A Junior Prom

My days in Washington are limited, and I feel them rushing by. Solution: my answer to everything is YES! Or I just invite myself places. Example? Gabby's before junior prom photos. I have been Gabby & her sister Giselle's nanny for six years. I am not so much their nanny anymore...more like tutor & mentor meets family manager. Anyway, I couldn't miss this opportunity. No way.

It was a beautiful sunny Seattle day perfect for meeting down by the water. Her group had something like 56 kids in it. Add the parents of 56ish kids and you have a circus traipsing through the mud (it was sunny but still wet) flash happy. It was the kind of chaos you don't want to run from. Just a bunch of people trying to capture the moment...standing back and thinking about how fast their kid grew up. The entire experience was beautiful. I loved every moment. Even ruining my shoes.

Dear Little Miss

My prego sister-in-law texted me yesterday after her doctor's appointment to tell me that if Little Miss doesn't make an appearance by the 15th she will be induced. That means Little Miss will be here in no more than 2 weeks! Part of me wishes she would just stay in her mommy's belly until August 1st when I will be moved home and can experience the birth and hold her when she is only minutes old. Obviously, I have never been pregnant myself, or I would never propose something so crazy.

As Little Miss's auntie, I will do my part...well what I can from 2 states away. I will pray for love and peace and a healthy labor. I will pray for my brother and his wife as they embark on this amazing adventure of becoming parents for the first time ever.

Here is a picture of Little Miss...she was helping her mom and auntie bake for Easter brunch. 

You might be wondering why I'm calling her little miss. Well, her name was Ava Rae, but right after I sent out the baby shower invitations (with her name on them) it changed to Adlee Rae. People have lots of opinions on this matter. I do not. Her name could be Cup and I would love her just the same. So, until her name is official I am calling her Little miss. 

Dear Little Miss, 

I cannot wait to meet you, and hold you, and kiss you, and take you on adventures. Mostly, I'm looking forward to reading with you, and imagining with you, and jumping in rain puddles with you.

Love, 

Auntie Lindsey

TJ's Caprese(ish) Pasta

I am on a quest for simple & fancy. Especially when it comes to food. The less time I spend shopping & cooking the better. The less money I spend is even cooler. I am a college graduate with student loans & going back to school to rack up some more. That's why I usually shop at Trader Joe's. I know what they have, where to find it, & it's not too heavy on the pocketbook. Success on the simple front.

That leaves the fancy front. 

You can decide if you think this dinner I threw together was fancy enough for you, but I fully felt fancy eating it. Especially with a glass of Malbec (currently my favorite red).

1. Cook any pasta you have (I used spinach tortellini)

2. Toss with TJ's bruschetta (found by the hummus) & mozzarella balls

3. Top with chopped fresh basil

4. Salt & pepper to taste

There you have it & for a measly $2.85/serving ($4.09 with the glass of wine).

Goodnight.

Fear

Yesterday something very crazy happened. I was overcome with fear and listened to it. 

I had big plans for my Sunday: sleep in, have some quiet time with Him, tutor in the making of poems, hit up a new yoga studio, and end my day with some good ol' fashion fellowship. Everything was fine and dandy...actually quite wonderfully peaceful until I my car didn't turn into the yoga studio. It just didn't. I could think of nothing more terrifying than entering the studio to face "perfect" women. Now, I know they are not perfect. They face the same self-image/esteem/worth issues I do. But, I am not in their heads. I am in my head. And in my head negative self-talk was screaming. Small Gentle Voice tried to peak through like a ray of sunshine on a grey Seattle day. 

I went home and ate dinner way too early, because somehow I think food will make things better. I put finger to keyboard and typed away. Battling the fear exhausted me. I could not keep my eyes open for one more second, so I closed them. Guilt overcame me when I woke up to realize it was too late to make it to fellowship. 

Now, I know that guilt is not of Him. I do. I do. I do. But, when the guilt started to fade a sadness was left...I missed out on spending time with those I love.

My soul did find peace last night when Small Gentle Voice whispered, "you have the Holy Spirit."

And all was right in my soul for that moment. 

Something Special

I just wanted to share something special with you. I was blessed with a set of personalized note cards from a family friend. I love them. I want to send one to everyone I have ever known to hopefully bless them, but I'm having a very hard time letting them go. For now, you can see them here. Maybe sometime soon you will find one in your mailbox...if I can ever give them up. 

Have you received a special surprise before? What was it!?

Off to finish the weekend strong with some good tea and a bubble bath...

The Great Moments

Here are the great moments of the weekend I mentioned in yesterdays post.

The Tulip Festival is beyond breathtaking. You just walk through rows and rows of the most beautiful tulips you have ever seen. The drive is not too terrible either, especially if you beat traffic, grab coffee, roll the windows down for some sunshine, and rock out to music. BUT if you don't beat traffic, I hear it is the worst! No thank you. So worth waking up early on a Sunday for.

Damn Yankees, although we were late, was hilarious. 5th Ave is pretty cool too. There is a lot of architectural detail (I'm going to pretend I know what I'm talking about here). Honestly, this just means I thought it was pretty and ornate. After, we headed across the street to Rock Bottom for some drinks and food. We just kept extending our day. I couldn't complain. I do not get to be in the company of my former roommate enough. I love her and her love of crazy pop music.

The day ended with a backyard meal, bonfire, AND my first time ever really playing Frisbee. I'm a fan. Also, I'm a fan of homemade porch ice cream. I call it this because it was made on the porch. 

There are no photos, but Saturday we went to Craven Farm (where my roommate is getting married) to dream about wedding details, hit some garage sales (where I got one of those embroidery ring things for free...I'm planning on making this with them), and watched Anne of Green Gables for my first time ever. All winner moments. I just couldn't leave them out because there were no photos. 

What were some great moments of your weekend?

Imperfection and Other Heart Issues

Do you ever let a not-so-good moment overshadow, or even cancel, a whole lot of ridiculously awesome moments?

I did today for a minute...probably more like twenty of them.

A wonderful friend of mine and I bought tickets to see Damn Yankees at 5th Avenue about two months ago. For some reason I had it in my head that it started at 2:30. After picking up our tickets from the box office and realizing I had purchased parking for a garage we were not parked in, I walked in the theater already discouraged with myself. It got exponentially worse when we found out that the show had started at 1:30. Where was my head? I felt very off kilter. Much like a failure. The worst was thinking that I disappointed someone.

My friend was very gracious. Bless her. I was not at first. Gradually though, I let the situation go. The only thing I could do was apologize for my craziness in mixing up the times and move on. Eventually I was able to get lost in the quirky baseball musical. The not-so-good moment faded and the heartwarming ones were able to take over.

Today, it took twenty minutes to switch from negative self-talk to reality. A year ago, it would have taken me hours, days, maybe even weeks. I would have groveled. Pitched a tent in self-pity land. I am beyond grateful for this growth.

I get to keep all of our moments of laughter, rocking out to music in the car, sipping coffee, strolling through fields of tulips, girl talk, and real genuine friendship while accepting that I'm not perfect.

I'm not perfect and neither are you. This is where the beauty of life is. Loving one another as we are. We truly all have something to bring to the table just as we are.

Beauty can be found in the most unthinkable places. Like in an old stinky shoe.

Photo courtesy of Mackenzie Heimer (age 10)