Happy New Years!

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Click to have Snoopy dance for you :)

New Year's quiz!

I can't believe Christmas is over and pretty soon, 2011 will be too. I'm ready for 2012, how about you? Here's a fun quiz about the New Year...

WHAT SHOULD YOU CELEBRATE?

I think as children of the King we have a lot to be thankful for and for to celebrate but just for kicks, let's see what the quiz suggests ;)

Take the quiz HERE

My results:

It may have been a good year or a bad year, but no matter what, your friends helped get you through it. And you can't imagine celebrating New Year's Eve without your closest friends around.You are always happy to catch up with old friends on this night, and you're hoping to make some new ones too. So this year, raise a toast to old and new friends. They make every day of the year a little brighter.

I do love my friends! Seems fitting!
What'd you get? :)

Scribble Chicks!

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OCD'ness, coming out...

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Today is organization day. If I don't get some structure to Little Miss's pile (room!!??) of toys, I'm going to gnaw off my right foot. See ya after Target ;)

Have a blessed holiday!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE AND CHRISTMAS DAY! I hope your holiday is blessed and that you remember to take time to tell Jesus happy birthday :)

Merry Christmas Eve-Eve!

Merry Christmas Eve-Eve! Are you cooking and cleaning today, or taking it easy? I'm enjoying the day with my Little Miss and I think Christmas cookies are in order...

Are you an Elf or a Reindeer?

Good question, huh? :)

Take the quiz and find out HERE!

My results : (half right, half wrong. lol You guess which!)

You are a solid, dependable person. You are more likely to act than talk.You have a lot of endurance and grit. You can work well into the night if you need to.You are cooperative and competent. You like being part of a team, especially if everyone is pulling their weight.You are energetic and hyper. You don't like to stay still for to long, and you're always ready to go somewhere new!

What'd you get? :)

Scribble Chicks

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Ribbons and bows...

Yesterday's post was a little deep, so I'm giving you a break today ;)

What's the most random gift you bought this year? That would just sound funny if you told someone without telling the story behind it? Can you share? I'd love a giggle!

If you don't have a story like that, what's the most exciting thing you purchased this year? The gift you just can't WAIT for so-and-so to open, because you're just so giddy about it? I would tell you but my person might read my blog so I better not risk it. I'll tell ya Dec 26th ;)

Merry almost Christmas!

The real meaning of it all...

I don't know about you, but for me, it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas and get a bit forgetful of the real Reason for the Season.

I think about Jesus, of course. I pray. I read my Bible. I hear the sermons on the virgin birth in church. I listen to the holiday songs on the radio and teach them to my toddler. I help her wrap gifts and teach her that giving is as much fun as receiving (she doesn't believe me yet ::wink::) We go to friend's parties and eat yummy Christmas food and bake cookies and spend time together as family and look at Christmas lights and eat our weight in candy canes but...

where is Jesus in all that, REALLY?

Here's the thing. He can be in all of it. Even in the candy canes. If we just invite Him.

Have you invited Him to join you this year? Not just the baby in the manger but the God of the universe, into your home, into your hearth this season?

My pastor said it best in church this past Sunday - that sometimes in this season, we get caught up on the baby element, and the "awww" factor, and the cozy nativity scene in the stable (which BOY couldn't have been that cozy!! I seriously hope Mary wasn't allergic to goats or sheep) and forget the whole story. The birth is the beginning, but the real message is The End (which is really just another beginning) - the death and resurrection. We wouldn't be doing the world any favors by talking about a baby and not finishing the story of how He became a man, and what that Baby was born to do...

Die.

That's really the joy of Christmas. The whole package, which isn't wrapped neatly and doesn't fit under a tree.

But is better.

This season, I challenge you to take a moment to ponder the depths of it all. The birth AND life of Jesus. And most importantly, His death. Don't wait for Easter to think on that and celebrate the resurrection. This Christmas, celebrate that whole package, and better yet - give it away.

Gone shopping!

This was me today! Finishing up my Christmas shopping!

(though I wasn't nearly that skinny or sparkly...)

ScribbleChicks

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Well how could I resist...

...a Starbucks quiz? I just won a $15 gift card from a gift exchange game we did during our Sunday School class party last weekend, so it seemed only fitting ;)

Take the quiz HERE!

My results:

You Are a Peppermint Mocha (love this drink!)

You are a very popular person. People genuinely like you, and you keep friends for a long time.You are naturally outgoing. You get a thrill from being around others - whether they're old friends or perfect strangers.You love that life is bittersweet. You saver every emotion that you have.You like to be cozy and relaxed during the holidays. You save the stress for other people!

What'd you get? :)

A sneak peek

As promised, here is a link to some pics from Disney World!! :)

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150399060966701.348623.513656700&type=1&l=affa324137

S is for Stress

Writers live stressful lives. Not only do we juggle real life and its struggles, we also have to stress over an entire fictional world of imaginary characters that become dear to us, characters with problems to work out that aren't necessarily at first any easier to solve on paper than our real life issues are.

Stress and writing go hand in hand. So does a lot of other jobs, or even being a student! Man, I thought being a teen was rough when I was in high school. That was 10 years ago. I know it's ONLY gotten harder in so many ways.

So how do you handle stress and life? Life and writing? School and stress? Do you have a healthy method of coping? I usually pray, then eat chocolate, or vice versa. Or throw a cupcake in for good measure ;)

Seriously though, I do turn to comfort food when I get stressed, which isn't great. But I also like to indulge in relaxing methods like vegging out with a mindless movie or the show Cupcake Wars (love it!), or taking a hot bath, reading a new book, or doing something good for someone else to get my mind off my own drama. (like sending a handwritten card) I try not to go overboad on the comfort eating because man, wouldn't a professional counselor have a hayday with that one! Or the shopping, which is my other natural real-life-distraction technique. New shoes can really cure a LOT. So can white chocolate mochas....hehehe.

What do you do? And more importantly what SHOULD you do? (a.k.a, pray more, eat less?) I think we gloss over stress too much, and chalk it up as normal and common and a "get through it" thing but stress can really be bad for our bodies. My husband has been stressing over a paramedic test that really is a big deal, and its given him headaches and stomach pains. Sounds ridiculous, but when you're in that mode, it's hard to come out. That's why I think its important to fight the stress off from the beginning, then when it's gotten out of hand (like, with an ulcer, or in that moment where you realize you just ate 17 powdered donuts)

What do you think? How can we handle stress better? What does God say about it? I think essentially, stress is worry, and worry is ultimately a sin. Worry says we aren't trusting God for our good and for the outcome. Worry is fear over not being able to be in control. Yet GOD is in control. So much better than me being in control!

I'm totally preaching to the choir here, guys, but would love your feedback and thoughts and accountability.

Are you stressing today? Trusting? Eating? Shopping? =P Let's hear it...

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You really need to read this...

So one of the books I took on my trip with me to Disney World for the 49040594859045 hour car ride was Jim Rubart's "Rooms".

One word - WOW.

I loved this novel! Seriously amazing. I bought this one during the ACFW conference last September in the bookstore there, and just now got to it in my teetering To Be Read pile. I wish I had read it sooner! It took me off guard and really made me think. Sometimes books that are spiritually deep and inspiring aren't as great entertainment-wise or vice versa. Jim nailed both elements so perfectly. Highly recommend!

Here's some info on it! (and I really want this to be a movie one day!

Micah is a young software executive who seems to have everything. Except his faith, which he set aside as he pursued his career. All that changes when he discovers a house has been constructed for him in Cannon Beach, a place full of bitter memories and far removed from his fast-paced lifestyle. Micah intends to enlist the services of a real estate agent at once, but the mansion on Cannon Beach is no ordinary mansion. It feels like home, like it was designed just for him. And then new rooms appear. Some rooms are too frightening to enter. Some too pleasurable to leave. What follows is the journey into a heart of man. And the extraordinary measures God takes to draw us back to Him...

Yay for home!

Whew! I'm wiped out! Home from Disney as of last night, and wow, what a trip! I'm so glad to not be walking around a park right now or sitting in a car! :)


But we had a GREAT time and Little Miss was seriously amazing. SO patient in lines, very few mood swings. Her only "issue" during the week was wanting more and more toys from all the gift shops, which is understandable! I did too! lol Of course she made it out with several. My girl is not deprived!! ::eye roll:: But seriously, I was so proud of her and impressed with her sweet nature. She took naps in the stroller in the late afternoon as we strolled around, slept in her own room at the condo with no problem, never minded walking so much or waiting in lines for rides. And she was soooo brave with all the characters. She got to meet and get autographs/pictures with 13 or 14 characters throughout the week. I think we rode everything in Magic Kindom 4 times each. One of her favorites was the big Earth ball in Epcot! She also really enjoyed meeting Little Mermaid and Rapunzel from Tangled. She was in awe :)

Hubby and I had a little bit of a date one night in the countries at Epcot. We ate Moroccan food in Morroco (I had couscous!) and watched a belly dancer (not a good idea while stuffing your face with carbs FYI! ha!) and strolled through Germany and Italy and Norway and got chocolate apples and Hubby tried a German beer. It was a great evening while Little Miss hung out with my parents in "America". Hopefully one day me and him will get to the real Europe together ;)

We had a great time but it is GOOD to be home! I missed my bed! And my high heels! :)

I'm catching up now on work and emails and blog posts and interviews for my upcoming novel release. Get ready world, Addison is coming January 1st! Eeek!!

Pictures of the trip to come....

Happy Holidays - no really!

So I think the phrase "Happy Holidays" get a bad wrap. (pardon the pun. hahahaha)

Yes, we're Christians, and yes we should keep Christ as the center of Christmas, He is exactly the reason for the season. But because of the whole "Merry Christmas" controversy in the world, it's starting to seem like if you even say "Happy Holidays", you are automatically labeled as being anti "Merry Christmas".

Really, just even writing the above paragraph is exhausting.

I'm a Christian. I love Christmas. I love Jesus. I know Jesus is the reason for Christmas and without the virgin birth and glorious gift of our Lord and Saviour, there wouldn't be a Christmas at all. Hello, CHRIST-mas :) I get that.

But Happy Holidays is so nice to say too!

Try it.

See? :)

It encompasses all the holidays. Thanksgiving. Christmas. New Year. It's saying "Hey, I might not see you at Christmas or at New Years or even on Boxing Day, so Happy Holidays."

Meaning, "enjoy them all."

Not "I'm an athiest."

Sigh.

Okay, getting off my tinsel-trimmed soapbox now to say...

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!! :)

What do you say?

Wrapping paper or bags?

This quiz was super fun because I LOVE wrapping presents. Its the best! Especially now that I know how, and can do a good job. Trust me, I didn't know how to wrap corners daintily or even decently until about 5 years ago.

Blush.

Okay, enough embarassing moments from the past. Take the quiz HERE!

Here are my results.... pretty accurate except for the end. I LOVE wrapping!!!!! :)

You approach the holidays with joy and playfulness.You refuse to let the holidays be stressful. They should only be about fun.The holidays truly make you feel like a kid again.And you believe it's your job to make everyone else feel like a kid too!Of all the types, you're the most likely to give someone a gift early... because you can't wait.You're also the most likely to wrap your presents quickly - or not at all.

What'd you get? :)