Friday, December 31, 2010

ohana means family

Last night was "Girl's Night" with my aunts and cousins and it was so much fun. I don't think I've ever been more thankful for my family than right now. I just love them. And I love that God can bring joy in the midst of our brokenness - which was proven to me last night. In some ways I think all of us have kind of gone through a season of what Beth Moore would call, "pit dwelling." If you aren't familiar with the term, check out her book "Get Out of That Pit" - I promise its a good read. In her book she says there are 3 ways to get into a pit - you get thrown in, you slip in, or you jump in. Between all of us, I think we've gotten all 3 ways covered. I know God will get us through and I'm so glad He gave us each other in the meantime.


Thursday, December 30, 2010

black swan


Ok, so Black Swan has been out for a while now and I really want to see it and I really don't want to see it at the same time. If the trailer wasn't so creepy I would have been first in line on the day it opened b/c I'm all about dance movies. I just want to see all of the costumes, without having to see someone stab themselves in the face with a nail file. Too much? Sorry, Stevie went to see it and told me all of the "scary" parts ahead of time to prevent nightmares in case I did happen to go see it. I just think that is so gross. Do people like watching that? I remember when Loisann convinced me to watch Saw 2...I think we only saw the first five minutes which included a guy pulling out his eyeball and digging through his eye socket with his fingers. I never made it past that part. Sick. When people go see that in theaters do they get popcorn? Because I can't imagine enjoying popcorn, a large soda, and a pack of gummi bears while seeing someone's guts on the big screen.

Back to Black Swan...Rodarte designed all of the costumes which is the main reason I really want to see the movie. Perhaps I will wait till it comes out on DVD so I can fast-forward anything gross. In the mean time I managed to find a few pics of the costumes...
[pictures from Tavi's Style Rookie blog]

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

i'm dreaming of a white christmas


This Christmas was so special - I got to see all of my family and for the first time ever, God blessed me with a WHITE CHRISTMAS!! In fact, its still pretty white out there. We spent the day after Christmas snowed in, which was actually a lot of fun. We made snow cream, beat Dance Central on XBox, and had a huge turkey dinner! Lily loved all the snow...

"My cup runneth over..."

Friday, December 24, 2010

oh christmas tree

In honor of Christmas Eve I thought everyone might get a kick out of some of the ornaments that annually make an appearance. We've never been a "themed tree" kind of family and I like that. Actually, I take that back...Mom tried the "themed tree" idea one year. Key word: one. Those ornaments are now in a box labeled "ugly ornaments." No lie! So those don't get put on the tree anymore. Personally I like the mix of memories that adorn our tree every year. Without further adieu...
First grade gold spray painted macaroni ornament - fancy!
Soccer Tigger circa 1999
I don't know who or where this ornament came from, but for as long as I can remember Brie and I have fought over who gets to put it on the tree. Now we have to take turns - it was her turn this year.
I found Nemo!
Ballet slippers I got from my friend Stevie this year!
Brie's first grade ornament!
Brie's Barbie Dream House
Cupcake, of course.
PEEPS!!!!!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

brie budavich

So I must look like a selfish jerk - I posted on Facebook, but I totally forgot to write here that...MY SISTER IS ENGAGED!!!!! It is crazy, weird, and wonderful all at the same time! Matthew has been living here since he got back from Africa and he already feels like a brother to me. I could not be more happy or excited for him to join our family. I don't want to steal my sister's thunder by sharing their engagement story or posting pictures of her ring (which is BEAUTIFUL and super sparkly) so be sure you ask her about both - its a really sweet story. Here is a picture of the newly engaged couple...

& the coconut cake I made up in 5 minutes that they ended up LOVING - score.

Monday, December 20, 2010

love letters

I borrowed my sister's copy of Larry Crabb's "66 Love Letters" and started reading it this weekend. I LOVE it. Basically Crabb goes through each book (love letter) of the Bible sort of summarizing the chapters, giving highlights, and interpreting what he thinks God is trying to tell us. Crabb also gives his own personal reflections on each letter. It only took reading one chapter before I was completely convicted.

Crabb wrote this about Genesis from (what he thinks would be) God's perspective...

"When you finish reading My first love letter to you, I want you to realize that I never underestimated how thoroughly you'd mess up your life or how painfully you would struggle and suffer, and I don't want you to underestimate your failures or struggles either. They're all part of the story I'm telling."

"But neither have I underestimated My determination or ability to enter the mess you've made and the pain you feel and turn everything around. I can, and I will, make everything good again. Never, never underestimate Me. I have a plan, a very good one, and it will move ahead to completion. Guaranteed! Trust Me. Why? Because I love you even when you're messing up badly. I love you in the middle of your pain even though I don't relieve it as quickly as you wish. I am worthy of your trust, no matter what happens in your life. I have a good plan, and nothing will stop Me from carrying it to completion."

Not too long ago I cried to my mom about how frustrated I was with God. I felt like I had been obedient and patient and "good" but there was just nothing to show for my work. I knew moving home was what I was supposed to do, there is still no doubt in my mind about that, but when things didn't fall together like I thought they would I began to question God's plan for me. I thought I was doing everything right, but everything was going so wrong. So I rebeled. Not in a gocrazyanddobadthings kind of way, but in my heart I did. I think it started out as a lack of desire to read my Bible, pray, and spend time with God and before I knew it my lack of desire had turned into full out disobedience. And I hate that God had to bring me through another valley to get my attention, but I am so thankful for His promise in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 - But he [Jesus] said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I've also taken a lot of comfort in Tenth Avenue North's song "You Are More" - just another great reminder that no matter how much we mess up, the Lord can restore us...

There's a girl in the corner
With tear stains on her eyes
From the places she's wandered
And the shame she can't hide

She says, "How did I get here?
I'm not who I once was.
And I'm crippled by the fear
That I've fallen too far to love"

But don't you know who you are,
What's been done for you?
Yeah don't you know who you are?

You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.

Well she tries to believe it
That she's been given new life
But she can't shake the feeling
That it's not true tonight

She knows all the answers
And she's rehearsed all the lines
And so she'll try to do better
But then she's too weak to try

But don't you know who you are?

You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,


You've been remade.

You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.

'Cause this is not about what you've done,
But what's been done for you.
This is not about where you've been,
But where your brokenness brings you to

This is not about what you feel,
But what He felt to forgive you,
And what He felt to make you loved.

You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

the christmas spectacular!

My ballet was this weekend! On 12/11/10 (kinda cool, right?) and it was soooooooooooo much fun! We were at the Ferguson Center at CNU, the same place I saw Amy Grant at a little over a month ago. The show was awesome, the place was packed, and the proceeds went to Operation Smile. It can't get much better than that. Here are a few pics from backstage and a couple onstage. I thought about posting video but I think I'll keep that as a special memory for those that paid to see it - it was for charity after all!

Erin with our really healthy dinner which consisted of Mountain Dew, Reese's Pieces, Chips, & Starburst. You know, the Dancer Diet.
Erin, Emily, & I hanging out backstage! Get a load of that makeup!
All of the girls before our dance!
Performing Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Reed Pipes - classic.
Emily & me after our March of the Toys dance!

Friday, December 3, 2010

a post to pop tarts past















veni, vidi, vici!

The Pop Tart Project is over. I can finally say I have tried every flavor of something (and something delicious at that!) But I bet you probably have some questions so I'm going to try my best to answer as many of them now, but feel free to leave me a comment if I still leave you wondering!

What was your favorite flavor?
My favorite flavor was Chocolate Banana Split, which is unfortunately not around anymore :(
If I had to put them in order it would go a little something like this...
Chocolate Banana Split
Ice Cream Sandwich (formerly Vanilla Creme)
Brown Sugar Cinnamon
Chocolate Fudge
Pumpkin Pie
Vanilla Milkshake
Raspberry
Strawberry Milkshake
Hot Fudge Sundae
Blueberry Muffin
Strawberry
Orange Cream
S'mores
Blueberry
Cherry
Cookies and Cream
Chocolate Chip
Wild Grape
Cinnamon Roll
Apple Strudel
Gingerbread (ew, just ew)

Hey! You cheated! You didn't try all of the unfrosted, lowfat, and 20% DV Fiber varieties!
First off, I don't like you accusing me of cheating and second off...this is a technicality. I did not try the unfrosted versions mostly because I don't like them and because honestly, if you've tasted the crust of a frosted variety with a bit of the middle then you have practically tasted the unfrosted variety. Am I right or am I right? As for the lowfat and 20% DV Fiber varieties - I've had both (previous to this project) in efforts to justify my love for 200 calorie, sugar filled, calorie laden treats and if you were to put all three varieties of the Brown Sugar Cinnamon out for me to taste I don't think I'd be able to tell a difference. Truly.

If you could invent your own Pop Tart, what flavor would it be?
I did invent my own, kind of, click here to see my varieties. The first one (cotton candy & marshmallow version) is my personal fav.

What retired flavors do you wish you would have been able to try?
Caramel Chocolate, Dulce de Leche, Strawberry Cheese Danish, Mint Chocolate Chip, French Toast, & maybe Guava Mango.

Before this project I did get to try Hot Chocolate, which was good, and Wild Berry, which was average. I am not sure if Wild Berry is retired or not, but I haven't seen it in a while.

Why is Pop Tarts spelled so many different ways throughout your blog posts?
I'm still a little unsure of the correct spelling of Pop Tarts. I think technically it is Pop-Tarts...not to be confused with PopTarts or Pop Tarts? Did I spell it any other ways?

Will you still eat Pop Tarts?
As much as I love Pop Tarts, and I DO love Pop Tarts, I probably will not continue to eat them on a regular basis mostly because of the HFCS. I think I will always save a few of my favorites to have as occasional treats, but I may have to switch to Nature's Path Organic Toaster Pastries. Cherry chocolate anyone? Don't hate me Kellogg's!

Are you going to try every flavor of something else now?
Probably not. The Pop Tarts really satisfied, but if I did, I would probably have to pick something a little more healthy - like yogurt or Larabars. But secretly, I think all varieties of cereal would be a quite a feat.

chocolate chip cookie dough

Ok, so this is my last flavor to try and I can't find the picture so I had to resort to this dinky stand in! Can you believe I'm done? That I finally tried them all?!? Don't worry - the next post will answer all those questions you are dying to know (like which is my favorite perhaps?) But for now...the chocolate chip cookie dough pop tarts. Described in one word? "Ehhhh." They were alright.

Toasted: They were good warm, definitely the best option of the three, but they don't compare to warm cookies so don't get your hopes up.

As Is: They were good, I mean, just not great. I was expecting more delicious cookie dough flavor.

Frozen: Now this was the big disappointment. I've been known to eat cold cookie dough straight from the fridge and was hoping for a similar feeling when biting into these...but like I said, "good" but not "GREAT!"

Pop Tarts Fact: Pop Tarts are not certified Kosher...bummer.