Charlie, Forever 4.

So I’m having a moment. I was looking through pictures of Charlie in her school clothes – yes I am a nerd and plan out her outfits and sometimes I even think about it when I’m laying in bed trying to fall asleep – and all of a sudden I had this flash of a tween Charlie. Skinny legs and a cute little mod haircut…that impish grin on a 10 year old…Good Lord, what am I in for? This picture, for instance: I mean, really – how tall does she look here? And here: These days she is afraid of the dark. She doesn’t like being dropped off at school without a proper hug and kiss. She carries at least one “friend” (read: stuffed animal, preferably of the dino/reptile/bird persuasion) with her evey single day. She requests “macanoni” for “breaksast”. She prefers to run around the house in just her skivvies. If she had a handbag, she would want to carry the cat around in it. She collects coins. There is definitely chocwate milk running through her veins. She’s seen the movie “Rio” about 500 times. She’s only 4. So what happens when she’s 6, 8, 10?? She won’t be so little anymore. Will she still need me? Will she think I’m super uncool? Will she still let me plan out her outfits?

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I Heart Weight Watchers.

So I did something I haven’t done in years. I bought a scale. I know. A really good one, too. Accurate. Which is great because I’m gonna need to keep track of things with the holidays coming. Because I LOVE the holidays and I LOVE goodies like peppermint bark and caramel apples and pumpkin pie. Because I’ve lost 12 pounds. 12 pounds! I haven’t seen this weight since BEFORE I got pregnant with Charlie. It seems crazy to me, that I even had that much to lose. That somewhere in the last year I got to the place where none of my clothes were fitting, where getting dressed was a huge effort and incredibly upsetting. But today, getting ready for church was actually fun. I looked forward to it! In just over three months, I’ve almost reached my “goal” weight! So to anyone who thinks they can’t do it, you can! I think Weight Watchers should hire me as their next spokesperson, don’t you??

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Fall!!

I’ve been such a bad blogger. What with wrapping up the fall consignment/eBay selling season, the start of school for the girls and MOPS for me, and some other fun things that have dropped in my lap, I haven’t had much time to sit down and focus on my little corner of the web. The triple digits are (hopefully) on their way out. Thank goodness because I’ve been wearing my new scarf every.single.day, even though it’s 80 degrees. Which brings me to the purpose of this post: fall shopping. I know, I thought it was beyond me this year! But then I turned a sweet profit from selling so shopping: here I come!! On the books: This AH-MAZING scarf from Scout & Catalogue. It’s huge but super-light. I’m obsessed with it! This darling tunic/dress from Fossil. I got this little silver belt to go with it. Adorable!! These two lovelies from Nordstrom. Love boho blouses and cowlnecks!! Happy Fall, y’all!!

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We Will Never Forget.

So when we found out that we were moving I decided to do a little “blog project” to commemorate our departure. I grabbed my camera and spent a couple days taking trains and cabs to all of the locations that had meant something to me over the past decade in sweet home Chicago. One of the places I visited was a commercial photography studio, the home of my first “real” job in the city. It was also the answer to the question, “Where were you when…the twin towers fell??” You can read my original post about that day here. Now, 10 years later, the memories are as fresh as the day that great tragedy happened. I think it is just CRAZY if you weren’t deeply affected by all the ceremonies and memorials shown today…and yet I’m sure there are some who go about their daily lives and September 11th is nothing but a passing thought. For me, it was a game changer. I had been living in a huge metropolitan city for a year and was far away from my family. I will never, ever forget the feeling of standing outside that studio and looking east into downtown at the Sears Tower. It was a beautiful, crisp day in the WIndy City as well, and who’s to say that a 5th plane wouldn’t have found its way to us. I believe that man is inherently evil. I believe that it is only through Christ that we are forgiven and given Eternal Life. I also believe there is a very special place in Hell for the men that drove those planes into the twin towers, the Pentagon, and that field outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. At the end of the day, I know as a Christian that my God is a good God, a just God. And I know that justice will be served. But I can’t live in fear. I KNOW that fear is not from God. What I DO know is this – Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” We will Never Forget. Psalms 91:1 – “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

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Saying Goodbye.

My high school drama teacher, Jan Jones, passed away this past Tuesday. Although I haven’t seen or talked to her in years, the memories of my time with her came rushing back when I heard the news. We moved to Tyler the summer before my junior year. I was the new girl, once again, and I’m sure the sheer presence of this very tough woman had me shaking in my boots. Our relationship was definitely love/hate, and there were times that I was sure she was out to make my life miserable. I was 17, very impressionable, eager to please, wanting to fit in but shine on my own at the same time. I was rebellious and selfish, a diva in my own mind. Looking back, I’m sure Jones saw me (and hundreds like me) walk through her doors and tough love was the only thing that kept me focused. I think deep down, I always held it against her that she never gave me that role – the one that would surely bring me applause and accolades – the one that would prove I was really something special. Instead, I was a supporting player and the Vice President of our drama club, somewhat behind the scenes, always just in the middle…average is probably the word I would have used at the time. And yet, I think back to her tough love and at 33, I get it. If it weren’t for her making me practice my tin man walk for an hour (Yes, I was the Tin Man in our children’s production of “The Wizard of Oz”), circling the inside of the theatre in tears (I so remember the tears), I don’t know if I would have had the guts to go to Baylor to major in theatre performance. I don’t know if I would have had the guts to throw myself into the program there and literally leave my soul out on the stage for four years. I wouldn’t have gone to NYC for the summer before senior year of college to study acting and live in Gramercy Park BY MYSELF. And I definitely wouldn’t have gotten on that plane to Chicago 11 years ago with my dad’s $100 bill and 6 suitcases, ready to start my life. So really, I have a lot to thank Ms. Jones for. She made me hungry, gave me a will to succeed that has stayed with me all these years. Good night, Jones…