Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Daily 5 - 245

Today's Daily 5:
  1. I think this time I've finally gotten things straightened out with Enmax.  And, after ten months of fighting with them to sort out a billing problem, the supervisor I dealt with was surprisingly helpful and accommodating.
  2. Picked out a great new purse on clearance at my favorite clothing shop tonight, and then got it to the cash register and found out it was ten dollars cheaper than the marked price.
  3. Really enjoyed the butter chicken that I cooked last night when I ate it for lunch today.
  4. Loving Sara Miles' "Jesus Freak" as I'm slowly reading it.
  5. Loving the audio version of "Stuff Christians Like" as I'm listening my way through that as well.
  6. Challenged by my middle brother
  7. Glad to have heard that a friend who was traveling with some potential complications arrived safely at her destination

Worth Checking Out

Angie wrote this beautiful post the other day.

There's been lots of good stuff at Donald Miller's blog lately.  He's been posting far more regularly.  I particularly enjoyed today's post, "How I Learned to Like Exercise, and Like Some Other Things Too" (which I'm having trouble linking to, so you'll have to find it on your own!)

Rambly Thoughts

I'm feeling quite rambly again.

I'm thinking and praying, still, for a dear friend in transit on the other side of the world.  Wondering if she made her connections, or if there were problems, and waiting to hear.

I'm thinking about my brother, J., who works for a local social services agency, in a home for severely challenged teenagers.  Kids with emotional and developmental difficulties.  I need to text him later today and find out if he's okay.  He had to physically restrain a girl yesterday and came out a little the worse for the wear.  It took three grown men to restrain her, and J. was bit and she spat in his eye.  Last I heard he was headed for a clinic and a lab to get the wound cleaned out, and get some blood work done.  If I know J., within a week, he'll have found a way to make it a hilarious story.  He's uniquely talented for the job - where I would see only the rules, he sees and enforces the rules, but still finds a way to see the kids.  I think he's headed back to his usual summer landscaping job within a few weeks, but last I heard he was hoping to return to this agency in the fall, and work for them through the school year.  So, I'll wait a while, and then I'll text him and find out how he's doing.

I'm debating evening plans.  There's a conference going on at a local church that I want to attend, but I'm not feeling highly motivated to go alone tonight.  I have friends to attend with the next several days, but not tonight.  I might go anyway.  Or I might go shopping.  I need a good pair of walking shoes.  I've been putting it off, but I need to take care of that soon.  Or maybe I'll just go home and have one more evening of rest before diving into the busy rest of the week.

I'm still laughing over last's night's cooking adventures.  I mentioned in yesterday's daily 5 that since my grandma was out for the evening, I took advantage of the quiet and did a whole bunch of cooking, knowing that the remainder of the week would be crazily busy, and I wouldn't have a chance to cook, and just barely time to eat.  However, her knives are less than useful (a dull paring knife with a 2" blade, and a 30 year old serrated bread knife) and though I searched high and low, I couldn't find a frying pan to save my life.  I did however manage to cook butter chicken with couscous, and italian pork chops with sweet baby bell peppers and roasted potatoes.  And it all tasted great.  I only had a bite of the butter chicken last night, just to try it, and then had pork chops and potatoes for supper.  I'm quite looking forward to my lunch of butter chicken today.

I'm thinking about banking, because I need to do some at lunch.

And about payday, because I need to hand out paystubs to our staff today, and how that nice sum of money will "magicly" appear in my account in the morning.

I'm thinking about praying with oatmeal and tea and lots of funny little reminders to pray.

I'm wishing my former roommate, L., was only a phone call away, because I think she'd be fun to laugh with, over some of the many funny adventures I've had lately.  Cooking at grandmas, the attack of the stupid little dog, J. being bitten by one of his charges.  And because I'd love to hear about the places she's exploring overseas, and how her new job is going.  I guess I'll have to email her soon.

And I'm thinking about the friends I've made, scattered around the blog world, and praying for them too - the ones I've met in person, and the ones I've corresponded with via emails and blog comments.  And about how cool it is to connect in this way, in this sharing of hearts over the internet.

And with that, I'd better dive into my busy day!