The Do's and Don'ts of Online Dating

Yes, I realize that the title of this post makes it sound like I am an expert, which I most certainly am not. In fact for some reason lately I keep hearing the songs "Oops, I Did It Again" and "I Want You to Want Me" playing in a loop in my head. Not sure what that means, but I am pretty certain it's not a good thing. And actually I guess this post is really more about the "Don'ts" of online dating than the "Do's" since I obviously haven't figured out the "Do's" quite yet.

As far as online dating goes, here are some tips:
1. Don't post pictures from 10 years ago. You look nothing like you used to.
2. Don't say you are looking for a great Christian girl that is close to her family if you really mean you are looking for a quick hookup.
3. Don't post pictures that you had professionally done... that's just creepy.
4. Don't tell people that you are in a bowling league.
5. If you cannot legally drink yet, please do not email me.
6. If you are closer in age to my dad than me, please do not email me.
7. If you are half a foot shorter than me, please do not email me.
8. Do not post a picture where you are wearing a Garth Brooks cast-off and posing next to a tractor.
9. I think that these guys should come with labels. For example, "Tool", "Player", "Weirdo", "Nice, Normal Guy", "Married", "Possibly Gay", etc.
10. If your idea of a fun night is a Star Trek marathon, please do not email me.

Online dating can be extremely discouraging, especially when you open your email to see that someone has requested communication with you. You get excited and think, "Oh maybe this guy will be great!" Then you open your email to find this waiting for you...

A Sneak Peek at my Bleak Week

Being a teacher means Christmas break. Okay, it means other things, but that is one of the main perks us teachers focus on and count down to starting in August. We get two weeks off in December around Christmas. By this point in the school year it might be considered a mental, physical, and emotional necessity to have this break because we need a break from the kids, and the kids need a break from us. Anyway, last week was jam-packed with all kinds of stuff. There was something going on almost every waking minute and then Christmas came and went and now I am BORED out of my mind. My sister and nieces are still in Texas, my friends that don't teach have gone back to work, there are no goodies to bake, no shopping to be done, nothing... So, out of sheer boredom, I have done the following so far this week:

1. Slept... alot
2. Googled random things
3. Watched youtube videos
4. Watched Lifetime movies
5. Updated my blog to talk about how bored I am
6. Checked my email 5,183 times
7. Checked facebook 5,184 times
8. Checked weather.com to see what was going on outside
9. Made a list of all the things I want to do before I turn 30 in August
10. Researched the things on my list
11. Played Solitaire online
12. Played Scrabble online because I got tired of Solitaire
13. Read some
14. Watched some sermons online
15. Drank coffee until I realized I was starting to get a little twitchy, so I switched to Diet Coke
16. Read people's blogs
17. Downloaded pictures onto facebook
18. Checked a gazillion times to see if anyone had left comments on the above mentioned pictures
19. Texted people to tell them how bored I was
20. Shopped (everywhere) for something to wear on New Year's Eve
21. Cut my cat's claws
22. Baked banana nut bread
23. Made a list of all the things I should be doing with my time, such as getting my oil changed, cleaning my house, taking down Christmas decorations, etc.
24. Came up with excuses why I haven't checked a single thing off my to-do list
25. Updated my Amazon wishlist

Well, now I am off to bed... again. Gotta rest up for my busy day of absolutely nothing.

Year in Review

I cannot believe it is almost the end of 2010. As we approach the start of a new year I have spent some time looking back at this past year and all of the ways God has blessed my life over the past 12 months. Here are a few things that stuck out to me:

1. At the beginning of this year I decided to host a small group through my church. We met on Tuesday nights at my house from January to May. Our group of 8 dwindled to 4, but we had a great time getting to know each other. Then I led a group over the summer with a member from my spring small group (our one and only guy). Over the summer we added a few more people to our group. We read through The Shack together and had fun each week. I led another group in the fall with a girl I met this summer. Through each of these groups God has continued to bless me with new friends from church. I am anxious to get started back with small groups at the end of January!

2. In March of this year our close family friends received some overwhelming news. Their son, Perry (a senior in high school at the time) was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Through much prayer and faith in the ultimate Healer, Perry was declared cancer free in July. He wrapped up chemo in September and finished radiation in October. I admire the way he has handled this situation, and I have seen the peace of God poured out in his life. His family has remained positive and focused on making this a "Victory Tour".

3. In January I started praying for opportunities to serve. I wanted to focus more of my time and energy on being a servant for others, seeing as how I tend to focus way too much time and energy on myself. I started looking into being a camp counselor, and through God's guidance I ended up volunteering at Camp Smile-a-Mile for a week in June. This is a camp for kids who currently have or have had cancer. It was an amazing experience, and I later had the opportunity to go back and work at one of their family weekend retreats. I can't wait to go back again this summer!

4. A year ago I was praying that my sister would have a healthy pregnancy. God answered our prayers when Maggie Anne Schornack was born on July 22. She is precious and I have loved getting to spend time with her and her big sister, Carson.

5. Of course I HAVE to mention football season! As you know by now, I am a HUGE Auburn fan, so this football season has been nothing short of AMAZING! We started off the season hoping to pull out at least 9 wins. We had a new quarterback that we were unsure of, and didn't really know what to expect from him. Well, unless you have been living under a rock for the past 4 months you know that we had an undefeated season (including a huge combeack win against Alabama), won the SEC Championship game, named that same unknown quarterback as the 3rd Auburn Tiger to receive the Heisman, and now the Auburn nation is preparing for a National Championship game on January 10. It's great to be an Auburn Tiger!

O Come Let Us Adore Him

I pray that your Christmas will be filled with family and friends, great food, rest, laughter, love, and happiness.

In all of the chaos that the holidays can bring I hope that we will all take time to remember what we are truly celebrating... the birth of our Lord and Savior who came to live and walk on Earth so that He could one day save us all and give us hope, peace, and unconditional love.

Merry Christmas! "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace..." - Romans 15:13

Through the Eyes of a Child

Ever since my oldest niece was born I have loved the opportunity to experience things through her eyes. It is so much fun to see her reaction to things that I don't really get excited about anymore, such as playing in the sand at the beach, swinging at the park, baking cookies, going to Target, etc. This is one reason why I was so excited for Christmas this year. Carson turned 3 in August and this is the first year where she really understands what's going on and has been so excited about all things Christmas. She almost went into shock when they got out all of their decorations this year and she has loved all of the Christmas lights. Ashley, Robert, Carson, and Maggie headed out to Texas this morning to spend Christmas with Robert's family. While I will miss getting to be with them Christmas day we have been able to do some really fun things this holiday season.

1. Ashley, Robert, Carson, and Maggie came to visit my class at school. Carson sat in my chair at the front of the room, crossed her legs and began to read them a Christmas book she brought. Then she sang a few songs and asked, "Hey guys, what do you want for Christmas?"

2. Carson had a program at school where they sang several songs about Jesus' birthday. She gave several shout-outs mid performance and took a bow after each song.

3. Ashley, mom, Carson and I went to see the Polar Express at the IMAX theater this past Sunday afternoon. We wore our pajamas and got to have chocolate milk and cookies after the movie. I loved getting to watch Carson's reaction to the huge screen!

4. Last night we celebrated with Ashley's family and got to give the kids their presents. Carson was soooo excited and at one point exclaimed, "Oh my goodness!". I can only imagine what her reaction will be on Saturday morning when she sees what Santa brought her.

War Eagle

This is an urgent message to all you Bammers out there...

I don't care if you cheer for Oregon. I cheered for Texas last year. I hate your team as much as you hate mine. "Cheer for the SEC" will not be uttered by me, because I wouldn't do it for you either. I have been entertained by your conspiracy theories this season, and I am sure there will be plenty more to come before January 10. We beat you... in a come from behind win... when we were down 24-0 at one point... Deal with it! If all you can say at this point is "Y'all are gonna suck next year." then do us a favor and shut up.

See ya in Glendale... except that you won't be there. War Eagle!

Inspiration

I have to give some shout outs to two friends who I am soooo proud of. I may even be inspired to join them, which is huge for me! Both of these girls have trained for a 5k in the past few months.

Keri is a girl I teach with. We taught across the hall from each other for 2 years, and I was beyond blessed to have her there with me. She is a constant encouragement as a friend, and a fellow Weight Watcher. Keri used the site http://www.runningintoshape.com/ to prepare for her first 5k, that she completed this past Saturday. I love this picture of her in action!

Julie is a friend that I met through church. She is one of those people that I met for the first time and thought "We will be good friends!". She did "Couch to 5k" and is now training for a half marathon (yes, that is 13.1 miles). She ran a 10k on Thanksgiving morning and she continues to build up the miles to prepare for the Mercedes Marathon in February. This a picture of the two of us together this past summer.

Keri will also be running on a team in the Mercedes Marathon, along with lots of other teachers from our school. I will also be there... on the sidelines... to cheer them on.

'Tis the Season...

... for ridonculous weight gain! Yes, that's right. I have officially fallen off the bandwagon, horse, scales, etc. How did I gain 8 pounds (yes, EIGHT) in 3 weeks you ask. Well, let me just tell you... 1)Stress/Frustration, 2) Thanksgiving, 3) Thanksgiving left-overs, 4) Football games, 5) The start of way too many parties with way too much tempting food.

Is this ridiculous? Yes. Am I making poor excuses for something I can totally control? Yes. Did some people (that I now hate) in my WW group actually LOSE weight over Thanksgiving? Yes. Should I have been able to do the same (or at least not gain)? Yes. Have I already considered just giving in and starting over again in January? Yes. Am I going to do that? NO!!!

I have three Christmas parties this week alone and I have got to come up with a plan, so I don't gain the other 8 back. I am not feeling very confident right now, but I am workin' on it. I will keep ya posted.