Holly’s Blog

Event: Mountain Bike Race

Approximate distance: 1 lap = 5 miles

Lap time: 34:50

Temperature outdoors: 96 degrees

Humidity 99%

Heat Index: felt like 100 degrees (perhaps celsius!)

Insects: mosquitos actually tried to carry off one rider who stopped for too long on the “Dagobah/Swamp Trail” Seriously… you can’t stop out there… no amount of Deet keeps off the swarms.

Mud: present in multiple locations, enough to make spectacular flings.

Water: generally tends to be on a least one side of you at all times… at least I suppose it was there… you couldn’t really see any for all of the green scum on top.

Roots: ha, you haven’t seen roots till you’ve ridden these trails (and I use “ridden” lightly… sometimes it is more of  a rough heave and a “jounce” over and over and over them… oh, my aching quads!)

Women: besides myself, one wife there for moral support, for a grand total of 2

Fun Scale: 8… would have been SOOOOO much better if #1. I knew ANYONE there. #2. I wasn’t the only girl racing. #3. it hadn’t been SOOO hot and humid!!! #4. It had not been on a Sunday morning around church time! #5. If I had some cheerleaders there!

Rankings: #1 in Womens First Timer ( I was  the ONLY one!!! stiff competition for that!!! HA!) #2 in First Timer category (men and  women) The plaques are on my wall already!
Fastest lap time out there was 24:16, first timers did 1 lap, beginners 2, and sport did 4… no one raced “expert” 5 laps. A 15ish year old boy did a lap in 25:10, put me to shame!

I LOVE ADVENTURE RACING!!!!!

Granted… our #1 goal in the next race is to complete it… but that’s a long story… we were on the last leg of the race and simply ran out of time! It was Spectacular though… Some parts were just pure FUN… some, granted, were pure torture!!! All in all, my worst fear has come true… I think I’m addicted!!! I have to send out a HUGE thank you to my teammates… ya’ll were absolutely WONDERFUL to work with… we never had a single quarrel along the long, treacherous way. The real fun was who you were competing with.

Ok, also as a side note I have a new-found LOVE for the compass… those little things are mind-boggling effective. I had So much fun navigating today!!!

So… I’ve been too excited to sleep!!! I went to bed right before 11 last night and promptly woke up at 1245… wide awake! I finally gave up and started getting all of my stuff ready and cleaning my apartment. It’s sad when you are washing dishes at 3 am… something’w definitely wrong with that. anyway… in 5 hours I will be on the “Great Adventure”!

Now that I no longer update, I suppose I can just post in relative anonymity for a while now until someone, in extreme boredom and (questionable) loyalty, checks this abandoned blog of mine.

Ok, now to the good stuff!!!

I’m SOOO excited… my plane tickets to Nepal are finally booked and my Adventure Race is this Saturday!!! Can’t complain! This Adventure Race is going to be SOOO hilarious… I just can’t wait! I just hope everyone makes it out in one piece and still friends!

That’s all for now…

BTW… next on my list of “To Do Things (that everyone has given up on me every doing)”

Upload songs to my ipod

So… I just finished the registration for the Adventure Race myself and two other ladies are going to be doing May 10th. The most difficult part of this whole process… besides trying to FIND 3 other people who were as crazy as me, and to decide on a mountain bike to buy, and to get in touch with Kandi!!!…. was to decide on our team name. With the decision left up to me I came up with some options yesterday… here are some of them:

The Y-Nots!

The Rock-ettes

The Overcomers

Red Hot Oompa-Loompas

Spitting Llamas

The Tree Frogs

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Snap, Crackle, Pop

3 Times A Lady

After discussing the options with several people… having Danny Allen sing “three times a lady” for me, visions of tattoos and leather from Amber, giggles from Bekah, and the input of the Hill clan… I decided upon “the Rice Krispie Treats”. (Credit goes to Bob for this one) We are now officially: Snap, Crackle and Pop, respectively. A close runner up was The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, followed by Three Times a Lady, with The Y-Nots! getting honorable mention.!

Details to follow at a later date!

It’s SOOOO beautiful outdoors!!! The sun’s shining, the grass is growing, the flowers are blooming, its the “false spring” in the middle of winter. You gotta love Louisiana, where we don’t have winter, just unpredictable periods of cold weather. I wasn’t made for urban life! Here’s some of the flowers in the yard:

Gloria, by Watermark

I wish I could crash like the waves
Or turn like the autumn leaves
In effort to praise You

I wish I could smell like the forest
The fragrance lifting a mighty chorus
In effort to praise You
In effort to praise You

Chorus:
But I’m such a limited creature
And my word can only paint so many pictures
But somewhere I think I read that I am

Treasured over all creation
So I know that I must try

I wish I could roll like the thunder
To leave the earth below in wonder
In effort to praise You

I wish I could fall like the summer rain
And every drop would sing Your name
In effort to praise You
In effort to praise You

Repeat chorus

Gloria, glory in the highest
Forever I will hide myself in Thee (2x)

Every breath that I breathe
Every moment in my history

Is an effort to praise You
An effort to praise You

Glory in the highest
Forever I will hide myself in Thee

Oh, Gloria
Glory in excelsis deo

Gloria, gloria, gloria
Gloria, gloria, gloria

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”  - 1 John 1:8.  

A few weeks ago I was driving to work and contemplating my life… physically, with a birthday just occuring and my new job and all, and spiritually… where was I? All in all I was in my own little world having what I thought was a pretty decent conversation with myself… I was agreeing with myself that all was well and would be well. All in all I was pretty much minding my own business at 5:35 AM. Till God spoke. Da Da Dum…. He spoke the verse I quoted above, and it was so clear and cutting. He was saying to me if I thought all was well, well…. in fact, all was gravely wrong. I saw so clearly how my life’s focus was not on Him. When God said that verse He said it differently than I had been reading it all this time. He said, “… the Truth is not in you.” With a capital ‘T’. Christ Himself. I’m missing HIM in the midst of ME.

 I don’t have some great profound answer or ten easy steps to solve the problem, but I can tell you that I have been seeking God and true repentenece in these last few weeks… I feel like such an absolute dolt… I’ve been a ‘christian’ nearly my entire life… I am so ashamed that I am still stuck on the elementary principles of Christianity?! How Christ-like am I really? But, then there is verse 9: “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.” The fact is: I am wherever it is that I am; denial is not my friend any longer.Hoping and wishing and believing a lie isn’t going to get me anywhere. I can’t just ‘get by’ any longer!!! There is no just “getting by” in christianity! I need a total life-altering shift of more of Him and less of me.

I’ve been content to be deceived and deluded about the true state of things for too long: 

Deceive:

1. To cause to believe what is not true; mislead.
2. To catch by guile; ensnare.

Delude:

1. To deceive the mind or judgment of

“Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods, and worship them” -Deu 11:16

“A deceived heart has turned him aside, so he cannot delever his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?” -Isa 44:20

“The pride of your heart has deceived you.” Oba 1:3

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, idolators, adulterers, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, etc, will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you; but you are washed, you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”  1 Cor 6:9-11

“Be not deceived, evil communications corrupt good manners.” 1 Cor 15:33

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Gal 6:7

“For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after taht the kindness and love of our God and Saviour toward man appeared. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” Titus 3:3-5

In response to many pleas, several of which have turned to threats as of late… I’m finally updating my page. In the last three months a lot has transpired. I’ve gotten settled into my new place, grown some of my own veggies, went through some major crises at work, got my first christmas tree, joined a health club, and changed jobs!!! Here are some more recent pictures of my place, decorated now…

Ok, so I didn’t MEAN to lie when I said I would post soon. Soon is a relative term isn’t it? So… pictures!!!

So, here’s my place

Yes… lot’s of wood… everywhere!!! These are pictures when I first moved in… undecorated pictures… I’ll have to take some more recent ones later on.

Here’s Dave at one of Live Oaks’ home games he was playing at.

Here’s Dazzle and Kate posing. I think Kate’s wondering if that shiny silver thing I’m waving around tastes as good as the apples did.

I thought this one was really cute… Jordan thought it was particularly “disgusting”. Yes, I’m not kidding… that is a direct quote.

Here’s the little fall garden I planted… it’s much bigger now… and doing spectacular!

And some flowers I planted… I was feeling very fall-ish that day… nothing like some mums!

The “view” from my porch

Some pictures from the ladies retreat

I was a “top-bunker”

Hannah and Kayla hanging out

Kayla’s mobile now!!!

The latest and greatest thing I’ve been up to is pumpkin carving!!!

This is “Wally” the first one Hannah and I made

We also did a horse head. Very nice!

Just us girls hanging out tonight!!!

I will be posting soon. I promise. #1 on my needs list right now: digital camera. I borrowed mom’s so I’ll take some pics and be able to fill everyone in on my recent going-ons!