Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Tuesday's Ramblings...
Well, it's Tuesday....the day after Monday....a Monday where we set a record high for Atlanta....a record high of 98-unfrickinbelievable-degrees. It felt every bit of it too. It's pretty bad when you come home from work, no one's in the house doing anything to generate heat, all the curtains are drawn, and the air conditioner is running full blast and the temperature gauge inside the house says 79 degrees AND you have it set at 75 degrees!!!!! God help us all - it's not August after all!!! Give us something to look forward to.....
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Day two of the Ritchie Miller Walk Across Georgia ended with the following vlog post from Ritchie, Dusty and Brent. Standard hilarity ensues
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I'm fighting off allergies or some other kind of crap. I think it's the smog that's generated from the "low air quality conditions" that surround the Atlanta area. Ugh...
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Okay...what the heck is up with gas prices? Seriously! Shooter paid $4/gal last night. It makes me very sad and angry at the same time. I heard a news report too that said that the current price of a barrel of oil truly translates to about $4.50 per gal - they said by the end of the week we might be seeing those prices....guess I'll go ahead and fill up my car too.
I did a cursory glance at BP and Exxon and here's what I found:
BP Oil Company
BP's first quarter replacement cost profit was $6,588 MILLION compared with $4,444 MILLION a year ago. PEOPLE THIS IS AN INCREASE IN PROFIT OF 48%!!!!!!!
Exxon
Record first quarter net income was $10,890 MILLION, up 17% from the first quarter of 2007. Geez, that's SURPRISING!!
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I'm sure you've all seen the "trunk monkey" commercials, but I saw one the other day I hadn't seen before...so enjoy!
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Day two of the Ritchie Miller Walk Across Georgia ended with the following vlog post from Ritchie, Dusty and Brent. Standard hilarity ensues
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I'm fighting off allergies or some other kind of crap. I think it's the smog that's generated from the "low air quality conditions" that surround the Atlanta area. Ugh...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Okay...what the heck is up with gas prices? Seriously! Shooter paid $4/gal last night. It makes me very sad and angry at the same time. I heard a news report too that said that the current price of a barrel of oil truly translates to about $4.50 per gal - they said by the end of the week we might be seeing those prices....guess I'll go ahead and fill up my car too.
I did a cursory glance at BP and Exxon and here's what I found:
BP Oil Company
BP's first quarter replacement cost profit was $6,588 MILLION compared with $4,444 MILLION a year ago. PEOPLE THIS IS AN INCREASE IN PROFIT OF 48%!!!!!!!
Exxon
Record first quarter net income was $10,890 MILLION, up 17% from the first quarter of 2007. Geez, that's SURPRISING!!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I'm sure you've all seen the "trunk monkey" commercials, but I saw one the other day I hadn't seen before...so enjoy!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Coolest Pastor on Earth
I have to tell you guys about my Pastor....Pastor Ritchie Miller. Besides the fact that he's not your "typical" pastoral type, he's just plain cool. He has a desire to reach out to folks who aren't your typical church-going type. He's actually driven to be a whole lot like Christ...is the best way. The way I see it, if Christ were on Earth today, he wouldn't be hanging out in the churches and cathedrals and such. He'd be hanging out in the bars and tattoo parlors and clubs trying to reach the people who really need to hear him. That's what Pastor Ritchie's goal is. I don't know that he really hangs in the bars, tattoo parlors and clubs - but I know that some of his congregation does. I know Pastor Ritchie has a deep calling to take light into the darkness and show the world that all Christians aren't the righteous, holier-than-thou Christians they think we are.
Friday morning, Pastor Ritchie was interviewed on The Giant Show on Project 9-6-1 here in Atlanta. Tomorrow, Pastor Ritchie will embark on a weeklong walk across Georgia...from South Carolina to Florida. He's raising money for his H.O.P.E ministry. It was an awesome interview and while he didn't "preach" to the guys on the show, he made a point. I have tried for days to figure out how to link to Ritchie's interview but I just can't make it happen.
Regardless, here's the first post from Pastor Ritchie's excursion across Georgia - hope ya'll enjoy - he's a riot.
Friday morning, Pastor Ritchie was interviewed on The Giant Show on Project 9-6-1 here in Atlanta. Tomorrow, Pastor Ritchie will embark on a weeklong walk across Georgia...from South Carolina to Florida. He's raising money for his H.O.P.E ministry. It was an awesome interview and while he didn't "preach" to the guys on the show, he made a point. I have tried for days to figure out how to link to Ritchie's interview but I just can't make it happen.
Regardless, here's the first post from Pastor Ritchie's excursion across Georgia - hope ya'll enjoy - he's a riot.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Isn't it Friday, yet?
This is what happens when bad things happen to good people.....bad things like your company makes you wear flippers and a mask and run with a glass of water on your head.+++++++++++++++
Yo, Yo! It's LoLo, ya'll!
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I just have to say that I have the coolest and bestest blog readers (and commenters) on the whole planet!
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In case you didn't know...when life's good, it's REAL good. Like, I won't have to wear flippers and a mask fully clothed any time soon kinda good.
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Oh, and isn't life awesome when you find the perfect shade of eyeshadow? I went to Ulta yesterday with my fabulous friend Di and bought two new eyeshadows and two new eyeliners (because they were buy 2 get 2 free). :-D I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new purple shade, it's called Wildflower and it makes my eyes look so so green! I also got an eyeliner called Raisin and I love it too. They make the best stuff!
Happy Thursday everyone!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
And now for something completely different.....
I have realized that I have a side of me that has the sense of humor of a 13 yr old boy. After realizing that I'm not the only one with this affliction - For A Different Kind of Girl has named her inner 13 yr old boy Seth - so I got in touch with mine and found out his name is Kevin. He has a rude sense of humor and enjoys burps, farts, and generally off color humor. The sensible 35 yr old lady side of me detests Kevin. She finds him rude and socially unacceptable. Perhaps their struggle is the root of my anxiety? Ha!
Regardless, they coexist. My husband actually like's Kevin...they watched Transformers this weekend and LOVED it. When Kevin takes over we have burping contests. It's a male bonding thing I guess. ;-)
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For those of you who pray, I need you to keep my family in your prayers. My oldest cousin's family is under crisis and her ex-husband is set on killing her emotionally - and physically if he could get away with it. He's using their son with no regard for his emotional health. Please pray that God will keep them all safe and that He will deal with the evil that has taken over the ex-husband.
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I planted more flowers in my garden over the weekend. Shooter helped me dig out the area around our mailbox and I added some good topsoil to it and then planted some really pretty daylillies around. I can't wait for them to get good and settled and start flowering. It's going to be really pretty. I also added some more flowers to the big bed in front of the house, mostly annuals - which I know I said I wasn't going to do but I couldn't help myself! I hope to get pictures soon!
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Well, I think I'll take Christine's advice and go burp the alphabet...it'll definitely make me feel better! ;-)
Regardless, they coexist. My husband actually like's Kevin...they watched Transformers this weekend and LOVED it. When Kevin takes over we have burping contests. It's a male bonding thing I guess. ;-)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For those of you who pray, I need you to keep my family in your prayers. My oldest cousin's family is under crisis and her ex-husband is set on killing her emotionally - and physically if he could get away with it. He's using their son with no regard for his emotional health. Please pray that God will keep them all safe and that He will deal with the evil that has taken over the ex-husband.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I planted more flowers in my garden over the weekend. Shooter helped me dig out the area around our mailbox and I added some good topsoil to it and then planted some really pretty daylillies around. I can't wait for them to get good and settled and start flowering. It's going to be really pretty. I also added some more flowers to the big bed in front of the house, mostly annuals - which I know I said I wasn't going to do but I couldn't help myself! I hope to get pictures soon!
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Well, I think I'll take Christine's advice and go burp the alphabet...it'll definitely make me feel better! ;-)
Monday, June 2, 2008
Seasons change...
I have been suffering through a very difficult season of life. The last few years have been very hard on me and Shooter and about 8-9 months ago I began to see light at the end of the tunnel. I realized that how I was feeling wasn't "normal" and I needed to do something about it. We had moved away from good friends, I had resisted finding another church, I hadn't made any new friends, I would lay on the couch most all weekend, I would fall asleep on the couch most every night, I could hardly get myself out of bed in the morning, I was in a bleak and dark place. I made the decision that I needed to go and talk to someone about what was going on with me. Turns out that my counselor and my doctor both told me that I had every classic symptom of depression and anxiety. I was put on a miracle drug that almost immediately began to pull me out of the dark hole that I was in. I felt like myself again. I started finding churches to drag us to. I started reaching out to friends. I began to take control of my life again.
Things were going so well that I almost forgot about the dark demon that lay unconscious beneath the medication. I did a good job until about 9 weeks ago. The demon seemed to awaken, come out of it's hibernation. I felt myself slipping again. The world graying out ever so slightly. The tiredness was creeping back in and so was the lack of interest. The highs and lows more pronounced than they used to be. It was very scary.
My doctor suggested that I switch my medication to something else. A much stronger drug and one that my counselor said will either work wonders or will make things worse. Well...guess what....I fell into the category of the latter. The depression was at first under control, but now it's not. The anxiety came back with a vengence and was once again my constant companion. I begged my doctor to please put me back on my other medication but he insisted that he needed to see me for an office visit. Which I could not get for another week.
I came home on one Monday night and just lost it. Shooter has been so good to me and he had cleaned up in the house and swept the floors and hauled out the old carpet and sealed the tile floors and done so much work since he got home and all I could see was what he hadn't done. I lose control of my anger when the anxiety takes hold and I was so angry at him. The next minute I had dissolved in tears knowing that how I felt was not right, but not knowing how to make it better.
I got a tattoo on my wrist that is the word HOPE written in Hebrew. It's there to remind me that I have hope that this demon can be defeated. I sometimes forget that it can be defeated. I guess all I really need to do is tilt my head to heaven and take in His glory. Trust that He'll guide me through and fill me with what I need to sustain me. It's hard, but others have suffered through worse.
I visited Angie Smith's blog, Bring the Rain, a while back and once again felt like she was speaking directly to me. Her post called Tilted really spoke to me. I understand her battle with God. How her frustration and anger and sadness causes her to scream out to God. I've been there, I've screamed at him too. I've questioned why. We all probably have at one time or another. I don't dare make it sound like I know the anger and frustration that she's dealing with - I don't know what it's like to lose a baby - but I know a little about struggling to get through each day and not knowing where your strength will come from.
Thankfully, now, I'm on a stronger dosage of medication and am feeling much better. Getting out of a routine takes a toll on me - it takes me twice as long to get back into the swing of things as it used to. It's just hard for me to not be hard on myself and wonder why I can't just pick myself up and get on with it.
Yesterday, our pastor began a new series called The Walk. He's starting a walk across Georgia next Sunday to raise awareness for his ministry called H.O.P.E. This series is in conjunction with that walk. One of his verses smacked me on the forehead, and I'll leave you with this:
Jeremiah 40:31
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Things were going so well that I almost forgot about the dark demon that lay unconscious beneath the medication. I did a good job until about 9 weeks ago. The demon seemed to awaken, come out of it's hibernation. I felt myself slipping again. The world graying out ever so slightly. The tiredness was creeping back in and so was the lack of interest. The highs and lows more pronounced than they used to be. It was very scary.
My doctor suggested that I switch my medication to something else. A much stronger drug and one that my counselor said will either work wonders or will make things worse. Well...guess what....I fell into the category of the latter. The depression was at first under control, but now it's not. The anxiety came back with a vengence and was once again my constant companion. I begged my doctor to please put me back on my other medication but he insisted that he needed to see me for an office visit. Which I could not get for another week.
I came home on one Monday night and just lost it. Shooter has been so good to me and he had cleaned up in the house and swept the floors and hauled out the old carpet and sealed the tile floors and done so much work since he got home and all I could see was what he hadn't done. I lose control of my anger when the anxiety takes hold and I was so angry at him. The next minute I had dissolved in tears knowing that how I felt was not right, but not knowing how to make it better.
I got a tattoo on my wrist that is the word HOPE written in Hebrew. It's there to remind me that I have hope that this demon can be defeated. I sometimes forget that it can be defeated. I guess all I really need to do is tilt my head to heaven and take in His glory. Trust that He'll guide me through and fill me with what I need to sustain me. It's hard, but others have suffered through worse.
I visited Angie Smith's blog, Bring the Rain, a while back and once again felt like she was speaking directly to me. Her post called Tilted really spoke to me. I understand her battle with God. How her frustration and anger and sadness causes her to scream out to God. I've been there, I've screamed at him too. I've questioned why. We all probably have at one time or another. I don't dare make it sound like I know the anger and frustration that she's dealing with - I don't know what it's like to lose a baby - but I know a little about struggling to get through each day and not knowing where your strength will come from.
Thankfully, now, I'm on a stronger dosage of medication and am feeling much better. Getting out of a routine takes a toll on me - it takes me twice as long to get back into the swing of things as it used to. It's just hard for me to not be hard on myself and wonder why I can't just pick myself up and get on with it.
Yesterday, our pastor began a new series called The Walk. He's starting a walk across Georgia next Sunday to raise awareness for his ministry called H.O.P.E. This series is in conjunction with that walk. One of his verses smacked me on the forehead, and I'll leave you with this:
Jeremiah 40:31
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
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