It's great, but...

My friends and I have this joke that I have a tendency to say: "It's great, but…" Like I want to say something negative, but I can't, so I start it out with a positive then let it go downhill from there. Or I suppose if you want to be glass half empty about it, you could look at it like I'm just negative and have to ruin everything good. (I'd like to hope it's the first thing… where I want to keep things positive.) A few examples, "My weekend was great, but … it went by too quickly." "This dinner was great, but … I ate too much." "She's great, but … I wish she wouldn't clip her fingernails in public."

So, I've decided to do an installment of "It's great, but…" to tell you a little of what's been going on with my life lately.

(I no longer have a window seat, but I am trying to enjoy the light/shadows of a nearby window.)

I switched teams at work. New boss. New teammates. New "rules." New seat. It has been quite the transition but I know God is using it. I'm growing a lot and I think I'm adding something different to my new team that they didn't have before. It's great, but … my new boss makes us call ourselves "Team Xtreme" (no, I didn't' leave out a letter) and somedays (I mean every day) I have a hard time with that.

(This is my "I'm terrified but I have a bat and I know how to use it" face.)

I got license plates for my new car a couple of weeks ago and there was a man there asking for people to sign a petition to have this bill taken to the government (or something) that would change the way that teachers were evaluated. I kind of just wanted him to go away and also thought, "Heck, it can't hurt anything," so I signed the man's petition. It was great, but … the petition asked for my address, and me being dumb and naive wrote it on there without thinking about it, and now I've run into him two other times, and I'm a bit freaked out that he's stalking me. (1. I know, he's just an innocent petitioner and isn't stalking me. 2. I learned my lesson to never write my real address down on things like that in the future.)

(I love these people.)

I went and visited my friends Valeria and Jonathan last weekend in St. Louis. I had a wonderful time: we ate good food, we watched a good movie (yep, I was a little late getting there, but I am officially on the Frozen bandwagon), we baked some crazy food (Chocolate Chip Cookie Stuffed Soft Pretzel, anyone?), we shopped, we laughed, the list goes on… It was great, but … they may have proven me wrong after all these years that St. Louis isn't such a bad place after all. (Confession: I kind of like it a lot.)

(I love her, too. This is "post Brad.")

I came to Austin yesterday. I spent the first day with my friend Jessie and her family. Her husband had been gone on a month-long business trip and he said he would treat her to a day at the spa. She decided to wait until I came to town so I could join in the fun. I had my first ever massage. It was great, but … it was done by a man in his mid-forties named Brad whose voice was a little soften spoken for my comfort level. (Once I got over that, which didn't take long, it. was. awesome.)

Ha, ok, that's enough for now. Life is good. No buts. I just thought I'd give you a few anecdotes of the Life of Abby lately since I've been a slacker at blogging. Have a wonderful weekend!

Letter Update.

So I'm on day 13 of writing letters for lent and it's been one of the coolest things I've been a part of in a long time. I'm not saying that to say, "Hey, check me out… I'm basically God's gift to your mailbox." It's actually been an incredible time for me to reflect on the people that God has put in my life and what He has done in theirs. Reflecting on what He's done in each individual's life and His plan for them has been incredibly impactful. It's been a reminder that He's in control. He's got this. And I can just sit back and let Him do His thing… because it's better than mine… every time.

I've gotten some positive responses back from people as well. God is working through this lent season and these letters. And I'm pretty lucky to be a part of it.

From my friend Sydney… didn't want to broadcast her Twitter name all over the place but I think it's pretty awesome that she's writing letters too. Such a cool girl...

I'm excited to see how the rest of these 40 days plays out. Who knows… maybe I'll continue after the lent season.

Untitled Book Project by Abby Thomason.

(The view was better than this picture depicts, but it was difficult to take a good one with a phone.)

Today I went and got coffee with a friend at a local coffee shop with a great view of downtown Kansas City. It was pretty perfect afternoon - beautiful view, good coffee, perfect weather, great conversation…

One of the questions my friend asked me was, "If you were to write a book, what would you write about?" I told him a little bit about my blog and how I like to write about the little things in life that I notice and appreciate. So if I were to write a book, I would write one with each chapter dedicated to a different thing that I love. He asked me what the first five chapters would be, and it made me think… I've been thinking all night and I think I've come up with my answer. So I thought I would share it with you all as well.

First Five Chapters of Untitled Book Project by Abby Thomason:

Chapter 1. Benches. I feel like my love for benches is a perfect example of me loving something random that most people don't even notice. It would be a good way to start off the book.

Chapter 2. Trees. Bares trees. Green trees. Leaves from trees. I love them all.

Chapter 3. Driving with the windows down. There are few things that can improve my mood as quickly as windows down driving. I don't have a good explanation of what - but I can tell you I love it.

Chapter 4. Light. What? Light? Seriously? Yes - there is something beautiful about sunlight shining in a room. I savor it every time.

Chapter 5. Baking. Sure, a lot of people like to bake, but I'm not sure that everyone views it the same way I do. I like the way batter looks in the mixer. I like it when cupcakes come out perfectly peaked. I like the way spices look in a bowl of dry ingredients. It's weird - I know. But if I did my job right, I could maybe write and make you love it too.

My pseudo-grandma Lois has been encouraging me to write a book for a while now. So I know that if I were to ever write a book, I'd at least have one sale. :)

Other Possible Chapters:
-Boats
-The color mustard
-Bendy straws (yep, I said it)
-Wedding receptions
-A nice pair of sunglasses
-Icebreaker questions
-the list could go on forever...

Celebrity Dinner Party.

As always… struggling to find things to write about. So I'm stealing an idea that I found when I looked up ideas about a month ago. This is a fun one…

"If you were going to have a celebrity dinner party… 1. Who would you invite? 2. What would you make?"

The Guest List

1. Justin Timberlake. Duh… I've been wanting to get with this guy since I was in fifth grade. He's married now… so I'll keep my hands off of him, but I still think he'd be a good time at a dinner party.

2. Jimmy Fallon. He's hilarious. And him and Justin are buds so it wouldn't be quite as awkward. Maybe they could sing me a funny song or something.

3. John Krasinski. Another long time crush of mine… but also married. I just think he'd be a good time.

4. Jason Sudeikis. He's also funny and we could relate about being from Kansas City.

5. Sandra Bullock. I have no idea why… but I have always thought that she seemed like she'd be fun to hang out with. Plus, I don't feel like she'd try to steal the show. Too many celebrities in one room fighting for the spotlight… not my kind of dinner party.

6. Jessica Chastain. I don't know much about her, but I think she seems like one of the classier ladies of Hollywood and I'd like to get to know her.

7. Jennifer Lawrence. I feel like she'd be more of a "life of the party" type - but I've gotta share with someone, so I guess it can be her.

8. Shailene Woodley. She's going to be the next big thing with Divergent coming out - so I'd like to become her friend early on in her stardom. Plus I watched a movie with her in it the other day and I thought she was great. I think we could be friends.

(And of course that means they can bring their spouses/significant others… so that means Emily Blunt gets an invite… Jessica Biel gets an invite… Olivia Wilde gets an invite…) Alright, I reserve the right to change my answers at any point in time.  This was harder than I thought it would be… I feel like I'm missing some important people. Now what I would make for dinner? That takes too much thinking for one night… I'll expand on that another day.

My thoughts on lent...

Confession: I'm a bit of a lent scrooge. I love Jesus but I have a hard time with the lent season because "religious people" come out of the woodwork when Ash Wednesday hits and that kind of bothers me. "What are you giving up for lent?" "Pop and sweets." "Oh, so you're going on a diet and saying that it's for Jesus and then are going to pretend He doesn't exist come Easter? That's big of you..." That's the response I want to give people… but I don't.

My feelings about lent aren't right. They are just as bad as the person half heartedly giving up chocolate chip cookies and Dr. Pepper for the next 40 days. So I'm trying to have a change of heart. My friend Nancy and I were talking about lent the other day and she shared this article with me about lent. It's pretty basic, but reminded me of the good side of lent. 10 Ideas For Keeping Lent - if you're interested.

Then my friend Jessie showed me this idea that she saw to pray and write letters to 40 people for the lent season. Rather than giving something up, you are doing something - being diligent in prayer and encouraging God's people. I loved the idea so I am going for it. I'm a few days late, but I'm excited to start. Tomorrow I plan on spending some time at a coffee shop to catch up on my missed days. What a cool idea...

You can read more about the 40 Notes in 40 Days. And if you are a lent scrooge like me, I encourage you to keep an open mind and let God use this time in your life to grow you just like the other 325 days of the year. 

Called Me Higher.

Holy cow, it's been a while! You can always tell I'm in a funk when I disappear for a few weeks. Basically work has been rough lately. And right when I think it can't get much worse… it does.

But I've pouted for the last two weeks. And it's time to move on.

The song that's been my theme song lately is "Called Me Higher" by All Sons & Daughters. It's all about how we could just stay in our comfort zone but God calls us for more than that so we can grow. So yes… I could stay in my comfort zone at work - but God is stretching me and growing me into the godly woman I was created to be. It's harder that way… but the end result is better. So that's what I'm resting in during this time.



P.S. If anyone knows how to embed videos so they actually fit on the post like they should, let me know. I'm apparently not savvy enough to figure it out.