Life at Lightning Speed

January is over already!! This month has flown by. Lots of things have changed and are changing, and then some things are remaining the same, and both are beautiful.

In January, both this blog and I had a birthday! The blog turned 7 and I turned 27, so yay!

On my birthday, after a yummy dinner of gyros, after presents, after my parents and sister went home, I sat on my couch and made a list of 27 things I want to experience while I'm 27. Some of them I've done before and want to do again, and some of them I've never done before and I'm excited to try. I will probably post the list before my 28th birthday and show you everything with pictures.

I will share one thing on my list, though. I wanted to dye my hair, and last weekend I did! I have been wanting to go darker {I'm naturally a medium-to-light brown}, and so last week I bought a box dye and Saturday night I bit the bullet and dyed my hair. I've had my hair colored before, both out of a box and professionally, but this was my first time I was the one with both the hair and the bottle of dye! Don't worry - it looks fabulous :)

Speaking of changing colors....

I painted my living room wall! The light is quite awful - the original wall color was a lime green that was fun and funky {and not at all like the urine color that it appears in the above picture}. But oh my gosh, PURPLE!!!

Here's after the first coat - isn't it fantastic!? A wee bit streaky {that's why we do second coats} but overall, quite lovely. I just touched up the trim last night, so I'll try and remember to share some pictures once the tape is off and the furniture is back in place. Key word there is "try."

Let's see, what else happened in January? I attended a birth {ALWAYS a joy!}, spent time with my sister who was home on break, met friends for happy hours, and watched several episodes of "Parenthood." I read 5 books, cleaned many parts of my house that had been neglected, and got my business license. My doula adventures probably deserve their own post, so we'll see if that happens.

The title of this post basically sums up life - it's happening fast! I've got a good life, and I'm grateful. Thanks for being a part of it!

Six

Six years ago...

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...this little blog came into being. How crazy is that!

Six years ago, I was a college freshman trying to figure out where life would take me.

Six years ago, I was working in after-school care, living at home, and trying desperately to figure out what I wanted to be when I grow up.

Six years ago, I had grand schemes and great fear.

Six years ago, Kentucky was just another state, "cold" meant 30*, and four months without seeing my friends was a lifetime.

Six years ago, I had no idea that blogging friends can be "real" friends and that this community would bless me so much.

Thank you, friends and community, for being a part of this crazy journey of life. I'm so grateful for each and every one of my fabulous readers. You're the best!

We All Win!

{Alternate title to today's post: Winner Winner Chicken Dinner. This post has nothing to do with chicken dinner, but we are all winners today.}

If you've been around this blogging block once or twice, you may remember my IRL friend Victoria. She guest posted for me here, and I guest posted for her here, and I reviewed her book Re'and.

Victoria is married to a fantastic guy and has a yummy baby who just turned one this month {January birthdays holla!}. Please take a moment and read about the Winter Wonderland birthday party Victoria threw.

Doesn't that look like such a fun party!? I think Carson's outfit is the cutest thing on earth, not gonna lie.

used with Victoria's permission

You may have noticed that Victoria's post was also a giveaway from Ashley at M Paper Designs... you may also have noticed my name as the winner {see above reference to alternate title}. Since this is the world of blogging, I figured I should blog about it :)

I asked Victoria about how she met Ashley, and Victoria told me about Brilliant Business Moms and how Ashley volunteered to do a giveaway for Victoria's blog. Thanks to their combined ingenuity, creativity, and generosity, a package with these straws, a mason jar topper, and this garland is coming my way!

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When Ashley emailed me about the package, I asked her if she would tell me a bit about her company and vision, and she so sweetly told me her story:

I created M Paper Designs in December 2013. I had a son who was just over a year old and his schedule was finally getting to be pretty predictable. I'm a creative person by nature and I love to craft in all sorts of mediums. I love color, texture, pattern and the creative aspect of crafting. I think every person's dream is to do something they love and get paid for it. I was getting the itch to have something that was just mine. I always wanted to say when someone asked me what I did was, "I own my own business." 
My vision for my company when I started was to create additional revenue for our family and to be able to give and bless people in more ways. M Paper designs allows me to be creative, help others and getting paid is just icing on the cake. My favorite part of my business is being able to give and help others. I love it when a customer leaves me feedback on Etsy that they loved their items as much as I love making them. 

Isn't that cool!? I'm really excited to receive this package, and I'm even more excited to share this awesome discount code from Ashley! She totally volunteered this, friends; I asked her for her story and she generously gave me a code to pass on to you.

Use the code BEKSBLOG for 10% off a purchase of $10 or more. The code is good until April 30th, 2015, so if you have a birthday or a party or a birthday party coming up, this is a great way to get some fabulous decorations and accessories while supporting a small business. That's a win in my book!

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Finish This: Week Forty

Holy smokes, 2014 is almost over! 40 weeks into a 52 week year... my math brain doesn't want to work, but I'm confident that's a fraction that almost equals 1. Wow.

As is Wednesday's habit, I am linking up with the wonderful hostesses of Finish This: Nicole at Three 31, Jen at The Arizona Russums, Becky at The Java Mama, and Lisa at Coastlined.

I can change the world by glorifying Christ in my life. Jesus is the most amazing Person ever - He doesn't sweep into life dramatically {ok, the manger thing might have been a little dramatic} and turn it upside down; He moves into a heart and slowly but surely life is different.

The best career advice I ever received was dress for the job you want, not the job you have.

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I first fell in love with my bosom friend's son when I held him the morning he was born. Read about that {and my dog sitting adventure} in this post. 

That's all, folks! Leave some comment love, and see you next Wednesday. 

Funny Friday: Laugh and Then Vote!

I thought about posting this story on Saturday, but then I went to Zumba and never looked back at my computer, which was rather nice.

For my mom's birthday last month, it ended up that both my dad and I bought tickets for my mom to go see Carol Burnett. Great minds think alike, right? So my aunt joined us for a fun evening of "laughter and reflections with Carol Burnett." It was really great!

She shared some clips from her show, and of course the most famous is her "Went With the Wind" spoof.




The focus of the evening was audience members asking Carol questions about anything, basically. My favorite interaction went like this:

Guy in audience: "What happened to all your wonderful dresses? Did you keep any?"

Carol Burnett: "Why, do you want one?"

She was brilliant.

But this is not the story for Funny Friday! Nay, this is mere context. Now let me set the scene.

Carol is on the stage. I'm sitting with my aunt on my right and some older dude {probably 60s} on my left. Throughout the evening and the clips Carol showed us, this dude keeps making comments to me and the girl on the other side of him. At first I thought they were together, but then I glanced over at her and she looked like she was a) my age and b) not amused by this guy's commentary. I was getting a little annoyed, too, so I tried to just ignore him and give him - literally - the cold shoulder.

When the evening had first started, I noticed two people dressed oddly {even for downtown Seattle} and wearing what I thought were white sombreros. They had something to ask Carol, so when they got their turn at the microphone, I was really intrigued. It turned out they were two men dressed as nuns for some order or society that probably has a session at ComiCon.

Sister-Who-Is-Really-A-Brother: For all your work and life, Carol, and for bringing light into the lives of so many, we have a proclamation of canonization.

Audience: *applause applause applause*

Carol: Thank you, really, thank you.

Guy next to me: "That's so cool! They're going to make her an honorary citizen of Canada!"

Me: ...

SWIRAB: We hereby canonize you as a living saint, Saint Carol Burnett!

Audience: * applause applause*

Guy next to me: *wild applause because he's so excited to be in the same room as Carol Burnett that he has no embarrassment over his error*

True story, peeps. 

Happy Friday! Please please please pop over here and vote for me to go to Rwanda! Remember that you can vote daily, so if you want to save this link in your browser and visit it daily, that'd be awesome. And as a thank-you {because I know you're voting right now even as you continue reading} I've got a Funny Saturday post ready for tomorrow! Woot! See you then!

Yes, I did link to the voting site 4 times in 4 sentences...and now it's 5 for 5... #ashamed #butnotenoughtostop #sorrynotsorry

Monday's Musings

Bek, why do you title most posts with an alliteration? Where does this deep desire {there you go again} for similar sounds {and again} originate?

I have no idea, but I offer "The Princess Diaries" as a deeply important part of my foundational years, and she knows a good alliteration when she hears one.

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Moving right along.

So what fun things happened and are going to happen? I will tell you! This is like a 7QT, but on a Monday with no link-up and more alcohol. 

This past weekend was full of birthday celebrations for Samara {yay, 24!}. Pizza, Notions, bacon, laughter, sangria, Grumpy Cat, and Miranda were all included. Proof's here. 

I tried a new drink on Friday: a Dublin Mule. My friend Julie and I went out for dinner a few weeks ago and she tried a Moscow Mule, which was quite wonderful, and this Dublin Mule did not disappoint. So we decided that we are going to have a Mule party and make our own Mule drinks. It's ok; you can be jealous.

"Call the Midwife" had sadness last week and it's making me nervous for this week's {meaning last night's} episode. My mom and I have been watching them together on Monday afternoons, so don't tell me what happens in Ep. 5, but know that after Ep. 4 I went home and turned on opera music and chopped up peppers for Mexican lasagna and was sorely depressed all evening.

My roomie arrives on Wednesday!!! It's going to be wonderful to have Catherine here, and our prayers are almost answered: the forecast for Thursday is in the eighties!! If you're not from the Pacific Northwest, that won't be a big deal for you, but for us to reach 81* on May 1st is a) wonderful and b) miraculous. So please keep praying for some lovely sunshine for us, and we'll post pictures as a thank-you.

Some friends and I are starting a book club for Sarah Bessey's Jesus Feminist. It's going to be amazing and I'm really excited for our first meeting in a few weeks. I'm going to try and re-read it before we meet, so be looking for a book review soon.

Yesterday I watched the first episode of Season Six of "The Office." Oh my goodness. Jim + Pam!!!! This show is my new binge, and I'm not ashamed! I give Samara updates from "the office world" and we both get kicks out of the pranks and antics on the show, even though I'm the only one watching it devotedly. Any other "Office" fans out there? What's your favorite scene from the show?

Finally, I'm thrilled to announce that Natalie and I will be blog swapping and interviewing each other in the next week or so {still have to nail down the deets}. It's been lovely to email and get to know one another in that special way that only the internet makes both entirely and not-at-all awkward. Tune in for a more formal announcement after we finalize a date - Natalie is so fun!

Happy Monday!

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7QT: Make 'Em Laugh

Linking up with the super talented but handwriting challenged Jen at Conversion Diary! {I'm not insulting her; I'm encouraging you to read her post!}

1. This week is unusual in that I'm starting my QT from scratch today. The past few weeks I've started a draft on Wednesday or Thursday, so by Friday I only have to come up with 4-5 Takes. This week is all from the same morning. And for that, I apologize. Here, laugh at this before you read any more.

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2. My baby sister turned 20 {TWENTY!!!??} earlier this month, and like any good nerdy sister would do, I bought her a good nerdy present: The Star Wars Cookbook with Cookie Cutters {it's on sale!} is now in the hands of a twenty-year-old. She came over Tuesday night and we baked Wookie Cookies {wow, did I actually just type that?!}. They are quite yummy, although I was sad because they did not require the use of the cookie cutters. Another day, another destiny.

3. In less than three weeks, my college roomie Catherine is coming to visit! We {ok, I - Catherine doesn't know about them yet} have grand plans, and you can bet your bonnet {if you have one} that there will be pictures and a blog post to document this momentous occasion. Please pray for good weather! Spring time in the Pacific Northwest can be so fickle, and I'd love love love to have some sunshine for Catherine!

4. Last week, I think I listened to the "Man of Steel" soundtrack two dozen times. This week, Bastille's "Bad Blood" album has been on repeat. Their acoustic versions {"Flaws" and "Pompeii" and "Oblivion"} are seriously incredible.

5. Saturday is my grandma's 90th birthday party. We have cousins coming in from all over, and my grandma's room-mate from college is going to be there. {No pressure, Catherine, but I expect that you will be at my 90th birthday party and vice-versa.} My mom has done the lion's share of the preparation, and my small contribution is making the slideshow of allllllll the pictures from the past 90 years. I found some gems of my father in his younger days; please enjoy, and for those who don't know my dad IRL, know that he still makes the same mischievous face:

6. Since becoming a regular part of Notions Club, I've branched out a bit more in my writing. A few poems have come to fruition, and my guest post for Victoria was originally read at a Notions meeting. That being said, I've been thinking about sharing these pieces on ye old blog here. And I'm thinking, what the hey. I'm gonna click "Publish" and let readers see everything, not just the fun link-ups and the "how's life?" posts. Some pieces may require an explanation, some are really deep, some are rather silly, and that's the way the {Wookie} cookie crumbles. :)

7. Because it wouldn't be Friday without some fangirl memes... Today's fangirl Take is brought to you by Ben and Martin:

Smaug's Daily Affirmations

Happy Friday and happy weekend!

Finish This: March 5th Edition

Linking up with Becky at The Java Mama, Lisa at Coastlined, Jen at The Arizona Russums, and Nicole at Three 31 for Finish This!

My favorite comfort food is dependent upon what I need comforting from, ha! The most consistent craving is for ice cream or fudge-sicles, but every once in a while mac 'n' cheese is the only thing to hit the spot. However, since these aren't the healthiest indulgences {because let's be honest: the healthy version just don't satisfy the craving!}, my flatmate and I are careful to always keep some Lindt's dark chocolate with sea salt in the pantry. One or two squares of this always makes life better!

My most memorable birthday was ...hard to choose! My 16th and 19th stand out to me as extra fun. For my sweet sixteenth, I had my 10th grade class over to play games for a few hours. It was the first time I felt really close to everyone in my high school class, so that was really cool. I was in Master's Commission for my 19th birthday, and my dad managed to coordinate a surprise and take me out to breakfast! So wonderful.

The best karaoke song is unknown to me because I've never sung karaoke! Gasp! Deep dark confession, I know. But if it's anything like rocking out in the privacy of my car, then T-Swizzle all the way!

Boots make me feel awesome. Every outfit is improved with boots!

I am grateful for the blogging community, friends, day planners, phone dates, information easily accessible on the world wide web, health insurance, massages, good books, sea salt chocolate, and this season of Lent.

There you have it, folks! Head over to the afore-mentioned blogs to share some link-up love.

Surprise!

Alright, here it is! The promised post of How Bek Surprised Her Bosom Friend For Her Birthday, or I Can't Believe Bek Kept Her Big Mouth Shut For Six Weeks, or Golly, Bek Travels A Long Way to Dye Her Hair. Any of those titles are appropriate, so please feel free to pick your favorite and keep that in mind as you read. Also, I'm sorry this is so text-heavy, but since it was a surprise, I didn't trust myself to take any pictures.

The general scheme was that I would go to Kentucky to surprise AJ for her {early} birthday. Her husband and I messaged on Facebook concerning dates, and then he brought Rachel into the loop as back-up. In the middle of January, I bought my ticket. Great flights, great price, and a great challenge in terms of keeping my mouth shut. As Sherlock would say, the game is on!

Right after I bought my ticket, our office saw a sprinkling of snow. Ugh. I mean, snow is pretty and everything, but not when you're at work and can't go out to enjoy it. Or when you know that nobody knows how to drive in the snow, so traffic will suuuuuuck. So I texted AJ "is your guest room ready?" Her response: "Do not do this to me. Yes it is ready anytime." I laughed like a maniac and texted her back "it's snowing here, so I thought I'd just come to visit. Or we could just meet in Mexico." Hardy har har, Bek. Cruel and unusual.

A couple weeks later, we had a phone date. Greatest challenge ever. But my maniac persona was back, and when AJ told me that they'd had snow on the ground for the past 4 weeks, I proclaimed, "And that is why I don't visit you in February!" I know, my friend-card should be revoked.

Finally, a few days before I left for the Bluegrass State, I texted AJ that "I think I know what I'm going to get you for your birthday" and "I should have it in the mail this week!" Such. A. Tease. But at least I wasn't the only one, because AJ's husband had started hinting at a surprise later in the week.

February 20th started early-early for me, but thankfully everything went smoothly. I gate-checked my bag, so I only had to worry about my backpack. Besides the bouncy guy next to me {whom I promptly told him where he could move his leg...in a really kind voice, I promise}, the flight to Detroit was uneventful. Once I landed, I had a couple hours to walk around and get lunch before my next flight. I got a phone call from an 800 number, but didn't want to deal with whatever they were selling, so I ignored it. Turned out it was the airline telling me my flight to Lexington had been cancelled. Ugh.

Long tedious story {involving several phone calls, barely containing tears of frustration, waiting in line for half my life, running back and forth across the Detroit airport, frantically texting several friends, and trying not to raise my voice} short, I ended up flying into Louisville instead of Lexington. A nice older gentleman offered to share a cab with me {and pay for it all, might I add!} to the Lexington airport, and Rachel the Superhero picked me up there.

Several hours after I had originally planned to be heading to AJ's house, Rachel and I were on our way. Just outside of town at a quarter to 10, I texted AJ: "Hey, are you still up?" Of course she was - her hubs was keeping her up so that she could be surprised! Via text, I asked her if we could have a quick phone date because there was "a situation" I wanted to talk over with her.

Rachel turned off her car's lights and parked in front of AJ's house. I jumped out of the car and tried to keep my voice calm and quiet, even though I was totally shaking with excitement. I pressed the call button. Here is our conversation, word for word, according to my adrenaline-infused memory.

AJ: "Hey, what's up, friend?"

Bek: "Hey, well, I've got this problem. I've had a really, really long day {true!} and I was wondering if you could do me a little favor..."

AJ: "Sure, I'll try." {I'm sure she was wondering what on earth she could do for me 2,500 miles away!}

Bek: "Could you come open your front door?"

briefest of pauses...

AJ: "WHAT?!?!!?" and I hear her running across the living room. Her hubs got this picture of the action.

The front door flew open and AJ was crying and laughing and asking "Why are you at my house?!?!" It was a glorious moment.

so happy to have arrived and to actually surprised my bosom friend!

{please note the furry dog head in the bottom-right corner...I don't just carry around towels for kicks}

There was much rejoicing and Ale-8 drinking and laughing, and even though we tried to wake AJ's oldest, he was just too deep in his REM cycle to be bothered with saying hello. He told me in the morning, though that "I wanted to say hello, but my body didn't want to!" So precious.

While in Kentucky, AJ and I went shopping both with and without her kids; we dyed each other's hair {it's a tradition}; we baked cookies, stayed up way too late, went to church, zumba'd in her living room, visited her sister, started a new tradition of beer cheese nachos, and generally had an awesome time being in the same state.

It was a most wonderful visit, and I'm so glad that I was able to go and that it was a real live surprise {lots of people, myself included, doubted whether or not it would be a surprise}. Happy birthday, AJ! You are the best bosom friend ever, and I love you lots!

Finish This: Week Eight

Linking up with Jen at The Arizona Russums, Becky at The Java Mama, Nicole at Three 31, and Lisa at COASTLINED.

Five Things I Know For Sure:

1. No matter the question or problem, Jesus is the answer and the solution. There is nothing He can't handle, which is great because there are lots of things I can't handle. Trusting Him is always worth it.

2. Speaking of Jesus, I'm sure that He invented massages. They are divine. That's all I have to say 'bout that.

3. Ten will always be my favorite Doctor. Nine and Eleven were awesome, and I have high hopes for Twelve, but there's no one like Ten. {If you're a Whovian, you can read my farewell and Samara's tribute to Ten.}

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4. Surprises are awesome. As I alluded to last week, I went down to Kentucky to surprise my bosom friend as an early birthday present. If you can believe it, I kept my big mouth {both my physical mouth and my blogging/social media mouth} shut and she was totally surprised! Post forthcoming on this, never fear.

5. I'm not afraid to speak up if I see something wrong. Yesterday on the plane home, there were two guys behind me talking loudly about their workout plans, their life goals, their travels, their wives, their favorite colors, their childhood fears, what they wanted to be when they grew up, what shaving cream they used, and on and on and on... I'm notevenjoking. It was horrendous.

After about 45 minutes of this {I gave them the benefit of the doubt that they might shut the heck up quiet down after we took off}, I asked the gal next to me if these guys were, in fact, really loud. She confirmed my suspicions, and so I turned around and gave them my best "I'm smiling to be polite, not because I like you in any way, shape, or form" smile and said "Would you gentlemen mind lowering your voices, please?" They said "sure," and seriously not 5 minutes later they had ceased. all. their. talking. It was the best.

There you have it: five things I know for sure! Come back next week for some new prompts.

Finish This: Week Seven

This lovely link-up is hosted by Nicole at Three 31, Jen at The Arizona Russums, Lisa at COASTLINED, and Becky at The Java Mama. Enjoy!

I plan on buying a birthday present for my roomie! Trying to decide between Seattle chocolate {always a hit}, a gift card {so she can pick out what she loves best}, or something really nerdy {because that's what nerd friends get for each other}. Feel free to make suggestions in the comments!

I give *Captain Phillips* 5 Stars because that movie was so so SO well done and intense and well-acted and amazing and incredible and yes. If you haven't seen it, I personally recommend watching it during a thunder storm while your lights flicker on and off. It adds to the intensity level, for sure.

I felt courageous when I said goodbye to my parents and watched them drive to the airport after moving me into my dorm room in Kentucky. Knowing that I was supposed to be at this school was amazing, but knowing that I would see my parents for 4 months {plus the 3-hour time difference made things challenging} was really, really hard. But I had my cry session and then was good.

I feel about swimsuit shopping like I do about ordering a chai latte; I've found the drink {swimsuit} that works for me and I get the same thing every time and am pleased with the result. Seriously, Land's End has the most amazing swimsuit, and every few years {they usually last at least 3!} I pick out the color and/or pattern and order the swimsuit online. Done and done.

Go check out the link-up for more of Finish This!

7 Quick Takes: Encouragement, Tom Baker, and Humility

Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes!

One: The last paragraph of this post is amazing. She resolves the conflict I so often feel, that I need to go somewhere to help but I also am burdened to stay and bring positive change. She says it so simply: "I can choose both here and there - because I have enough and can share with others." Beautiful, peace-filled words. Thank you,  Emily.

Two: Just when you thought Pope Francis couldn't get any more awesome, he does. Bam.

Three: Wow. The articles you find at work but apply to life. This is really cool.

Four: This weekend, Samara and I are going on our Jesus retreat!!! I'm so excited to spend some quality time with my best Friend and my bff :) My goal for this weekend is to work on some of my life goals with Jesus, as well as get some specific answers to some things I've been mulling over {side note: isn't that a great expression? I feel like drinking some wonderful sangria while mulling over deep and intense thoughts}.

Five: For my birthday last month, my youngest sister ordered me a phone case. I know this because she asked me what I wanted and I told her...and then I sent her the links to my favorite cases...and then she told me that she ordered one of them. We're cool like that - the surprise is discovering which one she ordered :) All this is to say that it finally arrived in the mail! So I'll be swinging by my parents' house this evening and having an abridged and delayed birthday celebration - picture forthcoming!

Six: Since I finished my TARDIS purse and my sister's birthday scarf, I'm itching for my next crochet project. I'm thinking that I should make Tom Baker's Doctor's scarf, especially since I have half the colors already. If anyone wants to donate yarn to the Doctor Who cause, I'll make something for you!

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Seven: Next week is Valentine's Day, and since it's on a Friday {meaning 7QT Day}, I won't spill the details of what my gal-pals {oh, hey there, 90's expression, long time no see} and I are doing, but just know that it's awesome. And you should know that it was my idea. And you should also know that humility is my most prominent character trait. Others have told me that; I had no idea. But I did have the idea for Valentine's Day. Wow, full circle, looks like it's time for this post to end riiiiiiight now. 

Happy Friday and happy weekend!

7 Quick Takes

Alright, people, no judging the depth and shallowness of the following takes. Rules are rules, and the rules say that I can whip out both moral issues and British television. Thank you, Conversion Diary, for facilitating posts without transitions and/or connectedness {if you don't believe me, check out her first take!}.

Without further ado...

Uno: My birthday was this week, and I think that either I have gone completely fan-girl crazy and there was no question as to what presents were appropriate OR my family has simply accepted that I am a slightly crazy fan-girl and if you can't beat 'em, join 'em buy fan-girl gifts. Either one works for me. My dear parents gave me a Disappearing Tardis mug, and my aunt mailed me some gorgeous Downton Abbey earrings. Also, two sisters have presents still in transit {the joy of January birthdays is that sometimes Amazon is still playing catch-up}, so there may be more fan-girl-themed gifts forthcoming. 

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Dos: Speaking of Downton Abbey, can we just talk about Season 4!? No? You haven't caught up yet? It's ok, we're only 3 episodes in so far. Hurry! Catch up and then tune in Sunday. Then we can talk about the Crawleys and the staff and the yucky people with creeper smiles and the lovely people who are making either wise or stupid decisions and oh my word can Baby George with his chunky legs please please please get a little more screen time? 

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Tres: Kye Kye -Amazing band. Have you heard of them? Listened to them? Go and do it now. Stream their new album or check out their music videos {Honest Affection and Dreams (2am)}. You're welcome.

Cuatro: March for Life 2014 happened! I know a few bloggers who did go {Laura, for example}, and a few more who did not go {Rachel, who wrote a beautiful piece about work and prayer}. This past Sunday was Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, then there was the March for Life on Wednesday, yesterday was my volunteer day, and then this coming Sunday is Presentation Sunday {also known as Conception Sunday, when couples trying to conceive are prayed for}. I'm so thrilled by the advances that the pro-life movement is making! Keep praying and working, friends! 

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Cinco: Speaking of the March for Life and dear Laura, check out this powerful video about the past 41 years. Incredible.

Seis: One more for the pro-life movement: "Gimme Shelter" opens in theaters today. If you haven't seen the trailer yet, check it out here. I encourage you to go see it... my plans are being made as I type!

Seite: Aaaand back to music. Anyone heard of John Newman? Please jump onto his musical train asap. And then {if you're in my neck of the woods-slash-country} come to his concert with me and Samara on April 16th, because this girl is going to her first concert since 2010. And let's please move on to the last take and not focus on how ancient and decrepit I now feel. Carrying on.

This now concludes the presentation of 7 Quick Takes. Check out more takes at Conversion Diary!

Finish This Week 2

Linking up with Jen, Lisa, Nicole, and Becky!

Check out the links here :)

If I could make anything grow on trees, it would be instant manicures. Pick one off the tree and BAM! Your nails are done. No waiting, no chipping, no clumping. Done nails, just like that.

I can't stop smiling because I've seen Sherlock Season 3. Because it's almost my birthday. Because zumba is tomorrow night. Because there is a Tardis blanket on my bed.  Because I'm in the middle of two good books. Because January has been awesome {and hard and wonderful and challenging and stretching} and February is shaping up to be pretty darn awesome. Because today is a good hair day. Because tomorrow is Volunteer Day. Because God has great plans for me.

I get back to nature by admiring Mt. Rainier. Ahh! 

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I dread washing the fridge. I can clean the bathroom and the rest of the house until the cows come home, but please dear Lord above don't make me clean the fridge. Please distribute grown-up points here, though, because I have actually cleaned the fridge since moving out on my own. Once. Moving on. 

There ya have it! See you next week for Version 3 of Finish This. 

Twenty-five

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Guys, I'm getting old. Maybe not as old as this guy and his white whiskers, but definitely old. This week I turn twenty-five. And in honor of this event, I would like to follow in the steps of my friend Victoria {who is mom to newly-born Carson --> birth story!} and list 25 things I've learned in 25 years of being alive. These are in no particular order and are definitely still being learned all the time. Without further ado,

1. Everything is a story to be laughed at. Get to the laughter point sooner than later.
   
2. Sisters make the best of friends.
   
3. Best friends make the best of flatmates.
   
4. God can be trusted all the time with anything. He can handle it.
   
5. Goals are good, but they exist to make life better; life does not exist only in accomplishing goals.
   
6. I don't have to live in the same state as someone to keep growing our friendship.
   
7. Massages are gifts straight from the Lord above.
   
8. It is perfectly acceptable and even admirable to admit when I'm struggling and to ask for help.
   
9. Character counts.
   
10. I don't have to be the best of buds with every person I meet, but I should be a good friend to them.
    
11. I make mistakes. I have made them and I will continue to make them, and God keeps loving me.
    
12. Find a swimsuit that works with you and then work that swimsuit. Heck to the yes.
    
13. Just because nail polish stays on your toes forever does not mean that you should leave it on forever.
    
14. There is nothing like the hope that is found in Jesus.
    
15. Personality types are wonderful, but I don't have to fit perfectly into any "type."
    
16. God's "no" means that something better is coming... I don't have to see it now to trust His answer.
    
17. Life is very different from how I pictured it in my head, and that's okay.
    
18. If there's something I want to do or see, I should just go for it and make it happen.
    
19. Flexibility is key.
    
20. Invest in good chocolate. I recommend sea salt.
    
21. Sometimes talking with your bestie and getting "nothing" done is the best thing to do.
    
22. Don't judge someone by what you think is their life story.
    
23. If it's British television, a) I will watch it and b) at least one actor will be from Doctor Who.
    
24. Listening is important.
    
25. It is ok to not finish a book that is not worth your time; find one {or six} that are.

There you have it, folks. 25 life lessons from an almost-25-year-old. Enjoy!