Dan and Jen’s Blog

Yes, this post is actually about violently flushing toilets.  We have auto-flushers at work, which I love because then you don’t have to flush the toilet yourself by kicking the stick thing or,  heaven forbid, touching the little handle that hundreds of people touch right after they do their business and before they wash their hands (if they wash their hands at all).   Have you ever noticed, especially on auto-flushers, how violently the flushing is?  They’re loud (I always feel like it’s screaming at me, the sound is akin to the water sucker things at the dentist), often there are little sprinkles of water on the seat post-flush, and you think there’s a good possibility that the water is going to escape the bowl and come and attack you.  I seriously wonder if toilet juice is going to get on me when I don’t get out of the way quickly enough. 

An interesting op-ed came out yesterday (not an April Fool’s Joke, though) regarding the economy and the media.  For those of you who hate Fox News, please try to keep an open mind.  Click here, here, and here for more on this.

So two Sunday nights ago, I finished the second pink sock.  It was exciting because it felt like the first “real” thing I’ve ever knitted, even though that’s ridiculous because I’ve knitted scarves, washcloths, a toddler poncho, baby booties and a hat, fingerless gloves, a stocking cap, and whatever else I can’t think of right now.  Nonetheless, it felt significant because I guess I don’t really consider myself a real knitter yet.  And yet it was slightly anticlimactic.  Perhaps because it took me so long to finish them.  Or maybe because I was so tired.  Oh, well.  I have several projects on the pike.  Like I told Dan, I’ve decided that I really need more free time.  But I don’t think Zappos will see it that way, wonderful employer that they are.  So I’ll squeeze in knitting in there somewhere.  Enjoy the pics.  Here’s a link to the original post, which has more pics.

I was doing laundry yesterday and while getting a dryer sheet, I fumbled the Stain Stick and knocked it back behind the washer and dryer.  I contemplated just leaving it there until we move (could be years!) and just buying a new one, but I really like my washer and dryer, they are new and beautiful machines and I wouldn’t want something to happen to them because I was lazy and allowed Stain Stick to explode or mold and fester back there.  So I went to Dan and sheepishly gave him the news.  And then we both went to our tasks of constructing our retrieval tools, Dan physically and me mentally.  Dan tried attaching a suction cup to the vacuum attachements with scotch tape.  That didn’t work because those suction cups suck at sucking.  Then I suggested making a loop out of packing tape and attaching it to a broom handle.  Dan immediately saw that the broom was too long.  So, we attached the packing tape (Jen) to the end of the vacuum attachments (Dan) and rescued our Stain Stick!  Yay, the beauty of marriage and complementing each other.

Proposal Gone Awry This is nuts!  I want to know how someone who is this careless with any $12,000 item has $12,000 to spend on something like this.  Also, it’s kind of telling that the woman won’t talk to him until he gets another ring.  Sheesh.

Flying Trampoline Ok, this story isn’t actually that weird, but it reminds me of my own experience of a box-spring smashing into my car while I was driving to work one day.  Only by popular demand (leave comments!) will I give details.

Sour Grapes Why do people think they can win these things?  As John Mark would say: RidONculous!

That’s a Bad Marriage This is so messed up.  I guess the alcohol had a lot to do with it, but still.  I’m so grateful that I’m married to a sweet loving husband. 

Ok, I saw this article last Wednesday when it came out on FoxNews.com and at first I was really amused and dumbstruck.  But then I was completely saddened.  This woman spent two years living on the toilet.  The skin of her behind grew around the seat and they had to remove the toilet seat with a pry bar.  Apparently, she just never wanted to come out and her boyfriend, with whom she lived, provided her with food and water.  What kind of fear/anxiety/depression would cause someone to retreat from not only the world outside their domicile, but also the majority of their domicile itself?  I pray that God would bring someone into her life to share the Gospel, that she would hear and accept salvation through Jesus and his sacrifice, and that God would bring healing to this woman’s life so that she may experience abundant life through Jesus instead of imprisoning herself in a cell that provides her only the basest of her needs.  And I pray that my reaction to stories like this would not be amusement, but rather despair at the state of this lost world and a renewed commitment to share the Gospel.

Yes, I know we’re blog slackers.  We tend to write nothing, then like 5 blogs a day for a week, then nothing again.  I guess you could call us blog camels.  You decide.  We’ve been busy waiting to hear from SBTS regarding Dan’s Ph.D. application, finishing the best pink socks in the world, antiquing with Bob and Lisa, reading great books, and as always, being way too lazy.  Regardless, we are (or Jen is) blogging again.  So enjoy and leave us comments.

I’m sure that most of us who are fans of John Piper have been all too disappointed to find a book like 90 Minutes in Heaven next to his on the shelves of many bookstores. Just the thought of someone mistaking this book, which obviously consists of not a few theological errors, with one of John Piper’s many books of substantial literary and biblical merit has bothered me every time I see these two authors next to each other on the shelves. Recently, while perusing an ad for Family Christian Stores, I noticed a typo that demonstrates this very point. Below, as you can see, the experiences of the book are attributed to “Pastor John Piper.”

This is one of the funniest videos I’ve seen in a long time.  Turn on your speakers and enjoy.  It is WELL worth 2 minutes of your time.

And Dan thinks I overreact sometimes