I AM SPARTA!

Today I ran the Spartan Race. It's a 3+ mile obstacle course, I think ours was 4.7 miles (or at least that's what I heard) and we had something like 12 obstacles that were both fun and exhausting. But I got to run with some AMAZING people from my church who were all very encouraging! Here we are pre-Sparta. All nice and clean!

this is when I started getting nervous...

cause about 5 minutes after this our race started. We ran straight to our first obstacle: a series of walls that we had to 1st climb over, crawl under and then crawl through, and then repeat, all while being blasted with water. It was a fun obstacle and we got to run for a while after that to a mud pit covered with barb wire that we had to crawl under...yay!

Then we ran for a while and ended up getting to wade through a creek for about 1/2-3/4 mile...which was probably one of my favorite parts. The rest of the race feels like a blur, but the obstacles included:

• a 10-12 foot wall that we had to jump up and over (thanks Chris and Mike for giving me a leg up on this one!)
• a net attached to an A-frame that we had to climb up and over
• a 1/2-1 inch zig-zag balance beam
• a 10 gallon bucket we had to fill with dirt and carry up and down a large hill (terrible)
• army crawl through this tent thing that felt like an oven
• cinder block pull
• another much larger net A-frame
• another mud pit covered with barbed wire
• a javelin throw (which was just cruel in my opinion)
• this like sideways rock wall with only like 1/2 inch of wood sticking out
• wall covered with soap that you had to run up and grab a rope to pull yourself up and over
• then 2 spartans who stood in front of the finish line that would hit you with those big q-tip looking things that the old american gladiators used to use.

I was EXHAUSTED by the time I got to the top of the last wall and I literally sat on the top of it and glared at the Spartans as they literally smacked people in the face with their q-tips....and yes they hit me in the face and in the back as I ran toward the finish line.

I basically collapsed beside the water table and managed to pick myself up for a group picture...during which they announced "free beer" and everyone got up and sprinted to the beer line...and yes I sprinted (I was about 5th in line).

here we are post clean up

this spartan was nice, he didn't have a big q-tip to hit people with

Easter is _________

The Easter Bunny visited me today!!

and it was a great day at church!!

I've always loved Easter! My family never really ever did anything extra special on Easter. We went to church and ate a nice lunch, but that was just like every other Sunday at our house. I think the fact that we didn't have to do anything different on Easter says a lot. Granted we went to the church and helped with the Easter egg hunt and stuff like that on the days leading up to Easter Sunday, but that too was just like any other day for us. Now I'm not saying that we didn't think Easter was special, because we did, like I said, I've always loved Easter! I guess I just feel like we've always been grateful for everyday that God has given to us...at least I have. Easter is the reason that I have hope, joy, peace...

Jon Acuff wrote a post on his blog today about Easter, and in it he said:

"To try to capture the sacrifice of Christ on Easter, to try to capture the love of God on Easter, to try to capture the hope of that day with a movie or a blog post is impossible. Trying to capture the love of God on a piece of paper or in a film is like trying to capture the might and fury of a hurricane with a crayon

Easter is a gift

That’s what Easter is to me"

To me, Easter is Love. Easter is Hope. Easter is Joy. Easter is Peace. Easter is Forgiveness. Easter is Acceptance. Easter is Eternity.

I guess to sum it up, I agree with Jon Acuff. Easter is a gift.

Gar, Cottonmouth, Canoe...just another fun day at the lake

Today I spent the day at the Lake with my sister and her family. Rennata got the bright idea that it'd be fun for her and I to take her daughters (4 years old and 2 years old) on a ride in the canoe. Ren's not very good at steering and she also paddles a lot harder than me so half the time we were just going all over the place. But we were still having lots of fun...

Now, I've written about the show River Monsters before. I'm obsessed with it! (I'm actually watching it right now with a slightly horror stricken look on my face) ...I'm also terrified of fish and I swear that they chase me! They can tell that I highly dislike them...

But back to my story. Ren and I were just paddling along, enjoying the scenery, while the girls were playing with their hands in the water, when all of a sudden about 4 gar come swimming up to the boat. I immediately started screaming because my mind automatically jumps to River Monsters and the alligator gar that Jeremy Wade caught in Florida. The gar seemed to be playing or fighting or something but I swear it seemed like one of them would jump up into the boat if they could...and I believe that they were trying to. Ren on the other hand, starts laughing and yelling that the gar were following us. Given my history with fish, I believe her and start paddling harder...we made it back to the dock in about 1/2 the time it took us to get out there. Ren laughed and taunted me the entire way back and I screamed and told her that she wouldn't be laughing when one of those gar jumped in and try to bite one of her babies. Blake and Taylor thought the whole thing was hilarious and joined Ren in taunting me. But as we were stepping out of the boat those same 4 gar were right there behind us...they had followed us after all!

Standing on the dock and looking at the gar was a little bit more fun...and I am now willing to admit that they were not alligator gar, but longnose gar. Either way, they are still some pretty scary looking fish...

Not to mention that we also saw a water moccasin (aka: cottonmouth) swim up right after we'd gotten out of the boat...needless to say Jessica did not get in the water at all today...

my watch ticks very loudly...

...and it has no numbers on it or anything to help you know what time it is. So when people ask me for the time I say "umm...its like maybe 1:25? I think? that looks close, right?" and then I show them my watch and they give me a confused look and pull out their phone to check the time...my watch is a failure as a watch, but at least its cute!

Third Day, Tenth Avenue North, and Trevor Morgan

12 years ago I bought my 1st set of Christian CDs, among them were Jesus Freak by DC Talk and Time by Third Day. Those 2 CDs were the reason that I tried to listen to nothing but Christian music (which lasted for a few years, until I turned 13 and discovered Nelly and my Rap obsession began). 5 years after that I went to my first Third Day Concert and I got to meet Toby Mac (from DC Talk). Now 7 years later I got to see Third Day in Concert again and I discovered that they recently went to Haiti...and I am even more in love with them now than I ever have been before!

Tenth Avenue North was the opening band

...they sing some of my favorite songs right now, but tonight Third Day reminded me why they are my favorite Christian rock band! The concert was amazing!

And in the middle of it Third Day ran out into the crowd and played a few songs...it was really cool!

Thank you Third Day for introducing me to Christian rock, and for the past 12 years of amazing songs!

Beautiful

My aunt and uncle dropped by this weekend for a quick visit and it was so much fun to see them and my new cousin!

My most favorite little girls in the whole wide world!

BeeJay is only 2 years older than my sister, so they act more like sisters than aunt/niece...

typical day with some beautiful people in my life...I love my family!!

The River Walk

Went for a walk down by the river with one of my favorite people!

we found a turtle! but he swam away...

this picture has a good color palette

Attitude

Today I discovered the one thing that someone can say to me that will truly insult me. Today I was basically called racist, granted it was by a drug addict with multiple cancerous brain tumors, but it made me so mad that I was literally shaking. But before I could say anything, my co-workers were right there to defend me and it made me feel SO much better that they had my back!

It's amazing how insults, even from someone who probably doesn't really mean them, can completely ruin your day and completely change your attitude. Which brings me to one of my favorite quotes:

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

~ Charles R. Swindoll (pastor)

After today, I really did need some chocolate cake...

really I needed alcohol but I have to work tomorrow.

Dating Advice...from the single girl...

Today I went by the church and got to have a quick preview of this week's offertory, and let me just say that I was blown away! Watching Madison play guitar is cool enough, but she also has an AMAZING voice! And I already know that soon enough all the little teenage boys will see her and I'll have to kill them, or lock her in a closet... Either way when Maddie heard me talking about it, she said "whatever, boys don't like me" ...and that was when I remembered being a teenage girl. Girls are suckers for athletic blue-eyed boys with any amount of musical ability, or at least I was...am.

Looking back, I wish I knew then what I know now. Cause the boys really do like you, they pick on you and are mean cause they just don't know how to talk to you.... so for all you boys out there that are still in the picking on girls stage, if you like a girl just ask her out. I know rejection is a big fear, but if she laughs at your jokes then you're in. And I can honestly say that I've never said no to a guy that asked me out...face to face (one time a guy asked me out in a facebook message and I said no...but that's a different story). And guys, all of those pretty girls that seem so intimidating usually don't even know that they're pretty. They are most likely sitting at home every night wondering what's wrong with them...cause in reality, they just want to hear someone say that they are beautiful. And since we're being all honest tonight, I can honestly say that every guy that has looked me in the eye and told me that I was beautiful (and really meant it) I have kissed...all 3 of them. Also, if you like a girl, don't wait. Cause after a while she's gonna think you're not interested and move on...most likely to some guy that's a jerk and she's gonna call you to tell you all about how he's a jerk...which will suck even more for you...so don't wait!

And girls, try to avoid the jerks. You will inevitably wind up falling "in love" with one at some point in your teenage/young adult life and your heart will be repeatedly broken by said jerk until one day you come to your senses and realize that you deserve so much more. And never settle, cause that's usually when you meet the jerks.

That's just some advice from a successfully single woman, so you can take it with a grain of salt, but there's a lot of truth in there...

Attention Grocery Store Employees

Dear Publix bag boy,

Do you enjoy bagging peoples groceries? Are forced casual conversations the highlight of your day? Is that green vest you wear, your favorite fashion accessory? If you answered yes to any of these 3 questions then you seriously need to reconsider your life...

Do they require you to start meaningless banter with customers? Yes captain obvious, I did just get off work. Although, I'm not sure how you knew that! Was it my name badge stating my occupation and place of employment hanging precariously above a small stain of unknown origin (which, I'm still not sure what that is...); or the fact that all of my make-up has been rubbed off from the number of times that I had to brush my hair back with my arm/shoulder; or better yet, was it my half-hazardly placed up-do that at this point in the day is just barely keeping my hair out of my face. Maybe it was the distinct smell of old people permeating my clothes and skin... but whatever it is, saying "Ooooh, you just got off from work..." and making a face that lets me know that I look as tired and worn out as I feel, is exactly the LAST thing I want to hear from the bag boy at publix as he is not so silently judging me for buying chocolate cake. Just cause I'm buying a chocolate cake and a gallon of milk does not mean that I'm planning on having people over to help me eat it. So your little comments about how you hope I have "fun with my friends tonight" and "where's the party" are far from being appreciated... And yes the reason I pretended to forget something was to go back and trade that beautifully delicious chocolate cake for a smaller individualized slice because your judgmental glances made me feel guilty for skipping boot camp this morning ...but sometimes, a girl just wants to eat chocolate cake!

And for future reference, if someone comes in and looks like death, then maybe you shouldn't do everything in your power to point that out...your boss and the future patrons of Publix would appreciate that greatly.

Sincerely,

a Kroger shopper

Unicorns

Seeing old college professors in normal everyday life places feels like spotting a unicorn in your backyard

...I am such a creeper for taking this picture...

and speaking of unicorns:

This is a picture from the book I'm reading "Stuff Christians Like" by Jonathan Acuff

it's from a part titled: Wishing you had an easy job, like working at a church. It's very funny!

Have you ever read a really funny book in a public place and literally laughed out loud? ...and then looked up to discover that your laughter is apparently disturbing the peaceful silence of the other patrons in the room...cause they are all now looking at you as if you are some crazy psychotic person listening to voices in your head ...yeah that was me today...and then I talked on the phone for like an hour right next to these girls who were obviously discussing the facts of life or some kind of deep hearted travesty cause my joyous demeanor and jovial conversation seemed to be irritating them greatly

Blake's Baptism

Blake got baptized today....she's not really an infant anymore and is actually probably closer to being able to make that decision for herself, but it was still a very special day

I love my family!

Happy 2nd Birthday B!

Today was Blake's 2nd Birthday Party, and she was SO cute...and very much the diva

these cupcakes were AMAZING

And then there were my brothers, having a swinging contest...

Michael's best jump:

...I don't know if you could've even referred to that as a "jump" or even why he considered himself as part of this competition...

Daniel's best jump:

Daniel looked like a mixture of a frog and one of the kids from high school musical

Timothy's best jump:

Timmy almost broke both ankles, got a concussion, punctured a lung, fractured his skull...but luckily he's even better at falling than he is at jumping. He's got the tuck and roll down pat!

I told them that Timothy won, but Daniel insisted that Timothy had a better swing and the angle that I was taking pictures at was off...so we had to have a tie breaker:

Winner?

(I'm still thinking Timmy)