11-26-09
all these places feel like home
grateful:
1. God…i know that seems trite, because everyone says they’re thankful for God, but it’s true. I’m so in love with Him!
2. my amazing, crazy, supportive, loving, helpful, wonderful family
3. my friends, both near and far…i don’t want to imagine where (or who) I’d be without you.
4. my job. i actually enjoy going to work daily – never thought i would say that!
5. school. i’m learning way more than i ever thought possible, and it’s so, SO good for me.
6. living in my hometown. never thought i would say that either, but there’s something comfortable about being here now and choosing to embrace it rather than resign myself.
7. good music that speaks to my soul (what i’ve been listening to lately, plus snow patrol and one republic on repeat!)
8. my church. we’re still in the ‘getting to know you’ phase, but so far, i like her.
9. i know i already said my family, but this year i am especially grateful that my mom is healthy.
10. New York City…I know, it’s weird that I can be grateful for being in Tennessee and for NYC at the same time, but I am. You can love in two places at once (roots and wings!)
11-25-09
it’s like we’re chasing all those stars
Well, I’ve failed again. Maybe next year I’ll actually be able to keep it up. Or MAYBE I’ll just pick another month and do NaBloPoMo. I mean, it doesn’t HAVE to be in November, right? How about “Every Day in May”? Hmmm, catchy. We’ll see if I remember.
Anyway, since I haven’t posted in a few days, I wanted to share some posts that have caught my attention this week:
Alison re-evaluates her perception of “home.”
Anne speaks beautifully about taking risks.
I pretty much love everything this guy writes. This is a good example.
(and, while we’re talking about it, you should free a child from poverty!)
I just like this blog in general.
Jamie left New York and moved back to the south…both of these posts pay tribute, complete with photo montages! And in true Jamie fashion, she puts it so well herself.
And, I’ll try to post the rest of the month. Key word: try.
Hope your [day before] Thanksgiving is fabulous!
(title song: from ‘secrets’ by onerepublic [their new album is fantastic])
11-19-09
you’ve got a smile that could light up this whole town
I decided to do a fun blog feature where i feature a few of my favorite things. like oprah, minus the obvious differences (you know, she’s famous. i’m definitely not. she makes a lot of money. i work part time. she lives in chicago. i live in (near) nashville. obvious differences).
I changed purses the other day, and realized i had 6 tubes of…lipgloss/chapstick/youknowwhatimean that goes on my lips–and all 6 are essential.
1. Burt’s Bees [my very favorite. perfect for chapped lips or not chapped lips. just lips in general]
2. Burts Bees Passionfruit with SPF [Burt's Bees! With Sunscreen!]
3&4. MAC Plushglass in Posh it Up [shown here in russian red...i wish i could wear red. but posh it up will prob look good on anyone; it's very subtle. and shiny!] and MAC Plushglass in Viva Glam V [i like this one a lot, though i prefer posh it up]
5. Nivea Lip Care [smooth. light. smells good. love it.]
6. Aveda Lip Glaze in Rubisparks [i only wear this on special occasions, yet it lives in my purse]
Any other great lip things I’m missing??
(title song: from ‘you belong with me’ by taylor swift)
11-18-09
showing me a better way and all that my love can bring
Wow.
“If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a multitude of experiences that are not meant for you at all, they are meant to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what transpires in other souls so that you will never be surprised at what you come across.”
- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (11.5)
(title song: from ‘half of my heart’ by john mayer [with taylor swift])
11-17-09
breaking down and coming undone
And for today, a list of things I am looking forward to over the next couple of months:
(One has already happened, but we’ll pretend)
1. Thanksgiving celebration with friends:
2. New Moon on Thursday @ midnight (with Rachael and Bethany)!
3. Thanksgiving with my family
4. Christmas celebration with friends (Dirty Santa–As Seen on TV gifts!)
5. Christmas celebration with some more friends (the only instructions were to show up at a certain time and bring cash…uhhh are we going to a strip club?!?)
6. Actual Christmas with my actual family.
7. New Year’s! No real plans yet…but I want it to be fun. Suggestions??
8. My birthday. Beginning of January…super excited 
Things I’m decidedly NOT looking forward to:
1. The root canal I probably have to have this afternoon
2. Finals. Blech.
(title song: from ‘that’s the way i loved you’ by taylor swift)
11-15-09
and i can’t even think of a clever title!
i’ve been staring at this blank space for over an hour and i can’t get my thoughts together enough to write much of anything.
my weekend has been really weird.
i’m drained of all energy.
i’m really missing a lot of people right now.
my heart feels unsettled.
maybe i should get some sleep.
i leave you with this because it’s just pretty (and more interesting than my blog):
11-14-09
Wounds (Part 1)
I can’t explain why I am so fascinated with the healing process – except to say that I’ve experienced it in my own life and think it’s amazing that we can go from broken to fixed over time. Amazing how the pain lessens every day, if treated appropriately. Watching my mom go from a cancer scare to surgery to remove her benign tumor to now, the healing/scaring process, has really brought all of this to light for me.
We, as humans, are so much better at focusing on the visible rather than the invisible. If we see the wounds, we can treat them. A tumor can be removed. We can use meds to relieve the pain and use stitches (and a good plastic surgeon) to sew them up.
But what about the broken hearts? What about the wounds just below the surface – the ones that are only visible when we allow them to be? Or the ones that become visible because we can’t hide them anymore? What about people going through divorce, or those who have endured abuse? What happens to the people who refuse to deal with their emotional wounds until one day they realize they are falling apart?
I said this over a year ago:
We interact with people according to our wounds (past hurts we’ve not healed from yet)…we choose our friends and those we surround ourselves with according to where we’ve been and the different types of pain we’ve experienced and endured. we make our pasts our platforms – our jumping off points. we talk about our pasts as if they are still part of us.
Everyone is coming from somewhere you probably haven’t been. We are shaped by both our good and bad experiences and they leave marks on our souls. We need healing and we need a healer.
11-13-09
Chipotle Friday
I used to say I’d only consider moving back to TN if we got a chipotle. Well, I moved back in June and found out in July that we were getting not one but TWO Chipotles in the Nashville area!
The one near our office opened today, and being the Chipotle expert I am, I went ahead and ordered online. I did the right thing because the line was out the door by noon today.
The reason I’m devoting a whole blog post to my Chipotle experience is because the customer service was incredible. For some reason, my order hadn’t gone through, so the manager immediately took my order and gave me a free drink while I was waiting. He was polite and kind and all the things he probably shouldn’t have been considering how very busy it was in there today.
I also had a chance to speak with the regional director while I was waiting and he was super nice too. He and I talked about – what else – chipotle and where they were thinking about other locations in Tennessee. Suffice it to say I won’t be having Chipotle withdrawals much anymore since we might be getting several in the near future!
Yay Chipotle!
(this was a stupid post, i realize….but i have a massive headache and am currently on some pretty strong painkillers….my apologies blog readers!)
11-12-09
you got it, you got it…some kind of magic
I just looked back at what I wrote about last November (because on day 12 i’m sorta stumped) and I found one of my fave posts ever – you know, the one about stalking seeing Edward Cullen Robert Pattinson. Hilarious. My favorite Twilight site ended up linking to it and sending like 1000 people to my blog. Insane!
Even more insane is the hugeness of Twilight. I started reading the books in May of 2008 at the insistence of my good friend Olivia. I thought she was silly for loving books about vampires but I found it at Target for $8 (not in a prominent spot, mind you, as the craze hadn’t started quite yet). I started it Saturday, finished it Sunday. Bought New Moon on Monday, finished it Tuesday. Bought Eclipse, finished it Wednesday. Yup, I read three books in 5 days. They sucked me in! And by the time Breaking Dawn came out, I had convinced at least 20 people to read them. I wish that was an exaggeration, but it’s not.
Now, over a year and a half later, I have some thoughts about why i (and so many other people) were/are so drawn to it:
+ we all want to believe there is someone out there waiting for us the way Edward waited a century for Bella. We want to believe that someone will swoop in and rescue us at the perfect time. A friend said to me the other day, “Disney movies have ruined three generations of women.” Not that Twilight is Disney, but with the whole helpless – girl – needs – a – prince – to – save – her thing I’m inclined to agree.
+ Twilight makes it look easy. I mean, apart from the “bad vampires want to kill bella” thing. They make love look like it takes no work, no effort to maintain.
+ It’s written by a women from a girl’s perspective. I think this changes things. Perspective is important. Edward is a fantasy. He is not real. Sure, some women say they’ve found “their” Edward. Whatever, he doesn’t exist. He’s your Edward because he’s perfect for you…but he’s not Edward as portrayed in Twilight.
+ Bella’s character is under-developed enough to where any woman can fit herself in the story as Bella. This article says it so, so well:
For in the narrative of Twilight, Bella is crafted as an almost non-personality…besides the fact that she is clumsy and likes cooking dinner for her father, there are very few specifics as to her looks, her hobbies, etc. Indeed, Bella functions as a cipher into which any reader — mom, daughter, whatever — may insert themselves.
Now of course this doesn’t mean I’m over it…I will still see the movies. I might even read the books again (one day, when my little heart can handle them). But I feel like I have a different perspective on it than I did when I began. I realize we all need rescue – but if we place that expectation on a person, they will always, ALWAYS fail.
I don’t need rescue, a white knight, a prince – I need a savior. Love DOES save the day, but only the kind of supernatural LOVE offered by our Creator.
What about you? Have you read Twilight? What are your thoughts?
(title song: from ‘caught myself’ by paramore)
11-11-09
where are the wild things?? enlighten me!
so for my nablopomo post today, i was going to post about where the wild things are. i had plans to see it tonight and wanted to write about it when i got home.
but, um…what was it about? did it have a plot? was there some super secret thing i missed that should have made me understand it?
i think i’m pretty hip when it comes weird music and weird movies. i get weird – i LIKE weird. but this movie? made ZERO sense.
as one of my friends put it, it was like “indie screenwriters were high on some pot laced with something, while one of their kids was over in the corner reading that book. they’re trying to figure out what their new screenplay should be and one of them says they should make that book into a movie. and this is what came out of it.”
the cinematography was great. the music was great. but i absolutely did not get it.
fill me in??