Dull Moments

I have called the police a few times in my life. It feels weird every time. I came back from my dental work today, ate some soup, and transferred our phone lines back so I could continue on my work day. A normal Tuesday, right? About 15 minutes later, one of the girls that works next door came rushing in, crying, shaking, freaking out. She claimed her boss had grabbed her, slapped her, slammed her into a door and she asked me to call the police. I did as she asked (what else was I going to do?) and tried to calm her down until the cops showed up. And I thought the difficult part of my day was going to be going to the dentist. Other people tell me, "I wish interesting things happened to me." I say, "No, you don't. But if you get what you wish for, just pray you don't panic under pressure. If you freeze up, all is lost." Calm, quick reflexes. Hopefully that skill will come in handy if I'm ever a Mom. Anyway, the officer (who was quite kind and helpful) pri...

Who doesn't LOVE a baby bunny? Our garage is a typical TN-add-on-to-your-house garage that doesn't really touch the ground. Meaning our garage can some times resemble a zoo exhibit. Lately, we have had a little bunny that has taken up residence in the evenings. It is about the cutest thing ever. I promise we tried to get it and free it from our garage, but it was a little too sneaky for us. I'm sure it'll find it's way out just as it found it's way in. Speaking of misplaced creatures, moving has totally lost all reality for me, but it's okay, it'll be real when it needs to be real. I've had two people ask me something about Christmas in the last week, and my first thought was, "I hope I am not homeless or unemployed by December." Yup, that was it. And then I had to ask again what the original question was. People used to ask me the hardest thing about being a missionary. Missing home? Using your second language? Not drinking from the tap? ...

I've been thinking about new and old things. I promised to write about them. Life is a big combination of new and old things right now. We are here, but we are leaving. We have a house we own, a house we rent, and we are looking for a house to buy after ours sells. Old things, new things. Thinking about what you want in a house tells you a lot about yourself. Me? I'm... neurotic. Yes, that's right. I just want big closets and cabinets for my stuff and rooms/garages/basements for Robert's junk stuff. I hated my last job, I love my current job, I will need a new job... see? Old and new. When our nurse recently made me draw her blood, she was like, "Chrissy, you are wasting your life and should totally be an RN." Okay, that's not really what she said. It was more like, "You'd be a great nurse. Why don't you get your RN?". I have all these reasons why. I never thought I was smart enough/I'd be good at it/I'd love it. People always ...

Lately, I've been thinking about new things and old things. I always cook the same things. So I tried cooking them new ways this weekend. I love chocolate chip cookies. Some days, like yesterday, I am a little busier than I am normally, and don't quite have the time to scoop and scoop cookies. So why not try a new cookie bar recipe for an old favorite? For this week's baking, we have... Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars! I found the recipe on a mom-blog. I am very excited about this. Go here for the recipe... http://realmomkitchen.com/1396/thick-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-bars/ I really liked them, I just wished that I had baked them for a few more minutes. I only did 26, and they needed 28 in my oven. Robert disagrees and thinks they are gooey perfection. They are still pretty delicious. But since a Robert or Chrissy can not live on cookies alone (though, believe me, we've tried), I made a good old-fashioned summer dinner, too. Crock pot BBQ chicken sandwiches a...

The last time I tried to get a donut on Friday on my way to work, I got a speeding ticket for $300. You'd think I would have learned. Today, I made it there with no tickets (though on the road I got pulled over on, I did get passed illegally by someone who LIVED on the road going well over 50mph). I walked in and was the second person in line. I was fine and happily waiting for my turn to ask for a glazed goodness when another employee came around and asked me what she could get for me. I answered her simply. However, she did not hear me answer because she turned to listen to her co-worker at the drive-threw saying some "funny" or "joking" thing to her. They carried on for a bit and then she turned back to me and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. What do you want?" Big. Mistake. I am not proud of what I did next. In a voice a little louder than necessary, I repeated my order. The girl got my donut and I set down my money (which was a little ...

What a great topic, right? But appropriate. We have dealt with death this past week and marked death's anniversary. Experiencing death is a very interesting rite of passage in life. Those who do not have great exposure to death often times have a sense of innocence not yet lost, a beauty that is sweet and lovely. Those of us who have been through the passage -- truly mourned, truly lost, truly felt a death that seemed a part of our very beings with the death of a loved one -- cannot go back. Few become bitter or completely afraid of death. Few who go well into adulthood without facing death may become cavalier, immature about the subject. Life is full of death, and death full of Life. Our lives are often lived with how it will effect our death and thereafter. The deaths we experience greatly impact our lives. Some times, it feels as though certain people should not be gone. Contacts that will never again pop-up on my cell phone with a call. Invites will sit, unaddressed, for people...

To start off with, we took the boat out for the first time this year over the weekend. It was really nice. It was ridiculously hot, sunny, and the lake was huge and beautiful (see, TN? Some times I don't make fun of you!). Robert taught me how to water ski, and it was so fun! I felt like such a hot-shot when I got up (after not too many tries) and skied around. As a result of my new found love of water skiing, I can't move today. Well, that's not accurate. My arms, shoulders, upper back and neck are really, really sore. I feel about a million years old (or like Robert probably feels on a daily basis... love you, honey). Good thing I got in a work-out (and the house cleaned) yesterday before all this kicked-in, because I doubt it's gonna happen today. Oh yeah, and if didn't read Robert's Facebook post... we destroyed half of the boat and ran out of gas in the one outing. Isn't that how you know you had fun / are a Brack? Thanks to Sparkpeople.com and my dete...

Yup. My life just wasn't exciting enough recently, so I decided to go to the dentist today. I've been having jaw-shattering pain when biting on my left side, so I thought maybe I should have this looked at. I convinced myself the filling just needed to be replaced. I mean, it's not like I have anything else going on , so why would something else difficult happen, right? They poke. They prod. I bite. I bite in other places. We find the source of the pain (ouch). "Yup, that's it." The dentist said, "Number 19." "Got it." The assistant said. "Want to start pre-authorizing?" "Sure, it's just a crown. We can start today, or..." " HOLD UP ."I interrupt like a crazy person. "Are you for real ? I need a crown ?" I kid you not, those were my exact words . Nice, huh? That's right. I thought I had the best teeth ever, because at 25, my mother had to have her first crown. Same with my sister. 25 came an...

I am never at a loss for words... but I will keep this brief. Looking for a house will drive you crazy. I do not know how my mother has survived this so many times, and I am truly, truly impressed with the level of sanity she has retained. For all the times she was house hunting and I thought, "Oh Mom, come on, surely it's not that tough", all I can say is... ...little did I know. Little did I know. :)

The worst part is, some times I am really mean and I just don't care . Ask my husband about this when I am trying to clean our house. There is no kindness there. I have a soft side -- don't get me wrong. I have endless compassion. My husband will also tell you that I am a notorious bleeding heart and can have the patience of Job depending on the situation (like my niece crying because she wants her mom but I'm stuck holding her). There's a lot going on in our lives right now. A lot I am not ready to talk about. A lot that is bringing out a very, very mean streak. It is making me want to say what I am thinking. I would love to tell people what I think of them. That I think my dog is smarter than my office manager (she may not argue). That no one in this state knows how to drive. That messing with my life and not thinking anything about trying to screw with me (or people I love) will not reign hell down you. That the way you interpret that Bible passage is made-frickin...

...Are the best. Last night, I got to hang out with the lovely Nicole Dumas. We haven't seen each other since Bridget's wedding August. We live, like, super far apart. Our lives aren't really connected. But she can show up in Nashville for a conference, and we can hang out for hours like it's nothing . I love friends like that. Friends you don't have to try with, people who just get you, people who you will always have something in common with because you just do . Take my friend, Jen. We both moved in the past year. We see each other, um, like 1/100 of the time we used to. But when I see her, I feel like nothing has changed. How lucky am I to have people like that? Nicole and I talked about our past years, and the year or two to come. There will be (as she would say) so much life we are going to encounter. We will share walking Jamie Dolan down the aisle when it's her special day (because you are totally going to let us do that, right, Pipes?). We will move t...