These Are a Few of my Favorite Things

the friendship chronicles: Kari!

Laura — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 03:23:17 +0000

Sometimes in life, friends request a personal blog post. So the proper response, in my opinion, is to have your camera at the ready each time you see them, whatever the setting. Once you gather enough photos, you can write a blog post.I would like to share with you a typical day in my friendship with Kari. Usually this starts with Kari arriving to my house. She typically is bringing flowers, balloons, or puppies for me, but this time I let her in anyways, even though she came empty handed. That is just the kind of friend I am. After the initial greeting, Kari likes to take time to say hello to all of my roommates. It is important to her that no one feels left out. After hello time, we settle in for some friendship time. Sometimes this involves dancing to music videos of fake kids’ bands, baking, and talking about life. I like Kari a lot. She makes me laugh and has good stuff to say. I like hearing about where her life has been and where it is heading. And about the right now stuff too. Our friendship began when she attended the rigorous cupcake camp. I think she’d agree that experience really made her into the person she is today.

This time, we made cupcakes from a box. I know. We were shocked too. We read the directions and thought, could this really be so simple? Although things seemed so easy, we didn’t want to take any chances. We made sure to time each step perfectly, sometimes shouting and leaping in our panic.

One of my favorite things about Kari is that she does my dishes. Anytime! I can call her at 1pm, 1am, or anytime in between, and she is there. What’s that? A fork left out on the counter? Call Kari! Can’t get that food off my pan? Call Kari? A tupperware container growing mold on some 2 month old leftovers? Call Kari!

She really is the best.

Tagged: Friends, humor

this week’s Uganda thoughts

Laura — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:44:35 +0000

This past weekend I got all my flight information for the summer (In case you missed the memo, I will be going to Uganda as a summer missionary!) Having travel dates and a plane ticket arranged… wow… it makes this 1000x more real.

It makes going more exciting, but the plane ticket home also make the reality of leaving after two months all too real. I will undoubtedly miss my friends and family in the States and be excited to see them again, but I also thought about how hard it will be to say goodbye. Right now I only know these kids names, but I already care about them. And it is only March. How will my sister tear me away in August? (don’t worry mom, I promise to come back).

Tonight at Bible study, Beth Moore was teaching on James (which makes sense, since our study is on James); specifically James 3:13-18. Her points were answering the question “What is the good life?” She had a lot of great insight to share, but one that stuck out to me was point number 3: The good life is one that is full of mercy. This is taken from James 3:17, which says, “but the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” Beth made a couple of comments that I keep turning in my mind and in my heart. The first was to ask of yourself and God, “What does a life full of mercy look like?” Secondly, don’t let yourself become overwhelmed and paralyzed by the enormity of suffering in the world. It is important not to take on God’s responsibility – you can’t fix everything. It isn’t your job to do so. But what really got me thinking and encouraged me was that to be merciful, I have to be willing to be emotionally involved. I know that after pouring love into these orphans, it is going to hurt to leave them. But the hyperbolic question in response to that concern is, “Is that pain going to kill you?” The pain means that you love. And yeah, sometimes that might hurt, but it doesn’t mean you should stop loving.

Secondly, in my birthday card from my grandparents, my grandma wrote some words that have just stuck with me and encouraged me. She writes, “We are so excited for you on your plans for this summer… Sounds like a real challenge – will be different from your last mission trip. We’ve never been to Africa but have a number of missionary friends who have. We’ve started praying for your time there. I’m glad you are doing this since we can’t anymore. It is good.” Hopefully they won’t mind me sharing their words with the world (or all 12 of you reading this), but it just really touched my heart. My grandparents did short term missions work for a period of time and I’ve always thought it was so cool what they’ve done and where they’ve traveled. I’m glad to be able to continue on in their legacy of telling others about Jesus.

An Afternoon at the Library

Laura — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:10:36 +0000

Sometimes life calls for reading more than fairy poetry. (not always. but on some rare occasions)

And because my friends are awesome, they invited me to an excursion into the past, via the James J. Hill St. Paul public library. We entered the periodical room full of hope and anticipation, and the magazines spanning the last century did not disappoint. I looked at National Geographic magazines from 1905 and enjoyed Life magazines from the 1940s. Vogue, Vanity Fair, Saturday Evening Post, and Ladies Home Journal are just a few titles that we perused during our time in history.

I was fascinated by reading interviews with Neil Armstrong, learning about the lives of socialites, getting tips for cleaning my kitchen, seeing photographs from the earthquake and subsequent San Francisco fire, figuring out what should be in my traveling wardrobe, reading an interview with Winston Churchill, seeing presidential campaigns from the days of yore, looking at heartbreaking photos of Jewish refugees trying to go to Israel after WWII, and more.

But the most entertaining part by far, was the advertisements. I loved that they were like stories.

And I loved all the relationship advice I took home that day. If I follow all the advice I saw, I will probably be married by spring break. Here is just a sampling of the pearls of wisdom that history shared with me.

this article offered some insight into what guys and girls are thinking on first dates

when in doubt, cook campbell's soup! that is the way to a man's heart

this cartoon goes on to tell you that dating isn't just about good breath and general cleanliness, as other ads might lead you to believe. You also need to have plenty of pep. And that you can get from eating cereal with plenty of vitamins in it!

a question not to be taken lightly

the headline says it all

Tagged: Friends, history, humor, library, vintage

Happy President’s Day!

Laura — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:12:34 +0000

I’m not going to lie. I’m a little bit disappointed in myself that I have no formal President’s Day celebration planned. We all remember last year, right? No? Let me refresh your memory on why it was the best Presidents Day.

First of all, we spent most of that day at Spring Training with the MN Twins. They loved seeing us there, and according to this birthday message that Amber delivered on their behalf, they are struggling without us. (Boys, you could easily solve this by purchasing tickets for us. Money does not grow on trees, but you could afford it better than I can).

Dear Laura, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Our hearts are so sad that you are not with us in Florida. We could have ate cheetos together at lunch or showed you the best outlet deals (this is a specific note from Drew). It is hard to practice today without our #1 fan in attendance but we will do our best. Look out for our special bday present to you–winning more than games than losing in 2012! Have a wonderful day, you mean the world to us.
Love,
The Minnesota Twins

More important than our time with the MN Twins was our Presidential reports that we prepared pre-vacation and brought with us to Florida. Each of us had a uniquely formatted presentation. Some with visual aids, others with books, photos, or a 6 foot long acrostic. Yes, we are in fact that awesome. A night of learning and patriotism. I think Washington and Lincoln would have been proud.

Because I’d imagine you are hoping to make your own day a little more presidential, here are some links to check out:

Little Known Facts about Presidents

George Washington Loved Ice Cream and Other Fun Facts about US Presidents

These are straight from the White House, so you know they’re legit.

I can only hope that Amber will show up to Bible study tonight wearing her most patriotic shirt. (hint, hint)

Tagged: Friends, President's Day

Meet Magic. My pet unicorn.

Laura — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:24:21 +0000

It was a glorious day when Magic the Unicorn came into my life. It was quite unexpected, really. I was sitting, innocently chatting in Jill’s kitchen, when Rachel arrived. But Rachel didn’t arrive alone. Nope. Rachel looked a bit wind-blown, because I’m pretty sure she rode Magic over a rainbow and through the skies to come to my birthday lunch. How she said goodbye to Magic, I will never understand. But don’t worry, Rachel. Magic has a good home.

If you too are considering a pet unicorn, there are some things you should keep in mind.

First of all, if you are going to the arboretum, or really anywhere, you will need to get a trustworthy unicorn-sitter. These are not easy to come by.

Secondly, unicorns really are magical. If you are driving home and suddenly need to slam on your brakes, unicorns will act as an airbag, saving your camera and pretty tulips from smashing into the ground.

Thirdly, unicorns are really easy to talk to. They are nice company while sipping coffee and reading a book in the morning.

Fourthly, unicorns don’t always have a lot to say. This can be nice if you need to some time to think. But if you are driving in the car together, sometimes they are so quiet that you forget they are even there, and then you see shadowy movement out of the corner of your eye and you will jump and feel all panicky and scared. Then you will bravely peek over and see that it is just your pet unicorn. And all will be right with the world again.

Fifthly, unicorns never turn down a game of Candyland and will always compliment your hair.

So really there are only pros to having a pet unicorn. Go lasso one in a nearby field today! Or you can always come over and hang out with me and Magic.

I’d love to chat more, but I think I hear Magic calling. I promised that we could watch My Little Pony on Netflix.

Tagged: Friends, humor, ridiculousness

I am blessed.

Laura — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 04:38:46 +0000

This has been one of those days that just blows me away with encouragement.

I have to admit, I was not as excited as usual for my birthday – maybe I’m just tired of getting older?

I was much younger in this picture. And my sister was super excited that I had arrived in her life.

But my birthday just served to remind me of how blessed I am.

To be perfectly honest, if you’d asked me at pretty much any point growing up what I thought my life would be like at 29, my answer would not have described my current life. The journey God has taken me on certainly has not been at all what I expected. But I then today I thought about how God has taken such good care of me, and blessed me with so many amazing people in my life, and given me some incredible opportunities. I still am excited for what He has in store for me in the future, but looking back, I also would not have want to have missed any stops along the way or missed out on the ways He has worked in my life up till now.

Facebook tells me that 103 friends posted on my wall to wish me a happy birthday. What facebook doesn’t tell you is how awesome it was to receive some encouraging notes from many unexpected, yet awesome people. From my high school youth pastor’s wife, to my missionary roommate in Japan, to co-workers, to friends, to family. I just felt so lifted up and cared about.

Then there are the friends who sent me an evite to a fun birthday afternoon in my honor… they literally made an evite just to invite me over. I felt so special!

I also got to have dinner with my amazing family tonight, and my aunt made me delicious mint chocolate cupcakes.

Cards were written, phone calls were made, texts were sent, gifts were given, and time was spent with people I love. It was wonderful. How did I get so lucky to have such encouraging, fun, loving, generous, and amazing friends and family?

The past few weeks have been kind of rough. Sometimes you just need to feel loved. And today I certainly did. Thanks friends! You are the best. For reals. I love you all. And tonight I will go to sleep with a smile of my face. :)

Tagged: birthdays, blessings, Family, Friends

A Baseball Birthday!

Laura — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:19:39 +0000

Because Amber and I like to have birthday parties like we are still seven years old, we planned some sweet decorations and forced our guests to play games. It was pretty much awesome. Here’s all the important and non-important details about our 1991 Twins World Series Game Seven Par-tay!

The Decor: Streamers in the colors of the MN Twins, library books (gotta keep things educational), and basically any MN Twins themed items we could find around our homes. Tiffany made us a cute birthday banner with clementines, tooth picks, cardstock, and yarn.

The Food: Ball Park Themed. We had hot dogs, soft pretzels w/cheese, chips, cracker jacks, candy, clementines, puppy chow, and more. Rachel even brought her cotton candy maker! Sadly, we forgot to use it. It was all delish. I felt like I was at Target Field. Or the Metrodome in 1991.

The Fun: We spent the evening watching the Twins Game. We divided our friends into two teams. Were these teams evenly matched? One was good with baseball trivia, and one was good at random tasks that you can’t train for. So, yes? Between innings, we asked random trivia questions (let me emphasize random), and played games like we were at the ballpark. We found the Race to Target Field online. Go ahead, watch it. I won’t tell you who wins.

We had a wiffle ball toss (think old school – dropping the baseballs down from the stands into the back of the pick-up truck. And yes, they bounced right out of our bucket just like they always bounced out of the back of the truck)

And a designated driver drawing, winning Aaron a Twins keychain, AND a point for his team.

The Music: Rachel, Laura, JaNahn, and James serenaded us with the Star Spangled Banner. In one of my more ridiculous life moments, we all sang Take Me Out to the Ballgame. The sing-a-long was of course, Happy Birthday.

The Prizes: Naturally we had certificates for the winners and losers. (twins certificates)

Our friends were good sports and played along with Amber and I’s birthday dreams. Thanks guys.

every baseball birthday party needs a giant baseball birthday brownie

And I’d like to thank the following people for making my birthday party possible:

Scott, for his idea and his dvd
Tiffany, for helping me clean up before and after the party and for her trip to the library to facilitate learning and decorating
James, for making the yearly trek down to Minneapolis for our birthdays
David, for cheering for the Braves. Again.
Rachel, for leading the songs
Rachel, for printing certificates
Rachel, for stopping by after a busy day
Shawn, for puppy chow and general awesomeness
Aaron, for hot dogs and wiffle ball skills
Laura, for ice cream sundae toppings
JaNahn, for canceling your work trip
Molly, for coming even though you have no history with or love of the Twins
Kerri, for sending me a card on modified work stationary
Amber for your co-planning, co-birthdaying awesomeness.

I’m lucky to have such awesome friends.

All in all, it was a pretty intense game. My parents were there. I tried to call them to see if we could spot them on tv, but then we remembered that there weren’t cell phones yet. Go Twins!

Tagged: baseball, birthdays, Friends, Twins

Party Like It’s 1991!

Laura — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:18:40 +0000

Amber and I have birthdays that are exactly a week apart. Since becoming friends, we have thrown ourselves a joint birthday party. Each year we try and think of something more awesome (or at least equally awesome) to the year before. It is tricky business, I tell ya.

We have already done dueling pianos, ice skating and milk shakes, and free unlimited rides at the Mall of America. This year we thought: tubing! Mother nature thought: Hope you have a plan B!

Since all the snow melted between the inviting and the celebrating, we had to come up with a Plan B. Fortunately, our favorite “idea man”, Scott, was on the job.

The theme: Party Like It’s 1991/MN Twins Baseball.

If you add those two things together, you get: Game 7 of the World Series 1991.

I’ll share all the fun details tomorrow, but I’ll tide you over with…

the matchy-matchy shirts me and Amber wore:

This is not Amber or myself, but rather a kindly stranger from the internet modeling the cute t-shirt

And my sister’s hilarious list of thematic party suggestions:

1. Amber could be Dan the Music Man and be weird/awkward about playing music. 2. People could put on oversized clothes and run around bases you set up in the street. 3. Someone could get an award. 4. You could show a heartwarming video montage. 5. Someone for sure needs to sing the national anthem. 6. I’ll bring Lucy, Rachel brings Bear and we have them run walk around your house like it is Take your dog to the ballpark day. 7. We all do yardwork (or housework) while pretending to be groundskeepers. 8. We play catch and stretch. 9. We eat a lot of food. 10. We get your neighbors to walk around your street, acting lost and not paying attention, while we try to walk upstream from them, getting irritated since we know right where we are going. 11. We sit around and talk about everyone else (people watching!)

Ok, come back tomorrow. While I’m spending my birthday frolicking with fairies and gnomes, you can be soaking in all the baseball fun of last weekend.

Tagged: baseball, birthday, Friends, Twins

Schoolhouse Rock vol. 9

Laura — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:08:02 +0000

Valentine’s Day Continues…

We are done learning about celebrations, but apparently they children love applying their knowledge to new situations into which they may or may not apply.

While writing on the topic, “What is love?” one child suddenly says, “My favorite song is We Wish You a Merry Christmas”. Then goes back to his coloring.

Another child was excited to show me that he was wearing two different shades of green. I think you are thinking of St. Patrick’s Day, kiddo.

A third child came in the door in the morning, excited to report that a little girl was at her locker and had a red rose, a red card, and a red folder. He followed this information up by saying, “It is like she’s Chinese!” I sat, perplexed, for a moment. Then I figured out the connection. When we were learning about Chinese New Year, as well as birthday traditions in China, both involved red being good luck. Awesome.

Tagged: children, humor, kid quotes, Kindergarten, Valentine's Day

What is Love? (schoolhouse rock vol. 8)

Laura — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:09:51 +0000

As you sit down to read this, I hope that you are wearing a super fancy Valentine’s Day outfit today. Perhaps one that looks a little bit like this:

Each year in kindergarten, I ask the kids the question, “What is love?” Their responses are always heartwarming, hilarious, and sometimes confusing. This year is no exception.Love is…

Hugging

To be loving with your family and giving hugs

Having a picnic and giving friends cards

Hugging my grandma

Sharing my car with my uncle.

Love is…

Give hugs to another

Giving and Sharing

I love my mom. I show her by hugging her or kissing her

I hug my mom and dad. I want to hug my little sister. We are dancing under these lights.

Playing

Love friends because we play outside

Love is…

Holding peoples hand.

Loving your family. That you are playing with your family and spending time with them.

Giving cards.

I’m happy when my dad hugs me.

is that not the sweetest picture??

I love you. I do love my mom.

I love you. I love my mom. I love the park.

I’m not sure what this has to do with love, but I love the random fish. And mostly I love that the student said, “I’m going to draw a mustache.” and he did.

I would like to add to their list:

Love is making your teacher a Valentine’s Day Princess crown. As one child put it, “I am the queen of this kingdom”

Love is, remembering that your teacher was sad when another child stole her gum from her desk, and bringing your teacher a new pack of gum for Valentine’s Day.

Tagged: children, kid quotes, Kindergarten, love, Valentine's Day