To all my blog visitors who are voracious readers...check out my other blog and consider joining!
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Thursday, January 11, 2007
don't know what to say...
other than, if I ever whine about my life ever again, please someone, smack me upside the head as hard as you can. If you ever think you're suffering, just visit Kelli at her blog and read her story here and here, but most of all read her prayer to the Lord Jesus here.May God bless you Kelli, and answer your prayers abundantly. I'm praying for you.
I heart Grey's
I'm live-blogging through Grey's Anatomy tonight...simply because this episode is just too good NOT to blog about! Could this show get ANY better?It sounds so cliche, but without fail, the good doctors at Seattle Grace always make me cry, laugh, think, feel.
and well, it doesn't hurt that, ahem, this guy appears pretty often throughout each episode. Hey, they don't call him McDreamy for nothin'.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
The wedding of friends
On December 30th, we were guests at the wedding of our dear friends, Emily and Conrad. I have to say, this was one of the most beautiful AND most enjoyable weddings I've ever had the privilege of attending! Emily was a breathtaking bride, with her dark curls and gorgeous white and ivory dress. Simple but stunning.
A table set for two...sporting Em's gorgeous bouquet...
Me with the beautiful bride
the bride getting silly...disrobing!
because my-oh-my, it got HOT in that ballroom once the dancing got started! Isn't she so pretty???
One of my favorite things about weddings is getting the chance to hang out with our friends...Here's Patrick and Suzy
Marc, Mariah, and Dawn
Kendall, Travis, and John
Me and Miss Casey!
Adam chillin' with the groom
then chillin' some more with his bro-in-law, Chris, who's always got his back!
isn't this a cool shot of the newlyweds dancing with their parents?
to Emily and Conrad...may your happiness only grow and blossom even more than the joy you had on this beautiful evening that we were so privileged to share with you. Love you guys!
Christmas Eve
I can't believe I'm just now posting these, but here are some pix taken on Christmas Eve...a small celebration at our house with the family (although we didn't have Katie and Chris with us as they were still traveling home...)
My Daddy relaxing in front of the fire...
Opening gifts...
My favorite gift from Hubs!
and it's not a Mancilla Christmas without some Guatemalan gifties!
My Daddy relaxing in front of the fire...
Opening gifts...
My favorite gift from Hubs!
and it's not a Mancilla Christmas without some Guatemalan gifties!
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
more time reading
Some of you may have seen the brief flicker of a book blog that I began last fall (am I already talking about "last fall"???) and wondered where that flicker, uh, flew away to. Golly, forgive the grammar there. Anyway, as part of my quest to spend my life moments wisely, I'm going to be spending a lot more time reading this year (basically, I'm just stealing it back from the wily television which seems to be quite dastardly at capturing and holding my attention for hours at a time...but no more, I'm fighting back!).
Right now I'm reading a book that Adam gave me for Christmas, The Memoirs of Cleopatra, which I must say, is an absolutely superb read and completely fascinating. Love it, love it! However, one of my goals in life is to read most, if not all, of the classics (even though it's hotly debated which books belong in this category). But I have found a few candidates that appear on several different lists like Top 100 Books or Greatest Books of All Time or You Can't Die 'til You Read This. And one of those books is "A Passage To India" by EM Forster.
So, consider yourself invited. Won't you join me as I dive into this book? Note: I'm gonna finish adventuring with Cleopatra first, but at the rate I'm gobbling up the pages of that book, I'll be ready for Forster in no time flat. I would like to start by no later than February 1st. Once I get going, I'll be recording my notes and questions and comments over on my other blog, This Girl's Books, so be sure to visit me there and please, do leave a post or two to let me know if you're tagging along on this journey into India.
Many, many more thoughts on how to spend time wisely coming soon!
Right now I'm reading a book that Adam gave me for Christmas, The Memoirs of Cleopatra, which I must say, is an absolutely superb read and completely fascinating. Love it, love it! However, one of my goals in life is to read most, if not all, of the classics (even though it's hotly debated which books belong in this category). But I have found a few candidates that appear on several different lists like Top 100 Books or Greatest Books of All Time or You Can't Die 'til You Read This. And one of those books is "A Passage To India" by EM Forster.
So, consider yourself invited. Won't you join me as I dive into this book? Note: I'm gonna finish adventuring with Cleopatra first, but at the rate I'm gobbling up the pages of that book, I'll be ready for Forster in no time flat. I would like to start by no later than February 1st. Once I get going, I'll be recording my notes and questions and comments over on my other blog, This Girl's Books, so be sure to visit me there and please, do leave a post or two to let me know if you're tagging along on this journey into India.
Many, many more thoughts on how to spend time wisely coming soon!
Monday, January 01, 2007
a new year, a new blog, a new me?
Over the upcoming days and weeks, you'll be seeing my blog go through an overhaul of sorts. Why? Because I'm sort of putting my life through an overhaul, and it really has only a teensy bit to do with the new year. In truth, it has everything to do with the fact that I'm turning 30 years old on Sunday. Ugh, just typing that made my throat constrict a little bit...but perhaps I should clarify. I'm not afraid of aging. Nope, that's not it. I think what it is...I'm afraid of running out of life before I'm done living it. Does anyone else think like me, like this? I hate to reference this movie, but you know in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy is staring at the big hourglass full of red sand, watching her time slip away and her fate drawing nigh??? Yeah, that image has always stayed with me, and not in a good way.
You see, in a way, I feel like I squandered a fair portion of my twenties. And the portion that I didn't squander, that I really feel I embraced and "owned" -- well, it seems squeezed into the latter part of my twenties. For example: I don't remember my life as a 23-year-old. What did I do (besides work)? What did I think about, worry about, fill my hours with? The problem is, my twenties did not pan out as I thought they would, as I had envisioned as a college grad, as a new bride. The life I thought I would have simply didn't materialize, and the realization of the gap between dream and reality occurred simultaneously with probably the most defining experience of my twenties, and who I am seems to have tumbled out of that one epiphanous event.
I know I'm talking in ambiguities. Perhaps it's time to talk in specifics. Most of you who know me personally have heard my "story," and it can be summed up pretty neatly just by saying the following: Girl wanted babies. Girl tried for babies. Girl did not get babies, even after several months of medical interventions. Girl went into serious denial over emotional repercussions of absence of babies. Denial ended abruptly one day when girl fell headlong into severe and acute depression. Depression forced girl to face the reality of her life, her spiritual journey, her very identity. To this day, period of depression stands out as the worst and bleakest of times yet also, the very best moments of life because of their stark honesty and the changes that were consequently wrought. Girl's perspective has never been the same, girl now sees every good thing in life as a gift and not something that God owes her.
What am I trying to say? I think this: wisdom and youth are contraries. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm a wise person (puh-leeze). However, I do feel like I finally have a hard-earned precious tiny bit of wisdom but now that I have this "life currency" to spend, I'm feeling short on years in which to spend it! It's like those 90-year-olds who win the lottery...it's just so sadly ironic! Now, I'm not comparing 30 to 90 -- nobody lecture me on the fact that I'm still "young" and all that. I know 30 is generally considered "youthful" if not "young" per se. What scares me is the fact that if the next 30 years pass as quickly as the first 30, then I'm in for the fastest ride of my life and I better buckle up and wear a helmet. THAT's what makes it hard to swallow when I type the number 30.
So, what to do? It's cliche, it's generic, it's way overused, but here 'tis: CARPE DIEM. It's the only thing I CAN do. Make my life better, fill my days with purpose, make a good use of my moments and hours by spending them wisely. So...with this in mind, I'm going to be gearing this blog toward that pursuit: the quest to spend my moments wisely. I welcome any thoughts, ideas, input toward achieving this end. I hope to capture here my many successes and hopefully, very few failures in making every moment count. I hope to be nurtured and encouraged by my friends here in blog-land and also by those who just check in on me here occasionally. Keep me accountable, push me onward. This would be the best birthday gift you could give me, for this big three-oh and all the subsequent celebrations of this life God has granted me. Happy birthday, me!
You see, in a way, I feel like I squandered a fair portion of my twenties. And the portion that I didn't squander, that I really feel I embraced and "owned" -- well, it seems squeezed into the latter part of my twenties. For example: I don't remember my life as a 23-year-old. What did I do (besides work)? What did I think about, worry about, fill my hours with? The problem is, my twenties did not pan out as I thought they would, as I had envisioned as a college grad, as a new bride. The life I thought I would have simply didn't materialize, and the realization of the gap between dream and reality occurred simultaneously with probably the most defining experience of my twenties, and who I am seems to have tumbled out of that one epiphanous event.
I know I'm talking in ambiguities. Perhaps it's time to talk in specifics. Most of you who know me personally have heard my "story," and it can be summed up pretty neatly just by saying the following: Girl wanted babies. Girl tried for babies. Girl did not get babies, even after several months of medical interventions. Girl went into serious denial over emotional repercussions of absence of babies. Denial ended abruptly one day when girl fell headlong into severe and acute depression. Depression forced girl to face the reality of her life, her spiritual journey, her very identity. To this day, period of depression stands out as the worst and bleakest of times yet also, the very best moments of life because of their stark honesty and the changes that were consequently wrought. Girl's perspective has never been the same, girl now sees every good thing in life as a gift and not something that God owes her.
What am I trying to say? I think this: wisdom and youth are contraries. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm a wise person (puh-leeze). However, I do feel like I finally have a hard-earned precious tiny bit of wisdom but now that I have this "life currency" to spend, I'm feeling short on years in which to spend it! It's like those 90-year-olds who win the lottery...it's just so sadly ironic! Now, I'm not comparing 30 to 90 -- nobody lecture me on the fact that I'm still "young" and all that. I know 30 is generally considered "youthful" if not "young" per se. What scares me is the fact that if the next 30 years pass as quickly as the first 30, then I'm in for the fastest ride of my life and I better buckle up and wear a helmet. THAT's what makes it hard to swallow when I type the number 30.
So, what to do? It's cliche, it's generic, it's way overused, but here 'tis: CARPE DIEM. It's the only thing I CAN do. Make my life better, fill my days with purpose, make a good use of my moments and hours by spending them wisely. So...with this in mind, I'm going to be gearing this blog toward that pursuit: the quest to spend my moments wisely. I welcome any thoughts, ideas, input toward achieving this end. I hope to capture here my many successes and hopefully, very few failures in making every moment count. I hope to be nurtured and encouraged by my friends here in blog-land and also by those who just check in on me here occasionally. Keep me accountable, push me onward. This would be the best birthday gift you could give me, for this big three-oh and all the subsequent celebrations of this life God has granted me. Happy birthday, me!
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