Mad Face?

My mom has been trying to wake me up for 30 minutes, and she just doesn't understand how sleepy I am. I get dressed and walk into the bathroom to finish getting ready to go to 9th grade.

My younger sister walks in. "Hey, mad face." she greets.

"Hey." I reply back. Mad Face. I'm not mad. I'm not even in a bad mood. This is just my face. 

Yes, this is a true story.

I was born with a mad face and I could never understand why I always looked mad when I definitely wasn't.

Somehow, I think it might have changed. The only reason I think this is because in the past few years over [probably] 100 people have asked me for directions. 

Everyday during lunch, I walk for exercise around campus. At least once every two weeks someone asks me how to get somewhere in Memphis, and I have to reply, "uhhhhhh, I just moved here, but I think it's that direction..."

When I lived in Maryland for an internship, I would go to Washington DC every weekend. I walked the sidewalks of the National Mall, and it never failed that someone would ask for my help in finding some museum or monument. That was 4 years ago. At the time, I thought it was because I walk confidently. 

A few months ago, I was in Boston for a business trip for 5 days. I kid you not, 6 different people asked me where something was located. I'm thinking, "This is nuts! I've never been here in my life; why do I look like I know which direction the Paul Revere House is?...."

During this business trip, I made a friend and right before flying back home, we had ice cream. I told her of all the people asking me for directions and explained my confusion. And she replied, "Well, its 'cause you have a friendly face."

What????? A friendly face. All this time, I've been thinking I have a mad face. What the heck is going on here?

Last week, I volunteered to help incoming freshmen move into their dorms. Now granted, its reasonable to assume that because I was wearing a UofM shirt, that parents and freshmen expected me to know every nook and cranny of the campus. I did my best. With all of these questions and interactions and heavy lifting, I began to ponder this whole "friendly face" concept. 

Maybe I do have a friendly face.

I read a book recently that talked about how expecting situations to be a certain way will cause your voice, your body language, and your facial expressions to be a certain way. For example, when you think, "I'm so excited," your body can't help but to be excited, if you let it. When you are thinking, "I'm going to help as many freshman move in today as possible," your voice, body language, and facial expressions follow suit adapting to sound and look helpful. 

But what good is this if you are actually mad or frustrated or aggravated. Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if there is any excellent or praiseworthy - think about these things."

I genuinely think that I still have a mad face. I have a mad face when I'm thinking intently, or when I'm concentrating, or at this very moment as I'm focusing on writing this. 

But I also think I have a friendly face. As I've grown in my faith, I've learned to focus on what is excellent and praiseworthy. Simultaneously, as I've matured as a person, I've learned to let my face show what my mind is thinking. 

Here's one for the road....

Silver Anniversary

A few weeks ago, my aunt and uncle celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. The Big Silver. That's what they call it, right? Maybe?

Regardless, Happy Anniversary Chris and Melissa! 

My mom was the big planner, although she would probably not take the credit if you ask her. She's modest that way.  She had the great idea to plan their surprise anniversary party over a month after their actual anniversary, that way, they would never see it coming! Perfect!

The party took place at church, after church, so a major component was that they did not go into the party area. Easier said that done. We devised many plans and backup plans to ensure that the party area was not breached. 

SUCCESS!

The first initial shock was followed closely by another shock: a slide show with all of their old photos. Again, another devious maneuver my my mastermind parents and cousins (Melissa and Chris' kids). 

Next, everyone ate some potluck lunch (thanks church traditions for the hilarious excuse for Melissa to bring food to her own surprise party!) and everyone congratulated and socialized with the happy couple.

Following the food portion of the party, came the "activity" portion. First, Melissa and Chris' daughter, Kaitlynn, and my dad sang a couple of songs that were sung at their wedding. 

The next activity was a version of the "Shoe Game" commonly played at weddings. In case you are unfamiliar, each person in the couple is given a photo of themselves, and a photo of the other person. They are asked questions like, "Who is the grumpiest in the morning" or "Who has the best taste in music" or "Who wears the pants in the relationship." This game is usually very fun for the audience as it leads to both funny moments and "awwwwww....." moments. 

The last "activity" was that guests were given the opportunity to say something nice or funny or commemorative about the couple.

The party could not have gone smoother! They were thoroughly surprised and everyone seemed to have a great time! Thanks to the (approximately) 150 guests who attended this event!

Here are some more photos from the party:

Click here to see the Silver Bottle Project!

Our Second Anniversary Trip

This year, for our anniversary, we went to Hot Springs, Arkansas. We had not accrued a ton of vacation days at work, so we decided to take a mini-trip since we only had a few days available.

Hot Springs, Arkansas is known for none other than it's natural hot springs! Located in Ouachita Mountains, Hot Springs National Park is the oldest federal reserve in the United States! This was a great addition to our collection of stamps in the National Parks Passport Program.

The park is literally a mountain plus the adjoining roadside which houses many spas and bathhouses, called Bathhouse Row. You can go take a bath in the natural hot water, or get a massage, or other spa things. We did not participate in taking a bath, but I did feel the water in several fountains on the mountain side. The signs stated 143 degrees Fahrenheit! Wowzer.

Nicknamed "Spa City," we learned that Hot Springs was once a frequented vacation spot for many gangsters! We visited the Gangster Museum of America which told of the history and influence that gangsters had on Hot Springs. We ate at The historic Ohio Club and listened to live music. Who knows, had we visited 80 years earlier we could've dined with Al Capone, himself!

Lastly, we went to Magic Springs and Crystal Falls Water & Theme Park. No historic value, but lots of fun value. [Great sentence I just wrote right there....]

Check out our YouTube video of our trip by clicking here.

Or read our other blog posts about previous vacations:

Disney World

Fall Creek Falls, TN State Park

Ashville, NC

Chicago, IL

Smoky Mountains, TN

Charleston, SC

Silver Bottle Project

My aunt and uncle celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary this year, so of course, we threw them a surprise anniversary party! SURPRISE!

As part of the decorations, I decided to up-cycle more bottles to create some snazzy and unique centerpieces. 

First, I removed all of the labels from my bottles. For this project, I used Welch's Sparkling Grape Juice bottles (I also used some smaller bottles form Perrier water bottles, but these are not shown in the photos of this post). 

To find instructions on removing labels from glass containers, check out my post, Blue Bottle Project.

Next, I selected a shimmer metallic silver spray paint from Hobby Lobby, and began painting.

Once I completed the painting step, I noticed that there were some visible blemishes in my painting job. But, never fear! I anticipated this happening! After the paint was completely dry, I transferred the painted bottles to continue the project. I used glitter from Hobby Lobby and some random old glue I found in my craft box to cover any messed up areas.

The finished product turned out beautifully unique, and as my mom said, "snazzy!"

Related Posts:

Blue Bottle Project