Who Are You?

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:25

2. How do you like your steak? Medium

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Can't Remember

4. What is your favorite TV show? Anything on HGTV (DIVINE DESIGN) or Food Network

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? AT the Beach.

6. What did you have for breakfast? Scrambled Egg and Almonds

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Greek of course

8. What foods do you dislike? Liver!!! Anything that remotely resembles licorice.

9. Favorite Place to Eat? Almost anywhere with friends and family

10. Favorite dressing? Vinaigrette, HOMEMADE ranch or Blue Cheese

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? ACURA MDX (Magnificent Diva Express)

12. What are your favorite clothes? Anything that make me look thin!

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Greek Islands and Italy

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? My cup Runneth OVER

15. Where would you want to retire? At the Beach and near family

16. Favorite time of day? When I'm home.

17. Where were you born? In a hospital.

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Football

19. Bird watcher? Love watching them from my kitchen window.

20. Are you a morning person or a night person? Morning

21. Do you have any pets? Do Dust Bunnies Count?

22. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? I'll be soon working a few less hours each week to concentrate on writing more.

23. What did you want to be when you were little? An Actress

24. What is your best childhood memory? Playing dress up

25. Are you a cat or dog person? Used to be both, now neither

26. Are you married? Happily Yes to an incredible man

27. Always wear your seat belt? Yes

28. Been in a car accident? Two, both were my fault

29. Any Pet Peeves? People who don't buckle their kids in seat belts and those who don't take their carts to the cart return slot located in the parking lot of every store in the world.

30. Favorite Pizza Toppings? Pepperoni, sausage and pineapple...The Smendy

31. Favorite Flower? Cassablanca Lily and Gardenia

32. Favorite ice cream? Don't like Icecream.

33. Favorite fast food restaurant? Chic-Fil-A

34. How many times did you fail your driver's test? None

35. From whom did you get your last email? My sister

36. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? TJ MAXX

37. Do anything spontaneous lately? Did an hour of YOGA after an hour training session
38. Like your job? Yes, all of them.

39. Broccoli? Yes, especially roasted or stir-fried with loads of garlic and red pepper flakes.

40. What was your favorite vacation? Greece and every beach trip.

41. Last person you went out to dinner with? Family

42. What are you listening to right now? Light Jazz

43. What is your favorite color? PINK - The Perfect Princess Color

44. How many tattoos do you have? None. Why would you want to put something permanent on a temporary vessel that is going to succumb to gravity thus making your tattoo unrecognizable.

45. What time did you finish this quiz? 7:00 am

YOGA

Tonight I am going to add a new type of workout to my routine, YOGA.

Truth be told I did try yoga once before about 10 years ago but was in excruciating pain the entire time so I gave it up.

Seems I was "out of balance" causing my spine to press on my sciatic nerve each time I attempted to twist myself into any and all yoga poses. While the class was twisting themselves into pretzels I was always face down, resting in the child pose.

Well, now that I'm in balance (at least my spine) we will see how my sciatic nerve and I do. How long do you think it will take me to master this pose? LOL

What a great way to look at our lives. When we allow even one thing to get out of balance it can set off a chain reaction in the entire body. Lately, I've been rushing around chasing my tail just trying to keep up and feeling like I'm always one step behind and 10 minutes late. Well all of that is about the change. I'm making some changes in most every area of my life in order to reap the blessings of balance.

What are you doing to remain balanced?

What to do...

What to do when your get up and go... Got up and went!
Hey friends, I'm putting some thoughts together for an upcoming writing adventure and would love to hear from you on this subject.
Please share your thoughts to the following questions:
How do you keep your energy up and running throughout the day?
What foods do you eat to encourage good health?
What foods do you avoid and why?
What do you do to stay active?
(running back and forth to the pantry doesn't count)
How do you encourage others to live a healthy life?
(nagging and begging don't count)
Please share your favorite recipes

"Guest Ready"

Okay, I know I've been absent for a few days.

Last week is still a blur after working every day and preparing for House guests.
My mom arrived Friday afternoon and we were so glad she joined us for a few days, it was great to have her in the house.

She left on Monday and our next house guests arrived Tuesday.
Wes and Evelyn were passing though and sadly they were only able to be with us for one night.
Never-the-less, there is always work to be done in preparation for guests.

When I wasn't at work last week I was cleaning and scrubbing, washing sheets and towels and baking a few goodies.

All of this hustle and bustle has caused me to ask this question..

Why don't I keep my home "guest ready" all the time?


What great pearls of wisdom do you have on this subject and would you be willing to share your best tips and techniques for keeping your home "guest ready"
OR
Would you be willing to share your best tips and techniques for getting your home "guest ready" in a hurry.

Encouraging News

For those of you who have been praying with us regarding our youngest son Joseph, here's an encouraging update.

I just hung up the phone with Joseph and the Lord has once again answered our cries for some encouragement for our son.
Joseph is taking his very last class and is to schedule to graduate from Embry Riddle University in September (He needs A LOT of prayer in order to pass this class).

He has been diligent to work hard and has now obtained all his pilots licences but the Lord in His providence has kept all doors closed to Joseph for work as a pilot.
Joseph has applied to countless companies all over the country for work but is always told his 350 hours of flight time is not enough to warrant even an interview. He needs the bare minimum of 500 hours.
The cost is $15,000.00 to purchase the extra flight time and can I just say that this is not in our budget.

To say the least frustration has set in and our beloved son is struggling to find God's will in all of this.
My heart has been so burdened for our son as Joseph has not been pursuing the Lord in the last few years.
This mother's heart longs for all her children to know, love and serve the Lord with passion.
For two years I have asked the Lord to show my son His glory and to allow my son to experience His presence in a real and powerful way.


Tonight, the Lord has parted the curtain and allowed Joseph peek at a small part of His Glorious handiwork.
A company has agreed to allow our son to fly co-pilot on some of their flights back and forth to a city near Dallas Texas.
Joseph won't get paid to fly, but this gives him the opportunity to get the hours and experience he needs so desperately at NO charge.
Helloooooooooo did you get that?
This valuable and necessary training will not cost us one cent.
If that weren't great enough, my sister lives one and a half hours from the airport where our son will be flying into, and is offering him a free place to stay.

I am humbled at God's great love for our son and for His perfect plan for all our lives.

If you're struggling as you wait for the Lord to unveil His perfect plan for you, please be encouraged.
You may not be able to see, taste or hear the Lord's plan for your life, but I promise you...
God is busy behind the scenes working on your behalf to take care of every detail before He unveils His perfect plan to you.
Thanks for all the continued prayer, I'm confident the Lord is using all of this to draw our son ever closer into His presence.
What are you waiting for?


Jeremiah 29:11, "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." (NIV)

Direction

"If you don’t change the direction you are going, then you’re likely to end up where you’re heading…"
-John Maxwell

I ran across this quote this morning and wanted to share it with you.
Where are you headed today and is the Lord whispering
"It's time for a new direction in your life."?

Companys Comin'

Earlier this year I made a promise to rid my house of clutter and to donate or toss at least 4 bags of "stuff" every month and I have been faithful to that promise.
Well now I have real motivation to get things cleaned up and organized.
My mom arrives in 4 days and then we are hosting friends next week.
With all the remodeling I forgot that I had pushed and shoved tons of stuff under beds and into closets until this weekend when I found said "stuff" as I prepared the bedrooms for our guests.
Oh me, Oh my, where is all of this "stuff" coming from? Is someone secretly sneaking into my house and adding to as I take away? I'm serious! I cannot believe we still have so much "stuff" just lying around.
You'd think I was a closet hoarder or something (okay it's not that extreme, I'm being dramatic).

Why did I think we needed all that stuff in the first place and if it was so important what haven't we used it or even thought about it. Okay, I know some of it is sentimental stuff we want to hold onto, but do I really need 20 empty notebooks, 10 tote bags, 6 pair of black slacks and 2 antique quilts? Not to mention the mountain of paper and countless rolls of wrapping paper and ribbon (I could wrap all your Christmas gifts and still have enough left for mine).
What was I thinking? I had no idea we had accumulated so much stuff in 30 years of marriage and raising a family.
Whew!
I did put a dent in things but certainly have a ways to go.
Too bad I'm working everyday this week and can't continue the great clean up now that I'm motivated and ready to get it all done.
I'll just have to pull it all out from under those beds and out of those closets in order to make room for our visitors, then sort it all out later. Now where can I hide all that stuff while our visitors are here and where I'll remember to find it?
Good grief
Don't even ask me about cleaning the plantation shutters, how dirty they were and how long that took?
I need a nap and a maid. Any takers, for the maid not the nap?

Fitness Assessment Results

Okay friends,

I promised to post my results and here they are.

My last assessment was done February 2009 and these results are from today.

Body Fat: Decreased 6.4 points, I'm now out of the 30 something body fat range an into the 20 something range.

 I haven't been in the 20 something range since 5th grade (not kidding)!

Weight: Increase 2/10's of a pound.

Ebbling Submax Treadmill Test (this measures your body's ability to use oxygen to perform work):

 Increase of 1.8 points to 38.7 mkm (Whatever that means)

Men's Push-ups (Elbows MUST bend to 90 degrees minimum, you cannot stop or bend your knees)

I did 43.

Flexibility- Sit Reach Hip Flexion: 18 inches

Hamstring/Hip Flexibility: 102 degrees

Blood Pressure: 106/60

Body Measurements: Overall I continue to lose inches. I'm down 2 -3 sizes in a year.

That's about it, not as bad as I had thought but we're not done yet.

 We've set some goals for the next 4 months and I'll keep you posted on the progress.

For those of you new to this side of me I've been posting my progress for about a year.

After my dad died last summer I had a huge wake-up call regarding my health and I began taking responsibility for the way I was NOT taking care of this temple I have been entrusted with.

It's NOT about weight or size, it has been and continues to be about being a good steward of this temple in order to do the things God is calling me to do (More about that later).

There it is friends, this is the latest assessment.

Now, if you'll excuse me , I'm off to the showers and then to grill some burgers.

Fitness Assessment

Okay friends,

Today is the day, in fact in one hour I will be in the midst of my latest fitness assessment at Fitness Together.

It's been a few months since my last assessment and I'm not looking forward to this.

Yikes... blood pressure, heart rate, weight, oxygen saturation after a short run on the treadmill, men's push ups, flexibility and a whole host of other variables.

In my last assessment I did 20 men's push-ups without stopping and just 2 weeks ago I did 30.

THEN one hour later later I have a full training session with Mike the madman.

I'm tired and weary after 10 days straight of work, pre- conference training and She Speaks.

Okay, I'm whining. I know, I know, but I don't want my results to be "less than" they were last time.

I don't want to "go backward" after all the progress we've made this last year.

Twenty pounds and twenty seven inches in twelve months is a HUGE reduction for me and I just don't want to see any numbers today that take away from that.

Okay, so why am I scared? What exactly am I afraid of? So what if I "don't measure up" on this assessment and why do I think my results will be "less then" anyway? I've stayed on track with my eating and my "slip-ups" consisted of 12 Triscuit crackers and a few handfuls of baked veggie chips, but I've only worked out 4 times in ten days. 

I have no clue where this is coming from or why I feel like this.

Oh well... I'm off to face the music and the results. I'll post the good, the bad and the ugly later

Hey friends,

If you want to read one attendees comments about the year's She Speaks conference, hop over to my friend

LauraLee Shaw's blog. http://lovinthearts.blogspot.com/

LauraLee was in my speaker evaluation group and she is an amazing speaker. You'll also see that she is an amazing and gifted writer when you read her blog.

Her comments paint a beautiful picture of what transpired

.

Here's our speaker evaluation group. Each lady is committed to making Christ known for HIS glory alone.

Wow! Waht a group of ladies. I wish each of you could spend a few minutes with these remarkable Women of God.

Now that It's Over...

She Speaks 2009 is over, the last of the 600 attendees packed her car and drove away after the last hug and final good-byes. The last visible signs of our presence at the hotel were removed by late afternoon and today our incredibly dedicated (and tired) staff will be "taking care of business" as they unload the truck, restock the shelves, and return everything back to it's place.

I'm always so grateful for my time at this conference and the wonderful things God does there in my heart and in the hearts of each woman who attends. Each of us had the privilege to meet Jesus in a special way this weekend, to receive new insights, refreshment and restoration.
So... now that it's over...
What action steps are you going to take to ensure that the new insights, refreshment and restoration you received don't get gobbled up in the trap of "life as usual"?

What are you willing to change about your "life as usual" in order to step up to the calling and confirmation you received this weekend?

Please share your ideas with us here.
We all experienced the Glory of the Lord as his presence blanketed that hotel and I'm confident not one of us wants to return to "life as usual" now that it's over.