Bekah's Excellent Adventure

My sister Bekah is on a two-day trip from Aberdeen, Wash. aboard this tug boat (named "Betty"). "I have the best job ever!" Bekah posted on her myspace page. She works for Quigg Brothers Construction and her boss invited to make the voyage. (So cool I can use voyage in the correct context!) She just sent me a phone pic of the view from her personal cabin. I must admit that I'm jealous. I love water and think a tug boat journey sounds like a blast!

Welcome Fall!

I am a hopeless lover of all things fall: cool weather, colored leaves, high school football, jackets, scarves and new books (with accompanying things to learn!). And nothing announces fall like the return of the Pumpkin Spice latte. This morning, I welcomed autumn with the purchase of my first Pumpkin Spice latte of the season. For you summer-lovers, I'm sorry. I urge you to continue in denial until September 23. For my fellow lovers of autumn, go enjoy the tastes, sensations and colors of fall! They don't last long here in Colorado.

Big Girls Do Cry

Several weeks ago I let my emotion get the better of me and shed tears during a meeting. This experience, along with several conversations with my housemate, led me to look into what the Bible says about tears. Here's what I discovered.

Kate Gets Married

On Saturday the first Stick Horse in Pants got married. Kate married Anthony at 2 p.m. in a beautiful ceremony at First Presbyterian Church. A number of former and current Stick Horses attended. We still don't understand why improv wasn't part of the ceremony (we volunteered our services for free...). Here we are with the beautiful bride.

Super-Pooch on Platte

I was fortunate to have my camera in the car when I pulled up behind this truck. Some people really love their pets!

A Great Option for the Uncoordinated

In response to my last post on styling like a pro, Nicole recommended the hot air brush. This is a product I'm well-acquainted with. For several years I had a bob, and this is how I got the ends to turn under perfectly. Nicole writes:

I lack the coordination to wield a blowdryer and round brush and this tool combines the two into one!

I totally agree.

Also, when I first got this short haircut in 2002, it was before I had a digital camera or camera phone, so I went to a mall photo booth to capture my new do. Weird, I know!

After the Salon

This is terribly vain of me, but I got a new haircut and thought some of you (Mom) would like to see it. A new hairstyle always looks the best just after you get home from the salon. Any tips from girls in the gallery on styling like a pro?

Holly Hobbie Gets a Makeover

Holly then
Remember Holly Hobbie? I had a jewelry box with her likeness when I was 5. I always imagined it was Holly herself who invented the hand-slap game, "See, See My Playmate." According to a trends column in USA Today (published in Fall '05), Holly has a new look for the 21st century.

In her gingham bonnet and patchwork apron, she was a '70s icon of wholesomeness. American Greetings relaunched the classic country girl this year, but next year Mattel is introducing Holly Hobbie & Friends — starring Holly's great-great-granddaughter. The nod to her heritage? A gingham patch on her cap.

Holly now

The original Holly will always have a special place in my heart.

Best Photo Ever

Found while browsing a Picasa album of friends who went to Kenya.

Home, Painted, Home!

This week marked two exciting events. The first was the celebration of my housemate Sveta living with me for a year. (We went out to dinner at Carabas.) The second was the painting of my first room in my townhome. Josh's sister, Nicole (who was my decorating angel of mercy), told me about a beautiful green paint color called Silver Sage (Restoration Hardware). Yesterday she and Josh helped me paint my kitchen. The project went off with only a few hitches. It took Home Depot a while to match the color (but I received a 25 percent discount). And we had a small incident involving the fridge. But all-in-all it was a good experience, and I'm looking forward to painting more! I am thankful for the home the Lord has given me, and the people who fill it.

Creepy

GQ's preview of Paul Smith's men's collection for Spring 2008. And you thought women's runway fashion was weird.

Aunty Suz

My sister just sent me this picture of me and Aaron in Columbus. I noted the similarity between this picture and one below, which is of me and Ben when he was about the same age. I love being an Aunty!

My Lil Cuties

One of the joys of being on vacation in Sun River was getting to spend quality time with my nephews Ben, 2, and Aaron, 8 months. Besides being the cutest little boys I know, they each have their own personality. Ben takes a little time to warm up, but it makes it more rewarding when he seeks you out to play (he's very particular with his coloring strategy). He's using more words now, and Bekah was thrilled to be the first Aunt called by name: "Bubba." (She claims he's saying "Bebba"). Ben called me "Zan," which was very exciting. He doesn't quite have the hang of Sarah yet; he referred to her as "Dah."


I don't know where Aaron comes up with these adorable facial expressions.
Aaron just seems happy to be with you, but I noticed he had a definite preference for his mommy. And Anna tells me he has a bit of a temper. I awoke each morning to Aaron's happy (and noisy) baby squawks.


Aaron plays to the camera at the High Desert Museum.


Don't you just hate the paparazzi?

Blue!

Oh for the days when the best ice cream was radioactive blue. Josh's nephew Zach enjoyed his ice cream cone.

Caving in Sun River

I have been enjoying an amazing vacation with my family in Sun River, Oregon. Yesterday, we ventured into Lava River Cave, a lava tube in the area.


The rest of our brave and mighty spelunking party.

It took about 45 minutes to walk to the place where you had to crawl to continue. We met some teens who had just returned from the crawling portion.

I said: "So, on a scale of 1 to 10...10 being the best experience of your life..."

"One!" a girl immediately answered.

We took their word for it and skipped the crawl.


Stopping to smell the stalagtites

It's Just a Feeling

I remember early in my relationship with Josh, we had an awkward phone conversation. We were talking on a Monday night, following a really fun and connecting weekend. For one thing, his call caught me in mid-workout, so I was struggling to hide my huffing and puffing as we talked. On top of that, our conversation was peppered with awkward pauses. Even the ending was weird — he somehow hung up before I could say goodbye.

Later we both confessed that we had gotten a weird vibe from the conversation. Each of us had hung up the phone with a bad feeling....

While it would be unwise to ignore gut feelings that may indicate a problem with the person's character or your compatibility, putting confidence in feelings without digging deeper to see what they are actually indicating (if anything) is equally foolish.

After talking about the ill-fated call, Josh and I realized that our "bad feeling" was indicating that I probably shouldn't answer the phone in the middle of Pilates, and very possibly right after work isn't the best time for us to connect.

"It's just a feeling," I concluded. And that was exactly what it was.

This is a portion of my article "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" on Boundless today. I'd like to thank Josh for being willing to put our relationship out there, my college roommate Gretta (who even let me use her real name!) for providing a great illustration and my little sister Bekah for her wise-beyond-her-years advice.