Congratulations Tricia and Dave!

This past Saturday two of my friends from North Carolina took the big step and tied the knot! ;-). Congratulations Tricia and Dave! May the Lord bless your life together!

Here are a couple of pictures from the day:

Look at how happy and in love they are! I think they are adorable. What I really liked about their day is that you could see their personalities shine through, they allowed laughter come out and didn't worry about everything being perfect. What a wonderful day!

The cake- beautiful and yummy!

Dancing- probably one of my favorite things about weddings. There will be dancing at my wedding- and I will be in the middle of the dance floor. ;-). Can you spot me in these group pictures? Do you dance at weddings?

Creature of Habit: Part 2

See Part 1 for more of my habits!

Moe's Southwest Grill

It took me a while to find my meal of habit at Moe's. As a side note, I am not a huge bean fan- I don't like the texture. For a long time I was very anti-burrito places for this reason.

Unfortunately I had many friends who likes Moe's, so I had to adapt.

For a while I would order a burrito without beans. Then I moved onto the Cheese Quesadilla- but still not meal of habit. Then one glorious day it happened! I tried the...

Nachos
only cheese
add Jalapenos and Sour Cream.

Yummy- now i am happy as a clam when I got to Moe's.

As a side note- I like Chipolte a lot because you can order a fajita burrito with peppers and onions instead of beans. I am happy as a clam there, too!

Disney World: Favorites (Part 4)

Click on the link for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

So, as I promised in Part 3, I'll finish up my favorites for the last two parks of Disney World. Can you tell how much I love this place? Well, if nothing else... I just liked being on vacation and want to go back! :-)

Hollywood Studios (used to be called MGM Studios):
You all could probably guess this... but my favorite here is the "Tower of Terror." I mean... it is awesome! They recently updated it so that you never drop the same from one ride to the next... you really don't know when you will drop, if it will be a little drop or a big drop, etc. HOW MUCH FUN! One night, Laura, Rachel and I were all able to ride it three times in a row with little to no wait. Talk about fun... and an adrenaline rush! I love "Tower of Terror."

I also really enjoy Hollywood Studios because of all of the shows. I love musicals, both on stage and in the movies. So for me, it is just fun to watch. We went to see "Beauty and the Beast" on stage, the "Little Mermaid Show", etc. All fun!

Me waiting in life for "The Aerosmith Rockin' Roller Coaster" with the "Tower of Terror" in the background. Two of my favorite thrill rides!

Animal Kingdom:
Also wins a "Most Improved" award! The last time I went to Animal Kingdom, there wasn't much to see or do. They had the "Bugs Life 4-D Show", "The Dinosaur Ride," and the "Safari Ride." Other than that, there wasn't much. So imagine my surprise when I saw how much there was this time around.

I really enjoyed their new roller coaster "Expedition Everest." I would say it is a glorified "Big Thunder Mountain." Had some moments of scariness, but overall tame compared to some of the bigger roller coasters I have been on. However, I still really enjoyed it! Spoiler Alert: You go backwards on parts of it! :-)

I also got to see "the Lion King" show- talk about fun!!! I loved it... but then again, when have I not at least liked a musical?

Picture of the left: the roller coaster, "Expedition Everest" from the beginning of the line. Picture on the Right: the "Tree of Life" which also houses the "Bug's Life 4-D" show.

Overall, I don't think I could choose a favorite park. I love all of them for different reasons. I could tell you favorite ride and favorite show from each... would that be enough?
And in case you can't tell from reading my blog- I don't do favorites well. I can almost always find reasons to like something. ;-).

More stories to come from Disney. Tired of hearing about it yet?

My love for Chick-fil-a...

I think this video accurately portrays my love for Chick-fil-a. I do really feel bad for all of you who don't have one near you.



What do you all think? :-)

Disney World: Favorites (Part 3)

I have my favorites at Disney- favorite shows, favorite shows, etc. Thought I would share a couple with everyone!

Magic Kingdom:
The classic park. What everyone thinks of when they hear "Disney World." My favorite ride at Disney World is actually one of their animated 4-D shows. It is "Mickey's Philharmagic." LOVE it- Donald takes Mickey's conductor stick and tries to conduct the show- we are then taken on an adventure where we visit Beauty and the Beast, the Little Mermaid, the Lion King, Fantasia, Aladdin and event Peter Pan- AWESOME. (and yes, I sing along the whole time).

And of course- I love the old favorite of "Splash Mountain." Probably one of my favorite rides. Because the lines were so short I was able to ride it back-to-back three times. Jealous, aren't you?

Rachel and I before "Mickey's Philharmagic." Disclaimer: we were tired and bored of waiting.

One of the scenes on "Splash Mountain." This was the third time around when we started taking all the photos...

EPCOT:
The second park to open in Disney World history-- growing up, my least favorite park. But I was pleasantly surprised with the improvements they have made to this part in recent years. I LOVED Soarin'; maybe my favorite at Disney. I also rode Mission:Space. a good ride, but a little intense (do NOT eat before you go on it).

But my favorite thing about Epcot? The food- the World Showcase has so many countries, with so many food offerings. I could eat the whole time. :-) We ate in Mexico- and I was very satisfied.

I don't have any photos of Soarin'-- but I did have one of the Spaceship Earth ball (what is this thing called?). PS- the refurbished the ride inside it... very cool.

Ok... I'll continue tomorrow with Hollywood Studios (MGM) and Animal Kingdom. Sorry for all the Disney Updates- but I love the place. I just have to share all my stories!

Creature of Habit: Part I

Are you a creature of habit? I am... in many ways, too. I just get in a routine, and that is the way I do things from then on.

For example, in the shower I always shampoo, condition, shave, wash my body, then I am out. I never brush my teeth until after I have showered and dressed.

What else? In the morning at work, I turn on my computer, read msn.com, people.com, then a couple of comics- and then and only then will I tackle my emails. And when it comes to emails- I first scan for a "chain" (all have the same topic and people kept hitting reply to all) and then I answer what I think will be easy ones and then I finish it out.

I am also a creature of habit when it comes to ordering food at restaurants. Once I find something I like... good luck getting me to change it! So I think I will try to share with you all a couple of my habitual means at my favorite places.

Chick-fil-a:

If you know me, you know I love Chick-fil-a. LOVE IT! That place can do almost no wrong in my book. They did do some wrong last year when they released a new recipe for their chicken strips-- but have no fear, I found a new meal of habit.

Before the new recipe, this was my meal of habit:
Chicken Strips Meal (comes with waffle fries)
Bar-b-que Sauce
Coke, light ice, please

Once the new recipe came... I changed- call me crazy but I didn't like the new recipe.
Chicken Nuggets Meal (#5), 8 count
Chick fil a Sauce (new addition- yum-my!)
Coke, light ice, please

But of course I had to modify it recently- I gave up Coke for Lent. SO, now it is Lemonade. I may or may not add Coke back into my diet come Easter. I am leaning towards not adding it back in- I don't need it, it isn't healthy. BUT I really do like it- maybe it will be a super duper special treat every once in a while.

What about you? Are you a creature of habit with a meal of habit at different restaurants?

Disney World: The Hotel (Part II)

Sorry for the lack of updates. My computer at home has started acting up again (thankfully my friend Nick is going to work on it); and then the day after I uploaded my Part I of Disney updates my work computer crashed... ACK! Luckily they gave me a substitute and our IT guy knew it wasn't my fault. It was having issues from day one and so he wasn't surprised at all. Anyway, all the photos were on the crashed work computer... and still on my camera. I just had to go and get them put onto a CD. DONE!

Back to the story of my trip to Disney World...

We stayed at the Pop Century Resort Hotel. It is one of their Value Resorts, and quite the trip through time. They design each of their buildings based on one decade. We stayed in the 70's- the stairs up to the floors were giant 8 tracks. Our room decor- definitely out of the 1970s. But also very fun. Here are some pictures from around the hotel, with varying degrees of the different decades:

Like our 70s decorum- the interactive Twister game board... the giant 8 track... the Boogie Nights dancing pair... and look closely- see the mood ring?

This greeted us every time we went to the lobby/gift shop/cafeteria. The cafeteria was the best- you could choose from any type of food you want, and it was decently priced. It was nice to have it.

In the 80s you had giant Mr and Mrs Potato Heads- I forced Rachel to take a picture with me. And then in the 90s, they had a pool shaped like a laptop. They also had a HUGE keyboard on the ground. Not pictured: the bowling pin shaped pool (from the 50s) and the Hippy Dip Pool (from the 60s); there was also a giant Foosball table in the courtyard of our building... and much more. Disney doesn't leave anything out of a theme, not in a line, not at your hotel. It was a great place to stay. If you stay on grounds, go with their value resorts- and Pop Century was awesome!

Baby Step 3a: Complete!

Yep- I am one step further in becoming debt free. And I am doing a small happy dance right now. I have paid off one of my three credit card bills! :-)! :-)! :-)!

Will you join me in the happy dance?

I know that I haven't completed Step 2 yet- the trip to Disney and Christmas made it harder to save than I wanted. Until I get the Short Term Savings where I want it, I will only be paying minimum on my two outstanding credit card debts.

In case you care, here are how my baby steps are coming:

1) Save $2000 in long term, high-yield savings account.- DONE!
2) Save $1000 in short term, (emergency) savings account.- about 2/3 of the way there
3) Pay off three remaining credit-card debts- getting closer
a) Wachovia Credit Card- DONE!
b) Northwest Credit Card
c) Chase Credit Card
4) Pay off car
5) Save 3 to 6 months worth of expenses in high-yield savings account
6) Start investing 15% of income in retirement (either Roth IRA or pre-tax retirement plan)
7) Buy a home, build wealth and give freely!

If you are in debt- do something about it. I still have quite a bit to go, but knowing I am making a dent in it is freeing... and what has really helped? having a written budget. Do it- it is worth the peace of mind!

Now, to complete Step 2... and then finish step 3. I think I can, I think I can, I KNOW I can.

O.M.G

There are no words for the ridiculousness of this video. No words.

Disney: The Weather (Part I)

I loved my time in Disney with Rachel and Laura. I am so excited that we decided to go. The trip was quite fun... and as to be expected not restful at all. ;-).

The weather while we were down there was absolutely amazing. The first two days were sunny and about 80 degree's outside. Talk about wonderful.

Note the shorts and polo- niiiice. :-) The sun was also wonderful. I would love to have that weather back again. Spring is almost here- that is what I keep telling myself.

Sunday rained in the morning; however the sun came out in the afternoon. Too bad the temperature dropped. During the days it was 60 or so, but it did get cold in the evening.

Do you see the difference in outfits? The picture on the left was the rainy morning... the picture on the right was out last morning. I had to break out my fleece- so glad I brought it! Just imagine how hard it was to pack; we had to pack for everything from upper 30s to mid 80s. My suitcase was stuffed!

Just a preview...

Note: a story for these photos and more to come! :-)

The Bachelor- My Reactions

Before this past January, I have only watched one season of "The Bachelor." It was the Jen and Andrew Firestone season. (I am still bummed they didn't work out, but not surprised).

It all changed in January though. My friend, Rachel, came over one Monday and got me hooked. I just couldn't resist- especially when they showed Deanna coming back on to say "I made a mistake." WHAT?!?! my curiosity went. And I was hooked on it- trash and all.

Now, before I write my response... just know this. I don't really think any couples from this show are expected to last. WHY? Because the whole show is just unreal. It takes what is a hard process (getting to one another) and puts it in a pressure cooker and then adds jealousy to the mix. Just doesn't equal good things for the future of the relationship. Trista and Ryan (the only couple to make it down the aisle) seem to have good heads on their shoulders, and I do hope they last forever. But, they seem to have the most healthy approach to why they went on the show and talk about how hard it is to make the relationship last. Most people go on the show, in my opinion, to use it to get booty (sorry, don't know how else to say it) and to get their 15 minutes of fame.

Back to this season- so I wanted Jason to pick Melissa. True to what the girls said on "After the Rose Ceremony Part II", Melissa was America's Sweetheart. I loved her and I honestly thought that she would be good for Jason (from what little I could observe). So when he picked her I was stoked...

And then he had to go dump her on national television. Jackass. Excuse the language but that was my honest opinion. Of course now that it has been a week since then, I am learning more and more about Melissa and Jason has at least talked about the relationship ending. But still- it was a class-less move.

If he really had doubts, why did he ask in the first place? If Molly's true show of emotion after her dumped her the first time hit him so hard, why didn't he take a step back and just say 'I choose you.' You don't have to get down on one knee. AND then to top it all off, he cries when he lets Melissa go but then is all ok with kissing Molly soon after dumping his fiance? Seems to me that this man doesn't know what he wants and can turn off his emotions pretty quickly.

Maybe they will work out, and part of me wants them to (watching the second "After the Rose Ceremony" I can see they do have chemistry), but I am still mad. He hurt Melissa and wasn't honest with anyone. Not to mention, he is dragging the Ty (his son) through all of this.

I do have to say- Naomi on Part II- man, I was loving her. Go Girl! She said it like it was. She went up a couple of notches in my book.

Ok- enough on that show. Hopefully I won't ever get addicted to another season of "The Bachelor." We'll see...

What is your guilty pleasure?

Good Things: February

I know, I know- I am a little late on this one. My life is really busy. But I am going to try and be consistent in blogging even if life around me is outta control. My plan is to blog right before I go home from work as a way to "defrost" from work.

Anyway, here is my monthly list of Good Things, this time from Feb 2009:

1- Super Bowl Sunday, really it was watching "The Office" at Amanda's; watching that show with a group makes it even funnier, if that is at all possible.
2- "The Bachelor" watching with Rachel. (I know, it's trash- wait until my reaction post to the finale this year).
3- I got a surprise from a volunteer- a chocolate bar in my box. YUMMY!
4- Awesome message at The Gathering, just what I needed to hear
5- dinner w/ the Niemans :-) love that family!
6- dinner at CPK (California Pizza Kitchen)- I LOVE, love their foccia bread. Pure heaven for a carb lover like myself.
7- beautiful day- got to be outdoors, a walk through Umstead with Laura
8- received some very sweet compliments from the Children's Ministry
9- lunch at Subway with Tiffany
10- homemade lunch with Amy and her sweet boy, Luke
11- UNC beat Duke #1!
12- came home from my leaders' meeting w/ no follow up questions: SCORE!
13- got my eyebrows waxed- no judgement, k? I like it when this happens
14- Pink Pancake Party and extended time of worship
15- got to see the a women's UNC basketball game
16- lunch at Applebee's
17- ...
18- ...
19- ...
20- dinner at Red Robin w/ Rachel
21- Mom and Dad came to visit, saw a bunch of old videos of myself as a kid, saw Gran Torino- go see it!
22- countdown until Disney is on!
23- dinner at the Nieman's, again
24- Try-It Troop: worked on Scrapbooks, got the quietest girl there to open up!
25- spur of the moment Getting Started- not my favorite thing, but I did get my packing for Disney done even though my day was nutso
26- one more day until Disney- felt like I couldn't even concentrate at work that day
27- DISNEY WORLD, need I say more? Fun things: Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Mickey's Philharmagic, Wishes Fireworks show
28- beautiful weather in Florida, I was in my shorts and a polo! GLORIOUS day! Fun things: Mission Space and Soarin' at EPCOT, plus Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios.

So- I missed a couple of days, but over all, not a bad list. What good things happened for you in February? I'll try to be better in March...

M.I.A

Ok, so I have been MIA for the last, oh, at least two weeks- or more. My bad!

What has been going in my life? Well, it has been busy but with nothing new. Work is just crazy- and it is only going to be worse in March. Good thing I still like my job... most days. No, I really do like my job, it is just crazy busy. And God has been sending me small presents and encouragements recently just showing me that I am really meant for this job, at least for the next little bit.

I have begun to teach the 4 and 5 year olds on Sundays at my church. I am really enjoying it. That is taking up a little time to lesson plan.

My home computer is acting up again. Thank goodness for my friend at church; he is going to take a look at it. Here is to hoping he can fix it again. Otherwise, my budget goals may have to be adjusted. YIKES!

OH- and I leave for Disney World on Friday. I may be a small bit excited for that!!!! And in case you were wondering, it is supposed to be in the 80s while we are down there. Oh man- I really am excited. :-)

Being vs. Doing

I am not always a fan of chain mail (remember when it actually all came through snail mail?), but every once in a while they are worth a read. A co-worker sent this one to me... and it really just hit home, made me stop and think. So, have a read:

Rick Warren..... (Do you remember that he wrote 'PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE’ , moderated the "first" McCain and Obama debate, and also delivered the invocation at this year's inauguration?)You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, 'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California.

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren , Rick said:

"People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.

God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.

If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is 'my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.

It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.

Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, "God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better." God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings. "

I think it hit home because I am someone who always gets caught up in the "doing." If you know me, you know I live for my planner, I live for my to-do lists. In fact- on my Facebook Profile I mention that when I am stressed, making lists helps to calm me down. Knowing what I need to get done helps me focus long enough to do it. But Rick Warren is right- God didn't put me on the earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He created me to glorify Him, to live for Him.

Lord, I pray that this stays with me today, that I remember this as I work hard at my job. But that I work hard at my job, at my life FOR YOU! Lord, allow me to be... be at peace with where you have me, at peace with how you created me, to be long enough to see if you have someone you want me to reach out to or something you want to use me to do. Allow me to be available for Your plan. Amen.