quote of the day

auggie singing "go tell it on the mountain", originally uploaded by goldiestereo.

"i've discovered the secret of long term happiness and it is being intensely and sincerely grateful for what you have right now and not looking towards the future to fill any void."

i read that on my friend jenny's blog today and it hit me so hard. i truly believe being thankful is one of the best non medical cures for depression there is. this quote sort of paraphrases philippians 4:11-12.

this photo was taken friday night at some of best friend's annual christmas party, the baxters. they have it every year and it's become such a fun thing to look forward to every year. the food is amazing and they always have some sort of interactive game involving music like rock band or guitar hero....this year it was karoake.



nathan and austin pretty much killed it doing bon jovi "living on a prayer" and auggie (pictured above) brought down this house with his acappella "go tell it on the mountain".

these are good days. i have so much to be thankful for. i spend way too much time worrying about other people's opinions, how we're going to get from point a to b, what the future holds, how i look, where i live and on and on and on. i need to let gratefulness and thankfulness take over my thoughts, saturate my conversations and keep me in line.

so here's a little tiny list of things i'm thankful for right this second:

being happily married to the love of my life
family that loves me unconditionally
a warm, safe place to live
car that doesn't break down constantly
good job
church and our community
friends who love unconditionally
cable tv or specifically hgtv and the food network
christmas almost being here ....and...
2 weeks vacation for christmas!!!
all the wonderful joys of the holiday season
Jesus
the ability to buy gifts for the people we love
getting to enjoy our friends kids
taking pictures


that's just a little, little bit of the big picture....what are you thankful for today?

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas...

cranberry relish ingredients, originally uploaded by goldiestereo.

It's that time of year again......that I love and look forward to so much every year. Time to go Christmas shopping and whisper secrets about gift giving plans.....time to give something extra to someone that can use a helping hand.....time to celebrate with friends and family....time for nostalgia.....time for scents and sounds that bring back memories of lovely days......time to celebrate the love that came down at Christmas, our saviour Jesus Christ. We had our first big snowfall yesterday and it's helping put me in the mood. I love this time of year. When I drive I only want to listen to Christmas music. I'm really only interested in seeing Christmas movies and we sleep to the light of Christmas lights every night. Hope you are all enjoying this time of year too...

autumn

wishing, hoping, praying, reading, wondering, thinking, dreaming, writing, making, living, loving.

first sight of autumn

first sight of autumn, originally uploaded by goldiestereo.

you can just feel it in the air, i so hate to say good bye to summer and i'll cherish every moment left of sunshine and indian summer but i do love autumn.

sign of the times

it's a sad day in columbus. we will still have one art theater left but the drexel grandview is closing on september 27th. first the symphony, now this?

traveling

here's where i've been in the whole world...

Where I've been

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

here's where i've been in the USA....

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

the blue indicates the places i've been. looks like i've got alot of ground left to cover. let's go!!
*thanks to maggie for the link to this fun site


update 8.28.08-thanks to my dad for reminding me that i have been to new mexico :) i threw in delaware and rhode island too because we toured all over new england and i'm pretty sure we went through both. :)

oh the things i can do now...

to market, to market, originally uploaded by goldiestereo.

now that i have an iphone...an early birthday gift from the sweetest husband in the world! this is my first "official" photo taken with my iphone. next on the list a new "real" camera.......

summertime....i wish it were mine

it's summertime. i have had that revelation that most people who work a 9-5 must have at some time or another......where is summer? it just seems that when june 21st rolls around that i should be able to sleep in delicously crisp, cool sheets to wake up just in time to throw on a swimsuit that was drying somewhere and grab a towel and some sandals, shorts and a tshirt and be driven to the pool in the early morning mist. friends would be there. cold, cold water and swimming lessons. then as the sun worked it's way overhead more people would arrive, swimming lessons were over and free swim begins. perhaps some soda and some sticky sweet treat bought in the copa cabana (otherwise known as the snack bar at the callaway pool). we would swim all day, as long as we could.

there were fireflies, homemade ice cream with fresh georgia peaches, fireworks, parades, bicycle rides, swimming in the lake, fishing, hours upon hours to watch this new channel called mtv or endless movies, barbie houses to decorate and their stories to be told, a bowl of fresh blueberries or strawberries for breakfast. and the trips.....oh the trips.....trips to see my dad full of excitement and day trips to hanna barbera land, astroworld or galveston where we caught fresh crabs in white nets....trips to the beach to spend hours riding the waves while my grandaddy stood there with his hand holding my raft to keep it from drifting away then miles of sand to play in and make believe i was hosting my own cooking show with my sandy concoctions, fresh oysters fried crispy, delicious shrimp......trips to the mountains with endless lines of souvenir stores, outlet malls, water slides and swimming pools i could never spend enough time in...spontaneous trips with my mother to go see my grandmother in her cute little apartment in alabama with no air conditioning but that she managed to keep us cool in and where she made us neat little sandwich lunches served on pretty trays and never tired (every single time) of pulling out every single item in her cedar chest and pouring over the memories with me of my mother's wedding dress, my parents wedding pictures, my mom's little girl photographs and her old pictures and flapper dress she wore in the 20's.

cold cold air conditioning after being out in the hot southern sun. eating as much french toast as my grandmother would let me. lemon sours at hillside pharmacy with my mom hearing stories about how she went there as a little girl after dancing lessons. spending the night....or a week at my friend carmin's house...walking to pizza hut to play miss pacman....listening to the fat boys, cyndi lauper and duran duran..dancing around to "lucky star" ...watching carmin in awe as she daringly painted her walls with polka dots and splatter paint, not sure if her mom would laugh, cry, appluade or both...the tape that we recorded messages and songs on and sent back and forth to each other until it wore out. the butterflies in my stomach and not being able to sleep in excitement the night before going to six flags. convinincing my friend lynn we should play beauty shop with her dolls and really wash and cut their hair. hide and go seek in the dark. trying to sleep in the jackson's camper and getting so scared i had to go inside. wishing with all my heart we could go camping for real with a tent in the woods. watching my dad build my barbie doll house from scraps of lumber in his garage. flying on a plane through the fluffy white clouds and endless blue skies. making coke floats and sunshine zap! smoothies with my mom in the kitchen on vernon rd with the yellow chairs.

oh summertime......

funny story

at least i'm trying to convince myself it's a funny story. haha. there i laughed. last night a bird flew into our bedroom through the fireplace. the previous tenants didn't close the damper and we never had a fireplace and didn't think to check it. nathan was very brave and got it out. i on the other hand.....let's just say there was some crying , screaming and hiding in the bathroom involved.

sigh. so now i need to go to sleep. i've prayed. the damper is shut tight. everything is fine. i want to go to sleep. i need to go to sleep. Lord, please help me get to sleep.

a little something for ya...

Happiness

What a wonderful year it has been. As of Monday May 19th, 2008 we have been married for one year. A year of love, laughter, joy and fun mixed in with the stress, ever changing challenges of everyday life. I wouldn't trade my wonderful husband for anything and being married to him has changed my life so much for the better. Here's to happiness and to hope to anyone out there who has given up on finding true love. I waited a long time but when the time was right, it all came together. Never give up.

sigh.

i pondered. i agonized. i scrutinized. i lived with little paint chips taped to the wall for a couple of weeks. i crossed my fingers and bought some paint. it turned out to be even better than i hoped when it was was painted. then the landlord only painted half of the rooms which were promised. i cried. i was sad. i'm still sad. just let us paint the walls please! we promise to be careful. oh the blues of rental living in the city. i need to get busy. i must get busy unpacking, organizing, decorating. it just kind of feels like i got the wind knocked out of my sails. that's all.

picking paint colors

help.
here's the story

don't look any further

currently loving

my new macbook! :)

my husband not just for buying me a laptop as a huge surprise, but also because he's wonderful AND because he further surprised me with flowers to celebrate my very first brand new computer after years of hand me down computer cast offs.

my job (yes! i said it! i actually love my new job)

the thought of saving up to go to this

plans with my friend for a day of photo exploring

sweet memories of sun filled days at the beach

daydreaming about paint colors for the new apt we'll move to in may

hints of spring in the air, windows open and 70 degree weather

counting the days till the billy joel concert

reading books again

looking forward to our first anniversary

road trip ahead to see my much missed family soon

flowers popping up here and there :)

this and this and the song here but not so much the video, and the webcast here featuring my all time favorite announcer.

if you're looking for me...

i'm at the beach

the great blizzard of 2008

pretty much all plans got canceled, our house guest for the week got stuck with us, there have been soup, chili, miller's cinnamon rolls (modified), bad movies, good movies, and lots of relaxing. i always wanted to get snowed in.

gentle dental

we are looking for a new dentist, one who is super gentle, maybe even one of those kind that have a massage chair or a tv to make the experience a little more comfy. so far i'm coming up with nothing. if you live in columbus and you have an idea let me know.

our hearts are broken

some of our best friends, austin and maggie baxter, lost their beautiful baby girl, beatrix clementine baxter, this week. maggie was about 8 months pregnant. her best friend jenny explains what happened better than i ever could here on her blog. If anyone in our community wants to send a card or gift card or bring a meal I am organizing meals and can give you the info. Email me at meridith21 at g mail dot com.

a little treat to brighten up your winter day

Detour Magazine interviews Wes Anderson and Jason Schwartzman

Yacht Rock Lives!

Episode 11 has been released for your smooth viewing pleasure! (please pardon their french)

book meme

i love a good meme :) i got tagged by beth :)

01. One book that changed your life
Experiencing God by Henry T. Blackaby and Claude V. King
Reading this book changed my devotional life and brought new depth to my relationship with Jesus. It's so good and down to earth, I'd love to go throug it again.


02. One book that you have read more than once

When I was a kid, there was a time that I lived down the street from the library. I was there so much they knew me by name. I read MANY books over and over. Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly, all the Little House books, all the books that were written by Beverly Cleary, all the Henry Reed books, Pipi Longstocking, the Anne of Green Gables books...then when I was older Pride and Predjudice. I should read some of them again.

03. One book you would want on a deserted Island

The Bible. I don't think I could survive an experience like that without it!

04. One book that made you laugh

Pure Drivel by Steve Martin

05. One book that made you cry

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

I read it in high school and cried my eyes out.

06. One book that you wish you had written

Roaring Lambs by Bob Briner
Another book that changed my life. I wish I could have read this when I was in High School. I wish it was required reading in church youth groups.

07. One book that you wish had never been written

I don't think I know the answer to that. Probably a horror book like The Exorcist. Yuck. I only read one page and had nightmares.


08. One book you are currently reading

nothing. :( i need something good to read. any suggestions? i love a good biography or memoir!

09. One book you have been meaning to read

Me Talk Pretty Some Day by David Sedaris

10. Tag 5 readers

hmmm....are their 5 people reading anymore?......Joy, My Dad, Karen, Nathan and Joanna

hibernation

it's that time of year. it's gray and cold outside (although not as cold today) and it was the perfect weekend to stay in your pj's all day, watch movies and make a big pot of chili. so that's what we did this weekend and it was just lovely. we only left the apt to go to church and then lunch w/friends afterward. the holidays are so consuming, so busy, so FUN, so wonderful, so full of activity....i loved every minute of them but..... it's so good to r-e-l-a-x.