Happy Little Trees

Marriage adds new elements to all parts of life. Modern marriage adds the element of room temperature adjustment. I don't know if Charles and Caroline Ingalls ever argued over temperature. If it was cold, they needed more firewood. If it was hot, all they could do was open their one tiny cabin window with real glass and perhaps the door. But in today's day and age, temperature can be adjusted by specific degrees. And all of us, seem to have our preference of temperature.

I prefer to live out the indoor day on a nice 70 degrees. My sleeping temperature preference is a cool 68 degrees. My husband and I can mostly agree on the day time temperature (of course, most of that time we are at work), but for sleeping temperature, he prefers a warm 72. We've made an adjustment to about 70. Although I sneak it down an extra degree after I noticed he has set it up a degree or two. He usually notices.

If my temperature is off by just a couple of degrees, I wake up with sweat around my hairline. It's really weird. How does my body know the temperature is not my favorite? You'd think if I was sleeping, I would just sleep and not be so picky.

I might develop a match-making website called "Six Degrees of Separation." If a couple was too many degrees different in temperature preference, the relationship would not be a match for the system. In real relationships temperature differences can still work--but effort on behalf of both parties must be instituted such as adding elements like flannel pajamas or a partial bed heating element.

I have not included the sleeping element of a fan (ceiling or boxed) because that would be an entire additional chapter. But for the record, I do like a small fan for white noise, and a ceiling fan on low during the night.

I made a praise song out of a Backstreet Boys song today. I could not get the song out of my head, so I decided if it wanted to invade my brain and shower time, then it must have a positive purpose.

I don't know the copyright laws for using the tune and changing the words around. I might need to consult Weird Al. However, I really like the praise song.  

"Are you spiritual? yeah-ahh."

I tell ya, it's catchy. I really hope Chris Tomlin doesn't read my blog. He might take my idea.

We're celebrating our first Christmas tomorrow. "We" as in me and Paul.

We've been sharing tales of Christmases past doing our best to morph them into something that is our own. Paul has been exploring traditions of Santa and the Christian meaning. I am trying to break free from the notion that Santa gifts are left unwrapped, fresh out of the red velvet bag, under the tree. Paul grew up with wrapped Santa gifts. The Santa that came to my childhood house was in a hurry, and probably pretty tired, so the gifts were just left as is.

Christmas seems to give a different lesson every year, no matter what your age. It's a time of remembrance, reflection, and restoration (I love alliteration!).

Remembrance:

• The faces, smiles, hugs, and laughs of loved ones.
• What it was like to be a kid at Christmas.
• Shaking gifts without breaking them trying to guess the surprise.
• Not sleeping very well.
• Different dishes that remind of us of relatives. (Aunt Mischelle's taco mound; Uncle Charles' fruitcake; Aunt Connie's broccoli casserole)

• Thinking about what went right and wrong with past Christmases.
• Gleaning out the truly important parts of the past.
• Confessing my past attitudes on unmet expectations.
• Reading the story of the birth of Christ in Luke.

Restoration:

• Leaving behind grievances.
• Looking ahead to new beginnings represented by the hope of baby Jesus.
• Accepting Christmas as a gift not of just presents and the presence of people, but as a symbol of God's ultimate gift of the sacrifice of His son.

Merry Christmas. And God bless us,  every one!

In high school, I called myself Beth the Great. I'm not sure why. Perhaps I mixed a World Civilization lesson with my old teenage self-absorption.

But on this eve of the eve of Thanksgiving, I pronounce myself, Beth the Grate-ful!

It's easy to focus on the have-nots of the world. As humans, we're more likely to be looking at the greener grass or what is missing instead of the abundance we have.

I am grateful.
I am grateful for the love of Jesus Christ in my heart that gives me a peace that passes all understanding.
I am grateful I know there is life beyond this life.
I am grateful for those that love me.
I am grateful for those that let me love them.
I am grateful for laughter.
I am grateful for the beauty of God's creation.
I am grateful for breathing and living this day!

My prayer is to stay grateful! I pray not to let grumpiness get in my gizzard (I really don't know what that means, but it seemed like a Thanksgiving saying). I pray to see things in the right perspective under the microscope of Christ, rather than one I've fashioned myself.

I have mixed excitement and fear about watching Blackfish, a documentary about orcas. I took a trip to SeaWorld in San Antonio several years back, but we weren't able to get into the Shamu show. After I got back, I watched some videos about when the Killer Whale shows went wrong. I never thought about times when Shamu wasn't happy to wave and splash and be rewarded with fish, but those times happen.

After I heard about a trainer that died because of being attacked by a whale, I did some Internet research on the specific whale involved in the attacks, and I was a bit disturbed. The same whale has been involved in a total of three human deaths. The whale always seemed to have an alibi. This whale is still an active part of SeaWorld today. There are just more rules for his handlers.

I am little too passionate now about killer whales in captivity. I never saw the movie Free Willy, but I visited Keiko, the actual whale who was portrayed in the movie. I saw him at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. At one point, my brother and I had to tap on the glass, because he appeared to be floating too easily in the tank. We thought his ship may had sailed!

Now, my views are that whales should not used in shows to entertain humans. I read a quote today from the creator of the Blackfish documentary that said she didn't think people needed to be able to see an orca do the macarena, and I agree.

I hope that one day our society will wake up to many things, and this is just one that has sparked my heart. I do believe God gave us the responsibility of caring for animals, and by capturing them for our entertainment, we're putting not just the animals at risk, but humans as well. It's not worth the cost.

(note: this post is for non-Houstonians)

[Beth's creative phonics: Kah-loche-eee]

I discovered something amazing in Houston. I discovered it years ago, and often forget that it is pretty much a regional thing.

Unlike the title of this post suggests, "kolache" is not a tribe. It's actually a delicious Czech-American breakfast treat or dessert. Kolaches can be savory or sweet, but they are always wonderful to eat.

The dough of a kolache is like tasty sweet bread, and the sweet kolaches have filling that is sometimes fruity or cream cheese. The savory kolaches are pretty creative. It could be described as a "pig in a blanket," but I would describe it as a dough pinata--inside are the goodies! I have had sausage and egg, potato and egg, ham and cheese--the possibilities are endless.

There are entire stores dedicated to kolaches. Their hours follow doughnut shop hours. When a co-worker brings kolaches, it's just as amazing (or better) as when they bring doughnuts.

Do you eat fruits and veggies every day? When is the last time you've consumed a piece of fruit or a serving of vegetables? Sometimes it can be hard to remember.

I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, but I only ask these questions, because I ask them to myself. And, because I care for you. I really wish things like pizza, doughnuts, bread, and cheese helped keep my ticker in tip-top shape, but that's not how God made us. What is kind of ironic is that when you start eating good foods, you begin to crave them. But when you start eating bad foods, you can start to crave those, too.

One of my staples is an apple a day. I've started to add in carrots when I can. Some may say this is a horse diet. Perhaps I shall add hay. (kidding!!) I have a tough time adding in lettuce without accompanying it with some ranch or blue cheese or some other rich food to wash it down.

I have this dream that if I was really skinny, then I would need to eat cupcakes and doughnuts. I don't think that is a proper view of nutrition or diet. Skinny people that can seem to eat everything bad only perpetuate this improper thinking. But my secret thoughts are that those skinny people have horrible cholesterol readings, or their metabolism will slow down one day and they'll join the rest of America's reality.

But the real question is do I consume food or does it consume me? Hmmm. Deep thoughts for the weekend.