DOSSIER TO CHINA, Y'ALL!!!!

That's right! As of October 18th, our dossier (think fancy word for obscene amount of paperwork) is in china!! Yay, yay, yay!!! This is important b/c now we are able to be matched with our sweet lane. We're definitely looking forward to finally seeing her picture!! Hopefully it won't be long now.

Somehow I lost track of several important dates that I should've added to our adoption timeline. I'll try to find those and Add them.....not only for anyone else who might be thinking about possibly adopting but also just for us to look back on one day.

I know we are far from being finished with this entire process, but I hAve to say that the paperwork hasn't been as big an issue as so many people make it sound like. Is it ALOT of paperwork....yes. Is it occasionally confusing and even close to ridiculous in nature.......yes. BUT I just haven't been completely overwhelmed by the task of it as it seems some people are. I've just tried to take it one step at a time, and if it was possible to do a little extra to get ahead here or there, then I did it. And sometimes I just didn't feel up to it....so I'd take a brief break. Anyway.....hope that helps encourage at least one person :)

What have I been unprepared for?? Well now that could be a post in and of itself....and maybe one day I will. I'll just say that sometimes people just don't "get" what you're doing. They're just not on the same page, in the same place, or maybe they just don't see the big picture. I wasn't expecting that(silly me)and believe me when I say I've learned some tough lessons. But that's ok. We'll be stronger for it and I'm just trying to see it as maybe God's trying to teach me something. So enough about that.

RUNNING--- I haven't said anything about my love/hate relationship with running lately. HA!!! I actually signed up for st. Jude's half marathon (in December) quite a while back. So my running girls and inhave picked up the weekly mileage....trying to prepare and train. I'll have my two-year runniversary in January and have been blessed to have not had a running injury....UNTIL NOW :(:(:(. Yep....pataller tendinitis is NOT my friend. I haven't run now in 10 DAYS and thats unheard of for me. I've been icing the knee...medicating it.....resting it....and I'm over it. Please go away patellar tendinitis.....and let me run again.

FALL is here....YAY!!!

FINALLY.....fall is here and I, for one, am THRILLED!!!!! Love, LOVE seeing the beautiful colors in the leaves before they fall softly....
Love the crisp mornings that make it easier and more enjoyable to run...
Love seeing steam come off the small pond at the end of the street behind my house in the early morning....
Love being able to stay outside comfortably, rather than being a hot and sweaty mess ;)
Love enjoying a visit at my daddy's and nancy's house to see the beauty of fall in the countryside.....
Love bringing some of the fall into our home with things the boys and I found outside ...






My friend, kellie, made these cute wreaths for my front door. How fun!!







These are Osage oranges that grow in the wild. We found them on our visit to dad and nancy's and I used them to decorate inside. See the pics above:)




Silly monkeys climbing....


I hope you are enjoying the beginning of Fall as much as we are :):)

ADOPTION UPDATE: we are about one-two weeks away from being DTC ( dossier to China)!!!!


Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

FALL is here....YAY!!!

FINALLY.....fall is here and I, for one, am THRILLED!!!!! Love, LOVE seeing the beautiful colors in the leaves before they fall softly....
Love the crisp mornings that make it easier and more enjoyable to run...
Love seeing steam come off the small pond at the end of the street behind my house in the early morning....
Love being able to stay outside comfortably, rather than being a hot and sweaty mess ;)
Love enjoying a visit at my daddy's and nancy's house to see the beauty of fall in the countryside.....
Love bringing some of the fall into our home with things the boys and I found outside ...






My friend, kellie, made these cute wreaths for my front door. How fun!!







These are Osage oranges that grow in the wild. We found them on our visit to dad and nancy's and I used them to decorate inside. See the pics above:)




Silly monkeys climbing....


I hope you are enjoying the beginning of Fall as much as we are :):)

ADOPTION UPDATE: we are about one-two weeks away from being DTC ( dossier to China)!!!!


Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

satan will attack.....

first of all, i want to thank Ashley, for sharing a link to the following blog post on facebook.  i read it this morning, and i have to say...it is RIGHT ON the money, yall.  The basic idea of the post is that when a family steps out in faith/obedience to adopt a child, they should be prepared for satan's attack.  i won't go into the details here, but i have to say that the past several weeks have been very challenging for our family in numerous ways.....and i KNOW in my heart that satan's just trying a throw a wrench in the plans.  i know in my heart he'd rather us leave Lane in china.  i know it as surely as i know the sun was shining earlier today.  But thank GOD that GOD is on our side!!  He'll see us through challenges, both big and small, as we continue on this journey towards our daughter.  you know, the same can be said for every person that's doing something God wants them to do...whatever it is.  satan doesn't like it one bit, and he wants so much to mess up God's plans.  are you stepping out in faith in a new direction?  keep looking up! 


http://paulandchrissy.blogspot.com/2011/08/attacked.html

Summer happenings....

We didn't go to the beach this summer (like we usually do). Obviously, we are trying to save money where we can to apply to our adoption. So, we celebrated a "stay-cation" at home. I had to talk Kevin into still using his normal vacation time. But we had a great time together!! We enjoyed our favorite Mexican restaurant on kevin's last day off work! Love my favorite guys!!!



The boys got very creative in the backyard as well. I call this our "redneck yacht club". See his little boats??? Haha!!


We did a lot of jumping!


We caught ALOT of bugs and lizards!! I accidentally cut the bug out of this picture but I was more concerned w/how absolutely ADORABLE my little red-head was looking at the moment :):)


We enjoyed the 4th of July balloon glow in our town!!


And we enjoyed lots and lots of time at the pool!!

We only have one week left before school starts and I'M NOT READY!!!! I don't care much for structure and routine and I'm not ready to force myself and my boys back into that way of life. So....I guess we better enjoy this last week of free time!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!! Btw...I adore comments :)

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

the necklace and lemonade stand~

one of the most memorable things that was said to me (by my friend jamie) at the very beginning of our adoption process was....."you just be obedient and watch God SHOW OUT".  well....we're taking this adoption one step at a time (b/c there's really no other way you CAN take it) but God is DEFINITELY doing some VERY COOL things for us.  just listen to these two most recent examples:

the necklace~~
about one week ago, i had listed some items on craigslist and a very sweet late middle~aged couple came out to purchase one of the items.  they were both extremely friendly, and i felt comfortable with them immediately.  the woman was very attractive and "put together".  those of you that know me well, know that i LOVE jewelry.  well, she had on a great looking casual necklace.....and i just naturally commented on how pretty it was.  we all talked for quite some time, and i explained to her that we had this particular item left over from our adoption fundraiser/garage sale.  i explained to her how we were adopting from china and they listened intently.  when it came time for her to pay for my item, she asked if i'd like to trade it for her necklace since i liked it so much.  i hesitated, b/c jewelry is a weakness for me, most definitely.  but, i'm trying to scale back (obviously) in spending, and here i was trying to MAKE money on this chair to add to our adoption account.  sooo.... i finally did say thanks, but no, i'd better not right now.  so, she completely understood and they handed me the money and prepared to leave.  right as she was about to head off, she stopped and just TOOK OFF her necklace.  she just handed it to me and said...here...i'm supposed to give this to you b/c i know you are supposed to have it.  i just stared stupidly and said...i can't take your necklace.  she said ....yes, you can, and you're supposed to have it b/c God impressed on me to wear it for some reason today and now i know why.  it's b/c he wants me to give it to you.  WELL..... instant bawlfest on my part.....in front of COMPLETE strangers.  it was an incredible moment.  i mean....people just don't DO that sort of thing.  God is so kind.....

the lemonade stand.....
this was another complete and total surprise to me and it really warmed my heart.  a good friend of mine, Gina, contacted me to say that a friend of hers was going to host a lemonade stand for Lane and gina and her girls had been invited to help.  i hardly knew this other girl, renee, at the time.  we had met a few times at the school and at a party one evening.  to think she would want to help us when she hardly knows us at all is completely amazing to me.  so.....two days later, i pull up in front of the SWEETEST, most ADORABLE lemonade stand you can possible imagine.  it was manned by 4 of the most precious little girls (and their mommas) and they even had fun little signs w/glasses and lemons on them.  those girls worked so hard out in the HEAT....and after several hours, they'd raised $133 for LANE!!!!!!!  just thinking about it now gets me all teared up.  how selfless of them (and their sweet mommas) to stand out in the heat for us.  they all wrote sweet notes in lane's book, and i can't wait to tell her all about her lemonade stand one day.

UPDATE:

after 6 weeks and 1 day of waiting....our FBI fingerprints FINALLY cleared.  this was our first set of prints, for state purposes.  now...as in TOMORROW MORNING....i'll mail off our i800 application for US customs and immigration.  we'll receive an appointment time from them for a SECOND set of prints for federal clearance and then get something back in the mail to put into our dossier.  This is all so foreign to me and we are certainly learning alot as we go, but each little step brings us one step closer to LANE....and that's really all that matters. 

it would've been your 87th birthday....

so this post is a few days late, but sunday would have been her 87th birthday.  my granny....one of the most influential people in my life.  she passed away a little less than one year ago now, so she'll be celebrating with Jesus. now THAT'S a celebration, for sure!  and she's not bed-bound anymore like she was at the end of her life.  she's running and jumping and laughing and smiling.  and i'll see her again one day.  my granny was incredible. she ALWAYS had time to listen to me talk...about any and everything.  we had so many great conversations.  she gave me great advice....the kind that comes from a lifetime of living....and never judged me for whatever it was that i had to say.  she understood when many times those around me did not.  we would both climb up in her tan recliner and watch tv together.  i wish we could do that right now.  she always had the most beautiful fingernails and her hair was always just right.  she took pride in her appearance and always looked so pretty and just "put together".  she was also funny and sassy....two of my FAVORITES qualities in a person.  she had SPUNK and was not just another passive southern belle, but she was a southern belle...if that makes sense.  i miss her so much.  i love how she pointed me to Jesus and mentioned him in her day to day living...not just on sundays.  i have her bible now and i took it to church with me this past sunday...her birthday.  she used to love the song..."you are my sunshine" b/c my grandaddy would sing it to her.  he is singing it to her in heaven right now i bet.  well....granny ....i love you so much and thank you for each and every moment you invested in me and the person i have become today.  i only hope that i can continue to make you proud. 

"you are my sunshine,
my only sunshine...
you make me happy,
when skies are grey.
you'll never know, dear..
how much i love you..
please don't take my sunshine away."

i love you...
Dena

above picture was the very last one we had taken together.

The Raper Family

if you follow this link, you'll find OUR FAMILY featured on the WILD OLIVE TEES website (on their blog).  we only have a few weeks left on our adoption fundraiser with them, and we are still trying to make it to our goal of 50 shirts.  please note:  you have to enter our code ~ RAPER0518 ~ in the coupon code box AND in the comments section.  go take a look and see if you find a shirt you like from their "adoption fundraising" selections.  thanks yall!!!


here's the link:

The Raper Family

dear Lane~

i'm praying for a specific bible verse for you.  you see, i have bible verses for both your brothers that i believe God gave me for them.  i've wondered for quite some time what verse He had in mind for you.  well......i keep coming across this very same verse over and over again.  maybe this is yours??

Isaiah 61:3
…to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.

i think it could be.  i'll keep looking for this verse to pop up day to day, and i'll keep praying about it.  i love you,

~~ mommy

catching up: february 2011

i thought i'd maybe go back and highlight a few things we've done during my blogging hiatus.  soooo.....here are a few fun memories we made in february:

~~at the beginnng of the month we had a VERY RARE AND COMPLETELY AWESOME SNOW DAY!!  we hardly EVER see white stuff fall from the sky in good ole mississippi, and when we do it's a BIG DEAL!!!  check out these cold little cutie~pies.....

i mean...seriously....could they BE any cuter??  hehehe. btw....that frozen interpretation of kaden's "snowman" is STILL in my freezer.  he wanted to keep it.

~~~ also during february i participated in MY FIRST HALF~MARATHON!!!!!!!  it was the mardi gras rock-n-roll half marathon in new orleans.....and it was a WONDERFUL experience. (except for the kinda tiring 13.1 mile part).  we spent the weekend there and had a fun family trip.  we visited the aquarium, which is really fabulous.  the boys loved it....as you can see.

this is sweaty momma and sweet babies at the end of the race.  they were so excited for me....it was really sweet.  kaden asked to wear my medal, but i said no.  i'm stingy like that sometimes. haha.  i told him i needed to enjoy the feel of it around my neck a bit first.

these two INCREDIBLY COOL and AWESOME people (my brother and sweet tiffany) came to give me their support and they also enjoyed a MUCH~DESERVED mini~vacay away from their sweet babies.  i can't tell you how much i love them, and when i saw them at MILE 9 just a'cheering and whooping and hollering for me.....i cried.  that didn't work out to well for me b/c appearantly you can't run that far and then just start bawling like a baby.  i sounded like a mule braying, and had to stop a few secs to pull myself together or i was just gonna totally lose it.  that's how much it meant to me to see hugh, tiffany, kevin and the boys there.  it was a beautiful moment that i'll never forget :O)

the above picture was on our carriage ride around new orleans.  i've only been to NO two times, and both times one of my fave things to do has been a carriage ride.  the guides show you lots of neat details and point out things you wouldn't always notice otherwise.

sweet babies made me signs and held them up during the race and had a different sign at the very end.  kevin helped them make them....he is so GREAT!!  obviously, he's behind the camera here.

the above picture is from our visit to the BUG MUSEUM.  it was actually VERY cool ...with different types of bugs from all over the world.  needless to say, it was a big hit w/all three of my guys.  i just kinda kept a safe distance from the glass.

look at the lovely architectural details in the picture above.  BEAUTIFUL!  random unknown fact about me:  i used to want to be an architect growing up. 

ADOPTION NEWS:  look to the left...i've updated our timeline.  things are starting to move along...YAY!! we are presently waiting on our FBI fingerprints (the first set) to hit our mailbox so we can then proceed with our i800 application.

Mobile blogging

Hi everyone! I haven't been able to access my blog for some crazy reason. My desktop just won't open some websites. The computer's been acting SO temperamental and moody lately. Kevin said he thought we may havta get a new one. This is REEELLY not a good time for us to buy a computer. I'm thinking....cant we just blow out the cobwebs and give it a good ole shake??? Anyway...I'm trying out a new app on my phone. Blogpress. If it works I'll be using the phone to blog sometimes. So.....can u see this? Hahaha!!!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

WOW!!! SOOOO MUCH IS GOING ON!

okay so i'm falling a bit behind on blogging, right??  i'll try to keep up a little better.  i hope you enjoyed the background story to our adoption decision.  i thought maybe it might help someone who was possibly considering it for themselves one day to see how we got to this point. 

now. . . where are we in the process??  that's the question i hear most often lately.  so we are in the process of our home study.  that's when a social worker comes out several times and has an extensive interview with you and your family.  we are about to have our second one this week.  i was kinda nervous before the first meeting, but our social worker is so funny and very friendly, so she put me at ease pretty much right away.  a good sense of humor goes a LONG way with me, as my good friends all know.  if you can make me laugh, i pretty much like you.  ha!!

last weekend we had THE BIGGEST GARAGE SALE known to MANKIND!!!!!  seriously, i've never seen that much stuff in my entire life.  it was life sam's wholesale or maybe the salvation army superstore.  our friends, neighbors, church members, and even strangers donated the nicest items for us to sell.  i was simply blown away by the sheer generosity and kindness of others.  for two weeks, i gathered and picked up items and sorted them in preparation of the big day.  there was sooooo much stuff that it completely filled the garage and then started piling up in my living room and dining room and even spare bedroom.  it got so overwhelming and  i could hardly make my way thru the house.  i'm forever indebted to my AWESOME, SELFLESS friends that came over to help me prepare and organize and even man the BIG event!!  lemme tell you. . . my friend Jamie has said about our adoption to just be obedient and LET GOD SHOW OUT!  well. . . HE DID.......to the tune of $3000!!!!!  yep, you read it right!  that's how much we made in our two day sale.  i'm telling you it was amazing.  people were like. . .just keep the change and even making donations!!  one lady just pulled up and handed me a twenty and said both her children were adopted.  then she left.  i've never experienced anything like it.  God is so good.  and He keeps telling me not to worry. . . . He's got this.

btw.....i've added a link to the right to wild olive tees.  we are participating in their adoption fundraising program.  check out their tees that say "adoption fundraising" and enter code RAPER0518 at checkout!  thanks!!

OUR ADOPTION DECISION: more background info. . .

so i was stalking these adoption blogs. . .especially ones that focused on adoption of Asian children.  i poured over all the details. . . wondering if this was really something we were called to do?  After much discussion, Kevin and I agreed to pray about it.  and we did for quite a while. . . without discussing it anymore.  that was a hard time for me b/c i was wondering what he thought about it and what was going on in his mind.  i personally wavered back and forth between yes and no.  i wondered how adoption would affect our two boys.  i considered the cost financially. . OVERWHELMING!  i (selfishly) realized i would be giving up some "free" time and also probably some work as well.  i worried about the "special needs" part. . . what would that entail, exactly?  i'm telling you. . . . this was no hasty and unthought~out decision.

at the same time, i researched orphan websites and educated myself on the plight of these children.  there are between 143~147 MILLION orphans in our world today.  did you have any idea or does that number surprise you as it did us?  as you probably know, China has practiced the "one~child" law since the 1970's, and this results in the abandonment of many children.. . .especially girls.  i felt my heart drawn there.  . . for those sweet babies that don't have any hope or a chance in life.  could we do something completely RADICAL and bring a sweet baby girl from China into our home????  was this on our LIST of things God had for us to do in our lifetimes'?

Finally, we both had an answer.  Kevin came to me very late on Palm Sunday (what a great day!!) and said he felt like we needed to go ahead with adoption plans!!!!!!  it was a sweet time. . . he just out of the blue said "i don't know how i'll handle two sweet girls in the house."  i was like. . . WHAT DID YOU SAY?? and he just laughed. . . .

so we kept it a secret for most of that week as we researched agencies and waited to go tell our parents in person.  on Good Friday, kevin was off so we were able to make the hour and a half trip to tell all three sets and got back late that night.  it was an emotionally exhausting day.  they were all very surprised b/c we had kept this all to ourselves while deciding.  we didn't want to be influenced by outside opinions. i know they'll be completely in love with Lane when they see her.

so. . . that's where we are for now.  thanks for following in this journey and we appreciate your prayers.  also. . .i really do love comments :"}

OUR ADOPTION DECISION: the background story. . .

many of you have asked what led to our decision to adopt, so i thought i'd share it here for you.  We are EXTREMELY blessed by our two boys, ages 5 and 8. i can't imagine life without them, and i'm so glad God chose them to be ours.  Looking back, i was never the girl who "just wanted to get married and have kids".  i don't know why, but i just guess i didn't have that as my main focus.  i was excited about other things first, like going to college and maybe having a super exciting career.  i did expect to get married one day and just assumed i'd have children, but i had other plans as well.  that being said, whenever i did think about my "future" as a mother, i always had this mental picture of just having two children.  that seemed like a good number to me.  fast forward to my happy marriage to kevin. . . . we weren't in any hurry to have kids, and i'm glad.  it was really good for us, personally, to have some time with just the two of us.  finally, we were blessed by the arrival of Kaden, and 30 months later, russ.  let's just say things got a little busy around our house.  it was wonderful. . . and tiring. . . to be a mom to a toddler and infant.  after talking and praying (somewhat), i felt our family was complete, and asked kevin to consider "the" surgery.  after a while, he decided he would.  russ was 6 months old.

fast forward through a happy two years of loving on and chasing after two little wild men, and i began to have that "i wanna baby" feeling again.  WHAT?!?  ARE YOU KIDDING ME??  i tried to ignore it, thinking it would go away, but guess what?  it didn't.  i slowly realized that perhaps we (me mainly since i kinda had to talk kevin into it) had made the BIGGEST mistake of our lives. 

i can't even begin to take you through the anguish i put myself thru the next 3 years as i questioned, begged, pleaded with, and raged at myself and sometimes God over the fact that we'd have no more children.  i convinced myself that we would've had more if not for that stupid surgery.  we even looked into IVF and seriously considered it.  i tried time and time again to let go. . . .and sometimes i would. . . for a bit. 

i don't remember the exact time i started seriously considering adoption.  there was no big "lightbulb" moment.  more like a slow and steady calling. i worked up the nerve to discuss it with kevin, and we would only talk about it occassionally, and not indepth.  meanwhile, friends of friends began bringing home children from other countries. . . and i became fascinated.  our church had "orphan sunday" and we learned more about the plight of orphaned children around the world.  we decided to sponsor a child monthly (thru compassion international. . .scroll down for a direct link to their site) and began teaching our boys more about how not every child lives the life that they do.  I felt God tugging more and more at my heart, and i began to follow adoption blogs in earnest. . . especially those of people adopting from china. 
to be continued. . . . . . .

HUGE (and i mean REALLY big) NEWS~~

after months and months of prayer and conversation, we have decided to adopt a baby girl from china!!!  lemme give you a sec to pick yourself up off the floor. . . (tic tok, tic tok).  you ok now??  i know. . . it's SHOCKING news to many of you, but believe me. . . we are THRILLED! (and a little nervous).  kevin and i have been talking about this for sooooo long, and then we committed to just seriously pray about it.  i'm telling you God has a BIG plan for us for for our little girl and only HE could bring this into being.  later, i'll explain to you how/why we came to this decision.  for now, though, here are a few answers to questions we are getting:
~no, we don't know who she is yet.  we have to do lots of paperwork and "official" stuff FIRST and then wait on a match
~she could be between 1~3 years of age when we get her
~we WILL have to travel to china to pick her up
~ she will come from an orphanage (most likely)
~she will have mild medical needs that could possibly be corrected/easily managed here in the US
~yes, our boys are SO EXCITED!!!

so. . . we also have chosen a name for her. . .LANE.  please pray for LANE as she waits for us to come for her.  please pray for us as we take all the necessary steps to do so.  thank you and God bless~~

"a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.  God sets the lonely in families. . . "  psalm 68:5~6

a few quick tid~bits. . .

i'm so sorry that i've been neglecting my newly resurrected blog.  i haven't really meant to. . . .it's just kinda happened that way.  sooooo, very quickly. . . here's a few things i wanted to mention:

~~ totally COMPLETED my first half marathon in new orleans and even beat the time i was hoping for.  it was an AMAZING experience and it was so worth all the time and effort it took to do it.  i'll share more later.
~~i'm actually considering another half in about 8 weeks.  it's here in my hometown and won't be nearly as much fun, but that's ok.  i may do it anyway.
~~we're looking forward to visiting with our family during spring break.  we always have so much fun when we get together!!!
~~i'm REEEEELLY trying to get my house more organized.  that's one of my personal goals for 2011.  i'm thinking of posting a list of all the projects i wanna complete this year somewhere on this blog.  like on the side maybe??  i'm so NOT blog~savy.  i need blog lessons.
~~i signed up at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/.  its a free online service that helps you track calories and exercise.  pretty awesome so far!!  now. . . if i can ONLY stay w/in my daily calories.  ugh.  . . . .
~~super excited about DATE NIGHT friday w/my man.  he's waaaayyy precious and we hardly EVER have a date.  we're swapping out w/a GREAT friend.  it's a wonderful way to save money.  you should try it sometime.
~~ok. . . i'm sleepy now and just wanted to say hello.  thanks for stopping by. . . hope you come again!!

demetria

4 days and counting. . . .

that's right.  4 DAYS is all i have left until my first half marathon.  i can't believe it even as i type these words out on this blog.  that's just CRAZY, people.  i mean crazy.  see. . . . i just last week celebrated my one year anniversary of lacing up my running shoes.  roughly 500 miles later. . . . and i didn't quit.  it's so easy to quit things that are hard for us, right?  i know because i quit enough things in my life.  anyway, to mark the one year mark, i agreed to do the rock n roll mardi gras half marathon in NEW ORLEANS!!!!!    i'm so nervous, though, i'm about to yack just thinking about it.  i'm the one who had to run to the bathroom 10 times before the senior play and before any kind of performance ive ever been in.  imagine my nerves on sunday when i'm among 15,000 other people about to run for either 13.1 or 26.2 miles.  so maybe i shouldve started with a smaller local half.  but where's the fun in that?  i like to do things BIG. . . . (even if they have to drag me out of the porta~potty and to the start line).

okay sooooo. . . i promise not to talk about running in every post. 

hmmmm. . . lemme see. . . in other news. . . it's snowing here.  the deep south has officially turned into alaska until further notice. 

yep. . that's all i have :O)

QUESTION:  what makes you nervous and how do you react?

i'm obsessed with organizing. . .

for those of you that really know me, you're SNORTING w/laughter at my title.  because i am so NOT organized.  but see. . . that was the OLD me.  i'm the new and improved 2011 me now, and she is going to be INCREDIBLE and INSANELY organized.  just wait. . . you'll see.  it's gonna be CrAzY!

so. . how am i accomplishing this?  well. . .it's a process.  i started by cleaning out my closet.  it was AWESOME.  that lasted a few days, unfortunately.  now there are clothes and shoes and other stuff piled in the floor.  i'm thinking the closet should not be a place i get dressed in.  you know how we all have those days where we put on an outfit only to quickly rip it off and replace it w/another.  sometimes it also gets ditched and replaced.  you get the picture.  all THOSE clothese are still in the floor.  sundays are the WORST day for me b/c i havta find something i actually WANT to wear to church.  ok. . .so the closet is back on the to~do list.

next HUMONGO project is the office.  it. was. TERRIBLE.   i've started by simply throwing out all the papers/trash.  BRACE YOURSELF. . . . i threw out 2 and 1/2 bags of trash PLUS a basket for the recycle people. (b/c we're all green like that. ha.)  i haven't even gotten to the cabinets and drawers through.  that was all from the shelves and countertops.  we are not nasty people.  i promise.  even though i did almost have an asthma attack from the dust.  and i don't even have asthma.  moving on. . . . i hung up a cork board and a dry erase board on one wall and it looks really cute :)

after i finish the office, i'm moving on to this middle unoccupied bedroom that's like a no~man's land.  there's a buncha stuff in there that i don't really believe belongs to anyone.  plus my treadmill.  if you open the closet in there, you'd best have a yellow hard hat on.  because something bad is gonna happen.  the room needs a purpose.  can anyone direct me???  maybe having a purpose would be a good start.

before the end of 2011, my goal is to go thru each and every cabinet, drawer, and closet in this house and CLEAN IT OUT!!  i better go buy lotsa garbage bags and dust masks.

thoughts on food. . .

okay so here are a few random rants thoughts on food i've been having lately:

~why is some "seemingly healthy" food really just bad, evil, fattening food in disguise.  example:  the grilled chicken sandwich at abner's will NEVER be consumed by me again after looking up the nutritional value when i got home. . . after having eaten it.  almost 600 calories and like 30 grams of fat.  i should've just eaten 3 sticks of butter straight from the fridge.  it tasted soooooo good, though :O)
~why is it that i've eaten more fruit this past week than i have in the past two months and i've got nothing to show for it. . .except an empty fruit drawer in the fridge?
~why can't a pb&j sandwich be a healthy, low~calorie food?
~why is it COMPLETELY UNFAIR that burning lots of calories=LOTS MORE HUNGER???
~why is it waaaayy more expensive at the grocery to buy whole unprocessed foods rather than processed ones?  seems like cost~wise it should be the other way around, right?  i mean. . aren't unprocessed foods. . . . ummmmm. . i dunno. . . UNPROCESSED???  therefore being more cost~efficient? ummm, no.
~why do i have to be sooooooo freakin' obsessed w/mexican food.  its wonderfully and wickedly delicious. . . and i love EVERYTHING about it.  i wish i had some chips and salsa right now.
~why is it so much easier to do what's bad for your body than what's good for it?  maybe that's just all in my mind.
~how is it that i can get my tail out to run for a LONG way and work really hard training for a half marathon and all, but i can't be strong enough to follow a seemingly easy healthy mealplan??!!
~okay so that's all the encouragement for today folks, haahaha!

love,

your hungry friend :O)

running. . . part two

so.. . .after making the 3 mile mark i decided that i wanted to run a 5k.  because i'm thinking that less than half of the population will ever do one and maybe it would be cool if i did one.  like one time. that's it.  that was the plan anyway.  so. . . i pick out a local 5k. . the "run with the jags" that supported a local elementary school and i showed up that morning.  INSANE CASE OF NERVES and (nervous stomach) took me WAAAYYY BY SURPRISE.  i mean . . . come on. . . what's the big deal here?  its just a little silly run. . with a buncha strangers. . who were kinda FREAKING me out looking all "seriously~elite runner" and all.  but hey. . at that stage in the game EVERYBODY who ran and wore running gear looked professional to me.  i digress. . .

so i leave the hubbs and boys in the bed and get up all early to register and then it begins.  i'm REALLY tired towards the end b/c it was pretty hilly and i was unprepared for that.  well. . . THIS IS WHAT I FOUND AT THE END> >> >

(please excuse very sweaty and unflattering picture) actually kevin had a sign too. . . i just don't have that picture.  my heart melted.  and yes. . i cried.  i swear they made me feel like an olympian.  and in their eyes maybe i was for a few minutes.

later there was a one mile fun run and kevin ran it with the boys.  he was totally not expecting that.  one of the many things i adore about him.  he will do anything for us.  so. . . this is the pic i caught of russ coming in.  i think he was like the last person. 

cuteness.  and he is so dressed appropriately for a race, right?

so. . moving on. . . i did another race a few months after that.  it was freakishly hot (in spring) and at the wrong time of the month.  yes.  i said it.  it was pretty miserable.  lesson learned. but it was the susan g. koman race for the cure.  and my paternal grandmother died of breast cancer.  i did it for her. and took her memory w/me during the run

running. . . part one

i decided to blog about something that suprisingly, has become pretty important to me.  running.  just reading back over that makes me wanna SNORT laughing.  see.,..,., if you'd have told me about 14 months ago that i'd take up running, i would've told you that you were an idiot.  seriously.  in my high school most everyone was in band (i know, it sounds geeky ~ i'll explain in another post) so i was never really presented with an opportunity to get really involved in sports, i guess.  well. . .i did play softball in the summer but that stopped by the time i got into high school.  anyway, the most important fact here is that i never really ran. . . on purpose. . . before february 2010. 

what led me to try something new?  lots of different things. . . mainly i think it was that i wanted to really challenge myself just to see if i could.  i wanted to start something that i wouldn't quit.  i wanted to develop some type of discipline in my life.  i'd turned 35 and it was time to take control of a few things. and of course i wanted to find a way to get into better shape.  so. . . .

how did i get started?  first, i knew i didn't want to join a gym right then b/c i didn't wanna waste the money.  i'd been attending a jazzercise class and LOVEd it, but it was only a few times a week at 9 am.  i needed more flexibility.  so. . .i started the first of january (one year ago) by working out on my elliptical 3 to 4 times a week. . . for a month.  yeah, it was hard.  i hated that thing b/c it busted my tail.  looking for a good workout?  go get on an elliptical for 20 minutes.  so then i waited for a day at the end of january for the weather to be nice. . not too cold.  i just laced up the shoes and got out in the neighborhood.  that was about it. 

now. . i'd be TOTALLY lying to you if i said it was easy in the beginning.  hell no.  (profanity for emphasis only ~~hehe).  i couldn't run to the end of the block before stopping.  and that's the sad truth.  sometimes i ran at a local park.  each time i would push a little farther.  somehow it became a time for me to talk with God.  okay so mainly i was begging for His divine intervention and all, but that's still talking, right?  it took me a couple of weeks to make my first mile w/o stopping and i can still remember it.  i teared up a little feeling all proud.  then i pushed on to two and finally three.  three was definitely the hardest.  it'd been a couple of months by that time.  i remember my calves were burning so bad i was crying by the time i finished three the first time.  then i REALLY bawled and gave God the fist~pump for helping me out.  i bet the other park runners/walkers thought i was cooky. 

i rewarded my 3 mile accomplishment with this:

a  nike plus to go into the bottom of my running shoe.  the other part plugs into your ipod or iphone and it tells you how fast you're going, your distance, calories, and other stuff.  i highly reccommend this for you if you wanna start running. . .or walking even.  it's $29.99 and i've totally loved mine.

okay enough for now.  i'll share more in part two.  thanks for reading :)

randomness. . . .

a few random thoughts~~

~if there's a leash law in your neighborhood, there's probably a reason for it. 
~if you have a very large agressive dog that tries to attack my little fluffy white dog, i will not like you anymore.
~if you run down a pretty busy road in the misting rain (while looking like dookey), i promise you will be seen by everyone you know.
~after two weeks off of school for christmas break, i am NOT happy about school and work starting back again.  can we just have break more often?  isn't that what they do in france?
~sometimes you will be disappointed by your loved ones. . . .and that's a promise.
~if for almost four weeks you eat like there's no tomorrow, you will be sorry when you try to put on your skinny jeans.  and that's a promise.
~i wonder if anyone is reading this newly minted (a second time) blog of mine?
~since my last topic was a little deep, im pretty much just typing randomness this time.  i don't believe in being too serious all the time.  haha!

anyway, that's about it.  HAPPY NEW YEAR YALL!