January 27, 2006
Image Meme
As I said, I ripped off this idea from VirgoJen. I thought it was a great post and since I haven't been very interesting lately, I figure I owe you a couple good posts. This one was fun, but it took a while. The rules were to only search g00gle images. No images from your own personal photos. .
The town I grew up in:
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This is mostly what I remember. Run down, old....
But I have some good memories too - this is where I attended college, briefly.
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The city I live in now:
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We go to this park pretty regularly. Pretty nice, huh?
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Okay, this is NOT the town I live in now, but I swear to you, this image was in g00gle images for MY town - which isn't THAT close to The Castle.
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The place I work:
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Obviously, this is not the place I work, but these images were in google under the category of the place where I am volunteering.
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My name:
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Standard reference
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My husband WISHES! (okay, me too!)
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My grandmother's name (I had to do one for each of my grandmas):
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Favorite Food:
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This, on just about ANYTHING:
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Current Favorite ('tis the season):
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And my Favorite Treat:
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Favorite Drink:
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With Friends...
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Bonus! These also display an artist that I'm particularly fond of - these are PAINTINGS! There's no such thing as too much of a good thing.
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Favorite Current Song:
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Pretty Vegas - I know, maybe I am stuck in a rut, but I love it! And I love that my girls come running in to dance with me every time.
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Favorite Smell:
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And as long as there's no red tide....
Behind the Scenes
New posts over there, will be more regular, from what I understand....
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I'll be posting a photo post soon, ripped off from VirgoJen. :)
January 24, 2006
V on Americ@n Id0l
We were watching the AI auditions tonight and V loves watching with us. Following are a few of her most hilarious comments. I am certain I won't capture the full humor in them as you cannot possibly see the looks on her face as she made them:
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Cache - Randy loved her name, but nobody loved her voice: (with a pained look on her face) "I really don't think that was very good."
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Rhonetta - the crazy trashy girl in the silver tube top: (looking perplexed) "Does she really think she looks like a star? 'Cuz I don't think she looks like a movie star... I like her sparkly shirt, but it doesn't look nice on her."
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"Um, why would HE think he should go to Hollywood?"
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"I really don't think they're going to let her go. I just think that wasn't very good at all"
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"His mom thought he sang nice?"
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The girl with the squeaky voice and crossed eyes - who thought she looked really cute: (V looking sick to her stomach, very dramatic) "She really can't sing - and she's not cute like she said she is"
Things have been busy around here, thus my utter absence. We've been reading more (I can't get over V!), playing more games, playing outside (can you believe it's been in the 80s here the past week?! This is insane for January - I shudder to wonder what it might mean for hurricane season!), and haven't been home a whole lot other than that.
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I start, today, my hands on training at the pregnancy center. I will learn the office procedures first and continue with my reading requirements and probably start role-playing with some of the workers. I think in two weeks, I will probably start sitting in on client intake meetings. I am excited to be doing this, though, the initial part of the training has shown me that this really is going to be a brutal experience. I just hope and pray that I am able to touch a few hearts and that I will be used where God wants me.
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MOMS group at church is really taking off! I love it - the comraderie, the fellowship, the learning! We had an adults-only social Saturday and it was great! I got to meet the husbands of some of the women I've gotten to know and it was interesting to see the dynamics. It was also nice to see the women in a social setting, rather than in a group learning environment. It makes it pretty clear who I really want to get to know (most of them, surprisingly!). We've been so blessed to have this group - and I know it will be one of the things that I miss the most when we move away from here.
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A gave his notice at the other church. Since it is about 130 miles round trip every other Sunday for him to play drums - and he doesn't get any positive feedback from the rest of the band (or even the lead), we felt maybe God wasn't really calling A to serve there. It makes far more sense for him to get involved at our church here, though if it is musically, it probably won't be near as fun and challenging as playing with a really talented group. But that's okay. He starts at our church this weekend and will be helping out with the youth group. One of my new friends is the youth minister and she is excited to have a young man helping out. He is incredible with the teens, so I know she'll be even more excited once she sees him in action. They're also talking about forming a group (just him and a guy on guitar) to do the music at our church for the youth mass. That will be a lot of fun and I know the rest of the people who go to that mass will love the change!
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I'm still working on my fitness and health, I started working out last week and the girls and I will start walking around our loop (1.4 miles) every day. I'm looking forward to working up to at least twice/day. I haven't lost the last week, due to some health issues, but I seem to be still on track. I did, however, lose almost 2 pounds over this past weekend, so we're not worried about the stall through last week. I like the idea of the girls and me walking/riding bikes together, because I have a feeling they need the encouragement to get moving a bit more as well.
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Next week, we are headed out of town for a couple days. A signed up the girls to be in a promotional video/commercial for a popular fun place and we'll probably make it into a mini-vacation - just a weekend starting Monday. :)
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Anyway, I have to get going. Must. have. a. shower.
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I'll try to write a more interesting post later. Until then, God Bless you!
January 13, 2006
Confiteor
I was tagged over a month ago for this Confession meme (anyone know what "meme" is???). Thank you, Rebekah. I haven't really had much of a chance to sit down and think about this, let alone type it out. But, I'm going to give it a shot today. .
~ I confess that I've been married twice. Yet, am still in my first marriage. Okay, the real scoop is that A and I were married at the courthouse in November 1998, then in the Church in March 1999.
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~ I confess that I had my first miscarriage 9 days after we were married at the courthouse.
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~ I confess that I now think we made a not-healthy decision to have sex before we were married, though I wouldn't change any of our decisions - they make us who we are today.
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~ I confess that I made many worse decisions before I met A. Let's just say that I was a wild child for a couple years.
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~ I confess that I have spent nearly 30 years being hard on myself. I am never good enough, never measure up to my peers.... I'm working on changing that - I just learned it less than 2 years ago.
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~ I confess that I was abused as a child and young adult. Leading to the above confession, I am sure.
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~ I confess that I am a lazy homeschooling mom. My daughter is amazing and is reading The Li0n, the Witch and the W@rdrobe (she's 5, people!), yet I am not sitting with her each day to do schoolwork. I think what I'm doing is officially called "un-schooling". She's learning mostly from life and from field trips to the zoo and things. I have to buckle down and teach her some school stuff, though. I have no doubt she'll finish the school year in June, but that requires that I stop being so laid back about it all. .
~ I confess I love chick flicks. And I can recite Top Gun almost verbatim. And I also like watching Disney tweeny flicks (Ice Princess, anyone?) with my girls.
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~ I confess I'm a pack rat. Ask my husband. It drives him nuts! I'm working on that too.
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~ I confess I hate putting laundry away. This also drives my husband nuts. I have no plans to stop hating this.
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~ I confess it is time to go to the weight loss center and have my last check in of the week. I'm rocking! I started exercising again yesterday. It sucks. But I know that it will get easier and therefore more enjoyable the better in shape I get.
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Have a blessed weekend.
January 09, 2006
Getting in a new groove
As I started this week, I thought of all the fantastic things I have going on in my life. And I need to make somewhat of a schedule to allow me to accomplish everything I have on my plate.
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First, Veronica and I have to get serious about schoolwork. She's doing great, but there are some things she needs to be doing by the end of first grade that she just isn't doing yet. I'm not worried. We have a good six months to get these things down and she's certainly capable, I just have to teach her.
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Second, we've started a new "semester" of my moms group at church. The fall session was phenomenal and allowed me to make some friends and start really feeling connected in our community. I am excited about this deepening of my faith and it is pretty cool to make connections with women who share my beliefs and desire to raise our children with deeply rooted faith.
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Third, I've lost over 15 pounds, but guess how many inches. I'll wait while you think about it..... I'll give you a hint - I started one month ago. Okay, that isn't really a hint, just an indicator how much arse I've been kicking in a month (with vacationing for a week in hotels, the holidays, and then feeling pretty crappy from two different viruses in two consecutive weeks).... Well, just off my waist, there was a 5.5" loss. I about fell over. Seriously. I could NOT believe when she told me. I have noticed a difference in how my pants are fitting, but certainly not thinking I've lost THAT much. I'm thinking they are just laying lower (falling to the chubbiest part of my hips), since I'm not noticing a 5" difference yet. The total loss (bust, waist, hips and one thigh - not all of these are measured at the largest part - which means my total inches lost would be even greater if we were going by the fattest parts) is 13.75" in one month. It's pretty freakin amazing!
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And then there's the whole thing about exercising. Now that I'm losing weight, I need to start moving more. or at all, really. I'm thinking of loading up A's iPod shuffle with music I like too so I can use it for a daily walk (or two) and I'm moving my daily prayer time (since I've already made that a habit I'm not willing to give up) so I can walk first thing in the morning before he goes to work.
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The last thing starting this year is my training for the crisis pregnancy center. I officially start tomorrow, but I unofficially started today by watching 3 of the videos that we use to show girls who come in for help. I seriously doubt any woman/girl would choose something other than life for the child within them if they saw this one video from the early 80s which documented by ultrasound a first trimester abortion. It was horrifying to see the baby actually react and try to move away when the uterus was invaded by the abortionists canula/suction thing. I have a feeling there are gruesome things to come in my training (we have to be prepared to watch these videos with a girl if she wants to), but I am excited to have the ball rolling on something I've thought for years of doing.
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On a side note, I realized it was two years ago this week that I finally took a pregnancy test to confirm what I'd suspected for weeks. It's taken me a long time to be okay with the idea that we have all the biological children that God intends. There were several things that happened over our Christmas vacations (observing other families, mostly) that really cemented for me that I'm at peace and ready to embrace the stage where we are now.
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So, you'll notice me bring around less frequently on the computer, since I'll be so busy doing these other things. I want to spend more time with my family, less time with a screen and keyboard.... I want to get my girls involved in some extracurricular type activities and spend more time with friends and family.... I want to get my body in the best shape ever so my 30s are healthier and happier than any other time in my life..... I want to enjoy my husband more and deepen our relationship with God together..... I want to plan a trip for the two of us to go to Europe, hopefully in the late summer or early fall..... I want to be the best that God intends me to be and I want to give my family the best I am able.... I want to be the best friend I can be, but that also means being an example of what I say I believe, so I will be here, but not like I've been. Maybe once I have my schedule all worked out I'll be online daily, but maybe not. We're turning the tv off, the music on and rockin' through the new year.
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I've much to be grateful for and I can't wait to share everything good with those I love. Perhaps I'll be lucky enough that you'll join me in my mission: make your faith your center, then pour it out upon your family, then your friends. As the circle widens, you'll see that your life is more meaningful and touching than you could have imagined. It's all about paying it forward.
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May you be blessed and happy in your missions this year. May the light shine upon you and your efforts. And may you feel neverending love throughout your days.
January 03, 2006
God Blessed Us in 2005
2005 was a difficult year for my family.... Grandparents were ill, A's job was beyond tough (remember for months and months we thought he'd lose his job?), my stepdad was killed by a drunk driver, I was depressed and then had a breakdown after we moved again....
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But I have to admit one incredible thing: God was with us through it all.
-The grandparents improved and are going strong, in spite of their advanced years.
-A's job is incredible now that hurricane reconstruction has been complete and the president of his company has said that A has a definite future and growth with the company.
-I have peace in KNOWING my stepfather has joined God in heaven. Our loss is felt deeply each day, but I know Pop is in a place he never imagined and the love he feels is immense, so my sense of loss seems so small in comparison to his gain!
-We love being in a house again, and this time it's even better because we have awesome neighbors and new friends. I've gotten involved at our church and am finding life to be much happier, thus helping with the depression.
-I'm about to embark on a new journey as a counselor for girls in "crisis" pregnancies.
-Our girls are wonderful, in spite of the small stresses I feel from day to day. I could never have imagined the joy and happiness that I have in my family. When I was a little girl and dreamed what my life would be like "when I grow up" - I never even imagined THIS happiness. This sense of a heart so filled to bursting....
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Yes, in spite of the difficulties, 2005 was a good one for us. Our marriage has never been stronger, our girls never more beautiful and fun... We have much to be thankful for. Our families are nearby and we were blessed to have a busy and love-filled Christmas season. Our friends are abundant (even if they are scattered throughout the country) and God has bestowed great joy upon us.
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I don't have many expectations for 2006, other than deepening my friendships, my familial relationships and my bond with my Savior. I expect this year will be one filled with many things unknown and many things to be grateful for. I'm so happy to be here and I treasure each moment of fun, laughter, love, and sadness - for even in the sadness, there is joy.
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I thought of doing a Christmas post, but I'm just not sure I could capture the love and joy we were surrounded with and immersed in this year. We were definitely blessed at the end of 2005.
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I pray your 2006 is filled with countless blessings and that you and yours are happy and healthy.
