Phoning It In #27

Pure-Bread Corgis. lol  Somewhere between T-Swift's coded sourdough talk (Super Bowl 60 Half-Time!?) and my consistent love of cute Corgi puppies, this is the kind of nonsense FB has decided to show me, and I'm totally here for it. lol

I wish I were making this per session! lol  No, but really, I'm doing better with counseling lately, and I'm more concerned with getting direct hours than making a living in that field right now.  It's become clear to me that this candidacy season is the most difficult part of the journey for all therapists, so that really helps normalize it!  I feel calmer about the whole timeline at this point, more okay with getting hours on the side rather than full-time, confident that the LPC path is part of my journey to being a CCU professor and maybe a Supervisor down the road... so I'm willing to stay the course whilst keeping my CR job with good pay and benefits!

Lynette and Harry accidentally matching last week. lol  They're cute and fun.  She was the first person to really befriend me at Evergreen, then I was in their Sunday School class for a while, and I'm grateful for that!

Jeffrey's 3rd trip to Vegas inspired a group text about the Glamour Shots spot... which he reminded me is at The Venetian Grand Canal Shoppes! 
P.S.  I miss Vegas.  We need to make that trip happen, Kristin!

Speaking of Kristin, here's a lovely pic of her fam in this new school season! ❤

Laughed out loud at this one... but also kinda loved the idea of  "A good mom" being the main thing I'm remembered for! =)

Watched this gem on Tubi last weekend... still so much fun!!
"Brrr, it's cold in here!!  There must be some Clovers in the atmosphere!"

I'm in a group text with my CCU roomies, two of whom have college daughters at the University of Arkansas.  There were multiple reports of active shooters on that campus, and for 2-3 hours on Monday afternoon, we were all praying for them and getting chaotic text updates as they tried to confirm that their daughters were safe, hearing varied news reports and updates.  Eventually, they learned it was a false report - thank God.  Mom said those have been happening a lot lately, and it causes real panic and trauma for a lot of students and their families, and I hate everything about that!  Since then, there has been another very real school shooting, followed by more social media debates about gun laws and the criminal mindset...  There's a lot of brokenness in the world, and sometimes I feel that very deeply.  Praying for God to empower wise leaders who will inspire a resurgence of character and integrity - and for myself and other believers in the church to be genuinely repentant and prayerful, because that is the actual key to God healing our nation (2 Chron. 7:14).  It's up to us - and our choices matter to God and others.

Yes to this.

Hoping to finish my homework early so I can go see Deathly Hallows in theaters this weekend. lol

Love this!  The best illustration I've found for this concept - Scriptural truth and scientific evidence are never in conflict; the only conflict arises through human error and misinterpretation.  (Reason #707 that I'm grateful to be at CCU, where this article about integrating Christianity was part of our first discussion post in my statistics class!)

Speaking of CCU, I think the leadership class has permanently upgraded my mental programming. Unlike math or other subjects I learn for the exam then quickly forget, this really matters to me, and it has updated the way I process life.  I mentioned that I'm watching a documentary on the 1990s Dallas Cowboys.   Not sure if I'll finish it, as there is really no one to root for.  It's a lot of big egos, bravado, and mindless partying... and the broken relationships, broken laws, and other consequences that come along with that.  They made a lot of money and won a few Super Bowls, but with a near-complete lack of integrity, wisdom, and accountability across the board.  It's more of a lesson in how *not* to lead and manage a team.  So I'll stick with Ted Lasso!

Cute. =)

Aunt Lindsey and Parker E. random fun collage from Google Photos! =)

Anxiety is not my major struggle, but I like the idea that my job as a counselor is to help clients shift their perspective and see their strengths more clearly.

I had two sessions after work yesterday, then I was up late with homework, but I got it done and submitted on time.  It's another very rainy morning here in Cleveland County.  I spent part of it on the phone with US Bank cancelling my SF card due to another fraudulent charge issue... ugh!  In spite of that, I'm grateful to be feeling more on top of things in most areas of life, and I'm confident/hopeful this will be a good day ahead! ❤

I love you and believe in you, and I hope you focus on your God-given resilience
and ability to grow more than your weaknesses today!

❤ ❤ ❤

Keep Going!

Happy Tuesday!  I'm off work today and tomorrow, then covering our office phones all day Thursday + Friday afternoon.  It's a legit break week from school, and I only have 2-3 virtual clients this week!!  I took a nap after work today and plan to get extra rest tomorrow too - I need it, and I'm very grateful for God orchestrating all of the above!!

I also have my ultrasound to determine whether I'll need surgery this morning.  Not positive how soon I'll know the results, but prayers are appreciated for peace and faith either way.

And now, I'm diving into a photo catch-up post, including several memes and random pictures I've saved over the past few weeks! =)

❤ ❤ ❤

Brothers pics, three years apart.  (2013 - 2017 - 2021 - 2025)

Dentist Neil and fam celebrating his bday yesterday + Pastor Craig and Amy

Surprisingly, I haven't Googled or watched this entire podcast yet, but the clips I'm seeing all. over. my. FB. feed have been fun, and I'm glad they're happy together!

Laughed out loud at this one. =)

Jeff Moore with all the "Keep going" memes - I'm a fan!

Lol this is the sense of humor I would imagine worms would have. =)

Aww, memories of 1990s McDonald's playgrounds!!

Not Jeff Moore, but the keep going message is still appreciated!

Just me, randomly looking at wedding cakes and saving ones I like. lol  Whyyy??  Who knows.  For the record, I would do the middle one with red, pinks, yellow, orange, and white roses + the Laurannae bride's cake for the cake & icing!  And a better cake topper. lol  And the groom's cake would be the Lauranna chocolate cake with cookies and cream icing and loads of chocolate covered strawberries.  And there would be a fun cookie table room like they talk about on Annie & Eddie's podcast.  (And I have like 1,000 other ideas on the food and dresses and decor and music and slideshows and venue.)  Just missing an awesome groom. lolol  Details.

YES to this one.  Speaking of, I'm likely making this blog private soon.  I so don't want to, but feel like I need to in this season of counseling work.

Lindsay's birthday this month + the Shoemaker fam as the kids start with their new school in Texas!

Not positive where I heard this, but the quote itself stuck with me:  "If you tend toward obsession in any area, abstinence is usually better than moderation."  I keep thinking about that one.

Fultons on their August vacation to Fort Walton Beach + Hannah with her Cottage Flower business!

Another meme I've thought about a lot.  I'm doing my best to batch similar tasks - really focusing on court reporting work, then counseling progress notes and treatment plans, then homework... without switching back and forth 1000 times.  

Last week was the first week back for Evergreen - yay Wilsons and Fosters (and future Muecke child)! lol

The audiobook I'm listening to lately talks about how our food and workout choices are always tending toward a pattern of decay (hibernation-style stagnancy and indulgence) or healthy growth (building stamina, energy, muscles, etc.).  I think the same is true for our relationships.

Chet sent me a poster for The Holiday 2... Googled it.  It was fake.  Why do people do that!?  Then I got curious about how old the cute British daughters would be... 27, and a very different look now.  So I'm good with sticking to the original movie, which was near perfection!  Not everything needs a sequel!!

Narrowing down what I really want; feeling more engaged and purposeful!

Run with endurance - pay attention to what God has set before you.  Strip off what weighs you down and continually trips you up.  Heaven is cheering for you! 

That's all for now.  Have a fantastic Tuesday!

I love you and believe in you. 

Keep going!!

❤ ❤ ❤

Beauty Icons of Yesteryear

Going with something lighter and a little shallow today - the women who defined beauty for me in the late '90s and early 2000s!

There was once a life-size poster of this black-and-white Estee Lauder ad in our local mall.  I remember just standing there and being mesmerized by it.  My teenage self was convinced that Elizabeth Hurley was the epitome of beauty and class (pre-Austin Powers, of course). lol  She did approximately 500 other ads for Estee Lauder, many of which were more globally popular (based on how long it took me to find this particular photo), but this was the clear favorite for me, and still what would immediately come to mind if I put on any Estee Lauder makeup or perfume!

Total twinsies, right!? ;-)  I remember feeling so grown up and proud of this tapered-bob haircut in 8th grade, and I can almost promise I was thinking of Liz and this ad when I did my hair for this 1998 photo!

Next up is everyone's favorite older sister, DJ Tanner.  Candace Cameron had a natural beauty and radiant joy, a round face, golden-blonde hair, and a fluctuating body size that made her character more real and relatable for me.  That coupled with me growing up as she was growing up on TV, so her '90s fashion choices all felt perfectly on point!

Once again, I loved her shorter haircut in the final season of Full House and equated that with being a real grown up!

1995 Alicia Silverstone, more specifically Cher in Clueless.  Her vocabulary, confidence, wardrobe, hairstyles, lip liner, workout routine, pink fuzzy pen, leather jacket, cute heels, plaid suit, sheer overshirt, and wide-eyed innocent look were all things I very much tried to emulate! lol

Jennifer as Rachel Karen Green... not so much in the famous "Rachel haircut" look of season 1, but this exact hair from Season 3 of Friends was her best look, in my opinion!  As a die-hard Friends fan, I appreciate how often Rachel's hairstyle, hair color, and clothing style changed throughout that 10-year period.  It inspired me to remix it up and keep trying new things, and I'm glad for that!

My favorite actress through most of childhood was easily Julia Roberts - loved several of her movies, and I loved her red hair, brown eyes, big smile, and full laugh!  This red dress scene from Pretty Woman gets all the attention - and I get it, the red dress and red lipstick and ruby necklace are pretty fab...

But it's this quieter scene for me.  He totally misses her at first, then does a doubletake when he recognizes this transformed version of her.  She gets up with her fancy clutch purse in hand and says, "You're late."  And he's totally smitten...

The summer before my senior year at CHA, Elle Woods was there to help me see what college life might be like! lol  I love Reese to this day, and I loved Elle's joy, ambition, resilience, and nearly every makeup, clothing, shoes, and hair decision she made in that 2001 movie!!  Loud and sparkly and pink ...and scented - it gives it a little something extra, don't you think!?  ;-)

And finally, pre-addiction-struggles Lindsay Lohan was the fashion icon of my early 20s.  JMM and Sarah and I were obsessed with quoting Mean Girls at the time.  She inspired my first set of extensions (red, obvi), and I still have this page from 2004's 50 Most Beautiful People Magazine saved in a box somewhere.

So there you have it.  Elizabeth, Candace, Alicia, Jennifer, Julia, Reese, and Lindsay... the top 7 women who had a positive influence on my young adult makeup, hair, and clothing decisions! lol

Now that I'm officially in the "midlife" stage, I feel more grateful than ever for all the things that make my face and body and story unique.  I'm happy with who I am today and excited about who I'm becoming!

To give this post a little more substance, I'll end with one of my favorite quotes on beauty. ❤ 

“We desire to possess a beauty that is worth pursuing, worth fighting for, a beauty that is core to who we truly are.  We want beauty that can be seen; beauty that can be felt; beauty that affects others; a beauty all our own to unveil...  A woman in her glory, a woman of beauty, is a woman who is not striving to become beautiful or worthy or enough.  She knows in her quiet center where God dwells that He find her beautiful, has deemed her worthy, and in Him, she is enough.  Her soul is alive, and we are drawn to her!"  ~John and Stasi Eldredge, Captivating

Peaches, Princesses, and a Pilgrimage

Hey, friends!  I'm about to head to Mom and Dad's to watch the last half of the NBA World Championship basketball game... GO THUNDER!!  At the moment, I'm eating a Pioneer Woman peach dumpling (YUM) and writing this lovely blog. =)

So without further ado, here's a recap of recent photos and events... starting with this throwback to hanging out with Sarah and Chettles (and Nancy and puppy Shiloh and other LG friends and cute kids and firemen) at the Eugene Field cookout SIXTEEN years ago!!  

The Walmart bakery did a rough job writing on this one, but yay for Rach being a Certified Professional Coder!  Here's hoping she can find a great remote job that starts in early fall!

Jeffrey Edward took a very hot walk from the Wynn to the Bellagio to send an awesomesauce Vegas fountains video last week... it was Celine singing My Heart Will Go On, so that's my favorite place, favorite singer, and favorite movie all at once!!  He's there for another work event this week, planning a Mon Ami trip, and it's all inspiring me to go to Vegas again (when it's a little cooler outside there).

Speaking of inspiring, this is Ali, one of my CCU classmates during last year's internship course...

She recently went on a 10-day, 110-mile oceanside backpacking pilgrimage/hike from Portugal to Spain... Google says "the Camino de Santiago, also known as the Way of St. James, is a network of pilgrimage routes leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain."  She had read something about that being a pilgrimage to honor your ancestors, so she made a video every night talking about their day's journey and highlighting one of her parents/grandparents/great-grandparents with a few facts, memories, and stories about their lives.  She did this for her 50th birthday... they arrived today, and she dedicated the final video to her children and grandchildren.  I've been so inspired watching her videos - I absolutely love it - and now I wanna do this too, so who wants to join me!?   You have 8.75 years to decide. lolol  I'm adding it to my Life List, for real!

Happy 12th Anniversary to Chet Lee and Karli Marie today!!

From their fav third-wheely single fran! lol

I adore and admire them, and I'm grateful for their friendship and loads of fun memories together!

Shifting gears, I got a box of peaches from the Peach Truck on Friday!  Nom nom for us, David!

I spent Friday night washing all of my fake hair, which turned out to be a more intense and time-consuming project than I'd imagined. lolol It's a blond and dirty blond set of clip-in Cashmere extensions (as seen on Shark Tank) + the red Halo Couture extensions.  Now they're all fresh and ready to go! =)

Saturday morning was an 11am Princess Tea Birthday for Katherine Claire!! 

So much cuteness!

Kate wanted donuts instead of cake, and that was a hit and a little easier for serving!

Chet humming the song on Sarah's shirt made me laugh - an old school favorite of his for sure!

The Fulton fam... this turned out really cute!

Karli and Tate were at another birthday party that same morning.  I joined Teresa and Parker and Chet for ice cream at the Sand Springs Braums... literally all of us were planning on twist fro-yo, but their machine was broken.  #lamesauce

Group pic!

I randomly decided on the Tulsa outlet mall for my afternoon 5k walk... huzzah for ApplePay and pretzel nuggets and shade and air-conditioned stores I could pop in and out of!!

After that, Laura Allison and I had dinner at Cava and a 5-hour chat catching up on all of life!!

Today I met Kristin for lunch at Hideaway, then did a neighborhood walk 5k, then the Whitaker fam stopped by and Frankie got rid of the dirt dobber nest inside my garage!  "And then a hero comes along..." lol  I'd love for the family of bunnies to stick around, but I'm very happy the stinging insects are gone now!

The aforementioned peach dumplings... really good!  (Recipe HERE)

And now I'm ready to Thunder Up one last time this season... let's freaking go!! #maximumeffort

(Also, new AE jean shorts - yay!)

Okay, friends!  I love you and believe in you, and I hope the feeling is mutual! =)

❤ ❤ ❤