Saturday, January 31, 2009

Go Steelers!

A work in progress.

King Cake

Going in the oven.

King Cake

Coming out of the oven. looks like a giant cinnamon roll.

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Betty Crocker

Making more black icing.

Betty Crocker

Cupcakes with white icing.

Betty Crocker

Super Bowl colored sugar for the King Cake.

Betty Crocker

Still making icing.

Betty Crocker

Making Icing

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Oh Happy Day!

Today has been a strange day that I would really like to just start over. Getting out of bed was TERRIBLY difficult this morning. Must go to bed at 10pm. No more talking with roomie until 10:30... must be in bed at 10! I pressed through once again and walked though, I knew I needed to especially since I didn't yesterday due to the rain.

This morning at the office was rather hectic. I had my normal Thursday morning meeting with Dean and then I had an appointment scheduled for 11:30am. This appointment was with the founders of the ministry. See... I write the monthly donor receipt letters (among other things) and in January included a story that Bishop (our founder) told about the summer of 1972. It was an encouraging story about how when all seems lost and impossible God comes through and "makes good on His promises," so to speak. It received amazing responses from people who just loved reading about their personal experience and how God used that time to virtually launch the ministry that is today. Since that was so successful I wanted to capture some more personal stories from them to use in future letters, on the web and just to have around.

Bishop was on a conference call so I sat down with "Mom" (his wife Evelyn) and for over an hour she told me different stories about their life over the last 54 years of ministry. It was great hearing her stories and thinking about where they came from and where they are today. She talked about the first year of their marriage when they lived in a room off of the back of the church they were pastoring that didn't even have a bathroom. They would have to trek through to the front of the church in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, but they were happy and none of that mattered. She said people didn't care about having things then. If only life were that simple now.

Anyway, it was great collecting material to work with and I left the house with a plate of eggplant lasagna. (A tray had been brought to them last night, so they offered me some.) As I drove back across the street to the offices it hit me what a privilege I had just had. I sat in the home of internationally known ministers, who have pioneered and overcome many obstacles, that others would be beside themselves to get to talk to for even just a minute. To many he is "Dr. Bill Hamon, father of the prophetic movement," to me he is Bishop, he's "the big boss," he's my friend's grandfather, he's the man that teases me about being single. He is all of these things that I see and that others see, but he is ultimately a humble and powerful man of God.

At that moment I realized how we easily we can take them and our other leadership for granted because they are so approachable. Bishop, Mom and all of the leadership are down to earth. They don't put on facades or think more highly of themselves than they should. They are servants, they are down to earth. Bishop is just an Okie at heart, and we love him all the more for it.

So after that high point of my day I came back over to the office to microwave my eggplant lasagna. It was on a paper plate with a napkin over it. I left the napkin on, like a good girl, so as not to have red sauce splatter all over the microwave. I set the time for 2 minutes and went to tell Shirley something. When I walked out of her office towards the front desk and the kitchen the entire foyer was filled with smoke. Apparently my food caught fire in the microwave. Fortunately there was no explosion, but I did have a very charred lunch... and therefore no lunch.

It was an interesting day.... one that I would have definitely changed parts of if given the chance. Oh well.... Tonight we record more vocals for the upcoming CD and thankfully tomorrow is Friday. The next few days will be spent preparing for our Super Bowl Party at the house and praying that the Steelers whoop up on the Cardinals!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

How do you wait for heaven....

Then the time came whenthe risk it took to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. - Anais Nin

It's little things that often remind us that God is listening. For days the desire for a boyfriend that would eventually become my husband and the father of my children, stirred in my heart as it so often does. I wanted to scream my desire from the nearest rooftop (we don't have mountains in north Florida) but shame told me that I should just keep how I was feeling bottled up inside. While blogging this afternoon I couldn't keep it quiet any more. Near the end I threw in that I'm tired of being single. I quickly followed it up with instructions to all who may read to save their preaching... I already know it all!

Last night I finally finished reading "Talent is Never Enough" by John Maxwell. I had been vacillating over what to read next. The debate was between a "fun" book, like Jane Austen or another fictional book from my roommate's library, or a spiritual one. Preparing to go to bed I put the finished book back in its place on the shelf (in alpha order by author) and started pondering again. I read the back of one book I had thought of reading when suddenly a thought struck me. "Do I have that Captivate book? I think the author's name starts with an 'e'." Sure enough in the "e" section was "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldridge. (Yes, I have so many books that I don't really know what I have.)

Before I even cracked the cover I got the sense that by the end many of its pages will be stained with my tears. The quote above was one of the first things to tug at my heart. The second was, "We feel unseen, even by those who are closest to us. We feel unsought - that no one has the passion or the courage to pursue us, to get past our messiness to find the woman deep inside..." Yup! That was only page 7.

Then Stasi wrote, "When we are young, we want to be precious to someone - especially Daddy. As we grow older, the desire matures into a longing to be pursued, desired, wanted as a woman." She then wrote of a young woman who asked, "Why am I so embarrassed of the depth of my desire for this?" Stasi went on to write, "We were talking about her life as a single woman, and how she love her work but would much rather be married. 'I don't want to hang my life on it, but still, I yearn.' Of course. You're a woman."

WOW! There was such freedom in that. There's NO SHAME in my desiring a husband, a life-long best friend and co-adventurer. God made me to desire to love and be loved.

The lyrics to Born to Fly are all that came to mind when titling this blog:

I've been telling my dreams to the scarecrow
About the places that I'd like to see
I say, "Friend do you think I'll ever get there?"
Oh, and he just stands there smiling back at me

So, I confess my sins to the preacher
About the love I've been praying to find
Is there a brown eyed boy in my future?
He says, "Girl you've got nothing but time."

But how do you wait for heaven?
And who has that much time?
And how do you keep your feet on the ground
When you know
That you were born to fly?

**Please excuse any errors. I typed this entire entry from my cell phone!**

Hurts So Good

As I sat and tried to figure out a title for this blog a John Mellancamp song came rushing forward from the recesses of my memory. Today I again added some jogging to my walking routine, along with my wrist weights. Okay, not sure if it's the jogging or the weights, but I feel muscles I forgot I had. My abs, my legs, it all hurts. But it hurts SO GOOD! I think I am easily becoming addicted to endorphins! Even on mornings like today, when I'm tired and would normally sleep as late as possible without being too terribly late for work, I remember how good it feels when I come in from my work out and I'm motivated to get up. I can see my body changing too, which is totally awesome! And all without a diet!

When I decided to embark on this journey I did so planning to make acheivable goals. My first goal, though probably not actually verbalized, was to make it through the month of January walking every weekday morning. In three days I will have completed that goal! WOO HOO! I've missed two days, one when I went to Leesburg for the boot camp and the other because it was TOO COLD! However I made up for the too cold day last week by going on a 3 mile walk with Sarah on Saturday.

My new goal is to keep it up through the month of February. This next month holds a few challenges, one being two back to back weeks of conference. Typically on conference mornings I have to be at the church by 8 or 8:30. I realize that's only a 1/2 hour difference from now, but the likelihood of being in bed by 10pm on a conference night is very very slim. The other challenge is that the weekend between those two conferences I'll be keeping my friend Candice's kids. Somehow I don't think they could keep up with me for 1.7 miles let alone a long 3 mile trek. I did joke with Sarah that I could take them to play in the play yard at the church and just walk circles in the parking lot so that I could keep up with them.

So... I feel the need to say something, to be totally honest, to get it off my chest......... *big sigh*....

I'M TIRED OF BEING SINGLE! There I said it. Sorry, it's just true. I really don't need any pep talks. I've heard them all before. I give them to myself on a regular basis. I will except offers to fix me up with someone provided you can assure me that they meet certain criteria. Otherwise, keep the speeches and preaches, I already know it all. Just say, "I'm sorry, I know it sucks!" and pray for me. Okay?! I'm not depressed, just ready for something, someone new!

That said.... 3o minutes to my sushi date with my dear friend Rebecca! WOO HOO!

Monday, January 26, 2009

Why are we runnin'? Oh eee oh eee oh! Why are we runnin' now?

Good Monday morning! Yesterday I went to the Nike Factory Outlet and bought some new workout pants, which I love. Absolutely love! They are soft, light weight and they have pockets! Woo hoo! I also bought some wrist weights which I had been wanting to get. Yipee!

So this morning I rolled my tired self out of bed and donned my new pants along with my other walking attire, strapped on my wrist weights and headed out the door. Last night I also discovered Last.FM which is the equivalent of Pandora for my phone. Rather than strapping on my MP3 player I decided to listen to Last.FM even though I don't have headphones for my phone. (One draw back of the G1 is that it doesn't adapt to normal headphone jacks.) This worked out pretty well as the music would quiet every minute so that CardioTrainer could tell me how far I had gone. This also came in handy when I decided to throw in a few 1 minutes stints of running.

I've read the "From Couch Potato to 5K" program and the plan is to alternate running and walking. They suggest starting out running 30 seconds to a minute and then walking, alternating during your entire work out. It has been a goal of mine since the beginning to do that, but I wanted to get used to getting up and doing anything first. Walking 1.6 (1.7, 1.8, whatever it is) miles has become some what easy over these last three weeks. Saturday my roommate, Sarah, and I drove to Watercolor and walked for 3 miles. Thing is I could have kept going! It felt good!

Anyway, I decided this morning I needed a little more challenge in my workout and added a few stints of running, as I mentioned before. I'm not quite to the point where I can consistently rotate one minute walking one minute running. The main reason is because it takes me so long to recover from that one minute of running. I'm either TERRIBLY out of shape or I'm doing something wrong. Okay, maybe it's a little of both. I need some breathing pointers!

After about 10 minutes I ran 1 minute, recovered while walking for 2 minutes, ran another minute, walked 2 minutes, ran 1, walked 3, ran 1, walked 3, ran 1... or something close to that. In total I ran 4 minutes, but like I said recovery from each minute increased each time. It's not my muscles that I was having problems with. It's my lungs.

I did think maybe I tried adding too many new things in one day - wrist weights and some running. I don't know... I just know it felt good what I was able to accomplish, but I would like to figure out what's going on so I can accomplish more. ANY tips would be greatly appreciated!

So this morning I was pleased to find a friend request on Myspace from a High School friend. It's funny because I have looked for her before, but didn't find her. I have to say I love Myspace and Facebook for the people I've been able to reconnect to through them. I may not talk to those people everyday, but at least I have an idea of where they are and how to find them. It's nice!

Alright... well, on with my Monday!

Friday, January 23, 2009

Smokey where are you?

So this morning after nearly succumbing to the desire to sleep a little later I rolled out of bed and prepared for my walk. When I walked in my bathroom it smelled like a campfire. I did not panic thinking my house was on fire, but rather knew the all to familiar smell was that of the smoke of a controlled burn that had drifted in our direction. Sure enough when I went outside there was a smokey haze filling the air. I started down Apostles Way towards Hwy 98 where I normally cross over to the south side of campus and realized I couldn't see approaching traffic until it was within 50 feet of me, and that's IF they had their lights on. Being that the speed limit through there is 65 and people are infamous for going 70-75 I didn't trust myself to effectively hear how far away they were and decided not to cross. I kept my walk to the north side and managed to get in over a mile.

The smoke not only kept me from walking on my normal track, but it also made the bit of walking I did do rather difficult. It was 10 degrees warmer than yesterday and that should have made breathing easier, but the smoke made sure that was not the case.


The sun breaking through the smoke.

More smoke

More smoke as I walked.

Smokey Bear where are you?

Note that this is smoke not fog..

Posted via Pixelpipe.

What I can't figure out is why the Fire Department and Department of Forestry decide that it is smart to do a controlled burn when, according to Accuweather, we are under a fire advisory. DUMB! Several years ago they actually shut 98 down several nights in a row because the smoke from a controlled burn got out of control and it was too dangerous to drive through.

Yesterday Liz and I went to the bank and Starbucks, and as we drove along 30A towards Grayton we could see a mushroom shaped cloud of smoke to the north. I have no idea if the burn was on the north or south side of the bay, but it was huge and obviously rather annoying!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

This Is a Test....

This is a test only a test. If this were a real blog it would say something interesting!

One way to fight the chocolate cravings (Okay, I know... not a song title or lyrics. I couldn't think of anything.)

Well I overcame the cold and walked this morning. It as 32 rather than the 24 it was at 7am yesterday morning. 8 degrees makes a HUGE difference. But that is not the point of this blog....

It's supposed to be "warmer" here today so I dressed accordingly, though maybe under dressed a little in comparison to the last few days - 3/4 sleeves and no socks. I'M FREEZING! Come to discover the unit that cools and heats my office was set on A/C! Oy vey, that would explain why I'm freezing. The heat hasn't been on in my office at all this week during the three consecutive nights of hard freezes. Brr!

That situation rectified by switching it to heat, but leaving it set around 69-70ish, I realized I'm hungry. Normally I might jump up and walk to my office neighbor's desk and grab some candy out of the jar, but Monday changed that for me. You see, Monday morning I came in to a hysterical Sherilyn who had discovered evidence of a chocolate party occurring in her office after hours. Unfortunately the party goers are of the small four legged furry variety. Sometimes known as Mickey, or even more recently Despereaux. She not only discovered that they had chewed through one of the reserve bags in her desk. They also carried a large stash from the reserve drawer to another area of her desk. Obviously behind her corporate binders proved to be a more inviting party atmosphere than her desk drawer. I just can't bring myself to eat the ones in the jar for the fear that they may have been crawled on by the culprits. We did set traps and apprehend one of the perpetrators..... The one good thing is the thought of them enjoying the same food as me keeps me from retrieving candy from the jar....

However, I have no quams about eating candy fresh from the fridge before it is mixed with "the others." Hence just leaping from my desk when I heard Sherilyn walk in her office with the bag... Oh well, it was at least a temporary deterent....

I've had lunch though and the chocolate craving has been satisfied....

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Somewhere over the rainbow....



Today is the 2nd anniversary of my maternal Grandmother, Emma Gene "Genie" Duffy, passing away. I called her Gibby, and eventually so did everyone else. She is still one of my heroes. She endured much over her life, but yet she lived her life! She loved to dance, loved to entertain and loved her family. Somewhere Over the Rainbow was one of her favorite songs because it was the song of her graduating class. Somewhere in Time was her favorite movie.

The following lyrics from Brad Paisley's "When I Get Where I'm Going" always remind me of her. (Altered a bit to fit the situation.)

I'm gonna walk with my Grandmother
And she'll match me step for step
And I'll tell her how I missed her
Every minute since she left
Then I'll hug her neck

















Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Lord save our nation, we need your grace....


I finished my walk in the 29 degree weather and came in to make my coffee and protein shake. As has become a custom I turned on the Today show. It is in fact Inauguration Day and of course it's all about the events of this historic day.

As they panned the National Mall (BTW... not a shopping place as people have asked me before....) and showed the sea of people between the Capitol Building and the Washington Memorial tears filled my eyes. I recalled the hours spent with thousands of other Christians on that same land, crying out for our nation. Crying out for the lives of unborn children. Today people are on that same ground celebrating their right to choose; choose abortion, choose "who to love", choose a leader of this nation.

I feel so full of mixed emotions. I am excited that our nation has reached a point where it can elect it's first African American President, but I find myself standing on the opposite side of the line from him on so many issues. I also mourn for the people of our nation who have all of their hope placed in this man rather than in THE MAN that can actually bring change... Jesus.

God bless and protect our new President and our nation! We need you now more than ever....

Letter from Os Hillman

Monday, January 19, 2009

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down....

Okay not really. I love rainy days. Mondays, ehhh... I only get one day to sleep in so Mondays really aren't that big of a deal.

Let me start by saying that again this morning my GPS turned off in the middle of my walk and therefore did not accurately track my work out. That was a bummer, but it felt really good to get out and walk this morning after a 4 day hiatus.

Friday I left at 8am for Leesburg, Florida (hence no walking). Our Worship Leaders Network sponsored a song writing boot camp there. Since I am the network's administrative assistant I get to go along for the ride. It was a very successful weekend. We left with 14 people registered and ended up with 21 people after walk-ins. The boot camp consists of teaching, activating and then critique of songs, so we limit attendance to 30 people. 21 was a perfect number. We covered our costs to get there and had time to critique everyone's songs. Well Dean critiqued the songs, I sat in the back and attempted to behave myself. :)

On the way home my phone notified me I had new emails. One was from my Dad and it was less than friendly. It was all about what a terrible person I was for not calling my Grandmother on her birthday. Here's the kicker... I had no idea it was her birthday. It's not like he told me and then I blatantly didn't call. I didn't know! Some may be appalled that I didn't know it was her birthday, but I have found a bunch of people who couldn't tell me when their grandparents birthdays are. Does that make us all horrible people? Because according to my Dad, I'm a horrible person.

My Mom's mom, who I called Gibby, was one of the most important people in my life. We had a very close bond. We didn't talk on the phone a lot. She was up early and I was up late. If she called me when it was good for her I was at work, and if I called when it was good for me she was in or going to bed. She used to say to me, "I know we don't talk much, but I know that doesn't mean we love each other any less." It was so true! Her death was one of the toughest things I have ever gone through. (More about that in a few days... NO TEARS RIGHT NOW! GRRR!) Apparently though that's not good enough for my Dad. Because I don't call my grandparents once a week I'm the world's worst granddaughter and I couldn't possibly love them. Oh and to boot I'm apparently a hypocrite. He assumes the reason I don't call every other day is because I am harboring resentment towards them.

There was an incident a few years back that caused my sister and I to keep our distance for a little while. The drama can just be downright overwhelming! But I don't resent them. I've forgiven them. If I resented them why would I have organized a family photo so that we would have something before it's too late? Which, by the way, according to my Dad means nothing because I don't love them. It makes me want to say, "Then have the photographer photoshop us out!"

The worst part of the whole thing is that my own father doesn't know me at all. He doesn't know that it's not my heart to purposely hurt anyone or realize that if I did harbor some sort of resentment I wouldn't have given a flip about having a picture of our family. There's no winning. No matter what I do it's NEVER good enough. I'm not living my life they way they want. According to my Dad I'm "just an assistant at some church." He has NO concept of what I do at all. My grandmother wants me to "move home and marry a West Virginia boy." Forget what I want for my life, or even better what GOD wants. I need to do it their way. But I just laugh it off and try not to let it bother me.... until my Dad manifests as the jerk he so often is. For someone that wants to be accepted as he is he sure is not very accepting of others.

I'm going to go to Publix, get groceries, buy a "Happy Belated Birthday" card and debate whether to just ignore Hunter or to respond. I'm just done though.... done!

On a brighter note.... THE STEELERS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL! All should be right with the world, right?!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Owie!

I fought with the wall and the wall won. :(

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Ifoundsbabyitsaboy!

Ifoundababyitsaboy! Who knew King Cake babies were anatomically correct?

King Cake Baby

I found the baby in my King Cake!

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler

A little bit of NOLA right on my desk! Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler! Let the good times roll! It's a King Cake.

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

If you don't dream big, what's the use in dreaming?

Tonight is the first night of the 2009 American Idol season. Last year I was totally addicted being I finally had cable and DVR, but this year even the sight of the commercials strike a twinge of regret. For years people have been trying to get me to try out. This past August my friend offered to take me to Jacksonville to the final tryout for this season. I debated over it, but in the end refused. There were several reasons: 1. Neither of us had the money to make that trip; 2. I was supposed to leave for DC the day after the auditions which at best case scenario are a 4 day process; 3. I was scared to death!

If you've ever watched the show you know there is a huge number of contestants that get before the judges and talk about how everyone in their church loves to hear them sing, but then when they open their mouths you wonder if their entire church is tone deaf. I was scared to death to be lumped into that group. I was also scared to death of not making it past the first round of judging. Somehow to never go and face the regret seemed easier than facing the failure and rejection. I've been singing since I was in 2nd grade, I lead worship and write songs, but that doesn't mean I'd make it before the "real" judges,
let alone to Hollywood, and then into the top 12.... But then I think, "What if I would have?"

Nearly every morning while walking I round the corner to pass the front of our offices and debate whether or not to go ahead walk down Apostles Way, cross 98 and follow my normal route down Hamon Avenue. Every morning a little fear creeps in and I wonder if my ankle will hold out, if I'll get too tired, if something else "bad" will happen once I cross the road and am "so far" from my house. So far, for the last six mornings, I have pressed beyond my ridiculous fear and continued on my planned route. In the end I'm happier for it. Though the biggest accomplishment is that I actually get up at 7am and go walking, I feel more satisfied that I have walked across the street, down Hamon Avenue and back.

I became aware of my "point of decision" this morning while walking and then while getting ready contemplated the start of AI. I'm sad when I look back and think of all of the things I have missed because I let fear stop me. Experiences, relationships, opportunities.... all sacrificed to the comfort zone. All slaughtered by fear. There's no changing my decisions of the past. There's no next year to try out for AI. Their age limit is 28 and guess what... in 2 months and 13 days I'll be 29....

I'm reading "Talent is Never Enough" by John Maxwell (The 2009 book list in the sidebar of my blog shows what books I've read this year. The top one on the list is the one I'm working on.) It's a great book and I would recommend it to anyone to help discover their talents and learn how to use them effectively. At the end of each chapter are a series of questions to help you reflect and apply the principles to your own life. One of the questions asked how much time (percentage) you spend thinking about the past, present and future. It then suggested that 90% of your time should be spent thinking and focusing on the present, 5% on the past if it is to focus on lessons learned and 5% on the future. With that in mind all I can do is to make choices today, in the present, that will overcome fear and open up new thoughts for the 5% of time I spend thinking about the future.

Now that I've gotten this out of my system I must go write and proof like a wild woman! There are probably more thoughts to come........

Monday, January 12, 2009

I don't want to grow up, I'm a Toys R Us kid....

Saturday night I went to a going away party at the "guys house" at the end of the road. I originally had plans to crash their party because they have an open door invitation to our house, but never invite Sarah and I to their little shindigs. I did end up invited when one of the residents and one of the partners in crime stopped by, told me about the party and asked that I bring Apples to Apples. Technically I think my game was invited to the party, but whatever....

When I got down there they had Guitar Hero on and several people were taking turns playing. Amazingly enough I had never seen anyone play let alone play myself. I was asking one of the guys how to play and what the goal was... etc. He graciously answered my questions and then said, "It's entertaining watching the grown ups analyze the game." WHAT? This kid, who is 10 years younger than me, just called me a grown up. Not an adult, that doesn't seem so offensive, he called me a GROWN UP! Mind you five minutes before that he was trying to convince me that God said I was his wife. What the heck? Can I just say being called a grown up by a college student did not make me feel very good!

Just Another Manic Monday

Good cold Monday morning! Grant it I realize cold is relative, but it was 34 degrees out this morning, according to Accuweather, when I donned my walking apparel and started out. It took me extra time to get dressed so I started out later than usual. Then my GPS apparently kept shutting off so my CardioTrainer did not accurately track my walk this morning. I did the full deal though!

My ankle is still hurting a bit. I got a brace this weekend... it helped some. I thought I might have to shorten my walk this morning, but again once I got going it was okay. Not great, just okay. It's everything before and after the walk that is uncomfortable. I'm rather stubborn so I'm not sure at what point I will decide to at least have it looked at.... I just keep hoping it will get better with time.

My weekend was not nearly as productive as I would have liked it to be. I was just wiped out! I'll have to put a concerted effort in to getting stuff done during the week. Friday I'll be heading to Leesburg, FL for the weekend for a song-writing boot camp.

Speaking of the boot camp... this morning I realized that this weekend will be the first time I've ever stayed in a hotel room by myself. Is it strange that I'm 28 and that is the case? I've always traveled with groups or with friends and therefore shared a room. I won't be traveling alone, just staying in the room alone.

Yesterday morning I was awakened by a very loud popping noise which was immediately followed by the sound of complete silence. The power had gone out at 7:10am. As I lay in bed for the next 20 minutes I began to formulate a plan of how I would get ready for church without any power. Being a Sunday morning I didn't have much hope of a quick repair. I called the electric company, as I have been trained to do being that I'm the exec. admin. assist. and our power goes out at least once a summer, and got their automated service. I then had even less hope of it coming on before I had to leave for church. I figured there was probably enough hot water to shower without washing my hair and decided I could get dressed and go to the church to put on my make up and fix my hair. Fortunately I had gotten my hair cut on Saturday making it manageable even though it was technically dirty. What I later found out is that only 4 of our houses were without power. Very strange! It was about 11:15am, four hours later, when I received a text from my neighbor saying it was back on. I still have no idea what happened!

The good news is my Steelers won last night and are one mere game from going to the Super Bowl. That would make for a very good Super Bowl as far as I am concerned!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Everybody's Working for the Weekend

Praise God, Hallelujah it's Friday! PHEW! This week flew by actually and I'm not exactly sure whether to be excited by that or a little sad. The quicker the week flies, the quicker the month flies, the quicker the year flies and the next thing you know I'm 30. YIKES!

I barely rolled myself out of bed this morning. Actually when the alarm went off I thought, "No I'm not getting up!" But then quickly remembered that I needed to walk. So I got going a little later than earlier in the week, but I got it done none the less. I think my body is definitely looking forward to a reprieve this weekend. The soreness is diminishing day-by-day, but my ankle is a little swollen and a bit bruised still. It doesn't hurt to touch, but it does hurt to move certain ways and when I first stand up from my desk chair. I'll be looking for a sock-like brace for it this weekend.

This weekend I need to get Christmas put away and get some serious cleaning done. I also have some work to get done as well. Next weekend I'll be in Leesburg, FL for a song writing Boot Camp so I want the house back to some semblance of order before then.

I spent most of today proofing/editing the website for one of our upcoming conferences. My eyes are blurry and I'm ready to no longer be sitting in front of my computer, yet here I am blogging! Go figure! Time to go home... relax for a little bit and then conquer the house. At least I get to sleep in tomorrow. WOO HOO!

Happy Birthday To You!


Today my baby sister, Elizabeth, turns 16. It's so hard to believe that before too long she'll be all grown up. When she was little I used to ask her if she would always be my "Baby Sister" of course she said, yes! Back then we were allowed to call her Libby. We would sing to her, "Libby, Libby, Libby on the label, label, label. Makes it taste good, taste good, taste good on the table, table, table."






Happy Sweet 16 Baby Sister!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

No pain no gain, right?

Not a serious injury... just a little bruising and swelling from all the walking. But it's not stopping me.

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

My beautiful mixer!

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Standing outside the fire... Life is not tried it is merely survived if you're standing outside the fire!

Happy Wednesday Morning! Morning #2 of getting up and walking. I'm happy to say that despite rain coming through last night it cleared up before I got up this morning. Thankfully it was considerably cooler than it was yesterday morning. Mind you yesterday morning at 7:30am it was 67 degrees out. HELLO IT'S JANUARY! Currently it is 61 and we are under a wind advisory through tonight.

Well, 1.69 miles in 27:36 minutes. Exactly 1 minute longer than yesterday, but I figure that's because I didn't run any portion today (except across the highway so as not to get run over). I was a little sore this morning so I thought I would be a lot slower than that. I'm very happy that I wasn't!

What really makes me happy is the fact that I only have to walk 2 more times this week. Wow... it's amazing how quickly a week goes by.

I have more thoughts this morning, but I'm going to save them for another blog. Don't want to get to long winded.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

I go walking after midnight....

Technically I did walk after midnight, though it wasn't in the star light. Sorry, it was the best I could do this morning! My knowledge of walking songs is rather slim. Any help would be greatly appreciated. :)

Well, I got up at 7am and walked the route I plotted out last night. 1.69 miles in 26:36 minutes. I ran for a few short stints in the middle and at the end. Barely 45 seconds each, but a start none the less. My goal in the next few weeks, once I've gotten myself "warmed up," is to do the "Couch Potato to 5K" program. I've never been a runner, always hated running, loathed the "cross country" section in gym class as a kid, but for the last several months I have had this desire to run. Call me crazy... I probably am! I do find a bit of excitement in the thought of working up to the point where I could go on runs with Gena when I go to visit her.

My wonderful cardio tracker on my phone is accessible online. I ask that anyone who takes the time to read my blog to periodically check on my status via the following information. I plan to walk Monday through Friday, at least a mile, hopefully more. If you log in and you see I haven't walked/run/whatever yet.... GET ON MY CASE! Please! I can use all the encouragement and push I can get. www.worksmartlabs.com/cardiotrainer - Access Code: CZVU-8SQI I suggest selecting the "hybrid" view so that you don't think I'm trekking through the woods in the mornings. Plus you can get an idea of my "neighborhood."

This morning as I walked I wondered, "Why now?" What is going to make this time different from every other time I have tried to exercise consistently? Getting in shape/weight loss is a definite plus, but there's more to it than that.

1st of all I'm strapping on my MP3 player with worship music and taking the time that I am walking to just be with the Lord. "Walk with Him" so to speak.... Speaking of that.... This morning as I walked on the dirt road of the North side of campus I was looking at the footprints that were in the sand. A few times I saw what I thought were my footprints from last night. Others were definitely not my shoe prints, but one struck me kinda funny. It wasn't a tennis shoe but rather a man's dress shoe, someone with fairly big feet. Thanks to having just read The Shack I had an image of God, Papa, walking beside me in wing tips.

The second thing I believe will keep me walking is the fact that I turn 30 in a little over a year. Different ages affect people differently depending on their stage of life. 25 was rough for me because God brought me to a point were I could no longer hide behind my walls and ignore the "skeletons" in my closet. I was forced to deal with my issues of hurt and unforgiveness head on. It wasn't fun, but when I turned 26 I knew I did so as a new woman. The thought of turning 30 makes me shutter. At times it's difficult to even form the word "thhhhhiiiiirrrrtttttyyyyyyy." It's like my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth prohibiting it from coming out in regards to me.

The truth is the fact that I'm not married plays a huge part in how I feel about turning 30. I realize in the "real world" (that outside the bubble of my current community) it's normal for people to stay single into their 30s, but right now I am surrounded by people my age and much younger married with families. It's difficult to keep perspective on what is "normal" when that is your "reality." For years I've been comfortable being single, grateful that God's plans provailed in my life and I was able to face issues like I did when I was 25 without dragging a husband and children through that process with me. Now I just struggle with restlessness... kinda like, "Okay, God, bring him along already so we can get this show on the road." I'm sure God smiles, shakes His head and pats me on my spiritual head....

Anywho, with all of this in mind I decided that I want to turn 30 with some more discipline under my belt. The discipline to get up and walk (or eventually run) in the mornings, the discipline to actually finish books I start reading, etc. Maybe I'll turn 30 with a man... maybe I won't... either way I want to look back at the year I was 29 and say, "It was all worth it!"

Monday, January 5, 2009

I would walk 500 miles....

And I would walk 500 more.....

Okay, so after work I drove my car around campus and plotted a walking course with every intent of coming in the house and eating dinner and enjoying the last Buckeye game until September. I decided in the mean time to try and reinstall the CardioTrainer app for my G1. When I loaded it the other day it did not work. The GPS thought I was still in West Virginia so it thought I wasn't moving. Tonight the installation was successful, so I decided I needed to try it out tonight. As a result I walked 1.16 miles in 18:52. MY LEGS BURNED within the first 0.2 miles. I thought there was no way I would make it, but once I hit the halfway point I was feeling good and decided to keep going.

I didn't get up and walk this morning, but I did it tonight, which means my goal to walk today is accomplished! PHEW! I got my heartrate up, worked up a sweat and worshiped a little in the process. I'm looking forward to getting up and walking in the morning when I can actually see! I'll take a little different course then. I asked my roommate to make sure I'm up. She leaves the house at 7am and that's really when I need to get up to get my walk in and then come home and get ready for work.

Okay, time for dinner - Ceasar salad - and the Fiesta Bowl. OSU hasn't played in 31 days.... lets hope they do better than they have the last couple years.....

O-H.... I-O.... O-H.... I-O.... GO BUCKEYES!

These Boots Were Made for Walking

Okay, I promise I don't plan on posting copious blogs daily, but today I have lots of thoughts going through my head and it seems better to split them up rather than string them all out in one long tedious rambling.

So, I went to bed early last night with intentions of getting up and walking before work. Well, intentions to be asleep early did not turn out to be successful. I finished reading The Shack which put me a little after 11pm finally turning the light off. Then my phone jolted me from the early stages of sleep just before midnight notifying me of a new email, text, tweet or something. All of this... added in with some tossing and turning... made for a not great night of sleep and consequently lots of alarm snoozing this morning. As you may have already guessed I did not get up and walk.

I've pondered over trying to get a walk in tonight, but here's the thing I struggle with... I live in a small neighborhood where I know and work with all of my neighbors. For some reason I have this idea that if I go out and walk they are all watching me. Now that's probably just my paranoia, but it definitely inhibits me! Argh, gotta get over it and get in motion. Gotta get these boots walking cause that's what they were made for. Maybe I could go walk in Watercolor or Seaside... Hmmm... That's an idea.....

Money Money Cometh....

Okay, I should reprimand myself for even entertaining the thought of titling a blog with that song, but none the less it is appropriate.

Several years ago I used a credit counseling company to help me with some credit card debt. I wish I had been smart enough then to permanently swear of credit cards, but I wasn't... that however is neither here nor there....

A few months ago I received a check from the credit counseling company. Apparently they had been a part of a class action suit and were sued for claiming to be non-profit. Since the prosecutors won I received a check. It was maybe $40 and I thought, "Well, that's nice, a free tank of gas." Just a few minutes ago I walked by the tower of office mailboxes and noticed an envelope in my box. The return address had the same credit counseling's name. I thought, "Certainly they didn't send me another check." But low and behold... THEY DID! Sure it's only $35, but that's basically a cover and portable battery charger for my new phone.

Every day holds mysteries. Some "bigger" than others, but each day has at least one. God's little way of reminding us He's keeping an eye on us. Keep your eyes open and remember to thank Him!

This Is the Day!

Good morning 2009! Yes, I realize it is already the 5th, but it is my first day back at work. Unfortunately I haven't the foggiest idea where to start. For now I'm starting, officially, with this blog.

I have for years blogged randomly on Myspace and more recently on Facebook, but this year as I have decided to "look forward" to every day I decided I needed something away from the "main stream." I intend to copy interesting blogs from here to both places, but I don't want to bog either down with the mundane of my day-to-day. So this will be my day-to-day account of "looking forward" and anyone who cares what happens in my life can check in as they please.

I named this blog "When words fail...." after a quote I saw on a friend's Myspace. "When words fail music picks up!" I would definitely say this is true for my life. Expect this blog to more often than not be titled with a song title or lyrics. Also, you can expect a myriad of lyrics to explain my day or my feelings about life.

So, I'm on a journey... a journey to live life to the fullest. Every day, every minute, I want to live with purpose. If I decide to sit on the couch and do nothing I will make a conscious effort to do so rather than just letting it happen. I'm "looking forward" to each and every day!