In the Months Gone By

I feel as though the last couple months have been a whirlwind, and yet I look back and wonder what makes it feel so. There hasn't been any one thing particularly exciting, but maybe it's all the little things that makes time fly.

 

We love having our friends over for a formal party around Valentines Day. It's a night of scrumptious food, laughing and dancing.

Back in December, I chopped my hair short! Well, it's short for me. I cut off a braid that measured 15" and then cut about 4 more inches off so it came just above my shoulders. I do this every couple years so I can donate it to Locks Of Love which makes great wigs for kids going through chemo.

 

Last year I helped the local florist make boutonnieres for the prom, which was lots of fun (I got to see my corsage ahead of time too) and this year I was asked to come back and help again with the corsages which are more complex and time consuming. We had a little refresher course a couple weeks ago and I made one that was lighter and smaller than most of them. They really are rather bulky and heavy sometimes, it makes it awkward to wear them when they are slipping and sliding all over your wrist. I do like the combination of the spray roses, carnations and daisies though.

Ohhh my! Have I discovered the most wonderful chocolate meringue recipe! I shall have to share it with you all once it is perfected! (yes, these are the things I get excited over!)

 

I woke up on the first day of spring to several inches of fresh snow on the world. While everyone at work was complaining that it should be warm by now I couldn't help but love how beautiful it looked sparkling in the sun that afternoon.

 

Have you ever chased the sunset?

 

It makes for such a beautiful past time.

 

Last night we celebrated Seder with some good friends.

It is amazing to think of how this tradition has been carefully carried out over so many hundreds of years.

 

Maybe you've heard of the Jane Austen stamps that are being made in the UK to honor the 200th birthday of Pride & Prejudice. I couldn't resist ordering some because while I obviously can't use them here, I love stamps and keep my favorites in a stamp collectors book my Opa gave me years ago.

 

Now since I bought my stamps, The Royal Mail service is mailing fliers to advertise new collections. The newest one coming it Doctor Who stamps. I don't know if my bank would like me to keep ordering them though, I accidentally froze my account trying to order the Jane Austen stamps!

 

Speaking of the UK and whatnot, look at my new tea tin! I know its terribly cliche, but I do love it!

 

I've been reading a textbook from the Culinary Institute of America. It's quite fascinating too. Though it makes me rather hungry.

Oh look, I've officially been accepted into a small college about an hour away. I'm now getting the paper work taken care of, dreading the placement test, lost in the mess of financial aid, and so excited to be enrolled in the Culinary Arts program!

 

 

I recently did my own taxes too, but there is nothing exciting to say about that, nor a picture that adequately describes my feelings on the subject. So I shall close this post.

 

Have a happy day!



When I say...

The following is something I saw posted on facebook, and I unfortunately do not know who the original author is, but I read it and thought, "I want to read this everyday." So I wrote it out and hung it up in my studio/work space.


When I say that "I am a Christian," I am not shouting that "I am clean living." I am whispering, "I was lost, but now I am found and forgiven."

When I say "I am a Christian," I don't speak of this with pride. I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say "I am a Christian," I'm not trying to be strong. I'm professing that I am weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say "I am a Christian," I am not bragging of success. I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say "I am a Christian," I'm not claiming to be perfect. My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say "I am a Christian," I still feel the sting of pain. I have my share of heartaches, so I cal upon His name.

When I say "I am a Christian," I'm not holier than thou. I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow!

Adventures of snowy roads and bad tires

To conclude my drawn out tales of the week, I’ll have to dedicate this last post to the adventure I encountered on Thursday.
Thursday is generally a good day. Why? Because this semester I only have to drive down to college three days a week, which means that Thursday is my last day of school. This past Thursday though was not the smoothest one that I’ve experienced because the adventures of the week continued. The morning and early afternoon classes passed quietly and normally, but my friend and I had to drive back down to the dreaded Art Center for a pottery class. (No, I didn’t drive again!) It was dark by the time we were heading back to the campus so I could pick up my car and an icy snow had been falling for some time, giving the roads a slippery coating. I ran from my friends car to my own, shivering as I cleaned off the snow and jumped in to crank the heat. I barely made it up one of the hills as I left the schools parking lots and grimly thought “oh boy, this is not gonna be a fun ride home.”
The combination of my heavy car, the balding tires and the slippery roads forced me to creep along all the back roads at a maximum of 30 MPH. Somehow I made it up (and down) some steep hills without causing damage, but I did slide off the road twice going around a curve. Both times I was able to keep enough control over the car so I could direct it enough to end up with only my front tires in someone’s lawn the first time and then I managed to slide into a driveway the second time. After driving for about 45 minuets, I was on a rare straight stretch of road when, guess what happened? I ended up completely off the road. Barely avoiding a road sign, I slid along the edge of a deep ditch, sliding up and down both sides and nearly nose-diving into the wall of it, before the car finally came a stop on the bottom. After that I called my dad, and about 12 people stopped to ask if I was ok, did I need anything, was help coming, etc, a nice police man came, and after making sure everything was ok, parked next to the ditch with his flashing lights on and waited until my dad pulled me out. I didn’t even get home until about 8pm that night, when on a normal night I would have been home around 6:30. Needless to say, it was a very long day.
I’m glad God has a good sense of humor though. He must have seen that I desperately needed something to laugh about because while I was sitting in my car, my water logged eyes caused me to fumble with the radio dials for a while before I actually found the right one, and it flipped onto a country station. Of course the one song that was playing was ‘Jesus take the wheel’ by Carrie Underwood. I sat there and had to laugh at the irony of it all and thank God that he kept me safe through the whole ordeal.
P.S.
Yes, I finally got my winter tires put on my car now.

Last first day...right?

Today I went back to my classes, which I had (and still have) mixed emotions about. Yay, cause I'm learning new things and when it comes down to it, I really don't mind college that much. On the other hand, it takes me away from spending my days doing only what I wanted. Yes, my disappointment in going back was due only to my selfishness.
It started off not as well it should have in my opinion. I was trying in vain to avoid some of the puddles in the parking lots, but alas, it did no good and my feet were wet from 11 am to 7pm. I forgot my water bottle and being cheap I didn't want to spend money on bottled water, so I went without, resulting in  a migraine. My last class, though it was fun, seemed to drag out a little long. The fact that it was a 3 hour class nay have had something to do with it I suppose. When I was freed from the class, I ran to my car and started the hour drive home, squinting all the way because the glare of the lights on the pavement hurt my head.
At last! My warm and cozy house! After realizing I was going to be a crank, I got warm, got food and went downstairs to hide in my room. But then my little brothers (ages 17 and almost 7) came down to the basement to practice their football skills, which includes but not limited to, the ball banging against the wall, screams from being tackled, smashing into the wall in order to avoid being tackled, etc. I was laying there thinking "please, just be quiet for a few minutes!" But then I heard it. My 6 year old little brothers giggle. My other brother had just showed him some kind of trick, and it put little Zeph into a fit of giggles. I don't even know how to describe it, but it never fails to make me smile.
It made me realize how amazing my life is. God has given me such an amazing family, one who is there, ready to support me and help me through things when I'm frustrated and need help. They tend to help me the most when they don't know it though, like tonight with the giggles and laughter, suddenly the bangs and thuds didn't bother me. I love my family. I think I'm gonna go give them all hugs now.