Ordination Interview Outfit

The ordination interviews are less than 5 days away, and I'm trying to decide between two outfits. I would love your opinion! They each have their pluses and minuses, but I'm hopeful that one will be a clear winner.




OR





Your thoughts?

Happy Mardi Gras!

Well, it's Fat Tuesday again. And another year not in New Orleans! :( Very sad. But we had some folks over for a little party with jambalaya, hurricanes, artichoke cakes and king cakes! It was a great time. Some great old friends were there, as well as some new friends. Here were some of our visitors.



James and Jason helped so much with the party! Jason is from Louisiana and made the best king cakes. Two different flavors, even. It was great not to be the only one cooking.



Joey and Maiko stopped by. Look at that tie that Joey has on. His friend made it for him in 5th grade. He's gotten a lot of good use out of it. He has another in black!



Jonathan, my co-worker at IWJ, looking dapper in his Mardi Gras mask. (Meghan, it's time to infiltrate his facebook page and upload a new profile picture!)



Me, Kristin, and Joy...the purple boa makes another appearance! Dave, sorry you missed it, honey!



The hit of the night was Ms. Cyanna! Who found the bowl with the beads and could not get enough. She and Gumbo (the dog not the food) had a great time together too!

All in all, it was a good Mardi Gras, and now we prepare for Lent. (This is really more Vince's area of expertise!)

P.S....come back in a couple of days to vote on my ordination interview outfit! I have two options that I can't decide between.

Sympathy Pains?

I promised I would update you all on my back progress. I met with the neurosurgeon after my MRI. It turns out that I have two bulging disks, a torn muscle, and another spastic muscle. There is nothing medically that can really be done. I have finished my last round of steroids (not fun), but I am still in pain quite a bit.

"What can be done?" I ask the doctor. "Swimming and pilates" is the answer (not to mention another 4-8 weeks of physical therapy). I have to strengthen my core and back muscles; otherwise, I will continue to have back problems throughout my life. So, I'm managing. I have been back to work full-time, and my organization is being great about me working from home about half of the time. That makes it possible for me to rest my back when I need it. Sitting is really the most uncomfortable position.

When I take the time to rest, I usually go in the bedroom and lie down on the heating pad. Two rounds of 20 minutes (on my upper and lower back). When I get up, however, someone else always gets in my place. Could she be having sympathy pains?



Ahh...Pandora...always stealing my spot!

Made me giggle!

This is the comic "One Big Happy" from today, February 3, 2009.