superbowl sunday.

katie in her super cool super bowl hat

i know that this is a bit late but here is how my house celebrated the big day.  i am also 95% sure that half of my house didn't know who was playing...

we did however play this really cool game.

peonies

my precious, loving dad called today for his usual "michele is single and its valentine's day chat".  he is simply the best dad in texas, well maybe even in the world. he always sends me a little treat for february 14th.  freshman year it was a massive potted plant that lived all year long and grew to be 3.5 feet tall. this year i requested something that lives for about 2 weeks. thanks dad. i love you.

a little story.

I saw something very touching last night.

Or maybe heartbreaking is a better word.

As I was going down into the chilly subway station to wait for the train, a man was standing on the platform close to the wall.

From my quick peripheral observation (which I sadly have mastered since living here) I could tell he was/looked homeless or very poor.

The assumption seemed to be solidified when I heard him mumbling something to people as they passed by him.

To each person he mumbled the same phrase.

I couldn't tell what he was saying, probably meaning (I thought) he was drunk or a little crazy and wasn't saying anything intelligible at all.

This assessment happened in about 2 seconds time as I approached him, seeing the person in front of me pass on by, not even glancing his way.

I passed by, not even glancing his way.

I felt a pang of guilt. (Guilt or the Holy Spirit convicting me?)

I heard a man's voice behind me say kindly,

"What is it you need, Sir?"

I glanced around and saw the whole scene.

The man who didn't pass by was a business-looking man... clean cut, long nice dress coat.

Again, the man mumbled his line.

The man who didn't pass by asked him to repeat himself because he couldn't understand.

Finally he heard, and I heard, what the man what saying...

"Would you mind doing me a small favor?"

"Sure, what can I do for you?"

(He was just as uncomfortable as the rest of us would have been in the same situation. You could tell he was painfully aware of all the others on the platform staring at the scene, and aware of the potential hazards in stopping... but he stayed)

"Sir, would you mind zipping up my jacket? I'm crippled and can't do it on my own."

Immediately his handicap became obvious... a shriveled hand and forearm stuck up against his chest.

The man who didn't pass by proceeded to move in close... as close as you would have to be to zip someone's jacket zipper.

That's a pretty intimate process... way beyond the boundaries of personal space... it's something parents do for their small children who are not yet able.

He fumbled for a few seconds with the zipper on the dirty man's maroon jacket, and proceeded to zip it up. There they stood, face to face.

The crippled man was obviously touched, saying, "Thank you so much, Sir, thank you so much."

The train pulled up.

I stepped in the same car as the man who didn't pass by, and I could hear the crippled man yell again, "Thank you so much, Sir!"

As we pulled away from the station, we saw through the window the crippled man still standing where he had been.

I looked over and saw (what looked like) tears in the eyes of the man who didn't pass by.

I said to him, "That was really amazing what you just did."

He sadly looked down, shook his head, and sincerely said,"No, it really wasn't. I could have done so much more."

Yes, I guess he could have.

But he did so much more than any of the rest of us were willing to do.

And in his small gesture he gave something invaluable back to this man... his humanity.

He said to him, "Yes, I hear you speaking, and I care enough to stop... and to be patient and listen to what you have to say, even when it is so uncomfortable, and to put my fears aside in order to meet a need you have... in order to LOVE you. And I do this because it is what Jesus has done for me, and what He has done for you."

This beautiful, heartbreaking picture reminded me of what Jesus said about loving.

[this was borrowed from the blog of my bible study leader from this past summer in new york city. this story is one of the reasons that new york will forever hold a dear place in my heart.  my heart changed last summer. i was broken. praise Jesus. listen to amos lee, "keep it loose, keep it tight."]

Team JILLIAN

Let me begin by saying, I have been an opponent of the Bachelor for the past few years now.  I believe that it is completely unrealistic, staged and ridiculous.  Living with 6 girls this year has changed my television habits... From the hours of 7 to 9 on Monday nights, 304 Ayrshire is glued to the television surrounded by cookies and wine.  It has become my guilty pleasure.  Now that Jason is down to the final 3, I have chosen my favorite: I am now on TEAM JILLIAN.

I just think she is the cutest.

a new york kind of love.

it is simple. 

new york city.

i miss you.

i want to visit you soon...

5 things i would do first:

1. magnolia cupcake [yellow cake with chocolate icing]

2.  afternoon in central park

3. walk from the village to greenwich

4. evening church service at Apostles

5. williamsburg dog park with the boss lady and stella louise

sweet leaf tea co

this past weekend I was in our lovely state capitol. i saw sweet leaf tea company everywhere! i cannot wait for everything that this summer holds. they were also announced the number 16 best company in austin to work for 2008. woohoo

25 attempts at being interesting.

1. I recently found out that I am named "Michele" because I was supposed to be a boy named "Michael." My parents didnt quite want to let that name go... and they still gave Cody the first name Michael.

2. I still sleep with a stuffed animal. I never named him because I thought it was childish.

3. My favorite movie of all time is Steel Magnolias mostly due to the fact that Ouiser reminds me of my grandmother. "Clairee: Ouiser, you sound almost chipper. What happened today - you run over a small child or something?"

4. I was born in England and lived there the first three years of my life with an English nanny, which resulted in an English accent.  I lost the accent when we moved back to the US and my best friend was a black girl named Shawnee.  Bring on East Texas accents :)

5. When I was 12 I had my first moving vehicle collision. It involved a cow, a mopehead, and our garden fence.  

6. At the age of 15, I had my second collision. This time it involved my mom's suburban and Stacy's garage door... not to mention the lovely and encouraging words coming from the backseat. My Dad was pretty vocal as I forgot to how to hit the breaks at 5 miles per hour. 

7. I was the soloist and star of my fourth grade play. My role was a giant teddy bear that lived in Santa's Toy Shop. Our choir program wasn't very popular that year.

8. My roommate Catherine's favorite song is "Fancy" by Reba McEntire. She gets pretty intense when she sings it. 

9. My family celebrates our family reunion at a Volunteer Fire Station in Rosevine, Texas every summer. It pretty much sums up my extended family and east texas all in one. 

10. Midnight Yell. [enough said]

11. One of my best friends has 4 cats. The last one she got was from a poor hispanic family, so we named her Rosa. It just seemed to make sense.

12. I went through my awkward years before straighteners were invented. I have naturally curly hair and I only weighed 100 pounds while being 5'9. Just picture that...

13. The only animals I ever had growing up were fish because I am allergic to cats/ hate them and my brother was attacked by a dog at the age of three. They were great pets until the water got to hot during a fish tank cleaning.

14. I was the only girl on the back row of our 8th grade panoramic picture. 

15. My first and last name are spelled "wrong". Or so I have been told

16. My mother loves sports more than anyone else that I know. She somehow manages to say exactly word for word what the announcer says about 30 seconds before he says it.  She also has season tickets to the Houston Astros. We live in Nacogdoches.

17. My first car was a Chevrolet Blazer. The only thing I liked about it was that it was black- and the fact that I took it flying down a huge hill about once a week. We usually got about three feet of air.

18. When I lived in the Chi O House sophomore year, I fell down the three staircases seven times. I was completely sober. 

19. My athletic abilities are somewhat lacking. The only sport I have ever been good at was 300 meter hurdles in the 8th grade. I won first place against my darker skin girls.

20. I took a clogging class for six years. My outfit consisted of a red, white, and blue sparkly ensemble.  We clogged to Tim McGraw, Jock Jams, and Jose Cuervo. The outfit also had stars.

21. I made a shirt in high school that said, " Yes, I am really tall. No, I do not play basketball."

22. I spent one whole semester of college painting on navy sheets. And it has been my favorite one yet! 

23. If I could do any job in the world it would be hosting a show for the travel channel.

24. My favorite drink is Coca Cola Classic.  I once was a Dr. Pepper fan but the 23 flavors changed it. 

25. Cussing at random times is just something that brings me joy and makes me laugh really really hard.