Setting Sale

Friends, there are at least three reasons why today is shaping up to be a spectacular day:

1. It's Friday afternoon

2. The World Cup has begun

3. Team Pagan embarked upon their first yard sale and emerged as champions

Were my joy to manifest, it would look something like this. The search result after typing "happy jumping people" into Google Images. I would look like the person in between the blue and green panel, but rounder, and likely lower to the ground.

This morning before work, Jon and I drove to a yard sale that a friend-of-a-friend was hosting. After 20 minutes of browsing, we walked away with the following treasures:

1. Baby Bjorn

I kid, although I think it would be hysterical and redundant to see Bjorn donning a Bjorn.

The real deal as purchased by us.

2. Lime Bumbo (plus tray!)


3. Complete Set of Baby Einstein DVD's

I know, the recent lawsuit may have indicated that Baby Einstein products won't, in fact, turn our son into the next DaVinci or Mozart, but if they will keep him engaged in his Bumbo while I'm cooking dinner, we'll consider this purchase a win.

All practically new and obscenely discounted! Yes!

I do like the satisfaction that comes from a successful yard sale experience. Great suggestion, Jon!

On: The first of many to come...

It has been so long since I actually authored a post that I feel as though I am a guest blogger here. I am so thankful that Jenn has been so good about blogging this year while I have been in medical school. So why am I writing? Well, I have a story for you :)

A few days ago I was diligently studying for my neuroscience exam (read: not perusing my e-mail) when, out of the blue I got an e-mail! Occasionally they offer us as medical students discounts on tickets for events around town. Most recently we had the opportunity to get Razorback tickets, but unfortunately I didn't get over to the office quick enough and they sold out, but I digress. The e-mail I am referring to was offering discounted tickets to Wicked at the Robinson Center here in downtown Little Rock. An amazing location, and an even more amazing musical.

It occurs to me now that perhaps not everyone here has seen, or heard of, Wicked. It is a prequel of sorts to the classic Wizard of Oz story. I was lucky enough to see Wicked in Manhattan on Broadway, but unfortunately Jenn has not had the chance to see this amazing musical. We said that as soon as we got the chance we would get her to see it, I mean after all, she already has the soundtrack memorized.

So now we are caught up to this moment in time when I get an e-mail selling discount tickets to see Wicked. Victory is at hand! I was all set to head over to the office to purchase these tickets when it occurred to me that perhaps I should check to see when the show was. It is an evening show on November 11th, 2010. Perfect, a nice winter treat for my wife! Then it hit me. Well two things hit me. Have you ever been so excited about an event that when you purchase a gallon of milk with an expiration date past the event it gets real? Well people, they are selling tickets to a show for AFTER our first child will be born. Woah.

No problem right? That is exciting but doesn't change anything. Oh but it does. For the last few years Jenn and I have been blessed with the freedom to do whatever we want, whenever we want to. Dinner? Sure! Manhattan for the night? Absolutely! Everyone who thinks they can go see Wicked in November take one step forward, not so fast Jon Pagan. Thats right people, our expected due date is November 2nd, 2010. A mere 9 days before the show. So alas, we passed on the tickets. So for the first time, our child influenced our life in a very tangible way.

Isn't that amazing? There is absolutely no other reason that I'd rather not be able to take my wife out to a night on the town. My child, will be here in 174 days. My child. So for the first time of many to come, our world has been changed by this little life.

Little one, you rock my world and I can't wait to meet you, and tell you how you've already changed us for good...

Word to My Motha

Today I arrived at Sunday school, met by little girls all abuzz with what they had done, or were going to do for their mothers for mother's day.

"We got my mom a camera!"

"We got our mom a chocolate fondue kit!"

"We're taking our mom out to lunch at the club!" I still do not know what or where 'the club' is, but apparently, it's a very big deal.

This got me thinking about some of the childhood gifts I have gotten my mom for mother's day:

• The classic butchering of her rose bush to assemble a jam jar containing 3-4 semi wilted roses of varying size, exhausted from being man-handled by an eight year old.

• The...well, I'm not really sure what you would call two 4" paper plates hot glued together with the center cut out of one of them to frame a small bunch of dried flowers. Plus bow for the 'wow' factor.

• Lunch out with my mom and sister, where we would lecture her about taking time for herself. Sounds relaxing and not at all obnoxious, right?

You get the idea. My mother is a very patient and gracious woman.

So this year, I thought I would take a moment to praise my mother on the interweb, to explain to you all why she is awesome:

• My mother used to bust out her sewing machine and make my brother and I super-cool bean bags to toss back and forth at each other.
• She endured the aforementioned, poorly planned mother's day gifts.
• Somehow, my mother can survive on less sleep than any other person I know. How does a person work five, 12 hour shifts in a row on an average of 5-6 hours of sleep per night? I have no idea. I believe she is part photosynthetic.
• She worked tirelessly to sponsor things like music events, flute lessons, ballet, school, internships, wedding. Without complaining.
• She always planned (and executed) very creative and fun birthday parties.
• My mom cannot insult people, or swear, to save her life. "These chips are funky!" Whoa mom, let's watch the trash talk.
• If you were to Google her name in Google Images, she is the fourth image to show up on the first hit page.
• She has always been loving and supportive toward her family and friends. She is kind, lovely, funny and compassionate.

I could go on, but all of this is to say that I love my mom and I'm so thankful for her. She really is an amazing woman.

Happy mother's day, mom:)

Why Our Baby May Wear Nothing but Onesies

I'm thinking that someone may need to disconnect my internet at work today if I'm going to get ANYTHING done... Five minute breaks can quickly turn into 15 minutes of surfing the web for cute baby clothing:

One Tornado, Two Tornado, Three Tornado, Four...

I know, this would have been more fun, right? Instead, we watched this on doppler radar:

By now, we should know better than to take the words, "severe thunder storm warnings" at face value. This was one of four tornados that made its way through central Arkansas last night. A family in a city just south of us was able to capture this image before heading for shelter.

Fortunately, we didn't find ourselves in a Helen Hunt/Bill Paxton situation--having to lash ourselves to farm equipment for safety (thankfully--we have neither lashing materials NOR farm equipment).

Instead, we chose a safe room, prayed, sat away from the windows, and prepared to watch the news until 2:00am when the tornado advisories were supposed to lift. I made it until about 10:30pm and then when to bed. Had the paths of the tornados shifted in our favor, Jon would have gotten me and we would have sat in a closet, under our mattress with our Maglite. He stood watch until about 12:30; at that point, the storm cells had scattered or moved on and we were no longer in harm's way.

Stressful night, but we're happy to report that there was no damage to us or our neighborhood!

By This We Know Love...

...that my husband would remove the crust from my peanut butter toast and cut it in half before bringing it to me at 6:30 this morning.

Sacrificial Jon illustration #1.

Climbing Back on the Blog-Wagon (Again)

In January I committed to blogging twice monthly.

I committed to that commitment for the month of January—and then promptly ignored our blog for the next two months. I assure you, the spirit was willing.

So where have we been for the last two months?

We bought a house:

…and we found out we will be filling our new home with more than the 9487503486 boxes we (Jon) moved:


That’s right, kids! Team Pagan is having a baby!

More posts to come on home ownership, becoming parents, and life in general soon!

Back to Blogger

And…we’re back.

As it turns out, Blogger really is our home platform. Much like my favorite jammy pants, Blogger is familiar, reliable, and user-friendly even when I’m sleepy.

iWeb was great for a while—so much you can do to personalize your website. It was also user-friendly, for the most part, but decidedly more labor intensive and less reliable. After failing to publish two posts, we decided it was time to call it quits with iWeb and return to our home and native land. Blogger.

It’s good to be back.

On: Goodbye, My Old Friend...

Alright kids.

The time has come to transition! Jon and I have joined forces (and by "forces" I mean "blogs") and created our own webpage! Now, instead of keeping you updated through Blogger, you can check out our latest happenings/thoughts on:

www.teampagan.com

Please feel free to check it out!

I won't be updating this blog anymore, but I'm also not going to delete it. Archives, you're safe in the Blogger...archives.

Blogger, we've had a good run. You had all the right moves, all the right words. We shared some laughs. We'll stay in touch--you know, we'll write. Our kids will play on the same soccer team someday. You'll see. You will surely be missed, but we're pumped about our new site (and we hope you are too).

We wish you nothing but happiness, Blogger.

Thanks for all the good times.

With much love,
Team Pagan

On: Newest Fashion Accessory

This has been the best allergy season I've ever experienced. I don't mean to salt the wounds of those of you who are assaulted by your local pollens, but this is the first Spring that hasn't sent me into fits of sneezing! Yes! Thank you allergy shots!

However, the one thing my allergy shots are powerless against are... bees. Virginia has exploded with flowers in the last few weeks, and where there are flowers, there are bees. I'm pretty sure this premise was the inspiration for Field of Dreams : if you blossom, they will come.

=

Look at them... so smug.

We can't forget the return of the Cicada Killer Wasps at Georgetown either:


Since I have never been stung, Jon and I decided that asking my doctor about an Epi Pen would be a good decision. During my last visit, he agreed that having one on hand would be a good idea anyway, because of the peanut allergy.

So after a "quick" trip to the pharmacy (I know few trips to the pharmacy that are quick--the poor pharmacy techs deserve some kind of medal, or hazard pay for some of the surly customers they have to help), I am now the owner of an Epi pen. Huzzah.

On: Sunday! Hallelujah!

I think this is the first Easter that has really resonated with me.

Don't get me wrong, I have understood the significance of Easter--the meaning behind the holiday. For some reason, this year, Easter seemed more significant.

I was pumped to wake up this morning, knowing that in a few hours, we would be singing with thousands of other people, celebrating the resurrection of the man who gave his life for my benefit. For your benefit. This morning, it made total sense: this is the most significant event in the history of the world.

Yesterday, Jon and I were reading Luke's account of the resurrection, but this morning, I couldn't help thinking about 1 Timothy 1:15--

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-of whom I am the worst.

I feel you, Paul.

Perhaps it's because I'm a little older now. With age comes the opportunity to make mistakes--and I've made some really spectacular mistakes. The good news is that God always (yes, ALWAYS) reserves the right to show mercy and compassion. The good news is that Christ came to save me, in spite of my mistakes. How much more thankful I feel, now, knowing that Christ destroyed the junk in my life and is alive, because nothing is too overwhelming for him. He makes things right. That's a reality worthy of singing. Loudly.

I had such a good time watching our choir this morning--a rainbow of faces. Lovely Asian women, unafraid of busting a move while they sung, beautiful Indian women in brightly colored saris, young, old, all singing at the top of their lungs. I wanted to explode, it was so powerful. "He's alive! Alive! Alive hallelujah! Alive! Praise and glory to the Lamb! Alive! Alive! Alive hallelujah! Alive forever amen!"

As our service drew to a close, Lon (our pastor) raised an important question: who's buried in Christ's tomb? I'm sure you've heard the joke, "who's buried in Grant's tomb?" The answer to the previous question is one that--I'm embarrassed to admit--I have never really stopped to ponder until this morning. The answer is a resounding: NO ONE! Is anyone else blown away by this? I know I am. Our sermon closed this morning with a quote that I thought was amusing, "Follow a dead savior, and you'll end up just like him (or her, to be PC)." Oh snap.

I love knowing that our savior is alive and attentive.

He is risen indeed.

What is she talking about? Has she finally lost it? See: Matthew 28:1-7, or Mark 16:1-8, or John 20:1-9, or Luke 24.

On: Come back with our tire, or on it...

(For those of you who haven't seen 300, this line was taken from a scene in the movie where Queen Gorgo tells Leonidas-before he marches off to fight Xerxes and his army-to 'Come back with your shield, or on it.')

This past weekend was what you might call our "acquisition" weekend. Nay, an acquisitional fortnight!

In an effort to make our humble abode feel more homey, Jon and I have taken the last couple of weeks to scour the greater DC area for the best home accessory bargains. I'm happy to report that we found some pretty great deals--soon we will have MUCH more seating space, our walls won't be completely blank, and we are able to watch movies on more than a 13" laptop. Our backs and eyes are so thankful.

Howeva, as we were driving home from Woodbridge, chatting about what a great weekend we were having, our conversation was interrupted by what sounded like a helicopter attempting to race us onto the freeway...

Que blown tire.

Indeed, we ran over something that completely obliterated our right rear tire. It was decidedly flat. Jon proceeded to change it like a champ and the following day he went looking for a replacement. We didn't really anticipate purchasing a tire during the Pagan Acquisition Fest, 2009, but these things happen.

Tire aside, the Pagan piazza is coming together, slowly, but surely! Pictures to come soon!

On: Stitches...

Since Jon entered the SMP, he's had to study a lot (and by a lot, I mean several hours a week). We've also been making a concerted effort to be good stewards of our finances...not always an easy task --I am the reigning queen of the impulse buy. Considering the heavy work loads and our new-found frugality, I think I've finally come upon a hobby that is easy on our wallets AND helps to pass the time while Jon is learning how to save lives.

I have decided to try my hand at sewing. It's a relatively inexpensive amusement, and because I'm such a newb (I've ripped out my fair share of seams), I can keep myself occupied for long periods of time.

I'm currently working on a shirt! Yes, an average, long-sleeved shirt. The pattern insists that it's a "tunic," but I've found that telling people I'm making a "tunic" elicits some pretty puzzled reactions.

Thus far, I like this hobby. It's therapeutic. (Mostly) straight, consistent lines. I like the cutting and the pinning; I like taking my time. I especially like the ironing. I like the challenge of looking for good sales on fabric. If only I would make more time to enjoy it!

On: 25 on the 25th...

It is official: I am now a quarter of a century old.
The big 2-5.

This post is actually after the fact... I turned 25 on the 25th of February, and now, we're approaching the 25th of March. How does this happen?! I can recall my mom saying, "Time starts to move very quickly after you graduate from high school." Very true, mom, very true.

For as quickly as time seems to be passing, I must say that 25 feels pretty great. God has been extremely good, I'm happily married, wonderful friends and family, and my hair is only slightly more gray than last year (thanks for those genes, dad), and Jon and I are just a few short months away from embarking on the next, great Pagan migration :) Yes. 25, I welcome you. You're alright.

To celebrate my birthday, Jon made the house look amazing, then topped our Friday off with dinner AND cake. On Saturday, we spent the morning playing hex on the subway into DC (if you haven't played hex, it is really fun, and a little frustrating for those of us who aren't exactly gifted strategists), and wandering around the American History Museum until it was time to meet Adrienne and Danial for dinner at the Front Page -- one of my favorite restaurants.

Here are some of the highlights from the birthday weekend:

Breakfast of champions

Stradivarii (apologies, it's a little dark)

Ruby Slippers!

Joe Louis' boxing gloves (every time I hear "Joe Louis," I think of Coming to America)

Creepy doll, the puffy shirt from Seinfeld, Sid Caesar's hat, and Oscar the Grouch

Edison's early light bulb models

Jon and I in the Edison exhibit

Danial and Adrienne at the Front Page


Danial attempting to eat Adrienne's face...

On: Not Diggin' the Time Difference...

Here we are again...

Another night where I'd love to call and chat with west-coast friends, but it's right in the middle of their dinner hour... How does everyone feel about this? Do you all eat dinner between 5pm and 7pm PST?

I'm not diggin' the time difference right now.

On: Just BLOG Already!...

Sometimes I forget that we, you and I, have the freedom to just blog.

I believe I have been stuck in a work-induced funk that inhibits updates like this. In a field that manages delicate client relationships, every word of every conversation and memo has to count; otherwise the relationship is compromised. Example:

"The grantees agreed that securing a facility with computer and internet access for a group training session has been a historically difficult process. In order to reduce the monetary and logistical challenges associated with in-person training sessions, the grantees requested tools that would promote a more autonomous approach to learning the system."

Does every word of this blog have to count? Perhaps. I could attempt to get all philosophical up in this post, but I know too little about philosophy to be totally convincing. This is an area that I'm interested in exploring. I'll save that topic for another post.

Also, I reserve the right to change the sub-purpose of this blog on a per-post basis. This post is kind of like a power cleanse--it's only purpose is to shake the day's memo (that I FINALLY finished) from my thoughts and playfully update you. Loved one.

[Transition]

Excellent. This is really just a stream-of-consciousness post, so props to you for enduring every tanJent!

Fun Weekend Update

This weekend was glorious. Fairfax saw highs in the mid, to upper 60's, so Jon and I totally blew off our professional responsibilities (I had planned to finish the aforementioned memo and Jon had planned to study) to romp in the sunshine. We went for a nice walk, perused movies and electronics at Best Buy, threw balled-up socks at each other, watched movies, went to a fantastic evening service on Sunday night, etc. Also, I put Betty Crocker to SHAME and made home made pitas, hummus, chicken pot pie, and chocolate cup cakes with cream cheese/chocolate chip filling. I am such a happy camper when the sun is shining. I become exponentially happier the longer the sun is out and the longer the temperature hovers between 70 and 90.

Verbalities

Since Jon and I have been writing a lot for work and school, I thought I'd introduce you to some of the more common words and phrases that we've come across as we've proofed each others' work:

• Apparently, I abuse the word, "substantive," especially when paired with, "contributions."
• Then there is the classic Jon Pagan, "from (something) to (something)" statement. I love it! It's in several of his admissions letters.
• There is also the classic Jenn Pagan, "aligns with (someone's) personal, professional, and academic goals."
  

More to Come...

I'm going to make a concerted effort to update more often. There has been so much going on and I haven't recorded any of it! Beyond that, I've lost the adapter for the memory card in our camera, leaving only the printer as a picture extracting device... The down-side of that is that our pictures are loaded onto the mac, which squirrels them away into these bizarre folders and organizes them numerically, not by image.

Anyway. More updates to come. More pictures too.

I hope you are well.

On: Her Morning Elegance (Another Video)...

I know, another video. Commentary on life with the Pagans shall have its day... as soon as I finish this memo.

Non-the-less! Thank you Anna for initially posting this! What a charming performance!

On: She. Pagan.

A few weeks ago I received a letter from my employer informing me that the gender they had on file for me, female, did not match records on file at the Social Security Administration (SSA). They had discovered the error during a routine audit...

So I called the SSA to verify that I am, in fact, female.

Sure enough, their current records indicate that I am:

Jennifer A. Pagan--Male

Crazy, right!?

I suspect that an error was made after the wedding, while I was changing my name... This means that I'll have to pay a visit to our local SSA office with my birth certificate to verify my gender. Yes.

Until then, I remain a dude in the SSA system...

On: Penn Says...

Penn says.

Thanks for the link Jason B!

On: Musts...

Things that I must do:

• Update our blog
• Post/send people pictures
• Banalities around the house
• Narrow down the resolutions
• Make some phone calls
• Write some notes
• Chillax with the Naz
• Congratulate Ben and Cynthia (they're prego!)
• Relinquish my GU smock...
• Call Carol and Katie
• Fill out some paper work
• Do some research
• Find a cheap copy of The End of Reason
• High-five Jon (he's still sick)
  

Etc.

More substantive posts (and pictures... I can't guarantee that all of the pictures will be substantive) to come.

On: Butterfield's Lullaby...

When we lived in Davis, there were nights where we would hear the barn owl that lived in the tree by our bedroom window. We never actually saw the owl, but we could hear him (or her) some nights before we went to bed. It would make these beautiful noises--one of my favorite memories about living in Davis.

Since moving to DC, I can't say that we've heard any owls, but we do have a bugler.

Several nights out of the week, between 10:00 and 11:00 pm, we have the pleasure of hearing our bugler play the city to sleep with a singularly beautiful and appropriate rendition of Taps.

I'd love to think that this was his sole purpose for performing so late in the evening, and in such ridiculously cold weather. The reality of the situation, I've discovered, is that this anthem is the conclusion of military burials. Whenever a man is buried with military honors anywhere in the United States, the ceremony is concluded by firing three volleys of musketry over the grave, and sounding with the trumpet or bugle "Put out the lights. Go to sleep." The reason we can hear so clearly is that we keep our windows open at night, and we live just across the highway from Arlington National Cemetery. I'm sorry to say that these types of ceremonies are performed between 20 and 30 times a day there.

As sad as it is to think about the sacrifices that merit these ceremonies, the lyrics to this melody are actually really comforting. There are men protecting us from people that want to inflict serious harm on our country, and potentially our current city. There is also this musician who takes the time to remind us of these men, and of God's presence and protection (there are a few renditions, but I like this one):

"Fading light dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright.
From afar drawing nigh -- Falls the night.

"Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky.
All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.

"Then good night, peaceful night,
Till the light of the dawn shineth bright,
God is near, do not fear -- Friend, good night."

On: Pocket Fisherman and Cleaning Products...

I'm not sure how it's happened; I may have entered my email address on one-too-many internet sites... Whatever the reason, my spam folder has filtered dozens of spam emails over the last couple of months. I'll have to be more vigilant in the future.

Some of them are a kind of funny though. Some developer is creating an ad right now for the pocket fisherman, hoping that someone will open it and discover that their fishing experiences have been incomplete, and inefficient up until now. They're competing, of course, with the inventors of the ShamWow, the Nigerian mail scam, the PediPaws, Smoke Start--The healthy alternative to smoking, the Loud N Clear, and a waterproof razor called the Micro Force.

Part of me feels compelled to invent a micro fisherman, or a Macro Force... Take THAT spammers.