Happy Birthday, Michael!

I know everyone else has already said it, but I can't believe he is one!  Time goes by too quickly.  Especially since the last time I saw him he was only 6 months old!  At that time, he wasn't even crawling yet, and now he is walking.  I want to hug him and squeeze him and kiss those cheeks like his mommy is doing!

Comedy of Errors

From beginning to end, this day has been a comedy of errors.  Surprisingly, even taken together, the following events just kind of made me laugh.  Even though it could have easily put me into a really bad mood.  My wet jeans on the other hand...

My comedy of errors actually started last night.  Emily needed an ice pack for her lunch today and have two, so I told her to use one of mine.  No big deal, I only need one.  So this morning, I got the second ice pack out and noted it had an odd shape to it.  When I looked closer, I realized there was a small slit in it, which means when it thawed, the gel would get all over my cooler.  So, I put the ice pack in my bag.  Crisis averted.  Then I grabbed a frozen pizza for lunch today, went to put it in my bag, and realized that I bought a MUSHROOM pizza.  I HATE mushrooms.  I sucked it up and decided I would have to eat it sooner or later, so I took it with me.  Another crisis averted. 

I was several blocks from home when I realized that I wasn't wearing my watch.  I use it all the time during work to check times during sessions.  I really don't like using my cell phone because I think it looks much more rude.  So I debated whether to go home.  I only had two clients.  I made the decision based on the fact I was going into a school today and really didn't want to use my cell phone during that session.  So I went back home for my watch.

When I got to work, I was working on the computer and looked at my watch, which seemed a little slow.  I went to get my cell phone to check the time compared to my watch and realized I had left my cell phone at home on my bed.  Sigh.  But a good thing that I had gone back home for my watch. 

I went to my school meeting (a first with a new client) and the secretary said she should be at lunch.  Which surprised me because I got there early.  Turns out the teacher told me they eat lunch at 12 and have recess at 12:30.  But they actually have lunch at 11:30 and recess at 12:00.  So, I didn't get as much time as I had anticipated.

Back to work to eat my pizza dough, since I picked off all the mushrooms.  I justified a Dr. Pepper, even though I've been trying to cut back.

I came home for a half hour after work and then left to have dinner at friends' house.  I was half way there when I realized I did not bring my purse.  I didn't need any money, and the house was only five minutes away, so I decided to risk not getting pulled over.

Like I said, comedy of errors from beginning of day to the end.  But it was a pretty good day regardless of all of that.

PS.  This is how I solved the problem of the wet pants:

Stylish, I know.  I asked my client if she was embarrassed to be seen with me.  She said "no."  I said, "Really?  Because I'm a little embarrassed to be seen with me.  But my pants will be dry when I leave!"

PPS.  These are the velcro shoes I mentioned in my Facebook status yesterday.

Update: As I was getting ready for bed, I almost put toner into my contact case instead of contact solution.  They are next to each other in the cabinet.  I had it out of the cabinet, in my hand, with my finger on the top to pop it open when I realized what I was doing. Oy!  That would have been very bad in the morning when I went to put my contacts back in.

Headache free!

Sometime in the fall I started getting headaches more frequently, including migraines, which I had never gotten.  My headaches were of a different variety than they had been in the past, so I started tracking them on a scale (pressure headache, regular headache, migraine), time of day I got them, and time of day they went away if they went away before bed.  Yesterday I realized I had been headache free for one week!  As I was looking back through my calendar, I also realized that the last time I had gone that long without a headache was the middle of December.  I am rejoicing in the lack of headaches, but must admit that I am also going through my days with a waiting-for-the-other-shoe-to-drop feeling.  Sometimes I wake up and think, "I bet I'll get a headache today."  Hopefully these thoughts will go away and the headaches will continue to be infrequent!

15 years of spiritual blessings

Today was my 15 year spiritual birthday.  It is amazing to think that I have been a believer for that long.  Five years ago, I had "birthday party" for my 10 year spiritual birthday.  You can read about that here.  So, because multiples of five are fun to celebrate, I decided to invite some friends over to celebrate my 15 year birthday as well.  Monday nights aren't always a good night for a get together, so many people couldn't come.  I invited ladies to my home who have been a spiritual influence in my life.  Because this day is not really about me, I asked everyone to bring a Scripture that is speaking to them now or has spoken to them in the past.  I also asked the ladies who could not come to send me those Scriptures so I could share them with the group.  It was such an enjoyable evening of learning how the Lord is working in other peoples' lives.  I praise God for spiritual friends who spur me on to walk closer with the Lord.  I can't wait to see where the Lord takes me in the next 15 years.

Taste Buds and chocolate milk

Really, I don't have much to say, but I wanted to get the picture off my disgusting refrigerator as the first thing I see when I pull up my blog, so I'm posting a non-story. :)

For the last ummm...a lot of years, I have drunk? drank? drinked? chocolate milk for breakfast.  Okay, I know how many years.  Well, I haven't done the math.  But it all started in 7th grade.  And it has continued.  You'd think I would be ashamed to admit it, but I'm not.  You'd think I would feel guilty when people lecture me, but I don't. :)

Not really the point, anyway.  Tonight, I didn't know what I wanted for dinner and chocolate milk just seemed easier than anything else.  I was thirsty and not too hungry, but I knew I needed something to eat before I went to small group.  So, now to the point...if anyone is still with me...chocolate milk has always tasted different at night than in the morning.  Do you think our taste buds change throughout the day? I drank it out of the same glass I usually drink it out of in the morning.  But it simply tastes different.  Anyone else have a similar experience with other foods?  Or am I just weird?

PS. For my question marks above, I googled.  I have drunk chocolate milk for the last umpteen years.  I drank chocolate milk for breakfast this morning.  Not drinked, which I obviously knew!

Unexpected *treasures*

Today I decided to have a Dr. Pepper for lunch.  When I went into the fridge to grab the next can in the 12 pack, it came out kind of sticky. "Hmmm...that's weird," I thought.  Being a naturally curious person, I looked at the shelf and saw something equally as sticky.  I quickly figured that a can must have leaked and closed the fridge to enjoy my lunch :).  After lunch, I pulled the next can out to find it empty but not opened.  Oh. No.  The bottom of the cardboard was soaked and the shelf was pretty dirty.  When I pulled out the drawer, I found where all the Dr. Pepper had gone:

DISGUSTING!  So, I had the unexpected punishment joy of cleaning out the refrigerator.  I'll be honest, I almost stopped after cleaning this mess, but then decided the satisfaction of a job well done would be worth it.  The irony of it all...last weekend, Emily suggested we do a refrigerator clean out and I told her we had to take all the Christmas stuff down.  I only wanted to commit to one of those projects.  So, of course, when I discovered this mess, Emily is out of town for the weekend and I had the joy of doing it all.by.myself.  She'll be pleasantly surprised to be able to cross that chore off her to do list!  Here is the finished project:

A slightly less cluttered and extremely shiny refrigerator!  Because of this joyous project, I have only gotten this much further on the puzzle today:

But I'm making pretty good progress!

Friday Night

Considering yesterday was the third day in a row that I thought it was Thursday, I'd say it was a long week. Not a bad week. Just long. I expected it since it was my first 5 day week in a month, but I was glad to bid goodbye to this work week. Emily is out of town for the weekend, so I had a quiet evening at home (that makes it sound like she makes the apartment noisy, which she doesn't).  All day long I had dreams of starting a puzzle and drinking hot chocolate.  A movie for background noise is usually on the agenda as well.  It was a tough choice, but I decided on The Proposal.

I was still going strong on the puzzle at the end of The Proposal, so I stuck with a theme, and put in Miss Congeniality.  Here is my progress on the puzzle at the end of two movies:

Not bad.  Now, I must part ways with the puzzle (not an easy task for me).  Sometimes puzzles are a start to finish in one sitting task because I think, "I'll just find one more piece."  But tonight I am falling asleep sitting up, so I think it is time to get this body to bed.

But it was a good night to end the week.  And an entry into the blessing jar: movie, hot chocolate, and a puzzle!  Good night all!

Hindsight

It's amazing how often I go through things and don't stop in the moment to analyze how God might be working.  Before I went to Arizona, I had two prayers for myself.  One was that, out of my routine, I would stay committed to studying His word every day.  And the other was that I would watch my mouth and not speak before thinking.  These two things often go hand in hand, and I know how much they are connected.  The less time I spend in the Word, the more I seem to speak carelessly out of my own desires rather than with God's desires in mind.

Every day I was in Arizona, I woke up between 7:00 and 7:30.  There was not a single day that I slept past 7:30.  This is unusual for me, because usually the longer I'm on vacation, the more relaxed I am and the more I can sleep in (up until about 9:00).  But that was not the case this time.  Sometimes I was frustrated with this because I wasn't going to bed super early, so I felt like I was not getting enough rest.  Fast forward to after I got home.  The four days I was off after getting home, I managed to sleep until 8:30 or 9:00 every day.  It was then that I realized that the Lord woke me up between 7:00 and 7:30 every morning because it gave me about a half an hour before the chaos of the day would begin and I was able to spend some focused time in prayer and Scripture reading.  Once home, I was able to do that later in the morning because there was not as much going on.   Sometimes I laugh at how easy it is to forget that God will answer my prayers if I just ask Him!  Thank you Lord for your caring and protection over my life!

Sometimes a Melody Sounds Like a Memory

I love this line from Eric Church's song "Springsteen."  I may have even blogged about it before.  But it is so true.  While I was in Arizona, Daynah and I watched Juno together.  One of the songs had a silly, catchy line that we repeated for several days.  "Here is the church and here is the steeple.  We sure are cute for two ugly people."  I told Daynah that because we laughed so much at that, it was going to become a memory for us and every time we heard those lines, we would think of the time we watched that movie together.  I don't know if she believed me, but I know it is true in my own life.  Most songs that have memories for me come from movies.  Sometimes it is just the scenes from the movies that are the memory, but sometimes it is the people I was with when I saw the movie.  Tonight, after seeing a movie, I got in the car and the song "My Sharona" came on.  I immediately thought of friends from high school.  In case you didn't know, this song was in the movie "Reality Bites."  I don't remember anything about the movie except that song and that Wynona Rider was in it and maybe Ben Stiller.  But it was a favorite for Nicole, Rebecca, and me.  And it reminds me of the friendship I had with both of them.  So, sometimes a melody sounds like a memory...

Happy 1/2 Birthday to Me!

Don't worry if you forgot to send me a present :).  I don't expect one.  The last couple of years I have actually forgotten it was my half birthday until someone else wished me a happy half birthday.  So, I thought that since I remembered this year, I'd wish myself a happy half birthday.  It is hard to believe I am half way to 34.  That's right, isn't it?  For some reason, my old age is getting to me and I'm second guessing my age!  Which is kind of funny because I was just telling someone a story about how I sometimes have trouble remembering how old I am because as I get closer to my birthday, I feel like it is more accurate to say, "I'm almost 34," than it is to say, "I'm 33." But then when my birthday comes, i can't remember what is my actual age! Silly me.  Emily also pointed out to me the other day that my profile on my blog says that I am in my early, early, early 30s.  Not so accurate anymore.  So as soon as I publish this to the blog, I'll go change that.  Anyway, that was a rambly post just to wish myself a happy half birthday.  Blessings to you on this first Saturday of the New Year!