My brother-in-law Will, wrote an interesting blog today about the spirit versus theology. I guess that's how to explain it (you'll have to go look).
Growing up near a popular Christian seminary and going to a church that had very good theology and was and still is a very loving and condusive environment to learning, I was faced with some of the same questions that Will is discussing on his sight. I have been a bystander while he and cousin "Tech" comment and have some interesting discussions.

Tonight, (before I took the neices to see "Nanny McFee"), I had a chat with Will about the problem of thinking that if you are well learned in Christianity or any religion for that matter, go to the right schools/seminary, the right church, have the right discussions, grasp the right concepts, then we will be close to God and know Him better. The hunger for God can only truly be satisfied by sitting with God, being humbled in His presence, calling out to Him and communing with Him. I am understaning that more and it's wonderful.
Yes, good understanding of the Bible is essential to knowing better about our Lord, but actually knowing Him as a friend and a saviour requires something different.
It's good life changing stuff when that happens. It softens and strengthens, it humbles and lifts up, it fills the spirit with satisfaction and joy. It's good and I want more of that!

This is what satisfaction looks like.

Every Saturday a couple of guys come to our salon and sell fresh fruit. They get it from the L.A fruit market early in the morning and then go around and sell it throughout the day. I was SO glad when they came today because I REALLY wanted some cherries. I don't know why but I have always loved cherries and now that I'm pregnant I can't get enough. Chocolate is not appealing one bit. Sweets in general kind of gross me out (except for starburst). Everyone says that because I'm not craving sweets it's probably going to be a boy. We'll see.

There are a couple of subjects that I would and could write about and I'm not sure which one to tackle at the moment.
It takes alot of intellect from my foggy brain to sit down and put down on words what flits around beween my ears.
I've never really liked to write. It's hard for me to compose ideas in a logical format.
The thing that I DO like about writing especially in the blog format, is that people can read it and maybe be amused for a second. It has always brought me a great amount of pleasure to make people laugh. My blogs haven't always been written for that purpose, I don't have a comidy blog....... Oh my goodness "comidy" is that a word?? I just had a "wierdchickenstove" moment. That's when you write or say a word and it doesn't make sense as a word. It's just a sound. (I just googled the word "comidy" and it said "did you mean comedy?" That explains my problem with that word.
Anyways, for me that's why I like to write. If no one were to read something I wrote there would be no joy in it for me. Well, maybe. I journal sometimes and it wouldn't bring me joy to have someone read that.
O.K, different thread.....

Here is a short list of my favorite work songs(Kost 103.5 easy listening) We listen to this station at the salon because it's the ONLY station everyone slightly agrees on.

Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton - Islands in the stream
James Blunt - You are beautiful (totally overplayed but what women doesn't love that song??)
Anything by ABBA

I may add to my list if I hear anything else that makes me happy. If you live around the L.A. area and you have to listen to the Kost or if you have an "easy listening" station that is forced on you during working hours, what are your favorites?

Hurray for the the new season of 24! Tonight was the two hour season opener and there will be one more two hour special tomorrow night..... The suspense killed me last season and I am looking forward to future heart palpatations this season!

Today my roomie of over a year moved out. Everything was amiable but she wanted to start saving money for her wedding in May. She moved home to live (for free) with the folks. I have to say that she was probably one of my favorite roommates that I've had over the years.
The fun part of this situation is that now I get the whole house to myself until March. So between now and then I will be attacking every corner and making it ready for Chris to move in.
My biggest project will be my room. I have been pretty spoiled over the years because I havn't had to share a room with anybody, so it has kind of gotten out of control. The rest of my house is kept fairly neat, besides a couple of piles of important papers and the chinchilla dust that somehow keeps flying out of the cage, I live in a comfortable environment.
The thing that really made me take stock of my out-of-control bedroom was when my mom came over a couple of weeks ago to nurse me back to health from a very bad case of food poisening.
I was lying on my bed (which happens to be an air mattress).... a very nice one I might add.... And my mom brought a chair into my room to chat with me in my weakened state. I didn't have the strength to try and divert her to another room so that she wouldn't have to lay eyes on my crazy mess, so she sat in the midst of piles of clothes and random but useful knick knacks.
While we were talking I looked over and there hanging from the switch on my lamp, was an argyle knee sock. Now, there was a reason it was hanging there. I had taken my clothes from the dryer the day before and the sock had been a little damp still. In the moment I had looked around and the most logical spot to hang it to dry was on the lamp switch. The problem was that it just added to the colorful and confusing chaos. My mom's eyes followed mine to the guilty sock and we ended up laughing about the silliness of the situation.
Alas, my room will no longer be my own soon and it is time to grow up and find a place for the argyle knee sock and homeless clothes. I knew the day would come.

Baby at 9 weeks. I found this to be so interesting and a bit crazy. The little bunchkin is floating in it's happy home. It's amazing what can be seen so early! The head is on the left and the foot is the thing sticking up on the top right.

It is time to write again.
When I wrote the post about having had so much change in my life over the years and never really feeling settled, I had no idea how much change was coming, and how that change would "settle" me forever.
The long and short of it is that on March 4 of this year I will be Mrs. Christopher Jensen and as of sometime in August I will be a mother. Even writing this is a bit surreal. It has been sinking in over the past month and it will take a while to really understand the weight of everything.
I am so excited to marry Chris. We have had a bit of an up and down relationship since we met but it always come back to how much we love each ther. We truly enjoy each other and we are ready for what life hands us. It's been a bit of a crash course in grace, repentance, and faith and It's good. I see God's goodness and redemption and I look forward to seeing how He continues to walk with us and show us what's next.
I'll be writing again in the midst of wedding planning... there will probably be alot to write about!

It may be a little while before I blog again. There is alot I am sorting through right now. I'm hoping to be able to blog again when the time is right. Until then Merry Christmas! And maybe a happy New Years if I don't write before then.

About 7 years ago I worked during the summer as a pool monitor. The job title basically meant making sure order was kept in the pool area of a condo. It boiled down to having to sheepishly tell nice old men that they couldn't smoke their cigars inside the pool area and glaring warningly at children as they skipped around the wet cement. During that time I read alot. I was pretty bored and I ended up reading almost every Louise L'amore (can't remember how to spell his name) book that he ever wrote. I got really good at quoting lines from his stories, and I could pretty much predict the ending of all his books halfway through. By the end of the summer I was completely done with westerns of any kind.

Looking at my last blog I remembered this particular time in my life and kind of laughed because it's just in my system to like western literature. Also, it made me think back on all the changes and things that have taken place in my life since high school. I've done alot. I don't regret any opportunity I've taken or not taken. Sure, I regret certain choices but overall I realize that I'm happy with where my life has taken me. I see God's hand in my past. Right now, I'm looking for God's hand in the present.

My life is taking yet another turn and I'm curious about where it will go. For the past 11 years everything has been in flux. Where I live has changed many times. My roommates have changed, jobs have changed (until I actually found a career), and relationships have changed. There hasn't been one time that I have been able to just relax and know that something is permanent. I think this is especially interesting because of all the things I value, "being settled" is up there at the top. I see that perhaps this is an area that has needed to be challanged as well.
So, here I am, once again not knowing what the new year has in store. It will be interesting to see how life goes. I may blog about this again at some point. That is if this blog is still here tomorrow......

One of the things that I enjoy doing while I'm on vacation, if time and situation allows, is to read a book or books that go with the surrounding area.
A few years back when my family and a couple of others went down to Baja, I read "The girl of the Sea of Cortez". It helped me understand the area better and I appriciated the mysteries and the nuances of that place and culture.

While in Texas, Jim loaned me a much loved William James book. It was a horse and cowboy story and I promptly finished it in less than two days. (I read alot at night.) I have always been partial to western stories partly because I really like animals and Horses are just such amazing creatures, and partly because that life is sooo far different from my life and I have kind of always had a deep down craving for something harder or more rewarding. The truth is I probably couldn't hold up under that kind of lifestyle but never the less it still fascinates me.
The first book that I borrowed was meant to keep me busy on the plane but because I finished it so fast I had to start another one to do that.
The second one that I borrowed and just now finished was called "Sand". It was a great story of a man who's life has been quite privilaged and who never had much to work for or live up to. Up until then he had been spoiled, aimless and indulgent. He gets lost on the plains and comes across a cow-drive and from there, he sets out on a path to find what he needs to do to become a man with purpose and character. He turns out to have "sand" or gumtion to stick to what needs to be done.
I'll probably be on a "western stories" kick for a while and I'm always up for a good book.
Any suggestions?

The pictures below are a sampleing of my stay in Texas.


1. Jim and Erin discussing the complicated map.
2. Very creepy spiders congergating in the outside sink.
3. The bright and cheery entry way to the Barnes house.
4. The fantastic Thanksgiving feast we had the day I arrived. Yummy!
5. Me and Miss Lindsey. (She was the principal of Lindsey schools for many years and I taught Kindergarten for her one year. She just moved to Waco, Texas to be near family.
6. The stock yards in Fort Worth. There was alot of cowboy history there.
7. A little run down B-B-Q hut along the road to Waco.
8. The cozy family room.
9. In Texas the gasoline prices were a bit lower than in L.A.
10. Erin and Jim in front of their new church.

Here are a few pictues of my stay in Texas.

The Thanksgiving weekdend was spent with Erin and Jim who recently relocated. They are much missed here at the "mother ship", so it was quite fun to get to spend a whole long weekend with them. I loved seeing their beautiful new house and exploring the area where they live. It's really quite difficult to move away from everything one knows and start completely new. In being there, it really hit me how hard it is to do what they are doing and how over history many have done the same thing.
The story of the Pioneers and others who left family and friends in search of a better land were frought with casualties and suffering, but then again there were no Wal-Marts or Sonic Burgers along the way....
All to say "Erin and Jim, you are complete troopers!"

This weekend it was my niece, Madelines turn to come and visit her auntie. I had her sister Abigail in early September and the time was finally right to have Madeline come and visit.
Here are a few pictures of our time together which included manicure and pedicure, cookie baking, dinner at mimi's cafe, playing with the chincilla, seeing the movie "Dreamer" (highly reccomended), and just having a really fun time.

Madeline cooking and showing off here pretty nail polish. She liked it when Grandma and Grandpa stopped by so she could show them as well. =)

O.K. I just needed to post something new. The Halloween picture was getting a little old and... a bit creepy.


Sad news...... our dear and loyal family dog Brittney (a very sweet Brittney spaniel) has gone on to the land of endless table scraps and raw hide bones.
I haven't written about it until now because, frankly I wasn't quite able to. Although she was a stinky outdoor dog she was much loved and fawned over during her happy life.

Originally she was brought home as a puppy to be a hunting companion for my dad. She got outfitted with little booties to protect her paws from the sharp brush, she had hours of specific hunting dog training including one un-orthodox method of teaching her to "whoah" (stop) which included rigging her to a tree and pulling her up off the ground and then putting her down slowly while saying "whoah". (I'm sure the neighbors had some fun stories to share with each other). I have to say that we all benefited from her meticulous training. She was a very pleasant and well behaved dog..... usually.

After all the attention and care she recieved regarding hunting it turned out that she had hip displatia and and an allergy to fleas that cut her promising hunting career short. In the end she found her place in our family as a little personality that knew how to work the system.
Some of her favorite past times were, running into the house when she thought nobody was looking, chewing on ice, sitting contentedly next to one of her "people", chewing rawhide, inhaling scraps thrown to her during dinner, getting groomed by Erin, shadowing dad or any one of us through windows in the house, barking at people walking by, walks in the hills, walks anywhere, waiting for directions from dad, getting scratched on the belly.

She will always be remembered with fondness.

Happy Halloween!



Halloween found me with time on my hands and no big plans so...... I fixed that, and Chris turned out to be a really good sport. About halfway through our relaxing Monday, I realized that there was nothing planned for this holiday.

Growing up, we always came up with some interesting/wierd/creative homemade costume and it was usually on the actual day of Halloween. We would dig through the costume box and our closests trying to compile the perfect ensemble. The creative rush at the last minute was what made the holiday fun. Yesterday I had the manic desire to rush around and put something together. It started when I spotted the "mega white trash wig" at Party City..... then the idea grew when Chris found the "JD mullet wig" and bubba teeth. With a few Wal Mart details our costumes were complete. Here is a list of a few key items.

- t-shirt for Chris (one size too small)
- pink plastic high heels - false eyelashes and gobs of makeup
- hideous but fabulous "bubba teeth"
- dangly colorful earrings
- wigs (that will be used alot in the future)
- trashy tank top and sweat shirt

A truly white trash Halloween...... Priceless

It really ended up being alot of fun and I have to say that Chris threw himself into the festivities with zeal despite a bit of reasonable doubt early on. Sooooo fun.

Yeah, it's been a while since I sat down and wrote. I've been tired. Like, can only handle what's in front of me kind of tired. There is something about traveling and going staight back to work that just kicked me in the.... tail.
Anyways, It was good to get out of my routine and see two other parts of the country. Cincinatti was truly a comfortable and pretty city, lots of culture and good food. The pictures are on my last blog.

The hot dry air of Pheonix was mesmerizing and it felt good to sit in the steaming hot jacuzzie or (kajoozie) as my nieces once called it, at the hotel and feel the dry heat around me when I got out.
While me, Chris and his parents were in Arizona we thought it would be nice to stay one night in Sedona. Chris' mom found a little inn that turned out to be "the best bed and breakfast in North America" according to the North American Travel Jounalists Association. It lived up to that description complete with fireplaces in every room and fresh bread baking when you arrive. Chris and his folks stayed in a Casita which was a cozy suite with a large feather bed and a murphy bed that Chris got to utilize, a fireplace and large bathroom with a waterfall shower and jakuzzie tub.
My room was the "garden room" and it had a little balcony that faced the sunrise. My bed was probably the most comfortable bed I've slept in since the last luxury trip the Jensen's took us on last year. I was very blessed by their generosity.

After all that comfort it's a jolt to come home and do laundry and sleep on my "temporary bed" air matteress. It's just not as cushy as those feather top beds!
That's a whole 'nother blog and maybe someday I'll write about the bed issue.
Until then.......

This last weekend Chris and I spent time with his family in Cincinatti OH. Some of the highlights were visiting the museum downtown, the aquarium, and getting to see where Chris grew up. One day was spent just driving around his home town area and visiting his high school, looking at houses and just soaking up the sights. Molly the family dog/baby was quite entertaining and getting to see the Cincinatti Pops Orchestra accompinied by Dave Brubeck quartet was great as well. It really was alot of fun.

I've been a bit unmotivated lately about writing.
It's not that there is nothing going on, it's that there is so much going on. This Thursday two things happen. Sister Erin and husband Jim leave for Texas (to live), and Chris and I leave for Cincinatti to visit his parents. I work two days this week, leave, then come back Monday and then leave again on Friday for a family gathering (Chris's family) in Arizona.

Having a sister move out of state is a bigger deal than I'm feeling right now. Despite having cousins living overseas and various family members, who I love scattered across the country, I've never had a sister move away. Both my sisters are priceless and the friendships I have with them run deeper than I can say.
Erin and I are night and day different and over the years we have learned to understand, love and respect each other for who we each are. There is something unexplainable about the relationship someone has with another when you have fought, laughed, co-exhisted, worked through differences and come out loving that person even deeper than before. That's where true relationship exists and I'm grateful for that with my little sis. I know she and Jim will be happy. I'm happy for them. Actually I'm elated for them. I can't wait to visit and I can't wait to see what life holds for them. And yeah, I'll be spending as much time visiting there crazy amazing pad as much as possible!

Next time I write I'll try to put some picures of our Cincinatti trip up.