The Pink Chair

The pink chair is a hand me down from my old job. It really is the shabbiest thing - there I admit it.
But I love this chair! There are those who want me to at least have it reupholstered. I am not sure.

How many times did I plop down on this chair in Jim's office and pour out my troubles with work or life... usually more life than work.

Jim would offer words of wisdom and counsel. The pink chair is symbolic. It is a testimony of wonderful counsel I received while sitting in it, whether from Jim or the others there. I changed -in my head and heart - for the better. How can you cover that up?

Perhaps I will start with at least covering up the arm rests. And go from there. Perhaps its new use - that as a place to feed baby will inspire a new color ... until then pink and shabby it will remain.

No Donkey huh?

So I have been thinking a lot about Mary making the trek with Joseph to be counted in the census. My thoughts comprised whether she had a certain look or a certain way she said "Joseph" that let him know that she needed to "go" again. I mean you go a lot when you are 9 months pregnant!

I mentioned this to the pastor I work with saying it must have been difficult getting on and off the donkey at 9 months pregnant too and of course multiple times because she had to "go."

He said no where in the Bible does it say that Mary rode on a donkey at all. I read all the Christmas scriptures there is no donkey! Just one of the many assumption made about Christmas. I mean how many movies depict this? How many Christmas greeting cards picture Mary sitting side saddle on a donkey with Joseph leading the way?

So maybe she didn't have to get up and down maybe she just walked the 100+/- miles. I am not sure which was worse. Miles walking on sore swollen feet doesn't sound fun either. To be sure she didn't have my fabulous -albeit stained- Easy Spirit shoes! Donkey or not, surely Joseph was a sympathetic travel companion for this heavy with child woman who probably needed to stop to visit an obliging rock or bush more than once.

A friend told me when she was pregnant during Christmas that she saw Christmas from a different perspective. I had have to say the same. I have thought about more than frequent urination while traveling. The carols we sing about the infant Jesus touch my heart differently now. It is refreshing to see Christmas from this different perspective. I suspect that I will see Christmas from a different perspective next year too.

Hormones and Shoes

I have been known to cry over Hallmark commercials. My husband thinks I am ridiculous. To be sure, over the course of the last few months of had my moments of crying over ridiculous things and some not so ridiculous things - like shoes.

There came a point a couple weeks ago where my shoes just didn't fit anymore. So I had to find something in a brown shoe that would fit my fat feet!

I was at the outlets in Lancaster and I came across a shoe that would work. But in the end, I decided to wait and see if I could find something better. Wow, did I find something better!
I saw an EasySpirit store and decided to check out what they had.
They had this beauty...OK maybe not the most beautiful shoe but it quite possibly the most comfortable shoe I have ever worn. So you can imagine my utter despair when I dropped a piece of cauliflower cooked in chicken thighs on top of one of them. I cried. I cursed. I wailed to my husband, "they are the only shoes that fit me and they are ruined." Did I mention I cried.... for 3 days. I was just sick over these shoes. We tried baking powder, Dawn, Shout, a sponge, a toothbrush...

And in the end, I have a slightly imperfect shoe. The dye is a little washed out. But they are still just as comfortable as they ever were and I hardly notice the discoloration now. Honestly, they turned out much better than I feared.

I still can't believe how emotional I got over these shoes though. Something like hormones took over any sense I had. But I guess you'll have that sometimes.