I recently went on a road trip with a college roommate to go visit another college roommate. Here's a glimpse into our adventure:
- Number of different beverages consumed: 8
- Number of gigantic American flags seen: 6
- Number of World's Largest Truck Stops seen: 1 (there only IS one)
- Number of stops for Fast Food: 4
- Number of Adult Bookstores seen from I-80: 3
- Number of Outlet Malls seen from I-80: 3
- Number of degrees dropped in one day: 38!
- Number of funeral processions encountered: 1
- Number of "modern" rest areas seen from I-80: 2
- Number of strangers who waved at us: 5
- Number of college friends mentioned or discussed: 23
- Number of wrong turns: 1 (in SB)
- Number of stops of gas: 8
- Number of Kum & Go gas stations: countless
- Number of CD's listened to: 20
- Number of states traveled thru: 4
- Number of Facebook status updates via mobile: 8
- Number of times down an Ice Cream Cone Slide: 5
- Number of pancakes/waffle syrups sampled: 5
- Number of shoes in vehicle traveling west: 9
- Number of shoes in vehicle traveling east: 11
- Number of times I-pass was used, saving time AND money: 4
- Number of John Denver songs sung accapella: 2
- Number of conversations about sex: 3
- Number of conversations about future children: 5
- Number of times we got mooned: 1
- Number of times we mooned others: 0
- Number of times seeing police lights in the rearview mirror: 2
- Number of times pulled over by the police: 1
- Number of tickets received from the police: 0
- Number of miles traveled: 1,403
- Fastest speed reached: 84
Maybe I should quit my job to blog full-time. But I don't think benefits OR a salary come along with blogging. So, maybe I'll re-think that idea...
I have a lot of stories to tell, a lot of pictures to post, but at this point I just can't promise what I will end up sharing. Life is busy, and I guess that's a good thing. But I do hope things slow down a bit. I like being able to catch my breath every now and then.
PS, Only 4 particular people would get what I'm refering to by putting "It's been a week" in quotes, and I don't know if any of them read my blog. Yet I still write it and get my own enjoyment out of it.
- There are a lot of crazy people out there.
- It’s time for another pedicure.
- It’s amazing what one night at The Backer can do for one’s soul.
- I need my own PR.
- I should really have a cooler and ice packs. And those foldable camping chairs that go in a bag you can throw over your shoulder. Yah, I need these things a lot and get sick of having to borrow them from somebody else. Oh, and an Atlas too.
- Being around certain people can lift me up.
- Being around certain people can bring me down.
- My family is AMAZING.
- “You. Can’t. Type. With. Coffee in your hand.” Or so I was told by one of the lawyers in my building.
- There's something great about opening up all the windows in my house.
- I find it amusing that I sleep with my windows open while my neighbors sleep with the heater on.
- It's VITAL to have something to look forward to!
- You can’t expect fulfillment to be found in your job. You have to have a life outside of your work.
- Gas is WAY too expensive.
- I know almost nothing about the Lincoln Highway, which makes it really difficult to write about.
- I love babies.
- My friends’ generosity amazes me.
- I really need new tennis shoes.
- When my house is unorganized my life feels unorganized.
- It’s time to get organized.
- I can make my coffee as strong as I want it!
- It really irritates me when strangers call me "Jen" when I tell them my name is "Jennifer."
- I have become obsessed with walking, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
- I'm seeing, learning, and appreciating all sorts of new things.
- I am so blessed.
- Things just might be getting better.
- I carry a lot of stuff in my purse, lots of coffee club cards, etc. - JUST IN CASE!
Even staples like bread, milk, eggs, I just don't often need to buy.
As I was inputing my latest purchases, sinceI'm now keeping track of all expenses, I thought my latest grocery bill was quite a bit random. Apparently this is what I need to survive the next couple weeks:
- a bunch of fat free Yoplait yogurt
- Diet A & W root beer (finally-I've been craving this forever!)
- Diet Coke with Lime
- strawberries
- bananas
That ought to be a big enough reminder for my boss, eh!?
So, now we know he knows. The only question remaining is, Will he do anything about it?
Happy Administrative Professionals Week to me!
Happy Administrative Professionals Week to . . . ME-EEEE,
Happy Administrative Professionals Week to me!!!!!
cute flowers in a cute mug, last year's gift
I am such a good Adm. Asst., always working hard.
Need office supplies? This AA has gotcha covered!A friend asked me today if I had any summer plans. At first I heard “slumber plans” (I was feeling a bit sleepy, yes). Upon clarification, I told her I am very much looking forward to my friend Velvet’s wedding in June. I am honored at being in the wedding party and know it will be a wonderful (and highly organized!) event. The whole fam is going, and it’s going to be a mini vacation/weekend getaway in Northern Wisconsin.
So, that’s early June. And . . . that’s it. Yes, I’ve got fun things going on the next couple weeks, but that’s spring, not summer. Isn’t summer supposed to be this fabulous, magical combination of lazy days in hammocks, traveling, taking vacations, making memories, exploring, and being adventurous? I flip thru my summer calendar and see a lot of blank days, except for the occasional work event.
I HAD things planned, which have since been covered over in whiteout, trying to make myself forget about all the past plans for the future. That’s an odd way to describe it, huh? “Past plans for the future.” I had ALL sorts of plans. Some written down for specific dates, but a lot of plans for my future in general. Plans, hopes, goals, dreams. Shattered. Erased. Disappeared. Evaporated. Gone.
It’s a hard thing to deal with, having your entire future change. I’ve been trying to pull myself and my life back together. It’s not easy. I’m rethinking goals. I’m clarifying goals. The pastor of my church recently stated, “If you don’t know what you want, you’re drifting.” That struck me.
I realize now that in the past couple few months I had been getting lazy and sloppy in my path to my goals. I had been drifting. I’m challenged now to refocus on my goals. Financial goals, career goals, spiritual goals, exercise goals, weight loss goals, relational goals, stewardship goals, educational goals, personal goals…
"If you don’t know what you want, you’re drifting.” I don’t want to drift thru this life. It’s the only life I’ve got. I want to THRIVE, not just survive.
This gave me such pleasure.
Everybody’s talking about it today, sharing stories of how they felt it and how it woke them up. And I’m actually kinda disappointed that I didn’t get to experience it. They’ve also been feeling the aftershocks throughout the day, and again, nothing for me. I’m feeling left out.
I’ve felt just one earthquake in my life. At work in California one morning suddenly dizzy, it felt like either I or the room was swaying back and forth. When it didn’t let up, I started thinking, “Is that an earthquake???” My co-worker next to me said, “You feel that?” I nodded speechless. My brother then called and asked if I had felt it.
Apparently it was a non-traditional earthquake, the locals told me. It was more of a “rolling” earthquake. But I don’t have anything to compare it to. I used to frequently think I was experiencing an earthquake as I was laying in bed at my home in Burbank. But it turned out it was just a train from a few blocks away. Every morning I felt it, though, my first thought was, “Earthquake?”
For the last week I’ve been wearing a pedometer, keeping track of the steps I walk every day. It is recommended to walk 10,000 steps per day. My relationship with my pedometer is that of a love/hate. It is way too frustrating to have the pedometer fall off and reset (repeatedly). But if it actually stays on and makes it all the way to the end of the day, and if I actually walk as much as I should, it is really exciting to see such a large number displayed on it at the end of the day!! Wednesday was the only day I walked that much without it resetting. I had to take the photo just before I took it off for the night.Yesterday I was a crazy walking woman. I did my now ritualistic morning and afternoon walks. And when I got home, I decided there was nothing else I wanted to do besides walk. So I put my tennis shoes on, grabbed my sunglasses and was off to explore new walking territory.
I crossed over the bridge and ended up on the north side of the river, getting to see my island and my neighborhood from a whole new point of view. It was really quite lovely. I had to go quite a ways before I could cross back over the river. I ended up in some areas that brought back a lot of memories from my college summer days. Ahhh, those good ol’ days.
Anyways, adding up the steps from all the resets, I know I made it over 15,000 steps yesterday, which was pretty amazing. I was feeling it for sure, especially since a nice chunk of the walk was uphill.
I find it quite interesting though how I view walking as recreation, not as transportation. I walked 2.5 miles and then drove .7 mile to meet up with Jen and Andy. Granted I had to take a big bag of stuff with me, and that could have been awkward carrying it along with my big purse.
I just like being able to walk hands free with nothing weighing me down. But for my extended walks, I’m wondering if they make some kind of water bottle carrier that can clip on to me somehow I guess. Some sort of clip for the waist that I can put a bottle in???
Let me know if you know of anything like that. Until then, I’ll keep walking.
Putting much thought and discussion into the current coffee situation, I have come up with a list of potential variables on how my coffee can taste better:
Have better coffee.
Clean the coffee maker with water.
Clean the coffee maker with water and vinegar mix.
Have freshly ground coffee.
Use filtered water.
Use COLD water.
Rethink amount of coffee grounds.
Use a metal coffee filter.
Use a different coffee maker.
Last night my sister-in-law was nice enough to give me some of their good coffee (brother had a harder time parting with it). It was measured to be exactly 3 tablespoons to go along with my 3 cups. I ran a cycle thru the coffee maker with water and cleaned up the area that the coffee comes out of (I don’t know proper coffee maker terminology, obviously). Then this morning I made sure I was using COLD water, rather than cool water.
So, I took 4 of the 9 steps. Results? It does taste better, but it seems there’s still a slight after-taste. Is that normal?
So many things to do to make it actually taste good. Is it worth it? Should I invest in a Brita water filter next? A metal filter? A coffee grinder? Or just spend the $1.27 at McDonalds?
my mornings:
my source:
my treat:
my joy:
my excitement:
my entertainment:
my retreat:
my fun:
Knowing what a fan I am of McDonalds breakfast foods, he would frequently bring me a special treat or two in the morning, always including a cup of their wonderful coffee (he had my whole order memorized, medium coffee with 3 Splenda and 1 creamer, what a guy!). Or if he missed the breakfast hour, I would end up with a RANDOM bowl of chili from some local diner. Alright... Well, I'm never one to turn down free food!
We would chat, tell stories, talk about our weekends and our lives outside of the office, give each other relationship advice, laugh a lot...
Last week Jerry went out on his own. He started his own business! So he's no longer in our building. He showed me his new office just down the street. He's close. I still see his vehicle. He came by the other day to chat for awhile. And as I was out walking the neighborhood, I saw him at his desk with a view up on the third floor of his new office. We waved and smiled at each other. But it's just not the same.
I miss Jerry Boy.
On a recent outing for Japanese food!
If you had a $25 gift certificate (expiring next month) for Amazon.com, what would you get?
Welcome to my world. And it’s my own fault that we have garbage bags in our office.
It started when I realized I could make a decision to find a better waste removal company. The one we had was not consistent in actually removing our trash weekly like they were supposed to. I might as well mention names: ALLIED WASTE pretty much picked up every other week even though we were paying for a weekly pickup. I had to go check the dumpster every week to make sure that the trash had been removed. Half the time it hadn’t so I would have to call them and complain. I got so sick of doing this. They wouldn’t keep track of the missed pickups or they’d have no record of previous occurrences. Our salesman wouldn’t return my messages. Their driver would make up excuses. And they totally bent the gate on the corral for the trash.
I couldn’t wait for our contract with them to expire and I could say “Forget you, Allied Waste! We don’t have to put up with your horrible service anymore!” In the meantime I found another company, Waste Management, who would pick up for even cheaper. Yea me! Right?
We sent a letter to cancel our service with Allied, and even though it was received and signed for by certified mail, I KNEW with them I had to follow up. I’ll spare you the details, but it took 10 phone calls on my part (you bet I was keeping track!) before I FINALLY got them to confirm cancellation of our account and actually put up their dumpster from our property. Needless to say, it was quite a hassle, and I couldn’t wait for Waste Management to come along and redeem the situation.
Meanwhile, Waste Management couldn’t deliver their dumpster while we still had the one from Allied. Once the old one was finally picked up, I arranged for delivery of the new one. It took a couple days to fit it on the schedule. And then I got a phone call stating that the driver couldn’t deliver because the gate won’t open all the way and there isn’t a pavement bottom where the dumpster would go.
What?
I went outside and even had my co-worker confirm to make sure I wasn’t crazy. The gate DID open all the way, and we DO have a cement bottom in the corral.
More phones calls and messages back and forth with Waste Management. I call Customer Service/Sales. They email the dispatcher. He phones the driver. They make up excuses. It’s ridiculous. Meanwhile, we have no dumpster, and our trash is piling up.
Waste Management stopped returning my calls. Lovely, huh?
I’ve found a third company who is going to come out and investigate our location to make sure they can deliver (no point in signing a contract if they come up with crappy excuses like the last company as to why they can’t deliver). We spoke last week, and the soonest she would be available is today.
I hope this one actually follows through and accepts the offer. I don’t even care that it’ll cost more than the last company. I just want our dumpster back so I don’t have to dodge bags of trash as I walk down our hallway. Really – is that too much to ask?
I can’t believe this is my life.
But tonight it's right at the front, and I'm talking about it and blogging about it.
I'm all for women being in the workforce. I know this hasn't always been accepted, and I know a lot of women did a lot and sacrificed a lot in order to make it normal and socially acceptable. I am grateful for that.
HOWEVER...
I feel our culture today looks down upon women who aren't working outside of the home, but who instead choose to stay home with their children. There is a certain stigma on a woman who says she wants to be a wife and mom. So, we don't say it. In fact, if we think it or feel it, we think there's something wrong with us. We feel inferior.
Well, tonight at small group, 2 questions were posed for discussion: 1) When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? and 2) What/where do you want to be in 5 years?
I decided to be honest and said, "In five years, I WANT TO BE A WIFE AND MOTHER." I shared some other stuff as well, but I've decided I'm done feeling ashamed of this desire. It's what I've always wanted, and it keeps being reinforced, especially lately.
I received encouragement from some of the men in the group, telling me that it's the greatest job in the world to be a parent. But it wasn't until after the group was over, and I was chatting with another girl from group out in the parking lot that she said, actually shouted, "Kudos to you for stating that desire!" She went on to say that's all she wants too, but that she feels she can't say it because of how she will be viewed!
Ladies, we've kept silent long enough. It's ok to desire motherhood! And it's ok to be proud of that desire! Kudos to you if you can reach that point too!
thanks for your comments and suggestions. i write this in response:
i drink my tap water and think it tastes fine. i use cool water.
i make a 3 "cup" pot every morning for my travel mug. coffee "cups" are just 5 oz. for some reason. so it's 15 oz.
i buy coffee already ground.
i can't remember how much i used to add when the coffee was considered strong, but lately i have been doing about 1.5 - 2 tablespoons for the 3 cups.
i didn't even know a metal filter was an option.
another suggestion i received offline (smirk) was that i give my coffee maker a thorough cleaning.
i have a lot of things i can try, obviously. i'll keep you posted.
Every night after I crawl into bed and remove the pedometer, I write down how many steps I walked, how many miles I walked, and how many calories I burned. Then I reset it for the next day and leave it on my nightstand until the next morning.
But it pretty much sucks when mid-day the pedometer falls off, hits the ground and resets itself. Suddenly I’ve gone from thousands of steps to five. Who knows what it was at; I hadn’t checked it in a couple hours. I’ll just pick a random number and go with that I guess. GRRRRRRR…
It started off really strong (or so I was told). So I decreased the amount of coffee. Now it’s struggling to be strong enough. Or it just has an unpleasant taste to it.
I’ve tried 3 different kinds of coffee. And I’ve tried 4 different kinds of creamers. It just isn’t tasting good.
Today I measured the coffee exactly – no rounded tablespoons like usual. It tastes weak and then with a weird after-taste.
I really want to be able to make my own since it’s so much cheaper than buying every day. But when it consistently turns out this bad…what do I do???
That's just soooo wrong...
Bill paying? How boring.
I know! I've never done anything big with my refunds. What do you do with yours? What do you suggest I do with mine? Ballpark $1000.
Any ideas?
Turns out those were all documents from 2005 instead of 2006! How does THAT happen???
I was back to the drawing board today. And I'm pleased to say (again) that I think I have all the correct paperwork now.
So, that's my big task for tomorrow. Then hopefully I'll be able to get them sent Monday, one day early. :)
So, now I just need to get them started.
And finished.
Fun...
Driving to Nappanee
Dinner with the girls Friday
A quiet and productive weekend (hopefully)
Visiting my parents and hearing about their trip to West Baden Springs
Hanging out with my brother and hearing about his trip to Maine
Going to Library
Not waking up with a headache
Having my taxes DONE
Hearing Dr. Bob at GCC
A good spring thunder storm
A cheaper cell phone bill
The church bells tolling on time again
Getting new tennis shoes
A road trip with roomie Sarah
Visiting roomie Becky in Nebraska
Continuing to re-do my guest room
Hiking at Potato Creek State Park
Hanging my new artwork above my bed
My bangs growing out
Celebrating Administrative Professionals Week (Apr 21-25, mark your calendar!)
The Blue Gold game, holla!
Sorting thru everything in the attic (hello, Spring Cleaning!)
Increasing my steps per day
May 3rd
Fridays by the Fountain
Printing photographs
Returning to my hobby of scrapbooking
Spending less money in April than I did in March
Figuring out a budget
Having flowers in my front yard
Getting back to my goals
What are YOU looking forward to?
I'm getting a bit worried.
I have my W-2 form.
But that's it.
Still need to find a whole lot of stuff...
Crap!
Finally when I had 3 hours as a passenger in the car recently, I switched over all my phone numbers into the new phone (over 150; it took WAY too much time). And then I had my old new phone deactivated and the new new phone activated.
I let a couple few days go by and then decided I have to get this sent back!
So Monday night I deleted everything off the old new phone—all the pictures, all the text messages (sent and received), all the contacts in the address book… And of course I had to stop along the way and ponder over pictures I’ll never again see. I had to re-read messages that will forever be gone. Then yesterday throughout the day I packed everything up. Gathered up all the stuff they sent with the phone – the box, the charger, the instruction manual, a “Welcome to Sprint” booklet, etc. Put it all in the box, put the box in the big padded UPS envelope, and started to go about filling out the shipping form.
I went out to the UPS Store after work yesterday, had the store manager look over the form to make sure it was all correct, and off it went. Finally!
I went back home relieved to have it finally taken care of. I sorted thru some papers, made dinner, sat down to eat dinner, popped in an episode of Arrested Development, put my feet up on my ottoman and looked down and saw my old new phone sitting on my ottoman.
!!!!!!!
What?!? Wait, which phone IS that? Is that my old old phone? Is that my new phone? I knew which phone it was; I just couldn’t believe it was true.
I ran to the kitchen, found the UPS Store’ number in the phone book, and frantically called them up. “Hi, I was in there about an hour ago, dropping off a 2nd day shipment package. I forgot to include something in the package. Is there anything that can be done?” The manager remembered me and my package, “Was that going to Sprint?” “Yah.” “If you get here within 30 minutes, it’ll still be here.” “I’ll be there in 10!”
Ten minutes later, I was there, but he couldn’t find the package. “When did you say you were in?” “An hour ago.” “Hmmm, we had one pickup… Oh, here it is.” He cut a slit in the package, slipped in the phone, and taped it back up.
And off it went, this time for real with everything (hopefully) included!
PS, I'm loving my links now that I know how to do it!
There’s something soooooo great about unwinding. Coming home at 10 pm after a LONG day in professional attire… Taking off the shoes, taking off the bra (ladies, can I get an “amen”?), and changing into loungewear! Getting comfy on my great green sofa and stretching my feet out on my ottoman. Kicking back with a blog and a small bowl of Edy’s Limited Edition Girl Scouts Thin Mint Cookie ice cream. Maybe I’ll watch some Arrested Development. Or maybe I’ll just enjoy the silence. The house is empty tonight. It’s kinda weird, but also kinda nice.
I look forward to a quiet day in the office tomorrow, as well. I mean, I never look forward to the office. But I do look forward to the fact that it will be quiet. I did a lot today and got a lot checked off my To Do list and will continue to work at it tomorrow.
Tonight I made the decision to be social for a bit, something that I haven’t been real into lately. It’s just sorta hard right now. But I have to remind myself of the importance of community and fellowship. Without it I am isolated and tend to lose my focus. I get too self-absorbed.
I was challenged recently with the question, “Why is it ‘not good for man to be alone’?” (Genesis 2:18) I don’t have an easy answer. I just have my own experiences, knowing that I function better with someone else.
My friend Stephen shared a message about community this past Sunday that I would have loved to hear had I been in town. He talked on Ecclesiastes 4:7-12.
7 Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:
8 There was a man all alone;
he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
"For whom am I toiling," he asked,
"and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?"
This too is meaningless—
a miserable business!
9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:
10 If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
“Pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” Wow. That is so true. We all need friends. True friends who are there for you as you travel the valleys, ones who stay with you and hurt with you as you suffer and strive for something better, ones who will walk beside you, always encouraging you and reminding you that there IS something better, something worth striving for.
Not every friend can handle that. I heard someone say recently that when he went through a rough time he realized how many of his “friends” should actually be referred to as “acquaintances.”
I’m grateful for those friends who have been there for me. And I pray you have friends like that in your life too, someone who will help you when you are in the valley of your life, someone who will reach out and help you up when you fall down.
It’s a soothing, comforting, peaceful ritual that I have experienced for the last year and a half. And I never realized how much it affected me until this week.
Suddenly the bells are tolling at 11 and 4. I think they moved up the date of changing for Daylight Savings Time this year, and apparently it was originally scheduled for this past weekend. So that has messed up the bells, and they can’t get a repairman out to fix it until next week. I know this because I called the church to get the scoop. It was just too perplexing for me to NOT call.
It’s been bizarre to hear the 12 tolls and not start thinking about lunch. Then I lose track of time and before I know it it’s almost 12:30. Hey, what happened to lunch?
And of course at 4, I want to start packing everything up and get the heck out of there! But I keep plugging away and then lose track of time and end up working past 5.
It’s just too bizarre to not react when I hear those bells. So, for this week, I’m just supposed to ignore them. Yah right.
Just call me Pavlov’s dog. Did that dog actually have a name?...
I found the earrings, but I couldn’t find the ring. I double-checked my jewelry box and the shelf in my bathroom where I sometimes leave my jewelry. But I knew it wouldn’t be there because I KNEW I hadn’t taken it out of my purse pocket. I emptied out my entire purse, thinking maybe it slipped out of the pocket into the main compartment of the purse. When it wasn’t in there, I knew it was gone. My precious diamond ring that represents and provides so much to me was gone. Maybe it slipped out and ended up underneath the seat in my car. Or maybe it slipped out sometime while I was getting in or out of the car and it ended up outdoors on the street or in a parking lot.
Maybe it’d turn up months down the road, but for now it was gone. I was close to crying when I looked again at the pile of pocket items and couldn’t believe it.
...
...
...
This is “Never Alone” by Barlow Girl
I waited for you today
But you didn't show
No no no
I needed You today
So where did You go?
You told me to call
Said You'd be there
And though I haven't seen
You Are You still there?
Chorus:
I cried out with no reply
And I can't feel You by my side
So I'll hold tight to what I know
You're here and I'm never alone
And though I cannot see You
And I can't explain why
Such a deep, deep reassurance
You've placed in my life
We cannot separate
'Cause You're part of me
And though You're invisible
I'll trust the unseen
I cried out with no reply
And I can't feel You by my side
So I'll hold tight to what I know
You're here and I'm never alone
We cannot separate, you're part of me
And though you're invisible
I trust the unseen
I cried out with no reply
And I can't feel You by my side
So I'll hold tight to what I know
You're here and I'm never alone
- Every day is a battle.
- I don't know how to become stronger emotionally.
- Friends won't always be there.
- Some people's eyes will never see my successes.
- My body is not good at healing. In fact, it actually has a tendency to reject it.
- Every earthly thing I hold dear can disappear in an instant.
- Life will go on. It just won't be the life I envisioned.
- There is still hope.
- I don't fall out of love overnight.
- My April is even harder than my February because of my March.
- I really like apple juice.
- Maybe I have too many socks.
Hmm! Who knew!?
I'm certainly not trying for two days in a row though!
