A New Christmas Story

My mom teaches 2nd grade in Lynchburg at a school similar to mine. One of her students wrote this story and I had to share it with you:

God's Christmas

God married Mary but God died. Who could she have a baby with? She found one his name was Joseph. It was a long day. Mary was happy. Because her baby was coming! "Joseph" Mary cried!, "The baby"! Joseph Came and picked her and ran out the door! He run to a barn he help her. He waited and waited! And finally the baby was born. his name was Jesus The End

Late Night Deep Thoughts

Well, I'm finally officially on Christmas Break!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!! And I made it to Lynchburg with my sweet family. Yes, the babies are here :) (don't worry, I'll post pictures soon) So last night when I got up to rock a crying Abby at 4 a.m., I had this deep thought...

I'm always struck by how we are commanded to have "faith like a child". There are so many ways in which we are like children and God is like the adults in our lives. I could go on and on. Of course, the analogy will eventually break down - as will anything that compares me to God :) But as I'm holding Abby, I realize that I'm holding her and she's sleeping on my shoulder. She's not holding on at all. She's just laying there, totally trusting that I'm going to keep holding her. She's so sure of it, she's gone back to sleep. And you know what the best part is? She's right to trust me that much. I would die before I let anything hurt her.

I bet you already know where I'm going here. Do I trust God that much? Do I just rest in him, trusting that he's going to keep me safe? Because he will. He died for it.

Pet Peeves

Here are two pet peeves of mine that were realized today -

1. Why do grocery store baggers think that you don't need your cat food in a bag? I am totally with them on things that have handles - cat litter, milk, soda cans, whatever. But bags of cat food? How exactly am I supposed to carry that with my other bags? I feel this way about toilet paper, too. But the toilet paper is too big to fit in the bag so, while frustrating for me, I can understand. I ALWAYS rip the plastic around my toilet paper trying to get it into the house.
2. This year, I've decided that I'm enjoying classic Christmas hymns. Why do people always feel like they need to "mix it up"? There are some ridiculous versions out there. (Ok, sometimes I like them. But mostly - no.) Today in church, they decided to sing the first verse of "O Come All Ye Faithful" painfully slow and pause between each line. We had no way of knowing about these mysterious pauses, so we kept singing into the silence, which was awkward. People were giggling. Then, all of a sudden, they burst out the second verse into a ho-down! I'm not kidding - fiddles and all. I felt like I should be square dancing. To "O Come All Ye Faithful".

These do not compare to my biggest pet peeve - children calling adults by their title and first name, like "Ms. Sarah" - but bothered me today nonetheless :)

Today's sermon

Except for the whole strange-O-Come-All-Ye-Faithful incident, the church service today was so amazing. Pastor Shelby was preaching on King Herod killing all of the boys under 2 in Bethlehem to try and get rid of Jesus. (See Matthew 2:16-18 if you don't know this part of the story.) He was talking about how we have to believe that God can redeem even the worst, most evil things that happen to us for his glory. A lot of things struck me, but here's the quote that stayed with me -

"If the gospel can't redeem this (Herod killing the babies), then it is no gospel."

He said that when horrible things happen, to us or to someone else, we should cry with them, acknowledge that sin and evil exist, and then offer the hope of the gospel. Another quote I liked was

"People say that time heals all wounds. That is a lie. Time can't heal wounds, it can only dull them a little bit. Only God can heal."

I thought it was an incredibly powerful sermon, and I am not doing it justice here. If you would like to listen to, you can download it off of the church's website.

Then we sang FOUR songs! Singing is my favorite part of the service and it just seemed extra powerful today for whatever reason. We sang one of my favorites, In Christ Alone. Printing the words doesn't do the song justice. With the band and everyone singing loudly, it gave me chills.

I'm so happy I found WEPC! If you ever want to visit with me, I'd love to have you :)

Being Thankful

At church, we have a monthly prayer focus where we join with churches all around the area to pray for a specific area. For December, it's for those who are lonely and without family. I've been feeling really sad lately about being single. (A normal thing, but I definitely go through ups and downs with it. Last week, the leader at Kid's Club made a totally normal innocent comment that "As far as I know, no one in this room has ever been pregnant" and it completely, completely crushed me. Out of the blue and for no reason) But that prayer and lunch today have forced me to think about how blessed I truly am. I have an amazing family that supports me no matter what. I have great friends that I can totally count on. For goodness sake, I have 217 Facebook friends! ;) God knows how incredibly weak I am, so he has given me a great support system.

Although, if you know any single, Christian, 30-something guys feel free to send them my way... ;)

Last thing for today. I promise. My favorite sister and her family made it to Lynchburg today (although I won't get to see them until next weekend :( ) and Brian rolled over! Yay!!! I don't have a picture of it, but I do have a picture of Brian, so here you go:
(I know, look at all that hair! That's what everyone says. At 10 weeks old in this picture, he already needs a haircut. Doesn't it make him look like a little old man? Isn't he just SO SWEET?)


Toodles!

Magic Shoe Update

So it turns out that I didn't switch my black Danskos with my mom. They're not my sister's or my brother's girlfriend's either. I don't know who else I could have switched with. Maybe they are really magic....

Our school Christmas party was tonight and I had so much fun! The staff at Fair Oaks are so fantastic. They have been so welcoming and sweet to me and I feel very much a part of them already. Plus, they're just fun, fun people. I just feel really, really, really blessed to be working there with them. (You may have to remind me of this at some point when I'm frustrated with my job. If only my job could be just hanging out with the staff.... Anyone know of a job like that?)

I don't know if you realize this or not, but I'm typing this at 12:40 am. That's two Fridays in a row I've been up past midnight. Maybe I am turning into a party animal in my old age.... probably not, though ;)

I learned an important lesson tonight - don't hate the player, hate the game. I used to get confused about which one I was supposed to hate. No more, my friends. No more. Thanks, Johnny.

Magic Healing Shoes

(No, this is NOT going to be like that sappy shoe song that gets overplayed at Christmas. I don't do sappy. That song, much like the song "Don't Laugh at Me" and the book The Kissing Hand, makes me want to hurt someone. Namely, the person who is inflicting them on me)

I have three pairs of Dansko clogs (2 pairs were Christmas gifts from a child in Charlottesville - you know I don't pay that much for shoes on my own) - black, brown, and shiny Carolina blue! If you've ever met me or my cats, you know that I have some very destructive pets. One of the things that they have destroyed is the insole of my black Danskos. They have torn them up scratching or biting or whatever it is they do when I'm not here. It doesn't bother me so much - after a minute or so, you can't even feel it so I keep on wearing them anyway.

I realized tonight that the insoles of my black Danskos are in perfect shape. No rips or tears. Nothing. I can't say how long they've been this way - we learned in the last post how unobservant I am. I have three theories:

#1 - My favorite and the one I choose to believe - My shoes are magic and have healed themselves. It is Christmas, after all!

#2 - Some friend or family member noticed their decrepit state, took them out, had them re-soled, and returned them without me noticing.

#3 - I mixed mine up with my mom's black Danskos last time I was home.

Which theory do you choose to believe? I think this issue is going to be sweeping the nation soon!

P.S. - I keep finding new blogs! Check out this post or this one from Bryan Allain and this one from Trey Morgan. You may find you want to stay awhile!

Sleep well my friends!

The Great Cat Search.

Ok, I'm going to go ahead and tell you this upfront. You already know this if you know me well, but - I'm the world's worst pet owner. Seriously. I have two cats and am desperate to give them away to someone who will let them be outdoor cats. If you know someone, let me know.

Today I realized that I hadn't seen my fat girl cat, Christine, for a while. Like a day or two at least. So I looked all over my apartment for her (this took about 3.25 minutes in my giant abode) and she was nowhere to be found. I immediately felt really guilty because she must have run out the door one time when I left and I didn't notice! And it has been REALLY cold - it snowed last night. So, although I wasn't sad in a "I'll-miss-this-cat" kind of way, I was really upset in a "I'm-an-awful-person-she's-freezing-or-dead-and-I-didn't-even-notice" kind of way. Keep in mind here, I have two cats so one of them is always pestering me. I just don't always pay attention to which one it is. Cats are independent. They like to be left alone. I'm trying to help them out.

So I decided, without much optimism, that I had to go at least try and look for her. Did I mention that it's COLD here?!?! So I found her after 10-15 minutes, chillin' on the railing of the apartment building next door. (Yes, it took me 15 minutes to get next door. I went the other way first) She was in front of an apartment - I don't know if they had fed her or petted her, or if she just picked that spot. Anyway, I went and got her. She did try to get away from me a little bit, which I did not think was an appropriate way to treat the woman who has taken care of her for 3 years and has now rescued her from the cold, but I brought her home. Now we get to the other bad part...

I'm not totally sure I got the right cat. I mean, it looks just like my cat - dark gray tiger stripes, fat, no collar. What are the chances that a cat that looks EXACTLY like mine would be chillin' at the building next to mine when Christine was lost? Very slim, I'm sure. She does seem fatter than before, but I don't really know about that. (Although it could be that she's been gone longer than I realized and I've just gotten used to looking at the skinnier one) But Raoul (my other cat) is hissing at her and stuff. Usually they are total BFF. They came from the same litter - they've been together all their lives! And she was sniffing the ground. That seems like something a cat who had never been here before would do, but then again - it could be something she does regularly. As I've said, I'm not exactly the most attentive cat parent. AND she sat on the ground in front her favorite chair instead of jumping up in it.

Am I overreacting here? Tell me I'm overreacting. This is my cat, right? Here. I'll post an old picture of Christine and one that I took just now and you can let me know.

Christine a month or two ago

Christine today

Ok, this was good. I compared the markings in the two pictures so now I'm sure it's the same cat. Although she does look thinner in the now picture. I guess I just didn't pay attention to how fat she was getting. Maybe that's how I got so fat, too... I wonder why Raoul is hissing at her? (Yes, my cats are named after characters in The Phantom of the Opera. That's because I'm cool like that.)

It's a good thing Christine got in the way when I tried to take that picture of all my too-big clothes a while back. If Raoul got out, I don't think I'd have any pictures to compare to.

Know anyone who wants some cats?

What 100 pounds feels like - Sarah style

**Author's Note ;) - I've been working on composing this post for a while now. I went back tonight to edit it down to a manageable, readable length. But then I decided not to. Because I want to be able to go back and re-read it and remember how I felt. So, it's awfully wordy - 10 words where 1 will do kind of thing. But that's just me! So feel free to skim/skip at your leisure, as always**

Well, I posted my before and post-100 pound pictures. So I thought I would also post about what losing 100 pounds feels like. I’m always a little leery about posting things like this – things that make it sound like I’ve met my goal. It’s easy to forget that I still have 50 pounds to go. But I want to remember how I felt along the way. And try to enjoy how far I’ve come, because I get very frustrated very easily. So, because I can, here is...

How it feels to lose a 5th grader...
- HARD WORK. It’s cliche, especially in the WLS world, but in no way was this surgery “easy way out”. I don’t know if that’s still the perception among people who don’t know much about it or not.
o There are about 13,782 rules governing all my meals - what to eat, when to eat, how to eat, how much to eat. I can’t ever just not think about it. There is no cheating when I’m frustrated. I can get sick at any time – sometimes I know what caused it, sometimes I don’t. I miss food, and I miss it being easy. Imagine being on an extremely restrictive diet and knowing that you have to do it every meal, every day for the rest of your life.
o I have to exercise. Have to, have to, have to. And it’s a lot of work. I try really hard to push myself. Both to burn those extra calories and to build the muscle that will burn more calories at rest and help me avoid the excess skin.
o I have to be vigilant about vitamins and supplements. At least 5 pills a day, each one 2 hours apart from all of the others.
o Although, just to confuse you (and me) a little bit, and to bring out my multiple personalities it’s also...

- NOT AS BAD AS IT SEEMS. Yes, it’s a lot of work. But people see me eating such a little bit, or not being able to eat things, and are always talking about how bad they feel for me. And really, once I get past the head hunger thing, I don’t really miss it. My little tiny bit of food really is enough for me. I eat it slowly – it often takes me longer than it takes other people to eat their regular size meals – and it feels like a real meal to me. Someone asked me today about cravings and I’ve found that they’re getting less and less. Because when I crave something and eat it, a lot of times it doesn’t taste very good. After a few times of that, it gets easier not to eat it. I know it sounds like I’m contradicting myself. It’s hard to explain. Roll with me here :)

- RUNNING. I talk about this a lot, so I won’t expand on it too much here. But the difference in what I’m able to do when I exercise is amazing. I can run! I can do an entire aerobics class (remember way back when Zumba kicked my butt?). In fact, the other day I did a Zumba class followed by a Body Pump class. And smaller things – I don’t get winded walking up stairs. You can’t imagine how much time I spent when I was bigger trying to hide the fact that I couldn’t breathe after walking just a few stairs.

- SITTING. I’m not as scared to sit in chairs anymore. I had a constant nagging fear of breaking chairs before. Also of spilling over into people’s chairs next to me at church. (Ok, this is still somewhat of a fear) I’m sitting here right now on my sofa cross legged. Earlier I had my knees up in front of me. I can cross my legs. It’s not super easy, but I do it pretty much every time I sit down. As early as this summer, when I was only like 50 pounds down, I rode on an airplane and didn’t need a seatbelt extender. I feel now like I’m almost to the point where I won’t be embarrassed for people who have to sit next to me on planes or buses.

- BAGGY CLOTHES. I have to tell you – I’m getting a little tired of wearing clothes that are too big. Which is strange, because I’ve always worn my clothes fairly big. I can buy clothes that are too small because I know I’ll fit into them soon. It’s amazing how quickly my clothes get to be too big, while at the same time I feel like I haven’t lost enough sizes. (I know, another crazy contradiction from the crazy head of Sarah) Which leads me to...

- FRUSTRATING. It’s hard for me to know what kind of realistic goals to set. Good enough is never good enough for me. I never feel like I’m losing quickly enough, or I’m doing well enough. I get frustrated about the clothes thing frequently – they’re too big, they’re too small, I don’t have enough.... (see the “hard work” point for other frustrations)

- ON DISPLAY. It feels like people are watching me constantly. They’re not obviously – or if they are it’s out of curiosity, not judgement. I can’t blame them because I do the same thing. But still, whether it’s what I’m eating or how I look, I often feel like a sideshow act :) Of course, I bring a lot of that on myself – I talk about my surgery a lot, and I blog my every action and thought. And I don’t mind answering questions or sharing my experiences at all.

- CONFIDENTER. So confident, in fact, that I dare to use the word confidenter instead of more confident.

- COLD. I’m cold. All the time. Very, very cold. Yes, part of it is losing my 100-pound coat. But part of it is my body adjusting to all the changes.

I’m sure there’s other stuff, too. But that’s quite enough for now, don’t you think?

Just so you know -

It is now 1:15 AM and I am awake. See? I am a party animal!!

I had a great time at the Park Ave. party tonight. We will not discuss the two hours it took me to get there driving all over creation and back. No, no. That only makes me feel idiotic and dumb. We will only discuss how it was after midnight when I left. That, my friend, is because I am young and cool and can do these sorts of things. A couple of times a year.

I wouldn't count on me making it to 1:30, though....

A challenge and some wows :)

I think I've mentioned before that one of my favorite bloggers is Jon over at Stuff Christians Like. I read it religiously every day (yes, pun intended there. haha) To get a sense of why I love it so much, check out his post on people borrowing his pen in church. But occasionally he posts on more serious topics and today he posted about God being enough. This is such a challenge for me. Sure, God would be enough for me if I had a husband, a couple of kids, and a house. And I was thin and had my life together. But is he enough for me, single and living in this little apartment? Obviously, the answer is yes and more. He's more than enough. The question is really if I can see that and have peace with it. It's something I struggle with every day. Every day. I keep praying that the truth of God's enoughness will move from my head to my heart. (yep, enoughness is a real word. I am a master of reading. If I say it's a word, it is)

Today I "ran" 4 miles. There were a few very brief periods where I let myself walk a few feet - I've been sick lately so I cut myself a little slack :) - but I realized that I have moved from walking with periods of jogging to jogging with periods of running. It amazes me every time. I know I post and talk about how far I'm "running" often. That's because I can't get over what an amazing change it is. Literally I feel myself itching to go "running" sometimes. Which is strange, because I'm not very good at it :) And I'm nowhere near a real runner. But compared to 6 months ago when I could only run a few steps? Exciting stuff.

I have started my Christmas shopping, and yesterday I went to this children's store to buy some presents for my favorite babies. I haven't signed the back of my credit card (don't get me started) so she asked for ID. I gave her my license and she really didn't believe that my picture was me. I was truly afraid that she wasn't going to take my card. I explained about the weight loss. (I did not explain about the fact that I'd been sick so I looked gross, my hair was straggly, and I was wearing my glasses) I don't think she believed me, but she took it.

Oh, what's that you say? You forgot who my favorite babies are that I was buying presents for? Well, that is awfully important to this story. Let me show you a picture.

I know. They rock. So do you, dear blog readers. So do you.

My favorite kids in the world - it's impossible not to love them.

The obligatory Thanksgiving post

As a blogger, I think there is a law somewhere that says I have to post a list of things I am thankful for at Thanksgiving. If I don't, I get thrown in blogger jail where baby rats nibble at my fingers and toes all day long. Since right now I am very thankful to be holding the cutest, sweetest, happiest 10 week old in history (who is fascinated by the words appearing on the screen), it seems a good time. So, here we are in no particular order except the order that I think of them:

Things Sarah Is Thankful For:

1. Abby and Brian (come on, you knew that one was coming)
2. The rest of my family :)
3. My friends
4. Ramses, my awesome Ford Escape
5. Flat Cherry Coke Zero
6. My WLS
7. Jeans
8. Naps
9. My job - sometimes
10. This sweet baby in my lap (I know I already mentioned him - it's Brian - but he's really really sweet.)
11. Digital cameras
12. Facebook for stalking people
13. The internet in general for being a terrific time waster
14. La'Nasia for saying something that makes me laugh every day
15. UNC basketball
16. USA network for making awesome shows like Monk, Psych, and Burn Notice
17. Game Club
18. My church, West End Pres, and the Young Adults group there
19. Dishwashers and washing machines
20. Abby (because it's not fair for Brian to get two mentions and her to only get one)
21. Treadmills with individual TVs at the gym
22. Power windows
23. Having 4 distinct seasons
24. Starter logs for my fireplace
25. Christ

Ok, people. That's as sappy as I get. I've had a crazy week but luckily it was a short holiday week! I'm spending Thanksgiving in Lynchburg with all of my crazy family. Have a great time so far :)

I think I hear Abby waking up. Better go get her!

Warm fuzzies

Sometimes being a teacher leads to great moments. (And often it leads to very stressful moments, but this is not about those) Last week, my 3rd graders were using a basic template to write a poem about something they like. Here's sweet Daija's poem:

Ms. Nash

I like Ms. Nash
Ask me why
Because she is beautful
Because she is funny
Because she bring books to me
Because she is nice
Because she help me on my test
Because she have nice hair
Because she have nice jewelry
Because
Because
Because
I like Ms. Nash

Not to be outdone, Tre'Shanna threw away the template and produced this one:

I like Ms. Nash

She is nice to me
and she help me on
everthing and she
help me on the test
and she her hiar is long
and her shirt is my
fivorte coler love
Tre'Shanna

We may have some work on spelling and grammer to do still :), but I may frame them anyway. I just love these kids! Last week's dance party was another example of how awesome they are :)

Today I went to Charlottesville to shop with my cool friends Sarah and Meg who used to teach with me. We went to the Barracks Road shopping center and David Baldacci was there speaking and signing books at the Barnes and Noble! I love his books and was so excited. Sarah and Meg patiently waited over an hour while I listened to him talk and waited in line to get him to sign a book to my grandmother (I was #65 in line!)

I have decided that in order to solidify my status as a young adult woman, I need to join a book club. Because that's what we do. So I am now officially looking for a book club to join. I don't know how to begin. Any ideas?

Surviving :)

God was so good to me yesterday.

Someone must have been praying for me, because I admit- I didn't take the time to do it for myself. It was a long day at school - we had a parent workshop last evening and I'm on the committee in charge of it. But Title 1 pays for a lot of the stuff, and I had some Title 1 requirements to meet as well, so I had a big part in pulling it off. I was at school for 12 1/2 hours yesterday which were completely and totally filled with business. I didn't stop to rest at all. (Well, I did get to sit down and eat my lunch. That was nice.) I had a to-do list that blew my mind. The workshop was taking place in 6 different classrooms so I had to be sure we had everything and distribute it between the classrooms. Usually having this much on my plate causes me to hyperventilate and cry ;)

Yesterday it didn't.

I calmly went from one task to the next, checking them off and moving to the next. I (amazingly) didn't get tired or run down. It just got done and the whole thing got pulled off. I won't say without a hitch b/c there were hitches - but everything worked out. The evening was well attended and, even better, it's over!

Today is Friday, the last day of this crazy week. I have a Title 1 meeting all day today. While this may sound like a relief, these meetings inevitably stress me out more than I was before because of all the paperwork and procedures. Plus, Fridays I don't teach as many groups at school so I can get caught up on my paperwork - which I have a lot of at the moment. So this meeting is really the last thing I want to be doing. But I have learned that, as someone says, "If God brings you to it, he will get you through it." Now I know that saying should be applied in more dire situations than mine, but I'm using it anyway.

And tonight - I get to hang out with some good friends! And tomorrow - possibly more good friends! And that will just make it all better. Then next week - Thanksgiving!!!!!

So, thank you for your kind words and supports. And especially your prayers, you mystery prayers out there!

A tired, grumpy Gus

That's me. It was such a long day today. I ate all 3 of my meals at meetings - now tell me that doesn't just scream FUN to you!!

Tomorrow is a parent workshop that I've been working on and it's causing me major stress. I'll be happy when it's over with. Then Friday I have a Title 1 meeting all day long which always makes me feel more stressed - so I'm just holding on until Friday afternoon.

Today I got an email which made me so mad that I cried. I have been trying to get the answer to a procedural question - which really should be a fairly routine thing - for over 2 months now. I emailed the girl for the 4th time on Monday and today I got her reply. Not only did the answer not make any sense and only added to the confusion, she added "In the future, you should ask this question earlier." I just keep reminding myself - I have been forgiven for so much, I can forgive others. I make a lot of mistakes, too. By the grace of God, I did not slap anyone today. I will continue to pray about tomorrow...

Which brings me to this point - when I get mad, I always cry. Does anyone else do that? Then I get madder because crying is NOT the reaction that I want to be having. I'm MAD and I want people to know it!!! So then I just cry more. It's pitiful.

To add to my frustration, Tyler Zeller - a very talented freshman who we were really counting on, especially with Hansbrough out - is out for the season with a broken wrist and I won't get to see the next game on Friday night. And I'm not losing weight anymore, apparently. I guess my body got tired of that game. Plus my cats will not stop walking on me no matter how hard I throw them. I'm getting dangerously close to taking one of my dad's suggestions on how to deal with these creatures.

Not to mention that I can no longer eat my frustrations away. Which I suppose I should be thankful for. And may be someday. But for now I just want to spend money instead. I almost bought a Wii tonight. Just because. But honest to goodness when would I play it? Plus, apparently all of my money is going towards buying pizza for the workshop tomorrow night. Ok, we are NOT going back to that issue. No. We are not.

I could go on because my life's frustrations are multitudonous. (I am a Master of Reading. If I say it's a word, it's a word) But I suppose I'll stop. Because that way I can go to bed.

So happy

Busy, busy, crazy week filled with lots of frustrations...but I just got to watch my first UNC game of the season! The boys are looking really good, despite a rash of key injuries. Hopefully we'll be back up to full strength before conference play starts.

Yay! GO UNC BASKETBALL!!!!

(Did I mention they won? That should pretty much be assumed.)

What 100 pounds looks like - Sarah style

I've been in one of those vicious cycles where I keep thinking of things to write about, then I don't, so I feel like there is more that I have to write about so the task becomes overwhelming so I don't do it, and then there is more stuff to write about so it's more overwhelming... know what I mean?

Anyway, I've realized that it's just a blog. About nothing but me. So I can relax a bit. Speaking of the "about nothing but me" part - I feel like I owe you (the great collective "you" that is out there reading this) an apology/explanation: This blog is completely, totally self-centered. That feels very self-absorbed of me. But I really only started it as away for me to have like a journal of my experiences after WLS. Of course, now I write about other things in my life as well. And I'm glad that so many of my friends read it :) But that's why it's only ever about me. Sorry about that.

I can't believe I'm doing this on this very public internet, but here it is. My "before" picture (I could have at least fixed myself up a little don't you think?) and my "I've lost 100 pounds" picture. I've been taking pictures all along (definitely something I would encourage you to do, by the way, if you are considering or have had the surgery) (or are losing weight another way), but always considered them very private. But for some reason I'm feeling brave enough to show them to you tonight. So here they are:


Can you tell which is the before and which is the after? ;) (I'm kidding, of course. Even I can see the difference there). I've been doing these with the self-timer on my camera and they haven't been coming out great. My friend Laura took the most recent one last night, though, and I think I'm going to get her to do them all from now on because I'm pretty sure I look skinnier in that picture than I do in real life :)

The greatest time of the year is upon us, people. That's right - CAROLINA BASKETBALL SEASON HAS STARTED!!!!!!!! My Heels opened up their season with a 15-point win over Penn yesterday which I, much to my everlasting consternation, did not get to see. I realize that a 15-point win over Penn is not very impressive. Especially for a team that is ranked unanimously #1 by everyone who does these things and is bombarded by talk of the "undefeated season". (I hate that talk, by the way. Absolutely, positively, hate it. I'm going on record right now as saying that I won't be completely devastated if we lose an early season game - before conference play starts of course - just to shut that up. ) But our injury list reads like a top-1o team all on its own. Hopefully we should get most of our major players back soon. Next up - Kentucky on Tuesday night in a game I actually get to see!!!! Kentucky is obviously a pretty major game. Don't let the fact that they lost to VMI at home fool you. Even though that's horrifyingly embarrassing, this is Kentucky. Luckily they will have my excellent from-home coaching to help guide them through.

I had a fun weekend celebrating my BFF's 30th. Happy Birthday Julie!!!!!

Her dad told me this weekend that I seemed different. I pointed out that I had lost 100 pounds :) He said no, my personality seemed different. He thought that I had become more confident and extroverted without so much extra weight. I don't know if he's right, but I've been thinking about it. I did just post a pretty embarrassing picture here...

What I really, really wanted to post was the video I made of my super-awesome kids at our dance party on Friday. Those kids are hysterical. But I've tried all weekend and can't get the video to upload. I did get it uploaded to my Facebook page, though, so click here to see it.

Ok, I have been lazying away my Sunday afternoon (which is what they are good for) but since I don't have any lesson plans done for this week I guess I better get on that!

The image in my head

So this is how I motivate myself to keep going on this whole weight-loss thing: I imagine that there is a skinny girl inside me. I'm eating right to get her out. But I'm exercising so that when she gets out she's already fit and toned and ready to go. Every time I'm exercising and I'm exhausted I think "Come on, skinny girl. Get stronger now so you can bust out!" I know. Crazy talk.

Something else new and amazing today - I swear I find something exciting every day. I finally went swimming again. I ALWAYS swim over to the ladder to get out because I'm not strong enough to pull myself up out on the side. I've tried once or twice and it's embarrassing. I figured it was a combination of weak arms and a lot of weight to pull up. Well, today I decided to try it while no one was around. I like flew out of the pool! It wasn't even hard! Amazing.

One of my cousins posted her pictures from the reunion and I swear when I see myself I just look like a fat girl. Which makes me think - if I look so much better than I did before, but I still look like a fat girl......wow. Anyway, there's my Debby-Downer moment of the night.

I have got to go get some things done so I can go to SLEEP! This is the latest I've been up all week. Somehow I just have such a hard time pulling myself away from the computer...

Oh, one more thing. We have a new kid coming to school tomorrow who was at our school last year but left. This is the buzz all around school (if you've never experienced a teacher gossip mill, you've missed out on one of the great wonders of the world) b/c apparently it's a really difficult child. So one of my fifth grade STUDENTS is telling me today that he's coming back and she shakes her head, pats my arm, and says "Good luck with that."

Family Reunion!

We had a Clark (my mom's dad's family) reunion this past weekend down at Sunset Beach. We had a great time at the reunion, although it did make me miss my Grandaddy something fierce. He died 3 years ago, less than a year after our last reunion. His brother and sister look so much like him! Here are a few snapshots to give you an idea of how it went:

Unfortunately, on the ride back home, this is how it went:

Yes, that was my mom's car. But she and my grandmother (who was riding with her) are ok. God was very, very good to us that day.

I have been very blessed with a wonderful family who I love more than I can say. I know that not everyone is as fortunate as I am. You know what else I love though? Sleep. I desperately need some and I'm going there now.

Oh, Coach K....

you just make it so easy for us to hate you! Seriously, this man is an idiot. Check out this story.
Better yet, check out what one of my favorite UNC bloggers had to say about it.

In case you don't read it, good ole Coach K threw a little hissy fit because there were empty seats in Cameron. For the exhibition game last night. The exhibition game. Against Lenoir-Rhyne. Yeah, right there's a quality coach for ya.

Where is my watch?

I just spent several minutes trying to find my watch. It wasn't in the dish on my dresser where I usually put it. I was going through my whole day yesterday, just a little panicked b/c I go crazy without my watch on, "I wore it "running", but then I probably just took it off in the bathroom before I took shower. But I know I had it on at Kid's Club last night because I looked at it 74 times. So why would I have taken it off anywhere other than my dresser last night? Maybe by the computer or in the bathroom... My watch CANNOT be lost. I'll go stark wild. Why is my house such a mess? I'll never find it. What am I going to do?...." and on and on. Mind you, while this is going through my head I have not budged from my spot staring at the top of my dresser to look for it or anything. That's when I spotted it. On my wrist.

I've gone a little crazy about this whole 100-pound thing. I did post it on my Facebook status, which seems a little crazy to me in and of itself :). I'm about to the point where I stop complete strangers on the street to tell them I've lost 100 pounds. Somebody stop me please!

Yesterday I set yet another how-far-I-can-"jog"-without-stopping-to-walk record. 2 miles! I only had about 30 minutes, so I "jogged" the whole time, except for a quick warm up and cool down.

Yesterday, we had this conversation in one of my 3rd grade classes:

Quavell: "If I say a bad word, and then tell my momma I didn't say it, then put my hand on a Bible and swear to God I didn't say it, then God will stripe me."
La'Nasia: "Yeah, God will stripe you for sure"

And in my 5th grade class, the conversation went something like this (although I can't remember who said what):

"Michael Vick is in jail. He's having a good time."
"Yeah, he's having fun. He gets to go outside all the time."
"He gets to play jail-ball. They can like knock each other over and stuff."
Ms. Nash intervenes: "You guys, jail is NOT fun. I'm sure that Michael Vick is not enjoying his time there. It is not a place you want to go."
"Yes, it is. You get to go outside more than we do at school."
"I know it's fun. My uncle went there. He's a felon."

I'll say this for my job - it's never dull :)

Random deep thought I had in the car the other day:
Is having a full schedule the same thing as having a full life?

Have a great Thursday everyone!

Shhhhh.....

I'm scared to say it out loud, because I'm afraid it's not really true. I'm going to have to whisper it.

I've lost 100 pounds.

I'm excited and at the same time trying to rein it in because I still have a long ways to go. Of course, my brain just keeps telling me - "Yeah, well good for you. I can't believe you even let yourself get into a situation where you had 100 pounds to lose and you still have 60 to go. " Although there's another, albeit smaller, piece of my brain that wants to walk up to everyone I see and say "Hi. I'm Sarah. I've lost 100 pounds." Especially if it means we can have a conversation that does not revolve around elections or politics.

My scale is broken.

Yeah, let's go with that.

Now if I could only find an excuse for why my face is breaking out like a teenager the day before prom...

Going to Jesus with all of my mess!

I went to a women's seminar at my church this morning. It was great, about how God talks to us and we talk to him. Something that one of the speakers said reminded me of something that I've been hearing a lot lately - like in Steve's sermon series on Lazarus and other places I think. I don't know if people really are talking about it a lot or if I'm just hearing it b/c it's something God knows I need to work on. Anyway.

Over and over in the Bible we see people coming to Jesus - actually physically talking to him, face-to-face which we don't get to do yet - in their brokenness and failures. They don't get themselves together and then go to him. They go to him and accuse him (Martha - "If you had been here, he wouldn't have died"), doubt him (the disciples saying they won't be able to feed the 5,000), in ambivalence ("Where else do we have to go?") and in pride ("Which one of us is your favorite?"). Obviously, I'm not pulling out the real references here. I probably could, but it would take me a long time - I'm not that good at my theology :) There are many more examples, and Jesus always responds to them in kindness and love, not harshly.

This is something I seriously need to work on. I tend to think, "No, I can't talk to God about this sin in my life. It's too bad." or "I've done this too many times. I can't ask God to forgive me again. I'm too embarassed." Um, hello Sarah? He knows anyway. Our speaker today talked about going to him even to say "I don't feel like talking to you today. I'm tired of you and angry at you." There is real power in saying things out loud. In talking to God and not just to ourselves. She talked about the difference between a monologue in our head - which gets us nowhere - and an actual dialogue with God. She suggested actually praying out loud to keep from slipping into that monologue.

One of the things I loved about both of the speakers today was how consistently they wove Scripture throughout their talks, as well as quotes from other theologians. They were very, very knowledgeable and great speakers. One of the quotes that spoke to me the most was from a man named Francoise Fenelon (I hadn't heard of him either) and it was about how we should speak to God, honestly telling him everything that is in our heart. It's a long quote, so I won't post it all, but it ends like this:

"...tell him without hesitation everything that comes into your head, with the simplicity and familiarity of a little child sitting on its mother's knee."

What a great, great God we serve, who seeks us out to talk to us and listen to us. No matter how broken we are.

Happy Halloween!

I dressed up as a math teacher. Get it? Cause I'm really a reading teacher? Here are some better costumes:

ROAR!


Why do people keep picking on me? And pulling my ears?

FInding clothes that fit.

*UGH*

Here are some clothing fit issues I'm having - I knew y'all wanted to hear about them:

** You know how there are some people that look like a caricature of a person. Like from the chest up and the thighs down they are of normal size but then they have an enormous stomach and butt? No? You don't know those people? Come visit me, my friend, and you will... I can tell that I've lost some weight in my boobs and face. Mostly the boobs. (I don't know about my legs, b/c I don't have a full length mirror. Because I'm super together and organized), but my stomach and butt are still enormous. It's NOT a good look.

** I don't know what size underwear to buy. In the past, this has been my underwear-buying philosophy: Go to Wal Mart. Find the multi-pack bags of underwear. Find the cheapest one. Buy the biggest size they have. Now I can still wear my underwear, but it's getting kind of baggy and I don't have any idea how to figure out what size to buy next.

** I put one some Goodwill jeans today (I have like 4 pairs of those) and they fit me perfectly - except for the left calf. I'm serious. Everywhere is perfect, but the left calf is tight. Only the left one.

** I would like to say hello to..... my neck! I just saw it in the mirror. Who knew I had one under all those chins?

Gratuitous pictures of my faves:

"Hmmmm...Bullet told me these things tasted like strawberries....wonder what kind of strawberries HE'S been eating?"

"Aunt Sarah thought if she took my Binky away she could get a cuter picture of me in my manly outfit. I'll show her!"

Ouch!

So right now I’m at school. I can’t actually post this because blogspot is one of the millions upon trillions of fun sites that are blocked by my lovely employer, Henrico Co. Let me tell you how much I love that. None.

Last night I got on here to write my Last Will and Testament, but decided I was too tired so you guys could just fight over my stuff. Luckily for y’all, I was able to get out of bed this morning after all. I took Body Pump for the third time last night. I’ve been trying to figure out how much weight I should use – and I think I overdid it a bit. A bit. By the end, every muscle in my body was trembling uncontrollably. But I just kept thinking to myself – “No sagging skin! I will not have saggy skin!” so this better work. Surprisingly enough, I was able to get up this morning relatively pain-free. I’ve been a little sore, but nothing like when I first worked out with Sgt. Bryan and could hardly move!

So here’s a tidbit about me – I’M COLD!!!!! No matter where I am when you’re reading this, I’m probably cold. Ever since the weather started to get colder, I cannot warm up. I’ve read about other people with this surgery and I think it’s not so much the loss of weight as it is my body reacting to all the crazy changes and spewing hormones everywhere. I hear the first winter is really cold, but it gets better. Here’s to hoping!

Back from a happy weekend :)

I haven't posted for a few days because I've been off hanging with some of my favorite people in the world - my parents, my sister, and these cuties:


If you haven't checked out my sister's blog yet, you should. Because she's awesome.

I never remember to bring a book home to Lynchburg so I always end up picking up some book I've read before to re-read. I always have to have a book to read when I go to bed - I don't when I'm at home, but when I'm at my parent's I do. I know, it's odd. But so am I. So this weekend I picked up Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness. I have read that book so many times and it gives me chills every time. I'm usually not into science-fictiony kind of things, but I LOVE this book. It always makes me feel like I should be praying all the time. It's one of those books that's stuck with me over time, and it comes to mind often to remind me to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Still working on this going to bed early thing...not happening so much tonight.

OH! Thanks to Beth and Laura for letting me know what was wrong with my laundry. I feel better knowing that other people have had it happen. A little dumber for not being able to figure it out on my own ;), but hey - I'll know what to do next time, right?

30 3/4

Today is my birthday. I'm turning 30 & 3/4. What's that you say? You don't celebrate that? I celebrate my birthday on the 23rd of every month. Unfortunately, the rest of the world hasn't caught on so it continues to be a private little celebration in my head.

30 & 3/4 is a scary, scary number....really close to 31......

Sometimes my laundry comes out of the washing machine literally dripping wet. (Load #5 of the 7 came out that way today) (The 7 loads are that pile of clothes I'm getting rid of. Come on, I'm bad but not THAT bad) Anyone know what causes this?

You know, some people just really get on my nerves.

I'm super tired so I'm going to sleep now - Night!







(you're wondering if you're the one who irritated me today, aren't you? HA)

Don't say I never gave you anything...

That's me inside the Clifford suit. Totally exciting, huh?

Fall Cleaning!

I spent yesterday cleaning out my closet. Here are all my "fat clothes" that are too big for me and have to be gotten rid of:

(and that's my fat cat Christine. She's wondering what she's going to wear when all the fat clothes are gone. Don't worry yet, cat. There are still many fat clothes to come) (Don't let her innocent look fool you) (Does anyone want to adopt her? And her brother? They're great cats. Really.)

Also, here's a picture of me in my favorite outfit from last winter, when I was so big I was just trying to hide in my clothes:

I know, my hair - and the expression on my face - is super attractive here but look past that, ok? Looking at the picture the clothes don't look that big, but trust me. They're really too big. I tried to take one of those holding-out-the-fat-pants-to-show-how-much-bigger-you-used-to-be pictures, and I can hold them out a lot - they really don't stay up by themselves - but I'm still too fat to post it on the internet. Someday!

On Friday, I was working with some of my kids when some men in suits wandered by in the hall. One of my most quotable kids asked me what they were doing and I told her I didn't know. She said, "They must be going to church after this!"

Clifford!

In the WLS community, people often refer to "wow moments" - when you realize how your weight loss has affected your life. I tend to think it's cheesy, naturally b/c I'm cynical like that, but I had one yesterday.

For our Book Fair/Community Day pep rally, our librarian asked me to wear the Clifford costume. For most of you out there who have always fit into the one-size-fits-all-category, this probably doesn't even seem like a big deal. But I've always had this secret fear of someone not realizing that I was fat (um, how does that happen exactly?), asking me to do it, and me not being able to fit in it. Because I wouldn't. So when she asked me I was shocked that she considered me normal-enough sized to be able to do it. That was exciting moment #1. #2 came when it actually fit. And #3 came when the kids couldn't guess who I was - I guess all the fat didn't show through as much as I thought it would. I had a great time being Clifford, by the way :)

The joys of teaching elementary school...

Today I went to school looking like this:


Yeah. It was Wacky Hair Wednesday! I love Spirit Week. I totally forgot Mismatch Monday, even though I had an awesome outfit. But yesterday was team Tuesday and I did it right - unfortunately, I don't have any UNC pants so I wore some white cropped pants (thanks, K-K!) with UNC socks and shiny Carolina blue clogs, which is a nice look. I also had on a UNC t-shirt, jacket, earrings, hair ribbon, and hair clips. Oh, and my lanyard that I carry my ID and key on is UNC. And I carried a UNC mug. It rocked. Tomorrow is Thinking Cap Thursday (hat day - not so exciting, but I'll bust out a UNC hat), and then is Flannel Friday - pajama day.

This afternoon as I'm walking down the hall I see one of my third graders swinging her arms wildly back and forth above her head. I asked her why she was swinging her arms and she answered:

"I don't got no underwear"

Hmmmm. I decided it was best to leave that one alone.

This afternoon I went for a "run", not realizing that it is HOT AS ANYTHING out there. I mean, really hot. I got so hot I got chills. I literally had goosebumps all up and down my arms. But I did 4 miles. Which is 5 laps around my trail. The first 4 laps I did more "running" than walking - a good bit more, actually - but the last lap I just walked. I considered it my cool down lap. It took me about 50-55 minutes. Something miraculous has happened since I've started working out more - the trail has gotten shorter. I'm pretty sure it has. It used to be all I could do to do 2 laps - and it took me my full 40 minute workout. So the trail must be getting shorter!

Ok, I'm taking a survey here. This is something that I've been thinking about a lot lately. I know, it's whacked out and strange but these are the things that go through my head. And this is my blog, where I write things that go through my head. I'm down about 90 pounds right now (since March when I started boot camp), which means naturally I'm thinking about hitting that 100-pound loss mark. My goal is to hit it before my family reunion Nov. 7. Of course, I've been stuck at the same weight for almost a week now, so I may never get there and this may be a moo point. (you know - a moo point. It's like a cow's opinion. It doesn't matter.) (Thanks, Joey!) Back to my question - when I hit 100 pounds lost, do I post that information in my Facebook status? Because it's exciting. But do I want to admit that I had 100 pounds to lose - and I'm still fat? Of course, people knew because - well, they could see me. Still. I know, this is one of those major dilemmas that world leaders lose sleep over.

I best go get in the shower b/c I smell BAD and I am going to teach Kid's Club at church tonight. Call me sometime!

Some thoughts from the head of me!

I love the re-usable grocery bag trend. They hold more and are easier to carry. (And, sure, I'm happy about the environmental goodness thing - whatever. Even though my mom was one of the first people to warn us about global warming and the loss of rainforests. Just ask her)

Actually, my friend Beth gave away pretty red bags as favors at her wedding last weekend. She was a BEAUTIFUL bride with a beautiful wedding. And, to make it all about me - I didn't even feel jealous at this one. Usually weddings are hard for me because of my lack of even the hope of one. Let's be honest - just being around married people is always hard for me. So I push past it and look hard for my happiness for them. And I find it and have a good time enjoying being with them. But this weekend I was just happy for Beth and enjoying being there with good friends to celebrate.

the happy couple

the cake

me and my BFF Julie

The Game Club crew! (see how cute pregnant Julie is?)

I met with my nut, Pam, again today. She was pleased with how I've been doing and even said that she thought she was too hard on me last time. (She wasn't, by the way - I needed to hear it. I honestly had thought I was doing ok but I wasn't) She gave me a lot of new helpful suggestions. *note here - none of these suggestions were for foods that I hate followed by "just try it". This was my old nut's way. This is why I no longer see her* She's very sweet and non-judgemental, which makes it easier for me to be as honest with her as I can, which makes it easier for her to help me. So it's good all around. I told her today that I worried that I never hear from anyone else who is not completely in love with their WLS. I tend to be pretty honest about admitting my doubts and frustrations about my surgery. And she told me that there are other people who feel that way, they just don't go to support groups and follow up appointments like I do. So that made me feel good. I'm going to keep fighting for this!

I'm still so tired it's almost dangerous for me to drive, but I went to bed earlier last night and I'm headed that way tonight as well. I need to give this "getting enough sleep" thing a legitimate shot. ;)

Today as he was leaving, one of my third graders had a ratty piece of notebook paper taped around his arm. I asked him (jokingly) if he broke his arm. He said, "Nah, I'm the QB in football at daycare" I cracked up. There were things written on the paper. I didn't look closely, but I'm assuming they were football plays. (For those of you not in the know - football quarterbacks often wear a playbook on their arm for calling plays)

I'll leave you tonight with a thought from Sunday's sermon. Steve's series on Jesus raising Lazarus is still going on, and this week was on Martha running to meet him. His focus was on how Mary was mixed-up and wrong in a lot of her thinking, but she took her disappointments straight to Christ and that was the right response. He said that we should do the same thing, too - we don't have to get ourselves straight before going to Jesus. We can go to him as messed up as we are. In the passage, Martha is comforted yet Jesus has not yet raised Lazarus from the dead. Here's what Steve had to say about that:

"Jesus comforts not by relieving pain, but by revealing who he is"

A Busy Weekend

I had a great weekend this weekend, keeping pretty busy. Friday night I went to a high school football game with some girls with my church, which was really fun. It was a perfect night for a football game! I spent Saturday in Harrisonburg at my friend Beth's wedding, which was gorgeous and perfect. Then we went to the Book Fair on the way home, and I got lots of awesome books! (I will skip over the part of Sat. where we went out to dinner - that was not something that needs to be relived) Sunday I went to church, then met up at the Purdy's (one of the pastors at West End - the one who leads the Young Adult class) for a post-retreat lunch/debrief/get-together. I crashed on the sofa for a while, then went out to my small group. I actually learned a lot and will post some of that at some point. Oh, and then upon leaving - I drove my car into the ditch at the end of the driveway and had to call a 12-year old tow truck driver to come get me out. Oh, well. No harm, no foul right? In truth, there's a lot to say about the whole weekend but it could get pretty long and tedious ;)

A big part of me feels like I'm just moving to Richmond - in a new job, finally getting actually involved in church, etc. I'm meeting a lot of new people and I'm really excited about that.

I've been doing much better these past 2 weeks with my food choices and I hope when I go back to see Pam (my nutritionist) tomorrow that she'll be pleased. I know the weight has been coming off faster, although the last few days it's slowed down again some. I'm working on being ok with that :)

My big complaint at the moment is that I'm SOOOO tired. All the time. I just can't seem to shake it. I feel asleep at my desk on Wednesday and I feel like I crash every chance I get. I don't know if I'm a little sick, if I'm not getting enough sleep, or if I'm missing some vitamin or something that I need. I don't want to jump to conclusions or be paranoid about it, but I'm tempted to call Dr. Elliot and ask him to go ahead and do my bloodwork just to check. He said he would do it at 6 months, which would be January. Maybe this week I'll just focus on getting to bed early and see if that helps.

Let me mention, also, how irritated I am that the temps are supposed to get up into the 80s this week. Fall was supposed to be here,people!

Ok, I need to get off to school. Toodles!

In case you wondered...

I keep meaning to post this. WLS stands for "Weight Loss Surgery", just in case you didn't know. I refer to anything to do with my surgery that way b/c it's quicker.

Shopping!

So a good friend is getting married this weekend (and let me add how THRILLED I am for her!!!!!!!!!!!!) and I decided that this was my chance to actually get some new clothes. As I'm losing the weight, I'm trying not to shop too much because (theoretically, at least) I'm losing so quickly that I can't wear the clothes for very long. I need new clothes, of course, so I've been shopping places like Goodwill, Wal-Mart, and my sister's closet.

So my BFF and I hit the mall on Wed. in search of the perfect cute new dress. She, naturally, found 3. She's pregnant and it was so much fun shopping for cute little maternity dresses with her! I can't wait to meet the baby, of course (due on my birthday, as all cool kids are) but for now it's fun watching her be pregnant. Anyway. I didn't have much luck. For one thing, it's hard to know what size to get. Obviously, I just have to keep trying things on and different dresses the sizes run differently but still it's confusing. It's a totally new experience for me, though, to be able to say "This is too big. I need a smaller one." I've always worn whatever the biggest size was. Seriously. One time I was in a friend's wedding and just told her to order the biggest size bridesmaid's dress they had. I think this freaked her out, but I was right. It fit.

Ok, too many tangents tonight.

I'm going to cut this story short and tell you that, after much work and heartache, I have found a new dress! This is more exciting to me than it probably is to the average person. For one thing, it was super on sale at Dillard's and I got it for $16! (The only other one that I had found was $90 and I just couldn't go there) Another thing....it's a size 16. Seriously. Let me put this in perspective for you - before surgery, I was a tight 24. When I bought the dress today, the pants I was wearing were a 22. I'll admit they're a little big. But I was thinking I was just barely into a 20. Now, let's be fair. I won't fit into a 16 in pretty much anything else. This dress just happened to run big or something. Still it's exciting to me. (Normally I do not discuss my clothing size. Ever. But I got over it because it's an exciting part of documenting this process for me.) Here's a fuzzy-because-I-used-the-self-timer-and-I'm-having-issues-with-that picture of the dress:

Oh, and here's a kid quote for you from Kid's Club at church this week:
We were discussing standing up for people and one kid was telling us how if a man pointed a gun at his friend he would stand up to him (not to worry - we steered away from this) and another boy chimed in and said,

"I would kick him in...in the bad place"
First kid, "Dude! You can't say that in church!"

Wish I had more exciting things to post, but the search for the dress has pretty much consumed my last few days. This weekend, after the wedding in Harrisonburg, we're going to hit the Green Valley Book Fair. If you've never been there, it's a must-go. And if you're going, it's a must-call-Sarah-and-invite-her situation.

Reasons I Love Fall

1. Jeans and a t-shirt, maybe a fleece at night
2. The leaves, of course
3. Fairs and festivals
4. Settling into a new school year
5. FOOTBALL!!!!!
6. Basketball is coming soon....
7. Anticipation of the holiday season
8. When it gets dark earlier, I feel like I'm staying up later and am therefore cooler
9. Sleeping with the windows open
10. Running in the cool late afternoons (ok, that was just today. And it wasn't technically "running" so much...)
11. I'm used to what year it is, so I usually write it correctly
12. New seasons of TV shows - excepting USA shows, which are the best ones, which have different types of seasons
13. Fall candles smell yummy
14. Busting out the striped socks and clogs
15. Have I mentioned jeans?
16. No more awkward "supposed-to-wear-a-bathing-suit" situations
17. Not having to rake leaves makes me grateful for another year of non-home-ownership
18. Pre-season basketball magazines come out
19. No longer expected to eat things like "fruit salad"
20. Thanksgiving
21. Ok, ok. Halloween, too
22. Julie's birthday when she finally catches up with the rest of us
23. Jeans
24. Starting to think about Christmas gifts
25. Hunting season means getting rid of a few of those pesky deer (sorry, Laura)
    
26. Snakes head back underground where they belong
27. Perfect weather
28. Changing clothes means a whole new wardrobe
29. Corn mazes
30. Wearing cuddly pajamas
31. Jeans

Feel free to add your own...

A Blog to Check Out

I stumbled upon this gem today:

Stuff Christians Like

and you need to check it out. Even if you're not into Christianity. This guy is awesomely hysterical. Of course, some of it may be funnier if you have a lot of church experience, but still. How many Christian bloggers do you know who routinely use the term metrosexual?

If I had aspirations of being a real blogger ( as opposed to a my-blog-is-a-journal-that-everyone-can-read blogger), this is just what I would want it to be like.

Great Beach Retreat

Wow - it's been almost a week since I've posted. Busy life, I guess :) Which is good in the sense that maybe I'm living a real life instead of an online one... Anyway.

This weekend I went to Corolla (in NC's Outer Banks) for a retreat with the Young Adults from my church. I've decided to process my thoughts about the weekend in a few categories, as follows, because I am just nerdy that way :):

Teaching - Matt Purdy is one of the pastors at West End and he leads the Young Adult group. He led 3 sessions this weekend on "The Enemy Within", talking about sin. The sessions were on knowing our sin, Jesus conquering our sin, and acting out the fact that Jesus has conquered it. I thought they were great sessions (not too long - Thanks, Matt! - since I don't sit well for extended periods of time) and very thought-provoking. Being at the beach on a church retreat tends to make you think deep thoughts. I walked on the beach by myself Sat. morning and found myself seeing lessons from God in everything. For instance - I was picking up shells to take back b/c some of my students asked for them. The best shells I found were at the top of the beach,yet I kept walking down in the water because that's where I wanted to be. Which is so like I am with God - he has good things for me in one place, but I insist on walking in my own place. Because he's so good, I can still find good things - but not the best that he has for me. This is a major theme of my life, one that I am constantly working on.

Friends/Fellowship - This is a really great group of people, around my age, and I really liked getting to know them better. They're fun and it was exciting to me to spend so much time hanging out with Christians where theology is discussed as readily and easily as our favorite sports teams (both got much attention this weekend). I often have a hard time feeling included - it's hard being a little bit of an outsider and trying to make new friends and I'm not very good at it. I tend to either go very quiet and retreat back or go overboard in being loud and crazy. There were a few times this weekend where I felt that keenly. But for the most part the group was very kind and gracious in including me and making me feel a part of things. (For the record, and this is another topic altogether, let me state that this is not entirely "the group"'s responsibility. I have a big part in this, which I struggle with and is a subject for another day) I stayed up until 2 a.m. both nights, which is very unlike me. But one night I stayed up b/c I was playing poker - and I won! Awesome. I did come home - and this seems a little sad - and friend request approximately a zillion people on Facebook from the weekend :)

WLS - related - I haven't posted about my meeting with Pam, the nutritionist, last Tuesday. But we're talking about changing a lot of things about the way I eat and I've been working pretty hard at it. I did pretty well this weekend. I took some things to eat/drink, but tried not to make a big deal out of it. I told some people about the surgery when it came up, but not everyone. I really don't mind talking about it, but I don't want people to feel like they have to listen to me go on about it, know what I mean? Sat. afternoon I did get sick and that was pretty miserable - especially since all of the bathrooms were occupied by people showering after an afternoon at the beach.

All in all, a great time. There is a lot more that I could say, but this post is already too long and I need to be in bed. Going back to school is going to be tough tomorrow! I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures, but I'm hoping that some of the other people who went will share theirs with me. Happy first week of October everyone!