...randomness

Be prepared, I am scatter brained today!

My "Nancy" poster made me do a quick search on posters.com.
I'm in love.


I also found a song that goes along with my 'Body of Christ' post.
Love it, big time...

Work is not easy this week.

Lots of meetings and folks are here from out of town.

Getting pulled in many directions is not fun.

It hurts (at least, makes my head hurt).

I'm sort of a (self-proclaimed) go-to girl. I don't know all that much, but I know lots of people. Folks approach me with lots of questions. I like helping! But, I get tired.

I did help a German man with an important question 'of a personal matter' he whispered.

"Where can I buy eye makeup remover from Clinque?"

...I told him that I don't wear makeup - that I am naturally beautiful.

He smiled.

He went on to explain it was not for him.

Really? Cute.

I directed him to the mall, and another shopping center.

So glad I could do something useful today! ;-)

I am in a 5k this Saturday.

I have a goal - break 30 minutes.

Wish me luck!

(I am only writing here in blogland so that when I am running Saturday and I want to slow down - I'll remember I blogged it. That makes it more real for me, for some reason.)

There are other things swimming in my head, but I'll stop here.

If you read this post...you are either really bored or you like me.

Sorry for the randomness...

:-)

~N

...a little off color for me

I ran across this on Amazon.
I think I love it.
I think I want to buy the poster and frame it.
I think I'll hang it in my bedroom.

It totally cracks me up.
Is that stupid?

 

Did you notice the man hiding under the bed?

I didn't at first.

I didn't notice until looking at it several times.

 

~I hit submit on the order button!

~Best $2.55 ever spent!

~Now I need a big frame and nice mat.

~I want to make it look substantial...will add to the corniness of it.

:-)

Again, CRACKS ME UP!

...in due time

Church has been good lately. This week - The Body of Christ.

You can go read if you want, 1 Corinthians 12.
Nancy's take: we are specially made, with all our 2000 parts (remember the Lever commercials?), and each part services a role. My hands, my feet, my eyes, ears, nose - all equally important. My belly button, not so important today - but it was vital 36 years ago. Such is the body of Christ - each of us are a part. We are all special, we all have our own spiritual gifts. And through serving together, we strengthen the body. Very nice to think about.

I jotted down 'what are my spiritiual gifts and how am I using them?'
I also jotted down 'if you are not recognizing and applying your gifts, it is irresponsbile'
Wow.
That, my friends, is powerful to me.

My gifts: I listen. I care. I look out for others. I nuture. I place high demands on myself to make others happy. I love. Those are all great qualities. (...is this turning in to a Nancy patting-herself-on-the-back fest?... I hope not!).
Am I using my gifts? Sadly, I don't think so. Not to the best of abilities. Not to cut myself any slack - but my guess is that only a small percentage of people do. And, then...even those have their not-so-perfect days.

Just being cognizant is a start.
I'll continue to work at it.
Because I WANT to.
I WANT to serve through my talents.
It will make me better and everyone around me.
I'm pretty incredible today, once I move to a new level of service - I will become aware of even more that I am capable of.
I pray for this - God, my promise is to serve with a whole heart. It will not always be easy. But with your guidance, all things are possible. Amen.

In due time, folks. Beauty will abound.



I need a polka-dot dress. :-)
~N

...tri, tri again

My blogger has been acting goofy.
I can't load pictures the way I used to.
And, it's getting on my nerves.

...but - I continue to tri. ;-)
(workaround found!)

I saw these today and they made me smile:



(I don't feel like cropping them. So what, you had to scroll...you'll live!)

A friend from work made this for me.
It made me smile:


Yeah, so I'm 'getting in to this' a little. I enjoy it. And as long as I do, I'll keep doing it!
Tomorrow is another training day.
And I look forward to training days.

Want to cry?
Happy tears?
Watch this:
A Special Son. A Loving Father. A Touching Story.Team Hoyt

~Nancy

...just keeping my head above water

Triathlon.
'Tri' = 3; 3 events.

A better name = tryathlon.

I can't remember a time when I was not afraid of water. I enjoy playing in it, it's refreshing. But I am very serious about safety. I warn people, "don't splash me, don't dunk me, don't push me in". People know me as having a lighthearted attitude. That attitude turns ultra-serious if I feel danger in the water.

So today's goals: don't drown, don't quit, don't be last!

Waiting in line I got nervous. Watching folks come out of the  water...looking tired after those 400 yards. 600 participants. I wanted to be at the end...fearful of getting kicked, hit, splashed. There were about 10 people behind me. With a knot in my stomach, I entered and immediately took in a gulp of water. Tasted like aquarium water (not that I really know what that taste like, use your imagination). Once the water was over 5 foot 3 inches, it was all mental. Stroke...stroke...gulp...cough... It didn't take long. I waved at the guy in the water with the lifesaver. He came to me. Thank you! Catching my breath and bearings, I was only ~100 yards in. He told me that I could swim along the rope and stop to hold to the buoys. Good news! Off again. It didn't last long. I wanted to quit. I don't want to be dramatic like I was going under, but in my mind I thought I could not make it. It was the most real feeling I've had in a long time. The next buoy was snuggly pressed against me. A friend who was ahead of me had already gone to the turn around and was on the other side of the rope. "are you ok?" she asked. "I'm going to stop, I can't do this" was my reply.

This is not me.
I wanted to cry.
I wanted it to be over.

...but, I thought about how disappointed I would be in myself. I thought about all the people who wished me luck and I would have to tell them that I quit. And, I thought if I don't finish, next time I won't even get in the water. I'm not that person.

Release buoy. Keep trying. (make sure my lifesaver boy is nearby...)

I rounded the corner. 200 yards down. Only 1 person was in the water with me and she was far ahead.

At this point, I was swimming from buoy to buoy. With 2 boats behind me. They offered "would you like to get in the boat?", "have you had to fish anyone out yet?", "no", "well you aren't getting me...I'm slow and I'm stubborn." Lifesaver boy offered me the lifesaver to use for a kickboard. I declined.

Not a soul in site, I exited the water.
I did it. :-)
At this point, I had already won!

Biking, I caught 1 person.
Running, I caught 5 or 6 more.
I finished strong, felt good, and satisfied my goals for the day.

Happy words for me: 

"There are two kinds of people in the world: those who make excuses and those who get results. An excuse person will find any excuse for why a job was not done, and a results person will find any reason why it can be done. Be a creator, not a reactor."

~Alan Cohen~



Next triathlon is next month...

...just stop and ask for directions

I am stubborn.
I like things my way.
Because, in this brain, it's the right way!
I get aggravated when things aren't going the way I want.
Or the way I had in mind.
I am working on this...
Sometimes I fret over if I am making the right decisions.
Maybe if it was more like this, I could cope better:



Instead, I see this:



Need.Trust.
Need.Faith.

This is a favorite:
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

What a beautiful promise!

Words that strike me:

• DECLARE: to make known or state clearly, especially in explicit terms, to announce officially, proclaim.
• PROSPER: to be successful or fortunate; thrive; flourish.
• HOPE: to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence, to believe, or trust
• FUTURE: time that is to be or come, something that will exist or happen in time

:-)

This isn't necessarily fitting, but I like it. Hope you do to!

...how big is a heart?

My heart - pretty dang big.
It has grown a lot.
It has focused on the truly important things.
It has been broken and fixed...
Sometimes it feels empty; sometimes full...
I don't listen to the empty days - because they will change to fullness again.
I bask in the full days.
Yet...it is still missing something...more work to do!


One thing that does make my heart happy and full is this...my friend Amy is adopting.
I'll lay out the facts.
Amy is beautiful - inside and out.
Amy is happy and fun and silly.
Amy is married with three beautifully perfect children.
Amy is a mommy, a wife, a daughter, a friend, and a co-worker.
Amy's heart is bigger and prettier than I can imagine.
(if heaven had a 'model heart' - it would be Amy's)
(except when she laughs at me during coffee time in the morning...but I can take it - and I kinda like it!)

Again, more blunt facts.
Amy's youngest has Downs Syndrome.
He is the picture of sweetness.
And, Amy and John's hearts grew when Ben arrived.
Now, they are growing again - through adoption...
Meet Mr. Cutie pie Davis:
http://jupinfamily.blogspot.com/

Davis also has Downs.
And, he is so very loved by my friend Amy.
Amy's heart aches for him.
How could it not?
And, it will be a day of rejoicing when he comes home.
Home...to the Jupin's in Alabama.
Davis Jupin.
Beautiful ring to it.

I pray little Davis is safe in your loving home and arms as soon as possible.
I thank God for knowing you Amy.

I have a spin on a quote for you....

• "A mind, stretched by a new idea, never goes back to its original dimensions." Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
• I would like to counter...'a heart, stretched by a new love, never goes back to its original dimensions'...

Has your heart ever been stretched?
...if you say 'like Stretch Armstrong, baby' - then high five to you!
...if you say no...look around :-)

A sappy love song with a most superb intro...make fun of me - 80s hair bands are still cool in my book!

...my cracked pot

Today's sermon...'Living on the Edge'.

• How to live in the world; yet not of the world.
• How to be on that edge between living a Christian life and crossing the line into sin.
• How to not put yourself in a Christian bubble, where others cannot approach.
• How to encourage the unchurched and live/lead by example.
• ...I want to live on the edge...
• ...I want to witness to people...
• ...I want others to find comfort in my company...

Truth is, we all want to be accepted. We do not want to be judged. We make mistakes. We are human. An analogy from church today:



This pot represents my life. It's not perfect. It's a little dirty, but no worse for the wear. It is cracked...those cracks were hard earned. And yet - they are patched. My pot is still whole. You may be able to see my cracks (I said cracks, not crack...if you ever see my crack - please tell me. I digress...) but they add character. They make me Nancy. You have cracks too, different than mine. And, that's okay!

So, my personal spin...live the good life, make the good decisions, encourage others to do the same. When something doesn't work out like you planned, patch it up and move on. You are not broken. Short of falling completely off the table - you can repair yourself.

I sleep better at night knowing this is true!
~N~

...better than a girls night

I now own a bike.
It's pretty... :-)

I rode it today...for 16 miles.
I also swam for 400 yards and ran for 3 miles.
It was a good day!

The day started early: 'meet at the pool at 7am'. I was awake and good to go, but once in the pool - my heart wasn't in it. I struggled...and it didn't help that some old man told me I was in the 'free swim' lane and I would have to move to a 'lap swim' lane. Urg. Really? All the other lanes already had 2 people on them. We decided that we could share the lane. He would play on one side and I would lap on the other. He later found out that he was wrong...the lane was for lap swimming until 8:15. He apologized, and told me a few jokes. I like old men. They are funny (at least they crack them selves up, which cracks me up!). "Why was the skeleton afraid to cross the street? :::: because he had no guts!" :-)

Then, we mounted our bikes. Off on an adventure. Five girls in a single file. We passed a jogger who shouted out "that looks like more fun than a girls night out!". Hmmm, yes - I have to agree. What a great time... We rode down the road to a greenway, down to the river and back. Round trip - 16 miles. I figured out, having a nice bike really doesn't matter so much. I was still slower than the rest. Not as slow as I have been in the past, but slow nonetheless. Biking is going to be like running, it will take me a while to improve. I'm not very athletic, I just keep moving and some day it gets better.

Lastly - run time. I am much improved here. No longer do I do intervals. I now 'slog' (to steal a term from a cousin of mine ::: slog = slow jog!). I slogged for 3 miles straight. My legs were heavy at first from the biking, but they kept moving. We went through a neighborhood that I had never been through before. The houses and lawns were well kept, lots of pretty flowers, and people were sitting on front porches drinking coffee. I waved, they waved. I want to live on a street like that someday. :-)

Now all I need is a basket...and a bell...and maybe some streamers. I need to pimp my bike out! (I did buy a tire pump, a cyclocomputer (aka pedometer), and an under the seat storage container).

And Dee, if you still read my blog - this is for you:

~BTW - I do not look like this on my bike!~

...why i love this country

Monday was the 4th of July.
People do not go to work.
People eat bbq, watermelon, and ice cream.
People shoot fireworks.
Dare I say, people do not appreciate the day for what it is...

Happy Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence....


Those famous words that stick out to me:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

I have spent a long time working on my personal independence. I worry about various decisions: the things I do; the things I do not do. The opportunities that I am too scared to follow. Questioning myself. And then, declaring that own independence is a big big deal. I can't imagine the work, stress, and worries that went it to preparing this document. An amazing feat!

(~and it was done without a word processor: no editing, no marked changes, no multiple revision files, and once it was signed...no RevB!) ;-)

I spent my day relaxing.

A quote for the day: "It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you." ~Author unknown.
I am blessed and thankful to be able to take this life for granted, and that I do not know it any other way.
You are blessed too...

Hope you enjoyed your 4th!

...because gardens need flowers

I went to visit my sister.
She has 5 children....yes friends - FIVE!
Ages range from 14 down to 4.
Can you say handful?
(serious business, they are all very well behaved children...)

Anyway, they have a family garden.
Each child gets to select two different seeds for their rows in the garden.
The mixtures are funny: watermelon and radish; jalapeno and okra, corn and canteloupe (...no, I can't seriously remember all the combos, but they were very unique).
Little #5, she selected flowers.
Sweetness....

What a happy little garden.

If you were wondering...when a watermelon gets a hole in it, you have to put a bandaid on it (...aka tape...) so that the ants won't eat it:



I learn something new every day!
:-)

A happy song:

...time to eat cornbread and cake

Today is my Dad's birthday...


Daddy works hard. He always has. Daddy loves hard too.
He loves God. He loves his family. He loves to act goofy. He sings obnoxiously. He might even dance if you ask him. He gives big hugs. He loves to laugh. He loves to eat. He also loves Alabama Football (~his one fault, we are all allowed one~).

Daddy used to rock the pork chop side burns....

but, I can't fault him for that. Lord knows I have had my bad hair-dos too.
Now his hair is silver, and his hands are hardened - but his heart is still young.

I love my Daddy.
God got it right giving me to him - and my Daddy got it right, being my Father.
:-)

For today, I made cornbread salad:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cornbread-salad-i/detail.aspx

Try it out...it's yummy!

...rain brings rainbows

I has been a crazy weather Spring/early Summer.
I took this last Sunday:

I like storms.
I like rain.
I like lightening and thunder.
(~dislike tornados~)

When I was little, I would lay on a swing on the covered porch and listen to the rain. It was relaxing. Still is...some things never change.

Rain feeds.
Rain washes.
Rain cleans.
Rain brings rainbows.
And let us not forget what rainbows actually mean.
(NOTE...they have nothing to do with little green men and gold...)

Good song for a rainy day...

hahaha....a little upbeat never hurt anyone!
~Nancy~