So, It's Been a Week... Again.

This poor blog just keeps getting pushed to the bottom of my never ending to-do list!

Poor blog.
It keeps getting bumped by things like "Egypt on the Edge" and "Find the one disc that's missing that's KEEPING THE SHOW FROM AIRING!" and "go grocery shopping" and "get new passport before current passport EXPIRES."*

*I still have to do that one.
The good news is, I actually currently look a lot better than I did in my passport picture from 10 years ago!
That must have been before my best friend Ann told me, with love, that I should do something about my eyebrow.

Now, I have two. And, joyfully, age has been good to me. I was pudgy(er) and used to cut my own hair. It was not a good situation on that 2001 passport, I tell ya!

Last time I wrote in this space, I was on the cusp of reaching my little goal of not crying for a week. I did it!

Since then, I've cried a couple of times. But that's okay! I went without crying for a week! So, yay me!! And the crying I have done over the past week, I don't really feel bad about.

Because you know what? Sometimes crying is good. Sometimes it's necessary. I recently read in the book "Bittersweet" by Shauna Niequist (highly recommend it, especially if you are in a tough season in life, or coming out of a tough season) In the book, Shauna writes of a friend who said crying is a sign of health, "because it means your body and your soul agree on something."

So, there. We'll just say that. My body and my soul agreed on something a couple of times in the past week.

Life over the last week has been wonderful, and difficult. Bittersweet. This is common for me these days. Good and bad. Hard and easy. I'm still learning that two realities can be at the same time that are polar opposites. You can be happy and sad at the same time?? Who knew?

-One day, I was pulling my computer bag along the sidewalk on my way to the Metro, and a bus driver, driving a bus that was not in service stopped and told me to get in. He gave me a free ride to the Metro! This may or may not have been because I was wearing this orange coat that I adore, and I get a lot of compliments on, but it is cut with a high waist, and when I wear multiple layers, I'm afraid it may make me look a little pregnant. But, whatever. I got to ride on a warm bus on a cold morning, for free. WIN!

-State of the Union. Tuesday was a crazy/fun day at work. Tuesday night, Michael and I had the perfect plan. We would sit our bed up, get both of our laptops going and I could watch the SOTU on one laptop, while I live-blogged on the other. But, the speech kept going in and out. So, I ended up working from the living room. It was fun! I have always loved the State of the Union, even when I was a nerdy kid! Not long after the speech was over, I shut my work laptop, and went in the bedroom to go to bed. Michael was laying there, waiting for me. "Can you see if my legs are straight?" he asked. Those were the eight words that killed my eight day streak of not crying!
Because in that moment, I was instantly transferred from the bliss of live-blogging the State of the Union to staring the state of our union right in the face. Or in the toes, really. Because no matter how fun it is to cover the President, or to have my work blog be on the front page of the website at work, really, at the end of the day (seriously, the literal end of the day) I have a husband who doesn't even know if his legs are straight.
I have to make sure they are.
And, typing this now, it doesn't seem like as big of a deal as it did that night. But for some reason, it was a huge shift. I was instantly teleported from work heaven to home hell. And there was a whiplash of sadness.
And so, I cried.
And, he held me. Once again. Because that's what he does.

Moving on...
I'm trying to step it up in my appearance. I've been feeling guilty for looking like a thugged out 12 year old girl most of the time.


I haven't really bought that many new clothes in the last 3 years. I used to shop pretty much every weekend. Now, I never buy anything that isn't necessary. So, I'm super sick of my clothes. And, I'm a little fat right now, so it's frustrating because some of my pants are too booty-tight for work, so that limits my options. And, it's almost February. UGH! February is THE fattest, whitest month of the year! It always makes me want to go tanning, but I WILL NOT. I do not have time and/or money to spend to get cancer right now. I just don't.
So, I'm feeling a little bleh.
And, I wear flat shoes pretty much all the time now. It's just easier for the transfers. And for the commute. I don't have time for back pain or foot pain in my life.
But, there has got to be a way I can accommodate all of this and still look cute. I'm not that fat or that old, ya know!

Let's see... what else is going on around here?
OH! I went to the gym ONCE. And, I ate a lot of chocolate. Too fast for any of it to be photographed.
And, I sent my cracked iPhone off for repair.
So, that's why I'm not answering if you're trying to reach me right now. Because my phone is on an iPhone operating table somewhere in Kansas.

Gee, I have small feet, don't I?

This past weekend was a good one!
Friday, we headed out to West Virginia for our church's annual Leadership Retreat. It is always an amazing time! Michael and I decided to have a little "date night" on our way there. So, we went the long way and had dinner at Red Lobster. I had lobster for the first time! And, we split an amazing medium rare steak and those cheesy biscuits are as good as I've heard. I will NOT be Googling the nutrition info for those suckers!

The theme for this year's Leadership Retreat was "ALL IN," God moved in an amazing way at this retreat! It's so great to get out of your normal space, go somewhere else, worship God and hear from Him in a way that isn't part of the normal, every day life, scratching things off the to do list kind of way, isn't it?

Highlights for me were hearing Pastor Mark cast vision for the upcoming locations of NCC. Especially Berlin. I will be praying harder for John Hasler. I was pretty convicted about that.

Praying for Pastor Chris, our campus pastor. My heart has been so burdened for him. Leaders from our location, Kingstowne, followed the Holy Spirit's calling and gathered around him and prayed. It was amazing. And God really used that to encourage PC. What a blessing to be a part of it!

Reading the material Pastor Joel put together for the prayer team leaders. Incredible how each of the topics hit so close to home for us!

Seeing the people around my table build something that has to do with Elijah out of a bunch of random stuff. Very funny!


And, hearing my man sing "Look Away" to me in the Karaoke corner of the Groove Lounge.

If you think the look on his face is a look of pain, he said you should have seen the look on my face.
And I thought I was trying to look as if I was not in pain.
Oh well.

Maybe I will be back here before another week goes by. Maybe not. We're getting a Winter storm, and so I might be spending a couple of nights at work this week. I hope not, but I don't know about that. Friday, I head out to California for a work trip for the weekend. Thankfully, I'll be home in time to watch the Super Bowl.
So, for now, cheers!