Bumpy Roads

Yesterday was a seven Oreo kind of day. There were also two chocolate chip cookies and a really large Diet Dr. Pepper in there somewhere. It was a Monday of the highest order.

When I finally made it home and onto my couch I was a crabby, crabby mess. The best part of it all was that I wasn't entirely sure what had made it such a despicable Monday. I guess sometimes life is overwhelming. Instead of listing all the reasons why I went to bed at 8:15pm last night (That's right. 8:15. What of it?), I'm going to share with you my current smile list. Things that make all the difference at the end of a very long day.

1. Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
2. Iced. Grande. Non-fat. Latte. @Starbucks with my best friend or a good book.
3. Red wine on the porch. White wine at the table. Wine....anywhere, really.
4. Holding hands.
5. Away We Go (go watch it right now)
6. Getting real letters in the mail.
7. Fresh bread, still warm from the oven.
8. Checking things off my to-do list. Sometimes I make a list and write down things I've already done just so I can check things off. I'm a dork.
9. Reading a great book.
10. New notebooks and freshly sharpened pencils.

Hope

Theodore Roosevelt said:

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

Too true. That's all we can do. My best efforts are limited by what I know today, my time, my resources, my talent and my sin. It doesn't end there, though. There is a great hope.

What I am today is not what I will be. What I know today is not all that I will know.  Someday all will be restored. All will be made new. All the painful things healed. All the wonderful things revealed for the shadow of great joy that they really are.

Philippians 1:6:

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Amen. Today, I rejoice in a life that is wonderful. I can't complain, but I look forward with great hope to the day when I can see him as he really is.

1 John 3:2

Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

Pardon my complaining.

I'm about to whine. Be prepared. Yesterday I was sick. It was also my birthday. My twenty-ninth birthday was officially sponsored by Tylenol Cold & Sinus and my couch.

Today I got to work at 6:30 AM. It is now almost twelve hours later and, you guessed it, I'm still at my desk. Clearly, my productivity is questionable at this moment, but I'm here. I'm waiting on a meeting that I did not plan, but I have to host. A meeting that I do not want to go to.

I want to go home. Take a shower. Make a cup of tea. Watch Mad Men and cuddle with Hank (the boyfriend's dog) on the couch. I want to talk to my boyfriend on the phone (he's out of town). I want to be asleep at an unreasonably early hour.

Ok. I'm done now. Thanks for listening.

Birthday week begins!

I love birthdays. Especially when it's my birthday. I love pie and presents and not having to do chores. You can get out of almost anything on your birthday and it's the perfect excuse for a bit of pampering and indulgence.

Birthday week kicked off Friday night with steaks grilled to perfection and a new signature cocktail.  My favorite mixologist gave me a bottle of Hendrick's Gin (it's not for everyone) and Pimm's, together with a splash of lemon and a perfectly ripe cucumber, they make a fabulous and refreshing cocktail so smooth that it's dangerous. I may be turning twenty-nine this week, but the Twenty-One has got my number.

On Saturday, I spent some quality time with my inner Donna Reed and tried my hand a my first peach pie. Cutting and peeling the peaches took more time than I thought and the crust gave me a run for my money, but it was all worth it and, after a couple hours, I pulled a golden brown bubbling sweet peach pie from my oven. It was the ideal pairing for a bottle of chilled white wine shared with girl friends that night.


Sunday afternoon was spent with my mom and sisters doing what we do best - eating ice cream and shopping. My mom still makes me come out of the fitting room so she can pull on my waist line when I'm trying on pants. I bet she'd use spit on a napkin to wipe my face if I'd let her. If you haven't been to The Fountain on Locust yet - go. Go now. Order their Butter Pecan ice cream flown in from a Wisconsin dairy. You won't be sorry. Then, after you fill up on ice cream go try on pretty dresses. It will make you feel like a princess.

Still to come: Dinner at The Royale, cupcakes from The Cupcakery, hitting up the beauty salon and an evening on the town with my man. All of this, of course, to be accompanied by much laughter and great joy. These past twenty-nine years have not all been smooth sailing, but they've gotten me here and I don't want to be anywhere else.