Celebrity Sightings

Just for fun (and with the recent addition of a new celebrity autograph), I thought I'd make a list of my celebrity sightings and the impressions I had of them.

• When I worked at a doctor's office in high school, we had a celebrity patient: Charles Grodin (of Beethoven fame). I remember the one time I saw him at the office he wore a hat and dark glasses. But he looked at me and cheerfully said, "Hello!" He seemed like a nice man.

• At a college visit in Chicago, my friend and I spotted Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey walking arm in arm at the airport. They were in sweats and looked so happy together! And they seemed fine to talk to fans when they were approached.

• At another trip to the airport, my husband and I saw Hank Azaria. He was talking cheerfully to fans, so I felt I had to approach him. I asked him for his autograph and asked if he would do a voice. So he said something to me as Moe (from The Simpsons). He was so friendly!

• On my honeymoon in Hawaii, my husband and I spotted Mike Meyers (Austin Powers, Shrek) on the Hana Highway in Maui. He did not look like he wanted to be approached or even recognized.

• On a flight from Germany, my husband and I saw Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight) in first class. She seemed very friendly as well, although I didn't get a chance to approach her.

• And finally, on a recent trip to NYC, my friends and I saw Rachel Dratch (Saturday Night Live's "Debbie Downer"). My friends had seen her before me, and mentioned it to me. I started spouting about how I would have approached her if I had seen her. So then we saw her again, so I had to live up to my word! She was with her family and was not immediately accessible, so I hung around near her, feeling awkward. Finally, she saw me so I asked for her autograph. She was perfectly sweet and asked for my name. I told her and gave a few compliments. It was fun to meet her!

I think that's a complete list.  Not too bad, huh?  Airports seem the way to go if you want to spot celebrities.  Although, Los Angeles might be an even better bet.

What's in a name?

Before finding out that our baby was a girl, I was thinking a lot about names.  If it had been a boy, he would have been named David, for several reasons.  David is the name of Ryan's father, and also Ryan's middle name.  David also means "beloved", which is what Amy means.  But most of all, David in the Bible was a "man after God's own heart", and what more could I possibly wish for my son? It got me thinking a lot about David.  He was such a sinful man (not that I have the right to say that!).  But his sins were the big ones: lust, adultery, lying, and murder.  So how could this man possibly be so honored by God, that He could be called a man after His own heart?  I think it comes down to the fact that David was passionately in love with God.  His Psalms are a clear indication of that.  Through all his hardships, and all his sins, he always came back to the "unfailing love of God" and rested in that knowledge.

So just because my child will be Audrey Elizabeth instead of David, I still wish that for her.  She can still be a child after God's own heart and be passionately in love with Him, even if her name isn't David.  In fact, I still wish that for me, because I am His beloved, too.

Wishing I had More Memories

Last night I got to thinking about my grandmother, who was an amazing woman and lived a very full life.  Ryan had mentioned traveling to Ireland someday and I remembered that she used to go there every few years.  She was a very well-traveled woman, but to my knowledge, Ireland was the one country to which she kept returning, even well into her 70s.  I started to wonder why she kept going back?  Did she know people there?  Was it just the beauty of the place?  Did she travel around or always just go to one spot?  It actually saddened me that I didn't know and I began to wish she had kept a journal of her life so I could go back and check. Even if she had kept a journal, there's no reason it should have ended up with me over her other grandchildren or her children.  But I would have treasured it, and maybe even made copies for other people to enjoy, too.  Granted, when she first became ill, my father took the time to get her on tape recounting many stories from her life, and I have those on a DVD that I watch occasionally and bawl my eyes out.  But it doesn't answer all my questions, and I was too young to even know to ask questions before she died.

All that got me thinking about this blog and why I write.  I've written before about why I post, and I even touched on it a little bit then:

I also like the thought of having all these posts for my children someday, so that they have something to remember me by.  It’s almost like leaving just a small mark on this world, a small legacy in some way.

But now, when faced having actual children, and not just hypothetical ones, I'm even more convinced that this is a great way to pass on a little bit of my life.  And as I think back to my grandmother, and even generations before her, I wish they could have blogged, too!  So I will take greater care to write about things going on with me (in the most entertaining way possible, so I may stretch the truth at times!).  Who's to say my children or grandchildren will be the sentimental type who will actually care?  I can't say, but I will at least do my part for them.

A Bit of Cheating

I am usually very proud of the fact that I have been able to maintain this blog for over three years, never going an entire month without posting.  But faithful readers will have probably realized that I completely missed July this year!  Well, that is unacceptable to me, so I am going to do a bit of cheating.  But it's not really cheating.  I actually did write some posts in July, I just wasn't ready to publish them yet.  So I will be publishing over the next couple days and pre-dating them for when they were actually written (mostly in July).  I hope you will agree with me that this isn't actually cheating. If you are not yet convinced, here is another reason.  I had extenuating circumstances because... we are having a baby!  And I just wasn't ready to share that with the general public until now, but my thoughts (and my posts) have been on that general subject.  So, without further ado, I will go ahead and publish my July posts.  And if you're not interested in baby stuff or the (possibly ridiculous) wonderings of an expectant mother, I would advise you to just "Mark as Read" and move on.

Prayer

Sometimes I wonder if my baby can hear me when I pray.  I always whisper my prayers because it makes me feel more like I’m having a conversation with God.  Also, I find that my mind wanders a lot less when I pray out loud. So today after I said, “Amen”, I wondered if the baby had heard all that.  And then I wondered if maybe the baby knew who I was talking to, because in its extreme innocence, maybe the only clarity is about its Creator.  The Bible does talk about having faith like little children, because we are more accepting at that age and grow more and more cynical as we grow up.  Maybe babies in the womb are the most accepting because they have actually met their Creator.  In one of the books I’m reading, it mentions that no one still knows how the cells know how and where to divide to become a baby.  But I know: it’s a miracle from God; He is directing their creation and giving them life.  And maybe my baby knows that, too.

It probably all sounds ridiculous.  But being a Christian and having a baby growing inside me has made me more and more in awe of my God.

Psalm 139

This Psalm has become particularly meaningful as I think about the baby developing right now.  It is very comforting to know that God is tending for my baby, even when I don't know how it is doing.

1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.  2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.

5 You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”

12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

First Ultrasound

Tomorrow is my first ultrasound and I’m surprisingly nervous!  It never occurred to me how nervous I’d be about everything during pregnancy, but I am.  So today I searched “nervous about first…” in Google and to my surprise and delight “nervous about first ultrasound”, “nervous about first prenatal visit”, and “nervous about first prenatal appointment” were among top things searched!  I immediately felt better because that showed me that I certainly wasn’t alone.  And how true that was!  I read several forums and it turns out that it’s very common to be nervous about ultrasound appointments.  I guess the thought of finding out that something is wrong is the cause of it. My nausea has also started in the last couple days.  I’m more and more impressed with woman who have horrible nausea and have to work full-time.  But anyway, I was actually happy that I have another symptom because it makes me feel like things are progressing normally.  Plus, I have told myself that I do not want to complain about anything with regards to being pregnant, because I’m just so happy that I am!

I got two pieces of encouragement with regards to the nausea: my aunt says, “I’m glad to hear you’re feeling sick.  Not glad for YOU.  I remember that and it was not at all fun.  But it really is true that it means the baby’s hormones are kicking in and that makes me happy.”  I also got a text from a friend that said, “I’m sorry! But the good news is that if you have nausea, it lowers the chance of a miscarriage.”

So I guess this post is about being encouraged and finding encouragement in expected and unexpected places.  And that’s sorta why I’m writing this blog.  I wish my mother could remember more of her pregnancy experiences, so I thought maybe if I have a daughter, she can read my experiences someday and be encouraged.

In Love with Spring

Our Deck

I am officially in love with spring.  What with the beautiful and warm weather, our new deck and outdoor furniture, and my resolution to read all those books, I've been enjoying this spring more than ever!  I've never had a deck before, and even though it wasn't something we were looking for in a house, I am thrilled that the house we chose came with one.  I go out and just sit outside, enjoying the warmth of the sun, the comfy chairs, and a stack of good books.

A Quote

I just finished reading Reaching for the Invisible God by Philip Yancey, so (just to warn you) you will be subjected to quotes from it for the next couple weeks!  Here is the first, which I chose because I feel like it is talking about me.

A person reared in a Christian home, who has absorbed the faith along with other family values from trusted parents, will one day face a crisis that puts loyalty to the test. She may have had religious experiences, may have felt something of the closeness of God. Without warning, that sense vanishes. She feels nothing except doubts over all that has gone before. Faith loses all support of feeling, and she wonders if she has been living under illusion. At such a moment it may feel very foolish to hold on to faith regardless. Yet, as Ignatius [Loyola] counsels, now is the time to "stand firm." Faith can survive periods of darkness but only if we cling to it in the midst of the darkness.

My niche

My blog does not have any niche besides being my personal blog.  I have thought of converting it to many different types of niche blogs that would go along with my various interests.  I've thought turning into a craft blog, an organization blog (yes, I enjoy organizing things!), a TV blog, a cooking blog (recipes I've tried and love), or even a blog of just lists! Recently, in my role as Social Media Consultant for several small businesses, I've been reading up a lot on SEO or Search Engine Optimization.  Simply put, it is using keywords to get the highest possible rank in a search engine (or at least that's my understanding of it - I'm no expert).  I read an article that gave this useful tip:

Here’s a quick way to get started with smart SEO copywriting without having to know a lot about search engine optimization. Let’s start simple. Drop your website’s URL into the free Google Adwords Keyword Tool to see a list of what Google thinks your website is about. (Don’t worry with what this tool is supposed to be used for. That’s for another blog post.) What you’ll see is a listing of keywords, grouped by major subject, that Google thinks represents the content on your website....

Now, make a list of the major groups which accurately represent the content on your website or the products or services you sell. Go through the keywords Google suggested under those topics and pick out 5-10 keywords or keyword phrases from each grouping. Put those keywords in a spreadsheet or list under the appropriate heading. (See my sample one on the right hand side of the page.) Print that out and keep it handy when you’re writing. Refer to this keyword glossary to remind yourself of the keywords you wish to win and that you need to incorporate them into your content.

He says himself that it's a simplistic approach to writing for SEO, but I really liked the idea (especially for someone like myself that doesn't know much about it to begin with).  So I went ahead and dropped in a few of the blogs I write, including this one.  Well, should I have been surprised when these were the keywords for this one?

• dark chocolate

• chocolate gifts

• gourmet chocolate

• chocolate

• chocolates

• blog

So I guess I have a niche after all!  A blog about chocolate!  Who would have thought? But that's not what this blog is about at all.  It's just about me.  A girl who really likes chocolate.

Books Read in 2009

The list below is all the books I read in 2009 in chronological order.  I will try to summarize my thoughts on each, but with some my memory is a bit hazy already.  The ones I remember are probably also the best literature (with some exceptions).

1. The Tales of Beedle the Bard - Very cute book of short stories from the wizarding world, by J.K. Rowling.

2. Asking for Murder - To be honest, I hardly remember this book by Roberta Isleib. I gave it a 5.5/10, though, so take from that what you will.

3. Preaching to the Corpse - Another by Roberta Isleib that I hardly remember. It also received a 5.5/10.

4. The Alchemist - A fable by Paulo Coelho that I did not really enjoy.

5. High Marks for Murder - I was powering through these murder mysteries for a while. This one is by Rebecca Kent and I gave it a 5.4/10.

6. The Wind in the Willows - I actually wrote a review of this book by Kenneth Grahame.

7. Eragon - I really enjoyed this book by Christopher Paolini. My exact words from my "books I've read" spreadsheet are: "sooo good! can't wait to read the next 3 books; almost made me depressed at how good it is, because this guy was 15 when he wrote it! I wish so much that I could write a fantasy book like this. I love fantasy."

8. Ringing in Murder - Another that I have no recollection of (how sad is that?), by Kate Kingsbury. I gave it a 5.3/10.

9. Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death - I do enjoy M.C. Beaton's books, both the "Agatha Raisin" series and the "Hamish MacBeth" series. This was the first of all the Agatha books and I gave it a 7/10.

10. The Last Sin Eater - This was an excellent book by Francine Rivers. I didn't do a real review of it on the blog, but I did mention and quote from it.

11. Kissing Christmas Goodbye - Another "Agatha Raisin" book by M.C. Beaton. I gave this one a 7.5/10 (I have been enjoying her recent ones more than her earlier ones).

12. Mrs. Pollifax Pursued - To quote from my spreadsheet, "Mrs. Pollifax just seems a rather flat character after reading so many Agatha Raisin books." The book is by Dorothy Gilman and I gave it a 5/10.

13. Port Royal - This is the first in "The Buccaneers" series by Linda Chaikin. If you like Christian Spice (which I do), these books are for you.

14. The Pirate and His Lady - The second in "The Buccaneers" series. If you follow the link to the Amazon page, please ignore the cover art for these books.

15. Jamaican Sunset - The last book in "The Buccaneers" series. I gave these books a 9.1/10, 9.2/10, and 9/10, consecutively and I'm not ashamed to admit that. I found them to be both entertaining and uplifting. My comments from my spreadsheet: "loved this series; writing is very good, especially for a Christian author: she does her research very well as her settings are usually historical; also thumbs up for the bit of romance =)"

16. The Bachelor's Bargain - Another Christian Spice book by Catherine Palmer. I gave it a 8.9/10.

17. Anna Karenina - It may look like I was reading a lot of Christian Spice there for a while, but I was taking breaks from reading Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy, which I found depressing. I did, however, give it a 7/10 and my comments were: "Every time I read a classic, I realize again how inadequate my rating system is. Most of the time I rank on pure enjoyment, but I can't really say I enjoyed this book (except the parts with AK, who I identified with, and that scared me), and I know I would probably appreciate it more with the proper studying of it, but I think a 7 rating shows a combination of the enjoyment factor as well as good literature factor (see ratings for 1984 and Little Women)."

18. The Secret Adversary - This is the first "Tommy and Tuppence" novel written by Agatha Christie. It was a very good mystery.

19. A Spoonful of Poison - Another "Agatha Raisin" novel, by M.C. Beaton, that I can't remember for the life of me. I gave it a 7.8/10, though, so I must have enjoyed it.

20. N or M? - Another good "Tommy and Tuppence" novel by Agatha Christie.

21. Postern of Fate - The final "Tommy and Tuppence" novel by Agatha Christie, which was surprisingly boring. I gave it a 4.2/10, as opposed to the 7's and 8's that the previous "Tommy and Tuppence" books received.

22. Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist - Yet another M.C. Beaton book. I gave this one a 7.6/10, although looking back I think that was probably too generous.

23. The Skeleton in the Closet - Another M.C. Beaton... blah blah blah... 7.7/10.

24. Silk - First book in "The Heart of India" series by Linda Chaikin. Another excellent Christian Spice series.

25. Under Eastern Stars - Second book in "The Heart of India" series.

26. Kingscote - Final book in "The Heart of India" series.

27. Eldest - Second book in the "Inheritance" series by Christopher Paolini. I am really enjoying this series and gave this one a 9.2/10. My comments from my spreadsheet: "only gave it lower rating than Eragon because I found the parts with Roran to be a bit boring at times. Otherwise excellent and highly engaging."

It was good for me to write this list because I realized how few books are on here that I am actually proud of finishing.  In fact, while many of these books were really good, entertaining, and/or worthwhile for other reasons, the only one I am proud of finishing is Anna Karenina.  Now I know I have to set my standards higher this year.  (That probably won't happen.)

If you have any questions regarding my list or would like further information about specific book, please feel free to email me or check out my "books I've read" spreadsheet for every book I've read since the summer of 2002 (when I first started it).