Pictures & Songs

Carter, Rach, and Triston at Red Robin lunch on Sunday!  

...I had to post this one on its own, because we were surprised to see him making the loser hand symbol, then Rach said, "So what was the L hand sign about?" 

...and Triston said, "It was an 'L' for Eliana!"  (the girl he's decided he's going to marry) 

Haha, won't she be flattered!? lol

A few more fun pics of the nephews.  Carter and Michael were playing a game to see how long he could keep his fork in that position, and apparently, Triston is practicing his "Chet pose" with the thumbs up! ;-)  And Bubby Jace is wearing his M&M outfit, which I love!

P.S.  I'm in an Elton John mood at the moment, so enjoy...

I could listen to this song all day today.  It perfectly fits my mood.

This was linked at the end of another song, and I must say, I love Robert Downey, Jr. to a degree that's a little strange (I've realized he's basically the adult version of Rory's Jess, whom I also love) -- anyway, good song and video!


Love this song, and somehow, it makes me happy in all its talk of sadness.


And I had to throw in this song, as it contains my favorite line ever:  "More than ever, I simply love you more than I love life itself."  ❤

End of random post.  Happy Monday.  Hooray for class tonight! =)

Memory Monday ~ Car Wreck

So this past Friday, I had a car wreck. :( 

Allow me to recap...
I went to see Brave (fantastic - I <3 Disney/Pixar!), and was on my way back home around 5:30, ready to hang out with Laura.  I was in the middle lane on a 3-lane highway (southbound on 169, between 81st and 91st).  A black SUV in the fast lane swerved into my lane to avoid rear-ending the car in front of them.  Somehow, they got out of control, because I watched the SUV swerve back in front of that car (making a quick 'U' around that car, tires squealing the whole time) then she swerved back again just before she hit the center median.  By then, I'd already been braking, and every car in that area was swerving and trying to get out of the way.  She came through my lane going perpendicular to the rest of the traffic.  *Crash!!*  Somehow, in the spinning mess, we both ended up in the grass off the side of the road.  (Thank God for that, in the middle of that 5 o'clock traffic mess!)  

I do remember worrying that I was going to plummet down the steep grassy hill, but my car stopped pretty quickly.  Then I threw it into park, vaguely realizing that my airbags had deployed.  My door was messed up and would barely open, but I crawled out as quickly as I could.  My purse and phone were in the floorboard, and the passenger door was messed up too, so I used the other lady's phone to call Mom, and thankfully, she answered and was immediately on her way! :)

A policeman was close behind us, so he was already there when I got out -- I asked a random guy who stopped because he saw the wreck, "Did I black out or something?  How are the police here already!??"  But no, no blackout.  Anyway, the only pain I felt was where the seatbelt had caught me, but based on all I know of car wrecks from my work life, I decided to go to the hospital and get checked out just in case.  We were about 5 minutes from Southcrest Hospital, but it took the ambulance 45 minutes to get there... and while we waited on them, the paramedics had me remain seated and took my blood pressure at least four times. lol  I was sad I hadn't shaved my legs as they were putting the sticky heart monitor things on my calves.  Finally, the ambulance got there and I had my first ambulance ride.  They did the questions to check for a concussion ("Who's the president?  What month is this? What city are we in?" etc.).  They told me my heartbeat was irregular (the term "PBC" was used?) and high, but other than that, things seemed normal. They were really nice, and I even got a pic at the end as they were pulling me down to go into the hospital. lol

I waited a while in the ER, then finally went back and got neck and chest X-rays.  *Funny side-story: they had me do a urine sample before the X-rays, and the X-ray nurse secretively told me, "Okay, we've gotten your results back, and you are officially not pregnant.  You probably assumed that, but it's always good to be sure."  Whew, well, there's a load off my mind! lol  Never occurred to me that that was the reason for the test.  They must just assume there are no 28-year-old virgins left in the world.

Annnnyway, Mom got there soon enough, and that was comforting!  The X-ray process was interesting.  I had to keep my mouth open really wide on one bc that's the best way to view the top vertebrae in the neck. lol  All of my X-rays came back normal, so that was happy news!!  Right before we left the hospital, the nurse took my blood pressure one last time.  It had been normal the other 10+ times they took it that afternoon, but that time, it was 160/97, which was high on both numbers.  What on earth?  I felt much calmer then, so clearly, I have no idea how blood pressure actually works.  Over the weekend, I was not as sore as I expected to be... taking Advil a couple times has been enough to keep any pain I'm feeling in check.  Anyway, here's my hospital glamour shot pic - that's mainly a big bruise now.  Sadness.

But I'm doing well!  (The other people involved were not hurt much either.)  My pretty car, however, may be totaled (lots of front end damage, some right side damage, both doors messed up, and the airbags deployed - sadness).  So it'll be a process to figure all of that out and rent a car for a while, then possibly buy a new one.  

But all in all, there is *much* to be thankful for!!

Thankful Thursday!! (52)

Hooray for the official return of Thankful Thursday! :)

"Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, REJOICE in the Lord."  ~Philippians 3:1

Today, I'm thankful for...

1.  Last night's Diving Deeper LG - for the relationships, the fun moments, the great Biblical discussion, and the memory of standing in a circle holding hands and praying for each other - love it!
2.  Positive health reports and thorough doctors (for me and 3 others this week)!
3.  That God sees me and loves me and remembers me and hears me and includes me and stands beside me - always.

4.  People who are genuinely hilarious and fun without resorting to anything crude or harsh! :)
5.  Learning more about Grandad and what life was like for him growing up - and very thankful that he's in good physical and mental health to be able to remember and tell these stories at 82!
6.  Movies, and the whole theater experience - excited to see Brave this weekend! :)  (Also, excited for the At the Movies series coming up!)

7.  For Jesus showing me that "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" does not mean 'treat others exactly the specific way you would like to be treated,' but to take into account their situation, background, personality, and needs... then do as much as possible to be considerate and kind and loving and honest in the way that best fits them individually!  (Easier said than done, but it's a new way of looking at that verse for me, and it's good!)
8.  Fun times with the nephews!  And Carter asking me, "Why are you always glad?" =) lol  I'm happy that's what he thinks anyway!

9.  Reminders of what really matters most.
10.  New beginnings and the clean, shame-free slate that's always available in Christ!

GIGATT!
Song of the Week = I Won't Let Go by Rascall Flatts
The lyrics to this one always get me.

Cuteness

Because we could all use a little more cuteness in our lives... :)

Happy Boo!

 Boo surrounded by Boo dolls. lol  Love it!!

Boo under a cover.  I love Boo!  He was in SF this past week while Malori was, but she failed to get a picture with him. lol

Bubby Jace, who is laughing and smiling a lot now! =)

T-man... preciousness!

And Carter - always funny! 

Hope it's a happy Father's Day tomorrow for everyone.  GIGATT!

Photo Friday ~ e-Cards

Just for fun... so many of these crack me up, but I had to stick to the ones without profanity for the blog. :)

Fun with Dentist Neil

So... I had to get my crown redone again this afternoon.  :(  Not a fun process, and I'm really hoping this one will be permanent.  It does help, though, to have a fun dentist!  ...and the nitrous laughing gas helps a lot, too. Well, it makes everything seem that much funnier, but it's actually not good to get cracked up when there's a running drill in your mouth! lol

Top 3 memorable comments from today:

1.  Adele's song Someone Like You was on in the background as he was drilling.  He stopped for a second and got all serious and said, "Do you ever just sit down and listen to this song and have a good cry?"

He was remembering an SNL skit, apparently, but wow, so funny!

2.  During a discussion about movies, his assistant, Amanda, said she wants to see Magic Mike.  

"I'll bet you do!" -Neil

"Oh, I just think Channing Tatum is hilarious." -Amanda

"Oh yeah, his shirtless abs always crack me up..." -Neil

"No, I don't really care about that.  He does have really good teeth, though." -Amanda

(pause as Neil laughs for a minute)

"Yeah, you know who else has really great 'teeth' is that Brooklyn Decker!" -Neil lolol

3.  I let him know by flinching that the Novocaine was wearing off a little after he'd given me a "really strong dose."  Right as he started to inject a bit more, he says,

"Wow, you must just have the fastest metabolism of anyone that comes in here!"

After I recovered from laughing, I said (in Dwight Schrute mode):  "False!!"

Words of Wisdom

"Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior.  This kind of talk spreads like cancer..."

~II Timothy 2:16,17

"Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for it is better to be alone than in bad company." ~George Washington

"The more I live and study, the more convinced I am that the greatest and most important human relationship I will ever have will be with myself." ~Rachel T.

Life Expectancy

Just wanted to recommend this:  www.livingto100.com.  (Click "Take the Calculator.")  In class last night (Adulthood & Aging), we all took the life expectancy test -- really interesting.  

Obviously, no one but God can accurately predict my date of death, but this goes by common risk factors and tells you what you can improve on.  For me, it was no shock that losing weight is the #1 thing I can do to add years and quality to my life.  Other things that will lengthen my life expectancy:  5-6 days a week of exercise, decreasing my emotional stress level, cutting fast foods out, more time with close friends and family, and (this one cracked me up) flossing daily! :)

Anyway, I think it's interesting, and recommend it.  My life expectancy as of today is 82 (honestly, I'm okay with not adding 15+ years on to that, but I do want to live with good quality of life, so some things need to change).  I've programmed it into the blog to take it again a year from now to see how the #s have changed. :)

We also each listed 3-5 things we are looking forward to about aging/getting older, and 3-5 things we do not look forward to.  Again, interesting to hear people's thoughts on that.  And to think through what really matters most to me in the end (hint: not retirement or my physical appearance).  What would be so fantastic, though, is if Jesus would come back before any of those things become a real issue. :)  

GIGATT.  

"Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered... An entire lifetime is just a moment to You; human existence is but a breath." ~Psalm 39:4-5

I <3 this song.