doo-be-doo-be-doo-be-bop-be-loo

& in other unrelated news....
I watched a certain show (that sounds like okra) that had Diana Ross on Friday.

Needless to say, I had "I'm coming out!.....I'm Com..eh..en....OUT!" stuck in my head for hours :)



Oh, and another stirring song as of Wednesday......... (from my Ella Fitzgerald tribute cd):


Whew-ee! That girl can sang!

Little known fact: I took a jazz class last summer for school to meet my music/literature requirement (hello- I was NOT going to read novels/do any more major papers! hence, the music class). While taking it, I got really into Big Band (even more so- darn right! my parents raised me on Lawrence Welk), r&b, jazz, & modern versions of each genre of jazz!

New Francesca!

I heard this song on the radio a few months ago & decided that I liked it.

I liked it because it used simple ideas, trendy ukulele, and it was a new song from a singer-songwriter I like a lot...Francesca Battistelli!

I heard it again on Wednesday and it spoke to me on a different level.
I've been feeling really broken the past month or so and it seemed to speak to that feeling in my heart.
God had me listen to Air1 just for the chorus- I'm sure of it :)



I lost my keys in the great unknown
And call me please 'Cuz I can't find my phone

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

45 in a 35
Sirens and fines while I'm running behind
Whoa

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

So break me of impatience
Conquer my frustrations
I've got a new appreciation
It's not the end of the world
Oh Oh Oh

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff
Someone save me
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
And I've gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

Oh Oh Oh Oh
This is the stuff You use

the end of the trio

For context, read these posts about blogging and commenting first.

After all the madness that actually commenting on my favorite/newfound blogs brought, I decided to actually enter some giveaways.

Because, well.....Why wouldn't  random.org pick me?!

And you know what??

It did!

And my name + comment(s) were mentioned in a post on the blogs! eep!
see here  and   here

I was very thankful of the bloggers see sparkle power! and our humble abowed.
And also of the gifters. Here and here.

And since they weren't things I specifically requested to have -but were instead purely fun things to win, I immediately thought of gifting my new giveaway prizes to friends & family.

The little hat is going to this friend, the booties will be saved for a future baby shower, and the magnets are going to reside on my yellow-loving sis & I's fridge.


And
Here's a follow up on my commenting shpiel:
Here's an awesome post about the true nature of blogging and what it should be fostering in women : Don't let insecurities be your drive for writing/reading blogs. Instead, Be encouragers!

Favorite lines from said post:
"...a woman's insecurities only get amplified in the blogging world. we have great imaginations...so we fill in the blanks between people's snapshots and stories they choose to put on the "intranet" that day."

"so ya, in not-so-many words, secret stalkers don't make friends. come out of the bushes and say hi."

please do as she says, and come say hi.

As I said before, it feels awesome to discover a comment.
Either from new or old friends.
Proof from the Girl Scouts: "Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other gold."
and no, I wasn't a GS- just a satisfied cookie customer :)



And that, my dear is the end of this trio of posting.
Beep.

Apparently, I'm a slow learner

Here is the first part of this little trio of posts.
The third part will pop up in a little while.

Also, awhile back, I finally started commenting.

Just here.

And there.

Slowly, I was letting people know that I was actually reading about their lives/passions/talents.

And you know what??

People, like, commented back!   (ugh. I am Not that valley girl in real life. Just a literary device that shows I'm human.)

It was weird.And fun.And cool.And AWESOME!

And not the same weird that I felt when my Dad told me his friend read my blog last year.
That was strange.

Kinda like letting the air out of my balloon.

What?? People (read: Strangers .....you know, the people you DON'T TAKE CANDY FROM)
actually read the stuff I write on this here blogger.com thing?
People other than me choose to read it?
People other than the four people I told about it read it?
Those same People who don't even know me have thoughts on what I say?            okay, enough questions

Big anticlimactic answer: Yes.
People write. People care. People have many of the same motivations I have for writing&reading blogs that I do.
Go figure that they would then respond after I reach out to them.  (even in my teeny, tiny gesture)
I know.
DUH, right? :)                 Yes, I'll admit, I'm a slow learner sometimes.

Another thing I should note:
I feel particularly giddy when I receive comments.
As I told my friend the other day, I feel all yummy inside. Like after I have really awesome ice cream. Or mashed potatoes. (my other true love :)
Ha- this is what I said to my friend: "Man, it's weird being in this place in life! Having friends getting engaged every other weekend, meeting friends-of-friends, and getting involved in blogs & actually getting feedback (read: comments -they're like a big "brown paper packages tied up with string" super yummy feeling) from all the nice girls I read about."


And let's leave this post at that.

How would you describe how you feel after receiving comments?

unquotable movie lines

I have this thing with my sister where we like to quote random lines from movies with each other.

We like to incorporate them into everyday situations.

It's not really intentional, it's just so much of a habit that we now do it all.the.time.

And it kind of drives our family bonkers.

Anyways,
I realized the other day, that there are some lines from movies & tv shows that you just can't quote in everyday situations.

For instance, I woke up last Saturday at my parents house, went out to the family room and thought of a line from Friends. I suddenly felt the urge to say, "Hello. My babiees." Like Phoebe does when she has her sultry sick voice.
But that wouldn't exactly work. Firstly, my parents don't watch that show. Secondly, since they don't like it, the reference wouldn't be taken in the right way. Thirdly, they...uhh...weren't babies. :)

Another unquotable line from P.S. I Love You:
"Let's have a baby! La la la!"

Yep. It just doesn't make sense in ordinary conversations.
But for some reason I love saying it. Try it- it rolls of the tongue nicely.
Just like: "Francisco. Fran...cisco!" does from Elf.
Also, I love saying it to my sister. Uh, we can't exactly have a baby.
So yeah, double unquotable.

Last one:  Baby Mama is super quotable.  But, this one doesn't quite work out of context.
"Uh....so pregnant!"

And neither does this line:
"If I wasn't pregnant I would be mackin on all of this."

Yeah. Taken out of context, they just don't make sense.
Especially because I am definitely not pregnant. nor will I be -for quite a few years.

However, quite a few are definitely quotable in everyday conversation.
Yesterday, while talking with a friend, she told me something I didn't know so I replied: "That is brand new information!" a la Phoebe from Friends.

Also, "Blue-berr-ies!" from Duplex (super annoying movie) works well, followed by a "Oh! I lost me count!"
ugh. that crazy manipulative old lady.

And, "being single is not an alternative lifestyle" from Baby Mama is quite fitting for me and many of my friends right now :)

And who can forget, "B! I don't know your life!" Yes, I censored that. Hate that it has that word because I think of this quote so often :)

And from Maid of Honor, "What in the name of the wee man?"
It works. Plain and simple. Such a great expression ;)

For the longest time, my sister and I would quote things from It Takes Two, a movie we literally memorized around the age of 9. "Big gooey messy burger!"

And then there was the equally popular, "Black tie, white gown, the whole enchilada!" and "Hello pet! You may call me, aunt Vicky." blegh. from the newer Parent Trap.

Or "together, yeah, yeah, yeah!" from the older & more beloved version.

Oh, and who could forget a holiday classic? "If you want, there's sandwiches in ...the..uh.. clubcar."  Name that movie. Go!



What about you?
Any unquotable/quotable lines you love using in everyday conversation?

Last Chance Blogging

*I wanted to write about commenting, blogging, and giveaways a few weeks ago.
Instead, I wrote a quick note and left it sit in my draft folder for a long time.Here's what I've come up with followed by a related post from an awesome chica.
To spare you time, I'll break this up over a few posts.*

Since I recently came upon having a ton of free time, I've taken blogging to the.Next.LEVEL! a la Last Chance Workout style via: Last Chance Blogging.
Here's a weird little tale, beginning with the cycle........

I go through phases when it comes to blogging.

I read a ton,

then write a ton,

and then find tons of new blogs that I stalk uh... visit quite obsessively for awhile.


It's kind of a vicious cycle.
As in, I have no balance.

I either go blog-reading-crazy or blog-writing-crazy.

And then I joined up on bloglovin and this cycle became crazy-slanted towards the reading-other-blogs-obsessively side.
Like when you put a huge load of laundry in the washing machine and it gets super lopsided and makes crashing-whopping-faLUMPing! sounds when it gets off-kilter.

In my efforts to keep up with an insane amount of blogs, and then new blogs on top of my old blogs, while forgetting about oldies-but-goodies, I became a little overwhelmed and stopped enjoying reading for my original pleasures.
I wasn't reading blogs simply because they spoke to me about faith, being a woman, family, creating, or writing.
I was just reading out of pure insanity. Trying to stay on top. (Like I could.)


So, I started to calm things down.

I slowed down.

Frankly, I ran out of time, wasn't enjoying it as much, and felt overwhelmed by all. the. posts!


And since those things happened,
I tried (for reals this time,) to evaluate this frustrating cycle so I could stop the madness!

I realized, that I need to spend my time (if any), only reading things that are honest, uplift, teach, or encourage.

And that, my dear, rules out a lot of things.

For me, blogs can take on those various roles in different ways.

.Sharing a diy tutorial is an uplifting, teaching, and encouraging thing for me.
.Sharing the mundane details/facts of the day is honest and can easily be uplifting.
.Sharing daily outfits (if even of dirty hair or sweats) is an honest and encouraging thing.
.Sharing verses, passages, books, and inspirations is very encouraging, teaching, and uplifting.
.Sharing real. life. stories. is an incredibly honest and encouraging thing.
.Sharing when the hm-hm hits the fan is honest and encourages me to do the same.
.Sharing joys, fears, happiness, sadness, mistakes, success, grief, guilt, remorse, depression, and worries is very honest and also encourages me to do the same.

Doing all of those things basically encourages me to do the same.

Also, I realized that I really only want to post those types of things.
In the end, I want to spend my time now to help remember truly meaningful things in the future.
If I experience something worth remembering two years from now, I'll share it here. If not, it's just a waste of my time here, in the present.

Therefore, I'm going to purge.

I'm going to stop reading things that do not meet my ideas of a good blog & I'll 'unfollow' them if I need to.

No hard feelings.

I just want to take my life back again- in the best way possible :)


But wait, there's more! Check out these for thoughts on commenting and giveaways.

Random tidbits

Here are some pretty unconnected thoughts/experiences I've had in the past week.

I went to the grocery store with my Dad on Saturday night.
We mostly had produce items on our list.
But, every time we would get one.thing. into the cart, he would then race ahead of me. As in, practically out of the entire produce section.
And then he would have to come all.the.way. back with the cart.
Where was he even going?
Sheesh it was frustrating.
Back on topic.
We were shopping in the produce section (albeit a little bit frustrated at this point,) and a song by Owl City started playing.
My dad then turned to me and said, "Isn't this the guy who sings Fireflies?"

I was completely blown away.

How did he even know that song?
He is definitely not up on pop culture, into 'secular' music, or into current trends what.so.ever. (i.e. music a la Owl City)   :)

It was soo strange people.


I kind of went on an rampage of entering blog giveaways but I don't remember half of the ones I entered now.
Which makes it kind of hard to see if I won.
oops :)


At the grocery store on Sunday, I wondered aloud to my sister, "Beef liver. Who actually buys that stuff??"

And a follow up question:
What about gizzards & other obscure body parts from poultry & etc.
Who buys those things??
Why would they?
And what do they actually cook with those things?             So strange.



Also, my laptop keyboard is missing the '/?' key.
It's rather frustrating sometimes.
It was the result of a rather silly mistake & had a tragic ending.

A few years ago I hung up new curtain rods in a rather un-stable way on the window next to my desk (i.e. thumbtacks pushed into soft plaster).
The curtain rod crashed down one day and ended up falling onto my open laptop on the desk.
Sadly, the silly little button bit the dust, and I soon discovered how keys are connected to a keyboard.
A vital piece was cracked in two when the curtain rod crash occurred, and I couldn't find an easy way to repair it.
Hence, my pinky finger hurts every now and then because it jams into a itty-bitty metal piece that should be underneath a key.

Seriously.

Every single time I type a forward slash (/) or question mark (?) my pinky hurts a little.
twice in one sentence = ouch.

Poor, poor pinky.
Is it sad that I started to want a new computer just so I could have a functioning   /ow?ow  key? ow :)


Lastly, my sister made rice krispy treats 'for her students' on Monday.
The reason for the air quotes is because I knew what she was really up to. Who was she kidding?
She just wanted some for herself! :)

I was doing something in the other room so she brought me one when she was finally done.
And it was oh, so tasty.
And high-fructose-corn-syrup-y  oh.so.sweet!

And then when I asked her for some more, she may or may not have said, "I just ate my weight in rice krispy treats so you should probably just go get your own."

Ha! I knew it! I knew she had been in the kitchen a little too long 'making' them.
Geez. That girl makes me smile.

The end.

7 minutes

Thinking.....
about finally working on making a print out of this font.

Downloading.....
Supply & Demand by Amos Lee.

Viewing.....
Down East Basics spring catalog.

Hearing.....
song: Me And Mrs. Jones.
via Michael Buble's Hollywood cd.

Reading.....
book: DV.
very stream of consciousness book about Diana Vreeland. hard to follow

Watching....
movie: All About Steve.
great heart, a few crummy characters, but love for Sandra B & her character won in the end.

show: American Idol. 
ugh. my Mom watches & now I'm hooked. it is soo overly dra.ma.tic.

Drinking.....
H2O    and    apple juice

Eating....
dinner: chicken & vegetable saute via BHG

dessert: rice krispy treats. that my sister forced me to bring home.
it's sheer torture.
or not :)

Cleaning....
vacuuming the whole house.

Writing....
stockpiling a ton of new blog posts!

Seeing....
my neighbor's tiny dog 'guard' his house from the front porch

Humming....
"Ten Minutes Ago" from the Cinderella movie with Brandy.
I hummed every song from the movie, plus some worship songs, & Frank Sinatra to a baby at the hospital last week. Loved it.

And just like that, it's 7 minutes til Thursday!

Change of plans

Last night I totally planned on working on a few bloggy things for this afternoon.

But you know what?

The world is just BE-u-ti-ful outside.   (as Bert from Mary Poppins would say)


And for the life of me, I cannot think of a better time to go ride my bike a few times around the block.
Just like I did when I was a little kid.
Coming back home brings that out in me I guess.


To sum up, I'm going to go ride my bike, bloggy things will happen later, & it's gorgeous outside.
Cheers!


P.S.
My neighbor's dog got out of the backyard and he's been meandering around his front yard for the past hour. He's just so precious.
He will cross the street, smell a few bits of grass, and then skip back home to his yard.
At first I was concerned about him getting out, but he keeps skipping back home like a good little doggy so I think he'll be fine.
I tried calling him to my yard, because I just had to pet him. His name is Charlie and he's a precious little tan and white dog. He is currently keeping a very.stern.watch. on his front yard.
How can I not pet him? A dog named Charlie? How much cuter can you get? :)

Here are some fun blogs I've come across recently:

Fun girl, great talent, awesome love story guest posts!   @ Take Heart
for just the love story posts   go here

Crazy, cool love story!   @ itsahuntlife

Awesome story of marriage, life, and kids   @ From the Natos

Crazy cool fashion tumblr  (with fashion inspirations!  eep!) @  From Me - To You



And in the words of little-girl Rosie Thomas,
"I'm done."

I decided to quit while I was ahead since I misspelled a word four times before finally getting it right.
That post will be for another day.
:)
Bam.
Posted.

Target and.....other....things

so yesterday I went shopping with my mom at Target.

which is an amazing feat in itself lately.
seeing as she's not quite physically shopping anywhere.
seriously folks. this is uhmazing stuff right here!

but onto more important things.


yes, we were going shopping!
at Target!
and we were getting really boring stuff!

oh wait, got a little exclamation point happy.

Our boring list:
-Brita filters
-baby oil
-baby wipes

Don't start thinking we suddenly have a baby at our house.
Because we certainly do not.

It's just that, uh.. ladies, buying baby oil is waay cheaper than regular old adult body oil
&
baby wipes are an awesome, inexpensive (& unscented) makeup remover!
And they're great for all occasions & messes.

~Have shampoo that exploded in your ziploc makeup bag?
Baby wipe to the rescue!
~Spill your breakfast on yourself while you're getting ready in the morning?
Baby wipe again.
~Get a little impatient er, overeager putting your makeup on in the morning?
~See something yucky in the sink but don't want to go to another room to get a real surface cleaning wipe?
Baby wipe & baby wipe!

hehe. I'm officially not a paid sponsor for baby wipes.
Nor have any of those things happened to me...oh, wait :)
Anyways, so we were at Target....
my mom walked out to the car while I found a line to checkout.

And right! before stepping up to the line, I remembered my most! important! reason! for going to the store.....
.....................discounted Valentine's candy!

yes, yes,
I'll admit I was almost more excited about the soon-to-be discounted candy than the actual 'holiday' :)

So as I was saying, I was in line to check out, remembered (and thereby averted tragedy), and whipped my cart around so fast I almost hit the lady behind me. oops. I was excited people :)

I booked my way back to the Valentine's section and soon found......a rather lame selection of candy.
If I wanted tons & tons of various types of M&Ms, conversation hearts, or sweet tarts, I would have been jazzed,
but, since I was not, I was rather bummed.

However, after a quick & thorough search, I still managed
to
take
home...............

5 bags! of chocolate!

Hey! Stop making those judgements.....at least I put back the brownie mix & M&Ms!
I realized I would have a stomach ache if I ate everything by myself.
which I fully intended to do :)

eep!
And no, I didn't realize my constant craving as of late for chocolate is most likely pms.
oops :) it got the better of me again

Have you ever had a pms-driven shopping/eating binge?
Don't worry, we all have :)
Also, don't worry, I won't think badly of you if you admit it, I just admitted to fully intending to eat 5 bags of chocolate.  all. by. myself.

A play of sorts

here are some things you can do to make your valentine feel special on that certain day......

Cast of Characters

buy: red stamp pad, stamp, & doily hearts @ the Dollar Store. cost: $3
........ roll of packing paper @ the Dollar Store. cost: $1
........ wrapping ribbon @ the Dollar Store. cost: $1
........ graph paper notebook @ Target. cost: $1.69
........ roll of red-ish $1-section wrapping paper @ Target. cost: $1
grab: old rope-ish string used long ago on a missions trip. cost: free

.......... page hole protectors (for ruled paper)/white sticker/small label. cost: free
.......... random sheets from linen closet (yes-I'm a lucky duck that my apt. has one!). cost: free
.......... favorite season of Friends/shared fave tv show/movie. cost: free if gifted
.......... blankets & pillows. cost: free if gifted or cheap if borrowed/thrifted
.......... white christmas lights/table lamps/candles. cost: cheap if borrowed/thrifted
.......... miscellaneous chocolate products + anything for dipping in choc.+pb mixture. cost: around $2
make: heart garland (night before). cost: free
........... shortbread cookies (night before). cost: about $3
........... chocolate chip + peanut butter mixture (night before). cost: about $2
..../buy  ingredients for favorite meal. cost: depends on meal! Classy: $$ Casual: $

Act I: (the night before)

Make shortbread cookies. I used a simple recipe & thought they were too plain (not enough sugar & no salt= sad taste buds). Enter: choc.+pb mixture!

Make mixture: pour 1 cup chocolate chips in microwavable bowl. Microwave for 20 seconds. Stir and then microwave in 20 second increments until quite soft. Add 1/4 cup natural pb partway through microwaving & stir (plain, old fashioned peanuts & salt  peanut butter).   Stir until glossy & thoroughly combined. If yours becomes thick & pastey like mine did, just add 1 tsp of milk until smooth. Drizzle mixture over cookies. Refrigerate.

Act II: (the day of)

Gather cast of characters.

Make heart garland night before. Since I don't have a sewing machine, I simply scoured magazines for big sections of red/dark pink & tore the page out. Then, I cut out hearts in 3 different sizes: bitty, medium, & grande. Then I paper clipped them onto wrapping ribbon.

Assemble cards: cut 1 sheet graph paper in 1/2 width ways. Fold the (now) 2 pieces of paper in 1/2 to resemble rectangular shapes (size of playing cards). Stamp fun valentine's-y stamp on front & another fun stamp on inside of card. Write message on card to your valentime.

Download envelope template, save to computer, & stretch to desired size (to fit card inside middle space). Print, cut out, & trace onto red wrapping paper (if making multiple cards, alternate wrapping papers for fun, eclectic style). (*or do what I did & trace template from your computer screen:) Cut out, glue together, place card inside, & seal with hole protector/label/sticker. Decorate outside with cutout heart/flowers/etc. from contrasting wrapping paper.

Arrange various items for dipping in choc.+pb mixture. My faves: pretzels, banana, marshmallows, graham crachers.

Hang rope/string from two walls in family room. Cover with sheets to make a tent (allowing for line of sight of tv from opening).

Hang garland & lights from tent. (Or place candles around room & table lamps strategically inside tent.)

Pop in favorite disc/episode of Friends in dvd player. Cue dvd player and turn off tv. *Keep remote handy!*

Place pillows and blankets inside tent. Also, place card (in envelope) strategically by remote inside of tent.

Make & plate dinner.

Turn on lights a few minutes before your valentine arrives. Also, place dinner (& essentials) in tent, light candles, and turn on tv.

Act III: (the evening of)

When valentine arrives, greet with a hug and allow time for them to get settled (changed/drink/bathroom).

Then....give the card, start dinner, and press play on dvd. Eventually have dessert of cookies & choc.+pb mixture with dipping sides!


And there you have a   very nice valentines celebration.


Bam.
That just happened!

Counting on God

So I haven't done a 'song' post in quite a long time.
Mainly because I hadn't heard anything new for awhile that rang true enough to remember it four years from now.

Hmph. Not using the cliches I keep thinking of to introduce it.
So...here are some verses that are better!  This, this, and this.

Here's an idea: load the song & then press play as you read through the lyrics!



I’m in a fight not physical
And I’m in a war
But not with this world
You are the light that’s beautiful
And I want more
I want all that’s Yours

Joy unspeakable that won’t go away
And just enough strength
To live for today
So I never have to worry
What tomorrow will bring
‘Cause my faith is on solid rock
I am counting on God

I am counting on
I am counting on God

The miracle of Christ in me
Is the mystery that sets me free
I’m nothing like I used to be
Open up your eyes you’ll see

Via: Jared Anderson
© 2007 Vertical Worship Songs

aye

*warning: proceed with caution!
treasures & landmines ahead! (tons of links)* 

i love going to the dentist

i lock my knees whenever I put on my makeup

i sit on my legs funny whenever I sit at my computer on my desk. I look like I'm crumping when I get up.

yes, i just used the word 'crumping.'

i tend to go for long stretches of time in the winter without shaving my legs.

i just found out you're supposed to change your toothbrush every month. since i have not............eww!

i made these carrot cake bars with awesome frosting! last week. cake didn't turn out so good. frosting, once again, awesome!

i would appreciate this for another early birthday gift.

i dislike the sense of entitlement I've attained.

i went to a power team event one time at a church. i was not very enthused  -more like "huh??"

i love, love, love having two! sisters that love to cook. cooking is very draining for me.

i like to wear my thin socks my mom got me from alaska under my boots. they have bears, fish, and 'Alaska' on them :)
i would like a blog design makeover from this girl, or this girl

i found this cool store!

i taught myself how to play guitar. but haven't played in over a year. just waiting for it to feel right. ?

i want to re-teach myself how to play the clarinet. my little E-flat woodwind was fun once upon a time.

i never fantasized too much about my wedding when I was little. However, I did have my roommate from college's wedding all planned out fairly quickly  just in my head :)  lilies, white, green, & yellows, a simple, satin-y dress, and a curly up-do.

i love to read. when I was younger, I would read literally anything. labels, packaging, signs, books, pamphlets, anything.

i used to go camping with my sister in our closet.
i don't even know how we fit in there.

i tend to hide certain shoes/food from a certain person I live with so said certain person won't wear/eat them.
it's a lost cause. she does anyway. i'm okay with that. sometimes

i used to be very addicted to tv.    not as much anymore. thank God!

i am most definitely a night owl.

i don't have very strong willpower over going to bed early.

i couple the above two things far too frequently, staying up waay too late and missing out on a lot of the next day.

i like long, hot showers.

i do not know how to dance.

i am glad 2 + 2 does not equal chair.
i have never been to a bar/club. don't worry, i'm good.

i don't know what else to say.

oh yeah, i'm usually a stickler for proper spelling/typing so not capitalizing all those 'i's was really hard!

i
am

done.

bedtime snack

I'm having one of those nights where I simply cannot go to bed without having some chocolate.

Does that ever happen to you?


Oh.... really? ...........just me?


More for me, or something  :)

Goodnight....moon.

strange days at blake holsey high

Have you ever looked at someone, like really, truly looked at someone and seen something you hadn't seen before?

Last week I went home to my parents house.
I saw my dad after he got home from work.
and I really, truly saw him.
and it was quite strange because he looked so much older than I ever remembered.
And his brown hair (on his head) were competing for space the grays were taking over.

And he had silvery gray patches(streaks) that were slowly canceling out the darker surrounding hairs.

It was so weird, I tell ya.

And it was so strange!

That night (among many other times in my life),
I realized that my dad wasn't just my dad,
he was a man,
a person,
a temporary human.
And he wasn't the larger-than-life person I once believed he was. Back when I held his hand on the way to church.
And he was old.

Ever do that before?
Look at someone like it's the first time you've ever seen them? In all their honest, plain, old self.

well, it's strange, I tell ya.

games

last night I stayed up too late (er, early? it was morning- oops)
& realized that I was playing the game.

What game you ask?


Well, I'll tell ya.

The comparing game.

Have you ever played it?
It's the one where you try, and try, and try, but you lose every time.

By comparing yourself to what others are/have/do, you only feel worse and worse about yourself.
And if you're a girl, I bet you've played it a lot.
These games are quite natural for girls to fall into.
And if you're a guy- how did you get to my little blog?

Something that I've been having to learn over the past year is that humans are God's creations.
We are made in his image.
Therefore, since all other people are made in God's image, since everyone has God's mark on their lives,
I need to treat everyone as such.

I need to talk to,
think about,
treat,
act towards,
make friends with,
have opinions about,
and love
people like they're made in God's image.

For me, this changes things. When I realize ev.er.y. single person on earth is a carbon copy of God, if you will,
I can't just keep living towards others the same.


Also, after reading my Bible study book this week, I realized that {the same is true for myself.}
Here's what got me thinking:

"If God, is the Creator of all things, who has given us life? Elohim, of course! And why were we created? For Him! You are a unique creation of God, one of a kind, created for His glory. He 'didst form my inward parts.' He 'didst weave me in my mother's womb....I am fearfully and wonderfully made' (Psalm 139:13-14). Have you ever thought of yourself as being fearfully and wonderfully made? Or do you look at yourself and despise what Elohim has created?"

If everyone is made in the image of God, and I have to live & treat others like that is true,
then I need to live & treat myself like that too.

When I start playing the comparing game and decide what I don't like about myself, what I should be, or how I'm failing,
I am despising what Elohim has created.

In essence,
I'm telling God that what he made (me), isn't good, isn't right, and isn't lovely.
But that isn't true!
God made me (just like everyone else), in HIS stinkin IMAGE!
That should be enough.
That should be it.
That should be final.


So why don't I live like it?
One thought: I'm not proactive.

When I feel myself slipping into the game, I jump right in, and play for awhile.
I am actively letting Satan invade my thoughts, mind, and heart.

I give him the reigns of my mind and let my heart willingly follow into thoughts of jealousy, harboring envy and coveting what my neighbors have.


So.

Here's to tomorrow!
Here's to a changed life!
Here's to not playing the same-old-boring-controlling-sinful-disgusting game!

Here's to looking at God's creation, and thinking just what he does,

this is {very good} !

and the proof: here, here, here, and here!

if you even still read this

the one redeeming quality about the movie In Her Shoes, is that it includes awesome poetry by E.E. Cummings.

As in, that was the first time I remember reading his stuff.

And I took an AP Literature class.
And I have a strange memory for obscure things like authors & such.

Anyways, I watched that movie my freshman year of college.
That was when my life changed a ton.
Independence.
A laptop.
No mom telling me to get to class on time.
You get the picture :)
I watched the movie with two good friends: my sis & Audrey.
After sharing the book & reading it, Audrey & I both wanted to watch the vid.

Well, let's just say I'm not a fan of Cameron Diaz.
or Shirley MacLaine.
or slackers/slacker characters.
or, uh....I don't remember much more of the movie :)

so anyways, after reading the book, and watching the video, Audrey & I love, love, loved the poems in both.
For a special gift (maybe her birthday?), I gave Audrey a frame with fun pictures of the two of us with a much-loved poem from Cummings.


So Audrey, this is for you :)

link: angela hardison

it makes me think of
new friends,
a discovered, shared enjoyment,
& valentines day (the lovely colors!)

bits and pieces

here are some bits and pieces you may not know about me.....


. I think I pulled a muscle from going on the monkey bars yesterday at the park
. and oh my, I forgot how much monkey bars hurt your hands!
. I have the uncanny ability to trip every time I wear my fake Uggs, no joke
. I also trip on my other foot every so often. Process: step out with L foot, jam R big toe into L heel, trip, almost eat it
. I have bouts of very sensitive teeth. I feel so pretentious asking for my water without ice at restaurants.
. I love doing workout videos from the comfort of my own living room.
. I tried doing a 10 min. one a few weeks ago and only lasted for 5 min.
. but,,,, today I made it through a whole one!
. I have a yucky bruise right above my hip from not going around the corner of the staircase railing all the way on Sunday. yes, I do periodically run/walk into things in that way. (i.e. corners of walls)
. I love me some avocados.
with salt!
on a piece of toast!
*just like my mom. wow. never thought I would!
. I joined bloglovin last week & I like it a lot!
. i heart ampersands! &=love
. i also heart graph paper/lines
. i also heart these { }  brackety-type things
. i also heart etsy  -such a great source of inspiration!
. studying Kay Arthur's, Lord I Want to Know You. It's an awesome study of the names of God!
. my favorite finds at UO have all had a price tag of $4.99   . yes! Five Dollars!
. I have two official comments from bloggers I stalk like but haven't ever met! eesh!
. last night I was looking at my blog stats and I have had readers from different continents! cuh-razy! how do they even find little old me?
. one of my dad's friends found my blog last year and read a bunch of posts about my CL internship. It totally weirded me out. Like, totally. (fer sure. I just got a....  can anyone finish that?)
. one of my favorite little people can't say his 'er' suffixes. so.stinkin.precious. watew, anyone? monstews?
. making homemade V-Day cards makes me soo excited :) (read: craft-nerdy)
. my sister gives me funny, ridiculous, cuh-razy nicknames all the time. i love it. soo much :)
. I quite regularly call my sister after waking up so she'll come in my room and say good morning. hehe.
. for instance, I texted her last week: "Knock knock. Jwanna?"   . when she came in my room I said, "Jwanna come snuggle?"
. sometimes I think I'm obviously very clever.
but don't let that fool you.
I'm not.. this lovely, amazing, what-a-blessing girl is having a birthday tomorrow!!

and last but not least,
. today I woke up to the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.
bam!that just happened!


What are some bits & pieces from your life?

PSA

It's the time of year for a PSA- public service announcement.

{Be kind to your neighborhood grocery store employees.}

For the people working on Sunday, being Superbowl Sunday, it was just as crazy as any other holiday of the year.


Trust me.
I know.

b & a

before:

&

after:

Notice anything new?
I made some changes!

 They're subtle- but still fun!


**sorry about the wonky photos. I'm not a Paint pro :)

early

so if someone wanted to give me an outrageously early birthday gift..........                                                                (click pictures for links)

I would be happy to take these boots off of their hands,

And they're only $59.99!
And they're in my size!
( 9 if you really want to know- they run small )
It's like they need to be on my feet! right now!

I wouldn't mind taking ownership of this pleasant print:

I could make do with this amzing blazer:

and I don't think I would mind wearing this dress over and over and over and over and over again:

and not that I would be able to walk in these, but I spotted almost exact look-a-likes in the j.crew catalog today!

and ohmygoodness I'm trying not to buy into the whole oxford shoes & platform ankle boot trends, but these two are just too amazing!

and correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the girl modeling this sweatshirt a past ANTM winner?

or am I crazy?
or are you ashamed that I used to watch that show? it's okay. I am too :)
what a waste of time!

February 1st

After finishing up the very first month of 2011, (and almost another day -Feb. 1st)
I think it's a good time to look back and check out my goals.

~Have accomplished anything on my 23 things to do before I'm 24 list? (ahhh!!!!!! it sounds so.stINkin old!)

~have I worked on any of my goals for January?

~ have I worked on my goal/resolution I shared with my LifeGroup last week?  (being more intentional about praying every day)

~ am I posting/adding any pictures/new features/making changes to my blog?

And finally, I think it's good to look back,
see what I've done,
what I haven't,
what I should,
what I shouldn't, (yeah, I was a little ambitious about January)
what I want to,
what I need to change,
where I'm doing okay,
and what fun thing I'll do to bless myself&others!

Here's to doing all of this inspection tomorrow morning :)
'Cause let's face it, I should have gone to bed when I came home 3 hours ago.
.            .           so... um.... yeah..

Here's to {tomorrow}!

just another day at work.....

While doing my practicum last semester for Child Life at my local children's hospital,
I got to do something the average person might think as surprising.

I played monopoly for an entire hour.

Uninterrupted, we played monopoly in the oncology clinic for an hour.

While a patient waited for treatment/to see the doctor/for a procedure, we played monopoly and then moved onto making crafts.
And in that moment of playing a simple board game, I realized, "This could be my job someday! Playing monopoly!"
How cool is that?
Very- if you ask me!
Because in that moment, all the boy needed was someone to play with and something to keep his mind off of what he was waiting to do. And where he was. And that he was sick.

During that hour, I was able to bring a smile to his face,
act goofy and silly,
made sure he wasn't changing the rules (the stinker!),
made up weird words,
sang,
laughed,
and hammed it up!
All for a great cause :)
In those moments, I was able to remember that God didn't give me the gift of being overwhelmingly talented with talking to adults, but with talking with kids.
With that gift, I can inspire, distract, teach, excite, humor, energize, mold,  pretend, be silly, and love on some kids who need it a lot! Thanks for that God! .amen.

and now onto my main reason for typing this here post:


Volunteering/working at a children's hospital means that a normal day can include any of the following:

-playing an adapted form of monopoly (or any other board game)

-making a collage out of teen magazines

-tracing horses straight out of a book

-playing computer games

-playing bingo

-winning awesome bingo prizes

-learning how to play video games

-being totally and completely crushed by a little kid at said video games

-apologizing for being horr.i.ble at said video games

-holding a  t w o   w e e k   o l d  baby (that is just craziness people!)

-walking about 3 miles up and down stairs, over entire units, outside, inside, upside, downside (you get the picture)

-rushed someone back to their room (about a floor, two units, and 15 rooms away). just to pee. ah!

-as an adult, dressing up for Halloween and walking a parade route

-going on a Halloween parade and getting candy from nurses, doctors, and other nice hospital staff

-painting someone's nails

-petting volunteer dogs

-reading countless books

-watching little-kid tv shows/movies

-praying over little babies

-gowning, masking, and gloving up to hold/be with little (& big) ones

-using Purell 52trillionbilliongazillionmamillion times in just.one.hour.

-making paper crafts

-making sugar cookies

-painting

-racing cars

-playing Barbies/Star Wars/Cars/fill-in-the-blank with a popular kids toy/movie/show

-playing candyland

-making towers with Jenga blocks

-passing out toys/blankets/slippers/hats/costumes to kids

-decorated for holidays

-sung songs


-talked about favorites (color/hobby/friend/day/candy/food/pet)

-learned how to make tabouli (from a 5 year-old no less!)

-watched kids grow up


-seen battered/worn down/and wiped out kids, families, visitors, and staff
-witnessed 'accidents'

-witness temper tantrums

-discipline bad behavior (no, it is not okay to say those words in a room filled with kids 4 years younger than you! say darn it- or that makes me mad)

-comfort lonely/sick/frightened/tired/bored/frustrated kids

-loved on kids

-& most importantly:

shared God's love & joy with kids, parents, employees, and visitors

siigh. I love it!