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2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 14,April,2004 | “Mail, you know, stamps and envelopes?” I’m working on a project that sent me digging through my past today. As I shuffled through three storage tubs full of scrapbooks, photos, and letters I caught a whiff of nostalgia. Two shoeboxes filled with letters grabbed my attention. I chuckled even before opening the box because I knew what some of those letters said. I gravitated to one box full of letters from my old pen pals. I was a letter writing machine in my younger days and had pen pals across the country. It was a good thing too, since that is how Ked and I first became friends and how we started our dating relationship. I oh-so-diligent in keeping my letters organized: sorted by person and by date. Keeping in touch with my friends was serious business! The majority of this particular box was from my dear friend Karen. She was my first pen pal. We wrote hundreds of hilarious letters to each other over the years covering everything from the crazy science teacher to our latest crush. I read one of her letters today and she closed it “love your friend since 1984.” I read that line and thought “1984, wow!” Then I realized “Oh my word, that was 20 years ago!!” Not many people can say they’ve been friends for 20 years. That means I was only seven when we first became friends and started writing – I had just learned how to write!! As I sifted through the letters a series of thoughts ran through my mind. There’s something to be said about writing letters. Before e-mail and before cell phones with free long distance, letters were the main way of keeping in touch with loved ones. I love smelling the paper (so, I’m a little weird!) and looking at the handwriting. Sometimes there were doodles all over the letter and envelope and even the paper, stamp, postmark, and addresses say so much about the era the letter was written in. A letter is so personal, so friendly, so real. A box full of letters contains so much history, so much culture, and so much about who the person was back then. I attended a class at a scrapbooking convention where a genealogist talked about the importance of letters and diaries. She commented how, in our current age of phone calls and e-mails, we are losing so much history. Unless we keep all those e-mails (and how many of you have hit the inbox limit and had to clean it out!) or journal in a diary about who and what we talked about on the phone that day we lose all that history for future generations. How many of us have treasured letters written home during war time, or letters pining for the love of our life, or a precious letter from someone who has passed on? There’s emotion in a letter that e-mails just don’t even come close to. I’m an e-mail, blogging, instant messenging junkie. I would never go back to the days where letters were the main, if not only, form of communication. I love being able to hop online and talk to my mom and friends thousands of miles away about what happened today. I love cell phones and knowing in an instant I can catch my loved ones no matter where they are. But I think that by completely eliminating letters from our communications we are losing a piece of ourselves and our friends that can’t be reclaimed. So maybe the next time you’re tempted to send an e-card for a birthday or a “thinking of you” e- mail, sit down and write a letter. It’ll show that you really care because you took the effort and the time, and it’s more likely to get stored in a shoe box in a closet for years to come. Summer, 1984 Karen & Amelia |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 13,April,2004 | Gray Gray Go Away!! The past two days have been gray and cloudy. That's really rare down here. There's a reason they call this kind of weather gloomy. That's how it makes me feel. So I was dragging myself around today trying to make myself do things and I had a thought. This kind of weather is Michigan (only a bazillion times colder) for half the year!! Then I wondered how on earth I ever got anything done up there!! Since I didn't feel like doing anything else, I spent most of the day scrapbooking. That activity produces some kind of natural endorphins and cheers me up. Maybe it's because looking at all those fun and silly pictures from times past makes me laugh and remember all the wonderful family and friends God has blessed me with. Yeah, I think that's it. This evening I booked my ticket to fly up north this summer. I'm trying to get my plans in place, and I'd been praying about finding a good ticket price. Ked is driving up about 2 weeks after I come and we'll drive back together, so I only needed a one way ticket. I'd been looking for a few weeks and tonight I came across a steal of a deal. Now all I have to figure out is how I'll get from Flint to Nashville/Grand Rapids/then Grand Haven. But it will all work out, even if I have to rent a car. You just can't beat the price I got (unless it's free). |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 12,April,2004 | Holiday Thoughts I'm no theologian, but I have some pretty serious thoughts about Easter and Christmas. I've felt for a few years that something is missing in my life when it comes to these two monumental days. I guess Ked's rubbing off on me and I'm asking urlLink What's the PO!NT? Here's where I'm at. A scene from a television show the other day keeps playing over and over in my head. The family was gathered around the table along with a few guests and they were celebrating the Passover. I furrowed my brow and began to contemplate a recurring thought that comes around every Christmas and Easter. I feel that my attendance at church on Sunday and maybe a Christmas Eve or Good Friday service just isn’t enough for me. Ked and I have discussed it quite frequently but we haven’t figured out a solution yet. Here are two events that radically changed my life, let alone the course of redemption for all humanity, and I go sit for an hour, think about it, and come home. We’ll have a great dinner with family and friends, but it always seems to me that something is missing. It’s one thing to gather around the table for Easter dinner, it’s quite another to sit down for Passover where every item on the table is a reminder of the journey God brought His people through. Sure, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper at church and while it’s significant it too seems to be lacking. We walk into church and sit through a forgettable half hour message (sorry to you pastors out there) and then for fifteen minutes we review Christ’s death and resurrection during the Supper and its over. That’s it. We go home and we’re on our merry way again. These events seem to merit more than just a little service at church and I can’t help but wonder what God really intended. When I think of the Passover, it is an intense deal. I’m no scholar, but what I do know from reading the Old Testament was the Passover was personal - it was in your own home, with your family. There’s something to be said for readying your whole house and preparing a dinner that’s specific purpose is to remember something God did. And then there’s the Lord Supper. It too first took place in a personal setting - Jesus with His twelve closest friends. It just seems to me that we have lost that familial meditation by leaving it to our local church to formulate the ritual for us, and even at that there isn’t much ritual to it. I know, I know, for years we’ve tried to escape legalism and meaningless rituals. But that’s not what I’m talking about. My spirituality is crying to express itself in my home, through a meaningful tradition that is personal and purposeful , something I can pass on to my future kids, something we look forward to each year around those two holidays, something that as I prepare my home, those who live in it are also preparing their hearts and minds in anticipation, something that serves as a vivid reminder of what God did for us through Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection. I’m not looking for something to make me spiritual, but for a way to express my spirituality and immense gratitude for these two monumental events. Please note , this is nothing against my family or my in-laws. I love our families and they have instilled in us an incredible foundation of faith and are stellar examples of cultivating Godly homes. I'm extremely grateful for them. When it comes to the issue of the holidays, I believe our families are like most traditional Christian families out there. I’m thinking that as the Body of Christ, we need to make more of an effort in our homes to make these particular holidays personally and purposefully focused on Christ. Presents and Easter baskets are fine and fun and should not be banished, but need to be generously supplemented with another tradition that serves as a reminder for the true meaning of the holidays. The Jews have the Passover, the Catholics have Lent, and we have well….nothing that takes place in our homes like that. These thoughts are still raw and somewhat unformulated, so sorry for the rambling. I would love to hear your thoughts on the issue and what you have done or thought about doing in your own homes. Once I work through this, it could very well be my first book – Meaningful Homes for the Holidays. |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 11,April,2004 | Happy Easter! Easter blessings to all of you. I hope you had a wonderful holiday with family and friends. President Bush wishes you a Happy Easter too. Read his Easter greeting urlLink here ! Ked and I kept it pretty low key today. We went to church, came home and had a light dinner together. Then we called our families and chatted with all of them for quite awhile. It was good to catch up with everyone and rub in how warm it was today! It was nice to just relax together at home this afternoon. Then this evening our friends Bobby and Susan came over for dinner. Ked and Bobby went out to play basketball and got rained out. We had a wonderful thunderstorm come through this evening. We had a great visit with them and just really enjoy doing life together with them. They've become great friends since we moved here. Last night we went to my great Aunt Jean and Uncle Lowell's house for some pizza! We had a great time visiting with them. They will be heading back to Ohio this week. We've really enjoyed getting to know them while they were down and look forward to seeing them next winter! On our way home, Ked and I were commenting on how many people we've been able to see since we moved here. We've seen family just about every month since we moved. That's been a nice treat. There's a handful of relatives that vacation down here regularly that we will now see more often than when we lived up north! And of course our goal is to get as many people to relocate down here as possible!!! Well, I'm tired. I think that's it for today. Maybe next week I'll get more creative again. I have some holiday thoughts I'd like to process with you and get your input on. Maybe tomorrow. |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 09,April,2004 | Weird Day Hey, Karon! Glad to see you back online! That's hilarious about your NKOTB stuff, and I can't wait to see you in the t-shirt! Well, my day yesterday was weird. Not bad, just weird. There was a string of things that just didn't quite go right and there was nothing I could do about it. That's when you just shrug your shoulders and chalk it up as a weird day. I was supposed to go to lunch with someone and they forgot. I went to pick up my contacts and they weren't in yet (been wearing my glasses for a week). Talked on the phone with someone and I knew they were frustrated and I didn't know what to do to help. Oh, well. Mama said there would be days like that! There were some bright spots in the day, however, and they outshone the weirdness!! My women's Life Group in the morning went really well. I'm enjoying our study and there are two gals I'm getting to know better. It's been just wonderful! Then last night we had our couples small group. That group is always a riot; we laugh so much! I had a chance to chat briefly with one of the gals in the couples group who has been wrestling through some issues with her faith. I had been wanting to chat with her because I had a hunch that she was walking a path similar to one Ked and I walked a few years ago. Last night I mentioned a few things and her eyes lit up with relief that she wasn't the only one. It felt good to offer her some encouragement and let her know she's not alone. When we left, she hugged me and Ked tightly. I was exhausted by the time we got home after Life Group and it didn't take long to fall asleep! Today, it looks like the sun is shining. I feel like a swim! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 07,April,2004 | Bookworm Oh, I feel kind of like a nerd tonight, but I don't mind! I spent all morning at the library and I loved it! I got my first library card in ten years. Come to think of it, since I don't consider Cornerstone's library to be a real library, this was the first time in ten years I was in a library! I told myself that once we finished school I would begin reading again because I wanted to, not because I had to. My freshman year of college, one of my professors urged our class, 'Whether or not you finish college, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to keep reading.' I was so giddy as I searched through the online catalog. Finally I was free to look for what I wanted to read, not stuff for some boring research project where I'd just look for something to quote to get my ten sources in. Despite not being able to get The Glorious Appearing - they have 92 copies and 200 people on the waiting list - I was still satisfied with my finds. When I walked out of the library with my bag full of seven books, I had a grin on my face I couldn't wipe off! I picked up 2 novels for my pleasure, 2 books recommended in my writing course, and three non-fiction books I had heard of recently. I met Ked for lunch and then spent the afternoon on a park bench reading away. I read an entire 300 page novel this afternoon! Ahhh, it was nice. On another note - I always thought that libraries were a safe haven from cell phones - a place of quiet refuge where you could study and think and not be bothered by that constant annoying ringing and being an unwilling eavesdropper on someone else's private conversation. As I was searching the online catalog, there was a man talking on his cell phone across the table from me (I thought that was illegal in libraries!!!). He droned on and on about his traffic record and how he was on probation and blah blah blah. Finally he left, and the gentleman sitting next to me leaned over and said, 'Did that drive you crazy??' I nodded my head and moaned 'Oh, yeah!' 'I don't care about his personal problems, man I can't even think over here! That was so rude! I'm glad I'm not the only one who was bothered!' he animatedly gestured while he talked making it tough for me not to giggle. This really gets down to cell phone etiquette. Someone should write a book, and if there's one out there, you should be required to read it and take a test before you buy a cell phone! Turn it off or to vibrate when you enter public places, if you must answer don't talk loudly, we don't want to hear about your recent traffic ticket. Don't answer when you're in the company of others unless it's extremely urgent because that shows your companions that you don't value them. And please, turn it off in the library!!! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 06,April,2004 | I experienced something for the first time today! I was lounging next to the pool catching up on some reading when a plane roared overhead. It was so loud, I looked up, and my mouth hung open in surprise. Flying somewhat low overhead was a big, beautiful, black stealth plane. Following not far behind it was a second stealth. As they zoomed across the sky, I felt my heart swell with pride for our military and all those who are serving here at MacDill Air Force Base and across the globe. Wow. It was an impressive display. I'd never seen one in the air before. That was my excitement for the day. Not much else happened, and no major thoughts to process today! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 04,April,2004 | Today was a pretty typical Monday for me full of laundry and vacuuming and general clean up. I wanted to get all of that out of the way today so I could spend a lot of time reading the rest of the week. I'm going to find the Tampa Library later this week. My writing course is starting to catch up with me, and I'm realizing that I need to spend some focused time reading and researching in order to take full advantage of the course. After dinner Ked checked the mail and brought back a stack of stuff. We mostly get junk mail and bills, so to get an Easter card was a nice change of pace. A dear, precious person sent us the sweetest card. When I opened it, a $20 bill fell out and I was like 'huh?' Ked and I looked at each other, and I read the enclosed note aloud. 'I have been thinking a lot about you lately. Then when I read your blog for yesterday (April 1) I knew why. I want to send you this little gift, and do something nice for yourselves with it. I am so proud of you, for what you are doing and standing for your beliefs.' Ked and I just kind of stared at each other for a minute. It was totally unexpected and was one of the kindest, most thoughtful things anyone has done for us. We're used to being on the giving end of things, and when someone does something for us, it always takes us by surprise and means so much. I still don't know what to say about it. It was a huge encouragement just to know that someone was thinking of us and encouraging us that we are doing the right things. Just before Ked checked the mail we had been discussing a few things, and then we opened this card, and it was like God was using this person to say, 'See, I love you, and you are headed down the right path.' |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 04,April,2004 | Hang on Tight! *sigh* That's the sigh from a fun weekend! We started Friday night by heading out on the town to window shop at Circuit City, JoAnns, and the bookstore. Borders is one of our favorite places to hang out just browsing the books and seeing what's out there. The first thing I saw when I walked in the store was a great big display of the Glorious Appearing - book seven of the Left Behind Series. I've been waiting so long to see who died!! And now I don't have any extra cash to buy it. So if anyone has the urge to do something nice for me and help me finish my collection that would be awesome!! ha ha ha. Later Friday night I started sewing up a pair of pants for myself and finished them up Saturday morning. They turned out pretty cool! I love using my new machine!! Saturday we hung out here all day long. Ked was working on some OPMG stuff most of the day. Today started out quite interestingly! We forgot to move our clocks forward last night!! So we overslept and the morning was just crazy!! After scurrying through our morning we managed to make it to Grandma's house in Sarasota for lunch with her, Aunt Betty, Uncle Alan, and Aunt Nancy. In a weak moment over Christmas, Alan had said he would take us jet skiing and we held him to it!! After lunch we headed down to Casey Key and he rented 2 two person jet skiis for an hour. What a BLAST!! Ours was a little smaller and WAY faster than theirs. The owner said he had souped up our jet ski. It was also a little tipsy, but we managed not to dump ourselves into the Gulf! I was hanging on for dear life and laughing and squealing for an hour. It was a blast!! We were CRUISING through that intercoastal! Alan said he never got his above 25 mph. His backseat driver (Nancy) wasn't too interested in going too fast! We would fly by them, so we were going at least 50 mph. We were covered head to toe in salt by the time we got back to Grandma's. Ked and I are definitely water people! So tonight I am a refreshed tired, you know that good feeling you have after having played hard. That's what we love about being here - working hard all week - playing hard on the weekends. |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 01,April,2004 | Worship at Wal-Mart Thursdays are always awesome and today was especially so. I started the morning with a heavy heart weary from worries. I headed to my women's Bible study and slapped on my 'I'm happy to be here' face. Today was different since we weren't actually doing our study but gathering with the rest of the women's groups and worshipping, fellowshiping over brunch, and sharing what God's been doing over the past six weeks. The worship time was incredible. This really is a special group of women who passionately love God. We sang a song that was new to me and the refrain kept talking to me about how we will all bow down before God's throne and kings will lay down their crowns. In that instant God reminded me that my worries weren't worth it. My heart was lifted as I laid it all down. I breathed a sigh of relief and the burden was lifted as I remembered I don't have to carry it alone. It's so easy to get caught up in this crazy life and lose sight of what really matters. I also had a great time of fellowship with two other gals about my age. All three of us knew each other and have traded small talk each week, but we'd never really talked. We hung out all morning at the event and enjoyed getting below the surface a little bit. We've all been transplanted a few times, and I could see in their eyes that they were as desperate as I was for someone to connect with. It's a beautiful thing. After this wonderful gathering I headed to Super Wal-Mart to do some grocery shopping. I have a love/hate relationship with Wal-Mart that I'll have to expound on sometime. But today was a love day. I breezed through my groceries and got in line (oh the lines!) and realized I had forgotten to pick up a few things for a missionary in China. One of the couples in our Life Group had posted a message about some needs for a lady and her daughter who are missionaries to China. This gal's mom is heading to China next week and will be taking a suitcase of much needed supplies and items for her and her three year old daughter. I felt the heaviness in my heart start to creep back in. I turned my cart around and headed to the pharmacy aisles. I stared at the rows of generic brand Tylenol and started a conversation with God. God, this is torture. You know how badly I want to help these people. You know how much Ked and I enjoy blessing other people. But where is the cash going to come from? We paid our bills last night, you saw the check registry. It hurts. It really hurts to not be able to give like I want to give. I picked up a bottle of the generic Tylenol. I can squeeze that from the grocery budget I looked at the bottle in my hand and it didn't feel like very much. O.K. I can get that tube of Lanacane too. Still, it didn't feel right and I started to really talk to God about it (in my head of course, there were other people in the aisle). I remembered that Ked had said I could use our date money to help these people because 'we can always find free things to do.' That sounded good. I grabbed that envelope out of my purse and started to feel better. What's a movie and dinner? I don't need that So I picked up a kid's toothbrush and kids toothpaste. Then I looked over the list at the items the mother had said her three year old daughter needed. Pajamas (Winnie the Pooh if possible), sandals, socks... I looked into my purse and realized I had brought one more envelope of money labeled 'haircut'. I don't need a haircut. I can wait two more weeks or longer. Yeah, I don't need that. Let's go find some Winnie the Pooh Pajamas!! Suddenly my spirit was lifted and for the first time I understood sacrificial giving. I've never had to give something up to give to someone else before. Previously, we always gave because we really wanted to and there was excess. Now, I don't want you to think that we're starving, but we did go to one income and we're building a business. Things are going to be managed more tightly for awhile, and that's o.k. But it was really freeing to worship in Wal-Mart today as I shopped for a little girl across the globe who doesn't have access to what I do. She needs sandals and p.j.'s much more than Ked and I need to see a movie or get a haircut. I still wish we could have done more, but there were no more envelopes of money and unless I wanted to not eat for two weeks or have our electric turned off, I had to stop. But it was right, and I hope God looked at it and saw that it was good. (On a side note, at the last minute I put that generic brand of Tylenol back - the only thing I was originally going to get. When I got to Life Group tonight, another gal brought in a bottle of that same generic brand Tylenol. God was even in the small stuff. He knew I didn't need to buy that bottle, but he knew I needed to pick it up and wrestle with it. AND my groceries turned out to be about $10 less than I thought they would be!) And as if that wasn't enough, Ked told me that he had another great conversation today with the guy I mentioned yesterday. And whoever you were that was praying for Ked today, he could feel it, and it helped. Again, this guy brought it up and as Ked could sense that prayers had gone ahead of him, he took it to the next level. I really hope Ked eventually blogs about this at some point, because I can't even begin to convey how awesome this is. As we talked about it last night, I reminded Ked about Rob Bell's 'Rain' video we have. I suggested that if this person was willing it might really help him in his journey to understand what God really thinks of him. Ked took the video today, and this person was interested and said he's watch it over the weekend. If you haven't seen the Rain video or any others in the series that Rob has put together, check out urlLink www.nooma.com . They are powerful, short videos packed full of amazing teaching. They are well produced and Rob is a phenomenal teacher. The website has just short clips and a synopsis of each video. Well, that's all for now. I have lots of thoughts rollin around in my head, but I'll save you and them for another day! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 31,May,2004 | Homesick Well, today turned out to be rather boring. Ked slept off and on until noon! It's good for him though because he works so hard during the week and last week was a doozy. Anyway, I finally dragged him off the couch and to Michaels, JoAnns, and Wal-Mart. I picked up a few things for some projects and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening working on a project that I can't tell you about because it is for a certain reader's birthday on Wednesday. I believe that the aforementioned, unnamed reader will be quite pleased!! Anyway as we were bumming at our place today we were a little bummed. It was the first time probably since right after we moved that we were a little homesick. But don't get your hopes up, we're not running home. While we miss everyone, and holidays when we have nothing to do and we know everyone up North is gathering are tough, we're still not interested in a mosquito infested swamp-land summer with an E.Coli infected beach and 30 below winters! But we are looking forward to seeing all of you in just a few weeks. I'll be sure to bring my bug repellent. Speaking of bugs, people had warned us about the bugs down here, but I have yet to get a mosquito bite. There are however an obnoxious amount of love bugs. We recently discovered that the love bugs were genetically engineered by the Univ of South Florida to eat mosquito larvae. They apparently do a great job because I haven't seen a single mosquito since we moved here. They also do a great job mating, hence their name and their overabundance. But we love em! Maybe I'll bring a jar up for you Michiganders this summer, but they probably wouldn't survive the trip. Well, there's 10 minutes left in the Bolts Hockey Game and the score is 1-0, Tampa. These 2 teams are amazingly matched and it's been physical! Gotta go cheer! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 30,May,2004 | No wonder we treat them like children! It seems to be that the majority of young couples our age have either a cat or a dog or both. It appears that pets seem to abate the baby bug, and I know several couples who buy a new dog everytime the baby bug bites! In conversations with our friends, it's quite common for the couple to refer to each other as 'mommy and daddy' and the pet as their child. Ok, I admit, Ked and I do the same thing! For seven years Sadie has been our pride and joy (and entertainment, especially when Ked puts tape on her paws!) Interestingly, a 2002 pet survey shows that 'Americans have about 77.7 million cats and 65 million dogs. Compare that with the most recent America's Children study (2001), which reported that there were 72.6 million children 17 or younger in U.S. homes.' We have almost twice as many cats and dogs as we do children!! Instead of the baby boomers, we're the pet boomers...or something. Anyway, just a bit of useless information for your holiday weekend. We're just hanging out here and Ked gave Sadie a bath today, which was quite amusing! She's all soft and fuzzy now. |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 29,May,2004 | Go Bolts!! Today was a no makeup, stay in your scrubby clothes all day kind of day. You need those now and then. Ked got quite a bit of work done. In fact, urlLink onPO!NT Media Group has a new site as of today. Check it out! I worked on my scrapbooking today and am happy to report that I used up a bunch more of my paper and I am one layout away from being done with the year 2000! Next I just have to do Christmas 2003 and all of our pictures from this year. I'm going to have to save up my pennies to get the pictures printed though! I always think it's cool when the guys are interested in my scrapbooks. I'm not sure why it means so much, maybe because it's not something you typically expect from them. The other day on the phone Jason was asking about my albums and if I was going to bring them up this summer. When Kurt was here the first thing he did was flip through my albums and 'catch up.' I've been busy since we moved! Tonight Ked and I watched the Tampa/Calgary Stanley Cup Game. I think it's only the 3rd or 4th game we've watched on t.v. Last fall we watched a few of the Yankees/Marlins World Series games. The Bolts didn't do too well tonight, but we did see a few good fights! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 27,May,2004 | At last, the WWII Memorial On April 29, 2004 the urlLink World War II Memorial opened. Long overdue, this memorial is a tribute to all those who served and died during the second World War. Thousands of veterans will make the trek to Washington D.C. this weekend for the formal dedication on Saturday. I'm proud of my family's military history. As many of you know, I was born in Okinawa, Japan while my Dad served in the army. My Grandpa Roger (my Dad's father) served in the navy during both in World War II and the Korean War. Kedron's Dad served in the airforce stationed in Alaska during the Vietnam War. Ked's Grandpa Rhodes was career airforce and served in WWII and the Korean War. Ked's Grandpa Carr was stationed in Africa during the Korean War. As you can imagine these men have hundreds of stories. (Although my Dad worked in communications and he still says he can't tell me what he did or he'll have to kill me!! =) As I've been hearing about the WWII Memorial's dedication on the news it prompted me to dig up a story my Grandma Louise (Dad's mother) wrote and shared with me while I was in college. There are thousands of stories like this out there about World War II. As we head into Memorial Day weekend, let's make it more than the sunrise of summer and the first barbecue. Take a moment and remember all those who have given their lives across the ages serving our country so we can freely gather on weekends like these. And pray for the safe return of our men and women serving in the Middle East. ____________ The date was Dec 7, 1941. My sister and I were home alone when the news came over the radio (before the days of TV) that Pearl Harbor had been attacked by Japan. That meant we were at war. I was a freshman in high school at the time and my sister Betty was four years older than me. I had no idea at the time what impact that news broadcast would have on our family. In addition to my parents and my sister Betty, I had three brothers, and we lived a quiet life on the farm. Dick, my middle brother, joined the army the following summer. We all went to visit him during basic training at Camp Perry. The following summer, 1943, my youngest brother Leonard joined the navy after graduating from high school. By now most young men were in service unless he was declared 4-F meaning he couldn't pass the physical. Others got a deferment for a critical war job. My oldest brother Bob, fell in the latter category. When his deferment ran out, he was drafted and left for service on Christmas Eve 1943. We all went to the station to wave him goodbye. The weather was nasty and slippery. Only a call from Uncle Sam would bring a person out that Christmas Eve. Bob went through boot camp then a shake down cruise with the ship he was assigned to, the Destroyer Meredith. He came home on leave before leaving for whatever assignment laid ahead. By now it was spring of 1944 and I was getting ready to graduate from high school. Bob bought me a black Parker fountain pen for my graduation gift. As he walked toward the front door, he said his last goodbye, cried, and said that he wouldn't be coming back. At that moment it didn't leave much impact on me because I knew he wasn't as eager to go off to service as my other brothers. Three weeks later, in the middle of the night, there was a knock at the door. My dad asked who was there. The reply was 'It's Western Union with a telegram from the War Department.' Mom and Dad went downstairs immediately. I remember laying in bed, not wanting to know which one of my brothers the telegram brought news of. When I did go downstairs, the news was about Bob. His first trip out took him directly to the Normandy Invasion in the English Channel on June 6, 1944. His Destroyer was hit on the morning of June 8 and he was killed in action. My thoughts went back to the last time I saw him only a few weeks earlier and the statement he made as he said goodbye. I still have and cherish my fountain pen. My other brothers returned home safely. |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 26,May,2004 | My Girl Won!! Fantasia is the new American Idol! My girl won! I was so nervous as Ryan pulled out the envelope because this season has been so unpredictable. Last night Fantasia definitely out-sang Diana. Tonight I was excited to hear George and LaToya sing again and I couldn't help but think how much better both of them were than Diana, but oh well. I'm sure they'll do great in the long run. Both yesterday and today I have been sooooo tired!! It's all I can do to drag myself through the day. I told Ked we should take a walk after dinner, and so we did. We walked to Brusters for some ice cream. =) As we were walking there we stopped and looked at a mother turkey duck (I'm sure that's not its name, but it's a duck with a turkey's head! honest!) and her nest. We discovered this nest on Monday with Kurt and Michelle. On Monday, the mother duck was sitting on a whole bunch of eggs. Today most of them had hatched!! They were so cute and fuzzy and so tiny!! They were playing with each other and waddling around. It was so precious! I just really don't understand how people can deny God's existence when viewing the amazing creation of life. Amelia Out! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 25,May,2004 | 24 I've spent today doing the mundane post-company activities of laundry and cleaning up. Seems rather boring after the adventures of the past week. Oh well, it's back to the routine. At least Ked only has to work 3 days this week and then it's another long weekend! In honor of the season finale of 24 I have worked up new lyrics for urlLink Switchfoot's song '24.' Enjoy!! Twenty four hours Twenty four scenes Twenty four episodes Twenty four tries Twenty four finds me In front of my tv Twenty four bad guys At the end of the day Life is not what I thought it was Twenty four hours ago Still I'm waiting, Jack, take up arms and do the bad guy in And he’s not who I thought he was twenty four hours ago Still I'm waiting, Jack, take care of the terrorist. Twenty four reasons to know our country is safe With all his excuses the bad guys is no longer strong See Jack’s not copping out not copping out not copping out When he’s protecting our country Oh, oh Jack is the second man Oh, oh Jack is the second man now Oh, oh Jack is the second man now And he’s charging these twenty four hours With twenty four guns With all of his ammunition In twenty four parts But Jack is the only one to be today Centered and true I'm waiting, Jack, take up in arms against the evil You're protecting the country Oh, oh Jack is the second man Oh, oh Jack is the second man now Oh, oh Jack is the second man now And he’s protecting the country now I want to see miracles, see the world change Wrestled the bad guy, for more than a name For more than a feeling For this great cause I'm waiting, Jack, take up arms against the evil. And you're protecting our great country Twenty four hours With twenty four parts With all of your ammunition In twenty four guns. Jack’s not copping out. Not copping out. Not copping out. Where is that last vial of the virus??? |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 24,May,2004 | Tropical Adventures of the Fab Four Day #6 Wow I am tired tonight!! I need to hurry up and finish this blog so I can go to bed. We had another great day with Kurt & Michelle. We hung out here all day by the pool. Michelle and I headed down to the pool around 11 and the boys joined us at 1. Then she and I ran to Chick-Fil-A to pick up some lunch and we ate by the pool. About 3 p.m. we decided to say goodbye to the sunshine and walked down to Brusters for some ice cream to finish out our visit. They packed up and we dropped them off at the airport around 6 p.m. As we were driving away from the airport, Ked looked at me and said, “That’s sad seeing them leave.” It always is sad when we drop someone off at the airport after a great visit. It just makes us realize all the more how much we value these relationships. It is nice to be the place that everyone 'gets away' to. We love seeing the stress melt away as the sun relaxes our guests with each passing day. Ked even commented on Sunday that he noticed the bags were gone from under his eyes. He needed this break as well! We had such a nice relaxing time together with Kurt & Michelle. It was good for all us. At least it won’t be long and we’ll be up for their wedding. (We also think we did a good job convincing Michelle this wouldn't be such a bad place to live. At lunch today she made a comment 'well when we move to Florida...' We all caught the 'when' part! We're taking over the world ha ha ha!!) I have posted a new web album of our pictures from Kurt & Michelle's visit. You can click urlLink here or on the link under Living the PO!NT. Also in other news, Ked has moved his blog to urlLink www.kedron.ailema.com . If you have links to him on your blogs, please change them. He promises to blog more frequently! Well the sun has scorched my brain today. I'm tired. Goodnight Blogging World!! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 23,May,2004 | Tropical Adventures of the Fab Four Day #5 Yesterday was a nice relaxing day thanks to Kurt and his sunburn! He was not interested in going to the beach again so we hung out here for most of the day. He and Ked worked on pasting together 11 of Kurt's panoramic photos from Alaska and then they worked on getting Kurt & Michelle each set up with their own blogs. Michelle & I decided that the boys were boring, so we headed down to the pool for a couple hours and had a fabulous time chatting and working on our tans! Later in the afternoon we headed out to see Van Helsing. It was kinda scary!! But it was good, and Hugh Jackman always does a great job. After the movie we headed over to Bucca Di Beppo's for some giant pizza!! It was delicious! Then Kurt insisted we run through Target (because he misses them so much! ha!) for some aloe lotion for his sunburn. Then we headed back to our place and vegged some more. Actually, we watched ramp on TV. It was hilarious because the movie is so old and the sound effects were cheesy. They used the same sound for a gunshot as they did for a missile. I think we had more fun making fun of the movie than actually watching it. Anyway, today is their last day here and I think we're taking it easy again today! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 23,May,2004 | Pictures as promised from Day #4!! An alligator at Myakka River State Park Sunset at Siesta Key Beach |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 22,May,2004 | Tropical Adventures of the Fab Four Day #4 Another perfect day in paradise Wow, what another absolutely gorgeous day! Kurt & Michelle couldn't have asked for more perfect weather for their vacation. We started out this morning after breakfast running a couple errands and filling the gas tank before heading down to Sarasota to Grandma's house. The guys got fired because they took WAAAAY too long (Kurt!) scoping out new snorkels and masks. They left us girls waiting and waiting outside JoAnn's (and believe it or not we were only in for a few minutes!) We swung by Grandma's house and visited with her for a little bit and planned out our day. We put her shark's tooth scoop in our trunk and headed down to Venice. After swinging through a couple cool but kinda cheesy tourist shops we ate a nice picnic lunch in the park and then headed to Casperson Beach to hunt for shark's teeth. We met up with Grandma at the beach (her second home). She showed Kurt & Michelle how the hunt works. We found a nice bag full of teeth and even managed to scoop up some good sized ones. Grandma had the find of the day with a nice sized tooth that will make Kurt a nice necklace. After Kurt started getting crispy we decided we would head out for some ice cream. Grandma led the way to Nokomis Groves and their famous ice cream stand. She had an orange vanilla swirl cone and the rest of us had a lime and chocolate swirl cone. Oh man was that delicious. There's something about the beach and ice cream that just goes together. After our ice cream Grandma headed home and the four of us went alligator hunting. We headed to Myakka State Park, known for their alligators. We were not disappointed! We stopped at a bridge over looking the river and I think the guys took about a hundred pictures of the gators. They were cool and yet so scary!! They look tranquil in the water but just knowing what they are capable of is enough to put the fear in ya! After we had our fill of gators we headed back to Grandma's and picked her up and headed to our favorite fish spot for dinner - Captain Curt's on Siesta Key. Kurt & Michelle had never had grouper before and we always order the grouper your way sandwich at Capt Curt's. I always get the grilled cajun grouper sandwich (ha ha, Dad I know you are jealous now!!!) Kurt tried it cajun fried and Ked and Grandma tried it fried and Michelle opted for a burger and tried some of Kurt's grouper since she's not a big fish fan and wasn't sure she would like it (but she did!) Yes grouper rocks and is my favorite fish of all time!! After dinner we headed down to the beach on Siesta Key and got there just in time to see the big fireball sun set into the water. It was amazing how many people were there to watch the sunset. What is it about the sun that so fascinates us? We want to bake in it all day and we love to see it rise and see it set. It was a gorgeous pink sunset and the sun was enormous. It was a perfect way to end another perfect day. The beach was full of couples young and old walking hand in hand, hugging and kissing. A sunset on the beach is so romantic. *sigh* We have been talking about key lime pie for days now and tonight we decided we had to get some. Kurt & Ked dropped us off at Grandma's and then they headed out to Publix for some pie. They were so sweet and even picked up Grandma half of a peach pie (her favorite!) and then a whole key lime pie for the four of us. Oooooohhhh, it was soooo yummy!! Ked is hilarious, he was grading the pie. He said he had to savor the moment with a cup of coffee and took his time eating his slice. Then he was comparing all the key lime pies he has ever eaten. Publix gets an A, and Pebbles (a restaurant we stumbled across in Orlando) gets an A+. Grandma was glad to have the company today. She's always so much fun to be around. She said we kept her day from being 'ho-hum.' She is the shell queen and has collected shells off the Florida coast for well over 20 years now. Her place is filled with them! She made sure to show them off to Kurt & Michelle. She was talking about the miracle of all the life in the sea and all the creative shells. It truly is amazing. Well that brings us up to now, 11:30 p.m. and we are all about to pass out again. There's something so refreshing about sleeping hard after such a fun day of playing. So goodnight world!! I'll post more pictures tomorrow. They didn't download them to my computer yet from their cameras tonight. They pretty much went straight to bed, and now it's my turn! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 21,May,2004 | Tropical Adventures of the Fab Four Day #3 It was another beautiful, fun-filled day in paradise!! We slept in this morning after our busy Disney day yesterday. After a run to Wal-Mart for some goodies we headed to Lithia Springs. It was kind of disappointing because the water levels were a lot lower than they were when we first visited the spring last fall. Nonetheless, it was still beautiful. We swam for awhile and took some underwater photos and then decided to head out and explore around the springs with our cameras. The springs are surrounded by jungle and it makes for fun adventure. Next we headed home for a late lunch and then Ked called Dave our wakeboarding friend. He had offered to take all of us wakeboarding while Kurt & Michelle were here. Michelle was psyched up and ready to go. Kurt was a little more hesitant, but with encouragement he was ready to tackle the wakes. Ked went first and he got up right away. He did much better than he did last time. After his first run he decided to start moving outside the wake. He bit it the first time but the second time he did great. On his last run he decided to get smart and ended up with his board perpendicular to the wake which is exactly what Dave had warned against. Yeah, Ked bit it HARD face first in the water. He said as he was sinking and sinking he was wondering if he was going to hit bottom and he was thanking God he had a life vest on!! Dave told him that there are neck muscles that you didn't know you had that tomorrow morning Ked will be feeling! But Ked is a wild and dangerous guy and he was just giddy. Next up was Michelle and on her second try she was up and out of the water. After a few more tries she had a beautiful run. If the lake was forever long she never would have fallen, but when we took the corner to turn around you get an extra bumpy ride. She survived the turn but eventually the wakes caught up with her. She came back to the boat totally excited and said her legs were pretty shaky!! Then Dave and his friend Joel took to the water and showed us how it was really done. Holy cow!! They were awesome! They were flipping and twisting and turning and they were like 'la, la, la this is a piece of cake!!' It was soooo cool! We did see an alligator in one part of the lake....so everyone tried hard not to fall in that area!! Then it was Kurt's turn. It took him a little longer than it took Michelle to get up. But Dave says that girls always catch on quicker than guys do...because they listen better (honest that's what he said!!) We'll give Kurt some credit though, Dave had to leave soon so Kurt was under pressure to catch on quickly. He was up for a few seconds and then his last run he did great. We were all cheering. We ran out of time, so I didn't get a turn, which is totally fine with me. I live here!! So we came home and had a late supper and now I have to listen to these 3 complain 'oohh, my forearms are sore; oh my legs hurt; I'm such a wussy and I'm so sore (ok, well I added the wussy part in!! =) So here are some pics of the crew!! Ked's got it goin on!! So does Michelle!! We love the look on Kurt's face! It says oh my word, I'm up!! I hope I can stay here!! Yeah, and this is how the pros do it - upside down!! (our friend Dave) |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 19,May,2004 | Tropical Adventures of the Fab Four Day #2 Wow! What a day yesterday was. We all slept REALLY well (and long!) last night. We started out early and left here by 7:00 a.m. and grabbed breakfast on the run at McD's. The only think I like at McD's is their breakfast and the McGriddles are the best! We met Uncle Dan at the gate of Animal Kingdom and he let us in. He's so cool (and not just because he gets us into Disney World!). We roamed with the wild animals until about 3 p.m. Ked commentated the whole trip on our video camera as if he was the Crocodile Hunter. I may have to put part of that on my blog soon. He was cracking us up! So after viewing lots of cool animals, a couple shows, and getting drenched on the Kali River Rapids, we headed to the Magic Kingdom. Disney in general is such a fantasy world. Their attention to detail is amazing. They just don't build a rollercoaster and put up gates for a line. No, it's a rollercoaster inside a building that is totally themed and there's plenty of interesting things to look at while waiting in line. Everywhere I looked yesterday, someone knew that I would look there and there was something to look at, even the tiniest crook and cranny had been planned. So we whisked our way through the majors at the Magic Kingdom - Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Mickey's Philharmagic, and the Haunted House. By 6 p.m. we headed the bus for MGM and dinner! We only wanted to hit the Rockin Rollercoaster and the Tower of Terror at MGM and the big event of Mickey's Fantasmic - the park's closing show. We sat in the amphitheater for about 45 minutes as more and more people flooded in. Once the place was full, someone started the wave. It always amazes me how people everywhere do the wave. Ked says it's because people like to be part of something bigger than themselves. Over and over we stood and did the wave until it finally fizzled not long before the show started. And what a show it was!! WOW! They did one of the coolest things we've ever seen. They sprayed a wall of mist and used the mist as a video screen to project a movie on. It was the coolest thing. We ended our day with a bang and then drove home and went straight to bed!! It still feels good to sit down this morning!! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 19,May,2004 | The Tropical Adventures of the Fab Four Day #1 I started waking up at 6:30 this morning. I haven't done that since we moved here. We were both excited that Kurt & Michelle were arriving today. When you wake up earlier than the alarm there's always that mental conversation 'I'm awake, do I just get up, or can I ignore it and maybe doze for a little while?' I usually convince myself to doze and this morning was no exception. We headed downtown and picked Kurt & Michelle up at the airport at 11:00 a.m. Ked headed inside to baggage claim while I stayed and guarded the car from those pesky airport security guys who think every unattended car is a security danger. I watched through the window as Kurt came down the escalator and saw Ked. The look on his face was pure joy and excitement and the brothers gave each other a hearty hug. I smiled and thanked God for the relationship they have and the time we get to spend together. They've both been like little boys all day long, chattering away, making other bodily noises - ahem!, and having a great time. Right now they're outside playing with their cameras in the sunset. (Kurt recently bought the same model that Ked has). We loaded their stuff in the car and asked them what they would like to do. Since we were already half way to the beach we decided that would be a great way to start the trip! We grabbed some sandwiches at Subway and then headed to Ft DeSoto for a picnic and a few hours of sun and surf. It was an absoulutely gorgeous day, and perfect beach weather! The breeze was slight and the water was calm, clear, and blue. After lathering up with sunscreen we headed into the warm bath-like water with our snorkels to see what we could see. The find of the day was a giant, live sand dollar. He had to be 8 inches in diameter and a few inches thick. We all observed him on the ocean floor and then Kurt picked him up for a closer look. After we huddled around and oohed and aahed over God's creativity, we sent him back to his home. We found some other cool shells and Michelle and I spotted an unusual fish that looked like an eel with a long, needle nose. It was just a gorgeous day to be at the beach! After a few hours we headed back to our place. After giving a quick tour of the apartment we headed down to the pool to rinse off the sand and saltwater. Ahhh, the life! I whipped up a nice dinner of corn on the cob, burgers, and coleslaw with strawberry shortcake for the dessert. And now I’m blogging, Michelle’s sleeping and the guys are out shooting pictures. It was a great day and the perfect way to start our trip. We’ll all sleep well tonight which is a good thing since tomorrow we are going to Disney World!!! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 18,May,2004 | Are You Ready? Well we're all ready for Kurt & Michelle's arrival tomorrow! It's been so cool to have so many family and friends come visit us this year. We're looking forward to more of you visiting in the future! I got quite a bit done today. I had fallen horribly behind on my writing lessons. I came to a lesson that I was totally uninterested in and so I stalled and stalled and stalled... I finally finished it up last night and then today I completed another one, so I am back on track! Now that I'm past that I'm getting to the interesting stuff. Look out here I come! I'm just not sure where I'm going yet! =) Ked's cleaning the bathroom right now. He's such a good guy! I was going to clean it, but he insisted that he would take care of it. That's such a beautiful sight - the man cleaning the bathroom. Honestly, he gets it way cleaner than I ever do. I've always thought that guys make the bigger mess so they should clean the bathroom anyway. Well only one more week of American Idol left. Fantasia totally rocked tonight. Clive Davis pretty much told her tonight that he'd give her a contract. All the judges told her she didn't need this competition anymore and that she will be a star. That makes me feel better just in case another disaster happens this week like it did to LaToya last week. Well, I'm going to sign off and send my lesson to my instructor, so I can enjoy the adventures this week without that hanging over my head! Amelia Out! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 17,May,2004 | Peanut Butter and Smokey Robinson This afternoon I was watching urlLink Ryan on Air like I always do (it's my late afternoon break) and they featured a restaurant that would be like heaven to me! My favorite food of all time is peanut butter! I've been found many times dishing peanut butter out of the jar with a spoon with five previous peanut butter spoons already in the sink! On the show today they featured Peanut Butter & Co in New York City where every sandwich is made with peanut butter!! I was so excited I went to the kitchen and dished a spoonful of peanut butter. Not only do they have all sorts of yummy peanut butter sandwiches, they also make and sell their own natural peanut butter, including cinnamon crunch peanut butter and white chocolate peanut butter. You can check them out online at urlLink www.ilovepeanutbutter.com !! I think a trip to NYC is in order!! Also on the show today was urlLink Smokey Robinson , the Motown legend. He has a new album out and Ryan was asking what inspired this album. Smokey started talking about how he felt God calling him to do this album and how he's always had a close relationship with God. I thought to myself 'yeah, yeah, lots of famous people give credit to God. I hope he's genuine and for real.' As if reading my thoughts his next sentence was, 'I have a close and personal relationship with Jesus Christ and this album will allow people to see that part of my life.' I thought 'WHOA!! That was cool!' So now I'm thinking I need to buy his album and support this legend. I was so excited that he took it one step farther than just crediting God and actually talking about his personal relationship with Christ. I was impressed. His new album is urlLink Food for the Spirit. I spent the rest of the day doing the Monday Mundane - laundry, vacuuming, cleaning up, and getting ready for Kurt & Michelle's visit! Ked and I didn't get to walk tonight since we had some rain. We're supposed to get a great thunderstorm tonight. I hope we do! I love falling asleep to the sound of rain on the roof. Well goodnight everyone! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 16,May,2004 | Adventures Ahead Well I've been out of it for a few days, but that would be because I was spending time with my bestest friend in the whole world. No, not you Sadie, stop mugging me! Kederoni!! (insert commentary here -- when I was in high school a friend thought my last name sounded like Parmesan --although it didn't really-- and gave me that nickname, which evolved into just 'cheese' so when I started dating Ked we became Kederoni and Cheese. I don't know why I just told you that but writing Kederoni reminded me of it!) We had a great weekend, even though we went to the grocery store 4 times. We both hate grocery shopping, and Ked always wants to get in and out as fast as possible, but I don't like to be rushed when I'm deciding what kind of mustard to buy. This is very important business!! Anyway, it's always wall to wall people at the Super Wal-Mart no matter what time you go, and the check out lines at Sam's Club always look like a parking lot full of shopping carts. The one bright spot is we found an awesome fresh food market that we love. The prices are phenomenal and the produce is so beautiful it makes me want to load my car full of fruits and vegetables and become a vegetarian. The buy of the day was a basket full of juicy Georgia peaches! Yum! Anyway, the excessive grocery shopping was in preparation for Kurt and Michelle's visit this week. They arrive Wednesday morning and we're planning all kinds of fun adventures, again in our scheme to convince everyone to move to Florida!! ha ha ha!! So stay tuned for a recap of our fun adventures and embarrassing pictures of Ked and Kurt picking their noses and all kinds of gross things that brothers do when they are together (which also involves all kinds of odd smells--too bad this blog isn't scratch and sniff!). It was a gorgeous weekend. Ked and I have been walking in the evenings around 8 p.m. just as the sun is going down. It's warm with a light breeze and the natives are active. We walk past an interesting swamp like area (which one night I had a dream that an alligator was chasing me through -- even though I've never seen one there. What's up with all the commentaries tonight??). Saturday evening on our walk we saw a cool, giant painter turtle hanging out by the path. We stopped and stared at him and he stared right back at us. We had a contest to see who could go the longest without blinking. He won. Then there were two busy muskrats frolicking in the water. The ducks didn't seem to mind their ruckus and joined in the play. It was a lovely walk. We strolled hand in hand soaking in the sunset and the activities of God's creation. Today after church we hung out by the pool for awhile. Ked wants to make sure he has a good tan so he can make Kurt jealous. I keep telling Ked he has a perma-tan and that he doesn't need to worry. Several of you have asked if I am sleeping any better and praise the Lord I am!! I think it was Thursday night I had my best night's sleep in a long time. Things have been much better since then, although last night I did have another odd dream, something about being a guest star on Friends...but I woke rested! Well Ta-ta-for-now! It will be an awesome week!! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 12,May,2004 | New Video!! Well, yesterday was an interesting day! Ked kept telling me that I should get into editing our videos. He thought that I would enjoy it as much as scrapbooking. So yesterday I started working on our previously unviewed Alaska video. With our crazy move to FL right after the trip, the first time we even viewed the footage was just a couple months ago. To make a long story short, I spent ALL day on it yesterday! Those who know me know that I can't stand to leave a project unfinished! That's one of the reasons that I love scrapbooking. I can finish a layout in a good amount of time and feel so good!! Anyway, I took an hour of tape and condensed it down to an 11 minute video. We so badly need to get a dvd burner!! Hopefully soon. Anyway, I have posted them here on my site for your viewing pleasure. You need Windows Media Player to view it and Ked thinks maybe Quicktime will work too. The dial up version is pretty yucky. It's grainy, but anyway, that's the joy of having dial up... ha ha ha!! The broadband version is a lot better, but still it's best to not view it at full screen, but in a smaller window. Anyway, if you're able to watch it, I hope you enjoy it! And as soon as we have a dvd burner, we'll get copies to all of you who were on the trip! urlLink Alaska video broadband (12 mb) urlLink Alaska video dialup (3 mb) |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 10,May,2004 | Monday Blahs Today was rather blah. I had another horrible nights sleep. I was laying in bed at 4 a.m. awake, and I'd been in bed for a few hours. This is insanity!! Today I wasn't motivated to do anything. I did manage to get the place cleaned up and the laundry done. I really need to finish another writing assignment, but this particular topic just doesn't interest me, so I'm avoiding it. Maybe tomorrow. So I scrapbooked this afternoon. Whenever I'm unmotivated I figure I can at least scrapbook so I feel like I accomplished something. I got quite a few pages done this afternoon. I'm working on my pictures from 2000, because for some odd reason I skipped that year. Once I finish 2000, I'll be all caught up on our married life. That will be exciting!! It's weird scrapbooking pictures from that long ago. It's amazing how different we look and it was just four years ago. I had braces and it was pre-flippy haircut. Ked's hair was short and pre-spikey style. I'm not putting much detail into these pages because I don't remember much about the events, so I should be done with them rather quickly!! Tonight I started working on a video of our Alaska trip. It's going to be quite a project. I could only get half the video on my machine before I ran out of room. I'll chop it up and then get the other half on here. It's going to take me a little while to finish it! But it will be cool once it's done. Maybe I'll post it here someday. Well, maybe I can get some sleep tonight!! bbye! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 09,May,2004 | Happy Mother's Day! I'm very blessed to have two special mothers in my life - my Mom and my Mother-in-law! I owe them both so much!! So here's looking at you both.... To my Mother-in-law: I was recently sitting around a table of women who were bemoaning what a terrible job their husbands did with their birthdays. One lady had even told her husband exactly what she wanted to do for her birthday, and he still didn't get it and dropped the ball. I sat there silently through the discussion so thankful for Ked, and for how well you brought him up! Ked not only does a wonderful job with my birthday every year, but the key is he listens to me. I know that he's such a great husband in part because he had a great relationship with you growing up. You have a lot to be proud of when it comes to Ked! Not only does he understand how to listen and communicate with me, he knows how to load and unload the dishwasher, do laundry, run a vacuum, and he cleans one mean toilet! I never take for granted how well you brought him up. All those years when we were both working it helped so much to have a husband who not only knew how to do household work, but was more than willing to do his share. And of course the spiritual foundation he received in your home has made him an incredibly Godly man and a leader of our household. I can fully trust myself with him and his direction. Thank you so much for raising a wonderful man!! To my Mom: I'm sure there were times when I was growing up that you wondered what type of woman I would become. I was always losing everything! It never ceased to amaze me that you knew exactly where I had left my keys, socks, shorts, shoes.... And then there was my room! Most of the time it was a disaster. I'm sure you wondered if I'd ever be able to keep a clean and organized home. I'll never forget my first cooking experiment. I think I was in the 7th grade and I had learned this yummy coffee cake recipe in home ec class. I still laugh everytime I remember Dad, Jason, and your faces as you took small bites of it at breakfast. Finally Dad asked if maybe I had forgotten something. I pulled out the recipe and read baking powder and thought aloud 'Hmmmm...baking powder, I think I used baking soda. Is there a difference??' We all got a good laugh out of it and I assured everyone they wouldn't hurt my feelings if they threw it in the trash! Well, at some point all of your teaching sunk in. Not only did you give me the skills to run a clean and orderly home, Ked also heartily approves of my cooking (I never again confused baking soda and baking powder)! And now, when he asks me where his keys, socks, shorts, and shoes are I understand how it was that you always knew where everything was! But more importantly, I remember so many times coming downstairs in the morning and seeing you reading your Bible. I always knew that you were praying for me and Jason every single day. How can I ever say thanks?? Happy Mother's Day!! Me & My Mom 2003 |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 08,May,2004 | Fun, fun, fun... Today has been a fun filled day! I met Grandma Louise this morning at the Barnes and Noble just off the highway and she and I headed to 'Daughters of the King: Mother's Day Tea' at our church. It was so much fun to spend the morning visiting with her. It's so nice to have family around. As we visited and chatted about various family members it was refreshing to my soul to connect with someone who has known me all my life and knows all about my family and my history. It's not that we talked about anything big, it just was nice to have that connection. Once I moved out of state to go to college I never lived at home (or in Ohio) again. So for the past nine years I've only had intermittent contact with the people who've known me my whole life. It's been nice to be closer to Grandma and visit with her regularly. She and Grandpa always spent the winters in Florida so our time with them growing up was limited to the summers. Then after Grandpa died she moved permanently to Florida and I saw even less of her. So needless to say, these past six months have been a joy to be just up the highway a few miles, and having her close by has made the adjustment a little easier. She was proud of herself that she drove all the way up here today. It's about 60 miles and the farthest she drives day to day is about 12 miles to her favorite beach! She was telling everyone she met at the tea how she drove all by herself. It was cute! On the way into the church she was telling me how she won the doorprize yesterday at her Super Seniors church event. I told her maybe she was having a winning streak. And would you believe that she won one of the doorprizes today too? She won 3 beautiful lilies that will look just perfect in the flower bed behind her place. She was thrilled! We had a nice time together and she finally got to see where we are living. While we were at the tea, Ked went wakeboarding with our life group friends Dave & April. It was Ked's first time boarding and he said it took him about 4 tries before he was able to get up to stay. He said it was a blast! Dave & April wakeboard all the time and he said they were doing all kinds of trick and jumps. Dave said next time out he'll teach Ked a few things. It really tired Ked out! He took a nap on the couch this afternoon and now he's complaining how sore his legs are!! While Ked was napping I tried out my new swimsuit and headed to the pool for a couple hours. It was a gorgeous day and the water was perfect. Ahhh.... Now, I'm trying to decide whether to go to the grocery tonight or tomorrow after church. I despise grocery shopping. But what can you do?? 'til Daddy took the T-bird away! Me & Grandma at the tea this morning |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 07,May,2004 | Can I just get some sleep??? Ok, so to continue from where I left off last night.... I finally went to bed about 2:30 a.m. (thanks to the coffee I drank before Life Group). I'm sleeping great and at 5:30 a.m. (right in the middle of my deep sleep) I hear a funny noise. You know how you hear an unusual noise in the night and in your grogginess you try to decipher if it's a noise you should be concerned about...This noise kept waking me up and soon Ked was up too. Then we both realize some guy is standing out on the sidewalk throwing a can (beer can) at our neighbors window. Tink, rattle, tink, rattle, tink....over and over and over!! Ked gets up and peeks out the window and there's this drunk idiot on the sidewalk who had apparently been kicked out. In a slurred bellow we heard 'you can't keep me out forever!!' tink, rattle... Had we been a little more with it we should have called the cops. This went on for like an hour. It was miserable!! Needless to say, I slept in until almost 11 this morning. Surprisingly once I got up I was pretty productive. Tonight Ked and I hung out and rented a couple movies. We did the 2 movie, popcorn and candy deal at Hollywood video. We ate a whole bag of reeses pieces and we're both way too sugared up. We don't eat much sugar anymore, and that was way overdose. I don't think I'll need any sugar for a couple months! It was fun to veg on the couch together. We rented Matrix Revolutions since we hadn't seen it yet. We heard all the reviews and decided just to rent it. I'd have to agree with the reviews. It was a very poor ending for the trilogy. I almost fell asleep several times! We also rented Dickie Roberts Former Child Star. That one was pretty funny. Well, I need to head to bed. Tomorrow Grandma Louise is coming up and she and I are going to a women's event at our church. It should be a lot of fun!! Amelia Out!! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 05,May,2004 | So no one told you life was gonna Well today was a bittersweet day as we said goodbye to our Friends. I'm not sure I can handle this!! Last night it was George Huff and tonight it's Friends. We also watched Jay Leno who had the six on and showed a lot of outtakes. We laughed our heads off! Those were the best. Anyway...we did go to Life Group in case you're wondering! We taped the show and watched it after we got home. I'm pretty wired, as you can see it's after 1 a.m.!! First I had a cup of coffee before going to Life Group because I was sluggish. I didn't sleep well again last night. The mattress is awesome, I've just been having weird dreams causing restless sleep!! Anyway, I drank a cup of coffee to help me wake up so I could be social and participate at Life Group tonight. And well, anytime I have a cup of coffee after 6 p.m. it keeps me going for quite awhile. Then to top it off Life Group was awesome tonight. So I'm really wired. We started a study in Romans which is one of my 3 most favorite books of the Bible (the other two are Ephesians and James). I have been so thirsty for a study like this where we just go to the Bible and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us through the Word - not some other author's opinions and thoughts, just the Bible. The interaction is so refreshing as we all learn from each other what God is teaching us. I'm a big fan of the Fisherman studies because they know how to ask just the right questions to make you think about the text and help you come to your own conclusions. They are a good guide to help you in your own discovery. I completed the study yesterday and then read and prayed through it again today and I feel like a cracked, dry sponge soaking up water. And we only went through chapter one!! I came away from Romans 1 with a few thoughts. It started in the first verse. we hear so much about mission and visions statements today that it often becomes 'blah blah blah.' We all know we 'should' have one written down, and many of us probably at one point did write one down but we probably don't review it very often. Paul had a clear mission statement and he reviews it at the beginning of all his letters. Romans starts 'Paul a bondservant of Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of Christ.' I read that over and over and throughout those first few verses you get a very clear picture that Paul knew who he was and what his po!nt in life was. I've been wrestling with my po!nt lately, ok well for awhile. And today I was praying 'God, will you please help me fill in those blanks? I'm Amelia, a bondservant of Christ, called to______ set apart for________.' I know I have a calling as all believers do to be a Godly spouse and support Kedron and love and encourage my fellow believers and reach out to those who are still on their journey to Christ. Yet I feel like beyond those general callings of all believers there's something else specifically where God wants to use my spiritual gifts. Sometimes I think I'm going crazy, or maybe I'm thinking too highly of myself, but when I expressed my struggle tonight the other ladies of the group lit up and said they too have the same struggle. The Apostle Paul knew he was called to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. He had a very clear calling and well of course he'd also had a very personal encounter with God. Sometimes I wish God would send me an e-mail and say 'O.k. Amelia, here it is!!' But then of course, that would probably freak me out, or I would delete it believing it to be just another e-mail hoax. I guess the struggle is a good thing. Oh also, I've gotten a few comments on my American Idol video!! That was so much fun. I think I'll have to post more videos. My video went in the mail today, along with a million other people's too I'm sure! he he. It was fun nonetheless. Well, I think I need to go find some chamomile or something. Otherwise I'll be pulling an all nighter!! ...be this way! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 05,May,2004 | So Sad Today was one of those days where I felt like I really didn't get anything done. I think it's because I didn't sleep very well last night. Last night was the first night we slept on our new mattress, and it's sooo comfortable! I kept waking up throughout the night and thinking, 'wow this is so comfortable!' I have no idea why I kept waking up though! I must have been concerned about whether the new mattress would work out or not so I think I kept waking up to make sure I was really comfortable...or something! So I was kind of groggy today. Well, it was a sad night on American Idol tonight. George went home. I knew he wouldn't win, but I was hoping he'd make it to the last three. He's such a friendly guy. I hope he gets a recording contract. I'll miss his big smile. I'm hoping the final 2 are LaToya and Fantasia. In other news, Ryan Seacrest has his own show - urlLink Ryan on Air - and he's looking for American Idol Superfans. He's giving 2 tickets each week to the results show until the end. So I made a silly little video to send in. Click below to view my video!! (You need Windows Media Player) urlLink Amelia's an American Idol Superfan!! ...you're such a sad eyed girl. |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 04,May,2004 | Look out here we come! It's not often that I read something so funny that I laugh til I cry. Today was one of those rare moments. I received my new issue of Today's Christian Woman and one article titled 'Been there survived that' had me in stitches. Unfortunately, TCW still has last month's magazine posted on their site, but if I ever see that article show up I'll link to it. This author gave her top 10 mothering tips. She has 2 busy boys now aged 10 and 8 and her stories were so hilarious I was crying. I think what made it so funny was all I could think of was Ked and his brothers Kurt and Ken. Her stories sounded an like the stunts those three would pull (or sometimes what Ked pulled on the twins!) and as I read this lady's story I kept thinking of those 3 at that age. It's a good thing my mother-in-law has a good sense of humor. I'm sure that helped keep her sane. Another funny story is our mattress was delivered today. Well, I suppose it's not funny that they delivered it, but the rest of the story is funny. After they left I'm eyeing the mattress. We went from a normal mattress to a pillow top. For those of you who haven't seen the awesome bed frame Ked and his Dad built, our bed sits pretty high. We have 6 huge drawers under each side of the bed and we designed it so the bed sat about hip level. Well this new mattress is at LEAST twice as thick as the old one, so it now sits a couple inches higher than my waist. I now have to take a few steps back and get a running start to jump into bed!! I'm just kidding...kind of...I do have to do a little hop to get on top! I called Ked this afternoon and said 'Ummmm, honey, I think we're going to have to get a stepping stool so I can get into bed!!' It's really funny, but it looks great. In fact, I need to finish this up so I can go to bed. I can't wait to sleep on it! Tonight Ked and I had our TV graphics class at the Public Access station. I mentioned that probably a month ago how we were working to get certified to produce tv shows. It was a lot of fun tonight because the class was just the two of us since two others didn't show. It was easy and we now have our graphics certification. Our next class is next week and it's on editing. We're still tossing around ideas for a program, but we think we're narrowing it down. In other not so cool news, I think I have the hives! I haven't had hives since I was in the first grade (I was allergic to my teacher!). I don't know why I have them, but I'm trying to get to the bottom of it. Every day for about the past couple weeks, I wake up with itchy spots of little bumps and a rash like surrounding it. Today upon examining them I'm pretty sure it's hives; it's definitely not bug bites. It's usually been just a small spot and is mostly gone by afternoon, but today I woke up and had a lot more than usual of them on both arms and my neck, and although they went down this afternoon they're still there and slightly itchy tonight. Ked and I've been racking our brain and neither of us can think what might be causing them. I haven't changed any of my laundry products, or my diet, and I'm not stressed. They show up every morning, so today I washed everything on our bed - the mattress pad and sheets and pillows. It's weird. Any ideas?? Anyway, I'm taking my itchy self to bed!! buh-bye! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 02,May,2004 | Strawberry Shortcake - the food not the doll In my mind I always knew that summer was here when strawberry shortcake was for dessert! I like to buy a flat of strawberries every year to freeze and enjoy throughout the year. I was afraid that I had missed my chance since we have an earlier season down here. Yesterday I discovered a great farmer's market and was delighted to see flats of strawberries! I picked up one and we had strawberry shortcake for dessert! As I was making the biscuits for the strawberries, I was thinking about how I felt like such a Northerner! I guess I never thought of myself as a Yankee growing up, and I never thought of Florida as a southern state. Florida was just a state in the south where all the northerners who were tired of the cold moved to! While that's true - probably 90% of the people we meet moved here from a northern state - Florida is still very much southern. Those who've lived here all their lives have a definite southern accent. It's soda, not pop (someone made fun of me today for saying pop!!) And when it comes to strawberry shortcake they prefer cake over biscuits. I guess being bred in Ohio I do have some southern in me - I prefer sweetened tea, but I'm sticking to my Northern roots. It will always be pop and biscuits for the shortcake! On another note - yesterday was National Scrapbooking Day! I celebrated by putting all the pages I completed over the past weeks in the new album I bough on Friday. It's also starting to feel like I have a life down here. I went to a baby shower yesterday and we went to a housewarming party today. Well we're off to another week! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 30,June,2004 | Well, I finally made it out of Tampa this morning. Ked and I did enjoy having one more evening together. That makes one less night apart. It was an early morning. 3:00, 4:00, and 5:00 should not come twice in a day! How ironic that Ked took me to the airport at 4 p.m. yesterday and then again at 4 a.m. this morning! Neither one of us got very much sleep last night because we kept waking up afraid we'd miss the alarm! My flights left on time and it was smooth sailing. I had plenty of time in Atlanta and thank God, my luggage was waiting for me in Flint. Took me awhile to find it thanks to the lady behind the counter. I told her that it may have come last night and she told me to wait by the baggage claim and if it didn't show up to come back. So I wait and I'm the last person there and my suitcase isn't there. So I traipse back to the counter and sure enough it was behind the counter. Couldn't she have looked there first and saved me 20 minutes?? Anyway, I was just so thankful to see my suitcase! Dad was there to pick me up and we made it to Nashville about 12:30. I went straight to bed and slept for about 2 hours! Then I got up took a shower and felt oh so refreshed. I hope I didn't sleep too long that I can sleep well tonight! Of course, I never sleep that well when I'm not with Ked. It's been nice to see everyone and tonight we had a scrapbooking party. Good times. Well that's all for now!! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 29,June,2004 | Well, I should be in a plane headed from Atlanta to Flint. Instead, I'm at home blogging. However, it's quite possible that my suitcase is on a plane headed from Atlanta to Flint! We left here at 4 this afternoon right on schedule, clear blue skies. I checked in and checked my bag and made it through security in a breeze. I get to my gate around 5 pm and we were scheduled to leave at 6:15. At 5:30 these huge rain clouds roll in and it starts to pour, the sky gets pitch black and there is lightning like crazy. As a result, the plane we are supposed to leave on can't land. It circles and circles. 6:00. 6:15. 6:30. They have no idea when it will land or when we'll take off. And I realize that there is no way I will make my connection in Atlanta. I had just an hour in between flights and we were already delayed well over a half hour. And wouldn't you know that was the last flight to Flint for the night. So rather than risk the very possible chance that I would be stuck in Atlanta until 8 a.m. I changed my flight and will now leave at 5:55 am tomorrow. YIKES!! That's early! Five shouldn't come twice in a day!! Well, they were not able to pull my suitcase, and of course this is the first time I packed all my makeup, hair supplies, and overnight goodies in my checked bag. Won't I be lovely tomorrow!! Let's just hope that bag shows up in Flint tomorrow morning!! (The reason I packed all my overnight stuff in my checked bag was so I had room on my carryon for the 2 wedding dresses in case something like this happened. Good call, huh?) Well, I'm off to bed. It's going to be a short night!! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 28,June,2004 | Today is our seventh wedding anniversary. It's just unbelievable how quickly the time has flown by. Like they say, time flies when you're having fun! I can honestly say they have been the best 7 years of my life, and I am looking forward to spending so many more years with the man of my dreams! We were chuckling tonight about the many eras we've been through. We've grown into adulthood together and it's been such a ride! I wouldn't have wanted to share it with anyone other than Ked! After dinner, I was finishing up a project for the trip with Cession and I asked Ked to put in some music for me. He asked what I wanted and I said, 'Something that will keep me awake. I'm exhausted!' He replied, 'I know just the cd and it's probably the only one you know all the words to.' (I'm known for listening to a cd 100 times and still not knowing all the words.) As soon as it started playing I started laughing and was instantly whisked back to 10 months into our marriage. We had just moved to Grand Rapids, and in the process of moving I had fractured my foot. Never stand on the couch to get things off a shelf! Ked had just started working at RBC and I was stuck in the new apartment immobile and most of our stuff was still back in Nashville (Michigan). I spent the day sitting on the living room floor because we didn't have any furniture moved yet. I can't remember what I did all day, because the only thing I remember about that day was I only had one cd to listen to - World Wide Message Tribe. And I listened to it ALL day long. We laughed about that together and reminisced about the years gone by. Then we realized it won't be long - just 7 more years - and we will have spent half our lives together. Today was an extremely busy day for me and I am exhausted! I started out early taking Ked to work and then running to the bank, the chiropractor, and doing the laundry and cleaning the place up and all before noon!! Then I spent THREE hours this afternoon at Office Depot copying, cutting, and collating this project for the Cession trip. And I forgot to take my cd player and headphones! My brain was fried by the time I left there and I was exhausted! The employees kept glancing at me sideways I'm sure wondering if I was ever going to leave!! Anyway, I'm very happy that I got it all done and it's packed away in my suitcase. Then after dinner Ked and I worked on my suitcases making everything fit. I've never packed for 4 weeks before! He's a master packer and thanks to him I didn't even have to sit on the suitcase to get it closed! Well, I am soooo tired I am sure I will sleep really well tonight, which is good because I haven't slept well the past few nights. I'm not sure how much I'll be able to blog while I'm gone. I should have access at the in-laws and at my parents house. Unless I run into a random open signal in Traverse I'll probably be off all next week. But hey, you never know! I found an open signal in Anchorage! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 27,June,2004 | First of all, help me in welcoming Karon back to the land of blogging! Now that she doesn't have two jobs and a super crazy schedule, she has re-joined us! You can find her over at urlLink On the Jazz . Church was great this morning. The pastor is working through a series based on John Eldredge's book urlLink 'Waking the Dead.' I think I'm going to need to go pick up a copy of that book and take it with me to read on my trip. Speaking of books, I bought the urlLink 'Glorious Appearing,' the final installment in the urlLink Left Behind series last week at Wal-Mart. I got it for $10 off the cover price which made me very happy. Anyway, it's been all I could do to not start reading it! I'm saving it for the plane ride up to Michigan on Tuesday. And yes, the way I read I very well could read the whole thing on the plane!! I brought it home and immediately put it in my carryon hoping I would forget about it. I know that once I start it I won't be able to put it down and then I'd have to buy another book to take with me. So far, it's working. We had another great thunderstorm come through this afternoon. This time of year you can almost set your watch by these summer afternoon storms. Ked and I were kind of sleepy to begin with, so we snuggled up under a blanket together for a nap during the storm. As we drifted into the land of dreams Ked said, 'This is what you're supposed to do during a storm.' I love hanging out with my best friend!! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 26,June,2004 | Today was one of those lazy, boring Saturdays. We slept in a little late, then did a little cleaning. Ked then watched a few rounds of PBS - This Old House, New Yankee Woodshop, and we watched this cheesy 80's movie 'My Science Project.' Strange. Anyway, I then decided to be un-boring and pulled out my sewing machine to see what I could do. Six hours later, I have created a little sachet from the extra length I cut off from the dress for Shelley's wedding and nice tan purse for myself from some leftover material from cargo pants I made a couple months ago. I must say they both turned out quite nice! On the little sachet to go with the formal I found a strand of faux pearls to use for the handle and a nice clear button for a clasp. On the tan purse I thought I'd put a hemp trim lined with shells that I saw at JoAnn's a week ago. Ked ran out and got the trim (and some popcorn and whoppers) since he was bored. I'm quite pleased with how they both turned out! It was blazing hot out then this afternoon we got another nice thunderstorm. I've never seen as much lighting as we have down here. After the storm it really cooled off and we went outside to look at the sky. In one direction it was green, in another direction the clouds looked twisty and close to the ground. It was kind of spooky and we ran back inside to turn on the tv and look for tornado warnings. Haven't heard any yet! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 25,June,2004 | Welcome more bloggers to our universe! Ked's Dad has joined us over at urlLink King of the Road ! I'm sure you'll find his blog filled with stories of the Rhodes on the Roads! Also our long lost friend (well he wasn't really lost, we knew where he was, we just hadn't been in touch for a long time!)Ryan has joined us. Check him out at urlLink Stuff & Junk. If you ever want crazy stories about Ked from high school, Ryan is the one to talk to! Today has been a lazy day. Ked had a meeting that took up most of his day, so I hung out here by myself. I decided that it would be a great day to hang out by the pool. Surprisingly, I don't do that very often. I guess I just really don't want skin cancer. So I lathered up with sunscreen, grabbed a few scrapbook magazines and a notebook and headed down. I was pleasantly surprised to have the pool all to myself. Another lady came down later but she was quite content to lay there and sleep. I got all caught up on my magazines in between swimming laps when I got too hot. I even jotted down a few ideas for my 2004 scrapbook. About noon I headed back up to the apartment for some lunch. And then headed back down to the pool around 1 for another hour. Ked came home around 3 and we vegged for awhile before falling asleep together on the couch....ahhh...a nice summer afternoon nap! I'm sure we won't do much tonight, and this weekend I'll be wrapping up a few things getting ready to leave on Tuesday afternoon. I'm having separation anxiety already. I'm not excited about being apart from Ked for 2 1/2 weeks! That's the longest we've been apart since we've been married. At least we'll both be keeping busy during that time and we have free cell phone minutes between our 2 phones! Well right now supper is in the oven and smelling soooo good!! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 24,June,2004 | Today was another busy day. I always like Thursdays. My ladies Bible study always offers great encouragement and fellowship and today was no exception. It was weird to leave this morning and tell them I'd see them in a month. It's strange to think I'll be gone for almost 4 weeks. That's a long time! Anyway, our Life Group was cancelled tonight which was a bummer. Our leaders are out of town and I guess everyone else was just busy or didn't want to come so they cancelled it. So it will be a really long time before I see everyone from there again. We had a really loud thunderstorm come through tonight. It was kind of scary! It was so loud and shook our building. We think we must have been directly hit a few times. We lost power briefly like 3 times in a row. When it was over our internet wasn't working and we've boiled it down to two things - Ked's ethernet card and the router. They very well both might be fried. That's about par for the course right now. Ked's whole computer is on a crash course for the dumpster. The monitor is hissing and the computer crashes like every 10 minutes. This is very frustrating for him to get any work done! The machine needs a complete overhaul, but I'm not sure that will be happening too soon, unfortunately! Well, I'm exhausted! Getting up early 2 days in a row is way too much for me! I hope the Watermark crew lets me go to bed early and sleep in on their trip!! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 23,June,2004 | Ked got his haircut tonight and it's short!! He posted pictures on his urlLink blog . My days are getting all mixed up again! I took Ked in today and had a chiropractor appointment this afternoon. I'm feeling better already! The Dr. was really nice. I waited waaaay too long to go in. I just get so nervous about going to a new Dr. office! But it all turned out o.k! So I'm halfway packed for my trip next week. I've even stashed away some food in the freezer for Ked. At least I know there will be a few nights he won't be eating macaroni & cheese, frozen burritos and pizza! Ked and N8 were chuckling at me last night because I've already started packing and I'm always prepared. People always ask me how I stay organized and get so much done. I should work up Amelia's 10 steps to getting things done. When I think about it, there really is a thought process that goes into it. It's just so natural to my personality that most times I don't consciously think about it. Right now I'm thinking about going to bed. These days of getting up early wear me out! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 22,June,2004 | Ked took a short version of the Meyers-Briggs personality test online. You'll have to read his urlLink blog for today. I posted my results in his comments. We couldn't be much more opposite! It's funny and we've laughed at it over the years. It's amazing how well we work together and how we've learned to balance each other. We make a pretty good team if you ask me. We were laughing at it over dinner, because my percentages are always pretty high. I told him, 'Well they ask such obvious questions. Like 'are you organized?' Duh, yeah! 'Are you spontaneous?' No way!' Yeah that would be me. I leave to go up north a week from today and I've already started packing!! Not much else going on today. I finished another sewing project today. I'm on a roll! Unfortunately, now I've run out of fabric. Uhmmm...yeah. So I stayed busy all day but now I can't remember what I did. I guess it was one of those routine forgettable days. I think I'll get back to my suitcase... |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 21,June,2004 | When I was in elementary school, there were three things I wanted to be when I grew up -an ice skater, a teacher, and an astronaut. I ended up doing none of those things. In fact, I can barely stand up on ice skates! But it sounds like the dream of traveling in space might still be attainable! Have you heard of the urlLink Ansari X Prize ? It's a foundation promoting the private development of affordable space travel. The first team to take a craft that seats three people 62 miles up and repeats the feat within 2 weeks wins $10 million. As urlLink CNN noted, 'It's a contest to promote the development of a low-cost, efficient craft for space tourism in the same way prize competitions stimulated commercial aviation in the early 20th century.' And this morning, history was made when 62 year old Mike Melville took SpaceShip One 62.5 miles up and into space. Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, put up $20 million to help Burt Rutan and his company urlLink Scaled Composites accomplish this feat. Wouldn't that be so cool to someday take a family vacation to the moon? This is the stuff we read and see in science fiction, yet this time it's for real! So in personal news, today was rather uneventful. Monday is always laundry and cleaning day. That takes up most of the day unfortunately! I did make it to the pool this afternoon. My back has been hurting a little the past couple days and it feels good to swim. I set a chiropractor appointment for Friday. I haven't been since we moved. *sigh* Another new doctor. Another round of nerves. I think it's just the unknown of a new dr's office that works me up. At least the lady on the phone sounded nice. I thought I'd do something new and share a recipe with you. Hey that rhymes! I'm a poet and didn't know it! I made this salad tonight and it was unbelievably awesome! This came from the Jul/Aug 2000 Quick Cooking Magazine. Enjoy! Summer Spinach Salad 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use canola oil) 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cider or red vinegar (I used red vinegar, yummy!) 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar (I used Splenda, much healthier) 1-1/2 teaspoons ground mustard 1/2 teaspoon salt 1-1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds 8 cups torn fresh spinach 3 green onions, sliced 2 pints fresh strawberries, sliced 3 large ripe bananas, cut into 1/2 inch slices (I only used 1 banana cut more thinly and it was plenty) 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted Place the first 6 ingredients in a blender or food processor, cover and process until the sugar is dissolved. Add the poppy seeds; process just until blended. In a salad bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Drizzle with dressing, toss to coat. Serve immediately. Yield: 14 servings, or 2 REALLY large and yummy servings for 2 people!! =) |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 20,June,2004 | Happy Father's Day, especially to my Dad! I had a fun chat with him on the phone today. That's always good. I'm looking forward to seeing my parents in 3 weeks. I'll be spending an entire week with them. That will be the first time I've done that since I got married 7 years ago! Church was awesome this morning and the pastor did a great talk on the heart of a man. He pointed out that the father is the main identity shaper in a child's life. For boys the father needs to answer the question 'Do I have what it takes?' And for girls he needs to answer the question 'Am I lovely?' Pastor then ran down a laundry list of things that a father needs to be. He topped it off with, 'And if you had a dad who was all those things AND he is a follower of Christ, you need to be calling him and thanking him today, because you are in the minority.' As we pulled out of the parking lot Ked and I discussed, as we have many times before, how thankful we are for our dads. Not only are they everything on that laundry list, they both also have a strong faith in Christ which they passed down to us. Ked and I often discuss how thankful we are that we carried very little baggage into our marriage. That definitely gave us a solid foundation to build our marriage on. It also gives us the confidence that some day we will be totally awesome parents as well. So thanks, Dad!! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 19,June,2004 | The past couple days have been fun, hanging out with my hun!! I've been all mixed up on my days this week. My Grandma warned me when we moved here that would happen! It started on Wednesday when I took Ked to work and ran my errands. I usually take him in on Thursdays so I thought Wednesday was Thursday and that Thursday was Friday, and now with Ked having Fridays off, Friday feels like Saturday, and Saturday feels like a 2nd Saturday!! Hmmm... Anyway, yesterday we hung out here for most of the day. I ran a bunch of errands and got my haircut. The big thing is that I managed to get all of my alterations done on the dress for Shelley's wedding. Whew! With a few tips from my mom it turned out to be easier than I thought. That feels good to have that done since I leave in 10 days!! We started out slowly this morning, well actually I did a little more sewing this morning and made a skirt! After lunch we headed over to Orlando just to see what we could see. We had a blast just driving around and checking out parts of town we've never been to before. We found a Logan's Roadhouse and we were so excited! It's the first one we've seen down here, so we hadn't been to one since we moved! We celebrated our anniversary 9 days early and had dinner there. We then topped it off with a piece of Key Lime pie from Pebbles, a restaurant we discovered in January. They have the absolute BEST key lime pie ever!! We've been thinking about that pie ever since then! I think I even dreamt about it last night...it was oh so delicious!! So our 2 Saturdays were just awesome. There's nothing we enjoy more than just being together. Even if we're each working on projects, as long as we're together. |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 17,June,2004 | Tonight I wish that I were more eloquent or poetic. I wish I could in some beautiful way explain what God did today, or at least that you could sit next to me and hear the emotion in my voice as I tell the story of His greatness. I started out early again this morning dropping Ked off at work. I then headed to my ladies Bible study, not really expecting much. The summer series is a lot more laid back, and I even told someone this morning that it had been a little boring but that I was going for the fellowship. I had no idea what God had in store this morning. Each week a different lady from the study has been teaching and this week Debbie spoke on the Woman at the Well. She did a wonderful job and it was evident that God had spoken to her. She is part of a group of ladies that I have been watching over the past few months. This group of Godly women are most definitely filled with the Holy Spirit and they know how to pray. I've always wanted to be more like them - more passionate in my prayers and more in tune with the Holy Spirit. At the end of her teaching she said that she had felt God calling her to wash our feet, and invited whoever was willing to come sit in a chair at the front so she could serve us in this way. She had several other ladies helping her by drying the feet and anointing them with oil while the pastor's wives joined her in laying hands on each lady and praying specifically for them. There were about 30 women there this morning, and I was uncomfortably conscious of the fact that I was sitting in the very front. One by one I watched the women go forward and saw the Holy Spirit touch their soul. Prayers for healed marriages, restored relationships, and bondages to be broken. As I sat and watched it became evident that great things were going to happen in the lives of these women thanks to the humble servant's heart of the precious ladies so willing to be God's vessel. I continued to sit and the battle of pride waged in my heart. I don't like to get publicly emotional. I don't like to admit that I need help. Yet the Holy Spirit started to remind me of things. He started speaking to me, 'Humble yourself. Let these ladies serve you. They are my servants. They know me. Allow them to pray for you.' Then I remembered several conversations with Ked recently where we discussed how badly we need people praying for us, really praying for us. I knew what I needed to do. I slowly slid out of my seat and inched my way into an empty seat. Debbie came and poured the water over my feet, and then held them as she began to pray for me. Debbie doesn't know me. I'm not sure she even knows my name. We've chit-chatted a little over the weeks, but not a lot. As she began to pray for me, I was amazed. She way saying things to God about me and praying for me in ways that ONLY the Holy Spirit could have told her to say. When she finished praying, she looked up at me with a look of almost awe. In that instant before she spoke, I could tell by the look on her face that she had heard from God. Still holding my feet, she looked me in the eyes and said, 'Girl, He's really loving on you!' I'm not sure if my jaw dropped open or not, but only God knew how desperately I needed to hear those words. Only God knows how many conversations Ked and I have had lately wondering...does He care? Do all these little details of our lives matter? We know in our heads that they do, but sometimes after you've walked so many miles after so many years your heart forgets the incredible depths of His love for us. It gets lost in the details of life and trying to figure out what His plan is and trying not to miss it and on and on. But to hear confirmation from a Godly woman, 'He's really loving on you,' to know that yes, He is completing the work He started in me...words are not eloquent enough... |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 16,June,2004 | Well I am happy to report that today went quite well, even the visit to the Dentist! The day started much earlier than I'm used to since I had to take Ked to work. We had absolutely NO food in the house, so we swung through McDonald's for breakfast. What a shame! I love those McGriddles. Then it was off to my dentist appointment. And my stomach was all in knots. My last experience there wasn't pleasant and I had the most miserable cleaning in my whole life. This time however was much better! I had a different lady and I mean I was in and out!! It was the easiest and fastest cleaning I've ever had. She said everything looked great and healthy and good job! I was so excited, and relieved!! After that I headed to the grocery, since we had no food in the house. I dread grocery shopping, especially on the BiG week. I have grocery shopping down to a rhythm. Every other week is a BiG shopping week - you know when the only thing left in the cupboard is those cans of cream corn and your spices! Then the other week is a light shopping week where I'm just refilling fresh vegetables and meat. So I had a list a mile long today and it's such a chore. Up and down the aisles, back and forth. When I walked into the Super Wal-Mart I was pleasantly surprised at how un-crowded it was. That place is always a zoo no matter what time of day you go! So I was happy to not be running into people as I maneuvered through the aisles. Then a true miracle happened. I found a completely empty line to check out! That NEVER happens. And the cashier was as friendly as all get out. I walked out of Wal-Mart wondering if there was like a halo surrounding me because all my unpleasant activities had gone so well!! After all that running around I headed home, unloaded the groceries and had some lunch. By that time it was 2 p.m. and I was thinking about starting to work on that dress I need to alter. Then I suddenly realized I was REALLY tired! The next thing I knew it was 4:30 and I had slept for 2 1/2 hours and I had to go pick up Ked!! Anyway, I'm thankful it all went so well today. God definitely paved the way. Now I need to go to bed because tomorrow I have Bible study and a haircut! P.S. - How bout those Pistons? That's what I'm talkin bout!! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 15,June,2004 | My fellow bloggers must be having boring days because no one is writing very much lately! Unless you're SupaK and N8 who claim to be super busy...excuses! SupaK did write a pretty funny blog today though. He told a story on himself that I was going to tell, but it's much funnier from his point of view. You'll have to urlLink read it! Well, my past few days have been a little boring too, but I'm not complaining because the next few weeks are going to get crazy. I got my dress for Shelley's wedding today. It is very nice! It's going to take some creative sewing to get it to fit right. Oh to be a perfect size 6! HA!! I'm quite a little seamstress in case you didn't know, but I'm nothing compared to my Momma. So I did what every reasonable daughter does when perplexed by a problem - 'MOM!!! HELP!!' Fortunately in these days of technology my Mom is only a cell phone call away and she knew exactly what I would need to do with my dress. So I'll be spending the next few days working on that! I've also been working to catch up on my writing lessons. I'd like to finish 2 more in the 2 weeks before I leave for Michigan. I feel like I'm starting to get in the groove and things are starting to come together. I am quite excited to see what doors will open over the next year. I have no idea where this will end up, but I'm excited about the possibilities! Well I'd love to stay up and watch the rest of the Pistons game, but I have an early morning tomorrow thanks to a dentist appointment. YUCK!! This is the most I've ever dreaded going to the dentist. You know how much I don't like doctor offices to begin with, and I did NOT like my last experience at this office. I think after tomorrow we'll be looking for a different dentist. Sigh. It will be over soon. |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 14,June,2004 | How familiar are you with the flag code?? Did you know that the flag is to be displayed on all days, but especially days such as New Year's Day, Inauguration Day, Mother's Day (no mention of Father's Day, sorry!) and the birthdays of the States? Did you know that the flag is never to be used for advertising purposes or printed or embroidered on items that are meant for temporary use and discard such as napkins or boxes? Also, the flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing. Therefore, the lapel flag pin being a replica, should be worn on the left lapel near the heart. Know your flag code! Check it out at urlLink http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/4/ch1.html Along patriotic lines, I found some pictures that my Grandpa Roger took of President Reagan in 1980 when he was campaigning in my hometown Lima, Ohio. |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 12,June,2004 | With all of the discussion regarding President Reagan over the past week, all the stories surrounding the Lightning's Stanley Cup win, the NBA Finals, and the increasing coverage of the upcoming Olympics, I've been thinking a lot about heroes and champions. I've been inspired as I've watched these athletes persevere under incredible physical and emotional pain to emerge as Champions. I've gathered a few of my thoughts from the stories of the Stanley Cup Champions to put together a profile of the heart of a champion. Champions persist despite the odds Many people believed that hockey didn't belong in Florida twelve years ago when the Lightning were founded. Florida?? The sunshine state?? No way. Hockey is for Canada, Detroit, and Pittsburgh. Tampa won't be a hockey town! The team first played in a barn at the Florida State Fairgrounds, and then later on a slushy rink at a baseball field. The franchise nearly went under with various ownership, management, and coaching changes, including one manager who made over 70 player changes in one year. Just four years ago, the Lightning were at the bottom of the division that was the bottom of all divisions. You couldn't get any lower. Yet the powers of hockey continued to believe the Lightning could one day succeed. Bill Davis, the owner of the Pistons had enough faith and bought the team. A new manager full of fire and life was brought in, and a new coach began to breathe life back into these weary players. The team recruited Dave Andreychuk and with the urging of his wife he landed in Tampa. Andreychuk was the veteran the team needed. Twenty-two years into his NHL career, he still had not kissed a Stanley Cup. Naysayers were constantly giving him grief, reminding him of his age and that he might not ever see that Cup. Still, he and the Bolts persisted. Dave brought a father figure to the team and the leadership they so desperately needed. Five games into the finals, things still didn't look good. The Bolts were down 3-2, and only 5 teams in 60 years had ever come back to fin the final two games when down 3-2. Champions never believe the odds or the statistics, and continue to pursue what they know in their heart they are called to do. Champions lean into the pain Personal pain? Forget it. Champions press on. During Game 2 of the finals, Dan Boyle's house burned down, leaving over $300,000 in damage. He continued to play every game, borrowing a teammates clothes. Doctors commented how they could barely get the final stitch into the players' heads during game time injuries before they were on their feet ready to get back into the game. The NHL employs the longest season of all the professional sports, and it is also one of the most physical games. The players were bruised, stitched, and beat up, yet they continued to play day after day over 100 games with rarely 2 days in between games. Champions ignore the pain, lean into it, and continue to play. The prize is worth so much more than the pain. Champions always believe From day one of this season, they claimed that 'safe is death' and played all year for the championship. After losing game 5 at home, and now in that horrible position of being down 3-2 they told the arena administrative and janitorial staff on the way out the door 'we'll see you here Monday for game 7.' They continued to speak the next step, 'we'll have a victory breakfast tomorrow,' claiming each next step they needed to win. Champions continue to believe and proclaim that belief through their speech. Champions know who they are playing for. The team manager commented on what a privilege it was to work with a group of athletes who were playing for the name on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back of the jersey. Champions don't pursue individual egos and glory, they are unified in playing for the greater cause of their team and mission. We are part of a worldwide, eternal championship team that has been guaranteed the victory! Let's not get down by the negativity we are surrounded by and remember that we can already proclaim the championship, no matter what the the odds may be in our lives. Lean into the pain remembering that it is just for a season; concentrate on the victory that lies ahead. Continue to believe, and proclaim those victory promises God has spoken. And most of all, always remember that you aren't playing for the glory of your own name on the back of the jersey. |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 11,June,2004 | Welcome another blogger to the world of blogging Mom (Vicky). Check her out at urlLink www.vicky.ailema.com . I'm really tired today and should be in bed, but I came home from Life Group and watched the Pistons annihilate the Lakers in the last half of the Finals Game 3. That was awesome!! It's even more awesome the way the media has been drooling over the L.A. team. What cracked me up was to hear that 200 Pistons fans had stood on top of a parking garage across the street from the Laker's hotel last night and screamed for an hour starting at 11 p.m. to rattle the Lakers and keep them from getting sleep. A parade of cars also kept driving around the block and honking, until finally the police came and called it off. And that's why we love Detroit! Life Group was awesome tonight. Ked stayed home because he wasn't feeling well. He was kind of shaky and weak. I think it may have been something he ate for lunch. He's feeling a little better now. Anyway, we're still going through Romans in Life Group, we will be for awhile, and I just love this study. Romans is such a foundational book of the Bible, and no matter how many times you've heard the salvation story, as Paul walks you through it chapter by chapter it just makes me even more joyful and amazed at the incredible love God had for me when I was still His enemy. I've been trying to wrap my mind around His grace lately, and it just continually blows me away. My mind is too human small to truly get it. That's why I think Heaven is going to be so amazing. It won't be the streets of gold or our crowns, it will be finally, truly seeing God and understanding fully Who He is. I'm shaking just thinking about it. |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 09,June,2004 | I have been fascinated with the pomp and circumstance of President Reagan's funeral. This is the first Presidential state funeral to take place in my lifetime. I have seen pictures of Kennedy's processional with the caison and riderless horse, but watching it live today was quite powerful. The respect and dignity given to this great man by millions across the world is awe-inspiring. What has most captured my attention over the past week has been President & Mrs. Reagan's marriage. What a graceful, kind, loving woman she is. During the state funeral today, all of the speakers spoke highly of their marriage. What a testimony that is to all of us to see such a strong, faithful, devoted couple. One of the speakers said that Mrs. Reagan's career was her husband. That was a profound statement, and an example to all married women. If we were to take our marriage that seriously, and see it as our career, a God-given one at that, how much stronger our family units would be and how much more empowered our husbands would be. In her biography on urlLink www.whitehouse.gov she is quoted saying 'A woman's real happiness and real fulfillment come from within the home with her husband and children.' That's not a statement you hear too often these days! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 07,June,2004 | We all make mistakes - but I'd be surprised if this one didn't cost someone their job. I mean, it's only the biggest event in Tampa since the Bucs won the Superbowl!! The urlLink Tampa Tribune published the urlLink WRONG editorial this morning and that was almost as big of news as the Bolts bringing home the Stanley Cup. The Trib had prepared 2 editorials in advance - one for the Bolts winning, and one if they lost. And you guessed it, they published the one for if they lost, and now the Trib is the laughingstock of the town, with all the local t.v. stations and a few national outlets covering their big OOOPS!! Where's the quality checks?? |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 07,June,2004 | Join me in welcoming 'Dave' to the blogging world. Check him out at urlLink www.dave.ailema.com |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 06,June,2004 | Unbelievable!! We just witnessed history as the Tampa Bay Lightning just won the Stanley Cup for the first time. Hockey has come a long way when a Florida team wins the cup! It was a nailbiter game, and we decided to stay home and watch rather than join the mayhem downtown. Not only was the arena sold out at over 22,000, but thousands others watched on big screens outside the forum. St Pete Times Forum is just a few blocks from UT where Ked works, but we decided to avoid the craziness and watch the game at home. There is madness in the streets tonight!! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 06,June,2004 | You would think from all my posts lately that we're quite the sports fans. We're not really, but we do have our favorites - the Pistons, of course, will always be the 'home team' and the Yankees are just, well, cool, and now the Lightning - how can you not get swept away?? Well the Pistons just picked up game 1 in L.A. The last time I watched the Pistons in the finals against the Lakers it was 1989 and I was 12 and Isaiah Thomas and the Bad Boys picked up the title. That brings back memories, watching the games with Dad and Jason, thinking how cool Thomas was, and watching Magic and Kareem go down!! Basketball is the only sport that I fully understand. I understand turnovers, steals, the paint, and traveling. It is a little less exciting than hockey, I have to admit I enjoy the shoving, but in b-ball that's a foul. So tonight I learned that the same man, urlLink Bill Davidson , owns the Pistons and the Lightning. I'd say it's been a great year for him! Hopefully, it will be a REALLY great year for him with 2 teams winning titles! I am saddened at the passing of President Reagan. As I've been hearing about all the pomp and circumstance planned for his funeral, I realized that this is the first President to die during my lifetime. The last President to die was Johnson in 1973. I remember when Reagan came to my hometown Lima, Ohio. We drove down the street and stood by the train tracks and cheered with our neighbors as his train went by. My grandparents took my brother out to the airport and my Grandpa got some pretty good pictures of the President. That seems like a lifetime ago. |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 04,June,2004 | Friday night we called Grandma Louise to see if she was busy on Saturday. We had the day free and thought it would be a great time to go visit her. The day started off a little rough when I accidentally squished 2 of Ked's fingers in the car window! I was rolling the windows up and he was getting in the car and somehow got his fingers caught! I felt so bad!! Fortunately we got ice on them and by the end of the day they weren't even black and blue. He got me back later though, I'll tell you about that in a minute. So we headed down to Sarasota and caught a little rain on the way there. We got there just in time for lunch and had a nice visit with Grandma at a nearby sandwich shop. By the time we were done with lunch the sky had cleared and we decided to head to the beach and look for shark's teeth! We got to the beach and it was pretty empty, thanks to the earlier rain. But there also weren't many teeth to find. The tide was coming in, so we just decided to enjoy a nice leisure walk on the beach. It's amazing how listening to the waves and squishing the sand between your toes can just wash away all that worries you. It's like nothing else in the world matters. What bills? What job?? The farther down the beach we walked, the more interesting the people we encountered. Ked said 'Hey Amelia!' and pointed for me to look. I turned my head and was assaulted with a full view of a sagging old man in a G-string!! ahhhh disgusting!! Ked just started cracking up. By the third time he pulled this trick on me (I'm a slow learner!) I figured it out and quit looking. I guess that was paybacks for his fingers earlier. We walked about a mile and a half down the beach and then started to encounter some decent teeth. It's amazing how addicting the hunt can be! Ked found himself a nice spot and started digging and pulled up some nice teeth! After awhile we headed back, so we walked about 3 miles and it took 3 hours. What a life!! Grandma then treated us to some ice cream at Nokomis Groves. You just can't beat that chocolate/lime twist. We headed back to Grandma's all relaxed and hung out there for a little while longer looking through her boxes of teeth and shells. She helped me fix up a little box and a couple bags for me to give to some cool kids this summer. We enjoy hanging out with Grandma. We headed home and turned on the tv just in time to catch the last 2 periods and the double overtime of the Bolts game. Unbelievable!! I still can't believe they won and pushed it into game 7 back here in Tampa. They haven't won 2 games in a row since the middle of April, so it will be interesting to see if they can pull it off! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 04,June,2004 | Well, I figured it was about time that I got on board with the new blogger system and updated my look. Do you like it? As you can see, I also changed my website to www.amelia.ailema.com. Please change the links on your blogs and in your bookmarks. I was quite bored this afternoon, so this is the result! Ked and I were talking about going to the pool, but we talked for too long and we had a thunderstorm come through, although it didn't really rain much. It was all talk. Nothin much going on today. I'm trying not to get bored again. I think I need to go to Wal-Mart and get some pictures printed so I can scrapbook. I'm having withdrawals. Since I ran out of pictures I'm realizing how much that hobby keeps me sane and un-bored (is that a word??) When I get bored it's like my brain shuts down. Then everything Ked suggests sounds boring and I have no motivation to do anything not even read or write or blog. I used to drive my Mom nuts when I was bored, and I learned to quit telling her I was bored because she would dream up work for me to do, and it was never fun! ok, well now I'm bored, so I'm going to go be bored...or something. |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 03,June,2004 | Good Community Well urlLink Kurt has finally made his first post! It was getting quite funny because there was a whole discussion happening on his comments before he ever even posted. He had to come in and take control of his own blog. Quite amusing!! I love Thursdays. I think I say that quite often. It's a busy refreshing day filled with great community experiences for me. This morning I headed to our Ladies Bible study, and I was anxious to see everyone because it had been about 3 weeks. Last week we had a break and the week before that Kurt & Michelle were here. It's just refreshing to be in the company of ladies who love God with all their heart, soul, and mind. I had a couple great discussions today and one of them was with a dear friend and she was affirming a lot of things that Ked and I have been struggling with lately. We had a little discussion on how we're (and by we're meaning a general statement about local churches) encouraging casual Christians. If you read urlLink Ked's post on Community with a Po!nt , he was touching on the same topic and we've had several conversations with different people as of late. By not expecting anything of people, we're breeding a generation of casual Christians where it's easy to go to church, go to lifegroup and make it social, but not making and encouraging personal and spiritual growth and discipline. Another wise lady also discussed this morning how we've come to rely on the local church for things it was never meant to fulfill - such as depending on it solely for our spritual growth and maturity. Anyway, there's a lot of thoughts rumbling around there, but it's just nice to know we're not alone. Then this evening we had another great Life Group session. We're going through the book of Romans and we're all thoroughly enjoying it. How can you not? When you open up the Word and God speaks so clearly through the written word and the Holy Spirit, how can you not get excited? Romans is so foundational to our faith, and it has been so great to get back to the basics of our need for salvation and the role faith plays. The exciting thing is we know we're just getting started - we're only on chapter 4. Then we sent the guys off to another room and in our smaller groups shared prayer requests and we took some good time sharing. I love that time when people open up to the struggles in their life and what God is teaching them, or admitting where they need to grow. It's so important to have a group of people like that who you know will pray for you and genuinely care. It was just an incredibly refreshing day. And now I am exhausted and need to go bed! I actually fell asleep checking my e-mail before Life Group! That was quite funny. I haven't fallen asleep at my computer since my last job...oh did I just say that?? |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 02,June,2004 | When Blogging Has Gone tooooo Far!! Happy Birthday Karon!! ! Hope you had a good day, can't wait to see you soon!! It was great to chat with you. Today was rather uneventful which is ok by me! It was a phonecall day. I chatted with Karon and Jenn for quite awhile and then did some job hunting for Ked. Worked out again today, but no crazy guy in the workout room today. Speaking of the crazy guy in the workout room yesterday, this is really funny! After dinner Ked and I were veggin on the couch laughing and chatting about something and I mentioned something about the workout guy yesterday. Ked said 'What guy in the workout room?' I looked at him and said 'Didn't you read my blog from yesterday?' He looked at me and said, 'I guess I didn't. So what happened?' Then without thinking I said, 'Well, you'll have to read my blog!' He laughs and says, 'I live with you, I'm not going to read your blog so I can find out what happened yesterday! You need to just tell me these things!' In that instant I started laughing hysterically and realized that I have taken the blogging thing a little too far when I'm telling my husband that he'll have to read my blog to find out the events of my day to day life! As the absurdity hit me I couldn't stop laughing. When I did settle down, I told him the story, complete with a reenactment and he thought it was quite hilarious. Silly me! I have been receiving a monthly cd from urlLink Thrive! the women's ministry started by John Maxwell's InJoy. Ladies, if you hear that the Thrive! simulcast is coming to a church in your area this November, I highly recommend that you attend. It was an awesome event packed full of great worship and powerful teaching. Anyway, I've been listening to the monthly cd's when I workout. Each month they pick a topic, interview someone, give a devotional, and close with a book review. It's a great tool. Today I was listening to the topic of grace and their interview with urlLink Randy Alcorn . He pointed out something that I'd never thought of in this way before. He said that grace and truth must go together. Grace without truth he said is just tolerance and that's quite different than grace. He said to just say 'whatever' and let people live as they please does them no good and he says the church often fails on this point. He pointed to an experience he had in a small group. After a couple months of meeting, he discovered that one of the couples was not married but had a child and were living together. He and his wife sat down privately to discuss the matter with them in grace and truth and to help them see that what they were doing was not right and bore consequences. This couple, although both believers, had never been told that their lifestyle was wrong and they were surprised that no one had ever helped them with it before. It turns out that finances were an issue, so the small group took up a collection for them and Mr Alcorn conducted the wedding and helped this couple correct their situation so they were no longer living in sin. He also said that truth without grace is not good either. He said especially in raising children you must have both. You can't pound the truth into their heads, you must teach it while also teaching and living grace. He discusses this more in his book urlLink 'The Grace & Truth Paradox.' Grace and Truth. What a concept. One more bit of information! I mentioned this article around Mother's Day and I just saw that it was posted online. It reminded me of Ked, Kurt & Ken and I laughed til I cried every time I read it. I sent the link to my mother-in-law and she replied saying, 'Her #1 tip is the truth, and the one that keeps you sane!' Enjoy! urlLink Been There, Survived That! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 01,June,2004 | Welcome to the Wonderful World of Blogging! A big hello and welcome to Michelle who just posted her first blog at urlLink www.michelle.ailema.com !! She's in the thick of wedding plans with less than 8 weeks to go until the big day! Check out her blog. Also, a welcome, kind of, to Kurt at urlLink www.kurt.ailema.com . He hasn't posted a blog yet though. Keep your eye on him though, I'm sure he will soon, or Ked will broadcast all his nicknames... |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 01,June,2004 | Quit being stingy and share your rain! I was walking to our little workout center today and I was noticing how brown our grass is. Then I tried to think of the last time it rained, and I couldn't remember. They are predicting rain over the next few days and I sure hope they are right. Hopefully it will take a little of the humidity out of the air too (not that I'm complaining). So yes, I'm trying to get back into the habit of working out daily again. I went down to our little workout room today and had it all to myself until the very end when another lady came in. The workout center is broken down into 2 rooms with all the cardio equipment in one room and the weights in the room next to it. When I was walking down the hallway to the cardio room I passed the weight room and started cracking up. There was country music blaring and this guy dancing and singing along trying to be all tough and buff. I glanced into the room a minute later and he was doing a Rocky routine in front of the mirrors. It was hilarious. Otherwise the day was rather uneventful with the usual cleaning routine. I'm starting to gear up for my trip North. I leave exactly 4 weeks from today, and I have a lot to get ready before then. I know it seems like awhile, but you know me and my organized checklists. Packing for this trip will be a little more work since I'm packing to be in 2 weddings and going on a trip with Watermark. |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 31,July,2004 | Well the last half of the week flew by! Wednesday and Thursday I worked on Dad's books again and finished up one. The other one I'm just waiting on a few final things from him. I also got back into the gym this week. That felt good. After 4 weeks of being away from my regular diet and exercise routine, it felt great to get back into the swing of things. Thursday evening we headed over to Life Group and had a great time with them as always. It was nice to see everyone again. I hadn't been there in 5 weeks! It was funny to note that in those 5 weeks they only finished 2 lessons, so I wasn't too far behind. I think we're going to be in Romans for a loooong time! Yesterday Ked and I headed out to Orlando early afternoon. We had planned to attend a free Photoshop seminar that we figured was going to be a three hour sales pitch, but would probably teach us some things about the new version of the software that we didn't know yet. We got to the Orange County Convention Seminar, which is absolutely gorgeous, and discovered they wanted $10-15 for parking. We decided we didn't want to pay $10-15 to park for a free seminar/sales pitch for software we already own. So we skipped it and got an early start on the rest of our plans for the day! We headed down the street to the Pointe. It's a cool little outdoor shopping mall that we had heard about, complete with an upside down building fun house. We grabbed a light lunch at the Dan Marino cafe and then saw a matinee of the Bourne Supremacy. Excellent movie! They tied things up so well, I'm still wondering what they'll do for the third movie. After the movie we wandered around the strip a little and then headed over to the Premier Outlet stores. We always hear everyone talking about the good deals there. It was another nice outdoor mall, and half the stores aren't really outlet stores, just regular stores. But the ones that are outlet stores had some great deals going on. Florida has had no sales tax for the past week and until August 1st on school supplies and clothing and footwear under $50. Thank you tourists for your money so we don't have to pay state or local income tax and giving us a statewide surplus of funds!! We didn't buy anything, but we did have a great time wandering and noting certain store for future needs. Then we headed home and it took us twice as long as it should have thanks to wonderful I-4. It's 9 p.m. and we're crawling. Go figure. Florida has no clue how to handle road construction. They need to take some lessons from Michigan. Anyway, we had a great all-day date!! Not too much going on today. I think we'll be running a few errands and hopefully Ked will be building me a little stool so I won't have to jump into bed anymore! =) |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 27,July,2004 | Well, I spent the majority of today staring at this computer screen. I'm ready to turn it off and head to bed. I got up this morning and started working on two books my urlLink father-in-law gave me while we were in Michigan. Over the past year I've become the editor for his self-published booklets for his urlLink ministry . These latest two he needs ready to take with him to Malaysia and Singapore in a few weeks. He and another long-time family friend and Christian magician, Paul Ricksecker, will be ministering in churches throughout the area as well as teaching at a few conferences. I knew Dad needed these two books ready as soon as possible so I worked on them most of today, and he and I exchanged e-mails throughout the afternoon. I think we should have them all ready by the end of the week. Please pray for Sheldon and Paul as they prepare for this trip that God will guide them as they study and prepare their materials and that He will open many doors to share the gospel, that hearts will be opened, and that as a result of their training the locals will be even more equipped to share God's Word with their neighbors. Oh - Word to all my Elk Lake homegirls and guys - I gave a cd to Nate last Saturday with all my Elk Lake pictures. Just ask him for a copy if you'd like! Well, that was my day. It's time to hit the hay! (I'm such a poet!) |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 26,July,2004 | Hey, little bigger brother!! Happy Birthday! Hope you had a great day! I can't believe you're getting married before your next birthday! It's going to be such an awesome year for you. Ked & I love you and are proud of you!! What?? Three posts in one day? Yeah, I'm definitely home again. Where are all the rest of you bloggers?? |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 21,July,2004 | I just posted pictures from urlLink Kurt & Michelle's wedding ! Make sure you take a good look at their absolutely gorgeous cake!! =) You can also find the link to the pictures on the menu to the right under Living the Po!nt. |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 21,July,2004 | Well, SupaK and I made it home safely last night at 9 pm. What a whirlwind the last week was!! Let’s see if I can recap! I'll also try to post some pictures from the wedding later today. Wednesday – SupaK headed up to Grand Rapids to spend the day with Dave the Fish and then they headed to Spilk’s bachelor party. Sounds like they all had a lot of fun! SupaK then spent the night at Spilk’s with all the other guys. While he was hanging out and having fun, Karon and I spent the day slaving over wedding cakes. I think I smelled and tasted cake and frosting the rest of the week! ALL day long we baked, frosted and decorated SEVEN wedding cakes for the big event on Saturday. I think I finished up around 1 am that night. But it felt good to get most of the cakes done (we just had 2 left to do). The in-law’s don’t have air conditioning and that oven just heated that house right up. Oh my word!! We were roasting by the time dinner came around. We stopped around 5 pm and Karon headed to the rodeo with one of the cousins. Mom and I decided to pick up Aunt Elaine and Johnny and get into some air conditioning for dinner. Before we left I took a shower, and a cold shower never felt sooo good! We had a blast at Applebee’s with Elaine and Johnny. He is 5 and absolutely hilarious! We went to Wal-Mart after dinner and when he discovered the toy section you would think he had never seen a toy store before. He stretched his arms as wide as he could and exclaimed, “Look at this! This is just for kids! This is sooo AWESOME!” We were just cracking up! My favorite was when he proclaimed, again with arms stretched wide, “This is the moment I’ve been waiting for!!” After we dropped them off at Grandma’s Mom and I headed back to the house and I finished up the last 2 cakes. I fell into bed exhausted, and I dreamt about frosting cakes!! AHHH!! I couldn’t even get away from it in my sleep!! Thursday – I headed up to GR and met up with Heather and Holly for lunch. I chat with them online all the time, but it was so nice to connect in person. Heather brought little Arwen and she is such a sweetie! She just sat there and smiled the whole time. I’m so happy for them! After lunch I hooked up with the SupaK and we headed over to Grand Haven to try to catch the Falcon and family one last time, but we missed them. So we ended up taking a nice walk on the beach and out to the lighthouse. We had been apart for 2 ½ weeks and then ever since Ked had arrived we had been on the go constantly. It was nice to have an hour to hold hands and walk up and down the beach just catching up. Even though the beach was a little dirty and the water was disgustingly black (Ked kept thinking of all the sewage that ran into Lake Michigan this spring due to the flooding!) it was a refreshing time. After our little walk we headed back to GR to catch up with some friends. We had dinner with Chris and Becca and Brian and Julie. We all knew each other from Cornerstone and had a blast catching up. All four of them just got married this spring and we enjoyed looking at their wedding and honeymoon pictures. The time flew by much too quickly, as it always does. Before we knew it we were headed back to Nashville for the final few days of our trip. When we returned home, Aunt Sarah and Aunt Elaine were unloading Sarah’s car and giggling. We knew something was up! The aunts had arrived to save the day and decorate Mom & Dad’s enclosed porch for the dress rehearsal dinner the next evening. They called themselves the “Dollar Store Queens!” Mom, Karon, and I got a kick out of that because we ALL know that Mom and Karon are the dollar store queens by far. Sarah and Elaine haven’t ever drove to Georgia to go to a dollar store. (Ok technically Mom didn’t either, but she made Dad stop at one on their way down to Florida!) They did a fabulous job decorating and had a lot of fun while doing so! Friday – The last two days of the trip were by far the busiest!!! Friday morning Karon and I got up and put the last 2 cakes in the oven. She and Mom then headed to Lansing to pick up the fresh flowers for the cake and also a few items for the dress rehearsal dinner that evening. While they were shopping I watched the cakes and corralled Ked into helping me with some cleaning. No one can clean a bathroom as well as he does! By the time Mom and Karon returned Ked had cleaned the bathroom and half the house and I had lunch ready, as well as one cake frosted and the other ready to go. It was definitely a teamwork day as we raced to get everything ready for that evening. After lunch Mom worked on finishing the house and Karon and I finished the last 2 cakes and desserts for the dinner, cleaned the kitchen, and vacuumed. Meanwhile, Ked and Dad mowed the lawn! By 5:00 we had the place spick and span and the cakes were all in the fridge ready for tomorrow. We all rushed through the shower and then headed to dress rehearsal at the church. Rehearsal went well and without a hitch. Nate did a good job of keeping things moving! Afterwards we all headed back to Mom & Dad’s for a great pizza dinner from an awesome local pizza shop. We all hung out for awhile and then it was back to work! Kurt printed up the programs for tomorrow while Karon and I folded them. Then we corralled Dad and Ked to help Karon and I while we folded up 200 cake boxes! We managed to get to bed about 1 a.m. for a short night’s sleep before another long day. Saturday – Kurt & Michelle’s big day finally arrived!! Karon and Kurt worked all morning on the flowers for the cake. Aunt Sarah and Aunt Elaine came over again and I helped them with some flower arrangements for the front of the church. We packed everything up and headed to the reception hall to set up the cake. The big moment….tiering the cakes! We had been nervous about this all week long. Our big 16” cake that was on the bottom had some shifting issues when we iced it. We loaded the cake with wooden dowels and prayed it would hold!! We raced to set it up and I don’t know what we would have done without Sarah and Elaine’s help! When it was all said and done, the cake was absolutely beautiful!! Karon and I took a step back and admired our work and then snapped a million pictures to remember it by! We then rushed off to the church. We were supposed to be there at 1:30 but we didn’t make it until after 2. That gave us just enough time to touch up our makeup and get into our dresses for pictures at 3 p.m. We gathered in the room around Michelle and tried to keep her from crying and messing her makeup before heading down the aisle! She was resplendent and radiant in her dress. It was just a perfect, beautiful day. The sun was shining, the humidity was low, and a nice breeze kept the temperature just perfect. Nate did a fabulous job officiating the ceremony. I think it was the most meaningful little message I’ve ever heard at a wedding. He talked about the importance of making Christ the cornerstone of their marriage. He even brought a brick (Nate always with the object lessons!) to serve as a reminder and asked them to paint today’s date on the brick while on their honeymoon. The ceremony was about 25 minutes, packed full of meaning, and fun! We then raced through pictures and headed to the reception for yummy stuffed pork chops and LOTS of cake!!! Around 8 p.m. things started to wind down and we said our goodbyes prepared for the LONG drive home. We left Nashville about 9 p.m. and determined to drive as far as we could. We made it halfway through Kentucky and stopped at a rest stop to sleep (if you can call it that) from 3:30-7:30 a.m. Sunday – Driving, driving, and driving some more!! That pretty much sums up Sunday! Ked started to get sleepy again around 9:30 a.m. when we hit the Tennessee border. I had been dozing off and on so I took over the wheel. I burned through all of Tennessee and made it through Atlanta. We hit a patch of pretty hard rain in Tennessee, but thankfully it didn’t last for very long. Ked took over again and drove the rest of the way. We hit the Florida border at 5:30 p.m. and walked in our door at 9 p.m. While it was nice to get away and visit everyone, we were both ready to be at home and sleep in our own bed!! We unpacked the essentials and then took what I call the “Sigh Shower.” After traveling for so long and being away from home, it feels so good to wash away the travel dirt and get ready to sleep in your own bed. I can’t help but stand in the shower and sigh because it feels so good to be home! Needless to say, Sadie has been very needy ever since we walked in the door. Bobbie did a good job taking care of her, but you can tell she definitely missed our company. For awhile I wondered if she was going to let us sleep last night. She wandered around the house with her pathetic “Meooooowwww, Meoooowww” for awhile. Finally she jumped into bed between the 2 of us and purred away. She refuses to leave my side today. Wherever I am she has to be right next to me. So that’s the rest of our trip in a nutshell! Today Ked headed off to some flash training for work. I’m finishing unpacking and doing laundry. Ked left the place absolutely spotless, which was sooo nice to come home too! All I have to do now is the laundry and put it away! What a great guy. Well, I guess it’s back to the routine for a little while! Come visit soon! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 21,July,2004 | I have posted pictures of urlLink Cession at the beach last Sunday! I had tried to post them on Monday, but the in-laws' dial up connection is slower than slow! I feel like I've walked back into the dark ages!! Anyway, they are up now, so enjoy! You can also find them on the menu to the right under Living the PO!NT. Yesterday was an awesome day! We spent the day in Lansing hanging out with the urlLink GooseEgg and his lady. We hadn't seen them and their kids in about two years, which is waaaaay too long! It's so great to have friends that you can just pick right up with no matter how long it's been. They are a treasure! And their 3 kids are so adorable! Five year old Dawson snuggled up next to me on the couch and looked up at me with big eyes and said, 'I missed you!' Awwww!! I couldn't believe he even remembered us since it had been over 2 years! What a sweetie and a super smart kid! I played several rounds of leap frog's find the state game, and was soundly whipped by a five year old! Those darn western states all look alike! GooseEgg's parents took the kiddies then the four of us headed out for a day on the town. GooseEgg and SupaK are old high school buddies, best man in each other's weddings, and college roommates freshman year. It gets kinda scary when they are together! We got several 'looks' from store clerks across the town! We had a great Mexican lunch, browsed a few stores at a nice new outdoor mall, practically polished off a dozen Krispy Kremes, took Ked to the famous Elderly's guitar store, and then headed to see the movie I, Robot. The movie was actually quite good! We all enjoyed it, and it had a great storyline. After all that we headed back to their place for the cheesiest pizza in the world!! As we took off for the night we all promised to not allow so much time in between visits. Hopefully they'll be able to come see us in Florida this winter! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 19,July,2004 | Well the past couple days have been a whirlwind of fun! We made the 5 hour drive up to MI on Saturday with Uncle Dan. Ked was really really tired of driving!! We made it just in time for cake & ice cream for Ked's birthday at Grandma's. It was a house full of aunts & uncles & cousins! The little cousins had several skits that they performed that were just hilarious. Crazy kids!! Then Sunday morning we got up pretty early and headed out to Grand Haven for the day. It was awesome to hang out at Watermark. The last time we were there was last fall during a preview service, so we hadn't ever been to an actual service. It was so awesome to see how God has blessed them all around. We were excited at the growth we saw. Nate and Cession had the service and it was awesome to relive Elk Lake as he and the students shared. Now that they've been home for awhile everything that happened and what they learned has started to sink in. What a cool group of students!! Sunday afternoon we hung out with Nate & Jenn and Jenn's sister and brother-in-law. It was really cool to get to know her sister and brother-in-law. I couldn't believe how much she and Jenn were alike. It cracked me up. I think they could have been twins. We went out to lunch at Dee-Light and had some awesome nachos and a great meal. Afterward we walked down to the Mackinaw Kite Co and were playing with the toys. As we walked in Nate said this was a Ked kind of store. Little did he know just how much of a Ked store it was! Ked picked up some juggling clubs and a diablo and entertained a little bit. It was funny! Sunday evening we hung out with Cession and had a total blast. I had warned Ked that they were expecting some magic so he loaded his pockets with the standard 3 tricks (I think the only ones he knows anymore!) He got some pretty good reactions. Then we headed to the beach and the guys played football. The girls decided we were cold and hungry so we left to get food and head back to Nate & Jenn's. My car decided they were hungry for pizza so we headed to the hut and ordered takeout. It was fun and the stuffed crust was yummy! Then after we had all re-gathered at the Smith's Ked gave his little message of encouragement to keep up the great work and learn to find and live their point. It was fun evening and we ended up leaving just a little after midnight. Today we slept in and we're just hanging out in Nashville. Dad's at camp this week but he came home this afternoon to hang out with Ked. I think they're over at the office strumming the guitars. Tomorrow it's off to Lansing for the day! It's a busy week!! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 17,July,2004 | Ked is back!! Hooray!! My world is complete again. He and Uncle Dan arrived in Columbus about 9 p.m. last night after a long day of driving (they left at 4 a.m.!) It's so good to see him again!! Mom, Dad, and I spent the day in Lima visiting family yesterday. We had a great time hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's. Shayna came over before she went to work and Jason came over after work and Ben and Beth were there too. We all had a nice Lee's Chicken lunch together!! I forget how funny Jason is! I can't wait until he and Shayna move to Florida in the next few years. After Shayna went to work, Ben, Beth, Jason and I played a round of pit and a round of Tri-Bond and Jason treated us to his usual quick wit and even made up a twangy song. What a goofball!! Aunt Jo came over after work; it was great to see her again as well! Then we had to take off pretty quickly because Ked and Dan were hitting the Ohio border. We zipped home and made it there just about a half hour before they did. And now today the big SupaK is 27!! We had a nice birthday brunch with his all time favorite - breakfast pizza!! We gave him a round of gifts, which included some nice toys for his camera. Then we discovered that Nikon did something goofy, and now he and Dan and Dad are out at the camera shop right now picking up another part so he can use his new filters on his telephoto lens. As soon as they get back I think we are headed up to MI for more birthday celebrations! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 14,July,2004 | I can't believe how quickly this week is flying by! I'm sad that the week with my parents is going so quickly, but I'm also happy, because Ked comes the day after tomorrow!! :) Yesterday Mom and I spent the WHOLE day sewing my bridesmaid dress for Kurt & Michelle's wedding. I think it turned out pretty well. While Mom sewed, I read the directions, pinned, serged, and hand sewed. We had quite the little system going. It's always more fun to sew with a partner. This morning all we had to do was hem it and sew on the buttons and then give it a nice iron. I'm glad to have that out of the way! I've been exhausted the past couple days. I don't know if it's because Mom is wearing me out or I'm still catching up from the lack of sleep at Elk Lake. I think I'll vote for the latter. Tonight we're going out birthday shopping for urlLink someone's birthday on Saturday!! He, he he!! Well I suppose I should get back to work. I have a few more sewing projects to finish while I'm here and I only have tomorrow left since Friday we're going to Lima for the day! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 12,July,2004 | Today was fun hanging out with Mom, Jason, Shayna and Ben. We headed out late morning to Best Buy and then the big mall. I don't think I've spent that much time at a mall....ever! I'm not really a big mall person. I only bought 2 things - a shirt for Ked that hopefully will fit and a cool necklace that I found on clearance for $.97. If anyone is going to find the bargain it will be me! By the time we got home I was exhausted! I fell asleep in the car on the way home, then again before dinner, and then again in the recliner after dinner. So why am I still up??? It was fun and I tell you, my brother is hilarious!! He's full of quick and silly quips and he had us in stitches after dinner. I chatted with the SupaK this evening. During those chats it almost seems as if we're not 1,200 miles apart. Although at times they remind us of that painful year we dated long distance... big phone bills and long goodbyes!! At least now we have free mobile to mobile minutes. Only 4 more days and we'll be together again! I'll try to download the week at Elk Lake, but it seems to be the consensus among the Elk Lake bloggers that it just might be impossible to ever convey what took place up there. God was there and He moved. Otherwise the activities included seeing Saved! (which created very interesting discussion and a funny skit for skit night), a viewing of Spiderman 2 which totally rocks, dinner at Mongolian BBQ where we all ate too much and the waitstaff and grillers gave us lots of attention in many various forms! Campfires, smores, hobo pies, freshman guys taking 'baths' in the lake in the mornings (poor lake!), hemp necklaces, henna tattoos, Switchfoot in the mornings, and many experiences in the kitchen and over the charcoal grill (which I must say my gals did 10 times better grilling than the guys!). But the heart of the trip lay in the discussions in the living room and in cell groups, pouring over Ephesians, discussing community, surrounding each other, bearing each others burdens, breaking through barriers and bondages, and encouraging and praying for each other. When God shows up it's hard to explain in words what happens. We can describe activities but it is hard to explain the activity of the heart and soul. How do you explain developing a love for a group of ladies that can only come from God? How do you explain seeing their hearts open and how they grow? All I can say is that there is a group of students that are extremely special to me, and I am so excited to see where God takes them and how they follow His leading as they move through high school and into adulthood. They've been 'dared to move' and they are moving. |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 11,July,2004 | Wow! What a fun day! I feel so much better after sleeping in today. My brother Jason and his girlfriend Shayna and my cousin Ben all come up today and are spending the night here at Mom & Dad's. What a crazy bunch (and that includes my parents!) We went out for a Mexican lunch and then Shayna insisted that we go to Maggie Moo's for ice cream. Who can resist that? Then Ben, Jason, Shayna and I decided to go see Spiderman 2 since Jason and Shayna hadn't seen it yet. I saw it last week up in Traverse with Cession but I was more than willing to see it again! What a great movie! Then we came home for Mom's famous Sunday night pizza and we watched Ice Age. In the midst of all that today I still managed to get all my pictures from the last week and a half together and into a web photo album! Make sure you check out the pics from urlLink Elk Lake and urlLink Shelley's wedding ! I also have links to them under 'Living the Point' on my menu to the right. I talked to Ked a couple times today (he helped me get online with my parents internet and get my pictures posted). He said I did a great job taking the pictures! That makes me feel good because he is the creative genius in our family, and I was using his camera and I don't know very much about it!! Oh, in other big news tonight--- my younger brother Jason got engaged this morning!! He asked Shayna to marry him this morning at a park. They didn't tell us until tonight. I noticed her ring at lunch, and the thought crossed my mind that they might be engaged. But then since no one had said anything I didn't think much of it, especially since she works at a jewelry store. I thought it was just a nice ring she bought. So we are all excited for them!! Congratulations guys! We love you! Well, it sounds like everyone is still going strong downstairs, but if I'm going to keep up with them and their planned shopping spree tomorrow, I should think about going to bed!! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 01,July,2004 | Well, I have rejoined the land of the blog!! I just spent a week up at Elk Lake with Cession and I had no internet or cell phone! I went through withdrawals the first few days, but then I managed ok! Wow. It has been such an incredible week full of so many emotions. I had such an awesome time with Cession that words can't even begin to describe. We saw God open hearts and break bondages, community developed and faith strengthened. There's a lot to process there and I'm not sure I'll ever fully comprehend it all! Then Friday morning I picked up a rental car and drove down to Detroit for Shelley's wedding. She was radiant and it was an absolutely beautiful day! It was my privilege to be a part of her and Joel's special day. Mom and Dad came up for the wedding and I rode with them back to Columbus. We got back a little after 11 and I just crashed. I told them that I probably wouldn't go to church with them (I didn't) because I desperately needed a full 8 hours of sleep or more since for the past week I had only got 5 or 6 hours a night, which for me is REALLY bad!! It felt sooooo good to sleep in this morning. Well, Mom and Dad have a funky ergonomically correct keyboard and it's taking me a while to type!! Hopefully I can get my laptop hooked up to their internet. Boy do I miss our wireless network... If I get it hooked up I'll post a couple photo albums from the past week. So keep your eyes posted! I've talked to Ked every day since I left. I think it's the only thing that's kept me sane. Thankfully the past week and a half has gone by quickly for both of us. Only 5 more days until he's here!! I can't wait! I'm back!! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 01,July,2004 | Today was a fun and relaxing day. Mom, Karon, and I headed over to Hastings and had lunch at a great local Mexican restaurant before Karon had to go to work. The food was awesome and so much better than Taco Smell! After that Mom and I headed back home and did a little scrapbooking. I finished up a nice layout of some beach pictures from when Karon visited us in March. After that Mom and I headed over to Charlotte to check out a neat little scrapbooking store. They didn't have the flamingo diecut I was looking for, but they had several other things that I didn't realize I needed until I saw them! Then we headed to the dollar store and they actually had a little section of scrapbooking supplies and I picked up a couple packs of paper. From there we headed to Wal-Mart and then we realized we were hungry and it was supper time!! After supper, Mom and I watched a couple of the Season 1 episodes from Karon's new A-Team dvd set. What a great show and so over the top! Classic t.v. for sure!! Now I am exhausted and am sure I will sleep quite well tonight! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 11,August,2004 | Well if you've paid any attention to the news today I'm sure you've heard about the two possible hurricanes that could hit Florida on Friday - Bonnie and Charley. The last time 2 hurricanes hit Florida within 12 hours of each other was something like 1906. We're not expecting too much to happen around here, although Ked said everyone at work is hoping to get the day off on Friday! It reminds me of those good 'ole northern snow days! We aren't on the Gulf here, but we could still get some heavy rain and wind. I'm thinking about getting some bottled water tomorrow just in case. I'm a little more concerned about my Grandma. Ked said I should call her tomorrow because reportedly Sarasota County could get hit pretty hard and even become the eye of the storm. We'll see if she wants to come stay here on Friday maybe. Other than that the past few days have been pretty uneventful. I've been tired and rather unmotivated to get anything done around here. I've just managed to squeak out the bare minimum of my chores this week. I keep justifying it by telling myself I need the extra sleep because my body is working overtime! Last night Ked and I had a business dinner in St Pete with a couple people. The one gentleman was the person who originally hired Ked at Cornerstone back in 2000. Rick is one of the most genuine people you will ever meet. You look into his eyes and you immediately know you can trust him. His faith radiates throughout his personality and you can't help but love him. He's what I call a '2 a.m.' person. I like to judge people based on the question, 'If we needed help would this be someone we could call at 2 a.m. and they would be there for us?' It's nice to have your life full of 2 a.m.-ers. You hope that you never need to actually call them at 2 a.m. but it is nice to have a roster of friends who have that kind of character. Anyway, it was great to catch up with him again, and he connected us with a business lady who has been running her own design firm for 24 years. As we talked with her, Ked and I saw what our future could possibly look like. She was sharp as a tack and a brilliant businesswoman. I told Ked later that I was quite proud of myself. Not once did I get lost in the technical talk and I held my own throughout the conversation. I've worked hard over the past 7 years to fully understand Ked's career and his skills. It took a couple years of shaking my head to get rid of that glazed eye look and asking lots of questions, but I'm quite capable now of carrying on a conversation with knowledgeable people about his line of work! Of course, it has helped that I've been involved in the same type of work, just on the project management side of the scheme and not the design side. Anyway, hopefully we will be able to assist them with some projects they may have coming down the pike. It was great to get out and she took us to a fantastic little bistro that had unbelievable food and prices. It was a wonderful evening. Tomorrow should be a busy day. It will be the first full Thursday I've had since getting back from Michigan. Ladies Bible study is starting up again and we'll have Life Group as well. We'll be telling everyone about the baby, so that should be fun!! |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 08,August,2004 | 5/13/04 Two pink lines. It hardly seems real. When that second line appeared on the pregnancy test my jaw dropped open. Even though I had a hunch that I was pregnant, the confirmation was still a pleasant surprise. I must have looked at that pregnancy test about a hundred times. I told Ked the good news when I picked him up from work tonight. He had about the same reaction I did. In the back of our heads we KNEW, but still to know for SURE was amazing. We're embarking on a whole new experience! 5/16/04 Ked paid me a beautiful compliment today. We were sitting by the pool this afternoon and I was lamenting my fears about gaining weight during the pregnancy and not being able to drop it afterward or that I would gain too much weight, or that I was already starting to look fat. He looked at me and said, I think you're glowing. I responded 'Glowing??' He smiled and said with true love in his eyes, 'I think you are absolutely radiant and your skin is giving off this beautiful glow!' It made my heart melt! 5/19/04 I had another hormone attack this morning. Poor Ked. These raging hormones were my first signal that I was pregnant. We were stopping at the mall and I threw a fit because he was parking at the Sears entrance instead of a mall entrance. What the heck?? Even as I was ranting on and on I thought to myself, 'Why is this a big deal? These crazy hormones!' Ked just looked at me and said, 'This could be a long 9 months!!' I had to laugh and agree. 5/23/04 Ked did something funny today. He was walking behind me and grabbed my waist and started making little tickling motions with his fingers on my belly. He said in his cute little kid voice 'I'm tickling him!! He better get used to it!' It was really funny. 5/28/04 We had our first doctor's appointment today, and I must confess it was more than a little overwhelming. Ked got to observe me go through my whole hyperventilation doctor's office fears. I started taking deep breaths on the drive there and it continued through the waiting room. Waiting is always the worst. Once I get into the office and start talking with the nurses and doctors I am fine! I think it's just the anticipation that freaks me out, or something! We started out with a pregnancy test to confirm and then the nurse went through a stack of paperwork and handed us a sack full of magazines and samples. The nurse smiled and said, 'We'll give the bag to Dad to carry.' Ked said that was weird to hear her say 'Dad.' It all started to sink in during that hour visit. The Doctor was a hoot! He made everything seem really uncomplicated for which I was grateful. He was laughing and cracking jokes and was such a friendly, informative guy. We were both comfortable with him. We went to the examination room and the Doctor did a sonogram. It was so amazing to see this little baby that is only 2.4 mm long. He pointed out the fluttering heart and it was so incredible. I really don't understand how people can say this is not a life. He measured the baby and set the due date back one week from what we thought originally making it January 23, 2005. That's just one day before my birthday! That will make the best birthday present ever. With that we headed home and kept staring at the pictures. At times it still doesn't really seem real, I think mainly because I haven't been sick at all, for which I am grateful! Other than getting grumpy and emotional and needing to eat more often I really don't feel different. On the drive home we started debating if we should tell anyone since we hadn't yet and who to tell and when to tell. We decided we'd go ahead and tell our parents and siblings and ask them to keep it to themselves for awhile. The doctor said at my next visit they will try to hear the heartbeat, but it might be too early. We' d like to tell everyone else while we're up north this summer. When I called my Mom she was so excited. She's always in the baby mood and making baby things just because or for people she knows. She was all excited and exclaimed, 'Now I can start making baby things for real!! I need to get my knitting out!' It was hilarious. Ked called and talked to his Mom and Karon; his Dad was out. They were both so excited as well. Later his Mom had his Dad call and Ked told him he was going to be a grandpa. Anyway, it feels strange knowing that people know now. We've kept it to ourselves for a few weeks. I know it's for real now especially since we saw the baby, but sometimes it still doesn't seem very real! I suppose it will eventually. 6/13/04 Tonight we were watching t.v. and a commercial for Wendy's came on, and suddenly I wanted a chocolate shake. I told Ked so and he said, 'I'm not going out for anything!' I haven't had any cravings really, although pizza and waffles always sound good, but so do fruits and vegetables. I sat there and all the sudden I said, 'Chocolate milk will do the trick!' I grinned at Ked with that 'will you go make me some?' smile. He just stared at me with the 'no, get it yourself' reply. Then I said outloud in a sweet little voice, 'Ked, the baby wants chocolate milk!!' With that he started laughing and as he headed to the kitchen said over his shoulder, 'That's a dirty trick!!' I thought to myself, 'A dirty little trick that I will have to remember!!' 6/22/04 There are so many unknowns with any pregnancy, but I imagine that the first pregnancy has the biggest unknowns since you've never been through it before and have absolutely no idea what to expect. What will the baby look like? What will his or her personality be like? What will labor be like? Will he or she be healthy? I imagine that all these questions and fears are normal. Today as I was thinking things over, God brought a passage from the Bible to mind. I've read it so many times before, but today it had all new meaning. I suppose that will happen a lot as we head into this new stage of our life. He pointed me to Psalm 139. We hear this verse proclaimed regularly as a case for pro-life issues, but today it was very personal. 1 O LORD , you have searched me and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD . It hit me that God already knows all my thoughts and all my fears. Even before I cry out to Him and hand them over to Him, He knows what is burdening me. But the most powerful revelation that I will always remember came in verses 13-18. 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you. It hit me that God loves this child so much more than I ever can. He is creating him or her, and He thought of this little person long before Ked or I ever did. He knows what their life will be like, and he knows and loves them more than I can ever imagine. As I thought of the love that my Heavenly Father has for this child it quieted my heart and peace overwhelmed me. Suddenly my fears were vanquished and I knew I could trust God completely with the development and birth of this child. No matter what happens, God LOVES this little person more than I ever can, and I can fully trust Him. Then a second string of thoughts hit me and I realized that God has that same personal and passionate love for me. I've always known that God loves me, but suddenly in light of all this love I have for a little person I haven't even seen yet and realizing that God's love so incredibly surpasses my love, I was overwhelmed that this same love is directed towards me. Tears washed my face as I thanked God for giving me a small, small glimpse of what He thinks about me. 6/29/04 We went back for our second doctor's appointment this morning before I flew to Michigan. We didn't really know what to expect, so we were surprised when the Doctor said we were going to do a second sonogram. He said it was too early to try to hear the heartbeat. What we saw was absolutely amazing. In just over four weeks the baby had grew from just a flutter of a heartbeat to having a head, eyes, arms, and legs. We stared at the screen in awe and suddenly the baby rolled over!! The doctor looked at me and said, 'Now if you say you can feel that you're lying!' I don't feel anything yet, so it was so cool to see that now there's a tiny, tiny baby in there rolling around. Words just can't describe how in awe we were. We left the office a few minutes later just speechless. It was as if we didn't want to ruin the moment with our inadequate words. 7/26/04 We have returned from our visit up North, and although it was wonderful to see everyone, it was nice to get home again, especially for me since I had been gone almost four months. It was so exciting telling people that we were pregnant while we were up. We had quite a variety of reactions. When I saw a couple friends up north she looked at me and said, 'I knew it! I could tell from the moment I saw you!' The GooseEgg and his wife gave quite the emotional reaction. We were at their house and when Ked told them, the GooseEgg was standing in the kitchen wiping his eyes saying, 'I'm going to cry!!' It was so sweet. They have 3 precious little ones of their own, so they understand! We could have a very busy spring if everyone visits who said they will. We certainly hope that everyone does come! The more the merrier!! 7/31/04 Well I bought my first maternity clothes today. It was bit of a frustrating process. I'm at that awkward in-between stage where absolutely NOTHING fits! Most of my regular clothes, particularly all of my shorts, jeans, pants, and skirts no longer fit. Yet all the maternity stuff is to big! I did find a couple things on sale (plus we had no sales tax this weekend) that I think will work for a few months. 8/6/04 We went back for our third doctor's appointment today. It was a short visit and we heard the heartbeat. The doctor looked at us and said, 'It sounds like a girl to me!!' Our next visit is September 2nd, and if the baby is positioned right they should be able to tell us at that visit what gender it is! It was awesome to hear the heartbeat today, but we both agreed that we like the sonograms better because we actually get to see the baby! We have to wait a few more weeks for that though. |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 04,August,2004 | When I was a little girl I used to dream about what it would have been like to grow up in the pioneer days. I read Little House on the Prairie and used to daydream about petticoats and wearing dresses all the time and riding horses on the farm. I was also an Anne of Green Gables fanatic and dreamt of meeting my Gilbert and dressing up in frilly dresses with puffy sleeves and going to fancy parties. There was something alluring about those eras. Something that seemed so much simpler. Today while eating my lunch I turned on PBS and caught the ending of a program that profiled families who gave up the 21st century for five months to homestead in Montana. They left their large homes, fast paced life, and high profile jobs to live together in a small cabin that they built with their own hands. They raised their cows, pigs and chickens and grew their own wheat and corn. At first they all wanted to go home, but at the end of the five months they didn't want to leave. The show caught up with them two months after returning to their normal lives and every single one of them longed for the homestead. One family had moved into a giant new home that felt well...too big. The six of them missed being so close and hated that their new home was so big they didn't even know when someone else was there. The two 13 year old girls said that life in the 21st century was boring and they could only go to the mall so often. The young 10 year old boy commented on how much more he appreciated everything on the homestead. He said when he had fewer toys he valued them more and was so overjoyed when he got something new. Now he has so many things that they don't mean very much. One husband commented that he goes to work and his family doesn't have a clue what he does day in and day out. He missed the homestead days when they all worked together and had common goals. They all longed for the community they developed with their homestead neighbors. Out there you live life together because if you don't, you won't survive the winter. As I watched them live on the homestead I was whisked back to those childhood daydreams of old. Life was tougher then, and the physical labor was harder, but there was something simpler, purer and uncomplicated about life. Your goals were survival, food, and shelter, and you couldn't accomplish that unless you worked together. How different that is from the two income, multi-directional lives we live. No wonder we have a hard time keeping families together. We don't even have true community or common goals within our own homes, let alone with our neighbors and church community. I think we could learn some things from life in 1883. I think we could unclutter our 21st century lives and learn to get by with less stuff. I think we could spend less time trying to accumulate stuff that doesn't mean anything and spend more time together and working toward common goals. I think we could spend more time doing life, truly doing life not just a barbecue on the weekend, with our neighbors. It was ironic that I was telling Kedron about this thought over dinner and not long after we finished eating our power went off again, thanks to another storm. (I'm starting to feel like I'm back in West Michigan!) We had both just sat down at our computers to finish up some work when we lost power. It didn't bother us! We spent some time cuddling under the covers instead, looking through catalogs and talking about things to come. Ked commented, 'I'm glad the power went off.' And so was I! So I guess if you want a simpler life, turn off your power for a couple hours. Read a book, have a good discussion, play a game. Enjoy those that you live with. |
2,844,168 | female | 27 | Marketing | Aquarius | 03,August,2004 | Well, I haven't posted in a few days! I think I've been discouraged by the lack of posting done by my blogging friends in the past month! I suppose Spilk & Mitchell have an excuse. But you're back from the honeymoon!! Vacation's over! And well, King of the Road and the Mama had camp all last week, and well the Falcon's computer was in the shop...but all the rest of ya'll - no excuse!! So Sunday was nice except SupaK had a headache all afternoon. After church we just hung out around here and then watched Return of the King that night, thanks to Jay-Bird who gave it to SupaK for his birthday. You don't know what you're missing, Jay-Bird! Oh, at church they told us that our praise band has been part of an American Idol type competition for Christian bands. Our band totally rocks, and they are one of 9 finalists going to Nashville in September. That is pretty cool!! I had a nice long chat with Karon when she called that night. Phonecalls like that make the distance seem not so bad. Monday was cleaning day. I spent all day doing laundry and cleaning. SupaK kept the place spotless while I was gone, but somehow last weekend we managed to trash the whole place. I think Sadie helped too. After supper we went down to the gym. SupaK wimped out after only 10 minutes on the stairmaster. He's going to have to rebuild his stamina! Summer hours are over this week and he plans on running during his lunch breaks again starting next week. Today was interesting. I got up and was doing some research online for a marketing project and the power went out. We've been getting a ton of rain the past week and have been under flood warnings the past couple days. A nice storm rolled through and knocked the power out around 11 a.m. Needless to say, that thwarted my plans of finishing my research and then doing some vacuuming. Funny how powerless we are without electricity!! Actually, it was kind of nice. There was really nothing for me to do except for read. What a bummer! I finished up a book I had started last weekend. Around 2 p.m. the power came back on and I had just enough time to vacuum, mop, shower, and get supper ready before SupaK came home. Well, this rain needs to let up so I can go swimming again. These showers come through every day like clock work. Everytime I think about going for a swim I look outside and it's too late, the storm has hit. Ked and I were joking yesterday that we had better tans all winter long than we do this summer. Oh well, if I don't get out in June, July, and August because it's rainy and too hot, that's ok. I know that September through May will be perfect! |
3,545,726 | female | 16 | Student | Aquarius | 23,June,2004 | Our field trip could have been a little better. The way it could be improved is by having more time to go somewhere farther and more fun. What I got out of it was information and visual learning about fish and sharks. Although I am not coming next year, somewhere that you can go next year to learn about animals, besides the zoo, is the rodeo or to the H & H Ranch, maybe you can go to Moody Gardens. |
3,545,726 | female | 16 | Student | Aquarius | 18,June,2004 | If I were in a ship that was hauntred, I would have been really scared. I probably wouldn't even think about going inside a haunted ship. Maybe if I was with a couple of my friends, then I would be a little less frightened. |
3,545,726 | female | 16 | Student | Aquarius | 17,June,2004 | I think that these ghost stories are fact, they are true. I can't prove it, but I know. I don't know why I think that it's a fact. My mom saw a ghost once, this happened about 10 years ago. My aunt saw a ghost, well, I'm not sure if it was an actual ghost, but she said it was a monster. the monster was sitting on the bed next to her daughter. She said she was yelling at the 'monster' to leave her daughter alone, the next night, the 'monster' was gone. |
3,545,726 | female | 16 | Student | Aquarius | 15,June,2004 | A time when I have felt as though I was in a haunted place was when I was at Mexico. I was at my Aunt's house, and my cousins and I were telling old mexican stories and myths. We were in a circle outside at night, around a small campfire. One of the stories was about La Llorona and her children. Another was about the candyman. We didn't try saying 'candyman' three times, everyone was too scared to do it. I felt scared, i don't know why, maybe because of the candyman or maybe because it was dark at the time. |
3,545,726 | female | 16 | Student | Aquarius | 11,June,2004 | The relative that I get along with and am close to is my mother. She is the one person I can count on, 2nd on the list is my sister. My mom is there whenever I need her. Even though she works 9 to 10 hours a day, she still manages to pay attention to her children. These times are really hard for her, economically and emotionally. To me, she is the most important person in the world, especially in this time of my life. |
3,545,726 | female | 16 | Student | Aquarius | 09,June,2004 | One really famous tradition for females is a Quinceanera. A Quinceanera is a celebration when a female turns 15. It's basically the only cultural tradidition that I know and is Mexican. I, personally, didn't have a Quinceanera, but I had a party when I was 16. I didn't want a Quinceanera because my parents couldn't afford it. My sister doesn't want a Quinceanera, she wants a Sweet Sixteen. There are so many things involved in doing a Quinceanera. For me, there's too many things to do, and it's too hard to organize it. First of all, you need the Damas and the Chambelanes. |
3,545,726 | female | 16 | Student | Aquarius | 04,June,2004 | I am 16 years old and I currently attend Jefferson High School. I like to play basketball whenever I have time. I like going to Six Flags Astroworld. I did go to Six Flags Fiesta Texas during the Spring Break. I'm gonna go again in July. (I have a season pass.)Well, that's all. |
3,433,630 | male | 25 | Technology | Pisces | 23,May,2004 | It’s crazy how you never know! You never know whose watching who’s listening and who knows more than you think. There is no trust amongst family and friends any more. If there ever was? I wonder sometimes if that trust that I felt and that bond that I imagined was there ever was. Was I the blind one? I believe I was. I now see a world of liars, cheats, thieves and back stabbers. No down to earth trust. Is there even a need to be trusted? I know that I once had that need. I would go to the bitter end to prove my loyalty; and what happened I got fucked. Bent over and shafted. I chalked it up to bad decisions and tried again. Once again I'm bending over the railing. Chalked up, another bad decision. Down the road I am more cautious now, I watch closely the ones that I least expected…but I was still blind. I was blinded by my own weakness to want to trust and be trusted. It may be a natural human need, but it’s a weakness. You see my take on it is everyone is out for themselves. They will lie and play up to everyone and anyone including the ones they love. For some reason they have been trained to think like this and it’s unfortunate. They lack the ability to see the power that comes with numbers, trust and loyalty. It’s b/c of this trained way of seeing and thinking they will struggle maybe not in the physical means of life but in the mental means. But what about me? What about the person who wants to trust and wants to be trusted and loved? You want to know? I become cold. I become trained to no longer let you in. I develop methods to trick you into feeling like I’m close and you can trust me cause I am only out for myself. I learn to drown out that desire to trust and be trusted. I drown out the desire to love and be loved. I become all those people I despised for hurting me. I see now, that’s how it happens. Well fuck that! I’m better than that. I am not you! I am not the lying, cheating, stealing prick you are! I will be successful and I will not forget those that helped me get there. I will earn my trust as they will mine. I will have a team and together we will accomplish great things. I want to and will see those close to me (though there are few) happy. I will be able to trust again. I will be trusted. Although I will not be fucked b/c you never know who’s watching, who’s listening and who knows more than you! I will have a family and I will hold them dear to me and teach them all that I can about life. I will be there for them no matter what the circumstances! I will never turn my back on them and I will show them a love that no material possession can ever take the place of. They will be able to trust me……this will be my success! |
3,433,630 | male | 25 | Technology | Pisces | 23,May,2004 | I have no idea how this works but I am constantly hearing about it. So I figured what better way to understand it than to do it. I dont know what to really talk about and God knows that I got a ton of things I could go off on a tangent with. I think I'll just read some other blogs and get an idea of whats goin on... |
3,806,681 | male | 24 | Telecommunications | Sagittarius | 30,June,2004 | Thats what we all want to know right? Each day we wake up and visit the mirror, wondering what the day will bring and what we will be like. Yeah. Something like that. Well lets see, im 24, a good ol taxpayer of the USofA. Born and raised in Oregon. On the surface im a cool guy. Not many enemies but lots of friends. I'm laid back, easy goin, pay my bills, own my home, have a good job, never been married and have a phat ride. I enjoy sports, anything outdoors, snowboarding, music, goofing off, just anything that makes me forget about work and responsibility. Raised a Christian and I still adhere to it, its my faith. At least whats left of it. Under the surface is a different story I suppose. I'm still a cool guy. I still value things, friends and family, honor and respect. But things in my life have made it difficult to stand firm, to make myself solid. I have alot of hate, anger, and pain inside. Not at generalities, but at past experiences. The things ive seen happen to my family, my friends, and myself ... burns me inside. It's been 7 years since it all started. Since I began building that wall around my heart and bottling up all the hate. Watching from the sidelines as one thing after another hit me. Am I going to snap? Am I going to breakdown and end up on the front page? Doubt it. No matter whats inside I would still sacrifice my life for my friends or family without hesitation. That would be an honorable way to go instead of hitting the postal button and causing more chaos, right? I think. Its a strange thing. Jesus taught us to have love for our neighbors. How can I be a Christian when I have such intense hatred for certain people? Have I failed that command? Who knows. Thats what I see in the mirror each morning. Conflict. Conflicts of my beliefs and raised perceptions against my past and what i've become. Ohwell. Life is, life. It makes us who we are. Our surroundings, our parents, the generation we grow up into... all of it shapes us, molds us. No matter what we take in mentally or spiritually, there will always be a part that makes us unique individuals. The tricky thing is that part isnt unique from birth. It gets developed by society or experiences. Sure we may have some persona quirks from the ma n pa, but even those dont get tested until our impressionable teen years. The years we begin to question with WHY's, and HOW's ... Ohwell. Hehe, thats been my motto lately, 'ohwell'. Used to be 'What doesnt kill you, makes you stronger' ... yeah, in my case its made me more spiteful, hateful, the pain getting worse. Ohwell ... |
3,806,681 | male | 24 | Telecommunications | Sagittarius | 30,June,2004 | Sup! Just tryin out the new trend of bloggin. |
3,583,915 | male | 37 | BusinessServices | Sagittarius | 23,June,2004 | Spread over 156 acres, and about 1.5 million sq. ft. of built-up space, Technopark hosts over 55 IT and ITES companies employing over 5000 IT professionals, including five CMM Level 5, two CMM Level 3 and several ISO 9001 certified companies. Technopark offers a unique confluence of advantages, not found elsewhere in comparable destinations in India - robust and failsafe physical infrastructure, power and data connectivity; highly trained technical manpower; most flexible regulatory framework; highest incentives (up to 180,000 USD); and the best law and order environment in India. All this at effectively one-third the operational cost of other comparable locations in India. Satun Infolabs Digital Media Division is proud to announce the completion of a CD based Promotional Presentation for Technopark Trivandrum |
3,583,915 | male | 37 | BusinessServices | Sagittarius | 09,June,2004 | Saturn Infolabs goes global by placing a central point for customer support and market expansion in the Middle East at Dubai. Dubai embraces a wide variety of scenery in a very small area. In a single day, the tourist can experience everything from rugged mountains and awe-inspiring sand dunes to sandy beaches and lush green parks, from dusty villages to luxurious residential districts and from ancient houses with windtowers to ultra-modern shopping malls. The emirate is both a dynamic international business centre and a laid-back tourist escape; a city where the sophistication of the 21st century walks hand in hand with the simplicity of a bygone era. But these contrasts give Dubai its unique flavour and personality; a cosmopolitan society with an international lifestyle, yet with a culture deeply rooted in the Islamic traditions of Arabia. Since earliest times, Dubai has been a meeting place, bringing together the Bedouin of the desert interior with the pearl-diver, the merchant of the city with the sea-going fisherman. Having expanded along both banks of the Creek, Dubai’s central business district is divided into two parts — Deira on the northern side and Bur Dubai to the south — connected by a tunnel and two bridges. Each has its share of fine mosques and busy souks, of public buildings, shopping malls, hotels, office towers, banks, hospitals, schools, apartments and villas. Outside this core, the city extends to the neighbouring emirate of Sharjah to the north, while extending south and west in a long ribbon of development alongside the Gulf, through the districts of Satwa, Jumeirah and Umm Suqeim. » read more urlLink http://www.saturninfolabs.com |
3,583,915 | male | 37 | BusinessServices | Sagittarius | 09,June,2004 | urlLink Saturn Infolabs a leading "Systems Integrator and Total Solutions Provider" offering high-end consultancy in Information Technology and Web Solutions for Public as well as Private Sectors is scoring in on MLM projects. Their first venture with Kerala Kaumudi Promoters, and the second one with the Publisher itself has proven the tracks in solutions for MLM. The commendable part is that the scheme, business plan and the streamlining of the system was designed and provided by them. Also another noticeable part is their billing model. Always they prefer to join in on profit sharing. Means most of their clients will never need to invest a penny in the begenning. The first referred project at urlLink Infonet (not available as of today) and the second one at urlLink Our Kaumudi . |
3,583,915 | male | 37 | BusinessServices | Sagittarius | 06,July,2004 | By the request from a client, the CTO and NC at saturn visited a location for enhancing the existing network. The clients place being a star hotel, had a bare minimum installation before. Again believing on the existing cabling, new additions which were needed were planned in and team from saturn went to the site. Phew, first the existing switch was a blown one, then several of the structured cables, which go through the walls were open somewhere, and finally no 16 port switch was available in the local market. The work is in a pending state. |
4,251,420 | male | 16 | indUnk | Pisces | 16,August,2004 | This has been the most eventful year of my life. i think it is safe to say that. a lot has happened.i have stepped out of my comfort zone oh so many times and ignored the lump of fear in my chest. lets see wut i did this yr to make me more outgoing and risk taking...lets only include the uh note worthy stuff shall we? ~ i actually AUDITIONED for Concept after not making it in grade 9 and made it not only to Jazz 1 but to Jazz 2 and tap woot. ~ i went for ABCD student council for assemblies and made a complete fool of myself by saying TEACHED in my interview adn bursting out laughing after realizing that the word is TAUGHT.but wut is life without laughter? ~ i dropped dance which i have done since the age of like 4 to do somin so different and challenging: rowing!i learned so much about team work and hard work and omg i do not regret one thing about that ~ i went to my FIRST job interview all ALONE with my dad 40 min away and my mom 2 hrs away and i BIKED there i mean how much guts does that take? ~ i am about to start a new skool yr at a totally different skool in a city i dont no and with ppl i dont no. away from everything ordinary. its weird cuz i wished for this to happen way back near christmas.to have a different life.any one but my own.and i have that.and all i want is my old bed back with my mom there tucking me in and all my stuffed animals around me and my puppy. be careful wut u wish for. Let s see...what are the most important things i have learned this past yr? ~The right thing to do is most likely going to be the hardest thing you have to do.and you can never to it alone.you need guidance and strength and unconditional love from Jesus Christ and our Amazing God. ~ Never take your friends for granted.even if they are the greatest friends, at some point they have to let you wander astray so you will know you need them and all they do for you. ~ No matter how much you want to be different, striving for it and making dumb decisions based on it defeats the purpose and you turn into something you are not and following morals (or lack thereof) you do not live by. never be somethig you are not ~ have fun dont think too much ~be confident ~no matter how hard you try to save your friends from getting pushed in the water, the boys from rowing out number the girls and you will get pushed in whether or not u choose to kick bite and flail around. and just when u think ur safe and u tried ur best to save laura, dave WILL push you in and logan will point and laugh *ok so that was not generalized but it is a very important thing to remember* |
2,284,644 | male | 26 | Technology | Scorpio | 15,November,2003 | Its getting cold in Vermont. I am ready for the snow and ready to go snowboarding. Maybe I will upload some new art today. |
2,284,644 | male | 26 | Technology | Scorpio | 10,November,2003 | Its also my birthday. I am 26 today. Hoo-rah. How did i spend my birthday? I worked, went out to dinner, then got the runs. Blah. |
2,284,644 | male | 26 | Technology | Scorpio | 10,November,2003 | I am officially a blogger now. |
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