8 Things

Christy had this on her blog today and I was sorta tagged so I am doing it for fun :) 8 Things Here's how 8 THINGS works:- Mention the person that tagged you.- Complete the lists of 8's.- Tag 8 of your wonderful bloggy friends.- Go tell them you tagged them! 8 THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO: 1. Spending time with my family on mother's day 2. Shelby's bachelorette party/ bridal shower extravaganza! 3. Shelby and Tanner's Wedding 4. Lindsay and Jason's wedding in France! 5. Stephanie visiting for Memorial Day weekend 6. Shopping for my upcoming trips and parties 7. Getting a new Vera Bradley 8. Reading a new book 8 THINGS I DID YESTERDAY: 1. Laundry 2. Worked 3. Went to lunch with a co-worker 4. Went to a meeting 5. Read a few blogs 6. Chatted with friends 7. Almost got a free trip to London for work (don't ask, I can't tell) (you know I like to be cryptic) 8. Went to the Dentist - NO CAVITIES! 8 THINGS I WISH I COULD DO: 1. Travel the world :) 2. Read for a living 3. Own a bookstore. 4. Work in a Library 5. Visit my friends all over the country 6. Go to the beach every day 7. Write a book 8. Knit 8 SHOWS I WATCH: 1. The Biggest Loser 2. So You Think You Can Dance 3. Dancing with the Stars 4. Ugly Betty 5. America's Next Top Model 6. What Not to Wear 7. Kings 8. Millionaire Matchmaker 8 BLOGGERS TAGGED: YOU! If you are reading this you must partake of some 8 Things Fun :)

Little Sickie

So, my Daily Peeks have slowed down a bit due to me being a sickie for the past week. Really, who wants to see my POV of that? But here it is in a nutshell anyway:

Sleep, read, sleep, watch a movie, medicate, eat a little something, sleep, read, medicate, go to the doctor, sleep, medicate, read, eat, sleep...you get the picture. I'm actually cuddled up in my bed as we speak I type recouping from the days work. I don't have a physically strenuous job, but after spending basically 4 days in bed, it wiped me out.

Let's leave this on a high note - cause Jonathan has inspired me to give good news more than bad news - and no he doesn't twitter or blog.

Ok, the good stuff, there's only FIVE WEEKS until France! haha ok, so that's braggy good news.

Alright, the real stuff....my niece and nephew were dedicated at church on Sunday! It was such a special thing to be a part of that service and to hear the blessings prayed over their lives. God is working is some serious ways around here.

Bloggy readers, thanks for being my cuddle buddy this evening. Count yourself lucky; not many get that privilege. ;o)

Daily Peek 5-2-09

Oo La La! Another invite came in the mail today for certain friend's pre-wedding bridal shower/bachelorette party! It's going to be a fun time! If only you knew the antics we have up our sleeve for that night. Wait, maybe you don't want to know... The results of the party will most likely not be published on the interwebs. We don't ruin your innocent eyes. ha!

Daily Peek 4-29-09

Wednesdays have turned into one of my favorite days of the week. Not only does it signal the half-way mark to the weekend, but it is also the night that I get to spend an hour with 40+ 4th and 5th graders during children's choir. Do you know what's even better? I get to teach a new craft project to a group of them every! You KNOW how much I love crafts, and to share that with these kids is pure joy for me! This week, however, I was able to put some of my other skills to use. For the past semester, all of the age groups have been practicing for the BIG end of the year musical. So, this week, all of the choirs got together to practice the choreography, and yours truly got to run the lyrics from the gorgeous tech suite. Friends, my love of technology rivals my love of crafts. "Yes, I love technology, but not as much as you, you see. Always and forever!" Kip, Napoleon Dynamite

More Than a Daily Peek

Since it has been an exorbitant amount of time since I've given a proper update, you get the bulleted highlighs of my life since December.

• I turned 27 and officially entered my "late twenties"....can we say that's just unbelievable? If you know my story, then you know I didn't quite plan for this age.
• My oldest friend got married on Valentines Day, and I was a bridesmaid. Now, don't get me wrong, I was honored and am a big fan of Valentine's Day, but as a single lady...salt in the relational wound. I had to pray some of the infamous Michele's words "Jesus be a fence AND a shield for the bride from her single bridesmaids."
• While at my dad's house, for said Valentines Day wedding, I also found out I'm going to France for a week in June. Thank you Lindsay and Jason for planning a destination wedding in the South of France!
• My bff, Shelby, got engaged to the man of her dreams. Friends, this man did it right! It included a day at the spa, a mansion and a hidden photographer. Thank God her man and I get along really well too! Seriously, how awkward would that be to not like your bff's hubby? Tanner, I'm so glad to be adding you in my life! Did I mention I get to the maid of honor along with my friend Amy?! So excited to play this part!
• I have a new niece and I fell in love on first sight. She. is. beautiful!
• The family Easter brunch was incredible and my brother made the mother of all grits. Let's just say, I did not even like grits until he made them for me. If you ever have me over for breakfast I promise to make them for you! It's now a family recipe, so there will be no recipe sharing this time...sorry!
• Alexander, the world's cutest, sweetest, kindest nephews officially weighs too much to be picked up and is a head taller than all the other kids in his pre-k class. He's 5 people, FIVE! Um, he will be large and in charge when he's a man.
• I'm contemplating some major changes that would include a significant amount of transition time and $$. Lord help me because I like to be on solid ground at all times. Pray for me :)
• No, this would not include ANOTHER move...I'm quite happy in my coastal town.
• Yes, I like being cryptic.
• I now love sci-fi and fantasy novels. I mean really LOVE. I know, right? So not me, but so much more food for the imagination! I can't even read another genre right now. Go here and here and here and here for some of my favorites.
• I am considering giving up my data/internet plan for my phone ::gasp::... wait for it..... to downsize my spending. Although, that change will not take place until after my transatlantic journey.
• In turn, I will most likely give up twitter too.
• I quit my part-time job and have my weekends back! I miss the extra $$, but now I am free for weekend roadtrips....any takers? Let me know.
• Finally, as of last night's workout, I can not raise my arms above my head or bend over. I may have over done it.

Now that you have your little update, I must tell you that I have a new blog installment called Daily Peek. However, it wont quite be an every day thing. Some days are definitely not noteworthy... like the days I wake-up, work, go home, eat dinner, read and go to bed. This installment is more for me than anyone else. I have a bad habit of forgetting what has happened in my life ;o) Hence, the uber cheesy bulleted highlighted update above.

Love and cheerios,

A

(ht: AB for the Daily Peek idea)

Daily Peek 4.27.09

It finally came in the mail! The invitation to FRANCE! In case you missed the memo, I'm going to the South of France for a wedding this summer. :oD It is my first trip to Europe and it is exactly the place I have dreamed of going. I don't really care if I ever see Paris, and I have a feeling it doesn't even compare to the seaside villages of Villefranche-sur-mer. Now all I need to do is learn some French...dont want to offend the locals by assuming they know English (even though I've been well assured that most people I encounter will speak my language). I do not want to give the people of France another reason to not like Americans ;o)

Daily Peek 4.25.09

::sigh:: Today was such a bitter-sweet day. A part of my job, that I don't particularly like, is having to say goodbye to my students. This year however was extra sad because my work study student graduated. He has actually worked in my office longer than I have! He started out as my student and left as my friend. I am so proud of his accomplishment and can't wait to see how his life grows and changes over the coming months and years. The sweet part of the day is that another Commencement Ceremony is done and actually went really well! All of the bosses are happy, the students are excited about their future, and I can finally get caught up on the mountain of work on my desk.

Part 2: A Weight-y History

In Part 1: The Theme, I introduced you to my life theme of struggling with my weight. In Part 2 I hope to bring you up to speed in order to move forward with discussing the connection between my weight and my Process of Exchange.

A Weight-y History:

1989-1990 - 2nd grade - the first time I felt insecure about my weight when the smaller girls didn't want to teeter-totter with me. I had to teeter-totter with the other chubby kid in the class.

1990-1992 - 3rd/4th grade - Got serious about dance lessons. Made the competition team, and started comparing my body to my team mates' bodies. Leotards and tights are not an insecure girls best friend.

1992-1993 - 5th grade - auditioned with my friends for The Nutcracker. Friends were cast as "party children" and got to wear pretty dresses. I was cast as a rat because I was too big to fit the 'party children' dress. That was traumatic for my 10 year old self.

1993-1994 - 6th grade - puberty, angsty pre-teen drama and the death of my granddad = me eating my emotions and then mom signing me up for Weight Watchers for the first time. Also began Pointe lessons (along with my usual ballet, tap and jazz classes) and got praise from my teacher for how skinny I was getting.

1994-1995 - 7th grade - joined the JV Basketball team at school because there were no cuts that year (ha!) and I wanted to stay in shape. Was still on Weight Watchers, still taking 4 dance classes a week, and spending all day on Saturdays rehearsing for the competition dance team. Got too skinny, and friend's parents made some wrong assumptions about my eating habits.

1995-1996 - 8th grade - Gained Weight Watchers lifetime membership, and quit because I didn't "need" it anymore. Also, quit dancing for the basketball team. Off season hit me hard with a big weight gain and a resurgence of insecurity. 1996-2000 - High School - Moved to a new city, went to public school for the first time, had to find a personal style {no more uniforms!}, had to make new friends, joined a killer basketball team {and therefore rode the JV bench}, and was introduced to my first love. Through all of this managed to hide my massive insecurity behind the excuse of being shy, but had to face my insecurity when I was dating my boyfriend. Funny how love/infatuation brings a lot to the surface. Ultimately, insecurity won and I left him right before I went away to College. The whole "reject you before you reject me" thing. It's always a mistake to make decisions based on insecurity. 2000-2004 - College - Yo-yoed my way through college trying many different combinations of dieting, not eating, exercising, drinking too much, not drinking at all, and eating too much. Threw myself into church and religion trying to find security. Made some amazing life-friends, pushed away some important people, ultimately learned how to trust God, and how to find my security in Jesus not in external things. 2004-2007 - Beginning Adult Life - While I understood that security comes from Jesus, I still struggled with sef-acceptance and ballooned up to my heaviest weight ever. Those three years held some of the biggest decisions I had to make on my own. Went to ministry school, built a financial support team, resigned my ministry position before I ever got to my post, moved back to Tallahassee and took a job as a personal assistant to a real estate agent (turns out I'm pretty good at being someone's right hand woman), discovered a newness in my relationship with God, and felt like God was calling me away from Tallahassee. All in the period of 6 weeks I realized He was taking me back to St. Augustine, interviewed & the got the job in St. Aug, and moved 2 weeks later. Throughout all of the changes, the only thing that remained constant was my increasing weight and the knowledge that God had so much more than what I was living at that time.

To say the least, I dealt with change by controlling my food. While many people control their food by limiting their intake, I increased mine because it was the opposite of what others wanted me to do. What I didn't see was that I was only messing myself up and no one else. Not only did this yo-yo diet pattern have physical affects, it had some spiritual affects that I did not anticipate.

Coming up next in Part 3 I'll talk about life since moving to St. Augustine and begin connecting my life theme to how it has affected my relationship with God.

If you have any questions along the way, please ask! :)

Part 1: The Theme

It's been awhile since I've written about my Process of Exchange, but have no doubt, I am still walking through it.

During the past 6 months I have spent quite a bit of time reflecting on my life story. I love that God gives us each a unique story and destiny, and it's been fun discovering how God has been moving throughout my personal history.

One of my biggest life themes has been my struggle with my weight. What I am now realizing is how this struggle is directly connected to my perception of my relationship with God. I always vaguely knew that the 2 are connected, but it wasn't until recently that the connection has become concrete.

Up next in Part 2: The Weight-y History, I'll bring you up to speed before I talk about how my weight plays into my Process of Exchange.

Dirty Girls

A new friend, Crystal Renaud, is undertaking the monumental task of shedding light onto a dark spot...the secret world of female porn addicts. She is in the beginning stages of writing a book titled Dirty Girls: The New Porn Addicts, and she has set up the website http://www.thenewpornaddicts.com/ to collect data on this hidden population. It is chock-full with info about the project, her story, 3 different surveys, a confessional and a bunch of other stuff.

If you are a woman or know women (which is everyone) please visit her site TODAY! It's about time that the shame and secrecy is lifted so women can begin experiencing true redemtion and FREEDOM!

I am also asking that you add her widget to your site/blog (which can be found here), post a link on your facebook and twitter your face off about her site!

Please take some time to navigate the website and tell all your friends, family, and maybe even people you don't know about it!

Thanks!

Alison

PS. below is everything you need to know to participate in this project!

- - - - - - ABOUT CRYSTAL RENAUD

Crystal Renaud is a twenty-four year old writer and communications professional living in the Kansas City area. Crystal is on staff at Westside Family Church in Lenexa, KS. She has spent much of the last 12-18 months voluntarily counseling women with sexual addiction through the use of her own story and under the supervision and mentorship of licensed Biblical counselors. Her writings can be found on her blog of almost 5 years, pinkhairedgirl.net.Read Crystal's Porn Story

- - - - - - ABOUT DIRTY GIRLS Dirty Girls is a book that will discuss the widespread, yet silent battle women are facing with pornography addiction. Surveys are being conducted at TheNewPornAddicts.com for women presently addicted to pornography, for women who have overcome a pornography addiction and for friends, family and accountability partners of women addicted to pornography.

Through analyzing surveys, as well as conducting interviews with those who have been affected by pornography, author Crystal Renaud will use her personal story of redemption and Biblical and practical tools for recovery, to show women they are not alone in their battle and the hope that freedom from a pornography addiction is possible. More can be found at TheNewPornAddicts.com.

- - - - - - SO, WHAT SURVEY DO I TAKE? If you are a woman who is currently addicted to pornography, please take the first survey. If you are a woman who has overcome an addiction to pornography, please take the second survey. If you are friend, family member or accountability partner of a woman who is currently or formerly addicted to pornography, please take the third survey.

- - - - - -

YOUR INFORMATION IS SAFE Although it is not required, in order to make this survey as verifiable and legit as possible, I ask that you please provide your name and contact information. The information you provide will not be sold or distributed in any way ... to anyone. Data is password protected and the only person who holds the key to this information is myself.

Please be honest throughout this survey. The data will be strategically analyzed and used in a general method of support in the book. If you have questions or concerns about taking a survey, please do not hesitate to contact me (http://www.thenewpornaddicts.com/contact.html).

- - - - - - HELPFUL LINKS About: http://www.thenewpornaddicts.com/about.html

Crystal's blog: http://www.pinkhairedgirl.net/

Crystal's story: http://www.thenewpornaddicts.com/crystal.html

Surveys: http://www.thenewpornaddicts.com/surveys.html

Confessional: http://www.thenewpornaddicts.com/confess.html