Top 5 Favorite Foods

Last fall while hanging out with my brother-in-law he nonchalantly listed off his top five foods. Well this one conversation threw me into a tailspin. I wanted a top five list of my own! Unfortunately this is no easy task for me. I take things like this very seriously. I have to weigh all possible options. I have to think through all of the foods I’ve ever eaten in my lifetime. It’s a big task.

I laid awake at night for the next several weeks mulling through all of my choices. Once I had my choices I then had to put them in order. That took another two weeks. Once I had my list pretty settled I kept it to myself for a while. I wanted to be sure about things before I made my big announcement. 

I am proud to make my list public. This was a labor of love.

1. A really good, warm, fresh chocolate chip cookie. None of that Chips Ahoy junk. 

2. The Chocolate Thunder from Down Under. This is a dessert at Outback Steakhouse: a warm, fresh, homemade brownie; a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream, scoop of whipped cream, homemade chocolate sauce, and chocolate shavings. I love the mix of hot a cold. 

3. A really good peach. I’m a Georgia girl at heart, what can I say?

4. A really good cinnamon roll. The gooeyness, the icing, peeling back the layers… mmmm!

5. Fried okra! I guess this is the southerner in me too. I can’t say no to fried okra. 

Do you have a list???

Confession: I'm a Sleepwalker

It’s time for a confession. I unconsciously do things in my sleep. Its kinda like sleepwalking but usually I don’t get too far from the side of my bed. Sometimes I have a vague memory of what I do. It’s exceptionally rare for adults to sleepwalk, especially if they weren’t sleepwalkers as kids, so I like to think of myself as a medical marvel of sorts.

Now, I had no idea I was this active during my sleeping hours until I got married. These days I like to check in with Steven in the mornings to see if I was up to anything in the middle of the night. I wonder about all the things I must do that neither Steven nor I know about. I also think this may help explain why I’m so tired when I wake up- I’ve been busy doing things all night. I’m just such a go-getter.

You’re probably wondering what I do. So here it is. Feel free to laugh at me or feel creeped out. 

A few nights ago I used my phone to do a Google search while sleeping. I searched for “List of Jobs.” 

A few weeks ago I got up, opened the curtains and looked out the blinds. The light kinda woke me up. I have a vague memory of my dream making me think I needed to check things out. 

Steven tells me I give therapy in my sleep. Common phrases include: “And can you tell me how long this has been a problem for you?” and “That must be really difficult.”

Sometimes I wake up wearing different pajamas than I went to sleep wearing.

One time Steven woke up and saw me just standing by the side of the bed. So creepy. I know. I can’t help it!

Most common scenario: I have a weird experience of dreaming/reality where I realize I’m laying in bed with someone. I feel concerned and worried that #1 I’m laying in a bed next to someone and #2 I’m not dressed appropriately to be seen by someone. I’m not awake enough to realize it’s my husband I’m laying next to and that this is a morally acceptable situation. So, since I’m in bed with someone and not wearing enough clothes I now need to get out of bed and change without waking up the person next to me. I slowly and carefully slide out of bed and squat on the floor, feeling around for more clothing. It’s usually at this point that I realize what I’m doing.  I go through this whole routine about once per week.

I know. I’m weird. I’m creepy. Don’t forget, I’m also a medical marvel.

New Year's Resolutions

I always feel overwhelmed by New Year’s resolutions. I don’t need to quit smoking or lose 50 lbs. I want to make a resolution but I don’t want to make a goal I’m going to forget about by February 1st. A year-long commitment is a long time! But, I’ve given it some thought and I’m ready to commit:

   1. Blog twice per month (You’re welcome.)

   2. Finish reading Real Marriage, A Celebration of Discipline, and Love & Respect. (I had to pull out A Celebration of Discipline just now so I would get the title right. Chunks of dust are now swirling around my head. It’s been a while since I’ve picked that one up! Commence sneeze attack in 3, 2, 1…)

   3. Stop using “that tone” when I think someone just said something dumb. (Thank God for His grace cause this girl ain’t perfect!)

Now I have a list of things I want to get better at this year. These don’t fall into the “resolution” category. These are more of general areas of my life I want to make strides in.

   1. Being late

   2. Journaling

   3. Going to the gym

   4. Dealing with stress

   5. Praying consistently

And for kicks, these are the dumb resolutions that passed through my mind but didn’t make the cut:

1.       Be more like a Southerner by saying “hi” to every stranger I pass. (Yea, not really practical or safe.)

2.       Lower my cholesterol. (I’m 25. This is ridiculous.)

3.       Memorize the words to a rap song from the 90s. (I kinda really want to do this one.)

I wanted to go to the Grand Canyon

We just returned home from a trip to Phoenix, Arizona. It was a family reunion of sorts for Steven’s family. I’d met about half of the 17 people that were going to be there. Going into this trip the only planned event as far as I knew was a Diamondbacks game. I was worried that this trip was going to turn out to be kinda boring. 

So I started to do some of my own planning. I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon, and I hear it’s a big deal. I looked a few things up and asked around about it. I wanted to go but I underestimated two things: (1) the heat, (2) how included I would feel in this family. 

1. Arizona is hot. People say it’s a “dry heat” so it’s not that bad. FALSE. 105 degrees is hot no matter what. They also say it’s much cooler in the shade there. The thing is, there aren’t any trees. No one bothers to mention that part. 

2. God had other plans. God’s plans weren’t to keep me entertained but to show me that I was included in this new family. From watching The Bachelorette with Aunt Priscilla to playing homerun derby in the cul-de-sac with 15 people I felt overwhelmed at this great new family I got to be a part of. There was no point where I felt like an outsider or like I needed to cling to Steven’s side to survive. 

It reminds me how God invites us into his family. He calls me his daughter and I didn’t do anything to deserve that role, he just loves me that much. It’s an amazing thing to feel so loved and accepted when all you did was show up with low expectations. 

Honestly, I didn’t even think about the Grand Canyon until the plane ride home.  I’ll probably get there someday, and I hope I get to experience it with my family.

Here are several sideways pictures for you:

My father in law had on this cute little number

Mother in law and father in law. I get to call them mom and dad.

Ten-year-old Tori ready to go shopping!

Brother in law Josh doing impressive pool things

My husband doing impressive pool things.

Me and my new boyfriend/cousin, Baylor.

Luckily for me my husband and boyfriend get along well.

Weekend Project

I don’t go into our back yard very often. In fact, I think I’ve been in our back yard five times in the past three years. I try to make it out there at least twice per year to check on the weeds. 

A few weekends ago Steven told me we needed to fix up the shed. I told him I’d already discovered a much easier solution… just avoid the back yard like I do; it’s very easy to do. A few minutes later we left for Lowes. 

He worked in the ridiculous Oklahoma heat all afternoon on Saturday while I ran off to Tulsa to play with friends. On Sunday I actually got out there and helped out with the painting. Check out “our” work! 

My husband: A kid at heart

Things my husband said while at the beach this past week with my family:

 “I’m going to pretend I’m paralyzed from the waist down and I can only use my arms to drag myself to shore. Who wants to join?!”

 “Instead of just throwing the Frisbee to each other lets count and see how many in a row we can get!”

“Stand on my back while I go underwater and hold my breath. I bet I can do it for 60 seconds!” ... "I think I did it, you guys were just counting too slow."

“Play this game with me: you bury your feet in the sand and then see if the waves knock you over!”

“You’re laying out again. You’re boring. Why are you so boring? I need someone to play with me.”

“I’m going to pretend I’m a dead body that floated up on shore and see which way the waves contort my body”