A Busy Sunday

I've had a really busy Sunday, but I'm so thankful for it! I'm feeling tired, but satisfied!

First of all, I was the Worship Associate today at ERUUF. This is my second year in the Worship Associate program, and I've really enjoyed it. The service was about secrets, inspired by Frank Warren's PostSecret art project and books. I met with the minister last weekend to start talking about today's service, and wrote a 2-page "reflection" about my personal observations about secrets, to present during both services 9:15 and 11:15). For the reading today, Rev. Southworth and I alternated reading several secrets from the PostSecret books (there are four out right now). It was a nice service, I thought, and I got some good feedback. (After the 11:15 service, I got to catch up with a friend I met while I was on the Rice Diet, which was a real treat!)

My sister, Lisa, and her family are in town, as daughter Emily is on Spring Break, and they're doing the college tour. (Emily has interviews at Duke tomorrow and Wednesday.) So Lisa, as well as Mom and Dad, came to the 11:15 service at ERUUF to hear me do my thing (though they stayed for the whole service!).

Afterward, we all (the churchgoers plus brother-in-law Craig, Emily, Laura (Emily's big sister and a Duke sophomore), and George, met at Watt's Grocery for brunch. I'd been there once before, lunch with a co-worker during the week, but never for a weekend brunch. I had an omelet with asparagus, caramelized onions, goat cheese, and spinach. This may well be the best omelet I've ever had! I kid you not! Awesome!

Once we'd finished eating, Dad and Craig headed out, but the rest of us stuck around to coach and encourage Emily on her upcoming interviews. Time just flew, as we had a lively conversation in the quiet of the restaurant, which had cleared out by the time we looked up! The staff was very patient and let us stay on, not even interrupting us with the offer of drink refills. We were too engrossed in the conversation to care or notice!

George and I got home around 5:00, give or take a little, and I'd been going since 6 AM, when I got up to get ready for a 30-minute workout (shorter than usual, but my leg is still healing, so that was fine), then get ready for two rounds of church services.

George needed to run some errands, so after we got home, he headed out again. I decided to stay home and soak in the solitude. Being an introvert by nature, today was a bit draining, to be honest. I loved doing the church services today, and lunch and the ensuing conversation were stimulating and fun, but I felt drained on the way home.

So, I read for a while, but got restless, so I got on the computer for a while, and was drawn to my genealogy research again. I get a lot of satisfaction out of working on my family tree, though it's a hobby that fades in and out, depending on other time commitments. That's one of the great things about genealogy, I can put it aside and pick it up again easily. I've been working a lot on my McLamb line of late, and the past few days, I've been putting a little more time on it. (Okay, "more" is relative here, since I've been busy getting ready for today's worship services as well.) A little while ago, I printed out a "book" of all my McLamb relatives. (I do this periodically to have all the information I have on a given line in RTF format, and to see what needs editing or correcting.) The information, with sources listed, for my McLamb line comes to over 1200 pages! And I'm not even done entering the information I have on the McLambs! This really excites me! (I'm grinning as I type!) I'm not the type of amateur genealogist who prefers quantity over quality, by any means. This is not a contest. It's just exciting to see the fruits of many years of research, and know that there's still work to be done! I love putting the pieces of the puzzle together, doing research and verifying information, meeting and communicating with relatives. Part of what inspires me is that I'd love to organize a family reunion for the McLamb line someday, and the more (and accurate) family tree information I have, the better.

George has come home since I've been typing, and I've just noticed it's heading toward 10:00! I'm still "hung over" from today's experiences, so I think it's time to turn off the computer and head for bed a little earlier than normal. (Maybe it's too late for that!)

I just love a day when I have quality time with people and quality time alone! Today was one of the best.

10 on Tuesday: 10 Great Things That Happened This Summer

Here are my answers to a new meme (the 10 on Tuesday that I do sometimes). I enjoyed coming up with this list (in no particular order, by the way); it's a really nice recap of my summer.


1) My department moved to another building, and I really like the new building and location (better than I thought I would)!
2) The Olympics--I especially enjoyed watching the swimmers (especially Torres and Phelps)and the runners (especially the men's and women's marathon finishes). I had a hard time staying awake for most of the gymnastics events, and could've done with less volleyball, but all in all, I really enjoyed watching the Olympics this summer.
3) I joined the Galloway training group and started training for a half marathon.
4) I ran/walked 15 miles one Saturday morning with the Galloway group. This is the farthest I've ever gone.
5) My parents and sister visited ERUUF one Sunday when I was the worship associate, and they got to hear me speak.
6) I finally got to visit Merchants Millpond State Park.
7) I was interviewed by two different Korean news teams doing separate documentaries on the health benefits on eating rice.
8) George and I celebrated our first year of living together and renewed our apartment lease.
9) George and I took a vacation to Winston-Salem, enjoyed being a tourist there, and visited with several friends and a cousin.
10) George and I also visited Oxford and Roxboro together on daytrips as part of my NC Odyssey Project. We do make good travel buddies; maybe we should sign up for "The Amazing Race!"


Okay, so what would make YOUR list of 10 great things that happened this summer? :-D

Speaking of Faith

I recently added a new (for me) podcast subscription to my iPod called "Speaking of Faith," and it's been a pleasant surprise! Krista Tipett, the host, talks about a variety of subjects (or so it seems, I'm only on my second episode) relating to "religion, meaning, ethics, and ideas." The first episode I listened to was about a man who found spirituality in fish and fishing. The one I'm listening to now is an interview with Rick Warren (and his wife, Kay) of Saddleback Church. My only regret (and I hate to call it that) with this podcast is that each one (so far) is 53 minutes long, and I typically don't have 53 uninterrupted minutes to listen to a podcast! It's taking me a few days to listen to each episode, partly because I listen to several podcasts in addition to SOF.

In checking the podcast's website this morning, I learned there's a book out that's spawned from the podcast. I just discovered the library I work for holds it, but it's checked out, so I've put a hold on it. :)

Listening to this podcast has reminded me, in part, why I enjoy going to Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, where different faiths and spiritual journeys are welcome.

MoonPies and Mama Dip's

As a Worship Associate at Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship this morning, I delivered a 5-minute (or so) reflection on the meaning of membership at ERUUF to me, to go along with the theme of the service. I compared membership to MoonPies! I enjoyed being part of this morning's service. It was my third time as a worship associate, and I think it was my favorite experience so far. Although I continue to be a little nervous when I do it, it's getting more natural to me, and I enjoy interacting with the congregation. I got some chuckles from the congregation over my MoonPie analogy, and some people said nice things afterwards, which was encouraging.

Part of what made this morning's service special was that my parents and sister, who were in town already, came to listen! It was fun to have them there, the first time they'd been to ERUUF.

Afterward, we went to eat lunch at Mama Dip's, a restaurant in Chapel Hill, joined by my sister's husband and two daughters. Although the service was slow, we had a good time catching up. They all spent last week together in Pine Knoll Shores, a town on the North Carolina coast. I didn't go because my department was in the throws of settling into a new building. So, it meant a lot that they came to support me this morning, and lunch at Mama Dip's was a lot of fun! (This particular picture includes my mom, sister, brother-in-law, and nieces.)

Happy Father's Day!

Today's been a happily social day! I enjoyed talking with my dad and mom most of all, but it's also been a social day in other ways.

George and I went to ERUUF this morning, and it was the first time there's just one service instead of two. This is our new summer schedule, and I went to coffee hour afterward in hopes of meeting some "new" (to me) people who normally attend the earlier service. I ended up meeting two guests, and that was a treat. Each person was interested in hearing about our covenant group program, so I enjoyed giving my two cents there.

Afterward, Amy and I met for lunch at Saladelia's, and George joined us after he finished up with coffee hour training. We ended up eating and talking for over two hours! While we were there, some Scrabble players came and set up in the back of the restaurant with some fancy twirling boards (like a Lazy Susan) and timers (at least I think that's what they were). It was fun to watch them from our table out of the corner of my eye (I was trying not to be rude to Amy and George!).

This evening we're meeting George's family for Father's Day dinner (plus Henry's birthday) at Biaggi's. I've never been there, so I'm looking forward to trying a new place.

A Busy Sunday

After church today, George and I joined members of the congregation for ERUUF-wide picnic at Eno River State Park--the section off of Roxboro Road. I'd forgotten how nice it is there, and we had a nice time. The food (potluck) was varied and yummy, and we enjoyed catching up with friends as well as meeting new (to us) people. One couple actually visited ERUUF for the first time today, saw the news about the picnic in the bulletin, and came on out. I was impressed by their willingness to jump right in and get to know the congregation outside of the normal Sunday morning routine. I also enjoyed talking with them about South Dakota, their home state. I've actually been there, and it was fun recalling memories of Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands, Custer State Park, and Wall Drug.

After George and I got home, I decided to drive to Chapel Hill to stock up on Hansen's Diet Pomegranate at Trader Joe's, and they were all out! Wahhhh! I even asked at the customer service desk, and they'd gotten a new shipment in last night--sold out! Hello! I hope they increase their order for that flavor. While I was there, I did get some diet rootbeer (again, by Hansen's) for George--that's his favorite flavor, as well as some diet gingerale (guess who) for me. I'll be back for the pomegranate!

Sick Day

I started getting a sore throat yesterday afternoon, but I tried to ignore it (hoping it was allergies or something). This morning I woke up convinced I had strep! I slept in, and got to the doctor about 8:15. They did a throat culture, which came back negative for strep, so she said it's probably a virus. (They did a second culture to send to the lab just to make sure.) I was relieved not to have to take more antibiotics! I stopped by the store on the way home and stocked up on items to relieve the symptons, and have been puttering around for the rest of the day.

Although I hate being sick, and there's much to do at work, I have enjoyed getting the extra rest, and eating soft foods (though I've stayed away from ice cream, one of my old vices!). I've also gotten some reading and genealogy done, as well as laundry.

I just hope I'm good to go for the weekend, as we have a busy one. Saturday we're scheduled to help paint a building at church with our covenant group. Saturday and Sunday night we have Passover dinner with George's family, and Sunday afternoon we have tickets to see "Spamalot" in Raleigh.

Vacation's Over

Well, it's back to work this morning. I'm curious about what's going on at work and am looking forward to gettng things done there. I've got a busy week ahead, with three nightly meetings, but it'll be fine.

Highlights of this time off have been:

*Time with George
*Time with George's family, both local and from New Zealand, Boston, and Atlanta
*Having George's brothers and cousins over to play Apples to Apples and Zombie Fluxx
*Visits to Raleigh and Clinton to do genealogy
*Running outside in the Brier Creek area with my new Garmin Forerunner , and learning how to plug the Forerunner into my computer to download my workout info
*Working on genealogy at home on Rootsweb.com
*Christmas Eve service at ERUUF

Busy Day

Today, I'll split my time between the Rice Diet Program, where they're having a reunion weekend, and ERUUF, which is having a fund-raising auction tonight. I'm excited about being asked to be on a panel this afternoon at the RD reunion. I'm going to take long the pair of jeans I was wearing my first day at the Rice Diet. I'm not sure I'll show them, don't want to come across as showing off, but I think it's pretty cool. The pants just drop to the floor now.

Meanwhile, my heart's still heavy from hearing the news yesterday about B.M.'s husband passing away Thursday night. So sad.

Well-Rounded Week

This has been a busy week, and it's only Thursday! I've had two meetings-both ERUUF-related but different. I had a paper due for my computer class at Wake Tech, which had me awake past midnigt the past two nights, but it's DONE! On Tuesday, I got to visit with LH, a former co-worker from my Wake Forest days. Her husband was having surgery at Duke Hospital, so I was able to walk over and visit with her while she waited. It was really good to visit with her!

Today I had lunch with JC, an former intern in our department last spring and summer. She's in library science school, and is interning in the Reference Dept. at Duke now, in addition to continuing her degree at UNC. It was fun talking with her about a variety of things, including school, the GRE, and apartment living.

This afternoon I made an appointment to talk with a TIAA-CREF rep next week about my retirement fund allocations. Since most of my retirement funds are with TIAA-CREF now, I need some advice, perhaps some reassurance, about how things are set up right now. My retirement has really been on my mind lately, so I was glad to see the opportunity to talk with someone, even if the rep is going to be a little biased toward his company!

I must admit, I'm feeling pretty wiped out. My exercise sessions have gotten shorter as I've gotten more tired. I feel low on energy, but am fighting the urge to succomb to caffeine. Tonight, I'll go to bed early.

What a Weekend!

Yesterday I did something really different for me! I was the Worship Associate at ERUUF! It was a great experience, helping with both worship services (at 9:15 and 11:15). My reflection about worship appeared to go over pretty well--my biggest regret is not having it better memorized. Don tied my thoughts into his sermon impressively, and Mary was in the audience smiling and nodding at encouraging times. Before and after each service, I helped Don meet and greet everyone who stopped by, and that was fun too.I must admit, though, I was tired when I got home. I took a long nap, and didn't talk much for the rest of the day. Even today, I'm not in a talkative mood, though I've pushed to be my normal self at work. Tonight I have Covenant Group, and it feels a bit challenging to know I'll need to be engaged in the discussion tonight as well. I need a little longer to coccoon!On Saturday, I went shopping to look for a new outfit to wear on Sunday. I didn't want to look like I was from the 'hood in front of all of ERUUF. :) It was a great shopping experience! I found three pairs of pants and two tops, all of which I could wear at work or to church. The pants were all size 16s, and the tops were (shock!) size 14/16! The two tops are the same style, just different colors. I wore one yesterday, and another today. (So much for saving them for special occasions, huh?!) I've gotten some nice compliments, and it's been so encouraging.After shopping for clothes for Saturday, I went to a nail place at the mall, and got a manicure at Avalon. I used to enjoy their services, but I didn't enjoy it as much on Saturday. The gal who worked with me kept trying to sell me on other services (French nails, waxing), but didn't chat with me about anything else. I brushed it all off, but will keep looking for anoher nail salon.I got my hair cut on Thursday in preparation for yesterday's deal, and went to a new place, Bella Trio Day Spa. I thoroughly enjoyed that experience! I arrived early, and was scouting out the different stylists to see who I'd pick to do my hair if I'd known ahead of time who to ask for. Well, the lady I'd "picked" was the one who I had the appointment with! I was watching her finish up on one lady, who's hair looked great! She seemed to be interacting in an engaged way, knowledgeable, friendly, and upbeat. Well, she ended up being a delight to talk to, and did a great job on my hair, with good styling advice to boot! Her name is Debbie, and I plan to return to her. :-) (They do nails, by the way, but I usually get my nails done on a whim, when I happen to have the time and cash. I love being able to decided on it and walk in to a place!)Saturday afternoon, after shopping and nails, I went to a party over at Steph's house. It was great to see her and several others from Covenant Group, ERUUF, and even Toastmasters! A fun time!

Church Involvement

Next Sunday will be my first time as a Worship Associate at Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. While I'm a little nervous, I'm mostly excited! The service will be ABOUT worship. Funny, I've been thinking I want to find time to get my hair cut as well as a manicure and pedicure, maybe even a new outfit. Of course, doing this is not about how I look, but I want to look my best, even if it is church. Having the extra "polish" will probably help with the nervousness.

What I'm Reading

Right now I'm working on Anne Lamott's Traveling Mercies. It's an autobiography of Lamott's spiritual journey, and it's been a joy to read so far. She has an interesting way of putting words together, and I'm enjoying reading about another Christian's journey that's unconventional and more liberal. I've been thinking a lot about my own spiritual journey lately, and how it's changed over the years. Being at ERUUF has hightened my awareness that I'm a bit in flux these days, and I'm trying to find my way. Sometimes I feel adventurous about my spiritual journey, and sometimes I feel out of sorts and uncomfortable. It's better than being stagnant, though.

A New Spiritual Practice

I've been thinking about ways to cultivate my spirituality as I find my way at ERUUF and in life in general, and a new spiritual practice fell into my lap about a month ago. As I've menioned before, I got an iPod for my last birthday, and I few weeks back I discovered a number of sermons from Duke Chapel on Yahoo Podcasts. I've enjoyed listening to the sermons by a variety of preachers (one of the nice things about Duke Chapel), and several of them have really spoken to me, given me some things to thing about. Today I found some sermons from the First Unitarian Society of Madison, the largest Unitarian-Universalist congregation in the US, on iTunes, so I loaded them, but haven't had time to listen to them yet.

I've found that listening to the sermons during my exercise routine can be an interesting spiritual exercise (depending on the sermon, of course!). Whether I'm on the elliptical machine or out walking, listening to the words is better than television, and the length (about 20 minutes on average) is just about right for my attention span, then I'm ready for some music or another podcast. But for those 20 minutes, I often become a little more in tune with my inner self, all while working on my outer self. It's an interesting feeling, for sure! It's a way to get fed spiritually, though, as I'm changing my physical eating habits. This is already helping me on my spiritual path

Weekend Adventures

Saturday, George and I went apartment-hunting all over Durham on Saturday. We haven't made a decision yet, still trying to hash it out. One of my projects for the week is to make a chart and fill in info about each apartment to help with the decision-making.

I'll be happier when we can do this about buying a home.

Yesterday we went to ERUUF for Easter. It wasn't quite like the Easter services I grew up with and miss, but I did join the choir for singing the "Hallelujah Chorus" as the choral postlude. That was an uplifting experience for me!

Beautiful Weekend!

It's been a beautiful weekend, weather-wise, here in Durham. The temperatures have been mild, the humidity relatively low. Ahhh! I think I'll open up my windows this evening--why has it taken me all weekend to think of that?!

George and I participated in the community walk portion of the Great Human Race 5K in Durham yesterday. It was nice to get out and walk together outside in the great weather yesterday. I was glad I decided not to run the 5K, just wasn't ready after last weekend's breakthrough (for me) run in Raleigh.

This morning at ERUUF, the new class of us Pastoral Listeners was installed. I'm looking forward to being part of that program. I've gotten to know a number of people better already through it.

After my Sunday afternoon nap, I started working on cleaning out my dresser drawers. Feels good to be making progress on clearing out and getting better organized.

Getting involved

Last night was my last training class for Pastoral Listening at ERUUF. It was a good session, and I was a little sad to see the training come to an end. On the other hand, I'm excited about this new way to be involved at church.

The Run for the Oaks 5K is coming around on Saturday. I'm excited about that, and hope my finish time is faster than my last 5K in December. Actually, I'm hoping to break 50 minutes.

Weekend Update

I had a pretty busy Saturday, which included going to the H&R Block in Cary and using the lady George goes to to do my taxes. When I did this year's federal taxes on my own, I came out owing $1200+! Yikes! When she did them, I only owed about $50 federal and about $25 for state taxes. No fancy deductions or anything were added, I just did the math wrong. That's a load off!

After that appointment, we went to visit George's parents, grandparents, and brother and sister-in-law. His mom wasn't home, but we got to see everyone else at their respective homes. It was good to see everyone. George came with me to supper at the Rice House afterward. We were pretty pooped after all that, so we stayed in Saturday night.

Saturday morning I got up early as usual and went to the cross country trail through the woods and around the Duke golf course. It felt great to be outside in the fresh air for exercise.

Yesterday was a little strange with Daylight Saving Time going into effect several weeks early. We made it to church at ERUUF okay, but the rest of the day was spent taking it easy. I watched part of the ACC basketball finals between UNC and NC State, but fell asleep for a good nap. I did a little cleaning, but otherwise just puttered around and took it easy. I didn't even make it to the gym. It was very refreshing to have some down time!

Sense of Community

I've been thinking a lot lately about community, and how I fit into different communities. It's more about just fitting in here in Durham, but in different areas of my life as well.

Some things, like my church, Eno River Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship, have been pretty easy to become a part of. There are many opportunities to get involved, and the people there are open and friendly. Other things, like my Junior League group, have been a little harder for me to break into. I have some acquaintances, but no one I talk to outside of meetings. Every meeting or event I go to, I try to meet someone new, or talk with someone I've met a little more.

I'm still a Mary Kay consultant, though I haven't done much with it lately. I love the makeup and skin care, so I plan to keep up with it so when I'm ready to become more involved with it, it will be there. I do miss going to the weekly meetings, but the adopted director's meeting I attend is a good 20 minute drive each way, in addition to the two-hour meeting on a weeknight, so that's something to consider.

I'm also the moderator for a Yahoo Group called Triangle Friends, which is a "job" I inherited about 4.5 years ago, when the previous moderator bowed out and appointed me. It become a group of one (me!) and is now 600+ members strong. The activity on the group board has dwindled, and it's been close to a year since I've had time to organize any events. Attendance had been a little spotty, but I have met some interesting people along the way through this group. I've been trying to decide how much time and energy I want to spend on it. It would be nice to get it going again, I think.

Of course, there's my work at Duke, which I enjoy, and I'm feeling more and more a part of the community there. Our department will be moving next year, and I was glad to be put on the worklife committee for that move, since I am concerned about things like community.

Weekend update

George and I had a busy weekend at church, going to the annual fundraiser auction on Saturday night (which was a lot of fun!), then going to the Sunday morning service followed by a congregational meeting. I got my lunch to go from the Rice House, and George and I ate together in between the service and the meeting. I chose puffed wheat instead of my usual rice concoction, and found it to be pretty tasty, especially mixed with the fruit. (I had manadarin orange slices and tropical fruit salad, also from the Rice House.)

Afterward, we went to check out another apartment complex. We were a little worn out from the previous week and weekend activities, so we weren't particularly impressed with this particular apartment. Part of it for me was that it hadn't been cleaned, so there was still mildew in the bathroom, stuff on the carpet, and a general dinginess in the kitchen. Perhaps we'll give it another try later on.