Why is it that I don't update this blog more...

I'm not sure. I'll be catching up soon though.

Why does time fly by so fast?

Seriously, it's about to be September!

Why...

This













+this

+ this














= this (a ghetto medicine ball that my husband is too cheap to buy)

Why do I have to pay...

So after I ran my first 5 k in December, I'm miracously receiving any and all 5 k related material in Forsyth County. I'm not trying to knock any races for cures, or fundraising events, but I don't understand why I have to pay to run in a race. I would just rather donate money, and be done with it. Who ever thought of that idea for people to pay money to walk or run was a genious. I would like to officially announce that I'm starting the "Gina's Race for Debt" 5 and 10 k run. Please pay $40 dollars to run the streets that you can run at any point and time that you please, but rest assure that the streets will be blocked during this event for your safety during Gina's Debt Run. At any other time, you would normally have to look both ways! However friends, you will not on this day. Although, because it's habit for those of you who walk or run on a regular basis, you will look both ways anyway. But please remember that I told you that you wouldn't have to look both ways! This is an email invitation only!! I won't have any materials to give you with the race title on it to show your friends and family, because....well just look at the title of the race.

Interesting....

I should have kept this quote in mind a few days ago at work, but will definitely remember going forward:

"Happiness is a choice...if you make the mistake of allowing your circumstances to dictate your happiness, then you risk missing out on God's abundant life. Being negative and sour isn't going to improve anything either. You might as well choose to be happy and enjoy life!"

Why am I posting this? I let something bother me at work a few days ago, and although I was cordial, I think that I didn't display myself like I should have. I was very polite and I didn't say anything rude or out of the way, but I believe that I should have just said "I'm happy about what has happened", end of story. My husband gave me that advise. It's so much easier said than done. I can't help but think that saying that would be dishonest, and I do not want to lie about things. It's a hard balance. Well I can't dwell on the past, but I know what I'll do in the future. I won't dwell on silly things or situations, and I'll know that regardless God will always have a plan for me. I will "bloom wherever God places me", regardless of the circumstances. I've lost that about myself, and I'm glad it's not to late to become that person again. Thank you God.

1,2,3,4

Four hours of sleep folks. That's (if that long) is the amount of sleep my husband and I received last night. It was a scary night for our area. Why? We apparently had several tornadoes touch down minutes, literally, from us. That was one of the most scariest nights of my life. At one point, when we thought the tornado was close to our neighborhood. Because we live in a town home, we had to hunker down in our lowest level bathroom, which isn't very roomy. I immediately wondered if I was ready to die. Maybe this sounds a little extreme, but I seriously wondered if I would go into heaven. I know that I have God's forgiveness, but I often don't feel like I'm a "good Christian" so to speak. I thought about all of the things that I could have done differently in life. It was such a relief when the storms passed. However, we realized that we had a minor flood on our kitchen counter! After cleaning that mess, we drove around assessing the damage, after midnight!

I'm really glad that we, and our family and friends are safe. I think this was a very awakening experience for me.

Why do I doubt...

my abilities with my job or anything else in life. On Friday, I talked to my supervisor who I hadn't seen much during the week. I needed to talk with her so that when I saw her for a quick minute, I said to her "You need to stay in this office for at least an hour!" I have an absolutely wonderful supervisor that I can, what I call, "talk smack" to. With few details, she is giving me the experiences that I need to get ahead in my HR/recruitment/PR career. Anyway, she sat aside a few minutes for me on Friday so that I could to talk to her about work and personal things about work. After we talked about everything, I was leaving her office and she says "oh, I need to talk to you about something." It was said with a long sigh and I assumed the worst. This has usually been something like "others in this office don't believe that we are going to do well with..." and we, as a team, have proved them wrong with our recruitment efforts every time. Anyway, she paused for the longest time and told me that she wanted me to take over and head a major recruitment event at a college in town for the 2008-2009 school year! This would include me supervising the part-time position over at the college who helps with recruitment for our organization, but she would still officially be the supervisor to that position. I was absolutely shocked because we both hold high standards for our organizations recruitment efforts, and this isn't an easy project by any means. She said that she has spoken with the CEO of our organization and my former supervisor, who both thought that it was a great idea. The CEO asked my supervisor if I could handle it, and her response was "We wouldn't talk about this at all if I didn't." I had to pick my jaw up off of the floor. I have so little confidence in what I do, but I always do a great job and my supervisor often seems to know my abilities more than I do. I also receive the best compliments from my peers, but it's still hard for me to believe in myself. Anyhow, my supervisor told me that she knows my abilities, and knows that I can handle it. She told me to think about it as long as I needed because it will be a major change in my job and my responsibilities.

Because of Friday, I've thought more about the lack of self confidence that I continue to have in myself, the fact that every time someone says something positive about me I shoot it down with a negative comment about myself, and the need to feel like I have to make sure people like me. I've been struggling with my confidence for a while. I don't feel pretty, I'm not a size 0, I'm not in the position or making the money that I should be for being close to 29 years old, and so on. But, this year, I've really tried concentrating on what God has done for me in my life. I've never been told I'm ugly and think I look nice often. My supervisor even told me that she wished she could dress like me. I will never be a size 0 and I personally don't want to be. And no, I'm not making the money that I want to be. But,the position that I'm in, in particular, has been the biggest blessing for me. It allows me to take advantage of learning so many different areas of recruitment and allows me to make mistakes to learn and grow in my abilities. There are so many petty things that I used to think about, like people who sometimes make me dread going to work to see their face, the low pay that I receive or the lack of promotion in the company. However, I've always wanted to work with children, but in a non-teaching environment. After I worked for county government in the HR department, I knew that I wanted to work with recruitment. I wanted a laid back environment and a great supervisor who I could talk to and learn from. Last month, I realized that God has blessed me with that. When you complain and dwell in self pity, you can't see the BS you complain about. It is so much more enjoyable going to work worrying only about my job and how to make the best of it. Like my husband told me, "Only if the lack of someone's work or their behavior affects your job, that's when you need to worry about it. Otherwise, you can't worry about anyone else but you." Amazingly, this has helped with my confidence and my abilities with my job and personal life. I no longer worry about making sure I'm liked by work or personal acquaintances and I don't worry about what anyone, other than my supervisor, thinks about my work. Obviously, I'm doing well, and my confidence should reflect it. I'm not sure if I or anyone ever reaches the confidence level they should have for themselves, but I'm enjoying trying to get to that level. The road to self confidence...

Rain drops...

On Tuesday, I went to a local high school to view a documentary called InsideOut, by the Mattie C. Stewart Foundation. The documentary is being used to address drop out rates within our schools. The organization that I work for is partnering with the high school where this documentary was shown. Currently, this school has the lowest drop out rate in our county. The documentary presented a look into inmates lives, who mostly are serving life sentences without the possibility of parol. The inmates interviewed express regrets because they did not complete their education. Those interviewed said that if they finished high school, at least, they would not be in prison. It was gripping for me as an adult. The documentary had very few young adults shown, something that I thought would grasp the attention of teenagers more. However; it was interesting to see inmates who have served 19 + years, who were incarserated in the early 20s, and to hear them only imagine what could have been of their lives. If this is shown in our city/county schools, I hope that it speaks to our students. Drop out rates have been an issue since way before our time, as pointed out by the presenter, who showed quotes from presidents more than 60 years back. That's a scary thought.

There was one quote that has stayed with me from the documentary. This quote from an inmate has made me realize how I thank God for the biggies in life, but not the everyday small things. An inmate said "I can't stand out in the rain if I want to. Just to feel the rain all over me." I have never thought about how much of a blessing it is to feel rain drops. Think about from an inmates stand point.

Why...

Have I not posted on here lately? Check out my new blog, Gina's Photo. I love taking pictures and wanted to post them. I'm also taking a class this week to enhance my photo taking skillzzzz. This is my camera that I got for Christmas. It is my little baby and is the best camera ever! I hope you likey.

Why is customer service really dead...

So we were at McDonald's the other day ordering McFlurries. I placed my order, an Oreo McFlurry, to the cashier. We had a coupon (women "b" shoppin) for a free McFlurry and I gave it to her after my order. My hubby was going to order his McFlurry, but she looked at the coupon and walked off. Eventually it was obvious that she didn't know how to put the coupon in. She didn't say excuse me for a sec or I'll be right back, she just flat out left! Eventually, a manager comes over with the worst look on her face. I'm expecting something from her like "I'm sorry for your wait or I'm sorry, we don't take this coupon", but instead she tried to put the coupon in. The manager then gives an ugly look and says "You gotta buy anova McFlurry fo dis coupon". I wanted to say "We know that, but your employee walked off and we didn't know what the heck was going on!" Instead, my hubby just placed his order for his McFlurry. The original cashier then made our orders, handed them to us and walked away. No thank you...come back to see us again, nothing! I can't believe that employees are no longer polite. A simple "excuse me or thank you" could go such a long way with a customer. Customer service is really dead!

The 7th time is the charm...

Why did it take 7 different stops (3 post offices, 1 gas station, 1 grocery store and 2 Walgreens) to get stamps today????? I kid you not, my husband and I went to all of the above to buy 3 stamps! All of the post offices were out of stamps (figure that out), the grocery store ran out, 1 Walgreens store didn't have them in yet and our last stop, another Walgreens had them! We had to buy a book of them instead of three, but boy were we excited. Has anyone ever written a complaint letter to the post office? I'm sure thinking about it. How can 3 different post offices throughout the city not have stamps? I would definitely make the letter anonymous though...I want to get my bills, I also want to mail them off dang it!

Why can't I believe it...

I ran a full mile, without stopping and without being too tired. I made today my goal date for running 1 mile. I actually did it on Monday, but I was hoping to beat my time today. I didn't beat it, but that doesn't matter to me. My new goal is 3 miles by February 16th!

Why did it take so long...

For it to click in my brain...My weight is my problem and it has to be my solution. I have read so many books, looked at so many websites and tried so many diets to lose weight. In October 2006, during our anniversary trip, I promised myself that I would exercise more and I would not be the same person next year. Surprisingly, I kept that promise and I've exercised consistently for one year! Unfortunately, I didn't do the same with food. I gained lots of muscle and I'm much more fit than I was last year, but I still only kept off around 3-5 pounds. For the past 2 years, I have said that I'm trying to lose weight, all the while not doing much to lose it. I've tried to get my husband and a couple of my friends who needed to lose weight to work out and diet with me, but it would hardly work. I really felt like I was alone! My coworkers, who are great, but do not have weight problems, exercised with me and would try to support me with changing my eating habits. My last attempt was when I tried to get a friend to support me and to exercise with me and this person never came through for me. I really realized then, after some serious prayer, soul searching and chats with the hubby, that my weight was my problem and it had to be my solution. I knew that I was consistent with exercise, so in August I vowed to myself to do the same with eating healthy and losing weight. In September, my coworker told me about an opportunity at our local YMCA. It was a weight loss competition. You had to submit an essay about why you should be in the program, get a doctor's note to participate and you had to be selected based on your essay. Guess what, I was picked, along with a coworker who had just had a baby! We were so excited! This program has changed my life and has opened my eyes to so many things! I'm a part of a team that is very supportive. I know now who truly supports me and is there for me with my struggles. I've lost almost 10 pounds in 1 month (although this week I gained back a couple) and I feel great. I've started running, which is something I've wanted to do forever. My husband is working out more and eating healthier also. Next October will be my milestone for keeping my weight off! I've lost 14% of my weight goal. I'll be updating my results from the program periodically! It ends on January 29th and we have several check in dates. Wish me the best, I know this time I'm going to make it :-)

Why does time fly by so quickly...

I'm not talking about the time that has passed since I've updated this blog. For some reason tonight, I'm thinking of all of the years that I can remember or barely remember about my life. I remember thinking that I couldn't wait until I turn 10, 13, 18 and 21 years old. I don't really know why I picked those certain ages, but I do know that nothing significant happened at those ages. It's amazing how you wish and hope your years away, only to wish that you could have those years back for whatever reasons. Now I'm almost 30 and I can't remember what being 25 felt like and I certainly don't remember what I was doing at age 10! I pick on some friends of mine for having so many pictures or childhood memories that I sometimes feel are worthless, but I really wish my family saved things from my childhood for me to remember. I recently decided that I'm going to start scrapbooking, taking more pictures or whatever I can do to remember things about my life.

My goodness people, I thought we were done with this style...

Why did I see someone rocking a fresh Jheri curl in 2006? Do they still sell Jheri curl products? I'm serious, I didn't know that places still sold Jheri curl products!!! I went to get lunch one day and I recognized that unforgetable scent of fresh jheri curl juice. I looked around thinking "that possibly can't be", when I spotted it, a fresh jheri curl on this lady in line. It was a tight Jheri curl too and I don't mean tight as in nice. Can you remember back in the 80's when people got the fresh Jheri curl and it was all shiny and you can see where they parted the hair to put the rollers? Someone's hair could be down to their shoulders but because of a Jheri curl it was like a small curly afro. That's how it was! I wanted to tap her on the shoulder and ask " Who still does Jheri curls around here"? I wish I had so I could go to that person's house and smack them for still doing Jheri curls. I would rather see a big afro anyday than to see some juicy jheri curl in 2006! I hope she had leather seats in her car and at home because jheri curls used to leave some serious marks on furniture (lol)! Yall remember Coming to America and if you don't, rent it, you tube it or whatever just to see what I'm talking about. My day was messed up after that!

So many older drivers scare me...

Why can't we stop renewing licenses at a certain age? Have you ever driven behind or beside an older driver? I guess I won't call out certain ages for fear of offending my older audience (yeah right), but some of these drivers can be scary. Last week, I was behind what I will call "The right side drifter." This elderly driver seemed to get pulled to the right by an imaginary huge car magnet or something and would jerk to the left very hard and quickly, resulting in some serious swirving action. It reminded me of an old movie where the driver would try to drive off of a cliff, but the passenger would jerk the wheel in the opposite direction so that they would not make that fatal mistake. It was scaring the you know what out of me for the cars coming from the opposite direction. Then there's another driver that I will call "I'm braking for that cat that just ran across the street or for that stop light that's 10 miles away." No matter how far back you are from them, it's dangerous!!! Why are you breaking so frequently, so hard, why? The last type of elderly driver I will call "What stop sign, what red light, what's a 4 way stop?" Have you ever seen an elderly driver not look at all if and when they stop at a stop sign or a 4 way stop. They just look straight ahead. Maybe they do a little count in their head (1...2...3...go) and just step on the gas. I don't know. And a stop light, if they do stop, it's because someone is in front of them that has stopped or they are in the middle of the intersection when the light is red. The worst are the ones who frequently drive going in the wrong direction. I have heard of 2 accidents recently resulting in death due to this and both involved a confused elderly driver. I think that after we hit a certain age, we should get tested every year instead of every 5 years. What do you think?

The beach was beautiful...

But why do we tend to wait until vacation to relax? I know this may seem like a dumb question, but I really wonder that about myself. This week was our anniversary week. It's been 3 years and counting married to my wonderful husband. We went to the beach for our celebration and had a wonderful time. The weather was great! Anyway, Friday we discovered a remote part of the beach with no hotels or beach houses on it. We decided to go there and sit on the beach for a while. We laid some beach towels out, and relaxed on the beach for 3 hours. This was the first time in what seemed like forever that I relaxed. I just enjoyed the scenery. The bright sun, the sound of the water, the quiet time with my husband, the birds, I just laid wondering how God created something so beautiful. I also wondered why I didn't take time to relax more often. It shouldn't have to be out of town, although it is easier to be away from home and people that you know. I would love to feel everyday what I felt on the beach last Friday. On Friday I decided to take more time to enjoy life and relax more. Life is too short to not enjoy at least part of it. Don't you think?

Oh Saturn...Sorry this is so long...

Why is your service going down hill? My lovely Saturn dealership moved recently to a Flow Auto Plaza extravaganza!!! The service has sucked sooooo bad ever since. Today, I take my lovely Saturn to get some routine work done on the car. Here's how that went at 8:20 am

Tech: How can I help you.
Me: Good morning, I need to get my inspection and an oil change.
Tech: Do you have an appointment.
Me: No I don't.
Tech: Ok, just give me a sec.
Sec: Tick tock, tick tock.
Tech: Ok, you want an oil change and tire rotation.
Me: No, an oil change and an inspection.
Tech: Ok, do you have an appointment.
Me: Thinking (Am I having a memory lapse or did I just tell him this)...No I don't have
Tech: That's right, you don't have an appointment. Pull your car around.
Me: Pulled it up and back to the tech.
Tech: Writes down oil change, but not inspection, let me check your warranty info.
Me: Thinking (Why is he checking my warranty info, I don't get free services).
Tech: You are not due for a while...Maybe about 1 month.
Me: We are going on a trip and I would like to have it done early.
Tech: Ok. Looks like you take good care of it, you bring it in on time every time. *this is important to recall folks*
Me: Yep.
Tech: No warranty locks. Ok, I just need your keys and we'll be ready to go. It will take about 2 hours.
Me: My husband is going to bring me back.
Husband: Did he get the inspection on there?
Me: Did you put the inspection down?
Tech: Oh, I just didn't write it down, but I remembered. Oh, I'll need your registration.
Me: After digging in my car, found it and handed it to him.
Tech: Do you want me to call you?
Me: Yes and could you please make sure they do a courtesy wash this time. They haven't done it with the last few services I've had.
Tech: It says it has been done in the computer.
Me: I understand what it says, but it hasn't been done.
Tech: We'll have her clean.

12:30 I call and say hi, I wanted to know if my car is ready. The tech says" Yeah, it's ready. Wait no it's not. Oh I'm sorry, it is." Where was my call folks? Where was my call? Get there and the tech says "Let me explain everything on this statement." Explains and then says "You had low oil, do you bring it here for service?" Remember where I said this is important folks? Didn't he tell me this morning that I bring it in on time every time? Yes, he did.

Me: Yes I do bring it in every single time on time.
Tech: Oh
Me: Did they see a reason why it would be low.
Tech: No, especially not with a newer car.
Me: Did they seem to be concerned about it being low.
Tech: Ummm, Iiii don't know, it's the darndest thing.
Me: Thanks.
Tech: Can you fill out this survey.
Me: Filling out the survey in front of him. Didn't check the box where it asks if the tech asked you about transportation.
Tech: I did ask you about transportation, I said...
Me: NO, you said it will take 2 hours and I said that my husband would be bringing me back.
Tech: Oh, yeah that's right. Have a good day and please let us know if you are not completely satisfied.

I will not be going back to this Saturn dealership unless I have to. How can you not tell me why my oil was low. Why did you ask me if I had an appointment 3 separate times? Why didn't you call me like you said you would? This is my 4th time at the Saturn dealership since they have moved and it is getting worse with each visit. I will be taking my business elsewhere to another Saturn dealership.

I'm still alive folks and I'm wondering...

Why do some coworkers just get on your nerves? I love my new job, but it seems like there is always one person who'll just get under your skin every time. This person is young, fresh out of college and is as naive as a 3 year old. It doesn't matter if I'm on the phone, talking to someone in my office or clearly busy, she will just walk in and stand in my doorway or join in with the conversation. She may even choose to sit down for a while. I can flash her an ugly look and it doesn't matter, she still thinks it's ok to barge in. I was on the phone for almost 10 minutes one time and she sat in my office until I was off just to talk to me about her back hurting. What the heck??? One time I was having my weekly meeting with my supervisor and she yells across the hallway about something that I had just said. I yelled back to her "How did you get in this conversation?" I'll have a conversation with another coworker and she'll walk in, sit down and listen. We stop talking every time and she just doesn't get it. Which leads to another point I have to make about her. She's in everyone's office so much throughout the day that she works late everyday to catch up(I'm sure she looks like the good little worker). At the end of every single day, she's making it known that she needs to work late to finish this or that. I want to say "Only because you don't do any work during the day!!!" On top of all of this, she likes to brag about being a hoochie! I called her that one day and she said "that's what the guys from the football team call me." I just can't stand her! I usually can tell coworkers in a nice or jokingly way when they are irritating me, but I can't with her. What should I do besides pray for her? I don't know...

Why variety...

Why is it 11:20 and I'm still sitting underneath the dryer waiting for my hair to dry? Why, oh why, is the show America's Got Talent still on? I'm embarrased if other countries really think that we call those things talents! Why did I pig out so much tonight? I am trying to lose weight! Why does life change so much after the age of 25? Why do I watch HGTV so much? I love that channel.