Is Marriage Sacred Anymore?

little girls all over america grow up with the dream of happily ever after.

i guess we have walt disney to thank for most of that.

but i mean seriously we're raised with the illusion that our prince charming will come sweeping in on his white horse, provide you with a fabulous castle, and you will live happily ever after as royalty for the rest of your life.

after all, every little girl is a princess right?

but then as we get older, we realize that life isn't quite a fairy tale.

there is no castle.

no horse.

no royal life.

but we learn about the true prince charming, jesus, and the happiness he truly can offer for ever after.

and when we're lucky enough to find our own prince charming that loves him some jesus, well then we've hit the jackpot.

right?

what i'm seeing more and more though, is a society that has made it far too easy to give up, slip up, mess up and walk out.

i heard a story this weekend of a pastor (who's church we used to attend) who had a two year affair with his assistant.

at what point in two years do you not realize it's wrong and that you should seek help?

at what point as a pastor, or anyone for that matter, do the vows you spoke no longer matter?

whatever happened to the promise behind the vows?

every day i hear stories of heartache and sadness over broken marriages and broken homes.

and that breaks my heart.

especially when it's those that love them some jesus.

can it really fall apart so quickly?

here's the thing....we're all human.

we all screw up.

but seriously, what happened to the willingness and "want to" to make your marriage work?

when i got married i was in for a wake up call.

marriage is not a disney fairy tale.

it's another full time job that requires you to be all in.

it's not 50/50. it's each person putting in 100%. 50/50 doesn't cut it.

there are days that i get so angry with chris that i want to take a baseball bat to him and beat him like a rag-doll (usually over issues such as laundry, cleanliness, laundry).

but at the end of the day, he has my heart.

he has my promise.

and that's a promise that i'm not going anywhere.

and i know i have his.

maybe my outlook is a little different.

i just really wonder where the sanctity of marriage drifted off to.

when did it become more of a fad than a commitment?

Operation Bootylicious

What up peeps?!

I've decided this whole little weight loss journey needs a name.

Yep, that's right....I think it shall be called "Operation Bootylicious".

Yes, I like it.

I'm also pretty sure I'm going to set up a page header on the bloggy blog here to post all things related to this "journey" of mine. I'm really pretty pumped about things changing.

Tonight I attempted Pilates.

Loved it.

And oh my what a burn!!!

Sidenote: i think i need to add to my bio the love I have for exclamation marks.

Anywho, the new workout schedule has been established.

Tues/Thurs is water aerobics and Wednesday is cardio kickboxing.

SO excited.

And that's all I have for this lame-o blog post tonight.

LT - out.

Well On My Weigh

Clever little blog title isn't it?

Came up with it all on my own. I'm brilliant like that ;)

So I'm on the way to breaking free from my "shackles".

Yesterday I joined LA Fitness with my buddy Ashby. She and I work together and are planning to take about 3 classes per week right after work. I really feel like this will work out well since we don't have time to go home and get distracted from working out.

This morning we jump started our efforts with Aqua Fit a.k.a water aerobics.

Let me just say, I had NO idea, and I do mean NO idea that water aerobics was such a workout.

For realz.

This said workout occurred at 9am. It is now 5:30pm and my arms are still like noodles.

The instructor did have sexy arms, so I am in full hopes that mine will get to that point as well.

I'm super excited!

And I'm pumped because I'm actually doing something...not just talking about it.

Whoot whoot!

Monday afternoon is Kickboxing Cardio. We'll see if I survive....

National Pillow Fight Day

Did you know there was such a thing?

April 2nd - National Pillow Fight Day!

And do you know what happens in Atlanta (and cities everywhere) that day?

A HuGe pillow fight!!!!

And do you know what this gal will be doing?

I will definitely be there taking some photos of such an event!

It sounds fabulous to my photographer's heart!

YAY!!!! I'm so excited!

Alright, now for a few less exclamation points.....

I tried to make a scrumptious dinner last night and failed miserably.

I tried to make a chicken concoction which consisted of smoke, smoke alarms and some very, very black chicken!

Hideous!

So it definitely resulted in an order from Pizza Hut.

Kind of made me sad because I never do this!

I'm usually a good cook, but I guess we all have our bad days.

But most of all, have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend!

Shackles....Get 'Em Off!

We all have something that weighs us down, holds us back, limits us, etc.
For a long time I felt that something was wrong with me because I didn't have that one big sin area in my life. You know, that one big thing that I should be constantly working on. And I knew there had to be something....I'm very FAR from perfect.
So I had been praying for God to show me the areas in my life I need to work on.
You know, for Him.

And over the last couple of weeks, it's getting clearer and clearer.
It's my weight.
Truly.
Currently, "I" am letting my weight hinder everything in my life.
My relationship with God, my day to day activities, social interaction, home life, friendships, my relationship with Chris,....you name it, it's being affected.
I am in a constant state of feeling that everyone is judging me and feeling like a failure.
No one has ever said anything mean to me about my weight, but I just "know" their thinking it.
Anyway, it's been a struggle to say the least.
I spend more time thinking about weight issues, what to eat, when to exercise, am I a failure, etc than I do anything else.
So let's just add that to my list of my unhealthy lifestyle.

Going down the road the other day I was listening to my iPod when "Shackles" from Mary Mary came on.

God moved me through that song.
My weight is the shackles holding me down.
And it's time to get them off. This is not what God intended for my life.
In Deuteronomy, God says "You've circled this mountain long enough. It's time to move north."
So now, I am starting each day listening to my new theme song - "Shackles".
I'm ready to dance and praise and live - no matter what my size.

Here are the words to my new daily inspiration:

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise You I just wanna praise You
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise You
I'm gonna praise, praise you

In the corners of my mind
I just can't seem to find A reason to believe
That I can break free
Cause you see I have been bound for so long
Felt like all hope was gone
But as I lift my hands I understand
That I should praise You through my circumstance

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise You I just wanna praise You
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise You
I'm gonna praise, praise you

Everything that could go wrong
All went wrong at one time
See so much pressure fell on me
I thought I was gonna lose my mind
Lord I know You wanna see
If I will hold on through these trials
But I need You to lift this load
Cause I can't take it no more

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise You I just wanna praise You
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise You
I'm gonna praise, praise you

Been through the fire and the rain
Bound in every kind of way
But God has broken every chain
So let me go right now

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise You
I just wanna praise You
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise You
I'm gonna praise, praise you

Good Stuff

I took these photos a couple of weeks ago in North GA. You can find a link for free Photoshop textures (which is what I edited these with) by heading over to my photo blog!

My New Crush

Well I'm about two years behind, but I'm completely smitten.
With what you ask?
Drop Dead Diva.
It's a show on Lifetime.
I heard about it when it came out, and for whatever reason thought it would be lame.
So with no cable and our recent move, I've been hitting up Netflix.
Drop Dead Diva just so happens to be on there.
And I'm officially hooked!
I absolutely LOVE it! I mean seriously love it!
You seriously need to watch it!

Here's the idea:

The series revolves around vapid blonde and aspiring model, Debbie (Deb) Dobkins (played by Brooke D'Orsay in the pilot and in flashbacks), who is killed in a car crash. As her soul enters the gates of Heaven, she finds herself declared a self-centered "zero" (meaning she has performed zero good deeds and zero bad deeds during her time on earth; she is simply shallow) by the gatekeeper, Fred. After not liking what she hears, she presses for a return to her former body, hoping to get back to Earth. Deb gets her wish, only to be brought back to life in the body of a recently deceased, intelligent, overweight lawyer named Jane Bingum.

Initially horrified, Deb – in her new human form – discovers the meaning of inner beauty as she finds the ability to juggle legal cases, aided by her assistant Terri, while attempting to reconnect incognito with her still-grieving boyfriend, Grayson Kent, who just started working at Jane's law firm. At the same time, Deb begins to rediscover her past while learning more about her inherited body's current life, and how Jane was treated when she was alive. In addition to Fred (who was demoted to guardian angel and had been assigned to watch over her at the law firm), only Deb's long-time mortal friend Stacy knows Jane's true identity.

Oh, and happy St. Patty's Day!

BETHENNY!

Are you a Bravo TV junkie like me?

I can't help myself...I love it!

Real Housewives of New Jersey is my favorite, but New York is a close second.

Do you remember Bethenny Frankel that was on the first two seasons?

You know, Skinny Girl margaritas, books, etc??

Well she was in the ATL Friday night and me and my bestie had tickets!

That's right, we were sitting pretty at the Skinny Girl Night Out with Bethenny.

She was so funny!

She talked a lot about her books...she has a new one coming out this month.

But her regular chatting other than the book was great.

It was definitely a neat experience and I'm glad I can say I went.

Saturday afternoon my aunt and I took a trip to Barnsley Gardens. I'm working on the photos, but will post soon. So lovely!

And the rest of my life equals unpacking!

Oh, and of course there's the marathon I'm having of Drop Dead Diva.

It's on instant play from netflix.

That's all we have until the cable man comes Friday!

A New Dawn, A New Day, A New Decor!

Hi my fabulous friends!
Well, we are officially moved!
And really all that means is that everything we own is stacked in boxes in our living room!
Last night was our first night in the new place.
And instead of unpacking, we ordered pizza and watched a movie.
When In Rome.
Cute movie!
The kitties were quite amuzed with the loft. It's their play room apparently. Molly is quite intrigued with the banister and thinks she can do all types of balancing acts up there.
This almost caused complete and utter hear failure last night for me. She has an obession with getting on the highest points possible.

So with this new pad, we're changing up the decor....as we do everytime we move. However, this time's a little different. We're trying to go with something that's totally "us" and I couldn't be more excited.

So here's the sofa we're getting. RED! LOVE it!And then here we have the inspiration for the dining room. I want turquois/teal in the dining room. My kitchen accessories are red and the living room will be red, so this is the perfect splash of color to be in between them! And do you see that marvelous little red flower at the bottom that brings it all together?!?!!

I CAN'T even begin to tell you the happiness my heart feels with this! I have dreamed of using teal/turquois since I was 9 years old. For realz.

So then the bedroom is going to be decked out with this:
Jealous?

You can have it too by shopping at your local Target! ;)

The sheets however are a bright teal color....you know for a little pop.

And yes, I realize that I may have accents of teal in everyroom....but they're different shades and I love it and that's all that matters!

Now my most perplexing item of the apartment: The Fireplace.

I want it to look cool....not just a bunch of figurines and photos on the mantel. I'm in serious need of help and I haven't found anything online to model it after yet.

Any advice?

Alrighty, well that's all for now.

Aftermath.

Happy Tuesday!
So, our big move occurs tomorrow! 9am!
Super excited and ready for it to be done!
Chris and I spent the night at the new place on Saturday....you know to get a couple extra hours of sleep. We stayed on an air mattress in the living room. Now, not sure if you've seen us, but we're not exactly light weights.
The air mattress was quite the experience.
See, we forgot a sheet to go on it.
And the top was velour, so we kept sticking to it.
So Chris tossed and turned all night. And every time he did, he would throw his whole body up and flop around like a fish out of water.
Needless to say, that about threw me off completely a couple times. It felt like I was in the wave pool at a water park.
So in an effort to sleep in an extra hour, I, in all reality, got no sleep at all.
But we love the new place. For realz.

Last night we went to see Hillsong United at their Aftermath tour.
Ahhhhhmazing!
Like seriously amazing.
If they're coming to your city, you need to go.
The title track to their new CD, Aftermath is a fabulous song. It's all about how we're found in the aftermath of the cross. Fabulous.

And I felt the title was appropriate since I'm about to be in the aftermath of a move!

Here we are having a little pre-show fun.


Last night while waiting for the show, I got a little emotional. I didn't cry, but my heart was happy.
Happy because I'm just so thankful that I married someone who is passionately in love with Jesus. I'm thankful that our idea of an awesome night is worship. So many people don't understand that and think that worship is some backwoods country church thing. But it's so not.
Not at all.
It's amazing.
And to be able to have full comfort to worship God with all my might in front of my hubby is just plain awesome.

Moving on, I think I'm going to use Lent to my advantage this year.
I don't practice it. Our church doesn't really focus on it at all.
However, my friend was talking about using it as a starting point and goal marker for a new diet plan.
So tomorrow I will begin the nutritional straight and narrow with Easter as my goal. Hopefully in 40 days (that's when Easter is) I'll have created a ritual/routine that will become part of my lifestyle and then I can set another mile marker. We shall see how it goes!

I attempted yoga for the first time Friday.
Not pretty at all.
Not one bit.
I mean this lady totally folded into herself and she wants me to touch my nose to my knees?!
Bahahaha!
It was a bit hilarious.
Not to mention distractions of Chris making faces and the cats.
OMG the cats! Molly thought it would be a fun time to attack my feet, climb the entertainment center, etc, etc, etc. So needless to say, I totally missed the point of relaxation.
So now my routine for this will have to include me locked in a room...or the cats locked up somewhere and Chris out of the house!
He says he's gonna try it with me.
Now that should be interesting!

The Deets.....

Ok, now that I have a second, let me fill you in!

First of all, yesterdays post title was You Are Bigger Than We Let You Be.
That's a line from a worship song that I'm super loving right now. It's from Newspring Church in SC. They have a CD. It's awesome.

Anyway, the line from that song so speaks to me right now. We put so many limits on God and I think we limit our faith in Him as well. He's bigger than that. SO much bigger. And that has become more evident to me over the last few months.

See, Chris wasn't looking for a new job. It just kind of fell in our laps. Remember when I told you how our life had come full circle? Well it really has. Chris is absolutely loving the new job. He's never had such creative freedom and that's something he's been craving. He is now the Visual Arts Director at Crossroads Church. And I seriously love this church! Haven't been able to say that in a while.

But anyway, God has just created this opportunity for us and everything is falling into place so inexplicably awesome. Yes, I only have a week to pack, but we've done it before!

The apartment we got just kind of happened too. Chris went to look at them Monday (we weren't planning on moving until the summer) and of course the rent was cheaper that we thought and if we moved in in March, we got $300 off the first month's rent! Um, yes please.
AND the apartment provides a washer and dryer. And a dishwasher....I'm so excited for a dishwasher! I hate hand washing dishes! And let's not forget that the water is a flat rate of $20 per month. I seriously can do as many dishes and loads of laundry as I want! And long showers. Not that I take long showers. There are just so many little hints of God's handiwork all over this right now and it's awesome!

So of course, with a new move, comes a new decor! I'll be sure to post pictures as we go along. Definitely including teal in the dining room and turquoise and black in the bedroom. That's as far as I've got. ;)

So all in all.....YAY!

Oh and also, I had my first photo shoot for my nonprofit last week. I'll post pics soon....I'm so behind on that right now! If you're on facebook, search for I See Love Foundation and become a fan!!!!!

You Are Bigger Than We Let You Be

Hey y'all!
Whew, I think I have like 30 minutes to come up for air before I'm swamped again. And aren't you glad I chose you to spend it with? :)

So we're moving again.
Yes you heard, no, read correctly. Moving again.
But can I tell you a secret?
I have never ever felt the hand of God working in my life and being in control more than this particular moment.

Chris has his dream job.
We are moving to a loft apartment.
Next week.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
I promise, promise, promise, and detailed post is coming.