Wholly Surrendered

Flowers 101

2010-03-03T07:38:00.000-08:00

{spray roses and eucalyptus in a brass bowl}

{hydrangea, spray roses and eucalyptus in a silver bowl}

{hydrangea and winter berries}

{mariana roses and winter berries}

We've had a lot of visitors to the house lately, which has given me a nice excuse to put together flower arrangements. I'm always surprised by the endorphin boost flower shopping and arranging brings me, not to mention the joy I feel by just seeing the flowers on a table or windowsill.

For the past couple of weeks, I've gone to Central Market on Tuesday evening to pick up the prettiest flowers and greenery I can find for a total of less than $20 (tip: CM sells long-stem roses in all colors for $1 each on Tuesdays!). Then I go home after class and turn them into two or three sweet arrangements.

My favorites above are the two in bowls. I thrifted those bowls over the weekend in East Dallas -- the brass bowl is about the size of a salad plate, while the silver one is huge, bigger than a dinner plate. The bowls cost me about $5 all together. The bright green of the eucalyptus, the whisper pink of the spray roses and the lacy look of the hydrangea gives it such an antique feeling, and the colors are just right for spring. They look Easter-y to me, actually. I'm not usually a pink person, but this works.

A couple of tips from an amateur, if you'd like to try your hand at flower arranging:

Get floral foam from your craft store. Neither of the bowl arrangements would be possible without floral foam to hold them in place.
Use unusual containers. Vases are fine, but even when I use vases, I like to use a big leaf to go around the inside so you're not seeing stems. I have a basket carved out of a tree root I want to use (fingers crossed that it's waterproof) and a vintage silver gravy boat. I also hang on to interesting bottles to use as bud vases.
Don't underestimate the power of greenery. Berries, ornamental grasses, curly foliage... I've even re-used hydrangea leaves, which are gorgeous, in arrangements with other flowers. The greenery adds texture, depth and interest that you can't get from blooms alone. It makes arrangements feel organic while hiding imperfections and gaps.
When in doubt, monochrome works. I think people get themselves in trouble by trying to make colorful vases of flowers. Keeping more or less to one palette and adding interest by different types of flowers always looks classic and polished.
Change the water and re-cut the stems. I've heard all kinds of old wives' tales about adding baby aspirin or a penny to the water to make the flowers last longer. Don't know if there's any truth to those, but I can tell you that clean water and fresh cut stems keep my flowers perky.

Let me know if you do try it! I'd love to see what you come up with. I'll keep posting my pictures too.

Pants on the Ground

2010-01-14T10:23:00.000-08:00

This is a bit of a departure from my usual posts, but if you watched American Idol last night, you probably can't get this song out of your head either. I just love this crazy man and his commitment to elevating the waistlines of men's pants. (And yes, I've done yet again what I do every year: Swear I won't watch American Idol, only to watch it from the very beginning. Somebody, help me.)

Lyrics and a video below, for your enjoyment.

"Pants on the Ground," by General Larry Platts

Pants on the ground,
Pants on the ground,
Lookin' like a fool with your pants on the ground,
With the gold in your mouth,
Hat turned sideways,
Pants hit the ground,
Call yourself a cool cat!
Lookin' like a fool,
Walkin' downtown with your pants on the ground,
Giddyup!

Recipe: Holly Jolly Biscotti

2010-01-12T11:35:00.000-08:00

{pretty biscotti breakfast}

I've been battling a post-holiday head cold for the last week or so, and my meds seem to have rendered me completely A.D.D. Good for my blog (three posts in about a week's time?), bad for my work.

Clearly, I've decided to run with it, though, until boss-man calls me out. So in that spirit, I'm making good on a promise I made, oh, hmm, a month or two ago, to share a recipe with you.

A friend of mine pointed me to Texas Oncology's Holly Jolly Biscotti, which promises to be a "tasty and simple holiday recipe" showcasing "the peak-season flavors of Texas citrus and pecans." Not only that, but unlike virtually everything else I consumed between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2, it's not terrible for you. "Packed with healthy ingredients, this Italian-inspired, twice-baked cookie is a delicious and nutritious way to promote a good-for-you diet throughout the holidays."

Or in this case, AFTER the holidays, when most of us are resolving to regain our waistlines.

Texas Oncology has made it easy. Here's a cute recipe card (opens in a PDF) and YouTube video demo. You can also view the press release and a fact sheet on nutrition that lowers disease risk, if you're really curious.

I helped host a bridal shower for Abby last month, and several of Abby's out-of-town friends stayed at my house overnight. My first slumber party in far too long, and I had a blast. Knowing that the girls would be waking up and leaving at various times the next morning, I decided to make a bunch of biscotti ahead of time, along with fruit, granola, coffee and orange juice, so they could help themselves whenever they pleased. Easier than making eggs to order, don'tcha think?

A few notes: I goofed and grabbed grapefruits instead of oranges, but the result was still really fantastic. I chose to use 1 cu. AP flour, 1 cu. whole wheat pastry flour, and 1 cu. bread flour (instead of 2 cu. AP/ 1 cu. whole wheat), and I was really happy with the texture. Here's my big baker's secret: I made the dough a day before I wanted to bake the cookies, then wrapped it in plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight. While the flour absorbs most liquids right away (olive oil, juice), the eggs have to undergo a slower molecular process before being absorbed. I've started doing this routine with all my cookies, and the results are fabulous. (Comment if you have questions about this! I find it fascinating, personally.) The last note is that you really should wait the full 20 minutes or more before slicing the biscotti pieces. The chocolate needs to harden a bit first. Oh, and I used a chef's knife, not a serrated knife; I found the sawing motion of the serrated knife made the cookies crumble a bit, and no one wants to see a cookie crumble.

Without further ado, the recipe and my photos:

Holly Jolly Biscotti Recipe
Ingredients	Yields: 24 to 26 biscotti
3 eggs ½ cup olive oil 2 tablespoons orange juice 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour	1/2 cup of sugar 2 tablespoons orange zest 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped 1 cup dark chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, beat together eggs, olive oil, orange juice, and vanilla until well combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together both flours, sugar, orange zest, baking powder, and salt. Add dry mix slowly to wet ingredients until mixture forms a ball. Turn out dough mixture onto a well-floured surface and knead a few times. Fold in pecans and chocolate chips in alternating batches until evenly distributed.
Divide dough into two pieces. Form each piece into a log about 9 inches long, then press flat until it is about half an inch tall and 3 inches wide. Transfer logs to baking sheets and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks for 20 minutes.
Using a serrated knife, slice each log on the diagonal into ½ inch pieces. Return to oven and bake on each side for about 10 minutes (approx. total of 20 minutes). Slices should be golden brown. Remove from oven to cool.

{ingredients; umm, yes, that's a grapefruit, not an orange. whoopsies.}

{dough with the mix-ins}

{preparing dough for overnight refrigeration}

{two logs, shaped}

{the thickness of the logs}

{baked biscotti logs}

{sliced}

{baking cookies for a second time so they'll be golden on all sides}

The girls ate every. last. piece. Even the baggie I had set aside to give to my neighbor. Given that most of the time when I host 20-something females, they hardly touch the food, I take that as a very good sign! Now maybe I should make another healthful batch to help me kick this cold...

Funky Flowers and Travel Lately

2010-01-11T13:01:00.000-08:00

{day-old bridesmaid bouquet}

My darling friend Abby said "I do" this weekend, and plenty of friends were bridesmaids with me (including Stephanie, Jashley and Faith). It was a stunning winter wedding involving bare branches dripping with strands of crystals, succulents, vintage mink stoles (for Stephanie and me) and a palette of peacock colors. The bride incorporated peacock feathers into most of the decor, including the flowers. The pictures are of my bridesmaid bouquet the next day. Mini-mums, spider mums, cymbidium orchids, monkey grass and peacock feathers made for a striking, playful and irreverent arrangement. The bride's bouquet included all of those flowers and feathers, plus black lilies and flower-shaped succulents.

The wedding festivities kicked off Saturday, my first day back from spending three weeks with my gracious in-laws in Mexico. Brad's mom and step-dad have just completed the construction of their extraordinary home in San Miguel de Allende, and Brad and I were all too happy to take a working vacation to help break it in. Some friends joined us; Taylor is a photographer, among other things, and he was so kind to take incredible photos of the home as a thank-you for allowing him and his wife to spend a couple of weeks in the house. A sneak-peek is below, and later I'll share a Web site Brad is building for potential rentals of the home in the future.

{city view from the rooftop}

{corner view of the home's exterior}

{the center courtyard, plus three stories}

I think Brad and I have determined this is the year of "weekend trips." I want so much to visit Jordan and the Middle East, but along with starting a new job come fewer vacation days. Fortunately, I'm able to work while traveling, as we did in Mexico, so we're planning a few weekends when we can fly out on a Thursday evening, work remotely most of the day Friday, and site-see Saturday and Sunday. A few of our potential trips include visits to:

Las Vegas
New Orleans
Chicago
Boston

I'm itching to see San Francisco, but Brad assures me I'll want to spend more than a long weekend in the City by the Bay, so I'm tabling that idea for now.

Any other destinations you'd suggest adding to the list? I've never been to any of the locales I listed, and I'm open to your ideas!

Persepolis

2010-01-04T14:11:00.000-08:00

There’s something so romantic and mysterious about the Middle East, isn’t there? Perhaps that’s a naïve statement. With all of the ongoing conflicts – destined to persist for centuries more – I suppose it’s really the idea of the Middle East that’s romantic. The spices, minarets, calls to prayer, the burkas, caftans and hijabs that are at once so demure and alluring.

Jordan has been on my list for years. I dream of seeing Petra, the Rose-Red City, recently named one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Several of Brad’s customers live in Jordan, and two of them have invited us to visit and stay at their homes. I’d love to take them up on the offers; if not this year, next.

Yesterday, I finally saw Persepolis, a gorgeously animated feature (c. 2007) following a young Iranian girl’s evolution – and that of her country – from the late 1970s through the early 1990s. Hilarious, tragic, thought provoking, and a true feast for the eyes. Not to mention it was in French. Swoon, indeed.

The movie is based on Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel. I learned a lot about the Iran-Iraq War from the movie. It's also worth mentioning that the film taught me icing my breasts for 10 minutes a day will keep them round well into my old age.

A few images are below.

NOT my child

2009-11-19T13:51:00.001-08:00

... but boy, is he a cute one.

If you're having a blegh day like me, please take a second to watch this little tyke discover the wonders of lobsters.

A WaPo blogger wrote that he wants to make that kid's "Wow!" his ringtone. I second that motion.

This reminds me of the first time I encountered creamy, salty, sweet foie gras. I exuded all manner of "wows!" whoas!" and "nom nom noms."

Except I was 22, and in a nice bistro.

(Incidentally, this time of year reminds me of foie gras... For the past two years, a couple of weeks before Christmas, I have placed a special order with my favorite local market for a sizable mound of the pate goodness. It's a holiday treat for us.)

I really, truly hope that when Brad and I have kids, they are as fascinated by gourmet cuisine as this little boy.

I'm Alive, Plus a Web Site Crush

2009-11-17T15:18:00.000-08:00

A few of you have chastised me for not blogging about my recent trips. I know, I know. Scold me all you want, you're right. I was so busy catching up from travels that I didn't sit down to just write about them... and then wow, about a month has passed since I returned. I can't make excuses. Here are the ONLY photos I have edited (from Morocco... the souks and Majorelle Gardens).

I've been working up a post in my head with some really out-of-this-world recipes for you, including my variations on Anna's comforting, homey Sweet Nest "Sweet Buns" and Texas Oncology's Holly Jolly Biscotti (cute recipe card, nutrition and video demo). I have a little list going; in addition to my kitchen exploits, I plan to write a post on handwriting. Exciting, no?

Until I get it together and write about those, I encourage you to check out my newest Web site crush, the sweeterie, a "creative confectionery." It's brought to you by the t.ruffles girls, Karey Mackin and Mary Swenson. Gah, the talent these women have.

Since I've been talking about baking/cooking, I should warn you, you can't actually purchase bon bons from this sweeterie. You'll find a virtual display case of tantalizing photos and delectable wordplay. As a writer, I am floored by Karey's wordsmithery. Very jealous, actually, but in a "good for her" kind of way. And she lived in the Middle East before returning recently to the States. How cool is that?

{it's blurrier when I import it to Blogger, for some reason...}

Anyway, stop by for some visual and emotional indulgence. It may not make your taste buds sing the way a hand-rolled, 72-percent dark chocolate truffle will. But I, for one, could probably spare myself the calories and go for a bite of "candy for the soul," as the T.Ruffles girls call it.

Spiller

2009-10-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

I have many nicknames.

Some are affectionate -- Sweetheart, for example.

Some have to do with my name -- Kate, KEG, KEGgerator, Thorney (maiden name was Thorne).

Some are downright random -- Boogs, Boofer, Moose, to name a few.

And a handful are sort of teasing -- Gypsy, Bag Lady, and... Spiller.

Today I want to write about why I am known as Spiller.

I've never claimed to be graceful. I can be poised and gracious at weddings or cocktail parties, but graceful, smooth, naturally athletic, possessing a sense of balance? Those qualities, I lack.

I run into walls and door frames in my own house, frequently have to remind myself "swing your arms," and shuffle my feet when I walk, which often leads to epics tumbles. And yes, I blame it on the pavement. "Wow, that sidewalk is uneven!" I say to no one in particular, laughing nervously as I pick myself up off the ground. I bump my head about 50 percent of the time when getting in and out of cars, and I perpetually have curling iron burns on my neck, scalp, or forehead.

Basically, I'm clumsy.

Brad dubbed me "Spiller" after about the 12th or 13th time I knocked over a glass, mug, or bottle full of liquid.

I hate the nickname Spiller.

Inevitably, kitchen table flooding commences, and as I'm running to the drawer where I keep the rags, I hear "Spillllllleeerrrrrrrrrr," the end of the word rising in the same tone and tenor that Ricky Ricardo used to cry, "Lucccccyyyyyyyy."

And I shoot back with a, "Well you filled my glass up too high!" or "You shouldn't put your tea so close to the edge!"

But every now and then, I have to face the reality that this particular nickname is well-earned.

Exhibit A:

You may recognize that as a SEVERELY shattered iPhone screen. Frankly, I have never seen anything quite like it.

It's the result of a "freak" (I contend) purse-falling incident in an airport parking lot one evening. My purse "fell" from a height of about 18 inches, the phone seemed to tumble out in slow motion, and when I picked it up, it looked like it had been swathed in spider webs.

I really cannot understand how such carnage came from so little clumsiness. But there it is.

I was by myself, so I determined to conceal the damage from he-who-loves-to-call-me-Spiller. I did my research and found I could replace the phone for $250 (Apple doesn't fix screens; they just replace the phone if it's under warranty). Whew, okay, done. I made plans to go to Northpark the next day for the switcheroo.

But as I was lying (no pun intended) in bed, I started thinking about other, less expensive options.

K, sweetly: "Brad?"

B, sleepily: "Hmm."

K: "Do you remember what credit card we bought my iPhone with?" (I lost my original iPhone in May and paid Brad back in installments for a new one.)

B: "Umm, not really."

K: "Well... Can you think of it?"

B: "Why?"

K: "No reason, really... Just curious."

(silence)

K: Hey Brad?

B (trying to sleep and growing frustrated): What.

K: Do you know if any of your credit cards insure purchases against loss or damage?

B: What did you do.

K: Nothing, I --

B: Katie, what did you do to your iPhone.

So I showed him. And he had the same reaction I did: "What's that on the screen?"

Yes, he called me Spiller. But he fixed my problem, too. After quite a bit of research the next morning, he found a place in Dallas that fixes iPhones in 15 minutes while you wait, for less than a third of what Apple would have charged. Their work is so good that they won't void the warranty; Apple will have no idea the parts aren't original or the phone was ever opened, supposedly.

My man delivered. I don't know why I was so hesitant to admit what happened. In fact, Brad bought me a gift.

A "Spiller-proof" iPhone case.

O Canada

2009-09-28T08:47:00.001-07:00

{Vancouver in High Definition - From Kalamakia's Flickr photostream}

{Robson Street - From Wizard_of_Wonders' Flickr photostream}

I'm here in Vancouver, and this city is blowing my mind. I was surprised to find this is by far the most international city I have encountered. We're staying in the heart of downtown, so that may account for some of the multinational spirit, but everything is multiple languages and each person looks completely individual (race, manner of dress, personal expression via tattoos, piercings, dyed hair). I bought some Ritz cheese crackers at the nearest drug store, London Drug, and the flavor was "Vrai Cheddar" (French for "Real Cheddar"). Most of the store's snack food packaging was in French.

Vancouver embodies everything I love about the Northwest, with its subversive energy, art, music, color, gorgeous topography married with a real urban feeling... the list goes on. I'm in love.

I landed at 1 p.m. local time yesterday and wandered downtown amid the iconoclasts, bohemians and businesspeople. I ran across an Indian culture festival and a war protest. The Olympics will be here in February, and those five rings already adorn buildings and signs. On Robson Street, I ate a late lunch of sushi, then enjoyed a Boba tea with pearls while poking around in boutiques ranging from the quirky to the ultra-chic.

We drove from the airport through an island neighborhood called Granville Island. I hear that's a fun, funky place, but I doubt we'll have a chance to visit. I want to come back with Brad to explore for a week!

Hotel Lust

2009-09-25T08:55:00.000-07:00

The days whiz by as I prepare for my whirlwind jaunt across seven countries and four continents. Honestly, I've been focused on a thousand other things, so I have not yet had time to really get excited about the travel ahead of me.

My dear, sweet husband has done much of the legwork: buying adapters and voltage converters, calling our bank and credit card to alert them we'll be abroad, arranging for a house-sitter, and reserving hotels.

When he told me yesterday he had booked our last hotel, I felt a twinge of anticipation. The places we are staying are incredible, and he managed to get very good deals. (His company is paying for the bulk of the trip, as Brad will be working, but we're extending our stay a few days to explore.) He timed his school schedule with our travel well; he's taking "Master Negotiation," so I know I can count on him to haggle for us, whether it comes to hotels or Moroccan rugs.

In Barcelona, we'll be at the Costanza, a 4-star hotel with a sleek, minimalist aesthetic. From the Web site:

A recently built hotel, designed by the world-renown architects Rafael Moneo, Manuel de Solà-Morales y Lucho Marcial. Located at the Avenida Diagonal/Numancia axies, Barcelona's commercial and financial centre. Bright and spacious rooms; avant-garde interiors and contemporary art. All that backed up by NH's flawless styles for your visit to this capital city.

{lounge}

{breakfast area}

{rooftop pool and deck}

{Spanish sushi?}

{hotel restaurant}

{suite}

{spa}

{I don't know what this is, but doesn't it look refreshing?!}

We are staying in two different riads (hotels) in Marrakech, as October is one of the city's busier months and many locations were booked for all or part of our stay. Both have been highly recommended by previous guests, and the location couldn't be better. I'm amazed we were able to find vacancies at two such jewels within the Medina... These places are truly incredible. Not to mention that the innkeepers have been emailing with us at midnight, their time, with suggestions of places to visit and eat. They have already been so personal, accommodating, and hands-on, and we won't even arrive for another two weeks!

First, we'll stay at Riad El Mansour. I'm feeling giddy just typing this out. The food there is supposed to be amazing, and the decor is just what I would imagine for Morocco. Below are pictures of the hotel and our actual room. From the Web site:

Riad El Mansour is a six bedroomed boutique hotel, situated a short stroll from the vibrant and pulsating Place Jemaa el-Fna. This world heritage site is at the heart of the legendary 'Rose city' of Marrakech; one of Morocco’s most popular vacation destinations.

Designed for those seeking a more intimate and personalised luxury hotel break, Riad El Mansour offers authenticity and originality. The hotel has been recently refurbished, using a palate of traditional Moroccan colours, and an original mix of Moroccan and European art and furniture. We take pride on our high level of service and hospitality.

Located in the ancient Medina, setting us apart from other holiday villas in Morocco, Riad El Mansour provides a truly magical setting from which to explore the rich tapestry of the contrasting character of the Moroccan landscape - a landscape interwoven with the heady mixture of Arab, African and European cultures.

Ideal for a luxury weekend break, or longer stay, the Riad offers a Spa, Hamman, Gym and Jaccuzzi making a perfect choice for your Morocco holiday.

{bed in our suite}

{bathroom in our suite}

{our fireplace, ahhhh!}

{seating, art, etc.}

{shared spaces}

{more shared spaces, art, etc.}

Next, we'll go to Riad Dar Charkia. From their Web site:

Finished to the highest specifications of comfort and style reflecting the coming together of Africa and Asia, Dar Charkia is in an oasis of calm amidst the vibrant cacophony of the Marrakech medina.
After a 20 year love affair with Marrakech, Lisa and Michael, the Anglo-German owners have taken up residence in this magical city that assaults the senses. They are happy to share their tips and insider knowledge; helping to make your stay comfortable, memorable and inspiring.

Again, pictures of the hotel and our actual room:

{our room}

{wider view of our room}

{supposedly this is in our room, but it looks like
it might be by the pool, which is just outside our room}

{pool and other pretties}

{shared spaces}

The trips feel more real now that all of our arrangements are made! I'll try to blog along the way, but I can't make any guarantees of Internet access. Perhaps I'll do a travel guide upon my return.

Off to Vancouver day after tomorrow!

World Traveling

2009-09-22T17:51:00.001-07:00

{cup of apple tea on my desk}

One of the hidden benefits of Brad's and my jobs is that we have the opportunity to scratch our itch for wanderlust by traversing the globe. We'll log plenty of miles over the next 30 days in particular... I'm leaving Sunday for a four-day trip to Vancouver for a meeting. The next day I head to Europe and Africa for two weeks with Brad for his job. A couple of days after I return from that trip, it's off to Chicago and then New York City, then I have my fingers crossed that I'll be able to go to Japan for a product launch.

While visions of four continents in 30 days dance in my head, I know I'll look forward to some quiet time in November. That time of year makes me crave pumpkin spice lattes, cable-knit blankets, hats... Trite, perhaps, but oh so satisfying during cozy autumn weather. Brad and I also celebrate our anniversary and his birthday during the fall, and we typically go to his parents' house in San Miguel de Allende for Thanksgiving.

What are your favorite fall traditions?

Beach Weekend

2009-09-08T09:58:00.000-07:00

How did you celebrate the three-day weekend? Brad and I decided to sneak away to the beach house his aunt and uncle share with his grandparents. We have both been traveling quite a bit (separately) and needed some time to unwind and sit shoulder-to-shoulder. I brought a stack of books to read on the beach, but of course I ended up just enjoying the sun and waves instead.

My new camera made the trip with us as well. I'm attending a digital photography seminar on Saturday, since I want to get really special pictures on our upcoming trip to the Mediterranean. And yes, we decided on Morocco instead of Paris. "I'll always have Paris..." :)

Growing the Movement

2009-09-01T14:48:00.001-07:00

Image found here.

Just a quick blog from me today... Slow Food USA is doing a unique membership drive during the month of September (just another reason to be glad it's September!), wherein you may pay any cost you'd like to join. Memberships are usually $60, but in order to "grow the movement," they're offering a temporary promotion. Development director Kate Krauss provides a good explanation of their motives here (the link in her blog is broken though, so click here to join).

About Slow Food USA:

Good:
The word good can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. For Slow Food, the idea of good means enjoying delicious food created with care from healthy plants and animals. The pleasures of good food can also help to build community and celebrate culture and regional diversity.
Clean:
When we talk about clean food, we are talking about nutritious food that is as good for the planet as it is for our bodies. It is grown and harvested with methods that
have a positive impact on our local ecosystems and promotes biodiversity.
Fair:
We believe that food is a universal right. Food that is fair should be accessible to all, regardless of income, and produced by people who are treated with dignity and justly compensated for their labor.

I just joined Slow Food Dallas. A big fan of Alice Waters, Michael Pollan, and other slow food superstars, I'm looking forward to seeing how I can get involved and make a difference on a local level. (Barbara Kingsolver is a biggie in the slow food world, but she sort of rubs me the wrong way, actually. Probably because she never responded to the letter I wrote her after reading The Poisonwood Bible, or my request to interview her for a school project... but I digress.)

By the way, I received the most beautiful, hardback, cloth-covered copy of this book for my birthday in July, and I'm eager to read it over the long weekend. Maybe while sitting on a beach? We'll see.

Baking and New Beginnings

2009-08-31T18:54:00.000-07:00

what would life be like if we had no courage to attempt anything?

vincent van gogh

Inspirational quote + a tie to my beloved discipline of art? Double whammy.

Alison, queen of giving good advice, throwing surprise parties, making Excel spreadsheets, choosing greeting cards, and other valuable skills, imparted these words via a killer Hallmark as I was packing up and leaving my first "grown-up" job two weeks ago. I didn't expect to cry, but...

A truly wonderful opportunity with a medical device company came my way, and I had to take it, leaving behind my good friends at the PR agency. (Or, as Alison says, not really leaving... just turning work friends into friend-friends.)

I showed my appreciation for all that I had learned during my years at the agency through one of my love languages, giving. Baking, to be exact, three days out of my last five in the office. Only thing is, it was one of my crazier weeks, what with school, leaving a job, preparing to travel out of town to start a new job the next Monday, going away happy hours and the like. So I committed a cardinal baking sin (for baking snobs like me, who, like Ina Garten, insist on using only good ingredients... "good olive oil," "good cocoa powder," "good vanilla" -- you get the picture): I used mixes. For every. single. baked good.

And they were really just as good as the from-scratch stuff that takes three times as long. (gasp)

* Sorry the format of the recipes isn't pretty. Blogger's formatting capes are, let's say, limited.

** All food photos are from my phone. The photos above are from Brad's "new job" present to me, a nice, new digital SLR. :)

*** Final caveat, I promise. I've been computerless and Photoshop-less for 2.5 weeks, but soon I promise you whimsical photo montages. Soon, friends.

Day 1: Mini Banana Muffin Cakes

Here's the thing about these muffin cakes (muffiny cupcakes). I sort of winged it. I adapted a recipe I picked up a long time ago that I break out whenever I have overripe bananas, and the freezer already has a loaf of banana bread. So here is generally what I did.

Muffin cakes:

1 pkg yellow cake mix

3 overripe bananas

1 cu. sour cream (reduced fat is fine)

1-1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 to 1 t. cinnamon, depending on your preference

1/4 t. nutmeg

Cream cheese frosting:

2 8 oz. pkg cream cheese (I use 1/3-less fat)

1 stick (1/2 cu.) butter

2 cu. confectioners' sugar

1 - 2 t. vanilla extract (depending on your preference... I tend toward more vanilla)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare cake mix according to package directions (sub out the oil for applesauce if you want). Stir in mashed bananas, sour cream, baking soda, and spices. Spoon 1 T. of mixture into greased mini-muffin tins. (It makes a ton of mini muffins, but you could make regular muffins or even a cake if you wanted. You just have to adjust the baking times.)Bake for eight minutes or until they are puffed and just barely golden on top. Wait for them to cool completely before frosting.

To prepare frosting, beat together cream cheese and butter. Mix in the confectioners' sugar by hand (unless you want it all over your kitchen), and once it is mostly incorporated, turn the beater back on until it's a light texture, maybe 3-5 minutes. Right when you think it's ready, add the vanilla extract.

I used a Wilton cake decorator to make pretty blobs of frosting on top of the cooled cakes. I followed this template for the cupcake flags, found via How About Orange.

Day 2: Buttery Garlic Cheese Biscuits

You may recognize this recipe from a chain seafood restaurant.

Biscuits:
4 cu. Bisquick
6 oz. Cheddar cheese, shredded (I like sharp Cheddar)
1-1/3 cu. water

1 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. onion powder

1/4 t. dried parsley

1/8 t. Old Bay Seasoning (check the spice section or the seafood section of your grocery store)
... Plus a little flour.

Butter mixture:
1/2 cu. melted butter
2 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. onion powder
1/4 t. dried parsley

1/4 t. Old Bay Seasoning

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine the baking mix, cheese, water and spices. Mix until dough is firm but sticky.

On a lightly floured surface (I use a cutting board), spread dough out to about 1/2-inch thickness. Flour the top of the dough a little bit too.

Use a biscuit cutter (I use the end of a champagne flute) to cut out rounds of dough. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, until golden brown.
Combine the melted butter and spices/herbs. Brush over baked biscuits immediately upon removing from oven.

I served them with brown sugar baked ham, horseradish mayo (prepared horseradish + mayo) and Dijon mustard for mini sandwiches (I was into "mini" that week, it appears).

Day 3: Toffee Nut Brownie Bites AND Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

Toffee Nut Brownie Bites

These really could not be easier (Thanks, Virginia and Destiny, for the recipe!). I won't even bother typing it out in recipe format, because it's just this simple.

Take a box of plain brownie mix. No fancy stuff. I used Duncan Hines original mix. Prepare according to package directions. Pour half of the batter into pan lined inside with aluminum foil (size and preparation whatever is prescribed by the box). Layer toffee and almond Symphony bars over the top of that layer. Pour the rest of the batter over the top, covering the bars. Bake according to package directions. When COMPLETELY cooled (you really have to wait or the Symphony layer gets messy), pop the aluminum foil out of the pan, brownies and all. On a flat surface, cut into squares or tiny rounds (again, I used a champagne flute and froze the leftover scraps for a future ice cream recipe).

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

Technically I didn't use a mix, but I did use a prepared item, Pillsbury Crescent Rolls. So deliciously bad for you. I think these would be delicious with a layer of fruit... fresh strawberries or blueberry preserves. Mmm.

2 8 oz. cans Crescent Rolls
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese
1 cu. white sugar

1 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 cu. butter, melted
1/4 cu. sugar
1 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 in. pan.
Press one can of the crescent rolls into the bottom of the prepared pan.

In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, cinnamon and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Spread over the crescent layer.

Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and lay them on top of the cream cheese layer.

Pour the melted butter over the entire pan. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is crisp and golden.

Cool on a counter, then chill overnight.

Cut into triangles (first cut into squares, then cut those diagonally).

Look for more bloggy updates from me soon. I'm resolving in my new routine to build in healthy habits, like exercising, reading regularly and BLOGGING. I have lots of ideas for posts, so stick with me. :)

Francophilia

2009-06-09T14:15:00.000-07:00

I have a serious problem.

A France problem.

A typical French cafe-bar, via Rita Crane's Flickr photostream (with beautiful, thoughtful descriptions)

Most of you know about my love affair with La Belle France, which began in 2006 when I studied abroad in Paris. Click here to read my Paris blog, which is pretty amazing if I can say that about my own writing. I returned from the City of Light and shortly after began dating the man I would marry, but I never forgot my first love. Never.

Moi in front of... well, you know. 2006.

Sometimes I miss Paris so much my heart. literally. hurts. It's a little sick, actually. Whenever I hear about someone else* loving Paris, I become extremely indignant, like I have some sense of ownership over the city. I feel like a jealous lover who has discovered some awful adultery. "You can't love France. She was mine first." ::: clench jaw and fists ::: No really, I recognize that this is not normal behavior.

*Disclaimer: These feelings do not apply to Stephanie, who discovered Paris with me, and Abby, who also studied abroad in France and whose love for the motherland is pure and sincere.

I have shed tears over the fact that I’m losing my grasp on the French language, in which I was conversational – even near fluent – just a short three years ago (“Il y a trois ans,” as I tell fellow Francophiles who ask me when I was last in France).

Well the sickness is worsening, and I have SMU to blame.

I mentioned in my last blog that I was beginning a contemporary art history course this summer. We’re barely out of Realism and I can feel my heart simultaneously breaking and bursting with joy each night I’m in class. I’ll catch myself in the middle of the lecture, sitting on the second row, my chin cupped in both hands, elbows on the table, grinning and looking cow-eyed at mon professeur as she romances me with words like “Courbet,” “Daumier,” “Musée d’Orsay,” and “Déjeuner sur l’herbe.”

Déjeuner sur l’herbe, oil on canvas, 1863

Last night she said, “Those of you who know Paris well know that the book- and print-sellers even line the streets of the city.”

It was all I could do to keep myself from exclaiming, “Oui, je les connais! Les bouquinistes!”

Le sighhhh…

My second trip to Paris, 2006... Making a fool of myself in front of the Louvre.

I’m craving all things French. Carambars, le Métro, watching American movies with French subtitles in St.-Germain-des-Pres, drinking wine out of a baby bottle at Le Refuge des Fondues in Montmartre… I even tried to French braid my hair this morning, with less than spectacular results.

A classmate and I are pondering Monet's genius at his home of Giverny.

Brad’s company is treating us to a Mediterranean cruise in October, and we plan to stay an extra week to explore Morocco, which I have never visited before, or Paris, which has my heart. Morocco sounds sexy and exotic, and I would love to add Africa to the list of continents I have visited… but today I’m leaning toward Paris.

Cinque Pommes, or Apples and a Dish Rag on a Table

2009-06-01T10:19:00.000-07:00

I've had three blissful weeks off of school, and this week will mark my return to SMU. "Le Sigh," as fellow Mustang Steffy Lou would say.

Really, I'm excited to go back. I'm taking a contemporary art course, a deep dive on the works of Edgar Allen Poe, and a class on a single painting -- Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergère. Scintillating (I'm serious!)!!!

Édouard Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergère, c. 1882, oil on canvas

But I really have loved this little break. I read (for leisure!) till my eye muscles were tired, enjoyed happy hours with girlfriends, figured out what this thing they call "Thursday night TV" was, and painted!

That's right, I painted.

Ohhh, what a release! Those of you who know me well know how much I love art, but it seems that finding the time to do it is rare. Even when I'm not in classes, it seems there has been some practical consideration (work, wedding planning, work, moving, WORK) to stifle the creative juices. So I decided that in order to feel like I had really made the most of this three week hiatus, I needed to do something really artistic. (Brad was DELIGHTED to come home from school and see me painting. He is a huge encourager and tells me frequently that I shouldn't waste my gifts because of "busyness." He's right. It's too easy to make excuses.)

My preferred medium is pencil -- love the detail that I can achieve. I always shy away from color because I don't feel like I have a great grasp of it. But in studying Michelangelo last semester, I grew to really admire his facility and imagination when it came to colors.

Until the Sistine Chapel's restoration was complete in 1994, art historians thought the Renaissance master painted in browns, greys, and tans because he was primarily a sculptor and thus wanted to render in stony-looking figures and scenes.

One of Michelangelo's Sistine frescoes before restoration

But as experts worked to remove centuries of smoke and grime from the ceiling, they uncovered lemon yellows, cherry reds, tangerine oranges, and lime greens. He was not only a colorist, but one of the premier colorists of his time! Imagine how shocked art history students of the 1970s and before must have been to realize everything that was printed in their books and taught in their lectures was based on a giant misconception about Michelangelo's vision.

One of Michelangelo's frescoes of a sybil on the Sistine ceiling, post-restoration

But I digress. Seeking to challenge myself, I chose the most brightly colored green apples (Golden Delicious, to be exact) apples the grocery store offered and arranged them on my dining room table. I love that they are mottled with hints of red and orange too. I added a little dish rag to provide depth and visual interest -- though let's be honest, how interesting are apples on a table?

Here's the finished work:

I've been toying with a name for this painting (about 16" x 20", oil on canvas). Anything from the uber artsy, like Cinque, Cinque Pommes, or Charis -- Greek for "grace," which the number five symbolizes; to the obvious, Apples and a Dish Rag on a Table; to the playful, like 'Dem Apples. I think it shall just remain unnamed. :)

I will readily admit it's not inventive or daring, but it was a fantastic exercise for me as I get outside my artistic comfort zone. All in all, the investment was some yellow and green oil paints (I had the other colors), a canvas, a Saturday morning, and two evenings after work. The thing about working with oils, it seems, is that you have to wait for them to set a bit if you want to do a lot of layering. Not a happy reality for this impatient girl.

Meanwhile, my fellow artsy kindred spirit was painting this streetscape in Portland (one of my top five favorite cities in the world):

Stephanie painted this as a Mother's Day gift for her sweet mom, Carol. Please pray for Stephanie's dad, who was in a terrible car accident on Saturday, May 23, and is recovering. The Wanderlusters have put their wanderlusting on hold and are in San Antonio until Andy is able to make significant progress.

I'm envious of how personal and painterly it is. You can really see her hand in it, and the way she has interpreted the shadows, reflections, and the depth of the clouds just wows me! And of course as kindred spirits we WOULD be doing paintings at the same time -- unbeknownst to each other.

Here's thanking the Creator for art and lovers of art everywhere!

I think we should get back together.

2009-05-20T16:32:00.001-07:00

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder…

Is it true? After two months of a Wholly Surrendered blog famine, have you missed me?

Don’t worry, I’m still around and kickin’. I’m not sure what to blame the lag on: school assignments, work chaos, or laziness. Anyway. I’ve just been so distracted. But I hope you'll take me back. I've been doing a lot of thinking and, well... there may still be a spark between us.

Whatdya say, give me another chance?

Thanks to those of you who are still following me. Don’t lose hope! I know I have lost at least one follower, but I guarantee I will be back to my blogging self soon.

You know, really… I think I can blame the anti-blogness on not really feeling like myself. I know I’ve blogged before about that, but even though I absolutely am LOVING my schooling, I still don’t feel like I have found my outlet. I’m searching… God is great and He knows me. He understands my complicated heart even when I don’t.

I receive a free Bible email every day, and I have gotten in the nasty habit of “Marking as Read” when I see her in the old Gmail inbox. I have struggled through feeling distant from the Lord, and with the help of some dear friends, I’m getting back on track and reading. Many of us likely know these verses, excerpted from today’s email… What words to live by:

“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Philippians 3:7-11

Word.

Thanks for sticking with this complacent blogger! I’ll try to be more consistent about updating. And I realize this wasn’t much of an update. So I’ll bring you fairly up to speed with some photos from recent weeks (since early April).

Celebrating with my priceless friend Caroline at her bachelorette! She’ll marry her love Todd on June 6.

This was formerly Brad’s junk room. After 1.5 years of trying desperately to ignore the mess in that room while keeping the rest of my home clean (the Gaultneys have different definitions of what “tidy” and “clean” mean), I went Medieval on it and cleaned it like the bizness. I’ll wait for the “after” pictures till next month, when I plan to paint it. I'm thinking cool gray, with white and yellow (and fuschia?) punches.

Our kindred, dearest friends, the Gahms – AKA The Wanderlusters. We visited them in Breckenridge as they travel across the globe for one year. (Steph, I owe you pictures. I'll do a FB album soon now that I've found my camera cord and can post!)

Then some more dearest friends got ENGAGED! Here’s a photo of them about a week before Zach popped the question to Abby. We celebrated her birthday Cajun-style with a crawfish dinner.

My older brother Matt got MARRIED! Somehow I was so caught up with emotion that I didn’t take photos of the blessed event, but here’s a snapshot of me and my mama. Isn’t she gorge?

Here’s a picture of me and Brad from a recent trip to New York City. Times Square! Thanks to those who made recommendations on what to do and see, especially Erin!

The Greening of the Gaultney Homestead

2009-02-25T11:52:00.000-08:00

I’ve blogged before about my desire to be an eco-friendly, vegan goddess. I really do aspire to live simply, without clutter and the distractions of excess. But I know myself well, and a vegan (or even vegetarian) I will never be; and with everything that is going on in my life –

Busy job
Three demanding classes in grad school this semester
Church commitments
Maintaining a happy marriage during a season when time together is a rare commodity

– I know it will be a challenge to go balls-to-the-wall “green.”

(If you’re like me, you just kind of cringed at my use of the phrase “balls-to-the-wall.” I can’t help but get a mental image.)

(You probably just did too. Ha!)

I never made an official New Year’s resolution out of my desire to greenify, but I guess it really was early January when we began to implement easy changes to help the environment and our bodies.

Eat.
For one thing, Brad and I started a sort-of diet. I call it a sort-of diet because it’s not necessarily that we’re eating only certain foods or restricting ourselves, but we have taken steps to eat healthier, less processed stuff, and I’m cooking a whole lot more. We now shop pretty exclusively at Central Market (my Mecca), and buy a lot of fresh fish, tons of produce, raw nuts and seeds, organic dairy, whole and sprouted grains, and the like. It’s definitely ‘spensive, but when we’re not fighting colds, allergies, and flu (?!), we feel tons better than we used to. And I try to buy the most local products that I can. I wouldn’t call myself a locavore, but I’m moving in that direction.

Drink.
Brad probably wasn’t thinking about the impact on the environment when he took up his latest hobby, but he has begun homebrewing. This is really great for the environment – so much better than buying beer and wine at the store – because of the carbon impact of the manufacturing facilities and shipping heavy glass bottles. So far he has made a wonderful batch of Amarone wine, using my art as the label for his bottles, and two batches of beer which are also QUITE good!

Home.
We’ve given up our dependence on paper towels. ::: cue applause ::: I have been a huge Viva paper towels fan since college. If you’re going to buy a paper towel, I have to say that is the most durable, absorbent brand around, and I love how they don’t have stupid doodles of strawberries or puppies on the towel. Just pure white. But we ran out of paper towels a few weeks ago, and I decided not to replenish! This is one change Brad is still struggling with, but I honestly haven’t missed them. I have tons of cute and functional dish towels and rags that do the job. I’d like to think the money we are saving on paper towels offsets our Central Market grocery bills, but… that's probably a stretch.

(In other paper-related news, I've decided to get behind Sheryl Crow's "one square" campaign and use only one square of toilet tissue per restroom visit. That may be TMI, to use a passe phrase, but it really is very do-able, and a good cost-saving and eco-friendly strategy! I thought it was silly when I first heard of it, but now I'm a believer.)

We’ve been recycling for a while now, but I have ramped up my diligence in that area. It’s pretty eye-opening to see how much waste there would be if we weren’t recycling. We fill up our bin at least once a week. (Dallasites, you can sign up here for the city's free recycling program.)

I could write a little more about some of the changes we’re making, but I think I’ve covered the biggies. For the hardcore greenies, this list probably doesn’t look like much, but it’s a start! We’re just trying to be better stewards of God’s earth and our bodies, His temple.

Psalm 24:1 – 5
The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;

for he founded it upon the seas and
established it upon the waters.

Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.

He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication
from God his Savior.

The Love Editor

2009-02-17T18:08:00.000-08:00

The verdict is in: virus, but not flu (my fever isn't high enough for it to be flu); bronchitis; middle ear infection.

But my doctor hooked me up with a prescription for a Z Pak, and as wary as I am of antibiotics, I'm feeling loads better already! So praise God! And thanks truly for all your well wishes. :-)

On to other, non-sickness tidbits...

My brothers are awesome. I love them both as brothers and friends, and my younger brother Brett brings so much fun to our family. He's the trends editor of his college newspaper, and apparently he's moonlighting as a broadcast reporter too. My dad just sent me a video to Brett's first installment as The University Star's "Love Editor -- first name Love, last name Editor." It's fantastic! I'm so proud.

I've excerpted Brett's segment here:

All I can say is, Stephanie Kusy-Wilson and Summer Ratliff better keep their hands off my baby bro's "luscious locks!"

You can watch the full broadcast here, if you're really interested in SG's rejection of an on-campus concealed carry bill:

Update-ish

2009-02-15T17:29:00.000-08:00

Since it's been a while since I've caught you up, I'll give a little update.

I'll start with the most immediate... I am sick as a dog. For weeks I've been looking forward to this weekend for so many reasons. Brad's step-brother, Kelly, was married this weekend. In Florida. On the beach. At sunset. On Valentine's Day. Roooooomance! (By the way, his new wife's name is KELLY! They are the "two Kellys.")

Brad was a groomsman, and we booked a room at the resort where the wedding would be. I was just so excited about a relaxing long-weekend on the beach, surrounded by family. It ended up being a LOVELY wedding, and I couldn't be happier for the new husband and wife!

I only wish I had been feeling well enough to spend sometime enjoying the gorgeous scenery! Most of last week, Brad and I were just feeling yuck. What's weird is that we've been eating healthier than ever -- tons of veggies, fruit, wheatgrass, fish, little fat, little sugar -- but our immune systems are just pokey all of a sudden!

During our flight to Florida on Friday I just started feeling super mooky. It just got worse throughout the day and the rehearsal dinner, and sure enough, that night it was BAD. I won't get into details, but I'm pretty sure I have a full-blown flu. Didn't sleep a wink, thanks to sickness, bad heating/cooling unit, neighbors playing LOUD music, calling security on neighbors, digital clock freaking out any time a phone signal was detected, phone ringing.... etc.

I had slept about one hour by the time Brad woke up on Saturday. He was completely unaware that I had been sick the whole night before (he has an amazing ability to sleep through ANYTHING), and he told me he had a Valentine's surprise for me. That's about when he noticed that I was curled up in a fetal position shivering. He had already paid for a nearby salon to send someone to give me an afternoon of spa treatments in our hotel room. Soooo sweet, but I just didn't think I could enjoy it given my sickly state. But the spa wouldn't let us cancel without paying the full price, so I went ahead with it.

I'm probably the only girl in the world who has ever tried to turn down such a thoughtful gift... I'm crazy. It ended up being just what I needed. A facial, seaweed wrap, and one-hour massage later, I felt tons better. It was enough to get me through the wedding that evening, and I ended up actually having a ton of fun. I was still sick, but not at all nauseous or head-achey. My husband is the sweetest, most thoughtful man I know, and he goes out of his way to make me believe I'm beautiful.

Sadly, the better health didn't last long. I woke up early this morning and was back to my old sickly tricks. The trip home was torturous... I don't know if you've ever boarded a plane with sinus problems, but the 30 or so minutes of descent make you want to rip your own head off. I've had sinus problems on a plane three times: once coming home from Washington, D.C. at age 12; once coming home from Europe at age 17; and of course, this afternoon, age 23. It's just the most explosive, stabbing, shooting feeling through your ears and into your eyes. Anyway. Tears were involved.

Brad took me to CVS on the ride home from the airport where we loaded up with meds, and then he took off for a kayaking trip with his dad and bro in San Marcos. It's probably better that he's not here; I don't much feel like being around anyone, and I certainly don't want to get him sick.

I have a low-grade fever now, aches, occasional waves of nausea, cough, sore throat, a terribly clogged-up head, and some slight, temporary hearing loss. I can't hear anything in the high registry. In the car when Brad would put the turn signal on, I could only hear the low clicks. It's my car, so I know it has HIGH CLICK, low click, HIGH CLICK, low click. And I could only hear the low click.

I'm hoping I'll be better enough to go to work tomorrow, because things have been VERY busy and I can't really afford to miss another day and let my work fall behind. I was out Friday for the wedding, so I'll already be catching up a little. Then I have class tomorrow night, and I absolutely can't miss any class.

School is going well. I love it, actually, and I'm glad Brad convinced me to do it! I do think I bit off a little more than I can chew; I'm taking three classes, and working full-time (full-full-full-time, some weeks :). I'm a little behind in one of my classes, but I plan on spending all next weekend catching up.

More later. This ended up being a post all about me being sick... Sorry... Love y'all.

This. is. JEOPARDY!

2009-01-28T18:25:00.000-08:00

Confession: I'm a nerd. But then you probably already knew that.

Ever since I was old enough to read, I have LOVED the show Jeopardy. I also happen to be quite good at it, if I do say so myself. :-)

I actually went on vacation to Los Angeles to watch the taping of three Jeopardy episodes in 2004. My timing was perfect... I saw Ken Jennings become the first Jeopardy contestant to amass winnings of over $1 million! I saw him win the million! They film three episodes per day, so I saw him on his 29, 30 and 31st days on the show. I wanted to take the qualifying test, but sadly, the process of waiting, taking the test, interviewing, etc. would take hours, and we had tickets to Universal City.

But for the past two years the producers decided to make the contestant test available online for a very limited time. I knew about it, but for some reason didn't take the test.

Today was an "ice day" here in Dallas, and after watching news coverage of dozens of cars slipping, sliding, and stopping on iced-over roadways, I opted to stay home. Jeopardy came on at 11 on CBS, and I seized this rare opportunity to watch one of my favorite shows! After answering 90 percent of the questions correctly, Brad sent me the link to the registration for THIS year's online test and told me I "didn't have a choice." He would make me take the test. (What would I do without him?! He's my cheerleader -- err, yell leader?)

Guess what: The test was today!

What timing! Of all the days to be home, to watch Jeopardy, to show off my trivia skills for my husband... and the one day that they're testing is TODAY! They offer this test for only 10 minutes in the entire year, and today was the day! So I registered and received an email saying I needed to log in within 30 minutes before the test at 8 p.m., or I would be disqualified. I remembered RIGHT before the test was about to begin... I was preparing to watch LOST and then realized it was test time.

So I logged in, and the questions started firing! Each question was on the screen for 15 seconds, and I had to TYPE my response in (not multiple choice, people!). Then the screen would change to the next question. There were 50 total questions, and the entire test took about 10 minutes. I knew the answers to 31 questions without a doubt, and there were 19 questions I either passed on or guessed. Not my best performance, but those questions were tough!

I'll never find out my score, and I doubt I'll get invited for an audition interview. There are probably thousands and thousands of people who take this test, and only a few are selected through a random selection process to audition. But I am still somehow excited to have finally taken the qualifying test for this show that I've loved for so long!

Geriatric Joust

2009-01-26T12:38:00.000-08:00

I have to preface this post by saying I LOVE the elderly. I really believe I have a special place in my heart for the more senior generation, and always have. I want to befriend every older person I meet and learn from them... even the sweet little old man in Central Market who wore a bowler hat and spent an hour following me around the store a couple of weeks ago and talking to me about every item in my cart, repeatedly asking me to show him how to use the electric produce weights, etc. He was so sweet and friendly, and I just wanted to put him in my cart and take him home with me! (I do think he had dementia or something though, which makes me very sad for him and his family.)

Anyway, I have a HUGE respect for the elderly, and I love spending time with them.

But apparently I could beat up a dozen 90-year-olds.

This is the WEIRDEST quiz I have every stumbled upon (Brad sent it to me), and I had to share it! It's meaningless and possibly even a little offensive, but it asks you a series of questions to determine -- if you should get into a Jets vs. Sharks-like throwdown with a gang of nursing home escapees -- how you would fare.

For the record, Brad, who is trained in mixed martial arts, could beat up 18.

(Don't forget to comment and tell me how many you could handle!)

Crazy Eights

2009-01-19T19:19:00.000-08:00

In March 2007, Brad and I boarded a flight to Seattle, where he planned to propose to me. We sat on row 8 of our plane. At the time, Brad – a math and science guy – was very interested in the biblical significance of numbers, and I asked him if the number 8 meant anything. He told me that in God’s word, the number 8 is often used to signify a new beginning… which ended up being exactly what that trip was for our relationship. :-)

How very appropriate that as we begin a new year, I was tagged by Martha to talk about a series of eight things. Here we go!

8 TV SHOWS I WATCH
1. LOST
2. Top Chef
3. Project Runway
4. Mad Men
5. Barefoot Contessa
6. Passport to Europe/ Rick Steves’ Europe
7. The Office
8. 30 Rock
9. House

I watch too much TV! I know I added two extra, and I could probably think of 10 more shows to add to this list.

8 FAVORITE RESTAURANTS
There are SO many, but these were the first that came to mind:
1. Texas de Brazil (Dallas – special occasion place for carnivores)
2. Los Barrios (San Antonio – cheese enchiladas and margaritas!)
3. Longhorn Café (San Antonio – best greasy cheeseburgers on the planet)
4. Black Friar Pub (Dallas - cheese fries and beer!)
5. Toulouse (Dallas – so French, with delicious foie gras)
6. Trudy’s (Austin – great memories)
7. Café Madrid (Dallas – tapas)
8. Deep Sushi (Dallas – Deep Ellum)

Honorable mention goes to Grimaldi’s in Dallas for the coal oven-fired meatball pizza I had a couple of weeks ago and haven’t been able to stop thinking about!

8 THINGS THAT HAPPENED TODAY
1. Woke up too early on a day off (Happy birthday, Dr. King!) when one of Brad’s colleagues telephoned him at the crack of dawn.
2. Ate mom’s sugar cookies for breakfast, then felt compelled to go on a speedwalk/ run with Brad and my hand weights.
3. Scoured the house for garage sale items and amassed them in the formal living room (it never gets used anyway!)
4. Enjoyed vegetarian platter at Fadi’s Mediterranean Grill with Brad.
5. Bought a tea table and a new console table at World Market.
6. Re-wired entertainment center (around our house, Brad builds things and keeps up the outside, but I do the electronics), then tidied up.
7. Shopped for rugs online and determined I had already spent too much money on home stuff for the day.
8. Practiced shooting the Walther PPS.

Veggie Platter from Fadi's

8 THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO
1. Toning up my arms before Matt and Brittney’s wedding on May 2!
2. Starting grad school this week… and finishing it in two or three years. :-)
3. Going on a Mediterranean cruise in October 2009.
4. Being a mom someday.
5. Finding a new home and getting new furniture.
6. The rest of my life with Brad (too corny?).
7. Meeting up with my Kindred and her hubs on their year-long sojourn.
8. Retirement. Is that a bad sign?

8 THINGS I WISH FOR
I think I answered this in the last question, no? Maybe the question here refers to material things? If that’s the case, I feel a little materialistic answering… but this is Dallas, so here goes:
1. Mortar and pestle
2. Slicing tools – a rasp for zesting citrus and a mandoline
3. Meat thermometer
4. A really nice camera, and the skills to use it
5. Hermès Kelly Bag
6. Apple laptop (mine got stolen, and Brad uses the Mac we replaced it with for his work)
7. New house or apartment (long story)
8. Chanel perfume (I love her, and the scents are quintessential France)

I also wish Brad and I could move to Paris.

8 SONGS I JUST LISTENED TO
That would be the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. Amazing movie, if you haven’t seen it, and equally good soundtrack! It awakens the Indian belly dancer in me and makes me “shimmy,” a la Fit TV.

8 MOVIES I LOVE
Well, aside from the aforementioned Slumdog:

1. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphondre et Le Papillon, en français)
2. There Will Be Blood
3. No Country for Old Men
4. Sabrina
5. Beauty and the Beast
6. Any movies by Wes Anderson or Christopher Guest
7. Amadeus
8. When Harry Met Sally

I’m desperate to see Revolutionary Road! Have any of you seen it?

8 PEOPLE I TAG
No pressure. These taggings are good for me, because otherwise I probably wouldn’t have blogged for another week and this is good motivation... but I realize not everyone wants to let me tell them what to write. Don’t feel obligated, but I tag my friendly bloggers to write on these same topics whenever they're lacking motivation for original content:

1. Abby
2. Alison
3. Erin
4. Janette
5. Jashley
6. Jennifer
7. Meagan
8. Stephanie

Blog Makeover

2009-01-12T13:47:00.000-08:00

Blog-readers (even the sneaky ones who post anonymous comments :-) -- I need your opinion.

As I aim to de-clutter my life by the casting off of knick-knacks, unused sleeping bags, and furniture that screams "FUNCTION!" -- like the media console I bought four years ago that I now find hideous -- I find myself also wanting to simplify the look of my blog.

My design inspirations are this one and this one, although now I'm mad that I've seen both of those because I'm really tempted to copy their ideas. (I invented dandelions!)

I also love Anthropologie's clean, feminine look.

But then I love my blog's eclectic, patterned aesthetic.

What do you think? Any suggestions, or other sites I should look at for inspiration?

Anonymous comments are welcome here. ;-)

UPDATE -- (one hour later) Obviously, I went ahead and played with the coding and came up with something completely different than I had before. Still, please do share your comments and suggestions on the look, if you have any ideas! :-)

UPDATE 2 -- Anonymous brings up a good point. Since I was hot to trot and already changed the background without letting you weight in, you may not remember what the old one looked like! It was this header image:

With this background:

The funny thing is, the coding to get the main wrapper semi-transparent and to get the background the way I wanted it on the old look was so much more complicated than my new look -- and required the use of an FTP -- and this one is pretty easy-peasy, but looks more designy, I think.

To the Lady in NorthPark Whose Whimsical Outfit Made Me Happy

2009-01-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

Based on a True Story

Like a jellyfish billowing near the top of the blue water, with light finding its way through diaphanous folds, your skirt flounced in slow motion, a beat behind each purposeful step. You walked like a Parisienne parading a Standard Poodle through Les Tuileries – or even like the poodle herself – each footstep abrupt but delicate; intentional.

From the buttery leather of your brown booties to the grandmotherly chignon that betrayed your Carrie Bradshaw-like aesthetic, you were on a mission.

Perhaps you had just come from a consultation at Barney’s where you were commissioned to create some new artwork, a thankless backdrop for unreasonably expensive designer garments. The clipboard tucked tightly under your left arm may have itself clung to your sketches, lines on paper destined to become your next forgotten oeuvre.

You didn’t even carry a purse.

A man with tattooed fingers held a heavy glass door open, and you were off. You likely slid into a stuffy Mercedes or Lexus SUV and set off to pick up your stepchildren from private school, but I’d like to believe you sped away on a Capri Blue Vespa, skirt be damned, bound for your studio where yards of empty canvas await fat tubes of unctuous gesso and pigment.

Honest to Goodness

2008-12-29T10:11:00.000-08:00

My wonderful and much lauded cousin Martha nominated me for the Honest Scrap blogger award! Read her list here. I don’t have her gift for brevity, so please bear with me on this long post as I list for you “10 honest things about me that you possibly do not know.” And make sure you read to the end, because I may have nominated YOU for the same task!

1. I am a wannabe vegan radical. For some reason I fancy myself a total earth mother, who makes frosting with arrowroot powder and agave nectar and coconut milk instead of butter and sugar (like this blogger does), advocates fair trade and lives super sustainably by making my own clothes and recycling my toilet water and maintaining a compost pile. But alas, I’m just not. Texas de Brazil is my idea of a special occasion dinner, and that’s as un-green and anti-vegan as it gets. I do want to live in a teeny tiny energy-efficient home, and to really serve others in my community. I just ordered a book on Amazon called Irresistible Revolution, and I think it’s going to help me figure out how I can live like a radical in my everyday Jesus-loving life. I’m pumped.
2. I was an overachiever in high school. I was vice president of student council, president of the National Honor Society, a National Merit Scholar Finalist, member of Thespian Society, member of Quill and Scroll, Varsity cheerleader (I quit before my junior year), yearbook editor, newspaper editor, even a member of the vocabulary club! And I’m sure I’m leaving stuff out.

A SACS Lion from age 5

While I don’t look back on those days wistfully (as in, “those were the days”), I do have good memories of high school. On the other hand, part of me wishes I had done less, because I kind of got burned out for college involvement. And on that note…

3. I love the University of Texas and will forever bleed burnt orange, but I don’t think I had an authentic college experience. I graduated early, and didn’t get involved in much except Communications Council (for one year), a student magazine and a free speech group. I also got involved with my church, but not until pretty late in the game. And I worked all through college, so that limited my ability to do a lot. However, God allowed me to have an amazing friend-for-life roommate in college, so I’m grateful for that. I graduated with highest honors, but I regret not taking full advantage of those rare years of being an undergrad.

Me and some of my favorite Longhorns :-)

These next few kind of go together…

4. I sometimes wonder what life would be like if I were still single. Don’t misunderstand me – I’m so GLAD to go through life with Brad, and I don’t regret marrying him for a second. I want to be really clear about that. I thank God every day for him, and for orchestrating everything about our meeting, dating, engagement and marriage the way He did. One of my top goals in life is to be an amazing wife to Bradford. My point is, I always thought I’d be at least 30 before I got married, but I met the man of my dreams at age 20! Just for the sake of curiosity, I sometimes think about what life would be like if I were in Paris and working as a journalist, or living in North Africa and working as a Peace Corps volunteer. Truth is, I’d probably still be right where I am, doing exactly what I’m doing. But it’s funny.

"So happy togetherrrr..."

5. I want babies sooner than four years from now (but I’m going to wait). Brad and I adopted the “five year plan” when we got married. We want to travel the world and finish grad school before other obligations enter the picture. I’m totally committed to the five year plan, but I have a twinkle in my eye for my babies. I can’t wait to meet them someday (Oct. 2012! Ha!).

6. I think Jesus is going to come back before I have kids. Maybe it’s the Christian school influence, but I have ALWAYS thought the second coming of Christ would happen before the next big milestone. I remember being in first grade, and Mrs. McGann told my class that in third grade we get to take achievement tests. I remember thinking “Third grade?! That’s so far away! Jesus will definitely come back before then.” We also lived near the airport growing up, and any time I heard the roar of a plane taking off, I thought it was the rapture. I thought Jesus would come back before I got married, and now I think Jesus will come back before I have kids.

7. Sometimes I want to move back to San Antonio. As much as I’d like to think I’ve got my stuff together up here in Dallas, visits to San Antonio and Boerne make me remember how much I miss my friends and family. It will probably get worse once baby Gaultneys enter the picture, but I know the Lord has us here for a reason, and we have commitments in Dallas that will keep us here for several more years. I really do love Dallas, and I’ve made amazing friends here… I just wish it weren’t a five-hour drive to “home.”

A dreamy picture of SA's Riverwalk, which I have visited probably three times in my life.

8. I have a long memory, sometimes to a fault. The good news is, I will NEVER forget your birthday. If you ask me to pray for something, I will NOT forget to lift you up. However, it also means I know which of Brad’s Corps buddies came to our wedding and didn’t give us a gift. And it means if you ever gave me a backwards compliment, I made a mental note. I hate that about me. Oh well.

9. I’m jealous of blondes. Gah, who knows why this is? Some of my very dearest friends are blonde (Sharkie, Dubey-Lew, Meago, Meggo, just to name a few), and I don’t have any problems with them at all, but other than that, I have this weird jealousy of blondes. Maybe it’s because there really is some buy-in to the “blondes have more fun,” adage, especially in Texas. But I’ve made it clear to Brad that he is not allowed to think blondes are pretty. I understand him saying that Anne Hathaway is attractive, because good night, I even think she’s a sex monster. But Kate Hudson? Carrie Underwood? That girl who dances on the table in the Bacardi Mojito commercial? NO. Not allowed.

Screen shot of the infamous Bacardi Mojito commercial

10. I’m actually really shy. That surprises some people. But yes, I’m a definite introvert, and most of the time I’d rather read a book or watch Bravo TV at home than go to a party.

So now I would like to take a moment to pass the torch to some of my fellow bloggers (including a blonde): Abby, Meagan and Stephanie. I’m tagging you because I love you and can’t wait to see the 10 things you’ll write about. :-) Now get bloggin’!

O Christmas Tree

2008-12-18T18:08:00.000-08:00

I finally have a working cord for Brad's camera, so I thought it was time for a picture post. :-)

I love our dinky little Christmas tree. We got it shortly after our wedding last year. It's a four-foot, pre-lit guy, and we decorated it with these really beautiful ornaments we got for the wedding.

I like the way I wrapped presents this year: black, white, silver and red. That big tube in the back is not wrapping paper... It's an oddly shaped gift in a tube.

I think my favorite ornament is the funny pink bird at the top with the teal feathered tail. Many of you know my affinity for birds (not real birds -- just in decor, fashion, art, etc.). This was part of a really exquisite set of "ornaments for newlyweds." The bird is supposed to symbolize "happiness and joy." (Interestingly enough, a goldfish that came with the set is supposed to symbolize "Christ's blessing." ...?)

Brad and I started a tradition during our first Christmas together that we would make our tree topper each year. Last year was a lot of fun: a red paper plate cut into a star shape, lots of doodles, and some gold paint. This year was wood scraps glued together and bound with wire, with a message written on the back.

And here are a couple of pictures from our anniversary two months ago. Since I had never been in a limo, Brad surprised me and rented one. In the limo he also had our wedding cake, champagne flutes, wedding video, and a CD he bought me. We drove to a restaurant in Terrell, about 40 minutes outside of Dallas, where he and I first talked about marriage. What a romantic stud I married!

Having too much fun...

Restlessness (Warning: Long Post)

2008-12-15T19:13:00.000-08:00

I’ve had this unsettled feeling in my heart now for several months. Like I want to move to Seattle, or maybe just Dallas’ Bishop Arts District; or go to grad school (more on that later); or start discipling middle school girls; or dye my hair fuchsia. Or buy a 9 mm and take concealed-carry classes (Oh wait, I’m already doing that. No seriously, I am.). Or maybe come home one day with my body all painted in henna paint à la Indian weddings.

So I think about all of these things but I still have this RESTLESS spirit, so much so that when I think about it my heart literally hurts. Like an aching for someone or something that I can’t identify. Like I'm grieving for something, really. It's not a depression, just a sense of loss over something I don't even understand. Talk about a state of confusion.

So I’ve prayed. Praying without knowing what you're asking for is hard, and even harder when you think you’re not hearing anything back. I have felt like the woman in Song of Solomon who searches for her lover but can’t find him.

I opened for my lover, but my lover had left; he was gone. My heart sank at his departure. I looked for him but did not find him. I called him but he did not answer. (SoS 5:6)

And it occurred to me… I’m not serving. I feel most alive in Christ when I’m serving him, and my top spiritual gifts are service and pastor/ shepherding. Maybe my lack of service is what’s causing this weird friction in my spirit. But what to do with this knowledge?

I sought godly counsel from an awesome, life-loving, astoundingly wise friend, who by the grace of God is also family. We’ll call her “Martha.” So Martha, irreverent as she may be, sat down with me over yummy, thin crust, European-style pizza yesterday in Southlake, and we cussed (a little :-), laughed about smoking on the sly, talked about motherhood (her) and future motherhood (me), and generally just had a mini heart-to-heart. Then I came out with it. “Martha,” I said. “What’s going on with me?” I gave her the back story, and she was blunt, as I hoped she would be (I’m paraphrasing):

“Hello? Did you ever think that this restlessness could be the way God is speaking to you, that he's trying to tell you to act on those sneaking suspicions?”

O-M-Goodness. No. Really, no. How could I not have realized that I wasn't just feeling crazy for the sake of crazy... He may be making me feel that way because I'm still not acting on his promptings. I didn’t consider that the Lord was trying to get my attention or affirm the longings of my heart by this aching feeling. But that makes SO much sense. ::: slaps forehead ::: Doh.

She had a lot more truth to speak to me, and I’m not giving her enough credit for her invaluable counseling abilities and insight, but I left feeling really validated – not only validated, but justified – over some of the nutty ideas that have been swirling. My heart and my head are still having a cage match with each other, and I have a lot of thinking to do, but today I really do feel a little bit better. I need to be in the Word for a while, and let some things marinate, but I think I can tell you more later.

I’m deeply grateful for Martha.

And for Brad, who encouraged me to apply for grad school, which I’ll be starting Jan. 22! It’s a professional program (code language for “I’m not quitting my job to go to school, don’t worry”), and I expect to go two nights a week. It’s funny how God works… in the middle of this season of spiritual frustration, I had to register for classes. I’m in a Master of Liberal Studies program, which will allow me to focus on art, French and writing (or as I call them, The Holy Trinity of Katie). But for this first semester, I wanted to have the same schedule as Brad so that we can carpool and spend an extra hour together a day during a time when we otherwise might not see each other a lot.

Well, I had to take a couple of required courses for my first semester, and the only other class that fit with the schedule wasn’t anything that fell into the aforementioned Trinity; it was a theology class.

Theology? Okay. I love Jesus, but theology is really Brad’s thing. I like Beth Moore and Max Lucado and John Piper… but theology?! But I clicked “register” and I’m in. And I have to wonder if God isn’t planning on teaching me something really significant through this course, which is called “The Spiritual Vision of Jesus.”

Think service might be a part of that vision?

Complacent Blogger

2008-11-05T12:01:00.000-08:00

I want to apologize for my lack of blog activity recently. It's not that I don't have anything to write about... a lot has happened in the past few weeks, including Brad's and my one-year anniversary and a weekend visit by some very dear friends! It's that I just don't feel like writing. :-( Painfully honest truth. Maybe I will get the motivation to write again soon, but until then, I thought I owed you a post so that you know I didn't fall off the face.

Love to my homies.

Killer Pumpkin

2008-10-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

I've never really liked Halloween. It's just not a holiday I get excited about... fear and candy are two things I want to stay away from. And I only went trick-or-treating once as a kid. But Brad LOVES Halloween, and he just told me he wants to put this in our front yard:

Yikes.

I am excited about Halloween this year though, because my beloved Kindred Spirit is coming with her husband to visit!

Random post... I'm on a conference call now and shouldn't be blogging anyway. :-)

Work Update

2008-10-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

Hey, friends! I apologize for the long lapse in posts this time. Last week was a nutty week with a few late nights at the office, so I thought rather than delay new material any further, I’ll just write about what’s been on my mind: work.

For those of you who don’t know, I work at a public relations agency in downtown Dallas. There’s always something new to deal with every day, which appeals to me and my short attention span. But I’ve recently expressed an interest in focusing my work in one or two areas of “expertise.” That is, rather than working on 80 different clients – in telecommunications, higher education, entertainment, agriculture, food, healthcare, finance – I’d like to put all (or most) of my attention into one area. Or two.

Let me interject and say that I know I’m blessed to get to experience such a wide range of fields through my job. I’m grateful that the variety and number of clients/ projects I’ve been able to encounter have served to make me more well-rounded. But for the sake of professional development, it’s time for me to zero in a little bit.

I think I’m moving in that direction. I’ve been working on more and more healthcare clients, and the healthcare team is just unbeatable in terms of creating a FANTASTIC professional environment. They are great to work with, and some of the sharpest PR practitioners in the agency, I’m convinced. Here’s a photo of Alison, one of my colleagues who works on healthcare, making a binder for a beast of an award entry last week:

And while I'm posting office photos, here's a photo of me and colleague Natasha posing with a basket of flowers a telecom client recently sent us for completing a project to their satisfaction. We're standing on our desks:

I’m also spending about 15 hours a week on a financial client. Now, finance lingo is about as foreign to me as Mandarin, but it’s been a lot of fun learning. Plus, many of you know I come from a long line of bankers. Everyone in my immediate family has worked for a bank at different points (including myself – it was marketing though), and my father and brother still work for banks. So I guess it’s fate that I should have this client!

And I'm continuing to do graphic design support for the office, which is a lot of fun. :-)

But with the good news, I must report some sad news. Holli, my good, dear friend who I also happened to work with, has left the agency to pursue a teaching career. I’m so happy for her and all that she’s sure to accomplish as a teacher, but I miss her already! Thursday was her last day. Here’s her last IM to me. Not sure what we were talking about, but it sounds like it was good (her text: "that nauseates me!")! She sent it Thursday night, but I didn’t notice it until Friday morning, after she had already left. I had to take a screen shot. "Holli Williams has signed out." Tear-jerker.

And here’s me and Holli at the company Christmas party last year. Good times.

Sorry for the practical post! I’ll try to write again soon. Love y’all.

"Dew" Not Disturb.

2008-10-06T17:11:00.001-07:00

It's finals week at the Gaultney homestead.

Dear Bradford has his first round of final exams for his MBA this week. For a man who admits he had NO study habits in college, I've been impressed at his dedication to studying for his economics and accounting classes.

Sidebar: Can I just say that I am SURROUNDED by studiers?! Brad for his MBA, Stephanie for the NCIDQ, and Caroline for the LSAT! I have such impressive friends!

Anyway, Brad used to be addicted to coffee. I'm talking, seven-cups-a-day addicted. We got a really lovely coffee maker for our wedding, but I don't drink coffee. Frankly, I don't even know how to make it. I LOVE coffee culture... the conversation, intellect, appreciation for flavor, the coffee house as the social hub of our generation... but I just don't love the taste of coffee. I'll drink it if it's covered up in gingerbread, pumpkin, vanilla and caramel flavors, but a true coffee aficionado, I am not.

I think Brad felt it was too much trouble to feed his addiction alone, so he turned to caffeinated soda. He doesn't like dark soda, but he still wanted to meet his daily caffeine quotient. And given the number of sodas he would likely consume, it should be a diet version, lest he gain 100 pounds during our first year of matrimony.

The winning beverage was Diet Mountain Dew. Neon green, with a questionable flavor profile of citrus and hobo sweat, it's not my fave. But it keeps Bradford the MBA Candidate chugging. This is what our drink fridge looks like today, though most of the time it has a couple of two-liters stashed in there as well (look at the bottom row):

And here's what the counter looked like when I came home Saturday night after Brad had spent all day studying:

I'm so proud of him for studying, but I'm going to add up the money I spend on Dew each month and start invoicing him!!!

But seriously, he's taking a final RIGHT NOW and I'm praying for him as soon as I finish this post. Please pray too if you read this before 10 p.m. on Monday! :-) Love y'all!

Y'ALL.

2008-10-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

I'm so sorry to have posted a happy blog post about Rupert the Muntjac deer (below) prematurely. It seems our little champ just wasn't ready for this world. He has earned his deer-angel wings and flown away to be with his mama in Deer Heaven.

Click here for the full story. :-(

Deer Readers,

2008-10-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

I'm an unfaithful blogger this week. I know I am, and I am sorry! I could make up excuses... some legit (like that I've been staying at work a little later this week and still have a lot to do when I get home), some silly (like that it's dark outside when I get home so I can't run which means no endorphins which means no happy blog post).

But I won't. (Or did I already?)

I don't feel motivated to write original content just yet, so I'm going to more or less repackage a very "deer" story. Maybe I'll come up with something personal and new and write about it tomorrow.

Anyway, the headline of this post is not a typo. I came across the SWEETEST little photos on the Interwebs and wanted to share it with those of you who need a cuddly lift to kick off the weekend. And if you're in need of additional snuggly vibes, I always recommend cuteoverload.com for that extra pick-me-up.

This is Rupert, a Muntjac fawn:

Rupert was born three weeks early, after his mama was hit by a car and went into labor. Veterinarians tried to save Mrs. Muntjac, but unfortunately she couldn't hang on. Thus, Rupert was delivered via Caesarean section.

He was just six inches tall and weighed 500 grams (17.6 ounces; less than a pound!) when he was born.

He has been thriving at Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital (awesome cuddly name, by the way) in Buckinghamshire, England, and will make a full recovery after his dramatic arrival. He is just over a week old now, and opened his eyes for the first time a couple of days ago.

I just loved the story of this little fighter! Wouldn't this make a good Disney cartoon? Like Bambi for the modern age...

Sweet Weekend

2008-09-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

If only all weekends could be this simple and sweet. 'Twas a weekend of:

Listening to presidential debates on radio (old-school)
Grilled turkey-guacamole-swiss sandwiches
Driving around Dallas helping Brad take pictures of gas stations (work)
No makeup
Messy hair
Banana crumb muffins, straight out of the oven
Working in the backyard with Brad
Gardening
11-month anniversary
Cleaning the house
Netflix
Relevant church and fellowship
Laundry (even though I missed a pen in Brad's pocket with unfortunate consequences...)
Sore muscles
Fixing a leak
Soothing my soul with David Crowder Band
Speedwalking with hand weights
Drawing
"Mad Men" on AMC

Tomorrow I have to wear a suit. :-(

Tu t'amuse.

2008-09-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

Stumbled across this brilliant video that anyone who depended on Babelfish (or Google Translate, etc.) while learning a language can appreciate.

These people wrote a script for a brief (3 minute) film. Then they translated the text FROM English, TO French, then TO German... then back TO French, and back to English. The result is hilarious! You need to read the "subtitles" while listening to the actors... Enjoy!

(Favorite line: "I was put in failuuuure.")

Nonsense

2008-09-25T11:19:00.000-07:00

I am convinced that my husband knows every song out there. We'll be driving through East Texas and a random bluegrass song from the 1950s will come on the radio, and he will be able to more or less sing along.

Or we'll be walking through GAP and some cheesy little teenage angst love song comes on, and he whines along in unison.

I've never even heard these songs, so sometimes I'm impressed by his music knowledge. But half the time -- no, more like 90 percent of the time -- he makes the lyrics up. They're phonetic, but they're usually WAY off. For example, Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded by the Light" is completely butchered by Brad. The actual lyrics are:

Blinded by the light,
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night..

But the way Brad sings it, it's:

Blinded by the light,
Wrapped up like a douche,
Another running uhhh-nuh night!

For YEARS, he actually thought those were the words. Seriously. Srsly.

Most of the time it's cute, but sometimes I can't believe that he doesn't know the words to these songs. Like, I get the feeling he'll just start singing whatever he wants.

Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love" may become:

I don't care what they say I'm uhh- luhhhhhh- you.
They try to tear me apart, but I uhhh- luhhhhh you.
Keep thinking, keep, keep sinking in luhhh,
I keep dreaming, keep, keep dreaming uh-huh...

Anyway, Brad is studying at Starbucks right now and listening to Coldplay. Apparently he was wishing he could serenade me, because I returned to my computer a moment ago and was simultaneously entertained and horrified by what was on my G-chat... Coldplay lyrics. Butchered. Nay, massacred. I'm going to put the actual line, followed immediately by Brad's version in red, for two of the songs.

"Clocks"

Lights go out and I can’t be saved
lights go out and a camping slave
Brought me down upon my knees
bought me down - oh I beg and please

Shoot an apple off my head
hoot an apple off my head

And a, trouble that can’t be named
trouble trouble can't be named.
Tigers waitin’ to be tamed
Tigers waiting to be swinged

Confusion never stops
cold fusion never stops,
Closing walls and ticking clocks
all the stuff clocks

Curse missed opportunities
curse stop, my chin-a-neese

Home, home, where I wanted to go
Comb, where I want it to be.

"Green Eyes"

Honey you are a rock
honey you are a rock
Upon which I stand...
pun witch I stan...

That green eyes, yeah the spotlight, shines upon you...
the green I's, yeah the spark light, shins up on you
I came here with a load
i came here with a lobe
And it feels so much lighter, now I’ve met you...
and it feels so much lighter now I metchu...

Sighhh... What a crazy, goofy man I have married. :-) Thanks for indulging me.

We Did It!

2008-09-23T11:15:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give a little update on the "90 by '09" Campaign. As of last weekend, I surpassed 90 profile views! Thanks for your help in bolstering my self e-steem (Internet self esteem).

As a little reward, please enjoy this Jackson Pollock widget. Run your mouse across to splatter paint, and click to change paint colors.

Jackson Pollock by Miltos Manetasgreat free widgetsWidgetbox

Thank you for your help and your clicks! :-)

Shoulda Been German

2008-09-22T19:40:00.000-07:00

I know I’m Italian. My mom’s family is from Sicily, land of gypsies and mobsters. :-) My dad’s family is from England (my maiden name is Thorne), with a little Scottish and Irish thrown into the mix.

I always wished I was French, but I don’t think I have a drop of French blood in me. Knowing my love for La Belle France, Brad told me while we were dating that the name “Gaultney” is thought to have originated from French tribes (Gaul, like early France). But he has since confessed that it’s probably Welsh. Boo.

About once a year though, I think I’m embodied by the spirit of a German woman. I grew up in South Central Texas, which has lots of German influence, so Oktoberfests, Wurstfest and German towns like Kerrville, Fredericksburg and New Braunfels bring back sweet memories for me.

Addison hosted its annual Oktoberfest celebration this weekend, and Brad and I had a great time. He did his research and figured out that if you reserve a room at the Hampton Inn for $49.00, you get:

Two free tickets to the festival
$10 in food coupons
A “deluxe” beer stein

That's not to mention the hot breakfast the next morning and HBO! ;-) Ha.

Since the hotel was within walking distance from the festivities, we went for it! It was a really nice Hampton Inn that felt a lot more like the chain’s older brother, the Hilton. So together Brad and I celebrated our first “stay-cation.” Ha!

We ate good German food – brats, schnitzel, streudel, kraut, etc. – and drank good German beer. We rode a Ferris wheel, I got a temporary tattoo of a dove (lame, I know), we listened to German folk music and people-watched.

When we walked back to the hotel there were a bunch of Addison Police Department cars in front of the hotel… Apparently some guests had enjoyed Oktoberfest a little too much and were being rowdy when they returned to the hotel. Anyway, one of the police officers who responded to the scene was a friend of Brad’s from college and we stopped and talked to him for a couple of minutes. Funny coincidence.

Here are some pics from our time at the festival. Loved it! Really sweet, light-hearted fun with my best friend.

I spent the morning of the festival baking bread at home to get into the German spirit. I went with a braided yeast loaf with sea salt on top. Yummo!

Ode to Fro-Yo

2008-09-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

I’m trying to listen to my body more. In the same way that pregnant women get telltale signs of vitamin deficiencies by their cravings – like women with iron deficiencies may crave chalk, dirt or even laundry detergent (a condition called pica) – I’m trying to train myself to listen to my body’s cues in terms of ways I should adjust my diet.

Some girls crave breadsticks or cake or donuts. None of those things really tempt me. I always tend to crave red meat and cheese. But for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been craving yogurt! I think it’s because I don’t get enough calcium, and all the women in my family end up with osteoporosis. My mom has osteopenia right now, the precursor to osteoporosis, and she’s still quite young!

(It may just be an old wives' tale that cravings signal a nutritional need, but as long as my stomach/ brain are prompting me to eat healthy things, I'll listen!)

I went to the doctor on Monday and asked him what he thinks about probiotics. I’ve been hearing so much about them lately and how they’re just healthy body miracle-workers, and I wondered if I should pick up powder or something from GNC. He said he believes in them, but that the yogurts that have probiotics in them (Activia, DanActive, etc.) are just as good as the powders and pills.

So yesterday I went to Wal-Mart and went on a yogurt-buying spree!

My love for yogurt began in France, where my French family had a serving after dinner each night. Click here to read my blog post about French people and yogurt.

Then, during Stephanie’s Dallas visit this spring, we happened upon an old-school frozen yogurt (fro-yo) place, Natsumi. I guess old-school isn’t really the right word. Its contemporary interior with white leather Barcelona chairs, concrete floors and Calypso blue accent wall makes it very up-to-date. But the yogurt pays tribute to the way frozen yogurt is SUPPOSED to taste – not like sorbet, not like light ice cream – but like yogurt! It has a sweet but tart taste, it’s fat free, and it has those live active cultures that are good for you!

In the spirit of Natsumi (or Pinkberry, OrangeCup, or whichever fro-yo purveyor you prefer), I decided to make my own frozen yogurt last night. I took two containers of the plain Greek yogurt my grocery store carries – about six cups – and to it I added one part Splenda and one part sugar, about three-fourths of a cup each (1.5 cups total). Then I added a little bit of vanilla extract, maybe a teaspoon and a half, poured it into my ice cream machine and let ‘er rip for about 25 minutes.

The result: even BETTER yogurt than Natsumi! It came out of the ice cream machine with perfect consistency, but after storing it in the freezer overnight, it was a little too hard this morning. In fact, I had to let it thaw for about 45 minutes before it was scoopable.

Here’s my breakfast: fat-free, low-sugar vanilla frozen yogurt with blueberries on top. :-)

Simple Joys

2008-09-16T18:06:00.000-07:00

I have a bit of a paranoia about my Google News page. There’s that nifty little section of articles “Recommended for” me, which should be a convenient assortment of news stories that may interest me based on articles I’ve recently clicked on.

However, much of the time I find it’s filled with mindless entertainment news that, since it’s “recommended for” me, makes me feel like a total ditz. I emailed Brad a screen shot in March of this year after a particularly bad selection turned up:

But today, JOY! My Google-chosen selection of articles represented sentient, relevant news:

Is it sad that my Google News page can have such a profound effect on my self-esteem?

In other news, Brad and I have started going on a weekly date – Wednesdays or Sundays – since he’s getting busier with school and work. This way we are sure to spend some quality time together, even if it’s just a trip to White Rock Lake for a walk.

Sushi is a favorite date of ours. I was thrilled with the presentation of our BOAT-load of sushi!

And we made friends with the sushi chef, who carved some sort of animal out of oranges for each of us. He carved it right in front of us! So cool… awesome knife skills. Although I can’t really tell what this is supposed to be. Maybe a frog with an open mouth? And the orange segments are in his mouth?

What do you think?

And last, but CERTAINLY not least – I have some exciting family news. I'm going to have a sister! No, my mom is not pregnant. My older brother Matt proposed to his girlfriend of over two years in New York last week! They are planning an April wedding, and I couldn't be happier for both of them. Brittney fits in so well with the Thorne clan, and that's not easy! Here's a photo of the happy couple:

Even though Ike caused some tragic devastation, it allowed me and Brad an opportunity to spend some time with the lovebirds. They were supposed to fly back from New York to Houston, where they both live and work, but that wasn't happening! So we spent a few days together and it was cool to be the first to see the ring, the video, etc.

Praise God for simple joys!

Being Intentional

2008-09-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

Time for that meaty post about my weekend and my friends I've been promising... Apologies in advance if it ventures into sappy territory. What can I say, my friends make me want to turn all gooey and just hug someone. :-)

I mentioned my list of life goals in an earlier post. On the list I wrote “Be an intentional friend.” Not a friend who calls when just when she’s bored; not a friend who forgets birthdays and apologizes later. I’m aiming to cultivate the type of meaningful friendships that really love unselfishly, celebrate each others’ good and call each other out on the bad, and go through life together.

During my first several months of marriage, I lived up to that statement by being very intentional in the time that I spend with and the affection I show to my best friend, Brad. But lately I’m learning the balance of doing both: making my husband a priority, but showing my good girlfriends that I cherish them.

Last weekend, I was blessed to spend quality time with three sweet friends in three different cities.

My kindred, Stephanie, and I took a cooking class at Sur La Table in Houston. So chic, so fun. I love this girl’s life: she’s a very hip, bohemian travel-loving designer, and for the first time I got to see her way cool digs that reflect her style. We made French food (we’re both gaga for all-things-French, as is our partner-in-crime, Abby) at our cooking class and stayed up late drinking wine, nibbling on imported “biscuits” and sharing our hearts. The next day my sweet friend treated me to breakfast – the most refined biscuits and gravy I’ve EVER had – and then we browsed the funky shops in Rice Village.

Here are some photos of our time together:

That afternoon, I was honored to get to celebrate my dear friend Jessica and her upcoming marriage at a bridal shower. What a joy to meet “her people” in the area where she grew up, Buffalo, Texas. The shower made me even more pumped for her wedding on October 25, where I’ll be a bridesmaid along with two other great friends, Holli and Caroline. (Sidebar: How cool is it that Jessica and I will forever celebrate our anniversaries just two days apart?!)

Here’s a photo of Jessica and her equally precious fiancé, Clay:

After leaving the shower in Buffalo, I continued up I-45 and turned on I-30 to go to Marita Cattle Ranch in Mount Vernon. Some very cool recently married friends of ours, Jed and Jen Melson, invited us to a ranch weekend with them and two other couples. They have an amazing place on 500 acres of East Texas land, with peacocks, cattle, fishing and the whole bit. The menfolk dove-hunted while we women cooked. :-) Brad and I were blown away by the Melsons’ hospitality and warmth!

Here’s a photo of Jed and Jen shortly after their engagement last October. Jed popped the question at the ranch:

I’m just sitting here reflecting on how blessed I really am to have true, lasting friendships with such remarkable people. What a weekend!

Oh, the Irony!

2008-09-09T17:52:00.001-07:00

I'm sitting here in front of the TV, doing some research for work and eating my dinner, when this article caught my eye:

Eating too much? ‘Law & Order’ may be guilty
(MSNBC.com)

OMIGOSH! I'm watching Law & Order RIGHT NOW! And eating grilled cheese and a cucumber salad and drinking sugar-free grape Kool-Aid! Ooooh, what delicious, gruesome irony. :-) Who knows how many of the ten-or-so pounds I've put on over the past few years can be attributed to my Law & Order obsession?

Hmmm... do I smell a lawsuit? Perhaps I can sue NBC for my weight gain caused by LAW & Order... Irony on top of irony! Love it!

(That blog post about my friends and weekend is still coming... Sheesh, Katie, get on it!)

Motivation Lacking

2008-09-08T19:28:00.001-07:00

I planned to write a super stellar post tonight about my wonderful weekend which led me across Texas for quality, intentional friend time.

But I just can't seem to muster the motivation. I kind of had one of those days like... well, like you bought a top that you weren't sure about, but you paid for it anyway thinking it might match an Anthropologie skirt you got on sale a few months ago but have had trouble finding coordinating pieces for... and you take the blouse home and realize it's much more mustard yellow than goldenrod, and you decide after a week or two of not wearing it to take it back. The tags are still attached and you held onto that receipt, so why not? You probably won't wear it anyway. You know what, definitely not going to wear it. It's cute, but not really you, and you don't have anything to wear it with.

So you go back to the boutique only to discover they have a weird return policy and you were supposed to return it after ten days. They can give you store credit, but the location is really not convenient for you, so you're still annoyed. All of a sudden, you hate that taxi cab-colored shirt and wish you had never laid eyes on it.

That scenario didn't happen to me to day, but as I sit here in my easy chair (hello, grandma phrase!), that's kind of how I feel. I'm sort of annoyed and dissatisfied and I think I could have avoided all of this buy just not buying that shirt on a whim.

Err, you know. Whatever.

Don't fret. That upbeat post about how much I love my friends is in the wings and shall emerge later this week!

Bloom Where You’re Planted

2008-09-03T18:22:00.000-07:00

In my constant search for new forms of creative expression, I took up gardening last spring.

(NB: I refuse to admit that “gardening” means I’m becoming domesticated. I’m not a Lands End-wearing, Tupperware-collecting Stepford wife… I’m just a nutty gal who dabbles.)

Anyway, I was interested to see if I had a green thumb. My roommate Meagan and I had a corn plant in college. We named him Cornelius. He died over Christmas break when I left him out on the balcony and he turned into a gelatinous blob of gray goop after a freeze. All of this to say, my hopes weren’t high that I would be the next blue-ribbon rose grower.

Nevertheless, I carefully planned my garden, did my research on Texas hardy perennials (NOT annuals… I refuse to start from scratch every year!), and planted everything following the directions exactly. I opted to go with purples, pinks and blues. I had to deal with a nasty little yellow lantana plant that was already there when I started. It was the only flowering plant existing at the house when we bought it.

Anyway, my garden was pretty awesome for a few months, and I was encouraged. I planted a lot from seed and I was eager to see my photosynthetic babies pop up over the soil. I also planted sunflowers along all of the fences in our backyard, but they met a sad fate at the sharp blades of Brad’s lawnmower… there were tears (mine).

BUT THEN. Despite all my care and keeping. The lantana plant grew to have tendrils SIX FEET LONG, and it covered up and choked out all of my plants, except a purple sage, a hymenocallis Brad gave me (this bulb could withstand ANYTHING) and my basil. I was SO MAD.

So two weekends ago I went out and cut the Lantana to the ground. I filled two trash bags with the carcasses, then sprayed Round Up all over the open wounds. That plant WILL die.

(NB: In my research to find the best way to kill this diabolical plant, beloved for its heat-hardiness and appearing in landscapes all over Texas, I discovered that lantana is considered a noxious weed in many parts of the world. You can be fined thousands of dollars for growing it in Australia! It’s harmful to the ecology.)

I mentioned that the purple sage, bulb and basil escaped the evil clutches of the lantana. I neglected to write that there was also a super tall plant that sprung up in my garden and resembled bamboo because of its thick, straight stalk – but it had these funny, frizzy leaves. I thought it was probably a strange weed, but I didn’t pull it because I was intrigued by its height.

I walked out this morning and it had BLOOMED over the weekend! I had no idea this was a flowering plant! Look at its amazing pinky-purple daisy blooms!

I'm including a photo of it next to Brad's ginormous truck too, so that you can have an idea of its unusual height. So tall!

The only thing I can think of as far as its origin is that I had a packet of wildflower seeds I bought in Ireland a couple of years ago and scattered them early this spring. This has to be the lone remnant from the packet.

It may sound cheesy, but that this sweet, vibrant daisy survived the hardship the lantana brought it reminded me of God’s goodness and grace in the midst of adversity. We really have the ability to thrive in difficulty because of the hope we have in Christ Jesus and his ability to carry us through. My mom has always encouraged me to “bloom where I’m planted,” meaning that no matter what situation I’m plopped into, I have the choice to become the best “whatever” I can be, and bring glory to God.

What a precious reminder that little flower was to me today!

Jeremiah 17:7-8
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

Excuses, excuses...

2008-09-03T06:40:00.001-07:00

I'm LONG overdue in updating... but I think I have a good excuse. :-) I was in Mexico for the long weekend! Such a nice, needed break. I've gotten to take a lot of cool trips this year, but it seems I can never travel enough!

I'll try publish a meaty blog post later. I have another action-packed weekend coming up, so apologies if the updates are coming less frequently these days.

Bisous to you all!!!

Mugging at a botanical garden in Mexico. Believe it or not, I did NOT take this picture of myself. It looks like I did.

New 'Do and a Throwback

2008-08-27T18:15:00.000-07:00

New haircut... Modeling the coif du jour with my feather headband, natch.

Brad seems to like it! Hahaha. :-) Such a goober.

I had a lot of fun tonight with this site, "Yearbook Yourself." You upload a photo of yourself and see what you would have looked like in days gone by, from 1950 - 2000. Check me out as a high school senior in 1992... Awesome!

So what about you? Were you destined for another era? Check out 1982... It's a trip!

Good for the Soul

2008-08-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I hate exercise. I maintain a decent diet and eat lots of fruits and veggies, but I still tend to get really hung up on body image. If I feel bad about the way I look, it affects my entire attitude.

But my dear, sweet neighbor, Carol, is doing her part to help me change my attitude. Carol is an incredible woman. She is a former aerobics instructor and P.E. teacher, and she teaches swim lessons as much as 60 hours a week during the summer. She runs marathons, teaches a wellness class at church, mentors 10 women, takes continuing education at local colleges, volunteers at a nearby pregnancy care center… and much more. She and her wonderful husband Don introduced us to our church, Lake Pointe, by bringing over a care package of chips and salsa and some church brochures shortly after we moved in. They have blessed our lives so richly in just the short time that we’ve known them.

Carol is an overflowing fountain of energy, and when I mentioned to her that I was looking for a way to get in shape and relax, she invited me to a yoga class she heard about through her granddaughter’s dance studio. Well, it wasn’t just yoga. It was yoga fusion – a mix of fast-paced hip hop, aerobics, weights and cardio, all in a really hot room. The only “yoga” aspect is the last two minutes when we breathe deeply and say “Namaste!” It’s a great workout, and a really good jump start to my fitness routine.

Tonight yoga was canceled, so Carol asked if I’d like to go on a walk with her instead. I agreed, but I should have known that a “walk” by Carol’s definition is more like a jog in Katie’s world. We speed-walked around the neighborhood for 33 minutes and I felt like I ran a mile or two! (I try not to let on… Carol barely breaks a sweat!) Here’s a picture of me and my fitness-loving neighbor/friend at a ladies’ Christmas party at church last year:

It's hard to argue that exercise is good for the body and the mind. And when you’re like me and struggle with a negative body image, it’s good for the soul. Most of us who have grown up in the church know this verse, and it really rings true:

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Cor. 6:19-20)

I want to arrive at a place where my goal is to honor God with my body. I’m on my way there, but I’m not there yet. I’d still like to have a body like… Evangeline Lilly or Rachel McAdams or January Jones!

I had dinner with some good, Jesus-loving girlfriends last night and we ended up talking about our insecurities. One of my friends recommended this book, Wanting to Be Her: Body Image Secrets Victoria Won’t Tell You. I came home and immediately one-clicked it on Amazon! It should be here before the weekend. I look forward to reading it.

Lord, I’m yours. Help me to truly honor You with my life, including in the way I take care of and view my body!

Distractions and Creativity

2008-08-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

We’re near the end of summer, and I find myself taking stock of my life and my day-to-day. Fall is undoubtedly my favorite time of year – and summer my least favorite. I’m happy to be moving on to a happier season.

Through my seasonal self-assessment, I have realized that in my “settling down,” I’ve become a little lazy. I’ve never liked to exercise. And I’ve always loved TV (I’m one of the few people I know who will admit that I really do love TV). Law and Order, anything on Food Network, Project Runway, news, House Hunters… I can usually find something on the tube that I don’t mind vegging out to.

But I’m starting to think it’s gone a little too far.

I wrote in my journal four years ago a list of life goals. The list goes on and on, with plenty of dos and don’ts to last several pages – some trivial and some profound. One of the items on the list was this:

Never lose the art of conversation. Don’t spend your married nights in front of the TV.

Sadly, I think I’m headed that direction. Brad doesn’t really enjoy sitting still, especially to watch television. But he does like spending time with me. So after a crazy day, I’ll arrive home and my head will be spinning, and all I want to do is make a quick dinner, eat it in front of the TV, watch a few shows and go to sleep. And Brad, being a sweet husband, will sit with me while I do nothing.

Anyway, I’m trying an experiment. For the past couple of weeks, after a hectic and/or frustrating day (and there have been several of those lately), I come home, eat dinner with my husband at the dinner table – TV off – and then do something productive. I may do some housework, do something artistic, read a magazine or a book, pull weeds in the backyard, ride the stationary bike (ugh!), talk to a friend on the phone…

This is a good exercise for me. Brad started his MBA program this past Thursday, so I ought to be spending a little more time alone as he goes to class and study groups.

I painted a watercolor of a eucalyptus tree line the other night. It came out all right, but it was missing something. So I stuck it in the oven and baked it:

Ha! I discovered this technique after my last move. I had painted a little watercolor of a Tuscan villa, and I really liked it. But I didn’t take great care of it. In my haste to pack everything up, somehow this little watercolor got stuck to the back of a baking sheet. I didn’t know what had happened until I was baking cookies one night and smelled something smoky… Sure enough, I had baked my little landscape!

It yields some interesting lighting effects. Stay tuned for more “baked art.” And I’ll let you know if I come up with anything interesting in my quest for productivity and creativity.

My Best Friend

2008-08-19T19:18:00.001-07:00

I was going to write tonight about how I’m in a funk this week. I had planned to complain – hopefully not obnoxiously – about how I’m just kind sad this week, and I don’t know what to do about it.

But then Brad walked in the door with these:

And these:

(He made sure I noticed that they are from France. Does this man know my heart or what?!)

I had a rough day, and he gave me a listening ear. He just hugged me and told me he was proud to be my husband. I’m so blessed by him.

I am definitely a fan of marriage. God reveals Himself and His love to me through Brad. That’s what it’s all about!

Me and the love of my life in Mindo, Ecuador:

What's Your Decorating Style?

2008-08-18T19:29:00.000-07:00

I'm Kitsch Chic.

Stephanie, a designer and LEED AP, discovered this fun quiz that helps determine what decorating style you gravitate toward.

She was Fatale Attraction -- glamorous, romantic and sophisticated, with an emphasis on texture.

My dear Abby is Classic Chic -- just like it sounds, her style is elegant and traditional.

When I found out I was Kitsch Chic, at first I got a little mad. This makes me think of Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic, which was popular a couple of years ago but now just strikes me as worn and cluttered and dull. But then I read the description and a few lovely words popped out at me -- such as Europhile, cocktail, whimsical and cheeky -- and I decided this is RIGHT ON:

KITSCH CHIC

You're a real magpie, always on the look-out for retro-style things that will add happiness and personality to your home. You love to mix old and new to create an interior design cocktail that's easy, fun and whimsical.

Living Room

Your outlook is shaped by a love of design from the recent past. The Europhile living room revels in style icons from the not-too-distant past. It's almost modern, but recreates a perfect mythical ideal of our parents' youth - of picket fences and bubblegum pop, ice-cream sodas and sleek classic cars with elegant tail fins. All of these details are useful design references for furnishing your living room: this is a look that is fun and optimistic, but also streamlined and knowingly nostalgic. Accessorising the room with modern pieces is a practical and easy solution to the potential pitfalls of the room becoming camp or kitsch. Occasionally, there's nothing wrong with form following function. Fresh, bright colours at the 'cool' end of the spectrum are welcoming and airy, while glamorous prints and patterns are fun and stylish. Having worked wonders in the kitchen, you deserve a bit of quality time in the living room where you can relax and unwind.

Bedroom

You like it rugged and rustic in the bedroom. Sleep is fundamentally important to our well being. In busy towns and cities, noise can often hamper a good night's sleep. Soft furnishings really do absorb sound, and touch is such an important sense in the bedroom, from crisp, linen sheets to wool or even sheepskin underfoot. You favour an almost elemental approach to interior design in your bedroom, using rich, chocolate browns to create a warm and cosy escape from the rest of the world.

Dining Room

You're a maestro of minimalism using carefully chosen ingredients. At home, 'less-is-more' simplicity appears effortlessly stylish. With so little on show, every single item comes under scrutiny, so it's important that you give time and thought to your choice of china, glass and cutlery. Try to avoid the 'designer cliche' trap, whereby every single piece has impeccable provenance: at best this looks like showing off, at worst it's sadly predictable. When it comes to entertaining, you like to make an effort for family and friends.

Home Office

You draw inspiration from unlikely people and places. These days, almost all of us have a home office: a desk and a chair in one corner of the living room with adjustable task lighting and adequate filing is all it takes (and might be all the space you can afford). Keep things simple when it comes to the actual desk/work area: too many visual distractions can clutter the mind just as nick-knacks clutter a desk.

Conclusion

Your home reveals your fun-loving, whimsical side - the look is nostalgically modern and elegant with a cheeky twist.

So what IS your style?

As promised...

2008-08-17T15:02:00.000-07:00

Photos of the clean Gaultney Homestead:

Domestic Goddess

2008-08-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the title of this post is misleading. As I’ve confessed in previous posts, I’m not the perfect housekeeper. Nancy Thorne, my darling mother, is – but I, her wayward daughter, don’t replace the shower curtain liner nearly as often as I should, nor the A.C. filters, nor even the smoke alarm battery… le sigh. How I wish I had her knack for maintaining a nest that honors her husband, reflects her passions (food, color, comfort, cleanliness, etc.), and welcomes others.

About once a month, however, something crazy happens. Be it hormones, out-of-town guests, or something else (in this case, roaches), I kick it into full “domestic goddess” mode, and I clean the entire house from top to bottom.

Two of my least favorite chores are cleaning the floors (I don’t mind vacuuming, but mopping and sweeping I detest) and putting new sheets on the bed. I don’t mind WASHING the sheets – I just hate that awful ordeal of figuring out which way the fitted sheet is supposed to go, tucking in the flat sheet, putting the pillow covers on and then remembering which pillow was Brad’s and which one was mine – ugh. What chores do you dread?

Anyway, I found two roaches in my bathroom within about six hours of each other. I killed one that had gotten into the bathtub and couldn’t climb out… I keep a can of Raid in my powder room at all times… and then I returned later in the day to discover the dead roach’s twin mourning his loss over the other roach’s carcass. The Raid was not taking effect on him as quickly as I wanted, so he quickly met his fate at the blunt edge of the Raid can.

(NB: I think I'm getting back into the swing of this blogging thing. I realized this as I was watching the first roach die, and I thought "I should take a video of this for my blog!" Clearer thoughts prevailed and I realized how disgusting that would be.)

This got me thinking. Granted, I live in an old house in a historic neighborhood – and this IS Texas, so there are bound to be roaches – but perhaps it’s time for an all-out scrub-down.

I keep my kitchen clean because I’m a bit paranoid about germs and I bake a lot (again, see here). So I figured I would ease myself into the cleaning madness and start with my cleanest room, the kitchen, and just make it that much cleaner. Check out my awesomely organized fridge:

And freezer (is this beginning to feel like an MTV Cribs episode?):

And my personal fav, the pantry:

I hope you noticed the vase full of limes and lemons on the top shelf of the fridge. I thought that was a nice, Stepford-esque touch. I’m very into room temperature water, no ice, with limes these days. I feel like it does wondrous things for my insides. Maybe it doesn't.

I also arranged a really lovely bowl of fruit. The vessel is a copper paella pan my mother-in-law gave me for my birthday. Really gorgeous! And the mix of bananas, Golden Delicious and Granny Smith apples, studded with black plums and cherries, makes for a pretty spread. I feel like the darker fruits look like little jewels of amethyst and onyx against the citron backdrop:

And with some mood lighting (I'm not as good a photog as Abby!):

Now onto other rooms of the house. Today I’ll focus on the den, formal living room, and my bathroom. The office I tend to stay out of because that’s Brad’s mad scientist lab and there’s no point in picking it up. The guest room is storing some extra furniture, so it’s not worth trying to make that room look pretty until we unload the excess at my little bro’s apartment. The master I tend to keep pretty picked-up. A girl’s gotta have a decent place to dress herself, right?

Look for more photos of the clean house later. :-)

Ode to a Profile View Counter

2008-08-14T15:08:00.000-07:00

When I was a junior in college, I went through a bad break-up.

Well, ok. It wasn’t so much “bad” as it was a blow to my pride… and it wasn’t so much a “break-up” as it was that a boy who liked me -- and I liked back -- stopped liking me. Ouch.

Anyway, being the punk rock rebel I am, my broken heart found comfort in the music of Conor Oberst, also known as Bright Eyes. I played the anti-love anthem “Lover I Don’t Have to Love” over 200 times on my iTunes that Christmas holiday.

But then something really terrible happened. I upgraded to the new version of iTunes, and somehow all of my play counts reset themselves! I had worked hard to earn that 200+ number. And it just slipped through my fingers, like sand through the hourglass…

This blog resurrection has given me a case of déjà vu. I changed the email that my blog is hosted under and deleted the old one, and now all of my profile views have disappeared. Thanks to some really avid followers of my France trip, I had amassed a fairly impressive total of over 600 profile views. Now we stand at… looks like 24. And I’m willing to bet a third of those originated with my very own computer.

So this blog posting is an ode to the 600 fallen page counts. You served my ego well, and you will never be forgotten.

It’s also a plea. Click on my profile? There’s not much there, but it would do my heart good to see that number spike. I hereby announce a campaign: 90 views by ’09!

Birds of a Feather

2008-08-13T17:53:00.000-07:00

The friendship shared by me and my kindred spirit, Stephanie Gahm, is legendary. We live parallel lives and know each other backwards and forwards. I could go on and on about how much I love this lady and why she’s so very precious, but instead I’ll focus on one of our mutual affinities: feathers.

Feathers? With all Stephanie and I have a common zeal for – Paris, Austin, Urban Outfitters, trying new things, men with last names beginning in “G” – I’m going to write about feathers?!

Well, yes. You see, feathers are one small piece of a litany of evidences showing how this girl and I just get each other. I have to give credit where credit is due. Stephanie actually pioneered a feather trend, fixating upon peacock feathers and incorporating them them into her wardrobe and accessories, design aesthetic, and more. She even considered working peacock feathers into the floral arrangements and bouquets at her wedding, which I still think would have been brilliant. Here’s a photo of Stephanie sporting her fabulous peacock earrings as we waged a chopstick war:

Stephanie knows about my recent fascination with vintage half-hats and clips. I scour eBay for these lovely little sartorial wonders about once weekly, usually sans success. Recently I’ve marveled at the ability that Kenley from Project Runway has for scooping up and sporting similar pieces, and I’m trying not to be annoyed with her for stealing my next great fashion statement… Sequins, feathers, knit or mesh – I LOVE half-hats.

I found on my doorstep today the most delightful little package with the most delightful contents: an Urban Outfitters headband with feathers on one side, very much resembling a vintage hat!!! And of course, my kindred spirit Stephanie sent it to me. I turned the feathers up on one end to give it some added "oomph" and proceeded to execute an impromptu photo shoot. Forgive the salmon cardigan that clashes with my wondrous headband.

Now trying to channel the mystique of a silver screen hussy:

I LOVE it!

Let Them Eat Cake – and Pies, and Tarts…

2008-08-12T23:35:00.000-07:00

I’m a big believer in the joy of cooking. I have to be! Goodness knows I’m not the tidiest housekeeper ever. Both of my parents are meticulously organized keep their house spotless to the point that the tops of their ceiling fans could pass a white-glove test any day of the week.

In fact, I have a bit of a complex about how I inexplicably missed the cleanliness gene. The moderate germaphobe gene, however, I got. It doesn't compute. Elevator buttons, shopping cart handles, laminated menus and the like give me the heeby-jeebies because of all the pernicious microbes undoubtedly harbored by these surfaces. Then I found out from my colleague Alison yesterday that even my own wet laundry could be a disease carrier.

But I digress.

My point is, since my house never seems to be as spic-and-span as I’d like it to be, I have to play up my strengths. Baking happens to be one of them, and cakes are a particular forte. Brad and I celebrated his mother’s birthday yesterday at Mattito’s in Uptown, and the birthday-cake-baking honor fell to me. I’m not a huge chocoholic unless it’s DARK chocolate. The darker the better. So knowing Teresa’s love for the dark master, the cocoa bean, I created my most chocolatey confection to date. It was a dark chocolate layer cake with real fudge icing, chocolate ganache filling, and chocolate-covered cocoa beans on top. (The word "ganache" always makes me think of Stephanie's wedding, since Taylor's groom's cake was covered in chocolate ganache, which Stephanie described as "magic chocolate icing." So true.) I hope you don’t mind allowing me to indulge in a little show-and-tell:

(Love the Crate and Barrel cake dome and foot too. A wedding gift, naturally.)

The night before my birthday last year, I determined to make my own birthday cake. Pathetic? Perhaps. But it gets worse. I had decided on a pineapple cheesecake (combining two of God’s greatest inventions) and set about my mise en place. I had gotten no further than melting the butter when, through an uncanny series of events, I ended up with second-degree burns across my abdomen. I won’t go into details except to say that scalding butter + laundry night = pas bon.

This year I had more luck. Here’s my birthday cake from last month, before I dressed it with gobs and gobs of cream cheese frosting. The photo was taken from my phone. This was my own recipe, three layers of yellow cake with a pastry cream filling and chopped fresh strawberries mixed in:

Now the birthday cake I made my mom. It was a coconut cake with white lemon buttercream frosting and strawberries for garnish:

Last winter I got a case of cabin fever and decided to make a super summery cake. I love coming up with my own recipes, as I did with my birthday cake this year. The next photo shows one of my more successful dabblings. To fight some cold weather blues, I created this lemon cake with raspberry filling and orange zest buttercream icing. Summer heaven:

And a final Katie-penned recipe. This pear and almond tart had the richest, most gloriously spicy glaze and a chewy cream cheese dough crust. The perfect fall comfort food:

I owe much of my lovin’ of the oven to the Thorne women. Three generations of bakers:

Dipping the Big Toe

2008-08-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

I’ve decided to give it another try. I’m not prepared to guarantee a high dive, cannonball, or even a belly flop, for that matter… but I am going to dip my feet in the water once again. Yes, I’m going to resume the blog.

I have to admit, I should credit much of my little foray to the good-natured “prodding” of many of my former faithful readers (Meagan and Abby, to name a couple), who hold the fact that they’ve linked their blogs to mine as leverage over me.

By most accounts, I don’t have a lot of exciting material to blog about right now. No extended trips to Paris in my future, like the adventure I chronicled in my first blog. I’ve been married for just shy of a year now, so no wedding planning to kvetch and kvell over. I bought my first house well over a year ago now, and I can firmly state that there are NO plans for babies in my future. When so little is “happening,” what is there to write about?

In fact, I have plenty of anxiety, enthusiasm, and just plain curiosity over where I am in life now. I can’t really put my finger on it, other than to say that I’m going through a sort of frenzied respite… A sort of “sitting down on the inside,” a state of coming to peace with who my Creator has made me – not for the sake of others’ approval, not even for my own satisfaction… just being “me” because God designed me. I’m not after the award for funkiest bohemian, most Stepford-esque newlywed, or any other mantle I may have consciously or unconsciously sought not long ago. I’m just getting used to really being.

Change is a constant theme in my postings, and indeed, so much has changed over the past 18 months. I don’t have to tell you all the ways my life looks different now than it did just a year and a half ago. God is good, so good. And he’s enriched my life extravagantly. I’m truly on the verge of contentment… strange.

But that doesn’t mean I’ve learned how to sit still, or that my postings from now on are going to be treatises on “boring.” I’m just figuring out this whole adulthood thing, and that, to me, is an adventure.

I still daydream about what the future holds.
I still have a persistent case of wanderlust. I want to live in France, Morocco, Costa Rica, Seattle…
I want to write children’s books and create something every day (a painting, a tray of cupcakes, a blog post).
I want to truly love my husband selflessly and become a woman who honors God with her body and her life, and inspires others to godliness.

I’ve got a long way to go, and I hope through this blog you’ll help me chart my progress. Thanks for reading. Here we go again.

I grow heirlooms!

2007-07-03T07:48:00.001-07:00

Here am I.

2007-01-19T21:38:00.000-08:00

Touch my lips with live coals, Father.

Books and Coffee?

2007-01-17T21:42:00.000-08:00

This girl and I are kindred spirits because no one else understands us. Click on the video to see why!
:-)

Sighhhh...

2007-01-16T10:38:00.001-08:00

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

1 John 3:1-3 (NIV)

Who am I, Lord, that You should love me so gently?

Moneybags Thorne?

2007-01-15T21:12:00.000-08:00

All right, I know I just posted a blog lamenting the excesses of our society... But a girl's gotta eat.

I just checked my bank account online, and apparently I received my first direct-deposit paycheck at my new job:

01/12/07 ACH Deposit
FLEISHMAN AMT PR DEPOSIT $0.00

Glad I'm rollin' in the dough.

(Instapoll: Is this the kind of thing you could get fired over for writing? Should I remove?)

Don't you deserve a diamond? (A Rant)

2007-01-15T20:33:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I think I take things too seriously.

About an hour ago I was cleaning the kitchen while my roommate, Megan, and her boyfriend were watching TV in the living room. A McDonald’s commercial came on TV, and it rubbed me the wrong way: A mother and her five-ish-year-old son are running errands, and the mother keeps answering her cell phone. The duo stop into a McDonald’s and the phone rings yet again. As the mother reaches to answer it, the boy takes the phone away and says, “Soon you won’t even miss it,” or something like that. The mother smiles, the boy is cute, everyone’s happy. I’m lovin’ it.

Or not so much. I said out loud, “That’s bull crap. Tell that kid to give you back your phone.” Not that I oppose quality mother-child time, but when did it become okay for kids to dictate their parents’ behavior? And how does that advertise the food? That’s not really even branding, or if it is, it’s poor branding. Humanism, that’s what it is.

All these thoughts are running through my head, and then it dons on me: That was just a commercial. A commercial for fast food. Chill out.

I had a similar experience while taking a cruise with about a dozen friends last week. My kindred spirit Stephanie and I were walking through the ship, and as we passed by the main auditorium, one of the assistant cruise directors– a plump woman with a Southern accent– was standing at a mic trying to coax anyone who would listen into visiting the ship’s jewelry boutique.

“I’d like you to know, ladies and gentlemen, that we have a great selection of some of the highest quality of diamonds,” she crooned. “Now ask yourselves, ladies: Don’t you deserve a diamond? Yeah! Yeah, you do, that’s right!” The auditorium erupted into applause and several women cheered and elbowed their husbands in agreement.

I was appalled. Do I deserve a diamond? “No,” I said out loud. “I don’t deserve anything but death. That’s ridiculous.”

So okay, I may take things a little too seriously at times. But I say all of this because it speaks to a larger problem that is so rampant today: the feeling of entitlement. I recently attended a debutante ball because a little girl I babysit and love was going to be a trainbearer. The event itself was a lot of fun; music, dancing, delicious food, gorgeous gowns– but as the evening wore on, I became so jaded by all of the children and young adults who were being revered and exalted simply for having been born into privilege. I began to think of who these people will one day become: Homecoming Queens, Ivy Leaguers, Senior Vice Presidents... and some of them will have truly earned it. But others of them won’t, and they’ll think they have.

My point is, we don’t deserve anything. I know I’m being preachy right now, but I am sick to death of the symptoms of entitlement that I see everywhere in our culture. I am saved by grace and grace alone, and I have done NOTHING to earn it. My Savior is just that generous and good.

I just read a Psalm in which the psalmist decries those who amass riches, fame and status here on earth. Referencing the rampant slave trade of the time, he says that no man can buy a life or redeem it (Psalm 49:5-9). Doesn’t matter whose hands we shake, our only worth comes from the Lord and what we can contribute to His kingdom.

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Galatians 16:14

I'm laying every burden down.

2007-01-15T15:06:00.000-08:00

Someone has already said it better than I ever could hope to:

Now I can trade these ashes in for beauty,
And wear forgiveness like a crown.
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy,
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross.

Doubting Kathleen

2007-01-14T20:53:00.000-08:00

How long, oh Lord, will You forget me?
How long, oh Lord, will You hide,
Hide Your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with me
and everyday have sorrow in my heart?

I don’t like doubt. Never have.

In a way, I love an element of mystery: What was Paul's "thorn in the flesh"? Who shot JFK? What in the world is the chupacabra, and how was Stonehenge erected? It’s fun to guess. But when it comes to my own life and matters that affect me so profoundly, it’d be nice to have all the answers– Hold the mystery, thank you.

I used to be so unflinching in all of my ideas, simply because I hated admitting that I doubted something. I clung fiercely to some naive precepts without questioning them, because as soon as I began to ask questions, I opened the door to confusion. There is some security in continuing in the path you’re on if for no other reason than because changing course can be terrifying.

A recent national study showed that approximately 70 percent of college students change their majors at least once. I was a journalism major for my entire college career, in part because I told myself that I’d stay on that track unless I faced a compelling reason to switch, or a clear word from the Lord.

Well what does “compelling” mean? And “clear”? I’ve always been interested in education or child psychology. I love helping people with their problems. I spent a part of one of my best summers as a camp counselor, and I have a heart for mentoring middle school-aged girls. Does that mean I should have gone into education, counseling, or perhaps I should be working in a church? How can I know? I love French, other cultures, camping, art... Does that mean anything? Am I thinking too much?

I will wait on You,
I will wait on You,
I will wait on You.

At different points during the past several years, I have come face-to-face with situations that force me to doubt myself and what I thought I could count on. I’m now looking at one of those situations head-on. I’m in a new city, beginning a new job, making friends, losing friends, attending a new church, and frankly I have no idea what’s going on. It’s exhilarating and overwhelming.

I’ve slowly begun to accept the gray areas as part of the human condition. Uncertainty is what makes us who we are. If I knew the details of my story from the onset, what would I learn? But still, a big part of me wants to KNOW why the Lord is leading me through this time where I’m feeling hurt and confused on many levels. I begin to doubt my ability to discern my Father’s will, my choices and some of the relationships I’ve held so dear.

We’ve all heard the term “Doubting Thomas.” Poor Thomas. He’s gotten a bad rap. When the disciples refused to accompany Jesus to visit Lazarus out of fear that they would be stoned, Thomas insisted they remain faithful. "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (John 11:16). He may have eagerly asked questions, but he wasn’t always faulted for his curiosity. When Jesus was preparing his disciples to carry on without him, Thomas asked "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" In asking that, he set Jesus up for one of his most powerful statements: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:5-6)

And yet we remember Thomas because he needed to touch the wounds of Christ before believing he had truly risen from the grave. (John 20:25)

Well... right now that kind of certainty in my life would be nice as well. The Lord told Thomas that he would bless those who have believed without seeing (John 20:29). Still, I have to admit that if I could know what God is doing, why I feel like my spirit is being raked over the coals... If I could just see what’s on the other side... I’d do it. I hate that I'm confused. I feel like I'm letting people down and falling below expectations. Why is uncertainty so difficult for me?

I can only take comfort in my Father’s own words. He has promised that He will ultimately work everything out for my good because I love Him and I’m seeking Him. (Rom. 8:28)

Lord, keep me from doubting your promises. Help me not to rely on my own plans. Deafen my ears to the lies of the enemy, who tries to fill me with fear and who tells me I’m not good enough. Help me to put my hope in You alone, and lead me into belief without seeing.

For I will trust in Your unfailing love.
My heart rejoices in Your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord.

New Year's Revolution

2007-01-07T18:50:00.000-08:00

I’ve never wanted to actually be a store as much as I want to be Anthropologie. That may not make sense, but I'll try to explain: Have you ever heard an incredible song (Like "Sergeant Pepper" by the Beatles, "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder or "The Blower's Daugher" by Damien Rice), and become so enraptured by it that a part of you is inexorably lost in the music? For a moment, you want to be that song.

The same is true for me and Anthropologie. I'm sure that comes across as silly and frivolous. In a way, I guess it is- but with its quirky books, whimsical dresses and chunky "curl up by a window and read a book on a rainy day" sweaters, the store personifies what my soul aspires to be.

I’m in San Antonio for the day, and since Anthropologie is only minutes away from my parents' home, I determined to lose myself for a few hours in the store. Call it "retail therapy" … minus the actual exchanging of cash for goods (I’m poor).

My mom agreed to accompany me on this soul-soothing sojourn, and in the car along the way she and I talked about a new academic policy that affects my younger brother at Texas State.

"That’s crazy," I said. "When I was in school that never would have happened." I kept on talking, but all at once I was struck by what I had just said.

"When I was in school."

I still can’t believe that I’m no longer a student. On December 9, 2006, I said goodbye to my beloved University of Texas. In the days and weeks after my graduation, I left Austin, moved to Dallas and began a paid graduate internship at an international public relations firm. It’s been a thrill so far; I’ve enjoyed exploring my predominantly Mexican neighborhood, venturing into “exotic” bodegas, panaderías, and fruterías. Work has offered its share of excitement as well. The woman who made the final decision to hire me indicated that most of their interns are hired on to full-time, salaried positions, so come May, I could be a true public relations professional.

A small part of me rejoices in that possibility. "Okay! Security! A great job in an exciting, glamorous field! I could buy cute work clothes from… Anthropologie!"

But then another part of me wilts when I think of spending every day putting on a mask, trudging into an office where I will spend each day on the phone, behind a desk, basking in the glow of my computer monitor, feeding the corporate machine. Is that the life I’m destined for? I could probably do fine in PR, hold a job in marketing, make some money as a journalist… but those things are not my passions. Why haven’t I figured out yet what sets my heart ablaze?

Some things I do know about myself: My spiritual gifts are Mercy, Pastor/Shepherding and Exhortation. I love to help and teach people in need. I always love to learn. Money is far less important to me than personal satisfaction and the knowledge that I am "making a difference." I love experiencing new things, and routine exhausts me.

As for the specifics, I’m desperately seeking the Lord to reveal His purpose for my life. I’m doing my best to offer myself as a living sacrifice to Him, and I’m looking for ministry opportunities. I’d like to go on a mission trip. I could also see myself going back to school and getting a Masters of Education or Counseling. I feel primed and ready to serve His kingdom, but I’m pleading for the Lord’s direction. To be honest, at times the lack of certainty feels discouraging and frustrating.

I’ve been reading the autobiographical account of Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch WWII-era Jew who found a ministry in the concentration camps to which she was confined. After she was released (due to a clerical error; she was supposed to have been executed the week after she was released), she traveled to the United States and stayed in a YWCA while she tried to find permanent housing. After some time, the clerk at the facility told Corrie that she would not be allowed to stay much longer, and asked where she should forward Corrie’s mail. Her response?

"I don’t know yet. God has a room for me but He has not told me where yet."

The clerk handed Corrie her mail, clearly concerned about the woman’s impending need for shelter.

Corrie opened one of the letters in the stack. It was from a woman who had heard her speak in New York, and wanted to offer her the use of her son’s room.

Bottom line: Our Father is faithful, and he provides. He has a “room” for me too, even though I don’t know where yet.

"And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 (NLT)

The simplest of all love songs

2006-12-31T16:48:00.000-08:00

Lord, help me to utter worthy, not worthless, words.

Let what I write here be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that I will know how to answer everyone.

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.

testing

2006-10-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

test