H♥ppy V♥lentine's D♥y

Today is a holiday that is celebrated by many, bemoaned by a few, and loved by the florists!!

As I think about the past Valentine's days that I have celebrated I think of the different perspectives on the same day.

 When I was little I loved to give and get valentine's from my school mates. As an adult I still love to make and give Valentines-this year we made valentines for our college kids, JW's teachers, my co-workers, and my AWANA kids in T-n-T. I don't believe you are ever to old to give or get a valentine. It's a small way to let someone know you care.

 As a teenager I loved to get valentines from the boy I was "in love" with at the time!! ;)

Since I've been married I love to get valentines from my husband and now my children. This morning I woke up to a dozen roses and a balloon from my sweetie!!

But as we think about all the different valentines that we may have gotten over the years, I would be remiss if I did not mention the most important valentine ever given. God gave us his Son, who is our ultimate Valentine. He gave his life for us so that we can have eternal life. If you are reading this and have not accepted Him as your personal Valentine message me and I would be happy to share with you how that can happen. John 3:16 is the best verse to show God's Valentine to us:

       "For God so loVed the world,

that He gAve

  His onLy

 begpttEn

    SoN,

                             That whosoever

 believeth In Him

          should Not perish,

               but have Everlasting life."

God is someone who will love you no matter what, no matter when, no matter who and no matter where you are One Day at a Time!! Open His valentine and accept the gift. Happy Valentine's Day from me to you!

Cloud Watching

Remember when you were younger and you would go outside and lay down in the grass and look up at the clouds and see how many different things you could see? I remember doing that-sometimes by myself and sometimes with friends-we would see how many different things we could find and if the other person could see what we see. Driving home today I was looking at the clouds and it reminded me of that so, I pulled over to the side of the road and snapped a couple of pictures because one of the things I saw was a "Maggie-dog"!! Next time you need to take a break go outside and look up at the beautiful sky that God created and see what you see in the shapes of the clouds!

Job 35:5 
Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou.

Remember, there is another reason to look to the clouds. Christ has promised that he will come back for us and we will meet him in the air! That's exciting enough to "watch the clouds"!

1 Thessalonians 4:17  

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Sunday Lunch on the River

In the second envelope of Bill's Christmas 12 months of dates was dinner or lunch at the Riverhouse Reef & Grill. So, we took J.W. with us and went today after church.

It is a great restaurant right on the river. Bill had the buffet which had all kinds of breakfast foods including eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls. He enjoyed it. J.W. got...chicken tenders (big surprise) and I got lobster stuffed grouper with veggies and a side salad. It was delicious!  You have to walk a little bit of a distance from the parking lot out to the restaurant but it is pretty. It was a little chilly since it started out at 44 this morning and it has gotten back down there again tonight!!

Good company, good food, and a beautiful view we took in as we enjoyed One Day at a Time~

Love is in the Air~

Tonight we had a Valentine Banquet at our church and it was a wonderful evening!

This is what we walked into....

Kim & Hillary transformed our fellowship hall for a fun night

We sat a table with Karen & Greg, Rhonda & Steve, and Brian & Deborah~

The food was delicious! I went off my diet to enjoy a little of the lasagna, penne', marinated green beans, and Caesar salad. I avoided the garlic knots and cheesecake-although I really wanted some of them. It was catered by Bella Napoli in Largo-great place to eat if this food is any indication.

So, after the dinner they asked who had been married the longest. It was Doc & Joan-58 1/2 years! An amazing couple who are godly examples of  happily ever after!

The other game they played was...the Newlywed game and guess who's table they chose. That's right-ours...why? They said it was a "fun table"! Great! So the guys had 5 questions and then we had 5 questions.

Some were funny and others easy but some were hard! What was the first dinner I cooked when we were married (we did have same answer-chicken). Who is better with the finances? I knew he would say him :)

Well, guess who won? Bill & I did!!! We had 9 out of 10!! We won a bag of truffles! After the game Pastor Andy gave a short challenge out of Ephesians 5 and the evening concluded.

I think everyone enjoyed themselves! I know we did!

My Space

This is the view from my chair! My space at work! I love my little area in the front office-everything within reach! I have a picture of my parents as well as my family and then a couple of some of our college kids-can you see them??!!

This is a view of my area! My notary certificate on the wall, my new small bookshelf that has my candle on the top. We have so many people say they love how it smells when they come in! Of course, I have a couple  of Longaberger baskets-one to hold tissues and another to hold all my pens! I have pictures of my family in a couple different places so I can always see them. My coffee cup for my morning java and then my Starbucks cup for my water and afternoon iced tea! My screen saver is of the flowers I got from our client Kings Wholesale Flowers!! Not a bad place to work One day at a Time!! Of course it helps when you have the best boss and you enjoy what you do!! God is so good all the time~

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Tonight my one picture was something I took just for fun!! I would have loved to copy Craig's picture of Oreos and strawberries he sent me but I didn't have any so I settled for something that I did have plenty of...

M-n-M's! Aren't they fun??!! The colors are so bright and how good is chocolate?! Of course I think they taste better when you have a spoonful of peanut butter to stick them to, but that's my personal opinion! :) Bill & JW love the plain milk chocolate m-n-m's. Bethany loves the pretzel m-n-m's and I love the almond m-n-m's!! 

I thought this colorful picture should brighten up your day if not just make you smile when you see it!! They say STRESSED spelled backwards is DESSERT and m-n-ms make a great dessert, just try eating one at a time!

Disclosure: No M-n-M's were eaten in the making of this blog!

Food & Fat vs. Fit & Fulfilled

It has been a battle for me to keep weight off ever since I got married. I joke that I live to eat and not eat to live like some of my friends! :)

I think it's a crime that I love to cook and try new recipes but the calories add up. All the BLT's (bites, licks, & tastes) turn into pounds on my hips!

My brain knows that fast food isn't good for me but it sure tastes good!! I wish that Big Macs tasted more like brussel sprouts so that I wouldn't like them. Or that milkshakes tasted like prune juice!

It is a constant struggle in my life but this I know. I can do all things through Christ. Even controlling my appetite or portion control. The Lord knows my desire to be healthy and thinner and I believe He can help me. But I must be willing to do my part too. I have to exercise self-control. Plan out my meals and watch calories and fat. Exercise. Buy healthy alternatives to have on hand. It's common sense things but it takes discipline and commitment-just like anything else that has a good result-you must work at it! You can also only do it One Day at a Time. So, I guess that means that there will be less of these in my future! :)