Sisterhood of the Traveling Plate

What can I say? My friends are brilliant, creative people. Kudos this time to Tana for her nifty take on helping the girls in our little group to connect through - what else? - food!

After watching The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, we were discussing the movie. For those not in the know, the movie is based the book by the same name, which is about a group of girls who've grown up as friends and their first summer apart. The day before they all split up, they're shopping in a second-hand clothing store and find a pair of jeans that magically fits them all, even though they're different heights, sizes and shapes. They decide to form The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and use the jeans to stay connected by forming a set of rules and sending the jeans to one another along with letters about what's going on with them.

Myself, I wished for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Bra (which would have to be magic to fit all the girls in the group I was with!), but that got laughed off. Wonder why...

Well, we kinda forgot about it. All of us except Tana. She took an orphaned plate nobody had claimed after a pot luck and decided to create The Sisterhood of the Traveling Plate. She created rules and set it in motion last Friday night, which is our new "Girls' Night" (postponed for this week). This Plate Sisterhood will allow us to share, taste and learn new recipes and give each other a pass-it-on kind of gift. The dish she made for Nancy to kick the Sisterhood off really looked yummy!

Tana was afraid we'd think she is a dork, but we love it. Good job, Tana! And if you're interested in duplicating the idea, she might be persuaded to share the Rules with us. C'mon, Tana!

Rather Be Trinity...

But this is close enough. I got this off of Anthony's Xanga site.

You scored as Neo, the "One". Neo is the computer hacker-turned-Messiah of the Matrix. He leads a small group of human rebels against the technology that controls them. Neo doubts his ability to lead but doesn't want to disappoint his friends. His goal is for a world where all men know the Truth and are free from the bonds of the Matrix.
Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0
created with QuizFarm.com

Birthday Flowers from Boo

My aunt sent me these flowers from Ken's Flower Shops, where I used to work. Aren't they gorgeous?! It has a lot of my favorite flowers in it. Good job, Boo!

I had wonderful times with friends and family on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights, but had to work and go to school yesterday. *snooze* So getting these beauties really made my day, which was pretty ordinary! A couple of friends at work also got me some little gifts, and another took me out to lunch Tuesday. (Thanks, Janice, Beth & Karen!)

I'll get to hang out with more friends on Friday night, and I'm looking forward to relaxing on Saturday after class. Tonight - I go to bed early!

Thanks to everyone who's wished me a happy 30th. I've enjoyed it!

As Time Goes By - Part II

Hmmm... you can see consistency is not a strength of mine. That would be one of my goals this year. :)

Well, today is the day after my 30th birthday. Wow - three decades! I'm now in my 31st year of life. I've learned a lot - some of which is still being beaten into my brain - but I have so much more to learn. So, with a strong invitation (consider this arm-twisting) to comment with what you've learned, I thought I'd post...

10 Things I've Learned in the Last 30 Years:

1. Don't lie to your parents - you need their trust. As tempted as you may be to "cover up" your disobedience, stupidity, etc., nothing breaks their heart more than if you disregard their intelligence, their love for you, and their hope in you. Don't build that wall.
2. Not everbody will like you, and that's a good thing. This has been a hard thing to learn - that not all rejection is bad. But I eventually realized some people's values are so completely different than mine, I am glad I'm not buddy-buddy with them. While you should always treat people with dignity, not everyone deserves your respect... just don't judge that right away. ;)
3. God isn't interested in making sure you're comfortable with your circumstances. In fact, He allows quite a bit of discomfort simply to either wake us up or keep us awake. Get over it, because you're too wrapped up in yourself and you're missing what God wants to share with you right now. As someone very dear and important to me wrote me recently while I was in a "crisis" of my own, "There's an invitation to look in a different direction . . . . It is the place of identification with the Savior whom you follow." This is the way of faith. Don't pass up the sweetness of sharing something with God for the despair of self-pity. Been there, done that.
4. God's holiness is firm enough to build on, and His grace is fluid enough to float you for however long you need it. Actually, God's grace is wider than I'm comfortable with, as He seems to continually push against the boundaries I set for Him. "No, God, that person is sinning. I know I need to love them, but they should know my theology regarding the choices in their life, just so they understand what a wonderful Christian I am - that I can love them despite what I believe about their choices." Yeah, rrrrright. Since God's grace is so fluid, the waters are rough - at least for me. Thankfully, that same grace hasn't let me drown.
5. Projects will nearly always take longer than you estimate. But that doesn't stop me from underestimating them all the time! :-o
6. Believe it or not, not everyone has the same priorities as you. This will cause conflicts. It makes it harder for everyone to stay on the same page. Sometimes you have to be assertive to get something done. And quite often you may need to adjust your own priorities, so be flexible.
7. Even the stupidest, or the most annoying, or the ugliest, or the most offensive, or the smelliest person you meet has the spark of God in them. They have emotions. They have a brain (yes, they really do). They're alive, so they have experiences. And you need to give them a chance. They may have a story you need to hear. They may have an idea that's better than yours. Or they may need you.
8. It's OK to say no. It's OK to say it in church, at work, at home, or out with friends. No can save your bum, it can save you from burn-out, and it can save you from hurting others. Make sure you set personal priorities, and stick with them! Stick with them by evaluating all the activities and projects that pop up in light of those priorities. Which is closely tied to...
9. You don't have to be everything to everybody. That's God's job. The Maker of All Things made you to be you for His purpose. Not your parents', not your significant other's, not your children's, not your boss's, not your best friend's. You are not responsible for any one person's entire happiness, just like...
10. No one is responsible for your happiness, not even God. Happiness is an attitude of choice. You don't have to be Tigger all the time, but give the Eeyore act a break. The more you choose to accept responsibility and savor your experiences, the more you'll enjoy your life. And the more you enjoy your life, the more attractive you'll be. People will want to be around you, and you'll learn a lot more through their experiences.....

Hope you found something in there to bless ya. I would love to hear some feedback!