And a Super-Cool Robot, As Well

In 1980, my family was stationed in Japan. All I wanted from our visit was a china doll in a kimono. Younger Bro wanted a robot. We had no idea what we were in for. For example, the fact that our visit was actually a move. We finally returned to the States in 1984. I had plenty of time to get the doll. 

Japanese culture is fascinating and complex, and while I have fond memories of climbing Mt. Fuji, visiting the big Buddha, and running around Himeji Castle as a child, it's their games shows that really take me back.

Human Tetris - What's not to love?

Mama

I had a dream last night that I was the mother of twins. They were only a day old, and one of them told me she would like a bottle and the other one asked for moisturizer because her skin was dry. And I was in a panic because here I was with two babies and no one had thrown me a baby shower, so I pulled out a piece of paper and began making a shopping list for Target. And at the top of my list I wrote "Boppy" because all I could think of was that feeding a baby makes my arms tired and I would need that special curvy pillow thing to help out. And then I wrote "Nivea Moisturizer" on the list and woke up.

And I know this is because last night I cut through the baby department in Target on my way to check out the books and started admiring the Carter's One Year Old Line. 

Maybe I need to alter my route and cut through the shoe department next time.

Ocean Floor

I love the lyrics to this song and the meaning behind the words.

It's a great reminder of a truly incredible love.

The mistakes I've made 
That caused pain 
I could have done without 
All my selfish thought 
All my pride 
The things I hide 
You have forgot about 
They're all behind you 
They'll never find you 
They're on the ocean floor 
Your sins are forgotten 
They're on the bottom 
Of the ocean floor 
My misdeeds 
All my greed 
All the things that haunt me now 
They're not a pretty sight to see 
But they're wiped away 
By a mighty, mighty wave 
A mighty, mighty wave 
Your sins are erased 
And they are no more 
They're out on the ocean floor 
Take them away 
To return no more 
Take them away 
To the ocean floor

Held in His Arms

There are a lot of hurting people in my world right now who are dealing with loss, illness, and unexpected shifts in life situations. This verse is for them:

"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;

he delivers them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted

and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

-Psalm 34:17-18

Wears High Heels When She Exercises...

Last night at the Y I had the whole Women’s Only Center to myself because someone told Nashville there might be frozen precipitation. I like the WOC because a) it’s not as intimidating as the wellness center, and b) I can almost always get on my favorite machine.

As I was halfway into my workout, rocking out to some old Everclear, a rather interesting woman came in. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not about to mock anyone who is taking an active interest in her health and making the Herculean effort to get into the gym. But she was dressed rather … odd.

She came in with a fur coat that she did not take off for quite a while. When she finally did, she revealed a skintight black one-piece unitard. And not that I would recommend that kind of outfit for anyone, really, but she wasn’t exactly pulling it off, if you catch my drift. She wasn’t large, just not quite up to skintight Spandex. I wasn’t entirely sure it was supposed to be exercise gear. She also had on black high heels. I guess that was what really threw me. I've seen all kinds of outfits at the gym, even folks working out in loafers (I guess they forgot their tennis shoes), but never heels.

In this ensemble she slapped on weight gloves and lifted a few free weights for about five minutes - this was when she still had the fur coat on.

Then she sort of played around on all of the equipment. A couple arm lifts here, a few squats there. As we were the only two people in the whole room, it was hard not to watch her progress. She discovered the weighted balls and laid down on her back, positioned one between her high-heeled feet, and attempted to lift it over her head. The ball flew across the room. Instead of getting that one, she just grabbed another. Same result. She went through about five balls, firing them off like a catapult across the room. Finally she gave up on that and started working the circuit, still in heels.

She was still there when I left and if it would have been appropriate I would have thanked her for making my workout go so quickly. Seriously, you can’t make these things up.