beautiful 26

I do believe today was one of the most beautiful birthdays I've ever had. From start to finish, great people. Celebrations and happy birthdays everywhere I looked all day long. Lunch party with the fabulous ladies at work. Presents that I absolutely love, including my new Miche bag and a super sweet strobe light. Jenny fixed my necklace and made me matching earring for the big night out tonight, and she did my makeup. Dinner at La Primavera was delicious. And I could hardly stop smiling and laughing as we swing danced the night away. Phone calls from loved ones and my baby neice singing to me. Loved loved loved today. And the beautiful thing is it's not over yet. I still have celebrating to do throughout the weekend. Thank you, Father God. And thank you, family and friends.

laundromat birthday date

My Dad and I went out tonight to celebrate our birthdays together! Delicious Mexican food, overly priced but delicious Maggie Moo's dark chocolate ice cream (with fresh strawberries!), and laundry. Yes, laundry. I asked Dad if he would hang out with me while I did a jillion loads of laundry all at the same time. And it was a really fun evening. You know, you really don't always have to be doing something super adventurous or unique to have a great time. It's really mostly being with great people.

winning when it doesn't matter

So me and my small group had a fabulously fun time at this farm last night, the most anticipated part being the awesome corn maze. But a funny thing happened. I found my way to the end of the corn maze in like 5 minutes. There it was. It was over. I kinda wished it had taken me longer because I thought the most fun part would be wandering through all the corn, wondering where I was, trying to figure out where to go. A great fun challenge with friends. I waited what seemed like a really long time, but none of the rest of my friends ever found the real exit. They ended up making their own exits or coming back through the entrance. Which is fine. But the whole time I was waiting at the end (which was a little fun because there was a tractor to climb on) I was mostly just wishing I was still in the maze, lost with my friends, laughing and having a good time instead of sitting there alone. But it made me realize that sometimes getting to the end the fastest isn't really the big deal. Sometimes it's just the fun spent with other people.

challenge & success

Yesterday I rode my bike (the kind you pedal) to church across down and back home after lunch. It was a pretty big challenge for me. I was skeptical on the way a couple times, not sure if I could make it. But I did! 6.7 miles there, 4.9 back. I took an out of the way track there because I wasn't sure where to cross the interstate. I only walked my bike about 4 1/2 blocks of the whole trip. And I only stumbled off my bike once, on 53rd crossing I-74 because the bridge curb drops off into oblivion. Greatest pick up line yelled across the street at me (when pushing my bike up the worst hill): "Want me to push your bike for you? I hate to see a beautiful woman in distress." I politely declined and hopped back on. So all in all. I love a good challenge, and I love meeting it. Success!

holy branding!

A new study in Marketing Science revealed that one's level of religiosity is tied with their brand reliance. Their main finding: non-religious consumers rely on brands to a much greater degree than do religious consumers, particularly when income is high.

Very interesting to me, especially as a marketer for a faith-based nonprofit. From the study abstract: We theorize that brands and religiosity may serve as substitutes for one another because both allow individuals to express their feelings of self-worth... studies 1 and 2 demonstrate that the relationship between religiosity and brand reliance only exists in product categories in which brands enable consumers to express themselves (e.g., clothes). Moreover, studies 3 and 4 demonstrate that the expression of self-worth is an important factor underlying the negative relationship.

"Brands: The Opiate of the Nonreligious Masses?" study abstract and full PDF here: http://mktsci.journal.informs.org/cgi/content/abstract/mksc.1100.0591v1

truth quotes from karate kid

Didn't expect to get real deep watching Jaden Smith in the new Karate Kid this weekend. But I was really struck by one of the things that Jackie Chan said in the movie. "Being still and doing nothing are two very different things."

I've loved Psalms 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God" ever since Steven Curtis Chapman wrote a whole song on just that verse years back. As a culture that's all about action and busyness and go-go-go, it's really hard to really take time to be still. To really take time out of our day for the sole purpose of being still. And knowing that He is God.