Google Reader Overload

I really love Google Reader. It's a great way to consolidate all the blogs/sites you read into one place. It's easy to "star" items (essentially bookmarking) and label or tag them. But I have one issue: every single thing I like, I star. So I checked through my starred items a few days ago, and I had over 500 items! Crazy. There's no way I could do that many recipe/craft/decorating things. So I narrowed it down. But honestly, it's still probably too much.

Then, I read Kim's post today over at NewlyWoodwards. She discusses her similar problem and then makes a much shorter list of the projects she really intends to do. So I decided I should do the same. Here we go...

Wire Cloche

Songbird

Ballard Designs Knockoff Letters

Imperfectly Beautiful

Fabric Magnet Board

Creating ME Now!

DIY Tile Coasters (Great gift!!)

NewlyWoodwards

Paper Balls

The Stories of A to Z

Book Page Wreath

Living with Lindsay

Yaye! This seems like a good start. Hopefully I will be able to get through a few of these this weekend, as well as post one of my other projects I completed this week. What projects do you hope to complete soon?

Word of the Year

I really am not the biggest fan of new year's resolutions; I think it sets you up for failure. People are always making these crazy "I'm going to lose 70 pounds in 3 days" type of resolutions, and then they are so disappointed and down on themselves for not doing it. Then it's almost like they are shot for the rest of the year. I know; I've done it.

Over the past couple of years, I've tried to make much more realistic "resolutions"; and they weren't really because of New Years, but because they were things I wanted to do anyway. This year, they were: stick to a budget and follow the Abs Diet more closely. I really like the Abs Diet because it promotes healthy eating (with a cheat meal once a week). No calorie counting, no eating super-processed stuff that is "low-fat"; just eating in a healthy manner. (Note: I am also a huge fan of Weight Watchers, which did help me lose 40 lbs in high school, but only if it's followed in conjunction with eating healthy; if all you are eating is 23 1-Point desserts all day, you may lose weight, but you're obviously not healthy.)

But I kept reading other people who wrote about their "word for the year". I thought that was a pretty good idea because it was fairly simple but could be pretty tough. Simple in that you only focused on that one thing for a whole year, but tough because if you're doing it right, it's something that you probably find difficult to do. I wanted to pick something that had to do with my spiritual life and things I struggle with. I threw around a lot of words--kindness, compassion, mercy (all things I have a hard time with) and deliberate. I want to be very deliberate about each thing I say and do. I want each thing to have purpose and have meaning. As I said, I struggle with having kindness and compassion toward certain people. Not most, but a few. Doesn't everyone? But I think those are qualities that God calls us to develop in order to be more like Christ.

However, JC and I were talking today, and I was telling him about it. He immediately said, "Service." And I thought, what a great word! It encompasses all of the ones I was thinking of. When you are trying to serve others as Christ would, you are obviously kind, compassionate, and merciful toward them. You are deliberate in everything you say, trying to edify others and help them in any way possible. In addition, it requires you to have humility, which is another one I struggle with. Not trying to drop all of my faults on you at once... just trying to keep it real here. (By the way, don't you just love it when you start to think, "Man, I'm getting pretty humble." Here's a hint: if you ever get to the point where you think you are humble, you probably aren't. :-) )

So that is going to be my word of the year. I am going to try to be a servant to others--to be kind and compassionate, to forgive even when I don't want to, to be deliberate in all my speech and actions, and not to expect anything in return. Will I fail? Absolutely. Probably a thousand times. But I know our life in Christ is a journey and I'll never be perfect.

What's your word of the year?

"Pray it Out"

Let me start by saying my grandfather ("paw paw") is just incredible. His faith is incredible, his generosity is incredible, and his wisdom is incredible. It's incredible that he is 78 and still works out 3 times per week, doing 300+ sit-ups among other things. But what impresses me most is his ability to trust God in everything.

Of course if someone asked any of us if we trusted God with everything, our knee-jerk reaction would be to say "yes". But if we're honest, that's not really true. I know it's not with me. Lately, our family has been going through some really rough stuff. One of our close family members is very sick, and unless God provides a miracle, that person will not make it. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas in the hospital, and yesterday I felt like I was in real danger of becoming extremely bitter over this. The silly question, "Why?" came to mind so many times it was unreal. I felt lonely and depressed and it felt like God had forgotten us.

Then my paw paw called and asked me about it. I told him how I felt, and he said he understood--I knew he did, since both his wife and mother died several years ago. He said he had felt that way at times, and the only thing to do was pray it out. I thought, "What the heck does that even mean?" He continued that he just had to go into his room and throw himself before God, asking and begging for mercy and peace until he received it. At the time, I didn't really want to "pray it out"; I just wanted to keep my mind busy by watching TV or cleaning. But this morning, I did just that, and he was right--God did give me mercy and peace. I never should have doubted that He would, but I'm not perfect and sometimes I just want to wallow in pity and sorrow instead of going to the Source of grace.

I write this to ask you to keep our family in your prayers, but also to encourage you. If you are going through a time where things seem so bad you can hardly stand it, where it seems like everything is going wrong and you can't see the good anymore, pray it out. God will hear you and answer your prayer for mercy, grace, and peace.

Do Less, Enjoy More

I have a secret talent that very few people know about. I have the ability to take something that is supposed to be fun, turn it into a "should" activity, and ruin it altogether. Surely you know what I mean--something you normally enjoy becomes something you "should" do, and therefore all the joy and fun is stripped from it. This year, Christmas has become one of those times for me. I'm sure I'm not alone--right? Right??

For instance, I stayed up until nearly midnight on Thanksgiving trying to rush to put up the rest of my Christmas decor, even though I was heading out at 3:30 AM for Black Friday. Why? Because I thought I was supposed to. It was only logical that I put up every single Christmas item I own before November 27th. Otherwise, I could not be happy. It actually turned into me not being happy anyway, because I was forcing myself to do something I didn't want to do. I was tired, and I just wanted to go to bed. Even before Thanksgiving, I spent hours stressing over how I was going to decorate every area of the house, because I wanted my house to be perfect for Christmas. Why? Because, of course, it should look as good as all of the other houses in bloggy land. Or else my entire life would be a complete failure. Okay, so not that bad. But I would be disappointed in myself.

Then I realized that I work about 10 hours a day, for crying out loud. Eleven if you include my commute. I wake up at 4:30 AM. I am tired when I get home. Maybe I just don't have time to make my house look like all the others. Maybe I am not as crafty. And so what? Many of the houses I envy are owned by people who stay at home with their children and can do crafty things while their children take naps or are at school, or women who are retired. While part of me would like to do that, I don't have children and I kind of like my job. Actually, I really like my job. And I shouldn't make myself feel like I am a failure just because my house doesn't look like a Southern Living magazine. The important thing is that I enjoy the items I do put up, and that I enjoy actually putting them up.

The Nester agrees with me. No, really--just check out her blog and see! In fact, that's where the title of this post came from. She challenges us to "do less and enjoy more". And that's what I intend to do. No more "shoulds" for me(or at least I'm going to try). I am just going to do what I enjoy.

So, per her challenge, here is what I am not going to do:
--send out Christmas cards (which I have never done anyway, but I was thinking about it this year. No more.)
--sew the stockings I wanted to copy from Lemonade Makin' Mama (unless of course, I decide I want to make them and that I have time to do so)
--stress out over what to get each person on my list or overspend
--buy anymore Christmas decorations; I have plenty

And here's what I am going to do:
--think of something meaningful to put in our Advent calendar, whether it be Bible verses or a worthwhile task or activity for each day (I'd better hurry! Not much time left for that one...)
--bake until I can't bake anymore. I love baking, and I love giving baked goods to other people. Our neighbors and co-workers may be receiving some tasty treats this year!
--remember every single day why I really celebrate Christmas, and thank my Savior for sacrificing so much for me
--look at as many Christmas lights as I can (we are in Atlanta, so I think we'll be able to find plenty--Pettit Creek Farm, anyone?)
--watch a shameful amount of cheesy Hallmark and ABC Family Christmas movies... shamelessly
--eat Mayfield Peppermint Stick ice cream or a Chick-fil-A peppermint shake weekly (come on--don't pretend like you don't love them)
--start a new tradition of purchasing a new Christmas book each year (an idea I snagged from "The Idea Room")
--remember that everything doesn't have to be perfect! I'm going to enjoy each moment with JC and our families.

What about you guys? Do you feel the need to "do less and enjoy more" or "take back Christmas"? What do you want to leave out (and add) to your Christmas this year?

A New First... Brace Yourselves

Today marked a big day for me. No, it wasn't my birthday. Not my anniversary, either. Or any holiday. Okay, so it probably wasn't that big in the grand scheme of things. But something did happen which has never happened before: I ate alone in a public place.

Okay, so that was probably a let down... I probably shouldn't have built it up that much. But to see why this is a big deal, you must understand how I always saw eating alone. Several friends have asked me why I have never eaten/gone to the movies/gone shopping alone. Why? Because this is what I always see: exhibit 1.

Some poor kid sitting at the lunch table by himself while everyone else eats together, makes fun of him, and just generally has a jolly old time. Ah, poor kid. (And it doesn't look like a very yummy lunch either.) Sad, isn't it? Who would want to eat in McDonald's alone when you could pull through the drive through, find a parking spot, and get cozy with your food in your own car? (Actually, who would want to go to McDonald's period? Unless they have the Monopoly game... but that's a different story.) No need to be seen sitting by yourself. With no friends. And a crappy meal. No sir--that wasn't going to happen to me.

So this week at work, the group I usually eat with is out on the road. So I thought, what can I do about breakfast and lunch? The obvious answer, of course, was not to eat in the cafeteria. The best thing to do was to bring my lunch back up to my cubicle and dine there, while tapping away at my keyboard (which is apparently my only friend this week). Exhibit 2.

The one key thing missing here is the cake. I had no cake...

But then I thought about a line from Bride Wars (one of my favorite recent ridiculous rom-com's). Kate Hudson's character asks why they can't run with iPods. Anne Hathaway replies, "iPods are for people who can't be left alone with their thoughts."

                  

Of course, my ish (read: issue; that's what all the kids are saying these days) was not with whether to listen to my iPod or be left with my own thoughts while running. My ish was that I couldn't bear to be left alone at the lunch table with my own thoughts. I somehow felt pathetic just because I was eating at a table by myself (see exhibit 1 to remind yourself why I thought this). So as I was in line to get my food, I made an executive decision: I was going to eat in the cafeteria. Alone. I could do it--I just knew I could. And guess what? It wasn't so bad. It was actually kind of fun to eavesdrop--*ahem*--people watch. I gleaned a few pieces of interesting information that might prove to be useful in the future. And most importantly, I realized that it's kind of nice to be alone occasionally. Perhaps I'll eat in the cafeteria every day this week. Eh, that's a stretch...