Recently some friends and I got into an on-line discussion about things that we hate.

Like crocs or the phrase "beautiful inside and out" or people who use too many abbreviations (like presh or gorg or whatevs) or people who copy you or Pinterest (that was totally sacrilige there!) or flowers pins or yard sales or vintage-y stuff.  (These are not all MY dislikes, these are a compilation of various people's dislikes. Just to clarify.)

Anyway, one friend of mine mentioned that she doesn't like those pictures with quotes or those boxed quotes that people are always putting on their Facebook pages. Her and I couldn't be more different on this subject.  I absolutely LOVE quotes and on Pinterest my board with the most PINS is my "Quote" board.

I thought about doing a whole blog post where I tried to reference every single thing that everyone doesn't like in one post, but I thought that might be too much work.  Hilarious, yes, but probably too much thinking required on my part.

Instead, I thought I would share some of my favorite quotes with you, out of the 242 that I currently have on my Pinterest board.

Hopefully you like some of them too!


SO true!



I need to always remember this!



I learned this again recently.


I have been on both side of this coin and I know it to be true.



This is so powerful if you really think about it.



Ouch!





I have experienced this!




Love this.





True that!


I love this one!




OK, well, I am thinking that out of 242 quotes, I am doing pretty good to narrow it down to 10. 

I hope you enjoyed these and that maybe one of them made you think a little!

And now, feel free to leave a comment about something you don't like that everyone else seems to or a favorite quote of yours.

I feel like I have had a less than stellar start to my "summer of blogging", but we have been driving (a lot -- think 45 hours of driving between our two recent trips) and have been gone for home a lot.  And then...there was the week in there that we didn't have any kids, since they were at their Grandparents in Ohio.

I realized a couple of things while they were gone:

Wow!  Kids are messy and we, the parents, are so NOT messy.

Wow!  Our house is SO quiet and kind of boring without our kids.

Blogging was pretty much the last thing I felt like doing in my "free" time.

Big realization:  The kids are NOT the reason that I have a distracted mind. It is a completely internal issue.

Anyway, there was less awkwardness to write about with the kids gone, but I have still been able to compile a little list.  Just everyday stuff that I find funny.  And often, in my world, awkward = funny!

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While traveling home from Ohio, we stopped at one of those interstate plaza places. I went inside to use the bathroom and get something snacky.  When the cashier rang up my stuff, it came to $2.02.  So...she said "That will be two dollars and two cents." 

I knew I was being corny, but I couldn't stop myself. I laid my 2 dollar bills on the counter and then I dug two pennies out of my purse and plunked them down and then said "There's MY two cents."

I am even a self-proclaimed hater of puns, yet I totally did the "two cents" joke. Thankfully, she caught on and laughed along with me.  I don't know why that was fun for me. But it could have something to do with me often wanting to say somewhat awkward things to cashiers or make stupid jokes but I am afraid of looking like a complete idiot, so I usually keep it to myself. Maybe I was just proud of myself that I had the nerve to follow through and that it ended relatively well.

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I was picking strawberries out in our little garden while the kids were gone.  I had my phone with me. Don't ask why? I was probably in the midst of a texting marathon of some sort and didn't want to miss the upcoming response.  Anyway, I found this little guy and snapped a picture of him to text to my kids. Turns out...they never even got the text.

But I got the chance to hold a toad and whose day wouldn't that make?

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The picture I took of my black and blue fingers.  The result of a fast moving ball that I caught in the wrong part of my glove at softball practice.  Thankfully, it healed up pretty quickly and the swelling went down and my fingers have returned to their normal color.

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The hotel we stayed at in Portage, IN.  It was all.kinds.of.awkward.and.wrong.

We have driven till 2 in the morning in order to make it through Chicago without that annoying traffic. I had done some research on where we could get a hotel (emphasis on cheap...since we would only be there 6 or 7 hours) ahead of time and we settled on this (shall remain nameless) hotel in Portage. Maybe it should have tipped us off that they didn't "do reservations...but DID have plenty of rooms."

Just for the record...it was only $45.  And for good reason.

Another thing that could have possibly clued us in to the condition of the hotel was that it was located  across the road from a place called "Driftwood Bar" that appeared to be abandoned.  But, really, at 2 in the morning, I can barely walk straight, much less care too much about the surroundings of our hotel.

We checked in, got our stuff out of the van, and walked in through the (completely unlocked) exterior door, past the barricade in the hallway where the ceiling was falling down, and down the many hallways to our room, where the comforters had holes from cigarette burns (in a non-smoking room), the sheet had a stain that was of a suspicious yellow color and where, when I pulled my cell phone charger out of the outlet, the whole outlet just pulled right out of the wall.

Apparently Jeremy had gotten too much sleep while I was driving late into the night, because he kept making joke after (bad) joke while I was trying to fall asleep.

Things like "If Vinny knocks down our door and comes looking for his stash, we know we're in trouble" and "Don't try to go swimming in the morning, because the pool is empty.  I think they had to drain it to find Vinny's brother!"

and when I said "I'm glad you are here with me because I'm not sure I could find my way out of here in the morning", he said "Oh, just follow the police tape and the body chalk!"

I seriously think that over 2/3 of the people I know would have checked right back out of the hotel, but since I am a) not a germaphobe of any sort and b) a cheap-sake and c) I was super tired...we stayed. I told Jeremy that if we get bed bugs from that place, I will completely regret my decision.  Next time, we might just sleep in the van!

Oh, and PS -- This was a vehicle that was parked in the hotel parking lot.  Anyone know what F.Y.T. stands for?  Cuz in the meantime, I'm making up my own acronymns and  I'm not sure you want to know what they are.

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Jeremy was wearing this shirt (which, if you can't read it, says "You don't get a body like this by working out")  when we arrived in the South Bend area of Indiana.  But, he was wearing it with plain black shorts, which I did not consider to be a fashion tragedy, not-withstanding his love (and my hatred) of statement T-shirts.  But, when we went to Kohl's and he found these grey and white plaid shorts and paired them WITH this t-shirt...I couldn't take it anymore.

I tried to tell him how bad they looked together, but he would not listen.  So, I told him that I was taking a picture of him and putting it on my blog under "That's Awkward".  It didn't even phase him.  He was kind enough to even pose for me.  (Which makes me think maybe I shouldn't post this, but I have to keep my word, don't I?)

Anyway, this is Jeremy in his Wal-mart grocery-getting gear.  When I finally looked at the picture more closely this morning, I felt like it couldn't have been any more perfect that the poster to Jeremy's left is completely lined up with his pose and there is a gun to his head.

Maybe those guys on the poster are the fashion police???

But, I also thought I should post this second picture to show that Jeremy is still dang handsome, even in a (by the wife's standards) mis-matched outfit.  You really do rock those statement T's, honey!

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I had made 2 strawberry cream cheese desserts while the kids were gone...with fresh strawberries from my garden, mind you.

I took one to Bible study and the other was in our fridge and we were about to leave for the weekend. Jeremy suggested I bring it along and we could eat it when we were camping.

Great idea, but I am feeling like he should have followed through with further instructions for me.

I put the strawberry dessert (in a 9 X 13 pan with a non-sealing lid) in the bottom of the cooler. Then I bought a bag of ice.  I dumped the ice into the cooler.  The next morning I realized that the pan was not waterproof and somewhere west of South Bend we dumped pink strawberry juice/melted ice/water into the parking lot of a roadside plaza. 

My dessert was ruined!!  Jeremy had several suggestions as to how I could have handled this scenario differently. He's such a smart man.

1) Put ice UNDER the 9 X 13 pan.

2)  Place an UN-opened bag of ice in the cooler.

3)  Re-dye my hair. (Ok, that was my idea.)

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Waking up in the morning in the tent and going about my normal business of putting my contacts in. And then staring at myself in my little hand mirror for a full 30 seconds because I saw, for the first time, that I have this little "pouch" of skin on my eyelids, near the inside corner of my eye.

I wanted to blink and make it go away, but instead I stared with disbelief and wondered how that skin got there? And why I had never seen it before?  All of a sudden, I saw myself as an old lady and it kinda freaked me out.  Yeah, that was all kinds of awkward.

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Naked rock shining.

If you don't understand that phrase, let me explain.  This is where you are sent outside to turn off the hose and you are naked (having recently taken off your swimming suit).  Once you get out there, you decide that it would be a grand idea to "shine the rocks" on the retaining wall by hosing them down. All while naked.  Jeremy said this should be under the category of "Behaviors that need to stop within the next 10 years".  Ha, ha.

PS -- Isn't her little white butt just the cutest?

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And last by not least...having a "window war" with your son while driving home from town.  He tries to turn down the power window using his controls and you try to make sure it stays up by holding down the button on your side.

You play "chicken", which is him pretending to go for the button and faking you out, and then he tries to quickly beat you to it and so you hold down the button some more, laughing all the while.

And then...you get home and try to actually turn the window up and realize that you may have just burned up the motor of the power window with your little fun game.

Your husband glares. You feel super foolish.

You finally get the window up by using some pushing and pulling and sporadic punching of buttons and since then you have been afraid to try it again and see if it still doesn't work.

Because then you will feel even worse than you already do.

This may or may not have happened to someone I know.

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Tuesday night at our community group Bible study we discussed the last part of John 4.

I just keep thinking about part of that discussion and wanted to share it with you.

(Sidenote -- I hate when people use the word "share".  Somehow, I get the idea that they are about to unload a bunch of "concerns" about you that you really don't want to hear. But I can't think of a better word, so "share" it is.)

The story at the end of John 4 is about the royal official whose son was very sick.

This man obviously had a lot of faith in Jesus and was desperate to do whatever it took to save his son, because he walked 15 miles (himself, he didn't send a servant) to find Jesus when he heard that Jesus was going to be in Cana of Galilee.

But, he also had some pre-conceived ideas in his mind about HOW Jesus would heal his son.

He expected that Jesus would have to come to his home to heal his son.

He also apparently didn't understand or believe in the full power of Jesus because he indicated that he wanted Jesus to heal his son before he died.

He didn't understand that death was no match for Jesus' power if He so chose to raise the son from the dead.

We talked about how the royal official put these two limitations on Jesus (that Jesus would have to come to his house to heal his son and that Jesus couldn't raise his son from the dead) and put Jesus in a box, as we SO often tend to do.

But clearly, he was open to seeing things differently because as soon as Jesus said that he was just to go home and that his son would be healed, he turned, without any recorded hesitation or questioning, and headed towards home.

Now THAT is impressive!!

How many times do I put God in a box and limit His power in a situation?  How many times do I have trouble (metaphorically)  "turning around and heading back home" when God asks me to?

Just this week, there was a situation I was involved in where Jeremy and I were talking and I said "Well, I know God can do this and this, but I really don't think He will do this other thing." (Vague, I know, but hopefully you get the point.)

I was reminded of how there I go, limiting God and deciding which issues are within His power to change or to work out.

Oh me of little faith!

How willing am I to change my pre-conconceived notion when God speaks to me otherwise?

How often does my lack of faith and questioning limit what God WOULD be able and willing to do in my life or in the lives of others?

Definitely something for me to think about!

I am linking up with Gypsy Mama again today and taking part in her "5 Minute Friday".

The challenge is to write about an assigned subject for 5 minutes...no more.  No editing and no over-thinking...just writing.

So, here goes.

GO

I can't remember for sure where it was that I first read the phrase "Expectations ruin relationships."  I remember that it really struck me and resonated with me, because I had seen it happen in my own life. 

Especially in my marriage.

I remember many weekend get-a-ways with Jeremy that were ruined by my (unreasonably high) expectations about how things would go.

What?  He didn't open the door for me?  What?  He didn't ask my opinion about which gas station to stop at?  What?  He didn't gaze at me adoringly over dinner?

I would turn what could have been a perfect weekend with two less-than-perfect people into one disappointment after another.

Over time, I learned to lower my expectations.

There is something wonderful that happens when we lower expectations. 

We put ourselves in a position to be pleasantly surprised. 

I would end up reading it again in Ann Voskamp's "1000 Gifts".  She says that "Expectations kill relationships" and I high-lighted it in yellow.  She talks about how a small child is delighted and surprised by everything.  She talks about how expectations in our relationship with God can kill that relationship.

If we think God has to do things a certain way or respond a certain way in situations or always do things the way that we had expected, we set ourselves up for feeling a lot of anger and injustice.

But if we have the attitude of "a little child" as the Bible talks about...think of the wonder that they experience and the way that they look at every little thing as a gift.  Not analyzing or figuring out if it is good or not...they just are amazed.  Easily.

I still have always had this nagging question though.

Is it not good to have SOME sort of expectation in relationships?  Whether with girlfriends or with my husband?  Is it OK to just let someone run over you?  Is it right to just be all like "Well, whatever they do or don't do is fine with me?"

Something about that doesn't seem right.

Just yesterday, I read something in a book that I randomly picked up.  I had forgotten that I had even bought it.  It was about marriage.

In there, he made the differentiation that I have been looking for.  He said that it is ok to have "value expectations" in a relationship.

As in...I need to be treated with respect.  With kindness.  With love.

But it is not OK to have behavior expectations. 

He will wash the dishes every night.

He will earn at least $100,000 a year.

He will always notice when I am feeling sad.

He will always remember our anniversary.

Something about that really made sense to me.

I want to learn to be a friend and spouse who lowers my expectations of others so that I am not the one to blame for killing a relationship that could have been something great.

STOP

(I totally went over my time.  That was more like 8 minutes.  So sue me!  I had more to say and I guess I couldn't type quite fast enough today!)

 We finally headed out last Thursday night about 6:30 PM...later than we had hoped, due to a little someone locking the keys in our van and then having problems with the electrical connections on the trailer we were pulling.  (Different story, but we ended up taking our pick-up on this trip and pulling a trailer and picking up and dropping off some items in exchange for $$)

We headed off into the sunset.  Or, in this case, away from the sunset.

Traveling went well. Jeremy and I pretty much always drive all night on our way to Ohio. I always dread it and then it always goes better than I think. The kids sleep. Jeremy and I take turns driving and I drink lots of caffeine and eat candy to stay awake.

After we arrived at Jeremy's parents house, we took a little nap and then got up and headed out.  We took the time to stop and eat lunch at Walnut Creek Cheese.  Yum-o!

The rest of the afternoon we helped out with getting final things done for the wedding the next day.  Lots of work!!

I took some pictures of some of Molly's (she is Jeremy's youngest sister) decorations in the reception area and the foyer of the church.  It was very pretty!

There were lots and lots of fresh flowers and Molly had made almost all of those flower pom-pom things herself. (150 of them!!)

That night we had rehearsal.  I was the only one of our family who didn't have a part in the wedding. Which I was totally fine with, btw.

Molly walking up the aisle with her Dad.

The day of the wedding we got up pretty early and got our whole family showered and dressed and looking our best!

The bridesmaids, Molly, and Nikki got ready in a little nursery at the church. The smell of perfume in there was pretty strong!

For some unknown reason, Nikki decided that she did not, after all, want to wear her white "puffy" dress. This was cause for tears (on her part) and some mother/daughter conversations. She ended up deciding to be happy and do her part, but it took quite a long time for that smile to show up on her face.

We went to this very pretty place (they called it "Wayne's place"...Wayne is apparently the owner of this big mansion and amazing grounds and he allows wedding parties to take pictures there) and took family pictures.

The big "reveal" -- Jay was standing in the gazebo waiting to see Molly in her wedding dress for the 1st time.

Waiting on Jay and Molly

Jeremy's sisters had bought these glasses with attached mustaches. They had a lot of fun with these. (This is all the bridesmaids and Jeremy)

My boys...messing around.

Now they've added Nikki to the mix...although she refused to wear the glasses.

Molly and Jay. Nikki stuck to Molly like glue. I started to feel sorry for Molly.

Jay and Molly with all of the siblings. Jeremy is the oldest and he has 4 sisters.

Just the Miller kiddos.

Super cute picture of Jay and Molly.  Molly was absolutely beautiful! She reminded me of a Barbie doll!

The Miller Sisters.

The picture in which the giant blonde-haired girl completely hides her husband from view. And...the veil must be fixed!

Molly with her parents.

Jay's side of the family.

LOVE this picture of Nikki and Molly!

We decided to take advantage of the fact that we were all dressed up at the same time and that Jeremy was wearing a suit for the 3rd time in his life.  I think the occasion called for a few family pictures of our own!

Nikki is still looking sad about the fact that she has to wear the "puffy" dress!

A kissing photo.  I am totally photo shopping my kids out of this picture and putting it on the wall in our bedroom!

A picture of my gift receiver boys.  They did an awesome job. (Can't get this picture to turn the right way for some reason??)

Yours Truly...Standing outside of the church. I took this picture for my friend Morgan.

The happily married couple!!  My only picture from the actual wedding.  I didn't really know if cameras were allowed during the wedding, and then I sort of forgot at the reception.  (another issue with rotating here)

After this...the aforementioned "happy couple" took off in their little decorated car and the rest of us got to clean up -- for hours.  You owe us one, Jay and Molly!

Sunday was truly a "day of rest" for us and Jeremy's family.  I slept in until 10 AM!!!! Not sure when I had last done that.  We just hung out with family for the day and some extended family came over in the evening.

Monday I had the privilege of hanging out with my beautiful (long time) friend Stephanie!

Even though things were pretty chaotic with 7 kids running around and my OCD'ness about fragmented conversation was tested...it was great to see her and her new foster baby and just chill and chat about anything and everything.

The kids made cards for their Gramma since it was her birthday that day.

They also played on the trampoline and in the garage and on the swingset.

We got Steph's husband to snap a picture of us after he got home.  I have to say, I think it turned out wonderfully!

I went to the store before I visited Steph and grabbed a few things for lunch.  Imagine my delight when I walked into the store and saw HOME-MADE whoopie pies.  Just like Thelma (fruitloops115) makes. In Wisconsin, you will not find homemade whoopie pies in a grocery store.  I bought a pack and they were gone before I left Steph's house. (I did not eat them all. Just to clarify!)

On Tuesday I had the privilege of hanging out with 2 other special friends...Di and Jenny.

We went out to eat for lunch and then hung out at Jenny's house.  I loved seeing Jenny's house and I loved going for lunch with these girls, but what I really loved was the awesome conversation!!  We covered many topics and I left feeling encouraged and refreshed!

We tried to get Elle to take our picture and when she refused (stranger danger!!) -- We had to resort to the long arm of Di to snap a picture of us.  Don't laugh.

Love this picture of Di.

Jenny and the "possibly-still-pouting" Elle.  This was just before we said our good-byes.

Other photos from the trip:

Monday evening some other family of Jeremy's came over to visit.

This is Jeremy and his cousin Dustin. They are almost the same age.

Jeremy's grandparents and his uncle Daniel.

There was egg collecting...my kids LOVE this and after they are at their Grandparents to visit, you will often hear them on the phone with Gramma...asking her how many eggs she found that day.

The other little girls are Jeremy's cousin Dustin's cuties.

There were horse rides for all of the kids...given by Jeremy's sisters Missy and Kim.  The kids absolutely LOVED it!!

We also played corn-hole toss, croquet, and kickball in the back yard.

And now...the kids were left behind in Ohio and Jeremy and I are back home.  We have 10 days alone!!! I cannot tell you how excited I am.

It is like a 2nd honeymoon.

But do you know what I think gives me the MOST pleasure when the kids are gone...(Don't laugh, ok?)

Being able to put something in its place and having it stay there.  No one making messes and coming along behind me and messing up what I just cleaned or straightened.

I seriously feel giddy just thinking about it!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures...Have a lovely weekend!

I would be curious to know how many it would add up to, if I were ever able to keep track.

All I can say is, I must seem like a person with a lot of answers. Ha, ha.

Here is a run-down of some of the more unusual questions I have been asked in the past week or two.

All of these came from my kids.

#1 -- Why does smoking kill people?

(I did what all good Moms would do. I googled it.  And then I explained about the many harmful chemicals in cigarettes and how they are like poison to your body.)

#2 -- Does it help you relax if you rub right here?  (Massaging temple area)

(I don't know, honey!  That depends on how stressed out you are.)  I didn't say that, but the funnier part of this story is that Kendall was eating a 3 Muskateers when he asked this question, so when he massaged his temples, he promptly smeared chocolate on both side of his forehead.    So then I laughed at him.

#3 -- What are we having for supper?

Derrick seems to be the most interested in this question.  He asks me this often.  I guess he just wants to know whether he should be looking forward to it or dreading the food I have so kindly prepared. 

#4 -- How did Noah organize the animals in the ark? 

This question largely had to do with the placement of the animals. Like, were they in rows or were they two by two or what?  I had to bow out on this one. I just had no idea.

#5 -- What is a callous?

(Have YOU ever tried to explain this to someone?  Not as easy as it sounds!)

#6 -- What is bird food made of? 

Umm...corn and sunflower seeds and who knows what else?

#7 -- Can you buy snow?

(The kids thought that maybe in Antarctica you could buy snow.  But I told them that I am pretty sure that NO ONE would pay for snow in Antarctica.  Maybe in Florida? Or the Mojave Desert?)

#8 -- How many hairs do you think you have on your head?

(I guessed 100,000.  I have NO clue if this is right or even close.  I should probably Google that.)

#9 -- Where are we going today?  Or the day after today?

Nicole drives me CRAZY with the questions about our upcoming plans.  She is constantly asking where we are going and what we are doing that day or the next day.  Once she can read, maybe I can just print her out a little schedule.  Or, in the fall, I can just say "School" every time she asks.  There, that'll take care of that.

#10 -- How many people did you hear swear tonight?

(This was after we were at my co-ed softball game and Kendall got in the van saying "Beep...Bleep...Beep..." so I said "Did you hear a lot of swearing tonight?" and he said "Not really" and when I said "Well, I did", he wanted to know how many people I had heard swear and what their names were.  I found that funny!)

Its no wonder I have little time to reflect upon the meaning of life.  I'm too busy answering a myraid of questions.

PS -- Coming up...a picture post and a re-cap of our trip to Ohio...as soon as I get a chance!

Also, for the time being, I think I am going to post my blogs on my blogspot site and also on here.  That way...everyone is happy!   So feel free to comment here or there. And thanks for all of your input on my last post.  You helped me to know which direction to go.  Thanks!

The link to my latest blog post is as follows:

http://extrovertexpounds.blogspot.com/2012/05/thoughtful-thursday.html

But before you go there, I have a couple of questions to ask my readers.

I started this new blog and I notice that there are lots of visits to it but very, very few comments.

Just know, I love and appreciate each and every comment. It is a vital part of why I blog.

I was afraid to "step out" and do my own blog because I was nervous about people not wanting to go out of their way to see what I had written. 

But here is what I am trying to sort out and I need your help.

Is it a pain for you to follow this link to my new blog?

Is commenting on the new blog hard to do? 

In your opinion, is it just easier if people stay on Xanga?

What could I do to make the transition easier for you?

I was excited about the new blog and some ideas that I had for my blog for the summer, but if it means that it makes it harder for others to participate and follow my blog, then I probably will just come back to Xanga. With my tail between my legs!

Anyway, interested in input.  You can leave comments on Xanga or message me or whatever.

Check out my latest blog post on blogspot...

http://extrovertexpounds.blogspot.com/2012/05/now-thats-awkward.html

(I guess we've been having some link trouble. If this doesn't work, let me know.)

Head on over and check out my latest blog post and my new blog HERE if you like.

I'm really on a roll here.

We'll see how long it lasts... (trying not to raise expectations too high here)

There is another new post over at http://extrovertexpounds.blogspot.com/ 

Check it out if you have time.