Random Quotes

"So if I turn into another, dig me out from under what is covering the better part of me!"  ~Incubus, Dig

Chet:  "Which post was it?"
Malori:  "The latest one... you know, where I was all happy and out of character!"

"He's being silly, because he knows we enjoy the silliness!"  -Chnandler Bong

"Don't use a semicolon there;  semicolons are so pretentious!"  ~Malori ;-)

"Lifetime's new slogan for their summer movies:  You can't handle the youth!"  -text from Malori :)

"TEXAS FREAKIN SERIOUSLY ROCKS MY FACE OFF!!!!! :-)"  ~Jenny's status after her move! lol

"And remember, as Smokey the Bear says, "only you can prevent ...poorly planned parties."  -Bart 

"The lessons that have been laid down in pain can be accessed only in pain. Christ must open the wound, not just bandage it over. Sometimes he'll take us there by having an event repeat itself years later, only with new characters in the current situation."  ~John Eldredge, Waking the Dead

Natalie:  "The bakeries in Paris were great!  I just ate whatever I wanted and didn't worry about it."

Malori:  "That's pretty much how I live my life... if I'm on US or foreign soil, I eat what I want!"

"And God, I just bless this food right now --- or actually, You should bless it because You're awesome." -Chet :)

"I have a tendency not only to see the best in everyone, but to assume that everyone is emotionally capable of reaching his highest potential. I have fallen in love more times than I care to count with the highest potential of a man, rather than with the man himself, and I have hung on to the relationship for a long time (sometimes far too long) waiting for the man to ascend to his own greatness. Many times in romance I have been a victim of my own optimism."

~Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat Pray Love

"If you are trying to answer small questions (how to I turn earth into heaven because there is no greater epic for me) then the Bible fails. But if you are trying to answer larger questions (all of this will someday go away, and life is short, so what is really important in light of this) then the Bible is a book for you."

~Donald Miller

"It’s okay for you to acknowledge on your blog or anywhere else that you’re upset about something. You’re not a flight attendant, you don’t have to smile if you don’t feel like it."  ~Malori

"I've thought about this a lot... this verse is obviously talking about things that last eternally... but when we get to heaven, why will we still need faith and hope??"
~Bob, on 1 Cor. 13:13  (interesting, and something I'd never thought through before.)

"Hey, you guys wanna play a fun game??  Who has business cards?  If you don't, a napkin will do..." 

~Bobbi

Morgan:  "Rachel doesn't wanna be told she looks like me, bc people also tell me I look like my mom, so she doesn't appreciate the idea that she looks like mom too..."

Amanda:  "Well, thank you, Transitive Property!"

Jay:  "Could someone read that part for me?  My Bible died."  (using his YouVersion app)

"The truth about me is NOT what I think or feel. The truth about me is not what others think, say or do. The truth about me is always what GOD says!"  (Part of the "Truths" email from Bobbi -- love it!)

Thankful Thursday (2)

I am thankful for...

1. Rachael and Josh (and Carter and Triston) coming to visit me this past weekend!!  And Triston deciding he wants to move to my house. lol :)

2. Having a fun, relaxing girls night at Utica Starbucks, and skipping the Caravan Saturday night... I'm hoping this becomes our new tradition.
3. Bill offering to give his kitchen table to my sister for her new house... awesome!  (Pic = his going away breakfast at Blue Dome Diner)

4. Malori... for allowing and encouraging me to be myself!! :)  And for sending me hilarious emails where she refers to me as "the running expert." lol

5. The variety and balance of foods allowed on Weight Watchers. :)
6. My running girls, Bobbi and Natalie (and sometimes Krista and Angie and Liz)... so great having people to run with and talk to outside!

7. This cooler weather finally coming in... bring on Fall!!

8. VersaSpa Spay Tans! lol
9. My perfect-shade-of-pink nail polish. :)
10. God's comfort and wisdom when I'm feeling rejected/upsest.
11. My GAP Anorak (hoodie rain jacket) from 2000... still going strong ten years later. :)
12. Reba re-runs... so great on days that I have to treadmill.  One of few clean and funny TV shows... and really, who doesn't love Reba and her awesome fiery redhead attitude!?

13. Joining an awesome new in-depth Bible study group (with Jay and Krista), and being given a One Year Bible in the New Living Translation (my personal favorite)... awesomeness!!  Must be God trying to help me out with my bucket list. :)

14. Getting to go home this weekend...  I'm really looking forward to that! :)
15. My music!!!  Specifically, I'm thankful for my IPOD connecting up to my car and playing my 1000+ fav songs in random order.. I love that so much!! =D

Thankful Thursday - #1

So every Thursday, I'm going to post the Top 15 things I'm thankful for that week -- major, minor, or totally random. I'll try not to be repetitive or too vague and general. So it'll be a mini life update and a good way to remind me to be thankful! (I got the idea from a friend's blog, and I love it!) 

So today, I am thankful for....

1. A pleasantly surprising weigh-in on my last day of training with Adam at FT yesterday (technically this is 2 things, as I was also thankful to be done)! =)  Pic = Me and Chet sporting our "Build Your Best You" FT bracelets... after eating our OSBC cookies and breakfast bagels, of course! lol

2. Getting to see and hang out with my BFF, Malori, on a random Tuesday night!!  Dinner at Los Cabos then Starbucks w/Malori, Natalie (back from Paris - hooray), and Chet Lee... then watching Malori work on Chet's resume... then staying up late talking... good times!

3. Officially started training for the Half, and I'm feeling really strong and determined to beat my last year's time!!  ...and yes, I took this pic when I'd eaten around the edges, just bc when I looked down and saw it, it made me laugh.  Ahh, chocolate inspiration!  :)

4. Days like this when I'm free to leave work at 3:00, and they call to make sure I'll be available to cover a hearing tomorrow! ;-) Honestly, I'm becoming much more thankful for all the great things about my job lately, and determined not to complain about it!
5. Pastor Craig's Toxic sermon series, which has been challenging and convicting!
6. The Old School Bagel Cafe Saturday Breakfast Club! :)

7. JOYCE MEYER -- the woman is so inspiring!! Specifically, I'm thankful for her teaching on Living Without Frustration and The Power of Words. And for her Look Great Feel Great book, which I've finally started reading!

8. Seeing the new things God is doing in my sister's life and how she's being open to it, and actually feeling like I'm talking to a lifegroup friend in our emails lately... very awesome!!  (And yes, this pic is super random and doesn't really go with anything I said, but it's one of few I had of Rach on this work computer from last year's Halloween Party, and I kinda love it! lol)

9. Hanging out and getting to know Liz better this week!
10. How drastically my mentality has shifted from last Thursday to now... in a good way. I feel like I've been re-filled with hope and joy... yay, God!!
11. Laura inviting me several times, and finally getting to hang out with the "Domino Divas" at Michelle's house... even though I had a record-breaking loss. lol  (Pic = Laura and I at Olive Garden.)

12. The people who 'get' me and make me laugh!! =)
13. Fall... but to be super specific, Brach's Autumn Mix... aka the candy corns and the little pumpkins! YUM. =)

14. The preview of the Army Wives season finale this weekend... it's gonna be huge! lol
15. This verse (and the promise that God is just): "Love the Lord, all you faithful ones! For the Lord protects those who are loyal to him, but He harshly punishes all who are arrogant." ~Psalm 31:23

"I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart!"

One more quick blog for today.....  I've heard one sermon on JOY lately, then several on the mouth and the power of words.  God says "the power of life and death is in the tongue," and we will all "eat the fruit" of our words, aka we reap what we sow.  What we dwell on and say will determine our level of hope and the direction of our lives, and I know that to be true.

To live this out is so challenging, but I'm praying for God's conviction here, to seriously get rid of bitterness, anger, harsh words, and slander -- toward myself or others or God.  To purposely think on the goodness of God and speak words of life and be radiant with joy and hope... so that what I say will comfort, strengthen, and encourage others!!

"Let the WORDS OF MY MOUTH and the MEDITATION OF MY HEART be acceptable in Your sight, Oh Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer."  ~Psalm 19:14

"For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that causes me shame, but that I will always be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past, and that my life will ALWAYS HONOR CHRIST, whether I live or I die."  ~Philippians 1:20

Quotables

I love to think back on these little things, so I'm gonna do these quotes posts fairly often.

"Always use protection when picking your friends!" -Chet Lee :)

"And I just thought, ugh, lying is a sin, man... 'I love it!  I'm catching on and learning a lot...'"  -Chet (talking about sitting by the boss at his company cookout)

"I believe there exists a man who will be captivated by my personality and zest for life. I also believe in unicorns, so make of that what you will."  -Malo-riah

"Gonorrhea is no joke, I’ll not take that bullet for any man."  -Malori :)

"Wow, sorry I sound so hateful!" -Sarah H.
"That's okay... Lindsey was hateful yesterday, and I've been hateful all week, so don't worry about it!" -Chet

"Guess who just ran a mile without stopping?  Spoiler alert - it was me!"  -text from Malori

"We still on for LaFortune at 7?" -Me
"Unless you'd rather go get a pedicure now. :)"  -Bobbi lol

"I've had a hankering for some PeiWei." -Jeff

"Thoroughly enjoying Mariah Coltharp's blog thanks to your link. I'm guessing you know her through Malori?"  -Laura

"No, honestly, I can't be seen here!!" -Jeff

"What was up with Wille counting my cookies!?  So I had a six-pack; now I don't.  Get over it!"  -Chet :)

The rest of these are from Eat Pray Love (the book)...
"Meanwhile, the object of your adoration has now become repulsed by you.  He looks at you like you're someone he's never met before, much less someone he once loved with high passion.  The irony is, you can hardly blame him.  I mean, check yourself out.  You're a pathetic mess, unrecognizable even to your own eyes."

"I'm here.  I love you.  I don't care if you need to stay up crying all night long.  I will stay with you...I am stronger than Depresssion and I am braver than Loneliness and nothing will ever exhaust me." (what God said to her)

"I'm trying to disregard the girl in me who would happily drop this whole grand idea of traveling around the world in simple exchange for the keys to David's apartment."

"It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection.  So now I have started living my own life.  Imperfect and clumsy as it may look, it is resembling me now, thoroughly."

"Our whole business therefore in this life is to restore to health the eye of the heart whereby God may be seen."  (-Saint Augustine)

"Remember - everything you do, you do for God.  And everything God does, He do for you."

"Look for God.  Look for God like a man with his head on fire looks for water!"

"The day is ending.  It's time for something that was beautiful to turn into something else that is beautiful... Let go, and watch the stars come out - on the outside and on the inside."

"Imagine that the universe is a great spinning engine.  You want to stay near the core of the thing - right in the hub of the wheel - not out at the edges where all the wild whirling takes place, where you can get frayed and crazy.  The hub of calmness - that's your heart.  That's where God lives within you.  So stop looking for answers in the world.   Just keep coming back to that center and you'll always find peace."

Race Day!!

Not a whole lot to say... pretty tired and just relaxing the rest of today, and waiting on Chet Lee, who is super awesome and bringing us lunch! :)

Malori and I ran (well, jog/walked) the Route 66 Quarter Marathon this morning!  Go us!!  The race was 6.55 miles, but I'm gonna go ahead and call it 7, with the walk to and from the car. :)  We ran by one band playing Chariots of Fire, and one playing We Will, We Will Rock You... both fun!  My personal favorite, of course, was the Hey, Mickey, You're so Fine song. ;)  Music helps so much - I gotta bring my ipod for the Half!  Anyway, it was overcast and rained for a bit, which was awesome.  I'd been so worried about the heat being terrible.  I'm happy it's over, and I'm ready to get SERIOUS about training for the Half this November! 

Last night, we saw The Other Guys - pretty funny, but typical Will Ferrell going a little too far.  Then we met up with Chet, Sarah, and Morgan and had dinner at Fish Daddy's, which was a lot of fun! 

Malori said she'd be too sweaty after our race to join Chet and crew for a fun breakfast at the Old School Bagel Cafe...

Chet: "Just bring another shirt to change into."

Malori:  "But what about the rest of me!?" :)

Okay, back to resting now.

She Walks in Beauty

"She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!"

~Lord Byron

Love this, especially those first four lines. ❤

Quotables!

"Guess that'll teach me not to make fun of Justin Bieber." 
-Malori Riah (after choking pretty hard while mocking the Bieber craze)

"Wow... youuuu could be a sex offender right now!" 
-Chet (after Jeff's ocean story)

"Yes, and after you're done praising Him, PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!" 
-Laura (an admiring fan)

"WHAT is the Commissioner doing wrong!?  I mean, he's a good looking guy, the Commissioner of a Fantasy Football League..."
-Bill after hearing about the breakup! lol

"Who knows, you may have a crazy psycho killer living in your house right now, she just hasn’t been put in a stressful situation yet. Make the responsible choice and ensure that the psycho killer is appropriately compensated at your death." 
-Malori recapping the lecture she'd heard

"I'm optimistic!  I just don't wanna say I'm coming until I'm sure, because I don't like when people commit then back out, you know, like to races..." 
-Jeff, on our NYC trip :)

"You know, poor people's solution to being poor seems to be to keep having more kids!" 
-Nater-tot, when I asked how their Micromission went!

"I am ready for NYC and Christmas and Mariah Carey’s Christmas CD!!!" -Chet :)

"He flashes back to scene that is illegal fun for the whole family: the time when Mary asked Matt for make-out tips and begged him to kiss her. They would have kissed, too, if RevCam hadn't come outside to take out the trash and interrupted them. The Guitar of Flowers in the Attic plays us back to the present as Annie brings RevCam out of his flashback mode by saying she knows he's thinking about the time when Matt and Mary almost made out. For her to be so on point with that guess, I'm thinking that she catches RevCam thinking about that a lot. Me, I would have found a way to block that out of my mind by now. But the Camdens like to cherish these precious incest moments. "Maybe that's where she took a left turn," RevCam muses; "I always thought it was trashing the gym, but you know, her troubles are really more about the opposite sex." Yes, well, when that member of the opposite sex is your brother, then I can see how you'd turn out a little weird." 
-Sarah M's thoughts on the ridiculousness that is 7th Heaven... always hilarious (televisionwithoutpity.com)

One more, just for fun...
"Annie goes back upstairs to wait for her pancakes. She should really stay down there and monitor RevCam and the twins' progress. Who knows what could result from the unsupervised combination of a man who can't see red socks and boys who eat ice cream sandwich wrappers. For example, RevCam could start singing "Love is Sweeping the Country," written by George and Ira Gershwin, out of nowhere as he gathers pancake-making supplies. In related news, people in China were surprised to find the corpses of George and Ira Gershwin suddenly in their country, after both bodies spun in their graves at such speed that they actually drilled themselves through the center of the Earth. SamVid join in on the musical merriment, singing about "all the sexes from Maine to Texas," and I want to die. Suddenly, we're in Lucy and Kevin's room, where he sing-talks one line. Then we go back to the kitchen for a while, then to Annie, who sits on her bed and sings a line. And then we cut to Ruthie, who, in the space of two minutes, has gotten to school. She has also become an old French woman, based on her breathy delivery of her lines that sound like they're in French instead of English. So that was weird. And then we're back in the kitchen, where RevCam stirs pancake batter and finishes the song. Right as we're fading to the theme song, we see him lift up a bottle of a dark-colored liquid to pour it into the pancake batter. I hope that's poison."
(televisionwithoutpity again)

"Next time you pick a hobby and get everyone to join in, please try to pick something more fun!" 
-Malori, after a tough run! lol

"No cockroaches here!"
-Jeff reassuring me when I got to his house - lol

"I <3 (HEART) FENCE!!!!!!!!! :-) Tell your dad happy birthday! What kind of cake is he getting???" 
-a short email from Chet Lee :)

"Who is Mariah Coltharp??"
-text from Rach

"I got us a new fish. He's a lot feistier than the last one!"
-Eddie, Friends :)

"I did not have a thing for him!  I was very much in love, and there is a difference!  ....there is a difference." 
-Heather, (Romy & Michelle)  Love it!

"You??  You're getting a new car?  (faking shock)  Ahh, yours finally ran out of gas, huh?" 
-Bill Lemieux to Dad :)

"How can they expect her to compete without her eyelashes?"
-Malori with all the mockery :)

"Don't you worry your pretty striped head, we're gonna get you back to Tyson and your cozy tiger bed.  Then we're gonna find our best friend, Doug, and then we're gonna give him a best friend hug!" 
-The Hangover, Tiger Song

"You were just thinking fresh start, weren't you?  Yeah, I could see it."
-Will Ferrell, The Other Guys

"I wonder: what does Malori think of Jeff Moss?"
-Jeff Moss :)

"Do you mind if I take a couple cents from the tip jar?  I really don't wanna break my quarter!"
-Sarah H. :)

"I don't have a phlegmatic bone in my body."
-Sarah H. lol

"I've always felt destined for greatness....thus far, it's been a total bust."
-my cousin Kristin lol

"I dislike being alone, but don't like many people enough to want to be around them."
-Kristin again :)