Author / Bethe

by Bethe

Bet you never expected THIS from me…

Well my friends, I finally did it. I crossed over to the dark side.

I auditioned for a reality television show.

Well, sort of.

There wasn’t much of an audition. I just filled out an application and turned it in at an open casting call. That was it. No on-camera interview, no being looked up and down to see if I was good enough. No eyes peering at me expectantly, analyzing my very being. Nope, I just handed some chick my application.

But oh, what an interesting night it was! After handing over my application, they had us “mingle” around and they said they would “watch” us. I want that job. Because the people-watching was FANTASTIC. Best ever. I definitely got my money’s worth.

I should mention that the show was The Bachelorette. So everybody there was single, looking to mingle. The guys were prowling around the room, almost animalistic in the way they carried themselves, with their designer clothes and $200 haircuts. The girls were stuffy and stuck-up, trying to portray their awesomeness in a way that would catch the producer’s attention. Everybody had a sparkle of desperation in their eye. It was like a strange mating ritual, with birds puffing up their feathers, trying to out-puff each other to gain the coveted trophy… a spot on a dating show. Folks are funny when they compete while trying to look like they don’t care. I just tried to stay out of their way.

I didn’t go thinking that I would be chosen. I know that’s crazy talk, and I’m not sure I would want to be put in a position where my father and my pastor had to watch me kiss boys on TV anyway. Plus, I would be the world’s most BORING bachelorette… who wants to watch a nice, wholesome, Christian girl act like a lady on a date? That doesn’t make for good TV. But the curiosity was so great, and my sisters were so persuasive, that we just had to go. With the advent of a new year, we decided to be adventurous. I’m glad I did, because it was an experience unlike any other I’ve ever had. We even made a few friends of the male persuasion while we were there. I got to talk with Jeremy, one of the top three bachelors from Deanna’s season (we have a mutual friend, and I actually made a guest appearance on his softball team last summer), and I said hello to one of my favorite radio DJs from Kidd Kraddick (JC). All this, and I was still home by bedtime.

I’m glad I lived my adventure. But I’m glad to be back in Normal Land, where folks are real and more relaxed and don’t puff up their feathers and prowl around.

PS–just for kicks, here’s an old post with  my advice to Bachelor contestants.

by Bethe

Now what?

I flipped open my trusty MacBook and what to my wondering eyes did appear? About ten blog posts from my trusty blogging friends. So fun! To my friends who have been a bit sluggish in their posting lately (you know who you are… said with slanty eyes and a slight sneer), just know that I love reading my friends’ blogs! So go ahead, make a girl happy and write something!

I finished the second Twilight book a few minutes ago. It wasn’t nearly as fun as the first one, but I still read all 600 pages in just two days. I hope you think I read at super-human speed, but actually it’s just a very quick, easy read. I figure I’ll have the other two finished before classes start next week. If I don’t, I might not manage to get any homework done.
So I have a full evening ahead of me with NOTHING to do. This is a rare occurrent indeed! I’m not in the mood to watch TV, and goodness knows I don’t need to read anymore, so I’m excited to tackle random projects around my house. I like to get my life back in order before classes resume and the chaos that goes along with it. 
I’m a bit excited that life is about to get back to normal. I absolutely love the holidays, but there’s something very comforting and refreshing about getting back to a routine. Normal can be very peaceful indeed.
And just in case you’re keeping track… I ran five miles yesterday. It was a glorious 72 degrees for my morning run on what should have been a frigid January morning. I was worried that I might have lost my stamina after a few weeks of taking it easy, but it was right there where I left it. And running for fun, instead of doing it to prevent a certain death if I ran 13 miles without training, is much more fun.
by Bethe

Twilight

I’m such a teenage girl… I have finally succumbed to the hype and read Twilight. It was so good that I read the whole thing in two days… all 550 pages of it. Of course, it IS written on an eighth grade reading level, so flying through a hundred pages an hour isn’t really something to brag about in this case.

So I read the book. Then I went straight to my local bookstore to buy the other three in the series. And then I dragged my friend Andrea to see the movie with me. It’s sad (me, not the movie). Reading these silly books is probably wasting valuable brain cells, but I figure I’ll grow those back once I start tackling my media ethics class next week. Then my life will be consumed with long, boring readings written just to make my life miserable and to put me to sleep.
It makes me feel less guilty about reading my Twilight series now. It’s like sneaking a few warm cookies and milk into my diet. The meat and potatoes will come soon enough, and a girl has to enjoy some dessert every once in awhile.
Speaking of dessert… I’ll take Robert Pattinson with a cherry on top. 
by Bethe

Resolved

It’s January 1, which means it’s time for my new year’s resolutions. Here are my resolutions from last year:

1. Get organized
2. Keep plugging away at school
3. Try not to overcommit my schedule
4. Have a plan for studying my Bible
5. Work out a little more
(and here’s a bonus feature… my goals for 2006…)
This year, I’m only doing two:
1. Run
2. Rest
It’s really all I want to focus on right now. I’m pretty decent at the other stuff… I admit to having a lot of areas that need improving, but being self-motivated has never been a problem. 
So for 2009, I want to rest… to pace myself, not overcommit my schedule, and take some time for me to just be me, and to enjoy life at a slightly slower pace. This is a big challenge for the girl who LOVES to do everything. I just get too darn excited–I love to do things, go places, be with people, take up new hobbies, conquer new challenges, buy stacks of books, and constantly reinvent myself… and I never seem to leave room to sleep and hang out around my house doing nothing. So I want to do just a little more resting  this year… but not so much that I become a hermit. Or boring. Yes, “become a hermit” is not on my to-do list. I just want to rest.
And I want to run. Maybe another half marathon, maybe not. I just want to run. To not stop what I worked so hard for in 2008, to enjoy the benefits (like eating whatever I want), to enjoy being outside, and to work off the stress that tends to build up in my soul during my crazy week. I want to run, and I want to enjoy it.
Everything else that happens will just be a nice bonus.
I’m off to go rest. See, these resolutions are working already.
by Bethe

Don’t do this, 2009!

Now 2009, we had an agreement. This is going to be a fantastic year, filled with fun, adventures, friends… the works.

Having my car broken into a few hours into the new year is NOT part of our agreement. This is not the tone I want to set for my new, fabulous year. 
At least you made it better by gifting me with a stupid robber for me to laugh at. Because really, risking your life and jail time in order to steal a bag full of KNITTING SUPPLIES is a bit sophomoric. Moronic. I’m irked that in that bag was the blanket that I have been knitting for more than a YEAR. But I’m so very thankful that my asinine imbecile of a thief only got that. He (or she?) didn’t take anything of real value (except for the HUNDREDS of hours I spent knitting that beautiful blanket!), nobody was hurt, and he didn’t break into my house. Maybe he needed that blanket. Maybe my theif is a serial knitter who has to resort to thievery to placate the raging desire burning in his heart to get his next knitting fix.
Yes, I bet that’s it.
So 2009, this is strike one. You’d better be on your best behavior from now on, because I’ll be watching you like a hawk. I know you can do better, and I still have high expectations for you. Don’t let me down.
by Bethe

2008 In Review

This may become a New Year tradition… I started this a year ago. Boy how things have changed! (and some things haven’t changed at all!)

Here’s a look back at 2008. It was a doozie.

Where did you begin 2008? I hosted an impromptu New Years party at my house. I think we decided to throw the party around 6pm that night. This year, I’m throwing one with a bit more planning. Disco ball, strobe lights, Dance Dance Revolution, and all.

Were you in school this year? I took four graduate classes this year… School was really tough, but I was also blessed to earn FREE tuition, plus a stipend (aka—Cruise Money), plus a trip to Miami! With five classes left (I’ve taken seven), I should finish this masters in December 2009 or May 2010. Praise the Lord. Oh, and I spoke to a bunch of junior high classes about the importance of going to college, choosing a career in advertising, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah. And I serve on a board for the school district, which technically is sort of school-related.

Where did you go on vacation? My sister and I jaunted over to NYC for a mini-trip smack full of Yankee games, pedicures, shopping, and Broadway. It was absolutely fantastic. I am super excited about my Mediterranean Cruise in summer 2009!

Favorite Books from 2008? I devoured Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. Definitely the best book of my year, every girl should read that book. I also read three or four Anita Shreve novels (I want to write like her someday). And a book on hearing God speak, which turned into a whole Sunday School series. There were others, I just don’t remember the titles. I wish I could have read more, but I also read about 10 million journal articles for school, which tend to suck the life out of me. And, I read 52 issues of TIME Magazine cover-to-cover. Okay, and 52 issues of US Weekly, but that doesn’t make me sound nearly as sophisticated.

Did you know anybody who got married? Jim and Tiffany, Scott and Cassandra, Jason and Ginger… I’m sure I’m forgetting a few. And my sister Lindsay got engaged!

 Did you move anywhere? Oh thank goodness, no.

 What sporting events did you attend? About a million Rangers games, a couple of Stars games (including a playoff game), the Mavs home opener, a Yankee game in New York, two marathon events, and a minor league hockey game. Plus, I played a little tennis, golf, flag football, sand volleyball, and played on my church softball team. I spent most of my free time this year outside playing sports.

Describe your birthday: I had a retro roller skating party with about 25 friends from church. I felt like a kid again, which is exactly how a girl should feel on her 28th birthday. I loved that night.

What’s something you learned about yourself? I was reminded once again that my family is the greatest ever. They are such a blessing, I am so thankful to have a family that is supportive, fun, entertaining, unconditionally loving, and willing to do anything to take care of each other. Plus, they’re all very strong Christians. My family rocks.

I learned how important it is to care for others when they’re hurting. Watching my sister recover from major surgery this fall showed me how important it is to not only rally around someone when they have surgery (or a death, or another traumatic experience), but to stick around and continue to check on them in the weeks following. People tend to step up in the immediate, but later tend to forget about the person who is hurting. I think people just don’t know what to do.

I learned that God keeps his promises… and I learned that scripture is very clear about that if you’ll just pay attention. All year long I wrote these promises down in my prayer journal and meditated on them… it got me through a lot of tough times. I am constantly reminded of just how fantastic my God really is.

Any new additions to your family? I’ll be getting a new brother-in-law next June. It will be so weird to have a BOY in our family full of girls! Luckily he’s really cool, so he’ll fit right in. I’m really excited for my sister.

Made new friends? My prayer this year was for God to bring me some more girlfriends… and he delivered! Don’t you love it when God answers your prayers? 

Favorite Night out? Some of my favorite nights were when I got to sit on my porch, relax, and look at the stars. This year was so absurdly busy with school and work that those nights were a rare treat. I also loved all the afternoons/evenings when my friends would play outside… softball, tennis, flag football, sand volleyball… I have developed a real craving for the outdoors.

Something else I loved this year was having close friends live in my neighborhood. Just last weekend, two called me up and invited me to take our dogs for a walk. Once a month my neighborhood friends organize a dinner party. I absolutely love being two minutes away from a friend, being able to carpool to a party or have an impromptu dinner together. My parents have kept in touch with some of their church and neighborhood friends from back when they were my age… and it makes me wonder if some of these friends will turn out to be those same kinds of life-long friends. I sure hope so.

What do you want to change in 2009? I had three break-ups in the first six months of 2008 (is that some sort of record?), so I’m going to vote for none in 2009. Or less than three. I think that’s achievable. Or maybe I should at least spread them out in different zip codes or something.

What would you change about 2008? I don’t think I would have changed much. Parts of this year were really fantastic… professionally it was one of my best years ever. Even the parts that weren’t very fun helped me to grow and mature, and I learned a lot about myself and what I want to do with my life.

What random cool things happened in 2008? (New Question This Year!)

-I was quoted in USA Today, my local newspaper (plus papers in Florida, Oklahoma, New Mexico), interviewed by multiple radio stations (one in-studio with the DJs!), and did some on-camera interviews for our local news. Plus, I worked behind-the-scenes on dozens of stories for all sorts of media outlets. It was a fun year at work.

-I taught classes on media buying, advertising, and corporate communications at TCU and UTA… I rediscovered how much I love teaching.

-I ran a half marathon! Who would have thought that the lazy girl with asthma who hated running would ever accomplish that?!

-I revived my passion for teaching Sunday School. I have always enjoyed it, but this year I became hungrier than ever before to teach, and to show my girls the difference between a limiting faith filled with “no’s” and rules and an empowering faith filled with grace and freedom. I realized this concept several years ago, and I have never been the same.

Other than home, where did you spend most of your time? I spent a lot of time running at the park, preparing for my half marathon. I really do love running at the park… it’s a nice balance to a stressful day. I was never an outdoor runner until this year, but now a treadmill seems so boring… I need a trail through the woods or by a lake.

Do you have a New Year’s resolution? Yes, but I won’t tell until next week.

Do anything embarrassing? This is me we’re talking about… life wouldn’t be fun if it weren’t filled with wonderfully embarrassing moments! In the last week I set my hair on fire at the Christmas Eve candlelight service, and I knocked over a candle (because I knocked over the table it was sitting on) in Sunday School and almost burned the place down. And that was only the last week of December.

What was your favorite purchase? I really like my new MacBook, filled with all my Adobe programs and my newly discovered iMovie. So many fun toys to play with. And I’m super excited about the curtains and rug I just bought for my living room and dining room. I shopped for TWO YEARS before making the purchase. They’ll be delivered next week!, and my windows will no longer be naked!

Did you get sick this year? I was extremely healthy all year. What a blessing.

Start a new hobby? I learned how to quilt! Oh, and all that running.

Are you happy to see 2008 go? Oh my goodness, yes. Goodbye, and good riddance, my friend! I plan to kick some major bootie in 2009. Hold on to your seats, folks.

What are you wishing for in 2009? Lot’s of good memories, a fabulous trip to Europe, a fun wedding for my sister, and possibly a graduation from grad school! And I look forward to all sorts of unplanned adventures… welcome 2009!

Now, my blogging friends, it’s your turn. Tell me about your year in review… I can’t wait to read it!

by Bethe

Favorite Song

Just a quick note as I scarf down a quick bowl of cereal for dinner (mom would be so disappointed in me)…

I am absolutely obsessed with the Taylor Swift song “Love Song.” I could listen to it twenty times a day and never get tired of it. I especially love the pop version they play on the radio, but I also have the regular country version at the top of my newest iPod playlist, and I listen to it over and over, just like a teenage girl. There’s something about the melody that just makes me giddy. 
Okay, enough of the rambling. I’m sure all the boys reading this are now rolling their eyes. I promise to write a post on the positive qualities of Metallica sometime soon, so you’ll feel included. Or maybe analyze all the insufficiencies of the Cowboys.
But now I’m off to Wal-Mart to buy last-minute supplies for my New Year’s party tomorrow. I hate Wal-Mart, so this shows you just how committed I am to having a rockin’ New Year’s party, complete with a dance floor and a disco ball. Apparently the only place you can buy colored indoor flood lights is at Wal-Mart, and I need them to reflect off my disco ball, so off I go. I hate that place. HATE. There will probably be one check-out line open for about 1,000 shoppers. Maybe I’ll bring a book. (shiver)
Or maybe I’ll just sing Taylor Swift over and over as I stand in line next to scary men who stare at me and babies who scream and teenagers who wear shirts covered in profanity… yes, that will make it all better.
by Bethe

Who’s getting married???

I got a text message this morning that simply said: “I’m getting married!!!”

Unfortunately, I didn’t recognize the number. So I quickly responded, “Who is this?”  It may be a bit rude for me not to know who it was, but this was big news and I needed to know which of my friends I should be happy for.
I never heard back.
So I texted a few more friends. “Do you know who’s getting married?”  I hit a broad range of folks, figuring somebody would be in the same circle as the unknown friend and solve the mystery.
But nobody knew.
So I went through my mental list of friends who are dating. Crazy enough, I only know one or two people who might be in a position to get engaged, and those had already been covered. So after hours of being curious, I finally just dialed the number.
It was a wrong number. Some chick named Michelle, whom I don’t know, is getting married. Congratulations Michelle. I wish you and your stranger fiance a very happy life together.
But what a disappointment for me! So to all my friends who didn’t get engaged today… I feel sort of let down. I was so happy for you, if only for a short while. Maybe tomorrow will be your day.
by Bethe

Light of the world… literally

I went to my parents’ tiny Baptist church for their Christmas Eve candlelight service. It was very special… all the families gathered together, babies dressed in red velvet dresses, little ones anxious to come home and devour their presents under the tree, slightly older ones just ready to come home and devour Christmas dinner… and everybody looking forward to the climax of the service–lighting the candles and singing Silent Night.

Only at this tiny Baptist church, Silent Night wasn’t so silent.

Because I set my hair on fire.

I was being a bit mischievous. That’s what happens when you get my family together, we look for any excuse to laugh and have a good time. So of course, when I put my lit candle under my chin and made a scary face, kind of like one would do when telling a ghost story around a campfire, sister Sarah provided me with the reaction I was hoping for… a giggle. But then sister Lindsay, in a motherly way, brushed the hair back on my right side and said, “Don’t catch your hair on fire…””

And right at that moment I heard a gasp, then “BETHE!!!” and then she reached over and put the fire out that was starting on my left side. It’s amazing how fast hair can burn… one minute you’re just standing there, being silly and singing Christmas carols, and the next minute, “SPARK,” then “POOF” and a terrible stench of burned hair fills the room. Luckily she saw it as it happened, so I only lost a small amount at the bottom, and I have such long hair (and so much of it) that nobody will ever notice, except for the singed ends which I should probably trim off today.

I’m glad we were sitting on the second-to-back row and not in our normal front-row spot for all the tiny Baptist church to see. Only the rows behind us and in front of us really got to experience me adding a “spark” to Christmas… ruining silent light but taking Jesus’ command literally in Matthew 5:14 when he told us to be “the light of the world.”

Merry Christmas, and may God bless you in 2009.