Brian and Libby's Blog

This blog has moved

2007-01-22T08:46:00.000-05:00

Head over to www.brianandlibby.com for the new blog. See ya here:

Blogfreeze

2007-01-21T09:27:00.000-05:00

Wow, this has never happened. I am having a total blogfreeze. Sometimes things happen and I think to myself "This is definitely going on the blog." Sometimes I realize I haven't blogged in a few days and I think back on what might have happened that's blogworthy. Sometimes I can't think of anything (like today) so I just log in and by the time the post editor comes up, the words just start flowing. Well, this morning, I've got nothing. This post editor has been open for a full 5 minutes now, and I hadn't put any words into it yet.

I mean, there's a lot I could write about but I guess that on certain days it just doesn't really seem like it will be entertaining for me to write about. If I don't enjoy writing it, I certainly don't want to subject anyone to read it.

Well, I'll settle for a quick update. I'm almost ready to launch the all new brianandlibby.com. I'm trying to spruce up the look of the site...limiting since I have to use a Wordpress template. And frustrating because photoshop is freezing every 23 seconds. But hopefully that will be ready to go by the end of the week. The biggest news is that Brian Howe himself PROMISES that he's going to start blogging once the new site is up. In fact, he already knows what his first post will be about (and if I didn't know he'd be mad at me for writing it when he already "claimed" the topic, I wouldn't have had a blogfreeze today). Hmmm...family blogwar dynamics. This might get interesting!

2007...

2007-01-19T10:46:00.000-05:00

So, like most of American I've made vows to resolution-ize some things this year. I have conveniently waited until 19 days into the new year to make these goals public...just to make sure I am serious about them...and so if they're sure-thing failures I can weed them out instead of publicizing my defeat. But so far I think I'm off to a good start. I've been learning that if you have a vision but don't specify what benchmarks let you know you're on your way to accomplishing the goal, you probably won't get there. Furthermore, if you don't specify the daily steps you'll take to accomplish those goals, you'll never get there. So, I tried to do both.

I basically took a mental inventory of the things that bother and distract me every day. The things I want to change but look back on every year and have remained pretty much the same. So, like a large percentage of the world, one of my goals involves health and wellness. Specifically, I want to get back to what I weighed in high school (as if I'll publicize what that number is, or what I have to lose to get there). I also want to start running again. Running the 5k was a huge accomplishment for me. My whole life I've told myself I'm "not a runner" and guess what, I never was! So for me to run 3 consecutive miles without walking at all (or falling flat on my face for that matter) was pretty much equivalent to walking on the moon. Now that I know I can, in fact, run, I want to run run more. A 10k...this October. That's the goal; a quite reasonable one considering that I "trained" for the 5k in 11 days (not a recommended training regimen by the way, hence the 2 months my knees punished me for the abuse) and now I have 10 months.

One of my other goals is just to get some control back in the day-to-day stuff. It seems like I'm always "too busy" lately, and as a result, all I want is downtime. Always tripping over laundry, grabbing fast food, racing from one place to the next, and stressed out in the process. And if I cut out anything to allow for a little margin in my schedule, I feel guilty for it. Skip out on an obligation, feel guilty. Cancel on friends, feel guilty. Cut out my workout, feel guilty. Leave work on time even though things aren't done, feel guilty. Can I get a witness? So, I've made a daily change that will help with this AND miraculously help me achieve my first goal too. I, the girl who barely gets out of bed by 7 (embarassing, I know) and is always rushing to work, was going to go to the gym BEFORE work and still get there at 8. Estimated wake up time = 5:30am. Yikes. It is still dark at 5:30.

So I started last week, and guess what? I loved it. I was at work on time, raaaarrrring to go (spelling?), and all day, I knew that even if I didn't leave right on time, it was ok, because I didn't have to rush to the gym before going wherever I needed to go that night. And, as a result, I have two, sometimes three, weeknights totally free. And on those nights, I can actually go home and take some time making a healthful dinner, something that relaxes me and I truly enjoy, and then do all those things I never get to on normal days. So far so good...it's been great. I'm not going to lie...today I wasn't up until 6:20 but I managed to rip myself out of bed and still get a workout in and get to work at a decent time. And after work...the evening is all mine!

So anyways, I've obviously made a conscious decision to make these resolutions public, and I wouldn't have done that if I hadn't considered the repurcusions of slacking off and, perish the thought, failing. So I consider it all of your responsibility to check up on me from time to time and make sure I'm taking steps towards accomplishing my 2007 goals!

Red High Heels suck

2007-01-12T10:22:00.000-05:00

This morning I was subjected to both seeing and hearing Kellie Pickler's new song "Red High Heels." It is the absolute worst song I have ever heard....Ever. Coincidentally, it is also the most horrible video ever made. I was subject to both at the gym this morning. The worst part: the chorus is still in my head. It's too late for me, but you can still save yourselves.

No disrespect to Kellie. I remember actually thinking she had a good voice at times on AI...not so much the case with this song. I'm sure she's a swell small town girl and all, but the proof is in the pudding:

"Well you can watch me walk if you want to, want to
I’ll bet you want me back now don’t you, don’t you
I’m about to show you just how missin’ me feels
In my red high heels"

And yes, she co-wrote the song.

Sickness and new coffee, part 2

2007-01-09T08:52:00.000-05:00

Well, as it turns out, the new coffee isn't as bad as I thought. Remember how I said it tasted exactly as horrible as the old coffee? Well it was. It was actually the old coffee. The pots and all were new but they were still using up the old crap. The new stuff is manageable for my day to day and with my great savings I will treat myself to a Starbucks here and there. Sa-weet.

And the sickness, it turned out to be real. So real in fact that I lived on the couch for two days. I used to love sick days. Well, let me rewind. When I was a kid, I hated them. Sick days meant Abaji (my grandpa on my dad's side) came over to "watch" us. I use that term loosely because Abaji "watching" us when we stayed home sick pretty much consisted of Abaji laying on the couch watching CNN all day, the sick child making Abaji frequent cups of tea and the occasional sandwich, and Abaji lecturing us on what I refer to as his key points. These key points, which, if you have ever spoken to Abaji, you already know, have been the same for the last 30 years (if not longer), and are as follows:

Education is the most important thing in the world.
The American school system is failing us for only teaching us our times tables up to 12. Abaji insists we learn them up to 16 (which is what you did if you stayed home sick).
Every Christian must have a full, working understanding of Islam.
Every single one of his offspring must be a Republican, or he will cry.
Tattoos are of the devil.

So anyways, unless I wanted to serve tea and learn more about the above, I would go to school. Don't get me wrong, I love Abaji. There is no one like him in the world. But when you're 9 years old and have the flu, making Abaji tea, watching CNN and reciting multiplication tables up to 16 isn't really a relaxing day home from school. Some would argue that it was worse :)

Then when I was older and my mom was home, sick days were like the lap of luxury. Laying on the couch, mom making us food and serving us tea, and of course, the elixir. My mom always made us this special concoction when any of us were sick. I believe it cures everything...part ginger ale, part orange juice. Perfect for a cold, even for those with a sensitive stomach. The elixir has followed me into adulthood and I found myself sipping on OJ mixed with Citrus soda (it was that or Dr. Pepper) through a brightly colored straw last week. Hey, when you're sick, you have to do whatever it takes to make yourself feel better. Thanks for the elixir Mom. I promise it will be passed down through the generations!

Sickness and new coffee

2007-01-03T11:15:00.000-05:00

I think I am getting sick. I have that scratchy, painful-to-breathe feeling in my throat and although my left nostril seems ok, my right nostril is somewhat of a fountain. I would usually "plug" the fountin with a tissue of some sort and just let it chill in my nose rather than wiping it every 7-9 seconds, but I have learned that this is frowned upon in the workplace. Fortunately there are not a whole lot of people in the office this week... :) haha

Anyways, my job is sort of like the Office at times. We don't have a Michael Scott-like character, but we have a lot of the other characters, and things can be embarassingly absurd at times. Take, for example, my morning coffee ritual. They have free coffee here but I am physically unable to drink it anymore. It's Maxwell House or something but it tastes like sludge and I do have some limits when it comes to what coffee I will drink. So for a while I brought coffee from home but that gets to be a huge inconvenience. Buying coffee out is a treat for me; at $2 a day, I can't seem to justify it as a daily expense. Fortunately there is a cafe downstairs that brews Seattle's Best, and although it is a dollar for a cup of coffee (still beyond what my budget allows), the price drops to a mere 50 cents if you bring your own cup. Yes, we all carry our mugs downstairs, fill them to save 50 cents, and then spill as we walk back up the stairs, via the stairwell that will forever smell like hazelnut creme to me. It's pretty good though, and I can find fifty cents in one of Brian's pockets on any given weekday, so it's been working out for me.

You can imagine how pleased I was when I heard that we were getting NEW coffee upstairs in the kitchens, AND we were going to have the opportunity to choose it. This meant I would save my fifty cents a day, the burns on my hand, and the coffee stains on my pants. Hoo-ray! So the coffee distributing company really does come in and hang out in our kitchens all day with 4 varieties of coffee for us to taste and vote on. For me the choice is clear...the "fancy" something or other blend was phenomenal, bold and rich with a smooth finish. My co-workers however did not agree, and an overwhelming majority of them (84% according to our office services manager) voted on the Breakfast Blend. Let me describe it for you: IT TASTES EXACTLY LIKE THE CRAPPY MAXWELL HOUSE WE ALL COMPLAINED ABOUT FOR 4 YEARS. I have tried it 2 days in a row now and I'm not sure if they're actually still using the old coffee or what, but it officially sucks.

Why am I so upset about this you may ask? It's hard to say. Maybe I was ecstatic at the prospect of really good free coffee every morning on the same floor as my office with unlimited refills. Maybe I have no life. Maybe I just have no life at work. Maybe this is one of the most exciting things that has happened at work in a while and when it was ROBBED from me I had a hard time dealing with it...

Good times

2007-01-02T08:30:00.000-05:00

Back to the daily grind. Brian and I were saying this morning that we feel like we got a false sense of a "break." I use the term loosely because although we were not in our daily routine, and although we thoroughly enjoyed the last couple of weeks, they weren't as restful as we'd have liked. We fully acknowledge that this is our own doing...hey, we love a party.

Anyways, we had an incredible Christmas with my family in Syracuse, an exciting weekend before New Years (Brian spoke and he did PHENOMENAL...check out the message, it should be up later today in the northwaychurch.tv media center), an incredible New Years Eve with new and old friends, and a fireplace, football, junk food and friend-filled New Years Day. I can't count how many times we said something to eachother to the effect of "this is a good day" or "we have a lot of great friends" or "we have it good" over the past couple of weeks. Nothing and no one is perfect but we can acknowledge that we have it pretty good, and we will try to remember that as frequently as possible.

One of the highlights of the weekend was celebrating Jeremy and Shelley's engagement. Yay! What exciting news. Talking to them and thinking about what these next months will bring really brought Brian and I back. We were all sitting around...a bunch of "marrieds"...and I made an off-handed comment; something to the effect of "oh, to be engaged again, now we're just married." I thought better of it later, and told Brian that although our engagement and wedding were fabulous, I wouldn't trade what we have now for anything. I can't believe we've been married for three and a half years already, or how much better things are every single day. I can't imagine what it's like to be married for 30 years if you keep falling a little more in love every day. My mom sort of summed this up in a message she record for us on our wedding video. Believe it or not, she said she hoped that our wedding would turn out to be the low point of our marriage, because every day would be better than the one before. She was right. It was incredible, but looking back, I guess you could say it has turned out to be the "low point."

So Jer and Shel, we are sooooo happy for you guys and the next few months will be amazing. But we wish you the same...that every day will be the best one yet, and that when you look back in 5, 10 or 30 years, these wonderful times of wedding bliss will pale in comparison. :)

Imaginiff...

2006-12-29T11:40:00.000-05:00

Over Christmas, we initiated a new family tradition, which was pretty much awesome. It consisted of the fam chillin around the dining room table at Mimi's (what the twins call my mom) Christmas night and playing games. That's right, games.

Brian and I brought Apples to Apples, and it was fun, as it always is, but the real hit of the evening was Imaginiff, contributed by Mimi herself. This game is pretty much awesome, especially if you play it with people you know. You put the names of those playing around the board, which has a dry-erase surface. There are 8 spaces, so if there are less than 8 players you can fill in the empty spots with people everyone knows. They can be people you really know, like Aunt Betty, or people like Jessica Simpson, who somehow made it onto our board but was quickly replaced for a general lack of interest.

Anyways, you roll the dice and land on someone's name, then pick a card and read it aloud. It will say something like "If _________ was a mode of transportation, he/she would be:" and go on to list 6 choices. Each of the choices are numbered, and each player has cards with the number 1-6 in their hand. Essentially you're just voting on what you think best matches that person. The fun part is when you all flip your cards over and see how the jury ruled.

It was pretty funny with the family. Since we all know eachother pretty well some of the rulings were unanimous (like if Caroline were on a long road trip the thing that would annoy her the most would be 4: if her cell phone died.) And some were split decisions (like if Emily were a mode of transportation she would either be a 1: pogo stick, 4: corporate jet, or 6: sports car). I learned a lot about myself, or should I say, what my family things of me. Apparently, I am well suited for a range of reality TV shows, from the Apprentice to American Idol, but NOT the Amazing Race. What's that about? I could SO eat fisheyes. Anyways, it was really fun and I highly recommend the game.

A funny thing happened on the way to the nail salon...

2006-12-28T10:35:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my mom, or "Mimi" as she is now affectionately called, treated her three daughters to pedicures at the nail salon down the street from her house. I was already on my way out the door when she surprised me with the good news and we planned to meet at 2. My sisters and my mom all get pedicures once in a while, but I have actually only had one pedicure...ever (I know, perish the thought). Although I'm pretty girly, I am also extremely cheap when it comes to things I can do well myself. My only pedicure was a couple of days before my wedding, and this was long before you could find a quick, cheap, in and out nail salon in every shopping plaza. My only pedicure was at a hair salon, and there was no massaging chair or salt scrub involved. In short, I had no idea what I was in for.

Sometime before 2pm I became keenly aware of the fact that I don't shave my legs every day in the winter. I know, perish the thought. Hey, life's been busy. All of a sudden I realized that my neglected legs were going to be handled and stared at by someone who would surely judge me for my lack of upkeep. I forced Brian to take me to the drug store so I could shave my legs really quick before we went. It seemed like a good idea...at the time.

Au contraire. Apparently this is the well-known cardinal rule of pedicures (in this world that I am clearly not a part of). "Do not shave 24 hours before." This also includes "Do not shave dry 20 minutes before." I had no idea. Everything was going nicely, until the nailpolish remover.

The water was nice and warm and the jets felt great on my feet. The nice lady doing my pedicure put gloves on before using nailpolish remover to remove the old polish. The nailpolish remover got all over her gloves, and then it happened. She reached for my other leg as I unsuspectingly chatted with my mom and sisters. She grabbed my ankle to switch legs and it was a shocking, stinging, home alone moment (minus the scream). It was pretty much downhill from there. She used like 19 chemicals in all, pushing each one a few more inches above my ankle until my whole leg was on FIRE. The salt scrub was the worst. I'd rather not relive the experience, but just imagine salt on open wounds. You get the idea.

Anyways, once the soothing pedicure had ended and the onslaught of chemicals on my battered (but hair-free) legs had calmed, it was smooth sailing. We went shopping, went about our day, and went home. Then, around 8pm, they started to sting again! I pulled up my jeans to find horribly blotchy burning skin underneath! It looked like I had red socks on. I spent the remainder of the night sitting as still as possible so as not to disturb the raging fire between my ankles and my knees, using icepacks whenever necessary. Case in point: It is better to let the nice lady at VS nails see that you haven't shaved in a few days than to have chemical burns all over your legs.

PS - don't try to put Vaseline on to soothe the burning...it only makes it burn worse.

Back from...

2006-12-27T10:07:00.000-05:00

Well, we're certainly not back from the dead...maybe you could say we're back from too much living. The last 2 weeks have been an abolute whirlwind of activity, and although some of my more committed blogging friends have been faithful in blogging through it, I have (obviously) not. So where should I start.

Well we had our first Christmas party in our new home, which was a good time. And of course, the next morning my post Christmas depression started to creep in. I decided that this year I wouldn't let it get to me until the appropriate time, not that I'm altogether sure when that is. Either way, it was only December 16th and I chose to enjoy the last 2 weeks of this year very much in the Christmas spirit.

Right after the party ended, I took my last graduate course ever. I'll pause here for a moment. I started grad school a year after we got married. I often refer to myself as the oldest 25-year-old you've ever met, and going to an evening class in Albany and not getting home until 10pm once a week doesn't really fit into my 25 going on 40 lifestyle. I have therefore spent a large portion of the last 2.5 years, during which I've been in class, complaining about it. So on the 15th, myself and my class (5 other girls I've been in class with the last couple of years) decided to celebrate, since 4 of us were in our last class and moving on to work independently on our theses. It is really amazing to me how time can pass so quickly. All of a sudden, that chapter of my life...rushing out of work, eating fast food, reading from my textbooks on my drive down the Northway :) ...it's all over! Believe it or not, it was a little bittersweet, since I am truly a geek and really enjoyed the classes once in a while, not to mention the people I met. Anyways, I'm looking forward to finishing my thesis, hopefully this December, and walking across that stage!

So anyways, after my last class, the real insanity began. We were in full swing preparing for and promoting Northway's Christmas Eve services. Northway was planning to open it's second location in Clifton Park, and although various hurdles were ahead of us, our bold leadership decided that God could make it happen despite these hurdles, and we advertised seven services Christmas Eve weekend in not one, but TWO locations. Not only was the facility still in need of a LOT of work, we needed a certificate of occupancy from the Town of Clifton Park to allow anyone through the doors, and that would be nearly impossible to obtain right before Christmas.

I will not lie, I had my doubting Thomas moments. Walking into the building just days before, I remember looking at a friend and saying "It will be a miracle if this happens on Sunday." Well, it was. And although it's easy to see the miracle in the big things - 800 people worshipping in our very first service Christmas Eve - I had the pleasure of seeing the smaller miracles. Like the family with 2 teenagers that came out the day before we opened and mopped floors with me for 3 hours. Or the night my husband got home after 4 a.m. but couldn't stop telling me about all the awesome things they'd accomplished that night. Or the woman who had been cleaning with me for 3 hours, who later told me she was actually out shopping but saw us cleaning and realized we needed help, so she dropped all of her plans to make it happen. Or the husband and wife who had been there working every moment the doors were open for weeks, who were all dressed up, smiling and greeting every volunteer who came on Christmas Eve (although I'm sure they were utterly exhausted).

I could go on and on, but I think the most beautiful thing I saw in the midst of all of this was true selflessness. People taking time out in the busiest days of the year to do something completely unselfish, despite their own needs or wants, or the fact that they would receive no praise or recognition for it on earth, other than the satisfaction of knowing that they had served God by scrubbing toilets, mopping floors, and painting walls. No satisfaction other than an earnest belief that the windows they had cleaned would somehow have an eternal impact.

During the latter part of this year, Brian and I were made aware of how utterly selfish we tend to be. Our world is pretty comfortable, and why shouldn't it be, since it revolves pretty much around us and no one else? I mean, yeah, we're "good" people. We are nice to our neighbors, we pay all of our bills and we're involved in our church, but suddenly our eyes started to open to those around us, both near and far, whose worlds couldn't be more opposite.

A good friend of mine, and also a faithful proofreader of many papers, important e-mails and the like, was reading our Christmas card this year and asked me what I meant when I wrote that Brian and I were trying to broaden our context. To her credit, I think there is a very good chance that I coined that phrase while writing. So let me explain in case anyone else out there doesn't think it was the grammatically correct way to conclude our Christmas greeting :)

We live in a lovely little context. We have a nice home, we both have cars, we both have jobs and get paid every week. We love eachother and have great friends. We love our church and spend a lot of time there. Everything we do contributes to the balance of our little world, the context we live in. Whether good or bad, it all works out to keep things rolling along nicely in the world of Brian and Libby. Maybe living beyond our context would ideally mean moving to Africa and understanding what it really means to live in a city that has no source of water within a 3 mile walk, or going to church in Pakistan where at any given time, the congregation could be stormed and killed for no reason other than their decision to be there.

But I think that we can start to live beyond our context by acknowledging the safe bubble we live in. By appreciating it and thanking God for the luxuries we have, both big and small. By making a conscious effort to be selfless and kind even when it reaches outside of our bubble and will have no positive returns for us. And by painting the walls in Clifton Park even though no one will pat you on the back for it, just because you know it needs to be done, and you want to be the one to do it.

It's been too long...

2006-12-12T09:03:00.000-05:00

I had a feeling that it had been too long since I'd logged in to comment on, well, whatever it is I comment on. My suspicions were confirmed when I went to log in and couldn't remember my username and password. I am starting to favor the idea of a microchip I just scan in front of everything so I don't have to remember 1,001 passwords any more. I have four separate passwords JUST for the blogs I manage (not all my own), not to mention my five e-mail accounts, all checked on a regular basis, my 3 bank accounts (none Swiss), information saved in Amazon, Harry and David, Barnes and Noble, Overstock.com and pretty much every other online retailer. The list goes on...SallieMae.com, my health care provider, my dental health plan provider, every utility bill I pay, ebay (of course), paypal, every single airline's frequent flyer club (I think I have one frequent flyer mile at each airline, which if combined, after the transfer fee, will buy me one bag of peanuts), my auto insurance...even EZpass requires me to log in! There are many more but I won't bore you with the details, you could probably name them for me b/c you have all the same accounts.

In addition to the above referenced "personal" accounts, I have 15 separate logins for various work functions, whether they be my corporate AmEx or the various systems I log into each day. These are the absolute worst, because they all have to be changed every 21 days or something. It takes me 21 days just to remember them! So I do what any other privacy concerned employee would do...I list them on a post it note just above my PC or "craptop" as some people call them (grrrrr). Hey, it's better than putting all of my personal info in a Word doc on my desktop labeled "Passwords" (who does that??).

Anyways, work decided this was absolutely absurd (as it is) and they came up with this thing called P-Synch - the mother of all password "tools." P-Synch basically allows me to somehow synchronize the various systems I work on so that once I'm logged into my machine, I can just log into other things without entering my password. Here is the catch: So far, there are only 2 systems P-Synch actually works with. And yesterday I got an e-mail from IS that 1 will not require, wait for it.....a password! I have gotten 4 e-mails from IS this week reminding me to REMEMBER MY PASSWORD (in uppercase red bolded font, as shown). I don't even know what my user name is for this particular system. I do however, remember my mother's maiden name, which, as it turns out, is all I, or anyone wishing to steal my identity, needs to know.

To their credit, the masterminds behind the idea of people forgetting their passwords every day have gotten more creative with the "security questions" they put in place in case you forget your password. Here's the thing - I don't remember the answers to those either. Example: Where were you born? This could warrant a number of answers, all correct (e.g. Syracuse, St. Joseph's hospital, New York), and by the time I find the correct answer I would most certainly have locked myself out of my account. And they're getting much more difficult. Example: What was the name of your favorite teacher? (Answer: no clue) What is your favorite vacation destination? (Answer: Well it's funny you should ask, because I have been pondering whether I like Maui or Mexico better...)

Ok I've gotta go e-mail IS b/c I just tried three incorrect passwords and locked myself out of yet another system...

Notice to New Yorkers: This is not a blizzard

2006-12-05T09:31:00.000-05:00

Upstate New Yorkers never cease to amaze me on the first snow of the season. Every year, without fail, they forget how to drive. No seriously, they forget about black ice, and about other cars, and about the fact that just because you drive a ridiculously large SUV, you are not able to outwit black ice.

Today it took me about 50 minutes to get to work--double the usual time. In fact, it took my 15 minutes just to get from exit 13N halfway to exit 12. A car had spun off the road causing the delay. It was a Toyota Tundra. Then things progressed slowly at about 15 mph as I approached exit 10, where a Ford Explorer had done the same. All of us little cars drove by in wonder and amazement. Gee, guess they hit a really bad spot that EVERYONE ELSE ON THE ROAD seemed to avoid. NO! Not the case. How hard is it to drive with some small amount of caution?! This isn't even bad weather people, this is nothing!

What's amazing to me is that on days of far more inclimate weather than today, my drive will not take nearly as long despite worse driving conditions. Which brings me back to my original point. Upstate New Yorkers become idiots during the first snowfall of every year. They forget how to drive in even the smallest amount of snow, and I get to work very, very late. If I can do it in my 15 pound Mazda Protege with all-season tires nearing the end of their short life, you can do it to. In the words of the wise C-Diddy (that's for you Mary) "Play it safe, Play it smart."

Check it out

2006-12-01T13:59:00.000-05:00

Great article about the movie. So many good points in here that I hesitate to choose a few, but here goes:

I was kind of struck by the fact that we rarely look at that story from a character standpoint. When we put out our little Nativity sets, they're kind of inanimate objects. ~Screenwriter Mike Rich

There are faith-based movies being made, but usually for micro-budgets, and usually designed to reach a very specific niche market. Our argument to New Line was: Well, if 200 million Americans who consider themselves Christians are a niche, then that's a niche that maybe you should consider working with. ~Producer Bowen

There's a line in the script, "the greatest of kings born in the most humble of places." That's revolutionary. It's saying the power is not a physical power. It's not riches, it's not money, it's not control of governments and nations. It's a deeper power, spirituality... It's revolutionary even now. We can't even grasp that now. We think we need all the trappings and physical things to be happy, but that's not necessarily the case. ~ Director Catherine Hardwicke

The Nativity Story

2006-11-28T14:46:00.000-05:00

New Line Cinema is releasing "The Nativity Story" today nationwide. I had heard that this movie was coming out, but this past weekend I saw the trailer for the film. The 60 second preview literally took my breath away and left me fighting tears.

The story of Christ's birth is so rich, and there are so many aspects to study: the symbolism, the prophesy, the sheer wonder...and I very easily get so caught up in such things (and rightly so) that I forget about Mary and Joseph. Their story is absolutely incredible. I never really thought much about them in anything other than a logistical sense...as Jesus' mother and father...until I was a student at the Bible Institute, and we had an instructor come in for a week to speak almost exclusively about Mary. I won't lie, I don't remember many of the lecturers we had at WOLBI, but this particular week I remember like it was yesterday. He put everything into a cultural context and explained in great detail what she must have encountered as a result of her pregnancy.

Mary was the most common and most pure of Jewish girls, and she spent her pregnancy (and probably a significant amount of time thereafter) treated as an outcast (or, to be blunt, as a whore). But when she was first told the news that she, a virgin, would bear a child, her response to the angel was: I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true. Luke 1:38 NLT. I can't imagine that my own response would have been half as gracious, obedient or selfless. She literally gave up her honor (in man's eyes), any social status she had (which was likely very little anyways), and any semblance of a normal future, in blind obedience and true child-like faith.

I could pretty much go on and on about how beautiful this picture is, God selecting someone who thinks themself "unworthy" for the task he chooses them for, God doing something that is beyond our human comprehension, God asking someone to trust Him even though what He's proposing makes little to no sense in human terms...sounds familiar doesn't it? And look at the reward Mary was blessed with. The same goes for Joseph. Granted he didn't have to carry and give birth to Jesus, but he did go through much of the same ridicule and exercised the same faith and obedience Mary did.

Suffice it to say I am very anxious to see this movie. From what I've seen, the producers don't seem to be advertising any religious agenda, but have made every effort to preserve the cultural and historical accuracy of the account in the movie. That alone pretty much guarantees that it will be a powerful film. I'll let you know what I think when I see it!

Procrastination

2006-11-27T21:49:00.000-05:00

School is torture, as is school work. Exhibit A = me, having procrastinated my research proposal, now exploring the wonders of myheritage.com. You should try it if you haven't already. I can't testify to it's accuracy (one of my photos apparently bore a striking resemblance to Vanna White) but I can assure at least 15 minutes of entertainment. Although I am not proud to say I look like Paula Abdul and Sally Struthers, well, the machine doesn't lie. Ok, back to work now....soooo painful.

Quick Update

2006-11-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

"Reunited and it feels so good..."

Thanksgiving was a huge success...pretty much the most perfect Thanksgiving ever :) No seriously, we had a great time, we relaxed, we had a roaring fire going and lots of laughs...it was a good day! To top it all off, TBS aired 4 of the Friends Thanksgiving episodes from 8-10. What more could I ask?

I'll tell you what I could ask for - a very productive Black Friday! And I got it! Brian and I have just about finished our Christmas shopping. I was up at 5 but since I had worn myself out the day before, I was back down by 2 pm...watching Elf and napping with Kaylee in my lap. I was exhausted after just a few hours but fortunately I got just about everything done that morning. I've always thought Black Friday was absolutely crazy, and if you were at Kohls on Friday, you probably think so too. But it has become kind of a tradition and not only do I enjoy it, I truly do think it's worth the deals. I do not think it's worth saving $5 at Kohl's to wait in their hour long line, but other stores hosted much more moderate chaos and some great deals to boot.

I'm going to be preoccupied for about the next week with a research proposal for school. You will be able to judge my productivity by seeing how often I blog while trying to focus on the representation of gender in commercials airing during children's prime time television. Fun times, good times. So anyways, in the meantime, check out pictures from Thanksgiving (including our new mantel-shout out to cousin Dan, who happens to be a contractor and was kind enough to build it for us).

Lastly, get ready to change your bookmarks b/c this blog will be moving soon. As of last week, we are the proud owners of brianandlibby.com (don't go there yet, nothing to see) and everything will be moved over to the new site before Christmas. We will have been with blogger for a year this coming January, and while it has served us well, I have found myself very impressed with Wordpress while managing multiple other blogs on it. Brianandlibby.com will reside on Jon Wise's personal server and be hosted on Wordpress. Not that you care (surprising that I kind of do care) but it will. So that's what's up. Peace out.

Who put Santa’s head on my door?

2006-11-20T14:37:00.000-05:00

No, it’s not a morbid question. It is, rather, the question that has plagued my days and nights since last Saturday. Let me explain. Saturday morning we were helping some friends move to a house conveniently located just a few miles from us. After a long morning, I came home and as I pulled into the garage, it seemed like something was different. I backed up and looked at the front door. My suspicions were confirmed: The fall wreath that had previously occupied my door had been placed on the chair, and REplaced with a hanging Santa head (with a remarkably sparkly beard).

My first thought was that it was Brian – finally succumbing to the pressure of the Christmas music I’d been playing in the house since October. When he got home I greeted him with a hug and kiss and said “thank you!” but his eyes gazed past me and he said “What the heck is that Santa head doing on our house?” When I told him I assumed he had placed it there in support of my seasonal enthusiasm, he said something to the effect of “Why would I support your craziness” (most recently he has been accusing me of being on “Christmas crack”).

I immediately called my friend Debbie. She lives close by and knows I am a little bit of a Christmas enthusiast. But it wasn’t her. Nor was it Chad and Leah, or our friends the Williamsons. We thought maybe it was Jon and Nic. Nope, not them either. We narrowed it down a bit…it had to be someone who knew I loved Christmas, possibly someone who read my blog, and most definitely someone who lived near us. Most of our friends who live near us go to our church, so we figured whoever it was would identify his/herself at church that weekend, but the weekend came and went and no suspects had been brought in. My curiosity heightened.

I made a few more phone calls this week, but no one seemed to know anything about it (and in the meantime I think I confirmed a lot of people’s suspicions that I was crazy). I approached my last hope on Sunday but she said it wasn’t her, so I just figured I would have to go through life never knowing who the kind soul was who reciprocated my Christmas-cheer-spreading.

So after services on Sunday, our friend Steve came up to me. He and his wife Jen do share my affinity for Christmas decorations and they are also in a new home this winter so we’re kind of sharing our excitement for the whole “deck the halls” thing. In typical Steve-O fashion he asked my if I had gotten any decorations up outside yet, and I said no (Brian has made it crystal clear that although he can’t stop me from making the interior of our house a premature winter wonderland, he will see to it that we don’t put up anything outside until it’s socially acceptable). Steve got a little militant, and said “Nothing? Really? NOTHING? Not even on your DOOR?!?!”

A whole string of Christmas light bulbs pretty much went on in my head and I realized that they had been trying to ask me about it all week (I thought they just genuinely wanted to hear about my Christmas décor, oh well). As it turns out, they had purchased it about 2 weeks ago (fortunately they chose the Santa instead of the “Christmas Gnome” lawn art) and since they were also there helping our friends move that Saturday and left before us, they know they could put it up without us knowing. They live about 30 minutes away…very clever. We never suspected them. Very clever, Steve and Jenn, very clever. Watch your back...we can buy lawn art too...

Thanksgiving

2006-11-16T11:25:00.000-05:00

For the past three years Brian and I have, in typical married fashion, split our holidays between each of our families. Because we spend Christmas Eve at home so we can be at all of Northway’s services, we always do Christmas at my mom’s…three hours driving after 6+ Christmas Eve services is much better than 8. Thanksgiving, therefore, has become a tradition we spend with the Howe family.

Howe-style Thanksgiving was a complete shock to me, I won’t lie. My Thanksgivings growing up always held surprises, but there were a few staples I could rely on: like my Uncle Sol’s chicken curry, the thanksgiving song (don’t ask), 4 video cameras, a fitted bed sheet on a concrete floor (again, don’t ask, only the cousins will appreciate that one), and at least 30 Pakistanis, give or take some non-English speaking international students my dad would find at Syracuse University and load into his Mazda MPV. None of these things were present at my in-laws’ and instead, they had stuff like turkey and mashed potatoes. What’s that about?

The first year was sheer culture shock. No one playing the harmonium, no one speaking Urdu, no one showing up two hours late. To be quite frank, I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I just sort of followed the crowd. I woke up, ate breakfast and watched the parade. No one rushed me to shower and get ready, no one made me clean the house in anticipation for company…I just laid on the floor by the fireplace and snuggled with Kaylee (my dog who Brian’s parents adopted a few years ago). Then I helped make Thanksgiving dinner. Should I rush? No, not at all—why rush? It’s just the 6 of us having a leisurely family Thanksgiving. No wonder everyone loves this holiday! After dinner, I joined Kaylee (again) near the the Libby-shaped impression in the carpet and fell asleep (again) while watching a movie. It was glorious.

When we were engaged, we did spend one Thanksgiving with my family, and to be fair, I think the culture shock for Brian was much, much more jarring. Have you seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding? You know the scene when Ian comes into the family’s Easter party at the restaurant and they all bombard him at once? I’m not joking, it was exactly like that. Except the Pakistanis are louder, more plentiful, and the foyer at my parents’ is smaller than that restaurant. You do the math. It wasn’t pretty. And yet he still married me...

Thanksgiving in the Massey Family is an international affair. For the first 10-15 years of the annual Massey Thanksgiving, my mom made all of the traditional foods. Then they started dying off – no stuffing in 1995, no turkey in 1997, and finally, around 1999, we saw our last bowl of mashed potatoes sit untouched in the buffet line, jealous of the attention the basmati rice was getting. And that was it, curry powder officially took over and the only semblance of traditional thanksgiving left was the pumpkin pie (we Pakis love our pumpkin pie – Americans got that one right).

This year we’ll be starting our own tradition. Last Thanksgiving we said that if we bought a house in ’06, we would host Thanksgiving in ’06. And we did, so we are! It should be interesting. First of all, we haven’t eaten meat, or cooked it for that matter, in about 4 months, so we will see how the bird comes out (we tried to convince Brian’s parents to go with a Tofurkey but the idea wasn’t exactly met with enthusiasm…can you blame them?). Also, we still have a small and rather wobbly round kitchen table, so we have officially decided to bring the patio table, yes, I said patio table, in for our feast. For some reason even though we can only eat outside like 2 days out of the year because of the weather in upstate New York, our patio table is about 3 times the size of our kitchen table. So that should be interesting too.

We’re excited to start to blend our families’ time-honored traditions, and make some of our own. We will definitely be making traditional food, and I will definitely be napping on the floor with Kaylee (if she survives the drive up here – sorry Caroline, but Kaylee’s like 25 years old and this may be her last Thanksgiving). We (me, Amber, and Mom Howe) will also go shopping around 5 am on Black Friday—yes, we’re “those people”—and meet the guys for breakfast around 9. As for the rest, we’ll have to see how it all unfolds – I will of course keep you posted.

Toothpaste for Dinner

2006-11-14T08:52:00.000-05:00

If you have never checked out toothpaste for dinner, do it now. Drew, the comic's author, updates it daily at midnight, and if you are running out of ways to waste time on the internet (aka if myspace is down), have no fear. Toothpaste for Dinner will keep you entertained for hours. It's gotten a bit less tasteful in the past year but if you can weed through all that, there are some real gems in there, mostly related to office politics. Check out the archives, happy laughing. Here are a few of my personal favorites:

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haha - especially funny b/c Brian and I often eat only a yam for lunch and/or dinner.

"Just commentary"

2006-11-08T11:44:00.000-05:00

Brian and I had a good friend in town last night. He is a rare breed, in that he not only makes me laugh until I pee my pants, he's also a reliable source of thought-provoking conversation. Jamie’s been pursuing God for years, and is a true Truth seeker in that he never lets himself become satisfied with what he does; what he knows.

Last night we spent a lot of time talking about some stuff he has been reading…stuff that challenges a lot of the way we traditionally interpret Christianity. Stuff like, what is the “Gospel” really? What/where/when is heaven? What does it mean to be a “Christian” or “Christ-follower” or however you want to say it. Sometimes its scary when you get talking about things like that because you start to realize how much of your faith - we’re talking faith you would walk out on a ledge for - is based on things people have told you about God, not on what God has spoken. Jamie thinks that Rob Bell said it best:

“God spoke, the rest is just commentary.”

So now I’m going through the mental exhaustion of determining which parts of my faith and the things I consider Truth are based on what God really said, and which of them are based on commentary. Scary stuff. Pretty cool though, and I think, a worthy exercise.

Anyways, if you’re into church, and have interest in looking at how different people “do” church, you’ve probably noticed that they all do it differently. There are some that like to do it the way that people have always done it. There are some that just want to do it their own way, based on what they think God has said. There are some who will try to do things in a new way just for the sake of shaking things up. The good news is that all of these people realize that God loves the local church. He loves it so much that He calls it His bride. He cherishes it, has pride in it, and he made the ultimate sacrifice for it. They get that God is passionate about the church, and they should be too. The bad news is that they take this passion too far, and spend a lot of time arguing with eachother because they think their way is the only right way. Of all the unintelligent things people who call themselves Christians have done (present company included), I think the absolute most foolish is making this argument public. As a result, a lot of people who should be attracted to God through the local church have instead come to the conclusion that Christians just do church as a result of their own selfish agendas, and they don't want to be associated with the God of those people. Can't blame them, really.

Anyways, the more we talked last night, the more I noticed Jamie’s genuine appreciation for our church and the way we do things. No church is perfect – no church is God’s favorite. And if Jamie had to choose, ours might not be his favorite, but he is so supportive of what we do and why we do it. Not to mention, he is as excited as we are about what God is obviously doing, and the fruit that is being produced in both individual and corporate ways. His personal preferences make him no less excited about what God is doing through Northway as he is excited about what God does through churches that are more his “cup of tea.”

You know how God talks about the church as his body? You know how every limb on the body plays a distinct role, and God says that each of those roles is critical to the healthy function of the complete body? Maybe every church in the world is part of the bigger body, God’s Bride, the global body of Christ. Maybe every church has a different role to play, and God loves, values, and uses them all equally; despite the lessons they learn, their personal preferences, their quirks and uniqueness, their methodology.

When I was 19 I got this ridiculous disease which I still don’t completely understand called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. I can not explain to you the etiology or its course, but I remember the doctor explaining it to me. “Your body is attacking your thyroid. It is recognizing your thyroid as an ‘alien’ that isn’t part of you. Not only is your thyroid unable to function, your whole body is suffering because it’s using so many resources to fight off your thyroid.” I couldn’t get over how extremely absurd this was. Because I was appalled by the prospect of having my thyroid surgically removed, and have a very nerd-like but earnest belief that communication really can solve the world’s problems, I racked my brain trying to think of ways to just explain to my body that my thyroid was not in fact an intruder, but a valid organ – one that I needed pretty desperately in fact!

Because my physiology reacts better to modern medicine than to my own reasoning, it was surgically removed, and I now rely on a pill every day to regulate my metabolism rather than my dearly departed thyroid.

Conclusion you probably have already come to: Maybe each organ in Christ’s Body would be able to function more effectively and in the best interest of the collective Body if they were spending more time pursuing God, obeying Him, and doing what he tells them too. God did a pretty superb job creating man to sustain himself physically, creating the earth to sustain itself, and generally conceiving the idea of every single thing in the universe to work together to continue sustaining itself, much like it has done for the past (insert very large number) of years. If we say we trust God, we can trust that if we are truly seeking him as individuals, and as churches, He will orchestrate the objectives He accomplishes through each individual body to collectively accomplish his purpose for the global Body of Christ.

Thanks Jamie for getting my wheels turning. Now I have to go back and deconstruct this entire post, considering whether my assumptions are based on what God said, or on someone’s commentary. :)

Don't fear the cheer

2006-11-06T15:42:00.000-05:00

I have been learning a strange and interesting lesson over the past several days. Although it deeply disturbs me, I would like to share it with you.

As previously explained, I love Christmas. No special reason, I don’t have like a whole room with little miniature Santa Claus figurines in my house all year or anything (just for you MEOB), but around Christmastime, I get pretty excited and I have decided to embrace this excitement fully, and share it with those around me. I will admit, my definition of Christmastime is somewhat more broad than others’…pretty much anything after Halloween and before Martin Luther King Day encompasses “Christmas-time” in my mind. No, I do not wear jingle bell earrings or light-up Rudolph sweaters, but I have been listening to some of my favorite Christmas CD’s just to help, you know, get me in the spirit. So I dusted them off on October 28th, what’s it to you?

Well, a couple of weeks ago, Brian and I were out shopping and I found the perfect Christmas tree. It was just like those childhood memories, when you all get bundled into your snow suits, trample through 2 feet of snow in your boots, find that glorious tree in all of its pine needle glory, cut it down, strap it to the top of your station wagon and bring it home…except that we trampled through the crowds in the Home Depot parking lot, and when we found it, we listened to a demo by the voice of Santa Claus about how if one light goes out the whole string won’t be shot (ummm, hello, when you celebrate Christmas for 8+ weeks you can’t get a real tree). It was a glorious 9.5 foot slim Caroline pine with three, count them, THREE different kinds of branches. Because I have set aside a Christmas decoration budget for myself, it was a no-brainer – we will have this tree. We will put it in our foyer, decorate it, drink hot cocoa while gazing up at it, and sing “Fa – whoo – foraze” around it in a circle holding hands with all of our friends. Ok maybe not, but the tree was off the hizzook.

So this past weekend my mom and I purchased the tree (which had, along with several other Christmas trees, been on display for at least 2 weeks at Home Depot, much like various Holiday items in just about every other major North American retailer I’ve visited this week). As I approached the register, the woman who would check me out developed a sizeable scowl on her face, turning to her friend and proclaiming loudly “Now THIS depresses me.” She wasn’t even talking about the fact that she was wearing an orange vest, no, she was criticizing the tree I was buying. Both of these employees went on to explain to me how much they hated the fact that I was buying a Christmas tree even though they had just checked out someone buying a Halloween decoration, and how much they didn’t like Christmas in general.

Although this is by far the most extreme example, I have found that people who do not share my affection for Christmas are somehow propelled to the opposite end of the continuum when I’m around. Does my love for Christmas compel others to hate it more in order to find balance in their worlds? I can’t comprehend this. So I will have my tree up at least one week before Thanksgiving…What’s it to you?

Instead of letting this increasingly apparent trend put a damper on my cheer factor (def. hypothetical meter on which I measure the amount of Christmas cheer I am overwhelmed with at the moment), I have decided to spread my cheer to whoever will accept it. Last week I let a friend borrow a Christmas CD. Although at first she thought it absurd that I even had it out so early, she is now addicted to it and can’t seem to listen to much else…cheer spread, mission accomplished.

In my second attempt, I encourage you to visit this website as often as your schedule permits, to remind you that Christmas, like life, is fleeting. You should enjoy it while you can. If I’ve learned anything through this, it’s that you look less stupid celebrating Christmas absurdly early, than dragging out absurdly late. So get your fill now people, before it’s too late. And for those of you who can’t help but vomit up a Bah Humbug! in response to this post, look out, because the cheer factor is steadily increasing, and I’m coming your way.

If you would like to be as cool as me and have that webpage display as your desktop background (I know, WOW! Does it get any better?) just open the web page, hit View > Source. Then save that notepad document with the extension .html to your desktop. Right click anywhere on your desktop, then choose Properties > Desktop > Browse, and select the file you just created...good stuff :)

Food for Thought

2006-11-03T15:10:00.000-05:00

In a recent commentary from Ben Stein:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.
It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution, and I don't like it being shoved down my throat. (emphasis added)

Fall Party Cakes

2006-11-02T09:36:00.000-05:00

The Howe who saved Halloween
a short story by Libby Howe

Twas the night of Halloween and all through Deer Run
The children were preparing for a night of fun
Mrs. Howe was excited to hand out sweet treats
To all of the children who came down the streets.

She'd shopped for the candy, and was anxious (you could tell)
Then waited to hear it...the ringing doorbell.
A half an hour passed but no children came by
Then finally at six her first visitor arrived!

In overexcitement she rushed to the door
to see not one child, but alas, there were four!
Brian laughed at her when she spilled all the candy
He said she was nervous but she said "shut up! I'm just overexcited".....?

anyways...

They kept on arriving, in a steady flow
and around 6:30 Libby said, "Oh no!
We're almost out of candy, how could this be?
Brian, go to the store and get more candy for me!"

Ten minutes passed, but Brian was no where in sight
The candy was low, and she feared there'd be a fight.
Then the door opened to Brian's loud shout
"There is no more candy! All of the stores are out."

"No worries," he said, "I thought long and hard
before putting 50 candy bars on our credit card.
On the gas station shelves next to drugs for headaches
there were boxes of Little Debbie Fall Party Cakes!"

She stared at this man, in wonder and fear
Would he really bring those Little Debbie Cakes here?
But his story was true and this was the only option
Would trick or treaters accept this strange cooking concoction?

When the first children came, she offered the treat
And what a surprise her fall snack cakes did meet.
Their eyes lit up and they all screamed "Hooray!
Mr. Howe has done it! He saved the day!"

And over and over they came to the door
saying"We love these cakes, can we please have some more?"
We began to run low and I turned to Brian,
"I need another solution, you must keep on tryin!"

He stood up victoriously and said "do not fear"
To the garage he went, saying "I think we have cans of pepsi in here"
She wanted to question but had already learned.
I tried to question him once, but it seems I got burned.

When they came once again, we shyly made the offer.
Would the Pepsi be met with thanks, or with a scoffer?
They loved the Pepsi! It was quenching their thirst!
The Howes were so happy they thought they would burst.

So kids, don't forget that on Halloween Night
Even when you run out of candy, have no fright.
Just give what you can, because all that matters.
Is that next year, all the kids know that the Howes are the best halloween candy/cake/soda giver-outers.

The End.

Click here to watch the short independent film entitled "Fall Party Cakes."

Happy Halloween!

2006-10-31T13:35:00.000-05:00

This weekend, Brian and I were doing our usual Saturday thing...very little...and the doorbell rang. We immediately looked at each other in horror. Who could it be? We weren't expecting anyone. Were we in trouble? Had something gone wrong...or, oh no, it couldn't be...does one of our neighbors want to TALK to us? (I promise this story has to do with Halloween, sit tight)

I peeked out from the top of the stairs as quickly as I could so that I wouldn't be seen, therefore having an obligation to answer the door. It was a little boy, selling something I assumed. So I went back to whatever it was I was doing and Brian said "who was it" and I just said "fundraiser" non-chalantly. Brian responded by looking at me in horror, and all of a sudden I felt like the most horrible person on earth. It was like 30 degrees with a significant windchill and after this puzzling interaction between Brian and I, the kid was still standing at the door. Then I was horrified because I realized that my overall selfishness and general dislike towards children (both of which I deceive myself into thinking Brian has not discovered in 3+ years of marriage) had been unearthed through my response.

So I ran down the stairs planning to tell the kid I had no money. Unfortunately, while this would usually be true, it would have been a blatant lie. Not only did I have cash, I had change. I was his jackpot for the day. I opened the door and he just stared up and mumbled something about the boy scouts and popcorn, and my swift, stealth response was..."let me go get my purse." Then I realized that not only was the kid cold, the cold air was quickly filling my foyer since he had shimmied himself into position propping the storm door open, so I told him he could come in. Apparently that's like the worst thing you can do when a kid is fundraising. Although I could see his parent standing at the end of the driveway (and he could see me) the well trained boy scout responded very matter of factly "I'm not allowed." Oops, strike one. I better order a lot of popcorn.

So although I had change I didn't have the RIGHT change so I ended up paying more than the grossly inflated fundraising price for my little tin of unpopped kernels. I noticed he had been staring at something in my foyer while I was filling out the form, and I thought, "oh, how cute, the cold boy scout likes the lamp and painting of Venice I bought at Marshalls." No, no, he was staring at the large mound of Reeses' Peanut Butter Cups on the table just about 10 feet from where he was standing...10 feet into the forbidden territory of the neighbor's house. So before he left (although questioning the rules about boy scouts taking candy from strangers) I offered him one and he, again in a monotone voice, responded "yes please" without so much as looking up.

Much to my surprise, the second he turned around, he made eye contact with his dad at the end of the street and, while he ran, held over his head his victorious prize...no, not the $10, but the Reeses' Peanut Butter Cup. I will not head into a discourse of a child's economy, but let's just say he valued the 5 seconds of enjoyment he would get from eating it much more than the victory of the successful sales pitch (and what a pitch it was).

All that to say this: I am so, so excited for Halloween tonight! I know that this will get old and I will probably sit at home as still as possible in the dark next year (and possibly disconnect my doorbell) but this is our first year having trick or treaters! Since I made the mistake of putting the candy out this past weekend (and it mysteriously disappeared), I just picked up about 5 bags worth of pure sugar to lure greedy children with. I can see it now, Brian and I open the door all anxious and both hand them candy, asking each one who they are, how they made their costume, and telling them how scary/pretty/cool/strong/spiderman-like their costumes are...and then their parents hurrying them away saying something about the "wierd new people" on the block. Aaaaaaaaaah...it will be beautiful!

Sweet Success

2006-10-30T23:58:00.000-05:00

I have been up early 3 out of the last 4 work days...considering that it is 12:02 right now, I highly doubt this trend will continue. However, I will continue to pursue this pipe dream of relaxed, enjoyable mornings, when I walk downstairs lured by the smell of my coffee, then sit and read while I enjoy it, eventually getting ready for work and arriving cool, calm and collected, and 3 minutes early...

Daylight savings helped a little (totally forgot about that by the way) but I must say I was very depressed when I left work at 5 and found that the sunlight was rapidly fading. Of course, I turned to the receptionist as I left and gave her a puzzled look and a disappointing sigh. Why do we do that in the NorthEast? Like it was her fault that the sun was setting! And why are we always surprised when we go outside and it is cold? I have lived in the Northeast my entire life, and I still get goosebumps if the wind blows when its under 30. I also refuse to wear a warm jacket until it is below 10 degrees. I will wear my light fall jacket because it is cuter, and my stupidity masquerading as resilience will make me feel like a seasoned New Yorker, for whom wind chill is no factor. Lies. All lies.

Seriously, the whole "it's so cold" thing is getting old, even to me, and I am the one doing it. It is cold here. We should move. Not just talk about it every time we get back from vacation...we should actually move. But we won't, because for some reason we like the pain and sorrow that accompanies our frigid 6+ months per year. We will continue to complain about outrageous heating bills, chapped lips, dry skin, snowstorms, wind chill, days with barely 8 hours of sunlight, static cling, Seasonal Affective Disorder, snow tires, and general COLDNESS because we are New Yorkers, and that is what we do...I heart NY.

Things you don't want to read in the newspaper about your employer

2006-10-26T12:10:00.000-05:00

The long version(s):
Thomson to sell education division - MSNBC
Thomson to sell textbook unit, could fetch US$6B - National Post
Thomson undergoes major revamp as Q3 profit rises 35% to US$419M - Canadian Press

The short version:
My Company (capital "C") is selling my company (lowercase "c") to the highest bidder. Sweet.

CP here we come.

2006-10-24T20:32:00.000-05:00

Here's a sneak preview of Northway Church's new campus. Renovations just got started. Only a few weeks left until we launch :) Much more on the church's site and blogs, both on my list of links.

Sleep Surrender

2006-10-24T13:47:00.000-05:00

Why am I incapable of waking up before 7am? Honestly, every day for the past 3 years I have been running late in the morning. I love mornings. I love being up in the morning, but the act of actually getting up out of bed is another story.

A while back, when I realized that my small bedside alarm wasn't cutting it b/c I would just use it to continuously hit snooze until I would inevitably be late for work, I asked everyone on my Christmas list to get me a new alarm clock, one that would get me out of bed. Brian got me a super expensive CD-radio-everything else combo that had all the bells and whistles, and assured that one of it's many features would lure me from my pillow every morning. My mom got me a minimalistic but very trendy looking alarm clock from Target that had 2 settings, alarm on, and alarm off. She said "put it on the other side of the room and by the time you walk over to hit snooze, you will be awake."

It worked.

For a week. That was almost 2 years ago. And still, I set my alarm (on a clock that is 20 minutes fast) for 6:35 every day, and every day I stand up (in my sleep) find the alarm clock, turn it off, and get back in bed. Then I wake up at 7. And I'm late...for everything...again. Any suggestions before I give up?

Ovo-lacto-pesco-vegetarianism

2006-10-19T12:45:00.000-05:00

This past summer, Brian and I decided to dabble in vegetarianism. It was kind of one of those crazy, not thoroughly thought out decisions...I will compare it to an impulse buy. You see it, you consider the advantages and what a positive impact it will have on your life, and you buy...before considering the cost.

Many of our dear friends have asked what brought this on, and I simply answer "Colleen." Yes, Colleen and I have been friends since that early-nineties era in which each of us were too awkward to make other friends (I had buckteeth and was Pakistani, she had red-hair...enough said). We were a match made in awkward pre-teen heaven. Ok not really, we had other friends, but let's just say Colleen and I had reeeeeally good personalities b/c we were flat out funny looking.

Anyways, in college, Colleen became a vegan. I think I made fun of her for it, but my much nicer friend Kelly (Colleen's bff since childhood) was much kinder and found a little eclectic vegan restaurant we could take Colleen to when she visited us in Ohio. They had brochures of inhumane animal practices (I'm putting it very nicely) on the tables; it was incredibly appetizing.

In addition to setting the mood, it also made for good conversation. Colleen would try to explain to us why she was vegan and I just couldn't stop thinking about how bad I wished there was cheese on my food, and how much I , in general, love chicken. End of discussion.

So a few months ago, my 3 best friends in all the world came to visit me in Albany. Colleen still has a lot of the same beliefs but for various reasons, including her health and her carnivorous husband, she is no longer vegan. She does practice her beliefs by rarely eating meat and choosing free range meat when she does. She brought up some excellent points we just couldn't ignore. I have always believed God put people "over" animals on earth, and that it was ok for them to die so we could eat (sidebar: I won't lie, I've always had a hard time understanding how people can kill other people but think it's "inhumane" to eat little chickens). Colleen agreed. It's not that she thinks eating meat is bad in and of itself. She did get the wheels in my head turning, however, when she brought up some other excellent points. Like how our culture grossly overconsumes meat, and how as a result it has become an industry in which productivity and gross margin are valued above all else.

Like I said, I don't think its wrong to kill animals, but as it turns out, the more Colleen told me, I have a huge problem with torture and blatant disregard for living things. I won't go into details, but you have probably seen the headlines. Ever read about puppy mills? You know, the places mall pet stores get their dogs from? Well they're breeding puppies that will actually LIVE when they're sold, and those practices would make you cringe. Imagine what they do with animals that will be dead when they're sold. Not to mention the issues of hormones and whatever else they do to tamper with them.

So anyways, I found myself extremely disturbed and strangely convicted, as did Brian. So we gave it a go. Much to our surprise, it was not nearly as much of an inconvenience as we'd anticipated, and it was a great boost to the healthy eating habits we always had trouble sticking to. Now it's been almost 3 months and, with the exception of the 100% angus beef burger I had at Ruby Tuesdays on day 41 (and became violently ill from), we have been happy without meat the entire time (R.I.P. Libby's monthly cheeseburger).

Since it has become a little bit more permanent we're trying to make sure that we're not depriving our bodies of anything vital in the process. It isn't hard to find things to eat without meat, but it is a challenge to make sure you still eat enough protein and all. So to allay all of your concerns, know that we're still eating fish and eggs and dairy. I'm a little bit anxious about what will happen on Thanksgiving, but as long as I don't find out that mashed potatoes and stuffing are being treated inhumanely, I think I'll get by.

Pics of the twins

2006-10-17T13:54:00.000-05:00

My neices are more adorable than ever. Syracuse still stinks. Check out the slideshow (of the twins, not Syracuse).

Fashionable Food

2006-10-13T12:12:00.000-05:00

This is the most absurd thing I have seen in several days. A celebrity pastry chef treated his bride-to-be by making her a wedding dress out of cream puffs. Yup, read it again...cream puffs.

This absurdity caused a flurry of e-mails in my office. Here they are, starting with my initial message and continuing with the thought processes of 4 females shortly before lunch on a Friday morning...(names have been changed to protect identities)

From: Howe, Libby
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 11:16 AM
To: Phoebe; Monica; Rachel
Subject: Emailing:

What is the world coming to? Check this out: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061012/ap_on_fe_st/wedding_cake_bride

From: Rachel
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 11:18 AM
To: Howe, Libby; Phoebe; Monica
Subject: RE: Emailing:

She looks delicious. Sad, but true. I’m hungry.

From: Monica
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 11:19 AM
To: Phoebe; Howe, Libby; Rachel
Subject: RE: Emailing:

I have never wanted to eat someone’s dress before… until now. And I don’t even like cream puffs. I'm hungry too

From: Howe, Libby
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 11:20 AM
To: Phoebe; Rachel; Monica
Subject: RE: Emailing:

She is stupid. Or brilliant. I’m not sure which. I do know it would take a large dose of true love for me to wear something like that for 4 hours…and not eat any. (How) Did she sit down?

From: Monica
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 11:22 AM
To: Howe, Libby; Phoebe; Rachel
Subject: RE: Emailing:

I would like mine to be made of snickers, peanut m&ms, and chocolate munchkins from DD. And I would definitely eat some.

From: Howe, Libby
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 11:23 AM
To: Phoebe; Rachel; Monica
Subject: RE: Emailing:

Doritos. Mmmmmmmmm with trim made of cheetos and a pizza necklace

From: Phoebe
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 11:23 AM
To: Howe, Libby; Rachel; Monica
Subject: RE: Emailing:

Now THAT I’d take!!!
- Phoebe

Who says you can't go home...

2006-10-12T11:16:00.000-05:00

I am going home this weekend! I get to see my mom! I get to see my sister! I get to see my gorgeous and nauseatingly adorable nieces! I hope to have (more) pictures of them to post when I get back.

Reasons I love going to Syracuse:

Seeing my family

That's all I've got. I'm not gonna lie, Syracuse doesn't have a ton goin on right now. We have noticed this trend that every time we drive to Syracuse, we find ourselves entering into a gray, clouded area. Seriously, we're only 2 hours away, how can the weather be consistently that much worse there? I can't explain it, but it's true. I am loyal to the 'Cuse, I will always love the 'Cuse deep down in my heart. But if we're being honest here, the 'Cuse is kind of hurting. Fayetteville (suburb where the majority of my family lives) on the other hand continues to exceed my expectations.

Reasons I love going to Fayetteville:

King David's - has the best hummous and best falafel of any place in the world. No really, the world
Wegman's - do I really need to explain?
Cold Stone - yes, it's true, the 'ville has a Cold Stone
Friendly's - not only is there a Friendly's in the 'ville, it is within running distance of my mom's house. AND it has held many precious memories...early morning breakfasts...late breakfasts that you manage to sneak in just before they switch to their lunch menu...and late night ice cream sundaes. Ahhh the good old days.

I just realized all of these reasons are food-related. You can make your own conclusions about that.

Things I Love and Hate Simultaneously

2006-10-10T22:02:00.000-05:00

School
Particularly at this moment...I love that I am in school, but I hate actually going to school. I hate driving 45 minutes to class and spending an evening there, but I sometimes love being in class. I hate school work. Hate it. Wish I were sleeping right now. But I love the idea of having a master's degree in a year...
Running
I hate and love it at the same time, in the same instant, while I'm actually running. Hate the fact that it's sometimes painful, hate the fact that my calves have felt like boulders for like 2 weeks now, hate knowing that I have 2 more loops when I pass my house the first time. LOVE the fact that I can actually run 3 miles in a row now. Love the feeling after I run (not including the first 2 minutes when I'm hot, out of breath and sometimes nauseous) and knowing that I did it. I crave it all day then sort of curse myself for the 30 minutes I'm actually in it. Oh the irony...
Sleep
It's never enough, it's always too much. You wake up and you want more, you lie down and you can't fall asleep. Love it, but often hate it.
Food
Just kidding! Do you know me at all? There is only love here.

Did I miss anything?

I did it!

2006-10-10T12:01:00.000-05:00

Me, my running mentor, and her running mentor

It's true, I did! And I didn't even come in last place, I came in 832nd out of 1394 women who ran. So it was just as I'd expected...slightly below average :) I couldn't be more pleased! In fact, I beat my time by almost a minute. And coming in within a few seconds of me were the two lovely ladies pictured above. Although they are both much faster than me and have been running much longer, they stayed with me the whole way, encouraging me as I went.

I kept telling them to run ahead, and they just said "we started together, we'll finish together!" Actually, I was out of breath and unable to speak, so I would just kind of gesture to them to go ahead, and they would momentarily stop the conversation they had been in for the last mile to give me big smiles and tell me how well I was doing. How do you talk and run at the same time? This is beyond me. Regardless of that, I am extremely appreciative that they stayed with me and cheered me on to accomplish my goal. I am also appreciative that they ate egg sandwiches and drank coffee with me after I accomplished my goal.

They weren't the only encouragers I encountered though. There were people along the way yelling to us as we went by "come on, the hill is almost over, one more mile, you're almost done, you're doing great." It was pretty cool, and it made me feel like a real runner. Since we were running through Washington Park, there were people looking down from their second floor apartments clapping and cheering. I keep telling myself this was a nice gesture even though in the back of my head I was thinking "easy for you to cheer, you're still in your pajamas drinking a cup of coffee and watching That's So Raven."

So anyways, I think I have caught some sort of runner's bug because I have had to force myself to stop and think about the fact that I accomplished this personal goal I made (which was really a stretch for me), but have found myself continuously thinking about keeping up with the training and beating my time when I run in my next race in less than 2 weeks. I must beat my time! I must keep running! Yup, I have the bug.

Mystery solved

2006-10-06T21:58:00.000-05:00

It was quite simple, really. I was laying out my clothes for tomorrow morning and thinking, oddly enough, about my blog, and a previous post popped into my head...Daddy's girl.

When my dad was sick (in an 18 month battle with a vicious form of pancreatic cancer), he was the ultimate fighter. He was on a strict health regimen to try to bolster his immune system. To get the most out of it, he insisted on spending time during the few hours he was awake each day walking laps around our basement. He always had his blue button up pajamas on, and all of us girls would walk with him, to support him...and sometimes to give him an arm to learn on. Usually, one of us would be carring a hymnal. My dad said those hymns were his fuel. His favorite was "The Love of God." He would close his eyes as he walked in circles, singing the verse and chorus over and over, like the very words were going to keep his muscles going, keep him walking, and give him the strength to keep fighting. His favorite verse was the last one...

Could we with ink the oceans fill
And were the skies of parchment made.
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade.
To write the love of God above
Would drain the oceans dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Oh love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints' and angels' song...

Last year for my birthday, Brian got me a pink T-shirt that said Daddy's girl on the front. I will be wearing it proudly tomorrow morning. I know that he wasn't a breast cancer victim, but he was a cancer victim, and I am running for him and for the 4 girls he left behind. I am running for a cure...in hopes that my mom, my sisters, my nieces and I will never need it.

T minus one day

2006-10-06T08:23:00.000-05:00

Ok, so this whole race thing has plunged me into a completely unfamiliar world and I feel like I just moved to a new city and am starting my first day of junior high. I typically consider myself a pretty self-confident person. Not to say that I'm narcissistic or think I'm oh-so-fabulous, but I very rarely care what others' perceptions of me are. I used to think that was a good thing but now I'm starting to wonder if it's just a result of the fact that I'm usually in familiar settings with familiar people and don't have any reason to be self conscious. Let me explain.

As it turns out, finishing last is not my only fear for tomorrow morning. Yesterday, my running mentor informed me that it would be really chilly on Saturday morning, and that I should dress for rain, just in case. Dress for rain? I run on a treadmill at the Y. The temperature and, er, precipitation are pretty consistent in there (I think rain is bad for the flat screens). But I just said "oh yea, of course" and headed to Marshalls.

I've always avoided the "active" section of department stores. I just figured, why do I need to dress up to work out if I can wear my pajamas? And if I'm wearing my pajamas, why do I need to work out at all when they're so well-suited for laying on the couch? But in this section, they have an array of choices based on what types of workouts you do, what temperature it is, etc. There is this special stuff called "moisture-wicking" material that I have come to understand is a fancy way to say "wear this if you sweat profusely." I don't sweat profusely; in fact I hardly sweat at all, but I guess this moisture-whatever material is good for atmospheral moisture too. So I found some pants for a reasonable price and picked them up.

Then it dawned on me, they have shirts in this section too. Long sleeved, short sleeved, vests, jackets and tank tops. And they came in all of these different fancy materials too. And the questions started to bombard me...Do I need a special shirt too? What will all of the cool kids be wearing? Should I get long sleeved or short sleeved? What if I'm running and I get hot?What if I wear a dri-fit jacket but my number is on my stomach (as I was instructed it must be) and I can't unzip the dri-fit jacket to cool off and the excessive heat slows me down, AND I COME IN LAST PLACE?

Like I said, jr. high all over again. So here's the kicker. I grabbed like 12 items and headed for the dressing room (apparently you have to be in style to be a runner). As I put on the first pair of black moisture-wicking pants and accompanied them with a black dri-fit runners insulated long-sleeved shirt, I turned to look in the mirror and laughed out loud. It was like I was 13 again, playing dress up in the mirror, trying desperately to be someone I'm not (and, by the way, failing miserably). I should have taken a picture, because I looked hilarious.

I got the pants b/c they were actually quite nice. I got a jacket too but I will probably return it. I will probably wear a t-shirt. I have a lot of T-shirts which makes this option significantly less expensive than the $25 Nike dri-fit shirt. After much deliberation I don't think my choice of clothing will have a huge impact on my anticipated below-average finish tomorrow. I need to get back to basics and remember that the entire goal was to run the entire 5k without stopping to walk (a significant achievement for me!)...regardless of my time, regardless of coming in last, and regardless of whether I'm wearing cool runner's clothes or not.

Runnin', runnin', and runnin', runnin' and...

2006-10-05T08:21:00.000-05:00

I've never really been what you might call "athletic." Sure, I played tennis in high school and I think we ran a little bit. I was always the badminton champion in gym class but I wouldn't really call that physical activity. I did join the JV lacrosse team in 8th grade but for some reason they made me the goalie and I quit after 2 weeks (me?? goalie??? I think they were trying to get me to quit).

Now I'm an intermittent exerciser - I join the gym, I go to the gym, I stop going to the gym, I quit the gym, repeat. When at the gym, I try to distract myself from the fact that I am putting any kind of strain on my body. I go to the Y because they have flat screen TVs on every piece of cardio equipment and I can distract myself by watching the food channel. One show equals the recommended amount of daily exercise, 30 minutes. I always exercise in intervals (walk, run, walk, or high intensity, extremely low intensity, moderate intensity) so as not to overexert myself, and when I do exercise for an entire hour it is always in some kind of aerobics class (during which I spend the majority of the time looking at how funny "everyone else" looks in the mirrors, thus distracting myself from the pain and anguish of whatever it is they have me doing).

One thing I am definitely NOT is a runner. I have never been able to run more than like a mile (if that) and I absolutely detest it. Not to mention, I am painfully slow and running is pretty embarassing. It's ingrained in my head - I am not a runner. I do not like to run. I am not made for running. I can't run.

For some reason, this wave of ambition came over me a few weeks ago when I found out a good friend of mine (also previously "not a runner") had recently run a 5k. Ok, for all of you die-hard runners out there, I know that a 5k is no marathon, but for some of us, it's still a great accomplishment. So the day after I found out, I was at the gym and thought, what the heck, let's see how far I can run. To my surprise it was further than I thought. So in typical Libby overzealous fashion, I decided (just 12 days prior to an upcoming race) that I wanted to run a 5k. In typical Libby protect myself fashion, I told no one but my husband and my new running mentor, the inspiration for my new goal (just in case I changed my mine the next morning).

So over the last week and a half I've only had the chance to run about 4 times but I've run the 3.1 mile distance in what I think is a reasonable time frame. Actually what's been hilarious is that after making the decision to reach this personal goal of mine, which I previously thought I was incapable of doing, I was quickly overcome with very jr. high like fears...what if no one wants to be my friend in running-world? What will I wear to the race? And the greatest of all my fears...WHAT IF I COME IN LAST PLACE?

The first two don't concern me as much but the last one haunts me (no really, I'm terrified). So in a wave of panic, I checked out coolrunning.com and found that you can see people's actual scores for races. Much to my relief, it looks like I'm in (or only slightly behind) the median range for a female. And I'm ok with being below average for now since I only became a "runner" (I use this term very loosely) ten days ago. So unless all of the slow people drop out, my greatest fear should not be realized this weekend (phew). Wish me luck on Saturday!

Countdown

2006-09-22T08:39:00.000-05:00

Because I have had to turn the heat on in my car for like 5 consecutive days now, I feel at liberty to start counting down to Christmas. 88 days people. Have you started shopping yet? And really, I can count down until Halloween (39 days), after which point I turn my attention almost exclusively to Christmas...Christmas decorating, Christmas cards, Christmas music, Christmas parties...aaaaah, Christmas.

Christmas this year will top every other year for a few reasons.
1. My House. Because I now have a house that has a bannister (upon which I will of course put some garland), I feel that Christmas will be celebrated a little bit more joyfully this year. If I'm being honest, one of the first things I pictured when we first looked at the house was a garland running up my Adirondack staircase. I was sold. I have also identified at least 3 places in my house which will accomodate Christmas trees very nicely. Three times the Christmas trees, three times the Christmas joy. yay.
2. Monday. Christmas this year falls on a Monday. I have not thought this through thoroughly but I am quite sure that Monday is the best possible day for Christmas to fall on for those of us who work and have sparing amounts of vacation time. I will get out early on Friday, have the weekend off of course, and then have holidays Monday and Tuesday. All the Christmas joy, no vacation days used. yay.
3. DV-R. This is another whole post in itself, but I am quite sure that our recently obtained DV-R will conrtibute significantly to the Christmas cheer factor this year. Why? Let me explain. My favorite thing about Christmas is how everything ordinary in life becomes Christmas-ized. Trees are all lit up, shopping is almost exclusively Christmas related, and even most baking is themed. This of course extends to TV. I don't watch a ton but around Christmas, I like to see Christmas versions of the today show and all of my favorite sitcoms. Unfortunately I am not home to catch these, not to mention the excellent Christmas specials which air so frequently around this time. Thanks to Time Warner Cable and the wonders of technology, I will no longer be deprived of Christmas programming. yay.

88 days people...get your game faces on.

Digging in the dirt

2006-09-18T08:11:00.000-05:00

So yesterday was my first attempt at "gardening." Let me caution you, I use that term very, very loosely, because I don't know if what I did yesterday can really be considered gardening. But anyways, a very good friend of mine has spent years on her gardens, and she was pruning them back this summer, and very graciously offered to give me some. The idea of having something to grow in my backyard other than giant squirrel was very appealing and I accepted her offer.

This decision was followed by much trepidation, since I don't have any clue of what to do when I have gardening gloves on (yes, gloves. They have special gloves for gardening. I learned that). But the more people I talked to, the more the process of planting things sounded simple. Dig a hole, put in the plant, cover with dirt. Repeat. So Saturday night I brought home 2 huge hosta plants, black eyed susans, daisies, daylilies and cone flowers. Little did I know that you trim all of these back in the summer, so they all looked the same in their little pots....just roots and dirt with chopped stems sticking out. Luckily my friend is not only a gardener, but a compulsive organizer. So each plant was labeled and corresponded to a little guide on how to plant it, what it needs, etc.

So Sunday afternoon I bought a shovel and a rake, brought the plants out back, and started digging. I even pretended I was one of those outdoor designers on HGTV and put the pots in several locations to see which arrangement was most Zen like. It was actually kind of fun, and a lesson in patience...I have to wait 8 or 9 months to see these babies bloom! Oh well. It will all be worth it in the spring! Hopefully I didn't mess up and I will actually have flowers blooming in the spring..

Sign-ups

2006-09-15T11:27:00.000-05:00

I hope someone out there finds this as funny as I did. Here's a little background.

Since we got married I've been nagging, I mean "urging" my dear sweet husband to see a primary care physician. I would guess it's been in the arena of 5 years since he last had a check up. As his wife, I feel that it is in my best interests for him to live; more specifically to live longer and healthier. In my limited assessment of how the world works, I think a primary care physician is the first logical step in achieving this goal.

Unfortunately Brian isn't really a fan of the doctor. As it turns out, he is in good company. Less than 30% of patients seen at family medicine clinics in the US are male. Brian's medical care since we've been married has been limited to dental visits. And this only happened when pain levels resulting from dental issues got so out of hand that he was consuming too much Excedrin every day to operate heavy machinery (like his car). So he went to the dentist, and ended up getting all of his wisdom teeth pulled. Since then, no doctors.

As many of you know we have recently been paying more attention to our health. I had a general check up last week and my doctor shared my concerns for Brian, and said he should at least see a doctor every few years to have his blood tested for cholesterol levels and the like. I shared this with Brian.

So last night, Brian announced that he has been thinking about the whole doctor's thing that he will go if I "sign him up for a blood test."

I burst into laughter for a short period of time and then I said "You can't just 'sign up' for a blood test, you have a see a doctor." To which he responded "Then sign me up for a doctor." I responded with a few minutes more of intense, silent laughter. Then I informed him that there is no such thing as www.signupforthedoctor.com. Apparently Brian has been out of the health care loop so long that he forgot that you have to 'make appointments' for such things. In his defense, maybe that is what he meant when he said "sign up." I just thought it was really funny...

Photo Update

2006-09-12T13:07:00.000-05:00

Traitor

2006-09-11T20:18:00.000-05:00

I have a confession to make. I am ashamed to admit that on Friday I created a myspace account. Sure, I claimed that the only reason was to "enhance" my blog (whatever that means). But alas, I soon found myself wasting time adding friends, uploading pictures and posting comments. As the minutes turned to hours, I realized I had a problem. I feel as though I have adulterated you, my faithful readers (hi mom). For this I apologize.

Ok all kidding aside, myspace is perhaps the most addicting thing I have ever encountered. And the funny thing is, everyone is open about how addicted they are, and it is uniquely acceptable, even praised, within the cyberwalls of myspace. Since I'm a communications geek, I've been thinking a lot about what the draw is; what in the world is it that draws us into the poorly designed (I don't know much about html but I do know that myspace isn't its best work), largely useless network that is myspace. In no particular order and with little forethought, here is what I've come up with:

Myspace is a social grandstand. You can lay it all out there: who you're friends with, who you comment with the most, who you have pictures of, etc. You can even show everyone who is in your elite by posting your "top friends." I know its been a while since I've been in high school but this is obviously much less effort than, say, eating at a table together or getting together at someone's locker. There's no work involved if you want to bring someone in or cast them out. You just rank them and they can log in and check and see where they stand.
Myspace caters to curiosity. Curiousity is probably the most watered down way to say this...it definitely borders invasion of privacy but hey, we're all putting it out there so why not look? You can find out what someone likes, what they watch and listen to, who they're friends with, and even see what they did on their last vacation. All this without committing to an actual interpersonal interaction, you know, like conversation. Which brings me to my next point.
Myspace is convenient. It's no shocker that we live in a generation that texts instead of calling and e-mails instead of walking over to a colleague's office. Myspace is taking this to the next level. Communication is ultimately convenient and surprisingly non-committal.
Myspace is controllable. No social blunders here. You are completely in control of how you appear to others. Sure, out in the real world you have to present yourself consciously and be sure that such presentation is consistent with your "image" (whatever that is) but within myspace, you can edit your picture, change your interests, alter your background, your song, your mood... And if you want you can spend hours tweaking to get it just right.

So anyways, I won't venture any crazy interpersonal communication theories about what all of this means. Suffice it to say that I am a dork and I think about all of this. Oh, and I'm pretty sure it definitely means something.

Happy Birthday to me

2006-09-07T10:55:00.000-05:00

You may be thinking, oh how sad. Libby has to wish herself a happy birthday. But this is not at all the case. Let me start from the beginning.

I came in on Wednesday and much to my surprise, my dear friends Mary and Lauren had put a beautiful bouquet of red and orange roses in my office. How sweet. Another colleague of ours just had a baby on September 4th, and I was sharing with Juliet that I was going to have to take the Sept 4th baby under my wing and prepare her for the psychological impact of having an early September birthday.

My birthday very often fell (as it did this year) on the first day of school. You know how when you were in high school your friends would decorate your locker on your birthday with balloons and confetti and magazine cutouts of Brad Pitt? Well on the first day of school, no one knows where your locker is. This actually starts long before you even have a locker. Even when I only had a shared kindey-garten cubby, all of my peers (I wouldn't dare call them friends...I was pretty awkward up until 6th grade and then some) would get baked goods from parents on their birthday. Even the summer birthdays got a big lumped together birthday baked good acknowledgement. But me? I got lost in the paperwork. Too late for summer, too early to be planned for.

So anyways, all joking aside, I'm not THAT scarred, but it is kind of true. Well after my bouquet of roses my boss got me a nice arrangement of fresh flowers, and then around 2 pm Northway sent me a beuatiful unique arrangement of gerbera daisies (always exciting to have the receptionist call and say you have a delivery...almost like having your birthday read over the PA on the morning announcements). But the fun didn't stop there. Brian sent me a HUGE arrangement (in my lap in the above photo) from Gallo which was so, so sweet. And if you can believe it, my awesome in-laws sent me flowers AND a happy birthday balloon. I felt just like the prom queen :)

Even though I had to work and then go to class and got home at 9:30, it was a great day. I don't usually make a big deal about birthdays, because they usually just feel like any other day. But today was anything but ordinary, because I was surrounded by people who made me feel extraordinarily special. Since Brian is the only one who got to hear my little speech when I got all emotional last night, let me just say that I am the luckiest 25 year old girl in the world. I have a wonderful husband who loves me (who wrote me a beautiful card AND cleaned the entire kitchen yesterday), I have awesome friends and family (who took me out for a delicious crispy fish burger for lunch), and I have 5 bouquets of flowers in my office right now. Life is good.

The 9

2006-08-31T09:52:00.000-05:00

The 9 is one of my new favorite things on the web. Despite the fact that Maria Sandstone is really, really annoying, and sometimes I want to gouge out my eyes and ears when she talks, I like the format, the fact that its only like 2 minutes long, and I like finding rare and interesting things on the web (by rare and interesting I mean processed mass media propaganda).

In honor of The 9, I would like to provide my own 9 today. Not all are web related but since this is my 9, I make the rules, and my 9 don't have to be web-related.

1. This morning I had to turn on the heat in my car for the first time in about 5 months. This is extremely disheartening. Although I fully realize there will be a period of several weeks where I run the heat in the morning and still need A/C by the afternoon, the shift still has a significant impact on my day.

2. Yesterday I became privy to a little gem of a website, PopSugar (and by "gem" I mean full of useless and addicting celebrity gossip and photos). Things I love about PopSugar = the name and the fact that it is updated several times daily. Things I hate about PopSugar = the fact that it is absolute crap and I am embarassed to admit that I support such sites by reading their crap. It really has opened up a new world for me...I never knew how much garbage was out there and how much people really read it. I'm sure I will tire of this online celebrity gossip universe within 24 hours (I hope I do) but for today, it interests me.

3. This week I learned some disturbing news about preservatives. My dear and hilarious friend Kim was joking about how well preserved she is because she drinks so much Diet Coke, and another friend chimed in that she knows a woman whose job is somehow related to crash sites. So I learned that in airline crashes, when they have large numbers of casualties, they honestly and truly find out who is American and they take care of their bodies last...because they rot slower...BECAUSE OF THE PRESERVATIVES!!!!!! Does this disturb anyone but me? I am very curious to know how true this is.

4. My birthday is on Wednesday. I think I will be 25. I don't really feel any different. But I think that being 25 makes me kind of old. A whole quarter of a century....pondering...Nevermind, I just decided its really not significant at all. There is this whole quarterlife crisis universe out there that is having trouble adjusting to the "real world" but I don't really feel like I'm in crisis at all. I'm pretty sure I've been in this ominous sounding "real world" for the length of my 25 years and I don't really see what all of the fuss is about. Sidenote: Birthdays are a little anticlimactic for me ever since I was old enough that it became socially unacceptable to have birthday parties where Pin the Tail on the Donkey was the focal point.

5. The Cheesecake Factory opened on Tuesday night at 5 pm in Colonie Center. Jenn was there at 3:30 to wait in line. We were seated by 6, and around 9 we shuffled out with bags and bags of grocieries, I mean leftovers. It was an overall glorious experience and I am proud that the Capital Region finally has its own Cheesecake Factory. However, not so glorious was the fact that last night, after an entire days' anticipation over eating my leftover cheesecake when I got home from class, I opened the fridge to find that alas, my cheesecake never made it home. This means either Dave or Steve somehow swiped my Cocoa Mocha something something cheesecake and enjoyed it on my behalf. I guess friendship means nothing when it comes to leftover cheesecake.

6, 7, 8, 9. I got bored so I'm skipping right to 9. And as it turns out, I have nothing left to say for today, August 31st. Except that today is the last day in August, and tomorrow begins September, my favorite month of the year (not just because my birthday is in it!). Yesterday I started school and there were a few leaves on the ground. Nothing like a college campus in the month of September with leaves starting to turn...

Words to Live by

2006-08-30T08:10:00.000-05:00

Best Quote of the Week:
Jennifer Bartolucci, newly married to Steve Bartolucci, commenting on the stark contrast between how late she and Steve would stay up when they were dating, and how early they go to bed now that they're married:
"We get really tired, and when we're sitting on the couch, it's just like 'Why stay up? You'll be there when I wake up' "

Worst Quote of the Week:
Paris Hilton, on why she doesn’t use her real voice on “The Simple Life”…
"I'm always playing a character," she tells the magazine. "I don't talk like this really like a baby. I don't act like myself in public, because I don't really want to show everyone the real me. Because I have no privacy whatsoever, the only thing I have is who I really am." Courtesy of the Associated Press

Getting ready for Vertical

2006-08-25T07:34:00.000-05:00

Last night was our volunteer meeting for the upcoming kickoff of Vertical (starts September 7th). Vertical is our weekly program for students in grades 6-12. It is the core of our youth ministry, and we haven't met since the end of the school year, so we're getting pumped up for this fall. We had some new faces in our meeting last night which was very cool. Most cool of all, it lent Brian the opportunity to give them a little bit of Vertical history, which for me was a walk down memory lane.

I remember when we started Vertical. To be honest, I can't really remember what we did at first. I do remember that it was originally called Vertical Reality, and on a good night, we had about 50 kids. The majority of them were in 6th-8th grade. We tried splitting Jr and Sr high (numerous times), but believe it or not, we didn't have enough Sr high kids so we had to keep them together. Vertical Reality or "VR" as we called it at the time was pretty much a hangout time with a "band" (I use the term lightly because even though it is much of the same talent we have in our current band, they have upped the ante so much since then, I don't think its right to use the same word for what they were then, and what they are now) and a short message. Same shell, but a totally different VR.

Not to mention that at that point it was on Sunday nights. After much thought I have concluded that this was the stupidest thing we ever did. No offense to Brian or anyone else who made the decision, I supported it at the time too. But we all hated it. No one wants to get revved up again at 4 pm on a Sunday for youth group. No one I know at least. Thank God my husband is a smart and teachable man. Even though we were all kind of afraid to have it on a week night (what if no one came?), he realized it just wasn't working on Sunday nights and we switched to weeknights sometime last year. Very good move. Us leaders had more energy and even though the kids are all involved in like 13 extracurricular activities, it worked for them too.

Aside from VR, our ministry was defined by sporadic small groups which were awesome in some ways and just not hitting the mark in others. Awesome leaders like Rich Straight and Emily Aierstock (I know I'm leaving people out...forgive me!) took time out of their weeks on top of VR and did life together with a group of students. Aside: I truly believe that efforts like this have contributed to what has now been knit into a strong foundation...a lot of the kids in those jr high groups are very well positioned to be student leaders in this and coming years.

Anyways, aside from all that, there were exhausting overnighters, 30 hour famines, gallactic bowling and the like. You know, youth group stuff.

I remember a point last year when Brian and Jeremy pretty much talked exclusively about Vertical. They got so pumped up and one Thursday night (maybe it was a Tuesday?), we were walking out and they stayed in the parking lot talking for what may well have been multiple hours. The next week, kids walked into a completely different Vertical. It was deliberate, it was exciting, it was a place they could belong, it was dynamic. And kids started to bring their friends.

By the end of last year, we had about 150 kids on a given Thursday night, many of whom showed up as soon as we leaders did, and didn't leave until we kicked them out; many of whom were so upset we were closing up shop for the summer. Since then, Brian's taken two small groups of kids to camp. He brought about 20 kids total and brought home 20 leaders. These kids are finally, finally getting it. They are taking ownership, they are spreading the word, and they are excited about THEIR Vertical. And we (leaders) are excited because we can feel what's stirring below the surface. This year is going to be huge. This student ministry is going to have a huge impact on local students.

Last night I was thinking about a lot of lessons learned over these last 3 years:

1. Trial and Error. Everything you just read about has directly contributed to the position we're in now. At the time, I thought we would never "get it right," whatever "right" is when it comes to working with teenagers. But now as I look back, 3 years really doesn't seem that long. It was so necessary that we do the trial and error thing for a while. Now we have a better idea of what works and what these kids want and need. Even the "successes" we experienced at the end of last year had some lessons learned embedded within them, and we will be implementing changes in response.

2. Your youth ministry is only as good as your volunteers. Seriously, we have had tons of awesome volunteers over the years. Sometimes you have to motivate them and pull them along. More often, they will motivate you. They do youth ministry because they genuinely want to. They'll spend days at a time with these kids. They'll lose sleep and fast and make phone calls during the week to kids who just want to hear someone's voice on the other end. They are the heartbeat of your ministry. We have an incredible group of volunteers as we enter this fall and I'm excited to see what they'll do.

3. The most important thing I have learned in the last 3 years is that I'm not really that cool. Let me explain. When we started hanging out with teenagers, I thought I would be at a clear advantage because, you know, I'm young and I'm cool. I can dress like them and talk like them and listen to the same music as them. And that is how you connect with teenagers right? Not really at all. And that is good because, as it turns out. I'm not cool. I look stupid when I wear their clothes and I don't really like all of their music, nor do I want to continue to act like I did 10 years ago, when I was a sophomore in high school. (So painful to realize it has been 10 years)

Yesterday morning, Brian met with a group of our students and asked them what criteria we should have for leaders. In other words, "what kind of adult leaders do you want as your volunteers, your small group leaders?" Believe it or not, they didn't care how cool we were, or what we looked like or how much money we made or what music we listened too. They said, "Just someone who cares."

In the last 3 years I have learned that all of the time, sweat, and frustration that goes into this thing is necessary so that we have the platform that allows us to offer a phone call, a smile, a pat on the back or a hug, or even a stinkin e-mail to a student who isn't really sure how many people they matter to. In order for us to teach them that they actually matter (quite a lot) to God, I have to prove through weekly meetings, 30 hour famines, all nighters, loud concerts and flour fights that they matter enough to me to do this every week.

And although I've questioned it myself at times, they absolutely do matter...more than enough.

I have done a lot of different stuff through churches and organizations over the years. Music stuff, guest relations stuff, women's ministry, print material, etc. Youth ministry is by far the most frustrating, the most challenging, the most laborious and the most time consuming (not to mention probably the scariest thing at times). But it is by far the most rewarding thing I could ever invest in. Bring on the Fall.

Young at Heart

2006-08-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

Brian and Libby at KidzWay Live: Fiesta!

Fiesta T-Shirt: $5
Dinner during Fiesta three nights in a row: $35
Still feeling like you're on a date when you hang out with your spouse, and still being able to pick each other's noses in pictures: Priceless

Addendum to "Fall Anxiety"

2006-08-22T15:10:00.000-05:00

How could I forget...the news that prompted the entire "Fall Anxiety" post and then got lost once I got distracted by apple pie. FALL TV!

Yes! In the fall all of our favorite TV shows return. Well, American Idol doesn't start until like January and our REAL favorite TV show, Friends, will never return to prime time (except in syndication on TBS), but there are some worth watching. My viewing has been sporadic at best in recent years because, as it turns out, real life and evening commitments have hindered my faithfulness to various networks. But considering that I will be home on Monday and Tuesday nights this fall, I will plan to resume watching House faithfully on Tuesdays (FOX). It has moved from 9pm to 8 pm, which I am very excited about, and which leads me to believe that I'm not the only one who's gotten hooked on the show. I will most likely fall victim to the geniuses at Fox and stay seated from 9 to 10pm for the series premiere of Standoff because I really liked Ron Livingston as Jack Berger in Sex and the City and he seems promising as an FBI negotiator.

I may also check out this new comedy The Class on Mondays at 8 on CBS because I've heard rumors that it may fill that void Friends left in so many of our lives and even though other shows have tried and failed (and I don't believe anything could ever fill that void, which is why I usually watch Friends reruns on TBS on Mondays from 8-10 if I'm home), I am desperate enough to try.

Fall Anxiety

2006-08-21T12:56:00.000-05:00

You know you all have it. You started to realize it back in June, when they prematurely took bathing suits off the racks in your favorite stores and replaced them with back to school clothes (e.g. stuff like leggings and off-the shoulder shirts, which we wore in the mid-eighties when our parents bought our clothes and we had little/no choice in the matter).

I have fall anxiety over more than retiring my vast collection of open-toed shoes. Fall means that I too go back to school...one night a week down at St Rose for my masters program. It also means that I am home less, think about work more, and eat more fast food. The track closes, the sun sets earlier, we can no longer grill every night, and all of these collectively bring on what has been officialy coined "SAD" or seasonal affective disorder (no, I did not make that up).

So although I have been suffering from severe fall anxiety (I did make that up) I have been trying to look on the bright side and consider those things I love about fall. Some of these are overwhelmingly obvious. Some subtle. All of them, however, are helping me overcome Fall Anxiety.

1. Christmas. I love Christmas. I know Christmas isn't technically in fall but for me the anticipation of Christmas is good enough. This year will be the Howe family's 3rd annual custom Christmas card (what will we come up with this year?) and our 2nd annual Christmas party (it's the best party of the year I hear). Also, what Brian doesn't know is that this year I am going to begin putting up decorations the minute Halloween is over and I might even start playing Christmas music 2 weeks prior (all of this is well thought out). Consider also that in my new home I can completely rethink all of my Christmas decorations, purchase many more, and I have kind of already strategically mapped out a way to fit 5 Christmas trees in our townhouse :)

It's not just Christmas, it's the holidays in general. I love Thanksgiving too (and will be hosting my first Thanksgiving in our new home) and I even love New Years. I love the fact that even New Yorkers are a little bit happier about life during the holidays, and although they won't admit it, they like when there is a fresh blanket of snow on the ground if it's before January 1st (after January 1st, this completely changes).

2. Wardrobe - Fall clothes rock. Tweed, wool, and even corduroy are all welcome additions to my wardrobe. Last week I bought a new pair of camel colored leather Guess pumps. They are beautiful, and I could buy them with zero guilt. Why? Because I needed them for fall, of course. Who can complain about that? Forget you open-toed shoes. I have my new pumps and I loooove them. Note: I am of the persuasion that "back to school shopping" should be for everyone, and you should never get too old for it. It really helps with the fall anxiety.

3. Apple Pie - You can't make apple pie on the grill. And yet it's so delicious that it helps reduce my anxiety over cooking inside more. Not only is apple pie delicious, but it makes your whole house smell like the holidays, and I truly thing it's medicinal. Anytime you can eat something delicious with ice cream and still get a serving of fruit out of it, well that's just plain genius.

4. Routine - I am so going to regret admitting this but summer is like vacation to me and I can only take so much. You know how you go on vacation and you come back tired because you did so much (well, you do if you're me, because you have such a rigorous itinerary for your vacation, but that's another post for another day)? Well that's kind of how this summer's been. Brian and I are having so much fun this summer, but I'm actually more whooped when the weekend's over than I was when it started. No more fun. I need structure, I need boring, I need routine. I need FALL! Note: There is no doubt that I will be eating these words right around January 2nd.

5. Change - Fall is hands down my favorite season, Brian's too, because it's so stinking gorgeous. When you are fortunate enough to live where we do, you really get to see the beauty of fall, and get to marvel at the Adirondacks and the Berkshires and how awesome God is that every year the planet essentially dies and then comes back to life...that is so cool. And it does that by itself. And its really beautiful while it's "dying" (ok I know its not really dying but you know what I mean). I know that all of the seasons are beautiful but there is something magical about fall.

So that's that. I hope that I have in some way helped you also see your glass half full of delicious and fragrant hot apple cider, and that you will be able to reduce your fall anxiety by considering those things you love about Fall.

Daddy's Girl

2006-08-18T09:33:00.000-05:00

Easter 1987? - family trip to NYC. Dad got us a real fancy limo. We watched cartoons in it.

Over the past few weeks, with all of the excitement of purchasing, fixing up and moving into our first home, I've been stopping even more than usual to think about my Dad. This is most likely because my Dad is the special occasion guy. Birthday, anniversary, holiday, graduation, chorus concert, or even just a Saturday...he's your man. He is always the guy with the Hilton Head hat on and the Blublocker sunglasses, smiling from ear to ear.

The image I have right now is him with a grill tool in one hand and a Dorito in the other, standing on the patio, yelling to me at the pool to do a canonball. The funny thing is, my dad did this long after I stopped doing cannonballs. By the time we moved out of our first house, my use of the pool had been reduced to laying beside it to improve my tan. While my sisters' usage was the same, he still insisted that we have a pool in our second house, for parties and family time, of course. So basically I was comatose with my friend Semira at the pool, soaking in the sun, and Dad was flipping burgers and trying to get us to actually go in the pool! His optimism never failed him.

So back to the special occasions...Brian and I were talking about what my dad would have been doing if he'd been there in the flesh on moving day. Here are a few of the things we came up with:

He would have been the administrator of the move. That meaning, much like his father, he would have delegated to those of us who were moving large objects, and pointed out successes and faults. Not to say that he wouldn't have contributed, but the majority of his "contribution" would have been in the form of "supervision." Note: I would be at fault if I did not point out that I am truly my father's daughter, because although I did it to a lesser extreme, I think I actually filled this role on moving day! Like Daddy like daughter!
He would have bought klondikes...in fact the fridge would have been overflowing with them by the end of the weekend, because he would have bought every single variation of klondike. Then he would have bought me an extra freezer for the garage; we always had an extra freezer in the garage growing up...to hold all of the Klondikes. On vacation, Klondikes were a must. They also made special appearances at any family gathering. This action is very representative of my Dad on a larger scale. Every day before he came home from work, he would call and if one of us girls picked up he would say "ask mom if she needs anything" and after a while, her only answer would be "just you." I thought this was incredibly sweet and romantic, but I later learned that she was strategically avoiding the tragedy that would ensue if she did need, say, milk or eggs. That being, he would buy an excessive amount of chips and ice cream, and she would have to buy yet another extra freezer for the garage. Note: Klondikes are now a staple in every Massey and Howe family vacation.
He would have continuously pointed out how wonderful our house is. Anyone who has met my dad knows that he is a happy guy, but he is also a hopeless optimist and encourager. Not to say that our house isn't great, but there are definitely things that aren't perfect. If my dad had been there, I would not be aware of these things, because he would have occupied so much of my time pointing out all of the excellent features of the house, why they are so excellent, how they will make our lives more excellent, and how he wants to buy us another one...as a housewarming gift (he is also the gift guy). E.g. - "I love that leak behind your sliding glass door! It really looks like you are inside a submarine when it rains and creates a liquid wall which ends at your deck and creates a large spot of mold on the rotting wood. Doesn't the green color make you feel like you are in a tropical rainforest? You guys are so lucky to live in a rainforest!" Pretty tricky, but he is extremely good at turning lemons into lemonade.

Well this list could go on for some time, but suffice it to say that while I miss him daily, I am learning how much like him I really am, and how much of him is entwined in my daily life.

Cha-cha-cha FIESTA!

2006-08-17T08:39:00.000-05:00

I think that there is a new, very secretive Masters program being offered throughout the United States entitled "Communication Strategies: Injecting small impressionable children with your propaganda" (or something of the sort). I say this because I have spent the greater part of this week at Northway's Vacation Bible School, more affectionately known as Fiesta. Now, I don't consider myself particularly young or impressionable but every night after Fiesta, I find myself lying awake at night with visions of dancing bunny rabbits in colorful ponchos in my head, to the tune of such Fiesta classics as "Never be the same" (click on the "Never be the same" music sample...you can be injected too).

My role has been to sing/dance the music at the opening and closing rally each night. Those of you who have ever attended any kind of Bible camp know that these rallies are largely characterized by people on stage continously prompting you to yell and scream as loud as you can, just because that is more fun than not yelling and screaming. Well, I am that person. I have been told that my performance thus far is reminiscent of mouseketeer Annette Funicello. I don't really know who that is, but I do know that if you tell that to someone who does know her, they will say something along the lines of "I hate young people." I was hoping someone would point out the obvious parallel between me and Fergie when she was on Kids, Inc. This observation has not yet come to fruition. But all of that is besides the point.

Anyway, because of my particular vantagepoint each night, that is, being on stage and looking out at the crowd as opposed to the opposite, I have been pondering some ironies during my 2.5 hours break each night. These kids are young (entering Kindergarten through entering 6th grade) and this week we taught them about 6 songs...choreographed songs...with lots of words. I was extremely concerned that in the short time span of 3 nights they would not be able to grasp the songs or the motions, and that by the conclusion of Fiesta they would just be getting the hang of it. Au contraire.

This brings me back to my suspicions about the the "Communication Strategies" program. Simply put, the people who write these songs are geniuses...or utterly evil (I haven't decided which yet). These kids know EVERY word and EVERY action to EVERY song we sing. They know them better than I do. By the beginning of the second night all 200 people in the crowd were completely Fiesta-fied. Last night, as I looked out at the kaleidescope of sombreros and colored beads I found myself very appreciative that whoever authored these songs decided to use their power for good, not evil.

All joking aside, FIESTA has been a huge success, and we still have one more night. Many thanks to the volunteers (over 100 of them) who have spent the better part of their free time this week as crew coaches, activity coaches, camera persons, clean up crew, registrants, decoraters, etc so that 200 kids could learn that God loves them. We could not have done this without you.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

2006-08-15T13:10:00.000-05:00

It's true, they do. And me and my girls certainly did last weekend. Me, Colleen, Kelly and Niki have been unofficially referring to ourselves as the Fab Four since about 5th grade, when we all met in Sunday School. Even though I was chubby, had a hint of a mustache (maybe more than a hint), and rarely socialized, they bestowed their unconditional love on me and we have been Fab Four-ing ever since. Nikki (on the right) and I have actually been buds since Kindy-garten. And I must mention there are other members of the Fab Four who couldn't make it to our reunion weekend but we love them ALL. (yes, more than four...don't ask)

Anyways, up until college, Fab Four-ing was largely characterized by road trips in Nikki's convertible, sleepovers at my house, making lots of videos (which we continue to do, for our own entertainment) and generally embarassing ourselves in public. We all went our separate ways for college, and shortly thereafter I found myself following Kelly to Cedarville University for school, where we were together for a couple of years, and just a few hours' drive from Colleen (which came in handy when her now husband and her had a temporary break up and Kelly woke me up at 11 pm because we needed to drive to Indiana to see Colleen...all the while assuring me that I would be back for my 8 am class that next morning ?!?!).

Anyways, Fab Four ties don't break easily, and in the last 3 years, all four of the lovely ladies pictured were bridesmaids in eachothers' weddings. Although none of us would admit it, I think this was partially an effort to have an annual opportunity for us to all get dressed up, have a sleepover, dance, and embarass ourselves in public, much like we did in the days of our youth (like when Kelly and Colleen persuaded random guys, who I probably could not pick out of a line up now, to take other Fab Four members to their prom, since we went to different high schools). Anyways, this was the first year no one was getting married, and sometime this spring we realized that this summer held no Fab Four reunion. Perish the thought.

We quickly arranged a Fab Four Fun weekend at my new house, and Brian and I closed and moved in just in time for it. I won't bore you with the details (HA! like any of it was boring) but let's just say that I feel like we went back in time a little bit...the upstairs of my house reminded me of our cabin when we used to go to summer camp together...hair products, clothes and accessories strewn about and all of us trying eachother's clothes on. The weekend was pretty much a constant conversation from Friday night until Monday afternoon; I couldn't have asked for a better reunion!

When they left I found myself wondering why it is that when we get together, its like we're 15 again; like no time has passed and we all have no worries in life; like nothing has changed in the world and it pretty much revolves around whatever we might be doing at that particular moment. I have concluded that there is something unique that binds me and my girls. First of all, you just can't replace a history like that...15-20 years of hilarious memories, heartbreaks, setbacks and victories, all shared with the friends we love so much. I also realized that these girls are truly a rare breed. They are unparallelled in terms of how hilarious they are (hilarious to the power of 4 when we're all together), and all of the fun is balanced with great intelligence and sincere hearts for God.

I have been blessed with a lot of great friends at every walk of life, and I'm so glad that God has let me have these girls throughout my walks of life...I love you girls...FAB FOUR FOREVER! WE ARE YOUNG AND YOU ARE OLD...WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT?

Pudding Pops

2006-08-03T15:51:00.000-05:00

I felt compelled to let everyone know that today I had a vanilla Jello pudding pop. It was glorious. Jello Pudding Pops came off the market for a good number of years but fortunately they were reintroduced to the marketplace last summer and must have done well because I enjoyed one this afternoon. I highly recommend vanilla. Don't be fooled by all the fancy swirls...simple is best.

Extreme makeover

2006-07-31T08:20:00.000-05:00

www.brianandlibbyhowe.blogspot.com has a new look. Mostly because, as my friend Jon so often tells me, blogger is not so great and I was having trouble with the format, but don't know enough about html to fix it (I guess that means I am even worse than blogger, and I shouldn't complain because I am useless without blogger...). So instead of figuring out what was wrong and how to fix it, I have resorted to starting with a new template. Anyway, hope you like the new look.

ps - today is Brian's Birthday! He is old.

I love the 80's

2006-07-27T13:42:00.000-05:00

At work, our "fun day" this summer (please hold your laughter) is going to be 80's themed (you may laugh now). A recent survey requested by the 80's event planners brought back a lot of great eighties memories for me...I hope it does the same for you (my answers are included below...don't hate, appreciate). Keep in mind that I am probably one of the youngest people on my team, and the average age is probably in the mid-high 30's (just a rough guess), so when they were all rocking out with their feathered bangs, I was being potty trained.

What is your favorite 80's song?
We Belong, by Pat Benatar

What is your favorite 80's 'guilty pleasure' song (the song you love but are ashamed to admit to)?
Video Killed the Radio Star

In 1985, you were:
_X__ just recently born
____ in elementary school
____ in middle school
____ in high school
____ in college
____ out in the real world

In the 80's what type of music did you most listen to?
____ hair bands
____ hard core rock
____ 70s/disco
____ bubblegum pop
_X__ Disney sing-a-longs
____ showtunes
____ classic rock
____ other __________

Who in the Breakfast Club are you most like (refresh your memory at www.imdb.com/title/tt0088847/)?
____ Andy (Emilio Estevez)
____ Claire (Molly Ringwald)
____ John (Judd Nelson)
_X__ Brian (Anthony Michael Hall)
____ Allison (Ally Sheedy)
____ Principal Vernon (Paul Gleason)

Were you alive and conscious when Princess Diana and Prince Charles married? If so, did you watch the wedding?
____ Yes, I watched it live.
____ Yes, I watched a recording
____ Yes, I watched news clips of it
____ No, I didn't watch it.
_X__ No, I wasn't alive and/or conscious

Are you still angry with Sting for breaking up The Police?
_X__ Yes! What a jerk!
____ No - his solo career is a gift to all music lovers.
____ Who?

Which side did you root for?
____ Larry Bird and the Celtics
____ Magic Johnson and the Lakers
_X__ What?

What is your favorite 80's memory?
When I was born!

What was your favority activity during the 80's?
When I switched over to solid food.

Which character from an 80s movie or TV show would you most like to be?
Fergie when she was on Kids Incorporate, because she was so cool.

Now, which character from an 80's movie of TV show are you actually most like?
Probably Stephanie from Full House...possibly even Kimmy Gibler (yes, it was that bad).

What is/was your favorite 80s TV show?
KNIGHTRIDER! (Did you hear that they're going to make it into a movie?)

In the 80s, what was your favorite or most commonly-used slang term?
"awesome!" ties with "radical!"

What is your favorite 80s movie quote?
(Both quotes from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)
Short Round: Hey, lady! You call him Dr. Jones!
or...
Short Round: Feels like I step on fortune cookie!
Indiana Jones: It's not fortune cookies. Let me take a look.
[Indy lights a lighter to find bugs crawling all over the place]
Short Round: That no cookie!

What was your favorite hangout spot during the 80's?
my backyard, because it is the only place I was allowed to go; other than my best friend Erin Wilson's house because her mom let them eat white bread.

What is your most memorable 80's current event?
???

What was your favorite candy in the 80's?
???

What was your favorite party game/activity during the 80's?
Pin the tail on the donkey because it brought with it the promise of birthday cake.

In the 80's, what kind of car were you driving (if you were driving) or what did your parents drive?
Mazda MPV - only the best, with the wood paneling.

Join in on the 80s-licious fun. Feel free to post a comment and share your answers!

Progress

2006-07-27T08:59:00.000-05:00

What can I say? I am usually a glass half full kind of girl, but I've been what I have sugar-coated as "realistic" about all the home improvements on our list, citing two key enemies to progress: time and money. We obviously can't afford to do EVERYTHING we want to do at once and even if we could, when on earth would we do it?

Enter Brian's parents. They got to our house on Monday, and by the time I got home from work on Tuesday afternoon, all of the old landscaping we didn't want had been stripped from the front yard, the railings had been removed from the back deck, the lawn had been mowed, and the deck and patio had been powerwashed. These outdoor projects have made a world of difference in the appearance of the house, and I honestly didn't think we'd have a chance to tackle them until next spring. Not only is all of this done, but as of now, we have a beautiful new patio set on our newly stained deck (all set up with some torches and our grill to complete the picture), new lighting throughout the house (electrical work courtesy of Rev. Bill Howe) and a new A/C downstairs (whew, just in time for August). Brian's parents have been so, so helpful and generous this week and I am amazed at what we've (they've) accomplished.

Now when I drive home I see a beautifully landscaped front with beautiful black mulch (I never thought I would think mulch was so beautiful), a new wreath on our door (courtesy of Karen Polsinelli...thanks Karen!), and a nice little hanging plant on the front porch (can I tell you how long I have wanted my OWN hanging plant?!?)...it's a lovely sight! Yes, progress is good. Not to mention, we've had a lot of fun, even if it was shoveling 3 cubic yards of mulch in 92 degree heat for 2 hours. Now that's what I call bonding!

Props due

2006-07-24T13:10:00.000-05:00

Well, the big move was a huge success and Brian and I have a lot of props to give out, so I will jump right in:

God: First things first. And actually we should take this back and say there is no way we would even be in our house if it wasn't for God. He really does do exceedingly abundantly more than we could ask or think, and this has been a perfect example. With regard to moving, He was certainly working our favor. The average temp over the last 2 weeks or so has probably been about 90 degrees with a lot of % humidity. But somehow the 2 days we were moving and working it dropped down below 80 and rained so it was refreshing and cool. And although moving in the rain is never ideal, the rain just "happened to" slow down when we needed it to. Coincidence? I think not.

The Erndt Fam: What would we do without the Erndt fam? Walt showed himself to be a seasoned moving helper, jumping right in and doing things he knew we needed done without waiting for us to ask. All day I saw him grabbing random things (many of which I had put off packing), packing them up, labeling them (I heart labels), putting them in peoples' cars until they were full and then I'm pretty sure he emptied like 6 cars by himself too! Thank you Walt!
Val took care of all my fragiles, most notably the 12 place settings of very expensive Lenox china that was under our bed (I know, it's ridiculous but don't tell Brian that I admitted it). More importantly, she helped keep me under control b/c I was a ball of stress, and would just stand around and say "what do I do?" Thank you Val!
Jeremy was in rare form on Saturday. Not only did he wake up at 7:30, he was extremely chipper and was even found rapping on numerous occasions during the day. He even sustained a minor injury after slipping down the back stairs, but got his game face back on, and didn't even complain when all I had to bandage it was a paper towel and some packing tape (his game face may have expired when he took the tape off and lost the majority of the hair on his arm, but I made sure I wasn't around for that). Thanks Jer!

Chad: Chad was a stellar helper all day long, even though we know that some of his efforts can attributed to alterior motives - the fact that Chad is moving in about 8 weeks and his furniture is much bigger and heavier than ours! Not to mention he has a lot more stuff. But seriously, I knew all along that Chad would be an asset on moving day. He in fact drove the UHaul when it was filled with all of our earthly belongings, and even backed it in to astoundingly close to our front door, clearing the gutter by about 1/2 inch. Well done Chad, well done. (Sidenote: This weekend I learned that Chad used to drive a mail truck, and it was the worst job he ever had.)

Jon: Usually you can only ask people to help you move if you know that you have been friends for long enough to subject them to such a horror, or if you have a significant amount of favors to cash in. Jon however did not fit into either of these categories. Jon volunteered to help us move. We're not sure why yet, but we hung out with him and his wife last night so I'm pretty sure he still wants to be friends with us. In all seriousness, Brian and I couldn't be happier that Jon and Nic are our friends. They're just the kind of people that want to jump in and help because they're genuinely kind and they genuinely love people, and want to serve God by serving others. Very cool. We are glad that they have chosen to work out their desire to serve in ways that directly benefit us, like working with Northway Student Ministries and helping us move. Thanks guys! (I must note that Jon is also my unoficcial blogging mentor. His website rocks and someday I hope my website is 1/16th as cool as his.)

Dave: Dave was the surprise mover in the crew; I didn't know he was coming but I am glad he did. Not only did he sing/rap throughout the majority of the day, keeping my attitude all cheery and the like, he also contributed very significantly to the successful moving of one rather large piece of furniture. I don't even care that his significant contribution was realizing that if only the wall would "give" a little, the couch would clear the angle and make it's way out the door (note poltically correct language that interprets: there is a large hole in that wall now). All that matters is that our little couch made it safely home (anyone who was there is probably laughing...nothing about that couch is "little").

Will: Let's just start by saying, we love Will! He gave us his Saturday even though he was supposed to be bringing chickens to the Saratoga County Fair or something like that (did you know there are chickens that lay green eggs??? Will taught me this). All he asked of us was one chocolate milk, which we gladly supplied, and he helped us all day! It is a treat when you get to hang out with the students at your church, an even bigger treat when they're generally awesome, like Will, and an EVEN bigger treat when they're willing to give up their Saturday to help you out. Thanks Will!

I'm sure I'm missing some people, like the nice lady at Dunkin Donuts who made 8 bacon, egg, and cheese bagels in about 3 minutes (perhaps that should make me nervous?!), but the point is, we could not have moved all of our earthly belongings with no (major) breakage or (major) injuries in less than 5 hours without some help from our friends. Thank you!

"Blogworthy"

2006-07-19T10:13:00.000-05:00

Well, I have been blogging intermittently since January now and more consistently in the last couple of months. While I still consider myself a novice, I was thinking about what I consider blogworthy. Because I am slightly obsessive-compulsive (ok, VERY obsessive compulsive) it is impossible for me to answer this question without first considering the larger question: Why do I blog? Here are my personal reasons:

I don't journal (although I wish I did) so this blog is creating a little bit of a virtual archive of my life for me.
I like the idea that someone is actually reading this. Although there may only be a handful of you out there (hi mom!), know when you close your eyes at night that you made me feel good when you said "Hey, I saw your blog." Having always aspired to publish someday, every time someone reads my blog, it's a large mini-victory for me.
I have come to enjoy blogging a lot. I think its because I enjoy writing and have lost almost every platform in which to do so (I do not count writing research papers or e-mail as actual "writing").
I am obsessed with pictures and, like love and food, I believe that pictures are better when shared.
Communication...this blog was started as a platform for Brian and I to communicate with friends and keep them posted (pun completely intended) on what's going on with us. Although it has evolved into a hobby for me, I still consider these updates as one of the key functions of our blog.

So considering the above, below is a very haphazardly constructed list of what I consider blogworthy:

Current Events- we will always blog about what's going on with the Howes.
Pictures - we will continue to post an exorbitant amount of pictures and sleep peacefully at night knowing that we have subjected our friends and family to these large virtual albums.
Things that are funny
Things that are unusual/ironic
Things I have on my mind that day, that I happen to care about (like why I blog)
Things I find interesting that someone else may find useful or interesting as well
Useful information - although very little (if anything) on our blog thus far falls into this category, be assured that if we ever come across any information that would benefit you in some way, we will blog it up.

That was fun. I wonder which category this one falls into.

Closing Time

2006-07-18T08:04:00.000-05:00

At long last...we have closed on the new house! We are officially homeowners and HSBC officially owns us now. Haha. It's been a fun weekend. Let me give you a quick recap:

Friday, 3 pm: Right after the closing, Brian rips up the carpet in the family room in about 5.3 seconds.

Friday, 5 pm: We start to paint the family room

Friday, midnight: The family room is painted and ready for the floor

Saturday, 9 am: Walt and Val come over to coach us through laying the floor.

Sunday, 9pm: Floor is done!!! WOO-HOO!

Our goals for the weekend were to paint the family room and kitchen and get the floor done and we did! Did I mention that Brian learned how to use a power saw? Oh yes, he did. And simultaneously, I became a very, very prayerful wife. He did great though, and he still has all of his fingers :) By Sunday night, we were very proud of our work, and also extremely tired and astutely aware of every single joint in our bodies. We still managed to haul over (thanks Rob W.) our mattress and enough stuff to get us through the week staying in the new house. The official furniture move isn't until Saturday but we have plenty to keep us busy until then.

In closing, here are some things I learned this weekend:
1. "EasyLock" laminate floor is not so Easy to Lock into place
2. Easy Lock would be easier if certain people read the directions :) haha
3. Brian and I have a lot of fun painting together
4. As it turns out, I am not all that good at painting, but I enjoy it.
5. I am however very good at taping
6. Taping is really not that useful when painting (I think that with #'s 4-6 combined, I just deemed myself useless in the realm of painting)
7. I love my new fridge...it is very clean and when I moved all of my food over, it looked so much yummier. AND there was much more room leftover in the fridge. More food!
8. The China City in Milton is hands down the best chinese food I have ever had.
9. Painting and working is much more fun with friends and family. Brian and I would like to give a shout out to my mom, Walt and Val, Scott and Rachel, Rob, and Chad. Without you we would have no floor, less paint, less food, no truck, and no A/C.
10. Some cockroaches fly...right into your kitchen in fact (oh the joys of homeownership)
11. Going go Lowe's may be more addictive than any street drug I've heard of. It provides a quick rush, is instantly addictive, and leaves you penniless in the end....and I still love it

Ok that's it for now. Gotta go bring another load to the house! More pictures here.

Eat at Friendly's, Save a Life

2006-07-05T09:51:00.000-05:00

So it's Saturday morning, June 24th, and Brian and I are off to have breakfast with his very nervous friend Kevin, who is getting married at 2 pm, and another one of his groomsmen. My idea of a good vacation is very heavily weighted on the quality of the breakfast I eat, and although this wasn't a true "vacation," and although I much prefer local diners to national chains, I must say, I was very delighted to see that there was a Friendly's nearby (high on the breakfast scale, even for a chain). So we stroll in around 10:30 am and as we walk by this row of booths, this kid in a bright yellow tank top just flails out into the walkway, as though his feet were connected to the seat and his head was just flying out of control. Brian instinctively swoops in and catches the kid when his head is about 6 inches from the tile, and voila - a hero is born.

Ok so maybe he didn't save his LIFE but he definitely saved the kid a trip to the emergency room...that would have been one heck of a headache...or minor concussion. It was kind of wierd. The kid just kind of looked up at Brian, then he sat back in the booth, and I'm pretty sure the kid's mom was laughing ?@#(*&?!

So about 20 minutes later we're sitting in the booth and I'm like...shouldn't she at least come over and say "thanks for saving my kid from a lifetime of minor brain damage" or something? I didn't really sense that she cared too much. And about 10 minutes after that, the kid walks over with this big yellow balloon tied to his arm, stares up at the four of us, and quietly asks "Which one of you saved me?" It might of been the cutest thing I ever saw...or the funniest. So he gave Brian a Friendly's giftcard and we took his picture and history was made. Fun times.

And the moral of the story is, if I hadn't let Brian hold the door for me when we walked into Friendly's, I would have been in the kid's path instead of Brian when he came flying into the walkway, and I would be a hero today. Either that, or my slow reflexes would have resulted in a child with no short term memory, and an entirely different story. Probably better that it was Brian!

Independence Day?

2006-07-04T17:50:00.000-05:00

Last November, Thomson (my employer) announced their 2006 holiday schedule and with it, the news that all of its employees were getting 2 less floating holidays but an extra holiday on the Monday before July 4th (as if that somehow balances out...???). So since then, and especially since the "purchase" (I use that term very loosely) of our new home, I have been anticipating this extremely rare 4-day weekend. I am sort of a busybody who never has enough time to do everything I want around the house so a day off with nothing planned is like a total playday to me, and knowing that by this 4-day weekend I would have just moved into the new house...well 2 days off and a bunch of yet-to-be-unpacked boxes is pretty much like Christmas to me, so you can imagine my excitement.

Well, as time rolled along, we realized that Brian would be at Jr. High camp that week, so I would be reveling in the joys of unpacking alone. It put a damper on the plans, but still, nothing a whole bunch of empty kitchen cabinets couldn't fill. Well, since we have neither closed on nor moved into our home this long weekend held no unpacking at all. It just held me and 2 full days of absolutely nothing to do.

Let me frame this scene a little bit...from September to June, with very few exceptions, my weeks look like this, in addition to my daily work schedule: Monday - class, Tuesday - homework, Wednesday - band practice, Thursday - Vertical (youth group), Friday night - free, Sunday night - church, Sunday morning - church, Monday [repeat]. This summer I had a couple more free days each week as Vertical ended for the school year. And last week I finished my 6-week summer semester...the end of which brings with it the most wonderful thing I have been able to preserve in "my-so-called-adult-life." That being, of course, my version of summer vacation...7 weeks in which I am only busy one night a week, if at all. Seven glorious weeks in which I do not do homework, I grill almost every night, and I eat an uncharacteristically large amount of ice cream.

Back to Independence Day: This 4-day weekend was to be the kick-off of my 2006 do-nothing (or should I say, do much less) summer. But I have learned a very valuable lesson in the last 48 hours. Something funny happens when you get married, and you may not even really notice it...I didn't. When Brian left for camp, I was really, really lonely. Not like "go home, watch soaps and eat Ben and Jerry's" lonely, but definitely "this is not as fun as I thought it would be" lonely. In short, things just aren't as much fun without him. Yes, I am guilty of not knowing what I've got till it's gone, because I constantly complain about the little things, like Brian not hanging his shirts up, or using a new towel EVERY day...but as it turns out, by about noon yesterday all of that was cleaned up and it only magnified his absence.

I consider myself a very independent person, and any of you newlyweds out there know that when you get married you learn how to balance your independence with an interdependence you share with your spouse. Over the past 3 years Brian's been away dozens of times, and I've been fine with a few days on my own...even enjoyed it. But during this holiday weekend, I've learned a few things. Independence is great, but having someone to share your 4th of July with...that is truly spectacular.

Creativity Overload

2006-06-19T11:51:00.000-05:00

beep...dur...urrrrr....beep(those are the sounds my computer makes when it is being pushed to its max(sub perenthesis...is it supposed to make those noises?))...at the moment those sounds are starting to come from me. My most recent endeavor into the world of being the point person of KidzwayLive Fiesta has my creativity lab buzzin and it has my mind working creatively towards Vertical as well. Got some sweet plans for a weekly Vertical Podcast Show featuring students, leaders, and rock stars! Throw in the idea of going to a totally video driven message experience for Vertical and my mind starts beeping and urrrring!!! It is cool how our mind works...a little change of environment (working on kidzway live) has led to a burst of creativity...love how God has programmed us!

sidenote. Starbucks has also played a role in these new creative levels

Lost in Sorrento

2006-06-16T17:56:00.000-05:00

Food for thought...this morning I got a phone call from Caroline (younger sister, currently spending a semester in Italy). She and her 3 girlfriends were on their way to their weekend excursion in Sorrento. They were scheduled to meet their tour at 7 pm and had no idea how to get to their hostel (which Caroline was very anxious about in the first place). So Caroline called me and I logged into her e-mail to retrieve the map, tour guide's phone number, and some information about the train station and schedules.
So Brian and I were considering this over dinner...Caroline is standing in the middle of a small town in Italy. I am sitting in my office in Albany New York. She picks up a cell phone, and in a few seconds I am listening to her shouting over the background noise of mopeds and a busy marketplace. She gives me information, with which I retrieve information from a virtual location, which contains the information she needs to find out 1. where she is, 2. where she's going, and hopefully, 3. how to get there. Brian pointed out how absolutely and fascinatingly bizarre that entire exchange was. I know we all love our tech gizmos and we all "know how they work" (ok, I do to some degree), but in this particular case, I choose to be fascinated rather than logical.

Zip It

2006-06-16T14:16:00.000-05:00

Check out the intro to Brian's last message here. It takes a few minutes to load but is worth the wait! I may be biased (ok, I am biased) but I thought it was by far his best message yet...you'll have to purchase the DVD from Northway to hear it though :)

Oh yes it's "eighties" night

2006-06-16T08:21:00.000-05:00

Although I have been told that I look about 14 in this picture, it was taken just a few weeks ago. Vertical (that's what we call our weekly student gathering for Northway Student Ministries) ended on June 1st and we decided to send it off with style, eighties style that is. All of us leaders (most of whom were born or attended elementary school in the eighties) were concerned that the students wouldn't dress up...or would attempt to dress up but fail miserably considering that they have no recollection of the eighties. However what we did not consider was how excited all of our students' parents were to dust off the tight-rolled jeans and scrunchies and vicariously resurrect their glory years through their kids for a night. They all dressed up and totally got the 80's style right. The church was filled with leggings, high-tops, short shorts and even mullets. It was a beautiful sight. 80's music (live, played by a mostly student band) filled the air and all of the adults reminisced..."I remember this song...It came out in 1981, and I played it at my graduation party" (To which I responded "uuuuuuuuh...I was born in 1981").
More importantly, that night was monumental for Brian and I. After 3 years of trying different ways to do youth ministry, three years of living and learning, we ended the year on a very, very high note (and I'm not just talking about the length of Brian's jeans). How awesome for Brian to see almost 200 students attend, who couldn't wait for Vertical to start again in the fall. How awesome to see leaders connecting with students, getting e-mail addresses and exchanging phone numbers. How awesome to see students that had taken ownership of their Student Ministry. It was a very good night. Click here for more pictures.

"She's Not There"

2006-06-14T14:11:00.000-05:00

Are my nieces cute or what? I got these pictures from my mom today. Look at that sassy pose (not that I can tell you who is who from this picture). The sign says "We miss you Care Bear" (for Aunt Caroline who has been in Italy for a few weeks).

Speaking of my nieces, I got the funniest voice message from them today. I have listened to it 4 times now and still get a good laugh out of it...hope you will too. The magic phrase is "She's not there." Isabella is trying to explain to Emily (who is feeding her lines for the voicemessage) that I am not in fact on the other end of the phone line, and she refuses to say anything further (anything further than "she's not there"). Alas, her resolve weakens at the end...

"The Funnest Wedding"

2006-06-13T09:09:00.000-05:00

After three years of unthreatened victory, Brian and I fear that we are resigning the honor of having had the "funnest wedding." Not that we took credit for it...we are fully aware that it was largely due to the volume of crazy dancing Pakistanis and one dollar bills being thrown from the balcony. As of June 4th, I think we have to seriously reconsider our claims to such victory...Steve and Jenn's wedding was complete with excellent music, crazy old men doing unthinkable dance moves, two dancing Pakistanis (the other guy mostly just jumped but he still counts) and even glow sticks. Yes, it was definitely a fun wedding. The "funnest"? You decide. View more pictures here.

"June" update

2006-06-11T07:01:00.000-05:00

Is it really June? No seriously, yesterday I wore a sweater and if I'm being honest, it is taking everything in me NOT to turn on the heat. It has been in the 50/60 degree range the last few days. The good thing is it has forced me to pack, because there are really no alternative outdoor options. The bad news...it's cold! I grew up in upstate New York so I usually do NOT complain about any of our odd weather patterns, but this is really bizarre. Oh well. It looks like 70s this week and almost 80 next weekend.
The biggest news this month is that we have not moved yet. They weren't kidding when they said this was a slow process. We made our offer on April 17th. It was accepted on the 18th, and we completed our mortgage application on April 26th, which was when we first learned we would never close by our target date, May 25th. No biggie. So we shot for June 16th. And on Thursday we learned that also was not possible. So the new target is June 26th, a Monday. I'm not going to get too anxious. The nice thing about this elusive closing date is that it presents no pressure whatsoever for packing.
It's amazing what you accumulate in just 3 years. Our new place doesn't have a basement so we've been a little bit more discerning in what goes and what stays. We still have about 30 boxes already marked for the attic...and I think I have an idea why. I'm pretty sure Brian is going to be a full fledged packrat. I found an old box of stuff from my 'childhood'...you know, my 3rd grade year book, the poem I wrote for my best friend in 3rd grade, and all of my medals from my Optimist Club speech contests (don't ask). I FINALLY found it in me to let go of some of this stuff, which I had not seen since we moved in here 3 years ago, and Brian pretty much insisted that I keep it all. This coming from the guy who caused two full boxes to be labeled "Sentimental T-Shirts." Yes, T-shirts. So I think we're pretty much destined to become pack rats. Don't get me wrong, we've filled a few trash bins and made 3 deliveries to Salvation Army so far, but we'll still have our hands full on moving day...whenever that is. Gotta go pack.

Carolina's adventures in Italy

2006-06-06T07:14:00.000-05:00

Check out my sister "Carolina's" blog here. She's touring Italy for a few weeks and blogging her way through.

Our house...

2006-04-25T22:21:00.000-05:00

In less than a month, this will be our mailing address. We proudly present the future residence of the Howes! Click on the house above for a virtual tour or check out these pictures. More details later.

2006-04-25T21:36:00.000-05:00

Guilty - we have been delinquent bloggers. Unfortunately "real life" has imposed on our virtual identities and we have been preoccupied (alert the authorities).

First things first, Easter was off the hook. The turnout was awesome, thousands of people streamed into the Pepsi Arena on Easter Sunday! For Brian and I, it was a whirlwind. We got up at 5 am to head over the the Pepsi. The majority of my work was done by then, I just had to get all dressed up and sing. Brian however was still entrenched in his role. The whole morning was a whirlwind - I wish someone had followed us with cameras because I hardly remember anything. Wouldn't that have been cool - Behind the music: Northway Fellowship at the Pepsi Arena. No wait, E! True Hollywood story - Brian and Libby Howe.

Ok that is hilarious because however little diva there is in me, if singing at the Pepsi somehow bolstered my diva-ism, it was quickly stifled by the reality of what is really behind that stage. If for a minute I was caught up in being on an arena stage and quite possibly using the SAME dressing room as, oh yes, Amy Grant (some would say Beyonce, the Rolling Stones, etc, but come on people, we all know Amy Grant and Vince Gill rocked the Pepsi last Christmas), I was quickly brought back to reality by the locker-room digs near the Pepsi's backstage loading dock. Don't get me wrong, it was still very cool! But we were all too excited about peeking into the arena and watching the seats fill to hang out, with or without the legacy of her majesty, Amy Grant.

Ok, back to the Pepsi, it rocked. We had such an awesome response from tons of people who have never been to church in their lives. And a great response from the media. We were the top story on most news channels at 6 and 11 that evening, and front page on 2 main papers the next morning. Check it:

Capital News 9:
Adding some pop to Easter prayer
Times Union:
Styles differ, but message of faith still the same

Click here for more pics on Northway's site

2006-03-07T20:22:00.000-05:00

Everything you've heard is true! If you can believe it, Northway is holding its Easter services at the Pepsi Arena in Albany. Yes, it is 15 miles south of our usual services. Yes, it is huge. And yes, we are so going for it!
Remember last year? The Saratoga City center? 10 miles north of our church. Seating for 2,000. Standing room only!
Why? Because people will go to the Pepsi who will never step foot into our church. Because people need to hear the good news. Because time on earth is short - we only have one shot to tell the world that Jesus lives!
We're gonna bring it on April 16th. Hope you can be there. Click the photo for more info, or visit www.easteratthepepsi.com. If you build it...

2006-02-24T16:08:00.000-05:00

This post is long overdue...As you can guess, this picture is from February 5th, 2006, which will go down in history not only because the Steelers won "one for the thumb," but also because it is the first Superbowl Libby Howe has been genuinely interested in for a reason that was not edible (no seriously, I actually watched the entire game). Yes, I asked Brian about 500 questions by the time it was over, and yes, I still had my share of taco chips, but I think a true Steelers fan was born this season. Of course, Brian couldn't be happier about this (can't you tell from the picture)! I personally think I'm a lucky charm. I started caring about the Red Sox last year in the middle of the World Series, and we all know how that turned out. And now, I start waving the Terrible Towel at football games, and the Steelers win the Superbowl. Coincidence? I think not. Power to the Pakistani - I am a certified lucky charm :)

2006-02-06T10:21:00.000-05:00

The Howes and the Cahills on the Lobster Dinner Cruise on the lagoon in Cancun! Good friends are hard to come by - good friends you can spend a week in Mexico with - a rarity! Fun times...

2006-02-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

Brian and I on Saturday, February 6th at Delmar's Annual Gala. A fun time was had by all. Brian cleans up pretty good huh :)

Viva Mexico!

2006-02-04T18:58:00.000-05:00

Check out our pics from vacation here.

Back in the USA

2006-01-30T19:37:00.000-05:00

Here are some things I learned in Mexico

1. Our resort was overbooked...we got upgraded to a better one - sometimes it feels like we totally miss out on something however it's just God's way of saying "just chill cause I am about to hook you up"...
2. We had a great time on vaction with the Cahill's - good friends are hard to find...couple friends are harder to find - and Libby and I are very blessed.
3. One night Libby and I goofed around and ran on the beach and pushed each other in the ocean- after 3 years of marriage I still have a crush on Libby and she on me...

viva la Mexico...

CAN-cun

2006-01-20T16:59:00.000-05:00

Libby and I are finishing packing up and leaving for NYC to catch our plane for Cancun tomorrow morning...As of about an hour ago we werent going due to a lack of birth certificates...long story but it had a happy ending as I found them in a bag Libby had brought to Montreal this past summer. No more worries...no more stress...just us, the Cahills and a bunch of sand and ocean....and some great Mexican food! See ya in a week...

Its fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A

2006-01-18T20:21:00.000-05:00

New Years has come and gone and Libby and I are holding strong to our resolution of going to the gym consistently. I believe I heard once that if you do something for 21 days it will become a habit and we are both just a few days from forming a very good habit...Libby has found her niche attending a wide array of fitness classes...as for me the Elliptical Machine has become both me and my knee's best friend. The YMCA may have steered away from some of its Christian influences but I tell you what, it has been good for our souls and spirits...

2006-01-18T14:27:00.000-05:00

Pics from our 06 Christmas card

2006-01-18T14:26:00.000-05:00

And another from our Christmas card - note that Libby's eyes are rarely open in pictures

Look, we have a blog

2006-01-18T14:13:00.000-05:00

Well, since we're horrible with keeping in touch in general, but, believe it or not, do want to keep people in touch with our lives, we have decided we need a blogspot of our own. Our own small corner of cyberspace, if you will. So hopefully we'll eventually keep all sorts of info here about what's new, what's old, or maybe just what's on our minds. Either way, welcome to our blog :)