Thursday, July 26, 2007

Enjoyable Post

After reading Jason's latest post I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite gals on one of my favorite shows:

"Later that day I got to thinking about relationships. There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions, those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you far from where you started, and those that bring you back. But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous." - Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City
Rather than my own commentary, I give you some of my favorite pictures that remind me of the mentioned relationships; Thanks Carrie!














"Something New and Exotic"















"Something Old and Familiar"
















"Those That Bring Up Lots of Questions"
















"Those That Bring You Somewhere Unexpected"















"Those That Bring You Far From Where You Started"
















"And Those That Bring You Back"




















Me

And, finally...


































"The Ones Who Love the Me I Love...No matter What"
Nick, Ali, and Me

I have really enjoyed this post :)






Saturday, July 14, 2007

On the Road Again...


Mr. Muffin and I are leaving for the summer mission trip Sunday morning and there are just a few more things that need to be done around the house before we leave. I look forward to a week of being outdoors, surrounded by nature, working, Phase 10, and getting to know other members of our church more personally. Pastor J. is going as the other adult female chaperone which I am really excited about since there have not been a lot of down time opportunities for us to hang out and get to know each other. The five gals that are going are active in MYF and also attend the girl's Bible study on Wednesday nights that I am a part of. Each girl is very conversational, silly, and best of all low maintenance! What I mean is that I won't have to worry about being woken up at 4a.m. by the sound of hairdryers or worry about someone blowing a fuse so that they can straighten their hair at camp! Last year I heard wonderful stories about the quality time spent rocking in chairs after a hard day's work overlooking the mountains on the porch at Hinton. I started a really good book a few days ago by Elizabeth Gilbert called "Eat Pray Love" that I hope to read some during our down time. My prayers are that we will be the hands and feet of God for those in need and that each individual will experience God in a new way. Also, I am praying that my back will not be a burden on my efforts of physical labor. For those of you who don't know I suffer from severe lower back tension that sends really intense pains and muscle cramps into my hips. As you will read in Mr. Muffin's blog, there will be a new blog dedicated to our progress and photos during our stay at Hinton! Have a great week and keep us in your prayers!

P.S. Ali Carrie will be enjoying her own vacation at Camp "Muffin-Laws."

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Reunited


This past weekend I traveled to Nashville, TN. I have always heard that Nashville is so awesome I was really looking forward to going. The purpose of this trip was to visit one of my best friends that I had not seen in two years. For nick-names' sake I will call her "Ms. J". Personal and complicating circumstances are the reason for the separation, but the issues have been resolved and for that I am very thankful. We didn't do as much sight see-ing as I hope to do next time. We visited the Loveless Cafe, J. Alexanders, Borders Books, Green Hills Mall, and Broadway at night. The trip was devoted to what friends do best...talking, listening, catching up, and growing. I came away from the trip with a new appreciation for my self, her self, and the experiences that have shaped us since we left Tuscaloosa in 2004. Throughout our all night, and I do mean ALL NIGHT, conversations I gained a sense of motivation and excitement to live my life with a "fresher perspective?" I am really trying not to sound super cheesy but it is kind of hard not to. The best thing I learned on my trip was to stop battling the many things I battle internally on a daily basis. Foods, for example. (Guys may not understand this completely but to all of my ladies I know you will.) I can't remember a time in my life where every bite of food that I took was not apprehended or dreaded and every day that passed without exercise I didn't rehearse some negative self talk like "you should have gone on a walk or at least gone to the gym for thirty minutes...you have to go in the morning before you go to Wal-Mart because if you don't go in the morning you will skip working out all together....see you didn't go this morning and now it has been one week since you exercised! oh well in two days it will be Monday and you can start then..." It gets very tiresome and drains so much joy out of my daily life to worry as much as I am prone to do...not just about food but about bills, people dying, Ali getting run over or kidnapped, my boss making my cry, people thinking I am mean or shallow...all kinds of stuff that according to statistics...aren't likely to happen. You often hear people say "choose your battles wisely" and I think I am on my way to really understanding what that means. This is not an apology. It is a celebration! God Bless the people in my life that put up with me. And God Bless me too.

Monday, July 02, 2007

Thoughts on Getting Old

It has been so long since I posted. Here is a shot as interesting my peers. I received an email from a friend and I thought it had some thoughts worth mentioning. If you are sensitive to CHEESE you should step away from this post NOW. I especially like the list of "How to Stay Young." So here goes; enjoy!

"Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old
is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited
about aging that you think in fractions.

"How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a
half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the
next number, or even a few ahead.

"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're
gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . you become 21.
Even the words sound like a ceremony . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like
bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're
Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the
brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and
your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a
day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch;
you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the
90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92."

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a
little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height.
Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay "them."

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening,
whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's
workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who
is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets,
keepsakes, music, plants, and hobbies, whatever. Your home is your
refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable,
improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next
county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the
moments that take our breath away.