Harumphhhh!

Unfortunately, this has been me today. I have just been grumpy, grumpy, grumpy! I am beginning to feel a little pressure with the wedding planning; some simple decisions that have needed to be made are not turning out to be so simple & all of the folks involved aren't just agreeing with the bride (it's not Mike & it's not really a big deal). I'm just feeling grumpy about it. Then at work today I gave myself the most ginormous paper cut under my thumb nail! Feel free to cringe - I almost screamed when I did it.

One of my co-workers told me that his grandma always used to say, "You're fine; there's always someone else out there who has it worse than you." I think his grandma was probably right. I can have the perspective that things are ok b/c surely someone else has more problems than me. I thought about it for a while then decided that when I have that perspective, my feeling better depends on someone else (although an imagined someone else) to feel worse. So I decided I was going to try to think like this instead - there's always something to be grateful for. The Lord has blessed me with too many good things to list. I've been trying to make a list in my head for a while now & it's very long & it's helping me to feel not quite so grumpy ;-)

This evening I get to go see my little niece Madison graduate from Kindergarten. That's something to be grateful for - she is getting so big & this child has always been lots of fun...never a dull moment when Madi is around!

The Nope, No Way, Not Doing It Week

This week I have decided to embark on a little challenge:

The Nope, No Way, Not Doing It Week.

Which is code for Holy Cow, I've been spending way too much money!

The Challenge Rules are:

*I am not allowed to spend any money other than two planned purchases (thread to alter the kitchen curtains, engagement pictures)

Hmmm...actually, I guess that is the only rule since my objective is to feed the pig & make him fat, maybe cause him to dance a little. *grin*

I'm just wondering...does it work this way for any of you? When I slip in one area of discipline it's like sliding down a slippery slope. I start spending freely, then I start eating freely, wasting time, not exercising, skipping normal daily tasks like making my bed or packing my lunch...

I'm hoping that someone will agree that it works that way for them, too or I'm gonna feel like a horrible lazy slug. *hint, hint - leave a comment & commiserate 'cause I don't want to feel like a horrible lazy slug!

A Wonderful Mother's Day

I think this year Mother's Day was one of the best I can remember. Our church had a Mother-Daughter Choir sing "My Mother's Gentle Love." I remember that song from ages ago when I was totally into all things Patch the Pirate. As I stood there with my Mom, Grandma, Aunt Ruth, Beth, & Madi (& a whole bunch of other ladies), it occurred to me that we had four generations of our family there together. How sweet! The Lord has really blessed & kept my family; I'm so grateful for how He has worked in us all. Not usually one to get emotional, I was actually tearful as the lyrics ran through my mind. My Momma does see the best in me, she does wipe my tears away, she has taught me of God's tender care, she reminds me to keep my focus on the eternal. She's such a good Momma! Even though I don't usually get all teary like that, once I start it can be an all day thing. The message yesterday morning wasn't about Mother's Day; it was a continuation of a wonderful study we've been doing in the book of Mark. We are at the part just before Jesus is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. I was impressed once again with the weight of realizing how Jesus suffered with my sin. His pain wasn't really from the physical torture of the cross; His pain was from the burden of my sin. Yep, I got tearful. Thanks to God for His gift of salvation!
After church I went to Mom & Dad's to join them, Beth, Brennan, Caleb & Madi for lunch. We tried to set things up so Mom wouldn't have to do too much cooking. Dad grilled & I made some cheesy potatoes. Along with some other quick veggie sides, we enjoyed a fabulous meal followed by too many dessert options (as always, it's impossible to leave M&D's hungry!). Then I got to give Mom her gift from me & Mike. Quite a while ago I mentioned in a post that Mike & I wanted to give our moms a Kitchen Aid Mixer as their BIG GIFT for the year (counting for Mother's Day, Birthday, & Christmas). So we gifted our Mommas with their mixers this weekend! It was so fun! Mike's mom wasn't too surprised b/c we had to consult with her about what color she would want. She can't wait to make mashed potatoes ;-) My mom was kind of surprised. When Dad hauled the box in the house she looked at me & said, "oh no, you didn't!" so she had already guessed what it was. She is IMPOSSIBLE to surprise! My dad's first comment was, "That thing will stand up to a batch of Divinity!" so we all know what they will be making as part of their Christmas Candy layout this year!

What a great day it was, reflecting on how the Lord has blessed us with the Mommas we have. I wouldn't trade mine for her weight in gold. Another thing that got me all choked up yesterday was the thought that of all the moms I know, I know that they are all trying their best with their kids. They all love being moms; they all take their job very seriously. None of them will do everything right, but the beautiful thing is that God's grace can cover those shortcomings. Whatever we are to do, we are to do our best & the Lord covers the gaps. It's such an encouragement to know that whether the responsibility is - parenting, being a wife, being a good employee, being faithful in ministry, whatever - we are not alone in any of it. The Lord is there with us & we can't do a thing without Him. And He is faithful to be our strength, to give wisdom, & to enable us for the task. What a great God!

How did you all spend Mother's Day? Did you enjoy any special treats or have any special thoughts?

Rehearsal Dinner Ideas???

Over the last couple of days a small corner of my mind has been meditating on the Rehearsal Dinner. I know that traditionally the groom's family takes care of this part of the wedding planning, but Mike & I are trying to keep the burden on our parents as light as possible. After all, we are in our 30's, for pity's sake & have been mostly on our own for years. Anyway, I got together a guest list yesterday & I was shocked to discover that there are nearly SIXTY PEOPLE on it! I was not really prepared for that big of a number. However, I do think there is major potential for it to be a fun time ;-)

Here's where I need your help. We were thinking we would just have a huge pizza party at the church. We plan on eating before the rehearsal or we will have families with small children waiting way too late to have their dinner. The kafoffle with having the dinner at the church is that I truly hoped to have the Fellowship Hall Reception Ready that afternoon (or even the day before). My other thoughts were to have the dinner at a city park or even at our house, since lots of folks will probably want to see the house while they are in town for the wedding. Of course that means that the house will have to be in tip-top shape. No more remodeling/moving/organizing/yard sale mess left anywhere. I just got exhausted typing that sentence!

So, your help please. Any inexpensive, creative Rehearsal Dinner ideas that I've overlooked? What did you do for your Rehearsal Dinners? And for those of you whose Rehearsal Dinners I attended, please still respond. 'Cause I don't remember a thing! Don't be offended...

Thanks for your help! And thanks for your comments - I'll admit that I love your feedback!

Still Got It!

This is a leaded glass syringe shield. It's not exactly like the ones we use here at my workplace, but it is similar. Normally I use one of these on a daily basis to draw up doses for our customers. It takes quite a bit of practice (for uncoordinated folks like me, partly b/c they are heavy little boogers) to figure out how to hold the shield with the syringe in it & be able to balance it & pull down on the plunger to draw up the med. We have a small staff here at our location, so I am kind of a Jill-of-all-trades. Last month we had one driver out on medical leave at the same time that another driver was out on a short-term deployment with the National Guard. As a result, I had to be a driver almost every morning. I totally missed my normal duties which includes drawing doses. I kind of like the variety in responsibilities (but not having to go in early!). This week we went back to normal staffing, so come Monday morning I was back in the hood drawing doses. I tend to get a little apprehensive when I start handling the radioactive material again. I just don't want to be careless with it & create a big mess - decontamination is no fun! Anyway, so far, so good - I'm pleased to report I've still got my skills!

Whew!

Yesterday after work I had one of those, WOW! We Got A Lot Done evenings. It was great. I went straight from work to Walgreens, Kroger, & CVS. I didn't have hardly any food in my house (at least nothing fresh) & I wanted to shop the deals. I got all that done, got it all unloaded just as Mike got there. We talked a bit about what we wanted to get done & then we headed to Lowe's. My parents gave us a window air conditioner that they used for just a couple of summers. Then they got central air & they had just stored this window unit in their garage for TEN YEARS. The absolute wonderful thing about it is that it still works well enough to give me goose bumps in like five minutes. What a blessing! Mike got it installed in the bedroom window & we got all the stuff we needed to seal it well at Lowe's. We were also able to get a new ceiling fan for the bedroom (on sale - yay!). After that we headed to Mike's apartment to pack some stuff up & bring it to the house. Our goal is to get him moved out by this weekend. He will then be in limbo (i.e. sleeping on his parent's couch) until the wedding.
After we got back to the house I was able to get three loads of laundry done, make salads for the next couple of days (to take for my lunch at work), water the plants, do a general tidy of the house, get the air conditioner totally secured & sealed (good thing too, 'cause it's raining like crazy here today), pack the boxes we brought home, & then we realized it was 10:30 & Mike hit the road.
I talked to my mom after he left & told her all about what we had accomplished. In the next breath I mentioned several other things we would like to get done (mow the grass, install the ceiling fan, get all the tools put away/organized, line the kitchen drawers, organize a humongous yard sale & so on). I just have to wonder...DOES IT EVER GET BETTER? Will I ALWAYS have a to do list as long as the refrigerator it's posted on? So I asked my Mom.

Her reply - "It will probably ease up after the wedding."

Probably???

Thanks, Momma. At least she doesn't build up any false assurances, amen? Amen!

By the way, in case you were wondering...

The wedding is exactly 66 days away!

The Race Results

I really wanted to wait to post about the race until I could get Mike's camera & download some pics to go along with the full story. So, just to whet your appetite for more details, I will give you just a brief synopsis of my 4th One America 500 Festival Mini-Marathon.

I got off to a great start. The Lord held back the rain, we had cool, sunny temperatures & I made wise choices regarding my clothing options. Aside from not sleeping too well the night before, I was ready to go!

Here are my finishing stats:
Time - 2:20:15
Gun Time - 2:26:12
Pace - 10:43
5 mile - 50:19
10 mile - 1:45:51
Gender Place - 6108 out of 15849
Division Place (females ages 30-34) - 1130 out of 2529
Overall Place - 15683 out of 30147

The average time for all finishers was 2:28:12. Overall, regarding my training difficulties & another difficulty during the race (you'll have to come back for that story!), I was very pleased with my finish time. Here's last year's results for a little comparison:

Finishing Time - 2:15:25
Gun Time - 2:39:29
Pace - 10:21
5 mile - 51:40
10 mile - 1:43:34
Gender Place - 4761 out of 15736
Division Place (female ages 30-34)- 867 out of 2450
Overall Place - 13411 out of 30063

By comparing the gun times you can see that being in a forward corral like G rather than Q or R (whatever it was last year) makes a big difference. It took about 5 minutes for me to get to the start line this year as compared to about 24 minutes last year.

More details & pics are soon to come!