Beautiful???

This morning I was doing my usual surfing and on the Yahoo headlines was the Ms USA Pageant and who won.

I think, "who cares!"

I mosey on and read the other headlines and then, for whatever reason, I click back and it says, "see photos of pageant"...I click.

What the?!?!

It has pictures of the top five contestants in their bathing suits "BY JESSICA SIMPSON", it so proudly boasts....

Take a look at these photos...is this what the world calls beautiful now?


I don't get it. I know, I know...you might be thinking, "ya, Lizzie, you are saying that because you are fluffy...if you were skinny like them, you would say it is beautiful." Listen...it isn't about me being fluffy....I think it is really about the image we continue to portray to women about what beauty is. I don't believe beauty is about a weight or how make-up is applied. It grieves me how the standards are set. I see my niece and think she is the most beautiful girl in the world! With her gorgeous big, brown eyes, her strong legs and curly hair....and then I see these pics and think, "This is NOT beautiful! These girls look sick!"

UGGH...not sure where I am going with this...but I saw these pic's and I just think it is sad.....

Beauty to me is watching my sister-in-law be a great mom to my niece and seeing the look in her eye as her daughter smiles. It is watching my best friend tell stupid stories about something she thinks is funny and watching her expression when I don't reward with the laugh she so wants to hear. *she giggles* It is seeing photos of all of my friends who are sisters, moms, aunts, comadres, friends, and grandmothers...all of them, in their everyday bodies, everyday clothes, doing the everyday things. It's as if they are the color on the picture God creates everyday...without them, it would as if looking at a brand new color book with its black lines and off-white paper...awaiting the artist to make it beautiful...

I am grateful to have so much beauty around me.....

Coffee on our shirt

OK, let me ask you. If you were driving to work and had a nice cup of java in your hand and all of the sudden spilled it completely on yourself, how would you feel?
Would you be mad? Feel like your ENTIRE day is ruined or off to a bad start?

Your answers are probably, "yes". You are probably thinking, "ya, I'd be spitting out a few choice words!"

OK...now, let me ask you. If you were driving to work with a nice cup of java in your hand and all of the sudden spilled it completely on yourself because you crashed into the car on the other lane and hit them head-on, how would you feel?

Would you care anymore about having coffee on you? Would you be thinking about how your day is totally ruined because of the coffee on your clothes? No. Probably not.

The fact of the matter is that you would be concerned if you are alive. If you are hurt. Are others hurt, etc.

We...all of us, are so arrogant!

How many times do our kids do something, tell us something or we find out about something and we want to choke them or are so disappointed in them because we see the "coffee on our shirt"?

How many times do we cast judgment about situations with our spouses and loved ones based simply on having "coffee on our shirt".

Everything IS about us, anyway, right? All we really have to be concerned about it how it effects us. What others are going to think/say, etc?

Here is my point. Having coffee on our shirt was a big deal until we knew what the entire situation was. Then, the coffee was not only a big deal, it became irrelevant. On my work this morning, I almost spilled my coffee which got me to thinking about all this. I felt challenged in my own life. How many times do I run into a conclusion and I am on the other side of that where people make up their minds about me without even knowing the whole picture? I don't know if any of this makes sense, but I know for me, driving in to work, I made a decision to try my very best to find out the reason why there is coffee on anyone's shirts. I felt embarrassed that I am SO arrogant at times and don't even care to find out the what, when, why and how.

All in all....I hope to change this area in my life and stop making such a big deal about coffee on our shirt and find out why.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIL BROTHER AND MUNCHKIN!!!

Greetings!

Hope you all had a great Easter!
Just wanted to put in a quick message to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little brother, Nathan and to his daughter, my most awesome niece, Abby (AKA Munchkin)

LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Shake Break w/myself

When I was in El Paso, I sometimes would drive down to the Valley, stop by a fast food establishment, go through the drive-thru and order two small milk shakes. I would drive through, pay and head on my merry way! Where was I going, you ask?

I was heading to a "shake break".

A little something I made up. I would go to my mom's school, park illegally in the "Administrator's Parking", and mosey on over to the "li-berry". (as the little Mesican kids would say! *spelled incorrectly on purpose*)

My mom would be there with all the little chit-lans, she would acknowledge me and all the kids would turn around. "It's Ms Li-berry's daughter". I would sit back, wait for her to finish, then when the hustle and bustle had left the vicinity, we would sit in the kid-sized chairs and tables, slurping our shakes and gossiping as only mothers and daughters can.

So, this afternoon, on this Good Friday, I have a shake break for a party of one. Oh wait! I DO have a picture of Terry on my desk as well as a cricket figurine my Pappy gave me...does that mean it is a reservation for three?? HHMM....

Anyway...just me, my photo, my cricket and my quiet office.....*raises her shake*...
"CHEERS!"

*she smiles*

Happy Easter!!

Greetings all!!

Just wanted to drop by and wish everyone a SUPER happy Easter! Hopefully, it will be filled with time with family and friends!! We are expecting rain here, so we'll see what fun activities come our way.

Exciting news! This weekend, I get to join my niece for her 3rd birthday!!! WOW! Cool thing too, is that it is her dad's (my bro's) birthday too!! We are very much looking forward to that.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE MUNCHKIN AND NATE!!!!

Things are well, getting settled in the new home, lots of work to do all the time, but it doesn't FEEL like work! I just love the country. I have lots of pic's I just need to find the cable for my camera! LOL! So as soon as I find that, I will post some pic's!

Hope you all have a GREAT one!!!

One more day...

In just one more day, I will be 33.
WOW! Not sure what I am feeling and I honestly didn't have a whole lot to say today...just...one more day....

...I wonder what the birthday fairy will be leaving me this year?

Hope you are having an awesome day!!

One of those days...

I wake up this morning. Don't get up. Just wake up. As I lay there, I criticize myself for always being late. "Just get up now and you won't be late. You are awake, may as well get up! You can make coffee and start the day off right."

UUGHH....I roll out of bed.

As I stand in my bathroom looking at my huge fro, my soggy eyes and frown on my face, I say out loud, "I just want to get home already!"

*sound of screeching brakes*

Wait! I AM home! But I guess thinking about the entire day in front of me makes me dread it already....bummer.

I continue with my morning and get ready for the day ahead. In the bedroom, the entire back wall is windows. The view of acreage, trees and shrubs are always amazing. It's as if it were a movie and all the little animals are coming in on cue. A bright red cardinal flies in from the right and lands on the branch in front of the window....I look towards the upper left and a blue jay is jumping from limb to limb. As I admire the intricate colors on his feathers, something catches the corner of my eye. I turn to see two little squirrels wrestling....WOW! What a great place! It's my own little piece of heaven.
I sigh.


As I walk towards the closet, I grunt. "I have nothing to wear", I think to myself. AHH..jeans! Jeans it is!

As I think of the day before me, I grumble. Well, at least it is Friday and this crazy week is almost behind me.

As I step out to the porch a bunch of little birds that were pecking in the front yard fly off in unison. I smile. As I walk to my car, I hear, tap,tap-tap,tap, I look up and see a woodpecker. Could this morning get ANY better?!?!

I get in my car and get on the road. As I turn onto the highway, the signs of Spring are everywhere. There are lots of horse ranches that sprawl throughout. Colts. Baby cows. Baby sheep. Even a baby miniature horse...ever seen that?!?! Amazing!

"Now if it could just be 2:30 already so I can be heading home."

Today is not a bad day...just one of those days that all I want to do is be home and it can't come fast enough!!!

Hope you all are having a wonderful day. The weekend is going to be gorgeous...maybe I will tend to a few of the dozen gardens in my yard!!! *she smiles gratefully*

The greatest love letter ever written...

...and it was written to me!!

Why I am forever grateful...


Lizzie,
Not only can I hear you, but I know everything about you. I know when you sit down and when you rise up. I am familiar with all your ways. Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. For you were made in My image. In Me, you live and move and have your being.
For you are My offspring. I knew you even before you were conceived. I chose you, when I planned creation. You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in My book. I determined the exact time of your birth, and where you would live. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. I knit you together in your mother's womb. And brought you forth on the day you were born. I have been misrepresented by those who don't know Me. I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. And it is My desire to lavish My love on you. Simply because you are My child, and I am your Father. I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. For I am the perfect Father.
Every good gift that you receive, comes from My hand. For I am your provider, and I Meet all your needs. plan for your future has always been filled with hope. Because I love you with an everlasting love. My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. And I rejoice over you with singing. I will never stop doing good to you. For you are My treasured possession. I desire to establish you with all My heart, and all My soul. And I want to show you great and marvelous things. If you seek Me with all your heart, you will find Me. Delight in Me, and I will give you the desires of your heart. For it is I, who gave you those desires. I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. For I am your greatest encourager. And nothing will ever separate you from My love again. I have always been your Father, and will always be your Father.
Love,
Your Heavenly Father

Even when those on earth don't...He does!

It's April 1....the beginning of BIRTHDAY WEEK!!!

Greetings all!

Today is not just any other day...and no, it is not just April Fool's day...today is the commencement of Birthday week!!!
YAY!!!

A whole 33. Boy, how life has changed from 30! I am grateful. Everyday, fighting the good fight. Believing for the best results in all things. Sure, have some things I would have done differently, but learning everyday and just focusing what I can control.

To those who are still active in my life, I very much appreciate you. I know I may not always say it, but I do! You are a blessing to me!

Have a great day today, all!

Simply,
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