Year: 2011

  • Ready or not, Ecuador. Here we come.

    All I know is it’s a good thing I got an extra hour this weekend because I needed it. Because even with the addition of the extra hour, I still feel like I am just barely getting everything done I need to do before I leave San Antonio at 10:30 Monday morning on a flight to Dallas. And then a flight to Miami. And then a flight to Quito, Ecuador.

    It didn’t help that I spent a lot of Sunday afternoon taking Caroline and her friend Gabi to watch the Aggie women’s soccer team win the Big XII Championship, but it was so worth it. And then I rushed back home to discover thankfully that P had ordered pizza for dinner. But then I still cooked a chicken and wild rice casserole and a lasagna because I don’t want my people to starve while I’m away. I also made homemade blueberry muffins.

    I never make homemade blueberry muffins.

    Which is why P walked in the kitchen a little while ago and asked, “Why are you making muffins?” And I said, “So y’all will have something to eat for breakfast while I’m gone. Apparently I care more about that when I’m in Ecuador than I do when I’m actually here and could, you know, cook breakfast.”

    And he just left the room, shaking his head. I can’t explain why leaving the country makes me feel the need to provide baked goods for my family. Maybe so if something happens to me they’ll have short term memory and say, “MAN, remember how she used to make those delicious homemade muffins all the time?”

    In truth, it’s probably a little nervous energy that I’m trying to burn. My suitcases (Yes, TWO. This is very strategic because I found out that you’re charged $100 for a bag over 50 pounds, but only $30 for an extra bag.) are mostly packed with the exception of my rainforest clothes that are still drying after P doused them in what I hope was plenty of mosquito spray. I have a backpack full of granola bars and a book to read and a change of clothes in case my suitcases don’t make it. I even have a travel toothbrush in a special case. I’m very fancy.

    But I don’t like leaving my people. Not even for cool trips to Ecuador with people I love. Not even when I know without a doubt that God has called me to go. I am a homebody. Not to be confused with a homeboy. Even though maybe somewhere, somehow I might be someone’s homeboy.

    I like my house, I like my bed, I like my Mexican food, I like to take Caroline to school every morning and pick her up every afternoon. I like to be able to call Gulley every five minutes if I want to and I like to see P walk through the back door at the end of the day.

    So why am I going? Because when I went to the Dominican Republic with Compassion three years ago, it changed me forever. It made me look outside my comfortable little world to a world where kids don’t have beds or enough to eat or clean water to drink and the amazing way Compassion is stepping in to change lives. And going to Ecuador gives me a way to help with that. It’s not much. A few words on a computer screen and a week of my time, but it’s something.

    And, truthfully, I’m excited about getting to spend time with some of my favorite people even though we will be in canoes and among snakes and possibly a marauding band of free-range monkeys. I don’t have the-meeting-new-people-anxiety I had before I went on the trip to the Dominican. These are people who (mostly) know me and I know that I am going to laugh and cry with them a lot over the next five days. And I can’t wait to read Ann Voskamp’s first post that will probably say something incredibly eloquent and poetic about how “dappled sunlight moves through the trees, stirring soul and lighting the way to gratitude to our God for all his gifts”.

    Meanwhile, I’ll be here writing, “Y’ALL. A SNAKE FELL IN OUR CANOE AND I YELLED A BAD WORD IN FRONT OF ANN VOSKAMP.”

    But I’m also not naive like I was the last time I left to go on a trip with Compassion. I know at least some of what I’m going to see and I know it’s going to break my heart. I know there will be children I wish I could pack up and bring home with me. I know there will be living conditions I can’t imagine and I know I will be wrecked by both what I see and fresh realization at my own poverty of spirit. I’ll be challenged by the contentment they have while living next to the city dump and why I often struggle with contentment while I live a comfortable middle class existence filled with luxuries they can’t imagine, like water straight from the tap. I know I’ll come home changed and with a piece of my heart gone forever to Ecuador.

    And that makes a part of me start to ache even as I sit here on my couch and have yet to set foot in another country.

    So I hope y’all will join me for my trip this week. I’ll be posting here every single day and doing my best to tell y’all what we’re doing and what we’re seeing. The good, the bad, the incredibly humbling, the free range monkeys. I can’t thank you enough for all your prayers. I know for all of us going this week that our biggest prayer is that God would use our words to inspire others to sponsor a child (or children!) through Compassion.

    And if you could also pray for safety while we travel, health for us and those we love at home, and that no snakes fall in our canoe? Well that would be great, too.

    You can follow along with all of us by clicking on the Compassion Bloggers Ecuador page.

  • Fashion Friday: Edition I should be packing

    Well, technically I can wait one more day to start packing. But my suitcase is just sitting there, taunting me every time I walk by it. And I’m fairly certain part of that taunt includes something along the lines of YOU’RE NEVER GOING TO FIT EVERYTHING IN HERE THAT YOU WANT TO TAKE WITH YOU.

    Because it’s not just clothes. And the sweet camo hunting boots I’m bringing to wear in the Amazon. I also want to pack some stickers and bubbles and things like that for the kids in Ecuador.

    As a matter of fact, I went to Walmart yesterday to get a few supplies and other things. I even bought some kind of traveler probiotic that’s supposed to protect my intestines in case I eat a bad guinea pig.

    There’s a sentence I never thought I’d type.

    I’m not normally a Walmart shopper. They just always seem so crowded and it seems easier to go to Target. But yesterday I went to Walmart because Target didn’t have much to offer in the way of small toys. And this is my question, why do so many people who shop at Walmart drive those electric carts? It’s an epidemic.

    None of that has anything to do with fashion. But here are a few things I’ve found this week.

    1. bennington corduroy coat

    I like this coat. It’s a little unexpected twist with the corduroy.

    2. daniel rainn grecian top

    This is simple but would be a great addition to a closet.

    3. april sweater tunic

    Now this? I love. Love the stripes. Love the black and gray. Love the whole thing. It just works.

    4. harvest season ruffle scarf

    Love a scarf in this mustard color.

    5. windswept prairie cardigan

    This is really pretty. And I like that it’s a lightweight layer because I often need something lighter even though I do love a sweater.

    6. tartan boucle blazer

    Man, I really like this. But you know what I don’t need? Another blazer-type thing. I always think I’m going to wear them more than I really do and then they just sit in my closet and get lonely and sad.

    Still, maybe this time would be different.

    7. cozy weekend away dress

    This is a great dress. And could be worn by itself or with a great long-sleeve shirt under it. Maybe with tights and boots.

    8. mossimo poncho sweater

    I was dropping Caroline off at school yesterday. It was one of our rare chilly mornings and I saw a mom dressed in all black with a camel-colored poncho thrown over the whole ensemble and I thought it just looked great.

    9. stretch knit leggings

    Yes. Leggings. Boring. Except I felt like you should know I believe Gap has the best leggings. And that’s being said after extensive leggings research.

    10. orange and gray jersey knit infinity scarf

    This is really cute. And it looks like it comes in some other colors.

    That’s it for today.

    Y’all have a great Friday.
    __________________________________________

    Don’t forget that there’s a chance to win some great new Bare Minerals eyeshadow from Bare Escentuals on my giveaway page. Just click here to leave a comment and enter.

  • As if I didn’t have enough to worry about

    Right now I’m pretty much in full Ecuador freak out.

    By which I mean I’m a little stressed about getting all my ducks in a row before I leave for Ecuador on Monday morning, not some new kind of dance or anything. Just thought I should clarify after the whole “hot garbage” debacle this week.

    I have an extra large, very empty suitcase sitting in my bathroom and some very sporty cargo pants and long sleeve outdoorsy-type shirts that are just waiting to be sprayed down with the high-powered mosquito spray I ordered from Cabelas a few weeks ago. I don’t know what I’m looking forward to the most, dodging the mosquitoes in the rainforest or getting to dress like P for two days in a row.

    But I still need to go to the grocery store and Target and load up on Immodium AD because, you know, I’m going to South America and here’s hoping I don’t need it but that’s not the kind of chance you want to take. Especially after I read in my travel guide that one of the local delicacies is roasted guinea pig. As in a guinea pig.

    I think I’m going to pass.

    Although I bet it tastes like chicken.

    And since I have Ecuador on my brain or en mi cerebro as they might say there, (I have no idea if that’s right) I thought about a discussion I had with Gulley’s boys the other day.

    I picked Jackson and Will up from school a couple of weeks ago. We were catching up on all the important news, who played with who at recess and what they served in the cafeteria that day, when I asked if they knew I was going to Ecuador and the Amazon Rainforest in November.

    Will said, “OH MEL! My friend Trey in my class loves piranhas. Can you bring him back a piranha?”

    “Well. That might be a little hard to do. I’m kind of hoping I don’t come across any piranhas. Plus, what if they bite me?”

    Will responded, “They won’t bite. They don’t really eat people, Mel.”

    But that’s when Jackson interrupted. And here is a side story that may not seem relevant right now, but bear with me. Gulley and I have always laughed at Nena’s (that’s Gulley’s grandmother if you’re new here) ability to go straight to worst case scenario. She has a gift. And she likes to bring you right to her level of worry. Nena isn’t the person you want to call if you have a hangnail and are slightly concerned and looking for a little reassurance. She is a walking WebMD and will take you straight to a place of total despair. Calling Nena is worse than googling your symptoms on the internet.

    For example, Gulley has repeatedly told me about a time she had a pimple on her face and Nena told her not to pick at it because she knew a girl who did that one time and the pimple got infected and SHE DIED.

    Nena has known people who have died from toothaches, mosquito bites, ingrown hairs, and over-plucking their eyebrows. She also once knew a girl who agreed to break up with her boyfriend because her parents promised they’d buy her a pet monkey instead. That has nothing to do with this story, but it always makes me laugh so I felt like I should throw it in. It’s like a bonus.

    Anyway, Will had just informed me that piranhas don’t eat people when Jackson piped up and announced, “YES THEY DO, WILL. THEY DO EAT PEOPLE. I just heard a story the other day about a bus driver that was driving a bus full of people down to the Amazon River and he fell asleep at the wheel and drove the bus right into the river and everyone on board got eaten by piranhas. THEY ALL DIED.”

    It was like Nena had just climbed in the back seat of my car.

    I have no doubt Jackson’s story will bring me great comfort as I ride ON A BUS DOWN TO THE AMAZON RIVER next week.

  • Back to junior high

    Well I inadvertently created a lot of confusion yesterday. I didn’t mean to send you all searching the internet for a candy product called Hot Garbage.

    When I wrote my list of Halloween candy from best to worst, I literally meant hot garbage. As in I’d rather eat garbage that is hot before I’d eat Twizzlers or Dots or Lemonheads. I find them to be waxy and tasteless and similar to chewing on a shoe. Well, except for Lemonheads. They’re like chewing on an inexplicably sour shoe.

    I hope that clears it up.

    So you know what I did yesterday?

    (Besides lament that no one got my hot garbage humor?)

    I spent the day with a bunch of sixth graders from the local junior high. One of my friends is an English teacher and thought it might be fun to have me come in and talk to the kids about how to write a personal narrative. And I agreed it might be fun just as soon as she explained to me what a personal narrative is.

    It turns out it’s what I write on the blog every day. Who knew this fell into any kind of real category other than PURE NONSENSE?

    So I tried to put together a little talk on writing that I hoped would appeal to sixth graders. The only problem was I don’t really know any sixth graders. And I haven’t been a sixth grader in twenty-nine years. All I really remember about that whole experience is that the sixth grade band director at Bammel Middle School made me play the flute instead of the clarinet because my mouth was shaped wrong for the flute. Clearly I still bear the scars of my flute rejection.

    I also remember that I wore an unfortunate red gingham shirt with a denim prairie skirt and Sperry topsiders in my school picture that year. And that my front teeth were enormous in proportion to the rest of my face.

    And none of those things really have anything to do with writing.

    I told them about the importance of noticing the things around you and trying to make them interesting. We talked about how you have to write often to write well and that reading a variety of books makes you a better writer. I may have told them that they’ll rarely use Geometry once they’re in the real world, but they will always have a need to write well. And I told them not to get caught up in the trap of feeling like what they write has to be perfect on the first or even second attempt. I think it’s obvious that isn’t my struggle. Perfectionism requires a lot of time and effort.

    Then I confessed that I graduated from college before I ever knew that the internet existed.

    That’s when they all looked at me like I was a walking, breathing antique. Like their Great Aunt Maude had just walked into the room and put her teeth out on the table and hiked up her girdle.

    In reality they were very sweet and much more attentive than I thought they’d be. Even though I’m pretty sure they didn’t get any of my jokes. They asked a lot of questions and it was a lot of fun. And I told a few of them (Lilly and Katherine) that I’d mention them by name on the blog today.

    And here’s what I learned:

    1. Sixth grade was a long time ago.

    2. I have a new respect for teachers that get up and teach the same class multiple times in a day. My throat was sore and I was sick of myself by the end of the day.

    3. Sixth graders are a lot cuter than I remember being at that age.

    4. Apparently it’s okay to wear Nike running shorts with cowboy boots. I had no idea.

    5. I’m pretty sure anyone who graduated from college before the internet was invented is too old to wear running shorts and cowboy boots.

    Here’s hoping they learned at least that much.

  • It’s 11-1-11 and this is the best I could do

    Am I supposed to write something right now? Because I’d love to but I think I’m in the midst of a Hot Tamale/Reeses Peanut Butter Cup hangover. To be more precise, I’ve hit the low after my earlier sugar high and typing seems to be taking a lot of effort.

    So here are a few quick things I thought I’d share. You’ll be shocked at how little value or substance each one contains.

    1. Our disco queen thoroughly enjoyed her trick or treating experience. But her disco shoes had to be replaced with Toms after about six houses.

    Nobody ever said being a diva is easy.

    2. I am in the throes of full on Ecuador trip panic. And my lack of readiness. It’s like I think I’m going to spend the week in Pleasanton, Texas. I really need to make a list of all the things I need to do before I leave on Monday.

    But then I’m afraid the list will stress me out.

    So I’m continuing to go with my current plan which weighs heavily on the side of denial.

    3. Many of y’all asked about Gulley’s Sally O’Malley costume. Some gals may try to hide it but she is proud to let you know that her husband found those sweet red pants for her at the Goodwill store.

    And they were actually stirrup pants but she just tucked in the stirrup.

    Can we please have a moment of silence for the woman that actually once wore a pair of bright red stirrup pants with an elastic waistband?

    4. As I looked through Caroline’s Halloween loot after she went to bed, I was a little dismayed to see a surprising number of Dots. There was also a handful of loose popcorn which is even more disturbing. Can you really not put it in a bag?

    But it made me think about Halloween candy and wonder about what people prefer. What’s your ideal Halloween candy assortment?

    This is mine (in descending order from best to worst because it’s very scientific)

    A. Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
    B. Snickers
    C. Hot Tamales
    D. Kit Kats
    E. Twix
    F. Candy Corn
    G. Hot Garbage
    H. Dots
    I. Twizzlers
    J. Lemonheads

    I may have left out a few things, but this is a pretty close estimation.

    5. Today (11/1/11) at 11AM central, the LifeWay folks are having a Facebook launch party to celebrate the release of Beth Moore’s new Bible study, James: Mercy Triumphs. There will be a live webcast, lots of giveaways and a whole lot more.

    See y’all tomorrow.

  • Saturday night fever

    Well.

    So this happened at our house this weekend.

    Oh yes it did.

    (Don’t get excited, ladies. This isn’t eHarmony or one of those dating sites. He’s taken.)

    We spent much of last week deliberating over what to dress up as for the Halloween party on Saturday night. I took all your suggestions to heart and was really tempted to go as Coach and Tami Taylor. But the problem is that’s not much different than how we look every day. And when it comes to Halloween parties I like a little more flair.

    Caroline had decided over a month ago to be a disco queen. In fact, she loved the costume so much that she slept with the catalog every night until I finally broke down and ordered it. So it seemed to make good sense to continue on with a seventies theme for the whole family. Like our own little version of the Partridges. But without the bus.

    Only because we couldn’t get a bus on such short notice because, otherwise, OH YES A BUS.

    Once we decided on a seventies theme we quickly realized we might have a key component of P’s outfit at our disposal. A rust-colored velour jogging suit complete with a pullover top with a half-zip feature.

    Why? Why did we have access to such a thing?

    Because my dad has had it in his closet since some time in the late 70s. And he’s kept it all these years. AND I know for a fact that he’s worn the pants at least as recently as 1994 because he had them on when a blind date came to pick me up at his house and I was mortified. As it turned out my blind date was a guy who wore a gold pinky ring without a trace of irony so it was probably for the best. Although he probably felt like we were meant for each other after he noticed my dad was wearing some sweet rust-colored velour pants with a slight bell bottom.

    So I called to make sure dad still owned the jogging suit and Mimi confirmed it was safe and sound in the VERY BACK of his closet because I think we all live in fear that he might wear it if he could find it. I asked if P could borrow it and Dad agreed, as long as we were very careful with it. After all, it’s a family heirloom.

    The fit was questionable, but we decided that only added to its charm. And then I spent Friday scouring vintage and costume stores searching for all the other parts of our costumes. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt the thrill of shopping satisfaction I felt when I found a pair of sweet zip-up boot shoes for P for only $11.00. And that wig with the lamb chops? God loves me.

    So here we are before we left for the party.

    We’d just barely walked into the party when P saw a guy he’d gone to high school with that he hadn’t seen in twenty years. And it gave me great joy to see him have to reintroduce himself while he looked like the love child of Tony Manero and Gabe Kotter.

    Then a few minutes later, Gulley and her husband arrived.

    If you ever wonder why Gulley is my best friend, you need only to look at this photo.

    She can kick. She can stretch. She’s FIFTY.

    That’s right. Sally O’Malley. And her husband is More Cowbell. It made me so happy.

    The best part is there were times in the night when I’d look across the room and see P engaged in a serious conversation while wearing that jogging suit and that huge wig while he talked to Gulley’s husband who was also wearing a huge wig and holding a cowbell and it would make me laugh all over again.

    And then Gulley would hike her pants up and stretch and kick and announce, “Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Sally O’Malley. I’m proud to say I’m 50 years old. I’m not one of those gals that’s afraid to tell her real age and I like to KICK, STRETCH and KICK! I’M 50! 50 years old, 50 years old.”

    Meanwhile, the kids bounced in the bounce house, got soaked bobbing for apples and ran around and played soccer and tug of war.

    Honestly I’m not totally sure which age group had the most fun, but I think it may have been the adults.

    Y’all have a Happy Halloween.