Good News

I got the news this week that I passed my college Algebra class! Hallelujah and Glory be!! (and I'm not being sarcastic!)
It was the fourth time I'd taken the class...yes, you read that correctly...fourth. I used to be ashamed of that but then I realize that the first two times, the medium in which I took it was not good for me, the visual learner. The by the third time, I realized what it was that I had problems with and by the fourth time, I overcame!

I'm very thankful that God gave me the clarity of mind to learn what I needed, the strength and perserverance to continue and the grace to succeed.

Now on to the next one! The nice thing about the next class I have to take: it's my last one! Lord-willing I'll be done with my Associates in Arts degree by December. I'm really excited!

(But I am really glad I do get a break...at least for a month until class starts again)

I'm not sure why I'm sharing this with the whole world but at some point the truth will be known

Today, I found my first gray hair. And I pulled it out in disbelief.
I have found other hairs in my head that I thought were gray and had pulled them out, but upon further inspection they were indeed only lighter blonde and the light had made them look gray.

Upon further inspection this one was indeed gray; silvery, translucent, shimmery, undeniably gray.
I could have said it was almost pretty.

If I was 50.

But I'm not.

*sigh*

I need chocolate.

quote I got from my sister

"Be the kind of woman that,
when your feet hit the floor in the morning,
the devil says, 'Oh, crap! She's up!'"

Happy Thursday or The Weekend's Almost Here

People ask me how I can manage to be so happy and cheerful all the time.

I tell them it's the combination of Red-40 and caffeine.

In other news: I'm going to the beach this Sunday (after church of course) with my sister and two cousins for an abbreviated "Cousin's Weekend". I say abbreviated because we'll only be there for Sunday afternoon. I'm stopping by our little Weenky-dinky Foods after work to pick up some sandwich fixins' and drinks for the much anticipated outing.

Here are some of the things I have to remember to bring:
~Beach blanket
~Towels--for the very off-chance that I might get into the water
~Camera- must document these significant moments for posterity
~Ball gloves and a softball --since it's just us girls, we can play, unashamed of our skills (or lack thereof)
~Dry socks - don't ask me why, but this just seems like a good idea...and a warm one
~Sweatshirt
~Food

And now you can go into your weekend feeling complete, now that you know what I'm going to do with mine.

why is it...

that on one of the days that I'm in a hurry, and decided not to care about how my hair looks (which folks, let me tell you...is a BIG deal) that it ends up looking kinda nice and staying in place?

I will admit...I was lazy this morning. My alarm went off at 5am, as it does every morning, but I didn't get out of bed until (and I'm only slightly ashamed to admit this)...6. Which means I hit my snooze button....um...I don't think I'd better but that in print...

Anyway, I kind scrambled with getting ready; hair, makeup, breakfast, etc...and decided that my hair would have to make the sacrifice. And for some reason, it ended looking halfway decent and a couple gals at work have told me how nice it looks. Hoodathunkit?

Moral of this story: get up late and still have a good hair day ;^)
(*note: story not intended as a bedtime tale for small children.)

Colossians 3:15-17

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Look

who

I found... =)

“We now interrupt this programming for some random local news”

And because I haven’t blogged in a while and can’t think of anything else to write about right now…here are:

Some of the Things I Love

Getting up in the morning with the sun and hearing the birds singing

A hot cup of coffee with just the right amount of cream and sugar

Logging into my computer at work and seeing this sweet baby boy’s face on my desktop…


High-heeled shoes

Listening to my favorite song (songs) on the radio –way too loud…

A square of dark chocolate….just because…

Hearing the words of a familiar hymn that I’ve sung for years and being suddenly struck by something I never heard before

And finally...

Rodeos

She's so my sister...

I was just now sitting here at the computer looking up books at the library online (no, really! I was!!) when my youngest sister, who had been walking in and out of the room, talking about the newest Narnia movie, Prince Caspian and telling me all about the "romance" between Caspian and Susan in the film, suddenly stopped mid-sentence and proclaimed in a very dignified and shocked tone:

"I can't believe they did that!! C. S. Lewis would be horrified!!!!!!"

(and yes, there were that many exclamation points in her voice...)

You Know Your Math Professor is a Nerd When:

He starts randomly quoting Monty Python and the Holy Grail in class...

Wait...I knew what he was quoting...does that make me a nerd???

On second thought--- don't answer that.

The Latest and Greatest

Well, this week marks my last week at Columbia Credit Union. After working here for 2 years, I'm leaving to go work for Boise Paper starting a week from today. It was another one of those doors that God opened up and showed me (again) how good He is. I'm coming to understand how much I have to learn about trusting in Him.

I've spent some time today and the other day doing things at work and then thinking to myself "This is probably the last time I'll do ___". All my filing is done, my desk drawer is cleaned out (except for my hand sanitizer that I use REGULARLY), my computer files have all been deleted, besides anything important that I really need to keep and those I've emailed to myself. I've been saying goodbye to some of my members that come in to see me. A few people, that I've built good relationships with, have exchanged numbers with me so we can keep up later.

I'm really looking forward to this Saturday! It will be the first Saturday in about 4 years that I won't have to work aside from those Saturdays when I was on vacation.
Having those days off will be so nice. I'll have more time to spend with my family and other special people. =^) The new hours will enable me to continue finishing my school and still have a life after work.

All in all, life has been going really well. I'm still trying to figure out how to properly juggle some of the new things in my life, but slowly and surely, it's all coming together. It helps that people are very patient with me. =^D
I started the Family Camp countdown this past week too. I can't believe it's almost 25 days left!! Ack! I feel like I need to start packing!! Or at least making my packing list....*sigh*
Me and my lists. =^)

Goodbye Friend

Yesterday, we had to say "goodbye" to our good doggie friend Maggie. She was dying of kidney failure. We knew for a while that this was coming, but it was still hard for us to say that final goodbye.
Maggie was a wonderful pet for the very short time we had her. She would have had her first birthday tomorrow. But, God in His wisdom had better plans for her and us.
I've always loved dogs. They love unconditionally, are not embarassed by open displays of affection, protect us, and have hearts that just get bigger with time. Maggie was no exception. From the moment I saw her at three weeks old, my heart was lost to her charms. She was a total lover of a puppy--would greet me with a smile and a very wiggly body then flop down to get her belly rubbed (and I fell for it everytime...) She also was beginning to develop her protective "mama" side--would bark warningly at the door or just come and stand by you, letting you know she was there and everything was alright. She had the softest puppy-ears and would give sweet "kisses" when you let her. Her goofy side came through too--she loved to swing on the swings in our playset, I think she even tried the slide once. She may have only lived for 363 days, but she loved and was loved every minute of them.
I've been blessed in my life to have two great dog friends: my first dog Daisy, who we had for 14 years, and then Maggie. I think if they had known eachother they would have been best friends. Maybe they are already friends in heaven... I'd like to think so.
Often times God will bring friends into our lives, maybe even for a short time, that test our patience and make us grow in it, show us what it means to trust, how to laugh harder, and how to love unconditionally. Maggie was such a friend.
Goodbye baby...I'll miss you.

I’m beginning to think that the phrase “Expect the Unexpected” isn’t as goofy as I once thought it to be. But then, my thinking on a lot of things has changed over the past few months. Thankfully. I can’t count how many times I’ve foolishly questioned God and asked Him if He’s really sure what He’s doing. I’m happy to say now, that, by His grace, I’ve stopped arguing that line and started enjoying the ride. And what a ride it is! The past few weeks have brought events, opportunities and relationships that I would never have thought twice about, except for the fact that God opened doors and opened my eyes to what He’s working. I am so incredibly blessed.

“All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

Union Jack Would Be Proud

I've drunk enough tea this week to float the entire British Navy. So much tea that my Patriot Ancestors (that is if I have any Patriot ancestors) would be getting me ready to be tarred and feathered and writing my name under Benedict Arnold's on the traitors honor roll.
The reason? That dreaded 'L' word: laryngitis.
I started getting it on Sunday afternoon. What started out sounding like I just suddenly started smoking 3 packs-a-day, turned into the sound of an old rusty, squeaky door, and then completely went away. I mean gone. I was able to go to the doctor's finally on Wednesday (by then of course, my voice was rounding that last quarter mile pole and coming down the homestretch.) The diagnosis: allergies.

Look at this!

I found

this

site through Melanie's blogroll links and I can't wait to try some of her recipes! Her pictures are pretty amazing too, if you're like me and always wished you could have been born to ride a horse and live on a ranch. (I'm a pretty good rider but I haven't been in the saddle since I was in diapers or anything...)

Small Graces

Sometimes in life there are some very small and seemingly simple things to be thankful for. Those small graces that God shows us every day.
This morning, I experienced one such “small grace.” I was working the early, early shift at work today, which means myself and one of our loan officers come in an hour early to load our cash dispensers. Loading dispensers can be tricky, for various reasons and typically, this never takes place without something troublesome happening or going wrong). This morning, we had both dispensers done in record time! Nothing had gone wrong: the cash counter didn’t get jammed or decide to spit out the bills flying in every direction or count too many of the new $5 bills; (our machines HATE new bills); I didn’t whack myself in the leg with the vault door, or smash my fingers in the cassettes. It may seem like a rather small thing, “yeah, ok, so you had a good morning at work,” but for me, in my job, it was one of those moments where I saw God’s goodness to me in a very real way.
There’s a song that I remember listening to when I was little that my dad would have playing in the house or the car. It’s a song by Bob Bennett. Here are a few verses that describe my feelings very fittingly.

“Small graces surely have a meaning
Beyond their merely passing by;
They are a reminder to the heart
There’s more to life than meets the eye.

Cheerful greetings unexpected
Shared by strangers on the run,
For when the sky is clouded over
Still the promise of the sun

Is in the small graces,
The little moments when the miracles come.
These are the small graces,
Small graces pointing me to the larger ones”

Creativity and Quality Time

Yesterday, my mom, sister and I spent several hours scrapbooking together. I've been scrapbooking more now that I ever have, and now, thanks to a good friend of mine, I understand better how to put pages together and really enjoy it!
I've had pictures of our trip to Ohio and Kentucky in 2006 in an album (a big deal for me!) and I finally pulled out the pictures of the visit to Churchill Downs and scrapbooked them. I had bought paper specifically for those pictures ages ago and it was so much fun to finally sit down and scrapbook some of the most "iconic" photos of that day's trip.
I also got a couple pictures of me and my puppy scrapbooked. :^D
It was nice to sit and visit and have some good time together.

I'll try and post some pics of the pics later...

Sound Effects

This morning on my way to work I was listening to my favorite radio morning show on The Wolf (yes I listen to country!) :^D They were talking about compiling a list of the top five best movie sound effects ever. That got me thinking about my favorite movies sounds.

Here's my personal top five:

5)The arrow whizzing into the center of the target in "Robin Hood"
4)Feet tap dancing like in one of the old movies
3)Horns blowing the fanfare in "Ben Hur"
2)Lightsabers crashing together in "Star Wars"
1)The whip crack from "The Man From Snowy River" (it gives me chills!)

And now you know...

One of my favorite poems

THE FOOL'S PRAYER
by Edward Rowland Sill (1841-1887)

The royal feast was done; the King
Sought some new sport to banish care,
And to his jester cried: "Sir Fool,
Kneel now, and make for us a prayer!"

The jester doffed his cap and bells,
And stood the mocking court before;
They could not see the bitter smile
Behind the painted grin he wore.

He bowed his head, and bent his knee
Upon the Monarch's silken stool;
His pleading voice arose: "O Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool!

"No pity, Lord, could change the heart
From red with wrong to white as wool;
The rod must heal the sin: but Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool!

"'T is not by guilt the onward sweep
Of truth and right, O Lord, we stay;
'T is by our follies that so long
We hold the earth from heaven away.

"These clumsy feet, still in the mire,
Go crushing blossoms without end;
These hard, well-meaning hands we thrust
Among the heart-strings of a friend.

"The ill-timed truth we might have kept--
Who knows how sharp it pierced and stung?
The word we had not sense to say--
Who knows how grandly it had rung!

"Our faults no tenderness should ask.
The chastening stripes must cleanse them all;
But for our blunders -- oh, in shame
Before the eyes of heaven we fall.

"Earth bears no balsam for mistakes;
Men crown the knave, and scourge the tool
That did his will; but Thou, O Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool!"

The room was hushed; in silence rose
The King, and sought his gardens cool,
And walked apart, and murmured low,
"Be merciful to me, a fool!"

This is what happens when everybody is sick...

I came home from work today, and being very tired and worn out from being sick with whatever-it-is-I've-had the past 3 days, I decided to just put on my comfy p.j. pants, a t-shirt and a warm sweater. I walked into the office to say 'hi' to my youngest siblings and Olivia says to me,"Oh hi Rachel! I haven't seen you---all day!"
Turning to Jared, she states, "Look Jared, Rachel's finally up."