Good Fridays Letters

Dear Jesus, help me to focus on you this weekend. It's going to be a crazy next few days, so I'll easily be distracted. Remind me that it's all for you and what you've done.

Dear Natalie, I'm going to see you in about 5 hours!!!!!!!! I know we'll be running around town and church doing preparations for Easter, but it'll be fun. 

Dear Kelli, I can't wait for our brunch date this morning. Thank you for indulging my random craving for breakfast.

Dear Blog, Ever since the announcement for the closing of Google Reader I feel like we've had to start from scratch. I was so proud of that little number of followers that was growing (even if it was kind of slow). But now, I look at how much smaller my number is on Bloglovin. I know it's not about the number of followers, and it's highly likely that a majority of my GFC followers didn't actually read this blog. However, I still feel like we have to start from scratch to build a readership. It's discouraging. I know it can be good because a new start can be exciting, but I can't help but feel down about it. 

Dear Smash (cc: Justin Timberlake), Thank you for your awesome music that I play over and over again in my car.

Dear New TV, It's really nice to have actual TV now and not just catching up on shows online. Yes, I only have about 10 channels... but that's 10 more than I had before.

Dear Leah, Thank you for letting me live vicariously through you last night. I can't wait to hear about how it went. :)

Dear JR, Thanks for inviting me to Passover every year. I was finally able to make it and I'm so glad!

Dear Me, Can you get your act together now? That would be nice.

Thought I would do some Friday's Letters along with The Sweet Season this morning. With it being Good Friday, I feel like I should have some inspirational post about Jesus and everything he's done. But I can't. I don't know why. It's not that I haven't been thinking about such things. I loved our Maundy Thursday service last night, and I'll love tonight's service as well (even though it scares me). But for some reason... I got nothing to write about. 

Which is okay. 

God is bigger than my inspiration and my feelings. The fact that I have nothing to say about it at the moment doesn't change who he is and what he's done. 

It's going to be a fun weekend though. My sister is coming in on the train today, tomorrow I'll set up for the Easter breakfast, and Sunday is the big day. I"ll be working the breakfast with the youth, but I also joined the church choir for the one day to sing the Hallelujah chorus. It's nice to be singing in a choir again. Then after church my sister and I will take Bandit and drive back up to Chicago because Monday we're shopping for her wedding dress! I might be able to see some old friends Monday evening as well. 

(I'm hoping a fun blog post will come out of shopping!)

What are your plans for Easter weekend?

Last Year's Easter Breakfast Set-Up

And speaking of starting over with the blog... won't you follow me on these sites?

Bloglovin/Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest

Spoilers

One of my favorite bloggers, Bonnie, has started a book club! Each month she picks a book, we all read it, and then on her blog she'll write her thoughts and lets others comment and/or share their own thoughts on their blogs to link back to hers.

This is the second month of the book club. Last month Bonnie had us read Gone Girl, but I wasn't able to get my hands on a copy without having to pay $20+ ... so I opted out. (OF COURSE now my library has a copy...sigh. That's what happens when books become popular.)

However, for March, Bonnie chose The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. How wonderful! I may or may not have already read it and have two copies in my possession. (One is on my iPad, the other is a signed copy.) Ha.

So warning - if you haven't read The Fault in Our Stars yet STOP READING RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS! Just close this window, maybe bookmark the page, go read the book, then come back.

Balancing Act

You knew what this was going into it. Or at least you thought you did.

Step one. You're excited. Nervous. Uneasy. Everyone is smiling, waiting for the next move, saying that you can do it.

Everybody's waiting for you to breakdown

It's not an easy path. You knew this going in. At least you thought.

Then you learn - it's a balancing act.

Everybody's watching to see the fallout

With a Dreamy Far Off Look, and her Nose Stuck in a Book

I have books!

I know... shocker, right?

Ha.

Every week the website 20sb (a site for bloggers in their 20s) posts a blog prompt and this week it was:

"Show Us Your Book Collection."

Naturally, I couldn't pass this one up. It has my name written all over it!

I Died This Week

Sorry I've been a bit MIA this week.

I've been a ZOMBIE.

OK... maybe not quite.

We all know I'm not as cool as R.

But I could relate to the living-dead thing.

The Internet is Trying to Kill Me

As many of you have heard... Google is shutting down Google Reader as of July 1.

Thanks for the awful birthday present Google. Good grief. (My birthday is July 5... in case you were wondering.)

I may or may not have freaked out a bit last night.

I couldn't have expressed my feelings better myself Santana.

However, many people are switching over to Bloglovin. You can click on the picture below to follow my blog. I also have a button on my sidebar.

 

I was able to switch over all of my Google Reader feeds over VERY easily (they put a nice box at the top of the page to show you how!) and so far so good. But it's only day one. So we'll see how it goes. I also know there are a few blogs hosting link-ups so everyone can share their Bloglovin profile pages.

One of my blog friends said she hated Bloglovin and is trying http://www.feedly.com/.

So... hopefully we'll make it out of this alive fellow internet addicts. 

In the meantime - did you see that I guest blogged on Rewriting Life yesterday? Cause I did. You should check it out. 

And hopefully this weekend I'll have things to blog about that don't have to do with me falling on my face or Google ruining my life. Yay!

Has anyone else found other blog reading alternatives to Google Reader they would like to recommend? 

You're Not Pretty- You're Just Going to Have to Deal With That

"You're wearing make up to Disney World?"

My former college roommate and friend popped her head through the door and stared at me. I sat on the floor of the living room, mini mirror in one hand and make up brush in the other. I was slightly embarrassed.

"If only my college self could see me now!" I joked. "She wouldn't know who I am!"

It was true. Only a few short years ago when I was an undergrad, I used to have my friends do my hair and make up for me because I didn't know how. My hair rarely had been touched by a straightener and  I would rather have it freeze when I walked outside in the middle of winter because I didn't bother with a hair dryer after I showered.

Want to continue reading this post? I'm guest blogging on Rewriting Life today! Click this link: http://kaleighsomers.com/2013/03/14/youre-not-pretty-youre-going-to-have-to-deal-with-that/

Just Call Me Grace... Or Jennifer

This weekend my most recent play had its final three performances. It was called Retro Radio, and was quite a fun show. Our director had put together four old time radio shows from the 1930s and 40s and made them in a readers theatre performance. The Lone Ranger, The Bickersons, The Shadow, and Abbott and Costello. 

I was cast as a singer (along with two other cast members). I sang jingles our director had written for local businesses to the tune if nursery rhymes. It was really quite clever of our director. Then before intermission I sang "De-Lovely" by Cole Porter. Now, when I'm at home or in my car, I belt it out. And I don't sound too shabby. At least I don't think so. In my mind, I'm on the cast of Smash waiting for my cue in a Broadway show. The moment I get in front of people though, it's a different story. Practicing with a voice teacher or our music director at church is one thing. Performing is another. I can do it, but it takes a lot of practice. So before each performance, I would try to channel my favorite divas.

Friday Night Dinner

I had an idea the other day as I was driving to work. 

As I got to my desk I write down ideas, names of bloggers I love, and pull up my Gmail. I type in the emails of three lovely ladies I thought would enjoy this idea, tell them about it, and click "send." Much to my surprise and delight - all three answer back almost right away!

I want to invite them over for a virtual "dinner." We can hang out, ask questions, and get to know each other. Almost like guest blogging and linking up, but not. 

Standards

I've slowly come to realize that when it comes to men in my life, I am spoiled rotten.

It's something I really take for granted.

There are many times I find myself in conversations with women, many of them younger and around my own age, and hearing their complaints about their husbands and boyfriends. It's pretty typical stuff. Not really out of the ordinary. Everyone complains about their significant other and everyone has their issues. There is nothing wrong with that. Then there are moments that catch my attention more than others.

I try to raise up a few questions about it, and sometimes even comment that I know of men who are not like the ones they are describing. That there is a different kind of man out there. Ones who don't mind staying home and watching the kids, cooking, letting their wife have a career/hobbies, etc.

They usually look at me like I have two heads.

 

Too bad I'm dead serious.

WWCW- What Would Carrie Write?

There have been a few moments in life when I've sat back and thought "My life is like an episode of Sex and the City"... just without the sex. Or the city for that matter. Which is why whenever I have this thought, it's always a surprise.

However, I recently had a moment when I could even picture the scenes in the TV show playing out before my eyes. It makes me wonder... how would Carrie Bradshaw see this? Or...

WWCW- What Would Carrie Write?