Unpaid Testimonial

I am a sucker for an infomercial.
Especially one about hair removal. (I know, I'm a freak.)
I never allow myself to actually ORDER something from the television as much as I might want to (I don't think I have enough cats to warrant late-night infomercial orders by phone), so imagine my THRILL when the European sensation, SmoothAway: Removes Hair Instantly & Pain Free was at my Walgreen's!
Basically, it's very, very fine grit sand paper that you use to remove unwanted hair while exfoliating your legs!!!

Some facts (ripped straight from the website!):
-The Fastest Selling, Most Popular Women's Product In Europe
-Exfoliates As You Use It
-Works Wonders On Sensitive Areas
-Easy, Safe, & Painless Hair Removal
-Not recommended for head hair or a man's face. (Though, apparently a woman's face is fair game.)



I was so excited about my find that I decided to stay up late and try it.
Turns out, IT WORKS! And, there really was NO PAIN, NO CHEMICALS and NO RAZOR BURN!



Check out my results (click on an image to enlarge)!
Before:

After:

The Single Life

[Visiting McClain at work.]

Mc: See that girl over there? I'm gonna ask her out.

Erin: Really? She's super cute!

Mc: Yeah, she's cute and nice and smart.

Erin: Go for it!

[Later that night.]

Mc: She said yes!

Erin: Cool!! When are you going out?

Mc: I dunno.

Erin: Where are you going?

Mc: Dunno.

Erin: What's her name?

Mc: Dunno.

Book Review

Havah: The Story of Eve by Tosca Lee
Synopsis: Eden, beginning of time. Adam and Eve (Ish and Isha) are created and live in the garden of Eden. You know the drill. The story covers the 600 years of their lives after The Fall.
Readability: Hard to get into at first because the scenes in Eden are just a little...smarmy. But, how else can perfect oneness with God be described? I think the smarm was unavoidable. Very easy to read otherwise, though I found myself imagining what a burden it must have been for Lee to write this story. It's not a happy one.
Predictability: Like I said, the story line really doesn't hold any surprises, but Lee approached the story from a vantage that I have never imagined. It gave new life to an old story that I know by heart. And it made both Adam and Eve very real and human to me.
Couldn't Put it Down Factor: It took me a long time to read this one. Mostly because it was SO sad. The fall of man is no light reading. Ask my friends and family, though, I haven't been able to stop talking about this one.
Recommend it?: Absolutely. Absolutely. Even if you don't believe in Adam or Eve or Eden. Or God. Five out of five on this one. I KNOW, right?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all, my blogfriends. You mean so very much to me. As we give eachother gifts this weekend, let's please remember the REASON we give gifts at all: to celebrate Christ's birth by which we have been given a new lease on life and the guarantee of eternal life.

Choosing to stand firm.

Lately, I've been feeling very much like God doesn't care about me or my life. I railed against him. I accused him of not even participating in our lives. I knew this was wrong, but I was on the verge of despairing.
This weekend Porter recommended that if we don't have faith, perhaps we should ASK for it. He said, "Persuade your heart to trust in God. Remember that God is with us." So, that's what I did. I asked God to restore my faith, not necessarily believing that he would, but knowing that I wanted my faith and trust in God's sovereignty and love back.
Last night I got a text message from a friend telling me that her friend had discovered that she was pregnant and was planning to have an abortion. I committed to praying for her friend and the life of that little baby, which I did. Earnestly.
A couple of hours later I got another message telling me that her friend had decided to keep the baby.
I wept for joy. Literally. I laid in bed and wept. I thanked God for that little baby's life being spared, and I thanked him for reminding me that he cares about us.
Am I seeing God's hand in my life today? I don't know. Am I content and confident in God's love for me? Yes.

"If you do not stand firm in your faith you will not stand at all."
-Isaiah 7:9

Sam's Club Trip

Me: Oh! I have to get more Tobasco while we're here. We've been out for almost two weeks!
Sasha: Gross. What do you eat Tobasco on?
Me: Um, everything. [quizzical look]
Sasha: [sigh...] You are your father's daughter.

Ouch.

Yesterday Lauren and I went out to the Farm to visit the grandma's and have a little pre-Christmas visit. I chatted with Grandma Shirley and SJ while Lauren helped Gram write some Christmas cards.
First Gram needed to find her purse, then her checkbook then she couldn't make her fingers find the envelopes she wanted in the purse. Then she couldn't remember what she wanted to say in the card.
She said to Lauren, "Oh, this wouldn't be so hard if I wasn't in my right mind."

Ouch.

If I had only known then what I know now...

...I would probably have had a boyfriend (who wasn't a dolt) in high school.

Tonight at the mall, I saw the cutest thing. This adorable teen-ish boy walked past me and SJ and waved sheepishly (but with fake bravado and confidence) at a trio of girls walking in the opposite direction.
Do you know what they did?
They giggled LOUDLY and didn't greet him. I figure he is "going" with one of them or will be soon.
Pretty sweet. Warmed this old woman's heart.

Thoughts at large about writing Christmas cards:

-If your last name starts with W, X, Y or Z, your envelope will be written sloppily.
-If your last name starts with A-P, your envelope will probably be fairly neat.
-A boppy is not an ideal lap desk, but it will work in a pinch.
-It is absolutely impossible to get the perfect Christmas photo of your infant.
-You will inevitably run out of stamps or return-address labels, but probably not both.
-Do what you can to save money on the actual card, because the stamp will cost nearly ten times as much as the card itself, no matter what kind of coupons Walgreens, Shutterfly or Snapfish sends you.
-You will lay awake at night thinking of more people you should've included. Take a notepad to bed.
-My Christmas cards this year are written on yellow post-it notes and will come bearing a scribbled XOXOX and a post card stamp.

Merry Christmas from the Desvousges Family!
XOXOX

My View of Hell

This weekend, I was reminded that when Christ died (before he rose again), he spent three days in hell. (I didn't really forget, I guess I just hadn't thought about it in a while.)

My view of hell is not necessarily one of fire and brimstone, but of total separation from God. It is a desolate and joyless place, with no hope, no second chances and none of the love that we so readily take for granted. Here, on Earth, we have the opportunity to be near God, even if we don't embrace him as our savior. We easily forget that he is always near, and in hell, he will not be in the wind, a song or in our neighbor's hearts.

Christ went from perfect and constant communion with God to partial communion with God when he was born as a human to absolute separation from God in the span of 30-odd short years.

When Jesus was 9 months old, he was learning to crawl, blowing raspberries, pulling off his socks, testing out his new teeth, doing face-plants on the kitchen floor and "helping" his mama with laundry.

Thirty years later, he hung on the cross.

These are the things Mary thought about. She felt his kicks in her womb, and then watched him die for her own sins.

I'm just saying.

Today I am thinking about 2 Peter, Chapter 2.

Man vs. Wild

[The Scene: Richard turns on Man vs. Wild.]

Erin: Do you want me to leave?

Richard: Do you want me to leave?

E: I hate this guy.

R: I like him. He's the only Brit I've ever liked.

E: You're just saying that so I'll let you watch it.

[Cut to Bear Grylls somersaulting out of a helicopter on to the mountaintop a whopping EIGHT INCHES BELOW.]

Christmas Ham

A bunch of pigs ran around I-94 yesterday.
Imagine it.
You're all snuggled in with your mate on your way to the slaughter house when all of a sudden you're rolling around in the frigid cold on the highway.
Just when you get your legs underneath you and realize you are finally free, you get !SMACKED! by an on-coming car.
Dad-gum.

Son of a . . . !!!!!

Can you see the problem here? Look close.

Maybe Obama has the right idea...

Dear Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois,
Let me get this straight.
You would rather pay to care for a child who contracts whooping cough or polio than pay for her vaccines through the end of 2008? I understand the odds are slim, but this is a child, not a number.
You'll get your $458 from me when I have it.
Perhaps I'll pay you after the first of the year when Shirley goes in to have her next round--instead of next week like she was previously scheduled.
Merry Christmas,
Erin

i can has cheezburger?

Leave me alone. I am in my happy place.

lolcats

Sympatico

You know what's cool?
When you wake your husband up at 2am, ask him to pray, and he knows EXACTLY what to pray for without being told.
Then both rolling over and going to sleep.
That's pretty cool.