Monday, February 28, 2011

Truth

My mom is awesome.

All while my brother and I were growing up she worked a full-time job, kept a spotless house, made a hot dinner every night, and was active in participating in ministry with my dad.

But all those reasons put together aren't why I say today that my mom is awesome.

You see, she took to heart the verse in Proverbs that says, "Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older they will not leave it."

I've been feeling pretty down lately, and yesterday seemed to be what it took to push me over the edge. I emailed my mom about it, and her response, while it may not have been exactly what I wanted to hear, was way better than that: it was Truth itself.

Today I am thankful to have a mother that recognizes truth and still speaks it into the hearts of her kids. I want to be a mom like that someday.

So, from her speaking truth to me I began to write out truths of my own. If any of my five or so readers needs encouraging, here's some truth that the Lord encouraged me with today:

"The Lord is not an unreasonable king. He will not fly into a blind rage when you are honest with him about your feelings. He does not seek our destruction, but in fact gave of Himself to avoid it. The hidden things in the Lord are good things; He tells us exactly what our hearts need to know. He does not play the cat-and-mouse game with his kids. He has a reason and motivation for everything. His intentions are perfectly aligned with his actions and his actions are perfectly aligned with His heart."

Sunday, February 27, 2011

We Still Got It

I love us.


**sidenote: the bottom middle picture of us grimacing begs some explanation; one day while eating dinner we got to talking about what the world would be like if everyone had really creepy, terrible smiles. if we lived in such a world, this is what our smiles would be.**


**sidenote2: the finger headed for my nose is not dusty's...**

Friday, February 25, 2011

I Want, I Want, I Want, I Want

I want one of these:

The Fuji X100

I have really expensive taste, huh? Maybe the reviews will be horrible and I won't want one anymore. But probably not.

Check it out here.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Non-Fiction: It's Making a Come Back

Sadly, I still need to compile my list of the books I read last year to share on the ole Bloggy.

However, I'm pretty sure this year I've already read more non-fiction than I did in 2010, and for that I'm proud.

I'm currently reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Here's what the cover looks like, so you can judge the book:

First let me say that I know a lot of people had reservations about this book because it's about science-y stuff. Luckily, I'm a total science nerd when it doesn't involve me actually doing the science (a.ka. chemistry homework, A&P lab, etc.)

This book is about the HeLa cell, and about the woman they took those cells from. I love that Ms. Skloot not only dove into the science of what actually happened with her cells but took time to search out the Lackses themselves and to dig deeper into the story, making it much more touching and, well, human.

I'm only on the third chapter, so a glowing review may be premature but I. Love. This. Book.

Read it! Except don't expect to get it from the Meade County Public Library right now, because yours truly has the only copy in her purse.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Stuck Inside No More!

So today I get to hang out with that adorable niece of mine, Gabby.

You know, the one who saw the sweater I picked out for her this morning and exclaimed, "Oh, cute!"

The one who is obsessed with Tinkerbell.

The one who saw me write her name and proceeded to "write" mine next to it, pointing and saying, "Gabby. Emmy. Gabby. Emmy."

I digress.

Hanging out with Gabby on any given weekday involves watching Sesame Street, especially the half hour that Elmo's World is on. That and watching her "play" her recorder. Again, I digress.

I say all this to explain that I normally wouldn't even know that Jason Mraz ever sang on Sesame Street, let alone performed a perfect let's kick winter in the face song. And I realize by posting this on my blog I must automatically sacrifice my "coolness" card.

Luckily for me, I was forced to give that up years ago!



That's it! We're headed to the park.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Who is Arcade Fire?

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a fan of the Grammy's. It has become a "sinkhole that rewards glitter over talent and now spends more time showing off than handing out trophies." I couldn't have put it better myself. 


However, I see a ray of hope what with Arcade Fire's win last night for Album of the Year. 


I realize this has created a tidal wave of backlash from haters/Lady Gaga/Eminem/Katy Perry/Lady Antebellum fans.


Fortunately, I'm not a fan of any of these other "artists," so I couldn't care less. 


Here's something I've posted on the old Bloggy before, but just goes to further my point about how awesome this band is:





I've been pouring over this Tumblr today, looking at all the people who are upset about Arcade's win. They're all really classy, let me just say. If you're a fan, take a look. It's quite comical and I only chose ones that I didn't have to edit. Apparently Arcade Fire's win and the "F" word go hand in hand. Here are a few gems:




Gah!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Too, Too Good-- The Eternal Pessimist's Point of View

Some Big Things are happening around the Snyder household!

I was texting back and forth with my cousin today about some of these Big Things. Here's a little snippet of the conversation:

Cousin: "It seems like everything is lining up in your favor!"
Me: "I know... almost sounds too good huh?"
Cousin: "Almost, but not quite. :)"

You see, I'm an eternal pessimist. I remember being that way ever since I was a little kid. But now I'm asking myself a question:

"If good things come from the Lord, and the Big Things happening in the Snyder household are good things then how can I shoot down something from the Lord so quickly?"

The fact of the matter is, when the Lord starts moving and doing stuff in your life, he is the embodiment of Good. And he is too good to us. Too good to be true.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

While the Wound is Still Fresh

Oh the agony of defeat. It stings. It burns.

(Melodramatic much?)

You see, I married into a Steelers lovin' family. And tonight they lost the Super Bowl.

So you can understand my dismay.

Instead of lamenting the coulda, woulda, shouldas I'll instead let my photo montage speak for itself.

I've titled it Faces of Defeat.


Prepare yourself folks, this is perhaps the saddest of them all:

Poor Dusty, lovingly folding the Steelers quilt his mother made for him when he was a child.

(OK seriously, how dramatic! I should win an award.)

This Will Be My Child

I love this video.

Maybe I'm behind and everyone has already seen it but I don't care, I just have to share!

This is especially near and dear to my heart because of Dusty's undying and secretive love for all things Star Wars.

I'm sure this will be my child someday. And that we will own a Volkswagen.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Maybe There Is, But Yes, Definitely There Is

I'm Captain Youtube lately huh? Well that's fine with me if it's fine with you'ins.

I've been re-visiting my collection of Sara Groves' music as I do pretty much once or twice a year. (Is it really re-visiting then? Who knows.)

If you don't have any of her albums you should get you some. Like now.

I remember coming across this song of hers while in high school called "Maybe There's a Loving God." Here, listen to it while you read this rest of this post so your random two minutes on my blog won't be an utter waste of time:


So this song used to make me a teensy bit uncomfortable back then. How could a Christian singer write lyrics about doubt and her wondering as to whether there maybe is a loving God somewhere out there?

She must be referring to someone else right? That's the thought I conjured to allow this song passage into my heart. For what it's worth, I'm glad I did.

Because now, ten years later, I've definitely had those doubts and I'm not too proud to admit, some lately.

I mean we're a month into 2011 and already:


Not to mention hitting the one year mark from the earthquake in Haiti, bombings in airport, unrest in other parts of the Middle East (Lebanon, Tunisia anyone?), and the list could go on and on.

I totally understand where this song is coming from. It may not even have been her intent when writing it, I don't know. But it is how it speaks to me.

There is nothing wrong with "thinking, reasoning, questioning, and praying." If there were I'd be in a heap o' trouble.

I feel like the mark of a mature walk with the Lord is one that has questioned and wondered if this whole Jesus/God/Christian thing is really all it's cracked up to be.

John the Baptist did it. And so can we.

However, I think we're secure in those questions because I've always, always come back to yes. Yes, there is a loving God.

And he's way better than we could ever imagine.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Photography Class, Part Deux

As part of my photography-themed Birth-mas gifts, Dusty got me a new photo editing software.

We got it loaded on my Lappy where it has remained virtually untouched ever since.

To be honest, it's because I just have no clue what I'm doing when it comes to this kind of stuff.
But tonight in photography class, someone mentioned that they had been able to learn all kinds of neat tricks using tutorials they had found on the YouTubes.

I tried my hand at it tonight and came up with two successes! Unfortunately, I'm tired, so I'll post the most obvious success story.

Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form condone the kind of photo editing I'm about to show. I'm not a fan at all. However, a surprising number of folks have asked me if I know how to do it. Up until now I happily said "nope!" But now, well... gah!

Before:

After:

I specifically remember telling my wedding photographer, the lovely Brenda A., that this was one editing trick I did not want up her sleeves.

What say you? Is there a time and a place for selective coloring?

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Happy Birth-Hog-Day!

Groundhog Day- the most frivolous holiday on the calendar!

Will he, won't he, will he, won't he? The anticipation is enough to make me edgy for about half a second then forget about it!

Something else rather significant happened on this day eighteen years ago.

I'll give you a hint: it's not the release of Bill Murray's cult classic Groundhog's Day although that was released in 1993.

No it's something much better! On this day 18 years ago Ms. Lauren Barr was brought into the world! I recently chatted with Lauren about all-things eighteenth birthday. Here's what she had to say.

So Lauren, you're turning the big One Eight! How do you feel about your teenage years winding down?

I'm pretty ecstatic about being 18. I will be considered an adult and I can apply for WAY more jobs, so I hope I get one. It's a bittersweet moment really. More sweet than anything!

You happen to be born on a pretty important national holiday. Tell me how you feel about sharing your birthday with the world's most famous rodent.

It's exactly what you say, a rodent. I like the fact that most people remember my birthday because its super easy to remember. But I do not like to find a farting groundhog in my bed! (This is a reference to a prank her mom played on her one year.)

How do you plan to celebrate your big day?

On the big day I will be getting my first tattoo! Then I will be coming home to my family and eating S'mores pizza.

What's the best birthday gift you've ever received?

I have many favorite gifts. In a top two, one was my first bible and another would be my great grandma's sewing basket- even though I don't sew, I love that it's a hand-me-down.

What's one thing you want to do while you're 18?

There's nothing really spectacular I want to do while I'm 18, probably the biggest will be getting my tattoo.

So there you have it, straight from the birthday girl's mouth. Lauren, I hope you have a wonderful day and here's to a new and adventurous 18th year!