In my Dreams

I love my life.  I love my husband and our dreams and everything that God has blessed us with.  However, when I ran across this little cottage, I felt the slightest twinge of jealousy.  Not the kind of jealousy that makes me unhappy with where I'm at, but the kind that makes me hope I someday get to have something just this precious.  Even a room in a house, or even a closet, that looks like this, would make me so giddy.

The best part about this adorable cottage is that the owner created all of the loveliness herself.  And she did it with $3000.  Though I don't just have three thousand to spare, she did an amazing job with that small of an amount.  Thank you, New York Times, for making me feel so happy and hopeful.  And giving me a place to dream about...

Could you imagine sitting on this porch?

I already love all white decor.  She made it even more desirable and just so gorgeous.  

She makes this shabby-chic look so effortless.

Window boxes, Rain boots, White-washed porches...

Need I say more?!

Oh... and, she has a blog.  She has the most darling Christmas photos up of the cottage.  Here's just a peek:

all images used from Mrs. Foster's blog

Ah, dreamland.  Please tell me that even if you're not an English nerd like me, you still just get all wobbly in your knees for this kind of thing?!

Let's all have a pretend tea-party here.  See you at noon.  Or any time of day, because it'll be gorgeous.

Writer's Block

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind.

First, my husband and I travelled all the way across the country for 4 days, and we had the time of our lives.  San Francisco was beautiful, and we loved seeing some old friends and meeting some new ones.

Then, last week, before Christmas, we got to deliver Christmas presents out to our block, which made me want to never leave the sweet people that live there.  Their openness to us over the past year has given me such a new perspective on my community.

And, then, of course, there was Christmas.  Splitting the holiday between two families ends up being less splitting and more spreading ourselves out.  We love the chance to see both sides, but I am completely exhausted.  My house needs cleaning but even more than that, I need a day where I can be alone.  So far this morning, I have not said any words out loud.  And I'm really ok with that.

Please Read This:

To add to this, I have been feeling a form of writer's block.  It is probably better explained as writer's confusion.  For awhile now, I have been contemplating the direction of my blog.  I love sharing fun stories and life things with my readers, but I also do not want to be completely self absorbed in my communication.  There are other things that are so important to me (the fight against human trafficking, women growing closer to the Lord, etc.) that I sometimes have a terrible time striking a balance between the two.  I find myself at a sort of a crossroads.  Here are my options:
   a) Stay the same.  Try to be more balanced in fun posts and serious posts, though it might confuse my audience a bit.
   b) Change up the blog to make it more serious and shoot toward more meaningful posts every day, perhaps losing some readers that enjoy a more lighthearted post, but knowing that I am truly fulfilling what I feel called to do.
   c) Keep bon mot to be what it defines - clever, fun, and lightheartedness.  Start a second blog that is closer to posts like this, this, and this.  That way, readers will be able to choose, and I won't feel pressure.

Please, please tell me what you think.  It would help me tremendously.

These two things are completely disconnected:

1. We (me and my adorable husband) leave for California this Thursday, and will return next Monday.  I'll try to schedule posts, but if I don't get to, send me happy happy thoughts for our first time ever on the west coast!  I hear it's beautiful, and we get to see a lovely array of people we oh-so admire and look up to.  Some of them even have blogs:

Mandy Santos

Rebekah Jackson

& 

Stacie Wood 

(whom I have only met once, but am looking forward to getting better acquainted with!)

We are just so thrilled.  California, here we come (oh, that sounds so cheesy... in an old-timey way... but that fits me, I guess).

via

2. I knew that if I didn't blog about this, I wouldn't remember, so here goes:

Yesterday, Billy and I were standing in a line at Wal-Mart, waiting patiently as the people ahead of us were attempting to use a gift card that seemed to have run out.  Actually, Billy was the one being patient, and I was sighing and rolling my eyes.  If I'd had something to tap my acrylic nails on, it would have been the perfect moment.  The people in front of us were just buying one thing - a six dollar bottle of wine.  They were a couple, and she was insisting that their gift card had "Six dollars and thirty-two cents" on it.  Exactly.  Over and again, and again, she repeated.  

And then it happened.  The cashier looked at her, right between the fifth and sixth try of swiping the gift card and she smiled.  She sweetly asked the wine-purchaser, "Are you pregnant?"  All I could think was, No she didn't! Seriously.

This girl had to weigh all but 80 pounds.  Plus, she was purchasing wine, very decidedly.  She'd carried it, she was paying for it, and by golly, I think she was going to drink it.  If she was pregnant, that would be a bad mommy-move.  Almost everyone knows that you don't drink alcohol when you're pregnant (or at least you shouldn't!).

Obviously, the wine lady gawked at the cashier, right as her gift card cleared, and stalked off with her husband.  Oh, and she said, "NO, I am not pregnant."  And she blushed.  I almost blushed for her (I'm a regular blusher.  It's a talent.).

We were next, and I stood there breathless... literally.  I held my breath, and sucked in as much as I could.  I was NOT going to get asked if I was with child.  I may claim baby fever, but if I look pregnant, there better be a baby coming soon.

Evidently, my mission was accomplished.  She didn't say any extraneous thing to me besides the final prices.  She was probably embarrassed.  Either that, or I just looked super skinny for those two minutes.

Thank God I did not faint right there in Wal-Mart.  I'm thinking that it was worth it, though.

Moral of the story: NEVER ask a lady if she's pregnant unless it is almost watermelon-sized.  Also, if this story scares you, go for a run.  It's on my agenda today.  Either that, or learn how to suck in and not pass out.  If you figure it out, email me with the secret.

Dear Rudolph,

He's just using you for your nose.

Sincerely, The Other Reindeer.

quoted from here

I'm so excited for all of these movies.  

It's amazing that they got such real footage of Rudolph and all of the elves.  

(Hey, I wasn't allowed to believe in Santa.  I had to find some magic somewhere.)

Merry Almost Christmas, friends.

Completely Belated

Due to life, I'm completely late on many of the updates I've been meaning to give!  However, that means I get to make a list, and my little OCD self is super excited about it!

1.  My new Weekly Favorite is up.  Check out my sidebar.

2.  The Sunday before Thanksgiving (see, I told you that this was late!), we did our annual Turkey Outreach (where we give away turkeys and meals ready to cook).  This year, we gave meals to over 1500 families!  Every year is incredible, but because we've got a block that Billy and I go visit anyway, we got to lead our regular team out there.  It was so amazing to see our people connect with the people on the block.  Sometimes, they're a bigger blessing to me than I ever am to them.

Some kids decorated the boxes.  Adorable?  Yes.

His name is Cash.  But he might tell you today that it's Bob.  And tomorrow, it's Marcus.  But really, it's Cash.  Who cares what his name is with eyes like those?

Unloading the turkeys.  So cute... Ahem, sorry honey.  Manly and Strong.

Is all of the preparation and a whole weekend of work worth it?  Definitely.

(P.S. - This is not me)

3.  I made my own Christmas card and saved truckloads of money.  Maybe next year I'll start a little local business for the cash.  Or, you know, the holiday cheer.  (I will be uploading my card after I send it out.  On my To-Do list.)

4.  I took some pictures this weekend of a dear friend who refuses to blog, though she is hilarious and so much fun.  She's pregnant (hola, baby fever) and adorable.  I'll only give you one picture, because I haven't even shown her yet!  I'm super glad she let me practice my photo skills on her and her hubby.

She loves Zebra.  We wore Zebra shoes in her wedding.  So of course, the scarf...

Alright, friends, we're almost all caught up!

Blair from Wild & Precious

This week's favorite (found in the sidebar) is Wild & Precious.  Blair's is so great and I am so excited to share her with you all!  You just must check out her blog.  It is sweet and down to earth, yet so lovely and sophisticated.

***

When did you start blogging?

I had a very short lived blog in 2005 and then started this one in 2007, however for the first three years it was just for friends and family -- and had maybe 3 followers.  In March of 2010 I really started to
expand my readership and really started having fun with my blog.

Why did you start your blog?

When I started in 2007, really -- hardly anyone I knew blogged.  I had to email my parents every time I posted with the link and tell them to read it.  I had two friends who also blogged and were perhaps my only readers.  I like exploring new things on the computer and the blog was just a way of trying something new.  It was also at that point, more of a scrapbook of my life.

What is your favorite aspect of the blog world?

The community it brings!  I really feel like I have made so many great friends.  I also just learn so much from following other people's lives - whether it is about relationships, fashion, crafting... I seriously learn so much.

Where do you find all of your fashion inspiration?

Hmm.. fashion inspiration? I think if people met me, they might be disappointed by my sense of fashion.  I do what I can with what I have -- I'm pretty frugal when it comes to shopping and trends, so what I post I very rarely own.  I like to look at Anthropologie and J.Crew and then see what I have in my (very small but over flowing) closet that might be able to make similar to what I saw but with my own twist.  I'm into comfort, but also like for people to say, "hmm, I wouldn't necessarily wear that, but you pull it off."

Why did you choose the mason jar for your button (which is so cute, by the way)?

I was looking for something simple and kind of obscure that I thought represented both aspects of the name of my blog - both Wild and Precious. I love mason jars - especially old ones.  Use as a vase with wild flowers, sip a summer drink out of them, catch lightning bugs... I just had a lot of memories, both precious and wild, attached to mason jars and so decided it would be perfect for my button (and occasionally in my header image - which I like to switch up a lot).

What is one weird thing most people don't know about you?

I'm probably just pretty weird in general - but to me, all my oddities seem pretty normal. Hmm.. I'm not a big reader, but I do like to read fantasy stuff a lot -- like Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, The Eldest Series (its about dragons)!  I guess thats pretty weird/funny.

Do you think that you are the same on your blog as in real life?

I think i'm pretty transparent.  But like I said, I'm probably not as fashionable or design savy as my blog may suggest.  Although I truly do admire and maybe even aspire to some of the design images or apparel I post, my current taste (and budget) is much more simple.

Lastly, if you were getting a Grammy or an Oscar (because being my weekly favorite doesn't quite measure up to that), who would you thank?

I would like to thank God (you have to thank him first in the Oscars, plus He is awesome), Sarah Ann for being so sweet to highlight me, my husband for putting up with all the time I spend on the computer instead of hanging out with him and for all the html help he gives me.  I'd like to thank all my great sponsors, bloggy friends, all the designers who give great creations away on my blog, and all my followers!

***

Thank you, Blair!

Now, go check out her Wild and Precious blog!

  

Get a Life

I was 9 when we moved from Aiken, South Carolina to Laredo, Texas.  I don't know about you guys, but from 9-12, I was incredibly awkward.  My hair was changing from straight to curly (not a pretty transition) and, well, you know.  I was just weird.  Please tell me you were too.

You all must know how much I love you when I share this picture.  I promise, I did grow out of most of my awkwardness.  

Anyway, when I was 10, I was in 5th grade and still new to my Elementary school.  See how pale I am in that picture (or any other of my pictures)?  My whole town is 98% Hispanic.  I was surrounded by beautiful olive-skinned dark-haired girls.  Add that to the normal weirdness that comes with being a tween, and I was pretty much an alien.

I had no friends.  Wait, yes I did.  They were so cool.  They were well spoken.  Even better, they spent all of their time with me.  For example, Rosemary.  She was awesome.  See her here:

Oh, yeah.  You got it.  I was that girl who considered the characters in her books her best friends.  Dead serious.  (Don't worry, mom, you were my only real-life friend).

Before you feel sorry for me, wait!  My school had a special competition for people like me.  I got to enter a contest called Accelerated Reader (please tell me you remember this).  We got points for reading books and taking quizzes.  Now, reading had more of a purpose.  I had a mission.  Get more points.  Because at the end of the year, they were going to give away a prize.  I didn't know what it was, but maybe it would make me cool.  Or give me real friends.

You guessed it.  I won.  I set the record for the highest points ever made in the Elementary school.  Yes, now you may feel pity.  It did not give me friends.  In fact, in 6th and 7th grade, I had kids coming up to me saying, "Hey, aren't you that girl who won that weird book contest?!"  Oh, shame.

The worse thing about all of this is the prize.  Are you ready?  For being the best reader, the most secluded person, the biggest nerd, they gave me...

A Bike.

That's right.  They might as well have hung a banner behind it saying, "Get a life!"  

You want to know something?  I still have that bike.  It was an adult sized bike, because I guess they have some big 5th graders and they wanted to let us grow into it.  The bike is still usable.  It's not really worn out yet, well, because I still read more than anything else.

Maybe I still need to get a life.

Good Morning, Life!

1.  One of my favorite things about Christmas time is that I get to listen to my favorite singers sing some of my favorite songs.  Dear Rat Pack, you make me smile inside.

2.  I updated the Weekly Favorite in the sidebar.  Check this blog out if you haven't already.  She's so lovely and creative and super fashion-savvy.

3. I'm going to be eating sweet potatoes until my skin turns orange.  I made a huge thing of sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving, and we have 3 tons leftover.  Not that I mind, of course.  It's my absolute favorite dish of the season.  Bring on the orange (I hate orange, so this is big for me).

4. Billy and I had Christmas pictures taken by one of my friends from high school who now happens to be super artsy and incredibly talented, and I couldn't be more thrilled with the outcome!


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Linking up!

Interview with Jenni!

My weekly favorite (found in the sidebar) is a new addition to bon mot.  I was so excited to come across Jenni's blog and just knew she was the first one I had to pick!  She graciously agreed to do an interview for being the Weekly Fav, and I am so excited to share her with you all!

***

How long have you been blogging?

I've had one blog or another since 2008, but I've only had my current blog since this September!

What made you start your blog?

When I very first started blogging, it was mostly just to exercise my writing skills and share my thoughts with friends and family. Writing has always been a huge part of my identity, and I thought blogging could be a fun way to share that part of myself with others. I started my CURRENT blog because I really desire to reach out to a greater number of people -- as a serious writer, my dream is to be read by hundreds or even thousands of people!!

You just got married within the last year.  What's the funniest thing that has happened in marriage so far?

Oh man... Funny stuff happens allll the time!!  My husband and I never even lived in the same state before we were married, so we really had a lot of adjusting to do once we were finally married and living under the same roof!  There was one particularly stressful work week when Matthew randomly brought home a puppy, which was so utterly ridiculous because he knows our dogs pretty much want to eat all other dogs.  Sure enough, the two we already have were pretty much salivating as soon they caught a glimpse of the poor baby!! Matthew had to sleep on the couch with the puppy that night, and we gave it away in the morning.  :( But it's still a running joke that my husband handles stress by buying puppies (which is a lot better than turning to alcohol or other destructive vices, I suppose!)!!!

What's the best part about being married?

The best part of being married is the bond you form with your spouse as your lives blend... It's that feeling that you have a partner, a sidekick, a friend who knows you inside and out and adores you anyway. I like to say that marriage is like a never ending sleepover with your best friend!!

When you grow up (since we grown ups still have dreams) what do you want to be?

My dream is to write books and blogs, tweet, Facebook, and surf the Internet all day - from home - and get paid lots of money for it. Some may call me an Internet and social networking addict, I call me career savvy.   ;)

What are 5 words that best describe you?

Intelligent. Kind. Inquisititve. Funny. Moody. Selfish.

Do you think you are the same on your blog as in real life?

Yeah, pretty much!  I think my personality really comes through in my blog, though in real life I tend to get tripped up, oh, I don't know, WHENEVER I OPEN MY MOUTH.  My spoken words don't always come out as eloquently as my written ones. Especially after meeting new people, I often end up kicking myself for one stupid thing or another that I said in some pathetic attempt to fill an awkward silence. Yeah, actually?  I'm way cooler on my blog.

Lastly, if you were getting a Grammy or an Oscar (because being my weekly favorite doesn't quite measure up to that), who would you thank?

I would thank the fans. And God. And my mom. And Dr. Phil.  For making me who I am today.  (Why does everyone hate Dr. Phil?  Personally, I find him terribly AWESOME)

And thanks to Sarah Ann for featuring me on her weekly favorites!!! 

What an honor!!!  She is such a doll... Thanks for reading y'all!!

***

Thank you so much, Jenni, for doing the interview! 

Now, if you haven't checked out her blog, do so!

In the Clouds

I already know today is just going to be yesterday 2.0.  I'm super busy and have tons on my plate.  Overwhelmed Me = Slight Ditz.
For example, yesterday at work, my lovely cousin Rachel (yes, she works with me... awesome, right?!) asks me a question.

Yes, she's beautiful.

Anyway, here's how it went (keep in mind, another woman was standing there watching us):

Rachel:  Does anyone have a leave?

Me:  Well, I think we get a couple of weeks off for Christmas.

Rachel:  I mean, do you have a leave?

Me:  Yeah, but I still have to get some work done over my time off.

Rachel:  Sarah, what are you talking about?!

Me:  You know, leave time, for the holidays.

Rachel:  No, do you have Aleve?  The medicine!

Me:  Huh?

Evidently, she had a headache, poor thing.

I sat there looking at her while the other lady watching us could not stop laughing and told Rachel that she, indeed, did have Aleve back at her desk.

World, get ready for another day just like yesterday.

PS - Feel better, Rach.  Sorry I couldn't help you.

PPS - Interview with My Weekly Favorite (in sidebar) coming tomorrow! Get stoked!

Keeping Up

In an effort to keep up with myself and my little home, I have been taking some extra measures this last week.  If you remember my post from 2 weeks ago you know that I am so busy and have not had much time for pampering, primping, or even really getting ready.  So far, this is what I've done:

Got my nails done.  It's amazing how something so simple can make me feel so put together.  The husband was so excited for me that he made a special part of our budget just for my nails!  I'm so thankful that he cares!

I didn't watermark this picture because I knew you all wouldn't steal my creepy happy hands in my face pose.

Cleaned out my drain.  I have enough hair for 5 people on my head.  The average person loses 80-100 hairs a day, and they don't usually come out until you shower or brush.  Since I have TONS of hair and don't shower or brush daily (you curly haired girls know what I mean), I loose about 30 million hairs every time I shower.  

Because of that sad dilemma, we always have a bottle of hardcore Drano around.  Thank goodness.

Letting my husband help.  I am pretty particular about the way that I like things done and cleaned and organized.  However, I sometimes get just too busy.  Last night, Billy told me to go upstairs and shower and he would clean the downstairs.  I didn't want to watch him do it (he didn't want me to watch him, either), so I followed instructions.  I'm sitting downstairs now, and it doesn't look half bad.  In fact, it looks great.  I should let him help more often.

What do you do to relax/pamper?  I can use more ideas, now that I'm on a roll!

Look forward to an interview post with my weekly favorite coming up!  Check her out from my sidebar!

I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joy...

Down in my heart!
Because it's Friday and that means it's the weekend which means sleep!  I never knew I'd be so excited about a nap.
I think today I'll take a walk, get some Starbucks, and read a book.  Who's with me?

Today, I'm up for some good, deep talking and some good, hearty giggling.  I wish you and I could have a party at Starbucks and just laugh.  I truly wish I could personally get to know each and every one of you!

Have a lovely weekend, friends!  

P.S. - (each time I write P.S., I want to substitute it with "Post Script"... silly, English, grammar person, me) - Check out the weekly favorite in the sidebar! I'm going to change it each Friday!

Christmas Wish List (so far)

1.  World Peace.  Haha.

2.  White towels.  I am forever staining our pretty colored ones.  I think that it's the hubby's medicated facewash.  Anyway, white ones are better cause you can bleach them and they always look new!  Woo hoo!

credit

3. This Planner from Etsy.  I love new planners.  I get a new one usually before my old one is finished.  Maybe they should make 6 month planners.  Maybe then, though, I would buy them every three months just because I'm weird like that.

Find it Here

4. The Billykirk Carryall from J. Crew.  I will not get this for Christmas.  Other than you bloggers, I won't seriously tell anyone that I want it.  I mean, it is a bit overboard.  But this is a wish list, right?  And I'm a regular Cinderalla, sans the fairy godmother.

 But I'd also settle for this one:

OR this one:

(All found on Jcrew.com)

Sigh.  I've been playing Christmas music at work.  I know this wishlist looks like I just want gifts, but you could take away gifts and I would still just adore Christmas.  Traditions, music, red and green, the birth of Jesus... I love it all.

Overwhelmed

Your response to yesterday's post was incredible.  I am just amazed and overwhelmed at the care that you all expressed and the desire to know more about the cause.
For those of you who asked or who will ask, I am personally going to email the organization and find out more to tell you.  However, there are many other organizations that focus on this same thing.  If you are interested to know about those, leave a comment and I will either do a special post or email with more details.
Thank you a million times over for caring.  What great and beautiful hearts you all have.  I love you guys!  I'm so proud to have such amazing readers!
If I could, I'd have each of you over for coffee and just get to know you and what causes you have a heart for!  I'm so blessed by you guys!

P.S. - This Friday, I'm going to start a "Weekly Favorite" spot over in my sidebar!  Be watching for super-awesome blogs to look out for!

P.P.S - A Super Special Thank You to Lindsey who did her own post about yesterday.  You're awesome!

Candy & A Dilemma

This morning, I was reading my real-life friend Cami's blog.  She is working with an organization that fights sexual slavery, and, if you've known me long enough, you know that I have a special place in my heart for that kind of ministry.

I debated on posting this because these posts are not always the most popular.
Here's how my self-argument went:
Fight-for-the-cause-Me:  Wow!  I have to post on this!  Crazy!
Be-a-cool-blogger-Me:  Um, probably not.  This video is a little creepy.  Eww.
Fight-for-the-cause-Me:  Of course it's creepy.  Sexual slavery is creepy, duh.
Be-a-cool-blogger-Me:  Yeah, but this is not what my readers want to read early morning.  It's not the most fun thing to think about.
Fight-for-the-cause-Me:  That's not true.  You've got great readers who care.  You have to trust them.


So here I am--trusting you all!  This video is a bit creepy, but before you watch, here are the facts*:

• The Candy Shop is a film initiative to help fight against child sex trafficking.
• The film is a Fairytale/Parable about the child sex trafficking epidemic that has overrun our city of Atlanta. We are using the film to not only raise awareness but provoke meaningful action towards this issue taking place in our own backyard.
• Up to 500 underaged girls a month are trafficked for sex in Atlanta. (That's the USA, guys!)
• It’s the number one city in the country for child sex trafficking.
• The 10th in the world.
• This plague has gone on for too long, and now we at Whitestone, in cooperation with Doorpost, 12Stone® Church and StreetGrace want to put a stop to it.
• This film represents the spearhead of a citywide and possibly a nationwide campaign.
• It is not a documentary. It is not a PSA. It is the beginning of a movement.

This video is just a trailer for the 30-minute long film.  It's a bit creepy, yes, but not unwatchable.
Beware:  It might make you feel something.  It might make you want to look into the cause more.  Please, please, let it.  Also, if you have any questions about how to get involved, please email me at sarahannsbonmot@gmail.com.


The Candy Shop Trailer from Brandon McCormick on Vimeo.


*taken directly from this site.

I Have a Great Personality

You know how you say, "She's got a great personality..." when you have nothing else to say about somebody?  You know, maybe you don't know her very well, or she has some unfortunate qualities you want to cover...

Well, that's how I feel about myself right now.  If somebody pointed at me and asked how I was doing at life, I'd pop up my head out of my pile of work and craziness, and go,
"Before you judge me, you should know, I have a great personality!"

I mean, I'm still on my feet, and I really am nice.  I'd like to think my personality is not so terrible.  Most things are getting done around me.  Key word: most.  My life is a little crazy right now, and some things just go onto the back burner, so my life doesn't look all put together all of the time.
Here's why:

Two days ago, I realized that we were relying on one roll of toilet paper.  For our three bathrooms, we had been carrying around one role of TP.  Literally carrying it around.  From upstairs to downstairs.
We had to buy some more because I had small group.  Otherwise, I don't know what would have happened.  Thank goodness for small group.

credit

I have started to wash my hair only every few days.  Please, please, please, call me gross.  Maybe you will motivate me to pamper myself more.  Yes, that is what I have started to call showers.  Pampering.  Girl time.  Relaxing.

Sooner or later, if I don't speed up my washing cycle, I'm going to look like this:

Ok.  Hopefully not.  But that's how I feel.

The biggest slacker thing is that I'm still blogging.  And I'm watching deleted scenes from The Office.  And laundry needs to be done, dishes need to be washed, and a paper needs to be started.  My brain is just too tired to do anything else for now.

But before you judge me, remember, please remember, I have a great personality!

When Life Gives You Lemons...

You eat them.
Ok, that's actually what my little brother does.  Not me.  Lemons are gross, except when paired with loads of sugar.

Really though. 

One thing that having a young married women's small group (long name, I know) has taught me:
Life does not go as planned.  For anybody.  Hardly ever.  Meaning, I'm not the only one.

We've been going through different women in the Bible, and this week, we came to Mary (Jesus' mother - yes, there is more than one Mary in the Bible).
Each week, I've challenged the girls to put themselves in the shoes of the woman we're studying.  Well, this week was crazy.  Talk about an "interruption" to the life she had planned.  She almost lost the husband she was about to marry, and she became pregnant, sans the baby-making.  It's kind of more than an interruption.  It's a lemon.  A big, fat, yellow one.

The thing that blew us all away about Mary was:
She found moments to treasure in her heart, even when her life did not go as planned.  She chose to make the interruption a treasure.  She chose to love the lemon.

When life gives me lemons, I'm going to see the beauty of the lemon.  I'm going to thank God for the lemon.  I'm going to treat the lemon as if it was such a pleasant surprise, and I can't imagine life without it.

Thank God for lemons (but for Mary and Jesus, mostly).

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Sunrise, Sunset

Dear [not-so-little] Brothers,

I'm so proud of both of you.  One for your smiles, the other for your strength.  

I can't believe you are becoming such amazing young men!  I used to say that I never wanted a sister because I loved being the only girl, but I know that it's only because I wouldn't have wanted to share you two.

It's so amazing how quickly life keeps passing us by.

I can't wait to watch what happens next.

Love you,

Sarah Ann

Easy Peasy

My mother taught me to be practical.  However, I am not nearly as crafty as her.  I mean, she can even smock.  I don't know how to sew a straight line.

Well, with my mother's practical spirit paired with my mostly un-craftiness, I set out to decorate our fairly new townhouse for as cheap as possible.  Mostly, that just meant that we were sparse and that some of the cuter touches are just going to have to wait.

I did make two little wall things that are so so easy (after our trip to Ikea, of course, because all cool decorating ideas come from Ikea).

Presenting....

Easy Peasy Wall Art!

I am so proud.  I know you all are so much more crafty, but I'm just so excited to have made something!

All it took were some on-sale fabric & two canvasses with a lip on the back, like this:

I didn't even have to be that much of a perfectionist about the back because nobody sees it:

I'd take more lovely (and EASY, please) ideas if you have them!

Anywhere But Here

Today, instead of work and paper writing, I'd like to be here:

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With this guy:

Since I'm stuck in my real life today, I'll make the best of it by donning one of these:

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And, maybe, I'll rope that cute guy into going here this afternoon while I write my much-procrastinated paper:

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However, if I make that wonderful hubby of mine go somewhere, he will probably make me listen to Christmas music, which I don't count as ok until post-Thanksgiving.  He's so cute though, that I'll probably let him get away with it.

Linking up today to Carissa's Miscellany Monday!  Three cheers for randomness and dreaming!

More Brown & Little Things

2 resolutions I have decided to make in my life-simplifying:

1.  Eat more brown.
You know, brown rice, brown pasta, brown bread.  Even as I'm typing this, I think, yuck!  I have a hugely terrible aversion to wheat anything.  Blame my mom for not making me eat it as a kid.  Either way, I am trying so hard to implement this into my cooking.  I've found that wheat pasta goes better with red sauce and brown rice does better when paired with something (like black beans).
I don't know if I will ever truly get over really grainy bread, though.  I hate it.  I try to convince my gag reflex that it is so much better than sourdough, but there's not much to be done there.

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2.  Let the little things be, well, little things.
I have a tendency to over-complicate little tasks, and they quickly become stresses.  For example, cooking can just be throwing something edible together rather than making everything from scratch every single night.  And when I clean, it's ok to not get the baseboards every time.  The toilets and the sinks are good goals.  I need to learn how to take a chill pill (just one of many sayings from my loving father... added to this is "I don't give a rat's mustache!"  Thank you, dad.).
Oh, and evidently, some smart person is really selling chill pills.

Please, nobody get this for me for Christmas.  Or ever.  I promise, this would not make me chill.