the honorary swedish citizen

Only in a small town...

2007-12-05T07:46:00.000-06:00

Would walking home from school in the snow make the front page!
Winona Daily News

I finally finished!

2007-11-30T16:12:00.000-06:00

In the midst of a really crappy season of life, I had a little victory. I finished my first knitting project, EVER!

My Thanksgiving Plans

2007-11-17T09:34:00.000-06:00

Boise is a delightful blend of traditional and non-traditional sights and attractions. The City of Trees boasts one-of-a-kind museums and urban parks, a river flowing through the heart of the city and a 25-mile river front greenbelt. Among the many unique sites to visit are the Basque Museum and Cultural Center, Morrison-Knudsen Nature Center, Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial, Idaho Black History Museum and the World Center for Birds of Prey. Southwest Idaho’s easily accessible outdoors beckons the Boise visitor to enjoy nearby mountains, desert sand dunes, canyons and whitewater rafting rivers. Boise is the perfect city for a memorable visit.

Can't wait!

What to do on a Saturday...

2007-11-10T08:09:00.000-06:00

So today I am stuck without a car which poses a little problem. They guys are STILL not done with our floor replacement which means we are going on day 8 with a house that is totally disheveled and not entirely liveable. I haven't cooked in who knows how long and spend my days trying to find stuff to do in our upstairs or hanging out a coffee shops.
And today I am in a pickle because Craig has the car. I was supposed to help out with ECFE's Flippin' for Books, or at the least show up (since I am a member of the early childhood's PTA) but alas, two miles one way just seems like a long way to walk. But I still have to vacate the premises, so we might go see Bee Movie. (Movie Theater: .9 miles.) This is the main reason for my post. I found some really great websites that help parents make better decisions about what movies are appropriate for your kids. We need all the help we can get.
Plugged In and
Common Sense

New Haircut

2007-10-26T15:01:00.000-05:00

I guess I realized that literally every time I could write here, it could be deep and dark. So I decided to keep it light a fluffy. I want to talk about my new hair cut. I realized that my "thing" is hair. Some people have shoes (don't get me wrong, I love shoes too) and some people have tattoos. Some people like purses or maybe even jackets. But yes, mine is hair. I almost never get the same cut. Last year, my hair was down to the middle of my back, and how it does not even touch my shoulders. Sometimes it is lighter, or redder, or highlighted, or even black.
I took a picture of my hair so that it could be documented. (Keep in mind I just got done walking eight blocks in the rain.) Also through this experience, I realized that it is very, very difficult to take your own picture in a mirror. Kudos to anyone who does a good job at it.

What's new?

2007-10-14T22:41:00.000-05:00

It is funny when people come up and ask me, "What's new?" or "How's it going?" I really struggle with how to answer this because most of the time it is not going so great. In fact, not to be the proverbial Debbie Downer or anything, but I really can't remember when things were going awesome. Right now Fran is doing badly in school. She kicks other kids. She bites. Spits. Opera sings. Has to sit in solitary confinement when she is naughty because traditional methods don't work with her. But in all honesty, she is not a traditional kid.
Gus is having a hey-day being defiant. I know he's only four, but I am getting tired of being opposed everytime I make a request of him.
Craig is grumpy. He doesn't listen to me when I talk. I sorta feel like I am just talking to no one at times. I could say really rediculous things and he wouldn't even realize my mouth was moving. He is stressed being the only one at church again and it is weighing on him. All the work falls on him as well as all the hateration. It sucks. I can't even explain what it feels like to have people mad at you just because they don't like the songs your husband picked out for worship or because they don't like where the cross is displayed this week. I got nasty looks from a church member today because someone was spreading lies about me. I kid you not. I have never done anything to merit this treatment, just someone believing a bunch of crap that they have been fed.
I am always bummed out. My house is a disaster, the toilet overflowed, the flooring has to be ripped up, Gus spilled about a gallon of water on the carpet in his room and now it smells like poop, I have no closets in this house and no where to put all the crap that seems to collect in certain hot spots all over my house. My ironing board is overflowing. You can't walk in my office because of the junk from the bathroom where the toilet overflowed is in there. We have mice. My only friend in town moved away. All the moms at church think I am weird. Or evil. Or snotty. Or something else. I don't have a job. Or anything. Oh and my car makes weird noises when you go over a bump.
This is not even getting into the drama that I suffer from having constant family drama. Stuff comes at me from all sides. So how could I ever just tell people all this stuff? No one cares, really. I have decent health, kids, a house, a husband... I really don't have much to complain about other than the fact that I can't remember a time I was really, truly, happy.
I really like to watch this show called LA Ink. If you haven't seen it, you should check it out. It is all about tatooing, the artists who tatoo, the people who get the tatoos, why they get the tatoo they get, and everything that could go along with it. I got to thinking about what kind of tatoo I would get and why. I have always loved that swallow tatoo that Jack Sparrow has on his arm and I thought that would be cool to get, cause pirates are pretty rad. I like the idea of a bird, all free and happy... So I came up with this. Two swallows holding a banner that says "FAITH" and "HOPE." Now this is just in my mind, don't get all freaked out yet. If you think it is too cliched, that's cool... just bear with me. So the reason that I choose these two words was because I cling to them. I have to have hope, every day, that things will get better. I don't know what else I have if I can't at least hope that God has something really awesome for me around the corner. I can't even know what that is, I just have to have hope. And the faith part? I have to have faith that it will come true and that it is what God wants for me.
I guess when people ask me how things are going, I could answer, "Faith and Hope," but I think I will stick with, "I'm ok. How are you doing?" And leave it at that.

ValleyFair! and Other Antics

2007-08-09T14:41:00.000-05:00

So yesterday we went to ValleyFair!, a really great amusement park. (It is owned by Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH which I hear is really great, too, but have never been there.) Anyway, I have not been to an amusement park since I was in high school. We lived right by Six Flags Great America for 5 years and never went. So I told Craig that I was making an executive decision for our family. This summer we would be going to ValleyFair!.
Yesterday was the day. My parent's had the kids for a week and a half and the plan was to meet them at ValleyFair! and spend a day there. Craig balked at the idea, but went along with it (he said he liked rides, but didn't want to waste a day there.) He went, although rather unwillingly. He didn't last long, though. He gets sick easily and bored quickly. But after a little while, he started having fun hanging out, and I found something out, too. My dad and I were having a blast, just like in the old days. You see, my dad and I love rides. A lot. We will go on any coaster you put in front of us, the faster the better. We went on all the major coasters, the High Roller (the original coaster attraction from 1976, the oldest and most classic), the Corkscrew (yes, upside down), the Excalibur, The Wild Thing(a 200ft 60 degree drop that goes over 76 mph... it is the one in the picture), The Renegade, and we even went on the Power Tower. (I exited this ride saying that I thought I had just had an embolism. They drop you 250 feet, and you are weightless for over 3 seconds. Believe it or not, it is taller by 75 feet than Valleyfair's number-one rated ride -- Wild Thing. Only FAA height regulations from Flying Cloud Airport prevented Power Tower from being even taller.)
Anyway, my dad and I went on a bunch of rides together and we would get off laughing and relating to my mom how awesome the ride was. She would laugh and call us crazy, just like when I was little; the routine hadn't changed a bit. It was great.
I didn't know how I would how I would feel, I mean a lot has happened since the last time I went (ie kids) but it was really great to feel like I was 12 all over again. And being scared silly is pretty fun too.

No kids? What will you do with yourself?!

2007-07-31T12:02:00.000-05:00

I will get all of my recipes on my computer, that's what I'll do. I am doing this because I want to put together my own recipe book for new brides. We go to at least 5 weddings a year and to have a gift ready and waiting, put together with my own time and talent will be awesome. So here is one of my entries so far:

White Chili
from Jenah

3 15 oz cans great northern beans, drained (or equal amount of reconstituted)
8 oz cooked and shredded chicken breasts
1 cup chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped red or green bell peppers
2 jalapeno chili peppers, stemmed, seeded, and chopped (optional)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
sour cream
shredded cheddar
tortilla chips

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker except the last three. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or on High 4-5 hrs. Ladle into bowls and top with sour cream, chips and cheese. A Hensel favorite.

Serves 8.

So Cute

2007-07-26T22:59:00.001-05:00

Why can't we have cute stuff like this for our little girls and preteens here in the States to watch? Look at them! They're wearing Hanna Anderson, for crying out loud! What we do have are skanky 'hos like Lindsay Lohan for our girls to look up to. They parade around flashing their bare butts at everything that moves while high on coke and crashing their Escalades into inanimate objects. Man, I love our country.

The Hard Stuff

2007-07-25T16:01:00.000-05:00

There are some good things about being a pastor's wife, but most of the stuff is hard. I'll be honest. Really hard. Like today.
I only have two "best" friends in the world (other than family members) and my friend Ingrid is one of them. On Saturday, three of her friends were in a car accident. Two of them died. It is not fair to Ingrid, or anyone else for that matter, that these two young men were taken from family and friends long before it would be expected.
Yesterday was the reviewal and today was the funeral. And let me just say, they sucked. As a friend, I am required to be there for my friend emotionally, but as a pastor's wife, I need to drop everything and physically be there. Don't get me wrong, I would not have wanted to miss being there for Ingrid, but these things are some of the hardest things that cross my path. No one likes to go to funerals, but it is sometimes even harder when you are there to be support for the mourner and not mourning yourself. I hate having to see my best friend cry and sob and go through that stuff.
So here's to my brothers and sisters in Christ: Just know that yes, this is my job. But I love you and would do it anyway, because that's what its all about.

What kind of coffee are you? (This is essential for all days lived beyond this point.)

2007-07-23T15:01:00.000-05:00

You Are a Double Espresso

Hey Energizer Bunny Girl! Do you ever slow down?
You're a mix of high energy and ambition, perfectly matched with strong espresso
When you want something you get it - by any means possible
You're driven, determined, and no nonsense. Which is just how you like your java.

What Kind of Coffee Girl Are You?

Exactly.

Trying to be Domestic

2007-06-06T15:11:00.000-05:00

You know, I think one of the biggest challenges for me is being domestic. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love a clean bathroom, but I guess it just isn't my first priority. I really have to work hard to stay at home and do something that I "should" do. Here is an example. My office is ALWAYS in a complete state of disarray. I hate it. Craig hates it. But it is like trying to stay best friends with Paris Hilton. There are high times of my relationship with my office. But the low times are low, very low.
I have struggled forever to live up to what I was taught was the ok standard for what my home should be. My mom is a more than a model homemaker, she is what homemakers aspire to be when they get good at it. Her house is SO FREAKING CLEAN I might venture to say that germs have given up and moved to the creepy looking house next door. (Or maybe they have shacked up in the meat my mom isists upon defrosting on the counter, OVERNIGHT. Please, Mom, please defrost that crap in the microwave before you and Dad die of food borne illnesses.) I think she vacuums before the dust has a chance to settle from the last time she vacuumed. Everything always looks cute, tidy, put away, dusted, sparkling, fresh, [insert your own adjective or adverb.]
My sister Elly apparently gained most of this skill from my mom. Even though her life is in constant turmoil, she still has time to create awesome crafty things and always keep her house rediculously organized. It is so organized it is amazing. I remember how she used to ask me if she could organize my room. I still to this day, do not know if it is because it was horribly disorganized in her eyes, or she just loved organizing sooo much.
I am good at a few things. The fact was brought to my attention yesterday. One of our college students, Frank, was staying over a couple nights ago because he was catching the Amtrak to Chicago. He forgot his flip flops and I called him because I was concerned that he might need them. At first he deemed them not necessary, but then recanted. I decided that he needed a lunch for the train, too, so I made him one. He was grateful and it was no big deal to me. I know that that sort of a monkey wrench would screw up more than just the morning for some people, but I like those sort of interruptions. I also love to cook. I am not sure if anyone if my family likes it as much as me, but I know my dad benefits greatly from this hobby. He loves it when I cook, especially things like Mushroom Struedel or anything else with a lot of garlic.
I guess re-reading this still leaves me feeling inadequate, like those are ok things but not quite the Standard of Awesome. But maybe someday I will excel at things like some of the fantastic ladies in my life.

Some Crazy Life I Live

2007-05-28T08:36:00.000-05:00

I think that I may be the world's worst blogger. I literally have something insane that I could write about every single day. I guess that is how it goes with pastor's families.
Now I realize that the last time I wrote something here was about 6 months ago. Not acceptable.
Since the last time I wrote here, we voted as a church to dismiss our senior pastor. My daughter graduated from preschool. Craig and I went to San Diego. Then we took a trip with some friends to Chicago. Then Craig and I went to Portland. Then Seattle. We even got a chinchilla! (Get where I am going here? I could've posted a ton of stuff, and this is just the big stuff, not just the daily hilariosities.)
But today, the thing that compels me to post on my blog, is something that no one ever wants to happen to them. I got fired. From a job. Not just any job, but my job at the coffee shop. How hilarious is that? My friends tell me that it is something that has to happen at least once in your life. It makes it even funnier because it wasn't anything that I did, it was a personality clash with my boss. There was nothing that I could do to make the situation better. Believe me, I tried. Nothing helped. At the "firing," I asked her what she thought of my customer service. I told her that I felt like it was awesome and any customer would say the same. She told me that was true, but there is behind the scenes customer service too. Huh, has anyone ever heard of that? Like I said, my firing was a stretch.
Of course, being a PW, I always try to see what God is doing with what happens to me. This couldn't have come at a more perfect time. Here are the "perfect timing" reasons:
1. It is summer. Who wants to get up at 5am to steam milk for 4 hours every day?
2. With Craig being the only pastor at our church now, his responsibilities are going to increase. (More pay for this added work? Bwuahaha!)
3. Something really terrible happened to one of my friends. I felt like now if I need to pack up and leave to go be with her, I can.
4. Literally THE NEXT DAY, I got an offer to come on as a more serious photographer with the guy I have been working with. He is one of the most sought after wedding photographers in the area. (Thanks Dad, for suggesting we go talk to him at that conference!) He saw my work and thought it was amazing.

Moral of the story? I guess I can be anything I want when I grow up. But that doesn't mean I am cut out for everything.

45 Random Things About Me

2006-11-27T17:33:00.000-06:00

1. I hate seafood. It literally makes me gag.
2. I once saved my sister Elly from drowning (we won't mention that it was sorta my fault she fell in the lake in the first place.)
3. I hate the color purple.
4. One job I had was in a costume shop in a theatre. It was super fun building costumes.
5. I threw up for the first five months of my pregnancies. Yes. Both of them. I was always thinner AFTER I had kids.
6. I had the same Bible study group all the way through junior high and high school. Our names were: Jennie, Joy, Janna, Jenah, and... Elizabeth. I still keep in touch with Jennie and Joy. We have been friends since the 3rd grade.
7. I love to sing and have been a back up singer on an album. Here is the address... you can hear me singing! Listen: http://www.timlemmens.com/songs/kum_ba_yah.mp3
8. Charlotte Church used to make me cry. Not sure why.
9. I am in love with Culver's. I can't get enough.
10. I was born in 1979 in MN. Funny how you end up back where you started out.
11. I am a humanitarian.
12. We only have one car and prefer not to use it if we can. (It happens to be a VW Passat, though, and it rocks.)
13. I am an environmentalist and I feel it is my responsibilty to be that way as a follower of Christ. (Hence, #12.)
14. I dislike being called a Christian. I love being called a follwer of Jesus or a Student of Jesus.
15. We have 2 kids and there we'll stay.
16. I am totally proud of my Pastor Dude and he kicks butt at what he does.
17. I lived in inner city Chicago for almost 5 years. They were some of the best years of my life.
18. One of my best friends is Fran, and incidentally, that is the middle name of my daughter.
19. I am extremely stubborn.
20. I love to run.
21. I love to take pictures.
22. I lived in Italy for a summer doing my internship and took a trip around Europe with the aforementioned Fran. It was awesome.
23. I graduated from Moody Bible Institute with a BA in Urban Ministries in '01.
24. I am completely in love with my sister who almost drowned because of me... I think she is one of the coolest people I know.
25. My other sister is a chef. Isn't that awesome??
26. I am the oldest.
27. I can speak Swedish. Språka svenska?
28. I love to cook. I am always making new things.
29. I don't like fruit but I love veggies.
30. I am completely obsessed with my body image, yes, I admit it.
31. We are "flexitarians" which means basically that we don't eat a lot of meat. But not opposed to eating it now and again. I have to have a burger every once and a while... c'mon.
32. I donated my hair to Locks of Love.
33. I looooove to write our Christmas letter. In fact, I start thinking about it for the next year shortly after I write the one for the current year.
34. I am learning to be a barista.
35. My son looks creepily just like me.
36. Lots of people tell me I look like Julia Roberts.
37. On the first day of kidergarten, a boy had his foot over the first seat on the bus and I wanted to sit there. I told him to "Move it or loose it." He moved.
38. I was once arrested in Chicago and taken to Cook County in a paddy wagon. It sucked. I was never charged.
39. I broke my arm when I was 8 and it went unnoticed for long enough that I didn't get a cast. When I finally went in to get an x-ray a week later, it had started healing perfectly and never needed a cast.
40. Our house was built in 1882.
41. My first date ever was a Cub's game. It was with my husband.
42. I attended my first year of college in my senior year of high school.
43. I mentored a little girl in inner city Chicago while living there. Her name was No-No.
44. I love to watch MTV and VH1.
45. I am terribly afraid of riding in a car with more that 4 adults in it.

2006-09-08T15:50:00.000-05:00

THE RESULTS ARE IN!!!

And here they are...
Sonja voted yes. (She also wanted to know what the heck IS Locks of Love? I could describe it but here is the site, Sonja: locksoflove.org)
AJ and Jonathan said to go for it.
Peter had no opinion.
Teresa said CHOP IT. (Those were her exact words.)
Craig, of course, said keep it.

So, I got rid of it. This is a big change, but I know someone else will be happier with my hair than I was.

2006-09-05T13:22:00.000-05:00

Should I or shouldn't I? That is my question. I have been getting a little sick of my long hair and I was thinking that maybe I should donate it to Locks of Love. Here are some examples of what my hair looks like now:

And here is a link to what I want it to end up looking like (my apologies to the fact that it is a teeny bopper... just like the haircut.)here it is, you'll have to cut and paste (I"M SORRY!):
http://www.beautyriot.com/article.php?id=3311&c_id=63
So, here's the deal. I am pretty sure that I have never done this before, but I am going to take a survey. Please tell me what you think I should do by emailing me at: cricketflicka@hotmail.com and tell me if I should keep it or donate it! I will post the results in a few days. Thanks for the input!

2006-09-03T13:15:00.000-05:00

this morning at breakfast our conversation went something like this:

franny: the ferris wheel is the FAIREST wheel.
me: oh really? what was your favorite ride at the MOA?
franny: the merry go round!
me: what? i thought you liked the log ride the best?
franny: no, i was scared i was gonna fall out!
me: but you didn't though, and that is half the fun, being scared.
gus: i didn't go on the log ride, i was to thcary.
franny: gus, you're too little to go on the log ride
gus: no i'n not, i'n a big boy now.

yes gus, yes you are.

haloween costumes?

2006-09-02T12:57:00.000-05:00

today aiden took an insole from a shoe, put his foot on it and said, "look! i'm an insole!"

a sad day for my le sport sac

2006-08-29T08:41:00.000-05:00

i got this super cute bag from fran (not to be confused with franNY, and don't ever call fran "franny." you've been warned. i am not liable for the travesties that may befall you from this point on.) anyway, fran and i had a wonderful time frolicking throughout europe, but we did however, spend a lot of time in airports being that our main method of getting from here to there was ryan air (stop the limerick jokes, now.) anyway, we would occasionally pick up a fashion or gissip mag and one apparently had a large spread devoted to le sport sac bags. i commented on how i wanted one really bad and we then flew off to bratislava or dublin or somewhere.

for christmas, craig's family really gets into the gift giving thing and good lord almighty if you don't have an explicit list of everything you could possibly want in all price ranges. this goes for both his dad and step mom (from whom i have received dvd players, computer scanners, big buck gift certificates, etc. this, however, is NOTHING compared to what my sister receives from her in laws. i am pretty sure new cars and trips to europe come into the picture now and then.) anyway, craig's mom is no exception to the gift giving glee. for my list to her, i remember putting an $80 le sport sac on my list. but when she went to buy it, all of them had been given good homes because of their sheer cuteness. she felt bad that she missed the small window of opportunity and i ended up getting a lot of cash from her instead.

after fran and i returned to the states, i had the feeling that fran might not want to see me ever again (at the end of two weeks together, we were a little on edge and something sent us over said edge. it had to do with a ride back from o' hare, a few english £'s, some chips, and a monster truck driver named george with a mohawk to rival travis barker's, any day.) she was not mad for too long though, just busy being that between thanksgiving and christmas eddie bauer on michigan ave tends to get a little swamped. anyway, we were not able to see each other at christmas but one of our friends from chicago came to visit craig. he brought with him "uh, something fran sent, maybe a christmas present or something." it was a shopping bag from nordstrom's that he handed over. THERE IT WAS. MY LE SPORT SAC. i called her immediately and gushed gratitude. "oh yeah," she said. "don't you remember in that gossip mag? the one with the tell all about posh and becks? well, yeah, there was an ad in there and you said you wanted one."

now i remember why you are my best friend, fran.

so here is where the story gets sad. i have been having issues with my le sport sac for a while now. some of the seams are ripping out and i have been avoiding sending it in because i love using it so much and i literally get one or two comments about how cute it is.. EVERYTIME I TAKE IT OUT. it is kind of like that commercial where the lady comments about "how cute they are" (referring to this other lady's twins) and she is like "oh yeah, i have them in lime green, too" (referring to her shoes.) but it happens to me in reverse.

check-out girl at target: whoa. soo cute!

me: i know, it is weird how much she looks like her dad...

check-out girl at target: no i mean the bag? where'd you get it!?!?!!

and i swear that this purse has caused about 5 other people to run immediately to the store to purchase one. my other best friend, ingrid, keeps asking me if i don't mind that she and her twin "copied" me. my friend, lindsay "just found one" laying around. never has one fashionable item caused such a wave in among my circle of friends. (the debate over gaucho pants, however, did cause a considerable stir.)

anyway, i have to send it in for repairs and i am not sure what i am going to do without it. so, here's to you, le sporty, i will miss you while you are gone. i guess i'll just stuff everything in a target bag till you get back.

from corn rows to rows of corn...

2006-08-21T22:07:00.000-05:00

today i went to walmart. (yeah, i know. and can i say that walmart must feel no remorse for a lack concern for the environment or humanity itself?) anyway, i went to walmart and i saw a group of amish women.

*flashback*

the first few months here in se mn were really, really hard. it was cold, über cold in the middle of that january. we suddenly went from a cozy one bedroom apartment to a big, drafty house. i had a newborn who screamed every time she moved more than .5 mm away from my boob and a husband who fled everytime he perceived this scenario would take place. i felt really alone. my sister was thousands of miles away in sweden and my best friend fran was in chicago. all normalities were gone. i kept rreferring to the "iga" as "jewel" or "dominicks" and i was having 24 hour walgreen's withdrawal. what the heck do people do when they need hemorrhoid cream at 3am?!? if my car wouldn't start, how would i get somewhere without the 'el'? at least i could walk to the "jewel" on a sidewalk. but i was a long way from chicago.
i remember grocery shopping once in the first few alienating months in this little town and seeing an amish couple at country market (iga.) i was so shocked, i mean you see a lot of crazy stuff in chicago, but nothing like this! the dude had a straw hat! the chic was wearing a bonnet! if anyone remembers this story from the first christmas letter i sent out chronicling our first year here i related said event. i exclaimed something like, "i have gone from thugs to bugs, corn rows to rows of corn, and pop! pop! to whoa, nelly!"

*flashback from the flashback?*

so here, almost five years later, i am at walmart looking at the "crabs" (lobster) with franny and gus and i see this pack of amish with their plum colored dresses held together with tiny stitches and straight pins, clad in black bonnets. they were carefully eyeing boxes of cereal and containers of soda, checking and rechecking their lists. i kinda of stood there, quiet for a minute (my kids were enthralled with the crabs, i had a second) and reminisced about the last 4.7 years here, how much i had grown and what i have been through, and most of all how much i miss that wonderful city. all those feelings of being in a strange place came back to me.

this story goes a little deeper though, because a few days ago, a friend of mine from our old church in chicago put one of his movies out for its debut on myspace. this friend will always hold a special place in my heart because he was one of the kids in the youth group we worked with and honestly, he was one of my favorites. i loved his heart and i knew he would do a lot with his life someday. when i saw his movie for the first time, i was floored because i felt like there was so much i had missed out on. he grew up. he wasn't a kid anymore, he had grown into a man. i was so proud of him.
the other thing that struck me was how i had almost forgotten about the culture of chicago. i still miss my friends and the rhythm of the city. i still get annoyed that our town is so "white bread." but for now, i guess i will have to prefer the sound of a freight train to that of the "el" rumbling by.

oh, and if you would like to see the movie i am referring to, cut and paste:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kTGMuJOmM-0

what a week

2006-08-17T22:37:00.000-05:00

you know, sometimes i just want to walk away. well, actually everyday i want to walk away at some point in time. or drive away. just get in my car and drive and keep going. this week was one of those weeks. i often wonder if i have chosen a life that is more stressful than other lives, or if i am just a big baby and i need to grow a pair. i flip flop between the two options, sometimes thinking that my life could be a lot easier if i would have married, oh say, a doctor or an computer genius like my high school crush. they make a lot of money for you and your biggest decision that day is whether to wear paper, denim & cloth jeans with the jimmy choos or skip the jeans altogether and wear the newest betsey johnson frock. (i know that not all doctors wives or geek wives act like this... i am just using these sometimes lucrative professions as an example, people!)
or do i just complain to much? i mean, lots of people's husbands have to leave their wive's birthday dinners early because of suicide calls. or well, tons of ladies walk into church every sunday with a new rumor swirling around about them. don't you stay up till 2 am with the latest college romance break-up casualty, too?
anyway, this week has been particularly stressful. you know it is going to be bad when your son who never ever pukes (i have seen this kid vomit a total of 2 times his whole life) walks into my room and starts whimpering and barfing on my carpet. i still can't figure out what the deal was; he was perfectly fine the rest of the day but he claimed he ate chicken that was sitting out since the night before. (it was impossible but pretty funny that he chose that as his alibi.) we finally made it down to breakfast and at 8am i hear a knock on the door. it happened to be the little neighbor waif (you all have one, i know) and she walked in my front door and stated that she did not have to be home until 9pm! she was here to babysit!
the day got progressively worse as she stole money from my 4 year old's piggy bank, shoplifted at the grocery store, told my kids to lie to me, said she had a twin sister who died 5 weeks ago from cancer, and the worst thing ever, ate those hostess snowball cupcake things IN FRANNY'S BED. i have never seen so many crumbs in my life, and remember, i live with craig and 2 preschoolers. i think i have vacuumed that carpet more times since that incident than i ever have since we moved in here 4.5 years ago. i fed this girl 2 meals and was complaining that she was not the best influence on my kids to craig. he kept telling me that she was just troubled and needed attention. stop complaining, jenah! here's your opportunity, you humanitarian! wasn't he that kid 20 years ago? when craig came home at lunch, however, and saw the "lying in action" he promptly kicked her out.
i bet this girl has asked to come into my house more than a dozen times since that morning (remember, it was only 2 days ago.)
here is my conundrum. what do i do with this kid? if i did not have 2 impressionable angel-lambs soaking up every word this sk8tr grl utters, i would take her in in an instant. she does need attention. she says she is in 7th grade but doesn't look a day older than 11. she's dirty. she wears shirts that say "bratty brunette" and "spoiled rotten" and i see her constantly wandering around with no supervision at all. i have seen this so many times living in inner city chicago. a little attention from me could help this girl out in ways i may never see but would always mean something to her. but what of my own kids? i don't trust her as far as i can throw her and the fact that she took a couple quarters out of a piggy bank doesn't speak much of her moral character.
so here i am, caught. caught between a little girl who needs someone, anyone, and my own kids who are watching my every move. what will it say to them if i let a shady little punk into my house? but will it speak more to them that i wouldn't give her the time of day? believe me, she is NOT babysitting my kids. not now or ever. but what if i let her come over once a week to bake cookies with me or something? i am constantly on the "people matter" bandwagon and i feel like it has come back to kick me in the face. what now, pastor's wife?
i decide to pray. i guess it sounds really cliché, but i love my kids too much to have them hurt by my own "good deeds." i want to help this girl, but i also want my home to be a place of love and safety for my children. i really never thought the ministry would make me choose between needy neighborhood kids and my own kids. so, malin and aiden, i hope that someday you read this blog and realize that your mom did not have it all together and i struggle to know what is best for you. sometimes i don't know how to relate to the world around me. so maybe my life is as stressful as other people's lives. i guess not only pastor's wives struggle in how to relate to the world around them.
huh.

my MAGAZINE ARTCLE!

2006-07-21T16:02:00.000-05:00

so here is my first piece of published material, ever. hope you like. it is on the topic of "what is god doing in your life right now?"

So what has God been teaching me lately? I could say something trite and totally made up about how when you’re bummed out and depressed that we should look to the imagery of the eagle and soar, soar above the storm and use it to move us higher and higher, almost like you are soaring to heaven! Yeah, right. My dark, tortured soul has yet to believe that is true. I was struck while watching the Nooma about “Trees” where Bell states that even though there is a beginning and an end to creation, those being the two major “landmarks” of our world, God is doing things in our life RIGHT NOW. So again, what is he teaching me right now, at this moment, in my own world around me?
There are actually a million things that are going on in my mind. I am a thinker and have always been one. I have recently been struck by the fact that what we think is the right way to do things is not necessarily the right way. I remember growing up in a very conservative Christian home believing that every decision I made was either In God’s Will or Apart From God’s WIll. I have recently discovered that God doesn’t really care what kind of toothpaste I use. (What freedom!) I have also learned that my faith looks very different from my mom’s. It looks different than my best friend Fran’s, who serves in the inner city or my friend Aaron’s, a missionary in Africa. I have learned that you can be a liberal, a feminist, a democrat, a humanitarian, and a follower of Jesus. (Gasp!) But the biggest thing God is teaching me right now isn’t even about me. You see, I think the biggest thing that God has taught me lately isn’t about myself, it is about the world around me and how I relate to it.
I think it is really awesome how God works in your life. There are little things around us that he uses to shape our thoughts and even our actions. Let me explain. I was watching MTV or VH1 the other day. They were doing a special about how they were sending movie stars and rock stars to AIDS ravaged areas of Africa. This particular episode featured Ashley Judd and India.Arie. As these two women explored the travesties that have befallen this continent of people, I cried. If you know me, you know I don’t cry, well, hardly ever. Huge, baby-like tears were falling down my face. I watched as a 14 year old girl related her story of loosing her mom to AIDS. India.Arie wanted to do something for this young lady and learned that she needed a backpack for school. When they gave her the gift, she acted like she was the Sole Survivor and had won a million dollars. She was jumping up and down and squealing. A backpack? That was the amount of kindness it took to make her day? Her entire year? At this point I think I may have looked a little like Alice Cooper because my mascara had run and formed two inverted triangles under my eyes. Why on earth was I just sitting here not caring that thousands of people are dying and hurting from a disease totally preventable? Why is it that MTV has to send ambassadors to other countries to help? Is it because we are too busy working out mission statements and fighting over if this is God’s punishment on a people who have turned their backs on God? What happened to “they’ll know we are Christians by our love?”
I think the answer is really simple. Our faith should not be about us. It should be about those around us. The evidence of our love for Christ should be apparent in how we treat those who are hurting. Jesus said it himself, when he was talking about how to love others, “Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me--you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40, The Message, Remix) We have turned a blind eye. I am not talking about having pity on people, not the, “Oh, I’m sorry for you,” attitude, but to really see ourselves as servants to others. That is the paradigm shift. Jesus puts it this way, “That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served--and then to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage.” (Mark 10:45) If I am really striving to be like Jesus, for him to be my teacher in every aspect of my life, some things have to change. When I started to see my faith as it relates those around me, I started to see other people as the ones who play more important role in my faith than my own petty wants and desires. I don’t want to serve the downtrodden because I am commanded to, but because they deserving of my service. I started to feel passionately about humanity, not because MTV says it is cool to act like that, but because Jesus cares about humanity. I realized that for me, as a Christian, I cannot follow Jesus and not be a humanitarian. I can’t sit back and and say, “Oh that’s too bad.” I want to be the type of Christian who radiates love, not condemnation, so that everyone around me can see how Jesus changed my life. I don’t want to sit back and watch as people around me are hurting and without hope. Jesus didn’t do that, and I won’t either.

Day One: London Through the Clouds (of no sleep, that is)

2006-01-25T14:54:00.000-06:00

Fran and I left O'Hare airport at approximately 5.30 pm on Halloween. It kinda creeped me out a little bit that we were putting our lives in the hands of someone else on a holiday marked by secrets and death. But oh well, we were livin' it up no matter what. That and the fact that we saved a ton of dough leaving on a Monday night.
I had taken an online course that my bra-in-law told me to take, too. It helped me to get over my fears of sitting in a tin can, flying at unnatural speeds, being strapped into a flimsy seat with a little tiny belt that is inserted into the buckle like this, all while being, oh, approximately 28,000 feet above the COLD HARD EARTH. I really did feel much better knowing all the ins and outs of air travel and I really am convinced that even though the stakes are just a tiny bit higher (no pun intended) flying really is safer than driving.
We reasoned that if we left at 5.30 pm, we would get on the plane, chill a little bit and drift into an airborne slumber above the clouds. Let me refresh your mind a little bit about trying to sleep on an airplane unless you forgot. You are sitting in an upright postition (which to me seems as though I am leaning forward just a little too far, is it just me?) and you have about as much width to sprawl out in as you might on say a emigrant ship from Scandinavia in the year 1889. There is always a creepy guy sitting in the aisle seat who seems to have no problem sleeping at all, especially when you need to use the restroom NOW (Except George whom I will explain later. He was the coolest person to ever grace the aisle seat.) The air on airplanes is also dryer than the air in the Sahara where the humidity is like at 40% or something where as British Air Flight 296 is at 10%. The extreme danger of your eyes being permanently glued shut caused a little anxiety for me. Needless to say I maybe slept about 30 minutes on the whole flight. Who cares, right? I will be in London in approximately 3.5 hours! Whoo-hoo!
The really cool part about flying British Air (among many other things) is the fact that you get this really cool little bag full of freebies. These are better than any of the crap you stuff in your suitcase after staying at the Days Inn. They have a little pair of socks, eye cover, toothbrush and paste and some other stuff. Before we landed, I had the thrill of actually seeing the London Eye from the plane. I thought I was gonna die. Where we really doing this??!?!
We landed, made a quick stop to use our new toothbrushes and toothpaste, and went through customs. We grabbed our stuff and were on our way!
Fran and I were really not too sure where to go or really which direction Paddington Station was, so I explained to Fran that if you use your "cute" just a little bit, it can get you a loooong way. We went up to the ticket counter at the Underground and Fran was freaking out a little bit about where we needed to go and how to ask for it. "Fran, Fran, Fran. It is like this, 'Excuse me, I have never been to London before and I need to get to Paddington Station. Could you tell me the best way to get there?'" The the best way to get there part is crucial, especially when dealing with a male because frankly, the need to show off their mad skillz will totally take over the urge to send the two stupid Americans in the absolulte wrong direction. I believe that most people are pretty cool and if you are nice to them, they will be nice back. It worked. We didn't get any free ride or anything, but we did get to where we needed to go and quite easily. (I thing the guy at the booth referred to me as "love" which totally made the experience all the more rich.)
We took the Tube all the way to Paddington Station where we hauled our stuff to a little hotel where we got a room that was about 2 feet bigger than the bed itself. They just don't have the time or the space to spend on needless things like elbow room in London. We decided that because it was about 10am London time and about 4am our time, we really would not be in the frame of mind to really take in the sights and culture of London. So what should we do to keep our spirits up and alive? Go shopping, of course! We hit all the hot spots, Topshop, H&M, Urban Outfitters... all of it. I really don't remember too much other than feeling like I was still flying at 28,000 feet and that this tshirt costs 25£!?!? That's like $50! We forced ourselves to enjoy the bliss of acutally shopping in the mecca that is London. Now, at the end of our shopping experience, we decided that we should get a little something to eat. A chippy? Some Indian or Thai takeaway, perhaps? Wait... McDonalds? Burger King? Subway? Pizza Hut? KFC?!?!?! What is this place? We found a pizza place that delivered a very tiny pizza to our very tiny room and ate it practically in our sleep. I took a much needed shower in the "World's Smallest Bathroom" and Fran was already asleep when I finished. As I drifted off I wondered, what would the rest of London be like? Would we see all we needed to in 1 day? Would we make it in time for our breakfast the next morning?

Up Next: Day Two: London Through the Nose (and how we combated the extreme cost of nearly EVERYTHING.)

My Trip

2005-11-29T11:49:00.000-06:00

I will now start posting about my most wonderful trip to Europe with my most wonderful friend, Fran. There were many exciting times. There were many trying times. We laughed a lot. We saw tons of stuff. This is the beginning of our story. We began in Chicago, jetting off to London, Bratislava, Vienna, Kaiserslaughtern, Landstuhl, Dublin, Liverpool, Chester, Liverpool and then London. It was wonderful. Here begins my story...

Just Another Night Hangin' With My Pals.... The Wailin' Jennys

2005-10-24T14:25:00.000-05:00

The Tunin' Jennys

One More Jen For The Jennys

So Craig and I had a really fun time last night GOING TO A WAILIN' JENNYS CONCERT. The experience of seeing one of my favorite bands like 4 rows away was unbelieveable. There they were right in front of me. Craig was upset because he felt that the sound system that they had could have been better and he was right... Upon talking to one of the board members of the Lanesboro Art Council, or so we were informed (who shall remain nameless) told Craig that the sound system was something that they just "threw together" for the girls. So, a band that has won some Canadian Grammys gets a sound system "thrown together" for them?

Anyway, enough of the rant. Here they were, cute, funny (well actually hilarious), and totally talented, doing a concert for about 150 people in Lanesboro. I could gush some more and act all fan-y, but I wil instead, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Let Bob Mortensen and Bunny Kincade Sell Your House 4 U!

2005-10-08T21:50:00.000-05:00

So this is me and a friend. We thought that this pic was so hilarious... like we could start some wicked rumors with it. "Things are changing at Community Bible Church..." We were setting up a studio over at our church to take pictures for a directory and this was a test shot. Photographers have all the fun....

This is Going to be One Loooog Week...

2005-09-19T10:47:00.000-05:00

This week we have to be out of our house from 8-5 everyday so that our new windows can be put in. Now for most people this may not be that big of a deal but for me this is some strange form of torture. I don't really enjoy staying in my house all day, but this isn't the greatest thing I have ever had to do either. We are sitting at church right now. I am writing and the kids are watching movies on the projector. I am thinking that this will not be so novel come tomorrow. It sucks cause I had to make dinner and lunch last night because obviously it is impossible to do so under the circumstances. I was like, "Well, I'm just gonna whip up a little lunch for us so we don't have to become permanent fixtures of the McDonald's Playland." It took me ONE HOUR to make lunch for the 4 of us. Mind you, this was nothing special. Just some sandwiches and stuff. I also put some food in the crock pot (I was feeling pretty special about this) and so I was about as prepared for the day as I possibly could be.

I wish I could find some humor about all of this, but I guess I just keep thinking this WILL BE WORTH IT.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

2005-09-07T16:35:00.000-05:00

Two days ago Franny decided that it would be a good idea to cut her own hair. Yes, I saw her with the scissors before the said incident. And, no, I did not stop her from weilding this weapon of mass destruction. She kept walking back and forth from the office to the garbage can. I know it is so obvious now. Kid with scissors, carrying something to the garbage...

Anyway, we were able to salvage her hair a little bit. You can see by the pic that there was a little "snippage" that went on with her locks.

2005-08-30T15:01:00.000-05:00

Wow. I really need to write more often because there is so much that happens in my life, I really don't know what to write about.

So today has been a scramble of things to do. I honestly cannot believe that a 3 year old going to preschool needs a school list but aparently they do. Backpack,check. Markers, check. Watercolors, check. Mac G4 laptop, double check. I was sorta thinking that Malin needed more clothes but luckily I found a secret door to a magic land called, Mary Wojciechowski, single lady who loves my kids. I found a storage box in the kid's closet full of things from her that Malin never fit into last year so I am saved. They were all things that Mary had given to her for various reasons. (Just so you know, a single lady with money to burn needs no legitimate reason to buy my kids stuff.) Anyway, she has no clue how much pain in my life has been spared because of her compulsion to buy stuff. I was spared a large headache having missed out on dragging my kids to Fleet Farm to try to cash in on some Lee jeans at "Unbelievable Prices" while Aiden screams,"Taste! Taste!" at everything that even remotely looks like a food product,such as horse feed and cattle antibiotics.

No, I was much luckier today to be able to devote all my time to renewing my passport. Now, my passport is only 5 years old but over the course of that 5 years I happened to get married and being all old fashioned and stuff, took my husband's last name. I wanted to get this done right away, just in case I wanted to skip town at will. But at the time we were living in Chicago and that makes anything even more rediculous than it already is. (Sometime I will have to fill you in on what it was like to go to the post office and wait in line for 30 minutes to get a stamp.)So any way, back to the passport. Anyone who has ever done this knows what a joy it is. For the small fee of $67, you are granted the freedom to fly about the earth at will. That happens to be the price if you are willing to do the ol' "e-application". If you want a real person to deal with, add $30. Oh and if you want that done faster than 6 weeks time, just tack on an extra $60. Grand total, $157. I was thinking it would be, oh, say, $29.99. $157??!?!? What are they gonna do? Letterpress it by hand?

Well, I am going to go wait by the mailbox for 6 weeks until I get my passport back....

Good Tricks Gone Bad...Really Bad

2005-08-22T12:13:00.000-05:00

I decided that if you want to know more about "Operation Fluffy Puff" you better talk to me.

-Ed.

The gentle prodding of a sister...

2005-08-13T11:10:00.000-05:00

Under the suggestion of Elly, I have decided to post today. I am really, really, bad at posting but I love to do it, so here goes.

I could say that my life is so boring that there is nothing to post about so you would all be like Oh, yeah... poor stay at home mom, they are always soo bored! I mean, unless you think laundry detergent and puke are good conversation starters. Ho Ho!! My life is, and always will be, far from boring.

Exhibit 1: I am a pastor's wife. This in and of itself is never boring. I mean, just when the gossip stops about how bad Craig's and my marriage is, another bird flies in to tell everyone how much I hate every lady in the church and how my plans to become the worst pastor's wife ever, might be spoiled because I baked cookies for the neighbor, of my own accord..

Exhibit 2: I am a mom. I really don't think I need to elaborate on this point but I will anyway. At a small birthday party yesterday, Malin decided that it would be a great idea to jump in the lake. With clothes on. This lake happens to be sooo nastay, I don't think I have ever seen anyone set a toe in it. No really. I kid you not. But yes, with a pink dress on, Malin hopped into a lake with more bacteria in it than a johnny-on-the-spot at a rock music festival. Oh, I can't forget my darling son. His newest acheivement is this, when he realizes that something is not going the way that he planned, he screams with more fury than Beelzebub himself. His eyes turn to fire and he just opens the pits of Hell, with no descretion of his locale. We may be in the kitchen, or at the grocery store (most often his angst is related to food) or even picking up the babysitter.

Exhibit 3: Photograhpy. I have just started "professionally" taking wedding photgraphs. I have met with 3 couples in a week. Now I am not sure if that is normal, but for a "mom", I think it is freakin' awesome.

Exhibit 4: Moxie Moms. I have to admit, I have been super discouraged with the ol' Moxie. I mean, I have wanted to do this since April and basically we are just now getting to the point where I can actually say, "Are you a Moxie Mom yet?" To me, that is a loooong time to get to the point where there are 3 members. But here is the deal, yesterday I knew that I had to get a bunch of Moxie stuff done because I we are going out of town for the week. I was not looking forward to pissy, self-absorbed business owners and slacking teens running ice cream shop counters. So I had to get a bunch more agreements worked out with business owners and deliver a bunch of cards to other places so that everywhere moms turn, they are attacked with Moxie. So I asked, a long time ago, the owner of this super cute bookstore in town if he wanted to give the 15% discount. He said no, but that he wanted to be involved in other ways. Like hosting book clubs or readings. So I went in yesterday, seeing the hippest bookstore owner I have ever encountered, and handed over the little cards. He seemed intrigued and wanted more info. I ran out to my car, so fast, I would've beaten any Kenyan sprinter who dared take me on. I was back in a cloud of dust with an agreement and more infomation. In slow motion, he took the areement from my hands, read it over a little and on the apropriate line, in even slower motion, wrote "give a 15% discount to all members..." and then I heard him say something about his wife having a 2 year old and another baby due in December and he will have to tell his 4 best friends about Moxie Moms cause they all have kids too... I floated out to my cloud of elation (my car had been replaced by this dreamlike vehicle) and sped over to the clinic. I grabbed a stack and threw them at the peds nurse and the family practice nurse on the way to the apex, Suzanne Cooley, my midwife hero. She was with a very pregnant 18 year old but when she was finished I gave her my short stack to which she replied, "Jenah! You get back out to your car and get more of these things for me! I am giving them out to everyone that walks in here! Its about time someone started something like this!!"

So it is actually really cool now. But the cooler thing is that I had just prayed about it the night before. Not really wanting anything specific, just saying, I am frustrated and this sucks. Just kind of giving it over. So I guess the short synopsis of this too long blog is that when we give it to God, he takes care of it, better than we could.

Pretty cool, I'd say.

listen to the music...

2005-07-14T21:04:00.000-05:00

i had a really fun opportunity to come over to church tonight. i even got to ride my bike! yes, this is thursday and craig and his worship team are practicing tonight. and yes, this is normally the night that i hang with "jojo" or mary wojo as she is more commonly known. so i am being serenaded as i type.

it has been one really hot week. so hot that you don't even really want to go to the pool because you dread the carride over there. even if it is only a 5 minute ride and about 45 seconds before the air con kicks in.

it is kinda weird, too, cause usually in the summer i feel great. i look good, i exercize like crazy, and i just generally feel happy. but this summer has been a challenge for me. i am not sure why i feel this way, but frankly, it has sucked.

i am however having a great time working on moxie moms. it has been a challenge dabbling in something that i have had no experience whatsoever in. i am starting a business!

it is totally something to be proud of.

independence day

2005-07-04T12:21:00.000-05:00

haha, i think this is my first post of the month. i am desprately trying to think of something to write here today... but nothing comes to mind. i think i fried my brain taking pictures like a mad woman with my new 20d. my kids, flowers, random people... no one is safe from my lens. it is really great to have a rockin' camera to use. thanks to craig who bought me this great little toy as a surprise. craig, you rock.

IIIIEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

2005-06-30T15:53:00.000-05:00

Can't type... must.... take pics with 20d....

Me

2005-06-29T14:26:00.000-05:00

100_0905
Originally uploaded by sommarblomma.

Emo Rant, Mood Swings: Enter With Caution

2005-06-29T12:17:00.000-05:00

Well there are two things on my mind today. For one, I am waiting, like a maniac, at the door for my Canon 20d to arrive. I keep peering out of my front door, looking through the curtains like a crazed old woman who keeps checking to make sure that the neighbor kids aren't trampling her begonias. Every time that I hear a delivery truck (or even a large suv) I rush to the window to see what's up. Mind you, when Craig was the one waiting for the g5 to arrive, I was totally making fun of him. I think I suggested that he permanently glue his face to the window because that is what the neighbors saw everytime they happened to glance our way. So I continue to be edgy and neurotically get things done around the house.

The second thing (this is where the warning comes into play) is this. A few months ago, we recieved a wedding invitation for someone that Craig only vaguely knew. "Uhh, I think that is my Uncle Kevin's step-daughter," was his enthusiastic reply.

Now you have to understand something about Craig's family. For one, the family is a "blended family". I am not saying that my family is the "Model for All Families Wishing to Attain Perfect Functionality in Today's Society" but frankly, not one person that I can think of fits into the "blended" category. This is not a bad thing, it just makes things a bit, well, confusing at times.

The second thing about Craig's family is that they invite literally everyone and their mother to weddings. To get gifts. There. I said it. I know this first hand because the same thing happened at our wedding. (No, Craig. We are not inviting your dad's colleagues to the wedding. No, I don't care that they bought Ryan and Brenda a big screen tv.) I really wanted to pretty much elope. I mean for real, if I could do it over, I would take the money, run away, get married on the beach in Italy. Whoever wants and cares enough to schlepp all the way to Italy will be the ones who are coming to the wedding.

That said, Craig frankly had possibly not ever met this person. I asked if this was a wedding that we *should* attend and he said, "No." I then asked if he thought that is was something that might be "fun" because it was in northern Minnesota (albeit about a 10 hour drive) and would sorta be an excuse for a little weekend away to which he replied again, "No."

Now we get to the good part. (Visions of dooce.com and her getting fired b/c of her emo rants about her job on her blog are now skipping through my head. Can you be excommunicated from your husband's family?) Anyway, on the "official family site of Craig's family", there was a huge post about how only a couple people from the clan showed up to said wedding of mystery family member and how terrible that was and we all should have made it a priority to be there. Bad, bad adult children who make poor choices!!

OOOOOKKKKKAAAAAYYYY. Let's set some things straight RIIIIIGGGHHHT NOOOOWWWW. For one, I really don't want to show up to a wedding where they are simply sending a invite to get a gift. Now I have done research on the subject. The article that I read said that IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THE PERSON OR FEEL WEIRD ABOUT THE INVITE you are not required to be there or to even send a gift. Just mark "no" and return the response card.

And number two, IT IS MY PERROGATIVE TO DECIDE IF I AM TOO BUSY TO ATTEND A WEDDING. I am not "carving out" time to go to a wedding 10 hours away for someone that I have never seen and will never see again.

My last and most thrilling argument, IF YOU ARE ACCUSING SOMEONE ELSE OF NEVER SHOWING UP TO THINGS, IT MAY BE A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE PREVIOUSLY ATTENDED YOUR ONLY GRANDCHILDREN/NEICE/NEPHEW'S FIRST BIRTHDAY BASHES, BIRTHS AND OTHER IMPORTANT EVENTS.

These are my last words as I am being taken away to bad in-law prison. May you learn from my example.

sunday, sunday...

2005-06-26T10:46:00.000-05:00

it is sunday morning and i am sitting in front of my delightful g5. yes the pastor's wife is feeding her internet obsession when she should be saving souls and acting holy. we had a rough night at the hensel house... i was ready a scary crime book that freaked me out so bad i could not sleep. (the book is now sitting on my front porch cause i am too scared to look at it.) in the midst of this, malin was waking up about every 2 hours crying. i had a good alabi though, i was too mortified of what was lurking in the shadows to leave the confines of my bed. default: craig goes to see what is the matter. then this morning she woke up with a temp of 101.2. so i am sparing all other mothers of cbc the dreaded "mystery fever" that malin seems to get now and again.

so i figure that i better write a bit more often cause when i sit down to write i have writer's block. not because i am at a loss for words, oh no. i have too many things running in my mind.

well, moxie moms is going along swimmingly. it is great. i finally got over the "correct" way to do business and just started calling people. i was sick of trying to coordinate the 2 hours a week that i did not have an entourage consisting of a butterfly chasing 3.5 year old and a 20 month old once obsessed with one word commands (taste! taste!) who has graduated to two word commands (stop it!!!) with the one hour a week that a business owner was actually at their business. it reminded me of the breif by bill geist on cbs sunday morning about the "mail girls" of lake geneva, wi, who literally have to jump off a moving boat onto a dock of a wealthy chicagoan on vacation for the summer, deliver the wealthy chicagoan's mail, and jump back onto the boat. all while the boat is still moving and there are paying spectators on the boat with their faces plastered against the plexiglass as they munch on popcorn. talk about making a small window of opportunity even smaller. after i got over the courtesy of "face to face" business dealings (images of my mother saying to me, "i would never hire someone who came in looking for a job in jeans" were calling to me) and besides the fact that having to look somewhat professional when you are choing back tears of rejection was somewhat of a challenge, i realized that i would become a moxie mom at the age of 47 at the rate i was speeding along. so i called my first victim. it happened to be the owner of "heart's desire" (a gift shop in town) who answered the phone. i gave her my schpeil, "himynameisjenahhenselandiamworking
onstartingaclubformomsinwinonacalledmoxiemoms...doesthatsoundlikesomethingyou
wouldbeinterestedin??? and to my great surprise she said yes! i was elated! after about 15 calls, i have 9, count 'em, 9 businesses on board. so much for the proper way to do business. it was also such a great feeling to shout into the reciever after a rejection, "yeah, well, too bad i am telling everyone in town how much you SUCK!" with nary a tear in sight.

long summer days

2005-06-14T15:10:00.000-05:00

here i am, sitting around on a summer afternoon, bored again. it kinda sucks having to wait around for a little one to wake up from said nap. i made this old family recipe called "great aunt eva's beef stew" and it is wonderful but the thing of it is that it takes 6 hours in the oven. no. i am not making this up. a literal 6 hours to cook. and no, not in a crock pot, the oven. basically when i walk past the general vicinity of the oven, i feel like those guys on the titanic must have felt, you know the guys who stoke the boilers? i just feel the heat radiating from the oven from about 4 feet away. so beacause dinner literally went in the oven this MORNING, i have not a lot to do this afternoon.

so back to the boredom.

i have recently decided that since we are not going to be run out of town with pitch forks (the church turmoil has settled down a bit) i would try my hand at starting a business. well, not really a business, well, let me explain. my sister lives in boulder and she told me about this great club called moxie moms. you pay like 50 bucks and get a great membership card that gets you discounts at local shops and stuff and also you get a calendar with a lot of awsome events that you are automatically invited to. so the objective of moxie moms is two-fold: 1. support local businesses and 2. to get moms off their butts and out the door. hmm, i said to myself, wouldn't it be great if they had one of those in winona? (stop laughing! i was just hoping!) so i emailed them. the reply was something like this, "there is no moxie-moms chapter in winona, but if you would like to start one..." that was all i saw. the rest of the email was all blurry. at that time, there was no way i was going to "start" anything. i was attempting to get life off the ground (college ministry) and that was totally consuming every spare minute of my time. but at the end of this past school year the idea popped back into my brain. "what if i were to start up a chapter?" so i emailed again which lead to some phone calls with the directors (no, i have absolutely no background in business) and some calls around town (when will the manager be in? yes, i'll hold) and here i am trying my hand at something new. i have to recruit some moms, which should not be too hard to do and plan some fun stuff to do. when i called a friend (who is the manager of a local business) she said, but honey, aren't you too busy already? curses! you're right! i am! i have a ministry, a pastor husband, two little kids, an exchange student and who knows what else i am forgetting. i was a little discouraged.

which leads me back to this afternoon.

this afternoon has been a perfect example. dinner made and me wondering what on earth i could possibly do with my spare time. clean out that closet? nah. do something crafty? nope. make cookies? not if i want that svelte bod i have been hoping for! start up moxie moms? sa-weet!

wednesday

2005-04-20T20:50:00.000-05:00

so here i am, on the eve of craig's 30th birthday. i wonder what it must be like as a parent to have a child turn 30. when that happens to me, i will be 52. whew. imagine all the drama that you have seen in those 30 years, not only with your child but also in life itself. all the things that you learn and wish that you knew when they were born and all the mistakes that you have made along the way. i think i would be very proud of a child that despite all my failures and victories with that child, they turned out pretty well. what an accomplishment.

oh no! i forgot a gift! ugghh!

back to reality! my kids have been diagnosed with lead poisoning (fun, i know) and the state health officials are coming tomorrow. so instead of baking cakes and putting up decorations, i have been cleaning and organizing so that every closet that they go through will not be a disgrace to my good housekeeping name! we will see if our house gets condemned (which has happened to others) or who knows what! this by far has been the most interesting thing that i have encountered as a parent. who tells you you might have your home comdemned when you bring that little bundle home from the hospital?

moday

2005-04-18T23:11:00.000-05:00

so we finally have a computer. ingrid, a dear friend, gave us one. it is great. it is also cool because this is a mac and i am relearning all about the mac operating system.
onward to mac land...

friday

2005-03-04T16:34:00.000-06:00

so my children are at "mormor's" for the weekend and craig and i are enjoying a wonderful weekend being kidless. it is quite a novelty considering we had such a short time of being without kids after we got married.

yesterday, i did totally neurotic things like vacuuming out my furniture and scrubbing the kitchen floor. it was so fun. i realized that i would get very bored and need a job if i was without kids. after that i went to church and had a great time emailing and generally messing around on the internet.

today, we went to la crosse (good times, good times) and went to the organic food co-op. i was in search of the perfect facial moisturizer and the co-op did not fail me. craig was not too sure about the co-op and upon entering the establishment decided that it was one of la crosse's best kept secrets. i mean, where else can you get a delicious deli sandwich made to order with whatever you want on it for only $3.29?

after this we went to best buy (which is not one of my favorite place on earth) and with some leftover gift cards, was able to purchase some super fun dvd's. (think amadeus, the director's cut.) next we were off to barnes and noble and then home. it is so fun to not have to have any time contraints whatsoever! tra la la! thank goodness for loving family members!

now we will be going to supper club where they will be having a belated birthday party for me on account that the host family all had the stomach flu last week.

ahh the fun of having kids and getting to share them with others! i say this because truly my life would be so empty without my little fritz and fran to brighten my days. but for now, i am enjoying my psuedo-kidless life! ;)

wednesday

2005-02-02T11:52:00.000-06:00

ooof. we have no computer. and this totally blows. but my biopsy results are negative! yay! so my entries maybe fewer until we get a compy! yeesh...

monday

2005-01-24T15:36:00.000-06:00

well my daughter is sick, again. we all had the dee-lite-ful stomach flu here. malin was the first one to get it, now she has it again. in fact, i had to take her to the doctor because she was getting dehydrated.

i have really been wishing that i could do some photography lately. i have no film and have been generally uninspired for the last few months. maybe i will head to the store and get some. i have done so much in b&w in the past and lately i have really enjoyed color film. wierd.

we had our first night of life last night. there were not too many people there but we really had a fun time. we moved it from church to a home so that people are a little more comfortable. i wish that we could have it at our house but we just don't have enough room. we are really excited about the series that we are doing. it is called the noOma series and they are short "movies" that a church out of michigan called mars hill church have put out. they are on numerous topics and are created to generate discussions. we showed a short clip of one last night and the kids were all bummed that we would not watch the whole thing!
to check it out, go to:

http://www.nooma.com

tuesday

2005-01-18T15:48:00.000-06:00

today i feel a bit better. except i literally felt like laying down in the grocery store today. maybe it was the sight of all that raw meat and the fact that "country market" is totally changed around. i mean total presto-change-o. like whoa, is this the same store? it could have been that the smell of fresh paint was making me a bit queasy. i am totally suffering from posod (post operative stressed out disorder.)

i am glad however, that i had the foresight to pick out a few new movies at the library for malin. (well actually it was aiden. he was grabbing dvd's off the shelves and yelling eh-moh! eh-moh! at the top of his lungs.) malin is going through "cinderelmo" for the second time today.

so off i go, to do, umm, *looks around, scratches head, sits*

monday...

2005-01-17T15:06:00.000-06:00

today i had a biopsy. my dentist found a wierd little thing in the back of my throat a few months ago which has resulted in needing a biopsy. i seriously had 10 shots of novocaine in my throat, tongue, and other parts of my mouth. it is so crazy to half of your face, mouth, tongue, and throat numb.
now my throat kills. he explained the pain to be like a canker sore. yeah, more like someone opened my mouth and shot a b-b gun down it. or like someone took a very large scalpel and cut a relatively large peice of meat out of there!

on a happier note...
a friend of mine got two tickets to italy for christmas from her mom. she asked her mom when they should go and her mom said, "i want you to take who you want!"
i went out for coffee with her a few days ago because she wanted to see my pics of italy and plan her trip. i reminiced (sp?) about how fun my trip was and how much i loved the country and its people. as we were just about ready to leave and she asked me if i want to go with her! umm, let me think... yes!

italy, here i come!

2005-01-13T15:13:00.000-06:00

malin's feet, as inspired by elly's pictures of tova bean.

more to say...

2005-01-13T13:50:00.000-06:00

well, i figured that i better write something a little more interesting than, "this is my first post."
today is freezing cold. and my day has been not much better. one of those days where you feel like you are literally chasing yourself. like you are doing a lot of scurrying but not really anything is getting done. take this as an example. i have been awake for more than 6 hours and still have not gotten a grocery list finished or even gotten that load of laundry out of the dryer. pretty pathetic.
but my day is not all lost. my son sat in my lap today for about 15 minutes showing me his little "hat" and talking about it. (it was actually the smallest of a set of nesting cups.) and as i write this my daughter is playing with styrofoam. what kind of a mother are you? you ask. well she is calling the small beads of foam that separate from the bigger block her "babies" and "racky-coons" and the block is their sled. basically she has been entertained with them for about 1 hour. yes there are bits of foam all over the dining room and part of the living room but what is five minutes of clean up?
so if i just get to enjoy my kids a bit, that is worth it, right? oh and i did take some cute pics of my daughter's feet (as inspired by ellybeth) and i am enjoying some afternoon sun, ahhhh.
i guess the laundry is going nowhere and the groceries are sounding like a trip to the arctic with ernest shackelton rather than a jaunt to the supermarket with ingrid. maybe i'll just skip the list making...

my first post

2005-01-13T13:05:00.000-06:00

well, this is jenah and this is my first post! i hope that you enjoy!