Whoa...it's been a while

I didn't realize that it's been almost two months since I've posted anything, and the last thing to be posted was a survey. I'm a loser. Anyway, the past two months have been busy ones - here's a brief update:

• Spent Thanksgiving with Paul's family - super fun, let me tell you.
• Watched Alabama kill Auburn. :)
• Watched Alabama get killed by Florida. :(
• Spent Christmas (well, part of the week prior to) on a Disney Cruise with my dad's whole family. It was so much fun...seriously. I would recommend it to anyone who has kids (and even those who don't).
• Spent Christmas weekend with my family in Chicago - snow, family, good food, good times.
• Paul started back to school, including doing an internship with church - don't worry, he's basically been doing all of it already, so it's not much different than normal life @ SHC for us. Which is a good thing.
• I logged onto MySpace for the first time since October or November and cleaned it out. That was crazy.
• Had an amazing time at Worship @ Workplay.
• Spent this past weekend back in Chicago for an extended family Christmas party - this was with the family of the cousin who passed away in November. Sad, but still very good.

*Sigh* OK. Now that the update is officially done, here's what on my heart currently:

Marriage/Family: We are surrounding by marriages that are falling apart, even before they even had a chance to get off the ground. We're also surrounded by marriages that are falling apart after almost 30 years. It's truly unbelievable to me, but at the same time, I have to remember that life isn't going to get better or easier as we get closer to Jesus coming back. I know that sounds super spiritual, and trust me, I'm not one to talk about end times (that's a whole other blog...), but more and more, I am reminded that the things of God will be attacked the hardest before He comes back. I can't deny that it's started. Our hearts are broken by these broken marriages, homes, families, hearts...I almost can't put it into words. I have, however, taken all of this as a sign for me to be praying the blood of Jesus over my marriage, and those around us that are holding strong. I can't imagine my life without Paul, and God knows I'm not going to lose him without a super hard fight, no matter what may come. When God orchestrates something like marriage, I believe it's harder for the enemy to fight it. God knew what He was doing when HE created marriage, and I'm not going to stop believing that now, even in the face of the Church looking as bad as (or worse than) the world.

Church: People leaving, drama, miscommunication, lack of communication, heartache, people being stretched almost too thinly (in more ways than one)...GAH. I don't know what's going to happen, but I know that God has a plan, and I'm going to try my darndest to keep faith even when other people won't. Paul and I fell in love with SHC over 2 years ago, and that love has not and will not die. Does that mean we're going to be at SHC forever? Probably not. But knowing that we are where we're supposed to be is HUGE. Being in a small church is hard, but as far as I'm concerned, we've been more rewarded by it than anything, and although the future is unclear, we are unashamed and moving forward. It's time to stop making excuses and start making progress, no matter how long it takes or how hard it is, and with God as my witness and prayer as my weapon...

New life: On a more positive note, we're so encouraged by new life, whether it's literal (as in a new baby or finding out someone is preggo), or it's spiritual (people fighting to let go of their past and to move forward with Jesus, or being saved - really saved - and giving up their lives to God). As you all know, I am a self-proclaimed control freak - I consider it my thorn. But I can't tell you how it encourages me to see other people giving up control about crap in their lives - surrender is attractive, and it's attracting me in the oddest ways. I feel like I am being pulled up out of the hole that has been my life for the past couple years, and re-embracing my life in Christ. It's a slow, hard thing, but so good. So, SOOOOO good. We're seeing it in people at church, friends near and far, the worship team (I'm smiling just thinking about that), in our marriage, our families, etc. God is so good, and He gets all the glory. Watch out...I'm about to get pentecostal in here! lol... In the midst of all the darkness, God is the light - I read about that on Sam's blog today, and it made me smile a huge smile! (Thanks for posting that, Sam!)

Coming events:

• FREE massage next week - not by Lindsey, but hopefully equally as good! Thank God for gift certificates!
• Winter Youth Retreat (1.30 - 2.1) - our worship team is leading worship for the kiddies at the retreat, and we are so pumped about it! :)
• Friends from Ohio coming for a visit (2.20 - 2.22) - woo-hoo!
• My birthday (2.24) - the big #26 lol...but I think we're going to Atlanta to see Ben Folds! YAY!

Survey time!

From Meg's blog, by way of Rachel's blog, by way of Andrea's blog...

Three names you go by:
1. Lynn
2. Babe
3. Lynnaford

Three things you are wearing right now:
1. Green sweater
2. brown pants
3. Shoes

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. The long weekend to come faster
2. A dog!

Three people who will probably fill this out:
They already have...

Two things you did last night:
1. Ate cereal for dinner
2. Sat on my butt

Two things you ate today:
1. Banana bread muffin from my grandma
2. Moe's

Two people you last talked to on the phone:
1. The doctor
2. Paul

Two things you are going to do tomorrow:
1. Go to work
2. Go to the gym...I hope

Two longest rides you have taken:
1. From Hammond, IN to Phoenix, AZ
2. From Phoenix, AZ to New Orleans, LA

Two favorite beverages:
1. Diet Coke
2. Woodchuck hard cider

Twilight

So...I'm disappointed. The movie was mediocre at best, and although I wasn't expecting it to be like the books at all, it was still very rushed, VERY cheesy in some parts, and there was a huge lack of character development. It ended leaving everything wide open for the second movie, so maybe they'll do better next time. Now these are just my opinions (and mostly the opinions of the 5 other girls I saw the movie with last night), so go see it to decide for yourselves. BTW - screw Edward (Robert Pattison) - he's not as dreamy as everyone made him out to be, and is pretty creepy in real life, along with Jasper (Jackson Rathbone)...like whoa. Emmet (Kellan Lutz - the big one on the left), on the other hand, can pretty much take me anytime (as long as he sticks to the dark hair - the blonde makes him look ridiculous), with Jacob (Taylor Lautner) as a close second (even more so when he's not jailbait).

8 things

I just now realized that Rachel tagged me...duh. So two posts in one day! HA - maybe I'll keep going...

8 Favorite TV shows:
1: Anything on HGTV
2: Anything on Food Network
3: Chuck
4: How I Met Your Mother
5: The Big Band Theory
6: LA Ink (even though I don't really watch it anymore...)
7: House
8: Jon & Kate Plus 8

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1: Zoe's Kitchen
2: Olive Garden
3: Newk's
4: Logan's
5: Surin West
6: New Chinatown (Southside)
7: California Pizza Kitchen
8: Macaroni Grill

8 things that happened yesterday:
1: I woke up at 5:15 and didn't want to get out of bed (like every morning)
2: Work
3: ate leftovers of an awesome casserole I made (oh so good)
4: came home and sat on my rear
5: made quesadillas and cheesy Mexican rice for dinner
6: watched bits and pieces of different shows on TV
7: Did some laundry
8: Had fun with the hubby ;)

8 things to look forward to:
1: IT'S THE WEEKEND
2: Bama football on Satuday! We're #1!
3: Thanksgiving
4: Cruise!
5: Christmas in Chicago!
6: Getting a week and a day of vacation the week of Christmas (and the Monday after)
7: Decorating for Christmas
8: Hanging with peeps (in general)

8 things I love about fall:
1: colder weather
2: fires
3: winter clothes
4: Christmas shopping
5: STUFFING! (YES - Rachel, I knew I loved you for a reason...)
6: Changing colors outside
7: decorating the house
8: A Christmas Carol service at church

8 things on my wish list:
1: A dog!!
2: New clothes
3: New bedroom stuff
4: New sheets
5: New books/movies
6: A new fence in the back yard
7: A dog!!!
8: Losing weight

8 people I’m tagging (but honestly don’t expect to do it if they don't want to):
1: Meg
2: Andrea
3: Chris
4: Erik
5: Marie
6: Shane
7: ??
8: ??

New look AND a new post!

Whoa! lol...

The new look is based on the shirt/cardigan I'm wearing today - all shades of blue. Green is by far my favorite color, but I like blue during the wintery months. Especially ice blue...sigh. It's soothing for me. And this week, I'm in need of some soothing. I dealt with a flat tire, almost losing my wedding ring (it was on my bed - Paul found it), and being bored out of my ever-loving mind. I hate feeling disconnected from people I love, so that's been a hindrance of sorts as well. I'm still on zero about the new hobby, but I'm challenged to do some research on volunteering in the Ham. We'll see. Also, Paul has been a bugger this week about having a good attitude. It seems like the times he says something about it are the times when I want to have the worst attitude possible. Ugh. Anyway...

We need to start Christmas shopping. We don't have money for it, but we need to start. I'm a bit worried that I won't get a Christmas bonus this year (yay, economy!), but even if I do, all of it needs to go towards paying off debt. I hate debt.

So I know I'm probably crazy, but I told my mother in law that I wanted to learn how to make chicken and dressing on Thanksgiving. I do want to learn how to make it (even if it will never compare to stuffing), but spending that much time with her on a holiday might drive me a bit nuts.

Sorry for the random nature of this post - it's 6:40am and I just needed to be random for a minute. Have a great day!

I need a hobby

So. I decided after a hard conversation with Paul last night that I need a hobby. I'm overweight, I have health problems (apparently), and I'm bored. I'm a typical American, right? I work 40 hours/week, and then I spend the rest of my days sitting on my rear. I watch TV, work/play on the computer, cook (sometimes), and have no want or need for kids anytime soon. (We've talked about getting a dog, but we want to wait until after the first of the year because we'll be gone for a week for Christmas, and our backyard is currently void of a fence.)

I come home everyday, watch an hour of Gilmore Girls reruns (4:00-5:00), Rachael Ray's 30 minute meals (5:00-6:00), and Scrubs reruns (6:00-7:00). Then we usually watch whatever during prime time. I do laundry, and clean (sometimes), and as involved as we are in our church, we don't usually get to hang out during the week because we live kinda far away. SIGH.

What to do? Any suggestions? I've considered a lot of things, but have come up with nothing. I've thought about:

• Getting a part time job - this will not work because if you work evenings, you're working until at least 9:00 or 10:00, and if I am going to keep my day job (which means getting there at 6:00am), then there's no way in hades I'm working at night.
• Volunteering - this is definitely an option, but with what/whom or for whom? And how flexible would they be? Am I equipped enough to do something?
• Classic hobbies - knitting, sewing, scrapbooking, cooking, etc. All sound like great options, but there's a couple issues. A) These hobbies cost money - something we don't have, especially not any extra. B) I'm usually not super coordinated. C) I get bored very easily. D) All of these hobbies still include sitting on my rear or eating. Not good.
• Not-so-classic hobbies - ....can't really think of anything currently, but I'm sure more and more money would be involved, and/or far too much activity (did I mention I'm lazy?) Ugh.
• Going to school for something - once again, a definite possibility, but once again, MORE MONEY. Thinking about gaining more debt kinda makes me gag a little.

And there's my dilemma. HELP!

Happy Halloween!

Yaaaar Matey! A'hoy!!!