Sunday, March 29, 2009

Seriously Now?!


So...every once in awhile (actually, very frequently) I have to stop and say, "Seriously Now?!" because something utterly ridiculous happens to me, my husband, or us Gilmores in general. I've decided that with this new blogging adventure, I should probably have some signature entries. One of these is going to be my weekly "Seriously Now?!" post. Here's week #1:
We live in a very interesting neighborhood. When we first moved here we were surrounded by a girl that was never around on the left and a lovely family with a little girl and boy on the right. Since then (almost a year ago), the population of people around our apartment has completely changed. It is hilarious to us that, not just the apartment complex, but only our SIDE of the apartment complex has wild, unsupervised kids running around with SuperSoakers and tackling each other in our yard. A new neighbor moved in on our left, and she is delightful. Evan was shocked when he met her and said she was actually normal. We were getting high hopes that maybe the tide was starting to turn and with the shifting seasons our side of the apartment complex might now start to be flooded with flowers, loving parents, sunshine, and children skipping to and fro. Then it happened...my reality check! A knock came at my door today and I opened it to a large black man with dreadlocks and a White Sox t-shirt. 
"Hey!" "Hey. We're moving and my mama wants to know if you want her plant." (Mind you, I have never met this guy or his mama in my life.) "Oh! Well what kind of plant is it?" "It's about as big as that one you've got there. It's kind of Asian lookin'." "Wow! That sounds great. We've actually been looking for a plant like that." "Cool. I'll go get it." "Thanks!"
He got it. He brought it to my porch in the rain. What a nice guy. I brought it in my house. It smelled like marijuana. I put it back out on my porch. 
Seriously Now?!?!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Carmindy - Get Positively Beautiful


For most women, it seems that we enjoy finding out new ways to take care of ourselves. Isn't it crazy how a new shade of lip gloss or just changing our shampoo can give our confidence such a boost?
I am a sucker for the "Ten Tips" in numerous magazines on hair, makeup, nutrition, etc, and I have always liked how Carmindy works on TLC's What Not To Wear. So, I asked for her book this last Christmas.
Let me just say, this girl rocks! In a society where women are constantly being told how to make their eyes look bigger if they're small or how to make their lips look more plump if they're thin, Carmindy takes a different approach and starts with feeling beautiful before we put anything on. She addresses how to conquer negative self-talk and criticism, and puts her arm around you as you discover your inner beauty, find your "feature focus," and enhance what your unique beauty, rather than teaching you how to compensate for what you don't have. 
Her tips and instructions are concise, specific, and practical. You don't need an hour to get ready each morning or a separate budget line for pricey products.
If you don't have the book yet, here's a tip that I'll pass along. Create a mirror mantra for yourself. This is a short saying that you can repeat to yourself anytime that those negative, self-loathing vibes make their way into your bathroom, compact, or mind. It sets your thoughts straight and enables you to focus on what's true, rather than the lies you tell yourself or the demeaning comments that anyone else has dared to make about your beauty or worth. 
Try it out. Write it on a card and tape it on your bathroom mirror or use some dry erase or window markers. And don't stop at one, have a mantra for each day of the week or for the morning and evening. Start living knowing that your uniqueness is rare and beautiful, and it's going to radiate from the inside out.
So...what's your mirror mantra?

 -Megan's Mirror Mantra #4 - 
"Good morning gorgeous! Open up those beautiful peepers and look at the new day. Remember that you're fearfully and wonderfully made."

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Five Freedoms


Virgina Satir (1916-1988) was a family therapist that became internationally known and respected for her work as a therapist, as well as an author and educator. 
She believed strongly that no one was a beyond hope, and everyone has the potential for growth, development, and change. She was one of the first that looked at the positive connection and warmth that comforting, appropriate human touch can have in a therapeutic relationship. Though many have never heard of her, she has made valuable contributions to our understanding of human behavior. One of her contributions that I value most are her FIVE FREEDOMS. I hope you can try to apply them to your life and make your home a space of freedom as well.


1. TO SEE AND HEAR
What is here,
Instead of what should be,
Was, or will be

2. TO SAY
What one feels and thinks
Instead of what one should

3. TO FEEL
What one feels,
Instead of what one ought

4. TO ASK
For what one wants,
Instead of always waiting
For permission

5. TO TAKE RISKS
In one’s own behalf,
Instead of choosing to be
Only “secure”
And not rocking the boat

Monday, March 23, 2009

Pretty Paper Sachets




Why Alive, Radiant, & Free?


Living, actually living, fully and freely in a way that reflects Christ's lovingkindness and proclaims His excellencies. 
You know those moments in your life? They are rare but powerful, and they remain in your memory as a crystal clear snapshot. Maybe for you it was a time that you felt especially close to God or maybe you can remember the day you first traveled to a far away place or maybe it is one of those milestone markers in life - when you got your first car, had your first child, or finally realized, "This is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with!"
Well, my first child, Elliot, was born this last September. What an unexpected JOY and DELIGHT! And I realized that Evan Gilmore was the person I wanted to share the rest of my life with almost five years ago while my mom was having unexpected open heart surgery.
For me, another of these moments came when I was a junior in high school. I had just experienced the most physically grueling four days of my life, in which I (and sixteen team mates) backpacked, canoed and portaged all over the Canadian wilderness that is - Algonquin Provential Park. On the fifth day, we were challenged to spend over seven hours completely alone. In the middle of the day, sitting in the middle of a boulder on the edge of a small island, in the middle of a lake, in the middle of Canada - it happened. My mind can instantly recount the details of those short moments with extreme clarity. And from those few moments, I realized the majesty of God's creation and the great extent to which he will go and has gone to express his love and reveal his truth to us! I knew that my mission in life was to help other people see his truth in creation and his love in me. 
With that said, the metamorphosis of loving like God loves and discovering his truth in order to proclaim it in various methods and forms is going to be a personal life-long process and not a change that takes place in a matter of a few moments of intense transformation. 
This blog is a small effort to incorporate you on this journey....if you choose to come along! I hope that it can be small rest stop as you peruse the "wide wide world of web" (as my husband jokingly calls it), where you can find encouragement, hope, fun, and truth that helps you feel a little more alive, radiant, and free!

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