Did You Know?

Saw an interesting video at a Keller Williams "Roadshow" recently. Worth checking out.

Memories of Moscow

Mosaic Russia 2005, originally uploaded by wonderfully complex.

1. wedding dress, 2. eastern orthodox, 3. changing of the guard, 4. the metro, 5. broken bells, 6. covered in snow, 7. candidate, 8. st. basil's cathedral, 9. the works of the kgb

All photographs were taken by me. Don't steal.

Today I was thinking about my mission trip to Moscow, Russia. I've been to Russia twice; once during the summer of 2003 and once during the late winter/early spring of 2005. I've experienced Moscow during two drastically different seasons. The first time I went the weather was comfortable enough for tanks and shorts during the day and a light jacket at night. The second time I went was quite the opposite. Several layers of clothing (including a layer of Chinese underwear; similar to long johns but thinner yet warmer), thick boots with two pairs of socks, gloves, and a mink hat that I bought in the market were necessary.

The weather wasn't the only thing different. I had two very different experiences as well. The first time I went with five guys and one other girl to do sports missions. I met JP Manley, who at the time was one of the International Mission Board's missionaries serving there. We went to one of the local universities' fields and played soccer, kickball, ultimate frizbee, basketball, and volleyball. While there, we met three Muslims from Turkey. Who would have thought that God brought us to Moscow to minister to someone from Turkey?

My second trip was with my home church's college group. I wasn't in college but was co-coordinating an aspect of the trip. This time we took a more artistic approach. The above pictures are from the second trip. We formed a band called 15 Shekels, recorded a CD with five songs on it, and headed to Moscow. We were able to get into a couple of "clubs" to play our Christian-music-that-didn't-sound-so-Christian, played for a business conference, played at a couple of churches, and spoke at one of the local universities. We also did music surveys in the freezing cold. This time, I was with a lot of people.

I definitely found out that when I'm doing missions, I prefer smaller groups. I also, believe it or not, enjoyed the sports missions more than the arts missions. Even though I'm a musician, I loved the sports more. I love being outdoors and I love warm weather. I think that with the sports mission trip, I was pulled out of my comfort zone more (I am, after all, not the best athlete). Neat how that works. Maybe one day I will head back to Moscow. In the meantime, check out my friend's website for the Moscow Mission Team.

Mosaic 05-30-07

These are some random pictures I found on flickr using a neat little mosaic tool. I found the link on Ali Edwards blog, so I'm not very creative or original. I "borrowed" her idea.

Mosaic 05-30-07, originally uploaded by wonderfully complex.

Click on the corresponding number to view the artist and info for each picture.

1. Eskimo Kisses revisited, 2. Pink Succulent, 3. an old lady with an umbrella in Ravangla market!, 4. 20061101, 5. downtown, 6. Bathroom monster..., 7. Untitled, 8. Joseph, 9. bicycle sky

How to Eat Fried Worms

When I was in 4th grade I met Mrs. Albritton. She was my favorite elementary school teacher. What I loved about Mrs. Albritton was that she did things different. Every class I had been in read us Charlotte's Web after lunch. Mrs. Albritton was different. She read us a wonderful book called How to Eat Fried Worms. It's a story about a little boy who moves to a new town and, to save face, accepts a bet to eat 10 worms in one day by 7:00 p.m. If he doesn't do it, he has to come to school with worms in his pants. This is a boy who has a tendency to throw up over the littlest things, so making a dumb bet like this could be humiliating and detrimental to his reputation.

While checking out my Netflix recommendations, I came across a movie version of the book. It is so great! What a wonderful family movie. I highly recommend it. No foul language, no perverse humor...unless you get grossed out by worms, this movie is good, clean fun. And, no worms were harmed in the making of the film. Watching the movie brought back so many great memories of 4th grade - my favorite grade ever!

Things I Enjoyed About Asheville

I'm back from my honeymoon. Wedding went great (though if you want my recommendations of who not to use for certain aspects of your wedding, talk to me in person and I will be glad to give you dirt). We went to Asheville, NC for our honeymoon. Here's some things I enjoyed:

• Willow Winds Cabins is the most friendly and quiet cabin grounds ever! They have movies (VHS and DVD) available in the office for you to check out. We also were given coupons and a list of recommendations for local dining (no chains). We added a "Romance Package" and it didn't cost a thing! We absolutely recommend it.


• While in Asheville you must go to Southside Cafe (You must order the homemade pimento cheese spread for an appetizer - you won't regret it!) and Amici Trattoria (Yummo Italian at it's best. We ordered Pan-Fried Mozarella, Zupa Di Pesce, and Spiral Pasta).


• Our carriage ride around the Biltmore Estate was wonderful. However a sudden storm a few weeks ago took out the gardens. So, instead we enjoyed...


• The North Carolina Arboretum. Very beautiful and quite serene. There were so many things I enjoyed about this place; I wish we could have spent more time there. There were tons of trails that you could hike (most easy or moderate). The gardens were absolutely gorgeous. A stream garden, quilt garden...You could easily just slip away into bliss. I loved the Bonsai (pronounced bone-sai not bahn-sai, a common mistake I found I was guilty of) exhibit the most. In fact, I loved it so much that I'm now inspiried to take up the art form. Jason bought me a book and our goal is for the bonsai to make it one year.


• Temps were in the 70's and they called it their "hot weather." What a dream!


• No humidity. Also, no mosquitos. Those of you who know me real well know that this is a huge deal.


• Historic Biltmore Village is pretty neat with some great places to eat and shop.

There's so much more; I will have to share more later. Check back soon for pictures!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Just wanted to wish a very Happy Birthday to my Dad (also known as Mr. Anony Mouse from a comment left on my April 26th post).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!!!!!

And, in honor of my dad, here are a few quotes about fathers:

"My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." Clarence B. Kelland (American Writer 1881-1964)

"If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a 50% chance of being right." Bill Cosby (Actor, Comedian, and Producer b.1937)

"My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person - he believed in me." Jim Valvano (College Basketball Coach 1946-1993)

"Becoming a father is easy enough, but being one can be very rough." Wilhelm Busch (German Painter and Poet 1832-1908)

"To be a successful father there's one absolute rule: When you have a kid, don't look at it for the first two years." Ernest Hemingway (American Novelist 1899-1961)

"When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." Mark Twain (American Humorist, Writer, and Lecturer 1835-1910)

Thanks, Dad, for being the greatest Dad on earth!

Do Not Talk to My Parrot

Here's another great email I wanted to share with you:

Wanda's dishwasher quit working, so she called a repairman. Since she had to go to work, she told the repairman, "I'll leave a key under the mat. Fix the dishwashwer, leave the bill on the counter, and I'll mail you a check.

Oh, and by the way, don't worry about my bulldog Spike. He won't bother you. But, whatever you do, do NOT under ANY circumstances talk to my parrot!

I REPEAT, DO NOT TALK TO MY PARROT!!!!"

When the repairman arrived at Wanda's apartment, he discovered the biggest, meanest looking bulldog he had ever seen. But, just as Wanda had said, the dog simply laid there on the carpet watching the repairman go about his work.

The parrot, however, drove him nuts the whole time with his incessant yelling, cursing, and name calling. Finally the repairman couldn't contain himself any longer and yelled, "Shut up, you stupid, ugly bird!"

To which the parrot replied, "Get him, Spike!"

As I read this amusing email, I was reminded of the fact that life throws challenges at us. We are simply called to be patient through those challenges. And, at this time in my life, I am being challenged. Granted, nothing bad is happening to me. In fact, I'm a few days away from becoming Mrs. Jason Sheffield - an event that truly brings me joy. But with it comes the stress of finalizing everything for the wedding, an attempt to create a normal living space, and not to mention an strenuous and fast paced job. At this time in my life I'm expected to be Superwoman. I'm expected to remain completely sane (and in a great mood) while juggling everything. Kind of hard. So, I'm just going to be patient and wait for May 12th to come. After that I'll be enjoying Asheville, North Carolina with my best friend and new husband.

My Ever-Growing To-Do List

My to-do list seems to grow every day. I knock a few things off only to have more added. Here's the latest:

1. Call Mark, our officiant, and finalize the ceremony.

2. Give the final count to the caterer, Jason's aunt (who is making the cake), and the chair rental place.

3. Send another payment to the wedding photographer.

4. Go by Target and get a curtain rod, supper, and candles.

5. Send out the last few thank you notes. I've already done a ton, and I ran out of stamps and cards. Which leads me to the next item...

6. Get more stamps and thank you cards.

7. Set up the cable and internet for our home, even though we haven't had time to watch tv or surf the 'net.

8. Finish the guest book. I had a great idea for my guest book that is a little more time consuming. It's going to be more like a scrapbook. Each family will take a polaroid and stick it on a page where they can write advice and wishes for the happy couple. I just have to make the pages.

9. Pick up film for the polaroid camera. Do you get the idea that I keep going back to Target?

10. Finish painting the baseboards in the great room. Finish the trim work in the master bedroom.

And, there's more. Believe me, there's more. This is just a beginning.