The Passion
What a powerful representation of the passion story. Two words that come to mind are: brutal and bloody. During most of the movie either the romans or the jews are beating on Jesus. Since this is only a movie, it cannot be taken as fact. However it is directly taken from the Bible and from what we know of that time period there is no reason to think that it isn't close to the truth. So it would be safe to assume that Jesus did experience severe physical suffering before he was crucified. In the movie, his body is basically an open wound. One realization that I had was that by the time he was nailed to the cross, his body was probably numb.

Some other important items to note. The movie is not in english. They are speaking the languages they would have spoken for real. So it is subtitled. This made the movie more powerful. During the brutality scenes, there are flashbacks to the last supper. These scene are quite powerful also.

I know there is some controversy about the movie being anti-semitic. However the movie seems to be an accurate representation of the facts. The high priests were the ones who instigated Jesus' death. To say that it is anti-semitic would be like saying the movie roots is anti-white. Jews need to realize that this is part of their heritage. They did not believe that Jesus was the messiah and they believed he was blasphemous and needed to be stopped. Now they need to accept their part in the story.

I'll step off the soap box now, and you go see the movie!

30 hour famine
Yep, I pretty much did it. The original plan was to begin fasting at noon on friday. So I ate a small container of yogurt at 9:30 and planned to get something to eat at 11:30. Everyone knows about plans... they don't always happen. So noon can and went. So that meant that since 11:00 the night before I had only had a SMALL container of yogurt, which is practically liquid. By 7:00 I was hungry but not feeling bad. We saw The Passion movie and it is really good. Next stop cosmic bowling at 10:00. We filled up on soda which worked. The only rough time was when the people next to us ate fries. They smelled incredible. Snaps to Michael for bowling a 200!! Bowling ended at 1:00, we stopped at Sheetz on the way back to church and I loaded up on caffeine (coffee). By this time I had been fasting for 26 hours (remember it was a really small container of liquid yogurt).

While we were at Sheetz, I marveled at how we are surrounded by food. Any other time that I was hungry, I would just buy a snack but now I couldn't. The people in other countries who are starving for real don't have that option. There is such an abundance of food around and we take it for granted and eat junk. Back at the church we played games and watched the simpsons. Around 3:00 I noticed my cold symptoms returning. I also noticed I was really hungry and knew that liquids wouldn't help. My stomach wanted something solid. At 5:30 I was feeling pretty miserable from my cold and decided to head home. It was at this point that I discovered that I had been fasting for almost 31 hours, since the small container of liquid yogurt didn't count as food. So I broke my fast with 2 grilled cheese sandwiches with grape jelly on top. YUM!

i've got a cold in my nose
Well actually its in my head. It started yesterday and felt worse today. So I was home from work. I tried to go at 2:00, but couldn't bring myself to do it. I've started working on homework and I am definately crazy. I'm sure I'll get through the class somehow, but it won't be easy.

Being sick gave me a chance to watch many Sopranos. I need to get more for the weekend. I'm definately hooked.

A big thank you to my counterculture friends for the great care package! I can't wait to try the caserole and make famous quesadillas. You guys ROCK!

Connie & Patty made it back from Charolottesville safely. The surgery went well. Remember to keep them in your prayers.

no more sex
Tonight was the series finale for Sex in the City. It was really good. What show is left for us singletons?

This week should be rather busy. Patty and I are taking Connie to Charlottesville for the procedure on the two melanoma sites. We go down on Tuesday and say overnight. Thursday is a tuperware party. I also start my class this week. It all ends with the 30 hour famine. Somehow I'll make it through everything.

did hell freeze over?
It must have because today i registered to take a class. Economics no less. Is there a full moon? I've been thinking about going for an MBA. I might be crazy, but it sorta sounds like a good idea. We'll see how I feel after having "10-12 hours of work a week". Thats a direct quote from the prof that is teaching the class. It starts Feb 23 so make sure you pray for me. I'll need it.

I finished the first season of the sopranos. I'm hooked! I have until March 7 to watch the next 4. I think its possible.

I sold my first ebay item. YAY! Hopefully I will be able to sell some of the other creative memories stuff. It would be awesome to have cash instead of all these products i can't use.

Tomorrow is a busy day, jam packed with goodness. Meetings, lunch at 14 carrots, hair stuff, working late, and fitness center.

Next weekend I will be fasting for 30 hours with the MYF. Let me know if you are interested in sponsoring me or would like to make a donation to a worthy organization that helps feed starving people.

Veggie Update: Things are going fine. My body has adjusted to my new diet. I continue to think about what it means to be a vegetarian and whether or not I should go vegan. If you wonder what some of the reasons to go vegetarian or vegan are check out peta. Check out eh section about meeting your meat.

geek quiz
Here are my results from the geek quiz:

You are 31% geekYou are a geek liaison, which means you go both ways. You can hang out with normal people or you can hang out with geeks which means you often have geeks as friends and/or have a job where you have to mediate between geeks and normal people. This is an important role and one of which you should be proud. In fact, you can make a good deal of money as a translator.

Normal: Tell our geek we need him to work this weekend.

You [to Geek]: We need more than that, Scotty. You'll have to stay until you can squeeze more outta them engines!

Geek [to You]: I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain, but we need more dilithium crystals!

You [to Normal]: He wants to know if he gets overtime.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

Tell me what your results are. :)

fat cat
Any ideas how to help a cat loose weight? Misty is getting heavier every day. She is up to 17 pounds. I'm not sure what to do, is there such a thing as cat aerobics? She is a very happy cat and loves to eat.

I spent the weekend watching the first season of the sopranos. What an interesting show. I'm not completely sure how I feel about it, but it is intriguing. I've been trying to decide if there is anything redeeming values in it. So far I haven't discovered any, but it is a really interesting look at people and how they interact.

Well I wouldn't say that I'm super organized, but i did make progress. It was a good weekend, I slept, hung out with friends, cleaned, blogged, and slept some more. Yes, all in all a great weekend.

v-day
I finally put some of my left over creative memories inventory up for sale on ebay. Check out my auctions if you need anything, or email me. I'm hoping to save up for a new couch or a tivo.

Famous Food update: Patty's awesome bean dip, Lynley's potato soup, and Mom's incredible cinnamon rolls (thanks for the special supply for v-day).

I've chosen to celebrate valentine's day this year by watching the sopranos. i've been wanting to get caught up so i can start watching when they start the new season on March 7. I've invited the girls to join me if they want. I'm also hoping clean and get super organized. Its possible, right? I'll start after my nap. :)

no exercise for the busy
It was really looking like I would get to run tonight, but no running for jenni (should be said with soup nazi accent). I took Jesse and Abbi to Daves to celebrate his acceptanc to hesston. I had a bean soup, tomato mozarella salad, and we share yummy chocolate cake for desert. Then I took them to the mall to do some shopping. I found some things at b moss, yay! By the time I got home it was 8:30 and the fitness center closes at 9. So I was out of luck.

Its really annoying that the fitness center closes at 9 instead of 10. There have been 2 times this week when i could have gone if it was open till 10. When will I be able to exercise. Please don't tell me I need to exercise in the morning. I don't think I could do it. Maybe if I was a morning person and I woke up at 5:30. But I don't think I can do it.

Things at work have remained busy, but not overwhelming. I feel like I've been able to work on interesting things. I get to work with such cool people and its a fun place to be. I am challenged and have new things thrown at me everyday. I am so used to the constant activity and chaos, that I'd be bored anywhere else. Yay for good co-workers, you guys are still AWESOME!

Thanks to Patty for letting me sit on her couch and work on my blog, you are a great friend. Snaps to you!

brush with fame: more famous foods
Dan has many delicious foods that could be famous. Here they are: Pizza with lotsa sauce, fish with salsa, and many yummy beverages. Almost everything he makes is awesome.

I'll keep you posted if more food becomes famous.

almost famous
I've been getting a lot of teasing from my good friend Jesse about my "famous" food. So I thought I would explain my terminology. A food becomes famous when it becomes synonomous with that person. Or in other words it becomes expected that they will bring that food to any gathering. One example is Adam's bean dip. My examples are brownies, red/orange/yellow peppers, and now quesadillas.

It seems like lots is going on with small group, counterculture, myf, work. I love all the things I'm involved in and I wouldn't cut a thing, but I wish there was more time for running. Hopefully I will get to run on thursday.

Veggie Update: Being a vegetarian is a breeze. However, I've been told that I'm a strange vegetarian. I am sort of a picky eater so it means that I don't like some of the foods that vegetarians typically eat like legumes. I do love Kashi cereal, its tasty.

Snaps to dad for fixing my coat rack and reinstalling it. You ROCK!

guess who's coming to dinner
Tonight I made dinner for the fam; Mike, Sarah, Mom & Dad. I made my soon to be famous Quesadillas. with strawberries and my famous brownies for dessert. Everything was yummy if I do say so.

After dinner we had a rousing game of Smash Bros. Mike and Sarah won most of the battles. It was lots of fun.

Jesse and Abbi came over earlier and I colored his hair. It looks hott! They stayed around for awhile. We talked and ate yummy cookies that abbi brought. Good times! We'll have to do it again.

Yoga was good again today. I'm really glad that I took the class. This week I'm going to make a huge effort to run.

Thats enough random thoughts for tonight.

new look
The title says it all. I've worked on the design and have a new look. Its still not quite what I am looking for, but oh well. I'll work on it again another time. For those of you who are interested, yesterday and today were much better. It was actually such a dramatic mood shift that I am attributing it to hormones.

veggie update: I've made it three weeks. It just gets easier each day. My body is finally used to no meat and the alternative protein sources. Thanks to everyone who has given encouragement and helped me stick to it. I know its kind of a pain if you are cooking for me, thanks for understanding. I'm not picky or trying to convert anyone. :)

Time for bed, yoga tomorrow - yay!

the sun will come out.....
Well today was sorta better. I felt somewhat stressed out during the day. But tonight I've felt much better. It started with dinner at church. Once a month there is a soup dinner where we relax and fellowship. It's always nice to hang with the church peeps. Then I spent some time catching up on emu stuff. It felt really productive and put me in a good mood. I'm not so stressed out about tomorrow. So maybe the sun will come out ...tomorrow.

voldemort - he who can't be named
Most of the time I forget about my first life as a married person. Occassionally I will think over things and say "what if I had done this or that differently". I feel like I've dealt with the loss of that dream. I wish things had been different, but I can't change things now. He made his decision and I've dealt with it. Its been hard everytime I learn about how his life is progressing. The latest news is that he is expecting a baby girl. Gag.

So now I'm stuck with all these feelings and questions:
-Why does he get to have a family?
-How can he go on with his life knowing that he destroyed ours?
-Why does it still hurt?
-Why can't I be over it for good?

I know that I need to focus on all the good things God has given me and not look back:
-I have so many friends that care about me!
-I have an incredible job that I enjoy and allows me to support myself!
-I have 2 wonderful cats that cuddle with me on the couch!
-I have an awesome house that I can decorate any way I want!
-I can spend my money on anything I damn well please!
-I have a nice car and the seat is alway at the right spot for me!
-I have a wonderful family who have stuck by me through everything!

I feel a little better, but it still doesn't seems fair. But of course everyone knows life isn't fair. I do have a great life and wonderful people are in it. I'll be fine tomorrow, but tonight I'm melancholy..

Did someone order SNOW?
The news of the morning is snow. WOW! Last night I made dinner for the girls (audrey, patty, connie & megan). A good time was had by one and all. I continue to struggle with my schedule. I don't feel overwhelmed, and I know God is in control, but I never have time to work out. My body has been complaining. I need to find time. I'm afraid the only time that will work is mornings, but i've been fighting that thought.

Well, its time to get ready for my snow adventure.