Funny story but not at the time

First I'd like to point out, I did gain 3 pounds on a 2 week and 2 day vacation. Once at home, I cleaned up my eating (mostly.) I've eaten tons of fruit and some salad and I've upped my water intake.

We had finished a lovely dinner at the Travellers Inn in Nassau and then we settled into bed for some shut eye at A Stone's Throw Away in Nassau. I wasn't sleepy, partly because we were on our way to Sandals. (There will be tons of posts about Sandals). As we were falling asleep in our king bed, I heard a very loud buzzing/flapping noise. I started to get terrified because I hate bugs. (I'd love to live in the tropics and so do bugs which causes me all forms of confusion because I don't want to live with bugs. I'm always saying bug when I see one and trying to flee from it.) The buzzing/flapping sound eventually got loud enough that Ryan had to get up and check it out. He pulled back the curtain and saw a large black moth or bat. When he put the curtain down, the critter got up, on top of the curtain rod in front of our veranda door. At the time, he wasn't sure what it was. I wasn't prepared to see what sort of critter it was and I was wisely hiding under the safety of the covers. He got the door opened and attempted to coax the large critter out. Thankfully, it was not a bat. The moth didn't want to go out at first but Ryan used his slipper to push him out. Convincing the moth to go outside took some time and I was whimpering and quietly screaming under the blankets.

I did not snap this photo, it came from an article that said the black witch moth is a sign of good fortune or death. This moth was bigger than my hand, which had Ryan trying to decide if it was a bat or moth. It was fully black and we have no idea how it became our nights visitor. At the time, I was scared out of my mind but the entire week of Sandals we laughed it off as a funny story (just not funny at the time.)

We are going through tons of photos and I can't wait to recap the entire experience! Please come back for more stories and please share any of your funny (maybe not at the time) story with me. I love a good laugh! 

Two things: the piano and weight loss. Lord please help me!

Very often, I find myself struggling with something and I come here to talk it out. It gives me a chance to think things through thoroughly and perhaps move the right direction. I am working on two unrelated  things: the piano and my weight loss. Clearly there is no relation between the two but I'm spending a lot of time processing both.

Currently, I am playing the piano at church for the junior high and high school students. I've committed to playing every Wednesday since September. There's been some highs and a lot of lows. I struggle with low self confidence because I don't know all the songs, don't play the way that the leaders would like and don't know all the keys all that well. (There's only 12 keys but I have yet to master them all.) One new leader has been added and soon we will have bi-weekly dress rehearsals. I'm for the dress rehearsals but I'm still pondering how I can break this knowledge barrier. I've asked for assistance and heard crickets chirping (perhaps they will reply to my email and perhaps I'm forgotten.) I've taken up flash cards to brush up on the basic music theory. I've watched a few youtube videos. I am a classically trained pianist that needs to know how to finesse music with nothing more than a chord chart. What really burns my fire is that I am playing the right notes but I'm not playing the way leadership wants. Playing chords is easy but adding that flare is not in my repertoire. Not yet anyway. All that I have left to do is to keep pushing forward and trying new things. Maybe someday I will break through and play fluidly with pizazz. 

Dear Lord, please give me and my fingers the wisdom to praise You as You deserve!

Secondly, I have lost weight successfully numerous times but I've struggled with maintenance. I am spending lots of time thinking of what workouts I need and my nutrition. I know that if I relax and stop focusing on this issue, the weight will come back. I can't let that happen. Losing weight is not hard but it takes dedication and if I can't maintain the weight loss, this would mean I don't have the dedication. I'm planning to start a weight loss group for my friends at work, church and the gym. I've been pondering a book as well. I will probably write the book on my blog, to help organize my thoughts. If I can help others lose weight, that will keep me dedicated to maintaining my weight loss. So as the thoughts come. I will be blogging my weight loss journey.

I have a review for a workout podcast coming up for tomorrow.

Serious Sunday

Often I wonder if I do a good enough job writing posts. Some day I hope to make money but at the moment I am content with providing you with a good story. I love connecting with people from all over the world through this blog and twitter. When I sit down to write, (since I can't schedule posts on my iPhone) I will just write whatever is on my heart and what I am passionate about. I have a schedule I stick to and it seems to work. What do you think? I love your feedback!

If you haven't entered the $40 target gift card giveaway, there's still time!

Please stay tuned for Make A Difference Monday!

Silly Saturday

Y..a..w..n..., scratch, scratch,scratch. E-diddy is taking the day off and we are taking over. We had a tough night sleeping last night. The bed was missing my favorite person in the whole world! My name is Chomps and I love my main squeeze R (to protect the innocent, I'll just use initials.) I am always depressed when he leaves.

The most interesting part of our day is usually 2 hours before dinner time. We gang up against the humans and begin the loud process of begging for dinner. Sure, it gets annoying and sometimes we meow at the same time in harmony. If we can get dinner early, then we can be happy.

We are really gentle with our humans and we love them but we don't care about their stuff. If its not a toy for us, it should have been. Furniture quickly turns into scratching posts until we get scolded. Dang it!

YEOWL....YEOWL....YEOWL!!! My name is Kirby and I don't meow. I'm proud to say I'm a screamer. I love to scream and sometimes I do it for no reason. It took me a long time to trust these humans but after a few years I realized they're pretty cool. I am a good looking cat and I'm always preening to make sure.

E-diddy wants you to stay tuned for Serious Sunday. Thanks for reading!

Thankful Thursday

Dear friends, Welcome to Thankful Thursday. It is a joy to remind you of all the blessings we have to enjoy. I have been through challenging times. Moments that were painful and lasted too long. Those were times when I needed to focus diligently on the good, even though I felt surrounded by misery. That was when this blog originally began. Humble beginnings. I grew into a strong person from that experience but I didn't know it at the time. I am visiting wonderful friends and family in Alaska.
In honor of this trip, I would like to share a short story. Anchorage, is not a huge city but it is the largest in the state. While we lived there, a Chili's was being built. I was ecstatic since Chili's reminded me of home. While sitting at my desk mindlessly not working, I saw the huge pepper for the signage drive down the street. At school I talked to my friends and classmates and quickly discovered I was not the only person who saw that massive pepper. Yes, Anchorage is not a huge city. When the day arrived for the opening, I am sure most of Anchorage went for dinner. I was smarter than that and waited a month. Sadly the buzz was not over and we had a long wait. We left Anchorage in 2004. So much has changed and much more has been built there. It is still not a huge city, but it is gorgeous!
What are you thankful for today? I love to hear your stories too. 

Weight Loss Wednesday

I'd like to thank everyone who has encouraged me as I share my struggle to lose weight. This is the wrong time of year but every bit as important. I am down 2 pounds and looking to shed 7 more over the next two months or so. Having mouth surgery has led me to and kept me from healthy choices. I'm eating all carbs since that's soft and staying away from chewy candies for fear of ripping out the temporary crown.

On a separate note, I baked four items yesterday: chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, peanut butter fudge, and banana bread. Wheat flour was used every where but the fudge. I didn't eat any of it! Yay! I have them in individual baggies to give as gifts to coworkers, neighbors, and staff where I live. Sadly, the chocolate chip cookies were in the oven too long and are very crunchy (something I am not eating right now.)

I am accepting guest posters for weight loss Wednesday's. Do you have a good tip or encouraging story? I'd love to hear it and feature it on my blog. Please contact me by leaving a comment or emailing me at estherdavison@gmail.com. Thanks and please stay tuned for thankful Thursday.

Thankful Thursday & Instagrid Party

Welcome friends to thankful Thursday and the instagrid party! Today, I'm thankful for funny stories. A good laugh is excellent medicine. The photo was Grandma-in-law's birthday and father-in-law put a candle for every year of her life. Honestly, I can't remember how many candles but it is more than 50. The smoke alarm went off and Don's eyebrows were slightly burnt. We were busting up laughing and the picture tells the story. That was a moment I'd like to relive. Maybe Ryan could do that to my cake but not any time soon. :)I'm repeating some photos for the instagrid party because the photos are so fun! Thanks to Anne at And Everything Nice blog for hosting the instagrid party. I hope your button gets fixed soon.END

Jus' thinkin'

I'm thinking that it would be great to be back in Australia. This photo was somewhere along the east coast of Australia in 2004.

I'm thinking that was a long time ago and my last international trip was January 2011. I love to travel and see the world. I'm getting back out there in September.

I'm thinking that we are overdue for a wild trip too. Fiji, Tahiti, Turkey, Nepal, Iceland. So many places that I need to visit.

I'm praying and thinking about my work. Hopefully my hunt will yield positive results.

I'm thinking that blogging is so much fun and I gotta get more consistent. I'm working my way towards more writing and posting my photos.

Since I'm still thinking about vacations, tell me about your best trip! I love a good story!

What a worry...

Today’s rating is Positive.

I haven’t heard about the job and its gotten me pretty worked up. I have been listening to Klove and I heard a great story about how a cancelled meeting meant a family of ten could have a nice dinner. Somehow the mistake was even more of a blessing with two extra pieces of chicken for two extra children for that specific meal.

If God can provide for that family, I know God can provide for me. Its so hard to be patient and wait for God’s timing. God has blessed us with a lovely apartment. Now I am praying to find the right company to rent my home. I am praying for the right job to come to me. Thank you God for your blessings even when I can’t see it!