Beware the Ides of March

I took Latin in high school.  I'm not really sure why.  I had a really good reason at the time, but it didn't really pan out.  No, it didn't have anything to do with a boy.  I think I was told that most languages have their root in Latin and if you can understand Latin, you can understand other languages.  Two problems arose years later from this.  1.  You have to remember the Latin for it to help with other languages.  2.  You have to have an affinity for languages.  Neither was true for me.  So I struggled through college Spanish.

Several "important" things I remember from Latin:
1.  Romulus and Remus (I don't remember the story exactly, but somehow the names have come up a few times)
2. Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March (that's today)
3.  I can still sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" in Latin.  I mean, if that is not a workable skill, I don't know what is.  Only on rare occasions could you get me to sing it for you though, even when I make a point of telling you that I can do it.  A singer/performer I am not.
4. Veni. Vidi. Vici.  I came. I saw. I conquered.

Happy March 15th everyone!  Unless you're Julius Caesar, then you should beware this day.

Happy Anniversaries!

A couple anniversaries for this Friday the 13th.

First, today was my 9 year work anniversary!  It's kind of hard to believe.  And very confusing.  I couldn't remember if I had finished my 10th year or was starting  my 10th year.  I tried to do the math, but struggled to figure it out.  People who know my math skills shouldn't be surprised. Anyway, I'm amazed at God's faithfulness in providing me 9 years in one job.  The job has had ups and downs, but for the most part, I have enjoyed it.

Second is my one month anniversary of owning my car was today.  And I passed another milestone (sort of).

Sorry for the blurry picture, but I almost missed the 1100 mile mark.  I missed the 1000 mile mark, so this seemed appropriate, especially since it happened on my one month anniversary of owning the car.

Third, an honorable mention.  And not really an anniversary.  But I recently posted my 1,111th post on my blog.  Kind of crazy.

Celebrations!

Not that I need a reason to get ice cream, but today I did so as a celebration for a friend.  Today one of my dear friends from church had her last radiation treatment.  She has battled breast cancer this past year and has undergone chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation.  She wanted to celebrate so she invited everyone to Dairy Queen at 2:00 to celebrate with her.  I was working and was so sad that I couldn't join her for her celebration, but after work I went straight to the drive-thru in order to get my own ice cream.  I was thinking about 1 Peter 1:6-7: "In this [your salvation] you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come, so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."  Janelle has been such a firm and constant encouragement to me as I have watched her rely on her Lord for strength, comfort, and peace throughout this year.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Memories: cassette tapes...Walkman...cousins

Tonight I was driving home and I heard a song on the radio that immediately transported me back to somewhere around 1990/1991, probably Christmas 1990.  I have blogged before about how powerful music is and how easily memories come back when certain music comes on.  You probably don't really care about my memory, unless you are me or my cousin Carin, but I've also told you before that this is my blog and I can do what I want :)

Let me set the stage.  My cousin Carin is about 4 months older than me.  We were inseparable growing up.  When I moved to Georgia, we wrote page upon page of letters back and forth for many years.  So, I'm guessing this was a Christmas break memory.  We were lying on the living room floor in her home, and we were listening to her new cassette tape (yes, we had those) on her Walkman (some people might have to look up what a Walkman is...don't worry, I'll wait for you).  Over and over again.  Whitney Houston's album "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and the song by the same title.  There was a fast part at the end of the song that we were trying to get word perfect.  We had the headphones on and had the lyrics in front of us (from the flap in the cassette tape, not from any lyric website on the Internet).  Over and over we would listen to it until we finally got it.  Success.

It's a great memory and I am so glad I have those memories to look back on.

Kitchen mishaps

Note to self: When the counter tops are all full, the stove might not be the best place to set the Pyrex carrier when you get home.  Hypothetically speaking, your roommate might have just made tea on the burner you decide to use.  And it might not bode well for the carrier or the burner.  But interestingly, it won't smell like anything is burning and it won't cause a fire.  You'll just be out a carrier for your casseroles.  And the jury is out on whether you have to buy a new burner or the melted cloth will come off.  That's a trouble for tomorrow because it's too late to worry about it now.