Along the Way

So here I am 5-6 months later and though I'm not walking as much as I would have hoped, I did participate in a program called Walk Across Texas with my co-workers. As luck would have it, my team, Steppin On Up, won the walk against the Holy Walkamolies. Very clever name indeed.  So they got points for the name, but we walked further, 1 mile further to be exact.  So both teams walked pretty far actually and there was no prize to be won, just the feel of accomplishment and a fun little competition between workmates. 

My husband and I walk about 2 days out of the week, if we're not walking, we're working in the yard.  I love working in my garden, plucking old blooms from my flowers, trimming back the bushes; it's one of my favorite past times.  Used to love reading as well, and still do but I find it harder and harder to get through a book, where I used to finish a book in 2-3 days.  

Otherwise my days are filled with work, playing with my cats and dogs, being on Facebook probably more than a person should be, eating, & spending time with my husband.  Oh, and watching tv when my show is on, Fringe.  

So anyway, to put a nice little bow on this package, shaping up is a work in progress.  Slowly I will begin to get in shape or get in better shape than I am now.  I'd also like to go get back into the things that I used to be into, reading, writing (if it weren't for that gigantic wall in front of me), and crafting.  (No, def not arithmetic.)  

I'll begin to post more here, now that I know I have atleast a few followers.  

This is Shellie, signing out.  Goodnight!

Shaping Up

So, working at a church is proving to be very good for me. Yes, it's demanding, stressful, and at times confusing, but it's forcing me to shape up. Both physically and spiritually, I'm out of shape.

I've been in a lot of physical pain in my legs, hips, and thighs. I'm blaming inactivity. Before I got the job at the church, I had actually just started work at Lowes, but even before then I had started to get depressed because I couldn't find a job. I began spending a lot of my time in front of the tv or computer screen, sometimes at the same time. Well, after awhile of this, about 4 months, I started feeling sore, but didn't really know why. I thought maybe it was from sitting too much so I started to get up and move around and found out, the more I moved around, the less the pain.
At the beginning of May, I got the job at Lowes. I was on my feet all day. It was great. But still, any prolonged period of sitting and the pain would reemerge.
My husband and I started walking around our neighborhood park, but even that was off and on.
Around that time, I had applied for a job at our church. Preschool ministry assistant. Not exactly my cup of tea, but it was a job in the church. I also gave thought to the fact that I'd be sitting most of the day and nearly passed on the opportunity.
The opportunity passed me. Because I had just started at Lowes, it made it difficult to be available, even for just a phone call when the preschool minister would call to set up a phone interview. We played phone tag, I even emailed, but at that point it was too late. The unavailability was a turn off and I knew that.
It was then that a friend noticed the position for College Ministry Assistant.
I called, turned in my application and resume, interviewed over the phone, and then finally met and interviewed with my boss, George. A couple days later, I got the call! I was hired, and it had all gone so smoothly, that it must have been God.
Now, here I am 5 1/2 - 6 months later and I'm loving my job, but the sitting for long periods at a time is killing me. I can't sleep at night because I'm stiff and the constant throb leaves no comfortable position.
Again, my husband and I have taken up walking here and there. But just this week, I got a couple of my coworkers interested in getting in shape. We're taking two days of the week, Tuesday and Thursday, and walking around the church sanctuary. I'm not sure how far we walked today, but 7 times around is one mile, and I'm pretty sure we atleast did that. My husband and I walked yesterday too, so slowly and surely, I will get in physical shape. With the accountability of both my coworkers and husband, I'm sure of this.

Spiritually... I'm just not where I need to be. I miss God's Spirit, the all consuming presence of who he is and how he makes me feel, the burning desire to shout his name on the highest mountain.
We have weekly meetings as the college staff talk about the week before and the weeks to come. The time after the meeting, from Tuesday - Friday is spent in preparation for the College class, Freedom, on Sunday mornings.
Anyway, the time spent in our meetings is always beneficial, sometimes adventurous (check my Facebook status from 11/29), and always prayerful. It's in these prayers and spiritual discussions that I'm feeling quite inadequate. Discussions and prayers that used to come so easy are a struggle to find. Grasping the right words and saying the right thing, even knowing the right verse or Biblical reference for the discussion is difficult. I may know what I want to say, but where it comes from or how to say it are lost to me.
Granted, a prayer to God doesn't have to be eloquent, but I feel as if I've become complacent and in that, the words, the actions don't matter. But now that I'm working amongst people that are always studying, always in the word, I'm realizing just how stagnant I've become. I've gotten comfortable and I'm no longer growing as a child of God. Be hot or cold, one or the other; I feel like its worse to be in the middle, unmoving. As the saying goes, "a rolling stone gathers no moss." I don't want to gather dust or moss, I want to be that rolling stone, constantly moving toward something more. I want to kneel to pray and feel like I've reached the highest mountain top. I want to continue to move and grow up in Christ.

So to sum it all up, my physical and spiritual needs have not been met. I've spent so long looking out for everyone else and now I think it's time to look out for me. Time to grow myself and make sure I'm in good physical and spiritual shape. My husband is growing as well and I think we can grow together, alongside each other and prepare ourselves for the road ahead. So that we can help prepare our future children for the road ahead of them. And perhaps by example, show those around us and our families what it means to live a Godly life. What it means to be in shape.

Lord, help us to get in shape. Help us to be physically fit for the road ahead, but also to be spiritually fit and ready to grow your kingdom. Help us grow in you and know you more.
You are our salvation and our spring of life. Thank you for the life you've given, we are blessed beyond measure.
Amen.

New Life

And so new life begins. I always get so excited to see those first green sprouts poking their heads out into the sunshine. Their first little leaves reaching towards life giving sun. It's such a blessing to me to see these little sprouts begin their life. Soon they will be beautiful flowers, bringing joy and brightness in an otherwise gloomy spot. I've planted these flowers around our pitiful little tree in the front yard. I'm hoping the growth of the daisies, morning glory's, forget-me-nots, and wildflower assortment will bring a little life to the poor old tree. I'll start sprinkling plant food here soon, in hopes to get the biggest and prettiest blooms and hopefully a healthier looking tree. My favorite flowers, the daisies are around the base of the tree, with the morning glory's and forget-me-nots planted around them. So when they bloom, the tree will have a dress of white, purple, and blue stripes, with multi-colored spots throughout.

New clothes always perk me up!

Remember, it's okay to be "Wong" every now and again!

Drunk Mailbox

Last thursday our mailbox was, unfortunately, a victim of drunk driving. I regret that we did not get a picture of our slain mailbox but at the time we were so irritated that our mailbox had been knocked over we just didn't think about it.

We arrived home late thursday night to find one of our neighbors (a house full of college students), was having a party out on their driveway. They weren't being loud, so we didn't really care what they were doing. Though about an hour later we heard loud, thumping base for about 30 minutes then all was quiet again. The next morning, Micky left for work and called me telling me not to be alarmed but our mailbox had been knocked over. So of course I got up and immediately had to check out the state of our mailbox. I expected to see it in pieces all over the driveway and street, but it was just laying on its side, one corner crushed.

That weekend we were standing outside with our newest neighbors (a young couple with a 3 month old girl) discussing what had possibly happened to our mailbox. We knew that whomever did it, had been drunk due to the police reports that had been called in from around neighboring communities. Downed fences, busted electrical boxes, and our mailbox all victims of drunken driving.

The young college student's mother came out and apologized saying they were the ones at fault and would pay for our mailbox. She was terribly sorry and despite our anger at the whole situation, our minds were changed in an instant when we heard her side of the story. She had been called by the police at 5am to find out that her son's truck was found but her son was missing. I can only imagine what she went through at that moment. Her children had never had a brush with the law, never even had a traffic accident or ticket and for this to be the first incident would be crushing. She told all of this while trying not to cry. Our anger melted away and we were all just glad no one had been hurt. It could have been much worse. Her son, came out later to also apologize and say that he would indeed pay to have our mailbox fixed. We told him that would be nice but that we were also glad he was okay.

Today it is standing tall and we are so happy to have our mailbox back from the dead!

We've been having to go pick up our mail from the post office for the last week 1/2, which is no big deal but not quite as exciting as getting mail in your own personal box, sober box.

Don't be afraid to be "wong" every now and again!

New title, new look

So I'm starting my blog over from being just me to being my new family with my husband. For the time being it is just he and I and our house full of pets, 3 dogs and 1 cat. We do plan on having kids, just not any time soon! Possibly within 2-3 years. We want to get settled, have time with each other, and get a good foundation for our kids when the time comes!

The last post was all about me getting engaged and its been quite a while since I've posted and am obviously married to my best friend and wonderful husband, Micky! I'll post a few wedding pics later to start our new journey here on Blogspot. In 2 months we will have been married for 1 year and are really excited about that, but hope to gather a few followers as we go.

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Don't be afraid to be "wong" every now and again!

My weekend of "engaging" activities...

So my weekend started Saturday morning. I got up and left my house at about 11am to go to Micky's place in College Station. I told him I would be there in time for lunch, but ended up getting a later start than I had planned. I actually got there around 2:30 or 3pm. It's about a 4 hour drive. No sooner do I get there, he says he has to go to the post office. I tell him thats fine, I'll just go with him. He insists that its only going to take about 5 minutes and he'll be back soon and I should just stay at his house. I persisted and asked why I couldn't tag along. It's just the post office, I'll be back in a few minutes. Ok, fine. I'll stay behind. His idea of 5 minutes was more like an hour! I couldn't believe that I had just gotten there only to be left by myself for an hour! For a trip to the post office! What?!? He finally comes back and he can tell I'm a little upset.

"Are you mad at me?"

'No, I'm not mad, I'm upset b/c you left me, I just got here and you left me! Doesn't matter what we do together (ie going to the post office) as long as we are together, right?!'

"Well, yeah, I'm sorry babe."

Then he says, "Oh, yeah, I also got us a bottle of wine."

What?! A little random but okay. So anyway, we leave his house and go eat. Then it's off to the theater to see the Wolverine movie! Which was pretty good. Its your basic saturday night date. Nothing too special. After the movie we get home and are watching tv and sitting on the couch together and decide we need some snacks to snack on. So he gets out a can of pineapple chunks, I decide on popcorn, and then he suggests the wine. Ok. Odd combo, I know. Pineapple, popcorn, and wine... Not your everyday menu. Sounds more like a pregnant woman's menu! LOL After a few hours of that, we call it a night.

Sunday morning comes and he wakes me up with an eskimo kiss, really sweet. I'm getting ready for church, have just gotten out of the shower and dressed when I decide to go see if he's getting ready as well.. Which, he's not. He's playing on his computer.

"Hey, babe. Are you ready for church?"

"Yeah.... Hey, babe... will you marry me?" (He's at this point still sitting on his chair in the office). "What? You can't ask me that now!"

"Why not?"

"Your not on your knee for one! And in your house?! Are you sure you want to ask in your house, in your office?"

He kind of laughs and says, "well, okay."

So we continue to get ready, but I'm feeling kinda bad about what I had said so I tell Micky,

'you know I will, right?"

And he says yes and we go to church. It's a really good service, we meet up with his friends Rob and Becca, and go to lunch afterwards. So we get back home and we are goofing around in his house, sliding around on the tile floor actually... I'm staying through til monday so we still have plenty of time to do whatever we want. Micky goes to the garage for a second and we soon find ourselves back on the couch watching Van Helsing, which if you've never seen it, is a movie about a guy who is employed by the roman catholic church to hunt down and bring any mythical creatures back to the church. Or if necessary kill them. One such necessary kill is Dracula. It's at this point of the movie when Van Helsing is hunting down Dracula and fighting with the wives of Dracula (he has three) that Micky proceeds to get down on one knee. I again, think he's joking and tell him to get up. Until he reaches into his pocket, pulls out a little pouch from which a little ring drops into his palm.... At this point, I'm just kinda stunned. Caught completely off guard!!! He asks me to marry him, I say yes! and hug him! And surprisingly there are no tears. The funny thing is, he goes back to watching the movie as if nothing ever happened! Great commercial break! I asked him why now and he said that it just felt right. He hadn't planned on doing it sunday, it just kinda happened. And it was still really sweet, despite being in the middle of Van Helsing! I love these kinds of movies though, so it's actually pretty appropriate! Guess I should buy the movie now!

"Kids, this is the part of the movie where your dad asked me to marry him!"

It wasn't until after I was driving home that the tears came. My hands on the steering wheel, all I have to look at are the road and the ring,

"Oh my gosh, I'm engaged!"

Delayed reaction or maybe it was just sinking in, I dont know.

He was nervous, but he had to laugh at me, b/c my hands were shaking so bad after he put the ring on! I thought he must have gotten up Sunday morning with the idea in his head, but he said he hadn't. Said the time was just right, that he felt in his heart that it was the right time.

I'm extremely happy and I love him so much! God has definately blessed us! Everyone I tell says that I deserve it and I'm getting a really great guy. I like to think so...

I love you, Micky! Proud to say that your my fiance!

God is great!

It's been awhile since I last posted anything, but I have to admit, I'm not the best at keeping up with this. A lot of stuff has happened since I last posted. Stuff that has changed people and opened doors for others.

Micky and I are still together and loving the time we share. He is still in College Station and I am still here in K-Town, working at James Avery with the possibility of stepping up into a higher position. One of our Sales Team Leaders is leaving to spend more time being a grandmother, which leaves her spot wide open when she leaves in May. I'm not sure who has put in a job interest form, but I plan on talking to the manger about the position and finding out what my possibilities might be. I have been working at Amy's Hallmark as well, but that came to an end today. My younger brother is marrying my manager there so my position at Hallmark has become a conflict of interest.

It's a corporate store with lots of rules. Which is fine, b/c this leaves me with the time to devote to Averys if I apply for the open STL position. I have also been offered a job at the UPS store, which is 2 doors down from the Hallmark store. The position there would be full time, 5 -6 days a week, with 9-5 hours. And the man and his wife that own the store are great people! He, Mr. Bill, always come into Hallmark in the mornings to check on us girls and sing us a morning song, "Good morning, good morning, good morning to you!!" He's such a goofball! To sum up, I have two open doors in front of me, which only occured after I submitted to God and put everything in His hands. I was so stressed out about looking for a new job and didn't know where to go or what to do. I've also had some financial stressors this past month as well, which made everything else worse than it actually was. I was a few months late on a credit card payment so they sold the debt to a collections agency. A man at the agency called me and completely scared me! He told me the credit card company was going to sue me if I didn't send them, the collections agency, a payment before an allotted amount of time. I ended up giving him my account info to take out a sum of money. I made sure that the amount was the only thing I had in my account so they could get no more than I had stated they could have. Which turns out, they can take as much as they want whether you have it or not (not that they did this). Thing is, they had lied to me and told me they were a law firm, which is actually against the law. They are not allowed to claim to be anyone they are not. Anyway, all is well that ends well. I called up the credit card company (I should mention that I prayed before hand) and told them why I had missed the payments. I pointed out that I had made a payment three months prior, I told them of the collections agency and how they had talked to me and lied to me, and I told them that I had helped my grandmother pay for some of her pills and medications. When she can't afford them, she just doesn't get them until she can afford them again. Which is very unhealthy and unwise. Her health comes first. The manager at the credit card co. was sympathetic b/c her husband was also having some health problems. Another lady also told me she was having health problems and understood the cost of medicines was high. I told her I would pray for her and she was very thankful. Well, as I said, all is well that ends well. They lowered my amount due by more than half! An amount I can afford, and can pay off by the end of May. God answers prayer and He is an awesome God.

Now, I know I am not smart about money. I am not the best steward of what I have. So this has opened my eyes to keeping better track of what I spend my money on. I've once again learned how to use Microsoft Excel. Yay for technology!

On other news, Justin and Julie's wedding is this sunday, April 26th at 3pm. Julie is excited to finally be a Weaver. And now I have an older sister! Micky is coming down on saturday for the wedding and all the pre-wedding stuff, like the rehearsal dinner. I'm excited about seeing him again, though I did just see him this past weekend. It's been such a stressful month that it's been so nice to see him everytime. I don't have much more to add so I'll leave you with a goodnight kiss...

And the funny face my dog made earlier this month. It just made me laugh, despite it all!