Dear Me...

i was reminded today of a post i was going to write along time ago and never did.

(actually , it was originally a scrapbook page).

the idea came from mr. brad paisley, who(m?) , in between singing ridiculousness, actually gets some gems in there.

remember Letter To Me ?

so here i go:

Dear Mandy @ 17:

don't compare yourself to all your skinny minny friends.

you are skinny. you just have the curves !you look dang good, enjoy it!

in fact, wear a bikini at least once.  it's your last shot.

when aubrey says "i have a great idea, " be slightly concerned.

on second thought, this never changes, even @ 30 years old...

I am proud of you being a light to your peers.

you may just want to be a little less harshly confrontationtal with them.

share Jesus now with those you love...it doesn't get easier.

spend more time with your high school friends than with the older ones.

you don't have to be in sharis/dennys/dutch bros. every night, all night.

if you miss something, it wasn't important anyways.

the guy you fall hard for, well, he's not right for you.  be his friend. he needs it.

and whatever you do, do not take a guy you are seeing homemade brownies while he's on a date with another girl! (true story. and yes, i was an idiot)

please remember that while your mind is pure and naive, the boys you are around are not!  don't make it more difficult for them by unknowingly being a tease.

and that hard to swallow advice from church staff regarding dressing modestly?  they aren't picking on you for your shape like you think they are.  chew on it, don't spit it right out.  they are trying to protect you.

Crystal will still be one of your best friends in a decade +.  nourish that relationship even more.

instead of watching MTV or hanging with your friends, DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

you really will wish you had paid more attention (especially History!).

 on that note, everything you hear on LOVELINE is so not how it should be.

don't let jess talk you into singing shania twain at the moose lodge.  it's painful for everyone involved.

don't down play your intelligence.   and i know it is hard, but don't care so much about what they think.

it's okay to let go of the past.  it's okay not to be consumed by the family issues.  you don't have to wallow in it.  it has not defined you.

your Hill grandparents won't be here very long.  talk to them.

for heaven's sakes give your lungs a break from your older smoking friends, and refuse to sit with them in the smoking section.  you'll be okay in non -smoking, and all you'll miss is toxicity.

you should make Pat take you to prom.  he's the rightful date.  and just laugh when you are nominated prom princess, it's an honor...not embarrassing. (even if raech totally talked everyone into it).

don't get your feelings hurt so easily.  toughen up.

stop wasting your time on boys that you know, deep down, you don't even really like.

and don't write that letter to the one you do really like.  it's not nice, even with good intentions.

be a better big sister.  and aunt.

do not pitch a fit over your first car.  appreciate your mom and what she's doing.  you should be spanked and grounded and all sorts of punished.

if april invites you up to college, and you go to a party, don't wear aubrey's good butt jeans.( actually, it was nice to be hit on so much, i can't lie.)  but don't go in some guys bedroom because he wants to talk.  yes, all he does is talk, but it's still stupid of you to not see the danger involved!

rethink some of your formal wear choices.

learn to like exercise now.  invest in a good sports bra and don't let them bother you!

clean your car.  and your room.  and how can you sleep without sheets on the bed?!

don't let the fear of not being good enough hold you back from things you really want to do.

 don't worry, you'll find love sooner than you think.  and with a guy you'd never even dream of loving you back.

actually do a senior project.  don't fake the whole thing.

don't worry about loosing touch with everyone...this new thing called facebook will make it impossible to not see everyone again;)

stick with the speech team.  don't let the winning right off the bat set you off the rest of high school.

and don't forget the most important part of your state mock trial role.

you are pleasing the Lord.  stay walking with Him.  don't let anything other than His love define you.

don't steal signs from the forest service. or cones from the city. etc.  what you thought was a harmless prank could have gotten you into lots of trouble. (once again, we'll go back to the 'aubrey' lesson ...)

God Bless,

Mandy

and P.S. don't worry...these are NOWHERE near the best years of your life...

the horrible, no good, very bad blogger...

while i am off saving the world one diaper,

3 time outs at a time ya'll are just sitting there awaiting my posts arentcha?

i'm a bad blogger.

don't take it personal,

i'm bad at lots of things.

paying bills time.

actually 'doing' my hair.

moving laundry over from the wash to the dryer.

see?

it's nothing personal.

moving on...

the heat has arrived.

most people don't realize how freaking HOT Southern Oregon can get.

and yes, freaking is most certainly a curse word in our humble home,

but i am getting old or something because i simply can NOT abide this heat.

it hasn't cracked 100 yet.

oh dear.

there are days montana sounds awfully tempting.

but i can't stand the snow either.

i know.

i'm impossible.

my poor husband.

(really though, he's even harder to please, thus increasing my awesomeness...right?)

so we sit here,

in our teeny tiny city lot that i'm very grateful for and yet curse,

because as the kids splash (each other-meanly) in their teeny tiny plastic pool,

i must wear a FREAKING bra because neighbors on all sides ring out their hidey hos

(name that tv show)

 and we all know that sitting in your own back yard pool side (yes, we'll call it that)

should be strictly braless territory.
and how miserable they are in the heat.
mis-er-a-ble.

i was actually contemplating how even though i am opposed to skin cancer, and thus, tanning, that i would really like to be able to lay outside nude and get a tan going on to hide all sorts of white pastiness and stretch marks.

and as my nana says, tan fat's better than white fat people.

anyhoo, then i remembered that looking down in the shower is terrifying enough and even if i had my dream 20 acres out in the sticks i'd still never be so bold.

so i got over it.

and said my hidey-hos.

and put on my freaking bra.

and will complain about the heat until it comes time to complain about the cold.

(for the record, i NEVER complain about the rain.

i like it)

if you are actually still reading you should get some sort of award.

the end.

God Bless,

 Mandy