What I Learned on the Cruise

What a great week of vacation! Sun, food, laughing, games, more food, shows, islands, water, more sun, more food, more games, more shows...........all fun. I wish we could have stayed another week!

I didn't remember much about the only other cruise I'd been on (in 5th grade), so there were a few things I learned this time around:

1. The shower in your cruise stateroom is the most DIFFICULT place to shave your legs.
2. You can very quickly get used to having a card that you flash to get free pop. This does not work once you leave the boat, so don't embarrass yourself by trying it at the airport.
3. It's stupidly funny to say "well, we're all in the same boat" when you are, in fact, literally on the same boat.
4. Cruise staterooms have mirrors everywhere. This makes it amazingly easy to fix the back of your hair. It also makes it depressingly easy to see what you actually look like in your swimsuit from behind (especially after five or six days of non-stop buffet eating).
5. The sway of a cruise ship makes everyone walk very clumsily. This is a great way to blend in if you typically are the only person who is stumbling around on dry land.
6. I'm still allergic to fruit. I usually tolerate fruit in small amounts here and there. But each night there was a delicious cold fruit soup at dinner, plus other fruit that I mixed in throughout the days, and I got hives on the final night. Good things about the situation: it was the final night, the hives were VERY mild, and I had plenty of Benadryl on hand.
7. Fly in the day before you leave. If you miss the boat, you basically miss a good chunk of your vacation. In our case, the earliest you could have caught the boat would have been on Wednesday at St. Thomas. One couple in our group got delayed all day on Sunday to the point where we thought they wouldn't make the ship. They made it by less than five minutes - maybe less than one minute. Lesson learned: fly the day before. (they only made the ship by not even going to baggage claim at all, so they spent the week without luggage!)
8. Go with a group. Being on a cruise with 16 people in our group was so fun! We always had people participating in every event that was held on the ship, which made the events fun to watch and cheer for. We held our own little card tournament, and there was always someone to find to grab a bite to eat, lay by the pool, walk on the deck, learn a line dance, shop, etc.

All in all, it was a WONDERFUL vacation! Unlike any vacation I've ever been on, but so very wonderful!

Blogging Hiatus

Haven't been here in awhile. Haven't really had much to say, so I haven't really missed it. I mean - I haven't missed it in a day-to-day-wanting-to-blog kinda way. And I guess I've had things to say, but they are mostly just whiny and full of self-pity, so I haven't said them here. But this past weekend I was stuck in my house for a solid 3+ days, so I caught up on most every single thing in my life, including the 130 "starred" blogs I had in my Reader. Going through them reminded me that I do want to blog, so here I am.

So....what's been up? Well, in the immediate sense of the question, another snowstorm has had me on lock down. I started my weekend with a massage on Friday night (thanks to a shoulder injury that gets worse everyday...) and a movie with my roommate. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday I had the house to myself to pack for the cruise (FOUR DAYS! FOUR DAYS! FOUR DAYS!), cook and bake (roasted squash, carrots with brown sugar sauce, red pepper and tomato soup, sloppy joes, cookies...), and watch about 4,599 episodes of Bones. Church was cancelled because of the storm, so other than some texting and a few short phone conversations, I was a total introvert and had a chance to work on some things I wouldn't have gotten around to for a long time had I not been snowed in. A much better weekend than the last time we got dumped on.

As far as the last month goes, to say work has been difficult would be an understatement. And since so much of my week is devoted to work, there is definitely a spill-over effect into the rest of my life. Last week I finally made it through a day without crying about work, so that was a change from the last 4-6 weeks. I don't know what to do....a job change? A city change? Blerg.

And now I can't think of anything else to say. I thought I had so many things to catch up on, but I guess not. Beyond wondering about work and wondering about moving, not much is going on. But that's been plenty.

Actually, I will add one other thing I've been thinking about that I was reminded of while I went through my "starred" blogs. It has to do with hospitality, which is one of my core values, so it is appropriate. I'll share the text (from Mark Driscoll), and then I'll share my thoughts:

Hospitality is not just hanging out with Christians. The word “hospitality” in the Bible literally means to welcome the stranger. Fellowship is when you hang out with all your Christian friends. And that’s great and it’s good and you should. Hospitality is when, in addition to your friends, you invite strangers to hang out with your friends so that they too start to become friends.

That’s exactly what Jesus is talking about here. Hosting a party, hosting a banquet, hosting a feast, having a generous menu, having a generous guest list. And as we do these things, what we’re showing is something of the character of God, that we can party to the glory of God. We can have a great time and laugh deeply and eat well to the glory of God. And as we do, we’re showing something of the character of our God and something of his heavenly kingdom.

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I really need the reminder about the difference between fellowship and hospitality. I do feel called to be hospitable, but sometimes I feel sad that I'm missing out on the fellowship that I love - especially lately. My favorite people in the world, the people I really want to have fellowship with, are in a much different stage of life. And I'm not just talking about one, two, or three families....I'm talking about my top 20 favorites! And I know the past few months have been harder to have great fellowship because of some new babies, the holidays, etc.........but when I have a night out with my good friends (like I did last weekend), I realize just how much I am really missing that particular kind of fellowship. The kind where so many things just go unspoken because you know each other so well. And the ironic thing is - the people I'm missing often feel like they are missing it, too. (We definitely talked about that while we were away from husbands/babies/homes)

Being hospitable is important and I've really tried to invest time there - hanging out with long-lost friends from college, planning events for singles at church, etc. But when I don't really click with new people it feels discouraging. I know new friendships and relationships take time, but sometimes you just want to wear that favorite pair of jeans because they are so comfortable! So I'm keeping my eyes open for what the Lord wants to teach me in this season of new friendships, and I'm keeping my heart open to making some new friends and breaking in a new pair of jeans (both literally and figuratively).

Having said that, I'm SO SO SO SO SO SO SO blessed that the people I'm most comfortable with - my sisters - are in the same stage of life as me. As much as I'd like to see all of us get married tomorrow and start popping out cute little babies, I'm so thankful that we have this season to spend together. And I'm thankful we actually enjoy our time together and are such good friends. So, when we pile on a plane at 8am on Sunday morning, I will be one happy camper looking forward to a week of laughing, lounging, and fellowship.

AND, because I cleaned out my blogs, I came across a few things I wanted to share - probably more for my sake than anything else.....so that I know where to find these gems in the future.

First of all - a coffee chart that is much needed on my end of things. Love coffee, can't figure out the nuances.

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This chart on the Enjoyment of Snow Over Time makes me say "AMEN!" (I think you'll have to click on it to get the full effect....)

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And because I love grammar and language and talking and etc.........here is a video that I think is awesome.

Okay. All caught up. Also, I love that after posting a video about grammar and stating my love of language, I'm going to write a disclaimer that I didn't go back and edit this post. Too tired. Deal with it.

Kidney Humor

I have a medical history that is somewhat more eventful than most, including severe kidney complications. Because of that, I spent many years in and out of hospitals as a youngster and I have some pretty sweet scars stretching across my mid-section to prove it. My little sister never went under the knife, but we shared many years of taking nightly “kidney” medication and we now share a love for kidney humor.

“Kidney humor...."?? Yes, kidney humor. Trust me, there is such a thing. Have you ever seen the picture of me as a toddler in nothing but a diaper and shoes holding a bag of my own urine that is connected to a tube coming out the side of my body? Now that’s funny (probably not so funny to my parents at the time who had one very sick little girl on their hands).

My little sister is “my kidney”: should I ever have the need for a transplant, I have appointed her to give me a kidney, and she has (willingly?) accepted. So we make kidney jokes, and we laugh extra hard at the episode of 30 Rock where Jack is going to give his dad a kidney. We've also been known to say "I love you with all of my kidney".

And because of all this, my day was made when my sister emailed me the following picture:


HA! Greatest kidney humor ever!

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A Wonderful Christmas

It's been such a wonderful Christmas! Playing games, laughing, eating, relaxing, opening presents....Ahhhhhhh......

My parents are so generous and are GREAT at giving gifts! I'm so spoiled....gift cards to Caribou, DSW, and Amazon, money for ski equipment, a board game, a little purse, ear muffs, AND a Twins jersey, Twins sweatshirt, and Twins purse!

My older sister spoiled me, too! In addition to A Christmas Carol, she gave me tickets to Gophers games, a book, a movie, and a gift card!

And of course.....the Advent basket from my little sister. Yes, I figured out it was from my little sister. I had to keep the secret to myself because there were other people who also got a basket from her that I didn't want to ruin the surprise for.

I figured out right away that the gifts were from her. Since I had opened the letter for the first day early, I decided to open the first gift early, too. It was a CD of Christmas songs. The songs were a dead give-away that it was from my sister. I called her and we had the most funny conversation. She was trying to lie to me about the basket, but I was giving her the many, many reasons why I knew it was from her. Also, the lies she told me were exactly the same lies I would have told if I was trying to keep the same secret......we think too much alike for her to fool me! We were laughing so hard!

She finally gave in and admitted the basket was from her. She said "well, you must have looked at the final card, too then". I hadn't, but I asked what it said. She told me that on the card that would tell her identity, she just wrote "CHEATER" because she was SO convinced I would sneak ahead! But I didn't need to sneak ahead to figure it out, so the joke is on her!!

She also included a reflection each day on a different characteristic of God (wise, loving, gracious, holy, transcendent, judge, merciful, all-sufficient, triune........etc.........). It is so fun to get gifts, but as my sister said in the final letter of her gift, these characteristics will lead us to worship the Father and thank Him for the abundant gifts He has given - most importantly, His Son.

Here is a list of all the gifts she gave me, with some pictures to follow (I know some of you were curious):

1 - the basket the gifts came in

2 - CD

3 - hand soap

4 - Hope ornament

5 - peanuts

6 - pashmina

7 - key covers

8 - hot chocolate

9 - socks

10 - magnets

11 - body wash

12 - chocolates

13 - vase

14 - notepad

15 - lotion

16 - candle

17 - candy

18 - note cards

19 - candle holder

20 - chocolate

21 - bookmarks

22 - journal

23 - sports ornaments

24 - sparkling juice

25 - picture/letter

beautiful vase!

journal

key covers, magnets, note cards, socks

ornaments

bookmarks

candle holder, candle, ornament, pashmina

hand soap

The final note in the basket

I also wanted to include the final reflection from the gift. It is "Advent Summons" by Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C.

Come forth from the holy place,

Sweet Child,

Come from the quiet dark

Where virginal heartbeats

Tick your moments.

Come away from the red music

Of Mary's veins.

Come out from the Tower of David

Sweet Child,

From the House of Gold.

Leave your lily-cloister,

Leave your holy mansion,

Quit your covenant ark.

O Child, be born!

Be born, Sweet Child,

In our unholy hearts.

Come to our trembling,

Helpless Child.

Come to our littleness,

Little Child,

Be born to us

Who have kept the faltering vigil.

Be given, be born,

Be ours again.

Come forth from your holy haven,

Come away from your perfect shrine,

Come to our wind-racked souls

From the flawless tent,

Sweet Child.

Be born, little Child,

In our unholy hearts.

Merry Christmas, everyone! I pray your Advent season was filled with reflections on the One who sent His Son to be born in a manger, live a perfect life, die and rise again to save us from our sin! What a gift!!!!

Paper Chain Excited

There's excited, and then there's "paper chain excited"!

As if I wasn't already excited enough about our family cruise in February, my little sister sent me a paper chain to count down the days - complete with cute, cruise-themed paper!

70 days! We'll be cruising in 70 days!!

A Christmas Carol

For our Christmas gift this year, my older sister was going to take my younger sister and me to A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie and out for a nice dinner on Sunday night. Unfortunately, thanks to the blizzard, my younger sister was literally snowed in and couldn't make it. So we found a substitute and had a nice night (though we definitely missed little sis)!

We ate at Masa - my absolute FAVORITE place in Minneapolis. It is a bit expensive, so it's only for special occasions, but I seriously crave their crab enchiladas ALL the time! Yum!

The show was great, too! I liked the call out they chose from the script for the program:

"Look at us, all gathered here together at this table. let us not dwell on the misfortunes - of which all have some - but rather rejoice upon our present blessings, of which we have many. Let us empty our plates and fill our glasses once again, and with a smiling face and a contented heart say, our life on it, let Christmas be merry and the coming year a happy one."

Sunday was a nice day, thanks to the blessings of family, following a chaotic day for me. I appreciated rest and relaxation, as well as the treat of dinner and a show. A magnificent way to end the weekend and begin more reflection on the Christmas Season!

With Thankfulness

I had another WONDERFUL Thanksgiving weekend at home. It wasn't a typical Thanksgiving (last year was more typical with lots of people home and lots of activity which prompted me to have a "stomach full; heart even more so"), but throughout the weekend I was reminded of the many things I've been thankful for throughout the year:

• Family: Even though my sisters weren't able to come home for Thanksgiving this year, we've had plenty of weekends together as a family recently. I'm blessed to have a family that I enjoy spending time with, and sisters who are also my friends. I'm grateful for generous, hospitable parents who put up with us, too!
• Health: A few weeks ago, Dad passed along an email that he described as "sobering". Indeed, it was. He had heard from a woman whose father was also fighting, and still is, a similar cancer to what Dad had. Her father is still receiving chemo each week and has cancer spread throughout his entire body. My sister and I just talked last night about another friend who feels that she may have her final Christmas with her mom coming up because of her mother's cancer diagnosis. In Dad's case, he has been in remission for two years and will have his final PET scan this month, as well as have his port removed (the device they use to administer chemo). Health is something that is often taken for granted until it is gone, but I'm continually grateful for Dad's health, and reminded to keep others who are struggling with health issues in my prayers. Also, since last Thanksgiving, both of my Grandmas have passed away. I'm thankful that they were healthy as long as they were and that I had the time with them that I did. I'm thankful for my Grandpa's health and for the time (like this past weekend) that I can spend with him.
• Singleness: Admittedly, being thankful for my singleness is a half-truth. This year has been one where I've resigned myself to the fact that I won't be the young wife and mother I always thought I would be, which is a difficult/sad reality in my eyes. But it's also been a year when I've tried to choose to not dwell on what I don't have, but what I do have. I have the freedom to travel (Europe and Hawaii this year) and spend time with my sisters, and the time and finances to find ways to bless others in a way that might not be possible when/if I get married and have kids. Making that choice to "take advantage" of my singleness is really why I started my year by writing out core values, and while I KNOW I still have room to improve in my thankfulness for being single, I really have experienced much grace in this area.

In addition to these "big" categories, I was also thankful for time last weekend to EAT, finish reading "The Help" (I recommend), SLEEP IN, watch good football games, work hard at Mom's craft show (though not hardly as hard as Mom worked), play games with my cousins.....etc, etc, etc.

Family Vacation

I absolutely love my family’s annual vacation to Pennsylvania, and I look forward to it every summer. Reading, tanning, boating, eating, laughing, playing cards…..it is SO FUN.

But this year…..I couldn’t go.

I had already used up all of my vacation days on other fun trips, so I had to be an adult and stay home to work. What a BUMMER.

Luckily, I had some fun activities during the time that they were gone, but I was still disappointed to miss the trip. I decided to see how far behind I came out on the “Fun Scale” during the time the fam was vacationing without me. Every day I automatically started at -50 Fun Points purely for the fact that they were on vacation and I was not. Here’s how the breakdown came out (all Fun Points are from my perspective, so, for example, on really sunny, fun, vacation days for them, I went down 100 Fun Points. On days they had rain, I only went down 25 Fun Points. My sisters sent me videos throughout the week so I could stay up-to-date on their activities):

Saturday
Them: Wake up at 3am to travel ALL day to rainy PA (-25 FP)
Me: Sleep in, long run, relaxing day, awesome wedding of a college roommate (+100 FP)
Cumulative FP = 75 FP

Sunday
Them: Rainy day at the lake. Watch movies, play cards (-25 FP)
Me: Welcome Team at church, Pool Party and Pamper for the single girls in my small group, girl’s night dinner at a new restaurant (+100 FP)
Cumulative FP = 150 FP

Monday
Them: Another rainy day at the lake. Watch movies, play cards (-25 FP)
Me: Work. Drive to Brainerd to show the cabin to potential renters who never showed up (-75 FP)
Cumulative FP = 50 FP

Tuesday
Them: Another rainy day at the lake. Watch movies, play cards. Natives are getting restless (0 FP)
Me: Work. Friends over to grill and catch up (+50 FP)
Cumulative FP = 100 FP

Wednesday
Them: Another rainy day at the lake…… (0 FP)
Me: Work. Welcome Team Picnic for church (+50 FP)
Cumulative FP = 150 FP

Thursday
Them: BEAUTIFUL day relaxing at my aunt and uncle’s pool (-100 FP)
Me: Work. Shop for weekend food. Drive to the cabin again to meet potential renters. Renters show up, but I will NOT be renting my house to them… (-50 FP)
Cumulative FP = 0 FP

Friday
Them: Another beautiful day at the pool. (-100 FP)
Me: Work. Drive to the cabin with Bethel friends. Campfire and fun (100 FP)
Cumulative FP = 0 FP

Saturday
Them: Another beautiful day at the pool (-100 FP)
Me: Gorgeous day at the lake with friends: sleeping, boating, playing games, tanning, reading, grilling, laughing, discussing, relaxing….. (100 FP)
Cumulative FP = 0 FP

SO…..as much as I was missing being on vacation with my family, it turns out that I had a pretty good week after all, thanks to lots of great friends from church and college. I didn’t come out behind on the Fun Scale, and I’m definitely trying to soak up every little ounce of summer there is left!!

Delightful and Dreadful

My weekend was equal parts delightful and dreadful.

Delightful: a nice drive to Green Bay catching up on all kinds of podcasts, seeing my parents and sister, running our 2nd annual 5K with my cancer-free dad (great tradition!), being lazy all day Saturday - but still getting a lot of my quilt finished, chatting with long-lost roommates while I drove, and running the Green Bay Half-Marathon: a pretty easy and flat course (not at all like the past courses I've ran.....DC is SO hilly!), great weather (no rain or wind, 65-70 degrees), and I got the time I was aiming for (2 hours, 20 minutes - not fast, but not horrible).

Dreadful: I either got some kind of heat stroke or bad dehydration or both, because after the race I was SICK. I had to drive five hours back home with the worst headache and stomach ache ever. I sometimes felt like I wanted to pass out, and my fever was BAD (I really wish I would have taken it when I got home to see what it was). I spent Sunday night in bed with the chills. Nothing sounded appetizing to eat, but I knew I needed to eat something.....ugh it was horrible. I wish I would have taken Monday off of work to recover, but of course I didn't. I still felt horrible and had a fever through lunch, but then it broke and I started to feel MUCH better. I also think I'm going to lose a toenail from running which makes me SAD - I was kinda joking after the race that it felt like I would lose my toenail, but now it is actually turning blue and I think it will be gone. Bummer.

But despite the sick and the toenail, I'm pleased with how the race went, and overall it was a really great weekend. I was telling someone that I have a goal of running a half-marathon in every state. He politely reminded me that even if I did three half-marathons a year, it would take me 15 more years to complete that goal. YIKES. But for now I think I'll stick with it....after a small break from running.

Not Long Enough

I was at my childhood home for four days. We sorted through pictures and memories. There was crying and laughing. We caught up with relatives and played games. We ate a lot of comfort food. We greeted guests and long-lost friends. We celebrated Grandma's life and grieved our loss. It was a full four days.

But today I’m still crying. I’m still laughing. I’m still thinking of more favorite memories. I’m still in search of comfort food. I want to lie in bed and watch TV with my sisters. I want to sit around the table and cry and laugh with my aunts. If you ask me how long I was home, I’ll probably say “Not long enough”.

My Grandparents were married for 67 years. They raised six children, had 13 foreign exchange students (some of whom for all intents and purposes became a part of the family), pastored churches, visited missionary friends around the world, and much more. Each new person who came to the house to pay their respects brought fresh tears for Grandpa. Each story, each song, each Bible verse….fresh tears. Watching a Twins game was a welcome distraction, I’m sure, but the matching recliner next to him was still empty. We left one by one, and Grandpa cried each time.

Clearly he loved his wife, but we’ve always known that. It’s how he lived. Clearly he misses his wife. She’s in a better place and she isn’t sick anymore, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t miss her. There was a birthday party planned for her birthday just a few weeks away, graduations to celebrate this spring, a wedding to attend this summer, more great-grandkids to be had somewhere in the future. You can tell by the tears that if you asked Grandpa how long they were married he just might say “Not long enough”.

Best Valentine

Sure, I've never had a boyfriend in my 27 wonderful years on this earth, but I always feel the love from my fam. I got the best Valentine's gift from my sis this year!

It's a heart-shaped box made of CHOCOLATE, filled with CHOCOLATES! The chocolates that were (past tense b/c I already ate them) inside the box were filled with creamy truffle flavors of her choosing, and she went the extra mile to choose some of my favorite flavors (mint, maple, irish cream, etc).

So pretty, right?!

And yummy!! Thanks, Beav!

Hawaiian Highlights

What a WONDERFUL vacation! I had high hopes for this vacation thanks to last year's amazing adventures, and it did not disappoint. Well, there were a few disappointments (more on that shortly), but overall, there can be no frustration when one is enjoying the sun thousands of miles away from a job of any sort. AHHHHHH.


I'll start with a list of disappointments, since I want to end on the happy notes:

• No lava. Our first weekend was spent in Hilo, near Volcanoes National Park. We were told about an AMAZING hike you can take at dusk to see flowing lava and bursting lava bubbles against the night sky. The lava flow shifted ten days before we got to the island and it is currently only visible from a helicopter. BOO.
• No SuperBowl. Some football game ruined my Sunday. If you must, look at the box score and see how one team was better than the other team in basically EVERY stat (significantly, in some cases) except TURNOVERS. Okay, moving on...........
• No manta rays. We went on the Manta Ray Night Dive, but saw no manta rays. Our originally scheduled date for the dive was cancelled due to a significant swell that came in, which also ended up effecting the dive we went on the next night. The boat was being tossed by waves and a few of us tossed our cookies. While it was pretty cool to be snorkeling at night, the experience was marred by the sea-sickness and lack of manta sightings. Maybe next time.

NOW. On to the HIGHLIGHTS:

• Not winter. I missed a little over a week of THAT season (great post, Becca). Sunny and eighty degrees everyday is SO wonderful and refreshing. My cheeks are freckled, my skin is light brown (not pasty white), and I felt a wonderful breeze that didn't give me frostbite. Loved every second of it. Every. second. The sun even seemed to heal my football wounds. A little bit.
• Cliffs. They are beautiful, and I jumped off of them. The southern most part of Hawaii is the southern most part of the United States (and is aptly named South Point). South Point has 35-40ft cliffs that locals jump off of into the most phenomenally clear water and then climb up through caves under the cliffs. I stood at the edge of the cliff and thought about it for more than five minutes, but I jumped, and I am SO glad I did (other than the enema part of it). Thanks to a local, I made the climb back up the cliff (and I couldn't have done it without him). Thanks to my sister, it's all on video.
• Filthy Chacos. We did some exploring around Volcanoes National Park, which dirtied my Chacos a bit, but the real filth came from our AMAZING hike into the Waipi'o Valley. We were told that the hike was not for the faint of heart, which was NO JOKE. There was better than a 25% grade for over 1 mile (and unless you've done the hike, I can't explain how difficult that is). In the valley was the most amazing black sand beach surrounded by outrageous cliffs that made me feel like I was in the show Lost. Being on that beach was one of my favorite parts of the trip.
• Whales. At South Point, the whales were about 25-30 yards from us - flapping their tails and spouting like crazy. It was so awesome! When we were on our way to the manta ray dive, we saw a FULL BREACH (like you see on TV shows or in pictures). Even the captain of our boat stopped to get out his camera and was VERY excited.
• Waves. Thanks to the swell, the waves were HUGE, and we had one very fun afternoon of getting owned by them while we tried to body surf. There were some pretty amazing surfers at the black sand beach, too. Very fun to watch them. I also loved sitting on the beach in the early mornings and listening to the waves while I read. So calming.
• Waterfalls. It has been pretty dry on the Big Island recently, so the waterfalls weren't as dramatic as they looked on any postcards, but that allowed us the opportunity to climb the rocks right out to the edge of some waterfalls. At one point, there were four of us sitting at the top of about a 100ft waterfall drop (don't worry, Mom. We were safe.). The view was awesome.
• Kindle. It's probably stupid to say that my new Kindle was one of my favorite things about Hawaii, but it totally was! I was able to read seven books (two that I had started some of before we left) while I was gone, and I only brought two actual books with me! The Kindle was definitely handy-dandy and convenient to travel with, so I'm totally sold. I'm also totally sold on doing nothing but laying by the pool and reading all day. So wonderful.
• Food. Our rule on vacation is to not eat anywhere you can eat while you are at home. We pretty much stuck to our rule, other than our need to grab a speedy McDonald's lunch one day (which didn't bug me at all!). We always do cheap and easy breakfast and lunch in our rooms (HI, I LOVE PB&J) and then we go out and have a nice or fun dinner. We didn't have a single meal that disappointed, and we happened upon some really fun local places. I never even had "order regret", which is practically a miracle for me!
• Laughing. Lots and lots of laughing. Of course you "had to be there" for some of the laughs, but one of my favorite sayings from the week was: Laying at the pool I turned over and said "oh MAN, I am so dizzy!!" (I was dizzy all week, maybe from my cliff jump on day one) and what my friends thought I said was "oh MAN, I am so BUSY!!" which was funny because it was 2pm and the only thing I had done so far that day was read and sit at the pool.

I'm thankful for a restful and fun week, because the week I just had at home playing catch-up was ANYTHING but restful and fun (well, I did hang out with a few different groups of friends this week, and that was fun). I can't believe I will be on another overseas flight in 14 days. FOURTEEN DAYS! Better load up my Kindle......

P.S. The dog survived his surgeries, our flight issue got figured out so that our travel went very smoothly, and I did not come home to a toilet-water-flooded home, so everything from this post turned out fine in the end. Except for that stupid football game........

Stomach Full; Heart Even More So

Going home for Thanksgiving always leaves me with a FULL stomach and an even more FULL heart.

My stomach was full of all the greatest things ever: mashed potatoes, dressing, scalloped corn, green bean casserole, wild rice, pumpkin pie, pecan pie with ice cream, chocolate walnut pie (YES, I didn't eat any turkey (no room for it) and I HAD THREE PIECES OF PIE - DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT?!). Then it was on to the next house where I did actually eat turkey and almond pie, snickerdoodles, oatmeal cookies, crackers and dip, seven layer bars.....the list literally goes ON AND ON AND ON. I also had leftover dressing for breakfast on Friday because THAT'S HOW I ROLL and IT WAS SO DELICIOUS (next year I will try this awesome idea so that my dressing is actually a little bit breakfasty).

My heart was also full of all the greatest things ever: playing cards at 1 AM, catching up with friends, singing in the car with my sister, talking wedding with my cousin's betrothed, watching football with the fam, playing trucks with little boys, looking through bridal magazines with my "brother's" fiance, catching up on life with all of the "Moms" in my life, helping my actual Mom with her work-filled Friday, eating all kinds of cookies on Christmas cookie baking day, seeing far-away friends on Skype, getting random gifts just because someone thought of me, having time to myself to think and write and pray, having dinner with my cutie grandparents and aunt and uncle and Dad, watching the Gophers with Grandpa and Dad, seeing tons of "old teachers" (I was instructed to call them "former teachers") while in town, chatting with my cousin while working at the concession stand on Saturday, listening to great and encouraging sermons in the car, enjoying the wonderful weather while I drove......this list could also go ON AND ON AND ON.

I am SO THANKFUL for the reminders of the many things I have to be thankful for whenever I go home for Thanksgiving. I am so blessed and my heart is SO FULL.

Hope your Thanksgiving was blessed, as well.

Had To Be There

My sister wrote a recap of our vacation, and I laughed until I cried at the quotes. Mostly you "had to be there", but still - I need to put them here to remember how funny they were.

Top 8 quotes:
1) "I want to be a gmail ninja." -Hannah
2) MB: Our church just got a new drama director.
Ang: Hannah is our drama director.
3) "If you're going to fall off the bandwagon you might as well roll around a while." -Me, to Eric after he ate 7 cookies and 4 pieces of chocolate.
4) "Harrison Ford lost his mojo in the '70s." -Cory, when asked if he wanted to watch a Harrison Ford movie with us.
5) "Novels and movies are crafted in the minds of creative people." -Me, in a defense to Hannah as to how stories can appear to be feasible (or, in certain cases, not-feasible-yet-strangely-realistic) while not actually being true.
6) "These chips are so HOT! I can feel the pepper burning my tongue!!" My Scandinavian mother, trying Cracked Pepper and Sea Salt chips for the first time.
7) "They don't need to know my real plans, it just needs to sound good." -Ryan, sharing his campaign strategy for his 8th grade class officer elections.
8) "I automatically fall asleep at midnight or when anyone starts a movie, whichever comes first." -Hannah

And the Winner Is....

.....the Old Fashioned Ice Cream (Cookies and Cream flavor)!!

I did end up eating mostly new foods while I was at the Fair last week, and the best new food was Old Fashioned Ice Cream (at Machinery Hill, churned by antique John Deere tractors). In addition to the ice cream, I had my standard favorites of CHEESE CURDS and THE BEST LEMONADE EVER. I also had a nacho on a stick and white chocolate gelati. Add in a bite or two of my sisters' chocolate covered bacon and deep-fried candy bar, and I was STUFFED. And not a single bite disappointed.

None of us saw anyone we knew (which has never happened) so no one won The State Fair Game. I was disappointed.

We did have some AMAZING people watching (the picture is on my sister's camera, or I would post it here) and I saw a new favorite T-shirt: it said "Imagine a World Without Wisconsin". I WANT THAT SHIRT!

That was about all. Pretty low-key year at the Fair, but it was still wonderful. Love the Fair. Love.

FAIRy Excited!

Tomorrow night my sisters and I will spend our annual 2-3 hours at the Great Minnesota Get-Together. I plan on winning The State Fair Game again this year.

I also plan to stuff my face with every bit of food possible in 2-3 hours. Although, I think I may make a drastic change this year. I have my tried-and-true list of regular things I eat, but after much consideration and many conversations with friends who have already been to the fair this year, I think I need to start my list from scratch and branch out. I will only keep the cheese curds, and everything else I eat will be new to me. Should be fun. And I hope not disappointing. I'm always that person who gets food regret at restaurants after you get your food and everyone else looks like they made better ordering choices than you. I HATE that. So. Fingers crossed.

I'm pretty sure nothing will top my live performance on the radio from last year, but we will definitely manage to have an awesome time.

Vacation Synopsis

Well, I’m back from vacation to PA. You know that you’ve been out of touch with reality for a good length of time when putting on makeup and wearing shoes that aren’t flip flops feels very strange. I’ve come back fully freckled and….ready to take on the fall, I guess. I suppose I have to be ready for it since I saw my breath when I was walking to my car this morning!!

There were many excellent parts of the week: relaxing, reading, eating, chatting, movies, games, and RITA’S (the flavors I consumed include: Mango, Mint Chocolate Chip, Key Lime, Green Apple, and more MANGO. I sampled the Swedish Fish flavor, but honestly it was too sweet for me to have an entire Misto of it).

Unfortunately, there were also some not so great parts this year: at literally the eleventh hour, Dad found out he was unable to come with us (long story) so that was a huge bummer. Also, on Monday morning I woke up and was literally paralyzed in my neck (scariest thing). I think I scared everyone that I had to wake up that morning – the first of whom was the sister sleeping beside me who was woken up by me crying and not being able to move. She told me later that at first she wasn’t scared because she thought I was having a nightmare/night terror (which would be legit since I have scared her before with my sleeping habits) but then she realized I was actually awake and actually in a lot of pain. Next was my mom who I woke up by standing at the foot of her bed crying and saying her name. If I could have laughed, I would have been hysterical about how quickly she FLEW out of bed. Lastly, I woke up the doctor-sister (who also has neck and back issues) to help me ease my pain. The bummer ended up being that although the pain went down a bit, my week was spent with a neck spasm. I only took one (very tame) jet ski ride (where the only thing that got my pulse going was almost running out of gas) because of it, so that was my biggest bummer. I also only slept thanks to pain killers (so I was VERY thankful I was able to get a prescription filled in PA). Anyway, enough of my pain in the neck. But seriously. It was the worst.

I think what I love the most about our PA vacation is that it seems like I am in Waterworld (minus the aquatic human mutants) when we are there. I managed to never get in a car the entire time we were at the cabin. I only went back and forth from the cabin to the dock to the boat. One night I volunteered to take my cousin to sleepover at her friend’s house, but we got there by jet ski (that tame ride I mentioned earlier). I simply love being on the water. I think if I lived on a lake I would be the happiest person in the world. Wait a minute…..don’t I own a house on a lake……?????? Hmm.

So that’s the vacation synopsis. To put it simply: WONDERFUL.

Money Making Machine

I am truly a money making machine this week - which I am enjoying!

First of all, I WON the Biggest Loser competition with my family. Big sis was CLOSE on my heels, but I pulled it out. Now I have $200 (or will have, as soon as everyone forks over their share) that I didn't have last week. Nice.

Secondly, the garage sale is over. Including what I sold online before hand, I made over $250. As Becca said, the hourly wage is very low, but I still think the cash was worth it for me to have a deadline of getting my home cleaned out and organized. And I had a really great time at the garage sale! I'm so glad I took a day of vacation to be there for the first day of the sale. It is SO much work to have a garage sale, and I am so grateful to Becca for hosting and the massive amounts of effort it takes to do so (especially with two small (adorable) girls running around and another on the way!). The weather was AMAZING the first day, even though we were a bit concerned about the wind in the early morning hours. A few of us even managed to get some sun (and sunburn!). I enjoyed chatting with friends, playing with little girls, making a little cash, and NOT GOING TO WORK.

So, this last week has seen a welcome influx of cash - to be spent on much needed home improvements up north!

A Year Later

Spent the weekend in Green Bay with my parents and sis. We celebrated Mother's Day a week late, and I ran with Dad in his first cancer-free 5K! We played a ton of Rook and some Black Queen, ate lots of good food, laughed, watched some Lifetime Movies, and got up entirely too early today to run the race. Dad and I were wishing that the other sisters could have run with us, but there were schedule conflicts and a fractured foot that got in the way. Thankfully we had a gorgeous morning to run - a bit cool, but the sun was shining and there was significantly less wind than yesterday (when it was blowing 30 mph all day) and no rain. Yes!

In twelve days it will be one year from when Dad first called me to say he had cancer. It is crazy how thinking of that day brings back very raw emotions and it feels like it was literally yesterday. It is also crazy how thinking of the year since then can seem like five years. So much took place over this year. As soon as he was diagnosed we said that we wanted to run a race - a cancer-free race. We made him a shirt for Christmas a month after we found out he was in remission. We are so thankful for, and continue to pray for, healing in his body. And we look forward to doing many more cancer-free races!

Almost Done

We are almost done with our Biggest Loser Competition. I had a disappointing week in the working out and eating categories last week, so I have to make this final week count! I seriously CAN'T lose the money by mere fractions.

I'm also almost done getting ready for the garage sale I am participating in this week. Oh, yes, there is no good reason for me to need to be in a garage sale at this point in my life other than my AMAZING PACK RAT SKILLS. Oy.

I should have listened to everyone who said that getting ready for a garage sale is exhausting. They are right. But it has felt REALLY good to purge, clean, and organize - and I might actually come away with some cash! Everything is priced and ready to go for Thursday - I just need to put a few ads online for some of my "bigger ticket" items (my old computer, a printer/copier/scanner, a palm pilot, and a notebook power adaptor....interested? Let me know before Thursday....). Since I don't have the FOGGIEST IDEA about garage sales, I read a few tips online and I should hopefully be a little more prepared for Thursday.