Birthday Fun Inspired by Erin

Your Birthdate: September 30

Your birthday on the 30th day of the month shows individual self-expression is necessary for your happiness. You tend to have a good way of expressing yourself with words, certainly in a manner that is clear and understandable. You have a good chance of success in fields requiring skill with words. You can be very dramatic in your presentation and you may be a good actor or a natural mimic. You have a vivid imagination that can assist you in becoming a good writer or story-teller. Strong in your opinions, you always tend to think you are on the right side of an issue. There may be a tendency to scatter your energies and have a lot of loose ends in your work. You may have significant artistic talent and be very creative.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Fun Is Bowling

Today was our farewell fun time with Robin, a lady on our elementary team. Her last day with us is Wednesday:( She decided we should all have a fun day together...so, we went to Logan's Steakhouse for lunch and then it was off to the Bowling Alley for some "fierce" competition:)

Logan's was fun and goody yum-yums. We threw peanuts on the floor, we threw peanuts at each other, we threw peanuts in each others glasses...they were everywhere! And we won't even talk about the onions:)

Bowling Alley was a blast. There were 11 of us, so to make it even with 4 on each lane...Jesus was added to our team. There was a crazy bouncy ball that happened to be thrown my yours truly in the 4th frame. I had the corner pin to pick up and about 2 feet before it hit the pin, it sank in the gutter...but then decided to have a spasm and busted out of the gutter and slammed the pin down for a spare!! Never in all my bowling days have I ever done something so cool!

The highlight of the afternoon was having Jesus on our team. We each took turns bowling for Him, but He was losing miserably. By the 7th frame He had a score of 42. Coming into the 8th, I decided it was time for Jesus to be resurrected again...I got a strike. Olivia steps up to the plate in the 9th and strikes Him one again. Karla (who...we'll just say hadn't gotten a strike yet!) :) (love ya Kar-Kar!) struts up in the 10th and blasts one home to give Jesus a Turkey. We went NUTS!! She steps up again and blasts another one away - Holy Cow! We seriously went NUTS this time! She steps up for the last time...we thought NO WAY...and we were right, but she did hit 9 pins down. Jesus went from a score of 42 to 131! Yep, He got the high score:) Just goes to prove that Jesus is better than us all...even at bowling!

Lynn and the Magic Pants

Once upon a time, in the land of Lu-a-vul, there lived two princesses named Karlita and Sarai. These two fair maidens decided to go on an adventure one Friday night in search for a magnificent feast. Karlita remembered that once or twice before she had stumbled upon a place called Lynn's Paradise Cafe and Sarai thought to herself that dining in a place such as this would bring happiness and joy to a melancholy day. So the two maidens set out in search for this so called place of paradise with no earthly idea of how to get there.

Already approaching dusk, the two maidens found themselves in a pickle (a.k.a. East Broadway) where they encountered many frightful creatures in the dark night staring at them from a distance. Karlita quickly sent word to her dear friend, Sir John O'Neal, and told him of the pickle they were in. He then pulled out his map and discovered that the two maidens were completely off course in their search for Paradise and directed them to take the Barret Pathway which would lead them directly to Paradise. The two maidens then suddenly found themselves on Barret and were delighted. After their hour long trek through the dark and scary hills of Lu-a-vul, they arrived at Lynn's Paradise Cafe....a place full of color, life, food and exquisite taste!

After a long awaited period, the two maidens received their feast...(it was a little dried up and hard because it had sat in the food prep window a little too long.) Karlita and Sarai still enjoyed their food with a smile, but knew that in a few moments they would receive the way-over priced ticket for their not-so-wonderful feast. Their servant ended up being a bitter college student who unfortunately had not been paid enough for her services from her last party, and the two maidens tried to feel sorry for her, but were too broke and cheap from their own bill that they couldn't help her out too much.

When the two maidens finished their dinner, they proceeded to the gift shop where they stumbled upon a treasure beyond explanation. There with a heavenly glow surrounding were what most would call "Magic Pants". Magic pants you ask? Yes, these pants were magical and there were many varieties and colors. There was a plaque (newspaper article) next to them stating why they were considered magical. It simply said that whoever wore these pants would look incredible in them! You could wear them to work out in and then out to dinner in them. They were amazing and Sarai was drawn into their vortex...she was ready to buy a pair...then, she turned the price tag and saw that these pants were priceless...excuse me, pricey!! $80 for one pair...the maiden quickly walked away and realized that she would not ever get the opportunity to look so incredible in this pair of magical pants.

A night of adventure...
A night of frightening encounters...
A night of weirdies...
A night of memories...
The End

Triumph!!

For those Fellow Weight Watcher Friends of mine...
Received my first bookmark today!!!
In laymen's terms...I've lost over 5 lbs. so far (close to 7 to be exact)
Whew hew!!! :)

Autumn Thoughts...

There's something about Fall that makes me light up inside. It has and will always be my absolute favorite season of the year. I can appreciate things about each season...Summer is delightfully warm with sunshine and trips to the pool, barbeques and roasting marshmallows at campfires, etc. Winter brings Christmas and holiday extravaganzas, families reunited and warm fuzzies. Spring brings a much needed break from the deadness and dullness of winter weather...it brings life and beauty back into creation. But there's something mysterious about Fall that I LOVE! The cooling of the weather, sweatshirts, jeans and jackets, football games, camping trips, beautiful scenery(can I get an Amen?), apple orchards, hayrides, cinnamon spice & pumpkiny smells permeating the room, and who can resist all the delicious chili and soups...(I sure haven't resisted the past couple days!)

I don't see the Fall season as a time when things are "dying", but just a mere season of change. I know the trees will come alive again and that no season lasts forever. Truthfully, I wish Fall would last a little longer, that the trees would keep that magnificent color a few weeks longer and that the temperatures would stay cool enough, but warm enough to keep the winter gloves and heavy jackets put away a little longer. This season is simply my favorite! I see God's Artistic Hand brushstroking the deep rich colors onto the trees and sending us perfect rainy days to slow us down a bit, maybe so we can take a nap or spend time at home. You see we can get so caught up in life that we forget to appreciate the little things. I, for one, am loving these chilly rainy days. Watching movies, cooking, taking up new hobbies...just slowing down - AHH! What are your thoughts? Do you love a certain season? Do tell...leave a comment!!! :)

Wedding Pictures

Me next to the two most wonderful guys in the world!
Our family, Sha & John, Grandma, Mom, Matt (Melissa-in brides room!), me, Dad, Michael & Santina, Kaylee and Mikey. It was really great to have them there all the way from California:)
The beautiful couple cutting their wedding cake.

Me and my niece Kaylee - crazy how cute she is!
The Parentals: They looked REAL good!!
The whole weekend was beautiful! These pictures don't do it justice. So many more memories that will stay with us forever. Melissa was a beautiful bride...wish I had more pics to show her off. They will be heading to Italy for their honeymoon sometime next week I think. Hope you enjoy the pictures! :)

Silencing the Astrodome!!

So Monday night's game was pretty incredible! Watched (completely annoyed) when Berkman hit his 3-run homer and stayed annoyed through the 20 replays they showed. Watched in awe as the Cards came back in the 9th with 2 outs...David Eckstein (aka "the man") got on base, Edmonds got walked, and good ole Albert stepped up and slammed a beautiful 3 run homerun! I screamed with no one around, called home, called Karla...and we all screamed together. It was a beautiful night...especially when the Astros fans had nothing left to shout about! :) hehe

Tonight brings another anticipate game...this time at Busch Stadium. Our home! Hoping we can see some good baseball tonight...and hoping for another Redbird Victory!

It's All Over

Matt and Melissa are finally married!! The weekend was absolutely beautiful and now we are all very tired. All the family was there, so a fun time was sure to be had by all:) Melissa's family was great and they put on a fabulous event! Still trying to recover, so attempting to blog about all the details is virtually impossible. Hope to get pictures up so you all can see soon. Now, we have 7 months til the next big event...John and Sha's wedding. Can't wait!!!

Two Things I Know as of Monday

1. That some of my dearest friends lost a loved one this weekend and their hearts are breaking. He was the sweetest man who was always looking to make someone else feel better by giving them a hug, a kiss, a cup of coffee, a smile, a piece of candy or a kind word. Many lives have been blessed by this man and this irresistable lovable man will forever be remembered by numerous of adults and children whom he loved. Well Pappa G...we love you too!!

2. My brother, Matt, is getting married in 5 days. He's marrying Melissa, a beautiful and incredible woman...she's pretty great I think! I'm thankful that both of my brothers have chosen some amazing women for me to have as sisters. Not that it's about me...just thankful that's all! The wedding will take place in Dixon IL (Home of the Tulip Festival I believe) and should prove to be the party of the century...or at least the year:)! We're just thankful that Matt's getting married - he always protested he never would. Good times ahead this weekend!

Need to Post

Feeling bad cause I haven't written in a few days. Can't expect people to keep commenting on old posts...so here's an update on what's been happening!

1. Turned 25 last Friday, the 30th. Went to see the movie "Just Like Heaven" (really sweet chic flic with cutie Mark Ruffalo - go check him...I mean it out!). Had a 6-hour event at the Cheesecake Factory for my birthday dinner. Tried to put in our names around 3:30ish...they told us to come back when we had 75% of our party there. Shopped, came back at 5:00ish and put our names in...2.5 hour wait!! Okay...shopped some more and got sat around 7:15. Great food, great cheesecake, terrible service, ended up getting all drinks, appetizers and cheesecake for free!! Happy Birthday to me and my party of 15:)

2. Got some great birthday gifts from friends! Phantom of the Opera DVD and CD Soundtrack - LOVE IT! Bracelets, calendar(we won't mention what's on it), Yummy Bath & Body Works stuff, big mega air gun popper thing - it'll be great once I get it assembled, a hand-knitted scarf...and some other great stuff.

3. Weight Watchers...stayin in the race and feeling like I'm starving. Working it hard though. Get past the 2-week mark and I know I'll be fine. Weighing-in in 3 days!

4. John started his new job today. Mom gave him crap for not being dressed up enough. Funny! I guess Tuesdays are their "dress up" days!

5. David Crowder is still #1 on my playlist lately...amazing!

6. My friend Ryan is flying to Boston tomorrow for a "fun day"...jealous!

7. My time of productiveness here has come to an end and I'm ready to call it quits for the day.
Lata...