I would love to have a job where I was hired to be a blogger.
I could review books, movie, or whatever for the paycheck.
The downside to being a professional blogger is that I have very limited knowledge with html and graphic design. I also be a bad riter (Get it?)
Another negative part about being a professional blogger is that I don't have any followers that I know of. My husband only checks my blog when he gets on the BFF's computer and sees that it is bookmarked. So when that day occurs..."Hey, Hon!"
I'm sure that more people follow my blog then I know about because I also follow blogs privately.
Holla to my private blog readers out there!!!
I have also been trying to update my blog more regularly because I figure if I write more, then people will tell their friends about this fabulous blogger who you just HAVE to read!
...I wonder if bloggers make more money than social workers?....
Time for skirts!! I decided that today was the day for my legs to get a little exposure to the world. As the days get progressively hotter, so does my office. The closest I get to wearing shorts is a skirt on those day.
Today, I feel like I am rockin' the "Laura."
The "Laura" is a classic. She would kill me if she knew that I had put this picture of her on here. This picture was from our sophomore year at college, which was about five years ago. Has it really been THAT long?? There are many pictures of Laura rockin' her signature look, but this was the only one where I found the entire look. Laura is famous for wearing a skirt, cute top, a denim jacket, and pearls. The pearls are usually worn as earrings, but today I choose to wear mine as a necklace.
As I finished getting dressed this morning, my thought was Laura would approve. I am wearing a cute skirt from K-Mart (which finding a skirt for a steal is also a Laura trait), a cute white shirt, my denim jacket, my pearl necklace, and my totally awesome knee-high brown boots.
Laura has had the same denim jacket for a long time, in fact it's probably the one that she is wearing in this picture. When Laura was graciously giving all her clothes away, she gave away her denim jacket. At this point, it was so worn that her elbows were poking through the sleeves and the jacket was so soft you wouldn't even know that it was denim. Her hubby-to-be missed her jacket (aka her staple) so much, that he requested that her jacket be returned to its rightful owner. Laura still wears her denim jacket proudly, in fact she was even wearing her jacket the last time I saw her (with a dress, and her pearl earrings).
When Laura gets married, I firmly believe that she should wear her wedding dress, her pearls, and her denim jacket over her dress.
I don't even know who reads my blog, but I just want to ask for prayers for Andrew and I.
Andrew is miserable MISERABLE at his job. He hates working third shift full time and going to school full time. He only has a month and a half before graduation, but he has 10 pg papers due in all his classes and he (and I) are not really seeing how he is going to manage it.
We are considering him quitting his job.
We have enough savings to last us while he doesn't have a job and he can be working towards his diploma. Our fear is that he might not have a job after he graduates. I know that God will provide, but it's hard to have that faith.
Please pray for peace for whatever decision we make. Please pray for our wisdom as we budget our money. Please pray that he is able to find a job after he graduates.
I have done it before...well, started it before. I once got to week 3, but I ended up quitting because it killed my ankle.
But it's that time again, you know that time. That time of the year when you say,"Oh, crap, it's almost time to have to be in a bathing suit and shorts!!!"
I have several big things coming up that I want to look good before, and when I say good I mean I don't want to look like a fat blob.
April 10th I know that this day is coming up really fast, but it's our Annual Dinner and Auction for work. I want to wear a cute sundress, which I will whether or not I have lost any weight, but if I have to stand in front of all the affluent people in Hardeman county...I want to look good.
July 17th Amy Dyer's wedding I'm not in this wedding at all, but she is an old friend from back in Dyersburg. In fact, she was the first person in Dyersburg who was nice to me when I moved there. Because of the fact that she is a friend from the Old Country (my hometown) that means that lots of hometown folks will be there (including people who I might have dated in the past). I don't really want anyone to look at me and say,"Daannnggg, she be lookin good!" but I would rather not have anyone say, "Is that Dana, because I couldn't tell because she's gotten so big?"
Laura's Wedding Not quite sure when this wedding will be, but I want to have at least started to lose weight when I try on bridesmaid dresses.
On the plus side, Andrew has lost weight just from working. I hate him! Not really, I love it because he is more confident in himself and he looks good!
She's always been Tallerthan me and participated in more sports. Remember there's a difference between Participating and being good at them!! She was on the swim team (which she was good at), softball, soccer, gymnastics, and whatever else my parents signed her up for.
Growing up, I was always the more studious one. I liked to read and therefore I was better in Reading, English, and anything that had to do with Reading. My sister found out that she was good at Math and Science.
We look different and we both have had different experiences. I was in band and she was in choir. I married my high school sweetheart and her heart was broken by hers. She is still best friends with her best friend from school and I haven't talked to mine in a while.
Growing up in the youth group, I only had one chance to go on a mission trip, and I went. I loved it. Lisa, on the other hand, has had the opportunity to go on several mission trips. I can't even remember all of them but I know that she went down to the gulf to help after Hurricane Katrina, she has gone to Brazil twice, and spent her entire summer working with a mission team.
Lisa shared with me a few weeks ago that she feels as if she might be called to foreign missions, but she's not sure yet. I would absolutely hate if my sister left for another country, but my sister would be so wonderful at it. When she graduates from the U. of M. she is going to be such an excellent nurse. She is fabulous with people in a nursing home, children, and pretty much anybody. Those are the types of people that are needed on the mission field. My sister would be a hand to hold and a shoulder to cry on for many people.
I was thinking about how Lisa and I are so different, then I realized that we aren't that much different at all. What she loves to do and what she possibly feels called to do is to show God's love to others.
I feel the same way about being a social worker. I love being that listening ear for someone, and I see daily that I am in the place that God wants me to be and he is using me here. I feel that my job is my mission field.
While I work for a non-profit, we aren't a Christian organization. I feel strongly though that if I don't share about Jesus with my clients, then what good is my job for. HE's the reason that I love my clients and that I pray for them. HE's the reason that I can listen to crazy story after crazy story and think,"Now, let's fix that." or speak an honest and God-fearing suggestion. I love it when my little client won't let me leave or say good-bye to me without giving me a hug and saying,"I love you, Ms. Dana." I love my little pictures that they draw for me and spell my name like Danna. I love my job and I love that God has given me the patience and the heart for my peeps.
I'm excited to see where my sister goes after college. She will be graduating in December and the world is an open door to her. How exciting is that??!!!
It's time for another one of these posts. I know I know I know that God has his own timing and it's better to wait until after I graduate, but I can't help how I feel.
Whenever I look at facebook and I see another person is pregnant and they have been married for a shorter time than me, I get sad. I get this longing in my heart as if I'm missing out of something. I know that I could get pregnant (if God allows) if I wanted to because I'm pretty sure I could twist Andrew's arm into thinking it's a good idea, but in the back of my mind I know it's not the right time yet.
I work well with lists, so here is a list for why it's not a good reason for me to reproduce yet:
1. School
I have two and a half years to graduate and I don't know how I will handle working full time plus internships plus a baby.
2. Jobs
Andrew is working 3rd shift and sleeps during the day, so I would be doing a lot of the parenting by myself because Andrew would need his sleep during the day.
3. Daycare
After I went back to work I would have to put our baby in daycare, but I just don't trust any of the daycares around here, maybe the 1st baptist daycare-but could we afford it
4. Family
Our family is so far away. We have our church family as support here, but it's not the same.
5. Travel
I feel as if Andrew and I haven't really been able to experience the excitement of being newly married and taking vacations or traveling to random spots. We haven't even been able to go to the zoo together because our schedules are so opposite. We have plans to take random day trips once he graduates and gets a better job.
Okay, that's my list. I have talked myself down a little bit...until next time.
I feel as if Andrew and I are really coming into our own in Bolivar. We might not have a large friend base here, but we are getting to know a small group of couples from our church pretty well. We are all so different, but we have several things in common. 1. We don't have kids. 2. With the exception of one of us, no one is from Bolivar originally. 3. We all go to the same church.
This is the 2nd or 3rd time that we have hung out together. It's nice because the guys can talk about "rough and tough" stuff and the girls can discuss things that really matter.
Here are the couples: Jessica and Cliff Russel I met Jessica before I even started visiting Dixie Hills. I met her because she had set up a Pampered Chef booth at the fair. She was so nice and I wanted to randomly call her up because I didn't have any friends in town. She is a strong Christian, but so funny without meaning to. She is the queen of all things Domestic because she is OCD and loves to cook. Her husband Cliff is really nice and is the one that was born and raised in Bolivar. Cliff recently lost his job because he worked at the Chevy dealer in town. He's trying to find another job, but until then he is the ultimate cleaner of the house while Jessica is working and going to school. Oh yeah, Jessica works at Western State. I like hearing her crazy stories about the creepy doctors and the creepiness of the building altogether.
Elizabeth and Andrew: Elizabeth and Andrew are engaged and will be getting married this summer in a family member's backyard. Elizabeth is so excited about moving to Bolivar because she has already made friends with us. Elizabeth is really sweet and teaches Kindergarten in Lake County (Bless her heart). Andrew is the middle school band director that my Andrew had met during college through band stuff. He's quite a character and always tries to see things in a different light. He is currently in Seminary and took my Andrew's place as the interim music minister when Andrew just couldn't do it anymore.
Last night we played Apples to Apples, which I had never played before. We had such a good time. The funniest round was when the green card said "Lazy" and Jessica put down "in a coma." She won that round with out a doubt! I laughed so hard with these guys.
It does a soul good to hang out with new friends in a new town and realize that you are enjoying where you live.
The song was written about a girl who toured with Elton and his friend and ended up become the seamstress for the band and eventually married the friend.
I love the piano throughout the entire song.
Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man
Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand
Jesus freaks out in the street Handing tickets out for God Turning back she just laughs The boulevard is not that bad
Piano man he makes his stand In the auditorium Looking on she sings the songs The words she knows the tune she hums
But oh how it feels so real Lying here with no one near Only you and you can hear me When I say softly slowly
Hold me closer tiny dancer Count the headlights on the highway Lay me down in sheets of linen you had a busy day today
Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand
Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand
Jesus freaks out in the street Handing tickets out for God Turning back she just laughs The boulevard is not that bad
Piano man he makes his stand In the auditorium Looking on she sings the songs The words she knows the tune she hums
But oh how it feels so real Lying here with no one near Only you and you can hear me When I say softly slowly
Hold me closer tiny dancer Count the headlights on the highway Lay me down in sheets of linen you had a busy day today
Urban Dictionary states that Beauty is a thing seldom seen. It is held by all within the soul it lies, waiting to come out to the surface, but it can only be found if someone is sharing your soul with you. Beauty is suppressed by the evils of the world. Only love can bring beauty out. Once seen, beauty never hides again. Not even hatred can deny beauty of it's true design. Beauty, although possessed by all by few and fewer yet will ever see one of the most beautiful sights - the beauty held by you.
So does that mean that even when I wake up in the morning and my face is greasy, my breath smells atrocious, and my hair is in a knotted mess that I'm beautiful because someone is sharing my soul?
What about my single friends? My best friend and I are really close and I would say that we could "share a soul" but I know that just because I think that she's pretty, isn't enough for her. Luckily, she doesn't have self-esteem issues and will read that definition and say that it's crap.
Miss Piggy says,"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye.”
There are days when I wake up and get ready for work, and as I look in the mirror I think,"I look pretty today." Unfortunately, those days are few and far between. Most days, I'm lucky to have clean pants to put on and time to even do my hair.
This week, I haven't been able to find my blow dryer or my flat iron, so up in a pony tail my hair goes. Don't even ask how someone could lose their blow dryer and flat iron in their own home. It happens. Don't judge!
I like to think that beauty comes from the inside. Cue the sappy instrumental music here. I'm lucky that I think that my personality is pretty rockin'.
1 Samuel 16:7 - "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
My best friend is a news reporter. While a lot of her job is based on talent and passion (which she exudes) but a lot of her job is also based on looks. I am so thankful that I don't have to deal with that as a social worker. One of my favorite quotes from a fellow social worker is,"They don't fix their mullets for me, so why do I have to fix mine for them?" Now, my friend doesn't have a mullet, but she does have a point. My clients care about what I can do for them and how I listen and communicate with their families, not how I look.
I like to think that my personality and my love for people shines through enough to make me beautiful. I don't wear a ton of make-up and I typically don't even take time for my eyebrows.
I'm quirky.I love show tunes.I'm afraid of feet.I enjoy jokes that aren't that funny. I enjoy making people laugh. I love reading books.I love swinging on a beautiful day.I'm clumsy.
I triple booked myself this past weekend. I offered my services as a chaperone for the youth's YEC trip, I had a wedding of an old friend on Saturday, and I had a 10-12 page paper due on Monday. Here's a little advice: You should not chaperone a youth trip when you have a monster paper due!! I was sitting in the front seat of the van typing my paper and turning my head every 5 minutes to do a quick "hand check." (Does anyone else remember those? During my early high school years, my boyfriend thought it was funny to joke about those...I did not.)
Anyway, here is the story of my weekend...
We had to be at the buses at 9:00am and we had 37 people going. For a small church, I was pretty excited about those numbers. Once I got there, I was asked to take one of the chaperones back to her house in order to pick up something she forgot, then I had to go pick up a child who didn't have a ride. Once we got everyone needed back to the church, Wayne (the youth leader) pulled me aside and asked how I felt about forging some signatures. WHAT???
It turns out that 2 of the boys who lived with an uncle who didn't speak English didn't have a permission slip. So I did it. I know it was probably wrong, and I even made the signature really manly looking just in case anyone questioned it. I didn't feel too horrible about it because the uncle knew they were coming.
Wayne asked me to drive the church van. Um, no! I told him that I hadn't been a member long enough to wreck it, so I got to ride in the front seat with him. I learned rather quickly that that was not a good decision because Wayne likes to randomly slam on his brakes for a laugh and to scare the kids. I wore my seatbelt the entire time and I felt bad for the kids who were asleep as he slammed on his breaks.
We had 17 people in a 16 passenger bus. Wow! Needless to say, it started stinkin' after a little while. We had 4 types of children that came with us:
1. Country boys decked out in their camo and work boots
2. The Good girls who were there to have fun and worship
3. The Drama girls!
4. The Thugs
The Thugs apparently thought I was very attractive (who wouldn't) and constantly asked for my number and the whole weekend consisted of someone tapping me on the shoulder to tell me that "So and so likes you." I don't even know these boys real names.
I called them:
Money
Hollywood
Tay
Tay (Not to be confused with the first Tay)
Driq
and I know that I'm forgetting one.
I think that it was one of the Tays that kept asking for my number. Maybe Tay #2?
When I went to YEC when I was younger, they held it at MTSU, but now it is held at the Nashville Convention center which isn't large enough for everyone, so they have to do 2 sessions. They had the Skit Guys there, and they were funny as always. They even made an inappropriate joke, which I thought was hilarious.
They also had Joe Castillo, the sand artist, there. He was awesome!! I thought he tried to plug his stuff too much, BUT once he started doin' his thang, I forgot about the constant plugging.
I didn't enjoy the Band they had either, they were ookkkkaayy. But I'm just not into that harder rock stuff. It's hard for me to worship that way. After that service, SO MANY youth came forward to accept Christ, but I couldn't help but pray that the decision was real and not based on emotions.
After that service, we went to Opry Mills mall. During this little visit one of the kids got sick on the bus which caused another kid to get sick on the bus. The Bass Pro Shop was wonderful about helping get the kids clean up and even gave us cleaning supplies for the van.
I had a rude awakening when we got to the mall. I'm old and no one wants to shop with me. WHAT??? I had to explain to someone that I was younger than most of the celebrities that they though were cool, except for Miley Cyrus. I eventually convinced a girl Katie to eat dinner with me. While we were eating, she shared with me that she was living with her sister until her mother gets out of Alcohol Rehab. Wayne had shared with me earlier that she hadn't accepted Christ yet, but she was dealing with it. I thought about talking about that with her, but I didn't.
At one point during the trip, one of the other van drivers accidentally let a 4-letter dirty word slip as she was taking the van on 2 wheels around a corner. The kids on the bus promised they wouldn't let Wayne know,haha. I told her not to feel bad because it wasn't a word that they hadn't of heard before.
I was placed in a hotel room with 5 girls, including me. The DRAMA girls!!!!!!! Everytime one of the girls would leave the room, someone would start talking about her. When they looked at the mirror before they left the room you would hear," Dang, I sexy" or "I'm lookin' good!" I wish I had just a smidgen of that confidence when I was younger,haha. I told the girls that either someone people would have to sleep 3 in a bed or one person on the floor, but I wasn't sleeping on the floor or with 2 other people in my bed. One of the girls said in response, "You wanna bet?"
If looks could kill...
I told her that it wasn't up for discussion and if she had a problem with it she could find somewhere else to sleep.
I did have a really good talk with one of the drama girls that night. This girl has leadership qualities coming out of the wazoo, but she uses them for evil and not for good.
The next morning, we went to our final big worship at the convention center, and it was so good! Ed Newton was the speaker and I had heard him before at Super Summer and I loved what he had to say. During the invitation, 2 of my Drama girls went down front and rededicated their lives and that Katie girl walked down front by herself to accept Christ as her personal Lord and Savior. I was so excited for her!
I was also able to chose the Breakout session we went too, and I chose to one where Michael Holland was playing. I forgot how good he was at playing the drums! While I was there, I was also able to see Nikki and her husband Jacob from Bartlett Hills Baptist Church. I love them! The guy who preached talked about how youth should be leaders. We had 2 youth members stand up to say that they wanted to be leaders in the church.
I think I'm going to have a talk with the girl who stood up. I love this girl, and I think that if she was in my youth group, then we would be friends. This girl though doesn't understand how to love and how to be a leader. I think that she wants to be a leader to "her kind" not to the Thugs and the Drama queens. She doesn't understand that many of these kids come from homes where the parents tell their children to "F**K off" in the morning, instead of "I Love you" and that some of these children have to worry about their moms stealing their pain pills after surgery or that someone children have their moms in rehab. It's a lot harder to be a Christian when they don't have that role model at home.
I had a wonderful time with the youth and my prayer is that I can show them love and compassion, and learn to listen to these kids.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Does anyone else ever feel as if they are too accessible?
Don't get me wrong, I love having a cell phone, but what happened to the day when you called someone's home phone and if they didn't answer the call that meant that they weren't home, not that they just didn't want to talk. If you call someone's cell phone and leave a message, there is no way that they don't know that you didn't call.
Sometimes I get home from work and I just want to turn off the TV, computer, and cell phone just to have some quiet time.
Yesterday during group, my kids were CRAZY!!! They were basically jumping off the walls and I attribute that to Dr. Seuss's (sp?) birthday. Twice I had to step out of the room just to be able to gather my thoughts. God knew exactly what I needed though because as soon as I got two of the wildest children in the car to take them on a 30 minute drive home, they became eerily quiet. The children shared with me that they were tired and they both were resting their eyes. God knew that I needed that. After I dropped the kids off, I turned my radio off and just drove in silence. Oprah does that too. I just needed peace for a second. I needed to not be so accessible to the world. I needed to not have to listen to anyone and to not have to communicate either. I just wanted to be.
I think that's why I enjoy getting up early in the mornings. I enjoy not having to rush and being able to sit and enjoy the fact that I am alone.
THIS is what I am eating right at this very second:
Can you believe it?
It contains a premium blend of
soy nuts
cranberries
almonds
pumpkin kernels
NO SUGAR!!!
I almost feel like a vegetarian, but I have discovered that I have a problem. If I have a snack sitting at my desk at work then I will eat it. I tried not to have food at my desk and not go downstairs to the kitchen, except that around 10:00 I get really really hungry. I bought this bag of "Natural Goodness" because my mom (the health guru) had some when I went home.
It's actually not that bad because the cranberries add a little sweetness to it. It's like a surprise for the tongue!
I also have woken up early the past 2 mornings and worked out. This morning was hard, not because I was tired but because I was sore for the morning before. That's a good sign for me though, because it shows that I was actually doing something. This morning I ended up not doing the whole 20 minute workout because I ran out of time in order to get ready for work. I was okay with that though and didn't let myself feel like a failure because I did get my heart rate up and I worked out my arms and legs. 15 minutes is better than nothing at all.
I have been doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I read the reviews on it and everyone who was actually doing it for 30 days saw results. WhooHooo!! Hopefully I can keep it up.
They also had Joe Castillo, the sand artist, there. He was awesome!! I thought he tried to plug his stuff too much, BUT once he started doin' his thang, I forgot about the constant plugging.
