April 30, 2009

Ch-ch-changes

So, all of a sudden things got crazy busy. Mostly because I found myself "working" the past few days, thus giving me MUCH less time to do the usual tiny amount of things I do in a day...which, lets be honest, if pressed I can fit it ALL into about two hours....BUT, then on top of that I had to do some "rearranging" in the fancy pants apartment since, come a week from now there will be another person living in it!! Crazy! I know!

Yes, friends, I am getting a roommate of sorts. In Navigator terms she'll be moving in to be "discipled" by me, but more likely than not she'll find out I watch a lot of Friends on DVD and become sorely disappointed with her new living arrangments....however, on a good day, hopefully, we will be living life along side each other for a little while and I'm sure we'll teach each other a lot-when she's not off saving lives as an Army nurse ( turns out EVERYONE in the army have horrible work hours, not just Brett...hehehe!)

Anywho, she was suppose to move in at the END of May ( which gave me plenty of time to move all the boxes that are in the spare bedroom into the garage AFTER I got back from Texas) but things came up and she'll be moving in while I'm in Texas ( awesome! I won't even have to PRETEND to help the guys move boxes! ) and thus when I return I'll have another person living in the house with me...something I haven't had since December ( and that doesn't count because I was just visiting my parents then...)

Definitely a lot to adjust to, and also a lot to do before she arrives....things like buy a totally great color-coded calendar so that we can keep up with each others schedules ( these are the things that I find HIGHLY important...possibly more important than whether there is toilet paper in that spare bathroom...hmmmm)....

Yes, there are have been a lot of changes going on in the past few days, and I think May is going to look decidedly different from April. I also made the extremely hard decision to leave my church in the view of returning to the chapel service on Fort Lewis. This was a very hard call, since I loved my church here, and enjoyed the teachings a lot. However, after several months of praying about it, it seemed that for the good of the girls in my bible study, and the hopes of maybe reaching more of the women of fort lewis and creating a better since of fellowship and camaraderie with the rest of the Nav ministry and the girls the ministry already...it was time to stop being selfish and do the harder thing.

Of course, right when all sorts of things are going on here in Washington, what BETTER time to just check out and head off to Texas where swine flu is apparently knocking everyone out?! Yes, I was always one for good timing....

April 28, 2009

Rich people eat string cheese...

I love string cheese. I just ate two sticks of it just now when I got home from bible study. Because one wasn't enough.

When I was little we never got string cheese, or if we did it was always for something REALLY special like field day or a field trip for school where you got a special lunch. Anyway, for a long time I thought it was because string cheese was really bad for you, but now that I'm older I'd have to say its one of the best snacks around-so maybe it was because it was the priciest form of cheese ( they charge you a lot for that packaging!)?! Anyway, who knows...I suppose we could ask my parents why string cheese was taboo...but whatever the case, they've made a fan out of both me and my sister...so that says something....


Today, I "worked"...but basically I only worked a total of 24 minutes because every fifteen minutes I would check the next "patient" in to do their health screening and that took all of 60 seconds...thus I worked a total of four minutes and hour. Yeah. Awesome.

But, I was bored. Hopefully, tomorrow will be busier, or at least I'll be getting lots of bible study work done while on the clock! Sweet! It'll be like I'm actually getting paid to do ministry stuff!!

The highlight of my day was totally holding baby David. Babies pretty much are the cutest things ever. And seeing him all tiny and in his little pea pod ( swaddled) while he was sleeping took all my self control in the world not to just pick him up and cuddle him.

Getting up at 5:50am this morning makes me not nearly has happy about waking up to talk to Brett! I'm SLEEPY!

April 27, 2009

work without the quotes

So tomorrow I'll be back in the land of the "employed" or at least I will be for a few days here in there....
I'm not exactly sure what I'll be doing-but basically a glorified "check people off the list" girl. Buuuut, it pays rather nicely and takes up time, so I'm pretty excited about the gig. ( I was referred by a friend of a friend...so once again my beautiful resume does nothing for me.) Its not a particularly "steady" job, but hopefully if things work out it'll be a couple of days a month! Hey! I might even pay off my iPhone after all! YAY! No more starbucks fast....*sigh*

Today was pretty good, only a few lonely, boring hours...before things picked up and I ended up with a long phone chat with a dear friend and impromptu dinner plans with some of the ministry people to say goodbye to a soldier in arms. Luckily I was able to fit in a short workout before dinner so I didn't feel bad AT ALL for eating all that pizza....

April 24, 2009

Wake up Call

*Brief Editors Note: You may have noticed my picture posts the last few blog posts.....yes, Baby David does not fit under the usual category of "Abigail's Day"...but my friend Amy has been stuck in the hospital and thus not able to post all the pictures that her family and friends have been clamoring for. So she took over my blog for a few days...But, I'm sure you all enjoyed the pictures anyway...he's a cutie!****


So, I'd forgotten about the Washington Spring/Summer...when not only do you have joys of sun in the late evening ( if you're lucky that the sun is shining)...but you are also have the "joys" of early morning sun. Thus I've been waking up super early lately.
This is not cool.

I stay up late so that I can talk to Brett, and now I'm getting up early too?!

Luckily I'm still getting 8 or 9 hours of sleep a night.

HAHAHAHAHA!!!

You thought it was going to be something bad didn't you?!

In other news its finally Friday. This week has gone by surprisingly fast considering, but at the same time you may have noticed that I haven't had the easiest week in the whole world. I often wonder when I'll be finished having "growing pains" of life and can just coast for a while....*sigh* But then again, coasting has never been my cup of tea so I suppose I've asked for it. But STILL.

I could use a vacation.


Luckily, I'll be getting one super soon! I'm SO EXCITED but I've planned a "vacation" of sorts in just a few weeks...Texas here I come! Although, now when I look at my calendar and see how much I must cram into the 10 or so days I'll be in my home town...I'm starting to think I should have scheduled it for longer! Ah well! It'll just be nice to have different scenery for a while.

But, next week looks to be busy because..... *drumroooollllll*...... I have a JOB!!! For two whole days I'll be working for a community health company, helping them with registration and such while people come in to get your basic blood pressure/insulin check/weight check up. I think it'll be fun and a little extra cash to make me feel "busy and accomplished".
I guess when you whine enough you eventually get what you want! But, I'll be working with a girl that I know from around town so I'm sure it'll be pretty fun! And I guess if I do a good job I might get more day jobs in the future! Woo hoo! Pocket moneys for Abigail ;-) You think I'll justify coffee then?!

No. I'm still keeping my Starbucks fast, just in case you're wondering...but Brett and I had a super serious conversation a few nights ago when he told me that he felt like it was important for me to take a "break" from my fast while I'm in Texas so that I can indulge in Java Jacks coffee. I mean, giving up The Evil Corporation is all well and good, but giving up the Home Town Goodness that is Java Jacks?! Never! ( he's such a sweet husband!)

April 23, 2009

For Amy's fans...

Other thoughts for the day...

So other than hold an ADORABLE BABY today...here are the other thoughts running around in my mind.....

.....Baseball should not be played in freezing cold weather. I took one of my friend's first grader to his baseball game tonight, since her other son had a game at the same time at a totally different ballpark...and BOY HOWDY was it the longest two hours ever! It was SO COLD. But, her oldest daughter and I hung out under a ( seemingly paper thin) blanket and made fun of the super hardcore coach of the other team, so it was not a lost cause...but let's just say, that if I have kids who play baseball we had better commit to living in warmer states when we do....

....I had to workout late this evening ( because of all the baseballing) and on my walk home I was startled by a large raccoon standing in the middle of the driveway. We saw each other at the same time and had a moment of horror before we both hightailed it in opposite directions. You wouldn't THINK I'd be afraid of raccoons...but until you've listened to the "This American LIfe: And the Call was coming from the Basement" Halloween segment ( go look it up!) that describes the HORROR tale of a women's escape from a rabid raccoon...well....it'll change your mind about nature FOREVER....

....Tomorrow I'm cleaning house....now that its no longer sunny outside and I don't spend hours reading on my balcony ( I've figured out how to move my chair a foot every half hour to stay in direct sunlight for up to four hours in the afternoon)....I have no more excuses....that kitchen floor MUST be cleaned!


....Life has been a bit over my head lately. And I appreciate those who've sent me loving and supportive comments. But, I think the thing to remember in times like these, times when you're faced with your own failings and inabilities, that instead of leaning on all those wonderful friends that tell you how great you are ( thanks you guys, seriously!) but instead look to Him...for THIS is TRUE:

"...but God has chosen the foolish things of the wolrd to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong. And the base things and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that NO MAN may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption so that as it is written "Let Him who boasts, boast in the Lord." 1 Cor 1:27-31

April 22, 2009

Abigail loves David, it's biblical!

Baby David!!!

good and bad

What would you like to hear first the good news first or the bad?

The bad?

Ok, I totally had the WORST day...I was a jerk and cried twice over totally different things. Pretty much was faced with ALL my faults in one day... Now my eyes are puffy.

The good news is that I just found two bars of free wireless in my bedroom. So now you get to hear about it sooner. awesome

April 21, 2009

mustering of the mind

So, today I met up with Andrew and Cindy-something I haven't done in a month...and we discussed the past four weeks and the conclusion was actually a relief: its been rough. And that's not even on a PERSONAL level...thats just ministry-wise! Yet somehow just acknowledging that things were tough was really great. It reminded me that the Lord KNOWS all this! He knows how I've been discouraged and a little hopeless and that on top of all that its been the hardest month to date as far as this silly deployment goes. I heard someone talking about running a marathon recently and how the middle part always brought about a horrible hump that had to be gotten over to continue and I think that's what I'm feeling...I feel misunderstood and yet at the same time I feel zero inclination to try and explain what's really going on with me. I'm basically in the 'keep your head down and try to get through it' mindset...Its much easier to say things are fine then to have to find words and energy to explain this feeling...and yet, is that really the best response to a few tough times?


This morning I read this in my quiet time:

"Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. Therefore you too have grief now, but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice and no one will take your joy away from you." John 16: 21-22

I was really stuck by this, because of what that promises in the greater sense...the disciples were about to give the rest of their lives to all sorts of hardships for christ's sake. They would eventually even give their lives for Him...yet, the promise is that it would ALL be worth it! That seeing Christ will be WORTH IT!

( This section also has special significants today since my friend Amy is currently at the hospital getting ready to give birth! hahaha! for her sake i hope these verses are true!)

Anyway, I'm going to rest in the Truth that all of this will be worth it in the end, and I will pray for myself that i do not give up hope, and that I do not give up on this life...no matter how tough it might get....this ministry that i feel called to do, my marriage...these things may not be easy, but they are ever worth it.

April 20, 2009

A return to outdoors

The past few days, where actually occupied doing actual things like attending the Spring Fair and almost dying on a rollercoaster put together by Carnies on crack, or attending a wedding where I was seated at the grooms family table, this making me the only non-Indian there....so when not doing highly interesting things that probably SHOULD be blogged about in full- instead I've been on a constant search for sun ( it's been out!)... Thus you'll all just have to wait for a rainy day for a real post....

April 16, 2009

Not today...but close

So, this picture is from two weeks ago ( approx the last time it was
this pretty) and I would share the picture I took to document today,
but sadly, it was blurry... But I think you get the point that the
people of western Washington saw the round bright thing in the sky.

I'm actually really enjoying the weather lately. I mean, it's not nice
EVERY day... Or even ALL day... But it's having those moments of happy
to look forward to, those moments when you consider exposing your bare
arms to the elements- they make this month of April good.

In fact yesterday it was so pretty and my pandora radio was busting
out all the good songs, that I flat out ignored my bodies cries for
mercy and added an extra mile to my run. Let's just say I couldn't
ignore the cries QUITE so easily today. Eeeeee! Sore!

In less happy news, I'm currently facing scheduled silence from the
husband. Sometimes I'm not as "patriotic" and "strong" as others...
This week... Still hard.

April 15, 2009

Ugly

My new cell phone case has been officially proclaimed as "ugly" by the
masses

Pouty Face

I know I have no real right to complain...but I'm feeling this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach and it won't go away...
Sometimes this deployment gets to me, I feel so out of control, so helpless...

I got an email from Brett after PWOC bible study this morning...basically he'd been trying to call me all morning but couldn't get through...WHY? Because my silly bible study classroom is in the BASEMENT of the chapel!!!
And I say "silly" because honestly at that moment I had NO LOVE for Bible Study or fellowship or anything....especially since Brett's email also said that he might be able to call me for a few seconds this evening but if not I wouldn't get to talk to him for at least a week..

a week.


I'm spoiled. I use to more talking time than that.


Also. Yeah. The "awesome" financial officers STOLE from us this month ( ok, not really)...but basically we've been putting most of Brett's paychecks into this high interest account that the army offers to deployed soldiers up to a certain amount for the year they are deployed. Well, we decided to just put in as much as possible for two months until we reached that "certain" amount...but this month things were suppose to go back to normal, but NoOOooOOo....the silly financial people are continuing to take money and put it into the account...even though at this point that money will just sit there not accruing any interest at all ( because, like I said, its only up to a certain amount) ...this wouldn't be too worrisome if it was easy to move the money BACK into another account but NO....things are never easy. And now I don't know how to take care of it because Brett is going to be gone and I don't have any way of fixing this myself. I'm beyond annoyed.

*End Rant*

I could use a coffee right now.

April 14, 2009

Jesus you are, Jesus you were, Jesus you will always be...
A perfect servant to us, a perfect servant to death, even death on a cross
give us a picture of your faith, show us the measure of your grace, reveal the love of the Father
put with in us tenderness, release from us our selfishness, we will consider them better
we are Yours
give us hearts of servants....


No matter how far I think I've come, no matter how much I think I've grown I am ever in need of more Love and more Selflessness...I'm ENDLESSLY selfish.

" But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, et us also walk by the Spirit" Gal 5:22-24

My Shrinky Dink Success...



There is nothing as fun as watching something shrink down to a teeny tiny size...I promise no matter how many times you do it, it is exciting!




The girls working hard on their shrinky dinks!



My teeny tiny house earrings...I should have given you a perspective, but they are about the size of stamps...




My "victorian brooch" of Brett...can you tell?! hehehe! Mirka was kind enough to put it together into a cute necklace for me!

April 13, 2009

My Apps.

Since, I'm bored and waiting for a reply from a certain annoying online source, I'll now regale you with a list of the applications that I'm currently using on my phone ( I know you're all dying to know).

The Daily Ones:

Pandora Radio ( Free): This baby is AWESOME! Especially if you connect your phone into your carjack-thingy ( look at me using technical terms!) and listen to your phone through your car speakers...its like having satellite radio without paying for it.

Dictionary (xyster.com-$2.99): Its a huge dictionary that also gives you the capabilities of listening to how the word is pronounced plus the origins ( things I care about) as well as the definition.

Acro Bible NASB ( $14.99): I like this bible and more importantly I don't have to be online to use it...there are other free applications with more versions of the bible in one place, but I find this one handy for quick lookups when I'm doing Bible study ( cuts back on all the flipping back and forth) and I enjoy the easy to see reading...

TwitterFon ( Free): I can easily update my Twitter/Facebook status plus keep track of all the people I follow on twitter. Love it.

reMovem free ( Free): This is one of those "pop the little bubbles" games that is completely mindless but that is also hard to win, I play this game when I'm watching movies all the time...for whatever reason I sometimes HAVE to be multitasking and this is the game for that...uses zero brain power.


The Once a Weekers:

Wordle (Free): This game is SO addictive and is great for people who like word games ( this is basically a boggle type word scramble game).

Whiteboard ( free): a paint feature which is fun, but even MORE fun if you have wi-fi and someone else with a iphone in the room...you can write on each others phones! Play tic-tac-toe or hangman without anyone knowing!

myLite (free): the phone flashlight...but the best part is the flickering cigarette lighter application that you can turn on and hold up at concerts. hahaha! geeky!


The Once every blue moon:

Scramble ( Free): Another word game that is fun to play...

BClassicLite ( free): I should probably go ahead and buy the full version of this game, I use to play it all the time until I pretty much mastered it and now I'm in need of more levels to play it more. ;-)

Hangman ( Free): There are lots of Hangmans out there...but this one is especially great because it has a version where you can play with two people, one person gets to make up the word the other gets to play...Brett and I played it all the time when waiting for tables at restaurants and waiting in lines and doctors offices. Brett always won.

Snoozle ( free): Another pop the bubbles game that I've found hard to play because it can often not be super accurate with your touch-aim, therefore making it frustrating.


The Waste of Space Ones

Facebook ( free): It is constantly crashing and I would just rather bookmark facebook on my safari and get to it that way...


~~~

I have a lot more applications that I don't use super often but I'm sure others might find use for them..
.the Light Saber ( always good when I'm baby sitting to amuse little boys...and big boys),
the Recipe.com application, I find that I usually do my recipe research before I head to the grocery store, but for emergencies this one is handy to have....
Restaurant Nutrition (free): good for the counting calorie girl, so obviously NOT for me....
There are a lot of Lonely Planet applications for traveling...which are great...IF you're traveling...sadly that's not me these days ;-)

Tradition.

So, this Easter I was struck by how transitory Brett and my living arrangements are, at least for the near future of Army living ....and that one thing that really suffers as we live this army lifestyle are Holiday traditions. Depending on the year we could be any number of places for all those important holidays ( namely Christmas and Easter...) and I find it really important to have some sort of tradition to keep my mind focused where its suppose to be ( heavenward, but also something that will bring the Joy and Delight that I remember as a child...enter:

Hot Cross Buns. These little bits of baked goodness were something that I was not introduced to until I moved to New Zealand, since they are a primarily European tradition ( correct me if I'm wrong), they've fadded away as a Good Friday food from most American families...however, they still have their place in New Zealand I remember fondly being a part of making them one Good Friday in the Royal Tce. flat as we lounged around as poor university students trying to get by on Easter without our families....and when I came across a recipe for a dried cherry ( as opposed to the annoying raisin version. ew.) version in my recent Martha Stewart Living ( which I scored a free subscription to a few months back from one of the Mommy Blogs I read...sweet.) I decided to give it a go...and...they were a success...now I have all sorts of romantic notions about making them every year and one day telling my children the significance of the cross of icing on the top....*sigh* I'm SO sure it'll be JUST like that in real life ;-)





Dried Cherrie Hot Cross Buns
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 ounce (4 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for bowl and baking sheet
Salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
51/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
4 ounces (3/4 cup) dried cherries, coarsely chopped
4 ounces (3/4 cup) golden raisins, coarsely chopped
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon water
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions

-Heat 1 cup milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until it registers 110 degrees on a candy thermometer.

OR do what I did, not have milk and so run down to starbucks...order a 8oz whole milk and ask for it to be around 120 degrees so that it'll be the right temp when you get home...hahaha!

-Pour milk into a mixer bowl, and fit mixer with a dough hook. With mixer on low speed, add granulated sugar, yeast, butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, the nutmeg, cinnamon, and eggs. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, and knead until mixture comes together in a soft, sticky dough. Continue kneading, scraping down hook as needed, until dough is smooth, about 4 minutes.

-Add cherries and raisins, and knead to incorporate. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead to distribute dried fruit. Coat a large bowl with butter. Shape dough into a ball, and place in prepared bowl. Cover with a piece of plastic, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

-Generously butter a rimmed baking sheet. Turn dough onto a surface, knead briefly, then divide into 3 pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, divide each third into 10 pieces, and shape each into a tight ball. (Keep dough covered with plastic.) Place on prepared sheet, spacing 1/2 inch apart. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover with plastic, and let rise in a warm spot until buns have doubled in size and are touching, about 1 hour.

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together egg white and water in a small bowl. Brush tops of buns with egg-white wash. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until golden brown, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool on sheet on wire rack for 30 minutes.
Whisk together remaining 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons milk, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Spoon icing into a pastry bag fitted with a plain 1/4-inch round tip, and pipe icing on buns in the shape of a cross. (Alternatively, spoon glaze on buns.) Serve immediately.


*These buns are best eaten the day they are made; if you make them the day before, don't pipe the icing across on the tops. Instead, warm the buns the next day in a 300-degree oven, or if you're lazy like me stick them in the microwave for 15 seconds and then pip them with your icing...

English Breakfast Tea

*sigh* I have a certain friend who loves black tea, and she drinks it with steamed milk and an equal. I know this because I'm a good friend...but today, since I gave up espresso drinks, I figured I'd follow suit and buy myself a cheap ( $1.50) cup of tea to justify my using the internet at this particular location...and let me just go ahead and say it is NOT THE SAME.
I'm missing my double tall soy latte like crazy right now....

Anyway, kids, lots has happened in the past few days...there was the Shrinky Dink party on Saturday night-which was a roaring success ( I PROMISE I'll post pictures soon!). So much so that the boys threw their own Shrinky Dink party near by and crashed our party with a very large Easter Bunny Costume in tow....not quite what I expected, but I always suspected that hardened army soldiers secretly wanted to do craft nights and now my suspicions are true.

On Sunday I celebrated Easter in low key fashion with church and then Pad Thai with Amy and Luke followed by a rainy afternoon of reading and napping and then off to Bible Study where we finished off 2 Peter and I tased to of the guys with my pink taser. ( tased is a word, Amy B. I promise! hehehe!). They begged and pleaded and finally we went outside and two of the guys were tasered ( also a word). Boys. They are weird. Who begs and pleads to be subjected to pain?

I do think it bought me some semblance of popularity or at LEAST notoriety for a few days at least so thats something I guess...

And for those of you who are wondering, yes, I now have two guns AND a pink taser. I refuse to touch the guns ( they are most definitely Brett's and NOT mine!) but Brett is so set upon my "safety" that I backed down and let him buy me the pink taser ( pink, because its for girls...) and now I'm ultra protected. Although, I did learn, after my tasing ( also a word) experience on Sunday, that you really have to HOLD the taser on the person if you want to do significant damage to them...not really something I quite imagined I'd do to an assailant ...but SURE, WHY NOT!?! I suppose it could happen.

In other news, I've recently added a "Twitter" Application to my blog-now you can keep track of me minute by minute ( or hour by hour as the case may be) by following me on Twitter ( which is now updating on my facebook status and here on my blog simultaneously)...so now I'm SUPER STREAMLINE and you can know all the details of my life UP TO DATE and BY THE MINUTE so that you too can stalk me. But, be careful, if you get too close I'll totally taser you.

April 10, 2009

The Good

So I was awaked today by my dear friend Carmi, who-through the years- no matter what has been going on in our various lives, we have been brought together through lovely prayers over the phone, computer and every so often in person! They always seem to come at just the right moment and today was no exception...

I was thinking though, how strikingly different our lives look at the moment- Her's is busy, ever moving, ever changing...mine is quiet and slow and often very much monotonous, where most of my "work" is done internally...yet, how lovely to feel so strongly that we are both exactly where we are suppose to be! Friends, there is no life that cannot be useful for His good work! No matter how little or insignificant or how shiny and overwhelming your current days are; there is a battle to be faught and won in the livingrooms of America, the streets of Europe, the marketplaces of Asia...will you take it up? Ignoring the excuses and discouragments of the day?


he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men;
A man of sorrows, and aquainted with grief,
And as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised and we esteemed him not.

Surely he was borne of griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
He as wounded for our transgresions;
He was crushed for our iniquities;
Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
And with his strips we are healed.

We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us to our own way, but the Lord lay on him the iniquity of us all.
Is. 53:2-6


A Good Friday to us all! For by His strips we are healed!!! May our lives be worthy of such sacrifice.

April 08, 2009

slooooooow

Honestly peoples. This month is a slow one. I'm desparate to fill up my time, so much so that I quite literally am putting off cleaning my house until tomorrow, not because I don't want to do it, but because I've already done "something" today...and I've got Nothing to do tomorrow and so cleaning house will be my "accomplishment"

I realize that I'm annoying the most of you who find your lives TOO busy...and I also know that one day I will look back on this particular season of life and smile and wish I could go back and experience such "problems" again...but for now I'll just try hard to enjoy it and make it as productive as possible. I've been praying hard that I wouldn't let it just slip away...

Currently reading this month's Vanity Fair...although I was annoyed it had a half nakky model on the front. ugg! What's WRONG with the world!?!

I'm also just started the book "The Man Who Made Lists: Love, Death, Madness and the Creation of Roget's Thesaurus" by Joshua Kendall. , the word geek in me is pretty much in heaven...hehehe! So fascinating and I've already come across several great quotes and I'm not even into chapter two!

April 06, 2009

armor

So, I had to get a new phone today...and I gotta say that as sad as that moment was when I handed them money for something that I had literally one day ago....I am also optimistic. Why? Because, I'm also ordering this not-so-attractive case for my phone....but you guys should go check out the promotional video that gave me my optimism:

This video here.


Ok, so yes...if you didn't click on the link, let me just go ahead and tell you that they DRIVE an SUV over the top of the ipod in this case that I just got for my phone...and yes, the ipod is unscathed.

This is the case for Abigail.

This is why Abigail will not need to buy anymore phones.


And yes...I was serious. I have given up coffee as punishment.

April 05, 2009

Punishment.

Today was beautiful, I went to church which was great and I went to a fascinating lecture on Art Print work and bookmaking and I talked to my parents on the phone...and that's when things went down hill.

So, I'm talking on my phone using my headset so that I'm being all "legal" and "handsfree" while driving and so once I got home I was still talking and I turned to get out of my car and just FORGOT about my phone in my lap and it just slid out of the car onto the pavement and just breaking the "protective" case on it and then cracking the front of my phone pretty badly....
its still usable if held very very delicately, but sadly it will have to be replaced.

That would mean that I only had it five months before BREAKING IT.....

MEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHH! How old AM I!?! Honestly! I'm such a dropper! And I've felt sick to my stomach ever since. I've decided, however, that I must punish myself. I mean, I'm so sick of this kind of thing happening to me-and surely there is a way to LEARN how to hold onto things and NOT drop them.

Punishment seems like a good idea.

So what's something that I looooove and that will end up equaling the $200 that I've basically crashed on the ground!?!


That's right. Friends. I'm giving up Starbucks. I'm not sure for how long...but I guess as long as I think will equal $200 saved. So probably not very long ;-)
Just Kidding.

But seriously. I'm so angry at myself. And sick. Sick and Angry. I wish I was more of a grown up sometimes....

April 04, 2009

Waiting on the Weather

According to weather.com it's suppose to be in the 60s on Monday and Tuesday AND they promise me that it might just get to SEVENTY.

Friends, this is important.


I can't tell you how much I crave warmer weather. Being a Texas girl (its in my blood baby!), I feel that as soon as late march hits one should and can expect warm to hot temperatures. I should be able to wear sandals and not have my toes fall off from frost bite, I should be able to go out doors without grabbing a sweater, or dare I say, a JACKET, and I should absolutely get to wear cute sun dresses on Easter and not look weirdly out of place. *sigh*
Sadly, not everywhere is Texas and so I pray that the weather reports are right this ONE TIME.

But, it is at least sunny today and that gets bonus points. Maybe one day I'll live in some really awesome place that has beautiful weather all the time and then my blog will not be reduced to weather reporting....we can only hope.

In other news, several of my readers have reported that they went out and rented Bolt on my recommendation and apparently I was not exaggerating. The rest of you should get on board. This movie, its funny. ;-)

April 02, 2009

Why kids movies are better

Last night I sat in my bed and laughed OUT LOUD ( I have found that I'm a much quieter person when living alone, I tend to express things internally to myself even if I am feeling a strong emotion- I mean, hey, there's no one to share it with...so why voice it?!) But this movie was worth the out burst!

I picked up the new disney movie Bolt from Redbox on my way home from getting groceries yesterday and it was GREAT!

The hamster. The pigeons. I'm serious people you should go rent this movie if you haven't already seen it.

A peek at the peak

So in the next week I will be "celebrating" the sixth month of Brett's deployment. I imagine that we've been clamoring up a giant mountain for the past six months and FINALLY we've reached the peak...and now, now we'll get to go back DOWN...that's exciting because it would be awesome if life would imitate my analogy and therefore the LAST six months would go faster than the first...wouldn't that be nice?!?!

That reminds me of the inside joke of my tuesday night bible study:

The girls and I have been trudging through a study on Romans. I say "trudge" because its a lot harder than the study they did previously and I think they are all feeling the affects of that. However, last week we had a question in our guide that asked us to look at the 'word picture' that Paul had painted about a particular thought...and for the life of us we could NOT figure out what they wanted as an answer!! I mean, I like to think I'm pretty good at finding things in texts...that's pretty much all I did as an english major was make up something out of nothing and then using a particular text to prove my point...but last week we were all stumped. But it started the inside joke of making up word pictures for everything....and it's "accidently" turned into something really cool. One of the things I feel strongly about is trying to teach the idea of making scripture accessible and for all the girls to feel as though they understand it well enough to go out and share it with others...its been fun coming up with our "word pictures" ( although sometimes they get a little silly) and I think its a cool way for all of us understand the heaviness of the meanings that are written in Romans.


Lately I've been reading a particular verse over and over again...I can't stop thinking about it.

Do not call to mind the former things or ponder things past.
Behold I will do something new, Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. Is. 43:18-19


I get a little chill every time I read it...

I very much want to be aware of the new things that the Lord has coming my way....our way....

April 01, 2009

Just kidding about spring!

I woke up this morning to it snowing.... Apparently the weathers idea of an April fool's joke is to shove Spring in a closet behind all the winter coats and force me to sit in front of my fireplace dreaming of sun and beaches.
*sigh*

Well, I'm off to walmart to pick up a few things including maybe a milk frother... It's time to bring the coffee home. ;-)