10 on the Tenth (on the Eleventh)

10 strange and random things from my brain on this cold Saturday:

1. I am craving birthday cake. Store bought birthday cake with thick frosting.

2. I am doing Weight Watchers. I am slightly afraid to type this because I don't want to jinx myself. But I don't believe in jinxes, so I'm telling you. I'm on week 3. Wore some old jeans today. (And now you know why I'm craving birthday cake.)

3. I am COLD today. I always think that I want to live in Colorado or Switzerland. But, when it's cold all I want to do is wrap up in a blanket and do nothing. Which is exactly what I have done today. Of course our house is drafty and I don't own appropriate winter weather clothes. If I move to Colorado or Switzerland I will buy some. And live in a warm house.

4. I now love black beans.

5. I don't feel like I will be 45 soon. That is 5 years from 50. FIFTY!!!!! I say this every year, don't I? I don't feel _____. I guess I'm not aging well.

6. I miss my friends. Yes, I have friends nearby and I am SO grateful for that. But, I miss my friends who live far away from me - in Niverville, Manitoba, Canada....and Oakville, Ontario, Canada.....and Mzimba, Malawi......and Maputo, Mozambique.......and Tete, Mozambique.......and Johannesburg, South Africa......and Hemel Hemstead, England....and Minneapolis, Minnesota....... and Denver, Colorado. So I'm giving a shout out to Heidi, Linda-Joy, Michelle, Katie, Elaine, Sarah, Sally, Lynne, Stacie, Sharon, Aleta, Karla, Tia, Alice, Francisca and Jeannie, to name a few. I wish I could afford to fly all my friends to one place (like Colorado or Switzerland!) and have a big Friend Party. And eat birthday cake. And black beans! :-)

7. I am completely hooked on the show Downton Abbey. It's a British ITV show that is shown here in the U.S. on PBS under their Masterpiece Classic heading (not sure why.....I don't understand PBS). It comes on on Sunday nights and we never get to watch it then because of church. We watched Seasons 1 and 2 on Netflix then now we are watching Season 3 on-line on the PBS website. The actors are so talented and the story is such a great mix of romance, comedy and mystery. The English countryside makes me want to fly to England right now! (Sally, I'll be staying with you and I want to meet Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, OK??) And the women's period costumes are amazing. I am so excited that they are filming season 3 right now!!!!

8. My children growing up makes me happy/sad. I'm happy that they are maturing and changing and learning things. But getting older and leaving home is not fun! I miss Coleson (who loves university life!) so much. And Will is at the stage where activities away from home, with friends, are more appealing than hanging out with us. I'm glad and I understand. We are boring. (see #7!) And, I did the same thing when I was 17. I want my kids to be normal and active and have a social life. I just miss the days of all 6 of us being together. I really don't want them all to be 3 again. But, sometimes I miss them sitting on the floor at my feet playing Legos and cars drinking juice from sippy cups. However, I'm glad they can take a shower by themselves, take care of bathroom issues without my help, dress alone, cook their own meals if they need to and stay alone without burning down the house or cutting off an appendage.

9. I've been reading through Hebrews a lot lately. I love Hebrews. My favorite verses are from chapter 11...."By faith, Abraham......" I hope at the end of my life I can look back and see where I trusted God and be able to say, "by faith, Angie........"

10. Our teen girls missions class at church here in Louisiana collected goodies to mail to some of our colleagues in Maputo last week. It was so strange to be on this side of the mailing process, filling out the form at the post office, remembering all the times we received packages on the other side. I can't wait for them to get their yummies.