Roomie Reunion 2009!

Every year my college roommates get together. Well, it's really my roommate (who happens to also be my best friend) and her roommates that she had after I ran off and got married. We've had varying levels of success getting the roommates together, and this year it included myself, Leanna, and Karen (who happens to be my sis-in-law), and then my nephew Ian, and of course, Caleb!

I got to host this year. I was so excited, because I love Fort Worth and have always wanted to spend an evening downtown with my favorite roomies. And that's exactly what we did!

We got all gussied up, because what is getting together with girls without a makeover?

We were silly....

We took lots of pictures....

ate ice cream....


and to top it all off, went to a comedy club and got to participate on stage!

It was a great night. Jon, who was home with Caleb (Ian's grandparents were watching him that night), predicted that we would be home by ten. Well, we did leave downtown by ten, but only because it was the middle of the week and nothing stayed open later than that! I, for one, really enjoyed my girl time with no baby. It was a blast to hang out and have fun.

As for the rest of the reunion, it was spent with Caleb and Ian, so I'll put those posts up on Caleb's blog. Eventually.

What to Blog About

My husband, who has not blogged in 7 months, tells me I need to post more often.

Ahem.

I have been reading The Birth Order Book by Dr. Kevin Leman, and it has been quite eye-opening. Though not normally attributed to a last-born like myself, I have found that I am a "frustrated perfectionist." I have in my mind the perfect way to do something, which is generally such a lofty goal that it is impossible to obtain. I therefore procrastinate on it (because I don't want to start when I know I can't finish), then other things pile up behind it, but I can't start those until I've done my first task justice, which I now realize I will never be able to do. So my life comes to a standstill and I get more and more overwhelmed about my growing list of tasks. Anybody relate to this?

Evidently the answer is to lower my goals to more realistic measures, and then GET IT DONE. Mark it off my list so I can move on! So fine. The next few posts may not be thoughtfully written or picture-laden, but they will catch you up on the things going on in our lives. Which, believe me, is enough to handle in itself without trying to put pictures to it.

I am resisting the urge to re-read this post before publishing, or even finding an image of the book I'm reading, or at least linking to it on Amazon. Let me just say it really bothers me, but you are getting a post, and that is all. The end.

:)

I Will Rise

There's a peace I've come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul
I can say "It is well"

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

[Chorus:]
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

There's a day that's drawing near
When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

[Chorus:]
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
[x2]

[Chorus:]
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

Brought to you by the letters I-K-E-A

Yesterday I met up with Margie to shop the day away! It was so much fun! Margie introduced me to Sam Moon. Crazy place! I found some great buys, but it was pretty overwhelming. From here on out I think I'll stick to the smaller Compass here in my own town. Which Margie also introduced me to, now that I think about it. That girl loves jewelry.

After Sam Moon we ventured over to IKEA. What a great place! I decided to add accents of orange to my house, and had a small budget to spend that day, so it made for a really fun shopping trip. We'd scan all that we could see, and if we spotted orange, we'd go over and check it out. If it was pretty and cheap, we'd toss it in the basket. If we liked it but it took too much of my budget, I put it on a wish list to get sometime in the future. We came away with some really fun things! I haven't put them up in the house yet, because if things go the way I think they're going, we won't be living here much longer. So my new orange purchases will stay in their packages until we get where we're going.

I had such a great day with Margie. I could never have made it through IKEA by myself, and she was a good person to help me stay on my budget (mostly...) and pick fun things. Plus it was a great time for she and I to hang out, which we don't get to do enough of these days! I came home pooped, encouraged, and excited about my new orange IKEA purchases.

What to do...

I need help. As you know, I am not an organized person. At the moment, I have several things on my mind. LOTS of things. Hosting Thanksgiving, Caleb's birthday party, Christmas presents, possible move and new home decorating, birthdays, photography, designing stuff for church.....

So, how does one keep it all organized? Let's go ahead and note that I cannot keep it straight in my head, so I need another solution. How do you organized people do it??

Roadtrip to Arkansas

Just a quick note to say that we're headed to Arkansas this afternoon! There's a church there interested in Jon for a youth/education position. We've met with the committee once, and now they want us to come see the town, visit with the pastor, etc. It's not the official "in view of a call" visit, but I think it's the step before that. So, we'll see! Please pray that Jon and I (and the search committee) will get a very clear word from the Lord about His will for us.

Power to the People

If you've been to Wal-Mart lately, you've probably noticed their new branding for all their grocery items. And if you're like me, it's caused you to lose your appetite. Seriously, what focus group told them this was appealing??

You know what I think when I look in my cabinet?

"All I've got to eat is chili and refried beans, and that just sounds gross."

I can't just look on the shelves and see green, yellow and orange and think, "Oh good, I've got green beans, corn and carrots...yum!" (Not that I would ever say that about carrots, but that's beside the point.) The point is that these cans have sat untouched in my cabinet for two weeks because their contents are not easily recognizable by their can design. What does that mean? Boring meals for me, and less money for Wal-Mart. Someone was not thinking when they came up with these designs.

What do you think? I'm putting up a poll, so vote and let your voice be heard! I may not buy name-brand, but that doesn't mean I deserve bad design!