i settled for a slowdown

i'm the kind of person who doesn't slow down.  not because i have so many things going on all the time, but because i feel better when im busy.  i dont really know how to slow down - it feels weird.

but today, i slowed down.  its been a fantastic day.  i haven't been outside for more than 10 minutes total, but thats what i needed.  so what have i been doing?

ive been home with this sweet girl today.

this is sweet tilley.  she was spayed yesterday, and so i took the day off to hang out with her.  i picked her up this morning, and she was SOO excited.  shes subdued and sweet today.  

its forced me to just stop for the day and hang out with her.  and its been great.  shes been asleep on my lap today.  we watched a movie.  i fed her lots of chicken (her favorite).  we took a nap.

i guess her medicine is working well :).  its been a great day - a day of slowing down. 

its a small group kinda thing.

stepping out of your comfort zone is not easy.  some people may like "trying new things" or being spontaneous...but legitimately stepping out of your comfort zone is not something i think most people look forward to.

i dont.  im really pretty introverted.  i get a lot of energy from spending some time by myeslf.  i do LOVE being with people, but i draw my energy from spending some good qt by myself.  i like things to remain the same.  i dont generally try new things.  i get the same food at the same restaurants.  i go the same way to work.  change is not really something i chase.

with that introduction - let me tell you about stepping out of my comfort zone and into such a great thing.  jonathan and i met a couple at church about our age a little while ago.  we went to sunday school class with them a few times.  they asked us out several times.  and then they asked us over for supper one night and we were able to go.

we had a blast.  they are the kind of people that pursue friendships.  theyre willing to become uncomfortable to reach out.  we laughed all night, literally until we all cried, we talked, we ate...all good things.  then they presented us with some things on their heart that God had been leading them towards.

its called a small group.  its kind of the new thing in churches, and really its such a great thing.  our friends invited us to start a new small group they were leading in their home - in our neighborhood.  after a lot of praying and trust of just getting out of our comfort zone, we agreed.  we committed.  we jumped in head first.  and really its been so great already.

small groups are a way to really get to know people, to love on them, to see the awesome and the ugly, and to love even more so because of that.  and thats what God is doing in our small group already.  were seeking Gods word, were hangin out, were laughing, were finding out small things about each other, and i can just see God at work in all of us.  He's got big plans.

so - if you have the opportunity to join a small group - do it.  jump in.  trust God to build friendships you wouldnt have otherwise had.  

 i just got back from coffee with my small group girls.  sweet time.

goodnight.  bless your heart.

well, if it makes you feel any better

this will be a short post.  and it doesn't have a climatic story line. so just keep reading :)


i am someone who picks up on nearly everything during a conversation, meeting, interaction, etc.  i pay close attention to people, and their mannerisms.  i can generally imitate most anyone that ive been around, because i remember exactly how people sound and look when they talk.


all that to say, there is one repeated conversation that comes up in random conversations that i have found to be down right ironic.


its along the lines of "bless your heart."  im sure that genuinely started as a sweet thing to say.  something like "bless your heart i know you've had a lot of things going on in your life."  then somewhere it turned into "bless her heart she's big as a cow."  notice the difference.


well one that ive been picking up on lately is this one..."well if it makes you feel any better."


again, im sure this once started and was used something like this scenario...


"how are you?"
"well, i woke up with a cold, im late for work, and its raining outside."
"well if it makes you feel any better you look fantastic in your rain boots!"


that is probably how it started.  but i feel like now it has turned into a way to say "oh your dealing with _______  let me tell you something terrible to make you feel better."


something like this...


"how are you?"
"well i fell down the steps this morning, ripped my pants, and a bird pooped in my hair."
"aww, well if it makes you feel any better i ran over a squirrel on the way to work this morning and my cousin is in the hospital."


hmmm...yes, of course i feel much better now that i have skinned knees, ripped pants, bird poop in my  hair, im thinking about a dead squirrel, and i feel terrible about your cousin.  thanks for that.


this is the end of the post.  bless your heart...and if it makes you feel any better their callin for rain.

s tunes.

as ive posted before, i love music.  i listen to pandora all day in my office.  i love it.  sometimes when a good song comes on i shut the door and dance a little.  dont tell.

today i had pandora on the temptations channel for a while - and it was great.  i didn't skip for like a good 10 songs solid.  runaround sue, my girl, little bitty pretty one.  ahh good ones.

but i also came across some just great songs that i thought id share with you.

john mayer - free fallin

mat kearney - new york to california

matt white - love

its a family thing.

yesterday was my brother, daniel's, bday.  we all went to mom and dads for the night and hung out there.  its always fun just being with the whole family, and eating, and laughing.  we celebrated daniel - hes easy to celebrate.  hes successful, bold, good-lookin, well dressed, loves Jesus, and loyal to his family - i love him.


so last night was great.  after spending some time eating and going for a walk and playing with the girls, we resorted to the living room.  this is generally where we watch youtube videos for half an hour, and laugh, a lot.


after a few youtube videos and hangin in the living room, i realized something.  my family (namely the men in the family) and i have such the same sense of humor that it's crazy.  we're all pretty different, but when it comes to things that just make us all laugh til we cry, we're exactly the same.


so what is it?  something funny like cartoons or funny movies or pictures?  no.  that would be normal.  what makes us laugh is this...thinking of "what if..."  seriously.  we have a small problem.  in particular, we think of something like "what if someone did _______ to ______?"  then we laugh.  we especially like to laugh about thinking about people's reactions to certain things - like when they get scared, or something bad happens, or awkward...yes thats our humor.  forgive us all.


lost yet?  let's take a little quiz.  do you have the holladay humor?  do the following scenarios make you laugh?  not chuckle, but laugh.  like hard.  like until you are crying and everyone is looking around wondering what happened that is so funny and you can't explain it b/c its just in your brain.


1.  imagine driving down the road.  someone is walking on the sidewalk on this road.  you decide to get tricky and start slowing fading toward the side of the curb.  (if you have holladay humor you are laughing b/c you are imagining them slowly stopping their walk, and then looking scared).


2.  imagine yourself in a work setting.  you walk into a bathroom and notice someone is excusing themselves.  you think about how funny it would be to yell something like "oh my gosh what is that smell?"  laughing at the thought?  hollady humor.


3.  you decide to catch up on a few youtube videos.  which do you choose?  this one? or how bout this one? yes, the videos that someones hurt or scared.  bad.


so thats us.  the good the bad and the ugly.  but i love it.  and i love us :)  and if i see someone fall or get scared, i will laugh.  goodnight.

its baaaaaack

today was a good day.  it started off right.

its a day ive been waiting for for a long long time.  like several months.

today was the start of a wonderful thing.  are you wondering what im talking about yet?  i know, suspenseful.

so what was it?  well...shifting gears slightly...you should know my favorite season is fall.  without a doubt - fall is the BEST time of the year.  its gorgeous outside.  its perfect weather for jeans, cowgirl boots, and a long sleeve tshirt.  its so excellent.  its not humid outside, which means i dont have an afro.  the leaves are bright and so telling of God's beauty.

so back to today.  today was the first sign of fall.  why?  because of this:

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PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE FROM STARBUCKS

Yea - it was a great morning.  i researched when the big day would be here.  and today was that day.  so i left a little early, and stopped by the starbucks near work.  and it was great.  it tasted like heaven.  it made me taste fall time.  and i loved it.

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