On Our Way To Crazy

Today is your lucky day, my friend. I have had an amazing string of good luck over the past few days, and I am going to share the wealth. Do you have a cause? Want a boat? Need some retirement funding? Have you been worried about how to make ends meet? Well, worry no more. I’ve got you covered. Get ready.

Since Thursday, I have been the recipient of the following:

• 3.75 million dollars, again from Ghana, this time from Dr. Korman Cofi, who doesn’t want a problem and is afraid I might have double mind;
• 12.5 million dollars from an international fund manager who is skimming the money off the top of his company’s profits and just needs my help to get the money into the U.S.;
• 891 thousand pounds from the United Kingdom National Lottery;
• in a strange coincidence, I won another 891 thousand pounds from a lottery done by the Camelot Group;
• 1.3 million dollars from the Foundation de France not only has a huge prize for me but can also hook me up with prizes fro my friends if I can get them the appropriate bank account info;
• 12.5 million dollars from Mr. John Mensah, the regional manager of a bank in Ghana because I am an honest, reliable and trustworthy person who is advanced in age;
• 8 million dollars from the former accountant of the ministry of foreign affairs in Ghana, who will personally fly here to meet me as long as I keep our deal SECRET and CONFIDENTIAL; and
• 6.8 million dollars worth of pesos from Mrs. Doorie Smith, who only speaks Spanish and who potentially called me an elephant.

So! Clearly I am rolling in the dough. The international dough. I’m just gonna sit back and wait for the checks to roll in. Let me know if you need anything.

So I haven’t been blogging much lately. I mean, obviously. But I didn’t really realize it until I looked at this site and saw that there are multiple “Good Things” posts on the front page. I only posted five times in February. I don’t like that.

It’s been tricky for me this year, though. This blogging thing. I don’t want to be all lists and bullet points and memes. But those are easy. Real posts are hard. And I am tired of hard.

The truth is that 2009 has kind of sucked for me so far. It’s getting better, exponentially better, and I am glad for that. But it feels weird to just start writing about the good stuff and ignoring the fact that January and February were really, really hard.

Nothing major happened. No disease, no death, no long-term job loss. But lots of little things happened. I got down about my relationships here in Nashville. I got really homesick and started shopping for houses in Dallas. The budget for the youth building pretty much disappeared. I felt like I was doing a lot of work to try and hold people together and be supportive and make things happen in the different groups I operate within, but no one was doing those things for me. I curled way up inside my own head and before I knew it I had convinced myself that everyone had turned on me and I was all alone in the world. And Aaron was dealing with a lot of the same stuff, turning our house into one big grey cloud.

But things are getting better. Aaron and I have both seen some success professionally that has helped re-validate our living here. I got to go home and visit my family and friends, which refreshed me and also reminded me that I don’t really want to buy a house in Dallas. (Sorry, Mom.) Progress is slowly being made on the youth building, and while it won’t be ready on time, I am almost okay with that. A few out-of-nowhere gifts (a homemade card with a goofy picture from college! Gorgeous tulips! A BEDAZZLED SNUGGIE!) from friends helped me see that I do have people who care about and are thinking of me. It finally warmed up outside.

We are on the upswing. I have a lot to be excited about this year. My perspective is changing. The sun is breaking through.

Hopefully that will translate into more writing around here. I want to have a better record of my life and thoughts. I don’t want to look back at 2009 and have no real idea of what was going on. I’m good at keeping up with the good stuff, but the bad stuff matters, too. I need to remember it all.

Feb 1 – We had a great time at a Super Bowl party full of people we haven’t hung out with in ages.
Feb 2 – We went to a Belmont music showcase to hear a girl from our church, and it was AMAZING.
Feb 3 – I worked out with Gilad. I love Gilad.
Feb 4 – I made a kid try sushi for the first time and he didn’t puke.
Feb 5 – We walked/jogged a few miles and then? Gilad.
Feb 6 – Jillian tried to kill me but I did not die.
Feb 7 – GORGEOUS weather. No coat!
Feb 8 – We had a freaking awesome Grammy party with lots of new friends.
Feb 9 – Becka gave me a Snuggie! That’s bedazzled! With my name!
Feb 10 – We had a good long hospital visit with some friends and their new baby.
Feb 11 – Aaron sent me flowers! To the office! Out of nowhere!
Feb 12 – Nice quiet lunch alone. For once.
Feb 13 – Lots of kids stepped up to help out with a big need.
Feb 14 – A delightfully low key Valentine’s Day, complete with Jelly Bellies and enchiladas.
Feb 15 – Great care group meeting with some new members.
Feb 16 – One of our kids turned in a great paper that we worked really hard on.
Feb 17 – I got to watch some of our kids in their dress rehearsal of Annie at their high school.
Feb 18 – Fun art project night with the kids.
Feb 19 – Delicious burgers, free dessert, great Remedy Drive with our parents.
Feb 20 – Lunch with my college roommate and great dinner out with eight of my high school friends.
Feb 21 – Fajitas and dominoes with my parents and grandpa.
Feb 22 – Olivia’s first birthday!
Feb 23 – We made it back to Nashville in one piece.
Feb 24 – Delicious sushi lunch with a kid.
Feb 25 – I saw a church sign that said “Call 911 – our church is on fire!”
Feb 26 – Trader Joe’s! Pumpkin butter! Ginger cookies! Veggie enchiladas!
Feb 27 – I spent the afternoon trying on dresses for the Doves.
Feb 28 – I powerwashed in the freezing rain for a few hours until my feet were like ice blocks. Oh wait, that wasn’t so good. And now I have a cold.