100 Things about me #1-20

Since my 100 blog post is coming up, which I feel is a shame considering I have been writing on this thing for 5 years now (oops!), I am going to be sharing with you all 100 random things about me. Some are silly others are serious and most likely more than you would like to know. But I feel that this will help any of the readers who do read this, connect with me better. I will post #100 as my 100th blog post. Here is #1-20:

1. I love reading but hardly get or even make the time to do so. One of my favorite ways to read is to have my wonderful hubby read out loud to me. It is the best!

2. I love cooking and baking, but hate doing the dishes and feeling "trapped" in the kitchen.

3. I love desserts. I mean LOVE them. Way more than any girl should

4. I love traveling. If I had a ton of spendable money, I would use it to see the world and experience new cultures and ways of life.

5. I love my alma matter Biola University. I am so thankful for the time I spent there, the things I learned and the relationships I made

6. I hate that I am lazy about things. No really, I'm super lazy about things I shouldn't be and it bugs me, but I'm too lazy to do anything about it.

7. I hate that I am so far away from many of my dearest friends. It is hard to have heart to hearts over the phone.

8. I hate that I suck at finishing things. I'm really good at starting projects, or having awesome ideas but the follow through is something that I need major improvement on.

9. I hate that I am not challenging myself enough. This is mostly due to numbers 6 & 8 above. But it is so true. I need to be challenged by others its like if I don't have some big motivation I don't care.

10. I hate that I have dumb addictions to things. They are seemingly little things, but I really can't seem to stop doing them. They aren't bad either, so I have practically no motivation to do so, but still it bugs me.

11. I am generally a happy person.

12. I tend to look at all of the problems and reasons things can't be, before I see solutions or ways around them.

13. I have the privilege of having one of the most amazing jobs on the planet.

14. I am excited to start my new journey of being a mommy, but mostly scared. Not because I don't feel qualified or like I'm going to fail. It is just the weight of realizing that a little one is going to be dependent on me for EVERYTHING. It is a sobering and slightly horrifying but wonderful though.

15. I have a horrible habit of telling white lies. Stupid things that don't matter at all, but I do it and I'm really not sure why, I really am trying to stop myself.

16. I am living in my home town. The place I swore that when I grew up, I would NEVER live. Life is funny like that.

17. I have an inner-monologue going on in my head pretty much at all times. Occasionally I will catch myself saying it out loud, typically at the grocery store, where I get many funny looks then realize I am saying it out loud.

18. I feel like a failure most of the time. I know that I am not, but still sometimes I can't shake the feeling that somethings or someone would be better with out me.

19. I want to actually succeed in some of my goals this year for once.

20. I am a sports fan. I enjoy watching baseball and basketball. I can't stand football (either version). My favorite sport to watch though is beach volleyball.

Warning, TMI - Pregnancy story

So last night I felt a "gush". I knew my water hadn't broken, but I felt like it may be leaking. I thought it a fluke and moved on. I went home, laid down for 30 min and then stood up again, I felt a little fluid. So I tried it again, and then we ended up deciding to go get checked out just incase my water was leaking. We went to the L&D (labor and delivery) department of the hospital and they hooked me up on some monitors. I was contracting every 2-4 minutes. Which I had been feeling but they weren't very strong. Then they did the exam and I found out I was 3 cm. At 4cm they keep you. They tested the fluid and it wasn't amitotic fluid which is a good thing, meaning I don't have a leak. I was given the option to stay, but I chose to go home. The contractions weren't strong enough. Basically, I have been contracting every 4-7 minutes for the last day. However they are not strong, which means I'm not really in labor, but I kind am. It is really frustrating. I want them to go away, or I want to go into labor. PICK ONE! I am so not a fan of these stupid contractions, but I know that I have to have them, so it would be really nice if they were productive. Matt is convinced I'm going into labor this weekend, but I'm not to sure. It would be really nice to, but at the same time, I really don't want to get my hopes up but at the same time it would be nice. Who knows when it is gonna happen maybe this weekend, maybe next but for sure by the one after.

It's day 3!

Well so far it has appeared that I have made it to day 3, still very pregnant but alive and well enough to blog about something that has bothered me for a few weeks. A few weeks ago, I was skimming my google reader, and stumbled across a picture that broke my heart and wreaked me in more ways than one. I couldn't believe it, so I tested it out for myself and sure enough it is true. Here is the picture:

Test it out for your self. (or go to the link the here to see more). Go to google, and start typing in the phrase, "why are Christians..." See what you come up with. This KILLS ME.

Why doesn't it say Christians are happy? We have the most reason to be!

Why doesn't it say Christians are loving? Aren't we called to show love to others in radical ways?

Why doesn't it say Christians are different? Shouldn't we be living in a way that makes others ask that question?

As Christians we have been labeled; "stupid", "judgmental", "mean", "hateful" etc. THIS SHOULD NOT BE. It breaks my heart that this is the popular opinion of us. For the non-Christians out there who have formed this opinion of us, I am truly sorry from the bottom of my heart, this is not what my faith is about. For all of my brothers and sisters in Christ, I challenge you to shine your light in a different way, and I leave you with this scripture:

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:13-16 (NIV)

In honor of today's election

I found this article very interesting. Here is the actual article below from the National Journal by Lindsey Boerma, with my own commentary at the end.

"What recession?

The lousy economy may be hurting most Americans but the politicians and consultants hoping to win your votes are enjoying a boom economy.

Candidates for Congress have spent more than $3.6 billion on this election so far, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, and they're still burning through the cash. (American Crossroads makes final $6M ad blitz) (DCCC purchases $21.6 million worth of air time)

Since all of them insist they're for helping average American families, the National Journal staff was curious to know how else they might have spent all that money on our behalf. How would Americans feel if, instead of attack ads, slick mailers and robocalls, our politicians lavished us with:

1. Tuition for 62,548 students at America's most expensive university

Forbes recently listed Sarah Lawrence College as the nation's priciest school, with a tuition rate of $57,556, including room and board. That's a lot of higher education.

2. 3,973,510 monthly mortgage payments

The average monthly mortgage payment, according to analysts at Freddie Mac, is $906 in principal and interest. $3.6 billion would buy one month's reprieve from the repo man for almost 4 million Americans.

3. 48 million bleacher tickets for a World Series game

Hey, the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers kick off the annual baseball classic tonight. Cheap seats cost $75. Wouldn't we all like to be there?

4. Annual salaries for 83,116 high school teachers

Payscale.com pegs the median high school teacher salary at $43,313. Don't we need more math and science experts in the classroom?

5. 1,323,529,412 school lunches

The U.S. Department of Agriculture pays $2.72 for every free lunch provided through the National School Lunch Program. For $3.6 billion, a lot more kids could eat — or the ones who already get free lunches might be able to eat better.

6. 360 million bags of Halloween candy

Forget the health food; it's Halloween. Why not buy a two-pound bag of Wonka Assorted Candy for $9.99 for every man, woman, and child in the USA — plus about 50,000 extras?

7. 12,286,689 unemployment checks

Unemployment benefits vary widely by state but the national average is about $293 a week. Aren't all those politicians saying they want to help the jobless?

8. 1,440 Super Bowl commercials

Does anyone think we don't have enough already? The most coveted advertising event of the year averages $2.5 million per commercial, meaning this year's campaign spending numbers could pay for 1,440 spots.

9. Annual salaries for 75,263 police officers

The average law enforcement officer's salary is $47,832 says Payscale.com; what candidate doesn't want to put more cops on the beat?

10. A 248-season contract for LeBron James

Yeah, he gets paid $14.5 million a year, but we could afford him. Eat your hearts out, Miami Heat.

11. 7.2 million iPads

The lowest-end iPad offering 16 GB and Wi-Fi runs at Apple.com for $499, which means that $3.6 million would afford the product to 7,200,000 people.

12. Priuses for 526 Oprah audiences

At $22,800 apiece, "You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!""

End of Article (incase you didn't notice the quotations)

Wow, this just blows me away. I seriously would have chosen ANY of these options over having to deal with stupid mailers, and advertisements that don't actually inform voters of the important facts about each candidate or propositions. What if a candidate actually chose to forgo advertising and campaigning in the "usual" sense and spent their money helping their already/soon to be constituents? Would they be elected? Would people notice?

Don't vote based off of what you have seen and heard in the media, do research, be informed and VOTE TODAY!

November is here!

I can hardly believe that November is already here! It is a complete dream, the time has gone by so fast yet so slow at the same time. September and October flew by as a whole, but each day seems to creep by so slowly. I can't believe that this month I will become a mom. I don't know when, just that it will be anytime before thanksgiving. I'm currently 38 weeks, and starting to show signs of "starting the process" but for first timers it could still be another 2-3 weeks. I am so excited to start this new journey in my life!

On a completely separate note, for three or four years now, I have wanted to participate in National Novel Writing Month, where a person is challenged to write 50,000 words of a story from midnight on November 1st until 11:59pm on November 30th. However, with me having a baby some point this month, I just don't think that is realistic. Something else I have been wanting to do, is drum up my blogging. I want to actually write about the things I'm thinking about or things I find interesting and want to share with others, as well as have a place to publicly share what is going on in my personal life in a meaningful way. So, even though I will most likely not succeed due to being in the hospital for a few days to give birth I am going to attempt another writing event that starts today. NaBloPoMo (now that is a mouthful to say!), basically the goal is to post a blog each day during the month of November. Again due to going into labor at some unknown point this month I can't guarantee that I will be able to complete this challenge, but I figure at least it will get me posting a bit more this month. So join me as I attempt to post a blog each day, we will see how far I get!

Date Night!

Matt and I had a great date night on Saturday. It was actually unintentional. On his way home from work, I suggested making pot roast for dinner, with some side dish, and he agreed. We attempted to go to the movies two weekends ago but it was a total flop, I was really sore from a dr.'s appointment and last weekend I full on fell asleep from about 2pm until 4 or so and woke up groggy and cranky. When Matt had come home and taken his shower (he works at a paintball field and gets SUPER dirty at work), he suggested we go to the movies with some movie passes we had. I agreed and we had enough time to get in there at the 4 something showing. We saw RED. SOOOOO good. I loved it. It was the perfect combination of action and comedy. The reason I normally am not the biggest fan of action is because its all shoot'em up gore type stuff, and the story is weak. However RED had some great wit and humor about it that made the movie really fun and enjoyable. After the movie it was almost 7, and the baby inside of me was screaming for food. We ended up at the Red Robin, and just had a really nice casual dinner. My hubby sucks at planning dates (this is something he will willingly admit), however just spending time together spontaneously was nice. My hubby is currently working a temp job for his uncle 2 hours away from me M-Th and then working at his regular job Sat and Sun. So the time with him is nice. I sure miss him when he is gone.

The Phillips Family

Last Friday I had the opportunity to visit with a couple who are very dear to my heart. MY children's pastor and his wife. I have known Brent and Leah Phillips for 20 years (wow, crazy!). Brent was my pastor growing up, and because I was a PK, we had a special relationship. They watched my brother and I for a weekend. I remember visiting Leah when she was on bed rest pregnant with their first. I taught Sunday school to three of their children when they were four years old. Then my Junior year of high school, they moved to Texas. I even visited them when I was in Austin, and spent the afternoon with them. I honestly could go on and on about how wonderful this family is and how big of a blessing they have been to my. I wont, I will just leave it as the fact that I can honestly say that if it were not for Brent, and his ministry, I would not be in Children's Ministry today. Now, God has given them a new path, a new direction. Here is the video they posted to share their new path.

The Phillips Story from Brent Phillips on Vimeo.

Friday morning was a wonderful time to reconnect with them, and hear their hearts for what God has called them to do. Please join me in praying for this incredible family as they go to do God's work in Uganda. They are truly going to serve the least of the least, and change the lives of those they minister to forever. Maybe some day in the next year or two, I can go visit and minister along side of them for a time.

I feel like I have been keeping things constantly in motion. Everything is spinning around me and its all I can do to touch it and keep it from crashing down. I have an overwhelming work load before I go on maternity leave. I don't want things to come crashing down while I'm gone, but at the same time I need to trust that the people I'm leaving in charge will do a good job. I know that they will, but I'm a control freak. My poor hubby has been doing most of the house work, because I'm sooo tired at night after work. We are so busy with things after work hours, it is amazing to me that I get anything done. I have been dropping the "ball" of relationships lately. I need to send some emails and make some calls. They were supposed to be done last week. The hard thing is, I have so much to say because I haven't talked to them in so long that I know I need to set aside at least 30-45 minutes. I just don't have it. I have 3 here 10 there if I'm lucky. Soon there will be a baby to add into the mix. Lord, please help!

Desert Rain

I was awoken this morning while it was still dark by an unfamiliar noise. I thought it was the cat messing around down stairs. What did he do this time, was my first thought. I rolled over and attempted to go back to sleep. I don't know if I fell asleep or not before I heard this unfamiliar noise again. I knew it wasn't the cat, but didn't know what it was. Trying to get all of the sleep I could being 8 months pregnant, I attempted to go back to sleep, after my 5th trip to the bathroom that night. Then I heard it again, it was unmistakable. It was the sound of thunder! I woke up my hubby, as I squealed with delight as there was a sudden flash of lightning visible through the skylight in our bathroom. My hubby who was not very happy with me and could care less that it was thundering outside, declined to run outside to enjoy the show. (By run, I mean getting outside as fast as a sore, slow moving, very pregnant woman can). I flung open our front door, and was greeted by my favorite smell in the entire world. Desert rain.

If you have never been to the Palm Springs area when it is raining, (which if you don't live here is highly unlikely that you have) there is this wonderful aroma that floods the air. The conditions have to be just right, the scent happens before it starts raining, when it is only sprinkling. If I remember correctly from a 2nd grade field trip, it is cause by a certain desert plant. It is the most glorious smell in the world. There is nothing else like it, therefore it is impossible for me to describe it to those of you who have never smelt it before. Not only is it an amazing smell, but it has so many memories attached.

Growing up in the desert, it NEVER rained and by rain, I mean even sprinkled. That smell as a kid was the promise that I would see a few drops from the sky. The possibility of jumping in puddles, the possibility of streets being closed because the streets here aren't ready for water, the possibility of catching rain drops on my tongue. Children who grew up in places where it actually rained on occasion, take these simple joys for granted. I used to sit in the sprinklers pretending it was rain w/ an umbrella. Any time there was so much as a drop from the sky, I was outside with boots and an umbrella to play in the rain.

I wish that I could bottle the smell of desert rain, and save it. Yet maybe the reason it is so special is because it is so rare. Desert rain is an old dear friend whom you don't see very often, so each visit is special and dear to your heart. So desert friends, ignore the crazy pregnant lady attempting to jump in 1/2 inch puddles, catch raindrops on her tongue and taking long deep breaths of desert rain.

Drifting

I feel like I'm drifting right now. I am just going through the motions of life. I get up go to work then each night after work complete what ever scheduled activities I have.

For example, Monday = birth class, Tuesday = life group, Wednesday = midweek ministry, Thursday = discipleship/mentorship time then attempting to have a date night w/ hubby. Most Friday's I'm working with an event, I have things scheduled nearly EVERY Saturday. Sunday's for me are a work day and then dinner/laundry at my parents. I am just going through these motions. Week after week after week, drifting.

I feel like I'm spinning around and not making any meaningful connections with anyone. Because of my schedule, I don't have time to hang out w/ friends. I rarely even have time to place a phone call to them. I feel all of my friendships drifting farther and farther away. To the point where there are deep things that I need to talk about, and I feel like I can't go that deep with the majority of my friends any more. Even the ones I feel that I can would be over the phone, and I'm not a fan of those types of conversations over the phone. So much is lost. I'm scared that this is going to get worse when the baby comes and my drifting will just keep going in the opposite directions of my other relationships.

That is where my head has been. My poor neglected blog. Also, I don't have pictures, because I'm lazy and I always feel bad about posting w/o pictures. I need to be better at that.

College

I saw these questions on a blog that I read and thought that they would be fun to answer since my current thoughts are still too jumbled to post, I will post about one of my favorite times by answering these "10 on Tuesday" Questions that I read on Stephany writes, she has a good blog. You should check it out!

1. Where did you go to college?

Biola University. A smallish private Christian University that my parents went to and my brother is still attending. It is in the small town of La Mirada, Ca

2. What did you study?

I started out as an English Education Major, planing on becoming an english teacher, then found out that I could major in Ministry (working at a church). Which is something that I hadn't even considered as a job. I switched majors freshman fall, to Christian Education (now Christian Ministry), and never looked back. I got to study, teaching, development, small groups, leadership and have a rocking internship for two years.

3. Was college really all that it was cracked up to be?

Honestly it exceeded my expectations. I found an amazing group of friends who I was totally blessed with. We had our own group, we ate dinner together every night (there were like 20+ people at dinner) and got to learn and grow together. We mostly hung out in the lobby of our dorm and were called the "Lobby Crew" (shout outs to anyone who reads this from that group, love you!). We even decided to ditch the schools "spring banquet" and create our own. It was AMAZING! I loved college, and the friendships I made there.

4. How far were you from home?

I was about two hours from my "home". I didn't have a car freshman year, so it may as well have been 500 hours, but it was great. Close enough to go home for holidays but far enough away that my parents didn't just show up for dinner.

5. Did you have the same roommate all four years?

Mostly different roommates each year. Freshman year I had a roommate for the 1st semester who moved rooms due to our opposite sleeping schedules. (she was up with lights on and people in the room until 3am, and I had 8am classes). So I picked a friend and we were roommates for the next year in a triple with another friend. Then I moved into the school owned apartments for my next two years, with completely different people. Total over the four (well 3 1/2 for me) years of college not counting summer housing, I lived with 10 different girls. Mind you that some were in multiple bedroom apartments and two were suite mates, but ya, I guess I did live with a lot of different people.

6. Where did you order food from at 2am?

Molca Salsa - a local horribly greasy mexican fast food place that was open 24hrs.

Denny's - many late night study groups took place in Denny's, many time with the food showing up around 2 am.

7. Did you date in college or were you tied down?

In my first year and a half I dated a guy for like 3-4 months? It REALLY didn't work out, in fact we broke up 3 days after I brought him home for a friends wedding and he met a TON of my friends. I was mostly free during this time, and loved investing in friendships. In February of my 2nd year, I started dating this guy. Then we got engaged, and then we got married, and now we are expecting a baby in November! So I was "tied down" for the 2nd half of college, but I am so happy I was.

8. Funniest drunk college moment?

See the thing about Biola is you sign this contract. No drinking while enrolled in classes. So its a dry campus. This doesn't mean that there are many who ignore the contract, it just means there are no drunken parties or open drinking. You may think this is crazy, but I LOVED IT! It was great not to worry about roomies coming home drunk, or there being wild parties while you were trying to study. It was a great experience. So no funny drunk stories from college from me, sorry.

9. Did you make it to class on time?

Yes. I liked being one of the first there, especially in my major classes because you got to chat with the professors and the other kids in the class. It was really great for me to be able to build those relationships. Now I will admit, that there was this one 8am class that attendance didn't count for. So I showed up maybe a total of 6-7 times the entire semester. 3 of them were for tests that I couldn't miss. I managed to pull off a B+ in that one, and while I am not proud of not going to the class, I am proud of the fact that it didn't affect my grade too much.

10. What was your favorite class in college?

YIKES! I had so many favorites, I really did. Here are my top 5 (in no particular order) and why:

Foundations of Ministry- This class cemented the fact that I wanted to go into vocational ministry as well as the fact that I was the TA for it the following year. The professor was amazing, and I apply many things that I learned in that class in my job right now! Also, this is the class that I meet my hubby in freshman year. So that in and of its self makes it on the list.

O&A - (Organization and Administration of Ministry) - I took this class early (it was a 400 level and I took it as a sophomore), and I was so thankful that I did. I learned more about the brass and tacks of ministry than I learned in all of my other classes combined. It opened my eyes early that this career path I was on was not going to be an easy one, it was not going to be one that was going to make me a lot of money, or be fun all of the time. Knowing that, it allowed me to cement that regardless of how hard it was going to be. This is where God has called me, and it gave me some great tools to use.

Theology 1- I waited to take this class from "the teacher". The one that everyone wants for this class. Its the class that Juniors and Seniors wait to take, so they can have priority and get this professor. SO WORTH THE WAIT! This class pushes you in what you believe, why you believe it and how you should respond to it. I grew so much in my personal faith because of this class, I learned so much about myself. I was pushed to a greater appreciation and understanding of my faith in an academic way that also affected my heart.

Evangelism - I took this class and loved every minute of it. I really can't say why, other than the teacher was beyond amazing. She had us look at things we knew from new perspectives. Challenged our thinking in so many ways. It was a GREAT class.

And last, but not least, I am totally going to cheat and say:

All of my Dr. Anthony classes!

Worship - We got to learn about new styles of worship and engaged our minds and hearts into something that is so essential to faith.

Foundations of Teaching - The second hardest class in the major. This class was mostly about educational theory and how people learned. We had to memorize a TON of philosophies, dates, people and theories about education and how people learned. I was never prouder of a B in my whole life.

Internship 2 - If you are afraid of public speaking. DO NOT take this class ever. You had to speak, every single week. You had to present your assignment every week! Also, in your internship you had to teach 15 times two of which had to be video taped and graded by your mentor AND the professor. There is also something called the "ummm bell". If you said umm, or any "filler words" such as like, um, well you know, etc. the bell would ring and you would have to start from the beginning. I pulled an A in this class. Something that very few people do, it was stretching to say the least.

Dr. Anthony is a true mentor to me. He is the professor you sign up for office hours for just to talk about life. He make even the most daunting and difficult material fun and exciting. He cares for each of his students. He was even going to marry my hubby and I but we had to change the dates, and he had a date conflicting. He is one of the biggest reasons I am in ministry and where I am today.

There is my super long 10 question college post, hope you enjoyed it!

Unconditional Love

The concept of love is something I am familiar with on many different levels. For example there is my love for half baked ice cream. There is my love for my job, for my co-workers, for my friends. There is a love for my kids, even when there are 50 of them going crazy at once on a Wednesday night. Then there is a love for my family, my parents my brother. There is also my love for my husband. Each of these I love in a different way to a different level, in a different way. Then I think about the love I have and will have for my own child. How great of a love is that?

Then I think of the Father's love for me, and how He loves me always, no matter what I do, say or feel. He loves me even when I don't love Him. How great of a love is that. His love truly is deeper than the oceans and higher than the heavens. There is no bounds to His love for me, or you. How amazing it is to be loved for who I am, where I am today. That is unconditional love.

Identity

Someone asked me if I felt like I lost part of my identity when I changed my name after I got married.

I honestly had to think about it.

I have been Mrs. Medina for almost 11 months now, and I wouldn't change it for the world. I love having the same name as my husband. I love that I took his name so that we are united as one family. Myself as a person didn't change really, at least no more than any other person who gets married. I got to add something. The only time that I felt like I was loosing something was a comment my dad said. My dad finally got his hands on a family heirloom that was his great grandpa's, then his grandpa's then his dad's and now finally his. He has been drooling over this particular item since he was 10 years old. It's the riffle he learned to hunt with from his grandpa. He made a joke about making my brother wait until he was 60 to get it, then I made a joke about him not wanting to pass it down to his first born grandson (currently in my oven). His reply was, is his last name going to be _________ (insert my maiden last name)?

At that moment I realized that part of my identity had changed, in my families eyes. Which is a good thing! Matt and I are our own family now. While my parents will always be my parents, my hubby and I are a different family now, our identity is now meshed.

Did I loose part of my identity? No, I am still the same person. My identity changed, I am now part of someone else. It is an addition, not a loss. I gained so much more than I had before. At least that is my feeling.

Btw... I have like 15 unfinished blog posts to make but my prego brain is stalling me out, so I apologize for the lack of recent posts, hopefully my blogging will come back soon, and it will not be overwhelmed by baby stuff, but no promises.

Life

Lets call May the month of failed blogging. Hello long lost blog, I have missed you. My life has kept me away from you, the insanity of not having an office at work and all of my crazy tasks overwhelmed me. But now I am back, and I have so much to tell you. Which means that there will be many posts coming soonish.

Here is what my past few weeks have looked like

Monday:

8:30am - 5:15ish Work with a modest lunch break

5:30-6:30 Dinner and if we are fast squeezing in some grocery shopping

7-10something Game night at our place.

Tuesday:

8:30am - 5:15ish Work with a modest lunch break

Grab a quick dinner and be 20 min away by 6pm

6-8:30/9ish Life Group

Come home and CRASH

Wendsday:

8:30-8:30 Work, with a short lunch and even shorter dinner break

9pm-10pm vegg on couch trying to recover from crazy work day

Thursday:

8:30am - 5:15ish Work with a modest lunch break

After work- date night/ catch up on house / try and have a life night

Friday&Saturday

Laundry, being lazy and unmotivated, catching up from the insanity of the week, sometimes going out of town, being sick most weekends etc

Sunday:

7:15-1:30pm Work/Church

1:30-2ish lunch

2ish-5ish rest my swollen ankles and take a nap

5ish-10ish start to mentally prepare myself for the week and all I need to get done.

When I type it out it doesn't look that crazy, but it sure has felt that way. Now that I don't have my Wednesday night program anymore, things will hopefully feel better and more freeing and I wont feel so overwhelmed. :)

My travel bug

I haven't been to a new place since 2008. Since I was 16 every 2 years or so, I have been off to somewhere new, usually a new country (but not always).

In 2003, I went to Grenada on a mission trip and helped fix up a church that had very bad water damage.

In 2004, my family went on a cruise to Mexico, it was AWESOME. Sorry no pics on my compy for this one :(

In 2006, I went to Ireland for 10 days, and the experience was BEYOND amazing. This is the courtyard of trinity collage.

In 2007, I went to Kenya and served people impacted or infected with HIV/AIDS.

In 2008, I went to France, a true dream come true for me, I had 3 weeks in the French countryside with a few days in Paris At the top of my blog is a picture from the countryside I was staying in.

For our honeymoon Matt and I chose to go on the same cruise to Mexico my family had gone on twice previously. It was convenient with dates and at a price we couldn't beat. While it was fun and relaxing, I honestly didn't feel like I was traveling or experiencing a new culture. I was just thrilled to be on vacation with my Hubby and that the whole wedding was finally done with.

I want to travel, I want to go back to Africa, I want to spend time in England and the rest of europe for that matter, I want to go to South America, or Australia, or anywhere in Asia.

However due to the fact that I am currently on the mommy wagon... it will be a long while before I will be able to go those places, or we would somehow have to figure out how to afford the extra plane ticket. I guess I will have to come up with something else to fix my travel bug. Any ideas?

Random update

Life has been flying by, I sincerely apologize to my readers (do I even have any left?) for not posting as often as I should. I'm starting to get my energy back and hopefully my blog will return to its normal postingness (and yes, it's my blog so I can make up words like that).

My office at work has been under construction for over a month. My desk is currently a folding table, all of my books, desk nicknacks, my pen cup, office supplies, and other essential things I keep on my desk for easy access, are currently buried on another table covered with a paint tarp. My door was moved, so where my door used to be, there is drywall sheets, unfinished. Where my new door is, well it was put on backwards because someone ordered the wrong door frame. So it is still unfinished and I have to wait another week or so for the right door fame so they can do more work, and flip the door. Then I have to wait for a custom build to happen for my desk, because now the shape of my office will not allow for us to just go out and buy one. There is a support pole in the middle of my office, that is part of the structural integrity of the whole building. So did I mention that this is my crazy season at work? Plus my slight OCD, (especially when it comes to my work spaces) = a very difficult to concentrate, slightly neurotic with surging prego hormones me. Such is life, and honestly when this is done, I'm going to totally make this office MINE, and do some fun and unique things to it. Something to look forward to...

In other news, I had my 12 week check-up yesterday. We got to hear the heart beat, which was nice and strong, and see the baby who is growing exactly the way he/she should be. The baby even jumped for us while we were trying to take its picture. It was what made the 2 hour wait worth it.

Have a great week everyone!

My birthday

Wednesday was my 24th Birthday. I wasn't expecting anything big. Matt and I are still low in the funds area, and I had to work 12 hours that day.

At 11 am my office all got together to sing to me and to eat cake (office tradition) its nice to be able to talk/hang out with our office in a not so work oriented way.

Then Matt picked me up and took me to lunch at Olive Garden. There happens to be one less than 5 minutes away from my office. I should have taken the picture before we ate all the food, but oh well, it was AMAZING and very yummy!

Then while I was working our evening program one of my friends/coworkers got me a little mermaid cake! I heart disney so it was awesome! It was a nice surprise while I was looking at working for another 3-4 hours. :)

After work I crashed knowing that the next night would be a birthday dinner with my parents, followed by hanging out with Matt's mom for my b-day on Saturday.

Yesterday, I got home from work, and saw this super cute maternity dress that I'd been eyeing hanging on our coat rack. I started to question Matt about it, when all of the sudden my friend Alexa comes down the stairs in a nice dress, and tells me to put the dress on and we are going out. I am normally one to not be surprised. I normally am the one doing the surprising... so I was way taken off gaud. I quickly put on the dress (and shaved my legs) and we were off. We ended up a little over an hour away at Bj's (one of my favorite restaurants that isn't in our area), and two of my wonderful friends from the OC area joined us for dinner. It was so wonderful to just enjoy a dinner out with some of my girl friends! Here is a group shot of us after dinner.

So apparently my parents, and my husband was in on the whole thing, and we are having dinner with my parents tonight instead. It was a great time, and a wonderful reminder of how blessed I am to have great friends in my life.

Morning Tea

Lately, the one thing that have been making my mornings, GREEN TEA. I wish that I had time, to sit down with a cup of tea, in a pretty cup and drink in my morning. However what actually happens is me pouring hot water into a travel mug with a tea bag, and letting it steep on the way to work. It has helped me focus in the morning, and ease into work a little bit better. I heart tea. What makes your morning better?

The reason...

I have not been blogging a ton lately. As I have previously hinted, I have a very good reason. I have decided to tell my blog readers before the massive facebook announcement later today, or tomorrow. I'm pregnant. SURPRISE to us! Come November 13th (give or take a week or two) there will be a little baby as a new addition to our family.

After Matt and I got over our complete shock, as this is a completely unplanned/how did this happen feelings. We are both very excited to begin this new chapter in our lives, albeit a bit (ok at least a year-ish) sooner than we were planning on. I'm currently just over 9 weeks, and have been feeling pretty miserable. On top of not being able to feel ever completely awake and anything besides exhaustion, nausea and raging hormones, work has cranked up hours for me, not only in a physical event, but time spent in prepping for that event each week.

I do have to tell you the story of how we found out, but that will come later... (perhaps tomorrow)

We are so excited about this, I don't want my blog to completely turn into a "baby blog" but it is a personal blog, so it will show some baby related things. We are so excited and still trying to figure how everything (money, time, childcare, work, life, etc) will work out now, but it is a new adventure we are excited about!

This weekend was a blur. I mean a complete and utter blur...

Friday:

My day off, I got to sleep in a bit, and then was not feeling well at all. I mean, not well at all. So I laid down most of the morning, with a home that I was supposed to be cleaning and work at work that I should have been doing. I had to go to work at 3 for our two Good Friday services. We did those, I ate, and then went to bed.

Saturday:

Still not feeing great, I attempted to clean, rested and then headed to work to finnish preparing for Easter. Matt had a friend over, we hung out and then went to dinner, and then I went to bed as I had to be up at 5:30 to be at work at 6:30am

Sunday:

Easter is always a busy day for me. We had 2 services and 94 kids from birth through 5th grade. For some churches that isn't very many, for me, it was double the previous week. I'm just bummed that most of them were out of town guests. Anyways I worked nonstop from 6:45-1pm, I didn't even get to take more than 3 sips of my starbucks that I got on the way to work. Then it was off to my parents house for Easter lunch. Matt's family came as well and in total there were twelve of us. We were there until 10:30 (as per usual with family gatherings) and had tons of fun.

It was a crazy weekend and I am still feeling so exhausted from it. Yet, it was a totally blessed weekend with some really fun things happening too. More on that later, for now back to life that is moving hundreds of miles an hour.