weekend of personal bests

for you, loyal readers and new followers, a new post. i feel energized. lord knows why, as i just saw the most roundabout movie i've ever seen: how do you know. no question mark in that title either. that should have been a tipoff. it had absolutely no plot, and no real resolution to a problem that doesn't really ever materialize - merely a long display of the cuteness that is reese witherspoon and paul rudd. and owen wilson, if you're into that sort of thing. so on that point, i can't complain, but wait for a boring day and order from netflix or something when you're sick or alone. just a personal comment from me to you.

1. i got all the shopping done, AND thought of a supercuteandmeaningful gift idea. yay christmas.
2. the house is sparkly and the laundry is done. not folded though. but done.

3. i danced with the law student to an avett brothers concert on tv. in pjs again. it's getting to be a habit.

4. speaking of pjs - i haven't put them on yet today. and it's after 7 pm! i've stayed dressed all day! i consider this a victory and a variation of normal routine for me.

5. we actually made it to church. football season keeps us out of town a lot, and on the weekends we are in town, we tend to be lazy and self-indulgent and skip church. it's always so refreshing to worship.

6. i didn't eat like crap and ruin a week of good decisions. well, minus that pack of twizzlers at the movie. why are twizzlers so good? i don't think they are real food, and they don't have much flavor. i guess i shouldn't question these sorts of things.

7. i managed not to puke when i cleaned up roxy's, but i did gag. the law student laughed at me. i was cleaning up yellow bile and foam and deer bone fragments violently expelled onto the rug (not the tile, of course, that would have been too easy) from the bowels of my dog, gagging, and he's laughing.

8. i organized our christmas cards. they now reside on our buffet and nestled in our tree. looks like even after going to all that trouble for that shutterfly promo for free cards, we'll be sending out new year's cards instead of christmas ones. because by then, maybe i'll have a shiny new camera.

now, it's off to put on my neglected pajamas and wrap some goodies. i hope all of you who have an extended christmas break get to enjoy it, 'cause i have to work tomorrow.

thoughts on marriage

wednesday night:

the law student and i decorated the tree together.
then we drank wine and danced to christmas music in our pajamas.


thursday night:

the law student leaned in for a hug, then burped in my hair.

why, hello there

say hi to my new follower meghan, number 22!

thanks for inflating the ol' ego. smiley face.

any other readers out there? would love to know you...

just sayin'. think about it.

look out behind you

...it's christmas! does anyone else feel like the big day is creeping up on them? in 3 fridays it will be christmas eve. 3. i'm actually going to put up my tree early this year - by early, of course, i mean before december 20th. i'm also determined to find a christmas wreath to replace the autumn one and toss the autumn gourds.

and there's a little peek into the inner workings of my mind. autumn in december? sigh.

so, naturally, i'm starting to think about gifts. decisions, decisions! if i could, i'd buy everyone just what they wanted, with no thought to cost. but i can't afford to do that - shocker. but even if i could do that, should i? is that really what christmas is?

what is christmas to you?

honestly, i fantasize about a norman rockwell-esque christmas: warmth, decorations, joy, general community peace, meaningful gifts around a big tree, all with family, the perfect blend of old-world charm, modern moderate consumerism, appropriate christian reverence and the warm fuzzies like all get-out that don't fade after the presents are opened and dishes are washed. like nothing bad could ever happen.

but that is not life. that is not our story.

modern-day christmas is different. money money money, want want want. gifts mean you care. bigger gifts mean you care more. budgets are blown, lives are hustled and bustled, hurried and scurried and scattered. that apprehension i have about christmas coming too fast overtakes us all, so much that we worry about getting ready for christmas that it blows by us and we sit down after christmas day, wondering where all the season's joy went. my personal christmas involves strategic budgeting, decoration agonization and above all, travel. i call it the starkville shuffle, because we are never one place for long. go home, unpack, sing songs, get up, pack, drive 20 minutes, eat, unwrap, unpack, drive 20 minutes, eat more...you get the idea. not to complain - i don't mind driving one bit, and i'm willing to do it to see friends and family. i just wish work and distance and time weren't always plotting against me.

gifts are another sticky spot. common courtesy implies gifts = love, and bigger gifts = bigger love, and who's against showing more love? but it's a false standard. i'd love to get baby sister every (expensive) thing on her list, but i can't. and i don't feel that i should, either. while gifts are in no way bad in and of themselves, the Gift has already been given, and the mindless madness of christmas consumerism threatens to overtake it at every sale sign, and hardly any of us need anything. so i struggle to stay in God's story of hope and redemption and caring for the poor amid the chaos of lights and layaways and gross extravagance, while still wrapping presents that will bring joy to their recipients. because what is more important than re-aligning ourselves with the true story of the hope for all the world? God gives us good gifts, and expects us to do the same.

that's what i love best about christmas - bringing joy to the ones i love, being thankful that we are able to do that, and a collective festive spirit and season of reflection where we can all find some good in the world, even if only for a short season. so if you're looking for something more eternal than wrapping paper and shiny new things, consider giving a gift with a ripple effect. i like these sites:

amazima

147 million orphans

sari bari

angel ranch

compassion international

or you could check with your local outreach programs for more ways to serve.

law student is getting out the tree today. whooo! can't wait to sip hot chocolate with only the christmas lights on, and to watch a christmas story over and over.

the end.

yep, the end of this little blog challenge thingy. i got kind of bored with it. i'm ready to get back to undictated blog musings that are funny to me, but not necessarily anyone else.

#27 - pets

awww.
of course there is the roxy. but my most memorable pets are my cat cookie,
my dog nellie and my pony almond.

#28 - something that stresses you out

making decisions, like when i'm shopping.
tax season.

#29 - 3 wishes

job for the law student
peace for several friends and their families
that this adult acne thing would quit it.

#30 - a picture

on our way to the honeymoon!

so, there you go. 30 day blog challenge complete.

days 23 - 26

#23 - favorite vacation

boston, probably. on this same vein - realized yesterday's #21 used the same picture as #1.

#24 - something you've learned

i'm not always right, but i think i am.
also, how to correctly use the + and - signs on my adding machine and that i had the alligator and crocodile mixed up.

#25 - put your ipod on shuffle, first 10 songs
this takes too long. veto.

#26 - picture of your family

our little house.

days 19 - 22

day 19 - something you miss

oh, wow. what a loaded question. in no particular order:
my memory, being skinny, msu pom, being with my friends all day long, stressless christmases that didn't involve bad feeling, fbc youth group, riding horses every weekend, being able to hang, skipping class, visiting my boyfriend in LA, my cat cookie and my dog nellie, my sisters (remember the email! you know, kind of like remember the alamo!), spring break, lost friendships, abercrombie and fitch's kid jeans, sleeping in, my grandfathers, and being called by any of my college nicknames.

day 20 - nicknames

nice segue, huh? i'm awesome that way.
my nicknames are very special to me. no one here knows them. it makes me sad.
certain friends use certain ones. very few actually call me by my given name.

lu or lulu
lala
kissey or just kiss
mckissack
little bit
lil frien
tiny one
little lauren

day 21 - picture of yourself

me in my favorite city. again, no recent pictures of myself.
i want a camera for christmas. hint, hint.

day 22 - favorite city

BOSTON! i've told you this before.