I'm not lost; God knows exactly where I am.

I found the statement above written on an index card tucked inside the cover of my old journal. I can't remember for sure, but I think this was part of a list I made of "lessons I've learned" for a layout in my Book of Me scrapbook. Ever since I ran across this sentence the other night, it's been sticking with me. There have been times in my life when I've felt far away from God, but He has always been right there just waiting for me to call out to Him to come for me. I actually went through this at the beginning of this year. I had started feeling like something was missing from my life, but initially, I couldn't figure out what it was. When I actually took the time to think about the problem, I quickly realized what was wrong: I had let the rest of my life intrude on my relationship with God. I wasn't in as close communion with Him as I once had been. As soon as I realized this, I asked Him to come and guide me back to His side. Almost instantly, I felt surrounded by Him and His amazing love. This experience, and the statement above, reminds me of a line from a Rich Mullins song: "I may falter in my steps, but never beyond your reach". Isn't wonderful to know that we are never far away from God? As the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 139, there is nowhere we can go to get away from Him, not the depths of the sea nor the highest mountaintop nor the ends of the earth. Knowing that He is always there, no matter how badly I mess things up or how far I wander, is the greatest feeling in the world.

TTFN!

Finding My Zone

Last week one day while I was driving home from work, I was suddenly hit by an overwhelming longing to to do some practicing when I got home (I play the organ). The more I thought about doing it, the more intense the longing became. I haven't sat down and played in many, many months - I find it hard to practice for any length of time any more because of my carpal tunnel syndrome. This day, however, I wasn't about to let that hold me back. When I got home, I went in and shovelled (literally) all of the stuff away from in front of my organ so that I could pull the bench out. Because my mom was sleeping at the time (and because i wanted to hear how horrible I sounded before my mom and dad heard me) I initially had my headphones on. Yikes! It sounded like I had never played a note in my life. But as I got my hands warmed up, it gradually started to sound better. I eventually felt confident enough in what I was doing to take the headphones off so that Mom and Dad could hear me. But as I continued to play, the thought crossed my mind that it would take me a long time to get back into my "zone".

That started me wondering. What exactly is my "zone", and how do I know when I'm in it? As I continued to ponder this, it came to me that I am "in the zone" when I stop having to consciously think about what I'm doing and where I'm moving my hands to, when my hands and foot are playing together in perfect harmony and when, even though my eyes are on the sheet music, I'm "feeling" the music inside of me rather than "reading" it from the page. And once I get into the zone, I sometimes experience a feeling like something else has taken over and is playing through me. I can actually feel where I am no longer the one in control of moving my hands. It doesn't happen every time I play, and it only lasts for a few seconds. Sounds crazy, I know. But I've felt it many times, and it always leaves me feeling somewhat awe-struck when it happens.

I also got to thinking about this incredible gift that I've been given by God, and the fact that I have been sadly neglecting it. This especially hit me when, after I finished playing and went into the living room, both Mom and Dad told me how much they had enjoyed listening to me play and how they wished I would do it more often. I decided then and there that I need to look for more opportunities to share with others this gift that I have been given.

TTFN!

Two more days until Sunday School starts!!

Tonight is the first meeting of the year for the Sunday School staff at our church, of which yours truly is a part. It's been nice to have the summer off to rest and get refreshed, but I'm actually really excited about the start of a new year. I'm planning on building on some of the things that I taught my class last year (the 10 commandments, books of the Bible, scripture memorization), as well as incorporating some new things into the curriculum (the Beatitudes, how God made each of us special and unique). Although we have prescribed curriculum that we use, I enjoy getting creative from time to time and doing my own thing with the class, particularly if there's something I want to teach that we don't have in the current curriculum.

One of the nice things about belonging to a small congregation is that we generally have the same students from year to year. Last year I taught grades 3-6 (which was only 5 students); this year I'm not sure what grades I'm going to end up with. It's going to depend on how they decide to split the classes up between me and the other elementary teacher.

TTFN!

How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Part 1

Prologue
My cousin Angela got married on July 20th in Steinbach, Manitoba (about 45 minutes outside of Winnipeg). When my mom and dad and I started making plans to attend, initially we were only going to take a couple of days, go to the wedding and come home again. Somewhere along the way, we decided to extend our trip and take a little vacation. With my Dad needing to have two separate surgeries (one for his cancer and one on his that keeps dislocating), it's uncertain when we'll have another chance to take a vacation. We decided that we would leave on Thursday the 17th once I got home from work, drop the dogs off at their kennel (it was on our way) and drive to Saskatoon where we'd spend the night. Friday morning we'd get up, have breakfast at one of our favourite restaurants, and then drivwe to Winnipeg. I was staying with my Aunty Ingrid and Uncle Rick; Mom and Dad were going to be staying with my Uncle Wayne (Uncle Rick and Uncle Wayne are my mom's brothers). We'd have Saturday to rest from our travels, and we had been invited to my cousin Kristi's home for dinner. The wedding was going to be on Sunday, and we were going to leave the reception a little bit early to cross the border into North Dakota. Our destination was Grand Forks. We were going to spend two nights there (so Dad could go to Menards hardware store) and then continue driving across North Dakota and Montana to Missoula over the course of the week. We planned to spend a night in Great Falls so that Mom and I could go to the Goodwill store there (people always think we're nuts when we tell them that that's our favourite store there) before going to Missoula. We'd spend three nights in Missoula to do some shopping and then come home.

Ever heard the saying "Man plans, God laughs"? Yeah. Here's how our vacation really went...

Remind me again why I left work early?
I had made arrangements to get out of work an hour early, thinking (perhaps rather foolishly) that we could get on the road earlier, and thus get to Saskatoon earlier. Boy, was I wrong! I made one quick stop on the way home - to buy panythose for the wedding that I didn't end up wearing anyway - and then headed home. Mom had gone into the city to get a few things, and apparently got home not very long before I did. I was pretty much packed; my mom, not so much. So when I got home, she was running around in a tizzy madly trying to finish her packing. Too much of a tizzy, apparently; she forgot to pack a couple of rather essential items (I won't go into the specifics; suffice it to say we had to make an emergency stop at Wal-Mart in Saskatoon before we left the next morning). We finally got out of the house at 6:30, and I think the only reason we left then was because we had to drop the dogs off before 7:00. As it was, we just barely made it to the kennel.

To be continued...

God Painted The Sky

One of the things I love most about my daily commute is getting to watch the sun come up in my rearview mirror in the morning. This is a short-lived experience, only occurring for about 1-2 weeks in the spring and fall. Right now in the mornings, the sun is already over the horizon when I leave; in another week or two we'll be to the time when I get to watch the sky turn gradually go from the pre-dawn grey to ever-increasing tinges of pink and purple, and then finally to glorious shades of orange and gold as the sun breaks over the horizon and colour floods the sky. I love witnessing this phenomon; somehow whatever worries or stresses are bothering suddenly seem so insignificant.

Last week (Thursday, to be precise) I was driving to work, occasionally glancing in my rearview mirror to see the sunrise, as I always do. I had one of my favourite Rebecca St. James discs in the CD player, and I was listening to this amazing praise and worship song that's on it (for about the fifth time in a row). There's one point in the song where the music builds to a crescendo; at the very instant that the crescendo hit, I reached a placed on the highway where the trees give way to fields and the sunrise blazed across the sky, colouring everything gold and orange. All at once, the pain in my joints from the cool, damp morning, the stress over the piles of paperwork sitting on my desk, even the other cars on the highway, everything just dropped away. At that moment, it was just me and my Creator, and I was overwhelmed by such a deep, powerful feeling of peace and contentment that it actually gave me goosebumps. I was suddenly compelled to lift my hand in worship and praise to my God. The moment passed, but the feeling stayed with me for the rest of the morning.

"Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to praise.
When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will sing...
Blessed be your name."
("Blessed Be Your Name" - R. St. James, The Ultimate Collection, Disc 2)

TTFN!

Inspired!

I've been buying scrapbook magazines like crazy lately - and there's a couple more idea books that I'm looking for! I've seen some really neat ideas, and it's gotten me inspired to create.

In my July/August Simple Scrapbooks, there was an article on quick and easy travel albums. The one that I jsut loved was an altered recipe card box (covered in actual maps - how cool is that?) with postcards made from actual vacation photos. As soon as I saw it, I right away thought of a picture I took when I went to Europe in 1995. One of the cities we visited was Innsbruck, Austria; which hosted a couple of Winter Olympics (don't ask me the years, though). We went up to the ski jump hill, and I took a great picture of Innsbruck down in the valley below, with the Alps in the background. It's my favourite picture from the trip, and I think it would make a great postcard.

Then in a Creating Keepsakes magazine I bought last week, there's an article about making a "Snapshot of my Life" album. Some of the layout ideas are really neat, and it's got me wanting to make my own snapshot album. I already have ideas on putting together some of the layouts, and what I want them to look like. One of my favourite layouts is the one that's composed of a few top 10 lists, like the one I made of "10 things I always have in my purse". Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE top 10 lists? Lists in general, actually. And I love scrapbooking with lists.

The other idea that I came up with, that I'm really excited about and can't wait to start, is a "Smile" book - an album full of things that make me smile. I have a lot of scrapbooking things that I've bought just because I love them. But because I love them so much, I don't want to use them (like the 3D Winnie the Pooh sticker I bought just because he's cute and he's Winnie the Pooh and I love Winnie the Pooh). So I'm going to put them in a little scrapbook for those times when I need a little pick-me up. Just think - all my favourite happy things in one place! One of the pictures I'm going to use is one of James and I when we were really young; I think I was about 3-4, so Jamie would have been 2-3. He's standing looking right at the camera, but I'm standing sort of facing him with both arms his shoulders. I love that picture!

TTFN!

Trial By Fire

I saw a journal prompt that called out to me on Teri Leigh Owens' blog (http://www.inspiretobelieve.blogspot.com/) that I thought I would answer here. The prompt was to write about a tough time that you've gone through that has made you stronger. That's an easy one - it was the year and a half between when I first found out that my kidneys were failing and I needed a transplant and when I actually had the surgery.


We had always been told that transplantation was an eventual possibility for me. But because I had been healthy for so long, it was easy enough to sweep those thoughts under the rug and forget about them. Having the news come at me out of the blue really hit me hard. My first thought when the doctor told me the news was "If this is God's idea of a joke, I'm not laughing." After the initial shock wore off, the fear and the anger set it. I often thought, "How could God do this to me?" I didn't realize it at the time, but He was getting ready to teach me some really important lessons about my life, my faith, my beliefs and what it means to trust fully and completely in Him.


One of the first symptoms of my kidneys shutting down that I experienced was anemia. Have you ever had a day when you woke up really tired, and felt like you didn't have the energy to get out of bed? That's pretty much what it was like for me every day. I got tired going up and down stairs, I got tired taking my dog outside to go to the bathroom (at the time we were trying to keep her as an indoor dog), I even got tired just brushing my hair. My doctor warned me that it would happen; I just never expected it to start so soon. A few weeks after finding all of this out, I went to work at the Bible camp down the road for the summer. I got through the two training weeks okay, but by the end of the first week of camp I was completely exhausted, and things went downhill from there. I used to cry myself to sleep at night because I was so exhausted, and I woke up in the morning praying for enough strength to get through just one more day. By the beginning of the final week of camp, I was ready to go to the camp director and quit - I didn't think I could handle any more.


But you know what? God was right there with me all the time. I couldn't see it at the time, but looking back now I can see all the hundreds of ways that he was looking after me when I didn't have the strength to look after myself. There were my camp friends who were there for me with hugs and prayers whenever I needed them and offers to help me with my work chores and optional activities if I needed the rest or just needed extra help, there was the camp director assigning me more experienced CITs (counsellors-in-training) to help me, there was the way that I always managed to find the strength to get through that "one more day", there was the encouragement from the campers and pastors who came each week when they found out what I was dealing with, there were so many things. I often think of the poem "Footprints" by Margaret Fishback Powers, and I know that this was one of the times in my life when I would see only one set of footprints - my Heavenly Father was carrying me in His arms because I didn't have the strength to go on by myself.


It was during this time that I found my verse (you can see it on my sidebar). I came across it in a book that I was reading. When I read the words, I suddenly felt like God was speaking to me directly through the book and telling me that I had to trust in Him, and that everything was going to be alright. I memorized that verse, and I used to repeat it to myself whenever I got scared. I have a beautiful Thomas Kinkade bookmark with another version of this verse on it. It says "Always let Him lead you, and He will clear the way for you to follow". That's the biggest thing that I learned from all of this - to keep following Him, even when I can't see what lies around the next bend. He's know what's there, and He won't let me fall. I realize now that I can't make it on my own, in spite of my best efforts to do so. I need Him to guide me through the rough spots and to hold out that beacon of hope for me to follow.

When I reflect on this time in my life, I often think of the song "Refiner's Fire". Just as gold and silver is refined in the fire to make it stronger, God used this time to "refine" me to make me stronger. I can honestly say that I wouldn't be where I am today if not for what I went through. Thanks God.

A Monday Laugh

The final Big Blog Challenge topic is to post a great email that you got. Here's one that one of my co-workers sent me:

This could happen to you.

I was barely sitting down when I heard a voice from the other stall saying: 'Hi, how are you?'

I'm not the type to start a conversation in the restroom but I don't know what got into me, so I answered, somewhat embarrassed, 'Doin' just fine!'

And the other person says: 'So what are you up to?'

What kind of question is that? At that point, I'm thinking this is too bizarre so I say: 'Uhhh, I'm like you, just traveling!'

At this point I am just trying to get out as fast as I can when I hear another question. 'Can I come over?'

Ok, this question is just too weird for me but I figured I could just be polite and end the conversation. I tell them 'No..I'm a little busy right now!!!'

Then I hear the person say nervously... 'Listen, I'll have to call you back. There's an idiot in the other stall who keeps answering all my questions.'

Cell phones, don't you just love them?

TTFN!

Happy Birthday to me!

Another year, another birthday. I can't complain too much - I'm really happy where I'm at right now. Somewhere along the road I've travelled I've learned about self-acceptance; something I had trouble with when I was younger. Although I wasn't aware of it happening, I've become comfortable with who and what I am. That isn't to say there aren't still some things I'd like to change; there are some issues I'm still struggling with. But overall, I'm really happy. I've been richly blessed with all that I've been given and accomplished in life.

I want to start my post today with my birth verse (taken from http://www.birthverse.com/). "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" (Matthew 6:26) I've always liked this passage from Matthew (see verses 25-31); it's a good reminder that we should not worry about our physical needs, that in all things God is looking after us. So I was really happy when I saw that my birth verse was part of one of my favourite passages.

And now...back to my birthday. Here's what the ideal way to spend my ideal birthday would be. Sleep in. Get up around 10:00 and have a nice breakfast that I didn't have to make. Stay in my pajamas until noon and play my new Nintendo game (I bought myself a little birthday gift yesterday - a Tetris game for my Ninteno DS). Get dressed and go out shopping. Meet my friend for a late lunch and maybe a movie. Go home and have my birthday dinner with my whole family (my brother would be there too). Open my gifts and have cake. Watch some TV. Go to bed. Nowhere in this scenario does going to work figure in LOL. It's nice to dream, but...

Here's how the day is actually unfolding. Got up at 6:20, got dressed and did my hair/make-up. Grabbed a cup of coffee and left for work. Listened (and sang along) to one of my new NKOTB cd's that I bought on eBay. Breakfast was a chocolate cupcake at work left over from yesterday's huddle (very tasty, but not so nutritious). Spent the morning trying to balance a report to break down the engineering hours on an invoice I was doing (and yes, it really did take all morning for the one stupid report because I kept having to go back and fix rates and hours). For lunch, I went out to Arby's and got a pecan and chicken salad wrap, potato bites and iced tea (again, very tasty but not so nutritious). YUM! It's the first time since they've had the pecan chicken salad that I've gotten it. When I got back to work, I got a parking spot closer to the door than where I had been parked this morning. I was wishing though that I could still park in stall #626 (for obvious reasons), but's it now a reserved spot for company vehicles. Oh well.

Well, time to go back to my report (it's still not working the way I need it to... GRRRRR).

TTFN!

My newest addiction is...

Webkinz. Yes, I know that I'm too old for stuffed animals (so some would say, anyway). But I don't care! I just love these little cuties - they're so cuddly. My first one was a beagle that I named Harley. After that, in no particular order ('cuz I can't remember LOL), came Cleo the black lab, Amber the yellow lab, Rudyard the reindeer and Lilo the siamese cat. Next on my list of pets to get is the cocker spaniel and the elephant. I just wish they had a dolphin - I would be all over that one. The Shining Stars plush are really cute too. I've seen a couple of those I wouldn't mind having. One's a beagle (I seem to have a thing for beagles lately), and another is a really cute bunny.

On a totally unrelated topic... I'm really quite glad that my birthday is on a Thursday this year. My favourite scrapbook store is open late Thursdays, and with my membership I get a birthday discount. But I can only use it on my actual birthday - I found that out the hard way last year. Which kind of sucks. Especially since the scrapbook store across the street from work let me use my birthday discount almost two weeks after the fact when I had a membership there. I haven't completely decided what I'm going to buy, but I do have my eye on an All My Memories tote. I also have a 40% coupon for Michael's that's good this week too. And Michael's is just down the street from the scrapbook store! I know what I'm getting with that: a Crop-In-Style Paper Sticker Binder. I need something that's sized to hold 12x12 paper for my faith scrapbooking supplies. The only problem is I'm not entirely sure where I'm going to store my new goodies - my corner of my room where I keep my scrappy stuff is overflowing as it is, and the two shelves in my closet where I also have scrappy stuff are both full. Oh, to have my own dedicated scrap space!

TTFN!

These are a few of my favourite things

Today's blog challenge topic is to list 25 of your very favourite things. I have so many favourite things that this was really easy. So without further ado, here is my list of my 25 favourite things:

Favourite Colour: Pink
Favourite Flower: Pansies
Favourite Smell: Rain
Favourite Season: Spring
Favourite Holiday: Christmas - the birth of our Saviour
Favourite Animal: Dolphin
Favourite Food: Chocolate
Favourite Restaurant: Red Lobster
Favourite Drink: Water
Favourite Ice Cream: Peanut Butter Chocolate from Baskin Robbins (suddenly I'm craving a milkshake LOL)
Favourite Perfume: Wish Of Love (Avon)
Favourite Lipstick Revlon Moisturous Lipcolour in Rosewater
Favourite Lotion: Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion
Favourite Piece of Clothing: My $4 Tommy jeans (yes you're reading that right - I got 'em at Goodwill)
Favourite Piece of Jewellery: My daughter's pride ring that my parents gave me for Christmas in 2003
Favourite Place To Hang Out: West Edmonton Mall
Favourite Place To Shop: Reitman's
Favourite Vacation Spot: California
Favourite Bible Verse: Proverbs 3: 5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."
Favourite Quote: "When you come to the edge of all the light you know and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: there will be something solid to stand on, or you will be taught to fly." (Barbara J. Winters)
Favourite Song: "The One And Only" - Chesney Hawkes
Favourite Singer: Rebecca St. James
Favourite Group: Bon Jovi
Favourite Movie: "Lady and the Tramp"
Favourite TV Show: CSI: New York
Favourite Book: "The Princess" by Lori Wick
Favourite Author: Max Lucado
Favourite Magazine: Simple Scrapbooks
Favourite Video Game: Tetris
Favourite Way To Relax: In a hot bubble bath with a good book and some candles for atmosphere
Favourite Website: Scrapbook.com

TTFN!

It's my birthday and I'll age if I want to

Today's Big Blog Challenge topic is to write about how we celebrate birthdays. Quite timely since my birthday's coming up in two more days. I have, however, decided that I am not going to get older. That's right. I'm staying 30. Possibly even for 2 or 3 more years to come. I like being 30; it's been a good age. So I've decided to be like Peter Pan and not grow up anymore.

When my brother and I were younger, we always looked forward to our birthdays. Aside from the obvious reasons, we got to pick whatever we wanted for supper and what kind of cake we wanted. Some of the things that I remember requesting were my Grandma's chicken, lasagna and hamburgers. When we had our birthday parties, we generally got to pick out what we wnated to have to eat too.

Now that we're getting older, we sometimes have our birthdays out at the restaurant of our choosing. Or we get take-out from said restaurant and eat at home in our pajamas (which is usually quite a bit more fun, and the bonus is that you don't have waiters making you do embarrassing things while they sing Happy Birthday loud enough for the entire neighbourhood to hear). I say sometimes because I'm still waiting to have my birthday supper from last year. Cake is generally chosen by whoever goes to the store to buy it. Everybody knows that chocolate or cheesecake are good choices for me. MMMMM....cheesecake!

This year for my birthday, I decided that I wanted to have it at one of our favourite restaurants in Montan when we go on holidays next month. Mom's been asking me where I wanted to go, and I've been really struggling with how to tell her that I don't really want to go out for dinner. Like I said, I'm still waiting for last year's dinner. So I decided to pick a place that we want to go to anyway. And we're going to be there for the best part of the week so there's lots of time to go there. Just for fun the other day, I looked up their menu just to get myself all watered up for my supper, and boy, I can't wait!

TTFN!

Just Another Manic Monday

It's Monday...again. Today's Big Blog Challange is to vent. I could go on for hours today, but I'll try to keep it short...



I've been sitting here all day trying desparately to keep my eyes open. Didn't sleep so well last night. Part of it was because Nicky (mom's dog) was outside barking his fool head off at midnight. Mom always lets him out to go one more time before bed. Most of the time he's really good...goes out, does his thing, comes back in. Not so last night. I'm not sure what he thought was out there, but he must have barked for a good half hour while running around the yard. And because he was barking, Sarah got going. And wouldn't shut up, no matter how many times I got mad at her. I finally had to get up, go over to where she was laying behind the door, shake my finger in my her face and use my "mad" voice to tell her "No more barking!" She knew she was in trouble then - it's never a good thing when Mom has to turn on the light and get up out of bed to tell you to be quiet. If only I could have done the same with Nicky...



WHY does my co-worker and cube neighbour insist on giving a running commentary on everything she's doing and every problem she's having? Does she really think any of us really CARE what she's just finished doing and what she's going to do next? And if her problems don't affect us, why does she think we want to hear about them? Okay, to be fair, she mostly does this in sort of a mumble, but HELLO! I sit only 3 feet away (it's a very small space), and I don't want to listen to you all day long. There are days that I just want to tell her to shut up. And another thing... what possible good does continual griping about our sucky computer system do? We're all having the same problems, but do you hear any of us going on and on and on? NO!!! We're all in the same boat you are, but we've all learned that complaining isn't going to do anything (except maybe make your neighbours want to throttle you). You're not the only one being inconvenienced, so quit carrying on like you are.

Well, I feel much better now so I'm getting off my soapbox.
TTFN!

Daily Joy - June 11

I had been thinking about doing a daily rant, but then I thought it would be much more fun to focus on the things each day that bring me joy. Today my joy is a bit of a strange one: PaperMate "FlexGrip Elite" pens. My favourite, everyday pen with the awesome gel grip seems to have given up the ghost on me (it skips when I write, which it wasn't doing yesterday BTW) so I had to dig out another pen. And I went back to my old favourite pen. One of my favourite pen brands is the above-mentioned Papermate "FlexGrip Elite". I have a blue one, a red one and a black one in my pencil holder, as well as a purple pencil. I love the way they write - so smooth! I keep one in my daytimer, one in my creative planner and one in my purse. I also have a stash of them in my desk, both at home and at work for when they run dry (although I just recently found out that you can buy refills for them instead of having to buy a whole new pen). Can you tell how much I love these pens? Being someone who loves to write, a good pen is anecessity to me, and having found the "perfect" pen makes me very happy!

TTFN!

Ramblings, Part 2

In my blog over at scrapbook.com, I had written about why I scrapbook. One of the things that I wrote was that, through scrapbooking, I've discovered a previously unknown creative side of myself that I didn't know existed. I've been thinking a lot about how I can use this newly found gift better to serve God. I haven't come up with much so far, but one place where I do see this git being used in in my Sunday School teaching. Being a small congregaton, I've gotten to know my kids pretty well, and they like to do creative things. One of the favourite things is to act out Bible stories. Some stories are pretty easy to do, but some take a bit more thought. It's been a bit of a creative challenge to come up with ways to act out some of the stories in the curriculum that we use. They also like to do crafts. Since I also like crafts, I've been in my element coming up with creative ways to bring the lessons that I'm teaching home.

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A little while ago, I was sitting doing rate adjustments (a rather mindless task) and I got to thinking about a birthday gift that I had made for mom for her 50th birthday a few years ago. I had compiled (isn't that a great word?) a collection of 30 quotes about motherhood that I printed horizontally onto 4.5" x 6.5" parchment-coloured cardstock. Then I punched two holes in the top of my cardstock sheets and tied them together with beige chenille yarn. To present them, I made an envelope out of plastic canvas that consisted of a front, a back and a pocket embellished with cream-coloured flower buttons, and tied closed with burgundy ribbons with butterfly beads on the ends. Mom just loved it, although she did ask if it would be alright if she took the yarn out of the quote cards and replaced it with binder rings so she could add more stuff to it (which I have actually done). Anyway, the whole point of this is that I was thinking I would really like to do another one of these little "envelope" albums - maybe for myself this time. I'm not sure what I would make the theme of the album, but I do have some ideas for making the envelope.

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The other night I was laying in bed thinking about my brother when I was suddenly compelled to pray for his wife. And not just Danielle, but her whole family. This came as a bit of a surprise to me, for a whole lot of reasons that I won't go into. After I had prayed for her, I lay there thinking about where this compulsion had come from (didn't take me long to figure out that it was God speaking to my heart) and wondering what had prompted it. I decided that if God was telling me to pray for her, then prayer must be really needed. So I offered up an extra prayer just for her.

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TTFN!

Ramblings

I have one of those page-a-day caldendars on my desk that has Bible verses on it. I look forward every day to seeing what the verse is. I really like today's verse: "I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation." (Isaiah 61:10). This actually kind of ties into today's Big Blog Challenge topic: what are you grateful for today? First and most important thing is the salvation that I have received through the death of Jesus Christ. As I started thinking more about the topic, I came up with the following list:

1. I'm grateful for my family, and for their unconditional love and support.
2. I'm grateful that I have a good job to get up and come to every day.
3. I'm grateful for Sarah, and for knowing that at the end of the day she will be waiting anxiously for me to come home.
4. I'm grateful that I live in a country where I enjoy freedoms that some people can only dream of.
5. I'm grateful for the second chance I got with my transplant.
6. I'm grateful for my friends.

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We've been getting lots of rain lately, and while I'm thankful for that (goodness knows we need it), I could really do without the humidity. Today my knee, my ankle and my wrist are aching unbearably, thanks to the humidity and my previous injuries. I hurt my knee in Junior High when our car door swung shut on it (it was a big two-dar car with very heavy doors); I had opened the door and swung my leg out, then turned back to pick up some stuff off of the seat beside me, forgetting that the door wouldn't stay open (thanks to the springs not working). The door swung back against my knee, most likely causing some permanent cartilage damage according to my one chiropractor. I hurt my ankle at my last job a few years ago two days before Christmas. We worked in a 1 1/2 storey office where the Accounting department was upstairs. I was going down for something, and I'm not sure if I just stepped wrong, or if my foot hit the edge of the stair and slipped off but I lost my balance and almost went tail over teakettle down the stairs. Thank goodness for the banister! I ended up hurting my ankle though, and spent Christmas Eve morning in the emergency room getting it looked at because I was in so much pain. Found out that I had torn apart the tendons and ligaments. And then there's the carpal tunnel syndrome. I have it in both wrists, but it's worse in my right wrist because I do so much numeric data entry and mouse work with that hand (it's a good thing I'm left-handed, otherwise I'd be in big trouble). Anyway, all three of these joints ache whenever it gets cold or humid or there's a sudden change in the weather. It's almost like having arthritis. It sucks. Big time. And so far, I haven't really found anything that helps when the pain gets really bad. Painkillers don't help, A-535 and other such rubs don't help (although the heat feels kind of good), and wrapping up the joints only helps some of the time. Sigh. In the words of a Garth Brooks song, "I'm much too young to feel this damn old".

~~~~~~

I wish the daytimer I bought on eBay would arrive already. It's not that I need another daytimer (I don't); it's that I want to start my custom journal. I've got so many ideas for what I want to do with it, and I want to get working on it already darn it! LOL At least this blog satisfies my need for writing at the moment. I found the pen that I want to put in my new journal the other night (gotta love those built-in pen loops) - it's a pretty, skinny gold pen that I found somewhere (I can't remember where). I'm not too sure about using a skinny pen since I've gotten used to using thicker pens at work, but I wanted something really pretty and special for my fancy new journal. If I find that it isn't working out, then I've made up my mind that I'm going to splurge on a really nice pen for my journal, although I do have a collection of fun coloured pens of different kinds that I plan on using as well. I also need to make a trip to Staples and to the scrapbook store for some supplies to do the customization I want. Maybe I'll do that tonight after work.

To be continued...

Review: Rebecca St. James-The Ultimate Collection

Rating: 5 butterflies out of 5!

Rebecca St. James has been one of my favourite Christian artists for a while now. One my last trip to Blessings I found a 2 CD set of her music called The Ultimate Collection. In looking at the track listing, I recognized many of the song titles (I already had three of her albums) but there were some new ones. When I left the store, I opened it up right away and popped in the CD player in my car. All I can say is..."WOWOWOW!" This CD totally ROCKS! There's a good mix of upbeat "rock" type songs, slower ballads and praise/worship songs. Some of my favourite songs from the album are "God Help Me", "Blessed Be Your Name", "Thank You" and "If I Had One Chance To Tell You Something", to name just a very few! If this was the first album of hers I'd ever heard, I would be an instant fan. I've been alternating between these two CDs and two of her other CDs for a couple of weeks now.

If you're a Christian music fan, you MUST check out this CD collection! For more information on Rebecca's music and ministry, you can visit: http://www.rsjames.com

TTFN!

New Kids On The Block

http://www.nkotb.com

So who would have ever thought that one of my very favourite bands (actually the very favourite band) from when I was younger would re-unite, go on tour and release another album? Seeing the boys altogether again and being shown all over the place has me feeling nostalgic. I think I might still have all of my NKOTB stuff around somewhere; I was really tempted to go home and look for it last night (I had this sudden urge to listen to "Step By Step" but had to settle for singing it in the shower) but I had such a bad headache that I never got around to it. I do still have a couple of things handy: I had a Jordan doll (he was the boyfriend of my one and only Rocker Barbie) and I know exactly where he is. I also recently came across my NKOTB t-shirt. Scarily enough, I think it might still fit me. I thought I still had my NKOTB tote bag too (I used it for storing out of season clothes for many years because it was quite large) but if I do I'm not sure where it's gone to.

I was totally in love with them when I was young, especially Jordan. I had pictures from those teen magazines as well as big posters all over my room, including one of Jordan on the ceiling over my bed (I'm blushing right now just remembering this LOL). The first tape that I got was "Hangin' Tough". It had actually been my brother's; I think he got it in his Christmas stocking one year from mom and dad. Once I discovered that I liked them, I kept asking him if I could borrow his tape (and I have to admit that on a number of occasions I just took it without asking him). It got to the point where I had it so much he finally just gave it to me. I think I might also have a tape of a Top 40 countdown that I taped from the radio; one of the songs in the countdown was their last (?) single "If You Go Away". For a few years, all of my family members knew if they needed gift ideas for me, anything with NKOTB on it was a pretty safe bet. As well as my tapes, I had several books, a pair or earrings, a watch, a pin, a couple of buttons, a little Jordan figurine, a tote bag, a 32 oz. water bottle, a binder, numerous stickers, a puzzle and a couple of little bubblegum "cassettes". I seem to recall that I also had a video. Of course, I didn't have nearly the amount of stuff that a neighbour girl did. Her walls were literally wallpapered with NKOTB posters and pictures (I only had the upper part of my walls to decorate, the lower portion had actual wallpaper on it) as well as several binders full of more pictures and magazine/newspaper clippings. She had shirts, books, videos (both ones that had been bought for her and things she had taped off of TV whenever they were on) and all kinds of other stuff. But she didn't have one of the tapes that I did, so I felt pretty good about that. She was the only other person I knew who liked them (my other friends were not such big fans) so it was great for me to have someone I oculd talk about them with.

Just for kicks, I took a look on Ebay yesterday to see what kind of stuff might be on there. I found a few CDs that I have on my watch list (if I do still have all of my music it's on cassette - I'd rather have it now on CD since my car has a CD player and not a cassette deck). I'm actually seriously considering going to see their concert when they come to Edmonton in November. They did a concert here back when I was 12 or 13 - I would have given just about ANYTHING to go to that show, but sadly my mom and dad wouldn't let me. There were a number of kids from my school who went and I remember being so jealous of them; particularly of the afore-mentioned neighbour girl who got to go. When my mom and I saw the ad on TV for the concert she asked me if I was going to go. I'm not sure though if she was actually serious or if was just more of a tongue-in-cheek thing. I would love to go; I just need to decide if I really want to go by myself (I still don't know anyone else who likes/liked them).

TTFN!

Happy Monday!

Okay, normally I don't like Mondays - who does? But today has actually been a pretty good day so far. I've gotten an amazing amount of work done (amazing because I'm not usually that productive on Monday) in a short period of time. I'm feeling much better than I was last week, I had a nice restful weekend, and I received a beautiful pink geranium from the church (actually it was probably from the Board of Education) as a thank you for teaching Sunday School this past year. It's raining today, and it's nice and cool and the air smells good. I'm feeling so good today that I could get up and dance!

Today's Big Blog challenge is to post a picture of water. I couldn't find the picture that I had wanted to use, so I'm going to post a picture that reminds me of the picture I wanted to use. Here it is:

I have many pictures from the summers I spent working at the Bible camp of the sun setting on the lake. One of the best places to see the sunsets was down at the campfire pit. At the fire pit there was a large cross made from logs; the cross appears in the foreground of many of my sunset pictures. There were a lot of nights when I used to sit and watch the sun set during our evening campfires (admittedly when I should have been paying attention). Some nights the colours were so vivid that it almost looked as though the clouds were on fire. I always enjoyed seeing the grand display of God's "artwork" across the sky at the end of the day.

TTFN!

Big Blog Challenge - Weekend #1

Saturday's Topic: Post your summer menu.

There are so many foods and drinks that just scream "SUMMER!!!!!" at me. First is my favourite iced cappucino from Tim Horton's. The variety that I like the best is the one that's made with chocolate milk. Yum! Then there's the fruit that you can't buy any other time of year- peaches, pears, apricots, plums, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, watermelon, the list is endless! And corn on the cob. We just had corn the other night for summer - it was so good! Summer means we can fire up the barbecue and have chicken, steak, fish, pork chops , hot dogs, hamburgers and all the stuff that we normally cook inside, outside. If I was going to put together a menu, it owuld be this: steaks, grilled potatoes and onions (cooked in foil on the BBQ with the steaks), corn on the cob and macaroni salad. For dessert, I'd have fresh watermelon and ice cream cake from DQ. To drink, it would be something frozen - either pina coladas or the frozen slush drink that my dad makes. After eating and drinking all of that, I'd have to set up my lawn chair and take a nap. Then we'd roast marshmallows over a fire in the backyard. Ahhhhh...now's that's living!


Sunday's Topic: Post your favourite summer memory.

I came up with my favourite summer memory without having to give the matter any thought at all. We didn't do this very often, but some of my favourite summer memories revolve around when we'd go to my grandma's house in the summer (usually when we went to her house it was at Christmas). Just down the back lane from her house there was a school that had a big playground. My brother and I used to ride our bikes down there just about every day to play for a while. If my aunt and uncle and cousins came over to visit, all four of us kids would go. I remember there was this big tire swing, and James and I would (sometimes) take turns pushing each other. Because he was bigger, I used to get better pushes from him than he got from me. Sometimes, just to be a brat, he would spin me around on it instead of pushing me, and I'd have to just about beg him to stop because I felt like I was going to be sick. Grandma had raspberries growing in her backyard, and I remember going out and picking and eating them right off the plants with my brother. I also remember that she had rhubarb growing in the back garden, and tiger lilies that grow out in front of her street. THere was a sun porch in the front of her house, and I remember playing in there, sometimes by myself and sometimes with my brother. She lived in an older neighbourhood, where the streets where lined with big old trees. I used to ride my bike up and down the sidewalks a lot. I remember one day I wanted to see how far down the street I could go. I think I must have gone about 5 or 6 block before the street ended at a high school (I think that's what it was, but I'm not entirely sure). At night, James and I slept down in the family room where it was nice and cool and comfortable. We had the whole area to ourselves, so if it was raining we could play down there too. Grandma moved out of that house some years before she died, but I can still picture everything as though it was only yesterday that I was last there.

TTFN, and have a great weekend!

Dream Summer Getaway

Today's Big Blg Challenge is to post about a summer vacation, either one you've been on or a dream vacation. Since I liking dreaming, wanna guess which option I'm going with?

My dream would be take at least a month to go and explore California. In no particular order, here's what I'd do while I was there. I'd rent a car (some type of convertible maybe) to drive myself around while I was there. I'd choose someplace central to all of the places I want to visit, but it has to be on the beach, or at least within walking distance of it. I'd go to San Francisco (my family fell in love with SF on a brief stop there when we went to Disneyland in 1992) and spend some time seeing more of the sights there. I'd also spend some time exploring wine country now that I'm old enough to enjoy it (I was only 15 the last time so I couldn't try any of the wine - although at one winery I did get a winglass full of apple juice to drink while my mom and dad were tasting the wine). I 'd go to San Diego, and this time I would go to the zoo (there's another story behind this, but I won't go there right now) and see the pandas. Then I'd spend some time exploring some of the beach communities around LA shopping, seeing the sights, and maybe relaxing on the beach. I'd go back to the Santa Monica pier and ride the ferris wheel again (we did that when we went to Disneyland in 2005). I'd go to Beverly Hills and walk on Rodeo Drive. I couldn't afford to shop there, but it would be fun to see the stores and to be able to say I'd been there. I'd go to wherever it is that the stars have their handprints on the sidewalk (I'd have to find out where it is first LOL). And of course, no visit to California would be complete without spending some time at the Happiest Place on Earth - Disneyland! For that, I'd stay in one of the Disney hotels so that I could have the full Disney experience.

Well, that's my dream! Maybe one day it will become a reality - even if it's only parts of it.

TTFN!

Ever have one of those days...

When the only way to survive the day is by constantly reminding yourself how much you actually do love your job? I love what I do, I really truly do, but there are days when I just want to run screaming from the office. Today has been one of those days. Between impossible deadlines (which I missed by 2 1/2 hours BTW), endless distractions and interruptions and annoying co-workers whose every move is getting on my nerves, I'm starting to seriously question my sanity. I know deep down that it's really not as bad as it seems, and that a lot of my over-reaction has to do with that wonderful thing know as PMS (I read somewhere that PMS stands for "pissy mood syndrome", which today describes me perfectly), but I feel like I'm about to snap. I hate these months where I turn into a basket case. I don't know how anyone can stand me; I can hardly stand myself!

Okay, I feel better now. There's just 15 minutes to go. And tomorrow's Friday, and I'm off early. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. (I'm just going to keep repeating this to myself until that clock says 5:00.) I really need that margarita LOL!

TTFN!

Summer Songs

Today's Big Blog Challenge assignment is to post your summer theme song. I have two of them.

The first one is "California" by the group Wave. Whenever I hear this song, I see myself driving along a California highway somewhere. I'm in a red convertible, with the top down. The sun is setting, and the evening breeze is blowing through my hair. I'm alone on the road: there's nothing around me but open sky, highway and sand. I don't know where I'm going or what lies ahead for me; all I know is that I'm at peace and I feel totally free. (Whenever I get stressed out, this is where I escape to get away from the pressures of everday life.)

My second, and new favourite, summer song is "Sunshine and Summertime" by Faith Hill. It's one of those what I like to call "wake you up, kick you in the butt and get you going" kind of songs. I can almost picture a big block party with gorgeous women in bikinis and gorgeous suntanned surfer guys everywhere.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get in my convertible, go find some little beach bar and have a few margaritas. Cheers!

TTFN!

A Very Important Link

Today's topic for the Big Blog Challenge is to post a link(s) to someone or something I love. As strange as it may sound, I had a really hard time coming up with anything. Many of the things I love I don't have links for: my parents, my dog, and so on. Of course, if I got off my butt and set up an online photo album and then uploaded my pictures to it I could change that, but moving on... I decided to take this topic in a slightly different direction, and talk about the special link I have with someone I love.

Anyone reading this who knows me knows that 8 years ago, I was lucky enough to receive a new kidney. The donor was none other than my very own mom. She had always said, right from the time that the doctors first discovered that I had chronic renal failure, that if the time ever came when I needed a transplant that she would give me one of hers. That's it, just like that she was ready to give me a part of herself. There was no hesitation, no discussion, nothing. Just "if my daughter needs a kidney she can have one of mine". Little did we know how much I would end up needing that kidney!

So, my mom and I are connected not only through DNA, but also through our kidneys. And because of that gift, our hearts are more strongly connected than ever. To me, this is the most important link of all, and one that I will always cherish.

TTFN!

How refreshing!

The blog challenge topic for the 3rd (yes, I know it's the 4th now LOL) was to post a picture of something refreshing. Here's what I thought of almost immediately:

I love a good rain shower. Not the weak drizzly kind, or thunderstorms that are so loud they shake the house, but a good soaking rain. The kind that soaks right into the ground and makes everything look bright and new. And after the rain ends, the air smells so fresh and clean. I love it when it rains at night, and I can fall asleep to the sound of the rain on the roof; it's so soothing and peaceful. I can't remember just when it was, but there was a soft drink company (I think) who used the slogan "The pause that refreshes". That's exactly what the rain does - the earth pauses and is refreshed.

TTFN!

My weekend shopping spree

Okay, so I got a little carried away on Friday. After creating my list of books I want to read, I decided to go and visit my favourite bookstore and see if I could find a couple of the ones I really wanted. Well... I only found one of the three that I had wanted, but I came out with a whole armful of other books. A couple of them were on sale, and I get a 10% discount with my Chapters card, which is probably a good thing. I shudder to think what the total would have been without the discounts. So what did I buy, you ask?

1. "The Other Boleyn Girl" - Philippa Gregory (basis of the movie, read it this weekend, pretty good book)
2. Chicken Soup For The Soul: Life Lessons For Women
3. "Life Is Short - Wear Your Party Pants" - Loretta LaRoche (can't this is the one of the three that I actually went to Chapters to buy, can't wait to read it - the author is absolutely hysterical)
3. "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff For Women" - Kristine Carlson (wife of Richard Carlson who wrote "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff")
4. "Squeeze The Day - 365 Ways To ... (I can't remember the rest) - Loretta La Roche
5. "Grace For The Moment, Volume II" - Max Lucado

I'm pretty sure that there's a couple more, but I can't remember what else I bought. I love books, and when I have the opportunity (like on Friday, which was payday) I like to indulge myself a little.

TTFN!

Scrapbook.com Blog BIG Challenge

Today's Topic: Write about something "hot". What does that mean to you?

The word "hot" has come to have a number of interpetations. There's temperature hot ("This coffee is really hot"), there's popular hot ("Big sunglasses are hot this season") there's good-looking hot ("Whoa, he's HOT!) and there's Paris Hilton hot ("That's hot!") which actually means "that's cool" (anyone else confused yet?). For this little exercise, I'm going to talk about popular hot.

The use of the term "hot" to refer to the latest trends bothers me. I feel like I'm being told that because such-and-such is "hot" this season, I need to run out and buy it, get it or do it or I won't be considered cool. Here's the problem: most of what is considered "hot" is not in my taste. For example, one of the things that seems to be hot right now is those huge, big over-sized sunglasses. If you're of small stature like me, you just can't pull those puppies off - half your face disappears behind them! Another "hot" trend I just don't get - those gaucho pants with boots. Maybe it's just me, but it seems redundant to me to wear short pants, and then cover the rest of your leg with boots. If you want your whole leg covered, wear long pants! (This is JMHO, by the way.)

And so I buck the trends! I laugh in the face of what's "hot", and I wear and do what I like. I refuse to be dictated to about what I should wear just because everyone else is wearing it. I go with my own flow, if you will. Now that's hot!

TTFN!

My newest favourite author

Lately I can't seem to get enough of Max Lucado's books. I buy them as fast as I can find them (I've picked up so many recently that I had to sit down and make a list of which ones I had because I'd lost track of them). Something in the way he writes speaks to me on a very personal level. I'm finding that I'm discovering more about myself and my faith through reading his books. The way he presents his material is very simple to follow and just makes so much sense! I have so many "A-ha!" moments when I sit down with one his books. So far, I've finished "Every Day Deserves a Chance" and I'm currently reading "Cure For The Common Life". I started reading "3:16 The Numbers of Hope" one night but put it aside when I realized I was going to need a notebook and pen to keep track of all of the insights that were coming to me while reading it (I was relaxing in the tub with it at the time, and notebooks and pens and water don't mix very well).

I also really enjoy his devotional books. I have "Grace For The Moment" and am looking for "Grace For The Moment II". I really like his online devotions too. They only come once a week, so my email inbox is not being overwhelmed with new messages every day. I really like getting that little "boost" to get my week started off on the right note.

TTFN!