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Cherish the moment, they say…

February 21, 2011 by Kelli

I’m currently about 60 pages from completing Mary Beth Chapman’s book, Choosing to SEE. Have you read it? You really should. But I will give you a few warnings up front.

Have Kleenex at the ready because when she gets to the experience of losing her daughter Maria, unless you are a robot, you will likely cry and cry hard. I’m not sure I have ever sobbed quite so hard while reading a book before. Except maybe Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper, which I read late at night while pregnant thereby setting myself up for disaster. Which leads me to my next point…
Do not, under any circumstances, read this book after 10:00 when you’re already tired and perhaps a bit emotional.

Consider yourselves warned.

Lee is currently out of town and I don’t know about you all, but when daddy is away in our home, the mice think they can play. That’s a metaphor, of course, the mice being our kids. Not real mice. If real mice were coming out to play, the kids and I would be at a hotel.

It’s tough when Lee’s not around. The kids need him. I need him. Every process becomes that much more difficult and without daddy’s firm voice, sometimes certain little ones forget how to behave. Particularly at bedtime.

I’ve heard so often that bedtime is a sweet time to enjoy your kids. “Lay down and talk with them,” the proverbial “they” say. “Enjoy those snuggle moments at bedtime while they’re young because when they’re grown those moments are gone.” Every time I hear that advice, I want someone to tell me how to enjoy bedtime and yet still get them to go to bed!

I’ll admit it. Bedtime is not my favorite time of the day. It’s hectic and stressful. The kids get wild and rambunctious. If I lay down and talk with one, all three have to pile in with us because “IT’S NOT FAIR” otherwise. I don’t get to lay and snuggle with just one.

On top of that, the older two share a room and to be quite honest, all I want is for them to go to sleep. If they had it their way, they’d have a wild party every night for a couple of hours before slipping into slumber. Which leaves me feeling like the Wicked Witch of the West in order to get them to be quiet and go to bed.

Last night was no exception. It had been the longest of long days and everyone was wiped. I knew they just needed to sleep and yet, once again, as soon as they got into their room the antics began. And I had to put a stop to it.

Then I read this from Mary Beth’s book

“How would I have lived differently if I knew that my time with Maria was going to be this short? Regretfully I would have lived much differently. I would have purposely hugged and kissed more. I would have tried to memorize and lock away in my heart certain smells and smiles. I would have colored more and worked less. I would have laughed more and fussed less.

Bedtime wouldn’t have become a chore to check off the list of things to get done. Instead it would have been more of an opportunity to listen about the day and offer whatever words were needed. The swimming pool wouldn’t have been too cold to swim in. The flowers in the garden would have all been pick, and definately more ice cream would have been consumed.” Mary Beth Chapman, Choosing to SEE.

I read this and I nod. This falls into line with the thought that we should live each day as if it’s going to be our last. And yet…

I can’t really live today like it’s going to be my last. If I knew for sure today would be my last day, I wouldn’t worry about mopping the floor or answering emails. (Okay, I actually just laughed out loud because I’m not worried in the slightest about mopping the floor. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I did that.) I wouldn’t be concerned with brushing the kid’s hair or what kind of food they ate. But the fact is, I have to cherish today as if it’s my last while still living like it’s not.

How do you cherish each fleeting moment with your kids knowing that you still have to keep routine? I want my kids to have fun with me and I want life to be full of laughter.

I also want to sleep.

I think it’s a balance. After being the heavy last night and then reading Mary Beth’s words, I felt a weight that I couldn’t shake. And so I went back to their room. They were finally calm and were close to slumber. I slipped my arms around each of them and squeezed tight reminding them that they were loved and cherished by me. With one last kiss, they both slipped into dreamland with the knowledge that their mom, even when she’s exhausted, loves them fiercely.

That’s the best we can do, right? “Cherish the moment,” they say. Well, sometimes the moment is tough to cherish, but the kids? It’s them that I cherish.

Filed Under: Family, Kids do the darndest things, Life, Motherhood Tagged With: cherishing our kids, Choosing to SEE, faith, live today as if it's your last, Mary Beth Chapman, Motherhood

The one where we plan a trip

February 10, 2011 by Kelli

I wanted to go visit my parents in London, but logistically it just wasn’t coming together. So when mom emailed me yesterday and said she was coming back in to the States in March during the kids Spring Break and asked if we’d like to join her in Florida at their condo I don’t even think a second passed before I said Yes!

After calling Lee to confirm that worked with him, we booked our tickets and BAM! We’re getting out of here in 6 weeks. This is just the pick me up I needed to get through this final push of winter. We moved to St. Louis when I was 12. We moved from Wisconsin, so I do know that winter can be worse other places.

But hands down, this has been the worst winter I have ever experienced here in St. Louis. It’s just been nuts and I think everyone is feeling the effects. The winter blues have settled in big time. But alas, we now have something to look forward to. Sunshine. The beach. Hours playing at the park. Sunsets at the Sand Pearl.

In six weeks we will be doing this:

And this…

And we’ll probably watch a few of these…

There may not be a cure for the Summertime Blues, but this is definately my cure for the wintertime blues!

Filed Under: Family, Kids, Life, Motherhood, Travel Tagged With: Clearwater Beach, Getting away from winter, Spring Break, Winter blues

Wednesday Whatnots

February 9, 2011 by Kelli

What Not’s? What Nots.

Grammer makes me crazy…

So today is a hodge podge of random tidbits for your reading enjoyment. Or for my writing enjoyment. Someone will enjoy themselves today!

Speaking of writing enjoyment. Remember the novel I told you about? The one I started, then stopped, then started, then stopped, then started again? I wrote a little more last night!

So at this pace, I should finish the book by the year 2024. I am on a roll, folks!

Seriously, though. It’s really difficult to find time to write. I don’t know how people do it. Yesterday I got up at 5:30 with the sole intent of working only on my novel. By 5:40 I felt awake enough to open up the file and at 5:45 Landon stumbled into my room and the morning was shot. I left my house at 8:00 and only came home for two seperate one hour bursts before 10:30pm.

Then I had to work on the things I’m actually getting paid for. So, I’m still planning on finishing that book, but I haven’t yet figured out how.

This is where I flawlessly merge from one topic to another.

I officially signed up for a marathon relay yesterday. Me and three others will split up a marathon. I ran this race four years ago. One week after finishing the race (and not dying) I found out I was pregnant (surprise!) with Landon. Here’s to hoping we don’t have a repeat of that this year, right?

Oh…and here’s to hoping I don’t die. Considering I can only run 2 miles right now (3 miles on a really good day…which has only happened twice) and I need to be able to run 6.5 in two months, that’s a legitimate prayer worth lifting up.

And again, we transition.

I think you should all go back to last week’s post titled I laughed until I cried and read E. Lehman’s comment. I laughed out loud, pretty hard, when I saw it. Then I pumped my fist in the air and yelled, “I rock,” as the dog looked on in bewilderment.

Speaking of the dog (transition), she’s making me crazy. I’m pretty sure she’s clinically depressed and I’m wondering if I should get her on Prozac. She mopes around the house, wimpering, and she stands right underneath my feet every second of every day. Every second I’m home that is. Mostly she’s cooped up all day and she’s bored and I feel terrible for her.

Not bad enough to walk her, of course, because it’s only 10 degrees outside.

She’s not a dog who enjoys laying around the house. She’s active and she is bored and I feel bad but I don’t know what to do about it so I keep giving her food, which means now I have a depressed dog who’s getting chubby.

I’m running out of pithy transitions so I’m just going to insert a line from here on out to signify a topic change.

I have a PT appointment today for my shoulder where I may or may not have a torn rotator cuff. I’m supposed to go see a Sports Medicine guy about it, but I haven’t yet for two reasons:

– I’ve really been quite busy and haven’t found the time to schedule the appointment.

– I’m a scardey cat and I don’t really want to know if it’s torn because then I’ll have to actually do something about it.

So for now I’m sticking with my PT because I like him a lot and I’m hoping I can nurse it back to health ala natural.

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My mom and dad are in England having a grand old time and I’m glad for them, but…

I miss my parents. I want to go see them but, you know, logistics. So I just try to live vicariously through my mom’s Facebook pictures and talk to her every few days instead. I thought about taking the kids with me to see them, but then added up the costs and remembered that I would be trapped in a small space with them for an entire day with the eyes of strangers watching and decided Skype was a lovely invention worth making use of.

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I sang at an event at our church a couple of weeks ago where I got to cover several great old standards. I had way more fun than I even dreamed I would and out of the deal have made contacts with a few people here in town that do these sorts of gigs both professionally and as amateurs. There’s a good chance I’ll get to do a bit more singing around town and I couldn’t be more excited.

Or nervous…

Final transition into the closing paragraph.

I’ve got another video idea rolling through my head and just need to find the time to put it together. In my mind it’s brilliant, but it’s probably really lame in real life. Either way, I’m hoping to include more video posts in the near future because I’m ready to spice things up a bit on the old bloggy blog.

And with that, I shall officially conclude this blog entry.

The End.

Filed Under: Exercise, Family, funny stuff that happens, Kids, Life, Random, Running Tagged With: blog ramblings, Random, writing

Because everyone deserves to be a Pink Princess

February 7, 2011 by Kelli

Superbowl? What Superbowl? We had a party this weekend! It was girly and squealy and happy and silly.

How was your weekend?

Filed Under: Kids, Life, Tia Tagged With: Kids, princess birthday party

Defining

February 4, 2011 by Kelli

I was twelve years old. I woke up early and got myself dressed for school. I even remember what I was wearing. A white T-Shirt underneath flower printed cloth overalls.

Hawt.

I scrunched my permed hair and lathered it with gel because God knows I didn’t want those spirals to frizz out midday. I put on my white Keds and I walked downstairs for breakfast. It was early and the house was still. The frigid winter air made the hair on my arms stand tall as I bounded into the kitchen.

Mom was standing at the kitchen sink staring out the window. I knew something was wrong. The air felt like sorrow.

“What’s wrong?” I asked quietly. Mom turned to me, her eyes and nose red. I walked over to her.

“I got a call last night,” she said with a trembly voice. “Aunt Joy is in the hospital. They don’t think she will live.” And with that my mom broke down. I will never forget that moment. My mom’s head on my shoulder. For the first time she needed me.

I went to school with a heavy heart that day and a sense of dread. When I got off the bus I saw Dad’s car in the driveway. At that moment I knew, but I didn’t want it to be true. Dad was waiting for me in the kitchen and when I walked in the door he engulfed me in a tight embrace.

“Where’s Mom?” I asked.

“She is on a plane to South Carolina,” Dad said softly. He stroked my hair.

“How is Aunt Joy?” I can still feel the sense of loss when I think of that moment.

Dad paused. “She passed away,” he said.

It was February 4, 1991. Twenty years ago. It is a moment that defined and shaped my young life. It’s the moment when death became real and life became precious. It was a time when I realized that nothing is guaranteed. Someone can go in for a routine procedure and end up gone…sometimes without explanation.

The days that followed are some of the happiest and most sorrowful of my life. I am blessed with an extended family that has a depth of love, grace and heritage that is hard to match. For an entire week I was surrounded by the people who love me most and for whom I feel the deepest love. Because I was still so young, the time together with my cousins is filled with fun memories. Again, I believe that is God’s grace in protecting my still developing heart.

The reason, however, for our gathering was deeply sorrowful. There are moments of that week that are burned deeply in my memory and, quite honestly, they’re too painful to record on such a public forum. Partly because they are tucked away in places that are just mine and partly because many of them involve the pain I witnessed in others and the stories aren’t really mine to share. They are moments that I wish I could forget. One of the blessings of being a writer is the ability to recall in detail emotions and settings.

It’s also a curse…

As tough as some of those moments are to think about, they are also moments that God used to show me what grace is. My Aunt Joy’s death was not a momentary blip but was the catalyst for how God would mold and shape me as I grew. And now, as an adult, I can still look at that day twenty years ago and see God’s grace in my life. Aunt Joy’s death set into motion a whole host of trials to be overcome and brought about joy and triumph that wouldn’t have been seen otherwise.

Her death affected all of us. It shaped and defined our entire family, all in different ways. Some, like her three children, were affected much more deeply. Others, like her siblings, still feel the sting of her death. But all of us can look back on that time and say God is good and He was there.

Today I remember.

Filed Under: Family, Life Tagged With: Cooper Family, Death, God, Grace

Freedom

January 24, 2011 by Kelli

She stood up on stage and spoke softly into the microphone.

“For you were called to freedom, brethren,” she said in a reverent voice. And that was it. She didn’t finish the verse but rather, stopped there. Her point was to explain to us, her audience, that God calls us to freedom – financial freedom. This was a business conference for something Lee and I were involved in and the focus was on building your business and dreaming about what you could do if you were financially free. There were fancy boats on display and pictures of large, ornate houses were shown. And the prevailing thought was that financial freedom was necessary to experience life to the full.

I remember listening to this particular speaker and thinking that there had to be a little more. It didn’t feel right and it didn’t seem to fit totally.

So I read the rest of the verse later when I got home. It’s Galatians 5:13 and it reads “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

As I read, I realized this verse wasn’t speaking of financial freedom at all. In fact, I don’t believe that God commands any believer to seek after financial freedom. If anything, we are warned to be wary of wealth for it offers much greater temptation.

That is not to say, however, that wealth is a bad thing. I think that wealth in the hands of people who know how to use it is powerful and blessed. I know godly people who have a great deal of material wealth. They don’t flaunt it, but instead they use it to love and serve others. Their freedom isn’t money, or boats, or homes. It’s impacting people, loving people, pointing people to the love and freedom that is in Christ.

For two years Lee and I juggled this idea of building business to create wealth. We mulled the idea of creating wealth to “make a better life.” Until, that is, we had our first child and suddenly the idea of leaving him several nights a week and several weekends a month didn’t seem worth it anymore. What were we doing? Why were we doing it? Things weren’t adding up.

I tread on this topic lightly because I do not judge those who work for financial success. Money is necessary. It’s important. We need it to live, to eat, to provide. Money is a wonderful blessing. But financial freedom, from what I’ve learned over the years, is not about gathering wealth so you can retire at 40 and take your children on a trip around the world.

One of the activities we were encouraged to do those many years ago was make a list of 100 dreams. This was to be something that we placed out in front of us so that we could remember why we were working so hard. We were working toward the freedom to make our dreams come true.

I found the list the other day when I was cleaning out the pit that we like to call home. It made me smile, made me scratch my head and made me laugh out loud. One of my hundred dreams was to have a gardener. A Gardener! I honestly don’t even know what I was thinking. Why a gardener? That was a head scratcher…

I dreamed of taking a Grecian Cruise, owning a motor home (seriously?!) and having a home theater. Apparently at one point Lee hijacked my list because I also had Go to the Final Four Championship Game, Go the the Superbowl (okay, that would be cool) and attending an NBA Championship game on my list. I’m pretty sure I didn’t write those on my own.

It was fun to see a few of the things on my list were accomplished – buy a house, go to Italy, go to Switzerland, have a laptop. By God’s grace, we have marked several dreams off our list inadvertantly.

I no longer equate the freedom I have in God with our finances. In fact, now that I am no longer obssessed with gaining financial freedom, I feel much more free. Lee and I both no longer agree that writing out a list of 100 dreams with the idea of asking God to bless that list is the right way to approach God or life. In fact my list of dreams is drastically smaller than this original list. My dreams are simply this:

– To live my life to the glory of God, honoring Him in every activity, every ambition, every desire, every dollar earned and spent.

– To honor and respect my husband.

– To point my children to the Almighty and see them grow in wisdom, knowledge and stature.

I have been called to freedom – freedom to serve and love others with the resources I have been given. I don’t always serve well and I don’t always love well. I still get sucked into the rat race and I don’t always give freely from the abundance I’ve been given. I still long to go on a Grecian Cruise and I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to travel the world…like, ever. I believe in enjoying the financial blessings God has bestowed upon us, but only after giving back to Him first.

Like any parent, I long to be able to provide good things for my children. I want to be able to send them to college without the stress of loans, I want to give them the opportunity to see the world and the beauty of God’s creation. I hope to do some of that while also teaching them to serve others and love people. I long to show them what true freedom is and give them a foundation that sets them up for success in finances, missions, serving and loving. I long to teach them how to serve God fully with the money they are blessed with. I’m still learning that lesson myself…

I long to figure out why in the world I put “Have a Gardener” on my list of 100 dreams.

“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Galations 5:13

What are your thoughts?

Filed Under: Family, funny stuff that happens, Lee, Life, Random Tagged With: Finances, Galations 5:13, God and Money, teaching kids about finances

2011 Goal – I did it

January 21, 2011 by Kelli

When I was a senior in college, a fire ignited inside me. It was a love for the written word that I didn’t really know was in me. It was lit by a few professors who saw something I didn’t and urged me to think bigger. It was fanned by a fiancee who made me believe the sky was the limit and had bigger dreams for me than I ever dared to dream for myself. It burst into flame when a man I barely knew took me under his wing and made me his co-author.

The fire dulled a bit when I had my first real taste of the publishing world and the challenges that come with pursuing publication. I had a big break, and I will forever be grateful for it, but there were some roadblocks along the way that made me question whether or not I really had any talent as a writer. Comments were made that caused me to wonder if, perhaps, I had set too lofty a goal in my endeavors toward authorship.

Then I had a baby. And another one. And another one. And I just figured the dream of being a writer was over for me. Until I discovered blogging and met other fabulous writers and wondered if maybe, juuuust maybe, I should give the whole writer thing a second chance.

The end of last year brought some big encouragements my way. I met people who, despite the fact that they barely knew me, believed in me. Strangers urged me to write more.* And I began to wonder and think and ponder and pray. Still those doubts nagged in the back of my mind. What if I fail? What if I’m no good? What if I’ve set up this expectation that I’m some kind of spectacular communicator of the written word when really I stink?

If any of you read the Christmas letter I sent out that was fraught with typos, you know idea of me being a stellar communicator is laughable…

But I couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe it was time for me to give my own writing a second chance. So I made a goal for 2011. I decided that this would be the year I finish my novel. The same novel that took birth my senior year of college. The same novel that I spent a month in Ukraine researching when I was pregnant with Sloan. The same novel that is so stuck in my head it’s difficult for me to even think about writing another story.

I revisited my novel last night. I liked some of what I read and some of it made me want to roll on broken glass. But the characters were there waiting for me. They are still fresh in my mind and their stories are primed for completion. The trip Lee and I took overseas last fall gave me mighty inspiration for the novel. Pictures formed in my head that weren’t there before and storylines that once seemed lifeless took breath.

It’s in there. And I have to get it out. Do you think I can convince Lee to take me on another European vacation to further my inspiration?

I don’t know if this book will be any good. I hope I at least do the characters and the story justice. The truth is, I know full well I’m not the greatest writer out there. But I also know that I have a story to tell and if I don’t get it out of my head, I might well explode. And think of the mess that would make!

Ba-dum Ching!

Yes, the story is there. And today? Today I picked it back up again. Wish me luck. I really, really do want to finish it.

*To those who have encouraged me over the years, both past and present, I can’t thank you enough. Most of you have no idea how well timed your words of encouragement were to me. I am exceedingly grateful to all who have offered words of affirmation when my heart needed it most.

(Incidentally, I do not in any way, shape or form write this post to garner more praise or encouragement or to try and toot my own horn. I am simply processing the emotions that are swirling inside. Just wanted to make that clear!)

Filed Under: Blogging, Life, Random, shameless self-promotion Tagged With: Encouragement, Writer, Writer's Block, Writing and Novel

Snow Day – Take Three

January 20, 2011 by Kelli

We have a snow day today…again. I’m trying not to complain. I’m trying to have a good attitude and remember how magical and exciting snow days were when I was a kid. I’m trying not to dwell on the fact that Lee left this morning for San Diego for the weekend. I’m trying to ignore the fact that I should probably go shovel the driveway.

In an effort to enjoy the day and soak up the chance to stay home and relax, we are doing a lot of this today:

We’re enjoying the beauty of the powdery snow. While snow is not my favorite thing in the world, there is no denying it’s beautiful to look at. We’ll probably go out and play at some point.

We’re watching TV…

In front of the fire.

We’re making funny faces every time mom pulls out the camera.

We’re eating Nutella pancakes for breakfast.

We’re singing praises along to Selah’s You Deliver Me.

Yessir…it’s going to be a mighty snow day. Here’s to hoping that it only lasts one day, though…

Filed Under: Family, Kids, Life Tagged With: Kids and Snow, Kids at home, parenting, Snow Day

Stones of Remembrance

January 17, 2011 by Kelli

Intentional

This is a word that is following me around quite a bit lately. I hear it, read it, think it and sleep it. Intentional. What does it mean to be intentional?

I went to Webster’s Dictionary to look for a clear defination of intentional. Here’s what I learned: Webster’s Dictionary isn’t a lot of help. Intentional is defined as “done by intention or design.” Great. Awesome. Way to help.

So I looked up the word intend.

“To direct the mind to.”

Much better. This definition actually gave me something to think about. Because to be intentional really does require thought. It means I must direct my mind toward an action. It requires work and planning and it’s hard…

To live and live well, one must be intentional. I forget that a lot. Actually, it feels like I forget that every single day. How often do I go to bed and run through the day and realize I went through the motions? How often do I reflect on the day and see that I merely survived?

This is not intention.

Lee and I are blessed to have wonderful leaders and friends and supporters around us who are constantly encouraging us to be better. Yesterday we spoke at length with many of these people about placing Stones of Remembrance out for our kids.

Orchestrating moments in the kids lives that they can look back at and point to as a time when God was there.

A time they remember.

A time they felt loved.

A time when they discovered who they were created to be.

Intentional

When the Isrealites crossed the Jordan River into the promised land, Joshua commanded the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Isreal and said to them, “Cross again to the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder…Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ then you sall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Isreal forever.”

Intentional

I have to be intentional with my children. I have to set out stones of remembrance for them. Sometimes these things are easy – they naturally flow from the every day moments of life – as long as I’m paying attention, of course. Like the day the tornado didn’t come through. We were intentional in pointing Sloan to God’s answer that day.

But if I’m not planning ahead – if I’m not intentionally seeking ways to set up stones of remembrance – I will miss opportunities.

The same goes in every area of our lives. Lee and I are being challenged in many different ways to be intentional in our giving. We must intentionally stretch ourselves to give more. We must be intentional in budgeting so that it is easier to make giving a priority.

We have to be intentional in our marriage. We must be intentional in our careers, intentional in the way we spend our time, our moments.

Intentional

Setting up stones of remembrance – this is my heart as a mother, as a wife, as a daughter and sister. As a child of the Lord Most High. Because someday I will look back and point my children and, hopefully, grandchildren to those stones…those moments. And I will be able to tell them, “Look. Look what the Lord Most High did for you.”

Intentional

Filed Under: Family, Kids, Life, Marriage, Ministry, Motherhood Tagged With: Kids, Life, Living life intentionally, Motherhood, parenting, setting stones of remembrance

Deep thoughts…

January 13, 2011 by Kelli

*random pictures will be interspersed throughout this most random of posts. Consider yourselves forewarned…

When I was a kid, I thought for sure the term “Jay Walker” meant someone who walked across the street naked. I think that stream of thought stemmed from the phrase “Nekkid as a Jay Bird,” which, being from a good southern family, I heard frequently. But I remember vividly being told once that I was jay walking and getting quite upset because I was fully dressed.

Sadly, I think I was 11 or 12 before I learned what jay walking really meant.

As we walked into church last night, Sloan walked outside the pedestrian walkway. “Hey everybody – look at me!” he called. “I’m a Jay Walker!”

I blushed. Because for some reason when I hear that term I can’t get the image of a defiant streaker crossing the street out of my head.

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Sadly, I am already over the great winter of 2011. Highs of 20 with wind chills in the single digits? Over it. Snow and ice? Over it. Frostbite after walking from my car to the back door? Over it.

Lee told me yesterday that he was convicted about his attitude toward winter. Well that makes one of us. I suppose I should try to have a better attitude about these frigid months. I mean, it’s not like I can do anything about it. It is what it is and I might as well find the silver lining so here it is:

The Clementines are amazing right now. They are fresh and sweet and…

Ah, forget it. Sorry, but I can’t find a single redeeming quality to winter. Bah Humbug.

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Today I will go to a music practice to prepare for an upcoming event that I’m singing at and I’m more than a little bit excited about it. Every year our church puts on a Girl’s Formal for the senior high girls. They provide beautiful dresses for the girls and have people come in to do their hair and make up. After everyone is sufficiently pampered and Princess-ified, the senior high boys escort the girls into the activity center where they are served a meal by candlelight. For the evening the girls are treated like royalty and are reminded that they are special and beautiful and cherished and loved. It’s such a sweet event and its something I wish I could have attended back when I was an angsty teenager…

This year’s dinner theme is set in World War II so they asked for a live band to play some of the classic standards from greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra and so on…We will be singing songs like Ain’t Misbehaivin’, Blue Skies, Paper Moon and the ever amazing Georgia on my Mind.

Now I can’t skat like Queen Ella – I don’t even think I’ll try so as not to embarrass myself. I’m supposed to be background music, not the elephant in the room. But other than that, putting these songs together has been a dream come true and the fact that I get to sing them at such a unique event is even more fun.

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I need a tan. I need the sun to kiss my cheeks and mask the bags under my eyes.

That is all.

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We’re about a quarter of the way through our massive jar of heaven Nutella. We are finding many wonderful uses for Nutella, but none of them compete with the classic snack: Nutella on plain, white bread. I ate a slice at 10:00 last night. I can’t say I feel great about that decision but whatever…I took up running, again, so it’s all good.

Right?

Okay, there’s really no justification for eating a chocolate covered piece of bread right before bed.

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I’m off to face another frigid day. I believe the high is supposed to be 24 today, which is better than yesterday’s high of 19. See? Look at me being all positive and finding the silver lining.

So much for global warming, eh?