More Goals... and a Stomach Bug

If you know anything about me, you know I love a good list. A good to-do list or list of goals. I've got a couple more to add to my ever-growing, occasionally-achieved list. First, there is this "Read 100 Books in a Year" challenge going on here.

I love reading, I really do. And I'm a pretty fast reader. So I could read 100 books in a year. I promise. But if I stop two seconds and think, I know there are several more things I want to do this year, too. We want to do several (minor and major) renovations around the house, so there is only so much time I have to devote to this reading goal. I decided 52 books would be a much better goal. Before you ask "why 52?", remember that there are 52 weeks in a year, silly. To do this, I'll have to cut out some unnecessary things, like this...

No, not the snuggling part. The watching mindless TV part. I am the queen of sitting down for just a bit and then watching two hours of TV. Or of DVRing TV shows I would never usually watch, and then doing so because I can. That needs to stop. Pronto.

Additionally, because I get really frustrated when there are too many things on my plate (although I nearly always am the one who puts them there), we have assigned a month to each room in our house. For instance, our master bath is March. We are going to try to do anything that needs done in that room in March. That includes painting, new fixtures, hanging stuff on the walls, tiling, etc. It's a big job, so that one may extend a little over. But you get the point. Each room has a month. And I'm excited, because it makes it feel a little less stressed to focus on one thing at a time.

Now to the "stomach bug" part. On our way home Saturday, I started to feel really sick. Like, "pull over HERE!" sick. Not just once, but four times. It was not pretty. Sunday I was so dehydrated and weak that I could barely get out of bed. I told JC that death would have been a welcome friend at that point (okay, so I didn't really want to die, but the thought crossed my mind). Monday I didn't come to work, and I'm glad I didn't. I still felt really weak; Powerade can only work so fast. Monday night I felt much better, and I was excited to get back to work. (No, really.) But Tuesday morning, we woke up and poor JC had it. Unfortunately, his immune system must not work as well as mine, because he couldn't even keep water down. So that meant his medicine wasn't working. He was so dehydrated last night that we had to take him to the ER to get several bags of fluids through an IV. Four hours later, we were home. Thank goodness, he feels a bit better today! I hear this is going around... have any of you had the nasty stomach bug lately?

Handbag Giveaway

I have a little secret... okay--I have lots of secrets. And I guess this one isn't really a secret, anyway. But I. LOVE. Purses. And totes. And clutches. But I'm really not weird, because I don't know a woman who isn't obsessed with those things. Right?

Anyway, so there is this great giveaway over at "It's the Little Things that Make a House a Home". She is giving away an item of your choice from "A Girl's Must Haves," which has some incredible purses. Like this one...

Or this one...

Or like this great wallet...

So if you love these items as much as I do, you should head over to "It's the little things" and enter the giveaway! Good luck!

There's No Escape

Honestly, I think the snow is following us. If you remember, I told you about the blizzard that occurred when I was in NYC in December, resulting in a cancelled flight and a 20-hour drive through the blizzard. Well, now we are in DC for work, and this is happening.

Since it's too cold (I've heard single digits with the wind-chill) to be out and about, we decided to do something indoors and walked over to the Smithsonian. We heard we were only getting a couple of inches of snow, but I have my doubts about that number. I mean, you can barely even see the Washington Monument!

And by the time we left the Smithsonian and retraced our steps, it was snowing so hard the monument was totally obscured--you wouldn't have even known it was there! So now we are hoping that another one of our flights won't be cancelled. I'll be staying until Thursday, but JC is supposed to go back tomorrow. His first day at his new job is Monday, so missing his first day or having to drive back a long way is not a good way to start the week.

Word of the Year

I really am not the biggest fan of new year's resolutions; I think it sets you up for failure. People are always making these crazy "I'm going to lose 70 pounds in 3 days" type of resolutions, and then they are so disappointed and down on themselves for not doing it. Then it's almost like they are shot for the rest of the year. I know; I've done it.

Over the past couple of years, I've tried to make much more realistic "resolutions"; and they weren't really because of New Years, but because they were things I wanted to do anyway. This year, they were: stick to a budget and follow the Abs Diet more closely. I really like the Abs Diet because it promotes healthy eating (with a cheat meal once a week). No calorie counting, no eating super-processed stuff that is "low-fat"; just eating in a healthy manner. (Note: I am also a huge fan of Weight Watchers, which did help me lose 40 lbs in high school, but only if it's followed in conjunction with eating healthy; if all you are eating is 23 1-Point desserts all day, you may lose weight, but you're obviously not healthy.)

But I kept reading other people who wrote about their "word for the year". I thought that was a pretty good idea because it was fairly simple but could be pretty tough. Simple in that you only focused on that one thing for a whole year, but tough because if you're doing it right, it's something that you probably find difficult to do. I wanted to pick something that had to do with my spiritual life and things I struggle with. I threw around a lot of words--kindness, compassion, mercy (all things I have a hard time with) and deliberate. I want to be very deliberate about each thing I say and do. I want each thing to have purpose and have meaning. As I said, I struggle with having kindness and compassion toward certain people. Not most, but a few. Doesn't everyone? But I think those are qualities that God calls us to develop in order to be more like Christ.

However, JC and I were talking today, and I was telling him about it. He immediately said, "Service." And I thought, what a great word! It encompasses all of the ones I was thinking of. When you are trying to serve others as Christ would, you are obviously kind, compassionate, and merciful toward them. You are deliberate in everything you say, trying to edify others and help them in any way possible. In addition, it requires you to have humility, which is another one I struggle with. Not trying to drop all of my faults on you at once... just trying to keep it real here. (By the way, don't you just love it when you start to think, "Man, I'm getting pretty humble." Here's a hint: if you ever get to the point where you think you are humble, you probably aren't. :-) )

So that is going to be my word of the year. I am going to try to be a servant to others--to be kind and compassionate, to forgive even when I don't want to, to be deliberate in all my speech and actions, and not to expect anything in return. Will I fail? Absolutely. Probably a thousand times. But I know our life in Christ is a journey and I'll never be perfect.

What's your word of the year?

Update on NYC

I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to deliver the promised posting on our NYC trip. I would love to say that it was because I haven't had time. I have been really busy--don't get me wrong--but that is definitely not the reason. It's just because uploading pictures onto my computer just really seems to be one of those tasks that I hate. Kind of like folding the laundry... it's not really that difficult, and it doesn't take a brain surgeon to do it, but I just really don't like it.

Anywho, we were in NYC for training for my job, and it was Christmas time. I need not tell you guys how wonderful NYC is at Christmas--or maybe I do. That place is absolutely fab in December! We were there for a week, so we had plenty of time to entertain ourselves.

The Rockefeller Christmas Tree.

The beautiful fountain in Bryant Park. It's right next to the NY Public Library; if you look closely, you can see that there are icicles on the fountain.

JC also planned a really sweet date for us while we were there. I came back to the room on Tuesday after training, and I found a precious little note with some roses on the bed; it said that he had planned a surprise date for me. Our first stop was...

Yaye! JC told me I could pick out whatever I wanted (okay, to clarify, we are talking "silver floor" here, not "out-of-control-expensive diamond floor"). I picked a beautiful open-heart silver necklace (I haven't taken a picture yet, but maybe at some point...). Then we went on a carriage ride tour through Central Park on our way to Tavern on the Green. How sad is it that this place is closing down after 75 years? (And don't get me started on why... the stupid city of New York thinks it can manage the place better and make more money. Isn't it always that way--the government thinking it can be more efficient than private citizens? Ugh.)

Tavern on the Green is absolutely gorgeous. I wish I would have taken a picture of the outside, because you can see it nearly from across the park. The outside is lit up with all kinds of white lights, and the inside looks like this...

Incredible.

Anyway, I must now proceed to tell you about the best part of our trip. Let's just say there was a canceled flight, an attempt by Delta to reschedule it for Christmas day (not happening), and a blizzard. Then there was a rental car driving through the blizzard for 20 hours, and finally arriving in KY where there was just minimal snow.

Aren't those some great views? I really wish we got snow in the ATL. *sigh* Anyway, now you know what went down in NYC (and during the ensuing 20-hour drive to return home). It was still a great trip. :-)

"Pray it Out"

Let me start by saying my grandfather ("paw paw") is just incredible. His faith is incredible, his generosity is incredible, and his wisdom is incredible. It's incredible that he is 78 and still works out 3 times per week, doing 300+ sit-ups among other things. But what impresses me most is his ability to trust God in everything.

Of course if someone asked any of us if we trusted God with everything, our knee-jerk reaction would be to say "yes". But if we're honest, that's not really true. I know it's not with me. Lately, our family has been going through some really rough stuff. One of our close family members is very sick, and unless God provides a miracle, that person will not make it. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas in the hospital, and yesterday I felt like I was in real danger of becoming extremely bitter over this. The silly question, "Why?" came to mind so many times it was unreal. I felt lonely and depressed and it felt like God had forgotten us.

Then my paw paw called and asked me about it. I told him how I felt, and he said he understood--I knew he did, since both his wife and mother died several years ago. He said he had felt that way at times, and the only thing to do was pray it out. I thought, "What the heck does that even mean?" He continued that he just had to go into his room and throw himself before God, asking and begging for mercy and peace until he received it. At the time, I didn't really want to "pray it out"; I just wanted to keep my mind busy by watching TV or cleaning. But this morning, I did just that, and he was right--God did give me mercy and peace. I never should have doubted that He would, but I'm not perfect and sometimes I just want to wallow in pity and sorrow instead of going to the Source of grace.

I write this to ask you to keep our family in your prayers, but also to encourage you. If you are going through a time where things seem so bad you can hardly stand it, where it seems like everything is going wrong and you can't see the good anymore, pray it out. God will hear you and answer your prayer for mercy, grace, and peace.

Update

It's been so long since I have blogged--I know you're just dying to know what is going on in the ATL. Well, you may just have to wait a few more days! We have had a very interesting and active few weeks, and a few more to come. Tomorrow we are headed out to make the familial rounds for Christmas, but after we return, I promise to post. I'll give you a little preview: it may or may not have something to do with a trip (complete with pictures), a fantastic date my husband planned just for me, a blizzard, and a new purchase.

Until then, I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas!