Did I ever tell you about the time...

On one my drives home a few weeks back, I turned the radio channel to avoid yet another political ad. (These presidential primaries are totally the pits, aren't they?? I mean, I'm all for being an educated and responsible voter, but geez....it's hard to avoid all the flying mud in the air, isn't it?) After I had turned the channel, I asked Jerod, "Did I ever tell you about my most memorable abortion debate conversation?" I totally had, but I decided to tell him again, just because the story rocks that much. So, I was thinking that in the spirit of elections and all that jazz, I'd also tell y'all about it. (And I just gotta say, whether you're pro-choice, pro-life, or pro-I-don't-really-care, I still think this story kinda rocks.)

In the summer of 2000, I decided to spend the summer back at home and to get a couple jobs in my hometown. Besides house sitting, dog sitting, and slinging coffee, candy and ice cream, I spent most of my time working at a tree nursery just outside of town. It was a great job. I got to play in the dirt and water and mud all day. I would spend my mornings outside while it was still cool and quiet. I would prune, weed, organize, re-pot and water to my heart's content. It was one of those jobs that you could go the whole day without talking to a soul. You got to be outside, breath the fresh air, get sunburned and build up a strong back. I loved it. Around lunchtime when the day's heat really started setting in, I would raid the vegetable garden for lunch and then head inside to the A/C and desk to work the rest of the afternoon on the computer. Part of my job was to help out with the landscaping billing and bookkeeping. I really did have it made. I could enjoy the nursery during the best part of the day, and then head inside when it got the hottest and also when most of the customers would come expecting you to answer all their horticultural questions (which I really had no clue how to answer. Give me numbers. I can handle numbers.)

The owners of the nursery have three grown sons, and the youngest of the sons had just graduated Harvard and was home for the summer running the landscaping portion of the nursery. He also brought his girlfriend (and Yale grad), Vanessa, home for the summer. I didn't know much about her. I did remember hearing that her father was a senator or some other kind of politician or something, but I didn't really pay attention. She was nice enough and an unpretentious hard worker and I enjoyed working with her. There as also a ranch portion to the nursery, also ran by the same owners. It was one of these cool pleasant mornings while Vanessa and I were potting trees in the large potting shed. It was branding season, and you could hear the cowboys wrangling the cattle through the shoot, which was nearby. You could also hear the groan of the calves as they were individually castrated and branded. Vanessa was visibly bothered by this and couldn't help but comment on how cruel she felt the whole branding process was. I kind of chuckled and agreed that it probably wasn't the funnest experience in a cows life. After a while of talking about this, I mentioned that hurting a few animals really didn't bother me when I thought about how desensitized we as Americans have come to the millions of babies that have been murdered through abortion. I could tell that I just lit the spark in the fiery (and obviously pro-choice) Vanessa's eyes. But I, being my usual stubborn, opinionated self, obviously felt just as passionate and we sat there, next to a 30 foot high pile of dirt and had a heated abortion debate. I'm not sure how it all ended, but eventually we had to get back to work slinging trees and (ironically) mud. She never really did like me after that. She soon started helping her boyfriend on the landscaping jobs rather than the nursery end, so I didn't see much of her after that anyway. So, I eventually came to the end of my summer with a stronger back and a sunburned face and headed back to college.

During my senior year of college, the presidential primary elections were just starting to heat up. The obvious main candidates were pretty much already chosen and everywhere I turned on the television, you saw John Kerry and George W debating or shmoozing or participating in some other campaign related activity. I was home at my parents house for the weekend and FoxNews had a commercial showing John Kerry and his family. His family was talking about what kind of man Mr. Kerry was and how he was dedicated and honest and blah blah blah. His two daughters flashed up on the screen to talk about their dad and under their faces, their names were posted...Alexandra and Vanessa Kerry. I cocked my head as I looked at Vanessa's face. "Hey! You know who she looks like?? Oh....wait....her name is Vanessa too.....NO. FREAKIN. WAY!" (I'm a thick one, I know.)

So, now you know about the time I had an abortion debate with one of the presidential candidate's daughters. I'm tellin' ya. I should write a book...

Fujifilm CoolPix

Jerod got me a cute little point and shoot camera for Christmas, so I've been playing around with it. Here are a couple random ones I took this morning. The first is the gingerbread house that my cousin and I decorated and the second one is my uncles's dog, Eastwood. I love the second shot because it emphasizes Eastwood's best feature - his mile long nose.

Blinky Blinky

Last night I got the hankerin' to go for a drive to check out the Christmas light displays around town. Holy COW, do people go all out. I picked up Jerod and Cache and we drove around for a good hour looking at the different displays. I really encourage you to take an hour or so out of your busy shopping schedule to do this. People put so much work into it and it really does give you the warm and fuzzies to see all the Christmas cheer. It's a heckuva lot more effective then going to the mall. Talk about sucking the Christmas spirit out of you!! So, anyway, I thought I'd post the addresses of my favorites in case you too decide to go for a drive one evening.

3402 Powderhorn Circle - driving west on Rimrock, it's the next right after Zimmerman. You can't miss it. Tune your radio to 107.9 and you can watch the lights dance along to the music. It is VERY sweet. It's the best display in town that I've seen so far. The display is on from 5-9:30 p.m. on weekdays and 5-10 p.m. weekends. This house is owned by the Fuller's who used to live on 24th St. and put up a legendary display every year.

1415 Miles Ave - it's another one that dances along to the music if you tune your radio to 104.7. It runs from 5-10:00 p.m. It's a good one, but it's not quite as sync'd up as the Powderhorn house.

2425 Granite Ave - From Rimrock or Poly, turn north on Arvin Rd. and go as far as you can towards the rims, then make a left on Granite. You won't miss it. I also noticed that this one shuts down about 10:00. If you want to make a drive on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, a pixie will be giving out candy canes on Dec. 23 and 24 at this display. I swear you could stare at this display for 30 minutes and still not take it all in.

36th Street - Going west on Monad, turn right(north) on 36th street and then left on Crater Lake Ave. This is Christmas Tree Lane and Misfit Toys Lane. You can wind in and out of these streets forever looking at these lights. It seems like a very cool place to live.

Those were my favorite from last night. There is also an awesome one on Alkali Creek that I saw the other night. The gazette has some good listings here. Just click to view the map and you're set.

Anyone else know of any good ones? I'm totally up for another drive!

Random Updating

I've had some requests to update the blog, so I finally felt enough guilt to do it. The reason it's been quiet for awhile is because I seriously don't have anything exciting to talk about. The end-of-summer lull has been very uneventful and it seems like the only thing I do is sleep, work, eat, watch a little TV, repeat as necessary. Not that I'm complaining!! :D I like it quiet. But, now that the fall is about to start in full force, I should have more to write about. Here's a few things I'm looking forward to.

A Schedule: I'm a very goal/task oriented person and it will be good again to have a schedule. The spontaneity of summer annoys my inner control-freak after a while.

Membership transition to Harvest: Being between churches has been hard because I always have this guilt on Sunday morning when I attend one church, while I'm actually a member somewhere else. It will feel good to go where I OFFICIALLY belong.

Studies at Harvest: Already, Jerod and I have signed up for so many events and studies that are going on at Harvest. It will feel so good to get plugged in finally.

The Fall TV Schedule: I'm also a little stressed about this. I like too many shows, and I don't want to spend my whole life in front of the TV. But, thanks to Jerod and DVR, it will be a lot more convenient for me to get my Lost/Grey's Anatomy/Desperate Housewives/Survivor/Idol fix in. Yeah, I know. I'm pathetic.

Tutoring at JLC: I dread this typically, but I'm always happy I do it. It is a great and humbling experience, and I love to connect to another person and try to be an encouragment to them.

Jerod: (I put him last, not because he's least important, but because I'm trying to maintain my tough-girl facade by trying to make you believe that I'm not totally smitten with the guy.) Sometimes I think we spend too much time together, but he really is my best friend and I'm so excited to see what the future holds. I'm also extremely excited for our discipleship study we are planning and to see how God grows us both individually and as a couple.

Ok, that's it for now. I hope it satisfies you for a bit. Hopefully, life will get a little more exciting soon. :)