My Pages

I'm thinking about deleting a couple of my pages. Mostly Book Remarks and Theological Thoughts. Eric says to keep the Theological Thoughts one, but says maybe get rid of the other one. The book remarks one actually has some comments which mean people have read it and liked it (or hated it) enough to comment at one point. I feel like I hardly ever update them and therefore they might not be worth it to keep. Anybody have an opinion? Does anybody actually read those parts of my blog, and if so, do you like them? Should I keep up with them? I'm definitely keeping up with Parenting Shenanigans because I always have stuff to say about that. Usually I just forget to write and by the time I find time to update it I've already forgotten a million things that I wanted to write. The other two pages though, I'm unsure about. Post a comment with your opinion, if you have one.

Dream Trends

Do you ever dream the same dream? Or, have the same theme recurring through your dreams, if not every night, at least weekly or monthly, or frequently enough that it could be called a recurring theme? Apparently I frequently dream about being chased, in variations. Sometimes scary, sometimes not, but I guess it happens often enough that Eric, who hears about my dreams almost daily, finally said something about how often I get chased in my dreams. I knew it happened occasionally, and in many of my nightmares I am usually running away from someone or something, but I didn't think it happened all that often. I decided to keep track of my dreams for awhile to see if he was right. Turns out, so far he is. The past 3 nights there has been some variation of being chased/running away from something in my dreams. I'm still in the middle of the experiment (I'm going to track it for at least a week) but it's starting to look like a trend. Huh. I'm no dream expert, nor do I completely buy into the theory that dreams mean a whole lot, but I'm still curious what it may mean, and if other people have trends in their dreams and if they think that represents something. Who knows, maybe I've just dreamed about running a lot lately because I know I need to get back in shape and get running again. It's as good a theory as any, right?

It's (Not) Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

I feel like I'm in White Christmas, in that they get to Vermont expecting snow and there isn't anything. In fact, the weather is ridiculously nice. That's pretty much how things are right now. I know by April I'll be sick of snow and the cold, but this time of year it's cold anyway ( I don't care what other people think, 40 is not warm) and snow makes everything pretty. Plus it makes the Christmas season actually feel like Christmas, which currently it doesn't. I just feel like everything and everyone around me is so focused on the consumerism this year and not about the true holiday spirit and the fact that it's Advent and Christmas is about the birth of Christ. Ok, at work it's not so bad, and my family isn't that bad, but I just feel like the general feeling of society and the atmosphere around me is consumer-driven. Eric and I are having a more low-key Christmas this year and we already have nearly everybody's gifts, so we don't even have that much more shopping to do.

We put up our decorations yesterday and it was crazy because Charlotte just kept getting into everything. She's only taken a couple ornaments off the tree so far and we didn't put anything dangerous or breakable at the bottom of the tree. Actually, we didn't really put anything breakable on the tree this year, just in case. The worst part is the Nativity manger. Baby Jesus has been all over our apartment, thrown on the floor, put in her mouth, and who knows what else she's done with it before we've been able to put it back. I actually caught myself saying "Charlotte, we don't eat Jesus" but then I had to correct myself and say, "Well, we do, but not quite like that". Not like she gets it, but Eric thought it was pretty funny.

Even though I'm not quite in the Christmas spirit, I'm happy to have out Christmas decorations and lights up around our apartment and a beautiful tree. Hopefully it will snow a little bit soon so I finally start feeling like it's really Christmastime.

Gaslight

I just finished watching Gaslight today for what has probably been the third or fourth time. The first time I saw it was in a philosophy of film class (one of the best classes I've ever had). Eric and I Netflixed it a couple of times so he could watch it too and so I could watch it again. I love it. It's such a great movie (note: I'm talking about the 1944 version with Ingrid Bergman), so creepy and dramatic. Not creepy in a scary movie kind of way, but creepy in a "my husband is systematically convincing me I'm crazy" kind of way. That's the basic plot--her husband is a bad guy trying to convince her that she is out of her mind and in doing so basically drives her out of her mind. It's really good. The actors are good (Ingrid Bergman won her first Oscar for her role), the plot is good, everything about it is good. Especially if you like old movies, which I do.

The only black and white movie I think I'd ever seen before this film class was "It's a Wonderful Life". That class really opened me up to some classic movies and widened my love of movies to include old movies. The more movies I see coming out these days, the more I am starting to cling to these older ones. Sad, I know, but like I wrote in a previous post, most movies coming out these days are seriously lacking in many ways. Eric and I keep postponing our movie date because there just isn't anything good out, and by the time we find a day that will work the one movie that we actually want to see is pretty much out of the theaters. Go figure.

Youth Group

I can't really post a lot about my job, for various reasons, including the fact that I work with minors and can't post any identifying information. Also the fact that I don't know who all reads this and anyone has access to it and if they want to could find this blog easy enough, so I don't want to post anything remotely incriminating or risky. However, I do want to say that I feel like our youth group is finally starting to go well. I don't get very many youth showing up (today was a large-ish group with a total of 7 youth; my biggest event to date had 11) but I'm slowly starting to see both a regular group of youth and some fresh faces almost every week, which I think is a good sign. I adverstise everything pretty much everywhere, so a lot of the responsibility is now in the hands of the youth, to actually come and then to reach out to others and invite them to come too. Hopefully soon they will start to realize that they need to take some responsibility too and work on getting their friends to come. It's starting to happen, but I've come to realize that buildng a youth group takes a long time.

Today we talked about the occult (a very seasonally appropriate topic given Halloween tomorrow) and the youth seemed really interested in it. They actually asked questions and wanted to know more after the leader gave his talk, so I was very pleased. I did have one youth who wanted to veer off into other stuff so that was an interesting test of my abilities, but overall I'm really happy with the way things are going. Being a youth minister is definitely a challenge but I'm happy that I'm finally starting to use theological knowledge and I hope I'm leading the teens closer to Christ. It's really hard only being part-time, but I'm working really hard to make it the best youth group I can given my time constraints.

Too Tired

Today I am just too tired to write; however, I haven't written in so long I feel like I have to get a token post out just so people have something to read. Or at least so people know I still care about my blog. I don't know, I just feel like I should post something today. Today was a crazy day. I'm not even watching Castle tonight, even though it's the best tv show in the entire world, because I'm going to bed as soon as I publish this. That's how tired I am. At least someone somewhere invented the internet so I can watch Castle online tomorrow. Whew.

Old Friends

Who is your oldest friend? How long have you been friends with this person? I actually have 2 people who tie for my oldest friend, and the friendships with them go back to middle school. 6th grade actually. I don't think I have any friends from elementary school that I am still in contact with. And even these friends I don't always see very often or even talk to a lot, but I definitely still consider them my friends. Sometimes I'm surprised that my oldest friendships don't go back farther, and othertimes I'm amazed and very happy that I am still friends with people that I met when I started middle school. I've been thinking about this because I just saw one of them this weekend for my sister-in-law's baby shower. (It's weird, because I have 2 friends who are also friends with some of my siblings because they all went to college together. It's a funny connection, and I actually think it's helped me keep in contact with them in some ways. It's not the same 2 friends, one is a middle school friend and one is a high school friend.) We've actually been able to hang out more in the past 6 months than we have in the past 6 years due to weddings and showers and her moving back to the cities for med school stuff. It's been really great seeing her more often. I often find that having a history as friends means that when you get together, the conversation is still easy and you know enough about the other person that it just feels normal and comfortable.

Movie Thoughts

I love movies. Always have, probably always will. Old movies, new movies, comedies, dramas, romances, action, almost everything except horror movies. I can't stand horror movies. I don't care how fakey they are, I almost always get nightmares from them. I think it's because I have such a good imagination that even if they are super unrealistic I automtically imagine them more realistically. But that's not what this post is about. Actually, I'm not sure what this post is about. Mayve just my general love for movies. Eric and I used to see movies in theaters fairly regularly, but since having Charlotte our movie going has dramatically decreased. We use Netflix but have only been getting one movie at a time plus Instant, and Instant hardly has anything so we don't get movies fast enough (we're switching our plan now that the prices are changing so we'll get more dvds). Plus, now that we don't see movies in theaters as much, we also don't see very many previews, and we don't know what is coming out next. Which makes it hard to know what is in theaters that actually looks good on those occasions where we have a free weekend during which we might want to see a movie. We've even had free movie passes for a couple of months now but haven't managed to get to the theater. We're just waiting for a good movie...

Those seem hard to come by these days too. I don't know if I'm pickier or if the general population is so un-picky that they will watch any old junk people make and then advertise enough, but I think the quality of most movies has gone down significantly. Supposedly with competition and everything it should really be going up, but I don't think it has. Maybe it really is culture and people demanding the same crap in new forms along with the increase in acceptance of crudeness, but I don't need or want to hear a million curse words in a movie nor do I need to see a bunch of naked people or sexed-up relationships or a ton of blood. And I'm not a prude, I promise. I don't mind blood or a little violence when appropriate, and even I occasionally find swear words funny when used cleverly. I just don't think those things make a movie good--in fact, I more often than not find that they are overused and take away from the actual plot of a movie. Or they just serve to cover-up the fact that there is no coherent plot. Which leads me back to my point that the quality of movies have gone downhill.

That being said, there are a couple of movies out right now I'd like to see. 50/50 is one of them. I've also heard good things about Moneyball but since I haven't seen any kind of preview for that I'm not so sure yet. Courageous also sounds promising for those who are into the feel-good, Christian movies. I'm disappointed I missed Captain America and I'm looking forward to the Avengers movie next summer. I think Eric and I are going to use our free movie passes (comes with free pop and popcorn too--how have we not used these yet?) to see 50/50. Until then, Eric and I are working our way through the Indiana Jones movies. Just the first 3. The newest one, well, I think that's only worth watching once. If that.

Texting

After however many years that texting has been around, I finally have it on my phone. I've been avoiding it for, well, let's see, I'd have to say just about forever. I didn't want it, for multiple reasons. One of which, it's a huge distraction, and I don't want to know what is going on with everyone all the time nor do I want to feel like I have to or should share what's going on with me all the time. And I am one of those people who if I have access to something like that, who knows what's going to happen? I love having computer, and simple, quick, easy ways of communicating with people. Like email, and facebook. But not texting. It's too immediate. Also, it's annoying. I hate the texting "language", or rather, shorthand, and the only way I would ever consider texting is with a built in alphabet keypad. Which my new phone has. I also would never want to pay for it because to me that is ridiculous. However, the plan I have now automatically has it, and since my phone has the keypad, I have unfortunately and naturally started using texting more. My biggest problem is I am a talker, and I always want to say a lot, which is why I like things like a blog, and emailing, and hey, face-to-face conversation. So most of my texts end up being sent in 2 or 3 parts. It's a little ridiculous.

Fortunately not many people outside my family know I have texting, and I'm not super popular phone-wise so I don't think too many people have my number, so the number of people who actually text me is minimal, which helps me limit my texting interactions. The best part of it so far though is I've finally made an appearance on my sister's blog under the "Texts From My Sisters" section. Yay! I've posted a link here so you can check it out and try to guess which ones are from me. So far there are only 2, and they aren't any of the gross ones.
http://mariatrueblood.wordpress.com/

My Kid Was a Chunker

Congratulations to my brother and sister-in-law on the birth of their new baby. She is really cute and so tiny! I can't believe how small she is. Charlotte was never that small. I'm not just saying that because Charlotte is over a year old now--she actually was never that small (unless you count at some point while she was still inside of me). When Charlotte was born she was a fairly large baby, all things considered. 8 pounds, 7 ounces, the second largest child to be born amongst my siblings, and only 4 ounces smaller than the largest one. That's right, my child was the second biggest baby born out of 8. It seems weird, until you consider that she was 2 weeks late, and babies can add up to a pound a week in the last couple weeks of life. If only she had been on time, I would have had my tiny baby. I really always figured she was going to be super small and tiny, and I was really looking forward to it. I know 8 pounds 7 ounces isn't that big (although it's starting to be consider big since so many women are induced right around their due date and end up having smaller babies because of that a lot of the time) but it was much bigger than I was expecting. She was still small, after all, she was a baby, but sometimes I wish she had been a little smaller. Oh well. She's tiny now. She's only in the 5th percentile for weight. It just goes to show you, it doesn't always matter how big or small they are at birth, a year later they will be completely different.

Minnesota Nice

Maybe I'm biased because I'm a born and raised Minnesotan, but I really do believe in Minnesota nice. I don't know what it is about Minnesota, but people here really are nice and generally friendly. I don't know if they are more so than other states, but I think it's true for the most part. I say for the most part because I think Minnesota nice goes out the window when people get into their cars. If there is Minnesota nice, I also think there is Minnesota driver stupidity or driving-related Minnesota rudeness. Overall though, I think Minnesota nice really does exist. Maybe it's they way people here are raised, with that extra emphasis on being polite and saying please and thank-you and even just saying "hello, how are you" when you pass someone. I'm not saying everybody is always polite and friendly, just that it's more the rule than the exception. It might sometimes be superficial, but I think it is also sometimes true friendliness or comraderie between people. It's the nice-ness that leads to true friendships or even just support in a difficult situation or help when you see a stranger or neighbor in need.

Who knows, maybe it's the Minnesota weather that does it--let's face it, in Minnesota, the weather is more than small talk, it's real, honest-to-goodness important conversation that all Minnesotans can take part in and have something to say about it honestly and passionately and it can turn awkwardness into a real conversation. Maybe that really is part of Minnesota nice. All I know is, I've definitely experienced this phenomenon multiple times in my life. It's not always or even frequently a major event, just the day-to-day friendliness and encouragement from people I've come across. Like yesterday, when I went to the bank and ended up chatting with 2 of the tellers about the weather and what I was doing with my day. It may have been a little superficial at first but it ended up being a short but friendly conversation that then made me feel a little happier. I hope that I come across as friendly, inviting, and "nice" to people, strangers or not. Not because I live in Minnesota, but because I want to be the kind of person who I would want to be around and meet in my day to day life. And I think those are the kind of people I typically meet in my life here in Minnesota.

I believe in Minnesota nice. Do you?

I Have No Meaningful Title for This Post

Life has been crazy lately. Between my job and the family daycare co-op, and Charlotte's birthday party last week, and random other stuff that has been going on, I feel like I haven't had time to catch up on anything. And that feeling will probably last me the rest of my life. There are just so many things I want and need to get done and haven't had time to do. I got a new phone a full week ago and am just now finding the time to work on figuring it out and making it work the way I want it to. Or as close as I can get it with this phone. Technology never really works the way I want it to. I don't think I think like other people so what they like doesn't always work for me. Plus, I hate when technology changes. Don't get me wrong, I like technology updates and upgrades and whatnot, but dramatic changes in the way things look or feel irk me. But that's now what this post is about. My crazy busy life is. I shouldn't say crazy busy, I only work part time and I only have to watch 6 kids 2 other days a week, and I only have 1 child myself, but considering for nearly a year before I got my job and started the daycare co-op I was home alone with Charlotte all day every day, my life has sped up considerably in the past few weeks and months.

At least yesterday I had the afternoon off and I was able to clean the entire house. Eric was very happy about it. So was I (at least when it was finished). Of course, I still need to organize all of Charlotte's drawers and we really need to re-organize our cupboards and clean out our closets, but our house is at least sanitary and clean. And that's always nice.

I Love My Dentist, But...

Tomorrow I have to have a cavity filled. That is pretty much the only bad part of going to the dentist, when that kind of stuff happens. I've only had about 4 in my whole life, which compared to most of my family is pretty dang good, but it still sucks. I hate the initial novacaine shot, and even though you're not really supposed to feel pain or anything, it's still uncomfortable and weird and usually cold and generally un-fun. The best part of having to get it filled though is that my awesome sister Gina is also my dentist, so that is a definite bright side. In fact, I actually don't mind going to the dentist at all normally. I don't think the regular cleanings are really painful, I leave with my teeth feeling really clean, and I get a free toothbrush and floss. And that is all before you factor in that it's my sister which is an added bonus. Plus, let's face it, after not seeing my dentist sister in the dental chair for almost 2 years, getting away with only one cavity is pretty amazing. And even though the novacaine shot sucks, it's a little bit funny to spend the next hour or so biting your lips and putting on chapstick without being able to feel half of your mouth. I guess it won't be so bad...except for the half an hour of actually having the tooth filled.

Photo Op

Eric and I are trying to get Charlotte's one year portraits set up and we've mostly just been looking around at places like Target and JC Penny. Actually, we've pretty much decided on JC Penny. As we were comparing the prices/options of the two, we noticed relatively quickly how similar their websites are. In fact, everything is nearly identical: the portrait packages, prices, styles, enhancements, collections, even their coupons are the same. I don't know if one store copied the other, or if they have the same person running both portrait studios or even if the corporations are in league with each other, but I find it amusing that they don't even try to distinguish themselves from one another apart from their store name. Part of me feels like we should go somewhere else a little more individualized, but at the same time, with coupons, the prices are fairly reasonable, and we did a short Easter photo session at Target this year and they turned out really nicely, so maybe in the future we'll try something else, but for now, this is going to work for us.

Blah Blah Blah

There is too much going on in my life right now to write about it in one post. Plus, everyone else would probably think it's boring. Just work, end of summer, school year start, blah blah blah. But I feel like I have to write a blog about something since I haven't since before vacation.

Vacation was good, I'm bummed it's done. I wish every week was vacation and I only had to work as often as I currently get vacations. That kind of life would be much better, if much less practical for the world.

Charlotte turns one in less than 2 weeks, which is super exciting, and our daycare co-op starts around then too. Oh, and I went to the dentist today and had one cavity. Aw man. Now I have to go back next week. At least I have a good dentist.

Vacation!

It's finally here! A week of no work, no worries, nothing I have to do at all. Just relaxing, fishing (can you believe it, I'm actually excited to fish! It always surprises me when that happens), swimming, playing with Charlotte, eating, hopefully getting Charlotte to walk, etc. On another note, after getting ready for 3 people for one week away from home, I just have to say, I am not ready to move again, and am already dreading that day. Luckily it won't be for at least a year because we just renewed our year-long lease. It's going to be worth it though--nothing can bring me down on this vacation. Honestly, I don't even care if it rains most of the time. Which seems unlikely, the weather people are predicting fairly decent weather all week! Vacation, here I come!

Looooong Week

Normally I only work 2 days a week. Full days, but still, only 2 days. Well, since I'm going on vacation next week, I have to work 3 days this week and 3 days following vacation. Which means I still have one more day of work left this week. As if that wasn't rough enough anyway, I had 2 evening meetings already this week in addition to my daytime hours. Plus, Eric has to work the next two evenings. Today is really our only day to get stuff done and ready for vacation and we're both exhausted. I have to pack all my stuff and Charlotte's stuff on Friday and Eric will have to pack his stuff when he gets home, then Saturday morning we get to finish all the rest of the stuff. It is just a crazy week. I think that happens a lot before vacations. At least we get to go on vacation at the end of it! This is really our only vacation this summer, and kindof our only vacation for the year (unless you count when I/we are going to go visit my sister in Chicago when her baby is born) so we are both looking forward to it so much. I'm so happy it is a relaxing vacation and not a tourism vacation. Plus, Charlotte loves the water so it is going to be so much fun to play in the lake with her. We have a floaty for her and I am so excited for her to use it! I just really want this week to be over already so we can go! I haven't been this excited for a vacation since we went to Italy 2 years ago!

One Week

One week of work and Eric and I are going on vacation! I cannot wait. Seriously, I have been looking forward to it for so long I'm a little surprised it's almost here. This week is going to be crazy busy too, which I am not looking forward to, but there is a wonderful light at the end of the tunnel. A whole week on vacation, no stress, no worries, nothing that we have to do at all. Just spending time with our family, fishing, eating, swimming, playing with Charlotte, playing shuffleboard, and just relaxing! It just figures that this week is even more busy than usual though. I have to work an extra day plus I have 2 evening meetings this week, and Eric has some extra work that he can't do until Thursday and Friday evenings, so packing and getting ready for our trip is going to be a little crazy, but once Saturday gets here, it's vacation central for a full week!

Things Going On In My Life

I don't really know what to write about today so I will be boring and write a general summary of things going on in my life.

1. Work. Mostly planning events and getting things geared up for the school year. Even though it's a month away, I know once it starts my time to plan and organize stuff will be minimal so I'm trying to get ahead and really get things figured out. I'm even planning 2 meetings, plus I'll have to do a training for my leaders. I feel like a real grown-up almost. I think I would feel more like a grown-up if most of my leaders so far didn't all have kids in the program (or older). Still, my youth works in my favor when working with teenagers. That's what I'm going to keep telling myself.

2. Charlotte. She still refuses to walk, she's very stubborn and used to getting her own way and I think Eric and I spoil her too much and it's starting to show. Now comes the fun part of parenting and telling her "no" sometimes and actually enforcing it and not giving in to everything she wants. Yay.

3. Vacation. In less than 2 weeks my whole family is going on a vacation! I'm extremely excited since this is pretty much the only real vacation Eric and I get the whole summer. We're renting cabins up near Alexandria for a whole week and it will be very relaxing and stress free. Just sitting on the beach, playing in the water, going fishing (even I'm looking forward to that!), and of course, playing shuffleboard.

4. Planning parties. Charlotte is turning one in one month from tomorrow, and we have to plan her birthday party. So far we don't have a lot planned because we don't quite know exactly where it will be, but we're hoping to do it at a park near our apartment that has a splash pad. I'm also planning my sister-in-law's baby shower which isn't for 2 months but which I need to get going on because these things have a tendency to sneak up on a person when they're not looking.

5. Babies. 3 siblings are having children in the next few months, and that is very exciting and worth blogging about. That's all I have to say on that.

6. City of God. I started it yesterday and made it through 1 book (about 40 pages). It's slow going but so far interesting. The first book was pretty much about suicide which was intense and unexpected and makes more sense when taken in the context of why he is writing in the first place. More on this book on my book remarks and theological thoughts pages to come.

7. Life in general. Even though it is summer, since I started my job early in the summer I feel like this is the least relaxing summer I've had since I got married 4 years ago. Things are mostly just busy with normal life stuff and I'm still kindof getting used to just having a job and figuring things out with that. I at least feel mostly settled into my position though, enough that I can actually work ahead and not constantly feel like I have a million things to do/figure out. Otherwise it's just normal life stuff, being married, having a kid (when I'll get used to that I'm not entirely sure, I can't believe she's almost 1 already!), spending time with family, etc.

That's Mrs. Crabbypants, Thank you very much

Despite the many wonderful things going on this weekend, I still managed to be a crank for a far-too large chunk of it. I don't know what was up with me, but I was kindof cranky this weekend. Apologies to anyone who had to deal with my crabbiness. Especially my husband, who is far too good to me even when I am cranky. I was cranky at scrapbooking on Friday, although I got better once I actually started scrapbooking. And most of my pages turned out well. The only one that was really bad I think I'm going to change. Even Eric didn't like it and he is usually very supportive of my pages and usually likes them. I was cranky at part of my friend's wedding, but not to anybody, and it was mostly because it was hot and I was tired. The wedding itself was great though, the bride was beautiful, everything was very nice, and the reception was fun even though we didn't stay too late. Plus, they had make your own ice cream sundaes instead of cake which was very cool. And they had out some games to play before the reception started which was also a very cool idea. Today I was cranky for part of the day too, even though I got to sleep in until 9 and visit a little with my sister and brother-in-law from Chicago. Most of today's crankiness was because of all the un-fun stuff we had to take care of. And since one of those things involved our rent going up, it's sortof understandable that I wasn't too happy. On the plus side, we got a ton of stuff done today. We even got a lot of fruit on sale at Cub, and Charlotte did great overnight at my parent's house, and she loves playing with everyone so that makes me happy. So this weekend was sortof a roller coaster of highs and lows, good and bad, crankiness and happiness, but overall I think I would still have to say it was pretty good because everything except me being cranky was good, and I only have myself to blame for being crabby.

Why I Love My Job

1. I have a fire extinguisher. That says a lot right there.
2. My supervisor is really nice and supportive.
3. The rest of the staff is also very nice and supportive and I'm at a place where they definitely want me to succeed.
4. The parents/leaders I've met have been great, and I haven't had problems getting adults to come to my events.
5. The youth I've met seem very excited to have a youth minister and for the most part seem excited to come to events. Hopefully once they start being more faith oriented and less recreational they'll still want to come. (Don't get me wrong, there will be plenty of fun/recreation, but it will be a lot more centered on God once the school year starts and actual youth group starts.)
6. I have a huge office, with a couch. It's in the basement, where it's nice and cold (I actually wore a sweater on one of the 100+ degree days, that's how cold it is) but it's mine and I have pictures and everything in it.
7. It's close to home (let's face it, it's always nice when your drive is only 15 minutes).
8. I get to use my theology degree and my love and passion for God/the Catholic faith to help bring other people closer to Christ and hopefully get them excited about their faith.
9. Prayer counts for a lot.
10. People expect and want me to talk about God.

See how good my job is?

Hot Tub Time Machine

Over the past couple of days I watched the move "Hot Tub Time Machine" (almost every movie takes multiple days to get through now that I have a child). From the previews, and the title, I thought it would be a ridiculous but funny/entertaining movie. What it was, was crude, crass, and disgusting. It was basically your basic time travel to the past movie, but since that's been done so many times, apparently the makers of this movie decided to distinguish this one not just by making the time machine a hot tub, but by making this the crudest, most disgusting, foul-language filled movie they could. I'm not entirely sure they could have fit in more curse words. And the plot was just ridiculous. It was a bunch of 40 year old losers and the loser nephew of one of the characters (who was 20). None of the characters had any redeeming qualities, and there wasn't any depth to the characters. Which, ok, isn't that big of a deal considering this is your run of the mill comedy, but still, instead of coming up with a humorous plot line or even funny one-liners, they filled it with bad sex jokes/innuendos/activities that instead of being funny were just gross and obnoxious. And seriously, make the characters less likeable why don't you. It's really too bad, because I normally like John Cusack, but is this really the kind of movie he needs to make now? That's just sad.

This was such a bad movie. I can't believe this is what movie writers/creators need to come up with nowadays to sell movies. Honestly, with how much movies cost to make and see, you'd think there would be better stuff showing. But nope, this is the crap that makes it. This, and movies based on books and video games (or sometimes real life stories, or more likely based on books that are based on real life stories). I don't remember the last original movie I saw that wasn't made before 2000 (that wasn't same lame-o comedy). I was looking forward to the 3rd Transformers movie, but not so much after hearing some reviews/getting a better idea of the plot of it. That, and the fact that they had to get a new female lead is pretty lame. Still, I have to belive it's better than Hot Tub Time Machine.

Empty Nest Syndrome

All of my birds have left. We saw the last 2 fly away yesterday. No idea when the cowbird left, and the 4th bird jumped ship a few days earlier and kindof half hobbled/half flew away on the ground, so hopefully it survived. I am very happy they are all gone and at least 1/2 of the eggs survived, not too bad all things considered. And now I can water my plant without worrying about drowning the birds or having them jump out on top of me. Just in time too--we're actually starting to get decent sized strawberries. Yum!

Enough about those dang birds

I'm worse than my sister and her dog when it comes to these stupid birds. I have more news on them but I am so sick of them that I just need to write about something else. I can't believe how many words I've wasted on them. It's been a bad animal day for me though--I may have killed 2 of the birds, I couldn't manage to kill this nasty spider in the apartment (so it's still in here somewhere, lurking under a radiator or something, ew) and we have a wasp trying to build a nest on our balcony. Mother nature is not my friend today.

My new job is going well, I'm incredibly busy but so far I really like it. (I'm a youth minister for those who don't know.) The people I work with are all really nice, and I've talked to some youth on the phone and planned some events for the summer, and now it's just a matter of making sure I have everything set up for those, mostly getting enough leaders and of course, having kids show up! There is at least a small group of youth at the church who are very excited to have a youth minister (they have been without one for a full year) and to get involved in youth group again, so I'm sure I'll at least have some people show up.

I'm really looking forward to 4th of July weekend. It's a 3-day weekend, and we get to go to the pool, and the weather is actually supposed to cooperate, which is somewhat amazing considering how bad the weather was in June. Not enough nice days yet this summer. But, this weekend is supposed to be great, and my family always goes to the pool on the 4th and we're really looking forward to it! It will be nice to actually enjoy the summer this weekend.

Speaking of enjoying summer, next weekend is the grand opening of the new Dairy Queen by our apartment, and they are going to have 1/2 price cakes (and other deals yet to be discovered). How awesome is that? Needless to say, Eric and I will be patronizing that establishment next weekend. Possibly more than once.

Stupid Cowbird

I found out today that the one spotted egg in my nest was a cowbird egg. Some lazy mama bird ditched her egg in my nest and is relying on this other bird with her 5 eggs to take care of it for her. Of course, it hatched first, is the biggest, and now will possibly cause the other hatchlings to die. Which of course might explain why there are only 4 or 5 birds instead of 6. I am seriously bummed out about this. I don't know if I should/am legally allowed to take out the bird (apparently it may be protected by some bird act) but I don't want it to force the other birds to die either. I will probably choose to let nature take its course. Even if I could remove the bird, I don't want to touch it in any way, and I feel bad getting rid of one bird even to let other birds live. I was reading a little bit about them and in some ways they are kindof cool (like how they are genetically programmed to be cowbirds, they don't learn how to be that specific kind of bird because they don't have anyone to teach it to them, yet they act distinctly as their own species despite being raised by other ones) but it's just sad that the other birds might die because of it. Like I said, I will probably just let nature take its course.

My Baby Birds

As promised, here is a picture of my baby birds--I'm fairly confident they are all hatched, and they are already much bigger than they were 2 days ago when I checked on them. And much more feathery! I can't tell exactly how many survived the hatching, but there were at least 4 distinguishable beaks/heads. The other 2 might have been in there somewhere, who knows?

They're Coming!

The baby birds have started to hatch! I took the plant down this morning to check on them and there was one baby bird in it. It looks so sad and honestly, after seeing an actual baby bird I'm not sure how they ever survive and grow up. I only saw 4 of the other 5 eggs though, so I don't know what happened to the 5th one. Perhaps baby bird number one was covering it up? I hope so--I hope mama bird isn't going to lose one of her babies! This is very exciting to me. Although now I'm really not sure how to water my plant. Very carefully I guess. I think if I accidentally water the baby birds they will probably die. When more of them hatch I will try to get a picture and post it so all my readers can see.

More on the Bird

I must have interrupted mama bird during her egg laying last week, because today I checked the nest and there are now 6 eggs, not just one. They seem kindof crowded in the nest too. I have no idea how 6 little birds are going to fit into that nest once the eggs hatch. Not my problem though. My problem is whether or not they can handle my watering once they hatch...I'll cross that bridge when I get there though.

Trouble with Comments

I don't know why, but blogger is not letting me comment as myself. Whenever I view my blog, it apparently signs me out, and when I try to sign back in to comment, it tries to post it as anonymous. So I haven't been responding to anyone's comments because I don't want to post anonymously. Anyone else who uses blogger have this problem/know how to fix it? It's minor, I know, but frustrating nonetheless.

Forget Me Not

I thought of a good post idea last night while in bed, and I really thought I'd remember it (I even wrote out most of it in my head) but of course, like many late night good ideas, when I woke up this morning I couldn't remember it. Maybe it will come to me later today. I used to keep a notebook by my bed in college and write down ideas for papers or sentences that I thought would sound particularly good in a paper, because I often did a lot of good thinking laying in bed at night trying to fall asleep, and more often than not I would forget it before I woke up. Maybe I should start keeping a notebook by my bed again. For these incredibly important blog posts.

Rockin' Robin (Tweet Tweet Tweet)

I may have mentioned my balcony garden on here before, and now I have a fun little story to share about it. We have 2 hanging plants, one a topsy turvy tomato plant, and the other a hanging strawberry plant. Normally I just bring out our step stool and water the hanging plants that way without having to take them down, even though it is still too short for me to see into the tops of the plants. I also turn the tomato plant while it is hanging, but once a week I have to take down the strawberry plant and turn it around (so it gets better all-around sun exposure) and today is the day I planned to do it. I take out my watering can to go do my gardening, and water my tomato plant, grab the strawberry plant and put it down on the ground. As I look down into it to start my watering I see a neat little bird's nest with one oval shaped white egg in it. Well, that certainly explains why some birds keep hanging around our balcony! I thought they were getting into my plants and I was seriously worried they were eating everything and I wouldn't be able to actually harvest any of the fruits. Turns out, they just wanted a place to hatch their young. Of all the balcony gardens in all our apartment complex, they had to fly into mine.

I have no idea what to do about it. Do I leave it alone? Do I take it out? I don't really want birds to keep flying around our balcony, and I still want our plants to be able grow, but this is a baby bird we're talking about (or rather, the potential of a baby bird, who knows what all my watering has been doing to the nest/egg?). I don't want to ruin the nest or break the egg or anything like that. Plus, I really am a little worried that my fairly frequent watering has been damaging to it somehow, although the nest looks in good shape. I'm not entirely sure what kind of bird it even is. There is only one egg, it is oval and white, and I never really take that good of a look at the birds. I'm not as much of a bird person as I used to be, and even at my best I could only recognize maybe 10 birds, most of which are pretty obvious (finch, eagle, etc.)

You know what, it would not surprise me if it's my bird stalker's nest and egg. Now that it doesn't wake me up as often (Charlotte takes care of that) it needed to find a new way to irritate me. Sneaky little thing.

I'm going to try to take a picture of the birds, and the nest and egg, so hopefully someone will recognize it or I can look up what kind it is and know how to deal with it. Hopefully we'll be able to figure out something to do with it soon, but any suggestions on how to take care of it would be extremely helpful!

Being an Adult Sometimes Sucks

If you read the title of this post then you basically understand what it is I want to say. Being an adult is sometimes not fun. Eric and I are definitely at a point where we need to make some big changes and decisions and not all of them are fun. Some of them are downright sacrificial. I think it's finally hitting us in a big way that as parents and even just responsible adults there are just some things we can't do or don't get to do.

Here, Fishy Fishy Fishy

Eric and Charlotte and I spent the weekend at my in-laws cabin up near Ottertail (the cabin itself is on Walker Lake). The weather was pretty decent, we played some lawn games, went fishing, had a couple of bonfires, and just hung out enjoying a relaxing weekend. Charlotte did great with her grandparents, so hopefully now they'll be able to babysit her more (last time they tried she cried the whole 2 hours).

I went fishing quite a bit more than I ever have before, and actually enjoyed it a lot. Plus, I caught 2 fish worth keeping, which is very exciting for me. And a lot of fish we just threw back in, which was fun anyway. I don't really care what I catch as long as I'm catching something! I used to hate fishing, mostly because I didn't have the patience (not catching fish can be BORING) and I hated touching worms and fish. Now I have a husband who does the gross parts for me, and I have more patience to sit out on a boat or the end of a dock with a pole in the water waiting for something to bite. I don't know much about how to catch certain kinds of fish, but I'm actually learning a little and I figure if I put something on the end of my line and stick it in the water eventually something will bite it. That, and I just trust the other people with me to know more than I do. It's worked out for me so far! I don't like the taste of fish either, but nobody seems to mind. I did at least try the fish I caught, but only ate 2 bites before I gave up and went back to the rest of my food. Luckily Eric will eat fish and so will his parents so I don't feel too bad about not eating what I catch.

I'm excited to go fishing with my side of the family when we take our week long family vacation later this summer. Hopefully we'll have some good luck catching stuff. Unfortunately, neither of us actually owns our own fishing pole, so if the cabins we're renting don't have any we'll have to remedy that problem some other way. I'm sure we'll figure something out by August!

Finally getting around to writing...

I feel like I need to put something up here simply for the sake of posting since it has been so long. Of course, I do actually have something to write about, I just haven't gotten around to it. I have a new job! I have been hired as the senior high youth minister at a parish in Roseville. I'm really excited about it. They haven't had a youth minister in a year, so I basically get to/have to start the whole program from scratch, which is really exciting. I know it will be a big challenge but I'm really looking forward to it. I have so many ideas, and I really enjoy working with high schoolers, so I think this will be a good position for me. I start in a couple of weeks, but I'm already making a list in my head (and will be writing it down soon enough) of things I need to do once I actually start working. Top of the list: get volunteers! Based on what my boss has told me, there are a lot of people really excited about building a new youth group, so I hope that means I will have an abundance of volunteers.

Is it Thursday already?

Time has been flying by this week. I feel like I haven't had any time to get anything done. I also feel like most of what has been happening is not worth writing about. This weekend I have commencement for my Master's degree, so even though I've had my diploma for months now, I'm still walking. It should be good, I guess. I only have one of my classmates graduating with me, and then a handful of other students from the other programs offered at the School of Divinity, and then the rest of St. Thomas' graduate programs. So I'll only know one other person, but at least I had a couple of classes with her and she's not a total stranger to me. It's a little disappointing though, I know last year about 4 or 5 students who had all been in the program graduated together, and I'm sure that was really nice for them, but most of the people in I had in classes were part time or in the seminary so they're not graduating with me. Still, I guess it will be nice to have the formal ceremony recognizing my achievement. I put in a lot of work and even if it's really just Eric (and maybe my parents) it will still be nice to have that acknowledged. Plus, I'm sure I'll get to see a lot of my professors and that will be nice, they can finally meet my daughter and I can catch up with them a little bit too.

Also this weekend is a possible bonfire (if it doesn't rain) and my oldest brother's 30th birthday party. Almost every weekend from now until the end of summer is already jam packed with plans. Eric and I have 3 weddings that we'll be attending (and 2 that we won't), a weekend at his parent's cabin, hopefully a weekend in Chicago to visit family, a few birthdays (including Eric's, which is basically a national holiday the way we celebrate it), the Novak family camping trip, and a week at Lake Mary. Plus I am probably joining a coed soccer league with some friends from high school, and I am going to be volunteering one evening a week at my former place of employment, Holy Rosary, teaching ESL. It's going to be a crazy busy summer, but since most of this stuff is freely chosen and fun, I'm still really looking forward to it!

Gardening with Allergies

Gardening with allergies is pretty near impossible, or at least down right uncomfortable. I don't have a house, so how can I have a garden, you might ask. Well, we are fortunate enough to have a balcony at our current apartment and so we are hanging up some plants and using planters for others. We are using a topsy-turvey tomato hanger so we prepared that over the weekend, and bought a hanging strawberry plant too. We have a topsy turvey strawberry hanger but we'd have to buy at least 15 plants for it and that's a lot of dough. It was way more economical to buy the hanging plant, and at least if nothing grows we're not out that much money and we can just get all (rather than some) of our strawberries at the store.

Today we planted everything in the planters. One has seedlings of some flowers, one has actual seeds (that's sortof an experimental one, if it doesn't turn out the garden gnome that's sitting in it right now will be very sad and lonely), one has some herbs, and the last one is another tomato plant that my dad gave us. So hopefully we'll have a beautiful looking balcony with some flowers and food. But allergy season makes doing all of this very difficult. About 10 minutes after finishing up my eyes were very red and itchy and I swear I could feel them swelling up. Part of the problem is we took a walk earlier tonight and then sat outside grilling at the communal grill/picnic area our apartment has set up, so my exposure to allergens was already greater than most days, and then being in direct proximity with plants was just the final straw. At least our "garden" is all set up, and now I can just water and wait for everything to grow and enjoy my beautiful plants and soon enough some delicious strawberries and some salad with my own tomatoes!

Go figure

I haven't written a new post in so long, so of course when I actually have the time and inclination to do so (last night), Blogger decides it is going to shut down. Then when I miraculously find time earlier today to write, it's still down. Now, most of my ideas have been pushed out of my brain by other, more important things. Or at least more timely things. Oh well, it happens. And since I have a small amount of time now, I can finally write what I wanted to, what I remember anyway.

My original post was just going to be about these spiders that were in my bathtub this week. On Tuesday morning I get in the shower, turn on the faucet, and before I can start the spray I see movement, and there is one of the biggest daddy-long-legs I've ever seen in my entire life crawling along the edge of the curtain. I'm not kidding, I think the legs were as long as my hand. It was awful. And pretty much ruined my whole shower. On Wednesday when I get in to take a shower I have almost forgotten it but I'm not that forgetful so I look around the tub and don't see anything. I've got my hair all lathered up with shampoo and turn my head to start rinsing it out when all of a sudden I see another, slightly smaller spider crawling on the wall. I think it was the wife of the giant one. To confirm that fact, in case you are thinking it is simply coincidental, when I went to give Charlotte her bath I grabbed her tub and there on the bottom of it was an even smaller spider. That's right, it was their baby spider. 3 spiders in 2 days. At least they got progressively smaller, not progressively bigger. It really seemed like a spider family was living in my bathroom this week. Well, not anymore.

Mother's Day

Today was my first Mother's Day. My first real one anyway--I was pregnant on Mother's Day last year if you want to count that. This is the first one that I actually have a child. It was pretty good. We went out to a nice lunch at Green Mill, which was a good choice because they weren't doing a Mother's Day brunch so it wasn't actually that busy, and Charlotte was really well-behaved so we were actually able to have a nice meal at a restaurant without any real big issues. They messed up Eric's order but then gave it to us for free so it turned out ok. Eric and Charlotte gave me nice chairs for our balcony, which was the perfect gift. Now we don't have to use our camping chairs to sit out on our balcony this summer! They also gave me a little wall decoration, some planters, an awesome purple watering can, and a small gnome to put in our little balcony garden which I will now be able to start. I may not have a house yet, but I am going to do some gardening anyway! It was a really nice way to spend my first Mother's Day, and was exactly what I wanted--some time with my two favorite people, the reasons I'm a mother to begin with.

If Only I Wasn't So Dependent On the Internet

I am very frustrated with our internet provider. We're basically stuck with what we have, and if we want internet and tv we can't really switch--there just aren't a lot of options for people living in an apartment building. Anyway, we've had a lot of problems recently and have had to call every month for the past 3 or 4 months to get things fixed with our bill, and finally we decided to change our internet speed to a slower speed to try to save some money. They told us we could always upgrade to the next highest option for only a slight increase so we figured we would try that if the current speed was too slow. Which it is. We called tonight to get the middle speed at the middle price (not quite what we were originally paying, but not quite as fast as that either. But still better than the slowest/cheapest option). However, the people we talked to basically told us no, it wasn't an option, and that technically we shouldn't have been given the price we are paying for the service we are getting anyway. If we wanted to cancel and wait 60 days though, we could become "new" customers again (or something like that) and get an even better deal than we are getting right now for the faster internet. I think that is ridiculous. What is even more annoying is that it seems like every time we call they tell us something different. Different people offer different deals, and some people don't offer any and try to screw you over, and even just calling to tell them they screwed up a bill turns into a big hassle. There is so little consistency with this internet provider (probably not just them, but our only experience has been with this one) and it has caused so many problems. Like I said, we can't easily or cheaply switch, however, because options are much more limited when you live in an apartment. Just one more reason I'm looking forward to having a house someday.

Allergies Part 2

Apparently I spoke too soon. Yesterday my eyes started itching a little. Today they are itching more. Tomorrow, who knows? I think the cooler, wetter weather kept my allergies at bay but now that it is sunny and warm I think they are going to come on full force. Bummer.

Allergies

I can't believe it's almost May already. Where has April gone? And where are my allergies? I feel like usually they have started by this point in time and I've only had a couple of days where I noticed some very slight symptoms. Is the pollen just slow to get going this year due to some crazy weather? Or is this a lighter pollen year? If so, you won't see me complaining. I would be more than happy to avoid allergies altogether. I'm a little surprised though; usually the 2nd half of April, all of May, and sometimes even into June my allergies are so bad there are some days I can't even put in my contacts. I hope the late start to allergies means good things for my body and not just a postponement of allergy season.

Strawberries

Today strawberries were buy one get one free at the grocery store.  They actually look ok considering the time of year, and I definitely haven't been eating as much fruit (or veggies) as I should be, so it will be so nice to get some back into my diet. That is one of my favorite things about spring/summer, the decrease in produce prices and the increase in produce quality. I'm not a big veggie eater, but even I enjoy heading to the grocery store, or even better, the farmer's market, to buy some fresh stuff and toss it all together in a salad or use some tomatoes and make some bruschetta. And I absolutely love when the perfectly ripe fruit hits the stores and it goes on sale, especially raspberries. Yum. It's hard to beat fresh fruit and veggies. I know it's still a month or so until they are really fresh and actually in season, but it's nice to have a hint of that already.

I Heart Endorphins

I used to be a pretty serious runner. So much so that I even managed to run the Twin Cities Marathon in 2009. Once I got pregnant and had Charlotte, running took a back burner for a long, long time. I still exercised by taking walks while pregnant and in the months after Charlotte was born before it got too cold, but I really let things slide when it came to running. Now that spring is back and with it some gorgeous weather, and Charlotte is finally big enough to use the jogging stroller, I've been getting back out there. Boy, has it been tough. I love it though. I've only gone 3 times in the past week, and only a couple of miles a time, but I'm really pleased that I've been able to do any running at all. I love running so much. It's been a part of my life for so long now. I've never really been great, but I do it because there is nothing else like it, and I never feel stressed or anxious about life once I get going. When I hit the road running my mind is free. Sometimes I think deep thoughts, sometimes I pray, sometimes I just think about my day and my schedule, but it's never stressful thinking. And sometimes I'm so tired and out of breath that the only thing I can think about it how hard it is to keep going. I love that feeling too. My mind just empties of everything else except running and getting one foot in front of the other over and over again. It feels great to finish those runs, knowing it was a challenge that I faced head on and won. Although 2 miles didn't used to be such a challenge. That's what happens with so much time off and pushing a jogging stroller. Hopefully soon I'll be in a little bit better of shape and able to go a little further. And hopefully Charlotte will keep enjoying the ride and not get too bored. I'm a little worried to go more than 3-4 miles at a time anyway because I don't know how enjoyable that is for her. I have a ways to go before I get to that point though, fortunately and unfortunately. For now I'm just going to enjoy the chance to get out there and run a couple of times a week.

Bad Day

Sometimes technology is not as good as people think it is. Especially when you save something and go back and find it is deleted and have to start from scratch. And then you can't think of what exactly you said and how you worded it, only that you know you really like how it sounded. And there is no way you can recreate the same words and feeling behind them but you have to try because it's important that you do. But no matter what you write you still like how it sounded the first time. And it makes you very frustrated because it was perfect and it should have saved but somehow something went wrong with the computer and it didn't, even though you did everything right. Stupid technology.

Beef...It's What We Want for Dinner

A couple of weeks ago Eric and I bought a chest freezer. We've been wanting one for awhile, for various reasons. The biggest being that none of the refrigerators that come with our apartments have spacious freezers, and we more than occasionally run into space issues. Which leads us to not buy much frozen food, which in turn leads us to have difficulty planning ahead for meals because we don't keep that much food in the house. Also, we want to buy a cow, or rather, a 1/4 of a cow, because we love red meat. Sorry to my vegetarian/vegan readers, but we love meat. So we've been wanting a chest freezer for awhile. Every year at Cub they have a deal in the late winter where if you buy a chest freezer you get an equal amount of free food (mostly frozen, but not all). It's pretty awesome, even if we don't eat some of the food that we got and probably wouldn't buy a lot of it otherwise. But it was nice to try new stuff. Except for the lasagna...

Anyway, we put most of the food from our freezer into the chest freezer, and we've been planning on stocking up on meat and other frozen foods when there are good deals. I kindof figured we'd at least partially fill up the freezer, but as of right now the only food that is in it is the rest of the free stuff that we haven't eaten yet, plus 1/2 a pack of sausage, and a loaf of bread. Awww. The beef is probably not in our near future, unfortunately, but seriously, nothing else that is actually feasible to purchase has been added either. We are definitely due for some grocery shopping.

I think chicken is on sale this week...

The Bird is the Word

When I was a student at St. Kate's, there was this bird that would constantly chirp in the mornings during the fall and spring. I don't know what kind of bird it is (that's definitely not my area of expertise) but it had a two-tone chirp, almost like a whistle, "doo-doo", with one of the 'doos' higher in pitch than the other. It started early in the morning, and just kept going. Same 2 notes, over and over again. I would lay in bed some mornings and wish so hard that it would go find another student to wake up. I swear, it just sat in the tree outside of my window tweeting until I finally got out of bed and got going with my day. When I got married and moved into an apartment close by, I could still hear it. I figured it had its own territory that covered where I was living or maybe it was a different bird that lived in the same area. After moving into a different apartment and still hearing this bird, I became convinced that I have a bird stalker. It has followed me to every apartment I have lived in. Including my current one. I first heard it a couple of weeks ago, back from its winter away in some tropical location, taunting me that it found me once again and letting me know it's back and not going anywhere.

Now, I know what you are thinking, "ok Emily, maybe you are a little crazy, don't you think it could be a different bird of the same species"? Sure, that sounds reasonable, only it's not. This bird makes the exact same noise, same 2 notes, same pitch, same exact sound. Now, like I said, I'm not a bird expert, but don't birds of the same species sound even a little bit different? I would suspect the answer is yes. No, the only reasonable conclusion is that this bird found me at St. Kate's, developed an unreasonable fondness (or hatred, more likely) for me, and has since followed me from apartment to apartment. The worst part is, I've never even seen this bird. I have no idea what kind of bird it is, what it looks like, how big it is, or anything. I only know what it sounds like. It's an experienced stalker, obviously, getting close but not too close to its victim. And there's nothing I can do about it. Clearly, moving does not help.

I suppose there are worse things to have stalking me (a person, for starters) and luckily I now rise early enough in the morning that it doesn't wake me up or annoy me as I'm trying to fall back asleep. Maybe now that it knows that it can go find someone else to bother.

Update to the Top 10 Travel Destinations

Here is a more specific list of my top 10 travel destinations, including cities or sites I'd like to see.

Germany: basically anywhere, but especially Neuschwanstein Castle. I would at least try some beer, even though I'm not a big beer drinker, and try out my rusty German as much as possible.
Ireland: Dublin, anywhere really green and scenic.
Tropical island: don't have a huge preference, not Hawaii
France: Paris, the Louvre
Greece: seriously, this one is hard to narrow down. Everywhere! Anywhere/everywhere that Paul traveled, and basically any historic site there is, and also, the coast. I would love to spend time on the coast.
China: the Great Wall, obviously. I know, super touristy, but that's what I want to see there
Japan: hmm, I'm not too sure. I more just want to experience the whole culture and history
Egypt: Cairo, the Sphinx, the Pyramids, also, Alexandria
England: London and everything in it; I would love to stare down a palace guard
Australia: Sydney. Or, if I can change my destination, I would actually make it New Zealand and walk the route to Mordor and visit all the Lord of the Rings sites from the movies. Oh yeah.

There are just too many places I want to go and things I want to see and do to even list them all. I have the traveling bug big time! I only hope I am lucky enough to be able to go to some of these places.

Another Top 10

Top 10 places I would love to visit:
Germany
Ireland
Somewhere tropical (I don't have an exact location, but somewhere like Bora Bora, Tahiti, the Bahamas, etc.)
France
Greece
China
Japan
Egypt
England
Australia

Italy used to be my number one, but since I traveled there a couple of years ago it no longer qualifies, although I'd love to go back at some point!

Sniffle Sniffle

Charlotte and I both have colds. The kind where you are constantly blowing your nose and it just keeps on running. I can't take a lot of medicine because I am nursing, and Charlotte hates to have her nose wiped, so it is just a lot of sniffling on both our parts and I'm hoping it doesn't last long. I haven't really been sick all winter, which is kindof amazing, considering I generally have at least a cold most of the time. I think the change in weather is what brought on the cold; this has happened to me many times in the past with the changes of seasons. I frequently get colds in the summer months too if there are drastic changes in the weather. I think that happens to a lot of people. I don't know exactly why, but I'm guessing somehow our bodies just can't handle such a major change so fast? Or with a change of weather comes new germs into the air? Like I said, I don't know exactly, maybe one of my science-minded family members can fill me in on why.

Top 10 TV Seasons

The Challenge: Rank your top 10 television seasons ever. If they don't seem quality to you, don't judge. I could put just Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel on here and be done in 2 minutes, but I'm taking slightly more time than that. And I don't watch a lot of tv so a lot of what I like could be seen as guilty pleasures (i.e., Charmed). So again, don't judge.

10. Charmed season 4
9. Angel season 2
8. Friends season 5
7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 2
6. Firefly
5. Angel season 1
4. Lost season 1 or 6 (1 got me into the show, and I liked almost all of the series, and I don't want to split it up into 2 of my 10 so I'm cheating)
3. Castle season 2
2. Castle season 1
1. Castle season 3 (current, I hope it still counts)

Basically, if you can't tell, I like a lot of Joss Whedon shows, and currently Castle. Other shows I like but didn't include are the Office, and Bones.

I'm not going to list my favorite episodes, because I don't think I could, although that was part of the original challenge. If you want to know my favorite episodes, pick randomly from the shows I listed and that would probably be close enough.

Castle

Eric and I don't watch a lot of tv. Or rather, we don't watch a lot of tv when it actually airs. Usually we watch reruns of shows, or Netflix them and watch them after they are off the air, or we start them a couple of seasons in. I've really only ever kept up with a couple of shows while they've been airing, and one of them is Castle. Even that we don't watch at its regular air time, because 9:00 on a Monday just gets too late for us with a baby. A little pathetic, I know, but when you have to get up at the crack of dawn, and in the middle of the night to take care of a baby, you go to bed much earlier. So we usually end up watching Castle online during the weekends, but we watch it the weekend after it airs so we can still be considered up to date with it.

Castle is a great show. The entire cast is excellent, and I really like that they have been doing a little bit more each season with some of the other characters. But the show really revolves around the title character, Richard Castle, a msytery novelist, and his muse, homicide detective Kate Beckett of the NYPD. The first season Castle shadowed Beckett to get inspiration for his books, and while he still shadows her, it doesn't have the same purpose. In fact, I'm starting to wonder how long that excuse is going to be valid and what other ideas the writers could come up with to keep these two together solving cases. It's a funny show, but also serious sometimes, but it's still lighter than most crime shows.

The character Castle is played by Nathan Fillion, who starred in the short-lived but enjoyable "Firefly" series, and that's part of the reason Eric and I started watching this show. That, and a chance encounter with a Castle first season re-run. (We actually only started watching it regularly after the first season because the first episode we saw was one of the last episodes of the season airing after the season's ending, so we Netflixed the whole first season.) Fillion plays, in my opinion, a much more likeable character. And of course there is the romantic tension between Castle and Beckett which I'm hoping they won't drag out so long that it becomes boring and stupid like every other television show. I think and hope the writers can creatively get them together and keep them together so that it is still entertaining. I'm not even a writer and I can think of a few good ideas after they become a couple.

I'm not really doing the show justice in my description, but it's an excellent show. Very funny, with likeable characters. I hope they continue to build up some of the supporting cast, especially Castle's family. They did a lot with his family the first season or so, but now have been giving some of the other characters, especially the other two major detectives in the show, more background and characterization. It really makes the show more enjoyable to have not only 2 strong main characters but also a good cast of supporting characters that seem more like real people and not just static characters who are playing cookie cutter roles. So I hope they keep building them up over the course of the series.

The worst part about watching a show when it actually airs is the breaks between airings. They'll do a 4 week stretch, and then nothing for 2 or 3 weeks, then a 2 week stretch, then another break. I hate it. I wish they wouldn't do it, and I'm not entirely sure why they do. It really makes it frustrating because I don't want to have to wait that long! I'm not patient. That's why I do better with movies, I can get an entire plot all in one shot without having to wonder (most of the time) what happens next and how they are going to resolve certain issues or bring characters together, etc. But Castle is worth it.

Home Sweet Home...For Now

We've been doing a lot of rearranging and adding things to our apartment to make it more conducive to having a baby and also to make it more homelike. This is our 3rd apartment, and it seems like with every move each place feels more and more like home. It maybe be because we have been slowly finding nicer places to live, or because we have slightly more and nicer things at each place, or because we now have a child and there are things that a child brings into your life that just make a place feel very homey. Most likely it's a combination of all of these factors.

Eric and I would love to be able to move into a house, and when we do we want a place that we can stay at for the rest of our lives. We don't want a starter home, we want a forever home. Especially with all of the moves we've had in the past few years. 3 apartments in 4 years isn't terrible, especially with transitioning from undergrad to grad school to new jobs and a baby, but moving is a pain and it's hard to consider a place truly home unless you know you don't have to move, or at least if you can't forsee moving for a good long while. Plus, we want to have a stable, permanent home for Charlotte and any other kids we might have. So the next time we move will be our last move. What that means, however, is that we have to wait a little longer to be ready to purchase a house. There are a lot of factors to consider (lease length, saving enough to purchase the house and furnish it, location, etc) and we just won't be able to buy a house for probably at least a year.
It's a little disappointing not to be able to buy a house sooner, but we've accepted it and are trying to make our current living situation as home-like as possible for ourselves and Charlotte. So we rearranged our bedroom and living room recently to make them more conducive to living. Our living room is now more divided into a living room and an office area, and it's very comfortable and cozy and has a good feel to it. Also, our bedroom is set up to take more advantage of the amount of space and I set up a table for scrapbooking so hopefully I'll have the time and motivation to work on that. We also rearranged Charlotte's room to have a better space for playing. Right now her closet is pretty much where we stick everything that we don't know where to put it, and that is the next goal, but overall her room is really great for her needs right now. Today we bought a small chest freezer and rearranged our dining room area to make room for that, and we put down a rug that we've had in storage, and it's added a nice touch to the room. It's fun doing little "projects" like this since we don't have a house where we can do bigger projects, and it really does make it feel more home-like. It definitely suits our needs for the time being, and hopefully by the time Charlotte is bigger and really needs more space we'll be in a house and a permanent home.

Problems with Posting

I'm already running into the same problems I had with my old blog. Namely, I have a difficult time coming up with topics. Most of my life right now is revolving around being a mom, and of course I am trying to read a lot of books, but I have 2 pages devoted to those things plus to my other love, theology, so it's sometimes difficult to write new, interesting, and thoughtful things. Maybe I shouldn't have created those pages. But it's fun to have them.

So today I will just write a random thought. I like pickles. That's probably not that random if you know me, but it's random for this blog.

Boy? Girl? Boy? Boy...oops, Girl

Why do people always assume, if they can't tell, that babies are boys? I understand that a lot of times babies look genderless, but in that case, why don't some people guess it's a girl? I've rarely had people ask "is your baby a girl?" but frequently have people ask "is your baby a boy?" or refer to Charlotte as a he. Now, I'm not offended that they are confused, I admit to being unsure myself a time or two (not about Charlotte, but about other children). What does bother me, however, is that they automatically choose boy instead of girl, like it is less offense to call a girl a boy than it is to call a boy a girl. Why is that the case? Is it really worse to think your little boy looks feminine than your little girl masculine? Not that babies really look one way or the other.

And therein lies my point: for babies and even to some extent very young toddlers, where physical characteristics of gender are not yet well defined, no one should be be insulted if their child is called the wrong gender, and people shouldn't worry about offending people if they accidentally get a child's gender wrong. So why do most people pick boy over girl most of the time? I find it more offensive that people assume that babies are boys instead of girls if they can't tell. And really people, if a kid is wearing something with pink on it, why would you think that kid is a boy? Sure, sometimes Charlotte wears neutral color clothes, but if a baby looks genderless but has other hints as to their gender, why would you assume boy? I really think it has something to do with the fact that people are more concerned about messing up and calling a boy a girl than calling a girl a boy. It is somehow easier to forgive people for calling a girl a boy, and more offensive to assume that a little boy is a little girl.

 Maybe I'm making too big a deal out of it, and again I repeat that no one should really be that offended either way because most babies look rather genderless (unless they have some clear cultural indicator of gender, such as color of clothes or style of clothes), but more often than not people err on the side of calling a girl a boy rather than risk the possibility of mistakenly calling a boy a girl. I am not the only one to be in this situation; one of my sisters has a little girl who for a long time was often called a boy despite having a girl's name and wearing very feminine clothes. Are people really that afraid of accidentally assuming that a boy is a girl that even when there are obvious indicators they still err on the side of calling a little girl a boy? Sometimes babies look like the opposite gender, or rather, they have no clear gender, and it is or at least should be ok to assume either way, girl or boy, until told or corrected by the parents. No one should have to worry about offending parents or their children by accidentally picking the wrong gender. And if you are really unsure and don't want to risk offending someone one way or the other, just say "the baby", "your child", etc. until you are told a name which will hopefully give a clue (although it happens more often in these days that that doesn't help) or the specific gender. I actually called a toddler on a playground a girl once because he had longish curly hair, which apparently was the mother's way of having a "stylish" child, but really made him look like a her, and so what? No one was offended, I realized my mistake after the mom said "he" and said his name out loud, and no one was any worse for the wear. I just think it's a little bit sad that people would rather assume boy just in case they are wrong about thinking it's a girl.

And that's my rant for the day.

Stop Copying Me

I know I'm kindof copying my sister Maria (http://mariatrueblood.wordpress.com/) in re-starting my blog and including pages, and therefore betraying my lack of creativity, but it's a good idea, and if people only try to think of new ideas and don't copy already good ideas, I think that shows arrogance and a lack of ability to recognize the good in other people. So thank you, Maria, for the good ideas and take it as a compliment that I am copying them.

I hope by adding pages it will keep me interested in blogging and more focused since they are more specific topics. Since one of my New Year's resolutions is to read more books, I've added the Book Remarks page which will have thoughts on the books as I'm reading them or shortly after I've finished them. The Theological Thoughts page was born of my study of theology and my resolution to read the entire Bible and Catechism this year. Finally, as I am a still fairly new parent (Charlotte turns 6 months old on Friday) and have already experienced many amazing and amusing things as a parent, I think the Parenting Shenanigans page will be a fun place to post about those experiences.

I'll still keep posting regular blogs on things that don't fall into those categories, but all of the pages I have added are things that I feel like I will write about a lot and so it's worth it to make them their own pages.

New Year's Resolutions

I don't always make New Year's resolutions, mostly because whatever I think of usually is a temporary thing that wouldn't last the whole year or it's too big to be a New Year's resolution (such as "be a better person"; vague and undefined and more of a lifelong project, and therefore not a good resolution). This year, however, I came up with quite a few resolutions for the year that are both more defined and will also help me reach my broader goals of being a better person and living a more fulfilling life. Now that we're almost 2 months into the new year, I felt like I should assess how I am doing in keeping them and in doing so share them with the rest of the world. I have 3 main resolutions and some smaller things, so I will share the 3 big ones.

My main resolution for the 2011 is to read the entire Bible and Catechism. I found a plan online that divides it up for me into daily readings so that as long as I stick to the plan I will reach my goal. And so far I have been doing great. It's been hard for me to find time on the weekends to read, so instead of reading one day every day of the week, I don't do any readings on the weekends and I do 2 days worth of reading on Mondays and Fridays instead. It fits my schedule and my life a little bit better, and since this is my most important resolution I need to do what will work for me. I have finished reading Genesis, Exodus, Matthew, and about 1/3 of the Psalms, and a portion of the Catechism (through the beginning of the Jesus part of the Creed, if you know how the Catechism is divided). I've just started Leviticus and I think the next couple of months are going to be tough since I have Leviticus, Numbers, and then Deuteronomy coming up. They are definitely denser and more difficult to hear the Word of God in, but I will keep plugging away and hopefully be able to take away something. That is something that I sometimes have to remind myself during the more difficult readings when I don't get the point or don't know how to apply it to life today: it is the Word of God and I have to understand what that means for the different portions of the Bible. Reading the Catechism has so far been great too because it is a nice little compendium of pretty much everything the Catholic Church teaches. Not all of it is new (actually, so far not a lot is that new, probably because I grew up Catholic, and studied theology in both undergrad and grad school) but it has a lot of good information and is a good way to brush up on a lot of areas of the faith. I'm really hoping to expand my own personal knowledge of the faith and the Bible and grow spiritually as a member of the Catholic faith and as a person.

My second big resolution is to read at least one fiction and one non-fiction book each month. I could probably do more, and so far have done more, at least with the fiction books, but with a baby and hopes of finding a job at some point (see resolution #3) I thought I should stick with something that is manageable with almost any schedule and lifestyle changes. Currently I am reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy (I just finished The Hobbit) and each month I read a book for a book club I'm in, so I've read quite a few fiction books since the new year started. I've only read my requisite 2 nonfiction books but I'm hoping to add in a few more if time allows. Given my interests I've been focusing on theology books but I also want to read some history and other genres too. There are still 10 months left in the year which gives me plenty of time and options. If any one has any suggestions I'll happily take them.

Finally, my third major resolution is to find a job. After being in school for so long I'm finding the transition into employment difficult. There are many reasons for that. One, I just had a baby and so have been enjoying staying home with her. Two, I've never had a real full-time job before and so my work experience is probably slightly weaker than other people who are applying for similar positions, although my education is definitely an asset. Three, my range of opportunities is limited given my specific interests and education, which would normally be a good thing because it means I'm more qualified for those jobs, except the bad economy has caused a lot of those positions to be cut. Most churches start posting open positions later in the spring, so my hope is that I will have a job by midsummer. Maybe earlier, if positions start opening up, but technically as long as I have a job before 2012 I will succeed in fulfilling my resolution. I sincerely hope it won't take that long.

There they are, my big resolutions for 2011. Overall they are going well, or if not it is because they are out of my control at the moment.

Follow-Up to Yesterday's Post

Eric and I were supposed to go to a couple of stores today, but actually managed to stay inside all evening because of the snow. Taking a step in the right direction. Of course, tomorrow night we're busy and so we won't have a chance to run these errands for another couple of days. Ah well, it's progress anyway.

It looks like snow is in the forecast...guess it's time to run some errands!

Eric and I have a terrible problem during winter. We always seem to go places during the worst snowfalls of the year. If it's snowing, chances are we are out driving in it, in our tiny Toyota Corolla. It's not usually intentional, we just have bad luck and some what bad foresight.

The very first snowstorm this season was Maria's wedding, so obviously we were out in that. The second snowstorm, and the biggest one this winter, came on the weekend we were celebrating our anniversary (4 months late due to Charlotte's birth) at a hotel in Wisconsin and had left Charlotte at my parent's house for the night. The trip is only about 2 hours, but it took over 4 hours to get back. It was also one of the most terrifying driving experiences of my life. A couple of times I had to lean out the window and try to scrape snow and ice off of the windshield wipers, and we saw more vehicles in the ditches and on the side of the road than I ever have in my whole life. We didn't want to be out in it, and anyone smart was inside that day, but we needed to get back to our baby and once we started out in it we didn't have much choice but to continue until we made it back. Luckily, we did. Probably because I said so many Our Fathers and Hail Marys--I'm not kidding, I don't know when the last time was that I prayed as hard as I did then. Then again today we decide to go out and do some errands and some shopping, and we actually got a fairly early start and were out and about before the snow started, but of course shortly into our day it starts coming down and we had to do most of our shopping in poor weather, once again.

It just seems like every time we have any snow worth mentioning, Eric and I are out in it for some reason or other. Somehow we've managed to make it safely to wherever we are going, which is amazing considering what vehicle we drive. We're resolving to have more foresight in the future and actually pay attention to what the weather will be like before we decide to venture out in what could possibly turn out to be a snowstorm.

25 Years in the Life of Emily

Today I am 25 years old. A quarter of a century. In honor of that, here is a summary of my life until now.

February 17^th, 1986: I was born.

            June 23^rd, 1986: My future husband is born

May 6^th 1987: My reign as the youngest child came to an end (the shortest reign as youngest child in the Novak family). Battle Emily vs. Theresa begins and will last until college. Though we fight like crazy, we also defend each other against mean kids at school.

September 1991: My first first day of school. I have Mrs. Alexander for kindergarten. My love of school and learning started here.

1992: Mrs. Woody, one of my all-time favorite teachers, is my first grade teacher. As is the Novak tradition, I get my ears pierced for my 7^th birthday.

1993: 2^nd grade. I have my first crush, first pair of glasses, and when I grew up I wanted to be everything I could think of (to name a few: actress, chef, president, world traveler, author)

1994: 3^rd grade. I get the worst haircut in my life. It is a boy haircut, yet I’m pretty sure I kept it for a couple of years. I don’t know what I was thinking, and looking back I have no idea why my mother didn’t intervene. I guess she believes in letting her kids make their own mistakes. This is one I learned from, and feared making again, and I let it grow out and didn’t cut it again until college.

Throughout elementary school I became involved in dance, soccer, and softball. My love affair with reading began and grew. I loved reading series, especially Nancy Drew, Boxcar Children, and Babysitter’s Club.

1997-1999: Middle School.

In 6^th grade I read Number the Stars which is still one of my favorite books. I was in my first play, “It’s a Wonderful Life” and thus began my acting career. I was still convinced of becoming an actress at this point, and had a role in every play performed at the middle school during my time there, save one. For the Wizard of Oz I did the sound. In 6^th grade I also met my 2 oldest friends, Emily Powell and Julie Fox. I joined youth group and became actively involved during both middle and high school. Epiphany Youth Group is probably a huge part of why I studied theology in college.

During the summer after my 7^th grade year I went on my only mission trip, to Chicago.

During 8^th grade I got contacts, and finally started looking slightly less geeky and somewhat more normal. The summer after 8^th grade I went to the big Stubenville conference in Ohio. Oddly, I remember ankle socks were a big east coast “trend” that people claimed would soon be hitting the Midwest (apparently we still wore tube socks all the time), and I scoffed at that. Of course, now I can’t imagine not wearing ankle socks.

2000-2004: High School.

            Freshman year I had one of the crappiest lockers in the whole school, so I got to share with my big sister who was a senior at the time and therefore a million times cooler than me. Sharing a locker with her I figured I was cooler too, but in reality I probably wasn’t. I did marching band for the first and only time, and started running cross country which unlike band I kept doing throughout college. I even lettered my first year at the very last race of the season, one of my most memorable and proudest moments.

            Sophomore year I turned 16, and eventually got my license after failing once. Yes, that’s right, I failed my driver’s test the first time I took it. After taking it the 2^nd time I thought I failed again but miraculously passed. At some point in my early high school career I also got braces. From the moment I got them I couldn’t wait to get them off. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen in time for me to do my senior portraits and my braces are immortalized on my parents’ wall. As much as I disliked them, they were still more fashionable than that boy haircut from elementary school.

            During the summer between sophomore and junior year (summer 2002) 3 major things happened. I had my first job (at PEI, where I continued to work for a total of 6 summers), I had my first boyfriend (for 3 whole weeks, definitely a high school relationship), and I went to World Youth Day in Toronto, Canada, which was an amazing religious experience for me and was also where I met Eric.

            Junior year is marked mostly by my relationship with Eric, where we dated for 4 months, broke up, and went to a slightly awkward prom together.

            2003-2004 was my senior year of high school and exponentially more memorable than junior year. Eric and I rekindled our romance (which is way more poetic than just saying “we got back together”). He also gave me what I still consider one of the best birthday presents ever, my ice skates. Also during my senior year my last sibling was born. I got accepted into the 2 colleges that I cared about (St. Ben’s and St. Kate’s) and after much deliberation chose St. Kate’s. I failed my first and only test, in calculus, but still managed to get a good grade in the class. In the spring I choreographed and performed my senior solo for Dancin’ Feet. Finally, I graduated high school.

2004-2008 College.

            College at St. Kate’s is practically a blur of memories. So much happened, I grew in so many ways, and I learned more than I can ever put down in words.

            I had the requisite crappy roommate my first semester. 2^nd semester I had a new, slightly better roommate, who I ended up living with again with 2 other girls the next year. That was a mistake, except for the part that one of those other girls became one of my closest friends and we roomed together the next year too.

            I ran cross country for the first 3 years of college. I worked at the Telefund, took a lot of classes, and eventually decided to major in theology and philosophy. Also during college my first nephew and godson was born, and I finally had enough courage to cut my hair. It was much cuter than the 3rd grade boycut. I studied abroad for 3 weeks in Ukraine, an interesting choice but determined largely because there were no interesting classes in other places in the world. It ended up being a great choice, because when else would I ever decide to go somewhere like that? Furthermore, I made some great friends and had some hilarious experiences. Particularly one night at an opera house with an old lady with bad teeth…ah, memories. I also tried Nutella for the first time, and let me tell you, that was a life-changing experience. Well, maybe that’s taking it a little too far, but I really liked it anyway. Also in my college travels I took a road trip with Eric and our friend Rebecca to Tennessee to visit one of their friends. During that trip I slept in a cave one night. It was cold and damp, pretty much what you expect a cave to be like. Well worth it though, if only to say I’ve done it.

            In December of 2005 Eric proposed to me, and we spent the next 20 months planning our wedding. On August 18^th, 2007, we got married on the rainiest weekend in August. It rained pretty much from the moment we woke up on our wedding day through the first days of our honeymoon. Rain or not, it still remains one of the best days of my life.

            January 2008 Eric and I took a road trip to visit Matt and Laura in Washington, D.C. That spring I graduated from college, and the following December Eric graduated.

2008: I began graduate school at St. Thomas. Mostly that meant intense reading and writing and studying. I also started working at Holy Rosary Parish in Minneapolis.

2009: Eric and I took a “real” honeymoon to Italy in January. It was one of the best overall experiences of my life. We stayed in Rome, Florence, and Venice, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our time there. We decided, however, after traveling so many times in January, that for our next big trip we are going during warmer weather.

            In October I ran the Twin Cities marathon, and finished in under 5 hours. I may not have been anywhere near the fastest, or even the middle of the pack probably, but I ran the whole thing without stopping. I can now cross off one of the things on my “bucket list” (although I don’t call it that, I call it the “to-do before I die” list).

In December, I took one of the shortest but most monumental tests of my life. It came back positive. I was pregnant!

2010: Most of the year was spent getting fatter, preparing for a baby, and finishing my Master’s program. I finished classes in May, left my job at Holy Rosary, and spent most of the summer studying for comprehensive exams. Also in May Eric and I went to visit Maria in Chicago, and in July we took a trip to California for a wedding and for a vacation before the baby came.

In August I took one of the longest and most monumental tests of my life, the MAT comprehensive exams, and I passed. Whew. I received my diploma in December and am officially a Master of Theology.

On 8/18, Eric and I celebrated 3 years of marriage together. On September 4^th, 2010, another one of the best days of my life, my daughter was born and I became a mother.

2011: Today, 2/17/2011, I am 25 years old. A quarter of a century old. 25 years ago I was born, and now I have my own child. I feel as if things have come full circle, that I am in a new phase of my life. This is a good time to reflect on that phase, to look back at all I have done and to look forward to what I still want to do.