What I've been up to.

Spending some time with Sarah and Ron.  An annual ritual. (Though I wish it was more frequent).
This is what we do.  We talk. All day.

It is wonderful.

And now I head back to the frozen tundra.

New Year's Eve Recap

The players: Sarah, Christie, Kelly, Joschka, Guy With Hat, and Strange Loner Guy.  I'll let you figure out who's who.

These pictures are obnoxiously large.  Apologies! I had some technical difficulties.

**I fixed it.  And would love a lesson in formatting pictures, please.**

A new trend? I hope so.

Apparently my generation (the one so often railed against for being lazy and undisciplined) is starting to think simple living is better than being over-worked only to make payments on things we never needed in the first place.

And this makes me incredibly happy:

Perhaps I will join them this year (I loathe Black Friday anyway).

Want.

Photo

I've been thinking a lot lately about all sorts of things. One great thing about having some time off from school is that the musings that are usually put on the back burner in favor of studying get to take a front seat for a while. Primarily, they've been circling around what it really means to be free, to live in freedom.  Freedom from guilt, from self-absorption, and from consumption.  

I've had the opportunity to wrestle with the daily and eternal implications of living life in a culture absolutely overwhelmed with consumption.  Or maybe I'm the only one overwhelmed by it? 

I want to want less. It's a process, to be sure.  The hours I have spent looking for more things to want (thankfully, the guilt is another thing I am free from)!  There are obviously financial benefits to consuming less, but I am much more concerned about what living a life on constant consumption is doing to my soul.  Because it's not pretty.

Anyway, I'm not full of answers here, just sharing what's been on my mind for about a year.  I'm just now getting to really mull it over.  One thing I do know is that rampant consumption is toxic to the kind of life I want to be a part of.   There is much much more on this to come (once I start paying attention to the lessons I'm to learn, I find it everywhere).  And I'm eager to chat with my friend Sarah about this, because she is way smarter and more enlightened than me (and don't let her tell you otherwise). 

So I want to be free.  Free from the chains of consumer culture. 

So many different people.

I have had the chance to see so many people I love in one swoop across the state.  Please enjoy the incredibly terrible pictures I took:

The day after Christmas, I got to hang out with two of my good high school friends, Meagan and Jordan.  I love them.  It's amazing how we haven't lived in the same place since 2003, but hanging out together is still fun, and so great to catch up.

Then mom, dad, and I went up to Greensboro NC (where they used to live, and I was born) to see my brother and sister-in-law on their way back to Oklahoma.  While we were there, we attended the church my parents were married in, and got to catch up with the Parris family, who my parents were good friends with when I was but a wee babe.

I then journeyed up to Columbia, SC to see many friends.  Sarah, Kelly, and I went out for New Year's Eve (which Kelly has all the pictures of) and had tons of fun.  We then spent New Year's Day like this: 

We (Sarah and I) watched approximately 5 hours of the Biggest Loser marathon.  As much as I disparage reality TV, I was so proud of those people by the end! And we were motivated enough to get a solid workout in on January 2. 

Sarah and I also went to lunch with Whitney, our soon-to-be lawyer friend.  Again, amazing to see each other and talk about life and whatnot. (Also, the sesame tofu at this place was delish).  I so wish I had a full length picture of my outfit this day.  I was in the middle of doing laundry and had to put on the only clean clothes I had left, which made me look like I just stepped off the set of That 70's Show.  Pretty fantastic.

That night I was able to meet up with my high school youth minister, Oscar, and his family.  I had never met their boy Tennyson!  It was so so great to see them, to catch up, and share some things that we've learned over the past few years.  

Then Laura got back from USC's terrible bowl game, and we got to spend a day together, and I even got to meet her new nephew!  Here is the proud aunt with the big one month old!

The only way that Laura lost Wii bowling: with a sleeping infant in her arms.  We'll take whatever breaks we can get.

There were so many great moments I wish I had captured, but I was really just too busy enjoying my friends. 

I hope all of you are enjoying this start to the new year!