Thursday's List

READING: The Lover and the Beloved: The Writings of St. John of the Cross, edited by E. Allison Peers. Beautiful, ethereal poetry about the goodness and tenderness of Jesus. Nearly five hundred years old, but full of the timelessness of truth.

POOLSIDE READING: No Legal Grounds by Christian author James Scott Bell. This is a Grisham-esque legal thriller featuring a born again Christian civil lawyer whose family is being stalked by a sociopath. It is a really good story. Definitely a keeper for Mom's church library. Woo!

LISTENING TO: Traffic whisking by on the street outside my open dining room window. I am loving this low-temp, low-humidity weather we've had for the past two days. I miss hearing the birds and the cars and the church bells when the house is all closed up.

SAINT IN HEAVEN I'D LIKE TO MEET: St. Teresa of Avila, whom I always think of as "Auntie Tess."

SORRY TO SAY: The azalea Kayte bought me in May is now -- *gulp* -- dead. I found a gardening website that told me how to take care of it and I planted it in a bigger pot and gave it a little sunshine but not too much. And Miracle-Gro. And water! But my withered thumb has asserted itself again.

FAVORITE NEW FIND: Terra Tints lip balm in "Bloom" by Alba. I found this lip balm at Meijer, over in the cosmetics section with the other lip balms. It's more expensive at $3.99, but I use it as a lip gloss. It has cosmetic-grade mica as a colorant, plus a touch of peppermint oil to give it a little kick. The color I got is called "Bloom," as I mentioned and it is a nice, neutral pink. The other shade is a neutral peachy-pink. SFP 18, too!

FAVORITE THING TODAY: Just got home from spending four hours at the pool. It was a PERFECT day. Perfect. I ate some really top quality french fries from the snack bar. Also M&M's. Feeling a little bit guilty about that.

HOURS OF SLEEP LOGGED LAST NIGHT: About five and a half. Ugh.

SCRAPBOOK PAGES THIS WEEK: three

THE CAUSE OF MY STRESS: 4-H projects due on Sunday. If you ask me why I am stressed out over the girls' 4-H projects, I will tell you to shut up. I just am.

PRAYING FOR: Tom, husband of an internet friend, with an aggressive cancer on most of his internal organs. Their first request for prayer, of course, is complete healing a restoration of his health, so that's what I'm doing. Please say a prayer for Tom and his wife, Sue. They are twenty-somethings with two small kids.