Happy Halloween!!!!

Here's to lots of candy, except for candy corn!!!

The People in this Crowd Love The Fall. Plus! Girl Gone Real Vlog Style! Yes, I Am Copying Hilary.

We girls here at GGR are a fall-lovin' group of ladies. Over the years most of our reunions have been in the fall. Most of our fall-reunion photo shoots involve red and orange and yellow and brown leaves on the ground. We are usually clad in sweaters. I think I can safely speak for all of us when I say that we all REALLY love sweaters. Tiffany even managed to get married in the fall so that our reunion that year could be both autumnal AND nuptial.

We all have favorite fall memories together from our time in college and after (hint hint, comment time, people). Our senior year we all descended upon Tiffany's family in northern Indiana for a fall retreat, and we set the bar high for the rest of our reunions to come. We had a weekend of laughter, late breakfasts, lots of pictures, and coffee made complete with a haunted hay ride, a backyard bonfire, and Momma Rachel's Famous Chicken Cheese Soup. MMM. I could die from a chicken-cheese-soup-induced death with a smile on my face.

Nat and I have started our own fall traditions, too. Since Miles is an October baby, fall is an extra special time for us, and we look forward to watching the massive tree in our front yard turn bright canary yellow (see photo above). Nat and I have perfected our Special Adult Apple Cider Deliciousness and most weekends in the fall you'll find it simmering slowly on the stovetop, making our whole house smell like cinnamon and cloves.

But I digress. I promised in the title that this would be a Vlog. So here we go. A two-year-old's attempt at leaf-jumping, plus Daddy, plus the baby, plus my really super high-pitched supportive Mommy voice:

The Next Big Thing

I just had a great conversation on the phone with a couple of girlfriends from college tonight. One of the girls had suggested a book to me last week called Cold Tangerines in response to a comment I had made about wanting to know God all over again. Long story short, I grew up in a Christian home, went to a Christian college and have spent my whole life, essentially, in the church. I've just come to a place of feeling like I'm only walking through motions. I don't have an overwhelming passion to know God and who He is as much as I have in the past. It just feels stale at the moment. So anyways, I looked up the author and was able to read an excerpt from the book, which I fully intend to purchase this week, and it was incredible. The author talked about the "next big thing" we always seem to be holding out for. I completely relate to this! It was a definite "a ha" moment for me. How often do you hear this sort of phrase coming out of your mouth, "When I do ____ ____ ____ then I'll feel like I've arrived/made it/found my purpose/etc,"? This is me! In my mind I've thought, "If I can just get a little skinnier, than all will be well" or "If I can just get promoted, then I'll feel like I've really made it," or "When I get married, that's when my life will really begin." The thing is, even when those things happen, I'll probably still want more. But...what about now? What about the moment we're in right this very minute? I've begun to realize that I spend my days with my head down, just barreling through life without even stopping to see the purpose in the little everyday things. I downplay moments where I engage in great conversation with other people, or have an opportunity to help someone in need, or to watch the sunset or laugh hysterically over fond memories. Life has become stale, because I'm too focused on wanting a big "God Moment" where the heavens part and I hear the audible voice of the Lord saying something incredibly profound to me. All the while, I'm missing His still small voice in my daily journey. So this this is what I'm learning: take a moment to really appreciate all that's around you today. Don't let those seemingly small moments slip past you. Over time those small things build to become something really significant.

A Birthday Greeting for Anna

To Anna,


Happy Birthday from your besties at Girl Gone Real. We love you much!!!


So, now, it's your turn. Feel free to leave a special birthday greeting for our darling Anna!!!

Job Interview

What is my greatest strength? Why, thank you for asking. I love that question. No, it's not a stupid question at all. I would love to tell you all about my number one talent.

I am a model procrastinator. You will be hard-pressed to find a procrastinator as talented as me. I come from a long line of quality procrastinator stock--my father and brother are especially skilled. For example, my first year of graduate school I finished finals before my brother finished finals at his university. I drove to Seattle to spend a few days with him and when I arrived, he informed me that he still had one more term paper to finish that day and turn in by 5:00 pm. It was about noon. We had lunch and then we went to the library on his campus so that he could print his paper and run to turn it in. When I say run, I mean, quite literally, that he printed his paper at 4:56 and sprinted across campus to turn in his paper at precisely 5:00.

You would like another example, you say? Well, I have one. My dad got his MBA when I was in college, and we used to call each other on Sundays when we had things due or exams on Mondays:

Me: "What are you doing?"
Father: "Oh, cleaning the garage. And then I think I might plant some grass seed in the back yard. You know, over seed the grass. Make it thicker."
Me: "I thought you never, ever did yard work. That is why you conceived a son."
Father: "Yeah, well. It's either that or study for my final."

Oh, you wanted another example that pertained to me? Well. I think I might just have a pretty fabulous one.

My senior year of college I had a pretty giant term paper due one glorious morning and I had managed to leave it until the night before to finish. Okay, I admit, start and finish. So I was working at the computer lab on campus (bottom of Decker, for all you Ravens), and I decided to go home around midnight to get some food. I went home. I ate. I sat down at my home computer and realized that the disk on which my essay was saved was still in the computer I had been working on in the lab. Now, for those of you who didn't attend my alma mater, you should know that the labs get locked after midnight. I was well aware of this since I had spent M-A-N-Y nights working on papers late in the lab. I jumped in my car, crying at this point, and tore off up the street to campus. Then I got to a red light. And I am not kidding you, the light was mocking me. It stayed red. There were ZERO CARS anywhere to be seen. Not coming, not going, not crossing, not behind me. None. There the light was, hanging from its wire, bouncing with laughter (or the wind, but I prefer to think it was laughing at me, to help explain my next move). I decided that I would peek around, and, upon deciding there were no police cars anywhere, I drove cautiously through the intersection. Oh, guess what happened next?

Cop: "I'm pretty sure you know why I pulled you over. You were at a complete stop and then ran a red light."
Me: "My paper! In Decker! The lab. Locked! Due in the morning! It was so stupid! I know! The light! Laughing! My paper!" [insert crying]
Cop: "Have you been drinking?"
Me: [flustered] "NO! My paper! Due in the morning! Stupid light!"

Lucky for me I got off with a warning. Oh and I'm pretty sure he followed me to campus. I did manage to get my disk, too, an hour later after I called campus security, crying, and begged them to come rescue me. Oh and I finished my paper 15 minutes before I left for campus the following morning.

The best part? I got an A on that paper. That's right! You heard me.

Why, then, should you hire me? After all, procrastination isn't exactly what you're looking for in a potential job candidate. Well, I can see that. I can understand that you might feel a little tense when the Deadline for the Project is Approaching and I am still in Stage One of Completion or whathaveyou. But think! Think of the excitement I will bring to the office as my coworkers rally around me while I sweat it out and turn in all projects just seconds before they are due! Think of the challenges I will overcome on a daily basis to finish goals at the last possible moment!

I can see, now, that you don't quite agree with me on the value in having me as an employee. You think procrastination would be more appropriate to discuss as a weakness, instead of a strength. Well, you say tomato, I say ketchup, I suppose. Thank you for your time, I guess. I hope I'll be hearing from you, soon.

Oh, and one more thing. This interview? The one we've been having? A fabulous display of my procrastinatory abilities. What was I supposed to be doing? Oh, working on my Master's thesis, which I was supposed to have finished about two years ago.

I can see it in your eyes. You are impressed. I can start on Monday.

Angry construction workers and the slow sip of coffee

It is two days before my 28th birthday. I moved to my new city of Chicago when I was 27, and I can’t help but reflect on where this journey has taken me.

Right now I’m sipping coffee. I like to sip coffee in the mornings. Since I don’t live with my parents anymore, coffee now seems to have taken the role of a parental figure, reminding me that yes, I still need guidance even in my late 20s. It calmly wakes me with its warmth, but also reminds me of the reality of the day as the caffeine sets in. Where would I be without coffee in the mornings? There are construction workers arguing outside my window. Who am I kidding….there are ALWAYS construction workers arguing outside my window.

It has been seven months and three days since moving here. In a way, time has flown by. But I have noticed how there are days that creep by slowly, making sure that I take in the heat on my skin, the sound of the emergency vehicle trying to make its way through congested traffic, or the taste of the thai curry on my plate. Those slow days are a gentle reminder of the difficult choice I made to leave the state that I was in love with all in order to simply see what else was beyond. BEYOND. It’s a short word that takes you to places you’ve never been and emotions you’ve never experienced.

Sometimes I play a game when I’m walking down the street. If I hear a large vehicle coming down the street behind me, I will close my eyes and try to guess if it’s a CTA bus or a dumpster. I think I’ve perfected the sound game, but sometimes I will smile and turn my head to see a bus full of strangers, but in reality, see a large dumpster with a depressed driver behind the wheel. It’s a bit disappointing when you see a dumpster trucking down the street, but I’m getting better. The sounds of the city are blaring and beautiful, and I don’t believe I have tired of symphony yet.

I have met people that have opened my eyes to new ways of thought and perspective. My roommate will come home and ask that I pray for her clients who are seeking citizenship. She works with refugees everyday. Her stories could make your head spin. Without divulging personal stories of her clients, I will safely say that their journeys make mine look like a vacation on a yacht. I’m ashamed, but her stories remind me that I rub shoulders on the bus and train with people who have fled wars, famine and poverty all to be a citizen of this country.

I am excited about living here. I feel I haven’t even scratched the surface on all there is to do and see here, but I’m willing to stay here until I have exhausted all opportunities. I will soon change my license over to Illinois residence. I believe I will cry when I actually am taking the screws off of my Tennessee plate to replace it will my Illinois license plate, but time goes on. And, to sum up a wise saying I once heard, “You can always go back home.” For now - I have the heart of an explorer, and I will indulge that until my heart says go home. (IF it ever says that!)

I welcome the age of 28 with open arms. Here to the journey. Here’s to what God will teach me through His mercies, here’s to celebrating with friends both near and far, here’s to going full-speed into my career, here’s to taking care of children I have grown to love, here’s to touring this country through the glorious freedom of road trips, here’s to giving back more than what’s been given to me, and here’s to living life to the absolute fullest extent. Ever seeing, ever learning, ever giving.

Bring it on, 28.…

Quick Entry...

Hello to all our beautiful readers. I wanted to apologize for the lack to blog updates. I know for me, my life has been a little hectic as of late, but in a good way. I will back and posting like a rockstar very shortly. Our dear friend Anna should be posting her first official entry very soon! And, the Girl Gone Real ladies are preparing for a reunion in early November which I'm sure will result in several savory adventuresome updates on the blog, including some new pics. So be on the lookout!

Enjoy the fall weather, say a kind word to a stranger today, and know you are loved!

Liz

Something to Consider at the Polls

A couple of weeks ago Nat and I were at a local coffee shop here on Bainbridge and we fell into a conversation with an older couple there. They were asking us about our reaction to the VP debate, and we started discussing voting and politics in general. They had just returned from a trip to Greece. This was their third or fourth trip there; their first trip had been about three years into President Bush's first term. They were telling us how the first time they were in Greece, many people that they spoke with said things like "We don't like Bush but we know you have another election coming soon;" "We love America and Americans but we hate President Bush" etc. However, this time around, sentiment had changed drastically. "We used to think America was so great," people said, "but then you re-elected George Bush. Why did you do that?" Another man with whom they shared many political discussions said, "You Americans are so arrogant to only send half your population to the polls. Here is a country whose leaders help decide policies for much of the world and who dictate conditions in wars that effect many people who are not Americans, and only half your citizens vote? It is so arrogant. Americans should be ashamed."

I know there is a lot of talk about anti-American sentiment, and that there has been, always, dating much farther back than the last 8 years. However, I think it is very humbling to consider our vote in terms of how we will choose the leadership that negotiates with the citizens of other countries. And maybe you'll think that's just me being a liberal and not being patriotic enough, or whatever, but I think that it is absolutely of utmost importance to consider how our leaders will design policies for third-world, AIDS-ridden Africa, or war-torn Iraq, or even European countries experiencing recession due to the economic decisions we have made in our country. It is incredibly self-centered to believe that America is some kind of isolationist state; we are as much a part of the world stage as anybody else, if not more, and our responsibility at the polls is more than just picking a name we like to say with the word "President."

Girl Gone Real Wordle

Nifty, eh?