ode to shea-don't hate me, it had to be done.

ode to shea. (she may kill me for this-don't care) [and please disregard chaco in the background as he barks at me for attention!]

"why?" you ask. well, shea is one of those friends, who would tell you herself, that she is not a super emotional person. but at the same time, she is probably one of the most thoughtful people i know. she thinks of people on birthdays and other occasions that are important..and she remembers the details. shea makes fun videos and puts together picture collages because she knows how important memories are-she documents them well. i am so excited for her because she has so many great things going on in her world right now, and she deserves every single one of them!

shea is an adventure friend. my child-at-heart-friend. my kamp friend. my laugh-so-you-don't-cry friend. she doesn't need a lot of conversation, but the talk we do have is funny. she is not afraid to be silly in public.

kamp memories: unit 4, trip, hiking like bear grylls, caving like hip hop kids-we know our sedimentary rock formations, yo! sneaking up to the blair witch house, ice cream in the face, k2 dance parties, speed boat rides, blueberry farm runs (or sneaking in the night with stevie), sleeping under the stars on the blue mat with a host of counselors, fake tattoos, making chaco a code word before it became my dog's name.

she insisted on the fake tattoo...on the last night, no less.

bear grylls explorer wanna-be's #hardcorehikers

ah, caving-good for the soul!

quite possibly one of the funniest memories of k2

gangsta party

oklahoma memories: norman girls' house, cards, soccer games, volleyball games, golf course prom pics, thanksgiving at the yates, baby hands, religious things, art work, hanging with the boys, ted's, weddings, silo climbing, ou game time,okc thunder, real tattoos.

first climb in a silo #addictive

special wedding!

okc thunder #rollthunderroll

after party on the parking garage roof!

ted's

trust me, you don't want to meet with this group in a dark alley (they don't carry flashlights)

quiet times in shea's foyer.

moral support

because the evangelizing glove-it works.

night-spin-and-throw-the-football like a drunk #totallysober

volleyball with the one-and-only LO

boomer!

embarrassing shea on the soccer field

and this is what she do-she makes bday collages!

florida memories: shark tooth hunting, go-pro in the waves, coconut bread, alligators in the park, too much food, #foodcoma, sarasota, st. pete's, kilwin's, did i mention too much food?

swinging bridge to the tower

saturday mornings with the kids on the block! 

relaxing-est beach ever!

playing with the go-pro like a puppy.

the ever-necessary jump pic

#jawswashere

texas memories: meeting at camp copass, hanging out in allen, tx/ou weekend, the fair, thanksgiving, looking for a bridge (in the rain), playing board games.

first time hanging out with the group i adore!

4 gals, a dog and a hammock #summerdays

petting zoo-ou/tx weekend

no one i'd rather watch the game with!

thanksgiving-wonderful surprise!

so today i got the best surprise in the mail! i was shocked that i had a package, because i'd ordered some things, but i wasn't expecting anything this soon...so when i got this package from shea in the mail, i was smiling the biggest smile all week. each item-meaningful and preparing me for spring break-the kilwin's gift card, though....pure evil. so when i say thoughtful, not kidding- pressure is on for creating a plan. that was the ask: i need to share some bucket list items and ideas-shouldn't each visit have a little 'epic' in it?! duh.

#bestsurpriseever

so shea. she's one of my people. she's in my inner circle. we're a part of the same tribe. #sofortunate !

may you have someone as thoughtful, fun and adventurous in your world, who reminds you to be light-hearted!
julie

dj beatsmith, because pie, cheesecake and cookies don't come without a price

today i was thinking about several things. it is THANKSGIVING, and i am grateful for so many things.

as i went back and read my post from the other day, i realized that it was remiss of me to fail to mention a few things.
#1. WALKING IN THE MORNING
while i said tongue-in-cheek about walking early in the morning, that "i don't hate it," what i should have said was that it's probably one of my favorite parts of the day! what better way to begin the day, than with a friend, exercising and enjoying conversation? hint: there really is no better way to start the day-unless you add in coffee afterwards...
#2. LUNCH-SHARING
one of the best things about this concept is that in the same way that i love to cook and share with others, these ladies do as well, and it's fun to be able to serve in such a way; on the other hand, it is humbling to receive the same gift from others-a good practice.
#3. GOOD THINGS
there truly are so many good things going on at our school. sometimes it is easy to get out of focus and hone in on the things that are not going smoothly or that are frustrating, and that draws my attention away from all of the good things that are happening and the potential for better things. perhaps that needs to be my prayer every morning- i need accountability in this area...fortunately, i have some people who are pretty good at this.

ok, so moving forward. today i was a little worried that i was going to be rather sore from starting podrunner with dj beatsmith (no lie-i couldn't even make something like this up)--thanks to maria for sharing this with me a few years back...the first time i began to have back problems. so, let's try it again and see if i can get back into that habit! it may be accompanied with aleve and ice-packs, but i have plenty of both! anyhoo, i woke up a little stiff today, but not too sore, and today was supposed to be a recovery day, so i just went for the usual walk. it's not nearly as much fun alone.

when i got back to my apt, i got a txt from shea to let me know that T-giving lunch would begin around 1, so that gave me time to take a shower, give the boys a bath (they need a trim-perhaps tomorrow i will groom them), got some cleaning done around the place, and pulled out some Christmas decorations; i failed to decorate last year, and it wasn't ok! so this year i am pulling out the decorations and making it real!
(okay, going to bed, finish this tomorrow...it's 11:30, and if i'm getting up early tomorrow, i need to get some sleep!)

so..it's not super early, but early enough, and this morning doesn't inspire much confidence...but, i'm doing it anyway. i may have to steal a line from ally k: there's no quitting! and just apply it to everything in life-

getting ready to brave the weather-although at least it isn't cold, and of course there isn't any lightening, because safety first, safety last and safety in between!! (i didn't work at kamp for nothing!)

 and why go the extra mile? so that i can actually enjoy doing this every once in awhile without the guilt!

so i was fortunate yesterday to be able to spend some quality time with some dear kamp friends-there's just something about the kamp-connection. i think it's ultimately the memories from lampe, but mostly the sharing of love for God...which is the foundation for most of my closest friendships (whether it's God's love for people that draw me to them, or a mutual love for God and his kingdom and the simple fellowship that lies therein). but i digress...i am so thankful that ally was able to fly shea in and that i got to spend time with them both at a friend's house in allen-the two families took me in like one of their own...and they didn't even make me play catch phrase (for which i am abundantly thankful, although...i may have been able to swing it with this crew) i wrote briefly about my last catch phrase experience here perhaps it isn't all about the game, but the people-maybe i need to play this game with people who aren't super intense...or with three year olds... these two families are dog families, so it was a happy place for all-the boys were wondering what heaven i went to when i returned smelling like lab, bernese, and pit-mix...

i absolutely love these two!! #sillycounts

we did take a walk after lunch to get out of the house and get some fresh air. in particular, we were looking for a very specific bridge that shea had seen on the drive in, to take senior pics. so we walked...then we walked the other way...then it started to drizzle. i actually quite enjoyed it, although in the recesses of my mind, i wondered what my hair was going to do. we got to the edge of the neighborhood and didn't find this bridge, but that was alright, it was a nice walk. so we turned around as the dark was approaching, and made our way back. no sooner did we arrive at the culdesac entrance, when upon looking down, we located the bridge..less than a minute from our starting point. HA! so regardless of the fact that it was dark, it was our mission to get that senior pic... shea, you have to forgive me, i'm your friend...

senior pic from SCREAM. the worst part is that at this point it was too dark to see the bridge, but it was quite the quaint little bridge with brick and columns...trust me..trust shea (although, if i met her in the woods, i might not).

it was good times-i just wish that there were more time. i love and cherish these friends!

now, for real, off to the park and hopefully it will clear up for the lighting of everything good at vitruvian park this evening! hope your food has settled and everyone has made it out of the food overdose! today may life be good because you choose to see the good that is around you!

julie

oklahoma- best part of my break, thanks to a long overdue reunion

here we go again!

happy new year! i'm certain it will be a great one with new adventures, fun meetings with friends, and growth. i had no plans or intentions to do anything over this break apart from relaxing and catching up with some reading and artwork. well...i got a text the day after we got off for break from shea, one of my amazing kamp friends, saying that she was going to be in oklahoma for the break!

so, we had Christmas here in dallas,

all dapper in their Christmas best!

and then on the 26th, we went up to oklahoma and stayed with bmayes, another amazing kamp friend-in case you don't follow this blog, or missed the episode from our last visit to norman, bmayes is the proud 'mother' of 2 yorkies (chaco's sister, reagan, and half brother, thatcher). it's always great for them to get together and socialize...and even greater for me to get together and socialize!! 

How do you know when you've reached oklahoma? well, it seems pretty obvious. follow the truck with the native american!

 we arrived to fall-like weather; it was gorgeous! so of course they went out to play first thing.

oh how they loved the yard with leaves!

then lo and behold, the next morning we had no idea, but we woke up to huge snowflakes! it was rather unexpected...none of us are into weather-watching and checking forecasts. hmm. 2 inches of snow out there!

so, of course, they had to play in the snow every chance they got! they even pretended that they had to go pee...and they didn't...you could almost hear them laughing each time.

so on the morning of the snow, it made for a lazy day, but everyone was meeting for breakfast..so eventually we were coaxed into joining for breakfast at cracker barrel, where stories and catching up began with a side of grits and biscuits. then we returned to bmayes' house to see puppies and just hang out for a bit. it's always a little worrisome having so many people around so many-especially friends who aren't used to having small dogs around; little critters have a tendency to get in the mix of things and then they are under threat of being crushed. more anxiety for me than the dogs.

 i don't have the actual photo, but here's a link to the charming pic taken by shea's camera!  http://instagram.com/p/xIMRxQF6yA/ what a fun bunch! yet more of the amazing kamp friends (anyone see a theme here? my kamp friends are pretty stinkin' amazing). i always feel so refreshed after i hang out with these guys!

after visiting at bmayes', everyone eventually headed out to shea's home, where her mom had prepared a delicious 'after-Christmas' spread-it was phenomenal!! then we played a little card game during which we found ourselves laughing harder than we had expected! good times, so if you wanna' know how to get a party started...just let me stand up and tell you...only i probably won't.

and i almost failed to mention that i was introduced to hurt's donuts...and for the love...they will literally hurt you. these donuts..i dream about them. my mouth is watering right now for the twixted...they gave me a new fondness for cake donuts-only they are gourmet-amazingness. twixted, lucky charms, Jesus donut, bacon-maple, choco-crispies, samoa-girl scout cookie....i will cry if they ever go out of business.

back at the bmayes homestead, the boys were making themselves right at home and marking like pros...grr. i wish there were a way to curb that. thanks for putting up with that b! they may have learned some 'bad' habits from the residents-climbing onto tables. chaco figured it out after a few tries. it's probably cuter because they aren't great danes...

thatcher looks on from the table as bruno thinks about doing something sneaky.

i was really excited when shea texted about going to the rock climbing silo...they had some awesome climbing walls in there! i definitely made a decision that i need to get in shape so that i can enjoy doing the things i love doing such as the rock climbing-i did a little research, and there is a gym not far from my place that has auto belay, so i will be partaking in that this year. it will be a good stress-reliever, as well (and likely much-needed).

shea making that reach of faith.

umm...so it's a little tiring.

before we left, several joined us back at bmayes place to play cards and, once again, it was mostly fun...apart from the judgmental gf stick-in-the-mud who came in tow. methinks she doesn't get us. and that's ok, next time, she has a true heads up and can stay home and knit or something.  we had plenty of food for chips and cheese dip, puppy chow, etc. but none of it was eaten because the hursts had gone out for mexican and we'd just gone out for hideaway-phenomenal pizza!! (zero snackiness-it's a word now, deal wit it)

before i left, i made an appointment to switch my cable to a basic-basic plan and get the internet because the service that i had was spotty-bad connectivity and speed. so i had that taken care of today and i am so happy i did! in fact, i cannot believe that i put up with the previous service for so long! it was rough! and then tonight as i was trying to cancel the former service, the lady kept going on and on trying to figure out how she could keep me as a customer, but i was strong. she even called back after the service was dropped. and i then let her know it was too late. no worries-i was polite. i worked in a call center at one time-in fact, most of my life i've been in some form of customer service, so politeness is usually not an issue.

this was the other problem, i was unable to use roku with the other service, so when i set this up today, i couldn't help but smile!

i am dedicating today to finishing some artwork, reading and perhaps a couple of letters. it's been a great break so far- 2 more days to make the most of!

happy new year!
julie