Five Minute Friday: Friend

Deep and wide. Deep or wide.

I'd say I have rotating friends syndrome. Growing up at camp meant that friends entered in for a season, you grew close, shared life and developed bonds only to watch them leave and go back to their "real life" each year.

And I did the same. I said goodbye to my school friends for the summer to focus on my camp friends and then rotated back when the leaves turned and I traded flipflops and swimming pools for desks and books.

So I've been a wide friend, but not necessarily a deep friend.

I know a lot of people and a lot of people know me, but do many know me deeply?

Friendship has always been seasonal. I'm working to break the cycle.

There's the friend who has known me since sandbox days and the only one to earn the "best friend" title. Now we live 3 states apart and talk once, maybe twice a day but when we do it's sweet. We literally pick back up where we left off and our conversations have grown deeper over the years. Our history binds us together.

College brought me deep friends. Each year we retreat and try to keep in touch in the in-between. They are my people and I don't want to rotate out.

After college friends are hard. I think it's worth it so I'm doing things and putting myself out there. Watching tv shows that may not normally be my choice, attending parties and trying activities, sending text messages, cards and offering up meals, prayers and laughs. There's risk and there may hurt, but there's also reward.

So now I'm redefining my friend-style. 

I will be DEEP, diving into the pain, the heartache, asking the questions and really listening.

I will be WIDE, inclusive of others, willing to open my arms and my heart to possibilities.

I will be SEASONAL, standing by my friends through whatever season they be journeying through and inviting them into my season.

 

Joining in on the Five Minute Friday link up with Lisa-Jo Baker and also shouting out to Katie, a great friend who has stuck by me through many seasons and has gone into the depths. Go visit her, too, would you? 

How To Survive Losing Your Wisdom (Teeth)

A few weeks ago I had my first every surgery, first every anesthesia and lost all four of my wisdom teeth. Let me preface this by saying that I've heard stories from a lot of people ranging from eating pizza and shopping the next day to dry sockets and months of painful recovery. Unfortunately I fell somewhere in the middle.

All four of my teeth were impacted and a major nerve was totally exposed when they removed my tooth. It took me about 2 1/2 weeks to feel back to normal and even now, a month later I have some lingering side effects. I'm still using that gross little syringe to wash my mouth out and when I went to enjoy a juicy cheeseburger from Five Guys I had trouble opening my mouth wide enough to fit it in. Rough life, I know.

My sister had hers out yesterday and she didn't even get put under. What a champ! She's looking and feeling normal while I didn't eat solid foods for about 10 days!

Here are my tips for surviving losing all your wisdom (teeth)!

Stock up on entertainment- Netflix, baby, Netflix. I watched Parenthood, Hart of Dixie, Call the Midwife and a few movies.

Bathe at least semi-regularly- Common sense, right? On day 3 of recovery I decided to take a bath and the hot water felt so, so good for my body, soul and developing odor.

Ask a handsome young man to take care of you- I decided to go with my husband. Give him permission to take videos, you'll want to know what you said and did later. That being said, yes, I do have coming out of anesthesia videos. I was convinced we had gone snorkeling and then insisted I must have seen a fish tank, watched myself eat smoothie very methodically and deliberately and continually poked and named all of the numb areas of my face.

Buy soft foods and have some ideas before you go in - The last thing you'll want to be doing is trying to figure out what you can eat so have a plan. A few of my favorites were meal shakes, smoothies, sherbert, nightly milkshakes, mashed potatoes, tomato soup, jello, yogurt and pudding. ESPECIALLY pudding. I don't know why but man that stuff hit the spot!

Pro tip: Use a sundae spoon or maybe even a baby spoon. Seriously.

Have a comfy, cozy nest to hibernate in- 3 nests are even better! I rotated between my actual bed, our guest bed and the couch just for a change of pace and scenery. It helped me from becoming too stir-crazy.

Do what the doctor says! Rinse with salt water, ice and hot compresses, medicine, lots of sleep.

Selfies, everyday- Document those chipmunk cheeks! Be wise about who you send them to, you never know when that text or snapchat might come back to haunt you!

Trust me, in comparison, this is flattering. And those ice packs? Ziplocks, ice cubes, bandanas and a curtain tie, courtesy of the creative handsome hubby.

Have a friend to commiserate with. Find someone else who is sick so that you can be pathetic together. My sister Emily is serving in the Peace Corp in Africa and got sick the same week I was recovering. We were able to FaceTime and she cracked up at the size of my cheeks while I laughed at the red spots on her face. Maybe that only works with sisters? We also watched 2 episodes of New Girl on FaceTime together since she can't access most American websites that stream tv or movies.

You'll make it! Try and enjoy the time even if it hurts and you don't make it back to work when you thought you would or you start to go crazy from the time alone. It'll end, promise. Look on the bright side; endless hours of Netflixing with no guilt, milkshakes every day and you may even lose a few pounds from that liquid diet! And if you need to commiserate, I got your back.

Clumsy Crafting: Shoe Redo

And now, for another edition of clumsy crafting! Other clumsy crafts have happened on frames, circle scarves and key boxes, and envelopes.

Once upon a time, (literally, only one time) I went to a golf course. Oh wait, technically I worked at a country club one summer and there was a golf course there. But this was the one and only time I actually set foot on the green. How'd I do, you ask? Well, I wasn't even golfing, I was staffing a fundraiser.

Since I was a total golf newbie and had no idea what to wear my friend LJ and I decided to invest in golf outfits so we donned polo shirts and khaki shorts then headed to Target and bought matching $8 white tennis shoes. We spent the day calling one another Victoria and Veronica and speaking in British accents. Obviously that's what golfers do.

Anyway, a few years later and those shoes have spent way more time in the back of my closet than on my feet. Part of my spring fever has involved cleaning, sorting and getting rid of junk! When I came across these old shoes it was either update and change or pitch.

I found this tutorial on Pinterest and used it almost exactly. The Hobby Lobby staff didn't know what crochet tape was so I just bought a normal spool of lace which was only $1 and worked perfectly. I struggled to get the soles out so I just left them in. They aren't as cute but I figure when my feet are in the shoes you can't see them anyway. Mine are also quite a bit darker than hers but I wanted them to hide the dirt a little better.

Basically all you do is remove the laces, boil a huge pot of plain black tea, let the shoes steep for about 15-20 minutes, rinse, dry, throw in the washer and then thread lace instead of shoelaces.

This was surprisingly a really, really easy project for a pretty awesome result! I wore them today to work and they were the perfect spring shoe. It's good to get those creative juices flowing!

What do you think? Would you ever boil your shoes in tea? Would you consider drinking the tea after the shoes had been in it? Yeah... me neither...

April Goals

It is time for spring, can I get an amen?! I am a proud Michigander and I love winter but when it's the last day of March and there is still over a foot of snow in my yard it's time to move on. Thanks for coming winter, you were white and wonderful now get out!

I guess what I'm saying is that between this weather, a bout of the flu and a week at home recovering from having my wisdom teeth out spring fever is kicking in hardcore and I'm ready to move! Do you ever get that feeling like you've just been surviving a season and you're ready to thrive in the next? That's where I find myself. No more aimless drifting with my days and time, hopefully publishing some goals for myself will help me to stay motivated and make progress.

image via

I've never done monthly personal goals before so let'd do this, April!

1. Finish one house project.
2. Go on one intentional date with the husband.
3. Blog at least once per week.
4. Set up meeting time with mentor couple.
5. Switch out winter & summer clothes.
6. Mail out 2 homemade cards.
7. Exercise 3 times a week. 

What about you? Are you a goal setter? Got any advice or encouragement for me? I'd love to hear!

I'm linking up with Tiny Twig and other goal-setting gals today.

Life Lately

The biggest thing going on in my world right now is that I'm 4 teeth less wise! Tuesday morning I went in for oral surgery and got all 4 wisdom teeth out. Maybe I'll write a post on surviving the recovery but for now I'm pretty laid up on the couch with soft foods and ice packs all around so I thought I'd share a little insight on what else is new.

Eating: Smoothies, milkshakes, jello and pudding! Winning recipes have included the Mango Avocado Spinach Smoothie  and French Toast Protein Shake. 

Listening: Podcasts! I especially like listening while getting ready in the morning and driving. My favorite is the Relevant podcast, also on my playlist are NPR's Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me and the Bobby Bones Show.

Reading: Still doing the Word In, Word Out project and just read the story of Gideon. For kicks and giggles 'Second Thyme Around' by Katie Fforde, a British chick-lit novel. Nice and easy.

Hoping: For the longest winter in the history of my life to END! Three weeks ago I said I'd stop complaining but man oh man has it ever been hard! Just this morning (March 26) we woke up to 2 inches of fresh snow! I need grass, spring, flowers, sunshine! At this point I would even take mud. Not complaining. Kinda. Maybe a little. Ok, done now.

Watching: Parenthood! I got a Netflix subscription to help me make it through this wisdom teeth ordeal and I'm almost done with season 3.

Planning: Memorial Day camping trip with our buddies and Thanksgiving trip to North Carolina! Having things to look forward to is good for my spirits.

Thankful For: The chance to go and celebrate a baby shower with my college girlfriends last weekend. We may only get together a couple times a year but each time we pick up like it's only been a day and I laugh so hard I cry.

What's going on in your life lately?

Word In, Word Out {Made It Through Leviticus!}

Read about my Word In, Word Out project

It seems ironic that the week I decided to start partnering blogging with reading through the Bible I hit Leviticus. Not only did I hit Leviticus, but I hit mostly chapters containing rules on boils, itching, baldness (Lev 13, check it out) and mold. Yikes!

Happily I made it through and not only made it through but I'm on track with the daily readings. (Pause for cheering.) Yay! Seriously, if there was any goal I was going to keep, I'm glad it's this one.

I mentioned before that I'm keeping a notebook just for when I'm doing my daily reading to jot down verses, ideas and questions that jump out at me.

Deuteronomy 2:7 was a verse that really struck me and less than a week later the speaker at the CCCA conference shared it. Repetition of scripture has been one of the major ways God has used the Bible to speak to me so you better believe I'm listening! This is my current memory verse, might it be a good one for you to memorize, too? Let me know if you do, we can help each other!

What a comfort to know that God is blessing what I'm doing. He's watched as I've traveled some difficult paths and roads and has been with me. I truly haven't lacked in anything.

Since this verse has been so heavy on my heart I shared it with my interns at a staff meeting. It struck me that if this verse is true (which I believe it is) then it was true one month ago and will be true 5 years from now. If God is saying that you have not lacked anything and this verse will be true in the future then I'm not lacking anything RIGHT NOW, regardless of what I may feel.

Amen, amen, amen!

Five Minute Friday: Crowd

With some prompting from my friend Katie, I'm joining Lisa Jo Baker  for Five Minute Friday, my first ever. Basically you write unedited for 5 minutes on the prompt which this week is CROWD. Here we go!

Crowds. Love 'em!

As an oldest child in a family of 4 and growing up on a camp I've been surrounded with crowds my whole life. I'm an extrovert in that I get my energy from being around lots of people. I suffered from "FOMO" before I knew it was a thing. In college if I found myself sitting alone for longer than half an hour I immediately started looking for a group of people to join in with.

And then I moved to Northern Minnesota for a year. Nothing in Northern Minnesota is crowded unless it's the frozen lake on an ice fishing Saturday. It's beautiful and serene but when you can drive for 20 minutes without passing a single car, you're out there.

At first it was hard. Where were the people? How would I survive? How would I ever find energy if I couldn't draw from a group? I was so far out there I didn't even have a library to get new books from. So I started spending more and more time alone. Well, alone with my laptop and seasons of Friends.

I didn't love that "uncrowded" season of my life, but I got through it.

When I found myself living back in a place where I had neighbors, plans and crowds around me again I realized I'd changed.

This extrovert had discovered an introverted side that I never would've guessed existed.

Nowadays I need that balance and I think that's come from my season of quietness but also from maturing and growing up a little. Rather than run to a crowd to fill my time I need to reconnect with myself (and still sometimes with that laptop and seasons of Once Upon A Time). My soul starts to feel crowded if I don't give myself that breathing space and I think that's a good place for me to be in.