I'm Not Alone

It was brought to my attention a while back that, around this time each year, I tend to withdraw from spending time with others. I'm glad my friends pointed this out and I now affectionately refer to this as "my yearly funk." I think I'm smack dab in the middle of it right now but I also think this one hasn't been as bad as previous funks. In the past I have chosen to isolate myself from everyone but this time I just don't want to be around big groups of people. I'm fine one-on-one or in small groups of 3 or 4.

After spending the week at home watching TV and reading, I ventured out tonight to a friend's house to cook out and watch basketball. Actually, I could not have cared less about the basketball, but I knew I needed to be social and I even wanted to be around a few other people. I spent a good bit of the night in the kitchen talking with Josie and one or two others and I really enjoyed that. At one point I went into the living room where others were watching the game and hanging out. I sat in my chair and listened and watched and was restless until I just couldn't stand it any more; I had to leave the room. I went back into the kitchen and as I talked with Josie and Ashton, I began to understand a little more of what I was feeling at that moment and had felt several times in the past few months...I don't like the way I feel about myself when I am in mixed company. I feel like I am in a competition for something. Turns out I'm not alone. It goes back to the idols of wanting approval and attention and to be included and I'm not the only one who feels this way. What's more, it isn't just the girls who are experiencing this.

So now I'm re-asking the question that Josie brought up: If most of us are feeling this way, what do we do to change things?

You Learn Something New Every Day

My granddaddy has always taken that phrase seriously. He loves knowledge. That was evidenced by the many textbooks he would buy at yard sales and book stores and give to us (me and my cousins) to help us with our studies. I'm not sure we ever used any of those books but we took them graciously with only a slight roll of the eyes. I wish I could remember his exact wording (because it never changed), but every time I saw him, without fail, he would ask me what I had learned that was new. Being the sarcastic person that I was growing up, I'm sure I said something smart, or just made something up. As I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate that question more. So, in honor of Cecil Ammons, I'm going to share with you what I learned today that was new to me.

1. Falling vending machines kill 13 people each year, compared to the 10 people who are killed yearly by shark attacks.

and

2. A group of jellyfish is known as a "smack".

Who knew?

Talking Stain

There is a commercial out right now that cracks me up!!!!! It's a commercial for the Tide stain stick. This guy is on a job interview but he has a stain on his shirt. Each time the guy starts to talk, the stain begins talking. I can't help it; I laugh every time it comes on.

If you haven't seen it, you can go to the website, and click on "Watch the TV Ad".

It's really funny!

What I Did on My Spring Break

Today is the last day of my Spring Break and while I'm sad it's over, I have enjoyed every minute of it. Usually these weeks seem to fly by and I go back to school wondering where my time off went; but this week wasn't like that. Really, it was great! In case you are interested, here's the run down of what I did....

Monday (Whitney's birthday) - ate lunch with a friend then met Whitney and others while they ate lunch; went to Target; read some of my book, "Safely Home"; watched some of "Felicity"; ate dinner with Stephanie and Carrie; dropped by the Jasons' to pick up something, say hi, and get some much needed hugs; watched the new "Bachelor" and decided I have friends that would be much better "bachelors" than this new guy. Good Day!

Tuesday - met some girls for lunch at Botega Cafe; sampled some of Shannon Walden's fabulous pastries/desserts; went to the Galleria; read some of my book; watched some of "Felicity"; went to Mary Lane's with Whitney for dinner and great conversation (even though I yawned the entire time - sorry about that). Good Day!

Wednesday - was supposed to eat lunch with a friend but that was canceled (so sad); got to keep Judah for a couple of hours; watched too much "Top Chef"; went to Target (again); read some of my book; met some friends for Mexican; watched some "Felicity". Good Day!

Thursday - slept until 11:00 (so nice, except for the phone call that woke me up at 8:30); watched some "Felicity"; ate lunch with Megan; read some of my book; watched some more "Felicity"; met some friends to plan a wedding shower; watched LOST (LOVE it!); watched still more "Felicity". Good Day!

Friday - getting tired of "Felicity", but still watched some; met my friend at the Good Friday service at the church where our parents attend (interesting, but good); ate lunch with parents (they paid); watched more "Felicity" (I'm determined to finish all the DVDs I have, even though I've seen them about 50 times); blogged; trying to decide what to do with my weekend. So far, Good Day!

So, there it is...the highlights of my incredible Spring Break! I know some of you will read this and yawn, but it was just what I wanted for my week. The only thing that would have made it better is if I could have spent time with a few more of my friends (and my ears weren't stopped up). But I still have the weekend.

So Amazing, So Devine

Today is Good Friday! My mom invited me to the Good Friday service which was at noon today at her church. To be honest, I said I would go just to make her happy. Besides, it's my Spring Break, what else would I be doing?

I'm actually glad I went; otherwise I probably wouldn't have thought about Good Friday at all. Ashamedly, I haven't taken any time this Easter season to think on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today's service gave me a little push in that direction. I want to take time this weekend to meditate on His amazing love.

"Amazing love, how can it be that you my God, would die for me?"