2010 October | Permission to Peruse

THE Christmas Card

October 27th, 2010 at 3:00 pm / Amy Bennett / 2 Comments »

If you walk into Scott’s grandmother’s back door, it will land you in her kitchen. On your right will be two fridges and the second will have an entire row of our photo Christmas cards from the past, oh, six years. Anyone on our “Christmas card list” can trust that the Bennett’s will be sending out holiday cards. Even if it gets there on December 27th. Which I’m pretty sure has happened more than once.

On a side note, I don’t think I ever mentioned last year when my friend Dani and I were talking and she said, “Oh, by the way, did you send out your Christmas card?” I said yes, expecting some comment on the photo or layout and she said, “Yeah, I thought that was you because I got an envelope addressed to us with no return address and the envelope was empty. I figured it was you.” Yeah, that’s me.

So this year I’ve actually scheduled a photo session with PJ, who I went to Catalyst with. I might actually have a picture before December 24th to use on the card. And then it’s time to pick the almighty photo card layout.

I usually go for the modern slash boderline-cutsey card. I usually do one family picture in front of the Christmas tree. Because, you know, when I take it, it’s up already and too cold outside to do anything else. And most of the time it’s the longer, skinny envelope size—whatever that is called. However, I’m pretty psyched about some of the layouts that Shutterfly has this year.

I love this idea of the photo taking most of the real estate with only a hint of Christmas, especially knowing some family members display it year-round.

Our wedding invitations were square so I absolutely love these new 5×5 sizes. Isn’t the floral pattern SO CUTE?

But I LOVE that this one combines the 5×5 with the full real-estate photo:

I think one like that could be our winner this year! I can’t wait until our photos are in and I can put it all together…hopefully sometime before New Year’s this year!

I posted this as part of Shutterfly’s blogger program and will receive 50 free holiday cards. You can find out more information here.

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Radical Chapter 6

October 26th, 2010 at 11:02 am / Amy Bennett / 5 Comments »

The title of Chapter 6 is How Much is Enough?: American Wealth and a World of Poverty. Platt spends the chapter discussing the blind spot of materialism we have and how God wants us to open our blind eyes to the poverty of the world. To put a name to a number and if required, sell all our possessions to give to them. I have to be honest. How Much is Enough is not a question that is prominent on my mind this week. God is working through the “how much” with us. He’s using a simple envelope system to show me just how much falls like sand through our fingers and has opened my eyes to just how much that could do to help those in need.

No, the question I’m asking is Who Is Enough?

It’s easy to sell your possessions for the poor whose greatest choice in life is which item to pick out of a garbage can to eat. It’s easy to hand money over to a clinic that’s going to help a pregnant girl who would otherwise abort. It even makes me happy to sell a belt so people have clean water who otherwise might get cholera. But let me tell you, when you’re asked to give money to someone who isn’t working their fair share or who you know will squander it, it’s not easy. The cheerful giver is nowhere to be found in that moment. So I ask God, are they enough? Do they deserve my very hard-earned and saved money? Do I give it when it hurts to take out of that envelope? And I realize only in that moment is it a sacrifice. The world may say it was unwise and 99% of me says it’s unwise. But if I don’t give, children don’t have necessities and babies don’t have food.

I may be being vague and that’s on purpose but I’m just struggling through giving a little right now. At times I feel unwise and foolish and even a little angry. And I keep asking myself Who is Enough?

But who of us is enough? Am I better just because I’m the one holding the money? The money is not mine and if I truly believe that I have to extend it to where it’s needed no matter the cause.

I identify with the rich man from Platt’s church who was radically selling and donating many of his possessions who said,

“I wonder at some points if I’m being irresponsible or unwise. But then I realize there is never going to come a day when I stand before God and he looks at me and says, ‘I wish you would have kept more for yourself.’ I’m confident that God will take care of me.”

And so I give out of obedience and love for Him. And confident that if there’s justice to be executed, He will do it.

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Pine Cone Wreath

October 25th, 2010 at 12:19 pm / Amy Bennett / 3 Comments »

I made that this weekend. Can you believe it? Someone has abducted Amy and has replaced her with some Martha Stewart rip-off.

See? Even Scott could barely believe his eyes when I was using a hot glue gun and took a picture!

The best part about this wreath is that it was FREE. Several weeks ago the girls gathered a huge bag of pine cones at my parents’ house and they’ve been sitting in garage since. We keep talking about doing some crafts with them but for some reason Lexi balks every time I mention putting peanut butter and bird seed on them and that’s really all I’ve got in the pine cone-craft department.

So I’ve been wanting to change my wreath on the front porch for a while but with this whole budget thing it’s been hard to fork over cash for a wreath. So after several googling sessions, I just decided to go for it. My current wreath was one I bought from Wal-Mart probably 2 years ago. It was a purple clustering of flowers. Well, I just ripped the flowers off the styrofoam base. I have to say, it was quite cathartic. Then, I laid out pine cones around the wreath. The smallest ones I fit around the middle and mid-sized ones for the middle and outer rows. The largest pine cones didn’t work for this project. I do hope to make some peanut butter bird feeders with Emma soon.

I started the wreath by hot gluing the smaller ones pointed towards the center. The middle row I leaned the pine cones all clockwise, gluing on the bottom and sides. The final outer row took a lot of hot glue but I pointed them all counter-clockwise, gluing again on the bottom and sides. When I was done, I turned the wreath upside down and glued around the edges for extra hold. I couldn’t believe how strong the hot glue held the cones though!

After the pine cones were done, we noticed the purple Styrofoam was still sticking out…note to self: spray paint foam before starting next time! We went in the backyard and picked up some of those pesky acorns (sorry, squirrels!) and randomly hot glued those in the spots with the largest gaps.

My only cost was the bow I got at Michael’s for $1.19! I thought I had bought some fall ribbon from the Dollar Store yesterday to match the gold bow but I could not find it in our bags. Oh well. If I get a chance to go back, I’ll pick some up. Otherwise, it will be adorable with the red/gold leopard print Christmas ribbon I picked up at Michael’s for just a few dollars!

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Super-mom Sunday

October 24th, 2010 at 8:33 pm / Amy Bennett / 2 Comments »

There are not many days I can say this but today I leave the day feeling like Super-Mom.

Church,

CVS trip,

made brunch,

nearly completed school project ,

birthday party invitations created, printed and addressed,

Halloween cards and gifts made, packaged and addressed,

attended TWO birthday parties and

made roast beef for dinner,

nearly all by myself with the girls.

Oh, and washed a load of towels.

Yes, feeling like super-mom.

And unabashedly savoring it while I can.

Now can I please get a weekend from my weekend?

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My Saturday

October 23rd, 2010 at 7:24 pm / Amy Bennett / 3 Comments »

Awake at 6

Starbucks at 6:45

Old Navy at 7 for $5 Performance Fleece

Watch my dad race and match a PR at 8

Dishes and laundry at 10

Nap at 10:30

Errands until 2

Pick up the girls

Wal-Mart for gifts for parties tomorrow at 3

Start a pine cone wreath at 4

Dinner at 5

Finish a pine cone wreath about 6

No bake cookies at 7

Put the kids to bed at 8

A regular Saturday except for the $5 dozen roses I bought myself. Aren’t they lovely?

Except I think that’s Scott picking his nose in the background.

Welcome to my life.

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A21Campaign KEY2FREE

October 21st, 2010 at 6:19 am / Amy Bennett / 3 Comments »

Today is KEY2FREE day for A21Campaign. I briefly mentioned this organization from Catalyst but I want to share some more with you. A21Campaign is an effort that attempts to eradicate human trafficking. I don’t know about you, but my heart breaks in a million pieces when I read these stories of women and even small children being sold and used. Sometimes helplessness overtakes our sorrow but A21Campaign is in ACTION and attempts to help in four different ways.

1) Victim relief through the A21 Crisis Care Shelter

2) Perpetrator accountability through the A21 Legal Team

3) Victim after-care through referral to Restoration Programs

4) Structural prevention through A21 Prevent Initiatives

They are rescuing these ladies, caring for them and then holding the perpetrators accountable. What else could you ask for? Due to the anonymity of many of the victims and actually the location of the centers, we are not able to help in person as much as some of us would like in the US. But there are things we can do.

Most importantly is TODAY wear a key necklace as part of their KEY2FREE day. Today you will have a chance to raise awareness for human trafficking. Tell anyone and everyone that will listen. There are 27 million people just waiting for us to do something about it. As a bonus, if you wear a key, you can submit your photo and have a chance to win an iPod Touch!

Beyond today, there are things we can do to help this cause. A21Campaign recommends 21 things:

2010-10-21_0709

I think just this post covers 1, 2 and 15! So if you have a blog, consider posting about this today! And beyond that, consider keeping this list handy and we can all make sure we are doing just as much as possible to FREE our fellow brothers and sisters.

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For You

October 20th, 2010 at 8:02 am / Amy Bennett / 6 Comments »

One of my most memorable Christmas gifts was somewhere around 1987. I came down the hall Christmas morning and saw something like a big box under a caramel brown blanket. I think my mom might have taken the blanket off to reveal my first big stereo. You young ‘uns won’t remember these but this one was 2 or 3 feet tall. It had two tape decks, a radio and a record player on top. AND it had a section on the bottom that had a cassette tape rack down the middle and space on either side for your records. Pretty sure that’s the stereo that blasted Tiffany, Debbie Gibson and even New Kids on the Block. It was a good Christmas.

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Emma asked for an American Girl Doll for her birthday this year and the now budget mindful side of me screamed that I shouldn’t get such an expensive doll for her. But then I remembered she’s turning 8 and I don’t know what it is about a little girl turning 8 but it’s special. I think it’s about the same age I was when I got my stereo. I just knew I wanted this one to be memorable. I can’t wait to see her eyes when she sees just the one she’s hoped for sitting in front of her.

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Yesterday when we got home a box was sitting on our front porch. There were several things I was expecting but had nearly forgotten the doll I ordered over a week ago. As my hands were full of stuff coming into the house I asked Emma to bend down to see who it was from. “American Girl” she said knowingly. I brushed it off but a little part of me had hoped she’d be completely surprised. She brought the box in and set it by the front door. Every few minutes she’d pretend like she was going to carry it off or asked to open. I would sternly say, “No, it’s for your birthday!” I knew I wanted to salvage any surprise that was left so she could enjoy and remember that moment at her party. She stamped her feet a few times still and said, “I want it now!” We continued in our rounds of “Now”-“Wait” until she finally let it go.

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Yesterday I was reading Beth Moore’s blog and she asked her readers of something God had challenged them to do but had seen joy on the other side. I skimmed through the answers and one answer I read I couldn’t get out of my head since reading. She said she had been challenged in her promiscuity. She had taken the mindset that it wasn’t a big deal but eventually realized it was and felt used. After changing her ways she said she realized that God was not keeping sex FROM her but FOR her.

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I think that happens with a lot of things don’t you? You want something so bad. You get a glimpse of something and you start stomping your feet and saying “I want it now!” But just like I know what it will feel like for Emma if she just waits on a special moment to open her doll, God knows of a moment that this thing you are desiring will be worth the wait. It will be special. It will be unforgettable. It will be worth talking about for years to come. If there is something you are desiring so strongly but God is holding it back may I suggest that he’s not holding it FROM you but FOR you? He just might have the package sitting on the porch delivered and waiting on pins and needles to give it to you at just the right time. Wait on Him. It’s FOR you.

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:14

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

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Rockaholic: A Review

October 18th, 2010 at 7:27 pm / Amy Bennett / 7 Comments »

I have always had such thin, fine hair. And when you have fine, thin hair you can not. I repeat CAN NOT NOT wash your hair every day. It’s a greasy mess barely passable for the gym. I was mentioning it in passing to my stylist and she recommended TIGI’s Dry Shampoo Rockaholic. Well. That was WAY out of my new budget UNTIL Ulta ran a breast cancer awareness campaign and put their specially marked cans on sale for $6.99 last week AND put out a 20% coupon in the paper.

So this morning, I rolled out of bed just a few minutes before having to get to work and found that my hair was as usual…smashed in the back, sticking out at on the sides and starting to get a bit greasy in the front. I started spraying at the roots, concentrating at my hair line and then at the crown. I used my round brush to restyle as I would with my hair dryer and voila! My hair was suddenly passable! It even poofed at the crown like I like! This picture is about 10 minutes after rolling out of bed and no flat iron either!

Now, I can’t say it was just as good as the first day. The texture was much more coarse than normal and I had to tame a few stray pieces through the day. But FOR SURE hundreds of times better than having to do the whole thing over again. For days like today where my biggest outing was Walgreens for a good deal on cough drops and aspirin, it worked like a charm.

So. Have you ever tried a dry shampoo that you’d recommend?

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Budget – Envelope System Update

October 17th, 2010 at 8:22 pm / Amy Bennett / 13 Comments »

I’m sure you’re waiting on pins and needles on an update about our envelope system. I mean we HAVE been on it for a full pay cycle of 2 weeks now + the 1 week test run. You’re excited, RIGHT?!

Well, you should be because it’s going SPLENDIDLY. Splendidly, I tell you. We stayed under budget for both the test run and the full 2 week cycle. In fact, in all 3 weeks, we came $30 under in groceries, my most feared category, EACH week.

I can’t tell you how nice it is to open my Mint.com account and only see 2 red lines (thanks to extra Charity (yay) and pharmacy (boo)). Usually by mid-month, the budget was shot and it was difficult to find a green line. I mean, seriously, all the rumors are true…we finally know where our money is going instead of where it went! It’s amazing! We already have money set aside for our car taxes next spring for crying out loud. It’s fantastic!

All of that to say it hasn’t been complete smooth-sailing. There have been a few times we’ve been caught out without our cash and then we’re left juggling cash around envelopes after using our debit card. Scott is more of the spender than me (really) and he’s stomped his foot and lowered his bottom lip a few times when I’ve had to say, it’s not really in the budget. I can’t say I haven’t been disappointed just in the last two weeks not being able to spend like I want (fingernail polish or fall decorations, anyone?) but in hindsight it feels really good to have stuck to my guns.

We have made a few changes. There are a few categories that Dave recommends we use for envelopes like gas or vacation that is just too inconvenient or silly to keep in envelopes. So far, I’ve kept other things super divided. Food is our sore spot so I have separate envelopes for groceries, fast food, sit-down restaurants and coffee. I know it seems like a lot but knowing ahead of time it is our weakness, we are better able to keep an eye on how many times we’re eating Taco Bell and how many times we’ve gotten coffee etc. with it like this.

Speaking of food, I still haven’t mastered weekly meal planning. I’m at the grocery store constantly, only thinking of dinner a day or two ahead of time but you know, we’re literally 3 minutes from the store and it’s just hasn’t been a big deal. It’s the only way I don’t completely stress over the whole thing. And you know they say the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. So I’m tackling this dinner thing bite by bite…or something like that.

So all in all, I really can not imagine not having this even just a few weeks in. All our needs are met, our wants are managed and we have flexibility to help others. Win, win, win!

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Water Marbling Manicure Take 2, 3 and 4

October 17th, 2010 at 3:30 pm / Amy Bennett / 3 Comments »

I did the girls nails today. And then mine again after mine was destroyed doing theirs. They picked white, pink and purple. Go figure.

These are Emma’s. Her pinkies are my favorites.

photo 2 (1)

These are Lexi’s little chubby hands and I just want to *squeeze* them. I can barely get passed the cute chubby to see her nails. Her right thumb is the best but you can’t see it well.

I picked white, purple and some peachy color (quickly when my orange wouldn’t work) which I sort of regret. I think I’m getting a handle on the patterns though. These are at least much more consistent in look across all the fingers.

Things I noticed: my high lacquer polishes hardened almost immediately. My older Revlon polishes wouldn’t spread well. I stuck to newer Revlon colors I had.

I really want to try out some neon colors!

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The Water Marbling Manicure

October 14th, 2010 at 10:04 pm / Amy Bennett / 17 Comments »

OK so I heard about this marble manicure thing from Katie on Twitter the other day. Side note: I feel like everything I know is starting to come from Twitter. Every other sentence I say is something like “Oh, I saw that on Twitter” or “The other day on Twitter”. Oh well. So the other day on Twitter I heard about these things and some of them looked SO cool. And they made it look SO EASY. Here is one of MANY tutorials on YouTube.

Here’s the basic steps though:

Paint your nails with a base color and let dry.
Pick 3 other colors to use.
Fill a bowl with tepid water.
Tape up one finger (see videos).
Let a drop of the first color drop on the surface of the water.
Let a drop of the second color drop in the middle of the first drop.
Let a drop of the third color drop in the middle of that.
Repeat as many times as you want.
Use a toothpick to pull in the colors to the center.
Dip your finger in the spot of the pattern you like.
The polish has created a film on the water. Pull that away from your nail while it’s still dunked in the water.
Pull your nail out and untape it immediately.
Repeat for all your nails.

Yeah, it’s not the fastest thing ever. One video I watched said it only took 15 minutes. HA!

So I picked this mint green color for the base and then silver, pink and dark purple colors for the swirl which apparently were horrible picks because really only the green and purple showed up. I had to redo a few fingers and still a few are pretty sketchy. I think if I try a few different colors and practice with the patterns in the water I’ll get better. Here is my first water marbling:

I think my thumbs came out the best:

So, that’s that I guess. I definitely see some potential.

Have you heard of this? Tried it?

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Wordless Wednesday – Mommy, Why Are These So Poopy?

October 13th, 2010 at 6:23 am / Amy Bennett / 4 Comments »

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Radical Chapter 5

October 12th, 2010 at 9:08 pm / Amy Bennett / 5 Comments »

The concept in Chapter 5 that has stuck with me is this:

If we were left to ourselves with the task of taking the gospel to the world, we would immediately begin planning innovative strategies and plotting elaborate schemes. We would organize conventions, develop programs, and create foundations. We would get the biggest names to draw the biggest crowds to the biggest events. We would start megachurches and host megaconferences. We would do…well, we would do what we are doing today.

Er, 4 days ago, actually Pastor Platt. Now I’m not knocking Catalyst. Trust me, to experience what I experienced and come away with what I did, no one will ever convince me there is not worth in what they are doing. But that’s what we jump to don’t we? I mean, since leaving I think that’s what I’ve been trying to do…strategize and plot and organize and just…figure out a way to make a difference. And not saying organizations are bad either. But Jesus gave us this clear picture of going alongside just 12 guys and changing the world.

Even through Sisterhood of the Traveling Belt I’ve learned you just need a handful of people to make a difference. (over $1,000 raised!) It doesn’t have to be complicated. If you yourself can just use your own talents and gifts for him it’s enormous. I just think so many people are stuck in trying to use their gifts and talents for themselves. They’re still stuck in attaining that American Dream. But if we we didn’t? What if we banded together with our friends that had the same mindset and just WERE the church? There are no limits. I love David’s closing comments:

A community of Christians each multiplying the gospel by going, baptizing, and teaching in the contexts where they live every day. Is anything else, according to the Bible, even considered a church?

Man, I pray that me and you and you(!) and(!) you (!) would come alongside each other and be the church together. I don’t need to create anything brand new. I just need to jump in where God is already moving. I love what my friend Dani wrote today…she’s working on being more frugal because people even at her own home church are being turned away. I’m learning there isn’t a magical formula for making a difference. It’s just me using my passions and you using your passions and us doing that together to meet needs we already see. I love what Christine Caine said at Catalyst. She said the Samaritan in Luke 10:33 had compassion and then he went and bandaged his wounds. The passerbys before had seen the man too but they did nothing. Christine said compassion is only sympathy until we cross the road and do something about it. Guys, I’ve seen. If you’re reading this, you’ve seen some of the needs. Are we going to be sympathetic or compassionate? Jesus says in Luke 10:37 “Go and do likewise.”

Today I printed our Shoebox labels and had the kids watch a video on it (going alongside my family). I also volunteered to man a Compassion table at a concert next week with my friend Becky (Attention locals: Jeremy Camp/Carlos Whittaker/John Mark McMillian in concert in FM next week!). I’m not saying that to boast but to let you know I’m not just spouting this stuff out to you. I’m challenging me too. What if we did stuff like that every single day and not just once a year. You know what I think?

We just might end up being RADICAL.

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Catalyst Takeaways

October 12th, 2010 at 6:00 am / Amy Bennett / 6 Comments »

Yeah, so I’m going to be talking about Catalyst for a while I suppose. Just to start I thought I’d make a list for you (but mostly me) of organizations that Catalyst promoted. I’m planning to research many of them in depth that I feel called to but you might have a heart for a different ministry. Here’s a quick overview.

Operation Christmas Child. No stranger to many of us. Fill a shoebox for a child for Christmas.
Compassion. Definitely not a stranger to this blog or to you probably. Sponsor a child for only $38 a month. Catalyst had a graduate of Compassion there who is now sponsoring another child. Do it. Do it, do it, do it. I LOVE Compassion.
CharityWater.org. They reminded me a lot of blood:water mission who we are supporting through the Sisterhood of the Traveling Belt. Very worthy cause to say the least.
A21Campaign.org – Helps women who have been a victim of human trafficking.
Street Grace – Atlanta based group that help children who have been victims of trafficking.
Tronie Foundation – Survivor led organization to support survivors of trafficking.
First Response Team – A group that responds to United States natural disasters to aid local responders do their jobs.
143Million.org – Brings awareness to the 143 million orphans across the world that need adopted.
Project 7 - A company that sells COFFEE where a part of it goes to charity.
aHomeInHaiti – They provide shelter to homeless Haitians.

Here’s the thing. I KNOW that’s a lot. But as Helen Keller said, “I may not be able to do everything, but still I can do something”. Yes, I feel overwhelmed with all the ways we can help make a difference. But not understanding all the ways doesn’t mean I can’t understand at least ONE way.

So pick one.

Do something.

Start a small monthly donation to one. And then add another when you can. Having any number of options should not lead us to no options. Do something.

So I’ll start the thinking process for you…which one jumps out at you as you read the list? Go ahead, put it in the comments.

For me, obviously Compassion is really close to my heart but sex trafficking has been heavy on my heart for weeks leading up to Catalyst. A21Campaign, Street Grace and Tronie Foundation were a big bright neon sign to me. I’ll be posting more about them in coming days. Stay tuned!

Read more Top Ten Tuesday posts over at ohamanda.com.

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Overwhelmed

October 11th, 2010 at 7:05 pm / Amy Bennett / 8 Comments »

Overwhelmed. That’s the only word I can come up with 3 days after Catalyst. I’m not exaggerating when I say I came back a different person. I’m thinking about things differently. I want different things. I don’t know, a little of my spiritual DNA changed a little last week.

And then life happened.

Saturday morning I did a charity walk. Saturday afternoon we went to the Renaissance Festival. Sunday was church. Today was work.

None of this was bad stuff. But I went from two days on a high and wanting to change the world, back to life. Just life. And not that my life is bad. But it just…is life.

And I know I can make a difference with just life but I don’t know. I’m having a hard time processing it all. Last night I was exhausted and just went to bed, cried and took a nap. It was the only thing I could do. And then I got up and went back through all my notes and made a list a page long of takeaways.

And somehow, some way I have to make it my life.