Divine Imperfections

Weekenders

A few weekends ago we had another jam-packed adventure filled with unholy amounts of driving, but also an awful lot of fun.

We celebrated a birthday. And ate lots of donuts.

We said "goodbye" to a friend heading to the Navy. And "hello" to a new-to-us Jeep. (I also squeezed in a quick trim. Hello bangs.)

We stuffed our faces on Pazookies! (cookie + pizza = bigger pants required). And laughed our butts off at childhood stories relayed around a fire pit.

 

And somewhere between breakfast with his grandad and my Mom asking for hugs from her kids, it hit me what was happening.

My husband and I finally got to spend a weekend with our family.

With his, mine and ours.

They are OUR family now!

How cool is that?

And for the record, how cool is THIS?

Only one of the coolest cakes ever! (It came with hotdogs!)

Thanks for being borned-ed cuz. Hope you get everything you wished for (except maybe those truck decorations I hear you've been wanting.)

Baby Light My Fire

Over the weekend we went out to The Ranch to help celebrate this sweet lady's birthday. 

And I was shocked how much fun I had being in the great outdoors. Four wheeling. Eating brisket. Playing with fire.

That's not to mention the magic of twinkling lights.

I'm not really a camper. (Like at all.) But, I gotta say, I'll do a lot of things out of my comfort zone for chocolate.

Especially chocolate sandwiched between graham crackers and marshmallows.

 

So thank you Sarah, for the excuse to "camp" out. (And for sharing your S'mores!)

 

Yea, we wussed out and went home after a few hours instead of spending the night in tents like our cool companions.

But still, we did it. We camped. Briefly.

An Out of Office Experience

You've reached the phone rambling blog of Jennifer.

I'm sorry I'm away from my desk right now. I am headed to Dallas to enjoy a delectable array of smoked meats.

Please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I awake from my food coma.

 

Beeeeeeep!

Deep-fried fun

I've been going to the fair pretty consistenly for the last few years. But it never seems to get old.

Tex ages, sure. But the State Fair itself... timeless! (Though techically, it's 125!)

Every trip is its own adventure.

'Cause like the deep-fried delicacies, which get additions to the classics every year, the memories just keep adding up (and amazing me).

And this year's are definitely some of the best yet!

Sure, it was almost unbearably hot, and hard to make conversation when surrounded by millions of people - many of which seemed to be misplaced toddlers.

And yes, the "Awesome Dog Show" was hardly what it was hyped up to be.

Still... thanks to great friends and a very patient fiance, I had a great time during my annual trek.

Plus, we got some pretty sweet pics out of the deal too. :)

It really pays knowing talented peeps.

Sorry if you're easily offended by PDA.

Thanks pals, pictured and not, for spending the hottest day of October sweating it out so I could get my fried Oreo fix.

Let's do it again soon... like in a year or so. ;)

"One of those days"

Ever have "one of those days?" You know the kind where nothing seems to go right?

Ever notice how "one of those days" most always fall on a Monday? And generally, after a very fantastic weekend?

Well, I ate a heaping slice of cake on Saturday and began my Sunday morning with the world's best cinammon rolls and some very great friends. So it makes absolute sense that my "one of those days" began a little something like this.

 

Phone: "Distinct iPhone ring, ring."

Automated message: "This is Bank of America... blahblahblah."

Me: Slightly panicked. Dilaing back. And then, "Hello, I was told I needed to call about some suspicious activity."

Clerk: "Yes ma'am... have you been traveling recently?"

Me: "Why yes (thank you for noticing). I was just in Austin."

Clerk: "But you haven't been to Italy recently?"

Me: "I wish! I haven't been to Italy. Ever."

 

And that was the real bummer of the morning.

It wasn't that the warning call was followed by approximately three more (all involving a lot of number punching).

Or that the trip to the physical bank required visits with not one or two, but four separate tellers (and two waits in line). Thanks guys.

It wasn't even the 24 to 48 hours it will take to get back the $142.96 that was taken out at an Italian ATM this morning.

The bummer was that this morning "my money" (the stuff I usually spend on gas or groceries or realistically Dollar Menu items from Mickey D's) was instead spent on (I can only imagine) gallons upon gallons of delicious gelato.

Gelato I didn't get to enjoy.

And that made me jealous much more than angry.

 

'Cause I like my life. Don't get me wrong.

I'm so very grateful for the blessings I have.

But this morning was a wake up call, that maybe I need to be living a little more. Not spending a little more - I'm not saying that - but really living a little more.

And the funny thing is, the drive to Austin this weekend made me think the same thing. That tiny little adventure whet my appetite for a grander one. Or at least one that lasts longer than a day and a half.

The $34 I invested into a gas tank, made me think perhaps my priorities need to include the addition of a passport to my purse more than a new pair of pants.

And maybe my weekly to-do's could use some more time on the open road than time on my couch.

Maybe, my dreaming needs to get just a little bigger. A little worldlier (in the globetrotting sense of the word).

 

And maybe I need to spend a little more time exploring, and a lot less time worrying, waiting or wishing for a more exciting life and just start leading one!

 

I truly hope the next time I speak with an oh-so-concerned-personal-banker, it might actually be from a charming sidewalk coffee somewhere in Venice. Or Paris.

Or at the very least... near that tiny Eiffel Tower... in Vegas.

 

But I also hope your day, however it's been going, might inspire you to make tomorrow even better. More adventurous. More, wonder filled!!

The stuff of dreams

So, tonight I set out to do the same sorta thing I do every Friday night. Namely, and maybe some, and later.

 

But then it hit me. What am I wasting my time around here for when I am exactly one meeting away from living a dream.

I mean, honestly, how could a casting director NOT give me the part, when I'm so clearly, um, melanined for the gig.

An uncanny resemblance don't you think.

And hey. If that didn't work out there's always...



Either way I think it's a win.

It's a thought anyways. And odd one albeit, but a thought nonetheless.

 

Hope your Friday night has been the stuff of dreams too.

 

 

*Green Mes compliments of Queen Helene. Other photos, compliments of Google search. (You can click the photos to see hear what they're all about.)

 

When words won't even come close to cutting it, and numbers fail TWO

I don't have a lot of words today, which is an odd feeling. As one of my favorite heroines of all time says, "words are my life." Without them I feel truly at a loss.

But today, instead of dwelling on the "loss" feeling, I'm choosing to be:

THANKFUL!

Thankful that I don't have to have the right words to come before the throne. That I don't need any words at all, in fact, to lay myself at His feet.

A beating heart is all it takes to communicate with my God. And I'm very thankful for that today.

 

How richly blessed I am to speak to, or in this case to sit in silence, with a God who sees the depths of my heart and yet LOVES me the same. I cannot tell you how unfathomable this is to me, or how deeply grateful I am to remain bewildered by this steadfast, faithful LOVE.

His LOVE abounds not because of anything I have done, or anything I've said or pleaded.

His LOVE is with me because He is LOVE.

And for that, my foolish and fickle heart is more grateful than I could EVER say.

Even on a good day. And by good I of course mean long winded. ;)

 

So that's today, for ya, summed up not in FIVE fabulous gratitudes, but in TWO timeless truths. Truths that can make even the hardest hearts crumble in adoration, if only given a chance.

 

Today I am grateful that through absolutely no merit of my own, no magic words or any other efforts, God is faithful and loving... because He is LOVE.

How I'm grateful that He is LOVE.

As the sun sets

The sun is setting. (A prime example of why I no longer write cutlines for a living.)

If you're reading this instead of working, then shame shame. :) Just kidding. Or maybe you are on your phone while stopped in traffic. If so, chances are I am on my way to Waco right now. Driving to see apartments. Only seven days before my first day at my new job.

That's right. Monday morning I interviewed, and that afternoon I accepted a position in the lovely town (and I don't mean that sarcastically) of Waco, Texas.

It really is a quaint and charming town - a geographical oddity too, pretty close to several of my favorite big cities.

And I'm excited, to explore a new place and meet new people.

But, I'm also sorta terrified. There I said it.

Monday was all excitement. All giant smiles. And happy phone calls to report the good news.

But then, nerves set in. Big time.

And I think most of my fear stems from the fact that it has been a long time since I last set out on my own.

It's been nine years in fact, since I first packed my belongings and headed to a new town. One where I didn't know anyone, and didn't know what to expect.

Back then I didn't have a clue just how hard it was going to be. If I had known, I'm pretty sure I would have chickened out and remained in my childhood bedroom my whole life. Collecting cats instead of scrapbooking supplies, the way I did when I went off to college.

But this time around I KNOW it won't be easy. Going out there on my own.

And I'm scared, quite frankly.

I'll be busy at first. Hopefully busy enough that time will fly by. But then eventually, once I settle in, there will come a night when I realize I've run out of milk and I'll end up crying over it. I know it.

Sooner or later, like it or not, I will spend a night sobbing on my apartment floor. Because I miss my family. And I miss my old friends. And I miss all the familiarities of home. But probably most importantly because cereal without milk is one of the great travesties in life. Deep sigh. (Am I right?)

But... melodrama aside, chances are I will live through that tough time. And hopefully even grow to appreciate the opportunity to spread my wings of independence. (I'm a cheeseball I know. Which reminds me... I need to make a grocery list.)

Here my dad uses his wingspan to demonstrate how tiny this one bedroom was. Really tiny!

I do think that along with the nerves, I'm feeling something else as well.

READY!!!

Being home these last few years. Having the opportunities to learn what I have, experienced what I have. To meet the people I've met, and also spend time with my family and oldest friends has been such a blessing I cannot describe. And I wouldn't trade this time for anything in the world.

But, it definitely feels like time. To go.

Get it? Time to go. Another misguided attempt at fashion photography. :)

Seriously, though. It is time to get a fresh start. To try something new.

So... next week my parents and I will haul a trailer full of my belongings to unchartered territory. Home of  Common Grounds, Health Camp, the Bears and pretty soon me.

 

I do hope you'll keep me in your prayers as I make this transition. And also that you'll stop by for a visit next time you're in "the best of Central Texas." That's what the Waco website calls it, at least. And we know everything we read on the internet is factual.

Even the truly terrifying.

So thankful that no matter where life takes us, we are always under the same moon, stars...
and in the hands of the same good God.

By the way... I began this post yesterday before we took off for our apartment tours. But... since I waited to post it you now get to know that I found an apartment. One I really like. And one I'll move into late next week! Yay! 

Now, happy weekending!
Jen 

He knows when you're awake

I'm not gonna lie. It was pretty much love at first sight. Or first open at least. And that is why most every waking minute the last few days has been spent playing with iMovie. So simple. So fun. And what a payoff.

 
Dear Katy Perry and iTunes, thank you for lending us "Waking up in Vegas."
Without it I would have stuck with the Vanessa Carlton song I originally chose,
which Jessie wisely informed me was ruining the whole thing.

I realize a ridiculously goofy Vegas video doesn't exactly scream Christmas. But hey, you work with what you got. And what I've got is about 4,000 photos from a recent roadtrip. A very eclectic mix of iTunes. My sister's beautiful silver Macbook at my disposal. And, of course, a lot of free time on my hands.

Anyways... I hope Santa will keep me on the nice list even though I visited Sin City and took a cheap shot at "The Fonz." (Not to mention ate a reindeer dog, but that's for another day.)

I also hope you're having a wonderful Christmas Eve Eve.

This is the gorgeous floral display in the lobby at the Bellagio in Vegas. The reindeers were created out of various nuts and the ground was covered in poinsettias. It was really fabulous if you ask me. 

 

*For anyone that might be concerned and/or unable to read the closing credits quickly enough... my underaged sister was not allowed to drink or gamble during our overnight stay in Vegas. She did however HIT IT BIG at the Coney Island attraction in our hotel. And by hit it big I mean she discovered about 40 free tickets. Ca-ching!

For the record I also hit it big with a $1.05 return on my $1 investment in the Pinko slots... AND a free Nathan's hotdog (with purchase of fries and drink). Talk about return on an investment.

And they say people always lose in Vegas. They are wrong. :)

The most wonderful time

It was freezing as we made our way up the stairs and past the tile display. My hands shook behind my camera as we looked out at the reflections and then the infamous tree. 

I've never liked the cold, and generally avoided it by staying bundled inside. But this morning was different. It seemed fitting that there would be a bitter sting from the crisp morning air as we slowly walked the solemn grounds.

It seemed right that we would have to brave the elements to experience such a costly site of peace.

And so when I reached the wreathes I took my gloves off. Something told me I needed to reach out and straighten the red velvet bows. To lean in close and smell the pine needles. To truly take it all in, not just in sight but in my soul. 

It's hard to fathom the pain behind this touching memorial. The despair so many families felt that tragic day 15 years ago, despair many of them must still struggle with, especially around the holidays.

But it's impossible not to feel a sense of hope when walking through such a beautiful display. One that invites each person that enters to declare to the hurting, the darker the night, the brighter the dawn. Sorrow may last for a night, but hope comes in the morning.

I can't remember a time in my life when I felt more grateful for the precious gift of life. To see my breath as it entered the morning air. Or to feel the freezing pavement on my knees as I bent to scrawl something onto the sidewalk. Anything that might touch the pain. That might express hope.

The holidays, while often touted as the most wonderful time of the year, can also be lonely. They can remind us of those we are missing. Those we may have lost. And if we focus  on that pain, if we remain in the dark, it can be difficult to see and appreciate the many blessings the season has to offer, namely the Light that entered the world many years ago, and continues to brighten the lives of those who are willing to seek Him.

 Whatever this season brings you, I pray you might experience the true joy of Christmas, the gift of Christ with us. The Prince of Peace sent to the world to save it, to give it irrepressible hope.