New and Different

[Technically I'll be double posting today, but pretend this is Wednesday's post. Or take two for one today. :)]

Sometimes you just need to mix things up.

I know, I know. You're probably thinking, "Um, wow, that was a stupid thing to do. Why on earth would she pierce her nose?"

It's something I thought about doing for a few years. Curiosity kinda got the better of me on this one. Oh, and I wasn't really excited about turning 23. I mean, what can you do at 23 that you can't do at 22? Nothing. Or decide to do something new and different.

I can always take it out and let it close up. And I'll probably put a clear spacer thing in while I'm teaching. No harm, no foul, really.

I think it'll be interesting to gauge people's reactions, too, so yes, I guess part of this is a bit of a social experiment. See, I like changing things up and seeing how people react. In high school I cut off a foot of hair on a whim, didn't even give my boyfriend of the time a heads up (he then walked completely past me in the hallway because he didn't really notice me since he was looking for the long hair -- true story!).

Well, the storm sounds like it's dying down outside. That means I can finally get to sleep. Good thing. I will be bummin' with Byron all day for class. Bring on the productivity!

~"Sometimes I see myself as a child in a rain storm, running around trying to catch all the drops in his mouth. I long for your adventures to be like the raindrops the child saves and not those which crash to the ground." [-anonymous]~

A (Birth)Day With My Mom

Sometimes the best days are ones that don't try too hard to be great...they just turn out that way naturally.

Like a whole birthday spent with the woman who gave birth to you, loving you, encouraging you always without holding the stretch marks, labor pains, and kidney it took over your head...Often. (But you know I don't mind, Mom)

Celebrating the past 23 years of life while preparing for the years ahead, analyzing the items with her endless supply of patience as I talk through the pros and cons, the dreams and hopes. I can't think of a better way to have done it today.

I love my mom. I am pretty sure she keeps her Superwoman cape hidden somewhere, but definitely not her amazingness.

Now let's see what 23 brings. I hope it brings me steps closer to being more and more like my mom -- and all of the other amazing, inspiring women in my life.

~"That's me, the perfect blend of caffeine and genetics. HA!" [Gilmore Girls]~

WeekendEnd

a grill.

lots of delicious food.

a few cold drinks.

a crazy-big, silly dog.

constantly pulling up more chairs,

widening the circle around the table.

trampoline jumping.

laughter,

laughter,

and more laughter.

long conversations.

cake.

purple frosting wishes and names.

candles blowing under the combined force of the birthday girls.

missing the birthday boys.

frosting fight!

wrapped up in the fun company and love of my family, everything's okay. my hurts and worries are pushed to the back of my mind, and i intertwine myself in these precious moments with them.

~"These are my people. This is where I came from. We're givin' this life everything we've got and then some. It ain't always pretty, but it's real. It's the way we were made, wouldn't have it any other way. These are my people." ["These Are My People" - Rodney Atkins]~

Soothing Surprises

Spent the day working on the house with Mom and Brandon. The house is getting closer to them being ready to move in, and it's great to see it pulling together.

Nothing ever looks the same when I go there between the work they've put into the house and the things that keep popping up in the yard....beautiful, colorful, surprises.

Here's the latest (and no, I don't know why they are huge pictures. Enlarged to show texture??):

We aren't sure what they are. We were just calling them Firework Flowers.

The lady who used to live here has so many flowers around the yard. A lot of them are purple, so Mom ventured that we can probably guess her favorite color.

This is one of my favorite pictures from today.

Sit really still and let it speak.

It whispers,

Please, child, slow down. Soak in the beauty in the simple things. Savor the surprises. Blessings abound. Rejoice in the good. Be okay not knowing everything.

Just what my heart needed: peace, comfort, stillness, beauty.

Hey, thanks, God. :)

~"My God's enough for me. This world has nothing I need. In this whole life I've seen my God is enough for me." ["Psalm 73 (My God's Enough" -BarlowGirl]~

Funny Video Friday

A Dedication

I'm loving this Jon McLaughlin song tonight. It reminds me of those hard in-between years of just trying to figure out who I was, trying to feel like I fit in, and all of that...and it makes me so, so thankful that it's over. It hurts my heart to see my cousins getting old enough to be in that position now. I'm so proud they are growing up and proud of who they are becoming, but I know it's a struggle sometimes...but they'll be okay. I know it. :)

Tonight this song is for my favorite girls. ♥

A Declarative Statement

Yesterday I came across an article called "Why You Should Blog, Even if No One is Reading". You can read it for yourself here. I've been thinking about it a lot since then, and something that took up that much thought is worthy of a post.

I've always loved to write. I was that kid who carried a notebook everywhere for a while, Harriet the Spy style. I'm that person who has every single journal saved. I've even been blogging since early high school, but it's always pretty much been for myself. It wasn't until The Challenge that I really and truly wanted to write things worthwhile for other people (although I still haven't quite figured that one out).

I've read other blogs where people manage to find something, anything, from their day and make it hilarious. I've seen some that are incredibly artistic, others that are thought-provoking. And I admit that I have coveted those abilities, my friends. I have stared at the little white posting box agonizing over what to write, sometimes even writing entire posts before deleting them to start from square one. I have felt that my posts are insignificant, meaningless, and a waste of time for both myself and readers.

But you know what? I have this passion for writing. And I love The Challenge for making me write even when I don't want to. I have seen how it has challenged me into being a better writer. Not only have I toyed around with the mechanics of it, but I've also opened my eyes and my mind to the world around me to soak more of it in. Good writers linger on the details around them, take it all in. After all...

"The creative person wants to be a know-it-all. He wants to know about all kinds of things: ancient history, nineteenth-century mathematics, current manufacturing techniques, flower arranging, and hog futures. Because he never knows when these ideas might come together to form a new idea. It may happen six minutes later or six months or six years down the road. But he has faith that it will happen." - Carl Ally

The things captured in this blog will be wonderful to look back on, just like all of those journals I have saved over the years. I will feel emotions again, relive memories, but I will notice the growth I've done as a person and as a writer.

And that is what this blog is about. It's not artsy or funny, political or whatever. This is me, this is my life. This is who I am. I call the shots here, and share my thoughts here, too. It's just whatever comes out on any given day. It's random, yes, but hey, that's me, too.

So thank you for following my growth with me, my friends, because I know that there are those of you who read this. I don't hold you to reading this every single day, but I appreciate it. I hope after reading today's post that you have a bit more insight into why I'm doing what I do here.

~"And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt." [-Sylvia Plath]~