Five Minutes: Together

Each week Gypsy Mama chooses a word to write about for five minutes. No editing, stream of consciousness. Today's word is: Together.

Ready. Set. Write.

As a single gal, I do a lot of things alone.  I eat most meals alone. I shop alone. I make decisions independently.  And lest you begin to have pity on me, for the most part, I enjoy those things.  I attribute that ability to function solo without fear and trepidation to two parents who raised me to be an independent soul...along with the fact of being an only child.

Even though I spread my wings solo, being together with others brings joy to my heart.  Last weekend I drove to Elizabethtown to spend about five hours of girl time with my friend, Julie.  We laughed, we ate good food, we watched a train flatten a penny...we acted much younger than our ages.  Tonight four sweet friends are BYOF (Bringing Your Own Food) and coming to my house for a night of girl fun.  One of these sweet friends, Tracy, is visiting from Georgia and we get to reunite the OPC clan for a few hours of sweet togetherness.  Early in the beginning of man, God said it wasn't good for man to be alone.  He said that right before he created Woman.  And though that point was meant to create the relationships that would pro-create the earth, God knew flying solo all the time wouldn't be good.

I'll enjoy the togetherness I experience and when it's done, I'll enjoy my time alone until the next time of sweet togetherness.

I'm a Pin-Up Girl

When I was first introduced to Pinterest, I found it intriguing, but just didn't get it. Maybe I should clarify...I got it, it just didn't seem to apply to me. For those that have resided under a rock for the last six months, Pinterest is one of the fastest growing new social networks in the internet-isphere. The premise is much like online scrapbooking or those wish books you might have made in your past. You create various "boards" where you can virtually "pin" images of things you find that you want to save for future reference.

After I requested my invitation to join, I started perusing the pins of those I began following and was a bit depressed. All I saw was wedding planning (which, if that day comes won't take much planning as I've been standing on the ready for quite a while), baby and child planning/rearing (see "wedding planning"), and interior decorating (not my forte). I almost gave up until my friend, Amy, who had fallen head over heels in love with the site, gave me a short tutorial. She would say "going to Pinterest just calms me." I would roll my eyes and say, "yeah, ok, whatever." Then after explaining to me how to structure my boards to really collect what I'm interested in, the light bulb came on and I was sold. I admit I'm a sharp cookie, but sometimes I'm a few chocolate chips short of genius at times.

I now love Pinterest. When I need to go to a happy place, many times Pinterest can take me there quickly. Am I as obssessed as some? No. But what I have done is found some absolutely wonderful ideas on things that I enjoy. The collection of recipes I have is amazing. Although I don't get to cook often for more than me, I do dream of planning meals and such (see the above mention of a future husband). I've tried a couple of things from my Food board and I'll be sure to post on some of my successes so you can enjoy the goodness I found. I'm not a Fashionista or makeup artist, but I'm interested in fashion, beauty products and the lastest styles. My "Work it Girl" board and "Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder" board really let me dream and find ideas and styles I want to refer to later. And, even though I'm *still* working on that first afghan, I stumbled upon a bevy of crochet patterns for afghans that made me salivate....along with all sorts of crafty things that make my heart flutter!

I'm no Marilyn Monroe, but I do enjoy being a 21st Century Pin-Up Girl!

Five Minutes: Good-Bye

Each week Gypsy Mama chooses a word to write about for five minutes. No editing, stream of consciousness. Today's word is: Good-Bye.

Ready. Set. Write.

Yesterday would have been the 29th birthday of Jan Harriott, my sweet Trinidadian friend. But she went home to be with her Savior last May and I'm still not happy about having to say good-bye.

I really didn't get to say an official good-bye since she fell sick and went down very quickly. I did talk to her a week before her passing and I cherish the fact that I called...all due to winning tickets to a Michael Buble' concert wanting her to join me. That concert occured two weeks after her passing and it was bittersweet. I still hear her laugh, I still hear her funny phrases, I still long to have those spiritual conversations that sharpened me. I still don't understand, but know she is free from pain, suffering, and the struggle of finding a way to stay in the US legally.

I don't like good-byes. They are so final and I prefer the phrase "see ya later." But I know that many who cross my path I may never see again because if they leave this earth in death and don't know and follow my Savior, that is the end. Thankfully I will see Jan again, and presume she is living it up with my Mom right now and they are having more fun than I can imagine. If you don't know Jesus, if you don't have that eternal security knowing that when you die, you will live forever with Him, talk to me. I want to share with you the best news ever that will ensure that we never have to say good-bye.

Five Minutes: Gift

Each week Gypsy Mama chooses a word to write about for five minutes. No editing, stream of consciousness. Today's word is: Gift.

Ready. Set. Write.

Of all of the love languages, gifts isn't at the top of my list. Oh, don't get me wrong, I love getting gifts, but my idea of those are different than most. You see, I'm a practical kind of girl and a gift card to Amazon, Starbucks or Qdoba makes me one happy camper.

This past Christmas I received some of the coolest gifts. The Roederers gave me a Keurig coffee maker! It left me speechless (which is a tough thing to do). But for this coffee lover, having the ability to make myself a cup at a time is glorious. Then, my friend, Christie took me to see the Broadway production of Mary Poppins for Christmas. The production just came to town two weeks ago, so the gift was later in coming but oh, so much fun! I love the theater and would take a gift like that any day. Then, to make the Keurig even better, my friend, John, sent tons of K-Cups as a Christmas gift. I may not have to buy coffee for months!

Gifts that are practical are just as sweet as elaborate expensive gifts to me. Gifts of spending quality time with my friends mean even more. I am longing to spend time with friends I haven't spent time with in weeks....and some for months. It aches my heart. Being with my friends is the most wonderful gift.

Chim, Chim, Cheree and Hoop-De-Do

As I'm oft to do, I'm filling a blog post with my random thoughts and happenings over the past few weeks...

I saw Mary Poppins, the Broadway production, at the Kentucky Center for the Arts a couple of weekends ago, thanks to my good friend and NOK (Next of Kin), Christie. Knowing my love for the theater, she gave me this outing for Christmas and it was the perfect gift for me. Lest you think it's just for kids, oh no. The performance is quite a spectacle. My favorite part was the chimney sweep dance to "Step in Time." One of the chimney sweeps literally walked up the wall and upside down on the ceiling. The biggest win of the night was no traffic hassles and great parking given the UK Wildcats were playing two blocks away in the NCAA Tournament. We even scored parking for $6 instead of $20 because we didn't pre-pay and left long after the last game ended at the YUM Center. God loves me, this I know.

Speaking of the NCAA Tournament games, it's like Derby week here in Louisville as the biggest.game.ever is about to be played Saturday evening. The Final Four match up of the Louisville Cardinals....surprised to be in the Final Four...and the Kentucky Wildcats...who was the #1 seed in the tournament overall. To explain the magnitude of this game would take hours, but you have the former UK coach (Pitino) going up against the top-seeded Wildcats with an underdog team for bragging rights in the State until the next Final Four match up or until Jesus comes, whichever comes first. Literally, this game is like the greatest 40 minutes in sports for 2012, if not the century. Thankfully, I like both teams and will be happy that one of them will get to the championship game. Most people think I'm nuts for not standing firm in the blue or red, but I've always loved purple best.

Speaking of God loves me, this I know, we had our annual women's conference last weekend at my church. Heather Moore, a former member and friend, spoke during the weekend on some very pointed topics that were so needed. I'll be honest...life is going at a fast pace and I needed a shot of some good spiritual nourishment and it was right on time. One of the ladies in my Bible study I lead said last night "we need to do that every weekend!" Yes, that would be amazing but it would also kill our conference team. We love them and don't want that to happen.

Speaking of killing, I've started The Hunger Games. I caved under the pressure after hearing great things about it and decided that for $5 on my Kindle, it was worth it. I have gotten through the first chapter and anxious to read more if I can just find some time to do so. Life is just so busy that I need a good few hours to curl up in my recliner, but the odds have not been in my favor.

Speaking of crazy, my job is crazy busy and I'm seeking 3 new hires for my team. I had one person on board who never showed up - but that's another blog post for another day. With all the craziness, we laugh a lot. Wait, a ton. I've always said my office is a dead ringer for The Office and it just keeps proving that theory more and more. Some of the humor is lost on those of you outside our walls, but some is worthy of sharing and just flat hilarious. The latest humor happened this week. We all receive an email about a new service starting this Wednesday called "Waiter on Wheels." You log on to our corporate site for the 'virtual cafeteria' and you can order your lunch to be delivered. You have to pay for it, of course, but it provides the perk of delivery and probably discounted food given it's a corporate plan. All excited about the food perk, I log on the site and start to see the bevy of restaurant choices when I realize that the service isn't available in our area. It's only available for the corporate office in northern California. I emailed our admin at corporate to inquire if maybe the service was expanding. She replied that we weren't supposed to get the email and they are working on perks like this for the remote offices. Well, that's a fail. Thank goodness we still have free soft drinks.