Saturday Morning

I love Saturday mornings. So full of potential. It's the only day of the week where I don't have to get up and go somewhere. Of course, sometimes I do get up and go somewhere, but I don't have to.
Today I got up and went to Eastern Market. I love Eastern Market and I wish it weren't all the way downtown, although on a Saturday it just takes 20 minutes to get there. I took some pictures this morning too.
This is just part of it. It's got the best produce and the prices are excellent. This is R. Hirt Jr., also been in that spot over 100 years. It's a specialty food store where I get my chocolate and cheese if I want something special. Again, a 20-minute trip, but the prices are worth it.

I went to get strawberries (and other stuff) because I want to make this for the snack for work this week. I make a snack for a staff meeting we have every week. It lets me try new stuff I wouldn't ordinarily make.

OK, so that's my Saturday.

The World is a Wonderful Place

I can't believe how blessed I am to be living in the time that I am. 50 years ago, I never would have been able to see this. It's amazing. Totally the highlight of my morning.

There are also some great videos on the NY Times homepage today too.

I love Fridays, especially the Fridays when I go grocery shopping. So much potential! I am making the grocery list as I go through the day and I think about what I want to cook and eat next week. I am going to make an Independence Day snack for work. I will take a picture and post when it's done.

The world is a beautiful place on a grocery-store Friday with a great dance video link!

I Love the New York Times

First, I have to say this all still feels like me running off at the mouth about nothing at all, but I'm going to stick with it, at least for a while.

The New York Times is by far my favorite Web site. I read it everyday, and go back several times a day because they shuffle the order of stories on the front page and I notice new things each time. Here are some of my favorites from today.

Apparently, NYC want to test everyone in the Bronx for HIV. It's voluntary, but still, pretty aggressive.

This opinion piece encapsulates my ambiguity over John McCain. I'm not sure what I'm going to do in November.

I am in a love/hate relationship with The Frugal Traveler. I love reading his posts but I hate him for getting paid to do something I would give my right arm to do. I'm left-handed, BTW, but still.

The other cool thing that happened today is I bought a ticket to go to my sister's house in Orlando in October. Yay! Travel plans!

Pushing God Away

Today's story that caught my eye was this one from the New York Times. It talks about the role of religion in the military. Full disclosure: my brother is a Navy Chaplain. The part about the military wasn't what interested me. It seemed to me to be another symptom of how our culture is more and more pushing God away. We can't even stand to have him in the same room, and if that room is paid for by the government, we're going to make sure he leaves, not us. Why? Why don't we want God around? I know I wish he didn't see everything I did. I wish sometimes he would let me in on the plan so I could give him my opinion. A lot of the time I think I know better than him, and if he would just let me do it myself...

So I get it. But on the other hand, he's awesome. And I mean that in both the literal and figurative senses. He inspires awe. He created the universe without any help from any of us, least of all me. He is everywhere all the time. He is holy and yet sacrificed himself for us, who are not. He is also awesome in the "coolest and greatest" sense. He never stops thinking about me. He is always with me. He had a good plan for me, and he gives me good things every day. He has promised to take care of me and give me everything I need for the rest of my life, and that I will be with him forever.

So I guess I'm just sad that people are choosing to live life without this amazing friend. Yes, he gets to be the boss, but he also knows what's going to happen tomorrow, so he's in a better position to make decisions. I want God to be in and amongst us because he's just so great. If we push him to the margins, or out of the room, we lose.

Michigan

A friend alerted me today to the lede story at BusinessWeek.com. Michigan: Epicenter of Unemployment. Not exactly news, but still sobering to see it in black and white like that. I have to say I am blessed with a job, even though I complain about it a lot. I have friends who are looking for work or trying to sell a house, and being in Michigan doesn't help them right now. I like to visit and learn about new places, so I'm always thinking about maybe moving. But I have a pretty good network here, church, theatre, family. And the cost of living is pretty good. So I'm taking one day at a time. I believe God has a good plan for me. The tough part is being patient to let him show me what it is.

This Is an Experiment

Hi all,

I never thought I really had anything to say that people were interested in hearing. I have opinions, of course and strong beliefs and lots of interests, but everyone has those, and why would the average person turn aside to listen/read about mine? Well, apparently, people do. All the time. Blogs are ubiquitous, at least it seems that way sometimes. And, I find many of them interesting. I don't always agree with the blogger, or want to join in what she is doing or active in, but I appreciate her point of view.

Participating in the blogosphere (reading blogs) has enlarged my world and my perspective, and I've found that I like it. So, I'm going to start participating on the other side (writing a blog) to see what happens. Maybe nothing. I may be starting a huge conversation with myself. But if that's where it goes, that's where it goes. But we'll see. Stay tuned.