The Creepster Has Risen!

**So I actually wrote this last year on Easter, but since I lost that blog, I thought I'd repost to the new blog site. Besides, it was one of my more popular posts accounting to Google along with my Good Friday post. :-) ** 

Wow….today marks the most important day in all of history. And I swear I’m not joking around this time. It really does. 

THE most important day ever. 

As in ever EVER. 

The greatest event in human history of all time. One that has impacted every corner of our Earth.

Today represents the day that roughly 2000 years ago, Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead. (Creepy, I know.) I’m overwhelmed at the thought of it. I mean, really….someone coming back from the dead??? Literally. Dead. As a doornail. Then alive. Walking and talking like you & I. And it’s not just a myth or folktale. Thousands of people saw him. It’s been documented. It's probably the best and most accurately documented event in history. There's manuscript evidence, archaeological evidence, eyewitness accounts, corroborating accounts, literary consistency and changed lives to prove it happened.... plus some other types of consistencies and expert scrutiny.

Craziness. 

(But that’s old news… if people do any true and hard research they'll know that. And I’ve already covered how crazy and creepy He is before.)

He basically rocks my face off (and will yours too if you let Him)…and not only because He didn’t come back all goblin & ghoul style from the dead, but He came back to give us the opportunity to have everlasting life…..WITH Him. Pretty damn cool if you ask me. Cool in the most un-creepy, but still creepy type of way possible. 

I pray that we all focus on Him today and all days to come. We can’t just think about him during our hour long church service today (or just during Christmas). He’s more involved with our lives than we can even imagine. So let his creepin’ butt in your life and start to recognize Him all around you. I know I’d rather have Him creepin’ on me than anybody else….what about you?

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”– John 3:16 

“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you. So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” — Matthew 28:6-10

I can’t wait to see this face in person someday. It gives me chills thinking about it! I pray you feel the same. It’s going to be awesome! Hope to see you there! 

The Greatest Author of All Time

**So I actually wrote this in 2011, on Good Friday, but since I lost that blog site, I thought I'd repost to the new blog. Besides, it was one of my more popular posts according to Google. :-) ** 

Today is “Good Friday.”

For most people, that means an amazingly lazy day off of work.

(Okay – that’s exactly what it means to me too! #Guilty… And yes, I still use hashtags in my blogs. #GetOverIt)

Today though, is more importantly the 2000-ish anniversary of the day my home-boy, Jesus, was crucified.

Now, hang on… whether you’re a believer that Jesus was Christ or not… this event DID happen. Jesus was a person who lived approximately a gazillion years ago, and he was crucified. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that proves this event happened. But that's not the point of this post. 

Non-believers, your issue with the J-Man is not relevant until Sunday… it's only Friday right now. So keep reading…

Have you ever read any details on what happened a gazillion years ago today? If not – here you go. It’s actually a really great story… especially if you’re a dude and into power struggles, blood, guts and gore. (And ladies – don’t tell the guys, but there’s a love story mixed in there as well… shhhh!) Maybe just try to think of a way more old-timey version of Gladiator…

Anyway – I digress.

So here is a very short and sweet synopsis:

• Jesus is found guilty by the Roman governor back in the day. (Guilt of nothing, really… but the story line wouldn’t have a cool ending if He hadn’t been convicted, right? The Screen Writer of this story definitely knew what He was doing in order to make the climax really hit home. NOBODY saw the ending coming. Except maybe a prophet or two, but whatever… you get my point.)

• A true criminal named Barabbas is released in His place. (Way to go, Governor… Way. To. Go.)

• Jesus is mocked, beaten, ridiculed, and tortured. (See? Great dramatics right there…)

• He is hung on a cross to die, with nails punctured through His hands and feet – while still awake and fully aware of the pain. (They didn’t have the humane methods of the death sentence back then that apparently we do today. Though Jesus did get a Last Supper of bread and wine, which is cool. #WineRocks #SoDoesBread #HopefullyHeHadSomeButterOrJamToo)

Alright, so that's the short and sweet version. 

So about today. Good Friday.

What confused me for the longest time was why it was call “GOOD Friday.” I don’t see anything “good” about our much loved protagonist being mocked and beaten. I also personally don’t know how He was able to take it. I’m not really the stand-back-and-let-people-belittle-and-hurt-me type. (Maybe that's why I'm not king.)

People on the side of the road even poked fun at him regarding His claim to rebuild the Temple in three days. (This, ladies and gentlemen, is what you learned in 9th grade English class. A little thing called “foreshadowing.” Take note.)

You know what I would have done to those jokers if I had been King??? 

Rocked their little Roman, helmet-and-toga-clad world, that’s what…
Maybe I would have pulled a bazooka out of my terry cloth and wasted them right then and there.

Wait – bazookas weren’t invented yet, you say? Well, that’s the cool part of being the Son of God. I could have magician-ed a massive bazooka into my hands right out of thin air.

Or maybe I would have used more era-appropriate measures such as a swarm of King Cobras or wild dogs to take them out at the knees and ankles.

Or...

Maybe I would have let all of what actually happened, happen…

Just like Jesus...

No, never mind.

I most assuredly would NOT have done it His way. We all know I’m not smart or creative enough to write the ending that did happen; where three days later, the Writer had Jesus rise from his tomb.

And now, all of mankind has the chance to live happily-ever-after…. for eternity.
(The “ever-after” part there is quite literal.)  

God created and played out in real life this story. And he did it for His enemies.

He did it for you. 

He did it for me. 

What kind of crazy, out-of-this-world love is that? 

I wouldn't have done it. Never. I would not have sacrificed my own child for anyone, not even someone I loved deeply. Let alone my enemies.

But that's a pretty sweet ending for us, huh?

So yes – I do finally understand why today is called “GOOD Friday.”

Psst! In case you’re still wondering… For lack of a better, theological type of answer, it’s because today is the day that Christ purchased us with his blood that lead to His resurrection. It’s a holy day. A very good day, indeed.

Boom. In your face, Roman soldiers!

Make sure to check in with the sequel on Sunday. That’s when the really good stuff happens!

Wine Country, Near Celebrity Sightings, & Near-Death Cycling Experiences

So if you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you'll know Bryant & I went to California a couple weeks ago. My husband manages and rides on an elite cycling team here in Memphis, and the team was invited to go out and for some training and fun in Santa Barbara, CA.

So you know what that means, right?

RHOMC overlooking LA
Ruth, Molly, Me, & Rebecca

Us wives decided we need a little "Real Housewives of Memphis Cycling" bonding time out in Cali as well!

So we all packed up and hopped a flight to LA, excited for a little R&R... at least for us females! My in-laws were amazing enough to come into town so Bryant & I could have one last little vaca before Numero Dos arrives.

We got into LA late and stayed the first night there. The next morning, the boys men piled into an 12 passenger van with their cycling gear and headed north to Santa Barbara County, while us girls stayed in LA for a day of site-seeing, shopping, and celebrity stalking.

And it was an absolute blast. I can't even begin to describe to you the blast the four of us had that first day. We did a celebrity homes tour, ate lunch at the infamous RHOBH Lisa Vanderpump's Villa Blanca, and moseyed up and down Rodeo Dr. We almost saw like 67 celebrities that day too.  Below are a bazzilion just a few pics of our entire trip.

Dining at Villa Blanca.
My fav pic of us.

Molly almost looking like a celebrity ;-)

Ruth & Molly

Somebody who was definitely ALMOST a celebrity
walked in & they couldn't help but stare

Rebecca, Ruth, Myself, & Molly about to head out
on the celebrity home tour

Tom, Katie, & Suri Cruise's old home

Because I had to snap a pic of this place! 

We went right by James Franco getting his Hollywood Star.
You can see this in US Weekly this week!

Dining a few feet away from us was Ken Todd.
The husband of Lisa Vanderpump dining
(from RHOBH & Dancing w/the Stars

Gate to the Playboy Mansion

This is the home Michael Jackson died in.

Where the Osbournes reality show was filmed.
Currently, Christina Aguilera's home.

We were TOTAL tourists in our buddy bus! And we loved every second!

Lucille Ball's home

Rodeo Drive

Aaron Spelling's old home. Largest home in LA & where Tori
Spelling was married. I almost sprinted inside the gate.
Had somebody dared me to... I totally would have have chickened out.

After our fun day in LA, we piled into our own rental and headed north to Santa Barbara to meet the boys men for dinner.

The next few days were packed with all kinds of California-Goodness. Friday, the girls went shopping. Which, let's be real... since becoming an M-O-M, I never get to do for myself anymore. And I must admit, it was a successful day of ME-NESS on State Street. :-)  

EIGHT hours later....
I did some damage to the 'ole bank account.
Shhhh... don't tell Bryant.

We added the Queen of Memphis Cycling on Friday to our click!
Myself, Ruth, Molly, Rebecca, & Janice. 

The next day, we got a driver and headed to Santa Barbara County's best wineries for a day of wine tasting! Being the lame preggo that I am, I wasn't able to partake too much, but Janice was sweet enough to grab me a couple bottles of NA wine! #SCORE #NOMNOMGRAPEJUICE

The wineries were absolutely BEAUTIFUL and we had so much fun. Go ahead and call us all wine connoisseurs now.

Ruth, Rebecca, Georgette, Janice, Molly, & Myself
The complete group of RHOMC

Bachelor fans will recognize this winery. :-)

Yes. These are cupcakes with WINE in the middle them.
Amaze.

We did have some drama on our winery day. What could have been MAJOR drama, was (thank God) only minor drama.

So there was a massive century ride going on all throughout SB County that day (which our husbands were all a part of). Cyclists were everywhere. In town, out of town... everywhere. Well, it turns out our driver had NO REGARD FOR CYCLISTS WHATSOEVER! 

Seriously.

Not an exaggeration. 

We came within inches of plowing a cyclist over when our driver decided to pull out of the parking lot right in front of him. I'm talking INCHES. The cyclist had to swerve into the other lane (of on-coming traffic) and proceeded to throw up a few well-deserved fingers in our direction.

Then, our driver decided to motor past other groups of cyclists at break-neck speeds, almost hitting at least 5-10 others.

Now y'all... I've been known to exaggerate stories every once in a while for the sake of dramatics... but for real....

OUR DRIVER ALMOST KILLED LIKE FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTY SEVEN CYCLISTS!!!

All within fifteen minutes of each other.

And he had a load of CYCLING WIVES in the car with him!!

W. T. H.

I mean, our husbands were out RIDING right at that moment!!

While all of this was happening...

Myself, Janice, and Georgette's automatic reaction was to duck our heads and not look. (Yeah, I know... shameful. I'm surprised this was my reaction. I'm normally a pretty vocal passenger.... okay, or just vocal in general...Whatever.)

Molly was busy trying to brace herself after being slid around the back seat while the driver swerved back and forth across the double yellow lane into oncoming traffic. 

Rebecca was loudly calling from the backseat, "There's another one! Oh my god!"

And Ruth was busy hanging on for dear life while politely yelling in her sweet southern accent, "Sir... Sir.... SIR!!!  There's another one right there! THEY HAVE THE RIGHT AWAY, SIR!! Treat them like another vehicle! SIR!!!!!"

After we successfully almost killed the 567th cyclist, the driver then had the gall to ARGUE with us about cyclists on the road and tell us how irritating they were.

Alright, so let me set something straight for everyone reading this.  This is a very short and condensed version of how to obey traffic laws in reference to cyclists that may be around you.

If you are driving and see a cyclist... by LAW you must treat them like another vehicle....because technically - they ARE. (No shit, Sherlock) When passing a cyclist, you must give a minimum of 3 feet between you and them.  If they are in front of you.... THEY HAVE THE RIGHT AWAY.

Anyway, the driver eventually shut the f up when he dropped us off for lunch and sped away.

However, we DIDN'T shut up about what a complete moron he was. We ended up calling the driving company and demanded a new driver and may have told the owner of the company that cyclist-killer may have been drinking or something.

Luckily, a new driver picked us up after lunch and he was much better. We were then able to relax and enjoy the rest of the wineries we visited.

Whew.... that was a day.

*To all the cyclists who rode in the Santa Barbara Century ride a few weeks ago.... 

I sincerely apologize for the black Lincoln Navigator that decided it might be fun to buzz your tower over and over again. He was reported.

So our final full day in Santa Barbara was spent working out, lounging and exploring the beach with the entire group. It was beautiful.

The crew.
Ruth, Bryan, Scott, Yosh, Dale, Molly, Janice, Jimmy, Ben, Rebecca, Me, Bryant 

B got mad at me for posting this filter on Instagram
because apparently I made him look like a lobster.
Oops.

The ridiculous-ness hardly ceases

Bloglovin!

Well, I guess there's a new "Reader" out there for all the Google Reader peeps who are losing that service.  This actually doesn't bother me too badly since I needed to clean up my reader anyway and my blog was hacked and jacked and lost all it's "clout," if you will.  Oh well... you win some you lose some.

I'm just now trying out this "Bloglovin" site and thus far it looks like it's going to work well. Anyway, go ahead and add my blog to your Bloglovin list!  It's up there now!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

What You Don't Know About Me

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I took this idea for a post from Christin. I thought it might be cool to share some stuff about me that you probably don't know already. Or maybe its not cool, but whatever. Here goes...

1. I have adorned myself with three tattoos. #shameful
2. I have an almost completely full head of gray hair. It's genetic. And it sucks.
3. Apparently, my nose is super squishy. I have friends (including my husband) who will squish my nose just to feel it's squishiness. And then they'll laugh. #truestory
4. I have extremely long toes. Like, extreme. They're more like fingers. And while I pretend they are pretty and will usually defend them, they really aren't. At all. Picture what E.T.'s toes might look like and that's my foot.
5. I hardly ever eat the very last bite of my food. And it irritates the crap out of my husband.
6. I used to love mayo and hate mustard. Now I hate mayo and love mustard.
7. I know I would have been a stellar quarterback for my high school football team. And we were state champs four years running. Yep. I would have been that good.
8. I use mascara as eyeliner instead of actual eyeliner. I just smash the brush onto my lower lids. I know, I know... I should have been a makeup artist. I clearly missed my calling.
9. I changed my name in 8th grade when I moved to Georgia and changed schools. Dumbest thing I've ever done. Thank God we moved again after that year and I was able to turn back into Kristin again.
10. I was once a part of a hooligan group of teenagers who accidentally set the southern New Mexico desert on fire one 4th of July weekend by shooting fireworks across the Rio Grande. Luckily, nobody was injured... Or arrested.
11. I know every single lyric to the Prince song, "Pussy Control." Classy, I know.
12. In college, I worked at Victoria Secret for a while. So yes, I am now skilled in the art of knowing what bra size women wear, just by looking at their boobs. Try not to be jealous people. ;-)
13. I broke up a fight on my wedding night. That was a load of fun. Pause not.
14. I can chug a beer faster than my husband.
15. I have been known, along with my friend Molly, to purchase a new planner/calendar at every change of season. With this, I usually have at least 3 calendars at any given time.
16. My husband is currently laughing at me... not with me... while I write this.
17A. Math was my best subject in kindergarten, and never progressed after that.
17B. Going off of #17a and my stellar math skills: When shopping, I think anything is a great deal so long as it says "sale" or "clearance." No matter the cost.
18. I used to compete in "unofficial" sea-walk competitions/dance offs at parties in college. Me, going head to head with the NMSU basketball team. I rocked.
19. When I was the Head Instructor at UCA summer camps, I always placed myself as the demo instructor in Hip-Hop dance class so I could get a good, but fun workout in.
20. At one point in college, I was the only female living with five males. I get anxiety thinking back on it.
21. I have a dog named Weeman. Yes, named after the guy from "Jackass." His short legs, long body, and awkward face made it a necessary choice.
22. About 95% of people I meet tell me I remind them of somebody. I guess I have a familiar face.
23. I just wrote this blog post while sitting on a plane, scrunched in the middle seat, trying to not let the stranger next to me read about what a peculiar person I am.

As of Late

So what's been going on with me? Well, I'm glad you asked. ;-)

To sum it up: it's been a few weeks of a little bit of craziness. In the past few weeks I've been to Orlando, Louisiana, Philadelphia, and tomorrow I leave for Santa Barbara. And in between I've been trying to keep up with normal life and work.

Orlando was a quick trip where I spent all day everyday sitting on my butt in a dark venue judging the National High School Cheerleading Championship. While I had a great time visiting with old friends from my prior full time job, I have to admit, watching cheerleading routine after cheerleading routine is draining. The best description I can think of for you non-cheer peeps is to press repeat on the movie Bring It On.... over and over... for twenty four hours straight. Yeah, it's like that. And I secretly loved it. 

Sprint finish in the Crit. Bryant is on the right.

After Orlando, my dearest spandex-clad and cycling obsessed husband decided last minute we needed to make a trip down to Louisiana for a bike race. When I say last minute, I mean last minute. I was at a baby shower when I received a text message from him saying he registered for the Louisiana race and needed to leave within the next couple hours to get there. So I left the baby shower, got home, packed, and off to the bayou we went. It was a good time (considering the last second deal it was and the what should have been a 5 hour road trip that turned into a 7 hour one) and the husby did relatively well! He got 3rd and 2nd in the respective races down there, so getting a minuscule, wouldn't even pay for the gas down there extremely large paycheck made it not at all completely worth it. ;-) #LoveYouHusby

Hello Philly!

Next, I hopped a plane to Philadelphia for the 2013 Justice Conference last weekend with BFR. This event was amazing. Two words to describe it: divinely intentional. God had his hand on everything that weekend - from the sessions we sat in on, to the people we met, to the location in the venue our booth was placed, to what an amazing hair day I had.... (Oh wait, that part is not true at all. Never mind.)... It all just worked together for good. It did even on a personal level, as well. I was able to meet and connect with other authors and publishing companies as well. Not that I'm sure my book will ever need a publisher at this point, but hell, it was pretty sweet! It was actually pretty creepy how God played things out for me... and the whole BFR crew that was there. A cool creepy though.  ;-)  #ThereHeGoesBeingCreepyAgain ;-)

Mary Helen (Southern Rep), Christina (West Coast Rep) , & myself working the booth!

Last week's events went off amazingly well!  Maggie rocked the house and the event at Fleet Feet was so fun! I was just sad that I'm currently knocked up and unable to partake in the wine drinking while there! #PregnancyWoes

With Lacey at Fleet Feet! Thanks to Christin for taking this photo!

So what else can I update the interwebs on? Oh! As for baby Meda Grayson... well, apparently neither she or I are fat enough for everyone's liking.

I know, right? WTH. I feel like a fat cow at 30 weeks right now. And getting bigger and more uncomfortable everyday. However, I went in to my doc a couple weeks ago for a regular pre-natal checkup and she ordered me an "emergency ultrasound" to make sure Meda was growing enough. Her words, "You don't look big enough."

See doc? The inter webs
say I'm within the "safe zone"
for my fatness!
#SoThere

And then, she sent me to UT's High Risk Pregnancy center to see a perinatoligist and additional uber-high tech ultrasounds. Well, it turns out Meda is fine... just a tad small. The doc said he thinks she'll have a six-pack all her life. Ha! And at that, I said "You're welcome, little Meda." Even though she's ultimately fine, they are continuing to monitor me on a regular basis (on top of my normally scheduled appt's with my lady doc) to make sure she stays above the 10th percentile for her size.

I have to admit, it was all kind of scary there for a minute. I just have to make sure to keep eating and providing her enough nutrients. Thanks to all of this shenanigans, I have everybody in my life watching what I eat like a hawk. Which isn't cool. But I guess necessary. I feel like I eat plenty, but still get hounded. Oh well... I know everyone is just looking out for little Meda and her six-pack.

So that's what's been going on as of late.

Oh yeah - and I head off to LA and Santa Barbara tomorrow!  I'm sure I'll be posting on that jazz later! :-)