I was going to wait to do this until the end of day on March 31st, but I feel called to do this now. Been laying in bed for over an hour and my mind won't shut off.
Most of you know that one year ago today, my mom passed away. She fought a brave battle with kidney cancer, but unfortunately it spread far and wide throughout her body. She was 54 years old.
She led an amazing life in her 54 years on Earth. I KNOW when she entered Heaven, she was greeted by Jesus with a smile, and he told her, "well done, good and faithful servant." You see, my mom was, without a doubt, one of the kindest people I've ever met in my life. And I'm not saying that just because she's related to me. I think that's why she ended up in human resources, and worked her way up to becoming an HR Director for a non-profit. She listened to people, judged their situation fairly, and still won over every single coworker, which is hard to do in HR. I remember her telling me stories about cases she was working on with vague details because she couldn't discuss a whole lot, even though she knew there was no chance I would have been able to share anything, because it was the right thing to do, to respect the privacy of her coworkers.
She was southern-she grew up in Manassas, Virginia, and moved to Raleigh because her in-laws moved down there. But she was always, always close to her mom and sister, who still live in Virginia-I think she talked to my Aunt Laura pretty much every night on the phone, sometimes for hours. I wonder now if that ever got on my dad's nerves a bit. :) Some of my best memories from my childhood come from our annual beach vacations with that side of the family in Myrtle Beach. She did not have a southern accent, at least not in my opinion-I guess because Manassas is close to Washington, DC, maybe? I don't think I have an accent for the same reason-Raleigh is such a transplant city with people moving in from all over the country.
Accent or no accent, she instilled quite a few southern traditions in me; namely, sweet tea. She made the BEST sweet tea-oh lord, it was sweet. I'm sure there was enough sugar in there to put a diabetic in a coma. There was always a pitcher of it in the fridge. When we discovered Bojangles, a southern fast food chain, it was like mecca. Homemade biscuits, dirty rice, cajun spiced fried chicken, seasoned french fries, and sweet tea. I still crave it and it's the first place I go after getting off the plane when I go back home. I can't tell you how many times we'd swing through the drive thru after a long day of running errands and recharge our batteries with a large sweet tea and maybe a side of fries, extra seasoning.
On any given weekend you could find mom, my sister, and I out and about running random errands or shopping at the mall. Before a mall was built 10 minutes from our house, the closest mall was about 40 minutes away. It was a special treat to go there, and we often spent all day out there. My sister, Lyndsay, and I got to have hot dogs from the food court, shop in the hello kitty store, and browse in Limited Too and whatever other tween stores we were into at the time. We NEVER let her live down the time we were walking by a Godiva chocolate store and she saw a display of chocolate covered strawberries. Thinking they were samples, she reached her hand in and was about to grab one when the store clerk came running over exclaiming they were for sale only-and I think it was a pretty ridiculous price, something like 3-4 bucks PER strawberry.
As we got older we tolerated letting mom have some shopping time, and she became attached to big, chunky necklaces. Over time she gathered quite a collection, and I began to see them as a part of her. No matter what she was wearing, she always had some sort of funky necklace or scarf on. She began to take us with her when she got manicures and eyebrow waxes at her favorite spa in Wakefield. Ultimately it wasn't the stuff that was collected in these visits that Lyndsay and I cherish-it's all that time that she carved out to be with us.
When I entered my junior year of high school, I started doing color guard with the marching band. She quickly became the guard mom, and traveled with us to all of our competitions. Since our high school was brand spankin' new (my junior year was the first year the marching band existed), our guard was really small and we were very close. She held our emergency bag of bobby pins, sewing kits, lipstick, and God knows what else, helped carry flags, fix our hair, whatever we needed, she was there. People who didn't know her well might have said she was soft spoken-I guess that comes from her HR training, to be calm and collected. But she definitely wasn't afraid to put people in their place when it needed to be done. I'll never forget a competition where my band director was being a grade a asshole. (TMI warning) I had my period and HAD to go to the bathroom, if you know what I'm saying. He didn't want anyone to go, for reasons I still don't understand, and when I got back he screamed at me and made me feel like I had just robbed a bank or something. She calmly stood up and said, "Did you realize my daughter was on her period and needed to change her tampon? What would you have liked her to do, bleed through her uniform and get it all over the bus?" He turned BRIGHT red, and later pulled me aside and gave me a sincere apology.
Lyndsay and I were pretty active with school stuff: color guard, winter guard, choir, plays. She never missed any of it. I did color guard in UNC's marching band my first two years of college, and she and my dad would come just to see me perform at half time and then leave after that. She's shown me that working moms absolutely can make time to support their kids if they are determined to do it.
She was never into computers much. She never got a facebook account, and told us that after spending her work day on the computer, the last thing she wanted to do was come home and get right back on one. She loved, loved, loved to read, and I inherited that from her. She'd take Lyndsay and I to the Wake Forest public library every Saturday morning when we were little-I checked out stacks of Baby Sitter's Club books, Lyndsay got Blue Bird picture books. Then we'd go next door to the candy/coffee shop that always smelled amazing. She'd get coffee and Lyndsay and I would get cherry cokes. She had a particular affinity for Steven King books. Gotta be honest, I still don't really get that :) but she loved them! Maybe that goes along with some of her favorite movies, like the Aliens series and Terminator. She liked chick flick type of stuff too, but the Aliens thing was always sort of a surprise to me. One of her favorite tv shows was Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World. So this sweet, petite, well mannered woman totally LOVED to watch Andrew eat pig testicles or whatever crazy concoction was on the show.
Her marriage to my dad was atypical. People just don't have the connection they had. They met in high school-in chemistry class. She couldn't light her bunsen burner and had my dad light it for her. They were engaged at the end of their senior year of high school and got married the summer after they graduated from college. They were together 31 years. I'm not naive, and I'm sure they had their up and down moments and thoughts of 'man, you annoy the CRAP out of me!' as we all do, but their love was special. You could just see it in the way they looked at each other. I hope I can have that with Michael as we grow older.
She loved animals-specifically, cats. I remember when I was 6 or 7 and a thin, scraggly looking calico kitten wandered on our back porch on Christmas Eve. We didn't have animals at the time and didn't have any cat food, but my mom couldn't just let the little thing mew at her and not give her anything. So she gave the kitten beans and chopped up hot dog (aka beenie weenie). After that, it was a done deal. I'm sure Lyndsay and I thought mom and dad were letting us keep the cat for us, but there was no mistaking it: that cat (that we named Patches) was my mom's cat. When Patches passed away in 2006, it hit my mom pretty hard. It wasn't too long before my dad took her to the shelter, where she found a gray tabby who poked her paw through the cage and stole my mom's heart. That was Izzy, who became a shadow to my mom. And so was it any surprise that one day I would pick up a fluffy orange cat off the street, walk him up 3 flights of stairs to my apartment, and clean him up with baby wipes because he smelled so bad? ;)
Christmas was her favorite holiday. She made it a big deal, even though when we were growing up we didn't celebrate the religious parts of it. But she'd decorate the entire house, and we'd go out each December and get a live pine tree. She loved to collect ornaments and it seemed like she got a few new ones each year. She became famous within our family and neighborhood for her homemade cinnamon rolls-I swear, she could have gone into business with them, they were that good. On Christmas Eve, she'd spend the entire day in the kitchen making everything from scratch, with my sister and I helping to ice them (and taste test). I think the recipe she had called for around 50, and she usually tripled that. Once they were all done and packaged in colored saran wrap, dad would drive Lyndsay and me around to the neighbors houses to drop off the rolls. Our favorite part of Christmas Eve was getting pizza after that-because what woman in her right mind would cook dinner after all that?-and drive around Raleigh to look at Christmas lights. Her birthday was Dec 26th, and if she ever felt annoyed by that, she didn't really show it. It was nice because she'd be home, so we would go to after Christmas sales, go the movies, out to eat at her favorite restaurants. We tried to not be 'those people' that lumped her Christmas and birthday presents in one gift. For a few years she was collecting her china pattern, so that seemed like a pretty easy gift for my dad to get. She opened up a present from him and we were all speechless. It was a huge, rose pattern vase (to be fair, it WAS in her china pattern) with handles. Finally she said, "Is it a trophy?" And that was it-we HOWLED we were laughing so hard. To this day when we see that in her china hutch we sometimes point to it when my dad is in the room and I think that annoys him, but it makes us smile.
She found God again. I don't know a whole lot about her history with her faith in her childhood, only that she was required to go to a very conservative church twice a week with her family, and by the time she was on her own, she'd had enough. Whatever burned her out was so bad that she never took my sister and I when we were growing up. But somehow, in 2006 she decided to check out a Lutheran church in Raleigh. Then slowly, she and my dad started attending more and more. Before I knew it, she was calling me to tell me they were taking a membership class, were meeting people in the church, and her voice just sounded different. I don't know how to describe it, really, except to say that she seemed complete. When I came home from college I would go with them every now and then on a Sunday, and it was amazing how my parents had woven themselves into this community. They'd introduce me to all these people, and it was evident they had a family there. Her pastor and her friends from that church were there for her when she was first diagnosed in 2006, through remission, and when it came back in 2009 until the very end. Pastor Diane gave the sermon at her funeral-full circle, I suppose. But we could all see the emotion in her as she spoke about my mom, beautifully sending off one of her flock to heaven. That was hard, but I don't know what my family would have done without the support of St. Philip.
In a few hours some of my best friends from EastLake will be coming over. I'm going to have a Lord of the Rings movie marathon. It was one of her absolute favorites-she made Lyndsay and I go see the first film 9 times in the theater with her. She had posters of each movie framed in our computer room and even branched out beyond the trilogy into some of Tolkein's more scholarly works. Going to see The Hobbit, whenever that comes out, will be bittersweet, because I know she would have been eager to see it as well. So this will be a good way for me to remember her today, as I think about my beautiful, amazing mother, who taught me to love with every ounce of my heart, to listen to people when they're hurting, and changed me for the better. The closing of her life opened a new chapter in mine, and for that I will have to thank her whenever it is that I see her again. My pain that I experienced over the last year eventually gave way to a desperate need to seek God, and through that I found EastLake, and then found hope, a church family, healing, and the knowledge that God didn't put me in a valley to leave me there-he met me there, walked me out of it, and made me whole again.
I feel like this could have been her speaking to me last year, as Frodo says to Sam in The Return of the King: "My dear Sam. You cannot always be torn in two. You will have to be one and whole for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be and to do. Your part in the story will go on."
Love you, mom. Miss you, every single day. But thank you-thank you for the lessons you taught me while you were here, and for the ability to grow in my faith after you left. It's because of you that I'm the person I am today. I can't wait to see you again one day-and I know that we will, because I know where you are, and I'll meet you there. But not yet.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us?
Last night Tisha, Ericka and I traveled to Independence, MO (about an hour east of Lawrence) to see Chris Tomlin in concert. If you've never heard of him, Chris Tomlin is a Christian rock supahstar. ;) EastLake plays some of his music, which is how I became aware of him. His songs are very catchy, with beautiful lyrics. So when I saw he was touring and coming near Kansas City, I kept asking my church friends until Tish and Ericka agreed to go with me. :) It was like a mini road trip, a great bonding experience. Love those gals!
The concert itself was amazing. I had some fears initially going into it, since I'd never been to a Christian concert EVER, that this would be the type of thing where people would be fainting in the aisles, speaking tongues, etc. Didn't happen. Just LOTS of singing, smiling, praising-it was an uplifting and powerful 2.5 hours. At the very beginning they said there was no agenda that night other than to praise God-whew! Chris is a wonderful performer with great energy and really got the whole arena to come alive as one group. There was a mini sermon, if you will, in the middle of all the songs that was pretty amazing. If I can find it on youtube I'll try to link to it. The pastor started out by reading a few lines of psalm 148, which is talking about praising God, from the heavens, to the stars, the depths of the oceans, and on Earth. He explained how stars emit a frequency as they spin on their axis and that radio telescopes here have been able to capture that sound, so he played a couple of those. Then he played some whale songs that whales use to travel back and forth and find their way to their territories in the ocean. Then he mixed all of that together in a way that was just so beautiful-and THAT is what God's symphony must sound like. How big and awesome is He, that he created a universe so vast that still wants to emit a joyful noise to Him? Incredible. And yet he still cares about each and every one of us, too.
Our God
Sing Sing Sing
The concert itself was amazing. I had some fears initially going into it, since I'd never been to a Christian concert EVER, that this would be the type of thing where people would be fainting in the aisles, speaking tongues, etc. Didn't happen. Just LOTS of singing, smiling, praising-it was an uplifting and powerful 2.5 hours. At the very beginning they said there was no agenda that night other than to praise God-whew! Chris is a wonderful performer with great energy and really got the whole arena to come alive as one group. There was a mini sermon, if you will, in the middle of all the songs that was pretty amazing. If I can find it on youtube I'll try to link to it. The pastor started out by reading a few lines of psalm 148, which is talking about praising God, from the heavens, to the stars, the depths of the oceans, and on Earth. He explained how stars emit a frequency as they spin on their axis and that radio telescopes here have been able to capture that sound, so he played a couple of those. Then he played some whale songs that whales use to travel back and forth and find their way to their territories in the ocean. Then he mixed all of that together in a way that was just so beautiful-and THAT is what God's symphony must sound like. How big and awesome is He, that he created a universe so vast that still wants to emit a joyful noise to Him? Incredible. And yet he still cares about each and every one of us, too.
Our God
Sing Sing Sing
Monday, March 28, 2011
Bracket busted
If you turned on the television, checked facebook, or communicated with the world at all yesterday, you know this Tarheeled Jayhawk had a double whammy of a bracket buster. Both KU AND UNC lost-somewhat deservedly so. Since I had them both in the championship game, my bracket is officially done. Confession: I think I might be more sad about my bracket being messed up than my teams actually losing. I was in first place at EastLake's group bracket-I've never won a bracket pool before! We didn't have any money riding on it, but I may be a wee bit competitive. Oh well...next year, boys!
So along with basketball, I spent my weekend reading. I think I have book ADD, because I can NEVER just have one book at a time. Not sure why that is...SQUIRREL!
What? Right, books. So right now I'm reading my book for my growth group, Made to Crave, which is about Lysa TerKeurst's journey and advice on how to turn to God in place of food when we need comfort, putting him in our plan for a healthy life. It doesn't have a specific food plan or anything, it's more of an emotional/spiritual journey. Loving it so far.
On the nook: Jodi Piccoult's Sing Me Home. It's about a couple who get divorced because the wife is desperate to have a child and they have a stillborn child, and the husband wants to move on. She then gets into a relationship with another woman, while the husband becomes born again and taken in by his brother and his wife. The main plot of the book is a courtroom battle because the wife wants to use their fertilized eggs at a fertility clinic to raise a child with her partner, and the husband wants to give them to his brother and sister in law, and brings in the debate about same sex couples raising children vs traditional families. Not gonna lie, the portrayal of the husband, his pastor, and the homophobia Piccoult gives to the Christian characters makes me uncomfortable. I keep thinking how much these characters need a church like EastLake where they would be accepted no matter what mess they're going through! I do feel like the church the husband goes to is pretty extreme and most people don't have beliefs that go that far-think Westboro Baptist, that is more what Piccoult is going for.
Also just started Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala, the pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle church in NYC. Only about a chapter in, but it's really interesting-about the history of the church, how Jim and his wife started it with twenty people, and now has over six thousand. My friend Tiff gave it to me because they used prayer as a catalyst for growth, and the story is really about how using prayer can make amazing things happen. Since I just started leading the prayer team at EastLake, it's good for me to get exposed to different ways prayer can make a difference in our lives.
Coming up (as in, arriving from Amazon tomorrow): A Place of Yes by Bethenny Frankel (my addiction to Real Housewives knows no bounds), and Too Busy Not to Pray.
I guess the point of all of this is to say that if you need to find me, in between work and church, I'll be on the couch with my nose in a book. Unless someone is sitting on it.
I'm sorry, were you busy? Too bad, pay attention to me.
I also will be narrating conversations with my animals.
So along with basketball, I spent my weekend reading. I think I have book ADD, because I can NEVER just have one book at a time. Not sure why that is...SQUIRREL!
What? Right, books. So right now I'm reading my book for my growth group, Made to Crave, which is about Lysa TerKeurst's journey and advice on how to turn to God in place of food when we need comfort, putting him in our plan for a healthy life. It doesn't have a specific food plan or anything, it's more of an emotional/spiritual journey. Loving it so far.
On the nook: Jodi Piccoult's Sing Me Home. It's about a couple who get divorced because the wife is desperate to have a child and they have a stillborn child, and the husband wants to move on. She then gets into a relationship with another woman, while the husband becomes born again and taken in by his brother and his wife. The main plot of the book is a courtroom battle because the wife wants to use their fertilized eggs at a fertility clinic to raise a child with her partner, and the husband wants to give them to his brother and sister in law, and brings in the debate about same sex couples raising children vs traditional families. Not gonna lie, the portrayal of the husband, his pastor, and the homophobia Piccoult gives to the Christian characters makes me uncomfortable. I keep thinking how much these characters need a church like EastLake where they would be accepted no matter what mess they're going through! I do feel like the church the husband goes to is pretty extreme and most people don't have beliefs that go that far-think Westboro Baptist, that is more what Piccoult is going for.
Also just started Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala, the pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle church in NYC. Only about a chapter in, but it's really interesting-about the history of the church, how Jim and his wife started it with twenty people, and now has over six thousand. My friend Tiff gave it to me because they used prayer as a catalyst for growth, and the story is really about how using prayer can make amazing things happen. Since I just started leading the prayer team at EastLake, it's good for me to get exposed to different ways prayer can make a difference in our lives.
Coming up (as in, arriving from Amazon tomorrow): A Place of Yes by Bethenny Frankel (my addiction to Real Housewives knows no bounds), and Too Busy Not to Pray.
I guess the point of all of this is to say that if you need to find me, in between work and church, I'll be on the couch with my nose in a book. Unless someone is sitting on it.
I'm sorry, were you busy? Too bad, pay attention to me.
I also will be narrating conversations with my animals.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Figure it out and let's go
The past couple of days have been absolutely gorgeous here in Lawrence. It even hit 80! The daffodils in our yard have sprouted, Penny has taken several naps in the sun, Michael grilled hamburgers for us on Monday. I'm daydreaming about a shopping spree that involves cute cotton tunics and cropped jackets, rearranging my shoes so that flip flops are in the front of my closet.
So of course, there's a chance for snow this weekend. My reaction:
I've been here a year and a half now, so I should be used to this. I even know the laser 105.9 radio slogan (Don't like the weather in Kansas? Wait 20 minutes!) But dang it, pick a season!
In other news, I have a tulip scented candle burning, I have flip flops on, and am firmly living in lala land until Spring does actually get here. So there. :) I received a package today from FedEx-TWO boxes of french vanilla iced coffee kcups! That was such a sweet surprise from my dad. So I've got a LOT to share if anyone wants to try one...hint,hint...
Lots been happening in the past week. This is the fourth week of growth groups and I'm l-u-v'ing mine. On Mondays I get at least 5 minutes of stress relief through mindful breathing and relaxation techniques. We did music therapy this past week which was really interesting. I love thinking of lyrics in a completely different way. My Wednesday group is clicking on a very deep level-I'm so glad we can all be open with each other and find comfort in each other as we work through the book. Had a revelation last night that tied in the book and last week's sermon at church. It was about leading a life of significance instead of success. I think we've probably all heard the phrase "you can't take it with you" when talking about material possessions once we're gone, and it's okay to enjoy nice things, but not at the expense of coveting them above everything else, including your relationship with God. You can't let material things define you-you are not the house you live in, the knick knacks inside of it, the amount of money you have in the bank, etc. Likewise in the book we're reading, women who want to lose weight are not the numbers on the scale. Those numbers signify the amount your body weighs-not your worth.
If I say that over and over, it starts to sink in. I don't have to be anything other than a child of God in order to live a content, happy, fulfilled life. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the other stuff-trust me, I know-but really, that's all I HAVE to be. God will lead me to the next step. Today I took a break from a very hectic work week and ate lunch with my husband. After that, I went to the gym and did 30 minutes on the elliptical. I hope one of these days I can get myself to make that a regular habit, because I always feel so good when I'm done. Who knows...I did manage to floss regularly last year, so it could happen!
So of course, there's a chance for snow this weekend. My reaction:
I've been here a year and a half now, so I should be used to this. I even know the laser 105.9 radio slogan (Don't like the weather in Kansas? Wait 20 minutes!) But dang it, pick a season!
In other news, I have a tulip scented candle burning, I have flip flops on, and am firmly living in lala land until Spring does actually get here. So there. :) I received a package today from FedEx-TWO boxes of french vanilla iced coffee kcups! That was such a sweet surprise from my dad. So I've got a LOT to share if anyone wants to try one...hint,hint...
Lots been happening in the past week. This is the fourth week of growth groups and I'm l-u-v'ing mine. On Mondays I get at least 5 minutes of stress relief through mindful breathing and relaxation techniques. We did music therapy this past week which was really interesting. I love thinking of lyrics in a completely different way. My Wednesday group is clicking on a very deep level-I'm so glad we can all be open with each other and find comfort in each other as we work through the book. Had a revelation last night that tied in the book and last week's sermon at church. It was about leading a life of significance instead of success. I think we've probably all heard the phrase "you can't take it with you" when talking about material possessions once we're gone, and it's okay to enjoy nice things, but not at the expense of coveting them above everything else, including your relationship with God. You can't let material things define you-you are not the house you live in, the knick knacks inside of it, the amount of money you have in the bank, etc. Likewise in the book we're reading, women who want to lose weight are not the numbers on the scale. Those numbers signify the amount your body weighs-not your worth.
If I say that over and over, it starts to sink in. I don't have to be anything other than a child of God in order to live a content, happy, fulfilled life. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the other stuff-trust me, I know-but really, that's all I HAVE to be. God will lead me to the next step. Today I took a break from a very hectic work week and ate lunch with my husband. After that, I went to the gym and did 30 minutes on the elliptical. I hope one of these days I can get myself to make that a regular habit, because I always feel so good when I'm done. Who knows...I did manage to floss regularly last year, so it could happen!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Retail Therapy Itch
Gah! I hate when I get like this. Luckily (for my bank account) it doesn't happen *too* often, but man, do I have the fever for new stuff.
It started last night, innocently enough. I needed (NEEDED) more hot chocolate kcups, because they're one of my favorites (and my buddies' favorite, so I need it to lure them to come visit me). While there, I saw iced vanilla coffee kcups, and immediately my brain went something like this: OOOOH MINE. Soo that hopped in my basket. THEN, as I was pulling out my coupon, I saw the store was advertising all of their spring candles, and a new scent: Fluffy Towels. OMG. Okay, I can hear you laughing but I Luh-huv the candles that smell like laundry (Err-clean laundry.) I asked Michael to not let me go to the candle section or I knew I'd be done.
Then we went to JC Penney so Michael could look at their watches. I ended up finding a cute little looks-like-a-bracelet-but-it's-a-watch type watch for moi. Did I need it? Um, no. It's cute, though.
Then today, I caught myself looking at Old Navy for warmer weather shirts. And I want spring towels for the kitchen. And I still want the fluffy towel candle. But I want to save my fun money for other things-this being on a budget thing sucks!
But then I looked on CNN and saw the headline "DEVASTATION IN JAPAN". Gulp. An 8.9 earthquake and following tsunami, hundreds dead and missing, towns under water...holy moly.
What was I whining about again?!?
It started last night, innocently enough. I needed (NEEDED) more hot chocolate kcups, because they're one of my favorites (and my buddies' favorite, so I need it to lure them to come visit me). While there, I saw iced vanilla coffee kcups, and immediately my brain went something like this: OOOOH MINE. Soo that hopped in my basket. THEN, as I was pulling out my coupon, I saw the store was advertising all of their spring candles, and a new scent: Fluffy Towels. OMG. Okay, I can hear you laughing but I Luh-huv the candles that smell like laundry (Err-clean laundry.) I asked Michael to not let me go to the candle section or I knew I'd be done.
Then we went to JC Penney so Michael could look at their watches. I ended up finding a cute little looks-like-a-bracelet-but-it's-a-watch type watch for moi. Did I need it? Um, no. It's cute, though.
Then today, I caught myself looking at Old Navy for warmer weather shirts. And I want spring towels for the kitchen. And I still want the fluffy towel candle. But I want to save my fun money for other things-this being on a budget thing sucks!
But then I looked on CNN and saw the headline "DEVASTATION IN JAPAN". Gulp. An 8.9 earthquake and following tsunami, hundreds dead and missing, towns under water...holy moly.
What was I whining about again?!?
Friday, March 4, 2011
TGIF
Y'all, it's been a pretty awesome week. Random box of goodies from my dad came in the mail, including a groupon for an awesome piece of photography name art. That will get here in about 3 weeks. Thanks pops! I'm ashamed to say that it took me 26 years to finally try Chipotle (hey, sometimes I'm a little slow, okay? You still love me, right?) Had it last Saturday and again with Anna on Wednesday for lunch. Might need to pace myself. Also, I don't want to brag, but I'm pretty sure I've lucked out into having the best growth groups out there (small groups from church).
...okay, maybe I do want to brag. They are just the bomb! The first one is a meditation/relaxation group, where we're going to practice mindful breathing, relaxation techniques, and the art of listening, really listening, engaging in what God is telling us. It's a great group of women. My second group is a study of the book called Made to Crave, which is about how to turn to God instead of food for comfort. I'm very curious to see how this goes. The women in this group are fantastic as well. We laughed, we cried, we just relate to each other so well. I am so PUMPED for this season of groups!
So even though it's rainy and gross outside, I'm feeling...light. Which has turned into productivity, yay! In between work stuff I've vacuumed, swiffered, and am on load #4 of laundry. Hoping to get most of this stuff done so my weekend can be free of household cleaning. It's gonna be a busy weekend.
Also: strawberry diet cokes from Sonic=happiness. Especially when they are half price during Happy Hour. It really doesn't take much for me, if you haven't figured that out.
...okay, maybe I do want to brag. They are just the bomb! The first one is a meditation/relaxation group, where we're going to practice mindful breathing, relaxation techniques, and the art of listening, really listening, engaging in what God is telling us. It's a great group of women. My second group is a study of the book called Made to Crave, which is about how to turn to God instead of food for comfort. I'm very curious to see how this goes. The women in this group are fantastic as well. We laughed, we cried, we just relate to each other so well. I am so PUMPED for this season of groups!
So even though it's rainy and gross outside, I'm feeling...light. Which has turned into productivity, yay! In between work stuff I've vacuumed, swiffered, and am on load #4 of laundry. Hoping to get most of this stuff done so my weekend can be free of household cleaning. It's gonna be a busy weekend.
Also: strawberry diet cokes from Sonic=happiness. Especially when they are half price during Happy Hour. It really doesn't take much for me, if you haven't figured that out.
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