Photo Dump! Part 1

 Okay, so here are all the pictures you’ve been waiting for (May 2023 - present day):

May 2023 - went on a cruise to Cabo San Lucas with my friend, David!

Almost died while on a sailboat…

Got to do some sightseeing in California after the cruise!

My adorable niece in church 💜

My mom with my niece WHO IS GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL THIS YEAR! I just can't...

Poolside with two of my besties at a friend's beach weekend bday party!

Crumble cookie with my friends Court and Amy 🍪

My two youngest nieces showing off their flexibility.

December 2023 - Hanging out with Hannah and Amy

Game night with my coworker, Sharon

February 2024 - Andre Bocelli concert with my friend, Laura!

March 2024 - coaching my niece's Upward soccer team at church

March 2024 - Progressive dinner and book exchange with some women from church

Just some cute kids I found hanging around a soccer field 😜

April 2024 - Celebrating a milestone birthday with my friend Courtney!

Krispy Kreme goodness!

Well, Hello There…

Hi friends! It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything, and I’m truly sorry about that. You may be reading this thinking, “does this mean she’s going to start posting on a regular basis again?!” Short answer, no. I’m not ready for that kind of commitment.

However, I am working to figure out my life and ministry, and this seems like the best online platform to share my struggles and victories (since social media, as a whole, is not on my radar anymore).

I’ve debated on whether to flood this post with pictures from the last 5 years or what would be the best way to bring you up to speed, and I think maybe just an overview of the highlights might be the most helpful for all of us.

• Starting with November 2019 - I got a divorce from my husband of 5 years. He had moved out in February 2018, and God did a crazy amount of work in my heart to bring me to a place of acceptance that our marriage was truly over and that I needed to move on. My ex-husband then went on to get remarried in March 2020, and I truly wish him all the best. I pray God will do an amazing work in his heart and the hearts of his wife and children to bring them to a saving knowledge of Himself.
• August 2020 - I began working in COVID-response at the Florida Department of Health. From there, I went on to infectious disease response in January 2023, and this past August, I transitioned into a role as a case manager. God has grown and stretched me in so many ways through these jobs, and I can see how He’s using my interactions with clients and coworkers to teach me how to be an ambassador of reconciliation to the world.
• October 2022 - After living in a world affected by the COVID pandemic for 2 years, I finally contracted COVID for the first time. It knocked me down for about 10 days, but I never developed any lung issues because of it, praise God!
• November 2022 - I ended an 11-month long relationship with an unbeliever, and God brought me to a breaking point. I knew I could no longer try and settle for less than God’s best in my relationships, and in my life. I knew I needed to submit every area of my life and my heart to Him. And I have been pursuing Him and allowing Him to pursue me ever since.
• September 2023 - I co-taught a class on prayer and fasting with my pastor’s wife, Anora. And wow, did this change so many things for me! I have a true hunger to pray ALL THE TIME for everyone and everything. I’ve been looking for ways to pray more for people. It’s amazing how this practice has changed the way I view and relate to God. Have I “arrived” at spiritual perfection? By no means! But my desire right now, and I pray for the rest of my life, is to hunger and thirst for God and communion with Him every minute of every day.
• February 2024 - By the grace of God, I am finally debt free! When I reached this milestone, I felt sure God would immediately show me a full-time ministry or missions opportunity He has been saving for me, but so far, nothing has come up. Isn’t it funny how His timing is so often different from ours? 

One opportunity He has given me that I am pursuing is a mission’s trip to Togo, West Africa this summer to help some missionaries there with their Vacation Bible School for over 300 children! I am so excited to have this chance to show God’s love to “even the least of these.” If you’d like to join me in this endeavor, please do so by praying for all the preparations and these children’s hearts or consider contributing financially to the cost of my trip. More info to come!

That One Challenge from Best Friend

1. Do you re-read books? What was the last book you re-read?

Of course I re-read books! Why wouldn't you?? Especially if the world the books take place in are enthralling enough, and the characters loveable enough. The last book I re-read was probably the entire Harry Potter series. Always worth it.

2. What book are you most proud of finishing?

Oh man. Since the most daunting books I've attempted, I've never actually finished or read all the way through from cover to cover, let me just modify this question a bit. Which books, when I finally finish them, will I be proud to say I read?

1. The Three Musketeers by Dumas
2. Tess of the D'urbervilles by Hardy
3. The Bible (I've never read it through from cover to cover.)
4. Great Expectations by Dickens
5. Anna Karenina by Tolstoy

3. What are some of your hobbies aside from reading?

Writing, singing, playing ukulele, playing volleyball, cooking, streaming...so many things, so little time!

4. What was your favorite read of 2018? Least favorite?

Hmmmmm, least favorite was Anna Karenina which is why I didn't finish it (but I will one day!)

Favorite read was probably the Guernsey book recommended by Best Friend :)

5. Bookmarks or dog-ears?

Anna Karenina is hypothetically bookmarked right now, but I don't actually use bookmarks or dog-ear pages.

6. Who are your read-everything-they-ever-wrote favorite authors?

Francine Rivers (even though I have more to go with her books), Rick Riordan (sooooo good), Robin Jones Gunn (I also have more to go with her books), and I think that may be it. There are some great series I've read by certain authors (like the Harry Potter series, Lunar Chronicles, Jackie Faber series, Wild Magic series, etc) that made me want to read other series by the same author, but the others weren't as good. Has that happened to you before?

I know this is just a drop in the bucket since I haven't posted since last April, but I promise to try posting more regularly this year!

Random Music Things...

So I recently posted about my trip to WV to visit my grandmother.  While we were traveling, I put my entire music library on shuffle, and some pretty interesting songs came up.  Just thought I'd screenshot and share some of them, because why not?

First of all, she has an amazing voice.  AND we share the same first name.  Kismet.

This is a completely instrumental song.  I love it.

Kari Jobe is my spirit animal.  I know that makes no sense, but it is what it is.

They have the coolest/weirdest music.  I like it.

We ARE forgiven - praise GOD!

I mean, come on.  Gregorian chanting - is there anything better?

Another solid instrumental.

Freaking Switchfoot.  Gotta love 'em.

I recently discovered this CD by Relient K - even though it's years old.  SO GOOD, though.

BEAUTIFUL classical orchestral piece of music - you should seriously check it out.

This girl can sing.  She's like Mariah Carey...only younger and SLIGHTLY less hoochy.

Another instrumental - SUCH a gem.

I kept this just for the randomness of it.  lol

Rend Collective is a new favorite group of mine.  They have such amazing worship music, and a lot of it incorporates instruments you wouldn't usually hear in a church service...more like on the hills of Ireland or the moors of Scotland.

Classic beauty :)

Acapella punk rock - because why not?

What can I say?  I'm a 90's girl!

Yes she did!

Honestly, not quite sure how this ended up in my music library, but I don't hate it :)

This IS my year!!!!

James Darren - he will forever be "Moondoggy" to me!

Such a great song - this guy is super talented.

Well, that about sums it up.  Thanks for sticking around!  Which of the above songs do you love (or hate)?  Do you have a random playlist to share?

The Big Apple

Well, for the second time in my life, I visited the Big Apple - New York City.  And I have to say, this experience was definitely better than my first time when I was in high school.

First, let's go over the cruddy parts of the trip, and then I'll review the best parts!  Probably the cruddiest part of the trip was my flight out there - it was with American Airlines, and after arriving at the airport a whopping 4 hours before my flight, a huge storm apparently struck a bunch of planes with lightning, and all the flight schedules got thrown off.

So my 7:50 pm flight didn't end up taking off until 9:30 pm.  That was awful.

The second cruddiest part of the trip was the musical we saw on Friday night - Cats.  It was a definite let-down.  Did you know it's JUST songs & dancing?  There's no actual dialogue or distinguishable plot.

The costumes were pretty cool, though.

ANYWAY, on to the best parts of the trip!  My flight back to Orlando, I flew with Delta AND I got to volunteer to sit on the Emergency Exit row next to the window.  It was awesome!  Just look at all the foot room I had:

Aren't my shoes so attractive?  And I may or may not have drank (have drunk?) 2 mini-bottles of Bailey's Irish Cream with Ginger Ale on the plane.  So I was pretty happy when I got home.  haha

Second awesome thing - I saw a celebrity in New York in front of the Neil Simon theater!  I was just standing in line waiting to watch Cats, and I saw this woman walk by:

She obviously didn't look this celebrity-perfect when I saw her, but she looked pretty good!  Ten bonus points for you if you know what show she's from!  *Hint* It's on Netflix, and it has a woman's name in the title of the show.  It took me about 30 minutes to remember where I had seen her before, but I finally did.

And even though Cats wasn't the greatest, I still had fun sitting in between these two ladies:

On the left is Christina and on the right is Charesse.  They are two of my co-workers.  I had a blast getting to know them better during my time in New York.

Also, the few hours I had before I had to be at the airport on Saturday to fly home, I got to go hang out in Central park, because the hotel I stayed in - the Courtyard Marriott at Central Park, as pictured below - was only 6 blocks from Central Park!

Enjoy the pictures :)

The lobby of the hotel - isn't it swag-ilicious?

I totally wish I had taken this picture, but isn't it beautiful?!

I totally walked down this sidewalk, and I immediately recognized it from movies like "Maid in Manhattan" and that one movie with Ryan Reynolds where he tells his daughter how he met her mother.

I definitely stopped and watched some people playing volleyball.  It was so nice :)

Here I am, just chillin'. 

Anyway, so that's a little bit about my trip to NYC.  Have you ever been to New York?  What did you like about it?  What did you hate?  Would you go back again?  Let me know in the comments!

Summing Up "Twice Upon a Time" (Bk 2) & "Ever After" (Bk 3)

Why I Chose This Book: Because the first one was so good (despite the occasional awkward sentence structure and grammar fails) that I wanted to check out the sequel!

Book Rating (1-5 Stars): I give it 4 stars. I believe this may have been self-published, so if it was ever picked up by a publisher and cleaned up a little bit, it would be 5 stars for sure!

Setting of the Book: Athelia & Earth... Mostly Athelia though.

About the Author: Aya Ling is a mystery wrapped in an enigma sprinkled with a little bit of unknown.

Plot of the book in one sentence: Kat gets transported back to Athelia after the wedding with her memory gone - can the Prince win her heart again?

If I Could Rename the Book: My creative juices are too dry at this moment.

Genre: YA

Point of View: First person - told from Kat’s POV

Favorite Character: Still the Prince

Least Favorite Character: Still Bianca... Ugh

Other (Main Characters):

Kat - 22 year old who is transported back to Athelia with her memories of the first time she was there having been erased

Prince Edward - just married "Katriona," the woman whose body Kat was inhabiting in the first book. Has to win her heart again when she's once again transported to Athelia & doesn't remember him.

Elle - the Cinderella character from book 1 who's really good friends with Kat and who wants to marry Henry

Henry - Edward's cousin who is also studying to be a doctor

Bianca - Katriona's evil sister who wants nothing more than to see Kat destroyed

Katriona - Kat's twin whose body Kat inhabits in the first book. However (plot twist), Kat doesn't take over her body in the second book, she merely arrives in Athelia and Katriona ends up in another country wearing a wedding dress and a wedding ring with no memory.

If the Book was made into a movie, who would play the main characters?

Been there, done that

Favorite Scene of the Book: when Kat regains her memory (spoiler alert)

Least Favorite Scene of the Book: when Katriona comes back and confronts Kat

Did I like the Ending? No, because once again, Kat has to leave Athelia. Ugh.

Which of my friends could I see loving this book? Hillary Duff

Which of my friends could I see hating this book? Bill Nye

This book left me feeling: Frustrated

How Long Did It Take Me to Read It: 3 hours?

Why I Chose This Book: I had to know how it ends!

Book Rating (1-5 Stars): Still 4, because of the grammar and sentence structure.

Setting of the Book: Athelia & Earth (once again)

About the Author: Idk

Plot of the book in one sentence: Kat returns to Athelia a third time, but because Edward is officially married to Katriona who doesn't want a divorce, things get in the way of them being together.

If I Could Rename the Book: Third Time's a Charm - Hopefully, Because this is Starting to Get Old

Genre: YA

Point of View: First person - it actually goes back and forth between Edward & Kat

Favorite Character: Amelie

Least Favorite Character: Bianca... And Liam

Other (Main Characters):

Same as the second book, with some additions- 

Bertram - Edward's bodyguard who has a thing for Amelie

Amelie - Kat's maid

Liam - grew up with Edward & wants to overthrow the peerage system

If the Book was made into a movie, who would play the main characters?

You already know.

Favorite Scene of the Book: Edward when he appears in court *sigh*

Least Favorite Scene of the Book: when Kat gets thrown in jail

Favorite​ quote of the book: "The End." Lol

Did I like the Ending? Yes, I was satisfied.

Which of my friends could I see loving this book? Christy Carlson Romano

Which of my friends could I see hating this book? Wolverine

This book left me feeling: Finished!!!!

How Long Did It Take Me to Read It: ehhh, idk.

Vegas, Baby!

Hey, y'all!

So at the end of June, I went to Vegas with my boss and her mother to attend HD Vest's annual financial conference.  I wrote a blog post about it for work - you can read it here: https://lyncotax.wordpress.com/2017/07/24/what-happens-in-vegas/

And yes, I just linked to my work blog.  #SEO #Marketing #Followtheclicks

This was my first time in Vegas, and I had a BLAST!  (Although I did miss my hubby like cray and sometimes I wished I had more than $10 to blow on video poker, but c'est la vie.)

For the first two days, we stayed on the strip at a hotel named Harrah's - the conference we attended was a short walk away at the Wynn/Encore (pictured above).  I did a little shopping when I first got there and bought this really cute outfit for .... way more money than I'm used to spending.  And then, of course, when I got home, I accidentally washed and dried the pants that were hand wash only, and they shrank about 2 sizes and 3 inches in length  :'(

But that's okay, because life happens.

Aaaaaand, did I mention we got to see Sugar Ray Leonard speak?!  That was a pretty cool day for me.

After the first two days, we moved to Sam's Town, which is a little bit off the beaten path as far as Vegas is concerned, but I absolutely LOVED the whole hotel!

I went and saw a movie by myself FOR THE FIRST TIME!  I'll give you two guesses as to what movie it was - either "47 Meters Down" with Mandy Moore or "Despicable Me 3" with the minions.  Which do you think it was?  Because honestly, until I walked up to the ticket booth, I was still going back and forth.

Other fun things I did whilst in Vegas - gambled $10 (I lost it all...oh well), went to Fremont Street (it was during the day, so I wasn't that traumatized), and ate some kick-butt buffet dinners (I may or may not have gained a good 5 lbs on the trip).  Oh, and I got to take a picture with a million bucks.  No big deal.

Anyway, so that's pretty much it.  What do you think?  Have you been to Vegas?  What was your favorite thing you did while you were there?