Signs, Signs, Everywhere are Signs

On my way home from work today, I stopped by the house I don't live in to pick up the mail.  As noted, I still have to pay the bills.  The yard needs mowing, and the area around the front walk and the flower beds in the sideyard need weeding.  There's a great burst of something unwanted coming through a crack in the driveway, thriving until I can get at it with some RoundUp. 

I unlocked the door and walked through the house, just to assure myself that everything was okay on the inside.  Other than smelling slightly shut up, all was well. 

I left feeling discouraged, thinking about this state of limbo in which I find myself.  I know I will get there, and in the long run, the six months that have passed will be inconsequential.  But in that moment, I pulled out of the driveway,wondering when I would get there.

I passed a Methodist church that always has a pithy saying on the sign out front, and I've made a habit of checking the message when I drive past - if for no other reason than I love a good pun.  Today, there was no wit, no wordplay.  Just "The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength.  Neh. 8:10."  I pondered it as I came to the yield sign, looked to the left and then pulled onto old 441.  When I looked back right, a smidgen of a rainbow was smeared across the clouds above the trees.

At home, I looked up Nehemiah 8:10.  And lo and behold, the words just before the part quoted on the sign are "do not grieve."  "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."   Couple that with a rainbow, the sign of God's covenant with the earth.  A symbol of peace and of hope.  A reminder of the very shortly passed storm, its turbulence and fury, and the beauty that emerges after.  A promise.


Rainbow photo via Life in the Bristolwood.

New Dress a Day: ProRun on a Budget

I adore Project Runway and have been an avid fan since its debut season introduced us to the delight of Tim "Make it work" Gunn and a hit-parade of colorful characters like Jay McCarroll, Austin Scarlett, Santino Rice and, of course, Christian "Fierce" Siriano. Unfortunately for us all, Project Runway runs two seasons a year and still only comes on once a week (although they have beefed it up with a new 90-minute time slot).

To supplement your Project Runway addiction, I would recommend New Dress A Day, a blog on which the lovely and talented Marisa embarks upon a journey to make 365 garments in 365 days for $365.  That's right - one dollar, one day, one dress.  Each post features a before picture of a slightly heinous garment that's either oversized or ill-fitting or somehow rendered totally unwearable.  Then there's a brief overview of how Marisa goes about making the transition from fug to fab and voila!  The after picture featuring the day's fashion resurrection.  And many posts also include charming little vignettes and photographic evidence of where the newly tailored garment was worn.

I love this blog for its simplicity and for the way she turned getting laid off from her job into a journey to something else.  There's a certain joie de vivre in each post.  Each outfit seems to build a story of friends and family, glasses of wine, hot dogs from street vendors, travels...and just life.  As Michael Kors once said, "Lighten up - it's just fashion."  Enjoy!