Grace

So...Wednesday I overslept.

A lot.

To the tune of an hour and a half.

I like to wake up slowly. I like to hit snooze a couple of times...roll out of bed...sort of amble to the coffee pot...make a yogurt parfait....ingest all that while slowly doing my devos.

Here's another way to wake up: "WHAT! SIX THIRTY???? AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" And then proceed to fly around at rapid speeds. That was Wednesday morning.

I had a large number of things to accomplish in a very short amount of time. And in the flurry of getting ready and getting to work on time, I didn't get my devotions in before I left Lynne's house.

And. I. Was. A. Mess. The. Rest. Of. The. Day.

My co-workers were joking around and I took it personally and almost cried. (Dumb.)

I had to change my nail appointment to be able to work late for the fundraiser, and my nail lady didn't have another opening in over two weeks. That made me mad. (Shallow.)

The only two days scheduled to be rain-free were the days we worked late and I didn't get to walk outside. (Selfish.)

God did an AMAZING miracle in our world by raising the funds like He did...totally surpassing our request. How often do I get to sit in the middle of a financial miracle like that? Um...not often! And what did I do? I lamented my nail loss, my exercise loss, and grumbled about things like really bad hair.

Frankly, I would have shoved me onto a time-out chair and said, "Listen here, Missy. Twelve THOUSAND extra dollars. You know....like TWELVE leftover baskets of loaves and fish? Could you please file your nails, do some sit ups, wear a hat, and get over yourself??"

(Aren't you glad I'm not God?)

But when stinky attitude and I arrived home Wednesday evening, still inwardly grumbling about the weather and the nails, this is what I saw:
No lecture. No time out. No guilt trip.

Just a gorgeous bouquet of flowers to welcome me home after three days of absence.

Just a reminder of love. A divine embrace of sorts. An extension of grace. Something to say...Baby Girl, I know you haven't had the finest of days, but I still love you. So much.

That's some Abba love.

Share: REALLY Wrapping it Up!

We ended up not reaching our Share goal after our first "wrap it up" day on Tuesday, so we went for another day on Wednesday! Here's a tour-let of that day.

* DESPITE going to bed early every single night since Evil DST began, my internal clock is still messed up and that morning I totally turned off my alarm and went back to sleep, waking up promptly at 6:30 (5:30 body clock time) - which was a full hour and a half late.

* Flew around Lynne's house like a mad-woman, showering, getting ready (after losing my jeans and panicking that I forgot to pack them), making the bed (because HELLO! a good guest doesn't leave an unmade bed), and packing to leave. Managed to get out only 10 minutes later than planned, but sadly WITHOUT devotions under my belt...a decision which proved attitudinally fatal the rest of the day.

* Here's what THAT hair day looked like. The "save the hair" headphones were really quite pointless.
* The phone room was housed in the conference room which is in a far crevice of the building. That translates to no cell phone signal. Apparently my "audition for Lady Liberty" pose to try to get a signal caught on...

* Took a quick bathroom break and walked into the hallway to find Craig measuring it. Of course! I asked him why he was measuring the hall...which seemed a logical question. His answer? "Oh I was just intrigued." I think he really had a reason but that sounded more mysterious. So of course, I took a picture.

*Between phone calls, I opened the mail. Every day really is like Christmas in this job. It's true.

* Some of us on staff (half a dozen of us or so) have been doing arm and leg exercises. Takes about 3 minutes for each set, so during Wrap Up days, we did the arm exercises in the morning and the leg exercises in the afternoon. Let the record show I think I've done something unpleasant to my leg anyway, so after 3 minutes of burning torture...I mean toning...I gave my wellness report:

* The phones were crazy busy at the end of the day, so I was at the ready for a new call at every given moment!!

* As you might imagine, after reading through the same list of questions for two straight days, we're bound to get a little tongue-tied. (One staffer, for instance, asked a caller, "Do you spell Cheryl with a C or an H?" hee.hee.hee.) So for day two, they created a "top ten" list of great quotes. Everyone started giggling during one of my calls, and I looked up to see someone scribbling on the board. Here's what I said:

No respect, I tell you!

* We needed to raise $112,926 in the wrap up adventure to meet the 1.4 million dollar operating budget for the year. At the end of two days, God blessed us with $12,329 MORE than we needed to raise. Isn't that amazing???

* Two days, $1,452,329 pledged, many cups of coffee later....here was the aftermath of the phone room:

* And here is the aftermath of this producer's desk after she failed to SEE it for two days!!

* Loved this moment. All of us still in the building went to the studio where Scott, Ross, and Lynne were manning the airwaves, and we got to cheer and pray a prayer of praise for God's amazing miracle in this adventure. Goose bumps and tears!

* I got home at 7:30 Wednesday night and saw Braeya for the first time since 6:30 Monday morning. She greeted me with much gusto and then crawled into the fat chair and turned her back to me.

I deserved it.

Share: Wrap it Up!

Remember when we had our Share Fundraiser in January? We didn't quite reach our goal, so we spent a couple of days this week raising additional funds. Thought you might like a tour-let of a day in Share Wrap-Up.

* I spent the night at Lynne's and bless her precious heart, she doesn't own a coffee maker. (Yes. Collective gasp heard around the world.) So, armed with about 1/2 cup of (fabulous) berry smoothie, I exited her home and drove to work. I ran into Amy as I zombied my way to the kitchen, and she said, "Are you okay???" I said, "This is what I look like before coffee." She was frightened...and rightfully so, I might add. (There will be no photos of that. I want you to love me.)

* The phones were ringing like crazy when the coffee cup, donut and I arrived in the phone room. So I jumped right in and started taking pledges. I was so thankful some of my first calls were the SWEETEST people on the planet. Seriously! Loved what they shared.

* Then Ken found the stapler.
* Yep, that's what happens when office supplies are left unattended! My thoughts on the subject:

* During the Mid-Morning hour, I went back into the studio to hang out with Ross and Lynne. Took an engineering break, and just enjoyed the hour behind the mic, helping to read pledges. (Isn't Lynne lovely? And to think - she does that without coffee. Mind-boggling.)

* After I got off the air, I had lunch (Mexican - YUM!) and went back into the phone room, where I spent the rest of the day. The only sad thing about the whole day was that it was SO STINKIN' GORGEOUS OUTSIDE and our phone room has no window. Yeah, that's not a window behind Jim, there. Though I can see how you might think it's Fort Wayne. Easy mistake to make.

* Hanging out on phone duty with Phil, Jim, and Larry was HI-larious. Lesson learned: do not drink tea or attempt to eat while the three of them are in funny mode! (Aren't you impressed, though, how Jim zoned out of funny-land long enough to be serious?)

* Two cups of coffee - not enough. Must have iced tea!! So here was my iced tea break....

* During my break, someone found the stapler again....

* My little sign.

Craig is our (very funny) engineer and he called...to tell me he had my cat. HA! There's one way to raise money! Catnapping!

Gotta tell you....it was SO fun to spend the day hanging out with my co-workers. They make me laugh so hard. (Surely that burns a calorie SOMEWHERE, wouldn't you think?)

Just Sayin'

If you're a longtime reader of my blog, you know that one of my least favorite events each year is Daylight Savings. If you're new here, allow me to introduce you to my disdain for, as I call it, Evil DST. Proof positive:

I grew up in Indiana. We never changed times. One time. All the time. Beautiful. And then...the arrival of Evil DST. I know a great many of you are fans of the later hours in the summer. And I'm not going to lie...I am too. It's the switching back and forth that gets on my nerves. If you want the time we have right now...fine by me! But can we just stay that way all the time? Pretty please with sugar on top?

My uh...reputation seems to have gone before me. Saturday evening I received not one, but TWO texts from friends who thought of me while changing their clocks. (woops.)

I wasn't going to blog about the time change this year - especially after taking some flak after a Facebook comment on the subject. But this is my blog...and I wanna. So I'm gonna.

Read this article on Sunday...and I have just a smattering of comments to make. Just a smattering. Take a look-see.

1. Heart attack rates increase by 10%? SUPER!!!! Because I definitely have time for that. (I really didn't need to know this. I'm such a hypochondriac.)

2. Night owls who get less than seven hours of sleep a night may take up to a week to adjust? The fact that it takes me until the next time change to adjust should clue you in to the amount of sleep I get every night.

3. Start going to bed 15 minutes earlier a couple of nights before the time change? Helpful, when I read the article the day OF the time change.

4. Set your alarm 30 minutes earlier on Saturday and Sunday? Um, I'm sorry...Saturdays were not made for an alarm, and Sunday I got up AN HOUR EARLIER because, you know, the time changed.

5. Go outside early Saturday and Sunday morning? I did! I went out before noon on Saturday (11:45) and the equivalent of 8 a.m. on Sunday...body clock time.

6. Exercise outside but not after 4 pm? Ummmm so are employers supposed to give you time off during the day to account for this?

7. Refrain from napping over the weekend? So we'll pretend those two on Sunday NEVER HAPPENED.

I'm also going to guess the Coke, caramel macchiato, and 2 iced teas on Sunday may not have helped. Just a theory.

So there we go. I'm just hanging out hoping to be in the 90% of non heart-attacked, sleep-deprived, non-DST fans.

Please still love me.

VOTE!!

Yesterday I told you what I'm learning in my God-journey. Today I need help picking an Easter dress.

I know. It's kind of an about-face. But please help????

Saturday I had my first feeling-only-semi-fat day in a while, so I figured it was as good a time as any to go shopping for an Easter dress. Easter dress-shopping is always a drama. For a couple of my all time classic adventures, read this or this.

I headed to the mall...without a girlfriend in tow to give opinions. That's where you come in.

Please note: I do not make a habit of taking pictures of myself while trying on clothing. Therefore I was most unsure of whether or not I should smile. It seemed odd to smile while alone in a dressing room. But I looked mad when I didn't, so I did. Please also note: I do not plan to wear green and white athletic socks with my Easter dress. Although I do think it adds a little something...

I know I should just number the pictures and set you free, but I am going to tell you what I did and did not like about each one, just in case you need that information to make an informed decision. Please tell me what to get! (Or if I should keep trying. Oh mercy. Please no.)

Option #1. This was actually my most favorite dress of all of them. I loved the colors and I loved the style. The unfortunate thing about this dress was...I could not get it zipped for about the last inch at the top. And I think if I got the next size up, it would be not only emotionally depressing, but just flat out too big in other areas.
Option #2. I loved this dress very much, and it fit! But I was worried it might be a little too hoochie for church? (And don't tell me to add a sweater. I AM a sweater.)

Option #3. I adored the way this one fit, even though it had a collar kind of like a Lucy Ricardo laundry dress. It did have a big fabric belt that was supposed to tie as a bow in the front but much as no dress should ever have a butt bow, this girl does not need a gut bow. I have enough gut. Let's not put a bow on it, hmmm? So I just omitted the belt. I kind of feel like this print looks like a botanical garden threw up on me. So I wasn't sure...

Option #4. I had to purchase this one because they only had 4 on the rack...this was the only one in my size...and at this store there's never a guarantee that they'll get more. Yes, I know this one looks like a paintball gun threw up. But it's kinda fun funky. The belt is a leather wrapping/weaving mess that might be smarter than I am, but I liked the look and flowy feel of the dress. And it has pockets! I love pockets! And it was a size smaller than I normally wear, so it's emotionally appealing. :) One down side - if it's a windy Easter, then HELLO dress-up day!

Option #5. Also had to purchase this one - for the same reasons listed above. This one honestly feels like jammies. The most comfortable of any of them. It's a good Easter dinner dress - you could eat for days and just keep expanding. I'm not sure it's bright enough to suit my tastes.

K y'all. Help!

Silence

* Little Public Service Announcement...so excited about today's Mid-Morning show, because it's our blogmania show! If you like to read The Recipe Shoebox...The Mom Creative...Kelly's Korner...The Nesting Place...or Emily A. Clark, tune in here at 10 a.m. ET to hear them talk about their blogs! *

Remember my 30 day journey I took during the month of February? The one where God asked me to try living in an attitude of surrender rather than an attitude of personal assistance?

There were many great things about that journey, and I've blogged about some of them already. But one of my favorite things about that season was how frequently God spoke. My journal, which travels with me wherever I go, overflowed with quotes that littered Facebook, my Twitter feed, blogs I read, my daily devos, sermons I heard, Mid-Morning shows...you name it. I couldn't write fast enough some days. And while there were days I shook my head with the amazement of it all, I knew it shouldn't surprise me that He was so divinely loud in those days.

Then the season ended. And a new season began...the circle praying season. I've been praying and seeking...

...and hearing absolutely nothing.

My journal entries are short. Twitter and Facebook have been overtaken by thoughts on Daylight Savings, March Madness, and the early onset of spring. Bloggers seem consumed with Pinterest, recipes, and the happenings of their families. My devos are caught up in Lenten thoughts. Mid-Morning topics and sermons have been great, but the topics are far from what my heart encounters in this moment.

Most of my journal entries say, "Are You there?" (Repeat as needed.) (It's needed a lot.)

But as I alluded to yesterday in my recap, there has been something beautiful in this silence.

Don't get me wrong. I don't ADORE the silence. I'd rather have God sit down beside me in the fat chair and talk right out loud so I'm in no way mistaken about His desires for these prayers I'm encircling.

But though my journal says "Are You there..." I have no doubt in my heart the answer is YES.

Yes. He's here.

Silence does not mean absence.

He's not speaking because no words are truly needed. I may think they're needed, but they're not. When they are...He'll speak again.

Meanwhile...He's here. Silent but so present.

It's the Weekly Recap!

* Last Sunday I went to see my friend Jon Crandall's ordination service. It was one of the best services I've ever been in...so well-planned and extremely Spirit-filled. Brian Holland (who baptized me) spoke during part of it, and he did a great job. Julie sang a solo (I've missed her singing!) and after church, I stayed for the carry-in lunch. MAN can that church cook!! * Monday was my first day to run while using my new prayer sticks method. I could not believe how fast that workout went! I loved it! I came home and hunkered down to watch The Voice so I could see Anthony Evans sing. So bummed that he didn't get to move to the next round. :(


* After driving to work in SNOW on Monday - would you believe it was over 60 degrees on Tuesday? I love Indiana. So after work I put on my workout clothes and headed straight outside. Ran into my friend Rachel, who had the same idea, and we got to work out together, just like old times! We've had some great talks in our workouts, so we packed in another hour of catching up! Then I came home and played with Braeya and the laser. Her favorite game!
* Wednesday night I got together with Faith to celebrate her birthday! We met up at Starbucks and caught up on life. Embarrassingly enough, we haven't seen each other since our New Year's bash! Then I um...went shopping. We won't talk about that. (Yet.) Check out this picture, though. I get made fun of so much for being the station pack mule. I take such luggage everywhere I go. This grouping is EVERY DAY'S collection at work...and sometimes I have one or two more bags in addition...
* Thursday I added my newest purchase to the office: a very festive metal perpetual calendar! I found it on clearance at Kohl's for about $15 bucks and could NOT resist. It fits in perfectly and lets me keep an eye on what's coming up - in shows...in concerts...and in my own life, too. I love it, and so do my work buds!
* Friday night I got to have dinner with Lynette, the Financial Aid Secretary. We've only seen each other a couple of times since I left the office, and she wanted to celebrate her birthday with me...so we did! We had dinner at The Mill in Marion - and while this is one of Marion's nicer restaurants (complete with live dinner music) - here is proof that it really doesn't matter what kind of restaurant you take me to, all I really want is a sammich. * Saturday I met Phats and some of his friends for lunch - which meant I had to be out of bed before noon. HA! After lunch, we went to JuJuBerry (frozen yogurt), where I stayed a good girl and had coffee while they had.... Then I went shopping for an Easter dress...an activity nearly as charming as shopping for a swimsuit.

One Thousand Gifts: May sound weird...but my favorite gift this week was God's silence. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a huge fan of His silence - or anyone's silence, really - but I realized that for the first time, I didn't worry that silence meant absence. I knew He was there even though He wasn't very vocal. And for that, I was grateful!

Pinterest Inspiration: This one is SO CUTE!!! Here's the original:

Source: myblessedlife.net via Rebekah on Pinterest

In my county...they only sell the spring clothespins, so I got those instead, and then I decided I liked that plan better anyway, because I didn't have to mess with any glue!I just clipped them on a craft mirror and...
TA DA!!!! I'm going to hot glue some twine on the back to make a hanger and the project will be ready to hang over the washer and dryer!

Because Sometimes I Can't Think Outside the Box

In the rules of blog etiquette, I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to admit your moments of um...lack of brilliance.

But a slow news week trumps the rules of blog etiquette.

Do enjoy.

For twenty-some years, I was part of the Marion Easter Pageant. I've told you about that before. So many amazing memories from the Pageant! In my opinion, one of the best scenes (visually speaking) in the Pageant was this one:
The Last Supper. The curtain came up on this reenactment of the famous panting, and everyone stayed "frozen" for a while. Then they "came to life" and shared the dinner...Judas left...and they went back into the frozen position before the curtain came down. Powerful scene.

This past Sunday night, at our church, a group came in and did an hour long presentation called The Last Supper:

Look familiar? :) They took the "frozen" position and then one at a time, each disciple spoke about who he was and wondered if maybe he was the one who would betray Jesus. Really well-done and thought-provoking performance.

Except for one thing.

During Thomas' entire speech, I stared at him and thought But you're not Thomas. You're Judas.

I was sitting next to my friend Laurie and toward the end, she asked if I remembered which disciples hadn't spoken yet. I pointed to the two I thought and said quite confidently, "That one's Peter."

She looked at me a little funny...and right about that time, Peter stood up and said he was somebody else.

WHAT!!!

And only then did it occur to me...

...the painting didn't come with nametags, you know.

The actors in both performances look alike because they're based on the same painting, but they weren't appointed the same identities.

I'm so proud it took me until the eleventh disciple to figure that out.

11 Pieces of Randomness

You should be forewarned: I just took a nap. Not just any nap. One of those naps that when you awaken...you have no idea who you are or what state you live in or what year it might be. So this could be a really comical post. And by comical, of course, I mean incoherent.

One of my favorite blogs to read is My Life in Transition. I don't know Julia in real life. I found her on a blog hop, but her posts remind me, somewhat, of myself. (You know...if I were married with a toddler and a baby on the way...)

She just answered these 11 questions sent to her by someone else, and because my life is still running slow on news, I thought I'd answer them too!

1. Massage or facial? MASSAGE! Okay, truth be told, I've never had a facial. So it might not be a fair question. But words cannot express my deep adoration for massages. I become a greedy puddle of happiness when experiencing a massage. And who doesn't love being a greedy puddle of happiness?

2. The one facebook-ism that gets on your nerves (eg. cliche status updates, game requests, kissy face photos, etc). When people refer to their children by age, rather than name. "My 2.5 year old just ate vegetables." Is that what you call her? "Hey 2.5 year old! Eat your green beans!"

3. Be honest. What's your biggest insecurity? Ohhh boy. Well I've been told by multiple people that I need to not only read, but absorb Beth Moore's book So Long, Insecurity, so I'm not sure I can whittle this down to just one! Ummm...I'll stick to the physical scene and go with stomach. I HATE my stomach and am probably more self-conscious and insecure about it than anything else on me.

4. One word to describe your life AT THIS MOMENT. Limbo. That's where I'm living! Am I selling? Am I moving? Where am I moving? What church am I going to? Am I driving or flying to vacation? (You get the idea.)

5. Did you have any odd habits or preferences as a child? There isn't enough time in the day to answer that one. :) I don't remember this, but my parents said I used to fall asleep staring at the nightlight in the closet. I was (and still am) scared of the dark, so they put a tiny light bulb in the closet, and apparently they were worried I'd go blind just staring at it. They eventually put in a blue one just to help. Guess their fears were unfounded. Not only am I not blind - I'm the only person in my family who doesn't wear glasses or contacts.

6. On which side of the sink do your dishes pile up? Well in theory, none, because I have a dishwasher. But since I have the bad habit of not emptying it as soon as it's clean, they pile up on the left. That way I still have access to the garbage disposal on the right. (And by left, I mean left sink...left counter...the counter to the left of the left counter...) (Okay so it's not THAT bad. I'm not a slob, you know.)

7. What's the most embarrassing thing in your fridge right now? A pitcher of lemonade that is so old, um...I'm just going to pitch the pitcher. (HA! Pitch the pitcher.)

8. What websites and in what order do you visit them every morning? Well I start at my blog and re-read it for typos, then I read all the blog posts that are new since I went to bed. Then I check Facebook. Then Twitter. Then Pinterest. Then I start over until the last-chance minute when I have to get out of bed.

9. Did you (or do you) have a MySpace page? I did, before I joined Facebook. I wasn't on MySpace for a terribly long time and didn't have a ton of friends on there. It was my first time with social networking and truthfully it scared me.

10. Would you ever sky dive? I would love to say NEVER EVER IN A MILLION YEARS, but I've learned that I end up doing the things I swore I never would. (Like eating spinach.) So I will stick with "It's highly unlikely." A.K.A. "only for the love of a very handsome man who heavily sedated me."

11. Post the last thing you pinned on Pinterest. I was in a mood to welcome spring:

Source: bing.com via Rebekah on Pinterest

A Little Photo Gallery

Oh my goodness! I almost forgot to show you my newest little corner of decorating! (I know. I know! You have been sitting there saying "That Bekah. She hasn't been redecorating much lately. Something must be askew in the universe.")

So let me show you what I did (this is the makeshift version) and then I'll 'splain.
I've been wanting to do something to display some of my baptism pictures, but I didn't want to do the standard photo collage on the wall.

Fortunately, my job introduces me to some pretty crafty people who make amazing stuff.

A few weeks ago, I interviewed the talented owner of the Lone Star Accessories Etsy shop. She makes a really cool assortment of wooden photo blocks and aluminum photo blocks. People use them for everything from table numbers at a wedding to home decor...and more!

And now...I have my very own set of aluminum photo blocks. And I could not be happier. Check them out one by one:

I love them because I remember every single one of those moments. I remember what I was thinking and feeling and every time I see those pictures, I relive the moments. I thought she did a great job capturing the heart of the evening.

(If I could digress from the spirit of this post for one minute, I would like to tell you that from a business standpoint, I was incredibly impressed with her work. I sent her my photos...I actually only sent four at first and then she suggested using the word FAITH and adding a fifth photo. I appreciated her insight and willingness to offer that idea. She had the proofs to me in no time and even gave me a website to choose a different font if I didn't like the one she chose. Once I approved it, I had the finished product, well-packed, and extremely impressive in quality!)

Okay - back to what I was saying. I added one of the stones I handed out to everyone who came to the baptism...

And the stones my mentor, Lara, gave to me as a gift...to replace the ones I threw in the pond, symbolizing what I was leaving behind.

For now, I have all these things on a table in the hallway...and if I buy the house I fell in love with last week (big if!) I already know where they're going in that house!

I also had a code for a free canvas from The Canvas People...so I got this. (I actually had this before I even did the interview with the Etsy shop...this was my inspiration piece, you might say.)

And with it...my Willow Tree figure Mom and Dad gave me for my baptism. Mom thought it symbolized newfound freedom, and I totally agree.

So that's my little decorating palooza (such as it is). And if you need a good gift idea...I say RUN to either one of these shops!

I've NOT Told This Story?

How can this be? This is one of the great only-Bekah events of my life. How has it never made the blog? Well it's fixin' to make it right now.

I call this tale Bekah Gets Her Ears Pierced. Pierced. Pierced.

The summer after college, I was a bridesmaid in Christina's wedding. I was exceedingly sad that I lacked pierced ears, because I couldn't participate with the standard wedding jewelry.

So...when my friend Amy asked me to be in her wedding...I set out on mission: pierce ears.

I decided I did not want to go to a kiosk in the mall for this adventure because if I passed out (a chronic fear of mine), everyone would see. I found out one of the salons tucked wayyyyyyyyy in the back of the mall pierced ears, so I walked in with much fear and trepidation and declared I was there for an ear piercing.

I requested the smallest possible studs because I was so scared about the whole thing. The gum chomping overgrown teenager about to punch holes in my head grabbed a pair of earrings, asked if they were small enough (yes), and got to punching.

Amazingly enough, I did not pass out, and I left with two itty bitty earrings resting on top of my red earlobes, and a bottle of antiseptic in my purse. (I paid for it. Of course.)

Dutifully, multiple times a day, I twisted my earrings and swabbed my ears with antiseptic. I was an OCD, rule following, newly pierced textbook study.

Then one morning, I woke up and noticed my ear hurt. I figured I'd slept wrong. I went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror, and my earring was gone. WHAT! I grabbed my ear (OUCH!) and felt it...inside my ear!

While I slept, the stud had retreated into my earlobe and my ear closed over it! I know. I'm shivering just writing it! I messed with it so it reappeared, went about my twisting and swabbing duties and went through my day. Multiple times that day I had to retrieve the earring(s) - yes, both of them started to disappear - and by the end of the day, both ears throbbed.

I went to my on-again, off-again boyfriend's house and pulled my hair back so he could look at my ears. He shook his head and said, "Rebekah, they look like they're getting infected. You have to take the earrings out."

I protested. I'd been so nervous about the piercing, I'd waited until EXACTLY six weeks before Amy's wedding to get them pierced in the first place. Starting over now meant missing ANOTHER wedding with pierced ears. But he was firm. (And he was right. ICK! I hate that!)

My ears hurt so much, I couldn't bear to touch them, so I asked him if he would take the earrings out for me. (He probably wished, in that moment, we were in an off-again stage.) He tried to take them out but couldn't grasp the tiny stud. So he went for the toolbox (yes, my eyes were about the size of dinner plates) and got his pliers. With much effort on his part and many tears on mine, he (as gently as possible) got the earrings out.

I had to wait until my ears healed (which was, of course, after the wedding), and once they did, he said very sternly, "You go back to that place, tell them what happened, and tell them they will redo this for you. FOR FREE. And if they don't, I'll go talk to them."

They didn't want that. Of this I was sure. So I mustered courage I didn't have and tiptoed back into the salon in the corner of the mall.

Ahem. Excuse me. Sorry to bother...I pulled out a baggie containing the mini-earrings and explained what happened. The girl took the bag and said, "Well no wonder that happened. These are studs for babies." (Good grief.) We picked out the smallest of the ADULT size earrings and back into the chair I went. She marked my ears, I gripped the chair, and punchety punch punch! Two holes...and out the door I went.

I proudly showed the on-again, off-again, who said, "Um...this one here on the left. Does it look funny to you?"

YES, BUT WE DON'T TALK ABOUT IT OUT LOUD!

She had punched the holes pretty low on the lobe and apparently she got her angle wrong when she went in with the gun and the back of the earring was almost coming out the bottom of my ear.

I asked him if he thought I could get away with it. He raised one eyebrow. "This is for LIFE. You can't do that. They have to come out."

Are you KIDDING me? I was not about to do this again! But (again...ICK!) I knew he was right. So I compromised and took out the bad earring, leaving in the good one. For six weeks, I carefully hid my one earring under my hair and waited for the other ear to heal.

That time I declared I did not care WHERE I passed out or WHO saw it. I was not going back to that salon. With a friend in tow, I marched straight to the center of the mall, explained the whole story to the kiosk lady and asked for a piercing.

Sure! But I had to buy a full set of two earrings. WHAT! Now I know people get one ear pierced all the time. What do you mean I have to buy a set? But all fight was gone from me, so I forked over the money for the set of earrings, got my fresh little ear punch and...

...five holes later I had one set of single-pierced ears.

I know. I know. If God wanted me to have holes in my head, He would have put them there.

Home and Garden Show!

Last Saturday I worked my first event of 2012...the Fort Wayne Home and Garden Show! Doesn't this look so lovely, warm and inviting?
Too bad when I walked out of the building, I had to scrape a layer of snow and ice off my car. Good grief.

I love Home and Garden shows, and I was scheduled to work the closing shift, so I went a little bit early so I could meander around the place. The garden room was separate from the rest of the place, so I went there first. Took this picture - which will only mean something to my Financial Aid buddies. :)

I spent a great deal of time looking longingly at the hot tubs. It is one of my life dreams to have a hot tub. (Sigh...)

Then I ate my eleven dollar dinner...SIX of those dollars paying for a bottle of water and a medium Pepsi. My WORD. Concessions...not a 99 cent menu in sight.

I was very excited to find a larger than life picture of Phelps!!!

Sadly it wasn't this one: (Who, by the way, recently got a haircut. I'm in mourning. But I digress.)

Anyway. Back to the larger than life picture.

Yep - that was right around the corner from the station booth!

Know what ELSE was around the corner from our booth?

The sugar almonds. Oh. Be. Still. My. Beating. Heart. Do you have any idea how much I adore those? So I sat there and inhaled deeply...and may or may not have drooled.

This was the station booth. I thought it looked very springy and festive! (We had a lot of compliments on our flowers during my shift. I thought they were gorgeous.)

Here I am, all ready to work. You want to know what detail I did NOT think through very well? Wardrobe. What on EARTH possessed me to wear a fleece shirt to a room packed like a cattle stall? I about sweat to death for the first two hours. (Attractive, no?) Once the event began to wind down and the room emptied out, I was pleasantly comfortable.

I had fun meeting listeners...and several of them knew I was "the new girl." One even asked if my house had sold yet!

But here was my favorite story. I was just sitting there and this very nice woman came up and said "I love your blog! I saw you sitting over here and I knew it was you!" LOL!! That's the first time that has ever happened to me! So you know what I had to do of course!

Yep! Had to get a picture with my new friend Mary Jane! We had the best talk and she's FUN!

Loved my adventure at the Home and Garden show and also loved getting home without wrecking the car. (By the time I made it back to Marion, the bridges were solid ice. One even had police cars at each end, with lights on, to get people to slow down enough to make it safely across.)