Getting Back in It...Part 2

So me waking up at 4:45 a.m. and going to run around 5 a.m. lasted all of two weeks. I have yet to regain a consistent work out routine, but I have found something that is helping in my quest to lose a few pounds before summer officially arrives.

http://www.livestrong.com/

It's Lance Armstrong's website. The tool that I'm using called "The Daily Plate" (it's one of the far right tabs at the top of the site) allows you to enter your current weight, height and age; then you choose "I want to lose 1 lb, 1.5lbs or 2 lbs per week". I started Monday and LOVE this tool. It lets me know how many calories I've consumed and how many I have left for the day. If I exercise it deducts those calories burned.

I am determined to be swimsuit ready come the end of June. There's a group of 15 of us going to New Braunfels on a float/girl trip. And I want to be fabulous, not flabulous...

Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you all have a WONDERFUL weekend! The hubs and I are going to spend a little QT tomorrow and then I'm off Monday and Tuesday for my dad's annual Spring cattle working...I will have PLENTY of pictures when I get back!

Person of the Week

I got this via e-mail today. Of course, I boo-hooed. Marty tells me all the time that I'm "the most sensitive person he knows". It's usually not in compliment form...


I have a special place in my heart for all soldiers. Both my grandfathers served in wars, my cousin is in the airforce and I know several All-American men who lost their lives in battle.


I don't care who they were before they were soldiers in my mind, they are all heroes and should be treated as such.


Check this out:

I hope every soldier gets this kind of reception when he or she returns home. To all those amazing men and women out there...we owe you so much and are ever so grateful for what you do. God Bless you and your families for the sacrifices you make!

A Fast & Furious Fashion Show & Other Random Happenings...

This past weekend my grandmom, mom and I were all in a local fashion show. It was SO fast I didn't get to take many pictures and the ones I did get aren't great, but they're all I got so...

Here's Mom and I. We almost match...it's just something about black and white. (*I know I need a tan...)

In our third outfit...please ignore the nappy bangs. They were driving me CRAZY on Saturday.

Me, Gma and Mom

We have been able to do a lot together this year. Of course, these two lovely ladies are my favorite shopping companions. They know what I like and know what looks good on me...and if something doesn't look good, they're not afraid to tell me. We were asked to be judges for a local beauty pageant a few months ago. I enjoy getting to do such fun activities with my grandmom and mom. We're so close and I LOVE making new memories with them. We always have so much fun when we're together!

One of Marty's best friends moved to Kentucky this past year to finish up his medical residency. We only get to see him twice a year, but he came in Friday night so he and Marty could turkey hunt on Saturday. rThey left our house at 5 a.m. Saturday and didn't return until 10 p.m. Again, their passion for hunting never ceases to amaze me. Since I was gone all day Saturday, the only picture I got of them was before Matt left on Sunday.

Goofy boys...

Sunday after church we went down to Mom and Dad's. Mom is having her kitchen remodeled and the carpenters are wrapping things up this week. I'm so excited for her! I took Tyke so he could play with Lily and Mom helped me give him a bath.

He didn't enjoy it very much, though. Can you tell?

So sad...

Sunday afternoon we had a little hail/rain shower that lasted about 30 minutes. The largest hail was about quarter size.

Here's a picture of my parents front yard when the storm lightened up.

I have more iris's blooming in my yard. Here are a couple of pictures I took last week!

I love this time of year!

Another Fun-Filled Weekend

I was so excited because we finally had a somewhat low-key weekend planned. I should know by now that "low-key" just isn't my style.

Friday night I looked at Marty and told him we were boring because we didn't have any plans. He just laughed and said, "this is the only night this weekend we're not doing something and you think we're boring". I got caught up on laundry at least.

Saturday morning he woke me up at 5 AM. There is just something about hunting that a girl will never understand. I mean, I love getting there before sunrise and getting to share in that moment with him, but this girl doesn't even get up at 5 AM to go shopping. We had a flat tire right outside of town and when we finally got to my parents I was exhausted. So I went and took a short nap and Mom and I got around and headed to the memorial golf tournament.

Side note: The golf tournament is an annual event held in memory of a girl who went to a neighboring school when I was in jr. high and was killed in a freak car accident. She was the All-American girl. Beautiful, talented, a cheerleader, an athlete and a wonderful Christian example to all of us. We grew up going to the same church and I am very close to her family. I used to go every year and volunteer, but it's been a few years. We had a wonderful time. The weather was PERFECT and I got to see so many people that I hadn't seen in a long time.

Mom and I left there, went and got groceries for Sunday and met Marty back at my parents and we headed home.

My cousin's little boy was having his one year birthday party Saturday evening. I got there a little late, but it was NUTS! Aubrey, Brendan's mother, is one of 7 children in her family and then her cousins each have two little ones a piece so there were like 20 little children running around. It was fun, but I didn't get ANY pictures. I don't know what my deals is. I haven't been taking just a ton lately which is so unlike me.

Sunday after church I headed south for my dear friend, Mika's, baby shower. Mom and I were in charge of punch. It was delicious.

May Pole Punch courtesy of Food Network

Ingredients
1 cup frozen peach slices
1 cup frozen whole strawberries
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1 (16-ounce) can pineapple juice, divided
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
2 cups frozen sliced strawberries, thawed
2 (11.5-ounce) cans peach nectar (recommended: Kern's)
4 cups lemon-lime soda
Cantaloupe, honeydew and/or watermelon slices, for garnish
Frozen cranberries or raspberries, for garnish
Extra-dry sparkling wine, optional
Directions
Special equipment: small flower shaped cookie cutter
Arrange a double-layer of peaches, whole strawberries, and mint leaves in the bottom of a bundt pan. Add enough pineapple juice to cover the fruit. Freeze for at least 2 hours, or until set.
In a large punch bowl, combine remaining pineapple juice, orange juice concentrate, sliced strawberries, peach nectar, and lemon-lime soda. Stir to mix thoroughly.
With a small flower cookie cutter, cut out flowers from melons. Place the melon flowers
in the punch along with the frozen cranberries.
To serve, remove bundt pan from freezer and invert over the center of the punch bowl. Ladle into glasses.
For adults, top punch with sparkling wine.
Tip: If the ice mold does not unmold, dip the bundt pan in a warm water bath for 1 to 2 seconds.

I tried to get a decent picture, but this is as good as it gets.

Here's Jylian and me. She was a guest at my baby shower...that's how long we've been friends

Rachel, Me and Jyl. The future Church of Christ women...that's a scary thought...that we might actually be in charge of these things some day!

Me and my momma. We matched, but not on purpose.

Mika, Kim, Eli and Ida Mae. Three generations of beautiful women and a precious baby boy.

City Council

Well, my first city council meeting went better than expected. It went a little long, but we voted four "yes's" to one "no" so it didn't have to come down to my vote at all! Thank you, Lord!

There was a possibility going into last night that we were going to have to vote on a very controversial issue and my vote was going to be the deciding factor.

I'm going to sound like such a nerd, but I LOVED it! It was so much fun. The only thing we will have to improve upon is the lack of refreshments. We didn't get finished until almost 8:30 p.m. and we started at 5:30 p.m. I was STARVING by the time I got home.

Being the only female on the council, I told them that next time I would bring the snacks!

Book Club...

I was just asked to join a book club here in town. I am so excited! I LOVE to read, but haven't made my way through an entire book for sheer pleasure since I graduated from college. Our first selection is Queen of the Road: The True Tale of 47 States, 22,000 Miles, 200 Shoes, 2 Cats, 1 Poodle, a Husband, and a Bus with a Will of Its Own by Doreen Orion

The title makes me want to jump right in. Unfortunately, I just got on Amazon yesterday so it won't be here until next week!

I must say I am looking forward to getting together with a group of ladies once a month and discussing something fun...although, the phrase "book club" makes me feel a little too grown up. I guess I'll get over it!

Happy Friday everyone! Have a fabulous weekend!

Stay tuned...Monday night is my first City Council meeting and there are several tumultuous issues that we will be deciding on. Nothing like starting out with a bang!

A Blessed Easter...

This year we broke tradition...

Every year we typically go to my grandparents house, go to church with them and have lunch afterwards at their house. However, since we're teaching Sunday school and we missed last weekend due to the fact that we met Marty's parents in OKC and Tulsa we really felt like we needed to be there Easter Sunday.

So my parents and grandparents came up and went to church with us. Dean had a wonderful sermon. Afterwards everyone came over to our house for lunch. I had spent ALL day Saturday cooking. I made a ham with a brown sugar glaze...it was YUMMY, pork tenderloin with red potatoes and carrots, green beans, rolls, and a homemade chocolate pie. My mom and grandmom also brought yummy side dishes including potato casserole, fruit salad, devilled eggs, etc.

Here's a picture of my pie. I was quite proud of it and really excited about the recipe I found in my grandmother's cookbook. This is only the third chocolate pie I've ever made.

We had a feast. Barry, our youth minister came over and shared the afternoon with us and several other family members stopped by that afternoon.

Here's a picture of me and my dad aka "the grumpy bunny". Doesn't he look sharp in pink?

The four of us.

Mom, Gma & Me

Gma & Joe

A trip to Oklahoma...and back.

Marty and I both took off a little early the first Friday in April so we could meet his parents in OKC. We met up down in Bricktown and of course had to stop in Bass Pro Shop and then we grabbed dinner at Earl's BBQ. I love that place! Quick, cheap and oh so yummy!

Here's Marty and his parents down in Bricktown. I love that they're all holding styrofoam cups.

We parted ways after dinner and Marty and his dad headed to Tulsa (they wanted to be there bright and early for the gun show the next morning) and Jerrye and I went to pick up my camper, Caitlin.

Caitlin was in my cabin my first term at CBS. Her group of girls were absolutely A-MAZING and I still keep in touch with several of them...Caitlin just signed to play soccer for OU so after being 7+ hours away for the past 4 years now she'll only be like 3 hours away and I will get to see her on a regular basis. I am SO excited about that!

So we headed back down to Zio's (my favorite Italian place in OKC). Jerrye and I had dessert since we'd already eaten.

By the time we checked into our hotel we were beat! But, we got around the next morning and Becky chaufferred us around OKC. We went to the vintage flea market where I found a coffee table and end table for our front living room. I taught Becky how to haggle. It was a delightful way to spend Saturday.

Here Becky and I are at La Baguette. Can you tell by our hair that it was windy outside?

Saturday evening Jerrye and I headed to Tulsa to meet up with the boys. They spent the majority of the day at the gun show and Jerrye and I stopped in one of the casinos. It was my first trip to a casino. I am a conservative gambler, I guess, because I took $10 and won it all back minus .15 cents. I'd rather blow my money on something tangible. But, at least I can say I've been.

Kennith and Jerrye decided to follow us home and spend an extra day. We took "the shortest route" home which took us by the Gloss Mountains and The Little Sahara. Both of which I had visited previously on a geography field trip in college. It was a NASTY, windy day, but Jerrye wanted to see The Little Sahara so we took a little detour and hiked up a huge sandune so she could get a small glimpse of what the rest of the park looked like.

This was our view:

WINDY shot of M & me.

It was a great weekend with Marty's parents. We just don't get to see them often enough!

God is so GOOD!!!

I don't know why we try and make our faith so complicated sometimes.


I started out the morning in a great mood...but as the day progressed my spirit just felt supressed. The office was just crazy and things kept piling up and I had obligations for this evening that I needed to work on through out today...so before I broke down I just said a little prayer. Just a few words...something like, "Lord, help me to complete the tasks ahead of me and find a way to get it all done. And to do so with a smile on my face and joy in my heart."


I don't think I really believed the prayer when I said it...but I got a text minutes later from a friend asking me to have lunch with her. I politely declined and told her I was headed to the church to put some things together. She said "Great! I'll meet you there."


He sent me someone in my time of need. She offered to take care of half the things on my "to do list". Thank you, Lord!


Then, I went home to let my sweet little puppy out. He is always so glad to see me. There's nothing like coming home to a wagging tale and a slobbery kiss.


Well, I took Tyke outside and noticed two beautiful flowers that had just bloomed in my flower beds. Seriously, buying a house from people who have a green thumb is such a blessing. Every day I have these new little presents waiting to be discovered in my front yard! God is so good...


And last, but not least...last year our office was closed on Good Friday with the exception of my floor so I was kind of disappointed. However, this afternoon it was announced that the ENTIRE office building will be close in observance of Good Friday...another wonderful blessing on what has started out as a rather trite day!


To some things up I guess my small faith is just amazed when God answers my prayers so quickly and earnestly...In the words of Barry, our youth minister, "Imagine that, people go seeking God and actually find Him."


I hope you all had a beautiful blessed day as well!

There's a Stirring Deep Within Me...

I have a friend who started a site called Wrecked for the Ordinary. You can check it out here: http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/

Jeff is a dear friend of mine who helped grow my spiritual life immensely. We met the summer I worked at Camp Balcones Springs. He now facilitates missionaries and is a founder of the website.

My sophomore year of college I took a class called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Afterwards, I felt a deep call to mission work. However, I still had college left and since I'm an only child my parents were not for the idea. Granted, they are super overprotective, but I've never been one to go against my parents wishes so I stayed in school and never got to take that leap of faith.

I just read the following story...something in it pulls at my heartstrings. The idea of being a World Racer even just for a few months is an amazing opportunity I'd love to take...

What does Truth revealed amongst prostitutes look like?

Check it out here (paste in your browser): http://is.gd/qmOG - The WR Crew