Am I counting my blessings?

My answer today is yes, but I am very behind in my counting. I was reading or listening to something recently that talked about how we pray for things, but then when the answers come, we take them for granted and forget to thank God for His provision. After gaining this insight, I realized that I owed God a HUMUNGOUS thank you! Here is the long story of the reason for my thank you: :)

Most of you know that I often have trouble sleeping. Last night was a semi-bad night for me. Nothing major, I just woke up a lot, but would fall right back to sleep. It also required a changing of my environment each time because I was either too hot or too cold :). Sorry, that was a tangent. I started thinking this morning about how long it has been since I have had a spell of repeated bad nights of sleep. I could not remember the last time this has happened! I also think it coincides with another change I made in my life. Several months ago, I was dissatisfied with the amount of time I was spending in prayer and in the Word, so I made a difficult decision for me. I decided to get up 30 minutes earlier in order to spend at least 30 minutes of good, focused time with God. Now, when you are already tired because you don't feel like you're getting enough sleep, this seems like a huge sacrifice. But I did it. That, topped with my commitment to not do anything for pleasure on the computer until I've spent these 30 minutes, has equaled two things:

1. Very consistent time in the Word.
2. Much more consistent, good sleep.

All of that to say, I often forget to thank God for the answers to prayers (and frankly, I liked this answer better than if He had said I needed to exercise more which is one of many suggestions I got on ways to improve my sleeping!). So, my question for my readers tonight is....Are you counting your blessings and thanking God for answered prayer?

New Do

I got my hairs cut. :) I decided that now that I am 30, I should do something a little different than just parting it down the middle and walking out the door. So, this is what we came up with. A subtle swoopy bang. It's still really easy to take care of which was one of my stipulations...I don't like taking a lot of time on my hair. It has been easier to get used to than I thought it would be.

Continue 3rd person

Teresa's apartment got sprayed for spiders today! Die, spiders, die!

Motivate! Motivate! Motivate!

Teresa is trying to decide if she is going to do anything productive this evening. So far, it's not looking so good. Oh, wait. I ate dinner. That's productive, right?

Walk away from the computer! You can do it!

HeeHee. I just read the above sentence. I have just been on Facebook and realized that I posted on my blog as if it was a status update on Facebook. Too bad I don't have Facebook, otherwise I could put a status update :).

Pictures as Promised

Here are the pictures from the pontoon boat. The first few are of the boys playing "jump in the lake and see if you can catch the ball." They got pretty good at it and even tried back flips, etc

This is how they started. One guy up on the back of the boat and one guy throwing the ball.

This is a great yearbook shot! One thing I learned after 3 years on staff, the best sports/action pictures are the ones where the ball is actually in the picture.

Brooke and Amanda hangin' out in the lake.

Relaxing on some floats.

Ryan and Sarah on the jet skis. It was Sarah's first time on a jet ski. The story ends with her and Ryan flipping the jet ski and having to be pulled back to shore because they couldn't get it started again. In Sarah's words...It was AWESOME! I actually don't know if those were her words or not, but that was the gist of them.

Ben and Tim on Big Mable, the tube that we all got to ride on throughout the day.

The sunbathers.

Just as I thought

We had a fantabulous time at the lake this weekend. Friday night was all about fellowship. We took two church vans and between 25 and 30 people on the trip. We had the bonfire, praise and worship and some smores. Some were able to go for a midnight pontoon boat ride around the lake. I almost got to go but then missed the boat. Everyone enjoyed it but came back freezing. The family that hosted us as a wonderful house on the lake. All the girls got to sleep in various rooms in the house, but most of us were upstairs in a loft with several bunk beds. The guys either camped outside or slept on air mattresses in the basement. Saturday morning started with individual time in the Word, followed by a HUGE spread of breakfast foods, lots of which was provided by McDonald's--pancakes, eggs, sausage, cinnamelts (my personal favorite), a variety of fruit, toast, granola bars, and I'm sure I'm missing a few things (one thing we know how to do in our group is eat food!). Next it was getting ready for a day on the lake which began with a "sermon by the lake" by Ryan's dad. He gave us the rules of all the toys we would be playing with throughout the day so that our safety was insured. Most of the group left soon after that--four on the jet skis, six on the speed boat to tube, and the rest of us on the pontoon boat. Five people had to stay back because we didn't have enough life jackets. They spent the morning riding the ATVs and relaxing. The pontoon boat anchored in an inlet where we swam, played water games, sunbathed, and fellowhsipped. We were the transfer point for people going out on the jet skis and speed boat. Halfway through the day we went back to pick up the people left on shore and five people stayed back. I spent most of the day on the pontoon boat and swimming in the lake. I went out on the last boat ride for tubing. I had never been tubing but had a great time, although my body definitely protested for the next two days! It was a double tube called "Big Mable", so Kristi and I went together. Ryan's dad gave us quite the ride! Kristi fell off twice, but I managed to hang on. We then went in for dinner and lots and lots of sitting (we were all too worn out to do anything else!). We had a time of sharing what the Lord has been doing in our lives in the last year. It was a great time to be encouraged by my brothers and sisters in Christ. Then, we packed up, cleaned up, and headed home, arriving at the church at 11:45pm. We laughed a lot in church on Sunday morning because we were all moving a little slowly and comparing muscle soreness and sunburns. I can't wait for another opportunity to go again! I didn't take as many pictures as I had anticipated, only of the guys being guys on the pontoon boat (i.e. creating any game they can think of to entertain themselves while the girls relaxed on floats or on deck!). Maybe I will post them later. They are actually quite funny!

Let the packing begin!

I'm off to pack my bags for a weekend at the lake. I am so excited to get away with friends for tonight and tomorrow. There will be lots of activities to take part in--boating, jet skiing, tubing, four wheeling, slip-n-sliding, and of course eating (which includes bonfiring and smoring--I know, two words you shouldn't add -ing to, but I did it anyway!)! I don't know how much activity I will partake in. I am actually looking forward to just relaxing. I heard something about a hammock :). That's much more my style! Tonight we are going to have a bonfire with praise and worship and testimonies. I hope it is a time of encouragement in the Lord. And it is going to be PERFECT weather! Mid to high 80s and super sunny, or as the weather.com states "abundant sunshine." I'm taking my camera, so maybe I will actually post some pictures since it has been awhile.

Yep, just as I thought, spellcheck did not recognize bonfiring or smoring as words. What do they know?!

Against My Better Judgment

I am going WILD and CRAZY on my day off! A can of Dr. Pepper at 3:30! Yikes! :)

We'll see how wild and crazy I feel when I can't sleep tonight...

The power of a to-do list

I am loving my day off so far, but I decided I needed to make a to-do list so that I don't waste away my two days. Actually, I have been pretty productive. It is 12:30 and I've spent time in the Word, almost finished my laundry, exercised and showered, and am now eating lunch and making a grocery list. But I still need the to-do list. Not so much because I don't know what needs to be done, but because the second I write it down I am 92% more likely to do what is on the list. I have never understood this phenomenon, but have found it to be true time and time again. Here are a few tricks I have learned in accomplishing my to-do list:
1. Break down steps (the more you can scratch off the list, the more you feel you've accomplished). For instance, sometimes when laundry is on the list I will put do laundry and put laundry away as two different items.
2. Include things on the list that you know you will accomplish regardless of how lazy you become (again, the more you can scratch off, the more you feel you've accomplished). For instance, today's list has exercise on it. When I was making the list, I was already in the process of getting things ready to exercise. Or I might put, "eat lunch" on the list.
3. Do not get upset or frustrated that everything did not get done. Just put it back on the next list you make. For instance, clean out closet has been on my list for the last month, but if it keeps going on the list, eventually it will get done.
4. Rejoice in what you do accomplish, knowing that you did your best!

Appreciating the Little Things

I bought a loaf of bread on Sunday and have thoroughly enjoyed eating peanut butter and jelly on fresh bread. As a single person, I don't often have fresh bread. It takes me a while to go through a loaf, so after a week or so, I stop eating bread and only eat toast or grilled things. And then eventually I throw away a quarter to half a loaf of moldy bread. So, I have to enjoy the freshness while I can!

I also saw a fox cross the road today on my way to see a client! It stopped just before entering a cornfield and turned and watched me drive by. I so wish I had had a way to get a picture of it!

I only have one more day of work this week!!! I have two clients on vacation, so I decided that if I could fit all of my clients into three days, why not?! I'll probably do some paperwork on Thursday, but won't have to go into work.

Just a thought

I was going to title this blog "You might be pregnant if..." but then decided that as a single woman who is most definitely NOT pregnant, I shouldn't cause any heart attacks among my friends :). But here's the reason for the title:

After my post about the vivid dreams I have, someone told me that they might get even more vivid when I'm pregnant. Apparently pregnant women are notorious for vivid dreams (which I think I knew of my stepmom and a couple other women I know who have been pregnant). So here is a current list of things I know to be true about pregnant women (Not exhaustive, of course):
1. They have vivid dreams.
2. They have hot flashes or are just hotter all day in general.
3. They have to go to the bathroom...a lot.

Here is what I know about my non-pregnant self (Not exhaustive, of course):
1. I have vivid dreams.
2. I have hot flashes or am just hotter all day in general than other women (and some men too!).
3. I have to go to the bathroom...a lot.

So, here is my conclusion. Either all of these things are going to get A LOT worse when I am pregnant. Or the opposite of all these things will be true. Please, let it be the opposite. Please, please, please! :)

My Musings

This post is not going to make sense to most people, but I decided that it makes sense to me, so I'm going to post it (and it will make sense to anyone else I tell the story to personally) :).

I have very vivid dreams. Lots of details. Lots of different things going on. Many times my dreams include people I know, but often there are nameless people in my dreams, or the people I know are minor characters. I had a dream last night that had me intrigued and confused this morning. I'm not going to go into any detail, but it was interesting. It was definitely about someone I know with several other people who played minor characters. Anyway, that's all. See, I told you, it will make no sense to anyone but I needed some type of outlet to talk about it, even if it was vaguely. You'd think with my background in psychology, I could analyze it and figure it out, but no such luck. Just a random dream that has me asking some questions of myself.

Sometimes I think I would prefer not to dream at all.

Much more accomplished

I managed to get much more accomplished today then I did last night. I paid a couple of bills. Did that load of laundry. Read a chapter of a book I haven't picked up in a while. Filed a stack of bills I think has been piling up since I moved in a year ago. Watched two softball games. And in between I did some not so productive stuff. Played on the Internet too much. Watched two movies. Didn't exercise. It felt good to have a somewhat lazy day but still get to scratch some things off my to-do list. Happy Saturday to everyone!

Never a Dull Moment

And on goes the apparent lack of need for sleep. I didn't go to bed until 1am but I woke up at 6 wide awake. I was able to fall back to sleep but the same thing happened at 7. I fell back to sleep and woke up at 8 and decided to get up. I rarely ever get up that early on a Saturday. But I was able to spend some good time with the Lord and get ready to go to the softball tournament. On the way to the field, driving through a drizzle, I decided that even I wasn't that die hard of a fan and I went to Walmart to return something instead. When I arrived back to the apartment I walked in on this interchange:
Emily: "Teresa, HELP!" Emily was on the couch watching TV so I couldn't figure out what she might need help with. She continued, "Go stand on that side of the TV." That side being the one closest to the sliding glass door.
Teresa: "Is there a big bug over there?"
Emily: "It's REALLY BIG! And I need help to kill it."
I walked over to the wall and there was a GINORMOUS spider on the wall. Seriously. And it was in our apartment. Which was my next statement to Emily.
Teresa: "That is disgusting. And it's in our apartment Emily. Where we live."
Emily: "Yes, I know. But how do we get it out."
Teresa: "I've killed the last two bugs. I think it's your turn."
There was much standing and staring at the spider. I have an odd fascination with spiders. They completely freak me out, but they pull me in all the same.
Teresa: "I think I need to take a picture." So I did.
Teresa: "Too bad neither of us have boyfriends to kill it."
Emily: "I know!"
Teresa: "I'd call my dad, but I'm pretty sure he would laugh at us."
Needless to say there was much standing and staring. Much squealing and jumping and waving of hands. But in the end, we had a dead spider. What teamwork! We can now continue to live in our apartment. No need to move out. Life can go on. Here are the pictures of the spider, with the 3 (orange) and 5 (blue) pound weights to show how big it was. Emily and I agree that the pictures make the spider look smaller than it actually was. Just know we are not exaggerating when we say it was HUGE!

So, what do you think? Disgusting, right? Huge, right? I told you so.