This weekend w/ the Hoeksemas

I had a superb, albeit busy, weekend. It deserves a run through day by day.

Friday

I worked from home in the morning, took Brody to the boarder's, picked Kevin up from work and we were off to the Tiger's game! They lost (boo), but it was a good game and we had pretty sweet seats. It was our first game of the year and the weather was b-e-a-utiful. All and all it was a great night.

Yay for really good seats!

After the game and CRAZY traffic in the D (at one point we were stuck in the middle of an intersection, blocked on three sides by cars), we made our way to a hotel in Mount Clemens, which leads us to...

Saturday

We woke up and headed to Chesterfield to pick up a console record player we found on Craig's List. We have been collecting records lately and needed something to play them on. Too bad that the guy kind of exaggerated how well it worked. We got it home and found out it only plays 78s well and all of our records are 33s and 45s. So, we need to get those speeds fixed so we can actually listen to it!

Notice the screwdriver and the back that is off and sitting on the top... Anyone know anything about fixing record players?

Once we got home Kevin tried to get the record player to work (while watching draft coverage) and I headed to the mall to get Kevin's gma a present for her bday. Then it was off to Holland for the bday celebration at Boatwerks. By the time we got home at 9:30, I was dead tired. I took Brody for a walk, laid down to read and promptly fell asleep with book in hand and the lights on.

Sunday

It was my week off from working with the babies at church, so we slept in and went to the 11 service. I really love our church and always look forward to going and learning something each Sunday. Today's service really impacted me; I was very emotional and raw when we left. And what did I do with all of the spiritual know-how I gleaned over the last hour? Picked a fight with Kevin over NOTHING on our way to small group (I am such a punk). Sometimes I wonder if I really truly learn anything. It is a lesson in God's grace that this world keeps on turning. So, we were off to small group at the Callendar's, but the Bremers were gone and Layne was not feeling so hot, so it was cut a wee short. Rory and Jenni did make us FAB frappucinos. YUM!

After small group we ran home, changed our clothes and headed off to softball practice. There were only five of us, but it was still pretty fun. I am way too excited for the season to start (come on May 7!). Oh, and let's not forget to mention that I hit Cathy in the face with a softball which left stich marks in her chin. To my (and Cathy's) defense, Kevin was messing around and totally blocked Cathy's view of the ball until it was too late. :( I tell you, don't mess with the Grey Squirrels - we mean business when it comes to softball, even if it means taking one to the face.

Whew, now we are back home and enjoying the evening before heading into the work week (oh joy!). Happy Monday Eve everyone!

Feeling Sexy

Do you have one of those things that just makes you feel sexy? beautiful? confidant? For me, having my toes painted is one of those things. One of those small, tiny details that can make my outlook on myself and my world shift completely, tilt and merge into something clear. Silly? yes. True? absolutely.

I've always struggled with image and the idea of feeling sexy. I never felt pretty or thin or elegant or put together enough to deserve sexy. I spent the better part of my college years controlling my diet and excerise counting calories as one pulling petals from a daisy, "I love me. I love me not. I love me. I love me not." Tedious work to control something so tightly. Sometimes you don't even realize that it has begun to control you.

In one of my favorite books the author relays his wife's answer to their son's question "Mom, what does sexy mean? Her response? "Sexy is when it feels good to be in your own skin. Your own body feels right, it feels comfortable. Sexy is when you love being you."

Amen. It rings true and touches something in me, deep in my gut. Laid out so simply. Naked sexiness. It starts inside, before the layers of mascara and eye liner, before cup size and size 6 and sucking in, before the mirrors and measurements and the questions of am I good enough. It begins with loving yourself.

And each day it is a struggle for me. I wake up and remind myself that I am created in God's image. Not only my soul, but my body, every single inch of it. And some days it is easier. And some days I teeter on despair that I will never beat this thing; the battle is never done. And on those days, I paint my toenails, call in the calvary, if you will, and try to reach inside to find the cool comfort that comes from completely and simply loving yourself.

Happen

When I was in high school I had the John Lennon quote "Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans" plastered on my bedroom wall. It was some strange balm to my teenage soul. That even the everyday muck of boys and physics and college applications and summer jobs - that too was life and if I wasn't too careful, it was going to pass me right on by with my plans of a grand(er) future.

It's funny what comes back to you. Just tonight that quote popped in my head as I took Brody for a walk. This week has been crazy and has made me a little crazy. I was sick with the stomach flu Monday night, too tired and worn out to do much of anything on Tuesday, was at Bible Study all evening on Wednesday, and was out later tonight at the Calvin Festival of Faith and Writing. I came home to a house that was semi-clean, but not clean enough to let me sit down and chill. It was the not-clean-enough to make me, tired as I am, clean/organize/do something. I came home to a yard that really needs to be raked and cared for, mulch that needs to be replaced, bulbs that need tending. I came home still tired and a wee bit spent from being sick, needing to just sit and rest and watch the Office and laugh. Too many things to be done is such a short amount of time.

But life still happened. Things happened that were not in the to-do list in my head. Today, I got to hear good lectures, walk outside in the sun, talk with two good friends and enjoy, from the ease of the sidewalk, other people's perfectly tended yards. I can still see the floor that needs to be washed and the lawn that still looks like a matted mess and the shadows under my eyes. And those things will all still be there tomorrow, but there will be new things that just, wonderfully, happen.

Naps and Babies and Flea Markets - Oh My!

I came home tonight strangely tired. So I made dinner, ate, sat down to read my book and promptly fell asleep for about two hours! I feel very rested now, but still tired enough to sleep in about an hour. No idea why I am so tired. Crazy.

Precious...

One of my very good friends from high school had her fourth baby recently. Welcome Klara! Poor little thing got bruised up when coming into this world, but I still think she is cute as a button. I can hardly believe this is Ericka's fourth baby! Her firstborn was just a wee thing at my wedding five years ago. How time flies... She has all of my respect for staying home with four kids under 5 day in and out. Plus, she plans on homeschooling. She makes my day job look like a cakewalk! Hopefully I will get to see the whole fam in my annual trip to Mt. P in July.

On the subject of babies... The women in my family go on an annual "flea market" trip each year. Usually it is to Shipshewana, but we have always wanted to go to the World's Longest Garage Sale, which is basically one huge extended flea market. It would be an extensive road trip through several states and it only happens once a year. I realized today that we better hurry up and do this trip before I have kids. And the thought freaked me out a bit. I am planning a trip around non-existant kiddos! So, the trip is now scheduled for next year. I am already dreaming of all the good finds!

6 reasons this week is going to ROCK

There are plenty of things in life I could complain about, but I'm not going to! I didn't get voted class optimist for nothing, baby! Spring is here and we are going to focus on the bright side, put on the rose-colored glasses and forecast this week great.

1. Baa is back. My friend Baa (better known as Sarah) was on vacation last week, but now she is back! Sad for her, awesome for me. Talking to my miniature pirate figurine is just not the same.

2. Chinese Day is tomorrow! Dinner with the girls is ALWAYS fun, but even more so now that I don't get to see most of them everyday. Plus, I have been craving First Wok for about two weeks - yum!

3. The Office is FINALLY back this week! I have been waiting and waiting and I am so very happy to be able to watch tv again. I mean, really, who watches reality tv? I need my laughter scripted, people! Oh, and my Office calendar is featuring Pam and PRIDE this month. And who doesn't love Pam? It is just Office wonderful all around.

4. It is Spring Break. Now, this really means nothing to me personally. Spring Break is one of the cruel twists of adulthood. But, Spring Break means the office is fairly empty so I can actually start tackling the list of big projects listed on my whiteboard. It's the small things, people, really.

5. There are buds on my lilac bush! I love lilacs, and as I was doing some yardwork today I saw little buds. This just puts a big ole smile on my face. On that same note, all of my flowers grew about 3 inches from the sun and warmth in the last two days. I am so excited for them to BLOOM.

6. Softball season is HERE. We had our first practice yesterday and have another scheduled for Sunday. Go Gray Squirrels!

Now that we have the optimism train rolling, it's your turn! Let me know your reasons that this week is going to ROCK!

Why I feel 15

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Can someone please explain why I love this song? I feel like I'm fifteen again and would play a song over and over again because it was just "soooo romantic." I am channeling teenage angst of lost love and singing along. You know you want to as well! Just do it. lol.