haphazard musings

A little bit about me.

I filled out this survey on Facebook a while back and came across it today. 

It is chalk full of random thoughts I have about myself.  I updated a few, in honor of full disclosure. :)

Enjoy.

1. i enjoy using lowercase - even when writing by hand.

2. i started wearing my retainer (from 8th grade - its rainbow colored and says my name - in case i threw it away...um yeah, that happened a lot) again today, the doctor said I should. (I stopped now.  I don't like it.)

3. sometimes I capitalize just the "I" when I am typing, sometimes i don't. - weird.

4. i wish i took more time to be creative.

5. i honestly don't know what I want to do with my life...but I guess the answer i should be looking for is what does God what me to do with my life...hmm...

6. i also really like to use punctuation when i am typing or writing... the ellipses is my favorite. i think it relays my state of pondering that leads to a random though quite well.

7. i want to travel around the world. seriously all around the world.  (see step 1 below)

8. culture fascinates me - all cultures.

9. i am a really bad speller.

10. as a kid, i loved taking standardized tests, I was good at them. actually, secretly, i still like them.

11. I love my husband's hair. i hope our kids someday could have hair that color and that curly.

12. actually, I just love him. i hope our kids could be like him. (I hope they are like me too though - now wouldn't those be some messed up kiddos...seriously.)

13. I want to do something that will make a difference in someone's life. I don't really feel like i have done that yet.

14. i am not really a phone person.

15. i wish i was better at praying.

16. cooking is one of my favorite things, I like to make new stuff and sometimes, fancy stuff.

17. Ryan doesn't like it when i cook, because i make a huge mess. for some reason, I think its necessary to totally trash my kitchen when cooking...i am working on learning to clean as i go. (I have improved.  I think, but you'd have to ask Ryan to find out the real deal.)

 

(that my friends is only half way through donut making...yep, i still had a long way to go)

18. i like to snow ski.

19. i would like to go skiing this spring...but probably not gonna happen. darn. (sure didn't happen...well maybe next year)

20. i am very rarely sick. i had my first flu this year. call my mom, she'll tell you its true. (sadly, I had another episode this winter - weird.  i get sick as an adult when I am not surrounded by 500 other germ carriers.)

21. I am learning to like coffee...i just wish i could make it like Julie does...(I like it now!  Mochas are my favorite - and I make it with a Keurig.  thanks Santa.

22. i like green. (a lot.)

23. one of my favorite verses is "Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him." Psalm 62:5

24. i really like pizza...i could eat it everyday, but ice cream, that is my true love.

25. ryan and i danced to the song "I'm beginning to see the light" at our wedding, it was fun, we learned to fox trot...too bad we can't remember it! (does anyone want to take lessons this year?)

Wish I could find a picture of that...maybe someday i will look through the cd of like 900 pictures we got from the photographer...but then...maybe i won't.  We still like to dance though.  So here is one of us dancing at another wedding.

 

Hope you enjoyed getting to know us a little better.

#26 - Art & a prize for one lucky reader.

This one is not so very, very exciting, but I love art - of all kinds.

I even love, well...maybe just like...some of the really weird unique modern art. 

I would love some day to spend a great deal of time at the Louvre.

And in Rome and Florence and other similar places checking out the art. 

Frescos, paintings, sculptures.

I love them all - but Frescos are my favorite.

They are often huge and elaborate.  And they last a long time due to the way they are made.

The most famous (in my opinion) fresco includes this:

Major kuddos and a prize will go to the first person to correctly identify the fresco, its artist and its location. 

You have to get all three right to win. 

So anyway, while we were in Mexico, I picked up an original piece "drawn" in coffee beans. 

 

It has joined in the wall collection - that was rearranged yet again.

I bought it from a street vendor for 12 bucks!  Seems like a good deal to me.  Puerto Vallarta was a beautiful city, and I think this drawing really shows it off. 

That steeple was amazing.

Here was my view.  (I couldn't get far enough away to get the whole thing. Its wedged in between lots of other buildings on a tiny little street.)

 

A bright spot!

I tell you what. 

This has been a week.

(I think that is a funny phrase.  It has been week...of course it has...if it wasn't a week, then what would it be?)

Seriously though, it was not my favorite week. 

Sometimes, things just don't go my way.

And sometimes, I am ok with that.

Other times, not so much.

Let's just say this is one of the "other" times.

So, instead of telling you about it and being grumpy for like the 4th day in a row, I am going to tell you about something that makes me happy.

Its called   

They are an awesome organization serving orphans in China. 

Bring Me Hope offers summer camp programs for orphans in different areas of China. 

They are reaching people.  Seriously reaching them.

Chinese college students who serve as translators during camp are coming to Christ. 

But the best part is they are changing the mindset toward orphans and the importance of every life.

Tomorrow we are participating in

 

We are meeting at the Lakey's at 8 pm to watch an awesome video talking about camp and the lives changed.

Then we will meet downtown at 9 pm at the train depot to walk for one hour on the well-lit downtown streets.  

(If you're local and want to join us - leave me a comment!)

We are walking to raise awareness and funds to send kids to camp.

Visit www.bringmehope.org if you want to learn more or sponsor a kiddo to go to camp.

Ryan and I love this group so much!  We are hoping and hoping to plan a little trip to China next year to be camp counselors!

An update on the weekend.

Well, now that I have enjoyed my weekend.  I thought I would provide a little insight on one of the items I was excited about.

Committed. by Elizabeth Gilbert

I am no longer excited.  I read the first 77 pages. 

Today I took the book back to the library.

I was not impressed.

I really enjoyed her other book Eat. Pray. Love. 

But this one I did not. 

I won't bash it because others might enjoy it.  However, I just didn't want to continue to endorse it. : )

Feel free to make your own decision.  It is available now at the Newton Public Library.

A little thank you...

to God for telling everyone to take a weekend. 

Thank you for resting on the 7th day, that I too may rest.

It should look like this:

I am ready for a couple days with no plans other than celebrating our mamas and grandmamas.

(Interestingly, I don't think I have ever referred to my mom as mama - ever.)

Here she is none the less.  And here is Ryan getting down with his mama on the hottest night ever spent in south Texas.

 

So get ready weekend, here I come.

I am armed with all the necessary items for a successful weekend.

• The Book of Hosea (my current study).

• A new book (from the Newton Public Library - we are trying to save money here!)

• You should check out their collection. Haha that's funny! You should laugh, and it's even funnier because I didn't mean to make a pun - those are the best kind.

• I think I can hear my mom laughing at that one from here.  We love puns.

               

• A camera to learn how to use.  (#23 by the way - Buy a Digital SLR.)

           

• A race to train for.

• # 3 - Run a 10K.  Right now I can do 3.1 as evidenced by last week's 5K.  So I have to double that.  Hmm...

So a happy weekend to all of you!  Enjoy, take a rest, and tell yo' mama how much you love her!

I am testing it out.

I have had some requests to purchase some prints of some my photos. 

So I set myself up with an Etsy shop.

If you click here or on the side bar button, it will take you directly to my shop.

Thanks for checking it out!

Feeling good about

growing up.

I have been thinking about that lately. 

No idea why.  Kinda weird really.

Not something I usually think about.

But mostly thinking about it in the context of missing my college girlfriends and the ridiculous stuff we did.

Like taking "family photos"

Those three ladies were my senior year roomies.  We didn't sleep much - but honestly that wasn't a priority. 

Like posing with a moose.

 

Like getting fake tattoos - and then showing them off for all to see.

 

It has been encouraging to know that I can still do all those crazy things even though I am now a "grown up" worrying about things like saving money and building fences.

I was reading Meg's blog and she talked about her fantastic trip with her grown-up friends (all one's that I look up to) and they took pictures that look like mine.

photo courtesy of Meg @ whatever

We still dress-up like super heroes.

 

We get real tattoos.

 

Go on ridiculous scavenger hunts.

And stay up way too late watching movies and telling secrets.

 

Thank goodness growing up doesn't mean getting boring.  It just means I got older. : )

Well we made it...

through April. 

And we only ate out 4 total times.  That's amazing.

We each got one lunch out and one dinner out together.  

So the goal was three times.

But we ended up making an evening trip to Manhattan, dinner on the road was necessary.

So 4.  That is so good.

In the 3 months prior, we spent on average $250 at restaurants.

In April, we spent $65 eating out.

In case you aren't good at (what I call) mental math (I'm not either) that is a savings of $185.

We also even spent less at the grocery store.  Who would have thought.

I think being intent on saving in one area helped me strive to save money in other areas as well.

HOORAY!

Thanks for the meal tips and the encouragement throughout the month.  I think we will try it again!