Christmas Trees and Stolen Templates

Today we set up our new, $104.99 Christmas tree that we purchased for a mere $39.99 at Garden Ridge. (not that I'm proud of my good deal or anything). The beauty of the tree is the fact that it is pre-lit, which makes it A BARGAIN AT ANY PRICE. Wow, what a beautiful lack of hassle!

We wanted this to be a "family" thing, especially being Anna's first Christmas that she might actually remember something about, but she has had a ROUGH evening with some serious allergy action going on, so it was mommy and me. I think we did a pretty kickin' job if I do say so myself. We'll be the envy of the apartment complex, I just know it.




EDIT: If you're visiting from www.micropersuasion.com, I want you to know that there was NO ACTUAL THEFT. My friend, Doug, just happened to use the same freebie template that I had chosen from blogger. Sorry to disappoint, but I have no example of code theft for you to ponder. I'm afraid Mr. Rubel just didn't look close enough at my blog to realize that it was written in jest. On the other hand, thanks for stopping by!

The 2 of you that read this may have noticed a slight change in the look and feel of the ol' blog. That's because Doug stole mine. Having the same blog template is like showing up to a concert wearing the t-shirt of the concert you're at. LAME. So I changed mine to a darker, hipper layout. Hope you like it.. DOUG. *cough* thief! *cough* *cough*

Recently I offered a poll regarding women pastors. My byline mentions that my thoughts are read by an audience of ones. That has never been so apparant as when I looked at the results of my poll today. Word of advice: If no one reads your blog, don't advertise the fact by doing a poll.

Strangely enough, by a twisted turn of events, I found this reference to my blog by someone I never heard of. I guess I should post my deep thoughts more often! But, that means I have to HAVE deep thoughts more often and, honestly, that kinda hurts.

Tonight, after the tree business was finished and Anna was down to sleep, Andrea and I had a good, deep convo. I encourage everyone to do that. (have a deep convo with YOUR spouse, not mine). Just sit down and talk. Bring up something big and get their input on it. Most importantly, tell them how you feel about them (nice things.. say nice things) and let them know what you're doing to get better at being their spouse. Not in a braggadocious way, but in a way to let them know that you're trying, and you just want them to know that you love them enough to work at it. Just some insight and encouragement for you married-types out there.

One last deep thought. What would it be like to live EVERY day like it was your LAST day? Is that REALLY possible? Is it really PLAUSIBLE? I mean, part of being alive and functioning includes a certain amount of forethought and planning. Well, being alive and functioning as a contributor to society anyhow. I pondered this for a (very) short bit tonight and considered it's implications. My deduction is that we can't necessarily live EXACTLY like this is our last day, because really, there are a lot of very boring things I've done today (and will do again tomorrow) that wouldn't mean SQUAT to me if it was my last day. But, seeing how I'm planning on being here for at least another week or so, they were quite necessary. BUT, perhaps we can capture the spirit of a last-day lifestyle by totally "going for the gusto" in everything we do, and living as passionately and spirit-filled as humanly (and, if you're the God-fearing type, superhumanly) possible. Maybe instead of living like this IS our last day, we live like it MIGHT be our last day, but there's a small chance it's NOT.

I love God. I don't know why he even messes with me anymore, but He does, and I'm SOOOO thankful for that. He keeps things so beautifully frightening and comfortable all at the same time, and that's just cool.