I promise there's a moral to this story

Life lately has been...hectic. There's no other word for it.

Shaun and I stay constantly busy with scene[essence], Variance, Intellect Management, 20 Something, the work we actually get paid to do, and a million other tiny projects crammed in between. Somewhere in the middle of it all I've been sick at least once a month. Booooooo.

For most people, getting sick is a "get in, get out, get on with your life" deal where you feel crappy for a couple days, then you're fine. For me, it's always been somewhat different. When I get sick, it gets me down for days, usually about a week, then leaves me exhausted and grouchy for up to a month after. I've gotten used to that, since it's a natural occurrence for me. It's worse than it was before I got mono, since it's left me permanently lethargic.

If I'm not dealing with illness, I'm injuring myself in some way. This week's tale of woe is my sliced-and-diced toe. It's ridiculous.

Long story short, lately I feel physically broken. With the exhaustion and excessive mood swings it's brought on I feel emotionally broken too. Thankfully, God doesn't mind.

When we went to the Christmas Eve service at Crossings, Pastor Marty (one of the men I most admire) talked about how the shepherds in biblical times were considered some of the most unclean people in Jewish culture. They tended the lambs that would be sacrificed to cover sin, but they weren't allowed in the temple themselves. How crazy, then, that when Immanuel, "God with us" was born, the angels went to the shepherds to tell them the good news. Not the rabbis. Not the kings or anyone considered important to us.

No, the angels were sent to tell the unclean ones. The broken ones. The ones no one else wanted. The ones who would gaze with wonder at the face of Christ and know that healing has come.

Immanuel doesn't just mean "God." It means "God with us." With. In the same place. Feeling the same things. Understanding us and saving us.

I feel comforted by the fact that no matter how upset I get, no matter how broken I feel lately, Jesus is God with me. He takes the pieces and makes me whole. Maybe not physically, that may not be God's will, but I'm not so worried about that. As C.S. Lewis said, I am a soul, I have a body. God's priorities are always in order, even when mine aren't, so I know my soul is in safe hands.

Beyond Our Skies

We did a photo sesh with Beyond Our Skies, an OKC area band that we are managing. It was so much fun! Afterward we got to watch them practice their set, and I'm so excited to see them in concert again. For such a young bunch, they are amazing.

Check out a preview photo from their photo shoot!

Have a holly, jolly Christmas

Today was decorate-for-Christmas day in the Ladymon household. 'Tis a joyous day, and one of much sneezing, as we spent half the morning dusting off snow globes and other glassware.

As you can see, I like to overload my tree. I own many, many ornaments and a very small tree. Someday, I shall own a large tree. I will be in Christmas heaven. Unfortunately, I stink at all things ribbon related, so I had to call my Mama to come save me. Thanks Mom!

This year we are having a very Scottish Christmas, complete with piper Santa and his own little dancer to keep him company.

My dear friends, I would like you to meet Helga the Nutcracker. She was given to me by one of my favorite people, and if you look closely at where the actual nutcracker is located you can see how she created hours of giggles for us. :)

Epic

To say yesterday was epic (and exhausting) would be an understatement.

First, we had Harry Potter day at work, because we are amazing. We plastered the office with "Wanted: Bellatrix Lestrange" posters, put Moaning Myrtle pictures in the bathroom, created a Marauder's Map, and much more. As Luna, I had my Converse hanging from the ceiling. :) We also had a large number of awesome Harry Potter themed treats.

Second, we had home-cooked food for the musicians at the Close Your Eyes, The Word Alive, Underoath, A Day to Remember show last night. Thank goodness we got to hang out backstage and watch from inside the fence, because the venue was sold out and 1900 people is just too dang many for me to handle! Let me tell you, the guys from Close Your Eyes, The Word Alive, and Underoath are sweethearts and more people should bring them home-cooked goodness.

There's so many little things that interest me about yesterday that I could share, but they'd probably just bore anyone else :)

In other news, I've already started planning my birthday. It will actually be a week-long extravaganza if I get my way, and it will start with the 1/21 We Came As Romans, Woe, Is Me, and The Word Alive show in Dallas. I'm already excited!

Thoughts from today

I still cry easily. When I say I have thick skin, I'm totally lying.

Some people are jerks for no reason.

Every now and then, losing your voice can come in handy.

I love friends who are always ready with a hug.

I have the best coworkers anyone could ask for.

Baking cookies is a good way to work out frustration.

I didn't eat dinner. Whoops.

Things I love right now

 

The Remington Curling Wand has literally changed my life. As someone with hair that is between wavy and curly, I have a lot of weird hair days. After I use my diffuser in the morning, I wrap a few strands of hair on both sides of my face around this lil baby, and my hair looks like I actually took time to fix it!

Best. Boots. Ever. The Mossimo Kaden boots from Target ($34.99) are ah-mazing. They look great with skirts and skinnies, and they are my go-to footwear for concerts. I always get compliments! They also happen to be the most comfortable boots I've ever owned, which is a definite plus!

With the onset of fall, my skin went into dry-out mode. St. Ives Intensive Healing is the only body moisturizer I've EVER found that is lightweight, non-greasy, and lasts longer than 10 minutes. It's a great find! I have my huge pump bottle at home and a small bottle for on the go.

pixi stix

I’ve had 24 pixi stix in the last hour and a half. This post will be completely and utterly random.

Since October hit I’ve been yearning to watch High Spirits. I have yet to do so. It is one of the best Halloween-ish movies EVER. Peter O’Toole, Daryl Hannah, Liam Neeson…it’s just fantastic and hilarious, okay? You should watch it too. If you happen to have it we can watch it together and you shall be my new best friend. Pinky promise.

I officially like niche record labels better than powerhouse companies. In other words, record labels like Fearless who deal in certain genres and don’t have like 60 bands on their artist pages. They are easier to deal with, friendlier, less annoying, and seem to have a better grip on the changing music industry. So awesome record labels, I salute you…by throwing back a pixi stick.

I was Gilly from SNL for Halloween at work yesterday. My vocabulary consisted of 3 words.

I think the orange pixi stix are my favorite.

Tomorrow I will be dressing as a pirate for Trunk or Treat. I have my pirate jacket and pirate boots…but I can’t find my pirate pants. Pretty sure no one wants to see a pantsless pirate.

Haha…I love alliteration.

For some reason unbeknownst to me (yes, my spellcheck underlined unbeknownst, but I don’t care), I decided to try to correct one of my legalistic Christian acquaintances when he said that we shouldn’t celebrate Halloween. I don’t know why I even bother.

We’re up to 31 pixi stix. I won’t be going to bed for a while.