Just Because...

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

Chorus:
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name
And he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them lookin' down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Happy Birthday, Mom...

Happy Birthday to you.
Happy Birthday to you.
Happy Birthday dear mom.
Happy Birthday to you.

Miss Me Yet?

Ha! My mom took this picture of a billboard in De Ridder, LA.

The Master Bathroom...

You ask...I deliver. Please, take a moment to breathe before experiencing the breathtaking atrocity that we call "the master bathroom."

Please notice the blue floors, blue countertop, and blue backsplash. Please, try to refrain from gagging. (And please excuse the mess on the countertop.)

This lovely is an environmentally friendly toilet. Therefore, it's ugly and it doesn't flush very well.

Here we have the sink. Just before taking this picture, I had to do a major scrub-down because toothpaste is white and, well, the sink is royal blue. It's a BAD combination.

To the right of this picture is the shower. It's a small space made for an even smaller shower.

And this is the shower. Apparently, the previous owners couldn't find a royal blue shower so they settle for this tiny shower of swirls. To make matters even better, Hubster figured out a few nights ago that the walls of the shower aren't sealed so there's mold growing in the walls behind the shower.

Now, I would like to leave you with one piece of information. Apparently, when Hubster bought this house, the realtor told him the previous owners spent $10,000 updating the master bedroom and bathroom. Ten Thousand Dollars. Ridiculous!

The Ugly Blue Carpet...

I was taking some pictures of Sam the other day when I realized I had captured the pure hideousness of my bedroom carpet.



That's right folks...royal blue.

Apparently the previous owners were blind because this is seriously the ugliest carpet I've ever seen!

To make matters worse, the master bathroom matches the carpet perfectly. The floors, the countertops, the sink, the toilet, and the shower. All royal blue. And all seriously ugly.

What We've Been Up To...

Painting...



Some of us are better at it than others. Ha!

Shout Out...

Everyone give a shout out to my mom...

Hi mom!!

Our Newest Addition...

This weekend I set out to find a rug for our living room. I wasn't sure what I wanted (since I've never shopped for a rug before) so I really didn't think I would find anything. Hubster had seen a zebra print rug when we were shopping for furniture that he liked, but I didn't think it would look good with our furniture. (I mean, we did just buy a very colorful striped chair and ottoman!)

So I set out Saturday to narrow down my options and decide what style I liked. After going to 2 different places, I had found a couple of rugs that were okay but none that popped out at me.

Until I walked into the third store.

And there it was...

A brown and tan zebra print rug.

Yummy!

I found a couple of other lime green rugs that would have worked too, but they didn't come in the size that I needed. So I asked about the zebra print. To my surprise the salesman said he could sell me the display model for a discount price.

Sold!

Here it is. What do you think?



I think it brings a lot of movement into the room. And it's fun and funky.

But most importantly, the dogs' hair doesn't show up on it. So that makes it a definite winner.

Halloween dog...

Happy Halloween!! I know we still have another week until Halloween is actually here, but I can't wait to see this year's cute doggie costumes.

Post Wedding Weight...

I want to take a break from Halloween doggies today to talk a little about something that's been on my mind.

My post wedding weight.

In order to talk about my post wedding weight, I should probably bring you up to speed on my pre-wedding weight. During the year before my wedding, I lost between 10 and 15 pounds. I'm only 5 foot tall, so 10 or 15 pounds is a LOT of weight on me. About 2 dress sizes to be specific. On my wedding day, I was the smallest that I've been since my sophomore year of high school (10 years ago). I took pride in how much weight I lost. Once my wedding dress came in, it was a little snug so I had no choice but to keep the weight off. That was a great motivation for me, and honestly I'm not sure that I could have kept it off without that motivation.

My wedding has come and gone. I've been married for 5 and 1/2 months. And I've gained 5 pounds. Basically, I'm averaging 1 pound per month.

In the words of my husband, "That's not a very good pace to keep."

Duh...

I know why the weight has packed itself back on. Honestly, the first few months of being married, I didn't adjust very well. Just like a kid, I require consistency. I need schedule. And I'm a control freak. When I lose my consistency and schedule, I feel like I've lost control of my life. And for the first 3 months I was married, that's how I felt every day. Mostly that was caused because there were a lot of changes that happened when I got married (again...duh). To be specific, I changed jobs, moved to a new town, moved into my husband's house, and gained a husband in a 2month period. Emotionally, all of this was really hard for me. And when I'm emotional, I eat. A lot.

Now I'm 5 months out from the wedding, and I've gained 5 pounds. 5 pounds isn't the end of the world. It could be worse. But like I said, I'm only 5 foot tall so every pound is visible on my body. Plus, I would rather lose 5 pounds than lose 10 or more pounds. Like I said before, it took me close to a year to lose 10 or 15 pounds. Frankly, I don't want to spend the next year battling these extra pounds. I want to stop this problem before it becomes a real problem. And I know how I have to do that.

I don't diet. I'm terrible at it. As soon as I call something a diet, I feel like I need to go to Burger King and get a Whopper value meal King size.

What I need to do is be aware of what goes into my body. And then leave out all of the extra calories that I don't need. For example, if I eat a sandwich I should leave off the cheese. One slice of cheese is roughly 90 calories...none of which I need. If I have chips, I shouldn't eat dip or queso. Also, I've started drinking sweet tea at every meal. Those are extra calories that I don't need. I should either drink un-sweet tea or a diet coke.

Additionally, I work out 3 days a week for 30 to 45 minutes. I will have to increase this. I need to start working out 4 to 5 days a week. I can do this easily by adding a workout on the weekend and by not skipping a day during the week (not including Friday).

Mostly, I'm putting this out here because I need to get it off of my chest (and hips and waist...ha!) Also, I'm curious to know what you do when you need to lose a few pounds. Do you have a go-to food item? Is there a work out routine that you incorporate into your day? What works for you?