a devastating tragedy (to say the least)

from the moment i went to my first twins game this year, i knew. i just couldn't make myself believe it. they wouldn't do this to me. they couldn't.

they did.

blue bunny is the official ice cream of the minnesota twins.

which means that kemps isn't. which means that the best flavor of ice cream ever produced by cows is no more. no more touch 'em all chocolate malt. i will never again taste that heavenly chocolate malt ice cream with fudge swirls and little minnesota shaped chocolates with tc's on them filled with chocolate nougat.

the store by my house has never had a good selection of ice cream, but today i finally went to the one with the good ice cream section, and indeed the wonderfulness is gone. i can no longer live in denial. ice cream perfection is no more.

i found a way to slow down a crazy two-year-old boy

get him stuck in a chair.
i was babysitting at my aunt's last night. currently she has 4 foster children, 2 of whom (brothers) are extremely energetic. in other words, they ran. all night. i think that's all they did. run. they weren't naughty, they were just impossible to keep up with. (thankfully my cousin was there to watch the other two.)
i was in the living room with the older brother when my cousin started laughing. the little brother was in the dining room and had slid his little body through the chair and was stuck between the back and the seat. so i went over to pull him out, and couldn't. i yanked and pushed and pulled, and he looked like he had no clue what was going on and wasn't bothered in the slightest by the fact that he was stuck. until i started laughing so hard that i was crying. then he lost it and started bawling. which made me feel bad, but i was still laughing and he was still stuck.
anyway, somehow i finally got him out, which made him happy, and it was that much closer to bedtime, which made me happy. i think i'll try that more often.

Faith

"To believe and not doubt means not only believing in the existence of God, but also believing in His loving care. It includes relying on God and expecting that He will hear and answer when we pray. We must put away our critical attitude when we come to Him, and have confidence that God will align our desires with His purposes. Our Father really knows what is best." - Tim Cash, Baseball Chapel

it's been slow at work lately

so today i tried to convince my coworkers that we need to find a way to make things more interesting, perhaps by making the day a musical or by having office (well, kitchen) olympics. but they're a bunch of party-poopers. so that's the end of that story.

WARNING!

i received this text message:

Beware of wild chinchilla monkeys with candy corn hats!

as i am as concerned about your well-being as the sender was of mine, i thought i should pass the warning along. so watch your backs; they could come creeping up behind you en masse, which would be scary both because you wouldn't see them coming and because it would be french.
oh, but side note: apparently wild chinchilla monkeys in bowlers are completely harmless.

dear person who called at 7:31 this morning,

DO NOT CALL PEOPLE AT 7:31 IN THE MORNING! (you're lucky my phone was on silent.)
sincerely,
lucy

Jason Kubel is Freakin' Awesome

I'm pretty sure that's all that needs to be said about Mr. Hits-for-the-Cycle-to-Win-the-Game-With-a-Grand-Slam.

dear people who called at 8:30 this morning,

do not call people at 8:30 in the morning!
sincerely,
lucy

i am so sad i didn't get a picture

i looked out the window the other day, to see a man walking by wearing dressy loafers, bright blue sweatpants, a leather jacket, and a top hat.
oh yes, and he had a walking stick.

Happy Easter!

"For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all." - Eph. 1:15-23

our very secure security code

on tuesday this week, a notice was posted that we would be getting a new security code for the doors at work. the number would be given to us with our paychecks, which are available at noon on thursdays.
at 11:00 thursday morning, one of the nursing assistants knocked on the window of the dining room. she couldn't get in. the code had already been changed. at 11. when our checks aren't available til 12.
when i saw my boss, i mentioned it to her, and she said it was ridiculous. she had been in the office at 10:45 when another aide came in after being locked out. the assistant administrator told the aide that the code had switched, and she should have known that. the aide protested and said she couldn't possibly have known that, seeing as she didn't have her check yet. she then asked what the new code is, but the a.a. refused to tell her: "you'll get the code with your check."
"can i get my check early then?"
"absolutely not."
"and you won't tell me the code."
"you'll find out what it is when you get your check."
after the aide gave up, the a.a. turned to my boss and said, "she shouldn't have been going out to her car when it wasn't her break time anyway."
first of all, she doesn't know when the aide's break time is.
second of all, why couldn't she have just given the aide the code when the aide was going to get it in an hour anyway?
and thirdly, how the heck can they change the code before telling us what it is? i figured we'd get it on thursday and they'd change it friday. what the heck?

Book Review: "Quiet Strength: A Memoir," by Tony Dungy

I love this man. I absolutely love him. He is an amazing man of God.

One of the things I like about the book is that his faith shines through, but it does not feel forced at all. It's not like he's preaching at you. He's telling his story, which means he can't help but talk about his God, and all that He has done for him.

"...we press on...our hearts buoyed by a God who loves us and wants us to know Him deeply. We press on with our sense that life's not always fair. And we press on with the knowledge - and assurance - that even though we can't see all of God's plan, He is there, at work and in charge, loving us. We press on with the conviction that even though we don't deserve the gifts and blessings we've been given, He gives them anyway. We press on into an abundant life on earth, followed by an eternity with God."

This book tells mostly of his life (which means there's more football than I would ordinarily like, but considering he's a coach, I wouldn't expect less). He's written a second book, though, that looks like it's more about his beliefs. I really want to read that one. It could be even better.

For now, though, this is the one I've read, and I highly recommend it.

Restaurant Review: The little Italian place I went to last night

After much deliberation about where to go to eat last night, my friend and I finally decided on this little Italian place in New Brighton. I had the spaghetti with meatball which was good, and the minestrone soup which was alright, and of course, there was bread. Wonderful, yummy, different kinds of homemade bread. They were scrumptious. There was oil to dip them in and parmesan cheese to sprinkle on them, and all that, and oh they were good. They were all so good.

And the place itself was way cute. Tiny and homey and family-owned, and the waitress was so friendly.

So I highly recommend place. Sadly, I don't know the name of it. It's in New Brighton next to a small no-name gym. I could find it again, though, so if you want to go, I guess you have to go with me. :)

huh?

so i got a letter today from the court system saying that the lady who hit the lady who hit me had been to court, and part of her sentence was that she had to pay for any damage done to our cars. it included a form to fill out if i want restitution that i didn't fully read because i figure i'll have my dad figure it out sometime cuz he's a dad and dads know things. anyway, so on that form, right above where i would sign, in big bold letters, it says:
FURTHER AFFIANT SAITH NOT
huh?

i've done it!

i have now managed to reach 5,000 emails in my inbox.