$10 doesn't go as far as I remember

I remember when I first started going out to dinner with my friends, I was able to buy a lesser expensive meal, drink water, and leave a tip for $5-6. I was able to have dinner and go to a movie for $10.00...it was $5.00 for late show. Now even if I do drink water and order a cheap dinner it's $10.00 and a movie is $7.50 for the late show. I have seen this same thing at the grocery store. 2 weeks ago I went in to the grocery store with $10.00 and the only things I came out with were a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk, and a package of lunch meat. The total was like $9.94. 3 items!! Well, it happened again today...I bought a bag of carrots, a few stalks of celery, an onion, a green pepper, a can of black beans, a can of chicken noodle soup, and a 1/2 gallon of milk. My total = $9.63. I know I sound like your mom with all my rantings, but it's out of control. Has anyone else seen this happen to them lately??? You go to buy like 3 things and you drop $20.00.

My Dad...Best in the World

I'm a little late on posting about this race since this was 2 weeks ago, but it's a good story. This race was very special to for several reasons...I got the run it with my Dad, how cool is that? We ran the whole thing side by side. I always start out pretty slow especially when it is 50 degrees out like it was that morning, and Daddy stayed right in front of me. If he had taken off I would have probably slowed WAY down. But he pushed me through the burning throat and lungs. By mile #2 I was right there with him. I knew we were making pretty good time b/c we did mile #1 in a little over 8 min and mile #2 in about 9. So I knew even if we slowed down we had 13 min to finish in 30 min. I had run the course before so I knew where I was going, but Dad had no clue. So I tried to tell him what was ahead and I reminded him that we end on a hill, so it wasimportant not to bust it too soon. Well I did forget that there were 2 other hills before that last one. Ya! BIG surprise. We made it through the 2 surprises and then the adrenaline kicked in on that last hill and I took off. I felt bad to leave him behind, but I kept going. I knew it would push him. And it did we were right at the finish line neck and neck. The thoughts running through both of our heads was should I let him/her finish first. But being the nice Daddy he is he let me finish first. That competition at the end really pushed me and we finished in 27:21 and 27:22. I was SO excited I had beaten my fastest time by nearly 1 and a half minutes!!! This was the first "Me and Dad" adventure we have had together in a long time. I was sad that Josh couldn't be there b/c of work but it was really sspecial to run it with my Daddy. Thanks, Dad, for the competion and the great run together. I'll see at the Reindeer Run in Anderson on December 9th, your birthday!!! I'll let you finish first this time. =)

Hidden Sales

Don't you just love the days where you are wandering around the store killing time on your lunch break and you come across a great sale. That happened to me at K-Mart today...just about 30 minutes ago. I had gone in to pick up the new George Strait CD "It Just Comes Naturally" for Josh (SSHHH!!! don't tell it's a surprise)...It's a really good CD I'm listening to it now (don't tell Josh that either). Anyway back to the story...I had gotten the CD and was cutting through the Purse/Accessory section and I came across these these large tote bags that were really cute! Some of them were that khaki canvas color with orange on the handle and the other ones were navy blue with green handles. They were the perfect size for your beach towel, ipod, sunscreen and favorite book or for a change of clothes if your staying somewhere just for the night. "I think I might
need one of these," I thought to myself. Then I noticed that they were on the sale rack so I took a
gander at the price tag...$4.00!!! (And it wasn't even a Blue Light Special!!) And then I began to
think "...with a large single letter Monogram on them these will be fabulous Christmas gifts,"
SO I bought ALL of them. And have made several lists of people I can give them to (maybe you are one of them???) Well it did not feel like a sale when I got to the register and my total was $50.00. But to justify this shopping spree I have been reminding myself that when Christmas comes I will be glad for the me surprise find at K-Mart. K-Mart. Where you can find a hidden sales. Check it out for yourself one day when you're wandering out of boredom.

Fun Times with Josh

we have lots of fun together...josh's new thing of the summer has been learning to ride a motorcycle. we are currantly unable to afford to buy him a bike, but my dad has graciously let josh borrow his first one. when he first began riding he would tell me how nervous he was and that my dad and brother would go so fast that he felt like he couldn't keep up. but now i must say that he is a very good rider. this i know from experience...saturday was the first time i rode with him. i have to say i was a little nervous, only b/c all the other times we talked about him taking me for a ride he said no. well, i was in for a surprise. at first he said that he would just take me around the block, but then i relaxed and began to enjoy it...i never got scared. he did a great job, and we ended up going for about 30 min until i got cold.
i was so relaxed, that after a while the helmet got heavy and began to give me a headache so i rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. while we were riding i kept thinking about how my trusting josh by getting on the back of the motorcylce was a lot like how i should trust him in our marriage. while we were riding i could not always see where we were going and the way things looked to me were different from reality and what josh saw. josh had a clear view of the road, where i had his big melon-head in my way. i know that God gives josh a clear view of how and where to lead me, but so many times b/c my view is different and often times skewed i argue and questionhim instead of trusting. i freak out b/c i see danger, but josh sees clearly b/c of God's grace and the special wisdom given to him.
i am so thankful that i had a moment of insanity and got on the back of that motorcycle, b/c in those 30 min God taught me how much fun it is to obey His command about trusting my husband even when things may not look right to me. and i was able to encourage josh in a special way by showing him that i trust him to take care of me, even though my actions don't always say that.