Be Back Later - On Vacation!

We made it to Florida late last night after a 15 hour journey. We made lots of stops for food and to make bathroom breaks. So anyway, since I'm in Florida I will not be blogging this week. I want to just enjoy my vacation! Today we're in Ormond Beach and then tomorrow we head down to Disney! And then on Wednesday we come back to Ormond Beach and then start our journey home on Thursday! I'm so excited about this vacation. I hope you all have a wonderful week. I sure know I will! See you in a week!

Cindy

(Semi) Wordless Wednesday

In just four days I will be enjoying this beautiful view!

I can't wait to be in Florida!

Cindy

Failure to Post (and Easter!)

*Sorry for the lack of pictures, I didn't take even one this weekend. I'm a terrible blogger*
I know I said last week was going to be wedding week in honor of our first anniversary, but I was just a little bit busy last week and this past weekend, too. At least it was a great week and weekend! I will continue the wedding posts at some point, maybe this week, maybe just randomly until I'm done with them. So keep your eyes open for those posts if you're interested!

Yesterday was wonderful. We had to wake up dark and early to go and play the praise music at our church's SonRise service. We had to be at Point Lookout State Park at 5:30 yesterday morning and since it's a 30 min drive we had to be up by 4:30 and leave at 5am. Not so fun but we were so excited it actually wasn't too bad. And the best part, as we were driving by the water we could see light peeking up over the horizon across the bay. It was simply beautiful. The service was extremely meaningful and Collin and I actually sang our first duet together. We sang "How Great is the Love" by Paul Baloche. If you've never heard that song, please look it up. It's on his Glorious cd. I'm going to post the lyrics at the bottom of this post. It gives me goosebumps. It's the perfect Easter song! We also had to play the praise music at our church's 9:30 worship service as we normally do. Another wonderful and very meaningful service. I was very emotional yesterday just thinking about the wonderful resurrection of my Lord and Savior and what that means for me today. How incredible!!

After we had lunch at my aunt's house we ended up going home and taking a nap and then heading over to Solomon's Island to celebrate our anniversary just the two of us. We walked up and down the boardwalk and got some soft serve ice cream. It was so nice just to walk along the river hand in hand with my husband and enjoy the beautiful weather. It was such a perfect evening and I'm very glad we went. It may not have been a big anniversary celebration but it was perfect. This has been such a fantastic first year of marriage and I'm so excited for many, many more years with my wonderful husband. God sure did bless me with such an incredible man.

Cindy

P.S. As I said here are the lyrics to "How Great is the Love".

Thank You for the way that You love us
How You love us
Thank You for the way You have made us

We were created
For Your pleasure, for Your presence
For the glory of Your name

Thank You for the way that You love us

Jesus, faithful King
Lord, with grateful hearts we sing
How great is the love
How great is the love
Of our Savior
The weight of the cross, the curse of our shame
You carried it all and rose from the grave
How great is the love, how great is the love
Of our Savior

Thank You for Your grace that has saved us
You forgave us
Thank You for the way You have freed us

We have been ransomed
We've been rescued, we've been purchased
With the price of Your own life

Thank You for the way that You love us

Jesus, faithful King
Lord, with grateful hearts we sing
How great is the love
How great is the love
Of our Savior
The weight of the cross, the curse of our shame
You carried it all and rose from the grave
How great is the love, how great is the love
Of our Savior

Thank You for the way that You love us
How You love us

Jesus, faithful King
Lord, with grateful hearts we sing
How great is the love
How great is the love
Of our Savior
The weight of the cross, the curse of our shame
You carried it all and rose from the grave
How great is the love, how great is the love
Of our Savior

Wedding Week - The Bachelorette Celebration

*In honor of our 1st Anniversary on Sunday I'll be sharing a bit about our wedding this week on the blog. I wasn't blogging during the wedding process so this is a fun way to share about our big events!*

My bridesmaids were the greatest! I had my two best friends from college, a good friend from church and my sister by my side on my special day. Even though they all live out of town except for my sister they were awesome bridesmaids. They were all involved in the planning process, giving advice and tips and help and they threw me such a fun bachelorette celebration! I told them that I wanted something fun that didn't invlove alcohol or strippers and preferably involved the beach. Since we were all so busy and so spread apart we had my party the day before the wedding after our bridal lunch. It was SO MUCH FUN! They didn't tell me anything about it except that we would be done in time to get our nails done before the rehearsal. They drove me down to Greenwell State Park and we walked down to the beach there and they pulled out these silly hats, feather boas, crazy sunglasses, brownies, sparkling cider and fun cups! Basically we drank sparkling cider, ate some brownies, took LOTS of pictures and laughed SO hard we cried, fell on the ground, and couldn't breathe. I'll let the pictures explain truly just how much fun we had. =)

Such a wonderful celebration with my girls! I love looking back at these pictures. They never cease to make me smile and laugh thinking back on the silliness we enjoyed!

Cindy

Wedding Week - The Proposal

*In honor of our 1st Anniversary on Sunday I'll be sharing a bit about our wedding this week on the blog. I wasn't blogging during the wedding process so this is a fun way to share about our big events!*

It was July 2, 2009. Collin and I both had off from work the next day because July 3 was when the government was celebrating the 4th of July holiday. After praise team practice that evening we went down to our friend Alan's house on St. George's Island. Once we got there we decided to go down to the pier and set off some fireworks. We set off a good amount of fireworks and were laughing and having a good old time. Little did I know but Collin had a big surprise up his sleeve. Apparently Collin had been planning and trying to figure out when he was going to propose for a few weeks at this point and I had NO idea. He told me he wouldn't propose until he got offered a full time position with his current company so I wasn't expecting anything in the least. He had been offered the position about a week before but didn't tell me so I would be surprised!

I was talking with my friend Kaitlin while Collin was talking with Alan but he was really waiting for me to stop talking so he could pop the question. However, I just kept on talking and Collin was getting a little concerned that I'd never stop! He was kneeling down on one knee and I looked over and asked him what was up with his foot because "it looked funny" but it was just the way the light was hitting it. Collin then ended up sitting down on both knees because the knee he was on started hurting. Then I realized he was just sitting there and so I asked what he was doing. "Oh, looking for burn marks from previous fireworks we've set off." I didn't think anything of it so I went back to talking to Kaitlin.

Eventually there was a lull in the conversation, and the next thing I know Collin is down on one knee with a ring box in his hand asking me to marry him! I was so surprised that I didn't believe it was really happening. I actually responded, "Seriously?! ... Are you serious?!" To which Collin responded, "That's not the answer I was hoping for". But then I of course exclaimed "YES!" and tried to put the ring on myself but Collin made me stop so he could put it on my finger. =)

After hugging and much squealing the four of us went inside to Alan's family room where, after a few phone calls, the rest of the evening was spent playing a very silly game of Monopoly!

Here are a few of our professional engagement photos taken by Norine Rowe.

Do you have a fun/silly proposal story? I'd love to hear about it!

Cindy

If Only I Had Money...

I think spring is finally here. It's been in the 60's every day this week and will continue to be 60 or higher for the foreseeable forecast! Which means soon I can wear lots and lots of skirts and dresses! I have a few nice summery dresses and skirts which I wore a lot of last year but I wish I had an endless supply of money to buy some new ones to add to my wardrobe. Here are just a few of the dresses I'd like to buy!

Dot Jacquard Sundress at Dress Barn

Everyday Bouquet Dress at Mod Cloth

Shanghai Dress at Shabby Apple

Cross-Front Dress at Old Navy

So who'd like to donate to the "Cindy wants a new wardrobe" fund? Anybody? ; )

What's your favorite thing to wear during the warm spring days and throughout summer? Is it skirts and dresses like me? I'd love to know what you're wishing to add to your wardrobe!

Cindy

(Semi) Wordless Wednesday

We're getting so close to our first anniversary. It's on Easter this year. Which I suppose I knew would happen eventually with getting married in April but I didn't expect it to be our first anniversary. Anyway, to celebrate our upcoming anniversary and since I wasn't blogging during the wedding process last year I'm going to do a week of wedding on the blog here next week to recap our wonderful day! This picture was taken actually a few months after our wedding at our "day after" shoot.

*Photo courtesy of Reflections by Christina*

Dream Big!

Found here

"You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."
- C.S. Lewis
I'm so excited about this Couch to 5k program. I've only been doing it for a week but I already feel better. I have more energy and this second week is surprisingly not as difficult as I thought it would be. I got through today's workout without feeling like I was going to die! I think that's very much an accomplishment. I am definitely excited to keep with it and to run a 5k once I'm done. The only thing I'm dreading is that I'll be done in June and it will be hot here by then. Do I really wanna run in the heat? We'll see! I may just have to suck it up and do it!

What new dreams or goals are you wanting to set? Has there been something holding you back? I say go for it because like C.S. Lewis says you're never too old! And new goals and dreams are a great way to keep yourself excited about life!

Cindy

Scatter Sunshine!

Found here

"A day without sunshine is like, you know, night."
- Steve Martin
Even when the day might not be so sunny outside, make every effort to be the sunshine in your day. Fill your day with things that make you happy. Fill it with things that bring you joy and make you giggle. For someone having a bad day be the sunshine for their day, too. Show them love. Show them a little bit of your light to brighten up their day.

“Fill your life with love. Scatter sunshine. Forget yourself, think of others."
-Dr. Norman Peale
The best part about all of this is that we don't have to worry about where we're gonna get our light from. Our light comes from God! How incredibly wonderful that is. With his light filling us and filling our days it's easy to have days filled with sunshine and to shine that light on others.

The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
Isaiah 60:19
So go now and enjoy the sunshine that floods into your life!

Cindy

(Semi) Wordless Wednesday

Solomon's Island is such a beautiful place. I love going there in the summer and getting an icecream cone filled with soft serve from Cone Island. I love going there and just walking up and down the boardwalk holding hands with Collin at sunset. I love going there just to watch the sunset. I love going there and walking around the island looking at the beautiful houses that I wish I could live in. I can't wait for late spring/summer so we can enjoy this beautiful place.

Cindy

Weather and Running

Found here

I think pretty much most of the United States has been hit by the giant storm system that just came through. I know it was over in the MidWest on Sunday and we just got hit early this morning. Foruntately I wasn't aware of any awful thunderstorms since we live in a basement and there's lots of other noises going on in the house. However, I was rudely awoken by our county's severe weather alert phone call at about 4:45 am. I opted into this plan so I will be aware if there's a tornado warning. I was not pleased this morning. It was calling to tell us a severe thunderstorm warning had been issued. I tried to go back to sleep but then at 5:05 am another call came only this time it was for a tornado warning. I'm terrified of tornados. So even though our bedroom is pretty much protected since all we have is an egress window, I still made Collin go out into the living room with me where we were furthest away from any windows at all. And of course there was no tornado, it was just the National Weather Service issuing a warning because the thunderstorms that were coming through were capable of producing tornados. Silly weather people. Tell me if there's a tornado actually heading my way that way I don't freak out for nothing. Anyway... we usually wake up around 6 am but at this point there was no sense in going back to bed. I'm a little bit more tired today than usual...

I don't know why I'm so terrified of tornados. I've never even seen one let alone been in one so I really have no idea what it's like. I'm trying to get rid of the intense fear they cause. I know it's unhealthy and when I get scared I pray my little tush off but there's just this uncontrollable anxiety that just surfaces when the possiblity of one coming arises. I guess it will just take some time and some more intense prayer to calm myself and get rid of this anxiety completely.

Yesterday afternoon I did my first day of the Couch to 5k program. I was so excited and hopped on the treadmill and set to work. This first week starts you off with a 5 minute warm up walk and then alternating jogging for 60 seconds and brisk walking for 90 seconds for 20 minutes total. By about my third round of jogging I thought I was going to die. Not really, but I felt really, really out of breath and my heart was pounding. I am completely out of shape and this was proof. I was glad when the 20 minutes were up and when I stepped off the treadmill to do my stretches it felt like I was still moving! And I could feel my heartbeat in my head, it was the oddest sensation. Once I cooled down and my heart rate returned to normal I felt great, but I hope the workout portion gets easier the more I do this thing!

Cindy

Becoming a Runner?

Found here

I'm not a runner, I never have been. I'm not athletic, I never have been that either. However, I'm really wanting to lose a few pounds and get into shape. And as much as I want to do it, I haven't been able to motivate myself to exercise. Last week though I looked into the Couch to 5k program and I've made a decision. I am going to do it. I'm starting today and in 9 weeks I should be able to run a 5k. And participating in an actual 5k Run is motivation to do this thing! This is exciting for me! I've always admired runners. I had friends who were on the cross country and track teams and I wished I could run like that but I never did it. I'm not claiming that after I'm done with the program I'll go on to run a marathon or what not, but who knows. I've heard that once you start running it becomes really addicting. I'd like that to be the case. I'd like to become more active in my lifestyle and running is very good for you! So here goes nothing! Collin is going on this journey with me. He used to run with his dad growing up and now he's going to run with me. I'm glad he is, it will hold me accountable. And you guys can hold me accountable, too! I'm sure I'll share some of this journey on here but ask me how it's going from time to time if you like!

If you've ever done the Couch to 5k program before, what did you think of it? I'd really like to get some thoughts and tips from others!

Cindy

Friday Favorites - week 13

Found here

Today is April 1st! I can't believe March is over already, but I can't say I'm sad to see it go. It was a crazy month. Anyway, with April 1st comes April Fool's Day. I'm not a big fan of pranks or April Fool's Day. Maybe because I'm really quite gullible and I don't always get sarcasm. Or maybe because my sister used to get me really good each year and I was always the loser. I dunno, but I don't like it very much. However, I saw this article posted on facebook yesterday and it had me laughing out loud, literally! If today had of been a work day I totally would have done at least one of these today. Anyway, here's 10 April Fool's Pranks for Nerds. I actually tried out the different languages in google. I think my favorite was "Pirate". If you've never played around with the languages for searching in google, do so. It's absolutely amazing and amusing!

This morning I was freezing so I turned on the space heater to warm up the living room. My dear cat Stank was enjoying it himself. I think he likes the warmth more than I do!

Once again this week I'm entering the Live Every Moment photo challenge. This week's theme is "Different View/Perspective". I took this picture in Miami when I was there in '06. I love palm trees so much and I love the angle that I took the picture from.


To view the contest and other entries please click the button below. There are some awesome photos submitted with different perspectives!



I hope every has a wonderful weekend! Collin's gone on a Men's Retreat but I've got some good stuff planned so I won't be missing him too much. ; )

Cindy