HOUZOO DO

We took my nephew to the zoo the day after Thanksgiving. It was so much fun to experience it through the eyes of a child - we had a blast!

And I got to see my HOUZOO DO bird. A while back I went to the zoo with a guy I was dating at the time. We went to the bird area and saw an unusual looking bird, but we couldn't find the name of it. Then, I saw a sign off to the side. In big letters it said "HOUZOO DO'S". "Eric, it's called a Houzoo Do bird." He started laughing, but I couldn't figure out why until I saw that the sign was a list of Do's at the Houston Zoo. I felt like such a dork, but it made for a good laugh that I still smile about today. Sometimes I have serious blonde moments! I still don't know the name of that silly bird...

Happy Birthday Melanie!

My sister’s birthday was yesterday, so in honor of this momentous occasion, I’m listing a few quirks and reasons why I’m glad she’s my sister and not some one else’s:

• She has more nicknames than anyone I know – Duncan, Webster, Powder, Little Bic, Atlas and anything else I can think of at the time
• She watches Jane Austen movies with me while we drink hot tea and eat English cookies
• She has to buy little boy’s socks because her feet are so small
• When she uses big words, she thinks she has to define them for me - “as in” tell me what they mean
• She makes the best tea in the world and it’s always in the refrigerator
• She can talk and talk and talk; she can be very passionate about certain things
• She sings all the time
• She can always tell when I need a hug
• She loves the Lord above all else
• She gives the best back rubs
• She may be small but she has big personality
• She looks 22 without her glasses but with them she looks 25
• She’s always researching things on the internet
• She gives Godly advice and counsel
• People ask us all the time which one’s older or if we’re twins
• She treats me like her daughter and spoils me
• She’s a prayer warrior
• She speaks in accents with me
• She does a perfect impression of FB, but she refuses to do it unless Matt and I bug her insistently and she’s in a goofy mood

There’s a lot more, but I’ll stop here.

Melanie, Happy Birthday! I am so blessed to have you as my sister.

Bad Idea

I went with my sister to the mall yesterday before church. As we were leaving, she wanted stop in Sephora (a make-up store for all you guys that don't know). We were looking around at all the fun glittery make-up. I told my sister to vamp up my eyes with some glitter. She suggested I get some one that worked there to do it for me since they were "professionals". A girl came over to "help". She said she had the perfect color. She came back with a palate full of bright shades. I was thinking I could trust her, and I'm sure she would tone it down. When she gave me a mirror, I looked at myself with horror. My eye shadow was bright lime green and dark brown - she said (with a big smile) it matched my outfit. We were already running late to church, so I didn't have time to fix it. I tried to put powder over it, but it was no use. I looked like a street walker - How embarrassing!!! I tried opening my eyes really big, so no one would notice, but it was to no avail - people noticed. My sister said if she couldn't find me after service to close my eyes because they glowed in the dark - very funny. Next time I think I'll skip the "professional" help ;).

Memories

I cleaned my room yesterday. Many of the things in my room I've had a while and they carry a lot of memories.

I stood on top of my desk to dust the top of my bookshelf. There were sticky marks from tape that I've never been able to get off. Those sticky marks made me smile because it reminded me of two past boyfriends. They always used to buy me flowers. After a while I would hang each flower upside down with tape on my bookshelf to dry. I always had dry flowers hanging in my room.

Then I cleaned my nativity I keep out year round. It reminded me of helping my Nannie put hers out every Christmas until she passed on. My mom never let me play with hers (for good reason - it was porcelain), but Nannie always did. I miss her more this time of year.

I really enjoyed cleaning yesterday.

Ten Books a Year

I was a little convicted when Gregg talked about having several half read books in his sermon Sunday. I admit, my bookshelf is full of them. Saturday I was reading "When I Don't Desire God" by John Piper. He wrote:

"Suppose you read slowly like I do - maybe about the same speed that you speak - 200 words a minute. If you read fifteen minutes a day for one year (say just before supper, or just before bed), you will read 5,475 minutes in the year. Multiply that by 200 words a minute, and you get 1,095,000 words that you would read in a year. Now an average serious book might have about 360 words per page. So you would have read 3,041 pages in one year. That's ten very substantial books. All in fifteen minutes a day." (page 129)

That gave me the encouragement to pick up my half read books and start reading them. By this time next year they will be finished!