The Harnation

Love Love Love this movie!





The bell rang!

I got these in an email from Matt's uncle. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. :)

... goes a long way!


I don't usually post photos of our food (at least not the food I cook), but I was so pumped about our dinner that I had to share.

We went to the Asian food store this weekend and loaded up on some goodies - including tempura batter. One of my favorite Japanese meals is tempura. Anyway, we tried it out tonight and ended up with a feast of golden fried goodness. Add a little miso soup and some sushi and voila! A (mostly) home-cooked Japanese meal.

We tried to keep it simple with one each of our favorite tempura veggies (zuchinni, sweet potato, green pepper, and broccoli) plus some shrimp, but it turned out to be a lot more than we anticipated. Next time, we'll know to invite friends.

I've been thinking a lot lately about what kinds of jobs I'd like to have if I could do whatever I wanted (this includes being gifted with the talents necessary to do these jobs). This isn't to say that I don't love my work - I really do - it's just that I think there are a lot of things I would love to do (at least in my mind, anyway).

Here are some of them, in no particular order:

1. Political Writer/Analyst/Columnist. Michelle Malkin is my new hero. I love reading her stuff and I just love her logical method of presenting what is going on in the political spectrum to her readers. I have grown more and more interested in politics over the past several years and I think it would be a lot of fun to spend my time researching current votes and bills and giving my opinion about them - just without all of the hate mail.

2. High school math teacher. I don't know why, but I've always been able to imagine myself as a high school math teacher. I think I'd especially enjoy teaching algebra and geometry. Maybe it's because I had really good teachers for those classes, but I have also thought that it would be really rewarding to be able to become a good math teacher and find a way to make the basics understandable to students. I even delayed getting an EE master's for a while because I debated getting a Math masters instead so that I could teach later on if I wanted to.

3. Architect. All of those personality/career-path tests have always said that I should be an engineer or an architect. As a kid, I loved making my own dream home floor plans. I also played with Legos a LOT. I know a lot of people who played with Legos, but not so many who spent countless hours designing house layouts.

4. U.S. Senator or Congressman. I think we have a couple of pretty good senators for our state, but boy are there a lot of crooks out there - both Republican and Democrats alike (Stevens, Rangel, Murtha, Jefferson - I'm looking at you!). I just cannot understand how these stooges keep getting re-elected. I guess felony convictions, tax evasion, slander, and getting caught with bribe money in your freezer qualify you for public office. I think I'd enjoy debating new bills and making decisions as honestly and fairly as possible, and hopefully with at least a small dose of common sense.

5. Tent maker. I don't really mean a "tent maker", just that I wish I had a profession that could be used anywhere in the world. I admire a lot of missionaries who not only move across the globe to evangelize, but to serve. There are many places where the people are not only spiritually in need, but physically in need too. Sometimes I wish that I were able to use my profession in any part of the world to be a self-supported missionary and serve these people. I guess I've kind of come to terms with the fact that I feel called to "send" rather than to "go" (at least for now).

6. "In Charge". This is probably the one that I say the most often. Whenever I see Congress making stupid decisions or when I'm driving behind an idiot driver, I always think, "Man, if only I were in charge!" I wouldn't necessarily want everyone to know I was in charge, just to have the ability to make things happen the way I wanted anonymously. When that jerk cuts me off or pokes around in the fast lane, I'd make them become a conscientious driver. Whenever an asinine proposal was made to Congress, I would squash it like a bug. When my neighbors broke out the tacky Christmas lawn ornaments, they'd immediately be given some good taste. Cue my evil laugh: Muwahahaha!

I you had several lifetimes worth of careers to choose from, what would you choose?

What would you do with an abandoned Air Force base, a 530 horsepower all wheel drive Subaru, 4 sets of tires and some free time? Here's an idea...



It's the automotive equivalent of ballet, but the car control is amazing.

Also, Becca has given me a hard time since all of my posts are somehow car related, but this is one that she requested I post.

Michelle Malkin's column this week talks about the rage from the anti-Prop. 8 group. (Thomas Sowell also has a really good read on the subject here).

Proposition 8 was the amendment to the California Constitution that defined marriage as between one man and one woman. To my understanding, it does not affect the legal rights of gay couples in "domestic unions" that married couples have (hospital visitation, property ownership, etc.). The measure passed overwhelmingly by 52 to 48% (the same as Obama's margin).

The measure was pushed after 1. a law defining traditional marriage was overturned by the California Supreme Court after being passed by the people of the state a few years ago 2. it became clear that those who held traditional marriage views (one man, one woman) were no longer "free" to hold these views (children being taken on field trips to see their teacher marry another woman, gay marriage being taught in the classroom, discrimination against those who held to traditional marriage, etc.).

The measure was passed with the help of minorities who voted for Obama, so this is not a straight-party issue. However, the gay rights groups are not targeting the racial minorities for their vote to protect traditional marriage. Instead, they're going after the small percentage of Christians and Mormans with violence and rage.

What aggravates me is that the people who shout the loudest about tolerance are the ones threatening and carrying out violence against those who don't share their views. There is no inequality in the legal rights of gay couples in California because domestic partnerships are legal there and offer the same protections, so why are they railing against those with personal and religious convictions? They are boycotting businesses where members of the business (not the business itself) donated to the Pro-Prop. 8 campaign (for as little as $100) and publicly posting the names of all donors so that they can run them out of business.

Now, the groups are devising a way to overturn the measure. What ever happened to the will of the people? Republicans aren't rioting in the streets, defacing Senator Obama's Chicago Church, boycotting and punching his supporters, or devising schemes to legally block him from taking office! If they were, they'd all be prosecuted with hate crimes, so why are these clowns allowed to get away with this behavior?!

Where is the ACLU and the other organizations now, defending Prop. 8 supporters' rights?? Why are elected officials who "support traditional marriage" (Governator, I'm looking at you) encouraging these hooligans to continue with their shenanigans even after the majority of their constituents have voted against gay marriage?

I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. I also believe that when you change that definition, you enter a slippery slope and it will not be long before 1. marriage can include multiple sets of wives or even animals (look at some Muslim countries that allow you to marry animals... yuck!!) 2. people who believe in traditional marriage will be legally and culturally prosecuted and equated with racists and bigots.

Matt and I spent the weekend in Auburn. We scored some tickets and were able to catch up with old friends. It was so much fun - I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. We really enjoyed ourselves, but it was strange seeing how much Auburn has changed since we were there last year for the Iron Bowl. There are lots of new buildings going up and the campus has changed a lot.

I realized that I'm in a completely different phase of life now than I was while a student. I opted for long underwear plus a couple other layers instead of a skirt and heels.


One thing that will never change - Samford Hall (view from the back side).

I had so much fun in college. I laughed and learned a lot. Next to our four years of marriage, it was the best four years that I can remember. I loved Auburn, and I wouldn't change a thing!

When you open your Toyota Trails magazine, you'll see Michael's new ad for ACC, his Toyota restoration. maintenance, and modification shop. (Click to zoom in).

I went to talk with an adviser today and am now signed up for my first graduate-level course. (Hooray for me). I feel like pulling an Amanda and telling everyone that they are now free to worship and adore me. ;)

I'm particularly excited about it because I've been talking about getting a master's degree for almost 5 years now. The timing has really worked out. Matt's been finished (at least for now) with school for a year and a half, we have the money to pay for my tuition upfront, and I'm at a company that encourages and will work with me to pursue higher education - they offer flex time so that I can make up hours missed due to class and will reimburse my tuition and fees. Since I'm just going part-time, it'll take me a few years to finish, but I'm really looking forward to it.

I'm also excited because I feel like I've finally picked a "specialization" that I can enjoy: radar theory. I know I'm a giant geek, but I've really liked the work that I've done for the past couple of years and know that this area has a lot of potential for me. On top of that, my paternal grandfather was one of the first "radar guys" on the arsenal, and even though I never got to know him very well (he died when I was 4), I feel like he'd be proud to have a granddaughter interested in the same kind of technical work as him.

So, if you want to talk white noise and range-doppler coupling, feel free to strike up a conversation. I may not understand what you're talking about, but I'll at least nod and pretend I do.

This lady in Brazil was killed when the hearse she was riding in was hit from behind and her husband's coffin struck her head. Yikes!! I guess that this scenario cut down on a lot of grieving for the 67-year-old widow - but man, what a way to die!

I don't really think about death all of the time, but I do remember one time when I was probably 10-12 years old and my dad had picked us up from school. I started thinking about what I would do if my parents died and left us orphaned. By the time we got home, I had figured out who would sleep where at my Aunt and Uncle's house, where I'd get the money for college, and had tears streaming down my face. My father probably thought I was in some strange hormone-induced, emotionally-unstable pre-teen mood. No, just me and my worrying-got-the-best-of-me runaway imagination.

Last year, I think I really freaked Matt out on our way to San Francisco to visit his dad. We were sitting on the plane, waiting for it to take off when I leaned over and told him, "You know, I could die right now and be happy. It'd be okay with me." - all with a smile. His response was, "WHAT?! Where did that come from?!" I know I sounded crazy, but it was the truth. I'd hate to go out knowing I'd left him alone, and I'd hate to be left here without him even more - but the thought of leaving this world together in a fiery ball of 757 seemed strangely comforting at the time.

I used to always think, "Oh God, please don't take me, at least not until I get to...", especially whenever Mr. A did his "Lord, come quickly" prayer during the morning service. I have gotten over that and am a little more at peace with death. Not that I'm saying that I don't have a lot of things that I want to accomplish in my lifetime, but I know where I'm headed and it's an awfully wonderful place. If I had my way, I'd arrive at those pearly gates peacefully in my sleep (simultaneously with my husband) after a long, blissful life together filled with children, travel, laughter, and love.

By the way, did you know that Costco sells coffins (photo above)?! Weird.

Just like when the government controls anything, the bureaucratic garbage can ruin a perfectly well-intentioned program. I know health care in this country is often unaffordable to working families, but I'd hate to trade in my free choice of program(s) for something like Australia's state-run health care program.

Take this example: a specialist doctor in Horsham, Australia, is being denied permanent residency because he has a son with Down syndrome. "The Immigration Department this week rejected Dr Moeller's application for permanent residency, saying the potential cost to the taxpayer of 13-year-old Lukas's condition was too great."

" 'It is sad that in this modern day we are still viewing people with a disability, such as Dr Moeller's son, as a burden,' Senator Bernardi said. 'They can and do make significant contributions to our society.' ... Horsham business community wants the Moellers to stay. Business Horsham's Andrea Cross said: 'We are desperate for doctors in the country ... The decision to reject residency is crazy.' "

When you start treating people like statistics and financial burdens, you create a whole world of other problems. When families with special needs children are discriminated against like this, people are discouraged from carrying to term babies that are diagnosed prior to birth. These actions say that life is only valuable if it's a healthy, "burden-free" life, which is disgusting. All life is valuable, not just those deemed "worthy".

Stories like this are not only sad, but infuriating.

During Sunday School, this verse stuck out to me. It pretty much sums up a lot of my political beliefs in addition to the scriptural application.

"If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat."
~ II Thessalonians 3:10b

Throughout the Bible, God provided for his people over and over again - but his provisions were never hand outs; the Israelites always had to work. When God provided manna, they had to collect it (and collect enough on the 6th day to last through the end of the week). When the farmers harvested their grain, they left parts of their fields for the poor so that they could harvest some themselves. These provisions required that the people put out some effort in order to receive them.

There is a major difference between helping the working poor and enabling the lazy. Just as Paul told the Thessalonians - if someone isn't willing to work, he should not be able to partake in the spoil. I believe that when you give things away for nothing ("trickle-down"/"redistribution of wealth"), it encourages laziness instead of hard work.

I read this article about the Yamaha Rhino which is now being blamed for 30 deaths. The goofy-looking ATV is facing over 200 lawsuits, mostly alleging an unsafe design.

My gentleman-farmer father and knitting-fiend mother both have Polaris ATVs. They're used as "farm tools" (they really do have legitimate farm uses) and we have taken my dad's down to the Shipman Family Reunion at the farm every Thanksgiving for the past several years. They're really handy for navigating the "mud pond" and are also useful for fast fleeing in case the crazy estranged relatives decide to try to kill us.

As kids, we didn't have any four-wheelers. I always wanted one, or a go-cart. One day we were playing in the yard and my dad told us to get in the car so we could go by a coworker's house. We complained and moaned about it. We were such brats! Once we got there, we quickly realized that we were at this guy's house in order to pick up an old golf cart that my dad had bought for us. Thankfully, he didn't change his mind and decide not to buy it after all of our whining and we came home with our very own electric play cart.

That cart was so much fun! It was electric, so you couldn't drive it all day long, or else we would've never come inside. Our 2-acre yard wasn't nearly big enough for its potential, but we still had a lot of fun. I ran into a lot of stuff with it. I put a decent dent in one of the garage doors, pinged a fence post, and probably hit several other things all over the yard. It was probably a good learning experience before I got a real license.

One day, Amanda and I got tired of Amy hogging it and concocted the stupidest plan ever to stop her - we're lucky we didn't kill our baby sister when we stretched out our homemade rope in front of her moving vehicle as a sort of "trip line". (Charlie, don't think Amanda's kidding when she says she's going to get you jogging by her house!)

Man and Wife!



Billy Crystal sure is an ugly old man!

Something to cheer you up

Since we're discussing chapters six and seven of Tim Keller's The Reason for God tonight, I figured I'd better hurry up and post what we discussed three weeks ago.

Chapter Five: "How Can a Loving God Send People to Hell?" This was a tough chapter and we ended up spending the whole discussion on it instead of the planned two chapters. There are so many good points in this chapter that I can't even begin to discuss them all.

Keller describes a common view of hell: God gives us time, but if we haven't made the right choices... he casts our souls into hell for all eternity. As the poor souls fall through space, they cry out for mercy, but God says "Too late! You had your chance! Now you will suffer!" This caricature misunderstands the very nature of evil. The Biblical picture is that sin separates us from the presence of God, which is the source of all joy and indeed all love, wisdom, or good things of any sot... if we were to lose his presence totally, that would be hell - the loss of our capability for giving or receiving joy.

He also points out that those in hell aren't wishing for God's eternal presence. Just like Jesus' parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16), the condemned souls never ask to get out of hell but instead proceed in blame-shifting and denial. "Hell is simply one's freely chosen identity apart from God on a trajectory into infinity... All God does in the end with people is give them what they want most, including freedom from himself." (emphasis added)

Keller quotes Becky Piper in explaining God's wrath with our sinfulness. "Anger isn't the opposite of love. Hate is, and the final form of hate is indifference." If God didn't really love his own creation, he wouldn't become (rightfully) angry with us for our depravity. Through this, he is able to restore us to him and we can have the peace of the knowledge that when others wrong us, it will be made right. Because God is a loving and just god, not only will he restore his chosen people unto himself, but he will also right all wrongs.

This chapter hit me especially hard because I've really struggled in the past with the question "Why would God create people that he knows will end up in Hell?" And even though I can't fully answer that question, I am strengthened by the fact that 1. Just because I don't understand His reasoning doesn't mean that it isn't right and that He doesn't have a good reason (this goes back to the arguments discussed in previous chapters) 2. Who am I to say what He does with his own creation? ("Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?" - Romans 9:21) 3. We are ALL deserving of death and it is only by His infinite grace and mercy that a few are saved.

So, I did my patriotic duty and voted first thing this morning. Now I am settling down with a drink and preparing to drown my sorrows (not really, Mom). Instead of dreading the imminent downsizing of NASA and defense spending (i.e., both of our jobs as well as the backbone of our community), I've decided to concentrate on happier times.

Like this past weekend. We left Thursday for a short and sweet trip to Savannah, GA. I've always wanted to go and since Matt got to pick our last Harnation getaway (Asheville, NC), it was my turn!

I did a lot of research beforehand and had a whole list of places to go and things to see (and eat). I think we made it through just about everything and still had time to relax. We started off on Friday with a lunch trip to Mrs. Wilke's Boarding House and were greeted to family-style dining that consisted of something like 24 dishes. Yum!



When we went to the hotel to check in, they told us that our room wasn't quite ready and suggested some things for us to do... the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) was having its annual Film Festival, or there was the Savannah Historics going on at the Westin...

Car Show?! Matt's eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas. Of course, he didn't want to make us spend our time at yet another track on our vacation (High Performance Driver's Education at Thunderhill and the American Le Mans Race at Leguna Seca last year, Daytona's Track Tour this summer, etc.), but it sounded interesting and we decided to check it out. The inn owner gave us some free hot lap passes and we got to ride with a professional driver in the new BMW M3 for two very fast laps. Plus, we got to see some neat restored cars, like this really old race car.


After breakfast on Saturday, we heard a parade going on. We decided to check it out and had quite a cultural experience. We think the parade was for a local college's homecoming, but it was not like the "parades" we had at Auburn! A big truck pulling a trailer loaded 6' high with mega speakers (powered by the generator in the truck bed) and a yellow school bus labeled "Urban Christian Academy" blaring Christian Rap music was something we'd never seen before. It was a lot more fun than our college homecoming parades though and I felt jipped.



We went on a downtown "Gates and Gardens" walking tour and got to go into a few private residences' gardens - which was probably my favorite part. I loved seeing how these historic homes have been restored and how every inch of their small lots is put to use.

Here's my new dream home, the Kehoe House. All of the white is painted wrought iron - the original builder owned the iron works and used it extensively in the house design. I'd have to have a much bigger yard, however, to house my plants and puppies.


We also saw the Mercer Williams House (of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil fame), and looked through this incredible antiques store next door that filled every available inch of a run down 4-story mansion. (I say looked because we couldn't afford a single thing in there! Who knew antiques were so expensive?!!) We checked out Forsyth Park and people watched before walking to SCAD's Gryphon Tea Room for "high tea".

On Sunday, we headed over to Independent Presbyterian Church (an oxymoron, if you ask me). The church was beautiful - not really WPC's style, but still gorgeous with its coastal/Southern charm. Matt and I were both excited by how much the service had in common with our own. We loved being in a place away from home that had the same solid scriptural teaching and preaching of the Word. I do think, however, that Charlie should start catching up with the times and posting his sermons to public podcasts. ;)

From Michelle Malkin:

Pray for our country. By God’s grace, we live in a Republic where we may govern ourselves. Pray God would guide us to do so wisely.

Here is the prayer for our country from the magnificent old 1928 Book of Common Prayer. While my private intercessions are a bit more…specific than this, these sentiments still ring true, across party lines, across the years, and across the issues:

ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favour and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honourable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogancy, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.