waxing nostalgic

When I was a newlywed, I went to a local spa to get my eyebrows waxed.  This thing, this eyebrow waxing, was not a new thing in my life.  But the lady doing the waxing was.  And when I asked her to tighten up my eyebrows, she went to work.

About 20 minutes later she was done.

Now, I don't know how familiar you are with the process of waxing eyebrows, but this is no rocket science, folks.  You do the underneath side, rriiippp.  You do the top side, rriiipp.  You do between the brows, rriiipp!  And repeat.  Once you've waxed, it's time to trim the length of the remaining hair.  You use scissors and a small brush.  And then!  You are done.  I know all this because I've been doing them myself at home for about 10 years now.  Easy. Peasy.

I should have grown concerned after 10 minutes.  And then again as the time inched to 15 minutes.  But I was young and naive and was probably laying there thinking, Wow, look at me.  I'm in a spa!  Getting my eyebrows waxed!  I feel like such a lady of leisure!  Aren't I lucky!

But my luck was about to run out.  I had a date with destiny and her name was The Mirror.

When Sweet Newbie Waxer handed me the mirror and sat me up, I fought back tears.  I tried to appear as calm as possible.  I was only 26 and didn't really know how to ask for my eyebrows back.  As if that was a real possibility.

So I waited until I got in the car and I burst into tears.  And I drove myself home where my husband greeted me and started giggling immediately.  WHERE ARE YOUR EYEBROWS? he asked.  I replied with big, fat, hot tears, and he hugged me as he finally figured out the correct husband response.  I'm sorry honey!  They'll grow back!

A few minutes later I was on the phone with my mom.  I had called her for other reasons, but of course, the eyebrows came up when I was walking around and accidentally looked in the mirror as I passed by.

I recounted the whole 20 minute event to my mom who replied with the most inappropriate answer I could fathom at that moment.

THAT BITCH!!  she hissed.

Ummm.  WOAH.  WAIT.  WHAT?

I can't believe she DID THAT TO YOU! she replied, as if this was my mortal enemy I had laid down in front of to trust my eyebrows with and she had double crossed me.

Suddenly every emotion I had of sadness and slight anger flew out the window and I found myself defending this stranger.  MOM!  CALM DOWN!! 

And the rest, as they say, is history.  Through the years, we've looked for hilarious and inappropriate times to yell THAT BITCH in a conversation with my mom.  Because laughter makes the heart stronger.

quirky

We had Christmas in the mountains.  Have you ever been to the mountains for the holidays?  It's dreamy, really.  Magical.  Especially when you wake up on Christmas day and there are BIG FAT SNOWFLAKES falling outside your window.  Yes, you must do it sometime.  Put it on your bucket list.

We've spent many Thanksgiving and Christmases in the Colorado Rockies.  But this year was something special.  Hubby's brother and our nephew came along for most of the trip and there was a lot of laughter and beer.  Indeed, we had a splendid time.  :)

But the best part came Christmas morning.  I was reminded why I love my husband, in spite of the fact that he can drive me crazy.  He bought me a mug.

A mug!  First, you must know that I am a coffee ADDICT and unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), a mug collector as well.  Because one can never have enough cute mugs to choose from when pouring their morning joe.  Can I get an amen??

Anyway, back to the mug.  I'll admit now that I wasn't super excited that he bought me a mug because, well, I like to choose these things.  It's like underwear... you don't want someone buying it for you because they don't know how it FEELS on you.  Now, when I say it's like underwear, I literally mean it.  Because I have this quirky thing I do when I hold a mug.  Ask anyone who's spent a lot of time around me drinking coffee (and there are plenty of you out there).  You've seen me do it.

Let me give you a hint.  In pictures.

Do you happen to see a theme here? These are my favorite 4 mugs in the universe.  And they all have one thing in common.  They have ridges.  Which I find comfort in rubbing my fingers across.

My big sister and my dad, on the other hand, they like to rub their fingers on a smooth surface.  These mugs would be torture for them.  QUIRKY, I KNOW.  Just admit right now that you do something weird too, like rub your toes on the sheets to fall asleep, and we can be friends.

So again, back to the Christmas mug.... This mug was cute!  It was black with a white Keystone logo on it.  And smooth.... ohhhh.... sooooo.... SMOOTH.  So when did I love my husband more for getting this oddly smooth mug for me?  When he said this:

I tried to find a good mug for you!  I picked them all up and I rubbed the sides, trying to find one that had something on it to rub!  But there was NOTHING!  None of the mugs had a scratchy part.  So I had to go with cute instead.  And I thought you might like this one. It's black!  And has that chalkboard look that you like!  DO YOU LIKE IT??

So how do you say no to that?  Of course I love it.  But mostly, I love that my husband stood in a little shop in Keystone, Colorado, picking up mugs to run his fingers over them.... searching with love for "the one" I might like.  In spite of the fact that he instituted a rule in our house last year:  Mug in, mug out.  If you get a new mug, another one has to go.  And he bought me a new mug anyway.

That's love y'all.  True love.

5 things I'm thankful for

Have you seen this on facebook?  Every day people post 5 things they are thankful for.  There are a few people in my feed doing it and I always love seeing the things they find extraordinary in the ordinary days.  I love the attitude of gratefulness for the smallest of things.  So I was inspired yesterday when I was driving down the road (NOT looking at facebook), to chronical these small victories that are consequential to my life.  Here they are in no particular order.  And if you've been around here long, you'll know how big these really are.

1. My freedom.  I live in America.  People fight to keep me safe.  They don't even know me!  And they do it anyway.  Man I'm lucky.  And so are you, American readers.  I'm thankful I can speak my mind without dying for my words.

2. The results are in.  "No genetic mutations were found"  I had to read it outloud about 12 times to let it sink in.  It was bitter sweet.  Because I am THANKFUL that I do not have the BRCA1 gene, like one of my sisters.  But then again, solidarity, man.  I would have been happy to walk along side her in her struggles.  So now, I walk alongside her and listen.... to anything she has to say.  And I love her and pray for her and thank God every day that my sister won't have these two types of cancer to deal with in the future. I'm thankful for my sister.  And I'm thankful for not carrying the "breast cancer gene".

3. My "accidental" new business.  See, the beauty here is that God knows my heart.  He knows that I love to create and share it with other people.  So He orchestrated this amazing thing called the Farm Girl Fair and now He has inspired us girls to start a new dream... called Gatherings.  We will mostly "gather" on the farm and for now, we will "gather" for short classes.  But in the big dream, we will host weekend-long "Gatherings" complete with many handmade crafts, meals over campfires, and even live music.  It's a big dream!  But I believe it can happen.  Because who knew how big Farm Girl Fair would be and yet..... it was awesome!  Do you want to attend our inaugural class?  Here are the deets.  I'm thankful for Gatherings by the creators of Farm Girl Fair.

4. I'm thankful for my husband.  He's this goofy, sports-loving, family man who loves me and our family with a love we don't even deserve.  He's committed, passionate, hard working, and occasionally funny.  ;)  He works really hard at his business and he's blessed the socks off our family with a new home this year.  He is a good man.  And he loves Jesus!  What more could I ask for?  I'm thankful for the Mister.

5. And last but not at all least, yesterday we visited the pediatric spine surgeon.  He is this great guy who is so unassuming and gentle in nature.  We have loved working with him.  In the way that you love having to go have someone tell you that your child has an abnormality in their back.  Anyway, we've been with him for 4 years now and for the last 9 months we've been stepping up our prayers in a mighty way.  We've been on our knees asking God to STOP the growth of her curvature.  She has two curves and they cause her a good amount of pain daily.  But if they didn't stop growing, she was close to surgery.  You know, no big deal, the kind of surgery where they slice open your back from top to bottom, RIP the muscles off your spine and fuse a metal rod to your spine.  Bleh, I threw up in my mouth a little telling you this.  Anyway, yesterday he told us the MOST AMAZING news.  Her curvature has STOPPED GROWING!  ThankyouJesus!!  Such great news.  She's still and never has been a candidate for a brace based on the placement of her curves.  And she's grown now as tall as she'll ever be.  But she's grown!  According to their measurement, she's 5' 8" now!  Woohoo!  I'm thankful for a daughter who will not be having surgery this year.

Yes, I'm thankful.  Very thankful.

my heart in a jar.

I love Christmas.  I love decorating and making goodies and having parties and decorating some more and going to parties.  I love the music and the smells and the gifts.  And mostly I love Jesus, for giving us such a fun time of year to celebrate his birth.  I love winter.

This year we're headed out to ski for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I'm going to get in all my love of snow in 6 weeks time.  It will be epic.  ;)

And speaking of snow, I have been busy making snow globes.  They are so cute, I admitted to my Mister yesterday that I am having a hard time considering parting with a single globe.  Each one holds a piece of my heart!  But alas, they will be for sale at the Holidays at the Farm private event on November 22nd!  Here are a few I've been working on this weekend, along with some personal goodies that I just simply can't sell.  But hey!  If you want a snowglobe, I will make you a custom jar!  Just let me know what you want inside and comment here or buy a ticket to Holidays and place your order then!  :)

 See that deer?  It was love at first sight.  I think I need to keep him.

 I recently became obsessed with vintage Tonka trucks as Christmas decor.  I scored this little guy at the Vintage Market Days sale in OKC last weekend.  Then I threw on some trees, a miniature vintage santa and a bumper wreath and voila'!   {{swoon}}

And this globe?  Well, it too, can be yours.... very soon.  Follow me on insta to see the next great thing coming from the creators of Farm Girl Fair!!  {hint, hint}

 This sweet gal was the last one standing after Farm Girl Fair this fall.  You can still snag her!

 And this one?  It's all slightly off, just like me.  He'll be sold "as is" for a discount at Holidays on the Farm later this month!  Vintage Santa, glittery deer and all.

 This miniature is one of my favorites.  It's all tiny.  Like super tiny.  And the perfect piece for that little cranny you have looking for a Christmas decoration.

And last, but certainly not least, is this miniature vintage snowman snow globe.  It's got sparkle galore and a snowflake hanging from the ceiling.  It's really too cute to pass up.

SO.  Have I convinced you to purchase a ticket to Holidays on the Farm yet??  If not, consider the other AMAZING vendors who will be back with their wares to share their immense talent with YOU, one last time before Christmas.  Tickets are $20 each and all the proceeds go to the CCFI Holiday Wishes program!  Tickets are being PRE-SOLD and will NOT be available at the door.   Spread the love and buy local for Christmas!  Happy Holidays y'all!

the future is in my hand

You've heard the term "holding the future in your hands", right?  Well have you ever?  Like literally HELD the future in your hands?  I did.  Recently.  And it looks like this...

That little box.  What does it hold?  Well, specifically... my spit.  It holds mama's saliva.  And it got mailed off over 7 weeks ago to a genetic testing company.  I'm waiting patiently for results.  6-12 weeks, to be precise.

How do you wait patiently for genetic testing results?  By the grace of God.  And a lot of ignoring that it's possible you could carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene or any of the other 19 genes they are currently testing me for.

It all began earlier this year when my sister sent in her "sample" and was identified as carrying the BRCA1 gene.  Life can get really simple when faced with this kind of information.  Life matters.

You see there isn't a single life that exists that wasn't breathed into existence without God.  He is never surprised by unexpected pregnancies or deaths or cancer.  He is never surprised when we find out we carry a gene that all but guarantees what we've assumed our whole lives.  And so... I trust Him.  I trust that He knows what I don't.  That He sees what I can't.  And that His plan for my life includes any obstacle that brings me closer to Him.

Soon I'll get the call.  The one where I'll sit down on speaker phone with my Mister and a genetic counselor.  And although I have no idea if my call will sound like my sister's call did (well, I do have a 50/50 chance of it being the same), I know, like she does, that all is well.  I don't have to be in control.  Jesus is at the wheel.

This is in no way an advertisement for or endorsement of the genetic testing company we chose, but if you're curious, I'm happy to share that we used color.  Genetic testing has become significantly more affordable and available.  My test cost $249 but this month (October 2015) they are offering their testing for $199.   Just so you know.

mama's new office

I mean y'all.  You wouldn't believe the lengths I would go to for a good craft.

Over the weekend Mr. Mister told me that he wants to kick me out of the office in our house.  He "needs more room to spread out" he says.  And let's be honest, he really didn't want me there to begin with, but mama's gotta have her cute desk somewhere, so.... the office seemed like a logical place in our new house.

Although I am a purger by nature, I have accumulated a RIDICULOUS amount of craft supplies over my time as a maker.  And that "stuff" has to go somewhere, so when we moved in here, it got dispersed to nooks and crannies where it fit.  Which means I've got crap in the office, guest room, and master bedroom.  No bueno.

So on Sunday, the Mister gave me marching orders to head to Ikea (alone!  gasp!) and get a desk/table/whatevertheheckIwant to set up my "office space" in the guest room.  Have fun he said.

Has this EVER happened to you?  It's a rarity around here.  So I did the logical thing: I ran around like a crazy woman, threw on a hat, grabbed my toothbrush and jammies, and RAN out the door (before he could change his mind, of course, and because who knows when Ikea closes.  I was coming from Oklahoma, you know.)

Now I'll spare you the details of my hours-long trip to mecca and tell you that I was working on the fly.  I was using many numbers in my head for measurements.  And I was trying my darndest to keep it all straight.  And yet....  when you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

I came home with this awesome, long tabletop, and two trellis legs.  Hmmmmm.  Anything sound off here to you?  It didn't to my mind that was swimming with all the possibilities.  Apparently when you buy a "build your own desk" deal at Ikea, you need to LOOK AT THE TABLETOP before leaving to see HOW MANY LEGS IT NEEDS.  Turns out, this looooooong top needed an extra support in the middle.  Snap.

And yet, this Macguyver managed to assemble the table without needing that extra leg.  But not before she ordered one online and tried to cancel it minutes later, only to be told by Ikea that they couldn't cancel it twelve hours later.  Whose fault is that??  Check your email sooner, Ikea.

Anyway, I digress.  So now there's a bonafide office space being erected in my guest room and last night I had a cussy moment.  You know, I have a problem with that.  So, I had been inspired by youknowwho to make a pegboard to go above my new office space.  And of course, I jumped in my car and ran over to Lowes (which is because they are the closest store to my house).  I went inside and had a precious time dreaming about cross stitching my new peg board.  Let me share some inspiration here with you.  These are all from Pinterest.  Who I hate, by the way, but she's a necessary evil in the inspiration business.

WHA??  Paint a cross stitch?  I was just planning to hang some crap on my wall.  Now you're speaking my language!

Is this for real??  A cross stitched RUG on a PEGBOARD??  GET IN MY HOUSE!

And this, folks, was the original inspiration.  But when I went searching I found so much more than I imagined possible.  I'm leaning now between simple and roses.

So anywho... Last night I check out at Lowes with my new 4x4 pegboard and went out to my car.  That mother scratcher wouldn't fit into my stupid little car.  (This is one of those time that I actually miss my minivan.)  I sat there, on the edge of my back bumper for a solid 15 minutes, watching the sun set in the freaking Lowes parking lot, silently cussing.  I called Mister for some practical help (like should I go inside and buy a saw and cut up that board right here in the %@^*& parking lot?) because of course, once I was inspired, Lowes was unprepared for me.  Their saw was out of order.  No cutting on their end.

Alas, I had to return that stupid board and go home empty handed.  Well, technically not.  I kept all the gadgets I bought to put on the pegboard that I WILL OWN VERY SOON, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD.

Stay tuned.  Office reno is coming soon...... 

this is my story.

Man I love fall.  I love when the wind turns to a chill, the leaves fall, the pumpkin candles burn, and the football is on tv ALL DAY LONG.  I know that's surprising, me, loving football of all kinds.  But I think it's just the sound of fall as background noise.  It's comforting.

As fall settles in, we all start coming indoors.  We look around, fluff our nests, and ready for the winter ahead.  Oklahoma falls don't last that long.  We sort of go from hot to cold.  But that's fine by me.  I love this "little" town in our little state.  I love the community I feel here, the friendly people, and the shared value systems around me.

Speaking of value systems, lately I've been a leetle convicted.  I've started back in BSF and this week one of the questions basically asked about a sin you struggle with.  I wasn't in my normal group where I should feel safe sharing the answer.  Nooooo, my leader is out of town so I was in with another group, where luckily two of my friends normally meet.  So I felt "safe enough".  And as is customary while you're in my company, I just laid it out there to these precious and God-fearing women.

"Welllll, I love Jesus, but I cuss a little.  Because if you're honest, you know that sometimes a well placed cuss word is FUNNY."  Yep.   There it is.  I actually said that outloud to strangers in my bible study.  But seriously: Jacka$$.  That's a GOOD word.  And it has all kinds of uses.  So I use it.

The problem with all my cussing is that I worry that people see the words and miss the message.  I cuss a little (and don't worry: only in appropriate places and around adults) but I LOVE JESUS.

Y'all.  You don't even know the road I've walked in my lifetime.  You don't even know the crap that lies beneath.  But you'll know my heart if you spend any time around me.  You'll know that for being a conservative Christian, I am surprisingly non-judgmental.  (Well, it's no surprise to me, but liberals might find this hard to understand.)

I know pain.  I know loss.  I know struggle.  And I know the feeling that God is far far away and not really interested in my heartache.

But I also now know that God loves me and every intimate detail of my life.  He loves me in spite of my awful mistakes.  He has pulled me out of the pits of despair and redeemed me.  He has made my story beautiful when I gave Him a mess to contend with.  I have seen redemption and forgiveness first hand.

Do you have a story like this?  Well let me tell you now, that SHAME is removed from your life when you are able to have victory over it.  Telling your story is the only way to really remove the shame from your mistakes.   You don't have to hide in fear anymore when you say hey, here's who I am.  I'm not perfect, just forgiven.  And God has the final say on the chapters ahead for me.  That pain has no dominion over my life.

Listen to this little diddy.

I love this song.  Because lately I've been convicted to share my story.  It's not a story that I will write here, so don't get your hopes up too high.  ;)  But know that if I get that feeling while I'm with you, and God tells me to share, I will do it.  And you should consider doing the same thing.

Do you know why it's important to your own story to share it with others?  It's this little word called HOPE.  Because your story may be the one that gives someone hope to someone who is desperately seeking it.  It tells them that they, too, are worth the cost of the cross.  Their life matters.  And didn't you need to hear that at some point in your story?

So don't hold it in.  Share your story of defeat in victory, explaining how God used your brokenness to make you completely whole.  Don't be afraid, friend.  You were meant for this.