Monday, February 28, 2011

Wedding!




This weekend I witnessed two beloved friends, 
who've both traveled hard roads, 
begin their second chance to love....

Redemption IS possible.

♥ Thanks be to God ♥


....and my little camera did the best it could.










Wedding Family!                                                                 




  





Wedding Friends!




                          









Wedding Feet!

Monday, February 21, 2011

bloop bloop bloop bloop

Water is on my mind today, lots and lots of water. Can one drink themselves to death via water?




I've joined a few friends in a 30-day healthy eating challenge. It's a detox, cleansing, de-junk your body sort of thing. One of the requirements is drinking at least 3 liters of H2O every day (more if you have caffeine). So I'm chugging close to a gallon daily.... 

Forget stars, I see bubbles......Hmmm, maybe I should move my desk next to the toilet? 

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Thank You Note



No goofiness today, just some mushiness.


Community, the dictionary says it's "a unified body of individuals". So what does that look like? I'm aware there are a gazillion types of communities based on geographical location, culture, interests, age groups etc. But I'm referring to a group of folks genuinely connected in the heart and mind. A group that works together, helping each other when a specific need arises. Exchanging services and skill sets. Watching true community at work is pretty darn cool, you couldn't ask for a better gift. Several times I've needed help with things outside my skill set and have happily exchanged graphic design work in return....nifty stuff. 


A tight community also gives us a sense of belonging, feelings of association, intimate friendships, and often a safe place to heal from past hurts. Let's face it, life is tough! Seriously, we can't do it alone, we weren't created to do it alone. I have that tee-shirt and it doesn't fit, not at all! And if I'm not careful, I'll still try to wear it.....bleh....So today, while thinking about my small community, I'm feeling extremely fortunate. Through this family of friends God has helped me crawl out of a million holes, dispel a thousand lies, understand my failures, & cut through insane amounts of craziness. He's met need after need. 


So thank you God and thank you sweet friends (you know who you are) ♥

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Post V-Day Encouragement

You made it through Valentine's Day and you're SO glad it's over. What a stupid holiday right?? Every pink card, red flower, and chocolate mystery candy thoroughly fills you with disdain. Love, who needs that crap...

If these are your thoughts, I have a word of encouragement ....



SMILE!!

Because....


Gotta say, when I encountered this sweet man (we'll call him Hector) bearing this message of love it truly changed my life. One summer day, while visiting Chattanooga's indoor aquarium, I was lucky enough to run into this dear soul. Randomly standing next to him, I couldn't help but notice he too shared my deep fascination for the freshwater sturgeon exhibit. Those things are creepy and huge!! And like myself, he stared at this gigantic snaggletoothed monster of the lake with wide-eyed wonder. As we turned, heading to the next exhibit, I happen to catch the caring words on the back of his tee...touched? You bet I was..

Ok ok, I have a confession... I added the "even if" to soften the message a wee bit. From my personal experience with a*sholes, they don't do well with direct "in-your-face" expressions of anything, even deep expressions of love (see above tee-shirt).

Gosh, I hope a lot of as*holes read this...

Anyway....wherever you are Hector, thank you ♥

Monday, February 14, 2011

Etowah


Saturday afternoon my family & I (mom, dad, bro & sis) drove to the small town of Etowah, TN in hopes of finding discount shelves for my brother's gargantuan DVD collection. Apparently Etowah is the small town hodge-podge discount store mecca featuring returned, damaged, overstocked, expired items and products. Each store, a variety of sites/smells ranging from dusty baby wipes to old vitamins and sounds of cardboard tearing, plastic shuffling, people chattering while static-filled songs of drinking and heartbreak play in the background. Aisle after aisle of random junk piled in bins with no particular order. Cosmetics, cereals and snacks in flattened or torn boxes and bags....wow.....it was overwhelming. If you have severe A.D.D. I don't recommend shopping in good ol' Etowah. I personally made the mistake of buying toothpaste that expired in 2009 (does toothpaste go bad?). It was the Crest Advanced stuff too, you know the kind with maximum fluoride....darn, what a waste....oh and one more Etowah shopping tip, bring hand sanitizer (unless you enjoy that thrift store funk hand coating)


The town itself had a certain charm though, a quaint Mayberry feel to it. Can't say I'd enjoy living there but I do appreciate any town still thriving on "ma & pa" businesses. I definitely want to return with my camera. Until then I'll post pics I grabbed from the interwebs.

One last slice of Etowah joy to share involves Scotties Diner, Etowah's beloved greasy spoon. The restaurant's slogan, "Have You Eat Yet?", is largely written across the building sign...ha! I'm thankful my sister pointed this out or I would have missed it.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Big Merle The Welder




"They say snow's a comin"...  "Boy I tell ya, this Tennessee weather is something"...  "Another day another dollar"... "Government do take a bite don't she?" (Raising Arizona)

Small talk, NOT my specialty. In fact, I'm quite horrible at it and avoid it if I can. Do I feel this is the best way to be? No, not at all, but we'll get back to that in a moment.

So where does small talk happen? Just about anywhere: the grocery store line, doctor's office, parks, your place of employment etc. I personally encounter small talk at work on a daily basis and it has a name - Big Merle The Welder. Don't get me wrong, Merle is the nicest guy on the planet but I've personally crowned him the king of repetitive one-line conversation. Everyday it's the same questions - "How was your weekend, not enough of it was there?" or "How's your dog, he still livin'?". Here's what's interesting. When I've taken the time to answer his questions he drifts off and on occasion walks away or starts conversation with another. Sometimes I'm in mid-sentence when this occurs. *It annoys me* So anyway, I started thinking about why I get so irritated with someone who's only trying to be kind. Is it perhaps my love for deeper conversation, a tendency to introversion, or plain ol' grumpiness? I personally don't enjoy feelings of irritation, especially towards another human being. I mean, we are supposed to love each other right? Love your neighbor more than yourself, love Big Merle more than yourself, love bizarre word-salad spewing man in grocery line more than yourself - this is hard! So again, while mulling this around in my brain I've come up with a conclusion. Everyone wants to be cared for. Everyone wants significance. Everyone wants to be loved, simple as that. Along with this conclusion, I must keep in mind how different people are. Different histories, pain, upbringing, love languages and capacities to give and receive love. To Big Merle, the small talk is obviously a way to show kindness, his way of relating. However to me it comes across as shallow thus producing irritation or feelings quite opposite of being cared for...I guess? perhaps?? Or maybe I'm just a grumpy ass, hope not.

The driving forces behind small talk are many, it's a multifaceted deal. As of right now, I'm tired of writing.

In a nutshell, I want to treat people better even if they're bugging the crap out of me.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Dear God...



Does Jesus's mouth really look like that?

amen.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Zak McKraken



It's blog, it's blog. It's big, it's heavy, it's wood! It's blog, it's blog, it's better than bad, it's good. Everyone wants a blog...

I find myself thinking about random things....a lot....past and present. Sometimes I wonder why certain memories stick while others fade away. And I'm not talkin' BIG memories with major significance such as graduating college, first kiss, grandma dying etc....but the small obscure memories and references. You know, the stuff that maybe only you or yourself & friend would understand. So I figured starting a blog filled with these nostalgic tid-bits would be a fun outlet for myself.

Zak McKraken, an old school Commodore 64 game my siblings & I played as youngsters, is exactly that... a nostalgic tid-bit, a tiny slice of memory fun. The game begins with Zak (a reporter) packing his stuff before leaving to cover a story about a vicious two-headed squirrel spotted in Seattle. About to hit the door, Zak turns to his fish tank and says "come with me sushi" (it's actually written in text on the screen)... I chose "go with me sushi" because it just looks better. Anyway, to this day that little line makes us laugh. Not sure why it does, but it does and I like it. So there ya go, the blog's inspiration revealed....I'm tellin' you it's heavy stuff, only the deepest thinkers need apply. Like Ace Ventura said "Well you'd better be sure, because once you get in my head, there's no turning back baby."



Honestly, I'm just gonna write/post whatever I want....random tid-bits, chunks, nuggets, slices etc.