Wednesday evening

First of all - to my dedicated readers, (all three of you, hehe) - I apologize for not giving you a tasty reading morsel in nearly a week. One day ran into the next and before I knew it - a whole week gone. Plus, I'm trying to be really good and only write blogs at night, so if I have something planned, blogging ends up falling to second or third place on the agenda - right after an over-priced restaurant meal, an hour's worth of adjusting the bunny ears for a clearer picture on TV, or 3-4 chapters of reading... I know it's a fun life, try to contain your jealousy.

A good thing happened today... well, good and bad. I got my car back... correction, my dad's circa 1985 BMW back. It's been in the shop for like 2 months, and now it's gracing the country roads of Northern Michigan again... only $1,100 later. I think my dad paid less to actually purchase it.

What's new with me... hmmm...

My good friend Lauren got a job downstate (closer to her hometown and family) and is leaving me soon. I'm thrilled for her because it's exactly what she wanted, she'll make a nice transition to married life there, and it's a big step up the corporate ladder for her. This of course is a bummer for me because I've one less friend to hang out with. I don't have any worries though, I know we'll stay in touch - she keeps reminding me that she and Andy can have a little vacation get-away up here... but I'll still miss her dearly.

I've really been enjoying the band Sugarcult... especially 'She's a Blade' and 'Memory.'

I'm reading a really great book called "Strong Women, Soft Hearts" by Paula Rinehart. It's a book about passion, healing and growing... I'll include a couple of rich passages from it over the next couple of days.

Well, I'm going to duck out for now... but I'll write again soon. I'm going to go drive myself home!

Topics 'O Plenty

It seems that everyone around me is sick lately. As it turns out, I had a terrible cold about a week and a half ago, then my friend caught it, and just as I was getting over it, a co-worker got it too. He ended up missing work for the first time in 3 years because it was THAT bad. Now, I've got it again... This time is different though, not worse really, just different. The last time it was just a head cold, this time it's everything that acts like a cold, with the addition of a general malaise... Body aches, serious congestion, sore throat, hoarse voice.

I've always been sensitive to medicine for some reason, and have taken pills before bed while saying a prayer that I won't have hallucinations in my sleep, or wake up scratching my legs until they bleed (Yeah, I know it's gross, but I've done it).
In short, Me + Medicine = weird dreams and regret that I ever took it.

Last night I was so miserable that I took half a dosage of sinus medicine. My sleep wasn't too weird, although I dreamed that we acquired a Chevrolet dealership as a client and my brilliant new tagline for them was, 'Add a dent to your hood.' For some reason I thought this was great, and kept thinking about how I HAD to remember to tell Mark and Jeannine my genius idea today... yikes.

Is it just me, or do the promos for The Office on NBC look awesome?! I was reading a commentary on it today and they were mentioning how just like the BBC version it is fashioned after, there is no live audience or laugh track -- part of the charm is the awkward silence following the jokes. Gotta love that... Starts tomorrow night - don't miss it!*

So today I read an article in the paper about some neurobioligists who are working on a new hybrid fruit: Fizzy fruit.

As the story goes, Galen Kaufman discovered it by accident. He was on a sailing trip and bit into a pear that had been chilled with dry ice. The fruit had absorbed the CO2 and had a fizz like soda pop. The researchers are working on carbonated apples, pears and other juicy treats. Now Kaufman is working with OSU professor John Henry Wells. They hope to find a way to carbonate fruit on a commercial scale. Wow.

For those of you who have been exposed to my likes/dislikes the past few years, you'll know that I am a huge fan of Chai tea. It's so creamy and spicy - like Christmas in a cup... I still can't quite manage to choke down plain tea though... For all of you tea fans out there, please forgive the use of the word 'Plain.' I'm sure there's nothing plain about it... just watery.

Since I am talking about random topics, I'll throw in here that I've developed an unhealthy obsession with exercise. I know it's a shock - and again, for those of you who know me well, other than the 4 month stint I had with Tae Bo a few years back, I haven't been much of a fan... That was until Pilates.

My mom bought the Winsor Pilates DVD and a mat for Christmas. One for me, and one for Lacey. She started working out with the DVD right away and tapered off about 2 weeks later. I, on the other hand, waited until March 9th to bust it out. I guess it was just a bad case of 'putting-it-off-because-I-hate-to-sweat-and-much-prefer-spending-my-energy-on-finding-ridiculous-excuses-not-to-do-it.' My how times have changed!

I don't know how to explain it, but Pilates makes me feel euphoric. It's not like I'm so proud of myself for working out, it's more like the time I was put on Vicodin and woke up during the night feeling like my arms were floating -- and it was heaven. Something about the stretching, relaxing, working the muscles just enough to feel that happy/tender feeling the next day... My new favorite addiction. The other day I was shopping at the mall with my friend Lauren. I kept catching myself literally daydreaming of going home and doing the routine. It's reaching epic proportions when you think about it WHILE shopping.

Well, that's enough rambling for tonight - Mari Winsor is waiting, and I could use a good hit...

*Disclaimer: In the event that The Office turns out to be extremely crass, distasteful, or un-funny... do not hold me responsible for the suggested viewing.

My good friend Laura VanderLaan sent this to me today. It was taken at our 4th grade play. She's on the left, a girl named Lori Shetenhelm is in the middle and I am on the right... Laura and I are 'Ladies in waiting...'

Give me one good reason...

The other day I'm sitting in my boss' office and she gets a call from one of our radio reps. They are chit chatting when she says 'No way! You have got to be kidding me!' She finishes up the conversation and tells me that one of the only easy listening stations in our area just changed their format to reach a new crowd - from that moment on they'd be playing country. Yikes... just what Northern Michigan needs, another country station. She added that they pretty much had a corner on the soft rock block and even our furniture store client plays them in the store.

Fast forward to today - I'm sitting in Golden Fowler Home Furnishings (our client) watching Mark film a sofa group when I realize that they are playing WJZQ, the token jazz station overhead. This triggers the memory of WLDR's new format and how they've obviously been demoted from the store's sound system.

Just as I'm thinking the soft jazz was a good idea - the elevator-music-sounding song ends and the DJ comes on... Is it just me, or is the most random thing he could have ever said...?

"WJZQ, the Breeze - Another good reason to have ears."

I wasn't sure if I should laugh or be disturbed. I thought it might be morbid to laugh - but I couldn't be too sure of where he was headed with that. Then my imagination took over and I pictured the guy straightening his tie, putting his earphones on, slicking back his hair and mustering up the most charming voice he could find to deliver the line, then realizing he'd just made a terrible mistake. I mean, I guess he wouldn't really offend the people without ears because they wouldn't know better, but what about all of us? Sitting there helplessly listening to his attempt at humor... or a new tag line...?

I can think of plenty good reasons to have ears -- honestly, elevator music isn't one of them.

Baby-steps out of the office...

It's funny how times change.

Today after church, we had a family dinner at The Timbers' (one of my favorite locally-owned restaurants). Basically this meal consisted of talking to my niece Ella, laughing at the faces she was making, listening to each other talk to Ella, laughing at each other laughing at her... etc.

We used to have scintillating conversation. Okay, maybe not scintillating, but we had actual conversation. Now we don't even talk about how today was the first day of Spring, and we still managed to get 6 new inches of snow yesterday, or that there was a killer Wake Forest game last night. It's bizarre how much adding a diaper-clad little person to the family can change the dynamics so much.

She is the center of attention, with no effort on her part. Although she's not walking yet (like a lot of one-year olds), she is doing this funny army crawl, scooting around, and has managed to learn how to go backward in her walker (Don't ask, it's a mystery to me too). My personal favorite is this cute little mad face she makes on command. Whenever one of us scrunches up our nose, and sticks our lips out, she copies while breathing loudly in and out through her nose. Hilarious. She says 'ouch' (but the -ch sounds like she's rolling her tongue like a Spanish sounding 'rrrrrr'), Cow (always in twos - 'Cow Cow'), your token Mama and Dada, and when asked where Mr. Sunshine is, she gestures toward her chest (whether or not she's wearing the bib with a cartoon smiling sun). It's so cute... and everyone in the restaurant knows that we think so. (Admit it, you're sitting there smiling right now aren't you? What is it about kids??)

To our credit, at least we're not THAT obnoxious, we don't really baby-talk her all that much, and although we get cracked up at her, we're not too loud. Yet. What's it going to be like when there are more of us? It'll be awhile before that happens.

I guess the point that I'm making is that there is just 'something' about a baby. Old people love to watch them, other babies get excited when one comes in the room.

The thing I always think about with Ella are the lines of the Watermark song "Noah." Nathan and Christy Nochels are the husband and wife team that make up the singing group. They wanted children for awhile before she finally got pregnant and then miscarried that child. It was devastating for them. Thankfully she got successfully pregnant again and had Noah. (They have since had another child, a girl). At any rate, once Noah was born, they wrote a song about the lessons they had learned from him - how having a child was like 'one more trip through this life, with different eyes to see.' The lines that always get to me are 'You'd reach out to the most unlovely of creatures, you're love is so unconditional....' and 'You don't think to be careful, how sweet is your love.'

I guess the idea of what Jesus refers to as 'Childlike faith' has always astounded me. This kind of faith just trusts, not necessarily blindly, but definitely innocently. Like Nathan & Christy refer to Noah, and I know to be true about Ella, they don't yet have the mental capacity to fear the unknown. They haven't been jaded or learned to love based on performance, appearance or success... they just love. Simply and purely.

They don't trust you because you've proven yourself over and over to be trustworthy - they just know that you love them, and you'll provide... They don't worry about whether or not they'll have new clothes tomorrow, that the car will start up, or that they'll have food on the table. I'm not suggesting that we exhibit childlike behavior, although it would be easier than going to work, but I am suggesting that we need to trust God fearlessly. In Matthew 6, Jesus repeatedly tells us not to worry. 'Don't worry about what you will eat, what you will wear...' As adults we are expected to work, to do our part - but our 'doing' or 'not doing' doesn't affect God's love toward us.

Choosing the simple faith is difficult. This is the paradox of the Bible. We are to grow up spiritually; to move from that place of 'milk drinking' to 'meat eating' in faith... We are to become mature in understanding and to seek wisdom from God. It's a delicate balance, growing up yet remaining tender and impressionable. Childlike faith should be at the center of the believing and seeking heart. We'll never 'get' it all - but as long as we let the little truths mesmerize us and we're learning the Words that He's trying to teach us, we are making steps toward Him and trusting Him with the details of our lives. In this, we can be assured that we are growing.

We should make more of an effort to live lives that celebrate others, to take joy in the littlest victories and to applaud growth of any kind. I'm making it a personal goal to learn how to trust God in a more real way. I want my life to reflect that 'she doesn't think to be care-full' type of faith. I know that evil is real, and I know that we need to make wise, educated decisions - but there's something faith-filled about taking a calculated risk in response to Christ - it's how we learn to grow up.

Refinement

Like any ordinary day, I'm busy in the thick of work. I'm actually getting ready to head north to Traverse City to have a television ad approved. I don't mind the drive alone because I jam out to my iPod.

I'd like to share with you something that's been ringing true in my heart. Taken from 1 Peter in the Message & it reads, 'Friends, when life gets really difficult, don't jump to the conclusion that God isn't on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.'

Isn't this the truth? I think of the hardest times I've gone through in relationships, work, life, family, and how just after the darkest time - came the dawn. It IS about refining. We're given opportunities to improve our work ethic, hone our talents, purge sin, live rightly every day. It's about growing and trusting God that we are in His time line. Remember, glory is just around the corner... it's the victory after the sacrifice.

Rub-A-Dub

For those of you who follow my blogging activity - it's been a while since I've posted.

My life has been very busy lately. This year one of our main clients at work upped their budget, which means - we're doing a TON more production for them. Basically, repeatedly through the month I'm either writing a script, begging the client to approve it, driving an hour north to shoot, or taking the completed spot back up to them for final approval. Then (and only then), does it go out to the television stations. It's a constant cycle... for just ONE of our clients.

In terms of my personal life - I've been going much slower. I am spending a lot of time at home... reading, resting, etc. It has been very nice. Tonight is an exception. I'm leaving here in no less than 10 minutes to see a movie with a couple of girlfriends. It will be nice.

I was thinking of what I should mention from the past few days since I posted, and there really isn't much of consequence... EXCEPT this short story...

The other day I had to drive around with the digital camera and take pictures of various signs and banners that a local company made. My boss is putting together a brochure for them, and needed a few stills to showcase their work. The final item to photograph was our work van, so I had to run it through the carwash. (When we changed our logo and tagline, he updated it for us).

I paid my money and proceeded to pull into the carwash. I got in, the green light turned to red and I prepared to sit there freaked out at the shaking and sheer noise volume like I usually do, when I realized the mirrors were sticking out -- FAR. I quickly rolled down the manual window on the driver's side, pulled the mirror in and hopped over to the passenger's side. I rolled the window down and reached out. I could see I had mere seconds before the big brush would be passing by... in the knick of time -- I pulled it in... or so I thought. What I didn't notice was the heavy spray of soap siding the car, just in front of the brushes. Sure enough, it quickly passed by, pelting not only the whole dashboard, but the side of my head. In a moment like that, you just laugh... although it would be much funnier if there was someone there sharing it. I cracked up nonetheless. When i got back to the office, it was evident that the side of my head was still quite wet. Both Mark and my boss Jeannine were laughing before I even had a chance to explain.

Ah, Amber Adventures -- never seem to get old.

What can I say...? Too cute

The Birthday girl with Grandma Shelley and Great Uncle Craig looking on...

Ella's excited to be ONE!

Mystery Solved!!

It's amazing...

Let there be singing in the streets once again!!

I can't explain it. Miraculously, as I was posting my huge whine session about not being able to make the picture work, the profile shot 'appeared.'

I'm one happy girl... Sorry I ever doubted you technology.

I'm gettin' a little T-ed off'

Okay - so I've been wallowing around in Picasa and Hello and all these programs that are supposed to help you post pictures to your blog and I'm getting a little put out. For those of you who regularly stop by you might be thinking, 'Geez Am, you sure like to see your picture posted...' but that's not the case, exactly. My friend John emailed me with directions to add the photo to my profile, which begins with... 'post your photo as a blog,' so that's why it's on here again. The frustrating thing is that when I look in my profile, there it is! When I go back to the homepage, it's nowhere to be seen. I guess my next plan of implementing the photo is checking other templates. Maybe this one just doesn't show it on the main page?? Thoughts are welcome. (In the meantime, if you see 6 blogs that are pictures only, just shrug it off... it's me attempting to make it work. Didn't I write a blog about how much I love technology once?? I was having a momentary lapse of sanity. My apologies).

It seems that spring has slipped, yet again, from my desperate clutches. It's okay, I can put up with X-number of remaining weeks of winter - since it really all depends on a simple shadow made by a common woodland rodent. He misses it sometimes... can't blame him for it.

Speaking of forest animals...

Since I am presently car-less I get a lovely ride to work from my Dad every morning. This generally consists of me putting on make up, fighting with him about needing more heat, listening to him tell stories about something he saw on the news, some old family tale (remember Snorkel?), how slick the roads are, what he's got planned for the day, what Olivia is up to... so on. This morning we were turning the first familiar bend of road on our way into town and we were greeted by a flock of turkeys crossing the road.

According to Dad the guy that lives there feeds them during the winter, so they go there most mornings. We see them at least 3 times a week. I always tease about how I want to speed up and hit one because they are so undecided about which direction to run when they see the car. They just sit there frozen - like a turkey in headlights. This morning, dad saw them, made some comment about 'good eatin' and started to speed up. Needless to say, I realized that all that talk really was in fact, just talk. Even as I shut my eyes and braced myself for the 'thud' I thought - "Oh my gosh, if this really happened, I don't know if I could handle it" as I fought back an urge to gag. Thanks for relenting Dad.

This of course launched him into a story about how his uncle Ed owned some property out on Lotan Road when my dad was little ('Don't really know why he had it, didn't hunt' since that's the only logical reason to have property). Apparently Ed told my dad and Grandpa that he'd seen some wild turkeys out on his property and that they'd never heard of such a thing. I guess turkeys weren't always native to Michigan? That thought is crazy to me, I can't imagine that really being true. That's like saying that deer aren't native to Michigan, or peanut butter isn't from nuts... It just doesn't add up.

I wondered aloud how that could be true and Dad said 'I think the DNR introduced them to the state as chicks and didn't tell anyone.' Basically, it boils down to this bit of Doug Miller wisdom -- Turkeys in Michigan are a conspiracy and anyone else who tells you otherwise should be dragged out into Uncle Ed's Non-Hunting property and shot... or hit with my dad's car.

In the meantime, I'm seriously curious about this whole picture fiasco. If anyone has input, please don't keep it yourself... my sanity depends on it.

Blogging... wha? I'm working hard. Sort of.

The Birthday Girl

Party time... Excellent

Today has been a long one... We shot a car commercial all day and are back in the office just in time for the day to be over. I'm excited about tonight though.

It's my only niece Ella's first birthday. I woke up this morning thinking about how excited my sister Lacey must be, and how she's been anticipating the big party for months now. Granted, Ella won't have any recollection of it, but we will, and that's reason enough for me to eat cake. I attached a picture of Ella and myself from several months ago. Look at her sweet, round cheeks.

Okay -- I'm off for crazy family in party hats...

Hearing the Message

I had a copy of the Message Bible in high school but it was somehow misplaced with all of my moving over the years. It's one of those things that I keep waiting to uncover in a packed box but never seemed to find. For those of you who may have never read it before, it's basically a modern-day translation of the Bible. I enjoy its verse-less layout and novel-like read. Plus, just like the original text of Jesus' day, it's written in easy-to-understand and pertinent vernacular. I recently bought a leather bound version because I had been thinking about some specific passages I always lingered at when I had my paperback version. Today, I'm just going to share a few that I always find comfort and encouragement in. They remind me that Jesus loves to be in my daily life, and our faith is lived out in the most mundane of routines.

'Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of the earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on the hilltop, on a light stand - shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.'

There are also reminders to relax...

'Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me, Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me -- watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.'

I'm learning again what He calls 'rest.' His burden truly is light. I know that for me personally, I manage to get myself tangled up in worries, and busy-ness so much. It takes a constant effort to find that quiet place. I'm sure my family has noticed the lack of my evening interaction, but I've been finding a place of tender fellowship with Him like I haven't in a while. It's amazing how He meets us when we quiet ourselves to listen. I have been seeking Him for specific direction, and even though I don't have total clarity yet, I'm focused on hearing. I think that's the key for us. It's always about the quiet time... shutting down the daily grind, and making that willfull effort to make friends with Him. Initially, it requires work, but before long we start to long for it... with no effort. This is the hunger of God... It's the longing for that Garden of Eden Fellowship that we were made for.

It's learning the unforced rhythms of His grace.

Ghetto Girls

I’m tired today. I knew going into the weekend that we would ware ourselves out. Not only do the women in my family like to shop, we also like to argue about directions, get lost in the ghetto of Detroit, manage to find the one hotel in Michigan that is housing the state convention for Alcoholics Anonymous, and end up everywhere that we’re headed a good two hours later than we anticipated.

That, in a nut shell was my weekend. It was enjoyable though.

On a rare occasion, my boss came into my office about 3:30 Friday afternoon and told me I was welcome to go home early if I wanted. This was both miraculous and disheartening for 3 reasons.

1. She’s never even hinted at leaving early. Ever. Even when we’re scheduled to have a day off, she grits her teeth at actually letting us.
2. I don’t have a car…it’s still in the shop. Nice idea, us leaving early. Too bad I’m at the mercy of whoever has wheels. Apparently my dad says that the guy fixing the car ‘really knows what he’s doing’ – here we are a month later, $400 worth of work already in it, and still no real concrete clue of what is wrong.
3. I was supposed to be leaving at 5:30 with my family from here… work was the meeting place.

My boss did leave early, so Mark and I just wasted time… I listened to iTunes, watched a little TV, wrote a blog, balanced my checkbook, and Mark took a nap. Then my mom arrived to pick me up around 6ish. She was running late… but the good news was she got a hose replaced on her car so it would stop the horrible shaking, met a really nice guy Shayne that I graduated high school with, heard his life story, dropped my sister off to say good bye to Ella at her in-laws and we needed to go pick her back up… you get the point. That’s how we do it in my family. By the time we got on the road, we were generally ready to be asleep, and 4 hours from the hotel.

Saturday was nice though. We slept in late (although I can’t really say we slept a whole lot on Friday night… my mom is a bit of a snorer), went to Borders for coffee and then to the show.

The Phantom was in a historical theater downtown. On the way there we managed to make a wrong turn, which resulted in many feverish comments, awkward sideways glances and fumbling to lock the doors. We were in the heart of Detroit, and I had to laugh at our sudden whiteness. It was a classic Miller girl moment. I was okay with it because I’ve been in plenty of rough areas on my world travels, but Lacey was pretty new to it all and freaked out a little, mainly when we almost hit a pigeon with our car. I gave the girls a little backgrounder on the play and warned them that many of the melodies were dark and even scary sounding, but that it was all amazing. It had been so long since I last saw the play that I actually couldn’t remember the ending, so even I was caught up in discovering that part for the first time. I really enjoyed it, and the girls did too. My mom kept leaning over to ask if I was tired, because she has ‘a hard time staying awake when they turn the lights down.’ I can honestly say that has never happened to me at a play. During a slide show in elementary school? Yes. But a play? No.

We had a nice dinner and some shopping after. I was thrilled to see that we stumbled on to the one of only two malls in Michigan that have a Sephora. A girl can never have too many lip liners, right?

On our way home yesterday we detoured through Lansing to stop at my great aunt’s 90th birthday party. It worked out really well for us to drop in, and everyone was surprised that the ‘Northern Cousins’ could make it. Aunt Dorothy was, of course, very grateful as well. She’s amazing. She looks great, still very clever and fun to be around. She does have a little bit of short term memory loss now, but she is, in her own words ‘Still kickin!’

Needless to say, this put us at getting home around 7:30… a good two hours later than I had hoped. Par for the course, but not the end of the world.

Today I woke up to rain. It is slowly melting the snow away and turning parking lots into lakes. I’m sure we’ll have a couple more snow days before winter is all said and done, but for now, it feels like spring is right around the corner. The dreary weather coupled with the back draft of such a whirlwind weekend are tiring me right out. I guess it’s good that it’s a slow paced day today though. Otherwise I wouldn’t have had nearly this much time to write, and would be fighting to get to it all day.

Blogs are, after all, more important than work.

Rich is a relative term

I like to be the proud owner of things that can’t be bought.

Things like… Family.

No matter how far you live from your parents or siblings, one thing is sure, the distance and time fizzles away when you see each other again. You might come home with an accidental-pixie-turned-butch-haircut that you refuse to come to grips with, or have changed clothes sizes since the last time they saw you, but it doesn’t matter. You’re still you, the child or sibling that they love. I remember all those years that I lived in Tulsa, I missed a lot – my sisters’ high school games, birthdays, awards ceremonies, stuff like that. It was hard on me when Lacey was crowned homecoming queen and I was hearing the announcement and cheers over a cell phone. Some tears spilled that day for sure.

You become a grateful person when you realize your missing out on their important things means they think allowing you to pursue your dreams is great in value. They forgive the ‘missing-outs’ and welcome any chance to ‘catch-up.’ The greatest thing about family though, is that of all the people in the world, they see you at your very worst, and still love you best. In a perfect world, we could have our family all in one place… all pursue what we want our lives to be… have the perfect jobs… and be plugged into healthy social circles and church groups… but it can’t always be that way. Loving families know how to make the best of every situation. Mine does. (Hugs to Dad, Mom, Lacey, Olivia, John, Ella).

Things like… Friends.

It’s strange to me how distance always seems to play a part in precious relationships. Many of my best friends in the whole world are sprinkled about the country. I was thinking about my Tulsa roommates this morning, and how I loved each of those girls so much. I loved the carefree, stress free lives we were living and how we depended on each other so much. It was nice to be that close. Sometimes I wish I could go back to those days, but I remember Life Happens. These girls have fallen in love, gotten married and started families of their own… it’s okay that we don’t cross paths that much anymore, it will never rob us of those times. (I’m talking about you, Sonia, Michelle, Amy, Debbie, Erin, Jill & Beth).

Then there are the friends we grew up with, maybe even graduated with and then took separate paths. Being back in Michigan these past 2 years has brought many of these people back into my life, even in greater capacity, and that has been a rare and unexpected gift. (That’s you Rachel, Laura, Angela & Matt).

Finally there are the new friends… the ones who I’ve encountered over the past few years. You have impacted my life and blessed me in a way that has meant so much during a tumultuous time. You have aided in my recovery… and you mean so much to me (Without a doubt John, Lauren, Keri and Kevin).

Things like… Hope.

I’ll be the first to admit that life is hard. It throws all sorts of unexpected twists and turns at us. It can crush us, or catapult us into growth. Fortunately for me, I have had a Friend who has stuck closer than a brother. Fortunately for me, He has had a plan that couldn’t be thwarted just because of human error or spiritual adversity. Fortunately for us, we can trust in Him with our whole heart, and He’ll direct our paths. HE gives us a future and a hope.

And that’s worth SO much more than money can buy.

Ambizzle in the Hizzy

So I made a humorous discovery this morning… www.gizoogle.com. Essentially, this website is made to offer hours of Snoop Doggie Languizzle to the easily entertained. You go to the site, type in any URL (be sure to include ‘http://’) and watch your website transformed. Granted, you have to steer clear of some profanity, but it’s pretty funny. For instance, here’s some of my blog from yesterday after Gizoogle got a hold of it. (Plus, who can resist a site with spinning rims in the name?)

‘My brotha Lacey once fizzay asleep wit a cough drop in her grill n (prepare yoself, this is kinda sick), fo` `bout a wizzle drug deala lost whole sections of taste buds… tizzle jizzay stripped off , chill yo. Gross, I know. And since I’m rapping `bout really gross rhymin' it IS possible ta wakes up n have yo nose runn'n down tha side of yo face like drool… I mean, not that sum-m sum-m so sizzick has ever happened ta me, I’m just bustin.’

For those of you who know (and those who maybe haven’t heard), about the ZoeGirl concert tour opportunity I had, I thought I should give you an update. I was approached last fall by the missions organization I used to work for in Oklahoma, to recruit for a summer mission trip on a Christian music tour. (Maybe I could include like 6 more prepositions in that last sentence!?). Needless to say, I had been keeping my ear, schedule, and heart open about this for several months. A few weeks ago I got a call from Caleb in Tulsa, and he let me know that it wasn’t going to work out for me to go along. I was honestly prepared for a nod or a ‘no’ so I wasn’t too bummed about it. Anyway, it turns out that the girls have two shows in Michigan during the month of April that I will be able to recruit at… so that will be cool. They’re sending up some promotional tools and covering my expenses for both dates, so I’m looking forward to that.

Tomorrow night my mom, sisters, and I are headed for a Miller girls’ weekend in Detroit. It’s the culmination of months of planning and an elusive Christmas present we were promised in December… we’re going to the Phantom of the Opera… not the movie, the play. I’m pumped because although I’ve seen the show before, this is a first for the ladies, and the last time I saw it, I was in high school. I’m really looking forward to it.

So it's back to work for me... I'm working on creative copy for a med-spa... It's hard to write fun copy for Botox and laser hair removal without sounding bad. Why do all ill-fitting phrases seem to come to mind? '... A stiff upperlip', 'A bad hair day', 'a slap in the face,' 'beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes to the bone.'

Yikes.

My brain...

Several random thoughts:

Jen Scheft has had plenty of attractive, sincere, successful proposing bachelors to choose from the past 2 years. I echo the words of one audience member, ‘What’s it going to take?’ That’s all I’m going to say about that for now.

I have eaten more cough drops in the past 4 days than one person should in their entire lifetime. My sister Lacey once fell asleep with a cough drop in her mouth and (prepare yourself, this is kinda sick), for about a week after, lost whole sections of taste buds… they just stripped off. Gross, I know. And since I’m talking about really gross things, it IS possible to wake up and have your nose running down the side of your face like drool… I mean, not that something so sick has ever happened to me, I’m just saying…

Apparently I had a pet pig when I was three. I didn’t know anything about this until my dad was recounting to me the story of Snorkel the Pig this morning (My dad named him). I guess we bought as a little piglet and raised him for meat. As the story goes, we had him until late fall and then he was slaughtered. My dad said that when he opened the freezer, he expected me to get upset. Instead I excitedly said ‘Hey, there’s Snorkel!’ To this my dad said he thought to himself ‘Blood thirsty kid…’ I seem to have a history with not minding about pets being eaten. I had a duck in middle school that I named Laettner after my favorite Minnesota Timberwolf (Of course, this was the extent of my knowledge of college basketball, I had a crush on him and they won March Madness that year). We ate him too. (Sorry PETA).

I recently added the movie ‘Luther’ (as in Martin Luther and the Reformation) to my personal DVD collection. I highly recommend this movie to anyone. It truly changed my life. It came out in select theatres shortly before the Passion of the Christ, and didn’t get nearly as much press. Granted, it didn’t carry quite the significance or spiritual weight of the Passion, but it affected my life in a huge way and incited in me to be more bold and unapologetic in my faith. Plus, it’s important for us to understand the heritage of faith that we come from. A must see.

‘Faith means that you want God and want to want nothing else.’ Brennan Manning