Don't & Remember

Two frequent commands we read in Scripture:

Don't be afraid: just think about how applicable this is. Every day, we're afraid of something. Failure, rejection, losing someone, going bankrupt, wondering how you can make it to the next day, raising kids wrong, burning dinner, posting too many pictures on instagram, you name it, and we can be afraid.

Does it seem a little trite that God just says, "Don't"? Like when you're really upset about something and someone flippantly says, "I'm sure it'll work out." Really? You're sure? YOU are sure? What power do you have?

But when God says, "Don't" it actually carries weight, because... drum roll please... He actually has power. I don't have many answers today, just thoughts and more questions about why we really fear. What is at its base? I want to think about that this year.

The other: Remember. God would say it to the Israelites all the time. Remember what I did for you...  I always knew about ebenezers, that were piles of rocks that they would stack when God would do something just incredible, so that when people passed them by they would remember the Lord. But I didn't know until recently (or I had never really thought about it) that when they were walking through the desert for 40 years, it was so flat, that they could turn around and literally see for MILES, and in this horizon they would see piles of rocks and remember. Isn't that crazy? That on a tough day, they could simply turn around and stop and stare and remember what God had done.

My thought jumps to, oh I wish we lived then. Or I wish we lived when things were more simple, or when this happened or that happened. But the crazy thing is, we live in a time where I have more pictures of my bedroom rug than my great grandmother had of her parents. I have volumes of journals dictating my thoughts through life sitting in a dusty rubber maid container in my attic that I never read. I have videos of everyone I have ever know at my disposal in a few clicks. I have anything I even wanted sitting in my DVR que, waiting to be watched.  And we still forget.

This year I want to remember more. I want to reflect more. That's part of the blog revamp. I'm still writing in my daily "line a day" journal every night (entering my 4th year- crazy!!!) and also doing this cute little free download from Paper Coterie once a week. Just different ways to remember: some public for some accountability and the sharing factor and some private because not every thought we have should be published.

Happy Sunday. So far I've blogged, written & even turned on my sewing machine- not too shabby for my resolutions.

And what's a post without a pic? Here's something worth remembering: me on a pony out in front of a Kroger store moments before the infamous missing purse incident of 1988.

Getting in the Game

I've always been a huge proponent of participants over observers.  Part of it, is my nature. I am in or I am out; not a lot in between. If you're at a party, be in a conversation that is taking people somewhere. If you're in a Bible study, speak up, share your heart. If you're shopping and someone is lost, go help them. I'm a big fan of jumping into the action versus waiting for someone else to do it.

I'm also a huge hypocrite.

While I've probably done all the above, I've also sat silently waiting for someone else to lead, driven past a broken down car hoping someone else would stop, because it's WAAAY easier to live life at your own speed and on your own agenda.

When it comes to the online world that is so second nature to us we can't even remember what it felt like to wake up and not check your e mail in bed, I'm pushing myself to be a participant. I love blogs: ones about nail polish designs, DIY, home decor, people's kids, photography, you name it, it's in my google reader (or ipad Feedly). Once upon a time I had a blog called Suzz News where I wrote random musings from time to time and one to two people occasionally read it. I was fine with that. I had promised a friend of mine to keep a blog when I moved from Maryland to North Carolina and I have done a horrible job of keeping it up.

I have two New Years Resolutions this year: to learn how to use my sewing machine and to push myself to be a participant in the wild world of blogs that I love so dearly.

I have mulled in my head over and over how to do this blog, what it is, who I want to read it, what to post, and how to be transparent without being that weirdo that over shares and you wonder if she has friends in real life. On a long car ride with a friend, I went on and on and on about my blog quandaries and finally asked for her advice. She simply said: "I think you just need to write."

Write on.

Here's to a year of writing, sewing and more tiny hats. Happy 2013! 

Not where I should be

Where I should be: the class I take at the gym on Mondays.

Where I am: Blogging from a hammock in my back yard. I mean, how could I resist?

I have often shared how I love the art of sharing. It's really my favorite side effect from reading blogs. So here is a book some good friends of mine shared with me. You should read it. Wonderful story telling, a genuine author, a really cute cover, and I think it will inspire to go do something crazy in pursuing deep, meaningful friendships.

Let me know what you think. Love ya, mean it. Now back to my back yard lounging. I'll got back to the gym next Monday.

Am I really blogging from my phone!?

Whoa baby. Once again, my friends have shown me the way. This time, it was CoJoBo teaching me to blog from my phone.

You know what else I can do from my phone? Upset babies hundreds of miles away with FaceTime. Okay, not really, Anna Kate LOVES talking with her aunt Susu, but she had just bumped her head on the phone, prompting the pout.

This is really just a test post. Sorry it's pointless. But really, if I ever start to take all this technology to total granted, someone punch me in the face. Or at least text me. We're living I the time of the Jetsons people!!!

Reflecting

I love blogs, I really do. I just usually forget that I have one. And I usually get annoyed when my favorite bloggers aren't blogging, and look at me... for that I am sorry. But I know that you all have some how found a way to make it through...

I have been reflecting on reflection recently. I always remember a quote from my old YL leader in high school saying that a bunch of old people were polled and one of the number one regrets they had in life was a lack of reflection. That stuck with me because I would have assumed their biggest regret was never learning how to use e mail or watch television at a reasonable volume...

But reflection is so important in life. We learn about ourselves, patterns, seasons and in the midst of that traditions are born. Those are some of my favorite things in life! A few years ago, my friend Courtney (you can read her fabulous blog here) told me about the journal pictured above, One Line A Day. It has 5 mini lines to record your day, any way you'd like, for 5 years. So it'll say April 15 20_ and you fill in for 5 years. I am in year 3 of doing it every single day. It's one of my many night time rituals, and I can't believe I've done it every day. It's been fun/challenging/encouraging/comforting to see what patterns repeat, to see what has changed and just to see what I was processing at the time. Since my job (like most) is pretty seasonal, I like to see where I was just last year at the same time.

I would like to buy everyone I know one of these journals. I have even bought myself an extra one for the next 5 years, because I have horrible luck with products I love going off the market. I guess I could always just make my own... that's for another blog post.

This Sunday, I have relaxed, laid in a hammock, read, grocery shopped, meal planned, and even scrubbed baseboards (woof). Sundays always feel like that fresh start to the week, but in the midst of to-do lists, I want to reflect as well. I want to build reflection into my week, like I do laundry or watching Dance Moms (why can't I stop?!).

Just to hold myself accountable, and to give you a bit of a tease, in the near future, I will blog about:

• Downton Abbey
• My Hunger Games party (if you're not into either of these, how are we even friends? jk)
• Seeing Titanic 3D (okay, I need to get a life)
• House tour with all my steals and deals I've gotten
• My hopes and dreams for my backyard (Have I mentioned that I am "indoorsy"?)
• My invention that I hope to sell to Hallmark for at least $540 Billion
  

Lastly, I sort of hate how hard it is to post pics on this blog, so if you want to, follow me on Instagram, I like it: suzznews is my username (duh).

Personality Quiz: Online Fail

Like most casual internet users, I've had a Twitter account for a few years (if you want me to prove it, check it out @susankehoe, I know, the name is very creative), but in the last 9 months of so, it feels like people have actually started using it. Twitter seemed to always be the over anxious little brother of the internet, who had a cooler, more attractive older sibling in Facebook, who made sure everyone of his friends made fun of his annoying little brother that talked too much. But in the last year, the little Twitter brother grew up, learned the ways of the world, while his older brother started dabbling in some weird things and oddly trying to copy his little brother.

We're now living in a time where most connected people are using Facebook and Twitter often, and dabbling in other addictions such as Pinterest, Instagram, 4Square, and Tumblr just to name a tiny few. I think of it like the days when you had to carry a cell phone, calculator, GPS, 6 megapixel camera, compass and flip camera just to make it through an average trip to the library... I mean those days really weren't that long ago. Now if you have an iphone, you're pretty much good to go climb Mt. Everest. I feel like one day the internet will somehow join forces and we won't be repeating ourselves on every platform possible.

But in the mean time, it creates something in people that I have been furrowing my brow at for a while. All these social medias (of which I am fully apart of, I admit) create online personalities for people. And to say it bluntly, none of them are winning Best Personality in their senior superlatives. Almost all of them boil down to sharing waaaay too much. I've talked on here a lot about the lack of inner monologue in teenagers today (can you imagine yourself blogging/tweeting/facebooking in your room when you were grounded? Every day, I'm grateful my parents were on the far right side of the bell curve when it came to home internet). But it's not just for the kids anymore! A few examples:

• The mom/aunt/sibling who posts too many pictures of small children. I can't say it enough. Put up a few of the best and share them with the world, put the rest in a book that will embarrass them privately for the rest of their lives. And just a friendly reminder, no bodily fluids please. Ever.
  
• Celebrities who self-promote. Ugh, is there anything less becoming? (Other than complaining on a blog, of course).
• Pictures of yourself, looking cute, and justifying it by saying it's part of a "photo challenge". Here's the thing, you probably are really cute, but if you need to share it someone, go walk in a mall and show your bad self off, or if you're desperate, text a picture of your new scarf to your BFF- I did that this week. And she loved it.
• Pastors/Christian authors who brag too much about what's going on in their world. It's some people who I really like to listen to/read. I want to follow them online to glean some wisdom here and there, I just don't want a countdown to your church service or see you retweet your wife's comments on your new jeans. TMI.

Just remember, there is always, always something enticing about an air of mystery. Always. Think: dating, the best book you've read, every dramatic TV show: they don't spill the beans in the previews, on purpose. Facebook newsfeed got it right when they mastered the art of showing you a sample of what was going on, not everything, that way, if you're really interesting in someone, you could click on their profile and stalk away, but in the mean time, they would just tease you with a status update or two.

You may be saying, Susan, you're online personality is ruining my cup of coffee today, the simple answer is to stop following these people online! To that, I say, please stop yelling at me, and I wish it were that easy. But some of these people I have to keep tabs on! And maybe my online personality is a bit sarcastic and quick to point out the flaws in culture. Well, to be honest, it's not that far from my real personality, thank you very much.

new year: new room

Well if my New Year's resolutions were to narrowly escape a carbon monoxide poisoning and roam around a Lowe's helpless like an idiot, well slap me on the back and call me resolved!

Don’t worry, I'm alive. In the midst of some motivation to get moving on my house projects, a noise that undoubtedly disturbed all dogs in the tri-county area, sent me into a tizzy. I had no idea what was going on in my house. Finally, I found a C02 (pretend like that was a mini 2) detector screaming. Like every responsible person, I took the battery out. Then I sat on my front porch, a bit helpless in my pajamas. I just kept thinking, I hope I don't die in this outfit. I started feeling dizzy and thought maybe I was going to throw up. It had to be mental, I kept thinking. (Don't worry, it was). After googling who to call, I got a gas company to come out and check the situation. Everything was fine, probably a faulty detector, he said.

Me: "So, I'm not going to die, right? Hahaha…(nervous laughter)"

Detector Man: "Naw, we usually find 'em all red and nak'd. That's when you know you're gonna die. When you start taking off all your clothes."

Me: "Alright, thanks for coming out!" Then I shut and locked every door in my house.

And off to Lowe's I went to replace the faulty detector, because I didn't totally trust that guy and didn't want to die in my sleep. I know, I'm needy.

Now, I'm an avid shopper, and I pride myself of knowing my way around malls, department stores, groceries, and Tanger Outlets…but I am a moron at Lowe's. I just wander and pretend like I actually am really interested in the caulk isle I accidentally turned down. It's not that I won't ask for help, I just like browsing at my own pace and finding what I need. Truly, Lowe's needs to equip you with a personal shopper when you walk in the door. A nice young man that will find all your stuff and not make fun of your lack of knowledge of primer and S clips.

I bought a lot of stuff. The most stuff I have ever bought at a hardware store. But I really went to get some wood cut for some shelves. I hated this part the most. I finally asked for help.

Me: "Hi, I’m, umm, I, you see, I, I.. I don't know what I am doing. But I need some wood for some shelves. And I actually have dimensions!!"

19 year old Male Saw Operator: "Okay, what kind of wood?"

Me: "Like, normal wood."

MSO: "Yeah, we have an isle full of wood…"

Thankfully I left with wood that by some miracle I had actually measured dimensions correctly for. I had the wind in my sails to tackle some projects that I have had on a to-do list since November. I love multi-tasking projects. If I have one going on in every room, as I walk around, I have something to work on.

But my main goal was to tackle my guest room, in which I wanted to have:

• A place for someone to sleep.
• A crafting closet.
• A gift wrapping station.
• A place for all my cards & stationery.

I didn't take great before pictures because I didn't really realize I would be tackling this project so quickly.

And here is the transformation. Move that crap!

I was so proud of myself, I can't even tell you. And I share all of this, not to brag but to show you how messy this room was. If this room can be transformed, I am SURE anything in your house can. And now if you don't get a present or birthday card from me, you can call me out. More house projects to come!

Caring, Sharing, Every Little Thing That We Are Wearing...

Hello there. Remember when I had a blog? I vaguely do. I’d like to think that I was not posting because I didn't have anything important to say and that today, I finally do, but to be honest, this blog had never been about important things, so you're still going to get the my random inner monologue.

Okay, so maybe deep, down inside, I stopped blogging for a few legit reasons. I've been contemplating how incredibly vain we are as a society right now, with me at the top of this list. Facebook is the perfect storm for this. We want to be friends with who we want to be friends with. We want to post everything flattering about us. We really, really want to be liked and affirmed, and for some reason, we get that from people liking funny status updates and commenting on pictures. But we also want to do all of this from the comfort of home in our pajamas with holes in them that no one on facebook will ever really see.

Blogs are even worse. I have often written on here how much I enjoy "bad blogs". It's kinda of like that needy friend you have on facebook who posts WAAAAY too much information, but like a good sale on Jcrew.com, you just can't stop looking at it. But the heart of blogs are good, I believe, because they are based on something we all love: sharing.

The very best blogs that are hard to not love (for example, Pioneer Woman) have a few things in common, that most bloggers try to copy but usually are not successful. The blogger has a gift that they are aware of and comfortable with (ie: photography, writing, parenting, cooking, eye makeup application). They don't take themselves too seriously, and they are the first to point out funny mistakes or flaws they make, without making you feel bad for them. And they share this gift through a beautiful story. Who doesn’t love a great story? And oh yeah, it helps if they post great pictures of things too. You can't be a blogger today and take crappy pictures. That's it. Their readers will hang on every word and check their google reader every chance they get, because we love seeing someone good at something that is also good at sharing it.

It's why we love pinterest. And because of pinterest, every middle class home in America will slowly begin to look identical: pops of yellow with chevron stripes somewhere (I'm guilty). We love being inspired, but most of us are too lazy so we simply copy. But that's okay. Every great make up tip, recipe, or decorating idea I have ever gotten was stolen from someone who was willing to share it with me. And I have benefited greatly from that.

This week when my family was all together for Christmas, we had a "World Famous" themed dinner, where everyone had to make their dish that is "world famous" in their world. My sister-in-law made an amazing pudding dessert, one brother will made a savory mac-n-cheese that put us all into a food coma, another made roasted broccoli stems (my personal fav) and I made some world famous chicken that I learned how to make at a pot luck in college, from a girl willing to share it with me. And I bet as we go back home from Christmas, we'll all end up emailing each other our recipes.

Sharing is a beautiful thing.

Merry Listmas!

Tis the season... to start sentences with 'Tis the season'... and for lists too. I love me a good list. One that I can cross things off with a fat sharpie marker to make myself feel productive. Have you ever written a list and included things you've already done for the day, like shower? Guilty!

I've made lists of gifts that need to be purchased (check!), work duties that need to be done (check!) and now house needs that need to be completed before I head out for a week (in progress check!). But more importantly, I have a top ten list of things I want to do on my Christmas break... ahhhhhhhh. Breathe.

And yes, I'm sorry it's been like 4 months since my last post. I have written some posts and then thought, who the heck would wanna read this? But I promise at least one more to come this week.

merry listmas!

Pin-isms

About a year ago, my friend Heather (this is where I would highlight her blog, but she stopped updating that years ago, when blogger started being weird, so I just have to nag her for pics from her family and cute stuff that she makes, enough said) told me about a new website she was digging: pinterest.com. When I joined, Heather was one of the few "followers" I had on there. I'm not trying to brag, but we were WAAAAAY ahead of the game on this one. We were like MONTHS before all the major bloggers coughyounghouselovecough. Thanks Heather, I appreciate it.

I'm not going to go on and on about pinterest, because you either are on it and you're pinning til your daddy takes your pinterest away or you're living in the 20th century and simply blogging about it won't convince you. Pinterest quickly replaced my tags on google reader, and it's an a great inspiration for home decor, recipes, style, anything really.

Recently, my bff Mary was asking a friend of hers if she was on pinterest.com, and she responded:

"I'm neither a gay man nor a stay-at-home-mom, so no."

Ohhhh... that stings. Mary and I are also neither of those, but we are still, #duh pinning. All I do is pin pin pin, no matter what.... okay you picking up on what I'm doing? There are lots of "pinisms" like things that you constantly see on pinterest.com. Kind of annoying.

• References to "pinning" from culture, popular songs (aka what I've been doing this whole post).
• The phrase "Keep Calm and Carry On" and every possible parody of it. Woof. No one should own this phrase in art form, on a coffee mug, note pad or a dog sweater.
  
• Pictures of naked people that are "artsy." Yeah right. (That one is for Mattie).
• Phrases like "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels", "Fast 100 Workouts" and "You're lapping everyone on the couch". News flash, we're all on the couch right now. And I don't know about you, but mostly naked pictures of women don't inspire me.
  
• Lots of pictures of kids, saying something about sorry for the mess, we're making memories.
  
• Audrey Hepburn quotes about being happy.
• Instructions on how to make every form of pom poms (which I highly enjoy).
• And everything in yellow and gray. Which I am guilty of contributing to. My high school girls (who I convinced to get on pinterest) noticed the gray and yellow theme and now make fun of me for it.
  

Okay none of that really matters. And you'll only mildly enjoy this if you're on pinterest. I just laugh when I see someone on facebook say something about discovering pinterest. I'm like pssh....helllllo 2010. That was mean.

A non-update, update

Shooting a gun in the Wild West.

I have been here, there and everywhere this summer, and by that, I mean Colorado and Georgia all under the umbrella of Young Life...and at camp we intentionally unplug, so although I checked my email and pinterest from time to time, I didn't make it a priority to blog. To my dear fans, I apologize for the agony that put you through these few weeks.

After being "off the grid" for a bit, it always feels like you need to update people on what life has been like. I'm not really going to do that, because the mundane stuff is still mundane on a blog and the good stories need to be laughed at face to face, or over the phone at least. But the whole subject of "updating" made me want to blog tonight about things that I am a little sick of. Don't worry, I am in a good mood. I think venting while in a good mood is the best time to vent.

A former good friend of mine (don't worry, I am 99% sure they don't read this blog) e mailed me recently totally out of the blue to update me on their life. I think they were genuine in wondering how I was doing, and they felt the need to kick if off by sharing their own life. All of which is wonderful (no bad blood, we just hadn't spoken in years)... but they told me about every possible wonderful life change you could ever have, ie: falling in love, marriage, impressive schooling, moving, high paying job, baby on the way and moving to a cool city for an even higher paying job, and still ended the sentence with "other than that, not much going on, what about you?"

I thought about lying, but figured they could scout out my lies on facebook. Then I considered de-friending them and then lying. But all of a sudden that sounded crazy and desperate. It reminded me that I still really care about what people think of me and how they perceive my life. I hope I'm not the only one out there... so I humbly wrote back, and was thankful that I at least had a job, friends and a somewhat recent relocation to share about, and then that person never wrote back. How annoying. But I am over it, and with that long intro story, I give you:

Things I am SO over right now...

• Obama on twitter. I "follow" the White House on twitter, because I felt like it was pretty patriotic and hip to do so, but enough with the comments that Obama is the first ever president in the history of the United States to tweet. No kidding. Yeah, I've always been disappointed that Adams and Truman never made time in their schedule to update their peeps in 140 characters or less. Congratulations Obama for using a medium that the Kardashians mastered in 2008.
• The phrase "Keep Calm and Carry On." Oh my gosh, it's everywhere. And pinterest only makes it worse. It's like the mom version of the silly band. I see it on every journal, cross stitch and note pad in the TJ Maxx stationery isle, and it needs to be sent back the British government that made it up back in the 30s.
• Moron juries. I mean really, Orlando? That was the best group of folks you could gather to render a verdict? If you think I'm being harsh, you obviously didn't watch Dateline last night when they interviewed some of the Casey Anthony jurors. Yikes. Every stereotype about Florida is true. I'm sorry. I like some of your beaches and we will always be grateful for Disney, but we could pretty much let everything else go down there.
• People saying that the movie "Bridesmaids" is raunchy... okay, hear me out. A friend and I just saw it the other day, walked in probably 5 minutes late, and thankfully missed a sketchy scene that you could obviously figure out what was going on... but it was one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Laugh out loud, genuine belly laughs. I mean there is bad language and suggestive humor, so don't go see it with your mother in law, but go see it. It's worth it. And if you've seen Hangover, it's no where near as bad... there I said it.
• Two words: summer tv. Gross.
  

What are you over? I hope it's not my blog... good to be back :)

Bready or Not

I hope you're not getting sick of side comments about couponers and the tales from the ranch that this blog is full of. Maybe just one more post. Have it in you?

I confess, I fell into the spell of crazy couponers that I JUST made fun of. Just barely though. Harris Teeter was doing triple coupons. You heard me TRIPLE. Up to 99 cents. Boom! I found a few random coupons I had under a dollar and swung by the store on the way home. I was surprised to not see as many coupon binders and moms with sharp glances and even sharper elbows. But ahhh the completely empty shelves explained it all. They beat me to it. Almost every deal. So I checked out with like 3 items, one of which being a random package of frozen bread rolls that were crazy cheap. I came home with 2 friends surprisingly stopping by. Our house was a mess, but I thought, hey at least I can serve cheap bread. I pulled out the 3 loaves and started to read the instructions. Enter the most complicated baking instructions in the history of the world. It involved multiple pans, ovens being turned off and on, everything in 20 minute intervals, and yes, a cooking time of 16 hours. 16 hours. I could order bread from Italy and have it arrive before this bread was done baking. I promised the guests if they came back by 10AM tomorrow they might have some bread.

And that my friends is why couponing is dumb. Who wants free bread that takes an eternity to bake? Ugh.

Back at the ranch... our nasty/cold May weather has been disappointed and our grass is growing at an exponential rate. One day we'll cut it... but while inspecting the jungle that is our back yard, I saw the best sign of spring:

Our neighbors told us that we had cherry trees in the backyard, enough to bake pies while we wait for the free bread to bake. Can't wait to pick produce out of the back yard. Next to the free range chickens, and I would say the free range bunnies, but they are now "sleeping" in John Boy's freezer. Gross.

Speaking of local rodent-like animals, I found this little, scared guy on our window sill yesterday. I think he was in a state of shock because he was just staring for like 15 minutes into oblivion. My roommate/animal rescuer Janelle was preparing a remedy of soggy crackers for him while we lost track of him. I think me snapping pictures of him helped him snap back to reality. My pictures of him are so cute, I am thinking about starting a photography blog about him and selling canvases of him on etsy for $200.

I am waiting for National Geographic to call at any moment. For now, back to the bread.

Extreme...everything

Have you noticed TLC's programming recently? Let's go back in time and hit on some classic, TLC faves:

• Trading Spaces (before Ty left the show to pursue a DUI and emotional, giant bus reveals)
• A Dating Story (friends setting up friends on blind dates never works out, it's awesome)
• What Not To Wear (never can go wrong with this one. They have been single-handedly keeping wide leg, dark denim in business)
• Jon & Kate Plus 8 (before Kate got plastic surgery, starting wear heels EVERYWHERE, and when episodes did not revolve around a trip to somewhere exotic, Kate having to hold an insect, screaming bloody murder and insulting a worker)

Well that was then, this is now:
Hoarders living with layers of dead animals.
Crazy extreme couponers who sometimes store extra helpings of Smart Water, dish detergent, cereal and ziplocks underneath their children's beds.
Or they even dumpster dive for extra inserts. Last week, at the grocery store, I ran into a few LEGIT extreme couponers (I happened to go on a double-super day) and they were a sight to see. They had giant binders to keep them organized, partners to push extra carts and a fierce stare that you would not want to interrupt.

But here's the thing: most extreme couponers that they show on TV are pretty unhealthy, and stock up on ridiculous items, like candy and 4,000 tubes of toothpaste. They boast that they save their family thousands of dollars a year, by merely organizing, scouring the earth for coupon clippings for 60 HOURS A WEEK. I would say maybe getting a full time job could save your family even more money...no child can nap for 60 hours/week. Coupon mom's, refer to my last post, don't forget you have children.

All that to say, I have become an Extreme Couponer. Okay, not really. Phew. I feel like there is the normal, I'm-Going-To-Keep-My-Eye-Out-For-The-Normal-Things-You-Would-Already-Buy. Exhibit A for me is hairgel. I go through like a tube & a half a week. I recently found a deal of a lifetime online and ordered 30. Yep, 30. My roommates were about to call TLC. I should be set until July. But, last week, I went to the store and saw hair gel marked down EVEN more, so I couldn't resist. Then, I found canned pumpkin, which I use almost ever week in baking muffins, and sometimes is expensive/in a drought, on extreme clearance for 79 cents- BAM!! Holla! So I took a picture to expose my insanity.


Really, I just think TLC started Extreme Couponers, just to ensure they would have seasons of Hoarders to come.

More Mania

Part of the royal banner.
Mmmmm mamosas
Okay, so maybe we were just a lil edgy...


Can't have a royal wedding without scones.

Royal Mania

I don't really do twitter that much, so I thought the closest thing would be to upload some of our Royal Wedding pics during the somewhat boring part of the ceremony.

My friend Julia's pin, since she married her husband, who was born on the same day as Prince William.
hello 4AM...
Julia borrowed my "tiny hat"
Good morning mamosas! Cheers!

My vera bradley tea pot came in handy.
My pin, obviously.

Julia hosted the sleepover.

Kate looks beautiful, so does her sister, Pippa. I just feel like they need their own private ceremony where they can actually be emotional and not nervous. Just saying. Jolly good party though.

More to come...

Da Rules

I have started about 10 blog posts recently, and either deleted them, lost them in a accidental battery depletion (does that make sense?) or just saved them in a word document for a rainy day. All that to say, I haven't had much blog-worthy recently. Just random thoughts that I figured no one really needed to know. Plus I have very few non-Young Life-y pictures to showcase, and ugh, no one enjoys a blog post without pictures. All that to say, here is a non-picture post. I'm sorry. But will bulleted thoughts make up for the lack of eye candy?

I'm a rule follower, always have been, therefore I also like to think of myself as a rule-maker, kind of like a legislator of sorts. This year, I narrowed down my two Rules of Life (apart from the Biblical truths, duh).

• No loitering. Anytime. (ie: always go with intention)
• Be normal
  

I swear, follow those two and you'll be fine. You can fight me on those.

But, I have been mulling around the rules of facebook in my mind for years. So now, I present them to you, comment as you feel led:

• Status updates should be limited to 1) something that will help the cause of mankind or 2) something that will cause general laughter/joy. Nothing else.
  
• General remarks about bodily fluids/hygiene or lack there of should not be shared. That applies to yourself, your patients, students, spouse and even small children. If I wanted to hear about poop, I would have been a plumber.
  
• Never post something on someone's wall that you wouldn't feel comfortable broadcasting over the PA system of your local grocery store. Because it's basically the same thing.
  
• If you have a lot of professional pictures of yourself taken, that is fine, (okay, it's not really) but you should probably limit to 2 albums of headshots. Max. Anything more makes the world question your level of vanity.
  
• Complaints about ones job should be limited to: never appearing on facebook. If you need to complain about your job, call a friend, go to happy hour with your crazy co-workers, write in a diary, go eat ice cream. Don't vent about it on facebook, it's tacky, and I guarantee there is someone out there that is either offended by it, or would LOVE to have a paying job. This takes me to my next rule:
• Don't vent on facebook. It's tacky. The only exception I will allow is if it's over an unfair call in sports or a bad choice on the Bachelor.
  
• Okay this one may hurt. Moms are taking over facebook a little. And I can't think of a thing that remained cool once moms took over. Minivans. Coupons. PTA meetings. Bake sales. Tapered jeans. I'm not saying moms can't be on facebook, I swear. But if you are a mom on facebook, you may need to refer to life rule #2 above, and especially the facebook rules about status updates and bodily fluids more than the average facebook user. Sometimes it worries me how much moms update their status. Don't forget you have children.
  
• This one may also hurt. Believe it or not, if you're engaged there are others things going on in the world apart from your planned day of wedded bliss (unless you're Wills & Kate). I worry about engaged girls going into a facebook depression after their big day, but no worries, status' involving "I have the best husband in the world" replace comments about dress fittings, cake tastings, and crazy Mother-in-Laws. I just threw up in my mouth. Sorry maybe my gag reflect is a bit more sensitive than yours.
• Please continue to flirt on facebook in a public realm, don't resort to messages, because it's so much fun to watch.
  
• If you are a cute, single guy, please don't have any privacy settings, because it's hard for us to get to know you any other way. Seriously.

There are more, but I'm sure I've offended enough. Any you would add/subtract?

Back at the ranch...

It's been a while since we've have a John Boy post. Here's what you've missed:

• JB still asks us to four-wheel. Still haven't taken him up on it.
• Usually on Monday nights, there is a knock on the door with our lil farm hand reminding us to take out our garbage, us looking sad, and him dragging our receptacle down to the curb (we have a really long driveway).
• JB recently "stopped by" during a YL girls night at my house. His eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw 15 attractive non FFA girls in the house. We made him leave after 15 minutes. Every few days he asks us to have another girls night.
  
• JB had a great plan to ask a girl to prom. We were trying to make it really impressive like they always did on Laguna Beach but he got scared and just ended up asking her the ol' fashion way. She said yes, we celebrated, he asked where to get a "croquet" and we told him it was a corsage. But about 2 weeks later, the girl changed her mind. Sad day. We were ticked for him. Not enough to go with him, but just enough.
  

Enter scene 2. New John Boy. His name is Jake Man.

We had heard of JM from JB, but never had seen him. Until recently. Here are JM's stats:

• Age: around 5
• Last name? In his words "Jacob". Jake Man Jacob. Nice ring to it.
  
• Hobbies: throwing rocks waaay too close to our cars, leaving wagons in our driveway, playing in the abandoned dog house in our backyard, and knocking on our back door.
• Guardians? Never seen em.
  

He knocked on the backdoor today and he is just tall enough for his head to peak over the glass storm door. I was spotted. I greet him with a smile, notice his neon green bike with a fake speedometer on the handlebars and ask him what's up? He was lonely, his friend went home or something like that. We had a few awkward moments of silence and I talked to him about rollerblades and the sun. I told him to go have fun and see ya later.

3 minutes later, in the middle of my Friends re-run, little knock on the door. I froze, but he already saw me on the couch. Dang it. I thought there might be something wrong, so I got up, opened the door, and he said with a lil scrunched up face:

"The bees are out again."

I couldn't hold it in very long, and just burst out laughing. In his face. He was confused, so I talked to him about bees for a while. I think he was dying to come inside, but I think that's against the law, so I wrapped it up and told him I needed to make dinner. Then shut every door in the house.

He's our little Dennis the Menace. I think everyone has a neighbor like him.

The Stunt Man

So as I promised early in my blog career, I love to steal ideas from other people's blogs that are much more creative than mine.

This was my latest theft, from AshleyAnnPhotography

I knew a little boy that fit that bill as an amateur Stunt Man. He's my friend Amanda's lil dude, who has so much energy, he usually just has to kick the air to get it all out.

I used different colors and the spacing of the letters wasn't perfect, but he didn't seem to care.

Long, live stuntmen! And stealing from other people's good ideas.

Thhhhhh Thursday!

One of my BFFs was just telling me about her new idea for her blog: Sermon Thursday. She said it's in place of Thirsty Thursday.

Now I love Thursdays, always have. I'd even say they are one of my favorite days of the week. I think it goes back to the anticipation as a kid for the weekend (well, let's be honest, that feeling never stops), where you know you won't have homework or spelling tests to worry about. Then in the late 90s, Friends took over your Thursday night (one of my all time favorite shows). In college, it was a big party night, which our friends didn't really engage in, but with Friday classes scant in the journalism department, it was always a fun, late night. In recent years, the Jim and Pam romance got us excited for a "Must See TV" night. These days, there is nothing particularly thrilling about the day, but still love it.

All that to say, here's a sermon I listened to recently, from Andy Stanley (North Point in Atlanta, GA). It's about ungratefulness, something as he says, we rarely recognize in ourselves, but see in others, ALL THE TIME! Interesting stuff.

I Owe Who?

Enjoy. Happy Thursday.

Pink Puff Ball Day

First of all, this is just a reminder to you on this Lovely-Day.
Here was my attempt at Valentine's Day Decor. Okay plus some candles and plus some pink vases, but I didn't take pics after I put those out.
This is to show the awkwardness of this banner that I insisted on. You sort of had to duck under it every time you went to your bedroom.
The banner turned out cute, but here was the process: so I bought it last year at Target the day after for like a quarter or something, and it came with the white letters cut out and "all the necessary decorating pieces." Ya right. More like 5 small pieces of paper and a few stickers. I had to make due and turned the paper into polka dots and had to dip into my own paper collection.
And these pink puffs are my favorite. Marshalls is one of my favorite stores, and I am contemplating writing an entire book series on how to navigate and benefit from this great store (not to mention it is literally the only thing we have in Salisbury). But my friend Marshall and my friend Martha Stewart have been courting lately and I am greatly benefiting from their relationship. The stationery isle (my fav) has recently been blossoming with Martha's crafts so cheap you can't afford NOT to buy them, and these puff balls where in the mix. (I know you were wondering when the puff balls would be brought back into relevant conversation). I have bought a few different packs and they are easy to make and even cuter to hang up.

Happy Valentine's Day! Know that you are dearly, dearly loved today! (Ephesians 5:1).