Mustaches vs. Cancer

Update: My husband is still claiming he can't grow facial hair, but I did get my friend to sign up for it!! So excited!! Need some more ideas on how to get my husband to join.

Have you ever heard of this? It's called Mustaches vs. Cancer and it was started by Memorial Sloan-Kettering as a fundraiser for their pediatric cancer center. The tagline is:

Kids Can't Grow Mustaches and They Shouldn't Have Cancer Either

I feel like that's pretty accurate. If I could grow a mustache, I would. But since I cannot, my goal is to now get my husband to grow a mustache.

I should let you know beforehand that my husband thinks I am crazy. And that I have ridiculous crazy ideas. I should also let you know, that, after a little while, my husband typically thinks that maybe my crazy ideas are somewhat sane and then decides to scheme with me or says, 'I trust you to make the right decision.'

So far, his answer to whether or not he will participate is, 'I don't know.'

I'll keep you posted on whether or not he does it. :)

Holy Matrimony, Batman!

I love Lost and Found. Have you heard of them? They're two guys who play Christian...rock? Speedwood?

Actually, this is how they describe themselves:
George plays piano, and Michael plays guitar. Stylistically, the music of LOST AND FOUND is not easy to describe. Some have simply labeled it "speedwood" or "acoustic thrash." Others, upon hearing the unique blend of folk and screaming, played without drums or stacks of keyboards, and including the occasional ballad, have just said, "I've never heard anything like that before." One person said the music is, "the intersection of the Ramones and John Denver." This is, as you might imagine, a relatively deserted intersection.


Their albums have names like 'This,' 'That,' and 'Here.' I have a CD of them singing happy birthday to me and I have pictures where I am dressed entirely in blue (it's a song reference). And I mean ENTIRELY. Blue jeans, blue shirt, blue hair scarf, BLUE HAIR. And I used to go to concerts as a teen and I just love them. I have been trying to go for a year to see them and I haven't been able to.


I was looking at their blog and it looks like the guitar player, Michael, was recently married!!

Marriage has been coming up lately. And there are reasons. And here's the question.

Why does monogamy make sense?

I know someone who says that it does not and that, in 100 years, there will no longer be monogamous relationships.

And I know all of these people who have been married and, because of the odds, at least of the weddings I have attended this year, marriages I have witnessed, will end before 'death do us part.' So why?

Here's what George (the piano player) has to say:

But the question is this: who gets everyone together for a big party and actually means it? What kind of person looks into the eyes of their beloved, and says, “Holy Matrimony?” . . . What kind of person does that?

The kind of person who has hope. A promise to remain together until the end has to be rooted in hope. Real hope. Because statistically, it doesn’t make sense. To sit down and reason it out, nobody would ever get married. To do what we are gathered here to do this day requires hope. And the only reason we can have hope is because we trust that this is all going to be all right. Somehow, this is going to work out. We mark this day with a joyous celebration, because—as we heard in the reading from Matthew (Matthew 5:13-15)—a light is shining in the darkness. Because you are living out God’s promise, and you are the light of the world. You are a city built on a hill. Let your light so shine, and let the strings so play, and let the food and drink so flow, that everyone will know that today is different. We mark this day, dedicated to hope for the future...

God is not jaded by failure. God does not listen to common sense. God does not give up on anyone, ever. God has lit, is lighting, and will continue to light the lamp of love in your heart. You are the light of the world.

___________________________________________________________________________________

And I love it. It speaks so much to my heart. We agree to love one person for the rest of our lives because we have hope!! And maybe it doesn't work out and maybe it does, but we promise to love each other forever because we have hope. Hope in each other and, for a great deal of us, hope in God.

So now I'm going to see Lost and Found in Connecticut...and going to see if I can find those ridiculous photos from high school when I go home :-D

Our New Apartment!!

Here are pictures of our new apartment!! You're getting them before my mother does :) Update: My mom saw that and was only vaguely insulted. ;)



Getting in!



Before we moved in.



Umm...after we moved in. But it's better!!



Why I like the new apartment.



That little dot in the middle is the Statue of Liberty from our window.





There were fireworks our first full day and night in our new apartment. Here are the fireworks over downtown Manhattan from our window!!

Friend-Makin' Mondays

Moving was a nightmare, but we've gotten almost everything moved!!! So I'm excited. Not only that, our first night in, there were fireworks over downtown Manhattan and we got a ton of pictures of them. Now, to take a break.

Friend Makin' Mondays!!! If you want to join in, click here!




List a few things that you cannot live without

Let me think...

1) God. He's been doing a lot to keep me sane lately and I know that if I felt like He wasn't around, I'd probably feel a hole in my heart. Same with number 2...

2) My husband. He's been behind me for awhile now and I fully appreciate that. He loves me and shows me what love is.

3) Books. I love the smell and feel of books, whether or not I'm reading them. :) I just LOVE it!!

4) Sushi. I haven't had it for awhile, but once I start...

5) TRAVEL! If I didn't do it, I wouldn't see my family. But I absolutely LOVE to travel and I am almost always counting down until I'm going somewhere.

6) Our new apartment!!! It has a pool and a gym and a WASHER AND DRYER IN THE APARTMENT!!! So, so excited. And it's almost clean and way more space then we thought. :) Now, time for a trip to IKEA.

What can you not live without?

Blog Set-Up

I am clueless. I like everyone else's blogs. They all look so...professional!

I just want three columns. Can anyone tell me how to set up my blog so that I can have three columns? Please? :)

THANK YOU!!

Moved?

We finished moving yesterday at 3am. Our new apartment is filled with boxes and we had to hang the shower curtain to get ready this morning, but it's good.

We experienced stand-still traffic at 12:40am. 12:40am?! What the heck?! Good ol' New York, O you city that never sleeps.

:)

How's your weekend going? As soon as Steve gets back, I'm going to finish packing, purchase some soap nuts, say good bye to Harlem, and head back to Jersey City. :) AND hope that BabyBeBlessed e-mails me back. I e-mailed them AGAIN because I'm crazy. I'm hoping that I can say something like I'm a little OCD or whatever. But I think that's more Steve. He has to wash his hands all the time. He's trying to not feel dirty after shaking people's hands.

Hope that everyone is well and happy!!

A Nightmare

So I'm sitting on the floor of our now empty apartment and I'm exhausted. Moving has been a disaster. The movers showed up over 2 hours late, which, normally would be fine, but we could only move into our new building between 1 and 5pm. And the movers showed up at 2:30pm. Since I've had to take so much time off for weddings and such as of late, I decided that I should work and Steve would handle the move since that's what happened last time.

To say the least, the movers coming late, they were going to be late. My husband calls the apartment building (who we had to pay $600 to just MOVE our stuff in) and they say 5:30pm is the latest. It's 4pm when he gets that answer and...they still haven't moved the couch or our bed. My husband has to work with the people we've paid to move our stuff so that they can book it.

Now, I'm going to say this and I hope you believe me...but I'm not a person to just fly off the handle and send angry e-mails. I mean, there's only been once in my life that I've ever NOT tipped and I have never tipped under $5. But I was seeing more than red. I think I may have snapped a few synapses. It was actually for the best that I sent the angry e-mail because it got us two extra movers to help my husband at our apartment building. And the concierge took pity on my husband and let him move.

Kingsley gets an extra special Christmas present.

In a completely unrelated item, I think I'm going to drive both Children's Hope International and BabyBeBlessed Dolls insane. I know that God is trying to teach my patience and it's somewhat obvious that I pick and choose what to pay attention to. BUT there's a reason!! I really want to get some of my sponsored children (and non-sponsored children) BabyBeBlessed Dolls and you can win them on their blog!! So I keep e-mailing and stalking these people. I swear, I'm not trying to be creepy - I'm just excited!! And I had to make sure that I could buy things for my one sponsored child. But now I'm just waiting for my numbers and it's just KILLING ME!! Especially since I'm not sure if I'm going to have e-mail at our new place.

I'll have to send you pictures of our new place. It's incredible. :)

How are you guys doing? How's your day been?

Thankful Thursday!!

It's Thankful Thursday!! If you're interested in joining, please go visit Sonya. And I'm sorry that I haven't had more to post then these memes. It's been CRAZY and I'm just exhausted.

1) I am thankful for my husband. Because he's taking the time off to move us tomorrow!! I can't believe we're moving, but I'm so happy to do it!!

2) I am thankful for people like Vashti at Project O and the ladies at Baby Be Blessed. They really lift my day, just by being themselves. I have trouble sometimes with my faith journey and it's nice to see people who seemingly do it so easily. Maybe I just see the good times, but that's okay. ;) I'm thankful for it!

3) I am thankful for my friends like Sam and Lily. They are so sweet and caring and have really looked after me.

4) I am thankful for my job. Even though I strongly dislike my job and that I find most of my anger springs from here, it provides the money that we can use to donate and to help others.

5) I am thankful for this weekend that we have nothing to do and I can just catch up on sleep!! I'm very thankful for that. We typically go to bed around 10:30pm, but we've been going to be between midnight and 1am. Sure, we don't have to get up for work until 8am, but it's still missing time!! ;)

6) I am thankful that, even though I bombed my job interview, I think that I'm learning the patience to lean on God more than my own understanding. Thank goodness. I was stressing myself out!!!

What are you thankful for?

Random Dozen!

If you want to join in, then click on the button above and sign up...

1. Please share one middle school memory. It can be good, bad, ugly, funny. Pictures or words, I don't care, just share.
Ugh. Middle-school. I do remember sitting in Miss Lane's class with my friends. It was the accelerated English class and she gave us almost full reign. I always told her I hated 'fluffy bunny stories' so, when I graduated from high school, she gave me 'Watership Down,' which I have tried to read, but cannot bring myself to finish. ;)

2. What's your favorite Beatles song?
I know it's considered one of the worst songs of all time, but I love Ob-La-Dee, Ob-La-Da. It just makes me want to skip around.

3. If I asked you to describe your most comfortable outfit, what would it be?
I have these awesome sweatpant things that I got at Lucky Brand. A t-shirt, no bra, and my hair every which way. That sounds great right now...

4. Would you rather host a party or be a guest?
I like to host parties. I like to plan parties. I think I would host. I don't always like to be a guest...is that weird?

5. Do you think we will move completely from traditional books to digital ones, and if we do, are you OK with that?
I pray not. I love books. I can't handle seeing people with Kindles on the subway.

6. Do you learn best by reading, listening or experiencing?
I kind of take an approach and use all three. That's how I learn best.

7. If you are (or when you were) single, what is the kiss of death for you concerning the opposite sex? (That is, what is one trait or behavior or habit or anything at all that immediately turns you off from considering that person a potential match for you?)
Rudeness. Disdain when they hear that my family lives in Hong Kong.

8. Snacks. Salty or sweet?
Salty.

9. Look around you in a four foot radius. What object is around you that you didn't realize was there or forgot was there? How long has it been there?
My tennis ball! It comes in handy here when I get stressed (I'm at work)

10. What is your favorite Tom Cruise movie?
I guess Mission Impossible. I haven't really seen any Tom Cruise movies.

11. You buy a bottle of shampoo and discover that you don't like what it does to your hair at all. What do you do with that full bottle?
To be honest? I probably wouldn't notice what it does to my hair and I would just keep using it. I don't really notice those things. Or my husband would use it.

12. Your favorite Fall comfort food? (Last week it was beverage.)
Anything pumpkin!!

Baby Be Blessed: Karsie Gene

I really like Baby Be Blessed and they're helping a little girl on a blog that I frequent. Her umblical sac ruptured when she was born and she lost significant amounts of blood and her organs were trapped outside of her body. They never expected her to live. A few months later, she's on the road to getting out of the hospital. A miracle baby!! The goal is to get $1,000 by the end of September!! You can also win a BabyBeBlessed Doll.

http://babybeblesseddolls.com/category_11/Give-a-Blessing.htm

P.S. If you can, copy the widget link and place it on your blog too!!

Overthinking And Blackberry Coffee Cake

Today is an overthinking day.

I'm trying to ignore it, but I can't and as my husband just said, I am my own worst critic. And to a point where I don't think my worst enemy on this planet would think about me the way I think about me. I'm trying to just pray and let God take over and I'm not. I'm just beating it into the ground like a crazy person.

And I forgot my lunch.

But I made a really awesome Blackberry Coffee Cake and Vashti asked me to share. So I will. :) If I have a picture, I'll add it too.

BLACKBERRY COFFEE CAKE
Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 cups sour cream
* 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
* 2 eggs, lightly beaten
* 2 cups blackberries

Topping

* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1
FOR THE TOPPING, stir together the sugar, walnuts, and cinnamon in a small bowl until evenly mixed.

2
Set aside.

3
PREHEAT THE OVEN to 350°F Butter a 9- by 13-inch baking dish.

4
IN A LARGE BOWL, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda and stir to evenly mix.

5
Add the sour cream, melted butter, and eggs, stirring gently until the batter is just evenly blended.

6
Avoid overmixing or the cake will lose some of its lightness.

7
POUR A GENEROUS half of the batter into the prepared baking dish, spreading it out evenly.

8
Scatter the berries on the batter and pour the remaining batter over them, spreading it evenly (some of the berries may seem too close to the surface, but they'll settle during baking).

9
Sprinkle the topping evenly over the batter and bake until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.

10
LET THE COFFEE CAKE cool slightly before cutting it into squares to serve.

Define 'Old'

This is me and my grandparents earlier this year around my grandma's birthday. She just turned 68!!

I'm 24. In fact, I forgot how old I was the other day and said I was 23. Not because I want to be younger, but I honestly keep forgetting how old I am! It's kind of weird.

I have about 3 friends (maybe even more) who have been FREAKING OUT over their 25th birthdays. Why? Because that's so oooollllddddd. One friend even said it's because that's half-way to 50 and the other said that she was having her 'quarter-life crisis.'

What defines 'old'?

I've always felt that old is a feeling. My mom has always said that she doesn't care about her age and she looks like she's in her 30's (I swear! She's 47). And my grandparents still take my grandma's Miata and drink martinis and just have fun and go on adventures. I guess it's because no one acts their age in my family that we all feel like we always have, no matter the number you put on it.

My husband's family, though, is different. Everyone there is very old, no matter their number. And I think that's because they worry. A LOT. Over everything. Some of it, I can understand. Some of it, I cannot. So we just don't tell them when we're going bungee jumping or going to do other insanely stupid things.

I don't know if I understand my friends when they say that 25 is so OLD. The only thing that has ever made me feel 'old' is my younger brother. He's now my height and I still remember when he was to my knees and we would run around together.

So now I'm somewhat curious. What do you think defines being 'old'?

Thankful Thursday!

I haven't done this in forever!! So now I'm going to do it cause I like it and it's always good to be reminded of all the things we really do have to be thankful for. So visit Sonya if you'd like to join!

1) We're moving! It's complicated but, though rent is more expensive, we're actually saving money. And though it's less space, I feel safer and...here's the kickers...it has a washer/dryer IN the apartment, a gym downstairs...AND WE CAN GET A CAT!!!

Though I have no clue what we'll do with said cat if we go on vacation.

2) God is doing a really great thing right now, but I can't say what. Suffice it to say, I couldn't be praising him more for it!!

3) Raspberries!!! Steve is taking me raspberry picking this weekend as a date and a congratulations for all the things that we've finished. Since he FINALLY has his CPA license (there were more issues, but it's complicated), I'm taking HIM out on a date soon too.

4) My husband. He does so much for me and has guarded my heart in such a way that makes me so happy. I'm always so proud of him and he's proud of me. I couldn't ask for more from the man in my life.

5) Church. We haven't been there in a few weeks, but I'm really excited to go this weekend. It always rejuvenates my spirit.

6) My friends and family. I've talked to them more this week then I have in awhile and it makes me realize how much I miss and love everyone.

What are you thankful for?!

The Last Wedding!!

I had mentioned before that I had my last wedding to attend this weekend. The brides the past two weekends have been BEYOND beautiful and so, so happy. Always makes me want to go look at my wedding pictures. :)

Rachel had her pictures done by Genevieve Nisly and she REALLY captured the happiness of the day. I love Rachel and I'm so happy that she's got her husband and that she's in Maui right now, enjoying her husband and the sun.

(P.S. Those are my purple Converse chucks!!)

Functioning

So I'm functioning today. The Video Music Awards were last night and I got home at around 5:00am, got a few hours of sleep, and I'm back at work!

Kanye West was NOT staged, by the way. That was real.

I'll post some pictures of the wedding I was at when I get a chance. The bride was beautiful and I haven't seen a happier groom. :)

How was your weekend?

Hi Guys!

My neice. ISN'T SHE ADORABLE?!

I just wanted to stop by and say hello!

I leave tonight with my husband to our last wedding of the year! So I'm very excited. It'll be nice to see some friends and such.

I'm looking for some advice. I'm trying to help raise money for Project O's school. There are two South African restaurants that I've found in NYC. Braii and Xai Xai and they're both owned by the same people. Should I go out on a limb and see if they'd be willing to hold an event?! I could possibly partner with my friends who started the organization History Starts Now that deals in ending human trafficking. I've been feeling very apprehensive about these things, but I think that I could do it, especially with some help.

I was in Ohio last weekend too and there was a sign that say, 'God's work never lacks God's supplies.' I liked it.

Is there something that you've been nervous to do, but just need that little edge?

I hope you have a great weekend! I might be scarce next week a bit too. It's the Video Music Awards on Sunday and I don't think I'm sleeping until Monday night!!

Sorry!!

Sorry I keep disappearing. It's been really crazy here. So if you wanted an update:
1) We're moving! We've decided to move to New Jersey. It'll save a little money, be an apartment with a WASHER AND DRYER!!!, pet-friendly, and be near some friends.

2) My LAST wedding of the year is this weekend.

3) The Video Music Awards are coming up this weekend too. Ack.

But here's what all went on this weekend. Uncle Steve is particularly cute with cousin Lillian. ;) And Mrs. Paskiet was radiant on her wedding day!!