Life

things i think about

/ emmykay / 1 Comment

for real.

1) I plan things in my head all the time.  I’ve been thinking about how to arrange our living room for a long time now.  I’m thinking a sectional sofa is in our future to maximize the space.  I’ve also been working on my kitchen in my head too.

2) What did Jesus REALLY look like.  Like, was he short?  Tall?  Did he have acne as a teenager?

3) How in the world did people know to put eggs in with flour and sugar to make cake??  Like, was someone standing around with an egg and a bag of flour and they thought, “Well, I like eggs and I like flour… I wonder if they like eachother??”  And how about cheese? Who said, “No, no, let that pail of milk stand for a while until it becomes thick and delicious – then we can put it in a can and spray it on crackers and call it Cheez Whiz.”  Amazing.

4) What would cars look like if we didn’t have the horse and buggy first?  I mean, is it that intuitive to put the engine in the front?  Would it be better to put the engine in the back?

5) What is the origin of kissing?  What made us humans think “You know, I saw Frank eat all of that food and he seemed to be pretty happy about putting that in his mouth – I think I’d like to kiss him to see what that’s all about.”  I’m not saying that I don’t LOVE smooching (cuz I LOVE smooching), I’m just saying, why didn’t humans say, “Hey, why not fist bump?”

6) When the fuel light comes on in my car, how far can I really go?  I’ve gone about 20 miles before after getting the light, but I’m never sure if the fuel light really means it.  When I accelerate, sometimes the light goes off.  Is that my cars way of saying, “Peddle to the metal, Em!  Let’s go!”

7) When I’m driving on the highway, I mentally zoom out so that I can “see” my car cruising down the road from the air.  Then I zoom out more, and I can see my car tracing the curve of the Earth.  It makes me feel small.

That’s all for now.  I know, I ended with 7.  Who does a top 7 list? I do.

 I wonder why…

update much?

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So, Emily, how is this “Bold Blogging”going?

It’s not going?

You haven’t blogged in days and days and days?

Wow.

That’s the fastest New Year’s resolution you’ve ever dropped – including New Year’s diets and vows to make Frank more home-cooked meals.

~Real conversation with myself.

Ok, so a lot has been going on.

First of all, the new season of Greek starts on the 26th and the folks at Hulu.com are currently airing all three seasons for FREE – until the 26th.  As someone who is fully addicted to this show, I’ve GOT to get to the end of the freebies STAT.  This is big.

Second of all, Frank was home a ton and so I dedicated my time to snuggling and hanging out with him.  I gotta take the Frank time when I can get it!

Third, well, things got a big crazy this past week.  Just with real life.  I am looking forward to Sunday so that I can watch a movie and hang out.  That’ll be nice.

***

I spent a lot of time in the past few weeks trying to put my thoughts together on one particular topic: Intolerant tolerant people.  There are several people who claim intellectual tolerance but take the attack on Christians frequently.  Makes me wonder about how tolerant they really are.

But of course, I cannot think of people who are intolerant tolerant people without noting that there are Christians who do not love others the way that God called us to love others.

So the thing remains: how often do I reflect on myself?  How often do I recognize my own unloving behavior?

More on this to come.

long time between posts

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I know that I’ve had a long time between posts recently.

Part of it is because I’ve been busy.

But most of it has been because I’ve had a lot on my mind.

And not just about ice cream, although I think about it often.

So I promise a big update (as in lengthy – not as in important) coming soon.

It will be chocked full of pictures.  Amazing moments (ahem – I’ll snap a few of FK making me dinner…mm!).

But until then, please pray for my friends Aaron & J.  J is very sick and could use all the prayers in the world.

confessions of a type a wanna be wife

/ emmykay / 2 Comments

Let’s be real here: while I’d LOVE to be a type A wife, who is able to work and put dinner on the table while keeping cupboards organized and dressing fashionably, I usually wind up more like a hot mess.

Confession 1: Snowblowing fashionista

Hey, when they said “protective eyewear” I took it seriously.  Don’t be jealous – you can get a pair at Home Depot.

***

Confession 2: “Honey, can you pick up some more rice at the store?”

Three boxes?  Really?? wait… What do I spy with my little eye??


A FOURTH box of rice hiding behind the flour.  Anyone want to come over for dinner?  Oh, and perhaps you noticed the spices on the microwave?  That leads me to confession #3…

***

Confession 3: Speaking of kitchens…

Frank loves spices.  He’s great at using them and mixing them and making dishes delish.  The downside:

Oh look - some spices!

... and some more spices...

... more?

Seriously?

So yeah.  I’ve confessed.  Now I’m going to make a spicy rice dish before I go to the mall wearing my “protective eyewear.”

It’s not easy starting fashion trends.

women in skirts.

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So I had the honor, nay, the privilege of being among an army of ladies in skirts that descended upon Rosemont, IL yesterday.

See, as you may recall, I started my Mary Kay business last November.  Today was “ChicagoRama” – an all day function that was meant to inspire and motivate and educate.

How did I do today?  Well, I was definitely educated.  I learned about vitamins and peptides and moisturizers – oh my!

And I was motivated.  It sure is hard NOT to be motivated when you are surrounded by women of all ages who are cheering and bopping to music.

And I was pretty inspired.  But the inspiration really set in when I realized it was almost impossible to distinguish the ages of many of the women – my early 70’s director looks like she’s in her late 40’s – all thanks to their long-time use of Mary Kay products. Pretty impressive!

I pity any guy that found themselves in the midst of the clapping, yelling, dancing, cheering.

bold blogging

/ emmykay / 2 Comments

Since MckMama challenged all of her readers to blog boldly, I have:

  • a. blogged boldly
  • b. folded laundry
  • c. watched too much Greek
  • d. been paralyzed with fear by that challenge and opted to just do b&c.

The answer … after a word from the only sponsor of this blog: me.

Need a facial?  Email me.  I’m a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant.  I’ve used the product for years and love it.  It’s awesome.  You have to try it.

‘Nuff said.

For those of you paying careful attention to my blog lately (which, based on my blog counter, is probably only FK [and I don’t mean “only” like, “bah, it’s just FK”, but rather “only” like “singularly”]), then you know that the answer is d.

I wish I had prizes for you, but … I don’t.  So sorry.

 My 2010 resolution for my blog is to blog boldly.  What that is going to look like is anyone’s guess.

Will I boldly tell you about my love for Magic Shell?

Will I boldly tell you that I am measuring my food so that I am certain that I am actually only eating a 1/2 cup of ice cream (side note: a 1/2 cup is more than you would think!) and 2 tsp of Magic Shell?

Will I boldly tell you that I almost bled out at the doctor’s office today when I got my glucose tolerance test taken?  (oh yeah, blood everywhere – floor, chair, gloves, shirt)  Or will I also boldly mention that when I got into my car, I started to wonder if I was still bleeding out (my shirt was damp from bleeding out the first time), but I was so hungry from the fasting that I applied pressure to my arm while driving to the McDonald’s?

Can you handle the boldness?

I thought so. 

Boldly, Em

happy 2010, world!

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I hope that everyone has a safe and festive new year celebration!  Tonight was the first new years in 7 years that FK and I weren’t together.  That’s ok, though – we chatted on the phone and I spent the evening with wonderful friends who made the evening fun and carefree.  Loved it!

Thanks to Allison, Luke, Meghan, Mark, Dorothy, Erik, Margy, Abby, Eddie, Steve and all the rest of the wonderful people at Allison’s who made the new year celebration bright!

2009 review

/ emmykay / 2 Comments

This year was dominated by a few themes:

Old Made New Again

This theme happened in several ways.  We moved back to Illinois in 2008, not sure what it would really be like.  What has happened is that many of our friendships that were old have become new again.  There are so many examples of this regeneration, but specifically I think of one of my longest friendships with Miss Allison Claire.  When we were little, we played together nearly every day.  There was a rule established that we couldn’t call or go over to each other’s homes before 9 a.m. – and this was established to save our mothers from losing their minds!  As we got older, we went separate ways and our friendship was basically on life support because we rarely saw each other.  Since we’ve moved back, Allison and I see each other nearly every week!  She is truly a joy to spend time with and one of the most positive people I know.  I experienced similar rebirths with other friends – and it is awesome!  I feel surrounded by wonderful women that I love.  It is awesome!

But this theme didn’t just end with friendships, it also carried on to one of the most important relationships in my life – my marriage.  Frank and I celebrated our 6th year of marriage.  At a time when many marriages start feeling stale, our marriage is still fresh and interesting.  One of the pastors at church said the other week, “Presumed familiarity breeds unfamiliarity” – so true!  Even though Frank and I know each other so well, we keep learning new things about each other – and with each other.  Sure, it hasn’t all been rosy this year, but that’s ok.

Being Humbled

This year has also been the year of being humbled.  Yeah, I’ve had to swallow my pride on a few fronts.  Medically speaking, I’ve been exposed in just about every way possible.  Blood draws, invasive ultra-sounds and interesting procedures involving catheters.  That’s pretty humbling.

It’s also been humbling because we’ve come face to face with some of our biggest fears and had to ask for help along the way.  We’ve had to acknowledge that many of the things we experienced were outside of our control – like Frank’s work schedule and our infertility issues.  While we’ve known logically for quite some time that God is bigger than us, these situations have caused us to come face-to-face with our own limitations and humanity.  Or something like that.  The point is, we continue to be reminded that while there are a great many things we can do, we are ultimately not the ones in control.  We are small while God is great.

Ha ha ha

We’ve also been blessed with lots of joy in the midst of crazy times.  Tonight as I finished writing this, Frank was sitting next to me and every time I took a sip of the Diet Pomegranate 7-Up, Frank made slurping sounds trying to get me to spit out my drink.  The result was that he made himself laugh so much he couldn’t even drink.  Special times, for sure.  And if we can laugh in the midst of all the stuff we’re going through, that is truly a blessing.

With almost 24 hours left in 2009, it is impossible not to recognize the amazing blessings we’ve had this year: jobs, shelter, family, and friends.  I’m excited to move forward into 2010 and to see all of the new things God has in store for us.  I wish you all a very safe and happy new year!

See you on the flip side…

when to say when

/ emmykay / 2 Comments

Knowing when to say “when” is not my strong suit.  Ask my husband.

I am the queen of bad timing and timing misjudgments.

My timing issues tend to center around my inability to leave the office, but have also seeped into other areas, including when to leave a party, when to leave church, when to leave dinner, when to go to bed… etc, etc.

And when to let go in an argument.

I have to say I’m getting better at the last one.

Ask my younger sister Cait, she’ll tell you that I used to always try to get the last word in ALWAYS.  I’ve been like that since she’s known me.  Her first day home from the hospital as an infant and she was like, “darn, girlfriend, have a bottle and CHILL!”

When should I let go of the fertility biz?  When is enough truly enough?  How many shots, scans, opinions, tests and screenings can I handle?

This isn’t to say that I think we are at the end of our time in fertility treatment world.  I’m not ready to give up yet.  I know Frank isn’t ready to give up either.

But I know there is  a chance that a time might come where I might have to recognize that we fought the good fight and there is no more we can do or pray for, at least regarding having a biological child.

At the end of the day when I am beyond tired, that is usually when I decide to bake cookies, wrap Christmas gifts and wash the floor.  When I should rest, I find that I am too tired to sit still.

That is why I worry that God will give me all the cues that we cannot go any farther, and I will miss the cues because I am too tired to see them – too focused on searching for the solution, the next option and the next treatment to realize that the game is over and the crowd went home.

After reading a few blogs about women at varying stages of this process, with several of them undergoing treatment for three to five years, I just can’t even fathom what that is like to go through that emotional and physical marathon.

I am amazed by God’s tremendous grace and blessing.  God gave me a husband who is an expert at knowing when to say “when.”  Frank puts 100% into everything he does, but he knows when a situation is done.  He knows when the party is winding down, when the game is over and when it’s time to turn the lights out and go to bed.

So we’ll keep chugging along and I’m hopeful that if I miss God’s cues, Frank will see them.