How is it Wednesday at 8:30?!

I feel like this week is flying by!! It's been so busy - maybe that's a good thing! I'm so tired right now that I'm watching a VHS copy of Bambi that is so worn out the tracking is off... :)

Today I went to Duke with a couple of girls to visit a young woman who had a spinal fusion. It was a good trip, but I never do well visiting in hospitals. The girl was in a lot of pain, and each time she sat up and started going pale I had to leave the room. I guess I'm not cut out for medical work!

The past few days have been full, but productive. I met with a nice young mom who is updating the website to see what I could do to help her out. She has two adorable girls and her house looks like its out of a Pottery Barn magazine. Such a fun person, and super active at the church. A great role model! I also helped lead a conversation regarding small groups at the church. There were a few people there, but I think it would have gone better if I were clearer about what the meeting was going to be about. I am not sure I was clear myself! Something I need to work on. It was fun though - a good project.

It's been a good week personally as well. I'm really trying to be more intentional about things. The other morning I got my car all cleaned out, vacuumed, and put in a freshly-minted battery (the one I had was about to go). I'm hoping to get in the habit of only taking what I need and taking everything out when I'm done for the day. In other words, not accumulate clutter. I'm also trying to stay a bit more organized in general. Slowing down when I eat and not grazing as much. Keeping my clothes clean and not just wearing work-out clothes all the time. But mostly, taking time each day to talk to God. I find I do a lot of 'head' prayers, but don't actually verbalize my thoughts to God. When I prayed in front of the church, twice... I felt very weak in that area. It's amazing how centered I feel afterwards. I find working on my spiritual journey mutually edifies my physical exercise as well. I've been faithful in going to the gym - partly because its something to do and somewhere else to go besides here, and also because it feels so darn good to work out! It's been really fun having the World Cup games on in the morning and mid-afternoon... perfect times to plan an exercise.

So, succinctly put, I'm trying to start some new habits now, things I've been wanting to do for a long time but just haven't been intentional about. And hoping they stick for the fall!

Glad to have some alone time this evening... being with people is so draining sometimes! I am my mother's daughter.

Happy 6 Months!

Yesterday Mike and I celebrated a fun 6 months together! Can't believe its been that long, but also would think it'd be longer than that... :) We had a great time bumming around, going to the pool, and then out to dinner at Elijah's! It was a fun way to celebrate - digging into a bucket of steamed crab legs, clams, oysters, mussels, corn, and new potatoes! And Death by Chocolate for dessert. What a great guy - I'm a lucky girl!

Fun weekend!

It's Saturday evening after a fun couple of days 'off.' It's hard to justify a day off when I was sick all week, but Sunday seems to take it out of me so it'll even out I suppose...

Yesterday was great! I woke up early as I was excited, so went to the gym for a while. Then Elizabeth and I went to a college girl's house to do Zumba!! She led a few of us, it was fun to dance and exercise, but I was drenched from head to toe. SO humid in NC.

I went to visit Mike at his aunt's place. It's in Leland, a good 30 mins or so from here, not too bad. We spent the afternoon at Carolina beach. It was a lot of fun - the sun was out but wasn't too hot actually. Got some rays, hit some waves, ate a donut, and played in the arcade. We didn't get to do the cute little two-seater bike, but maybe another time... we enjoyed a wonderful dinner of Mahi Mahi at Two Guys Grille. It was so moist we weren't sure it was cooked all the way - usually I cook it till it tastes like a piece of shoe leather. Ew. We then went on a wild goose chase looking for a movie theater, but there wasn't one actually there... no one seemed to have heard of it actually existing, but "maybe" it did. Lol.

This morning, Mike went golfing with a friend - both were celebrating a break from work. Brian, his friend, will be beginning a position with the EPA in a couple weeks, and he seemed excited to play. Tomorrow is his birthday, so it was a fun way to celebrate. I just went to the gym, but had a great workout. I was super sore from the other day, so it felt good to stretch out. I got back and watched the USA play England. It was an OK game, I wish the USA looked a little crisper but still held England to a tie. All three games this morning were ok... I thought Argentina dragged out the game too much. Maybe just conserving energy.

Spent the afternoon hanging out with Mike and the Blakes and Elizabeth with her boyfriend. We all enjoyed watching some golf, baseball, and visiting. Mike got to try the top-shelf Bourbon, and there was a great assortment of drinks, cheese and crackers. Even a white wine from South Africa - how great! We had a seafood boil with shrimp and veggies - SO yummy! And fresh challah bread -- yummo.

Heading to bed soon as I need to lead worship tomorrow -- don't want to be tired. Great day. And great two days with Mikey Mike!

So Proud!!

Just a little shout-out to my favorite Sarah Lin!! She passed her Series 7 and is now licensed to kill and handle your $$. Send it her way!

SO PROUD!!

Sick!

I have been sick for the past few days. Mostly dealing with some sinus pain and coughing, etc. Last night I was tummy sick after watching SATC 2 and going out for sushi. What can you do. Stayed up most of last night, but hoping I'm on the mend now.

More later!

Reading??

I keep thinking I should be reading more this summer! Truth is, I did that all year and am glad to have time to 'waste.' I've been spending the evening sitting on my bed in PJ's reading a cooking magazine and watching episodes of Grey's Anatomy. Is that so bad!?

I went to the gym earlier - intending to have another good workout. I was running and a trainer said he was going to be teaching a 'Boot-Camp' class later. I was psyched - finished about 3 miles then did some ab crunches. The Boot Camp was intense! It was really fun though. Felt great to burn off some energy. I'm so pumped that I'm going to check out a Spinning class tomorrow! Should be fun. =)

Good Memorial Day Weekend!

It was nice, although I was sad to miss visiting with both my family and Mike. I did get a chance to catch my breath, so that was a treat. Went to the beach both on Saturday and Monday. Yesterday I went to Figure 8 Island with Elizabeth who has a friend with a house right on the beach. It is a private island, so it was SUPER amazing. Huge white sandy beach, crystal clear water, sand dunes with the tall grass and wooden fences that are so classic North Carolina.

Got back to work today. It was a little heavy this morning. I visited an assisted living center with folks who live basically on hospital beds and aren't in good shape. It was tough to see so many elderly folks with pale skin and difficult mobility, but glad to see many young people working there. I went with two older gentlemen to visit around, along with an adorable Yorkshire Terrier named Gracie. She is a tiny little thing - about 4 pounds - and brought a lot of smiles to the folks. Makes me want a dog like that!

Turns out I will be going on a missions trip with the youth towards the end of June. Middle of Kentucky! Should be an adventure. Glad to do it as the woman who was supposed to go is having surgery. A little change of pace also!

Tonight Elizabeth and I are going out for fish tacos at the Spears' house! Should be nice!