A Breezy Blog

Here we are again – another season of the show we hate to love (or love to hate?), The Bachelor. Full of new beginnings, new opportunities, new people…well two out of three I guess. Bachelor Brad Womack is back and since I didn’t see his first turn handing out the roses he’s getting a clean slate from me.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news…even if it is only bad news for the handful of you who are still faithfully checking in on the Breezy Blog. But this season I’ll be sitting out on the Bachelor recapping. I’m in the process of changing jobs and will be missing episodes 3 & 4 while I’m living out my very own meet-the-family date in England. (fingers crossed for a rose!) So with all that going on I’m afraid the blog writing is taking a backseat for a while.

I’m sad to miss out dissecting this season on the blog because last night’s premiere was excellent and I think this season promises to have plenty of “oh-no-she-didn’t” moments. So, there’s a chance I’ll check in and offer thoughts occasionally on things that I can’t resist from venting, I mean - sharing about. For instance, I might not be able to resist discussing the craziness of a “lady” who may or may not have had her teeth shaved to look like a vampire.

There are lots of other great blogs to check out for recaps – I recommend reading Kristen Baldwin at Pop Watch, Lincee on Ihategreenbeans and of course our host Chris Harrison on Entertainment Weekly. Here’s to a great season – and remember if you think there’s a chance the person you’re dating believes that he/she is a vampire, it’s probably best to not keep dating that person.

30 for 30 is over and if there’s one thing I’ve learned through this process it’s that blogging every day takes some serious time and commitment! I guess if this was my full time job and I got paid for these riveting blog posts then it would feel less stressful or challenging to come up with topics every day. I think we all know I clearly struggled some days…

The point of this self-imposed goal (other than to set an attainable goal before turning the big 3-0) was to keep me writing. So today I’m posting an essay that I’ve thought about blogging for awhile now. It doesn’t have anything to do with being 30, but I think there have been enough of those posts. Thanks again to all you dear people who occasionally browse through the randomness that is this blog.

Wednesday morning 5:20 AM my alarm goes off. I reach my hand over and hit everything on the corner of my dresser in an attempt to make the beeping stop. Then I’m faced with the first hard decision of the day: either roll over and go back to sleep in my cozy bed or roll out of the warmth and attend the ‘Power Hour’ class at the Y. (For clarification: power hour in this context is an intense hour of cardio circuit training; it is not a drinking game or hour-filled religious event)

I close my eyes tightly as I debate the decision – they clearly don’t want to open yet. I tell myself how sleepy I am and how another hour of sleep would really be great. But then the thought of what Sweet Russ will say to me today enters my mind that’s all it takes. My feet are on the floor and I’m feeling my way to the bathroom (my eyes are still protesting the decision).

Russ is a white-haired gentleman with gleaming eyes and an unassuming smile who sits behind the pass scanner desk at the YMCA. I’ve come to secretly call him “Sweet Russ” because I find that title more fitting that just Russ. He’s not there when I arrive at the terrible hour of 5:50 AM but I know he’ll be at his post when I leave for work…that’s assuming I survive the dreaded Power Hour. I borrow a lock for the locker room from the equally as nice (though not quite as charming) gentleman who has the unfortunate 5:50 AM shift and then it’s off to class.

I trudge through 'Power Hour' and think about how deceiving the title of the class is because I do not feel at all powerful during this hour. If anything the class points out how weak I am as my arms shake during push-ups and my legs feel like jell-o after the first fifteen minutes. Thankfully I’ve somehow managed to endure the weekly hour of power mornings -- to date anyway.

After I catch my breath and get ready for work, I walk down the long corridor to the pass scanner desk and as expected, there Sweet Russ sits. His wrinkled eyes light up behind his thin glasses when he sees me and the smile that’s always on his face remains.

“Good morning Russ, how are you?” I ask as I approach the desk. He generally responds with something along the lines of, “I’m fine – and you are too, pretty lady!” I tell him he’s too nice and hand him my borrowed lock, today it was lock #3 which means that Russ’ reply was, “Number three? Well that’s not right – you’re clearly number one!” On days when I have lock number #1 he responds with, “Number one? Well, that’s very apropos.”

Though I am certain that Sweet Russ makes kind remarks to everyone that passes by him daily, when he says them to me I feel like I’m the only one he’s noticed that day.

His dependability at the pass scanner desk post is something I can count on and look forward to each morning. His kind words stay with me throughout the day and pop into my head when I need encouragement. His smile allows me to forget how sore and tired I am; they replace my wincing with a smile of my own.

As I’ve thought more about what it is I enjoy about Sweet Russ I can’t help but see the parallel to Jesus. The Lord is constantly willing me to meet me each morning. His words stay with me throughout the day and in moments where I can grasp His enjoyment of me, I can’t help but smile.

I’m thankful for the way that Sweet Russ points me to Jesus just by being who the Lord created him to be. I can only hope that I allow the characteristics of Jesus to shine through me as clearly as he does.

Some sad news the day before my birthday...Charlie O'Donnell, the voice of Wheel of Fortune has passed away. Here's the full article about his life. Tomorrow's post (the last day of 30 for 30) will be much more chipper...

To say that this past weekend was fun would be a gross understatement.

This weekend was fantastic, awesome, incredible, and amazingly fun! To my complete shock, my dear friends organized a surprise birthday party on Friday night. When I say complete shock I mean complete shock. Since the beginning of October I had been anticipating a costume party at Ashley’s house on Saturday night. I realized that wasn’t happening on Friday night as Allan pulled turned on my street and there were lots of people in my front yard. I think my exact words were, “Wait…whaaa…are those people!?”

It was confirmed that they were in fact people and I received a jubilant “Surprise!” greeting as I exited the car. My jaw dropped and stayed that way for most of the night as the people in the yard were just the beginning of the surprises! I began hugging everyone and then enter surprise #2 when I saw my lovely sister as one of the people in the yard! She had flown in all the way from Dallas for the big event and it took me all of 10 minutes to even see her there. I blame the state of shock.

We all went inside the house to find surprise #3 – my sister Jeni had brought with her many ‘fun’ keepsakes from my childhood. In the house were old uniforms, classic childhood pictures, and my favorite – several old pairs of my glasses hanging from the ceiling. I think my exact words at this point were, “Y’allll…I mean….Y’allll…”

About 10 minutes later “Boomer Sooner” started playing loudly and the front door burst open to reveal surprise #4 -- my BFFs from college, Kelli and Laura bouncing into the living room. Kelli was holding a lit tiki torch and they both were sporting t-shirts that said “Rebathlon 2010” with old pictures of me screen printed on the front. I had to look around to make sure everyone else was seeing what I saw.

Once ‘Boomer Sooner’ stopped CC explained that we were about to embark on Rebathlon 2010 which is similar to a decathlon or triathlon but filled with events related to things I love. If you read this blog you know I love a lot of things so the events were plentiful. They included: Beanie baby cornhole, ladder golf, guess how many gummy bears are in a jar, Wheel of Fortune, ‘Score with Sam’ football toss, jump rope competition, music trivia, and OU trivia.

Everyone was paired off in teams of 2 with matching Rebathlon t-shirts of course and each team also had a name of something about my life or something I love…there was team: Chris Harrison, Betty Locke, Theta, Beanie Baby, Pioneer Woman, and Bob Stoops – just to name a few.

We went on to play the games and then had cake – surprise #5…two cakes! An ice cream cake which I appreciated since having a birthday in November usually means no ice cream cake. And a traditional cake with a picture of all my friends who couldn’t make it screened on:

Awards were presented at the end of the night and somehow I won with 1,056,342 points. My prize was a medal with OU on it and a giant bag of sour patch kids, of course! The entire night was truly amazing. I felt completely known and cared for by my precious friends. It was one of those moments where ‘thank you’ is a completely insufficient response. (so instead I apparently just kept saying “I mean…y’all…”)

I want to say thank you times a million again to my friends who planned Rebathlon 2010, to my sister and friends who traveled to be there, and to those who couldn’t attend the games but wanted to be there. Friday was a very clear reminder of how blessed I am as I enter my 30th year!

This year for Halloween I went as "shocked"...full story coming up tomorrow...

Happy Halloween Eve! Still stressed about a costume? Why not go as one of your Friends?

In honor of the sweetest holiday of the year (pardon the pun!) this Friday I present my Top 5 Favorite (non-chocolate) Candy:

5) Swedish Fish
The smaller fish are somehow better than the bigger ones
4) Dots
Such a simple name and concept, yet so delicious
3) Haribo Gummy Bears
Kids and Grown ups love it so! There is definitely a difference in Gummy Bear brands and Haribo is the best.
2) Laffy Taffy
Why didn’t the Skeleton go to the dance? Because he had no body to go with.
1) Sour Patch Kids
A weird concept considering they are in the shape of children, but this candy is by far the best. I’m not ashamed to say I can easily enjoy an entire bag by myself.