ex(PR)essed

Sometimes you get the flu and sometimes the flu gets you.

I think the flu got me.

But, fear not, I’m feeling better now, and I’m looking forward to spending two days in Myrtle Beach with my cute parents and adorable husband. I’ve heard that nothing cures the flu like sun, sand, and…well, sun!

For those of you wondering (Brandie), I’m on page 267 in “War and Peace” at the start of Part IV. The flu left me without enough strength to hold that big book open, so my pace of reading has slowed considerably the past week. What says light, easy beach read like “War and Peace” though, right?! I’ll probably polish that thing off after two days at the beach…

Your weekend might not involve a 10-hour drive to South Carolina, but I do hope it involves some much-deserved rest and relaxation! Enjoy!

Due to circumstances beyond my control, your curiousity about the four pounds of bubblegum that I purchased yesterday will have to remain unsatiated. Sorry about that. But, don’t despair. You will eventually see why a nice girl with TMJ would purchase so much gum.

On another note, that quirky David Crowder is asking people who read his blog to press shuffle on their digital music player of choice and then type the first ten songs that come up into the comment section of his blog. Fun! I did it last night, and here’s what I got:

“Brilliant Disguise” by Bruce Springsteen (Thanks, dad, for helping me, at a young age, appreciate “The Boss.”)
“Lead Me On” by Amy Grant (Best Amy Grant album ever. Hand’s down. Don’t be dissin’ on Amy.)
“For the Moments I Feel Faint” by Relient K (I would never buy a whole Relient K album…)
“City of Blinding Lights” by U2 (Love this U2 song…Jeff and I used it for our grand entrance to our wedding reception!)
“Brighter than Sunshine” by Aqualung (Quirky. Catchy.)
“Are You Gonna Be My Girl” by Jet (Um…I have no real explanation.)
“100 Years” by Five for Fighting (Sweet song.)
“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the Rolling Stones (Mick Jagger is one of life’s great philosophers as evidenced in this tune.)
“In My Place” by Coldplay (I’m convinced you can’t go wrong with Coldplay.)
“New Way To Be Human” by Switchfoot (old Switchfoot is so much better than new Switchfoot)

Now, you tell me. What on your iPod/MP3 player?

I know you’re all wondering. What’s a girl with viscious TMJ going to do with four pounds of bubblegum? Stay tuned…

I can honestly say that we made the most of our Messiah College connections this weekend! On Friday night we went to Gettysburg with our good friends Matt and Anita to enjoy a fine dinner at the Dobbin House Tavern, in support of a fund-raising effort by the College’s department of family science. The dinner and worthy cause made for a nice double date!

(You’re not tired of seeing pictures of these cute girls are you?)

On Saturday, Jeff and I had the privilege (and I mean that!) of spending a few hours with Natalie and Emma. We picked them up at 11 a.m. and headed to “Old McDonald’s” (as coined by cute Natalie) for lunch. Then, we went to the Oakes Museum on campus. Emma, especially, loved the museum and all the animals. (”Don’t pet them,” she kept reminding me.) She just bounced around, pointing and exclaiming each time she saw something that delighted her. Jeff and I were smitten (as usual) and took such delight in her joy! Then, to cap our afternoon of fun, we took the girls to Larsen Student Union for cookies and chocolate milk. Natalie fell asleep on the way home, and Emma continued to enlighten us with stories about Shrek’s donkey. A think it’s safe to say that a grand time was had by all!

Yesterday, Jeff and I saw the closing performance of “Godspell” at Messiah. It was unbelievably good! Theatre at Messiah continues to impress the socks of me — they have to be the best around! They truly do outstanding work in area well-saturated with theatre options.

And, not to worry — my weekend included plenty of time for reading “War and Peace.” I have surged ahead to page 250!

Every Thursday should inculde lunch with the Patton girls and the anticipation of having Friday off work! Such is today for me. I met these crazy girls and their adorable mom for lunch at Subway and a grand time was had by all. Some highlights: Emma breaking, rather loudly, into her own, alto-ish rendition of “Go Tell It on the Mountain” and evangelizing the whole restaurant; a retelling of Natalie’s adorable outburst, “Praise the Lord; the hot dog’s alive!” (some people are more familiar with the “praise the Lord, I saw the light” version); and my dear friend Allyson just being the lovely, sweet, caring person that she is. Sigh…it was great.

Today is my last work day for this week. Starting tomorrow at noon, an “entire weekend of girlfriendness” begins! Jamie arrives and it’s nothing but crafting, coffee-drinking, and chatting until Sunday!

In the meantime, I’m busy juggling media inquiries (Messiah is on quite the streak) and preparing to be out tomorrow. And, I’m terribly distracted by happy thoughts of my lunch dates.

Oh…and for those of you dying for a “War and Peace” update: I think I’m on page 185! I have definitely ventured into the war portion of the novel.

So, at first glance, you might see this picture of Jeff in his 3D glasses and confuse him with Grandpa Joe in the charming little movie, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

Grandpa J–er, I mean, Jeff is donning those stylish lenses in preparation for the best IMAX ever (please re-read this sentence in your best “Bill and Ted” voice…). Seriously, if you haven’t yet, you must go see U2 in 3D. Even if the only U2 songs you know are from “The Joshua Tree” album, you should still go (although, shame on you). It was awesome! It was almost better than being at one of their concerts because you could see their facial expressions, understand every word, and watch closely their interactions on stage.

The only downside? Dancing in the aisles was discouraged. People in the theater stayed seated and relatively quiet. And, the dude at the Whitaker Center who had the microphone used phrases like “rock your face off” and “primo seating.” I was embarassed for him. Like totally.

Anywho…the weekend was fun. Between seeing U2 in 3D with my sensational husband and watching the Super Bowl with the best youth group, how can a girl go wrong?