under the misc.-eltoe

here are a bunch of bullet points of brain-nuggets on my mind.

-holy lycra! yall had some OPINIONS about the legging/tights/pants imbroglio i presented you with. the way overwhelming consensus is that tights do not a suitable pants-pair make. noted. if the butt is visible, it better at least have pockets on it. otherwise, your shirt better be crazy long enough so that no crotch/cheek swoop is seen at any time. i also made a run to H&M to get one of their staple long-ass tanks to be my underlayer in crises like these. i feel safer all around...thanks team!

-did yall see the gemenid meteor shower last week? i dont think i have ever seen a shooting star for sure, but we saw many fat daddy ones blazing hard across the sky. my space-buff friend, abby, tweeted me into the know about it and it was a mega kodak moment; bundling up outside in our front yard watching chunks of space rock blaze into nothing. this may of may not have led to some adult trampoline shenanigans that crossed several items off of our sexual walkabout bucket list (yes, it would be REALLY easy to pun-ify a bucket list. i know). front yard: check! trampoline: check! under a meteor shower: check! in the freezing cold: check!

-guys, we have a mouse. jesse spotted it yesterday morning. we have NEVER had rondentia in our house and i am shaken to my core. confession: i have fully judged my friends who have had mice. no more. i know for a fact that our house has never been cleaner and yet, here comes mickey. we used to live in a far deeper state of squalor and never had 4-legged visitors. i've posted SOS on facebook and set a few traps...though they dont have the best amazon reviews now that i look, and the overwhelming majority say, where there is one mouse, there are many more and that makes me want to swoon (and not in the charming southern belle way). they also say that the old school neck-snappers are the best kind of traps (or paying a fortune to the pest folks) but i have toddler hands in the house!

 i am PRAYING this is an isolated mousketeer, seeking shelter from the rain and that he has gratefully moved on in his voyage. the traps have remained un-engaged all day, despite my epicurean bait. 

have yall had any mouse-periences? tell me! can it be just one mouse and problem solved?

-i would have for SURE added this to my christmas list post if i had known about them in time. my friend started his own woodworking business and he's kind of an artist about the whole she-bang. his first product to hit the store is this awesome wood wallet made from reclaimed cherry wood and upcycled bike tire inner tube. it's earth-friendly, design-o-gasmic, sleek, unique and even comes with a warranty. best believe i'm getting one for my business cards and feeling awesome about it. use code WOODWALLET at etsy checkout for 25% off! i am pretty sure you can still get these in time for christmas too. 

-at our small group's white elephant party last night i won a free brazilian wax. my friend and wax-moses (she led me into the promised land), nikki contributed it to the pile o' gifts and i was the lucky soon-to-be-plucked duck who snagged it. merry christmas to me (and jesse). i love our church!

abrupt transition from silly stuff that doesnt really matter to something that really shouldn't go unmentioned by anyone.

-Connecticut. 

what can i say or feel that hasnt already been? i feel like my brain is a frantic spider scrabbling up against a brick wall looking for a way through, a way around this devastation. there isnt one. i cant logic my way to a place where this sits easy. shockingly, we have friends here locally whose close friends lost their child on friday at sandy hook. even being twice removed personally from something so earth-shattering makes it seem even real-er. our prayer has been for jesus to show us when we have opportunities to show his love to folks who have these kinds of demons or are on a path that could lead to such destruction. i know that this seems to be an instance of mental health that is far beyond what i know or could "cure" but still, i bet in this story there is hatred involved somewhere. you never know the impact that one connection, one relationship could mean in someone's path (and you might never). if i believe that his love redeemed me, i have to believe it can always be enough. 

the only thing that sort of starts to settle my heart down in the midst of this turmoil, especially at christmas time,  is remembering another child whose utterly innocent blood was shed. we broke this world. god didnt do it; our sin did. but he came down from his throne and into this dark place to bleed and die and rise for us so that we can make the reverse journey one day. as much as so much of this makes no sense to me and makes me want to get pissed at jesus, i have to come home and rest on the fact that his blood, just as innocent--more innocent--was shed even more senselessly (hard to imagine) so that those kids and i  would leave the brokenness behind and get to live eternally before the throne after the sin-soaked and hatred-infected portions of our story here on earth are over. 

i am clinging fast to the knowledge that the victims dont miss this world at all and that those of us left behind  missing them have unlimited access to a God who very much knows the unbearable pain of losing a child. 

are there any words of wisdom or comfort you have heard/read/seen that have helped you with this tragedy? please share...i think we could all use a little help in this department.