make it happen

May 2012 be the year that you make it happen, whatever it means for you.

the year of growing pains.

What a year. I have a post coming up this week with my usual recap and resolutions for the next year, but I wanted to also wrap this year (moreso than any other year so far) up with a more serious post.

I think I'll look back at 2011 as the year I really grew up, or at least started the long process. So many things contributed to this: the decision to move, finishing school, graduation, getting a job, etc. Everything has changed, and I'm an adult now apparently. Sometimes I feel that, and sometimes I still feel like an 18-year-old playing pretend.

I'm wondering how the transition happened. I didn't just wake up one morning and immediately feel older and more responsible and decisive. There's a verse in 2 Corinthians that begins, "we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed." I identify with this. I have felt pushed far beyond my own capabilities this year. I've felt inadequate and confined and isolated and unprepared. But even in this pressing, though it doesn't feel great, God has been at work. He uses it to produce maturity, because He works everything together for good. And I can take comfort in knowing that even though I may be tried and tested, I will never be destroyed because I am a child of God.

Now I know maturity is all relative. I'll look back at this time and think about how I was still such a baby, the same way I now look back at my 21 year-old-self and marvel at how little I knew then. That being said, this is what growing up means for me right now in December 2011 (remember, I'm still learning the basics).

It means making sacrifices and not doing things I really want to do. It means sometimes saying no when I want to say yes and yes when I want to say no. It has meant taking care of myself emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. It has also meant taking more ownership for my home and finances. It has meant deciding to be true to myself and what I want my life to be about.

It hasn't meant that I can't cry or have bad days. Both of those definitely happen. It just means that even on those days when I want to hide, I have to take responsibility and fulfill commitments (e.g. go to work). It hasn't meant that I can't be spontaneous and do fun things. It just means that I have to remember that sleep and rest are a priority. It hasn't meant that I can't go on trips or take days off, because I already know I'd lose my dang mind if I never took a day off.

Slowly by slowly, I am learning what I value most in life and actively pursuing those things. I fail at it most of the time, but  Even though this year has been hard, I can say it's been worth it. Here's to another year of growth in 2012, however that might look.

The Frawlidays, 2011

Hello friends. I had a wonderful Christmas at home and wanted to throw a tantrum when I had to leave today. It went by too fast as always. Here's a little recap...

My mom was a baking machine, and I got to help her on Christmas Eve with one of my favorites...snickerdoodles.

There was some dog drama over the weekend, which is to be expected when you have 5 dogs under one roof. Long story short, a dog who shall remain nameless bit Sammy (the brown one) which resulted in him having to stay the night at an emergency vet and have surgery. I'm happy to report Sammy is doing well now and she-who-shall-not-be-named is back on her way to the panhandle.

Bella!

Sammy's battle wounds

my favorite dog

bella! again

We had a very low-key Christmas Day, which was just perfect. Everyone woke up around 8, ate breakfast, and then started the present opening.

My first Christmas ornament

An ornament I made in Kindergarten

A blender and a crockpot!

A Harry Potter snuggie...you heard me

Some of my haul

We watched some Christmas movies and then later my Grandpa and some friends of my parents came over for dinner. My Grandpa has Alzheimer's so it was really special to have him there. We opened some presents with him, and my sister showed him a book of her and Daniel's wedding pictures.

After dinner, we skyped with my Uncle and his family in New York and my Aunt and her family in Florida. My grandpa was a little freaked out, but it was so cool to be able to see them on Christmas! And I know they really appreciated being able to see Grandpa.

I didn't take a picture of my Christmas Day plate, but this is my plate of leftovers. My mom outdid herself with this meal, including the family favorite mac & cheese and a baked potato casserole that was off the chain. And I actually ate some salad with my meal!

she-who-must-not-be-named

Bailey boy

Today, Heather and Daniel left early to go back to Dalhart and I hung around to go see a movie with my dad. My mom met us after the movie at Chelsea's, my favorite, and then my mom and I checked out a few holiday sales.

best chicken salad ever!

Over the break, we watched: Holiday Inn, Home Alone, White Christmas, A Muppet Christmas Carol (my fave), War Horse, and Mission Impossible 3 (just me and dad). We ate a ridiculous amount. We laughed a lot and barely left the house. It was perfect! I can't wait for the next time we're all together again!

Merry Christmas

From my family to yours. Hope your holiday has been filled with love and joy.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

 [Isaiah 9:6]

The Incarnation

Sometimes I come across things on the interwebs and think immediately, "you gotta blog that sh...tuff!" This was one of those things. I love spoken word, especially when it's about Jesus. This is perfect to be thinking over on Christmas Eve.




I love the word from St. Augustine at the end:

Man’s maker was made man, that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother’s breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that the Truth might be accused of false witness, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die.  -Augustine of Hippo (Sermons 191.1)

What Christ did when He came to Earth...I'll never understand it, but I'll celebrate it for as long as I shall live. Merry Christmas Eve!

fill in the blanks, christmas style

Who can even believe Christmas is in two days?! Celebrating today with some Christmas-themes blanks brought to us by Lauren.

1.   The best way to spread Christmas cheer is   I know you want me to quote Elf, but I will just say by showing an extra measure of kindness during this season (and making delicious treats to share).

2.   The thing I love most about Christmas is   time off from the hustle of life to be with my family .

3.  The holiday season is a time for   being with family and friends, giving and receiving gifts, good food, and celebrating the Gift of gifts.

4. My favorite thing to eat at the holidays is   all of the baked goodies that my family has been making for years. My mom was telling me all the things she's made or has planned to make, and let's just say I'm bringing my stretchy pants home for Christmas.

5.  I will be spending Christmas   my parents, sister, bro-in-law, and Grandpa. And 5 dogs.

6.  Tis better to (give or receive?)  I like both. I can't try to act like I don't love receiving gifts, but I also love the giving.

7.  I'm dreaming of a    fun and relaxing     Christmas.


I'm going home to Houston today after work! Merry Christmas!

how to be the star of the party.

I brought a little holiday treat for my coworkers (nurses, clinical assistants, docs, physical therapists, pharmacists, etc.) to say thanks for the hard work they do day in and day out.

Little did I know the frenzy I would cause with my little gesture of gratitude. I was treated like a rockstar for the day because everyone was so obsessed with the deliciousness that I brought. And the crazy thing is, it's probably the easiest thing I've ever made. I guess it's true that sometimes simple is best.

Here's the recipe, so you can be a rockstar at your next party too. (found on Pinterest, naturally)

Rolo Turtles

You'll need:
Square pretzels
Rolos (I recommend buying at bunch of rolls at the checkout so you don't have unwrap each one)
Whole pecan pieces

1) Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. 


2) Lay the pretzels out on a baking sheet. Put one rolo on top of each pretzel.


3) Pop them in the oven for 4-5 minutes until the rolos are soft.


4) Once you take the baking sheet out of the oven, immediately press a pecan piece gently on to the top of each rolo.


5) Ta-da! Now just let them set, either at room temp or in the fridge to speed up the process, and you're ready to go.


I made around 60 of these candies, and it took me about 20 minutes total. Perfecto!

Make these and prepare for holiday glory.

Who Comes This Night

I really struggle to focus my heart on Jesus at Christmas time. There is so much attached to this holiday by the world, and a lot of it is fun and special. I love so many of the traditions of this time of year.


But what's important about Christmas is this: God came to Earth as a baby. He came to Earth, not with loud trumpets in glory, but in humility. He stepped down from Heaven and into time, became flesh and blood, to save us. It doesn't make any sense! It's so unconventional and opposite human logic. My mind doesn't grasp His thoughts and His ways, and that why He's God and I'm not. And my heart is beyond grateful to serve a God so loving that He would be born into physical poverty in order to bring us eternal riches that are beyond measure. Hallelujah!


This train of thought was started by listening to "Who Comes This Night" by James Taylor. Enjoy.





Who comes this night, this wintry night,
As to the lowly manger?
The Shepards and the Kings did come
To welcome in the stranger.

Who sends this song upon the air,
To ease the soul that's aching?
To still the cry of deep despair
And heal the heart that's breaking.

Brother Joseph bring the light
Fast, the night is fading.
And who will come this wintry night
To where the stranger's waiting?

Who comes this night, with humble heart,
To give the fullest measure
A gift of purest love to bring
What good and worthy treasure.

Brother Joseph bring the lamb
For they are asking for him
The children come this starry night
To lay their hearts before him.

For those who would the stranger greet
Must lay their heart before him
And raise their song in voices sweet
To worship and adore him

Brother Joseph bring the light
Fast, the night is fading
And who will come this wintry night
To where the stranger's waiting

Brother Joseph bring the lamb
For they are asking for him.
The children come this starry night
To lay their hearts before him.

Pure of heart this starry night
To lay their hearts before him.

weekend recap [miscellany monday]

 

My weekend was full and festive.

[1] I started it off with a fair trade Christmas market/house show with my friend Jill. It was in the most amazing little house not far from where I live. I'm scheming ways I can get the family that owns it to let me live there with them.

Ross King sang some Christmas songs, and I tried sipping vinegar for the first time. The guy making the sipping vinegars got the idea when he was in Portland and is thinking about starting a business. Verdict: when mixed with club soda and a little liquor, surprisingly tasty!

[2] Then I went home and changed to get ready for seeing Matchmaker Band. After almost leaving the house with two different shoes on, I headed downtown. Think about the ultimate wedding band playing the best of Motown and music from the 60's and 70's and doing it well. That's this band. It was so fun, and we definitely danced the night away. I also saw Lunchbox from The Bobby Bones Show, a popular radio show here in Austin. I finally crawled into bed around 2:30 and slept hard.

pardon my awkward hands

with my friend Leslie

dancing pictures

[3] After a late night, a lazy morning was in order. I ate breakfast in bed and lazed around until 11 or so. Then I went to yoga and then to a massage. I was so relaxed it's ridiculous. I definitely fell asleep on the massage table because I had a couple dreams. Hope I didn't do anything too embarrassing in my sleep.

[4] I capped off the day with some soup, a nap, and hanging out with some friends and watching How I Met Your Mother. I've never been a fan of this show, but I may be starting to come around.

[5] Yesterday morning I woke for a 6-mile run and then iced my shins & ankles with some unconventional ice packs. I'm signed up for a half marathon that's 2 months from today, so it's time to get it in gear.

[6] I also did some baby holding in the church nursery, churching, and present wrapping. I'm done with all my shopping for family, and now I'm just hoping and praying everything arrives before I head home. Just a few more days before I'm in Houston celebrating with my family!

Here's to hoping this week passes by quickly and painlessly!

fill in the _____ friday.

Well, my homies...here we are. Another Friday. In a week, I'll be hitting the road to Houston to spend Christmas with my familia. I'm so excited, so this week is going to feel like a million years. Let's start out the weekend by filling in some blanks with Lauren.

1.   My most favorite "little thing" is   a cup of tea in a warm house with rain falling outside.

2.   I'd give anything to  be able to dance like Beyonce.

3.  I can't believe   it's almost 2012 already. Where has this year gone?

4. The one thing I'd like to achieve today is   take a nap after work because I'm going to see a band play tonight and it doesn't start until 10! Don't they know I'm a grandma and 10 is my bedtime?!

5.  The last thing I want to do today is   change out of my sweatpants and go to work. But alas, I must.

6.  If I were writing my own blank today, it would say:  the one thing I want most this Christmas is...

7.  My favorite candle scent is   pumpkin spice for sure.

So far on my weekend docket, I am going to see this fun Austin band and do a little dancing, massage booked for tomorrow, and a long run on Sunday. The weather in Texas is less than ideal, but I'm excited about the weekend anyway!

A Wednesday Word

Brought to you by Mr. Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain. 

Happy 700th post to me!

photo credit

Miscellany Monday

This is going to be very miscellany, written in real time.

1) Have you seen the show on ABC called Revenge? I got into it when it first premiered and then got busy. I've been catching up on hulu the last week, and it is so good! I like it because it's not raunchy...just a good, old-fashioned revenge thriller.

2) I'm continuing making my little healthy life tweaks. I've started including ground flaxseed in my oatmeal, and I'm planning on getting some nutritional yeast to try out.

looks mmm mmm good

3) I ran 5 miles on Saturday and followed it up on Sunday with ~15 miles in spin class. My legs officially feel like they're about to fall off.

4) I went to the mall this weekend. Big mistake. Having to park 100 miles away from the entrance and trying to navigate through the crowd without getting trampled on does not put me in the holiday spirit.

bah! humbug! (via the google)

5) Did y'all know I'm a hip hop dancer? I guess I should qualify that by saying it's only been three weeks since this new development. The reason deserves a whole post of its own, but suffice it to say, I'm growing fly-er by the week. If you would like to be fly also, you should start with The Wobble. Maybe I do it in my room by myself. Maybe not.

That's the best I can do today. The Christmas countdown is on for me. Now let's all go out and make this Monday our you-know-what!

Austin Stone Live

My friends. I'm here to tell you about something exciting. It's called...

The very gifted worship leaders at my church here in Austin got together and created a live worship album.  Most of the songs were written by our worship leaders and pastors, and we've been singing many of them as a church for a while.

I'm really proud of this, and I know it's been a labor of love for these talented men and women. Please go buy it! In doing so you support our church in our local and foreign missions and get some pretty beautiful music in return. You can go here to buy or here to listen to the songs.

PS- Another cool feature on austinstoneworship.com is that there are free videos that teach the instrumental parts of the songs and explain the theology behind each one. Go buy it today for you and all your friends!

Pinterest Redux

I went to a birthday party last weekend, and when I was getting ready, 

I remembered and outfit I pinned on Pinterest.

I decided to recreate it with what I had in my closet and put my own spin on things...

Cardigan and pants are from Gap.

Denim shirt and necklace are from Old Navy.

Belt from Urban Outfitters.

Flats are from Target years ago.

It was a perfect outfit for a winter party, I must say.

I got lots of compliments too!

If I'm going to waste all my time on Pinterest,

 it's about time I start actually do something with those pins.

full of cheer

It's ho-ho-ho-fficial, ya'll. I'm in the holiday spirit. On Friday I mentioned that this Christmas season feels different and weird because I'm no longer classified as a kid. So, this weekend I did a few no-fail activities to get myself in the holiday spirit.

1) I bought and decorated my very own Christmas tree. It's a 4-foot tall, Charlie Brown-esque little thing, but I'm loving it. I found it on sale at Target, and bought some ornaments and a bow to put on top that were also on sale. I'd guess the whole thing, tree and decorations, cost less than $75. Considering I started from square one, I'm pretty proud of that. It's brought a whole lot of Christmas spirit to my little apartment.

2) I went shopping. I "adopted" a kid in the foster care system here in Austin, which is pretty much the best thing ever. It makes me so happy to get a list for a little one and get to shop for gifts. Bonus: my assigned kiddo is a baby girl...even better!

3) I jammed to this song. I'm loving the whole album, but this one especially has me dancing every time. Turn up your speakers and get after it!

4) I remembered that no matter my stage of life, I'm celebrating the coming of Christ. He's the same yesterday, now, and forever. Guys, He gave up being God in Heaven, to come love us and teach us and die for us. How can my heart not grow three sizes (at least!) just reflecting on that?!


I'm now ready to embrace this Christmas season. No side hugs here, we're talking full frontal bear hug.