The Rules of Gibbs: For Interior Designers

The Rules

Rule #1: Never let multiple clients stay together.

Rule #1: Never screw over your project manager.

Rule #2: Always wear work boots at a jobsite.

Rule #3: Don't believe what you're told. Double check your measurements.

Rule #3: Never be unreachable…have your Blackberry glued to you at all hours.

Rule #4: The best way to keep a secret? Keep it to yourself. Second best? Tell one other person - if you must. There is no third best. Accept you should probably tell the project manager…..

Rule #5: You don't waste good ideas.

Rule #6: Never say "You're Sorry." It's a sign of weakness. Say “I apologize” it’s much more professional.

Rule #7: Always be specific when you lie….. but it better not be on the construction documents.

Rule #8: Never take anything for granted. Including laser’s that measure the ceiling height for you.

Rule #9: Never go anywhere without a measuring tape.

Rule #10: Never get personally involved in a project.

Rule #11: When the job is done, walk away….as fast as you can walk in heels.

Rule #12: Never date a co-worker…or an architect…or a contractor….or an engineer.
Rule #13: Never, ever involve a lawyer.
Rule #15: Always work as a team.
Rule #16: If someone thinks they have the upper hand, break it…. With a strongly worded email.
Rule #18: It's better to seek forgiveness than ask permission….unless it involves a load-bearing wall and a sledge-hammer.
Rule #22: Never, ever bother a contractor on concrete pour day.
Rule #23: Never mess with a designer's coffee... if you want to live.
Rule #27: There are two ways to follow someone. First way, they never notice you. Second way, they only notice you…when you’re checking the contractor’s work behind their back.
Rule #35: Always watch the giant crane….it’s cool.
Rule #36: If you feel like you are being played by the sales reps, you probably are.
Rule #38: Your project, your lead.
Rule #39: There is no such thing as coincidence.
Rule #40: If it seems like the engineer is out to get you, they are.
Rule #42: Never accept an apology from someone who just sucker punched you…figuratively in a strongly worded email.
Rule #44: First things first, hide the women and children…on demolition day.
Rule #45: Clean up the mess that you make...on painting day.
Rule #51: Sometimes - you're wrong.

Rule #69: Never trust a woman who doesn't trust her man.

Red, white, and blue spandex

This Sunday I participated in the Wounded Warrior 10k and Half Marathon. I finished the 10k (6 miles) in just under an hour. In that hour all you can really do is think, observe, and be in pain. Luckily 2 of these benefit my blogging. Being the Wounded Warrior Project's race, there were patriots all over the place! It was enough to make you tear up as people were running with shirts on that said "I'm running for my son." and everyone who ran by her would say- "Tell your son thank you." A group of grandma's sported pink camo in honor of the troops. One couple ran the whole race each carrying the end of an American flag. Military men and women ran with huge backpacks on...which I can assume were not filled with cotton balls or feathers. Red, white, and blue spandex, sweat bands, and even hair could be seen amongst the crowd. It was very encouraging from a runner's standpoint as well as an American. It was harder to stop and walk when I see the guys running with the backpacks. It was harder to walk when I saw a Dad trudging along with his daughters name written on his calves. It was hard not to feel a sense of camaraderie with complete strangers running right beside you. We were there for a common cause- to run and to support our troops.

When last we left them....

I believe the last post about Chapter 1 of When Matthew met Kasey, left off with him picking me up for our first date. One extremely different thing about how me and Matt started off was that we weren't friends before the date. It was pretty much a cold call- like the dates you see in movies. Sometimes couples can't even define their first date because they always hung out when they were friends and then just slowly made the transition. If you go on a date with a friend- you already know them. All I knew about Matt before our first date was that he was from Leonard, played football, and that he was tall & handsome. So our first date was filled with the basic general questions about each other. But before we could get to the questions.... we had to park. It was a crowded parking lot and Jenny's a big truck...and that combined with being nervous.... caused Matthew to have to re-park the truck about 5 times. I immediately made a mental note that if this thing worked out- I would have to remember to make fun of him, but for now I would smile and make sure he knew that I wasn't judging him on his parking skills. When we went to sit on a bench outside to wait for our table, I remember sitting awkwardly far from him and regretting it because I couldn't hear him that well and I didn't want him to think I didn't like him already- but it was too awkward to scoot closer. While I'm trying to figure out a smooth way to move closer to him, we talk about our family and how we grew up. When we got to the table we were both relieved to be sitting where we could both see TVs. "I was watching the Ranger's before we left, I was hoping to see the end." I said. Then he confessed, "I was watching the Longhorn's game before we left and was hoping to catch it too." (Imagine the light bulb noise happening in our heads) We then began to talk about sports for a good percentage of the time- both the teams and people we loved and what we played ourselves. I breathed sighs of reliefs when he hated the people my Dad hated and loved the people he loved- it just makes things easier. haha. To this day it's a subject we can't talk enough about. I love watching him talk about football, he gets so passionate and excited- I wish I could've seen him play. When we had exhausted sports Matt asked, "So when did you become a Christian?" It was so bold a question it caught me by surprise but I was excited to talk about it. We then talked about our spiritual walks and what the Lord was doing in our lives... Little did we know that He was doing something pretty big that night. We ate good food and never ran out of things to talk about and my jaw hurt from smiling so much. I later found out that, that night was the first time Matt hadn't  finished a meal.....ever. He claims he was a little distracted. On the way back I made a smart comment about if he was going to be able to get out of the parking spot ok, and talked about our weekend plans. In my head I was trying to figure out how would I kiss him..... he's so tall... I can't get up there....I could pull up a chair....that's stupid.....I could jump..... that's dangerous...... ugh! He walked me up to my door and I said thanks for dinner and hugged him goodbye- eyeing the chair on the porch and then chickening out... and he left. I came back inside and sat on the couch and was mad I didn't kiss him, but couldn't stop smiling either. I immediately typed a text to him that said "I had a good time tonight." and stared at the phone wondering when it would be appropriate the press send. 10 minutes later I sent it and immediately got a text that said "me too. : )" He didn't seem like the cutesy-text-smiley-face sender-all-the-time-guy.....so I thought, this has to be good.

25% Meadow, 75% Traffic & Burnt Toast

The more I observe and experience the more I realize that the majority of work isn't what they taught you in school. Not only does this apply to interior design, but every where. In elementary school, high school, and college we're told by teachers and parents to chase our dreams....dream big....land the dream job! What they didn't tell us is that even if you land the dream job, you'll only be experiencing the dream about 75% of the time. They didn't tell my Dad in the Kineseology department that along with getting all the glory for coaching a winning team to the State championship....he'd also be doing laundry 3 times a week, sweeping the gym floor 6 days a week, running the sounds system, being hospitality for the referees, running a concession stand, and repairing the shoot-a-way. The road to glory isn't glamorous. My interior design classes have yet to talk about invoicing, inspections, correct email etiquette, or rules of the construction site. We talk about concept and the psychology of design about 75% of the time in class....I've talked about it in the "real world" about 5% of the time. Today I went to visit a friend who just had a baby in the maternity ward. While waiting for her I was observing the nurses running around like mad-men, cleaning rooms and filing. I started thinking...I bet when they were in school they thought they'd just get to take care of people and take care of babies- I bet they didn't imagine 75% of their time would be spent mopping the floor because a guest of one of the patients spilled a Coke or alphabetizing medical records. My former boss Jeff Miller once gave me the advice that when I go back to school "make everything a meadow". After interning with them for a summer, he was worried that they had hardened me to the real world and that all my projects would become ultra practical. For my year left in college I will try my best to make everything the coolest meadow possible. Even though the real world is really 25% meadow, and 75% construction, traffic, dental cleanings, calling customer service, and burnt toast.

Evaluate & Fall

Why is it that we don't ever truely evaluate our lives until something bad happens? Every movie plot and our own experiences reveal this all the time. It's like our "normal" "happy" lifestyle is like life tunnel vision...and then something unexpected happens and it breaks that tunnel and then all of the sudden we can't believe where we are. This is consistently true with our walks with Christ as well. A loved one dies unexpectedly, and we run back to the Lord and fall at His feet and ask Him for comfort and answers. Just another day at the office, and we tell Him a quick thanks for our meal and skim some Bible verses to check it off our spiritual to-do list. We should fall at His feet everyday. We should realize we're needy everyday. Everyday that we're living on this Earth will be a day that we sin, and He is the only reconciliation for that. We have to fall at His feet recognizing our weakness, but then stand up and boldly face this world armed with the Lord's mercy and truth. If we fall at His feet and stay there, it will turn into self-pity and the Bible strongly discourages that. We have to consistently evaluate our lives to see what the focus is on. Make more of Him and less of ourselves.

• God isn't interested in fixing just a few of our needs.
• Don't worry about "bothering" Him with your needs....He's not impresed that you can live without Him.

Runners: Type-As & Forest Gumps

I try not to write about the same general subject matter 2 times in a week, but this one has been on my mind a lot lately since I’m in mid-stride of 10k training. As I’ve become a runner and observed the world of runners I’ve come to a conclusion: there are 2 very different runner personalities….. the type-A & the Forest Gump. The type-A is where I find myself. We like schedules, we like sticking to schedules, and we don’t like anyone messing with our schedules…. not only in life- but with our training plans.

“Oh…. You’re getting married Saturday? Aw man… I can’t make it. It’s my long run day.”

 “Oh hey can I run with you today?”

“Sure, it’s interval day!”

“oh I don’t  think I’m up for that

“oh yea?..... ready, set, go!”

We also like form, and proper form and proper gear that makes us have proper form. If you see us out on the trails….. The stride, the arms swings, the breathing…. It’s all the same, and it’s all because we looked it up on runnersworld.com. We write on our calendars the day we will be needing new running shoes. We plan our life around that run for that day… the food, the gear, the date for that night. We get there an hour early on race day with our packets already picked up and forms already filled out because we are always prepared.

The Forest Gump’s of the running world simply just take off! They don’t have a plan on how many intervals they will be doing that day. They don’t know their proper target heart rate. They don’t even have running shoes on… but there they go, trucking away, happy as a clam. No watch, and no ipod in cut-off sweat pants…. But at a steady pace. They’ve got a little hippie in them, and probably run to observe nature or something…. Not to bring home the gold medal and the awesome t-shirt like the Monica Geller’s of the running world.

I’m sure there’s many more observations to be made…but I’m out of time!

One hit wonder no more: Eric Church

Today's country spotlight will be put on Eric Church. He's been around a while, his first album "Sinner's Like Me" came out in 2006.... the year I became I liscensed driver.... now it seems even longer ago! That era of country music seemed to be the era of one-hit-wonders. Kenny, Tim, Brad, & Keith were hitting their stride and were on top & untouchable....and everyone else was left to fight to the death at the bottom of the countdown. I was afraid Eric Church would be just another one hit wonder- just another "kid from a small town" "bad-boy". "Guys Like Me" and "How 'bout You" barely made it to the top 20, but were both fairly cliche in a rough time to be in Nashville. His second album "Carolina" brought a little bit more honesty and poetry to the table. "Love your Love the Most" showed the romantic side of Eric....although I can't stand the line were he compares loving his lady to loving mustard on his fries... Nascar, George Strait, sure...but mustard... come on! But everyone else loved it because he made it into the top 10 with that one. "Hell on the Heart" and "Smoke a Little Smoke" also made it into the top 10 with fun, upbeat tempo that you can crank up and roll the windows down to. His newest album "Chief" is what's really set him apart from the one-hit-wonders of the early 2000s and made him a a country-household name. "Homeboy" is a unique song about a brother who's in trouble and needs to come back to the farm to make things right. "Springsteen" has stolen the hearts of everyone who's heard it. It's constently being requested on the radio and my eyes are glued to the TV when the music video comes on. His unique voice really shines, the lyrics hurt so good, and the beat is really catchy. I can't get enough.

This just in: Boots are good for runners!

After years of wearing “cowgirl” boots, I always knew I was the most comfortable wearing them but I never knew why. I thought maybe it was more psychological, like I am “being me” when I wear them and therefore I associate them with comfort. The heels and the flip flops aren’t “me” so therefore I associated them with discomfort. Reading an article in Fitness Magazine I have come to find that my theories are a little more scientific. It turns out that the most natural position for your feet to be in is when there is a 1” to 2” heel. And of course- for runners- we have to take care of our feet because they consistently and thanklessly carry us through insane intervals and up and down hills and only receive a pedicure every 3 months because they’re pretty much a mess all the time. I sadly survey my 4 inch heels that make me feel “grown-up” and my flats with bows that make me feel feminine and wonder what will I wear now! My eyes fall on a stack of boots in assorted colors and my old faithful running shoes…. well... these guys, they really do make me feel like me. So now I can be a healthy, comfortable, stylish me combining the best of both worlds as a runner and as a girl from the South.

The Priest, the Duck, and the Blonde

Most jokes start out with a cast of characters such as that... 3 unlikely personnel coming together to reach a goal...to make you laugh. Architecture & design, aren't strangers to unlikely casts of characters working toward a common goal. The architect: stereotyped to be a little artsy and out of touch- but very intelligent. The client: stereotyped to be needy and unaware, but in the end their opinion really does count the most. The contractor: stereotyped to be a man's man that spends the day in the dirt like "real men". The interior designer: stereotyped to be "couch placers" and "paint-picker-outers" and the majority are women. I know people who redefine these stereotypes- but yet they still exist. Throw in an engineer, electrician, decorator, furniture representative, and a fire marshal.... and it's a circus. Yet somehow they collaborate on a daily basis to build beautiful, structurally sound buildings and make clients happy. It means a little combining of the worlds has to happen- I've worn steel-toed boots and a hard hat with a pencil skirt one too many times. And I've walked around a did a punch list and saw the look on the contractors face when we said that they need to re-paint something because it doesn't match. Electrical engineers sigh and make lights go where the architect wants, and sales reps come through when the client has a list of demands. We're all in the field of creating and we're all in the field of good business. In the end these goals will be met, but not without compromise, collaboration, and communication..... and maybe a wardrobe change and a box of donuts.

In pursuing happiness, we lose our joy

It sounds insane to make that statement- but in a since of Spiritual joy- joy from the Holy Spirit- ultimately the ONLY thing worthy of using the word joy, it's true. Listening to a podcast while running of Matt Chandler, the pastor at the Village Church- he preached on and around this very notion.The American dream is the ultimate example. What often starts out as good intentions: "I will work hard to provide for my family"- which is Biblical... turns into long hours, lost priorities, and joy escapes this notion as we pursue what we think will make us happy. We are our worst enemy. We drive ourselves into the ground chasing what we think will satisfy us... "If I could just get a promotion, then I'll be happy" "if I could just lose 10 lbs, then I'll be happy" "If I could just get married, then I'll be happy" When ultimately, the "happiness" we are longing for- can only be filled by our Creator. Our worldly desires for happiness will leave us exhausted and broken, and not satisfied like we had hoped- we'll simply begin chasing the next American Dream- instead of chasing the One who is worthy of being chased. As far as how do we go about shifting our ideas about happiness and joy? Ask the Father to reveal it to you. Ask for your eyes to be opened and ask for an increase in hunger for His love and His joy. And continue to ask and ask and ask. Pursue Him first and He'll bring you the desires of your heart.

The grand scope of the design we call interiors

I realize more and more how much you have to know about interior design outside of the actual implementing of the designing. For example, in class we are currently designing a Cusp store (a brand by Neiman Marcus). Designing for retail means that we have to understand the nature of the business. Not only do we have to research the nature of retail: statistics about shoppers, the nature of the shopper, the operations of a sales associate, the operations of a sales manager, and statistics about impulse items, demand items, and convenience items. But we have to research the brand: what is Cusp’s target client, what is Cusp’s culture, what type of experience do they want the shopper to have, what type of shopper is this target client…..

Healthcare: to design a hospital- you can’t just blindly start placing operation rooms and nursing stations and then place a nice marble flooring down….. We would have to understand the processes, procedures, order of events, and daily activities of each particular wing of the hospital.

Sometimes it feels like we need a minor in retail, education, business, medicine, and culinary arts just to feel equipped to handle it all! But instead we must become researchers, investigators, and listeners. Most of all this means being tuned into the client and really understanding what they plan on doing with the space. We have to ask the right questions and follow that up with research and confirming what you find with the client.

Not only do we need to learn the wide variety of trades that we find ourselves designing for- but we have to continue to learn- because things change. Education doesn’t look like it did 10 years ago- they need more collaborative spaces (team work is encouraged more than ever!) and places to have one-on-one time with students (we’re learning more about how to handle learning disabilities) and fun/cool places to encourage reading (sometimes it’s way more fun to read in a big comfy couch than your desk!) Interior designers- be aware and never stop learning.

Interior design- it’s not for dummies.

What we can learn from a list of names....

3 pages were filled up with notes from a truth that Ross preached to us Sunday about the disciples. A word he used a lot is subversive. Dictionary.com says that subvert means to overthrow. I wrote next to subversive- “build their own agenda”…. I think this means that the disciples were subversive in the fact that they overthrew their own agendas and the world’s agenda in order to follow Christ. Here are some more truths that made the disciples true followers of Christ and something that we should strive for:

·         The most amazing thing about you should have nothing to do with you. (Pointing to Christ)

·         Christ summons us by regenerating our heart.

·         Don’t go to Him for fine-tuning…… go to Him to discover your brokenness.

·         You’re welcome to be in the midst of His people as a screwed up mess- well people don’t need a doctor.

·         A disciple only makes Biblical sense when in the midst of other disciples…your physical heart couldn’t survive very long if it was outside the body.

·         He wants your heart before your hands. (love Him, then serve and work for Him….be a Mary not a Martha)

·         God is not in a hurry….so why are we?

·         Jesus is so much better than ministry!! Be with Jesus!

·         Don’t be busy being busy, be busy at the thrown of Christ.

·         Most of your time and energy should be used getting to know Christ.

·         THE PROBLEMS OF THIS WORLD CAN BE ANSWERED BY THE GOSPEL. This should be our first answer when faced with a problem.

·         Tell people about Jesus as an act of worship- without worrying about the results- that’s in God’s hands.

·         If you stopped following Jesus, would Satan notice? (Ouch!)

·         God is worthy- He is worthy enough to not get everything we ever wanted. He is worthy enough to suffer.

·         GIVE UP YOUR PREFERENCE- JESUS DOESN’T CALL US TO BE HAPPY- HE CALLS US TO LOVE AND SERVE HIM- TO LEAVE OUR SELFISH LIFE BEHIND!

Bigger Belief

At last week's Parish group (small group, life group...insert Bible belt reference here) with Christ Community Church, we discussed surface sins and heart idols. When it comes down to it, our "surface sins" often are acted out of an inner heart idol, or the worshipping of something other than Christ. An example we gave was gossiping. Talking about people behind their backs is a sin, but why do you gossip? For some people, it's their own insecurities... so therefore they aren't believing that they are Christ's beautiful creation and they care more about what they think than what Christ thinks about them... therefore in the deepest darkest part of their heart- they love themselves more than the Creator. Some other ways to trigger what your heart idols are to ask yourself what you fear the most...what you trust the most...what you love the most. For me, I fear the unknown- I fear the "what if something doesn't go as I planned"... "what if something bad happens"....therefore I'm not believing the Lord when He says, "I have a plan for you. A plan to prosper and not to harm you, a plan to give you a hope and a future." in Jeremiah. Therefore I trust myself, and my abilities more than I trust the Lord who knows every hair on my head. It just seems silly when we lay it out like that. But the logical, sinful, human side of our brain and our hearts- can't comprehend that. It doesn't matter how many sticky notes I put on my mirror with Bible verses on them.... I know what the Bible says... it has to go deeper. It has to go from knowledge to belief. And that is something that no sticky note can do. The Lord has to come in and expand our belief- and that will only happen if we ask Him for it. Even as I sit here typing this, my mind can't get around the idea of believing bigger. So this week- and for the rest of your life- pray for bigger belief. Pray against your human logic, pray against fixing things yourself, pray against forgetfulness... and pray for the only cure for our heart idols- bigger belief in the Almighty that rules over all.

A blog about nothing.

Growing up, my parent's favorite show was Seinfeld, the show famous for being "a show about nothing". Matt had never watched it, and I tried to explain what it's about.... and I couldn't. Seinfeld quotes are daily occurrences in the Morrison household...it's even creeped into my blogging thought process. Jerry, a comedian on the show, would start all his comedy sketches with everyday topics, "What's the deal with waiting rooms?" "What's the deal with airplane peanuts?" "What's the deal with accountants?" And now that I've began blogging, my subconscious is observing the world as a Seinfeld sketch. Running at the park, shopping at Walmart, sitting in traffic on 635.... the world is now up for grabs in the blogosphere.

As far as the titles of my blogs, most of the time it will be 3 random things relating to my blog...of course I want to grab people's attention so that they'll read it...but it's also a little humor from the Morrison house inspired from the express line at Walmart. Next time you're in the express line observe what people just ran in to get and then imagine what the rest of their day looks like- but the rule is that it has to come in 3's (hence, the 3 things in my titles). The infamous first example in which this "game" started from was a gentleman who ran into Walmart to purchase: a CD player.....Windex.....and a box of Ding Dongs. So this guy is going home to enjoy cleaning the windows, while listening to his new CD player, and puttin' down some Ding Dongs. End scene.

Happy observing!

What makes country, country?

What makes country music country? Matt and I argue about this all the time.... Is it how the singer looks? Is it the lyrics and what they sing about? Is it the sound and the instruments? And what if they only have a few of those qualities and not all of them? Does it cancel it?
Matt's consistent example is the Eli Young Band. Their style of clothes & hair: rocker/hipster-ish. Their lyrics: country. Their sound: unique... a hybrid. He claims that this qualifies as not country. So what is the deciding factor? If we look back to Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, Tammy Wynnette, Johnny Cash..... their music and their style is totally different from what we qualify as country today. But is it simply the time? Is it simply the evolving of a product, the same as a dial-up Internet evolving into DSL... or the teal colored refrigerators being replaced by stainless steel ones with TVs on the front.... So is there room for the growth of a genre? Or is it consistent through time? With everything that changes, there's people who love it and people who hate it. Our grandparents may think having our cellphones glued to us is annoying...but we may see it as efficient. Facebook may seem as unnecessary by our parents... but our generation sees it as an effective way to communicate and connect. There can also be a mutual respect for the past as well as the changes of the future. There's nothing wrong with Hank Williams Jr. and there's nothing wrong with Tim McGraw.... it's just different. I think placing an artist into a genre will continue to be a relative, opinion-based decision.... but it's interesting to think about. Trends always seem to come in cycles too....so does that mean in the next 10 years we'll see the next Johnny Cash or next Tammy Wynette come back onto the scene? Stay tuned!

Phantom of the Opera, a measuring tape, and high heels

…that basically describes my second day on the job at the UNT Facilities Department. Today I got to experience my first day of site verification. Basically what it comes down to is that I have to make sure that the dimensions in the archived drawings are right and to check and see if the professor cut holes in his door and painted the ceiling lime green….just for fun.

But today, I wasn’t measuring an office, a lecture hall, or a reception desk…. Today me and a fellow Design Assistant were assigned to site check the mezzanine stage right in the auditorium. The renovation consists of updates…. As well as installing an organ and the organ pipes on the wings of the stage.  We gear up with a tape measure, camera, laser measurer, a variety of pens, 7 printed floor plans, and coffee…. But then we’re told, “And oh, bring a flashlight…and how do you feel about climbing ladders…” I look down and observe my dress and heels- in which I wore to impress people- but now it just comes across as unprepared- great!

We arrive at the auditorium to find it pitch black except for a light coming from a music stand and organ music filling the air…..something straight out of Phantom of the Opera. As we locate the wing we need to measure, we do everything we can from the ground floor, but eventually we had to relocate. A delicate black iron ladder ascended into the abyss, leaving the heels behind I went up first barefoot, flashlight in hand. As I got closer and closer to the top I was praying that it wasn’t going to look like the first scene of an NCIS episode where an obscure dead body was going to be waiting for me upstairs….of course a live body wouldn’t be good either. Instead I found…mostly darkness and dust….oh and a stack of organ pipes ready to be installed. Measuring this space was a challenge…especially barefoot. Stepping over the organ pipes, and hanging on to the rail, we snapped a ton of pictures, sketched and measured what we could…. Descended the ladder and called it a day. A little dirt under the fingernails never hurt anybody….but I will be stashing flats and jeans in my desk from now on.

Be a new wineskin.

Mondays posts will sometimes be a summary or key points from the sermon on Sunday...tied with a little of what the Lord is putting on my heart.

Mark 2:18-22.... the parable about new wine-skins vs. old wineskins.... a hard concept to grasp in today's world when we don't use wineskins. Basically, when wine was put into a new wineskin and sealed up, it would ferment and expand, stretching out the wineskin. If you tried to use the same old wineskin again, it would attempt to expand and eventually tear a hole in it. You could try and patch it, but it wouldn't be effective because the patch wouldn't expand with the wineskin.

• Christ can't be our "patch" on our old selves.... He wasn't created to be an attachment. God is there to reorient your life around Him...not just to be added on to your own agenda....He is the agenda.
• God has everything all sewed up through Christ.
• Our deepest needs of the soul....true comfort....can only be found when communing with the Father..... when Jesus needed comfort He went to be alone and prayed to the Father.
• We know He's there! (our brain, our logic, our knowledge) But we sometimes barely feel His presence (our emotional self)
• The Christian life is a windy road with mountains so high that we can conquer the world...and valleys so low that we don't even recognize ourselves..... but we'll be ok as long as we're still moving forward...towards the goal...towards Christ.
• God will never be satisfied being 2nd place in your life.
• We want to manage our lives....but we can't....we were created to trust in something bigger than ourselves.
• Everything in your life is on the chopping block before the Father.....He has the right to alter anything. But what remains real and consistent is His love.
• Be careful about self-righteousness....you're not worthy of anything and your self-pity and misery won't help you get there. Be a Godly-mourner when confronted with your sin.
• God hates your sin more than you do.

Playing the cardio game.

As far as fitness goes, we hear the word cardio a lot. Do more cardio... lose weight, do cardio... burn fat, do cardio.... dang it I really did eat all three of those donuts instead of just imagining it so I'll need to do lots of cardio today.... stuff like that. But what's really effective? What does it actually mean? Without using a bunch of anatomy jargon... it basically comes down to is- you need to feel like you're working hard, in order to be effective. Personal trainers use the Rate of Effort (RPE) from 1 to 10 to track this kind of thing, because it's different for everyone. A RPE of 10 means you can only sustain that effort for less than 30 seconds.....1 means you could go all day. Another way of measuring your effective cardio, is the talk test. Simply run or jump on the bike next to a friend and talk.... keep increasing the intensity until you can't form sentences without breaths between words. This is when your body switches gears on how it uses fuel because it needs more, faster.... in summary- helping you lose weight and burn calories. I cannot stress interval training enough! it's a way to be really effective, without working as hard. Simply work at a PRE of 4 or 5 for a couple minutes, then increase the intensity for 30 seconds to a minute to an RPE of 8 or 9....then repeat! It's basically a way to trick your body into thinking it's working harder than it is.

Happy running... ellipticalling?... biking.... swimming.... lacrossing.... zumba-ing.... whatever gets you moving!

Fascinating world of lighting...

A branch of interior design that has captured my attention is lighting design. Even broader...I enjoy designing ceilings.... There's a lot of small factors in lighting and ceiling design that can make a big difference in a space. I'm learning more and more about different kinds of lighting as well. The stand-bys....fluorescent & incandescent lamps (in industry "bulbs" are called "lamps").... and the next big thing in green design.... LEDs. Everyone's talking about LEDs.... Studies are showing that they are even more efficient than the high efficiency fluorescent we encounter almost everyday. There's a lot you can do with LEDs in design... for example these crazy awesome lights by Flos...called wall piercing.



Something so small, and so delicate....can make a huge impact on a room.

Also the "color" of lights effect people's minds. The blue-ish light of a fluorescent lamp is in the same spectrum as the sun's light....which tells your brain- it's daytime! Let's get to work! While, the soft, warm light of your everyday incandescent lamp, is more relaxing effect.

So FYI...if you want to go to sleep....don't read from your ipad that gives off blue light. There's actually an "app" for laptops that slowly transitions your screen from a blue tone to a yellow tone if you're working on stuff at night and want to hit the hay when you're done. Genius!

One topic you just can't talk enough about.....

There's an old Andy Griffith show episode where Barney and Andy are at church and Barney falls asleep during the service. Everyone always went up and shook the pastors hand after the service in those days.... but Barney fell asleep and didn't know what the sermon was about so when he shook his hand he said "That's one topic you just can't talk enough about.... sin" When in fact the sermon was titled "What's your hurry"....nothing about sin.

On Sunday, I heard a good sermon, about something that you just can't talk enough about.... sin... and Jesus. A couple of bullet points from the sermon include:

• If you don't sin, then you don't need Jesus.
• If you say you don't sin, then you just sinned by lying.
• Sin is rebellion against God....it isn't mistakes that you can correct by adjusting your behavior. It's something that requires you to be down on your face begging to be forgiven.
• Sin is a huge thing if it took God to come in human form and die on a cross in order for us to be forgiven of it.
• We have to find the balance between being so destroyed by our sin that it consumes us and paralyzes us (Jesus died so we don't have to be stuck in our sin)..... and where we find ourselves sinning and then thinking, it's ok because God forgives me. (God is a Father who disciplines His children)
• View God's discipline like a parent and a child.... if a kid is playing in the middle of the street, participating in something that seems fun but that could be harmful to them, a loving parent would tell them to stop....
• If we do well about recognizing our own faults and struggles....we'll be more forgiving of other's sins towards us.
• Act on your Christian liberty to say no to sin.... not to give in to it because of His grace. 

Neiman's adventure of 2012

Today my design class and I got to tour Neiman Marcus at the Shops at Willow Bend. Two corporate employees on the design team walked us around the store before the doors opened to the general public. We discussed the various elements of retail design and talked about the characteristics of Neiman's culture. Seeing a normally busy department store, quiet and abandoned was strange and kind of eerie. It was also the first time I'd been in a store and wasn't in a hurry...so I had time to observe something other than the merchandise and the price tags. When you start to look around at each display all of the sudden you're like... they put vases with flowers on displays?... there's a stack of books here? have they always been here?...why are they here? And then the ceiling.... my fellow student Elizabeth put it best "it's a hot mess"... it's all down lights and spot lights pointed at the merchandise....so the ceiling is covered with them! The ceiling itself isn't that great looking... but they served their purpose because I never once noticed the ceiling....I noticed what was meant to be noticed...the clothes. Each display reflected the designer and the emotions the designer wanted the customer to feel. One of my favorite displays was the Ralph Lauren/Sport section for men's.... the display was palm leaves and a lounge chair and it made you want to get away....because the mannequins looked like they were having a blast....as much of a blast as you can have with no face or fingers and a disproportionate body. The clothes reflected this casual/vacation vibe...and conveniently the luggage display was nearby in case you wanted to get away that instant! Another one of my favorites was the evening gown section. The field lights were slightly dimmed, invoking an evening atmosphere....with bright spots on the gorgeous gowns. The wall coverings on the back wall sparkled, the carpets formed a runway, and elegant seating was arranged for the observers. The displays truly sold the item...and the gentlemen that showed us around even said one recent change they made in the way they displayed their merchandise from their Cusp line....increased sales 30%.
I'm learning more everyday....and now I can't go shopping without subconsciously analyzing the space.... that's going to slow down my bargain hunting....

Feed the right dog...

We hear the term spiritual warfare a lot, but we often think it only happens every once in a while. When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior and surrender our lives and wills to Him, in that moment we become an enemy to Satan. From then on we're fighting for the Lord and what He wants us to do with our lives. Satan knows our weaknesses, and so he attacks our weaknesses every chance he gets. This is spiritual warfare. Josh Hamilton is an extreme example of this case. His addictions are his weaknesses... and Satan crept in when he could, and told him "it's just one tattoo" "it's just a group of misunderstood guys" "it's just one drink, everyone does it" "it's just a little cocaine, it's not that much". Next thing he knew he was at the lowest of lows, physically weakened, family and friends no where to be found, and walking down the middle of a street with a car coming head-on....and so high that he even realize he was there until the car honked. It's a battle & it isn't pretty- especially when we don't fight back. There's this analogy that I've heard a lot; pretend there's 2 dogs inside you.... one is the good dog and one is the bad dog....if they get in a fight, whichever one you feed more is going to win. "Feeding the good dog" would be like reading and studying the Bible, being in consistent fellowship with believers, listening to praise & worship music. "Feeding the bad dog" would be like listening to negative music, being in places that tempt you, watching movies that remind you of your weakness, being around people that participate in what your weakness is.... A less extreme example of spiritual warfare that is very real to many of us is doubt.... we sometimes find ourselves laying awake at night wondering....what if God isn't real. If we've been feeding the good dog, we can immediately say of course He is!....the Bible says this.... I witnessed an answered prayer in small group last week..... I've felt His presence in my worshiping this week..... If we've been feeding the bad dog..... our answer is.... this bad thing is happening, and He feels so far away- I don't think He even cares..... but this feels so good....how is it wrong- Christians just let me down...
Daily spiritual warfare.
 Feed the right dog.

God is good all the time, even when we're weak.

You had me from hello: part 2

By this time, you may have caught on that the boy is Matthew, and the girl is me...shocking I know...but it was getting difficult to tell the story from a 3rd person perspective.... 

I ended up texting him back a "Yea that'd be cool." in which he answered with "Really?" which I thought was both flattering and cute. I really wanted to answer back something like "Nope, I was just kidding" or "It is a free meal..." or anything sarcastic.... he was probably getting nervous because I took a long time to answer because I would type up a sarcastic paragraph and then delete it because he doesn't know my humor yet. I was busy that weekend but we made plans to go out the next Friday night after I got done babysitting. We saw each other at football practice and games that week and made small talk while fighting back huge grins and playing "hard to get". One of Matt's roommates, Tommy, played with the football team that week for the first time and asked Matt "Hey, who's the new girl, she's hot" and Matt replied, "Kasey, I'm going on a date with her this weekend". (Tom, if you read this, you were the first to know!)  During the game, I got hit pretty hard in the eye and it swelled up a little....great, first date with this guy this weekend....and I have a black eye. After the game, Matt checked on me and told me a story about how he got a black-eye during baseball one time from a bunt that back-fired. Jokingly, I replied, "That's not a very good story... you didn't even score." Little did he know that was the first glance at the humor and trash talk that was to come...

That Friday went by incredibly slow. My stomach was in knots as the night got closer and I tried on a hundred things. Matt was getting ready at his apartment too. They were planning to go out of town for a friend, Greg's birthday, but Matt didn't want to cancel on me so he asked them to wait to leave after dinner. Matt was just now telling Graham, his roommate about the date when he was cleaning up his room and his football jersey from high school fell off a hanger. Graham walked in and saw him picking up the jersey and said "Is that what you're thinking about wearing?.....I like it!" Then they joked about putting on some Eminem and putting a towel over his head to get krunk for the date like it was gameday.

After getting minorly lost trying to find my apartment complex, I waited for him downstairs because it was hard to explain where my place was. When I saw his white truck pulling up, (I would later come to know her by Jenny) my heart stopped. I flagged him down and jumped in. He was wearing a white button-up with blue stripes, and smelled really good, and gave me the same smile that stole my heart on the first day we met. "You look nice," He said. I replied, "So do you."

Kevin Fowler & Other Sinners Like Me

Brad Paisley's song "This is Country Music" isn't one of my favorites by him, but it rings true in a lot of ways. Country radio stations aren't afraid to talk about "headin' to church" on Sunday mornings. Country songs talk about God & Jesus more than any other- and they aren't ashamed. Country musicians are for the common man, the working class. Anything on Kiss FM...whatever genre that is... the lyrics brag about money and fame and buying cars.... almost degrading the middle class people that are listening to it. Country music lyrics include lines like,"...ain't no shame in a blue collar forty, little house little kids little small town story" -(Eric Church, Homeboy). Rap songs brag about being with lots of women..... country music songs include lines like, "I'd take a gold band on my hand, over being a single man." -(Lee Brice, A Woman Like You) Country music has a reputation for being all drinking, depressing songs about how his woman left him for his best friend and took the horse.... and a good percentage is something like that. But on the whole country music is honest and positive. It's honest because there's countless songs about admitting your faults and your sins, and God calls us to bring ours sins from the darkness and bring them into the light.... Kevin Fowler's "Best Mistake I Ever Made" is an honest song that many of us can relate to about how we screw up, but God's always looking out for us and He's got a master plan for us and we just have to trust Him. Now I can't quite align his song "#?*!" to anything Biblical, but in general at least one song from every country artist I can think of has a lesson to learn from it.

On the day I die
I know where I'm gonna go
Me and Jesus got that part worked out
I'll wait at the gates til his face I see
And stand in a long line of sinners like me
I'll stand in a long line of sinners like me

-Eric Church, "Sinners Like Me"

Avoiding the inevitable pitfalls of the weight-loss battle

January 1, Americans everywhere join a gym, sign-up for a boot camp, or start a diet in hopes of making this "the year!" they go back to looking like they did in high school. They're motivated, they're ready- they stock up on healthy food that's either green or resembles cardboard, buy new running shoes, and recruit family & friends to join them. By February they've seen major progress- clothes fit different and they're sore in muscles they didn't know they had. The first of March, life starts getting in the way again... that haven't lost weight since mid-February and they don't look forward to the spin class quite like they used too. By spring break, they take a week off of working out, eat junk, and then feel immediate remorse Monday when they step on the scale. Soon they get discouraged, and fall back into old habits, and give-up.

The keys to avoiding this pitfall? Accountability & changing it up.

Have a workout buddy! A spouse, a friend, a co-worker. Team-up! Get a regular schedule going... I run with my boyfriend Matt on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and lift weights with my friend Kassie on Tuesday and Thursday....same time, every week. And of all the days.... Saturday and Sunday are the hardest to make myself workout, because no ones counting on me.... and nobody's calling me weak (both Matt & Kassie enjoy talking trash in the most loving ways...haha).

Change up your workout! Don't let yourself get bored or your body get used to things. Every 2 weeks I change my workout focus..... leg concentration weeks, plyometric weeks, tennis weeks, running weeks, ab concentration week..... don't get stuck! It's good for your body & your mind. Constantly set new goals. Even when it comes to eating healthier..... do no bread for a couple weeks, then try focusing on not eating too many sweets, then try and drink a lot of water, cook new things with new crazy vegetables.... keep re-shifting your focus.

Happy losing! : )

Changing the world, one wall section at a time.

I chose to pursue interior design because it seemed to satisfy my need to be creative and practical. It is also a service oriented field- meeting people's needs and improving their livelihood. Many people immediately picture HGTV when I say interior design. Some shows are true to the trade, but most involve a little fung shui, a paint brush, and an eye for color. There's a lot of branches of interior design, and redecorating for the rich & famous is one of them, but that isn't where my heart is. My heart is in improving spaces for people that need a positive environment to lift their spirits.... Like bringing in a brand new school to a low-income neighborhood, to get kids excited about going to school because it's so beautiful and cool! I would love to remodel an old hospital and make the paths and layouts less stressful for employers- and bring color and life to a place with so much tension and worry. I would love to design a baseball or football field that would bring honor and pride to a city that's struggling. i would love to renovate an office space and improve the quality of light and efficiency of space to change the way they work. I would love to simply build housing for those who have none. I hope that once I'm in the real world, I can realize these thoughts and ideas. People are effected by their environments....and I could write all day about that.... so here's to changing the world- one wall section at a time.

Unmatchable Hope

Something that we as Christians take advantage of, maybe one of the most things, is the fact that we have hope in Christ. We're never so low that we don't think we'll ever get up. The world never actually comes to an end. We hurt, and bad things happen, life throws us in crazy directions, we're knocked down, had the rug ripped out from under us, and had our hearts trampled on by the world..... but we have the hope of knowing the promises of the Bible. He promises in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." We can rest in the promise that it is only a season, it's only a valley....we'll be on the mountain again. We always hear the cliche saying, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".... but when it comes to struggles as a Christian, we can't ever say we didn't grow closer to the Lord and make more steps towards sanctification. Every time we find ourselves broken, whether by sin or circumstances, it requires us to search desperately for answers and comfort in the Lord and His word. When we are lying on the floor, crying, stomach in knots, unable to move or think.... that's when we reach for the Lord. We should reach for Him daily- but sometimes it takes our world being rocked before we do- because we try and do everything ourselves. I can't imagine how those that don't have the strength of Christ deal with the hardships of this life..... divorce, financial burdens, sickness, injuries, or death.... they don't have the hope that someone bigger, powerful, and loving is watching over their steps. We do. So keep your chin up, fight the good fight, and never lose hope.

Even though the journey’s long
And I know the road is hard
Well, the One who’s gone before me
He will help me carry on
After all that I’ve been through
Now I realize the truth
That I must go through the valley
To stand upon the mountain of God

-Mountain of God, Third Day

Kerosene, Gunpowder, & Willie the Dog

One of my favorite singers is Miranda Lambert. She's from Lindale, Texas so I love supporting a Texas woman, and she can sing. That seems like an obvious statement, but a lot of people making the big time today simply have an image and good lyrics... but can't actually sing. The first song I ever heard by her was "Me & Charlie Talkin'" my freshman year of high school. That was the last remotely romantic song she released (and they don't even end up together in the song). She proceeded to steal our hearts with angry-woman-scorned songs, "Kerosene" and "Gunpowder & Lead". The song "Gunpowder & Lead" talks about a woman who is abused that is finally going to get her revenge- I learned that this was inspired by the fact that her parents took in abused women and took care of them while she was growing up. In the music video "Kerosene" Miranda proceeds to set a bed on fire out of spite. When we made a music video for a contest one time, one of my sketches for a possibility was "find an old mattress at a dumpster?? set it a-flame??" We went slightly smaller scale and tried to set pictures on fire instead.... tried being the key word... it's harder than it looks! Miranda then stopped setting things on fire and threatening to shoot people- and made our stomachs ache to "Bring Me Down" "More Like Her" and her most recent "Over You". I just learned that "Over You" is inspired by a song that her husband Blake Shelton wrote about the death of his brother when he was a teenager. The music video shows a little boy running around and her staring at a grave marker that says "Shelton". Listening to it now gives it a whole new perspective and in a way "humanizes" celebrities such as Blake that have real pain and struggles just like us. Miranda has also joined a female trio Pistol Annies. The harmony of their voices is beautiful and I haven't heard one song of theirs that I haven't fell for, the best being "Hell on Heels" and "Boys from the South".

Her most widely known song "House that Built Me" is probably the world's favorite because we can all relate. It's a song about the house you grew up in and how it had a hand in making you who you are. Me & my dad are famous for messing up lyrics.... (For example in a Pat Green song he says "like a cold front on the coast".....we thought he said "like a gopher in the cold") And in Miranda's "House that Built Me" she says "my favorite dog is buried in the yard" my father proceeds to sing "my dog Willie is buried in the yard". I can't hear it now, without thinking about poor Willie.

The Madness of March

Every year after the Superbowl, there's a minor lull in the sports world...at least in my life. I love the Mavs, but the season seems long and sometimes I want to hit the fast forward button to the playoffs. There's the NBA all-star festivities.... but most of the time I'm just stressing because I don't want someone getting hurt doing an unnecessarily extravagant dunk and be out for the season. But then March comes. Brackets are printed across the US.... offices have contests.... they're fundraising events at various places.... friends bet money, families bet chores, roommates threaten dares to the loser and boyfriends and girlfriends bet dates. For example, last year I just so happen to beat Matthew at the bracket challenge and he had to take me to an art museum. His date would've been to walk around Cabela's for hours or go watch a fight at Buffalo Wild Wings or watch an action movie with lots of blood. haha.

March sports world gets a little bit more fun for a few reasons. First off, all the trash talk about your bracket is always fun (even though you picked that team by which mascot would literally beat the other in real life). Cheering for the underdogs, the #8 seeds that stand toe to toe with Duke or UNC- the Cinderella stories that no one predicts. And just the fact that anything can happen- it's anyone's game when the jump ball is tossed... and the team that'd played their best 40 minutes of basketball will live to play on...not the one that had the best 3 point percentage all year....not the one who's on a winning streak..... it's who comes out to play hard and play smart today.  I also enjoy watching college sports more than professional simply due to the fact that these are kids, my age, playing for pride and for the love of the game. They're not putting their body on the line and pushing the limits for a contract, or their celebrity girlfriend, or their sponsors.... they're playing for the colors their wearing & their family in the stands.

So whether you filled out your bracket alphabetically or geographically.... let the best man be dancing until April.

Disney & Design

I've already talked about how learning about design causes you to discover details and notice things you never have before. All of the sudden you have the design eye. And nothing is off limits to this.... I can't watch movies now without analyzing the set design and the furniture. Even Disney has not escaped from this fate......

Beauty & the Beast.... enter stage left (I'm not crazy, it's backwards in the theatre world)- the wardrobe. At the top, also known as the crest, there are "S" scrolls. These showed up in French & English Rococo style in the 1700s. The legs are also cabriole legs and the curved form at the bottom is called an apron.

Sleeping Beauty... Aurora's cottage they she grows up in while hiding from the evil queen. The cottage is Early American style with a thatched roof, asymmetrical facade, and exposed structure. The exposed structure construction is called waddle and daub... but I'm sure fairy dust did the trick too.

 Aladdin...the interiors of the palace are classically inspired. Any time the word classic is used in the design world it refers to Greek & Roman design. The arches are partially pointed, partially tudor...they're pretty similar. The columns are irregularly shaped but still have a base and an ornamented capital in the classic style. The white marble and gold were also common materials in that time.

We've already won the war.

I got to witness a beautiful picture of honesty, God's grace, and love last Wednesday night. A beloved couple in our small group (parish groups as we call them at C3) that was struggling and hurting decided to break down the walls of pride and share what's been going on in their lives. As they poured their hearts out in front of us and laid out their lives and revealed to us what was going on behind closed doors- we saw their hurt, their sin, their dirt, and ultimately Jesus Christ. Our small group is like a family and as a family of believers we're called to share the deepest darkest parts of our hearts- in order to face it and remove anything that is keeping us from Jesus. Pride is a sin- and it's a sin that keeps many people from letting down their guard and letting their Christian brothers and sisters see what's really happening in their hearts. When that couple revealed the darkest parts of their hearts to us- we loved them more. No condemning, no judging- we loved them more because of their honesty and their desire to get right with God. They painted a picture of a true man of God and a true woman of God- they're broken- but still fighting and clinging to the cross and the promises in the Bible. We're all broken. But what makes you a man or woman of Christ- is daring to face your sin head on and fight it- with all your strength and the tools that God has given you- the truths of the Bible, a Gospel-centered preacher, and a church family that loves you unconditionally. The Christian life isn't easy. It's messy. It's ugly. It's hard. It's a battle. When Satan starts dealing out lies- tearing you down- you have to get mad and scream "no!" and fill your mind and your heart with truth. The truth of the Bible is unshakable. Jesus is unshakable. God is unshakable. We've already won the war.

"As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning, and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He rescues me unharmed from the battle waged against me..."
 Psalm 55: 16-18

You had me from hello...

Once upon a time, there was a girl and there was a guy....they both weren't looking for anything, but found everything one day at the Baptist Student Ministry at UNT. She noticed he was standing by himself and so she bravely went up to talk to him. (Totally out of character for her.) They talked about school and his football injury that changed his plans and landed him here. She couldn't remember half of what they talked about, or even his name- but she did remember that she couldn't stop smiling. They continued to run into each other. She saw him at church one time from far away, she was sitting by herself and was tired of being alone. She debated back and forth whether to go say hi and sit with him... then she saw a pretty girl come sit next to him, and assumed maybe they were a thing. (For my Denton friends, this was Danielle by the way. haha.) They ended up being on the same flag football team with the BSM and after confirming with someone else that "Graham's tall friend" was on the roster, she was excited. At the first practice they both now admit to showing off, and during a scrimmage she talked some trash and threatened to shoulder check him if he came her way. As the season went on, Graham insisted that we keep having practices even though we played twice a week (and were terrible)- she came to find out now that he had convinced Graham to keep having practice because he wanted another chance to see her. After a game one night she walked off by herself (a habit of hers) to go for a run (another habit). As he watched her walk away alone while the rest of the team was still hanging out, he remembers wanting to talk to her more than ever. As she started to run a truck pulled up slowly beside her, she looked over and it was him- asking if she was going to be ok running by herself- she said yes, and thanks and continued to fight back a smile while she ran. When she got back she decided this was a good chance to talk to him, so she texted him to say she was back safely and wasn't a victim of a serial killer. He texted back "Good". She took the one word text as a sign to back off, so she let it go- oh well, I'm not ready to get into anything anyways. A couple minutes later, she got a text, "Would you want to go to dinner sometime?" She kept the text opened and put it on her bed and began to pace around.... Am I ready? I don't even know him.... I've never... I don't know.... but he's....and I'm...... I mean, it's just dinner right?

To be continued.... ; )

I always remember where I am when I hear a song for the first time. This is country specific of course, and I most vividly remember when it's one of my favorite artist. 90% of the time it's when I'm in my car, I'll either come into the middle of it, or hear the DJ say "here's a new one from...."...either way I crank up the volume and listen intently to each word. My sub-concious takes over my driving as I focus on the message and the notes. This is the only chance my mind has to focus on the words, because it's the only time that I won't be singing along. My two favorite parts of a song is the intro music and the first line, and the music progression between the chorus and the bridge. The intro pulls you in and immediately gets your mind in the right state.....happy, she loves me song? sad, my dog ran away song? loud, exciting Saturday night at a honky-tonk song? or the hurt so good, I'm doing alright, but I still think about you sometimes song? You know right away what you're getting into. And depending on where you are in life, or in your day, it appeals to a situation you've incountered and you want to hear what they have to say. My favorite intro of all time is Dierks Bently's "What was I thinking?" A simple few fast guitar chords and nothing else.....and then everything else comes in full blast- and you just know it's a trouble-maker song. The part of a song right before the bridge is a tease- you don't know what's going to happen next- is he going to be ok? what crazy thing are they going to do next? do they live happily ever after? And the bridge is the answer. My favorite example of that is Blake Shelton's "I Don't Care". The whole song is about how he's seen his ex around town with another guy and he claims he doesn't care.... and then the bridge comes: When I got home, the light was blinkin' on that old machine. She said, "My brother's been in town, but he just left. And, I miss you! Give me a ring." 

I still care. She's all that matters. I still love her just like always, gotta have her. I never got her off my mind, been hopin' she would call sometime.

I know it's late, to be drivin' over there, but I don't care.

In my dreams, I'm a Kenyan

You know you're a runner if.... pedicures never last, if you have granola at the bottom of your gym bag, if you constantly check your heart rate, if you buy advil in bulk, if your lips are constantly chapped, if you have to buy new shoes every 6 months, or if you get up early on a Saturday morning to voluntarily pay to run with a bunch of other crazies with numbers pinned to their chest. Runners are a different breed of persona.... I discovered this on my first 10k I ever did back in 2009. There is a level of seriousness mixed with silliness that is hard to describe. Almost every road race has either an iconic or a cutesy name.... The Cowtown and The White Rock and The Boston...all are popular races with a level of prestige to them. Then there's the Snowman Shuffle, the Cupid's Couple Run, the Shamrock Shuffle, The Hot Chocolate Run...... and each of them has a t-shirt reflecting the title. Now that I've become a runner and have accumulated the t-shirts and metals...... I've also accumulated the gear. Runners are gear snobs... and it's because we subscribe to Runner's World emails and fitness magazines... and they make the stuff look so cool. I've since gotten assorted hats that are a breathe-able material, pants and shorts that have a pocket for your keys... over 5 different type of head phones.... a heart rate monitor, ipod holder, stop watch, and regular watch....assorted jackets and vests for proper layering in the cold...a toboggan with a hole for your ponytail (genius!!!) I'm still on the look out for the perfect chap stick if any runners know of any! Getting ready to run, sometimes looks like I'm going to war- by the time I strap everything on, grab a gallon of water and assorted granola bars just in case. Runners are called crazy most of the time- and it's partially true- some are crazier than others whether it's the gear-snob with the water bottles strapped to their chest- or the Kenyan that wears shorts when the windchill factor is 2.... we all have the same goals- to reach the finish line.

A company called One More Mile has a series of tshirts, key chains and bags with awesome runner sayings..... here's a few of my favorites:

In my dreams, I'm a Kenyan

Will run for ice-cream.

Running is cheaper than therapy.

You think I run funny? Wait 'til you see me walk tomorrow.

Passion makes history

I've gone through many art history, history of architecture, and classes of the like and flipped through books and slide shows of everything from cave drawings to Phillip Johnson's Glass House. It's incredible to see the radical things that designers have done over the years. Any designer that ends up in our books and our slide shows, made a mark on history by looking at something differently and acting on it. Every designer  worth mentioning was probably called crazy at some point, and told that "it will never work!" They probably weren't the most economical, or the most practical- but they made history. They created something that inspired, that challenged, that was so passionate that practicality couldn't hold it.

A great architect is not made by way of a brain nearly so much as he is made by way of a cultivated, enriched heart.

-Frank Lloyd Wright

Free people that serve...

Every Thursday at the UNT Baptist Student Ministry we have a worship and Bible study night called Crave. Last Thursday was our outreach night, a night a couple times a semester that we spend doing something kind of radical and service-related on and around campus. For example, we've stood out in front of the rec center and passed out water bottles, stood outside the library and handed out free pizza, rode the buses around campus and just talked to people, handed out cookies at the bus stops and fry street (where all the bars are), etc. We just try and get a foot in to be able to share the love of Christ through our service and our intentionality. This last Thursday was one of those nights and our group decided to go to an apartment complex and offer to take people's trash to the dumpster for them. (since we've all experienced the apartment life and know what a hassle it is!) The reaction we get from people is always priceless- they're just so confused! They look at you like you're crazy, say "really?" a couple times.... hand us a bag and say "are you sure?" and then ask "why are ya'll doing this?" My friend and small group leader Tyler had a really good answer to this "We're a part of a Christian organization on campus and we just want to show another side of Christianity....it's not shoving an idea down someone's throat.......it's love and service." It opened some doors to conversations, but nothing radical- just planting seeds. But what if we loved and served like that everyday..... how can we make people be so utterly confused at our actions that they have to ask "why"? If they're not asking why...then that means we're blending in, we're just like the rest of the world.......when we're not. We're servants that the Lord has changed from the inside out by sending His own son Jesus Christ to take the punishment for what we deserve- we're free. Free from the burden of sin, free from God's wrath, free from worry, free from shame, free from satan's lies, free from darkness........

So let's act like free people that have something worth sharing- and make people ask why.

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord.... Ephesians 6:7

#24 on the field, #1 in my heart

The hero of our story today is a small town kid with a passion for baseball.

 My brother Jake has been playing baseball since he could walk, therefore I've been a spectator of the sport for over 15 years. Every Spring, Summer, and Fall on any given Friday night or Saturday morning, the Morrison clan can be found at a baseball field. The coldest I've ever been (Ennis tournament of 2010) and the hottest I've ever been (University of Dallas tournament 2009) has been in the bleachers of a baseball game. I know how to keep a stat book, what Jake's favorite Gatorade is, and what it means when my dad yells "downstairs!" (pitch it lower).

I've watched a lot of baseball.... and watched a lot of Jake growing up. He used to be a kind of chunky kid that would run with his elbows flailing and that would get easily discouraged. Now he's a disciplined athlete that works-out hard and takes care of his body, and a leader that isn't afraid to stand up for what he believes in. Baseball teams have been stereotyped to be the "bad kids", the kids that are rough around the edges....and it's been true with Forney, until this year. It's Jake's senior year and discpline hasn't been an issue for the team since the first practice. He's very respected amoung his friends and his leadership and his Christ-like influence has made a big difference.

He works very hard in baseball, in school work, as the president of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and as a friend. And being at college has meant that I've had to miss a lot of that. But a major factor in chosing to go to UNT was so I could try and make as many baseball games as possible.

I'll be a fan for life, whatever it is that the future has to offer him.

He's #24 on the field, but will always #1 in my heart.

I wouldn't give a nickel to have it paved in gold....

Apart from my family & friends, nothing on this earth makes me happier than listening, singing, and dancing to country music.

I remember when I was 5 or 6, me and my mom would follow around KSCS (local country radio station) and go to wherever they were in the DFW area and get free stuff and enter contests.

 I remember singing Brooks & Dunn's "Neon Moon" as a kid not having any clue what it was talking about. Just imagine a 6 year old belting out, "The jukebox plays on drink by drink, and the words of every sad song seem to say what I think. This hurt inside of me ain't never gonna end. Ohh, but I'll be alright as long as there's light from a neon moon."
My grandpa (AKA... Haha....no, not a laugh.... we call him Haw-haw.....I blame my sister Amanda who couldn't manage to say Papa.) played guitar in a country band as a 20-something in smoke-filled honky-tonks 'til 2 am after putting in a full days work at the butcher shop in order to provide for his family.

My dad plays the guitar, and we have country music jam sessions......and we've had the same set of  songs since I can remember. Sugarland's "Stay" (sad, cheating, other-woman song), Tim McGraw's "It's Your Love" (classic 90s love song).....and a few others that we hit the verses and skip the chorus because it has a F chord in it.....and he doesn't do F's.... he's seeking an alternative if anyone knows one!

I've danced at my fair share of honky-tonks, and I've sang at assorted oprys. I recorded one cover song of Martina McBride's "When God Fearin' Women Get the Blues" and even made a music video that went along with it for a contest on GAC (great american country, country music channel). It's my dream job to be a country music singer. But instead I just add some twang to our praise team at church whenever I can.

One of many favorite country music lines, "I wouldn't give a nickel to have it paved in gold. Everything I love, is at the end of a dirt road." - Josh Abbott Band

fitness 101

Growing up in a house where my dad is a coach and sports was/is our life... I forget that the rest of the world wasn't brought up knowing how to lift weights, what's a good mile time, or how to improve your vertical.... But nevertheless, I assume the rest of the world knows this stuff. I realized the general public's lack of knowledge on this subject when I became a personal trainer at LA Fitness. I was nervous my first week because I thought these hardened, serious athlete's were going to come in expecting me to help them prepare for the local combine. Instead, the majority of my clients are simply mom's that stopped working out after they had a baby and now their kid is 10 and they want to look like they were in high school again. Then my nervousness became excitement- because I could handle this! I simply had to show them how to workout- a feat I've been committed to since I was 12 and wanted to make A-team basketball in middle school. (On a side note, I just realized I don't think I've rested longer than 3 days consecutively since then....exhausting thought.) So I thought I would share a few basic tips to those that didn't grow-up practicing dribbling on the back-porch when you were 10....

1. MOVE for an hour a day 5-6 days a week. Cleaning the house rigorously....walking the dog....it counts if you sweat.

2. If you lift weights (and everyone from age 13-100 should!) give your muscles 24 to 48 hrs to recover before you lift again. Example: Monday- upper body, Tuesday-lower body, Wednesday- upper body....etc.

3. Give yourself 1-2 recovery days a week. Your body needs to recover to perform it's best- LISTEN to your body.

4. Fitness can be fun.....get a friend to workout with you....challenge you. Husbands & wives- catch-up on your day with a light jog.... try something new- play racquetball!....dance in the kitchen while you're cooking to a 90s boy-band play list....

5. Stop making excuses & DO IT!

The eye of a designer....

Ever since I stepped into the design world, every building I enter gets immediately analyzed down to the little detail. It never happened until I began learning more about it and how intentional every detail is. I'm currently in a class called "Detailing"....a whole semester of zooming in on your design decisions and instead of asking "why" (a design question we are constantly having to answer" we ask "how"..... how are we going to make this happen.... how are we going to get this shelf to look like it's floating to match your airy, simplistic aesthetic...but make sure that it's structurally sound enough for Bob and he's fat cousin Sal to be able to lean on in. Anyways.... it's all about detail. Just an FYI, did you know that a 2 by 4 stud isn't really 2" x 4"?..... It's really 1.5" x 3.5"...but that's a lot harder to say....so they call it a 2 by 4. My dad found that out the hard way. He wanted a desk that he could stand at when he's tired of sitting all day, and he looked every where- even IKEA, and no one had it. So he decided to build one. Bought all the pieces of wood at Home Depot, draws up the plans and then ends up being a half-inch off every where. He doesn't construct things too often, so while he was building this in the garage and grunting he took the time to call me to ask if I could smell the testosterone from Forney....
All of this was to say that every aspect of interior design is intentional. The color of the grout, the thickness of the baseboard, the wall painted "meditative blue"....all intentional and all of it has a purpose either functionally or conceptually.....at least good design is. So next time you're in a new space, take the time to notice the details, because some hard working designer thought long and hard about every decision, just to make the space more enjoyable for you.

"If you want a golden rule to fit everybody this is it; have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." - William Morris

When God speaks....things happen

On Sunday, Pastor Ross Appleton gave us a Gospel-centered message from Mark. One point he wanted us to understand is the power of words. Think of creation.....it went from nothing....to God speaking....and then the universe happened.  Jesus casted out demons, healed the blind, the sick...brought the dead to life.....with His words, sometimes with only one word. When God speaks, things happen. And when we become born-again Christians and the Holy Spirit lives in us, we too have the power of God's words. The disciples healed and casted out demons and changed people's lives with their words, which were God's words in them. If we would just supress our own words, our own thoughts, our own desires, our own plans... and let the Holy Spirit guide all of these things, we could cast out demons, heal the sick, and change lives. But we're so caught up in what we want, and our agenda, and our ideas that we can't hear God's words- the very words that will truely give us life, give us joy, give us satisfaction- the very things we're supressing God's words in order to chase and fullfill on our own. If that makes any sense.... We work so hard to make things happen..... and God can do it with a word- effortlessly- in a moment....if we'll let Him. I'm a worrier, about everything, and I'm constantly trying to fix things myself.... and it's hard work, it's exhausting. And God doesn't need any of that. He doesn't want us to work hard for Him- He wants us to look to Him. And when we look to Him, everything falls into place.

So keep your eyes on the Lord, supress your selfish desires, and let God's words change your life.

"Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path....I have suffered much, O Lord; restore my life again as you promised."

Psalms 119: 105 & 107

Intro

My first official entry as a blogger... writing into the abyss, for no other purpose than to keep my writing skills to par.... use this as a form of therapy, a "me-time" in everyday... and to rant occasionally into cyberspace. My boss and friend Jeff Miller at WRA Architects always asks me if I've been writing and if I've been sketching.... now I can at least say yes to one. I've always loved writing, but my outlet was usually school papers, and I usually will take the time to write handmade birthday or Christmas cards to people. Now I've made the committment to write 5 to 6 days a week here.... in which the readers I assume will consist of my mother and my boyfriend Matt only when I say pretty please and batt my eyelashes. Being a multi-fascited woman I plan on using this not as a diary, but as a way of sharing what I've learned or observed from various subjects. Each day will have a coresponding subject; Mondays- Gospel-centered, what I've read this week in the Bible or insights from the good people of Christ Community Church of Denton; Tuesdays- interior design & architecture- my major and career choice; Wednesdays- fitness & sports, I'm a personal trainer at LA Fitness in Denton and I love all sports; Thursdays- country music, what I grew up on and one of my many passions; Fridays- antecdotes and insights into relationships with my loving family, Keith, Jeanette, and Jake and my boyfriend of over a year Matt and my ecclectic & amazing friends. So that's what's going to go on.... tune in when you can... hopefully you can learn something, laugh at something, relate to something, or just enjoy something you find here.

"I'll see you when I see you.....and I hope it's someday soon." - Jason Aldean