TVT

Hey guess what? It's the best day of the week! I know I've fallen off the face of the blog-earth, but what better day to make a come back than on a Thursday? This way everything you have missed out on in my life can be thrown in your face at once in one giant TVT.  I have a whole entire list of thoughts to vomit atcha today, but I'm also watching part 1 of the Project Runway season finale, so we'll see how long my attention span lasts. Also, in case you were wondering, Thought Vomit Thursdays are for everyone! Feel free to do your own TVT and you also can use the TVT picture above if you'd like. Here goes. 

• I want a pair of boots. I keep going back and forth about whether I want true "cowboy" boots or more fashion-ish boots, but I want them. I was thinking of picking out the exact pair that I want and then asking for them for Christmas, but the thing about that is that I want to wear them through the winter, because as soon as like, February hits it will, of course, be flip flop season again. It would be a shame to only get to wear them for 2 months this year, wouldn't it? 
• Jon wants to go to the Texas State Fair this weekend. I'm skeptical. What do you all think? Is it worth the money? Take in to consideration the fact that we'll have Cadence with us and there is potential for it to be uncomfortably hot and/or cold. Hmmmm....
• So, the reason I've disappeared off the face of the blog planet is because I've been crazy busy! For the record, it drives me crazy when people say "sorry, I've been super busy!" Um, shut up, we're all busy, stop making excuses. So in order to not be that person, I'll bring you up to speed with what's been going on. First I went on a big long trip! Cadence went with me, so it was quite an adventure. I flew from Dallas to Phoenix where I spent 4 days with my best friend Steph for her bridal shower. We had so much fun! I miss being able to hang out with her whenever I want to. Then I flew from Phoenix to Denver where I stayed with my parents for 6 lovely days so that I could attend my 10 year HS reunion. The day after we returned back to Dallas was me and Jonathon's second wedding anniversary! So we went out for a family dinner with Cadence to celebrate, but Jonathon wasn't feeling very well so we cut the evening's celebration short. Jon took the next day off from work so that he could moan and cry in bed all day get better, and then we got to have a real celebration on Saturday night! We got a babysitter and went to dinner at Kona Grill, which has historical value for us since it's the restaurant that we first met at and started talking and flirting and then that week we began dating! So we ate at Kona for some fabulous sushi, then walked around the mall for a while to kill some time before our movie! We went to see the new Footloose.... let me just tell you, we LOVED it. It was one of the best movies I've seen in a LOOOONG time. It was so fun and inspiring and just plain awesome. Part of why I loved it so much was because they gave it a big country twist, so if you're not into country you may not like it as much as Jon and I did, but I think you'd still love it. Highly recommend. So those are the highlights of my recent "busy-ness." I had so much fun, but I'm glad to be back! 
• While I was in Colorado, I had a chance to meet up with my dear friend Natalie. Our moms met and became friends before we were around, so we've been friends since my birth (she's older than me by 7 months I think). Now we have babies that are also 7 months apart, and this was the first time they got to meet one another! I didn't take pictures (yet again) but Nat did. You can see them here. 
• Today I got a new pair of jeans! This is very exciting, because, as it turns out, tall curvy girls don't fit into jeans very well, so it takes me forever to find a pair that fits right, and when I find the perfect pair it inevitably costs $296. Ok not really, but lets just say that my best friend can buy cute jeans at Ross for $15 a pair, and I'm jealous. Ross doesn't carry jeans in long sizes or with curvy fits. For the longest time I've been buying my jeans at GAP because they make jeans that fit... but they cost $80-$90 a pair when you add in taxes. So I was talking to my mom about my predicament and she said "why don't you buy jeans at New York & Co?" this is a genius suggestion. I have always bought my dress pants there for work, why wouldn't I buy my jeans there? But I didn't think they actually carried jeans. So my moms group meets in a mall each Wednesday, so while I was there yesterday I stopped in out of curiosity, and sure enough! They carry jeans. I went home empty handed though, thinking I'd add them to my wish list for Christmas, but Jon convinced me to go back today and buy them. I don't know if he was so adamant about this because a. he's a super sweet husband or b. my only other pair of jeans that I own and that fits well right now has a giant hole on the butt... but either way, I got a new pair of jeans today! Yay! 
• I'm notorious for adding a bazillion projects to my to do list and then getting stressed over the amount of things I didn't have to do but chose to do anyway. So right now I'm trying to make halloween costumes for me and Jon, make curtains for our bedroom, and cross stitch a big project for Steph's wedding. So far the halloween costumes are ... in progress, the curtains are currently a roll of fabric that's been sitting in the corner of our room for about 2 months now, and the cross stitch is about 1/3 of the way done. I'll post pictures when they're all done! 
• So, about 3 months ago I dyed my own hair. I love the color, but now I, of course, have roots... which I feel need to be fixed before I'm attacked by the crazy amount of pictures I'll be posing in for Steph's wedding in 17 days. So I'm trying to decide whether I should buy another kit and do it myself, or go in to a salon. The problem here is that we had a little mishap with the original kit used before. It was only supposed to highlight my hair, but we accidentally did all of my hair. It turned out to be a happy mistake since I love it, but now I don't know how to match the color for the roots. If I buy the same kit, it's a highlighting kit that comes with a cap. The box says not to dye your hair without the cap. But I just want to put it on my roots... do you think it will really hurt my scalp or anything if I ignore the box and just do what I want? My other option is to go to a salon and shell out $60+ to make sure it's matched properly. I want it to match right, but don't want to pay that much money.... dilemma. 
• Cadence's sleep schedule has not improved. I'm going crazy. I will seriously try ANYTHING at this point. I'm so exhausted. But thank God Jonathon let me take a nap when he got home from work today, when is why I now have the energy to blog! Have I mentioned how wonderful my husband is???
• Speaking of my wonderful husband, have I mentioned how hard he works for our family? And this week he interviewed and got a second job working at Starbucks to earn some supplementary income. I'm so proud of him! But also a little sad about losing my weekends with him. But we'll make it work! 
• Our internet provider SUCKS. We currently use Clear. Don't use them. They require that you have your bills paid through auto pay, and today they pulled out more than we owed for the second time. If this is anything like the last time, it will be a huge fight to get it refunded, so that's what I have to look forward to tomorrow! Plus, our actual internet service blows. Half the time it doesn't work. Jon is convinced that it's an issue with my MacBook Pro, but I think he's just hatin' on my Mac on principal. =) Either way, Clear sucks. 
• Cadence is now mobile enough that she's getting into EVERYTHING. So I think childproofing is another thing to add to the to do list, but I don't really know where to start. We've been able to put this off for quite a while since Cadence has developed mobility slower than the average baby, but now it's unavoidable. I have zero interest in trying to drill latches into all of our apartment rental drawers, cabinets, etc. so I was hoping to do the adhesive latches. Anyone know if they remove cleanly when we move out? And who has a recommendation for good baby proofing stuff that doesn't cost a fortune?
• Last week I started a Pinterest account, and I'm LOVING it! Feel free to follow my pins if you'd like! One of my latest pins is a recipe for Pumpkin Short Bread, which I made earlier this week and not only is it a Lara-approved recipe (read: easy to make, hard to screw up), but it's also DELICIOUS! I recommend. 
• My Bible study is currently reading a book called "Desire" by John Eldredge. It was formerly published as "Journey of Desire." I really love this book. It's probably the first Christ-centered book I've read in a long time that totally relates to me where I'm at. He makes a lot of bold statements, which I love. They are the exact type of statements that I have always felt in my heart, but are a bit too bold to just throw out there in the average conversation. I highly recommend reading this book. Next week instead of our regular study, we're going to a speaking event where we will get to hear John Eldredge speak. I'm really excited to hear what he'll have to say! 

I'll leave you all with one of my favorite (so far) parts of "Desire"... sorry it's kind of long, but I think it's good! 

"Sin is the bottom line, and we have the cure.  Typically it is a system of knowledge or performance, or a mixture of both. Those in the knowledge camp put the emphasis on getting our doctrine in line. Right belief is seen as the means to life. Desire is irrelevant, content is what matters. But notice this- the Pharisees knew more about the Bible than most of us ever will, and it hardened their hearts. Knowledge just isn't all it's cracked up to be. If you are familiar with the biblical narrative, you will remember that there were two special trees in Eden- the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life. We got the wrong tree. We got knowledge, and it hasn't done us much good. (....) Christianity is often presented as essentially the transfer of a body of knowledge. We learn about where the Philistines were from, and how much a drachma would be worth today, and all sorts of things about the original Greek. The information presented could not seem more irrelevant to our deepest desires. Then there are the systems aimed at getting our behavior in line, one way or another. Regardless of where you go to church, there is nearly always an unspoken list of what you shouldn't do (tailored to your denomination and culture, but typically rather long) and a list of what you may do (usually much shorter- mostly religious activity that seems totally unrelated to our deepest desires and leaves us only exhausted). And this, we are told, is the good news. Know the right thing, do the right thing. This is life? When it doesn't strike us as something to get excited about, we feel we must not be spiritual enough. Perhaps once we have kept the list long enough, we will understand. We don't need more facts, and we certainly don't need more things to do. We need Life, and we've been looking for it ever since we lost Paradise. Jesus appeals to our desire because he came to speak to it. When we abandon desire, we no longer hear or understand what he is saying. But we have returned to the message of the synagogue; we are preaching the law. And desire is the enemy. After all, desire is the single major hindrance to the goal- getting us in line. We are told to kill desire and call it sanctification. Or as Jesus put it to the Pharisees, "You load people down with rules and regulations, nearly breaking their backs, but never lift even a finger to help" (Luke 11:46 The Message). " 

Good night, all!