Alabama Tracks

I’m not the only one cliff jumping these days. David and Tia got the bug and now Mom and Dad both have it. This weekend, Joel and I were privey to watch as Mom and Dad prepared for the jump. We went back to Jacksonville this weekend and found the house very clean and not the way I remember it. My room was institutionalized. Gone are the days of feeling like you’re walking into a victorian hotel bedroom. Replacing what was once my retreat, tile and sewing tables, and no curtains now reside. The cubbards and closets were bare and everything had it’s place. This was now the showpiece. A beautiful showpiece it is, I must say. It was just wierd.

I think Mom needed us there for support as so many things are up in the air at that point. A simple reminder that God will still be God and that every detail will fall into place as we need it to when we need it to. Concern for the issues is okay, worry is not. It was a time that I was glad I was there to support my parents instead of it always being the other way around. It’s kind of like my Bible Study lesson for this week. God has us experience things in our life so that we can be an encouragement to others just as He has done for us with temptation and various circumstances.

I wasn’t able to see many people from church this weekend which was a little different for me. I typically try to speak to everyone I used to know both in choir and in the Singles area. I got to the rehearsal room too late to speak to anyone in choir and I just didn’t want to find many people from the Singles department. I think I’m starting to move on with that area of my life.

Joel and I found out this weekend that I had lost 10 pounds and he had lost about 8. I was so excited. The first time we did the diet I lost about 20 pounds so I’m half way there. We cheated pretty badly this weekend and unfortunately it has continued on a little this week. I’ve not had time to plan lunches and dinner and we both have had birthday functions as work to contend with. Monday was a seminar for me in Columbus Georgia so I also ate out again then. Today is a fast day though so we’ll get back on track. I think we’re going walking tonight as well so that will help.

This weekend is proving to busy for us again. We have a Sunday School party on Friday night and we’re supposed to go down to Joel’s Mom’s house on Saturday. I need to clean my house as well as grocery shop and do things that didn’t get done last week. Joel has media duty at church all day on Sunday so we’ll spend a good bit of our day there. I’ll also be solidifying the plans for the party that we’ll be hosting in November this weekend. By the time Monday comes around again, I’m sure to be looking for the weekend again. It wears me out just thinking about it all. Well I guess this is where my time management skills come into play. I better get busy.

So I know a lot of you are eager to hear of my adventures on the west coast so here’s the rundown…

I’ve played a game called Everquest for a while… years to be exact. In that time I found myself running a class board another player had started. For the past year or so the company that makes EQ has been holding Summit, where they pay to fly you out and stay in a hotel and you get to talk directly to the people who make the game. It would take too long to explain the entire subculture surrounding the game but it’s one I’ve been part of for roughly 6 years. EQ was one of the games that has really refined the MMOG genre and it’s been a game I’ve actually helped to shape for a while now so it was a privaledge to get invited (not to mention loads of fun). Needless to say I don’t spend a ton of time playing like I used to (what being married and all) but Erin’s started to like games and maybe… someday… gaming family?

Anyways…

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Day 4 - fasting day. It hasn’t been so bad thus far. Today we will have V8 and water most of the day until dinner. I plan on having chicken, a new zucchini recipe, and beans for dinner. It’s still relatively early this morning but my stomach is typically gnawing on itself by now. We’ve done well this week. I must admit I cheated one time when I went out to Jim and Nick’s BBQ with Bible Study. I had 3 mini cheese muffins. But, the author of the book says that it is better to cheat in one hour than the entire day. So I picked myself back up and got back on the wagon. Week one is always the hardest as your system is shocked by the lack of food and carbs that you are injesting. By week two, it knows what is happening and so it isn’t as hard. Boredom with what you’re eating starts to set in though so I’m really trying hard to keep everything varied. Last night I made spaghetti with spaghetti squash. It’s becoming something we both enjoy though it doesn’t quite take the place of some really good pasta. I do like the idea of feeling full and eating a nice sized portion with healthy food. I plan on checking out some recipes for other types of winter squash that I’m seeing the grocery store hoping to come up with something else that we’ll both really enjoy.

It’s nice to have Joel back home again. He hasn’t written about his excursion yet but I know he still plans on it. As soon as he got home he had complained of an earache. Hoping it was just the pressure from flight, I told him to keep an eye on it through Monday. Following a phone call at work on Monday, I advised him to head to the doctor to have it checked out. He has had several ear infections over his life like I have though he hasn’t had but one since his sleep apnea surgery (over a year ago.) Sure enough, an ear infection it was. From there he was on to the eye doctor to get some new glasses. He wasn’t much into picking new frames seeing he didn’t feel well and that he couldn’t see (they dialated his eyes) so I picked them out for him. I’m really pleased with them as they aren’t round but more rectangular w/ tortoise frames. One long awaited appointment down, several more to go. By the time we finish this first round, it will be time to start it all over again.

I went shopping while Joel was gone to come back only with a handtowel and some trouser socks. Pretty depressing seeing how my shopping typically went in Jax. It’s probably a good thing though as we’ve incurred quite a few more expenses than what we had planned for. I think I’m just going to wait until after the 40 days of dieting to go shopping again. I’m still in most of the clothes that I couldn’t fit in before we went on the diet the first time so I’m hoping we’ll be able to maintain again and it will be worthwhile to wait to go shopping. I need some work clothes not to mention some basic tops that aren’t 4-6 years old. In time. Joel isn’t afraid of sending me shopping we just have to have a month with a little fluidity in the spending. Hopefully it won’t be long off.

The other exciting thing that keeps happening is our air conditioner freezing up. We’re going to have to call someone about it and we’re trying to put it off as long as possible. It’s frozen up 3 times in 2 weeks. It’s rather crazy. We have friends of ours that just had to replace a faulty air conditioner after only 3 years. I’m a little afraid we’re going to be headed down that road as well. I’m hoping not and that it’s something that they will be able to identify when we finally do call them. For now, resetting the a/c unit is working. Lets hope it continues to do so.

I did find out this weekend that we don’t need a new bumper on the new car. Praise God! I gave both cars a good scrubbing over the weekend and found that I was able to scrub the marks off. You can’t see the small little indention so now all we have to contend with is the undercarriage. I still would like to get it checked out just to make sure. Insurance has been so patient with us regarding the whole thing seeing that it has been a few months since our incident. Maybe we can proceed a little quicker now that we know that a new bumper or paint isn’t on the job list.

For now, that is all the excitement that is currently in our world. The weekend will bring the fair for us and media duty at church. It’s a weekend home which will be nice. Until later….. I’m going to get more water.