Honda vs the racoon on steroids and the outcome.....

For those of you who don't know, I now drive a 2005 Honda Accord EX (with butt warmers!!). She's a real beauty and my first "real" car. Now don't get me wrong all my cars up until this point have been very faithful. Hmmmm maybe I should fill you in on my car history....

My "first" car, an Eagle Summit aka the "Tootsie Mobile" (a hand me down from my parents), was a great run around car, until the crank shaft bolt fell off and she sounded like she'd explode at any minute. This little factor caused my parents and I to get my VERY FIRST brand new car! My 1999 Dodge Neon was my first car and the love of my life for a while...until I was in an accident and didn't "feel" safe in her anymore. Then came the 2001 Kia Sephia (my next brand new car), the "Lemon" model of the Kia's...need I say more (they stopped making them the year after I got mine)? In all actuality, she was a good car. She got a new transmission the 1st week I had her (I later found out that it was a rebuilt one) and after 7 years of faithful performance, the transmission locked up. Now, had I had the transmission flushed and taken care of her with routine maintenance, I'm sure I'd still have her. But alas I didn't have the $2800 to put into getting her fixed and sold her to someone who did. Luckily for me, I had my Father's 1999 Plymouth Breeze to fall back on. Now, Dad's car (I acquired her after he passed away. I had a lot of his personal belongings to tote home and couldn't afford to rent my own personal jet) had over 123,000 miles on her and I noticed on my way home from PA that even with the petal to the metal I was only going 60 MPH (that wasn't a real comfort to me). In May I needed to make another trip to PA to get more of Dad's things and figured that the Breeze probably wouldn't make it. So I started car hunting. After changing my mind a million times and probably driving my friends up the wall (I had to keep them informed of every car I was looking at and all the goodies it had), I finally found my 2005 Honda Accord at Priority Honda in Chesapeake, VA. I LOVE my car. She's silver with a V6 engine, leather interior, and a 6 CD changer. Praise the Lord, she's dependable!!

Now that I've got my history of automobiles I've owned, I can get to the heart of the story. So anyways, it was last Wednesday night. I hadn't had a great day, not at all. I was feeling pretty lousy, crying, and to boot, it was raining. I was about 3 miles from my house when all of a sudden this raccoon ran out in front of me. Now I thought to myself "Praise You Lord, look at that raccoon" (I've lived out in the "country" for 3.5 yrs now and this is the second raccoon I've seen alive...). Mr. Raccoon decided to turn around in front of the other car beside me and run back my way and stop.... Well, you pretty much know what happened, I heard "whack" and then felt my back tire go "bump"... Seeing my 2ND raccoon alive was pretty short lived. So by that time, I was feeling even crappier.

I pulled into my drive way and got my mail. I decided I'd check to see the "ding" the raccoon left in my bumper. If ONLY it had been a ding!! Oh no!! Let me tell you what Mr. Raccoon did to my bumper. He put about a 5 in tear in it, pushed it in and down, and caused part of it to scrape the ground (luckily my friend pulled that part off for me or it would have driven me up the wall). The raccoon on STEROIDS had decided to hit MY car!!! I calmly got back into my car, thinking "God, You've got to be kidding me", and pulled up about 5 ft and parked. I then proceeded to get out of the car and check the damage again (I thought maybe I was hallucinating the first time...I wasn't).

I called my friend and let her know I was home safely and about my run in with the coon (at this point I wasn't mourning his loss as much) and realized I'd have to file an accident report for insurance reasons (being a dispatcher is very helpful at times). So I called my local sheriff's office and was told a trooper would call me soon. The trooper called, told me to meet him at the sheriffs office in a half hr, and he'd fill out the report. The report took all of 10 minutes to complete and I was on my way home again.

By the time I pulled into my drive way I was chuckling. It was kinda like my "too stressed to be blessed or too stressed to be blessed" blog day. I thanked God that I was safe and that I hadn't hit a deer or a bear. I wasn't hurt, my car still ran, and I was thankful. I was a little concerned about what this would set me back cost wise. I couldn't remember what my deductible was and I had just put one on my insurance due to the new car (full coverage). I figured I'd deal with that when the time came.

Fast forward to Friday morning (my in between day. I don't have to go to work until 7:30 pm that evening). I went to Farm Bureau and filed a claim. They took pictures and gave me the greatest news possible at that moment....I DIDN'T have a DEDUCTIBLE on my comprehensive insurance. Praise the Lord! It wasn't going to cost me anything. I could have cried. I couldn't have been more thankful to Him. Just when I think it's going to get bad, He's there helping me. Thank You God! So the good news is, I'm in good health, I have the check from Farm Bureau and I'll have my new bumper next Thursday (there was a mix up in translation. The auto body shop thought I still hadn't talked to my insurance agent). And a little piece of advice...avoid raccoons on steroids! Until next time, FROG....

Overwhelmingly blessed...thank you Father!

Whew...I am feeling overwhelmingly blessed at the moment. I have the most loving Father, God, the greatest friends and the best "sorta kinda guy" in the world. Over the past few weeks God has been doing some serious work in me. I can feel it and I can catch glimpses of it. I've blogged in the past about the "Vivian Complex"(or the "VC" for short) and "practicing what you preach...or not..." But in the last few weeks I've been right in that boat..."the bad stuff is easier to believe" (if not familiar with this quote, look up my "VC" blog). And Satan, the GREAT deceiver, has been doing a number on me... But luckily with the faithful love of my God and my friends, I'm resisting him....AND getting comfortable in my skin...again.

I think we go through phases. Sometimes we're comfortable/happy with ourselves, sometimes we aren't, I want to be all the time (not to demanding huh? This is where my friend would say, "Picky aren't we")!! But in this case, YES!! I am being "picky". I want to be HAPPY and COMFORTABLE in my skin all the time!!! I am "fearfully and wonderfully made". I am made in His image! Our loving Father DOES NOT make mistakes!! Praise the Lord!!

Lately I've been being honest with myself and others on how I truly feel about myself at times. I'm being honest about the fact that I'm not perfect and will never be perfect (wow talk about tiring!) and I'm accepting that I'm perfect JUST the WAY I ALREADY am. I'm exactly where He wants me to be be at this moment in my life.

But, what I want to see and want to be, I already am. And my God and friends, already see that. They see the beautiful, loving, reliable, trusting, great, wonderful, forgiving, friendly, sweet, girl that I have a hard time seeing. They see His image emanating from me. WOW...pretty powerful stuff huh? So I've decided to get out of "this" pit and start believing and trusting them 100%. And if I get a big head, I can always count on my girl to keep me grounded! I'm not saying it'll always be easy and knowing me I'll stumble a MILLION times, but God and the special people in my life will be there to help me.

So Heavenly Father, thank You for all that You do for me. Thank You for the faithful and loving friends and people that You have placed in my life. And thank You for Your grace and love. I am truly blessed.

Until next time, FROG....

Oh what a night.....

Picture it (I know, sounds a lot like Sophia from Golden Girls...), it was April of 2007. I was at the Telecommunicator's Conference in Salemburg, NC (it's held annually for dispatchers all over the state of NC). But moving on...we took classes, met new dispatchers from all over the state, and had a blast. And it just happens to be where I met "him".

If memory serves me right (lately it's hit and miss) it was the 2ND night of the conference when they held a party/dance. At first me and my gang (it's a great song!!) hadn't planned on going. We weren't in the mood to drink and calling it a night at the dorm sounded very tempting! However, we decided to go over and check it out. Man am I glad I did! I danced the night away...100% sober I might add... I had a blast and of course...that's where I met "him".

Now I noticed "him" standing close by watching my every move (there were some really wild ones I might add too...ha ha). I noticed him too...red hair, glasses, really nice smile, goatee, and taller than me (always a plus I might add!!). I can't remember who broke the ice first. I believe it was "him". I had requested a slow song, Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers. The guy I was supposed to dance it with was outside. So "him" being the great guy that he is, stepped in and took his place. I wish I hadn't gone on and on about the guy that I was supposed to dance with, but I did. But "he" was great...he didn't leave my side the rest of the night.

Eventually a small group of us headed to the student lounge to hang out (me, "him", and 2 others). "He" and I were going to dance another slow dance (this time this one for us), but we never did find a good song. Instead, I laid my head on his shoulder and bummed smokes. And "he" being the wonderful man that he is, had no problem with any of it.

The next day, we were both shy and chatted a bit and took some classes together. We had exchanged contact information the night before. And then we simply parted ways. When I got home you better believe I added him to my yahoo messenger. And since that meeting, we've kept in contact, building a beautiful friendship....Until next time, FROG...

Practicing what you preach.....or not......

If I practiced what I preached, I'd be doing good...but then I suppose we all would. Really, think about it, you can GIVE advice, you just can't APPLY it in YOUR OWN life. Well, if you're feeling that way, I'm in the same boat with you. In fact I'm pretty sure we're sitting in an ocean liner the size of either the Queen II or the Titanic. I can give advice with the best of them, but I can't APPLY it to my life at all. But if I could, man would life be a lot easier.

I think I'm a worrier by nature. I know God doesn't want me to worry, but I do. I should give all my problems to Him, but I feel I can take care of it much better than He can...STUPID STUPID STUPID girl! I feel He's getting me ready for a HUGE growth spurt. There is so much going on around me that I feel powerless (I'm not a fan of this feeling. I don't like feeling vulnerable). Growing as a child of God, relationships changing, friendships changing, friendships beginning, a new guy in my life, I mean it's busy. And here I am trying to take control of it all, instead of just being and learning. I'm not a fan of change, I never have been. But then God is all about throwing us out of our comfort zones....

If a friend came to me with the same story, I'd tell them to "go with the flow", "not to worry", "be patient", "be still and know that He is God", "walk by faith, not by sight", blah blah blah blah blah. You know what I'm saying, because you've said it too. Maybe not exactly the same way, but you've said something along those lines before. However this is YOUR life! What you're going through is DIFFERENT than ANYONE ELSE'S plight. BUT IT'S NOT!! It's the same thing, maybe a different scenario and different players, but it's the same. As Solomon said, nothing new under the sun. Someone else has felt the same way and hasn't taken their own advice.

And what's sad, I know what I need to do...I know if I would follow what I'm preaching to others, I'd be happy and relaxed. I'd be enjoying my life more. I wouldn't feel so lost. I wouldn't feel so overwhelmed. My course of action? I'm giving/submitting it to God and I'm going to trust Him more (I have SEVERE trust issues). I'm going to go with the flow and try to relax and enjoy things more. It's gonna take some PRACTICING, but with some patient people in my life, I'm sure I will be successful. Until next time, FROG....

Leaded, unleaded, or somewhere in between.....

I'm a coffeeholic. I LOVE coffee...maybe a little too much! And I'm not into all that fru fru stuff. Don't get me wrong, I do occasionally enjoy an iced West 3rd from Front Porch Cafe (local coffee house on the Outer Banks) or a Mocha Frappuccino. But for the most part, I'm a "plain Jane". I like Foldgers 100% Columbian (LEADED!) coffee with enough cream to make it a nice shade of tan. No flavored coffee creamers or sweetener here! Just plain hardcore leaded java! And I don't just like a cup or 2 of coffee a day, I drink more like 1 1/2 to 2 pots a day!! Can we say ADDICTED?!?!

For those who drink Unleaded coffee, I'm not gonna bust on you. Some people are just anti-caffeine (don't stone me here). And for the most part it's due to health reasons. I can respect that. To each is his own. And in all actuality, decaff coffee tastes a WHOLE lot better than it did when I was growing up (my Grandpap used to drink Sanka, instant decaffeinated coffee...ugh!!). I've even been FOOLED before and didn't know I was drinking decaff (it's probably a subconscious thing) But if I'm in the store, you better believe I'm putting the leaded stuff in my cart!

HOWEVER...I think I need to switch to the "somewhere in between". I'm so hyped up on the caffeine that I'm "zinging" here and there and everywhere in between. My brain is always going and there is always something to do, even if my body is begging for relaxation. I also believe that the caffeine is having the opposite effect that I want it to. Instead of being alert and awake, I'm tired and groggy. Why? Simply because my body IS tired, but I'm so keyed up that I can't sleep and I'm not getting the deep sleep that I need. And on top of that, I'm a talker by nature, add a pot of coffee and I'm a speed talker. I get to rambling on so fast that my dearest friend has to remind me to breathe!!

So, after talking to countless friends and my Dr. I've decided to mix my "leaded" with "unleaded" to get "something in between". I'm hoping I'll get just enough "zing" without all added the "zinging". And remember, if you're going to drink unleaded, make sure it's NATURALLY unleaded! It's healthier for you! Until next time, FROG...

Do you need to dump the sand out of your mayonnaise jar too?

Hey y'all! It's me again!! I received an email the other day from my Great Aunt, that goes along with the point I was pondering and blogged about yesterday. Here is the e-mail I received

When things in your life seem almost too much too handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full they agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things- God, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions--things that if everything else was lost and only they remained your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car.

The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.

If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

"Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

"One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee presented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

To be 100% honest, my mayonnaise jar is 3/4's of the way full. I'm trying to cram my golf balls into that 1/4 space...guess what!?!? IT ISN'T WORKING (it's kind of like beating your head against the wall...) So I'm starting to think that I need to clean out my "closet" and reprioritize my life. And with His help, I'll be able to. I need to put the golf balls in FIRST and THEN everything else. And if I clean really well, I might be able to pour in 4 cups of coffee instead of just 2! Until next time, FROG...

Too Blessed to be Stressed or Too Stressed to be Blessed...which do you fall under?

Hey Y'all! It's me again with the latest topic I've been pondering... So, which category do you fall under? Are you too blessed to be stressed or are you too stressed to be blessed? To be completely honest, as of late, I've been falling under the latter category. I'm too stressed to see all the blessings God is bestowing upon me. For instance today, it felt that I had one million and one things to do (huge exaggeration). And instead of enjoying my "to do" list and taking my time, I stressed, got aggravated, and I grumbled and griped to my dearest friend (basically I was an angry chicken running around with it's head cut off). Scary picture if you ask me. And as I was leaving the last place on my list, the post office, I saw a lady cleaning the glass door wearing a t-shirt that bore the phrase "too blessed to be stressed". I smiled and complimented her t-shirt, told her "God bless you" and walked out the door to my car. As I walked to my car, I was thinking about that phrase and smiling to myself. I was admitting to God that I needed to do that. I needed to be "too blessed to be stressed". On that note, I somehow stumbled and tripped as I was stepping down off the curb. I twisted and landed on my ankle, and my hands landed on the hood of my car and kept me from falling on my face (as you can see, my middle name isn't Grace). After standing up, my ankle was in excruciating pain. I limped to the door of my car and got in (Just call me Gimpy, the 3 legged race horse). I sat a few minutes and caught my breath, checked my ankle to make sure it wasn't broken and thanked God that it wasn't my right ankle...ha ha! I worried that I might have broken it or sprained it, but I could move it and the pain subsided, and I figured that was a good sign. Now you would think I'd be even more aggravated, but as I drove home, I found myself chuckling at my lack of "grace". In fact I chuckling so much, that I had to call my dearest friend at work and relate the story to her. Praise the Lord for that.



So I got home, worked on a few projects, chatted online to my dearest friend, relaxed in a hot bubble bath, and I'm starting to unwind. And as I was doing that, this topic popped into my head. I need to "let go" and I need to "stop and smell the roses" more. Too often in this life we get caught up in the "not so important things" and neglect the "important things". Col. 3:2 states for us to "Set your mind on the things above, and not on the things that are on earth". 2 Cor. 4:18 tells us "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Jesus tells us in Matt. 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Jer. 29:11 states "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope." God tells us He directs our steps in Prov. 16:9 "The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." So in other words God is telling us not to "sweat the small stuff", that we are to seek refuge in Him, and that no matter what we plan for ourselves, HE IS IN CONTROL of our life and our path, WE ARE NOT. So it would be easier to cast our cares on Him because He is much better equipped to deal with our "problems" than we are. Have you ever noticed that when we try to control our life, we make a complete mess out of it? I have. So from now on, I'm going to try to be "too blessed to be stressed" instead of being "too stressed to be blessed". The first idea is so much comforting and relaxing than the latter. Until next time, FROG.....

Calling all fellow "Vivian Complex" sufferers......

"People put you down enough, you start to believe it."....."The bad stuff is easier to believe." says Vivian, Julia Roberts' character, to Edward, Richard Geres' character, in Pretty woman...This is what I have dubbed the "Vivian Complex".

Come on y'all, you know perfectly well what I'm talking about. At some point in our lives, we've all suffered from the "Vivian Complex". Be completely honest with yourself (and everyone else) you have been or are a fellow "Vivian Complex" Sufferer. I'm the PRESIDENT of the club! The BAD stuff is EASIER to believe. It is easier to believe that we are worthless, no good, pieces of garbage, that don't deserved to be cared about or loved instead of what we truly are, fearfully and wonderfully made in Gods' image and of His divine design. And if you have someone that is constantly putting you down, it's even EASIER to continue to believe the BAD stuff. Satan is good at reminding us of the bad stuff too. He's the great deceiver and believe me, he's constantly whispering to me. And then sometimes we're so engrossed in our own pity party (room for only one at this table) that we don't want to hear the GOOD stuff that others and God are telling us...

Lately, I've started to LISTEN to what God and others have been telling me. That I am worth it. I'm so worth it and so loved that God sent His only begotten Son to die on the Cross for me. I am a good girl, I am sweet, I am caring, I do care. The problem...I don't always feel that I am those things. I'm learning that I don't have to "feel" to "be". As long as I am obeying God and following Him, then I am A OK. I've also started to believe that those qualities that others see, are qualities of God. At those times where I don't feel that I am a good person and another does, that is Gods' image shining through me. Praise the Lord!

So, now when I talk to my friends and joke them when they're having a "Vivian Complex" moment, I remind them that they are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made and that God DOESN'T make mistakes! Until next time, FROG...