Brother and sister cheek to cheek...

I guess from the picture you can tell which cheek I mean. ;-)

The Fayre Word for 11/30/06...

It's a little late (it's been one of those days), but here's today's word:

poikilotherm \poi-KEE-luh-therm\ (noun)
an organism (as a frog) with a variable body temperature that tends to fluctuate with and is similar to or slightly higher than the temperature of its environment; a cold-blooded organism

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

It's hard to believe that in about 27 hours, it will be December. I guess part of the issue is that it's been 70 degrees for the past couple of days...not at all helping to usher in the Christmas season.

As we do every year, we decorated our house this past weekend. It's usually the Friday after Thanksgiving...while everyone else is up at 4 a.m. standing in insane lines to get good deals, we're sleeping in and then pulling Christmas decorations down from the attic. Not that I'm opposed to good deals, but I guess I draw the line at waking up before the crack of dawn and going out to fight with the crazy shoppers...I guess I'll just pay the extra $20 bucks or so...whatever.

I love being at home with all the lights. I think we do a pretty nice job decorating. Chris posted some pictures, so check them out if you want to.

Still have a ton of Christmas shopping to do...I'm thinking online might be the way to go.

Hope you all enjoy the month of December. Try not to get so stressed out that you don't take time to reflect on this amazing time of year.

The Fayre Word for 11/29/06...

Good morning...back from the gym...4 miles on the treadmill...it was really rough this morning.

Here's today's word:

affable \AF-uh-bul\ (adj.)
1: being pleasant and at ease in talking to others
2: characterized by ease and friendliness

Happy Wednesday.

The Fayre Word for 11/28/06...

In Northern VA for the day and then headed home.

Here's today's word:

cerulean \suh-ROO-lee-un\ (adj.)
resembling the blue of the sky

Have a great day.

The Fayre Word for 11/27/06...

Heading up to Northern, VA, this morning for a couple of days in the office.

Here's today's word:

Podunk \POH-dunk\ (noun)
a small, unimportant, and isolated town

Happy Monday.

The Fayre Word for 11/26/06...

Good morning...up early and off to Bedford, VA, this morning with Chris.

Here's today's word:

steganography \steg-uh-NAH-gruh-fee\ (noun)
the art or practice of concealing a message, image, or file within another message, image, or file

Have a great day!

After Thanksgiving...

We spent Thanksgiving at my mom's in Northern VA. My brother came down from NYC...it was really great to see him.

We had most of the traditional turkey day foods, minus the turkey...we had roast instead. It was good, but didn't seem like Thanksgiving without the turkey.

We only had a few hours to spend with my brother because his bus didn't get in until late in the afternoon. Here are a few pictures of me, my mom and my brother (Chris is taking the pics).

Eating dinner (in case that isn't obvious)

After the meal...

Pebbles on my mom's couch

Yesterday, instead of fighting the crazy shopping people, we spent the entire day cleaning the house and putting up the Christmas decorations. It was hard work, but the house looks really nice...I love all the lights.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

The Fayre Word for 11/25/06...

Got to visit with our good friends, Dennis and Melissa, last night for a couple of hours. It was so great to see you guys and catch up a little! We love you.

Here's today's word:

inveigle \in-VAY-gul\ (verb)
1: to win over by wiles : entice
2: to acquire by ingenuity or flattery; wangle

The Fayre Word for 11/24/06...

Happy Black Friday. Chris and I toyed with going out this morning for some of the great deals...but I think I'd almost rather pay a little more and not fight with all the crazy people out there.

Anyway, here's today's word:

maelstrom \MAIL-strum\ (noun)
1: a powerful often violent whirlpool sucking in objects within a given radius
2 : something resembling a maelstrom in turbulence

Happy Thanksgiving...

to you!

We're headed up to my mom's for the day...my brother is coming down from NYC so it'll be nice to see him.

While most of our meal will be the traditional Thanksgiving foods, we'll be having a roast today instead of turkey. I know...don't have a cow! Ha.

I made my traditional holiday pie. A coworker gave me this recipe some years back and I only make it for the holidays. It's an apple-cranberry-currant pie, but it's become known as, "Lora's pie." When I take it somewhere people usually assume that we bought it at a bakery. I never know whether to take that as a compliment, as in, "That's so incredible looking it must have been made by a professional baker." Or, an insult, as in, "I can't believe you made that."

Anyway, I thought I'd post a picture so you can see for yourself. And it doesn't only look great, it's delicious, too. I don't usually like to toot my own horn, but I will in this case.

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. And as Chris shared with the youth last night, let's strive to make every day a day of thanksgiving for all that we have and all that God has done for us. While I'm thankful for so many things, I'm especially thankful for God's mercy.

Food or art...I'm not sure. ;-)

Chris wanted me to post a before pic, so here it is.

The Fayre Word for 11/23/06...

Good morning...Thanksgiving wishes in a separate post. =)

Here's today's word:

majordomo \may-jer-DOH-moh\ (noun)
1: a head steward of a large household (as a palace)
2: butler, steward
3: a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another; broadly; the person who runs an enterprise

A few pictures to share...

You must think we take pictures of the doggies all the time...we do!

Here are a few very cute ones to share.

They don't do this very often...

She looks so pretty with the light shining on her.

Chris watching the Steelers game last Sunday

(thought you all would enjoy seeing what I put up with!).

The Fayre Word for 11/22/06...

Morning...back from the gym...4 miles again on the treadmill today. Chris made me a workout playlist on his iPod and I was grooving to the music this morning! ;-)

Anyway, here's today's word:

dolorous \DOH-luh-rus\ (adj.)
causing, marked by, or expressing misery or grief

Hope you all enjoy your day.

The Fayre Word for 11/21/06...

Good morning...back after the gym...ran 4 miles...woohoo!

Here's today's word:

palinode \PAL-uh-nohd\ (noun)
1: an ode or song recanting or retracting something in an earlier poem
2: a formal retraction

Hope you all have a great day!

Happy anniversary to...

Us!

Today is our 13th anniversary. Wow...am I old enough to be married for 13 years? I'm not so sure about that. Ha!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to a relaxing, but semi-productive day. I go to the doctor this morning for a follow-up on my blood pressure. Hoping that it all goes well.

Chris and I have dinner reservations tonight at the Blue Fire Steakhouse at the Richmond Marriott. His parents gave us a "Dinner for Two" certificate last year that we never used. So we decided to use it tonight...it should be a lot of fun and a lot of food. The certificate covers: 2 appetizers, 2 salads, 2 entrees, 2 desserts and all tax and gratuity...woohoo!

We woke up this morning and spent a couple of minutes thinking about this day 13 years ago. Kind of fun to do that...and remember the funny things that happened.

Like when we left the reception and arrived at the Radisson Mark Plaza in Alexandria, where we were staying for our wedding night. But, because we were under 21, and his parents were paying for the room, they asked us to wait until his parents arrived to give them an imprint of their credit card. So, Chris and I stood in the hotel lobby (in dress and tux) and waited...while everyone stared at us and wondered what in the world we were doing.

Finally, after about 35-40 minutes, we called the church to see how much longer it would be before his parents made it to the hotel. When Roni (Chris' stepmom) found out that they hadn't let us in our room yet, she called the hotel and apparently gave them an earful because several minutes later they came rushing over to us, apologizing and gave us a key to our room.

But the fun didn't stop there...We had all this food with us and there was supposed to be a refrigerator in the suite, but of course when we got to our room, there wasn't one there. So we had to call down and request one. They tried to tell us it would be about an hour, but we assured them that they had better get it up to our room and fast...I'm sure they didn't want another call from Roni.

So, they brought the fridge and the food was safely stored for later...but oh, the fun didn't stop there either. Several hours later our toilet overflowed and maintenance had to come and fix it and then they sent housekeeping to come and clean up the mess.

While it was kind of irritating, it was also funny and definitely created an unforgettable day! It also earned us a free night there that we used for our six month anniversary.

Anyway, I'll quit boring you with my reminiscing even though there are many other hilarious events of that day!

Hope you all enjoy your day...I know we will!

The Fayre Word for 11/20/06...

Good morning on this very cold November day.

Here's today's word:

thrasonical \thray-SAH-nih-kul\ (adj.)
of, relating to, resembling, or characteristic of Thraso; bragging, boastful

Cowboys defeat Colts...

Wow...what an amazing game. I saw everything but the last 9 minutes and hated having to miss it. I was thrilled to find out that the Cowboys pulled out the win...sweet redemption for losing to the Skins a couple of weeks ago. They played hard...and pulled the Colts from an undefeated season. Woohoo.

Go Cowboys!

Updates...

I think I've promised updates on several things over the past couple of weeks and never delivered on those promises. So, here's an update.

1. Corn syrup - I blogged about the eradication of corn syrup from my diet some weeks ago. Just so you all know, I've partially fallen off the wagon. I've been good about buying products that don't contain corn syrup, but I know I've eaten things that contain it. I feel good that I'm at least making an effort. Something will kick in soon and I'll be hard-core on the no corn syrup kick.
2. Blood pressure - I've been on blood pressure medication for about a month now. I've been checking it twice a day for the last 5 days or so and it's been really good...and I do feel better. I go back to the doctor tomorrow morning for a follow-up.
   
3. Book club - My book club had our third meeting yesterday...we had read our summer writing professor's book, Whores on the Hill. It was pretty good and we had a good discussion. We went ahead and picked our next three books:
   
   • Firefly Cloak by Sheri Reynolds
   • The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
     
   • Life of Pi by Yann Martel
4. Chris preaching in Bedford, VA - Chris was asked by our district to help out at a small church who doesn't have a pastor right now. Today was his first Sunday going out there. It's about 2 1/2 hours away and he'll be going out there just about every Sunday until the church finds a pastor or decides to merge with one of the other churches in the area. Who knows what will happen, but I'm confident that, no matter what, God will accomplish His purpose.

I think that's it...but if I've missed anything, please feel free to let me know.

The Fayre Word for 11/19/06...

Good morning...Chris left early this morning to preach at a church in Bedford, VA (more about that later). I'm off to church by myself =(.

Anyway, here's today's word:

esurient \ih-SUR-ee-unt\ (adj.)
hungry, greedy

The Fayre Word for 11/18/06...

Meant to post this morning, but I guess I didn't. Just got back a few minutes ago from the "Superbowl" game...rec league football championship. It was cold, but a lot of fun...unfortunately, our team (Marguerite Christian, who is coached by one of our YMCA friends, Brian) lost.

Now I'm headed out for my book club meeting. I'll report details later.

But at least here's today's word:

tattoo \ta-TOO\ (noun)
1: a rapid rhythmic rapping
2: a call sounded shortly before taps as notice to go to quarters; outdoor military exercise given by troops as evening entertainment

"Where were you? I was pretending I was dead."

I've been sitting here in the living room doing some blog reading. Chris went upstairs to print something out and I just figured he had some other stuff he had to do in the office...I think he had been upstairs for 20 minutes or so.

He just came downstairs...

"Where are you?" he asked, coming down the stairs.

"I'm down here."

"I was upstairs pretending I was dead. I even made a thump. You didn't even come check on me."

I'm laughing hysterically...he's so funny. There is truly never a dull moment in our lives.

Fun doggie pictures...

The week is finally over...why did it feel like it should have been Thursday on Monday? This week really seemed to drag on. But it's finally the weekend.

We just got back from watching a couple of high school basketball games...the first night of the Jon Buckley Memorial Tournament (a basketball tournament in remembrance of our pastor's son who passed away in a fire 6 or 7 years ago). The score of the second game was...get this...101 to 13. We were all cheering for the other team.

Now to the pictures of the doggies. We were watching TV the other night and I had both dogs on the loveseat with me. Chris took some really cute pictures and I thought I'd share them with you.

Both doggies on the couch (my legs under the blanket!)

Bam Bam curled up by my feet.

Bam Bam asleep...have you ever seen such a cute face?

The Fayre Word for 11/17/06...

Happy Friday everyone.

Here's today's word:

Garrison finish \GA-ruh-sun-FIN-ish\ (noun)
a finish in which the winner comes from behind at the end

The Fayre Word for 11/16/06...

What a day...gym (ran 4 miles), Cracker Barrel, work, heavy rain and tornado warnings. I'm just now getting to post.

Finally, here's today's word:

debunk \dee-BUNK\ (verb)
to expose the sham or falseness of

The Fayre Word for 11/15/06...

Morning all...woke up with a terrible headache but went to the gym anyway. Hopefully I'll be able to abandon it after taking some Aleve.

Anyway, before the workday gets started, here's today's word:

cozen \KUZ-un\ (verb)
1: to deceive, win over, or induce to do something by artful coaxing and wheedling or shrewd trickery
2: to gain by artful coaxing or tricky deception

Happy Wednesday to everyone!

The Fayre Word for 11/14/06...

Back from a hard workout at the gym...ran 3 miles on the treadmill...and even increased my pace for part of that. Woohoo.

Anyway, here's today's word:

plinth \PLINTH\ (noun)
1: the lowest part of the base of an architectural column
2: a usually square block serving as a base; broadly; any of various bases or lower parts

I think I'll have to figure out a way to track my running progress, but not sure how just yet. Stay tuned.

The Fayre Word for 11/13/06...

A little late in the day, but here's today's word:

sanctimonious \sank-tuh-MOE-nee-us\ (adj.)
hypocritically pious or devout

Three things that make today a great day...

1) Redskins lost
2) Dallas is winning won
3) Rocky marathon on Spike TV

The Fayre Word for 11/12/06...

Here's today's word:

tantara \tan-TAIR-uh\ (noun)
the blare of a trumpet or horn

Hope everyone has a great day (even if it is cold and rainy!

Crossing the finish line...

This morning my friend, Heidi, and I ran the Ntelos 8k. While we certainly didn't stun anyone with our amazing speed, at least we did it...and crossed the finish line.

As the two of us crossed the finish line, I heard someone say, "And crossing the finish line is Lora Jarrell from Chester, Virginia. Wave to the crowd, Lora."

"Did they just say my name?" I asked Heidi.

"They sure did," she said.

"Wow, that's really strange."

What are the odds that they would call my name as I crossed the finish line? Even though I didn't break any records, it kind of made me feel special.

Running goals for 2007:
Monument Avenue 10k - March 31
James River Scramble (off road 10k) - June 17
Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon - September 2

The training continues!

20 minutes of my life I'll never get back...

I made the mistake of answering the phone for an unknown call. The woman immediately informed that they were not asking for money but would like to know my opinions about Richmond area hospitals and health systems. Against my better judgment, I told her I would participate. I thought it would never end but for some reason I couldn't quit part of the way through...Go figure. And 20 minutes later it finally ended. Oh well...

Just give me a new law...

Last night we saw Derek Webb in concert (front row baby)...it's the second time we've seen him live. Let me just say that he is one of my very favorite musicians. He spent about 10 years with a group called Caedmon's Call and then headed out on his own as a solo artist. His only tools last night were a microphone and a 12 string guitar (wow...what an incredible sound).

While Derek Webb is a Christian artist, he certainly isn't your run of the mill Christian musician. His lyrics require a lot of thought and really speak to the social issues facing our culture today. Many of his lyrics might seem contrary to what people would expect from a Christian. But I dare say that this is exactly the kind of thing we need.

It does the Christian community no good to pretend to be super spiritual, and in the process, disregard the things happening in our world and the hurting people that we are called to reach out to. Derek Webb's lyrics challenge the heart and mind to go beyond "church" and live a life of true service...just like Jesus did.

The title of this post is a line from one of his songs...and one of my favorites. It's called "A New Law" (go to Chris' blog to see both the lyrics and a video of this song). The best line in the song is:

what’s the use in trading a law you can never keep
for one you can that cannot get you anything

Wow. Follow me on this one. He's basically saying that what's the point in giving up on striving for the highest call and standard and lowering your standard to something so low that it doesn't require hard work to achieve it. Because in the end, the low standard that requires nothing of us, isn't worth it anyway. We're better off striving for a high standard, failing, and trying again, than attaining something that doesn't cost us anything.

Does that hit you like it hits me? I'm sorry if it's not coming out 100% clear, but this is the kind of thing that hits right at the center of my heart and is so hard to put into words.

If you are interested in hearing his music (and I highly recommend you do, regardless of whether or not you label yourself as a Christian) he has posted his latest album on www.freederekwebb.com and you can download the entire album free (and legal). If you do this and listen to it, let me know what you think.

Here are a couple of pictures of Derek Webb.

The Fayre Word for 11/11/06

A very early good morning to you all on this Saturday. I'm up to get ready and run the Ntelos 8k with my friend, Heidi. I'll be sure to give you the details a little later today.

Before I run off, here's today's word:

Croesus \KREE-sus\ (noun )
a very rich man

Hope you all have a great day.

The Fayre Word for 11/10/06...

Good morning. Another solo day at the gym as Chris recovers from his cold.

Here's today's word:

crackerjack \CRACK-er-jack\ (adj.)
of striking ability or excellence

It's going to be a beautiful day...upper 70s. ;-)

The Fayre Word for 11/9/06...

Morning all. Had to go to the gym solo this morning because Chris isn't feeling well. =(

Anyway, here's today's word:

colligate \KAH-luh-gayt\ (verb)
1: to bind, unite, or group together
2: to subsume (isolated facts) under a general concept

Hope you all have a great day.

P.S. I hope you feel better honey!

The Fayre Word for 11/8/06...

Good morning on this icky, rainy morning. Didn't make it to the gym this morning because we were really tired. Chris stayed up way too late watching the election coverage so we reset the alarms and slept in a bit. Feel bad about missing the gym, but it was nice sleeping.

Here's today's word:

peroration \pair-uh-RAY-shun\ (noun)
1: the concluding part of a discourse and especially an oration
2: a highly rhetorical speech

Have a great day!

I voted. Did you?

Note: This is not about my opinion, it's about civic duty.

After the gym Chris and I went straight to our specified location and voted. Let me just say that every person who is legally allowed to vote should do it. It is our civic duty as Americans.

Although I have my own opinions and views and believe very deeply in them, I believe that no matter what your views are, you should express them by voting.

So, if you haven't already voted (and you are able to), GO VOTE!

The Fayre Word for 11/7/06...

Good morning all. Here's today's word:

gainsay \gain-SAY\ (verb)
1: to declare to be untrue or invalid
2: contradict, oppose

Have a great day.

The Fayre Word for 11/6/06...

It just occurred to me that I never posted today's word. The day completely got away from me. But before I head to bed, here's today's word:

paltry \PAWL-tree\ (adj.)
1: inferior, trashy
2: mean, despicable
3: trivial
4: meager, measly

Good night all.

There are no words...

No words can express the utter disappointment as a result of today's Dallas/Redskins game. I could try to recount the craziness, but why bother.

I agree that it was a "good" game but it could have been much better if the outcome was different! ;-)

That's all I have to say about that.

P.S. When the Redskins made the winning field goal, Chris and Aaron (our friend) jumped up in excitement, hugged each, lost their balance and fell on one of our TV trays and broke it. At least that provided a little comic relief!

A prayer for the Cowboys...

Dear God,

We're having diehard Redskins fans over for today's Dallas/Redskins game. Please let the Cowboys win.

Amen.

P.S. I know there are plenty of more important things for God to deal with but I really hope Dallas can pull out the win. If not I'll be quite upset!

The Fayre Word for 11/5/06...

Morning all...here's today's word:

noblesse oblige \noh-BLESS-uh-BLEEZH\ (noun)
the obligation of honorable, generous, and responsible behavior associated with high rank or birth

P.S. Happy birthday to our friend Dennis!

Why woman have to pee more often than men...

Okay, so this is something I've been meaning to share with you all since Boston but just haven't had the chance.

Many of you know that while we were in Boston we went to the Science Museum and saw the Body Worlds exhibit. In addition to seeing actual bodies, there were also cases with organs on display. There were healthy organs, diseased organs, etc. and they were grouped by their body system (i.e. respiratory system, etc.).

When we got to where they were showing urinary systems (okay now don't get grossed out), they had a woman's bladder and a man's bladder next to each other. And guess what? The man's bladder was probably about 6 or 7 times larger than the woman's bladder. Hello...no wonder woman always have to pee more often...we have much smaller bladders.

Wow...that's something I never would have known if we hadn't gone to the exhibit. Yeah for learning!

The Fayre Word for 11/4/06...

Good morning on this very cold Saturday morning. I'm a little disappointed because I got out of bed thinking it was a little after 8, only to come downstairs and find out it's only a little after 7 a.m. Oh well...

Here's today's word:

doyen \DOY-un\ (noun)
1: the senior or most experienced member of a group
2: the oldest example of a category

Have a great weekend!

The Fayre Word for 11/3/06...

Good morning from Northern VA. I got to have dinner with Patricia. Because she's in school (taking 4 classess and working full time) we both figured we wouldn't be able to get together until classes were over in December. But she got out early enough last night that we could meet for a late dinner at Outback. Woohoo. Thanks for calling, pea!

cowcatcher \KOW-ketch-er\ ( noun)
an inclined frame on the front of a railroad locomotive for throwing obstacles off the track

Off to get ready and head into the office. Heading home this afternoon...hopefully early enough to miss all the traffic.

The Fayre Word for 11/2/06...

Up early and off to Northern VA in a little over an hour...have an early meeting. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon.

Before I head out, here's today's word:

perseverate \per-SEV-uh-rayt\ (verb)
1: to repeat or recur persistently
2: to go back over previously covered ground

Hope you all have a great day...take a minute to take in the beauty of God displayed all around us. It's even more evident now as the leaves turn such vibrant and beautiful colors. What an amazing thing!

The Fayre Word - double edition...

I realized late last night that I never posted yesterday's word. So today I figured I'd post two words to make up for it.

Yesterday's word:

prescind \pri-SIND\ (verb)
1: to withdraw one's attention (intransitive verb)
2: to detach for purposes of thought (transitive verb)

Today's word:

rhadamanthine \rad-uh-MAN-thun\ (adj.)
often capitalized; rigorously strict or just

Can't believe it's the first day of November...hope you all have a good day.