Out of the Extraordinary

Buttons!

2011-01-16T22:06:00.000-06:00

Alrighty, well it's been ages and ages since I finished the design for my two blogs, and yet I had never gotten to the point of actually making buttons. I'm not sure that I need to set them up for anyone else to grab--I mean, would you?

But I have been planning these for a while. I'd like to link to one blog from the other with a pretty button, you know? So, here they are. I hope you like them. :)

Un-Caffeinated

2011-01-14T07:09:00.000-06:00

Mmmmmm..... soda. Pop. Coke.

Call it by any other name but it still tastes as sweet. (Although technically I am a Pepsi girl.)

My church always starts out the new year with a fast, and this year I decided to give up pop for the 21 days. Now, I need you to understand that I am completely and utterly addicted to caffeine, but I only get it through drinking soda. I have been known to put a shot of coffee in my hot chocolate if I need a jolt before lunch, but otherwise it's Coke or Pepsi all the way.

So when I decided to give it up, I wasn't sure how well it would go. My office has a fountain soda machine, so they're pretty much saying "Here, why don't you just drink Cherry Coke for 4 straight hours?" And sadly, I often did.

The first week of the fast I had the hot chocolate-coffee, I had iced tea, but because I am not a very big fan of either, I only really had enough to keep the headaches away. I am a big fan of iced chai lattes but since I'm not entirely sure how to make them and I try not to go to Argot Tea too often, I've only gotten it on a couple "oh my goodness I only got 3 hours of sleep and I will pass out of I can't get caffeine" days.

The upshot is that not only am I not drinking pop, but I'm also slowly weaning myself off of caffeine. Hooray!

And I've found a few interesting facts about how I use Coke during the day, because the first week of the fast all I did was snack. Candy here, a bagel there... I realized that I was getting pop often just because I was bored, or needed a break from work, or was particularly annoyed about something and wanted to drown my feelings in sugary, bubbly goodness.

So this week (I am almost done with week 2) I brought in snacks--healthy ones. I have a banana for the morning, a pear for the afternoon, and yogurt for right after lunch. And I've found that I don't need to make the hot chocolate-coffee in the morning. It's really amazing how eating fruit (and drinking more water, we mustn't forget that) really raised my levels of awake-ness. And without that sugar crash later.

And here's a fun added side benefit--I seem to be more flirtatious when I'm not drinking soda. Ok, I know that makes like zero sense. But I realized one day that I had flirted with like 3 guys! And not for any purpose, just because. It was so much fun! Perhaps I should take this un-caffeinated self of mine out to a bar or speed dating or something. Who knows what could come of it. :)

Now I will be honest. On the 22nd I will very likely crack open a can of Pepsi and spend a magical 5 or 10 minutes drinking it. But it is good to know I can, in fact, live without it.

Easy A, Get It?

2011-01-12T22:27:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I just watched the cutest movie. I updated my Facebook status to reflect that so for those of you who are my friends on FB sorry, but you just heard me say it's a cute movie twice. I love the main character, I love the girl who played her, and I love that she referenced all the movies I watched growing up. And seriously, I love that I now know that Patrick Dempsey was the guy in Can't Buy Me Love, a movie I haven't seen since like 5th grade but I still ~~have practically memorized~~ vaguely remember.

If you haven't seen this movie and you want a nice light no-actual-sex-scenes-but-some-really-funny-sex-sounds movie, this is the one for you. And if you're a fan of Redbox, let me give them a free shout-out and say it'll be the best dollar and eight cents you've spent all week.

Now.

I do have two thoughts that have come about from watching this movie.

First: How does one "lose" their virginity anyway??? OK, so I'm not the first or the last person to say this but it needs to be said because maybe out there somewhere is a girl who has not yet "lost it." Call it the V-card, your flower, whatever the heck it is, you cannot lose it. Unless you are so very very drunk that you cannot actually remember a single moment of the ~~three-and-a-half~~ ten minutes it takes for your first time, you will know exactly where it has gone. And chances are, the next morning you'll wish you could go there and take it back. And don't be too quick with giving it away, either.

Ok. Stepping off the soap box.

Second: Are all of the Christians in high school really that obnoxious? Was I that obnoxious? Am I that obnoxious? I'd like to think that once little miss Christian Cheerleader of America goes to college and experiences some real life, she'll figure out that the Jesus she loves really kinda doesn't groove on that self-absorbed, holier-than-thou attitude. But still, why the stereotype? Ok sure, it's a movie rife with them, so I guess it's ok. Not trying to knock the movie here, {SPOILER ALERT-GO TO NEXT PARAGRAPH} because other than the fact that our heroine is still cool with the idea of giving away her V-card at some random time in the future, she did not, in fact, do so during the entire film. Kudos to her.

But you know what I'd love to see/read? I'd love to follow a story about a girl who goes to high school and loves Jesus but gives her boyfriend blow jobs because they figure that's not really sex, right? And how she goes to college and finds out that whoops--it was. And how she swears, and wears slutty clothes every now and then because even though she loves Jesus her self-worth is still tied up with what others think of her--or what they think of how she looks, anyway.

And no, that is not an autobiography. What it is, is an authentic story about a Christian girl who's still living in this world, and doesn't quite get how to be a part of the next.

Perhaps it's a plot treatment for something I should write.

But here's the rub--literally--if my audience is high-school kids, and I'm trying to undergird the whole story with the love of Christ... should I write about the blowjobs?

No really, I want to know. What do you think?

And... have you read any books like this?

I am Ripped

2011-01-11T06:53:00.000-06:00

Ok, no, this is not me. But a girl can have goals, can't she?

Really though, I am quite proud of myself because I finally went to the gym last night for the first time in ages. I got an awesome deal with Bally's since I used to belong there--$99 for a whole year, at any location. I suppose that comes from when I paid through the nose for that ability, plus the personal training sessions.

To get this great deal I had to sign up back in November. And alas, since I was living at the office back then, I didn't get around to going. But really it's only a few bucks down the drain.

But after making it through my second weekend of the new year (no this isn't a "new year's resolution" it just happens to be the timing) without making it to Bally's, I decided that Monday was the day and packed the workout clothes, water bottle, and Zumba towel. The only thing missing was a combination lock, but I figured I could get one at the CVS or Wallgreens that I would pass on the way there.

Can you believe that both the CVS and the Wallgreens were out?

Of course you can, because everybody and their brother made new year's resolutions to work out.

Fortunately the wise people at Bally's had stocked up, so even though it was an extra dollar, at least now I could lock up my clothes.

I put in a good half-hour on the elliptical and was thrilled because my knees, which have become quite painful in the last few months, did actually still work, as long as there isn't much resistance. Glory be! The rest of the time was spent getting reacquainted with some of the machines they've got. Sadly I don't think they've gotten new ones at all--I was rather hoping in the last 4 years they would have. Oh well, they still work... most of them. :)

And can I just say that my favorite machines are the Hip Adductor/Abductors. Those are the ones where you sit down and have to either press your legs together against resistance, or swing them apart. It kind of looks like you're practicing to lay an egg. You can't really make eye contact with anyone whilst using them, but they are fun. And I think my favorite part was when I got off the one where you press together which was at 120 pounds, and the chick who got on next moved it to like 80. Aw, yeah. Because it's all about competition at the gym. If I can't be thinner, I want to be stronger.

So the goal is to go 2-3 times a week. It's a bit of a time investment, because I walk 3-4 blocks there from the train, then about 7 blocks home, plus the time spent getting changed and then actually working out. But it's a worthy endeavor, and I was home just in time to see Castle, which is all that really matters to me on Mondays anyway. :)

Please check in to see how I'm doing, and feel free to ask how it's going. 'Cause I may never look like that woman in the photo, but I betcha I could get darned close if I really put my mind to it.

Have an Extraordinary Day!

2010 In Review

2011-01-10T07:27:00.000-06:00

Hello there and Happy New Year to all my friends and family!

It has been far too long since I have sent out a ~~Christmas~~ New Year's card. Better late than never seemed to turn into "never."

But thanks to the beauty of technology, I will now share with you my 2010. It was both a great year and a somewhat not-so-great year. Fortunately, I blogged about most of it. So I will give you a list below of the highlights, and leave it up to you whether or not you wish to click through for the details.

And yes, this means I'm going to be blogging more again. So feel free to follow me if you want to keep up with my goings-on in 2011. God willing, it will be a year worth following. :)

In 2010...

I started by comparing last year (2009) to this year (2010).
I embraced the purpose of my blog--to find the extraordinary in the ordinary--and changed my email signature to match.
I reminisced about words with very, very different meanings.
I celebrated my 100th blog post.
I started a sister blog called Moments of Majesty, where I do a Bible Study. The link goes to one of my favorite posts.
I bought a beautiful new loveseat and chair from IKEA--something that had been on my wish list for over two years!
My computer succumbed to a virus.
I thought about how I have experienced miracles in my own life.
A friend of mine at work got cancer.
He passed away, I had a birthday--it was a very up and down month.
I celebrated the beauty of the city I live in (Chicago).
And then I celebrated the beauty of my own neighborhood.
I mourned the loss of my camera with varying degrees of acceptance.
I said goodbye to my gallbladder (and I feel much, much better!)
I got my hair cut
With a fantastic team, I organized the third annual Golden Awards recognition ceremony for my company at their annual General Manager conference, and put together a "Recognition Toolkit" that all the manager-level people in our company can use to show their direct reports how much they are appreciated. I haven't written about this yet, but perhaps I will... I am quite proud of it. :)

Well, that is the highlights. I hope that you had a good 2010 and I pray that your 2011 will be successful and prosperous beyond even your loftiest dreams.

And as always... Have an Extraordinary Day!

2011 Resolutions

2011-01-04T13:09:00.000-06:00

Resolve - n. to come to a definite or earnest decision about; determine (to do something): I have resolved that I shall live to the full.

I Resolve

To move

what God gave me and where He leads me.

To learn

more about myself and my purpose in life.

To grow

towards deeper and stronger relationships.

To shine

with the light of God's glory, not my own.

To live

my life to the fullest.

I resolve.

5 Things You Need To Know About Having Your Gallbladder Removed

2010-11-09T06:33:00.001-06:00

"Well, young lady," the doctor said, giving his head a slight shake (the better to send his luxurious hair cascading over his left temple) "You’re in fine physical health, you're absolutely gorgeous, and I think you and I would make beautiful children together. Let's get married."

Yeah.

What he really said was "You need to have your gallbladder out." (And he didn't quite look as good as Dr. McDreamy)

Woo. Hoo.

By the way, the next time you catch yourself thinking "Man, I would give anything to get a full week off of work this year," be careful that God doesn't hear you or he might just say "Ok, how about an internal organ?"

Really honestly, however, I think this is the best thing that could have happened to me. I needed to have the gallbladder out, and I really really really needed some time to rest and recharge.

Something I realized as I went through the process (and I'm fine now, thanks for asking!) is that there are things that you might not know will happen when you go to get your gallbladder removed. Or for most any surgery, in fact. So I thought I would share these things, in case it helps you:

1. Don't pee before you get there.

I repeat. Do. Not. Pee. They will ask you to pee in a cup so they can check something. Maybe it's a quick pregnancy test, I don't know. All I know is I signed in, used the bathroom, got called right away to go to a room to get prepped, and was given a cup. And what kills me is the woman who signed me in told me where the bathroom was when I asked. She could've said "you know, you're gonna have to pee in a cup in like 10 minutes." Oh, and don't forget no food or water after midnight, so squeezing out a few more drops (and getting them into the cup) when you've pretty well peed out your last bit of liquid is not that easy!

2. Shave your legs.

Unless you don't care if people see/touch your legs when they're all stubbly. Because they will put these amazing wonderful plug-in wraps on your legs that will keep your blood flowing and feels like a wonderful little massage every few minutes. Which, of course, means that they will be touching your legs! So be forewarned. (Besides, you soooo won't want to take a shower or shave for a few days after the surgery anyway, so you may as well start fresh.)

3. Have your driver on call all day.

I was told that I would be out of there by 3pm at the latest after my 9:45am surgery. Right. First off, they didn't even start the surgery until 11am (which is crazy, since I was only the 2nd surgery of the day) Then, if you have any sort of nausea afterwards, they will give you medication that will knock you out again. I didn't leave until 6:30pm! Thank goodness my mom, who was coming from 45 minutes away, stayed at home until about 5:30 and then just took it upon herself to start driving in, so she actually got there right as I was getting dressed to leave. But seriously, if she'd come in at 3pm like I'd been told, she'd have been b.o.r.e.d.

4. Find a doctor who has more fun in the surgery than the office.

Ok that may sound weird, but my doctor seemed a bit abrupt and not in the best of moods when I first met him in the office. But when he walked in before the surgery, he was like a whole new person. He practically bounced in, gave me a big smile, stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles and said "Ok, we've warmed up on one, now we're ready for you. let's do this!" and I suddenly realized here is a surgeon who really enjoys his job. I like the idea of a doctor who is excited about doing a good surgery cutting me open, not just some guy who can be personable in the office but may or may not get jazzed up about removing organs. As long as you know he's professional, take the first guy!

5. Do NOT make a post-surgery to-do list.

I don't care what you think you're going to be able to do. You most likely will not be able to or interested in doing it. Now I know there are some people who are more stubborn than me, or who may feel the pressure to be constantly "productive" out there, so if you manage to sort your entire photo collection 2 days after a surgery, well then good for you. But as for me, all I know is that in 12 days I didn't do a single thing besides re-read the Harry Potter collection. Now, that's no small shakes given that all 7 books must be at least 3,000 pages. But seriously, I did nothing else. I slept, I watched some TV, I slept some more, and I read. That's it. And you know what? I'm glad. Because by the end of my time off, I was rested, relaxed, and rejuvenated. I'm not quite yet back up to 100%, but I think having the time off (and the gallbladder removed) was exactly what I needed to take a big step towards a more healthy lifestyle. Booyah.

Oh Where... is My Camera?

2010-11-08T06:40:00.001-06:00

If my camera worked under water, this is what the photos it took would look like.

Yes, it is true... my camera is lost to Davy Jones' Locker. Well... assuming that Davy Jones has a locker at the bottom of Lake Geneva, IL, anyway.

So here's what happened: I was at a women's retreat, learning about how to worship God fully. During the afternoon break, a friend and I decided to walk to the lake, taking pictures along the way. It was a beautiful fall day, and my photos were amazing. I had a great eye that day, and was catching moments of beauty all over the place. I even remember saying "This is the best photo I've taken!" after taking a shot of a canoe at the edge of the lake. The funny thing is a voice whispered in my ear "That's prideful, you shouldn't say that!" so I tried to amend it to "This is the best photo I've taken today!" Not that my friend would have cared I'm sure, but I felt like someone was telling me "Oooh, you shouldn't be so proud of what you're doing, that's bad."

And then 5 minutes later, right as we were getting into a paddle boat for a quick ride, I lost my camera. It was a nice pocket-sized camera, so of course it was in my pocket. In its case, in my pocket, clipped to my jeans, to be exact. And yet, just when I was stepping into the boat it popped out--the whole case--and bloop! it fell right into the water.

And I mean it when I say bloop! It was a nice loud, satisfying sound, the kind of noise that a medium-to-large sized stone would make when you drop it into water. Or, say, a camera in its case. Oh, and I also had my spare battery and about 4 SD memory cards in there.

So my first reaction was to swear. And my second was to stare into the water and flutter my hands. You know what I mean, right, that rapid flexing of the wrist that shows how incompetent you really are but somehow we just have to do it? As if fluttering my hands at the lake would make it regurgitate my camera dry and perfect. Yeah, right.

What really happened is I called our on-site manager, Joel, who came over right away and spent 45 minutes trying to find the camera. Because here's the thing: even though it only dropped right off the pier, the bottom of the lake wasn't a nice clear pebbly bottom. Oh no, the bottom of the lake was about 5 feet of mud, plants, and more mud. So every time we swept a rake through the water trying to catch the camera, we'd have to wait 10-15 minutes for the water to clear enough to look for it.

I'm sure you're hoping that I found it. I was hoping that I'd find it, because there's a chance that my warrantee may have covered water damage, but replacing a disappeared camera? Yeah, not so sure about that one.

The 45 minutes Joel spent trying to find my camera were amazing, and terrible. I say terrible because--well, you know why, duh. I spent pretty much the whole time crying. That camera was like my baby, it was like my left hand. I'm sure you understand, if you're a fan of photography. It may not have been a professional-grade camera, but I believe I've taken more than my fair share of beautiful photos. See my previous post about things I see on the way to the train for a few shots that I took a week before the retreat to see just how much I was in love with finding the beautiful--the extraordinary, if you will--in the ordinary.

But back to those 45 minutes. Why were they amazing, you might be wondering. They were amazing because I have never had people I didn't know rally around me so much. Not only did Joel faithfully spend a full 45 minutes trying to find the camera, but a group of people, who had been intrigued as to why two people kept staring off the pier, came over and started looking for the camera themselves. Two of them even flopped down on their bellies and stuck their faces into the water in an attempt to see better. We're talking October, cold water!

Then all of a sudden I knew it was over. I was done. I couldn't ask Joel to stay away from all the other teams that were staying at the conference center for any longer. The camera, which likely was only about 6 inches away from where we were looking the whole time, was lost. Joel drove me back to our meeting room, where the session I was supposed to lead was just wrapping up. I felt like a failure. I had lost about $537 worth of camera stuff, not to mention the pictures I'd taken that day, and I'd missed the chance to continue my leadership development by leading a personal testimony session at the retreat.

And yet.

And yet, I felt peace. I felt comfort. I felt God saying "I know the pain you are feeling." The speaker who did our morning and afternoon sessions spoke about how everything we do should be worship to God, and that we should give Him our all, our everything. When I walked back into the meeting room, we sang "I'm giving you everything I am, and everything I have," and I thought "God, I just gave you my camera."

I will admit, I cried when I thought that.

But then something else the speaker said came back to me. She'd talked about how when we do good deeds on earth, we build up for ourselves treasures in heaven. But she doesn't think we're going to get to heaven and sit happily on our pile of gold. No, once we see God in His full glory, we'll be so overwhelmed that we will throw down our treasures before Him, because nothing on earth or in Heaven is as amazing, as fantastic, as holy, as praise-worthy as God. And it will give us no more pleasure than to cast our crowns down before Him as an expression of how His love is all that matters, His glory unapproachable. So next to all of that, what value my camera? And what helpful part does bitterness or anger play in getting over its loss? None, to both.

I will admit, when people prayed for me that the camera would be returned to me two-fold (as in, twice as good, not twice as many) I had an internal battle. Because getting a camera twice as nice as that one would be awesome. But I can't expect it, right? So would thinking about getting a new camera ruin my chances of actually getting one? And while we're at it, did I lose my camera because I had those prideful thoughts earlier?

My goodness, it's amazing how evil that thought was. Was losing the camera somehow connected to my pride?

I don't think so at all. I think if anyone had tried to find exactly the right way for me to doubt myself, and doubt God's sovereignty, that is the way to do it. Which is precisely why I do not believe it. I do not believe that losing my camera was God's way of getting back at me, and I do not believe that it happened without his knowledge. What I do believe is that He will, and has already, work this out for good. I mean, He already helped me to not tie up my entire sense of well-being with a physical object. He helped me to accept that sometimes things happen, and we can't live in the past, wishing we could turn time back to about 5 seconds before the accident, but that we have to move on.

I'm not really sure what "moving on" will look like, but I know one thing, God spoke to me very clearly that weekend about my writing. If a picture is worth a thousand words, and I can take 300 pictures in about an hour, I've got a lot of writing to do. Maybe that's why I'm not encumbered with a camera right now.

Well, that's 1400 words down. Stay tuned for more tomorrow.

Things I See on the Way to the Train

2010-10-10T06:44:00.001-05:00

So what do you do when you have to go in to the office on the weekend? Not only the weekend, but quite possibly the most glorious Saturday in forever. So, you could get bitter, or you could enjoy the trip. I chose to enjoy it.

Especially since this was the first thing that I saw:

Beautiful, isn't it? That's the building right across from me. I loved the red on red (on blue). I crossed the street and started walking, reveling in the sunlight, the warmth, and the beauty. I passed a bush in full fall splendor and thought "Maybe I should take my camera back out." But I didn't.

A few steps later I wondered why I cared if anyone saw me standing there, taking pictures of random things. I mean, who really cares, right? So I took my camera out again. And just in time...

So then I decided to take pictures all the way to the train. Perhaps when it's cold and gross I can look back and remember how beautiful my neighborhood is, in all the big and little ways.

Like the Lutheran Church...

And the flowers in front of the church, clinging so tightly to life...

The inscription that shows this building is exactly 55 years older than me.

A dark door in shadow, and bright flowers in the light...

This one is by far my favorite.

And always, always remember that the sun is shining.

No matter how much humanity grows, it can always coexist with nature if we just try.

This one just cracks me up because it looks like the mail slot is drooling.

I love the juxtaposition of light and dark, sunshine and shadow.

See? I'm not the only one out taking pictures.

Every balcony above a bar should have a flag.

Poor Orderly. He's always being left behind...

Ah, the Vic. Home of the bar within a movie theater. Or, vice versa.

And last but not least... Going up.

Well, that's my neighborhood.

Why I Love Google Chrome

2010-10-09T13:47:00.000-05:00

Five Reasons Why I Love Google Chrome:

Doesn't he look like a totally awesome, fun-loving younger brother of the spaceship/computer in Flight of the Navigator?
When my computer got its virus (booo) the awesome guys at The Geek Squad installed Google Chrome because it had more built-in virus protection than my prior web browser.
It has a download "bar" at the bottom of the screen so when you forget where the heck your downloaded files go because you hit "close" instead of "open," now all you have to do is click on the icon at your convenience. For that matter, you don't get the annoying pop-up window telling you that thing you downloaded is ready RIGHT NOW while you're trying to do something else.
Because everything Google is just awesome. Have you seen their tribute to John Lennon yet today? (of course you might not see it if you're not reading this today)
And last, but quite specifically not least, it has a built-in spell-check!!! Ok, maybe other browsers do too, but this came with it already on so I didn't have to go find it. And there is nothing better than having your computer tell you when you've misspelled "extraordinary," especially when you start asking yourself why oh why you decided to try ending all of your blog comments on other people's posts with "Have an Extraordinary Day" because seriously, it's like a tongue-twister typing that all out quickly!!!!

Ok, there you have it. From a not-very-technical person to you, the 5 reasons why Google Chrome rocks. If you have a browser you prefer, feel free to let me know. I might never switch, but if you can give me 5 good reasons why I should, I'll at least think about it. :)

Why You Should Have Your Gallbladder Removed, And Seven Other Funny Things That Happened To Me This Week

2010-10-08T07:26:00.021-05:00

So ok, when you go to bed with a sharp ache (incongruous, I know) right below your ribcage, and wake up with said sharp ache feeling like an alien is using a pickaxe in an attempt to burst out of your torso, you might want to consider the fact that you've got gallstones. Or aliens…

But in all seriousness, gallstone attacks are horrific. I've never had a baby so I can't compare the level of pain, but even if you're having quadruplets, you're generally going to have them over a rather short, prescribed period of time, generally not more than 3 days, not one every few days over the course of a month or so (thank God!). But there is nothing quite so heinous as an affliction that will show up this night but not that night, and possibly two nights in a row, and when Wikipedia (which is always right) says that the attacks can last as little as 30 minutes, you just want to find out who in the world wrote that, find their home address, and implant an alien into their stomach to see if it really only takes 30 minutes for it to pry its way out (and did I mention it's not a particularly sharp pickaxe, and it's pretty tight in there so there isn't much room to get leverage, so it's a loooooong process).

I would say that wasn't typed with any bitterness, but I was told that lying is wrong. :)

I think you get the point though, eh? If you or someone you know starts having pains like that, even if they're not that strong, go see a doctor!!!! Especially if you realize it happens at night after you've eaten something particularly greasy or fatty that day. Please, for me, go get it checked out. And if the doctor tells you to have your gallbladder taken out, well, I would strongly suggest you do. Of course, I'm still 2 weeks away from my surgery date so I'll tell you how it goes afterwards, but yeah... I'm all about getting it done. The only reason I've waited so long once I saw the doctor is because I've been trying to organize my work life so I don't leave my department unprepared, and I'm helping to organize my church's women's retreat the weekend prior.

But I will have you know, you truly must be careful. The cause for the pain in your gallbladder is not the existence of gallstones--lots of people have gallstones but no pain. The cause for the pain is when a gallstone gets caught in the opening of the gallbladder and blocks the passage of the bile which your gallbladder stores. But--but the danger is if that little gallstone gets out. If it gets out, it will (not might, will) get stuck in your bile duct, and that will mean agonizing pain (as if you haven't already been experiencing pain), jaundice, vomiting, and the possibility of death. Wait, what? Ok, the death part doesn't exactly happen a lot. A gallbladder removal is very routine. What makes it not routine is when the gallstone gets out, generally because someone attempted to gut it out and not go to the doctor right away. So please, please don't let that happen to you. If you think two weeks of recovery time for a laproscopic surgery is bad/annoying, try two months of down time because the doctors had to cut into your body through all the skin and muscles and open you up and then search--search!--for the rogue stone.

Now ok, I didn't mean to gross anyone out, or freak them out for that matter. That is why I didn't put an actual picture of gallstones at the beginning of my post (I know you were wondering). So in an attempt to lighten the mood, here is a list of funny things that happened to me in the last week. Ok, they may or may not be funny. I mean, I haven't written them yet, so I don't really know. So feel free to laugh, or not. I mean, it's not like I'm watching you read this (or am I? ooOOOOOooooo....)

Seven Funny Things That Happened To Me This Week:

1. Yesterday a guy on the train touched my boob. Ok I say this was funny because I don't know if it happened on purpose or not. The train was fairly crowded, so I was kinda standing in a way that if we'd been dating, I could have leaned back into his chest, and he could have wrapped his free arm around me tenderly and it would have been lovely. (and by "free arm" I mean his left arm was holding onto the same post I was holding onto with my left arm, for balance). After about 3 stops I exchanged hands, so his left hand was holding the post and my right hand was holding it, and I had a bag in my left hand, so when the train stopped and he moved his arm, his thumb totally grazed my boob. Ironically I'd just been standing there, studiously avoiding looking at him, 'cause I had just been thinking "Wow, his hand is close to my boob. I wonder if he would--oh, and yes, yes he would."

2. I found vegetables in my fridge. Last weekend I had a Silpada Jewelry party. (Super fun, I'm so excited for my new bracelet!) And what does one serve at a party? Veggies and dip, of course! Well I was so far behind in getting ready that my first guest arrived before I'd had a chance to do the food. I was, however, beautifully made-up and coiffed. I did make sure to get *that* done. But anyway, my friend offered to cut the veggies, which I gratefully accepted, and let her have at it. And then today I moved the orange juice and voila--green peppers I'd forgotten I'd bought!

3. I watched The Big Bang Theory. Ok, that's not really something funny that happened so much as it was a funny show that I watched. I love that show. Like really, really love. Like, I actually try to leave work on time to make sure I'm home by 7pm so I can watch it. Love it. You should all watch it. Go buy the first 3 seasons right now, in fact. Go on, I'll wait. la la la...

4. I had a book renamed just for me by the author. (Again, not "funny" per se, but dude, this is awesome...) Last year I went to a Matthew West concert right before Christmas. He had written a book called "Give This Christmas Away." I told my sister to buy it for me and it would be her Christmas present to me. Hooray, right? So the book is cd-shaped, which is quite appropriate given the musical nature of Matthew's job (he's a Christian musician if you don't know--and if you aren't familiar, go buy his new record right now!!!) So on Christmas day 2009, I get handed the present from my sister, and it's cd-shaped and I'm like "Oh my, I wonder what this could be, tee hee..." and she's like "I don't know, haha" and I open it, and it's a CD. Um, what? What? It was a mystery. What happened?? Well, this week the mystery was solved. The book had been placed in the glove compartment of the car, where it lived happily for 10 months. My stepdad, who wraps all the presents, didn't know about the book, so he put my sister's name on a CD they'd bought for me. Then two weeks ago they found the book. And gave it to me the night of a CD release party/concert for Matthew's new CD. So what did I do? I put it in my purse. And brought it to the concert. And gave it to Matthew to sign, while telling him the story. One of his opening acts joked "ha, so it's really give LAST Christmas away!" And we all laughed and Matthew crossed out "this" on the cover with his Sharpie, and wrote "Last" above it. So now I have my very own personalized copy of his book.

5. Dude, I've already written a lot. Who said this had to be seven? Um... I'm sure I've got at least one more. Hang on...

6. I heard a funny blonde joke this week, one I hadn't heard before. Here it is: A blonde called her boyrfriend and said "honey I'm trying to do this jigsaw puzzle and it's just too hard. Can you come over and help me?" The boyfriend didn't know she owned any puzzles, so he asked her to describe it. "Well, all the pieces are just so hard to put together, and there's thousands of them! And the box has a picture of a rooster on it, but I just can't figure it out." So the boyfriend goes over to her house. He walks into the room, looks at the table, then sighs, and takes his girlfriend's hand. "You know what, honey," he said. "Let's go buy you another puzzle. And when we get back, we'll put the cornflakes away."

7. Here's something funny--I decided to write seven funny things that happened to me this week, and then I realized how long this blog post already was.

So then I stopped.

Calm Down? Well, Eff You too.

2010-10-01T06:58:00.001-05:00

Some people are very emotional. Some people are not. I'll give you two guesses which one I am. And the first guess doesn't count.

Yes, I am a rather emotional person. And you know what, I don't feel bad about it.

Now, I was watching The Apprentice yesterday, and one of the women was getting really loud and emphatic whenever she spoke, and everyone accused her of taking everything personally. And I must admit that she was a bit overdoing it. So when someone said she was being too emotional, I'm sure most people agreed.

But I'm not sure. I don't think you can be *too* emotional. What I do think you can do is let your emotions run away with you. But there's nothing wrong with having and even expressing your emotions!

I was reading a book about different personality types, and one of the things they said about dealing with the very emotional is that they need to be allowed to let their emotions out. Once they've done that, they can move on. Of course if you read about how to deal with the types that don't show their emotions on their sleeves, it says to be highly technical with them and don't bring emotion into it. So... I guess I can't just expect everyone who deals with me to feel that they have to put up with me being emotional about everything that happens, because technically I should be seeking the best ways to interact with them and their types,

But there is one thing I ask. Please, when interacting with me, if I do unstopper the bottle and let my emotions out, please do not tell me to "calm down." I will give you a hint towards understanding my people: "Calm down" actually translates to "Stop expressing your feelings, they are not valid." In other words... eff you.

Oh yes, when people tell me to calm down, it actually makes me more angry. Because what that means to me is that they don't want to accept my emotions as valid. And since I am the emotional being, then I myself am not valid. (Ok, if this is just me, and not all emotional people out there, then fine, it's just me).

But I will tell you that you can be calm and rational when I get emotional--as long as you make it clear that you value who I am, and ask reasonable questions, I will be much more open to toning down the energy and returning to a normal conversational tone. Just please, please don't tell me to calm down. Let me do it on my own.

The Art of the Straight Line

2010-09-30T07:12:00.000-05:00

I love photographing buildings. Why, you might ask? Because there's something fantastic about how all those straight lines layer against each other. I mean, look at this picture. Isn't it awesome? All of those vertical and horizontal lines stretching towards the sky and the horizon... buildings stand tall like the hero stories of old. They speak of the strength of human character and ingenuity, permanence and change, tradition and growth.

They are so beautiful.

Why Can't I Blog Anymore?

2010-09-29T06:57:00.001-05:00

So, what has happened since my last post? Quite a bit, because not only has it been over a month, but well, a lot of stuff has gone down. I mean, I even missed posting on my Birthday. Earlier this year I was sure that by September 7th I'd be a SITS girl for sure. 'Cause let's face it, everyone was getting featured on their birthday.

Well, I suppose I will just have to do a recap, and hope that you can forgive me for disappearing twice this year. Here is what happened in the last almost 2 months:

My friend Mark died. He was a 34-year-old father of two girls with a combined age of less than 6, and he passed away from Pancreatic Cancer.

I called my doctor the same day I found out, because I suddenly realized that walking around with pain is not only negligence, but it could be life-threatening. So, four doctor's visits, an ultrasound and an MRI later, I can tell you that A) I do not have a torn meniscus in my knee, but I will need physical therapy, and I *could* get a Cortizone shot for the pain, except it would likely exacerbate the arthritis. Yes, arthritis. And B) I need to have my gallbaldder taken out. The night pains, especially after eating greasy foods, the fact that I'm full of "sludge" and have stones... well they said it'd be better to take it out now while it can be laproscopic, instead of waiting for a stone to get stuck in the bile duct and have to do open surgery. I do not need that, thank you.

Did I mention that I'm only 31? Yes, somewhere in the last two months I had a birthday. Hooray! I did have to work on the special day, sadly, but a group of us went out to lunch, and then I took the rest of the day off, and went to Millennium Park. That's where I took the picture of myself wearing the tiara that the girls at work gave me. How cute is that?? :) And then a friend took me out to dinner where I had the most high-class Chicken 'N Waffles EVER! It was quite amazing. And a very very high-class S'mores dessert too. Hooray for birthdays!!

But in and around all of this stuff is the imminence of my gallbladder surgery, and some serious self-doubt. I have to be honest with you, this has been a difficult last few weeks. I know that I am not the worst-off person in the world. I am not alone in having problems, and you may even have more problems than me! (although I pray you do not--it's not that I want to "win" the my life is the worst game, but I wouldn't wish multiple health problems on anyone!)

So this is where I am right now. I'm having a Silpada Jewelry party on Saturday that's kindof a birthday party too, although the lack of response to my invites either means that no one is used to me inviting them over yet, or no one realizes it's my birthday party, or no one wants to come. Whatever it turns out to be, this is the very very first time since college that I have hosted my own freaking birthday party and whoever shows up will have fun. And that's what matters.

One last thing that has happened in the last two months--actually just last weekend--I was asked to make cookies for a friend's son's birthday party. Now, I don't normally go to little kid parties and I never bring food or presents to them (yes I'm terrible, deal with it). But my friend Jennifer has invited me to two family events now, and after the first one I fit in so well with her family, and they all liked me, and they all loved my oatmeal raisin cookies... so much that just when I was trying to decide if I should risk bringing the same thing to last weekend's party, she texted me and said that my cookies had been requested, and that her family would even reimburse me for the ingredients. (which of course I didn't let them do).

But how cool is that?? I don't cook, I don't bake much, these cookies are like ALL I know how to do, and they liked them. Hooray.

One last thing that I decided to do in the last two months was not write Facebook updates unless I could write something positive. I dare you to try that for a while. I did it for a full week, then decided to do my best to continue on. Getting all the news about my knee and gallbladder made it difficult, but I am trying to at least find the humor in this all.

I mean think about it this way--I get to have a week of vacation--possibly up to two weeks! True, I will have some pain and discomfort, and I will have to spend at least a few days at home with my mom, my step-dad, two sisters, a dog, a cat, and what can only be described as an auxiliary backup family member before I can come back to my apartment, but I get a vacation this year! I get a full week where my work emails will probably be forwarded to someone else so I won't even have to check the BlackBerry if I don't want to! True I won't be getting out much, but come on, it's about time to start re-reading the Harry Potter series again. I think I'll find ways to pass the time.

And with any luck, I'll come back to work re-energized and excited about everything that will be waiting for me when I get back, patiently or otherwise. :)

Who knows, maybe I'll even start blogging regularly again. I do hope so... I have missed you all.

So What Really Matters?

2010-08-04T23:34:00.000-05:00

What really matters when you find out that someone you know has cancer? Does work matter? Does keeping up with the Joneses matter? Having a bigger better house/car/dog/spouse/401k? Is laughing as much fun? Does complaining that your life just isn’t quite perfect even make sense?

Do you think for even a moment that person would doubt switching lives with you if they had the chance?

What do you do when you find out someone you know has cancer?

Do you get angry?

Do you deny it?

Do you become incredibly selfish?

Do you eat all the foods you've avoided because it doesn't matter anyway?

Do you pray?

Do you cry uncontrollable tears at your desk and pray that no one walks by?

Do you try to make deals with God?

Do you find yourself with all questions and no answers?

Do you?

Do You Believe in Miracles?

2010-07-27T07:53:00.000-05:00

Have you ever been able to tell a story about how God has done something amazing in your life? Not just a "Yay I found $20" moment (although that is quite amazing, especially if you're kinda low on money) but more along the lines of a "I once was blind, but now I see" experience?

Sometimes I think it's hard for us to see the miracles in the miraculous.

Let me say that again. Sometimes I think it's hard for us to see the miracles in the miraculous.

I don't know about you, but there are sooo many times that I can say "Oh wow, I found $20. God is amazing!" or "My goodness, I just tripped but I must have had angels holding me up because I should have fallen and twisted my ankle."

Don't get me wrong, any time God works in our lives, it's a miracle. Yessirreebob it is. So really, you're surrounded by miracles every moment of every day, because God is right here, right now. (Hi God!)

But do you ever find it hard to say that God has done an amazing miracle in your life? Like, one of those "No one is going to BELIEVE this" miracles?

Then the question is... do you see a lack of miracle in your life because there is a lack... or because you're not seeing it?

Interesting, yes?

I want to invite you to think about something in your life that is an absolute, knock-down, drag-out miracle.

Go ahead. I'll wait.

Got one?

Ok.

Now... I want you to ask yourself why you aren't talking about it more.

Or... why haven't you thought of anything yet?

I want to share one of mine with you. This is one of those things when in the moment I remember saying "Yay God, that's awesome!" But then I never shared it with anyone. And then at a prayer meeting at church we were asked to share any instances of healing that God has done in our lives. And God nudged me and said, "Hey, you've got one. Tell them about the cataracts."

The cataracts??

So here's my story: About 3 years ago, when I was 27, I went in for my eye appointment. I had an appointment with a different doctor, but the same location--I've got such an aversion to that stupid eye puff test that I over-tense my eyes, and people tend to freak out and think I have glaucoma, so I tend to not want to go explain this to new doctors, even though I have to take a train for 45 minutes to get to my eye place now.

So I'm really liking the new doctor, she's very personable and professional, and everything is going just swimmingly until she says "Oh, and you've got cataracts."

I'm sorry, WHAT?

Yes, cataracts. Apparently people in their 20s can get cataracts. "But don't worry," she said, "Once it gets really bad, you can just have the surgery. It'll be fine."

Um, surgery???

I was not happy. I do not want surgery. Not only am I very much not financially prepared for any sort of surgery but hello, eye surgery is freaking scary! (although I did decide that if they had to do the surgery I'd have them Lasik those suckers while they were in there). But don't get me wrong... losing my vision in my 20s or 30s was NOT something I was prepared for. I mean, I'm a writer and an artist. I'd like to be able to see what I'm doing!!!

So, naturally, I didn't go back to the eye doctor for 3 years. I mean, the best way to avoid any sort of bad news is to, well, avoid it, right? (not right but you know that's what we all do)

But my gas permeable contacts are only supposed to be worn for 1 year, not 3, so I finally went back just a couple of months ago. I ended up with my original doctor, a quirky guy but he's pretty darn good at what he does. So we do the tests, and I read the letters, and tell him that 3 is better than 4, and all that fun stuff. And he tells me that my eyesight has actually gotten better in the last 3 years (thanks, gas-perms!).

So when he asks if I have any questions I clear my throat and gingerly say "Ok, so what about the cataracts?"

He looked at me like I was crazy.

Then he looked back at my file.

Where the last doctor had drawn the cataracts she'd seen.

He looked at my eyes again. And again.

"You don't have any cataracts," he said.

~

Well, I don't know about you, but I think that's a miracle! I mean, it's not like I also no longer need contacts. But I'm ok with my contacts. We can pray for complete eyesight later. But what absolutely blows my mind is how somehow I squelched my excitement, and didn't run around telling the whole world. Why? Probably because I'm just not used to seeing the big moves of God in my life.

But I'm sharing this with you now, because what other purpose is there for God to do miracles, but to give us more opportunity to praise Him? A wise woman said the other day that when we die we will all be given new bodies. That means that the blind will see, and the lame will walk. So the miracle is just that God blesses us with His power of renewal here and now.

And we should do nothing else but shout it from the mountaintops.

Praise God! I once had cataracts, and now I don't. He is Good.

Oodles and Oodles of Doodles

2010-07-22T13:45:00.001-05:00

So I live in a fairly yuppie neighborhood in Chicago (I think Wrigleyville will always be yuppie... I mean, our biggest bar is located right there, even though it's only open from April till September--yes, I said September.)

And one thing about living here is that everyone seems to need to have the current "big thing." You know, like those strollers you can jog with.

And Smart Cars.

And, of course, Labradoodles.

Because seriously, our goals in life should be to have a pet that looks like Chewbacca.

Now I don't really have anything against any of the -oodle mixes per se, as long as they're nice dogs. I just know that poodles, full-size poodles specifically, are not my favorite dog. One of the kids I went to school with had a poodle and it was mean. Like, devious. So whenever I see an -oodle mix I think either of Chewbacca or how badly I hope that the poodle won't win the Thanksgiving Day dog show this year.

But it's just hilarious because in the last week I swear I've seen 3 people walking Labradoodles, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't the same one. I just wonder how people will feel when oodle-mixes go out of style. I mean, unlike the car, you can't just trade it in for a newer model.

No, Wait... I'm Still Cool!

2010-07-20T13:13:00.000-05:00

If I were a meaner person, I'd have a photograph of what I'm going to describe to you.

But since I was not in the mood to grab my camera or cell phone and blatantly take a picture of the gentleman who was walking through the neighborhood with his baby girl in a stroller and cute little "chick" dog, I'm going to just show you a google-image of what he was wearing:

Ok yes, there was a t-shirt too. And flip flops.

But did you hear what else he had with him? A baby girl in one of those strollers like the one I mentioned yesterday in my post about politeness in the Windy City (You know, the kind that look like they could be a new cast member in Transformers 3)

And the dog. Oh, the dog. The kind of cute tiny little thing that makes grown women squeal like little girls and grown men ask how on earth they were now the owners of a rat.

So here he is, walking down the street, listening to his iPod and pushing RoboStroller with baby girl princess resting serenely inside (I really want to say she had a bow on her head) and little Rat-dog scurrying along beside, with his little leash attached to the stroller because this poor guy probably didn't even want to touch it.

And then he was wearing Dark Side of the Moon pajama pants. You know it was his way of saying "yeah ok I've got The Little Princess and Ratatouille here, but I'm still cool. I didn't let the wife take these away from me. This is who I really am."

But the sad thing is the pants looked fairly new and well-cared for. Not college-issue at all, but perhaps a gift from said wife because she knew, she just knew, that if she ever wanted another child she would absolutely have to find something to give him that would keep his man-parts from completely shriveling up in shame.

And so, because I'm generally a nice person, I did not take a picture. And I tried not to stare. I just kept walking.

With every intention of writing this post as soon as I could. :)

Politeness Still Exists in the Windy City

2010-07-18T22:17:00.000-05:00

I saw multiple occasions of politeness today. On the bus.

Yes, you read that right. On a crowded Chicago Transit Authority bus I saw five separate acts of kindness. And I just needed to share this with you today, because I think it's important to remember that we're all messed up, but we can still be genuinely decent from time to time. :)

The first incident occurred as I got on the bus and watched people automatically moving to the back of the bus. That's one of those things that is always talked about by the announcer voice, but not always done.

The second one actually directly affected me, when a father asked if I would like his seat--next to his daughter. He not only let me sit down but clearly was confident that I was good enough people to sit next to his little girl.

The third happened for the couple who got on the bus after me. They had a stroller, the kind that looks like it should morph into a pup tent if you push the right button, and even on the crowded bus, people willingly got up out of the special seats up front, flipped them up, and made room for the couple to stand over on the side with their child and monster stroller.

The fourth moment occurred when a man in a wheelchair got on the bus, and then people willingly moved out of two separate seats this time, in order to accommodate this gentleman on the other side of the aisle from the stroller.

The fifth act of kindness was the man who got up from his seat so the mother of the baby in the Daewoo--I mean stroller--could sit down.

Seriously people, this is like abnormal. Maybe it happened because I had just gotten out of church so I was still high on Jesus, and a little of it leaked out. Maybe it happens more than I realize and I only noticed today because I was in a good mood... I don't know, but I was quite impressed.

I hope this instills in you a little more faith in the human race. We're really not all that bad... or at least we're all in it together, and that means something, right?

Getting Unapologetically Back Into It.

2010-07-15T06:58:00.000-05:00

The dank breeze couldn't help but carry his exotic cologne across the park and into her senses before he even entered her field of vision. He brushed her hair to one side, and whispered lightly against her cheek: "Did you know that it takes 21 days to make a habit, and only about 2 to break it?"

~~~

Ten Reasons Why I Didn't Blog For The Last... I Don't Even Know How Long

1. I got a computer virus and was unable to do anything until I got my baby back from the Geek Squad
2. The computer virus killed my modem so I had to order a new one (fortunately I got a free one by threatening to change my service plan)
3. Blogging was cutting into my sleep time
4. By the time my modem showed up I was already waaaay too out of the habit
5. I tried blogging at work and it just didn't feel the same
6. Did I mention the sleep thing? It was nice not having to go from being on the computer all day at work to being on it all day at home. (or getting up an hour early to get on it)
7. I wasn't really happy with the 4-day-a-week MEMEs that I had going on. I mean, they're each individually quite awesome, but I felt like a hack doing nothing but those.
8. SLEEEEEEEEP
9. I just haven't felt creative in a long time.
10. There was a part of me that just wanted to see if it would be noticed that I wasn't blogging. (And thank you to the person who emailed me, that meant a lot!)

So there you have it. Apparently a few of us have let our blogging lag as the summer began. But since I seem to be having problems sleeping anyway (I'm sure I'll post on that later) I figure I may as well do the getting up early thing again so I can get some writing time in.

Well, see you again soon (hopefully). :)

Just Wondering...

2010-06-18T00:41:00.002-05:00

Have I been missed?

Be My Guest Monday! Rooftop Melodies

2010-05-24T11:55:00.000-05:00

Hello! Today is another Be My Guest Monday! Thanks for coming by... I've been a bit out of it lately with the crazy computer virus, so my apologies for the late post time on this. But I'm glad you came, because today's post is fabulous!!! Today we have Katie from Rooftop Melodies bringing us some excellent thoughts on what it means to find the extraordinary in the ordinary...

Rooftop Melodies

"Hmmmmm... ordinary in the extraordinary. Or wait, maybe it's the other way around..." I pondered what I would write for Out of the Extraordinary. My mind was blank.

As I mused, the sound of a glass-packed muffler pounded through my window. That vehicle had to be at least a block away, down by the bars where I could hear people talking a little too loudly and a little too enthusiastically. The engine revved over and over and over. People raised their voices. I was annoyed. I find myself often annoyed lately. I don't know exactly why this is, but I am even annoyed with the fact that I am often annoyed. Yes. It's self-perpetuating.

It's times like this when I think to myself (why do we say "think to myself?" To whom else would we think?) "Self, it's a good thing you do not have children, or even only one child, or even a mere husband. You could not handle a relationship. You could not handle caring for anyone other than you. You would quickly become uber annoyed with these people and eventually fall into insanity" Then I begin to argue with myself, "That's so not true. I love kids and I'm sure I could rise to the occasion if I were in a relationship." But I'm not very convincing. I'm afraid I'm right. Er... wrong? No wait, um... What did I say about insanity?

The voices drone into my window again. I want to tell these people that it is late. It's only a Thursday night. Can't they hold off on the drinking for one more night? My neck is stiff from laying on my tummy in bed and typing with my hands above my head. My eyes blink closed. I just realized how tired I am.

Then I decide it really doesn't matter. The act of being annoyed doesn't change anything. You choose your battles. Some will need to be addressed. Some will need to be ignored. And that's exactly what I will do about the fair patrons of Bottom's Up down the street.

Sometimes I just have to remind myself that God gives the grace to deal with every situation he sends. From noisy neighbors to crying children and family priorities to dealing with loneliness and the realization that my plans are not his plans, I'll find the strength in him. And as I remind myself of this fact, I also remember that my iPod will drown out annoying neighbors. My eyes close again and I thank God for the little things, because ordinary, everyday annoyances are what make life extraordinary in its own crazy way.

Out, Out, Damn Virus!

2010-05-18T06:54:00.001-05:00

Alas, yes my computer did succumb to the virus that's going around. This is why I'm writing today's post from the office, after working hours (much, much after actually).

So let this be a Public Service Announcement:

Update your virus protection software! Or if you don't have it, buy it!!! I will admit that I let mine lapse a very, very long time ago, and since I generally do not make it a habit to vist skeezy websites, I did ok. But wouldn't you know it, the day after a friend at work got a virus, I got the virus. It's like how colds just jump from desk to desk, except my computer has never been near his. Stupid internet. :p

And of course this happens after my 3-year warrenty expires. So I have to drop $260 at Best Buy for the Geek Squad to fix it, because honestly right now I don't have many computer geek friends that I know well enough to burden with a viral plague-infected computer.

The only plus side of the event was that the guy I talked to, Bruce, was the epitome of everyone I used to hang out with in high school, and it was so much fun chatting with him while filling out the paperwork. I almost wanted to go back and be like "Hey Bruce, would you like to be my friend?" and then I realized how insanely pathetic that would have sounded so I just kept walking.

But it's funny how in the space of 8 days I've managed to both break my digital camera (still under warrantee, thank God) and get a virus on my computer. Like seriously, does God want me hanging around Best Buy for a specific reason??

The highly ironic thing is that I haven't been good at blogging in the 3 days of the week when I don't have a MEME going on, and yet today I made darned sure to make sure I wrote something. And hopefully in the next week I'll start getting caught up on the last month (or more) of comments I haven't responded to. Because you never really understand how much you love doing something until it suddenly becomes harder to do. Like using the internet. I mean, hooray for my BlackBerry, but unless there's a blogger app out there, I can't see myself doing a blog post with it. (IS there an app for it??)

Well, folks, that's about all I have for today. Sorry it's not much. But if you take nothing else away from this, remember: Update your virus protection software today! It's worth not having the headache later!

Cheers.

Be My Guest Monday! Her Silent Musings

2010-05-17T06:45:00.012-05:00

Hello! Today is another Be My Guest Monday! Have you decided to be my guest yet? If not, you should!! (hint... just click on the link...) :)

Today's guest is Lauren from Her Silent Musings. When I started my blog I had to decide how much of my deepest thoughts I would actually be comfortable sharing to the public, since the "public" includes my mom, friends, and potentially people from work. What I love about Lauren's post is its simplicity, its transparancy, and the stream-of-consciousness writing style that I adore so much. I dare you to love this post more than I do:

Her Silent Musings...

There is a difference in my writing when I journal versus when I'm writing my story. You can tell. My journal reads horribly; the writing difficult to wrap your mind around either because of the jagged style or ill-scripted handwriting. When reading my story, it sounds like I try too hard, try too hard to be perfect. Often times, when I journal I also try to sound poignant, and more so just come across as dramatic and foolish. Yet when I write for my blog, I find that my voice sounds more authentic and wholesome. I actually sound like a real person delving into her inner soul and sharing pieces of it with people. You would think this would be the same for journaling, even book writing. However, such is not the case. When I'm writing my story, my mind almost feels completely detached from the moment, as if my fingers know more about what's going on than I do. When I journal, I think too much about someone possibly reading my thoughts in the future and I want to sound deep and reflective. When truthfully, I'm just a woman (yes, I'll be turning 20 in less than one month, and will no longer be a teen, so I shall refer to myself as a woman now) who eats goldfish crackers while writing her innermost thoughts.

I bought my parents a Thank You card because sometimes I feel like I don't show them enough appreciation. I can be very grouchy if my mom calls and I'm not in the mood to talk. I hardly ever talk to my dad on the phone during the week, so the only time I'm ever pleasant is during the weekend when I'm at their house visiting. Maybe I'm just looking at myself in a darker light than most; maybe I'm too hard on myself. Regardless, I want them to know that they're appreciated, and I know a card doesn't really do or say a whole lot, but it's better than nothing at all, and it's not like I don't ever say “thank you” to them when they do something for me. Sometimes I don't say thanks, so it makes me come off looking like I think I deserve to be catered to, but that's not how I perceive myself. Maybe I used to when I was in high school and still living with them, but not anymore.

Sadly enough, I'm going to be draining my bank account thin by the next pay period. While I was at Buffalo Wild Wings the other night with some friends, I bought a three-pack of screen guards and a new cover for my cell phone from Amazon, not considering that “Hey, Lauren, you have a doctor's appointment coming up this week” and not even thinking that I would need a refill on my medication for which I would have to pay. So that's a thirty dollar doctor's visit – and my real doctor wasn't even there, it was the head honcho lady who made me feel somewhat like she was talking down to me, which never sits well in my stomach – and then however much my prescription is going to cost. Not to mention, I bought lunch at various fast food restaurants before I went and bought groceries today, still have to buy gas for next week, and pay my car insurance. Ugh...

And then last Saturday my mom and I went to Kohl's where she bought me three pairs of pants for work. I tried them on Sunday afternoon and only one pair fit. My mom asked me if I'd gained any weight since I'd been on “the pill” and I said no, at least it hadn't felt like it. I mean, yeah, my belly's gotten a little rounder because I'm not walking my arse off from one class to another everyday, and I don't dance or cheer or do gymnastics anymore, but I didn't feel any heavier. She said it's possible that I had gained weight, and it disturbs me that this possibility unsettled me.

All my life, people have been telling me I need to gain weight, and the honest truth is that I've always resented their comments. I never wanted to gain weight, even though I knew I was small and could use a little meat on my bones. I don't have an eating disorder, I don't starve myself, or make myself vomit. I'm not obsessed with counting calories and doing two hundred crunches before bed every night. Now, truth be told, I could probably eat a lot healthier than what I do. I eat way too much junk. But since last weekend, I've turned sideways in the mirror many times and longed for my lost abs packed down by lack of exercise and too many Zaxby's milkshakes (too many Zaxby's anything, really).

There's a lady I work with who constantly informs me of her envy over my body and weight, something that annoys me to no end. People have told me they would kill for my body. Kill? Seriously? When I was in middle school, a curvy, curly-haired classmate pointed to my belly at a pool party and said, “That's how I want to look!” I curled into myself a little, slightly embarrassed by the attention, already feeling awkward that I was the only girl wearing pink and blue plaid boxer shorts over my swimsuit because I'd just started my period and was afraid of tampons. I've been accused of having nearly every eating disorder in the book, both behind my back and to my face. People have really surprised me by what they've said, yet looking back on it, I don't feel at all shocked by their words. Thinking of the kind of people they were and the way they treated not only me, but others, too, helped me make sense of the things they said to me and about me, and why they said them. That probably sounds harsh, but it's true. People can be mean, jealous, rude. Eventually, I learned to ignore the remarks. People would say what they were going to say and you couldn't do much to stop them.

So, in conclusion, I've learned that writing just has to be done, gratitude needs to be shown, and acceptance needs to be made. We are not perfect, we are just human. To be human means to be imperfect, sinful, but most importantly redemptive. I will probably never write perfectly the first time, will never say “thank you” enough, and will never look exactly the way I want to, because if I did, I have discovered that I wouldn't need God or His help. Because I am all of these things, I need Him, and will always need Him.

Fictionary Friday - Repercussion

2010-05-14T06:45:00.001-05:00

So here are the rules. I will post a word and its definition. It will be a real word, and its real definition. But then I will create a fictionary definition for the same word, and invite you to do the same. Sound good? Good. Here we go:

Dictionary Definition:
Repercussion n. an effect or result, often indirect or remote, of some event or action: "The repercussions of the quarrel were widespread."

Fictionary Definition:
Repercussion n. at a concert: a repeat by the drummer/percussionist of his/her solo, often leading into a replay of the chorus or the entire song: "I loved the concert, but that drummer added too many repercussions."

Curvy Thursday

2010-05-13T06:45:00.000-05:00

Reason number 692 why curvy women will rule the world:

When we're running low on pockets, we can just store stuff in our bosoms.

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday

2010-05-12T06:45:00.001-05:00

Time for Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, where I post a quote from a well-known (or not so well-known) person. Please feel free to comment with quotes that have touched your soul.

"Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do."

~ Shaquille O'Neal ~

Be My Guest Monday! Living, Laughing, Loving

2010-05-10T06:45:00.007-05:00

Hello! Thanks for stopping by today. Today is Be My Guest Monday! I'm looking for people to do some extraordinary summer posts for me... how about YOU??

Today's guest is Angela from Living, Laughing, Loving. You've got to check out her blog when you're done reading this post... if you can't smile after seeing the picture... well then you may just need some help. :) But today you are so lucky to read this beautiful Mother's Day tribute. And so...

A Blink After Birth
by Angelia Sims

When I was a little girl from age four to ten, one of my favorite stories my mom would tell me was about the day I was born. As often as I could, I would beg her to tell it to me again. Maybe it was for the closeness we shared on that day. Maybe it was because my mom told it with such heart and soul. Maybe it was because I got to snuggle with her under the covers in her big brass bed. She would wrap me up and stroke my hair as she began to quietly speak. Transfixed, I would listen as she recounted the day with perfect clarity.

My mom, your Grandma Dorothy, died while I was pregnant with you. I was only 29 years old. We were so close and I loved her so much. It was devastating to me. But I had your two brothers, and sister to take care of. I could not grieve forever. As much as I would miss her, I had to do the best I could for my family. You were five months in my tummy when I said good-bye to her for the last time.

The months went by as slow and hard as I thought they would be. The emptiness and loss were a hole I could not fill. The boys were a handful, but thankfully your sister, who was eight, was a BIG help. She wished and wished for a baby sister and not a brother. I told her how sorry I was but I didn't think I could have any more girls. I wanted a girl more than anything but just couldn't get my hopes up. It seemed the last possible thing in the world. But in my dreams, I couldn't help but picture a big brown-eyed baby girl.

Two weeks from your due date the doctor informed me that he would go ahead and induce labor. He felt it was time. I had not gained much weight. I was too thin and too unhealthy. In my harrowing days, I had not taken very good care of myself. It was losing my mom. It was raising three children. It was so many things.

I couldn't believe after laboring all day when the moment of your arrival came and the doctor announced, "It's a girl!" I told him, "It couldn't be! I couldn't have any more girls." The doctor just laughed at me. "Of course you can have more girls and you did. She is beautiful. Just look at her."

And you were....you were so, so beautiful. You had BIG brown eyes that peered up at me like an Owl. And you were so tiny too, only 5lbs 12oz, the smallest baby I ever had. Your thin blond downy fuzz on your head was so soft, and how I loved to count your precious little fingers and toes. Oh, I was amazed and in love. I only wished my mom could be there to meet you.

Back in those days, the babies would lay in the nursery while the mom recovered in her room from the medicines and birth. I was laying there in my hospital bed thinking of you and smiling, when suddenly, at the foot of my bed stood my mom. She was standing there looking at me with such love and adoration on her face. She looked right in my eyes and said, "Oh Sharon, you did it again. She is beautiful, just like you dreamed she would be with those big brown eyes. I'm so happy you got another girl."

I was so amazed and startled. I did what any normal person would do, I closed my eyes. I shook my head. When I opened them, she was gone.

Oh how I wished I had not closed my eyes. I wish I would have talked to her. I wish...I wish...I wish....but I didn't and just like that, she was gone. But she WAS there. Really there. It wasn't a dream. I will never forget that moment for the rest of my life.

Her story is both heart-wrenching and joyful. I am usually crying with her at the end. In my heart of hearts, I know my Grandma met me. She gazed at me through the glass. She lovingly reached for my downy head and stared into my big eyes. Oh Grandma, I heard so much about you. What you must have done to visit your daughter in a gesture of comfort, a gesture of reassurance, and a gesture of compassion that you were still there in her deepest period of loss. How much you loved us all. I know one day we will meet again, all of us, and no blink will ever miss that moment.

In loving memory of my mom's mom, Dorotha Marie.

Fictionary Friday - Incensed

2010-05-07T07:07:00.001-05:00

So here are the rules. I will post a word and its definition. It will be a real word, and its real definition. But then I will create a fictionary definition for the same word, and invite you to do the same. Sound good? Good. Here we go:

Dictionary Definition:
Incensed v. past tense. to inflame with wrath; make angry; enrage "When Peter broke my vase I was incensed."

Fictionary Definition:
Insenced v. past tense. to cover with large amounts of perfume, usually in a department store. "I hate walking through the beauty department at Macy's because I always come out incensed and it makes me sneeze for hours."

Curvy Thursday

2010-05-06T06:45:00.004-05:00

Reason number 107 why curvy woman will rule the world:

Because our milkshake does bring all the boys to the yard.

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday

2010-05-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

Time for Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, where I post a quote from a well-known (or not so well-known) person. Please feel free to comment with quotes that have touched your soul.

"Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude."

~ William James ~

Be My Guest Monday! Nouns Make Verbs

2010-05-03T06:45:00.008-05:00

Happy Monday! Today is yet another Be My Guest Monday! You should definitely click that link and let me know if you'd like to be one of my guest bloggers!

Today's guest blogger is proving yet again that the quality of my blog goes up every time I have someone else write for it. :) Please welcome Sabrina from Nouns Make Verbs. This is one of the first blogs that I started following, and I am so very glad I did! Enjoy...

Useful

Tumbling with the waves as they rolled foaming, the glass bumped into the gritty sand. Yesterday the waves were angry, crashing on the shore, but today they slid up, nonchalant, rolling. The gulls skipped out of their way. They were bored and fighting over nothing, because there was nothing to eat, and they fought loudly.

The glass was sharp. It was a bottle an hour ago and useful, but now broken; forgotten, unwanted and broken. Its pieces were pretty but missing from each other and less useful, even dangerous. It skipped along in the grit. As the foam cleared with each wave, the glass glimmered soft blue.

Smallish things scurried past it, over it, under it. The sun above it was a strange yellow ball. There was a constant humming, the power of the ocean humming. The waves rolled the glass along the grit. They licked the shore and rolled the glass, whose sides were becoming dull as it tumbled.

The yellow ball of a sun went down and it was dark. Sometimes the glass was on the beach and there was no water, but the gulls were there fighting over what was left to eat, grabbing and fighting. A gull picked the glass up and flew with it for a moment, then dropped it. Forgotten and left, and also broken.

Haunting waves, moody waves, gentle waves, as the yellow sun rose and sank again and again. Time by the ocean. Time, with waves rolling, is all of time and also is no time, because it is the same always, without mercy. The glass was changing. It was cloudy now, its edges quite smooth. It shone soft blue but in a different way.

It had become useful again, no longer dangerous. The yellow sun rose once again and people came to walk in the surf and laugh at the fighting gulls, fighting about the food they brought. Their umbrellas and towels and laughter filled the beach.

The waves were soft today for the people. They rolled onto the sand like a mother rolling a ball to her baby. The glass tumbled with them and landed at the feet of a young girl who saw things. She picked it up and put it in her pocket.

Fictionary Friday - Appease

2010-04-30T07:21:00.000-05:00

Curvy Thursday

2010-04-29T06:45:00.018-05:00

Reason number 482 why curvy woman will rule the world:

Because our TV lingerie ads are so good they show less skin, and yet get called too sensual.

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday

2010-04-28T07:14:00.000-05:00

Time for Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, where I post a quote from a well-known (or not so well-known) person. Please feel free to comment with quotes that have touched your soul.

"Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral."

~ Frank Lloyd Wright ~

Two Stories

2010-04-27T07:51:00.000-05:00

Story #1

Three days ago, the World Cup was played at the schoolyard by my apartment.

At least, that's what it seemed like: players running up and down the plastic grass, bumping into each other and careening off to the side, diving to save the ball, and lobbing it back into play.

But what really made it important is the spectators lining almost the entire field. "Go, go, go-go-go!" yells one man. "Bueno, bueno, bueno!" cries another.

You would think they had put money down on the outcome.

And it made all those "Soccer Mom" stereotypes come to mind.

Because really, it wasn't the world cup. It was a game between 11-year-old girls.

But you'd have thought it was the World Cup.

Story #2

Yesterday on the ride home from work I stood near four kids: two boys, two girls. Probably about 10 or 11. I'm assuming a parent or two were nearby (possibly enjoying being on the other side of the aisle). Each child had a cell phone.

You can tell that the parents had a part to play in which phone the children got. There was the nearly indestructable one for the boy who probably breaks everything. The "cheap" phone for the boy who probably leaves his phone "somewhere" once a month. And the super cute phones for the girls, because of course it's all about how you look on the outside (but that's another post).

What I found so charming, however, was not the fact that they each had their very own copy of technology that didn't exist when I was 11, but that they were weilding their phones like swords, holding them up in salute to each other, and then taking photos or videos, trying to get the silliest picture.

And then when they had taken a round of photos, they all held their phones into the center and compared the pictures.

There was something very endearing about this simple game they were playing.

And it kinda made me really, really jealous.

I mean, dude, they each had their own phone! :)

Be My Guest Monday! Moments of Majesty

2010-04-26T07:31:00.000-05:00

Hello! Thanks for stopping by today. Today is Be My Guest Monday! If you haven't talked to me about being a guest yet, why not? Do it now!! I'm always looking for more--there are a lot of Mondays!!

Today is a very special day, because my guest blogger is... me! I have another blog, Moments of Majesty, that I started as an attempt to hold myself accountable to reading some scripture every day and actually thinking about it (amazing how easy it is to do the first but not the second). What started as a 21-day project ended up as an ongoing thing, so I decided I wanted to "go public" with it. So if you follow Jesus, or if you're interested in learning more about him, please give it a look. And please let me know your thoughts/comments/questions on anything I write.

In honor of being completely open with what was originally a personal blog, dear readers, here is a post in which I wrote about what happens when the whole world is looking at you:

Light of the World

I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth (Isaiah 49:6)

I believe that today you can change "Gentiles" to "non-believers" and realize that this scripture suddenly applies to your life. God has made us a light to shine into the lives of everyone with whom you associate.

The problem, I believe, is that most of us (myself included) don't recognize this and/or don't walk in it. Maybe it's a low feeling of self-worth, that no one would look to us to see God's salvation, or maybe it's because we're still holding on to an area of sin in our lives and we don't want anyone to notice.

But you know what, the light is there no matter what. If people know you are Christian, there is a spotlight shining on you. It's a harsh light sometimes, and it will point out all of your flaws. This light is not necessarily the light from God that Isaiah was talking about. But it's not all bad either. Sometimes we need to realize that we are going to be in the spotlight around people who know we believe in Jesus Christ. They will be examining us to see what makes us who we are, and yes even looking for those cracks in the foundation. Because people who resist the Truth will want to make you out to be a liar.

And when we are hiding in shame or sin, this spotlight is worse than the "ugly lights" that turn on when a bar hits closing time. We can try to pull a covering over ourselves to hide our shame or our dark thoughts and actions, but the world will cast it away and point and stare, and the more you attempt to live in the shadows, the more your actions will be brought to light.

If you accept the Holy Spirit into your entire being, however, you will find that the light around you is actually a light within you. It is the living Spirit of God exuding from your very pores. Because as you open yourself up to God and surrender your own identity to His, the pure and true light of Christ will shine from within you. It will show in your eyes, in your words, in your actions, in your very bearing. And you will find that this light, even though it is softer and much more gentle, completely obliterates the world's spotlight. Because you are welcoming the scrutiny. "Seek," you will tell the people around you. "look into my life and see the joy that I have which is from Christ."

It is this light which will shine through the darkeness of the world. And if you have accepted Christ as your Savior, it is this light which resides in you, right this very moment. All you need to do is surrender to it. Recognize that people will be looking at you anyway with their own judgements and presuppositions, but the more you open yourself to God, the more light will shine through, yes even through your flaws, so that they may glorify God that much more.

You are a light to the world. Shine on, baby, shine on.

Fictionary Friday - Legacy

2010-04-23T06:45:00.002-05:00

So here are the rules. I will post a word and its definition. It will be a real word, and its real definition. But then I will create a fictionary definition for the same word, and invite you to do the same. Sound good? Good. Here we go:

Dictionary Definition:
Legacy n. anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor: the legacy of ancient Rome.

Fictionary Definition:
Legacy adj. describing a skirt that is so short you can see almost the entire leg: "dude, look at that skirt on her, it's legacy!"

Curvy Thursday

2010-04-22T06:45:00.001-05:00

Reason number 49 why curvy woman will rule the world:

When you cry, would you rather go to a skinny person for a hug? I didn't think so.

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday

2010-04-21T06:01:00.005-05:00

Time for Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, where I post a quote from a well-known (or not so well-known) person. Please feel free to comment with quotes that have touched your soul.

"Things to remember:
1. The worth of character
2. The improvement of talent
3. The influence of example
4. The joy of origination
5. The dignity of simplicity
6. The success of perseverance."

~ Marshall Field ~

Turn Down the Music

2010-04-20T07:37:00.001-05:00

I want to share my new favorite song with you. I heard it on Pandora yesterday, which had much better sound quality than any of the clips I could find on YouTube, but hey, I think you'll get the point. Plus I'm going to give you the lyrics. :)

To give you some context, and in case you've missed (or rather, not missed) me for the past few weeks, I've been going through a rather trying time. You know, one of those "Who am I supposed to be?" times when you realize you're so busy trying to just get back into bed that you don't do anything fun or fulfilling with your day. You get up, you work, you work late, or maybe you do make it to something in the evening, you get home, and it's bed time. And then you get up again.

But where is the music, the worship, the joy? Where is the writing, the creativity? Where is just sitting outside in the sun, soaking it in?

I lost it somewhere. But lately I've been feeling the call, the call to worship God more, the call to write (Oh my goodness the call to write!)

It churns inside of me, it drips down my fingers when I type, it comes out my nose and my eyes. Yes it's a messy thing. But it's something I haven't felt, really felt, in a long time. To try to explain it, I love love love to write. Before I took my break from non-regulation blogging (and by that I mean the scheduled things like Curny Thursday, Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, Fictionary Friday and Be My Guest Monday--by the way have you noticed how I managed to almost fill my week up with stuff just so I could avoid writing any non-regulation posts??) I enjoyed blogging, I really did. I loved having the chance to be creative and get my thoughts out there, and even read other people's thoughts and their reactions to my thoughts.

But what I was missing was this deep down "if I don't do this now I might just die" feeling. That hunger that eats you from the inside out. Yes, it's that bad. It's the kind of hunger that makes me wish I had more in my savings account so I could take a leave of absence from my job and just experience life and then write about it for a solid month.

Short of bankrupting myself, however, I will find new ways to fit in time. I am getting up an hour earlier than I need to, which technically I was doing since the beginning of the year, but what I did was "listen" (sleep to) worship music, and then blog at my other home, Moments of Majesty. Well, an hour of sleeping to worship music was nice, but when I realized that I didn't hear any of it after the amount of time it took me to walk from the "on" button to my couch, yeah, that wasn't right. So now I'm on day two of getting up an hour early and just coming straight to the computer. Will I be able to keep it up? I sure hope so, because it's been nice having the time to write two blog posts before I even take a shower!!

And it's been fantastic writing to you guys again. I missed you.

But I want to lead back into my new favorite song. I think one of the things I was missing when I didn't have the Hunger to write, was a reason strong enough TO write. But I have that reason in and around me all day, every day: Jesus. The God who made me died to save me. He is the reason that I even have the ability to write, and I must use these gifts to worship Him. I want to write a new song to Him, maybe something just for Him and me, and maybe something that I can share with others, to bring others into Worship with Him as well.

So what I need to do is turn down the music that we're so used to listening to, day in and day out, and listening for God's voice in me, directing me on where to go, and who to be. And allowing myself to sing that Song which He gave me.

Check out my new favorite song here, and with luck, maybe sometime soon I'll have a clip of a song that I've written to share with you. :)

Turn Down The Music
Shane & Shane

If you were hungry would we give you food?
If you were thirsty would we give you drink?
If you were a stranger would we let you in?
What would be a song we’d sing to you when there in need?
Would it be an empty hallelujah to the king?

Turn down the music
Turn down the noise
Turn up your voice oh God and let us hear the sound
Of people broken, willing to love
Give us your heart oh God a new song rise in us

And if you were naked, would we give you clothes?
If you were an orphan would we give our home?
And if you were in prison, would we visit you?
What would be a song we’d sing to you when there in need?
Would it be an empty hallelujah to the king?

Turn down the music
Turn down the noise
Turn up your voice oh God and let us hear the sound
Of people broken, willing to love
Give us your heart oh God a new song rise in us

Let it be our worth shared
Let it be our true religion
In this world of ?
Holding on to our confessions
Let it be your worth shared
Let it be your true religion
In this world of ?
Holding on to our confessions

Turn down the music
Turn down the noise
Turn up your voice oh God and let us hear the sound
Of people broken, willing to love
Give us your heart oh God a new song rise in
A new song rise in
A new song rise in us

Be My Guest Monday! Things I Can't Say

2010-04-19T06:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday everyone! While it's often hard for me to look forward to Mondays, I always look forward to my blog post, because it's always amazing. And why is that? Because someone other than me wrote it!! Today is Be My Guest Monday! If you'd like to be a guest blogger, please check out that link.

Today's post is by Michelle (Shell) over at Things I Can't Say. This girl tells it as it is, folks. Not in an "oh my goodness I can't believe she said that" way but in an "I don't need to pretend to be perfect because none of us are so let's all just enjoy life" kind of way. I respect this type of writing very much, being one of God's imperfect people myself. :) So enjoy some of what Shell can say today, and find the extraordinary in the...

Things that Make me Happy

It's easy to talk about the bad.

The things that annoy me.

Or go wrong.

I like to take them and spin them to make them funny.

Because it helps me to deal.

But, it makes me seem so negative all the time.

So, today, I'm listing the things that have made me happy in the past week.

*A good morning snuggle from my 3 year-old: always the first one up
*A squishy-faced smile from my 1 year-old
*My five year-old dancing
*Dancing with my husband
*My mother-in-law volunteering to babysit
*Time to myself
*A lunch date with my husband
*The sunrise over the ocean
*Showing up and being perfectly dressed for an event: not under or over-dressed
*Seeing my former students all grown up
*Having those students offer to babysit
*Listening to my boys sing along with the Chipmunks
*Getting a good night's sleep
*Having a best friend who is always there for me

I need to remember those things and add to this list as this week goes on.

Because it is easy to focus on the negative and forget all the good we have going on.

What is something that has made you smile today?

Fictionary Friday - Reflect

2010-04-16T06:45:00.001-05:00

So here are the rules. I will post a word and its definition. It will be a real word, and its real definition. But then I will create a fictionary definition for the same word, and invite you to do the same. Sound good? Good. Here we go:

Dictionary Definition:
Reflect v. to give back or show an image of; mirror.

Fictionary Definition:
Reflect v. past tense. To spatter flecks, as of paint, after already having done so. "Jackson Polluck used a lot of paint in this work; after he flecked it once, he went back and reflect it."

Curvy Thursday

2010-04-15T06:45:00.008-05:00

Reason number 85 why curvy woman will rule the world:

We disrupt the gravitational pull wherever we go so that yes, the world actually does revolve around us.

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday

2010-04-14T06:45:00.000-05:00

Time for Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, where I post a quote from a well-known (or not so well-known) person. Please feel free to comment with quotes that have touched your soul.

"It's not so important who starts the game but who finishes it."

~ John Wooden ~

Be My Guest Monday - G is for Guest Posting

2010-04-12T09:47:00.000-05:00

Hello and welcome again to Be My Guest Monday! I'm still looking for people to guest post on my blog every Monday for the rest of 2010, so please let me know if you are interested and haven't gotten a date from me yet!

I have to apologize to my guest blogger for today, I was out of town this weekend and completely failed on getting my computer turned on last night to post this. But please don't hold it against her, because this is one of the most intimate and open blog posts I've read, and I'm so blessed to have the opportunity to post it here for you. Today we've got Elle over at A for Effort (B for Blog). What a fabulous blog title, no? And each of her posts starts with a letter. So very fun! In honor of that, today we've got:

G is for Guest Posting

God and I have always had a different kind of relationship; one best defined as complex. I'm not involved in organized religion, but I do believe in a higher power. I think I'm a little too analytical at times to believe that something that I can't see or feel, such as God, really exists. There are times, when I've really needed to, that I've "felt" something—peace, calm, strength; it’s hard to put into words, but I've known in those moments that there was a higher power at play.

After suddenly and tragically losing my youngest sister to domestic violence murder, I found myself being very angry with God, even denying his existence. In my mind, there was no logic that could explain why she was taken so suddenly and in such a violent, horrible way. I'd always heard that God was loving and merciful, and that he decides when it's our time to go. I couldn't understand why a loving, merciful God would have her last moments be so extremely horrific. I didn't know why he'd decided he needed to take her early, and I didn't care. I wondered why it was his right to make that decision and why those of us that wanted and needed her here didn't get a say.

So many times after my sister's death, and after other "dominoes" in our life were falling or had fallen on top of that one, I heard that God doesn't give us more than we can handle. I thought that God must not know me too well, because he apparently did not understand that I couldn't handle all that he was giving me. His meaning of "enough is enough" and my meaning were apparently not the same; nowhere near it, in fact. I became increasingly angrier at him, and at times that made me feel good, because I needed to be angry and he gave me somewhere to direct that anger.

At the same time, I found myself needing more than anything to believe that God—or something—existed. I needed faith in something, and the comfort that was supplied by that faith. I had to believe that there was somewhere for my sister's bigger than life spirit to go. I had to believe that that place was good and that she had found peace there. I needed to believe that she felt, all at once, the overpowering love we all feel for her and that she understood that she was loved and that she would be missed terribly. I needed to picture her being greeted and excitedly welcomed by many of those who have gone before us—her paternal grandparents and our maternal grandpa. I believe that my maternal grandma’s youngest granddaughter and husband where there to greet her when she followed my sister a couple months later.

I believe that I will one day be reunited with all of them, and our reunion will be most joyful. I believe that we all, especially her son, now have a beautiful guardian angel watching over us. This gives me peace. Talking to her spirit helps me cope on some of the hardest days. I feel her around, and I know that she hears me. I've gotta believe, that with the continuation of time, my pain will lessen and the harder days will become fewer. Sometimes I find the need to remind myself that those moments of peace and happiness that I feel are what she would want, that I should not feel guilty for them, and that in no way am I tarnishing my memory of her, her meaning to me, or my love for her.

A few weeks after my sister’s death, I saw a quote: "You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have." I have absolutely no idea where this quote came from, or who it can be attributed too, but no better or truer words have ever been spoken. Looking back, God apparently knew me a lot better than I knew myself. I am way stronger than I ever knew or would've thought I was, and I learned a valuable lesson about trusting that "higher power."

To this day, people make comments about my strength. I'm asked how I got through it all—my sister’s death, interviews with the news media, the criminal trial of her murderer—and the answer is I don't know, but there's a lot to be said for FAITH and HOPE. Sometimes I felt they were all I had and that I had to hang onto them with all of my might. In a lot of ways I’m still going through “it.” It’s a process; one that’s made easier by my faith in a higher power and hope for a brighter future.

My life has been forever altered by the death of my sister, and I will always be a different person than I was before all of this; such is life. We are constantly bending and changing, and our path is constantly being altered. This is my path now, and I have no choice but to continue to follow it to see where it leads me. Giving up is never an option. We all have our paths, and we all will have our obstacles along the way. How we deal with those obstacles determines where the path leads us next.

As I proceed down my path, I will continue to live my life by my moral compass and ever-changing beliefs. I will continue to learn lessons about life and about myself; we must never stop learning. I will continue to make mistakes along the way—there’s no doubt about that—but I will persevere. The best way I can honor my sister is simply by living, facing head-on all that life has for me, because she cannot. I will, of course, hold on to my faith and hope; they will sustain me through the obstacles that will inevitably pop up along my path.

Fictionary Friday - Detract

2010-04-09T07:01:00.000-05:00

So here are the rules. I will post a word and its definition. It will be a real word, and its real definition. But then I will create a fictionary definition for the same word, and invite you to do the same. Sound good? Good. Here we go:

Dictionary Definition:
Detract v. to draw away or divert; distract.

Fictionary Definition:
Detract adj. pertaining to a train that is out of service.

Curvy Thursday

2010-04-08T06:45:00.005-05:00

Reason number 87 why curvy woman will rule the world:

When we shake our hips, somewhere in the world a tsunami, earthquake, or hurricane is born. You can't get that kind of power with only 2% body fat.

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday

2010-04-07T07:01:00.008-05:00

Time for Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, where I post a quote from a well-known (or not so well-known) person. Please feel free to comment with quotes that have touched your soul.

"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. we must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained."

~ Marie Curie ~

Be My Guest Monday! A Pair of Doves or Two Young Pigeons

2010-04-05T00:01:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday everyone and welcome to Be My Guest Monday. Yes, I have somehow managed to keep up with this despite feeling super-overwhelmed in the rest of my life. I think it helps that my guest posts are so fantastic, it makes the lack of my personal posts seem somehow ok. :)

For anyone who would like to Be My Guest, please click on the link and check out the rules, and leave me a comment if you're interested, or if we've already talked but I haven't given you a firm date yet. I will get back to you, I just have to catch up a bit first. :)

But today I've got something totally awesome for you. Autumn over at Living Out Loud has allowed me to repost something of hers that is just splendid. Please read this, then go check out her super-fun blog. I especially love that she's tracking her workouts. Way to go Autumn!! And if you've come over from her place, welcome!! I do hope you'll take a peek around. I'm getting back into the swing of things, I promise, and I do hope to get my blog to be a bit more participatory. :) Well, now on to what you came here for:

A Pair of Doves or Two Young Pigeons

21On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.22When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"[a]), 24and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."

This is from Luke 2: 21-24.

I was reading this tonight when I paused and it occurred to me that Mary and Joseph had very little money. I myself am struggling financially right now. I'm out of a job and while Bill works full time his paychecks bring in just enough (barely) to cover our bills. We have no room for real wants (I don't count the internet as a want for me it is a need) and my mother helps pay my car payment because right now we just can't afford it. I sat there thinking about what I had just read and (as usual) put myself in Mary's shoes. I would not have been able to afford doves back then, at least not a pair of them probably. I'm thinking that Mary and Joseph's humble offering was most likely a pair of pigeons. Pigeons! We see those all over the place and they are often referred to as "rats with wings" in NYC. And yet that was all they had and if their financial situation is anything like mine that probably set them back a little even though I'm sure to them it was worth it. (And think about it, when does a sacrifice to God not cost you a little of something be it pride, time or what not?) I read the footnotes in my Bible to see what more they could offer if maybe they thought Mary and Joseph had given pigeons as well. The footnotes didn't specify which of the two birds they gave but they did have this to say:

"For 40 days after the birth of a son and 80 days after the birth of a daughter, the mother was ceremonially unclean and could not enter the temple. At the end of her time of separation, the parents were to bring a lamb for a burnt offering and a dove or a pigeon for a sin offering. The priest would sacrifice these animals and declare her to be clean. If a lamb was too expensive the parents could bring a second dove or pigeon instead."

Now while I don't agree with a woman being "unclean" after birth that was custom in those days. Think about it though, after the birth of a baby a woman is asked to stay away from sex for at least 6 weeks and during that time her body does a lot of….cleaning of its own. There is another passage in 1st Corinthians 7:5 that states "5Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control."

I'm just tossing ideas out here but I'm guessing that the "sin offering" was for the separation period in which the husband and wife "separated" themselves from one another. (In other words they didn't have sex for that period of time, after all, the woman was considered unclean and she'd just had a baby. Who'd want to have sex right away after giving birth, naturally I might add, in a stable?! Not me!!) The lamb offering was obviously thanks to God for giving them a child, and I just covered the dove part of it for the sin offering. But Mary and Joseph couldn't afford the lamb so they gave a pair of doves or a pair of pigeons.

I can just picture young Mary and young Joseph (they really weren't that old when they had Jesus) walking up to the temple with a pair of pigeons. How humbled Mary must have felt! Here she is just having given birth to a son that was greeted by shepherds and angels, the Christ our Lord; God's own son and all she has to offer are two simple pigeons. And yet…. It was enough. God knew where her heart was. And to him that was all that really mattered. It doesn't matter how much I give what matters is where my heart is. If I give all I can God doesn't see the amount, he sees the devotion and he will reward me for it. Later in Jesus' ministry he watches people offer up money to God. (Mark 12:42, and Luke 21:2) Some people offer a lot of silver and gold and one poor widow offers two small copper coins (total worth: less than a penny) and Jesus uses that moment to call his disciples and show them the value of giving with your heart. How cool is it that he doesn't look at the dollar signs he looks at the heart! I tear up thinking about how much God loves me and how little I have to offer back, and somehow reading that even his parents didn't have the funds for a lamb but gave what they could anyways reminds me that it's my heart God wants. Not my wallet.

~Autumn

Fictionary Friday - Romantic

2010-04-02T00:01:00.003-05:00

Curvy Thursday

2010-04-01T08:08:00.000-05:00

Reason number 32 why curvy woman will rule the world:

If we get an ill-timed zit, all we have to do is wear a lower-cut top and no one will ever notice.

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday

2010-03-31T00:01:00.004-05:00

Time for Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, where I post a quote from a well-known (or not so well-known) person. Please feel free to comment with quotes that have touched your soul.

"Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose."

~ Tom Krause ~

I Would Too

2010-03-30T13:31:00.002-05:00

Full disclosure: This is a commercial. But don't hate. Because it's awesome. Thanks to Sarah at Live in Imagination for posting this. So the question is: Would you take the stairs?

Lonely... I am so lonely

2010-03-30T00:07:00.000-05:00

Do you ever just feel that you could sing the song by heart?

Lonely, I'm Mr (Ms) Lonely,
I have nobody to call my own

I've been feeling like that all day. It's amazing how one incident can make you feel like everybody in your life is simply tolerating you. Not even patronizing. Just... tolerating. Just waiting for you to go away.

Do you ever feel like that?

This is not the way I'd planned to get back into the swing of free-form blogging, but dangit I just can't be happy right now.

My facebook status right now says I "hate being alone." And God bless them, two people came right out and said they're here for me. Of course the problem is they aren't actually physically here, with me. And one friend played the one-up card, because he's in a place that is super crazy lonely for him too. I feel for him, I really do.

And then someone did say that I can always remember that while I may be feeling lonely, I am never truly alone.

It's just that Jesus doesn't hold your hand or wrap his arms around you. Not in a way you can easily feel, anyway.

So what do you do? When you realize at the end of the day that every single person you talked with, worked with, laughed with, and maybe even thought you were friends with, is home with their own families and friends, leading their own lives, and you're just home... lonely.

Be My Guest Monday! Two Normal Moms

2010-03-29T00:01:00.017-05:00

Hello and welcome again to Be My Guest Monday. If you haven't yet signed up to be my guest, please click on the link and let me know you're interested!

Today's guest bloggers are two of my favorite people who I don't really know in person: Ally and Lela at Two Normal Moms. They gave me my first blog award, and I won my first blog giveaway for their 100th post. They have been uber-supportive and I sooo wish I could go visit them sometime because they just seem so awesome. Well with no further ado, here is their extraordinary story:

Two Normal Moms
We are honored and excited to be guest bloggers here today! Thank you for inviting us!

Here is a little tale. A tale about two normal, ordinary girls, getting ready to start kindergarten. Absorbed in their own little-girl worlds, surrounded by their families, oblivious to the great big world out there.

One little girl was born with a love of animals in her heart, and was (mis)fortunate enough to live on a corner where for some unknown reason, the bad animal people of the world felt it was okay to dump their pets. There were always strays and dumps showing up. So the little girl, with lost kitty in hand, and mom with her, went door to door looking for the kitty’s home. And that’s when she met the other little girl.

They started kindergarten and ended up in the same class. They were both already too big for the tiny kindergarten chairs and they couldn’t figure out why other kids were crying that first day.

They became fast friends, politely calling each others houses asking their parents if they could play. They spent summers roaming the overgrown fields and woods behind each others houses. Pouring shampoo under the drainage pipe that fed the creek to watch it bubble. Lighting a small hill on fire with an errant firework. (It was a small fire, really.) Catching snakes and caterpillars.

They shared secrets. They had sleepovers in the basement. They made other friends. They did other activities. But they always had each other. It was never awkward, in fact, it was always easy.

They graduated from high school, and went on to the same college. One girl went off to become a flight attendant. The other girl moved to Hawaii to find herself. They met the men who stole their hearts. They were in each others’ weddings. They each had a little boy of their own. The boys grew up to be teenagers.

Through it all, they’ve always had friendship. Solid and unfaltering.

Two ordinary little girls, absorbed in their own small worlds, cross paths, leading to extraordinary friendship. Life's a little less ordinary.

Ally & Lela

Two Normal Moms

Fictionary Friday - Preboard

2010-03-26T00:01:00.001-05:00

So here are the rules. I will post a word and its definition. It will be a real word, and its real definition. But then I will create a fictionary definition for the same word, and invite you to do the same. Sound good? Good. Here we go:

Dictionary Definition:
Preboard v. to put or allow to go aboard in advance of the usual time or before others: "Handicapped passengers will be preboarded."

Fictionary Definition:
Preboard v. the procedures you wish an airline would do before making their passengers squish themselves into their seats for 3 hours: "Ladies and gentlemen, it's now time for the preboarding conga line!"

Curvy Thursday

2010-03-25T00:01:00.003-05:00

Reason number 57 why curvy woman will rule the world:

When we fall on our rear, we don't break our tailbones.

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday

2010-03-24T00:01:00.004-05:00

Time for Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, where I post a quote from a well-known (or not so well-known) person. Please feel free to comment with quotes that have touched your soul.

"Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sant there except those that sang best."

~ Henry Van Dyke ~

Be My Guest Monday! Look, Listen and Attend

2010-03-22T00:01:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone and welcome to another episode of Be My Guest Monday! Today's guest is Jennee from Cheap Therapy. She's got one of the most vibrant blog designs I've seen in a while, I just love it! And I suddenly realized that I had told her that she'd be my guest on March 15th, except I have her on my schedule for March 22nd. So here's a public apology to Jennee (and anyone else whose schedule I may have messed up). But this post is well worth the wait, ladies and gentlemen. Enjoy.

Look, Listen and Attend
I recently did some traveling, and I have to tell you, that I love to travel. Everything about it! Well, with the exception of jet lag and the expenses. Growing up, I would often would day dream about exotic places with sunshine and sand, palm trees and soft breezes. I did a little bit of traveling in my youth, but it wasn’t until I was an adult that I really found the pleasure and excitement in traveling.

I’d like to thank Donald Miller for refreshing the desire for travel and life experiences. In Through Painted Deserts, Don challenges, “We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and the resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn’t it? It might be time for you to go. It might be time to change, to shine out. I want to repeat one word for you.: Leave. Roll the word around on your tongue for a bit. It is a beautiful word, isn’t it? So strong and forceful, the way you have always wanted to be. And you will not be alone. You have never been alone. Don’t worry. Everything will still be here when you get back. It is you who will have changed.”

These words have inspired me so much that I did leave. I packed up my bags and moved from Wooster, Ohio then to Nashville, Tennessee and finally off to Miami, Florida. It was the greatest life experience, full of adventure and fears. And I did change. I changed into the woman that I am now. Since moving back to Ohio, my day dreams of travel have become more frequent, and so I packed my bags and took a quick trip across the country to California. Once again, Don sums up how I was feeling. “We are shaped by our experiences. Our perception of joy, fear, pain and beauty are sharpened or dulled by the way we rub against time. My senses have become dull and this trip is an effort to sharpen them.”

Do you look out the window when you are in flight? Have you noticed the texture of the land down below? The dimensions of the earth rise and fall along the ride, the views of mountains and oceans take away your breath when you take in the beauty of the earth. From above, all you see is the natural splendor, and for a moment everything looks harmless and peaceful. There is no crime, no destruction, and no cruelty. There is only beauty.

In that instant, you take a minute to look, listen and attend. It’s what echoes in my ears and mind in moments of silence, whether in a beautiful scenery or in a new experience.

I am starting to think this is what life is all about. We have to look for what life has to offer. We have to listen closely so we won’t be deceived, and most importantly, we have to be willing to attend to life and it’s experiences. The good ones, along with the bad ones.

Life is full of hard work and we don’t always want to see or hear that. We want life to be a pleasure cruise where everything comes easily. But, it is the hard work and the challenges that fill our life with color and textures. “It is difficult to recall, much less recapture, the excitement of an adventure’s beginning when you find yourself in the boring middle of it.” Don says.

Look, listen and attend, to the beauty that you are daily a part of.

Fictionary Friday - Mandate

2010-03-19T00:01:00.001-05:00

So here are the rules. I will post a word and its definition. It will be a real word, and its real definition. But then I will create a fictionary definition for the same word, and invite you to do the same. Sound good? Good. Here we go:

Dictionary Definition:
Mandate n. an authoritative order or command.

Fictionary Definition:
Mandate n. when two straight adult males go to dinner or the movies together. Call it male bonding all you want--it's a date.

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday

2010-03-17T00:01:00.001-05:00

Time for Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, where I post a quote from a well-known (or not so well-known) person. Please feel free to comment with quotes that have touched your soul.

"An optimist is the human personification of spring."

~ Susan J. Bissonette ~

Be My Guest Monday! Beyond "Life is Not Fair"

2010-03-15T00:16:00.000-05:00

Hello and welcome again to Be My Guest Monday! If you don't know about my goal or if you'd like to be a guest in 2010, please click on that link and check it out.

Today's guest blogger is Amber from Making the Moments Count. Amber has two beautiful children, and she blogs about what life is like as a woman and as a mommy. Her guest post is quite heartwarming. Thanks for sharing, Amber!

Beyond "Life Is Not Fair"

It was a hard day. Crying, errands, crying, diapers, crying, dishes, crying, dinner, and more crying. My arms were tired. My heart was heavy. I was ready for bedtime. Unfortunately, Andrew had another idea. I sat in our rocking chair, watching a movie, and silently bemoaning my situation. It seemed so unfair.

My mind returned to a few months previous. I was very pregnant with Andrew. I had experienced nightly contractions for 7 weeks straight. I was not ready for this child to be born, but he seemed to have other ideas. After 2 days of non-stop contractions, I finally called my doctor in tears. Since I was 36 1/2 weeks along, he informed me they would not induce labor. He encouraged me to head to the hospital to see if the contractions were doing anything. I agreed and phoned my husband.

When we arrived at the hospital I was sure I had not progressed. I was ready to ask them for medicine to stop the uterine contractions. I was tired. I was pleasantly surprised that I had progressed to a 3. We decided to wait an hour and see if I would progress anymore. Nope. We went home.

There, I returned to my depression. It just was not fair.

It was here that I hit pause.

What does it mean to not be fair? How does my cousin feel who recently lost her baby? How does my friend feel who has struggled through infertility issues for years? How about my friends who struggle to keep a pregnancy?

At the end of these questions, I realized Andrew had stopped crying. I looked down and he smiles at me. His smile ripped that murky cloud open and I saw the sun clearer than I had in a long time.

I think it was then that I stopped wallowing in self-pity and I started to thank God for my two blessings from Heaven. My life hasn't gotten any easier, but the burdens have become lighter.

Oh, and in case you're wondering about the ending to my reflection, my little guy came the following morning.

--

Join me on my journey to cherish the moments.
http://makingthemomentscount.wordpress.com/

Fictionary Friday - Retool

2010-03-12T00:03:00.000-06:00

So here are the rules. I will post a word and its definition. It will be a real word, and its real definition. But then I will create a fictionary definition for the same word, and invite you to do the same. Sound good? Good. Here we go:

Dictionary Definition:
Retool v. to reorganize or rearrange, usually for the purpose of updating.

Fictionary Definition:
Retool v. to pull the electric screwdriver set you gave your dad out of his closet and wrap it up again for next year. Hey, he loved it the first time, he just never used it.

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday

2010-03-10T00:01:00.000-06:00

Time for Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, where I post a quote from a well-known (or not so well-known) person. Please feel free to comment with quotes that have touched your soul.

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn."

~ Hal Borland ~

Be My Guest Monday!

2010-03-08T07:21:00.000-06:00

Hi there, welcome to Be My Guest Monday! Today's guest is very special, because it's a bit of a different reason we're posting. Julie from By Julie Anne and I have teamed up on a super-awesome project that we hope you will become a part of, and so we decided to guest post on each others' blogs! So please read below, and then pop on over to her place where yes, you will find my post about the exact same thing. You see, we think it's just that important. Plus, Julie has a super blog over there and she could use a few new followers, just like... you!

Cards4Cancer

Hello!

Janet has graciously invited me to post this week and I am honored to be here. My name is Julie Guthrie and my blog is By Julie Anne. I am a wife with a great hubby, a Mom to three wonderful children and a mixed media artist. I have to admit on my blog I am sort of infrequent, but there is always room for improvement. Now that you know a little about me, let me tell you how I have come to know Janet.

We both became fans of a Facebook fanpage called "Cards for Cancer". I became a fan when another FB friend recommended it to me. I was instantly taken and through there is how I connected with Janet.

Cards for Cancer is a day (April 10, 2010) presented by an organization called Spirit Jump. The main goal is to collect at least 100,000 cards to distribute to cancer centers around the world, to let those who are fighting cancer know that we are supporting their battle.

Janet had already began the team Faith.Hope.Love with the intention to bring cards to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. When I first became a fan Childrens Memorial Hospital was the first place that came to mind for me. (These are both in Chicago). Janet let me jump on board her team and here we are!!!

I do not believe I know one single person that cancer has not touched their lives. Not one single one. My Grandma Tomlin was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1979. Back then, at least in my house, the word "cancer" was whispered. It was just something awful that you did not say out loud. And the word breast...well we would say that Grandma had chest cancer.

Through the years it became more and more commonplace. Grandma Kacprzak, a friend's mom, the man who bagged my groceries on Thursdays, the darling baby girl of our closet friends, four other friends of varying ages and my Dad. When he was diagnosed in October of 2003 with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma he was told that he would have a long relationship with his oncologist, as this was the type of cancer that you survive. I guess that was not meant to be as my Dad passed away in May of 2004, just 7 months after diagnosis. Cancer has become the word we say with a sigh now, not a whisper.

Every person that I have mentioned, every person stricken that you know, every person stricken that you don't, they all fight this battle, this valiant battle not to let this disease get the best of them. Some are more successful in the battle and others like my Dad fight until they have nothing left and the go on to the other side.

But what if every person engaged for the battle of their life knew that we supported them? What if they knew that even in spirit, a person that they did not existed, supported them in their fight? That is why I joined Cards for Cancer, to touch lives, to support others that I may not know or even meet, but to let them know we care...we All care!

So join us please! Janet has created a fanpage for the team. The details are simple. Buy some cards, make some cards, get your friends to make cards. Support their battle. Touch lives. When you have completed your cards, just post to us, email us and let us know. we will coordinate how to get your cards and on April 10th we will joyfully deliver these messages of encouragement to ones that need it the most!

Please join us!

Thank you Janet for letting me play in your sandbox for a little bit!

Are You Going Through The Motions?

2010-03-07T00:43:00.001-06:00

I've been doing a lot of soul-searching lately. I know, I know, that's such a cliché term. But it's true. Am I on the right path? Am I doing what I was created to do? What if I don't have tomorrow, have I made the most of today? Or am I just going through the motions of life, doing just enough to get by?

I'm not really sure.

But I watched this video tonight, and it made me realize that we none of us know what we will have beyond right now, this moment, right here. And that really touched my heart. Because no matter what I do, I must do it knowing that I have prayerfully discussed it with God and done my absolute best to make sure that I'm doing what He wants me to be doing. Because the greatest joy of life is in walking in God's good and perfect will. It's just that sometimes we get sidetracked, or stop walking because we somehow think we've "made it." Or perhaps there's a bump or a bend in the road, or maybe even a gap that must be jumped over, and we're just standing there, waiting for someone to come in, smooth out the road, and make everything easy again. But there's only one person who can get you over that bump or around the bend: YOU. With God's guidance and mercy, you are the only person who can change your life around, if you suddenly find you're not living out who you were meant to be.

So... are you giving your everything to this life that you were given, or are you just going through the motions?

And do you want to change?

Six Word Saturday

2010-03-06T01:25:00.000-06:00

So, Have You Stopped Following Yet?

Really. Honestly. I am so very very (very) sorry. I have fallen behind in both my blogging and my responding to comments. And I love blogging, and I really really (really) love comments. Lo siento! Je suis desole! If I could say it in other languages without having to look it up I would. Because I am sorry.

I guess on the plus side, having regular features like Be My Guest Monday, Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, Fictionary Friday, and the few Six Word Saturdays that I've done, have helped me to keep my blog renewed about every other day, but I just feel so very disconnected when I'm not able to write those in-between posts and answer your questions and read your blogs.

And someone un-followed me today. I practically saw it happen. One minute my dashboard said 73 followers, and now it says 72. Is it really terribly pathetic that I keep track?

Oh well, since this is a blog about finding the extraordinary in all things, I want to do that here. Let's all share, shall we? When is the last time you've felt that blogging was just one thing too much, and what was it that brought you back? Let's have some happy blogging stories. Aaaaaand... go:

Fictionary Friday - Triptych

2010-03-05T00:01:00.002-06:00

So here are the rules. I will post a word and its definition. It will be a real word, and its real definition. But then I will create a fictionary definition for the same word, and invite you to do the same. Sound good? Good. Here we go:

Dictionary Definition:
Triptych (trip-tik) n. A work consisting of three painted or carved panels that are hinged together or hung side-by-side

Fictionary Definition:
Triptych (trip-tik) n. A countdown timer that gets taken on vacation in order to keep track of how much time each person gets to do what they want. "Honey, I know you want to go on Splash Mountain again, but the Triptych only has 3 more minutes, so let's give Hannah her turn to pick some rides."

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday

2010-03-03T00:01:00.001-06:00

Time for Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, where I post a quote from a well-known (or not so well-known) person. Please feel free to comment with quotes that have touched your soul.

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club."

~ Jack London ~

Be My Guest Monday! Life in Chaos

2010-03-01T00:01:00.002-06:00

Happy Be My Guest Monday everyone!!! If you're new here, or you've come over from Lora's blog, welcome!! I'd love for you to consider being my guest... just click on this link here: Be My Guest!

Today Lora and I are doing a blog switch! So please check her out (and read my Monday Memories post about my BFF) at Take Me the Way I Am. She just updated her blog design, and it's absolutely fantastic. Makes me realize how badly I need to do mine!! Plus, when she gave me two options of guest posts, I had to choose this one simply because the other one is so beautiful that it must be on her own blog. So please be sure to follow her if you don't already! And now, here is today's fabulous guest post:

Life in Chaos

A few weeks ago, Nashville was covered with a beautiful snowfall. And by “covered” I mean there was approximately ¼ inch of snow on the ground. I wish I were kidding.

The thing about Nashville is that we don’t get much snow. What we get instead…is ice. Which every other place that gets snow acquires as well, but there’s usually a nice little snow cover so that it’s fairly safe to drive on. Not so in our fair city. And when you add in the fact that 90% of the people here have NO idea of what to do on the roads when they get slick…yeah, it makes for an interesting time!

So as much as I like driving in the snow (and truly I LOVE it) my mind is constantly active when I’m driving in Nashville winter weather.

“Remember, if you hit a patch of ice, steer with the skid”

“Brake before the slick spot so that you can clear it with no problem”

“Against all instincts, don’t hit your brakes on ice!”

“See that crazed driver beside you? Get distance from them. They clearly don’t know what they’re doing in this weather."

It hit me one day as I calmly navigated the slick ramp that curves around to the exit home.

I’m much better at driving in chaos than in ‘normal’ conditions.

In chaos, I don’t panic. I simply remember the things that have been drilled into my head since I was a young girl growing up in Indiana. I’ve never (knock on wood) had a winter weather related accident or even near accident.

In chaos, my mind is where it should be. I’m not tempted by the iPhone sitting on the passenger seat.

In chaos, I’m paying a LOT more attention to those around me.

I’m not really sure what all this means. Except that I wonder if it somehow is a parallel to my life.

The last year and a half has been rather chaotic in my life. Losing a full time job, dating a wonderful man, seeing so many of my friends deal with death and divorce. I still sometimes wonder if I’ll ever have a “real” job again, and while much of the chaos in my life is GOOD, it’s still somewhat overwhelming!

And truly, I can’t remember a time I’ve been more…calm.

I can’t claim any credit for this.

It’s God who calms me in the chaos of my everyday life.

It makes sense. In my many theology courses during college I learned about this particular aspect of God in more depth. He’s kind of a pro at this whole creating order out of chaos thing.

But somehow I’ve never made it personal until now.

The God who literally creates order out of the chaos of the world has created order out of MY chaos.

What an amazing God!

Six Word Saturday

2010-02-27T00:21:00.001-06:00

The Olympics are Making Me Sick

I hate to say it, I really do. But I am sick. I have been staying up every night for the past two weeks watching speed skating, ice skating, half-pipe, mogals, slolem, biathalon, hockey... you name it, if it's been on NBC in the evenings, I've been watching it.

And my body has finally spoken. And now I'm oozing and coughing. How hot is that? (Although I did have sexy phone voice for a while today, until it just sounded painful)

For those of you who are wondering why a) I haven't posted much lately and b) why the heck I never read your blogs, it is because I've been doing nothing but work, watch the olympics, take naps, and sneeze.

So believe me when I say that I am looking forward to Sunday. I've got a fun weekend planned though, and I'm taking Monday off too, which is probably the smartest decision I made too. Saturday I've got a women's breakfast with my church where I'm doing a craft and a devotional, and then I need to see about finishing my taxes (ok that's not super-fun but I'll be getting a bit of money back so I'm excited about that) and hopefully I'll get a good night's sleep. Sunday I have a meeting before church, then church, then I'm having lunch with some friends and we're going to come back to my place and play with Mary Kay. I'm so excited! Then another friend is coming over to watch the Olympics closing ceremonies. Then on Monday I have my midterms for VLI (a post-graduate-level leadership class I take). So busy busy but at least I can sleep in Monday since I have nothing else planned. I am sooooo excited about that. :)

Well, that's all I have to write about--my lack of sleep and the fun (hopefully) things that I WILL be doing. Here's hoping that next week I'll have something more exciting. But I do have Be My Guest Monday coming up, so never fear, you will actually get an extraordinary post in the next few days. :)

Fictionary Friday - Resonate

2010-02-26T00:01:00.002-06:00

So here are the rules. I will post a word and its definition. It will be a real word, and its real definition. But then I will create a fictionary definition for the same word, and invite you to do the same. Sound good? Good. Here we go:

Dictionary Definition:
Resonate v. to amplify vocal sound by the sympathetic vibration of air in certain cavities and bony structures.

Fictionary Definition:
Resonate n. A houseguest named Nate who seems to have taken up residence and never plans to leave. "Who's that guy on Mrs. Smith's front porch?" "Oh, they've got a Resonate." "Wow, that stinks. Hope they can get rid of him soon."

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday

2010-02-24T00:01:00.001-06:00

Time for Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, where I post a quote from a well-known (or not so well-known) person. Please feel free to comment with quotes that have touched your soul.

"Whatever you are, be a good one."

~ Abraham Lincoln ~

Be My Guest Monday! The Negative Space

2010-02-22T00:01:00.001-06:00

It's Monday! And here at Out of the Extraordinary that means it's Be My Guest Monday. If you'd like to get this super-cool award and guest post on my blog some Monday, click the link, read the deets, then contact me!

Today's guest blogger is Katherine at One Girl's Journey To The Altar. I have to say right now that this post is awesome, and such a blessing, because due to a communication error on my part, I didn't have the person lined up for today, nor had I set up Katherine with a blogging date. Well: Problem Solved! I emailed Katherine and not only was she quite gracious, but she also had a post already brewing, just for me! Hooray!!! Please go to Katherine's blog after you read this and catch up on her journey (unless you're one of her readers, in which case, please stick around here a little longer!) and give her some support as she reaches the final countdown to the wedding!!!

The Negative Space

This week, high school art class is on my mind. I think it started when I decided to (was forced to) clean out the back of my closet (for more details on what and why of that experience, click here.

One thing I learned from art was about drawing the negative space. I don’t know if they still teach this concept today, but I was taught that when you draw a tree or a face – or anything – attempt to not draw the tree, but the space around the tree. Don’t draw the nose, but draw the space around the nose. So, it’s almost like you are drawing these abstract shapes and not the pre-conceived ideas of what you think the tree or nose looks like.

I guess the good thing is that you can maybe draw a better picture like that. But the bad thing is that, because you are dissecting what is there so it is no longer a cohesive whole – just odd, individual shapes – you miss the beauty of the object, of what is actually a face or a tree.

So, it hit me that I sort of view life through the negative space. I tend to see all the things that aren’t there – or just the abstract pieces or voids – and I miss the beauty of the whole arrangement and what really is there.

Here’s the story of where this hit me this week:

In the same post as the closet adventure, I discussed the birth certificate debacle. Long story short, I needed to get a copy of my birth certificate for my marriage license, and I was annoyed that my mother lost it. So, instead of waiting for her to fix her mistake and get me a new copy (can you sense my anger here?!?), I decided to drive the 45 minutes to Town Hall to get another one myself. I was heading to the other end of Long Island to return something to Crate and Barrel (the only C&B on Long Island), so it was sort of on the way. As I Mapquested the best route from A to B, I realized it took me the scenic route. I don’t know if it was the shortest route, but it was definitely not the fastest. But I had the time, so I decided to take it.

Well, it was snowing on that day (not that that is unusual these days!). It was my favorite kind of snow – enough to be pretty but not enough to be overly dangerous or ruin plans or make me shovel. And as I was driving this route, it was one of the most amazing, scenic experiences I ever had. Through the trees and by the water and over these hills… absolutely breathtaking. I felt like I was in the middle of a black and white picture of this snowy universe that was familiar but brand new at the same time – unlike anything I had seen before. And I am not exaggerating.

And then I realized that if my mom hadn’t lost my birth certificate, I wouldn’t be driving this. I just would have taken the expressway to C&B. I had been looking at the negative space – what wasn’t right, what was annoying. But when I really looked and saw the whole of the circumstances, I saw what was there - the beauty of this amazing gift God gave me in that moment.

So, that is one example. And then I realized I do see the negative space in lots of things. Like relationships, for example. After 36 years of a diet of ‘emotional porn,’ as I like to refer to it – don’t get nervous; by that I mean romance movies, novels, etc – it is easy for me to look at the negative space in my relationship with my fiancé – all things he isn’t doing, all the things that aren’t there….

But when I shift my focus to broaden my view to see the whole picture – I see everything he is doing and everything that is there and everything that is going right and all the ways he daily shows me he loves me…

It was there all the time…but I just wasn’t seeing it. I was too focused on the negative space.

And I think that’s what happens when we dissect life and look at it in abstracts pieces and see all the things that aren’t there. But when we back up and take in our lives as a whole, we can use the negative space to highlight and emphasize all we do have and all that is there…the beauty of our lives as a whole…each moment, each experience, each person. There will always be negative space if we choose to look at it. But on the other side of that negative space is the object of beauty, if we just look a little farther.

Just like those weird pictures where they ask if you see an old woman or a young woman.

It’s a bit of a mind-bender and brain shift… a new way of looking at things…a little uncomfortable and awkward at first. It hurts a little.

But if you look hard, you really can find the pretty young woman. It really just depends on where your focus is.

~ Katherine ~
One Girl's Journey To The Altar

SWS: Four Awards? For Moi?? Merci Beaucoup!!

2010-02-20T00:01:00.003-06:00

Four Awards? For Moi?? Merci Beaucoup!!

Ok, so I luuurve awards! I've heard that there are some bloggers out there who are kinda "over" the whole award thing. I don't really get why. I mean, someone thinks you and/or your blog is cool. Maybe it's just because my primary love language is Words of Affirmation, but I think awards are stellar.

Of course some people may just hate having to post 19 things no one else knows about them and forward the award to 50 of their closest friends, blah blah blah. Well, no one ever said the blogging police would get you if you don't. It's kinda like a chain letter, you know? Someone somewhere will break it. So what? The other 3,090 people are blithely sending them along.

So this is how I'm going to do it. I have recently received a total of FOUR awards, from four fantastic ladies who think I'm somethin' special. (gee, thanks ladies!!). Seriously, here's a shout-out to Katherine at One Girl's Journey to the Atlar, Lauren at Her Silent Musings, Elle at A for Effort (B for Blog) and Lottie at Kaffeine Addict. What I'm going to do is show you the awards and list what you're "supposed" to do, nominate some random number of blogs, and give you some amount of information about myself. I don't even know as I type how I'll do this--I guess we'll find out together. :)

The Happy Award!

1.) Acknowledge the person who gave it to me (Thanks Katherine!)

2.) List 10 items that make me happy

3.) Award it to 10 other bloggers

The Circle of Friends Award!

1.) Acknowledge the person who gave it to me (Thanks Katherine!)

2.) List 5 things I love to do

3.) Award this to 5 other bloggers

The Beautiful Blogger Award!

1.) Acknowledge the person who gave it to me (Thanks Lauren and Elle!)

2.) Share 7 things about myself

3.) Award it to up to 7 other bloggers

The Sunshine Award!

1.) Acknowledge the person who gave it to me (Thanks Lottie!)

2.) Award it to 12 other bloggers

Ok, so I'm generally very legalistic, but I just cannot nominate 34 of you--or technically 41 of you since I got the Beautiful Blogger award twice (how cool is that?). So because of that, I'm going to give you brief (very brief) "things about myself" and then nominate like 5 of you.

10 Things That Make Me Happy:

Chocolate
Chocolate mixed with peanut butter
Chocolate mixed with peanut butter and butter
Chocolate mixed with peanut butter and butter and poured over Crispex cereal
Chocolate mixed with peanut butter and butter and poured over Crispex cereal and dumped into a plastic bag with powdered sugar
Chocolate mixed with peanut butter and butter and poured over Crispex cereal and dumped into a plastic bag with powdered sugar and shaken until everything is coated with the sugar
Chocolate mixed with peanut butter and butter and poured over Crispex cereal and dumped into a plastic bag with powdered sugar and shaken until everything is coated with the sugar and then left to dry overnight
Chocolate mixed with peanut butter and butter and poured over Crispex cereal and dumped into a plastic bag with powdered sugar and shaken until everything is coated with the sugar and then left to dry overnight and then shaken with more powdered sugar
Chocolate mixed with peanut butter and butter and poured over Crispex cereal and dumped into a plastic bag with powdered sugar and shaken until everything is coated with the sugar and then left to dry overnight and then shaken with more powdered sugar and then eaten.
Giving you guys a recipe for Puppy Chow without actually giving you a recipe.

Five Things I Love to Do:

Eat
Blog
Sleep
Polish my Pulitzer
Pretend I won a Pulitzer

Seven Things About Myself:

I cry at really good commercials. The Visa commercials during the Olympics get me every time.
I read Christy by Catherine Marshall 1-2 times a year.
I really only know how to cook about 3 real "meals."
Sometimes I actually have to ask myself how I've managed to successfully feed myself with zero cooking skills.
I'm actually fairly intuitive when it comes to cooking and if I were to apply myself I'd probably be pretty good.
I'm really rather intelligent, although my social skills probably leave something to be desired.
I firmly believe that the reason I haven't met my future husband yet is because he's still at home doing sit-ups. And by "home," I mean the condo he owns because he (unlike myself) has actually managed to amass enough money/credit to own property.

And now, to pass these awards along. Here's the deal. I'm going to list some people/blogs below, for whom all of these awards apply (Yay!) Please go visit all of these bloggers, they're quite phenominal and I'm happy I found them!

LovelyBeautifulHappySunshiney Blogs:

Hooray to all you award winners!!! And let me share a secret with you, everyone... if you would like one of these awards and I follow you, you can have it. If you want it to look all official and stuff just let me know and I'll add your name to the list. 'Cause really, we're all winners, right? :)

Have an Extraordinary Day, everyone!

Fictionary Friday - Distance

2010-02-19T00:01:00.001-06:00

So here are the rules. I will post a word and its definition. It will be a real word, and its real definition. But then I will create a fictionary definition for the same word, and invite you to do the same. Sound good? Good. Here we go:

Dictionary Definition:
Distance n. the extent or amount of space between two things, points, lines, etc.

Fictionary Definition:
Distance n. the position or bearing of a person while they say something disparaging to someone else. "Did you hear what she said to the teacher?" "Hear her? I could see her distance from the other end of the hallway."

I Found God in a Lutherin Church Today

2010-02-18T00:57:00.001-06:00

I thought I was rushing home to watch the Olympics.

I only saw one person today at work with the ashen cross on his forehead, and it made me a little sad that my church doesn't do an Ash Wednesday service. I have to be honest with you, I'm not sure that I've ever ever ever been to one. At least not one when I ended up with ashes on my forehead. Which is probably a requisite of an Ash Wednesday service. :)

As I traversed the few blocks from the train to my apartment building, I was contemplating my spiritual life. I feel as though I haven't really developed a relationship with God like I could, and I realized that I don't want to open myself up fully to God because that means I'd have to let go of some of my control over my own life. So I prayed that God would speak to me, right then and there, about His love for me.

About three seconds later I noticed the parking sign outside the Lutherin church I live near. Hm... I thought, I betcha they've got a service.

And sure enough, they did. And it started at 7pm. The current time: 6:59.

Well, then, I had to go in, didn't I?

I hadn't stepped foot in that church in about 9 years, even though I've walked past it every single day of those years. Now don't get me wrong, I have my own church. I'm not saying that I haven't been to church, just that I haven't been to that one.

And it was an awesome experience. The service was definitely very--Lutherin, very traditional. I enjoyed doing that sing/chant thing and going forward to kneel for communion and the ashes. Although I had no idea how the whole process worked so I'm sure I marked myself as a novice when I was a bit late in noticing that everyone had formed two nice orderly lines and I was standing right in the middle of the aisle. :)

But I was touched during that service. The minister spoke of how Jesus told the people not to give outward shows of ostentatious fasting, but to hide it. But in the US, in the city of Chicago at least, it seems that most Christians swing the other way and hide their faith so deeply that no one even knows they're Christian. Which is one reason why Ash Wednesday is such a cool thing. Not only does it remind us that we are but ashes to ashes in this life (hooray for the eternal body that believers will be given in heaven--mine will have a six-pack), but it also points out not only the "us" that is instrumental in a God-Me relationship, but the "us" that is evident in the body of believers. When you walk around with a cross on your forehead, it's pretty obvious your faith.

I was also convicted tonight. We did a few prayers of repentance, and each one resonated deeply within me. I have put myself first and attempted to control my life because to some extent I didn't believe that God really has my best interests at heart. And I am sorry for that, because I know in my head that God has some great amazing plans for me.

When I went forward and received the ashes on my forehead, I got to experience the palpable reality that we are but walking the hyphen between our birth dates and our death dates, and that what matters most is Christ. So what truly am I doing with my life? And what do I need to do?

The minister did that thing at the end of the service where he stood out on the steps and "greeted" us all as we left. I felt like I should shake his hand--I rather wanted to shake his hand--to thank him for truly "ministering" to me tonight. But everyone in front of me pretty well just nodded at him and kept walking, so I did the same. But oddly enough, after I started up the sidewalk to my building, I felt a pressure on my hand, as if I had just shaken the minister's hand.

And I knew what it was I felt--or rather, Whom. I knew it was God's hand I had shaken, God's hand I held in mine. And I asked Him what He wants of me. "Get your act together," He spoke into my heart. "Get your act together because I have so much I want to do with you, only your life needs to be in order first."

So here I go, attempting to get my life in order. But at least I know always that His hand is in mine... or rather, my hand is in his.

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday

2010-02-17T00:01:00.001-06:00

Time for Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, where I post a quote from a well-known (or not so well-known) person. Please feel free to comment with quotes that have touched your soul.

"Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless."

~ Jamie Paolinetti ~

Be My Guest Monday! Me, Myself & PIe

2010-02-15T00:01:00.016-06:00

Hi Everyone! Thanks for stopping by on another Be My Guest Monday! If you're interested in being a guest blogger, just click on the link and check it out.

Today's guest blogger is my dear friend Rachel over at Me, Myself & Pie. Rachel is someone I actually knew before I started this journey out of the extraordinary, and I am just loving her own journey as well. She loves to eat, she's learning to cook, and she's a fantastic writer. So read this post, and then go check out her blog! And if you're stopping by from Me, Myself & Pie, welcome!! I hope you take a few minutes to check out my other posts... I'd love to get to know you and maybe have you Be My Guest!

~ ~ ~

Life Without Corn Dogs Is A Sad Life Indeed.

First of all, Janet, thank you so much for having me as a guest. I’m honored to contribute to your lovely blog!

Now…I’ll just go right out and say it. I love food. While other people collect snow globes and ski down mountains, my hobby of choice is making, eating and writing about all kinds of glorious food. At least that’s been the case these last few months.

In October I decided to really learn how to cook once and for all by pledging to spend a year behind the apron – making and blogging about a new Cooking Light meal and dessert every week for a year. Julie Powell style, only with less butter.

At first, I was excited to try my hand at fancy shmancy, Martha-like creations, but one thing I quickly learned was that it doesn’t take an extraordinary recipe to make a memorable meal. In fact, it’s all those ordinary foods that seem to make so many moments of our lives...well, extraordinary.

Don’t believe me? For just a minute, try to imagine all the important, cherished and unforgettable events we experience without the foods and drinks that make them what they are. This is what you’ll be left with…

Birthday parties without birthday cakes.
Break-ups without ice cream.
Mornings without coffee.
Midnight gossip without wine.
Third grade without tater tots, chocolate milk and Jell-o cups.
Tailgates without burgers.
Baseball without hot dogs.
Football without wings.
Summer without ice cream and watermelon.
Spring without salads.
Winter without chili and cocoa.
Autumn without apples, cider and donuts.
Top Model marathons without giant bowls of potato chips. And fat pants.
Movies without popcorn.
Sleepovers without pizza.
Prom without spiked punch.
Tea parties without tea sandwiches. Or tea.
Carnivals without funnel cakes and corn dogs.
Grandma’s house without homemade….everything.
Valentine’s Day without chocolate hearts.
Easter without chocolate eggs.
Thanksgiving without turkey and pie. And naps.
Halloween without candy.
Christmas without sugar cookies, gingerbread, and those little powdery snowball things.
Vacations without mai tais and margaritas.
Midterm all-nighters without grande mocha cappuccinos.
Potluck picnics without potato salad, taco salad, lasagna and fried chicken on the same plate.
Weddings without wedding cakes.
Campfires without marshmallows.
Saturday mornings without sugary cereals.
Shopping sprees without food court Chinese.
Pregnancies without taco bell, pickles and Cheese Whiz at 4 a.m.
Anniversaries without chocolate syrup and whipped cream.
Road trips without Cheetos and Doritos.
New apartments without pizza on the floor.
Childhood without mac ‘n cheese, Cheerios and heart-shaped, crust-less peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

These foods make up our lives. Our memories. Our comfort zones. At least mine, anyway. That’s why we talk about them. Obsess over them. Recreate them over and over.

But notice how there are no fancy French names? No required weeks of planning or hours of preparation? They don’t call for expensive imported olive oils or 20-dollar ingredients.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’ve had my fare share of fancy foods. Expensive dinners I couldn’t pronounce. Frilly L.A. cuisine. But you know what? I couldn’t even tell you what it was that I ate. And I bet I’ll never crave it again, or yearn to make it for my family.

Yet those plain old normal foods above somehow mean far more to me than any caviar-encrusted, rare fruit-infused, bank-breaking cuisine ever could. My life wouldn’t be the same without them. And to me, that makes them extraordinary.

So I leave you with this. Bread. Butter. Cheese. A simple, easy recipe for quite an ordinary food, but with a fresh twist. It’s a divine creation (that even Oprah approves, apparently) that I had on my birthday last year at a little café in Michigan. Maybe it’ll even become one of your extraordinary favorites. (And in the meantime, I’d love to hear about your “ordinary” pastime fare.) Cheers!

Grilled Three-Cheese with Tomato, Basil and Honey

(Café Muse’s grilled cheese sandwich)

Yield: 1 sandwich

Ingredients:
1/2 Tbsp. butter, softened
Honey
1 tsp. fresh basil, chopped
2 slices tomato
2 slices bread (multigrain or sourdough works well)
1 slice Havarti cheese
1 slice mozzarella cheese
1 slice fontina cheese
*NOTE: (I’ve also made it with feta, mozzarella and Swiss, with just as delicious results.)

Directions:
Butter bread on one side with softened butter. Place in pan, butter side down, over medium-low heat. Place mozzarella on one half of the bread and fontina and Havarti on the other. Cook until golden on bottom and cheese begins to melt. Place tomato on mozzarella side and honey on fotina/Havarti side. Place under broiler for a few minutes to heat up tomato. Sprinkle on basil, assemble your sandwich and enjoy a huge bite of summer even if there are icicles on your radiator.

Yay Olympics

2010-02-14T00:01:00.001-06:00

Ok, I'm sure everyone else out there is blogging about the Olympics. So I'm not going to. I'm kinda in an emotional state what with the men's luge, the visa commercials, and apparently my raging hormones (yes, overshare, sorry).

But I love love love the Olympics, and this year I've already missed the opening ceremonies, and I'm not sure how much I'm going to be able to catch over the next two weeks. So I think I might have to live vicariously through other people. So tell me...

What's the one (or two or three) medal race(s) that you absolutely cannot miss? Is it Apollo Anton Ohno trying to break the record and be the winningest winter athelete ever? Shawn "Don't call me the Flying Tomato" White grinding on the half-pipe? Watching the ice skating with the world's favorite commentator Scottie Hamilton? Or just curling up on a couch with Bob Costas (on the TV) every day?

That's what I want to know. :)

Six Word Saturday

2010-02-13T00:01:00.003-06:00

Thursday: The Five Hour Cleaning Project

My evening in Tweets:

The Five-Hour Cleaning project commences now. I will tweet as I clean, so I can keep myself accountable to what I'm actually doing.
4:58 Cleaning needs sustinance. Putting frozen pizza in the oven. Will put away clean dishes and random groceries that never left the table.
5:48 Pizza is cooked and eaten. Dishes are put away and cat is working on cleaning the one I put the pizza on. :)
6:42 have just finished scrubbing kitchen floor on hands and knees. Is it perfect? No. Is it good enough for now? Yes. Kitchen Done.
6:42 Just realized that if hadn't taken off work early would only just now possibly be getting home.
7:08 Made a phone call about a project I'm doing. Good progress, he's on board.
7:19 Just made Phone Call #2. Why is it that all of my calls are happening on the day when my phone cracked and I shouldn't be using it?
7:40 Left a voice message and sent two very important emails. Why am I suddenly so busy? I wish I only had to work 6 hour days all the time.
7:55 Just updated my blog post for tomorrow. Glad to have that out of the way. Ok, time to do more things that requrie movement.
8:30 Have successfully procured an empty washing machine. Took a few minutes to read and have now forgotten when wash went in.
8:45 Did a garbage run, walked into laundry room and washer stopped. Success!
8:45 FYI January temperatures + Un-controllable radiator heat + living on the top floor + have all lights on to clean = 85 degree apartment.
10:08 Took a twitter break there. Working on cleaning out the email inbox. Also had a chat with the person I left a message for. Lots done.
1:04 am. OK, kinda gave up on cleaning the apt but still working on inbox. Oh well, got a good amount done. And yay for clean undies.
1:05am btw... dude, whatever happened to going to bed at 10pm? *sigh*

Well, there you have it. That was my night. I've gotta say, I did get a lot done, even if it may not look like it. I might need to do another 5-hour cleaning project tonight though, at least if I don't want my Valentine's guests to have to look at the piles of stuff in my living room. (That's what bedrooms are for) :)

Fictionary Friday - Marketable

2010-02-12T00:01:00.015-06:00

So here are the rules. I will post a word and its definition. It will be a real word, and its real definition. But then I will create a fictionary definition for the same word, and invite you to do the same. Sound good? Good. Here we go:

Dictionary Definition:
Marketable adj. readily salable. of or pertaining to selling or buying.

Fictionary Definition:
Marketable adj. a type of thick disposable paper used in restaurants on which it is fun and easy to place "marks," allowing patrons to draw or color on it without damaging the table underneath.

New Moon

2010-02-11T00:01:00.001-06:00

**This is taken from another post on my other blog, Moments of Majesty. Sometimes I just write better over there, so I feel like I should share it with all of my readers. Enjoy.**

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His line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun; it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky. (Psalm 89: 35-37)

Yesterday morning when I got up the sky was still dark but it was perfectly clear--an amazing feat considering the snow storm we had all the day before and into the night. And, hanging in the middle of the sky was a beautiful crescent moon. It was so gorgeous that I wanted to go outside and take a picture of the clean white snow, the midnight blue sky, and the bone-white moon.

So on a whim I did a Bible search for the word "moon," and came across this psalm. I will tell you I didn't really pay attention to much of that verse except "the moon, the faithful witness in the sky." (I gave the sentence for context.)

But I just love what this verse says about the moon. Because what does the moon witness by its very light? The sun. The moon is just a rock, pitted and dead. But when the sun's light shines onto it, it shines brightly enough to light up the earth. The light is nowhere near as bright as the sun itself, but is beautiful and illuminating all the same.

And so it is with us, isn't it? We are called to reflect the glory of the Son (Jesus) and be a light to all peoples. When we use our talents, when we extend a hand of love and mercy, we are reflecting God's grace, and He shines out of our very actions.

When you think of the moon you know that it waxes and wanes, from a beautiful full moon to a tiny sliver. I believe that this also is reflective of our personalities... some days I feel much, much more in tune with God than others. Remember that the moon is still the same size and shape all the time. But what happens is that the Earth gets in the way of the sun, so that only some of the sun's light can shine through. Does this remind you of your own life at all? It sure does remind me of mine. Far too often I let the things of this world stand between myself and Jesus, and I do not reflect His love, his grace, or his mercy to others.

This is why we are called to be in the world, but not of it. To stand gently aside from the things of this world which would obfuscate our line of sight to the Son. Because as long as we are looking to Christ, He will shine through us, even when we are not outwardly attempting anything extraordinary. Just our presence will show God's hand in our lives, and we will be ourselves a silent witness to His grace and love and beauty.

So today let us all be a new moon, let us separate ourselves from the world so that we may shine in full with the light of God.

Amen.

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday

2010-02-10T00:01:00.001-06:00

Time for Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, where I post a quote from a well-known (or not so well-known) person. Please feel free to comment with quotes that have touched your soul.

"To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing."

~ Unknown ~

We Have a Winner!!!

2010-02-09T00:01:00.002-06:00

Ok, so am I the only person who gets super excited when someone's blog starts with "We Have a Winner!"? I mean really, I'll look to see if I've won even when I didn't enter. :)

But we do have a winner, thanks to random.org. You have 48 hours to get back to me or else I'll pick another winner, but I'm sure I'll hear back from you.... Autumn in Jeans!!!

Congratulations and thank you to my newest follower! How exciting is that! And for everyone who didn't win, thanks so much for sharing how long you've been blogging, and how many posts you're up to. It's so nice getting to know you all a little better!

So here's a few more questions for you all, because... well, because A) I'd like to know and B) I don't feel like writing an official post today. So let's get those comments rolling with interesting tidbits, eh?

Questions: Have you won a giveaway before? What was it? How many giveaways have you won? What is the best thing you've ever received? What's the best thing you ever gave away? Have you ever been told you'd won something but you never received it? (Don't worry Autumn, I've got the bubble envelope all ready to go) :)

Aaaaaaaaand...... GO:

Be My Guest Monday! Lessons Learned

2010-02-08T00:01:00.002-06:00

Hello everyone and welcome back to Be My Guest Monday! Today's guest blogger is Working Mommy. She's a wife, a mother, a member of the "working world," a blogger, and she just celebrated both her birthday and her 1-year wedding anniversary. Congratulations!!! Her post is also so extraordinary it made me cry. Well, grab a tissue and read on.

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A lot of you may not know me...I am Working Mommy from Lessons Learned. I am a brutally honest mommy blogger who works more than I'd like!! Come on by, take a seat, prop up your feet and stay for a while. If you're lucky, I might even provide a few libations (YAY RUM!)!!

I was so excited to get the opportunity to post about something extraordinary in my life and am honored to be featured today!!

So, it took me a little bit to figure out exactly what I would write about. I mean, my parents are two of the most extraordinary people I know. When they were my age, they found out that they couldn't have children of their own...so they decided to adopt me. Growing up we always joked that I was really the one who adopted them. They definitely made me the person I am today and I couldn't be more thankful for their constant and continued love and support!

Then I thought back to a few of my teachers throughout my education career. My third grade and sixth grade teachers made such a huge impact on the future of my education. My third grade teacher always said I would be the first woman President and she never let me become a slacker - even though that was the easier choice. I also had a few high school teachers - my senior anatomy teacher, my junior homeroom teacher and my french teacher (all 4 years) - who would push me to always be the best. They never gave up on me, even when I wanted to give up on myself. I recently found out the my french teacher's cancer has come back and she isn't doing well. My heart goes out to her family.

The one person who I wanted to highlight, though, is my husband. The man and I met on Match.com and after our first date, we knew we wanted to be together forever. We had been talking about getting married and having children in a year or so...but we never knew that a wedding and a baby would occur quicker than we had been planning!!

Not having known the man for very long before we got pregnant concerned me a little. I didn't know how he would react when the babe finally made her appearance in the world. I know now that my fears were misplaced...and I couldn't have asked for a better husband and father! The day of my induction, I was worried about the drugs, being in the hospital, the pushing, my lack of a shower...I could go on forever.

After I was all drugged up (which was FABULOUS, by the way) I was oblivious to most other things that were going on around me. I tried to sleep as much as possible because I knew that pushing was going to take a lot out of me. I told the man that no matter what happened he should just keep taking pictures...because I wasn't going to remember anything and he would be too scarred to tell me the story. It was only AFTER we got home and uploaded those pictures that I found these:

I wasn't quite sure why he took these pictures and the man actually forgot about taking them - until I asked about them.

Me: "These are silly (the man). Why would you take pictures of the IV's I was hooked up to??"

The Man: "It might seem silly to you, but I wanted to take pictures as proof."

Me: "Proof of what?"

The Man: "Well, I have never watched a birth before and I wasn't sure what to expect withe the babe's birth. I took them as a worst case scenario just in case anything happened to you or the baby. Then the nurses and doctors couldn't deny what medications you were on...because I would have photo proof."

Me: "Who thinks of those types of things?"

The Man: "I do...and I'm glad I did."

Me: "Why is that?"

The Man: "You might not remember, but right after the babe came out, your OB was very concerned. She ordered the nurse to turn up your drugs because you were bleeding out. I was scared. I didn't know whether to stay with my wife - who might not make it - or go to our baby - whose umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and wasn't crying. Taking those pictures early made it easier for me to do both and know that I had photo proof, just in case."

I honestly don't know anyone else who would have thought about that...not even my parents would have been THAT observant. So, my post today is dedicated to my extraordinary husband who, even though he acts paranoid sometimes, was able to think of every possible thing - even under pressure.

Six Word Saturday

2010-02-06T03:21:00.001-06:00

Julie & Julia: Please, Me Next!

Ok, before I say anything else about my Six Word Saturday, I feel that I must put another link to my 100th post, where I have my first Giveaway!

Alrighty, so I'm sitting here at 2:52 in the morning, watching Julie & Julia and blogging, instead of doing something productive like, you know, sleeping.

Four days of working late and no sleep later, I'm watching the scene where she has an utter breakdown on the kitchen floor, just as that guy from the Christian Science Monitor calls, wanting to do an interview. And I feel as though I'm at that stage where I'm broken down on the floor. (Only it would take a really terrible breakdown for me to willingly sit on that floor.)

But the hope I get from that is the fact that she did get a breakthrough moment. Just when things were the worst they could ever be, when Julie was covered in stuffing and raw chicken, sobbing on the floor, she got a phone call, a call that gave her hope, that renewed her sense of purpose, and strengthened her resolve.

And if you've seen the movie, you'll know that the interview didn't quite turn out the way that she was expecting. She was hoping for a book deal (aren't we all), and it didn't quite happen. Well, at least not then. (I mean hello, this is a movie based on a true story. Clearly something turned out right for Julie in the end.)

So perhaps I'm still just in the kitchen. Maybe I haven't even dropped the chicken yet (oh God please say that isn't so). But perhaps I'm still just waiting for my phone call.

I'm just sitting here on the floor (metaphorically), waiting for my breakthrough, my Julie & Julia moment.

Bring it on.

Fictionary Friday - Transcendental

2010-02-05T00:01:00.007-06:00

This is Post #103! In honor of my 100th post I'm doing my very first giveaway! It's open until 11:59 on Sunday--you should totally check it out. :)

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So here are the rules. I will post a word and its definition. It will be a real word, and its real definition. But then I will create a fictionary definition for the same word, and invite you to do the same. Sound good? Good. Here we go:

Dictionary Definition:
Transcendental adj. being beyond ordinary or common experience, thought, or belief; supernatural.

Fictionary Definition:
Transcendental n. a government program which combines transit and dental services in an attempt to offer affordable options to both travel and health care. "I'm taking the 4:40 transcendental to my parent's house and I'm finally getting that upper bicuspid looked at."

Jesus is on Your Elevator

2010-02-04T00:01:00.030-06:00

Guess what! This is my 102nd post! In honor of my 100th Post I'm doing my very first giveaway! Please check it out--you can still get in on it until 11:59pm Sunday!

And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Oh my goodness, do you so NOT want to be on the elevator with these people? I mean really, the guy looking at his watch can't believe how long it's going to take to add your floor to the 11 other floors this elevator is going to, and that lady doesn't even look like she's going to let you on. The guy in the middle will just push all over you trying to get out and I really think the guy on the left just let loose a silent stinker and is trying not to show it. You SO don't want to have to deal with this.

But imagine something...

What if they were all Jesus?

Ok ok, I know, it seems crazy to think of an elevator full of Jesuses. (Except in a way it's perfect. I totally want to start a grunge band now called Elevator Full of Jesus)

But seriously people, think about it. I posted about this before but I can't remember which blog I put it on (I've also got a side blog over at Moments of Majesty) so I'm going to say it again here.

If you were on an elevator with Jesus, would you sigh loudly and roll your eyes if he accidentally pushed the wrong button? Would you fart on your way out just because it's kinda funny that he'd be stuck with it? Would you completely ignore him if he dropped his folder and his papers scattered all over the floor?

Would you hold the door for him if you were in a hurry and he was running to catch it?

I would think that if it were really Jesus, you would.

Well, didn't he say something about when you do things for other people, so have you done them unto him?

That's kinda the good and the bad, you know.

When we think poorly of people, we think poorly of the One who died so that those people might receive the same grace and forgiveness that God has extended to you. Yes, you. YOU. The one reading this. God loves YOU. He loves you so much that He sent His one and only son to die, to be separated from the Godhead, to break up (albeit briefly) the most perfect love-relationship EVER. All because we totally eff things up on our own and there's no way we could get into heaven otherwise.

And it's not just you. It's her too. It's him. Yes, even her. Uh, huh... him too.

Sucks a little doesn't it, losing that high horse?

We all get to get in, if we want it. So... maybe we need to treat each other a little better? If not for them, then for the One who gave them the same grace He gave us.

Because I'm sure someone else is looking at you half the time and saying "Really, God, them too?"

You betcha. All of us. We're just an elevator full of Jesuses, heading on up.

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday

2010-02-03T00:01:00.001-06:00

This is my 101st post! In honor of my 100th post I'm having a giveaway! Please check it out!
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Time for Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, where I post a quote from a well-known (or not so well-known) person. Please feel free to comment with quotes that have touched your soul.

"Joy is not in things; it is in us."

~ Richard Wagner ~

100th Post and My VERY FIRST Giveaway!!!!!

2010-02-02T00:01:00.005-06:00

**This Giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Autumn in Jeans!!**

Six months and three days ago I began this little endeavor I call Out of the Extraordinary. Six months and three days ago I was getting fairly regular amounts of sleep. Six months and three days ago there were about 60 people who were living their lives quite happily, with no idea that they would at some point in the future be following a blog by a girl who pretends she knows something of what it means to find the Extraordinary in the ordinary.

My first post was, if I may say so, fairly good. The next few were wordy and self-important and I almost came to a crashing stop because I was trying so hard to write a great blog that I wasn't writing at all.

I certainly got over that, however, because in approximately 183 days I have managed to put up 100 posts. Hooray!!! To anyone out there who doesn't count the Be My Guest Monday posts, I say *pppptthhbbbbb!* (imagine spit in your eye. Yeah, there ya go.) But I know that no one thought that at all, and that you were all properly impressed by my ability to post something an average of every other day (and more often recently considering the August of Six Posts Total).

And in 6 months I have managed to somehow coerce sixty people into following me! That's like 5 people I actually knew before I started, and 55 people who wouldn't know me if I ran into them on the street. Thank you, seriously, thank you. Seeing my followers count go up is just as fabulous as getting comments. And I really have to thank SITS (The Secret is in the Sauce) for all of my new and fantasitc followers. Seriously, for the three of you whom I didn't meet through SITS, if you want to grow your bloggy network, SITS is a fantastic place to do it!

So, in order to thank you properly, I'm taking a page out of Two Normal Moms' book. These ladies gave me my first bloggy award, and I won their first giveaway, which they did in honor of their 100th post, and they will be doing their very first guest blog post on my site in a few weeks! So in honor of these fabulous ladies, I give you...

If you aren't familiar with Joyce Meyer, well, you should be. Joyce is an absolutely amazing inspirational speaker. She's one of those "been there, done that" women--was abused, was married and cheated on, she and her baby were left by the husband, she came to Jesus, met a man who wanted a woman that needed his constancy (and boy did she), had a "small" problem with speaking before thinking... and loved God so much that she overcame it all, and overcomes every stumbling block in her way, and she will tell you about each and every one of them in case her words can help you get over yours. She's an up-front, in your face woman who has an international ministry that has served hundreds of thousands of people by giving them food, clothing, shelter, health care, and hope. (I have not been recompensed in any way for saying this, nor do I expect to. I just want you to know how special this book is.)

I have this book to give away because I had purchased it at a store that was going out of business (so sad!) and my mother also gave me a copy for Christmas. I knew when I bought it, I just knew, that I was going to get that book for Christmas, but I felt an incredible peace about it (not to mention it was half off). So when I decided that I had to do a giveaway, well, this is what I had to give.

So, the rules! (hooray, this is fun!) This giveaway is open until 11:59pm (CST) on Sunday Feb 7. Entries will be given as follows--please post a separate comment for each entry:

Tell me how many posts you're up to, and how long you've been blogging!
Follow my blog! Tell me if you already do, or if you just started.
Post a link on your blog to my giveaway. (Please comment with that link so I can go see it.)
Be My Guest! Tell me if you have already been a guest blogger, or if you would like to be one! (Make sure you check out the Be My Guest guidelines before you commit to this)

Let the giveaway commence!

And remember everyone... Have an Extraordinary Day!

Be My Guest Monday! It's the Little Things

2010-02-01T00:01:00.000-06:00

Hi there and welcome to Be My Guest Monday! Someone must be giving Heather, today's guest-blogger, a few extra hours in each day, because you will be amazed at everything she does. Seriously, I could only put one link on her name, but you can check out her alter-ego at Giveaway Chick. Yes, that's right: Two blogs, and she's doing Project 365. And she wasn't sure that this guest post was "extraordinary" enough. Well, I'll let you be the judge of that, but I know my vote. :)

And now I give you Heather:

It's the Little Things
Ok, so I'm not normally a downer, at least I don't think I am, who knows? But, I've been thinking a lot about certain items in my life and why they have such a strong meaning to me and that inspired this post. I think people would look at me strangely ~~as if they don't already~~ if they knew the things I would save in a fire, flood, tornado, or any other emergency that would take my home.

Besides my external hard drive which has all of my files on it (pictures of my kids included) I would grab things like this -

my grandma's make up case, my grandpa's coin purse, and my Native American Dolls. Things that don't have a huge monetary value, but a sentimental value that could never be replaced.

I've been participating in Project 365 this year (here's a description of it if you don't know what Project 365 is) and in my first few weeks of taking a picture every day, I have started taking pictures of things that mean the most to me. While I'm taking these pictures I'm noticing that the things that I cherish are things that wouldn't have any value to anyone else (or outside of my family). They are almost kind of quirky. It's not my computer, it's not my iPod, it's not our TV that I would save if I had to get out quickly.

It's things that other people I love have left their mark on for me. A little plastic dolphin that my brother gave to me when he was a teenager because he knew how much I loved dolphins, things my children have made me over the years, anything that I have that came from my grandparents are the items that are most treasured by me.

What is it about the sight of my grandpa's coin purse that takes me back years to when I'd sit beside him and he'd tell me stories from when he was younger, I swear I can smell the Old Spice when these memories come over me. When I see my grandma's make up case, I flash back to her kitchen, I can smell her perfume mixed with the smell of cigarette smoke and hair spray (ok, possibly not the best combination, I'll admit it) and I can almost feel her beside me. How are we able to attach such strong sensations to these seemingly trivial items? What about those certain items can take us back years to memories that flood us with what we felt at that time?

I am not a psychologist and I don't play one on TV, so I don't have the answer, but I'm so glad that we have that in us. Those items have helped me make it through times when it was hard to go on without those loving hands that helped guide me through my youth, without my grandma there to hug me when I am sad, without my grandpa and his smile that lit up his beautiful green eyes to make me laugh.

What items do you have that would mean nothing to somebody else but mean the world to you? What would you save if God forbid there was a fire and you could get those precious to you out and only grab one or 2 treasured items in your way out the door? Hold those items close, but more importantly, hold those memories closer because those will always be with you no matter what.

Heather Manning - Owner/Designer
Digiscrapping | The247mom
Giveaway Chick

Who Do I Look Like?

2010-01-30T00:41:00.001-06:00

This is me.

Take one camera, three tons of eye shadow, half a cup of hair spray, a corset, a necklace purchased at the ren faire, and add a healthy dose of Photoshop.

And there you have it. Me.

Can I be really honest? I stare at this picture. I could gaze at her lips all day. But when I look away from her lips I get drawn into her eyelashes. This woman is beautiful. This woman is hot. This woman has absolutely no idea how special she is.

That's why she's looking down, after all, and not into the camera. Because sometimes she thinks she's more beautiful when she's someone else.

This woman has flawless skin. This woman's nose is not too big. This woman has perfect hair and is not a single pound overweight.

This is also me.

Notice again the skin, the lips, the eyes? This woman is strong. She faces her llife and does not let it stare her down. She is vibrant, and powerful. Hot when she needs to be hot and cold as ice when necessary.

Me again.

Scared. Alone. Yet somehow, still very present.

Perhaps you recognize this one.

Childlike, naiive, innocent, yet her eyes hold a shadow of something.

Is this getting closer to the real me?

Does a Photoshopped image reflect who we are?

Does a retouched picture, with no acne, fewer chins, no crow's feet, and a generous filter really show who we are?

Does it say anything that I did the photoshopping myself?

Who am I?

Who do I wish I were?

Certainly not who I see in the mirror most days.

But if you are into the Doppleganger craze on Facebook you'll know why I was looking to see what celebrity I look most like. It is disheartening, especially when I see the gorgeous celebs that my friends actually do look like. I mean really, I've only got like one option.

Depressing, isn't it?

So I choose not to participate in Doppleganger week... at least not until I get up the nerve to put up the picture I really want to.

Yes, they are fabulous. Just try to look away.

But until then, I will look back to who I was when I didn't realize that anybody was looking, and I'll see that I was perhaps the most beautiful then.

And, maybe someday, young women will start doing Google searches for me, for their own Doppleganger searches. Because I will be able to show the world that any size, any weight, can be dead sexy, if you believe in yourself.

You don't even have to Photoshop it at all.

Fictionary Friday - Translate

2010-01-29T00:01:00.000-06:00

So here are the rules. I will post a word and its definition. It will be a real word, and its real definition. But then I will create a fictionary definition for the same word, and invite you to do the same. Sound good? Good. Here we go:

Dictionary Definition:
Translate v. To explain in terms that can be more easily understood; interpret.

Fictionary Definition:
Translate adj. A world-traveller who has managed to be late for multiple engagements on multiple continents; habitual, widespread lateness.

Won't You Stop Being... My Neighbor?

2010-01-28T00:22:00.001-06:00

I've just done something decidedly unfriendly.

Yes, That's right. I have unfriended someone on Facebook.

I'm kind of in this guilt stage about it now. I mean, it's not like he got a big message saying "Dude, you suck, and Janet doesn't want to be your friend any more." But still, at some point I know he's going to come looking for my profile. Especially because we had been in the middle of a back-and-forth on both my status and a link I posted.

Here's the deal. This person, let's call him Martin, is one of those very opinionated people. Very opinionated, very outspoken, and not always tactful.

And he's a Christian.

He used to go to my church so of course I became friends with him on Facebook, and sometimes he would write comments that made me cringe just a little, but then other times he was just a normal person with whom I was friends on Facebook.

Sometimes when I was done cringing at something that Martin had wrote on my wall or as a comment, I would wonder why I was still friends with him. And then I would remind myself that I don't like to be flippant about my friends list on Facebook (I don't) and so why bother removing him if he wasn't a big huge headache?

A month or two ago, however, a mutual Facebook friend made a mention about how she had had to really look hard at her list of Facebook friends, and make some tough decisions. Now, she didn't get any more specific than that and far be it from me to assume, but I really just got this feeling that she was talking, to some extent, about her Facebook friendship with Martin. But, as I was not certain and again he wasn't being a big headache, I decided to leave well enough alone.

Until tonight. (Yesterday/last Wednesday/two months ago... whatever time words work best for you as you're reading this).

Tonight Martin made a comment on both a link I'd posted, and a status update of mine. Both comments were probably the third or fourth in a string that had other, non-mutual friends' comments, and both were highly opinionated. One of them seemed, to me, to be a very poor example of how a Christian should express themselves. (Especially because it was on a link to an article responding to a Christian who had expressed himself badly in the press and thus gave Christians a bad name, again. Irony? Methinks.)

I attempted, in each string, to reign him in. Neither attempt worked. I thought about unfriending him, then decided that I should be more patient and try again to help him see how what he was saying was not constructive. That didn't work either (honestly it could have been a failing on my end as well).

But after the third comment on each string, I realized that should any of the first few people (people who either aren't Christian or don't know Martin) actually look back to see who commented after them, they might be terribly, horribly offended.

Suddenly I felt a headache forming.

I had to weigh my options. What was more important--showing the love of God to Martin by allowing him to continue commenting and attempting to show him the callousness that his words showed towards people with whom he disagreed? Or protecting the friendships of these other people who commented quite benignly on my posts, people who probably know I'm a Christian and who might get the impression that I somehow condone these harsh statements of Martin's?

So I deleted Martin's comments, my responses, and then with a heavy heart, I unfriended him.

I debated whether I should message or email him to tell him what I was doing and why. And I remembered that this mutual friend of ours must have been including him in her friend decision-making, because he actually asked me at one point to convey a message to her because he had "somehow lost his connection with her during one of the Facebook updates."

If only that had been the case.

So I didn't say anything, because I realized that if other people have felt the need to move on, then maybe I could feel the freedom to do so as well. And I couldn't find a polite way to say "I don't want to try to deal with how you write, even when you try to explain yourself afterwards, because you still sound just as ignorant as you did the first time, and please dear Lord please don't write back to this because I don't want to get into an argument about why we should or should not remain friends on Facebook."

I mean, really. How do you say that?

But I still feel like crap. I just unfriended someone I've known for years. But you know what, when he put those words out there, he opened himself up to people reading them and judging him, and not only judging him but judging me, and judging "Christians." Not that I need to pussy-foot around non-Christians, but I just couldn't see how allowing someone to have hateful words on my Facebook page would be a light for any of the non-Christians with whom I'm friends.

I tried to use this as an opportunity to grow in my abilities to deal with difficult people, but I believe that a public forum is just not the place I want to hash this out (for the abovementioned reasons.) So, he is no longer my friend, in Facebook, and likely in life, once he figures out what happened. Not that I won't be open to taking him back at some point, but I will have to be careful about it.

When it all comes down to it, I think the status update I posted after unfriending Martin really does sum up the situation best:

Janet is sad when people fling words like excrement. Sometimes you can try to avoid it, or try to see it as fertilizer for growth, but sometimes you just have to step out of it, and move on.

Post Script: In the time it took to write this post, he figured out that I unfriended him. Perhaps I would have done better to wait until he was no longer online. And now he has sent me a message asking what he said to prompt this.

What should I say? Or should I even respond at all? Have you ever been in this situation?

Advice is very much appreciated... I'm swimming in murky waters here!

Wit & Wisdom Wednesday

2010-01-27T00:01:00.001-06:00

Time for Wit & Wisdom Wednesday, where I post a quote from a well-known (or not so well-known) person. Please feel free to comment with quotes that have touched your soul.

"If you will call your troubles experiences, and remember that every experience develops some latent force within you, you will grow vigorous and happy, however adverse your circumstances may seem to be."

~ John Heywood ~

Smell Me, I'm Sexy!

2010-01-26T00:00:00.001-06:00

This is not me.

But maybe one day it will be.

Except I will have more curves.

Yeah, now we're talkin'.

But this post isn't about pictures (although I could quite easily make it about the very very very interesting pictures that come up when you do a Google Images search for "Woman working out" and "Curvy Woman."

But that's beside the point.

The point.

The point is this: I smell damn sexy when I work out.

You read that right. I swore.

Oh, you were more shocked at the rest of the sentence.

Well, it's true. When I'm stuck outside in 97-degree humidity helping a friend move, I do not smell good. But somehow, after an hour of cardio-crazy Zumba, I smell amazingly good. And it's this weird thing because it kicks in at a certain point in the workout, because I'll be sweaty, sweaty, whatever, and then all of a sudden in the middle of a song I'll be like "Ahhh, there it is. Now I'm sexy."

I kid you not. I don't like the smell of my sweat when I'm helping a friend move in eleventy-five degrees. But there's something about the odor that wafts off my toning muscles or something--it just smells... good. (Of course people will prefer the smell of their own pee over the smell of others' so I'm sure it's not saying much to think my sweat smells good--who actually signs up for an experiement where you have to smell pee, anyway? But even a couple of days later my workout clothes don't smell musty and gross. They smell like sexy sweat.)

I mentioned this to some friends, who are now officially a part of my in-crowd, because a) they didn't look at me like I'm crazy and b) I can never let them get mad at me and spread this nonsense I say to other people.

One of them actually did say that it could be my pheremones. And then she patted me on the head and backed slowly out of the building.

But I think she's right. I mean, you see someone working out, and they look all slick and yummy, and if you go up to them sometimes they smell like two-week-old underwear, but sometimes they don't. I think it's all about the pheremones.

Or the endorphins. To quote a movie I should never tell people I actually like this much: “Exercise gives you endorphins--endorphins make people happy and happy people just don't shoot their husbands... they just don't.” (10 points if you know the movie)

So, if you think of it that way, maybe it's my endorphins leaking out. Because Zumba sure does make me happy, even when it's totally kicking my butt. And happiness is sexy. (Maybe this is God's way of making me feel better about the fact that I have to work out to lose weight, as opposed to "pass out" or "eat out" or "peace out" which are three things I'd normally rather be doing)

I like thinking of it that way. Next time I get on the bus after Zumba I'm not going to feel bad about being sweaty and gross. If anyone looks like they notice, I'm just gonna go right up to them and say:

That's not sweat you smell, it's happiness. And you look like you could use some.

So take a big whiff.

Be My Guest Monday! White Elephant Gifts and AFTER Holiday Holiday Parties

2010-01-25T00:01:00.018-06:00

Alright everyone, wecome back to Be My Guest Monday! If you're interested in being a guest blogger, please click on that super cool link.

Today I've got such a great guest blogger. Carissa over at GoodNCrazy taught me everything I know about avoiding the dreaded (No-ReplyComment@Blogger.com) problem. As someone who prefers to respond to comments via email, Carissa's "Dear No-Reply Blogger" post helped me to share the knowledge with my readers too. (if you haven't done this yet, please do!) She's also got tons and tons of amazing blog advice--you really must check her out! After you read this post, of course. And now I give you a chuckle with Carissa and...

The Best White Elephant Gift Ever!
And Why AFTER Holiday-Holiday Parties Rock.

My husband's holiday work party got postponed. And then cancelled. And honestly no one was sad. There was already too much going on with piano recitals, school plays, cookie exchanges and decorating the dang tree! Don't get me wrong I love Christmas-time and I love the hubbub too... but at some point in order it retain some semblance of sanity... you gotta pick and choose the items on your Holiday To-Do list...

That party re-scheduled itself for this past weekend. And it was so much fun. And pleasant, and I didn't feel rushed or like I was overdrawn on my babysitting account from asking friends to watch my kids too much!

They still held it as a White Elephant Gift Exchange, and the home where it was held still had Christmas decorations up... I have officially decided THIS is the way to do it. Plan each year to hold a few events AFTER New Year's. What's wrong with the piano recital being scheduled for the 2nd week in January? I'm still happy to hear my 9yrold's rendition of Angel's We Have Heard On High! And like I'm not gonna be thrilled to eat cookies in January, same as December? Hello.

What did we bring home? Seriously. I think the best white elephant gift ever:
A Goldfish! Complete with $2 plastic bowl, food and green vinyl tree. I was the last one to choose a gift; I happily stole that fish. It had already been dubbed "Andy" by the attendees, and passed around a few times. So there you have it. Our children have a new pet goldfish: please meet ANDY.

GREAT Ideas for the Best White Elephant Gifts:
You have to plan ahead for some of them so don't forget!

Toilet Seat
Enema
A Giant Stalk of brussel sprouts. (who knew they grow that way??)
A Moo Moo
Date Night Kit: Barry White CD, duct tape, and Nickelodeon Slime
Dancing Cowboy Santa
A Sacrificial Sock
Fruit Cake
A Box of SOS Pads: (and if there's a $ limit, tuck the cash inside to surprise!)
Rattlesnake meat in a can
Pogo Stick
Blown Up Photo of Self (autographed of course!)
Paparazzi Starter Kit: disposable camera, and copies of teen beat magazine preferably with Robert Pattinson on the cover
A Giant Box full of hotel toiletries: soaps, mini shampoos and lotions
Ugly Lingerie or Loud Gaudy Pajamas
Bottled Peach Pits: plan ahead, and when bottling peaches, fill one with only the pits!
Goofy Phones: Antlers Glued On or Pink and Furry
Used Appliances: Like an old dish disposal
Cassette Tapes of Donnie And Marie
Live Animals: Like a Goldfish, or Guinea Pig
Old Spice
Fedora Hat: from Ross or other discount store
Loud Annoying Toddler Toys
Hello Kitty ANYthing
Bad Home Decor: think plastic light up flowers
Toilet Seat Warmer (They really make these??)

Come on.. I know you have great ideas too.
What's the Best/Worst/Funniest White Elephant Gift you've ever seen?

~~~~~~~

Carissa Rogers of GoodNCrazy.com
Find her on twitter as @CarissaRogers

"In my former life I was a molecular biologist. In my current life I am the chief researcher of bloggy html, parenting dos (and some don'ts), new recipes and for spice I pretend to be a photographer...I started blogging in February of 2008. I love the bloggy world where I share and connect with thousands of people about the happy, the sad, the rotten, and the silly! I have 3 crazy kids and one good husband. I hope to connect with you too!"

I'm a Singin' Fool

2010-01-23T00:01:00.001-06:00

Ok, I'll admit it:

I like show tunes.

You may now stop following me.

No wait... please don't go! I'm cool, really! (although anyone who tries to convince other people that they're cool are, of course not cool.) So, um. Yeah.

Shoot.

Now I've gone and done it. I've lost you forever because I'm a show-tunes-loving fool.

Ok, ok, I know you're still there. Why do I know? Because you're still reading this! And if you're still reading this, than you're either A) very nice/forgiving; B) interested in where this post is going almost against your better judgement; or C) secretly (or not so secretly) a show-tunes-loving fool too.

Well?

Which one is it?

Please tell me I'm not alone.

I'll tell you my favorite if you tell me yours.

Here's a clue:

Yes, one of my favorites is "On My Own", from Les Mis. Of course, I really adore a whole bunch of Andrew Lloyd Webber's music.

So really, now that I've gotten that little secret off my chest (and I feel much better, it is nice to be honest with you)... what's your favorite?

Because I know you wouldn't have read this far if you didn't have one. :)