Happy Birthday Kelley!

Well, today is the last day of February.

How did that happen?

And - a must shout-out to my sister, Kelley:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

(which is actually February 29...but, what can you do?)

She is a strong, determined, and loving woman who I am happy to have as a new-found partner in this crazy thing called family.

So, one last question for this month:

What do you want to do this year more than anything?

The Beginning or the End?

Do you have a Sunday night ritual?

I guess before we start there - do you see Sunday as the beginning of a new week or the end?

I suppose I see it as the end of a week. I wonder if I switched that thinking around if Mondays wouldn't be so painful - because it'd technically be Day #2 of the week?

And as for rituals go: I like to tidy up for practical and mental reasons...because it feels fresh and I can rest better, and when the alarm blares in the early am there are no hazards as I scramble across the room in a half comatose state. (And yes, the alarm clock is across the room or I'll never wake up). Then I pick out my outfits for the next five days (proactive against wasting 30 precious minutes in the morning trying on 15 different combos, rushing out the door and forgetting your English muffin and coffee on the counter). And recently...planning out my meals. Because turns out when you have more time on your hands not rushing around to meetings and knee-deep in homework you don't really get more efficient, but actually rely more on microwavable junk meals and cereal for dinner.

As a side note:

Dear Tooth,

What the heck did I ever do to you?

Sincerely,

Me.

Remember those surveys?

Remember in middle and high school those email surveys would circulate and populate your MySpace page? I loved those. It could be thought that it was motivated by the self-centered adolescent that loved talking about herself, but as I've grown I've come to realize that I just love self-discovery and questions are a great way to do that. They make me think, and reflect, and understand.

So I happened upon this site and was delighted by all the questions! So I put together my own "Proust Questionnaire" which I'm calling the updated Adult Survey.

1. What do you most dislike? At the moment? Being cold. In the wider scheme of things, I'd have to say intolerance which usually breeds all sorts of things I dislike such as hateful words, self-righteousness, abuse, and pain.
2. Growing up, who did you most admire? In Elementary school I idolized my teachers - I never wanted to leave their class and move to another grade. That skipped a beat in Middle School where I chose to admire no one and nothing but my teachers again drew my attention in High School.
3. Describe the most beautiful place you have ever seen? I have two. One is standing at Cape Point in South Africa and looking at the green cliffs that all come to a point at the southern most tip - the Indian and Atlantic Ocean merging together in a chaotic line jutting out from the tip. The other was another high point - looking out over hundreds and hundreds of rice fields glistening from the gray skies in China. The work of man and the work of God.
4. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? To move things with your mind...what is that called again?
5. What was your most epic road trip? Again, I have two. #1 Amy and my Senior Roadtrip to California. Disney, constant laughter, the beach and my favorite place, Orange County. #2: WOC-09 the epic Washington-Oregon-California trip with a bunch of crazies.
6. What food brings back childhood memories? Steak and potatoes. And ranch, definitely lots of ranch.
7. Do you have a favorite prayer or meditation? I love the "Jesus" prayer - "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner." Mostly because of the sermon I heard in conjunction with it by Jurgen Moltmann. Mediation would be labyrinths. Hand or life-size...they bring a deep sense of peace.
8. How do your friends bring out different parts of yourself? Well, I'll name a few. I think Megan brings out my wild side, my spontaneous - let's leap before we look side. Brie Bear brings out my silly side (I do enjoy a good prank with her...), Therese brings out my inner philosophical side...she makes me think. That and we're both secretly magical.
9. What do you do to get centered? Journal. Bubble bath. Being alone. Going for a run.
10. Which hobby would you pursue if you had more time? I would love to learn Glass Blowing...such beautiful things are made! And I really wish I had a potters wheel and some clay handy.
11. Which book could you read over and over? All the Harry Potters. And I have read them over and over and over again.
12. What you love most about your home? My roommates. They're lovely and funny and make our small little apartment a home. That and my OWN room - praise the Lord.
13. What would you do if you won the lottery? Honestly? The very very first thing I would do is take my beloved Dimples (850 Volvo) to the sweet little Volvo place in Ballard and say "Fix it! Fix it all! You see something that needs re-vamping, re-twisting, tweaking, re-placement - do it!" I know buying a new car would just be easier, but Dimples and I have a relationship and nothing would satisfy me more than to check off that pesky list of things not going so well in my aging car. BUT, I would have to say please leave the dimples...

February Good-ness

I love reading these on Allie's blog, and had to indulge this month.

A February Update:

Current guilty pleasure: Trader Joe's Mediterranean Hummus

Current color: I'm enjoying blue at the moment

Current playlist: The Band Perry

Current read: The Conscious Bride by, Sheryl Paul

Current drink: COFFEE

Current food: Greek yogurt with grape nuts (because my english muffin with almond butter and honey is still on the kitchen counter...boo)

Current favorite show: Heroes!

Current wish list: Warmer. Weather.

Current needs: A plain white long-sleeve shirt. Preferably from Gap.

Current triumphs: Sticking with my New Year Resolutions thus far!

Current bane of my existence: Dealing with cranky people

Current indulgence: Wine

Current blessing: Assurance

Current outfit: Dark blue jeans, gray shirt, black camisol, green scarf and black flats.

Current excitement: I get to see the documentary I Am tonight!!

Current mood: Content

Current link: Wedding blogs

What are your February currents?

What do you deserve?

Sometimes you need to reflect on what you deserve because there is plenty of commentary in the world that attempt to define our self-worth, beauty, intelligence, accomplishments. This is not a wish-list or even a self-serving list (aka I deserve a massage every night with a strawberry margarita) while that may be true, it's probably not going to happen and doesn't really have a larger purpose than being pampered. I mean how do you deserve to be recognized by others? What do you deserve from others because you are in fact a human being loved by God?

--I deserve my boundaries in love, life and friendship to be respected.

--I deserve to nourish my body giving it the right nutrients, rest, activity and compliments.

--I deserve kind words from others and should work harder to give them.

--I deserve to know that I am a child of God and delighted in by my Creator - but also that I have a responsibility of obedience.

--I deserve forgiveness and must freely forgive in return.

What do you deserve?

distracted?

What is distracting you lately?

Heroes...all the seasons on Netflix Instant

DinerDash game

Wedding Blogs

What are you distracted from?

Being productive!!!

empty and full

From SoulPancake:

What drains your soul?

Right now? Wedding planning. I'm knee deep in details, decisions and to-do's. And I can't help but feel like I'm running in circles dragging all of it behind me. So many delicate moments, trying to savor it all, trying to make it pass as quickly as possible, balancing tensions and expectations, facts and numbers, chaos and sanity.

What recharges it?

A hot bubble bath, a good book, a cup of tea with a teaspoon of honey.

What would you be?

Ran across this here and thought it was lovely!

If I were a country, I'd be Canada.
If I were a month, I'd be July.
If I were a day of the week, I'd Thursday.
If I were a time of day, I’d be 9:00am.
If I were a season, I'd be summer.
If I were a planet, I’d be Pandora.
If I were a sea animal, I’d be a dolphin.
If I were a direction, I’d be west.
If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a bookshelf.
If I were a liquid, I’d be a Shirley Temple.
If I were a tree, I’d be a Weeping Willow.
If I were a tool, I’d be a pair of pliers.
If I were a flower, I’d be a lily.
If I were a kind of weather, I'd be 80 degrees and rising.
If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a saxophone.
If I were a colour, I’d be mossy green.
If I were an emotion, I’d be tranquil.
If I were a fruit, I’d be a kiwi.
If I were a sound, I’d be ocean waves.
If I were an element, I’d be air.
If I were a car, I’d be a mini cooper.
If I were a food, I’d be a potato.
If I were a place, I’d be a zen garden.
If I were a material, I’d be flannel.
If I were a taste, I’d taste like sun-dried tomato and basil.
If I were a scent, I’d be floral with a hint of citrus.
If I were a facial expression, I’d be smiling.
If I were a song, I'd be Fast Cars and Freedom by Rascal Flatts.
If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be flip flops or leather boots.

What would you be?

and Eleven Days have passed...

so I'll play catch-up: here are 11 (ELEVEN) Questions for your Friday:

1. How are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet??
2. Why isn't there a font for sarcasm?
3. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? (I really don't want to have to re-start my collection...again)
4. How many times is it appropriate to ask "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?
5. Have you ever looked down at your watch three consecutive times and still don't know what time it is? (That's when I default to 5:00pm...time to go home).
6. Was learning cursive really necessary?
7. What's worse than the moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong?
8. Why doesn't map quest start at direction #5? (I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood)
9. Do you ever reach that moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day? (Yeah - about 7 hours ago)
10. Does it slightly terrify you when you exit out of Word and it asks you if you want to save any changes to your ten-page technical report that you swear you did not make any changes to?
11. Don't you think the freezer deserves a light too?

Compliments of an email from my dear madre.

I AM...

I AM

This is going to be amazing and a screening is coming to Seattle February 25, 2011 at the Varsity Theater! AND Tom Shadyac will be there after the 7:10 screening and will introduce the 9:30 screening. Tickets are $10 and you don't want to miss this!! So my question for all you Seattle-ites: Why haven't you bought your tickets yet?!?! And if you're not from Seattle check here for where you can see it and when!

This is a few quotes from his blog, you can check out the full entry here:

The goal for me had become unity and integrity, so when anyone looked in any drawer of my life, they would hopefully see a consistency of character rooted in compassion, creativity and love.

This makes me question...what would people see if they opened my "drawer of life"? What do I want them to see?

Simply put, I no longer want to stand on top of the movie-making heap and declare that I am the most valuable, and therefore worth more. I only want to take what I need and give the remainder to those in need...

...St. Augustine said, “Determine what God has given you, and take from it what you need, the remainder is needed by others.” That’s my philosophy in a nutshell, which is consistently reflected in nature. But our culture encourages us to take as much as we can, to amass fortunes that sit idle in bank accounts while others starve (and nature is abused in the process!)

THIS is the gospel! This is what Jesus commands us to do and I am inspired by his courage to do it. We are to take care of those in need. There are so many statistics about how there is enough in this world for everyone to have food, shelter and love. But somewhere along the line we collected mountains of wealth and things and will fight to the death before we have to share. It's mine and since I earned it I deserve it! It's time for that way of thinking to change.

The Force...

February!

-2-2011!

The month of looooove (and the superbowl...) and the one month that got the short end of the stick...only 28 days (this year) to celebrate!

And I want to spend February asking questions...because I happen to have a lot. And because I got this awesome book SoulPancake which is chock full of questions big and small, silly and profound and best of all, makes you think about life and what its all about.

But, to keep it simple today and because the Superbowl was yesterday - I must ask: what was your favorite Superbowl commercial?

I didn't see all of them...but I think this one is just adorable: