You'd think...

That at some point this stuff would stop surprising me or hurting my feelings. I know that my family doesn't act right. I know that they are completely dysfunctional, and yet, the weirdness always seems to sneak up on me and hurt me when I least expect it. It sucks dirt and it makes me tired.

Maybe one day they'll develop a shot for this so I won't be so sick of it anymore.

Birthday Ruminations

So I'm going to be 42 tomorrow. That sounds freaky to say, but I'm not worried about it. It just sounds a whole lot more adult than I feel most of the time. The truth is, I'm not afraid of growing older. I'm more concerned about growing old well. Healthy. In my right mind.

There's this adorable little woman who goes to my gym. She's 76, goes to Zumba every Thursday evening and drives the hottest candy-apple red Mustang. THAT's how I I want to be old. More fabulous by the day. Enjoying life and making the most of every minute. I want my legacy to be love and utter fabulosity! :)

Here's to another year. Here's to another box of haircolor and a jar of good eye cream. Bring on the years. I'm more than fabulous enough to handle ya!

New Year's Thoughts

Geez, can you believe that we're at the end of another year? Another decade for Heaven's sake! That's just freaky beyond belief. In 2000, I was a new mom and just into my thirties.

Dayum! LOL

So what have I learned this year? I've learned that I need to continue my efforts to take better care of me. I need to be a better steward of my emotional health as well as my physical health. I'm not journaling (here or anywhere else) nearly as much as I should be. Putting words down has always been a powerful tool for me. It helps me to work out stuff. I need to get back to that.

Welcome 2011. I'm a healthy, happy 42yo mom of a gorgeous 11yo girl. I have a great job that I like (most days) and I have a terrific husband who loves me. I have many more blessings than my hands or heart can hold. God is so good.

I want to keep my priorities straight and make sure I put my own needs on that list. As a woman, I'm a caregiver. Just need to make sure that some of that care trickles down to me. :)

Here's wishing all of you a healthy, happy and safe New Year. May God richly bless you with all you need and a big ole dose of what you want.

Christmas lights

Is there really anything more gorgeous or relaxing than looking at the Christmas lights in your living room when everyone else has gone to bed?

It's the little things that are the bestest.

What the season is...

... and what it isn't.



It IS about Jesus. How would you feel if no one acknowledged it was YOUR birthday?



It's NOT about 84,000 parties, 83,995 of which you couldn't care less about attending.



It IS about family and love.



It's NOT about having unreasonable expectations. Norman Rockwell probably had no intention of making everyone miserable with his paintings. He was just painting a picture. Not setting the bar for normalcy.

It's about celebrating that Jesus came and what He came to do with the people who mean the most to us.

Casting Crowns-"Praise You In This Storm" (live)

This is one of the best songs ever and a perfect one for a bad day... or a bad string of days. It was written in honor of a woman who's daughter was dying of cancer, and who chose to trust God even when her whole world was falling apart.

If she can do it, I certainly can. I'm not facing anything CLOSE to that.

I trust God... that He knows what He's doing and that He loves me.

Kutless - What Faith Can Do

This is such an amazing song. Had to share. It's where my heart is today.

Sometimes...

Sometimes...

• You just have to realize that you have limits.
• You have to ask for help even when you don't want to.
• You have to understand that you can't control everything in your environment.
• You realize that God is much better at His job than you are.
• You learn that you're not, in fact, 10 feet tall and bulletproof.
• You figure out that your own problems are not as big as you imagine.
• You relinquish your title as Chief Executive Maker of Mountains from Molehills.
• You just take a deep breath and rest.

Stressful...

Work has been really crazy lately and I'm not really dealing with it very well. Just trying to deal as best I can without jacking with my healthy lifestyle.

Why is it that you want to eat copious amounts of chocolate when you have a crappy day? LOL

YOGA!

Okay, I am getting completely hooked on my yoga class!

I started taking yoga because I knew I needed to add some strength training to my exercise routine, but I loathe... yes LOATHE, working on those inferal weight machines at the gym. BO---RING!

So I started taking a Monday night yoga class with a friend at my gym. I've been going for over a month now and I'm loving it. It's relaxing, even helps with a headache, AND my arms are getting totally toned. SCORE!

Who knew I'd get all zen and stuff? LOL

WOW!

It's been a crazy busy week. Miss Ashlyn turned 11 this week. I know it's true, but at the same time it just seems too ridiculous to be real. It can't be 11 years already... could it????

I think things have finally quieted down for the moment. Dinner dishes are done. Laundry in the dryer. Husband lounging in the tub. Kiddo in the other room watching something produced by Disney and Momma's on her laptop ALONE with her big ole dawg. It's nice to have some alone time. Some "nobody needs me at this second" time.

Hopefully this week will be a little less hectic. I haven't been doing really well in the taking-care-of-myself department. Gotta do better on that.

Sometimes you just have to...

... take a break from the routine and just focus on taking care of yourself. Get out of your own way and just go with the flow instead of fighting the current tooth & nail.

This is that time for me. I've been kicking and screaming and just making no progress, so I'm giving myself a break from the norm and just chilling out.

Simon's Cat in 'The Box'

This is SO my cat! :D

I'm pretty proud of myself...

So we went to the Delta Fair today. In the past, the Fair equaled a food-free-for-all. Today, I did really good. I had a Italian sausage sandwich with peppers and onions, a Diet Coke, and a sugar free snow cone. I rock! :D

This Whole Grown Up Thing...

... is completely overrated. Just sayin...

Why is it that we spend our childhoods wishing that we can be grown up so we can do whatever we want just to find out that being grownup DOES NOT mean doing whatever you want.

We were ROBBED, People!

Matt Maher - Hold us together with lyrics

I know I'm posting a boatload of videos lately, but music is really speaking to me as of late. This song is really powerful to me. It talks about what's really important and taking care of one another. I can't really add anything more significant than that...

Cooler Weather!

For the first time in a really long time it was UNDER 100 degrees! It was a lovely 87 today in Memphis and I was actually able to enjoy being outside without becoming a sweaty, disgusting mess.

This evening I met a friend at Starbucks. We sat on the patio with our iced lattes and had a really great visit. Good friends, good coffee, great weather. A wonderful day.

Jason Gray - More Like Falling In Love

This song really speaks to me today.

Sunday, Sunday...

Okay, so weigh in today Weight Watchers sucked dirt... and it's my own fault. This past week was an eating nightmare and not so great on the workout front either. I let stress rule me instead of taking control of my emotions. I let the food be in charge and I know better. You'd think that after doing WW for 2 years, I'd stop the emotional eating thing. I guess it just goes to show that it's always going to be a continuing struggle. It's easy to fall back into old habits and old mindsets.

I could sit back and beat myself up over this, but it wouldn't be productive. I have to forgive myself, learn from it and move on.

Amy Grant - Better Than A Hallelujah (Slideshow With Lyrics)