Burnt Buscuits

Someone sent me this in an email the other day and I thought it was sweet. Just passing it along...

When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burned biscuits."

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides - a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!"

You know, life is full of imperfect things.....and imperfect people. I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else.

What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each others faults - and choosing to celebrate each others differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

Skinny Jeans

I went shopping for skinny jeans yesterday. Mission aborted.

In the "Women Over A Certain Age"(like 16) department I found very few pairs of skinny jeans. In the Junior Department however skinny jeans were everywhere. With coaxing from my daughter I tried a pair on from the junior department. Humiliating. All the bad adjectives could be inserted here. Not a good look. I tried the skinny jeans from the "older" department. Still not a good look. My conclusion: Not everyone should wear skinny jeans. I will need to find another way to wear the fabulous boots.

I also tried a pair of Not Your Daughter's Jean that I had heard great things about. Didn't like those either. For one they ran about 2 sizes too small. If I am going to pay $100+ a pair (not that I ever would) I want them to lie to me and tell me I am 2 sizes smaller than I really am, not 2 sizes larger. Why would I pay that much to feel worse about myself? I can do that by standing at the right angle in the privacy of my own room, for free. I really thought I would LOVE these jeans and be willing to put them on my charge account. Didn't happen. They say they "lift and tuck", but let me tell you all they lift and tuck has to go somewhere...spilling out other places...not pretty.

I am praying that bootcut and straight leg never go out of fashion or I will be in trouble. I think I am going back to my Levi's, or maybe a good ol' pair of sweats. Did I tell you that not everyone should wear skinny jeans?

Random points

*Happy today is a day off
*Happy the sun is shining instead of rain
*Love the Fab 40 list - I may need to expand this thing because of its effect on keeping me focused!
*Thinking about purchasing a pair of skinny jeans...but not teenager skinny...39 year old skinny. I recieved some great boots for Christmas and they really need to be worn with pants inside.

I need some help. I want to buy some giftcards or small gifts ($10) for the teachers I work with to show appreciation and as unimaginable as it is not everyone likes coffee (shock). Do you have any great ideas?

Fabulous Forty

I am so excited to be posting my fabulous forty list. It is twice as much fun since it isn’t just me trying to tackle 40 things but doing it with friends. Some of the things I will be doing more than once. As I look over the list I see that I need to prepare and plan ahead. Having the supplies on hand will help. Maybe there is something to that old saying about how you are more likely to meet a goal if you write it down. Who knew? I also want to try to take pictures to document the fabulous forty

1. Take 1 picture everyday for one month – can’t do 365 but 30 seems do-able.
2. Learn how to take a GOOD picture/be in the pictures. I always shy away from the camera, not wanting to be photographed. I want it documented that I was here!
3. Print and complete photo collage for my living room.
4. Go on a Girls' Weekend Get-Away
5. Have a new friend over for lunch
6. Go with friends out for lunch/dinner. I foresee this in the near future…
7. Make friendships a priority by giving them time to cultivate.
8. Read through the New Testament in a new-for-me-version, I am going to use The Message.
9. Try a new vegetable in the garden. Kohlrabi? Cabbage? And then keep up on the garden
10. Plant an herb garden and actually use the herbs.
11. Plant a tree (or two) in my front yard
12. Make raspberry jam from my own raspberries. I am planning for a bounty of raspberries!
13. Can something: maybe tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, applesauce, or peaches.
14. Learn how to make a piece of jewelry I would be proud to wear, I have an idea and it involves resin.
15. Take a friend a meal for no reason.
16. Have a family over for dinner
17. Send a cards when I see someone needs encouragement. Note to self: have cards on hand.
18. Go on an overnight trip with Ron
19. Make Ron’s birthday special (40) May
20. Make Emma’s birthday special (17) December
21. Make Eli’s birthday special (14) September
22. Make Eden’s birthday special (13) February
23. Make Eva’s birthday special (9) May
24. Make Ella’s birthday special (4) February
25. Remember my friends birthdays with a little token, already working on this one.
26. Take a Community Ed. Class. Maybe cooking, self defense, or couponing ?
27. Exercise for 30 minutes a day/5 days a week for one month. Just got a stationary bike so excuses about the weather are no more.
28. Hike Badger Mt.
29. Take a picture of the same thing in each of the 4 seasons
30. Laugh out loud with some good friends. I think this one needs to be done more than once.
31. Read a good fiction book (I never read fiction) Ron bought me Scared for Christmas.
32. Throw a themed dinner party. Not too fancy or involved but lots of fun!
33. Treat myself to a pedicure…hopefully with friends.
34. Paint a piece of furniture with Jamie.
35. Paint Eva and Ella’s bedroom.
36. Paint the girls bathroom a fun color.
37. Learn to sew something, maybe a pillow or apron
38. Make the flower arrangement that I have been thinking about for 3 YEARS
39. Put a little more effort into my appearance…maybe highlights? Definitely work on keeping my nails manicured.
40. Only buy flattering clothes I love to wear.

So there you go. Thank you Jamie for being fabulous with me!

Fabulous Forty

Twenty Ten is here! Wow!

A dear friend told me recently that she thought that 2009 was the year of "struggle and strife" and after I thought about it I think she was right. There were lots of difficult things that happened and that we experienced. So much of this life is not necessarily the choices that we make but how we respond to the situations in our life that we have no choice in. It is just a path of our journey. 2010 has started bittersweet for our family. My sister in law lost her battle with cancer on New Year's Day and her first grandbaby was born on New Year's Eve. It was a long hard battle but thank God for her salvation and the promise of heaven. We know that it was not the end for her...just another beginning. She was 40 years old.



I want to respond well this year. I want to live with purpose and direction. So thanks to Jamie and with her encouragement I am committing to do 40 things this year that I turn 40. We will update once a month and let you know what we are working on and have accomplished towards our goals. The items on my list may not seem like much to you, but it will help me live life this year on purpose. Come back Monday and see our full lists!

I dedicate this Fabulous Forty to Liz Meyer Shelby
October 2, 1969-January 1, 2010

The Love Theme Recap

Last year I chose a “THEME” for the year. I saw it somewhere around the blogosphere and thought it was a great idea. I felt the Lord leading me to choose the theme of love. And with all things that the Lord guides me in, it turned out nothing like what I thought it would.

I imagined a year filled with warmth, kindness, time spent with friends and family. Imagine warm chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk, Ah, heavenly. My goal was to really invest in people, not just on a surface “How ya doin’” but really investing. So now I ask myself; “How did that work out for you?”

I have learned some hard lessons this year.

Sometimes people don’t want your investment if it means you know their business. As long as all is going well it is OK, but let’s say things are not going well. This lesson has taught me that now more than ever that I want accountability. If a friend sees something in my life that is not right I hope they would love me enough to point it out, not just pat me on the shoulder. I want to have a soft enough spirit to receive their words.

I have learned that forgiveness and trust are two very different things. You can forgive someone but that doesn’t mean you have to trust them. God has asked me to forgive and that means leaving the past where it is and moving on, but it doesn’t mean that I put myself in the same situation again.

Seasons change and people move in and out of your life. Sometimes by physically moving and other times it is because God needs to remove some branches to make way for new growth. Both ways are painful. I am thankful that God has placed a few key people in my life that are my anchors. I know I can count on them at anytime to be there for me. Some of these people I talk to on a very regular basis and others are more hit and miss but I know without a doubt that they are for me and not against me. They have my best in mind.

It is more difficult to see your child struggle with friendships than it is to go through them yourself.

Just because an investment in people didn’t turn out the way I wanted does not mean I should stop investing and loving. Although some of these lessons shook me, beat me, and really made me ask some difficult questions, they ultimately made my walk stronger. God has called us to love people and that doesn’t always look like a Hallmark movie. Sometimes there is not a neat happy ending and a solution wrapped in a 60 minute timeslot. Sometimes there are consequences that linger for a long time and during that time you start digging through the rubble, hauling out the garbage, repairing what you can, and building from scratch what you cannot.

Goodbye...Hello

It is the end of the year. The end of a decade. In a few days we will be celebrating all the hope of what is to come. My usual routine for the week between Christmas and New Year's is to number 1, put away everything Christmas and then spend the rest of the time pondering and reflecting. It all sounds very spiritual doesn't it. It's not.

The pondering comes in brief moments of time. Between sleepovers, birthdays, grocery shopping and laundry. Sometimes while grocery shopping and doing the laundry. Time to plan first with next months happenings and then to the bigger picture of the next year. I have been thinking about the end of a decade and what I want to see for myself and my family in the next 10 years. Ten years from now Emma will be turning 26. I could very well be a grandma. 10 years ago she was just turning 6 and had just started Kindergarten, wow. Life happens fast doesn't it.

This next year I will be turning 40. "They" say this is the decade that you don't care anymore about what people think of you. I know that I care a whole lot less now than I did 10 years ago, and I think that is a good thing. I am not so sure it is a good thing to completely not care about what others think.

Here is my status report for the end of December 2009...

Sitting...in front of the computer

Drinking...Pepsi

Enjoying...listening to 3 little girls play downstairs and watching the neighbor boys throw snowballs at each other.

Reading...I received 3 new books for Christmas (Crazy Love, The Forgotten Holy Spirit, and Scared) I can't wait to start...maybe tonight. As of late I have only been reading magazines.

Looking forward to...all that 2010 has.

Obsessed...not so much

Thinking...about my sis-in-law's fight with cancer and what 2010 will hold for her family.

Happy...that I am content with where I am in life right now.

I am thankful that God made our lives with seasons. Both in nature and in life. It gives us opportunity to change and reinvent. How about you? What are you reflecting on?