That is how my life feels right now, calm. Yet I know it is only because Holiday begins for me in 3 weeks. You read right, holiday begins in 3 weeks. Well tech. I have the GM/ASM holiday meeting next tuesday and wednesday. I am presenting this year, that is a big move up. ASM’s don’t get to present but I do. So my topic is January and preparing inventory, rather boring but I am determined to make it fun. I am scared though, my District Manager asked me to make all the snacks for the meeting. You may laugh but I work in an environment where food is harshly judged. My mind is constantly thinking of what to make. So far I have pumpkin muffins, and maybe blueberry, sugar cookies shaped as pineapples, pumpkin cookies with burnt butter icing, rice krispie treats (okay those are for andrea) maybe choc, chip cookies and some sort of bars. Any other suggestions?
My last vacation for the year is coming up. I am going home for 10 days. Not sure what I will be doing there really. I haven’t been home for more than 4 days at any given time in 3 years. My family is throwing me a party the night I get back. Andy is putting it all together for me, so the food will be yummy. Any of my spokane friends who read this are more than welcome to come. I am also going to the WSU Homecoming football game with my old college roommate. I haven’t been to a game since 2000. Too bad WSU football isn’t so great this year.
Life is good, I am still waiting for all the exciting things to happen that happen in my 30s (or so I hear). I have really really good friends who amaze me and words are not enough to say thanks for being my friend.
Fall is here, and I love the change. Fall makes me happy, the cooler weather and the crisp air. Soon fall will be winter and you know what that means, the nutcracker. I missed going last year, but I am determined to go this year. Anyone want to go with me? It’s in dec at Bass Hall in Ft. Worth.
Much love
There is so much going through my head right now and I wish I could write it all down, maybe soon.
Anyways my District Manager asked me to do all the baking for our GM/ASM Holiday Meeting the last week of september. This is a big deal and I am thrilled to be doing it. However it is stressful, these people are all bakers/cooks. Okay almost all, but still they will spend two days evaluating my food and how it tastes and looks.
Any ideas on what to make? The only thing I know is that I am making Sugar Cookies in the shape of Pineapples (our symbol) I need to make enough food for two days worth of meeting snacks..help please
According to my dad he doesn’t want anything for his birthday, although secretly there is probably a long list of things he wants for the kitchen, the yard, camping or his shop. I figure I would honor him via my blog for all 5 readers of it.
Tomorrow (August 20) is my dads 61st birthday. Last year we celebrated with a giant party in my familys amazing backyard, this year I am sure it will be a quiet one. If I guess correctly dinner will consist of steak or a prime rib, some yummy veggies and for desset chocolate cake with white icing. I will be making him a belated huckleberry cheesecake when I go home in September.
My dad is one of my all time favorite men in my life. He is a constent always there always loving. We have always had a unique bond my dad and I. I believe that is goes back to my first year on this earth. My mom had a job she really liked and my dad didn’t like his so much, so he stayed home with me. I was daddy’s little girl from that moment on. I have lots of great memories of my dad just to name a few:
my first baseball game was at yankee stadium with my dad.
Summers spent camping on the Oregon Coast and Priest Lake
The 1998 Rose Bowl between Washington State and Mich.
The bed I sleep in every night, he made it all by hand and it has no nails in it at all.
Freshman, Sophmore and Junior years Dad’s weekends at WSU.
The songs he sang to me as a little girl when I couldn’t fall asleep.
My first car that he bought for me, a 1971 electric blue VW bug
The 3,000 mile drive from Spokane to Dallas to move me here 7 years ago.
The family vacation to Italy lots of good memories.
Those are just a few I could go on and on. But all I want to say is Dad, Happy Birthday! I am so proud to be your daughter and I love you!
one is silver, the other’s gold. Just thinking about that songs brings me back to my days as a girl scout. We used to sing that song everyday at camp. Over the years the words occasionally pop back into my head, however tonight they hit close to the heart for me.
I am rather comfortable in my life and am often scared to go out and make new friends. Yet at the same time I am always wishing I had more friends from my church that I could hang out with. However I rarely step out of my comfort zone and open myself up to new relationships.
Tonight I was invited to a party, a small party consisting of Leslie, Lauri and I, but I am going to call it a party. Leslie and I have been friends for 10 years now. We met through TIME Ministries and her family is like a second family to me. I even lived with them for a few months while I was between roommates. I spend holidays with her and if you are ever trying to find me when Lost is on, I am with her. Leslie is a great friend and I am thankful for her friendship.
This is Leslie
This is Lauri
As we ate dinner and then played a great game, I couldn’t help to be sit back and think… I am grateful for all my old friends and I am excited to go out and make new friends because when I take the chance, I might end up with a great new friend. Life is good.
Birthdays are rough for me, well at least my own birthday is. I seem to have more bad memories of birthdays than good memories. A friend once told me that I put too much stock in my birthday and I am always let down because of my high expectations. It is probably true, so this year I decided I would plan my own party, my ideal party. The end of August is a busy time, school is starting, other peoples birthdays, anniversarys, and lots of other things always going. I get that because my schedule it seems is constantly busy. I have missed a few parties in my life.
That being said I figured I would attempt to make this birthday one to remember, after all I am going to be 30 (and I am scared of turning 30). I planned a date and a time, a big party that would bring together almost all my world; church, work and friends. It would be fun with lots of laughter and music in the background. I began preparing the menu (yes I know people think I shouldn’t have to make food for my own party, but it is something I love). Oh the menu was good, caprese skewers with a balsamic dressing, mini cheesecakes dipped in chocolate, fresh fruit, and that is just the beginning.
However, life isn’t smooth for me. I found out tonight that someone else is having a party that same night and many of the same people will be most likely attending that party. So rather than have conflicting party and have no one show up, I have cancelled mine. I wish it was as easy as changing dates but sadly my work schedule is already set and my weekend nights arn’t really ever mine unless I ask for it off months in advance.
I will be okay, I mean it is just another day right? Who cares whether anybody turns a year older or not. But today I am sad because I managed to messed up own birthday which may make me the biggest loser of all time. I mean come on who manages to have to cancel her own birthday party. So instead of having a party I am staying 29 this year. I figure nobody really has to know that I was going to be 30.
My mind is filled with so many thoughts lately and I can’t seem to ever get them to make sense to anyone but me. However I am gonna try so here I go.
I turn 30 in less than a month, and I am dreading this birthday more than any other. People tell me that my 30s are goi ng to be great but I am not so sure. In my mind I feel like I haven’t accomplished all that I thought I would by the time I turned 30. I think I want a party but I am not sure how to plan something as big as I would like. Thankfully I am off of work that day so maybe I will just spend the day alone at the pool.
The movie Up Close and Personnal makes me cry everytime I watch it, I don’t know why but I really enjoy the movie. Everyone should watch it.
I am trying to plan a trip home before holiday hits (which starts the beginning of October for WS) My parents really wanted me to come home since I haven’t done a proper visit since 2006. However it is hitting a snag, my dad has this idea that he wants to spend the month of september in Wyoming camping. Crazy if you ask me, he told me that I could still come home and stay at the house. It seems wrong to go home when my parents aren’t there.
I wish I liked music more I am jealous of all my friends that are gifted in music and it makes them feel something deep inside. Music doesn’t do that for me and I truly feel that people look down on me for that.
Shopping at Walmart stresses me out, there are too many people there. I would rather spend a few extras dollars overall and shop somewhere that doesn’t make me go crazy.
Life is quickly passing me by and I am beginning to worry that I don’t take enough chances in life.
The olympics are starting in less than 2 weeks and I am so excited, I can’t wait to watch. I have no life…..
Did I mention I am turning 30?????
Blah…til next time
Once upon a time I was a runner! Okay so it was when I was 11 or something like that but still I used to run and I think I liked it. Over the last so many years I have started to run and quit soon after, life always gets in the way or at least that has been my excuse.
The thing is that I admire runners and watch them from a distance. My current manager is a runner and she gets up every morning and runs for an hour covering about 6-8 miles a day. She has lots of energy and she ran a marathon in january.
A year and a half ago I wrote that I wanted to run a half marathon I turned 30. That won’t be happening as I turn 30 in 39 days, but I do want to be a runner.
So here goes nothing, I am going to go to bed early and get up early and begin my journey as a runner and I am going to share my experience on my sad little blog.
Well I am headed out the door in like 10 minutes to begin my journey to the DR with the youth group. I must be honest, I am scared and excited all in on. I am so excited to be going and we have a great group of kids, including five who arn’t that involved. Leading the trip is Keith, Heather and I. I have worked with them for going on 8 years, their friendship and leadership mean the world to me. Lets get to the scared part. I haven’t been on a mission trip since I left TIME Ministries in 2004. I don’t want it to bring up emotions long burried. I am going back to a country that I love, that I believe is magical. I will be on the other side of the island but somehow I am still nervous and all that. Well I have to leave now, pray for me. Pray that I will be able to build relationships with some of the girls. Pray that I will be able to see God at work.
love to all, okay the few that read this.
The end of the 2008 school year marks the end of my 7th year as a youth volunteer at Trinity Fellowship Church. It is so hard to imagine that 7 years have passed with these kids, in fact many of the kids now are actually the younger siblings of my first batch of kids.
Tonight I drove to pick up a former girl Kelsey who is moving to NY on Thursday. As I pulled up to her house I reflected the countless times over the last 7 years I have driven to that house to pick up either her or her sister. Kelsey was one of the first girls to truly trust me. She welcomed me with open arms when others were skeptical of a new youth leader. I have watched her grow from a teenager to a young woman. Tonight we cooked dinner together and sat on the porch and drank sangria. We laughed a lot. Her sister Briley stopped by for a few minutes to eat the blueberry cobbler we made.
Briley is opposite of Kelsey yet they both are awesome in my book. Briley just graduated from High School two weeks ago. I knew briley while she was in junior high and then as her leader. I have probably had the most fun laughing with briley and wrapped more houses. It makes me sad these kids are getting older yet I feel the same as I did in 2001. I have no doubt that I will keep in touch with these girls, kelsey is just good at that and Briley will forever be my hair colorist/stylist. I am a better person for know these two girls and all the others.
I don’t have kids of my own and I am okay with that. Someday maybe, but until then these girls and many others not mentioned are like my kids. I am so happy to see them grow up and enter the world with a solid foundation in their relationship with God but a part of me is a little sad to know that they won’t need me in the same way again.
I love to be in the kitchen. There isn’t much to me that is more enjoyable than spending quality time in the kitchen. When I grow up and own my own house I want the kitchen to be large and open so all my friends and family can spend lots of time in the kitchen. I began to cultivate my love for all things kitchen in college. I remember spending hours perfecting my sugar cookie receipe and thinking of new menu ideas for UCB. Baking was my first passion, I would spend hours decorating sugar cookies and learning new tricks. Cooking came slowly but now I love it. Today at work I spent 30 minutes making a black bean salsa and as I was chopping the purple onion I reflected on the joy I get from cooking. I wish I cooked for people more often, I wish I had a house full of people to feed every day.
In college my best friend Kari and I spent hours in the kitchen of the house she was living in. It is where we learned so much about each others and had the best conversations. Cooking for UCB the guys would come in and talk to Kristi, Alison and I as we were preparing the meal. We always felt like we knew more than our other friends because we got that time in the kitchen with them. Today I mostly cook for myself and I miss having people in my kitchen helping me or just sitting around talking. I long for the day that my kitchen is full of laughter and joy and good food is shared with those I love.
