1. Earlier today I posted a new $100 Visa gift card giveaway as part of a Reebok Share Your Story campaign. Just follow the link to enter.

2. Remember the painting I showed you Monday? The one that puts a huge smile on my face every single time I walk past it?

Well, the artist’s name is Linda Dunn, and she has a website. Her story is so touching, and you can see samples of her work on the site (most of the bigger pieces are on pages 6, 7 and 8 of the gallery).

3. Some of y’all know that I can be a little obsessive in my quest to find the absolute best drugstore mascara. I daresay that I’m relentless in that quest. And I’m happy to tell you that there’s a great new option on the shelves. I bought it last week after seeing some commercials for it, and I love it. The brush is really unique, and because the brush doesn’t hold a ton of mascara, fine eyelashes (like mine) don’t get all clumpy on the first coat. Keep in mind that I’m after length and definition, not volume, so if you like a volumizing mascara, this one probably won’t be your best option.

(not an affiliate link, by the way)

(just happily sharing my crazy)

4. I shared this on Twitter yesterday, so forgive the redundancy if you saw it there, but yesterday I made the most exciting discovery.

It’s a Sharpie pen…WITH A GRIP.

WITH A GRIP!!!

It’s much more substantial than the original Sharpie pen, and oh, I do enjoy it. In fact, I’ve been making up reasons to write ever since I bought them. Plus, the desk calendar that I use has glossy paper, and these pens are PERFECTION on glossy paper. If you happen to be into that sort of thing, of course.

(not an affiliate link, by the way)

(just happily sharing my crazy)

5. I don’t actually have a fifth thing to tell you about. But I like odd-numbered lists. So how about a random picture from my phone?

So. Sometimes we cover up our dog with a nice fluffy towel.

There you have it.

Clearly my work here is done.

I’ll be honest. At the end of last year, I sort of wanted to hand 2009 its coat, escort it to the door and then very gently and authoritatively KICK IT TO THE CURB.

It was a humdinger, it was.

And while this year has been a humdinger in a lot of ways, too, I’m just a little bit sad to see it go. In fact, I want to give 2010 a great big hug and ask it to stay just a little bitty teensy while longer. Not because it’s been easy. Not because it hasn’t had its fair share of hurts. Because oh have mercy – 2010 has more than delivered in the refining department. There’s been death and illness and heartbreak. There’s been loneliness and insecurity and fear.

But there have also been lessons that I’ll treasure in my heart forever. It’s been a year of not just knowing that God is faithful – but seeing His faithfulness over and over again. It’s been a year of seeing how intricately God works in our circumstances, of seeing the Truth of 1 Corinthians 2:3-7 over and over and over again.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

I’m so grateful for this past year. Even though it’s been really difficult at times, even though I look back on last January and February and think Maybe I should’ve asked my doctor for a little medicine to take the edge off, even though there have been moments when I’ve sort of thrown my hands up in the air and wanted to give up completely on this problem or that situation or the stuff in my life that just completely confounds me, I am ending this year with more peace than I’ve had in a long time.

And that peace isn’t because everything is perfect. OH MY WORD, NO.

That peace is because God is perfect. He is loving. He is gracious. He is holy. He is merciful. He is good.

And I trust Him.

So given all that, my prayer for 2011 is really pretty simple:

O, for grace to trust Him more.

Happy New Year, y’all.

Well, considering the fact that yesterday moved past mere procrastination into real-live action, I think it’s safe to say that it exceeded my expectations. I NOT ONLY showered and put on real clothes – but we went out to lunch and ran a few errands, too. My MUST-PREPARE-HOME-FOR-THE-NEW-YEAR gene kicked in, and I found myself looking longingly at Rubbermaid storage tubs and cutlery organizers in Target. I managed to contain myself (GET IT? THE WACKY ORGANIZATON PUNNY-NESS?), though, and all I bought was some cushion-y shelf paper for the cabinet where I keep my pots and pans.

I’d hate for the newest members of the family to be uncomfortable, after all.

Hasn’t shelf paper improved by leaps and bounds? I remember when blue and peach plaids were all the rage, but now the shelf paper is much more modern and kicky and fun.

Anyway, after we got home this afternoon I started taking down Christmas decorations (I know. It’s probably too soon. But I need to deep clean this house, and it’s difficult to deep clean when you’re swimming in a sea of garland.), and as I was working I started to think about some highlights of 2010. I wasn’t thinking about anything deep or meaningful or anything like that – just your various and sundry memorable moments in entertainment. So here are some of my favorites from this year. And keep in mind that I’ve been pretty behind on television, and I don’t read that much, and I rarely go to the movies, so basically what I’m saying is that I’m quite the expert.

1. Into the Morning – Ben Rector – This was hands-down my favorite CD of 2010. It was our summertime soundtrack, but more than that there are some incredible lyrics that will stop you in your tracks with the wisdom. Can’t recommend it enough.

2. Friday Night Lights, Season 4 and Mad Men, Season 4 – Both of these are shows for grown-ups, and they’re not always easy to watch. MM was even tougher this season because of Don Draper’s spiral into alcoholism, and the ongoing struggles of the Taylors and Tim Riggins made FNL almost unbearable sometimes. But SWEET MERCY there was some brilliant acting in the mix, and that acting (plus really good writing) is what kept me coming back week after week.

3. 30 Rock with Jan Hooks as Verna – I laughed, I howled, I clapped my hands. Great one-liners, perfect timing – it was a comedic treasure (“Wear something real nice like white jeans and a Dan Marino jersey”). Adored it.

4. This. Because do you see how it’s been viewed about 49,000 times? I’d be willing to bet that the members of my family account for about 3,000 of them. It’s a delight.

5. Surprised by Worship – Travis Cottrell – I actually read this book for the first time after I’d tried to break every bone in my body by falling down the Cottrells’ front steps. And do you know that I stayed up until almost 2:30 in the morning reading every single word? This book really prompted me to reflect on times when I’ve been surprised by worship in my own life – and remembering God’s faithfulness is always a very good (and encouraging) thing.

6. The Best Thing I Ever Ate – I don’t know if I’ve ever watched a TV show that helped me solidify dining goals like this one has. Every single time I watch, I can’t help but think THIS IS SOLID TELEVISION GOLD. The combination of delicious food and the chefs’ commentaries is just perfection. The “snack foods” episode will forever be a precious memory for D and me. With “totally fried” a close second.

7. Phineas and Ferb – Listen. We are all about putting limits on TV time for our little guy, especially during the school year. But things loosen up a bit in the summertime, especially late in the afternoon after we’ve spent most of our day at the pool. This past summer we ran across Phineas and Ferb, and it’s probably the first kids’ show that we’ve loved to watch together. It’s hilarious. HILARIOUS. I haven’t seen a single episode since August, but I can’t wait to watch it again when summer 2011 rolls around.

8. Despicable Me – In 2009 my favorite family movie was Up. This year it was Despicable Me. It was funny and smart and tender – and I actually saw it twice AT THE THEATRE. Such a sweet message about how love changes everything, and Steve Carell is great in it.

9. “Andy’s Play” – The Office – I’ve been a little disappointed in The Office the last couple of seasons, mainly because at some point the characters started to get on my nerves a little bit (the same thing happened to me with Glee last year – it just wasn’t the show that I wanted it to be, so I stopped watching). All that to say: this episode brought me great joy (by the way, you might not want to click over if there are kids in the room – LITTLE EARS, you know). I just love how earnest and sincere Andy is…totally endearing. Not to mention that Creed’s expressions at the end of the episode are priceless.

10. Big Fish by Daniel Wallace – I read this book a couple of months ago, and it has stayed with me like nobody’s business. At the end of the day it’s all about letting loved ones have their own stories – and letting go of our need to control or interfere in the narrative. It’s a beautiful book.

Okay. What about y’all? What were some of your favorites this year?

p.s. There aren’t any affiliate links in this post.
p.p.s. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course.
p.p.p.s. I just felt the need to clarify.
p.p.p.p.s. Remember, overexplaining is my spiritual gift.

Considering that I woke up at the crack of 8:45 this morning, I’m thinking that all signs point to a restful, relaxing wrap-up to 2010. My husband has the week off, which means that for the first time in a sweet forever, our little family will have lots of uninterrupted time together. Right now I’m using that time to procrastinate in terms of taking down the Christmas decorations (just FYI: I need to CLEAN THIS HOUSE). Yesterday afternoon I chose to procrastinate by watching four episodes in a row of “Giuliana & Bill.” So I think it’s safe to say that I am committed to some serious holiday excellence.

Our Christmas was probably my favorite ever; Christmas Eve was super fun thanks to some friends who hosted open houses, and Christmas Day was laid-back, easy and good. My parents rolled into town around 5:30 Christmas afternoon, so we got to have Christmas dinner with them (I made Chicken Tuscany, and while D and I loved it just as much as we did the first time I made it, I’m not so sure my parents were fans – it may have been too many mushrooms and too big a deviation from sweet potato casserole). It poured snow Saturday and Sunday, and even though it didn’t stick, we had the best time looking out the windows and watching it fall.

(pretend there are gorgeous snow pictures here)

(the ones I took didn’t really do the snowfall justice)

(because you can’t really tell that it’s snowing)

(so all together now: “Ooooooooh!”)

(“Ahhhhhhh!”)

(“BEAUTIFUL!”)

My people surprised me with the gift of some really nice cookware, and I am still just TICKLED by it. I’ve always used whatever cookware was on special at Target or Walmart, and it typically works just fine until it peels and cracks and we have to throw it out. A few years ago I bought a Dutch oven at Macy’s that I have just LOVED, and I’m now the proud owner of new pots and pans from that same line. Oh, HAPPY DAY.

(My 21 year-old self would be all, “Um, it’s POTS. I don’t get it.”)

(Obviously my 21 year-old self had no firsthand experience with the bliss of cookware contentment.)

So that’s about all that’s going on around here. I think I’ll go jump in the shower and get dressed for the day because it’s important to pretend like you’re going to be productive even when your biggest plan for the day is to start playing catch-up with the DVR.

The pretense of productivity is precisely why I’ve been known to spend an entire day in my work-out clothes without ever doing anything that could be interpreted as “physical activity” or “exercise.”

Oh, it’s good to have the illusion of goals.

Hope y’all had a wonderful Christmas!

Tonight we celebrated Christmas with D’s side of the family. We decided a couple of weeks ago that we’d get together at Scott and Rose’s house (D’s brother and sister-in-law), and can I just say? It was DELIGHTFUL. I was happy as soon as we walked in the door because I couldn’t wait to cook and visit with Rose, and then Scott came in from work and caught us up on all the latest (local) news and made us laugh and played ninja high-five with Alex. Martha was there, of course, as was Rose’s mama Julia Claire and my aunt C, so between all the grown-ups and a couple of very sweet young’uns, the mood got festive pretty fast.

Rose decided to make a dish called Seafood Spectacular, and I was completely supportive of that plan since my affections for turkey and dressing and the like are long gone by the time Christmas rolls around. I actually snapped a picture of Rose’s recipe so that I’d have a copy forever and for always.

It would be so nice if it weren’t, you know, blurry. But would you just look at the beauty of the sauteed vegetables? I thought they were so pretty.

BECAUSE I’M 105.

And then we added cream cheese and butter and shrimp and crab meat and OH, YES MA’AM, HERE COMES TASTY.

Mix it with a couple of boxes of wild rice, bake until gold ‘n bubbly, and you’ve got a suppertime hit on your hands, my friends.

Before we ate supper we opened presents, and in a development that was shocking to absolutely no one, Martha LOVED her new jacket from Steinmarts. I took a picture with my real camera, but I can’t find the cord right this second, so for the time being you’ll just have to imagine her holding up the jacket and posing while she said, “It is PERFECTLY DARLIN’,” and then:

“Now when you blog about this, you tell the girls that I said it is DARRRRRRRRLIN’.”

All I could think was that Martha had just used the word “blog” as a verb. Next thing you’ll know she’ll be playing Farmville on Facebook and reserving the username “martiedarlinplus” on Gmail.

After presents we sat down for our delicious meal, and it was a good time all the way around. Alex bartered for the last roll, Martha told us about a family from a neighboring town who’d come by to sing Christmas carols for her, our niece Melissa very thoughtfully served coffee to the grown-ups, and I thought over and over again that it’s been thirteen years – THIRTEEN YEARS – since D and I spent our first married Christmas with his family. I’m a wee bit more comfortable now (even though I’ve known his family forever, it can still be tricky trying to find your way when you’re the newest family member), and tonight was just a fun, easy, laid-back time – a great way to kick off our Christmas festivities.

Tomorrow morning will be round two with our friends Todd and Marti and their little girl Gracie, and then tomorrow afternoon I’ll start the grocery shopping for round three. Fingers crossed that a certain seven year-old can reign in his enthusiasm over the next 48 hours – right now I’m a little afeared that he’s going to punch holes in the floors with All The Jumping. He just CANNOT WAIT for Christmas morning.

And neither can his mama and daddy.

Merry Christmas, y’all.