I'm so sorry for the delay in my posting! 2012 has been pretty busy so far. Tom and I really hit the ground running. Bless his heart, he's been working so much lately, it seems like I haven't seen him in months. He's been working until after midnight for weeks. Thankfully, he can do this from home, but it's still exhausting. I am glad to report he finished his project and has been able to take some time off. He's been a different man, and I've really enjoyed having my husband back ever since. We've caught up on all our shows we've been missing - Glee, The Finder, Top Chef, NCIS. We've gotten into a new show lately, too. This is going to make me sound whacko, but I'll tell it anyway. So, I go to the gym with my dad twice a week. While we're on the bike, I used to watch The Golden Girls or Frasier or The Nanny, but they changed their schedule recently. I absolutely detest The New Adventures of Old Christine so I started flipping away from my trusted Lifetime to see what other fish in the sea I could find. I happened upon Supernatural. All you people out there who know me are probably like What? Meg watching Supernatural?! She must have lost her mind! ... Well, wait 'til you hear this part. So, I'd been watching Supernatural for a few weeks at the gym when I decided Tom and I should check it out. So we DVR'ed a few episodes and sat down to watch it. Immediately when it started playing, I freaked out and paused it. I was mad. They were using different voices than the ones of the normal characters! I was sure they had dubbed the voices for some reason - I thought that was so stupid. Why would they do such a thing?! (Whoever I thought "they" was...) After pausing it 2 or 3 more times to comment on how weird it was with these voices, something dawned on me... I started laughing - I'm sure Tom thought I was really crazy, but it finally hit me. All this time I'd been watching the show at the gym, I was watching it with closed captions. I'd never heard the actual voices. I had actually MADE THEM UP in my head and was MAD when the real people didn't meet my estimation. Imagine my surprise when some of the characters turn out to be British. Lol. At that point, I was pretty sure I was losing my mind. Like, really. I was concerned. I finally got over all that though, and we really enjoy the show. Sometimes, I wish I could go back to the closed captions just because things are a lot more gross and scary with the sound effects and creepy music, but the relationship between the brothers really keeps me watching. And I think the show is very thought-provoking - I'm intrigued by the way they treat things, how they present things. What can I say - it certainly adds a nice balance to our other shows... What would we do without DVR?
Another way I occupied my time while Tom was working 24/7 was finally getting into Twilight. I've been watching the movies, but I wasn't really interested in reading the books (I'm not that much of a reader). After we saw Breakind Dawn Part 1 though, I had to know more. I read all 4 books in two weeks, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. It's really nice to read something easy and light sometimes, especially when you stare at complex financial reports all day.
In addition to Tom's work, mine has been heating up as well. I've worked in the financial services industry for 2.5 years now, but just recently, I've become licenced to take on my own clients. I passed my tests this summer, and I've been preparing myself to take the next step since then. So January marked a turning point - I am now a financial advisor. I'm really excited about it, and I'm glad about this path I've chosen. I say "I've chosen," but I really feel like this is the way God wants me to go. So many avenues have been opened for me in this arena, I could write a whole blog post about just that, but suffice to say I'm really glad to have found what I think God is calling me to do.
In addition to all that visible stuff, there's certainly been a lot on my mind lately from other things life has thrown my way. My brain is really having a hard time reconciling everything right now and managing to keep my head above water. I was reminded of an old favorite saying of mine today, a saying that I actually have posted on my desk right now and have for years. My dad (author of other great pieces of wisdom such as "Don't let the bastards get you down" and "Never fry bacon without your shirt on") gave me this picture of a duckling on a pond. The wording reads - The secret of success is to look cool and calm on the surface and be paddling like hell underneath. This has certainly been my motto for the last few months. I know God has a plan though - even when I can't see it. I love the analogy about how life is a rug - we see it from the bottom. Everything is a tangled mess, and you can't determine the pattern. God, however, sees it from the top, and the picture is clear. He is so good. Always. I just need to remember to turn to Him. Today, I took some time to do just that, and of course, He showed me exactly what I needed to hear. John 14: 27 (NKJV) "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." I hope this helps you, too.
Speaking of helping - here's a really easy way to make a positive impact in a lot of lives. I just set this website as my homepage so that whenever I use the internet, I start here. Make a few clicks, help some people/animals, and move on to whatever you need to do. It takes literally 10 seconds if that. I hope you'll at least try it. The Animal Rescue Site
I hope you're all doing well! I'm sorry again for the delay, and I'm sorry for the lack of pictures! I'll try to do much better next time :-)
