Quote of The Day

(Granny was upset with my Aunt Josie for not coming to see her recently. Her response to Josie's name...)

"That old fart! Next time you see her tell her I'm dead."

We are still laughing at that. And also the fact that granny was gravely disappointed in Austin and I for me not being pregnant. It's impossible to please the woman.

We need fellowship with others to be alone safely.
We need solitude to be with others meaningfully.

"Awe Fiddle"

Last night we celebrated Christmas with Austin's mom and grandparents. After opening presents and stuffing ourselves with a huge meal, we settled in to a game of Rummy.


What Austin and I discovered was that people not in our generation possess a hidden language reserved for expression during games like Rummy. We were unable to comprehend the meaning of most of the words that came out of his mother and grandmother's mouths. When we realized they were talking in gibberish, we decided to record some of the expressions for future translation. Here's the list:

• "Fiddle-do-dee"
• "Oohey Louie"
• "Dear Gussy George"
• "Oh my gracious-sakes-alive"
• "Puddy!"
• "Omanomanoman"
• "Poo"
• "Oh for Pete's sake"
• "That's not.. hoopty-doo"
• "Fiddle, fiddle, fiddle"

There were many more of these words that were said before we began recording. We hope to one day understand the meaning of these words and possibly implement them in our future card games.

Joy

"Joy"
Puritan Prayers and Devotions

Let my heart leap towards the eternal sabbath,
where the work of redemption, sanctification, preservation, glorification is finished and perfected for ever,where thou wilt rejoice over me with joy.

There is no joy like the joy of heaven,
for in that state are no sad divisions, unchristian quarrels, contentions, evil designs, weariness, hunger, cold, sadness, sin, suffering, persecutions, toils of duty.
O healthful place where none are sick!
Oh happy land where all are kings!
O holy assembly where all are priests!
How free a state where none are servants except to thee!
Bring me speedily to the land of joy.

Livin on the Edge

Let me set the scene.
I was on edge today. Perhaps it was from the weekend full of high school ministry events that wore me out. Perhaps it's me feeling the weight of my job. Perhaps it's hormones. Whatever it may be, I was on edge. Conversely, my husband was in a playful-bantering mood. Not picking up on my edginess at all.
Bless his heart, he didn't stand a chance.

I tell him what cabinet some seasoning goes in. He places it on the opposite side of the kitchen with a mischievous smile.

I grow irritated

Some other bantering happens that pushes me more to the edge

I grow more irritated and move to a different room

He brings me the glass of water that I left on the table that I didn't want to drink and playfully tells me I need to drink it.

I give death stare.

He responds "If looks could kill, I'd be a dead man right now"

I'm growing sensitive now

He teases me for leaving something else on the table

I'm getting a lump in my throat

He notices I've gone from banter mode to sensitive mode and asks why.

As any girl knows, this only causes more sensitivity. Tears start forming so I hide behind my book.

He notices tears. Tone softens. He comes into room.

This causes me to tear up more and transition to a cry

Austin kindly admits, "I'm not sure what to do with you right now."

Laughter and more tears flowing now.

We begin to talk about what was behind all the emotions. In so doing, Austin makes an observation...

"Do you realize you just went from crying to laughing and back to crying in half a second?!"

My reaction through my tears: laughing.


After some emotional vomiting and some good prayer together, all is at peace in the Conner household. Now that I'm out of the oh-so-familiar-uncontrolled-emotions (girls you know what I'm talking about- husbands you kinda do) I can look back and laugh at the exchange between us. Especially the moment where Austin was humble enough to simply admit that he had no idea what to do with his hormonal wife. To his credit, his response couldn't have been better.

Today

Today I woke up cranky.
No good reason.
Just woke up moody and irritated at the day.
I didn't want to get up.
I didn't want to get dressed and ready.
I didn't want to have a quiet time.
I didn't want to go workout.
I didn't want to go get stuff for the senior high Christmas party tonight.
I didn't want to do anything.
But at the same time I didn't want to do nothing.
Just cranky.

Despite my mood, I sat down in my quiet time chair.
Opened my bible.
Bowed my head to pray.
In my hardness I began to be humbled.
This is not MY day.
This is not MY life.
God has a purpose for my life today or I wouldn't be alive.
I am here to serve the highest king.
I have so so so much to be grateful for.
I get to wake up next to a wonderful man.
I have the things I need to get ready for the day.
I have warmth in my house and food in my fridge.
I can afford a gym that helps me stay healthy.
I have access to the living God who cares enough about me to show me my sin.
I have been given grace in my ungratefulness.
Things aren't so bad after all.
Today is a good day.

A Day in the Life

of a student ministry director...

Today, I squeezed 10 high school girls in a minivan that only had 4 functioning seats. It was like a clown car when we pulled up and unloaded at Panera.
As we passed a cop on the way there, I had to direct half of them to duck down and the other half to act normal. The didn't seem to mind. But seriously, what teenager minds undermining authority?

Estrogen is a funny thing

I think when you get married there are some instincts that unexpectedly kick in. I don't know if it's hormonal or sociological. Either way, I have found that there are some feminine desires and behaviors that are unexpectedly coursing through my body.

• I want to cook more. I have cooked and baked more in the past two months than I did in the past year. Maybe I'm wanting to use all my new kitchen gadgets. Maybe I like that someone is there to eat my stuff. Either way, my hobby for cooking has been rejuvenated.
• I want things clean. I've never been all that messy but I've never been all that clean either. In the past, the dustball in the corner of my room used to never bother me. I could walk past it for weeks until it became big enough to move on it's own. However, I now feel this odd instinct to clean and keep things shiny and smelling fresh.
• I want a garden. The idea of me bringing in fresh peppers, potatoes, lettuce, snow peas, basil, cucumbers, and more is so appealing! I know it's winter and I know I don't have the time or resources right now to do this but I'm feeling the urge. I told my dad that I wanted my Christmas present from him to be a day in Columbia helping me start a garden. I don't think he could be happier to give that to me.
• Kids. Now don't get the wrong idea. We are in no rush at all to have kids. But my attitude and desire for them has completely altered. About 6 months ago when people would joke around about us having kids, I would flip. It freaked me out. However, I have felt a shift in myself when the topic is brought up. I'm softened to the idea. I am seeing it a bit differently. Part of me wants it but the other 80% knows that we are in no place to even think about that right now. So until the time comes, we will have to be satisfied with our pooch to fill the void.
  

I mean, really?

The home-owning adventure never ends.

This morning, I went to turn on our kitchen water. Nada. Nothing. Dead.
After checking all the other water sources in our home and finding them to be fully functioning, we diagnosed the problem as a frozen pipe.

Armed with a hairdryer and flashlight, my beloved husband Austin suited up and crawled under our house into the nasty crawl space.
Nothing worked to thaw out this pipe. After leaving it alone for a few hours and letting the sun do its job, our water started working again. Whew.

That is- until the next freeze.

A Love/Hate Relationship

For the past 24 hours, there has been a meowing cat under our house. You would think that a solid foundation and hardwood floors would block out the small noise a kitten makes. Nope.
At times I feel very angry at this cat. It is interfering with the peace I hope to gain from being at home. It's like a rhythmic noise that I can't turn off.
Other times, I feel a genuine sadness and empathy for the kitty. In those moments, I open a can of tuna and put it in the crawlspace hole.
We've made relational progress though. It came within 3 feet of me yesterday.
But the dang thing won't stop meowing. I get angry. Just shut up! I can't sleep!
But then I think of it meowing for it's mother that is never going to return.
More tuna.
I've never felt such an range of emotions for a stray animal.

My relaxing day off

Mondays are usually a day of rejuvenation for me. Since Sundays and Tuesdays are my busiest days, I carefully guard my Monday activities. However, today, control of my comfort was taken out of my hands. Here's how it went down.

Sunday afternoon: Come home from church. Heat not working.
Sunday night: Heat still not working. House getting colder. Polly getting stressed.
Monday 7:30am: House is 58 degrees. Austin leaves for work. Polly cold and agitated.
9:00am: Austin calls and suggests Polly turn off and relight the pilot light on the furnace. (as if I know how to do that!)
9:15am: Polly successfully lights pilot light without blowing up the house.
9:20am: Polly even more agitated because furnace still not working.
9:30am: Austin makes an appointment with Company #1 to come look at furnace.
10:50am: Company #1 shows up. Figures out problem. Says its going to cost over $700. Suggests we just buy new furnace because ours is old and will have future problems.
11:00: Dilemma. Put a lot of money into something that is going to break? Put A LOT more money into something we will only use for 5-6 years. Much deliberation.
11:20: Polly calls her father for advice. He tells her some more questions to ask and to call another company for a second quote of the broken part.
11:25: Polly calls Company #2 who says they can fix it for $400. (a little relief)
11:45: Conners make decision to fix the old furnace rather than buy a new one.
12:00: Polly has to call company #1 and tell them they suck for trying to rip her off. (in nicer words of course)
12:45: Company #2 shows up and installs new part.
1:30: See ya $400 bucks.
2:00: House is warm!!!!!
2:00-4:30: Polly is still on edge for many reasons ($400 bucks-gone, making all these decisions, talking to all types of repairmen pretending to know what she's talking about, cranky from not getting a relaxing day, etc.)
4:30: Austin gets home. Polly eventually starts to chill out and enjoy the evening.
6:30: Polly and Austin make a veggie pasta dinner. Delicious.
7:00: Polly and Austin start clean up process.
7:10: Polly rinses something down the garbage disposal.
7:11: Polly flips switch to garbage disposal
7:11: Garbage Disposal not working.
7:11: Defeated laughter

Since October 10th

Some things that have changed since we tied the knot:

• I eat more meat
• I watch more TV
• To double check to make sure the toilet seat is down
• Don't leave leftover hair in the shower drain (it grosses him out)
• Twice as much laundry
• More stinky laundry
• There is now cheese, beer, bacon, ranch dressing, and 2% milk in the fridge
• The budget is in full force...kinda
  

Some things I've learned since we tied the knot:

• How to play the wii
• Sports knowledge
• That I'm more of a snot than I anticipated
• Cereal and yogurt are not a sufficient meal for a male
• Austin likes a house project if it can somehow involve a power tool
• No matter what you have in life, there is always a sense of discontentment
• No other relationship can sanctify you more than a husband/wife
• Always have frozen biscuits in the freezer
• Grocery shopping together can be hazardous to the relationship
• I have no poker face
• I can always love more
  

The Drive by Shopper

I had a garage sale today. They are a lot of work. Got up at 6:20 to go put up signs. Dragged stuff out my house and the garage around 7:00am. People started showing the minute we put stuff in the front lawn. Here are some stats of the day.

Assistants to the sale: Janny Drover and Amanda Hanson
First purchase: Dishes
Last Purchase: Picture Frame
Biggest money maker: Austin's dresser
Cheapest Item: The stuff in the Free Box
Moment I feel bad about: Selling a desk I knew would fall apart soon. (I warned her!)
Money made: $330!!
Embarrassing moment: Sophie growling and snapping at a stranger who approached her
AND
Me wearing a fanny pack all day. It's true.

Most Memorable Shopper:
This one deserves a story. I saw an older lady driving by very very slowly. Almost stopping to look. She passes, only to return for another slow drive-by. She then motions me over to her car. and asks me how much the dog kennels are. I tell her and she says she'll take them. I realized then she was expecting me to get them for her and take them to her car so I told her to pull over closer to the curb. She halfway did- still sticking out into West blvd-a very busy street. As she was stayed put, she explained that she couldn't walk but loved to garage sale. I softened.
The shopping continued.
And the traffic slowed.
She asked how much one of my mirrors was. I told her $15.00. She gave a sour face and asked about another mirror. Still too expensive. She explained that she was looking for a mirror for her friend in the nursing home who doesn't have on in her room. I'm a sucker so I told her she could have it to give away. She was delighted.
Meanwhile traffic is backing up because this lady's car is sticking into the street. I try to hurry her along but she continued to tell me stories about her nursing home friend.
We said our goodbyes finally. I realized then she had completely backed traffic up. People were getting angry. She was clueless.
Two minutes later, a slow moving mini-van drives past again. Stops again. motions me over again. Begins shopping again. She ended up buying a sweatshirt, bookcase, cooking dish and something else. Each time, we would bring the object to her car, she would examine, we would put it in the back of her car if she wanted it. It was quite humorous. But she was my favorite.
By noon, we had sold almost everything. It was a huge success!!
Now begins the debate between Austin and I on how to spend the money. Patio Furniture vs. Honeymoon money. Bet you can guess who wants what...

Special Thanks to my mom and Amanda. It would not have happened without them.

True Story

When said and done, the lady who "professionally" installed my new window shade needed to borrow the following:

1) A tape measurer
2) A hammer
3) Nails
4) A Bandaid
5) A comfortable chair for her 90+ year old mother (who came along) to sit on while the lady worked.

I have concerns...

Another one-liner

Best quote from Thursday morning bible study:

Junior gal: "Uh, Spring break. I've given up the swimsuit body for food...."

Now that I write that, it seems a little more sad than humorous. Well, at the moment, it gave me a good chuckle.

True Story

Dialogue in Sophomore Small Group:

Polly: If God were to brag on Haley, what would He say about her?
Sophomore Girl: She has good hair.
Polly: Hmmm, lets go a little deeper...
Sophomore Girl: She has good hair roots...?

Conquoring fears, one by one

Today was a milestone day for me.

For a few days now, our garbage disposal has made a horrible sound when turned on. All of my roommates have successfully ignored the symphony of metal on metal every time it's used.

Today, it was my turn to ignore it. As I washed out a bowl and flipped that friendly little switch that usually washes away all the nastiness, I was greeted with the familiar screeching I've heard all week long.

I've always had a fear of garbage disposals.
I don't like to look down them. I don't like to smell them. I don't like to hear them. And I sure as heck would never reach down one. That was until today...

My first step towards victory was taking a look into it.... Nothing. It was too dark.
So I got my cell phone to provide some light.
I'm sure I was the epitome of a modern women as I stood above the hole with my cell phone held out in hopes of catching a glimpse of the culprit making all the noise.
Nothing.

I had a choice. Do I walk away and wait for the next person to figure out what is down there?
Not this time...

It took all the estrogen my system to conjure up the matriarchal duty I was about perform. But I did it. I put my hand down the garbage disposal. And not only that, but I had to feel around. A lot. I felt the 4 little blades that serve us oh-so-well throughout the week. And then I found it. A loose piece. I pulled it out to discover it was half of a corn-on-the-cob holder. You know those things you put on the end of the cobs to give you a handle? Well I found half of one. That meant I had to go back in for the second half.

So I stuck my hand down the garbage disposal. Again.
Found it.

Thinking my ordeal was over, I flipped the switch hoping to hear the sound of blades hitting nothing but air. Nope. More clatter.

I went in again. Found another half. Which meant, I had to go in one more time.
Four times! I stuck my hand down that thing, 4 times.

Victory.

Drover-1
Garbage Disposal-0