Musicals

Marriage is a creation of a distinct culture.  Every family has one, and while it could be characterized as an example of say, "Midwest conservative Christian culture", any given family and their practices and customs will differ from any other one.  Something that I (Arthur) like to think about is culture, how it's formed, benefits and drawbacks to individual cultures, and what that means about how we should live our lives and what we should allow to influence us.  As a result, it's fun for me to sit back and reflect about this little culture currently forming between Alex and myself.

One surprising aspect of our culture, at least to me, has been the use of musicals as entertainment.  I came from a family where I would say action and comedy movies were probably more the order of the day (though I had a grandpa who got a lot of enjoyment out of Laurence Welk song and dance numbers.)  Therefore, it has really been surprising to me how much I've enjoyed the musicals Alex and I have watched together.

It could be argued that our first date together was going to a musical.  A fraternity brother was in our university's production of "Guys and Dolls," and Alex's brother Arnold and I decided we would take our sisters to the performance.  Alex, of course, was oblivious to this, but I was more or less scouting her out as a girl I would like to get to know.  Anyhow, it was great, my favorite song being the Tin Horn Fugue (truth be told, I'm just a sucker for a good fugue.)  A fugue is comprised of independent melodies combined together by a common theme that's introduced at the beginning of the piece.  Johann Sebastian Bach, perhaps the greatest composer to ever draw breath, was the only major composer to do fugues; Beethoven and Mozart left them completely alone.  Some guy went and did it with lyrics.  That might be the pinnacle of musicianship.

The first musical we watched while actually dating was "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," and to be completely honest that was much more a selection for Alex's sake than any personal enthusiasm about the movie.  Despite that fact, it was really good, and there's a scene in there where the brothers in question sing a song while swinging around axes.  I may be wrong, but that movie was made about 50 years ago and I don't think those were fake axes, so I got to give a ton of respect to those guys.  Consequently, this movie was deemed manly enough that it might be enjoyed on its merits instead of just as an appeasement to my lovely bride to be.  Note from Alex:  It also contains some of the best dance scenes and portrays male dancers as pretty athletic.

Since that time, we have seen "The Musicman," "The Fantastiks!," "The Fiddler on the Roof," "Les Miserables," and "Hello, Dolly."  I guess computers have given us some cool things, but they sure haven't made us more creative.  We've already given a critique of the latest Superman movie that was 75% special effects and fight scenes, and it is sad to think that we rely on that sort of thing to produce a movie instead of music, screenwriting, and choreography.

Anyway, all this to say that musicals are a part of Alex and I's developing family culture.  It is not one that I would have thought about or expected, but it is yet another way that our marriage has broadened my horizons. Omnia vincit amor!

Dinner Party

Arthur and I hosted our first dinner party this past week.  Neither one of us have a lot of experience in planning social gatherings- actually probably no experience is more accurate.  However, as a couple, one of the things we want to do is open our home to others and make them feel welcome.  My mother is a wonderful hostess.  She can put together a quick meal for 30 people without breaking a sweat.  I have always been impressed with this skill and I think it has skipped a generation.  While I am finally mastering something beyond mac and cheese and PB&J sandwiches (I had some classmates in PT school who thought I was a vegetarian since I always had peanut butter and jelly for lunch) for Arthur and myself, I was hesitant to cook for a crowd.  So our "crowd" at our dinner party was one person, my younger brother.  My younger brother will eat most things especially if there are large quantities of it, so the standards wouldn't be too high.  Especially right now since my brother is living in a house without a microwave or oven, anything relatively warm was going to be good.

Our menu was pretty simple-- creamy chicken penne, grapes, a spinach salad, garlic bread, and pudding for dessert.  We also pulled out the "company dishes"-- these are the special white dishes I convinced Arthur we needed on our wedding registry.  As far as he was concerned he owned 3 plates and I owned 4 so we were in business and didn't need to mess with registering for anything in our kitchen.  I think we all know who won that disagreement.  I also found some place mats and felt like I was back in 4-H foods working on my place settings and menus for the county fair.  (Note: I only survived 2 years of 4-H foods and most 4-Hers that actually stick with the foods project probably come out as pretty good cooks-- I was a foods drop-out therefore I make a mean PB&J).  I did learn to set a table and also learned about making sure a meal has a variety of colors which I think ours did.

As I was making dinner I was somewhat surprised by how easy some cooking can be.  I have always avoided it because it looks like it would take hours to put together a good meal.  Then I made some delicious pudding in 30 seconds-- I added some milk and whisked-- that is something I can handle.  I then made the penne-- boil water, add some noodles, drain, and open random cans of things for a sauce-- not too bad.  For garlic bread I spread some butter, sprinkled with garlic powder and something that was green flakes in the spice rack-- and it was great.  We even had some extra time before the meal to kick back and relax before my brother arrived.

After the meal we sat and talked and then the evening's entertainment was watching some YouTube videos-- and a good time was had by all.  After my brother left, my wonderful husband pitched in to help clean up like he does every evening (did I mention that he is a keeper?).  So one dinner party down, who knows how many more to go.  Omnia Vincit Amor. 

Flashback: Camouflage

Perhaps one of the great things that occur between two married people are all the inside jokes that inevitably get created living beside one another for the greater part of a lifetime.  We are coming up on two months of marriage, so perhaps that is not the greatest introduction.  However, our lives together have created some great laughs, and we have decided to disclose the story behind one of our favorite inside jokes.

We got on the subject earlier today when we were in Sunday school.  Someone was talking about how the longer you walk with God the easier it is to hear his voice, and how early on it can be like shopping for a gift for someone you've just started dating; you just have no idea what would really please this special person in your life.

Alex and I just turned to each other and laughed.

You see, once upon a time in a not so distant past, a happy boy who had just gotten the girl of his dreams to agree to be his girlfriend was walking with said girlfriend around a Cabelas.  This particular couple, having a shared interest in outdoor gear, found themselves in this Cabelas as part of a date.

Now it must be explained that this happy boy, eager to please this wonderful girl who had so caught his fancy, had primed himself to pick up on the slightest hint of what sorts of gifts his ladyfriend would most enjoy.  So when she (sarcastically) mentioned how functional and neat the camouflage polos they had just walked past would be (quoth the girl, "You could wear it golfing or hunting"), the boy thought he had struck upon the ultimate gift.

Imagine the boy's surprise when, a couple months later, this merry couple found themselves in this same Cabelas (this couple seems to really like outdoor equipment), and upon his mentioning that he didn't see any camouflaged polos, the object of his hearts desire said, "This is the women's section.  Women wouldn't wear anything as gaudy and awful as that."  The boy, having already purchased the garment in question, felt his spirits fall as he replied, "I have a confession to tell you."

At this point, his lady friend had no idea what confession was about to pour forth... this new boyfriend may be about to tell  about his criminal past or that he has a fatal illness or that.. who knows.   When he made the confession that he had indeed purchased a camo polo for the girl's upcoming birthday she started to laugh... in relief or disbelief...and continued to laugh...and is still laughing about it today.

Sure enough a few weeks later this girl unwrapped a camouflage polo with a poem that read "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, we've hung out for a while, but I still shop with no clue".

Now the boy had done his research.  He had asked three or four people to consult about his purchase and even contacted the girl's brother who was out of the country at the time to determine the correct size.  (Why he thought her brother would have a clue about size is still a mystery.)  Even though the polo was truthfully gaudy and awful, and the lady friend neither hunts nor golfs (so much for functionality), this gift was incredibly thoughtful.  The boy did his research, picked up on small hints (okay they may not have been hints at all but still give him credit), and should get bonus points for originality.  It is definitely one of the more memorable gifts exchanged in this relationship and the retelling of the story has garnered its share of laughs.

Anyway, we hope you enjoyed this story.  This might be the first time in our relationship that the concept of love conquering all- in this case, fashion deficiencies- played itself out, but it certainly won't be the last.  With that thought, Omnia Vincit Amor!

More than Conquerors

While we were sitting in church the other day, Alex nudged me and pointed at Romans 8:37.  I thought this a tad odd seeing as how the sermon was on Psalm 139.  (I apparently wasn’t listening very well since Romans 8:37 was the verse the pastor had just referenced moments before the nudge Alex told me later.)  Alex then quietly explained to me that Romans 8:37 fits into perfectly with both the spirit of this blog and the way we should model our lives (Alex also pointed out how this verse has even more meaning to us as a couple since it was in the passage that was read at our wedding.  You can always rely on the wife to remember those details.)  Here is the verse:

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

  If you were to look at Romans 8:37 in Latin some variation on Omnia Vincit Amor would be stated.  Our blog appropriately focuses on the love shared and (the grace given) in Alex and my relationship.  But in actuality our love is just a tiny manifestation of a greater love given freely to us by our Lord and Savior.  Without His example and guiding spirit we could not love one another as we should.  And without it we could not claim to be the conquerors that the Apostle Paul declares in this verse.   Alex and I are both very competitive people and the thought of losing at anything has made competitions between us quite exciting.  But how sweet it is to think that every single day of our lives we get to play out the victory already won for us by a God so loving that he gave himself for us.  It gives me great pause to reflect that a God so mighty that He can speak a universe into existence, a God with such all-encompassing knowledge that he set all the physical constants into perfect harmony, had to die to recover fellowship because of the chasm I set in place by my sin.  'Tis a sweet victory indeed.  

Back to the entirety of the passage we picked for our wedding, Romans 8:28-39.  It was chosen by me (Arthur). When thinking about other weddings I attended and the passages read they almost always focused on the marriage relationship between a man and wife, and that is perfectly legitimate and wonderful but it is like listening to a measure of a great symphony; it cannot encompass the beauty of the whole piece of music.  Alex on the other hand was a little hesitant about using the passage.  She didn’t think a passage about famine, death, or persecution was very wedding appropriate.  She later decided that while it may be a little different for a wedding, it was very marriage appropriate.  Every marriage will experience those rough times, after all we are vowing “for better or for worse”.  However, none of those have the power to separate us from the love of Christ, instead we become conquerors.  If He is for us, than who or what can be against us.  We wanted to focus on the promises of God and His love eternal and rest confident that because of those promises our marriage could succeed and thrive.  And so today we are reminded of God’s grace and promises and encouraged once again to live out the victory of Christ in our lives every day.  In this we are more than conquerors.  Omnia Vincit Amor. 

Random Running Thoughts

One of my (Alex) favorite activities that I haven't done much of over the past year is running.  This evening I took off on a quick, short run and thoroughly enjoyed myself.  The following were my thoughts over my twenty minute run-- please realize that while running thoughts are rarely logical or sequential.

- Late summer evenings are noisy.  I could hardly hear myself think due to all the noise-- crickets, locus, cicadas.  After while it was like a bad case of ringing in my ears.

- Two caterpillars crossed the road in front of me.  One was very furry and dark black.  Supposedly according to the Farmers' Almanac this is predicting a cold, snowy winter.  The next caterpillar was black but with tinges of orange which I suppose means a mix of mild and stormy weather.  I wonder if any one has done studies on how reliable caterpillars are in weather prediction.

- For several minutes I had a song stuck from kids camp stuck in my head.  It is fast and upbeat and is a good running song.  The downside is it only about 6 lines and probably less than 15 seconds starts to finish.  When a song is that short you can play it over and over and over, thus it became even noisier in my head with this song playing, plus the insects, plus the sound of my feet on the road as well as my lungs gasping for breathe-- so much for a peaceful, quiet run.

- I think it is called "earworms" when you get a song stuck in your head--earworms just sound gross.  Check it out on Wikipedia.  Earworms

- It smelled like August tonight-- freshly cut grass, someone grilling, and ripening tomatoes.

- Even though it was evening it was still hot-- just under triple digits.  The nice thing about the road I was running on was trees on both sides creating shade-- we did not have such luxuries during cross country practice in high school on those hot dusty afternoons.

- One side of the road I was on abuts the side of the cemetery.  I also really enjoy running in cemeteries but that's another story.  Arthur and I have discussed before whether property values are higher or lower near cemeteries.  It is almost like living near a park and the neighbors would be fairly quiet.

Arthur runs with me sometimes and I am sure that his thoughts are much more orderly and he probably gets tired of my outbursts about earworms and property values but he still listens to me go on.  Or maybe he has to since it is difficult to get ignore someone rambling on next to you.  He also doesn't like to talk while running so I get to monopolize the conversation with random thoughts of a runner.  Omnia Vincit Amor.

Making a House a Home

We've just recently passed the first "monthaversary" of our marriage, and looking back on it, we can track ways our marriage has grown and developed in a variety of areas: how we relate to each other, how we spend our time, and just the natural progress of making this huge life change more and more normal.  In today's post, we would like to share with you one of the more physical manifestations of our progress: home decorating.

Some disclosure here: this is a difficult one for me (Arthur).  Home decor and style are just two things that I don't in any sense understand.  I do like to think that I can think of efficiency (this is how I make a living), but colors, contrast, everything else is just a mystery.  To me, for there to be any logical consistency to these things, these individual variables should be able to have a numerical value assigned to them, loaded appropriately into a matrix, and using proper manipulation derive what individual elements should be placed where.

Sadly, dear reader, this is not the case.  My ideas for how to arrange a house are so wacky (apparently), that my lovely Alex hardly knows whether or not to treat these suggestions as serious ones or not.  Hence, we do not have our kitchen utinsels hanging from pegboards (it works great in a shop), we still have cabinet doors on our cabinets (still adding a step in getting anything out), we do not store our pots or pans on the stove top (why not just store them were you're going to use them?  To be fair, Alex does sometimes use the extra work space, but still.), and that's just the kitchen!

To further illustrate the point, before Alex and I were married and I was living here alone, we had a bridal shower.   My skills and a home decorator were considered so poor, I was  explicitly told not to put anything away, and I lived with a pile of stuff in the middle of the living room floor until Alex could visit and could start finding places for everything.

But the greatest flurry of activity came the weekend Alex's parents came to help out.  Alex's mother apparently lives and breathes decorating.  Alex and I were flummoxed by all the stuff we had to place, but she stepped in and apparently could just see how to pull everything together.

What ensued could best be described as a tornado rampaging through your house, except instead of chaos it happened to place everything neatly and what I can only assume is its proper place.  Alex's father and I used this time to assemble a bookshelf and a clothes rack, so we were, perhaps mercifully, left out of the wake of this storm.

When the in-laws departed, I was stunned.  First, there was the result.  Alex and her mom did a great job, but what really shocked me was the energy displayed in that flurry of activity.  I stayed mostly clear of their activities, but the little that I was present just completely wore me out.  I'm a fairly strong and decently active young man, and this, um, slightly older woman just completely outdid me.  Alex enjoys distance running, and once took me on a seven mile run.  What that run did to me physically, Alex's mom did mentally.

Anyway, all this to say that a month into marriage I think we can say that we finally have our home mostly set up.

Adventures with eggplant

This week I ventured into completely unknown territory.  I cooked.  Even beyond cooking, I cooked with vegetables.  As astounding as that is, I cooked something with eggplant.  I, on some crazy notion, decided to make Eggplant Parmesan.  Lately we have been overrun with fresh produce. It seems that everyone thinks we need their extra vegetables whether it is zucchini from a birthday party, sweet corn from work, green beans from a church lady, or cucumbers from Sunday School class.  This would be a delightful circumstance if you liked vegetables or knew how to cook with vegetables-- I fall into neither category, however I hate to be wasteful so I can't let these vegetables go to waste.  The ironic part is that we only had one eggplant so I had to go buy two more to have enough for the recipe.  Also, on my commute lately I have been listening to the book Julie and Julia which is about a gal who blogs about her experience cooking through all the recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. (It seems like every time I watch this movie or read the book I end up cooking and blogging about it as well  Conquering the Kitchen) This may have provided just enough inspiration for me to try 1 new recipe, but not over 500.  The evening I was slated to make this dish, I got out of work early which was nice to have some extra time and drove home in eager anticipation.  I started in peeling the eggplants.  I was frankly quite surprised by what is inside an eggplant.  I'm not sure what I was expecting- possible a yolk or something or it to be hollow.  It was neither.  After slicing it I had to sweat the eggplant, by this time I was probably perspiring as well.  Next was breading the slices and toasting them in the oven.   And then I finally got to put it all together, cover it with a ton of cheese, and finally bake it.  Surprisingly it turned out to be pretty tasty, which is good since we have a whole 9x13 pan of it which is quite a bit for 2 people.  It basically tastes like lasagna.  Next time I will just make lasagna because it probably takes less time.  All told this took almost two hours which seems like an eternity for someone who usually just cooks everything in less than 15 minutes.  But it was a success, so I might as well stop while I am head with cooking using vegetables.  Omnia Vincit Amor. 

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Eggplant-Parmesan-II/