A whole week has gone by since I last posted.
The house still isn't on the market.
We are only #9 on the housing list. Mind you we were #9 a month ago, then bumped back to #11 then to #10. I think it's just an illusion for you to *think* you'll actually move up.
Nothing particuarly thrilling has happened this week. Probably the most exciting moment was Friday night, Larry and I had a date. We do a babysitting swap with another couple with 3-almost-4 kids, so the swap is pretty even. So.. Friday we dropped the kids off there for some grown-up alone time.
But of couse, we're boring people, so we thought we'd just go out to eat.
The date went like this:
I wanted to go to dinner, we'd had Mexican food last month, so we, (I) was looking for something else- I wanted Thai food. Larry's on a diet, so he's thinking at least he won't over-eat there, so he agrees to it.
There were 2 places listed in the phone book for Thai food- no problem, right?
Uh, yeah.
We finally arrive at the address the first one had in the phone book- and what was there- Thai food? uh, no. An Italian restaurant. Hmmmm.. better check the next place..
This one is in 'downtown' Blacksburg. Well, about the only thing downtown about it is no-parking spaces.. Thirteen times around the block looking for a parking space, much less one large enough to park the bus...
And we find one. Whoo hoo.
Walk and enter the Restaurant. The sign says "winner second place asian food"
Hmmm. Second place? was the Italian restaurant first place?
It's very trendy.
The wine list is 2 pages long.
The food list is 5 items long.
uh, yeah. not what we were looking for...
So, there we are looking at an fairly pricey menu with nothing on it that we want to eat. Now mind you, our Thai food experiences are pretty limited, so it isn't like we could ask- hey, can you make Pad Mei (or insert the right name here). It would be more like- "uh, we had a noodle and something dish in CT we really liked, do you know what we're asking for? no, there weren't crushed peanuts on it....."
So.. we're sitting there planning our escape looking at the "for emergency exit only" door.
We non-chalantly walk out the front door passing the waitress and say, sorry we changed our minds.
Back in the Bus.... thinking..ok.. plan b.. maybe Mexican again? and see a catering truck for a new mexican place and think.. well, why not, I heard it was good.. turn around and find the place.
Know where it was- about 25 feet past our last parking space.
UGH.
Aroung the block 13 more times, this time parking in front of the Thai place we just left, walking up the block and across the street to the Mexican place.
Food was ok. Felt really really old surounded by the swarms of college undergraduates there. BUT, hey, food was decent, Queso was good.. And our kids were entertained without us telling them to eat their dinner 40 times.
See. I told you we were boring people.
The house still isn't on the market.
We are only #9 on the housing list. Mind you we were #9 a month ago, then bumped back to #11 then to #10. I think it's just an illusion for you to *think* you'll actually move up.
Nothing particuarly thrilling has happened this week. Probably the most exciting moment was Friday night, Larry and I had a date. We do a babysitting swap with another couple with 3-almost-4 kids, so the swap is pretty even. So.. Friday we dropped the kids off there for some grown-up alone time.
But of couse, we're boring people, so we thought we'd just go out to eat.
The date went like this:
I wanted to go to dinner, we'd had Mexican food last month, so we, (I) was looking for something else- I wanted Thai food. Larry's on a diet, so he's thinking at least he won't over-eat there, so he agrees to it.
There were 2 places listed in the phone book for Thai food- no problem, right?
Uh, yeah.
We finally arrive at the address the first one had in the phone book- and what was there- Thai food? uh, no. An Italian restaurant. Hmmmm.. better check the next place..
This one is in 'downtown' Blacksburg. Well, about the only thing downtown about it is no-parking spaces.. Thirteen times around the block looking for a parking space, much less one large enough to park the bus...
And we find one. Whoo hoo.
Walk and enter the Restaurant. The sign says "winner second place asian food"
Hmmm. Second place? was the Italian restaurant first place?
It's very trendy.
The wine list is 2 pages long.
The food list is 5 items long.
uh, yeah. not what we were looking for...
So, there we are looking at an fairly pricey menu with nothing on it that we want to eat. Now mind you, our Thai food experiences are pretty limited, so it isn't like we could ask- hey, can you make Pad Mei (or insert the right name here). It would be more like- "uh, we had a noodle and something dish in CT we really liked, do you know what we're asking for? no, there weren't crushed peanuts on it....."
So.. we're sitting there planning our escape looking at the "for emergency exit only" door.
We non-chalantly walk out the front door passing the waitress and say, sorry we changed our minds.
Back in the Bus.... thinking..ok.. plan b.. maybe Mexican again? and see a catering truck for a new mexican place and think.. well, why not, I heard it was good.. turn around and find the place.
Know where it was- about 25 feet past our last parking space.
UGH.
Aroung the block 13 more times, this time parking in front of the Thai place we just left, walking up the block and across the street to the Mexican place.
Food was ok. Felt really really old surounded by the swarms of college undergraduates there. BUT, hey, food was decent, Queso was good.. And our kids were entertained without us telling them to eat their dinner 40 times.
See. I told you we were boring people.
The weather this week was actually beautiful and Larry got home early one day and I dragged him and the kids to the Huckleberry trail again.
He was enthustiastic and said it was about as much fun as getting his back waxed. I offered to wax it, so it would make his day complete. For some reason, he declined. And I'm sitting here writing this, thinking, 'hey, how does he know what it would feel like to get his back waxed?"
So-- here are pictures from that trip.
The highlight was we got to SEE a train (remember Joey's still really excited about 
trains) from the bridge over the train tracks.
trains) from the bridge over the train tracks. A coal train, soo- so it was local culture, nature, outdoors, AND an interest of one of the kids all balled up into 15 minutes.
And the deep thoughts of today-
Can we as Christians agree to behave in a way that doesn't turn the stomach of others watching us? It was mentioned in service today that Sunday after church is the time period that waitresses/waiters (or the politcally corect 'servers') dislike the most. Well, yes, I remember this from my days in those shoes. Sunday afternoons were filled with cheap tippers, cranky people who are difficult to please and incredibly impatient people. All dressed in their Sunday church clothes. Gives an incredibly bad taste in the mouth about church goers.
And I wondered.. why is that?
Is the power/ability to be forgiven of your sins so intoxicating that we forget to go and sin no more? Have we become Pharisees- that we can't look at ourselfs humbly and say/think "woe is me, the worst of sinners" and treat others better than ourselves?
So, I challenge myself to act in a way that others won't say "well, I don't want to be anything like THAT" but rather to act in a way that would be inviting and intoxicating to others who are looking for an inner peace and kindness. Anyone reading this is welcome to joing me in this challenge ;-)
Perhaps I'll use the term that I am a follower of Christ rather than a Christian. There's a whole lot of bad reputation to overcome with the term 'christian'
Can we as Christians agree to behave in a way that doesn't turn the stomach of others watching us? It was mentioned in service today that Sunday after church is the time period that waitresses/waiters (or the politcally corect 'servers') dislike the most. Well, yes, I remember this from my days in those shoes. Sunday afternoons were filled with cheap tippers, cranky people who are difficult to please and incredibly impatient people. All dressed in their Sunday church clothes. Gives an incredibly bad taste in the mouth about church goers.
And I wondered.. why is that?
Is the power/ability to be forgiven of your sins so intoxicating that we forget to go and sin no more? Have we become Pharisees- that we can't look at ourselfs humbly and say/think "woe is me, the worst of sinners" and treat others better than ourselves?
So, I challenge myself to act in a way that others won't say "well, I don't want to be anything like THAT" but rather to act in a way that would be inviting and intoxicating to others who are looking for an inner peace and kindness. Anyone reading this is welcome to joing me in this challenge ;-)
Perhaps I'll use the term that I am a follower of Christ rather than a Christian. There's a whole lot of bad reputation to overcome with the term 'christian'
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