Upside down or RIGHT side up?

As the years go by, lately even months or weeks, things seem to be changing so fast

Not little things, big things

And I've taken a lot for granted
because things came easy

But now they're not so easy
and I'm trying to figure it all out

By myself

Which is kind of really neat
and kind of scary

Mostly, I miss all my friends
and being in community with people who get me


I have so much to be JOYFUL about!
but once in a while

I let all the swirling whirling _____
overwhelm me. I allow it

Because sometimes you have to feel it even if you don't want to

Today I'm: confused, EXCITED, scared, tired, annoyed, THRILLED, amused, frustrated and BLESSED!

Are you really sure that you're right?

Sometimes when I'm at work and a Dr calls for information, they are very very certain that they are correct. They could be calling for any kind of information (log-ins, web addresses, evaluation processes) but when they ask you a question, they really don't ask you anything. They tell you what they are doing and that the website is broken.

(guess what? it's not broken)

Then they will proceed to explain to you every detail of what they have done and what they are trying to do. I usually use this time to look up their information and confirm what they are talking about. (All along, I know the answer to their question but I let them continue to talk) When they stop to take a breath, sometimes I politely interrupt and sometimes I just wait until they talk themselves out.

When I finally have a chance to explain what they need to do and why what they were trying to do was wrong, all the sudden the Dr will become very very pleasant and sometimes quite sheepish.

My advice? Trust that the person in the "call center" knows what you're talking about and give them a chance to help you...

But if you get stuck with someone who is clearly incompetent at least be a bit patient, people yell at us and talk down to us all day.

As a sidenote, I'm having an awesomely fun day and I'm not grumpy at all, I just thought i'd share my random musings on phone calls

Hidden flavors

I have the same cup of coffee every morning. Large, Black McDonalds coffee. More often than not I drink about 90% of it. Due to the way my morning goes, I'm done eating by the time I get to my nice warm beverage. This also means that I have been cheating myself out of some quite surprising experiences.
Today, I had half a donut (eep! I know! Don't tell me trainer, lmao). Now, I knew that coffee was meant to be had with treats (ie, fika in Sweden) but I had forgotten! The great delight I experienced after taking a bite of doughnut and then a huge swig of coffee just brightened my morning! To think, I have been drinking the same thing every morning. Tasting the same thing. Experiencing the same thing, day in and day out. All this time I could have been experiencing something new and exciting. The flavors that the coffee/doughnut mixture made in my mouth were so rich and pleasant.... I fear I might get chunky again just trying to re-inact this morning. hahaha (just kidding, doughnuts aren't worth being chunky)
I worked at sbux for a few years and we did pairings and tastings all the time and I have to say, I really miss it. I can also see how people would really enjoy doing tastings with food and alcohol as well, though after a while, I'd guess that almost anything would start to taste very good. haha.
All of this has got me thinking that there are probably many areas of my life that could be much more exciting and thrilling if I just let them. If I were open to pairing my daily activities or responsibilities with different "goodies" I might be a much happier person. I've felt stuck lately and instead of trying to get un-stuck maybe I should let God show me how I can enjoy the little things through him.
Happy Tuesday!

Lack of patience or an abundance of it....

Dear Prince Charming/ Future Husband,

I'm going to stop looking for you because I've been told that if I stop looking you'll find me.

So I'm going to go about my daily stuff and you just feel free to interrupt me whenever you find me.

Ok, see you soon! (hopefully!)

Thus far...

I'm having one of those days where I want to update my blog and post something amazing and funny that will make you cry and laugh all within 3 minutes but I'm at a loss. Instead, I'm going to share with you everything that has happened this summer

I think going to Vegas officially kicked off the summer. I went with Jes and Reid, we're Huey, Dewey and Louie.

We had a great time and I know I want to go back... : )


Next I headed off to Memphis for work. We were helping to host the National PTA conference. We got to go down town to hang for a bit and I found a street sign that was my birthday!


After Memphis I went to North Carolina for the Anderson family reunion! What a blast! My family is hysterical!








And now, I'm leaving tomorrow for Minnesota for my brother and soon to be sister-in-law's wedding!!!! I can not wait, I'm so beyond excited for them and we are going to have such a great time. Pictures will come eventually, I promise

Its been a good summer for the most part. There have been some very hard times too but you grow from those and they shape you as a person.

Stagnance

All around me it seems things are moving forward.

Yet somehow I'm still in the same spot
(well, not literally because I just moved apartments...)

Friends and family are getting married, moving away and having children

I'm ready for something new, my heart is bursting with excitement for the next chapter of my life

Now, if only I could find that first page to give me just a tiny bit of direction...

We're workin, we're movin'...

we're in the zone, we're groovin!

Since October, I've been working with my personal trainer. As an update to my loyal readers, i'd like to share my progress with you!
I had been at a plateau for about 2 months, loosing one or two lbs at at time (which drove me nuts). However, in the last month, I dropped nearly 10 lbs! woo hoo!

Here you can see the progress...

(these are from last summer)



(john and kari's wedding)


here are some from the halfway point (near christmas)

(i cant be blamed for the bill cosby sweater, we had an Ugly Sweater Christmas party)


and here are some of the most recent pics of me...

(andra and I at libertyville days)

(i found this sign in memphis, it's my birthday)

(uberstein in Vegas!)

So far I believe the grand total of weight loss is 34lbs! I've got a ways to go but now I'm even more motivated!

In other news, I'm getting very excited for Tim and Ali's wedding in August and for Kirsten to have her baby (it's a girl!!) in August as well. It will be a great month!