Love It or Die
Well in advance of the baby shower for Manda, I am declaring my philosophy: (This is for her, but you all can read along.)

** Gift registries are for people who don't know you well enough to get you something that you will like. **

I, on the other hand, know you. I am not going to go to some generic store and buy something you've already ooo'd and ahh'd over before you shot it with your scanner gun. I don't want you to have to re-ooo and re-ahh at the shower. I want you to ooo and ahh afresh with delight when you see what I've decided was perfect for you. (And after the whole "mole" episode for your birthday, I should think you would have no doubts about the lengths to which I go to find the perfect gift.)

And hey, if you don't like what I buy, then you can just give it to someone else. (Like those wedding mugs from Greta that I want! hehe.)

The Gospel... It's Hip... It's Cool
Last night I babysat for the landlords. Taylor and I had a fun-filled night complete with a walk, a bath, a snack, and plenty of time with the new playskool farmyard. Wheee! Anyway, I saw that Duncan had been sent several books from Thomas Nelson, including this new Revolve new testament. It could easily be confused with your average issue of Cosmo at first glance... but no -- it's the Bible... it's just been funktified. (I can't remember where I got that word from, but I distinctly remember someone saying it in an interview.) It's got glossy pages. Cute doodles. Color photographs. Quizzes. Q&A's. It's different alright. I don't know anything about that NCV translation though. (I didn't look through the entire thing, but let's hope there are some photos of pimply-faced, braces-toothed, and/or glasses-wearing kids in there... or there goes the whole "It's not what's on the outside, but what's on the inside that counts." argument.)

Boys are in luck... their version comes out next spring. Until then, they can get the Bible with a metal cover to look cool.

I Feel Like Jessica Simpson
My room is such a total disaster right now that I don't even want to be working from home. What happened here? I blame it on the lightbulb in my closet. The one that died several days ago. So I can't see in there, which makes it less motivating to put things away... and makes choosing clothes in the morning much more difficult as well. Tonight I begin house/dog-sitting for three days. But Seth comes next Thursday, so that should motivate me to buy lightbulbs before then.

The Story of 42 Below... you funny kiwis.

I just ran across the weblog of the author Ty Wenzel, who wrote Behind Bars: The Straight-Up Tales of a Big-City Bartender. I think what interested me the most was her description of the new book she has started about a Turkish girl. Yes, I'm still intrigued by that place.

Mmm... love Pauley's thoughts from early this morning about the talent lost and the greatness we still have. Now the question is whether she'll make it to the show again tonight. :)

I've got Baja Fresh on my mind, and I'm not going to be able to do anything until this is taken care of. Mmm.