Golden Birthday

That's right...today's my birthday! 27 on the 27th. Pretty sure that makes this my golden birthday. Hoping the day includes something along these lines:

An eat-with-your-hands and smash it all over your face kinda day!

Birthdays are so weird...its the only day of the year you can be totally narcissistic and it be acceptable. Some people like to go around announcing it's their special day to strangers, and others like to stay totally under the radar. I think I fall somewhere in the middle (although I am doing a blog post about it...hmmm), but in my head, I'm throwing a party every minute of the day. Point in case, as I'm typing, I'm celebrating me with this:

I don't even drink coffee. But it seemed fitting to get that on your birthday, right? And pumpkin pancakes, proving this is the best time of year to have a birthday.

This weekend in class we talked about our sense of entitlement. Part of our paper involves uncovering how this is most evident in me, and on my birthday, it could not be more clear. I have expectations. And not just on my birthday. Expectations of how others should treat me, respect me, and cater to me. Expectations of God. How He should respond to me, speak to me, how my life should go. I think people and God owe me. Not consciously, of course, but in the way I act and relate. In the way I get upset when people don't treat me as I expect. When things they do for me aren't good enough. Or when life gets rough and I shake my fists at God.

I want God's presence (and redemption) and my friends' presence to be enough. I'm praying God changes my spirit of entitlement to a spirit of thankfulness and gratefulness! Today I want to celebrate how much I am loved, and be thankful for my friends and family and the way they show me their love! Thankful for the way they support me and they way they give of themselves to me! I love yall!

Funky

My apologies for the lack of posts lately! I was about to say I don't know how that happened but that is a lie. I know exactly what happened. I got all funky. Contemplative, introspective, a little down, out of whack...anybody relate? I kept wanting to write what I was feeling but I couldn't really form eloquent thoughts. It started with a completely botched conversation with a friend and led to lots of self-reflection. Add to that a full weekend of class and the intensity at work ramping up from about a 3 to an 8 on the intensity-dial, and you have a head full of scrambled eggs.  I'm still sorting it all out but lucky for you readers I've returned to posting...though I'm sure the upcoming posts will not be quite as lighthearted as ice cream toppings.

I'm realizing that counseling school has a tendency to make you straight up paranoid about how you interact with people.  There's constantly a list going through your head of what to say, what not to say, body posture, deeper meaning, etc. Kinda makes you want to just shut up most of the time.  So when a conversation with a friend goes south, it leaves any counselor-in-training reeling. But my first concern should not be whether I accurately reflected, but rather, did I treat my friend with love? Did I reflect Christ? Did I speak in love, seek to understand, put myself in their shoes? In this case, no. My defenses went up, and I wanted to be heard. At all costs.

I spent the weekend with Larry Crabb. If you haven't heard of him or read his books, google him. Amazing. The class was on spiritual direction.  He kept driving home the point that spiritual direction is having a good conversation where you eventually discover someone's central battle. The best way I can describe our central battle is the thing that we are most wanting and searching for. Everything we do is centered around this desire.  After thinking through my core battle and my core terror and the defenses I put up to protect myself against them, I was feeling pretty vulnerable. And I realized how I put up defenses in every conversation to be seen, understood, or noticed, and appear competent, interesting, or even spiritual. And it's pretty sad that my defenses get in the way of my communicating with friends and even with God. But unless there's a hole for me to crawl into, communication must go on. While getting a glimpse of my sin is painful, it definitely keeps me dependent on God. And oh so thankful for His redemption. I will definitely be processing these thoughts more in the days to come, but for now, you have snippet of where I've been.

Your Effect on a Room

About a month ago I read a blog post with this question and it has been on my mind ever since.  What do you bring to a room?  How does a room change after you enter?  Everyone brings something into a room.

Does the room become more light-hearted?  More anxious?  More calm?  More sarcastic?  More critical? 

I live with 3 great roommates.  When I come home from work, what am I bringing into the house?  Will I make the house more snippy, tense, and negative?  Or will I pause before I open the door and think about my effect on my roommates.

What about when I walk into class?  Into work?  Into church?  Into a party?

I want to be a person that makes the room more peaceful and enjoyable when I enter.  I want people to feel comfortable in my presence, more confident and more relaxed than before.

Rubber Neckin'



This weekend I drove up to the outlet mall and sat in traffic on 400 for multiple wrecks.  Frustrating.  But the worst part was when I finally got to the first wreck, I realized that it was nothing life-threatening and the cars were actually on the side of the road.  So why the traffic jam for 30 minutes??  Rubber neckers.  Everybody craning their necks, nearly rear-ending the car ahead of them just to get a glimpse of the destruction, only to declare "wowww, that looks rough."  And I admit, I took a peek.  And did I pull over to help?  Nope.  I was pressed for time.  Shopping, UGA game...you understand.

And then it occurred to me that I am a rubber necker in real life too.  When I see a wreck happening in someone's life, I want to know all the details.  Get a good stare, examine the situation, and then wince my face and say, "Yikes! Glad that's not me!!"  But help?  Nah...somebody with training should help.  Or somebody who knows them better.  I'd just be in the way.  Someone's probably already beat me to it anyway. 

I don't have to be a doctor or a pastor or an experienced counselor to help someone.  We have been equipped with the Holy Spirit.  We have everything we need to get involved in people's lives, to listen, support, encourage, and connect with each other.  And you never know when you're going to be the one on the side of the road.  I sure as heck don't want anybody gawking at me and not stopping to help. 

Ice Cream

Hello, my name is Mary Beth, and I am an addict.  I admit that I am powerless over ice cream.  I've been needing to get this off my chest for a while now, but since one of my readers made this request, I figured it was time to come clean. 

Ice cream is the perfect dessert.  Period.  It can be enjoyed on its own, enhanced with pretty much any food in your pantry, or it can be the enhancer for other, lesser desserts than can't stand on their own.

I consider myself a professional reviewer of ice cream.  I can spot a good bowl when I see one.  I don't discriminate based on flavors, toppings, or brands, and I definitely don't let the temperature/time of year affect my judgment.

So here you have my top 10 flavor countdown, in order of deliciousness:  


10. Publix Peanut Butter Cup - The discounted ice cream section can still deliver greatness.  These peanut butter cups explode in your mouth.  I may or may not have been known to eat them out of the carton and throw the plain vanilla down the drain.  Hence the low rating, but still delicious. 

9.  Blue Bell Cake Batter - The folks over at Blue Bell know something the other guys don't.  It's like the Apple of the ice cream industry.  Staying leaps and bounds ahead of the competition, producing flavors others only dreamed of, but at a high price-point.  And somehow they managed to match this amazing flavor found only at Cold Stone.  Genius.

8.  Marble Slab - Word to the wise...never move within walking distance of a Marble Slab.  Your bank account will suffer.  My favorite combo was amaretto or sweet cream combined with strawberry or blueberry, and cake as the topping. Don't knock it till you try it.

7.  Ben and Jerry's Phish Food - Marshmallow and caramel swirls. Enough said.

6.  Homemade Peach - Frannie, you do it right. Often imitated, never duplicated. Perfect amount of flavor and creaminess. Gotta give credit to my roots.  Only hesitations for a higher rating are preparation time and icy leftovers.

5.  Edy's Slow-Churned Peppermint - Warning: seasonal!  This is reason enough to count down the days until Christmas. If you find this in a store, buy the entire supply. It will be gone when you go back. Probably to my freezer.  And props to Edy's Slow-Churned...all their flavors are yummy. Very light and soft, but reducing your carton size? Really? Did you think I wouldn't notice?

4.  Yoforia - I didn't think I'd be the sucker who jumped on the organic fro-yo craze, but this stuff is worth selling your soul. An entire wall of delicious flavors, fix-it-yourself, and pay-by-weight.  And I'm pretty sure they told me it's calorie-free, or something...

3.  Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla (with Reeces Magic Shell) - Let me put your doubting minds to rest...YES, this tastes like homemade! I don't know how they do it over at Blue Bell, but they do.  And no, I'm not a vanilla type of person.  That's why this selection is 30% about the ice cream and 70% about the most amazing topping ever created.  If you haven't tried Magic Shell since elementary school, please, return to your youth.  You won't regret it.  They also have Heath bar which is a close second.

2.  Blue Bell Cookies-N-Cream - A classic that Blue Bell has absolutely perfected.  3 reasons:  1. You won't find bigger cookie chunks out there. I dare you.  2. The cookies actually taste like Oreos, not like those knockoff Big Sixties they served in youth group.  3. You never end up with one of those faulty cartons that's mostly vanilla. Talk about disappointment.

1.  Blue Bell Cookie Dough - Clearly, my top choice had to come from the BEST ice cream brand.  Some may criticize this as a #1 selection. I welcome any haters to try the monster cookie dough balls found in this deliciousness and tell me if they aren't the best you've ever had.  And not only is the cookie dough delicious, the vanilla and chocolate chips are the perfect base for Reeces Magic Shell.  It's like 2-n-1.  Actually, its 3-n-1 because you get cookie dough, which is a dessert in and of itself. 

What have I left off?

Big Sis Turns Big 3-0!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my big sis!!  She turns the big 3-0 today!

 

Whoa nelly how time flies! Seems like yesterday we were fighting over who got to sit in the front seat or who got to lick the beaters. 

Miller and I could not be more different in our appearance, personalities, and interests, but there is never a shortage of laughter when we're together!  It is always fun to celebrate our differences and find our similarities!  I look up to her in many, many ways!! She is an awesome mom, wife, daughter, and sister. 

Thanks, Sis, for putting up with a litter sister who totally cramped your style by walking around the mall in costumes and catching rides to school!  You taught me everything I need to know about makeup and fashion, and now about photography and blogging! And most importantly, thank you for sharing about your relationship with God! You're the best! Love you!

And here's a little slideshow of our golden years! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Bring on the fall weather!

Can I get an AMEN on the amazing fall weather?!  If your car has a sunroof that hasn't been permanently in the "open" position for the past week, I want to personally come check your pulse.  Talk about beau-ti-fullll outside. I came home last week to this:

Every window in the house open. No A/C on. A glorious thing.  Looking forward to a weekend of relaxing outdoors! And hopefully some good nature photos!

And since it's Friday, i'll try to start your weekend off with a laugh:

The Biscuit is Back

This weekend I helped my friend Carlyn move into our house! I lived with Carlyn in an apartment for 2 years right after college, and now she's back. Cue the song "Reunited."

Moving, in my opinion, is the definition of a labor of love. And this round was quite the adventure. I didn't take any pictures, and boy am I kicking myself, because there were some priceless images.  It was a 3-man crew consisting of myself, Carlyn, and our friend Matt.  We are available for hire.  We successfully maneuvered a couch through the narrowest of doorways/hallways, a set of box springs through a tiny stairwell, and carried a 200 lb. mattress on our heads.  And managed to only lose 1 glass table in the process. All in record time.

And I am pretty excited about the return of the biscuit.  The biscuit is the name Carlyn gave her bed back in college  a long, long time ago "because my dad's friend in college called his bed the biscuit" and it's fluffy, inviting, and warm and cozy. The mattress is made out of some heavenly smushy material that resembles memory foam, and add to that an electric blanket...just might beat out the palette.

On that blasphemous note, I will leave you with a picture of Sadie enjoying the comforts of the palette:

Airbrush

No, I'm not talking about your PCB Spring Break '99 T-shirt.  I'm talking about models and magazine photos being manipulated and distorted.  I just came across this article about British government officials trying to curb the practice of airbrushing to promote the confidence of young girls.  YES!  To quote the article, magazine photos these days "are all manipulated to hell."  Ralph Lauren got some bad press over this photo where the model's waist is smaller than her head.  Bobble-head-ish, huh?

The article quotes some fashion industry experts but also some experts in the field of eating disorders.  No one is arguing that viewing distorted pictures directly causes an eating disorder, but research does show repeated exposure to these images is linked to body dissatisfaction and extreme dieting.  Couple that with negative messages from boys or parents, and a girl's self-confidence is shot.

I am not much into magazines so my exposure is limited to Internet ads or billboards.  My friends that love Glamour and Cosmo would say that they read it to stay up on fashion, makeup tips, or celebrity news.  But you can't tell me that when you put that magazine down you are feeling better about yourself than before you picked it up.  At the very least, you are now disappointed with your wardrobe and want to hit the mall.   Here's what I know from personal experience:  Every time I look through a clothing catalog, all the models are sporting the smallest size!  So I think, "Wow I love that dress! But what is it going to look like in my size?!"  And then I visualize the dress on someone my size, tell myself it was too expensive anyway, throw the catalog in the trash, and head for the ice cream.  I digress...another day, another post.

But why do we subject ourselves to false images of beauty or anything that puts negative thoughts in our heads?  I don't know about you, but I need all the positive-thought-mo-jo I can get. 

I love what the Dove campaign has been doing to promote "real beauty."  This video shows how any woman can be airbrushed and photoshopped to look like a model, and what you see on the billboard is not as it seems.



And isn't the Bible the only thing that really IS as it seems? And speaking of real beauty, we are all God's perfect creation, that He wonderfully made.  "The King is enthralled with your beauty," (Psalm 45:11).  The Bible says the Lord does not look at outward appearance as man does, but rather, at our hearts.  Won't find that message in a magazine!