to accomplish small amount of progress.

i'm going to finish up the quilting project for the class i'm in now, but i'd love to make a patchwork quilt next.  looks simple enough, right...?

so i'm thinking maybe one like this

source

 or this!

source

or this

source

walmart

I was at walmart... just a quick trip.  I hopped into a line that looked awesome - the lady in front of me was just finishing up. score! (anyone who shops at walmart knows that being in and out of the line in less than 10 minutes is a reason to celebrate.)  so I loaded up my few things onto the belt and the lady in front of me was still there. weird since she had just been handed her things and told "have a nice day."  (that's your cue to leave, in case you wanted to dawdle).  oh and she dawdled.  she proceeded (AFTER finishing purchasing everything and paying) to begin telling the cashier all about her dogs. dogs, plural. keyword begin.  so, i waited patiently with a smile, thinking surely she must be about to go. but no.  she stayed. and she pulled out pictures. of her dogs.  this went on for several minutes.  then she and cashier (new BFFS) smiled at each other and bid farewell.


i was tempted to be irritated. i always pick the wrong line.  but then i thought - maybe they both needed a friendly chat that day. and i didn't have anywhere to be. and i didn't have any screaming children in my cart. so, what's the big deal. oh well :) it was just kinda funny.  as in, trying-not-to-giggle-out-loud funny.

and now, i'm blogging about it to procrastinate taxes....

happy thursday :)

turn off that lame-o music and turn up the awesomeness!

on the topic of music, you should know people often ask me about music.  especially in the context of voice lessons.  "Renee, have you heard of _________?" The answer is usually "no" because i am a dork and don't know cool musicians.  don't get me wrong, I LOVE hearing good music. and i'm very picky about it - i can't stand listening to bad, or even mediocre music. i'd rather it be silent.  but for someone with a lot of opinions, i don't have all the patience to sit and listen to tons of bad music while trying to find the "it" new awesome song. 

my cool husband, on the other hand, is the person who is listening to that awesome band before they ever get popular. you know, the people who find bands in small venues when they still do free concerts and what not. 

so, i benefit greatly from this relationship. ben finds new music and buys it and i get to listen.

we've been working on developing our christian music playlist lately and here's some of my current favs.

Audrey Assad (more about her HERE)

All Son & Daughters (song: All the Poor and Powerless)

 

Jonny Lang (song: that great day)

great guitarist & lyricist, blues influence, christian

Jimmy Needham (song: Not without love/ Forgiven and loved)

i don't like everything of his but i do love some of it

Israel Houghton (song: "Every Prayer"; with Mary Mary)

if you know me well, you could guess that last one is my fav. why, you ask? give me a gospel choir in the background (or any kind of choir, really) and have them change keys a couple times and i'm happy :)

 

so here's the thing. i know you would never do this, but sometimes i judge someone based on their music tastes. but i have decided not to do that. you can listen to whatever you want. so, if you don't like this, sorry! if you do like it, listen to it legally and enjoy!  

speaking of listening to it legally, i am learning about all the hidden treasures of pandora. more to come on that another time.

so, did you listen to those? do you like them? what else do you like? share please! 

rockin out,

renee

p.s. sorry about the title of this post, i'm not sure what has come over me.

 

bow-chicka-wow-wow... got a new CD

so i recently ordered a game on Amazon and had it shipped to our house.  [side note - this game is called Settlers of Catan. You've probably heard of it because people who play it are obsessed and talk about it a lot.  no shame. i am now one of those people. don't judge them  us.]  anywho, i pulled into the driveway and was pleasantly surprised by the packages at my doorstep, even though i ordered them.  packages are still fun, even if you ordered them.

well, one package was addressed to me, and one to my husband.  our amazon account has my husband's name, and it was a big box, so i knew that was the game. but what was this other mystery package!?  of course i opened that one first.

and guess what!?!?!?!?

it was the newest album from the singer i am most obsessed with lately.  i had wanted this CD but hadn't purchased it yet.  and included with the CD was a VERY SWEET LOVE NOTE from my super cool husband. 

talk about my love language!    

wow. i was stoked.  i saved the love note and ripped into the CD and it's even better than i imagined.

Here's the mp3 download on amazon.

Here's one of my fav songs off this cd, which is still in my player, and will be for a while.  ["cd player" reminds me... does anyone still use CD players? or do people all use iPods now? our car doesn't have any ability to connect to an iPod, not to mention, i don't own one. DORK with a capital D.  so, CDs it is for us.]

a final side note about cds.  this was the conversation we had in the car the other day:

me (grabbing CD as if it's a piece of paper): here, let's put this in
ben (taking CD from me, holding it around the edge, so as not to touch the back): this is a better way to hold CDs so they don't get smudgy and skip... at least until i burn it into the computer, then you can hold it however you want.

i laughed out loud.  he's so funny and sweet! he was genuinely being nice. i told him i knew how to hold a CD the right way but i just chose to hold it like a child and would try to do better :) haha

got any new CDs lately?

jammin,
renee

wholeness

I have been doing a bible study through the book of James.  (and by "a" bible study, I mean an awesome, eye-opening, life-changing, faith-altering bible study.)  I always thought James seemed similar to Proverbs - a bunch of random topics squeezed together.  But I'm learning that is so not true.  One theme in his letter is that of wholeness, completion, or perfection.

"Let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:4)

"Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you." (1:21)

"If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check." (3:2)

Those are a few verses that discuss "perfection" explicitly, but much of James' letter touches on the concept of moral completion...  well, at first glance, it seems like we might as well just give up this whole Christianity thing because i have been "at fault in what I said" more than once or twice.  But James isn't expecting that we as Christians be perfect, or even suggesting it's possible.  He writes "we all stumble in many ways" (3:2) and "no one can tame the tongue, it is a restless evil" (3:8).   He is honest that perfect isn't attainable, yet urges us not to lower the standard.

There's much more that could be said about James, his letter as a whole, and his theme of perfection.  And I'm certainly not suggesting that I, or any other Christian, is or should be perfect.  What I wanted to share (and what I thought needed a slight preface) was this quote I read that discusses wholeness in the book of James.

"Wholeness cannot be found simply by accepting whatever one is in all one's disordered and distracted existence.  Wholeness is a goal towards which one can move only in relation to a centre which is already whole and from which one can gain wholeness.  This means moving in one direction rather than others.  It means rejecting values and behaviour which are inconsistent with the goal... The quest for wholeness is important today because it responds to another cultural trend, which accepts and even celebrates the fragmentation of life in the name of openness and diversity" (Bauckham, James, 179).

That statement is very thought provoking for me.   Do I acknowledge there is a centre which is already whole that I could gain wholeness from? Is wholeness my goal?  Am I moving in that direction, or just hoping I'll end up there by accident?  Do I embrace values and behaviours consistent with the goal of wholeness?  Do you?  

imperfect,

renee

p.s. the bible study I'm doing is this one... it's awesome! (If you wanted to just download the mp3 videos and do the study on your own, it'd be $20) :) Not a bad investment for life-change.