Big Girl Weekend

Hellola, and Happy Good Friday!

 I'm reminded every year how much I enjoy Holy Week. There's a few things that have come together this season to give me a broader picture of the magnitude of what Christ did on the cross for us...for me...but that's a post for another day.

We are looking forward to celebrating this Easter weekend for the usual reasons, but an added bonus -  it's the first holiday we'll be hosting in our new home. The first thing I did was plan on serving a HUGE bowl of mashed potatoes. If all else fails, we'll have mashed potatoes. That's my motto.

I've banned myself from the pinterest holiday board for my sanity and my bank accounts sake.

We did take a break from Bible Study this week to have a little craft night, and I came away with this cute wreath. 

I love it, and think I can continue to re-purpose it come Summer, although someone will have to check himself. Jury is still out on rather he doesn't like Easter, the wreath, or my placement of said wreath. He'll be opening an interior design business any day now.

I'll be last minute grocery-flower and decor shopping tomorrow and hope to have pictures to prove it, come Monday.

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."

Isaiah 53:5

Wordless Wednesday

Stretch it out. We're halfway there.

Weekend on the Plains

 Namath and I have been left as March Madness widows/orphans these past few days. So, we spent Friday night resting our eyes. 

 With only a few brief episodes of manic barking at stationary objects that have been in the same spot for months - but suddenly present themselves as threats. This is a regular occurrence at our house, but I'm at peace with the fact that my dog has snakes in his head.
 

Saturday morning, I swallowed my Crimson Tide loyalties to head down to Auburn with some girlfriends. It tasted better going down with a Bojangles Bo Berry Biscuit. We love Bojangles, but have only tried the chicken biscuit. I can now on good authority recommend both.

 If there's anything to be a good authority on, I think carbs ranks right up there.

 Meanwhile, MS and Namath were getting in a lot of basketball watching.
 

 After some shopping, we headed to Nail Fever/Nail Pro/Nail World/Nail Plus (I'm sure one of these names is accurate) for some good reading and a pedi. Easily one of my favorite things in all the world.

 The party at the house had moved upstairs. Why yes, we do text pictures of Namath all weekend long. He's fabulous. (Not pictured: him stealing a cool ranch Dorito straight out of someone's hand.You gotta do what you gotta do.)

After pedi's, we headed to dinner for champagne, crab cakes and La Crema. Move over Oprah, these are a few of my favorite things.

 Blondes have more fun.

 We may or may not have been in pajamas by 11, which was fine by me. After a good night's rest and before hitting the road, we hit up The Hound for brunch. The bacon should get a post of its own.

The only orange thing in Auburn I love - pictured left.

 There was a lot of orange around, but the rest and the girl time was good for my soul. Hope your weekend did the same.

Friday Favorites

 While I'm ready to embrace warm weather and longer days, it comes with more guilt for partaking in the below mentioned favorites. I feel like I should be making Namath walk (which he hates), watering something in the yard (we have two whole flower pots), or generally something more than watching TV while eating Easter candy.

 I recently cashed in my workout points at work for an Apple TV. Yes, I realize the irony.

Hello, streaming Netflix. Hello, every season of every show I love available at the touch of this little black button.

 Via recommendation, I immediately jumped on the Parenthood train. The show, not actual Parenthood.I laugh, I cry (well, not yet, but I'm assured it's coming - no spoilers please).

Just because you're inside doesn't mean you can't celebrate Spring. With pastel colored Easter candy. Is there anything better than your favorite candies available in egg shape and bright colors? I think not. I had the Valentines version of these SweetTart gummies, and they were amazing. The bunnies aren't too shabby either.

I also recently heard a rumor of carrot cake M&M's....can anyone confirm or deny?

What's your favorite Easter candy? I have to go with Cadbury eggs - but my experience is there is no gray area here on one's feelings of Cadbury eggs.

Costly

My Bible study group just finished Tim Keller's "Counterfeit Gods". If you've never read Tim Keller, I would highly recommend it, as any good Presbyterian would.

As with any good book, there were a few parts that resonated with me well past when I closed the pages. Actually, weeks past, which is only slightly annoying, and very telling of how much I needed to hear this passage.

I actually took a picture to send to a friend, because, can't we all relate? Or maybe I'm alone out here on a limb, holding grudges.

At every point in the Bible, the writers are at pains to stress that God's grace and forgiveness, while free to the recipient, are always costly for the giver. From the earliest parts of the Bible, it was understood that God could not forgive without sacrifice. No one who is seriously wronged can "just forgive" the perpetrator. If you have been robbed of money, opportunity, or happiness, you can either make the wrongdoer pay it back or you can forgive. But when you forgive, that means you absorb the loss and the debt. You bear it yourself. All forgiveness, then, is costly.

I think somewhere between the messages of "forgive because we have been forgiven" and "seventy times seven", I have it in the recesses of my mind that I should "just forgive", and it should be easy. I mean, Jesus DIED for our sins, surely I can forgive for fill in the blank. While those statements are true, there was comfort for me in the fact that it's not easy, nor is it supposed to be.

Wrongs require payment, sacrifice- and more often than not, that payment and that sacrifice is made by the one wronged. Sometimes to people who don't ask forgiveness - and a lot of times don't "deserve" it. Ouch.

On the cross we see God doing at the cosmic level what we all have to do when we forgive. There God absorbed the punishment and debt for sin himself. He paid it so we did not have to.

Sound familiar? Keller does a great job of always taking it back to the cross. What Christ did for us on the cross, we are called to emulate, on a smaller scale, in our own lives. It's not fun, or easy, but it's truth.

A nice truth for the thick of  Lent season.

Glorious

This weekend was easily one of the best this year. Longer days, time with friends and weather that made it impossible not to be outside exposing my milky white winter skin.

 Fortunately, the feeling was mutual.























I finished work a little early on Friday, just in time to watch Namath rest his eyes and get ready to kick off St. Patrick's Day.


And what says St. Patrick's Day better than a photo booth? The beer wasn't green, but it was custom brewed and delicious.

We hosted game night Friday night, a true welcome to my 30s.
The theme: breakfast for dinner.
My contribution:

 Yes, that's a tater tot breakfast casserole. It was everything I thought it could be.

After a Saturday morning run in the warm sun (glorious!), we headed down to Avondale for some refreshments. Saw's Soul Kitchen is right next door, so lunch was cheese grits, topped with turnip greens, topped with BBQ, sauce and onion straws. I KID YOU NOT.

I could barely get my trunk up from the chair. 

 Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

 After a weekend of sunbathing and rolling around in the grass, we could no longer ignore Grizz's smell and long nails. I loaded him up Sunday for a bath. I got the usual stink eye. Sorry buddy, but bathing is definitely one of the things on my list that is outsourced.

 Worth it in the end when I saw that big smiling head, and I no longer have to hold my breath when he walks by.

 While he was at the spa, we sought out some quiet of our own.

 Next weekend has big shoes to fill.
 

Humor Me

But I think this dog is HILARIOUS. Obviously, I'm biased. Happy Wednesday.

A few snapshots from this weekend.

 He's nothing if not proud of himself.

 You think someone could bring me a steak? Some cheese? Perhaps an assortment of olives?

 Please stop taking my picture.

 Seriously. Please stop.

 It's so hard being beautiful.

 Hard and exhausting.