I'm a work in progress

One of my (many) Lenten goals this year is to take my dad's advice and spend time in the morning praying. Since I was running a wee bit behind today, I decided that I could do it in the car. I typically drive with my right hand on the wheel, so I had the brilliant idea to say one prayer for each finger. One Our Father, three Hail Marys and one Glory Be. (Then I throw a "Hail Holy Queen" in the mix because I love that prayer, the words are so beautiful.)












Well, apparently Ash Wednesday brings out the WORST. DRIVERS. IN. THE. UNIVERSE. I got through the Our Father just fine, but by the second Hail Mary, it sounded more like "Hail Mary, SERIOUSLY? Stay in your own lane! Full of Grace, the Lord is with - DUDE! It is called ACCELERATING - look into it! you. Blessed art thou among -ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Why are you going 40 in the fast lane? - women, and Blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus." Needless to say, it wasn't exactly the peaceful prayer-time I was shooting for, but I'm going to assume that the intentions were still heard. I'll try to be better at it tomorrow.

Being an Aunt: Volume Two

The second of the "I'm a good aunt" blog series is dedicated to Miss Mary Claire, Adam and Aprils oldest girl. She was born July (mumbles something since she doesn't remember exactly what day but is pretty sure it is around the 17th), 2004.

















(Look how giant Adam is in the background. No offense Adam. That was before he had the Lapband, wow.)

Mary is awesome because she is a girly-girl. She is all princess and ruffles. (Well, at least she was before they moved to Africa. Who knows what she is into now!)
























My favorite story about Mary happened while they were living near Seguin. She had pretty pink hoop earrings in. I said, "I like your earrings." She responded, "Yeah, I had to take them other ones out cuz they weren't pink OR sparkly!" I'm so proud that she learned this at a young age - if it isn't pink, it better sparkle.

Since we knew she loves all things that are pink, princess-themed and sparkly, Larry and I got her shoes for Christmas two years ago:























Apparently she wore them every. single. day. This is what they looked like a year later:























She is really smart and just so cute. So here's to Mary Claire - may your days be filled with all that is pink and sparkly.

therein lies the problem

My boyfriend thinks I spend too much time on the computer.

- I am pursuing a master's degree, which includes two online courses that are very time consuming.
- Facebook and blogs are how I unwind and they are also my main source of entertainment.

So, what's a girl to do?

binge and purge

I have an idea for a party. Work with me here...

Go open your closet, and take out a couple of those shirts that are cute but you never wear. Sort through the place where you put your necklaces, belts, and purses. Go look through your make-up drawer and dig out that $15 lip gloss that you only used once because it was just a little too purple for your face. Okay, you've been able to gather at least 5 things right? 5 things that are good quality, they are cute - but you're just not feeling anymore.

If you are 3 sizes smaller than me, guess what - I can still fit into your little leopard print purse. If you are a couple sizes bigger than me, you know what? I can fit into that cute knit dress you think is a little too snug for you. Not to mention, that necklace will look great with my grey suit and ooooh - those yellow flip-flops that you never wore will rock my with my sundress! Get the drift?

I'm thinking I want to invite every female I know to a BINGE & PURGE party. We will binge on wine, cheese and chocolate - while purging our closets and drawers of things that we no longer want or wear. Everyone would be asked to bring:
1. A bottle of wine (or your drink of choice)
2. Around 5 items, the majority of which could be considered "one size fits most"
3. Pajamas (optional, but if you really binge drink, you shouldn't drive home)

I'm thinking everyone gets to leave with one "find," and the rest gets donated.

I'm just in the brainstorming portion of planning, but I wanted to give you a heads up so that you don't get rid of those silver bangle bracelets or aqua tights. Somebody may want them.

**** The name of this post is not meant to minimize or make fun of bulimia. If you truly suffer from an eating disorder, it is no laughing matter. ****

cuz that's how we roll

We were pretty much forced to read when we were children. We even had "enrichment hour" every day after school from 4-5pm. That meant we had to do something that would enrich our minds - no TV allowed. We worked on our homework or read books. Fortunately for me, I love to read, so that worked out well. (Once I turned 16 and started cheering, I didn't really have to participate anymore. I usually took a nap.) I'm so glad that I grew up in a family where education was important. There were times when I wished I would have gotten paid for all the "A"s I made, but my dad thought that would have been like paying me to breathe. Whatever, I digress. If you have kids, I really recommend having "Enrichment Hour" or something similar. But anyway, I think that my whole family really has a love of words. Some people use them to write, others to sing, others to edit, others to debate, but pretty much everyone is a "words" type of person. Which leads me to the point of this blog. All of a sudden, just about everyone in my family has a blog. So, just in case you need to add anything to your blogroll, here they are:

My Dad's: http://beaverboard.blogspot.com/ (named after a line in the book Franny and Zooey) This is where he posts little "nuggets" of information. Quotes and musings that will make you think. He used to have a clipboard where he would print out quotes and it would hang in the kitchen. I refer to his blog as the "New-Tech Clipboard."

My older brother's: http://behnke-family.blogspot.com/ Since he, his wife and 4 kids are in South Africa until September, this is where they are keeping us all updated. You need to watch the video of the kids dancing to African music, it is precious.

My sister's: http://scribblecrabble.blogspot.com/ This is her third time to start a blog, so you need to visit it and leave her comments so that she will keep it up. She is a really good writer, not to mention she'll probably tell stories about my sweet god-daughter, Annie.

My younger brother's: http://josephbehnke.wordpress.com/ He only updates it like once a year, but when he does, he posts really good pictures. He also has a professional blog where he showcases some of his web designs, so if you're ever in the market for a web designer, let him know.

My younger brother's wife: http://thebehnkefamily.wordpress.com/ Melanie is a really good writer and takes the most beautiful pictures of their daughter, Molly. Seriously, that is one cute kid.

(The younger generation prefers Wordpress over Blogger, FYI.)

That leaves my mom and my middle brother as the lone Behnkes without a blog. I think my mom prefers to update people through phone calls, and to be honest, I prefer to get my information from her that way. But John has an iPhone, so really, he could blog from anywhere. So I need to work on him.

proof that Jesus died and rose from the dead because he loves us and wants us to be happy

I believe that Jesus, in all of his infinite wisdom, knew that someday the celebration of his Resurrection would become commercialized and shallow. He knew that retailers would start hocking Easter items in late January. And even though this made him a little sad when he realized it - he would prefer that we celebrate the part where he died for our sins so we could live eternally with him and all that. But he is an understanding kind of guy, and even in his disappointment, he wanted to make sure we knew how much he loves us. He wanted us to look into our paganized Easter baskets and know that he is always thinking of us. That is why he had somebody create marshmallows. And now, hypothetically of course, if you are going to the store to get paper towel and toilet paper, you might walk pack the Easter candy aisle because you see the Peeps. And just a little further down, you'll see the chocolate-covered marshmallow eggs. And oh my gosh, those candy-coated marshmallow eggs. See? There is no way this many marshmallowy-delicious concoctions could exist unless the big JC had a hand in it.

















(Alternate title for this post = Why you should not go to the grocery store before eating breakfast)

x.o.x.o.

My favorite part about St. Valentine's Day is going shopping the day after. 75% off boxed chocolates? I'll take 2.

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

But really, we can all use a reminder to tell the important people in our lives that we love them. So if you are an important person in my life, consider yourself loved. xoxoxo

just breathe...

I admit it. I am a control freak. Things in my life are a bit scattered at the moment and I hate it. My office is a wreck, the house is not very clean, I'm about 2 weeks behind at work and a few days behind with grad school. I think I am making myself sick from stress. I've found myself reminding myself to breathe or to relax my shoulders so I don't get giant knots. My rosacea is flaring up and I have a constant headache. I know I'll get in the swing of things, in fact, I have made a promise to myself to hang up laundry tonight. Baby steps. The reason I bring all this up is because I feel like I've been "that girl" lately - you know, the one that always makes excuses. Here is a sample of ACTUAL things I've said in the past week or so....

"My phone doesn't work in the hotel and my alarm didn't go off."

"My phone is dead."

"I left my master gradebook in another town and it is being mailed to me."

"My dog won't potty outside if it is raining, so I had to wait for her."

"I have an assignment due at midnight."

"I've had some tummy trouble."

"I haven't checked my e-mail in a few days."

"I mixed up the assignment deadline with my other course."

While these all sound like excuses, they are were all true statements at the time they were said. Organized people don't have to make statements like this. They are on time, put together, and on top of things. I used to be one of those people. And I will be again. Just not soon.

West Texas

I'm tired. I'm not whining, but I've been traveling like crazy, trying to stay on top of two grad school classes and trying to maintain my full-time job. With that being said, I'll try not to fall too far behind on my blogging. (But Kristen, thanks for the nudge!) However, I don't have too much to say tonight. So instead, I'll give you two reasons why I love being from West Texas:


















Number of times I've been pulled over for speeding on to Lubbock = about 5

Number of tickets I've gotten = 0

I got this warning on Thursday outside of Coleman. In my experience, DPS is much nicer the closer you get to West Texas.
















While filling up at the United in Slaton, I noticed something at the brand new McDonalds. (That is big news in Slaton - everyone is like, "Did you know we got a McDonalds?") There were two girls on horses in the drive-through. Now that is something you don't see every day.


And, let me just say... it was windier here in Austin today than it was in Lubbock.