Ok so maybe I am picky

Remember that blind date I mentioned a while back?  Yeah I wasn't going to write about it but dating just got a little more ridiculous today, so why not just share some of the gory details?

So yeah, that blind date:
a) talked about partying for 85% of the date
b) may nor may not have been drinking for 24 hours straight before our date
c) said he never wants to grow up
d) talked about how he drunk dialed his teacher for a hook-up and said she was hot for a 40 yr. old
e) wanted to split the bill 50/50 after he had an appetizer, 2 sushi rolls, and a 2 drinks and all I had was 1 sushi roll (although he did pay for my vodka cranberry at the bar while we waited for our table...weird..luckily the waiter saved me and said he could split it by seat.)
f) ended the date by saying he'd text me.

Ok and then today here is an email I got from another suitor:

Hey doll-
Hope your week is going well.  Sorry to cut this short but going to go work on my buffness at the gym before my next client.  Lets chat later if you are up for it.

(this is like his first email ever to me...not a stellar start....doll???  buffness???)

What is wrong with guys!?!  Where are all the gentlemen don't act like tools??

Is it just me?  Am I being picky?  Is this unacceptable behavior or should I just lower my standards?

Dating. Sucks.

Oh the games they play

My animals are silly.  I think they were trying to be more entertaining than whatever I was watching on TV on Sunday (YAY for fall TV being back!  I *heart* Desperate Housewives and Bothers and Sisters!)


(Sorry the pics are dark and blurry.  I was trying to inconspicuously catch them with my iPhone.)

Book Review- finally!

I just got caught up with my Bookshelf Blog!  Go check out my reviews of the following books:

Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald- 4 out of 5 stars

Before I Die by Jenny Downham- 3 out of 5 stars

Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye by Carolyn McCulley- 2 out of 5 stars

After You by Julie Buxbaum- 4.5 out of 5 stars

What are you reading?  Any fall book recommendations for me?

You'll be sore the next day

I've been pretty good about keeping up my Tuesday/Thursday morning gym routine.  I could never do it if it weren't for my friend Steph.  I am not a morning person so she gives me a wake up call and just knowing that if I don't go it might mess up her too, keeps me motivated.  She is much better than me when it comes to this stuff.  She has had multiple trainers...a few we have shared together, including this hottie:

Graham from Deanna's season of the Bachlorette was our trainer for a while...pre-bachelorette fame.  We kind of didn't think he was working us out hard enough at first and would get annoyed with him, but he turned out to be a great trainer and had us doing all kinds of crazy circuit training stuff that really whipped us in to shape.

But yeah, steph brings a notebook and writes down what we do and is always pushing me to do heavier weights, so she is a big help in the motivational department.

We rotate and dedicate one day to triceps/chest then legs/shoulders then back/bis and then repeat.  We  get bored doing the same thing over and over so we try to find new things to do.  Here are a few new ones we tried recently that left me sore the next day:

We just did this one this morning in fact and I'm not sore yet, but usually I don't feel it until late the night of or the next day.  But last time we did these I was feeling it!

We've done this one a million times before, but we did it on Tuesday holding a 25 lb. weight!  I think we normally do 10 lbs. but the 25lb. plate was already over there, so we just used that.  Needless to say my lower back was pretty tight all day yesterday!

This is a new one we tried last week.  I wasn't feeling it until the next day, but this move made my legs and butt so sore I could barely walk all weekend!

I like feeling a little sore after a workout.  It makes me feel like it is actually doing something.  What are some moves that really make you feel the burn?

The Beatitudes

Last night my Bible study group had a lot of new visitors. We are taking on new members and we had a lot of new girls come check us out for the first time. It’s exciting, scary, and sad all at the same time.
We started a new study on the Sermon on the Mount. Specifically the Beatitudes:

The beatitudes are found at Matthew 5: 3-12

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they shall possess the earth.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice,
for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

First we examined more about what the word “Blessed” means. It doesn’t mean God is going to “make it rain” for you and give you all the money you could want and everything you have ever desired. Being blessed means being close to God, having God’s favor. I have many times, used it in the context of “look what I have been given!! (As in my money and my house and my car or my super-hot boyfriend!!) I’m so blessed!!” I’m so freaking materialistic and selfish and envious and greedy and superficial! Really, I am. It’s a constant battle. I’m not kidding, the state of my heart is….always in conflict I guess you could say.

Next we examined the first beatitude and what it means to be poor in spirit. Basically it means to be humbled or surrendered.

Here is a parable that illustrates it perfectly from Luke 18:9-14:

9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
14"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

The tax collector was “poor in spirit” while the Pharisee was probably a really “good guy”, but boy did he have a big head!! (As a side note I think arrogance is one of the most unattractive things a person can have!)
For me, sometimes it goes against everything I have ever been taught in order to be humble. I have to crush my ego to do it and lose my self-sufficient attitude. I have to recognize and admit all my faults, failures, and sins. Sometimes that is easy and sometimes it’s not. It all comes down to finding satisfaction not in myself, my relationship status, my home, my possessions, my friends, vacations, my family or my job but to let all my satisfaction come from God.

It feels good to surrender and find rest in the Lord. I just need to remember to do it more often!
I am looking forward to the rest of the study and getting to know these new girls and grow with them! Let’s just hope I don’t have to pray out loud anytime soon!

Sorry to get all preachy on you, but when I learn something good I want to share it with you guys! Don’t worry. I’m sure I will be back to my materialistic, selfish, envious, greedy, superficial self tomorrow! And don’t judge me…you know deep down you are too sometimes!

Couch 2 5K

Since the weather is finally starting to get a little cooler, I am finally able to run outside again.  This is the perfect exercise for me because I can bring Cam.  After I have left him alone all day, the last thing I want to do is leave him to go to the gym.

So I decided to download the Couch 2 5K app on my iPhone and I am going to sign up to do the Jingle Bell Run again this year on December 4th.  I did this run 2 years ago so I could mark it off my list.  I did ok, but I still was a little disappointed with my performance.  I finished in 37:21 when I ran this race 2 years ago and this year I would like to finish in under 30 minutes.  But I would be happy with just running the whole thing without having to take a walking break.

I started last night.  My plan is to do the C25K runs on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and keep up my gym routine on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  As a reward to myself I am going to get one of the new i-Pod nanos if I finish the 9-week C25K program on time the week before Thanksgiving.  Maybe they will have a good Black Friday deal on one!!  In fact I am going to have mini-rewards at the 3 week mark (pedicure) and 6 week mark (suggestions?). 

I'm also tracking my calories with the Lose it app.  And hope to get my Nike + sensor working again so I can track my distance on my runs.

Hopefully all this will help with marking #1 off my list- get in the best shape of my life.

Just curious- How would you define "the best shape of your life"?  I'm still not sure about my definition.  It is hard not to measure it by weight, but I know weight isn't the right way to measure it.  But what is?  How will I know when I have arrived?  I thought about measuring it with running time, but that feels like it is missing something to.  So how would you define "best shape of your life"?

Cute FREE Baking Dish!

I had to share this with you guys!

You can get this cute baking dish from One Kings Lane for FREE!  They have other colors and styles, but this was my favorite!

All you have to do is pay $7.95 in shipping! Just go sign up HERE and you will get a $15 credit to spend on anything on their site, and this baking dish just so happens to be only $15! How awesome is that!?  But hurry because a few of the colors and styles were already sold out when I placed my order!

Now when you bring a casserole over to a party all the other girls will be in envy of your awesomely cute baking dish!!

Lucky

The lucky winner of the Skyfactor CD is- Daisy-Pie!

Congratulations!  Email me your address and I will get the CD out to you.  I hope you love it as much as I do!

It's easy to feel unlucky.  It's easy to complain about things, about life, and the unfairness of it all.  I've been doing a lot of that lately.  I didn't even realize it.  It was just a little complaining here and there, a bad attitude every once in a while, a lack of gratitude for things God has done for me.

I've been trying to adjust my attitude over the last few days.  Or at least keep it to myself.  I don't want people to see that negativity.  I don't even want to have it in me!  I don't want my complaining to cloud my view or other people's view of things I may really love, but still complain about.  I don't want to be a negative nelly.

I'm trying to remember how God got me through a lay-off and dropped this job in to my lap out of no where.  How God provided over $3,000 for me to go on a mission trip that I never, ever thought I would raise enough money for.  How Jesus paid the ultimate price for me.  Gratitude is the ultimate medicine for a bad attitude and I need a fix.

This is what happens when I take Ambien

Sometimes when I take my Ambien, it makes me do strange things.  If I don't immediately go get in bed and stay there I do silly things in this foggy haze.  Once I rearranged my guest bedroom to try to fit a non-existent bed in there.  A few weeks ago I randomly started painting my bathroom wall (more on that later this week).

Last night I was going to put away my laundry.  When I opened my closet I saw one of the scarves I brought back from Dubai.  I starting thinking "What if I had to wear this everyday?"  Maybe I could wear it for a week just to see what it is like.  Then I started taking pictures to see how I should wear it.

Please forgive my  messy hair and no make up face.  It was bedtime!  But I saw the pictures this morning and it made me laugh:

 I had to  tuck all my hair up in the back so it made it kind of big, but in Dubai some of the women had this big bumps in the back that made them look so elegant, but I couldn't get mine to look like that.  They must have really long hair!

I tried to smile with my eyes like Tyra says to do, but it wasn't working.

I look scary.  Not being able to see a smile or any other facial expressions sucks.

Now I just look scared.

Some women would just cover their mouth.  That's a little better, but I still look scared or something.

I look like a scared 12 year old!  

Now this is how an American girl would wear it.  Much better.

It looks pretty on those Arab women because they have such big mysterious eyes.  Me, not so much.  I think I'll stick to wearing it like an American girl.

I also discovered the site deathclock.com last night and I am apparently going to die on Feb. 27, 2067.  I would be 86 years old.  

Point of this post: When you take an Ambien to go to sleep, go directly to bed, do not pass go, do not collect $200.  Or don't and end up with vague memories of the silly things you did the night before.

P.S. There are still a few hours to enter my giveaway for the Skyfactor CD and your chances of winning are really good!  Just go leave a comment here to enter!

CD Giveaway!

Remember a few weeks ago when I told you guys I discovered a new band that I loved called Skyfactor?  Well, the guys from Skyfactor saw my post and emailed me!  They thanked me for the support and offered to send me a free t-shirt and CD!  How awesome is that??  I thought about you guys and asked if they could send an extra CD that I could give away on my blog.  And they did!

I love all their songs!  Seriously I can not even pick a favorite off this album because they are all so good!  If you want to hear some samples go visit their website: www.skyfactormusic.com

You can win a copy of their CD Daydreams!  And you can enter more than once. 

Here are the ways to enter:

 1. Leave a comment telling me about a lesser known band you love and if you had ever heard Skyfactor before. (+1 entry)

2. Become a follower and tell me in your comment that you are a follower of my blog. (+1 entry)

3. Tweet this giveaway "@ncsuz is giving away a CD from the awesome band Skyfactor.  Enter here: http://ncsuz.blogspot.com/"  (+1 entry)

4. Blog about this giveaway (leave me a comment so I can go check it out).  (+3 entries)

I will leave the contest open until 5 pm EST Monday Sept. 13th.

Good Luck!

I'm Versatile!

Amber tagged me for an award!  Thank you!!  (Side note- I kinda suck at these, and sometimes I will see them and then forget to do it or even comment....I should get the bad bloggy friend award really!...I'm so sorry!  I do love you all and if I follow you, guaranteed I read all your posts, it's just almost always on my i-phone now which sucks if you want to comment)


The rules are to accept, link back and thank the blogger that awarded me, then tell 7 things about myself and tag 15 other lovely bloggers.

1. I went to the beach again this weekend.  This time North Myrtle in SC.  I love living so close to the beach!  I can't imagine being landlocked and not being able to get to the ocean before noon if I wanted to.

2. My college has the best football ever!  I know it isn't a big school, but we do football really well.  If you ever get a chance go...everything from the awesome tailgating to the entrance of the team to Purple Haze in a cloud of purple smoke to the fans yelling PURPLE...GOLD....PURPLE to the cannon when we score to the No Quarter!  Believe me, you won't ever be bored.  This weekend we had one of the best games ever!  Touchdowns within minutes of each other, all the back and forth and then this (believe me watch it, best ending to a game EVER)




It brings tears to my eyes just watching it again! The beach was great and I am so glad we came in to watch the game on TV, but dang I wish I would've been in Dowdy-Ficklen for that game!

3. I finally hung my curtains this weekend thanks to the help of my super-handy friend Meredith and her dad's drill.  It was quite comical and we had lots of "that's what she said moments".  No wonder guys like working with power tools so much!  Here's a really crappy pic from my phone.  That window in the middle looks weird now though.  I'm thinking maybe some small things on the wall on either side of it to even it out?  Any other suggestions?

4.  Someone is trying to set me up with one of their friends.  Please someone share some good blind date or set up stories because I think all I have heard are the bad ones.

5. I have a dog and a cat who each shed about a pound of hair a day, no joke.  It is out of control!

6. One of my ex's cousins works at the vet/boarding place I take Cam to.  It is kind of awkward.  Today I asked how her weekend was and she said she went down to the farm (where my ex lives, yes on a farm, with cows and everything).  So I asked her how many cows they had now and if they still had my favorite one and about his dogs and horses. It was good to hear how things were, but I avoided asking anything about my ex and the whole thing was a little awkward.

7. I'm having an awesome giveaway on here later this week!  Get excited!

Now here is who I tag:

I have to give Brittany a special shout out- I follow her so you know she's awesome and she gave me a shout out this week!  I was reading it on my phone while I was with a friend and I stopped and read it to her and was like "Can you believe people actually read my blog and like it?!!"

I follow all these lovely ladies and *heart* them all:
Domestic Goddess
Heidi
GinH- a fellow Pirate!  Arrgggg!
Carolyn
Sam
Shoshanah
Kell
Jenna Renee
Bridget
Chloe
Nic
Lauren

These two I am not really tagging because they aren't blogs like that, but they are probably two of my most favorite things in my Reader:

The Nester
Lamebook