Things I hadn't seen before, but now I have:

A man driving with his foot hanging out the window.
It kind of scared me to think about him driving. And if he got in an accident, I don't imagine it would feel great.

A man changing lightbulbs on a stoplight.
Apparently they are hinged on the side (stoplights, that is) and they open so that the bulbs underneath can be changed. Interesting.

The Billy Graham "museum" at Wheaton College.
My parents came up (randomly) last Monday, and they wanted to go to the Billy Graham Museum. So we did. Only my parents would want to do that. Lucas can't stop talking about it.

A man wearing white capris.
He matched his girlfriend. And he also had a sweater around his shoulders. Men should never wear white pants. When I was young, I remember my dad had white swim trunks. Probably not the best idea, but at least I didn't know it then. They were also shorter than most swim trunks should be, but it was the 80s. My dad is also whiter than all get-out, so the swim trunks didn't do anything to help that.

But I digress.

Please don't think less of my dad.

johnny rockets

So this place Johnny Rockets recently opened by the Showplace 12 on Rt. 59 and 95th Street. Turns out it's a 50's style hamburger and milkshake joint....a little more authentic brand of Steak 'n Shake. (Not that I don't love Steak 'n Shake...)

So we had just left the mall and were driving around aimlessly because the mall closed an hour earlier than we thought it would....and the girls (Krista and Chelsea) mentioned that they were kind of hungry. Our first stop was to Jamba Juice, which was also closed, just like the mall, so then we ventured further toward home and Johnny Rockets.

So we pulled up and this conversation followed:

Krista: Johnny Rockets, that sounds familiar....
Charissa: I think someone told me it was in a movie or a TV show or something.
Krista: Oh yeah, I think it's in Back to the Future!
Charissa: There's no Johnny Rockets in Back to the Future.
Krista: Johnny something....
Charissa: I think you're thinking of when he sings Johnny B. Goode.
Krista: (laughing) Oh yeah! Now I want to hear that song.

So we get to our table and it turns out that there are little mini-jukeboxes at the tables. So Krista got really excited that she could play Johnny B. Goode. There was a slot for a nickel, with a nickel already in it, which added to the excitement....which was soon dampened when the nickel wouldn't actually go into the machine. So in her frustration, Krista pushed the number for Johnny B. Goode about 7 or 8 times. And we moved on with our meals.

Then....it turns out that the waiters do a song and dance number at various points in the day....and they happened to do one while we were there, shortly after the jukebox encounter. So that was exciting. Then when their number ended, we heard the tail end of Johnny B. Goode playing over the speakers. Again, Krista got all excited, but was disappointed that she couldn't hear the whole song.

Turns out the next song was Johnny B. Goode. And the one after that. And I think the one after that too....apparently the nickel is just for show. If you push the button enough times, they'll play your selection....3 times in a row.

I don't think I need to hear Johnny B. Goode for a long time.

And Johnny Rockets was pretty dang good. But not from Back to the Future.

what a weekend!

So....several of my friends from Springfield were up this weekend to participate in our services. It was a blast! There were definitely 7 people crammed into the house, plus the roommates, so I think we set a record for number of people sleeping at Casa de Estrogen. It was so much fun, though.

We started off the weekend by going to bed REALLY late....I mean, my eyes haven't seen the other side of 1 AM for quite sometime, and we went WAY past that....but it was so fun! Two of the girls in the youth group (from my previous church) came up with the band, and they stayed in my room with me, so of course we were up chatting about everything and nothing...I miss them! I start feeling old when former youth group kids hit big milestones...like graduating from high school, going to college, getting married, etc.

Our services rocked the universe this weekend. I think Sunday's 11:00 service may have been one of my all-time favorites...and to think, this was on a weekend where we talked about sex in the message. The music was great, the message was great, the service was PACKED, and we baptized 4 people. It was awesome to have all that God-energy filling up the room. You could just feel it in the air.

The girls and I tried out a new restaurant that has opened near my house....Johnny Rockets. This deserves its own blog entry, so I'll save that for tomorrow. If you haven't heard of it or experienced it, I recommend it. You'll have a good time. Try the jukebox at your table. :o)

And today, it FINALLY felt like spring. And I hope it's going to stay that way. The weather has a direct correlation with my frame of mind and my mood, so everyone else should pray for great weather also. It makes the world a happier place.

in the past week...

...I have:

-been to Lake Geneva
-been to a spa
-had an aromatherapy wrap (weird, but overall a good experience)
-worn flip-flops
-put away my winter coat
-gotten out my winter coat
-driven to the airport
-been pulled over on the way back from said airport and written a warning for driving "64 in a 55"...on interstate 55, where no one goes 55... (bit of a sore spot, perhaps??)
-discovered that I can fit another bed in my room
-looked forward to having 8+ people stay in my house this weekend!
-eaten Mexican food twice in one day
-received 2 less-than-nice emails
-booked my first major label band for a concert
-finished a book
-not finished the other book...

Whew. It's been a little crazy. I haven't even had time to watch all my TV shows this week. :o)

bridge to terabithia

So when I saw that they were making a cinematic feature of the book Bridge to Terabithia, I was quite excited, because I read it in a Children's Lit class in college, and it was very good. Haven't seen the movie yet (due to the fact that no one is really interested in seeing it with me and I don't go to movies alone), but from the previews it looked different than I remembered the book. So I read the book yesterday.

It lived up to my memory of its good-ness.

I really liked this part.

"That whole Jesus thing is really interesting, isn't it?"
"What d'you mean?"
"All those people wanting to kill him when he hadn't done anything to hurt them." She hesitated. "It's really kind of a beautiful story--like Abraham Lincoln or Socrates--or Aslan."
"It ain't beautiful," May Belle broke in. "It's scary. Nailing holes right through somebody's hand."
"May Belle's right." Jess reached down into the deepest pit of his mind. "It's because we're all vile sinners God made Jesus die."
"Do you think that's true?"
Jess was shocked. "It's in the Bible, Leslie."
She looked at him as if she were going to argue, then seemed to change her mind. "It's crazy, isn't it?" She shook her head. "You have to believe it, but you hate it. I don't have to believe it, and I think it's beautiful." She shook her head again. "It's crazy."

talk it up

We are having our 2nd concert event at Montgomery campus next Friday night at 7:30 pm. Several of my good friends from Springfield will be coming up to not only do a show on Friday night but also to lead worship that weekend! I couldn't be more excited to have them experience CCC.

Check out our website for future events: www.narthexmusic.com

We are hoping to make this (eventually) a community outreach...thing. (Couldn't think of a better word.) So help us spread the word! And if you know of any good bands looking for somewhere to play, pass them along. I am always on the quest for quality live music to book for Narthex.

oh, Friday...

Here are some things that happened today...

At School for the Arts we have recently started a bulletin board where we post Star Students each month. I nominated 2 of my students this month...yes, I'll admit, they may be my 2 favorites...but Samantha, one of my "star students", had her lesson today, so I showed her where her name was up on a shamrock on the bulletin board, and she was SO excited. I mean, she was SO excited. It was about the cutest thing I've ever seen. I am so proud of her, though, so it was awesome to see her excitement. It almost made me cry a little bit. Almost. A little bit. It was a very touching moment.

JoniKay, Kimberly, and I went to a store to paint pottery this evening. The artist in me had a really good time. We get our pieces back in a week, so I have to wait to see the results!

JoniKay and I are currently watching Hogan Knows Best. Hulk Hogan's daughter Brooke is getting ready to release her CD on the episode, and it shows her straightening Hulk's hair. Bizarre-o.

I may or may not enjoy watching Hogan Knows Best. You should give it a shot.

health...and stuff

Those of you who know me probably wouldn't consider me a health nut. I mean, I'm a reasonably healthy person, but by no means am I a health NUT. I enjoy a good old slab of chocolate as much as the next guy. But I decided that since Lucas has cut back his soda intake for Lent (or indefinitely, we'll see how that goes) and that's a pretty big deal for him, that the least I could do is cut back on my junk food intake for Lent (or indefinitely...we'll see how it goes).

But I realize that "junk food" is a rather broad category, so I've spent the last week trying to decide what classifies as junk food. And notice that I said I'm cutting back, not stopping completely. That is important. So I've decided that mainly it means a lot of desserts (oh no!), most chips, soda (oh wait, I don't drink that anyway), and candy. This has been a good experiment for me so far....I am trying to only have one portion of "junk food" a day. Yesterday I had 2 little chocolate brownies for lunch, and that was it! I was pretty stinking proud of myself.

The one thing I am a nut about is vitamins. For the last year and a half or so I've been on a daily regimen of 2-3 vitamins: I take a daily multivitamin and rotate between a vitamin C supplement and echinacea during the peak of cold/flu season. And I'm proud to say that I have not been sick since the spring of 05. (And that was a bad one, so I'm relieved that I haven't had to relive that!) Seriously, not even a cold in the last almost 2 years. I ran out of my multivitamin about a week ago, and since my mom didn't get me any for Christmas this year (yes, she actually does most years....she's weird like that), I haven't made it out to buy more yet. But I did discover that we have a bottle of prenatal vitamins in our cupboard. Why? I have no idea. But I've been taking them, and so far haven't noticed any significant changes in my mood and/or hormone levels...plus, I think my skin is clearing up. That may or may not be a direct effect of the vitamins, but I like to think it is. So I may end up sticking with those, unless anyone can point out to me some disadvantages of taking prenatal vitamins when I am not and have no intention of being pregnant any time in the next 5-7 years.

I do wonder why, in a house of 4 single girls, there is a bottle of prenatal vitamins. It is a mystery.