Sunday at The Homestead

After breakfast Cary and I went to The Bath House. Supposedly this is the oldest spa in the country.

There is a men's bath house and a women's bath house but during 1 hour a day both bath houses are co-ed, howevere bathing suits are required.

This was one of the highlights of the weekend for me. Just ask Cary how unsure I was of this activity, but man oh man when I stepped foot into this spa/tub thing I was in 7th heaven. It's like the perfect bath that never gets cold and you have lots of space to wiggle around. FYI, we had yellow and pink noodles so I didn't have to touch the smooth rock floor (there were a few slimey stones which totally wig me out).

Here is a first for me, watch...

After the Spa and Shooting range it was back to the hotel for a nice nap before another huge dinner. I absolutely loved the bed. The difference between this bed and my bed at home was a fantastic thing called a feather bed. Good Lord was that glorious! I was even a little sad when we got home and I had to crawl into our bed because it wasn't nearly as comfortable.

The Homestead

We went to The Homestead this weekend. It was so much fun! I'll get right down to it...here are some great pictures!

Saturday morning began with a hike. I've had some pretty aweful hiking experiences so it was nice to be able to smile through this one!

The whole trip was along this beautiful creek with amazing waterfalls.

Cary decided he would pretend he was "Survivorman" and see what it would be like to drink water from a leaf on our path.

I have no idea why he is making this face.

Only to be "fair" I feel it's necessary to post a funny picture of myself.

Later that afternoon we met Cary's parents and family Wally & Kitty for afternoon tea! From the left, Wally, Kitty, Lynn (Cary's mom), me and Cary! Walter, Cary's dad was the photographer.

Approximately 600

I wondered how many calories a person can burn while swimming. Last night it felt like I burned a ton. Why is it that when we are out of breath doing an exercise we want to believe that we are just tearing through those unwanted calories we have accumulated throughout the day? As much as I would like to dream that last night I worked off the few small chocolate candies I ate mid afternoon, research says that in my 90 minutes in the pool I probably burned 600 calories. How many calories are in those small chocolate candies, you know the 1" x 1" milky way, 3 musketeers, snickers that you can get in the Halloween bags? I think ignorance is bliss when it comes to that answer and I'll just be happy with my 600 calories burned from swimming.

Babysitter

Today is much better than yesterday. I spent a solid 2 hours at clients house while some tile was being replaced, which meant that I got to watch HGTV and Food Network. Yet another perk of the job. Someone told me last week that being a project manager in construction is like being a babysitter for adults. I totally agree!!

Last night I was in the pool for 1 hr & 45 min. I arrived early so I could practice what had been taught so far. Surprisingly I wasn't tired by the time class ended. Well, I was out of breath because our strokes have advanced, but last night was the first night I have felt comfortable breathing in the water.

Tonight I get to run 10 miles. Fun times....

Update

2 or so hours later and I seem to be okay. Maybe this day is salvagable after all....

Bad Mood = Bad Day

Or is it the other way around. Regardless I'm really struggling with a seriously bad attitude today. I want to be just down right nasty to people, but I wont. Instead I'll just yell at other drivers when I'm confined to my car, that's probably the safest thing for me to do. At least it's mid morning and the whole day is ahead of me to work myself out of this extreme negativity.

From the Proverbs 31 Blog "Get Real"

I read this blog posting this afternoon and it really hit home. I remember watching Desperate Housewives a week or so ago and all the ladies, Lynette, Gabrielle, Susan and Bree were sitting around discussing secrets. Lynette made all the women promise to not keep secrets from each other. Funny, each and every one of them have “deep dark secrets” they are hiding from each other, yet they all made the promise. Oh how ABC can paint the picture of drama. But that moment is so true, as is the blog posting below from the Proverbs 21 Ministries.

I wonder how long it will take for me to break through the fear of transparency and actually share my true life experiences with those around me whom I am supposed to trust the most…..Enjoy this posting and I hope you can take something away from it as much as I have!

I was sitting in Sunday School listening to prayer requests being mentioned. Prayer needs varied - someone’s neighbors were having marital problems; a co-worker was having a problem with her boss; a friend whose child was being rebellious; a family member’s health issues. A few were personal requests such as an important decision about work, a scheduled surgery, and safe travels for vacation. All the prayer requests were valid and prayer-worthy, but I started to wonder if we were really being real with one another. Why were we not asking for prayers for our own struggles - our own marriage struggles, our own children, or our own challenges in living a Christ-like life?

I had many prayer requests on my heart that morning but instead of sharing them with my Christian friends, I kept them hidden in my heart. Part of me yearned for their prayers, but part of me also feared sharing my most personal issues and concerns with others. Instead of focusing on the truth that God would hear the prayers of these prayer warriors and divinely intervene in my life, I focused on my own insecurities, and the fear of being judged for circumstances in my life or the condition of my own heart. I finally realized we all needed to get real, and that by keeping our struggles to ourselves, we were denying each other the opportunity to be encouraged by hearing the triumphs over trials in other people’s lives.

In today’s society, we have a tendency to focus more on outward appearances than on the inward condition of our hearts. We may have a smile on our face on the outside; but on the inside, our heart is aching, and our soul is pleading for someone to care enough about us to speak with God on our behalf. Our hearts need to be in God-condition for us to be confident enough in our faith to allow us to solicit the prayers of others. In so doing, we glorify Christ through our lives. If we truly desire a character like Christ’s, we must be willing to expose our weaknesses, shed our hypocrisy and stop pretending that our life is a bowl of cherries. God calls us to be transparent.

The Lord made it clear to Samuel that he did not care about what was on the outside. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’" Samuel was in the process of determining which son of Jesse God wanted to become the king of Israel. Samuel was looking at the outside, instead of the inside condition of the heart.

When I am transparent, I allow people to see, pray for, and love the “real me.” Being real and vulnerable helps me to be usable for God. Once my mask is removed God can use the “real me” to minister to others. Sharing about a restored marriage, about forgiving someone who betrayed you, about a repaired relationship, about spiritual healing from an abortion, or recovery from an addiction could be exactly what someone else needs to hear so that their life, and their heart, can be changed. If people think we “have it all together,” they are less likely to share their struggles. This could close the doors God opens for us to minister to others so that we can help them remove their masks, as well.

By removing our own masks, we can be transformed into vessels for to God use to bring glory to His kingdom. Not only will people see the prayer needs in our lives, they will also see the transparency of a sinner being transformed by being real and praying to a faithful God.

Update

Okay, here are some pictures of my office. Unfortunately I came in around 2:30 this afternoon so I haven't been able to get good morning photos but hopefully this will post clearly enough.





Last night was my first swimming lesson and thankfully I was not the only woman nor was I the oldest person there! We began learning some basics and I think this is going to be fun. A highlight was when I would be floating down the lap lane and all of the sudden I would hear the instructors voice (from under water) yell "Great Job Leah! Looking Good!!" WOW, finally I was doing something right! :) This is going to be so much fun.

Ahh Much Better

I spent the day cleaning up and revamping my office. It all began with a shopping trip to Target where I don't even know how much money I spent (seriously). My philosophy is that if I'm going to spend so much time in this room, then it should feel like home. So I moved some furniture around, found some pretty accessories, hung my diploma and the best part is I even got a plug in air freshener. The walls could use a little paint touch up. I need new and matching chairs and I wouldn't complain if I could swing an area rug. But for the mean time this will do. I have to take some pictures in the morning because the sun shines right through the windows at this hour of the day and makes good pictures impossible. I would call this day at work a success! ;)

Leah the Swimmer

I'm sooo excited!! It's been a quiet day at work, since my earlier post, and I decided to go online and research more on swimming lessons. Since I've been dabbling in triathlons this summer the sport of swimming does not come naturally to me. I struggle whenever I get into the pool and I'm tired of it. So, I found this guy Som whom Cary has spoken to about me taking swim lessons. To make a long story short, Som called me this afternoon and now I'm taking LESSONS!! Just imagine if I was telling you this in person I would be jumping up and down swinging my arms and acting like a total goof cause that's how excited I am. The classes are every Tuesday and Thursday for 8 weeks. I have high hopes for this experience and those are that one day I'll look like Courtney Cassada. As the 1st and 3rd place female winners of the Taylor Love Sprint Triathlon said of Courtney "Man, she looks so graceful and comfortable in the pool. I wish I looked like that" Maybe, just maybe, one day someone will say that about me.

Hmm, something interesting. I did ask Som if I would be the oldest person in this class (because 12 year olds can swim better than I can) he laughed and said "no, but you'll probably be the only girl." I can handle being the only girl. Something I didn't ask if I would be the only girl and OLDEST person there. What if the other participants are 12 year old boys!!! Grrreat. ;)

Humbled.....AGAIN

I just had an epiphany (well sort of). Sometimes I feel very insecure in my ability to make the right decisions. I think if I consult a stronger Christian friend or parent then what they say will be the right thing to do. The last couple of weeks I have really struggled with some things and when I had my quiet time I would pray that God would tell me what to do and direct me in His ways. Well dag gonnit I didn’t listen!! There was one particular event last week when I questioned my actions. I even asked other people if I should proceed with doing something and I heard “yes, do it.” So I did it. Ever since then I’ve felt very unsettled. What was done, is done and there is nothing I can do. But it wasn’t until about 3 minutes ago that I realized I should have listened to the still small voice in the back of my head that gave me some doubt. I need to trust that when my spirit is questioning something, usually it’s for a good reason. I need to learn that although some of the people around me and influencing my decision making are good Christian folks and do impart good wisdom in my life, there is no one or thing that can take the place of the Holy Spirit. Now I’m frustrated that I didn’t listen and will have to deal with the consequences of my decision.

I really hope I don’t forget this lesson. There seem to be too many times in life that we easily and quickly forget the lessons the Lord is trying to teach us. I don’t want to live through this one again.