Aqua Jogging and 30 Mile Commute Reflections!

Yes, I've taken up aqua jogging with Liz! running? mmm, na. can't do it. Once I'm in mint condition, I'd like to take up soccer as well. I was never really a fan, but i recently bought a soccer ball at WalMart and I do believe i love the sport. :] My next sporting goods purchase is going to be a volley ball so I can round up some games at the college. That should be a blast! Excpet everyone always has work too do, tooo busy to play! I don't remember doing that much work in college, what's the deal!?
Also, my new job in the city is going way better to an extreme than i could have imagined. I've only been really doing it for 4 days but I'm pretty sure I'm going to love it if it stays at this awesome even pace. I've just agreed to overtime hours! whoohoo! I do love my kids, they're pretty much amazing! love em, love em, love em! I, I, I, I.....am about to tire out... too bad the aqua jogging never happened tonight! some of us had other plansssss. so then why the pain behind the eyes? it's this people job... i love 'em but it means sometimes you gotta love when u don't feel it. C.S. Lewis says that's the funny thing about goodness. People are sometimes good just for the sake of being good without any alternative motive! wow! But people aren't bad just for the sake of being bad, they're bad because it brings about some desire/pleasure/outcome they intend. It's not that way for goodness. Good is Good. Bad is like....parasitic, feeding off of good but distorting the whole thing. It reminds me of an Autoimmune Disease...... u know I'm getting tired now, these words look too close to fuzzies. goodnight!

So............you're at your grandma's house with your younger cousin. She's 9 -the cutest little button u'll ever see & quite the drama queen! It's 10 o'clock, man! why are you so tired?
That freakin' yard sale took a lot out, but i think Apples to Apples really did everyone in, especially Shannon.
A2A really brought the fam together that night, an intergenerational activity -FUN FOR ALL! ...we had a good time: a little chess, a little scrabble, some soakin' it up in the hot tub, A2A, talkin' and then- hugs and kisses.

But now the festivities are over and we find ourselves at the "soon to be no longer MacBain Home": Poppa C, he's trying to hold at least one eye lid open for the whatever-science-fiction movie he happened upon. Mom and Mom to the 2nd power, they're chit chattin' about packing arrangements... and PopPop? 'Lord only knows. :P He came to check on Shanon and I once or twice. So what can the two little ladies of the house be up to? Oh Joy.
"Candi, do this with me, no this... no that."
Darlin', I'm tired. ......why don't we write a poem together?
"ew, no. that's boring!!!"
Boring! My heavens, child! (Boring? She was obviously just ignorant to the joy of creative writing! well, in that case, how could i not? She needed to be enlightened!)
However. Let me tell ya, this is one adament little chick.
So, we played Chess instead...
first move: pawn -front of the king: 1 pace.
second move: left horse: up 3, over 2. ....it was just as Shannon was pondering her next attempt toward victory that I slipped open my notebook and starting jotting some rhymes. Somehow she became aware, my heart stopped... and as she peered over the table to see my blantant opposition to her wants, dreams and desires, she attacked! Ripping the notebook from my loving finger tips and into her anxious hold, she was anxious all right... anxious to eradicate any evidence of my quest for mutuality, relaxation, and even an educational experience!

...time for bed....(based on a true story...and to be continued.) :) Love ya Shan.

Okay so finally months later...the continuation is resumed!! ~It is Wednesday September 5th 2007, my day off!!!! I love days off from the working world... the corporate world is totally not my thing...

Shannon and I decided on a rap...

Hey, hey dogs we're trying to rap here,
Even though Shannon's made it very clear here.
She's not into rappin', snappin', or nappin',
And if she's not happy don't think it'll happen.
She won't even let me, bet me, or accept me,
Take your hand off your pawn, and lenient she won't be,
No my cuz, Shannon she fires like a cannon,
She's over there strategizin', organizin', plannin'...

My older cousin Candace is rappin' over here.
Her nickname is Candi but she's not always sweet,
Sometimes she's out rappin' on the street.
But she's still my cuz and that's what makes her cool.
She's tryin' to win chess right now but that's not gonna happen
If she's not gonna be strategizin', organizin', planning',
If she's not going to be paying attention to the game,
Me and her are at a tie, so I say get to work!
My cuz Candi can be a jerk!
The game is done-and Candi has won.

WORD.

come on? how classic is that? that's
stayin' in the books.

Decide to Laugh!
.......I just laugh at people.
especially when they overstep their bounds.
Do they know how ridiculous they appear? Do they know how inappropriate they are behaving? The answer is sometimes yes and sometimes no.
But I say! -laugh! instead of getting angry.
because does anger really convey humility and truth?
...I reacted the other day -with an evident twinge of annoyance when someone I was with made a rather rude comment that merely portrayed she "woke up on the wrong side of the bed." I flashed her a look of disapproval because her comment was arrogant.
Should I have taken disapproval into my own hands?
She later apologized for her uncouthness to the group.
so the question is: was it the human disapproval that prevailed or a disapproval of another kind?
I could believe that my milisecond glare caused her to re-examine her entire life approach.
ummm, no. most times we give ourselves to much credit in dealing with the hearts of others. We can't change people... we can gently guide. Others can't change me, that's for sure! there are so many different points this conversation touches on, but the one that hits home to me, in right field just next to the foul line, issss, God changes hearts, not humans.

P.S. Laughing isn't always appropriate either however... it can blow off the first layer of annoyance and give you a chance to decide how to react?

Slow to become angry with a gentle stream of words....

Family Reunion!!!

My weekend was well-spent with the faaaam! Poor little angels!!! This is me and Rand! That's right Randy made it on the blogger!!!
The best thing about family reunions is meeting people you never knew you were related to... reconnecting with those that you may have met at one point or another at a previous reunion 10 years ago, or maybe it was just last year. Whatever the case may be, the MacBain Clan tradition continues on! Good ol' Green Lane Park. You can't fish or swim these days in the disgusting mess they call a lake, but the Loch Ness Monster was lovin' it! No joke, this isn't just any family reunion...this is the Scottish/Irish annual festival of Green Lane! (background music- "here come the men in skirts!! bag-pipe defenders! here come the men in SKIRTS...") Who doesn't love the beautiful sound?? Who isn't amused by men in skirts??? Answer me that!!! :P
You may ponder upon your own thoughts/memories and recall times of dull family events but this one was written with purposes of excitment!! Really you can't go wrong at the Scottish/Irish Festival: shops, venders, irish ballet, tap, parade, dog show, olympic tournaments... you name it.
...Shannon kept me well-occupied: soccer, rummie, backrides, food fights... i feel that i was being targeted at one point..several points! If only the video camera had been present...precious evidence! We will however be better prepared next time, events will be planned, singing will occur, happiness will be spread!!
...Uncle Dave made himself a new buddie and we DO have incriminating photos to prove it!! j/k. I enjoyed Randy's company very much but we never finished our conversation about Dillsburg and the pickle drop! .....and I want to know if He has an alibi for "you know what!!" You know what they say about those who point the finger! :D
It was so good to see everyone and hear the updates on life! New houses, major relocations, job situations, neeew jobs!, the new season of sports... most of the men were preoccupied with the status of the football game, gotta love it!

P.S. #1 Can't wait to get down to Florida! #2 Work on that swing! #3 Personal Policy - there is always a use! ..detergents, Epsom Salt, mirrors, shovels, gardening equipment... #4 No one's perfect ever...but It's the simple loooooOooOve of the faaaamily..bop shew bop badop! #5 Happy Belated Birthday to MomMom Cieslukowski!!!

Wrap Your Mind Around That

The Bible says that we were bought at a price, that is, if we believe that Jesus died to redeem us and restore our relationship with Him (and after we believe -allow it to change our lives)... We were bought with the blood of the Creator of the World. Don't ask me exactly how that works... ask God. He might answer you, he'll probably lead you to read His Inspired Word... where there is some explanation about the significance of sacrifice to bring restoration... We were created to be holy... and after the tree of knowledge incident... our holiness was stripped away... but wants us to be able to reach that level of love and purity with Him... so He came... talk about open doors! my head hurts. I just think it's cool that we were bought at a price... we're not here for our own pleasures but to do the Will of God... to obey... to bear fruit and to stay on our side of the garden... in the animal kingdom... those insects and little guys with the bright colors signify poisonous qualities to warn the other animals... I'm going to start wearing bright colors too to see if it works on humans, usually I'm just more attracted... Lord guide us with your wisdom!

Comfortable with Love.

"Love's the only house."
"But I do cherish you..."
"It's drivin' me mad, makin' me crazay."
"I think I love ya, so what am so afraid of?"
"is amazing, steady and unchanging"
"your love is a fountain, firm beneath my feet."
"Can't get enough..."

Martina McBride, Steve Miller Band, David Cassidy, Casting Crowns, Barry White, boy bands from the Pacific to the Atlantic... millions of artists and writers who have their own take on love's importance, troubles, and definition sing their perspective into our ears and hearts during almost every daily activity we perform. No one wants to admit it, but our minds become programmed with this constant input of opinions and false experience. What's one of the most irritating things on earth? Some people can't stand using cotton balls for that piercing cotton on cotton sound that sends chills, it starts in the ears, messes with the brain a little bit and sprints to reach the toes, throwing the individual in spasms. (I've seen it, & it's not pretty.) One of the most irritating things to me is when people aren't genuinely real with themselves. How can you liiiive like that? Beats me. I can't be going and judging other people's actions and experience. -We're all a certain way because of life, other's influence, our reactions, and then ultimately God's renewing grace, forgiveness and love. But if you can't be real about love or comfortable in love, you better find out how to be ASAP. You know that whole thing about "there's no fear in love"...well, as cheesy or unrealistic as it sounds, it's suppose to be true. And you know all those unrealistic things your idealist friends preach about love... ... Probably the most unrealistic and seemingly unattainable attributes of love are the ones we need the most.

I'm sticking with this theme for a while. So buckle your seat belts, love is crazy ride, mind boggling, humbling, no prerequisites, and just ordinary people ...and God has a lot to teach on it.