Kelli. in real life

Homebody or Social Butterfly???

The last 2 weeks or so, I've been putting in some extra hours at work. We've got a few things coming up that require a little extra money. Instead of expecting my husband to "hand it all over', I've been doing what I can to bring in some extra revenue so we can move(in a few weeks), get some new furniture (thank God), and I'm supposed to go away with a friend for a week. (yay for mommy!)

In my free time, I've noticed I've been out and about more than usual. I'm normally the type that likes to be at home, curled up in front of the tv or reading a book; just relaxing and being quiet. (Well as quiet as quiet can be with a 2 year old).

Lately, I've been meeting up with friends for coffee, going to the movies, having playdates, or just venturing out on my own more often. It's not that I'm a shy person (the thought of me being shy is hilarious), nor am I quite the loner. But the truth is, I actually don't mind being a lone. Biologically, I'm an only child, so I'm used to entertaining myself.

What I've noticed is that the last 2 weeks have been emotional and filled with lots of ups and downs. Some of those "downs" are still kind of "up" in the air. There's been death, overdue bills, misunderstandings with loved ones, etc. Both my husband and I have sort of "taken turns" finding outlets to keep us sane. He's been playing at gigs, and indulging in a few rock band challenges with some friends. I've had more "coffee and/or movie" dates more than ever. And together as a couple, we've enjoyed fellowship with other christian couples.

It's a weird season in our lives, but both us have found strength by managing our time well, communicating honestly, and having some good, healthy fun.

How about you? When life throw's you a curve ball do you tend to stay home, or do you come out of your cocoon and socialize to keep your mind off things?

Flight Tracker

We're Apple computer users.
My husband won't allow any other type of computer in our home. : )
At first, I thought it was a bunch of hullabaloo about nothing, but I have been converted.
We've got this nifty tool on our desk top called a "dashboard" and one of the widgets on our dashboard is a flight tracker.
If you want to track someone's flight in "real time" all you need is the city they're leaving from, and the destination, and a round about time of when they're leaving. The computer searches all the flights between the two places on all airlines around that time, and narrows down your search. (sometimes, I even know the airline and flight number, which makes for much easier tracking)
Yesterday, I was tracking a flight from New York to LA....at first it said "scheduled", an hour later " enroute" and a few hours later "landed".

Wouldn't it be neat if we could see our "flight trackers"? I wonder if I'm delayed or on schedule? Climbing higher in the skies, or coming in for a smooth landing?

If I could take God out for coffee, this is one of the questions I'd ask him.
Lord, am I on schedule? Am I closer to my "destiny" than I was a year ago?

How far along life's journey do you think you are?

This is Kelli in real life.

Maybe Mondays Aren't So Bad

I like Mondays.
Wanna know why?
Monday is the day that my husband is off of work and we hang out as a family.

This morning my son woke me up bright and early asking for Blue's Clues. (a nice change from Thomas the Train; which by the way is the most boring cartoon ever created. But that's another blog)
Ben and I had both been awake most of the night; talking, praying, reading, surfing the web, and finally falling off to sleep. I had hoped my 2 year old would sleep until 9, but he was up and at 'em at 7:30 this morning; just 3.5 hours after I had gone to sleep.

Coffee was a must.
And since I was in the kitchen, I cooked breakfast.
It was good if I may say so myself.

We took my son to the bookstore and let him play with the (drum roll please) Thomas the train display, and did our best not to ring his neck when he loudly protested when it was time to come home.

My husband cooked some of his famous spaghetti for dinner and sent me out for some "mommy time".

You know where I went, Right?

Starbucks.

I cuddled up in a nice purple chair; laid my moleskin journal on the table in case of any random inspiration, and I read this book for an hour.

It was the most relaxing hour I've spent alone in awhile.

I had such a good day, and I feel so refreshed.

How did you spend your Monday?

How I Got Over

So I'm back to normalcy.

I'm the mother of one, caring for one.

I didn't have to change 3 diapers at the same time yesterday.
I didn't have to take one meal and divide it EQUALLY into 3 plates, and then use what was left over to create meal for Ben and I.
I did not have to rotate the usage of 2 working squirt guns between 3 rowdy boys.

Instead I held my one little toddler boy closely and tightly and said, "You're not so bad after all. "

I let him jump on my bed.
I let him eat my chips.
I let him stay up til 10.

Why?

Because I was so glad to only have one of him : )

All in all, it was a great experience, and I'd do it all over again in a heart beat.

But I have to give credit where credit is due.

Starbucks....you've done it again.

COFFEE...is certainly how I got over.