It's not you, it's Mii...

For Christmas TJ and I got a Wii. It's pretty much amazing. I don't know who thinks of all this crap, but kudos to them!

I've gone through major gaming stages in my life (Not something I am proud of)
For Christmas one year when I was like 7, my parents got us a nintendo. I rocked little mermaid and I could play forever. Then in 6th grade my mom and I found a sega genesis at a garage sale. I played countless hours of toy story and sonic and knuckles - beating both games - and laughed like crazy playing toe jam and earl with my cousin Christine. One summer while I was in high school, TJ let me keep his N64 at my mom's house when he went back to Washington. I wasted all of his tetris scores, and my summer.

Then I stopped for a while. Later, I discovered the magic of internet games early in college when all of a sudden I had a lap top and free internet in my dorm room, but kicked that habit pretty quickly.

I had decided to swear off video games. I had a history of wasting time and brain cells and this addictive nature of mine didn't help.

But I could not refuse this Christmas gift. And maybe it's because I'm growing up, or my priorities have changed, but now I am able to enjoy it for a little while, put down my remote, and continue my day. It feels good.

His Ways

are higher than my ways.

Long Distance Christmas

Honestly, this Christmas was a little hard on me. But there was one thing that helped ease the pain.

Skype.

Skype is a downloadable program that allows communication over the computer. And it's FREE!

While my family was opening gifts at my mom's house, I was listening in and getting commentary by different people in my family. It almost felt like I was there. I was able to talk to Elizabeth (in Cambodia) and my mom at the same time for the first time in over 2 months. I got to hear Rachel's reaction to finding out that she's going to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Kevin's loud and happy yells when he found out he was going to the Vikings game AND Wild game on Sunday. I got to laugh with my mom as we opened up some of the quirky gifts she gave me and TJ. This may sound strange, but I really felt God's presence through it all. And I am so thankful to Him for giving our family this opportunity and bringing us all together, even though we're still so far away.

Wrapped around her little paw...

I was just about to get up and make me some Christmas Eve french toast, and my lovely Ella decided it was the perfect time to snuggle.

I can never refuse a good snuggle. I guess my french toast will have to wait....

Merry Christmas Eve and I hope you also get to enjoy some good eats. I would recommend french toast.

"Get Behind Me Santa..."

A few blogs ago I explained that while it seemed like everyone else was decking the halls and decorating the Christmas tree I was trying to figure out why I wasn't experiencing the same kind of yuletide joy.

A few things have changed since then.

1. I did get my hair cut, but that's irrelevant.

2. I purchased a Christmas Album and loved it. Sufjan Stevens - Songs for Christmas -

3. It snowed. A lot. And Continues to snow. A lot.

4. I did a little Christmas shopping. I had to be on top of my game this year since most of my purchased gifts required shipping.

5. My mom sent me tinsel and the most wonderful tree ornament ever. If I can ever find my camera cord, I will post pictures. Because it was so wonderful, I probably cried. And I probably have it sitting on my night stand instead of hanging on the tree, because then I can look at it before I go to bed.

I'm not quite sure Christmas Eve is actually tomorrow, but again, my calendar tells me it is, so I suppose it is appropriate to say, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"!

=D

IT'S SNOWING!

I mean, seriously snowing. Like record-breaking snowing. We've gotten 19+ inches of snow in the last 24 hours. It's the most snow Spokane has seen in 40 years ....

The goofy thing about Spokane is because they don't loads of snow very often, the road care is terrible. I heard it once said that my hometown of about 60,000 people has more snow plows and workers than the 200,000+ population of Spokane. So needless to say, the entire city of Spokane is shutting down. I love it.

Praise God for the BEAUTIFUL snow! It's totally uplifting.

I will post pics later

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.... or not...

Today I went outside in a sweatshirt and jeans. It is 40 degrees on December 6. Seriously. What is going on. There are 5 things that usually let me know Christmas is coming. 1. Halloween - We drove for 15 hours on Halloween through Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. No trick-or-treaters, no orange and black, no candy, just a car ride. 2. Thanksgiving- We left at 3:30AM to get to Seattle to see more of TJ's family, and nor was it a 'traditional' Thanksgiving. We ate 'Chuck-Luck', which included mustard crusted ribs, beets, celery root soup, braised turkey with mushrooms, citrus fruit salad, turkey leg cooked in duck fat...just to name a few. No football, no movie theater, no Grampa eating one plate in an hour, no pumpkin pie, not really Thanksgiving. 3. Snow - We had one day where it snowed. The next day it melted. No winter coats, no mittens, no scarves, no hats, no snow. 4. Finals - I graduated in May. No classes. No projects. No studying. No anticipation of Christmas break. Not that I'm complaining. 5. Christmas music- There has been a serious lack of Christmas music. Mainly due to the fact that since the previous 4 things haven't occurred, I don't really feel like Christmas music should be played. Which is sad. Because I really love Christmas music. So as far as I can tell, Christmas is not 3 weeks away. But my calendar keeps telling me it is. I think I'll get my hair cut today. Then maybe it will feel like Christmas.

How 'bout a revolution?

TJ and I are in the process of reading this book. (A very slow process, may I add...)

I am inspired by this book. The author-Shane Claiborne- presents a whole new way to look at what it really means to follow Jesus. I've really had to take a step back and seriously look at how I am following Jesus. Honestly, does my life look any different from those who choose not to follow Him? And I'm not talking morality. Morality does not equate salvation. It has to be deeper than that. What is it that makes me different? How has God transformed my life? What really does it mean to die to self daily and pick up my cross? Did Jesus really mean when he said to sell all I have and give to those who are in need? These are just a few of the questions this book has presented to me. It's definitely worth the thought.

a new way of thinking

TJ and I needed another car. Last night we found one. It was nearly exactly what we were looking for. A cute 86' Honda civic, only 161,000 miles, 5-speed, hatchback. Not to mention the seller of the car was a young married guy who just found out his wife was pregnant with their 3rd child (the first two were twins). We were pumped to find a car we liked and help out some people who really needed the money. It was almost perfect. ... except the loose clutch, squeaky brakes, broken rear defrost, no maintenance history ...

But. It wasn't over.


After we got home last night we received a phone call from somebody we had emailed earlier that had an 89' volvo wagon for sale. We agreed to look at it today, but in the back of our minds we figured after we looked at the volvo we would head over to buy the civic. Then, we sat in the volvo, we drove the volvo, we loved the volvo. The only thing wrong with the volvo was that there was thumping noise in the engine and the owner was positive it was a water pump which he would fix before selling to us. It was clean, well maintained, they had records for the last 10 years ... Exactly the same price as the civic ... except these people obviously didn't need the money

We sat in our car for over a half-hour trying to decide what to do. We even drew names out of a hat (3 out of 4 times TJ picked civic...), made a list of pros and cons for each, and thought about all the worst -and best- case scenarios.

TJ made the phone call. We chose the volvo. It made sense. It was well cared for, low mileage, great condition, super comfy, great for hauling things, it had less cons and more pros.

The hard part was letting down our civic friend. Oh my goodness was it hard. We wanted to badly to help somebody financially who needed it. There was something inside of us that really struggled with the decision we had made. I won't go into detail seeing as this blog is already way too long, but there was something in us that felt like the people are more important than the product. We felt selfish for choosing a car that we like over helping someone in need. Grace. Mercy. God has chosen us even though we definitely aren't the volvo.

We have prayed that if we should buy the civic, then the fixed water pump wouldn't stop the thumping noise in the engine. We will find out tomorrow. We also pray for our Civic family.

It's amazing how God changes things.

(here's a picture of our potential 'new' addition to our family)

uggghhhhh

No more T.V. Seriously. No more. One of the many great things about my husband is his lack of enthusiasm about T.V. That is something we definitely share. For the past year we've lived without satellite, without cable, and without bunny ears. Our T.V. had two purposes - movies and sega - and we rarely played sega. Unfortunately TJ's parents don't share the same view we do. Not only do they have a new uber nice T.V. , they have cable and shelves full of movies I've never seen. And I mean this with no disrespect to them. I just have no self control. Because the thing is, I can live without T.V., I'd prefer to live without T.V., but when given the opportunity to watch it, I will. Especially today. I applied several places, got an interview set up for tomorrow, and felt like I deserved a little R&R. 3 hours later, here I am, not only staring at a computer screen, but behind the computer screen is deal or no deal. I'm cutting myself off at 5.

hello

We left for Washington bright and early on Friday. The trip overall went fairly smooth. There were a few bumps in our trip but nothing serious. We left all of my make-up and toiletries at my mom's house. TJ left a bag of chocolates on top of our car at a rest stop and needless to say, we lost those. TJ also accidentally threw Ella's favorite water dish out the window...he had kind of a rough day. =) Ella, on the other hand, did not appreciate the car ride. She wouldn't eat, drink, or use her litter box while in the car, or even at rest stops. She looked pretty mangy by the end of the trip. She seems to be enjoying her new house! Overall we are very thankful that we didn't hit any animals or have any car trouble. God really sustained both of us during the trip. TJ's parents have been very accommodating as we try and find jobs and a place of our own. We definitely still have some adjusting to do though! Since we are two hours earlier here and it was daylight savings times, we woke up at 5:45. That's all for now. Will post pictures later.

the truck

Our moving service woke us up at 6:40 AM to tell us they are on there way to drop off our trailer and they would be coming now. Apparently 'now' really means whenever they feel like it seeing that it has almost been an hour and no trailer.

Too much to do today. I think I'll just stay in bed...

Jessi

I'm going to miss this little girl. A lot.

Tonight I said good-bye to my bestest friend in the whole world.
It didn't hit me until right now, that I might not see her again.
For over 2 years, I've been her therapist, her babysitter, her friend, her mom, her daughter, her grandma, her cat, her dog, her diego, and the list goes on.
She's been my first (and last) play therapy child, my flower girl, my sunshine, my laughter, my (happy) tears, my hugs, my kisses, my friend, and my inspiration.
I love this little girl and she will always been in my thoughts and prayers.

Ella

I love my cat. I hope she survives the 24 hour drive west and the transition to a new house. We took her over to my mom's house last night and that seemed pretty traumatic for her. We'll see!

Almost

TJ and I are moving to Washington in 4 days. We've talked about moving to Washington for over a year. It's one of those things that always seemed so far off. And now, our bags are packed, we're ready to go....I'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again .... (Seriously, I get that song stuck in my head everytime I mention moving).

Now it's just a matter of tying up some loose ends and waiting for the moving truck to arrive. Not to mention watching the World Series with my mom and eating all of her food since we have none and I 'accidently' packed up all the pots and pans early last week.... =)

I know it will be hard to leave. I will miss my family, my church family, my close friends, the cheese curds, Sunday football in Hudson... and the list goes on..

But, I have confidence and peace that God will deepen our relationship with Him through this experience, and ultimately, that's really all that matters.

Alright Alright

If only I lived in Highland Village, TX. I would be a member of this church. Without a doubt.

TJ found the Village Podcast a few weeks ago and at first, I was a little sceptical. Especially after checking out the website. My first thoughts were, 'Oh great, this is some ginormous mega church that feeds their congregation cotton candy gospel and preaches a sermon every other week about giving generously....'

Then I listened to the sermons.

The leaders God has placed in this church get it. They really do. They understand knowing God, being known by him, the depravity of human nature, the undeniable need for a Savior, all of the passion and depth to knowing Him, what it means to walk in the Spirit and not of the flesh, the importance of prayer, being obedient to Christ, and they're not afraid to preach it. It's not just something they're regurgitating but Christ is present and speaks through these leaders.

So if you're looking for a little supplement to your walk with God, check out the Village Church podcast. It's so encouraging to hear people who are truly passionate for God speak with such truth, insight, and wisdom that can only be given by Him.

A Week of Freedom

So it's been a little while since I've written. In fact the past couple of weeks I've debated whether or not I should just get rid of my blog. Even though sometime I'm sure that day will come, I don't think it's now.

Yesterday was the first time I was on the computer for a week. I decided to fast from all things computer and it was amazing how God used that. First day off the computer I had dinner ready,eaten, and dishes washed by 6:3o. Seriously never happens. It also forced me to work on things that normally I could put off forever if I could ... sorting socks for example. I found that it was easier to focus my thoughts on things above rather than useless t.v. shows ... high school musical in this case.

Beside that though, I knew I needed to break my dependency and hopefully with the help of God, learn some self control.

weird

Today at work, someone told me I was weird. That wasn't the first time in my life, and I'm sure it won't be the last.

When I was 15 and only after a couple of months of working at McDonald's, I was called a dork. Her name was Bailey and she was always so nice to me. I don't remember the exact action or words that prompted her to call me that, but I remember being slightly shocked and a little hurt. But all I could say was, "I know."

But today, when Jerad called me weird, I wasn't hurt. I was a little startled by his abruptness. Being that I work at a power company, I get quite a few calls from people complaining about their high bills, and most of the time it is due to high consumption and slightly increased rates. I was talking to him about how power is a convenience and people have lived thousands of years without it, and if we really can't afford electricity, then we shouldn't use it. I then voiced how I would love to live a life not dependent of electricity and convenience things.

And that's when he said it. "You're weird." He could have said, "I don't think I would do that", or "Wow, that's crazy" or even a simple "oh." But instead he had to personally address me and who I am.

And you know what I said when he called me weird? I said, "I know." Same response that I gave 7 years ago. but this time, I really meant it. I am weird. I hope I'm weird. I don't want to have the same ambitions and goals in life that other people do. I pray that God can continue to work in my life so that when I meet people, they realize that I'm a little odd.

That's all.

so much to say

It's been a busy last week or two and I haven't been able to write about half the things that I've wanted to. I even tried out a new recipe, took pictures, loved it, but blogging has dropped to the bottom of my priority list.

I will do a new recipe this week though. I'm pretty excited about it.

First off, the coolest thing that happened last week is I ran my first race in a long time. I'm trying to get in good enough shape to run a half marathon August 9. To call it training would be a huge overstatement.

It was a 10K (6.2mi) run in the city I live in. I decided the week before that I was going to do it, so I didn't have a lot of time to get my butt in gear. I had been 2-3mi runs consistently, and one just over 4 miles. So I decided to plan my long run for Tuesday. And that, never happened. So then I was going to do a long one on Thursday. That, also didn't happen. Both days I could barely make it past 3 miles. In the back of my head I'm wondering how in the world I would be able to pull off a 6.2mi run on Saturday.

Nevertheless, Saturday morning rolls around, I crawl out of bed at 6:30, not leaving myself enough time to shave my legs. On go the capri sweatpants in the middle of summer...
I drive over to the race, register, go to the bathroom, go back to my car to drop off my purse, go to the bathroom again, and then get ready to run .

And you know what?

I made it.

I had expected myself to have to walk a mile or so, but I didn't. I trudged along and made it through for an outstanding time of 1:04:30...not so outstanding, but I don't even care. It was awesome.

My only regret is that my husband couldn't run it with me.

confession time

I love the bachelorette.

There's something weirdly romantic about watching guys try to pull out all the stops in order to win a woman's heart. I kind of feel that's how it should be, and our culture seems to think otherwise.

But I won't get into that now.

Either way, those of you who watch the show may have been surprised that she let go of this guy on Monday. I was proud of her (Although he's not bad to look at)

I think I'm rooting for this guy. But maybe this one. Or, I don't know, this guy is pretty likable too.

I really don't dislike any of them.

Jeremy seems to be driven and sensitive and supportive and is really dedicated to her. He's pretty competitive so there's a chance this whole thing might be a game to him.

Jesse appears to be a lot of fun and has some good ol' fashion morals. Is kind of a snowboarder punk and she's a little southern belle...not a real good fit, plus, admitted he's not quite ready for marriage.

Jason is a family guy and really seems to care about her, but already has been married, not to mention he has a child. But, she doesn't seem to mind.

So yep. There you have it. First step to recovery is admitting it.

Strawberry Pie

I guess I was in a pie baking mood this week.

Originally I wanted to pick up some rhubarb at the Farmer's Market, but by the time I made it there on my lunch break, most of the vendors were gone or out of rhubarb.

BUT

There were strawberries.
I decided to make a strawberry dessert, and nothing sounded better than strawberry pie.

Here's the recipe:

DOUBLE CRUST:

2 1/4 c. All purpose flour

3/4 t. salt

3/4 c. shortening

8-10 T cold water

1. Mix flour and salt

2. Cut in shortening with pastry blender

3. Add 1 T. water at a time, pushing the moistened dough to the side of the bowl after each T until all of the dough is moistened.

4. Split the dough into two halves

5. Roll out dough into 12 inch circles

FILLING:

8 c. fresh strawberries (I only had about 5...)

1 1/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. All purpose flour

dash of cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

(preheat oven to 375

1. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg

2. Add and evenly coat strawberries

3. Pour on top of bottom crust layer

4. Place other crust on top, folding over the edges and poke a few holes in the top (I chose to do a lattice)

5. Cover edges of pie with aluminum foil

6. Bake in oven for 30 minutes

7. Remove foil, bake in oven for another 15-20 minutes

TADA! You have delicious baked strawberry pie!

Today

Today I made a pie.

It got me thinking. I'm going to start posting a recipe of the week on my blog. I might as well have a little consistency!

I won't give this recipe, because I don't have the time tonight, but I'll try and post a picture along with the recipe I chose!

I really love cooking and most of my recipes you'll find to be fairy cheap and mostly healthy. You see, I hate butter.

weekend fun

I love weekends. It's nice to be able to say that. Just a few weeks ago, my weekends were spent working and let me tell you, I did not love weekends. Praise God for the new job and new work schedule.

I love weekends because I get to spend it with my husband. See I work from 8-4:30 and he works from 3-11:30, so we don't see each other much during the week. We try and get as much in during the weekend, so it get's a little hectic, but I don't mind!

Saturday started out wonderful! We ran to the Farmer's Market for some produce and there was a neat little art festival going on right next to it. We didn't bring enough money with us, so we decided we would come back to the festival later. At the Market we found some beautiful flowers called 'Sweet Williams' and there's nothing that says Spring like having fresh flowers in our house.

By the way, our Farmer's Market is the bomb.

only 5....

Today a coworker asked me what bands I would pick if I could only listen to 5 for the rest of my life.

I know it's one of those stupid scenarios that will never actually happen and a million people have been asked this before, but nobody has asked me. So I've never really thought about it. So I decided to think about it.

Being that I am a follower of Christ, I figured I should have some 'Christian' music in there...and that's when it became difficult. There isn't really a lot of contemporary Christian music that I like. At all. Sometimes I feel like that means there's something wrong with me. I have friends who are so in love with God that can listen to David Crowder Band, Avalon, Steven Curtis Chapman,...etc. for days, and I can't listen to that music for more than a few songs before I want smother myself with my pillow...okay, that was a little exaggeration.

So I decided tonight that I would come up with my top 5 Christian bands, to make myself feel better, and then give you my real list of 5 bands for the rest of my life thing.

CHRISTIAN:
1. Madison Greene: Although no longer together, I still find myself listening to their music more often than any other of my cd's. It's folksy, acoustic music with African undertones and sweet percussion and vocals.

2. Enter the Worship Circle: They have come out with some awesome worship music that isn't self-focused ("You are worthy of MY praise...yadayada...) and also has sweet percussion and vocals.

3. GLAD: Totally heartfelt Capella group that I promise you, your mom's will love. And mine did, and since my mom had a pretty big influence on my life, I like them too. It wouldn't be Easter without Glad.

4. Psalters: I only own one of their cd's but I totally support their efforts to break away from the world and be separate. Their music has been influenced by middle eastern culture and a few of the members of madison greene have joined this nomadic group.

5. Jars of Clay: This was a hard one to be honest, I really ran out of favorites at 3, and I really had to dig deep for this one. The reason I picked Jars of Clay, is because they were one of the first Christian groups that I really did like, and sometimes, I don't mind a good Jars of Clay song.

NOW....SECULAR TOP 5

1. Rosie Thomas
2. Jim Brickman
3. Dave Matthews Band
4. Rebecca Loebe
5. Joshua Radin

I had to try and cover my grounds, but luckily for me, I'm pretty particular about what kind of music I listen to.

Whew, this was a long one!

the curse of the nap

All through college I was dependent on naps to get me through the week. I'm not talking about power naps, I'm talking 2-3 hour naps depending on the day. I never considered them a waste of time until quite recently. So honestly, I haven't taken a nap for months, and you know what? I made it through just fine.

Today, I gave in. I had myself convinced that I needed a nap. I had been up late and up early this whole week and I was feeling pretty exhausted. After work, I sat down on the couch and I don't believe I got up for over 2 hours. And that was a waste of time.

No more naps for me.

tis the season

weddings. I love them. I hate them. The wedding I went to on June 7, I most definitely loved.

My amazing friend Rebecca tied the knot with her long time boyfriend/fiance-Taylor. My only disappointment was that I didn't' take enough pictures. In my 'old' age I've become a little camera shy. Here are just a couple pics of the beautiful wedding.

That's all for now, but believe me, the wedding was wonderful.

June = June bugs

Good thing Ella likes chasing bugs. Because I don't.

In case you don't know. Ella is my cat. She's pretty much like my child and my husband and I aren't ashamed to admit it! Well, at least I'm not ashamed. I'll post a picture or two or ten of Ella later.