Things I have done...

Okay, I stole this from Suzanne but it was fun and easy.


Things I’ve done in bold.
Things I haven’t done but would like to do in italics.
Things I haven’t done and don't want to do in plain text.

1. Started your own blog. (But this is my first post in 4 months so I am not very good at it.)
2. Slept under the stars. (Without at least a tent? No but it would be fun it I was somewhere warm enough without the fear of animals.)
3. Played in a band — or musical.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity. (Not really sure what would that really means but I am pretty practical about my giving.)
7. Been to Disneyland. (I've been to Disney World and sorry if I offend any from California but I don't have much of desire to visit.)
8. Climbed a mountain. (I have climbed along the side of my mountains but I haven't really summited anything sizable.)
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris. (Been there, done that, no real reason to back. In case you haven't heard I didn't really like it.)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. (I am not really sure what they mean by this but I taught myself how to make a quilt and I am going to count that.)
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables. (In theory I would like to but I am fairly certain I would kill the plant before it produced any veggies.)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitchhiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill. (Only once and it was my birthday.)
24. Built a snow fort. (I am not sure how I grew in the midwest and have never done this but I am going to blame it on how much older my siblings are than me and they didn't want to play out in the snow with me.)
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a Marathon.
28. Ridden a Gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run. (I would like to but I don't think I can actually achieve it, not holding my breath.)
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors. (But what I really would rather do is something some of my cousins have talked about is walking the route my grandfather marched through France and Germany during World War II.)
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language. (There is just no way I would have enough persistence and motivation to accomplish this.)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. (If your not satisfied visit a 3rd world country - if your reading this you have nothing to worry about monetarily.)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing. (If you think I am going to you have never seen me have to deal with my fear of heights.)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight. (I would think I have done this at some point but I can't think of a specific instance.)
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. (I have been to the 2nd level and that was enough to terrify me.)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain. (This is something that is much more romantic in theory rather than reality but in a light rain I think it would be nice.)
53. Played in the mud. (Yay, Calvin Mud Bowl!)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie. (It would be cool to save but I could take or leave it.)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business. (Again I have toyed with the idea in theory but in reality, I don't think so.)
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia. (I think is born out of watching all the Russian Red Wings.)
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason. (Tirzah once brought me flowers when I was hosting dinner for a small group of friends.)
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma. (I pass out when having blood tests taken so no thanks.)
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. (Not really a toy but I still have the first quilt my aunt Nancy gave me for Christmas when I was 8.)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt. (I technically have one border left to add but I am so close to done I am counting it.)
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London. (I still a little sad we didn't make it when we were in London but I am hoping to go back anyway.)
77. Broken a bone. (Really my sister broke it for me.)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle. (No thanks - one of the owners of my engineering firm was in a motorcycle accident and broke his back and had to have his hips replaced. I don't plan to ever get on one.)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book. (Through blurb.com you can create a book of photos and I would love to do that but that probably isn't what they mean but it's still a book.)
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper. (Chester once was and the caption was "Chester, the dog,...)
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House. (Like Suzanne I have seen it from the outside.)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. (I'm sure Russ would take me and teach me everything if I really wanted to but I think I will pass.)
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous. (Can I pick who it would be? Most movie actors - no thanks. But I would love to meet and have a real conversation with Steve Yzerman or Gordie Howe or a few of the other Red Wings.)
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit. (I have been amazing how frequently people have suggested suing someone over the smallest things. It just sounds like a horrible why to handle things and a big pain in the butt.)
98. Owned a cell phone. (What adult at this point hasn't?)
99. Been stung by a bee.

What's New With Me - Part 2

So I thought of a few things I intended to include but forgot so here is part 2.

First, as Suzanne pointed out we went to Europe last summer. We met one of my friend's from Denver in Vienna and went on to do a whirlwind tour. In 10 days we saw Vienna, Salzburg, Paris, London, Oxford, Stonehenge, did lots of random driving, Bristol, Liverpool, Chatsworth House, and back to London. It was a lot of fun but on the next trip to Europe I hope to spend a little more time in each place but going to fewer places. Not that I have any idea when that will be.

Also, 5 years ago I bought a townhouse. I have learned that not only do I not like white, I can't just pick a paint color and paint a room. Each room I have painted has involved at least 4 different paint colors. This is a time consuming process for me but I enjoy doing it and I have loved the rooms when I get done with them. The downside to the townhouse is that it was built in the early 60's and still has the original bathrooms and kitchen so are they ever stylish. I would like to gut both bathrooms and the kitchen and do something more modern with them but I need to stop traveling half across the world every year to come up with the money to do this.

And on Friday I will turn 30, which I have been dreading since I turned 29. This summer I have realized my real problem with that is that I always subconsciously thought I would be married by now. And so now I hate the idea of turning 30 and still being single. I realize I just need to be content with where God has placed me and I know that he is in control and it will all be in his timing. But it's still a struggle. And don't bother to tell me that 30's are the new 20's or the best time of your life. Plenty of people have told me that but it has yet to help. So there's an honest answer on how I am feeling right now.

So enough about me, how are you?

What's New with Me

Since joining Facebook a lot of my college friends have asked "What's new with you?" or some variation of that. Seeing that it has been 7 years I don't really feel like that question can be answered on a Facebook wall so I decided to do this instead. These aren't necessarily new, but new since the last time I talked to many of my college friends.

Two months after graduating from Calvin I took a job in Denver and moved there. I love living in Denver. And although I haven't gotten into skiing, I love the mountains and all the fun things they have to offer. I enjoy hiking and camping and this winter I went snow-shoeing for the first time and I hope to do more of that next winter. I also love the weather in Denver. I didn't know that it was possible for the sun to shine every day ~ the first month I lived in Denver I was constantly amazed that the sun was out every single morning. That is something I have gotten used to and I don't know if I could go back to never seeing the sun. And although I miss having lakes around I don't miss the humidity. So there are no plans of moving back.

I ended up hating the job that first brought me to Denver and for a long time I felt stuck and didn't really know what I wanted to do. After 5 years I decided to leave and attempt a career change to which God responded "Sorry I don't think so." So I returned to engineering but the job I now do is much different than my previous job so it fits me and my personality much better. I now design heating and cooling systems in commercial buildings, and in the last month I have started to learn a little plumbing. In addition to the job itself being better I really enjoy the people I work with and the guys I work for.

I started doing Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) in the Young Adults Class in Denver when I first moved to Denver and have absolutely loved it. Now I am a discuss leader which is a role that I am not a natural at because I don't really see myself as a leader but I have really enjoyed it and God has used to it challenge me and help me grow.

And lastly, the thing that really is new. In October I am going on a mission's trip with my church to Zambia. We are going to work with a children's orphanage there. The goal is use what we do for a living there but seeing how electricity isn't reliable there isn't the need for heating and cooling so I am not sure what exactly I will be doing. But I will see Africa and the impact of AIDS first hand.

Oh, and don't worry - I am still a Detroit Red Wings fan and I am not afraid to show my true colors. The two times the Wings have won the Stanley Cup are the only two times I wish I was back in Detroit.

So what's new with you?

In Over My Head?

The other day I was talking to a co-worker about those situations where you find yourself in over your head. And he said I was in over my head with my next world adventure. And I wasn't sure how to respond to that because I knew that this was God's will but I did feel that I was in over my head. This weekend God showed me that I am not in over my head, I am following in obedience but I do need to focus on trusting Him that I am suppose to do this.

On October 24th I am leaving on a mission's trip with my church to Zambia (south-central Africa). A little over a year ago I decided that I would like to go to Africa and when the church announced the trip I was really excited about it. Then as the trip started to turn into a reality I got scared and wondered if this was something I was really suppose to do. Finally I couldn't come up with any reason not to go and prayed about that and when God didn't say "No" I said yes.

Since saying yes I keep hearing the importance of obedience. It showed up in daily devotions, the Bible study I am doing this summer, in church last weekend and then last night in the book I am currently reading about Moses. And I wanted to yell, "I am being obedient, I am going, what else to you want?" Then I kept reading and realized that it's not just about doing it but also about trusting Him no matter how illogical or scary it may seem. I don't believe going to Zambia is illogical, actually I think at this point in my life I think it is totally logical. But I have come up with a lot to scare me about this trip and it was the point at which the trip became real enough that I started to realize those fears that I started to pull away from the idea of the trip.

So I am going and I am not in over my head and starting to manage the fear enough to start to get excited about this. But still a little scared that I have no idea of what to expect from it.

I have also been hearing a lot about prayer lately. I wonder what that is suppose to mean? Hmm...

I have finally started...

My Europe Scrapbook!

I have only been talking about starting it for about 6 months. So finally over the 4th of July weekend I officially started. Here are the 3 pages I have so far.

Inspired of course by Suzanne's (and now mine as well) crazy tradition of taking pictures of our feet.

Here are a few observations on the scrapbook so far. First, scrapbooking is far more time consuming than I remembered. Or maybe it's just it has been so long since I have worked on a scrapbook that I spent too much time agonizing over the little details. (It being being me this is entirely possible.) Also, I discovered I enjoy shopping for the stuff more than I enjoy doing it. I do enjoy scrapbooking but I really do like looking at all the stuff you can buy for them now. And my third observation, I discovered this as I started to layout my next page - I printed WAY too many pictures to possibly use. (For details see my post "An Overwhelming Task" published in January.) I knew I wouldn't use all them when I printed them but wanted to give myself options. Now I have firmly decided that I gave myself way too many options.

But now that I have completed 3 pages and used 15 pictures I am so close to done that I should start working on my next adventure. Oh wait, I actually have. But more on that later...

My Comcast Afternoon

As I said in my last post concerning my Internet saga my next scheduled appointment was July 21, which was Monday. On Monday I called to make sure someone was actually going to come and I was informed that when they are scheduled to bury a cable they have 7 days to complete it. Once she said that I realized that one of the about 20 people with Comcast that I have spoken to had told me that. And she couldn't really hear me because of my sucky cell phone so there was no point in yelling at her.

So then today I decided to call and remind them they were running out time. The poor guy that answered my phone call. He first told me that it could 4-6 WEEKS because the city had to come out and mark where water, electricity and gas are. At that point I went off about how I had already been without service for a month and if it going to take that long to take care of it I should have been told that upfront. He didn't bother to read enough of my account to see that I had been without service for a month and then went back to work. So he agreed to send a "high level" tech this afternoon. This tech called my cell phone when he got to my house and it was actually the same guy as the last time and he still couldn't do anything. The big problem is that because I am in a townhouse there are 3 sidewalks between me and the cable box. He seemed annoyed that they hadn't done it yet and when he called dispatch he was told they 72 hours from the scheduled appointment to complete it. Notice this is different than the 7 days or 4-6 weeks I have been told. He told me they would be contacting me to bury the cable and to keep his cell phone number and call him if I didn't hear from them and he would harass them to do it.

At that point I was really frustrated because then I didn't even have any kind of time frame of when it would be fixed. Not that it had mattered up to this point but still I was frustrated with that idea. And I gave up on the idea that I was going to have it back in time for the Olympics so I was wondering which of my friends I could crash for 2 weeks to watch.

So I imagine my surprise when an hour and twelve minutes later I received another call from a different Comcast tech who called to tell me he had buried a new cable. I was in shock. He offered that I didn't have to come home and he could tell from his laptop that my modem had a signal. I definitely wanted to come home, I almost didn't believe him - not that I thought he was lying to me but it seemed so unbelievable. I came home and saw that I did in fact have cable and Internet service. YEAH!! What he really did was just bury it under the sidewalks and then did the hid the cable in the bushes the rest of the way. He said they would come out and finish burying it in a few weeks. I am not holding my breath but I don't really care when they come.

All three of the Comcast people I talked to today acknowledged that I had been a victim of poor customer service. Yeah, no kidding, I think I noticed that. Tomorrow I am going to call and tell them I am not paying my current bill because the dates it covers I didn't actually have service. And I am working on the cell phone issue.

And now I can move on to posting about real things without going into work to do it.

Updates on Rain and my Internet Service

So first on the rain, we get three days in a row where it rained for 15-30 minutes and apparently that is our raining season. This week I heard a radio DJ say that were headed in a dry spell and we weren't going to be seeing any more rain for a while. I realize DJ's aren't really the authority on it but it made me laugh that she was implying that 3 days of a little bit rain was a wet spell.

On to my Internet and Cable woes. I still don't have any service at home so I am reduced to staying at work late and coming in on the weekend to check my email and make sure the world around Denver hasn't exploded. I am adjusting to not knowing what is going on in the world but I will would like to be able to know.

You probably don't care but here is my current situation with Comcast and my internet woes. Three separate Comcast techs have been to my house since this started - 2 this week. And the next one is scheduled to come out July 21. Tech #2 should have been able to fix it and he was scheduled to put in a new cable from the box to my house but he apparently left without doing anything (I was at work but the tech called me while I was at work with a question so I know he was there) but didn't bother to tell anyone at Comcast why he didn't or schedule any else to come out. When I got home from work and it didn't work I called Comcast and they have no idea what he did or didn't do or why he didn't fix it. So they scheduled Tech #3 and told me he should be able to figure out where the line was broken and splice it. I didn't believe this - it sounded like a line to prevent me from yelling at him. But it was a good thing I didn't believe him because he tried to find out where it was broken but no luck. So Tech #4 is scheduled to come out and do what Tech #2 was suppose to do.

So far a couple of decisions have arisen from all this. One, I love having the internet in home. I have been reminded over and over how much easier it is to find information with the internet. But I am going to be more responsible in how often I use and how much time I send on the computer. I don't need to check my email as often as I did, I am not going to self combust without it. But then going to the opposite way I have decided to join Facebook. I am really not sure when and how I came to this conclusion but I have been toying with the idea for about a year now and apparently 3+ weeks without the internet is going to throw me into it. Again, I don't know why.

But if Comcast doesn't get my TV working by the time the Olympics start (still several weeks away) they are going to start getting several nasty phone calls from me. They are already guaranteed a letter about how poor their customer service is.

Getting Older

My grandmother is always telling me not to get older. And I always remind her that there is nothing we can do to stop it. Well this weekend I was reminded of why I don't I always like the effects of getting older.

On the 4th of July I was at a friend’s house for a BBQ and during the time that fireworks were going on around the city we found our way to a park close to her house. Because Chrissy lives on the west side of town we could see firework shows from all across town – including the ones from Coors field in downtown Denver after the Rockies game. (For those who don’t live in Denver and this isn’t obvious the elevation on the west side of town is higher as you get up next to the foothills so from that park you could see a over most of the Denver area.) The park had swings so we got on the swings and started swinging while watching fireworks. Initially I was reminded of Suzanne’s list of the 10 things she wants to do before she dies and one of the things on her list being running outside and playing in the rain. Swinging is something that is fun that you loved as a child and it is easy to as an adult but you rarely find yourself in a place to do it. But then after about 15 minutes I found the chains digging into my hips and it made them hurt enough to bother me and make me consider stopping. (Chrissy’s theory was that they are now just making swings smaller rather than our hips now as adults being much larger than they were when we were kids. And then I realized that was feeling a bit sick to my stomach and realized it was from swinging. Which I find very weird because I don’t suffer from motion sickness at all. Hopefully this doesn't become I new thing that start to experience.

I don’t like getting older and I don’t want to turn 30 in a few months but like I tell my grandmother we don’t have a choice so I guess I just have to deal with and hopefully with a positive attitude.

It's Raining!

This weekend I have had quite a few conversations about rain and our absolute lack of it here in Denver. In fact one friend called me just to say "Look, it's raining. Hopefully it will last more than 15 minutes." And also Suz's post about playing out in the rain has made me think about how few opportunities I have had to do that this year. The last time it rained here was probably three weeks ago when it hailed for about 10 minutes and then rained for about 5 minutes. Right now it has been raining for at least 20 minutes. This is an exciting event in Denver. Those of you in Michigan, Texas or Florida can go ahead roll your eyes at me.

Technologically Deprived

Do you every feel like God is laughing at you? Well, recently I have had that feeling.

Last weekend my pastor talked about giving up TV and the Internet for a month. He didn't mention it as challenge but something he had done a few months ago and he talked about some of the benefits of it. I decided to go ahead and do the TV end of it, especially since BSF ended I have found myself turning on the TV and then just not turning it off even though there is nothing worth watching on and then I end up wasting a lot of time. But I did have a stipulation ~ if there was something on that I wanted to watch I was going to watch that one show. But I decided against giving up the Internet because I thought all I really do on the Internet is read my friends blogs and recently I have become started to look at news sites pretty frequently and I thought what is the harm in that.

Apparently God had something else in mind. I got home from work Wednesday and I couldn't get an Internet signal so I turned on the TV and I got the same thing ~ nothing! So when Comcast came out to figure out the problem it turns out the cable running from the box on the side of my building to my townhouse got cut, probably by the lawn care guys. Anyway, normally they would just throw down a new cable and have someone else come out and bury it later but because I am in a townhouse they can't do that. There are 3 townhouses between me and the box and therefore 3 sidewalks and that would be a trip hazard. So Comcast is suppose to come out and place a new cable and bury on July 9. JULY 9TH! Without cable I get one channel and all I have seen on it is Matlock and Tellabuddies, not that matters but the sound is too fuzzy to actually hear anything. So now I get survive 2 weeks without any TV or Internet. All weekend I kept thinking "The whole world around Denver could blow up and I would never know it." I couldn't even check the weather. By Sunday afternoon I decided to come to work and check my email and the news sites to make sure nothing did blow up. It is bad enough that my cell phone hardly works in my house but now I have nothing else. For the functional technology I have in my home it could be the 1950's.

So now I am waiting to see what God is going to teach me through all this. Maybe just the idea that I can survive without it? We'll see. July 9th seems like a long way away still and I know at some point during the holiday weekend I will come into the office to check my email and double check that the world around Denver didn't blow up. If you hear of something you think I need to know about please call. (But be forewarned my cell phone will probably drop you ~ several times if we give it the opportunity.)

Let's Go Red Wings!

So this is a little late and I considered not doing this post at all but I decided to go forward with it. To celebrate I thought I would share some of my favorite photos, quotes and tidbits of information that that I have found since they won.



So this is the traditional photo of the team on the ice with the cup. As a side note, I spent time looking for Steve in this photo and couldn't find him. I later read that he didn't think it was his place to go down on the ice after they won so he didn't. Honorable but I find it rather annoying.

Henrik Zetterberg with the Conn Symthe (given to MVP of the playoffs) during the parade. I like his use of it as a hat.

Russ and I like to joke about the Red Wings being the Swedish National Team because they have quite a few Swedish players. Here are the Swedish Red Wings (that played in the playoffs, there are actually few more who didn't play so not in this picture) with the trophies the Wings had won up to that point. So the players are (left to right) Tomas Holstrom, Andreas Lilja, Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom, Mikael Samuelsson, Niklas Kronwall, and Johan Franzen. And I had to do some research on this one but the trophies are (left to right) the Jennings (given to the goalie(s) who gave up the fewest goals during the regular season), the Campbell Bowl (given to Western Conference champions), Stanley, the President's Trophy (given to the team with the best record in the regular season), and the Conn Symthe (again given to the MVP of the playoffs). You really have to watch hockey to realize what an accomplishment it is to win all of these in a single season.

This picture is actually from game 4 (I think) of the finals. It freaks me out - I have nightmares about this kind of thing but I like the picture.

This is Pavel Datsyuk with the 2 trophies he won at the NHL awards on Thursday night. The one on the left is the Lady Byng (given for the most gentlemanly conduct) and the on the trophy on the right is the Selke (given to the player to the most defensive forward). He took the puck away from an opposing player 144 times during the regular season which is 82 games long. That is impressive, it is really impressive to watch do it. And again you have to really watch hockey to realize just how good he is.

When I went to the Wings-Avs game during round 2 of the play-offs it occurred to me that I haven't picked a new favorite player since Steve retired and Pavel is in currently in the lead. You don't get to hear him talk very often because he isn't very good at English. Here are a few example from the Detroit Free Press:

Datsyuk left the awards show with a good joke. Asked what he'd done the past
week, he was quick with a reply.
"I try to ask my wife because I not remember," Datsyuk said. "I remember party, but don't remember how I wake up at home."

Just as long as you didn't drive home Pavel.

And on Thursday night for the first time they gave out a new award for a lifetime achievement award in hockey - and it was given to Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe. They had a great little clip on him which can be seen on the Detroit Red Wings website if you actually interested.

And lastly Chris Osgood and Nick Lidstrom were on Jay Leno last week. I thought it was pretty funny - you can watch it here if you would like to. http://ballhype.com/video/red_wings_bring_stanley_cup_on_leno/

And hockey withdrawl has already began because now there is nothing new going on and the Detroit papers have nothing to say about hockey.

Anxiety

Tonight's hockey game was suppose to be the first Wings game I watched from start to finish without worrying about all the other things I should have been doing. But rather I was so anxious and nervous I couldn't sit and watch. Initially I thought there was something I was suppose to be doing that I was forgetting about but after walking around the house and making sure there wasn't anything that needed urgent attention I thought that I was just that nervous about the hockey game. But really, the Wings are up 3-0 in the series and are the better team so even if they lose this game I am not worried about them losing this series. (They have now lost the game but I am still not that worried. Maybe a little but still more confident than worried.)

I like to think and clear my head and pray while I walk so I decided go for a walk. So got up left and went for a walk (during a playoff hockey game!) and it took me about 30 seconds to realize that I am worried about a phone I received at work tomorrow which revealed a mistake I made in a job I designed. And tomorrow I will go to a meeting on the job site by myself - this will be the first time I have to go to a meeting of significance to work out a problem without my manager with me.

As I prayed through my fears of every possible situation that would end very badly I thought "Okay this isn't going to go perfectly and it maybe a total disaster but even in the worst possible scenario I won't lose my job over it and I will probably learn something from it." Then I was able to pray that I would learn and grow in my ability to handle these situations which is growth that will benefit me in my personal and professional life. So I am now much more calm than I was about an hour ago. The amazing power of prayer which I admit I overlook way to often. Another lesson to be learned.

A Hang Over

I always wonder about those who drink and then complain about a hang over. I always think, "You did it to yourself." Well, I did it to myself, but I didn't have a thing to drink. I got offered a ticket to Tuesday's Wings-Avs game here in Denver. I had a blast but all day yesterday I was exhausted, had a headache and a sore throat but it was so worth it. I have never come home from a hockey game with a sore throat that lasted a full day so I must have yelled much more than usual but I felt the need to remind all the Avs fans that started out the night a little on the arrogant side that there was a Wings fan in their mist. I don't think I was mean or arrogant but just serve as a little reminder. I never said anything negative about the Avs, I just cheered my team on. Also, it was a chance to yell all the things I yell at the TV in the same "room" as the players, not that they could hear anything I said.

And now I am going to go to bed even though tonight's game still has a full 20 minutes to play. We are up 3 games to none and have a 7-1 lead in the game. The Wings have been known to blow leads but I trust them to be able finish this one off. The guy who sits next to me at work is an Avs fan, I will just assume that he's not going to talk to me tomorrow but I won't make him.

Tagged

So Sabrina tagged me ~ I believe it was probably just to get me to post again after taking few months off. The task is to give 6 words that sum me up, at least for today. At first I started thinking of words that I hope I carry with me for the rest of my life but then I included a few others that I hope God will help me shed as he continues to help me grow. Or like Peter, it can be good or it bad, you just have to learn to control it. But again I will need some more help from God on that front.

1. Aunt
2. Loyal
3. Passionate
4. Awkward
5. Stubborn
6. Student

And as a bonus, for the moment I would say gleeful because for me watching the Detroit Red Wings cream the Colorado Avalanche is just a whole lot of fun, but I acknowledge it is pretty miserable for pretty much everyone else in Denver. And although the Wings are up 4-0 there is 20 minutes left for the Avs to come back and I have seen the Wings crumble before so it is always a possibility. (It is now 5-1 with 12 minutes to play with the Wings scoring a short-handed goal.)

Am I actually a girl?

It appears that after almost 30 years of life I am finally starting to become like other girls. Recently I started purchasing or looking at things that are really rather girly that I have never really had any interest before. For example, I have suddenly become a girl with a lot of shoes. I used to pride myself on being a girl with only the minimum required pairs of shoes. Now there are shoes all over my house, I am constantly trying to figure where to put them so that they are out of the way. When I went to Florida for Christmas I brought 5 pairs of shoes with me because I couldn't figure out which to eliminate and then I bought 2 more pairs while I was there.

Also, I recently discovered that I do like candles, or at least I like the way they make my house smell. And then the skirts - for BSF I am required to wear a skirt (or suit pants of which I don't really have any that fit and you don't really find suit pants on clearance) so I now own quite a few skirts. In fact I now own enough skirts that I could really stop buying them but I still find myself looking at them whenever I am out clothes shopping. (So far very few of the shoes go with any of the skirts but I believe that soon the new skirts are just going to lead to more pairs of shoes.)

Then this morning a woman who goes to the same Curves I do was selling necklaces that she makes out of beads. And I actually looked at them, I even considered buying one. I have not worn any jewelry other than a watch in years and even when I did wear a necklace it was always the same one and rather plain.

I am not sure what has gotten into me lately. But don't worry I still don't like the color pink. And last night one of my friends was telling 2 of us that Target has some cute shirts with hearts on them on sale - and the thought of me going and looking at them made me sick.

Well, that makes it easier

This morning I came into work to find out that my co-worker that drives me crazy quit over the weekend. I didn't really expect him to quit; based on recent behavior I thought the company may let him go but I didn't think he was going to quit. I am trying to not be too excited about this and I refrained from a doing a jig when my project manager told me this morning but I am really quite happy about it. One of my co-workers even remarked that he thought I looked more relaxed despite all the work that I have to get done.

I thought God had a lesson there for me to work through, and maybe he did, it just didn't last as long as I expected.

An Overwhelming Task

Sitting next to me is the stack of pictures that I choose to print from my trip to Europe trip. Between the 3 of us we took a little of 2,050 pictures and I had intended to print about 25% of them. Instead I printed 803 of them, or 39%. The pictures create an 8" stack.

I don't intend to use all of them but I couldn't really narrow it down any further on the computer screen. Well, I guess I could have but I didn't bother to add up how many there were until I was done. Now as I look at this stack I find that I the idea of scrapbooking them seems overwhelming.

But I must admit it is not the most overwhelming task I am currently looking at. I have to clean up the spare bedroom which is where I will do the scrapbook and this involves re-organizing the closet in that room. It is a rather large closet and I use it for storage but I have discovered that I am currently trying to store much more stuff than I was when I first moved in 4 years ago so the current organization scheme I was using is no longer working. In doing this I am going to also re-organize my desk and the closet in the hallway. But still I can't really explain why I am more over-whelmed by the idea of an afternoon task than by a task that will probably take over a year (my joke has been 3 years).

Maybe because I am not sure when I will actually have a spare afternoon to work on the closet and the idea of a year whole of scrapbooking is much more fluid. And the obvious that scrapbooking sounds much more fun than cleaning and organizing. Also lastly, because I am no stranger to craft projects that last me years. If you don't believe me stop by sometime and I will show you a few.

A New Attitude

I have heard it said that you can change your own attitude. I have always questioned that to some degree because I have never managed to have a lot of success with my own ability to do that. Or at least not things that I any real strong emotion tied to.

In the last week I have decided that there are two things that I need to change my attitude about, both concerning work. The first will be a little easier - it is my attitude towards working longer hours. I tend to get grumpy about it and make sure that all my friends around me know it when I am. This does not help me get through it and by the time whatever project that is causing the extra hours goes out the door I am pretty cranky in and outside of the office. My course of action on this is to just accept that I have to do and not think about the other things that I could be doing instead of working. And of course pray to stay positive during these times.

The second is going to be harder because it has been festering for a while. The guy who sits next to me drives me crazy. He started in April and about 4 hours after he started I wanted him to go away. Now 9 months later I still want him to go away. He also now he has issues going at home which makes him even more fun to be around. Last week they sent him home for a day, I started to think that maybe I would get my wish. After he returned I decided that I had a horrible attitude to this guy and maybe I should work on changing that. In the last few days I have managed to find some compassion for him in his current situation but I also need to find a way to have a conversation with him. In the past I have either ignored him because I tend to be argumentative with him. I have prayed for him this weekend and I also prayed that I can learn to get along with him. And now I just have to trust in God to have the Holy Spirit work through me because I do not have the strenght or power to suddenly like this guy.

My Christmas Vacation

My company closes the office between Christmas and New Year's so as an adult I still have returned to a life of having a Christmas vacation. So this year for Christmas my brother and his family and I traveled to my parents home is Sarasota, Florida where we had a wonderful week. While a lot of the country, including Denver, experienced the dream of a white Christmas, I thrilled to say that it was in the high 70's on Christmas in Sarasota. In fact we went for a boat ride that included a nap.

The week included lots of reading, sleep, walks on the beach and even a swim in the Gulf of Mexico.

On Sunday I returned to the snow and cold of Denver and tomorrow I return to work. In some ways I am ready to return to the routine of everyday life but I am sad that it is ending. But I am grateful that I had the week off without having to take vacation time.