just don't be silent

I don't care for this holiday much.
Don't take offense to that. Let me talk.

Spend time with family and friends. Enjoy the parade/dog show/football. Bump into every family member cause you're all crammed into a tiny house. Cook cook cook all morning long until the last dish is set on the table. Then eat till you drop. Men clean up the kitchen while the women look through all the black Friday adds. Laugh and love.
Your basics of a typical Thanksgiving.

But for me. This day is different. It used to be the most comforting and joy filled day of the year. It used to be exactly what I just described, but much more. It used to be perfect.

My Nanny made sure it was that way.

I am thankful.
Thankful to have had such a strong woman in my life.
Thankful that she showed me what loving without conditions means.
Grateful that I have the memories deep in my heart to hold on to... particularly on this certain day.


I'm not a fan of this holiday.
Because I believe we shouldn't just express our gratitude just one day a year.
Voice it always.. especially before the moment passes you by.

Though my heart is hurting, along with the rest of my family- I don't want to dwell on the heartache.
I want to savor the memories...
Walking past the kitchen, catching a glimpse of her working over the stove. Clearing off the table and her being the last one to finish eating. Her picking the turkey, because no one could do it half as good.
Cringing playing Trouble with her; trying to avoid the tap tap tap! that was going to happen.
Sitting on her lap, feeling completely safe and secure.
Hearing her sweet laughter...

I miss you extremely Nanny.

"My love and heart will be with you always"

Beats, coffee, and a whole lotta Jesus

That's what keeps me living.

Typical Mikala Cherry day:

The cringeworthy alarm goes off exactly at 0500. I drag the Bo out of her bed because she is physically too lazy to do so herself. I grab my one pair of work jeans (the last pair had a major blow out in the worst place) and realize I again forgot to wash them, along with all the towels. That might not end well come shower time. Oh well. 
When it comes to breakfast, I follow in my father's footsteps: whole grain toast with chia seeds, scalding hot black coffee, and Jesus time.
Every day I ask Jesus to help me conquer the day and make it the best I possibly can; that He use me to the fullest. And to help me not pass out at work- either from the 103 degree weather or pure exhaustion.
I like my 2 minute commute to work; compared to my old 1 hour commute, its not too shabby.
Currently, I'm the rough mower at work. Now if any of y'all have been to New Mexico, you know its dirt/sand. We have little grass... but its not really where I'm mowing. When I jump off of my mower at the end of the day, I resemble Pig Pen from Peanuts; a haze of dust surrounding me.
But it pays; both in money and the great outdoors. And a beautiful farmers tan. I have brown knees from the holes in my jeans (I really need new pants).
I have a lot of time to think... which is actually why I'm writing this blog. I told myself I should. To benefit myself and you pretty people. Which idk if this will benefit you at all. It most likely is just wasting your time. BUT a good way to waste time.
When I get sick of just thinking, I listen to music. And lately its been either Disney soundtracks or good old 70's rock. I hope my mower motor is loud enough to cover up my voice cause I tend to sing along.
Moving on. I jump in my car to go home and its 5 million degrees hotter in there than it is outside. Problem is, I'm extremely covered in dust so when I roll down the windows, it just kinda whirlwinds around the car suffocating/blinding me. So I suffer (Yes in my 2 minute commute).
I come home to super happy Obez, who HAS to grab a blanket before he can even think about saying hi to me. Boba tries to nibble my fingers as I try to untie my shoes.
I kiss the Jonathan hello and he says my face is dirty. Same old same.
After trying to wash all the dust off (which I usually can never get it all out of my ears or nose) I sit down to my meal prepped lunch and Gilmore Girls. This is my second time thru the series. It never gets old.
Jonathan is on swings right now, so he leaves pretty shortly after I get home. Its a bummer but hey its life.
Usually during this time, I try to pick up this crazily messed up house. Between two puppies, a husband, and that New Mexican dirt, the house stays at a steady state of somewhere between spotless and pig sty. Jkjk.. but really. How do 2 people go thru so many dishes in 1 day?? I think its some sort of record. That and clothes. Its impossible to keep up with laundry. I also have a nasty habit of taking the load out of the dryer and leaving it in the basket, in the laundry room. Just can't get that last step to click in my brain.
Dinner. Im usually a great chef. I really enjoy cooking.. but when your house is already at 76 degrees (even our AC can't handle the heat) and you have a time limit so your husband can get back to work- it's not pretty.
Case in point, last week I made a cauliflower crust pizza.... let's just say there was cauliflower in every crevice of my kitchen. That stuff goes everywhere.
After dinner and another send off of the husband, begins the greatest struggle of the day. Trying to stay awake until 10, which is when I head off to the gym to get me some gainz. With the help of preworkout, I usually manage. It aint pretty and I usually grumble as to why I'm even doing this. But once I get to the gym, it pays off.
Nothing like sweating off the stress of the day. And it usually helps that I have protein in the car waiting for me at the end. Protein= sweet sweet joy. Nuff said. Call me a freak, but I enjoy eating clean and lifting heavy. Well... heavy for me. I always feel so proud when I shoulder press with 20s... and then some bulk dude sits down beside me and presses 65s. Show off. 
Last stage...light at the end of the tunnel. I pick up Jonathan from work and head home. Corny, but he still makes my heart buzz when I see him walking out of work. I love that man with everything I am. No matter how exhausted/frustrated I am (cause those tend to go hand in hand), he makes me feel loved.
And so, final stage of my day, I fall into bed. Laughing... its usually after midnight and my bed always feels 100% amazing.
I thank God for letting me succeed at conquering the day, hug my sleepy pups, and kiss my sweet husband goodnight. Head hits the pillow, eyes slam shut, and I'm down for the count.
Then the cringeworthy alarm goes off again and I grab my work jeans.... that I forgot to wash again. "Dear Lord help me to remember to go get some new ones... or even to remember laundry. That might be good. Thanks...Lets conquer today."


Welp. That is a typical day.
I do have to apologize for not blogging in so long... as you can see my life is hectic. I'm learning to take time tho..I don't want my life to pass me up. Like last night, Jonathan and I went into town to eat delicious froyo and then we continued to catch Pokemon. It's good to take time and enjoy life.
Right now, I have dishes that need to be loaded, laundry piling high (of course), and the floors need to be rid of the never ending dust, but I wanted to stop and write a blog. For myself, like I said before. Even tho it was just a run down of what I do on the daily.. it still made me stop and relax with a good cup of joe.

But now that time must come to an end. Gotta conquer this day yah know...

Thought this was an appropriate picture to add. Stopped myself in a rush to work one morning because I loved how beautiful the skies were. Subtle hints that God is telling me to slow it down and take life in.

The Waiting Room

Story #478 of New Mex adventures.

My dog caught a gopher.

We have a lousy problem with gopher(s) in our backyard. There's holes everywhere/all the time. Doesn't matter if you cover them up; there'll be newly dug cave holes the very next day.
Well... the one gopher likes to run and hide in our rainspout. The thing is he just keeps running in it but can't crawl up it of course... so all you see is this tail sticking out and hear him frantically racing in place, in effort to go up the spout. And there you have Obie... stiffly watching him cause he's too much of a wimp to do anything about it.
Except this day.... he got the courage to stick his nose in the spout and drag that sucker out by the tail. . . and then began to play with it. NOT OK.
So there we were... Obie running around tossing the gopher back and forth, with me in just my socks chasing him in circles, and Boba cluelessly following. Just one big dusty fiasco. 
We live in a crazy circus my hooligans and I.

Oh yeah btw, Boba is fitting in quite nicely! She's so lovable. and soft. and little.
But she won't be for long... so I'm savoring this cuddly stage. Though I hate that this stage also is mixed in with the "I have to pee. I'll just go right here right now" stage. This dog has such a freaking tiny bladder. Her preciousness equals it out tho... 
I love my kids. 
They love to wrestle and its adorable. Until they grab each other's skin and yank. Then its not too pretty....but yah know.. sibling rivalry and all. 

Yeah.... he's kind of a spaz. 

So yeah we're doing pretty well here. 

Anyways.. I've been kinda preachy in my posts lately. Idk why... but I just have stuff on my heart that I wish to share. 
Lately though, God has been talking to me MAJORLY. 
For the past 6 weeks at our church, the sermon series has been called The Waiting Room. And I have to admit... LONGEST 6 WEEKS EVER. it felt like it kept dragging on and on and on. Especially the last service ( I forgot my coffee and could barely stay awake. It felt like the preacher kept repeating the same sentence over and over again.)
Anyways... even though it was a pretty lengthy series... there were things that really hit home. 
Lemme give you the back story. 
I've been trying to get a job on base. I need to work. Like you have no clue... I need to be out in the fresh air... raking bunkers and mowing greens. I need this in my life. I need to see the sunrise every morning. So I applied way way way back in January. They didn't start looking over my application for awhile (like 2 months). And then after I got my interview and what not.. some of my paperwork/other crap got messed up so it was looking like I wouldn't be able to start work for awhile. 
So, you can say that it was trying my patience. 
Adding on to this was some emotional stuff... 
I feel kinda purposeless sometimes... especially when I'm not working/keeping myself busy. Like... I'm stuck. Stuck in this moment in my life.  Yah know? Like.. I love my life truly. But I tend to be a pessimist. I wonder if I'm living up to my true potential? If I could be something more... someone with a better purpose... 
And anyways.. these thoughts mixed in with the waiting on the job just wasn't the funnest thing in the world. 
I was negative. I was impatient. I was sad. I was restless. I was angry. 
But then low and behold, last Sunday, the first words outta the pastor's mouth were "Do you ever feel like you don't have a purpose? Like you're stuck where you're at in your life?"
OK GOD I HEAR YOU. Loud and clear. You're speaking right to me. I'm pretty sure my mouth fell open. 
It was just a wow moment.. 
To continue.. he went on to say that you're waiting for a reason. God hasn't forgotten you. He is PREPARING you in this time of waiting... He's making you ready for the next chapter in your life. 
He shared a verse in James... 1:2-4. 

"Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything."

Lemme give yah a word definition...

Perseverance: steadfast in moments of delay

I think right about then I laughed out loud. It's like God was saying "Yo I'm gonna use this pastor to tell yah what I need to say to yah, k?"

When you're steadfast in moments of waiting... in the end you will be fulfilled; lacking in nothing. 

It was just the shove that I needed. The boost of encouragement. To keep waiting even though it feels pointless. That its all part of the plan. 

It just goes to show that even when you think God isn't really showing Himself in your life, He couldn't be more in tune with you. He know's every thought. Every emotion. Every desire. 

He just wants you to rely on Him.. and trust in Him. He'll carry through. 

And yah know what? He came through. I start in processing/ working next week. And I couldn't be  happier or relieved. Like I'm fulfilled. Not lacking in anything... 

God didn't forget about me... He was just making me stronger. Making me stay in the waiting room.. cause he was preparing me for this. He was telling me that I need to rely on Him more.. that my sole purpose in life should be living/trusting in Him above all else! 

And He literally had to shout this to me. 

Enough

"Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised"

- Proverbs 31:30

"For the Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart" 

- 1 Samuel 16:7

God's definition of beauty... is a powerful thing. 

It legit takes my breath away the more I think about it.  I can relate. 

I work hard on my gainz. Atleast I try to. I'm all about eating those leafy greens, getting enough protein intake, and crushing it at the gym. I care about what I look like, yeah! 

Don't get me wrong, this is a good habit to have. Its only bad when you start thinking that looking good is the only thing that you need to focus on. It shouldn't even be the number one thing that you as a person should work on ( but definitely don't forget about it). 

Its all about that inside... your soul. Your heart. What does that look like? 

How are you gaining in that area? That's the real deal. 

Lemme share a little thing about me with you... 

All growing up I struggled with the thought " Am I good enough?"

Am I good enough... good enough to hang with these cool people? 

Am I a good enough daughter or am I just the worst? 

Am I a loser of a friend?... I feel like I'm cruddy at it. 

That boy didn't want you... are you good enough for anyone?

Should I even call myself a Christian.. am I good enough to do that? 

Unaccepted. 

Unwanted.

Not enough.

I always judge myself and I barely realized it... and it was tiring. 

But you know what? I can honestly tell you when I started to feel myself changing. 

I felt God saying... "Mikala... why do you think like this. Focus on me!!  I make you GOOD ENOUGH. Open your heart to me... let me fill you. Anyone who makes you feel less, they are wrong. You are My daughter. I want you. I want to love you. I want you to know that I desire you. You are enough. Let me in"

I realized that I didn't have my heart in the right place...

Yes I loved God... but I wasn't focusing on where I needed to. 

I guess my heart was crooked. I was basing all my thoughts on how much I weighed as person without God's grace flowing through me.  I realized all those thoughts were lies that Satan was feeding me. Awful and consuming lies. 

Once I started letting God have control over my emotions.. just letting Him have it all.. well the questioning thoughts of "You good enough? You're a worthless daughter. You call yourself a Christian? HA"  were replaced with "Yo, you're a daughter of GOD. You're made in his image! His grace fills you... who can tell you that you're not good enough??" 

Lemme tell yah, life felt a little bit different after God straightened my heart/focus. 

I felt whole. I felt beautiful.  I took more control of life... I gained more confidence. 

And a little tidbit... soon after this.. God created my love story with my amazing husband. 

Its all His plan. Gotta trust in Him... He know's whats up. 

Anyways.. back to where I started. God's version of beauty. 

He cares about what you are inside... make this right and you will feel more confident about your outside. 

Just wanted to be real with you for a couple minutes... cause its a very real thing to me. 

I sometimes still struggle with it... Am I a good enough wife? Am I strong enough for my husband? Am I enough of a godly woman?

But I just remind myself... "God... fill me with your goodness. I can't be my best without you. I can't ever be strong enough without you. You complete me. I want to be filled to the brim and overflowed with your grace and assurance. Give me strength and courage. Help me realize I am enough with You"

Don't believe the awful and consuming lies....

Believe the wonderful and consuming Truth... 

“Keep your mind clear, and be alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion as he looks for someone to devour. Be firm in the faith and resist him …” 1 Peter 5:8-9

game face kind of day

You have certain days.

You have days when you're gleefully happy. Nothing can bring you down; and nothing does. You're at the top of your game. When something stupid happens, you laugh at it in the face. You're empowered. You're the champion. Everything is going your way.  Your work out was epic and you can already feel the damage/ sweet goodness.  Your dog is as cute as ever; behaving like a little gentleman.
Your husband is lovable and is also enjoying the day. Dinner was on point; you're such a freaking great cook. You might even get a slushy. You end it on a happy note "God, thank you for this awesome day. Bring on tomorrow; I can feel its gonna be a great one again!!"


Then you have days where everything is completely chaotic. The dishes are piled high waiting for you to play Tetris in the dishwasher. Your toast lingered a little too long in the toaster and came out a nice shade of charcoal. You dropped the jar of chopped almonds, which if any of you have bought almonds you know this is heartbreaking because of the price of them alone. And now you have millions of pieces everywhere. (Last month, I dropped the container of oatmeal... this is beginning to be a nasty habit.) The house inspector shows up while you're in the middle of working out. You're a stinky sweaty mess. And then there's your dog; outside jumping as high as the patio door because there's an intruder in the house and he must sniff him. You don't have any socks because A) you haven't done laundry in how many days...? B) your dog hides them. C) when you actually do laundry, the dryer really does eat them.
You finally think you're ready for bed, only to lay down and be FULLY awake ( I have insomnia issues sometimes). "God, can you please let tomorrow be a little more relaxing? That would be wonderful. Pretty please.......thankyou". 


And then you have those days. When everything feels like the color black/grey. It legit feels like its raining inside...
You wake up not feeling the greatest... probably from lack of sleep. Also it could be that the room feels like a sauna (all the other vents in the house blow the right temperature but the bedroom vent legit sends out flames).
Breakfast... the yummiest meal of the day. You put too much milk in your overnight oats. Or not enough (I have such a hard time with that and I don't think its supposed to be that difficult?).
What's next.. you open the washer to throw clothes in cause your husband is complaining about the no sock situation... and low and behold there's the last attempt of laundry. Staring back at you from the washer.  Wonderful.
Then you walk out into the living room only to find your "adorable well-behaved" pup TORE apart his stuffed animal; your previously cozy room now looks like a mini snow storm has struck.
Your once green and blooming plants are now brown and crispy because of the hard and nasty faucet water you've been letting them drink. And you used to have a green thumb; with every falling leaf you're slowly losing that title. (I killed a cactus for gosh sake.)
Then you hear the roar of the garbage truck rumbling past your house... only to realize that you forgot to set out the overflowing trash bin. Again.
So this plus some other unfortunate events kinda make you in a foul mood. You bicker with your hubby... you bicker with the dog... you bicker with yourself (I sometimes have full on arguments with myself.. don't judge).
K now i hate the word bicker.
But you get the picture..
You lay down in bed... exhausted and discouraged. "Well God... that didn't go as planned. Quite the opposite. If you could make me fall asleep instantly so I can forget all the crud....." Right about then the dog hops up in bed thinking he's chihuahua size and can lay down on top of your legs. So you're trapped. "Yep... cause that's exactly what 'instantly falling asleep' means... goodnight Jesus" 

In all of this... my point is: God's going to give you certain days, but you ARE going to get through them. It is all how YOU handle them. God is going to give you these tiny day by day obstacles... and He's only trying to help you grow stronger. To take hold of those frustrating and trying moments, succeed and conquer, and learn that hey- that was a gawdawful day but I'm not dead and I didn't kill the husband or dog. Job well done.
Whether you have grumpy days, buzzerko days, or pure bliss days, don't forget to recognize that God has provided you those days. They're a gift; doesn't matter if they're rotten. Who here has gotten a rotten Christmas gift? Its still a gift. Did it make you learn how to achieve the perfect "OH my goodness this is fantastic!" lying face? Then there.. the gift made you learn something. Same as a rotten God given day- He's letting you learn how to grow a stronger game face.
That's my childlike mindset. Sorry.

And I've rambled... and probably have not made much sense. Its a habit of mine. BUT. I have brushed you up on the little details of the desert dwellings of the Cherry familia. So you're welcome.

Now I am going to go... I have a cranberry banana bread that's justttttt about ready to come out of the oven. I'm probably going to sip on some java, stuff my face with said bread, and binge Gilmore Girls.
Cause it's freaking friday night and I can do what I wanna.
Adios.

And just because I know y'all miss our lovely faces. here.

and it doesn't look like I have a nose? Oh well, I have no pride. My dog's cute. 

That's all that matters right?

i salute you, 2015.

greetings.

Welp, we brought in the new year. 2016. We made it. And it was a lovely way to bring it in... in the beautiful Smoky Mts of Tennessee. Oh how my heart loves mountains and trees. The good ol' forrest.

But I mean, come on. Look at that.

Anyways.. haven't blogged much at all lately; but its in my resolutions to get my act together and keep y'all in the loop. Most of the time though I can't come up with anything to blog about? I legit just sit here staring at my screen. Really, what can you write about when you have a pretty common and slow moving lifestyle?

GRrrr. Gotta kick that nasty habit of mind blanks. Kick it out with some creativity.

Let's rewind and get back on topic doh. NewYear/OldYear.
I would like to do a quick recap of some events of sweet 2015. It was pretty good to me. And deserves to be remembered.

• The obvi - Jonathan deployed. 

This was monumental for both of us. His first deployment. Not the first time we've been apart for months at a time, but definitely the farthest distance. I'm very joyful to say that it made us stronger as a couple. It took reliance on God to keep our hearts light and patient. He made the time fly by a little quicker.

• 1 year. 

We survived year uno! 365 days as Mrs. Mikala Cherry... its lovely. Bring on the rest of the glorious years to come.

• The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Yes. I took the step and got baptized this year. It was truly an amazing moment... I finally shoved my insecurities aside and just let God wholly fill me with His grace and love.

And then there's the little things that just filled the year up with good times.
Like da Obie's first birfday. Working at my old job. Inheriting my grandfather's Martin guitar. Petting a zebra. Numerous road trips. Skunk hunting (and being victorious!). Pirates baseball game.  Deep sea fishing (of which I missed totally due to complete sea sickness). Star Wars VII ( no words needed; just pure bliss). My pine tree. And all of the precious memories with family and friends.

I was blessed in 2015. Richly blessed with unforgettable moments. With joy filled laugher and doleful tears. And with an overall increase of strength.

Adios 2015.



HELLO 2016!
Whatchoo got in store for me huh?
I've got resolutions. I've got goals. and I have many adventures planned.
I have my courageous husband by my side. My exuberant pup at my feet ( more like jumping up at my face every 10 seconds). And my unwavering God guiding us wayfarers on this incredible journey.

Let's go. 

Gr8ful for the Original Hipsters

I was brought up in a certain lifestyle. and there's nothing about it I wouldn't change...
You could say that I'm extremely grateful for it. Extremely.
My parents did it right. I'm proud to be raised by a couple of crazy kids. They were the original hipsters.
They've taught me so much. I, of course, would not be the person I am today without their guidance.
My skill of quoting b&w movies on a daily basis goes to them. I grew up watching a classic every evening.
Kansas, Chicago, The Carpenters, and America are the best bands in history. Hands down.
They taught me that you don't have to constantly have an electronic in your face... because the art of a good conversation is rapidly dying in this generation. Our Sundays consisted of the whole family in one room sitting and talking about whatever. And those memories are the best.
When it comes to work... my parents told me that you won't get anywhere in life if you don't know how to work. Truest advice. You work and you work your butt off.
And greatest of all, they taught me to love God with all my heart. To trust Him in every situation. I can't ever thank them enough for guiding me and being such amazing examples.
They're my role models.
They got married young, just like Jonathan and I. They learned to be strong and depend on each other. They told me that there is times when it's not the easiest, but you have to just keep going. Work through your problems together. Work, laugh, love, and keep Jesus at the center.
To me... that's just WOW. Just a huge inspiration.
I hope/pray that my marriage and lifestyle can be everything that I've seen in theirs. They're the strongest punks I know.

Thanks for everything you did/are doing for me. I love you all more than anything... you made me who I am today.