I'm spending the evening with some pirates.

counterpoint

WARNING: spoiler alert!

Pat is trashing the finale on his blog, so here's mine . . .

I love HEROES. HEROES is awesome. it's fun sci-fi. and while it may borrow from a lot of comic book lore (because what haven't they done in the comic book world?), it's still great. and I for one enjoyed the season finale. I wish Hiro had taken Sylar's head (a la Highlander), but oh well . . . I guess they wanted another option for next season. maybe he's dead, maybe he dragged himself into that sewer. the heroes finally figured out that they could beat him, even if they weren't totally in control of their powers. Nikki with the parking meter? nice. Claire bellyfloping out of the window - cool. Peter pummeling Sylar? YES!

the dvd set is coming out in August, and I already have it on my Amazon list.

Peter's the bomb in more ways than one . . . ;-)

oh, and I'm so very very happy that Stargate: Atlantis is back. very happy indeed.

workaholics?

ok, so call my crazy, but isn't it the point of a VACATION that you DON'T come in to work? I think someone here missed the memo . . .

2.5 more work days and then I will be driving to Nashville . . . (happy dance!)

frosty

I had a minor personal victory last night - I successfully recharged my car's A/C. this is especially nice as I'm going to be driving through Atlanta next Friday afternoon on my way to Nashville.

I finally got the dates posted for the Radiant summer book club. I think it was harder cutting books than finding them. there's a good variety, a novel, a biography, a really great book on prayer, and a few others. There's also a women's Craft Fix coming up June 3rd. lots to do this summer . . .

minor rant

Outlook keeps "eating" dates that I've entered into the calendar at work . . . so not cool!

smell of burning wood

we woke up this morning to a thin blanket of smoke this morning. apparently winds have pushed the smoke from the wildfires in south Georgia all the way up to Atlanta, and even a little further northeast here in Watkinsville (and Athens).

we need rain in all of Georgia.

and we're back

now that the Radiant blog is up and running, it's just going to be easier to run things off of one account (yay, Google!). I'll be moving posts over soon. I hope. :-)

Gilmore Girls is ending for good tonight, and I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. maybe too many television relationships have taken their toll . . .

I'm heading up to Nashville for a long weekend next friday, and I just wish it was sooner. I need to get out of town and chill. (no drama this time . . . please!?)

six months

it’s astounding how much or little can change in six months. for me, there’s been alot of change. so much so in fact, that sometimes I don’t recognize myself. it’s only for a moment of course, but it’s true. I was so afraid, so anxious all the time. not so much now. after my grandmother died I finally forgave myself for some things. I’d asked God for forgiveness, asked other people for their forgiveness, but never considered forgiving myself. then one night I finally did. and then I changed a little bit. just a shift, which wouldn’t seem like much, but sometimes that half-step changes the entire piece.

(thud)

is the sound of my bag hitting the floor.

it’s been busy this week! busy is good . . . busy means that time goes quickly . . . busy also means that I have a list of people I need to call back in my free time.

it’s funny to think that this time last year I was working on my Exit show, trying NOT to have a nervous breakdown. that weekend was insane.

I’m trying to get little things ready for the Craft Fix this weekend at COTN . . . hopefully it will be the start of some new things for the women at the church. if enough people are interested, we can start offering some topical Art classes or workshops. this summer I want to try out a more open study format for Radiant Women. one of the books that I would love to offer doesn’t seem like it would work as well for a weekly study as it would for a monthly or three-week study. but it’s a great book, and I think it would be really helpful for some of the younger women. plus, it’s summer . . . who wants to have your weeks booked solid in the summer?? summer in Georgia usually leaves me inclined to find the coolest cave possible and stay there until it’s over . . .

tired

yesterday was the funeral for someone I used to know. she was this wonderful, beautiful woman named Kari who was married to a friend who I’ve know for about as long as I can remember. her death was sudden, and during sleep. she took with her their unborn child as well. as sad and horrible as this might seem to some, she is Home. Kari had these awful seizures, and it was one of those that sent her spirit to Heaven last week. we were all together at the Women’s conference the night before, and it wasn’t until noon the following day that most of us found out. not everyone took it well, or at least at first. I’m not going to go into some of what happened later that day . . . I’m still trying to understand it myself. the leadership of the conference dedicated the last service to her. it was beautiful, full of dancing and worship, just like her.

life keeps going. we said goodbye to two women over the last seven days . . . my aunt and my friend are with the Father.

it’s been a long week, and I’m so tired . . .

the conference

last thursday I left my house a little before 5am (yeah) to head up to Fort Mill, SC for the MorningStar “Women in the Kingdom” conference. it was wonderful. truly awesome. and, as I found out later, it was put together by women who “don’t really like women’s ministries and don’t even really like women.” which makes total sense to me. until recently, most of my friends were guys. I didn’t grow up with any sisters, so I just don’t get that whole thing. and the “typical” female behaviors used to drive me up the wall. all this makes it seem strange I guess that I volunteered to lead a women’s group, right? yeah, I wasn’t asked, I asked them. but I guess maybe that’s why it works, because some of us are tired of the cute (nothing wrong with cute), and want something that’s different. something where we can dig in and say “that snake is MINE, hand me my hoe” and hack the thing to pieces.

anyway, it was a great conference and I feel like I learned alot. not to mention faced some things that I had allowed to stop me from go after things in my life. still it makes me wonder . . . why havn’t some of the others who have been going up there for other conferences brought back the knowledge and skills to pour back into the church here. that baffles me.

trying it out

I'm moving the blog (maybe temporarily, maybe not) here.

-Meredith

(ouch)

it's monday and my head is throbbing . . . probably because of the 9.2 pollen count? I love spring around here, but we need a nice rain shower.

yesterday I went to a dirt bike race . . . it was awesome. this one was an endurance race, so it was about finishing, not finishing first. a couple of my friends' husbands race, so we girls would drive around and meet the guys at the fuel and reset stops. it was so much fun. it was also cool to see the guys being guys . . . reminded me of when I read Wild at Heart.

eeek!

Pastor Rick linked me on his blog . . . at least Jessi is sharing this boat . . .

ok, so I've never been one of those people who was excited about exercising. for one thing, it takes nothing for me to break a sweat. so who knew I'd be one of those people who gets hooked on the post-workout endorphin kick? I've started walking with a friend of mine after work. we're both not to the running point yet, so we go at least half an hour and then do other things on the days when we can't meet. it's GREAT! the mornings after the workouts I feel fantastic - all bright and shiny.

Radiant Women is also great. we're taking it easy in March, which has become the new June, if all of the weddings and baby showers are any indication. the events will kick back into gear in April after Easter. oh, and that reminds me . . . this whole (rather poorly done) "documentary" thing that James Cameron did . . . really. is that all he's got? if you're going to spend all of that time and money trying to debunk a faith then you should at least pick something that might actually possibly work. seriously.

at work we're reading A Celebration of Discipline right now. it's pretty good so far topically. there are some (mostly contemporary) authors that drive me a little crazy with their writing styles, and right now this author is one of them. it's a personal thing . . . I'm one of those oddballs who reads things like Mere Christianity as much for fun as study of the faith. his content is wonderful, it's just the written delivery that I'm trying to sort through. maybe the later chapters will be better . . .

RELEVANT has been having this HUGE moving sale, so I bought a bunch of books that I've been wanting to read. now that I've ordered it, I keep seeing references to G.K. Chesterfield's Orthodoxy everywhere! I really hope that order arrives soon . . .

fun with iPods . . .

this is the soundtrack of your life game:

Opening Credits: "Sin Ella"- The Gipsy Kings
Waking Up: "Time That Bald Sexton" - Danielson
First Day At School: "Beneath Still Waters" - Emmylou Harris
Falling In Love: "Out of the Woods" - Nickel Creek
First Kiss: "Chant" - The Katinas
Fight Song: "Cold" - The Cure
Breaking Up: "This Love" - Stavesacre
Prom: "In a Graveyard" - Rufus Wainwright
Life: "Jenny was a friend of mine" - The Killers
Mental Breakdown: "Butterflyz" - Alicia Keys
Driving: "Baby Sister" - Damien Rice
Flashback: "Fields Of Gold" - Sting
Getting Back Together: "Feeling Good" - Nina Simone
Wedding: "So Simple" - Alicia Keys
Birth of Child: "Ice Cream" - Sarah McLachlan
Final Battle: "Rivers Underneath" - Stavesacre
Death Scene: "It'll All Work Out" - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (Elizabethtown)
Funeral Song: "Oh! Sweet Nothin'" - The Velvet Underground (High Fidelity)
End Credits: "It Is Well With My Soul" - Jennifer Knapp

wow, it's been over a month since that last post . . . oops.

ok, so here go the updates . . . .

my new job? fabulous. I like them, they like me, and I get to be creative. (insert happy dance) and, OK, I figured working in a church office would be busy, but I didn't know it would be as busy as it is. crazy.

my social life is sorta on hold. not entirely mind you, but I've been working on all of the catch-up, fix-up, and straighten-up details in my life, and that takes a while. being an artist I tend to collect things, even when I don't have a place for them. so I've been making places and getting rid of the unnecessary, which is coming along great, although not in a weekend.

I'm leading/coordinating a women's ministry in my church for the 20s & 30s age ladies. I kept missing the community we used to have, and we needed one at COTN, so with the time I have now that I have this new job . . . voila. if you can't find it, make it. right?

anyway, I have more boxes to go through . . .

wait a minute

I'm hoping that this week goes by quickly. it's my last one before I start my new job on the 2nd (nice way to start the new year, huh?), and I'm really glad because I'm not sure that I could take much more of this one. but God knew that. going postal on the few hippies and and New-Agies that come into the shop wouldn't be a good thing. for that matter glaring at the older men who think that it is necessary to explain to me the plot of Jurassic park wouldn't be good either. (hey, I saw that move WHEN IT CAME OUT!) I just have to put up with this until saturday, and then I'm done. DONE!

all I need . . .

some really great things have been happening, and I'll be sharing more shortly, but for now enjoy this video I found on YouTube. it's an old friend and one of my favorites of his songs . . .

interlude

well, the instructions from a recently completed project are on their way, but not quite ready yet. for now I'll just say that I'm exhausted. I'm also waiting to hear back about a job. from all appearances it looks like it could be really great. it would also be a reason to stick around Athens for a while yet. and give me more flexibility to travel.