Saturday’s Somethings

Well, here are the random thoughts going through my head this weekend…

1. going to Target makes me want to get my own house and buy out the store.
2. I want to see if I can crochet a square on the diagonal. it just might work, but first I have to finish a graduation scarf for my roomie! read her blog right here Did I mention she’s graduating!?!?!? holla!
3. my bff and her family are quickly losing their grandfather, her dad’s dad. It’s super hard, and I feel bad because I’m not there with her right now. but I’m praying for her, and I’m sure she’d appreciate it you prayed too! read about her awesome grandparents here
4. um oh yeah, this is my 250th post. woot! this means that I’ve been blogging for…quite some time. I was gonna say however many years, but I think that it’s only this year that I started consistently posting. but still, 250 is a big one, so yay words! :)
5. the other night I got to talk to my bosom friend AJ, and golly talking to her fills me with joy! I get to see her almost next month, which means in a little over 30 days, which means I can hardly stand the month of november! and while we were talking, her hubby and son came home from men’s meeting, and she handed the phone to her son {who happens to be one of my FAVORITE kids ever} and omg he sounded like a little man!!! when I left just a few months ago, he was a little boy; I feel like he’s already hit puberty or something! haha.

oh, btw, I think that “puberty” is one of the UGLIEST words ever. I mean, come on. it means something awkward, is only used in uncomfortable situations, and what good word starts with the “pyou” sound!?!?!? none. there. I said it.

but anyhow, I adore AJ and her whole fam, and I am totes excited to see everyone SOON!!!!!

6. my grandparents continue to crack me up. grandpa is always talking about how his next wife is going to be a 27 year old red-head. Grammie is always saying “see what I have to put up with?” and Grandpa replies “hey, I’m a nice guy. if you don’t believe me, just ask me.” too cute.
7. at work, I am becoming fast friends with Laurie. she’s pretty awesome, if you ask me. she just got back from 2 years in China, studying and sharing the love of Jesus, and now she’s involved in a ministry to international…people {I’d say students, but not all of them are students, so they’re people} and I've gone with her twice now, and it’s amazing and I’m super glad to be friends with her. plus she has a sweet apartment and we watched Downton Abbey there, so you know we’re practically soul mates :)
8. when I came out to live with my grandparents, I left my nail polish at home, and since I've been here {and because Grammie only has pink polish….as in, everything is a shade of light pink. ev. ery. thing. } I've bought 4 nails polishes. the first was NYC brand, and it’s royal purple and it was fab. the paint doesn't go on super smoothly, but it stays on, and the color is great. I just took that off this morning after a week. tomorrow I’m going to try one of my Sinful Colors polishes- $0.99 each! score! if you follow me on insta.gram, you saw that happy purchase. if not, well, wait till I’m home and then come over and we’ll paint our nails!

I hope everyone is proud of me for making myself wait a day to paint my nails, because nails need to breathe {although I thought that’s what lungs were for!} and so I gave my nails Saturday off. but with those awesome new colors, it was real hard. real hard.

9. since 9 is a multiple of 3, I thought I’d do a shout-out here to my 3rd-born sis who stalks me keeps up on my life by stalking reading this blog. Hey soul sister! Make good choices, don’t do drugs, just say no, don’t talk to strangers, and stay sober. the last one is courtesy of {drumroll!} you guess it: Grandpa. what a great life this is.

well, I’m off to watch Game Three of the World Series. Go baseball! :)

Funny Friday

So I’m living with my grandparents, right? And let me tell you, they are hysterical. First of all, their love language is this weird, yelling, verbal obnoxious-ness but not really thing. Like Grammie bumps into Grandpa and he goes, “Hey! Hey! Excuse me, I didn’t mean to bump you.” Random, right? Only a couple who’s been married for almost 60 years can do that.

Grandpa is also the king of corny jokes. I think my best memory of him during my childhood is him telling my sisters and me this joke series:

Q: what does Batman do first thing in the morning?
A: He goes to the batroom.

Q: What’s the second thing Batman does in the morning?
A: He puts on his batrobe.

The other funny thing about Grandpa is that he does all the cooking and food prep in the house. As in, I come upstairs in the morning and he’s poured my cereal for me. Yup. I’m spoiled rotten. :)

Hope you enjoy this tidbit from my grandpa! :)

Weird and Awkward and What I’m Thinking About

Soooo in case the title doesn't give me away, the things I've been thinking about recently are weird and awkward, and if you don’t like personal hygiene issues, I suggest you come back tomorrow for Funny Friday :)

A friend wrote a blog post about natural deodorant, and it got me thinking. As most of you probably know by now, my grandpa has Alzheimer's and it’s awful. When I think about my generation growing old and wanting to kill themselves, this disease makes me understand {but this is another blog post forthcoming, so I won’t go there.} Anywho, I hope and pray that I don’t have to go through this disease, either with another loved one or with myself.

So when this blog post reminded me of the potential link between Alzheimer’s and the aluminum in antiperspirants, it got me thinking. Her post lists a lot of different options for aluminum-free deodorants, so I decided to try some.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not really into the “crunchy granola” stuff; natural is great and fine, but I figure I've been putting crap into and onto my body for a while and we all have to die eventually, so yeah. It’s not something I've been convicted on, but I can understand those who have that conviction. However, I do not want to mess with Alzheimer’s. No sir-ee-bob.

I know the studies aren't conclusive, and I’m getting in touch with some people who know more than me and/or who know people who know more than me, but I just thought that I would share the topic that has literally been consuming my thoughts for a while. I don’t want to sweat {or glisten, as ladies do} but I sure as hell don’t want Alzheimer’s a zillion times more. So I’m willing to experiment and give a few different products a whirl and see what works for me, for the sake of…peace of mind? my mind? the future?

am I giving into fear here? because if God is really in control, and He is, He can allow Alzheimer’s even if I never wear deodorant again, and He can prevent Alzheimer’s even if I drank aluminum from an aluminum can. but what about being smart and being a good steward and taking care of what God has given you and me?

I wear a seatbelt while in a vehicle, because it can help protect me. I’ve been in two car accidents while wearing one.

I take vitamins because they’re good for me and help protect my immune system {or rather help my immune system protect me!}. I still get sick sometimes.

What’s right here? is there a right or wrong? is it personal conviction? does the Word say anything about this?
****************************UPDATED 10-27-12*******************
I tried Tom’s of Maine natural deodorant for about a week and was totally not happy. ps I looked for a way to comment on the product on their website, but no luck. so just read this and know that it is ineffective.
Tom’s of Maine went away {back to Wal-Mart, lol} and I bought Arm & Hammer’s natural deo. Listen! do you hear the angelic chorus? because my pits do! wait, that’s gross…and impossible-armpits don’t have ears. moving on. I love it. so if you’re into stuff like this, give A & H a whirl.

oh, and a friend of a friend gave me a recipe for a natural deo, but it involved a) cooking your own and b) using your fingers to apply, neither of which did I look forward to with joy in my heart, so good ol Wally World came to the rescue again. yay deodorant! :)

Questions

Lately I've been questioning my character. Internally, my thoughts turn to am I good enough? and do I obey God fully? and how do I make changes that last and re-do habits that are bad and how do I make myself obey God and live life fully?

These are questions that have no answers. I’m feeling desperate, like I've been held under water and my lungs are burning for oxygen. My life has been good so far, in terms of my behavior. It’s hard to explain what I feel and think. There are things that I know I should be doing, but instead I do the opposite. There are things I know I should stop doing, but instead I keep on doing them. What’s the verse where Paul basically describes my struggle? I know there’s one out there.

Going to start this internship and live with my grandparents could be a new start, but I’m discouraged and keep thinking that things will be just the same. My inside is not changing; only my environment will be different, so why would that motivate change? I guess there’s the hope of forming new habits as I form a new normal out there, but the negative voice in my head keeps discouraging me.

What do I do?

Busy, busy week!

So um wow! This week is super busy and it’s only Tuesday! Let’s review, and I’ll try to insert pictures when appropriate and available.

Sunday was good. Dad and I went to BLS {that’s Business Leadership School, based in Santa Rosa and carried out all over by facilitators} and then church service. Dad actually went home because he wasn’t feeling good {he has shingles! :-p } but Mom and Remaining Sister At Home came to church. The sermon was amazing. And then we came home, had some lunch, and then cleaned the downstairs. As in, took a huge box of books to HPB, moved furniture around, took a load to Goodwill, swept, threw stuff in the dump pile, rearranged more furniture, and then sat back and enjoyed the fruits of our labor.

Monday, I started training for my volunteer position at CareNet. This is a national network of crisis pregnancy clinics, and they just opened one less than 5 miles from my house! So I’m going through their training before I leave for my internship.

It was fun, and when it was over, I went to see my little Master’s Commission sister. That was great, and we went to TCBY, otherwise known as The Country’s Best Yogurt, and it was really good.

Then I met my bestie at the P & R and we took the bus downtown to go to a MLB game! What!?!? Bek going to a sporting event? Hey, the tickets were free and it was with friends. I’m not gonna say no to that! Enjoy the picture…


There we are, enjoying our TWELFTH row seats!!! Yay, Samara’s job!

Today was more training and then a discipleship meeting. I love discipleship meetings. My discipler is incredible. She listens with such enthusiasm, and then responds with totally the heart of the Lord. She’s marvelous. And she’s gorgeous, a talented chef, a great mom, a fourth-grade teacher, and a wonderful friend. Oh, and she’s married to like the coolest British dude ever! Yeah, I’m blessed.

After dinner, phone date with AJ! Score! We caught up on life and news and stuff, and definitely plotted to change my plane ticket so I don’t end up leaving my Other Home…just kidding, Mom and Dad!

Tomorrow, another date with the bestie! We’re going to the “the-uh-tah” otherwise known as the theater. We’re going to see Memphis and this is supposed to be the best showing of it ever. I’m excited!

Thursday is another little date with Samara-Chinese food before carpooling to homegroup. This will be our last homegroup since some things in church are shifting, so it will be a bittersweet celebration.

Friday, my friend B and I are getting together to craft! We did it last weekend, and next week I’ll do a post on the fruits of our labor. Let’s just say, though, that I’m stocking up on canvases…

Saturday, I don’t know what is planned, but I’m sure it will be great.

Oh yeah, and I leave for my internship next Thursday, so that’s kinda why all these dates have been happening-because I’m leaving! But don’t worry~ I’m coming home for Christmas, and then will be done in February or March. So it’s not as long as college, and it’s not as far, and I’ll be living with my grandparents! So exciting. If you think of me, please pray that I find a church body that I can be transplanted into for this short time, and that my vehicle situation is worked out. Thanks!