Pure Joy

Things lately have seemed to be pretty even keeled and I am loving it and focusing on enjoying every moment, but trying to be mindful that life can change on a dime.... Sounds a bit bleak written out - anywho!

We have an amazing small group Bible study that we meet with once a week and one of the ladies there Becky Siegrist owns C1 DESIGN & PHOTOGRAPHY at http://www.c1design.com/ and she offered to take everyones pictures for Christmas as her gift to us - and WOW we were all blown away by the amazing work that she did!!!

I mean Josh and I aren't terrible looking people by any means if I do say so myself : ) but she captured the love and joy and that is a gift!! See how great she is and how cute we are?! I even got to wear a tiara - that ladies and gentleman is a excellent evening! 

As a side note Josh always teases me about wrinkling my nose when I laugh (in a good way - he said its the top 3 reasons he married me) seriously 30 years old I don't think I've ever seen it captured on film.

Giant Blueberry

This weekend Josh and I got to go with all my sisters and their gentleman callers to a blast of a camping trip in Turner Falls.  The weather was AWESOME, company even better and once we went the right way on the road we found the falls.

If you knew me 10 years ago I was crazy hella fun! and now ..... sometimes I feel like I'm turning into an agorophobic (fear of leaving the house).  I come up with the best ideas ever, get all excited, and the crippled by reality, planning, fear?  Not sure what it is but I have noticed a change. The "old" me never would have been "proud" of myself for deciding on Tuesday to go camping on Friday....... but only going for one night cause 2 is too much....

Anywho the camping was a BLAST if I didn't mention it - and I'll have to remember that next time I really love an idea and then try to talk myself out of it......

Once a month is good right?

Josh had a BFF forever in high school and most of college - he was so close to him that some joked they should just get married.  Josh and Nick did a lot together for a long time, but part of growing up is making new friends, new interests, and guys don't stay in touch like girls do.  Nick married an AMAZING women Chelsea who is open, honest and real.  The type of girl you'd love to hate but just can't because she's just too darn cute! All of that to say that a year ago Nick was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Chelsea has been great at blogging the progress, feelings, emotions, difficulties and sharing their struggles.  She writes with dignity, candor, and lets you know whats going on.  I greatly admire her and often wish I could be more honest like she is.  We get to see each other very infrequently but I love the time we do get to spend together and look forward to reading her posts.

I had the rare chance to get together with her and Nick last Friday, and walked away deeply desiring to be more authentic in my life and in talking about my struggles.  Then I came across this blog about The disease called "Perfection" and wham!  The conviction was even greater!!

I considered that I might be to "southern" its not polite to speak of such things in mixed company.  Things that happen in the privacy of your home should remain that way.  Things should be discussed between a husband and a wife. My mother and grandmothers generation I dont' think really talk about problems too much.  Things are the way they are and that's how it TI Tis...... but how much have I benefited from others realness,  how much do I long to peel back the curtain and see if other husbands straggle out of bed at noon on Sunday to plant on the sofa and watch football all day? How much do I long to be able to sit down and "veg out" without feeling like I should have the house company ready - even if no company is coming.  Who else has depression in their house, anyone else feel like a failure for ordering takeout cause they are just too tired to cook? Does anyone else get Bored!?

The very few times I write in my personal journal - I even lie there so that when I read back I'll remember the good stuff - talk about crazyness.  If I can't be real with myself then wowza.......

Life is hard. It is messy and complicated. I wouldn't trade it for anything!

At the end of the day I am blessed to be married to a man who loves me, a God who forgives me and listens to the crazy - I am honest with Him..... and I'm surrounded with amazing friends and family. 

I just have to remember that if the creme bruele isn't perfect and the blankets aren't folded with all matching edges - probably don't need to yell at the hubby that everyone will think we're less than perfect and don't have it all together..... cause they're probably squabbing about something equally inane and too busy to notice my folds!

W but decidedly not southern

I am a shabby chic kinda gal - no question - but the conference that I'm at is at The W Hotel - Midtown, most decidedly un-shabby chic.  So super modern I think they may have spacecraft hidden away somewhere.  I am for sure not cool enough to be here!

They change the door mats in the elevators for each time of day:

The have a guy that goes around and creases the pillows so they are all the same - I'm a fluffed pillow kinda gal.....and the check in is so sleek and small!

The bar is right by the lobby and has very low seating fun funky furniture - I felt a little cooler having a drink in there - it helped the bar tender was a really cool chick.

Then theres where i had breakfast - I found a really cool restaurant, figured out how to get there, drove through the ghetto, didn't get lost and now its closed this week!! So we made our way back - not getting lost, saw a pastry shop, found parking downtown and when we walked around to the front -  it was out of business!!! So we made it back to the hotel and ate in the ultra cool, odd place....good natural light....

The entry way has cool lights too - I want a 10 story house so I can have one.  Anything less than 10 stories really loses the effect ; )

The bedroom has a strange headboard..... I am not a modern, cement, metal, barbed wire bed frame kinda gal

The South

A long time ago I started reading a book series by Eugenia Price about the city of Savannah, Georgia.  It is beautiful, amazing historical fiction following the settlement of Savannah from the beginning settlements to the Civil War.  She paints such a picture of the area and captures the hopes, dreams, struggles and desires of the founders in a way that I've always been in love with the area.  I've felt a connection with the dreams of building something better, creating a legacy.  So when I had a chance to take a quick road trip to Savannah from Atlanta I decided to defy logic, jump on the chance, drive the 4 hours down there and live a dream I've harbored for over 15 years. 

And then there I was! Although it was quite a bit different than the pre civil war pictures I had in my mind - it was still pretty amazing. The history, architecture, raw brute strength of the river damns, the actual buildings that housed titans of industry.  The watch towers that people waited for ships to return to harbor from months at sea.  The counting houses, the trees draped in moss, the salt bayous, light houses, the rivers, the ocean, brick streets, parks in the squares, fried green tomatoes and Tybee Island, it was all amazing and a heck of a lot to cram into 5 hours of site seeing!!

Best part of all - I'm skinny on in the Atlantic Ocean!

Shoulda stayed on the Atlantic ocean cause once I finished dinner at the impenetrable "The Lady and Sons" restaurant featuring Paula Dean's cooken'  - and as she told Oprah "Honey I'm your cook not your doooctottooorr." And DANG her cooken' proved that was true.  I looked at her menu and said - ehhh I can see that at home no biggy....but I got in without a reservation and so I thought what the hey - well DANG I had the fried green tomatoes, light and delicious, then the crab soup - pure butter and cream with a slice of crab to make it "healthy" and as a glutton for punishment I added pecan pie with ice cream - DANG.  Needless to say - should let the street bouncer keep me out. 

Seriously - you have to check in with the hostess on the street - if you have reservations - you get a card, and are told to go through the Paula Dean store into the waiting lobby where another hostess will validate you have a card and seat you as it is available.  If you don't have reservations and I didn't - you can wait on the curb / sidewalk until you are summoned to the hostess stand, handed a card for the bar area, then you go in a separate door, hand the hostess your card, go up an elevator to the 3rd floor where you can dine in the nearly empty but apparently very exclusive bar with full menu..... Crazy times.  Not looking forward to my next cholesterol reading!

I think someday when I am older and have time and a roundabout to cruise me through town I'd love to go on all the historical tours of the town and breath all the history of the area - just not too deep cause the morning river smell reminded me of burnt hair..... still a dream was lived and who can put a damper on that!

And as a teaser for something in the future: