Black Friday Every Day

The sale this month at Lia Sophia is too good not to share
before it leaves for good on Monday.

Especially for those of you, like me, that prefer to complete your holiday shopping before it comes to fist-a-cuffs.

Lia Sophia started Black Friday a little early this year with a Buy One, Get Two Half Off sale!

 (least expensive item is full price)

 

To celebrate the season of thankfulness,

I decided to share this special with you

and host an online party just for my readers.

You'll get in on the fabulous deal,
receive $10.00 off your order,
and be entered into a drawing for a free $100.00 item of your choice!
 

 

How does this work?

Well, just check out my Lia Sophia website,
select Browse Jewelry,
up at the top you can search for the party under the name: Christina Waltzing,
from there you can shop online just like normal!
 

Don't worry, I'll check every order and make sure that you are getting the best deal.
The party is only live until this Sunday (November 23rd),
so don't miss out!



Hugs,
Christina

Currently

I am going to ease myself back into writing again.

To meet my goal of 30 posts in 30 days is going to be quite the feat for me,

but we will give it the ol' college try.

 

I used to wonder what that even meant,

but after under-grad and grad school I understand it too well.

Rest assured, my dear study companions, this "try" will not/cannot include all-nighters.

Unless of course you care to join me.

All-nighter dance parties are not the same solo.

 

It seems since I am coming back from a blogging vacation

and Hannah is going on one,

that I join in on her weekly link up.

 

So here's what has been going on currently

on my side of the computer screen.

 

Thinking about...

  My Christmas shopping list.

I normally have an idea for everyone by now, but this year I am a bit stymied.

Loving...

  The first snowfall.

The temperature and windchill may try as they might, but there is little that I enjoy more than walking in a winter wonderland.

Thankful for...

A wonderful long weekend. 

We took our engagement photos, 

spent time with family, 

went out just the two of us,

and got caught in our first snowfall of the year.

 

Hoping...

The coming of the snow will send my allergies into hibernation.

Have a wonderful week!

Grief in Joy

A dear college friend of mine lost his wife recently.
It hit me hard.
The depth surprised me.
Because you see,

I was never blessed to meet her.

I knew that she was amazing

purely because he chose her as his bride.
It was a joy to see the amazing outpouring of love he showed her, the smile on his face, and to see the many adoring things she would tag him in on Facebook.
They loved each other so very much.
From what they chose to show the world
you never knew the pain of illness they were walking through.

I cannot begin to imagine what it is like to walk in his shoes right now.

 

The same day I heard the news,
I found myself in a tour of a church and standing before the grave of a dear friend and priest.
We had talked for years about his presiding over my wedding.
"God willing," he would say.
I would agree.
What else do you do when you are talking with a hero in your life
and they set the example of giving over everything to God?
I never wanted to think about the fact that God might not will it
and would shove the fear down into the corners of my mind
to be covered in the shadows unseen but lurking.

As I stood there looking at his grave,
reading his name, the dates, and mulling over conversations in my head I heard,
"I'll be there no matter what, you know that."
Yes. I knew it when he said it.
I knew it now, but it did not take away the thought which screamed in my head,
"You are supposed to be here."

By the exit in the Church a book of names resided.
This book was full of all the dead that we remember in our prayers throughout the year.
I went over and wrote her name in the book.
I wrote the names of my fiancé's grandparents and family that I have never met.
Something was comforting about it.
By writing their names down I felt like I was reaching out and telling them,
"You are not forgotten."
"I wish I would have known you."
 

This past week I have been walking with this grief.
Mulling it over in my head.
 

 At first I thought my grief was for him and their son.
I know a part of it is.
I know him.
He has always been the perfect example of a brother in Christ to me.
It makes perfect sense to grieve with him.
Yet, there still seemed like something was missing.
Until I pieced together the many thoughts of that day.

One of the many things I had looked forward to at our wedding was the opportunity of meeting this beautiful woman who had captured the heart of someone I admire deeply
and their young son.
I wanted to tell her the important role her husband played in my life.
I wanted to get to know her.
I wanted to be her friend.
I had lost some of that.

Isn't that why we grieve?
Because we have lost something.
We mourn the loss of things
and sometimes we mourn the loss of a dream.

In the midst of their loss it can be hard to see the beauty that remains.
I was confused.
How can I be so happy planning for a joyous time in my life,
when there is such pain touching those I love?
When there is this hole in my heart of people missing from it?
How can I be celebrating a dream come true while simultaneously mourning the loss of people that I planned to have there celebrating with me?

The only thing I knew to do was cling onto something solid.
To cling to the fact that I know there is life after this.
To cling to the truth that even though I cannot see, hear, or feel them,
the people I miss are here in a new way.
And as my grandmother would say,
we are all together clinging to the same rugged cross.

 

Hugs,

Christina

 

Bridal Brain

In an attempt to stay connected despite our busy schedules,

B and I share our Google calendars with each other.

This works well for me and my love of planning

and B, despite being a lover of spontaneity, likes the structure as well.

 

Yesterday I saw an addition to B's calendar for his morning that warmed my heart.

A week ago he had agreed to check out a few local hotels and inns to make a recommendation for reserving rooms for the wedding.

Due to overtime at work and other commitments, this task had yet to be completed.

So imagine the joy when I saw that he was visiting hotels early in the morning.

 

Planners, don't you agree that there is nothing like

knowing that someone took the time to plan for you?

 

My knees were melting.

And even though there was a typo,

I was oh so proud.

 

V and H are near each other, especially on a phone's keypad.

 

I was so excited that I could not wait until the evening

and sent a quick text checking in and asking after his morning.

I could not wait to hear him report his findings

and smother him with praise of his goodness.

 

His morning was rough.

He went to the wrong polling location.

 

And it hit me.

 

It was not a typo.

 

The V was not meant to be an H

and the L was not really an L at all.

 

Vote!

 

Plain as day.

 

It has happened.

My brain is no longer functioning normally.

 

I am still proud of him though.

 

 

 

 

 

Thirty/Thirty

No, this is not an announcement about me limiting myself 

to thirty items of my closet in thirty days.

It may be a good idea though after my capsule wardrobe ponderings.

Nor is it about completing a list of thirty goals before the big three-zero birthday.

This also might be a good idea since it is right around the corner.

 This is to make it public 

(and therefore make it actually happen)

that this November I am going to do a thirty posts in thirty days challenge.

My friend Lindsay, from Lindsay Loves, invited me to join her in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) and posting every day in November.

Well, life happens.

So we have adjusted it for our already-behind-selves to one post for every day of November within November a.k.a. thirty in thirty.

Have you fallen behind before you have even begun too?

There will be some double duty days ahead,

but a climb is always so much more fun with friends.

Please join us! 

Two down, twenty-eight to go. :)

Hugs, 

Christina

New Eyes

I spent today with over 700 eighth graders at a youth rally.

It was a long, but very rewarding day.

One of the highlights was a session just for the girls on being a young woman of faith. The speaker shared her faith journey and challenged the girls to stop tearing each other down and to highlight the good in each other. The choice to focus on the inner beauty of others was something she had her eyes opened to when she lost not only her vision but her eyes to cancer. 

Yes, this amazing woman was blind.

And despite her lack of vision, she saw, understood, and touched these young women deeply. 

She couldn't see the awe on their young faces as they listened, the growing line of girls waiting to ask her a question, the dozen turned away when time ran out, the stack of her business cards gone within seconds, or any of the signs of the reach of her words.

I could.

I am seeing the world with new eyes tonight.

Eyes opened by someone who can see better than me.