Raise your hand if you’ve bought jeans recently. Really, comment with an emoji if you recently went jean shopping. Except if you’re a guy. Especially if you’re a guy who wears Wranglers. If you’re a guy who wears Wranglers, not only don’t raise your hand but go ahead and put your hand in your pocket. Wranglers haven’t changed in 40 years. If you’re a guy who is a pastor of any type at a hip church, you might want to raise your hand because you’ve probably followed the fads. I recently went Keep Reading...
Shoes, Mushrooms and Marriage
I’ve spent the past two weeks at my parents' home caring for my father after he had a fall. Though it’s not the home I grew up in, some of the rules and expectations my dad had when I was growing up followed him to this home – causing me to revisit some of my teenage trials and tribulations. My dad and I butted heads a lot when I was a mouthy teen. I always attributed our conflicts to us being a lot alike and after learning about the Enneagram, it is confirmed. Dad and I are very similar. I Keep Reading...
A Good Summer Read
Recently a friend sent me a book she picked up at an airport. She told me it made her laugh out loud on the plane – embarrassing her husband. “Enjoy it. It’s a good summer read,” she said. What exactly is a “summer read?” A little googling informed me that “summer reads” are light so you can take them on vacation and not get caught up in the story in case you need to throw your book down and jump in the ocean waves or lake. What if I want to read a “light” book in the dead of winter while Keep Reading...
My Struggle with Change – It’s Real
I’m not very good at change. Change is hard for me. Very hard. Twenty years ago when my mobile phone slid off the console in my car and into my cup of coffee, I went to the store to get another one. Wait, did I type “mobile phone?” Yes, I did because twenty years ago that is what they were called. They were phones to use when we were mobile. No one understood what a cell was back then. Anyway, when the young guy helping me opened my phone and coffee spilled out onto the counter, he told me Keep Reading...
What Does This Look Like? 2.0
Do you know what this is? If you said, “It’s an onion-potato keeper thing my parents/grandparents have under their sink or in their pantry,” you would be right – and wrong. This is what friendship looks like. After high school graduation, I planned to attend a university about 2000 miles away from my home in Idaho. Many of my friends chose to stay nearby for college and most lived at home so my move was out of the ordinary. I was planning to live in an apartment far from home with a Keep Reading...
An Inchworm and Kindness
Be kind. Everyone keeps saying, “be kind” but I am not seeing much kindness being spread around these days. Several things have happened in my little corner of the world the past few weeks making me grow grumpy and struggling to find the positive – and for this Pollyanna-ish person, that is a rarity. Years ago when I was in college, I ordered a salad from Wendy’s. You read that right; I ordered a salad at Wendy’s instead of a single with cheese, no tomatoes with fries and a diet coke. At Keep Reading...
I Have An Addiction!
I’ll admit it. I have an addiction. An addiction to one large unsweet iced tea every day. I know I can make it myself. My husband reminds me quite often – like daily. But it doesn’t taste as good as Sonic, Chick-Fil-A or even McDonalds. The tea may taste the same as what I can make at home but the ice is better at the drive-through. To be honest, I usually go to McDonalds because it’s only $1 all the time. Probably because their cups are the worst. Sorry, I’m getting off topic. When I Keep Reading...
A Few of My Favorite Things – (My Last in the Series) – #6 The Elizabeth House Maternity Home
(If you were here the past two weeks, skip a few paragraphs to those squiggly lines and meet my friend. Otherwise, read on.) Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. I grew up singing those words along with Julie Andrews but now I have my own list of favorite things. To those who read my words and follow my blog, I’m going to do something different and new. The next few weeks, are going to be hectic for me and I am going to be working on Keep Reading...
Things Are Not Always As They Seem
The last few weeks could be captured by the movie title, “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” except without the trains. Or maybe the movie title, “Four Weddings and a Funeral” except there weren’t any weddings but there were two funerals. The past few weeks have been a little nuts around here and this week is ramping up to be another not boring week. At least no dogs ran through wood floor glue this week – yet! (That blog is coming soon – once I determine a positive spin to put on it.) I Keep Reading...
Showing Up
This week something popped up on Facebook. I don’t know who the original poster was or even remember who shared the post but I clicked and got sucked into the post - and the comments. Always the comments... The post was titled “Just Show Up”and was about a mom who hated her body but put on a swimsuit so she could be with her kids. The gist of the post was about not worrying about our physical appearance because the kids don’t care. They just want us to be there for them. The gal’s post Keep Reading...