Thursday, January 30, 2014

January WHAT?!

It's 3:05 p.m., and I JUST realized that today is January 30.

What the what?! I thought for SURE it was the 28th, and now you're telling me I only have ONE DAY left of January?

It's slipping through my fingers, man -- just slipping away!

UPDATE: It's now 5:45 p.m. due to a random influx of BUSY here at work. I'm working late tonight doing social media for one of our live shows and have a little over an hour to kill before it starts.

Whoo! This week has been a doozy!

Monday began fairly normally, but somehow ended with a weather forecast of SNOW by Tuesday morning.

I'll spare you the photo shoot, but here's JUST ONE of the snow gathering by the lake in front of our apartment:



Purrrrrrty :)

This was the SECOND time I've experienced snow since moving to The City, and I'll admit it wasn't that bad.

Although my love for sunshine and 70 degree weather still stands -- and grows stronger with each and every day!!!!!

My office was closed on Tuesday and part of Wednesday, so the past day and a half have been BUSY. But honestly? I don't mind it.

Earlier today I was feeling a little gloomy (lack of sunshine and warm weather, anyone?), but then my co-worker Christy came to the rescue and proclaimed that we needed Greek food in our lives!

I think it was just what the doctor ordered, because today just...FELT better after that. Thank the Lord for Christy and Greek food. 

...And for the Starbucks next door to said Greek place =)



Aaaahh the Starbucks. I can't remember the last time I had it.

Really, I can't remember the last time I had a full cup of coffee.

But oh, the bliss.

I NEED IT IN MY LIFE!

It definitely made the day better, by far. I felt like THIS all day:



Highly entertaining, I assure you.

HIGHLY.

Oh, Starbucks. I must remember you more often.


Apart from the random snow event, the past week or so has been fairly uneventful. Although The Mister did score a great deal on the ENTIRE SERIES of "Lost," and thus has me HOOKED.

HOOKED, I'm telling you. For the past two weeks we've been knocking out episode after episode. We're almost done with Season 2 and it's SO INTENSE.

I scream/cry/shout/{insert emotion here} with EVERY episode.

My goodness, I'm pretty sure every scene with Jin and Sun makes me ugly cry for an hour. But I love it.

Okay folks, I'm off! Work is calling me! =)

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Sometimes...











Sometimes...you just have to laugh at yourself. Because that's all you can do.




At least it was delicious!

Friday, January 17, 2014

Bless the Lord, O my soul

Well folks, here we are again -- one more Friday almost under our belts and we're that much closer to breathing a {small and humble} sigh of relief. It feels as though these past few Fridays have been few and far between, but we're making it.

It is my hope that this post will bring some encouragement today. I feel like it's so easy to slip into the mindset that we don't need encouragement - that we're good on our own. We work 40+ hours a week, hit the gym like nobody's business, plan meals, clean house, grocery shop, and the like. Sometimes we're in a routine - a good routine - where we're busy, or maybe not so busy, but we're managing and comfortable.

But then sometimes that routine gets interrupted, and sometimes we don't handle stress or change or interruptions very well. And we realize that we need something (or someone, or both) positive in our lives to remind us that, really, everything will be okay - it's just a season.

I'm not going to lie, the past few weeks have been somewhat of a challenge - between a chaotic time at work, starting to train for another race, after hours work events, and a few other side projects, I've felt a tad (<- this is used VERY loosely) frazzled and unfocused.

There have been too many times where I've felt that it's almost too much to even try to hold it together and press forward. There have been too many mornings where I let stress, worry and anxiety keep me from getting a grip and facing the day. Too many mornings where I let myself feel too weak and overwhelmed to get out of bed on time in the mornings.

I knew every time I felt sad, down, overwhelmed, and such that it was me...the problem was ME. I was getting in my own way and I just needed to snap out of it and press on. Apart from the challenges, there were so many good things happening around me, and I was letting myself miss out on it all and continued to feel beat down and, frankly, tired.

Enter in the Lord:

"Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand."
- Psalm 37:24 (KJV)

I was led to this verse this afternoon and it was a great reminder that, yes, we're going to go through seasons that are good, and seasons that are trying and hard -- but even when we fall, when we feel that we've failed worse than ever - we won't be cast down forever. We won't stay there forever -- because God is there. And He will help us get up again.

"They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way: they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them out of their distresses."
Psalm 107: 4-6

Over lunch today, I had a desperate desire to just open up my Bible and read. Sure I've read devotionals in the morning and read a verse here and there before bed every once in awhile, but I haven't really read like I should. One thing that stood out to me, almost immediately, in this verse was the word "solitary." They wandered in a "solitary" way; they wandered alone, basically. I think we can all agree that, when you're down, "alone" is not exactly a fun feeling.

And another thing -- they "wandered." They had no direction. They had no idea where they were or where they were going. They were just wandering in the wilderness. I don't know about you, but feelings of stress and anxiety only escalate when I can't see a purpose -- when the chaos makes no sense or has no direction...when I'm really not sure if it will be "worth it" once I've reached whatever I'm trying for.

A job may not feel "right," but the thought of leaving feels wrong, too. People seem to be WAY too critical lately, and you're tired of feeling bad about yourself. You're working late but still hitting the gym afterwards and still not seeing the results you want. And all this healthy eating and "cutting back" just makes you want a gooey brownie topped with loads of ice cream (and sprinkles - always sprinkles) washed down with a double-chocolate mocha latte frozen with full-fat milk and a shot of expresso, because what's the point?

Sometimes it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"...Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses."

What wonderful assurance. He hasn't forgotten, nor will he ever forget us.

When we look to God - when CRY to Him - He's there. And I'm not talking about the "Hey God, can you fix this real quick? Because I'm stuck and all but I'm still going to try to dig my way out of this, too" kind of mindset. I mean fully, completely, totally giving it up to God. His timing is perfect - we may not be able to see the end of our trials, but He's already got it covered.

He will uphold us with His hand. And he will NEVER leave or forsake us.

And when we fail, when we screw up and make an even bigger mess? He still loves us.

"But he giveth more grace."
James 4:6 *

Our struggles have a purpose. There is a reason for the stress, the anxiety, the frustration - it's only a season, and it will get better.

"Bless the LORD, O my soul: 
and all that is within me, bless his holy name."
Psalm 103:1







*James comes right after Hebrews in the New Testament, b-t-dubs. Why do I ALWAYS forget where James is?

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Writer's Block

Blog peoples! I've been taking some SERIOUS time off of life lately and loving it. I tried to do a Friday Five post on GASP Friday, but had zero inspiration. Please enjoy the random thoughts bouncing around my head this loverly evening!

ONE. Crazy Mississippi weather alert, yo! According to the tree outside of my window, the wind is just short of VIOLENT and the temperature is dropping lowwwww. Meanwhile, there's nothing else I want to do right now apart from curling up on my couch with a blanket, smelling the Pumpkin Pie Yankee Candle burning in front of me.

TWO. I miss summer! Can we go back here? Just for a few days? Weeks maybe? That'd be oh-so-nice.









THREE. We've been keeping it pretty low-key over here the past few weeks and, while it did take some adjusting for someone like me (read: I HAVE PROBLEMS SITTING STILL), it's been pretty great.

FOUR. The Hubs scored major points when he bought us a BEAUTIFUL BLUE MIXER recently and we made our first RED VELVET CAKE from scratch!!!!! Check it!!!!!

 
 


 
 
 
 
We used half the recipe so it was a teeny tiny midget cake - but I loved it!!!! Paired with homemade cream cheese icing -- I fell, people. And I fell HARRRRRD. FYI! The recipe came from the Bell's Best cookbook.




FIVE. I started going to Bodypump classes at our gym just before Christmas and I'm hooked. Stay tuned, people. I'm about to get RIPPED up in here. HA! #agirlcandream


All right -- I'm heading out to enjoy what's left of this peaceful Sunday night. Happy Sunday, folks!