Igloo, people. My husband and Alex built an igloo. On our back porch. And it’s amazing.

Pics to come as soon as my camera battery charges up!

Even on a snow day, I still manage to learn a few things

One.  I’m rather task-oriented and will tend to glaze over the necessity of rest, connection and gentleness to just get it done, whatever it happens to be.  The consequences of this will sometimes leave me feeling isolated, frustrated and bitter.

But, I’ve also realized that I more fully relax when the immediate surrounding environment isn’t cluttery.  It’s like when the environment around me is peaceful, I’m finally at peace.  I guess part of that connection between inner peace and external environmental peace comes from my brain feeling cluttery most of the time, but if I see a made bed without any wrinkles, I’ve got this little moment of pure, peace-filled visual joy.  I’m sure God gets some really great laughs out of watching me gaze with joy at a wrinkle-free bed.  I know Charlie sure does

Two.  I love the idea of sharing responsibility for things.  Absolutely love the idea of it.  That comes from watching a single mother tackle everything without complaining, only noting that she now understood the beauty of Eve being Adam’s helper.  But what’s a daughter of Eve to do when a son of Adam is out for the day?  Do it herself, of course.  I’ve got a wonderful husband who realizes that I have an intensely hard time asking for help and has eased the “ripping off the bandaid” sensation for me by preemptively asking me how he can help.  But still, I do a lot of things by myself.  And one of my desires for living in community was to learn how to ask for help.  Last night, as Charlie and I did that funny exhausted-talking-before-we-fall-asleep thing where the longer we talk, the less we make sense, God opened up a little bit of wisdom to me.

I wait ’til the very last minute to ask for help. Because I still want to do it myself.  Because I don’t want to inconvenience anyone.  Because I want it done when it’s convenient for me.  And because I don’t really want to actually have to let go of that sense of control and ASK FOR HELP.  Ugh.  Ew.  Groan.

So I’ve got a new goal.  I’m going to try asking for help every day for a week and see where it gets me.

Three.  Irony’s a bitch.  About an hour ago, I royally pinched a nerve in my lower back HELPING Charlie shovel out our heat pump and consequently can’t do a damn thing for myself.  Like lifting my legs on my own, or rolling over to pick up the Pepsi can.  Or taking off my socks.  Every task in my life can only be done with help from others.

I guess I’ll hit my quota before the end of my first day of this week of asking for help.

Hello everyone! Not only are we currently getting record snow, but I’m sick as a Dog! Perfect time for a blog!

Life has a middle school math teacher has been good to me this year! This has been the first year of teaching that I can say is truly enjoyable, not just tolerable. Some of that is because the faculty is really friendly and the age group is a neat fit for my personality, but I’d say the biggest thing is that I have students in every level of intelligence. 2.5 years prior to this one I only had kids who hated math and hated school. They liked me and I liked them, but it’s hard to get excited about your job when the students don’t really care about what you’re teaching. Some of my students had taken algebra 1 for 5 years in a row (yes I had 18 and 19 year olds in the same class as 14 year olds, kind of weird)

This year I have a nice cross-section of the whole school and not only has it helped me hold the lower math classes to a higher standard but it has it drastically changed my outlook on this generation of kids. I clearly love my job and the students really enjoy my class as a result. Life is good.

Other than teaching, I’ve been spending a great deal of time making my marimba website awesome http://marimbalogy.com. I’ve really enjoyed making videos for it and I will continue to do so.

I’m playing marimba for an art show next month, so most of my focus has been on learning new pieces.

So that’s about it! Hope you’ve enjoyed this great post ;0

Dulles Airport, waiting for my flight!

I’m writing this morning from lovely Connecticut where I’m spending some time hanging out with Vicky’s boyfriend, Mike, the Area Director of Young Life in Greenwich (for you non-Northerners, that’s pronounced “gren-itch”).

I’m here hoping to gain some clarity about what God is calling Cindy and I to next in our lives and ministry together, and though I have no answers yet, I do know the next step in getting there: I want to fast from music of all kinds for the next month or so.

Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE music. I don’t think specific types of music are evil or need to be avoided (though most pop music isn’t worth much), in fact, I probably love music a bit too much right now, and I’m starting to realize just how much time I spend listening to music instead of praying, thinking, reflecting (or, metacogniting, see my last post) and writing. It tends to be the easy way out of effort for me, as I’m not producing any music on my own, but only consuming the music of others (not to mention way too much money on new albums, etc.). This isn’t a drastic move, but a calculated one that forces me to sacrifice something that consumes my time and mind for something of much greater value – communion with God and a deepening of relationship (which needs to happen before we try to determine what’s next for the Gregorys).

I need to be comfortable with silence again, and allow that “still small voice” of the Spirit to be heard.

Yesterday I recognized something about myself that I’ve always known and always avoided thinking about or processing fully. For my entire life (childhood into adulthood) I have believed that the gifts I have received from God need not be cultivated or practiced – that whatever it is I am supposed to do with my life will fall into my lap without effort on my part. It sounds ludicrous when I write it down and when I read over it again, but this is what I’ve believed for most of my life – without evidence to the contrary (or, at least evidence that I would acknowledge). I’m not entirely sure how I came to this conclusion, and my habit (which I am now attempting to break) of forgetting, or not reflecting on, my past has only aided the spirit and feeling of mystic uncertainty that I experience when thinking about my future.

Today, I read (through Charlie’s blog) a fantastic article that posed the question: “Is talent irrelevant?” (actually, it seeks to answer “why talent is overrated”). The crux of the argument is that, regardless of “talent”, whose existence we cannot prove, every ’successful’ artist, musician, businessperson, and entrepreneur have one thing in common: deliberate practice. Not simply any random practice, but very very specific, intentional, quantifiable, and measurable practice with almost-attainable goals set just out of reach in order to make progress. This completely flies in the face of the supposition I’ve maintained all of my life. It’s both mortifying and comforting.

I don’t know what’s next in my life – what career I want or would find satisfaction in, where I will live, when children will come into the picture for Cindy and I – but knowing that the outcome will never draw me away from God (in fact, one is most fully in communion with God when doing what one loves to do with the gifts of God) and that I can do something instead of wasting away time and money on unfulfilling attention-suckers (e.g. video games) is a relief. But it also frightens me because it means that the proverbial ball is in my court – I must do something (which, ironically, is what I think I’ve secretly yearned for but could never quite articulate, let alone believe).

This, for me, is yet another reason why the God of free will (as opposed to predestination) is life-giving. He desires us to live – to make choices. He wants our full participation in life so much that He’s given us freedom to fail miserably, but will never leave or forsake us.

The word from this article that I aim to remember and to put into practice this year is metacognition, or, the art of knowing oneself (and, more importantly, knowing about knowing oneself). This concept, along with seeking out failures rather than successes as the defining moments of growth and maturity by consistently stepping into places of pain and embarrassment to learn from them rather than, as I have typically done, running away from anything that would show vulnerability or weakness) is on my list of personal goals for 2010.

Happy New Year!

Where are all the fat people in new york? Cause I sure haven’t seen any. Well except in mcdonalds. Go figure there.

Bought a fly new Andrew Mark New York Jacket today from Macy’s. List price 375, I got it for 135 Oh yea. Sales rock.

Still cold but my new coat makes things tolerable. Told my dad I’d never wear long johns, well….i bought a pair today. Hate it when Dad’s right Especially since he told me that older I got the more I’d figure out how much he was right in the past,  which…is also right… Anyhow…

Pics to come…

I have one thing to say…. IT’S FREAKING COLD UP HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!

The wind is always blowing and cuts through 3 layers of clothes. Holy crap.

Anyhow. It’s late so you’re getting the short version. The subway is just like you see it in the movies.

Nothing is where you think it is but if you keep walking in a particular direction you’ll eventually find it. Kate and I checked out a sex museum today, slightly disappointing but has some potential. Saw times square for the first time. It was too cold for me to really take it in.

We ate dinner at a wicked cool outdoor iceskating place right outside times square. It was like a makeshift temporary building called Celsius!

Saw lots of performers in the subway on the way home including a breakdance group, a solo sax player, and a small band playing eric clapton Enjoy the pics.

Still no xmas pics I’m hoping someone else blogs about the awesomeness of our christmas.

Yummy Clif Bar!

In other news, Kate and I are currently on a bus to NYC for new year’s day! Yesterday we drove to fredericksburg to visit with my family. Kate and I both ended up buying new boots to prepare for the coldness that is new york (plus it’s supposed to snow while we’re there!) We then went up to D.C. to hang with Sarah and Travis Clark who were awesome enough to let us sleep on their air mattress.

This morning we woke them up from the dead of sleep to give us a ride to the “Tripper” bus. So far this has been the best bus experience ever! Not only do we have wireless internet (i’m on the bus now) but they give us free water and a laptop stand for our laps! Total cost per person to go to NYC, 25 bucks! Way cheaper than that college “ride home” bus I took go from Radford to Richmond to visit kate back in the day.

Oh yea! The guy who took our tickets LOOKED just like Indiana Jones (hat and all) but SOUNDED just like Sean Conery!!!  I was dying to hear either “shaken, not stirred” or “losers always wine about their best!…” but alas, no such quotes were had. 3.5 hours to go. More to come

What would x-mas break be without a hefty dose of video games? Alex rocked various PS2 games while Eric and I gamed it up on Half life 2. All three of us also played a lot of counter-strike (counter-terrorism game) BTW Half life 2 is freaking awesome! Who doesn’t like taking out alien invaders?

So most of our x-mas preparation included cleaning, gaming, decorating, and eating lots and lots of sweets Here’s some random pics!

Humm, I just found out I don’t have any x-mas pics yet. I suppose someone else will have to blog about the big day itself.

Enjoy the snow pics!