Happiness is a Big Bubble

Hi, it's me again...only 2 months after my last post...sorry! College has been crazy lately - translating Hosea, for example, and working on an Ecclesiology paper, practicing extricating people from vehicles (Emergency Response class), Greek homework, working in the bakery, piano, reading a 700-page book...and blowing bubbles! That's right, I'm giving you a how-to on a sure way to brighten your day - and it won't cost you a thing, since you (hopefully) wash your hands often anyway! I re-discovered this trick recently and found it quite enthralling. Here's how to do it:

1. Soap up really well. I'm still figuring out the proportions here, but it definitely seems like more soap is better - and it'll get rid of more germs, too! Get your hands wet, but not so much that you wash all the soap off.

2. Rub your thumb against the side of your forefinger. This is where you want the highest concentration of soap to be.

3. Slowly slide your thumb down toward the tip of your finger, making sure they stay touching at all times.

4. You now have your very own bubble wand! If you've kept contact between your thumb and finger, you should have a thin film of soap in the middle of the circle. If not, repeat steps 2 and 3, adding a little more soap or water if necessary.

5. Now blow gently through the circle, carefully forming your bubble. When it gets the size you want it, close the circle, again keeping the finger and thumb together. The bubble will sit neatly in your hand!

Try it out! You can get them pretty big when conditions are right. If your other hand is still soaped, you can sometimes play with the bubble without popping it.

Make sure you try this out the next time you wash your hands! If you have kids, though, you might want to keep this a secret...I can see how this power could be very messy in the wrong hands. ;) Enjoy your Spring!!!

Recent Randomness in My Life

Life at college is never boring. Well, I shouldn't say that...sometimes that Greek homework can get a little dull...but, anyway - there's almost always something going on! Believe it or not, I'm approaching the close of my fourth week here, and it's amazing how the time has sped by. I feel like the Spring semester usually seems to go by more quickly.

This is going to be an exceedingly random post, highlighting a few things that have been going on lately here in the boonies of Wisconsin.

1. Where did our winter go?

I think all the people along the East Coast must've stolen it. I remember that last year it was so cold here I wasn't sure I'd make it back to my room at times! We've had a couple rather blustery days this year, but it's been mostly up in the 20s and sometimes even the 30s. Here's what it's supposed to be like:

This is my bedroom window during one of our few cold snaps - the inside of the window. Poor little guy...of course, I've heard that you can actually freeze flies and then revive them by warming them up. Kids, don't try this at home unless you're trying to provoke your parents to much wrath and consternation...which generally isn't a good idea, I've learned.

2. Craziness in the Bakery

So one day last week I was telling my roomie, "Yeah, I think it's going to be a nice easy day in the bakery...just a few muffins to bake for supper and then cleanup." Well, when I went in to work, my supervisor was frantically mixing up more muffin batter because the first batch hadn't been enough to fill up the quota of 400 banana muffins. I'd never realized it before, but banana muffins are devious little critters...and the loaves of bread seemed to be in on the plot too. I had things in three ovens in two different rooms with three timers going at once! Those muffins...what a night! I didn't clock out till an hour and a half longer than usual. There were two good results from the hardship, however: 1) A waitress came back and revived my soul by telling me that the students had raved over the muffins. Only a couple dozen of the original 400 remained. 2) I earned a sort of kitchen badge of honor - many of the workers have this little stripe on their arms (some have lots of stripes!) and I got my first one after nearly two years of kitchen work:

My labor was not in vain. The banana muffins did not succeed in crushing my spirit! I will go on to bake another day!!!

3. Adrenaline and Boredom: An Exercise

This evening at approximately 6pm, the fire alarms went off in the girls' dorm...after I'd changed into my comfy pajama pants. But, following the rules, I didn't take time to change and joined the throng of girls running over to the basement of the building next door. And there I remained while they checked the dorm out to find the problem. This was boring because I didn't think to grab any homework. It was entertaining, at least, to see what clothing combinations some of the girls were wearing. Thankfully no one had been caught in the shower - and thankfully, I had postponed the shower I had been planning to take!

4. The Roomies Strike Again!

I walked into my room last night after I got back from church and noticed the iron on my bed. I wondered if my roomies had been ironing something on my bed, which would be really weird. Then I flicked on the light and - well, see for yourself:

Apparently my beloved roomies took advantage of one of my rare trips off campus to set up this little surprise. Nothing is intentionally related - they just grabbed random stuff from around the room. I feel loved. =)

5. A Capitulation to Peer Pressure

Okay, brace yourselves - this is a big one. I finally caved: I got a Facebook account. I've stepped up into this century at long last! And I already have 35 friends. =)

Anyway...that should fulfill your need for randomness for a good long time. Feel free to suggest ways I can reciprocate to my roommates! And look me up on Facebook if you're not already my friend. Have a great weekend!

My Family #2: The Best Mom Ever!

Well, in a recent post I told you a little bit about my Dad; now it's my Mom's turn! I've also got 2 brothers and 2 sisters that I'm trying to talk into doing guest posts eventually. :)

My Mom is really something spectacular. Just watch her for a little while and you'll see what God intended wives and mothers to be like. She really loves the Lord and her family and works hard to serve with all her heart and strength. As a child and teen she was active outdoors and in church activities. At 17 she began working in a hospital as a nurse's aide and a surgical technician. A few years later she married Dad and had all five of us kids in about 7 years. That in itself should tell you what a brave woman she is!

Over the years Mom has worked outside the home and from the home in various ways (most recently she had a home business selling chocolate products) but her heart's desire is to be at home serving God, Dad and our church. Recently our family took a step of faith and ceased the chocolate business so that Mom could devote more time to helping Dad and working on church-related projects. It's extremely hard to encapsulate all of what Mom does - for example, she spends hours every week working on our monthly ladies' Bible study and helping Dad out with his projects. She's also got some really great creative talents. I've put together a small assortment of her various creative outlets and ministries. Hopefully this collection will show you just a little of her talent and creativity.

I'll start with the cards that she designs. She faithfully sends a birthday card to each member of the church on their special day, and every week she designs and mails really cute, fun or encouraging cards to a few of our shut-ins. Here are a few that I would put in the category of "Just Plain Cute!" (Or, dare I say it, "Cute as a Bug...")

Most of the cards contain a verse or encouraging thought on the inside. The one below says "Pray without ceasing" (I Thess. 5:17).

Some of the cards are a little more involved than others:

The Indian in the middle is actually dangling on a string!

Some cards require intricate folding according to a pattern.

While Mom specializes in whimsical designs, she's not hard-pressed at all to turn out some really pretty things now and then:

Mom hosts an annual Ladies' Christmas Tea and an annual Spring Dinner - and she usually makes all the favors by hand (well, with a little help from the computer - but she does all the cutting, folding and touching up!). Here's a little purse that could hold candy or tea bags.

This was the invitation she sent out to all the ladies for our most recent Christmas tea. She cuts out all the irregularly shaped objects and assembles them! The bell can come off the invitation and be used as an ornament.

I apologize that this is sideways...this is a notebook that Mom decorated. These make great gifts - and the really nice thing is that no one is exactly the same.

This is from a few years ago - Mom made one of these for each of our place settings at Thanksgiving. Any wrinkles and dust are my fault - I've kept this for quite a while!

Below is an example of Mom's ingenuity - she designed an in-house mail system. Each of these bags has one of our names on it so we can drop each other a note or message now and then. The mini clothespins show you when you have something new in your bag.

Mom used to do a lot of watercolor painting, with a focus on old barns. She has a lot of really nice pieces, but I think this might be one of the only ones framed right now. If you saw my last post, the house that I painted was done with Mom's old palette and paints.

Okay, it was quite a while ago that Mom cross-stitched, but many of these pieces have been a part of our home for so long that it would be remiss to not mention them. This is the only one we have out right now, but it's a good example of the quality of Mom's work.

Finally, here's one of the more time-consuming projects she did in her continual effort to give her best in serving God - these were part of a ladies' event a few years ago. Each little piece of fabric had to be folded a certain way and a pin or two stuck through it into the styrofoam ball. She started these a long time ahead because she made a lot of them.

What makes your mom the best Mom in the world to you? I know Mother's Day is a while off, but it's never a bad time to share why we love family!