Moving is such sweet sorrow

Hey, friends!

This is (probably) my last post here at Crawdads in my Sink. I’m moving over to The Heather Brown Project. I hope you will check it out and leave me some comments so I know you were there.

That site is a hot mess (did I ever tell y’all about the time that my sister and roommate and I went to karaoke and the dj told us we should call ourselves Hot Mess?) right now but I’m working on it as I have time. I expect it to be fully operational by fall of 2016.

Actually, right now I’m really regretting my decision to leave the nice comfyness of CIMS and make my own website. It is harder than I thought. And my patience is not good. And really why should I go through all this stress for a hobby? I don’t know what I was thinking. But, as is often the case, I thought it so I did it and now I’m sticking to it.

Hopefully the next time you hear from me I won’t be questioning every decision I’ve ever made.

Love you.

Going places

I have just been ATTENDING things lately, y’all. I am going out in public, with real pants on (jeans) and getting wisdom. Okay, I only went to two things. But they were good. And I thought you might want to hear about them.

1. Lorraine Pintus came to a local church to put on a women’s conference. It was titled Intimacy Issues. It was about sex. Yes, I went to a sex conference, basically. Without getting too explicit, the basic gist was to help us understand what the Bible teaches about intimacy. I have notes. I will share them with you through email if you want. Heather (at) okgov (dot)us. Anyhoo, if you feel like you have a desire to learn more or if you have struggles surrounding sex, I advise you check her out. I wouldn’t say I gained anything revolutionary like some of the sobbing women around me BUT, now I do know how to understand the Biblical version of sex better so it was a day well worth it if for nothing else than brain growth. She has all kinds of books and resources so ya might wanna check her out.

2. I went and heard Bob Goff speak yesterday morning at a different church. He was so inspiring and I left there feeling super cheerful. I haven’t read his book yet but my new friend, Kathy Taylor, said I can borrow hers. So, I’ll tell ya all about it after I read it. I was trying to look up his talks online last night to show Spencer and this was the best (ie: longest) one I could find. I think everyone should hear him speak at least once, even if it’s only on the internet. He’s so refreshing. This was an event put on by Stand in the Gap Ministries, which is an organization that we are getting more involved with. Spencer and I have a meeting with Kathy next week about Life Launch so I plan to write a post dedicated to them after our meeting.

3. About a month ago, during the 31-day writing challenge, I started planning to do something different with this blog. For one thing, I think I will be moving to a self-hosted site, simply for the fact that I don’t like any of the free designs and want to be able to customize it to reflect my taste better. For another thing, I hate how the name of my blog and my other online usernames (MrsHDBrown, for one) don’t have anything to do with one another. Then, we got the Influence Network schedule for the month of November and guess what one of the choices was. BUILDING A COHESIVE BRAND. Well. Isn’t that just handy? Not that I’m exactly trying to “build a brand” as if I’m growing an empire or trying to sell you something but I am trying to be a part of some online communities and I think it would be nice if people could keep up with who the heck I am. Anyway, that class is this evening so I figured once that is over, I will try to get things switched fairly soon. I still have not picked a name for my online life so if anyone has suggestions, I’m all ears. I want something simple and more lasting, like my name, but my name is so common that I’m having some difficulty. And when I add things to my name it makes it too long for a Twitter or Instagram handle. #firstworldproblems

And that, my darlings, is all I feel like saying today. Goodbye.

Call me Lizzy, please

So. I just finished reading Pride and Prejudice last night. Is it just me or does everyone see themselves as Elizabeth? So relatable (even though I’m a 29-year-old wife and mother living in the United States in the year 2013 with exactly zero servants). Yes, I’m 29 years old and that is the first time I’ve read it. In fact, the first time I read any Jane Austen was within the last year when I read Sense and Sensibility (which I found the end of wholly unsatisfying). I know most people probably read these in high school but I think I was too busy gluing sequins to my jeans and reading Rush Limbaugh’s The Way Things Ought to Be. I really was.

Now I know most of you moms to toddlers are wondering when I have time to read. The answer would be that I don’t, I just put off other things and read instead of sleeping sometimes. But, seriously, that book did take me months to finish and it would’ve taken me about four days before little Mr. Jack came along.

Don’t anybody hold me to this, but I’m considering starting to think about debating an e-reader. I need to know what you have and if you would recommend it. And if I can get one on craigslist that’s held together with duct tape because you know that’s all I buy.

Okay. I just needed to ask y’all that. I better go clean something before Spencer gets home and discovers I’ve been feeding Jack corn dogs and watching Teen Mom 3 all day.

P.S. Someone please vote in my poll

Goooooaaaaal

Hola! I decided to link up with the Tiny Twig and post my goals for the month (for a little peer pressure accountability). The idea is to post ATTAINABLE (like, I’m probably not going to lose 25lbs this month or learn to water ski) goals publicly at the beginning of the month and then post your progress at the end.

How I envision this going:

I post all my goals. A couple people read them. I stress about but don’t complete the goals. The end of the month rolls around and I must confess that I was a slacker/got distracted by Facebook and Bravo. I live in shame the rest of my days.

But, ya know, I’m a risk-taker so what the hey (hay? Idk). Speaking of distractions, though, the Duggars are on TV in the other room and I can hear them having a Stress Fest trying to take family pictures (can you just imagine the aggravation?) and I’m thinking to myself “why?” You have a reality show. I mean, I think you have a record of what y’all looked like. I think I would wait to take a family picture until they were all grown. Unless I was dead by then which is likely.

Anyway, without further adieu, I present

GOALS- NOVEMBER 2013:

• Publish my first blog post for World Help
• Attend Bob Goff’s FREE talk at Crossings Community Church on Nov 12 (at 7:30 am! eek!)
• Go through my closet and get rid of all the things I don’t need
• Develop a self-hosted blog and get all my online stuff under one identity
• Clean out my email on my computer. It’s bad, guys. Real bad.
• Start Jack’s baby scrapbook OR order a photo book online. Yes, he’s 15 months old.
  

  My work space I got set up this month. Much better than the kitchen table. See that spot on the carpet where Jack spilled a can of yellow paint? Cool!

The end.

Well, we have arrived! Today is the 31st and the last day of the Nester’s 31-day writing challenge. I only missed one day though I must admit there were more than a few filler posts. To end out the Getting it Together series, I wanted to share the mission statement I created during this time.

To continually trust and praise God that I may be a faithful servant.

To stand behind Spencer, loving him and being his helper that he may feel admired and appreciated.

To protect, teach and encourage my children (Jack and any future children) to become people who know God and love others.

To keep a pleasant and welcoming home.

To be a dependable and supportive friend to all.

To publish only writing which (I believe) is helpful and points others to the Lord.

While this is not perfect, I went ahead and printed it out and hung it up so that I can read it on a daily basis. I think it will help me to feel much more focused and purposeful to keep my mission in mind. I really encourage everyone to write a mission statement! If you are interested, I used Kat Lee’s free e-book, Mission Statements for Moms, to write mine but I bet there are tons of  worksheets and examples on line.

I certainly don’t feel like I have it together all of a sudden but I do have some tools now, because of this mission to get it together, that will be so helpful in letting me be a stay at home mom who lives life with purpose and inspiration. As I said in my first post, I kind of fell into a rut of just going through my days stale and without creativity but now I’m learning how to be a better me in this role.

Today I had a meeting with Kathy Taylor of Life Launch and I plan to have a post about that program soon. Please go ahead and click that link to get information about Life Launch so you’ll know what I’m talking about in my post.

Stay tuned!

Holding it in

I have been struggling lately. When something is on my mind or I don’t know what to do, I long to talk about it with someone. But sometimes it’s best not to say anything (because it involves other people and you don’t know if you should be talking about them or not). And that’s when I would normally write about it in some vague blog and hope that would relieve the pressure to share without putting anybody on the spot. But sometimes it’s best not to.

And I know that what I’m supposed to do is pray about it. But sometimes that’s not very satisfying because I want to know what to do NOW. I get anxiety about uncertainty. I have trouble just being and waiting. I need to take some action!

Today, as I thought about the things I long to say, I vacillated between emotions and approaches and perspectives. I am so afraid of letting myself hold these things in and continue to be hurt by them but I am so afraid of hurting someone else by talking about them because we all know I can really let fly with the wrong words and the wrong tone when I get going. So as I prayed today I kept remembering to “wait on the Lord.” (Ps 27:14) Just wait, Heather.

The world is not going to fall apart if I don’t fix everything today. I think I will just wait on Him to do something or to show me what to do because “God is not the author of confusion” (1 Cor 14:33). If I am confused, then I have not heard from Him. Right?

Thanks for letting me talk this out in a vague blog post. I had no idea what was in my head until I read it.

ALSO: This is important and I came back to a finished yet unpublished post just to add it. I have written here and elsewhere about the daily devotional I’ve been doing, Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. I wrote that I was skeptical of it before I began because from what little I had seen, the entries seemed to be her putting words in God’s mouth. You can read my post about that here.

But, today I saw this link. The question we are discussing starts right around minute 6. I have a lot of trust in what Hank has to say because of his vast, amazing knowledge of the Bible. He may possibly have the entire thing memorized. It seems Hank’s concern with Jesus Calling is 1. that people use devotionals as a replacement for the Bible 2. that people will read Sarah’s words and believe they are God’s and 3. that Sarah makes things up sometimes. I totally agree on #1 and I want to explain my point of view on #2. As I read the devotionals, in my mind, it is like I am reading Sarah’s prayer journal and she is just sharing what she felt lead to write down, NOT that these are God’s words. As far as #3, I have no idea about that but I would hate to think that I need to research the personal history of every author whose works I read. But maybe I do?

Anyway, I wanted everyone to have the chance to hear Hank’s thoughts lest I recommend something crazy to everybody. I take his concerns very seriously.

I love my mommy

Today was my mama’s 67th birthday (just kidding she’s way younger than that) and she spent it going to my doctor’s appointment so she could watch Jack while my personal space was being invaded.

Sidenote: Why would a doctor’s office where people have to take off their clothes have windows and if they did, why would the blinds on those windows be left open? Just asking on behalf of some people who may’ve been flashed while walking around Edmond today.

Then, she bought me lunch. And know what I gave her for her birthday? Some coffee mugs from my house because she demanded that her broke kids not spend any money for her birthday.

What a great gal. We sure do love her.

A good mama is worth millions of bucks. Everybody be nice to your mom. Even if she’s not quite as great as mine, I bet she has done a lot for ya. Don’t forget it.

Almost there

I’m so depressed! Yesterday, the 27th day of the month, I forgot to blog. I’m such a failure! So close! Oh, well. Onward and upward.

Jack is suffering from a little cough, so that means we are all suffering from a lack of sleep. HOWEVER, I shall never again complain of a lack of sleep unless I have another baby. Then I’ll probably complain a lot. I guess I’ll take him to the doctor if it’s not better by tomorrow just to make sure it’s not bronchitis or something that needs antibiotics. I sure hate to go to the doctors office with a kid who just has a cold and risk picking up something worse…

Today is Spencer’s first day back to work after a week-long vacation and we are sad he’s not hanging with us! But we went to see my sis and her two turkeys (yes, we share germs). We ventured out to my great uncles house where we got to see some puppies and a baby donkey named Taco Bell, so that’s cool. I didn’t take any pics. That’s how I am.

I’m sorry this post has nothing to do with getting it together but you get what you pay for, people. But at least I didn’t forget?!

Love you like Rice Krispies treats (which I ate a few of today).

Cool stuff YOU need to know about

Hiiiiiiiiiiii! I’m here to make all your dreams come true!

Okay, I’m really just here to tell you about some stuff I recently discovered that you probably already know about.

First of all, I colored my hair at home yesterday because I’m poor and it came out the best of any home coloring I’ve ever done. Therefore, I can recommend John Frieda Brilliant Brunette 5N with full confidence. That is, if you’re too poor for the salon because clearly a professional is better. If you are 29 years old or older I definitely advise adding the extra 10 minutes processing time for the you-know-whats.

Next of all, I am also very big on the Bloglovin’ app these days. I have never used a blog reader but awhile back I downloaded Bloglovin’ and it’s quite handy. I haven’t been too good of a blog reader because, you know, it’s annoying to search for and read things on your phone. But, with a blog reader, you can search for and add all your favorite blogs and then the unread posts are just there and handy for you whenever so you can catch up on your five favorite blogs in just a few minutes. Much more organized and tidy. Also recommend.

Also, podcasts. Where have I been? I mean, really. I have finally stepped into the world of podcast listening. Well, I haven’t actually listened to one but I did download the podcast app so I’m well on my way, people. Well on my way. I am taking suggestions for podcasts to subscribe to if anyone has some they love. I downloaded the app because I want to listen to some of Kat Lee’s Inspired to Action interviews.  And I need y’all to tell me when you listen to these things, anyway.

Okay, dears. I think that’s all I have today. Happy muzzle-loader season.

 

 

Let me dork out for a minute

I have recently become obsessed with Ashton Shepherd. I’m talking super-fan status, friends. Like, I might buy a poster soon.

If you don’t know who Ashton Shepherd is then, 1. I feel bad for you and 2. Prepare to love her.

I bought her first album when it came out several years ago and there’s one song on it that all country music listeners should recognize. “Sounds so Good” is a great song but almost all the other ones on the CD were just as good (there’s always one or two filler songs…) (But if anyone gives a hoot, “Whiskey Won the Battle” moves me). When I listened to that CD, not only did I hear a strong voice but I heard a REDneck in there, y’all. Not like a nerd in a rolled up straw hat and leather bracelets telling people how country they are but just a down-home girl being country. And, oh, in a poppy world of badonk-a-donk and songs about tractors from a guy who’s not a farmer, it was so, so refreshing. Not because I idolize people from the country or anything- city people can be just as lovely- but because I just really like people who know who they are.

Anyway, this post isn’t supposed to be a review of her music; forgive me for getting carried away. I started following her on FB awhile back because it was one of those “pages you may like” that FB suggests for you. I have to say, that was a good choice on my part. She posts pictures of her full dishwasher all excited because it got fixed. And she didn’t stinkin hashtag “keepinitreal” or something else irritating. She’s not crafting an image or trying to make anyone think anything. Girl is just doing her thang and sharing it with the internet.

That’s what I try to do. People are always reading into everything and coming up with ulterior motives and thinking that other people are showing off or being fake or that there’s some deep meaning of why so-and-so didn’t “like” your pic and I’m over here just all WHO CARES?! Everybody just be yourself. Have some confidence. Be like Ashton. (See what I did there? Be yourself, be like Ashton? haha)

Moving on (try to stay on track, here, people! Sheesh!). So, I was starting to become a real, real fan when I saw her posting links to her cooking show, “Cookin Country.” I click. I watch. I love. Now, if you go watch be prepared because she has the thickest southern accent maybe ever. She’s filming in her new kitchen for the first time and she’s happy because it has more room than the single-wide they just moved out of. I’m obsessed with her. I wish she was my neighbor.

She’s also got a new album out and if anyone can advise me on how to listen to music these days, I might buy it. Because my brother broke the CD player in my car and honestly, I don’t know about all this new-fangled technology.

I hope you check her out and like her as much as I do. And I hope you might make some of her delicious recipes and bring them to my house.