Saturday, February 27, 2010

Things to Come


I cannot wait for my Spring Break trip to begin!

In 11 days I will be seeing some of my absolute favorite people in the entire world.

Heather & Jason.

I've known Heather since our parents decided to be cute and get pregnant together with us. So we've been friends since the womb. ;)

I think of Heather as my sister. We definitely fought like sisters when were kids so I like to think that even though I'm an only child I got the best of both worlds.

Heather & Jason have been married almost three years now and after their wedding Jason whisked her away to the wonderful Washington D.C.

They've made trips over the last few years back to Texas but I haven't had the opportunity to fly their way and see all that it has to offer.

So I'll be leaving on the 10th and get back the 18th. I'm so excited to see them that I had a hard time falling asleep last night after I officially booked my plane ticket.

I literally had to tell myself to calm down, I still have 11 days. :)

It's hard though, I just can't wait to be there and do everything and nothing with one of my best friends in the entire world.

See ya soon my ITB friend!

Friday, February 26, 2010

Flippin' Flashback #3

I posted this next flashback post because it reminded me that I must remember that God is always in control and that everything is in his hands.

And then even when I don't want to listen, I can't deny him.

The following was originally posted on September of 2007


Why is it so many relationships fail?

Why is it that statistically 50% of all marriages end in divorce?

Is it that people don't try?

Is it that they give up on love?

Do they forget to even care?

Yes. Sometimes they don't try. Sometimes they don't care. And sometimes things just go in a direction that can't be saved.

BUT! I will say that again. BUT! More often than not I believe that relationships fail because it's two people not knowing who they truly are. It's two people being so unaware of their inner self and so afraid to find it that they have nothing of worth to offer the other. They don't stand for anything.

What do I mean, not knowing who they are?

I mean that people walk into a relationship looking for something to fill a void in their life, something that's permanent. They are looking for someone to be a witness to their life, a witness to everything that they do. But, don't you already have a witness to your life?

Isn't Jesus Christ your witness?

I can NOT get away from this topic, it has been staring me in the face for such a long time that I can no longer ignore it.

God, decided to be real pushy this weekend and He MADE me see that my relationship with Him is not where it needs to be. I constantly wish for someone to love, someone to love me and He never truly brings that into my life. I have continued to think that it's something that I deserve. I always say to Him, why not me? why can't I be in love? I try God. I really do.

This weekend he answered back. His answer? "Don't you see? I have brought you someone, I have brought you my son."

I didn't understand. Doesn't He understand that's not the kind of love I'm looking for? I would argue and argue that this is not what I was talking about.

I guess He decided that maybe someone else could make me listen if He couldn't. So in the last week He was sent people into my life to relay the message. In fact, He sent three amazing people to tell me His word. The funny thing is, these were not close people in my life. None of them were friends of mine that I had known for ages. None of them were acquaintances. In fact, I didn't know a one of them. God sent absolute strangers into my life to make me hear what He needed to say.

The first person that He sent was a fellow blogger, I read her blog everyday and have for a while now. Mostly, she's hilarious and I love that she's just a typical mom trying to raise her children in a house full of the love of Jesus. This past week I noticed that there was a link on her blog that I had never really payed any attention to. I clicked on it. It was a book that she had written that was posted online. The book immediately sparked my interest, so I began to read.

The first chapter of the book began with the struggles she had in her marriage. It then quickly turned to why she was having the struggles that she was having. She and her husband both knew God and attended church religiously. So what was the problem? She realized that even though God was in her life she had never learned how to be a woman of God. She had no clue what they meant.

I then realized, I have no clue what they means. I know that I want that. I want to be a godly woman. I just really don't know where you start on that path.

That was the first person that impacted my life this week.

On Sunday, I went with my bestie to church. A new church. A church I was skeptical about. I loved my old church so much and decided that I wasn't going to find one that I adored like that one. So that was that. Central Baptist of Bryan wins, forever and ever amen. Now thinking about it, God probably just laughed at me when those thoughts were going through my mind. Because I had no clue what kind of wisdom that church was about to offer me.

A woman named Kendall Payne was there on Sunday morning to sing during worship. Her voice was so amazing she made me cry. This is her myspace site http://www.myspace.com/kendallpayne, but let me just tell you that it does her no justice. Listening to her live, her voice will move you.

Kendall sang a song on Sunday morning that she wrote to her husband. She described it as her perfect love song to him. The song did not talk about anything that you expect a love song to. Instead this song talked about "loving each other in spite of failure" it talked about someone "bringing out the worst in you, but it's the part you needed to see". As I listened to her sing I began to think about how this song had so much truth. Nothing in a relationship with someone else is going to be perfect. People fail. You fail. I fail. But when you have someone greater in your life, someone to guide you, these failures can be overcome. And God does that. He guides you, He loves you, He's there for you. With Him there and with his support these failures will seem trivial.

Once again, God had made me realize the need for my relationship with Him to strengthen.

After worship, the preacher began his sermon. And it quickly jumped into relationships. (In fact, that is all they are going to be talking about for the next six weeks; it's a series. ) This first week the topic was singleness. "Singleness is not a disease to be cured." That is exactly what he said. That really stuck with me. Because so many people think that it is. They think that you have to find someone, and you have to find them as soon as possible. Well, you don't. Singleness can be such a great opportunity he said. A great opportunity to find out who you are. What a great concept I thought. Finding out who you are. I really thought I knew who I was, I thought I knew me. But I have so far to go. I know that I am not even close to knowing my inner self. I am not close to becoming the woman of God that I long to be. But I'm excited about that. I know what I need to work on. I have a goal. God has a goal for me. And He cared enough to be so persistent and repeat His message over and over and over until it was received. That's love. That's the kind of love I want. That's the kind of love I want to give. I want to love like God.

His love is full of faith and hope. I feel so blessed. I know Jesus, I know His love. I'm looking forward to being the woman He wants me to be and I believe that when I have all the wisdom that I need, He will just make it happen. He will guide me to the one that He has made for me. And that's beautiful.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Flippin' Flashback #2

My little children at work have grown so much from this post. It's one of the first posts that I wrote about them. It reminded me of the days when I was called things such as 'Hori' (glad that one pasted) and 'Tordi' ;)

I'm so proud of the three (almost 4) year olds that they've become.

It has been such a joy having them as a part of my life, most days. ;)

The following was posted back in September or 2008....



So it's typical in my day of work to have at least one kid spill their cup of water or at the very least play in it.

You know put their cheez-its or animal crackers in it.

Blow bubbles in it.

Throw it on their friends and make them cry.

Dump it on the floor because they got up from the table with their cup and forgot it was in their hand when they started playing.

This of course forces Miss Tori to use bagoodles of paper towels to clean up the floor/table/chairs area.

Miss "Green" Tori.

Sometimes I want to sit them down and give them a good talkin' to about the environment. Instead I have to say, "Sweets, please don't play in your water or you will have to throw it in the trash can."

But I have thought about what I would say in my environmental speech to two year old's.

Here go's.......

"Children. What you make Miss Tori do everyday at snack time is not environmentally friendly. You make Miss Tori be a big fat tree killer! Is that what you really want? Do you want me to kill trees? Miss Tori doesn't even use paper towels in her own home. It makes me so so sad that you spill your water all over the table, floors and friends. (insert frowny face here) Now please contain your urge to take the ever precious water that I give you daily at snack and play in it. After all, not all of your fellow toddler buddies around the world are lucky enough to get water everyday of their life, especially clean water. Now did ya think about that, did ya? I didn't think so."

In my head they say, "Yay Miss Tori! Me no spill water! Me love trees!"

In real life it would probably end in all cups of water being thrown at each other and then an nsync giggle on their part.

It's also quite typical for me to stand in the middle of the classroom saying, "Please use your walking feet in the classroom or you WILL sit in think about it!" (Think about it = time out)

Think about it normally means once I sit them down so that they can think about their actions they end up crying, screaming or hitting.

So naturally I hate think about it.

But it's normally where a few of my kids live each afternoon.

Typically, one of my kids is going to need a band-aid, boo-boo bag or hugs and kisses before the day is out. I usually pray everyday that they will only need hugs and kisses because that's more fun than band-aids and boo-boo bags.

So with all the "typical-ness" you might be thinking these kids are bad.

These kids are a handful.

But.... these kids, are two.

And they are anything but terrible, they're terrific :)

Because also on a typical day I get more hugs than I can count.

I get to hear precious little voices say, "Kisses Tordi." (wanting to kiss my cheek)

I get to see them get so excited to play with their friends after they wake up from nap.

I get to see them share their toys, occasionally. ;)

I get to hear "Horsey say neigh Tori, horsey say neigh!" in their most energetic voice.

I get to have little bodies curl up in my lap and say, "Read Tordi, read."

I get to be the one that they want to pick them up when they're hurt, sad or just wanting someone to hold them. I love their little heads on my shoulder.

I love that all these things are also typical in my day of work.

I love my little loves and love how much they light up my everyday life by just being typically two.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Flippin' Flashback #1

I thought I'd start this flashback week with a post that I came across that was written almost two years ago.

I'm posting it to help remind me that simple really is the best way to go.

Almost two years later I still want all these 'simple' things :)




Simplicity : the state of being simple, uncomplicated, and uncompounded

Aww...yes... that sounds just lovely doesn't it? Uncomplicated. I love that thought, that "theory". But it's so absolutely and positively hard to do in our world today.

So I've decided, I want simple. I'm striving for simple in my life. Not exactly what you hear people today striving to get outta life is it?

Let me tell ya what kinda simple I want.

I want the simple love. The one where I love you and you love me and no one could ever get in the way of that.

I want the simple house. The small quaint old house that makes it absolutely impossible to escape family by wandering off to the entire other side of the house. I just simply want to make a house a home.

I want the simple car. I don't need to spend my entire years salary on a something that quite frankly just gets me from point A to point B.

I want simple leisure time. Gardens, picnics, family, friends, kites and swings... yep those are the things that can "simply" put a smile on your face. :)

Life, it isn't simple. It's absolutely complicated. So I'm going to simplify what I can control. I'm going to enjoy the simple things life offers me each day. You know, those things that get taken for granted by the complicated job, the complicated boy, the complicated decisions that stare you straight in the face and need an answer right away.

So step back every now and then. And enjoy the simplicity that life has to offer.
Not long ago... about 8 months to be exact, I looked a little something like this.



But now the tan lines that were once there have almost entirely faded and left me looking like this...



White as snow...almost literally.

So I was just wondering when is this "Hi, I'm Winter. And I snow almost every week now." stuff going to leave.

Umm, there's a reason why we live in Texas.

We don't like cold.

We do like 75 degree Christmas'.

We do like laying out by the pool in early March.

We do like shorts in February.

And we most certainly like being outside in some beautiful Texas weather around here.

So Mother Nature best lay off with the cold and Father Time better kick into high gear cuz we're ready for some Spring.

We Texas girls are over it.

Bring out the sweet tea, swimwear and sunscreen, we're ready!

An Award And A Milestone

Some sweet little lady named Erin gave me my first official blog award yesterday. Yeh, they don't call her sweet for nothing. ;)

What kinda award?



The "Beautiful Blogger Award"

So it's a pretty special day around Victoria-ville.

Not only did I receive such a sweet little award from one of my most loved friends, it is also my 100th post today!

Crazy.

Actually maybe it's not.

I started this blog back in September of 2007 and I obviously am not a frequent blogger since I'm just making it to my 100th post.

But that's with good reason. I only tend to blog about things that really sit on my mind. Sometimes they're something ridiculous and sometimes they're something that has helped me learn more about myself and others around me.

Either way, I've loved being a part of my small blogging community over the last 2 1/2 years.

Back to my "Beautiful Blogger Award".....as with anything is comes with stipulations ;)

I've been told to tell you seven things about me and then pass the award along to seven other beautiful ladies, so I'll do as it says...

I can't promise these seven things will be interesting.

1) I too have very vivid dreams like Erin. I always have. I swear that if you woke me up every hour during my sleep I could tell you about something absolutely out of this world that I was dreaming about. Such as, saving the world in George Jetson's space car with the guy that sings 'Funky Cold Medina' ... I forget his name. Yeh, my dreams rarely make much sense. But I'm highly convinced that they are the reason why I require lots of sleep. I really think that some nights my dreams honestly just wear me out.

2) I count the steps up to my apartment everyday. Why? I have no clue. I just know that there are 19 steps on your way to the 2nd floor and 20 on your way to the 3rd floor. I wonder how much it would mess up my daily routine if someone decided to add an extra step. Or better yet, I wish they would. I'd be much happier if there were 20 steps on both sets, I really like even numbers.

3) I love milk. And not that skim milk crap. It's such a wanna be. I love WHOLE ORGANIC MILK! (I haven't drank non-organic milk in years with good reason, but that's a whole post in and of itself.) I would probably drink milk with every meal if I could but it's pretty fattening so I limit myself to one big glass at night. Yep, I drink my big glass of milk....get sleepy... and rest like a champ. That makes me sound a little bit like a newborn.. Hmm..

4) There's a silly game I've been playing since before I could drive. I think it probably started as something to pass the time in the car.....and at least a decade later I still play it. It's nothing special but here goes... I'll be driving along and I look at the cars in the oncoming traffic that are farthest away and try to figure out what make and model they are before they get close enough to where I can actually tell what kind they are. The further away I can make the description the better. I'd like to say that you get points or a piece of candy or perhaps even a good ole pat on the back for playing this game but it's normally just a very ecstatic, "YES!" that I shout in my head as I see the correctly named vehicle speed on by. Yes....that's the lamest game ever but habits are hard to break. lol

5) I don't like to sleep with my feet out of the covers at night. I have a fear that somethings going to jump up and bite them. (I probably got that theory from one of those crazy dreams that I have where I save the world with sub par '80's rappers.)

6) I once sat in the front yard of our townhouse in College Station with my roommate/bestie Mitzi in our dollar store purchased super small kiddie whale pool. We watched as people drove by and looked at us like we were nuts while the whale squirted us with water from his blow hole. That may have been the best $10 we ever spent.

7) I tend to be clumsy and bang myself into all sorts of things like kitchen counters, tables and chairs. EVERYTIME I do this (about once a week) I tell myself repeatedly in my head, "Remember this! You WILL get a bruise and this is what it's from!" I repeat this statement a few times and then go about my day. When the bruise appears....I NEVER remember how I got it. How frustrating. And such a waste of energy to even tell myself to remember something I know I'm gonna forget.

So, those are the seven things about me. I'm not sure if they're seven interesting things about me, but they are indeed true and that's about all that matters I guess.

Thank you Erin for sending me this sweet award. (Don't forget to check out Erin's blog, she's awfully entertaining.)

Now I must pass it on.

Don't forget to check out these 'beautiful bloggers'.

These ladies are gorgeous through and through.

Princess Mitzi
Ms. Ash
Heather, since ITB!
The Lovely Katie
The Gandy's
My Lovely Jenanabelle
Fun Bobby

Back to this being my 100th post....

In honor of this little blogging milestone I will be posting flashback posts this week.

They will be some of my favorite posts. Some of which are funny. Some of which were enlightening. All a part of me.

Thanks for coming around to my little corner of the world and taking an interest in my little life.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Not Worth It!



So I've been known to be a coffee-aholic and since I've been watching my weight I've practically given up Starbucks (well, I still make it every morning but I rarely go to the actual store anymore). That is definitely a HUGE accomplishment if you know me.

Since I don't go to Starbucks anymore I now drink two perfect cups of coffee EVERY morning. And today started off no different....

Woke up fixed my cup of coffee and got dressed so I could go to my kiddos late Valentine's Day party.

I looked at the time and realized I would be running seriously late if I didn't kick it in high gear so I decided I'd hold off on the second cup of coffee until I left and could put it in my 'Princess of the Go' mug. (Thanks Daddy!:)

So I was ready to get everything and head out the door.

Princess on the Go cup nowhere to be found.....

I should have known then that this was going to end badly.

Fine, no mug. I'll just use a regular coffee cup. I HAVE TO HAVE THAT SECOND CUP OF COFFEE!!!

Grabbed bag #1. (purse)

Grabbed bag #2. (bananas for kids and baked goods for teachers)

Grabbed bag #3. (laptop)

Grabbed big box of kiddos goodie bags.

Grabbed keys.

And of course I grabbed my delightful cup of coffee.

Somehow maneuver out the door with ALL that, get down the first flight of stairs and realize 'I forgot my phone,****! (insert four letter curse word, in my head of course;)

Back up the stairs.

Put everything down and search and search for my phone.

Great, it's in my purse. UGH!

Down the stairs again.

Get to the bottom of them and drop my keys.

I have no free hands so I kick them all the way across the parking lot.

As I'm kicking I start to think about how I'm so glad that all these bags haven't fallen off my shoulders.

Then they do.

And SPILL my PERFECT CUP OF COFFEE all over me!!!!

I learned a lot of lessons here. But the main one, no matter how much you want something, if it doesn't fit....it doesn't fit.

I will remember that the next time I decide to carry 20lbs. of stuff down two flights of stairs and insist on a full hot uncovered cup of coffee.

It really is kinda funny. ;)


But the kids party went well once I made it there.

Here a few pics of the cute little goodie bags I made for them.

They had such a great time.




Hope everyone else's Tuesday was full of happiness! :)

Friday, February 12, 2010

Snow Crazy!

So I live a little south of Denton, in Corinth and we ended up with a foot of snow. Yes, 12 inches! That's absolutely crazy!

It's been fun to play in yesterday and today. But now I think I'm ready for summer. :)

The entire metroplex had anywhere from 6 to 14 inches of snow.

I still can't believe it.

Here are just a few more picture from the two day Snowfest.













Thanks for the cute messages Mitzi, Ashley and Erin! I miss you girls!

Off to enjoy the day off!

Woo hoo!

Four day weekend!!!!!

Stay safe and have fun this weekend.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!!!!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Just Snow Perfect!








I just thought I'd stop in to show those of you who are snowless that we definitely aren't here.

These photos are from about 12 this afternoon at my apartment and we were already at almost 6 inches then.

I'll have to update soon about the actual snowfall for the day when it stops which is around 12 midnight.

It's been a great day.

I loved waking up to the snow and drinking my coffee and watching it outside.

We don't get to see this much snow too often around here (since 1978 to be exact, that's what the weather man said anyway).

So I've loved having the day off to get to play in it and just marvel at all the wonderful beauty that God creates.

I'm off again tomorrow! Yay!!!!!

For now, I must go, time to play! :)

Have fun and stay safe....are warm!

-Tori