Have A Merry Little Christmas

Christmas fast approaches, it feels faster than any year before!  One of our simple favorite things is cuddling up on the couch, enjoying the company of our feline and canine companions… Relaxing and appreciating their funny and sweet ways.

Only 8 days until Christmas!  Hope you are filled with Peace & Joy!

My favorite surprise… .seeing them cuddled up together.
It doesn’t happen often, but it’s so precious when it does.   I think, usually, she just wants to steal some warmth from his thick German Shepherd fur.

Fate and Consequence

Listening: Moonlight & Madness by Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Via Pandora Radio

 

 

Having pet possibilities… dreams… lingering on what could be, though it isn’t what is currently… that is something that gives me hope.  Wrestling with different futures for yourself, feeling your excitement and joy at the prospects.  Doing this instills passion into my heart that radiates out into my actions and mindset; it changes who I am and how I treat others around me.  Though sometimes I can’t help but think that the “Here & Now” is absolute truth, how it’s going to be, stone-set… It is quite the opposite.  It’s like one of those internal conflicts that we don’t own up to, but that doesn’t make it any less real.  I have had discussions about this with people I admire.  My husband, my dad, friends, professors, lots of people.  And though it pains me, and land is nowhere in sight for my ship and its crew, pressing through the high seas and the stormy gales is something that gives you a sense of your own human state.  Life is not static, but at points you feel it is.  You feel as though you are at a dead end, and there is no window of opportunity, no crack of light promising you something ahead.  When you feel that there is no hope for that shore, a bit of it comes into view.  Though you had felt desperation sink in, gnawing into you, that isn’t usually how the story ends.

These same aforementioned people have told me snippets from their lives of how they used to be… the things they used to like, and how things change.  It astounds me, because I never would’ve guessed any of that about them.  Life transforms people, God transforms people.  Events and choices and circumstances.  Though we have a big choice in our lives, I feel that admitting I am not in unquestioned control has to be the reality.  That is a difficult distinction to make, but a beautiful and uplifting one.  After I give up the control of my fate, after I stop taking my choices so seriously, (they are important, but not worth as much stress as I apportion them usually) then I am able to focus on the present.  I can enjoy today without worrying how it’s going to make tomorrow better.  I can think of the mystery before me.

No matter how young or old you may be, the mystery of life is that we do not know what tomorrow will be.  How many of us would choose to know our future?  Your present unravels into your future, and the paths you choose to take and the disciplines you take up are players on the stage.  But how many things are absolute randoms?  How many things do we really make “happen”?  If you do not believe in God, maybe you believe in fate, karma, “what comes around goes around…” but I believe that there is a connection between events, there is a plan, there is a plot.  Everyone is connected, in small and large ways, but again, the mystery is that we must live how we can, not knowing where we will end up.  Not knowing who we will influence, or whose life will impact our own.

I love to know people’s past and present.  Many of my professors never thought they would be where they are now.  And they have become instruments of great progress, great vessels of truth & knowledge.  Some of them are people of compassion, people with a mission, and the people we wish to emulate.  Role models, if you like.

I have to focus on doing what I can, and dream and not let go of those dreams and hopes.  I must make conscious decisions to not forget them, though things can look bleak.  Though there is fate, consequence, choices… our dreams are there for a reason.  We can’t let go of them, we can’t let them die.  If we hold on, or share them with another, they can grow wings and become more than we ever aspired to.

Acts of Kindness

I know that I sometimes think compliments, but then get shy and don’t say them.  I love giving them, I probably give them out more often than most people because I know they are good!  But… It takes some guts, as well as some vulnerability and candor.  You inch towards the edge of that daring compliment cliff, look towards the cavernous depths below (it represents the risk: the unpredictable outcome and reaction that will occur), and sometimes you want to run the other way.  It’s not easy to give a compliment!  Do you find yourself inching toward that compliment, and then backing down?  Do you give compliments out of kindness often?  We may not think about it, but… I think the value of compliments is absolutely essential for establishing our sense of self, and for self reflection.  Out of my experiences, people use compliments genuinely, or they use them very selfishly with ulterior motives to gain what they’d like to.   Most of the time it’s difficult to tell the difference, too.  The only person who really knows the origin of the compliment is probably the one who gave it.  And the trick is, for me, to try to give them truly selflessly and randomly.  With no other purpose but to share joy & kindness.

Yesterday I experimented with acts of kindness, by doing just one.  I’ve been inspired for awhile by the operationbeautiful.com way of doing random kindness.  Basically, they put post-it notes in random places, mostly for women (but hey, why can’t they be for men too?  Men can use compliments just as much!), and they say things like “You’re beautiful just the way you are” or a quote that inspires living a full life.  I was most inspired when I experienced my own “You are Beautiful” post-it on the inside of a bathroom stall door.  It was so simple, yet I had a huge grin on my face and wanted to tell someone.

I always want to know what someone’s reaction will be if I flatter them for no reason, if I just extend myself and show them that I think they’re something special!  Because each one of us is.  Granted, I don’t really compliment men, and I know men don’t often compliment men either!  Ha!  But I have found that complimenting women gives you an idea of how that woman feels about herself, personally.  Sometimes she receives the compliment you gave her about her hair as if she knew it already.  Sometimes she takes the compliment quite seriously and in a negative way, like “Why wouldn’t you like it?”  It could also be a case of “I will not take that compliment, it isn’t true, don’t say it!” which can be very frustrating, and which is kind of how I used to take compliments.  Then there are times, like what happened to me yesterday, when an individual can take a compliment very well, without being proud, and without shrinking away.  It’s a rare thing.

So the random act of complimenting that I did was at a store.  There wasn’t anyone in sight, and I didn’t really think about it while I was doing it.. not that much anyhow.  But I stood, waiting for whoever was going to ring me up, and I heard a “Hey there!” from one of the aisles.  It kind of caught me off guard.  Anyhow, she came running up, and she was about my age.  But the first thing I thought was that she had the most beautiful skin!  She was radiant & naturally beautiful, so I had to say something.  I took a second & mustered up the courage, “Did you know that you have gorgeous skin?  Were you blessed with that… or is it some beauty secret you’re not telling the rest of us?”  She looked at me for one second and then burst out into a huge smile and a big laugh.  “HA!  Thank you!  No… I guess it’s just like this on its own.”  She was still beaming, and her smile was contagious.

She took the compliment graciously, and with humility, yet I could tell she loved it.  I wish I could appreciate beauty with all of its uniqueness  more often.  In others, in myself, and in the world around me.  I guess it just takes going out onto that cliff of uncertainty, putting down that guard, and diving headlong into something that we can’t quite have control over.

 

¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11

Take A Quick Poll!

Yoga + Cat + Dog

Oh The Joy of Yoga!

Contrary to popular belief, Yoga is not a solitary practice that one individual partakes in.  No… You can practice with your dog or cat joining in, as I did today.  I was doing a little routine, the regular poses I do for stress relief and toning… when my very cuddly and needy little ones (gabby & shadow) decided to join in.  They didn’t need their own cute little pet-sized mats, they used mine.

This is the pose I was doing when my dog first joined me.  It seems fitting, as it’s called “DownDog”

I love to do yoga!  While I don’t do it as regularly now, for a workout, I do it more now for just a piece of quiet, to calm my mind, and to reflect on how God created my body.  It’s good to get in touch with your physical body, not just your mind.. our bodies seem to be the first thing we neglect.  The joy of Yoga increases tenfold when your dog joins you!  Imagine me, (that’s not me, but imagine it is) and now add a funny pantomime of my dog wiggling his way between my two arms, up past my head, and licking my face in the meantime.  He seemed to think this was a sort of junglegym, made by yours truly, for him to play in.  He managed to wind in and out a few times, repeatedly licking me, as if to ask what I was doing!

By this time, I was rolling with laughter.. I could hardly keep my pose.

Then he jumped up on the couch, and I thought I was left to my yoga again.  But gabby decided to do something hilarious, too.  Oh I love having these two in our lives.  They’re amazing.

I was doing this pose, when Gabby decided to have some fun too: Updog.

What did Gabby do?  She crawled onto my bright red mat, from the bottom where my toes were, and began to crawl up my left leg, Meowing as she went.  Then she firmly planted herself right on my bottom.  I smiled at her, and thought she would probably just jump off, but she crawled onto my shoulders a few minutes later.  This was my ending pose, and she sat on my back,

And it’s called… The Cat Stretch Pose..  Sometimes, they really make my day!  When I take the time to slow down, it’s normal to be rewarded by these funny things that I might pass by otherwise.

Sitting Under a Tree

 

There is something about sunshine, leaves, and bundling up… that makes me turn into “that one girl” who sits around and watches people.  I’m not obsessed, just interested.  Today I just needed some air, so I sat under a big tree.  No big deal, just the bench, the tree, and me.  Having a good ole time.  Not to mention the sun was making everything gorgeous, waving its golden beams into and over everything in sight… deceiving every inside onlooker thinking that it’s warm outside.  It’s lying.  It’s frigid out.  BUT any cold day is much more bearable with the sun, even this one.

So I sat outside, people watching, for only about fifteen minutes.  But in that short span, there are so many stories that can walk right by you.  Right past you, and on into your brain.  I see a man who looks like he’s late for something, very businesslike, yet i’ve never seen him before.  Walking brisquely by, I doubt he’s a professor.  I wonder what he’s late for.

There’s a cute cozy little couple, holding hands while walking and just generally focusing on looking cute.  Poking fun at one another, no doubt.  They make me think of my own romance, and how much fun flirting with your loved one is.  Especially laughing while walking.  Then there is a tall very boylike college student, who barely seems he could be old enough to enter college, and I wonder at how he will look and be when he’s sixty.  He is so very boyish that it’s quite difficult to imagine him as an old man!  His mannerisms are all awkward, like someone who just had an enormous growth spurt, and whose body is still sorting out the difference.  Maybe he just did.

Then I wonder about how many people have walked in my shoes, sat down under this tree, and began with their people watching.  It’s like a little circle of life: how many stories the tree could tell!  And as the story goes, I am also one in the plot, who plopped down under the tree, thinking of life and all those around me.  Interesting, isn’t it?

Wise Words

Yesterday, we drove my MOH/old roomie/great friend to the Airport so that she could make her trek to VA.  Before that, she & I were driving from school en route to my home, and we started talking about Thanksgiving and what it meant for our families… the best parts of it, the things that we love and the traditions, no matter how small or silly, that stick with us.  The food, of course, was a subject we stayed on for awhile, but the best part was when she realized their overall family tradition during the holidays: “Well, something that always happens with my family, is that there is someone there who wasn’t before.  Basically, whoever needs a place to go, they come to our place.”  This is such a beautiful thing, and their hospitality is definitely something that I’ve been able to experience.  God’s showing me that when you let go of trying to get things for yourself, you can begin to have things come to you naturally.  I have wanted the old holidays my family used to have for a few years now… I’ve been missing them… I’ve been bitter about their absence.  But when you let go, you can open your eyes to see the positive things around you that you may have been missing before!  Bitterness & anger close you up.. they trap you in their little box where there are no solutions.

My family has been through a lot, but this year I’m thankful to say we’re rising to the occasion.   We’re haven’t had a big family holiday, truly, since grandma left us.  And that’s ok–but it’s time to do it again.  It’s time to say that we’re preserving these things for ourselves & making memories of our own.  The holidays are about sharing, whether it’s a story or food or your home… they are about gathering together to create a warmness of heart and to show that we are all in this together.  In life these things seem to evolve… we were at a breaking point, and now I think that we’re over the hump.  It has been a long road to gaining acceptance, but these things are part of life, they make us stronger, they make us appreciate how fragile everything is.

Here are some words that have given comfort & hope this holiday:

“I will make you my own special people, and I will be your God.  And you will know that I am the Lord your God who has rescued you from your slavery in Egypt.”  Exodus 6:7

I’ve been reading the old testament, and it’s beautiful.  It’s far more interesting and personal that anyone could have told me… I had to discover that on my own.

“And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”  Anais Nin

“Reading about prayer and praying are as different as reading a romance novel and kissing.”
Nicole Johnson

“I’m discovering that a spiritual journey is a lot like a poem.  You don’t merely recite a poem or analyze it intellectually.  You dance it, sing it, cry it, feel it on your skin and in your bones.  You move with it and feel its caress.  It falls on you like a teardrop or wraps around you like a smile.  It lives in the heart and the body as well as the spirit and the head.”
Sue Monk Kidd

Happy Thanksgiving

Keeping up With Current Issues

I am always baffled when I turn on NPR (90.7), which is the staple of sound and news in our home.  We don’t like the news, really, and don’t usually keep up, but NPR has stories based out of the area, things that are more creatively based and less message-driven, either liberally or conservatively.  One of my favorite, recent, special issues pieces that they did was called something like “Life in the Middle,” all about the middle class in America during this era.  It was so wonderful to hear people talking about how they’ve changed their lives, many times for the better, because of the depression.  They cut back on work, cut back on spending, and stayed home with their families more often.  Some people even moved to an entirely new location in order to have a standard of living that was less costly.  They reaped a great reward out of this.  They weren’t keeping up with the Jones’ anymore.  🙂

Though NPR has these creative and interest-grabbing stories, they do of course keep up with the war, events going on world-wide, and sources from the BBC.  When these news stories come on, I’m usually bound to turn the station to the less politically charged (by far!) and more relaxing piece of heaven, called the Jazz station (88.7).  As the sounds of the sax and sweet piano fill the air.. and as my feet begin to dance a little bit.. all thoughts of Iraq and Pakistan are pushed from my mind.

Is this good?   I’m not sure.  For my immediate life, I believe yes.  When I think of all of the problems in the world, and hear NPR (and every other news station) blaring the negative, talking about how many were killed in a bombing…. of course I don’t want that in my life.  I feel powerless and helpless to aid those who are hurting.  But… There has to be a balance.  I know some people who don’t want to subject themselves to anything “negative” because they always want to feel good when they’re done with it.  In this situation, we’re talking movies.  Movies can be positive and negative, giving you real insight or showing you a totally fictional world.  To me, if a movie, like “Blood Diamond” speaks a message that is true and right, speaking for justice and trying to share a story that is reality for some, it’s worth it to feel like crap after watching it.  I have been educated, and therefore empowered.  I can try to make choices that help to positively affect individuals in this plight.

I don’t want to shelter myself so much that I can live in the middle, with no clue at all, not happy, not content, always consumed by the American disconnected mentality.  I have to have some of this negative news talk in my life because it makes me thankful, and encourages me to give of myself, my time, my money, to make the world a better place for others around me.  We have no idea how good we have it, and if we aren’t keeping up at all with what’s going on in the world, then we’re not better off for it.  We have no perspective in that situation.  If we are unaware of the suffering of others, we can do nothing about it, and in some cases, mock it with our uneducated state.

How do the messages we hear help us?  How do they hurt us?  I believe we definitely have to be intentional as far as gatekeeping is concerned:  we must guard our hearts, and not just let anything and everything in.

On a different note of current issues (Social Current Issues), I recently deleted my Facebook account.  When this social hub first began, I thought it was great!  You could find people who you knew, connect with them online, schedule things, share things, etc.  Voila, the anti-interactive friendship was created!   I decided I didn’t want to constantly subject myself to everyone’s lives… I didn’t want to take up huge amounts of time surfing around looking at what everyone else had, did, was doing… etc.  That’s not helping anyone, it may be entertaining for awhile, but I have to be a better steward of my time.  It is also hurting me when I do that, because I become very dissatisfied with myself, very quickly.  The internet has a way of showing only what’s fun, pretty, and exciting.  It doesn’t show the parts of us that are realistic.

So, in that way, I leave my social current issues to fate: if friends want to keep in touch, they will.  I like to keep in touch, especially through writing & face-to-face, and it’s just that much more special to catch up.  And that’s where I end my written journey for today.  🙂

With love,

Toodle-oo!

Gabby & Shadow Showcase

If anyone knows us, they know we love our dog–Shadow, and our cat–Gabby.  Here’s what they’ve been up to lately.

Today, I put Gabby on top of the laundry I was preparing to do:

They always find themselves in funny places.

She sat there for about 10 minutes, and Shadow wanted in on the fun.  They must’ve heard some noise coming from the street by our home, because they’re both wondering what’s going on.

These two always make us laugh, bring us joy, and continue to restore us after a long day.  It’s the best feeling in the world to come home to two little ones who need your love… and have been waiting for you to love them all day long!

 

I took this picture yesterday around 1:00 AM.  We had been working on the bathroom project really late… and Shadow knows when it’s time for bed.  He waits patiently (or not so patiently) for us to go upstairs.  What a sweet little boy.

My favorite picture from today, though, is one of Gabby being in a “forbidden place.”  I love how our Creator made each animal unique, yet we think of them with characteristics throughout… Cats are Curious, and Dogs are Loyal.  Gabby was definitely doing her part to find out what was going on in places she isn’t allowed… she’s always curious and wants to go anywhere that is off limits.  Since we’re allergic to cats, we don’t let her in our bedroom, but look how cute she was once she got there!  🙂

 

Voila, there’s our little lounge girl!

 

 

Makin’ Plantains!

Mmm… New food!
I haven’t ever made plantains, though our good friends have talked about how delicious they are.
Yesterday, Troy asked me if I needed anything while he was at the store, and so I asked him to get a few fresh things to spice up our kitchen.  I told him “Oh, you know.. maybe some oranges or something, whatever looks good.”  He surprised me by bringing Plantains and Mangoes…  Mangoes are good at any time (and the ones he picked were big and gorgeous!), but Plantains are surprising as a new food choice for us, (we love to try new things!) and it was fun to make them for sure.  I used a recipe for Tostones–a Puerto Rican side dish, and they turned out delightfully savory, with salt and garlic powder.

Trying new produce is so exciting to me–coming home with my little treasures, I love anticipating what the new food might taste like.  I usually research about the origins and nutritional content before diving into the preparation process.  I like knowing where the food came from, what the people in that region enjoy preparing it as, and how its good for my body.  Having color and variety in our diets is definitely a plus.  Our local Wal-Mart (yes, we unwillingly support the super-giant in our area) seems to try out some “pilot” fruits and veggies once in awhile.  Last time, our crazy food adventure was Jicama.  It looked like a fat root, something like a cross between a huge potato and a ginger root.  Of course, I wanted to get it into my kitchen!  This semi-sweet, water chestnut-like vegetable proved really interesting.  I prepared it with some Chili powder, Paprika, Salt, Pepper, & Oil.  Baking it for awhile, I realized that it wasn’t going to get soft like potatoes, but Troy & I enjoyed the crunchiness.  It’s amazing what diversity & variety exist in this world… Trying it all out is like a scavenger hunt for your taste buds.  Mmm… Bon Appetite!

Hammers, Tiles, Pancakes

Well, here we are.  My husband & I have begun the first big home project!!–with the help of our friend Zippy.  Things like this seem to be some far-off, fabled voyage that we dream of.  We hardly imagine ourselves taking such a thing on, but the day has arrived.

I was awakened with a start today when hubbs told me a guy from work had stopped by.  Our dog was barking madly (like he usually does when someone has arrived), and there was a commotion.  My husband is the best at waking me up, he’s sweet and tells me I’m beautiful & makes sure to say goodbye before he leaves.  Today he did the same, which was very nice after such a crazy awakening.  Anyhow, I thought at that moment, “Ok…That’s Great….”  blankly… because I was still groggy.  Once I awakened more fully, I realized how cool it was that the guy had stopped by.  He is an older guy from work who–it seems– has taken a liking to my sweetie.  He has offered numerous times to help out with things around the house, and has good advice when it comes to fixing it all up.  For today, he gave us many tools to start on the tiling project, and tried to help troubleshoot problems in advance.  There have been things like this at many points in our homebuying adventure that let us know that God’s got us under his wings.  It’s so good to feel Him there.

So, after all of the morning craziness, I was able to wake up and make sure to take a shower quickly, before any guys came over.  Now the guys have been buzzing away in the bathroom–since noon, and I am proud of them.  I think today has undoubtedly helped me to embrace what it means to be “The Wife.”  In similar times past, I have felt a twinge of guilt, or possibly jealousy, for not being in on the action!  I kind of wanted to say “Hey, a girl can do that too…. and I will!”  But in truth, there is a lot that I can’t do.  In this situation, being the wife means providing fuel for the hungry and hard-working men.  Making pancakes in the kitchen (mmm… they turned out pretty, golden, and delicious!) is a very satisfying thing, checking every once in awhile to see how their progress is going.  I was also the photographer for this event, snapping a few shots every time the guys did something monumental in the process.

Staying safely out of the way as the hammers and blades and tools are thrown around and dust is kicked up comes as a natural benefit of “The Wife” job for me.  Being wife to the handyman also includes an occasional “Hey, honey, can you come here?”  This means that my husband would like my opinion, and usually that there is a decision to be made soon.  It could also mean that he wants me to help him with something, making me feel a little bit special, because I’m not really the fix-it type.  I will try, but my mind doesn’t usually work in angles, measurements, and precision.  🙂

While the guys were working, we also ran into a problem:  The hardware stores in town closed at 2:00 but we needed to buy more supplies.  So, in order to save time, and to come up with a solution, I went with my dad to the store.  Since we had to go to another town, we would also need a vehicle meant for hauling, which my dad provided graciously.  I was able to write a list, hunt it down with my dad, and get out of there.  There were many heavy things to lift, and I was doing things that I didn’t normally do, but it felt good.  When I got back, my husband was happy to see that we were successful.  It felt great to be able to let them continue working, and then bring more things that they would need.

All in all, it’s been a pretty good day.  Envisioning our newly-tiled bathroom is exciting!