Woke up one Friday morning not feeling well at all.  So I decided to stay home from work and go to the doctor.  Ended up having fluid in one ear and an ear infection in the other ear.  Talk about not fun.  Hooray for antibiotics though.

However, once the antibiotics started, so did the runny nose and coughing.  I went through three boxes of Kleenexes, or at least stopped counting after the third box, and also used almost an entire bag of cough drops.

Apparently I overestimated the power of this tiny bug or ear infection or whatever it was making me not feel well.  After the doctor’s appointment on Friday morning, I went to the pharmacy and then came home and sat on the couch the rest of the day.  Even slept on the couch that night so I wouldn’t cough as much, but it did not really help at all.  Saturday was more of the same thing; doze off to sleep just long enough to start coughing.

The coughing, blowing my nose, trying to sleep, coughing some more, lasted all weekend and into Monday.  So what did I do?  I spent a total of four days moving from one couch to the other.  Only so I could say I actually moved.  Other than that, the idea of moving or walking anywhere did not sound appealing at all.  Whether it was the flu or just a horrible ear infection, it was not fun at all.

It did provide an opportunity to watch Gilmore Girls and The Unit on DVD though so that kept me entertained during the day when not much was on TV.

Even though I did not really want to take vacation days in January, it was nice to know that I had them available to use.  Needless to say, my co-workers were not too happy when I came back and coughed all day at work.  But almost a month and a half later, I’m doing well now, even though there still is a little bit of a nagging cough still hanging around.

Here’s hoping that all of you have avoided sickness and continue to stay healthy.

To read my Bible more

Tell God all my frustrations

Talk to God like He’s my friend

Pray about my hearts desires

Be patient

Don’t be scared

Trust

Go after my dreams

Don’t doubt myself

Hmmmmm….Where to begin?

So many questions running through my head it feels like I could burst.

The answer is no, I did not waste that part of my life.  During that time is when growth occurs and helps me become the person that God wants me to be in order to fulfill His purpose.

A couple of weeks ago Mom and I went to a bookstore here in town and while she was browsing for a gift for my Sister and Brother-in-Law, I took the opportunity to look around.  When I rounded one corner, there within eye level on the bookshelf across room from me was “Quitter” by Jon Acuff.    It was screaming, “buy me, buy me,” and since my birthday was coming up, I purchased it as a gift to myself.  What a treat it has been so far.  So many great words of wisdom, possibilities I never thought of before, with hilarious stories thrown into the mix.

I highly recommend this book if you are looking for some encouragement to go after your dream job.

Here is to walking through this life while learning along the way and eventually ending up in the place God has called you to be, even if you feel as if you’ve been chasing the wrong thing for a while.

Today started out like any normal day off work, trying to sleep late, but not making it past 7:30 am.  Really!?  Maybe one day my internal clock will allow me to sleep, without waking up before my alarm clock goes off.

Anyway, the day started with spending quality time with my Dear Ole’ Momma washing her van and my car at 8:30 am before it got too hot outside.  It was relatively cool this morning, meaning the concrete didn’t burn my bear feet.  Once the cars were clean, it was time to clean up ourselves and get ready to go pick up my nieces and nephew so they could come over and spend time playing at Boo’s (my Mom) house.

The plan for the afternoon was for me to feed the girls lunch while Mom gave the boy a bath and then the girls would take a bath while I fed the boy lunch.  Well, on my way down the hall to the dining room niece #1 came running down the hall asking, “did you hear that loud noise?  It sounded like there was a loud explosion and almost like it shook the house.”  To which I replied, “it was probably just someone closing their car door outside, but I’ll look out the front window and check to make sure.”  So I proceeded to look outside and saw nothing unusual.  We all proceeded to continue with our afternoon.

Once we had all eaten lunch and the kiddos have had their bath, it was time to bust out the GeoTracks train set.  Three kids=three different trains and separate train tracks for each kiddo.  As niece #2’s train tried to make it up the hill we built into the train track, it was slow going and the little red light on the engine was fading out.  It was time for Aunt Meggie to fix that problem by replacing the batteries.  Uh oh, it takes 3 AAA batteries and we only have 2 new ones in the drawer in the kitchen.  Someone isn’t going to be happy, good thing there was another train engine she could use.  Whew.  Glad we avoided that meltdown.

Cue Mom……..she had AAA batteries in her van.  She then proceeded to go into the garage to head to her van, which was parked outside.  The garage door opener button was pushed, the motor made a funny noise but the door didn’t move.  Hmmm.  That is different.  Let’s try one more time.  Another weird noise but still no movement by the garage door.  Well, that is not good, especially since at this point my car is still in the garage.  My brain is running a mile a minute, how am I supposed to go to work tomorrow?  Will my car be trapped in there for days?  If they have to work on the garage door, how will they do that around my car?  Will it be in the way for those who are going to fix the garage door?

So as Mom and I try to figure out what went wrong, we are both very thankful that her van is still parked outside on the driveway.  When it was my turn to venture out into the garage, I noticed that the spring atop the door looks different.  Why does that look funny?  Maybe because it is in two pieces.  Pretty sure it’s supposed to be one continuous coil instead of a mini one and a bigger one.

Lightbulb…….That’s what that explosion noise was that niece #1 was talking about.  Oh my goodness.  Praise the Lord that no one was in the garage when that happened, or that the garage door wasn’t up when it happened.

Thoughts running through my head: that could have squished one of us had we been under the door if when the spring broke.  Or Mom’s van could have been in the garage with my car and we could have been trapped at the house with no way of being able to take the kiddos back to my Sister’s house.  It could have been worse.  No one was injured and nothing was broken that cannot be fixed.

Once again, Thank you Lord for keeping us all safe today and providing the God moment of Mom deciding to park the van in the driveway instead of the garage.  For allowing the spring to not break while the door was up.  For keeping us safe and for Dad being willing to call someone to repair the door and spring instead of trying to fix it himself in the sauna like garage.  No luck today, it was all little God moments that kept us safe.

Thanks Momma for another wonderful day, even with a few kinks thrown into the mix.

Happy Birthday America!!!

Enjoy the fireworks tonight if you watch them and hooray for only two more work days till the weekend.

Yes I’m scared of being hurt.  There, I’ve said the words.  Why is it so difficult to actually speak/write those words?  Probably because that means I’m opening up and sharing with people.  Hurt is a part of life that we all have to deal with.  It’s dealing with the hurt that makes us who we are.  Personally, I tend to just run away from what scares me.  That leaves me running back to the same place every time, the place where I feel safe.

Here’s to not being scared to try new things and to opening up and sharing with family and friends and not being scared to let new people into my life.  Check back later to see what those new things are.  Like trying a strawberry lemonade drink (that I didn’t enjoy), but it was still something I’d never had before. 

What’s something you’ve been scared to do, but actually followed through with it and were glad you did?

This question is posed to me a lot. To which I typically respond with “I don’t know.” Because I’m not a huge fan of healthy foods, unless it’s spinach, apples, bananas, or green beans.  It’s more junk food that enters my body than healthy stuff.  Chocolate shakes are my nemesis and I could have one almost every day if they weren’t so rich.  However, I had an epiphany this weekend and finally realized why the enormous amount of calories can be consumed without gaining weight.

Some ideas for a normal person not gaining weight might be:

High metabolism

Genetics

Luck

Rigorous exercise

Healthy eating (see above—I like junk food)

My idea of the lack of weight gain is due to an unusual amount of worry.  My Great Grandma used to worry about anything and everyone and to this day my family tells me not to worry so much or I’ll make myself sick just like Grandma did.

Sometimes it’s the simplest things that I worry about, while other times it is life changing decisions (like whether or not to go away to college). When the worry does creep into my thoughts though, it has an effect on my body.  No matter how much I eat, it’s like the food doesn’t stick.  What makes me nervous is when I can tell I’m losing weight.  Not a good feeling when I know that I am consuming food.  Maybe it is because my stomach tends to hurt more when my mind is swarming with thoughts of family, friends, my own life, etc.  If my stomach hurts does that mean my body isn’t getting the nutrients out of the food I am taking in?

To answer the question I’m sure some of you are thinking right now: no I do not have an eating disorder. The good Lord knows I love food too much to be anorexic and I will do anything to not throw up so I’m not bulimic.

However, the pains seem to subside when I do exercise. Over the last couple of years I have said I’m a better version of myself when I do exercise. My mind, body, spirit seem more in tune with each other instead of all over the place. Maybe this epiphany is just the motivation I needed to run on a more regular basis.  Happy Tuesday to those reading this!

I’ve been blessed with wonderful ladies in my life that have shown me what it is to be a Mother following in the footsteps of Christ.

Thanks Momma for not only being my Mother, but for also being my friend!  I’m truly blessed to have you in my life.  You’ve been there for me, no matter what, over the years.  Taken care of me when I was sick, held me close when I was crying, laughed with/at me when I was acting silly, taught me how to live like Christ.  You have been a wonderful example of what a strong woman can do in this world and that a soft sweet spirit can shine through in the midst of raising strong willed children (okay, so I was the only strong willed child, Sister was sweet spirited just like you).  I wouldn’t be the woman I am today without your love and support over the years.

Happy Mother’s Day to my Dear Ole Momma!

Happy Mother’s Day to my Sister as well.  It has been wonderful seeing you raise your children up in the way of the Lord!  I hope to someday be as fun loving with my own children as you are with yours.  Thanks for letting me share in the joy of your family.  To hear Bakey say “Happy Mother’s Day” to me, just because he was saying it to you and Mom, was so sweet.  Your children melt me heart every time I see them, and that is proof of being raised by a loving Mother.

Happy Mother’s Day Plant!

Tonight I said a few words that came across harsh.  I already asked for forgiveness from this person, but if I could only go back in time and just not say those words that person’s mood wouldn’t have changed from happy and cheerful to sullen.

I’m definitely kicking myself in the pants for those few words spoken too quickly just because I was getting frustrated.  Although, I know this person will never read this blog, I do apologize for being quick to speak tonight.

Back to the topic at hand, I get distracted easily.

Anyway, during our chat she mentioned a music video she saw the other day.  The main lady in the video was working in an office setting and was wearing tennis shoes with her pencil skirt and blouse.   To which Kristi said, “she reminded me of you.”  My friends know me so well.

This past weekend I attended a wedding shower for a friend and ended up wearing a dress to the shower.  Needless to say, I wore my tennis shoes with the dress so I could drive easily.  I’m definitely not used to wearing high heels while I drive so for the safety of everyone on the road, and the passengers in my car, I opted to wear the tennis shoes to drive.

My friend Lovie just laughed at me when I showed up at her house wearing my grey and pink tennis shoes with my blue, green, black, and white dress.  Once again, not my most fashion forward moment, but I was comfortable and didn’t care what others thought.  Even went into the gas station and Wal-Mart sporting my tennis shoes with my dress.  So if you happen to see me on the “people of Wal-Mart” website because of my outfit that day, know that it was way more comfortable than trying to walk around in heels in the store.

Yes I still enjoy wearing my high heels (which I did wear during the actual wedding shower), but not while driving or walking around the grocery store.

Have a great week everyone and enjoy sporting your own unique sense of style.