I have officially lived in Texas for 5.5 years. In the fall of '06, I made the decision to leave Michigan - I packed up my belongings and headed south for the Lonestar State (while making a brief stop in Atlanta to visit some awesome friends).
This May, I'll be able to say 2 of those 5.5 years have been lived out as a resident of Ft Worth. Gotta love that, right?
Recently, I left a status update on Facebook declaring my love for the avocado. While my Michigan friends were quick to reply that we DO see avocado in MI, I want to clarify that my affection came to fruition in Texas. Growing up, we rarely explored many "new" or "exotic" foods - and you certainly didn't see guacamole in Mexican restaurants.
No, my love for things like avocado & queso has grown in more recent years, after discovering which fresh, more local ingredients make food that much more awesome. My love is even greater now that I can pick good avocados at the store and make some delicious guacamole at home. And not just avocado - you can get decent produce here all year!! That doesn't happen in MI...
Which brings me to a Facebook message exchange from back in the fall. As the wedding was drawing near, my aunt Joy wrote and wanted to know 5-10 things I LOVE about Texas. I will share that list with you here, but I want to also include a list of things I LOVE about Michigan for all my Yankee Doodle darlings :)
Texas (my list, verbatim & in no particular order):
1. sweet tea & BBQ
2. football
3. cute dresses & cowboy boots
4. FT WORTH
5. country dancing (half & 2-stepping)
6. cotton fields
7. Blue Bell ice cream
8. the weather
9. Texas country music
10. Billy Bob's (the world's largest honky tonk!)
Michigan (my list, dreamed up right in this very moment):
1. Olga's - my favorite "Greek" restaurant
2. Lake Michigan
3. wine country
4. 4 seasons
5. sailing
6. sales tax at 6% (it's 8.25% in Texas HOWEVER... we don't file state taxes)
7. hockey
8. a decent percentage of my friends & family are within driving distance
9. apple orchards, fruit picking, cider season, pumpkin patches & all that fun 'fall' stuff
10. bakeries - Milford bakery, Bridgman bakery, and all the yummy places in between for real baked goods
There are certain days when I do miss Michigan. I miss it on those perfect sunny days meant to be spent on the lake, sailing around between ports, stopping to shop & eat & enjoy the local atmosphere in places like Saugatuck and South Haven. I miss it when I get invitations to bridal showers and baby showers and know the cost for me to attend is more than I can afford. I especially miss it in the fall when everyone is wine tasting, apple picking, breaking out scarves & boots, watching the leaves change, going to WMU football games, and planning Black Friday trips to the minute. I miss Olga's with my best friends. I miss real Coney Islands too.
But the love of Texas... can I explain it? We had an incredible summer, with an absurd number of consecutive days where the temps reached over 100 degrees. The humidity keeps the skin supple & you don't go through near as much lotion during "dry" season. In a few hours, you can drive and be at the Gulf of Mexico, boarding a cruise ship or learning to surf. A few hours another direction, you hit the mountains and can ski for a weekend. Every small town has a Dairy Queen (which, to its defense, Milford had a DQ less than a mile from my house BUT it was seasonal where every DQ in Texas is open year round AND they serve hot food... I only go for the ice cream but still...) The Mexican food is made by people who are actually from Mexico. The 4 years of Spanish I took in high school actually comes in handy. In the time it takes to drive from El Paso to Houston, you can tack on an hour and be in Los Angeles (this is true - I checked it out... it's 11 hours from El Paso to Houston & 12 hours from El Paso to LA - that's how BIG Texas is). It blew Calvin's mind when he learned you can drive from Milford to Bridgman in 3 hours - that's all it takes to cross the state.
Other things I've learned: fashion is different. When my stepdad worked in Detroit, he had to wear a suit & tie to the office every day. In Houston? Slacks & a collared shirt. No one I knew in MI owned cowboy boots unless they worked with horses and legitimately found them necessary. In Texas? They're owned as fashion statements. I already have 3 pair. I traded in my stilettos for leather soles and ornate stitching. In Michigan, you rarely saw women totally blinged out - in Texas? Go into any Sam Moon, buy everything sparkly, and wear it together. Belts, jeans, jewelry, shirts, bags, flip-flops... the women here LOVE to sparkle!!
Calvin swears I'll be like that when I get older - sparkles & animal print.
Doubtful.
In the time I've lived in Texas, I have yet to go to a real club. In Michigan, you could find me shaking my booty and dropping it like it was hot fairly regularly - YET... I still loved driving out to the country - the STICKS - to line dance. In Texas? I had to have a man teach me to 2-step & half-step and understand what it means to be twirled around a dance floor properly instead of having some creepy guy grinding & sweating all over me. I'd love to go clubbing with my girlfriends sometime but I just don't know that clubs like that exist in Texas. Maybe in Dallas...
I grew up on sweet tea. My mom's family was from the south so she knew how to brew it right. I remember summer months filled with glass after glass of that sweet nectar - and she passed that right on down to me & my sister. There's a pitcher in my fridge at this very moment, which likely won't last until tomorrow. That was something I loved about moving to Texas - you can actually ORDER it in restaurants and enjoy it places other than home.
Also... I've always loved Dr Pepper. Moving to Texas and being closer to where it's made just makes it better. And visiting Dublin before it got shut down? Even better.
Until I moved to Texas, I had never even heard of "Texas Country". Now I've been exposed to a whole spectrum of music - a whole different sound - that I never imagined. I doubt, had I gotten married to someone from the north, you would've heard much country music at my wedding at all. The fact that our first 2 dances as husband & wife were to Texas Country just solidified even more: this is home now. This is where I belong. This is who I was meant to be.
I'm a Yankee Doodle who loves avocado, half-stepping, sweat & humidity, sweet tea, and football. And I had no idea until I moved down here what hardcore football looks like.
Come visit me :)
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
Being Fast
I grew up in the Baptist church (I'll pause for your gasps here)...
Not Southern Baptist, however. It was a small church in SouthWest Michigan - Woodland Shores. A sweet, small, family church where everyone knew everybody else. And for the most part, if you didn't attend Woodland Shores, you attended one of the 2 Catholic churches in town.
For it being a town where the average graduating class was 70 students, that's a lot of church.
I loved our church. I loved the family aspect, the Christmas Cantatas, the ladies softball team my mom played on, youth group, and a feeling of pride whenever I walked the halls or visited during coffee break (between service and Sunday school). Pride, in an 11 year old, when I stood on the stage as a bridesmaid for my mom's wedding. Pride, when I took vows with my stepdad, standing next to my little sister in matching pink dresses with puffy sleeves and bows & vine & floral wreaths on our heads. And love - love for a building I grew up with and a dream to someday be married there myself.
At this point, we all know I didn't get married in that church. I got married in a white tent in the pouring rain, in the backyard of some wonderful friends in the Lonestar State. But that's not relevant.
When I was in 8th grade, we moved out of that little town. I'd been attending that church since I could remember. All my friends had been my friends since we were in Mrs Z's preschool class together at age 3. It was a tough time, leaving all I loved behind. But I did. And it stank.
One reason it was so stinky was because once we moved to Milford, I became a spec of algae in the ocean vs having been a big ol' fish in someone's kiddy pool. There were 3 high schools in town instead of just 1 and there would come to be over 400 in my graduating class.
My mom was heartbroken after losing a church family that so openly accepted us for who we were and loved us unconditionally. In the 6 years my family lived in Milford, we never found a church we could call home.
All I ever knew was the religion I'd grown up with. I would sometimes go to church with a couple friends in college but it just never seemed right. While I was living on campus, I worked at the front desk and remember one certain Ash Wednesday telling someone they had a smudge on their forehead. They looked at me like I was an idiot (which I was, having not known really ANYTHING about Catholicism) and said "it's Ash Wednesday". I kept silent until I could get back to my room and figure out what that even meant.
In our church, we didn't talk about fasting. We didn't give anything up for Lent. I remember having a slumber party one weekend - my stepdad made tacos for dinner for me & my girlfriends. My friend Blair couldn't eat the meat and it wasn't until I was MUCH older that I learned why.
When I came to Texas, I hung around with my parents at a small church they found and even though it wasn't the perfect fit for me (there was, very truly, NO ONE my age who attended said church), it helped me find my way back.
And it wasn't until Calvin that I even heard the words "Church of Christ". This is also NOT an exaggeration. I was familiar with Baptists, Catholics, Episcopalians (my college roommate was one!), Jehovah's Witnesses, and a small number of other denominations but I had certainly never heard CoC.
My first visit to The Hills (what was then RHCC) seemed like a homecoming. People were friendly. The music was wonderful. We stood to sing and pray. I could take communion. Not to mention, it was the holiday season so having candles lit & a stage covered in poinsettias totally set the tone for me. And there were people my age - LOTS OF THEM!! It was wonderful.
A couple months later, Calvin talked about giving something up for Lent. I didn't participate that year (I was still living in Houston and still didn't totally understand the concept) but it gave me a first taste of what it meant to fast.
While it's not typical practice for CoC to participate in Lent, it is a valuable lesson to learn. For example, I gave up chocolate last year. Sure, it seems trivial but when you eat chocolate like I do, it's not a bad idea to give it up for a good 40 days. The year before I gave up sweets/baked goods and ohmygoodness, that was tough.
This year, I've opted for something less food-related. I choose to give up two time-wasting websites: Pinterest & Polyvore. I also gave up daytime TV (during the work-week). So far, so good. I miss Pinterest most of all but it has proven better for my work attitude to not waste so much lunch break time and it has proven better for my marriage to spend less time glued to my laptop in the evenings. The TV was becoming a distraction because I would turn it on to eat lunch and fail to turn it off until bedtime. I'm hoping the TV will become more of a habit - I don't let myself turn it on until 5pm. I honestly don't miss it because there's really nothing worth watching during the day anyway.
But I sure do miss Pinterest. I miss the recipes. I miss the exploration. I miss the craft ideas - especially since I get daily reminders from Jo-Ann's (via FB & Twitter) that March is craft month (convenient that I gave my crafty inspiration up during craft month).
HOWEVER... this is the lesson being learned - sometimes it's better to pull away from the computer (I realize the irony as I'm sitting here blogging) and engage in my own kitchen creativity or a conversation with my husband vs a quick turn of the computer screen and a "look how cute this is!" while he's absorbed in his XBOX 360 Master Scrolls game (side note: he gave up XBOX for Lent... we've been spending a lot more time together).
I speak to my mom on the phone more. We take the dogs for walks. The TV gets turned off and we do our devo. My kitchen is clean. The laundry gets done. It's just amazing.
I realize the season of Lent is to recognize sacrifice and gain a better understanding of what Jesus did for us. While subtracting chocolate and Pinterest doesn't quite measure up, I'm thankful for the opportunity to realize how much better my life can be - how much better my marriage can be - by choosing the ones I love over the things I love. This year's fast has had the most impact so far... hopefully it will be a reminder in years to come of what LOVE truly is.
Not Southern Baptist, however. It was a small church in SouthWest Michigan - Woodland Shores. A sweet, small, family church where everyone knew everybody else. And for the most part, if you didn't attend Woodland Shores, you attended one of the 2 Catholic churches in town.
For it being a town where the average graduating class was 70 students, that's a lot of church.
I loved our church. I loved the family aspect, the Christmas Cantatas, the ladies softball team my mom played on, youth group, and a feeling of pride whenever I walked the halls or visited during coffee break (between service and Sunday school). Pride, in an 11 year old, when I stood on the stage as a bridesmaid for my mom's wedding. Pride, when I took vows with my stepdad, standing next to my little sister in matching pink dresses with puffy sleeves and bows & vine & floral wreaths on our heads. And love - love for a building I grew up with and a dream to someday be married there myself.
At this point, we all know I didn't get married in that church. I got married in a white tent in the pouring rain, in the backyard of some wonderful friends in the Lonestar State. But that's not relevant.
When I was in 8th grade, we moved out of that little town. I'd been attending that church since I could remember. All my friends had been my friends since we were in Mrs Z's preschool class together at age 3. It was a tough time, leaving all I loved behind. But I did. And it stank.
One reason it was so stinky was because once we moved to Milford, I became a spec of algae in the ocean vs having been a big ol' fish in someone's kiddy pool. There were 3 high schools in town instead of just 1 and there would come to be over 400 in my graduating class.
My mom was heartbroken after losing a church family that so openly accepted us for who we were and loved us unconditionally. In the 6 years my family lived in Milford, we never found a church we could call home.
All I ever knew was the religion I'd grown up with. I would sometimes go to church with a couple friends in college but it just never seemed right. While I was living on campus, I worked at the front desk and remember one certain Ash Wednesday telling someone they had a smudge on their forehead. They looked at me like I was an idiot (which I was, having not known really ANYTHING about Catholicism) and said "it's Ash Wednesday". I kept silent until I could get back to my room and figure out what that even meant.
In our church, we didn't talk about fasting. We didn't give anything up for Lent. I remember having a slumber party one weekend - my stepdad made tacos for dinner for me & my girlfriends. My friend Blair couldn't eat the meat and it wasn't until I was MUCH older that I learned why.
When I came to Texas, I hung around with my parents at a small church they found and even though it wasn't the perfect fit for me (there was, very truly, NO ONE my age who attended said church), it helped me find my way back.
And it wasn't until Calvin that I even heard the words "Church of Christ". This is also NOT an exaggeration. I was familiar with Baptists, Catholics, Episcopalians (my college roommate was one!), Jehovah's Witnesses, and a small number of other denominations but I had certainly never heard CoC.
My first visit to The Hills (what was then RHCC) seemed like a homecoming. People were friendly. The music was wonderful. We stood to sing and pray. I could take communion. Not to mention, it was the holiday season so having candles lit & a stage covered in poinsettias totally set the tone for me. And there were people my age - LOTS OF THEM!! It was wonderful.
A couple months later, Calvin talked about giving something up for Lent. I didn't participate that year (I was still living in Houston and still didn't totally understand the concept) but it gave me a first taste of what it meant to fast.
While it's not typical practice for CoC to participate in Lent, it is a valuable lesson to learn. For example, I gave up chocolate last year. Sure, it seems trivial but when you eat chocolate like I do, it's not a bad idea to give it up for a good 40 days. The year before I gave up sweets/baked goods and ohmygoodness, that was tough.
This year, I've opted for something less food-related. I choose to give up two time-wasting websites: Pinterest & Polyvore. I also gave up daytime TV (during the work-week). So far, so good. I miss Pinterest most of all but it has proven better for my work attitude to not waste so much lunch break time and it has proven better for my marriage to spend less time glued to my laptop in the evenings. The TV was becoming a distraction because I would turn it on to eat lunch and fail to turn it off until bedtime. I'm hoping the TV will become more of a habit - I don't let myself turn it on until 5pm. I honestly don't miss it because there's really nothing worth watching during the day anyway.
But I sure do miss Pinterest. I miss the recipes. I miss the exploration. I miss the craft ideas - especially since I get daily reminders from Jo-Ann's (via FB & Twitter) that March is craft month (convenient that I gave my crafty inspiration up during craft month).
HOWEVER... this is the lesson being learned - sometimes it's better to pull away from the computer (I realize the irony as I'm sitting here blogging) and engage in my own kitchen creativity or a conversation with my husband vs a quick turn of the computer screen and a "look how cute this is!" while he's absorbed in his XBOX 360 Master Scrolls game (side note: he gave up XBOX for Lent... we've been spending a lot more time together).
I speak to my mom on the phone more. We take the dogs for walks. The TV gets turned off and we do our devo. My kitchen is clean. The laundry gets done. It's just amazing.
I realize the season of Lent is to recognize sacrifice and gain a better understanding of what Jesus did for us. While subtracting chocolate and Pinterest doesn't quite measure up, I'm thankful for the opportunity to realize how much better my life can be - how much better my marriage can be - by choosing the ones I love over the things I love. This year's fast has had the most impact so far... hopefully it will be a reminder in years to come of what LOVE truly is.
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