The Picture Project

Despite the bad run with photos over the past week, I'm jumping on board with Green Girl to participate in Jen on the edge's photo challenge. The idea is to post unapologetic photos of oneself. My challenge is to avoid photoshopping the things I see first and like least. It's also proven surprisingly difficult to find pictures of just me. So, without further fuss, here we go:




Holiday Party with the Mister

  

With Spitfire in Honduras

   

  







Taking pictures at the rink

     








Relaxing Christmas morning

       











Shooting still more pictures

    



Hair Stylist is in my job description

      






I'm scared of heights. This was a major leap of faith.


     





Snow Day!

  







Listing 2011

This week Green Girl has been posting an ongoing list of things she's grateful for in honor of Thanksgiving. Today, I'll start my own list of the good stuff:

100. Quiet moments
99. Speakers that fill a room with bass and sound that wash over one with the mood and emotion of music
98. Perseverance... the stuff that drives one to just. keep. going.
97. The laughter around our dinner table
96. Snuggling against my mister on a chilly night
95. Sharpies
94. The Birthday Girls: Denise, Joanne, and Lisa
93. Breakfast Dates with Meera and Sylvia that last well past lunch.
92. Kindness
91. Seeing my children try.
90. And fail.
89. And succeed.
88. Coffee
87. Grace that makes the untenable surmountable
86. Purple
85. Freshly laundered sheets
84. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
83. History
82. The mister's jobs that allow him to work from home and me to be at home.
81. Possibilities
80. Avant's short-cycle church plant team in Gdansk, Poland
79. Elena. Our sweet sponsor daughter in La Moskitia who prays for us, humbles me, and is precious in every way.
78. Claudia. Our feisty sponsor daughter in La Moskitia who challenges those that would help her, has a smile that lights up my world, and has great potential should she choose to use it for good.
77. The Waits Family
76. Ally, Susan, and Marsha who have adopted me into their family and treat me like one of their own.

Tidbits: Results

• In acknowledging God's power to heal in response to prayer, there must also be acknowledgement that He will decide when and if... and He will be right, or faith is fickle. With Mr. T's next EEG to test for seizures less than a week away, Green Girl says it well. It is not solely the results of prayer that express the power of prayer or of God.
• My chest CT was clear. My blood work was not. That could mean that thyroid levels are loopy because of decreasing estrogen levels. (Current hormone levels are kind of like highly-caffeinated kindergartners on a trampoline sans adult supervision. Whee!) My lymph nodes remain clear of any sign of cancer related to that thought to be previously cured, or the specter of those that go hand-in-hand with immune deficiency.
• An arthritis flare is in full swing. Fortunately, outside is a solid sheet of ice that has resulted in widespread cancellations across North Texas. Tomorrow's forecast high of 29 degrees (Fahrenheit... ) and tonight's low of 6 degrees (still Fahrenheit...) are unlikely to allow melting. That means I can wait out the flare without missing anything since almost everything in this portion of the Lone Star State cancels at the mere hint of wintry weather. 
• The Super Bowl is second only to the weather in today's local news programming. Fortunately, both the teams arriving in anticipation of playing in this week's big game are from places more accustomed to cold. Not that I'll be paying much attention to the game (despite more than a few friends who are die-hard fans of the teams playing) because, unlike most Texans, football.makes.me.bored.

Request

Ah, it's a funny thing how one can come to feel a camaraderie with those whose worlds are given view through the words, photos, and videos shared on blogs without ever having met. Having followed the ups and downs of Green Girl's Team Testosterone over the past couple of years, it is with hope that news of another trial to take her Mr. T off his anti-seizure meds is received. Perhaps this is the time, and so, I will pray. Absolutely. Resolutely.

Tidbits: Yay

• Hello, 2011! This year is off to a lovely start. The offspring are all back in school, but my mister had one more day off today. This was brilliant, and we should try to schedule this sort of thing on purpose in the future. It's a welcome change to hug the man without Middle Child informing us that we should, "Get a room! Ew." Really. We have a room. In fact, she lives in the string of rooms we call our house. So there.
• Green Girl's January Giveaway has resulted in the likelihood that I will be getting to know the mail lady better. GG's posts last week offered a combination of homemade goodies for her giveaway. The trifecta of mitts, raspberry jam, good-for-you granola will be headed this way, and the anticipation is entirely enjoyable. Last week's comments on her posts were, ah, well, mostly about the giveaway goodies. See, I can focus when it's really important.
• The list of Stuff to Take to Honduras is starting to form. The pile of stuff on my dining room table is also forming in response. Hopefully, we will be carrying audio Bibles in Miskito, dehydrated vegetables to supplement our friends' diets, a DS charger and styluses for a friend of Middle Child's, and the fourth season of the t.v. show Seventh Heaven. One can only imagine what else will be added on to the packing list in the weeks to come.
• Firefly is on Ovation tonight. Who would've thought a Western Space epic would be a good idea? Only Joss Whedon.

Pay It Forward

Oh, FUN! Kathy over at Little House featured a post on Paying It Forward that tickled me. Since I am a fairly awful gift-giver, it seemed like a little extra practice might be just the thing. Here's how it works:
The first three Gentle Readers to leave a comment on this post will receive a gift from Mrs. Holly at some point in the coming year. Your comment should include a link to your blog that includes a link to this post. Of course, there are those whose blogs I could find blind-folded, and for those bloggy peeps the comment will be quite sufficient. Anywho. Let's just recap The General Rules:

1. Be one of the first three to leave a comment to this post, with the link to your Pay It Forward Giveaway post.

2. Be willing to follow through on sending out one prize each to three lucky winners of your contest.

3. Make sure your profile has contact information available.

Interview

Okay, I was already intrigued with this interview thing, but after being called (jokingly) an "international woman of mystery" by Green Girl, I am so in... and away we go...
Here are the "rules:"
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

1. What childhood personality trait did you outgrow or give up since becoming an adult? Was there a reason for doing so? I have given up my independence. I am utterly reliant on God. My husband runs a close second. On the days when I feel rebellious and want that independence back, there is usually a little some somethin' or other to remind me of just how I am blessed. Sometimes it takes more than a day because I did not give up my stubborn streak.

2. Describe 3 daily rituals that you never miss taking part in. Huh. I don't think I have three daily rituals. Which is odd considering my general antipathy toward spontaneity. I drink coffee every morning, does that count? I have weekly rituals. Let's go with that, okay? Okay. Every Tuesday Heidi and I have coffee, laugh at her girls' antics, and hide from the Jehovah's Witnesses (except when we are eating their way awesome cookies). Every Thursday (except when it's another day), the mister and I have a lunch date (unless we go for breakfast). Oooh, there is a new thing I do every day--- every weekday morning Lori and I walk three miles (or less). It occurs to me that despite the generally scheduled order of our days, there is a distinct lack of sameness that suits me well. Within the comfortable confines of routine lurk all sorts of little adventures.

3. Have you become the person you thought you'd grow up to become? What part of adulthood is markedly different from what you believed when you were young? I have no resemblance whatsoever to my childhood imaginings of "When I am a grown-up...". I am a Christian. My children are not clones, I know exactly what "10 centimeters" feels like, and not one of the darlings has red hair. I have never held any type of corporate job, and I have no degree. I am married. My children do not have a nanny, and our household is run by me rather than the paid staff imagined in my carefree, idealistic youth. There is an incredible sense of pride in providing a good meal, clean clothing, and warm home for my husband and children. I never saw myself with special needs children. (I still forget on occasion.) The idea of chronic illness and periodic near-fatal illnesses never figured into my life plans. I am content.

4. Given no limitations, what would be your ultimate vacation? Oooh, ooooh! I know this one! That "no limitations" thing really grabs me, too. I would simply travel the whole world taking the time to be immersed in the cultures of everywhere and anywhere. This permanent vacation would involve a lifetime of globe trotting and soaking in all the variety on this planet.

5. Write your first sentence/paragraph for NPR's "This I believe." Scrap NPR, I just have Third Day's song of this title running through my head. That's all we're gettin' today. Because the siren song of the dryer buzzer calls.

Sharing is Good

Leanne over at Tired Mama says she will show me her Polish Pottery if I show her mine. Since my hands are stiff with arthritis this morning, today is another good day for a picture post.

Tag, I'm It!!!

Yay! After much reading of others who get tagged...
6 random things
Whoo-Hoo!!! I've been tagged. And I feel the need to live up to the challenge, since it was written, "6) Holly. Because I know you want to. Oh, and your pottery is on a plane on it's way to Atlanta as I type!" by Shelley in Poland who is still in Poland for the moment before heading back to the States for a few months. One does not pass up a tag by someone who is a) one's pottery connection and b) absolutely right...
The "rules" of the game are as follows:
1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
4. If you're tagged, DO IT and pass on the tag

Since it's all about me...

1) I can still do the splits.

2) I lost 80 pounds and kept it off for over a year.

3) I am a native Texan.

4) I adore the crazy, heady scent of gardenias.

5) Don and I got married in my parents' living room.

6) I seriously considered only posting 5 items because it would then appear that I am either a rebel or really forgetful, but I am entirely bound to convention so I must add in this sixth random tidbit: I love rules, definitions, and boundaries.

Hmmm... Do I know of six other bloggers who might actually see this post?! We shall see. (Or at least I will because I am disgusted with trying to get the links to work, and am giving up on it.)
1) Lori, because it will be fun.
2) Green Girl in Wisconsin since it will give her two in a row.
3) Don because he hasn't posted anything in a couple of months.
4) Fannie because it's not what I ordered, either.
5) Patience Crabstick just in case she has a moment.
6) Mrs. Bradley E because I like to see the world from your perspective.