new home

I am switching homes... I'm now posting at:
locust-street.blogspot.com

(The same person took locuststreet and locustst and she has literally NOTHING on her blog! annoying!!)

I am getting excited about crafting again! After starting journals for refest... spending too much time on etsy and seeing a friend's paintings I'm ready to lock myself in a hobby lobby for a month and go to town.

I was talking to painting-friend tonight about how we get in the art mode and don't want to be distracted by anything... (especially the kids who only took a three hour nap... what's wrong with them.. couldn't they squeeze in a few more minutes!) But it is nice to have things in your life that you enjoy doing and can't get enough of. Life would be pretty boring if the only thing we enjoyed doing was playing with the kids...whoa that came out wrong. Draw your own conclusion. I have to get to sleep.

oh oh oh... I'm really excited about a shadow box painting-friend gave me tonight!! I was just going to do something artsy with it and then I counted the squares... twenty five!!! I could somehow try to make it into an advent calendar!!

A friend was telling me how she used to have Amish friends.

"Do you talk to them much anymore?"

"No...they're pretty hard to get a hold of."

































....maybe you had to be there....

great summer

Enter Uncle Stanley-- black and white little farm kitten.
Grand Ole Days-- great parade. walked basically the entire grand ave. good lair time.
Worship Night-- went well. praying for it to continue.
Z's first real swim lessons-- a week of screams. a week of fun.
First trip to ER with Z-- two staples from a fall in the library. dangerous place.
4th of July-- super fun. family times. regular events.
Twins game (free and we won!) and more Lair time
Road trip to Colorado Worship Gathering-- Continuing to see God a little clearer through the scales.
Starting to plan Momtime. Using the gifts God's giving me along side wonderful women who bare necessary gifts I certainly don't have.
Grandma's 92nd birthday. At one point she cried out that she didn't know who she was... but she hangs on.
Camping for the first time with the kids. leaky tent. s'mores.
Church membership class. Good discussions. Better understanding of our church's inner-workings.
Brainerd trip-- beautiful lake. private little cabin. ben still dreaming about the fishing there. sad to see old camp turned into high priced real estate "up north cabin community"
Great bible study with women who are completely real with one another. Love laying hands on them and praying. My desire for a small group with that openness. Praying that God will bring the right people and allow me to share in it.
Fair-- weirdos. greasy food. kates excitement for the animals...giggle evoking.
Steele county fair next week? Maybe Lanesboro? zoo next weekend? zachariah's first school conference the following week. And momtime kickoff the same day. z's first day of school. cbs starts. momtime starts. making journals for refest. Plan halloween costumes. Both baby's birthdays. Sara Groves concert?? Christmas. Lovely, busy, christmas. and the calendar is just going to fill and fill and fill.

I am excited and blessed.

This morning I was making breakfast in the kitchen and Zachariah kept asking me something from the dining room.. I couldn't hear him.. but got a little annoyed.. "WHAT Zachariah!?!" I asked for the third time... going into the dining room to hear him...

"How was your meeting?" He asked shyly.

Who is this 43 year old man in a three year old's body?

My meeting last night went well. I'm a little anxious to see what will come out of this little worship night we've been working on. There's only a few of us doing it.. so I am going to play a hand drum. Hopefully won't screw that up too much.

And Colorado is on for sure.. I think.

In other news. We got a new kitten and it is nothing short of a miracle that he's not dead yet. The kids are pretty rough with him... and yet he never really runs away from them.

My exchange student leaves tomorrow which ends my stint as a coordinator. And today I saw a lady I was supposed to call a few weeks ago now.. so that's off my mind. Lightening the load of "stuff." My capacity for "stuff" right now is minimal.

Sat down to watch a few minutes of Martha while I ate my blicky pad thai that took way longer than a lunch for one should take to make. I never get to watch anymore.. but of course she was doing something uninteresting... giving a tutorial of garden tools. Where's the fun guests making the cakes? She was talking about how she always finds her dirt rakes laying around her garden with the pointy side pointing to the sky and how that makes her "so pissed." I would hate to work for Martha.

Today I finally felt a little more on top of life than I have been the last few weeks. So of course it should be no surprise that I get a phone call tonight asking if I would be interested in doing something that I have no interest in. Or had no interest in. Now I have a week to pray about it. So I have to find out if this is one of those instances where God is going to change my heart (like he did with China) or if this is a lesson in saying "no".

Highlights from my anniversary night away.

Wearing new clothes! When's the last time I had a completely new outfit?? Don't remember. Feel guilty about money spent on it.

Leaving an hour and a half after planned. Is it really that hard to pack the family for ONE night away??

Driving up to the cities without getting in a fight!YEA!

Driving around in circles looking for a good parking ramp. In fear of how much we'd end up having to pay for it.

Hotel is a block away from everything we wanted to do. We're able to walk everywhere nice.

Going to a movie... when's the last time we did that? Saw Adventureland. Didn't know anything about it. Very distracted by bad actress Kirsten Stewart.

The girl at the concession stand who took ten minutes to put the lid on our pop. Couldn't hold in a giggle. Gave me an idea for a screenplay.

Realize that my feet have probably grown since pregnancy... cute shoes are ripping my feet apart. Downtrotten from wasted money on new shoes and the realization that I now truely have amazon woman feet and will have to buy shoes online from now on.

Ate at Glueks. A tribute to the first time I was there in August for the GLS concert.

Listened to a Canadian hit on the waitress. Listen to how she was depressed about being a felon... driving drunk it sounded like.

Went back to the hotel because I couldn't walk anymore due to aforementioned shoes.

Pefect timing.. caught "steve-o demise and rise" on tv which I had wanted to see. Totally bewildered at how someone would want to live that lifestyle. Watched some SNL. Exahusted from the cold I have. Went to sleep.

Woke up too early from cold. Read Minneapolis travel magazines for an hour. Learned best places to eat million dollar steaks. Went back to sleep.

Woke up and realized I had to get up or we'd be late. Mind half out of it from cold.

Had the BEST shower of my life. Understood why the Westin advertises their showers. Put it on my "if I were rich" list of things I'd waste my billions on.

Had an akward breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Felt out of place and didn't really know what was going on. Had small fight about homework.

Went to church with tracy and bryan. Surprised to find it was in a church building I'd been to in college. church had died and they had given it to Hope Community. Refreshing to hear of churches doing that.

Sermon on 1 Corinthians. About the body of christ being God's temple. Very fitting because Nikky had mentioned that as a possible name for our worship night last week but we wanted to get a better understanding of the word. Funny how God does that.

Got car from parking ramp by hotel. Only $5! awesome!

Ate at Buca's. Emma "ruined" mother's day and our anniversary by screaming most of the time. Next time we are going to get the ravioli and something else.. NOT the stuffed shells.

Told the server it was Ben's birthday that week. He had the whole restaurant sing "happy birthday". Loved watching the faces of the strangers at other tables singing. They were so genuinely joyful to sing to a stranger. It was another "movie" moment. It made me love humanity a little more.

We were hoping for the chocolate cake... but got the old frozen tasteless "christmas" birthday cake.

Went to Whole Foods and got some new "natural" products that don't contain nasties. Feeling like I'm turning a little more "granola".

Walked around Grand looking for the perfect mother's day gift. In vain. Very stressful.

Drove home. No fighting. But not understanding how someone could not like the current.

Back to reality.

a day in the life.

I finally figured out why it was EXCRUSIATINGLY hard to get ANYTHING done this week!...it's the weather! Cloudy and chilly. I'm starting to wonder if I'm a true daughter of Minnesota. Perhaps California put me up for adoption.

After a stressful day of grocery shopping with two toddlers and panicing to get a heavily anticipated by the husband trout supper cooked only to not have to done on time which caused a wonderful fight... the kids wouldn't eat their steamed brocoli and baked potatoes. So we ended up eating bowls of Cap'n Crunch. (Which I haven't had in YEARS.. this is not a usually affair. Don't call social services.) The trout is packed away for reheating at a later hour. And now I have a disaster of a kitchen. Kids that won't stop whining...okay.. they just stopped whining.. they are so hopped up on sugar that they are terrorizing the upstairs...is that water running I hear?... And the cat snuck out of the house and is playing with the wild neighborhood rabbits. There's a dirty diaper to change. And I can't even run away because I don't have a car.

Atleast the sun is shining as it sets.

Now they're back to whining.

I kept forgetting that I had to make a cheesecake tonight. So it didn't get started until... after nine pm. crust is in the oven and I remember... NO SUGAR!! Rush out to my local Kwik Trip. Find the four pound bag on the bottom shelf amoung the other "shoot we're out of..." items. I reach for the bag and notice... "$4.88" WHAT!?! Do I take the extra time and energy to head over to my local grocer? The crust is almost done. I contemplate it.. do the math... I have to.. this isn't a small village in the middle of a third world country... I can NOT pay five dollars for a bag of off brand sugar. Ten minutes later I am the newest owner of a $1.88 bag of sugar. That's more like it.

Fear not... for I am with you.

Last night I put Zachariah to bed... for a second time. He claimed that he had a bad dream about a monster. I knew that he hadn't even fallen asleep yet.. he had been playing. But I suspect that he didn't try to sleep because of an early "scary monster" dream.

So I told him that mommy couldn't take the monster dreams away... only Jesus
could..and that we needed to pray.

So I did.

The first thing he says when he wakes up this morning...


"I didn't have a monster dream! Jesus took the monster away!! I won't be afraid in my room anymore!"

Then we talked about how faithful and good Jesus is.

“Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

I have a meeting with a few ladies from my church this afternoon about some things we'd like to start at our church. I'm so excited.. I know they are too. I pray the Lord will work in awesome ways.

And on a non-God note. I am thinking about changing Kate's name to "olive"... I can't help that she looks like an "olive".

Do you know what I just made? No I'm not going all flowers in the attic. I made enough laundry detergent for 64 loads of laundry for like... a dollar... if that. I'm jazzed.

And a few weeks ago... a sea of homemade fruit leather.

With all the money I'm saving the family we're going to buy a new van... or ice cream...

The Lord's Will will come to pass. We can be willing to listen to his Spirit and let Him use us. Or we can be silent and pass up the opportunities he gives us. He will just give them to somebody else. Because His Will will come to pass.

I realized this morning that the Lord had put a few different people in my life the last few years. NonChristians. The Spirit had prompted me to share Him with them. Of course there were always excuses. I would put most of them on that person-- "if they wanted to go to church they would be going already" "they're not interested in God.. they just want to party" etc etc. This morning the Lord showed me some of those people... giving their testimonies of the Lord.

The Lord had work to do... and was more than willing to use me. And I let it pass.

I repent.

easter egg hunt. check. -- waited longer than the whole thing took. parents of three and four year olds do NOT need to be beside their children during an egg hunt.

color eggs. check. -- redied all of impatient three year old's eggs. Eggs dipped in die for 15 seconds are not very pretty. Waiting for the surprise egg to be discovered.

make cheesecake. check. --forgot to take out cream cheese to soften so hopefully is blended well enough.

decorate easter cookies. check. -- what? you've never written "new covenant" on a butterfly cookie before? strange.

put easter baskets together.

celebrating the Risen Savior is hard work!

Zachariah's big thing is playing pretend... he calls it "play puppet show". He gave me a Ronald McDonald toy to talk and he was the snake. He always starts out with the question...
"What's your name?"
I replied,"Ronald McDonald... what's your name?"
"...Barack Obama."

I don't know if it's funny just because that name was the first he came up with or that he was insightful enough to name the snake that.

Yesterday I put Kate in a dress because my mom was having a "come over and spend lots of money so that I can get lots of free stuff" party at my house. Zachariah asked why Kate was wearing a dress... he is getting really good at patterns the day before I was wearing earring uncharacteristically on a friday and he asked why I was wearing my "church earrings"... I told him it was because Kate was "going to be the princess of the jewelry party", to which he replied "AHHHG... I am NOT going to be king!!"

He didn't have to be king. He had a morning with just daddy doing things little boys and daddies do... mcdonald's pancakes and building bird houses. The world can count it's blessings that he wasn't born into royalty.

How nice to be at the point of absolute trust in God's Sovereignty.

I have a friend who...isn't in a relationship with the Lord.. is that the best way to put it...? She was telling me about her life and things that need to come together for her. I keep catching myself from telling her that at least she can trust in the Lord...because she can't. It is such a blessing to have concrete promises from a loving God when we're following Christ. The world doesn't have those. I really don't know how they make it through day to day. Hoping that by chance things work out.

I'll pray for a chance to let her know of the hope I have (again) when I see her.

I'm still listening for whispers in between yells

I think I was created for ministry. For missions work.
Some say "every Christian is a missionary". No. They're not.
You talking to your neighbor about Christ is your duty
as a Christian. It's sharing your faith. It's not "missions work".
Atleast not according to...me.
I do okay with a "real life" and then I start getting itchy.
I start searching the internet for opportunities. My mind starts
racing. I request information. I dream. I fret. I wonder.

Such is the case again today. Found some opportunities which may
or may not be way over my head at a place I "worked" for before.
Or atleast a potential one for Ben so that my kids can be raised.
But it requires...gulp...Raising complete support.
That is the scary part. I know God is the one who provides. But
it's still scary scary.

I just feel like I have more ahead. Does that mean I have to have everything
TODAY.. no.. but it's exciting. If Joseph would have gotten what he would have
wanted the Cupbearer would have remembered him right away and Pharaoh would have
let him free to go home. And that would have been that. He would have gone home to a dysfunctional family and died in the famine. Instead the Cupbearer "forgot" and Joseph stayed in jail for two years... perhaps thinking he would be there forever.. and instead is taken out and made the number two of all Egypt. I am more than ready to wait for God's plan instead of mine. And be mastering what he has already given me. But I start to itch. I start to dream. I start to wonder.

The Great Lake Swimmers new album dropped yesterday. I downloaded it for $3.75!
That's about the best thing EVER! And by "ever" I mean.. the best thing in the last 48 hours.. not counting Christ and my family and my cat...

There's a song on there that matches my mood today... see above. I don't know if all of the lyrics are right.. but close enough.

STILL

I’m still tuning myself to the great key
I’m still
I’m still
I’m still mining for life in the dark wells
I’m still
I’m still
I’m still a frequency swaying
Thief in the wind
I’m still
I’m still
I’m still searching for whispers in between yells
I’m still
I’m still
I’m still swimming in harmony
I’m still dreaming of flight
I’m still lost in the waves night after night
I’m still an arrow unshot fixed in a hold
I’m still
I’m still
I’m still a fire unlit ready to go
I’m still
I’m still
I’m still loaded and waiting
With anticipation to fly
I’m still studying the patterns in the night sky
I’m still a note that’s unlaid
Ink on a page
I’m still
I’m still
I’m still a cry in the night
intimate high
I’m still
I’m still
I’m still tuned to an instrument with greater
unknown design
I’m still looking for direction some kind of sign
I’m still tuning myself to the great key
I’m still
I’m still

the joy of three.

Zachariah tends to be shy around strangers. He barely looked the dentist in the eye last week.. let alone make any sort of vocal response to his usual "trying to get a kid to talk to me so I'm going to talk about kids things" banter. Yesterday we were in the library. "I want some books" he told me as he stomped towards the adult section. We made our way around the library and I took a brief stop at the video section. "I want some books" he reminded me again and stomped off somewhere. He disappeared for a moment while I was pacifying the little one and I find him at the desk of the children's librarian. He was already in mid-conversation. "I need some books.... Some BIG BOY books!!" If mom wasn't going to get the job done then he was going to find someone who could!

We our having our first, for the most part, successful week of potty training. Only a few "number one" accidents... not ONE "number two". Less than an hour later from getting home from the library he was playing outside and I was making lunch. I go to check on him and he lets me know that he "pooped in the yard." I make him show me where... yup... there it was.. just like a dog. He had pulled his pants down in the middle of the yard and took a poop. Atleast I didn't have any nasty pants to clean up. We did have a little talk though on how that's what dogs do.. not little boys.

Trials turning to perseverance turning to maturity. priceless.

I just found out that James Macdonald has cancer. How heartbreaking. What a chance for him to show the world that what he preaches is real. I went to his site and found his blog that I had never seen before. He had one entry that matched up with one of my previous entries on worship... he must be an avid "villa villekulla" reader. I would love to send his message to the worship leader at my church. (Can I add that last Sunday she read out of the message... I almost fell on the floor and started convulsing.) Should I talk to the pastor about my feelings on the worship at our church? Is that my place?



How many times have I just stood there staring at the screen while the whole congregation was supposed to sing things that every one of them could not possibly mean...promises and declarations that realistically maybe happen once or twice in your whole life. Sometimes I'd sing along to not be a distraction. But how refreshing to not have to wade through these songs!

Found another great one on worship.



There's also a great video entry on him in the Price Is Right audience.

i am unlimited

with more fingers on one hand than hours of sleep last night... i tried to take a nap with the kids. but after three minutes i snuck down the creaky stairs and planted myself in front of the computer to be mindless and unproductive for an hour two hours.

I am listening to Great Lake Swimmers "everything is moving so fast" on repeat. A treat to listen to it for the first time today. Maybe there will be money next month when it comes out.

Current life is a bumpy road. The Holy Spirit and a few good friends are filling me with wisdom.

I receive a wash of peace knowing that He knows me.. understands me.. intercedes for me.. comforts me.. transforms my mind.. draws me.. if I didn't have anything else I would have everything. I feel like I am in the middle of a time of molding. I wait on Him.

I wake up at an ungodly hour three times a week to work out. Today in "bootcamp" class we rode the bikes for awhile. After two minutes thirty seconds I knew I would never try the "cycling" class. Some around me were going "being chased by freddie kruger" pace. I preferred the "Sunday ride around the park" pace... "I bet they'll just think I have the tension way up" was what I rationalized to my pride. Then I realized that you're supposed to stand while you pedal. oooohhhh. Okay we'll try that. It was fun for two minutes thirty seconds. Up until my legs almost gave way I felt like I was back in fifth grade riding to a friends house "we're going to have so much fun!" I made the mistake of vocalizing this thought to my cycling peers who have now all secretly named me "the chubby weird girl in my bootcamp class." I need to keep my sleep deprived, humorous to only me, thoughts to myself for self preservation sake.

never know what could be.

I have come down with the creative bug again. The itch in my veins to do something artistic. Just 14 seconds dinking around etsy will do that to me. I would like to discipline myself to sit down and think of something cool to do.. and then do it. The second half of that charge always seems to find itself problematic. There doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day.. although I did find enough time to watch some stupid movie on network television tonight. I need to organize my basement first. Basement=place of creative hijinks. And then go crazy.

I am considering offering myself up to lead an ATC class through community education. Even cooler to have a "community art building" where art classes and clinics and work space could be had. But that is a pipe dream. But a com ed class... that may be doable. I'm just always a pint short on follow through.

those ladies and their carts.

I am a sucker for those old ladies who give out the samples. I'm usually not an impulsive buyer. I come in with my list, organized by isle, and pretty much stick to it. But if one of those white-haired cart wheeling ladies lures me in with a promise of a tasty nibble and then starts going on and on and on and on about how delicious the fish is... how utterly tasty the bread is...how they've never had a produce quite as sweet. and then proceeds to give me the 74 year backstory on the product. How easy it is to prepare. Where it's located on the shelf. How great the price is. How they just love it. How it's the healthiest food known to man... I pretty much end up buying it. Not even because I really want a pound of talapia... but because I want to make them feel like they are doing a good job.... almost like charity.

(Similar to the homely little neighbor girl who came to my door last fall and sold me an $86 serving of soup for a school drive... a soup that I never did end up receiving by-the-way. Or the little kids and their lemonade stand. Malls need to replace all those slick young men behind the kiosks trying to pawn off expensive lotions with little old ladies. "Would you like to try my $93 an ounce hand cream? My husband just died. I eat all by myself every night. You would like a squirt! great!" Who would have the heart to not make eye contact with them and slide over against the wall as you walked past?)

Back to the grocery store. How can I say "no" and just walk away after she's talked to me so long? What if that's what she's gotten all day... people using her for a snack and walking away. To bare the guilt of rejecting someone. Hmmm.. I think I just stumbled upon a much larger issue. {Mentally assessing}... yes. A reacuring theme in much of my life. Something I may need to work out later.

Enough physcho-analysis for one day... I need to find a good talapia recipe.

come along on the playschool bus.. come along with us..

It's that time in my life... time to think about preschool. A friend gave me a "cheat sheet" of most of the pertinent information... time, days, price, fees. And while I think Zachariah would love it. The thought of taking him someplace to only get back in the car about an hour later to pick him up again.. twice a week for a year... one year old in toe... Does NOT sound fun. He has his CBS class which he loves. That is almost 2 hours. They sing, do crafts, have a Bible story, play and of course there's social interaction. And he plays with his friends for almost two hours on Friday mornings. And he has Sunday School for and hour and a half. So why do I want him in preschool.
Social interaction. check- he's already getting.
To be in a situation where he learns how to learn with other children. check--I think he's already getting that in CBS and sunday school.
Learning things he will need for school. I can teach him those things.

I'm leaning on holding off and reassessing the situation next year. Since there are two complete school years left before he's of age for kindergarten. If I knew he wouldn't just love it there wouldn't still be this battle in me. Having to fork over a bunch of money a month may be the final tip of the scale.

things I love about grocery shopping.

one. My local grocer plays thee best music.

two. I get to feel very classy getting meat from the meat counter. Nothing says "I'm important" like a little white paper wrapped meat package. Or rather "they're having a great sale" if you happen to see it in my cart.

three. The cozy feeling when putting away my groceries.. that we will not starve this week.. but instead eat lots of tasty things.

Just workin' through this mom thing as I go.

I always intended on just letting Z potty train on his own. I think that's the best method.

But yesterday I thought... "okay. you are a smart boy. ALL of your friends are in their superhero undies. lets just give this a whirl and see what happens."

So I started the morning having him put on his new little undies that have been folded up in his drawer for months. At first he threw a tantrum. I calmed him down. Told him he was a big boy. I listed all of his friends that are now in undies. "Isaac using the potty. Lauren uses the potty. Zeke uses the potty. Damien uses the potty. Rory uses the potty..." And gave him a pep talk. Told him how proud I was of him. And he changed.. just like that.. he got excited.. and listed all of his friends and how they use the potty.

I asked him constantly if he had to use the potty (something I really didn't want to do.. see my initial goal above) but he always said "no". The only time he wanted to was before nap of course.. so that he could stall. He went through SEVEN pairs of pants. He never once initiated going. Advocates of this method said that that's normal... that after a few days they get it. So I'm going to try for a few more days and hope he catches on like everyone claims. I would LOVE to not have to buy diapers for two.

We'll see...

habitually a non-finisher

Okay. I don't seem to finish anything. Not a good quality. But that's the fact of the matter thus far in life.

Two weekends ago I sewed up this little girl.



I had true intentions of clothing her the next day.. and then I got sick. And she has been sitting there... on my sewing machine.. naked... (not counting her striped stockings).. for two weeks. And I've lost the gumption to finish. I wouldn't be surprised to come down some morning and find that she has grown tired of waiting for me to take her out of immodesty and sewn herself a dress.

the wonderful Word.

This year in Community Bible Study we are going through Genesis. This week is all about chapter 24. What a wonderful chapter.

It's all about Abraham's most trusted servant being sent back to Abraham's home town to find Isaac a wife. His servant is such a great guy... totally devoted to Abraham and totally trusting in the Lord and worshiping Him at every chance he can get.

And God hearing the servants prayer and leading him.

And Rebekah being such a servant and offering to water this strangers camels and "running" to do it.. not doing it begrudgingly or wishing that he would have asked someone else. I'm sure I wouldn't have acted as humble.

And then finding out that God had chosen YOU to be this mighty, rich guy's wife.. out of no where! It's like some reality show time a trillion! You were just doing the daily water run like you've done so many times before and blam!.. life changed. I'm sure it was hard leaving home for the unknown. I can only imagine all of the feelings and thoughts running through her mind on the 500 mile journey to see him... "what if I would have told this guy no?" "I wonder what my husband is like!" "will he like me?" "how is my life going to be different" "I can't believe God chose me!" "Why me?" "This is so exciting.. so scary!!" "I miss mom!"

What a great story.

dontcha know

My significant other and I took in a movie the other night. One of the previews I saw was for a movie staring the squinty-eyed renee zellweger as a business woman sent to New Ulm, Minnesota and her follies as she leaves sensibility and embarks on the frozen tundra of uncoolness. How is she going to last?? Everyone has deep Scandinavian accents, wears Nordic sweaters and plaid and eats a steady diet of casseroles. The houses are dimly lite, the snow banks are taller than a full grown man and she falls for harry connic jr who is of course in full beard.. okay they got that part right. She shows up at a factory in high heels and all the factory works give each other quizzical looks... really hollywood??.. we're so out of the loop that we question high heels? I have done enough traveling to know that every mall in the united states... honolulu.. la.. rochester minnesota.. looks the same.. old navy, the limited etc etc etc. Americas Test kitchen, based out of Maine, has a whole cookbook of casseroles... so it's not just us! And besides.. I wouldn't even know where to find a nordic-type sweater if I wanted one... okay... menards maybe??

Juno took place in the EXACT same area... atleast I didn't feel like a backward moron after watching that movie.

The significant other thought it looked funny though. So maybe I'm being a little dramatic... gotta run the hotdish is burning.