I am a Member of the Aunt Club :)

As of 8 September 2009 I am the aunt of a brand new baby girl named Breelie Reese Paul.

She is a miracle of God as she was delivered emergency c-section style late last Tuesday. My sister went to the hospital with symptoms that added up to a condition called preclampcia (no ide how that is spelled). Complications with high blood pressure and fluid on the lungs caused the almost immediate c-section once she arrived. As her hubby and son were at football practice when she drover herself to the hospital, they barely made it in time for the delivery. The first couple of days for the new mommy were a haze as blood pressure medication left her groggy and drowsy, and breathing treatments left her exhausted. But she was home by Saturday evening in time to watch the USC vs. Ohio State football game.

Lacy and Breelie are now just fine and enjoying getting to know one another. Life on the outside has been an issue for Miss Breelie but I'm sure she will adjust soon enough. She definitely enjoys all the leg room.

And now, introducing the sweetest thing since chocolate:

Why.......

Ok...so I only have one question since you missed my point about the benefit of believing evolution over creation, and that is why is faith in something you cannot prove scientifically so unattractive?

Ecc. 3:9-11
What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

I also think that understanding life is hugely important. I'm actually studying for my certification in personal training and the first part of it is basically biology. Revisiting this material (since I haven't studied science since 2001) has been fascinating. It has cemented my views on Creationism. Now let’s talk statistics. There are over 100 trillion cells in the human body. Each has its own purpose and performs several functions at the same time. If we were machines we would have that many working parts. Statistically speaking, the more working parts you have, the greater percent chance for something to go wrong, yet our bodies (for the most part) run extremely well. Now if we just "accidentally" got to this level of sophistication through a series of ongoing mutations and evolutions over millions of years, taking place in billions of people – given the opportunity for failure, statistically speaking, there should be no uniformity amongst us.

And I certainly did not mean to purport evolution as a religion. I'm just saying that beyond "understanding life" there is no value to it, whereas there is benefit in believing in a sovereign God - if it is indeed true. But therein lies the rub. "He has set eternity in their hearts..." You have to think in terms of eternity for even God to be relevant.

If you can live long enough, you can put enough effort into learning everything there is to learn about physical life, so I will quote Ecclesiastes again – because Solomon was one of the smartest people in history and he also happens to have written a book in the Bible.

Ecc. 1:12-18:
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden god has lain on men! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted. I thought to myself, “Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is chasing after the wind. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.

Then he sums some things up in the last chapter:

12:11-14:
The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails – given by one Shepherd. Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

I quote from Ecclesiastes not because I’m a Christian and it’s our knee-jerk reaction to do so in these situations, but because Solomon was extremely intelligent, wise, and his kingdom was immense. He worked hard and partied hard, all to find out that everything he put his energy into was meaningless. All that mattered was serving God. I present Solomon of an example to study, merely an alternative to consider through the lens of learning from other’s experiences. You can know everything about physical life but in the end it means nothing. I list the entire book of Ecclesiastes as recommended reading. I don't have a website for it but you could probably google it.

I wasn’t accusing you of splitting hairs about the definition of “theory.” I was saying it was wrong. In science, a hypothesis is a theory until it can be proven through testing, yielding the same results over and over. Only at that point does it become a law. There maybe some theories that have significant correlations, but to become law they still have to be repetitively tested with common results.

Praise to God for a Living Hope

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 1:3-9

Comment Posted as Blog

I've had plenty of biology and science classes both in high school and colleges. As I have successfully passed all those classes, it stands to reason that I have a fairly basic understanding and familiarity with the definition of laws and theories and the ideas behind evolution.
I don't deny facts. What evolution does not do for me is apparently what Christianity does not do for you - in other words there is no bullet-proof defense for it.

Someone told me today that they can't believe that I am as tall as I am and still wear high heels. OK...so in that one statement there are two facts: 1) I am tall, and 2) I wear high heels. What the person who said that is doing, is he is taking those two facts and making an assumption that they are associated in some way, or that they should not be associated (i.e. only short people need high heels). And I propose that neither fact has to do with the other and are therefore coincidental facts, though they are undisputable. Furthermore, the man that said that is using his own attitude to interpret the association (he was shorter than me and we know how men like to be taller than everyone). The reality is that high heels have more to do with fashion than necessity of added height. I can reach the top shelf flat-footed, but in heels i just look much better doing it. This is what I think people who have created this evolution theory have done. A certain portion of history will always be a mystery and people will always want to fill in the gaps with ideas. But to what degree of certainty can the theory actually be tested and proven?
The same is true with what we know of the Bible, I think. I give you that. But I also believe in two things: 1) the Holy Spirit exists to communicate with us, and 2) that God's ways are higher than mans' so we need not worry about what we don't know - because God will reveal it to us when it is time.

Reality is never the problem. It's one's interpretation of reality that usually gets us all into trouble. Interpretation depends on whatever filters you have up. Lots of things go into putting up a filter, or attitude, about something. What you've been taught, what you have learned, what you have experienced...usually as nothing to do with actual reality at all.

Another thing you need to understand is that I do believe that over thousands of years certain species have adapted and potentially evolved based on their environments. However, I do not believe that we all started from the same mass. There are actually a lot of scientists who also believe in Creation. After having a conversation with a very intelligent and well-educated atheist, I did some research and found a really good article written by a Christian scientist. Sorry, I can't site it now. It's been a while....I'll see if I can find it.

Here is the bottom line with my opinion of evolution. First of all I feel it is improbable...but I won't get into that because I already typed it and it was like forever long. I will leave you with this. What is the pleasure in believing it? When the Creationist states we were made in the image of a loving God for a purpose, why would someone then choose to believe that humans came into being from simple organisms by accident? When you look at your baby girl's face, do you see just a successful accident with no apparent purpose in life but to be born, live, and die? Or is she a gift with a purpose to grow up, do great things, and bring you joy?

Next question, where do things like morals, love, and joy come from? If we evolved based on mutations and adaptations to our surroundings, and those mutations and adaptations were based on our need and instinct to survive, what use are those things? Although I see common threads amongst humans and some animals such as dogs, dolphins, and some primates, none of those animals need love or joy to survive - yet humans do. We search for joy in our relationships and other things. Most animals don't. We recognize the need for moral living, doing unto others, etc, but animals don't or at least not beyond their normal instincts, and certainly not to the degree that we do. Why have those traits if they don't preserve our own bodies? Could it be that we have a higher purpose than merely survival?

What is the benefit of believing in evolution? Nothing. It offers nothing past this life. There is no peace, rest, comfort or hope to be offered from that belief. Yet the Creator offers all of those to his children.

PS, I have never heard of the theory of gravity. I've only heard it referred as the law of gravity. And I watch a lot of Discovery and Science channel.

But apparently we both have a lot of time on our hands.

Why I Love Dallas Traffic

1. It's slow - so it gives you plenty of time to soak in the beauty that is DFW. Especially on LBJ between Town East and Jupiter.

2. It's slow - so you can listen to a lot of Mike and Mike in the Morning before having to walk into the office building. It doesn't matter that they cover the same three subjects over and over and over. This way you learn the material and learn it well. So, to re-cap: Plaxico Burress has to do two years for weapons charge in NYC; Brett Favre has come out of retirement for the 82nd time and is playing for once-rival Minnesota Vikings; and (for some odd reason) the Eagles signed Mike Vick. And that's just what's going on in the NFL. MLB - Puholes (however you spell it) is on his way to being the greatest hitter ever (until it's discovered he's on roids); Pudge is back with the Rangers, who are in the running for wild card slot; and the Yankees can do no wrong.

3. It's slow - so you get to continually test your endurance level to not wet your pants. Especially after drinking two 20-oz bottles of water before, during, and after your AM workout. "Can I make it one more exit at 8 mph? Oh, yes I can!!" GAME ON.

4. Did I mention it's slow? Well, that is just more opportunity to develop your situational awareness and develop strategies for getting somewhere. For instance, you always want to be in the second-to-left lane on 635 until you pass Jupiter. After that, move to the left lane and you're golden, unless you have to exit anywhere between Skillman and Greenville. Good luck with that.

5. It gives credibility to the theory of evolution which, until you have seen a bunch of idiots trying to operate motor vehicles on a four-lane interstate, had enjoyed no tangible basis for truth. You really might as well put apes behind the wheel. Traffic could not get worse. It really is tempting to think that some people really are related to monkeys.

6. I love how the rain compounds all the goodness I just mentioned. I love rain. I love how people think they can drive the same way in wet conditions as they do in dry. I even love how, despite hearing about 12 different wrecks on the radio, no one ever LEARNS that there is a corelation between the number of accidents and wet conditions. I guess that is either an indicator of a less than sophisticated reasoning capability as passed on from primate ancestors (see #5) or that society as a whole is insane if one considers the definition of insane to be trying something over and over expecting different results.

7. I love it when someone, who is probably downloading a new app to their iPhone or responding to an early morning text causes a wreck which brings the entire interstate to a dead stop. Yes. Three lanes all completely stopped. Which means I get to work late. Which means I have to leave work late. Which means I am pretty much guaranteed to have to deal with slow traffic on the way home as well. There are no "accidents." Wrecks are caused 100% due to someone not handling their business while they are behind the wheel. Yes, I guess there is a fraction of a percentage that are caused by oh, say, the brakes going out or something like that. But let's face it. Most of the time, it's just someone being stupid and not paying attention. I feel bad for the victims of this stupidity but I am angered by the perpetrator. You ruin people's day - and not just the person you hit!! Millions of people are affected by your negligence. You owe us all an apology. Because some people have to pee!

8. Even more than #7, I love it when there is a wreck on the OPPOSITE side of the interstate, yet my side is stop-and-go like we're waiting on a mama duck and her string of ducklings to cross the street. What a pleasant surprise it is to get up to the location of the wreck only to find out that IT'S ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD and you just wasted 30 minutes of your life because people just want to gawk. Thanks. Thanks a lot. I won't get that time back.

Note: I do not support or promote the idea of evolution or the conjecture that humans evolved from monkeys. I believe in divine Creation ONLY, but I can't help it if people take it upon themselves to make the case. But thanks to the 10 Commandments and laws of the land, survival of the fittest cannot be invoked to its full effect. So stupid people have God and the law on their side. No wonder they are so plentiful.

The Good News is...

That most of the people I work around, including Munchies, Loogie Man, and Corn Husker, will be leaving the area within a couple of months. They all work on programs that are not located in this building so they have to move. Too bad. Munchies is smacking ice as I type this. Why can't he keep his lips together when he chews? It's not difficult and it attenuates 90% of the noise caused by crunching.

I wasn't here two seconds this morning when Corn Husker made his notorious sound. I'm like, "really? this early?" And he's done it twice since I've been creating this post.

Loogie Man is out today but yesterday he must have sneezed 938 times, followed by the requisite snorting and readjustment of phlem. it's like he thinks he's in a vacuum and no one else can hear him. He is rather large both in height and girth, and the other day when he got up out of his chair, he let out this sound that made me believe I was at the zoo, overhearing an elephant giving birth. I think we should pool our money and buy him one of those chairs that lift you up and dump you out when you push the button. It will need the heavy-duty hydraulics though.

Today at work we got free ice cream and cokes for not having had an accident for some period of time. Isn't that special? Bet you don't get free goodies where you work.

My List of Gym Grievances

You will be able to tell what my grievances are by the below statements:

1. Wife beaters and tatoos and extra-long basketball shorts don't make you gangsta, especially if you have pale skin and a pot-belly.

2. Women over 40 - just because you are not a size 26W does not give you liberty to exercise in only a sports bra. Cover that up.

3. Women over 40 that are a size 26W - spandex is not your friend. You in spandex is not friendly to fellow gym-goers either. Please keep this in mind during your next sportswear purchase.

4. No, your hair is not too pretty to put in a ponytail. (You know who you are.)

5. If you're not sweating, then you're not serious enough. So go home and stop taking up valuable space. It's not a Miss America pageant. It's a gym.

6. Basketball players - there is a little concept I like to call defense. It's when you guard your guy so that he doesn't get the ball. If he does, you're supposed to not let him score. And you're also not supposed to slap your guy's arm if he's puttin the moves on you. That's a foul. Sorry, but that's the way it is. Move your feet and guard him right or take the whippin' like a man. Defense: learn it, live it, love it.

7. To the one basketball player that looks like the retarded twin to Orlando Brown - You have no basketball skills whatsoever. You are slow, uncoordinated, and blind. You telegraph your passes, shoot airballs, and can't dribble to save your life. Yet you insist on playing point guard and driving into the lane covered by three defensive players, plus the guy who's guarding you!! To make matters worse, you don't even see that there are then FOUR open people on your team to whom you should pass the ball to for an easy score. How is it that you keep showing up on my team? You have got to go.

8. To the Mr. Universe wanna-bes in the Affliction t-shirts - here's a little diddy I like to call "You're So Vain."
You walked into the gym like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically cocked to the right
Your brim was straight
You had one eye on the mirror as you watched yourself flex
And all the girls dreamed that you would move out
Move out of their way, and

You're so vain, you probably think this blog is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this blog is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

Well, that's my version of the song, at least. Maybe I'll finish it one day.

PS - you are also short.

9. Lesbians - don't be checkin me out.

10. Boys - can you pelase share the cable machine or do you really all have to use it at once?


I will leave it at that. Please post a comment on what your gym grievances are. I look forward to hearing from you!

Hellooooo

Does anyone read my blog???

Update from Yesterday's Post...

The Munchies is back. His wife had the baby. Everyone is doing OK. He is smacking ice with gusto. With a new baby you would think he'd be too tired to chew ice.

Corn Husker is also at it full tilt.

The phrase "things could be worse" comes to mind but is little comfort.

What to do when a Co-worker Makes Gross Sounds

As it turns out, I have yet to determine an appropriate response to the subject. So, I googled it. (By the way, Google has yet to disappoint. You can pretty much google anything and get plenty of subject matter, no matter how random.)

Anyway, yes, I googled "what to do when a coworker makes gross sounds. Obvious reason being that I work within 15 yards of three different MEN who cannot or will not control their noise. I call it audio infringement.

Coworker number 1. We'll call him The Loogie Man. I guess he either has seriously bad allergies or he has some sort of sinus infection. I'm sure his health is all around poor as he's probably at least six feet in circumference. He's old enough to retire within the next two or three years so I don't see either issue improving anytime soon. Anyway, he is always sneezing, blowing his nose at about 20 decibels too loud, and snorting all the descending snot back up into his sinus cavity. Constantly. He sits in the CUBICLE across the aisle from me. He also talks loud. I think they teach you to do everything loud in the Army. Why they expect us to get any work done in cubicles is beyond me, but that's a subject for a whole 'nother post.

Coworker number 2. We'll call him Munchies. He just can't not eat ice. And he smacks everything else he eats. He'll eat his lunch - which always includes chips. All I hear his a "hagch, hagch, hagch" sound for about 45 minutes. Why it takes him that long to eat his lunch is a wonder. He looks like he enjoys food immensely. And then I hear "tsss-nap" as he opens up his carbonated beverage, which he pours over a styrofoam cup of ice. So he eats his chips, drinks his coke, then eats the ice. And that's just at lunch. The process repeats itself for when it's snack-time. Yhere's a reason I nick-named him "Munchies." He's a nice guy though. He's been out all week. I wonder if his wife is having their baby. But seriously, eat quieter.

Coworker number 3. We'll call him Corn Husker. Another old man who is on the verge of retirement. (Munchies is young.) I wonder if Corn Husker is ODC or has some type tick. Although I think I hear him caughing at times, he seems to have no major issue with sinuses or allergies so I don't understand the necessity of this sound he makes. His deal is - about every 45-90 seconds, he has to do this thing which is somewhere between clearing his throat and hocking something up. The best way to describe it is, ya know when you've been eating popcorn, and a husk gets suctioned onto the back of your tongue where your throat starts so you do this little hybrid cough-hock sound? Well, that's it - and there it went again!!! As I type this blog. However, unlike the Loogie Man and Munchies, he is across another row of cubes, and aisle and is in an "office." Office is in quotes because the walls are made of extra-tall cubicle wall pieces. It has a door, but no ceiling. So there is no glamour that comes with that "office." Anyway, I hear it all the way over where I sit. I wonder if it would help if he closed his "door." Doubtful, since there is no ceiling. Seriously...it's like we work in play-pens for adults.

The good news is, that after reading the various assortment of posts, blogs, and Q&A sessions which compiled the list of results from my google inquiry, there are people who work with coworkers a lot more weird and obnoxious than mine.

I don't understand peoples' lack of situational awareness. They operate in their own little world and don't bother to think about how they impact those around them. I'm quiet as a mouse. Except for typing.

The End of the Tunnel

FINALLY I got a new job. It isn't exactly what I wanted, but as usual, the Lord came through just in the nick of time, to provide for me what I actually need, but don't necessarily know it yet. For months, I have been praying for my house to sell and to get a "job opportunity" back in east texas. You know, be reunited with my roots and closer to my boyfriend, in no particular order (wink, wink). But anyway, the housing market is bad. I would have had to sell my house at a loss, which is a dumb move. So, I began to look at job postings internal to the company where I already work. Long story short, I was contacted, interviewed, and made an offer within a week. The best part is that I don't have to sell my house for this job, and it's a promotion and significant increase in pay. Despite the fact that I still have to continue doing the same type of job (which I find completely boring), I have peace about this because I know the Lord orchestrated these events and therefore, has something wonderful awaiting me. I've been wanting to move on from my current job for about two years now. So I'm ecstatic to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Whistle While You Don't Work

I am a professional procrastinator. Especially when it comes to busy-work like updating spreadsheets. Or modifying subcontracts. Or evaluating cost reports. Or paying invoices. These things rate down there with vacuuming, watching paint try, and pulling weeds from the flower beds. I do get paid to do that stuff though....during the hours of 8AM and 5PM.

So it is my lunch hour and I'm eating stir-fry from the cafeteria. Chicken and szechan sause. I think I spelled that wrong....but since I don't speak Chinese, that is to be expected.

I actually got up this morning and worked out before work. I was at the gym by 5:30....let me just tell you - it feels GREAT to get up and work out. It does wonders for your mood, even if you have to come to work and update spreadhseets, modify subcontracts, and evaluate cost reports.

List of things I would rather be doing right now:

• Working on my tan
• Playing golf
• Working out
• Folding laundry
• Studying (any subject would do, except for maybe anthropology)

So, that's that. Have a good day.

News from the Non-digital World

So it's been a few months since my last post, as I have been frequently reminded and/or chastised by my- ahem - loyal readers.

Some of the things that have happened since before Christmas:

1) Went to the North Texas Golf Expo with Jon. We got a chance to listen to Hank Haney, Golf Coach to Tiger Woods, and now the infamous Charles Barkley. (He was actually a little infamous before he showed off that awful golf swing.....) Jon got his picture taken with the magnificant icon. *Snaps for iPhones*

2) Learned that my sister is going to have her first baby!!! I'm so excited! She finds out in a few weeks what she's having - a boy or a girl. We're hoping for a GIRL.

3) I still haven't sold my house. Still haven't found a new job. Still in a career identity crisis.

4) Decided to buy my very own new set of golf clubs. This is very exciting for me - not that I don't appreciate the borrowed sets I've been able to play with......but I think I'm ready to take my game to the next level. This is only Step 1 of 258 things that needs to happen so that I can improve. Look for me on the LPGA tour in 2014. Hehehehe

5) Helped throw my friend Amanda a lingerie shower. (Don't worry, it was not out of control.)

Well, that's about all I can think of. Or just all I'm willing to put on the www.

Have a wonderful day, and thank you for visiting my blog.