Photo Friday!

Happy Friday, friends and fam - I hope it's a lovely weekend ahead for you!!

Here's me returning from my delightful lunch-hour jog around the neighborhood on Thursday.  I was in my 7-minute cooldown walk at the end, about half a block away from my house when the smallest raindrops started.  That became a downpour in about five seconds, and I was DRENCHED - clothes and shoes soaked through, makeup had to be redone, and hair had to be re-blow-dried before our Tulsa protest hearing started back (via Zoom) at 1:30.  Ridic. lol  Perhaps I'll go with a Peloton ride next time!

Ted's dinner with the fam + Bill and Jill last week, followed by a Starbucks hangout with Triston! ❤

Mamaw with J&K

Me with T-man and K-Faith (J was getting a pic with Bill & Jill)

Jill brought Jaceman a Wemby card, and this is him trying on their Spurs Championship replica ring (that all the fans were given during the season opener game in 2014).  Jill used to live in San Antonio, so she and Jace had a lot to say about Spurs basketball! =)

❤ So glad Bill is making progress!

Nancy is in better spirits lately, feeling thankful that God protected them!  It's a long road to recovery ahead with some big decisions still looming, so please continue to pray for Sarah and her family!

Wise advice - Enneagram 9s really struggle with this (knowing what we actually want for ourselves outside of how it affects everyone else), so I'm trying to test things this way moving forward.  Well, this and prayer. lol

Happy Birthday-Eve to Chettles, who had some early celebrations today over coffee with Tyler and Debbie, then Burn Co. BBQ lunch with the guys!!

Seeing the four of them together always makes me happy... it also makes me miss Mark Anthony, but I'm thankful the Shoemakers are loving being near their families back in Texas!

Kudos to Carter Lee, who is currently leading the Steer Wrestling competition

Fun Flashback Friday pic of Pastor Craig and Chet Lee, circa 2011! lol

This hit me, you guys... the degree to which I sometimes struggle to tell which one I am in is absurd.  It's the difference in positive and negative stress - are we being productive and working toward something meaningful or just spinning our wheels on a project that is going nowhere?  Running a difficult hill in the race God marked out for us, or heading toward a dead end?  I am tired of dead ends, and I want to be moving in the path of life and building something beautiful with God's help.

On a not-altogether-unrelated note...
Dear Solid Christian Single Men,
You have one year!

By all means, step up your game.

❤ Lindsey Claire ;-)

It's a Saturday and everything -- the actual perfect wedding date, albeit a full 20 years and 10 days later than the 7-7-07 Saturday wedding I once planned! lol

Gracious.  Honestly, I do feel genuinely tired at the moment, and I need a friend to speak life over my heart in all of this right now...

I have built a life that I love,
and I still have things that I want.

❤
God has heard you every time you pray.
It is in His heart to give you the life story
that brings Him the most glory
and brings you a lot of joy
and moves the gospel forward!

God has ENOUGH GOOD THINGS for all of us.  Not one of my friends has married the man I'm supposed to be with.  And no one is birthing a child I was meant to birth.  No matter what, you are not going to miss God's best plan for you if you are pursuing God's best plan for you, and if you say to Him: I want in my life what You have for me!  

 The person you can trust the most to handle your pain the best is God.  I feel so lucky that I can process every moment of every relationship with God.  I'm not alone; He's right there with me.  I have learned very profoundly that Jesus is the primary relationship of my life!   

Your words have the power of life and death.  Speak life over yourself:  I'm available to relationship.  I am working on my mental and emotional and spiritual and physical health, and that is going to make me better in relationship than I would have been yesterday.  I am open to meeting someone new.  I am available for relationship.  I am not married yet, but I hope to be.  I do not have kids yet, but I hope to.  

Using that life-giving language affects the world you live in.

God, You are kind.
God, You are good.
God, You are for me.
God, You are working everything out according to Your will.
God, You care about every detail of my life.  

Friends, God loves you.
And God sees you.
And you are going to be okay.

I promise in the long run, you are going to be okay.  There is not one story in my life in any area where I have not been able to look back on when it was done and say, that was God, and that was His kindness.  Even if I lost a relationship or a person or in tragedy, He still is God, and He is still kind!"

❤ Annie F. Downs
TSF Q&A: Singleness Podcast, 8-18-21

Happy Friday!

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Photo Friday (Caricatures)

Happy Photo Friday... learning that ChatGPT can create caricatures inspired a plethora of new photo fun, as seen below! =)

Mockey and the boys, Glamour Shots version! lol

Me, Sarah, and Chettles - retro style 

Pokemon-themed celebration of Diesel's red belt with a black stripe in Taekwondo!

The boys celebrating their 9th birthday!

Princess Parker Elizabeth (the bow is reflecting her Disney sweatshirt this year).

Princess Kate with her Princess friends + a magical unicorn and llama!

The Whitaker fam with all four boys!

TJ and Jace celebrating their move into Junior High!

The Mini Miss K being an awesome setter!

Rach with J&K at Christmastime + Courtney's caricature of her life lately

Tate celebrating his 8th birthday + the Fulton fam celebrating Sarah being done (a year from now) lol

Counselor me + Court Reporter and student me!

Wonderful Wilson fam!

And in other news, these heart-shaped biscuits for Valentine's season bring me joy!

Cute Lego minions when I went to pick up Steve's Legos in OKC

Lots of extra time to walk, write, chat on the phone, and watch TV lately - yay, OCC! ❤

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Sassy, Brave, & Cute

Happy Friday, friends and fam!

I've just completed my last assignment for this fall semester, which means I AM ON A BREAK (said like Ross) from school until January 12th - YAY!!  I'm also nearly caught up at work.

Okay, on with Photo Friday fun... Facebook keeps showing me this ad, as if I am a super-elite and crazy-rich runner! lol  I looked at it for a while out of sheer curiosity - I'm very impressed that anyone can do this, physically or financially - The Great World Race (cost is 49,500 pounds, which translates to over 66,000 US dollars).  That price includes training and a private chartered jet that flies the 60 elite athletes to all seven continents where they will complete 7 marathons in 7 days.  I. cannot. imagine. the required fitness level or the pure exhaustion at the end of this -- the climate changes, the long flights, the lack of real recovery time -- wow!  (The training, the travel, the community, and the sense of accomplishment would be pretty awesome, though!!)

I'll stick with my lovely Station walks for now, but it was fun to learn about that! =)

My 2026 starter kit has arrived -- the newly-released Atomic Habits Workbook (yes, puh-lease), and my Write the Word: Renewal journal!!

Mom has officially completed Kyndal's 6th grade home study scrapbook... (Kyndal did the writing assignments and chose the photos, then Mom and I collaged them, then Mom made a legit scrapbook of it - here's the front cover!) ❤

This = pictures from the trip to Grand Lake for her 5th birthday.  While looking at this page with me and Rach, Kyndal pointed to the pic of her and Josh with the hands on their hip and said, "Oooh, sassy!"  Then she pointed at her high-dive jump and emphatically said, "Brave!"  And finally, she pointed at her and Rach smiling from the boat and said, "Cuuute!"  I got cracked up at her playful tone and the healthy confidence level and said, "That's the perfect adjectives to describe you, Miss!!  I freaking love it!" ❤  She's the best.  And watching that made me want to look back at my own childhood pics and videos with more grace and positivity! 

Tahlequah road trip for Sam n Ella's and Drip Coffee 10 years ago yesterday! =)

In other news, my close personal friend and pocket medical expert ChatGPT helped me revamp and simplify my daily vitamin routine!  I uploaded pics of all my vitamins and their ingredient lists and learned that I was getting waaay too much Biotin (the key ingredient in anything meant to combat hair loss - but I was taking three different products out of panic, and the excess biotin can throw off lab results, cause thyroid issues, and potentially irritate hair follicles and cause fallout rather than strengthened growth - GOOD TO KNOW!!).  I was also getting a little too much calcium and vitamin D, which could eventually lead to kidney stones.  So I threw out two of the gummies, reduced the number of daily pills I take, added magnesium glycinate, and started mixing collagen powder into my morning shakes!  I feel physically healthier and emotionally relieved after making these changes a couple weeks back!  Yay, ChatGPT!

Happy Birthday-Eve and Eras docu-series release day to Taylor Alison Swift!

That's all for today.

❤❤❤

Photo Friday!

Happy Friday, my friends!  Happy Birthday to Holly Dei, Happy Halloween to those who celebrate the cuter side of it, and Happy last day of October!  Huzzah!!!

Okay, so first off, I was sad to hear that Blossom Bariatrics is closing soon (November will be their final month for surgeries, then they will stay open into early 2026 to care for those patients).  They listed rising costs, the growing impact of weight loss medications, and an oversaturation of bariatric clinics among the factors behind that decision.  Several past clients are now posting gratitude notes and success-story photos, and it's been uplifting and inspiring to see those!

The depression/shame cloud is lifting.  I am still working toward my goal weight and feeling ever-more determined to reach it, but I've come a long way since summer 2024, and I am very grateful to Dr. Apel (pictured above) and the team at Blossom in Vegas for the life-changing jump start on this continuing health journey!!  They were the only clinic I found that offered the fast-tracked surgery date and the safe-sleeve process, and that was vital for me in signing up! ❤

In other news, I feel like I had a real breakthrough with school this week...

I'm in a qualitative research group where our project is interviewing CCU professors about their experience teaching with a trauma-informed approach.  I got to interview two of my former professors - both women with great answers and powerful life stories.  I realized looking back that both of them taught me during Spring 2023 when I nearly left the master's program.  It was a gift to connect with them again, and one of them gave me some great advice on choosing a dissertation topic...

Me:  We've been talking about it, like, what do we want to be known for?

Dr. R:  Nooooo.  No, that's too much pressure!  You want to be known as "Doctor."  You can figure the rest of it out and do (slower) in-depth research on things you're more passionate about later. lol

She encouraged me to think about the populations I have access to for research surveys (Tinker military, tornado survivors, attorneys, court reporters, CHA students, etc.) and to seriously consider quantitative research, noting that it makes reporting the results much more clear, quick, and simple!  That convo inspired me to work harder in my quantitative class, and on our most challenging week so far, I felt like I understood the concepts and completed everything on my own in better time than I'd expected.  Anyway, life opens up when you do.  And when you honor God, He honors you.  So I'm very grateful for all of that, and looking forward to my meeting with Dr. Burkhart next Monday!!

* * * * * * *

A couple pics from family dinner and game night this Wednesday!

This = Kyndal Faith and I being totally gridlocked in a very strategic game of checkers! lol

Didn't know that could happen, but here it is.  We started over, and she won fair and square.

Earlier that day was the CHA Patriotic program!  It's my favorite of CHA's programs (as it's the only one that changes regularly), and it was Kyndal's final one (she's in 6th grade, and it's elementary only).  They did a family dinner play where she was the daughter.  She told us she got permission to write her lines on an index card on her plate, so I grabbed a photo of that after the program! lol  She also asked the teachers if they could remove the candles so they wouldn't block people's view of them - when we realized it was the very thin taper candles, we all got cracked up by that!  Maybe she was thinking of the scrapbook photos and not wanting anything in the way.  She's the very best!! lol

I cried (like, real tears rolling down both sides of my face) during the armed forces tribute.  They sing the songs of each military branch, and the parents and grandparents who served stand up when their branch's song is sung.  That one hit me extra hard this year, and I was not doing well. lol

Failed to get a photo, but Kristin and I met for a fun lunch at La Madeleine yesterday!  (Frankie is out of state at a 2-week training for his new job, so we did lunch instead of walking together this week!)

I watched the Swiped movie with Lily James about the founder of Bumble (an ex-Tinder employee who hated the way that company treated women).  That inspired me to try Bumble again.  One of my first match suggestions was a married couple clearly looking for a third partner.  I was quick to screenshot it when I realized it said, "Things we have in common: Christian."  Threesome on Saturday, church on Sunday - that's pretty much the absurdity level of the world we're living in, though. lol

Anyway, I'll let you know if something more promising comes along on Bumble.

Something random I've spent a stupid amount of time on lately is watching people's reactions to Taylor Swift songs - Terry & Kaniyia's reels are my favorites - so entertaining for Swifties!!

Now I'm off to throw on my graduation gown (yay) and warm Gryffindor scarf (thanks, Kristin), then meet Rach and Kyndal for a girls' night of trick-or-treating at Gaillardia! =)  (Jaceman is at a football game with TJ & friends.)  It feels like the end of the year always moves more quickly, but I'm very happy to be moving into November, and psyched to find out the gender of future baby Wilson tomorrow!  I'll be doing a 30-day writing challenge here, just for fun and to mix up the topics a little.  Hope you have a fun night and a peaceful weekend ahead!

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Photo Friday Fun!

Happy Friday, friends and fam!!  I hope you've had a lovely day, and hope it's a relaxing, rainy weekend ahead (at least for those in Oklahoma)!

Current mindset:

Yay, royal fam!  Because where else would I throw in these photos?

So grateful for Emily's insight and for the genuine connection/trust that lets me be more open and real with her than any past counselor!

After tonight's taco salad fam dinner (yum!) and playing a few rounds of Heads Up, here's Jaceman trying Mom's new ladder to help with Christmas decor!  And on the right is Rach's favorite football stance. lol

Tomorrow = 10 years in Heaven for Aspyn Jane, so Lindsay and Wavy took cupcakes to thank the police and firemen for their help that day, and they raised over $1000 for Aspyn Arrows baby monitor donations!! ❤  I know the grief is very real.  The resilience is too!

Sophie and Melanie and Travis hanging out at their live show in San Antonio! =)  Caroline's first book released last week, so she was there doing a book signing, as well.  Love it all!!

Mel Robbins' 143 Studios team celebrating her birthday (all wearing blonde wigs and black-framed glasses with a black shirt, her signature look). lolol

Yay for all my podcast franz! lol  I hope to join them in that world down the road!!

I'm keeping it low key at my place this year, but 'tis the season for early Christmas decorating at Mom's!  Check out the creativity and attention to detail on this bow and garland!!

The outdoor wreaths with twinkling lights + the JOYful kitchen during tonight's dinner!

Truth.

Carter Lee is #1 on the leaderboard for the Junior Rodeo World Championship in Steer Wrestling!  While my knowledge of that world is very limited, I'm proud of him for putting in the hard work to reach that goal!!

My sparkly/colorful headband collection makes me happy, and now I need to throw in a few more cute baseball caps, as Vivian prefers them for comfort and ease. lol

That's all for now - keeping it light and fluffy today.

Happy Friday!!

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