Slipper Time

I have found myself on a couple of evening putting on slippers after taking an evening shower.  It has hit the time of year where I don't feel comfortable without something on my feet, and if I don't feel like getting a pair (or another pair) of socks dirty, it becomes slipper time.

I don't mind this about fall, though I'm not looking forward to that meaning I'm about to enter 5 months of slipper wearing.

Double Win

A couple of Saturdays ago I spent 15 hours with the soccer teams to watch 40 minutes of soccer that didn't count.

Today we had those make-up games.  15 hours later, we had 2 wins (the first ones for each team) and 2 shutouts, the first ones for these goalies.

The drives become more worth it when the outcomes are that favorable.

Watch Advice

I walked into Fossil this afternoon to buy myself a watch.  After perusing the selection I found the two I wanted to see out of the case.

When the saleslady gave them to me she asked "What do you need the watch for?"

My response seemed simple enough, "If you don't know what a watch is for, I don't know that I want your advice in buying one."

She laughed, got the hint that there wasn't a specific outfit or occasion that this watch was for and then nicely sized the watch for me that I ended up deciding on.

Welcome Fall

Fall came in with a bang.

The busy-ness of soccer coaching, a fall kick-off, and a fall camping trip all culminated this week.  Fall didn't try to sneak up on me, it came knocking at the door with a party.

All of those things seemed to go well and there is a minuscule decrease in the expected work this week, though preaching next Sunday's sermons will make sure I don't feel too relaxed during the week.

At least fall is one of the best seasons of year, even though it seems like one of MN's shortest.

Small Window Coming

I was driving home from church at midnight after building a set through the evening, and realized two things:

1.  I forgot what day it was.  I was trying to think through what had to be done the next day, and couldn't remember what day was ending.

2.  I hadn't eaten dinner. 

These are the kinds of things I tend not to forget when my life isn't so hectic.  There is a small window in the business coming once I can get to the campsites this weekend.  Rest will be here, but not soon enough.

The Tank Is on Empty

Unfortunately, it will be roughly 2 weeks before I think I have the time to fully fill it again.

It hit empty late this afternoon, but tomorrow is another non-stop, no-break kind of day.

Thursday won't offer relief either.

Hope I sleep well.

Great Friends

We were invited over for dinner tonight by some friends to celebrate Jenny's birthday.  They made us some awesome steaks, awesome side dishes, and awesome desserts.

We had some competitive game playing (split 1-1 on the night as guys vs. girls) and then conversed about work.  Maybe we should have avoided that part, but it is nice to be around people who think like you do sometimes.

We are lucky to have such good friends to spend fall monday evenings with.

Names and Faces

I was thinking about some upcoming sermons/teachings I will be in charge of giving.  Primarily, thinking of them in three different groups.  Upcoming sermons for the Young Adults Ministry, an upcoming service for the Sunday Morning Services, and an upcoming class on Wednesdays open to anyone in the congregation who wants to come.

There seems to be a lot of implication on how these things should be delivered and written based on the names and faces in the room.  What I'm trying to figure out, is how much of myself is supposed to come through in each setting, while evaluating how to alter things based on what assumptions each situation might impose, as well as balance the preferences and perceived needs of those who will be in attendance.

I've also been curious how much time it will take to plan the Wednesday night class time (teaching for roughly 1 and 1/2 hours each week) as it would compare to a typical sermon prep time (they are typically 35-40 minutes) since the two styles of teaching will be so drastically different.

Suppose there is lots on the mind, but I've got to figure it all out in the next few weeks.

That's Why There's a Preview Service

Tonight was our preview service for the fall kick off of Young Adults Ministry.

Essentially, a dress rehearsal from setup to takedown to see what all is still missing and how long and smooth we go through the phases of a service.

It was a good nigth, and served its purpose well at finding some of the holes we need to fill before next week, as well as figuring out what supplies still need to be bought to get the right feel in the rooms that we are going for.

A Sweet Spot

Today's sweet spot came in the middle of the afternoon/beginning of the evening.  After work, meetings, work and planning a practice, I hit a short sweet spot where my mind lost concern for all the current busy-ness.

Actually coaching the practice and then relaxing with Jenny watching the season beginning of Survivor and Finale of Big Brother left me relaxed for like 4 1/2 straight hours.  It was a calm spot in the midst of the busy storm.

Busy starts again tomorrow, but i'm hoping to find a sweet spot at somepoint then too.

Work On The Mind

It has been harder than normal to get my mind to slow down recently.

So many areas of life seem to be bleeding into each other, seemingly because so much is on the to-do list right now.

Tonight, Jenny and I got time away to go and see Wicked at the Orpheum Theatre downtown.  It was quite an enjoyable show, but something I couldn't lose myself in.  I had a great time, thought the performance was awesome, but found myself thinking about color and set schemes (that I would see in the show) and how I could see them implemented in other ways at work. 

I really didn't want to think about those things.  I didn't want to notice that the green color of the witch is strikingly similar to the green of our logo for the new Young Adults ministry.  I even waited 1 and a half hours after noticing it to say anything (as I refused to interrupt Jenny during the show to say it), though wished I had the restraint not to talk about it at all.

I wanted to know how the soccer teams were doing at their games tonight, but didn't really need to read that during the show either.  Yet, I seemingly couldn't just leave my phone in my pocket during intermission.

I'm not that upset that I looked at my phone, the medium isn't the problem, I've just been so busy for the last 3 weeks or so, and will be through the end of October/beginning of November that it is hard to just let go and unwind.

A Tale of Two Apples

I ate two apples today.

One was a generic red apple given to me with a box lunch.  The standard red apple.  I don't know it's special name.  It's skin isn't the greatest, but it is refreshing eating the inside and tasting the juices.

Then I got home and ate an orchard picked Honey Crisp apple.  They are so good you want to eat the stem and the entire core.  That would be silly, but you want to anyway.

I'm amazed at how such simple things can have such creative differences. 

That Feels Strange

I shaved today.  Not just trimmed with an electric trimmer, actually trimmed and then used a razor to shave.

There was a point today where my hand went to wipe my face and it felt strange to me.

Maybe that means it had been too long since I had clean shaved.  Or maybe that means I shouldn't ever clean shave again.

All I know is it felt weird.

On another note, Jenny turned 29 today, though that took the back burner as Matt got married today.  Jenny and I celebrated with some family on Saturday and will celebrate together on Tuesday evening.

Looking forward to seeing Wicked with her that night.

And the Season Begins

Football is underway.  I didn't care at all about the result of tonight's game, though was playing against two Saints players in one of the Fantasy Football leagues.

Overall, they didn't hurt me too bad.

Hoping the Colts pull out a blowout victory on Sunday and return to dominance from the start.

Buying Green

Today I got to spend time shopping for new supplies for our Young Adults Ministry.

Our rebranding has left us knowing our colors to be primarily White and Green, with grey and orange as acceptable additions but not primary focuses. 

That meant I spent a lot of time buying Green things at Target today.  Tables, Clocks, Lamps and the like in a nice new Green color, most of them with White accents.

And the Work Pours In

It's amazing how time-crunched work can seem sometimes.

My fall kick off for Young Adults Programming is Sep. 23rd.  That is just over two weeks away.  That date has been set for 6 months or so now and has always had a lot of work that needed to be done to be ready, work that I have been diligently doing.

This is one of few times that the rush isn't because of simple procrastination.  I've still been fascinated by how much stuff there is to get done over the next two weeks.

Maybe if I wasn't helping coach soccer, or in a wedding this weekend the list would seem more manageable.  Maybe if there wasn't a camping trip the weekend immediately after the kick off (the 24th - 26th) the list would seem more manageable. 

Regardless, it feels like the work just keeps pouring in while the time window keeps shrinking.

Hopefully, tomorrow I can cross some of the stuff off the list between meetings and before practice.

Back To Work

After a weekend coaching soccer practices and games, playing in a soccer game, spending a day at the State Fair, spending time working on the house and relaxing with family, I'd much rather have more time off than have to go back to work.

I suppose it could be worse though, tomorrow could by the first day of school like it is for so many.  I'll chose the day of meetings followed by a soccer practice and soccer game instead.

At least those don't leave me with homework.

Latin to English

Today's work was about translating Latin into English.

Not really, but we've been working on getting a new website up and running for the Young Adults Ministry.  The guy making it for me and getting all the formatting right does so by copying in Latin into the places that type will go (so you remember to replace it).  Today, was the start of actually writing all the English content that will replace the Latin that is currently there.

I'm excited to see how it all ends up.

Way more excited than I am that it is already September.  Can't we go back to June or something?