Saying Goodbye.

That kind of woman.

"She wears her heart on her sleeve as big as Texas. She cries big and loves hard and sings like there's no tomorrow... And in her eyes I can see the wings of the angels who loved her up in heaven." -Julie Abbott (a woman whose blog of her artwork I can't seem to find now that I want to)

THAT's the kind of woman I want to be.

Dinner Conversation

Last night, over dinner my brother and I discussed...

• Ideal vacation spots
• Ideal everyday-life cities
• Communism vs. Socialism
• the merits of a Liberal Arts education
• Nationalized healthcare
• what kind of uncle he'll be someday

Did I mention this was dinner at the Food Court at East Towne Mall? That's right, all that talk over T-Bell and Sarku baby!

Have I mentioned that I adore this kid?

Tagged - more random things about me

I got tagged by Kaitlyn, and because I love the brutal, bare-her-heart honesty of her blog, I'm participating! After you read these (hopefully) 7 new things about me, go check her out!

1. I love string cheese, but can only eat it as strings (like by peeling it lengthwise, can't just bite into it).
2. I recently got two new pets - the cats my parents have had for the last 11 years. They live with me now, and except for all the hair they shed and I vacuum up nearly everyday, I love having them around. But even after 11 years of calling them by their names, it's still a little strange to call a pet Ethel (Lucy and Ethel after "I Love Lucy").
3. When I was in elementary school, my mom and I spent Saturday mornings in the winter at The Rollerdrome (the roller rink in town). I was fairly decent then. Probably not anymore.
4. I took an entreprenuership class in grad school, and started a mini jewelry business. I'd love to have an Etsy shop now, but am nervous that nothing would sell.
5. In a golf outing yesterday, I won the Women's Long Drive contest on the 18th hole. (Yes, I'm bragging a bit here...) 275 yards, in the fairway. No lie. It was pretty impressive.
6. Every phone call with my brother ends with the lines "Love you Brother." "Love you Sister." Just a thing we do.
7. Moving back to Madison has been one of the best decisions I've made in the past few years, but if I'm honest, it's left me fairly lonely for the past year as well. I'm choosing to learn something from it this time rather than letting it bother me as much as it may have in the past.

A Bit of an Update

Still around, just haven't felt like writing or sharing much lately. Hopefully the few of you out there will still be around when I get back. If not... understood.

On a random note... have you seen the Visa commercial about "when is the last time you went to the aquarium, with your daughter, on a Tuesday?" Love it. Completely reminds me of my dad. Granted, I'm 27, not 4 like the girl in the commercial, and it wasn't the aquarium, but my dad and I took days off on Monday to golf. Just the two of us. And it was wonderful. Just one of the little things I love about my dad.



Oh, and I beat him on the front 9. And I pulled off a birdie on 18 to tie him for the round.

Birds or Blossoms?

The question is, do I leave the nest alone, and let the plant die if necessary? Or upset the pretty little nest and risk the lives of the 5 potential birds sitting among my begonias?

I'm leaning towards leaving the nest alone.

In case anyone is curious, I've been told (by a bird-lovin' friend) that they are probably purple finches.

L-A-O-D-I-C-E-A-N

I have a bit of a reputation among some of my friends for watching strange sporting events. Of course, I'd argue that they aren't that weird, and some of them aren't really sporting events. I make a point of watching the three races of the Triple Crown and the Little League World Series along with all the other more normal televised events.

One of the other weird ones I typically watch, is the spelling bee. And it just happened to be on tv last night. I owe my pastor and friend back in Sheboygan, Jeff, a big thank you for letting me feel like a spelling champion. Because of multiple messages I've heard at Crossroads (my church in Sheboygan) about being "lukewarm", not only could I spell the championship word (Laodicean), I could also define it AND use it in a sentence.

So, thank you Jeff, for letting me feel like I could have held my own had I been on that spelling bee stage last night. But more importantly, for helping me understand how important it is that I NOT be like the Laodiceans, and not grow lukewarm, complacent, and indifferent in my faith like they did. But instead grow, seeking God more and more everyday, and living the faith I profess.

Bench Makeover

Last post I gave you the before picture of the ugly stool I found.

Here, in pictures, is the makeover of that very stool. Warning, it got uglier before it got better.

A little scraping of paint...

A little stripping of paint...

I forgot to get a picture of the repainting. Basically just a coat of primer with spray paint, and a coat of gloss black with spray paint.

A little un-upholstering (and revealing even further ugliness!)...

And a little reupholstering...

And the result... a much cuter bench that now resides in my pretty bedroom!

Two Pictures: One Pretty, One Not

First, the pretty.


Aren't they precious?! Precious is kind of an under-used word. But it kind of reminds me of my grandma when I say it. Not that my grandma says/said it, but it sounds like something A grandma would say. Enough of that, let's just say I've adored this little bouquet for the last few days after picking it up at the Farmer's Market this weekend.

And, the not so pretty.


This little stool was a flea market find this weekend (along with the hubcap in my last post). Too bad it's just plain ugly right now. I feel like it has so much potential. It could be cute! So this is my latest project. Any thoughts on how to clean this baby up? How do I get that white/rusty paint off? (I want it black.) And do I reupholster it black and white? or teal and white? It will eventually find it's way in to my teal/black/white bedroom. Stay tuned. There's sure to be more pictures of the whole pretty-fying process.

I'm not a car girl by any means.

My somewhat beat up older car with it's quirks is fine with me. I know next to nothing about cars. And I'm not all that impressed by nice cars (although they are fun to ride in Brother!).

So it's a little strange that I have this little wall dedicated to cars in my entry way. But I absolutely love it.

The pictures are a gift from my sweet friend E (Sorry that my picture of the wall is pretty boring.), one of the hubcaps is an awesome roadside find, and the other is one I got a great deal on at a flea market!


Love it!

That Bird? Mine.

I've claimed this bird as my own. She made herself a nest right above the main entrance to my condo building, which is right outside my door. A couple weeks ago, every time I walked out the door she was spooked and flew to a nearby tree. She'd sit on the branch, just a few yards away, just watching her nest, and watching me. Over the past few days, she's either become even more protective, or has warmed up to me, since she won't leave her nest at all.

I'm choosing to believe it's the latter, and am claiming her as my own little bird.

To my mom...

who has not only been the best mom I could ask for, but also best friend, example, role model, and woman I know, thank you mom. I love you more than I'm able to say.

Sheboygan = Dead Zone?

Starting to wonder if my phone doesn't work when making calls to Sheboygan County.... 4 people not returning my calls!

Beautiful Day!

It's April 24th - a Friday. In Wisconsin. And it's supposed to be over 80 degrees. All of that together means I would be crazy to not take vacation! I decided at about 3:30 on Weds that I'd be taking a day off, and I'm so glad I did!

I've already played some golf, met Nicole, did lunch with Matt, and am now soaking up some sun at the Union. Can't ask for much more.

"Why are you looking for love, Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough?"

Spring has Sprung!

This little treasure can only mean one thing...
...the Farmer's Market is back! Today was the first Farmer's Market of the season, and you can bet I was there! This is one of my favorite things about being back in Madison. It was a beautiful spring day here today, which made the walk around the square wonderful! Hot, Spicy Cheese Bread from Stella's Bakery is a must anytime I'm there. Over a pound of hot, melty (and spicy) cheese in this baby - it's amazing!

I also found some pretty little pansies - some of the flowers are half purple and half orange. They made themselves right at home in a cute pot on my porch, right next to my fun new adirondack chair with brightly striped cushion (where I spent some time reading in the sun today).

All of it just screams Spring, and I love it!

A new attempt at Easter eggs

I know it's a few days late, but here's my attempt at naturally dying Easter eggs this year. Check out what blueberries, grape juice, coffee, turmeric (what you really use turmeric for, I'm not sure), and red cabbage can do!

Don't know that I'd really recommend trying it, it made the house smell kinda crazy, and wasn't all that successful, but it was fun once!

Missin' ya

Missin' my Sheboygan people tonight. Just feel like I could go for chips and salsa at Chili's (folks in Madison aren't nearly as enamoured with it as all of you are), or the incredibly fast service at El Camino, or just hanging out at Apache or 18th St or Heather Valley... you know who you are.

A New Command

I've definitely been living a life of busy-ness the past few months. I've kept myself occupied with anything and everything. Most of it good stuff, but "stuff", nonetheless. I've been very good at filling my time, but not necessarily so good and filling my heart.

Holy Week crept up on me this year.

A few weeks ago I posted about the 40 days of water challenge. (Yes, I did it, with just over $100 headed to the Blood:Water Mission. And for those of you who are curious, my first non-water drink on Friday was none other than Diet Coke!) The whole challenge kind of coincided with Lent, but that wasn't really what I was doing it for. I really wasn't in the mindset of anticipating the remembrance and celebration of what Christ did some 2,000 years ago. I've heard other people talk about what they "gave up for Lent," and went on to question their faith in my head, almost chastising them for their sacrifice, but wondering how much of the other 325 day of the year they surrender things to Him. They're ugly, ugly thoughts on my part. I haven't really cared where their heart was, or what pain they were carrying around, or what brought them joy. I've just belittled their way of celebrating the Easter season. And what's uglier to me, is that I've hardly been celebrating it in any way myself.

On Thursday of this past week, at about 3:00 in the afternoon, I realized that my church was having a Maundy Thursday service at 6:00. It hit me that day that Easter was just 4 days away. I did a little schedule juggling and was able to make it to the service. I remembered going to a Maundy Thursday service a time or two before at the church I grew up in, and walked in thinking, yeah, it's the day we remember the "Last Supper." But on Thursday, I learned of another whole part to that last meal that I hadn't put together before. That same night, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, (check out the end of this post for a cool story on that!) and later said to them "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John13:34-35.

Wow.

Love. That's it. That's how they'll know I love Him.

The word Maundy comes from the Latin translation for commandment. So really, this past Thursday we were to remember the new command that Jesus gave on the night before he died on the cross. Simply to love. Sound simple. But is really hard in practice. Lately, I've gotten so caught up in what's going on in my life, and with keeping myself busy, that I haven't loved anyone. Convicted - completely guilty.

Tonight, I remember what He did for me, dying on the cross, because He LOVES me.
Tomorrow, I'll celebrate how He conquered death for me, because He LOVES me.

My Worst vs. Your Best

"As women, we compare our worst to everybody else's best."

(I'm almost embarrassed to tell you who said this where, but I will, because she's completely right - Marie Osmond on Oprah.)

So true Marie, so true.

When are we going to start appreciating our "bests", rather than obsessing about our "worsts"?