Weekend Update!

I finally got to meet baby Theo this week - I love holding babies when they're so new and so peacefully asleep and precious! lol  I was scheduled to take Neil and Amber a meal on Monday, but decided to use DoorDash so that I wouldn't miss the first day of my 15/30 group... so I was happy to get to see him when Kristin invited me to a girls night on Thursday!

Audrey and Amber admiring Theodore George!

Audrey, Amber, April, Theo, Kristin, and me! =)  

I came home on Friday night and met Kristin for dinner at Olive Garden.  We had a great talk, and I'm proud of myself for staying in my calorie range there - yay for soup, salad, and breadsticks! lol  (My usual ziti is over 1,000 calories all by itself - yikes!  It's always eye-opening when you start paying attention on this stuff.)

Saturday, Mom and I ran a few errands, and we met Josh and Jace on the road. lol  (Josh and Rach have been doing special one-on-one stuff with each of the kids more lately, and everything about that makes me happy!)

Mamaw helping J Michael and the Miss with their magical painting book!  I had to try it myself because it looked pretty fun! =)  They did this + hoverboarding + fort time whilst me and Dad and Josh and Rach went to Jayme's wedding (where the kids weren't invited, and Mom, of course, was happy to watch them).

The wedding was at "The Stone Barn at Blueberry Hill," which immediately made me think of Richie Cunningham singing "I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill!" lol  Parking was super limited, and I didn't realize it would be an outdoor wedding, so you can imagine how excited I was about that surprise and all the bees and flies buzzing around. The weather was actually pretty nice, though, and it made me laugh to see Kristin and Tracy coming down to feed this goat when we first arrived. lol

(The enchilada dinner was also outside, but we skipped that part and went home to hang out with Mom and J&K.)

I like the guest book Bible idea, but it did make the line move much slower.  A lot of things about this reminded me of Michael and Baylee's wedding.

Me, Dad, Rach, and Joshua!  I was definitely happy to be sitting with them during the prayer ministry portion.  I'm glad I know Rach well enough to read her facial expressions, and I found myself wishing I could hear her exact inner thoughts that night. lol

Jayme and Gene coming down the aisle.  (Shhh, I broke their no cell phones rule taking this pic, but whatevs.  Mom wanted to see lots of pics, so I was happy to oblige!  I also took it after she passed me bc I'm happy to not offend. lol)

Rach and Josh... I've ordered a dress that's kind of similar to this one, and I'm excited for it to arrive - I'm a fan! =)

Sistah pic!!

Al and Charlene!  He hates posing for pics, but obliged me when I said it was for Mom. lol

Dad and Uncle Gus! =)

I drove back to Tulsa after the wedding, then got up waaaay earlier than normal to attend the 8:30 service at Woodlake. Then met Tiffany and Steve and Sarah for the Tulsa Fair!

He picked the crown, so she went with the mustache. lol

Steve was super excited about watching the dog show, which turned out to be much more cuteness and fun than I'd expected!  Plus I'm never opposed to sitting down for a bit in the middle of a day full of walking. =)

Impressive! =)  (Both the dog and my camera-work capturing this moment. lolol)

The butter and/or cheese sculptures always make me laugh!  They're seriously impressive, but also beg the question, how does one get into this field and WHY?  The hair being string cheeses made me happy!! =)

Steve trying out the shake-plate thing. lol

I had cheese curds (always what I want most at the fair) and some nitro ice cream, and both were tasty and satisfying! =)  It makes me feel empowered and happy when I manage to stay in my calorie range on a weekend like this!  It's progress, not perfection, and yay for that!! 

And yay for a rest night and going to bed early!  G'night, friends!

The 15/30

Yesterday was day one of Fleet Feet's "No Boundaries" 5k training... I've done their programs at least twice in the past, so I knew a little of what to expect.

They've started a new group called 15/30 where they do that same interval the entire time... run for 15 seconds, walk for 30 seconds, run for 15, walk for 30.  The interval time will never increase, but the distance will.  Their website says this interval training is great for your heart and much easier on your body than running longer in the regular couch-to-5k program, so I decided to sign up!  I nearly talked myself out of it after listening to the info session and thinking I really might not be able to keep up - it's a brisk walk in between the runs - but they said I might as well try it and see how it goes, and that I could always change groups later if needed.  And I knew that they always circle back and won't just take off and leave anyone behind in the group runs, so that was comforting, even though I was hoping not to be dead last.

This = me, Brenda, Rita, Cristina, and Doug.  The 15/30 group from yesterday.  I got some new Hoka tennis shoes, and I'm liking the extra cushion!  The walk recovery between was fantastic, as was knowing that each run wouldn't last very long.  It didn't feel too fast, and aside from going down a street with a fire hydrant spewing water everywhere so that we had to run through a couple puddles, it was a great first day!

It was a little challenging for me toward the end, but I kept up with them, and I enjoyed it much more than I expected to.  It seems like it'll be a great fit for me in this season and up my endurance a bit!  The weather was nice, our coach talked to us a lot and kept my mind occupied, and it brought back lots of memories of the days of running those neighborhoods with Bobbi and Angie, or later with Natalie. =)

We just did a mile and a half last night, and they'll gradually increase the distance over the next few weeks.  I'm not really planning to do a race - I just wanted to get more outdoor exercise in, and I figured a group was a good way to do that safely.  I'm really happy I tried the intervals thing, and I'm thankful it went well. So huzzah! Try new things! Be strong and do the work! =)

I can run/walk with them every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday that I'm free, shooting for three interval workouts a week. Between that and TheoFit's short weight routine I can do at home, I'm all set. Get excited!

In other news, this made me smile on my FB Memories from three years back.  "Someday" has finally arrived. =)

This = my new Thanksgiving season chalkboard from Hobby Lobby.  I like that you can change it out every so often, and it's cute and a nice reminder to be grateful!

Well, that's all I've got at the moment, and I'm about to head into court for "Felony Tuesday" pleas.

"May you grow every day in the knowledge of God's love for you. May that knowledge bring you great healing. And through that healing, may you become all you were intended to be!" ❤

Lately

I decided to wait till Saturday to drive to OKC, thanks to the crazy rain on Friday.  Worked out well, as I got to meet the Wilsons for dinner at Texas Roadhouse before they left for Hawaii... fun times!  (Kyle and Sarah's wedding is this Wednesday, and the Wilsons, Mosses, and Myers all flew down to celebrate with them!)

We got a pic of Tate on the saddle, but he wasn't very amused by it. lol

Lunch with Elizabeth at Swadley's on Saturday! ...Great 4-hour talk about allll the things! =)  She's been super encouraging about my book, so that's helping me stick with it and push myself to write. ❤

Jaceman showing Dad his notebook. =)

The title page made me happy!!

J, looking at me with suspicion:  "I kinda feel like you're not the *real* Lindsey with your hair done like that!!" lolol

Flagpole climbing fun. lol

Miss K practicing her Little Mermaid pose! lol

Checking on a caterpillar. They make me happy! =)  Also, Dad's ankle tan line cracks me up!

Artsy pic of me almost touching the lowered basketball rim. lol

The Jaceman trying on his Homecoming clothes! =) 

(The lil' bow tie is from Mo's Bows, as seen on Shark Tank.)

Mom and I started a new project this weekend - typing several recipes out to create a cookbook for the DeBusk fam! 

This = a post-it note from Laura that made me laugh!  The sewage smell is back in our courtroom because Creek County prefers quickly masking things over actually doing what's necessary to fix the problem.  Anyway, it's off and on, and they keep thinking they have it fixed, then it comes back.  So Laura was wanting me to check and see if I still thought it was bad.  It was.  It's just lovely breathing that toxic air every day.  Grrrr.

Finally, a quick mini-rant on a growing pet peeve of mine:  There are a number of attorneys who come in to make copies and then pretend that they find our copy machine utterly bewildering and baffling, as if they were trying to put a car together piece by piece.  It immediately irritates me every time.  They'll talk about how they never understand these new-fangled machines and their secretary always does this stuff at their office.  Like, they passed the Bar Exam with flying colors, but putting paper into a very visible slot and pressing the clearly marked "copy" button is just more than their brain can possibly handle.  (They obviously think it's a task that's far beneath them and want the little women of the office to do it for them, then think I'm stupid enough to believe what they're saying, which is why it irks me so, particularly when multiple men join the conversation and all act baffled.  Insert all the eyeroll emojis.)  Not once have I ever heard a female attorney act that way.  

Anyway, two such attorneys came into my office the other day while Judge and Laura were still in court, having walked right past the copy machine to come see me.  I thought they were coming to order a transcript, then one of them said, "Judge told us we could come in here and get some copies."  I said, "Oh absolutely, our copy machine is just right over there by the door you guys came through."  Then I smiled super-politely and put my headphones back on. lol  #noregrets #notmyjob #nottheimpossibledream #dontinsultmyintelligence  They walked over together and looked at it for a minute as if it were a massive book written in a foreign language, quietly pondering the many complications and risks of taking out the single staple and putting the paper into this terrifying machine.  They whispered something to each other, likely something unkind about me, then they went downstairs to the Clerk's Office to have them make their copies.  At least the Clerk's Office will charge them for it.  I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt, then got really cracked up by the absurdity of the whole thing.  My gosh.  GET OUT ALREADY! lol

Mmkay that's all I have for today.  Hope you're having a lovely Monday! =)

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

"As long as people can change, the world can change!"
~Mr. Kelson, Two Weeks Notice

“Changing ourselves and our habits is the most powerful tool we have to change the world... The most dangerous thing we can believe is that we do not have an impact. For better or for worse, we are all changing the world.”

~Allison Fallon

Well, I had a mini-revelation while Sarah and I were talking about Grey's Anatomy last week...

She mentioned liking Meredith better now than she used to, and I said something like: 

"Yeah, I really like who Meredith becomes... I mean, I like the new gutsy, resilient version of Meredith!  I didn't like her much in the beginning seasons when she was this needy, whiny, 'Pick me - choose me' emotional basket case.  She was all "dark and twisty" and borderline suicidal, and constantly making bad decisions with men, always looking to Cristina for advice and strength.  She's just super annoying in the beginning.  But then Cristina moves and Derek dies, and she makes it through the plane crash and all the other loss and drama Shonda Rhimes can think of to put her through, and now she's bolder and stronger and more encouraging.  But I guess going through all of that is what made her become this fierce, confident, much more likable person!"

Sarah wholeheartedly agreed, and we talked about that for a bit.  And yes, it's silly and absurd that we talk about them like they're real people.  Whatever. lol

My point is -- (and you probably caught this already) -- I realized somewhere in the middle of that little speech that I was actually talking about myself.  And it just made me incredibly happy!  

People are far more capable of change than I once believed, and thank God for that. ❤

My 2018 self is much healthier and happier, more stable and confident than my 2013 self (or 2011 Lindsey or the hot mess that was 2007 Lindsey).  People change A LOT over the course of a decade, for better or for worse.  And when you go through circumstances that feel like they are "for the worse," if often changes YOU for the better.  I genuinely like myself and love who I've become now -- I lost the guy I thought I would marry and the friend I thought would be with me forever, and I discovered that life goes on, and I've found my identity and security and strength in Christ.  And He has worked all these things together to make me more resilient and strong, less emotional and needy and whiny, more encouraging, less dark and twisty and depressed.

In one episode, Maggie tells Meredith she didn't want to bother her with her personal problems because Meredith had already been through so much herself.  And Meredith responds, "Well, you should always come talk to me.  Because whatever it is, chances are, I've seen worse.  And I am qualified to tell you how you'll survive."

And I loved that.

I know right now there are lots of good Christian girls out there who genuinely think that being over 30 and single is the very worst thing that could happen to them.  There are sweet girls who have fallen in love with their best guy friend and completely lost sight of their own value apart from him.  Some who have been manipulative in their efforts to find love, who feel confused and broken and disgusted with themselves, but stuck in a pattern they don't know how to break.  There are some who find themselves suddenly cut off from the man they loved and shunned by all his friends, certain they can't make it through a full month without him, and wondering if they will ever recover.  There are those going through painful family stuff, dealing with addiction issues or medical diagnoses or painful comments or caretaker exhaustion.  And there are those facing the unexpected loss of a treasured best friendship that leaves them feeling less than whole.  

For those who have lost sight of their personal God-given value, who are searching for security and feeling desperate for hope and joy, I want to be a voice of encouragement and hope!!  As someone who has walked that road and come out alive, I can assure them that God really is faithful and His promises are true.  He really does give beauty for ashes, so we can hold on to hope and trust Him to change and transform us!! ❤

P.S.  On that note, I've for reals been working on writing my book... finally.  I have a strong outline for it and over 50,000 words written... with lots of writing, editing, and reworking still to come.  But I'm feeling really excited about it, like it's finally God's timing for this thing to happen. #getexcited =)

Thankful Thursday (87)

"LET THEM PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS GREAT LOVE
AND FOR ALL HIS WONDERFUL DEEDS TO THEM."

~Psalm 107:15, 21, and 31

Today, I am thankful for:

1. Otezla!!  It's been a frustrating hassle lately waiting on them to figure out the insurance stuff and make it affordable, but I saw this picture in Google Photos and felt really thankful that my hands haven't been in pain or looked that bad since I started taking those pills over a year ago! #grateful

2.  My cousin Amber and her husband David studied the Biblical translation process in seminary, so I messaged them after having a mini-freak-out over a post claiming that YouVersion and several modern translations have begun to remove certain Bible verses and alter the content of God's Word.  That is massively important and something I would fight hard to see corrected, and it was so disturbing to me when I compared translations and saw certain verses "missing" on the Bible app.  They wrote back and explained the translation process in great detail, clarifying that those verses were actually not found in the oldest ancient manuscripts but that it does not change the overall content of the Bible, that the scholars working on this are very attentive to detail and have no desire to dilute the Word of God or deny the diety of Christ, and that we can be confident we are holding the true Word of God.  I felt very relieved to hear that, and I'm sorry that I posted anything on FB before I was truly certain about the problem, as the last thing I would ever want to do is cause someone to question or doubt the authority of God's Word. #postdeleted ("Let emotions subside and then decide!!")

3.  For these precious old-school pics of T&C - so much cuteness!  #throwbackthursday  (Apparently, T's hair looked like food to that bird. lol)  I'm thankful for the gift of time... to be able to look back and remember how far you've come, to look forward in hope, and to enjoy the present season and soak up the little moments in life!!

4.  That I was able to get my SD card with all my steno notes form this year out of my court reporting machine... and that I took it apart and put it back together successfully without damaging anything or having to take it somewhere!  That was definitely a first last week -- who knew that the SD card could slide all the way through if it goes in at the wrong angle!?? lol

5.  This meme was cute and made me laugh! =)  I'm working on becoming healthier and stronger, but I'm also really thankful that this has been true for me in my high school and adult years -- that I'm willing to put on a swimsuit and go out to the pool with friends, and I can have fun without feeling painful insecurity or self-disgust or worry about other people's judgments -- basically, I'm grateful for the relaxed confidence I feel there, and grateful that I have never been teased or belittled by my classmates, friends, or immediate family over weight issues!! ❤

6.  I'm thankful for Sarah's friendship! #INFJ-ENFPsoulmates ...and for Walgreens Photo gifts (where I ordered this journal as a little gift for her and Steve's 2-year anniversary)! =)

7.  My precious Mini Miss K, making friends and having fun at CHA!  =)  She actually requested to go to all-day Pre-K instead of leaving at noon, so they've started that now... I would've totally thought Jace would be the one to have wanted that, but not so much.  This pic = Dylan, Kyndal, and Brynlee -- the three of them are great friends, and so adorable! #trendynames #y-n-l-spellings  
Fun Fact:  Dylan is the daughter of Heather, who was in my class of 2002 at CHA, and she will be walking in Homecoming with the Jaceman on October 5th. =)

And that's it, that's everything! =)

Weekend Update!

Happy Monday, gang!! ❤

I had a fun weekend here hanging out with friends!  I got to spend more time with Sarah than I have in a while, and that was really nice!  We had a low-key movie night at their apartment on Friday, chatting about CRNA school and life decisions, then watching a movie and eating popcorn and apples with caramel dip - yay! =)

Saturday, I slept in (of course) then met the Fosters & Co. for Bixby's Escape Hatch!  When you come in, there's no one there and you're supposed to solve a puzzle within 5 minutes to get through the next door (see pic below)... we struggled on that one and didn't figure it out in time. lol  We did the N. Cheney Lane Heist Room, (which is named after my friend Elizabeth and her husband - yay), and we worked together and got out with 15 minutes to spare!  Huzzah!!

They had a rule about not taking pictures in the room, and Audrey said, "That rule's for you, Lindsey!" lol #truth  But the girl working there said I could take a pic with the fun gold bar when we were done, so I sure did. lol  I opened the big safe where this gold and lots of other clues were found, and that was pretty much my only contribution to our team.  That was one of their two hardest rooms, and it was mostly confusing times for me, but different people figured out different portions of it, and we made it out and had lots of fun!  I recommend it!!

The max capacity is supposed to be 6 people, but at the last minute, we had 7 people instead of 6.  They didn't make a big deal of it and let us all go in together, so I was thankful for that, and glad they offered to take a group pic for us!!  Also, I'm thankful that now I have an "E" completed for my alphabet challenge.  ;-)  The only letters I have left are K, Q, and Y -- so feel free to throw out any good ideas you have for new things starting with those letters!

After the Escape Hatch, I met Sarah and we went shopping for fall decor at Hobby Lobby.  It's one of very few stores where I actually enjoy shopping - or more accurately, enjoy looking around!  There's so many cute things, but my house already feels done to me, and I don't often feel tempted to buy new stuff.  All the fall and Thanksgiving stuff was adorable, and seeing the Christmas decor made me super happy!  I'm decorating this year and already excited about it!!  #rightaroundthecorner

After that, we met Tiffany and went to the zoo for the Saint Francis "Pink Party" (for their employees and their families).  Steve was gone to his National Guard Drill for the weekend, so Sarah said we could be her "sisters" for the day. =)  She was supposed to bring her employee ID badge but forgot it, so we spent a fair bit of time searching Facebook and Google Photos trying to find pictures of her wearing it, then they ended up not checking for that at all. lol

It was crazy hot outside, so we were all sweating and quickly decided we cared more about the free food than seeing all the animals. lol  Sarah saw this building and said, "YES, let's go in!  It says Life in the COOOLD!"

I found Nemo. =) 

They had hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, ice cream bars, popcorn, and cotton candy.  I stayed in my calories and sampled a bit of lots of things, so yay for that!  Here we are at our fun gold glitter table.

We went back to Sarah's and watched Grey's Anatomy and Oceans 8 after the zoo dinner!  =)

Sunday was Woodlake Church - they're getting weirdly crowded lately, so I'm gonna have to switch services or get there 15 minutes early.  They've just started a sermon series based on The Greatest Showman with the worship team singing those songs ...it was a well done stage production, and I obviously adore that movie, but it really didn't feel like Christ-centered church to me, and I can't figure out whether that's me being too legalistic or the church trying way too hard to be worldly.  Or probably a bit of both.  Sooo many thoughts, and it all makes me wish I lived closer to Matt Chandler's church, but I won't even bother with all that here since this is more of a photo-centric post anyway.  ...I did leave church with confetti sprinkled all through my hair and some on my glasses, so that was different. lol

After church, I took a lovely afternoon nap, then met Tiffany at Starworld to see Unbroken: Path to Redemption. Another true story that makes me love and thank God for Billy Graham!  (...And another Christian movie with good intentions that makes it look like every problem you've ever had in life will instantly vanish the very moment you get saved - all sunshine and rainbows and smiles from there.  It's one of my main pet peeves with Christian movies, but I'm certain the heart behind it was good.)  At the very end, they showed several clips of the real people, including a video of Louis Zamperini speaking at a Billy Graham revival years after getting saved while listening to him preach.  They were friends throughout their lives, and I LOVE that!!

Anyway, that's all I've got for now.  Hope you had a great weekend!!