Long time no type

As we are approaching Christmas, I've been saddened at how much it doesn't feel like Christmas. Whether it's just how busy life seems to be or the fact that there's no snow, I don't know. So yesterday, I decided that in order for it to truly feel like Christmas I needed to bake. And thus, sugar cookies! My grandma's sugar cookie recipe is my absolute favorite and the only one I will ever make. This was the first time that I've made them on my own, which of course led to a couple of "ooops" batches. I only burned one batch, when I was distracted by laundry. The others turned out very well, I believe. I iced a few at my husband's request, and must say it began feeling much more like Christmas. However, after about 6 batches I looked in the bowl of dough and saw that despite my added effort of eating the dough raw, I had not gotten through even half of it. I began to feel quite exhausted. Therefore, there is a giant mound of sugar cookie dough waiting in my refrigerator until I need help making it feel like Christmas again.

The truth of it is that Christmas is not about a feeling or a taste, smell or warm coziness. Christmas is about Christ. It is the time of year that we remember the amazing sacrifice Jesus made to come down as a man. And we think forward through his 33 years of life and to his sacrifical death for our sins and thank God for sending His Son to us so that through His death and ressurection we can have a relationship with Him. I sincerely hope if you do not realize what Christmas is really a celebration of, that you will take some time to investigate you heart and search out the God who loves you so much He sent His Son down to this earth on that blessed Christmas night.

Shakespeare

"Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more. Men were deceivers ever. One foot in sea and one on shore, to one thing constant never. Then sigh not so but let them go and be you blithe and bonny, converting all your sounds of woe into hey nonny nonny. " -Much Ado About Nothing-

I just finished watching the movie of one of my favorite Shakespeare comedies, and now I doth feel that I must speak in such verse. Just kidding, I'll spare you. I do absolutely love the language though! I could read and listen to Shakespeare all night long. The words are so elegant and full of meaning, they just flow off your tongue with grace. In high school I was blessed to participate in 2 Shakespearean plays: Much Ado About Nothing and The Tempest. Some of the best fun I've had! So rent it or Netflix it but you must watch Much Ado About Nothing (it has Denzel Washington in it so that definitely helps!!!). You may want to put the subtitles on if you have a hard time audibly following the language, it is dense at points.

On that same (kind of) note, I have a medieval trumpeter that resides in my home. His name is Bo. I know when Aaron is home because I hear Bo's weird trumpet-like howl reverberate through the house. I wish I could record it for your enjoyment but you'll have to do your best to imagine (which I realize is nearly impossible, sorry).

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound

I'm sitting here this wonderful fall morning sipping my Earl Grey tea, getting glorious whiffs of my harvest scented candles and reading "Transforming Grace" by Jerry Bridges. I attend a Bible study on Saturday mornings and we are currently going through this book, and I'm being challenged. Not only am I being challenged by this study but I am also being challenged by the study I'm doing on Wednesday nights at church, "Extreme Spiritual Makeover" by Kris Goertzen. When I say "challenged" I mean that my views of myself and my walk with my creator God are being stretched and changed.

It's funny how I've "known" my whole life that God has forgiven me of my sins and saved me from Hell, but how I've never considered what that really means. I'm realizing now, only with the help of God, just how extensive my sin is. The fact that I am part of the human race that started with Adam who rebelled against God means that I have rebelled against God. It's an innate characteristic of being human. Just looking at that, I deserve Hell; and that's not counting all my other actions that have voiced my high opinion of myself and attempts to survive without God. The amazing part of it is that God has rescued me from all that. HIS GRACE has been extended to me and if I accept it I am His and Hell and sin have no claim over me. The tragic part is that I still live as though I have some part in my being rescued. I think that my good behavior or bad behavior somehow influences my rescued-ness. The TRUTH is that it doesn't. Once I surrender to Christ, I am a new creation. He has already extended His grace over me and loves me. I will still struggle at times to live according to His example but that doesn't at all impact His delight in me. Now, looking at all of this, why am I not the most joyful, exuberant person in the world? I've been rescued into eternal life and am loved by the ONE who created everything and orchestrates every piece of this world and universe. How can I not be telling everyone how AWESOME my GOD is?!?!

So on this beautiful fall day I want to say, "I am the adopted daughter of the most amazing, most perfect, and wonderfully good God. And He chose to rescue me, a worthless sinner, and loves me. And nothing I have done deserved that."

Praise God!

Stinky Feet, Short Term Memory Loss and The Day It Happened

I've been sitting here watching a video on facebook. It is an amazing video and I praise God for that woman's life and how she is honoring Him with it. But that's not really my point.

I'm sitting here and I get a whiff of something. It's not a good whiff. It stinks. And apparently it's my feet. I don't normally have stinky feet, so this is a surprising discovery. As I've been thinking back to what could have caused this foul anomalie, I retrace my day to the dog park. And the mud. And coercing Bo to vacate a deep puddle before reclining in it. Maybe it's the mud. I guess it could just be my feet and that I wore closed toed shoes all day, but I'm going to go with the mud. I didn't smell them when I changed into my flops to go to the dog park. Maybe it's my flops. I am currently debating whether to sniff my floppy footwear... but I think I'm going to pass and depend on my original hypothesis rather than collecting conclusive data.

You may be quite stumped/perplexed/regretful that I have shared this information with you, but there is a reason. You see, I think of wonderful, intelligent, inspirational, creative topics throughout my day that I should blog about. And then I get here. And I stare at my screen, willing it pop out a post-it note of my mental meanderings from the day. But it doesn't. And so I sit here thinking back in my day, striving for just one of the brilliant things I had to say earlier. As you can see, brilliant wasn't quite there.

Another road block that I hit is that my entire day has to do with stories about children. Generally there is no problem with that, except that my stories are about children who for one reason or another have a connection with the Special Education Department. Which brings in some confidentiality commitments and concerns being that I live in a small town and people know who I work with. So, many times I have a great story I'd love to share, but I just don't feel I should put it out there... just in case.*

It happened today! Yes, it was wonderful, blissful even! I was giddy all morning. Today is the first day since I've been pregnant that I have not been utterly exhausted and/or feeling sick!!! It's been fantastic! I was cheery. I haven't been able to describe myself that way in a long time!

So here's to a fantastic day of energy, short term memory loss and stinky feet! (the stinky feet will soon be taken care of)

*I feel it is fair warning to alert you here that once I have my baby in April, with no confidentiality concerns, there may be multiple posts/day. After such a long time of sporatic posting I don't want this to damage your health.

Flu Shots and Canine Naughtiness

Flu Shots

I have refused to ever get a flu shot. I figure that if doctors just guess which strain to use then I'm better off not messing with it. Until now. Lil' Web has changed things already. To keep the sweet baby from getting pneumonia someday I compromised my pointless rebellion and got a flu shot yesterday. I realized, as the nurse rubbed my arm with the alcohol wipe, that it has been a long time since I've gotten a shot. I tried to remember what it felt like, with little success until she stuck the needle in me. Then it all came back. Ah, yes, the prick, the burn. Good times. One thing I forgot though, or maybe didn't know, was the lingering pain. I got the shot at 3:45 or so... and my arm still hurts. I couldn't sleep on my left side last night, I can't lean on the sofa arm, I think I'd cry if someone poked me. No, this I don't remember. So Lil' Web better not get pneumonia. Ever.

Canine Naughtiness

The dogs have been very naughty. My mom has been kind enough to let me drop the dogs at her house in the mornings so she can walk them and then they hang out there and can play instead of Bo being in a cage at my house. Well, Bo has decided that mom's landscape beds (that haven't been planted yet) are the perfect location for digging to China. Mom disagrees, quite vehemently. Today he decided that he was too short, so he decided to use the counter to help him see the food he was smelling. He quickly found out that I wasn't a big fan of that. Jazz has decided that she should kill anyone who approaches mom and dad's front door. Big problem for the Boy Scouts, high school boys, United Way volunteers... Needless to say, I see obedience school in their futures.

The ever absent blogger...

Again, sorry for my absence. I do think about blogging... as I crash for a nap. But as I've promised here are the photographs that won at the fair.

1st Place Nature Print

2nd Place Human/Animal Portrait color

2nd Place Human/Animal Portrait B&W

An award winning day

Today was the first day of the state fair!!! It was a disgustingly hot day... I mean, just sweltering. I watched some of the Draft Horse competition with mom, watched some swine showmanship stuff (decided that floppy ear pigs are actually pretty darn cute), went and checked on my photos, had a Pronto Pup, ran into many friends and toured the grounds a little. As the afternoon/evening progressed it turned into a beautiful night! Huge thunderheads to the east and south lit up from the sunset and resonating with lightning. Gorgeous!!!

And since I know you're wondering... or hope you are..... 3 of my 5 prints won awards!!! I won 1st place in one category and 2nd place in two categories. I will leave it to you to go see which got what! This is my first 1st place print. I am very excited!

and very tired right now.... so I bid you ado.

Happy 1st day of the state fair!

The Best Time of the Year

The Kansas State Fair starts tomorrow!!! That means that I will be giddy and excited for the next week and a half.

Reasons I love the State Fair:

1)Possibility of winning ribbons with my photography

2)Pronto Pups

3)Cows

4)Horses

5)Booths full of things that I totally should have

6)People Watching

7)Fried Cheese Curds (don't hate 'till you've tasted them)

8)Free stuff

9) Sensory overload (sights, sounds, smells)

10) EVERYTHING ELSE!!!!

I LOVE the State Fair!

**I will find out tomorrow at about 6 pm if I won anything... I entered 5 photos... go look! And don't tell me if you see them first!***

Exciting Times!

How many babies? 1

Due? April 12th, 2011

Age? 8 weeks

Heartbeat? 174 (so fast!!! but healthy!)

Length? .5 inches

Lil' Web has stubs! Look at those little arms and legs! He (general reference.... we don't know this) looks like a gummy bear! What a cutie :). The ball under him is the umbilical cord. How cool is that?!?! Hope he likes floating upside-down.

It blows my mind to think that God is paying attention to every chromosome and knitting that little gummy bear together inside me. What an unbelievable miracle! PRAISE GOD!!!

I was looking at the growth chart in the Dr.'s office today..... YIKES! That baby looks soooo big at 40 weeks! A little worried about pushing something like that out... especially after I saw Hubby's newborn pic. He was HUGE. Honestly, sumo-baby. I'll have to get a copy of that up here.

That's my exciting day! We'll hear the heartbeat in 2 weeks!!!

School has taken over my life, well that and...

Yes, school. Those kids are wonderful but man.... I've got nothing after a day at school! That could also be due to the fact that I'm pregnant. YEP! You heard right! I'm pregnant! And apparantly I'm having a very healthy pregnancy; I learned today that sickness means healthy.... so Lil' Web is doing well.

So that is my main excuse for not posting... that all I do now is sleep, eat and work. and sleep.

My apologies... blame the baby. :)

Good News/Bad News

Here it is, the first Good News Bad News post. Could be the one and only, but only time will tell. The age old question.... what do you want to hear first???? I'll do the good news first this time around.

GOOD NEWS!!!!

I got my ears pierced. Yes, I'm 26 and yes this is the first time. My motivation: the ever so cute earrings designed by beautiful Caroline; peer-pressure from my mother in law. Yup, you heard it here, first... nevermind the thugs at school, or the cool crowd. You need to watch out for those mother-in-laws, they'll get ya. So I am the proud new owner of 3mm silver balls stuck in my ears. If you know me, you may know that I have no earlobes. And yet.... these things don't look half bad.

BAD NEWS!!!!

Shoulder pads are back. A travesty, I know. It was an innocent discovery, one that someone should have prepared me for. There I was, searching the Dillards junior clearance racks and... the horror! A sleeveless shirt......WITH SHOULDER PADS! Ugh.... It's just too painful to talk about.

Thanks for joining me for Good News Bad News. My apologies for the lack of pictures and lack of posts for the last week. School's about to start, give me a break :)

Busy Weekend

We had a family reunion this weekend which kept us quite busy. Some of Aaron's cousins stayed with us and we had a blast! It's kind of sad to have an empty house now. I love being part of a family that gets together so often and has such rich relationships. It is quite a blessing to be included. Exactly at this moment I am sleep deprived and thinking of how I need to get going soon, so this will be a short post. But stories and photographs will follow eventually.

Perfection

Walking outside this morning to water the garden and watch the dogs play I was delighted to find the perfect time of day. A balmy 73 degrees with a cool breeze. Fabulous! Too bad it'll be gone in an hour, if it takes that long. Reflecting on this quick glimpse of a comfortable summer led me into these next thoughts.

Isn't it interesting how we imagine our "perfect circumstances"? I don't think reality quite ever matches those images. Mostly, I think, because God loves to blow our minds. This morning I've been traveling down an interesting path: considering going back to school. As I've mentioned before these thoughts come to me a couple times a year, but today I pursued it a little more. Not to say anything will come of it, but I'm finding that it is a desire in my heart.

If you had asked me when I was in 2nd grade what I'd be doing at age 26 (creeping up on 27), I would have told you that I'd be a vet, married and have kids... and cats. Well, I'm 1 for 4 and glad that the cats are dogs instead. My image of the "perfect" life has morphed so much through the years. I'm finding more and more that the perfect life has nothing to do with education, career, accomplishments or awards. The perfect life is one in-tune with God. I'm fighting to find God's pitch at this moment. I can say that I've made strides in that I'm actually searching for His pitch and realizing that that is the only goal worth desiring, but I'm still testing out the tunes to find His.

He's given me so many passions in my heart, it's quite the challenge to find the one He is calling me to. In hindsight, I would have done college a little differently, to make some passions a little more feasible in my life today. But I have to remember that everything that I've done has been God's plan and I have to trust Him in that. Still, the "what ifs" don't always stay away.

So today, in my life I hope that God will shed some light on His plans for me. I'm excited to serve and desiring to grow, but need to tune in a little more to the Holy Spirit. I need to find contentment in my circumstances. Not to say that I need to settle, but I need to be overjoyed where God has me today. So I'll be working on that. Prayers much appreciated!

All this from a balmy 73 degree morning. Maybe I should cut back on the coffee!

The End of an Era

Anyone who attended Taylor University will tell you to avoid Anatomy and Physiology. Many people took that class off campus through another university. Why? Dr. B.

Dr. Tim Burkholder was renown across campus as a HARD professor. I went into my 2 semesters of A&P with dread and fear. And I learned why Dr. B. was so feared. He actually makes you learn and apply material without spoon-feeding you. I held this against him for those 2 semesters, wishing that I was not up studying for 7 hours at Handy Andy the night before a test (honestly, if I had been a better student I probably could have avoided some of that).

But now that I am past A&P (and passed), I look back with great fondness. Dr. B. was one of a few profs who really got me to think and work. He was a wonderful man and cared for his students and treated them as college students should be treated, as intellectuals to be challenged.

I read this morning in the Taylor Magazine that Dr. B. is retiring his post. I began to tear up at that thought. No one will be able to fill those shoes quite to the extent that he did. 40 years of striking fear into prospective students hearts and winning them over in the end. What an incredible legacy. I am proud to have been his student and ever thankful for the challenges he placed in front of me.

So here's to Dr. B., a Taylor legacy and wonderfully challenging educator.

I feel...sick

What a beautiful day to be sick. Ok, not really. I always feel that it's wrong to get sick in the summer. And with it being 106+out I feel like any germ should be baked out of me. Well, heat, you missed one. I've been so proud of myself for not getting sick this summer (which is silly because how much control do I have over that, really). And now into the final stretch I'm feeling crummy. I blame the antibiotics. The antibiotics that won't let me take my vitamins within 2 hours of taking them... which means the vitamins don't get taken. So thank you very much, antibiotics. I'm going to go lie down now and try to feel better for Grandpa's 94th birthday dinner.

*I must be sick with how much I am talking to inanimate objects in this post.... delirious maybe?

2 weeks left of "freedom"

The countdown is on - 2 weeks until school begins. I remember counting down to summer like it was last week. I'm excited to go back to school. This used to be my favorite time of year! School supply shopping was/is like a holiday for me. Even though I'm no longer a student I try to go to Office Max and peruse the isles looking at what I would buy if I was a student. Sometimes I buy some new awesome pens or pencils. Or a new notebook. Remember when Trapper Keepers were the coolest? Or Lisa Frank folders, pens, and such? Oh those were the days! I remember the first time I was supposed to buy a Ti-81 calculator... it was like a mini-computer! And we could play games on it! (oh how those games would be mocked by today's technological advancements).

Aw yes, back to school. Even though I am no longer a student I look forward to going back and seeing the kiddos. Marveling at how much they've grown in a summer and (hopefully) matured. Meeting the new 4th graders and seeing the excitement they have to be there. (An excitement that is lost somewhere between 6th and 12th grade).

I'm sure that by the time another May comes around I will be in full summer countdown mode again, but for now I'm looking forward to the school year. Every now and then I play with the idea of going back to school to get my teaching degree. That time has come again also. Initially, that's what I majored in at college (first 2 out of 5 majors I tried). The only reason I didn't pursue it was because of the stories I heard about student teaching experiences. Looking back, that was a fairly foolish reason to not pursue it, but hindsight is 20/20.

So with these last two week of so called "freedom" (for me it is 2 weeks of not getting a steady paycheck, and a little too much time on my hands), I'm thinking of the kids who are getting new backpacks, the coolest pencil holders, awesome erasers and crazy pens and pencils. And I'm a little jealous.

Exhaustion

That would be the word of the afternoon yesterday. At about 3:30 yesterday I crashed. I couldn't do anything but lie down on the couch and sleep... for an hour! Then it took me forever to snap out of a confused fog. I hate it when that happens. That ruins napping for me.

Yesterday went really well regarding my list. Dogs got bathed finally! I love how soft they are and how good they smell after a bath. They behaved so great with our friends last night! Well, after they greeted the first guests. They went a little crazy with them, but then we put on their Halti's and everything was golden.

We played a new game last night called "The game of Things." It was fun! Of course games like that are always more fun once you resort to elementary school thoughts. It was great to have people over at our house again. Sometimes I get stuck in this homebody rut and forget how fun it is to entertain. It was a much enjoyed night of laughter! Even my cucumber salsa (thanks Nicole) went over well!

Interrupted

I did not excell at completing my list yesterday. But I have a few really valid reasons (read: excuses).

1. Mom and Dad came home from Canada and we had lunch
2. My work schedule changed
3. I got stuck at Quickshop and then chatted with Barb @ PLP for awhile
4. Aaron had softball games at 6:30 & 7:30
5. We ate dinner with his folks
6. Our company isn't coming until Sunday now

I got 5.5 tasks completed. Not horrible but not quite my best. P90X kept getting pushed further and further back because it was my Yoga day and that workout is an hour and a half long. I didn't have a chunk of time like that.

So around 4:15 yesterday I decided to take Aaron a soda from Quickshop. He sounded tired and I thought that'd help, plus I needed to return some tupperware to Barb. So I pull up to the gas station and go grab a soda for him and a slushie for me. Then I got in line. *All very normal so far* I'm standing in line with two drinks that are making my finger painfully numb (if that makes any sense). And I'm standing there. Nothing is moving. Not even the cashiers. Apparently, someone wanted a gas receipt that hadn't printed out or something so they had to reboot the "system". Come to find out... it wasn't rebooting. The entire gas station, pumps and cash registers, were stuck. I kept standing there hoping that things would get moving again soon and not wanting to be that person who throws a fit about something no one can do anything about. No such luck. I think I stood there about 10 minutes before I asked if I could just give them exact change. I finally asked because one of the cashiers picked up the phone to call someone (I assumed tech support) and it was not looking good. At this point my fingers were so numb that I couldn't even feel the coins in my change pocket. It was a very unique experience. I just felt sorry for everyone who had started pumping gas or was waiting to pay for gas. I have a feeling they were there for awhile.

It was a beautiful night for softball last night! What a gorgeous sunset! I started snapping shots once I figured out that mom had her camera. One of those is going into the state fair. The guys won their last game of the season after coming back from behind. I love watching church league games. The crowd is much more pleasant to sit with than some other leagues.

One thing I finally did get to was cleaning the bathtub (that was the half completed task, I didn't get the whole bathroom). I found this new great scrubby sponge that works wonderful! It has a foam handle on it that makes it much easier to grip while scrubbing. We have such hard water here that the soap scum is pretty bad, especially when you put off cleaning the tub like I do. So here is my magic combo that got it clean within 10 minutes yesterday. Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch tub and shower scrubber by 3M and Clorox disinfecting bathroom cleaner! Usually I'd finish it off with a rinse of Jet Dry but I ran out of time yesterday.

Alright, I'd better get on with today and a new list!

BOSTON

So, I went to Boston this weekend. Not only did I go, but 4 other people also traveled there (well, 4 that I know personally and that have any relevance to this post, but probably hundreds of other people also went to Boston.) Why Boston? 1) Wonderful Jen Campbell lives there 2)Best city EVER. And who is Jen Campbell, you say? Well, Jen is one of 6 girls that was a freshman on 2CO (read: Second Center Olson) the same year I was. I'm sure you are beyond intrigued at this point, right? Of course! Jen Campbell, Laura (Scott) Goley, Jessica Cuthbert, Katie Clum, Melissa (Cairns) Reed, and Tressa (Ribaudo) Weber were six lowlyfreshman at Taylor University starting the fall of 2002. We stayed close through the 4 years at TU and now meet up once a year at one of our houses. This year was Jen's turn. Lucky for us, she lives in Bo-town.

I will spare you most of the details as they involve hundreds of memories, ridiculous giggling and heart to heart conversations. However, I will share highlights!

Highlight 1

Dunkin Donuts- They all laughed at me, but you have to understand, I don't have one here in Hutch or Wichita. Therefore, it is a highlight! (Yes, that is a giant inflatable iced coffee that I am so convincingly drinking)

Highlight 2

Boston in the Rain

Yep, we trekked from the T to Quincy Market, to the North End, back to Quincy Market and back to the T all in the rain. And it was wonderful! We had a strange man tell us a horrible mushroom joke underneath an awning (he was a fun-gi),

we had some slipping and falling mishaps, we had awesome cannoli, found my brother-in-law's Israeli twin selling zipper purses, and had many laughs.

Highlight 3 (and the mother of all highlights)

Whale Watching- yes, that's right. In that picture is a humpback whale that I could have touched ... had I not been on a tall boat held back

by a guard rail. Famous last words of our tour guide Joanne, "I encourage you to go on a whale watch again. You're just going to have to lower your standards because this doesn't usually happen." We had two humpback whales, 747 and Basin, playing around our boat and following us as we drifted. The would stick their "noses" out of the water and turn circles, roll over and show us their belly, swim all around us and just generally check us out. IT WAS AMAZING. Jess and I even got spit on by a blowhole. You would have thought that we had just met *fill in amazing band or musician here*, we were giddy! To quote Jess, " People wanted to be us!" It was that cool. Sadly my camera died right as the whales started hanging out with us. Go figure, the photographer's camera dies. If you look in that picture the white spots are the whale's flipper fins (I've forgotten the accurate name but they were about 12 ft long). It's "nose" is at the very bottom - which was about 5 ft. from me. And it's dorsal fin and blowhole are above the water. They were so huge and graceful and AWESOME!!! What a testimony to God's creative genius and majesty!

So in a nutshell, that was the trip. We got to eat some amazing seafood, revisit old memories, catch up on each other's lives and just have good ol' girl time. What a blessing!

On my way home I had a 3 hour layover at DFW. Usually this would be tragically dull but I got to hang out with my dear friends the Rosses. They only moved away from Hutch a week and a half ago but it felt like much longer since I had seen them. It also was a definite highlight! They showed me their apartment, houses their looking at, took me to the Four Seasons Country Club, and took me to Chipotle! I couldn't have asked for a better time.

Well, 3 things didn't get done today. Talking to my pastor, bathing the dogs, and picking out pictures. However, 3 things that I forgot to put on the list did get done: picking up dog poop so Aaron could mow, weeding and pruning my garden, and showering. I think I had a pretty productive day! I even got in a couple of episodes of Dick Van Dyke.

I tried to make homemade potato chips this evening with supper. The first batch I let go too long and successfully tested our smoke alarm. They looked like pumpernickel chips. So I tried again and they turned out much better. I'm not a big fan of the recipe though. It's easy but just doesn't quite get them right. I sliced the potatoes into thin slices, coated a cookie sheet with melted butter, put the potato slices on and coated them with butter. Then cooked for 15 min. @ 500 degrees. The crisp ones tasted burned and the good tasting ones were soggy. So next time, new recipe.

We had some leftover vidalia onion burgers in the freezer that sounded good for dinner. Aaron likes to use our charcoal grill, and I agree, it makes food taste better. So I tried to get it started before he got home so it'd be ready. Well.... easier said than done. Charcoal, check. Lighter fluid, check. Lighter, check. I doused the charcoal with the fluid and lit it. Worked great! But only for 2 minutes. Tried again with more lighter fluid. Not only did it work but it singed the hair off 2 of my fingers and gave me a decent burn on one of my knuckles. I was annoyed at this point and it was hot outside, aside from playing with fire. You'd think the fire would know that. But no, it still went out. Try 3 went better... I got a little smarter about the fluid and placement of the lighter. I closed the lid to try to break some of the breeze that was coming through. It worked. Thank goodness!!! I can't say I'm a fan of hair on my fingers but burning it off would not be my first choice.

I really enjoyed my day! And posting my list for the world to see really helped me get it done! Thanks!

New Direction

• Every morning I have my coffee and establish my LIST. You know, the list of things to accomplish for that day. I don't know if it's the coffee talking or my Morning Optimism but my list never quite gets done... ok, rarely gets completely done.

For instance, Today's List:

• Spend some quality time with God - check
• Read book for study @ 7:45 - check
• Do P90-X workout - half check (still have to do abs)
• Report and pay sales tax for this quarter
• Meet with clients (11:15, 12:30, 4:30)
• Take tomatoes to client
• Water garden and plants - half check
• Pick pictures to enter for KS state fair
• Unpack from this weekend
• Put away laundry
• Talk to pastor about service ideas
• Vacuum
• Bathe dogs
• Make dinner

Looking at it I'm thinking.... NO way that can all happen. So I will probably get overwhelmed at about 1:00 and lay on the couch and watch the Dick Van Dyke show (thank you Netflix). Then I will talk myself out of doing any other work until 5 when I feel like I have to get dinner together. This is where you come in! Yes, I'm talking to you.

You are my accountability. I'm going to tell you what I'd like to do in a day and once I get to the end I'll let you know how it went. At least that's the plan right now. Feel free to send me loving notes if I'm slacking.... loving notes.

So here goes my social experiment! See you tonight!

I fought the computer and the computer won

Good use of a blog: Venting when there's no one around to vent to!

I am a personal trainer and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the NSCA. Therefore I have to attain continued education credits. So I registered for a webinar today. It was about how to train athletes in heat and humidity(very applicable considering the summer we're having). I registered a couple days ago, paid my fee and thought all was well! Au contraire (forgive me if my spelling is lacking).

The webinar was scheduled for 1:00pm. I was ready to go at 12:45. Signed in and eating some leftover pizza until it began. I should mention that this was my first ever webinar and I was nervous about messing something up. I kept looking at the clock. 12:56. 12:59. 1:03? It hadn't started. I figured I goofed somehow and connected over the phone to cut my losses. My wonderful cell phone requires you to turn on speaker before you dial so I had to turn my earpiece sound WAY UP and sit bent over with my ear an inch from the phone so I could write and eat (there's a statement about my priorities). So as I'm listening, eating, and writing I am getting more and more irritated that it didn't work on my computer. So then I email the webinar host, Greg, to ask if there is anything I can do. After 3 emails he asks for my phone number so he can call me. After 20 minutes on the phone he gives me the number for tech support, a free webinar pass, many apologies for my missing this webinar, and the promise of an email with the recorded webinar for me to watch. Very nice guy!

Then I call tech support....phone tree... awesome. I get through the phone tree without too much trouble, phew! I don't remember my rep's name, but she had an accent and our connection was breaking up.... which I thought ironic for tech support. So it was a little difficult to hear/understand all she was saying. First we tried again what I'd done 5 times already...it didn't work. Shocker! Then she had me download some software. Still wasn't working. Then I tried it in another browser, still no good. ** a good piece of information for you to know would be that I am on a wireless network** She kept saying that it is not recommended to attend webinars on a wireless network. I'm unsavvy enough to not really know how to change back to an ethernet connection so I said I couldn't really help her much there. Anyhow, after 45 minutes she got the ok from her superior to tell me she couldn't help me. Great! So now I'm all alone, trying to troubleshoot this ridiculous computer that won't let me attend a webinar. So I'm unplugging cables and replugging them and generally just hoping that if I touch enough cables and plugs, they'll feel loved and want to work for me. (You might be able to see where this is headed).

Next phone call goes to Cox (our internet provider). I got an awesome tech support guy on the phone. As I was talking with him my ethernet magically connected! Hooray Jeremy! Apparently, I had plugged something in right and the modem just needed a second to catch up. I was incredibly happy and appreciative of Jeremy's helpful attitude, so I thanked him and hung up.

At this point in time I try to re-log on to my webinar. It might have worked.... had the webinar not been over. So now I have no idea if all that trouble was for anything. And now I will have to try another webinar someday to see if it works. And now I feel just fried enough to not want to do any packing at all for the trip I'm leaving for tomorrow morning. I just want to sit, and bemoan my wreck of an experience with webinars, and eat as many M&M's as it takes to make me happy.

(but I won't because come tomorrow morning I'm off to Boston and I might be more bummed if I'm not packed)

Spaghetti Squash is Awesome

After my breakdown about squash bugs this morning, I decided to cook the squash that I've been able to salvage thus far. And..... delish! (Many thanks to a helpful website for some usefull guidance.) So as an up-note to the day, the squash bug hasn't beat me... just beat up my squash a little.

Stupid Squash Bug

I grew spaghetti squash in my garden this year. I was sooo excited! I even grew butternut squash too! I love how quickly it grew and how big it got! It was so fulfilling to watch it grow almost on a daily basis. And now.... now that it is midway into the summer.... squash bugs. No one warned me that I could lose everything due to an evil little bug. I don't even know what this dasterdly bug looks like, but I've seen what he can do... and it's not pretty. So now my spaghetti squash looks sickly and I'm going to have to pull it up. I'll save as many squash as I can but I'm still sad. Cut down in it's prime.... my poor little spaghetti squash. And now I'm beginning to worry about my butternut! Surely that evil insect will be content to ruin one plant right?!?! OH no.... poor Butternut! Please stay healthy! Oh the heartaches of gardening!

Consider This...

Matthew 10:32-33 NASB

"Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven."

1 Corinthians 3:13-15 NASB

"each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire."

As I live life* in front of this world do I confess or acknowledge Christ? Do the people I see everyday as well as those I run into once hear me acknowledge Christ? When I die and go to Heaven, will Christ say, "My Father, this is Tressa." I want to announce Christ as my Lord and Savior because then, when I meet Him in heaven He will announce me to The Father. What a cool introduction! We serve a HOLY and PERFECT God who cannot tolerate even the slightest sin and He sent His HOLY and PERFECT Son to suffer and die for us, a dirty, rotten, sinning people. So that He can adopt us. What LOVE!

As I live is my work such that when tested by fire it will stand as a testimony to God? Am I living in God's power and glory so that what I accomplish here will be used to glorify God in heaven? Or as the verse says, am I saved but only as one narrowly escaping through flames? I don't want it to be a close call. I want everything I do, say and think to praise my Father in heaven and to be used to glorify Him when I get there. I don't want there to be any doubt or any narrowly escaping through flames.

Do I live this? How can I ensure that I do? Only by God's grace and the power of His Holy Spirit and divine Word. Praise Him!

*I began to type "my life" and caught myself. Nothing about this life is mine. God gave me this body, God gives me breath, God enables my body to move, God allows my brain to function. God provides the air that he designed my body to breathe and the water he designed my body to need. There is nothing about this life that I own or control.

Nicknames

I was thinking this morning about camp and how much meaning a name can have. When you work at Camp Squanto you are dubbed with a "camp name". Mine was Miss Roboto. My maiden name was Ribaudo and thus the Styx song sounded much like that so there you have it. Roboto or Robo became my name and it has so many memories with it. Sometimes I wish someone would call me that now just because of all the wonderful memories tied with it. I can still hear specific people's voices saying that nickname, which is really cool but also makes me miss people like crazy! (necessary shout out to all of my fellow camp squanto staffers... love you all).

Then I was thinking about all of the different nicknames I've had and the memories tied to each of those. It's so cool how you become branded at different times in life by different people and it becomes something you cherish.

I've been:

Pumps- short for pumpkin, called that by my dad

Tressy- wonderful memories of a camp friend, Katelyn Billings

Treehead - not such a wonderful name but memories none the less, Chris Browning

Tress - commonly called this by many friends

Tressy-poo - classic Katy Mann, college friend and co-sufferer of A & P

Roboto/Robo - Squanto, as referenced before

Crazylegs - soccer coach and wonderful friend, Johnny Jackman

T.J.J.B. - Mr. Short, a high school teacher

T.J. Raaar - Stephanie Craddock, middle school

Sooooo Guilty!

I've been leaving the dogs loose in the house lately since Bo has gotten past his "must nibble everything" phase. Well today I made one big mistake. I forgot to empty the trash and came home to this. (sorry for the poor quality pic but my camera took a dive off the dishwasher and hasn't been the same since).

Yes, that's right! We've got coffee grounds and chicken fat! What a mess. Well I knew Jazz was guilty because this is what she does....

And I'm not sure why but I had a nagging feeling that Bo was a willing accomplice. (I believe this is my new favorite picture of him!)

Why yes! Those are hot dog buns in his mouth! He was following me around with them for a good 2 minutes before I figured out that he had salvaged some trash. He even gave them up willingly.... how could I be mad at that?

My Garden

I have wanted a vegetable garden since I was at least 7. I never got one because my mom is admittedly not a "green thumb." Well, now I'm 26 and I have a garden! 2 summers ago I tried just doing cucumbers and tomatoes. The next summer I expanded quite a bit and went a little overboard. This year I think I've got my perfect plot. I'm still perfecting my planting roster but I'm getting there!

Living in Kansas, or at least where I live in Kansas, Bermuda Grass is king. It is also my greatest foe. Last year my garden was bordered with railroad ties and became overrun with Bermuda. It was impossible to beat and at the end of the summer I just gave up and my garden became a jungle I was afraid to enter for fear of giant insects. This year I got a little smarter. My wonderful husband built a wall for me! My mom and I dug 4 inches down the entire area of the garden to get rid of most of the Bermuda. Then my wonderful husband put up my walls. Next my mom and I put a layer of newspaper and then dirt, dirt, and more dirt. Sadly, I couldn't use any of the dirt from my yard because it all has Bermuda in it. This is sad because I have excellent dirt. However, I would rather have a Bermuda free garden, so I'll build this dirt up over the next few years.

I have growing right now cucumbers, garlic, green beans, onions, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, Florida 91 tomatoes, Celebrity tomatoes, Sun Gold tomatoes, green bell peppers, red bell peppers, and sweet potatoes. I love it!

And this year, when I weed, it actually makes a difference!

Morning Thoughts

As I sit here waiting for Photoshop to stop being mad at me, I figured I may as well be productive in other ways... such as my blog.

Today's struggle is discouragement. I am extremely discouraged this morning about my vocation. During the school year I am a para-educator at an elementary school, I have a photography business, and am a certified strength and conditioning specialist. I love all my jobs in some ways and am frustrated with all my jobs in other ways. I have decided to not describe my frustrations to keep myself from whining, but I will say that I feel torn and burdened to my core.

I was reading some passages in Ezekiel and Isaiah today about visions of Heaven. I can't believe that even after reading about such amazing glimpses of the Glory of God I am still discouraged. That almost discourages me even more! But I know that God has a perfect plan for me. I just need to be patient (not my strong suit) and wait for His guidance. In the meantime, I'm trying to sort out my options and make wise decisions. Which is difficult considering I have no idea what to do!

So I'm going to post verses that remind me of God's faithfulness.

Joshua 1:9

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."

2 Corinthians 1:3

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

Praise God!

Bo the Hunter

Today as I was fiddling around with my blog, my dog Bo kept whining and crying. That usually means there is a toy he wants under an object he cannot move. So I looked under the chair, no toy. I assumed that he was merely bored and trying to get me to play with him. So, I ignored him. He kept whining....... and kept whining. Probably for a straight 10 minutes before I figured things out. Bo was hunting.

There has been a fly trapped in our house since at least yesterday. Bo doesn't like flies in our house so he hunts them. Well, the smart little dog he is, he figured out that the fly had settled on the windowsill in the office. So he was crying and whining because he couldn't reach the fly.

He cried and whined for a good half hour at least. He is a determined little dog! Even now (about 2 hours later) he keeps checking in to see if the fly has left... I'm not sure how he knows because he can't see the fly but he checks.

I forgot to put the meat out...

So, being out of school for the summer is wonderful, but I forget that the other things in life continue. Such as me making dinner. Well it was suddenly 5:30 this evening and I found myself staring at the cupboard attempting to make dinner materialize. ( I had forgotten to put out any of the meat that I has so meticulously zip-locked and stuck in the freezer the night before.) So I thought that I would make spaghetti and sauce since it would be easy and quick. Spaghetti, check. Sauce...... not so much. So I stood there another little while staring at the cupboard trying to make sauce materialize. And would you believe that it worked?!?! It did! It had a little help, but it materialized. I was thinking about one of my favorite dishes at an Italian restaurant in town and how I could make an oil based sauce. So I started with olive oil and added chopped onions and let that simmer a while. Then I grabbed a can of garbanzo beans and chopped some of those up and threw them in the mixture. I went back to looking in the cupboard and grabbed a can of stewed tomatoes (they were Mexican style... so it was an Italian/Latin meal I guess). It smelled kind of weird once the tomatoes were in and I thought I had ruined it, but I kept going. I added garlic powder because I didn't have any of the real stuff and then went out and grabbed a couple of leaves of basil off a plant and chopped them and added them to the mix (I don't think they did much of anything).

So the final review from Aaron? He liked it!!! The only thing I have ever made from scratch and my own ideas besides Marshmallow Surprise and it was a success!!! I'm so happy!!!

Ode to Pilgrim Pines

We are going camping with a group of friends over Memorial Day Weekend. I love camping. I love just being out in nature enjoying God's creation without TV and without the computer. I love being able to detach and relax.

When I was growing up my family would go camping every summer for about a week at a place called Pilgrim Pines. It's a family camp in W. Swanzey, NH. It is my favorite place in the whole world. I have the best memories from there. We would set up our tent and that would be home.

I remember one specific trip we were laying in our cots one night watching the shadows from a neighbors fire flicker on our tent. Then our neighbor started playing his violin. It was amazing.

Pilgrim Pines is a sacred place in my memories, as is Camp Squanto. Camp Squanto is the youth camp affiliated with Pilgrim Pines. I went there as a child and I was a counselor there in college. There is no place like it.

Lounging at Swanzey Lake all day, eating Snickers ice cream from the Snack Shack, and playing games at night. All of them are dear to my heart.

Keene, NH is also near and dear to my heart. It is the town that us counselors would retreat to when the campers left. Also, the closest town for your camping and dining needs. I still crave Armadillos and Brewbakers.

So as I sit thinking about this upcoming camping trip, my heart aches just a little for my beloved Pines. So here's to you you Pilgrim Pines.

Storms

I LOVE STORMS.

Especially thunder storms! Some of my fondest memories are laying on a sidewalk with a friend during a storm and letting the rain soak us, watching thunderstorms roll in at college for hours at a time, and flying in an airplane right next to an electrical storm watching the light show.

I think I love them so much because they reflect the power and awesomeness of God so much. In Daniel 10:6 it says that Christ's face looks like lightning. I can't even imagine!

The sound of rain on a roof is one of the best. During my summers in college I worked at a camp in New Hampshire and the cabin that I lived in was in the woods. When it would storm the rain would fall and 3 of my 4 cabin walls were mostly screens so I could hear the rain dripping off the trees and hitting my roof. It was serene.

We had some good thunder here today but not much. Very short abbreviated storms. I'm sure we'll get more though!

A Fantastic Weekend

My wonderful husband and I are PBR fans. PBR=Professional Bull Riding.

I have a feeling I know what kind of image may be popping up in your head, but please try to restrain it. We have all our teeth and shower regularly.

This weekend the PBR Built Ford Tough Tour was in Wichita and a couple months ago, Aaron (AKA my wonderful husband), decided we should go and make a weekend out

of it. PROPS TO HIM!!!

So, Friday i picked him up for work and we drove down to Wichita. We checked into our hotel and hoofed it down to INTRUST Arena.

(educational moment: Bull Riding events generally have 3 rounds. The first round will be one night with the second and third rounds on following nights. This time the second and third rounds were on Saturday night. In the third round the riders' scores are added from the first 2 rounds and the top 15 proceed to round 3. Those 15 riders get to pick their bulls.)

One of the best things about the PBR is that they pray before every event. I love it! The next best thing is the cowboys. Now cowboys are pretty cool in my book. If you have the guts to ride giant, agile beasts that really only want to throw you 30 feet in the air and then step on you, kudos. Then you have the bull fighters (the guys who actually step in front of the bulls after the rider is either thrown off or has dismounted). These guys don't get nearly the respect they deserve. They are phenomenal. So, major kudos to them. Then you have the clown. He is the entertainer for when they're getting bulls ready and riders ready. Some are not so funny. Flint Rasmussen is very funny!

Ok, back to Friday. They open the event with a very cool pyro show.

Then, then highlight the top ranked riders. Forgive the pictures, but I couldn't bring my good camera.

I love the fire, the excitement and the loud music!

After all that the event begins. We had a fantastic time! We saw a bull buck a cowboy out of the arena (don't worry the cowboy was fine). Travis Briscoe ended up winning Round 1 that night.

Saturday was wonderful. We slept in then went to Old Chicago in Old Town for l

unch. I'd never been there.... the pizza was so good!!! 5 stars in my opinion. Then we went to Sheplers (a western wear store). We both got cowboy boots which we have been wanting for a long time. Then we got to meet 5 of the top bull riders!!!! I hate to

admit it but I was star-struck.

This is Robson Palermo and Guilherme Marchi.

One of the cowboys we met was Wiley Petersen. He was really nice and talked with Aaron for a little while. I think I'll start rooting for him.

Later on that afternoon after a stop at Gander Mtn. we went to Cafe Moderne. We had some great coffee got a light dinner before heading back to Intrust.

The event again began with prayer, and then something really different. A new group of airforce recruits got sworn in in front of everyone. So cool to witness. And then the cowboys and the loud music and everything. It was a lot of fun.

Austin Meier ended up winning the event. Travis Briscoe, Chris Shivers, and J.B. Mauney(my N.C. native) were all injured. Chris broke a bone in his hand Friday night on his first ride, then proceeded to ride again that night and once more on Saturday night. J.B. got a partially collapsed lung from a bull hitting it's head in his chest. I believe Travis tore his ACL.

Anyway, we had a blast. It was so great to get away from the norm for a weekend and do something that we really enjoyed. It was such a blessing!

A New Era

I've never really understood blogging... (who has the time?)

until today.

A beautiful revelation came from reading an old college friend's blog post today (thank you, Kacia).

I do have stories and I do have time. So... here comes the new era. It could be dangerous with my random thinkings flying around, but bear with me. I think it'll be good.

*My blog title stems from a comment I made yesterday as I was walking out to my car after a wonderful Mothers' Day celebration. "It sure is windy in paradise." It was true, it was windy, but it's always windy in Kansas. The weird part was paradise. I never thought I'd live in Kansas, I even told God I wouldn't (that didn't work). But this flat land where I live in a wonderful home with a more than wonderful husband around loving family in a beyond-words church family is paradise. As unlikely as it may be.*

So, I think I'm excited to venture into this era of blogging :)