Helllooooo April!

YAY GOD!

So how about this weather I ordered up? SWEET! It's absolutely beautiful today- Thank You God!

GO APRIL!

So what else does April have in store??? My birthday for one! yay! I've quit counting years and am just living by moments... so based on that I'm a trillion moments old at least! :)

MY CHALLENGE!

And a new challenge! My Chat Club with Vicky and Allison- has decided to ramp back up and dive into a book to keep our spiritual lives going... We've selected John Ortberg's The Me I Want To Be. Well, as part of purchasing the book, there is a free trial to this spiritual growth assessment tool. And we each got a printout of the way we learn, our general pathway, the bible character we are most like, and some areas that we probably struggle with. And I want you to know, they were dead on! :) So anyway, our chat club met today and we each chose something we are going to work on- mine is the listed spiritual inhibitor of Greed. That's always a nice thing to have pointed out to you. :) But its kind of true. Being single, I pretty much get whatever I want, whenever, I want and probably have not been the best steward of such things. So... my challenge to myself for the Month of April is the following: 1) Pantry Challenge-I know many of you have been doing this in many formats recently, but my premise is this... I'm going to use up what's in my fridge, freezer, and cubbards and not purchase any more food- except the following items can be purchased- milk, juice, cereal, fresh fruits and veggies and special meal situations such as providing for the entire life group or delivering food to families that are ill, had babies, etc. I will allow myself to eat out once per week, and will keep my total tab under $15. 2) I'm not going to buy anything that I do not need. What's a need- healthcare products, medicines, home repair, etc. That means no new flip flops, no new vera bradley, no new housewares, no new clothes, etc. (OK- what to do if I get gift cards for my birthday- I will probably spend those.. but may try to wait til the end of the month so it doesn't sabotage my plan. :) ) But please feel free to ask me how its going throughout the month.. i think that's the only way i'll stay accountable.

OTHER UPDATES

So my travels are done for a bit- well at least my out of state travels. My dear Veronika still wants me to come visit, and I am considering a May visit, but may not be able to swing that in light of my April Challenge. :) And I just got back from a trip to Oklahoma for Justin's Wedding! Woo hoo! We had a great time! Who is the 'we'? Well- here's the story...

I met Justin through Tom. Justin and Tom went to undergrad together. Tom came to grad school here and I met Tom. Well, at some point in time, Justin thought he might want to come to grad school here too... so we met him when he came to visit and he quickly became everyone's friend. He decided to go to grad school, and lived with Tom. They were my neighbors. :) We had lots of fun times together. (I'm trying to keep this short and sweet but not have to repeat all the details to everyone. :) ) Justin decided to leave Purdue after a while, but not before leaving a mark on our hearts and bestowing the Hodges boys with names that coincided with soft drinks. Justin moved back to Houston. And I think you all know about my love affair with Houston. :) So, in my travels to and fro to interview for jobs and visit Tom, I would get to catch up with Justin too! About 1.5 years ago, Justin decided to move back to Tulsa to be closer to family. He met a girl, fell in love, and they got married this past weekend. :) And I got invited to the wedding.

So I'm not a gushy girl that just loves every wedding. But I really had this desire to go to Justin's wedding. I don't know if its because its the last time I thought I might ever get to see him again, or just because I liked the kid so darn much... but I wanted to go. So I did. Problem with this being- I only knew 3 people who were going to be at the wedding. Out of 350, I knew 3. Can you say 'social anxiety'? :) And the three I knew, were all in the wedding. (one being the groom. :) ) But, I decided to give myself a pep-talk, and figured this is what I do every day.. talk to lots of people I don't know... so why not.

The other 2 people I knew that were in the wedding were Tom and the prettiest boy I know, JDub. Tom- y'all probably know Tom.. but who is JDub? He was another one they all knew from undergrad and was Justin's roommate in Houston for quite a while... so I had at least met him a few times. Well, Thomas graciously offered to be my ride to and from the airport! YAY TOM! So I didn't have to rent a car, and I knew I'd at least have some social connection at some point in time. :) I mean, it wasn't quite Ruth-esque of "where you go, I will go, where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, your God, My God." BUT PRETTY DARN CLOSE. :) And I was soooooooooooooo thankful for Tom to let me tag along with him everywhere! The good news is that JDub is married and lives in Australia right now. So, unfortunately, his wife couldn't come- but his brother Brandon lives just outside of OKC and volunteered to be JDub's "+1". And Brandon didn't know anyone either! YAY! So I officially designated Brandon as 'my new best friend' for the weekend. :) And the rest was history. :) That is the 'we' I referred to. I met lots of other nice people that were Justin's friends from high school and church in Houston. They were pretty cool too. :) All in all, a tiring, but great weekend... and I still even have a few of my social graces leftover after all that! :)

One final thought...Best idea ever... photo booth at your reception...