Hotter Than a Pepper Sprout

Chad is giving the sermon at church tomorrow, and his general topic is faith. Of course it's only 9:15 p.m., so he's still writing. We've talked about his sermon but we never delve into his talks too much before he gives them, so I can really only speculate on what his sermon will cover. I think it will, at least in part, touch on what "faith" means to people who don't necessarily believe in a god or some type of deity or spiritual force.  Since I haven't written a blog post in a while and I've been looking for inspiration and I'm on my own right now as Chad works on his sermon and I don't want to work or put away laundry or learn lines, AND I've had a fair amount of wine, it seems like a grand idea for me to write about faith, too. "Can I have an 'Amen'?" (or a polite nod) The first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word faith is a surprisingly awesome folk-y song we used to get to sing in the Missouri Lut...

(Or:  "Why do I keep getting so many Facebook event invites from Amy?") Technically, Chad and I are currently in four bands. Hell, maybe even five depending on how you define "in." That stat is rather misleading, though, as one band is set to expire tomorrow and another only has a likely lifespan through August 27. Still, at this very moment in time they all exist and a little marketing (er, explanation) seems in order. All of our bands have origin stories that begin with Twin Town Guitars. This amazing local music store has an awesome instructional program (which we so wittily call "band camp") in which one signs up for six weeks of lessons with other aspiring musicians that culminates in a recital of six songs at the Whiskey Junction. Yes these shows are free to attend and booze is sold.  Since May 2013, Chad and I have been members of at least 14 Twin Town bands and have loved it.(Huge shoutout to Ben Glaros and Mark Wade for being our fearles...

Dear Target, I love you, you know I do. But please don't have your cashiers ask me if I have anything "fun" planned for the night. I just don't need that extra pressure in my life. This question forces me to either lie or have a really awkward conversation. And because I'm not prepared for it this test, I usually end up lying badly which is still awkard. And what does "fun" mean, anyway? Now there is a philosphical question. Tonight, for example, I am going to a singing lesson. Now my teacher is great and it is certainly a positive experience and I feel extremely fortunate to have the time and money to have this opportunity. But I'm not quite sure I'd call it "fun." It is work, it does require effort, and some bravery to overcome my self-doubt and put myself out there. Singing in a Target dress So even if I consider a singing lesson "fun," that's still pretty subjective. My assumption is that the twenty-somethin...

It's been a distressingly (at least to me) long time since my last blog post. Lack of time and inspiration are the main culprits. So I've decided to seize on whatever small bit of material I can find (no matter how lame). This post stems from a recent ride in my friend Wanda's car (not surprising as Wanda is frequently hauling my ass around to a social outing--usually a concert  or trivia). Our friend sitting in the backseat remarked on the awesome collection of concert baseball hats Wanda had sharing the space with him. Of course I just had to share what I happened to have in my car, and will now do so for the blogverse: Things in my car (a Honda Fit) as of this morning: a gi a toy megaphone a dartboard a used printer toner cartridge my drum set stool a travel coffee mug (that isn't mine) This list provides a rather telling snapshot of my life and glimpse into my psyche. Okay, mainly it just reavels that I'm a pretty messy person and treat my car as a...

In a little less than two weeks I'm going to run the Red, White & Boom Half Marathon. I'm not expecting it to go as well I want it to. So before I face that disappointment, I want to make sure I fully revel in the success of the last half marathon I ran in April. That means, time for a photo of a DJ pizza cat in space in my honor: I feel like this cat is spiining tunes of victory just for me My most recent half marathon (also my second ever) was quite a personal coup because I achieved a PR (that's runner's geek speak for "personal record.") I ran it way faster than I ever thought I could or would with an overal time of 1:56:07. That's an average page of 8:52 per mile. You can get all the details (if you happen to be extremely bored and stuck without any human contact or any type of intellecutal stimulation or tv). So why am I talking smack to myself about the upcoming race? Primarily because it will probably be much hotter on the Fou...

Chamy vacation math: A deposition for Chad in New York = opportunity for mini Chamy vacation. We had a great time and I get the bonus of a little blog material and the chance to share some of the memorable moments and trip-inspired musings: My selfie at the New York Historical Society Museum which had an awesome Mo Willems exhibit. I may have been the only adult there without a child.   I award myself a metaphorical cookie for walking from our hotel, to the New York Historical Society Museum, to the Museum of Modern Art, to the TKTS booth in Times Square, back to the MOMA and then finally our hotel, by myself, without getting lost. Woot.  I discovered I'm a total sucker for the Pret a Manger restaurant chain, even though it's pretentious and I had no idea what the name meant before I googled it. "Manger" seems like a really odd word to have in a restaurant name, but the appeal is all about the easy access to salads. If these ever come to Minnesota I may just ...

Chad and I recently spent a moving and intense weekend on a spiritual retreat. It was a time of discovery and growth, and one of the lessons we learned I want to share: Don't put me and Chad in charge of your breakfast pastry needs. Chad and I have a lot of talents and skills, but picking up caramel rolls from Tobie's in Hinckley isn't one of them. While this is a relatively simple mission, it amplified many of our weaknesses: our ineffective mode of couple communication, Chad's lack of understanding of the importance others place on food, my irrational irritation at receiving food recommendations for northern Minnesota, my penchant for mixing up the names of things, and my fear of excessive morning calories. These rolls make me nervous So a simple and very reasonable request to pick up Tobie's caramel rolls for the two middle school girls on our retreat started with Chad picking up caramel rolls from Lund's the night before we left for the retreat. Chad...