ohhhhhh i just HATE it!

yes, i know it's a strong word and it should be used w/ caution... and yes i mean every last letter of it... i HATE technology. if i could go back to the days of horse and buggy, of paper calendars, and snail mail letters, i would! (yes, i know the irony of this as i sit here fuming over it on a blog!)
any/ every sort of technical problem seems to pop it's ugly head into my life. between the lost work i had to redo at work and trying to create a digital scrapbook, this week has been the pits! after an hour on shutterfly, i gave up! for some reason it wasn't saving things correctly and it was taking forever to drag photos onto another page!!!! ugh!

random thoughts

since the jfk my running has been.. well, fickle to say the least. in the last week, i've picked up p90x - i haven't been as hard core as i guess i should be... but i seem to be in a funk. the weight's comin' on as a little reminder to get off my toosh... but after throwing out my back two weeks ago, my back has been really stiff and in the last few days i've been feeling sick. so the hard core side of me says... get over it! and the cautious side of me says, i'm not getting any younger and to take it easy. so, what should i be listening to??? hummmmm we'll see what i do tonight.

our jewel's bedroom - makeover

i thought about taking pictures but it looked like such a disaster zone that i really didn't want any evidence for the mess. that way, when i read this post one day in the long distant future, i'll only remember the nice clean room, not the messy, cluttered, i've been letting our jewel slide way too much room.

so, it's been taking me a really long time, and so far the only thing i've done is made her window treatments. i took two off-white bedsheets i found in the linen closet and glue-gunned pastel ribbons on the top and bottom then hung them up on rods. i kind of made a mistake when i measured -- mainly because i just eye balled it and you're never supposed to do that... oh well. so instead of drilling 4 more holes into the wall 4 inches lower, i decided to keep them tied back on each side and i put two storage ottomans in front to create a reading nook.

next, my plan is to add some color to the white bookcases and paint the floor a periwinkle. it's concrete flooring that's eventually going to get carpeted over so it really doesn't matter how badly i mess that up ;)

off to work on the bookcases.

i'm procrastinating

yesterday i checked something on my work computer to find that all the work that i did on thursday - GONE! huh?!
it's sunday evening i should go back and work on it, but i really really really don't want to. :( boo hoo.

Raclette

We did this for new year's at a friend's place and now i want one:

i liked it a lot better than fondue. in case anyone wants to get me one (mm-hmm, isn't valentine's day around the corner? ), amazon's selling one for $100 :)

quote of the day

I started reading a biography on Oswald Chambers today: Abandoned to God.
There's an incident in the book that's gotten me thinking...

Oswald Chambers is visiting a friend who is really sick. His wife asks Oswald what he thinks is going to happen to her and his response is:

"it doesn't matter what God does, it matters who He is"
-- Oswald Chambers

it seems callous on the surface, but when we reflect on the character of God alone, and not on what he can do for us ... the quote takes on a new meaning of mercy.

reading progress

last post for the day, i promise!

i just wanted to jot down a note to remember this day. our jewel's learning to read, as i mentioned... well, i was pretty hard on her last week one day when i lost my patience... (did i tell you that the next day the teacher sent home a note to the parents reminding us that this is a PROCESS and not spend a lot of time on it?) anyhoo, since the note (she was probably writing to me) i've been really intentional about not making it a big deal and if she couldn't get it, then i would just say the word for her.... well, today. she was AWESOME! she sounded out the words, said them and remembered it when the word showed up again a few pages later. tonight, when i read to her before bedtime, she remembered a few of the words we've been working on, so we "read" together! yeah!!!

target shopping

our jewel goes to a school where uniform is strictly adhered to, so it makes clothes shopping for me much much easier -- and cheaper! but today we went to target and i found her the cutest dress for under $5! she really didn't need it, but for under $5 who could resist? not I.

prayers of a child

i love the simple, innocent prayers of children. so humble. so full of faith.
the other night we had a couple over for dinner (well, actually they provided dinner - isn't that the most gracious thing ever?!) and i just provided plates and silverware.
anyways, i'm getting off topic... our jewel wanted to pray and she prayed for everyone in our small group (couple was from our small group so they knew who she was praying for). it was cool to hear her praying for everyone, even ones not there that night - that God would keep watch over them and "bless their hearts". everyone but herself.
so selfless.

P90X update

today is day 3 of the workout and WHY is my chest still sore from day 1?!

today's workout was the kenpo X, which is pretty similar to billy blank's kickboxing workouts. wasn't so bad, but i'm not looking forward to tomorrow - shoulders and back! ugh. i'm so out of shape!

our jewel was so sad not to be able to workout w/ me today. she's really getting into exercising w/ me. but on the way home from school today she said she wanted to do the exercises w/ the girls, not the boys, because the girls were pretty. that translated into, she wanted to do one of The Firm videos, and not the P90X vidoes.

my my my, advertising works at such a young age!

P90X

OK, so i finally jumped on the bandwagon and started this today.
i'm not a big TV watcher, so it took me a while to realize what all the hype was. apparently, it's just the latest in workout videos. that's right, it's the 2009 version of Denise Austin, the Firm, Billy Blank's Kickboxing...
since i'm trying not to sign up for any long distance races this year, it kind of puts a drag on my training... because i'm just not that motivated without a goal.
but p90x is set for 90 days. so here we go...

day 1: chest and back.
my comments - hard workout, even after cheating through all of the pull ups (basically 1/2 the video), and hitting the stop button a bit prematurely... making the excuse i had to clean house... thank goodness we had small group tonight :)
i'll have to see how sore i am tomorrow.

the latest 411

i threw out my back on sunday... doing nothing out of the ordinary... just picking up some water from costco. it's now wednesday and i'm still hunched over, in a lot of pain, and cranky all over. this is coupled w/ the fact that busy season has started at work and it's been hectic...

i'm not sure how long this is supposed to last, but i wish it would go away. sign of old age??? ugh!

impatient me

our jewel is learning to read... she has homework that we work on everyday.
today (and yesterday for that matter), i heard myself get irritated, frustrated.. ugh!
i yelled for her to look at the letters when sounding them out. for her to focus and spell out each letter... ugh.

but really, i was yelling at myself. that i wasn't showing more self control and being more gracious... for getting uptight about something, when in fact she probably just needed some encouragement.

Lord, help me to be more patient tomorrow...

the new new thing

apparently what's in right now is extreme wheelchair.
check this out.

something cool

i saw a really neat trait in our jewel over the holidays that i wanted to earmark.
we had a friend over for the day and they have a little one a year younger than our jewel. i loved that our jewel just took her under her wing, shared her toys w/ her, made sure she was ok, and just looked after her. it was so sweet. no bickering or fighting over the toys. at the end, she even make sure she didn't forget any of the pieces of the christmas gift our jewel gave her friend (even though our jewel wanted the gift for herself).

like mother like daughter

i'm seeing two traits in our jewel that take after me that i wish she didn't. only because i see them as weaknesses in me and i fear they may be stumbling blocks for her in achieving her desires.

1. impatience - i hope she'll develop an earnest joy in working through problems and enjoying the process as much as the outcome. i'm purely an end result person. i will cut all corners (nothing unethical or anything, i'm talking about things like crafts, cooking, etc. -- see previous post on ornament wreath, not proofreading these blog posts, etc) just to get it done. i hope our jewel will see the benefit and reward that comes from perseverance and the process of learning. i've been fortunate to be partnered in life w/ someone who does just that - enjoys the moment, takes in the process, and works diligently through a situation.

2. perfectionist - our poor jewel is so hard on herself. it's ok to make mistakes. in fact, it's required! it's part of being human. on new years eve, we went to a gathering and our jewel had a plate of brownies in her hands to take to the hostess. she got to the front door and just as she went to put down the brownies to ring the door bell, what should happen but the plate went tumbling with the chocolately chcolate brownies along w/ it. she was so upset and burst out in tears. my precious jewel. it's ok. in the grand scheme of things, it's not a big deal. i appreciate your desire to want to do things right, but let's not lose focus on the things that are important. we still enjoyed ourselves and there was plenty of other food we snacked on. there will be times in your life when you lose those plate of brownies, but there's still a party you can go to and have fun and enjoy being with others. don't let something so small spoil your fun.

on the flip side, over the holidays, i saw something in my mom and i knew exactly where i got my trait. it's the concept of multi-tasking, taken to the 10th degree. my mom can do multi things at once like you wouldn't believe... but sometimes when you're around it, it can be a bit tiring and taxing on you if you're expected to go at the same speed. i'm a multi-tasker. (hence the running and reading books, or folding laundry while watching a movie)... but pale in comparison to my mom. anyways, it was new years morning and the girls were in the kitchen doing our thing. my mom was running around getting a lot done, meanwhile also delegating. well, as a multi-tasker,you expect/ think everyone goes at your speed - so mom was calling for things faster than i could get them done. i got a glimpse of my man's perspective... i'm surprised he hasn't yelled at me to slow down and have a little patience... esp after i yelled, what's taking you so long two seconds after i asked for it?!

it's one of the joys of the holidays -- to see the generations gather and the handprint one has left on another. i cherish these memories because while they may be tiring, frustrating, whatever... they're my memories and i praise God that He's allowed me to be a part of them.

here's to memories to come.

Bible reading

I just finished the last chapter and i am officially done!
unfortunately i didn't keep to the schedule so rather than being 90 days, it was more like 130 days.

i have to admit that this time around wasn't that great for me.
here's why:

1. i really really really do not like falling behind of a schedule. it's the oc side of me. so i was constantly irritated at how far behind i was.
2. i did almost all of my "reading" via podcasts. i listened to most of it while driving or running. while it made for efficiently checking off the chapters, sometimes, it's not about efficiency. often times (esp i was having a hard run or was just tired, then i found myself zoning out - even after replaying the same sections!)
3. if i do listen to the Bible, then i need to find a way to get it all in one version. it was really disconnected switching versions every other day or so. i uesd one podcast as my main source and he went from the message to the new king james to the english contemporary.... etc. it was all over the place. really hard for me to follow any motifs or themes which is why i like to do the 90 days reading to begin w/!
4. the podcast i used was by a guy who liked to talk/ share, ponder... whatever you want to call it for the first 1-3 minutes of the reading. it DROVE ME NUTS!!! i know i shouldn't get so upset about it because he wasn't doing anything wrong, but i just wanted him to get on w/ it!! see? i'm still upset about it!
5. towards the end, i was all over the place, reading malachi, john, and revelations at the same time. partly because of the way the podcast was set up and partly because i was trying to finish.

all in all, i'm glad this wasn't my first experience w/ it, because if it had been, i probably wouldn't do this again....

express yourself!

our jewel went back to school yesterday after 2 weeks off for winter break.
when i picked her up, this was the conversation:

me: how was school?
our jewel: i was frustrated!
me: you were frustrated? why?
our jewel: because i'm tired.

yes, it's always hard to come back to your routine after playing for weeks! but i thought it was good that she was able to express her emotions like that - it's the first time i heard her use the word "frustrated".

basketball

we took our jewel to her first college b-ball game on sunday.

she was terrified of the mascot and kept her eyes on him the entire first half. you'd think she was trying to stare him down... but after half time, she seemed to warm up.
much to my man's chagrin, she thoroughly enjoyed the pompom girls.

afterwards, a few of the players came out to give the kids their autograph. she wasn't sure why she wanted their signatures, but she was excited to get them.

two in one day?!

i saw the "remember" sign in michael's craft store and it made me think of this verse.... actually it's several verses in Deut. that talk about not forgetting what God has done for the Isrealites (but since i didn't have room for all of the verses, i just picked one). my man reminds me of it all the time; it's become a key motif/theme in our marriage and family.
so i got some scrapbooking paper (even though i will probably never use the rest of the scrapbooking paper for what it was intended) and printed out this verse. then i added the remember sign and voila!

i thought it would be a nice way to remember

first craft of the year

here's my version of eddie ross' wreath

a few points:
1. next time i MUST take the time to glue on the top pieces and then have the patience to let it dry! i wanted to finish the thing as quickly as possible so i started by not gluing and i learned that lesson quick!

2. it's really important that the wire is a nice circle BEFORE putting the ornaments on. i thought i could just fix it after the fact, but as you can tell from the picture, it's not a great circle.

overall though i'm pleased w/ the outcome considering how many corners i was trying to cut :)

Reflecting on 2008

I'm so thankful for God's hand of provision and grace over our family this past year.
He's allowed us to grow and experience His hand of blessing in so many ways.

Here's a chronological snapshot of 2008:

March - nephew was born
May - moved in with the folks
June - our jewel changed schools
July - PEI family vacation, celebrating centennial anniversary of Anne of Green Gables
August - my man began his final year of law school
October - ran MCM
November - ran JFK 50

Thank you Lord for keeping us in the safety of Your arms.