ten things {my favorite tv personalities}.

ten things: my ten most favorite tv personalities, past and present. random, i know...

1. rachel, monica, pheobe, ross, chandler and joey.

obviously. if you know me, you know i love. this. show. i am embarrassed to say that i often subconsciously relate situations in my real life to "friends" episodes. should i not have said that? well, now you know. i'm a nerd.

2. barefoot contessa.

i think i could be her for a day and love my life (although i would miss mine). getting paid to cook, write cookbooks and have my own show on tv? ummm... yes, please. she knows everything about good food. and she's been married to the same man she was dating in high school (and they're super cute to watch!) aaaand she's so nice. what's not to like?

3. bob harper&jillian michaels.

nick&i are big fans of "the biggest loser". and we love bob&jillian. sometimes when we cook a not-so-good-for-you-meal nick will say "i don't think bob&jillian will approve of this!" it's one of our slogans. we love them.

4. elisabeth hasselbeck.

i want to be her. okay, maybe i just want her wardrobe, but i love elisabeth hasselbeck! maybe it's because we have the same views on many issues and it's refreshing to actually see someone fight for them in the mainstream media (even if they get ridiculed; isn't this a free country where people are allowed to disagree??? sorry; soapbox) ... but i watch "the view" every day while bella naps and i don't like it when elisabeth's not there. definitely team elisabeth.

5. jim&pam halpert.

they are just too cute. i cried when they got married (like a freaking baby) and got emotional when they had a baby. hands down the most normal characters on our beloved "the office". sometimes i just feel bad for them that they are surrounded by so many crazy people. and then i remember it's only a tv show.

6. heathcliffe huxtable.

just seeing his sweaters brings me back to my childhood. looooove "the cosby show". it was the show that my whole family would laugh at and watch together. they just don't make sitcoms like that any more (wow, i sound old). ohhh that bill cosby. hi-la-ri-ous.

7. ellen.

how can anyone not like ellen? i mean, just watching her show makes me want to dance. or laugh. or even just smile. and the pranks that she is continually pulling? why, that is reason enough to watch. does the name "dennis quaid" ring any bells? if not, google it. especially if you've had a hard day. maybe life doesn't always have to be so serious after all.

8. george huff.

don't remember him? you weren't an "american idol" fan back in the day? he was fantasia barrino's season... back when i faithfully watched every week. i just loved his little-kid-like smile and i would call every week to vote for him over and over until it cut me off. no joke. ask mel and leah (my old roommates). they will tell you it's true. i think i cried when he got voted off because he was just a kind, gentle soul.

9. dj tanner.

what little girl growing up in the 80s did not want to be dj tanner?? i looooved her. i remember sleeping with my hair puffed forward so that i could spray it like that in the morning to look just. like. her. ridiculous? yes. but if there would've been a "dj tanner fan club", then i would've been a member. (this actually is ringing some bells; i'm thinking i actually researched this when i was little...)

10. bill o'reilly.

ohhhhh bill. i know, i know. he can really be an arrogant son of a gun. but i can't help it. i love him. nick&i mourn the loss of our cable mostly because we don't get to watch "the o'reilly factor" faithfully like we used to. as stereotypical as it is to be a republican-conservative-christian and adore fox news, i do. and actually, we had fox news on our tv in the hospital when i was in labor with bella... and no, she wasn't crying because bill was on. babies do that when they are first born, you know.

who are some of YOUR favorites??

thirtieth birthday three.

i'm bringing back the "thursday three" (i know, i know... you've missed it). this week will be a little different. it will be all about my thirtieth birthday celebrations last week. i'm going to try to condense it down into three points... here goes.

so i turned thirty last thursday. those of you that are "bachelor" fans and have been watching this season, you'll appreciate when i say: not twenty nine... not thirty one... but thirty. (thank you, crazy michelle.) nick spoiled me and made it so special. here are the top three moments.

1. our beloved, maggianos.

after i got home from work thursday night, nick had lined up his mom to babysit bel and we headed to our favorite special occassion spot: maggianos. YUM. it works out rather perfectly that it's one of our most loved restaurants and a popular gift card choice for parents to give the teachers for christmas presents at first baptist academy. ahhhh, our favorite foods for free?? even better. we dined on our favorites: bruchetta, chopped salad, chicken&spinach manicotti and creme brulee for dessert. throw in a tasty pomegranate martini and good conversation with a handsome man and you have one happy birthday girl.

2. mall date.

yes please. on saturday we dropped bella off at nick's parents for overnight and when we got back in the car, nick looked at me and said "wanna go shopping?" yes, he knows the way to my heart. we walked around the mall (my favorite mall that is nothing but outlet stores. love it!) for a bit and purchased a couple shirts from jcrew and gap. two of my favorites. it was perfect.

3. surprise!

we left the mall and got in the car to go to dinner. when we were about fifteen minutes away, nick asked me to close my eyes so i would be surprised. when i opened them, we were in one of our favorite areas of dallas: the bishop arts district. those of you that live in dallas... you have to come here if you haven't already. we love it! quaint little shops and restaurants and plenty of hole-in-the-wall places which we are huge fans of. one of our fav restaurant there is a trendy lil pizza place that has oh-so-delish-thin-crust pizza... with toppings like pancetta and goat cheese. YUM. nick lead me upstairs to where all of our good friends were waiting. so. fun. we stayed up that night until almost two oclock in the morning, and since we were bella-free we got to sleep in until almost noon. happy birthday to me.

i am very excited to be thirty... my life has only gotten better and richer and more blessed with each season, so i can only anticipate what the lord has in store for the years to come.

"real" housewives?

okay, okay... i'll admit it. the real housewives shows are one of my guilty pleasures. i just can't help it. its like i cover my eyes cringing, but still peer through my fingers because i can't. stop. watching.

ridiculous, you ask?

yes.

but like i previously stated, i just can't help it. the concept of filming women that have fake everything, private jets, diamond rings bigger than my head, nannies, housekeepers, and mansions and calling it "real" is just intriguing to me. i mean, you could fit a small european country in these women's bathrooms. it's just nuts.

i have to say there have been many moments that i laugh to myself as i examine my life as a "housewife" compared to what is being broadcasted on tv. i understand the sole purpose is entertainment, but, pleeeeeease. allow me to give you an example of a day in my life as a REAL housewife. lets take yesterday for example.

-the "day" technically started at about 1 am when i wake up to my husband's tossing and turning just in time to see him projectile... yes, *projectile* vomit alllll over his side of the bed. after being up to rub his back as he continued to puke in the toilet, getting him settled on the couch since it was the middle of the night and his side of the bed was soiled with throw up, i went back to bed... being careful to stay strictly on my side. let me just say this was one of the moments i was very thankful for our king sized bed.

-at 6:50 i'm awakened by the sounds of bella coming through the baby monitor. i go get her, feed her and our day officially begins.

-after feeding and playing with her for a while, i put her back down for her morning nap and proceed to gather all the puke-stained bedding to start a load of laundry, while trying not to gag myself.

-after her morning nap, i feed bella again. as she is eating, she poops all over me. change her, clean myself off and continue feeding. not too much time passes and while i am burping her she spews spit up on the front of my shirt. i can only laugh ;)

-i play with her more... you know, reading books, singing songs, the usual. after a while, i sit her in the kitchen with me as i peel and chop vegetables to get dinner into the crockpot.

-switch over laundry. put bella down for her afternoon nap. while she is sleeping, unload and load the dishwasher. and make biscuits to go with dinner. get changed and dressed for babysitting... then i realize i haven't even eaten lunch and all i managed to get down for breakfast was a cup of coffee.

and all this was before 1 oclock.

have i mentioned how much i love my life? i mean... truly, truly love it. i honestly cannot imagine anything else i'd rather be doing in the whole world. i love my little family of three more than i can even find words to describe. and i love the crazy things that happen in the course of a day. it's always an adventure.

more than anything, i love seeing the blessings that the lord has given me. i was just driving to the bank this morning and tears came to my eyes just thinking about how grateful i am for my life right. this. very. moment. i may drive a honda cr-v and not a jag. i may live in a small apartment and not a home that takes up half the block. i may have post-baby muffintop and struggle to get on make up most days instead of silicone-injected-lips (and other things)-the-size-of-tennessee.

and for all of these things, i'm so thankful.

i loooove simple things. like my cuddle time with bella when i bring her into bed with me when she first wakes up in the morning. eating dinner together as a family every night and sharing about our day. nick and i getting to put bella to bed together at night, praying over her and sending her off to sleep with tons of kisses and squeezes. our sundays together watching football. laughing at bella as she discovers new things and babbles away. hanging out with best friends that we are so blessed to have. curling up next to nick as we watch tv on the couch and putting my head on his shoulder. pressing bella's chubby cheeks up against mine and whispering to her how much i love her. cheesy? yes. but it's my life. and i savor all of these things for which i am so thankful.

i love my new role as a "housewife" (the real kind) and a mom. it's the best job i've ever had. even the days that were like yesterday.

just look at this pic. these are two of the *biggest* reasons i love my life so much.

{teary eyes}

l-o-v-e.

l-o-v-e, by nat king cole, was the processional song that was played at nick&i's wedding as we were pronounced husband and wife.

love.

according to nat, l is for the way you look at me. o is for the only one i see. v is very very extraordinary. e is even more than anyone that you adore can love is all that i can give to you. love is more than just a game for two. two in love can make it. take my heart and please don't break it. love was made for me and you.

(got that song stuck in your head now?? i do.)

ok, so weird transition to trashy reality tv. but somehow i hope this will make sense. i've been helplessly addicted to "the bachelor" and "the bachelorette" for a while now... and this summer got hooked on the "bachelor pad". yes, it's true. it's like passing a bad car accident; somehow you are intrigued and you can't look away. and i have found that i am not the only one to indulge in this guilty pleasure of mine. so, i ask myself, what is the draw?

having been in school studying counseling and psychology for nearly eight years... and working for the past four as a counselor, one conclusion i can draw: we are all looking to love and to be loved. it begins at a young age. for girls, anyway. just take a look at the disney stories and movies we grew up loving. sleeping beauty. snow white. cinderella. beauty and the beast. that's what we loved when we were five. now that we're... well... almost thirty (in my case anyway)... we convert to... well... reality television. as shallow and as perverted as the shows may be, we are suckers for thinking "awww... how sweet" as a couple shares a kiss (before one of them is making out with someone different the next second, or course).

whaaat???

are we this desperate in our society to find love? i can't help but think this as i watch the people on these shows bounce from one person to another, turn on/off feelings like i turn on/off the faucet and throw themselves shamelessly at one another in a desperate attempt to be accepted. what is it about our culture these days that says that falling in love, finding "the one", getting married is the end goal; the ultimate happiness? so much to the point that we will often sacrifice ourselves to get it?

i remember falling prey to some of these thoughts and fears when i was in college... i attended a christian school whose famous phrase was "ring by spring".

geeeeez. what a goal. thanks, people.

i began to feel "less than" if i didn't get married straight out of college like almost everybody else. i remember at one point (in my height of immaturity and loneliness) telling god that i would rather marry the wrong person than to spend my life alone. seriously??! yiiiikes. just admitting that to the blog-world makes me feel a little crazy. thankfully, by god's grace, he woke me up to my own fear and insecurity and taught me how to love myself... all the while slamming every single door of possible relationships for about eight years of my life; praise. god.

so i began to learn how to love myself. how to "date" myself and get to know what i liked, who i was and what made me tick. i didn't want any guy defining that for me. and i certainly didn't want any relationship or man defining my happiness. and i am still on this journey now as a wife and a mom... i love my husband and my baby girl more than anything on this earth, and am continually reminding myself that they don't define me, nor do i define them.

i couldn't thank god MORE for the work he did on my heart... the hedge of protection he built around me until he brought my husband into my life... how he taught me to value and respect and truly LOVE myself.

one of my favorite sayings is: god can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. oh. so. true.

i tell nick allllll the time that it is a good thing that he met me at twenty five instead of twenty two... that would've been a complete disaster. god needed to work on me and bring me to a place where i was capable of loving and being loved in a healthy way.

*healthy*. did you hear that word, people of the "bachelor pad"??

so...just a lil psychology gleaned from reality television. so there really are some benefits to watching it (or so i say to defend myself to my husband's megan-why-are-you-watching-this look). and i won't even charge you a penny.