love this girl.
and the picture.
and the city it was taken in.


anyone wanna move to portland with me?

i just bought these shoes on Zappos.com





woo!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25083833/

this actually made me chuckle

mostly, though, because of how it totally outs our upper management as being a) responsible for our current mess, and b) just plain insane.


brilliant.







(Lord, whats my next move? im ready for something to happen. something big, exciting...different.
at least, i THINK im ready...)

can you honestly say, with enthusiasm and sincerity, that you LOVE your life?

the closest i can get is that i like it a good deal...most of the time.
its not bad.....

truly though, why is it so hard to LOVE my life?
(this is me, asking myself. because i dont know.)



i think theres a difference between loving life and loving YOUR life.
im all about life. i think its awesome. im a big fan of the living dealio.
but when it comes to MY life--where i am right at this very moment
i dont know..
im satisfied. content. (at least, 95% so)
but LOVING it...?

well, heres a question: does loving it mean theres nothing about it that you would want to change?
hmmm...

man, honestly, anytime i feel a little glum, all i need to do is look at pictures of my nephew and inevitably it makes me smile.
he's just so freaking cute
see for yourself:




























told ya

today i really started to wonder what i would do if i no longer had the job that i have.

as many of you have probably heard by now, my company (United Airlines) is cutting a lot of jobs (900-1600, various reports say).
while i have yet to discover if my job is in jeopardy,
it has gotten me thinking of what my next move may be
should God decide this is no longer where he wants me to be

would i move back to Fort Wayne?
(maybe just for a little while?...for grandpa's sake, mostly)
or would i stay in Virginia, with the church i have come to love so much?
how would i handle being so far from my family, should i choose to stay?
would i have to get a REAL job?
would i possibly consider the mission field once more?
would i possibly go somewhere else entirely and start a whole new life?

the options are thrilling and terrifying all at the same time.
thank God none of this is in my hands! i rest secure in the hands of the Lover of my Soul.
He knows what's best for me, and will do what's best for me

and because of that, i am content.




in other news, im terribly sad they're taking Men in Trees off the air
but i do look forward to seeing how they wrap it up.
i guess this means one less hour will be sucked out of my life via visual entertainment.

thats just swell.


soon to come:
pictures of the nephew.
and maybe some of the Louvre, but the nephew is far more enthralling :-)

ok
im doin' Los's lil Ragamuffintop Challenge

i dont know if i'll be able to post a photo every week
(dare i be so bold?)
but im definitely in.

goal weight: 130
timeframe: however freaking long it takes!

the last time i was that thin, i wasnt treating my body well at all.
im not going through that again...
this time, its good, its real, its HEALTHY, and its with the support of other lovely bloggers who want to start treating their bodies better

my obvious conundrum will be figuring out how to handle my diet when im working.
this job is the WORST for eating well,
cause sometimes your only options are to starve or to eat one of the ugly sugar-inflated donuts that the captain just bought for your crew...
and when youre gone for days on end, you can only bring so much of your own food...

but by golly, im gonna give it a whirl.
20lbs, my friends.
20lbs....starting now.


today: started in Vegas.
worked out in the morning, but not for too long...
half hour or so.
ate 2 sugar free Jello cups (60 calories each)
and an apricot dried fruit bar (35 cals)
left for the airport at 11:45am (vegas time)
got a sub at Quiznos (im tellin ya, this is how i live. we dont have a lot of options)
got a yogurt at Starbucks
flew from Vegas to Dulles...got in around 9pm
got home around 10ish
made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
and ate a huge bowl of my homemade veggie soup (AMAZING stuff--just tomatoes, squash, zuccini, onions, and spices)
...and then ate some peanut butter straight from the jar.
(yes, im one of those)

not the best day, food wise, but pretty typical....one might even call it one of my BETTER food days
(you dont want to know what i had for dinner last night.
it would break your heart)


dont worry, i wont give you a rundown EVERY day.
it helped to lay it all out to begin with though