My year of living fabulously

Pointy-toed boots and statement necklace (as seen in "In Style")

It's day 11 of the new year and I finally got off my tush and into the gym. I don't know if it's due to Shannon's confirmation of my 20-year reunion or the fact that I finally had to don pants with a zipper this morning, but today was designated as the first day of my "new year, new me" campaign.

Go away, 14 pounds. I shall be wearing sleeveless by summer.

Tomorrow I begin my novice 5K training (shut up, Lonnie). Last night I threw away the hot dogs, oreos and doritos.

So I'm on my way home from a meeting on campus and I stop by the financial aid office to chit chat with my friend Burney, who's also on a weight loss quest. Here's the conversation:

ME: I've only had two diet cokes today. I actually drank 133 ounces of water today. I read recently that you should take your weight and half it, and that's how many ounces of water you should drink a day.
BURNEY: You weigh 266 pounds?!?

Not quite. But I'm determined not to get there. Go away, muffin top. Say goodbye, cottage cheese thighs. 2010 is my year to be fabulous!

I mean, more than I already am.

Our last Father's Day

A few weeks ago the awesome Shannon took some family photos for us. They're priceless.









I've been awake for over 21 hours, so I'm fading quickly. At this point we only know the service is Tuesday, but not sure what time. Details as I know them.

Thanks for the prayers!

Rest of the pics are here.

Belated update

Sorry I haven't posted anything personal in the past week. I suppose my excuses are numerous: (1) sleep deprivation due to late night dinners and too much Olympic fever; (2) extreme frustration from work stress; and (3) sheer laziness and lack of anything interesting to say.

Last week was one of the most stressful I've had in awhile. I had a total breakdown on Thursday night, crying for an hour and a half for no good reason. Seriously. I worked a 13-hour day, drove home and took off my shoes, and started just bawling because I was so worn out and fed up. So I dealt with my freak out the way any good American woman would... retail therapy. I paid off my credit card last Monday and now there's a Coach bag that will appear on my statement as a reminder of how shallow I am. But I feel better. And I look totally chic with my new hot handbag.

Today was filled with back-to-school chapel and meetings and lunches and e-mails and phone calls. Tomorrow's my only real day to "work" this week since I have a book discussion all day on Wednesday and a leadership retreat on Thursday and Friday. My life is filled with worthwhile events that cram my calendar and keep me from getting ahead on my to-do list.

I remember being in high school and dreaming about what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I distinctly remember wanting to manage people and make lots of money to buy $300 handbags, but nowhere in all of my daydreaming did I think I wanted to have meetings 80% of the time. This time last year I was stuck wasting six hours a day reading random stuff on the Internet, wishing I had a meeting to attend, and now I'm griping about meetings. The grass is always greener, I suppose, but there's got to be a happy medium in there someplace.

The good news is that my work stress is so much better and I'm not crying for no reason anymore. Plus, I have a really cute handbag.

There you go, Dad. Now you don't have to worry about me anymore.

Oh, and happy belated birthday to Shannon and to Granny Eck.

Happy birthday, Scott!

Birthday wishes to my cousin, Scott, who turns 36 today. He was lucky enough to be born near me both geographically and chronologically, so we were in the same class for 13 years. I found this pic the other day of us. What I want to know is (a) when was my stomach ever that flat? (b) why did my mother let me wear than unfortunate outfit? (c) what's with Scott's pants being unbuttoned? and (d) is that the ugliest carpet you've ever seen or what?

Anyway, happy birthday! And happy anniversary to you and your beautiful wife, Shannon!

Summertime

Copyright infringement... I totally stole this from Shannon's blog, so I'm hoping she'll give me some relief from litigation. But I thought it was the most fun pic I've seen in awhile. I have some cute relatives, huh?

Texas-bound boys

I've mentioned before that my two favorite cousins, Scott and Lonnie, married well above themselves. The beautiful and talented Shannon took some great pics of Jen's family this past weekend. Feel free to check them out. Huey, Dewie and Louie have never looked so handsome (or so well behaved)!

Too much to handle

Mother Theresa allegedly said "I know God won't give me anything I can't handle; I just wish He didn't trust me so much." That's been my mantra as of late. Be careful what you wish for.

Yeah, I've been feeling overwhelmed and stressed lately. I spent my "vacation" day today answering e-mails and returning phone calls and working at an event. So I was feeling sorry for myself driving home tonight.

Then I got to thinking about all of the people in my life who have so much more to be stressed about. People like Ashley, who's sleeping about 90 minutes at a time with the new twins. Or Jen, who's frantically trying to keep her house spotless to sell, take care of four boys ('cause let's face it, Lon's still a boy) and move nine hours away from home. Or Shannon, who works a full-time job AND a part-time job while being a stay-at-home mom and taking care of an ill husband. Or my friend Susan, who's leaving her job to allow her husband to pursue his dream.

Ladies, obviously God trusts you more than He trusts me. I hope all of you know how much I admire you and how much I'm praying for you as you face your challenges. He won't give us more than we can handle, but sometimes He stretches us further than we think we can stand. That's when He's carrying us forward.

So sorry

Note to self: stop venting via blog. It just freaks people out, makes them question themselves, and generally wreaks havoc.

Rule #1: If I write about it, it's probably not hypothetical (Jen).
Rule #2: By blogging about whatever seems to be bugging me at that very moment, I somehow manage to transfer much of the frustration and anger to the keys of my laptop and therefore alleviate my stress, but it is very sweet of you to be concerned (Alisa).
Rule #3: If I know you read my blog, I'm not talking about you (Susan and Ashley). So your guilty feeling is merely equated to how I feel every Sunday at church... the Pastor's probably not talking to me, but it certainly doesn't hurt me to hear it.

On a lighter and happier note, my very talented cousin-in-law, Shannon, has her new website up and running. Check it out and book a session... she's amazing!

Oh, and last night I had a crazy dream... Jen was pregnant... with a girl. Yeah, it was weird.