Behind The Bur

Wabi-Sabi

2012-01-16T18:12:00.000-08:00

Another blogpost inspired by another blog. This time it's Jeremy & Kathleen. Wabi-Sabi, the title of her latest post, really grabbed me. I know she eats ~~weird~~ vegan food and for a second I even thought, "Silly...that's not how wasabi is spelled," but it wasn't wasabi after all.

Wabi-sabi is a japanese word and basically is the whole principle behind the movie American Beauty. (That's the movie with the video of the floating trashbag and teen angst not the apple pie and teen angst.) The most basic definition is the beauty of imperfect things. As Kathleen says in her blog, "Wabi-sabi is my old home that makes a hobby of collecting dust and cracks. Wabi-sabi is my jacked up toes and pimple on my chin." Oh how I can relate to that. Lately, two of my favorite blogs to read for encouragement are Momastry and Enjoying the Small Things. Both are women who write about their lives with utter honesty and the wabi-sabi-ness (if that's even a word) is what always seems to encourage me. Their lives are covered up with Wabi-sabi and although I didn't really know how to express it before, it helps me to see the wabi-sabi in my own life and in myself. Not everything that is beautiful is perfect. Literature has known this for centuries, a fact of which many heros with a tragic flaw can attest. I obviously don't think of myself as a hero in any regard, but it is nice to know that my flaws can sometimes be labeled as something other than tragic. I have to admit, there have been times where things didn't work out quite as planned yet blossomed into the most beautiful times of my life. They are the times when I have seen the most growth in myself. It's the story of the underdog. Life is full of beautiful imperfections. Inside, I guess I have always known that, which is why I listened to "Comfortable" on repeat during my lonely college years. Wabi-sabi on.

Resolution

2012-01-04T20:56:00.000-08:00

"I’m a simple girl.

That’s why I’m choosing one word for the New Year. Just one."

We Are That Family

Inspiring words from one of my favorite blogs, and they rang true with me. So I've been thinking, what to make my word for the new year? There are so many good ones to choose: Faith, hope, love, wild, free... The list goes on an on. The lines of a Switchfoot song keep playing in my head. "I want to be evergreen. I want to live all year round." So there it is 2012.

Evergreen

Hard times and good times are surely ahead. Feast and famine. Strength and Weakness. Whatever may be in store for me, I resolve to be constant, steady as a drum. My heart craves peace and balance and I resolve to gain them both and keep them all year long. Though the world may fall around me or rejoice in perfect light, I want to be evergreen. I want to live all year round.

Farewell 2011.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T21:36:00.000-08:00

As I sit here thinking of all the things I should be doing...finding that one last gift I know I had earlier today but didn't wrap, tying up loose Christmas ends, and trying to enjoy the night, I find that Christmas has already come....28 minutes ago. I feel so unprepared. I'm not ready. I haven't heard enough carols. I haven't drunk nearly enough hot chocolate. I haven't sat by the Christmas tree and listened to "Evergreen" by Switchfoot on repeat. I guess Mary wasn't ready either. No baby bed. No midwife. Only a stable. Only a man and some shepherds to welcome her baby into the world. I am humbled. A king in a manger and I on my computer in my in-laws temperature controlled house, belly full (overly full) and presents all around. It's my heart that needs preparing for this day. So I pray, "God keep me mindful of this day, the day Your Son was born for me." Happy birthday, Jesus and Merry Christmas to all.

Goodnight moon.

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

2011-12-13T20:06:00.000-08:00

I've been taking pictures of Stella for 21 weeks and the number 1 question on everyone's mind has been....well...let's be honest...it's been "Are you having twins?" Oh to be all baby like that one day. I would give up anything...well except for food...which is probably why that won't happen for me. Sigh. I digressed.

So the number two question was obviously.....

And it was answered in true Stella fashion. Man, that girl loves to party. The theme of the night, a poem.

What are little boys made of? Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails, that is what boys are made of. What are little girls made of? Sugar and Spice and everything nice, that is what girls are made of.

Everyone wore pink or blue to show what their guess for the sex of the baby was. Except for Boo.

Boo preferred to stay switzerland and wore white.

Take note people. One day, I'm going to need one of these....ahem.

And now on to the grand reveal......

IT'S A GIRL!

Ace was the only one who was disappointed... I'm not sure why.

Nanette didn't give him a hard time or anything and was a lady about the whole thing....

Boo... he just wanted to know where Stella buys her sheets.

Me? I'm so happy that it's a girl, but I would've been equally happy if it had been a boy. I'm just amazed when I look at these pictures and think...wow...there's a little girl growing in there.

What a blessed miracle.

Letting my holiday freak flag fly

2011-12-08T07:39:00.000-08:00

Ah. To breathe deep and know that school is no longer looming. It feels like Christmas morning already. I even woke up early with anticipation...well...not really. I just woke up early because my circadian rhythm didn't get the Christmas break message. I can hardly believe it's here.

I am a day studier. I always have been. Although, like my lactose intolerance, I haven't always acknowledged it. I have spent many caffeine induced all nighters, the result of which was usually regrets and verbal diarrhea. Since then, I've let go of my delusions of night owl grandeur and embraced my inner morning person. So during the last weekend to study for finals, I studied during the day and started raising my holiday freak flag at night. First up, Lights of the South. 100 acres and 4 million Christmas lights. Yes, please.

We chose to ride the hayride through the light display and it was magical.

We went back to Cinderella's castle and took cheesy pictures of ourselves.

We got our picture taken with Santa, who managed to demand in a non-creepy way that we both sit on his lap. I didn't even know there was a non-creeper way to say that to an adult. Santa's got game.

The very next night, we went to the lighting of the tree complete with fireworks.

I love these moments. Sometimes the monotony of dental school can get to me. All work and no play. Practice, practice, practice is the year long theme with no grand recital in sight. Such is life. At least my life has felt that way, a little like practicing the piano. Talent is God-given and man-refined, so I rally on. Practice. Practice. Practice. Oh the steady drum of life. It's the steady beat of practice that drives fear off the stage. I just keep on and I know that one day all my hard work will pay off, if not in spades, then in sweet dreams, peaceful slumber and heavy blankets on my bed at night. "A man reaps what he sows." Galations 6:7. I'm placing all my bets on that.

The cure for anything is saltwater; sweat, tears, or the sea.- Isak Dinesen

2011-12-01T07:38:00.000-08:00

Finals are looming and my fight or flight is kicking into high gear. Traditionally I'm a fighter. Traditionally, I am traditional, but I am all out of sorts these days. I'm the one who loves the cool weather, fireplaces, and Christmas lights, hot cocoa, and baking to warm the house up, but suddenly, I am craving salty air and crashing waves. The thought of a warm and snowless Christmas has never before appealed to me, so I don't know why it suddenly seems like medicine for my soul. I keep picturing Christmas lights on palm trees and plastic pink flamingos with santa hats and a Christmas tree full of sea shells and sand dollars with a starfish on top to boot.

There is something calming about the sea, something about the way it is so magnificent, powerful and uncontrolled. Today I long to see it and feel the cold, wet sand beneath my toes. The ocean is in my blood encoded somewhere in my genes between the knack for cooking and getting sunburned in less than 30 minutes.

Now it's time to get back to studying, to fight to the finish

but oh how my heart longs to be here instead.

I want to be free,

Wind in my hair,

Salt on my skin,

Sun in the air.

-Gavin Degraw

Giving Thanks

2011-11-27T20:24:00.000-08:00

My second final of the semester is tomorrow and so I will make this brief.
Thanksgiving began with my family

and this apple pie.

Korey and his dad fried the turkeys again and in these overalls to boot, so I'll just insert this picture from last year since I was at my moms baking aforementioned apple pie...amongst many...many...many other things.

Lets take a moment to be thankful for overalls and the broad shoulders for which they stand.

Can I get an amen?

Amen.

Moving right along.

Here is my dad.

and my mom.

and my sister and brother in law. Aren't they cute?

Note the bandage on not one, but two fingers. Proof that I did not cook alone.

And then of course, the second annual Anderson family photos.

Not quite sure what Granny's doing, but I love it.

And then we decorated everyone else's house for Christmas.

"And now these three remain; faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:13

So much to be thankful for. My cup overflows.

2011-11-18T19:09:00.000-08:00

This is what I did on Halloween night.

After a busload of trick or treaters came to the door that is. Last year, we could not pay a kid to ring our doorbell for some candy. This Halloween, we gave out all our candy and when that door bell rang one more time, and three precious little smiles sang out "Trick or treat," Korey panicked and gave them each a one dollar bill. And then we left....before word got out that the little yellow house was giving out money.

I suppose it's appropriate that these photos came in this order. Halloween is the eve of All Saints Day.

At Samford, we sang many versions of The Magnificat. They reverberated in my head as I edited these photos.

My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;

For he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden.

For behold, from this day all generations will call me blessed;

For the mighty one has done great things to me, and holy is his name.

And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts;

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has exalted the holy;

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent empty away.

He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his seed forever.

October Flashback

2011-11-14T08:46:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it is already mid-November. It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating Korey's birthday in mid-October. I really wanted to do something special for Korey's 30th birthday, so I planned a surprise party for him....for a couple months....from another city... My eyes have been opened to how little unscheduled time I have and what an infinitesimal amount of that unscheduled time is not spent with Korey. Honestly though, we pulled it off, and I most certainly do mean "we." We = Korey's parents and sister, my parents and sister and the family and friends that came and some that helped set up ~~because they like to be on time and I wasn't done when everyone started showing up~~, especially to Greg who helped get him to the venue and my dad (ironically also named Greg) who distracted him so that I could go secret shopping with my mom and sister for about half of the things I still needed, and last but not least the wonderful Ten Ring Sporter Range, an outdoor gun range, which turned out to be the perfect site for a surprise bonfire birthday party.

We began our weekend adventure with a family birthday at Korey's parents house. It was fun to have a quiet birthday dinner followed by his favorite Crossroads Deli red velvet cake.

I know it looks lopsided. It's not really lopsided though, it's just weighed down with excellence....ok maybe it is a little lopsided. it still tasted awesome.

Clover cannot vouch for the taste, but she almost went crosseyed trying to get a look at the heavenly smell coming from the dinner table.

The next day my dad and Korey went and shot at an indoor gun range while my mom and sister and I went shopping for his party and then Korey went ziplining at Lake Lanier Canopy Tours with Greg, and we all headed over to Ten Ring Sporter Range to set up for the party. My dad and Korey's dad worked together to get the bonfire going.

My favorite table was the dessert table. There were s'mores ingredients, caramel in the crockpot for people to make their own caramel apples and a random assortment of other treats.

Korey's sister, Koleigh, made the "cakes" which were cupcakes arranged in the shapes of a mustache and bowtie. They turned out so cute!

Of course there was also plenty of Mexican Coke. Yes, it really does taste different than American Coke. Yes, it is better. :)

Koleigh also brought face paint for the kids and while we waited for Korey to arrive, many mustaches were quickly grown by all the littles, boys and girls alike. Mustaches know no gender.

Before we knew it, the mustache craze caught on and they started appearing on adults and children alike.

The types got pretty creative. Ashley and Korey's aunt Tara were graced with the "frenchman." Ashley also went for the optional mutton chops.

Arlene went for the "barbershop quartet."

Emily went for the "fu manchu" while cousin Brittany went for the ever tough "gangsta stache."

Koleigh got the ever illusive, "non-creepy mustache" and the baby of course, ended up with the "Hitler" due to his inability to sit still and not attempt to eat the paint brush as it came toward his mouth. In his defense, normally he is encouraged to open wide any time something wielded by an adult comes toward his mouth at the end of a utensil.

All the tables were set up in the nick of time and thanks to a little friendly deceit, Korey arrived soon after. Unfortunately, this blurry picture was all I got of his "surprised" face.

There. Much better.

He was surprised to find a group of mustache wearing friends and family ready to celebrate the day he was born!

The mustache epidemic continued to spread and I laughed so hard when I saw how far it had gone when I went to get a picture of Korey with Granny.

Ah. The "Gangsta" with the "Flavor Saver." Mustache win.

It was Korey's parents idea to have people roast their own hotdogs on the fire, and I bought pre-cooked chicken nuggets for the non-hotdog-loving people. At first the bonfire was so hot, that people got very creative with their hotdog roasting techniques.

As the perfect solution, several small cookfires were made away from the big fire so that people could heat their food without singeing their real or newly painted mustaches off.

The darkness made it difficult to take good photos, but the timing was chosen for a good reason.

After the birthday song was sung, and Korey blew out his candles, the main event began.

The lighting of the sky lanterns. 30 to be precise. One for each year of Korey's life. It was so beautiful and special and I want to do this every year for every holiday. It was magical.

I am so thankful for Korey and all that he means to me. Marriage is not always easy and sometimes it can be very good at pointing out all of the things about us that are different. There is definitely a learning curve in how to love each other and allowing ourselves to be loved in return. Marriage is one giant lesson in vulnerability and I can't help but wonder if God took a rib from Adam purposefully as a symbolic sacrifice; Adam giving up protection of his heart to provide for Eve. After first meeting Korey, I did not know that we would fall in love, that he would be my soulmate, at least not in my conscious thoughts. I did turn to my sister as we were leaving and say, "Me and that kid were cut from the same cloth." If poor grammar isn't proof enough that I didn't see how significant that moment would be and how it would be repeated 'til death do us part, I don't know what is. Marriage is tricky. In some ways, it highlights how separate we are, and yet, one constant remains. I love him. He loves me. There may be better ways to write it, but why dress it up. Those 6 words are strong and sturdy and beautiful. They will not be worn away by years of worldly stress. Here's to Korey, the best man I've ever known. My soulmate and the guardian of my heart.

Always.

dogs, babies and birthdays

2011-10-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

Someone pinch me. Did I just wake up to the middle of October? Puh-lease. September just started, right? Right? No?

This semester is soaring by at lightening speed and I have no choice but to grab on to the days and hold onto them for dear life. Somehow, each one still seems to slip through my fingers. I am thankful for my camera those days. Most of my life has been enjoyed in retrospect anyway. Am I the only one who is built that way? Even really important days; our wedding day, the day Korey brought Clover home and the day I got the acceptance letter to dental school, are all a blur now. Time erodes the details of memory and soon all that is left is the faint scent of truth on an otherwise completely made up story of "what really happened." Photographs provide focus and hard edges for fuzzy details.

Occasionally, some of my favorite photographs are unplanned. They capture the details of mundane, every day moments. Take for instance, the photograph below. It was taken a few weeks ago on the way home for the weekend. The dogs had signaled that they needed to go out, so we pulled the car over and let them roam through the grass for a bit. They ran and jumped and played and did what dogs do, and then they both sat in the sunshine and looked at Korey as I took this picture. Now I will always remember the shininess of their coats, their exact coloring, and how different their noses are in profile. Blessed details. They mean so much to me.

Have I ever mentioned how beautiful my dogs are. Strong and sweet and shiny like the dogs on the cover of a magazine. At times I am overwhelmed that they are mine. "They will enrich your life," a friend told Korey and me when we were contemplating whether or not to get one. It was good advice and doubly true for us.

Speaking of beautiful and enriching things, the weekly photo shoot with Stella produced two of my very favorite pictures that I've taken of her so far. What a beautiful woman she is. It has been such a joy to take her picture every week and be a part of their little miracle.

This week, Brad made his debut and it was so fun to see them interact with each other. They are obviously very in love with each other and excited about the little life they've been a part of creating.

I can't help but laugh every time I look at this picture. After practicing listening to his bowel sounds, he did end up actually trying to listen for the baby and I think the progression turned out very sweet.

They have two dogs also. I didn't get any pictures of Ace, but Nannette made her presence known. She is so used to being the center of attention.

I digressed.

The reason we went home a few weeks ago was to celebrate my sisters 30th birthday.

Ashley and Eric recently bought their first home, and it seemed like the perfect place to celebrate so we had a cookout. It was mainly family early on and then friends came over a little later to hang out and have fun long past the bedtime of the smaller children.

Catherine came for the party and I was so glad she did. She and Ashley were thick as thieves in highschool and so much has changed since then. It was wonderful to catch up.

The cutest little girl from Eric's side of the family loved Ashley's cake. I love how children feel invisible when they are trying to do something sneaky.

Korey called me over and we both giggled while we watched this childhood right of passage.

The sneaking of the icing. It's a bridge every child must cross.

No one cared about the damage. Who could be mad at that little face?

Ashley's husband surprised her with a necklace and earrings.

And I loved her beautiful birthday flowers.

Ashley's cat and dog were both the life of the party.

Although Levi was a teensy bit camera shy.

So when we were all stuffed from hamburgers, hotdogs, side dishes and cake, we still had an icecream cake and s'mores to go through.

So we walked out onto the porch Ashley had decorated with these awesome lights and sat around her firepit to roast marshmellows and pass the time. Korey and I left didn't leave until midnight (We're more morning people than night people) but others stayed around the fire laughing long into the night. It was a beautiful tribute to a beautiful person, inside and out.

\\

Happy birthday, sister. I love you.

Expecting the unexpected

2011-10-07T03:24:00.000-07:00

A dear friend of mine is pregnant! I am so excited for her and her new little family of 3. She was gracious enough to let me pictures for her every week so that one day she can look back at the progression. She is so photogenic, it wasn't very hard to take a million photographs. I don't have a lot of time, because i have a midterm in a few hours, but I couldn't resist putting up a few of my favorites.

I've loved taking her week by week pictures and I can't wait to do a full maternity shoot in a few months!

Arts In the Heart

2011-09-29T04:06:00.000-07:00

Arts in the heart turned out to be one of the most redeeming qualities about Augusta.

We purchased our buttons not really knowing what to expect, and were pleasantly surprised by the amount of cultures represented.

Booths lined the streets with food labeled by country, region, or race. Korey and I seized the opportunity to try things we had never eaten before. We went to each booth and asked, "If I can only buy one thing, what should I buy?" The Northern Indian food and Brazilian food were my favorite, although I can't honestly say what it is we consumed.

And then I attempted to eat the pigs foot...not the best decision I've ever made, but what can I say? I was experiencing culture, and at least now I can honestly say I don't like it.

People from all walks of life were out and about

and performers filled the streets, waiting their turn to take the stage or mingling after their part of the show. Performances varied from ancient traditional instruments to a tap dancing group who danced to "Rocky Top."

There was even a tai chi demonstration.

It was amazing to see all of the talent. This older gentleman was my favorite. He was apart of the tai chi demonstration. He sure knew his way around a red fan and I'm pretty sure he can lung deeper and faster than I can.

Other forms of talent were scattered around the festival. There were long rows of handmade jewelry, paintings, drawings, and art work in all shapes and sizes. This man made pottery and grew crystals in the glaze by controlling the temperature of the kiln during firing and adding metals to create the different colors. I was fascinated. I do love a practical chemist.

Korey bought some folk art for our yard. Sunflowers are my favorite, so of course I love it. We had so much fun the first day, we even talked Wendy into joining us on the second day of the festival.

We love Wendy. She has a warm and sunny disposition. She hardly says a negative thing about anyone and honestly tries to find redeemable qualities in everyone. Wendy is also in dental school and we are in the same class. The new clinic is pictured below, all 5 beautiful stories of it.

The grand opening ceremony was last friday, although the clinic has been operational since August. The programs doubled as fans to help fan the heat while we listened to the president of the university, the governor, and other esteemed guests give their speeches.

As you can see, Dean Drisko is incredibly excited about the new building. Here she is giving "props" to her husband, Dick.

I've never been in a more beautiful clinic. The waiting rooms are spacious with beautiful views.

The pediatric waiting room even has a play room complete with video games along the wall of it.

Artwork is sprinkled throughout the building with this giant chandelier as the main attraction. Most say it looks like a jelly fish or a brain. It is a mosaic made of tiny shards of clear and blue glass. So the dental school is embracing local art as well. I like to think it's a Dali like impression of melting teeth, but who knows what it's supposed to be. All I know is that it's a beautiful place to see patients and I'm so grateful that I got to be apart of this little piece of history.

Summer In Review

2011-09-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

Just to catch you up on my life. This is what I did this summer.

My sweet little baby puppy has grown in leaps and bounds.

She has learned to swim with her paws under the water.

And is now surpassed Clover in the art of fetching, even though she still lets Clover bring it back part way, before attacking her and bringing it on home.

My sweet husband won 2nd and 3rd place in Business Law and Marketing in the state competition and even got to compete nationally in Orlando.

We went kayaking twice.

Korey even brought his mustache along for the ride.

And I and some friends attempted to float down the river.

We saw my college roommate get married and caught up with other friends from college.

I harvested exactly one batch of tomatoes, but they all died when we went home for a couple weeks so I could take my boards.

And I harvested exactly 1 cucumber before Ginger discovered the wonder of home grown foods and the cucumber vine died a violent death by chewing.

We took a spontaneous road trip for Independence Day and looked for historical markers.

I chopped off my hair and sent it to Locks of Love and managed to not be stuck with a terrible hair cut afterward.

We attended Cousin Courtney's wedding. Everything was gorgeous including the beautiful bride.

I've gotten to see my pawpaw more and I love that I have been able to spend more time with him lately.

We've officially moved into the new school. This is the incredible giant mosaic artwork chandelier in the lobby.

This is the only picture I took from the official boards afterparty. It was a lot of fun, but was certainly not as fun as Fogo de Choa with miss Tracey.

We've started trying to coupon which has been hit or miss, but I'm learning and we're saving. Buying the paper definitely has its perks in the sense that we saw the advertisement for Arts in the Heart of Augusta.

I'll have to write about that next time, so this post isn't miles long.
Did I mention my husband is now a Hull Scholar? I always knew he was a smarty pants.

Did I mention that I slaved studying for months and then I passed a National Dental Board Part 1?... :) Minor details. I have very sweet friends and they all made sure I felt very special and rewarded. I even had an unexpected spa day and a certain sweet friend of mine, Katie, had these beautiful flowers delivered to my house. Sunflowers and daisies are my favorite.

And after all that....I am dog tired.

The Setting of the Summer Sun

2011-09-14T04:03:00.000-07:00

And so it is, just like it should be, the changing of the seasons. I look back and the last post I wrote also happened to be at the beginning of the seasons.

It was a hard summer. A hot, long summer. A blur really. And now it's over. September hit like a hammer. One day it was all muggy hotness and now a cool....er.....cooler breeze blows in the evening and the temperature is bearable ergo our power bill no longer makes me want to cry. (Korey hides the scary bills from me for this very reason.)

For a little while I felt that I had run out of words, but here they are, just where I left them at the beginning of the spring. So I guess I'll pick up where I left off. I feel like the traditional summer break was skipped altogether, and yet, somehow September always marches in with the inkling to sharpen pencils (AKA click click click on a mechanical pencil because I'm sure you know that dull lead and lactose are two things I just don't tolerate.)

I did manage to take a few pictures and have a little fun. I'll post them up next. For now, I am simply thankful to have the desire to write again. Write anything really. Even a post about nothing. I'm getting back in the swing folks.

I can feel myself coming back to life.

This is where I admit...

2011-03-31T18:12:00.000-07:00

I spoke too soon.

This week has been cold and rainy

And soup-filled.

Rain, rain go away. Please come back...when I can fit my fat calves into some galoshes.

....

just kidding. Kind of.

These would be nice.

Spring is springing forward

2011-03-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting for spring since New Years Day and this week, it finally came. It's been a long wait, but that's just how spring rolls, and with her, the annual war between the pollen and my sanity. Seriously, what button do I have to push to let my body know that spring is not the enemy.

Who else is loving the time change? Because, I do. I love the sunshine. I love that it's light outside when I wake up. I love the heat of the day. It's like a salve for my soul. I can feel the energy. The whole earth is gearing up for summer. It reminds me of running. When I was training for the half marathon, I would always try to sprint the last lap around the track. It was a way of proving to myself that I can always do more, that I could've run faster or further. Running distance is such a mental game. If I've learned one thing over the years, it's that my body is capable of doing so much more than I think it can.

Whenever I was running the second to last lap, I would think, "Here we are. It's the slingshot. I'm gearing up to sprint and the faster I sprint, the sooner it will be over." Maybe it's foolish, but it always felt that way and I could sense it coming around that last corner to the moment when I would start to sprint. The image of a slingshot being stretched back and tense, waiting to be free. Of course it was probably slightly less dramatic if you had seen it in person. It's hard to make a 10 minute mile sprint look dramatic, but I felt it. And I feel it now with the seasons. Pulling back the slingshot of spring before the sprint of summer.

So spring has sprung.

No more hot soup on cold days.

Grass and the kitchen garden have been planted.

And everything is growing, especially me.

I keep playing this song over and over

Ironic.
Our dog days haven't even begun.

2011-03-15T17:45:00.000-07:00

You can buy this poster here. I've seen it going around and I am all for it. For a $25.00 donation (+ $5.00 shipping and handling), you get this poster and 100% of the proceeds go to the Red Cross in support of the crisis in Japan. People are putting them in their homes, at their workplaces, in their windows. It reminds me of when 911 happened and Englanders put American flags in their windows. It reminds me that there is love in this world. It's the second greatest commandment. "Love your neighbor as yourself." It's a good thing.

2011-03-07T19:21:00.000-08:00

This is the face I get when she's done something wrong...

And I get it much more often than I would like, but she's learning quickly.

It's amazing how sweet she can look when she wants to.

We took her to the river for the first time. It's about a mile walk out to our favorite spot and the walk out there, wore her out. When we finally got there, she crashed underneath the picnic table while Clover played.

It was a beautiful clear day and the water was like glass.

Clover has always loved the water, and I suspect that Ginger is going to love it just as much.

She was fascinated watching Clover play in the water.

I often wondered if she would venture in.

Unfortunately she never did, even with a lot of prompting from her excited older sister.

Soon the dogs and Korey and I were worn out, so we gathered our things and headed back down the trail.

Ginger wouldn't stop running. She wanted to be right under Korey's feet until she finally ran out of steam and I carried her back to the car.

When we got home, Ginger and Clover both got baths.

My sweet little burrito. If only she was this sweet all the time.

The post where you and I catch up.

2011-03-06T13:15:00.000-08:00

Oh my. How to begin? It's hard to start a post when so much has happened in between this one and the last. First there was Valentine's Day, then my dad, my mom, and I all had birthdays. I have had a million bajillion things due for school. (Yes, million bajillion is a real number. I believe it looks like this 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.) Oh yeah, and Korey bought me something really special for my 28th birthday.

He bought me a puppy. The very puppy that is sweetly sleeping at my feet right now and that I have yet to spank into submission. Now don't think I beat my dogs. I'm usually pretty serious about the discipline, but she's always giving me that face.....

Who could not love this face?

Clover wasn't sure about her at first, but they have quickly become best friends and partners in crime.

And so our family is complete....for now.

On a completely other random note, I ran the Disney princess half marathon last Sunday. My friend and schoolmate, Destiny, ran it with me. We weren't there long, but we still managed to squeeze in a few hours at the Magic Kingdom. Destiny had never been.

First, we went on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

A Johnny Depp lookalike made an excellent edition to the Pirates experience. Isn't it crazy how much he looks like him!?

We rode all of the rides we could get on including the teacups and both big roller coasters. The line for Space Mountain said 70 minutes, but we waited anyway. Who can go to Disney for the first time and not ride Space Mountain? Sacrilege! Luckily for us, the wait must have not been updated because we did not wait more than 30 minutes.

This picture below is my favorite one. What a magical place. I can't wait to take my children some day.

So we took the monorail back to the parking lot at sunset after the street party and tried to get some sleep before the big race.

We had to leave the house at 3:00 AM to get to the race on time. If we weren't in our corral at 5, they would not have let us race.

There were an amazing amount of people there. I was told 22,000 ran total and 17,000 ran in our race alone.

It was such a fun race to run.

There were characters or some form of entertainment around each mile.

I ran with my little point and shoot camera.

There was even an epcot air balloon.

Also....please note that the mickey mouse men in tattoos and tutus also ran! haha. There were so many interesting "characters" running. One man, I kept trying to get a picture of, ran the entire race in a full green frog prince costume with a personal ad-esq sign on his back that he was looking for his princess. Well he came to the right place.

It was such an experience. Who else gets to run through the park while the sun rises?

Or take pictures with characters that can't be offended by your sweaty smelly self?

Or get entertained by the local fire department who dirty danced on their firetruck to the tune of "Shorty fire burnin' on the dance floor?"

Or get cheered on by the local "retirement community?"

The run was so much fun, but it surely wasn't easy. I was so happy to see that finish line and know that we had made it. It felt like we were the last ones there, but we got our medals and I saw that I was number 12,007 to cross that finish line. 12,007 out of 17,000 aint bad....not bad at all.

Although it was nice to get away for the weekend, I must say the best part was coming home to my two princesses, and my very own prince charming.

January

2011-01-27T18:17:00.000-08:00

This morning I woke up with something whooshing past me.

A bird?

A plane?

Um...no. That would be January making an exit. Is it just me that feels like January just started?

Time passes faster when I'm in school. Practicals, patients, reading, tests, quizzes, projects and I look up and another month is gone.

This semester has been chocked full of lab work and projects and practicals. It can be exhausting staying in the lab after school to finish up the mountainous amount of work, but it's not that bad. Honestly, I love what we're doing right now, crown preps, bridge preps, root canals, ortho, and we're starting to work on actual patients. I've just been cleaning teeth so far, but next week I will complete my first filling. I so prefer this to studying, although I will soon start studying for the National Boards on top of all my classwork. It's ok though. I don't mind the work. The lab is cathartic at night with music playing and the building almost empty. Of course, I try to work quickly so that I can come home to this handsome man.

Korey has started making beer as a hobby. He got a home beer making kit for Christmas and we brewed his first batch 3 weeks ago. Beer making is a much more intricate process than I thought it would be.

It reminds me of one of my college lab classes, only instead of growing bacteria in a petri dish, we grew a gigantic yeast culture in this container in our second bedroom.

Clover was a little skeptical. I guess we'll know how it turned out in a few weeks.

And of course, I must mention the great snowpocalypse of 2011.

We heard it was coming and when the snowflakes started falling we suited up and went outside to watch the magic.

Enough stayed on the ground that patients were canceled and we were granted the first snow day of the year. We spent most of our snow day like this....

Clover loved cuddling with my knitting. She was too precious. I couldn't take it back from her.

Unfortunately the snow was more like sleet on the ground.

Everything was covered in tiny bits of icy glass.

It was a good excuse to stay in, watch movies and drink hot chocolate and cuddle.

We stayed home for a day and a morning, and then snowpocalypse 2011was over for us in middle Georgia. So we went back to school and then saturday we bottled the beer we had made and set it in a cabinet to condition.

So life is good and sweet and precious.

I am so very thankful for my little family and good friends. One Republic is singing my themesong tonight.

When you're happy like a fool
Let it take you over
When everything is out
You gotta take it in
Hopelessly
I feel like there might be something that I'll miss
Hopelessly
I feel like the window closes oh so quick
Hopelessly
I'm taking a mental picture of you now
'Cuz hopelessly
The hope is we have so much to feel good about
Say oh, got this feeling that you can't fight
Like this city is on fire tonight
This could really be a good life
A good, good life

Raining in the New Year

2011-01-01T12:27:00.000-08:00

I woke up this almost too late to call it morning morning to the sound of pouring rain and the smell of sausage and eggs being cooked up in the kitchen. It was a somewhat strange start to a new year and the traditional new years diet I'll admit, but everything today is a sign of hope to me. Sausage and eggs, the hope that I can have balance in my life. That I can still enjoy food but no longer see all the extra pounds when I look in the mirror. Rain, to wash away 2010 with all of it's heartaches and struggles and leave a rainbow to start the new year off with hope and happiness.

2010 was the year of learning to live freely. When I look back on all that has happened and all that has not, the more I feel that 2010 was all about me learning to let go of control. Thinking about 2010 and all of its mistakes and hardships has gotten me thinking about 2011. I want to be more purposeful in my life. I want to change the way I think and the way I live. If 2010 was about letting go of things I shouldn't be holding on to, then I want 2011 to be about all the things I should be holding onto tightly.

I took voice lessons at Samford University what seems like a lifetime ago. I was in Paul Richardson's studio, who just so happens to be an excellent professor and, I would say, one of the very best I have had the pleasure of learning from. One thing that he taught me about singing was that rather than focusing on the million things you should not be doing, just focus on a few things that you want to do right. It isn't possible to do both. If you are busy doing the right things, there will be no room for the wrong things.

A few years later, I had a physics professor say something very similar. It was in regard to Lent. He said, rather than give something up that you shouldn't be doing, try to do something good instead. Not that giving up TV or chocolate or cussing is a bad thing, just that it only really benefits you. Why not do something that will also be good for others?

I can be pretty dense, but when I get the same advice in different situations from different people I respect, I try to take it.

So when I started my list of new years resolutions like this

Eat less.

Weigh less.

Watch less TV.

Complain less.

I started to realize that my new year was going to be filled to the brim with less instead of more. So I started again.

Eat more fruits and vegetables.

Exercise consistently.

Replace TV time with activity.

Listen more.

Say more positive things.

Run the princess half marathon.

Take more pictures.

Take better pictures.

Play guitar more.

Earn a good score on the National Boards.

Read my Bible regularly.

Go to church regularly.

So heres to 2011, a year of doing everything on purpose.

Goodbye 2010. Thanks for giving me some pretty awesome moments.

The above picture was not taken by me but by Ken Rada, my sister's wedding photographer.

Christmas time is here.

2010-12-26T14:34:00.000-08:00

Christmas hit us like a tornado, leaving a path of destruction filled with wrapping paper and new gifts, and then covered us with a blanket of snow.

We woke up Christmas morning and headed to my parent's house. We made biscuits and gravy, eggs, bacon and my sister and her husband made chocolate oatmeal cookies and cinnamon rolls while Andrea Bocelli sang Christmas carols. (Man I love that CD.) Dad finally opened a present that he didn't roll his eyes at, although there were plenty eye-rolling moments. (Seriously mom..... a karaoke machine?!?) Unfortunately, I forgot to take any pictures. We hung out most of the morning and then headed back to Korey's parent's house to have Christmas with them. Korey's sister had these shirts made and gave us all pajama pants to go with them. We pulled out the tripod and the remote and made some Griswold family portraits.

Clover actually sat still for a picture and kind of looked at the camera.

Christmas. Miracle.

It started snowing in the afternoon and kept going strong the rest of the evening. We set out a bowl and let it fill up and then Kim made some "snow icecream." I had never had it before. You just mix milk, vanilla flavoring, and sugar, and then add snow until it's the right consistency. Just adjust the sugar and vanilla flavoring until it tastes like vanilla icecream.

Doesn't it look awesome!

I attached one of my hair clips from my morning stocking to Clover's hair.

Isn't she beautiful?

This picture cracks me up. What a sweet picture buddy!

This was Clover's very first encounter with snow and my first White Christmas in GA.

A beautiful, sweet end to a beautiful day.

Well....Clover wasn't always peaceful about the snow. She went back and forth between impersonating Santa Claus and a grey hound.

Am I the only one that calls out "Here comes the bunny!" whenever my dog decides to do laps in the yard?

I sure hope not.

Our Christmas Card This Year

2010-12-20T08:36:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Spirit

2010-12-15T07:29:00.000-08:00

Everybody who thinks it doesn't really feel like Christmas say yeah!

I need some Christmas spirit. It all seems so far away. Maybe I'm just a little down after a grueling week of finals that finished up a few grueling months of school. Maybe I'm getting older. I don't know what it is. All I know is that I've gotten myself into a serious Christmas funk and I can't seem to get out of it. I don't know what I need, but I know I need something. I can feel it.

I've been brainstorming and this is what I've come up with so far to drum up some Christmas spirit.

Make a Gingerbread house

Make Sugar Cookies

Make candy apple cider

Watch Christmas movies (Elf, The Grinch, Miracle on 34th street, Christmas Vacation)

Make salt dough ornaments

Read for fun!

Knit or crochet something

Take photographs of Christmas lights

Make a pencil drawing

Learn to play some Christmas songs on guitar

Run consistently

Watch the meteor shower

Ride the zip line at Lake Lanier Islands

Go see the magical nights of lights

Go see that house that has their lights set to music

Go see a Christmas play or performance

I've already knocked some things off my list.

First, we went to my parents house to help decorate for Christmas. Mom made chili and I made candy apple cider which is really just a fancy way of saying "I heated up red hot cinnamon candy with some store bought apple cider." I love it!

Monday night we snuck out all bundled up with my tripod and camera in one hand and a sleeping bag in the other. We went to a field and watched the meteor shower and took pictures of the stars. The meteors were too quick to be caught by my camera, but an airplane showed up nicely. It was very cold but so romantic and fun. I just love a good adventure.

We did a few long exposures too. The lines are created by the stars and the turning of the earth. It reminds me of Revelation when John says he saw the stars fall from the heavens.

Of course, I've already started watching Christmas movies. Although I slipped and watched Little Miss Sunshine this morning. (One of my very favorite movies)

Today I think I'll try and make some sugar cookies with my mom, or read a book, or maybe draw. Perhaps I'll do all three. In any case, I fully intend to do every single thing on my Christmas list by the end of the year.

Go big or go home right?

This time I'm just lucky enough to do both.

The last mile

2010-12-09T08:24:00.000-08:00

Finals are finally over. I already felt like I really needed a few days of rest when they began, a few days to do what the 1950's housewife side of me wants to do: clean my house, bake something, craft something, attempt to make Sunday morning biscuits. Instead I studied and felt pretty much like these two ladies for the past week.

Now finals are over. It seems strange. I used to feel a release after my last final in undergrad, like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. Dental school is different. Perhaps it's the seemingly insurmountable work load, especially during finals that always seems to leave me feeling like it's just another day at the office. I honestly felt as if I would wake up this morning and go to school and study. Instead, I choose to make Sunday morning biscuits, even though it isn't Sunday, which is when I usually make them. (Hence the nickname "Sunday morning biscuits.") They're really just buttermilk biscuits made from scratch.

I haven't always been able to make them either. I started making biscuits when Korey and I got married. Korey told me that no one could make biscuits like granny. It made me think that some day I want my grandchildren to say something like that about me. So, I took her recipe and kept trying to make it work. "Sift some flour into a bowl. Make a well in the center of the sifted flour. Pour in some buttermilk and add a handful of crisco. Mix it all together until it looks right, but don't over mix it. Then make them into biscuits and bake them." Simple enough. So I made the decision to make biscuits once a week when possible until I got it right. There were times that they were edible but not good and other times that they went straight into the trash. Then suddenly, one fateful Sunday morning, with my last bit of crisco and emptying my last bit of self rising flour into the sifter, it all came together. Korey ate three of them. Success! It only took me an entire tub of crisco, a few bags of self rising flour, countless little containers of buttermilk, and two years of Sunday morning biscuit making. Not too shabby I would say, not too shabby at all.

So biscuits are baking. Finals are over and we're decking the halls....well not literally. We don't really have any to deck here, but I did manage to sneak in a few Christmas items. I needed something to pick me up during finals week.

First I took the leaves off my wreath and added some bling that used to encircle the candles on my mantle.

Some hot chocolate in my favorite mug and my little plug in mosaic snowman that Korey bought me at Cracker Barrel last year.

My mom bought me this photo snow globe and it is my absolute favorite Christmas decoration. I only wish it played music.

Once my last final was over and I had taken a little nap, Korey took me out to dinner. I was content to be out on a date after not being able to spend much time together, but he had a surprise for me afterward. He took me to look at Christmas lights, one house in particular a schoolmate had told him about. They had a ton of Christmas lights that blinked and shimmered to the rhythm of songs on their very own radio station. It was magical. What a sweet man. I am so blessed to call him my family.

Stream of consciousness

2010-11-30T23:50:00.000-08:00

Forgive me. I'm feeling poetic tonight.

My mind is coursing over veins and arteries as if they were a road map. I'm tracing where I know they should be on my legs, on my arms, gliding through my organs. I imagine the muscles flexing and lengthening as they move beneath my skin. Suddenly the body seems so simplified, a map on my dashboard full of familiar road names and landmarks. With each road name a flash of its beginning and end and all the in between. Then suddenly, there is an unnamed road, an unfamiliar pathway, a name with no connection to where it belongs. Where does it fit into this puzzle? I’m lost again. Surely these terms were made up by a child. Endless words, and each one stranger than the next. But in this class it’s impossible to discard answer choices based on unfamiliarity. “There is no way that is the correct answer. I’ve studied for hours and I’ve never come across that word.” Famous. Last. Words. Anatomy is not for the faint of heart. Tonight I will sleep and dream in latin and dissected body parts with blurry unreadable labels, my gloved hands tugging at nerves and separating muscles when they’d rather be plucking the strings of my guitar or chiming knitting needles together in steady rhythm. My eyes are as tired as my aching mind. When will I be able to sleep again without guilt weighing down my blankets at night? There is much to beckon into my mind and little time to convince it to stay. I’m trying hard to keep on keeping on, to fight the good fight. Robert Frost keeps wandering into the forefront of my mind. In the midst of the fray, the whisper of a melody I used to know, his poem set to melancholy notes, “The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.” True, Robert. So very true.

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

What am I thankful for?

2010-11-26T14:18:00.000-08:00

All of this

And so much more.

Thanksgiving is a verb.

2010-11-21T12:51:00.000-08:00

Ok so I know it's not really a verb. It's a noun, but its an action noun, and this weekend my house has been filled up with it. It's a good sweet life we're living and we should enjoy it and be thankful for it.

I used to be such a careful person. I never wanted to step on toes or upset anyone. I even went so far as to feel a little guilty when people were upset as if, in some way, I had done something wrong. (Please tell me I'm not the only one to ever do that....) I spent so much time trying to make everyone happy that I never was happy myself. Actually most of the time, the people I was trying to make happy didn't end up happy either, so we both lost. A little while ago, someone very near and dear to my heart had a cancer scare and it led me to think, as the thought of death often does, about what I am doing with my life. The answer I came up with was worrying. In many ways I'm still this way and I've been fighting it. Why is it such a struggle to be carefree, to lay down burdens but keep the work we've been given? Why is it so much easier to lay down everything and be lazy or take up everything and be miserable?

So much of my life has been wasted focusing on negativity and other people's opinions of me and what I'm doing and why they may or may not think I'm doing it. Trying to control everything only led me to focusing on all the things that were not within my control. Enough. No more. There is so much intrinsic stress in life. There is no need for any additions. Each day has enough worry of its own. This is not to say that it is ok to be careless with others feelings or only serve yourself, but it does mean that when you do something fun with the intention of being nice that the nay sayers can just go say nay to someone that cares. That someone is not going to be me.

I know my own heart and it is not to hurt anyone. If that is good enough for me, then it is good enough. As I said before, it's a good sweet life we've been given and I intend to enjoy it and be thankful for it. I may march to the beat of a different drum, but the rhythm is so upbeat. Who could keep their feet still? There are so many reasons to march on.

Waking up naturally with no alarm
Really cleaning the house
Cuddling with my husband and my sweet puppy
Hot chocolate with added marshmallows.
Fried turkey and all the fixins
Making things from scratch like doughnut holes. (epic fail) and no bake cookies (only a partial fail as I still ate 4 of them)
Hanging out with friends
Decorating a Thanksgiving table
Having two Thanksgivings with more on the horizon
Packing to go home
Listening to "One Day" by Matisyahu on repeat
and being reminded that there are so many things I have to be thankful for

Someone else's giveaway and a boat ride.

2010-11-13T08:20:00.000-08:00

Ok so if you know me, you know I love blogging, writing on my blog and reading the blogs of friends and strangers alike. Well today when I went to i am baker's website I thought I would click over and see what she was writing on i am mommy as well since she is a multiple blogger. It was there that I discovered she is starting another awesome blog and on this new blog she is hosting a giveaway for $500.00! Seriously, anyone could use $500.00. That would totally buy Christmas presents and buy me some awesome new shoes....er.....almost pay our rent for the month. So go leave a comment here and you will also be entered to win!

Ok now back to a more normal blog entry. So for our anniversary we bought tickets to go for a boat ride on the Augusta Canal. Unfortunately, it rained so we postponed our ride and honestly, I completely forgot about it until the other day. I had a huge exam wednesday morning for microbiology, so as a reward, we went for our boat ride wednesday afternoon. It was so beautiful. We shared the ride with a lovely older couple. It was narrated by a wonderful knowledgeable guide and I learned a lot about Augusta history as well as some of the local wildlife.

The sky was amazing. I think I prefer cloudy skies to clear ones. They are so much more interesting.

The fall colors were so beautiful.

This photo was not edited at all. Doesn't it look like a watercolor painting?

And check out my awesomely cool husband. What a stud.

So much fun! And we had bought our tickets using the Augusta Chronicle daily deal so we only paid $12.00 total and got admission to the history museum.

Please try to ignore how tired I look.

2010-11-02T13:41:00.000-07:00

Our Clover is growing up so fast, and is totally Korey's girl. She is perfectly sweet to me and listens well, but she and Korey just have a special bond.

She wants to be just like him.

Originally this post was going to be about going to the GA/SC fair a few weeks ago. We had a great time hanging out with sweet friends, but honestly, I don't feel very much like writing about it. I just finished taking a major practical and exam and am feeling a little foggy and more than a little exhausted. My mom and sister came to visit me friday night and left on saturday around lunch. It was all too short of a trip and I really enjoyed spending time with them both. We spent a lot of time just talking about life and how we're going to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. Those are most definitely my favorite holidays ever year. It's just left me feeling a little homesick. I miss the people and the familiarity and how comfortable I feel in my own skin. As long as I have been in dental school, it just never feels like home.

I've got a lot on my mind lately, mostly about the holidays. I keep getting reminders in the mail from Compassion about sending our adopted child money for them to buy Christmas for her. Money is tight this year so we decided that buying her Christmas would be our gift to each other this year. Don't think too highly of us. Our gift isn't very much, but it makes me feel good knowing that somewhere on the other side of the world a little girl will know that we love her and think about her and care that she has a Christmas.

The other day Korey was driving through Atlanta when he saw a young teenage boy riding his bicycle and holding onto a McDonalds bag. The boy was trying hard to pedal faster and ended up wobbling and dropping his food. Korey said that when he saw the boys face, he just looked devastated. So Korey turned the car around to give him a few dollars. When he got back to the boy, he was by the side of the road eating the food off of the ground. Korey gave the boy some money to buy more food, but it bothered him and it bothered me to hear it. This was a boy who was a teenager, the age where all you care about is being like everyone else and not being seen as uncool or poor or out of the ordinary, and this boy was eating food out of the dirt, where anyone could drive by and see him. That boy was truly hungry. Korey said to me, "We don't have a lot of money, but we are not poor enough to eat food off the ground. I just kept thinking of that Bible verse that says if you see your brother in need and are able to help him but don't, then the love of God is not in you." (paraphrase of 1st John 3:17) I am so proud of Korey for going back, for seeing someone in need and trying to meet that need, for having a loving heart, but my heart is still broken. I wonder about that boy. Will he be hungry tonight? Will someone else help him? Does someone love him and will they tell him that he is special and capable? Does he have a place to stay? I just keep reminding myself that God loves that boy and He will take care of him. The only problem with that attitude is that sometimes He doesn't. Manna doesn't always fall from Heaven. Trees don't always grow up to give us shade. So my heart is burdened. I'm not quite sure what God is doing with me, but I find myself coming back to the same thought. It's almost Christmas, and although I love tradition and presents and things, I find myself wondering what I will do for Christ for Christmas. It's His birthday and all I can think of is myself.

I need a new tradition.

Well, now that you're all as thoroughly burdened as I am, I guess I will show some pictures of the fair to lighten up the mood.

Let it now be known, overalls, albeit appropriate attire for a fair, may have people asking you if that cow is yours.

And if Trapper Joe didn't lighten the mood, perhaps a little peak at girls night will. We had a wine tasting/food tasting/pumpkin carving good time.

Did you get to carve a pumpkin this year?

Things Are Looking Up

2010-10-20T11:36:00.000-07:00

We've had a busy couple of weeks. October is coming to an end. It's amazing to me. It seems as if it was just beginning a few days ago. Soon it will be Thanksgiving which is my favorite time of the year. Cool weather, friends and family, so many things to be thankful for, and the initiation into the Christmas season. I'll even venture out and say that I like Thanksgiving better than Christmas. No expectations or worries about money or gifts or whether or not the true meaning of the holiday has been covered up with materialism. The only expectation is for people to spend quality time with family and be thankful for their life. I almost think it honors God more than the way we celebrate His birthday.

Speaking of birthdays, we went home a few weekends ago to celebrate Korey's mom's birthday and my sister Ashley's too. Of course Clover came along and worked her magic on Korey's family.

Clover has learned that if she looks sweet, I will give her anything in my power that she wants. She has wrapped her little paws around our hearts and is now a very permanent part of our family.

Before I knew it, we were home again and now even Korey's birthday has come and gone. It was last week and I hope it was a good birthday for him. He is very special to me and I only wish I could've done more to celebrate the day he was born. One day maybe I'll wake him and there will be a Shelby Cobra sitting in our driveway, or maybe boxes of Shelby parts from the kit car I ordered. You know, whichever way he would prefer it. Until then, he'll have to settle for waking up to scratch buttermilk biscuits and chocolate gravy that isn't quite as good as his grandma's, and some brownies that I baked that somehow just didn't turn out. I did buy him a book called "The Cobra In the Barn," which turned out to be a hit. So there was at least one win for the day. That night we went to Mellow Mushroom and had some pizza with friends. We sat outside and laughed and talked. I brought my camera, but I was enjoying myself so much that I didn't take any pictures. I didn't want to miss a moment.

The birthday week continued on thursday night when we went to see Tosh from the show Tosh.0 do stand up. It was really fun and relaxing. With all the stress of school, it was good to sit back and laugh and maybe take myself just a little less seriously.

Friday night was date night, and after dinner Korey built me a little fire in the backyard.

I had fun trying to take good pictures of the fire and making s'mores.

It was fun just to sit together by the fire and talk and laugh at our silly dog as she played in the backyard.

I love this picture because I was trying to get a picture of Clover with the fire in the background and somehow I managed to capture the exact moment that made her look like her hair was on fire.

That's my girl.

And then I played with fire.....but only safely through the lens of course.

Saturday we went to the airshow at an airport down the street from our house. It was an amazing day.

Unfortunately, there were no pets allowed, so Clover had to stay home.

Don't worry. We got her a pup cup from Dairy Queen and all was right again. In fact, now I'm pretty sure every time we get in the car, she thinks that's where we're going.

2 years and counting

2010-09-30T10:20:00.000-07:00

Our anniversary was perfect. It wasn't fancy or expensive, which was appropriate since I am neither. Korey was at a loss at what to do at first. We talked about it all weekend and made plans and changed plans and threw "You just plan it" back and forth. I spent all of Saturday and Sunday working at the school to prepare for my test and practical so I'm sure I wasn't the most patient or kind, and for that I am truly sorry. I am not always so graceful under pressure. And I love traditions and special days more than Korey does, so I'm sure he was feeling pressure to live up to my expectations. He feels like we should treat every day as if it were our anniversary. He has always been more practical than the traditional romantic. As I have said before, he has always been more likely to carry my shoes than hold my hand,

He has a servant's heart, and although I never thought to ask for that in a husband, I've found that it is one of my very favorite things about him.

I am the queen of traditions. I love honoring a memory by repetition. I love communion, and Thanksgiving, and Christmas traditions. So when Korey bought cookies because we ate them last year instead of year old wedding cake,

and took me to Mellow mushroom for pizza because that is what we ate on our wedding night since we didn't get to eat very much at our wedding reception,

It was all that I needed to feel special and loved and like I married the perfect man for me.

He also made me double layer hershey bar brownies

bought me flowers

Mexican Coke

and made me bruschetta for lunch.

Sometimes school is so overflowing with intensity, pressure to perform, and criticism. And then I come home and I am a total failure at being a housewife. I have to study instead of clean, or some days when I should be cleaning, I avoid it because it all feels so insurmountable. It's enough to make a person want to crawl into bed and I would be lying if I said it never got to me to come home from a 12 hour work day at school and have more work to do. Such is life. I'm trying to be content with who I am, with what I have. A happy house, even if it's more likely to be messy than clean. A happy woman, even if I am more likely to be healthy than skinny. A great dentist, even if I cannot be perfect. I will never live up to that image of a skinny woman in her apron cleaning a house that already looks clean, but I do strive to be better than I am right now. Maybe do one more load of laundry, run one more mile in the morning before class, practice one more prep before I head home for the day.

And when I get home for the day, I try to remind myself that I am so blessed to be married to my best friend, the man who knows exactly how to make me melt, and loves me, even when the clothes don't get folded and the dishes don't get washed.

It's not such a hard knock life.

Our Second Anniversary

2010-09-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

Our second anniversary is on Monday.

Honestly, in a lot of ways, I still feel like a newlywed. It's almost as if we just got married a few weeks ago. Maybe it's because our lives are still so simple. We rent a small house. We're always struggling financially. We are always dreaming of someday, the house we'll have, the dental practice and how we'll run it. Today I've been dreaming of what we'll do for our 10th or 15th anniversary, especially since we won't be able to really celebrate this year. I have a test and a practical on tuesday, the day after our anniversary. So I've been dreaming of renewing our vows someday on a faraway beach or boat at sunset and the lanterns we'll release into the sky to the tune of"Till Kingdom Come" by Coldplay or "The One I Love" by David Gray.

(I got that idea and the picture above from Kelle Hampton. They did this for her dad's 60th birthday and played "Forever Young." Her blog is amazing. You should check it out.)

It is so hard to live in the moment, to want the things that I already have. It is so much easier to think about things I want. I see pictures of the compassion child we support and how little other people have and the guilt starts setting in. I am so blessed. I have a roof over my head and food on my table. I have a full life, my sweet family and friends and work. I have the opportunity to be in dental school. Korey said to me the other day, "Just think, there is someone out there that would love the chance to be in your shoes" and I remember what it felt like to feel that way, to want to be accepted more than anything, but it is so hard to keep that attitude when I'm drowning in lab work and waking up at 4:30 in the morning to study. Every once in a while I'll get a glimpse of what I felt before, that love for knowledge and the feeling of finding what you were made to do. And then I'm back to treading water and dreaming of the day that I can do the backstroke with the sun on my face. Until then, I am counting my blessings, starting with my sweet, smart, supportive husband.

and my sweet Clover, asleep at my feet.

So many things to be thankful for.

Down by the river again

2010-09-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

Do you remember this photograph from the canal?

At first I thought it was a joke, but no. There are alligators in the canal and some of them have wandered over to the river side too....but don't ask me about the shark. There wasn't a sign for sharks.

Of course we went to the river again. It's our favorite place in city. It's beautiful, and I get depressed if I go weeks and months without seeing some form of nature.

When I did my preceptorship as a nurse, a lot of the girls would take smoke breaks. It really wasn't fair. I was always having to watch their patients so that they could go get their nicotine fix. I was working 7-7 so I never saw the sunlight, and life in the florescent lights isn't too uplifting. So after a few weeks of being "the girl who doesn't ever take a break," I started taking them. I knew I could never get into smoking. I can't stand the smell of it, so I just took sunshine breaks. I got a few interesting looks, but I had built up some favors, so no one said anything when I said, "Hey, will you watch Mr. HIPAA, I need to go take a sunshine break?" It made all the difference in the world.

The river is such a carefree place and our little puppy is the least worried of the three of us. No crown preps, no dentures, no problems. Just water and worn rocks and a bouncy, floppy puppy. Just what I needed after skipping lunch and spending four more hours in the lab after class.

I feel like a proud mother. Every facial expression is different to me. I always take so many pictures of her. Usually, this means that there is little to no evidence that I was ever there. This time, I asked Korey if he would take a picture of me with Clover. He did a pretty good job.

And then our bouncy girl went right back into the water.

and bounced in line right behind Korey. She loves to follow him.

All too soon, the break was over and we climbed the hill to walk back home.

2010-09-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

Oh my, where has the time gone? School has been overwhelming as of late. I've still managed to make time for a little fun, but there is always so much more I want to do.

I did get to do a little something for myself. My friend Stella and I made some door wreaths in honor of the fall weather we both hope is swiftly on its way.

This is hers.

And this is mine!

It was so fun to make and wasn't very expensive. I love it. It looks so very fall.

Little Clover has been living it up. She is the perfect dog for us. Can you tell? One day she will be entirely too big for this, so we're just enjoying it while we can.

Clover is a very sleepy puppy. She sleeps on Korey.

On the couch.

In the car

At the river

Ok, she didn't actually sleep at the river.

Ace, Stella and Brad's dog, came too.

And Nanette

And Stella and Brad, of course.

There is nothing more masculine than a man carrying a poodle.

and nothing sweeter than a poodle wrapped up tight in a blanket.

We got to see what Clover is going to look like in just a few months.

And we were so excited to see that Clover still loves the water!

She swam and played the whole time.

And of course, all that swimming and playing led to a lot more sleeping.

It's a hard knock life.

A new addition

2010-08-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

Last friday as I was talking to Korey after a long day at school and lab work, he pushed the coffee table aside, and would you believe it? There was a sweet nervous little black lab puppy sitting under there. We have been talking about getting a dog for a very long time, but the timing was never right. Last friday however, the stars aligned unbeknownst to me, and Korey went and picked her up. Our friend Jimmy had found her on Craig's list. Black lab breeders had had an accidental litter and were giving away full blooded black labs. We snagged the last one of the litter and I am amazed that she did not get snatched up sooner.

She was nervous that first day but she has since then quickly come out of her shell.

We took her down by the river this week as a right of passage and to see how she would do in the river water.

Jimmy and Wendy came with us with Jimmy's dog, Madison, and Ben and Kelly met us with Ben's dog, Molly.

I love this place. It's so beautiful, from the tadpoles in the puddles to the gorgeous rushing river. I can't help but wonder what it must have felt like for settlers to stumble upon it for the first time.

I really wanted to get good pictures of our new puppy, Clover, but every time she was sitting pretty and I bent to take her picture, she would run to me. I got several pictures like this.

And this.

And this one is my favorite.

She ran

And played

And got belly rubs.

Korey coaxed her into the water

And she learned that she could swim.

Madison liked the water too.

I'm not sure how Molly liked the water, but I know she liked the geese.

At least until she discovered the fish.

When Clover finally was all tuckered out, I was able to get a few good shots of her.

And then we took our tired girl home.

Our sweet Clover.

Skipping Seasons

2010-08-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun hanging out at the beach with our buddies Stella and Brad. I find myself staring at the background to my computer in between my classes and wishing I could be back there by the sand and sea.

We ate oysters drowning in butter at Hunt's

And drank fruity drinks by the bay while we watched the sunset

Stella and I lusted after clothing

And jewelry

While our men were completely enthralled by the stunt kites Korey and I brought.

It was amazing to watch the boys make them dive toward the sand

And then swoop them upward back into the sky without ever touching the ground.

We made orange sherbet

And of course, lounged at the beach.

Where my biggest dilemma was whether to help or take a picture.

What a sweet trip with sweet friends.

They even brought their sweet little dog, Nanette.

I couldn't resist taking a million pictures of her.

One night, Stella and I decided to have a nanette photo shoot on the beach at sunset. It goes without saying that this dog loves the sand.

She ran this way

And that way

And this way again.

I couldn't resist laughing at her little "tuck" and run.

and her ears flapping freely in the wind.

She wanted sand on every part of her, especially her ears.

Although she instantly bonded with the sand, it took a little coaxing to get her into the surf.

She finally pranced into the water with Stella by her side

And unfortunately the poor soul was promptly met with a stout wave.

After that, she was content to watch the waves from a distance.

or safe in the arms of her mama.

And now that our beach trip is over, I want it to instantly be fall. Does anyone else feel that way? I'm ready for football games and intramural sports, crisp weather, light jackets, and the golden colors of autumn. I can already feel the anticipation building inside me for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Summer,

please end soon. You are beautiful and wonderful and warm but please set like the sun. I'm ready for cool autumn air to come my way and I have this really cute jacket I would love to be able to wear.

Sincerely,

Lindsey

What A Wonderful World

2010-08-14T18:07:00.000-07:00

Home again, after a long week of good sweet life. I managed to cross sleeping, eating, and having fun off my to-do list every day without guilt or loss of life, which was a welcome change to the pounding rhythm of the semester.

I was craving sunshine and sea air and God was gracious on both accounts all week long. I was thinking about sunshine today, how amazing it is, and it reminded me of something Jesus said. He said,

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12.

This week was certainly full of life and sunshine. Sometimes I just love the way Jesus put things. So simple. So matter of fact.

This week I felt the sunshine raining down on me from Heaven, and I felt more and more of life returned to me after stress and worry and work had sucked my reserves dry, although I'm sure He meant for that analogy to make sense to those who had used sunshine to grow food up from the ground. And then there He was, to be my inner sunshine. To fill me up where I had let myself run dry. It feels so good to not be forgotten, even when I forget. Even when I strut my intellect and act like He doesn't exist. I am so thankful for a forgiving God, for a God who remembers me. For a God who made sea air and sunshine.

For a God who is the light of the world,

so that I won't have to walk in darkness,

so that I could live.

So many things to be thankful for.

My cup runneth over.

Soul weary and bone tired

2010-08-06T18:25:00.000-07:00

This week has put me through the ringer. I am exhausted and weary and I'll admit, just a little snippy. We can't all be perfect. The good news is that I think the tests went well. The really good news is that I didn't die, and the best news yet is that all it will take is a warm bed and a long hot shower to set me right again and you definitely couldn't have convinced me of that yesterday.

This has been a tough week emotionally as well as mentally and physically. My mom needed some routine surgery that ended up being less routine than we thought. It all turned out alright, as things often do, but it was still stressful. Thankfully after a 3 day stay in the hospital, she was able to go home today and I look so forward to seeing her tomorrow.

My mom is one of my very best friends.

When I was in high school I would wake up early and we would sit on the porch together, her with her coffee and I with my tea watching the sun rise. We also would run together in the mornings, usually just a few miles at a time until I went away to college. We continued to run together when I would come home for the summer and sophomore year of college we made a pact to run a marathon together. We were never fast, in fact you could probably walk faster than my mom and I run, but we never walked. That was a part of the pact. We could run as slow as we needed, but we were not allowed to walk. We started out running a 5k, then a 10k and then a half marathon. We never did run that marathon because I overtrained and ended up getting hurt, but we did run another half marathon. The last time I added up two halves they made a whole, so I tend to count it as if we ran a full marathon, although I know that's not really the same.

I love looking back on the good quality time with mom, and I learned some valuable lessons on that pavement. I learned to be thankful. I learned to think of other people, and I learned that my mom is a very neat person with a very special heart. When we first started running together, I would complain. "I'm so hot. My legs hurt. I am so thirsty." And my mom would say, "We should be thankful. When you feel hot, thank the Lord that you can feel hot, some people have no blanket at night, no warm clothes for the winter. When your legs hurt, be grateful that you have legs that can feel and move. Some people would love to be able to run. When you're thirsty, thank the Lord that you are a short time away from water when there are people that have never had clean drinking water." I learned some less important lessons too. Like that the best time of day to run through a marina is at sunset. The sailboats clang and the sky is golden. All good magic happens at twilight.

I gave up running after our second half marathon. At first it was just a break while my foot healed, and then I just never started back again. Now I only run a mile every once in a while, but lately, I've started thinking about it again. It helps me deal with stress, and stress is something that seems to be raining down on me. So I've signed up for another half marathon and I'll soon be training again. It's not going to be easy. It never was, but it will be worthwhile. I'm going to run the Disney World Princess Half Marathon and I am really starting to get excited. My friend Destiny is supposed to run it with me and mom says she and my sister will be training to run it too. In fact, I think everyone should run it. Here's the link.

Disney Princess Half Marathon Registration

The race is going to be through the park, including Cinderella's castle, and all of the characters come out to cheer you on. When you register (and I know you will!), it prompts you to say who your favorite Disney princess is and they print that picture on your bib. I picked Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She was always my favorite because she loved to read.

So, who am I going to see on your bib?

2010-07-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

A few days before Korey came home, we had our class picnic. It was one of my favorite parties that our class has put together. We rented a picnic area at a local park and it was the perfect little spot. It had two grills that we used to grill hamburgers and hotdogs, a fishing pier, and a dock to swim off of.

Jeff helped us get started grilling and we were so thankful for his help. He is married to my friend Megan who we surprised for her birthday a few blog entries ago.

I didn't get a great picture of them together but they brought their sweet new baby and I did get a ton of pictures of him.

Of course everyone wanted to hold him.

and Ben just wanted to pet him....

What a cutie!

We had a ton of food

And I made homemade oreos from the blog smitten kitchen.

I even stamped them this time so that they would look more like true oreos

We ate, and hung out, and played cornhole on the boards that Korey made.

And then we walked to the lake and hung out on the dock.

A few people got in the water voluntarily.

And some...not so voluntarily....

There was fishing too.

It was a fun day. I only wish that Korey could have come too.

Korey came home

2010-07-27T18:36:00.000-07:00

I loved seeing Korey's smiling face when I got home from school today. I just feel so much more at peace when he's around. I'm not about to quote Jerry Maguire here or anything. No "You complete me"s or "You had me at hello"s. I, personally, have never subscribed to the belief that God makes partial people. I am completely whole and have been since the day I first took that fateful trip down the fallopian tube.

I never dated anyone before Korey, and there came a time in my early 20's where I finally came to the conclusion that I may never get married. I scoured the Bible for promises from God and found oh so many things but somehow I never came across a verse that said, "and I shall provide a husband for you." And so I did the craziest, most radical thing I could think of. I decided, "I am not dating anyone for a year." Yes. That's right. I said it. My mother and father were so upset about it and I didn't know what to say so I just laughed. No one had wanted to date me for 20 years. So what did it matter if I had one more year of singleness on purpose? It was empowering and, honestly, I was fairly certain it wouldn't be my last.

I started each day by praying out loud saying, "God, You are enough for me." I certainly didn't feel that way when I first started saying it, but toward the end of that year, it became so very true. I started making plans for myself. I started dreaming about the life I would have alone and free. Free to travel. Free to live in a foreign country. Free to adopt a child or children because having one loving parent is better than having none at all. I was dreaming up my Calcutta (reference is to Mother Teresa. She was amazing. You should read all about her.) My whole mindset changed. And despite what my parents thought, that I would miss my one chance at love should he come calling while I was on the crazy train to Calcutta, I didn't get asked on a single date. (I know. I was shocked too.) I just felt in my heart that I was not really ready to be in love, and looking back on who I was back then, I was right. I needed to have my own life before tying it down to someone else's. I needed to know what it felt like to be independent, to be free. I needed to learn to be fearless and I was, most days. I became so fearless in fact that when Korey finally did show up on my door step, I wouldn't date him.

He was so sweet and persistent. He made me CDs. He invited me to dinner. He told me I was beautiful. He asked me to come to his small group. I was so fearless as a singleton, but the thought that he could genuinely want to date me filled me with doubt. I was afraid that what might turn out as a very good friendship with a fun, funny, sweet guy would be ruined by me falling for him. The inevitable ending would be to have my heart crushed with a swift kick from a shiny steel toed boot. (*ahum* of course that's never happened to me before *cough*) Fortunately, Korey was up for the challenge and after a few weeks, I knew I was hooked, boot or no boot.

Now I have seen both the patches of thick green grass and the patches of dry red Georgia clay that lay on each side of the fence that divides us marrieds from the unmarrieds.

So now here I am, my Calcutta tucked away in my heart with many other dreams that won't come true. And lying next to me, sound asleep is my travel weary coauthor of my new dreams, and aren't they sweet. And aren't they as grand as Calcutta. And doesn't this grass feel so very green.

It's so good to have Korey home again.

Oh my

2010-07-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

This week went to battle with me, and I'm not yet sure who won. Late nights and early mornings were the week long theme. I turned in 6 projects, had one major practical, and one major test, and I am spent like my last red cent, but this afternoon I pressed on. I made some oreos (recipe from smitten kitchen) for the class picnic tomorrow, because sometimes you just have to make time for fun. Some days weeks, you have to laugh so you don't cry. Even in all the mistakes I made this week, the master cast that broke when I took off the acrylic, the bread that would never rise and resembled a smooth white rock, the way that my sweet husband had no cell phone service the many times this week I really needed his shoulder to cry on, that when he finally did get service, I was too busy to really talk to him, there was still goodness in every day. I can feel my mind stretching to fit more latin words than I ever thought could fit it. I can see improvement in my hand skills. The handpiece used to feel so awkward and heavy in my hand, and although I still have so very far to go, it's starting to feel just right. I know this is what I was made to do, even if I'm not proficient at it yet, I am working hard, and that gives me so many reasons to smile. Sometimes I need to step back and look at how far I've come. Dental school is not for the faint of heart. Most days are a tug of war between failure and success. I often feel as if I am struggling just to keep my head above water, and then suddenly, if only for a moment, I feel as if I am swimming, and all my fears of sinking flitter away. I needed to write this down, to put this stake in the sand, because finals week is looming and I can already start to feel a tugging at my feet.

So here is a toast to happy things:

to being happily married

to having a clean house and a made bed

to baking (both epic wins and epic failures)

To words like peduncle and homonculus

To realizing how beautifully complicated our minds and bodies are

To talking to my husband after four days of no cell service

To realizing that what used to take me 4 hours now takes me less than 1

To resting easy and having no fear

To soft music and candlelight

To air conditioning

To sweet dreams

To love

To life

This week went to battle with me,

and I'm pretty sure I won.