Fun Stuff

Keeping It Real

I threw open my front door this past Saturday and welcomed friends old and new into my home.

Now just between you and me, a whole lot of my to-do’s for this shindig went undone. I didn’t mop my doggy streaked floors, place freshly laundered rugs and hand towels in the guest bathroom, make my mushroom appetizers, or arrange crafts and ice breakers. I did hang a few Chinese lanterns, fill vases with daffodils and sunflowers, prepare a couple goodies {guests kindly brought everything else}, and set a tea table pretty enough for Princess Kate but laid back enough for us non-royals.

Basically, I prepared things I find fun to prepare while forgetting a lot of the rest. And wonder of wonders, no one seemed to care a lick about all the things left undone.

It was the real (in)RL, where the come-as-you-are philosophy shows up not just in sentiment but in real life. Every heart needs a home to rest in, and who rests amidst polished and perfect?

To those who came to my home: I had loads of fun, and I hope you did too. Thanks for the relaxing conversation and abundant laughter and for listening to my Rambly McRambles self go on and on about crazy stuff. That’s what you get with me.

In real life.

April 29, 2013 21 Comments Filed Under: (In)Courage, Friendship, Fun Stuff

When You Need Some Change Right Now Today

By Kristen

Excuse me for being a little down today, folks, but the last 24 hours have brought me some extreme weather whiplash and I am not. a. fan.

Snow in April: now, that just ain’t right. {But I’m gonna whisper this complaint because we’ve been known to get snow in May and - whimper - even early June.}

I know a lot of places like to claim the if-you-don’t-like-the-weather-then-wait-a-minute-it’ll-change mantra, but I’ve never lived anywhere that does this in style like Colorado.

On a similar but different note, we were supposed to move this summer, but it turns out we are officially staying put. So far, I’ve only experienced one downside to this change of events. When the calendar turns to a move year for our military family, Uncle Sam pretty much forces me to declutter. So while I know I have to do it myself this year like a big girl, I still need extra motivation to become the boss of my own drawers and closets.

Like a beacon of sunshine on a spring-winter day, Tsh’s Project Simplify gives me this motivation. With an approach much kinder and gentler than Uncle Sam’s, Tsh rallies her troops to declutter and organize one household hotspot per week for the month of April. This year, she encourages us to clean out neglected drawers and shelves, closets, piles, and unfinished projects. I am joining forces with her because in my book, it’s an easy way to do the before-the-move cleaning without having to, ya know, actually move.

Win – win!

Here are a couple pictures of two drawers, before and after. Most of the work was in going through lots of old papers and finding containers to better organize all the loose tape, glue, and other crafty things. {Hooray for saved shoe boxes!} The difference may not be profound, but my recycling bin is a whole lot fuller than it used to be. Also, because these drawers alone took less than an hour to go through, I am motivated to keep on cleaning.

Sometimes good change chisels it’s way slowly through months and years, one square inch at a time. Other times, good change happens faster than you can say holy blizzard in April.

Thank goodness.

So, are you in for a little easy change today?

{And for more advice on how to simplify easily, check out Tsh’s awesome book, Organized Simplicity.}

April 9, 2013 12 Comments Filed Under: Authors Extraordinaire, Change, Fun Stuff, Military

A Ball, a Breakdown, and a Basket Case

By Kristen

So, I made like a Crawley and attended a ball.

Friday night brought the annual Air Force Ball, and I’m pretty sure I put more effort into getting ready for this shindig than I did my own wedding. Such is life when you’re much closer to 40 than 20.

Since my husband and I almost never get the opportunity to go on genuINE dates, it was bliss to be with him out on the town. But I’m not gonna lie: I always feel a little out of place at these events, largely because infinite possibilities exist for me to make a fool of myself.

Remember the show Designing Women? Remember the episode when Charlene, while visiting Bill’s snobby-and-uber-formal Southern family, tried drinking her soup from the ladle rather than her soup spoon? And then she drops said ladle of soup all over her lap? Ya, that’s the kind of thing I find myself accidentally doing at formal events.

{For your entertainment enjoyment, here is the portion of that episode I am referring to. And if you are reading this via email or a reader, click here to watch.}

Thankfully, damage done at this ball was pretty mild. I used the wrong fork only once and almost shot my shrimp kabob onto my neighbor’s plate. Well, I did take a couple sneaky pictures of a dress or two I liked. But that’s more a compliment to the women wearing them than a faux pas, right?

At any rate, it was fun to don a beaded gown, have someone play with my hair and make-up {thanks Alli and Katie!} and pretend to be Mary Crawley for the night.

Speaking of Mary Crawley, I am still morning over Downton Abbey‘s season three conclusion. I’d felt trembles of what was coming through this source and that article, but I didn’t want to believe them. I am hoping the ending was all a big mistake, or that a certain somebody will come back in the shower next season á la Bobby Ewing. Either way, I find it humorous that I am still going through the stages of grief like the characters on this show are real.

One thing that *is* real: I will be giving a radio interview on WBCL 90.3 based out of Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The program is a live talk show called Mid-Morning with the super darling Lynne and Bekah, and it will air around 10:10 EST tomorrow. If you don’t live in that part of the country, you can listen via live streaming on their website. They also archive their shows, so you can listen afterwards, too.

Lots of bloggers do these kinds of interviews, and they make it sound as natural as breathing {I’m looking at you Emily, Holley, Tsh, and Lisa-Jo.} But it will be my first of this nature, and I’m a bit of a basket case over it. I feel all thumbs, or rather all ummms and awkward laughter at inappropriate times. So if you wouldn’t mind saying a prayer for me, especially at about 10am tomorrow EST {Wednesday} morning, I would be forever grateful.

And just as a reminder, Thursday will be our second annual Out of the Blue link-up! The prompt for this week is:

Share with us a surprise friendship God brought you, one you didn’t necessarily anticipate forming.

I so enjoyed reading every single person’s post from last week. They were thoughtful, creative, and surprisingly diverse! I hope you’ll stop by this Thursday to share you words about your special friend, and how God surprised you with his or her unexpected friendship.

I love you, darlings. Have an amazing week.

February 19, 2013 10 Comments Filed Under: Fun Stuff, Military, Prayer

An Invitation for Lovely You

By Kristen

Elisabeth drives us around the heart of Washington, D.C., and I might have squealed out loud when I saw the street sign “Pennsylvania Avenue.” Excitement splashes all over that town, and everything moves fast {except the traffic}. Dark suits and skirts scurry down sidewalks as briefcases swing. Everyone must be running behind, late for Very Important Things. Just watching all that busy makes me out of breath. Life here looks much different from my own in Colorado.

But then Elisabeth parks the car and our posse walks around the mall before deciding to visit the National Gallery of Art. With the swoosh-pull of the gallery’s heavy wooden door, I am surprised with a slow, quiet space where I can walk at leisure with the works of Michelangelo, Monet, and Moran.

It is lovely, to say the least.

On Thursday, we will have our first Out of the Blue linky! And while I’m no Monet-with-words, I do pray this link-up provides a bit of a retreat for you, a place for you to open the doors – and your eyes – to a fun, poignant, relatable, delightful, or even restful surprise God arranges just for *you*. And once you see it, I’d love for you to come tell me about it over here.

Last week I wrote a bit more about Out of the Blue:

On Thursday {Valentine’s Day!}, I am unveiling a link-up called Out of the Blue. The idea behind it is to write about something that *surprised* you in a post and then link it up here {or if you don’t have a blog, share your story in the comments}. You can write about a big surprise, a tiny surprise, or in-between one. I want to learn how God used something right out of the blue to build your faith, give you joy, or encourage your heart in the midst of your daily to-do’s.

Each week, I will narrow the out of the blue topic by giving a prompt the week before. And the prompt for our inaugural linky this Thursday is:

Answered prayer: How did the Lord answer a prayer for you in a way that surprised you?

The linky will go live by 7am MST on Thursday. At least, probably. Heh. Whether you join in or simply read along, I look forward to seeing you this Thursday.

It will be lovely, to say the least!

{And on a humorous note, I snapped this picture at the National Gallery of Art. Is it just me or does it look like Joseph is texting the news of baby Jesus’ arrival?}