Short Stories

YARDWORK HARDWORK.

In all of the years we have been married, I have never helped with the yard.  I'm pretty sure it's partially because I was traumatized as a child by having to pick up smelly, rotten pears in the backyard anytime my dad needed to mow.  The only thing I hated more than picking up gross pears was when I had to scrub out the cat pan.  Ew.

But, Todd and I had a pre-marriage agreement, that all yard work and grass mowing was in the husband department.  I would make sure he always had clean underwear and dinner to eat and that occasionally I would dust things.  But killing bugs, taking out the trash and anything to do with the yard was his domain.

However, with how awesome I've been feeling lately, I offered to help Todd with some front yard maintenance.  We needed to weed out our shrub area and wanted to plant some new bushes to spruce things up a bit.  Tommy even helped and we got to reinforce lessons about working hard without complaining and having a good attitude.  I heard myself say all of the things that my dad would say to me when I had to pick up those damn pears in the backyard of my childhood house.  Full circle moments.

We worked and toiled all day - taking some popsicle breaks and a nap right in the middle of our project, because it's blazing hot in June here which is probably why do what we did in a sensible month like March.

But it felt good to help.  To move my body and dig and lift things and sweat along side of my husband.  Not because I had to, and not really even because I wanted to.  But because I could.


BETTER.

Someone called me "tiny" the other day and it felt weird.  I am far from tiny.  I am still overweight.  But I am smaller and can officially buy clothes on the "normal sized" parts of the store.

For me, the most drastic thing hasn't been my waistline or weight loss.  It's been in my health - how my body feels, how I am moving it, and what I am actually desiring to eat.  I want vegetables.  Pizza has lost its appeal.  I eat fruit for dessert on purpose.  When I have a sweet tooth, I eat a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips and it's completely satisfying.  I've been working out - walking and attempted jogging.  Light weight lifting, crunches, squats and lunges - trying to both strengthen and push my body.

I've had several compliments on my appearance.  Some of that feels good, and some of it doesn't.  i try to filter things and let them roll off of me as any mention of my size in the past whether positive or negative has been triggering for me.  I've heard things like, "Wow, I know you went through a hellish ordeal this year, but man, you look fantastic!"  And I just say thank you.  Because yes, I did go through a hellish ordeal and I do look a bit fantastic.  But, how I look isn't even the point.  It's how I feel.  It's how much healthier I am now.  It's about my changed perspective and how I'm finally caring for my body with better nutrition and exercise.

Yes, I look better.  But I feel better.  I eat better.  I move better.  I am better.


FACES IN A CROWD.

We sat in a new church on Sunday morning.  There were chairs instead of pews and they had fun flashy lights when the music played and there were silly videos for announcements.  Our boys had a great time in their classes and Tommy is already asking to attend their VBS program next month.  My skeptical eye looked over their statement of faith for any potential doctrine issues that we don't agree with.  Other than one set of familiar faces, we were surrounded by strangers.  We were greeted as visitors and met with kindness.

But I sat there feeling sad.  Wondering if this place would be or ever could be home for us.  Recently, we made the decision to leave our church body that has been home to us for nearly seven years.  Things happened as they always do, and we have chosen to keep our reasons private.

Nevertheless, we are finding ourselves in this new space of starting over again.  We keep in touch with some of the friends that moved on and left the church before we us, and some of those friendships are long and lasting.  But they have and will continue to shift and change as life does with relationships and communities.  It took us over three years at our church before we really made friends.  At our peak there, we did life with several families and it was glorious.  We felt like we were wanted, like we belonged and had a purpose.

Now, we are new again.  We feel a little lost and quite alone, hoping to meet some new friends and families to do life with again.

But for now though, we are mere faces in a crowd.


PHONE CALLS AND HOSPITAL STAYS.

"You're calling me?" Sarah said answering her phone.

"I think we should probably know by now, that if we are calling each other instead of texting, something is probably wrong or we have bad news." I said choking back tears.  Remembering my call to her last December when I was sick and new something was terribly wrong.

"Uhoh.  What's up?" she asked.

It's funny how accustomed we are in this day in age to text.  For me, it's weird for anyone to call me unless it's my Grammy or my 74 year old boss who doesn't believe in text messages. And especially with Sarah and all of the life we have known together in the last several years, phone calls usually mean big or serious news:  Engagement.  Pregnancy.  Cancer.  Death.

We had some scary news on Father's Day.  Todd's dad went to the ER having difficulty breathing. As it turned out, he had some large blood clots in his lungs and for two days straight, we really didn't know if he would even live.  We were all nervous and scared and preparing ourselves for the worst.  He is planning to retire this year, they are building a new house, and his daughter (my sister-in-law and one of my best friends) is getting married.  It's a big year for him, for our family, and we don't want to imagie any of that without him.

Thankfully, it looks like he is on the mend and blood thinners and doctors did what they do best and were able to heal the scary things that were threatening his life.  The doctors are calling him a walking miracle because a clot of that size that passed through his heart into his lungs should have been fatal.

Sarah came to sit with my boys the evening I called her so I could go up to the hospital and take dinner to my family who hadn't eaten all day.  I sat with my mother-in-law and told her some silly stories about the boys while she ate her dinner so she could have a break from her tears and worries.  Todd took the week off of work and has been up at the hospital as soon as I have gotten home from my job.  It's only Wednesday but it feels like the longest week ever.

I found myself out loud in prayer this week, pleading with God. Asking Him for another miracle, another blessing, another place for Him to please come through and make things go our way.  I don't always pray out loud - I mostly journal and talk to Him through my writing things down.  But, just like Sarah answered her phone and she knew I was calling because I probably had bad news, God was right there to pick up and listen.

THE GIVING TREE.

It is my favorite childhood book.  I can remember sitting on my Grammy's lap listening to her read with her warm, soothing voice.  I would reach up and touch her cheeks and call her skin "fluffy."  Something about the story and those quiet moments with her put me at calm and rest.  Those sweet moments of story telling are some of my favorite memories of her.

Last week, she came over with the book as a gift for me, knowing the treasured memories we had together.  And I asked her to read it to my boys because I wanted them to have the same memory of her - her fluffy skin, her easy voice, the kind of calm that settles over you when you hear the tale of The Giving Tree.

And for a moment I was five again.

I've had her apples and swung from her branches, and she's given me so much to build a life and home of my own.  Grammy was and is and always will be, The Giving Tree.

Just a few things

Memorial Day usually marks the first real official day of summer and it's usually scorching hot and pushing 100 degrees by the end of May.  Today however, was cool and stormy.  Waves of rain and thunder came in all day long while I stayed home and washed tiny boy shorts and towels and underwear. 

While Jacob napped I managed to clean our bathroom and bring some order into our chaotic closet, where my plethora of blouses and scarves has come to be somewhat convicting because do I really "need" all of those clothes?

Over the weekend, I found out that my blog-friend Faith was in San Antonio for the weekend.  And thanks to the wonders of Instagram and the internets we got to meet up.  And to her delight, she didn't end up "in a ditch" like her husband feared she would.  We had a wonderful blate (blog-date) together and it felt like meeting up for dinner and a movie on a Sunday night was something we always did together.  I took her to my favorite Mexican restaurant for queso and margaritas, we did a bit of shopping and caught a chick-flick together.  Even though Sunday was the first time we had met in person, it was like we could pick up in the middle of a conversation we were already having thanks to the blogosphere.  She was just as fabulous and beautiful in person as she is on her blog and I was so excited that life and circumstance allowed our paths to cross for a brief Sunday evening.

I'm a bit hesitant to post this for fear that I'm flat wrong - but I think we may be turning a corner in the clinging-to-my-legs-in-the-kitchen phase with Jacob.  I was hoping that when he started walking and gained some more independence he might find something else to do rather than latch on to me while I attempted to cook dinner, and it seems as though my hopes and dreams in waiting for this to happen are coming to fruition.  Bits and pieces of motherhood and cooking dinner or just doing something else rather than being parked on the living room floor entertaining him is starting to feel easier and I'm grateful for the relief and the shift.  Though he has discovered shrieking and screaming when he even feels the most tad unpleasant about anything, so I've really just traded the clingy-ness for noise.  But you know what?  I'll take it. 

At the moment, I'm feeling like something new is brewing inside of my heart.  I don't know what exactly, but something is churning and mixing up inside of me and I feel like I'm on the verge of something big.  Maybe that sounds weird or vague or just plain stupid, but I can feel it in my bones.  God has been doing something in me for months.  Not that He hasn't been my whole life, but the last few months have felt big for my faith and my walk and my relationship with Jesus and there will definitely be more to come on this soon.....

Even though today was cool and stormy and the gray skies said spring, I know that summer is here already.  Graduations, weddings, new ministry opportunities, swim parties and barbecues, a Bible study, a Star Wars birthday party to plan, our summer beach vacation - so many things on the calendar to do and to be at and to look forward to.

I can't believe we're in the last of May already.  Time flies faster every year I think.  And I don't know about you, but I don't want to waste a minute of it.

Insta-February

February is almost gone?  It's nearly Jacob's birthday and I have monster decorations that still need making.  The big 33 is coming up for me in a few weeks.  Spring is basically here and time is flying by as it has a tendency of doing.

Winter is starting to disappear in my neck of the woods.  Glory. 

This means I get to wear my fun clothes and sandals and we can have the windows and not feel like we're going to die when we step outside anymore.  One day this week, we even needed the AC.  The warm-up also means it's time to play in the water again.  Tommy's favorite.

Valentine's Day rocked this year.  Mostly, because I was spoiled.  Rotten.  Initially when Todd didn't walk in the door with flowers that evening, my heart sank a little bit with disappointment.  But he said he had other things in mind and I should maybe trust him.  He had made reservations at our favorite Italian restaurant so we got to walk right in and sit down. And after dinner, he took me shopping.  A charm for my bracelet, shoes, and a couple of new tops.  Also, who needs flowers, when you can have SHOES? 

PS - My feet are now ready for spring, says my coral flats and fabulous Gianni Bini sandals that will go with everything.

I asked Tommy to get all of his toys off the floor the other night.  And well.....he did.

I know our kids won't be young forever and there may actually come a day that I wish for a sight of toy trucks lining the top of my sofa.

The horrifying, terrifying, disgusting stomach bug of 2014 found Todd and I a couple of nights ago.  Wednesday evening we both got sick almost at the exact same time - literally out of nowhere.  I have not been that violently ill in years, and neither has Todd who called in sick to work.  In all of the years I have known him, that was the first time he has EVER called in sick.  Thankfully, Todd's mom came to get the boys so we could try to keep germs and such contained so that they wouldn't catch it.  Also, why is it that plain toast only ever tastes good when you are recovering from something like that?

He hasn't caught the tummy bug, but my poor baby is teething so bad and is so incredibly miserable.  And sometimes he falls asleep in my arms and I can't bear to lay him down.  He will be a year old in six days.  Oh my heart.

 Enjoy the rest of your February folks.  Hope it's as warm as mine and stomach-bug free!

Here's to winter's end

It's February now, which means I survived January.  I've come to realize that I hate winter and all of it's gray deadness, so the countdown for March and the hopeful end to the wave of bitter cold fronts has begun.  Though we may not be snowed under like the rest of the country down here, it's still too cold for my liking.  I mean, I barely own any socks.  Also, I absolutely love me some south Texas sunshine and I have realized that I feel most like me when it is not winter.

We watched The Superbowl tonight.  And I had to laugh at the irony of it all.  I have never in my life sat down to purposefully watch it, and the one year I do, the commercials are lame and the winners win by a landslide.  Though the highlight of the night was a dart gun war with my friend Megan and the dance party in my living room hosted by Bruno Mars.  

My husband gave me some beautiful words on Friday night.  Overwhelmingly glorious words about who I was and how he saw me.  And maybe when you're husband tells you something, with tears streaming down his face, you believe him.  I've been wondering all weekend what it would mean if I really believed that what he said was true about me.

It's been a year ago that Todd left for North Dakota.  It's been a year since we embarked on that whole adventure, which we thought was a job that would result in our moving away.  Yet, here we are, back in the same old routine of life, yet it's all been different too.  The whole experience changed me, hurt me, and grew me.  But it was painful, and the aftermath has been painful.  In some ways, last year's risks and decisions feels like they were but a breath ago, and in others, it feels like a lifetime ago too.

My baby boy turns one at the end of the month.  I keep telling people it's been the longest year that ever flew by.  What a challenge it's been.  I still don't feel like I have this two kids thing down yet AT ALL.  And at the same time, Jacob has brought so much joy into our home that it makes the challenge worth it.

Naturally, I'm planning a party and the "theme" I selected fits him well.  Wait and see.

Cleaning my home this weekend, I found more chili crusted to my dining room chair.  It really is the gift that keeps on giving.

Another cold front blew in today.  Another comes in later this week with more talks of icy rain mixed with snow and sleet.  Which translates to the city shutting down and having to use my heater.  Have I mentioned that I'm not a fan of winter?

It's late and I'm tired.  Yet I've wanted to fill up some kind of space in my little cranny in the blogworld.  Looking back, I wrote all of three times in January.  I've decided winter sucks the life out of me.  And the creativity and writing and my general sparkle.

Here's to winter's end.  Here's to hoping I find more words in February.  And here's to finding more of me.

Vacation Monday

So far today....

I woke up to Tommy dancing to music videos on TV.  (Someone has learned how to turn the TV on and channel surf *sigh*).

Shared a waffle breakfast with my little guy.

I completed my giant Thanksgiving grocery trip and I think I actually remembered everything.

I ate Mexican food.

Then I took a nap. 

Woke up to my frozen dough that I bought for Thanksgiving rolls, melting and rising in their bags on top of my stove because someone forgot to put them in the freezer.

I've organized my pantry.

Worked some more on my Christmas cards.

Caught Tommy raiding the chocolate chip cookies.

And I've been instructed by my boss to quit working....yes, I took some work home because I'm crazy or something.  So it's officially put away.

And I found something incredible at the store.  Something that almost makes life complete.

That's right.  Pumpkin spice pudding.

It's really been a perfect Monday as far as Mondays go.

If you'll excuse me, I've got some pudding to make.

The week

Monday and Tuesday:  I'm on this tomato basil soup and grilled cheese sandwich kick.  Even not being that cold outside, I still want to eat it every night for dinner.

Monday night:  Through the "Cough of Doom - 2012" I sang with my dad and my sister a long set of worship music at a small event for my former youth pastor.  It's been a very long time since I've sung with either of them - especially my sister.  But God....He heals and restores and makes all things new - even broken relationships.  Hearing our voices blend and harmonize naturally together (being sisters and all) was one of the sweetest sounds I've heard in a long time.  It reminded me that redemption comes in many forms and how amazing to be able to hear such a thing.  

Tuesday:  The nursery is officially under construction.  We picked out a shade of gray for the walls and so far, I'm loving how it's looking.  I can't wait until the furniture gets painted too and things start looking like a baby's room.  Oh, the nesting part of this baby prepping stuff is so much fun!  Although, Todd might feel a bit differently about this process as he is the painter of my nursery vision.

Tuesday afternoon:  My boss placed an order for three fall wreaths this week - my first official order ever. Though I have two more to finish before tomorrow and I have a feeling I'll be up late tonight getting them done.

Tuesday late afternoon:  I was so sleepy that I somehow fell asleep on the toilet at work for almost fifteen minutes.  Just wow.

Tuesday night:  I didn't watch the election results.  I went to bed at 9:30 as soon as I finished yarn wreath number one.  Seeing as I fell asleep on the toilet earlier in the day, an early bedtime was necessary.

Wednesday morning:  Had to keep from smashing Facebook.  Seriously - all the negativity about the election drove me bonkers.

Wednesday evening:  Dinner drama.  We've been attempting to get Tommy to eat what we're eating at dinner time and any time he doesn't like it, there is usually massive meltdowns and explosions and all of it is so very tiring. 


Wednesday night:  Youth Group  - I love youth group.  I love my teen girls.  I love having conversations with them.  I love being there.  Even feeling tired and sleepy and having a full plate, it never feels tiring and or too full when I'm there.

Thursday morning:  I read this.  "Healing in one area of your life and not in another doesn't mean that there is failure.  It means God is at work."  I love that and I SO needed it.

Thursday later morning:  My co-worker brought me Starbucks.  Not that I need the caffeine, but oh, it's so wonderful. And my bouncing off the walls baby boy agrees with me!

Later today Thursday:  Going to Hobby Lobby to purchase one more wreath for my first order.  Make the wreaths.  And perhaps make something other than tomato basil soup for dinner.

Weekend forecast:  Friday date night!  Which includes seeing Skyfall on opening night (because I'm a James Bond-aholic-fanatic) and driving to the Houston area to meet up with a long time friend on Saturday.  I might be equally excited about both events.

Now - to finish my coffee and buzz through my work!  Happy Thursday!

t.g.i.f

I'm particularly excited for this weekend.  Because it's October and it feels fallish.  I'm even wearing a scarf and I'm not sweating. 

I plan on finishing yet another fall yarn wreath.  I can't stop making them ya'll. And yes, at some point, I plan on making them to sell - but probably more on a local level rather than online.  I checked out Etsy and it seems as though everyone has a yarn wreath shop there.  Though I can't say I blame them - they're so much fun to make!

I'll be finishing up my very silly, dumbish Halloween costume for the contest we're having at work.  I totally stole the idea from Pinterest, but what is Pinterest good for if you're not stealing ideas from it?

We are taking our annual family trip to the pumpkin patch on Saturday.  Tommy especially loves going.  And I especially love hearing him say "ponkin."

I'll probably do some more cleaning and nesting.  And laundry - my favorite!

We're hosting our third annual pumpkin carving party on Sunday and I'm pretty sure we'll have a packed house this year.  I can't wait to see the creations that everyone comes up with this time around.

My awesome jack o lantern and matching facial expression, circa 2011.

And it will be the last weekend of not knowing WHO we are having in March.  Because next weekend I'll SO be working on the nursery!  I am so antsy and SO itching to get started on crafty nursery projects.

(Is it obvious that I have had caffeine this morning in addition to having the I-feel-awesome second trimester mojo?)

I'm not a big "here's my pregnant belly every week blogger."  But I did wake up yesterday and it seemed apparent that I was quite with child.  This is the part where you can tell me how radiant and glowy I look.

I hope your weekend is full of pumpkins and all things October.  Happy Friday!

Photo Ops

I can never resist a fun photo op.  

Especially when Hobby Lobby is full of things to play dress up with.

I mean, an over-sized hat and a huge, velvet bow?!

How could I resist?

Mish-Mash

Days like today where the heat comes down hard, I find myself wondering what it might be like to live somewhere that's cooler.  Where winter is what lasts long instead of summer.  Every August I'm ready for a cool down.  And every August I'm reminded that I have to wait until at least October before any real relief.

Clearly, I've still been daydreaming about fall decor and pumpkin pie and scarves. 

Butterscotch pudding.  It's what this baby wants when I have a sweet tooth.  Thankfully it's not terrible for me.

Last night I attended a women's ministry "brainstorming" meeting.  They wanted to pick the young married and young mom's brains about what our needs and wants our when it comes to focusing on ministering to the women of the church.  The theme of the night echoed again and again by the women present, was deep, intimate connection.  A longing to simply "do life" with a few other people.  All of it made my heart sing and reminded me that God has me exactly where He wants me.

I got a raise this week at work.  Very, very exciting.  And a huge blessing for us.

The weekend for me includes: Wreath-making, maternity clothes shopping, my step-mom's Mary Kay debut party, fajitas with my family, my cousin's bridal shower, and maybe-hopefully a trip to the movies to see the new Bourne flick. 

Don't ask me about next weekend though.  All I have to say about that, is  pregnancy is incredibly wonderful and amazing.  But it's SO not glamorous.

If you'll excuse me, I'm off to enjoy my Friday. 

Cheers!

Thursday List

When the day starts with surprise gifts and Starbucks from your boss, you know it's going to be a very good Thursday.

And I needed a pick-me up after yesterday's gloomy doldrums.  I felt better after I ate some mexican food and talked to a friend about all that I was feeling anxious over at dinner last night.  After I vocalize everything that I'm spinning over, I'm usually able to calm down. 

Though I must admit - chips and salsa totally help too.

Yesterday was our last day of rain and summer storms for a while - supposedly.  It's been so weird to have a rainy, cloudy July and honestly, I'm ready for our south Texas summer sun and blazing heat that I'm used to.  Is it weird that I miss it? 

Get back with me in a week though when we're in the 100-and-somethings again.

I told Todd last night that I only have a little over a month until it's time to decorate my house for fall.  I decorate mid-September because I'm a little crazy and hope that decorating for the season will usher it in much more quickly.  It has yet to work, but either way - decorating season is almost here and I'm a bit giddy about it.

I'm SO ready for the weekend. 

Date night-in tomorrow, Tommy's birthday party on Saturday, having some friends over for dinner and shenanigans, church, a Sunday nap, and a birthday party to attend - to name a few things.

Fun summer times.

Tiara-wearing-dream-squasher

- Nothing quite brings my lazy out like a good rainstorm.  It's day three of rumbling skies and waves of rain in South Texas.  This weather is pretty abnormal for July in my neck of the woods.  But I'll take it!

- I only wish I was home in my very favorite and forgiving stretchy lounge pants, watching something Jane Austenish and eating chocolate - it's my favorite rainy day ritual.  But instead, I'm at work and running errands and out driving in it and also having a helluva bad hair day because the humidity just makes it go flat and boring.

- Also, my little boy is home sick with some kind of tummy trouble and I wish I were there to snuggle him and watch cartoons and just being the mama-bear.  Those are the moments when it's hard to work.  *sigh*

- Todd told me last night that I was a dream-squasher.  Ouch.

- But it's true.  I've never been good at dreaming.  I'm much better at stomping all over everything and slandering it with my words and shutting down the dreamers around me - especially my husband.  It comes from that place where I just think nothing good will ever happen or work out the way that I want it to, so I crap all over it and make myself miserable.

- I wonder what it would be like if I stopped this and let myself dream with him.  Because Todd is very, very good at dreaming.  Maybe I have some things to learn from him there.

- I'm the new unofficial party-planner of the office.  (For the record though, I'm nothing like Angela).   Along with cake and a party-tray of chicken nuggets from Chickfila, I got some cheap tiaras and everyone got in the spirit for our co-worker's birthday - even the guys.  It was epic.

- Tommy is going to be three next Saturday.  THREE.  How is the possible?  Didn't I just have him?  I'm throwing a monster-truck party for him - though I'm keeping it simple this year and not getting carried away.  Well, that's the plan anyway.

- It's officially three hours and counting until I can head home and listen to the rain in the comfort of my stretchy pants.  Happy Wednesday ya'll.

Things that make me smile

Rain.  Thunder.  Wet streets and driving through puddles.  

The possibility of Todd starting a wonderful, new job in a matter of weeks.  

Friends who know how to share in laughter and tears with you because they love your heart.

My soon-to-be cousin-in-law, Grayson.

Our church.  How it feels like home.

Dreaming with my husband about the what-ifs and the maybes and the could-be's. 

Tommy's silly sayings.

This song.

Sharing my favorite grace story with friends.

That God can do exceedingly above what we think and imagine - and really knowing that to be true and real.

Love notes on the refrigerator....

Butterflies.  The kind you feel in your stomach.

Instagramness

I just got Instagram - literally days ago.  I'm a little behind, I know. 

The beauty of the instagramness that I'm now in love with, is that it has the possibility to capture these little life moments.  These small things that maybe don't look like much, but they can tell a story if you remember why you captured them.

Like how I lost the post-it battle with Tommy.  Because if I were three and there were a stack of colored papers that stuck to other things, I would probably want to do go a little crazy and put them EVERYWHERE too.  And besides, there will come a day when I will miss three-year old post-it messes on my bedroom floor.

So it could just be a picture of post-its.  Or could be a picture that reminds me where motherhood is both wonderful and messy.

Monday night is usually book club night.  I've been hosting six women in my home to read through a book called Listening to Love by Jan Meyers and talk about it together.  However, last night was an exception.  One of my friends was in dire need of some non-focused girl time where we had nothing better to do than talk silliness and indulge in adult beverages and chocolate deliciousness.

This dessert is quite seriously an experience.  It actually gives me goosebumps.

So it could just be a picture of the most lustful chocolate dessert ever.  Or it could be a reminder of a rich, sweet time with women who are quickly becoming very special and dear friends.  They care well for my heart.

All that to say, I'm all about the Instagram.  Capturing the small, the random, the not-so-insignificant.  The things that remind me of beauty and life and every day blessings that I don't want to ever take for granted.

Monday Musings

Thoughts rumbling around on a Monday morning....

Anne Lamott is a genius.  

It's okay to be human.  

It's not okay to use that an excuse for being on-purpose stupid.

Marriage is both wonderful and lonely.  

And I simply don't understand how this can be.

I'd love to make a living being a personal shopper.

I'm pretty serious.  I have a gift.

Fifty Shades of interesting....

Two nights in a row of restless sleep = cranky.

Brown eyes and smiles.

Blog-friend conversations.

It's effing HOT.  Ninety-five at NIGHT is just unacceptable.

Instagram - I'm new.  And slightly obsessed.

Ranting and Raving

Warning:  This is a complete rant.  But it's Monday and I've decided that rants are totally allowed.

So there was this one time that we were trying to save money.  We cut up our credit cards and put more thought into what we bought and what we didn't.  And for me the sacrifices look like buying less clothes, making more meals at home and taking less frequent trips to the salon.

It was about that time though.  My hair was full of fried-damaged crap and it needed to come off.  I realized this when my hair started looking like the "before" pictures from the dry or damaged hair commercials.  Which by the way, no shampoo to my knowledge has ever cured this ailment. 


It was time for a haircut.  So instead of going to my usual place, I decided to go the cheap route and get a cut at what I will refer to us Unfantastic Samuel's.  (Interpret my code name as you will).  I heard they were cheap and what I was getting done was going to be simple.

I waited for almost 45 minutes because apparently everyone gets their hair cut on a Friday afternoon.  I almost wish I would have left and kept my hair and my money.

What I thought was a $10.99 cut was really a $17.99 cut because I was an adult and not a child.  And because I wanted it shampooed (because ew, my hair needed it and how do you go get your hair done and NOT have it washed?) and blow-dryed, it came out to their "special" of $26.99. 


At this point, it was still cheaper than my other place so I decided to be okay with this seeing as I was still going to be saving money.

BUT.

To have it blow-dryed with the round brush was an extra $5.00.  And because my hair was a certain length and cut so short, it was an additional $5.00 for that as well.  That brought it to $36.99.  And add a 20-ish percentage tip, it was $43.00 bucks.  FORTY-THREE dollars.

During my hair wash the woman kept getting water on my face and splashed all over my clothes.  It made me wonder if she had ever done this before.  And when she went to dry my hair with the sacred and holy round brush experience, she took over 20 minutes (and I'm not exaggerating!) to do it.  I was ready to grab the brush and the dryer and do it myself.

I only ended up saving $7.  I spend $50 at my other place when I go there, getting the exact same services.  Although I would never have to wait that long, nor would it have taken the stylist a billion years to dry a short bob.  All I have to say is that there was absolutely nothing fantastic about my experience, I will never go back, and I left wishing I would have paid the extra $7 at my usual place.

Perhaps I am just a salon snob.  If so, I am totally okay with this.  Sometimes, in extreme situations where my hair is involved, it's necessary to be a snob.

To add insult to injury, I kind of hate it.  It's much shorter than I wanted and I thought it made my face look like a big round ball.  So not only was my entire salon experience a complete joke, but my hair didn't even look good.  *sigh*  (I warned you I was ranting).

But of course there is a silver lining.  Because don't you know that when you're having a bad hair day, all you need to do is post a picture to Facebook and 20 of your not-so-closest friends will comment on how awesome you look and boost your ego?

At least my hair got some rave reviews.

When writing is hard

Writing has been hard this week. 

Some days and some circumstances seem to suck the creative parts out of me that really enjoy writing, cataloging pieces of my life, and putting words to things that take up space in my heart. 

It's been one of those creative-sucking weeks this week.

Also, my blog-traffic is down.  I thought I didn't care, but apparently, I very much do.  I suppose for someone who has these budding dreams of being a real writery-writer at some point, having decreasing blog-traffic makes me feel like some kind of failure or as if I've been rejected.  I've never handled either of those words well and I've been curious about how being rejected or feeling like a failure has shown up in my story.   And how it will continue to if I am brave enough to pursue this dream.


That being said, I've been somewhat distracted this week too.

Todd and I are celebrating our anniversary this weekend and I'm not sure if I've ever looked more forward to an anniversary before.  It six years and it's not really a special number or a big anniversary by any means.  But, we are REALLY celebrating this year.  Not only do we have some pretty epic plans, but there is so much for us to really celebrate.  All that we've been through and come through together - it's worthy of some major partying. 

So because my writer is stuck somewhere and I'm slightly distracted by all the fun I'll be having with my husband starting tomorrow, I'm taking a short little break. 

Though there is a sweet little story scheduled to post on Sunday, and you might not want to miss it.

Happy Thursday.

Jury Duty

I have jury duty today.  

I am mostly not excited about this because I have a job and I quite seriously can't afford to be off of work for more than a day.  However, that's not a reason to be exempt from such a thing.  

And maybe it's an honor and it's my civic duty and blah, blah, blah.  But I just have a horrible attitude about it entirely.

 So, when it's Monday morning and you're in a cold jury room praying they don't call your number, you need something to make you smile.

That being said, my weekend rocked:

There was date night with my husband where we ate some fabulous Italian food.

The Avengers.  

Also known as THE BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME!

I most definitely don't regret going on opening night, paying an extra $2.50 convenience fee for advance tickets, or getting to the theater an hour and fifteen minutes early to guarantee a great seat.  Totally and completely worth it.

There was even time to read, play on Pinterest, do laundry and clean my bathroom.  Time for me and a little time to be productive too.

A Skype baby shower for my friend in Alaska and conversation with the sweetest of friends that I don't often get to see.

My giggly boy in his new plastic pool sporting his very own sunglasses.  (And I managed to NOT get a picture of this?!).  And yes, it's already hot enough to swim here.

Hello 97 degrees in May!

Todd's steak fresh off the grill.  Perfection.

My somewhat successful fake, at-home spray tan. Because my legs were pasty white and needed something.

And I say somewhat because my feet got a little over-sprayed and well...at least now I know how not to spray them now.

An unexpected and much welcome thunderstorm.

We had a lovely time of worship at church and conversation with new friends.

A hug from Anna, newly returned from D.C.

Long overdue phone date with B.   

So, I hope your weekend was full of hugs and fake spray tans and plastic pools and yummy steaks and stuff.  Because all of it really was quite grand.

And now it's not just a Monday.  But jury duty Monday.

Wonderpod

You'll have to excuse me.  Because I spent the entire day at an HR seminar listening to this lady with amazingly awesome hair talk about things like FMLA and reasonable accommodation and exempt versus non-exempt employees.  It was thrilling.

Actually, it wasn't all that bad.  However, my brain is mushy and I'm sitting here spending this Wednesday night syncing old CD's to my...

iPOD!!!!

So, I didn't even have one until a few weeks ago.  True story.  My awesome friend Mal saw on a previous blog entry that I didn't have an iPod, and this fact somewhat horrified her.  So much so, that she decided to gift me with her old one, and when she did, I almost cried.  Because I've wanted one forever and I've been surviving on Pandora for the past three years.

I feel that it's also important to note that upon gifting me with my little hot-pink gateway to better musicness, Mal named my iPod "Jenn's Wonderpod."  Because she is awesome and she so gets me.

Going through some of the CD's I've collected over the past years made me ask questions, like, "I spent 13.99 on this?  WTF?"   But it also made me remember some of the music I've horribly neglected. 

Like No Doubt.  For real, Tragic Kingdom was like the best No Doubt ever.  Don't Speak is my favorite.  And I can sing just like Gwen Stefani when I try really hard and strain my voice to the point of almost breaking my vocal chords.  I'm pretty awesome at that actually.

 

Oh and remember when Ryan Cabrera was like, all the rage?  Oh wait, was that just me that liked him and his incredibly bleach-blonde spiked hair?

And Creed!  How could I forget Creed?!  Their music takes me back to the semester at college where I wore a lot of black and spiked-studded belts and had spikey-ish hair.  I believe that's when I was in the middle of trying to figure out who I wasn't.  But Creed - their tunes were most definitely who I was.  

But, what's with their funky CD covers?  They're pretty bad maybe.

Oh and if you don't know me very well yet, than you might not know about my crazy obsession with Christmas music.  I start listening to it in October every year.  But, I love it and I buy almost every album that ever comes out.  Including this one.  

Don't judge me.  That girl can seriously sing Silent Night like nobody's business.

And then I found this and I was all, "Who the heck is Good Charlotte?  And why can't I remember any of their songs?"  Sorry Charlotte dudes.  Apparently, you are not memorable.

And with that, me and my little Wonderpod are off to the gym.  Because working out with music is way more fun.

To my epic friend Mal....this post is entirely dedicated to you my friend.  Without you, this semi-exciting post could have never been written.

Rambling

1) I think grown-ups should get spring break too. Seriously, it's no fair and I might have to write a congressman or something. Mandatory one-week vacation in March for everyone!

2) I've recently started planking. Not to be confused by the weird stuff you've seen on youtube where people lay straight as a board on random objects. But like exercise planking. Seriously, it's hardcore. And I had no idea I even had muscles in my stomach until I few days ago. Like it hurts to laugh and everything.

2a) However, I can hold myself up for almost an entire minute. Not too shabby for a planking beginner.

3) It's weird when your Grandparents call your cell phone and your ring tone is, "Everyday I'm shufflin." But I'm not talking about me or anything.

4) I stayed in bed until 11am on Saturday. Yes I did.

5) Tommy read me "Goodnight Moon" last night. He has it memorized! Think we've read that a few times together?

6) I'm going to buy a bridesmaid dress this week. My cousin Aimee is getting married on September 1st and I don't think it has quite sunk in yet.

7) It's already shorts and sleeveless shirt weather here and I'm in dire need of some kind of spray tanner because the current state of my skin is so white that it might be blinding. Can anyone recommend a good one?

8) Seriously, how is it almost Easter? Where does time go? Wasn't it just Christmas like five seconds ago?

8a) Oh and I got an Easter dress this year. I haven't bought an actual dress for Easter since I was like 15. And it's pretty!

9) Confession: I have about seven almost empty water bottles in my car that I haven't put in the recycling bin yet. They've been accumulated from several trips to the gym. I leave them in the car and they just stay there and multiply. So even though it appears that I might be lazy, I'm so not. Because hello, I was working out.

10) It's Monday. And it so feels like it.

Misc.

I have many a love affair with shoes, yet I prefer to be barefoot most of the time.

I got a new keyboard for our computer at home because I didn't like the way the other one sounded when I typed.

I considered participating in the Lenten season just because everyone else was doing it.

I don't know what to do with the feeling I feel when the words I have spoken to someone else has had impact. It feels good and then it feels bad that it feels good.

I sometimes go through the McDonald's drive-thru by my office for an Egg McMuffin just to hear the man at the window tell me,"You look lovely today."

I am totally wearing things from my spring wardrobe already because we have had no winter and it is officially too warm to be sporting a scarf or any kind of closed-in shoe. Also, I am using the term spring wardrobe very lightly.

I believe that most hot fudge sundaes are not proportionate. At the very least they should be equal parts of hot fudge to ice-cream.

I realized I had a "Smart Phone" almost two months after I got it. I thought it had to be an i-something-or-other to be considered smart.

I have had a nearly life-long crush on Bruce Willis.

I am impeccably organized at work. Rarely so at home.

I am a bookkeeper and handle company finances on a daily basis - yet Todd is the one to file our taxes every year. I won't touch them.

I love writing with red pens and mechanical pencils the most. And I hate anything "fine point."

I would like to thank my Superfantastic friend Lori for inspiring this list of semi-revealing things about myself.

Also...it sometimes drives me crazy to let my blog go for a day during the week and write absolutely nothing. And this is why I sometimes write nonsense and randomness. Because I can appreciate a good measure of nonsense now and again.

You're welcome.