Goodbye 2011

Tez and I will be heading to a national conference tomorrow led by the ministry that he works for which means we will be bringing in the new year with TOOONNNNSSS of college students...
Let's just say we're packing out Chatanooga... so if you are there when we are- I apologize in advance!!!

National Conference Promo Video from CO National Conference on Vimeo.

The two speakers I am SUPER excited about are John Piper and Matt Chandler... (not to HATE on the others speakers, there are lots of love being sent their way I just haven't been introduced to them - minus Harry Reeder, who I am also excited about- the only man, in my opinion, who has business wearing a sweater vest)

You can hear some awesome Matt Chandler sermon's here (I particularly love his Ecclesiastes series)

Don't even get me started about how much Piper has helped me live out my faith. Ok i'm getting started: These two John Piper books have particularly been awesome to me:





You see on and off in my life I have struggled with depression. Before I read any of these books I assumed I was depressed b/c I wasn't a "good enough" Christian, which only got me more down. Piper was really one of the first people to help me understand that I wasn't ABNORMAL, and while some people don't struggle with depression, some people DO. Actually GREAT men of the faith struggled with it (the second book shown are testimonies of such men). His books are awesome in teaching you perspective on depression and how to fight it, or "How to fight for joy".

It was a process for me, but I don't experience depression as often these days or as intensely. I am not one to say that I have OVERCOME it. Many factors can contribute to my depression and some days it's like the perfect storm aligns and I have a bad day, but I have hope and I know how to fight it now, and as stupid as it sounds, I have accepted it as me, which I feel has made all the difference. If I KNOW it's something I struggle with rather than telling myself "I SHOULDN'T be feeling this way as a christian" or "I'm just making things too big of a deal" or simply just ignoring how I feel and making myself "try to be happy" I can now admit that this is part of my walk and particular struggle which helps me to try to understand why I am feeling this way and helps me to fight it rather than ignore it or pretend, and helps me to ask the Lord to help me fight it, which makes all the difference, b/c I honestly can't do it on my own.

I don't know if I will get an opportunity to meet Piper, but if I get the chance I will tell him what I just told you. I will try to sound eloquent (which tends to not happen, don't let me tell you about the time I met Tim keller... sigh) and I'll try not to tear up when telling him how God has used him in my life- in order to not freak out the dear Pastor.

Seeing as I have gone to this conference for the past 6 years- 3 while in college and 2 as the cute staff guy's wife...at least from my opinion ;) I always come away from this conference refueled and ready to start the year....

that is, after a day or two of sleep recovery...
B/c at 26 I'm getting a bit too old to keep up with the college kids these days....

 

Ode to Yearly book goals....

Goodreads reminded me that I am at 22 of my 25 book goal for the year...

This really frazzil's my checklist mentality.

Tez and I are attempting to watch less tv and this is very much helping me right now...except for when pertaining to having to finish this short little book about theology. Reading Lewis' brilliant thoughts before bed can prove to be quite redundant. Literally... I am at the bottom of the page and I can't remember why said character is saying what he is saying and then I realize I was kind of dozing and then the struggle is not even UNDERSTANDING the book, just keeping my eyes open.

I begin to regret not choosing the one about wardrobes and childhood....

I have headed to bed at 9:3O for the past two days, early... one would say....
I get the big pillow and prop it against my sleeping pillow to make the ideal reading position.
I turn on the lamp on my nightstand...
Toby the chuihuaba dives under the blanket and wraps himself in a ball beside me...
I confidently open the book to the page I was last on....

I realize that while I am on that page I probably checked out two pages before that and need to reread the previous two in order to understand what's going on at this point. I flip some pages back....
by the time I get to where my bookmark previously was Tez finds me sleeping soundly,

He turns out the lamp, places the book on my nightstand....
and, the next morning, proceeds to make fun of how I fell asleep at 9:40 last night...

the dog days are over?

Tez and I never meant to be the cat and dog family couple...

 

In fact, we never even meant to be the cat couple...

But then the unfortunate breakup occured with my brother and his girl and Bella had no home, what is a good sister to do about that?
We said we would help out and keep her at our place until a proper home was found... and that home ended up being ours...
cat's aren't too bad if you can get over the kittly litter thing

And this one is so fluffy... gah! i just can't stand the cuteness!

 

we became cat people....

we became THOSE cat people... we will bust out iphone pictures of our cat in a heartbeat to help illustrate our stories of her oddness/cuteness, thinking they are the best things in the world, as the listener calculates our sanity...

every good story needs an illustration...

 

Maybe only cat people understand....

then another unfortunate brother breakup occured... this time a chihuahua puppy was involved. My brother was willing to divvy up the remains of it all to the next bidder....

He fell asleep in my arms...

 

We would take the chihuahua until a better home was found and hope that he would get along with Bella- the cat...

(I can hear you now...calling us suckers)

 

This chihuahua was fluffy too....dang it.

And now we have two crazy animals and one is much more naughty than the other.

He gets in trouble for peeing and pooping in all the wrong areas and just when we thought he had it mastered (for there was no pee and poop to be found for days) we follow some smells to under our bed...

and it had become a landfill....

I psyco cleaned on my hands and knees (literally)
and seriously contemplated how we got here (and maybe still am, hence this post)

After cleaning I banned Toby from our bedroom.
He wined and cried outside my door and I felt so bad...
He put his paw under the door so I could see it inside our room to give me a hint of what I was missing,
"I just want to snuggle with you in those warm blankets" he subliminally told me
but I stayed strong!

Today Tez and I go to Lowe's to figure out a way barricade our dog from going under our bed...

b/c I like the end-of-the-day-in-the-bed-snuggle with him too.

 

a quite nacrassistic post:

Sometimes I feel like Tez and I could have our own sitcom.
Here is a convo we had on the way back from church yesterday that had me laughing:

Tez:I really liked the last hymn we sang at church today. The lyrics were awesome. Did you like it?

Me: It was good, however, I could NOT figure out the melody for the life of me. Sad that the choir left early, its hymns like that where we really need the choir to carry us in. I guess they assumed we could just hack it.

Tez: Yea, well you know what they say about assuming.

ME: Yea

Tez: No really, do you know what they say?

Me: Yes, it makes an ass out of you and me.

Tez: I actually think it's me and you.

Me: No, I think it is you and me b/c the u comes before the M & E in assume?

Tez: Oh,you're probably right... well English isn't my first language.

Me: Yes, it was....

Tez: Well it's not my mother's tongue.

Me: You mean "mother tongue"?

Tez: My point exactly.

'tis the seaon to count your blessings...or, at least, try to change your paradigm

It is that time of year again...
When the memphis weather begins to pick up on the crazy Christmas merriment that's about to occur and mimics the surroundings by being crazy itself...
In our household this has reared its ugly head in the form of head colds.

I am of the party that believes that positive thoughts can ward off any sickness...that and/or nyquil....
Tez is of the party that believes sickness MUST exit the body... which kind of got us in the predicament of me waking up twice in the middle of the night by something a kin to a blowhorn [A.K.A my husband blowing his nose]

The first 2am incident I am proud to say that the fruits of the spirit were prevalent even in my groggy state.
"Are you ok?" I asked my husband in an oh-so-concerned loving wife fashion.

"Yes, I just have to get it out" Tez groggily replied blaring the blowhorn once again...and again...and again.

I snuggled into the covers and gave myself a mental pat on the back for having such a sweet disposition.... (Proverbs 31 woman what?!)

that is until two hours later when I am jolted awake by the blaring again...

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I yell before sense kicks in.

He is in the bathroom, blowing away. I wonder how noise can travel so far so loudly.

He comes back to bed.

"Sorry, if I woke you again" he says

"It's ok..." I respond

and, to try to put my heart in a better mood the wierdest thing comes to mind...
at least he has a nose...I'd hate to be married to a Voldemort....

B/c Halloween is all about dressing sexy....right?

can you pick me out of the crowd?



¿No?

Picture Perfect

As I have posted on here before, this is no fashion blog.

I don't claim to know a thing about fashion and although I have been a bit more fashionable as of late. (This is mostly due to a mother-in-law who helps me pick out different things at places I wouldn't even think to walk into, places like Zara in Indonesia or Alfonso Dominguez in Barcelona..that and pinterest, and various other blogs, have helped me to branch out.. and also the fact that these days it's fashionable to dress different, or bohemian)
I guess you can say that I am dabbling in fashion, and I'm fortunate enough to have a family who can help provide some great pieces for me.
You see...
we have been on quite the budget these days. (Actually we just made a new budget and boy is Tez fired up about this one. His fav phrase these days are "I'd be happy to SAVE UP for one of those things"... sigh... sometimes it's tough being a grown up... and saving kind of makes spur of the moment fun decisions not so spur of the moment or fun -maybe that's the point? ) nonetheless this has created a somewhat of a 'desperate times call for desperate measures' philosophy when pertaining to clothing and I have had to mix and match various pieces in my closet. (that sounded very "Woe is me"-ish, when the truth of the matter is I have plenty of clothes and could be in a very worse situation and should be greatful that I have many options compared to people who are less fortunate...) Let me rephrase all that by saying that I love coming up with new combo's for old peices because it makes me feel thrifty and versatile.
I say all that to say: I know little about fashion but I feel I'm learning and I do love me a cute cheap outfit!I also have a slight appreciation for the people out there who can put together something beautiful or bold and WORK IT!

I also love old people.....

Where in the WORLD did that come from and what does the love of fashion and old people possibly have in common? you ask

Well, I'll tell you:

I watched a wonderful documentary today. It's free streaming on netflix and if you have an hour and a half I think you should check it out. It's called Bill Cunningham New York
(That's him in the top left corner on the bike)
and it's not super deep and its not going to make you want to fight for some cause... it's just one doll of a documentary and sometimes, let's face it, we just need a break from the nitty gritty and this is where this documentary comes in.

It's all based on the work of fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, who pretty much stands on the streets of New York and photograph's people in everyday fashion. He writes a Sunday piece in the New York Times called On The Street and it's cute.
I was amused by his love for fashion and beauty. He really sees everyone as a blank canvas, and he sees the beauty in what people choose to wear, not only that but he never criticizes people for what they choose. He'll admit he likes to take pictures of beautiful clothing but from the documentary you see that his idea of beauty isn't always cookie cutter. There is even a time (small spoiler alert) when a magazine chose to use his pictures for a what's in and what's out segment and because of that he got so upset thinking about how those poor women he photoed might have taken that criticism that he quit the magazine. He said he doesn't view fashion in an "In or out" way. It just is. I like that.

It's ironic that all this comes from a man who doesn't dress himself up.
(End of spoiler)

In a Lady GaGa world where dressing crazy is overrated and overdone this documentary kind of gives you a fresh look at fashion and those who dare to be different. As you watch the documentary you begin to see the world through Mr. Cunningham's eyes and find that clothes, at times, can be more than just clothes and that there is beauty and art literally walking all around, you just need watch for it.

morning musings...

On a orange Thursday morning I put on my new running shoes...
"You may be the first person in Memphis- in TN - to have these shoes," the man told me yesterday at Fleet Feet. "They are fresh from the truck and you are the first to buy them". That's not why I bought them... but after I slide them on and check them out in the mirror, I can't help but feel very fashionable...
Eat your heart out Kate Middleton...

I start my run, I start out slow. The tunes of Grey Reverend resounding in my ears. His guitar and his voice awaking something in my soul....
I stumble home after a mile, the cat meows to great me (or demanding me to refill her food bowl)
I let the dog out of his kennel. He stretches in downward dog fashion, and then bows to me and stays like that until I pick him up (maybe he's just doing reverse downward dog but I like to pretend he bows to me every morning. He's quite the gentleman)
I put on his leash, take him outside and he marks all his familiar territories.
A friend drives by, honks, and I wave: Good Morning!

I receive a text from my mom about my Fifth Grade sister:
"Good morning. It's funny how to put on some tight jeans and a pretty blouse and your whole personality changes (Nena) watch out world!"

I text back: "Oh gosh, that spells t-r-o-u-b-l-e"

She replies: "that spells uniforms next year"
And, as my sister looked in the mirror this morning, she probably felt very princess-like too...

Tuesday Musings....

Feeling bad for the lack of posts, I shall repost this little ditty that I found on
Andrea's blog.

I promise to post about my vaca to Barcelona with the fam soon... but there are just so many pictures it seems daunting...maybe this weekend?

Nonetheless, here is a little quiz to get me past not knowing what to post about to stall my Barcelona post:

1.Somewhere someone is also eating four cookies for breakfast?

2. Currently, "The Tale of the Three Brothers" in JK Rowlings "The Tale of Beadle the Bard" is my muse. I know, not what you expected. But, recently, I've been thinking a lot about death... I really did not mean for that to sound morbid. You see I've been listening to a sermon series by Matt Chandler entitled "Transitions" that talk about death and it really has me thinking about my purpose. I was journaling just yesterday and that story came into my head, about one man who had a cloak to hide from death and "many years later, he removes his cloak and gives it to his son. Pleased with his achievements, he greets Death as an old friend and chooses to leave with him as equals." It made me think of Paul's words to Timothy in 2 Tim 4:6-8 "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." I feel Paul met death as a friend, and, I, Lord willing, would like to be there too. Jonathan Edwards, in his lifetime, made around 70 resolutions in his Christian walk. Number 9 is: "Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death." I know, I know, it's Puritanical, but I'm starting to see it as a good discipline. I think that this has been so great for me to do these last few days, it has put a great deal into perspective for me, and as odd as it may sound I feel like, for some reason, before this time, I somewhat have viewed myself as immortal...not intentionally, I just forgot that I may not live to be 103, that I may not have all the time in the world, that really in the grand scheme of things I'm just a little wrinkle in time, I'd like have some effect here...

3. It would stink if my little sister gets into trouble for not having her homework...because it somehow ended up in my purse....

4. Coming home to my husband and a clean house (after some major psyco cleaning last weekend) are my favorite things about today.

5. Life is kind of like your crazy Aunt Sally?

6. If I could have anything I wanted I would want more time to do the things I love, for the things I love to be what God loves.

7. A funny thing happened the other day... I live near a college campus so it's always pretty noisy around our neighborhood with the college kids and their crazy shenanigans. At dusk I was putting in a light bulb on our front porch and these two guys were walking down the street singing "I can show you the world, shining shimmering splendid" and then they stopped and proceeded to sing the same line again until the "shimmering splendid" part, to which they paused again. I then proceeded to bust out "tell me princess now when did you last let your heart decide!" they then started cheering and clapping and I bowed and went back inside.

Book Review! ( The Paris Wife)

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I do believe Hemingway would roll over in his grave had he ever caught sight of this book much less read it....I kidd... maybe. I tried - really tried- to like this book seeing as it got some raved reviews and seeing as how much I am intrigued by Hemingway, esp after reading A Moveable Feast; HOWEVER I felt as if 1) the characters were flat 2) Hadley as narrator was inconsistent, one moment loving Hemingway and the next hating her life and while I understand a thwarted woman must feel this way, I didn't feel as if I could relate to her or believe her. I wish the author did more with that. 3) The narration killed me. We were in Hadley's head most of the time and sometimes it was boring/ a little romance novelish 4) The author pretty much ripped off a bunch of stuff from Hemingway's works, I understand that it is based on actual events but having read Hemingway it felt unoriginal. I really don't mean to sound like a hater and there were some brilliant moments in this book. I especially like the line, I wish I had the book so I could quote it, where Hemingway doesn't feel like anything is true unless he tells Hadley but is torn when he realizes the truth about his affair will break her heart twice due to the fact that he is having an affair with her best friend; but I can list those moments on one hand. I finished it b/c I wanted to see how Paula would handle it all and found myself unmoved by the novel as a whole.

Wanderlust....

Mondays are much easier when you know by the end of the week you will be here:

"Holland is a land of intense paradox. It is quite impossible, but it is there."
M. E. W. Sherwood

 

"...coming in solemn beauty like slow old tunes of Spain."

 

 

 

 

Tennyson says: "'Tis not too late to seek a newer world. Push off...."

(This week... I agree)

Confessions....

There is this part in a movie, i think the Nutty Professor or DR. Dolittle or some Eddie Murphy movie, where this lady is allergic to crustaceans and later is found chowing down on crab legs in the bathroom. The epitome of the lack of self control.

Watching that scene. which obviously stuck with me more than the actual movie seeing as i cannot name it, i can't help but judge that woman- Why eat something that will cause you to break out in hives? Something you're ALLERGIC to? That's stupid...
that is ....................
until.......................
........i became that woman.

To quote a song i never thought i would have to quote:
Blame on the goose got you feeling loose
Blame it on patron got you in the zone
Blame it on al al al al alcohol (blame it on al al al alcohol)

Ok i am NOT a heavy drinker- AT ALL. But let's just say you and your husband were at Bosco's.... famous for the fact that it brews its own beer. Let's just say you have a friend in town from out of the country... and that your server brings out some sample brews to try.... I mean wouldn't you want to test out a sample...or two...or three? I mean you only took like one sip of three (liquid gluten) drinks...That's three sips of beer... it doesn't even count really.

Let's say that at said resturant they bring out bread and olive oil... the bread soft and white with herbs intermersed throughout... the light scent of rosemary...the olive oil gleeming green in the lighting...you could just have a little bit of one... right?

And, i mean, American portions- they are just SOOO LARGE and our friend from Indonesia hates wasting food, why not split a meal together...
-what's that you say? Pasta?
Well i can't be a bad hostess. It's pretty much my duty to help my friend have a good time and a great experience... I mean, I'll not only do that for her- but for AMERICA, it's been given such a bad rep these days... Let's show them what American hospitality really is!
-I'm sure pasta will be fine. The shrimp kind, with the cream sauce? I'd love to split it with you!

"Wheat allergies manifest themselves in a wide variety of manners which can be different for different people. Some people experience hives while others might experience stomach pain...."

And the very next day.....

 

Is it possible to have to recooperate from a gluten hangover?

Man cannot live on bread alone....

SO I get random breakouts...
(ok, ew that seems like it's turning into a herpes commercial way to fast)
I get breakouts ON MY LEGS quite frequently... it has happened for years now but recently has gotten more and more consistent.
For the last six years my feet will swell, then get dots and it doesn't exactly feel too wonderful...

My poor sweet husband has def put his time in giving me foot massages...

It happened (BIG TIME) when i went to Brazil in 2007.


You diggin those cankles?

If i lived in OT biblical times I would be the town leper...

It happened when we went to Indonesia last year pretty bad...and it recently had been happening (but not as bad as the pic) so much that i was willing to do anything!

I tried to figure out triggers but couldn't nail 'em.

I, finally, went to the doctor where he took some expensive blood tests and said it could be something like lupus. He wanted me to get on medication for the rest of my life to suppress my immune system. The medicine could also cause blindness...
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

When i said i was willing to do anything.. i didn't mean that....
but actually what i was willing to do, for me, was actually A WHOLE LOT worse than blindness...

I was willing to start a gluten free diet.... (Cue suspenseful music) After much internet research (web MD- Hello!) all symptoms pointed to a gluten allergy

That's right, and on a gluten free diet you can pretty much eat like 5 things:
meat
potatoes
rice
fruits
vegetables

Gone are the Cracker Barrel pancakes!
Gone are any pre dinner appetizer rolls/bread (goodbye sweet bread at O'Charley's, Macaroni Grill, Carraba's...)
Gone are pasta dishes!!!
Gone is MUDDY'S!!!

But as momma says: Desperate times call for desperate measures...And looking back gluten foods were MY STAPLE... i started the day off with cereal or oatmeal, i munched on granola all day, i would have a sandwich for lunch (not to mention the occasional cookie and/or cupcake... and then (my old motto) what's dinner without a roll!

since i have cut out the gluten i have not had one flare up. REALLY!

So enter a new phase of life where my new motto is: "Gluten free = LIFE".

And i really do feel like i have my life back! I know i tend to be dramatic at times (i really do not think giving up bread is worse than BLINDNESS) but it REALLY sucks having your feet swell around 2pm everyday and then by 8 having to rest them b/c they hurt/ Not being able to do a lot on vacation due to a flare up. not to mention on my own wedding day i was SOOO nervous i would have one! and i did have a little one (b/c i would get at least a little one everyday) but i never knew when i might could get a big one (See previous picture)

Another added benefit of a gluten free diet is that i have SO MUCH energy these days!

Thankfully gluten free has become somewhat of a thing nowadays (who would willingly put themselves on this diet i do not know) So there are a lot of gluten free options out there.

I write this some-what narcasistic post to
1)CELEBRATE
2)Kind of vent about the fact that my Dr. had no idea what he was talking about
3)Get the word out there about gluten related allergies. This will not turn into a gluten free blog (although i am SOOO thankful they are out there!) This is just what's going down with my life recently (and, to me, IT'S BIG...dare i say life-changing?!)

My friend asked if i thought i would lose a lot of weight eating like this for now on... I told her i hope so... but i also informed her that one of the first things i baked on my gluten free diet were gluten free chocolate chip cookies...

HEY, a girl's got to live!

7/15/2011

Magic happened last Thursday night...
Twas a day of giddy excitement and finality.
Craftiness and originality...
And all the Potter fans finally got a chance to say it is finished...
We soaked up all we could while we could,
The best way i can describe July 15th is that it was kind of like a High School graduation. All your friends are there, your greeting each other, taking pictures, realizing you have to move on, that this moment won't last forever, so you enjoy it while you can.

The Paridiso was MADNESS! I was told upon picking up my tickets to get to the theater at 9... that's right, you saw that correctly. Our tickets were for 12:04 AM and we showed up promptly. And BOY am i glad we did.

If you know me, you know i have no problem talking to strangers. But that's just the thing. Potter fans are no strangers. It's like a sorority gathering. WE have nothing in common, expect the one thing...our love for Potter.

The people whose pics are displayed below are not friends, I don't know their names, or even who they are. Had actually never met them before (minus one man-the hubs of course). But that did not stop us from fun. And that did not stop me, much to my husbands dismay, from stepping up to them and asking "Hey! Can i take a pic with you?!"

I wish i had thought to bring my camera. There are some pics that the Iphone 3G (without flash) could not pic up. Such as the guy dressed up in red pants, read shirt, a red feather boa with a name tag which read "FAWKS" (MY FAVORITE!!!)or the lady dressed as Mrs. Weasly, or The lady dressed up as Dumbledore. There were SO MANY creative costumes. Here is what i got: Enjoy!

Lovely Luna...

 

I was half tempted to either steal or buy her hat... TWO POINTS GRYFFINDOR!!

 

HP friend we were in line with...

 

Her shirt reads: ONE WAND TO RULE THEM ALL.... a bit Lord of the Ringsy but we'll take it!

 

Ravenclaw being represented

 

These Death Eaters were crackin me up. They kept shouting "Bring me Harry Potter!" throughtout the night (You get mad props if you dress up, more props if you act in character!)

 

This kid had the same idea as me. We both played is cool and simply went as muggles... of course i had to bring my wand though...

 

I need this shirt.

 

Line friends. (We made it in our theater first- WHAT WHAT!)

 

And this is pretty much what the hubs thought about all the festivities/lively characters... he's never read the books...he wouldn't understand.

 

Alas... what a great night... and a bitter sweet farewell...well... at least until The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in universal!

the trouble with cats (Part 2)

 

When you have a long haired cat you always go places looking like "the cat lady", cat hair strewn all over your black pants.

When you have a long haired cat it will probably gross you out as she grooms herself... and you probably shouldn't go into details...

When you have a long haired cat, dust bunnies mutate with cat hair and roll around the house like tumbleweeds in the desert, no matter how many times you dust/sweep.

When you have a long haired cat who DOES NOT let you brush her belly due to the traumatic experience of getting spayed she will develop knots that the Vet warns you to NEVER cut out yourself.

When you have a long haired cat you get to the point where you will pay anything to have her shaved b/c you can't handle the hair around the house anymore and mostly also b/c your husband thinks the knots hurt her and he may or may not be the better cat parent...

When you FINALLY get your long haired cat shaved you may instantly regret it after seeing how they shaved everything but her head, and did a subtle "fur fade" for her tail and her paws causing her to look like the mix between a fish bone with the head attached and a Clydesdale horse...

 

But you will get a good laugh out of it and she'll prance around like she owns the night....

Birthdays....

There are birthdays i remember... some i forgot-the photo album in the closet recaptures the memory of a young, skinny girl blowing out candles as her grandmother cheers her on nearby.

Birthdays in New York where i stayed for summer vacation.

Birthdays in Puerto Rico, where my aunts and uncles would shout for my grandma to open the gate. Keys would jingle and i would be greeted with kisses upon kisses on each cheek. Birthdays consisting of cousins and cards and hide-and-go seek as well as a piece of half eaten cake -"Grandma, i told you i don't like the pineapple part!"

A forgotten birthday: Where my brother told my parents in the kitchen: "Be nice to this girl- she's got a birthday coming up!" To which i informed him and reminded my parents that my birthday was TODAY and then proceeded to sulk as only a teenage girl could.

A surprise birthday which began with a wild goose chase, and was finally discovered as the garage door raised higher to expose millions of feet, and ended with tons of friends throughout the house and in the backyard, blackening the water of our little Wal Mart pool.

A Birthday at the beach where friends gave me cards and gifts that i enjoyed so much it made me equally joyful that they remembered and that they knew me.

A Birthday which consisted of a surprise birthday present at my doorstep. The box reading "Cast alohomora to open".

A Birthday which consisted of dinner, a date, a grey dress, fireworks, sweet kisses on the dock after a ring had been presented (to the applause of strangers)....
(that one is my favorite so far)

Weekend Update

Last weekend Tez and i had a support meeting in Jackson... I researched things to do in Jackson and upon finding little to no discoveries i wasn't sure what we were in for but we had a FANTASTIC TIME.

We had lunch with 4 supporters. One couple being Tez' best friends parents and the other being a couple who has supported us for a year whom we hadn't met yet!

We ate at good ole Casey Jone's village:

The, like, ONE thing to do in Jackson. ;)

And after lunch we spontaneously got invited over to our supporter's 100 year old FARMHOUSE. HOW COOL IS THAT? (Even cooler that they had FAINTING GOATS!!! Started out with four and within two months they ended up with 28-ha!)
Something about being in the country really calmed my spirit. We "took the Gator" around the farm and saw the remnants of houses built in the 18oo's, which i thoroughly enjoyed. Our friend told us the stories of the families that lived in most of the houses on his property and what they did. The lady who lived in their farmhouse was born, raised, and died in their house. She was married and her "bachelor brother" lived with them. It was very eerie and beautiful to think that these rundown houses had owners who sat on the porch, where families played... you could almost hear the echo of their laughter roaming through the trees.

I also gathered a freshly laid egg from a hen... nice and warm...TMI? What a great time. Wish i took pics..

After that we headed to the local watering hole (aka Starbucks, has anyone noticed that Starbucks has become the equivalent to a "Christian bar"? A lot of single people in Christian t-shirts having their quiet times trying to scope out a date...i know... i was weirdly hit on by one of these guys but that's a tangent/soapbox for another post)
Anyways. This summer Tez and i took a day to plan/ talk about our marriage and decided that every week we want to have a communication time. This is time set apart to talk about our week- some things we would like to get done for the next week and kind of evaluate the week before in light of some yearly goals we made. WE also are reading a book together so we take time to discuss it and finish by praying together. If you know me you know i am a run by your feelings type girl more times that not. Sometimes i have a hard time getting my heart up to speed with what i am doing and there are many times when i don't want to have our "weekly communication time" b/c i just don't feel like it or haven't read the book etc. But Tez is super patient (Hence letting me read the chapter like 30 min before our time) and after it is over i am SO THANKFUL for it. I am thankful to have a PATIENT husband committed to us growing together. And i always feel like i learn something new about him during these times which is kind of cool after being married for almost 2 years...

Finally we finished the night at SUKURA Japanese restaurant which was SOOO GOOOD! (they actually have one in Memphis we haven't tried)

 

Where a picture is worth a thousand words!

 

This was the Alfredo roll - no idea why it was called that... i don't think it had Alfredo in it but it sure was a PARTY IN MY MOUTH!

Tez got a chicken dish which he INSTANTLY regretted upon the arrival of my dish and swore to get nothing but sushi next time . Luckily i wasn't able to finish my huge sushi roll so he scavenged the leftovers doing a dance with each bite (one part of the previous sentence is not entirely true).

 

He also made a great friend:

 

Who would have thought Jackson would be so much fun?! Sometimes getting out of town is just the ticket for the Summertime Blues.... even if it is only 45 min away.

(Semi)Wordless Wednesday...

 

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where boom bands are playing.