Photo Friday!

Happy Friday!!  Posting a few photos here just to stay caught up.

First things first, I adored this audiobook.  Rented it purely because I loved the name - hadn't heard or read anything else about it - but really connected with the characters and loved their stories!  I hope they make a movie, and I have already put Clare's other books on hold.  Yay for finding a new author I like!

A few more serious memes I've saved lately...

Donald Miller's Hero on a Mission book was the catalyst for me pursuing adoption, moving, and starting graduate school.  Now his Coach Builder book may very well be the catalyst for me finding the courage and developing a legit marketing plan to start my own business!  Love him - wanna befriend him and Betsy - very grateful for his influence in my life!!! ❤

The courthouse closed at noon today - I was confused by that announcement and figured it was just a little extra time for Labor Day weekend, but today it became clear that the Norman traffic is going to be insane for OU's first game day in the SEC!  The courthouse even raised a special flag for it, which cracks me up.  But if it gets me out of work earlier... Boomer!! lol

(Having said that, I'm super psyched about going to OSU's opening football game tomorrow with Dad and Charlene - Go Pokes!!)

P.S.  Grammar reminder - people misuse this one often!

I finally got to see The Forge... I still prefer War Room, but it was pretty good.  I thought it was clever that they made Priscilla Shirer's character a twin with her character in War Room (to have different storylines but incorporate some of the same characters).  Then I thought it was hilarious that Mom and Dad didn't realize they were both played by Priscilla - they didn't even try to hide it with a Hannah Montana style wig!  I found this meme for Mom when she doubted me. lol

My friend Kacie out hiking in Colorado... such a pretty state, and it makes me feel like I could be outdoorsy if I lived there, but that's probably false. lol

Mom asked if I've had any issues with dogs or anything scaring me in my neighborhood or at The Station/Central Park.  I told her I'd never seen a dog off leash... then this fierce little guy came to greet me and Kristin on our walk Wednesday morning (his owner was nearby in the grass feeding a bunch of ducks). lol  All in all, I'm very thankful for relatively safe walking trails where any animals we've encountered have been cute and friendly!!

Annie and Eddie did a 2020 recap this week (they're recapping the past 10 years month by month since it's the 10th anniversary of her podcast) -- I freaking love them and their friendship, so this episode was super fun!

Ben and Leanne got married last week (London Peloton instructors) -- love them, and so happy she is cancer free and they seem to be thriving now! ❤

The FB ad for this inspired me to buy a shave set, mostly because I love that it looks like whipped icing. lol  I'm a pretty easy target for the marketing algorithm.

A few more memes I've saved lately. =)

And now, I'm off to conquer a 20-minute neighborhood walk then have a relaxing night ahead.  I have several September goals, including a TV-free month, so I'm getting all of that in while I can. =)

Anywho, I love you and believe in you, and I hope you enjoy the long weekend ahead!

Thankful Thursday #203!

"They are justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
~Romans 3:24

Today, I am grateful to God for...

1.  The wonderful Wilson fam, who are consistently uplifting and fun... this was after dinner at the Bixby CFA on Tuesday night!

2.  My new red hair and fun bangs for fall (pic above)... and my friendship with Janelle, who owns the Wildflower Blu Salon in Tulsa and has been my hairstylist for approximately the past decade.  *Also thankful for fall being right around the corner - Janelle and I are manifesting that it's here already!! lol

3.  Feeling refreshed, rested, and READY for Project Sprint #3 in Mel's Launch course (September 1-30). #bringiton

4.  Katherine Claire's cute first day of Pre-K pics... makes me happy that Steve has stepped up to do her hair and set up the Star Wars figures photo op (while Sarah is in Kansas for her DNAP program every Monday-Wednesday).

5.  My sparkly new Betsy Johnson boots from Mom - YAY!  Chet said they're "very fun and very Lindsey." lol

6.  CHA finally having an elevator - honestly, it's very big and exciting news!!

7.  Sophie and Melanie... for their friendship and laughter, and for Sophie's new book -- the release date feels well-timed by God, which is a kindness I don't wanna take for granted!

Happy Thursday, friends and fam!

And Happy Labor Day weekend ahead!!
❤❤❤

Phoning It In #25!

Current evidence of God's kindness:  The day my Restore Internship ended (August 14th), while I was thrilled about having a break, I was simultaneously feeling a bit of a void knowing I would not be working with clients for the next few months and wondering if I would lose momentum and the sense of purpose.  The very next day, I received a message from Abby asking if I would be willing to serve as the content advisor for her CHA Senior Thesis paper, a new assignment where senior students write a 12-14 page paper about a potential future career they feel interested in... LOVE that CHA is encouraging their women to think about that more now... and love that Abby is an adoptee who is interested in adoption trauma and learning more about psychology and counseling... and love that her mom (her oldest brother was in Rach's class at CHA) thought of me based on my FB post my last day at Restore!! #Godstiming  We will meet at least 5x from now through December, as well as texting and emailing with research ideas, etc.  We met for lunch at the Moore Panera today and really connected well - I loved hearing her story, and I'm excited about getting to work with and encourage her over the next few months!! ❤

More evidence of God's goodness = me seeing this meme yesterday as I was working on a vision board for my future goals... so much of what pulls me toward working as a counselor is the rejection and heartbreak I've experienced, and wanting to help others feel seen + build healthy relationships, a healthy worldview, and healthy self-worth/identity!!  *Tomorrow marks 11 years since the sharpest of the 3 rejections I've endured.  I'm grateful God works all things together for our good and His glory!

Deadpool with the heart-hands brings me lots of joy, as does his "MAXIMUM EFFORT!!" catchphrase when he's ready to fight.  

And now, a few pics from Jaceman's football game last night!

Love them!

Proud grandparents!

What made me laugh on this one is that J misspelled his last name on his FB page with only one R, and his jersey being wrinkled kinda matches that here.

Yay #44!!

They played the Timberwolves and won - go Lions!

The Miss K explaining something to Mom and Dad. lol  I love how expressive she is when she talks!

Yay, football season!!

So I honestly had every intention of going to see The Forge (the new Christian movie with Priscilla Shirer) after my meeting with Abby, but Warren changed up their movie times, so I had to settle for round 3 of Deadpool and Wolverine! lol #noregrets  I think that's the last time in theaters.  In the grand scheme of where I would rank it among movies I see repeatedly, this one deserved 3 viewings.  Any movie I really enjoy gets 2x in theaters.  My Best Friend's Wedding got 5, The Greatest Showman got 7, and Titanic stands strong with 15.

That was followed by a family dinner at the MWC Cheddar's where not one but two of the meals had hair in them... eeeek!  Having said that, the restaurant manager came to apologize and comped several things, so they handled it well and our waitress (Lindsey) was really great!

Moss fam and their lovely newborn photos for Holly Marie! ❤

Friendly tip - Crumbl now sells mini cookies (finally - why on earth did they not do this sooner!?)... this is equal parts fantastic news and dangerous for me to know!  I'll do my best to ignore it for the great most part. 

Our original plan was to walk Thursday and Friday, but thanks to the five blisters on my toes, Friday night turned into an Oliveto dinner night!  We weren't too sad about that. lol

Some throwback pics from SIXTEEN years ago according to a Shutterfly email!

Google Photos showed me this memory from the dinner Jenna hosted, and it made me happy seeing Jessica with the best girlfranz... Sammich being a smiley-puff extrovert and Bellsy looking scared and ready to go into introvert hiding! lol ❤

Another Google Photos throwback to some Snapchat pics from a fam dinner at Judges a few years back!

Jonathan from CCU promoting a sale on his latest book - I'm such a fan of his character and wisdom, and I believe he's destined to do big things!

Google Photos made this fun starburst effect on K's bday pic! =)

Did my brain immediately go to the "Flying V" from The Mighty Ducks movie!?  Yes, yes it did!  Their formation needs a little work, though. lol

Geese just taking over my neighborhood roads whenever they please. lol  I am not their biggest fan, and I'm grateful I didn't get the house by the pond for that reason!

An outdoors pic of me and Megan on our way into Swadley's!  It was super windy, so I preferred the indoor picture, but this one's worth posting too. lol

I'm confident I've posted this before, but it makes me laugh every time I see it!

Asher Kenneth cuteness!

I used this for my #face2faceFriday post in the Blossom support group on Facebook.  I'm grateful to be down 55 pounds and seeing real changes! 

Okay that's really all for today!  This post is a hodge-podge mix of the latest photos from my phone, so I'll go with the "phoning it in" title.  We've made it to the final week of August now.  Tomorrow begins my FINAL semester in the CCU Master's program, and Launch Project Sprint #3 begins September 1st!!  #maximumeffort #finishstrong #letsfreakinggo 

Happy Sunday, and hope it's been a great weekend!  JEM, have a fantastic time in Vegas!  Thanks for stopping by, friends and fam, and take care!!  (And I mean that more sincerely than David Rose. lol)

❤❤❤

Thankful Thursday! (202)

"For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.  Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement allow you to live in harmony with each other by following the example of Christ Jesus."  ~Romans 15:4-5

Today, I am thankful for:

1.  Jace Michael, who is currently in football and karate and still doing regular workouts at Shape - proud of the work he is putting in!

2.  Parker Elizabeth, a decisive preschool class leader ;-) who was excited to have her very first ballet class on Monday - gah, what a preshface!! lol

3.  That God is faithful in so many ways, including this being the verse of the day when I needed it.

4.  The inspiring podcast and free workbook by Mel Robbins on finding what you really want using the 5 Whys (asking what you want, then asking WHY you want that... then asking why again four more times as you keep responding and looking a little deeper).  Sounds simple, but it brings some profound insights!

5.  Catching up with Megan Elizabeth over dinner at Swadley's last night!  So good to see her and get an update on her life and family!!  Also thankful that I can wear the shirt Mom bought me in Vegas now. =)

6.  My 2-hour morning walk at the Station this week... loved the Peloton classes and the nice weather... did not love the five blisters on my toes afterwards.

7.  The productive feeling that comes with cleaning out my closet!!  Everything pictured here will be re-homed, and the clothes that fit me (or will fit soon) now have plenty of space and I can see them more clearly -- YAY!

Side Note:  I really do want to find something to help me with blisters - it's an ongoing problem that typically makes the second half of my races and/or vacations far less fun for me -- if there's a way to fix it, I'd very much like to find it before I walk the lovely streets of Disney World and complete the last 3/4ths of a marathon with painfully blistered feet.  Over the years, I have tried toe socks (that fit around each toe like a glove vs. a mitten) and shoe fittings and various brands of running socks and shoes, but if you have any other specific advice, please let me know!!  I'd also love to find some cute shoes like these for my next race, but I acknowledge the odds of both things happening at once are pretty slim! lol  I'll gladly settle for ugly shoes if it means no blisters!!

*Bonus:  I'm grateful that my Dad got this scary bug off of my car. lol  Ugh, look at it's gross, twitchy antenna and scaly back.  It was clinging hard to my car with its little suction-cup feet, so I drove to Mom and Dad's house from Swadley's to avoid crawling across and getting out on the passenger's side, and I'm gonna say it was worth the drive after what I learned later that night. lol  Google Lens tells me this is a North American Wheel Bug, "America's largest assassin bug" (disturbing) -- they can kinda fly, but it's noisy and clumsy (like June Bugs), and their bite is more painful than a bee sting -- soooo that's a hard pass on all the levels for me!  Having said that, even if I'd learned it was a very peaceful bug that couldn't fly, I'd still prefer it to be nowhere near me. lol

Okay, Happy Thursday, friends and fam!!  I love you and believe in you, and I believe you matter deeply to God and there is a great cloud of witnesses who are rooting for you and cheering you on from Heaven! ❤