royal wedding... erm, five question friday.

I have absolutely zero interest in what happens in the United Kingdom. First of all, I thought we left Europe because we were over them and their monarchy (and I say, "WE" very loosely for obvious reasons). For about three weeks when I was 13, I had a crush on Prince William but the reality is that Prince Harry turned out hotter. Okay, that may or may not be false. Anyway. I always thought it was so ridiculous to have crushes on (and look at stalker teeny-bopper photos of) a prince, because seriously.. what are the chances? I mean, I totally could have met the Backstreet Boys one day and miraculously easily won over AJ...

 
Not that those chances weren't slim to none, but they were a heck of a lot more possible that the freakin' prince of England. Eldest, at that. AND to top it off (I'll just put it out there) I'm black. If he ever were to see me in some freak show "The Prince and Me" kind of way, I'd be underneath the bottom of his list... I'm not bitter about it, I'm just saying.  When was the last time you saw royalty intermarrying to that extent? It's just one of those things haha.

(I tried to find a picture of Prince William with a black girl. Then just a black person. But.. oh well.)

ANYWAY. That's not the point. The point is, I went to a party last night.. It was a royal wedding watching party. And why, you ask? Because I needed some girl time and what better way than to dress up in the middle of the night and wear my wedding tiara? So, you get where I'm coming from, right?


It was so fun. We (they) made cucumber sandwiches, red velvet cupcakes and crumpets (that looked so good but I couldn't partake in). And some girly drinks that were yummy, of course. (Of course I don't have pictures--sorry.)

And her dress was pretty. But I only stayed long enough to watch her walk in (I got home about 3:30). There is just no sense in staying awake for all that nonsense. But they did look happy.. like they actually love each other. So that always makes me happy. And they are a very beautiful couple.. I think it was a sweet event. Not sure about all the hoopla (there--yes, here--not so much), but I just love weddings in general so that's how I justified peeking at this one.


Now. On to things that matter. It's finally FRIDAY! Yessss!

1. If you could buy any car, money not an option, what would it be? 
It would totally be a Range Rover Autobiography. I've had a crush on the Range Rover for about 3 weeks now.. and I think I could be in it for the long haul. I definitely am going the obnoxious SUV route for my mommy mobile.

2. What was your worst first date ever?  
Well. I have had a lot of first dates, but none of them were bad. For example, one of my first long-term relationships started with a date in which I totally spilled my whole Dr. Pepper all over my date. I was kind of nervous, but his car didn't reverse haha.. So it ended up fine. I wasn't embarrassed or anything, but I suppose that would be the worst. 

That, or the guy who held his hand facing up on the arm rest at the movies... like in Twilight. No lie! But I'm not sure that was our first date, either haha! That guys first date, he expected me to pay! (Obviously I was not dating him seriously!)

3. How old were you when you fell in love for the first time? 
I was 16 and I loved me some Colin Nathaniel. What a shame to be young and dumb. (For the record, I'm sure good ol' Colin turned into a fine gentleman, but he was 19--young and dumb--too. He had the makings of a good guy.)

4. When was the last time you reconciled your checkbook? 
Last September, right before we started Financial Peace University. Now we track our money a bit differently, but we do it at least once every two weeks.

5. If you were going to fashion a "Wanted" Ad for a best friend, how would you word it? 
Usually these are like 50 words and under so here it goes: 

Wanted: Female friend for late-20s military wife. God fearing desired, sticks-in-the-mud need not apply. If you're offended, that would be you. Age not an issue. Laughing at yourself a must. Equally health nut and couch potato, lazy and spontaneous, outgoing and socially awkward. Sports lovers are a plus. Contact me hello@aleasa.net :)

why i live in the 1920s and (last week's) top 2 tuesday!

So.

I hope everyone's Easter was amazing! We had a great day, first with church and then hanging with out friends for some burgers on the grill. I laugh like crazy when I hang out with our small group. They are so sweet and fun, and slightly inappropriate but I love it.

On Saturday, the Sarge and I took a mini field trip to Target and I got a waffle maker and a brand new TOASTER! I know... we're weird. We didn't have one.. just made toast under the broiler in the oven or in the skillet. I loved it that way, but I miss Pop Tarts (even though when I mentioned said Pop Tarts, the Sarge said, "Pop Tarts go in the toaster?!" ... um, hence, the "POP" haha) and Eggos (when there's no time for fresh Belgian waffles), and bagels, and generally not waiting on the broiler. AND it has four slots... We rock.

We are making a conscious effort to stop being college students and waking up 30 minutes before work, and instead actually getting up, having some couples devotion time, and eating breakfast (....and taking our vitamins). It's been really awesome to not leave the house in a rush and to spend some time in the Word together in the morning. But, it's hard -- It's hard to remember how good we will feel later in the day when we're still laying in bed haha! This morning, I made toast... and we watched it pop up. Because we weren't born at the turn of THIS century.


Anyway. Here's my top 2. I waited all day because I don't really collect anything and it took me all day to get creative. And you know, sometimes I can't predict the top two. Sometimes I'm counting down, sometimes up, sometimes just mentioning two random things in no order at all. I'm spontaneous. I like that about myself.

 

1. Bibles. 

Okay this is weird. And I don't do it on purpose. But somehow, I've acquired lots of Bibles.. and for some reason, I want to buy one everytime I see a new one. I have an NIV Study Bible, a slimline NIV (which I take with me to church.. it's very portable haha). I have the message. An ESV Bible, AND an ESV Study Bible. I have a Women's devotional Bible (NLT). And a NKJV. And a KJV. And a NASB. and the Septuagint (LXX) which is the Greek version of the OT... And now I have my eye on the The New Inductive Study Bible...It's out of control. This doesn't even include digital versions. I'm so strange.

2. Football movies.

Because I could watch all of them, over and over and over. And over. I am not sure that really counts... but it's the best I could do!

oh praise the one who paid my debt!

 ²² “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. ²³ This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. ²⁴ But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 

(Acts 2:22-24, New International Version, ©2011)

there in the ground his body lay
light of the world, by darkness slain
then bursting forth in glorious day
up from the grave he rose again
and as he stands in victory
sin's curse has LOST its grip on me
for i am his, and he is mine
bought with the precious blood of Christ.

we wait. we hope. we wait.

nisan 11

today is temple cleansing day (mark 11:15-19)

Mal. 3:1-9

the temple was to be called a house of prayer for all people (Isa. 56:7), but instead he found tables set up in the outer courts, exchanging currencies (probably at outrageous rates) for the temple tax and selling items needs for the various sacrifices (see leviticus for more about that!). not only that, but the outer court was the only place where gentiles could worship and pray.   he also curses a fig tree, which had no fruit but was full of leaves (like fig trees do when they're ready to bear fruit).

have you been robbing the lord in your tithes and offerings? are we fig trees full of leaves but lacking fruit? let's use today to "cleanse" our temples..what needs to be confessed and repented for in our lives? don't give up on the God who doesn't give up on you.

he changed everything.

i want to take you with me on my spiritual journey this week, and it starts today. i won't be doing any link ups, but i hope you'll take the time to read my posts. this is the week that changed history.

todayis  nisan 10, or palm sunday, when Jesus entered triumphantly into jerusalem (mark11:1-11). the learned leaders of the day were about fed up with him and his teaching, but he came into the town anyway.  the jews were preparing to observe passover, a remembrance feast and celebration of the final plague in egypt and their miraculous escape from hundreds of years of bondage. this is a time when the jews are to share the story of the redemption of their people with all the descendants. in history and in tradition, this was the day that the lamb was selected by each home and examined to be sacrificed. (the blood of this lamb was put on the doorposts of each household, and saved the firstborn from the final and most harsh of the plagues.)

 exodus 12:3-4  "tell all the congregation of israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for the household...your lamb shall be without blemish...and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of israel shall kill their lambs at twilight." 

Jesus came into town on a donkey rather than a stallion, signifying peace and not conquest and fulfilling a prophecy that the redeemer would come to the people on a lowly ass (Zech 9:9). his followers cried out "hosanna!", which means "please save!" and expected that, with the fulfilling of the prophecies of the OT, that Jesus would finally emerge as their political messiah and liberate them from roman oppression, exactly like their ancestors had been saved from egyptian slavery.

what are you looking for from the King? are you expecting him to end abortion or wars or the democratic party in our country as a political messiah, like the jewish people of the day? or is he even smaller than that, sent to keep you from hurt or confusion or misfortune? or do you see the entire story of his kingdom, and will you let him save the world? take a few minutes to ponder how much bigger than our problems and our limits than the lord is. pray that we learn to let him be God Almighty, and not God in the box of our own limited imaginations.





for more background, i invite you to listen to my pastor's sermon from today at vimeo (link to come). he did a GREAT summary of the old testament (we've been doing a series on it). if you are like my small group, perhaps you have never strung together all these stories you hear in sunday school, or here and there in your church services, or in passing. but the story is cohesive. the theme is the same from beginning to end: "God is building a community of people who relate to him through faith and each other in love so that he can bless us, and through us, bless the world." he is consistently correcting, protecting, and redirecting his people throughout all of history. no matter how many time we fail, or fall, or deliberately turn our faces from him, he does not forget about us.

more design changes

Hi everyone. I'm attempting to integrate my blogs seamlessly with one another (if you don't know, I have a cooking blog and am working on a genealogy blog), and that means more design changes here at happy life. Please bear with me, as some things may be out of place for the next few hours (or days). I haven't decided if this will be the final design scheme, but I'm trying to make it work. If something is borked, you can report it to hello@aleasa.net. Thanks for your patience!

hump day!

YES. it's hump day. and i'm so happy.. it's my favorite day of the week! (i know i'm weird, but wednesdays have always been my favorite. they were late start days in high school, fun after school activities, small group/church, AND pretty much everything after today is the weekend. for me at least.)

also, it's my favorite linkup, what i'm loving wednesday.. which goes perfectly with my sunny outlook on life.

eins. it's my daddy's sweet birthday. so today i'm loving him out loud!

zwei. i am approximately 3 years behind, but i have found my new favorite website (even though it will never be updated again, i will have fun reading it for the next few days or weeks, i'm sure). stuffblackpeoplehate.com. you might not like it. you might find it offensive. i find it hilarious and mostly directly on point. he's vulgar. he's rude. he's brilliant.. i'm not recommending you go read it. i'm just saying i love it. a lot.


drei. i'm loving that i'm 81.25% done with sergeant J's first away training! i had a great time relaxing, but i miss him now.


vier. i am learning german! the numbers this week are courtesy of my lessons this week. i can only count to six haha... i LOVE rosetta stone! we've actually had access for a while, but i didn't have a working headset. but look out world.. i've figured out the proper mic settings and my headset is functioning! yesssss.


fünf. i'm loving some of my new and kind of edgy/controversial blog ideas. i'm feeling bolder than ever and can't wait to write about it all. you'll just have to come back and check me out, won't you?!

secs. as always, i'm loving my sweet family man of a husband!!


and a new link up. because i have a problem.











{eins} have you ever fainted? i have not.



{zwei} what is your favorite casino game? blackjack! i will never gamble playing this game because i'm almost positive i wouldn't be able to stop.



{drei} do you have a good sense of direction? not to toot my own horn, but i have an excellent sense of direction!



{vier} laptop or desktop? laptop. i wish we had a desktop though. i mean... who doesn't love rotting their brain double time, surfing the net while texting and watching TV and being a couch potato. but i miss my desktop and not having a warm lap.



{fünf} what is your go-to hair style when having a bad hair day? my hairstyle is pretttty much the same everyday. in case you didn't notice, i have an afro.



{sechs} do you read the newspaper on a daily basis? i do not.



{seiben} do you have a favorite celebrity chef? hm. i don't think so.. i love paula deen of course, but i'm not really an avid fan of any of them. i can tell you which ones i don't like though... sandra lee and her drunk tail haha. she's such a boozer. (just kidding sandra lee, you introduce me to good short cuts.. but you do come off as a lush with all your alcohol!)



{acht} what tv show would you like to make a guest appearance on? the real housewives. haha.. i don't want to make a guest appearance, i want my own show!



{neun} do you have satellite radio in your car? i do not. new country kson is where it's at!



{zehn} what was the last movie that made you cry? i literally sobbed all the way home after i watched toy story 3. i don't care what you have to say about me.

holy guacamole

only 35 WW points!!

 visit the heritage kitchen now! >>>

all's well that ends well

 

below is a picture of me on the last day of my sweet (sweet) blog challenge.

 sorry i look so rough.. and yes, i leave the house like this regularly. 

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

now. this has been an awesome thirty days, all things considered. one very positive thing is that i dealt with two things that have been weighing heavily on my mind for longer than should be legal: harry and larry and my failed, not-sure-it-was-ever-real-in-the-first-place friendship. it was nice to finally get that stuff off my chest and out of my mind and let it go in a tangible way. in fact, the general process of remembering things is good: some you pull off the shelf, dust off, and go back to a better place; some shelves you empty and make room for better memories. very cleansing.

another awesome thing that happened to me i that i "caught up" on some much needed rest, albeit involuntarily. actually, to be honest, i'll probably never have enough down time. i'm perfectly content just doing nothing; in fact, i think being busy is simply evil! so it was nice to be able to chill and not feel guilty about it for once. thank God i also healed super well and fast from my little injury.

and last (but far from least), i got to know some cool bloggers. it was fun reading everyone's answers. i didn't get to read everyone's everyday, but there are definitely some awesome bloggers out there. i'm glad that others participated, and i hope everyone had a great time blogging to a challenge like i did. also, if you plan on using the prompts later, let me know so i can meet you too!

so get out there and go visit some of the new (and old) friends!

---

Elise @ One Day At A Time Carin @ All because two people fell in LOVE Honey Bee Hive Lifes Gristle Coffee and Laughter angiebarney The Stephens Family The Davis Daily Dose

All Things Girl One Lady. . . . Three Boys! Camo and a Whole Lotta Love Two Southerners Anas Area We All See the Same Sky

top 2 favorite DRINKS!

i'm trying to end the trend of lateness and replace it with ridiculous earliness. this week's top 2 is such a great topic. i have a million favorite things i love to drink (non-alchoholic) and i tend to get thirsty rather than hungry. i'm a thirsty, thirsty person haha...

okay. so.

number two.
anything carbonated. i know, that's a cheating answer. but i love some carbonation and i don't really care what form it's in.. except i prefer to darker forms (of course.. go hard or go home right?) if i had to pick ONE, it would be the dp, although i do go through the occasional coke phase.

number one. 
SWEET tea. the south's biggest impact on my life (except for john and my ancestors haha). i love me some sweet tea. not syrupy sweet, but just right! the trick, for those of you who don't get it, is to add the sugar while the tea is hot.. it's the only way to do it. i can never make it JUST right, but mine will do until i can get back to the south. so delicious, and i love love LOVE it with a little lemon (can't forget the lemon). DEElish. mcallister's is so good, second only to cracker barrel.

and, in my usual cheating manner, number one really is water. i love water.. i love the tasteless taste and the crispness of water. it's awesome. hydrate or die. :)

what are your favorite drinks? go over to the undomestic momma and link up :)

at least i'm consistent.

it wouldn't be right if i didn't slack right until the end, right?!

What is something you need to forgive yourself for?

i was a pretty rotten teenager. i definitely feel guilty for all i put my parents through and not appreciating them; they were awesome. i seriously had some of the best and most patient parents in the world and i thought they were obnoxious and oppressive, and i all but told them so. now that i'm an adult, i regret the attitude i had (i don't think i so much said things to hurt them, but i'm sure my actions did). not only that, but i was kind of a failure right after high school. i know i put them through a lot of pain and they didn't deserve any of that. it amazes me how proud they are of me (mostly because i never understood how much they saw in me in the first place). i know i was just a kid, but i am having a hard time getting to a place where i can accept their forgiveness and love completely. it's undoubtedly comparable to our reaction to God. we have a hard time believing we can be forgiven and that we are loveable; and my parents are perfect earthly examples of this with me (and my brothers). i love 'em. 

What is something you need to stop blaming yourself for? 

overwhelmingly, the answer is the ending of my friendship with harry and larry. for a quick review, harry and larry, as i call them, and i were bff in high school. and (of course) due to my foolishness and the foolishness of our youth, we stopped being friends. both of us were immature and hateful. for the past 10 years or so, i've believed the things they've told me: i was one person with them and someone else with my "black" friends; i was selfish; i didn't know who i was; etc. (ad tedium). well, first of all, yes, i was "someone different" with my black friends. it's called shifting personas and EVERYONE does it. it's not being fake; i didn't believe differently or change my self...  it's part of the way we communicate effectively in each of our roles (sister, daughter, employee, boss, friend, customer, salesperson, etc.). but i didn't know that yet. and i didn't know that it is a skill and not a flaw. they really hurt me saying that, and obviously it stuck with me for years. and i was too boy crazy. but i am not the reason we stopped being friends. why have i hung on to this so long? sometimes i see them on facebook and i wonder what went wrong.. but seeing them today is like that darius rucker song: "Thank God for all I missed / Cause it led me here to this" !

Something you could never get tired of doing.

WELL... after the past two days (being essentially on total rest and not allowed to put weight on my knew), i'd have to say facebook stalking haha.. what? you know you do it too.

but seriously, being a wife! i love supporting my hubby and sharing life with him. everyday is such an adventure... sometimes they're fun adventures and sometimes they're less fun. but i love making him smile!

and that was cheesy, so i'll pick another one. reading books i love over and over. i could read the twilight series, the pursuit of God, the time traveler's wife, redeeming love, catch-22, and a few others for the rest of my life. in fact, i like books so much, it's hard to move on to a new one. i know that's ridiculous but it's true.

SO. tomorrow is the last day. wow.. i did slack right up til the end didn't i? well i have had a great time doing these topics; some of them took me to places i would rather not have gone but i think it was nice to have a little come to Jesus with myself. back to regular blogging soon (i'm sure everyone will be happy when i'm not blowing up their buzz anymore haha). happy monday!

JOIN THE PARTY!
it's never too late to spring clean. click here for more info on our 30-day blog challenge.

*please link to any of your day 27-29 posts, rather than your main blog page. there will be a new linky tomorrow! the main link up is located on the spring forward tab at the top of the page :))

day 26.

How have you changed in the past two years?

i thought that with just a few days left of the challenge, i would actually post on time. 

to think about two years ago is weird; i was newly engaged but still pretty immature. i was working at a place i was totally unhappy and not fulfilled, i was dealing with trust issues with sergeant j... yes.. trust issues after engagement! what?! i was fresh out of college struggling with a lot of things.

the main thing i remember was about making friends and having meaningful friendships. i love my friends, but it is hard to make new ones! i have never had a huge group of friends who went out together and all that but i think it's something i've always kind of wanted. but God has prepared me throughout my life for exactly the life he has called me to. i haven't had a lot of friends. i have a lot of acquaintances from my past but not friends. from each stage of my life (except college), i can really pick out one or two people who i would really now consider friends. college was just different. i had friends and a pretty awesome social life but as much as i love those people today, it's just different. i can't explain it. anyway, not many friends in my lifetime.

and it took me 27 years to be okay with that. for no apparent reason, my life has been marked by change. we only moved once, but i never stayed at the same school for long; always coming into groups of friends that had already been formed. and now i'm a military wife.. isn't that the whole story? so i've totally matured, and through that i've gotten so much closer to God. or maybe it's the other way around.

i've also gained weight. but we won't talk about that.

JOIN THE PARTY!
it's never too late to spring clean. click here for more info on our 30-day blog challenge.

*please link to today's post only, rather than your main blog page. there will be a new linky tomorrow! the main link up is located on the spring forward tab at the top of the page :))

Day 25.

Day 25 – Someone who impacts your life regularly.

the 'rents. they are never hesitant to share their life experiences with me to encourage me and the sarge. i'm so blessed to have them. they are so precious and funny and sweet and i love them thoroughly! i know that's short and sweet, but it's either that or a long post that would only be meaningful to me haha.. so here's a picture of them last christmas:

what i'm loving wednesday and how God is teaching me about sloth in the round-a-bout way ...and day 24. otherwise known as the longest post ever.

wow. a lot has happened since my post yesterday early in the morning. i would be thrilled if you guys make it through this post. i promise. you will laugh.  but FIRST i need to complete my weekly routine!

i'm [loving] being on bed rest, and legitimately having to relax for four days. (see below)
i'm [loving] that i've made it through 37.5% of my and john's first military separation!
i'm [loving] new friendships! :))
i'm [loving] that i had my first REAL breakfast in years today!!
i'm [loving] that my glasses, BOTH pairs plus sunglasses will be here this week (or very soon after!)

 and as always, i'm loving my husband, in his absence, for caring about me so much no matter how far or wide :)




now about my life lesson from yesterday.

my house is... messy. i mean, john is gone and no one is coming over. it's not really that bad, but i want to spring clean while john is gone...  i just haven't started yet -- i have a week and a half for goodness sake! well, yesterday, i decided i had a few errands to run before going to work: running to pick up some stuff for the house and by the bank, namely.

i started my day at the homegoods store; if there is one near you and you haven't been, GO! it's so great. i got 4 pasta bowls, two fancy new plates, a pepper mill, a sugar bowl and a butter dish for about $40. nice, right? anyway, then i went to kirkland's and then the bank.

it was headed in the 1 o'clock direction so i figured i should pop in and out of the bank quickly and head in the the church. i parked right in front of the bank and grabbed my wallet and the check i needed to deposit and jumped out of my car... and headed toward the atm... and......

i tripped.

and i fell. all the way down.

and the pain in my knee was so dang bad that i couldn't get up and fake like i meant to do it.

so i laid there. on the ground in front of the bank. for like five minutes.

well, by now it's a scene. some people have walked over from their car on the other side of the aisle and a lady has come out of the bank. they're asking if there's anyone they can call and.. i can barely talk! (this is really funny you should be laughing). i'm calling on Jesus and hoping that my pride stays on the ground as i realize the pain is starting to subside. i finally tried to move it and was able to sit up and eventually stand up and go inside with some help. geez. this happens to ONLY ME! and of COURSE.. when john is gone. duh.

i decide i need to go home and elevate and ice it. which i finally did after going to work for an hour or so. i called my doctor and asked if i could maybe come see them tomorrow (wednesday) and make an appointment. well, after i iced and elevated it, i realize it is more painful and stiff than it started...

and i had a flash vision of waking up in the morning and not being able to get out of bed in the morning. which brings me to my life lesson. what if they have to break the door down and see me living like a lazy bum! so i took myself to the ER on base.

*break* mind you, this is my RIGHT knee, aka my driving leg. just saying.

i get there and it's a LONG walk up stairs to the emergency room (who's idea was that) so i limp about a yard a minute halfway up the walk when a lady with a wheelchair headed back in picks me up. so freaking ridiculous. why does this have to happen when i'm alone! four hours, a pair of crutches, a full leg immobilizer, and two prescriptions later, i get home. i gimped around my house for about 15 minutes, straightening up because i needed a ride to the doctor the next morning (wednesday) and didn't want anyone to think i was a slob haha. forty-five minutes and two trips up the stairs later, i finally end my ridiculous day.

bottom line, for those of you who didn't laugh all the way through that, is that i'm just fine. it's an effusion and it seems to be healing super well and super fast, but the jury's out until next week's follow up. AND i will never let my house get messy like that again -- i will always put away my laundry and loose papers!

just another day in the life of aleasa.

so.

moving on.

Day 24 – A photo of something that means a lot to you.

unfortunately i don't have many things that mean a lot to me, much less photos of them. but here is a picture of the bible i use (and have marked up like crazy and love to death)

this is the other one:

i wish i had all the notes from all my bibles all marked up in one, but now it's split up between 3 or 4 of them. so that's a goal for one day. but MOST notes are in one of these two now. so.. those are probably my most cherished possessions.

JOIN THE PARTY!
it's never too late to spring clean. click here for more info on our 30-day blog challenge.

*please link to today's posts only, rather than your main blog page. there will be a new linky tomorrow! the main link up is located on the spring forward tab at the top of the page :))

top 2 tuesday and day 23

if you can believe it, there are just seven days left of our spring forward challenge. i hope that everyone participating is really doing some personal housekeeping and moving forward this spring :)

but first, a weekly break. this week, we're talking about the top 2 songs on my iPod! 

 

SURELY, this changes for everyone each week. but here are my favorites this week:

2. in christ alone. the hymn, not the contemporary christian song. this is probably always a favorite. it just has the best lyrics (which i once posted on my long-dead xanga. you should go look at the post.). it's tied with the manifesto song that i mentioned a few posts back.

1. glorious day, casting crowns. i once nearly had a fight with one of my dearest friends because he insulted casting crowns. haha. he was saying that he thinks groups like them produce mediocre music and ride the religious wave to compensate for poor artistry. (he said a lot more, but that was the gist of it...) i was so bummed to hear that. i mean, i don't think they're stretching any limits musically, not that i'm any authority on that, but i like their music. he also said that it promotes religious huddling, but i don't think that's true either. casting crowns has brought me and my husband (at different times) SO much closer to the words because we first love the songs, then contemplate the lyrics. (and, if you aren't a casting crowns fan, they include scripture with all their lyrics to consider). i love casting crowns. this is the chorus of glorious day: 

living he loved me, dying he saved me

buried he carried my sins far away; 

rising he justified, freely forever

one day he's coming, oh glorious day,

oh glorious day!

Day 23 - Tell us something you think no one really knows about you.

no one?  uh.. i feel like i'm mostly pretty transparent, so if there is something (significant) i can't think of it right now. so this one isn't impressive, but i hate laundry. i used to like it, i really, really did. but somehow after we got married, it NEVER ends! i mean, obviously we're always wearing clothes, but seriously... my husband wears the same thing to work every day! ok, not literally, but still.. why so many? i dislike (but don't hate) the actual sorting and starting loads of laundry. but i detest the folding haha. i just dread it. once i start, i find out it only takes like 3-4 minutes per load but i really have to be in a good mood to finish my laundry in less than a day. it doesn't seem practical for us to do a "load a day" because our loads are so mixed, but i might be trying that before long.

let me just break to say that i DO my laundry. i can't let it sit in our house for weeksand live out of laundry baskets. i just dread it. people complain about "mount washmore" but i try not to leave unfolded, or folded and not-put-away laundry laying around too much.

so, was that juicy? ..no? okay, well. sorry.  :)

JOIN THE PARTY!
it's never too late to spring clean. click here for more info on our 30-day blog challenge.

*please link to today's post, rather than your main blog page. there will be a new linky tomorrow! the main link up is located on the spring forward tab at the top of the page :))

a few things.

the Sarge is gone. i'm taking it ...okay. this weekend was long. that's all i want to say about that. sorry i'm behind.. here's the catch up!

Day 20 – The meaning behind your blog name. (Saturday)
so, i answered this once before as well. my pastor once said "happy wife, happy life".. he may or may not have originally got that from teresa guidice haha.  anyway, that is a true statement, at least in our house and i was originally going to call this blog happy wife, happy life. but i didn't. i thought happy life was appropriate because our life is really happy. it's not worry or stress free (even though that's what we're striving for -- full faith and trust in the lord) but we are intentional in finding the good in all situations. the Sarge recently dealt with some ridiculousness at work, and instead of being angry and hateful.. i was so proud of him.. he constantly reminded himself that God was shaping him and that God knew the plans for his life -- plans for good and not harm.

such a better way to live.

"not that i have already attained this", but it's a constant transformation. from where we were in the beginning of our relationship, together and individually, you'd be shocked to see us these days. anyway. that's the story... and i'm stickin' to it.


Day 21 – A photo of something that consistently makes you happy. (Sunday)

this someone ALWAYS makes me happy! i mean.. sometimes he makes me want to scream, but at the end of the day i can smile because i'm married to the cutest, funniest, most tenderhearted man ever!

source

the dallas cowboys. mainly when the win, but anytime they're playing because that means it's football season. and that's ALWAYS something to smile about.

source

pasta!  ok let's be honest, carbs. ....OK! let's be honest! food!! no seriously.. pasta. i love it. nothing says comfort like a bowl of pasta. mmm...


Day 22 – A letter to someone who has hurt you recently. (Monday--today! Yay!)

wow. did i really include this prompt?  okay here it goes.

dear _,
i guess the right thing to do would be to tell you that you have hurt me, rather than avoid you and allow the relationship to die an otherwise natural death. but, i can't help but feel that your absence was what started to kill it. i wanted you to help me for lots of reasons, not the least of which was that i thought you cared about me and the Sarge. your behavior and your actions (or lack thereof) were evidence to me that you didn't care about either of us.

there's not much to say that can salvage what's left of the friendship i thought we had. you dropped the ball, and in a big way, without so much as an "i know i'm being lame" or, dare i suggest, an "i'm sorry". no acknowledgement whatsoever. and this was no small ball. i'm curious as to what happened, what you think. what changed... but your lack of interest in the matter is rather off putting. i don't know if i'm being little or big, but the point is i have moved on.

there are too many stresses in life for me to have friends that stress me out. and so, i guess this is closure, and i guess this is goodbye.


and now that the tears have been shed... y'all have a great monday! see you tomorrow :))





   

JOIN THE PARTY!
it's never too late to spring clean. click here for more info on our 30-day blog challenge.

*please link to any of this weekend's posts only, rather than your main blog page. there will be a new linky tomorrow! the main link up is located on the spring forward tab at the top of the page :))