Chew on your own Cud, Please.

I have likened myself recently to a cow chewing her cud. Disgusting, really, but it happens to be quite the metaphor for my life in during the past week. It all started on last Wednesday night when we had small group (only the 3rd week, mind you) and after some thought provoking questions with the entire group we split up girls/guys. It was then that we started a discussion about, well, I don't really remember what it was about but all of a sudden I started my word vomit about how I am constantly searching for the next best thing. You know, the grass is always greener on the other side, kind of thing. Basically, how we are so happy here in Colorado but for some reason I am still searching for the next move, the next job, the next ________. I'm preeeeety sure I've discussed this struggle on my blog, a lot. After group, and some prayer, one of the older ladies stopped me and started talking about how she's been in my place in her life as well. AND THEN I had an a-ha! moment.

"So, Lynsey, what happens if the Lord is calling you to Colorado, and not Kentucky. Think about it. The "job" that you moved out here for is not even the job you have now. Have you ever thought that you might be out here for another reason?"

A-ha! Oh, oh crap. Why are we here? I thought it was just to have fun, get out of KY, and live a little before settling down with kids, etc. But, how incredibly selfish of me. But, the Lord still works through our selfish decisions and it was as if that food started to turn into cud and roll around in my mouth. I'm not at the same job. I do have joy with where I am in life. I love my husband. My wise elder continued,

"Just pray that the Lord will lead you to your next step, and as for now, live as if you are going to stay here forever."

Wait, wait, wait....WAIT. Forever? I cannot imagine my life without my family or my farm, but does that affect the way I need to think about my situation right now?

Chewing, chewing, chewing...on this as well: Lent is coming up, like Wednesday. I've given things up in the past, but I don't want to give up something just for the sake of giving something up. I've always believed that when you give up something, every time you think, crave or covet that "thing" then you should spend that time in prayer/meditating on the definition of Lent.

Lent is (thank you, Wikipedia):


Lent, in Christian tradition, is the period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial — for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.


So, I've chewed on the idea of having the discipline to exercise/work out everyday for 40 days, but then I thought is that just because I want to be more fit?? Although, there is quite a bit of discipline that is involved in exercise (like going even though you want to sit on the couch), I just don't know if that is what the Lord is calling me to give up. 2 days!!!! Why haven't I thought about this before?? Gah!


Mike and I have been chewing on job opportunities for him. Here are some pictures of the Boys and Girls Club I talked about in my last post. It's in a TINY town called Ward up about 10,000 feet above sea level that has a post office.....andddddd that's about it. Wooo!

We still don't know what the future holds for Mike and summer camping...but it'll be perfect, no matter what.

So, what have you been chewing on recently? What kind of cud is developing in your mouth and what are you going to do about it. As for me and my cud (ack!), we're stuck here in Colorado (yay!) until otherwise stated. Love Wins!

Top 10 of past 2 weeks.

Well, hello long lost blog friends. I have had good intentions of blogging for the past 2 weeks, just haven't gotten around to it. But, here I am two weeks later, life moving along rather quickly and dealing with the same ol' life things.

Oooo! I'm in the mood for a top ten!

Ok, top ten things that have happened this week (let's stick with the good things):

10. I've decided to put my big girl panties on and ride the bus to work next week. Save some mileage and some gas money.

9. My sister Tracy sent me (and Mike, because I have to share) 2 cases of Ale8 to enjoy for my birthday. We have already downed 3/4ths of them. YUM!!

8. We took our dogs skiing with us last weekend..not literally (although I think I might be going somewhere with doggie skiing), but we hauled them all the way to Keystone and they laid in the car while we hit the slopes. When lunch came around we headed back to the car to let them out and enjoy the fresh mountain air. It was nice to have their company and I'm sure they enjoyed the day outside the crate.

7. The weather!!! Yes, the weather definitely makes the top 10....it's been between 45-50 degrees and sunny almost everyday the past 2 weeks. It might be a false hope for us newbie Colorado residents, but I'll take it.

6. We bought our airline tix to go to Destin for Spring Break. I've concluded one is never too old to enjoy the pandemonium called Spring Break (wooo!). We are actually flying into Nashville because it was cheap, then riding down with David & Amanda. Quality time with the Curry's! My parents are thinking about meeting us in Destin as they will be working their way up north after staying in North Port for 2 1/2 months. Lucky.

5. The Melting Pot. OMG. That place is so tasty - I am at a loss for words. Mike took me there for my birthday dinner. He basically had to roll me out. Here I am enjoying a glass of wine:


4. Mike got a job offer!!!!! The Boys and Girls Club of Metro Denver offered him a job as the program director. Downfalls are that it's only 8 weeks and he would have to live on site so I am having nightmares of our relationship while he was at Loucon. Take a look and tell me what you think! http://www.bgcmd.org/ We are going on Tuesday to look at the camp. He also has a job interview at a place called Avid 4 Adventure on Tuesday. We'll keep ya posted.

3. Church. We've been going to Park Church Denver which holds their services at 6pm. We really like going to church at night and love the pastor. It wasn't until we started going regularly that I realized how much I missed church and the beauty it adds to my life. It is beautiful and I'm just sorry I didn't come to this realization earlier.

2. THE IPHONE!!!! I got an iPhone yesterday for my birthday and I think I might be in love. I know it's bad, but I'm pretty sure I've coveted this technological masterpiece for over a year. I know it's newness/awesomeness will wear off, but right now it makes my life complete (secondary to my awesome husband who let me get one).

1. Community Groups. Park Church has very intimate community groups and we have decided to join one.....so on Wednesday nights from 6:30-9 we meet at a house and enjoy good food, the Bible, and good company. I haven't been stimulated with new ideas/life changes in a long time and I think this group is exactly what we need to make our live in Denver more enjoyable. The group is multi-generational; it's pretty amazing to hear how lives turn out and makes me realize I am just beginning my life and I have many other experiences on the way.

So, there you have it. My life in the form of a top 10. I miss my friends and I miss my family. Love wins!

DOCK DOGS!

OH! Ever heard of Dock Dogs? Animal Planet shows them..ESPN does too, anyway. Mike and I went to the Sportsmans Expo a couple weeks ago and paid $15 just to see these dogs go nuts and jump almost 27 feet in a pool to get a bumper. It's all quite entertaining. I'm posting some of the good ones!





P.S. I've learned how to post videos now via YouTube. Watch out, now video entertainment of my life is public to all (actually, I think I selected the private setting...I really don't want people knowing my every move). In any event, more videos will appear!

Another trip around the sun.

It's my birthday? I don't quite feel like it is, but I'm a-ok with that. Maybe it's because I knew a get together with my favorite people was impossible, maybe it's because I'm finally okay with growing up, I don't know. There is a song by Jimmy Buffett and Martina McBride that has been playing over and over in my head this past week. It lays out perfectely what I've been thinking:

"A trip around the Sun"

Hear 'em singing Happy Birthday
Better think about the wish I made
This year gone by ain't been a piece of cake
Every day's a revolution
Pull it together and it comes undone
Just one more candle and a trip around the sun

I'm just hanging on while this old world keeps spinning
And it's good to know it's out of my control
If there's one thing that I've learned from all this living
Is that it wouldn't change a thing if I let go

No, you never see it coming
Always wind up wondering where it went
Only time will tell if it was time well spent
It's another revelation
Celebrating what I should have done
With these souvenirs of my trip around the sun

Yes, I'll make a resolution
That I'll never make another one
Just enjoy this ride on my trip around the sun
Just enjoy this ride ...
Until it's done

So! Have an amazing weekend. Mike and I are celebrating....at the Melting Pot in Littleton, CO tonight. YUM. Love you! Love wins!

Get up, Stand up!

I find myself this morning wrapped up in my snuggie pondering the thoughts of the previous week. Mike is sleeping and thanks to a lovely sinus infection I'm at the mercy of the pile of tissues I have beside my couch. Walgreens supplied me with a beautiful drug called Sudafed and I slept like a baby last night, Praise the Lord. I am thankful for my job, however, I'm willing to bet that SNF has the same amount of germs that the kids at a school have; therefore colds, flus, and sinus infections are inevitable.

The past 2 Saturdays have been snow-filled fun! We went to Keystone last week with our friends Brian and Lexey...that trip actually turned out to be a bust. Lexey is beginning to snowboard and as we were heading down our first run (the greens, of course) she fell and broke both bindings off her snowboard. Basically the day was over for her. In fact, the text I got from her boyfriend said, "Lexey fall down and go boom. Bindings went crack. Beer?" So, I finished the run, caught up with Mike and went down a few more runs then ate lunch and drank beer for a few hours. Wanting to leave pretty early in the afternoon we head back to the Jeep around 1:30 and came to the terrible realization that the Jeep has died. DIED. After 2 different SUVs attempted a jump, we finally got rolling, and after a long day (and lost of ski traffic home on I-70 and a trip to Advance Auto Parts for a new battery) we made it home. Geez. This picture reminds me of the immense pain my toes were in while in those ski boots. I have 2 black big toes to prove it, too. After begging the manager at Sports Authority to put me in some boots that fit, I am now a proud owner of ski boots that won't turn my toes black! It's the little things in life (I do hope these nasty bruises go away by spring).

Didn't mean to write a book there, but I guess I did. Moving on. This past weekend wasn't quite as adventurous, though, as Arapahoe Basin (A-Basin) is much more of a ski "area" and not a ski "resort". We felt quite, well, local. New ski boots made me a happy girl. Here are a few pics from A-Basin:



I apologize for the abrupt ending of my last post; sleep is an essential part of my life right now and a strict bedtime is enforced (ask my husband who daily asks me, "Isn't it past your bedtime?"). It's been a pretty awesome to pluck out goals for this year. I have 2 that I want to share here. The main one is this:


I don't know if the link worked through that picture, but here is the link to the The 3 Day Walk . This is the same organization that Mike and I donated to for our wedding favors. As most of you, know, my Aunt Donya passed from breast cancer years ago and I think to myself often how our lives would have been different if she was here to experience it. The theme for this walk is, "Everyone deserves a lifetime" and isn't that the truth! There are a couple possibilities of places to walk...one is here in Denver. This is the choice that I've been thinking of, but I don't want to do this walk alone and everyone else that would walk with me lives in KY. Which makes me think that the Atlanta walk would be more appropriate. Have I mentioned this is a 60-mile walk (20 miles/day)? Have I mentioned in order to walk you have to raise at least $2,300 in order to walk? Sounds absurd, doesn't it? But, as soon as I heard about this walk through a friend, I wanted to participate. So, look for more information about donating, my training program, and other support coming soon! I've got to get this puppy together!! And if you are interested in walking in one of these events (or with me!) let me know. One more thing, I love being a woman!

Whew! The other main event that I want to participate in this year is this:



The BolderBouler is a 10k that hosts around 50,000 people every Memorial Day weekend. Again, am I crazy? YES! But how many people can say that they have run in a 10K with 50,000 other people? Plus, it's in Boulder, CO and the finish line is on Folsom Field (Colorado University's football field). My wonderful husband even said he would participate! WOO HOO!!

I am pumped......so pumped that I'm even ready to start my day! I better start training for all these events!! Love wins!

Life isn't static? Is it??

Mike and I watched a Nooma video w/ Rob Bell called "Today" . It made me think about my natural tendency to shy away from contentment. And I guess being "content" can be a transitional moment - either one of being stuck in a moment and unable to move to something out of our safety zone - OR one of a life of endless unsatisfaction. I would tend to fall in the later category, what about you? When I was in college at EKU, I couldn't wait to see where I got into Grad School, when I was in Grad School I longed for graduation and a job, in my job I long for my friends in KY, I ponder now where life is going to take us next. Do you see a pattern here? I think this lesson of living for today and being content with what today brings has been brought up previously. But how many of us really listen the first time? But, it's a new year and it's time to start clean. Again. I've added a few things on my list of things to do in 2010...but first let me take you down my Christmas Vacation Trip!

Ken and Becki went to the Holy Land and brought Amanda and I Bethlehem nativity scenes made from Olive Tree wood. Christmas with the Curry's/Swind

ler's was amazing, as always. I am so incredibly blessed with incredible in-laws!

We stopped by our old homestead in Huntington, WV to see our old friends at the Blackhawk Grille and some grad school girls whom I miss dearly.

Then we trucked it to Sandy Hook to be with my family and participate in the an

nual "Yankee Swap". Always a good time, never a dull moment, and that little cousin can be quite sneaky! My snuggie that I ended up at the swap has kept me quite warm! Thanks Jen!

For NYE we gathered around a campfire with great friends and family and enjoyed an entire night of hot dogs, smores, and brews. I miss home already

A trip to Henderson on our way out of town wouldn't be complete without a visit to see maw maw Virginia Curry. This is her and her handsome grandsons.

We watched the great UK vs. U of L game in Henderson with this crew. And all together life was good. And it's past my bedtime which means I'm holding you in suspense as to what great events I've added to my 2010 "To-Do" list. But believe me people, they are life changing.

Love you, Love wins.

All the way over and back again.

I must say, it's been a while. Indeed. Since the last time I blogged time has taken us through a blizzard in Kansas, a surprise wake up call to Becki and Ken in Henderson, Christmas (Including Christmas dinner with Herb and Liz) with the Curry's in Louisville, Christmas with the Skaggs in Winchester, dinner at the Blackhawk Grille in Huntington, WV, Rio Grande margaritas with my school mates, a friendly game of Yankee Swap in Sandy Hook, KY, bon fire at S & G Farm, and finally a get together to watch the UK v. U of L game in Henderson with friends. Whew! It makes me tired just looking at the agenda. Now granted not much sleep was achieved, but Mike and I were able to see some of our most beloved friends and family throughout the past 10 days that I don't regret any part of our break. It's true! This break proved to be the craziest yet (although last year we were wedding extravagenzaing it all break, and that was pretty crazy).

I have one of those books that we got for our wedding, Christmas Memories I think it's called, where you write each year what you do for Christmas. Last year I can almost remember the distraught that consumed my mind when I started thinking about where I would be in December 2009, and the same thoughts consumed my mind again this year as I think to myself, what in the world can 2010 bring that 2009 didn't. I mean really people, let's think about some changes that have occured in my life: Completion of Graduate School, a move across the nation, a big girl job, and a new house. But, I know that 2010 will not dissapoint. I just wish the Lord would give us a sneak peak into what this year holds. It's all very exciting!!! Stay or leave our beloved Colorado, a possible move back home, a job change?


In fact, I feel a little like this. I don't remember what we were making this face for. You know, those "make the face you would make if......" but it was obviously frightening.

I do have some resolutions for 2010, and I dont' know about you, but I've never written them down..so here goes nothing.

2010 Resolutions:

1. Read the Bible through (to improve my spiritual discipline. The One Year Bible is very helpful in completing this task. It will actually be the 2nd time I've completed it, but you know how the Lord works. This go 'round will be completely different).

2. Complete a sprint triathalon. (1 mile swim, 10 mile bike ride, 3mile run)

Those are TOTALLY do-able. And now that they are on paper I can have some sort of accountability. Oh! Today is my sister Nancy's birthday! Happy Birthday sister! And that makes the 23rd of January coming up here close chuck one up for finishing year number 25 of my life. I need to make a picture post summarizing our trip to Kentucky! That'll be on my list of things to do starting tomorrow.

I bought some more homespun yarn from Sarabee Designs and I'm pretty excited about working on my scarves. I had to buy some aluminum needles considering my dogs ate the wooden ones. I think a Knitting 101 class is in the works for me. Anyway, if you like to knit please check out her esty site. She's pretty amazing. Enough rambling for now, I'm off to knit myself to sleep and hit the salt mines tomorrow. Work is extremely slow still so having some extra time at home is actually pretty nice. Mike and I are hitting the slopes this weekend!! We gotta put those season passes to use!

Love Wins, friends. I love you.

My wonderful Marshall friends whom I love dearly!