What a Night

Tonight I was at Lukas' to hang out and we had a visit from the fire department. For the fire in the oven. They came after Gretchen and Heather put out the fire...

The night started out normal: I arrived to...wait, it wasn't quite normal - Elliot wasn't jumping all over me and barking incessantly! Hailey was at the top of the stairs saying 'kan'i, kan'i!' over and over again. I walked up the stairs into the living room with Hailey wanting me to pick her up as I shrugged off my coat. Gretchen and I exchange hi's as I picked up Hailey. We all go into the bedroom where Ezra is lounging on the bed, just waking up.

Gretchen grabs Ez and we go out to the kitchen, where Gretchen is getting ready to make peanut butter cookies. After the cookies are mixed up (with Hailey trying to eat the flour and the batter and saying 'cookie' all the while) we start preparing supper: french onion soup (thanks, Jenni!) and grilled cheese sandwiches. (Mmmmm!)

We sat down to eat, keeping in mind that American Idol would start soon, and we had a nice time visiting over the food. Gretchen cleaned up while I took Ez out of the bouncy seat - he was feeling left out - and Hailey headed off to her bath.

Just as Hailey’s bath ended American Idol came on and while we were waiting for the first pan of cookies we watched upstairs, after which we moved downstairs to watch it on the big screen. (and getting the volume to work is a whole 'nother story in itself!) So, Gretchen, Hailey, Ez and I were all settled in downstairs watching American Idol when the night got interesting.

Gretchen started smelling burning cookies so went to check on them. I thot nothing of it - figuring that the timer had gone off and we hadn't heard it. Well....Gretchen started screaming for Heather to come up cuz the oven was on fire. Heather went running upstairs (with me following to bring Hailey back downstairs) and....you'll have to ask Gretchen the rest of the story. I kept Hailey and Ez happy in the basement while Heather and Gretchen put out the fire and started cleaning up the mess. Oh! Did it smell...bad. Not like peanut-butter-cookies-burnt-bad, but... house-burnt-down-strange-and-kinda-indefinable-bad. After calling Dan’s mom Gretchen called the fire department. They came. It full gear. They checked everything out. Used the word 'fluke'. They left. Dan came home. (remember me saying before that he always leaves when I come over?) I went home....and spilled stuff all over my car that I had to clean up, but I don't want to talk about that now...goodnight!

Not Empty Handed

Just when I was ready to start simply surviving....I popped the new Avalon CD in and this is what I heard:

I think I caught you just in time
I caught you trying to survive
Broken pieces in your heart, never mend
But every hope you’ve ever had
Can breathe again

Love won’t leave you empty-handed
Broken down and somewhere stranded
Love won’t leave you hanging on for life
Cause love is
Love is always true
God is love
And love won’t leave you

I wanna say you’ll be okay
Always doing things the hard way
Living paralyzed by fear
But you know
You can let it go today
And save tomorrow

Love is gonna free your mind
Love is gonna steal your pride
And even though the hard times come
Love is gonna make things right

I think I caught you just in time
Love is gonna save your life

Dreams

I woke up frustrated today. I have been updating a bunch of special pricing at work for the past month and it’s finally getting to me. In my dream, a sales rep was yelling at me for not getting his price letters done fast enuf, there were several guests wandering around, and some listened to the rep. Not that anyone could drown him out, tho. He is loud to begin with.
The dream progressed with my boss growing taller (than he already is) and standing over me all the time. He was laughing at the rep and scowling at me. One of the guests started laughing at us so hard he was crying.

Today is Josiah’s Golden Birthday! Woo Hoo! Party time!! Happy Birthday, Josiah!!

Kissing Cousins

Tonight I met Janet at my grandparents house for supper. Oma prepared a tasty potato bake, bacon, grapefruit, pears, home-made-bread-toast, and served no-flour peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips. Mmmm! What a tasty meal! The conversations that went with the meal and followed would have scared anyone who didn’t know us. Good thing Opa and Oma have known me all my life - Oma said Janet ‘fits right in’ with me…Yup. We knew that already. For some goofy reason it keeps coming up, tho. Craziness.

When You Hurt

I woke up singing this song by Krystal:

I desire for you to understand
I wanna be there when
You need me, my friend
Let me be the one you cry to
I know that I can truly make you happy

Cuz when you hurt you know
I hurt just as much as you do
And when you hurt you know
I hurt with you
I hurt with you

Don't believe all the things
People say about me
Cuz they will tear us apart
I just wanna be with you
So that we walk together
For worse or for better
I know that we can make it

You gotta believe
Put your trust in me
All it takes is faith
I will help you believe

How can any of us make a sad friend truly happy? We can hurt with a friend, but never as much, because we don’t fully know/understand what that friend is going thru.
I find it wonderful that Jesus calls me ‘friend’. Not only am I ‘friend’ but ‘child’ and ‘beloved’ and ‘family’ and…get the drift? :-)
Only Jesus can really hurt as much as I do (in things I get hurt by). And He comes along side, so understanding and loving and accepting and forgiving and…He hurts with me! How awesome is that?!?!
If I believed half of the things I’ve heard about Jesus, would I follow Him? Probably not. But, still. Jesus wants to be with me, to walk and talk together - for better or worse! Together, Him and I can make it thru the toughest storms of life!

Copies, Please!

AT WORK WE GOT A NEW COPIER/SCANNER/PRINTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THIS IS A HUGE DEAL!!!!!!!!!!!! WE'VE NEEDED ONE SINCE FOREVER!!!!!
THE ONE THAT FINALLY GOT JUNKED IS OLDER THAN ME AND THEY QUITE MAKING PARTS FOR IT QUITE A WHILE AGO.

Second Chance

Well, Jenni stayed until 12:30. We had some good and some funny conversations…and some very heated rounds of Care Bear Uno!

At 6:35 (on the dot!) I met Katie, Marcus, and Janet to watch ‘Second Chance’. Since I didn’t know quite what to expect, I…had mixed feelings about the movie. After all, it’s Smitty! No time for a full review, and who knows when I’ll have time???

Mom and Dad got home at 10 from Ishpeming, and we hung oiut in the kitchen talking about our weekends. Great itmes, but 5:30am comes mighty fast...

Cookies

Got up this morning and made 2 batches of peanut butter cookies…Jenni’s dad wanted some, and him talking about them made me want some, so…woo hoo! He gets some (but no meatloaf!)! Uncle Clay and Aunt Pam dropped by to pick up the two brown chairs from the basement - so now I can put out the papasan chair from Marcus!! Yay!!! !!!!

Time to get dressed for church! Jenni’s coming over after!! :-) Haven’t talked with her in a LONG TIME!

Taco

I get to see Deb tonight!!! YAY!!!!!!!!! She is making Tacos. This will be fun! (in more ways than one…)

In one week Kristina will be 16. Woo Hoo!!!!

Day 10 of Surprises

It has been a busy week, with no end in sight! I hope to home one night next week so I can get some stuff done in the basement…more organizing/getting rid of stuff/re-arranging!

This is one of my favorite songs right now (by POG):
Hearts of hope
Seem hard to find these days
As darker deeds
Have their time on center stage
We watch it all
Unfolding scene by scene
And a happy ending
Seems a fading dream
Fear and desperation have their day
At least until faith steps up to say

I believe – though God is out of sight
He’s working in the middle of all things
Evil may have its time in the spotlight
But love is waiting in the wings
Love is waiting in the wings

It’s your life
As it plays out don’t forget it
Heartache comes
But the stories not done yet

When shadows come, your courage wants to fade
Remember in a moment, everything can change

There’s always
More to any story
Than just what’s here and now
There’s not one
Hopeless situation
That can’t be turned around

Do It Again

‘Do It Again’
Point of Grace

Just when I think it couldn’t be
Any harder down here
Another blow comes out of nowhere
And knocks me out again
And when I think I’m all alone
The phone starts to ring
It’s just the voice I needed to hear
On the other end

You do it again, You do it again
You speak to me just like a friend
You always seem to show up right on time
You do it again, I guess you know when
My heart needs to hear your voice
I’m so forgetful, that’s why I’m thankful
You do it again

I could be driving in my car
I turn the radio on
Trying to figure out my thoughts
Then I hear the perfect song
I can open up Your word
And not be sure where to turn
But I start to read and it’s like you know
Just what I need

You use all these things to speak to me
Could it be you’re using me
In someone else’s life
Well I wouldn’t be surprised

This song reminds me of surprises…and of how forgetful I am, and how Jesus sends someone my way to remind me again that He loves me and knows what I’m going thru.

Coldness

Today. What a glorious, cold day. Eh. I hate the cold of MN. I got a good sleep last night (which was much needed)! The sun was out and stretching this morning, but now is covered up by clouds. Brrrr…

Surprise parties. I like them. Except when they’re for me. I like hanging out in the background and planning the surprise - not being the surprised. Was reading over lunch Terry Esau’s book about every day being a surprise party for us thrown by God. Hmm…now that idea I like! Since I’m at work, I’ll write more later…if I remember about it! (Which reminds me of a new POG song ‘Do It Again’. But, that, too will have to wait…)

Valentine's Day

Seems this valetine's day has been more than I was expecting!

I got some great surprises...and a few valentines (that I wasn't expecting!)

The last time I got a valentine I was 16 and Dad found this crazy funny one he wanted to give me before he and Mom left for Ishpeming for Winter Fellowship. I still have it. In fact, While I was working on organizing all the stuff I have, I found it again and was reminiscing as I looked thru all the letters and cards I have kept thru the years. It is black velvet with a metallic red heart and the word 'Boys' on front and inside it says 'Now that I have your attention, Daughter, I'd like to wish you a happy Valentine's Day!' It still makes me laugh!!!!

Sleep calls... repeating 'I am not sick' over and over to myself only works for so long...I just need to pin up the valentine from Hailey and I'm off.

SURPRISE!

Well, so...I got home and SURPRISE!! Aunt Judy sent home a loaf of her AWESOME homemade bread FOR ME!!!!!!!! (Don't worry...I may not share.) And THEN! I opened the box from Amazon.com, expecting 2 little boxes of face soap...and got SIX! For less than I woulda spent at Target for TWO!!!!!

Off to see the Lukas clan, sans Dan…always sans Dan…maybe he is avoiding me?

Not Sick

I get to see Gretchen and Hailey and Ezra tonight! Yay!!! The ‘I am not sick. I am NOT sick!’ seems to be working. I just got home and am feeling much better. And I always feel better when I step thru the door at Lukas’!!

Injured

Oh! What a day! Been working on the price mailing and special pricing all day…They are both nearing completion!! Jack didn’t come in today, so I had some stapling to do in the back to get the books ready for our sales reps and to be mailed this week for all our distributors who are on our mailing list. (I am not sick. I am NOT sick!) Got a pin-sized prick on my finger that was bleeding pretty bad…don’t know where it came from, or how long I had it til I discovered it. I also have this raised red blob on my arm - it doesn’t hurt or itch, it’s just…there. Sigh. I have so many injuries that I have no idea where they come from…it’s craziness (as Jenni would say!). Maybe I beat myself up in my sleep? Who knows…

Orientation

Bleck. Do I have to get up? I was so disoriented this morning…it was weird. I usually don’t feel that awful unless I’m sick, and I can’t be sick cuz I’m going to Lukas’ tonight! (Repeat to self: I am not sick. I am NOT sick!) half way to work I thot I forgot to grab my lunch…and breakfast…and snack. All my food. And no money. Makes me hungry just to think about it! When I got to work, I discovered the only thing I forgot was my Dove dark chocolate - not too hard to replace! Fred (from work) keeps a drawer full for me, and I’m the only one who eats dark chocolate at work…that could be VERY dangerous! (I am not sick. I am NOT sick!)

Birthday Surprise

Work. Ugh. What happened? Oh, nothing…I just got told I looked like I was really sick. Thanks. Huh.

Monday night group was fun! We threw a surprise birthday party for Jen!! :-) We all had a good time and Matt came! Jack had fun grossing some out with his ubber gooey silly putty stuff that was pink and sparkly. He pretended it was boogers! Haha! Lots of variations of ‘gross’ stuff was done with the stuff before Bob finally put it away. (Note to self: remember to bring Flarp next Monday!) Jack also was talking about being scared of something and when we laughed he said something to the effect that adults don’t have ‘scaredness.’ We all looked at each other…and laughed. Poor Jack. He’s an awesome kid!

Yay!

Oh, the birthdays! Today is Jen's birthday, tomorrow is Aunt Judy's birthday! This afternoon, a bunch of family met at Biaggi's in Maple Grove to celebrate Aunt Judy's birthday.

Tuesday my grandparents are flying home from Texas for two weeks. This weekend they are driving to Ishpeming to visit friends, then coming back to the Cities to visit some more with us then flying back to Texas.

I get to see Hailey soon!!!!!!!!

And I found 'Adrienne Vittadini'!!!

A Saturday

Another day of sorting and packing away and (hopefully) throwing away…yay! Church is tonight. I wonder if John will announce that Dan & Gretchen are leaving bluer?

John did announce about Dan and Gretchen leaving…and even tho I knew of the decision a week ago and understood why they are leaving… I still felt like crying. I will miss seeing them at church, but I will still be seeing Gretchen and the kids once in a while during the week, tho Dan is usually working somewhere far far away. Sigh.

After church those of us in the Monday Night Small Group Bible Study (or whatever we are calling it?) migrated around deciding to throw Jen a party for her birthday, which is tomorrow. It will be fun!!!

I wanted to go out with the bluer group after church, but was too hungry and had no money, so hung out at Russie’s instead! Janet came, also. We (Janet, Marcus, Katie and I) were gonna watch Marcus get his ear pierced again, even tho he can only have it in for 3 weeks before he’s on base again…Marcus cracks me up! However, he forgot his wallet, but was gonna borrow money from Janet until they remembered (as we were getting out of the car at the place) that he also needed his ID!! So, no piercings for Marcus tonight.

Ranting

HEE! Today at work we had a mandatory 20 minute Safety Training video to watch. It was funny watching the reactions of people spilling chemicals on themselves. The word ‘cheesy’ comes to mind…I s’pose none of the safety movies were ever intended to be good, tho. Just informative. Like…we saw why exactly I avoid taking anything off a shelf that is over my head…a guy evidently did not put the cap back on whatever chemical he was taking down (it was probably water for the movie) and got a mouthful of it!! Or the guy who, when the 55 gallon drum of stuff spilled, dropped to the ground - in the spill - and started screaming until someone came and carried him out of the spill. Then the video turned into a sort of strip show when they started showing us how to use the de-contamination shower and remove contaminated clothing…Oi vey! (Madagascar!)

We all laughed when an employee’s cell started ringing…and then starting beeping cuz he got voice mail! (Which brings to mind: ‘Please turn off all cell phones and pagers’ at movie theaters!)

To start back at the beginning of the day, the sunrise was pretty neat today! From my vantage point it was a peach ‘V’ with an orange globe in the center! And all hazy thru the tree branches. So nice!

An annoyance: when I am not answering the phone at the front desk and one of the other girls pick up a call for me they do not write a message for me, they just tell me ‘someone (we don’t know who) called for you.’ I wish I had voice mail here! Or that they would just learn to page me when I have a call!! Also: if I get pulled into a meeting with the VP (or anyone, for that matter!) that goes past when I’m s’posed to go to lunch, DON’T GET MAD AT ME FOR NOT LEAVING ON TIME!!!!!!!!! SHEESH! The meeting was so I could figure out how to do part of their job, anyway. (I need to stop ranting now!!)

PS – If anyone has heard of the perfume ‘Adrienne Vittadini’ please let me know! I got some for my 16th birthday and have been trying to find it since…

Trying To Get Organized

Today I was really excited to get off work – not because I got to go home, but because I was going shopping (with Mom) for big storage bins – despite the snow. (Ugh. I greatly dislike snow, and I dislike driving in it even more!)

After I finished taking down all my Christmas tree and decorations (it seems to be tradition for me to wait til the week before Valentines to do this…since forever!) and (carefully) smushing them (or, most of them!) into one of my new bins, I got down to the nitty gritty of rearranging my ‘keepsake’ bins…2 20 gallons totes…full of old games, pictures, childhood books and dolls, ticket stubs, saved letters and e-mails…(get the picture?)

I found myself laughing when I pulled out my first license plate…from my first car, with the hole in it from my first car accident that happened the first time I drove the car…the hole is the only damage from the accident – where 3 cars where involved!!

I kept on laughing when I found the bubble envelope with ALL the receipts from when Katie, Rob and I flew to NY for a week. That was an awesome trip! So much crammed into a week, it was crazy! We drove from Buffalo to NY City on less time than we were told we would (it didn’t help any that I drove…)

I also re-discovered Elf Herself books (I didn’t keep the dolls) and tons of my favorite books that I loved as a kid. Like the ‘China Tate’ series that I got one year fro my birthday from all my friends. I had a really awful Sunday before when they all had a ‘meeting’ after church – and told me to stay away! (They were planning who was gonna buy which book and how they’d keep me from buying the books myself with the birthday $$ I’d already received!) And there’s also the Discovery Book about Abraham Lincoln that I read so much it’s taped together (printed in 1974 – before I was born!).

The first Bible I ever got is also packed safely away. I got it from my great-grandma Owen when I was born. I also kept the picture Bible I got from school when I graduated first grade.

The last gift my great-grandma Dodge gave me is in there (a stuffed, flowered turtle), as well as a doll that she made me and several other gifts from her! I remember the first time I tried coffee was the night I slept over at her place when I was maybe 9. I will never drink coffee again!

I also kept the plastic egg that had the little bunny figurine (stored elsewhere) that happens to be the only gift I have ever gotten from my cousin Jeremy one Easter. He got all us cousins one when he came back from Navy boot camp. Of course, silly me dropped it and the ears went fling to odd ends of the basement, but Josh (Jeremy’s younger brother…also a cousin!) found both the ears and Dad super glued them back on when we got home and my bunny was saved!

And then the dolls - oh! the dolls! Teddy bears that Mom made me, a doll Opa bought me on one of his trips, a dog that looked like our old neighbour's dog Winnie...and Kimberly. Apparently, the day my brother was born, he bought Kimberly for me. She came with a bottle that she drank from, and she was tub-safe so she often took baths when I did. The bottle is gone, but Kimberly remains!

Mom's first attempt at a teddy bear - always one of my favorties!!!
The side is ripped, and if I move the limbs around too much the felt rips.

Somewhere in the stack of ticket stubs from movies and concerts I attended there is a little notebook that I ‘inherited’ from my Grandma Hamble. In it is pasted jokes that she kept when she was growing up! (So, now we know where I get that habit from!!!)

At the bottom of the pile was some receipts from when Jenni, Katie and I went to Las Vegas for a week. Such a nice warm week in Vegas in January! I didn’t keep all of them, just the important ones – like my plane stubs and the money claim ticket from when I ‘lost’ 99¢ at the Exalibur (where we stayed). And the package the Erik Bleumon came in! (I unfortunately didn't keep him...his head popped off. Some know that story…I won't relate it here!)

But, now it’s after 10 pm and I have yet to eat supper, and I’m tired. More ‘organizing’ tomorrow!!

Shadows Prove the Sunshine

Gotta love Switchfoot! Of course…a year ago I didn’t like them!

My life has had a lot of shadows lately…it was interesting hearing this song for the first time cuz of everything that was going and gaining a new perspective on it:

Yes, sad things happen, and they cast shadows in my life, but those shadows wouldn’t be there if Jesus wasn’t shining light into my life, right? :-)

The Shadow Proves The Sunshine
Sunshine, won't you be my mother
Sunshine, come and help me sing
My heart is darker than these oceans
My heart is frozen underneath

We are crooked souls trying to stay up straight,
Dry eyes in the pouring rain
The shadow proves the sunshine

Two scared little runaways
Hold fast to the break of day light were
The shadow proves the sunshine

Oh Lord, why did you forsake me?
Oh Lord, don't be far away
Storm clouds gathering beside me
Please Lord, don't look the other way

Crooked souls trying to stay up straight
Dry eyes in the pouring rain
The shadow proves the sunshine

Shine on me,
Let my shadows prove the sunshine

How dark it must be for those who don’t have Jesus in their lives to guide them and love them and walk with them. That is one thing that is very hard for me to imagine: a life without Jesus in my life, without the ability to call out to Him when I need help, without the knowledge that I’m never alone, even when I feel forgotten…

Break Time

Guess what?! Work lost all power! My lunch time has been extended!

Automate Me

Full Having Not Eaten

Yesterday I ate...maybe 4 spoonfuls of chocolate cookie dough. Unhealthy, I know, but ohsogood!!!!

This weekend Katie, Janet and I got together and bought all the stuff for and made 2 pans of lasagna, 3 pans of chicken pot pie, 5 lbs of meatloaf, and tons of calico bean bake. And 14 loaves of banana bread and 2 batches of chocolate cookie dough to split between us (for eating, not cooking!) Tons of food! We also got tater tots, meatballs, Toasteds crackers, honey roasted peanuts and more...so much food!!!!!

Working with all that food made me un-hungry.

I have a total of 30 completed meals in my freezer, plus dessert and snacks and more food to make other meals later...all for a little over $40! Makes me hungry thinking aobut all the yummy food tucked away waiting for me...I think I'll go eat supper now!

Blonde Calls

At work I often get crazy and weird calls...and I have decided to post them, cuz although they sometimes annoy me when they are happening...I have great fun laughing at them immediately after!!!!

Here is a call from today:
Me: Hello. This is Multi-Clean. How may I help you?
Guy: Yeah. Do you manufacture any of the Multi-Clean chemicals?
Me: (pause, roll eyes) Yes, we do.
Guy: Oh. OK. What is your company name?
Me: (deep sigh inside, wondering if this guy is deaf?) Our company name is Multi-Clean.
Guy: Oh. Well, OK then! Thanks.
End of phone call...

A favorite caller of mine is a guy who calls from our Corporate office in Addison, IL...every couple months he calls our office asking for 'Pam.' We have no Pam at our office! And I tell him so every time...next time, tho, Darvion and I concocted some funny things to say!!! :-)