Happy Spring

I apologize for the lack of writing these last three weeks. I've had a lot to say, and putting it all down to pen and paper has felt a little too overwhelming. And part of me wants this blog to be purely fun. With touches of seriousness sprinkled throughout. Then on another hand I want to bare my soul. To say everything I need to say, and process everything I need to process... in hopes that I can partner with someone else when they face similar challenges. But the tricky thing is that I never want to hurt anyone's feelings. But we all have to process events, relationships, books, workplaces, etc. and sometimes that's just messy. But how else do we really learn who we are and what we need? Sometimes the strongest bonds are forged out of periods of stress or frustration with one another.

I had dinner with Christina and Stephanie last night, two of my best friends that I know are with me for the long haul. And Christina and I were chatting about the process our friendship had to go through in order for us to truly value and love one another well. Because she is the exact opposite of me. But I would fight heaven and hell to see her boundaries maintained, and for her to have the alone time, and the space that she needs to be healthy. And she gently reminded me that it has taken years to build up the kind of love and trust that we have for each other. We have had lots of fights, taken a few 'breaks,' but have emerged as tried and true, deeply connected friends. And at this point, I don't know of anything that could separate us, because of the raw life that we've done together and pushed through, communicated about, and learned to honor each other through.

In other non-serious news, here are some pics from the last week or two. Just so you know that I have a normal life and do normal human-y things.

Our first blooming hydrangea! I'm lucky these things require nothing from me.

Natalie and Darin's stunning wedding in Vinings.

A fave iphone picture that I took on a run.

Love this quote. Inspired by Banning when talking about Nehemiah, and how we have to build the wall in front of us.

Fabric I'm looking at for our office. I'm extremely indecisive so nothing might ever come of this.

Attempting to grow a banana pepper plant. I forget to water plants, so they don't always last.

I got Lucy a new toy. And this is what happened within 30 minutes. You can't even tell it was a cow can you?

After a work fire drill (which requires everyone to walk down 34 flights of stairs), we had free ice cream and played red rover.

For a work event we went to Dip 'n Dab to paint "Abstract Splat"

Here was my painting halfway through. It got progressively worse from here.

Worship with Daniel and Liz at Carrie and Bronson's on Friday night. SO GOOD.

Stephanie and Christina at Cheeky.

Pardot voted best small workplace by the AJC.

Recipes, Showers, Learnings and Laughs

I don't have anything really poetic to say here, other than enjoy these life snapshots from the last two weeks! I'll come up with something wittier for the next post.

Stacy, Amy, Juli (and baby Jesus/Margarita), me, and Fiona at Juli's amazing shower thrown by Stacy. So blessed to be a part of this celebration! I love these women and they are such a huge part of who I am today. I'd like to thank Stacy and Juli in particular for helping me hone my sarcasm skills. Surely that's a great resume builder?

Learning to process each thought, even the painful ones. Changing my perspective on 'blessed are those who mourn' as I now see "mourning" as a means to wholeness and freedom. The book Supernatural Power of Forgiveness by Jason Vallotton has been incredible in this journey. 

Bethel gave us all prophetic words for Easter yesterday.  Which meant yesterday was probably the greatest Easter ever. I was consumed with the love of God and His presence, and wished I could have stayed in those moments forever. I also encountered God through hymns (and Kelly Smith) in a way that I've never experienced before.

Balsamic Flank Steak. AMAZING. Recipe adapted from  here. Really great for the Easter dinner crowd.

Ranch Roasted Potatoes = heaven. I even ate all the charred pieces because the flavor was so good. They also kept well over night surprisingly! Definitely an easy go-to side dish. And a weight watchers item as well! 

Sweet and Spicy Honey Grilled Shrimp. My happy place. These were easy peasy, and after marinating them for the afternoon, they took a grant total of 3 minutes on the grill. Recipe adapted from here. But I toyed with the recipe and just used honey, lime, and sweet chili sauce (which I could bathe in its so good). I brushed on a little extra sauce before serving. FAB. 

If honey lime shrimp is my food happy place, this is my beverage happy place. Mirko Sangria. Can't. Get. Enough.  I have to be extra careful when consuming said drink because of the chatty-ness in pulls out of me. But for $1 on Thursdays and $3 every other day, you just can't beat it. 

In my season of alone-ness (no I'm not being melodramatic), I have been taking Lucy on jogs every day. Not long ones, but enough for us both to stretch our legs and see the flowers. There is another black lab that she loves to visit, so I'm sure the neighbors think I'm a nutcase when I stand at the end of their driveway with Lucy waiting on her friend to come out. They romp around for a few minutes and then we're on our way. But if we don't stop at her bud's driveway, Lucy cries and cries. And of course, as all good moms should do, I stop to tend to her every need (infer sarcasm). In this case though, I do tend to this need. Because I see it as allowing her to release some energy and do some learning that doesn't have to be done on Bailey the cat. Because Bailey is not amused by Lucy's chasing and antics.

And in closing, I leave you with a few quotes from one of my dearest friends:

"I asked if there were viles of the west nile virus accessible. Thats me trying to have a Kingdom attitude about it."

"Mourn with those who mourn idiots!"

"Whitney Houston died." -Me

"What? How?" - Friend

"Hasn't been released yet." - Me

"This feels like 9/11." - Friend

"I don't want to shock you, but I'm sitting down to read the Bible. I may need an intervention."

"I just thought you would appreciate knowing that, as I was praying, I, in all seriousness, accidentally told God, 'Well, I'm the shit.' If heaven has an equivalent of coal for your stocking...I've got the most of whatever it is."

"I am SO excited about heaven for the open bar."

"I just texted your husband that I needed to start my period."
BE BLESSED MY FRIENDS. AND HAPPY MONDAY. PRAYING THAT YOU WOULD EXPERIENCE THE LOVE OF GOD TODAY IN A WHOLE NEW WAY, AND THAT YOU WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME. 
Love love.

The iPhone Case You Always Wanted

Thank you Pinterest for yet another fabulous find. Check out Society6 for the most beautiful iPhone cases you have ever seen (sorry droid users)! The second one down is the little gem that I just bought. 

And to make this company even better, they even have prints of a lot of their designs. And I'm OBSESSED. I'm going to order hundreds of them. Because they are amazing. Granted, I might wait til my case comes in just to double check that they are truly as beautiful as I expected. 

I hope you enjoy these beauties!