1. Pick up son from Teen Center.  Head to Football Parent’s Meeting.

2.  Ask son if he has his equipment.

3.  Smile when he says yes.

4. Ask if he has his cleats.

5.  Scowl when you are turning around to go get said cleats.

6.  Get cleats and turn back around.

7.  Head to Football Parents Meeting, again

8.  Arrive before the coach starts talking cheering that you weren’t the last parent to arrive.

9. Sit on the ground because it’s hot and you’re tired.

10. Stand up because you sat in an ant pile.

11.  Try not to make a scene because said ants are crawling all over you.

12.  Leave parents meeting and come home for 30 minutes.

13.  Receive odd email from ex-boyfriend requesting prayers.

14.  See that it’s time to leave for soccer.

15.  Yell for daughter for 10 minutes.

16.  Get in the car and go look for said daughter.

17.  Find daughter at neighbor’s house.

18.  Tell her that we will now be late for soccer.

19.  Stop at the gas station because they have Gatorade on sale 2 for $3

20.  Traffic jam in the parking lot of the gas station because cops are arresting someone.

21.  Scoff because daughter cannot determine what gatorade flavor she wants.

22. Pay and get back in the car only to sit there for 5 minutes trying to get out of the parking lot.

23.  Jet to soccer practice, sighing a relief when you realize you are there before they started.

24. Learn how to juggle the ball on your feet, thighs, and head.

25.  Realize that you are not helping the kids while you are juggling so stop to help them.

26.  Run all over the place retrieving balls because the kids think it is funny to kick the ball as far as they can over the hill.

27.  Cheer when they announce that they have brought the ice cream truck in at the end of practice.

28.  Panic when you realize that they want you to PAY for the ice cream and you have no cash.

29. Tell the kids that you’re going to Katie’s Ice Cream.

30.  Arrive at Katie’s at the same time as the rest of the Roanoke Valley.

31.  Order your usual, peanut butter cup and peanut butter pie but be adventuresome and get it in a waffle cone instead of a cup.

32.  Urge your children to hurry up and pick out what they want because you’re sweaty and gross.

33.  Leave Katie’s, ice cream in hand, and decide to get the car washed because a bird mistook your car for the facilities and so that it looks nice for your drive to PA.

34.  Bet your children that the car wash will take off the bird poop, even though they are convinced that it won’t.

35.  Wait patiently, licking ice cream, while staring intently at the section of the windshield where the bird poop is praying that it will come off.

36.  Leave the car wash with remnants of bird poop still on the windshield.

37.  Scream at your children that you will pay them their dollar as soon as you get home while yelling for someone to get you a napkin because you have chocolate ice cream escaping the bottom of the cone and running down your arm.

38.  Remember why you always get your ice cream in a cup.

39.  Walk in the door and fight over who gets in a shower first.

40.  Blog about your night while you wait patiently for the shower to open up, hoping there is still hot water, and hating the fact that you are leaving for PA in 10 hours and you’re not packed and a shower will keep you up half the night.

Until next time…

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I’ve always been a night owl.  I am the type of person that sends emails in the middle of the night.  It’s when it’s quiet.  It’s when the phone stops ringing, the IMs stop dinging, and the rest of the world (including my children) are sleeping peacefully.

Yes, there are a few of my friends that burn the midnight oil with me, but for the most part it’s just me, kicking butt and taking names.  It’s one of the reasons that I enjoy working from home.  While I am available during business hours and do quite a bit of work then, my hours are customizable.  Meaning, if I get distracted or need to take my car in for an oil change in the middle of the day, I can make those hours up at night.

More often than not, it’s because I’ve gotten distracted.

Before the option of working from home came about, I decided that I was best suited for a 3-11 job.  The problem with that is that (1) there aren’t any 3-11 desk jobs that pay the salary that I want need to make and (2) daycare is hard to come by during those hours.

So I’m grateful that I found something that works for me.

However, I know that when school starts back in 25 days (not that I am counting) I know that my days of staying up until 4am watching cooking demonstrations working need to come to an end.  I will have to arise from my comfy, cozy bed at 6:30am to get Samara out the door.  Matthew, since he’s now in middle school won’t leave until 8.. and don’t think that I’m not counting down until when Sam starts middle school so that I can sleep in an extra hour.

But I’m going to have to get up early.  As is Samara, who apparently got her night owl genes from me, because there are nights that she’s outlasted me.

Knowing this means that I have to adjust a few things.  While I do like to stay up late and work when it’s quiet, I also know that there are certain triggers that prolong my droopy eyes and the desire to fall into bed.

Surprisingly, it’s not caffiene.

For example, I cannot take a shower at night.  It wakes me up.  Therefore, this week, since we’ve not gotten home from soccer until 9 and because it’s so terribly hot, I’ve had to take showers at 9pm… at the earliest.  That’s only if I run in the house and into the bathroom faster than either of the kids.

I also cannot do anything that requires thinking.  So, if I know that I need to be in bed by 11, I can’t work a crossword puzzle, read a business book, brainstorm with a friend, etc.  If I do, my mind kicks into high gear and I can’t shut it off.  The flip side to that is that I DO get a lot of work done.  But I keep going and going like the freakin’ energizer bunny and it’s 4am and I have to get up at 6:30.

I’ve started to notice some patterns.  Like in the summer time, I don’t read as much.  It’s because I’m staying up late.  When school is in session, that is how I unwind.  I’ll go to bed at 11 and read until I can’t keep my eyes open.  I’ve been reading the same book for over a week now.  And I’ve read a grand total of two this summer… both of those while I was on vacation.  (When I was going to bed at 11 every night because I had to get up to go into the office.)

We go back to this routine in 25 days.  Ok, so I am counting.

I know that in the next two weeks, all three of us are going to have to start going to bed early so that we can get our bodies adjusted to our new schedules.  I was hoping that football and soccer starting this week would make us all so utterly exhausted but it hasn’t happened yet.

And it probably won’t.

So how do you handle the adjustment from summer to school year?  And are you like me?  Are there things that keep you up?

Until next time…

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At some point in time I decided that I was going to start taking random pictures of things that struck me as funny, odd, or down right insane.

I’m not sure when…

Oh yes I do.

It was here…

When Burger King wanted me to PAY to pee. Wasn’t happening. I’ll hold it before I pay a quarter to use the facilities.

As I snapped the picture, because this was so foreign to me, I decided that I was going to start taking random pictures… just to take.

Lucky you, this is where they will end up.

So, here are all the things that I found fascinating while I was in San Francisco….

The ferry was extremely cold, but it didn’t seem to bother her…

One of my favorite things about San Francisco was the street performers. I could’ve gone broke if I paid then what their talent deserved because they were all just so darn talented… and adorable… like this gentleman, who posed for me and held the note as I snapped the picture…

I’ve always wondered what I should do with the drain rack and the pots and pans in the kitchen and now I know. I can set them all up in the middle of a big city and play them. Because honestly? That would be so much more fun than actually using them for what they were intended for.

While this gal was certainly interesting to look at, I’m not sure that she deserves any money for standing on the sidewalk completely still. Well, yes she should. I could never stand still for that long with all that crap on. She really did look like a robot.

And this guy? Sure, he looks like a statue. But might I offer some advice? Next time, don’t spray paint yourself where you’re going to stand…. it kinda gives it away.

And when I saw this? I stopped dead in my tracks because all 31 year old women get excited when they see pirate ships.. don’t they? They do when they are hopping Captain Jack Sparrow is aboard. Actually, I thought more of the ending scene of Goonies… and then I searched my pockets for rubies. But there weren’t any. I think that’s when I snapped back into reality.

Here is the perfect definition of a multi-tasker. He plays all this stuff at once. How?

and is this not the coolest Mickey D’s sign that you’ve ever seen? Seriously.. isn’t it?

And while we’re looking at signs… do you stop in the middle of busy city streets to get the perfect angle of a photo that you want to share on your blog?

I do.

Now, did I mention how cold it was in San Francisco while I was there? (Apparently, it’s warmed up this week.) Some people must not have checked the weather before venturing outside…

I’m thinking he asked what he should wear while riding a bike… and the person he asked was not aware that his bike was a MOTORCYCLE… and i think he has a fake tan. He’s awfully orange.

At least she’s smart and is wearing a hat… because you know that’s where all the heat escapes your body.

This is a tour… can you believe it? I was amazed. There’s a little tour guide up there talking into a helmet mic and then all these little people on wheels following her. I have never seen anything like it.

I would like to tell you that these people were ones that I met and spoke to but they aren’t. They are just two random people that I shutter stalked on the ferry on the way home. I would also like to tell you that they are just huddled together because it was so freaking cold and windy, but they are obviously very much in love….

Gag me.

And does it look like that ship will fit under the bridge? No. I didn’t think so. But apparently it did and it was just the angle that concerned us because I checked the news in San Fran after the conference and the Golden Gate is still intact.

Now, I’m going to warn you about this next (and last) picture. If you have small eyes peeking over your shoulder because my new design is so bright and colorful and your children can’t stop looking, make them not look now. Because it’s not exactly kid friendly but I was so in shock when I saw it that I couldn’t help but take a picture.

I was sitting on the floor at my gate at SFO. I was so tired. I was near tears. All I wanted to do was get on that plane so that I could go to sleep when out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something shiny; something sparkly.

From my floor view, I saw the gold heels first. As I looked up, I saw her cheeks and dimples.

And I about fell over….

And all I wanted to scream was “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should…” and I have to wonder if she knew that she was the talk of gate 82 at SFO that night…

Until next time…

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It’s Becki in the guest blogger roll today…

Blog fodder.

You know you’re addicted to the fodder when life happens and you don’t panic, but rather ask yourself, “How can I turn this into a blog post?”

Come November, I think I’ll have all the fodder I will EVER need when I accompany the lovely Heather, the Sanity Seeker herself, to the NKOTB concert. This ought to be great…oil and water…NKOTB lover vs. G-N-R lover. Seriously, I just want to go to watch Heather be a dork (you know I love ya ), maybe I’ll have fun too.

Here’s a little background on me, while everyone was dreaming of the New Kids, I was dreaming of being able to whistle like Axel Rose in Patience (although November Rain still has to be my absolute fav). Heather can pop in any NKOTB tape (I’m sure she still has those, although I’m “dating” her) and can utter every nuance of the song and her face lights up like a child when she does it. I think it’s pretty sad when I can hear a G-N-R song and do the same thing…although I have to be a little more careful, because they were anything but accommodating to sensitive ears. But alas, my love for G-N-R wained when I got to know the BIG J.C. (yes I had to make some radical changes there, but that’s another post).

NKOTB…they’re so easy to make fun of. Let’s take a trip down memory lane…

In November I’ll be sure to take pppplllleeeennnttttyyyy of video and pictures for everyone. Who knows…maybe you’ll even see me doing the little “Hanging Tough” routine.

Thanks Heather for letting me be me, warts and all ;). I really am looking forward to November I’m even brushing up on my NKOTB dance moves…really I am…but don’t tell anyone that I’m secretly looking forward to going and being a dork too.

Becki @ Introverts.net

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Totally Shameless…

TOTALLY…

But I mentioned that I was working on some pretty exciting stuff and as as result, I have a new blog.

There’s more to all that’s going on.  And I can’t wait to share it all with you.  Don’t you hate when people do that to you?  Yeah, me too. 

So… there you go.

Desperately Seeking Wordpress

Until next time…

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I just finished reading More Than It Hurts You by Darin Strauss and can I tell you how amazing it was?

I have to admit that I’m pretty clueless when it comes to finding new authors.  I typically stick with my favorites or the genres that I like, but I’ve found recently that there is so much more out there.

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book.  It’s just that simple.  It’s not Patterson-esque but I was determined to read with an open mind, and I’m so glad that I did.

I’m not used to overly descriptive writing.  While I realize that description is important in writing as to allow us to visualize where the events are unfolding, I often view it as overly wordy and unneccessay.  Perhaps it’s because the books that I read aren’t overly descriptive, but Strauss has a way of writing so that I felt that I was right there.  When he described a drive that main characters, Josh and Dori, were driving, he listed the stores that they passed.  I could see the street lined with each of those eating establishments, supermarkets, and retail outlets.  It’s almost as if I feel at some point in time, I will find that street and know exactly where I am.

In the beginning, I had a little trouble following the intertwining story lines.  There were a few characters that needed to be introduced that were key to the story line.  Once the background information was presented on each of the main and supporting characters was done, the story line really picked up.

The characters were people that I could picture in my own life.  Josh, the husband, father, and tv sales person.  The descriptions of the Upfronts for his network were awesome to read simply because I work in TV.  I know all about the upfronts, but I’ve never actually attended one.  His description was much like what I’ve heard from colleagues who have attended.  His wife, Dori, wants to be the best wife and mother.  But she struggles with the battle going on in her mind and I can relate to this.  Darlene, the head of pediatrics, comes from a non-traditional background, single mother, and has reached much success in her life.  Her confidence and strength were much admired by me the entire time that I was reading this book and very encouraging to me.

After reading More Than It Hurts You, I’ve been able to step back and look at my own parenting skills.  I spent the entire book going back and forth between HATING Dori and wanting to give her a HUGE hug.  That emotion could change as quickly as I could turn the page.  I could identify with the feelings that she had but I could never condone the thoughts that she carried out.  I was angry with her, I was sad for her.  And at the same time, I could feel for Josh and Darlene as well with their struggles, although I was never angry with them.  But it did make me stop and think if outsiders, looking in to my life, could also say the same thing?  Am I entitled to some of the thoughts that I have if I don’t follow through with them?  As mothers, I think there are times that our mind tends to stray, but I bring it back.

All in all, I highly recommend More Than It Hurts You.  Not only was it a story filled with great story lines and twists, but the characters were real and I was able to challenge my mind while reading it.  I’ll be adding his other books, The Real McCoy and Chang and Eng, to my summer reading list.

If you want to hear what others are saying about More Than It Hurts you, you can follow the book tour here.

Until next time…

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Or Emeril… or Julia Childs… or whoever that dude is on Hell’s Kitchen…

I WANT to be, but I fall very short.

I’ve done a few things about it, but I’m still not a good cook.

Yes, I’ve had some successes. Few. And they come when it’s important in my life, like cooking a meal for a guy for the first time, Thanksgiving dinner with church or when you invite Pastor Man for dinner. Of course, all of those times involved MULTIPLE phone calls to the BFF or her husband to seek advice and for them to talk me off the proverbial edge.

And when your son gets on stage and proclaims to the body of his elementary school that you “can’t cook. Period.” you know that you aren’t that great of a cook.

Please know that my mother worked with me in the kitchen. She did her best to set me up for success. I knew how to make the meals that we ate often and she sent me on my way with a cookbook, so that I would know how to make the important things… like her chocolate cake with icing and banana bread. I’ve yet to make either.

And I think part of my problem is my stove…. but I will be remedying that soon. But the last time I talked to you about my stove, it had TWO semi-functional burners and now we’re down to one.

Because I caught the stove on fire AGAIN.

And yes, I said AGAIN. As in more than once I have sent pretty flames up the front of my avacado green stove.

You might remember the great meltdown of 2007 in which I was cooking RICE. Come on people.. rice! It’s not like I was cooking something with the word flambe in the name… it was RICE.

A little except of that post…

That’s me…

That’s me right after the meltdown…

but it was more then melting…there were flames!

(Now, I need to point something out here…I don’t think I have ever produced flames in the kitchen…so this would be a first…)

But here’s what happened….

It was time for lunch… (I thought I would be considerate and eat before I called Yvonne) and so I set out to make my traditional “there’s no left overs” lunch — rice. Rice isn’t hard, ya know? You put it in water and you let cook for 20 minutes (or until all the water is soaked up in the rice — which, hey! is about 20 minutes.) I’m good at this. I make rice ALL THE TIME!!!!! Sometimes I put alfredo sauce on it, sometimes butter, sometimes cheese…. (they say peanut butter is good, but I’ve not tried that).

The point being — this was not a new cooking experience here.

I put in one cup of rice and one cup of water (remember this point — very important) — I sit it on the back left burner and I flip the knob and I walk away. I know that I have 3 minutes before it’s time to go back, stir, turn down to simmer, and wait.

All of a sudden I hear this noise…it sounded like a thud and I thought “that stupid mouse is back” (yes, there is a mouse in the house too) but it wasn’t a thud…it was a WHOOSH….

I turn around and look into the kitchen and I just see smoke.

I walk in the kitchen and that’s when I see the flames. Had they been in someone else’s kitchen I would’ve said they were pretty — but in mine…they were downright scary…

So, I utter a few explicitives (and that bothers me because I’ve REALLY been working on my mouth….) I find a bowl in the sink and I douse the flames…

Guess who turned the wrong burner on? Guess where that empty juice pitcher was?

I grab the pitcher handle and that’s when I realize (because my head feels a little hot) that the pitcher is still on fire…so I throw that in the sink and put it out…

Then I survey the damage…

Open the door, turn on the fan…everyone is okay…just feeling a little on the stupid side…

Many times I set the smoke detector off… at which point, my son, who loves to joke and kid will shout “dinner’s done” before he grabs a dishtowel to fan the smoke away from the squealing box in the living room as I rush around to open doors and windows.

After the meltdown, we went to two burners… until just a few weeks ago when I was making spaghetti… as I’m standing there waiting impatiently for it to finish, flames shoot up. They calm back down and go away and since there was only a minute left of the time, I, like a grade A idiot, put the pan back ON the burner.

In which the pan boils over and even bigger flames shoot up.

And now?

I have one sole burner. But like I said, we’re getting a new stove.

While I can’t cook, I can bake. I just made bread pudding last night for the first time and I deviated from the recipe (which scares me) but I did it.

I am the running joke when it comes to kitchen mishaps… at church, in my family, with my friends, and now at the elementary school… and that’s okay. I’m okay with that.

In fact, should someone feel the need to nominate me for America’s Worst Cook, I would be okay with that too…

But I do try…

That’s something, right?

**************

This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as part of a contest sponsored by the American Egg Board.

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Don’t forget! There’s still time left to get in on the Where He Met Me Carnival and Contest… ends at Midnight tonight, but even if you’re not playing along, PLEASE go read these wonderful stories and be blessed… and in honor of my 600th post, I’ve got another contest going on here…

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This is my 600th post and what better way to celebrate than by documenting how I apply makeup for the sole purpose of entertainment… and to possibly win a prize.

What I won’t do to win a prize…

But the gals over at Chic Critique are hosting a “blog your face” carnival so if you want to learn a little more about great products and application tips, don’t read my post, but go directly over there… where I’m sure you’ll be greeted by people who are much better at this than I am.

The things I do to make you people laugh…

So here goes…

Here I am fresh out of bed… au natural… and let me tell you something… I put brighter lights in the bathroom and had NO idea that I looked like this in bright lights with no make up on. Now I’m not one to wear makeup all the time, it just so happened that I needed to go my leadership luncheon yesterday and made myself up, and I don’t believe anyone who said I don’t need makeup. Additionally, I feel like I’m a gremlin in that I can’t go out in the light looking like this. I’m either going to have to wear make up all the time now, or I’m going to have to put less bright lights in the bathroom….

Ok, I can promise you, the pictures only get better from here.

The first thing I do is apply this moisturizer… and yes, that’s a Big Lots price tag. I have no reason for using this particular moisteurizer, really. I was at Big Lots, it was there, I could afford it and so I bought it. You might notice the big “3″ that’s listed there. Well, that’s because there’s a series of this particular product. That same day, I bought “1″ and it was a cleanser. I have no idea what “2″ is since they didn’t have it and due to a slight bathroom mishap in which my daughter thought it would be fun to cleanse her face, I no longer have any more of product “1″.

After that, I put on this foundation stuff.

The foundation is Medium Beige from True Minerals. The BFF bought it for me to help me with this make up thing. That brush next to it? It’s called a Kabuki brush and I’m sure the majority of you know that. I found it odd when she told me to go buy a kabuki brush because in my mind, Kabuki is the Japanese steak house that I love to frequent here (when I can afford it). So now, every time I use the kabuki brush, I think about the little chef at the restaurant flipping a piece of shrimp in my mouth and I get hungry. I guess I can attribute any weight gain to the desire to look beautiful.

After applying the foundation, which, I still can’t tell if it does anything for me (or even if it’s the right color) I then have to remove the cat from the sink… because she likes to stare at me while I do this and it freaks me out….

And then I start working on my eyes… which really is my favorite part of my face…

Also, from true minerals, I apply Apricot Frost to my entire lid. Those are all sample sizes from them that the BFF sent in this little kit. It will last me forever and it’s cheap. And that’s the brush I use, because that’s what the BFF told me to use.

And so that’s what it looks like… and yes, I am well aware that I need to trim the bushes that are growing above my eyes.

Now, I used to use eye liner, plain ol’ brown until I got this true minerals stuff. Now, for the liner type look, I use the Khaki eyeshadow and wet my brush before dipping it in the little pod and applying. I’m sure this isn’t in or hip or anything like that, but it will leave a slight dusting of green sparklies on my eye lashes… and green is my color. So this is what I use to make my eyes pop. And I’m an eye person, so popping eyes is a good thing… bug eyes are not.

Then comes the mascara, and I found this mascara after reading about it on Chic Critique.

I read the post, got up from the computer and went in search of mascara in an orange tube because I couldn’t remember what it was called. I found it at the third store that I went to. I’ve been using MAC mascara forever and it sucks but I was too lazy and uneducated to go and buy something else.

And there are the eyes… with the shrubbery up top… but I’m not quite done…

Normally, my lip glosses are all confiscated by Sam the moment she lays eyes on them, except this one. She knows that she will meet her demise if she so much as desires to use this one. Normally, I don’t care, but this little thing of lip stain and gloss (which cracks me up… stain) cost me $16 (5 years ago…lol) at Sephora. I read about it in the ONE issue of Allure that I’ve ever read (I was attempting to learn about what was in and how to be more girly… obviously, it didn’t last…) and I went out and bought it. And I love it. Although, they say you can use the stain on your cheeks too and I just don’t get that. And I tried it once. I looked like one of those people that put their make up while riding in the car and hit a speed bump. So, I stick with putting it on my lips. The gloss is just about gone, so I use a cheapy clear gloss that I picked up somewhere, for I sure next to nothing.

And after all that… which takes about 5 minutes if you’re not stopping to take over 90 pictures to get halfway decent ones to post on your blog…. you get this…

Ah… much better.

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Oh, and since this IS my 600th post, let’s celebrate with a giveaway, shall we? Nothing special, just a little something….

I’ll randomly pick one person to win the book “Kisses of Sunshine for Moms”

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and tell me the one beauty product that you can’t live without…

Comments will be open until midnight Wednesday, June 11th and I’ll announce the winner on Thursday…

Until next time…

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One of my bloggy BFF’s Soliloquy is having a little contest and she wants to know an embarrassing moment or one in which you sunk low… this just after dropping her sister off at the Greyhound station… and since I have a Greyhound story, and because she won’t stop bugging me to blog about it since I want to win the prize, I’m going to share it with you.

I’m somewhat hesitant to share this story with you having just come out of a most spiritual week and asking people to share where God met you…

So, I need to preface this post with “Before I came to know the Lord….”

Consider it prefaced.

Four score and seven years ago In 1995, I left home, Beantown bound for college. The short of the story is that I met a man, fell in love with him and the only REAL problem with him (at that time) was that he lived in Philly and I was, of course, in Boston.

I would move heaven and earth for the opportunity to see this man every.chance.I.had.

And I mean every.

Let me mention that I was also poor.

Boston was approximately 6 hours from Philly. I didn’t have a car. Neither did he.

But you know who DID have wheels?

Greyhound.

And they were in my budget. Oh who am I kidding? I had no budget. I had no job. Working was beneath me because it seemed as if every kid I knew on that campus was there on Daddy’s dime except me, and I had to keep up my appearance. Ha.

What I did have were credit cards. Lots and lots of credit cards, because I hated doing laundry. And when you signed up for a credit card they would give you a free t-shirt, prolonging my having to do laundry. A few weeks later, a credit card would come in the mail and I would have money.

Can I just tell you now that I was NOT SO SMART back then?

I digress.

Those credit cards and Greyhound were my ticket to see my man… the man that I was so madly in love with… the man that I knew I would one day marry and bear children with… the man that I eventually did marry and procreate with, but not necessarily in that order.

Yes, Greyhound was my ticket out of the hellish roommate situation that I was in and into my man’s arms. For a day or four.

I was invincible then, you know. Nothing scared me. I feared nothing. I would take a cab to the Greyhound terminal (and at that time they didn’t take plastic, so I had to scrape up cash) and I would purchase my ticket and then ride to Philly, always stopping to change buses in New York City.

NEW FREAKING YORK.

19 years old. Alone. Late at night. On a bus. In New York City.

(Thank you Lord for being there; for watching over me; for protecting me. It’s amazing that I am still alive to tell this story.)

I did this often. Too often, but at the time, it didn’t seem often enough.

Now before I go any further, I need to mention that sometimes, I live in a movie. I have life scripted so wonderfully and when I see an opportunity that would make for a good movie, I’m all over it, because, well, quite frankly, I want people to LOVE my happy endings. And while I’m not so bad about it now, because there have been more than one reality checks along the way, in 1995 I was BAD about it.

On one particular trip back from Philly when we changed buses in New York, I boarded and sat down. I was smart enough not to make eye contact with many of the other passengers because I knew that I needed to be careful and so when I sat down, I promptly pulled a book from my bag and started reading.

A few minutes later, dude behind me starts making small talk. I was careful not to look at him. I said a few words back, but I don’t like small talk with weirdos.

But somehow, he engaged me in a conversation and we talked the entire four hour bus ride back to Boston. We talked about life, our childhoods, our likes, dislikes, fears, plans for the future… you name it and we talked about it. By the time that we got back to the terminal just a few miles from campus, I felt like I had known him my whole life.

To quote 5,000 contestants on the Bachelor and the Bachelorette across the years, I felt a connection.

And that man that I was so madly in love with? Never even crossed my mind.

Sad, isn’t it?

I’m so ashamed.

But it gets better… or worse, however you want to look at it.

When we debussed… ha ha… get it… deplaned? debussed? I slay me.

When we got off the bus in Boston, he had some time to kill to wait for his bus to Connecticut. Since it was 1:30am and I had nothing better to do, I offered to wait with him.

Can you see how freakin’ smart I was?

Moving on… we talked more and I never once mentioned why I was in Philly other than to say that I was visiting friends… that wasn’t a total lie, right?

And then?

He leaned over and kissed me and boy could KISS!

There was a lot of kissing. And then? He was kissing my neck… apparently enjoying himself because when I got home, my neck looked like I was attacked by the vacuum cleaner.

I can assure you that it didn’t go any further… I was a “good girl” after all, or played one in my mind but I was rather ashamed of myself THAT night when I looked at my neck and couldn’t figure out how I was going to cover them to go to class or be in the presence of my few friends.

Despite that, I floated home. How awesome was it going to be to tell the story of how we met at our wedding? Two strangers. Chance meeting. Fate. Destiny.

Yadda. Yadda. Yadda.

He put me in a cab and sent me home and before I closed that door, gazing at him longingly, wondering if I would ever see him again (picturing a perfect movie scene unfolding) I gave him my number.

One last kiss and we drove off. And yes, I watched him out of the back cab window as he got smaller and smaller until he eventually disappeared.

Every time the phone would ring, I would hope that it would be him. It never was. I was excited to talk to my man and see my man again, but I would be lying if I said that I stopped waiting for him to call. For no other reason than to carry on with the movie script that I had a starring role in.

But he never did.

Over time, the color of my neck evened out again and his memory faded away… so much in fact that I don’t even remember his name. But Soliloquy’s tale of her sister’s experience jogged my memory about this time. The time that I had my first and only hickey (I hate that word) and the time that I was lower than low.

However, many lessons came from this one experience and ones that I carry with me to this day, so at least some good came of it.

Now go play along and don’t forget… You’ve got until Friday to share your “Where God Met Me” story… I’m sure He WAS there with me as these events unfolded, but I can assure you that I was unaware.

Until next time…

Filed under Care to Share?, Dorks R Us, Grins and Giggles | Comments (11)

I had such an awesome time sharing my testimony with you all…and there’s a reason that I shared it when I did, despite being asked for over a year.

I wasn’t ready until now.

For whatever reason, I felt that sharing that, without a real live face in front of me would be in essence baring my soul. I’ve never felt compelled to share the whole story, not knowing who would read it, what they would think of me, etc. Sharing it at church was okay because, well, they’re Christians. We, as Christians, LOVE to hear those stories, but there are those that don’t.

Being the type of person who doesn’t like to offend or shove Jesus down people’s throats, sharing it publically, with those that I don’t know, make me uncomfortable.

Until last Thursday when I read in three different places that I should be public with my faith and that I should share what Christ has done for me.

Always trying to be obedient (I hate that word), I did.

And let me tell you, I’ve been blessed beyond belief, proof that being obedient pays off. (Could we teach this to my children please?)

As promised, I am putting up a Mr. Linky for those of you who wish to share a story of where God met you. I encourage you to do so. If you already have something written, pull it out of the archives and link up. And I am going to make it my personal goal this week to visit each and every single one of you to see what God had done in your life. You can even use my little graphic which I made… (proof that one of my God given gifts is NOT graphic design….)

<a href="http://www.desperatelyseekingsanity.com/2008/06/02/he-meets-us-where-we-are-carnival-contest" target="_blank"><img class="alignleft" style="margin: 10px; float: left;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2406/2541951449_7b344990bc.jpg?v=0" alt="" width="180" height="119" /></a>

I’d love to tell you that this carnival is for you, for the chance to win something, and you can if you link up, however honesty requires me to tell you that this is purely selfish. I NEED to hear these stories. I need to see His promises, His goodness, and what He is doing. I need to be reminded of that.

And so, go. post. share. be blessed. And make sure you link up because on Saturday, after I’ve been around, and I’ve read, and I’ve been blessed, I’m going to pick a winner or two for a book package that I’ve put together with more inspirational words.

Thank you for letting me share my story with you…

Until next time…

Filed under Care to Share?, Faith, God Met Me | Comments (16)