idontbelieveingrammar

Confession. I get invited to a lot of little kid birthday parties. And I almost always go, present in hand.Because my kids love them. And I love my friends. And who doesn’t like cupcakes. But, parts of me despise these parties. Really. I’d rather go to WalMart with both kids than to a toddler birthday party on a Saturday. And today’s party wasn’t so bad. It was a close friends which meant I knew a lot of people there so I had plenty of people to talk to instead of having to pretend to text the whole time. I even raced one of them on the bounce house obstacle course and possibly threw out my back. The teenage worker was also prepared to lecture me for not wearing socks and taking out a small child on the way. But, normally little kid parties are full of all kinds of landmines… 1. Chuck E Cheese. --- I don’t think I need to say anything else about that. 2. Awkward small talk with moms I don’t know. This is my least favorite part. And I often volunteer to take pictures just t...

Back in late September I went to Portland. By myself. To a conference put on my Donald Miller. I was going to go to a writing/blogging conference in the Spring but instead put my money and limited days off into Portland. The conference was about creating a better story. The kind you live, not necessarily the kind you  write down. And I wrote about it. Kind of. I wrote about traveling alone . And someone I met there. But have yet to really tackle the content. Because to be honest, I never really did my homework. Just this week some friends asked me about it. Again. And I figured it was time. So last night,   I pulled out my binder and my notebook filled with 23 pages of notes and 5 blank reflective assignments. And am finally going to start processing a little. In my usual way. By typing it out. And to be honest I think people expected a little too much of me when I got home.   Or maybe I expected a little too much from being there. Actually I did try and write a...

"How is that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, 'This is much better than we thoguht! The universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant?' Instead they say,'No, no, no! My god is little god and I want him to stay that way.' A religion old or new, that stressed the magnificance of the Universe as revealed by modern science might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths." The Big Blue Dot - Carl Sagan. I am teacher. I’ve brought that up plenty on here. But still usually people that don’t know me get confused. They assume that I am an English teacher. Which is laughable to me because I am not a good speller. Am queen of the fragment (see that was one) and use more than my share of be verbs ( a big writing no no).Turns out I teach science. I even have a Masters degree in it. And I have sat through all the classes where the biology professors beli...

My weekend has been less than stellar. Currently I am not a fan of my sinuses, snot in general, Sundays without naps, the fact that we don’t have any Kleenex in the house, the mess that is my living room, 2 year old temper tantrums, how cold it is outside and the fact that WalMart has less that ¼ of it’s lanes open at any given time. But since I just don’t want to whine – a few things that I do like about my weekend: the 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep I got last night thanks to some Nyquil and a really nice husband, the dance party I had with my kids instead of cleaning my bathroom, the soup I made for dinner last night……….and all these songs. and this girl isn't on grooveshark...but i love her too.

The prosperity gospel has always made me a little sick to my stomach. Not that I don’t like the idea that if I ask God for a Cadillac, or big screen TV or new wardrobe and keep asking and have enough faith. That God will deliver. Trust me, I like stuff. A lot. It is kind of a problem for me. And for most Americans. But. I don’t think God particularly wants to give me a big check or TV or new car just because I believed enough that he would. Because what happens when he doesn’t come through. What if the check doesn’t come. Or the test results are negative. Or when the phone rings in the middle of the night. Where does that leave my faith or my God. Is it big enough to still believe after that? And because I think there are plenty of people out there with way more faith than me. Living with way less. Praying really important prayers. That aren’t always answered the way we wish. And that it has absolutely NOTHING to do with faith. But mostly about a really big God whose timi...

I went to visit a good friend this weekend. When I walked into her town house, the Christmas tree was still up. The laundry piled on a chair in the basement where I was sleeping and toys scattered the floor. When I asked for a broom (as a prop, not for cleaning purposes), she told me she didn’t have one. To which her husband replied. Yes we do. Beside the fridge. It was just like my house. But neater. The other day I had some friends over unexpectedly and we had to make our way through dolls and toys and legos just to put our purses down. And I didn't even flinch. Because they know me. It wasn't the first time they have seen laundry baskets in my living room, dog hair in the corners and dirty dishes in the sink. They know my mess. And came in anyways. Most of my favorite friends don't require knocking, much less picking up first. Or makeup. Or even getting out of my pjs. Sometimes me and another friend send pictures back and forth to see whose house is messier. A...

A nudge. That I ignored. A small voice in my head that told me to find the teenage mom I had seen on the plane and buy her lunch. Instead I convinced myself she was fine. If she could buy a plane ticket. Surely she could buy lunch. So I ordered my green tea, found my book, plugged in my ipod and read until they could find us another plane. And I was totally wrong. After hours delayed, they finally let us reboard. And I kind of hate Southwest’s policy of choosing your own seats. Usually I look for a someone with a book out, so I know that I will be uninterrupted for the majority of my flight. I got a few rows back. And saw her again. The one I didn’t buy lunch. And thought, even though her baby screamed the whole way here, that I have a pretty high screaming tolerance. My kids have done their share. And that maybe I’d be a little more understanding than most. That maybe the kid would just take a nap this flight. Both of them. Instead I got a little more than I bargained for. Withi...