It's a party in the USA!

I apologize now for shamelessly using the title of a Miley Cyrus song as the title of this blog entry. Lame, I know. But just bear with me. (Plus, despite the fact that Miley is approximately one decade my junior, I am looooving this song!)

Music has always been the background of my life. Chris tells me that I pretend that my life has a soundtrack - and in my mind, it really does.

When I was in fifth grade, you could say I was obsessive about writing in my diary every. single. day. But not only did I give a full daily recap, along with details on the drama and intensity that accompany fifth-grade life (the gross boy likes me!!! I played Oregon Trail in the computer lab today!!!), I also made sure to write the name of my current favorite song at the top of each crisp new page. That way, I reasoned, I would forever link my favorite songs with exact memories.

And dears (or dear, depending on how many people find and read this blog), I must tell you, it worked. To this day whenever I'm lucky enough to hear "Dreamlover" by Mariah Carey, my brain conjures up memories of our fifth-grade Apex party (which I deejayed), Whitney Houston's take on "I'm Every Woman" reminds me of choreographing a succession of leaps and lay-outs on the stage in the entry hall at Grandma's house, and I'll never forget how inordinately cool I felt rocking out to Ace of Base's "The Sign" - which was, incidentally, the first CD I ever purchased.

Songs are also tied to key events in my life. I heard "Stay (I Missed You)" by Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories while riding in the car on my first day of middle school. I heard "I Go Blind" by Hootie & the Blowfish on the way to the hospital to meet my dear cousin for the first time. (Trust me, cuz, I was hoping for something waaay cooler than that. Something maybe like "Macarena.") (Hey, it was 1996, and I was 13.) I heard "Jaded" by Aerosmith on the way to and from my high school graduation. "How You Remind Me" by Nickelback (promise they were novel back then) takes me back to the rush of excitement that accompanied the thrill of going off to college, and Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" takes me back to the final days before college graduation. You get the idea.

Naturally I was hoping for a fabulous (current) song to hear on my wedding day - but alas, nothing decent was out at the time. Nothing! I'm pretty sure that week was the worst in music history. (Don't believe me? Here's proof: http://www.billboard.com/#/charts/hot-100?chartDate=2008-06-14)

All of this to say I'm debuting in my role this weekend as a Matron of Honor. Granted, I've been a bridemaid a few times, a maid of honor once and a flower girl a while back... but this is my first go-round as Matron. (Couldn't they have thought of a better name for this role o' honor? Matron?? Really?!) Last night I advised the bride-to-be to seek out a song she will always remember from her wedding day. She said she already had, and she rattled off the name of some classic standard-type song that will accompany the couple's first dance. I clarified what I meant: "Like a current song. So you'll always associate it with this time in your life."

Alas, I think I am the only one who values such trivialities, judging by her puzzled expression.

Introducing Rose Monkey

Welcome to Rose Monkey. I have no clue what I'm doing.

Who am I? Let's start here: you can call me Shelby. I live in Memphis... for now at least! I am hoping any day now to get news that my husband has found a job in Louisville, Ky., so that we can move up there for seminary. Both of us have been talking and praying about this since before we got married (on June 14, 2008... does that make us newlyweds still?), so much, in fact, that I think people are starting to snarkle at us and think "yeah right" anytime we mention that we're hoping to move soon. But we truly are. We finally sense that the time is right and that's where God is leading us. It's been a slow process, but sometimes the best things in life work that way, right?

My husband Chris is already taking classes online toward an M.Div. in Worldview and Apologetics, and I am hoping to get my master's in Women's Ministry with an emphasis in Counseling. As of now, I'm working as a writer and he's programming computers - or so he tells me! Half the time I have no idea what he really does for a living, since I don't do ColdPro or SuperFusion or whatever the programming language du jour is.

So what will you find on this blog? I'm not sure yet. Probably book reviews, thoughts on culture, church matters, various things God is teaching us at the moment. Book reviews will probably occur the least frequently, due to our crazy schedules and my turtlishly (is that a word?) slooowww reading pace. However, if there's anything in particular you'd like to see featured on here, please let me know.

All I know is that I love reading blogs and I love to write, so I figured I'd try this thing out. I really don't have much to add to what's already being said on ze vast Internets, but if you can help me gain some wisdom or if maybe something I post on here one day can help you somehow in your walk with Christ, it's all worth it. I can't wait to meet you! :-)