I Dream of Jeannie

The good news is Johnathan has officially finished his coursework toward his Master's in Biblical Studies. Of course, that means that he is now working on his thesis - no small task. The subject of this paper (that word doesn't seem to have enough gravitas, considering the whole degree relies on it) is pretribulational, dispensational premillennialism eschatology....yeah, already pretty much over my head. Basically, as I understand it (though I may be corrected on this), that means he'll be discussing/defending the view that Israel and the Church are distinct entities and that Jesus will return before a seven year tribulation, followed by an additional return of Christ with his saints to reign on earth.

I actually really enjoy the fact that Johnathan is pursuing post-graduate degrees in Biblical studies, because I become so much better educated about my own beliefs through discussing his studies with him. My only question is, once his thesis is approved and he has actually graduated, do I have to call him "Master?"

Rock On

When I made the onesies for baby Shelby, I had a little guilt about the fact that I'd never actually done any for my very own precious niece. I decided that her birthday was the perfect excuse to make her something. We'd already ordered her this book (I highly recommend this company if you are looking for a personalized gift, they were great!) and gotten her these instruments from both Johnathan and me, but the embroidery project was going to be just from me, so I knew exactly what I wanted to put on one of them:

I made her two others, but was not able to get pictures, because my camera died half-way through her birthday party and, like a total doof, I had left my battery charger 1,700 miles away. I just managed to get this one by turning the power off between shots. Erin made the tutu back in August, so I chose the colors specifically to match it.


One of the others had a cute picture on it from a Sublime Stitching pattern and the other was a Texas flag to remind her of her roots. They all turned out cute enough, but (for some reason, I cannot quite figure out) this one is definitely my favorite.

On Why I Should Never Leave Home For More Than One Day

I love spontaneity and I tend to be a pretty impulsive person. I'm up for anything, so if you want somebody to talk you out of a 'crazy' idea, I am not your gal. However, I need/thrive on/crave routine. I am at my optimal when things are orderly and scheduled. My best days are the ones when I wake up at 4 AM, start with a workout, stay busy at work, run errands or do chores at home and have only a little down time for reading before bed. I eat the same thing for breakfast every morning (a hot cereal of brown rice with chopped almonds, dried cranberries and blueberries, 1 tbsp of protein powder and skim milk) and lunch and dinner usually consists of one of about 5 variations of vegetables and some source of protein. Some people might get bored by such a lack of variety from day to day. I love it! It makes me a much happier, saner, more pleasant and more productive person.

But, my routine does not exactly come naturally to me. I have worked hard to figure out just how things need to be and, even though I know it's best for me to stick to the plan, sometimes I have to force myself to do just that. The worst is whenever I go on a trip. I love to travel - can't get enough of it. I do sometimes need to get away from all that I am used to and I find great joy in discovering new places, people and things or getting back to the old ones. But it is impossible for me to stick to the patterns that keep me sane when I am away from home. Every "usual" part of my daily life is disturbed...it's great!

The problem comes when I get home. First of all, it seems that lately, any time I leave home for more than 24 hours, I get sick. I came back from Cozumel with a sore throat that lasted three days. I got a stopped up/runny/sneezey nose just about the minute my plane touched down in New York on Friday and now, 36 hours after returning to Austin it has not gotten any better. Furthermore, it takes me several days to get back to normal. My sleep schedule is off; I haven't exercised in a week; I try to put off going to the grocery store until my "regular" day, so now my food supply is lacking; and, shamefully, my suitcase is still lying on my bedroom floor with all of the clothes inside (I took out toiletries, shoes and makeup only because I've needed them). Hopefully I will be back to normal by this evening, but it really is just pathetic what leaving home does to me. I'm beginning to think it isn't worth the trouble!

A Very Special Day

I vividly remember the moment, 614 days ago, that Erin told me she was expecting a little surprise. I was having dinner with Dad when she called and he did not know yet, so I not only had to keep the secret for a bit, but force myself not to react when she told me. I was THRILLED!

By September of last year, I was ready for that baby to be born. Since Erin was not able to travel for my grandma's funeral, I went up to New York afterwards as a surprise. I was (not so secretly) hoping she would pop while I was there, but despite Erin's best efforts to coax (or maybe smoke) Alivia out of there - including lots of walking, castor oil, and a very unpleasant ginger tea concoction suggested by some lady at Target - it was not to be.

Two weeks later, I got the call that Erin was in labor and many many hours and updates later, as I slept with my cell phone nestled next to my head, I learned that Alivia Jade was finally here. The first half hour or so was nerve-wracking. Mom told me that she was out, but it had been an extremely difficult delivery and they were not sure if she was okay. While her first minutes, hours and days, were less than ideal, she turned out to be just fine - perfect, if you ask me!

Over the past year, I have watched this precious child grow and develop her own personality and change all of our lives. Most notable, is the change in Erin. She is no longer just my big sister, she is a mother. She has more strength and love than I ever would have known. Neither her pregnancy, nor delivery could be described as easy. Alivia's short life has been fraught with "complications." But my big sister takes it all in stride. She schleps to doctor's appointments and therapies most days of the week and doesn't seem to get bogged down by it. Her amazing love for her daughter shines through it all and I know she would do absolutely anything for her. I couldn't be more proud.

And as for this little girl, not quite a baby any more, she is the shining star of the family. She is smart and funny, moody and loving, fearless and gentle. She loves books and Elmo and dances whenever there is music (and sometimes when there isn't). She climbs on everything and chases the dog around the house. She eats green beans by the handful and likes to suck on lemons. Her laugh is completely infectious. She is loved beyond words.

Happy birthday, my darling Alivia (Ali, AJ, Liv, Livvy, Libya, etc. etc.)! Thank you for coming into our lives.

Do You Want Fen-Phen With That?

Right now I am in New York for Alivia's first birthday (well, that is really just my excuse to take a couple of days off work and visit the family and one of my favorite cities). Aside from the party on Sunday, the only definite plans were for a sisters' trip to see Legally Blonde the Musical. Erin had already seen it once, but it's closing soon and she wanted another go and I was eager to see this adaptation.

The show was very good. All of the charm of the original movie with a lot of the same funny lines, but plenty of new twists and changes thrown in. Bailey Hanks stars as Elle and I have to say that I was very impressed with her. She is a total newcomer, having been discovered through an MTV reality show/competition to cast the role. She reminds me of a young Kristin Chenoweth in her mannerisms and voice.

After the show, we stopped for a slice of pizza and I had a horrible confrontation with a new law in New York City. You see, the powers that be recently decided that people are not trustworthy enough to be responsible for minding their own caloric intake. It is now required that restaurants don't just provide the calorie count for any dish if it is requested by a patron, they have to display it on the menu! Honestly, I'm not usually somebody who feels passionately about the government staying as small and unobtrusive as possible, but this is over the line, in my opinion.

Obviously I know that a piece of pizza is not a healthy choice, I do not care to see that it is going to cost me 700 calories a slice. Seriously! But, by far the biggest shock was the Fettuccine Alfredo with Grilled Chicken. Now, I did not see the size of a portion and I'm assuming it was quite large, but according to their own calculations, one serving of this dish contains a whopping 3070 calories. That is more than 150% of the daily suggested caloric intake for an adult. I'm am appalled and disgusted and dismayed. How is anybody supposed to ever enjoy a meal with this information staring them down?

Ladies Night

I'm a bit of a homebody. I love going out and doing lots of different things, but most of the time I am perfectly happy to spend evenings at home making dinner, working on some kind of project or just curling up on the couch with a book or the remote. However, there are those times when I am just dying to get together with my girls and break up my routine a bit.

On Friday, I was beginning to feel that urge, so I sent out a group email and we made plans to have dinner last night. I've heard Katie sing the praises of North by Northwest regularly for a good year-and-a-half or so now and figured it was high time to finally try this place out. In a word: yum! I knew it was a good choice when I saw that five out of nine choices of sides are potato dishes.

They are a restaurant and brewery, so it was only right that I try one of their original beers. I got the Bavarian Hefeweizen and found it quite refreshing (even if they cut the lemon slice in a way that is hard to squeeze out any juice). We ordered a plate of garlic fries for the table and I was simply amazed that I had never had such an obvious and delicious combination before. I wouldn't say my pasta entree was revolutionary by any means, but it was very satisfying. We decided to split 3 desserts among the 4 of us - creme brulee, chocolate torte and apple crisp a la mode. The apple crisp alone was plenty dessert for all of us and, needless to say, I left absolutely stuffed. Of course the best part of the evening was getting to spend time with 4 friends (an extra showed up as we were eating our sweets) who I don't see nearly enough.

Good food, good company, what more could I ask for?

Things Girly

There are some movies that come on T.V. over and over. Between TBS, TNT and the multitude of stations directed at women, you can pretty much bet they are playing non-stop. A few of these movies suck me in every time I see them on. It doesn't matter that I've seen Steve Martin try to "steal" hotdog buns from the grocery store 592 times, as soon as I hear Franck Eggelhoffer's accent, you can bet I'm going to stop flipping channels and watch the rest of the movie...and I'm probably going to cry at the end.

Almost a year ago, I took up embroidery. Ari and I decided that to save money last Christmas we were going to set a rule that we had to make each other's gifts, so I bought a kit and embroidered an apron for her. I love embroidery because it is quite easy, I usually like the way it looks when I'm done, it doesn't take too long to complete a project (good for my attention span or lack-thereof), and people seem to be impressed by it; they assume it takes a lot more work than it does.

My sweet friend, Desma, is less than a month from delivering her first baby (I promise these three non sequiturs are about to make sense). She is having a little girl and they have decided to name her Shelby. Of course, the first thing that comes into my head when I hear that name is another of those movies that sucks me in every. single. time. - Steel Magnolias.

At the beginning of the movie, the character Shelby is getting married and she and her mother are constantly bickering about wedding details, not the least of which are her wedding colors. Shelby says they are Blush and Bashful, while her mom declares they are pink and pink. I wanted to do something special for Desma and sweet Shelby for her shower last month, so I decided to embroider some onesies.

I'm sure that, if she hasn't already, Desma is going to get tired of the Steel Magnolias references at some point, but I simply could not help myself. Obviously she can't wear both outfits at once, so the only people who know the significance are the parents and the people who were at the shower. The 3rd was done with a Kurt Halsey design from Sublime Stitching. I love all of the templates on the site and have used several for projects. I just used another on a gift for Alivia and will likely post pics of that in the next week or so.