O Christmas Tree!

Tonight we put up the Christmas tree. I am completely distracted by it. I love the lights and the ornaments that sparkle. I'll be right in the middle of a thought, take one glance at the Christmas tree and "Ooh, shiny..." All thoughts gone.
Speaking of distractions, Kyle and I also found a Wii! We've been playing it all weekend with our family. I can't wait for people to come over and play with us some more!
What do you want for Christmas?

Così fan tutte anyone?

This coming February, at the Tryon Festival Theatre in the Krannert Center for the Performance Arts, Mozart's opera Così fan tutte will be performed. I am looking forward to it very much. Anyone want to join us?

I do miss KCPA. It is a spectacular place. There's nothing quite like that here in Carbondale. I suspect there's hardly anything like it anywhere. I've had the privilege of performing in the Great Hall when I was in high school. I'm unsure if this statistic still stands, but at the time we were told that the Great Hall was considered the seventh most acoustically perfect room in the world.
Here's to culture in the Midwest!

On the Hunt

Most of you are quite aware that this is deer hunting season. While I've never hunted a deer, I have recently been hunting. We have searched everywhere for a Nintendo Wii. Every store from here to Springfield is sold out. No one has any idea when they'll get more. Hopefully we'll find one soon. I am psyched!

My family likes to play games on Thanksgiving. I was hoping we could find a Wii before that, but it does not look promising. I suppose we'll just stick to the usual games- poker, pin ball, darts, Cranium, Whoonu...
Does your family have any fun traditions?

The Name of God is Not a Comma

I have a pet peeve. I hear people pray, and it goes like this "Dear heavenly Father God, please help us, God, to worship you, Lord. And, God, we just thank you, God, for all that you've given us, Father... And, God, we just ask you to to show yourself, God..." Alright, you get the picture. Why do we do this? We don't speak like this to one another. Shouldn't we use the name of the Lord with a little more respect and careful, thoughtful consideration? Using it like a comma, like a filler for our lack of words, like a meaningless word to replace our own nervousness, is awfully flippant and disrespectful. I think using it like this certainly falls into the definition of using it in vain.

"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain." - Exodus 20:7

"Vain-adjective- without real significance, value, or importance; baseless or worthless"

I'm not saying that it should never be used in prayer, just used more carefully. Perhaps I am completely wrong. Perhaps I am simply hung up on something that isn't an issue as I perceive it to be.

Deep-thinking and Lazy

A couple times a week, I have great ideas for thoughtful posts. As it turns out, I am just too lazy to write them. Lately, I prefer to write about simple things. I think deeply all day. When I am here, I just want fun. Maybe that's wrong. Maybe this should serve a greater purpose...
Until I figure that out, I'll continue to talk about my favorite things, Martha Stewart style.




I must say, the pork chop seasoning bags have been the biggest dinner hit in weeks. The pork chops were so wonderfully tender. It had a very short prep time, about 5 minutes, and took only 25 minutes to cook. Thanks to my step-mom for that idea!

For those of you watching Heroes, what did you think of last week's episode, eh?

Study Break

Tomorrow morning (at a painfully early 7:15 am) I will be taking the Illinois Basic Skills Test. I am a little nervous. At the same time, I might be overly confident. I haven't studied much. I've taken one and a half practice tests. The material seems to be about the equivalent of what I learned in eighth grade. There is no "target" score. I merely have to answer 50% of the questions correctly. The first time around I got about 90% correct. This did not inspire me to study much more...
So here I sit, not studying anymore. Is that bad?