On a journey!

In the last month I have been working to eat healthier. For the most part I'm doing pretty good! Its a tad harder to do when you eat out though. I've been trying to keep a sort of food diet by posting what I eat on Instagram. And I'm trying to cook as many of the meals myself when possible. Some days are better then others. LOL 

Are you ready for the weekend baby?? Part 2

Additional photos from the weekends in June. I'm so behind in my blogging! After VBS I've had a hard time getting back on track! Hoping to do better in August!

Are You Ready For The Weekend Baby??

Last week we received a ton of invites for graduation!

Friday I went to class with Marc. He's only taking one class this summer which allows us to spend some time together on Saturday! 

This allowed us to go to Davids graduation. We've known him since he was born and when he was small my daughters baby set him and his siblings. They are kind of freaking out now because so many of the kids they knew as babies are in college! Imagine how we feel? lol

My girlfriend and her husband are very proud of him! 

His siblings ( all of which the girls have baby set for)!

Nicki was able to attend as well.

We had a great time! It was a perfect way to start the weekend. This coming weekend we have two graduation parties! Oh boy! 

WIT Renewed!

Its been to many years to count since our Women's group got together to fellowship and have bible study. Two weeks ago we decided it had been long enough!

We had a great time sharing our favorite bible scriptures and getting caught up on what has happened in our lives over the past 14 years.

There were some tears shed but a whole lot of laughter.

Of course no WIT get together would be complete without food! LOL

This year has been challenging to say the least. One of our WIT wives went home to be with Jesus. And our WIT wife Sonia is a cancer overcomer (I like that better then surviving because she is living life after fighting and overcoming this dreaded disease).

Sonia lighting a bag in memory of another WIT wife Gail.

When I first moved back to VA after Marc got out of the military these two ladies were my first real friends. Sonia is my youngest daughters godmother and Teresa is one of those friends that you can call in the midnight hours if needed. I'm so grateful for the renewing of this group of women. It has filled a much needed void in my life!

Conference Attire

The conference was as close as I was going to get to a vacation this year so the moment I found out I would be going I started planning what I would wear. Knowing Marc would not be of much help because lets face it men don't usually notice what type of attire women wear (well Marc doesn't unless they are wearing something crazy...lol) I checked with my mom to see if I needed to dress up or not. Based on what she told me it just depended on what you wanted to do and since I was more concerned with being comfortable rather then trying to impress people this is what I went with!

Ironically the outfit I wore on Sunday to go register was taken from my mom's closet when she started to decide what to take to the conference. This dress was soo comfortable and the added benefits was that it had pockets (which I love on dresses because I never know where to put my hands).

The blue stripe dress is from Sam's Club! And I loved it so much I went back and got it in green a few weeks after I picked up this one for my birthday. The Purse is from JustFab and the shoes are from Payless and are at least ten or 15 years old! The jewelry was from my birthday haul and the watch is from last years anniversary trip to Florida.

Each year I make a wish list for the following year and last year I knew I wanted a black and white Maxi skirt. I just didn't want to pay the prices that I was seeing for them. Then one day I walked in Roses (which is a discount store here) and saw one for $12.00. I picked it up as soon as I got birthday money. The sandals and jewelry have all been in my collection for more years then I can count. The jacket (which I knew immediately I wanted to wear with this skirt) is from Dress Barn and the black t-shirt is from Sam's. They have a basic line of t-shirts that I just love (so much so that I have the same shirt in white, gray and navy stripe). The purse which is kind of hard to see in this picture is from ...you guessed it. JustFab. I swear they need to sponsor me. LOL

This dress is cute but just a tad to short for my taste once I put it on anyway. I may need a kerchief to put around my legs in order to wear this one again. My sandals are Kenneth Kole and the bag (no its not from JustFab) is from an outlet in Florida. I picked up the necklace a while back at KandG for like $6.00! 

I love the colors in this dress. Picked it up as well as the jean dress from Roses for $15.00 each! You can't beat that with a stick! Unfortunately by the end of the week my feet and ankles were swollen from all of the walking and I had to break down and go to Payless and get a more comfortable pair of sandals with more support. I also abandoned my regular purse for my small Dooney and Bourke satchel a friend gave me for my birthday. 

With the exception of a pair of new sunglasses and the new dresses that was the only things I have added to my wardrobe this summer. My wardrobe choices probably wouldn't make it into a magazine but they work for me and at 50 yrs old that's all that really matters to me anyway. LOL

The 100th Hampton University Ministers Conference!

Last week Marc and I attended the 100th Hampton University Minister's Conference.

We went on last Sunday to pick up our registration info and packets and to help my mom settle into the dorms which she stayed in during the week (they also offer workshops that week for Choir Directors. You might recall us helping her last year as well). Last year Marc attended for the first time and enjoyed it so much that he thought I would want to attend this year.

The contents of the Conference bag this year was pretty good!

Although the conference would not officially start until Monday evening they held a concert Sunday evening to kick off the event. After we helped my mom unpack we went to dinner and then came back in time for the festivities. 

I even got to see two of my friends who sing with the Mount Unity Choir.

The first night of the event the President of the HUMC spoke. The next morning we got to hear from Pastor E. Dewey Smith. That man preached his socks off ! 

Tuesday during lunch time I got to attend a special session for Women Leaders. The speaker was Pastor Susie Owens. This was not the first time I had heard her and as usual she did not disappoint. 

If you left that session the same then maybe its time to do something different! 

The women (and a few men) were packed in there! 

I had the pleasure of sitting between two awesome women of God who made me feel loved and accepted despite the fact that I didn't hold a degree or carry the title of Minister. 

Tuesday night we got to hear Bishop Jakes speak. The place was so packed it was crazy. People were entering the conference center two and three hours in advance to get a seat!

Wednesday before the afternoon sessions I caught a shuttle and met my mom over at the Hampton University's Cafeteria for lunch. The company was great, the food was filling and the view was breathtaking! 

Wednesday after the TD Jakes had spoken and Marc and I were on our way out we ran into our good friend Slater who was one of the worship leaders for the conference. 

Marc and I learned our lesson the first night and made it into the center in plenty of time before having to end up in the nose bleed section. LOL

A few of the days we were there we got to hang out with long time friend Rev. Ricky Lee.

I had a great time but my feet suffered the consequences of days of walking and I had to break down on Thursday and go get a pair of more comfortable sandals to wear because my feet and ankles were swollen.

There were several vendors at the conference (next year I will have to get a pic of the big tent where everything a First Lady or Pastor would ever want (or not) could be found. Including a Rolls Royce! 

I think the best part for Marc was seeing all of his fellow classmates and Pastor friends. I even saw a few people I knew including some family.

On Thursday night we attended the concert that spotlights all of the Music majors, worship leaders and directors. Somewhere in that sea of people was my mom. LOL

I really enjoyed the week and I can see going back again if Marc decides to go next year. Other then the morning speaker Dr. Smith I really enjoyed the class sessions. My favorites were Relevant Social and Civic Engagement with Dr. Antipas Harris from Regent University, Using a Familiar Story to Reach and Unfamiliar Culture with PastorTim Tooten, Sr who is a news reporter as well as a pastor. I also enjoyed the Dynamics of Organizational Change with Bishop Felton Hawkins. 

My advice to anyone attending would be to register early, make use of the shuttles for getting around the campus (which is huge). Spend a little time away from the conference just connecting with others that are there and if at all possible make use of the campus cafeteria (you can't beat an all you can eat lunch for $11.00.....lol).