Wish I meant it more!

Have you ever said something where you wish you could mean it more than you really do? Here are some examples:

"Yes, Grandma, I love this reindeer sweater! Thank you so much!"
"Dad, you're right; we should keep looking for a car for the next 9 months." (okay, that one turned out okay!)
"Wow, Mrs. So & So, this dinner is wonderful. I sure love meatloaf."
"Everything's going to be okay, I just know it. You don't need to worry."
"It's not you, it's me." (hahaha! that's so bad...)

Anyway, so I was listening to a song this morning, "Simple Man" by Brandon Heath, and one of the lines is "Everything good in me comes from You." There have been times when I've said something similar to this, but do I really MEAN it? I want to mean it, that's for sure, because I know it's true. There's just that big 'ol stubborn part that doesn't feel like sharing that "good stuff". Anyone with me?

My homies and I (that would be the 3 of you that read this: B,A,E) have been doing a Bible study and I'm so bummed because I'm almost done. I've been really lucky that God has carved out 20 minutes in my day to devote totally to that. What started out as a chore is now one of my favorite times of the day. BUT now that I'm about to be done, what will I do next!? I've learned so much about myself and about my relationships (with God, friends, Jason, etc.) through this study. I definitely recommend it. (No Other Gods - Kelly Minter)

My coworkers should be happy that I spend 15 minutes doing the study before work everyday, because let's face it: I'm a big grouchy mess when I just come straight in to work and check email and get all caught up in the day after rushing around all morning trying to get there on time. It's even a nicer drive to work knowing that I'm just going to sit and chill for a little bit before the day gets started.

Do yourself a favor and let God carve out some time for you to spend with Him. And when you ask Him, REALLY MEAN IT!!! :)

my butt hurts... can I say that?

Last night E.Geyer and I utilized my "Elite membership" at the Rush and decided to work out together. What did we do, you ask? Well, there was a spin class at 5:45, but no, no, no - we did NOT go to that. We did, however, go to the BEGINNING spin class at 6:45. Beginning. As in beginner. As in I've never done this before. Just wanted to clarify that.

Em had been skiing the day before and was sore to begin with. I didn't have any excuses, other than I'm lazy and out of shape. So after 40 minutes of sweating more than I have in at least 5 years, I looked over at Emily and said "hey - this isn't so bad!" Then we kept going for 20 more minutes. Then I said "hey - I can't feel my legs!" But really, it's not my legs that are hurting so bad today, as you might have noticed from the post title. "MY BUTT HURTS!!!!!!" was the email I sent to Em this morning followed by "You wanna go again next week?" :)

Who says I'm not tough.

*To clarify: My butt hurts because when you ride standing up and then repeatedly come crashing back down on that ridiculously hard seat, you start to develop a bruise-like sensation on your booty. So far there are no alternatives to this butt-bruising.

Wait, wait - I forgot the best part!

So in all the excitement of the last post (and because it was getting long) I forgot TOTALLY about Sunday - which was the best part! We went to Sunday school, church, and then lunch with Jason's family. Then there was a shower at the church for Becca and baby Kate! It was so exciting seeing all the cute stuff and thinking that in a month or so, she'll be here!! :)

Then I went up to Jason's house and he drove me all through the golf course on the golf cart. Haha! Now, that may not seem like tons of fun, but for me, it's like a step below a 4-wheeler, so that equals safe fun. We had a blast just riding around in the beautiful sunshine, laughing and being silly. He even tried to teach me how to skip a rock. Tried. Because I can't do it. But at least he tried, right?

We had a yummy dinner, made peanut butter oatmeal cookies, and watched Dan in Real Life. It was fun and I already can't wait until NEXT weekend!! :)

Spend Some Time

This weekend was wonderful. That's the only way to describe it.

Friday afternoon right before I was about to leave work, Alex called. Well, usually I try to let her leave a message because she says she doesn't like to "bother me at work", but I answered. Frantically she spat out phrases like "Paul called", "she can't come", "wanna go?" and the all important phrase: "camp." That one word was really all she had to say. :)

So I call Jason, not exactly to ask permission, but to see how upset he would be if I totally blew off all the plans we had for that night... and luckily, he was totally okay with it! By this point I was experiencing that "OMGoodness - I'm gonna be at camp in like TWO HOURS!!" feeling - you either understand this feeling or you don't. No big. And I call Alex back to let her know I'm going too. (I also asked for details because you see, I zeroed in on that one word, and practically missed the rest of the conversation.) Turns out, the Mother-Daughter Retreat was going on and something came up for the girl who was supposed to lead worship that night, so Paul had called Alex to see if we could come and sing.

The craziest part of all of this is that Friday morning I had written out a prayer about how I really wish I had more opportunities to sing. Camp was such a special time for me for so many reasons, but a huge part of it was being able to worship through song. I just LOVE SINGING!!! Lucky for me, God answers some prayers quickly. (Kinda like when I met Jason... if you don't know that story, you should ask.)

Then Saturday was super fun too - Jason and I realized that we were spending less and less time together each week because of our busy schedules, so it was wonderful to just spend some time together. Quality time, sitting down, having a "smoovie", just looking at each other, and talking. About nothing, about everything, about anything we wanted to. Then we saw Death Race. Yeah, I know, how romantic. :) And it was good - gory, which I'm not a fan of, but the story itself was good. And we can't wait until Eagle Eye comes out on the 26th. Oh, and another movie that looks good (from the people that did Facing the Giants) is Fireproof. Needless to say, we love movies. And cherry coke. And mmmmm popcorn. So much so that we bought one of those giant Indiana Jones buckets, but they're a SERIOUSLY good investment - $0.50 refills until May 2009!!! YEAH BABY!!!!!!!!

Signs Point to 50!

So did any of you bloggie-readers out there notice that on the right side (where it has the montly archives) it only said like 48 when I posted that it was my 50th post? (You're thinkin', yeah right - like I pay THAT close attention to this thing...) Anyway, if you ever write a "draft" and don't actually post it, it makes it seem like you have more posts than you really do. So this is the REAL 50th post. I think. Maybe.

Apparently at some point near the beginning of the year, I felt the need to start a post about my zodiac sign and how it relates to J-dog's zodiac sign. (Okay, seriously?) Well, I don't believe all this stuff, but sometimes it just makes me laugh when God sneaks a little truth into these goofy things. I'll paste them below and bold the things that stand out to me. :)

LEO - The Lion (Me)
Great talker. Passionate. Laid back. Usually happy, but when unhappy tend to be grouchy and childish. A leo's problem becomes everyone's problem. Most Leos are very predictable and tend to be monotonous. Knows how to have fun. Is really good at almost anything. Very predictable. Outgoing. Down to earth. Addictive. Attractive. Loud. Loves being in long relationships. Talkative. Not one to mess with. Rare to find. Good when found.

ARIES - The Aggressive (haha - Jason)
Outgoing. Lovable. Spontaneous. Not one to mess with. Funny. EXTREMELY adorable. Loves relationships, and family is very important to an aries. Aries are known for being generous and giving. Addictive. Loud. Always has the need to be 'Right'. Aries will argue to prove their point for hours and hours. Aries are some of the most wonderful people in the world.

No, you can't describe a person fully in a few sentences, but some of these things are really true about us. Jason is soooo funny, lovable, crazy about his family, generous (almost to a fault), and is always right... even when he's not. :) And I never stop talking, love being in long relationships, basically happy, but man, when I'm not, I am definitely childish and grouchy. (Just keepin' it real.)

Okay, that's all for now. Look for something a little more spiritual coming up soon. :)

August Birthday Celebration!

Here are some pictures from the August B'day Celebration at my house last Sunday!


The party people!! Everyone turned 23 during August (except me, I'm the baby.)

The yummy food!!

My beautiful backyard area with tons of wonderful friends!

Brandon brought his bocce set for everyone to play.

They were pretty hardcore!!!

Finally, Dash/Jason entertained everyone with the old "I can hold my dog up by a handle" trick. It was a hit. (He's just so cute!!)

We had a blast and only wish we had invited more people!!! :) There's always next year!

My A-Z List (from J.Martin)/my 50th Post!

A- Attached or Single? Well, I'm not single! I'm as attached as I can be without being officially attached. Make sense? Good.

B- Best Friend: Cara (HS bff), Emily and Samantha (college roomies), Alex, Emily, and Becca (NEW-cleus girls), oh, and Jason, yeah him too. :)

C- Cake or Pie: yellow cake with chocolate frosting (but dadgum - the BF makes some yummy peanut butter pies...)

D- Drink of Choice: trying to be water... Cherry Coke, Dr.P, Code Red, and sweet tea (oh, and cream with a little coffee in it at work)

E- Essential Item: cell phone

F- Favorite Color: hard question... greens and blues?

G- Gummi Bears or Worms: worms... my fav are those peach things though

H- Hometown: Signal Mountain, TN (next week we will have been living there 22 years!)

I- Indulgence: peanut butter m&ms... and chick flicks... together, if possible.

J- January or February: January because it's a blue month as opposed to red... (don't ask)

K- Kids: not yet!

L- Life, for me, is incomplete without: trying to understand Jesus' sacrifice, my family/friends, my Jason

M- Marriage Date: in the future...

N- Number of Siblings: 2

O- Oranges or Apples? mandarin oranges

P- Phobia/Fears: heights (big time!) and fear of not being liked (hey, I'm just keepin' it real.)

Q- Favorite Quote: "In the end it'll all be okay; if it's not okay, it's not the end."

R- Reasons to smile: being in love, having great friends, having a dog that gets more excited to see me each time I come home

S- Season: football :)

T- Tag Ten: sorry Jen, I don't understand what this means... :-\

U- Unknown fact about me: most of the time, I'd rather be doing something than nothing

V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: I. Eat. Meat.

W- Worst Habit: biting my fingernails... yeah yeah yeah... tell me how gross it is, I know. I'm TRYING TO STOP!!

X- X-rays or Ultrasounds: don't like the doctor...

Y- Your Favorite Foods: hashbrown casserole, fried okra, zucchini, mashed potatoes, fried squash, asparagus, mac & cheese, anything my dad cooks on the grill, anything my mom cooks that has the word "fried" in front of it

Z- Zodiac: Leo