Potato

Right at this moment, I'm flipping through a cookbook devoted entirely to potatoes. Seems we have an excess from our garden this summer, and my mom wants a potato dish to go with the pork we're grilling for dinner. I happen to love potatoes (I'll eat them over rice or pasta at almost any opportunity), but at the moment, it's more of a love/hate kind of thing.

I've learned never to agree to anything right after I get up in the morning. That's today's life lesson. Because now, I'm flipping through a cookbook about potatoes in all their forms, trying desperately to find a potato dish I'm interested in making, that I can have ready by somewhere between 5:30 and 6:00.

Crossing My Radar

These are some of the things crossing my radar right now:

• Kendall Payne. Seriously, people, if you haven't heard this girl sing, you need to. But mostly, you need to pay really close attention to her lyrics. Particularly, listen to the lyrics of her songs, "Aslan," "Twenty Three," and "Pray." I love the last one especially. Every time I hear it, I think of my friends Marty and Kari - something about the honest unexpectedness of Payne's prayer always reminds me of them, and of my commitment to pray for them.
• Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. I know I've talked about the book before, but I picked it up on CD at Christian Publications the other night, and I've been listening to it again. You can also download it off of itunes (which would be ten bucks cheaper than what I paid, but I discovered too late). Bell makes some terrifically challenging observations about church life, Christianity, and what following Jesus really means. I don't know that I always agree with everything he says, but it challenges me, especially right now when I'm church hunting, and trying to figure out how to go about making a decision about choosing a church family for the next while in my life.
• Vietnamese food. Vietnamese food is always on my radar, but I had it last night for the first time in nearly a month, and I'm loving it. Mmm.... rice vermicelli and veggies and meat all mixed up in a bowl. So good.
• Novels. Novels are on my radar screen again. I've been reading somewhat voraciously again in the "brain candy" genres. And loving it. There's something fantastic about becoming fully involved in another world or life for a couple of hours.
• Bubble Baths. To be engaged in for an hour or so at a time, preferably with a good novel to keep you company.
• "Man of the Year." I saw this movie with Megs last night, after having Vietnamese food. I haven't laughed that hard in ages. Williams is always a toss up, because he can be hilariously funny, but incredibly crude at times. Yes, he has some zingers, but mostly it's a very funny movie. And, American political comedy can also be a toss up - making you laugh but generally leaving a bad taste in your mouth - a sense of hopelessness in the face of a culture that doesn't really care. Not so with this movie - you come away encouraged about political life, about ethics and morality, about the fact that you can get involved and make a difference. Definitely worth seeing.

So, those are the big things crossing my radar at the moment. Have any comments, or counter-recommendations?