Today was an adventure

We headed for Glendale to go to the mall. The BIGGEST mall I have ever been to. I haven't even been to the mall in Toledo! And today I confirmed why.... to many people in one space! Anywayz, we had to go to the mall, nonetheless. I needed a suitcase. Yes, a suitcase. Mine decided to break while traveling here in California. The zipper completely broke and both puller thingy mabobs were only running on one set of teeth. (Like my terminology?!?) So... we went to JCPenny. They were actually having a really good sale in the whole store. I didn't really want an entire set of lugage, but it was only $20 more to get a 5 piece set rather than one piece. So... I now have a 5 piece set of lugage for only $120. I saved $180!!!!! I was excited about that. Not to thrilled that I had to buy it in the first place, but excited that I got such a good deal. I can only hope that this set will last as long as the other one did. (10 years! :) )

So... after traveling through Friday rush hour traffic, we ended up in Pasadena to go to a TV Preview. It was interesting. We got to see 30 min. segments of two different sitcoms that may be on television next season. The first was semi interesting, but not enough that I would watch it every week. The second was a comedy and I gave it a good score. It will be interesting to see if they make it in the fall. We also had to rate some commercials. When Amy told me what we were doing, I was hopeing that we were going to see some live acting, but it was all taped. Oh well, the whole experience was something that I had not be exposed to, nor will I ever have the chance again... as I do not see myself moving out here or any where in comparision.

Well, I'm going to go to bed. We are going to a art museum / flower garden tomorrow. I should be able to get some really good shots. Let me rephrase that. I will have the opportunity to get some really good shots, whether I frame them correctly... I don't know. :)

Things to smile about today:
:) 80 degree weather with NO humidity
:) an awesome sale
:) the ability to close your eyes, pray, and forget that you are in the middle of complete mayham (I'm guessing the spelling was wrong on that last word, but you get what I mean.)

Three days... three cities

LA that is... :) Danielle and I got to Cali around 2:30 a.m. (Ohio time) and by the time we got to our final destination and were able to get settled... it was about 5 a.m. (again... Ohio time). So we spent yesterday in Arcadia, I think, and then drove down to Point Loma. We did some site seeing and at a very good restaurant. After crashing for the night, as we were still recovering from the flight, we accidently drove onto the Naval Submarine Base today. There, however, we got directions from a rather nice gentleman who directed us to the Point Loma Cemetary and then to a National Park. It was very cool. I hope that the pictures I took turned out ok. We then traveled half way back up towards LA where we met Amy. I switched vehicles and finished traveling to Montrose, while Danielle went back down towards San Diego. Speaking of vehicles, she rented the brightest, nearly neon blue PT Cruiser you have ever seen. It's cool to drive around in, but I don't know if I would ever own one.

Anywayz, there are so many things to do. Amy and I have four whole days to explore. I am pretty excited. The traffic out here is driving me nuts, however. I'm not driving, but the 5 lanes going both directions (totally 10 lanes) is more than I can handle. I read part of my book today while on the road becuase I couldn't handle all of the cars. The freeways are nuts!

Well, I'll have more to type about later. I'm getting tired as it is almost midnight here in Cali. At least I have adjusted to the time change! :)

Things to smile about:
:) awesome warm weather with now humidity.
:) The ocean
:) hanging out with an old friend who lives to far away

Chocolate covered Zyrtec does not taste good!

Not that I meant to eat it, but I decided to take my medicine with what I had left of my blizzard (peanutbutter cup) and when I put the ice cream in my mouth there was a piece of candy. So, I tried to swallow the medicine with the ice cream while keeping the candy to one side... and needless to say, the medicine got caught with the candy and when I started chewing it wasn't the most plesant taste. Not that you guys really wanted to know all of that information, but that's about all I have to blog about! :)

Other than the fact that we leave for Cali in 1 hour!!! I can't wait! I'm packed, I'm ready and I'm excited.

Things to smile about today:
:) Cali
:) God's perfect timing

I have finished the book! I actually finished it at 3:00 am today (Saturday). I read for most of Friday, watched two movies with D, and then finished the last 50 pages afterwards. It was so worth staying up until 3 this morning. Of course that meant that I slept in late and now that it is going on 11:30 I am not really ready for bed. But... I have to be up and at the church tomorrow by 7:30... I guess I shouldn't wait for school to start before I adjust my schedule! It is so hard to get back on, though. I prefer to stay up late.

Anywayz, Leota's Garden... EXCELLENT BOOK!

Things to smile about today:
:) Finishing a good book
:) Spending time with friends
:) Hand and Foot (a card game that apparently is not well known in these here parts of Ohiah... :)... must have originated from down south where my kin folk are from.) I know.. I'm a dork. Gotta love me!

You have to love a good book! Even when it keeps you up until 1:00 a.m. The funny thing is... I'll probably go back to reading when I'm done blogging. And why not?!? I have no plans for tomorrow. No schedule that needs to be upheld. I could sleep until noon if I want to ! :) Granted, in the long run, keeping this schedule is going to be dangerous when it comes time to go back to school. But for tonight... oh well, the book has won.

I don't really have a whole lot to blog about tonight, but I do have some thoughts that I want to try and process. I seem to do that better when I can type them out, hit the back button several hundred times, and keep typing. I'm hesitant to type, though. Why? I'm not sure.

Here's what I know. I think and worry way to much and have very little patience!!!!!!

I've decided not to blog my above mentioned thoughts. I'll just continue to pray. It's probably not as big as I have made it out to be and the time that has gone by (a day and a half) really isn't that long. My hope is that I'll get to talk to and spend time with the person I need to apologize to. I've done so in an email, but in person brings so much more meaning and peace (at least for me).

Okay, gotta go. My book is calling and I am out of words.

Things to smile about:
:) growth
:) good books
:) and spending time with good friends

Well...

... I was going to write a short post and then proceed to bed when I realized that my bedsheets were in the washer. So I guess I have more time to type and goof off before bed.

I now have another animal added to my hit list. Not the hit list as in - I'm out to get them, but a hit list in the sense of what I've hit with my car. Tonight... a bird was the unfortunate. This is the second bird I have hit! It made the worst sound of a thump on my windshield. Anywayz... the only other animals on my hit list are squirrels and a rabbit. (Obivously all of the millions of bugs over the years are not being counted.) I don't know how many squirrels I have hit, but I remember the rabbit very well. I hate to break the news to those who believe in the Easter bunny, but he was actually hit 9 1/2 years ago the night before Easter. We were coming home from my grandma's house and he jumped in front of me. My mother thought I was going to cry (I was only 15 at this time). Instead... I started laughing so hard that I almost had to pull the car over. To this day my mother has the words memorized to a song that she wrote that night. It is to the tune of "Grandma got ran over by the reindeer"... only it starts "The Easter bunny got ran over by Erica". Unbelievable... my mother, not that I hit the rabbit.

Anywayz, not much else to blog about tonight. I went to Aldi, bought the Illuminate cd by D Crowder (thank you Vellers), had a meeting for Global Connections, and went to the Dilhouse for a fun night of Dilhole. I've never played that game before. I actually did pretty well. I contributed to the team effort anyway!

Okay, I've run out of things to say...at least for now. I'm sure I could come up with something else, but I would only bore you in the process and continue to assure you that I am indeed a nut. (I think I mentioned that in my last post... what's wrong with me?!?! I'm starting to believe the guys that pick on me!) :)

Things to smile about:
:) getting things done on when-I-get-to-them time
:) Dilhouse
:) my exersize ball (which serves as my chair for the computer desk... pretty funny stories are starting to come about... but I'll let my rommie fill you in on those. )

Today was not the day...

... to make decisions! I'm the type of person that likes to put something on to see if it will work for the day. If it does, great... if it doesn't, I'll throw something else on. But today... I couldn't make up my mind. I had on three different pairs of pants, three different shirts and two different pairs of shoes before 5 p.m. today... and I still wasn't content with the way I looked. I don't know what got into me, but apparently it didn't like the way I looked. The funny thing is that I didn't make three different outfit changes. I had on one outfit, changed the shirt, then the pants a few hours later, then into different pants once my jeans came out of the dryer and put the final shirt on as the second shirt started to get on my nerves. I know, I know... I'm a nutjob.

Anywayz, I did purchase the cutest pair of shoes at Walyworld today. They are black, with a small heal, round toe, and a cute bow on the side. I'll have to wear black pants on Sunday just so I can wear these shoes! I can't wait! :)

Okay... enough girly stuff.

I bought my exhibitor's ticket for the fair today. I'm only entering 4 pictures (the limit is 8). I didn't have a whole lot that would fit into their categories. Guess that's how it goes sometimes. I can't wait to see the other pictures that are entered and see who gets what.

I also spent some time in my classroom today. The floors are newly waxed and the carpets have been cleaned. It looked so good! I arranged all of the shelves and cleaned out the "teacher's" drawer. My next big goal is to get the right materials on the right shelves and bring down beginning of the year work for the open house next month. There is so much to do. Most of it is organizing and getting things ready "behind the scenes". It doesn't necessarily effect how the environment is for the students, but will greatly effect our planning time and therefore, the sanity of the teachers.

Oh my... I almost forgot! How could I not blog about my newest step of growth! I purchased and wore filp flops today. Yes, flip flops. This may come as an odd statement to most of you, but for others, you understand. I'm not a bare foot person, particularly my own... and today is officially the first day I have been bare foot outside of my own home for as long as I can remember.

Okay, it's time to go to bed. I'm thinking I've scared you enough for one evening. :)


Things to be happy about:
:) Organizing
:) Hanging out with friends
:) my new shoes (the black ones, not the flip flops... although they may grow on me.)

It's pretty cool...

... to be loved by so many
... to be in a room with friends and feel like you are with your family
... to see God working in so many ways you can't even begin to count
... to look back on 25 years and see where you have been and dream of where you are going
... to be offered a zucchini
... to be overwhelmed by the amount of love such a small group can show
... to break open the pinata (or at least get a good swing at it!)
... to be loved by those who love me.

After I got home tonight from a "surprise" party (I put it in quotes as it was an informal, "By the way we are having a party" surprise), I went back through my cards and reread them. I got some tears in my eyes as I had the realization of just how much I am loved. There are some in BG that I have considered family for some time now. We have always had fun together and celebrated with each other, but you view it from a different point of view when you are the one being celebrated. I am thankful for the blessing that each individual friendship has been in my life. Strong, positive examples have been given to me to learn from and live out... my only hope is that I can pass on these same examples to others for the rest of my life.

Thank you guys! For all that you are...

This was the opening parade before the games begun. The brightly colored kilts (from what I have learned) are clans that were not warriors. They were farmers who became clans later in history. The darker colored kilts are the clans that were warriors and started the whole idea of clans and the traditions that are still followed today.

These are mountain views on Grand Father Mountain. (guess you could haven't figured that out)

The first picture is called the cabar toss. The goal is to flip this pole (cabar) over and have it land as close to 12 noon as possible.
This is a picture of the sheaf toss. The bag weighs 20 lbs. They use the pitch fork to throw it in the air and get it over a bar that is gradually made higher.

Here are the eagles... I'm not sure which one to put in the fair.

It is so good to be home...

I haven't been able to see everyone yet, but I hope to soon. It was nice to get away and I enjoyed breaking the everday routine, but the feeling of coming home and getting back into that routine is almost as refreshing as getting away. Weird how that works! :) My hope is that I will be able to post pictures of the trip. I think I'm going to take an adventure and try after posting this little blurb.

I picked up the fair paper today and looked at the categories for photography. I have stuff that will fit, but not as much as I would like. My selection is smaller and I am going to have to possibly take a roll before the end of the weekend to get some that will look good for one of the categories. Anywayz, the whole point of that was to let you know that I will be entering stuff and I am pretty excited.

Okay, gotta go... I'm going to try and post pictures.

Things to smile about today:
:) being home
:) friends
:) photography

It has been so long and so many things have happened, that I don't know what to write first or write at all! :)

I left last Tuesday for Boone, North Carolina. We stayed in the mountains for 5 days. Getting to our cabin was a small adventure in and of itself as we had to put the car in 1st gear, go about 5 miles an hour and keep the car between the delicate line of drop off, huge rocks and a ditch (that allows the water to run down so the street/driveway didn't wash out). They actually warned us when we checked in that we were suppose to geta lot of rain and that if the drive washed away they would be out as soon as they could to fix it! Okay, it's time to make a list...

Things we did in Boone, NC:
* Put-put
* Grandfather Mountain
* Mile-high suspended bridge on G.father Mountain
* Park at G.father M. with exhibits of bald eagles, panthers, deer, otters, etc.
* Scottish games (an entire day of men walking around in kilts... and yes, they addmitted to being authentic... in other words, goin' comando)
*a whole day at the cabin sitting on the covered deck while it rained
* 2 1/2 books
* 1 600+ piece puzzle
* games
* shopping! My step-dad got be this really cool jacket and a shirt that says "Masquerading as a normal person day by day is exhausting"
* Sunday service at a very southern United Methodist church
* more shopping
* and a whole lot of relaxing!

On our way back we stopped in Bristol, VA to visit Mike's family. We, of course, did some more shopping and went out to eat with the family. This was the first day of the whole trip that my cell phone worked, so needless to say, I was on my phone for over an hour talking to about five different people. The next morning we left Bristol and headed for home (that was yesterday). I drove from Bristol, VA to Urbana, OH. 7 1/2 hours! It was a beautiful drive. We didn't take 81, we took different country highways through the hills of VA. It added 20 min. to our trip, but it was worth it... and I didn't have to freak out about the heavy traffic on 81.

Anywayz, as much driving as I had done yesterday, I got back in my car last night and drove down to St. Paris to see my grandparents. We kinda watch the game, but did more talking. It was good to see them. As alwayz, gma was asking me when I was going to move home. :) It is so nice to be wanted.

Well, I've babbled for a while and although I could talk about more, dinner is being served and we are going to play cards at dad's tonight to celebrate the big birthday weekend. Sherry's and sis' on Sat. and mine on Sunday. 36, 11, and 25 respectively. Man, I'm getting old! ;)

See you all soon! I miss ya!

Kevin Novak where are you?!?

If you have read the Ashley Stockingdale novels, you know what I'm screaming, and if you haven't... then I suggest you go get them as soon as possible and start reading!

Nearly perfect...

... that's how I would describe today. :)

I got up early this morning and went to the store with my landlord and got some paint to get started on the interior part of our house... came home and painted my bedroom (it actually took me 4 hours.. I don't know what I did, but I took my time!)... went to Weston to feed the animals... stopped in at Joe's store... came home and finished the touch-up on my bedroom... taped the kithen... moved the furniture around in the bedroom to make it feel bigger... and now I am sitting down to watch the race that has been delayed! (I also need to mention that I have been reading one of the best books throughout the day! the third Ashley Stockingdale novel!!!) Oh... and I forgot to mention this awesome weather that has blessed me today.

I have been overwhelmed with how much God has blessed me with the past couple of days. My previous blog about being home... I am truely grateful that God has provided all of that for me.

Things to smile about today:
:) Organizing and personalizing my bedroom
:) 60 miles an hour with the windows down and the radio cranked
:) Edwards, McMurray, Cain, ... oh yeah, watching them race too! ;)