no road too long

have you ever seen a movie called "follow that bird" with big bird?

it's a cheesy film full of singing and feel-good, family-friendly morals. we watched it a lot when i was a kid... i guess you could say it was a favorite.

i had forgotten about it until thanksgiving day when my brother mentioned it.
here's the song we most often sang from the soundtrack:

ain't no road too long

(the song doesn't actually start until the 2:00 marker)




no mountain i can't climb and no road too long ---
keep on trying until you succeed!!! that's what i get out of it.


well, here are two things that i have tried recently:

1) planning and hosting my own thanksgiving!!!

my parents went out to colorado to visit my sister and brother-in-law with their baby-to-be for the holiday. this left my brother and me without plans for the big day. we decided, since we had access to a nice place (our parents' home) that we could still put on a fun party for anyone without a home to go to for thanksgiving.

besides paul, a wonderfully talented homemaker friend who lives upstairs in my apartment building helped me plan and carry out all the details. because of these two - and everyone who came and helped - the event was a brilliant success. in all, we had 9 people there to enjoy the meal. we had tons of delicious, traditional food. and we didn't feel like we missed out!!

here are some pictures:

my first time cooking a turkey -- on my own!!

the exciting part: taking out the "innards"

is it just me, or with these "legs" flying around does this look a bit like a frog??

who else thinks this looks like a pig??

i put a lot of effort into setting the table --- i wanted it to feel  "homey" and festive!

candy cornucopias: my must-have thanksgiving tradition!!

my roommate, liza, getting impatient when the 2/2:30 eating time is now turning into 3:15/3:30...

i forgot to get a picture of all the food and the turkey.... i'll add a pic of the turkey when my friend uploads it. and we had so much food that it didn't all fit on the table!

pies! pumpkin, coconut-chocolate, pumpkin-walnut, and peanut butter! 

another pumpkin on the far left

{ thanksgiving was wonderful and i am so grateful i was able to spend it with people that i love and care about... i am so grateful for amazing people everywhere. these incredible people who share their talents, abilities, and love with others are the centerpiece to society. i am grateful for my amazing roommates, my wonderful brother, my sisters, my sweet brother-in-law, and my parents. i'm grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. i'm grateful that i was born into a family where i was blessed to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. i'm grateful for my testimony. i'm grateful for all that God has given me - for He provides everything for me and i am nothing without Him. i am grateful i was born on thanksgiving 25 years ago and i keep with me a sense of gratitude because of that. i love thanksgiving. i love the Lord. }



2) having a roommate do a photo shoot of me
this roommate of mine is a fabulous photographer -- i am a huge fan of her work.
soooo..... let's just say .... the pictures of me... well, she worked with what she got :)

i'm including on here both pictures that i like and pictures that i do not like just so you can see why i say this was something difficult for me to do and experience. and what's more: sharing them with you is even more difficult. however, this is the real me.... in all my awkward glory.

stiff
unsure
insecure
confused
scared
scarred (for life... :)
and all the other things my facial expressions betray as they tell my thoughts:

now really.... i feel sorry for any photographer trying to get me looking decent...

other roommates in the distance telling jokes, trying to lighten the mood and get me to loosen up

ha!!! what is this face?? i sure don't know.

after about an hour (other roommates getting pictures and other backgrounds) i started to get more comfortable. i guess i shouldn't be surprised - being surrounded by leaves.... fall is my season. it's my birthright :)

haha the entire photo shoot, the girls were trying to get me to do a certain pose.
well, it proved to be too difficult for an unbalanced girl like me.
finally we gave up and got a quick shot -- right as one of the girls yelled out, "lacey, put your leg down! you look like you're a dog peeing to mark your territory!

it was definitely an adventure!
but i'm glad i was able to have it.


i'm trying new things and moving forward in my life.
i just have to keep that attitude locked in my heart:

there ain't no mountain i can't climb!
i'm hanging on tight and determined to keep moving on toward the future ---
toward bigger and better. "if i just keep going, everything will turn out fine"

there's no road too long.