Thursday, July 31, 2008

My Blue Eyed Boy...

He is the prettiest blue eyed boy ever!!




Create....


Well, this is what is done at this point. I think I need to add some bling or emellishment of some sort and when it's completely done, I will have to get a level and line them up, but I wanted to see how it was going to look when I'm done. Not sure what else I'll do or in reality if I'll take the time to do anything more than get them level. But, I figured I'd share the latest decorative addition to my scrap room.

Monday, July 28, 2008

It's Monday, but let's talk about Friday....

Friday started out to be an average day, just sitting around watching the clock willing it to say 5:00 and then about 9:30......

The FIRE ALARM goes off. This happens occasionally and has always been a false alarm. Needless to say because of this, we all just kind of sat around hoping it would stop making that horrible loud noise. I was getting a headache. About 10 minutes into the alarm going off, one of our guys went upstairs to the library and guess what there is a definite smell of smoke. At this point, we all decide its time to vacate the premises. The fire department arrived on scene and it was determined that there was a fire in the equipment room on the top floor of the building. We spent 2.5 hours outside in the sun watching smoke escaping from the top of the building. It was smoldering and we were hot, then it rained and cooled us off until it quit and the sun made steam out of our wet clothes. A fun day was not had by all. Jackson Fire put out the fire and it was contained to the equipment room. There was a lot of smoke in the libary and the city print shop, we had some smoke but mostly a horrific sulfuric smell. Due to this fact we remained at work all day long. I was not sure that 5:00 would ever arrive, my eyes were burning and my contacts were practically popping out of my eyes. I went directly home and showered and relieved my eyes of the contacts. Pretty much the day was a bust, but I'm thankful that nobody was hurt and the books in the library are safe. The smell is still here today but hopefully it will fade sooner than later.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

New Header...

So, I was bored this morning and thought my blog needed a head lift, ha. So I created a new one. Whatcha think?

One more day till Friday and so far the day isn't to bad. Other than this whole issue we have going on with obtaining grants for new sirens for our county. I will not go into that any further because I'd just assume not be airing the political garbage that goes into the process on my blog. Who knows who might be reading. Anyways suffice it to say, I'm tired of it! I'd be content to never hear the words "SIREN GRANT" again. Rant over.

I do have some fun news...don't think I shared it yesterday or the day before. I am officially registered for Crop Connection!! (http://www.cropconnection.net/). Dawn N. and I have always dreamed of going to a Scrapbook Convention, usually they are out of state and there is travel and obvious expense involved, so up till now its just been a DREAM. This particular event takes place right here in our area and I go to church with the wonderful ladies that plan and host this event. We've discussed going every year since they started and it just never worked out since it is right after Christmas and there is some expense involved. Thankfully this year we seriously considered, spoke to our husbands and voila....we are GOING!! There are 3 other ladies (including my sister)going with us and of course there will be many many many more scrappin' sisters attending that we do not know.

I need to do a countdown clock so I can keep up with how many days till we go scrap crazy. Do you think I'm going overboard with the countdowns? I personally think its great to have things to look forward to!! Lots of fun stuff ahead.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Just another Wednesday

I have absolutely nothing to report but thought I'd try to just ramble for a bit since we have about 10 minutes before we can go home. We are all sitting here hoping that we don't get put under any type of watches/warnings for Hinds County before we get out the door. Especially those of us who don't generally have to go back once we get to leave. Anyways, it looks like the sun is shining out there, so as long as it is like that all over the area I think I'm safe.

Have you ever noticed that bad weather is rarely convenient? It seems like the only time it threatens or shows up in the late afternoon is on days where I have some place to be after 5:00. Like today, if it kept us here it would keep me from being at my favorite church service. I love Wednesdays, they are laid back, relaxed and it seems most of the people there are really interested in getting what God has for them. There are less people getting up and going in and out and in general the whole atmosphere is different. It has always been my favorite time to be at church. It also helps keep my focus where it should be throughout the remainder of the work week. I'm not sure I'd get through some weeks with my composure in tact if it were not for the mid week uplifting and encouraging of the saints being in one place, one mind and of one accord. Can't wait to hear what He has for me tonight....maybe just maybe I'll share tomorrow.....

Well, I guess I'm going to shut this thing down, lock up and get ready to forward the phones. Have a great evening and take time to Praise the Lord, He inhabits the praises of His people!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Picture this...

....me, in front of a computer screen, trying to do a "dance workout"! Yes, I see you sitting at your computer imagining how this might look. I mean hello most of you know that I am not only a bit on the not so skinny side, but more than that I can not carry a tune in a bucket with a lid on it, and worse than that, my coordination skills, well they do not EXIST.

Anyways, I noticed that on netflix they had some "workouts" that were available using the "watch instantly" option. So, I flipped through them and most of them were obviously way out of my league. I found one that had a lot of reviews from other people who had watched it, they all said things like: "This is to slow" or "This is definitely for people with no dance background" or "This workout is for beginners". I thought okay, I am a beginner and have no dance background so let me try it. If Sandy and Romeo were able to laugh, they would have been. I got through the warm up, sort of and then managed to stick out at least "moving my body" for about 10 more minutes. Finally, I clicked on the "X" and closed it down. Marched myself into the living room stuck in a Walk Away the Pounds video and did a nice 1 mile walk. Much more my speed and even with that, I often get off pace and then I'm lost and have to stop and get myself back on pace. I can't keep going if my movements are not in sync with their movements, ack. Just one of my odd little quirks. If I'm off, I have to quit or I just get off worse and then well, I might as well just quit all together.

Anyways, I said all of that to say that though it was quite the comical process I did exercise yesterday and I feel good about it today. I will exercise again today when I get home. Hope you had a nice little chuckle with me as you read this. Have a wonderful day and take time to Praise God for all He's done for you!

Monday, July 21, 2008

Human Yo-Yo

That is what I am. I feel much like I am being dangled on a string and going up and down, up and down, up and down. I do know that only I have the power to stop the cycle. I choose to work on that starting now. Making better choices, staying focused on the goal, I think I lost sight of the goal for a short while. Time to refocus, think positive and remember that I want to be Fabulous by Forty. If you look at the sidebar countdown clocks, you will realize as I do that it is getting closer and closer to the cruise and my 40th birthday. So, here I sit at my desk determining that I don't want to reach the day of these events and be disappointed with myself. I want my 40th year to be the best one ever and so that means getting myself back on track. I have "played" and trying to stay on program for a month now. So, play time is over. I will log into WW online and I will log everything that goes in my mouth this week. Therefore the scale will move in the right direction next Monday morning!! So now, I've confessed, feel better and have a plan to get my act together....oh well I sort of confessed, I'm back up to 275 again....this 2 pounds is getting on my nerves...up and down, up and down, up and down.......next week will be down. Short term goal....2 consecutive weeks of LOSS!!

Friday, July 18, 2008

My Faithful Army of Women

Journaling: God Gave Me an ARMY of WOMEN.....This life we live was never promised to be an easy one, just a rewarding one. I am thankful that each and every one of these women have been placed in my life by a God who knew what I would need along the way. I rejoice in the fact that each one of them completes a part of me. They love me, encourage me, strengthen me, teach me and lift me up when I fall. The path to becoming the woman He planned for me to be has been filled with these women, these amazing creations of God, that have helped mold me and make me who I am today. There have been many battles that He knew were coming because He sees the beginning from the end. He made a way of escape and often that way was through words or thoughts or cards in the mail or even just silence portrayed by these “My faithful Army of Women ”. To each of you, I love you, respect you, appreciate you and hope that you all know how much you mean to me.

Inside the folder is a small journaling about each woman.

Top Left: ~Donna Arjes~ I met Donna through an infertility support group online. God brought her into my life at a time when my faith and my mental stability were in critical need of support. We bonded instantly and I am thankful always for her being in a place to be what I needed when I needed it.

Top Middle: ~Dawn Nations~ It would take a novel for me to express all my feelings about Dawn in one paragraph, so let me condense it into just one thought, She is my FOREVER BEST FRIEND and my life would not have been the same without her in it.

Top Right: ~Donna Smith~ I can always count on her to give it to me straight. She’s honest and open and her opinion matters because I know it will be what I need to hear. She’s inspiring because she goes after what she wants and doesn’t give up. I need that influence in my life.

Middle Left: ~Wendy~ We met at Central Assembly of God in the mid 90's and she was a blessing I was not expecting. She is easy going, always accepting of who I am and never judgmental towards me. She is always like a breath of fresh air in my life. She will always be dear to me.

Middle: ~Ginny~ My mom, I love that she raised me to be an independent responsible strong woman who can make it in this world. I am thankful that she had her priorities in order, she raised me first and then became my friend. I love and respect her for making that choice.

Middle Right: ~Stephanie~ What can I say, she is a ray of sunshine that never stops. Her smile can light up my world, she made me part of her family and aunt to her children. She inspires me to strive to be a better person and to take care of myself. For that I am grateful.

Bottom Left: ~Jean~ Nobody could ask for a better Mother-In-Law. She loves without question and only offers an opinion if asked. She encourages me when I need it and is one of my biggest cheerleaders. Best of all she raised an awesome man who became my loving, dependable, supportive husband.

Bottom Middle: ~Lydia~ Without a doubt she is the most giving, selfless, loving, amazing woman I have ever met in my life. She is an example of servitude, strength and commitment that I would like to pattern my life after. To keep it short, I’ll just sum it up to she is a great example of Jesus in this world.

Bottom Right: ~My Sister~ As far as baby sisters go I couldn’t ask for anything more. I am thankful that God knew what I would need and gave it to me in the form of my little sister. She’s always there no matter what I need and always willing to give the shirt off her back or a shoulder to cry on.

Just because....

....my public is crying out for a post. Not much to say really, but let's see what I can come up with.

My grass needs cut and it rained just enough yesterday that I could not do it, so I'm hoping for the sun to dry it out so I can accomplish this task when I get off work today. It will plague me until it is done. Tall grass is a thorn in my side and now that we own our pretty little red Toro I try to stay on top of it. I am not the only one in my household that does not like the tall or wet grass. Sandy has an aversion to tall grass also. It is a riot to watch her go outside when its to tall for her liking. She tiptoes, its hilarious. I will have to try and get a picture of her doing this but not sure it would actually show up in a picture. Have you ever seen the horses that dance. They kind of lift up each leg very precicesly and it kind of looks like they are tiptoeing? That is what she does, makes we want to call her twinkle toes.

The two young guys at work just took my little green jeep to the car doctor. Not sure what is wrong exactly but my gut says something with the starter because when you turn the key it does nothing, but if you turn it as far as it will go and hit the gas at the same time it will start right up. This is a new thing, so I figured it needed a check up and it already needed an oil change, so why not get a full physical right? This means I will have to drive one of the HUGE monster trucks till it is fixed. I think its a Ford F350 or something like that, not looking forward to that at all. I'll know for sure when they get back which truck they brought for me to drive, I'm hoping for one of the smaller ones without a camper shell on the back.

Other than whining about the fact that I have given in to my enemy (food) for several days now, I don't really have much else to talk about. I keep hoping one day that healthy choices and healthy portions will come naturally and it will not be such an extreme battle. I'm not expecting good things for weigh in on Monday. Why does it come naturally for some people? I guess by the time I can look at God and ask why I won't care anymore because I will have shed my earth suit for a glorified body.

I hope my weekend will be filled with creativeness and maybe a good movie. Hopefully you will all have a fabulous weekend and find an opportunity to show forth the love of God that has been shed abroad in your heart!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Who I am in Christ 7-15-08

I HAVE POWER AS A BELIEVER: And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. (Mark 16: 17,18)

GOT IS AT WORK IN ME: For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure/ (Phillipians 2:13)

I AM MORE THAN A CONQUEROR: Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loves us. (Romans 8:37)

Monday, July 14, 2008

Robin's Nest....

So.....here are some pictures of my scraproom, more affectionately known as "Robin's Nest" (didn't realize the flash put a bad glare on the layout framed below the sign, but oh well). My parents had that sign made when I was in high school. We lived in Hawaii and my mom's favorite show was Magnum P.I. We spent a lot of time following Tom Selleck and his crew around during the 6 years we lived there. Anyways, those of you who watched the show know that the estate that Magnum lived on was called "Robin's Nest", so of course I had to have a sign for myself. Anyways, it has hung on a wall in every place I've ever lived. For many years it hung in my kitchen, but now it graces the wall of my scrap space! Because it truly is my Nest.








Progress

I am down 2 pounds. Which is progress. I was hoping for more but I am satisfied with 2.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Summer...

The challenge at ASF this week was to do layout using just the word "SUMMER" as your title and to write a paragraph about what it means to you or a fond memory of your summer.

I had to think on this one and then when I saw these pictures of my parents new puppy I had to use them. I knew then that when I think of summer the first things that come to mind are swimming, homemade ice cream and watermelon...so of course Daisy eating homemade ice cream were the perfect pictures for this layout.




On another note, my scrapbook room is put together and I LOVE it. I'll upload pictures soon and probably do a layout. There are still a few walls that need something creative, but until I know for sure what that will entail, I'll leave them empty.

Have a fabulous week, I hope to. I'm also hoping for a friendly scale in the morning. I've done pretty well this week, much much much better than the few weeks before, so I'm hopeful. We shall see. More tomorrow. Night, night, sleep tight!!

Friday, July 11, 2008

Who You are in Christ 7-11-08

I AM AS HE IS: "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement; because as HE is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17)


I AM ABOUNDING IN BENEFITS: "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work." (2 Corinthians 9:8)

I WAS GIVEN AUTHORITY TO: "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out the devils; freely ye have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:8)

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Thankful Thursday...

I could name a lot of things that I am thankful for today, but mostly I'm thankful that after 3 days OP (on program) that the scale showed a 3 pound loss already. I did not even take into consideration when I weighed in that it was TOM time. When this realization kicked in I felt a bit better about the whole thing, but I did eat way to much and way to often last week, so TOM can't be blamed (completely).

I'm also thankful that we had our carpet cleaned yesterday and the guy only charged us $20! Rocky gave him $25 just for the heck of it. It looks so nice and maybe that will help me not be so frustrated with not being able to replace it right now. I mean hello paying off our cruise for next year is definitely higher on my list of priorities.

Speaking of the cruise we sail in 227 days, isn't it nice that Carnival.com keeps me up to date on how many days it will be until they welcome me on their Fun Ship! It actually helps on days that I'm tired or stressed to be reminded that I have a fabulous fun filled 7 day cruise to look forward to in just 227 days, hee hee. Obsess much? Why yes, yes I do. If you haven't been you must try it, there is nothing like it! As you can see this is another thing I am thankful for today.

Mostly, I'm thankful to God for another day to please Him, to strive to be all that He is in me and to show His love to those around me and that I encounter throughout my day. Father, you are good and your mercy endures forever and for that I am THANKFUL!!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Do You Know....

..Who You are in Christ? Or who He is in you? There is freedom in the answer to these questions. I have a fabulous little book titled "Who You are in Christ Jesus" by Sylvia Nelson. When I start to feel down or defeated during the week when I am at work and not at home where my word is readily available or at church where the truth of the word is being preached, I can flip through this book and get some great insight that is encouraging and uplifting. I think I'm going to start posting some of these scriptures and maybe even some personal thoughts about them occasionally, we'll see. (It's a spiral bound book full of scriptures in alphabetical order).

Let me start with the introduction in the book:

As a human being you probably have a name and you live somewhere. Perhaps you belong to a church and quite likely you are citizen of some country.

You will have acquired a reputation of some sort - it will vary according to the one who is asked to describe you.

Are you able to describe yourself with any sense of clarity or truth? What is the basis for your judgement of yourself, or anyone else for that matter? Is it the world and its ideas that are your standard?

The world may have an idea of who you are. You may have an idea of who you are. But the Word of God is the truth. THE WORD OF GOD IS HOW GOD SEES YOU. It alone is the basis of how you can see yourself.

As a Christian, realize that you are NOT the person you used to be, or that you thought you were. Neither are you who your friends, family or enemies thought you were.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold all things are become new."

What does it mean to be "in Christ"? It means that when you received Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord, He immediately came into you, and you immediately became a part of Him. You are in Him as a result; you are a part of His body.

God said in Romans 4:17 that "we are joint heirs with Jesus". What does that mean for us? It means that God gave you, as an inheritance, everything that He gave to His Son.

To begin with, you have a new name: Christian. You have a new home. You dwell in "heavenly places with Christ Jesus". You may belong to a church but now you have a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus. And - you now belong to the Kingdom of God.

But that's just the beginning. Listen to some of God's description of you:
  • You are the head and not the tail.
  • You are accepted in the beloved.
  • You were healed by His stripes.
  • You are forgiven all of your sins.
  • Jesus became poor so that you might become rich.
  • You have been raised to newness in life.
  • You have been made the righteousness of God in Christ
  • The blood of Jesus cleanses you from all unrighteousness.

As Christians, you are no longer victims, but Victors! Allow God's word to stir you up, to bring you out of negative circumstances, out of self doubt, into faith in God's Word. God's worth is the TRUTH.

Read each Scriptural Description of yourself out loud, and receive it for yourself. God loves you. He wants to be and have all that Jesus bought for you on the cross. Remember that All that He is, He is in You. He told us that "we would do all the things He did and more"

Say it! Believe it! Act as though it is so, because it is! God's Word is telling you WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST!

POWERFUL! CONFIDENT! FULL OF LIFE!

Quick update...

I've not gone over my points for 2 days and working on a third. Again wondering why I venture down other paths when the right path feels so much better than the wrong ones. It's nice to go to bed at night not feeling guilty or full and miserable.

Just thought I'd report that I'm doing well for my faithful few encouragers!!

Monday, July 7, 2008

Confession is good for....

......WHAT?????????? public humiliation, outing yourself as a complete failure, making you feel better because you've owned up to your idiocy? Supposedly the consensus is that confession is good for the soul. So, let's go with that choice, since I prefer not to put myself in the position of being humiliated, being a failure or feeling like an idiot, I'll choose to have it be good for my soul.

I'm certain that by this point you are likely wondering just how much food I ate and how much weight I managed to gain in 1 weeks time? Would I be right? Of course I am, I mean this blog is an outlet for me to use on this journey that sometimes seems to have a life of its own.

Apparently, my reality is that I do not even need a reason, or stress or some major drama going on or around me to opt to just take 1 week out of my otherwise normal eating life and turn it into an all out PIGFEST! Yes, that is exactly what I did. I'm not sure I even signed in to Weight Watchers last week. Maybe once, but I do not believe that on that day I actually ate what I planned or put into my food tracker. In fact, I probably did eat what I tracked plus a good bit more. In the past I've always had something to blame for my binges, not this time. I truly can't put my finger on any one thing that could have triggered it, other than simply feeling like I was getting somewhere and had reached a new milestone and it was only going to take a 1 pound loss to be out of the 270's.

This makes me wonder, why do I freak about succeeding? Success feels good. Yet, it seems everytime I get to a new lower set of numbers, for some reason self sabotage sets in. What on the inside of me doesn't think I deserve to feel good about me? What makes me tick? If only I could answer these questions and get to the bottom of why, maybe then I could overcome and reach my goal of being healthy and happy with me. When I look at my life there is no reason for me to feel unworthy or undeserving of succeeding at weight loss. I am blessed with an amazing husband, I am constantly reminded who I am in Christ, I have a wonderful supportive family, a church that lifts me up continually and pastors that love me, respect me and always speak truth into my life. Considering all of these things, there is still a foothold that I need set free from.

Lord, help me to see where I'm missing it and how to walk in "being an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony". Father, you are always faithful to perform Your word and I am thankful that I know that when I seek You, I will find my answer. I thank You for Your guidance and leading as I go to Your Word to receive the truth to be set free. I am in awe of your love and ability to continually forgive and never give up on me, in Jesus Name, AMEN

Now, with all of this said, I also want you to know that I am not throwing a pity party, I will not continue on the path that I walked on last week. I will own up to gaining 5 pounds and that I tried to manipulate the system and failed. I am changing my wiegh in day to Monday, because now I will not give myself permission to do what I want (as long as I'm careful, HA) on the weekend because then I have 5 days to recover before weigh in. This way of thinking was not helping me make lifetime changes, just causing me to eat much less on the days after eating to much, so that I'd at least show a small loss or that I maintained. Only fooling myself, sigh.

One thing learned from this is that I realize that I will have failures, I will have weeks where I throw caution to the wind and blow it completely. What I have also found is that just because I have a bad week does not mean that I should have 2 bad weeks, then 3 bad weeks and then eventually end up in worse shape than when I started. So, for me this is progress. To keep going is progress, to not beat myself up is progress. To have to deal with gaining 5 pounds and not going directly to McDonalds for a bacon cheese biscuit and hashbrown to make myself feel better is HUGE PROGRESS!!

Taking a glance at the big picture, I'm not a failure, or an idiot, or a hopeless cow, I'm a woman on a journey that has many paths that seem to all lead back to the main road if I stay focused on my destination. Most importantly, I have to rely on God and not on myself.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

This weeks challenge...

The ASF challenge this week was to be inspired by a bowl of candy and a bunch of ribbon pieces and they were all these colors. This turned out to be a fun, quick, easy layout and I had no idea prior to the challenge how to do these pictures because I had done one last year from the 1st cruise. Love these challenges..thanks Wanda for giving me inspiration....


Tuesday, July 1, 2008

What is ASF???

This is for one of those inquiring minds who actually reads my blog, yes Gayle this is for you. ASF is the most amazing wonderful Scrapbooking Store ever. It is owned by the sweetest most generous loving loyal lady I know. I tell anybody who will listen that it is the place where everybody knows your name. Not only is "A Scrappin' Friendsy" a brick and mortar store that I like to refer to as my 2nd home, but there is also an awesome online community that is unlike any that I've ever visited before. The ladies are all down to earth, nice, helpful, inspiring and truly delightful. There are no drama queens or know it alls and nobody trying to be right or outdo anybody else. It's truly a scrappin love fest! So if you would like to get to know them and see a lot of inspiring work please go visit http://ascrappinfriendsy.com/forums/index.php .