Chosen Despite

I am working on our Bible study for tonight (yes, I'm running late) and I can't resist sharing this comment by Charles Spurgeon on Isaiah 48:10. In the beginning he's essentially paraphrasing God's statement in that verse, so "I" means God. The emphasis is mine:

I chose thee before thou wast here; yea, I chose thee before thou hadst a being, and when all creatures lay before me in the pure mass of creatureship, and I could create or not create as I pleased, I chose and created thee a vessel of mercy appointed unto eternal life: and when thou in common with the whole race, hadst fallen, though I might have crushed thee with them, and sent thee down to hell, I chose thee in thy fallen condition, and I provided for thy redemption: in the fulness of time I sent my Son, who fulfilled my law and made it honourable. I chose thee at thy birth, when a helpless infant thou didst sleep upon thy mother's breast. I chose thee when thou didst grow up in childhood with all thy follies and thy sins. Determined to save thee, I watched o'er thy path when, Satan's blind slave, thou didst sport with death. I chose thee when, in manhood, thou didst sin against me with a high hand; when thy unbridled lusts dashed thee on madly towards hell. I chose thee, then, when thou wast a blasphemer and a swearer, and very far from me. I chose thee, then, even when thou wast dead in trespasses and sins: I loved thee, and still thy name was kept in my book. The hour appointed came; I redeemed thee from thy sin; I made thee love; I spake to thee, and made thee leave thy sins and become my child; and I chose thee then over again. Since that hour how often hast thou forgotten me! but I have never forgotten thee. Thou hast wandered from me; thou hast rebelled against me; yea, thy words have been exceeding hot against me, and thou hast robbed me of mine honour; but I chose thee even then; and now that I put thee in the furnace thinkest thou that my love is changed? Am I a summer friend fleeing from thee in the winter? Am I one who loves thee in prosperity and doth cast thee off in adversity? Nay; hearken to these my words. thou furnace-tried one, "I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." Think not, then, when you are in trouble that God has cast you off. Think he has cast you off if you never have any trials and troubles, but when in the furnace, say, "Did he not tell me this beforehand?"

"Temptation or pain?—he told me no less:
The heirs of salvation, I know from his word,
Through much tribulation must follow their Lord."
O blessed reflection! let it comfort us: his love does not change; it cannot be made to alter; the furnace cannot scorch us, not a single hair of our head can perish; we are as safe in the fire as we are out of it; he loves us as much in the depths of tribulation as he does in the heights of our joy and exultation. Oh! thou who art beloved of friends, "when thy father and mother forsake thee the Lord will take thee up." Thou who canst say, "He that ate bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me," "though all men forsake thee," saith Jehovah, "yet will not I." O Zion, say not thou art forgotten of God; hear him when he speaks—"Can a woman forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I never forget thee." "I have graven thee upon my hands; thy walls are continually before me." Rejoice then, O Christian...that God's love does not fail in the furnace, but is as hot as the furnace, and hotter still.

Hahahaha

Re-Endorsement

As you may know, tomorrow (October 15) is a day that will be remembered in history. That, of course, was the day I somehow convinced Charissa May Reimer to walk down the aisle and take a vow to be by my side until one or the other of us keels over. I still don't know why she did it, but she did, and every year, I justly celebrate and she is still (amazingly) there by my side.

This year, we have church events on the evenings of both October 14 and 15 that we would prefer not to miss, so we went out to dinner for our anniversary last night, the 13th. Thanks to a splendid Christmas present from our brother Jonathan and sister-to-be Shelley, we had the pleasure of patronizing our favorite restaurant in Old Town Alexandria, Geranio. Not only that, we had the best meal there that we've ever had. Considering that it was our favorite before, that's saying something.

So hear me when I tell you: Get the swordfish and the osso buco. The fish was delightfully complemented by a potato cake and roasted red peppers; not even some extremely bitter "Italian brocolli" (brocolli rabe?) could keep the veal shank from falling off the bone, and I had my first positive rissoto experience. Not only that, it all began with squash soup, one of our favorites.

Man, that was awesome. Not as awesome as October 15, 2006, but a meal to remember. And one I recommend cloning, frankly.

Also of note: Upon returning home, we both promptly found ourselves in food comas. We fell asleep as soon as we got into our pajamas (and before we brushed our teeth, if you really want to know). I think this may officially mean we are no longer newlyweds...

My Beautiful Wife

I just want to attest that she makes the best apple cake in the entire universe.

That is all.

Dinner in the Holy Land

Thanks to Restaurant.com, we discovered a fine restaurant right up King Street called Jerusalem. It bills itself as "A Taste of the Holy Land." Frankly, never having been there, I have no idea how legit the food at this restaurant is, but I can tell you this: It's awesome. If it's just the kind of stuff they feed to tourists (you know, the classic foodie complaint about every Chinese restaurant we've ever liked) then guess what, it's good to be a tourist.

Thanks to our Restaurant.com gift certificate, we spent a total of $20 and ate like royalty. We even had to get an extra baklava to take home in order to meet the requirements of our gift certificate (that is, to spend $35 in order to get $25 off). A big sacrifice, I know, but we did it. Charissa had a splendid chicken dish that was so big it will be her lunch or dinner one day this week; I had a lamb special that was absolutely phenomenal. The servers were nice and while the place was not deserted, it was not outrageously loud. Great place to have a fantastic meal and a conversation. We'll definitely be going back, and you should join us.

We're Back!

We had a fabulous week in CA. More to come of course, but first, here are the stats:

9 Days

2,050 miles driven

18.0 miles hiked

3,100 feet total combined elevation gain on hikes

Highest Temperature: 110 (Tuesday morning, Death Valley)

Lowest Temperature: 55 (Wednesday night, Big Sur)

8 Meals of Burgers and/or Fries consumed in pursuit of some better than Five Guys (Mission Failed)

3 Bears sighted

3 Bear-related freak-outs

1 Death Valley casualty (cell phone)

(compare to last year's Utah stats here)

And a few highlights of the trip for those who can't wait:

- Watching the waves crash through rock tunnels on the rocky coastline of Big Sur

- Rolling down the sand dunes in Death Valley (I did the rolling; Charles did the walking)

- The dancing rainbow in the Yosemite waterfall

- Winding through Kings Canyon at sunset

- Standing on top of the world (i.e. Sentinel Dome in Yosemite) at sunset

- Climbing through canyons in Death Valley to escape the morning heat

- Marveling at the juxtaposition of the mountains and the ocean as we drove through the clouds and watched the sun set in Big Sur

I Have the Best Wife in the World

As we were leaving for Sears, Charissa reminded me to bring my New York Rangers jersey. Why, you ask? Because thanks to Stephanie, we knew that Chick-Fil-A was giving free sandwiches to anyone who showed up wearing a sports team's logo. And wouldn't you know it, there's a Chick-Fil-A in Landmark Mall. Amazingly, we finished our mattress quest in 45 minutes (I told you God provided) and immediately thereafter, Charissa announced she was hungry. So by 11 a.m., we had our free sandwiches, along with some sweet waffle fries and Cherry Coke. Not only that, she shamelessly walked through the mall with me in my Mark Messier jersey. We had a blast and an amazing lunch for $3.50.

Part of the blast, by the way, came courtesy of our friend Steve -- he of the ill-fated deep-sea fishing trip. Steve is going to law school at Florida State, which is why we each have an FSU T-shirt. I recommended that Charissa wear hers to Chick-Fil-A, since no one has ever heard of Bucknell. She did, and while we were waiting for our fries, one of the nice Chick-Fil-A people asked her if Florida State had played the night before. She politely indicated she wasn't sure. Afterward, she inquired of me, "So, if Florida State had played last night, what would they have played?"

I told you I had the best wife in the world.

When we sit on our couch,

we look across a gigantic living/dining room (that does not contain an office) and see this:


How cool is that 15 minutes from a major city?

Fail, Fail, Fail, Fail, Win!

So, I can sleep anywhere. I think it's an ability I inherited from my dad, one more reason to be thankful for him, as it comes in handy.

Due to this, I take precious little note of things like mattresses. As a kid, I had one criterion: I slept on the one my mom told me to. In college, another: I slept (about four hours every night) on whichever one happened to be in my dorm room that year, unless I happened to remain in my desk chair. Afterward, another: I slept in what I got for free (a mattress from my then-roommate and a boxspring and frame that some dame in a luxury apartment on Chestnut Street was giving away, to be exact...and then, just for a few months, my grandparents' old set). Now, it's even simpler: I sleep on whatever bed Charissa is in. That's proven to be the best criterion of all.

Seriously, though, I can sleep anywhere. I never have problems when I travel, including when it comes to snoozing in the airplane seat. In a pinch, I'm fine on the floor, padding optional. I just don't care.

There is one mattress-related thing I do care about, though: the fact that our current one gives my wife backaches. And with this in mind, we have been in the market for a new mattress and boxspring for the last few months. Boy, did we not know what we were getting into. Who knew that buying a mattress is even more irritating than buying a car?

No, I'm not kidding -- that's possible. Here's why: Mattress shopping involves just as much "negotiating" (i.e. starting at a price everyone knows is bogus, making a counteroffer you know is bogus, the salesman making "calls" to a "boss" we both know is bogus, etc.) but with much poorer information. Because at least a Toyota Corolla is a Toyota Corolla in Alexandria, Springfield, Arlington, or wherever you are. A Sealy Boho Park or a Serta Awesome Night's Rest 5000 isn't, because each store has its own "unique" products. They're basically the same, but they all go by different model names and it's much tougher to compare.

Not only that, we began our search with an absolutely awful experience. The first store we visited was Sleepy's in Old Town Alexandria. Everything was outrageously expensive, but that could be attributed simply to Washington living (sadly). What really struck in my craw was the saleswoman's dishonesty. For example, we asked her if they were having a Labor Day sale. She said it was already going on, in mid-August. Possible. Then we asked when it ended. She said tomorrow.

Seriously? Come on, lady. It's one thing to lie, but it's another to lie so obviously that a five-year-old could see through you. Also remarkable was when I asked her about the notation scribbled in marker on the price tags of all the beds we liked, something like "TX/DL INC." "That means tax and delivery included, right?" I asked. She first said she didn't know, then "checked" and commended me for having ESP, and then (after flipping her iPhone over) announced that her "colleague" had improperly left that notation and she would have to remove it after we left. And so on. After I thanked her for her time and told her we would be back if we wanted to buy, she became so irritated she would barely talk to us.

Anyway, you get the idea. Sleepy's in Old Town, you FAIL.

Next we went to a Mattress Warehouse out in the West End. There we had a much better salesman who was actually helpful, didn't lie, and didn't breathe down our necks. I really wanted to give him our business, frankly. The only problem was that the only decent deal he was giving us was for a no-name bed supposedly used in many hotels, but about which I could find no independent information whatsoever. And even that deal was not really in our desired price range. So as awesome as he was, his store gets a FAIL.

Being duly unimpressed by the prices these folks were charging (and also, by this point, a lot more familiar with the wares) we decided to give Northern Virginia's favorite discount store a try. So we were off to Costco. Alas, while they have some seemingly good deals on their website, my wife needs to lie down on a mattress before I drop any Benjamins on it, and our Costco didn't have a single queen-size in the store. As much as I like Costco, when it comes to Charissa-friendly queen mattresses, they FAIL.

On the way home, we happened to notice yet another Sleepy's, in Potomac Yard. I'm not really sure why, but we stopped. I actually told the saleswoman about our experience at the other store, and she was very apologetic and promised to help us. Unfortunately, when I told her our budget, she basically said we'd have to get a floor model -- for which she promised to look. I never heard from her (even on the offer I gave her for one bed, which she said she'd need to take to a real, live manager in the morning, as it was 9 p.m.). When I called the store to check, I got another lady who declined my offer and also promised to call with any floor models. This was a vast improvement over their Old Town store, but another FAIL.

All of that was right before our move, which (along with unpacking) has taken up much of our time since that last Sleepy's visit. Yesterday morning, though, we had this place in pretty good shape, and I finally remembered that I had meant to check Sears for Labor Day sales. I did, and discovered shortly before the mall opened that they had pretty good ones. So we galloped over to Landmark Mall. Long story short, we had a non-pushy salesman who knew his stuff but left us alone, and they had several nice sets. End result? We got what we wanted for $200 less than we were willing to pay, and $1,000 less than our friend at Sleepy's in Old Town wanted to get from us. God provided big time. And Sears, you WIN.

So for any readers who are in the market for a new mattress, I offer the following suggestions:

1. Brace yourself for an unpleasant experience.
2. Buy a firm one. They're way cheaper. Don't pay $500 for some fancy pad that's stitched to a firm mattress. It'll just wear out, or you'll change your mind about it. Buy a good-quality firm mattress and if you need a pad, buy one. Then, when it wears out or you don't like it anymore, you just have to buy another cheap pad -- not go through the expensive and lame mattress-buying experience again.
3. Definitely try department stores. It's less painful, although you're not guaranteed success.
4. Shop around and get a good sense of the things. The dishonest salespeople thrive on the lack of information.
5. If you live near reputable outlets, try them. Unfortunately, we don't, but our brother Jonathan had a good experience up in Morgantown, PA. (That's why we were able to be firm with our budget; we knew that if it turned out to be totally awful down here, we could drive up there and get one cheaply.)

Move Report

Our move was remarkably painless, largely because we have the most amazing friends in the world. Those who helped us on the actual day included Stan, Shant, two Jonathans, Ashley, Peter, and Ann-Bailey. We are also indebted to Tom, Liz, and Bethany, among others, for giving/lending us boxes. We didn't have to buy a single one. We are so thankful -- and when we really think about it, stunned -- that God has provided such fun, generous, and all-around fabulous friends for us.

You also may recall that it was forecasted to rain pretty hard on Saturday. Charissa asked y'all to pray that it wouldn't. I am willing to bet there were several who did just that. God provided there, too. There was not a speck of rain.

Finally, you should know that I have the privilege of sharing our new place with a gorgeous woman who is a dynamite mover. Charissa has this place looking like civilized people actually live here, which is not an inconsiderable achievement considering that only one actually does. We've got a lot more work to do, but it's looking good, and the vast majority of the credit goes to her. Thanks, dear.

CFA Level II Exam Results are out...

and I passed! I made it. Just like Angel's Landing.

Thank you so so much to all of the people who were praying for me and encouraging me regularly. I could not have done this without so much support (especially from my wonderful husband!)


I am grateful and relieved to have that experience behind me. It was not fun. Not that I actually wanted to fail, but in some ways I wish that I had so that I could just forget this whole thing and move on with life. (Because there is no way I could or would want to do Level II over again) Now we have to decide whether to continue with the program. I would have to sit for one more exam in June of 2010. Level II was by far the hardest for those who do what I do, and I am told that Level III would be a breeze since it is basically all of the things I do at work all day. But I would still have to study. There would still be a looming thing over my head. It would still take my time away from my home, my husband, my friends.

I think though that I probably need to just rest in the Lord's provision, be grateful for all of the lessons he has taught me through this experience, and stop worrying about making a decision. And use some of my extra time to finish organizing our Utah photos.

Moving on Saturday

"Come to the rolling hills and gentle shade trees..."

We are leaving our first apartment the day after tomorrow and trucking all of our belongings over the Fairlington. If you ask Charles why, he'll say that we need more space. But really, its because of the mold growing in the ceiling and the fact that it now rains in the living room. (Also of concern is that a police car is pretty much permanently stationed on our corner) But all the same I am kind of sad to leave. The location has been so perfect for us. I will miss the crown molding. I loved my runs through Old Town, down by the river, in Del Ray. King Street dining just 8 blocks away. Short walks to Five Guys. Being home 15 minutes from when I step off of the plane.

Even though Fairlington's rolling hills and gentle shade trees may now be situated next to one of the most awful intersections in Alexandria, I am really looking forward to it. We are going to have new carpet. And I'll have an office. Charles will have a man cave. I think there is a park nearby where I can run. And pools. No rain in the living room. A completed paint job.

Did I tell you that I still haven't seen the place myself?

We get the keys tomorrow. Please pray that the hurricane rains hold off on Saturday. And please pray that the corner cabinet doesn't get broken.

Websites:

What my mom creates all day:
http://kbkinteriordesign.com/portfolio/living-room-4
My mom made most of the drapes, pillows, bed coverings, etc. that you see in those picutres. So beautiful.

What my husband works on all day:
http://www.whatwilltheylearn.com/schools/compare/results.html
Pretty insightful.

Deep-Sea "Fishing" with the Boys

So, you might know that we are moving on Saturday. Meaning we have had lots of preparatory things on our To Do List. What better time, then, for me to skip town?

No, seriously, that's what I did last weekend. Before our move became a reality, we decided I should accept an invitation from some dear brothers to partake in a guys' weekend in Palm Beach, Florida, where our friend Steve just finished up a law-firm gig. While the real purpose was just to get together, the marquee event of the weekend was some deep-sea fishing on Saturday morning. So after an insane week at work, I jumped on the last flight south last Friday night. After dealing with the airports, tooling around in a sweet rented Toyota, an appropriate amount of heckling, and losing track of time, the four of us guys ended up going to bed around 2 a.m. This was significant not just because we are all elderly before our time (so had not seen such an hour in some time) but also because we were due to rise at 6:30 a.m. to catch our boat.

Well, we thought our unprecedented burning of the midnight oil would be the main drama associated with the event. Whoops.

As it turned out, the four of us cast -- combined -- one line into the water. The seas were much rougher than the folks in charge anticipated, and what was supposed to be deep-sea fishing turned for pretty much everyone into deep-sea vomiting. "Everyone," by the way, included a fair number of Boy Scouts, one of whom thought it was his purpose in life to circulate around the bobbing boat asking, "Have you puked yet?" (and another who thought the cabin needed to be "decorated" with his semi-digested chocolate milkshake). I am told I won the Man Award given that I only felt like I was going to blow lunch for 50-60 percent of the voyage and never actually did so, but that strikes me as a bit of a low bar.

Regardless, it was one of those experiences I will probably never forget, but really wonder if I should. Looking back on it, it's totally surreal. And for obvious reasons, Steve only took one picture, which is above. It captures the brief interval in which everyone felt fine.

Since returning from the trip -- which, I hasten to add, was great once we got off the boat -- I think I've worked more than in any other week of my life. (My employer launched a major project on Wednesday of which I have been dreaming for some time.) I believe both storms, Florida offshore and work overdrive, have passed. So now it's time to move!

One last beach picture

Christina

Yes, she made her dress. Yes, she can make one for you.

Our newest attempts at a good photo of the Mitchells

Beach Storms