THANK YOU all for your prayers and good thoughts. my test came back negative for cancer. hallelujah & amen. i am healing well, and onward!

to lighten things up around this blog here are some things i think are just hilarious!

for those who are exercising in the new year don’t get distracted by bacon! but i want to set the record straight with all this bacon love going around lately: i’ve been bacon lovin’ since i was a little kid!

speaking of when i was little…

actually considering that i was the 4th girl in my family i think i was dressed pretty well! props to mom!

MUCH LOVE to you guys! i pray the blessings of God all over your one and only life! i pray that he abides in your heart, mind, and soul, and that you have the courage to walk in the fullness of his glory.

every year i do a year in review post. the past week i’ve been thinking about this post in the midst of being half out of it, and every time i would think about what to write about in my year in review post i would get these random moments from the past year in my head and as a writer i would see myself writing about the moments but then i would also see the reader completely confused and asking, ok, so what? maybe that is the type of year i had, i don’t know, but here goes my year in review post for 2012!

a few random moments from 2012

my world becomes bigger

i am on a bus and i am in mexico headed to my summer trip destination. no one on the bus speaks fluent english but the people i am with. at this point i have survived the border and we are a few hours beyond the border and dawn is breaking…i am asleep but then i wake up and look out the window and i see tons of cacti and mountains, and it’s far from what i expected the landscape to look like. it’s beautiful and serene, but at the same time i am like what in the world am i doing in the middle of mexico on a bus full of non english speaking people? two things run through my head. 1. i am single with no kids, and i don’t know when that status will end so i am FREEEEE to be in the middle of nowhere (not to say married people with kids don’t travel). and 2. i am making my world bigger, and that’s what i want to do in my life. connect with people who don’t look like me, speak like me, or believe like me.

i am like a teenage girl

i make sure i take a nap and then load up on coffee because i am going to go see the final installment of the twilight saga, with a group of women who are in their 20′s and 30′s. it’s ridiculous, but let it breathe. you know, let it live. what is the appeal? something extraordinary happens to an ordinary girl. and then there are cute guys. go ahead, start poking your holes in my argument. lalalala…not listening. on the ride home from the movie i get a text message from an old guy friend and of course i don’t reply because i am driving. but it all leaves me confused and dazed like a teenage girl.

a song comes on the radio

it’s one of those mornings when i literally don’t know how i’ve managed to wake up, remove myself from my bed, dress myself, walk out the door, get in my car, let up and down my car garage, drive out my neighborhood, and get onto interstate 20 in the right direction…the way to work. the other direction eventually leads to georgia and i live in texas. i’m so not feeling the morning and then a song comes on the radio. “our God is greater” by chris tomlin. and i know everything is going to be okay!

a lame goal gets axed

it’s like, what to do? what to do? new year, new possibilities. finally i come up with a goal for 2013! for 2013 i will not just “like” my friends status updates on facebook but i will make comments. everyone love comments, right? i will be the commenting chick for 2013. this sends my thoughts into a spiral, not up but down. where has my ambition gone? what has 2012 done to me? and so i think of something else. something less lame. when you don’t know what to do figure out a way to help someone. and so for 2013 i am going to help as many people as i can. it’s a simple goal but i think i can do it. like the barack obama t-shirt says, “i got this.” starting now, tell me what i can do for you. i want to help you dream bigger and accomplish more!

i googled it

i love sunsets and sunrises, and one day i was thinking about them and how i would tell the difference between the two if i was ever lost in the woods and went to sleep and woke up and i didn’t have a watch or a compass and so i had no sense of direction or time. how would i know if i was looking at a sunset or a sunrise? in this case if i was really in this situation i could just wait it out, give it a few minutes, eventually things will either get lighter or darker. clarity will come. on google i learned that you can tell by the hues.

and then just this morning

i woke up and started crying…because i want to do stuff. week before last i was terribly sick with a cold or something, then last week i had surgery and i’ve been resting and resting. AND IT’S KILLING ME!!! i want to do stuff. you know, stuff. incredible things! this and that. it’s a new year and i got to start it strong! i calmed myself down, and told myself i will get there. i will recover.

His countenance upon you

thank you for being awesome. thank you for reading my blog and connecting with me in 2012. i am sharing the aaronic blessing with you because i wish you all these things!

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.” – Numbers 6:24-26

here is a handwritten note from me wishing you a happy new year! :)

love,
glo

* * * P R E V I O U S years

2011: never sit with your arms folded, because the universe wants to give you so many incredible things
2010: i am addicted to the challenge, the let down, and the pay off
2009: hello 2010, goodbye 2009

this morning i brushed my hair for the first time in 48 hours. for a moment it seemed like i was developing dreads, but i hear dreads are a lot to take care of so i put a comb through it. you see, this week i had surgery to remove 5 masses in my breasts and combing hair isn’t really on the list of things to do when you are recovering. sleep and meds is at the top.

i feel like i haven’t been upfront with my readers, but i haven’t mentioned this ordeal on my blog because i don’t want to make it into a big deal. it is what it is, and i will be okay. i am okay, God is a healer. my level of pain has been so below what i expected (and remember i am built human tough!). my x-rays were rated a 4 out of 5, 5 being most likely cancer and 1 being most unlikely cancer. i won’t know until they run test on the masses they removed. i expect a good report!

God blessed me with wonderful friends and family. my mom spent a couple days at my house taking good care of me. thanks M O M! and i had a wonderful medical team, top rate service.

in the past few months i’ve had my moments that make me really relate to this someecard, “who do i speak to about quitting adulthood?” like, really. but sometimes you just have to cope and hope.

anyway, hope you guys had a good christmas! i got a miter saw for christmas from my parents. like the best gift everrrr! haha. i am a girly girl and if it comes in pink i want it, but i am not afraid to get my hands dirty. for 10 days i am not suppose to carry anything over 10 pounds, i can’t wait to heal and get in my garage and cut wood and make stuff. this is going to take my crafting to another level. i am going to be so ready for craft wars!

i take great pride in being delusional and thinking i can create anything. don’t tell me otherwise. please don’t. just let me be!

love,
glo

hi friends, i feel like i’ve been m.i.a. concerning this bloggity blog. i’ve been distracted by many things. i want to make promises for the new year but that would be oh so cliche.

however, i want to (and will) wish you a very merry christmas!

today i was reading in matthew 1 about the birth of Jesus, and how joseph was trying to figure out what to do about mary’s situation (pregnant but not married). an angel of God appeared in a dream telling joseph exactly what to do. sometimes we are like joseph, trying to figure things out on our own and all we really need is a word from God.

the bible says joseph woke from the dream and did exactly what God’s angel commanded in the dream.

maybe you’ve already heard a word from God but is not following through with the command and in the process the lack of obedience is holding you back from what God wants to birth in your life!

ok, didn’t plan to go all devotional on you guys, but it’s something to think about.

hope your Christmas is bright and merry. will be spending the day with my lovely family. so blessed to have such an awesome family!

love,
glo

the past couple weeks i’ve been thinking about how affectionate my 2nd graders are. they love to hug! i don’t remember this the last time i taught 2nd grade. but one of my students said he will only give me hugs on tuesdays and thursdays! okay, i can handle that.

in my everyday life i am not really a hugger in general. some teachers are hesitant about returning hugs to students for obvious reasons, but when you teach at the elementary level hugs are just part of your day.

i have one student who gives me a hug about once per hour. what am I to do? tell them no more hugs? well, this is what i decided to do: i’ve told myself that i would do away with the pat on the arm and the pull away and instead embrace back. like give them a hug back. a real hug, even if they just had spaghetti for lunch!

i work in an inner city school and many students in my school don’t come from well adjusted loving homes. so i don’t know, but maybe the only embrace they will get for the day is from me.

and then yesterday i read about the school shooting in connecticut and i had to stop reading because i could feel the river of tears welling up. how could someone do such a thing to kids?

so even more so i will embrace my students when they give me hugs! whether it is only on tuesdays and thursdays or every hour!

prayers to those lost and those left without.

since the existence of my blog i’ve been marking world aids day on december 1st. it’s a tradition around here. why? because aids is something that is preventable and treatable, and it is a disease whose victims are unfortunately often not privileged enough for people to hear their voice or too young to articulate their needs to the world.

More than 34 million people around the globe are living with HIV, but only half of those eligible for life-saving treatment receive it. Last year alone, 2.5 million people around the world were newly infected with the virus. We can beat this disease, but only if we recommit to the fight today. – one.org

visit worldaidsday.org or visit the world health organization (WHO) site to learn about the life-saving medications called antiretrovirals.

the following is a video of UNICEF executive director anthony lake discussing UNICEF’s commitment to working hard to realize an aids-free generation.

click here to view embedded video

i encourage you to know the facts and become part of the global response to aids.

happy thanksgiving! :)

the title of this post is from the florence and the machine song “only if for a night”. i’ve been listening to her basically nonstop the past few months. florence welch’s vocals are incomparable, and her lyrics are something fierce.

if i knew how to do cartwheels i would do some in your honor. thank you for being a reader of my blog! i am thankful for everything God has blessed me with. He is incredible!

here are a couple pins from pinterest!

if your turkey looks anything like this i am coming over your house! and just to keep things straight….it’s bacon turkey and not turkey bacon! ;)

this year i don’t plan to stand in any lines! last year i didn’t plan on standing in any lines either but i ended up in one! i’ll see how this year goes!

have a safe thanksgiving!