Warning: randomness ahead

Yeah, this post is about to flitter all over the place.

• Wondering how CORE is going? I think it's going well, but I suppose I won't know if it really is until Thursday night when I weigh in. I'm not stuffing myself, which I suppose is a good thing. I am trying new things, like plain fat free yogurt with frozen berries and a little Splenda. So good!

I do know that I've cut my sugar drastically in the last few days. Hooray for that! I really hope I'm doing this correctly, because I'm liking it so much better this way.

• Saturday morning, my mom called and asked me to come to a clothing store with her to give my opinion on some stuff she'd put on hold. She then informed me that one of my aunts had her granddaughter (who is 8) and wanted to take her, and Anna Marie to Build-a-Bear. AM had been a few times, and Savannah had never been, and she was begging to go, so we went.

After a few hairy moments trying to get there, we (two aunts, mom, the two girls, and I) ended up at an Indian restaurant close to the mall. Amanda met us there since it was just up the road from her house.

(What did I eat? A salad made with garbanzo beans, cucumbers, onions, hot peppers, and vinegar that I don't know the name of, a little aloo gobi, and a piece of tandoori chicken.)

When we got to the mall, the aunt who got up the expedition had to sit near one of the entrances and couldn't go into the store. She smoked for many years, and though she stopped several years ago, the damage was done. She's now on oxygen, and has severe chemical sensitivities. She said the scents of the mall were overwhelming, so she sat near an AC vent to get the ventilation.

So, the other aunt stayed with her, while the Mom, Amanda, and I took the girls to build their bears.

Or, in this case, a husky (for Savannah) and a cat (for Anna Marie).




(These pics, from Amanda's camera phone, were "borrowed" from her blog. Because none of us brought proper photography equipment!)

(And no, Anna Marie doesn't take karate. But she wants to. I think Karate Cat is her subtle nudge in that direction.)

I really wanted to go to Sephora while we were there, but it was at the other end of the mall and we really needed to head back home.

The girls' adventure wasn't complete until we got close to the aunt's house, and they started asking for ice cream. So my aunt drove to Sonic, and got the girls hamburgers and chocolate sundaes. At least I didn't have to feed her dinner when we got home!

• Yesterday was our last day as a church. It was odd - I thought no one would bother showing up, since it was our last service, but basically everyone did. We got through the service, and Jason and my dad came back after lunch to break down the PA system (which belongs to my mom but she's sold it to another church so she can get a smaller, more portable system) and pack up everything else that belonged to us.

Oh, and I got a pair of ficus trees out of the deal. They flanked the stage, and were purchased when the church first opened five years ago. The purchasers only came to the church for a couple of weeks (they decided they didn't want to drive that far to church, even though we were literally next door to the beauty shop the woman owned.) The couple has since divorced, by the way, and the hairdresser has become an over-the-road trucker with her new boyfriend.

But I digress. The pastor said that we should take the trees, because anything that was left would have to be stored at the conference headquarters and they didn't have room for fake shrubbery. So yay on that part - I needed the trees for my house, but never could bring myself to spend money on them.

(For the record, I offered to pay for the trees, but my offer was rejected.)

What's our next step? I don't know that today any more than I knew it two weeks ago when the announcement that we were closing was made. And, between Jason being sick and his having to tie up the loose ends of the church business, we really haven't had much chance to discuss it.

It felt odd as we drove away yesterday - it's the first time in nearly six years that we haven't had a church home. And for someone who has been going to church since before I was born (and Jason has too) that feels very disconcerting.

So, on we go. We may end up visiting my mother's church for a while, and seeing where God leads. I don't know. I didn't get the feeling yesterday that anyone really had a plan - I think we were all just trying to survive these last two weeks.

So, new church, new way of eating - lots of shaking things up lately.

I can't wait to see how it all shakes out.