The need for change...

Don't be fooled by the title...I'm talking about HAIR.

This morning I watched a rerun on Oprah about the "Great American Haircut."  Shaggy bangs, angled bobs, lustrous colors, shiny glosses Oh My!  Some gals may have a fetish for shoes or manicures but mine is HAIR.  "How strange, Laura has the plainest hairstyle of all time: a brown ponytail???" you may be saying to yourself.... this is the problem.  I want a new do so badly but I have no idea what to get or where to get it.  I want a cut that is stylish and modern, easy to fix, and color that is fabulous.  Nick laughs at me when I say on certain days, "Doesn't my ponytail look cute today?"  Isn't that SAD?  My PONYTAIL has different looks.  The most common is the wet slicked back look (my least favorite) but it is because 1.) it is summertime and 2.) I have two newborn babies.  Even if I took time to blowdry it and style it, 5 minutes later I would be tucking it behind my ear most likely with a huge gob of spit up for "maximum hold."  

JL and LJM have fabulous haircuts from salons within in an hours drive... an hour's drive yes I am willing to do it.  I really am not all that "plain Jane" but my hairs begs to differ.  That is all I have to say about that.

Enrichment

Books, movies, and church.  These are three activities that are giving my life true enrichment right now.

Nick would always laugh at me and tell people how different we are in that if I am tired at 8p.m. and am done with "house stuff" or other busy stuff I'll just go to bed because to me, the day is over.  But Nick likes to stay up and read, watch t.v., play a game, etc.  I have always been a sleeper when I am bored or have the blues so it was easy to just "check out" and wait till the start of a new day when I could get busy again.

Now, sun up and sun down are my favorite times of the day because they are the only quiet times I can have alone or with Nick to enjoy reading a good book, such as "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen.  I love this book.  It is about a vet school drop out who runs off with a circus during the time of the Depression.  Coming of age, love, scandal, this book has it all if you are like me and like fluffy page turner fiction with small chapters.  Two of my girl friends are reading the book also and we are scheduled to meet in the middle of the month and at the end of the month to discuss.   Let me know if you want to join in on the book club or if you have any book club suggestions!

Our "movie night" last Thursday featured "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner."  I fell asleep during the most crucial part of the movie towards the end but felt I had seen enough to say that I enjoyed it and would like to watch it again.  Well low and behold the very next day I had just finished feeding the babies at 5a.m. and saw that Oxygen was showing the movie at 7 so I set my DVR and got curled up with a cup of coffee and watched it again from start to finish.  This time I didn't miss the scene where "Dr. Prentice" talks with his Dad and "Mr. Drayton" tells his dinner guests what's on his mind.  OH I don't have words for how much I love this movie.  This one could be up there with "To Kill a Mockingbird" for me.  I cried and cried over the outcome of this movie classic and would recommend it to anyone.  I am looking forward to Thursday night when we watch another Top 100 AFI movie.

And tonight I will go to church for the second week in a row.  Short service in the chapel at FUMC followed by dinner in the fellowship hall.  Organized worship and fellowship have not always been something I have made a priority to participate in and quite frankly are not events that I have necessarily enjoyed... for lack of better words.  I enjoy small groups open for discussion and usually I can't sing very well, although it is all a joyful noise to Him.  However, last week was exceptionally enjoyable because I didn't go alone and I didn't even go with Nick (he was home with the babies).  I went with two good gal friends who both have a thirst to know God more and the plans for their lives, like me.  It was rejuvenating to go and experience "fullness" with them and I hope that Wednesday night chapel will become a tradition.

After I feed the babies at 9a.m. we are going to Target to get a couple of things needed around the house.  My goal is to find diapers, coffee creamer, and an exercise DVD all in one store and to not spend over our gift card amount.

Let the Healing Begin

For many nights I have "let the sun go down in anger."

But yesterday was a very significant day for me and my relationships with two important men in my life... (sparing names.)

I'll try my best not to sound boastful but I succeeded in putting myself aside and after much prayer, introspection, and long time coming confrontation I was able to voice some serious concerns for a few people in my life that for a long time I have not been able to "love" with my actions.

When you are witness to someone or someone(s) you love self destructing it starts to wear on your own personal happiness and sometimes daily functioning.  Harboring resentment and bitterness is poisenous and must eventually be resolved in order to experience the fullness of love and of God's love.  

At the risk of sounding cliche I'll admit that in order to be forgiven one must be able to forgive.   Demons have not yet been cast out however I am sure they have begun to tremble at the possibility that "change" is on the horizon.  They say ignorance is bliss but this is not always true.  Sometimes ignoring a problem only feeds the destruction and to admit that there is a problem is the first step in recovery.  

How things appear on the outside almost never reveals the true condition of what is going on inside.  We are all so good at compartmentalizing our concerns and packing away our "dirty laundry" for another day or until someone else can provide a remedy.  But  yesterday I let my guards down and risked my own reputation of being the "other sister" - or maybe I confirmed being "that sister" who won't keep her mouth shut but for God's sake someone had to say what needed to be said...

Peace Is...

Peace is being up at 5a.m. and watching your two newborns eyes look to you for nourishment and comfort...

Watching your little adopted furry friend stay in her bed even when the kennel door has been opened to let her out and she stays because it is her comfort zone...

Seeing your husband in a deep sleep beside you and knowing that even if you woke him up to help he would remain calm and glad to offer a helping hand...

Sitting on the porch sipping hot coffee, watching the sun rise, and listening to the neighborhood wake up...

Knowing that your biggest responsibilities in a day are to hold the ones you love the most and prepare the home...

Watching a great movie such as "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" with friends and enjoying good food and wine...

Cherishing my mother and sister and our friendship and knowing they are only a phone call away...

Being able to log onto the internet and read the "goings on" of close friends and being able to comment, never feeling left out or out of touch...  

Seeing a ministry so dear to my heart grow, change lives, and desiring to take part...

Reading a good book