VACATION

We leave tomorrow for Florida! We will be gone eight days and I cannot wait to be sitting on the beach! I will keep in touch through twitter too. Hold down the fort and we will see you next week!

Fireproof

So Jim and I and some friends (Alicia & Ivan Nunez & Julie & Mike Hook) went to see the movie Fireproof tonight. If you are married, have ever been married, ever plan on getting married or need to learn about relationships, you MUST see this movie. I will admit that some of the acting at times may have been a little cheesy but the over all message was awesome! Jim and I have been married for almost 18 years and at the beginning, it was BAD! I tell people who are in the same situation our whole testimony because it was really aweful. I don't think you would know that by how we are today. Let's put it this way - Lazarus rising from the dead after four days is nothing compared to what God did with us. So much violence and hatred...seems like a lifetime ago. We actually even got divorced. All things were final and we had moved on. There was no way we would be a family. Long story short...we've been married 18 years in December, God is good, we are happier than we have ever been, and our family is whole. Go see this movie!

mid-week service

Oh my gosh...church was OFF THE HOOK tonight!!! I know, I know -your thinking mid week services are not usually where you leave completely pumped and ready. All I have to say is - then you have never been to New Vision!! I'm telling you that in the next couple of months big things are going to be happening to me, my family, my business, my church, my friends, and yes, even my enemies! I am ready to be turned upside down and inside out. I am ready to live life to the fullest and experience the unexpected. I'm ready to spread contagious joy to everyone I know. I'm ready to change my whole outlook on life. I'm ready to shock the unshockable and love the unloveable. I'm ready to be a force to be reckoned with. I'm ready to look in the mirror and not even recognize myself. I'm ready to shake my family up from the inside out. I'm ready...I'm ready...I'm ready...and just think...this was just a Wednesday night service...wait til sunday!

About a week

Well we have about a week left before we go. I'm really excited and dreading the drive all at the same time. Have a lot to get done before next Tuesday and a lot of work too. If you are a client and reading this...better get in this week! We need a good rest and some family time. I'm trying to figure out how to send twitter pictures before I go but I'm not there yet.

this week

This week cannot end soon enough. You know how you start feeling around the time you're going on vacation. I want to hurry up and get it all done so I can go. 10 days left!!! I have been pretty slow this week. Alot of people canceled because of the wind storm last Sunday. They either don't have power or they are home with their kids 24/7 because of school being canceled. Ready to get back on schedule because I need some money for vacation!!

Vacation is coming!!!

12 days left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So Grateful!

Something about this time of year makes me stop in my tracks and take a look around. The crisp air, the smell of wood burning, the leaves beginning to change...all of it. It is no secret that fall is my favorite time of year. I love every aspect of it. This year I have learned a WHOLE lot too. We have had some major rifts in our family this year. (Not immediate family) People who we thought we were very close too and who "had our backs", are pretty much gone. We also realized how important our church family is. Isn't it amazing that the people you end up being the closest to are not even related? I have always been the type of person who is very cautious when developing friendships. I have always had an issue with trust and with loyalty. That's why when I finally call someone friend, it is a huge deal to me. Don't get me wrong, I have tons of acquaintances. But the people who I actually chose to let into my life and my heart are few and far between. I had been cultivating a friendship with my sister-in-law for over 13 years. I felt that we were very close and would be there for each other no matter what. When that friendship fell apart this year, I thought that I would completely shut down and not let anybody else in - ever! But that is not the way it happened. If you love people unconditionally and allow yourself to be vulnerable to them, you run the risk of being hurt. If you don't, you never have the opportunity to develop a close bond with anybody. This is where I had put myself for so long. Yes you are protected in your little box and no one can hurt you or back stab you. You are also alone in your little box. I am making a choice to love differently. I am chosing to put myself out there. The strange part is, I would never had chosen to "let down my walls" if this had not happened to me. So while it was painful to go through, the outcome will be worth it. Growing pains hurt, but allowing hurtful things to change you for the better is what it's all about!

19 Days!!!

Only 19 days left and I will be on the beach!!!! A much deserved vacation awaits me on the warm, sunny beaches of Florida. Me and 3 members of my immediate family will be traveling by car to Indian Rocks Beach where we will sit, stare, and do nothing. I don't care if the salon burns down while I'm gone...I will deal with it when I get home!!!!! The count down begins.

Identity Theft

So I get the mail today and I get a letter from the mortgage company we used with our last rental house that sold in October. Come to find out one of their employees had been selling personal information off of the applications. The letter goes on and on about how sorry they are and how they will allow us to monitor our credit report free for two years...blah, blah, blah...then I turned the page. The title? PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE YOU MAY WANT TO TAKE TO KEEP FROM BECOMING A VICTIM. This goes on to explain how I need to be careful with my mailbox, don't write your SS# on checks, don't give out information over the phone, report lost or stolen credit cards, and destroy and shred all personal papers. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I didn't screw up, you did!!! You're going to lecture me about what not to do when you're the one who was careless with my information? Unbelievable. I seem to have made it 35 years without being a victim...until I did business with you! (By the way - our credit report was clean) But still...

My baby is not a baby anymore!

Happy Birthday Jessi!!! My baby turns 13 today. Jessica Tonette Arnold entered the world a little past 8 in the morning on September 5, 1995. She was such an easy, happy baby...alot has changed! LOL!! She is absolutely the most artistic, creative, funny, different, and caring person I know. I love you Baby - Have a Happy Birthday today!