Pet Peeve: Mustaches

I don't get it.

Why are mustaches everywhere right now? They are tattoos, party themes, coffee mugs, jokes ("I mustache you ask a question..." or something like that), photo props... etc.

Why is that cool? Is it supposed to be ironic-funny because mustaches are so not cool? I must be old.

I only approve of two mustaches:

1. Tom Selleck

2. Ron Swanson

Please, please, please don't get this tattoo, people. Seriously, it will only be funny for a minute - use a sharpie.

Honest Confessions

In this cutesy, handmade, Pinterest world, I think it's time for a little mom/wife/woman honesty.

1. I tried to make peanut fudge with a super simple 2 step recipe and I inexplicably messed it up.

2. I have approximately six piles of clothes scattered around my house that need to be put away.

3. I have never made one thing with those wine corks I've been saving.

4. Only about ten things are hung on the walls of our house after 5 months.

5. On the car ride back from the beach, I let my toddler eat Pirate Booty for lunch.

6. I have not finished my wedding scrapbook and I don't think I ever will. I have recently decided to slap some glue to the rest of the pictures and just get them in there.

7. I throw Tupperware away some times just because I don't want to wash it. Also, spell check just had to tell me I needed to capitalize "Tupperware."

Feel better?

Pet Peeve: Pets as People

Pets are not people; they are animals. That sentence is literally a fact. However, today people seem to looooove to act like animals are people.

1. They dress them up. Yuck.

2. They let them rule their homes and beds and couches, making them smelly and/or hairy.

3. They let them babysit. I am sick and tired of seeing babies posed or napping or in the arms of a big giant dog.

That is an ANIMAL, parents!! An animal who might suddenly get freaked out by a car noise outside or a fleck of dust in the air or who might have a dream that they are chasing a squirrel and in the process could absolutely injure the fragile and precious tiny human being who has been entrusted to your care. I know you think your dog would never do that... but that dog has no understanding of how it could accidentally injure that child. And that is not cute.

4. When I tell something about my child, they say, "Oh, I know just what you mean! My dog/cat/pet always..."

Really? Did you create your pet from your own person, birth him, nurse him, care for his every need hour after hour, day after day, year after year? Do you sit in awe of the amazing miracle that is a pet? Do you teach your pet about life, love and decency? Do you carefully build your pet's character and nurture his self-esteem? Do you quit your job to care for your pet or spend thousands of dollars a month for good daycare? Do you lie awake at night hoping for your pet's future, worrying about his health and safety? Do you constantly analyze what you could be doing better as your pet's caretaker or if you are doing a good enough job?

So, in conclusion, pets are not people. Please tell your friends.

I stand Amazed.

Marvelous: Causing wonder or astonishment, miraculous, supernatural, of the highest or best quality.
Wonderful: awe-inspiring, inexplicable by the laws of nature, far superior to anything seen or will be seen.


I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene.
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner, condemned unclean.

How Marvelous! How Wonderful!
And my song shall ever be...

How Marvelous!How Wonderful!
Is my Savior's love for me!

He took my sin and my sorrow
He made them his very own.
He bore the burden to Calvary
And suffered and died alone.

How Marvelous!How Wonderful!
And my song shall ever be...

How Marvelous!How Wonderful
Is my Savior's love for me!

For me it was in the garden
He prayed, Not my will, but Thine"
He had no tears for His own griefs,
But sweat drops of blood for mine.

How Marvelous!How Wonderful!
And my song shall ever be...

How Marvelous! How Wonderful!
Is my Savior's love for me!

When with the ransomed in Glory
His face I at last shall see!
T'will be my joy through the ages
To sing of His love for me!

Enchanted

There is something so magical about the arrival of fall. The crispness of the air, the cool breeze, the leaves and pumpkins, the colors of nature, the coziness of it all. No other season quite rivals it - sure summer is wonderful with the beach and sun-kissed skin; and the delight of a snowy Christmas (so I hear, I live in Texas); and the life that spring brings. But fall... it's enchanting! It's my season, I guess.

I so vividly remember the first time I was so taken in by autumn. I was around ten; I ran outside to play with kids in my neighborhood. The feel and the smell of the cool breeze mixed with the joys of childhood just about knocked me over right there on our back steps. It's one of those frozen moments in time for me.  

As I get older, it only gets better: coffee, boots, scarves and pumpkin muffins are fun signs of the season. Even more wonderfully, the  two best things in my life have happened in the fall - my engagement to my loving husband and finding out that my Emmet was on his way!

In The Sacred Romance (by Brent Curtis and John Eldridge) they discuss the different ways God romances our hearts throughout our lives:
"Something calls to us through experiences like these and rouses an inconsolable longing deep within our heart, wakening in us a yearning for intimacy, beauty and adventure. This longing is the most powerful part of any human personality. It fuels our search for wholeness, for a sense of being truly alive. However we may describe this deep desire, it is the most important thing about us, our heart of hearts, the passion of our life. And the voice that calls to us in this place is none other than the voice of God."

That is what fall reminds me; God is romancing me. He loves me just as I am... here and now. So every year, he kisses the earth with the magic of fall to say, "Shauna, remember! Remember how much I love you! I made you all this, and it is nothing compared to what I have in store!"

I hope you are enchanted, too.

Good Questions

I didn't write this. I read it and like it and reposted it. That is my only commentary. Also, sorry Mom and Dad, I know you may not agree.

On her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, penned by a US resident, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:

 Dear Dr. Laura: ...

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination .... End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness - Lev15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

 I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I'm confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging. Your adoring fan, James M Kauffman, Ed.D. Professor Emeritus, Dept. Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education University of Virginia (It would be a damn shame if we couldn't own a Canadian).

Literature

I love books, hence tacking on a second major in English with a literature focus just so I could take more lit classes in college. I am a nerd, and I embrace it whole-heartedly. One of my favorite Hemingway quotes is, "All good books have one thing in common - they are truer than if they had really happened."

My Favorite Books (in no particular order) plus a few favorite quotes:

• The Awakening by Kate Chopin (I also love all her short stories)

"The past was nothing to her; offered no lesson which she was willing to heed. The future was a mystery which she never attempted to penetrate. The present alone was significant."

• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

• My Antonia by Willa Cather

• The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

"However Simon thought of the beast, there rose before his inward sight the picture of a human, at once heroic and sick."

• The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (also his short stories)

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." just a Hemingway quote, not from a novel.

• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

"'It isn't Narnia, you know,' sobbed Lucy. 'It's you. We shan't meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?' 

'But you shall meet me, dear one,' said Aslan... 'But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing my here for a little, you may know me better there.'"

• Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

• The Screwtape Letters also by C.S. Lewis (yeah, I'm a fan :)

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

"You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." Ahh, Mr. Darcy, swoon :)

• Suddenly Last Summer by Tennessee Williams

I am certain there are more, but that is all I can think of for now and I'd like to finish this post!
Lava!

If I were a rich (wo)man

Lord, who made the lion and the lamb, you decreed I should be what I am.
But would it spoil some vast eternal plan - if I were a wealthy man?" - Fiddler


I wonder about that sometimes... would it be so horrible if I were rich? Sure, sure, not having money builds character, but people can have character and money, right?! 


I have been thinking about these things today: money, pinterest and creation. 


I read a blog where a family of 4 lives on $14,000 a year... crazy!! Their house and cars are paid off, which is a big chunk of bills, but even deducting that, we still make way more than that! So, I was inspired to start on Mint.com to help with budgeting and seeing where all of our money goes every month. I think that we are pretty responsible and don't spend too frivolously, but there are definitely areas where we (mostly me) could cut back. 


I also read a friend's blog about quitting social media for a while because she feels like she isn't devoting her time and attention to her family - something I think we can all relate to. She also said she put so much energy into posing the perfect instagram picture or bragging about her wonderful life on twitter/facebook. She said she realized she might have a problem when jealousy overcame her on pinterest and made her angry and resentful of her real-life friends. I think this is a huge deal in today's media centered society:


1. Time suck - I would be ashamed to admit to all of the hours each week that I spend looking at facebook, blogs or pinterest. Thank goodness I never caught the twitter bug! And I can't recall much productivity that has come from it all, sadly. 


2. Everyone is putting so much effort into putting their best face forward, so to speak. They brag about their kids, going to the gym, their fabulous vacations, how crafty they are, how great their house/job/car is, even Bible study for crying out loud. The Bible study thing really gets me, but I think that is a subject for a separate post. But because we all are trying so hard to put our "perfect" selves out there, it just fuels the insecurity and jealousy of everyone else. Then they feel they must validate their lives by doing the same thing, just so every body knows that they are awesome too, and the cycle continues, and it is all based on lies (or half-truths). 

3. We are tricked into thinking that we NEED a lot of stuff that we don't. Our priorities are vastly skewed. I am right there among the guiltiest of guilty. I want cute clothes, a magazine-worthy house, an expensive car, and all the latest and greatest inventions for my child. But sometimes, when I get caught up in it all and start to really feel down on myself, I remember that I have never in my life been hungry, homeless, neglected or unable to go to the doctor. There are millions upon millions of people who cannot say the same. 

I think all of this boils down to the same thing... creation. God designed this wonderful, beautiful world for us. Beauty in nature, relationships with family and friends, fun, feasting, working, resting are all glimpses of what heaven will be like. That is why God gave them to us. But sometimes that is all we can see, and we obsess over those good things and turn them into sins like pride, envy, gluttony, etc. We have missed the forest for all the trees. I think all of us blessed enough to be Americans (or live in any developed nation) should pray daily for God to use those blessings to point us back to Him. 

All of this is easier said than done, of course, but maybe I can work on just being grateful today and go from there. 

Love to you,

Shauna

Pet Peeve: Apostrophes

Dear People of The World,

An apostrophe ( ' ) is used to make words POSSESSIVE. That's right.Possessive means to show ownership of something. To do this, you add an apostrophe and an S ('s) to a singular possessive word:
Right: Joe's car. The car is owned by Joe.

This still applies even if the name ends in an S. If Mary Jones owns a car (still Singular Possessive):
Wrong: Mary Jones' car
Right: Mary Jones's car

Because the S on the end of Jones does not make it plural, you use the typical 's.

Apostrophes are NEVER used to make something PLURAL... NEVER EVER EVER EVER. This applies even to the name of a couple or family:
Wrong: The Smith's (This is wrong; really it is. PLEASE stop writing it. Please. I will throw your Christmas card AWAY if you sign it this way. Seriously. Please stop. I can't take it.)
Right: The Smiths

It is never correct to write "The Smith's." Never. It is correct to write, "Joe Smith's car."

Now, here is where it can get tricky: when the people's last name ends in an S, or even ES like Jones. To talk about the whole family (or plural):
Wrong: The Jones'
Right: The Joneses

I know it looks funny, but I am right on this one. I promise.

When a word is plural (ending in s) and possessive, you can just use an apostrophe:
Wrong: The Smiths's car
Right: The Smiths' car.

Here is the real kicker. When someone's last name is plural, ends in es and is possessive:
Wrong: The Jones's Home
Right: The Joneses' Home

I'm glad we had this talk.

Zooey

Have you watched New Girl with Zooey Deschanel? It is hilarious. And since there is no good TV on right now, I think I am having withdrawals. I have a total girl crush on Zooey - she is so cute and funny and quirky. Speaking of quirky, have you seen the SNL skits, "Bein' Quirky with Zooey Deschanel?!"



She rocks. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention... she's my THIRD COUSIN!!! Yep, that's right!! Me and Zooey (and her sis Emily of "Bones" fame) are blood relations... BLOOD!

"Stop saying 'blood' to strangers."**

Zooey and I have the same great great grandfather, William Andrew Kennedy. But his children - my great grandfather and her great grandmother were twins... so I think that makes us more like second and a half cousins. And if I ever meet her, I will inform her of this fact. And then she will ask me to be best friends with her and we will turn our beds in to bunk beds so we can have so much extra room to do activities!

Now that I sound like a crazy, I feel like I should prove it. Here is a Christmas Newsletter my Dad found among my grandmother's things:

Here is my favorite New Girl quote; when I knew that Zooey and I were destined to be BFF:

"I brake for birds. I rock a lot of polka dots. I have touched glitter in the last 24 hours. I spend my entire day talking to children, and I find it fundamentally strange that you're, 'not a dessert person.' That's just weird, and it freaks me out... and I hate your pantsuit; I wish is had ribbons on it or something to make it just slightly cuter. And that doesn't mean I'm not smart or tough or strong... I'm almost done. I'm about to go pay this $800 fine, and my checks have baby farm animals on them. Bitch."

Now I know where my fun, cute and quirky personality comes from ;) Chad did actually tell me that she reminded him of me, and this was before we found out about about being related. Anyway, Zooey, if you're reading this - CALL ME, let's hang out!!


**10 cool points if you got this Friend's reference from "The One with all the Cheesecakes" when Ross and Monica are at their cousin, Frannie's, wedding.

Chalkboard Fridge

I decided to tackle a small craft project in my never-ending quest to decorate and "me-ify" our new house. 

Presenting: Chalkboard Fridge

 I only wanted to do one side, but had originally seen the idea at The Handmade Home. Memaw gave us her fridge when she moved to independent living (among other furniture, for which we are very grateful!), but in the move this side had gotten a little scratched...plus it's the only side that is fully open... plus chalkboard stuff is all over pinterest... plus it's fun, so I wasn't too scurred about the change.

1. Clean your fridge

2.Purchase BOTH Chalkboard Paint and Rust-Oleum Magnetic Primer (total $40). This primer is important for several reasons:

A. To ensure the fridge stays magnetic through layers of paint.

B. To get the chalkboard paint to stick to the side of the fridge.

C. (Per Lowe's paint guy) To keep the latex paint from rusting the side of your fridge. I do not know if that is true, it is just what I was told. 

3. Prime your fridge. 

A few tips from the can: shake the hell out of it for several minutes (they did not say hell), use a foam roller brush, and do THREE thin coats, waiting 30 minutes in between to dry.

The first coat was pretty thin, and I only waited 20 minutes for coat #2 because little man was waking up from his nap. I could tell that it affected it a bit, but not too much. 

3. Chalkboard Paint it!

Chad and I discussed using a color other than black, but decided to just go with "normal color" for now. The black and white contrast doesn't bother me. I did two coats of the paint (30 minutes in between) and let it dry for 24 long hours before writing on it. 

Tada!! I think it is a really fun addition to our kitchen/casual dining area!

And Emmet likes it!

No-no, sweet boy - don't eat the chalk!!! We are working on that.

So, there ya go! An easy peasy chalkboard project!

Our House

...is a very very very fine house.

It is, but needs style and decorating and taking out some of the 1979 "charm" (like the wet bar in the middle of the living room). I have a lot of good ideas (thank you Pinterest) but I am lacking in the money/time/skill arena. Here are my goals for now:

1. Add Color
I like bright and bold and fun. I just need to find the right elements to speak to me and then go for it. Also, I want to paint every wall in my house, but that will take time, I guess (see #4).

2. Salvage
All of the coolest pins have a re-purposed old door or shutters or picture frame - so Emily and I are going to go to some Dallas salvage places I have heard of and see if we can make something happen! I'm excited!

3. Crafty
I need to hone my crafty skills.

4. Be Realistic
Decorating a home takes time and money and I have neither of those things. So I will take deep breaths and pace myself :) I don't want to throw together things that I don't actually love just to be done decorating.

Is this just me? Does everyone else just already have a perfectly put together house? That's the way it seems sometimes.

Oops

So, I accidentally let a whole month go by without blogging. So in the last month:

Baby Boy turned ONE!!! We had a fantastic birthday party for him the day before (which turned out pretty cute, if I may say so myself) and spent the day as a family on his actual b-day. Little man is no longer a baby... now officially a toddler. But man, oh man, do I love that little toddler boy.

We painted our bedroom and got some other home projects completed in time for the party. Only one bajillion projects left!

We went on a trip to the beach with my family! It was fun, Emmet was not a fan of sand or 12 hour car trips, but enjoyed the ocean and the loads of attention he received from his aunt, grandmother, grandfather and great grandmother all in the same house :)

I am now a part-time Momma!! I am staying home with E two days a week and my Mom is keeping him the other three for now until we find a one-day-a-week school near our house. Tomorrow is my first day staying home and I am soooooo excited!! Thank you Lord and thank you Hubby and thank you Gramy!

I read all of Pride and Prejudice on the Kindle app on my phone. I have never read it, so it was fun and my inner literature nerd is proud. Now I am on Emma and was starting Love Wins by Rob Bell, but my Dad picked it up, started reading it and took it home with him from the beach.

I will try harder to blog more often. I know that the no one who reads this blog was really sad while I was gone.

Sweet Love

What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It's the only thing that there's just too little of.

Let's love people today. Let's really love them, though, and not just be nice to their faces and then talk about them behind their backs or even think mean things. Let's love people who are gay or straight or overweight or way too skinny or democrat or republican or Christian or Muslim or Jewish or atheist. Let's love people who are dumb or too smart for their own good or even smelly. Let's love people who are rich and those who are poor and everyone in between. Let's really love people who are mean to us - I think they might need it the most. 

And guess what? It starts with you right now; that's the only way. Because the world can't have too much love; it would probably just overflow into space and then the martians would feel loved. I want my little boy to live in a world that is just brimming over with love. 

Shout Out

I have been reading home design blogs years before I actually had a home. I love catching up with Emily at Jones Design Company and Holly and Holly Mathis Interiors. Recently, Ashley at The Handmade Home has been doing a color tutorial series about using color in your home. I have been agonizing over several different color choices for the living room, master and Emmet's room since we first looked at our house. I have yet to purchase any paint... not even a sample. Anyway, I left a comment to Ashley about doing white well and she actually devoted an entire post to my question and used my name and called me sweet!! If only I could get her to come hand design my home... sigh. So here is the post about ME (well, sorta) on the Handmade Home:

http://www.thehandmadehome.net/2012/04/color-theory-101-doing-white-right/

Hopefully I will have some design in my home to show off soon :)

Lava!

From Scratch

This Easter I was faced with a unique conundrum. My Dad was working out of town and couldn't get back for the weekend, and I had already committed to hosting the fam over for lunch. A few days before, though, I realized something: It was just going to be me (plus Chad and Emmet), my mom, my sister and my grandmother. I laughed to Tab and Em about this, but they didn't get it. I am guessing you don't either. Here was my situation: NO OTHER WOMEN IN MY FAMILY CAN COOK! Seriously.

My Memaw heads the lineage of non-cookers. She is the most impressive because she somehow managed to do this as a preacher's wife in the fifties?!? Now, in her favor, things being "store bought" were a sure sign of well-to-do back then, so she was able to get away with cooking a chicken and heating up some sides and calling it a day. In fact, she used to get Allison and I store bought birthday cakes to save us from the ones my Dad always made us from scratch. And now, if you go over to her house, she will have all the salad and rotisserie chicken and iced tea from a jug that you could want. And she will make triple sure that you got enough to eat (and other such grandmotherly things), but she sure as hell isn't going to mix ingredients into anything.

Mom, obviously, didn't "Shake N Bake and I helped" in the fifties and sixties, so she just never picked it up. She would make sure I told you that she does make a mean green bean casserole and adds a secret ingredient (sugar) to Jiffy cornbread. A few Christmases ago, we were having some family and friends over for lunch, so my Dad and I had been cooking all morning. Since everything was pretty much managing itself, I went to curl my hair and Dad went to get dressed. About 5 minutes in, my Mom rushes in and says, "Shauna! Daddy asked me to stir the gravy but I think it might be burning!!!! Will you come look?!" This is a true story. I went in to look and it was just slightly simmering - I think she was concerned by the bubbles. I then relieved her of her duties and finished my hair when a more confident captain was at the helm.

Allison can't really be faulted with a gene pool like that, but I somehow managed inherited some cooking skills from Dad's side. Most of her problem, I think, is lack of effort. She and her roommate in college only owned 4 real plates and probably 4 sets of silverware. When she graduated, Dad and I made spaghetti for her and some of her friends the night before graduation. Y'all, I am not lying when I say that people had to eat in shifts so that we could wash the silverware in between. Same thing when it was time for dessert. Allison does have technology on her side, and she is pretty good at following instructions. So when she decided to cook for a boy she was dating, she had her own personal Alton Brown (aka Dad) via Skype to help her through. I am told it turned out well, but I have never seen any proof. She kicks ass at doing the dishes, though, for which I am eternally grateful.

All joking aside, I love that cooking together is me and Dad's "thing". One year for Christmas my gift to him was that I would let him give me cooking lessons. You read that sentence right; all my Dad wanted for Christmas was to spend time with me and to teach me some things. That is the kind of Daddy I have.

Maybe Mom, Memaw and Alli are just more progressive than I am... "We aren't going to be barefoot and slaving away in the kitchen - hell no! But we will mix up some brownies from a box for ya!" I wasn't aware of how weird this way until this Easter. Without my Dad, the meal was all on me. I did buy the ham pre-cooked and picked fairly easy side-dishes - but in all fairness, I didn't realize the meal was all on me until Friday and I was in denial about it until Sunday morning. Yep. I went to the grocery store on the way home from Easter Service.

May the 4th Be With You

The title has nothing to do with what I am writing about... I just think it's funny and it reminds me of last year when I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of my little CCB IV. Yep, he's the fourth born on the fourth (of June) at 4:38 pm. Chad asks me why I couldn't have just kept him in there for 6 more minutes?! Ha - he's joking, of course, but it would have been awesome.

So I have been trying to do some good deeds. Well, I guess I have actually been planning to do good deeds, and I probably shouldn't claim them until I have actually done them. But here's the thing -  it makes me feel like a really good person and it only takes about 4.6 seconds for me to get SMUG about it. Self, seriously? Are small things important for people to do? Absolutely. Is my small little deed just make me such a better person? No.

But then I feel like my haughty attitude cancels out the good I was trying to do. I am really bad at being humble, I guess. How do you take lessons in humility? I don't dare ask God for that because I know He will certainly show me how humble I should be and I am very much sure I do not want to know :)

It's like Joey told Phoebe - there is no self-less good deed because you always get something out of it - even if it's just a feeling. C'est la vie. Life lessons from Joey Tribbiani.

*Update: about four minutes after I wrote this post, my smugness got squashed. I am not lying. Thanks for coming through there, Lord :)

About Me

I decided to start this blog to work out things that are on my mind. I actually am not sure if I even want anyone to read it. Why put it on the internet, then? you may ask... and it's a legit question. My view on the matter is currently teetering on the edge of narcissism and self-expression as we speak (er, type?). Accountability is the answer, I think. I journal sometimes, but I don't really have much motivation to do it because it doesn't ever have to be finished and so most of it isn't. Also, I like to write - but I really am not sure if I am any good at it. As one of my new favorite bloggers says:

"Because I did have a hunch that maybe I could write and maybe you’d like it. But I’ve also seen the American Idol auditions, so I know that a whole lot of people suspect they are good at things that they should actually never, ever attempt to do publicly." -Glennon at momastery.com

So I figure the only way to get better at writing is to do it every day - or nearly every day (I mean, I do have a job, husband, baby, house, friends, family...). I don't really even do Facebook status updates because I find that annoying - I guess what makes this better (in my head) is that no one is making you come and read it.

So, why "Lava"? Explanation to come.

About me: I drink red wine, I like to read, but don't do it often enough, I have the cutest little boy on the planet, my husband is funny and definitely the person I was hoping for all my life, I work in child psychiatry with depressed kids - which makes me really sad some days and leaves me feeling like I did some good in the world on others. I like to cook and bake, my house is kind of a wreck, I'd like to be fashionable - but I don't have the time or money to shop. I have two degrees - English and Psychology - and graduated Magna Cum Laude, and that is the second hardest I have ever worked for an achievement. The first hardest is that I gave birth naturally (aka no epidural)... I am woman, hear me roar!