Blessed New Year

I pray you all have a fun and safe New Year's Eve. Here's to a brand new year full of adventures!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Fantastic Trip to Ohio Placeholder

This is a blog to hold the place for a future blog (because I don't have the time to write right now) about my fantastic trip to Ohio. So until that blog (complete with pictures and all that razzle dazzle madness) takes place, please know that I had a most incredibly fantastic awesome amazing wonderful fabulous (and all related adjectives) trip to the great state of O-HI-O.

Stay tuned...

Bedtime Story Blanket

This is a fantastic idea!! I wish you could really buy it because it would make for an amazing gift for a couple of my friends. A blanket that is a book too!!



Check it out:

http://tiagodafonseca.com/work/bedtime-stories/

Back in Florida

I need to be witty and insightful. It's been a while since I've had one of those good posts, but right now I'm just going to be completely honest. I don't want to be here. I want to be where my heart is...Ohio. Florida friends are amazing and fabulous, but no one can replace my family. I realized how much I love spending time with my nieces and my parents and my sisters and how much I really do enjoy having everyone around. I wish I were just a couple of hours drive from them rather than a couple of hours flight. Sigh...

In the end, I'm confident that God's will is at work and that He has a plan for my life which includes me being in this place at this time. Back to work tomorrow. Lots to get done.

And really, there's lots to look forward to in the coming months. Many road trips and adventures.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas (I'll post more about my fantastic Ohio trip soon!).

Broadcasting Live from the Orlando Airport

Sitting at the Orlando Airport. OF COURSE there is PLENTY of people watching. Let me make you a list to help you better envision my airport experience:

• A buddhist monk....carrying a briefcase.
• The dumbest man in the airport. How did I know? He was wearing an Oklahoma jersey. GO GATORS!
• Mickey ears e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. Seriously. Only in this airport (and I suppose the Anahiem and LA airports) is it completely normal to be wearing Mickey ears. I suppose I should be happy they are keeping my job alive. Thank you, tacky dressed tourists, thank you.
• Butt crack. Oh yes, that's right. While checking my luggage there was a teenage girl in front of me who was showing some MAJOR butt crack. Let's just say that when I have kids, they will not be allowed out of the house with jeans that don't fit aka hang low on their hips. I don't care what the trend is. Modesty is hott (that's right. Hott with 2 t's). Forever and always. End rant.
• Guy traveling to Columbus with a Nalgene bottle that has an Obama sticker on it. So I can partially blame you for the great state of Ohio going Blue in November. Sad, sad, sad.
• Thug kid sitting next to me for a while listening to his gangsta rap. Yeah, you're awesome.
  
• Ohio State University gear on many people. Sigh...can't wait to be home. OH-IO.
• People wearing shorts and flip-flops to Ohio. In December. Where there is snow on the ground. And cold weather. I am dressed in a sweater with socks and shoes and a coat and scarf waiting for me in my checked baggage. I suppose they could have jeans waiting to change into, but that'd be weird to change into jeans once you're there, right? I don't know, maybe not.
• People in front of me talking about Disney. It's interesting to hear them talk. It's like doing unofficial market research.

YAYAYAYA! LOADING! :)

Night Owl

I think I'm my most productive at night. It's 2:30 a.m. and I'm just now ready to go to bed (minus vacuuming I failed to accomplish). I leave right after work (well, early from work) tomorrow (I guess, technically, today) to head home to Ohio so I had so so sooooo much to accomplish tonight. Plus, I had Worship Team rehearsal at church which cut about 3 hours out of the middle of my evening (making me realize that if I hadn't gone to rehearsal I would be in bed at about 11:30 pm. sigh). Anyhow, tonight I finished laundry, folded it, packed (which for me, is an entirely too difficult task. Especially when I'm traveling from 80 degree weather to 25 degree weather. My running clothes alone take up about half of my suitcase. Plus, I had to pack all the Christmas gifts I bought for people back home, too. So I have 2 suitcases. That's right, 2. Packed to the brim. STUFFFED.

After packing, I finished my Christmas cards (I'm sure I missed half of you...I'm sorry. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!), recorded my receipts from the last 3 months (yeaaaah, just a bit behind), cleaned the kitchen/did dishes. Swept the kitchen. Annnnd now I'm ready to go to bed. I have to get up early to go for a short run, finish packing (toiletries that I couldn't pack tonight), stop at Walgreens to pick up a few last minute items, head into work, finish up a few last minute items and gather things to work on while in Ohio, give a presentation, stop at the bank to deposit some checks, stop at the post office to mail my Christmas cards, and finally HEAD TO THE AIRPORT!! I will be so relieved to check my bags and get through security. I'm anxious to be in Ohio and be with friends and family.

Alright, I'm sitting here procrastinating hoping I will think of any items I failed to take care of--oops, pay credit card. Yep, better go do that.

Safe travels for anyone traveling this weekend! And if you're one of my Ohio friends--I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU!! :)

Nothing Insightful, Nothing Witty

Just me and my excitement surrounding my journey to O-HI-O in a few days!! The schedule is JAM-PACKED with friends and family and I absolutely CANNOT wait to see everyone.

Friday Juan is picking me up from the airport and I'm hanging out with him. Saturday I'm spending the day at the Koebel residence decorating cookies and hanging out. Saturday night I'm hanging out with Juan again. Sunday I get to see sooo many people as I head to Marci's house for a her open house (she's in town from Oregon so how convenient is it that she put together a party!!). I'll get to see Marci, Adam, Marissa, Ashley, and more!

Sunday night my sister is picking me up so we can head back to Defiance. I have to work on Monday, but Monday night I get to have dinner with Dan (haven't seen him in 3 years!!), Tuesday I'm having lunch with Chelsea and Wednesday lunch with Andre (haven't seen him in about 5 years!!). Thursday I'll obviously be with my family and my ultra adorable and hilarious nieces! And Saturday I get to see all my cousins and I can't wait!!

And of course, there's fitting time into see my Grandma and maybe even a few other friends.

It's going to be completely busy and insane but I love the opportunity to catch up with friends and family. I'm going to savor every minute of it!

Please pray for safe travels for me :)

Here's what's running through my head...

Here are some of the many things running through my head...it's a whirlwind, so buckle your seatbelt...

• Phil is going to be here tomorrow so we can hang out the entire weekend!!! I am SO STINKING EXCITED!!
• I get to wear jeans to work tomorrow! SCORE.
• I'm moving into an OFFICE tomorrow (out of my lovely cubicle). DOUBLE SCORE!
• Tomorrow is our office potluck and DVD exchange. I love the holidays!
• Erika cut my hair tonight and I LOVE it. And we watched some Duggar Family goodness in her home theater. So much fun!
• I ran 15 miles last night. I was supposed to do 20, but only made it through 15. Hey, I'm okay with it.
• I'm going to be home in 1 week!
  
• I absolutely cannot wait to see so many amazing people in Columbus. And then lots more in Northwest Ohio. Going home just never gets old. I love Ohio.
• I wish I could be more consistent about reading my Bible and having quiet time every day. I'm trying trying trying. And praying for God's help!
• Next week I'm going to the eye doctor and hopefully getting new glasses. I'm excited!!!
• Video chatting is one of the coolest things ever!
• I need to fill out my application to go to Africa this summer. I'm soooo excited about it. I just need to find some records of my last immunizations. Uh...where do I even attempt to look for those at?
• Jon McLaughlin is coming back to Orlando on January 25th. I'm stoked to go see him. Maybe it'll make up a little for having to miss Jason Mraz.
• I'm super excited about going to the Capital One Bowl with my dad on New Year's Day. I've never been to a bowl game so this'll be way fun!!!
• Work has been crazy busy but I'm seeing progress on projects I've been working on for a while so I'm excited!
• I'm anxious for our intern to start. I could definitely use the help, but I also have so much prep work to do before he gets here!

Life is insane and crazy and most days I love it. Still many things that I'm struggling through every day, but I know that God is carrying me through the hard times and molding me more and more every day.

A Celebration at Disney for Me!!

Check out this sweet video

Weekend Update

This is the weekend update courtesy of me.

Friday night Matt, Erika, Slack, Erika's brother, and I went to Northland Church to see Leeland, Sixpence None the Richer, Sara Groves, and Jars of Clay. It was such a great concert!! Mostly Christmas music and they did a lot of collaborative songs which I loooove!! Each band has so much talent and it definitely helped to put me in the Christmas spirit. Plus, it's always fun to hang out with friends!!

Yesterday morning I got up bright and early and headed downtown for the OUC 1/2 Marathon. I'll be honest, I wasn't super excited about running, but I had already signed up for it so I decided I wasn't going to put so much pressure on myself, but rather, just go out and have some fun. I ended up breaking my previous 1/2 marathon record by quite a bit!! I ran the 1/2 Marathon in under 2 hrs. 1:55 to be exact!! I was so excited and I felt soooo good running. I didn't feel like I was pushing myself really...I was just running and enjoying the run. Something I haven't done in a really long time.

After the 1/2 marathon I hurried over to Rachel's house for Christmas Brunch. It was so nice to catch up with Rachel and Rebekah and get to know some girls better that I've only met a few times. We also had a White Elephant Gift Exchange and it was pretty fantastically hilarious. I love White Elephant exchanges...probably more than real gifts. So funny.

After leaving Rachel's place I headed over to Megan's house to cheer the Gators to victory!!! What a stressful game the first half. But then the Gators pulled through and played strong after halftime. It was fun watching them win!! And it was great spending time with Megan and enjoying good food and fellowship!

And now it's Sunday morning. And yes I am certainly enjoying the Sabbath as I sit here on my couch in my pjs still at 11:00 a.m. I am exhausted and sick :( Yuck, having a sore throat is NOT fun!!! But I'm about ready to get motivated and get on with my day--I have to finish Christmas shopping today!! Ahhh so much to do!

I hope you are all enjoying the Christmas season :)

Faith like a child

I was home for the past 2 days because my grandpa died. I think funerals are a bittersweet time. My grandpa lived a long, full life and at the end he was full of a lot of pain so in many ways, it was time for him to rest in peace. Part of the time spent at home over the past 2 days was a celebration of his life. He was a son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, farmer, air force veteran, friend, and so much more. But obviously it was a time of great sadness too. It was hard for all of us to think of him not being around any more and especially hard for my grandmother who has spent the last 20 years with him. They were best friends and did everything together. It saddens me to think how her life will change and how she will have to work through this in the next days, weeks, and months.

Before the funeral yesterday, my two nieces, Britony (4) and Kerigan (2) arrived at the church with my sister. I picked up Britony and gave her a big hug. I asked her if she wanted to go see Grandpa Ken. We walked up to the casket and she asked if she could touch him. Then she told me that Grandpa Ken was going to be with Jesus. She kept asking why everyone was crying and we continually told her that we were sad we wouldn't see Grandpa Ken anymore. She told my dad at one point that she doesn't like when people cry and she wanted to make them smile. She said she could smile a lot at people and hug them to make them smile. And when any of us would cry she would just come over and give us a hug. We went up to the casket a second time to look at Grandpa Ken and she wispered to my mom and I "I like his lipstick. It's pretty" My mom and I just smiled. It's just funny how simple things are for a child. How much we think they don't understand, but they really do get it. I don't know if Britony completedly understood everything that was going on, but I think she got the final jist...Grandpa Ken had died and was going to be with Jesus.

Earlier in the day she was talking to my sister (her mom) about Grandpa Ken dying. When my sister started to talk to her about Grandpa Ken going to be with Jesus, Britony said "Dying doesn't sound like very much fun. I'm just going to ask Jesus to come to my house instead." You know what. I don't think that's such a bad idea. I think this little girl has more faith than most of us. To want to invite Christ to her house to spend time with him there? Not a bad idea at all. I think a lot of us put off getting to really know Christ and build a relationship with him because we think "There's always tomorrow. I'll read my Bible tomorrow. I'll say my prayers tomorrow. I'll go to church tomorrow. I'l start tithing tomorrow." But then tomorrow turns into the next day which turns into the next day and so on. And then what? Are we going to wait to encounter Christ at our funeral? No, I think Britony has it right. Why don't we invite Christ into our homes. Invite him to lead our lives. Not a bad idea at all...I think I want to share in her four year old faith.

Anyway...back to the funeral. Please continue to be in prayer for my grandma. She was strong through the funeral and showing, but I know she's missing him now and will continue to miss him.

Cold.

Update of the day. Ohio is Cold. And Snowy.

I need Africa more than Africa needs me...

It's been a busy few days. Busy and chaotic. Pretty much what my life is made up of. Thanksgiving was good and I enjoyed spending the time with my parents and my friends. Very early Saturday morning my Grandma called to say that my Grandpa had passed away. He's been fighting cancer among many other illnesses for a long time now and I know that the pain was really wearing on him. My heart hurts for my Grandma...I cannot possibly imagine what the pain must be like to lose your husband. And my Grandma has had to endure this twice now (her first husband, my biological grandfather died before I was even born in a car accident. Ken, her second husband who just passed, was her high school sweetheart and they got married when I was probably 3 or 4 so he's basically always been my Grandpa). I don't think the reality of it all has really hit me yet. I've been trying to process it, but it's hard because nothing has changed in my life. It's not like I called him on a regular basis to talk to him, but I think it will hit me when I go home for Christmas. He won't be there during Christmas giving me a hard time, picking on me, asking me how things in Florida are going, etc. I think that may be when I realize it's real...he's gone. I'm so thankful that I was able to spend some time with my Grandma and Ken/Grandpa this past winter while they were here in Florida.

So if you think of it, please pray for my family. Especially my grandmother. I pray that she'll be strong and that she'll trust in the Lord to provide for her. I really admire her.