Category / Deep thoughts and blonde moments

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

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

Beginning of the End

Today is the first day of the last month of 2008. Thank goodness. This has been a rough year for me… filled with ups and downs, but the downs were really tough this year.

But here’s my theory… it seems that  most of the time, a bad year is followed by a really great year. One filled with adventures and friendships and the more obvious kinds of blessings that make you want to jump up and down like a little kid who hears the ice cream truck approaching. My 2008 was filled with many, many blessings, but a lot of my year’s blessings were the kind that you had to look harder to see.
And that’s really okay, because either way I choose to have joy. Joy if my blessings come wrapped in a huge bow of ease and excitement, and joy if my blessings come sandwiched between hardship and heartache. Either way, I choose joy.
by Bethe

Y is for Yoga

I tried out the yoga class at my new gym tonight. I love my gym because it takes about 90 seconds to get from my driveway to the front door of the gym. So much nicer than my old 15-20 minute hike. Never mind that the folks who work at this gym aren’t very friendly… I think it’s every gym’s policy to be snotty to customers when they walk through the door. It’s part of their business plan… if they make me feel like a big loser when I arrive, then I’ll be more motivated to bust my tushy on the treadmill so that someday, I can be cool like those gym workers. I bet they cover that in orientation, right after they go over the benefit plans.

But back to yoga… I love yoga because it’s one of the only times that I ever stop thinking. You can’t think while you do yoga, because otherwise you’d lose your balance and hit your head on the floor. And not to brag, but I consider myself to be something of a yoga expert. I may not be a fast runner, a strong weight-lifter, a coordinated dancer, or come to think of it, have any other athletic talents, but I can twist my body like a pretzel and balance in precarious positions better than most. And I can do that while thinking about nothing. I think it’s all of those years of cheerleading and gymnastics classes that are finally paying off. Because cheerleaders also like to think about nothing. Except their reasons for doing so are a bit different.

But now it’s time to think again… I’ve got a school paper calling my name. It’s a bit hard to hear over the sound of me munching on a piece of Starbucks coffee cake, but it’s a faint, muffled hint of a sound in the distance. I should go tackle this thing (the homework, not the coffee cake) and show it who’s boss.

by Bethe

I want to be a star

I watched two hours of Dancing with the Stars tonight. Can I just tell you that I want to be famous, simply so I can be a contestant on Dancing with the Stars? Unfortunately, odds are not in my favor… I’m not sure what a 27-year-old girl in suburbia with no unusual talents can do to become a big star. Somehow Kim Kardashian figured it out, but I’m not sure how I would go about getting a reality TV show. I think usually they pick people a bit more scandalous than me.

So I think my best option is to become a ballroom dancing champion. Then I can be one of the professional dancers on the show and get paired with some hunky soap opera star with big muscles and a small mind. And then I can wear the pretty dresses, flashy jewelry, have my hair done, and dance around like a big star while a crowd of admiring fans cheers me on.

Yes, I think I’ll add it to my “to-do” list. Become a ballroom dancing champion. I can see it now… I better get to work.

by Bethe

I’m throwing a pity party

I throw corporate parties for a living, throw parties for friends at home… so excuse me while I throw myself a short pity party. I promise, it won’t last long.

I had one of “those days” that left my blood boiling and me biting my tongue, and my lip, and my fist in an attempt to not say something I would later regret. It was one of those days that I could only survive by quoting my favorite Bible verses, over… and over… and over.

Let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to become angry; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
James 1:19-20

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
Ephesians 4:1

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Philippians 1:27

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Ephesians 4:29

But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
2 Timothy 4:5

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer to everyone.
Colossians 4:6

But now my bad day is over, and I can curl up on my couch and hide from all of the stresses and frustrations and worries and pretend none of them ever happened. I’m going to drink my herbal tea, have some ice cream (because I really DO deserve it today), and watch my new Office Season 4 DVD (hooray! I finally bought it!).

And tomorrow, I will go out and reclaim my good attitude. I will conquer the world! And I will wear cute shoes while I do it!

by Bethe

I should do this

I love blogs, because somehow I can hop-scotch from one to another, first hopping on one foot, then two, meandering my way down a path of people and their stories, until suddenly I’m lost, and I don’t know how I got there. And then I discover the thoughts of a stranger who seems remarkably similar to me.

It’s like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon. I’m terrible at that game, though, because I’m way behind on my movie watching, and I’m bad with names.

But I digress…

Check out this post, from some kid in Austin. He’s only 20. I think I may copy him. I made a list back in college of things I want from a husband. They’re funny to look at now, because they were written while I had a serious boyfriend, but I was probably mad at him at the time, so some of it describes him, and some of it is the EXACT OPPOSITE of him. I was probably trying to make a point. Ha… sometimes I like to do that.

Since then, I’ve revised my list, checked it several times, and thought about ripping it up and starting over. I have learned a lot about what I want on that list. It’s fun to look back at the original, when I was so young and idealistic, back at age 20.

Back then, I assumed I’d be an old maid if I wasn’t married by 25.

Ahh, the ignorance of youth.

by Bethe

Random hilarity in my head

1. Good old Tiffany saved the day yet again. She got my sewing machine to work, and thanks to her help and encouragement, I have successfully pieced together my first quilt! It helps to have friends who are talented, occasionally it rubs off on me. It also helps to have a hobby that involves an excuse for a girls’ night. Not that anybody ever needs an excuse for girls’ night! This means I’m well on my way to becoming a quilting phenom… maybe I’ll be the female Michael Phelps of quilting. I’ll post photos as soon as I can find where I put my digital camera…

2. I ran seven miles tonight at the park. It was ugly. On Saturday, when I did six, I felt fantastic. Tonight, I just wanted someone to shoot me. Funny how that happens sometimes.

3. I think I have a ripping problem. Or a “moving too fast” problem. Today, I bent down to grab something off the bottom shelf of my storage cabinet, and stood up too fast. Riiiiip. My high heel got caught on my cute black skirt and ripped a hole right through it! It wouldn’t be so bad if this wasn’t the millionth time I have ripped my clothes at work. I had to go home and change. I loved that skirt, but alas, now it’s just a distant memory.

4. I’m now a girl with two jobs! As if I didn’t have enough things going on right now, I have taken the job as a graduate assistant to a professor up at school. In exchange for working on projects for them from home, I’m getting free tuition PLUS a stipend! Hooray! The only challenge will be fitting in that work between my full-time job, my homework from grad school, my half-marathon training, my tennis game, my new quilting hobby, my Sunday School teaching, and my social life. Yeah, I think I can do it! (In reality, I’m super thankful to have this new job, because private school tuition is EXPENSIVE, so this is a huge blessing!)

5. A few months ago I blogged about running into a guy from high school whom I hadn’t seen in nine years. When we finally ran into each other, I was getting my hair done and had a head full of goop, wearing a shower cap, sitting under a hair dryer (hey, having hair this naturally blonde requires a lot of work). I looked awful. Well, guess who I saw AGAIN after I ran my six miles on Saturday in the heat of the day. Yep, same guy. Only this time instead of a head full of goop, I was sweating PROFUSELY, my face purple, huffing and puffing. Boy do I know how to impress a guy! Groan.

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Sorry, my head was just swimming with information. I’m probably still a bit delusional from lack of oxygen to my brain after all that running. I’m off to go soak my poor muscles and slip into bed early. Thanks to everyone who has been leaving me comments, it makes me so happy to see them!

by Bethe

Feeling old

I think I’ve come full circle! Today one of my friends from grad school, who has since finished (lucky her!), emailed to say that she’s gotten a job as a professor at UT-Arlington. She wants me to come serve as a guest speaker to her undergrad advertising/IMC class. Crazy, because just five years ago, I was sitting in one of those classes! Of course I said yes… I figure her students will be a lot easier to talk to than the last student group I spoke to.

I also found out today that my childhood best friend’s dad is going to join one of the boards I serve on. This is the same guy who used to drive us around town, let us have slumber parties at their house, and had all the neighborhood kids over for dances in his garage. And now, we’ll be serving side-by-side together. I’m not sure if it makes me feel old, or like a 12-year-old. But either way, it will be fun!

by Bethe

Steward of your wounds

I have been thinking a lot lately about how blessed I am. I had a rough six months, and every time I start to feel good and sorry for myself, God sends in someone to encourage me. Even last night, someone gave me a nugget of information that made my whole evening. It reminds me that I need to look for opportunities to encourage others as well.

Do you ever feel like sometimes you’re just going through the motions, and other times you’re the best possible version of yourself? I feel like I’m finally hitting my stride again, doing what God has called me to do, and enjoying living in my own skin. Janine Turner told me this week (ha ha… doesn’t that sound funny? You remember her… the gal from Northern Exposure? She spoke at a luncheon I went to this week…) that we should be “stewards of our wounds.” Kind of a weird quote, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. When life deals you junk, do you dwell on it, or do you use that as a means to make yourself better? It’s kind of like the verse that says suffering produces perseverance, which produces character, which produces hope. I don’t want to be defined by my crummy moments, I want to become all the more fabulous because my character has been refined, challenged, and strengthened. That, and I want to wear fabulous shoes.

Okay, enough of the mushy talk, it’s time to review my Sunday School lesson for tomorrow (one last time) and then grab some much-needed sleep. I hosted a party at my house tonight, which was so much fun, but now I’m a bit worn out!