Adios 2008

As I reflect upon this past year, sad to say that I wasn't a big fan of it. There were many ups and downs and I felt like I was in the valley more than on the mountain tops. It was a year of change, disappointment, frustration, and an array of emotions. Despite trying to make lemonade out of lemons, I look forward and anticipate what lies ahead in 2009.

My motto for 2009 is "EXPECT GREAT THINGS" (yes, it is the saying from Kohls, but I think it's pretty Biblical as well!)!

Pray this with me, as I look forward to seeing God move and guide my life.

Merry Christmas

I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas filled with hope, love, and peace!

I'm trying

Going to bed last night I was so tickled to know that I could sleep in, have a low key day, and do some baking since I have the day off. With the ice and snow storm hitting it would keep me stranded inside. I was so looking forward to it.

After going to bed early after an exhausting day, I woke up a few hours later (about 1 am) hearing the storm roll in with rain and hail, I could see the house windows were iced over and I began to worry for my parents drive to work and others who would be driving. After getting back into bed I tried to get toasty again and said a few prayers before falling asleep.

At about 4:15 I woke up again and I heard my parents talking. It sounded like my mom was on the phone. I went down stairs to see what was going and was a bit chilly. I soon found out that our heat was out. The man who we were renting the house from was on his way over to check things out.

I don't know about you but this wasn't how I had planned for my day to start. Being up most of the night doesn't put me in the best of moods and currently I'm trying to snap out of it. I'm waiting for a heating guy to hopefully make it out today. I want to take a nap and wake up with how I had planned my day. As I'm feeling a bit grumpy I'm realizing that I don't want this to ruin my day and I remind myself that things don't always go according to how I want them too, but with that I need to roll with the punches and not let it affect me. I guess this is a lesson that I have to continually learn.

Foods

Today I got my first taste of teaching a foods course to high school students. Now granted I only taught for 2 periods, but it was fun. We baked and frosted some cookies and then prepared the dough of snickerdoodle cookies. I enjoyed using my knowledge of baking and incorporating it into teaching. I hope that I have more opportunities to teach foods and maybe a few other courses in that department like parenting, teaching, and early education.

Black Friday

Cheers! What a day Black Friday was! I had been looking forward to this for a while and it was fantastic! My mom, sister, sister-in-law, and I headed out on the road at 4 am where we hit Woodfield. As we entered the mall, there were TONS of people already there. People were waiting in line for stores to open. Most stores had some great bargains and we were out of there by 11. Next we hit a few surrounding stores and then we stopped at Yorktown. Following that we headed to Fox Valley where we hit a few stores for my sister since they weren't at any of the other malls. Our last stop was the Coach Outlet which had some amazing deals! That wrapped it up and we were home by 6 pm. Most of us got a lot of Christmas shopping completed. Oh what a good feeling that was. A few more gifts to go and then onto wrapping. Couldn't this day be more often?!?!?!

Dilema

With the economy as bad as it is, I still want to purchase Christmas gifts and give to different needs around the holidays. BUT there seems to be a guilt for me. Not sure what it is. I feel guilty that I'm spending money on gifts, instead of saving it for if the times get worse or whatever. I really enjoy buying gifts and seeing people smile. Does anyone else feel this way? Where is this coming from? I need to get past this so that I can enjoy what I love to do, shop.

Youth of today

I feel really old writing this post but here it is anyway.

I've had the opportunity to work with high school students over the past few weeks. I wasn't sure what I'd be getting myself into, but I thought I would try it despite the unknown.

And boy I was shocked. The swearing that is used is like a part of their normal vocabulary. Boys and girls just hanging all over each other like they will never see each other again. The lack of motivation and disrespect was also very evident.

What is happening to the youth of today? Where are the parents? Is it only going to continue to get worse? How can we change this?

With having a sibling in high school and one that will be there next year, I'm scared and concerned for what they have to encounter on a daily basis. How strong will they be? Will they be able to resist temptations? There's a million questions, it's time to get back on my knees.

That's right, lets have some fun!

A quote that I recently read and enjoyed:

"Fun in the wilderness is a matter of perspective, God is greater than all our turmoil, God is the only One who knows and holds our future and we can lighten the grip after all and enjoy the moment at hand!"

Spewing thoughts

My mind is filled with so many thoughts about one topic. I'm torn inside. There are so many pieces about this topic that I love and I miss. It's comfortable, loving, enjoyable, easy, encouraging, good memories...But then on the flip side, I was badly hurt by it. I was betrayed, taken by surprise, beat up... I know that I've worked through the pain, but my dilema is if I should allow myself to open up to it again. It's scary, is it worth it, what do I have to gain or lose? Big stuff to prayerfully consider. sigh

It's that time

I'm sure some will criticize me for this post while others will agree....

I am SO in the Christmas spirit. The weird weather with snow flakes, wind, frigid temps, rain, and overcast skies just seem to solidify that Christmas will soon be here. I searched and found a radio station online so that I can listen to Christmas music, it was so fun to here those tunes. At the malls, the decor is all set up and everything looks beautiful! I have even started a little Christmas shopping. And to look forward to wrapping gifts, baking, seeing the Macy's Christmas windows, drinking egg nog...the list could go on and on.

I absolutely love this time of year! Yet, I know that we haven't even gotten to Thanksgiving yet, but I want to soak up every moment that I can and savor it until the end. Wanna join me?!?!?!

An opportunity for YOU!

In the past I have enjoyed serving people, children, teachers, and families on mission trips. It's been a little time since I've gotten to do this and I feel like it's time to go on another one. But in the meantime while I figure that out, I would still like to serve. There are a million reasons why I enjoy this but I won't go into them. :)

I found out about a place called Feed My Starving Children. This organization packages dried food (chicken, veggies, rice, and soy) and sends them to the outer parts of the world to children who have no food, are starving to death, are ill...Currently they are shipping the food to Haiti. And considering that I've been to Haiti and have seen so many children digging for food in garbage dumps, I couldn't be more thrilled that those kiddos will get some nourishment.

What I love about Feed My Starving Children is that I can go and package the food and help those who are in need. All it takes is to go on a volunteer night (it's about once a week) for two hours and give your time to help. Also, it's right here in the suburbs, Aurora, so you don't have to go far!

I find that giving up some of my time to help bless others helps me too. I encourage any and all to try it out one night. There have been lots of families that do this as well. Check it out at http://www.fmsc.org/

Election Day

As I continue to hear more and more about the presidential candidates (which I'm pretty tired of) and about how people are voting, I can't help but think about President George Bush. Despite whether you thought he did a horrible job, a good job, or decent job, this man led our country for 8 years. How is feeling? What is he thinking? Is he relieved to be out of the White House? What will he do with his time? How will he make the transition from being the leader of a country to now a normal citizen like you and I?

Eating Healthy

I've been on a kick lately of cooking and baking, it's been a lot of fun. And the bonus is that it's healthy!

Here are a few things I've made which have been big hits: BBQ turkey meatloaf, chicken pot pie, a chocolate cake made with diet pepsi, and blueberry scones.

It's been fun to experiment and then I cross my fingers hoping others will enjoy it as well. Back to looking for recipes.

The little things

Today was so encouraging, I got three fantastic calls for random jobs that I would love to do!! All in the same day, how great. Watch out here I come.

This time of year

I am SO into fall right now. I love that the trees are turning color, the weather is getting cooler, and the thought of the holidays is floating through the air. Recently, I have fell in love with the flavor of pumpkin (I still can't stand pumpkin pie). I have not been a fan of it before but I love that maybe some of my taste buds are changing. So far I've had pumpkin soup and I have made low fat pumpkin bread. Both were delish! This weekend I'm making a pumpkin roll, I hope it turns out yummy. I'm curious to try other pumpkin foods, we'll see what I come up with.

Right now I'm loving:

~freshly picked apples

~attending sporting events

~how versatile my iPhone is

~that I'm taking a vacation soon

~my White Sox flip flops

~free time that I have all to myself

~hearing my friends laugh

~that gas is going down in price

~watching "The Amazing Race"

~the smell of a pumpkin candle burning

~Nordstrom Rack

~the book I'm reading

~that I have a couch in my bedroom

~the thoughts of a thanksgiving meal

~that "24" will be on in November

What are you loving right now?

An inspiring excerpt

Marin Luther said,

This life therefore is not righteousness
but growth in righteousness
not health but healing
not being but becoming...
We are not yet what we shall be
but we are growing toward it.
The process is not yet finished
but it is going on.
This is not the end
but it is the road.
All does not yet gleam in glory
but all is being purified.

Who knew?

Check this out....fashionable diapers

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26885530/?GT1=43001

Tomorrow

I cannot wait until tomorrow. I get to hang out with a dear friend who loves me, encourages me, gives me guidance, and is on my side. What more could I ask for?!

Virginity

The other day I was watching TV and caught an ear full when I heard that a grad student was auctioning off her virginity. She was introduced to this idea when conducting research for a project. This concept inspired her and thought she'd try it out, she thought by doing the auction it would be good research for her project and also help pay for grad school.

The two commentators had opossing views, one thought it was a good idea in the name of "research" while the other thought it was ridiculous to lower your standards and make money off of this activity.

Wow, the extremes people will go through to make a little extra cash.