Best Positions in Bed

Here are some of my favorites:

A perfect fit!

That memory foam is not for me.

I guess that's better than sucking your paw

Hot dog!

Lazy boy.

Who said cats land on their feet?

Healthy lifestyle

What an interesting nook!

The cat's out of the bag on cat/dog relations

Too impatient for knitting?

Cat and Mouse

Too tired to eat

Frogs

FROGS
Once upon a time there was a bunch of tiny frogs.... who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants....

The race began....
Honestly, no one in crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. You heard statements such as:
"Oh, WAY too difficult!!"
"They will NEVER make it to the top."
"Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!"

The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one.... Except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher....

The crowd continued to yell, "It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!"
More tiny frogs got tired and gave up....But ONE continued higher and higher and higher....This one wouldn't give up! At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top!

Then, all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it. A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal.


It turned out....That the winner was DEAF!!!!

The wisdom of this story is: Never listen to other people's tendencies to be negative or pessimistic.... because they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you -- the ones you have in your heart!

Always think of the power words have. Everything you hear and read will affect your actions!
Therefore: ALWAYS be....POSITIVE!
And above all: Be DEAF when people tell YOU that you cannot fulfill your dreams!
Always think: God and I can do this!

God is Good

Most of you know how tough it is at the beginning of the year because of weird pay checks and stuff. Well, we just went through an interesting time with our pay checks this month. Most of you also know that Rodney and I were dislocated in Greenville, NC for awhile with pretty low paying jobs. So, when this month rolled along, we only got partial paychecks from our jobs.

At first, I thought everything would be fine, but then I realized that we really weren't going to make our bills this month unless Rodney started getting paid at his new job immediately. That wasn't going to happen so I started to worry. I knew that God had taken care of us all those months in Greenville when we were barely getting along. He had provided someone to take over our lease when we broke it, so that January wasn't a struggle. My faith that he was going to take care of us this month started to fail a little. I even expressed this to my Mom. I wasn't sure where the money was going to come from. I expressed this on the first Sunday of the month.

Several of you also know that God so delightfully provided us the 2nd vehicle for free when I lost my car to a bad spark plug. Well, my broken down car had been sitting in my gracious mechanic's parking lot since it got towed there on the 27th of December. The plan all along was to donate it to a charity. I had been waiting on my Dad to give me the name of the charity he had used so that I could donate it to the same one (as it seemed easy). Thankfully, my Dad never really gave me that information until the end of January (at the time I wasn't so sure I was thankful; I was more worried about the inconvience I had been by keeping my car at my mechanic's).

Also, I desperately wanted to sell or give away the tires on my car as they were brand new, put on the day before my car died. I had had some prospects, but lost the final one the weekend I told my Mom that I wasn't sure how God was going to take care of us. We really needed about an extra $500 this month just to make the bills.

So, I called my mechanic the day before my car (the Monday after talking to my Mom) was to be towed by the charity to ask him if he had any old tires he could just throw on there so I could take my new tires and hold on to them until I could sell them. He informed me that he had had tires but had taken them to the dump the previous Friday. I lamented on how bad my timing truly was!

Here came the kicker. Kenny, my mechanic, then informed me that a good friend of his had seen my car in the lot. It needed a new engine, and Rodney and I couldn't afford to fix it nor did we think it was worth it as my car was worth less than what it would cost to fix it. This guy wanted it. He offered $500 cash for it! I was going to take a total loss on the tires and only truly get a miniscule tax write off on it, so, needless to say, I canceled on the charity and took the money. Praise the Lord, He had come through after all. I should've never doubted that He wouldn't, and afterwards felt like I had just been paddled by my daddy for that one.

The cool part is that my car will live on. The guy is going to fix it up and give it to his niece. We also made our bills for the month. I was really giddy after the news and couldn't wait to spread the joy.

Next month is going to be even more exciting as God has truly blessed us financially with jobs that can cushion our finances and start digging us out of the shallow hole we are in (thank the Lord it's only shallow!).

My Own Parable

Consider a snow covered road. People who go down the road without it plowed will have to go slow, if they even make it. Then there's the snow plows. They will go a little faster down the road than those who tried before a path was cleared, mainly because they are plowing their own path. Then there are the cars that follow the plow. They can go much faster than the car that tried before the plow and faster than the plow itself.
Consider this a parable about our business.

Dreams and the Pursuit of Freedom

Many people go through life without a direction, without a dream, without goals. This is sad to me. Without them, what is life? I have refined and changed my goals and dreams on many occasions. Mainly, I did that to fit in my current life views. The real objective should be to put your dreams and goals in front of you everyday so that you can head in the right direction.

If you were to come to my home, you would find dreams every where. Our refrigerator is a dream collage! We love it too because we see it every time we go past or into the kitchen. We write our dreams and goals on our mirrors. Every time I get into my car, I know what I am striving for.

One way to learn how to set your goals and what they should be is to read inspirational books. Some of my favorites include Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen, The Journey of Desire by John Eldredge, and The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. I tell you what, I have never been so much of an avid reader than since these last 6 months being in business for myself. It is one of the many things that our business team encourages us to do.

Association. This is key to pursuing your dreams and heading in the right direction. Sometimes, I have a hard time associating with people who are only negative in their mindset. They just don't realize that there is something better out there than corporate america, the news, and TV! I like to think of them as the "confused" ones. I, now, tend to hang out more often with people from our business and friends who live optimistically than I do with those without hope.

I shocked a church member the other day when she asked about my marriage. I told her it was great and it is, but I also told her that the main spats we have deals with money. She replied that we will never get rid of that problem and I so confidently responded, "Yes we will alleviate that problem! We're on the way to doing that now." When one pursues freedom, it pertains not only to time and life, but also to financial freedom. That is one of our goals. We see ourselves getting rid of debt in the next 2 years and living a life we could've only dreamed of during college. It's a done deal, and we speak that everyday.

Speaking of which, there is power in words. Have you ever noticed some of the idiomatic phrases we use and how negative they are? For example, "It scared me to death!" I don't want to die from a scare! You might think that's funny, but why don't we say, "It scared me to life!"? We tend to put ourselves and our lives down everyday just through our speech. Most of us don't even realize we are doing it. Rodney caught me on one the other day. He caught me saying, "Can't afford that, we're broke." Well, if I speak like that, of course we're broke. I now try to catch myself on that.

I was talking to Brent last night at church about my goals. I told him how I was disappointed about not being able to go on the mission trip. Yes, some of it has to do with finances, but mainly it has to do with the fact that my "spring break" doesn't coincide with it this year. I was telling him how even though I am delaying some gratification right now, that I am looking forwards to next year when I will not have a job. "NOT HAVE A JOB!?" you might say. Yeah, that's right. That wasn't a typo. You see, in the pursuit of freedom, you may not be able to enjoy everything you would like to right now or instantly, but you know that with the work you are doing right now, you will be able to do the things you want to do when you ultimately achieve your goal.

Yes, it is sometimes hard work. Dreams and goals and the pursuit of freedom are worth it though. We keep that in front of us, excite those around us (or freak them out with our mindset and personal vision), and know that God will bless us indeed.

Lastly, as you head in the right direction you will face opposition. It may come from people, health, or just life in general. The more of it, the more likely you are getting closer and closer to you goal or heading down the right path. Opposition should excite you! You know that you are doing what is right. You will face it too because the world is negative and you are heading completely opposite from the world. Isn't that what we are called to do as Christians anyway?

"For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." Luke 6:45b

"Humble yourself, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time." 1 Peter 5:6

More Pics from Africa!

Check out these awesome pics, hot off the press:

Tibaski Kids

Spread Eagle Goats.... hmm.... yum?!

Beth and Tondi

OOOooo.... Tondi looks so vicious!

As a side note: Doesn't Beth look so fabulous? She has been sick some since being down there and looks pretty good! We all miss her, too!

Weight loss and Jen's Wedding

So whoa, I need to hit the fast track to losing weight immediately. I thought I had almost a year and a half to lose the target weight that I want to lose before Jen and Ben's wedding, but they have changed the date! I am extremely excited and putting myself out there to help them out in getting this thing done. They are actually eloping on May 30, but planning on having a ceremony in June. That gives me 4 months. No more calories for me.... well, at least excessive ones at that.

Anyways, I have changed my diet already. I have been bringing relatively healthy things for lunch with me. The majority of the food I get through my business is healthy anyways, so it makes it just that much easier. Sometimes, I long for some of the junk in the cafeteria on campus, especially since I can smell it down the hall in my office. But, I know that I can't do that!

My work schedule is changing next week so that now I can actually spend sometime in the gym for which I have a key on my apartment grounds (and have not used up until this point!). That actually really excites me because I miss working out. I always had so much more energy when I did. Plus, I lost a lot of weight when I was working out.

I will try to think of it as a semester to lose weight. When I was taking jogging and conditioning the spring semester of 2003, I really was on the fast track for losing weight. The one thing I miss doing in my workout is swimming. If I had the money, I probably would join the YMCA so I could do my laps. I lost so much weight when I was doing that. I also enjoyed it very much. Beth actually got me into the whole swimming thing. She is a much better swimmer than me, and truly, I can never thank her fully for the advice and tips she gave me in teaching me how to do laps.

In the end, the goal will be for you to see "less of me" on a daily to weekly basis. If you see me cheating, just give me a friendly reminder that one of my best friends is getting married soon!

HOLD ME ACCOUNTABLE!

My "New" Car

So I have back-tracked about 10 years in terms of cars. I am now driving a gray 1989 Toyota Camry with 247,000 miles on it. I can't say that I absolutely love the car, but it is a car, and it works. I have made it a little more my own by adding some of my personal items, mainly to cover up minor issues with the car. I haven't yet decided to really claim it. I'm a bit in denial about my other car being gone, but I realize that this is only temporary.

The descriptions about the idiosyncrasies of the car about to follow are not complaints, rather things that I have noticed and am now more amused by.

This Camry looks really nice on the outside. There aren't a lot of scratches on it and from the outside you can tell it has a sunroof. There is one minor dent on the outside but the color really hides it and it is in a small corner of the passenger rear door. The bumper looks a little "bumpy" but I was told this car had been in an accident quite sometime ago. It doesn't drive like it has been in an accident though.

I kindof laugh at night when I drive it though because the passenger side headlight shines the light quite a bit higher than the driver side. I call it the lopsided look! I tried to fix it and realized the whole headlight is not quite in its "socket." I'll probably get Thomas to take a look at it next time he is in town.

The windshield is cracked and in the same way that I had cracked it on my last car, by taking off the windshield wiper and letting the metal thingy slam down on it. The crack is just to one side and you really don't notice it from the outside.

Ah, now the inside. My favorite little idiosyncrasies lie there!

The outside definitely looks better than the inside, but so far I have done a fairly good job of concealing some of its funny things. First of all, on the way back from Atlanta, this one thing drove me mad. I kept staring at it! There is a gash in the middle of the top of the dashboard. It's a little unsightly but Peanut, my elephant beanie that I keep in the car from my last one, does a great job of covering that right up! He actually doesn't slide around that much up there so you would only know it was there if I really slung the car around or if you picked up Peanut.

My aunt informed me that she used to haul straw in it. While she and my uncle did a fabulous job cleaning the car, there is still some straw stuck to the roof. It actually gives the inside a little character, and you really only notice it if you look for it.

Now, the sunroof. I have never had a sunroof before and think it is so neat having one. I love to stare at the sky (not too much while I'm driving) through the glass. It is really neat when it is raining. It, however, does not open. It is broken from opening, but is still neat having it!

I have tactfully removed some things from my 99 Ford to fix a few interesting things. I took my carpets out of it from the inside of the car and from the trunk. You see, the Camry had these weird looking green carpets in its gray interior, perhaps aged gray. The Camry also had no trunk carpet. So now I have stolen those from my Ford. The Camry looks remarkably better with my carpets.

I have played with the automatic windows so much! I had manual ones in my Ford, but I am also afraid of breaking them. They are quite expensive to fix, but so much fun. I have control from the driver's side and can lock them! I also now have a button I can push to lock the doors from the inside. This was something I always wanted in my Ford, but my Ford had a remote. This one doesn't have a remote, but when I unlock the driver or passenger side with the key, all the doors unlock, so it's almost like having a remote!

The Camry has an oil leak. That means I have to check my oil weekly, and there is actually a quart of oil that is stored in a cool spot under the hood. This cracks me up that I am storing oil under the hood! But what car that is 17 years old with 200+K miles on it doesn't have an oil leak?

When I want to turn right, the right turn signal is quirky. If I don't push the lever up fast enough it squeals or buzzes at me. Hehehe, just wait until I play a mean joke on someone who doesn't know about that!!!

Anyways, I am extremely blessed to have a wonderful aunt and uncle who just gave me this car in our time of need. It has definitely made life easier, especially in Rodney and I's business. I also don't have to inconvenience so many people by asking for rides!

Thanks A-Marianne and U-Evan!

My Car

Ah, how life can just change in an instance.

Let's start with the story of my car.

I got my car in July of 2001. I had resolved to get a car right before school ended; I needed a car. I had been borrowing my boyfriend's (now husband) car for a full semester. It was apparent that a car was needed not only to get to church and around Boone, but since my brother was about to join the Appalachian family in the fall of that year, it would be necessary to have transportation home for the two of us since it was hard in those days to find transportation for two.

My family didn't believe I'd be able to because I had to find the means of buying a car. I believed I would and even bought an ASU sticker that would be placed on it.

Well, God provided the means through a close family who mentored me and through my father who covered the portion they didn't. It was a loan, but hey, at least there was no interest.

Lo, and behold, I got my car, a 1999 Ford Escort SE, dark sparkly blue, my favorite color. I lost my job the day after, but that is another story (it wasn't because I got the car though).

I slowly repaid my mentors and drove that baby through the snow, ice, rain, and fog of Boone. It was my baby, my own car. I personalized it with stickers and accessories. I planned on even keeping through Medical School had that been my continued dream. It only had 32,000 miles on it and I got an excellent deal.

Why am I talking about my car you ask, well I am getting there.

I had grown fairly attached to my car as it was my first ever car. I took care of it very ritually only lacking in a few issues on very rare occasions. I had a check up on my car by my very trusted mechanic at least once a year.

This year's check up was this past week. It was having issues in the start-up and I was quite pleased with the fix. It seemed to be running very well after my brother installed new spark plugs, my mechanic installed new tire rods, and my Dad and I got new tires on it. My mechanic did a good overlook and we were on our merry way again.

I got my car back on Monday and we drove it to Winston Salem. No problems. On the way home, something happened. Cruising along at 3 above the speed limit in the fast lane in Durham on the way home from Winston Salem, my engine suddenly popped and I started to loose power. I merged quickly over and exited at the Southpoint Mall exit (thankfully where I am working just for the holidays). I got upset when the car stalled out at the top of the exit ramp and prayed it would start just to get it around the corner into the parking lot. It started briefly and I cruised into the parking lot, but as I got in the parking lot my engine stalled again and my brakes locked up. I pulled the emergency brake but that was no good, but finally was able to get my car to stop in a parking spot. It wouldn't start anymore after that.

Needless to say, as I am a woman, I cried. Why was this happening to us? Rodney and BeBe were in the car with me, and while I needed to be at Southpoint in an hour and half or so, they were stranded. I called my Dad and Mom, who came to pick them up while we waited on a tow truck. My Dad decided to ride with the AAA tow truck and they towed my precious one to my mechanic in Raleigh.

The diagnosis... well, let's just say Rest in Peace my darling. I was shocked to find out that one of the spark plugs exploded in my engine and a part bounced around in there and ruined my engine. It would cost more than my car is worth to get it fixed, so now we will be in the hunt. I plan on contacting the company that manufactured the spark plug to see if I can get some sort of settlement as it was defective and shouldn't have exploded and fallen apart like that.

All in all, the last few days have been stressful. This is just something you don't expect to happen and don't want to happen during the holidays or ever. I was hoping to get another good year and a half out of this car. But now we are stuck with one car, decisions to make, and more money down the drain.

We must be headed in the right direction to hit such opposition.....

Prayers would be helpful to understand why all this has happened and where to go from here.

what kind of pie?

You Are Pumpkin Pie

You're the perfect combo of uniqueness and quality. Those who like you are looking for something (someone!) special.

What Kind of Pie Are You?

Beth and Santa in Niger

Just had to post this picture!

I didn't know that Santa visits Niger!
I betcha that Santa liked having a hot chick on his lap!
(don't read into that comment too much)

More BeBe!

Just a few more shots to pass along... I finally got that roll developed!

BeBe on his playpen!

BeBe after a bath.

He actually looks more like a dinosaur or something. What do you think he looks like wet? Let me know by leaving a comment!

Beth (I mean, Lynn) in Africa

Hey ya'll! I just loved these pictures so much that I had to put them in my blog. This is one of my bestest friends who joined the peace corps. She is a wonderful gal and I miss her a ton. She was also one of the maids of honor at the wedding. I hope you enjoy these pictures!

Beth is on the right.

Beth on a camel!

That looks like fun!

That guy is touching her foot!

The woman at the well!

Isn't she gorgeous!

I think these pictures are right when she got to Africa during training and her "swear in." She also noted that these were taken before she got sick and lost a lot of weight (poor gal!). Anyways, I'll post more when she sends more!

The Beebster!

Thanks to my Dad, I now have Be Be pictures for your enjoyment. It still isn't the same until you've met the little booger!


Cutie pie!

Now, I'm just adorable! (when I'm not a poop head!)

I like to snuggle!

Be Be head on!

Look at me!

I'm full of fluff!

I want all the attention!

Bat Bird!

I hope you enjoyed them! More to come in the future! Oh, I think Sophie was a little jealous of all the attention the bird was getting:

Or she just doesn't like the camera.

LOL!

BeBe!

I am a Mommy! I was going to wait until I had the pictures of BeBe to put up here, but I'll post them when I get them.

So, Rodney and I, as a wedding present, were given a little bird. It is a love bird and it is a mutation of a peach faced love bird. He is so pretty too! For a love bird, he probably has the biggest personality you would ever see in one.

He is still a baby, just 2 months old. He totally rocks, too. He likes to snuggle with you and fly to you and has bonded to both Rodney and I. We still hand feed him a little bit, but he is turning into a big boy! He now sleeps on the big boy perch and is exploring all parts of his cage and our apartment.

We're hoping he'll be the one in a thousand who speaks. He is already a little talkative, at least in bird language and he loves to play Peek-a-boo! I'll throw a wash rag over him and say, "Where's BeBe?" He'll then poke his head out and whistle at me to tell me that he is right there! It is the most adorable thing.

If you haven't met him, you totally need to. We take him practically every where with us in his little carrier. I will post pictures on here as soon as I get them developed!

On a side note, Jen Jen got engaged!!!! Yea!!! So exciting!

Positive Thoughts, Positive Life

I'm sorry I haven't written here in awhile, but mainly it's because I let myself get busy with other things. Life over the past few months has definitely been interesting. Mostly, I have just had a change in my old mind set.

It may shock some of you, but I'm not sure if God is leading me down the Medical School road anymore. It had been my "dream" for so long that I just never really thought that there was anything else. The main reason I had wanted to go to medical school was to use that in the future as my ministry. Lately, I have had other opportunities come up that will give me more time to minister in the Missions field and even around me.

Rodney and I are new business owners. In essence, we are independent contractors. What's exciting is that our business is so hot right now that as we expand, anyone who is interested in becoming an independent contractor with us has to qualify by going through a 3-step interview. It is awesome.

The point is that our business has given us a new lot in life. I will have more time to volunteer as an EMT, to do mission work, and we can escape the corporate pyramid (in which we are at the bottom with no real hope of truly going beyond that). It's just that corporate America has deceived everyone into thinking that they are going to be okay when it is time to retire when in fact, 98% of people will not be able to survive on the government's payout (Social Insecurity which Rodney and I won't even have anyways) and will probably continue working. That just isn't right in my mind.

So, on that our business has encouraged us to change our mind set. We now spend time reading and listening to positive CDs. We hang around people with high moral values and positive outlooks in life. We have finally begun to realize that those people who are negative either have no dreams, no positive outlook on life, or are afraid of the success of other people making them look bad.

Yesterday was awesome! We did some "dream-building" and went on the Parade of Homes in the Raleigh area. It was absolutely amazing. My favorite house was a $2.5 million house that was simply gorgeous. We looked at a $4 million house, but I still loved the $2.5 million one. I could actually see myself in that house. Now, you might think that that is materialistic, but aren't we all when we go to work everyday chasing money? Besides, if I ever thought a $2.5 million house would become the center of my life, I would never have one. I just look forwards to the day when money will no longer be a worry, a stress, or a problem. I also look forwards to being able to give more that I ever would have been with this new outlook on life.

So, on to the point of this blog. Positive Thoughts = Positive Life. I just read an amazing book called Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen. The main reason people are unhappy or unsuccessful in today's world is because of their thought process. They allow their poor circumstances to overcome their emotions and life and so they live unhappily. Happiness is a choice though. It is written at the top of our mirror in the bathroom: "Choose to be Happy today." The Lord wants us to live in abundance and happily. He wrote that out for us. We are also in his favor. When you choose to be happy and realize that you are in His favor, life becomes a whole lot easier to manage because you don't worry about circumstances as you choose to be happy in spite of them.

The Lord wants to bless you a 1000x over. You just need to seek those blessings! Mainly you do that by giving. Give your life, money, work, etc over to him and he will bless you with an abundant life.

I believe this with 100% of my heart. I know He will provide for us, because He already has. He will bring the right people into our lives whether they be our friends, family, or strangers. He has already brought amazing people into our lives since our wedding. It is no coincidence. We know it was God as we asked Him to bring those people.

Even doubt as small as a mustard seed will cause you not to be able to move those mountains in your life. I know, because I have been there.

I choose to be happy, to dwell on positive things. If I do that, then I know I will have a life of abundance and happiness as the Lord desires us to have.

"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

More Wedding Pictures

Ah, marital life is bliss. I married into "Money" but didn't marry into "money," but the Lord will provide. I'm working on scrapbooking the droves of pictures I have! Here are some more wedding pics for your digital enjoyment:

What a handsome group!

From Left to Right: Tim, Thomas, Bob, Rodney, Sam, Ryan, and Dan

Rodney and the ring bearers (Brandon and John) showing off their muscles!

Wait a second, that's my veil!

Sam smells Rod's flower!

Dan trying to smooch Rodney!

Hope you enjoyed.... More to come!

Pictures from the wedding

Just thought I'd share some beautiful shots from the wedding by Bridget:

Me and my gorgeous director, Julie Anna


My bridesmaids, flowergirl, and me... they're so beautiful!


The whole bridal party! What a lovely bunch!


Me and my bouquet...

And lastly...

My hubby and his bride...

I hope you enjoyed them. If you came, thanks so much!
If you are looking at this and wondering where your copies are, hold up, they're coming!