Happy birthday(s)!

I know 3 people who have birthdays today ... and if you know anything about me, that makes me happy ... because of the number 3 being involved, duh! I don't know why, ok. It just does. :P As far as I know, none of them read my blog, but I want to pay tribute to them anyway.

First, I'll tell you about my nephew, Jackson.

He's my youngest nephew and he turns 11 today. He's such a sweet guy. I haven't seen him since my trip to Malaysia back in 2007 when this picture was taken.

I can't wait to see him again in May. He's just a barrel of fun. When we skyped with them at Christmas, I could totally see a change in him and although I'm sure he'll be taller than me in no time, he'll always be my little nephew.

I don't know if he'll let me put him in a trance by tickling his face anymore, but as an Auntie, I think I'll always have to try, right? It's my duty!

Happy birthday, Jackeroo! Can't wait to see you in 54 days!!!

The 2nd person I know with a birthday today I've known since I was 10 years old. It literally makes my heart happy that we're still friends after all this time. My friend, Lee and I have been friends since we met in Grade 5. We went to different schools for Grade 8 and 9 but still kept in touch and then were BFs again in Grade 10, 11 and 12 when we were reunited at the same school again.

After we graduated, we lost touch a little bit, but never for long. We definitely went our separate ways and did different things and I think we might have gone a couple of years without being in touch, but you can't kept true friends away from each other. Last summer I had the privilege of going to Lee's wedding. It was such an honour to be there. This was a picture of us from last month when we went out for supper, had some great laughs, looked through old High School pictures (and of course had more laughs about that) and just generally chatted about our hopes and dreams. Honestly. That may sound corny, but we did. Lee's got 2 beautiful little girls now and it's wonderful to see her as a wife and mother. We also talked about our shared love of Sixteen Candles (we can recite almost the whole movie), Ricky Gervais (have you seen the new show An Idiot Abroad? HILARIOUS!) and Hoarders (gross, but you can't look away!). I love you, Lee, Lee the Dancing Bee!

The 3rd person I know who has a b.day today is my friend, Colleen. I put Colleen 3rd because, like me, she's got this weird thing about the number 3. Neither of us can explain it. It just makes us happy to know that there's someone out there who gets it. So, there's that that makes us great friends, but Colleen's also one of the nicest people I know. We became friends because I was friends with her brother and slowly over time, I started hanging out more with her than I did with him. I don't think I know anyone who doesn't like her when they meet her.

When I was living in the States, Colleen was one of the people who would write me letters (remember those days when we actually still put pen to paper?) and send me little things in the mail to make me feel not so far from home. She's one of those people who does those extra little things to let you know that you're special to her. I am blessed to call you my friend, Colleen.

Happy birthday to you all! I hope you all have a WONDERFUL day because you all deserve it!

Thank You for making me average

I was going to call this post, "Thank You for making me normal" but then the opposite is abnormal and I don't like that word. Here's what I mean.

The other day I was watching TV and I came across a show where a guy had a 12 pound tumor on his face. It was awful. I felt so bad for him. Luckily the show was about an amazing doctor in Chicago that said he would remove the tumor for him. When this man would walk down the street, people would stare at him. After the surgery, he did look a million times better, but people will still stare at him. On average, most people don't have 12 pound tumors on their faces.

A couple of weeks ago I saw another show where a 7 year old girl was kept BY HER PARENTS in a dog cage in the basement. Awful. Awful. Who does that to their child? On average, most people didn't grow up with horrible parents.

Then there's the show Hoarders. I realize that this show has opened our eyes to the fact that more people have this problem then we may have thought before the show aired, but on average, most people don't live like that.

I've always been attracted to fame. I used to watch Entertainment Tonight religiously. I used to buy People Magazine as often as possible. One of the things on my Bucket List is to see myself on the big screen. Not as the star. Just walking by in the background in a movie. Or when someone invents something that makes millions or goes from obscurity to fame, I'm honestly happy for them, but there's a twinge of jealousy in me as well. It's not about the money. There's this weird desire in me to be known. I don't know why. It's not one of my finer points, but it's not something that controls my life, either. I don't crave it so much that I'm actively doing anything to BE known. It's just kinda always in the back of my mind like when I hear how Stephenie Meyer has a dream, wakes up and starts writing down this dream and it turns into the Twilight series. My first thought is, "How cool is that for her?!" and my second thought is, "Why couldn't that have happened to me? I love writing and I have TONS of crazy dreams!" I know, it's weird. I don't seek the spotlight, but if it's put on me, I don't shy away from it, either (although I probably should because my face goes ALL SHADES of red! Not because I'm embarrassed, but because attention is drawn to me and I know that people are looking at me and then inevitably, someone will yell out, "Man your face is red!" Thanks for that.).

Anyway, the reason I'm telling you that is because this week after I'd watched those first programs I mentioned, I realized that I'd rather be average than to be known for something horrible that happened to me that was out of my control. I'm happy that God made me who I am. I could've been born with a condition that caused a tumor to grow on my face, but I wasn't. I could've been born to horrible parents, but I wasn't. I could have a mental condition that causes me to be a hoarder, but I wasn't (ok, some of my friends do think I keep WAY too many things, but it's not to THAT extent). On the flip side, I could've been born with the acting ability of Halle Berry, but I wasn't. I could've been born with the creative talent of Vera Wang, but I wasn't. God made me Fiona Borne for a reason.

I just wanted to publicly thank God for making me average. And I'm really ok with that.

Compliment ... followed by a diss ... followed by another diss ... followed by a compliment!

Have you seen this site?

http://urlai.com/Default.aspx

If you type in your blog name, it'll give you an analysis about your blog. Here's what it said about mine a week ago.

Text analysis
bornetotravel.blogspot.com is probably written by a female somewhere between 18-25 years old. (Nice!) The writing style is personal and upset most of the time. (What? Wait a second! Am I upset most of the time?)

Then, a week later, after I've blogged about JB, it said this:

http://urlai.com/url/bornetotravel.blogspot.com

All of a sudden I'm 13 - 17 years old and I'm happy most of the time! Yup, must've been the post about JB. I wonder how it rates your blog so quickly? It must look at most commonly used words or something like that. Oh well. I'm not putting too much stock in it. I thought it was kinda funny.

Heavenly crepes

Ok, I realize that "heavenly" may be an overstatement, but in my mind, they were heavenly ... because I made them with my own 2 hands. I'm sure you know by now, but cooking really isn't my thang, but it was Fat Tuesday, after all and I had just gotten a recipe from my fellow blogger, Jill, so I thought, why not try it?

I realize they're lumpy and my eggs yolks were really orangey so that's why they look so yellow, but you know what ...they tasted good and that's what mattered to me.

There's gotta be a life lesson here ... Don't judge a book by it's cover ... We all have a few lumps but are still essentially good ... or maybe it's as simple as ... Stop being so scared of cooking, Fiona, and just DO it every once in awhile and you'll see it's not so scary!

Sprinkle on a little sugar and cinnamon and everything turns out all right.

I remember one time I was all excited because at school we were going to learn how to make something called crepes and it sounded so exotic. I came home at the end of the day and said to my Mom, "Those things weren't so great. They were German pancakes! We eat those all the time." It wasn't that I didn't like them when my Mom made them. I just thought I was going to see something new at school that day, but it was something I'd known all along, just with another name ... hmmm, there's probably a life lesson somewhere in there, too.

This is how I used to eat them as a kid ... rolled up with sugar inside. Mmmm, mmm, mmmmm

That was fun for me. I wonder what I should tackle next!

Lent update

I know today is usually Wordless Wednesday, but today is the first day of Lent, so I thought I should write an update.

I’ve obviously decided not to give up blogging, and I’m happy about that. I’ve been enjoying blogging lately in a way that I haven’t before and I believe it’s in a healthy way, so I’m glad God didn’t ask me to give this up. I love connecting with you all on a different level.

So, what AM I giving up this year? Well, Facebook for one. I just don’t NEEEEEED to be on it as much as I am. There are other things I can do with my time that are more productive. I’m going to finish reading Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi - thanks to Keri for lending it to me). Since I started Jenny Craig last summer, I vowed I didn’t want to become a calorie counting, food obsessed person. I think I’ve done pretty good in that area and have become more equipped with the tools to help me stay balanced. I wanted to read this book to see if I see myself in it at all. She was anorexic and bulimic. I really do believe that physical appearance is something that the majority of women struggle with, so although I think it’ll always somewhat be an issue in my mind, I would like to get as much in control of it as possible and have it be an issue in the BACK of my mind, not in the forefront. I’ll admit that I did see myself in parts of the book, but then she’d go completely off and in my mind I’d think, “Whoa. That’s crazy!” so I think this book was good for me to read to confirm that I’m not over the edge .. although, I fully give any of you permission to ever tell me if you think I HAVE got an issue. Please do. So, once I finish reading that book, I’m going to start reading Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen. I’ve heard it’s hilarious and even some of my non Mennonite friends said that, so I can’t wait to see what it’s all about. I’ll let you know what I think when I’m done.

Here’s another weird thing that I’ve been feeling I have to stop doing ... I’m not going to run yellow lights anymore. No, this has nothing to do with Lent, but have you ever been at a light waiting to turn left and finally the light turns yellow so you’ll get to go and then one (and sometimes even two or three) more people go through the yellow so by the time you get to turn, the light’s already green for the people going the OTHER way and you get dirty looks? Yeah. Sucks, doesn’t it? Well, I’ve often been that person going straight through the light, forcing my left turning friend to get the bad looks that I deserve. No more of that. The same goes for when I’m a pedestrian and I don’t have a walk signal. Ok, yes, I do agree that it turns to “the hand” too quickly most of the time, but again, there are driver’s waiting to turn left and if I’m taking my sweet time walking through the crosswalk, they are going to be forced to hold up traffic waiting for me. No more of that, either.

You’re probably thinking, "What does this have to do with Lent? This doesn’t seem so hard." I’ve been thinking the same thing. This year I haven’t felt compelled as in previous years to really struggle and give something up for 40 days ... but instead, been challenged to give a few things up for good. Things that I think will only be good for me (and other drivers, evidently). You may wonder how my giving up “malicious talk” is going. Mostly good. It’s a daily struggle. I wish I could say that it isn’t, but it is. I do love that I’m hearing the Holy Spirit’s conviction, though. It makes me feel closer to God. Sometimes I’m strong and sometimes I’m not ... but I’m working on it. I’m not giving up. I don’t know if you remember or not, but I had originally said something about it being worth the risk and then not being sure if “risk” was the right word to use. Well, I’ve learned there is risk involved. If I’m in a room where I feel people are bad mouthing other people, I’ve chosen to walk out. Most of those people know that I’m working on this area in my life and while I don't expect anyone to change their ways because I've decided to work on this, I also don’t want them to think that I think I’m better than them because I’m taking the high road and choosing not to partake in the bad mouthing. I've learned hard lessons in the past not to judge. It's not my job to convict other people and what they do is between them and God, so I don't want to force anyone into anything, but there’s risk of losing some friendships, actually, if people think that I think I'm better than them. How do I make them realize that I don't think that way? I can see how it seems a little self righteous to leave a room when you don't agree with something, doesn't it? How do you get it across that I don't think any less of you, but I'm just going to do what's right for me. Does that make sense? I'm still processing that one and it's been weird, but again, a risk that I think is worth taking.

So there you have it. Lent is very different for me this year. I think I’ll have to find another way to prepare myself for Easter than I have in past years, but I’m up for the challenge. I know a lot of people who are taking on the Lent challenge for the first time this year. I think that's awesome, but I've said the same thing to each one of them, so I thought I'd put it here as well, in case you're thinking of doing it for the first time. Don't pressure yourself. Lent is an experience between you and God. Everyone does it a bit differently. There really are not a set of right/wrong rules. Don't tell yourself that you have to sit and pray and read your Bible instead of whatever you're giving up. For me, that was a recipe for failure. Just let God direct you and show you what He wants you to do/learn/see. There were years where I felt like a failure because I filled whatever I'd given up with something equally as time consuming, but I believe the main thing was that I tried and when I felt like cheating and going back to whatever it was that I'd given up, I'd be reminded of the sacrifice that Jesus had made for me and it made me think, "Ok, what I'm giving up is NOTHING compared to that, so I can handle it for 40 days." I believe that Lent is to prepare us for Easter and get us to really think about the sacrifice Jesus made for us. It's not to guilt you into doing something else. Yes, if reading your Bible more or praying more are a by product of your experience, that's awesome. But don't put that pressure on yourself. Just start by letting it be a reminder throughout the day of Jesus' sacrifice ... and go from there. That's just my opinion.

Oh, after I wrote my other post about what I felt God was asking me to give up, Marni sent me this video. I’m not proud of this, but I’ll be honest and say that at first, this lady’s voice sounded condescending to me and I almost didn’t watch it, but I knew Marni wouldn’t have sent it to me if it didn’t have something good to say, so I watched it. And I’m glad I did. She talks about using our words in a positive way and not allowing the enemy to use them against us ... and that’s exactly what I was talking about! I love having you girlfriends looking out for me ... knowing you’re out there and you’ve got my back and are such an encouragement to me!





A couple of you mentioned that you're struggling with this same issue. First of all, thank you for admitting it and for making me feel like I'm not alone. Second, let's all pray for each other and have our own support group! I think we should start with this verse:

Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Because it's funny!

Hoops and Yoyo eCards - Tuesday Treat Day!

Movie Monday

Never Say Never

That really is a good saying to have in your life. I didn't learn that lesson until I was in my 20s. I used to say "I'll never do _____!" and I obviously hung out with people with really good memories because they'd often remember me saying that and then point and laugh and say, "Aaaahahaha! You said you'd NEVER do ______ and look at you now!" That honestly cured me of saying never ... although, I really never thought I'd be reviewing this movie on my blog.

Justin Bieber's Never Say Never

There's going to be a lot of confessions in this post and yes, they'll have to do with either boy bands, pop music or sometimes just random facts. You can choose now whether you want to read further or not ... I'll give you a minute ...

Still with me? Ok, here we go. When I first heard about Justin Bieber, I thought he was manufactured ... like that boy band ... oh, what was their name ... let me google it really quick ... oh yeah ... O-Town. Remember them? Confession #1 - I watched most of that "Making the Band" show. What? That was more than 10 years ago. I was much younger then. I wonder where those guys are now? Oh wait, when I googled them, it says that as of January 2011, 4 of the 5 are back together recording in the studio. Uh oh. Anyway, back to the movie. I thought Justin was like that. I thought someone had found this cute kid, given him an image and put him on stage. I knew he was a good Canadian kid and supposedly had a Christian upbringing but that's really all I knew about him or cared to know about him.

Well, I have a 12 year old Little Sister now and guess who she loves? Yup. The Biebster. I thought she'd for sure be going with her friends to see the movie but when I asked her, she kinda hung her head and said that no, she wouldn't be going with her friends. Well, her and I do go see a lot of movies together, so I said, "Do you want me to take you?" I don't know why I didn't think she'd want to go with me (maybe I was just thinking about myself at that age and that I might be all squeally and wouldn't want an adult seeing me like that - I guess that was Confession #2), but she said yes, so off we went.

I'll just get Confession #3 out of the way right now. I liked the movie. Judge away. I honestly don't care. I really don't, because (here comes Confession #4), I've always liked pop music. I remember when I was in either Grade 5 or 6, I LOVED Michael Jackson. I did. I had a button on my jean jacket with his face on it. My friends all mocked me. I didn't get it. How could they not like him? I got bugged every day about it, but I didn't take off my button. No way. Come to think of it, I'm surprised my Dad didn't make me take it off, but maybe I didn't wear that jacket around him a lot. I can't remember. What I do remember is that when Michael Jackson came to Vancouver in concert, ALL my friends went ... and I didn't. I was crushed. I thought they didn't like him? I honestly remember that like it was yesterday. I think it was my first run in with hypocrisy. Anyway, that's a bit of background on me. I've liked pop music ever since I can remember. Loved watching Video Hits when I got home from school ... until my Dad came home and would say, "Turn that garbage off." Don't worry, he's lightened up significantly since then. I don't remember being all squeally about MJ, but who knows what I would've been like at his concert. I guess we'll never know now, will we?

Back to the Biebs. Did you know that JB is actually talented? There was video of him in this movie of him playing the guitar and the kid could barely walk! Then he was playing the drums. The neighbour kids had a drum set and JB would go and just stare at him and watch him play. The kids heard him drumming on the steps and thought it would be fun to get him a little kid set of his own and he was good! When he was 8, they had him play in a jazz competition with them. Apparently jazz music is pretty hard to drum to when you're that age, but they ended up winning and made enough money to buy him a regular size set of drums. He also played the piano. All when he was under 10 years old! He really does have talent. When you watch the videos of him as a little kid, you can just see that he loves performing. He was a ham for the camera and had natural talent. His mom put a couple of videos of him singing on YouTube so their family from other parts of the country could see him ... a marketing executive saw these videos and the rest is history. Good for you, Justin.

I will admit that I still feel that since he's only 17, him singing about love ... really? How much does he know about love ... other than the mom/grandma/grandpa type of love? Not a whole lot. So, that's the only part I still kind of roll my eyes at, but I get that that's what sells and all teenagers think they really understand and know what love is ... heck, I'm 39 and I'm not sure if I even know what that kind of love is like, so I guess, who am I to judge, right? All I know is that I cannot judge these little girls. Confession #5 - if I met Bono today, I'd probably cry. I really do think that I would. I don't know if I'd cry while I was meeting him (hopefully I'd be able to hold it together), but I really do think that afterwards I'd have a bit of a meltdown ... and I'm an adult, so how can these young girls be expected to know how to control their emotions? They can't. So to them I say:

I get it. Squeal away. Have fun with it. Daydream if you must. Just don't take it too seriously. He's a cutie and seems like a really nice guy, but you probably won't marry him. You probably won't ever be his "Baby, baby, baby, oh!" You most likely won't even get to ever be within 100 feet of him ... although I've been within 10 feet of U2, so I know that last one can happen, so don't give up on it ... just don't base whether your life is worth something or not on it. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, just have fun with it. You'll look back on it in years with fond memories and maybe even still get a little weak in the knees if one day in your 30s you actually meet him. And that's ok. Don't let anyone tell you it's not ... as long as you don't take it too seriously. No one likes a stalker.

Oh, and now I think he was robbed of the Best New Artist Grammy. Confession #6

Jealousy update

Thank you to all of you who prayed (are praying) for me. I'm happy to announce that this jealousy has really subsided. It's not completely gone, but it's not right THERE like it was when I wrote my original post. Your comments were very helpful and a friend of mine who I go on walks with (I love these walks for 2 reasons ... 1 - we get into some great, deep issues on our walks and it's SO great to talk these things out and get someone else's perspective and 2 - we get some exercise while doing it!) said the same thing that most of you said to me ... it's what you do with this jealousy that counts. She also said that it was obvious that what I was jealous about was something I was also passionate about, so maybe God was bringing it to the forefront of my mind to spur me on to take further steps to becoming more of that kind of person. I don't know if that makes sense, but I've actually noticed changes in my life already ... and that's exciting to me! I guess it scared me at first because I'm not generally a jealous person. I'm pretty content with my life, so when these issues came up, I didn't like not feeling content on this level, but I really do believe it was because God is doing a work in me and I'm slowly going through the motions with Him to help me figure out these changes He wants me to make and work through. It's been exciting!

The day after I wrote my original post, I found this next paragraph somewhere, saved it as a new post because it was so in line with what you'd all said and what God was teaching me, but now, for the life of me, I can't remember where I saw it! Is it the memory or the eyesight that's supposed to be the first to go? Whichever one it is, I'm losing both of them lately. Sheesh! Anyway, here's the paragraph I found that I saved but can't give credit to anyone because it's completely slipped my mind where I found it ... or if someone sent it to me. Sorry!

This kind of jealousy begs for a change in direction. God is jealous for us to turn away from the distractions of this world and turn toward Him. He’s jealous for us to let go of the false identities we hold onto so tightly, and to align ourselves with Him. He’s jealous for us to relinquish the things we allow to define our worth, and grab tightly to our value in Him.

Change of direction. - When I was in my early 20s, I remember saying to someone that change scared the crap out of me. Now, I love it. Life would be boring without change. I want to constantly be changing into more of the person that God wants me to be.

Value in Him - Over the last few years, finding my value in God has completely changed my perspective on life. That's how I feel I've been able to become content. Finding my value in God rather than worldly things (I'm definitely not saying I'm perfect in this area by ANY means - always a long way to go!) has given me so much freedom to not worry as much about what people think of me. Freedom rocks!

From jealousy to freedom. Thanks, God, for never giving up on me and for continually teaching me lessons. Help my eyes to be open and not to miss what You're trying to show me. And thanks for giving me great friends to help me along the way.

Grace Over Karma - An interview with Bono

I wish this was an interview that I had done with the man himself, but alas, I'll leave that privilege to Michka Assayas.

Bono Interview: Grace Over Karma
(Excerpt from the book Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas)

Bono: My understanding of the Scriptures has been made simple by the person of Christ. Christ teaches that God is love. What does that mean? What it means for me: a study of the life of Christ. Love here describes itself as a child born in straw poverty, the most vulnerable situation of all, without honor. I don't let my religious world get too complicated. I just kind of go: Well, I think I know what God is. God is love, and as much as I respond [sighs] in allowing myself to be transformed by that love and acting in that love, that's my religion. Where things get complicated for me, is when I try to live this love. Now that's not so easy.

Assayas: What about the God of the Old Testament? He wasn't so "peace and love"?

Bono: There's nothing hippie about my picture of Christ. The Gospels paint a picture of a very demanding, sometimes divisive love, but love it is. I accept the Old Testament as more of an action movie: blood, car chases, evacuations, a lot of special effects, seas dividing, mass murder, adultery. The children of God are running amok, wayward. Maybe that's why they're so relatable. But the way we would see it, those of us who are trying to figure out our Christian conundrum, is that the God of the Old Testament is like the journey from stern father to friend. When you're a child, you need clear directions and some strict rules. But with Christ, we have access in a one-to-one relationship, for, as in the Old Testament, it was more one of worship and awe, a vertical relationship. The New Testament, on the other hand, we look across at a Jesus who looks familiar, horizontal. The combination is what makes the Cross.

Assayas: Speaking of bloody action movies, we were talking about South and Central America last time. The Jesuit priests arrived there with the gospel in one hand and a rifle in the other.

Bono: I know, I know. Religion can be the enemy of God. It's often what happens when God, like Elvis, has left the building. [laughs] A list of instructions where there was once conviction; dogma where once people just did it; a congregation led by a man where once they were led by the Holy Spirit. Discipline replacing discipleship. Why are you chuckling?

Assayas: I was wondering if you said all of that to the Pope the day you met him.

Bono: Let's not get too hard on the Holy Roman Church here. The Church has its problems, but the older I get, the more comfort I find there. The physical experience of being in a crowd of largely humble people, heads bowed, murmuring prayers, stories told in stained-glass windows

Assayas: So you won't be critical.

Bono: No, I can be critical, especially on the topic of contraception. But when I meet someone like Sister Benedicta and see her work with AIDS orphans in Addis Ababa, or Sister Ann doing the same in Malawi, or Father Jack Fenukan and his group Concern all over Africa, when I meet priests and nuns tending to the sick and the poor and giving up much easier lives to do so, I surrender a little easier.

Assayas: But you met the man himself. Was it a great experience?

Bono: [W]e all knew why we were there. The Pontiff was about to make an important statement about the inhumanity and injustice of poor countries spending so much of their national income paying back old loans to rich countries. Serious business. He was fighting hard against his Parkinson's. It was clearly an act of will for him to be there. I was oddly moved by his humility, and then by the incredible speech he made, even if it was in whispers. During the preamble, he seemed to be staring at me. I wondered. Was it the fact that I was wearing my blue fly-shades? So I took them off in case I was causing some offense. When I was introduced to him, he was still staring at them. He kept looking at them in my hand, so I offered them to him as a gift in return for the rosary he had just given me.

Assayas: Didn't he put them on?

Bono: Not only did he put them on, he smiled the wickedest grin you could ever imagine. He was a comedian. His sense of humor was completely intact. Flashbulbs popped, and I thought: "Wow! The Drop the Debt campaign will have the Pope in my glasses on the front page of every newspaper."

Assayas: I don't remember seeing that photograph anywhere, though.

Bono: Nor did we. It seems his courtiers did not have the same sense of humor. Fair enough. I guess they could see the T-shirts.

(I found this picture myself on the world wide web so I thought I'd include it ... :)

Later in the conversation:
Assayas: I think I am beginning to understand religion because I have started acting and thinking like a father. What do you make of that?

Bono: Yes, I think that's normal. It's a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma.

Assayas: I haven't heard you talk about that.

Bono: I really believe we've moved out of the realm of Karma into one of Grace.

Assayas: Well, that doesn't make it clearer for me.

Bono: You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics; in physical laws every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It's clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I'm absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that "as you reap, so you will sow" stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff.

Assayas: I'd be interested to hear that.

Bono: That's between me and God. But I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. I'd be in deep s---. It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity.

Assayas: The Son of God who takes away the sins of the world. I wish I could believe in that.

Bono: But I love the idea of the Sacrificial Lamb. I love the idea that God says: Look, you cretins, there are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness, and there's a mortality as part of your very sinful nature, and, let's face it, you're not living a very good life, are you? There are consequences to actions. The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That's the point. It should keep us humbled . It's not our own good works that get us through the gates of heaven.

Assayas: That's a great idea, no denying it. Such great hope is wonderful, even though it's close to lunacy, in my view. Christ has his rank among the world's great thinkers. But Son of God, isn't that farfetched?

Bono: No, it's not farfetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook. Christ says: No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: "I'm the Messiah." I'm saying: "I am God incarnate." And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet, we can take. You're a bit eccentric. We've had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don't mention the "M" word! Because, you know, we're gonna have to crucify you. And he goes: No, no. I know you're expecting me to come back with an army, and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh, my God, he's gonna keep saying this. So what you're left with is: either Christ was who He said He was the Messiah or a complete nutcase. I mean, we're talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson. This man was like some of the people we've been talking about earlier. This man was strapping himself to a bomb, and had "King of the Jews" on his head, and, as they were putting him up on the Cross, was going: OK, martyrdom, here we go. Bring on the pain! I can take it. I'm not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me, that's farfetched

Bono later says it all comes down to how we regard Jesus:

Bono: If only we could be a bit more like Him, the world would be transformed. When I look at the Cross of Christ, what I see up there is all my s--- and everybody else's. So I ask myself a question a lot of people have asked: Who is this man? And was He who He said He was, or was He just a religious nut? And there it is, and that's the question. And no one can talk you into it or out of it.

Wordless Wednesday

Movie Monday

Well, since I had the inside scoop (yeah, I wish!), I was correct on the big 5 awards from The Oscar's last night in my Movie Monday post from a couple of weeks ago, so instead, I'll show you how I decided to dress for the "party" I went to.

We were supposed to have Care Group that night but when I told everyone that it was Oscar night, we decided to just get together and watch the Oscar's ... and I decided to have a little fun.

I'd thought of the idea a couple of weeks ago and told someone at work and they thought it was funny ... as did I ... until I was fully dressed and leaving for the party ... then I started feeling silly (as proven by this last silly pose). In case you were wondering, I'm wearing "Giorgio" Fairweather circa 2002.

I walked in with my head held high (even though I felt like slipping into the bathroom and changing before anyone saw me) and we all had a good laugh. Heck, how else am I going to put one of the 12 bridesmaid/maid of honour dresses to good use?!

Anyway, since the Oscar's were quite boring other than the opening number, I'll review another movie I saw on the weekend. Rabbit Hole:

Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart play ordinary people mourning the accidental death of their 4-year old son in the searing new drama “Rabbit Hole”. Kidman and Eckhart must find a way to navigate the many potholes and detours on the long journey back to intimacy after such a tragic hole is ripped right through their seemingly perfect lives.

I'd say that overall I did like the movie, although it was a bit slow at times. Nicole Kidman was nominated last night for her role in this movie, but I didn't think it was that good. My friend and I both heard her accent come through at different times, too. One of the reasons this movie got to me was because my family has dealt with the loss of a child. It happened before I was born and honestly, sometimes I forget that my parents went through that horrible incident, but seeing a movie like this made me think about it from their perspective. I won't give away the ending, but I will say that it was interesting to see how each of them dealt with their grief so differently ... sometimes working together and sometimes not.

After watching this movie, I want to take this time to commend my parents for not letting the death of my brother destroy their marriage. Blame could have been cast, but it wasn't. Their grief could have destroyed them, but they didn't let it. They dealt with it as best they could at the time. In the movie, both Nicole Kidman's character and her mother have lost children and she says to her Mom, "When does it go away?" and her Mom says, "Never. But it gets easier." That really hit me when thinking about my own parents. Like I said before, it happened before I was born so I don't think about it every day, but I'm sure it's never far from my parents minds. We do talk about my brother and I've seen pictures and man, was he a cutie! I often wonder how we'll know each other when I get to Heaven and will he still be a little boy or not, but what matters is that I'll get to meet him one day.

Snow ... in February ... ugh

This morning when I woke up I looked outside and saw this outside my window ...

And now, by 4pm, it looks like this ...

Needy people make me less Christ-like

I know, I know. That's not a nice title, but it's the truth. Not people who are in need, but needy people. Do you know who I'm talking about? Not people who stand on the street with signs asking for money or food ... people who stand in the doorway to your office and suck the life out of you. Ok, maybe I'm being a little over dramatic. To me, there are two types of needy people. There are people who never do anything for themselves and expect you to do everything for them (which can be exhausting in it's own way, but mostly I can deal with those types of people)and there are just people who need SOOOO much affirmation ALL the time. These types of people are mainly the ones I'm talking about. If I'm being honest (which I guess I already did in the title of this post), those types of people make me unChrist-like. I literally tend to start ignoring these people. Not ignoring as in, you're talking to me and I don't reply at all ... well, not right off the bat, anyway. Now, that would be rude ... just ignoring as in "you're talking to me and after we've chatted for a bit and dealt with our business yet you keep standing there saying NOTHING but you like to hear yourself talk and think that maybe this person I'm talking to will affirm me in some way but I keep looking at my computer screen and typing because I'm working so I'll glance up at you every once in awhile and give you a smirk but hope you'll catch on that I need to get back to work" kind of ignoring.

I know. I'm an awful person. And this is why I've come here to talk about this. I need suggestions of what I can do. These are the types of people that if you give them an inch, they'll take a mile and you'll never get on with your day. This doesn't just happen at work, either. That was just one example. And how come these are the only types of people who don't catch on to the social indicators that the other person is in a rush or would like to move on? Non needy people will see those signs and be like, "Hey, it was great to see you and catch up really quickly. Have a great day," and not be insulted (hopefully). I mean, if you're standing there talking to me and my body is completely turned the other way and I'm saying, "Uh huh. Uh huh. Well, I should be going ..." and you just keep talking! I put that in because if I ever run into any of you in the mall I don't want you all to be thinking, "I wonder if she's thinking I'm needy and wants to leave right now," because those of you who I know read this blog are not like that. But maybe after admitting this, you'll have such disgust for me that YOU won't even WANT to talk to me in the mall anymore. And you know what? I totally get that.

I get that Jesus would never have turned away from someone because He had to be somewhere else. I get that Jesus would affirm that person with His love and make them feel like the most special person in the world. I get it ... and that's why I feel bad a lot of the time ... but again, if I'm being honest, most of the time, I don't ... hence ... unChrist-like. How hard would it be for me to say, "Yes, you look amazing in that outfit" (even though it's the trillionth time they've asked me) or "Hey, you did a great job on that project" (even though it's their job and that's what they get paid to do). Ok, I'm going to try to soften the blow and not make myself look so bad ... if that's even possible. I have no problem telling someone they did a good job or that they look great if I can tell they're not searching for the compliment. Does that make sense? Hopefully that explains it a little better. So now, can you please tell me how to get that "that person's searching for a compliment so I'm going to be stubborn and NOT give it to them" thought out of my head?

I understand that we all have our insecurities. I really do get that. I've got a couple big ones of my own that come to mind, but that's for another post. I guess it's when people's insecurities become other people's problems that I have an issue ... ok, I'm sounding like a bitch again. Ugh. Maybe I should just quit before I dig myself too big of a hole ... or maybe I'm too late for that. Or maybe I should add this to my lent list.

I'd LOVE your thoughts on this topic. Help!

Globetrotters!

Other than the obvious rewards of being a Big Sister, there are some pretty great perks as well. The main one being that you get free tickets to a lot of things. Last night we went to yet another Heat game and last week we got to go see the Harlem Globetrotters (oh, and did I mention that last summer we went to Cirque du Soleil? Yeah, that's right).

I felt a little bad for them because as many people as you see in the stands ... yeah, it didn't fill up any more than that. I "think" I had seen them when I was a kid, but people have been questioning my memory of them coming to my High School and that maybe it was a knock off team. Maybe they're right, so in that case, this was my first time seeing them ... which, nope ... just doesn't feel right saying. Oh well. 1st, 2nd ... does it really matter? I think it was Rachel who commented on my Facebook status that she'd heard you only need to see them once every 10 years and I think she's right. It was fun and because I love basketball, I can appreciate the talent it takes to be silly and still pull off the shots and plays that they do.

When they had been introduced and were warming up a bit, I looked at one of the guys and thought, "He looks familiar. Why would I "know" him? Has he been on a talk show or something lately?" And then it came to me ... THE AMAZING RACE! Flight Time and Big Easy were contestants on one of my favorite shows a couple of seasons back. For some reason Big Easy wasn't there, but the guy twirling the ball on his finger in the picture above ... that's Flight Time! Don't believe me?

Apology accepted. ;)

They pulled a lot of kids out on the floor and did fun things with them.

Of course they have to do the pretend-there's-water-in-the-bucket-and-chase-you-around-and-then-throw-it-on-the-crowd-but-oh-wait-it's-just-confetti schtick.

Flight Time pulled this kid out on the floor and was dancing with him. I don't know if you can tell by the kids look on his face, but he was TOTALLY getting into it. Way to go, white kid! Show 'em how it's done!

And the oh-my-goodness-he-pulled-his-shorts-down-and-the-guy-has-on-Elmo-underwear schtick.

There was a line up to meet Flight Time because he was one of the main "characters" but I didn't want to make Danielle stand in line for my crush, so I got her to take this picture of me instead.

In between people walking up to him, I whispered, "The Amazing Race is one of my favorite shows. You did a great job on it!" He said, "Thanks! It starts up again on Sunday," and gave me the thumbs up. I said, "I know!" and waved and walked off. Lately when I watch TV, I watch mostly PVR'd shows, therefore, fast forwarding through commercials (it's GLORIOUS!), so I although I knew that The Amazing Race started again this past Sunday and that they were bringing back past contestants, I didn't know who they were bringing back. As we were walking away I thought, "I wonder if him and Big Easy are back on again ..." and sure enough, there he was on my TV again last Sunday. I wish I would've known that because I would've tried to have gotten some info from him about the season ... what? I can be persuasive! Yeah, you're probably right. He's not allowed to spill any beans. Oh well. It was cool to see him and great that one of my favorite shows is back on again.

Back to the Future

This is SO awesome! I know exactly which picture I would recreate from when I was a kid.

http://irinawerning.com/back-to-the-fut/back-to-the-future/

My challenge to you all over the course of the year is to try to recreate one picture from when you were a kid. Fun, right?

New Comments section

Ok, so I'm a copycat ... but don't "they" say that's the best form of flattery. I'm still reading the blog Jamie the Very Worst Missionary and I noticed that her comment section changed. A lot of people were asking about it, so I decided to jump on board as well. This way, you can choose whether or not you want to get an email when anyone else comments on that post and when someone leaves a comment, I (or anyone else for that matter) can reply directly to that comment. I thought those reasons were genius, so that's why I've signed up. Hope you like it!

I've just noticed that it's wiped out any of the previous comments, so I'll try to figure that out because when I go to "edit posts" it still shows me the comments there. Hmmm...

A Pickle is a what?

So, this is going to be a bit of an embarrassing story, but it's also kinda funny, so I thought I'd share.

A couple of months ago, I was hanging out with my friends and somehow the topic of either cucumbers or pickles came up. I don't remember exactly how it all went down, but I remember being completely confused and then saying (yes, out loud), "Are you saying that a pickle is a cucumber?" Someone looked at me and said, "Yeah, a pickle is a pickled cucumber. Didn't you know that?"

Now, I probably should've said, "Yeah. Of course I knew that. I was just seeing if YOU knew that," and left it at that, but I didn't. My mind was in such shock that my face alone gave away that no, I did, in fact, NOT know that.

I know what you're going to ask ...

"How could you not know that?"

Here's my perfectly good explanation that I think makes perfect sense but always makes people laugh instead of saying, "Yeah, Fiona. I can completely see where you're coming from."

When something has been "pickled" you say Pickled Beets, or Pickled Carrots or Pickled Peppers (remember, Peter Piper ...). Why, then, does one not say Pickled Cucumbers? Why are they called ... just ... Pickles? I don't get it. One of my friends asked me the other night (because this conversation came up yet again - it's ok, I find it funny now, too), "What did you think pickles were, then?" I said, "Pickles! I thought they were their own thing!" Someone else asked, "How did you think they grew?" and I answered, "Just like everything ELSE grows in the garden." Since I don't like the taste of pickles, I really (obviously) hadn't given it much thought. At Christmas we were discussing the fact that my sister likes pickles and I like cucumbers, but she doesn't like cucumbers and I don't like pickles. My nephew pipes up and says, "But they're the same thing." Shut up, kid. Yeah, my 14 year old nephew already knew something that I didn't find out until my late 30s. Sheesh! What happened to respect your elders. Psssh.

BTW - I just looked up what pickling is: Pickling, also known as brining or corning is the process of preserving food by anaerobic fermentation in brine (a solution of salt in water) to produce lactic acid, or marinating and storing it in an acid solution, usually vinegar (acetic acid). The resulting food is called a pickle. This procedure gives the food a salty or sour taste.

Seriously. How can you guys eat that stuff? Fermentation? Lactic acid? Ich. I will admit that I do enjoy a good Dill Pickle chip, but that's as far as I go.

Like I said, I do find this quite funny, and for me, that almost shocks me more than the topic itself. You see, I used to not like to look stupid in front of people. I mean, does anyone? ... and I know it's pretty much avoidable at least a couple of times in a person's life, but instead of joining in the laughter like most people, I would get embarrassed and then kinda angry. I would ALWAYS join in laughing at someone else when they looked stupid, but heaven forbid anyone ever call ME out on something. So, to me, this is progress. I wasn't purposely working on this about myself (I was more working on the actual "don't look stupid in front of people" thing), but the fact that this topic has come up a few times since it happened and I join in on the laughter, makes me happy. I guess somehow along the way, God has helped me to take myself a little less serious. I love learning a lesson that we don't always have to learn the hard way. I mean, I guess I'll have to wait until it happens again and see if I react the same way ... oh wait, it DID happen again, but it has something to do with a femine hygiene product and probably isn't really something we should talk about here ... but it was FUNNY ... and very enlightening to me. If we're ever face to face and you want me to tell you the story, just ask.

Now, who doesn't have the Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers rhyme going through their head? You're welcome.

Wordless Wednesday

Pet peeve

I hate, no, HATE when smokers throw their cigarette butts out the window. Seriously?

Movie Monday

This ... was a terrible movie. There, I said it. If you liked it, I'm sorry. We can agree to disagree, right?

From about 3 minutes in, I knew this was going to be a painful 2 hours ... yet, I continued to watch. I don't know why. I can't explain it, but even if I'm reading a not so great book, I have to finish it. I'm the same way with movies. I guess I always have a little hope that it'll get better. Oh, sorry. I guess I should give you the synopsis of the movie so you know a little of what it's about.

Nelson (Keanu Reeves) is a man devoted to his advertising career in San Francisco. One day, while taking a driving test at the DMV, he meets Sara (Charlize Theron). She is very different from the other women in his life. Nelson causes her to miss out on taking the test and later that day she tracks him down. One thing leads to another and Nelson ends up living with her through a November that will change his life forever.

So, my problem with the movie wasn't so much about the storyline (although I'll get to that in a minute), but the acting. It was HORRIBLE!!! I never expect much from Keanu (sorry, I know he's Canadian). I mean, I liked him in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and also in The Matrix, but in B&TEA, he was a goofball and he pulled it off. To me, it didn't really look like acting. It looked like that's how he really talks ... and to me (can you tell I'm trying to get across that this is just my humble opinion), I've seen a little of Ted in all his performances since then. In The Matrix, it worked for his character to be very monotone and I really did like that movie. Oh, I also really liked Point Break, but I think the storyline and Patrick Swayze carried him through that one. Plus, it was about surfing, so he could bring that goofball thing into it again and it worked:
Johnny Utah: You're sayin' the FBI's gonna pay me to learn to surf?

Johnny Utah: Vaya con Dios, Brah.
Hmmm, am I sensing a little Ted in there yet again?

Anyway, that's Keanu. Now, about Charlize. As I was watching the first few minutes, I thought, "This must have been one of her first movies. This is awful!" So, I went to my trusty IMDB and looked it up. I was surprised to see that this movie came out after The Legend of Bagger Vance, The Cider House Rules and Men of Honor ... movies in which I'd liked her.

It must have been the script, then. The whole thing is too forced and unrealistic ... to me. I don't want to give too much away in case, in spite of my warnings, you still see it (luckily this is an old movie so most likely you won't CHOOSE to rent this one). Yes, it's explained later on why she acts the way she acts, but really? Ugh. I don't even really want to spend too much more of my time on this movie, so I'll try to end on something positive. Yes, there were a few sweet moments, but I think the best things about this movie were the kid who played Abner (Liam Aiken - he's also in Lemony Snicket, Road to Perdition and Stepmom - SUPER cute kid ... who's now 20) and the guy who played Chaz, Sara's friend from downstairs (Jason Isaacs - he also plays Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies - I knew he looked familiar while I was watching this dreaded, err, uhm ... movie).

Again, sorry if you liked it. This is just my humble opinion ... and it is my blog, after all. ;)