The Executive Director of the rescue mission requested my Meal Ministry report to present to the Board.
Offering new topics for every report, I am not one to restate previously said topics. Monthly financials has statistically proven I have reduced the "cost per meal" by $.12 beating the previous years growing average; in addition, the numbers of dinner guests has drastically increased (1300 meals more on average per month).
Competitive-nature'd me could not be more excited!
I meet with our Accountant monthly to review, glow and do happy dances over continued outcomes.
My email to the Executive Director:
I have an addition to the Meal Ministries Board Report, that may sound braggadocious, but it shows great progress!
...
Respectfully submitted,
Dawn
Executive Directors email reply:
It could have been thought periphrasis by some or even tendentious but never braggadocious. In fact, I dare say you would have been pusillanimous not to put it forth.
Well said and in my mind I have a new found respect for his wit and grammar usage, even if I have to refer to dictionary.com for translation.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Monday, September 8, 2014
In Competitive Fashion
Happy to report, I beat my summer distance yesterday when David and I rode the towpath 35.8 miles!!
Sunny, low 70's, the towpath was the fullest I have ever seen with walkers and other bike riders and we stopped 1/2 way to partake in ice cream at a quaint corner with stands of ice cream, corn on the cob/fresh lemonade/sweet tea, a fresh produce market, and a live music ...
It was perfect.
David heard the train and suggested we put the bikes on the train and ride it back, because it is something I have always wanted to do. I let him know that we had gone so far, that I wanted to beat my own summer record of 30 miles.
It was the last 8 miles when my pace began to slow.
I heard things like, "Keep up! I thought I lost you. Come on grandma. Do I need to slow down?" when I assured him I prefer more words of affirmations such as, "Wow, you are doing really well! You can do it!"
Getting close to the parking lot, a woman walking her dogs on his side gave me the advantage and I found a burst of energy and blew passed him giving him a glimpse that I was still in the game to beat him. He was on to me and passed me before I knew it.
Listen, he is really fast!
We (he) decided to check out the towpath on the other side of the parking lot where we were parked. We had reached our goal, but technically he had extended it.
David stopped ahead, by a family of riders, waiting for me. The family encouraged me, that I can do it! I assured them I was at 34 miles at this point and gained new found admiration when they claimed, "Oh, we are only at 15 miles."
We turn around.
The finish line is the parking lot.
We spar a couple of times in my catching him off guard passing him in my I-have-no-energy-left slow pace.
Then it happens.
Less than a quarter of a mile to the goal.
His sweatshirt falls off the back of his bike rack and he didn't know it.
Inspiration burst in my mind. I felt as if I was running a marathon and the only person in front of me fell on the ground in a leg cramp.
Laughter filled my brain and I excitedly let him know the last moment he was in front of me he needs to go back and get his sweatshirt.
[I wish I had the moments in his brain to share here.]
He slows down, makes a quick decision to go back and get it.
Adrenalin is found someplace in me I didn't know I even had and I took my one very chance in the world at beating him and rode faster than I ever have in my life!!
I pedaled as fast as I could looking back a couple times to see when he was going to blow passed me.
I'm pretty sure I was smiling in winning success, quite possibly laughing out loud across the finish line, but I was certain to be off the bike and posing in winner poses when he came in view in the ride of shame into the parking lot.
SUCCESS! I WON!
It will never ever happen again and he has most likely made this mental decision to prevent any of my future wins.
But, today I WON!
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Morning Coffee with God
My one Saturday off a month and it is going to rain today, but the sun is out for one more hour. Make the most of it!
I put on a morning pot of coffee, slipped into a bike riding outfit, filled my "Princess of our King" coffee mug and set out for a morning bike ride and coffee on the dock of the lake.
Many times I have presented my desire to God that someday I want to have coffee in the morning with Him because it is my favorite time of the day and I love coffee.
Happy to slip away while my girls are sleeping, I pass walkers and runners embracing the early morning.
I wanted to be here.
Sometimes I just sit still. No pleas, special requests, suggestions or recommendations presented to God, but just sitting still admiring the beauty and quiet of the morning.
I see something in the water ...
and I smile. It's for me. God is such a gentleman.
Never have I seen a flower along these shores and I appreciate that the color complements both my coffee travel mug and the splash of pink in my riding outfit. Some may say coincidence, but not me.
Not sure how long I sat there, because I didn't want the moment of the morning to end. My mind wondering what it would be like if God did indeed join me on the dock. I'm guessing a 1/2 hour passed.
I heard in my mind out of no where, "It's over."
What is over?!?!
"It's over."
A memory came to me ... many moons ago, when Mariah was little her dad and I was in an ugly court custody battle and while I had every justification of solid documentation as to why he should not get shared parenting, she was being given the opportunity to say what she wanted.
I knew the seriousness of the question, she was a child and could not comprehend it. So, I brought her down to this very dock on the lake and we had our feet dangling in the water as I was doing my absolute best to communicate to her this decision.
It didn't surprise me that should would say she wanted shared parenting. She has always been a girl-on-the-go and bouncing back and forth having a good time everywhere was what she liked.
Fast forward to last night ... it is over. Her dad has passed away and last night we moved all her things from her dad's house home.
I don't believe in coincidence; rather, all things happen for a significant reason.
While I was having morning coffee with God, He reminded me it was over. All of it. The struggles and years of fighting with their dads.
What a moment of realization.
I sat there a while longer and reflecting back over all of it and then I thought of my girls at home most likely just waking up. Happy, healthy, strong and mine, both at home with me and I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
I loved my morning coffee today, but I was more than ready to bike home and make breakfast for my girls.
I put on a morning pot of coffee, slipped into a bike riding outfit, filled my "Princess of our King" coffee mug and set out for a morning bike ride and coffee on the dock of the lake.
Many times I have presented my desire to God that someday I want to have coffee in the morning with Him because it is my favorite time of the day and I love coffee.
Happy to slip away while my girls are sleeping, I pass walkers and runners embracing the early morning.
I wanted to be here.
Sometimes I just sit still. No pleas, special requests, suggestions or recommendations presented to God, but just sitting still admiring the beauty and quiet of the morning.
I see something in the water ...
and I smile. It's for me. God is such a gentleman.
Never have I seen a flower along these shores and I appreciate that the color complements both my coffee travel mug and the splash of pink in my riding outfit. Some may say coincidence, but not me.
Not sure how long I sat there, because I didn't want the moment of the morning to end. My mind wondering what it would be like if God did indeed join me on the dock. I'm guessing a 1/2 hour passed.
I heard in my mind out of no where, "It's over."
What is over?!?!
"It's over."
A memory came to me ... many moons ago, when Mariah was little her dad and I was in an ugly court custody battle and while I had every justification of solid documentation as to why he should not get shared parenting, she was being given the opportunity to say what she wanted.
I knew the seriousness of the question, she was a child and could not comprehend it. So, I brought her down to this very dock on the lake and we had our feet dangling in the water as I was doing my absolute best to communicate to her this decision.
It didn't surprise me that should would say she wanted shared parenting. She has always been a girl-on-the-go and bouncing back and forth having a good time everywhere was what she liked.
Fast forward to last night ... it is over. Her dad has passed away and last night we moved all her things from her dad's house home.
I don't believe in coincidence; rather, all things happen for a significant reason.
While I was having morning coffee with God, He reminded me it was over. All of it. The struggles and years of fighting with their dads.
What a moment of realization.
I sat there a while longer and reflecting back over all of it and then I thought of my girls at home most likely just waking up. Happy, healthy, strong and mine, both at home with me and I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
I loved my morning coffee today, but I was more than ready to bike home and make breakfast for my girls.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Put-in-Bay (PIB)
Labor Day weekend and we slipped away to Put-in-Bay, the little Key West of the north.
Wildly romantic and fun-filled, we rented a golf cart and David laughed hitting every pothole in the
road on my side of the cart!
We enjoyed a pina colada sitting in our favorite over-sized
seat, the exact place where I told him one year ago this weekend, “I am wildly, crazy, madly
in love with you!”
We rented mopeds and raced all over the island, had a lunch
on the beautiful patio at Blu Luna.
Heinaman’s Winery, eating ice cream, touring the island, gum spitting contests, walking hand-in-hand, the piers filled with boats of all sizes up to cigarette boats and yachts, I'm capturing every moment taking photos for memory sake.
Our day winds down and we both agreed it was perfect.
We find ourselves on the far side of the island by the lighthouse when I saw a field of flowers I wished I had captured earlier when the sun was shining on it. David told me to take the picture anyway and we are both glad I did ...
Magical are the days when we slip away together.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Daily Love Notes
6 + 13 = 8300.
Six months ago I began to capture daily love notes. Funny things we do, moments that happen, acts of love, words of affirmations and all the ways I fall in love with him daily as a memory of our life together for him to read "someday."
6 months later, 13 pages in a Word document and 8300 words of daily love notes captured. I want him to know that every moment in our life together counts and I didn't miss a blink or a heartbeat of what he puts into us every day.
Daily Love Notes
For
David
Every day I fall in love with you over and over and I tell you
in my words, my affections, and my affirmations. I hope to hand you a book some
special day that is filled with love that is date-stamped reminding you of the
little things you do every single day mean more to me than anything money can
buy. I love you, David Franklin, and I love our life together. I hope you are
my forever because you are the one I cannot imagine my life without ...
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Rendezvous'
In the middle of a hectic work week for both of us, David texts and in grand spontaneity plans a romantic rendezvous'.
How fun it was to have the day and an already rough work week by Wednesday redeemed by both of us slipping away from work early to be together and to be pulled into his arms ...
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Blair Witch Project
David text and asked if I wanted to go night fishing with him. Yayyy! Look at me being invited on a guy activity he usually does with his dad, friends or by himself.
I made a quick pot of coffee, because heading out at 9:00 p.m. is the start of pre-bedtime exhaustion, put on walking through the park appropriate long clothing to ward of mosquito's and was in my very best wait-till-he-sees-what-a-good-fishing-partner-I-am persona.
It's pretty dark outside.
He doesn't really know I am afraid of the dark. In all fairness, I guess we've never been put into a dark like this outdoor situation.
We pull into the park with a parking lot full of trucks with boat trailers. Good, plenty of people.
Not good walking away from everyone ...
With flashlight in hand, I follow behind him on a trail back through the woods. I do a mental quick-assessment of exactly what do I have on me for protection sake? A cell phone is only as good as the reception that it gets and I'm not so sure I am so speedy to access it, dial for help, then try to explain where I am in this massive park. A weapon will work better.
Flashlight in his hand, me behind him does not give me a lit path. Panic and fear creep up on me.
Dear God, he comes back into these places by himself?! I know I sent up at least 10 serious as all heck prayers that I will need 10,000 angels surrounding us for safety, but please God, don't let me see even one angel! I prefer the invisible realm to me, but clearly seen to others.
A quick memory check to remember if I've ever heard of bodies found back here. All the while, David is tromping fearlessly through this dark forest.
We arrived at an open area by the water. In the daylight, I'd bet it is a beautiful spot. At night ... the woods were singing in tree frogs and nuts dropping off trees.
The Coleman lamp lit, chairs set up and David remembers he forgot the bait in the truck. I'm getting punk'd, pranked and this is a funny set-up to scare me.
It wasn't.
I stayed behind at the fishing site with this incredible hatchet that I came to terms that I will use if need be. My back to the water, my eyes darted back and forth from side to side looking through the trees unsure of which side the attack was going to come from. David's flashlight disappeared into the woods.
Five hours passed ... okay, it was maybe eight minutes when David's flashlight came back into view.
Unaffected, unafraid to the point of relaxation and enjoyment on his end, this is what he loves. Fishing and night fishing.
Me, it felt like the Blair Witch Project and I don't watch scary movies for a reason!
If there are three men in my life I would select to be with if put into an unsavory condition, it would be with David, my dad or my brother. All three are fearless and neither of them would go down without taking casualties.
Remove the dark, the woods, anxiety and fear and it was truly a beautiful evening. The water calm, fishing lights from boats graced the waters and it was a warm summer evening with no chill in the air or any nighttime aggravating bugs.
David knew I nervous but he didn't realize how unnerved I was. He laughed and said your hatchet is any good to you in your belt loop. I explain I would have looked especially crazed with a hatchet weapon in hand standing in the light of a Coleman lamp on the waters edge looking wild-eyed darting back and forth through the woods alone.
If you ever witness a scene like this while strolling on a path in the evening, it is probably just me night fishing with David as he is relaxing and doing what he loves.
I made a quick pot of coffee, because heading out at 9:00 p.m. is the start of pre-bedtime exhaustion, put on walking through the park appropriate long clothing to ward of mosquito's and was in my very best wait-till-he-sees-what-a-good-fishing-partner-I-am persona.
It's pretty dark outside.
He doesn't really know I am afraid of the dark. In all fairness, I guess we've never been put into a dark like this outdoor situation.
We pull into the park with a parking lot full of trucks with boat trailers. Good, plenty of people.
Not good walking away from everyone ...
With flashlight in hand, I follow behind him on a trail back through the woods. I do a mental quick-assessment of exactly what do I have on me for protection sake? A cell phone is only as good as the reception that it gets and I'm not so sure I am so speedy to access it, dial for help, then try to explain where I am in this massive park. A weapon will work better.
Flashlight in his hand, me behind him does not give me a lit path. Panic and fear creep up on me.
Dear God, he comes back into these places by himself?! I know I sent up at least 10 serious as all heck prayers that I will need 10,000 angels surrounding us for safety, but please God, don't let me see even one angel! I prefer the invisible realm to me, but clearly seen to others.
A quick memory check to remember if I've ever heard of bodies found back here. All the while, David is tromping fearlessly through this dark forest.
We arrived at an open area by the water. In the daylight, I'd bet it is a beautiful spot. At night ... the woods were singing in tree frogs and nuts dropping off trees.
The Coleman lamp lit, chairs set up and David remembers he forgot the bait in the truck. I'm getting punk'd, pranked and this is a funny set-up to scare me.
It wasn't.
I stayed behind at the fishing site with this incredible hatchet that I came to terms that I will use if need be. My back to the water, my eyes darted back and forth from side to side looking through the trees unsure of which side the attack was going to come from. David's flashlight disappeared into the woods.
Five hours passed ... okay, it was maybe eight minutes when David's flashlight came back into view.
Unaffected, unafraid to the point of relaxation and enjoyment on his end, this is what he loves. Fishing and night fishing.
Me, it felt like the Blair Witch Project and I don't watch scary movies for a reason!
If there are three men in my life I would select to be with if put into an unsavory condition, it would be with David, my dad or my brother. All three are fearless and neither of them would go down without taking casualties.
Remove the dark, the woods, anxiety and fear and it was truly a beautiful evening. The water calm, fishing lights from boats graced the waters and it was a warm summer evening with no chill in the air or any nighttime aggravating bugs.
David knew I nervous but he didn't realize how unnerved I was. He laughed and said your hatchet is any good to you in your belt loop. I explain I would have looked especially crazed with a hatchet weapon in hand standing in the light of a Coleman lamp on the waters edge looking wild-eyed darting back and forth through the woods alone.
If you ever witness a scene like this while strolling on a path in the evening, it is probably just me night fishing with David as he is relaxing and doing what he loves.
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