Beauty

This morning here at work, there are four repairmen walking in and out of the lobby – in and out, in and out – carrying ladders, tool kits, wire, and generally, looking confused. I have no idea what they’re doing – but they keep climbing ladders and removing the ceiling tiles and disappearing from the…

As a bridesmaid in San Diego this weekend, I was treated to a pre-wedding hair/makeup extravaganza. When first presented with the opportunity to have my hair and makeup done for me, I was hesitant – to say that Annie Parsons is a control freak is like saying that Courtney Love is a train wreck. I…

We come into this world vessels of beauty, pre-packed with purpose and potential. We are full of hope, full of possibility. But eventually, the various shapes and colors inside of us begin to shake around like a jigsaw puzzle, rattling our brains, and we long to make sense of the chaos. So we begin to…

I wore a dress to work today, and that always makes for a good day. No, I’m not going to go all “the hills are alive” twirling or anything, but there is definitely something about wearing a dress that makes me feel a little more put together, a little more credible, a little more capable….

My love, You know the old saying, “It’s not you, it’s me”? Well, sorry. This time, it is definitely you. We’ve been together for a long time. So long, in fact, that I can scarcely remember a time when we were apart. There was that one time during my freshman year of college when I…

All day, the clock has ticked on. And all day, I have frantically thought, “What can I blog about?” Some days are just like that – nothing in particular that strikes my mind. Other days, I write 4 or 5 entries, and store them up for days like today. But I’m out of those entries….

There’s this woman named Sara Groves. She used to be a teacher in Minnesota, but now she tours as a singer/songwriter. She is one of my very favorite musicians; she has a conversational style of writing that cuts straight to the heart of the matter. Even when she introduces her songs before playing them, she…

A friend of mine recently filled out one of those survey things on her blog. You know, all sorts of questions about life. One of the questions was, “When was the last time you felt beautiful?” It hit me like a cannon ball in the chest: I cannot recall the last time I felt beautiful….

Dear Burt’s Bees, I don’t know what to say. I am utterly flummoxed. After years of faithful service, you have let me down. How could you? HOW COULD YOU? Did you want to cause me havoc and harm? Kick my 2008 off to a despicable start? Or, worse yet, did you think this was a…

On my kitchen counter sits a Mason jar. In this jar you will currently find the bridal bouquet from a wedding that I recently attended; how I wound up with the bouquet is beyond me. If there is anything at a wedding that I hate more than the unity candle, it is the bouquet toss…