times they are a-changing

As I toast the end of 2005 and welcome the fledgling 2006 year, these are some of the random thoughts bumping around in my head...

- Should you happen to dream that a huge, tingling cold sore is brewing on your upper lip, try not to wake up... Because it my case, you find it to be a reality. (Good thing I had no tangible plans for a New Year's kiss this year!)

- People who speak Spanish as a first language really do appreciate it when you attempt to communicate through the little bit you know... Even if you're rather clumsily stringing together the only vocab words you remember from your junior year. (Even a butchered, but sincere 'Gracias' is guaranteed to make them smile). I exercised this at the Mexican restaurant again today... Works everytime.

- Wearing brown with black may be readily accepted as high fashion in California (just ask my sister), but it's still just catching on up here... Much like wearing jeans to Wal-Mart instead of sweat pants.

- Swallowing a whole beef bullion cube to avoid going to school will backfire on you. Your stomach will be ravaged, but your parents will still make you go... According to my (now former, as of yesterday) co-worker Mark.

- Never expect an easy, 'challenge-less' road. Even the best of experiences can still be bittersweet. And hey, that's how you develop character, right?

- It's okay to imagine and dream about where you'll be this Night, next year... Looking back will most likely never cease to amaze you.

- It's good to remember that although you may not understand why you are going through something right now, you'll have clarity in the future. I believe that some of the things I am going through right now have long-term implications for my life, but I choose not to muddy my mind with figuring it all out right now. (There is a difference with being overwhelmed about the future and having vision). Do your best to take the good with the bad, keep a clear perspective, trust God to work out the details, and seize each moment for what it is. Adventures are waiting for you to live them!

- Happy New Year all.

It's Official!

I'm not going to lie and say I haven't been sweating it a little... but the good news is that AS OF TODAY I have a plane ticket booked to Nashville for January 11th, 2006... Let the tour begin!

(I know you're all letting out a huge sigh of relief...)

Sexy Specs

It was just another ordinary day...


Until we found our great-aunt Flo's old glasses...

Hear the rumble...

It's coming! (I'll be there, you should too)!

Cozified, better late than never

In a startling post-Christmas discovery, 3 more presents for Amber. Who knew that they had been 'accidently kicked' under my mom's bed in the wrapping process?

So I'm falling asleep last night thinking about how although I was grateful for what my parents bought me, I couldn't help but notice that one earnestly desired (and reasonably priced) item had not appeared on the blessed morning. 'How could I give my mom a list of only 4 items that I sincerely wanted, and one of the cheapest is missing?' I realize this sounds petty, but do the math with me, you'd most likely wonder too. Right? A little bit at least?

This morning I woke up daydreaming about how cozy it would be to slip my feet into some new slippers, the aforementioned item. I stagger upstairs still drunk on sleep, and then run into my mom who is exiting the bathroom while I'm on my way in. She bids me good morning and then asks, 'So how did you like those slippers?'

'What slippers?' I say, 'I didn't open any yesterday, and have actually been wondering about them.'

So she heads upstairs and 5 minutes later returns to produce not one, but THREE wrapped gifts, and an honest apology. 'I thought your pile looked kinda small yesterday compared to the girls'.'

'I didn't really notice,' I say smiling with a gentle hint of sarcasm.

So now, cozy slippers, a new scarf and some hair accessories... It's a Christmas miracle!

Christmas Album 2005

First some shots from my Grandparents' last night. Hooray for the Annual Pollington Christmas Eve Extravaganza!

This is my cousin's boy Gavin. So festive and too cute.
My sister Olivia with our cousin Heather. She's one of the most brilliant aspiring writers I know.
To the right: Lacey and Ella opening the sweet lady's gifts. She was most thrilled about the suckers that were decorating the package. As you can see from the picture she insisted on having one in each hand for most of the night, much to her father's dismay!
To the lower left: Lacey prefers not to show off her pregnant tummy, but when you look this fabulous and you're in your last trimester, why wouldn't you!?
Down below: Here we are with our Grandpa Claude Pollington. It should be no surprise that you can see a hint of a deer's head just above us. Very typical.
And now for a few pictures from today...
First my brother-in-law Jon opening the second half of his gift from me (the first half is the athletic band around his head), and my mom trying on her new perfume. Pretend she's wearing makeup, she'll be a lot happier about you looking at the pictures if you do.
Ella was mesmerized with yet another spin of the Elmo DVD she watches whenever she's over.
Lacey and Ella resume the present-opening position. Olivia 'stocking' up. Jon and Dad immersed in the afterglow AKA playing with their new 'toys.'
Two of the highlights for me this Christmas were that we went to church today, a first for me. For whatever reason, I don't know that I've ever had a Sunday morning Christmas service scheduled, but it was a nice, tender way to start the morning. The other great part was watching Ella fall immediately in love with the 'baby crib' that my dad made for her. She took to it right away and spent a long time crawling in and out of it, as well as playing. I loved overhearing her tell her babies 'Night, see you tomorrow babies.'

Hope you had an enjoyable holiday and remembered to thank our Father for His Son.

Christmas Eve

We're just moments away from packing up food and gifts to head to my grandparents' house. I just thought I'd throw up a couple 'getting in the Christmas mood' shots from today...
Here's sweet Livy wrapping a 'girl gift' for the white elephant gift exchange.

I interrupted Olivia's stirring of the sacred homemade macaroni and cheese to get this picture... one of my favorites of the year for sure.

For Christmas this year my sister Lacey asked my dad to build a baby crib for Ella's baby dolls. It was a major project that involved numerous nights of my precious sleep to be interrupted with the sounds of sanding and sometimes even drilling. Needless to say, I laughed when my dad said that he couldn't wait for Ella to get big enough to be spanked for all the trouble she put him through to build it. Most large gifts have historically never been wrapped in this house, just left out to be an immediate surprise on Christmas morning... Not so with this. Dad used a little creativity to get her crib wrapped. 2 boxes turned toward each other, newspaper (and for some reason 2 strips of actual wrapping paper), a name tag and 'bow.' I was relieved he found the name tag since he was asking for a black magic marker just moments before. You stay classy, Doug.

More family Christmas pictures to come!

raise a toast

Time is ticking, my friends.

Christmas is Sunday, the year ends next week, and then it's January... The month that begins my exciting new adventure.

This week has been a busy one. I've managed to work late (twice nearly until 7) every night, and have come home in zombie mode. It's pretty bad when you're hungry but can only muster up the energy to make toast. Dinner has consisted of 2 pieces of toast every night this week. Pitiful.

It's a combination of a few things I guess. I'm overwhelmed/relieved/sad/busy at work. I'm thrilled to be preparing for the tour, but I am realizing how leaving my present job will be extremely bittersweet. I've been training the new girl (we'll talk about that in a minute), and I've been personally amazed at just how much I've had going on there the past 3 years. My boss and co-worker keep telling me about how different it will be around there without me. This is an attempt to make me feel guilty for leaving, but it's managing to make me feel pretty appreciated... I'll take whatever I can get!

About the new hire... She's being replaced. In a combination 'I don't think you're right for the job/I was going to quit tomorrow anyway' thing, we severed ties with her today. But my boss has something new brewing, so maybe another smiling face to begin training on Monday? Next week IS my final week there. The excitement continues...

In other news, I'm continuing to wait for more details for the tour. I know the ZOE clan is busy preparing, and with the holidays on their plate now too, I'm trying to keep my eager wits under control and remain patient.

This has been a real challenge for me... But I'm doing okay. It's a little bit of that 'my life is yours, but I don't know you, and I don't know where you're taking me' sort of thing. Oh well, I gotta believe that God opened this door, surely He's taking care of me still!

Wow, 9 o'clock, it's past my old lady bedtime.

...Now about that toast.

The Hulkster

So my dad's feeling pretty sure of himself these days... The other day Jon and Ella were in the bedroom together when he heard Ella gasp. She began waving at the television and enthusiastically saying 'Hi Gwampa Douggie, Hi Gwampa Douggie!' Jon looked up at the TV to see Hulk Hogan on the screen. Too funny.

'Gwampa Douggie' was in his heaven when he found out.

Famous 'Amy-ous' Cookies

Yesterday my family (sans my bro-in-law John, plus our dear family friend who is Lacey's age, Amy Hardy), went to pick up my sister Olivia at the airport. Her flight was quite delayed, so when she finally arrived 4 hours late, she was travel-weary and feeling sick. It was still a great feeling to have her home though!

In true Miller form, we couldn't find Olivia's second bag on the luggage carousel, so we waited in line for over an hour to file a lost-luggage report, only to find out that we had simply 'over looked' it. Starving and tired, we left the airport around 10 to get something to eat, landing us home around 2:15 am.

Wow. Longest. Day. Ever.

The good news is that Amy brought us some homemade cookies. She and her college roommates didn't have any cookie cutters though, so they used some creativity and other kitchen tools to create these little wonders. (My mom showed them to me today and I literally laughed out loud about several of them. Yeah, they're gumpy, but so cute. I love the little stockings, but my favorite is the leaning tree in the bottom left hand corner).

get engaged

It feels like it's been a long time since I had to make a special trip to be home for Christmas. It's strange, I guess this is the first year since living in Tulsa that it has really even hit me. Perhaps it's because I haven't considered it much until now, just one day before my sweet baby sister flies home for the holidays.

I've got to be honest, I'm not sure if it is because of the perpetual whirlwind the past few years have been, or how I get the feeling of 'easing' into Christmas when I'm close, but I think I much prefer being on this side of the coin.

The years that I lived in Oklahoma I always felt a little ripped-off because Christmas seemed to sneak up so quickly on me. I usually didn't even hear her footsteps tiptoeing across the floor. I attribute this two things mainly: the lack of family nearby, and the absence of snow... it definitely wasn't because of the Christmas music I began playing in October!

As I look at the holidays so quickly approaching, and how they seem to fly by before you know it, I've made a conscious decision to capture and enjoy every moment of it to the best of my ability. Just like Kirsten Dunst's character in Elizabethtown, I'm going to mentally freeze frame every tender and special moment with a mental 'click,' storing it away to be visited for years to come. I want to literally let myself 'live' in the moments.

Who knows what the future holds...? With Livy living out of state, and my new journeys yet to unfold, it's tough to trust that we'll always be in Michigan when the snow flies. It's the same for all of us, and that's why we have to purposely invest ourselves into the moments happening around us, connecting with friends and family; giving room for warmth to grow between us.

I had a meeting out of town today, so I picked up food to eat in the car as I drove. I said a quick prayer aloud to give thanks for the meal while I pulled out into traffic. I was immediately convicted by what I heard come out of my mouth...

'Lord, thank you for this food, bless it to our bodies...'

Our bodies?! I was alone in the car!! It was then that I realized I was not investing my heart into the prayer at all. For whatever reason (distraction, hunger, not caring enough to take time) I was just throwing out meaningless words with my heart totally detached.

I was convicted.

How many times do we do this in life? Not just in times of prayer, but at work, in relationships, when we're preoccupied. Too often, I'm afraid. This holiday season, I'm making an honest attempt to really invest myself into the people around me, and to allow a place of sincere thankfulness to settle in my heart. We are recipients of the greatest Gift the world has ever been given! This should be evident in all that we do. Take in the sights and sounds. Indulge the thrill of a child opening her gifts. Shed sentimental tears when you see the Nativity placed with care on the mantle.

Above all, remember to engage your heart.

brown is my new black

'It happened subtly,' I explained to her while studying several tea cups and matching saucers, 'My love affair with brown, that is.' I had been mulling this over for easily 10 minutes straight as we meandered the antique store before I spoke it.

And it's true.

I used to be a 'black is best' sort of girl. Black is widely accepted to be the most flattering color (which has long since made it a favorite), and can only be substituted by a rich charcoal (in my humble opinion), so it's an obvious wardrobe staple. But some people can elegantly wear a deliciously warm, winter white too, although I avoid it against my fair skin (for starters), and you'll most definitely NEVER see it on my bottom half. Never satisfied with monochromatic choices only, I also adore an arrestingly placed vibrant splash of color as a jacket or an accessory flanking the neck, ears, or waist.

But I just don't know what it is about brown. I think it started when I began lowlighting my hair with 'chestnut.' Then I noticed a slight personal affinity to warm, mocha-colored walls. From there it grew to be considered my first, and most versatile choice for pairing... Brown and Teal. Brown and Green. Brown and Blue. Even brown and pink!

Ah, just thinking about it makes me happy. Enough so, that even as I stood there admiring the tawny colored tea pot I was eyeing, I was already dreaming of devoting a whole chocolate-covered post to it.

Oh Brown. You make me smile.

the art of love

Hearing intricate details about another person's journey through life is fascinating to me. I guess it's the process of documenting it, really. I am instantly captivated by a good story, especially when that individual is being completely honest, vulnerable, and raw. I love to watch them on camera, or read their words scrolled into print. I guess because I am so prone to share from my own experiences, I take great interest in hearing the same from others. I didn't really expect it today, but I literally found myself captivated by the story of someone's life... And saw that I had a part to play in it.

A couple of weeks ago my boss shared with us a new chapter in her sister LaShelle's life. As the art teacher in an alternative education high school, she spends her days shaping teenage minds, and trying to give them a better perspective of life. This has taken a new depth to her over the past couple of months.

One day last year the superintendent told her about an older man in town who has been working on an art project for over 25 years. He's developed a craft that he supposedly shares with only 4 other people in the world. In a large warehouse workshop (where he also makes a corner his home), he's designing a mosaic mural made entirely of wood cutouts.The wood is collected from all over the world and is never painted or stained, just placed intricately within the mural to highlight its uniqueness and color. Each large panel is part of a continuing story, filled with symbolism, meaning and ultimately the story of love.
Because "Mr. Ed" Lancer is getting older and his project is nearing an end, he deemed it necessary to seek a predecessor. He desired not only someone to complete the last panel of the story, but to carry the torch of the unique craft he's grown to perfect over the years. He found the perfect person in LaShelle, and a handpicked group of her students. They are beginning to learn the trade by turning various items into mosaic art.
Mr. Ed is a very knowledgeable and spiritual man. He's studied various ethnicities, and has even spent periods of time living submerged in different cultures. He has managed to intertwine these cultures with their dress, their customs, and their beliefs into the mosaic panels, each one intricately detailed and true to their origins. He believes his connection to LaShell and her class to be not only right, but divine.

So this is where we enter. We're shooting a documentary of the story. And it started today. We learned some idiosyncratic details about Mr. Ed today. A 4-time heart attack survivor who has also suffered brain damage, he had been known to teeter between being in the "Zone" as he calls it, and on the brink of insanity from time to time. Sometimes working through several days without eating, he had to learn how to pace himself. Because of this, his daily schedule has grown to include 3 bike trips to the local Big Boy to eat. If he ever neglects to show up, they call and check in on him. Numerous times I caught myself feeling completely mesmerized by this genius of a man who turns a gift of love into the most beautiful art, even though he doesn't know how to write.

LaShelle shared with us many interesting 'coincidences' including a recent near fatal experience they had shared. One day LaShelle had decided to take the day off of work. She recounted to us that for some reason she changed her mind at the last minute and went to the workshop instead. When she arrived, she found Mr. Ed lying on the floor having fallen off of a ladder. She said he had lost a lot of blood and badly needed stitches in his head. She rushed him to the hospital consequently saving his life. LaShell indicated that this was particularly interesting because when she first met Mr. Ed and he learned of her family history in the area, he had a similar story to share. He told her how as a little boy he had accidently ingested something poison. As it turned out LaShelle and Jeannine's grandfather was the one to rush him to the hospital. Other experiences of astounding similarity have taken place within Mr. Ed and the group, further strengthening their bond.

Today was a moving experience for me. Not only did I find the work to be highly precise mathematically, but artistically breathtaking. As he described the symbolism in a particular piece, it literally brought tears to my eyes. Every inch is a labor of love and the result of years of learning. This is his life's work.

date night

If you haven't heard about this documentary "My Date with Drew" you're not alone. Available to rent now (exclusively at Blockbuster), is this a sweet, true story about an average guy who decided to attempt securing a date with Drew Barrymore. At the time of filming he didn't even own a video camera and had just $1,100 and 30 days to make it happen. He is too cute and you'll find yourself laughing, crying and celebrating with him. Sweet and inspiring. So glad my friend Laura suggested it.

Rent it. Love it.

Tulsa Time (aka the world's longest post EVER)

The biggest faux pas of my Tulsa trip is not the cracking of my tooth on the shampoo bottle as I mentioned in my previous post, OR the fact that I rear-ended someone with the rental car in the mall parking lot (no damage was done, thank God!). It IS however that every time I met with a friend to hangout, I literally forgot to take any pictures until the last day. I can't even believe it. I literally carried my camera around the whole time in my purse, but never actually photo-documented my friends. You'll just have to trust that the people I am about to mention really DO exist and that I'm not just making the whole thing up to comfort myself for not having any friends. (Let's be real, I use chocolate for that).

Without further ado - the breakdown of my trip:

Wednesday - I woke up extra early to get to Traverse City and take care of a few items of business for work. Once that was done, I had time to kill stopping at a couple of stores and making sure I hadn't forgotten anything. (This was about the time my mom called to tell me that I'd forgotten my face wash AND my toothbrush. Nice.) As I was headed to the airport, I got a courtesy call on my cell letting me know that my flight was canceled and I'd been rescheduled. Long story short, I left TC when I should have been leaving Detroit. Got in around 8 pm instead of 4, got the rental car, scuffed the rental car, got a cherry lime-aid at Sonic, drove to the Goleys', then laughed until it was time for bed.

Thursday - Woke up early, cracked my tooth in the shower, hurried to be at Believers' Church for my session with Pastor Mark at 8. This turned out to be one of the best highlights of my trip. It's amazing how a little time with someone wise and tender to the voice of God can bring about some surprising (and necessary) healing that you didn't even know you needed. Chatted with other people I knew on staff there, then met my friend Amber for lunch at 11:30. We ate at this great little sandwich/wrap place called Camille's. (I'm a huge fan of the Thai chicken wrap, so yummy). Dining with her was both enjoyable (the catching up part), and painful (the jagged-tooth-cutting-the-tongue-repeatedly part). Once we were finished eating, she showed me her office and we visited my friend Mark who works in the same building. He took me in to meet the creative director (who had been given my resume earlier in the week), who ended up giving me an impromptu interview right on the spot. It went well. (Obviously I communicated to him that I've got a few things going on but would be open in a couple of months, he shared that he's not in a huge rush to fill the position, so it's very open-ended on both of our parts). Went to the dentist at 3, went to dinner with the Goleys after and then to the mall for a few items (namely the face wash). Managed to pick up more than I needed including this Underwear for Lashes and a great eye cream called Eye Doctor.

Friday -
Met with Pastor Mark at 8 am again since the day before had gone so well then spent the afternoon with the Goleys. Later on that evening I went for dinner with my friend Jason . We caught up on the last few years at The Brook in Brookside, and discussed important matters like how the word 'middle' could be used to describe food (maybe the 'quality' of the food makes more sense), and how there's this guy that I never met but used to see around Tulsa all the time and that I'd seen him the day before again at Camille's two years later... So bizarre. After we ordered Jase mentioned that the side orders there were just massive and how he really likes the mac and cheese there. I had ordered wild rice, so we waited in anticipation to see the side. It WAS massive.
(Notice how I placed the salt shaker there to give you some perspective. Yeah, I got a picture of it, don't ask me how I forgot to take one of JASON! Hello? Oh well, that's his plate in the background.) He said that someday he's going to order the coleslaw or cottage cheese just to see if will also really cover 3/4 of the plate.

After dinner we headed downtown to The Hive to hear a good friend's band play. We were quite early, so we left and got chai, then came back to the venue to settle in. I knew that Scotty Isaacs was talented, but I had never heard him cut loose with his full band before. It was incredible. They gave me a copy of the EP, but you can check Traveler out here. Their new site is being constructed as we speak. Great music, great friends. Plus, it was great to see Kori (his wife)... she's one of my dearest friends. (But more about them later on in the post).

Side Note: As I was getting ready to go out with Jase, the Goley kiddos and Mekenzie's friend Morgan Steele (Mark's daughter) who was staying over found several wigs that their parents had stored in the closet. I snapped these pictures when I finally stopped laughing hard enough to steady the camera.
Even Steve joined in the fun. Nasty. Steve laughed really hard at the last shot of Zachary. We couldn't help but think he looked a little like he could be Bill Wilson's long lost son.

Saturday - Spent the morning drinking coffee and relaxing with Laina and the kiddos. Met my friend Mark (from the interview hookup) for a late lunch and then walked around the new area known as the Riverwalk. So many new stores and eateries have sprung up in the past couple of years. Even my once beloved coffee shop Nordaggio's has expanded with 2 more locations. We ate mexican food and talked about life. We had great conversation, sharing thoughts about work and trading divorce stories. It was good to hear the perspective of an older friend who has been separated from that past for many years. He had a lot of really good things to say. We walked along the Riverwalk chatting and decided to stop for coffee. I happened to run into another girlfriend I knew from bible school in the coffee shop who I'd lost touch with but we caught up quickly. After laughing a while there we parted ways and I met the Goleys for a dinner reservation at a steakhouse. Needless to say, I had a salad. (All this dining!!) Afterward we went to the house of Becca and Caleb (some Big World friends/employees) for an appearance at their birthday party.

Sunday - Churched at Believer's and saw a few more friends I'd yet to connect with. Totally enjoyed the worship and Pastor Roger's message. Picked up lunch at Panera Bread in the mall and had my near-collision experience. Had dinner later that evening with Melodie at The Bistro. I had the most amazing whitefish with pesto and asparagus and we caught up on how life has changed since we last hung out. I've always appreciated Mel's enthusiasm for life, and that hasn't waned one bit. In fact, since she's become an aunt it's even greater!

Monday - This was an exhausting and sad day. No one likes to leave. I got up early and went to Scott and Kori's for a visit so we could chat without struggling to hear each other over the music. Since I moved 3 years ago they've created an Insta-family as I like to call it. They had Emersen who'll be 2 early next year, and little London. Sister friend had some seriously crazy bed hair going on! Too cute. And here's the sweet boy. The last picture is of Scott and Emersen snuggling. (No pictures of Kori because she hadn't had a shower yet. I can't blame her, I wouldn't either!)
I ended up stopping by to see my friend Amber again at her office then went back to the Goleys' for the last time. Packed up my stuff, followed them into town while they got their Christmas family picture taken and grabbed these shots before I left.

Once I got the rental car dropped back off and checked in, I was in transit from 5 pm until 11:30 when I arrived back in TC. It was a blustery night of 15 degrees, and the snow was really blowing. I'd be lying if I denied being a little concerned about the icy landing, but everything turned out fine (my palms were just a-sweatin' though!). By the time we got my luggage and made the trip home it was 1:30 this morning. Sure I was tired today, but the trip was totally worth it, and hopefully I can do it all again soon.

That's my plan.

Tulsa Trip Day 2

Just have a second to jot a bit about the trip so far... I got in later than anticipated because Northwest canceled my first flight of the morning on Wednesday. Instead of arriving into Tulsa around 4 pm, I didn't get in until after 8, and then had to get my luggage from the carousel, pick up the rental car, and a quick bite at Sonic (since I haven't eaten at one in about 2 years and desperately needed a cherry-limeade, light ice), before driving out to the home where I've been staying. Just like my trip to Miami last summer, I have been bunking at the Goley household, cracking up at their kids and loving the warmer weather.

Highlights so far:
- The lady in front of me at the security checkpoint who tried to send a bag with two dogs in it through the X-ray machine. (And she appeared to be a breeder... one would think...)

- The emergency dentist appointment that I had yesterday morning because of a shampoo bottle related incident. It's not my fault that it was too tight to open! The dentist told me never to do that again... "If you need to open a bottle, get a wrench or a husband, take your pick." (Note to self: Buy Home Depot stock.)

- Catching up with several old friends who are in new stages of their lives, and dining at new restaurants that didn't exist when I was last here 2 years ago.

- Having my first experience with a rental car, and finally being old enough to actually rent it! Let's not talk about the fact that I literally scuffed it with the first touch.

- Experiencing the cleansing breaths of two productive sessions with a pastor friend of mine involving prayer, counsel and working through some junk from the past.

- A pair of super fuzzy new socks.

More to come!