i heart barnes and noble

Matthew and I went to the mall last night because the boy needs jeans. His knees keep busting through his pants. Being a girl and growing up with a bunch of girls, I don't understand how this happens. One minute the pants are fine, the next minute...there's a knee coming through. But this is not the point of my post.

As we were leaving the mall and circling the mall property, there was a huge glow that lit up the sky, pointing straight to heaven. There was lots of excitement and movement around the area. I thought maybe Jesus had come back. But no, it was the next best thing....Barnes and Noble had finally opened up at the mall.

I suddenly realized how URGENT it was that I go inside IMMEDIATELY and get a book that Allison needed. As Matthew and I entered the store and were greeted by people welcoming us to the 'preview party', I thought I heard a choir of angels singing. But actually it was a couple of guys on acoustic guitars, playing Nirvana's About a Girl. Clifford the Big Red Dog and Hurbee the Clown were in the children's area. Workers were offering me fresh baked chocolate chunk cookies. Story time for kids. Books galore. People everywhere. The smell of coffee. More books. More music. Somebody please lock me inside this place for a night!

get smooshed

I got smooshed today.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, I had my first official "now-that-you-are-40-you-have-to-do-this-every-year" mammogram. For my male coworkers who had to adjust our meetings around my appointment, now you know where I went. And if you are embarrassed now, you can go here.

I have a good friend who just turned 40 as well and she said she was scared to get a mammogram. Heck no, not me. If there is something wrong with me, I want to know now so I can get started on a treatment plan.

The exam was not really bad at all. It wasn't as dramatic as some women make it out to be. There was no pain involved, just awkwardness. The worst parts were the random poses and exposed flesh during the procedure. The technician was happy and smiling when I left, so I hope that's a good sign (or maybe she was laughing). Anyway, I'll find out my fate in a few days.

If you are a woman over 40, please don't waste another minute.... go get smooshed! Your future depends on it.

And don't forget to take your sense of humor with you!

addition + subtraction = balance

At TrueNorth Church recently, Steve spoke about the importance of balance in our lives. When we ADD something of value to our schedules, we should SUBTRACT something else in order to maintain balance. In these days of exorbitant gas prices, which have ADDED to our household expenses, have you found that financial SUBTRACTIONS have become necessary?

Moneysaving Mom is a website where women share their secrets of cutting grocery bills and stretching their dollars. It is an incredible resource for those who want to see SUBTRACTIONS at the bottom of their shopping receipts. I once thought I was a savvy shopper until I encountered the women who contribute to the Moneysaving Mom blog. They are strategic with reading advertisements, clipping coupons, and finding great deals. Sometimes they get something for nothing and other times they actually MAKE money! Check out the blog for creative ways to cut corners since it won't happen at the gas pump!

journey vs. destination

I was with a group of people last week and we were sharing memories of our favorite vacations. The best memories I have of family vacations when I was growing up was not the places we went, but how we got there.

My family of five covered the southeast from Tennessee to Florida in a Ford Cobra van. Our two-toned tan and brown '70s van had it going on:

Middle bucket seats that swiveled around toward the back.
A mini refrigerator with a MARBLE top.
A bench seat in the back which converted into a bed.
Side windows with tie-back curtains.
And most important...a Georgia Bulldog tire cover and a Georgia fight song horn that was unbelievably obnoxious.

Some of my favorite memories are of my sisters and I sleeping in our pajamas in the van bed until it was time to stop for breakfast. I remember a few years of taking the training potty for my youngest sister instead of making so many pit stops for her. I remember the games, the songs we made up, the laughing, the fun, and the fighting! I remember that we rarely had a hotel reservation. It was a family decision as we rode around until we found something with vacancy at a reasonable price that had an awesome pool.

But don't ask me about Carowinds or Disneyworld or Daytona or The Grand Ole Opry, because I don't remember much. I've seen the pictures...and that's about it.

Sometimes the journey is more memorable than arriving at the destination. We miss out on so much because we keep asking the question "are we there yet?". What do you think? Maybe the journey IS the destination.

which leader are you?

Found this on a blog that I stalk periodically. Interesting comparison between LeaderMan and Servant Leader (I condensed this a little for the sake of space).

Which one are you??

LeaderMan: Wants a platform on which to say something

Servant Leader: Has something to say

———–

LeaderMan: Wants you to know he’s a Leader

Servant Leader: You’re not sure he knows he’s a leader

———–

LeaderMan: Loves the idea of the Gospel, and the idea of The Church

Servant Leader: Loves God and the actual individual people God brings across his path

———–

LeaderMan: A great speaker, but self-described as, “Not really a people person.”

Servant Leader: Makes himself a people person

———–

LeaderMan: Gets together with you to talk about his vision

Servant Leader: Just gets together with you

———–

LeaderMan: Wants the right people on the bus

Servant Leader: Wants to find the right bus for you, and sit next to you on it

———–

LeaderMan: If it’s worth doing, it worth doing with excellence

Servant Leader: Not exactly sure how to even calculate “worth doing”

———–

LeaderMan: Talks about confronting one another in love

Servant Leader: Actually confronts you in love

———–

LeaderMan: Leads because of official position

Servant Leader: Leads in spite of position

———–

LeaderMan: Deep down, threatened by other Leaders

Servant Leader: Has nothing to lose

need more margin

I am a person who always gets in a hurry at the last minute. I am usually breaking my neck to get places because I don't leave enough margin in my schedule for getting somewhere EARLY. You can count on me being right on time or a few minutes late. I want to do better and I am working on that!

When I am in a hurry, the law of Murphy always steps in an reminds me to slow down. Recently I was on my way to a meeting and rushed in to Walmart to quickly grab a few things, hoping not to end up in a conversation with anyone. Item number one was easy and the coast was clear with item number two. But it was that gallon of milk in the far back corner of the store that would be my challenge. As soon as I rounded the corner, there she was...the coworker from my previous job that I had not seen in about five years. I knew that I would surely be late for my meeting and I would have some explaining to do. I decided to slow down and spend a few minutes reconnecting with her.

Relationship:1 Timeliness: 0

I don't want to continue dodging people because I missed the mark on my time management. I want to be available and accessible to people. It is the only way to truly cultivate relationships.

i have missed my brain

Wow! I almost forgot the password to my blog since I haven't posted in three weeks. I figured if I kept the Chick-fil-a post up long enough, they might consider giving me some more free chicken.

No such luck.

The reason I haven't posted is not because I don't have anything to say. It is because I have too much to say. It is a busy time of the year and a lot is going on around me. When a woman's brain is overloaded, I often use a computer illustration to explain what is happening in our heads:

Each idea or thought is like a "window" that is opened up on our brain's desktop. Lots and lots of windows. Some are minimized while others are maximized. Sometimes we get pop-ups that mess up any attempt at organizing these brain windows.

Today was one of those wonderful days that I could close out some windows completely!

I have missed my brain!