Category: Randomness

For those of you that may be offended by religion and faith or talking about it, here is your warning. This might be a post you want to skip over.

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*Edited to add*: After writing this, I found that this was a different side of me than I have ever written on here. A more exposed me. Please read with an open heart. Because I have put mine out there for everyone to see.

I grew up Lutheran, my mom's family is Catholic, we tried non-denominational churches, but once I went to college, I lost touch with going to church. Church had become a social event to see friends and I wasn't finding God in it like I had before. Chuck and I had gone to a church we liked for a while. Then we stopped. For reasons I can't recall. We have talked about going back, but sometimes I just don't want to do anything other than sit and relax or clean the house on Sundays. So I haven't gone.

We have had some life changing struggles come our way recently and thought to seek out a new church. One that met our needs and made us feel comfortable again. Then we moved and haven't found one yet. Or rather…we haven't really looked.

I have always been of the belief that you don't have to physically *BE* in church to feel the grace and love of God. But lately there have been a few things making me feel like it's time to go back. Or try to go back. Or at the VERY least…talk about going back.

I don't remember how I came across this site. I know it was from a blog I was reading, the I followed a link somewhere else, then followed another link…and so on. Until this caught my eye. And I was intrigued. I found other women that were becoming a part of it and couldn't wait until their August 10th release.

This site is all about fabulous, inspiring, heart-touching women talking about anything and everything all with a touch of faith mixed in. There is nothing being held back here. It's a community to (in)courage each other. It's a home to feel free to say what you wish to women who are ready to open their arms to you. And to tell their stories. There's no judging and you always feel welcomed. I am overwhelmingly touched by what is written there. (And yes, I realize the site has only been live for a couple days.)

But I am drawn to it. Drawn to the women. Drawn to the stories. Drawn to the faith, love, community. Just simply drawn to it.

This was one of the many things recently that has made me feel pulled back to God. (Not that I ever left Him or He ever left me….because we do still know each other.)

Then a woman I went to church with a long time ago has started (or more literally….planted) and church with her husband and friends. This church is called Bloom.

Again, something about it has been drawing me in. As I read about their building planting process I want to know more. Want to be a part of it. I desperately want ther green thumbs to rub off on me. But will they have me? I am an out of practice Christian. But then you read their welcoming words. Their loving words. They are nurturing a garden they can't even see. Touching those they don't know exist because we just haven't grown enough to let them know it yet.

So I am trying to decide if I should go. Experience it. See where it takes me. But I have fears. What if I don't go all the time? Will they understand? Be accepting to that? Be ok with my infrequent visits?

Of course they will. At least I have this strange feeling they will. This is just another reason I am drawn to them.

One final thing I came across was a site called Grace In Small Things or GiST.

Visit Grace in Small Things

This site has been a godsend. Literally. I have been trying to find a way to find the positive things in life since I am by nature a negative person. This has helped immensely. You write down 5 things every day that make you happy…made you smile…graced you.

Chuck is eternally positive and it is one of the many things I love about him. But I know my negativity can be draining. So this will be good for both of us. He asks what my 5 things are every day and loves this idea as much I do. I want my happiness to show through daily. And this forces me to find those positive things even on those days it's really hard. I find myself looking at everything analyzing if it is good enough to make the list.

I am only on 11/365, but you can follow my journey of daily grace HERE. There's links in my sidebar, too. I am also so proud of myself for sticking to this. I know that after 365 days, I will do this list naturally.

I know God doesn't want me to be an unhappy, negative person. I was given yet another opportunity to better myself and work on being the person outwardly that I know I am inwardly. That person my friends love. That person that God knows I am. That He made me to be.

There are many other things that have been triggering feelings in me that I haven't felt in a while. But I won't go into all of those here…at least not right now. I just can't help but feel that these are truly signs from God. When I need them most.

He's telling me He's still there. When I really need Him. Even when I don't know I need Him.

Maybe it's time I step out of my comfort zone and leap right in! There are so many changes happening right now anyway…why not throw in a couple more!? I believe I am being drawn to these places because God has been showing them to me. Placing these opportunities, these communities, these people and Himself at my feet.

All I need to do now is embrace them with every ounce of my soul that so desperately needs them. And answer God's call.

This was just another funny/cute little picture that popped up when I was trying to get into Twitter. It's not as cute as THIS picture, but it made me smile. Nothing overly exciting. I just wanted to share.

I know that is a terrible word – blogging – and it isn't really even a word. At least I don't know that Webster's has welcomed it into its family yet.

I have spent time over the last year or more reading various blogs. Some personal, some for business, some craft related, some food related…and one thing they all have in common is I like reading them more than I like reading my own blog.

I have accepted the fact that I am not incredibly funny. Correction, people laugh at me a lot, but not because I told the most hilarious joke (because I always get the punchline wrong). I hear things in my head that sound funny to me, but that is usually because I have had about 5 minutes worth of internal-head-conversation with myself before anything comes out of my mouth…and most of the time, this internal-head-conversation has NOTHING to do with what comes out of my mouth. I say the most random things that make people look at me and try to trace the tracks of my thoughts. It makes perfect sense to me and I can usually tell you the twisted path my mind took to get there.

I have also accepted that I am not the best writer. Although mostly because I write the first thing that comes to mind and I don't edit much or strive for those words in my vocabulary that so desperately wanted to be dusted off. Also, because I am terribly out of practice at writing. Yes, I know…I write ALL the time here, but it's more journal than writing. At least I see journaling and writing to be different because of the way they are executed.

Mostly, I want to write something that I want to read. Because I imagine that if I don't like what I am writing, you don't like it either.

So I will be working on my content and its implementation. I always liked writing in school and I love reading. I love the intonation and visual effects words can take on and make depending on how they are compiled and written with other words. And how adding that one (or two) extra word really distracts from the overall or intended concept.

I would love to see what blogs those of you out there read. What makes you come back for more and what turns you away?

You really need to check out this site I recently came across! It is so funny! It's called Handmade Gone Wrong!

I know all of us out there at one time or another have felt like their project was a complete disaster! But I bet they weren't as bad as some of the things found on this site! And heck….if it is *THAT BAD*….submit it to them for all of us to see!

Enjoy!

Yep. I am back to taking the bus to work. It feels so strange….and lonely. I will miss driving to work with Chuck every day, but I will get back in the groove. There aren't too many people on the bus in the morning, so I'll have to see how many people there are in the afternoons. But, overall, it's not that bad. I like driving to work because I like to have the freedom to come and go when I want and go somewhere after work. But I also know I get upset with drivers and this is good for my blood pressure.

And Chuck's new office is awesome! I got to see it on Friday. He has a view of the capital. It's a MUCH better location that I had before. So even though I selfishly want to ride with him every day, I am very happy for them to be in a great place!

Last night Chuck surprised me with an awesome surprise. All day he had me guessing, but since I didn't even know this existed, I was never going to guess it! The Twin Cities River Rats put on an amazing water skiing show! It was SO cool! You have to check out the photos on that link and they videos. What a fun thing to watch!

I took a few pictures, but since I didn't know I would need my camera for the evening's surprise, I only had my phone. (I think they need to add a zoom feature too it by the way!) But here is one picture.

The orange blob in the picture is 24 people making a pyramid…ON WATER SKIS! You should really just go to the website and look at their pictures!

I think it's pretty obvious that I had a good time!

I didn't stop smiling the whole time! Thanks dear for yet another WONDERFUL surprise!

Ever hear of Extreme Race Day? Me neither!

Yes…I am serious! My friend is going to this on Sunday. They race camels and ostriches at the local horse racing track. How utterly hilarious! I had no idea something like this existed! I can't believe I have been missing out on this for 28 years!

Let's see. What might someone want to know about me.

I am married to my best friend and the most wonderful husband ever! His name is Chuck. We recently moved to a house we LOVE in Rosemount, Minnesota and plan to start a family there one day. We are currently enjoying our kid-less days while they are still here.

We are busy people. I am a tad bit lazy by nature, but thankfully Chuck doesn't sit still well and keeps us active. We do projects around the house (he's VERY handy), take trips, bike ride, swim, go on walks, rollerblade, boat, jet ski, downhill ski, play hockey (more him than me, but I'm learning), play broomball, play softball (we were too busy and didn't get on a team this year), and a multitude of other things. Life's too short to sit around…I am learning that and learning to enjoy the activities more and more!

I am currently a legal assistant at an Intellectual Property law firm. I am sure most of you have no idea what that is. We work on patents and trademarks. There are some really creative people out there!

I have started school again. I will be studying Computer Science. I haven't been in school in years and I'm freaking out about going back, but I am ready to take the plunge and start a new chapter in my life. I have a degree in Sociology (which really means I know a few things about a lot of things, but specialize in nothing) and a minor in English (which translates to, I can read and I can write papers), but I am fascinated by what Chuck does (he works at Microsoft and has a Masters Degree in Computer Science). So I am going to give it a try.

I always thought I wanted to stay home with kids, but realized after working at home that I get stir crazy. So I am hoping this new career will someday allow me to work from home when I need/want to, but still be able to challenge myself and keep my brain good and active. Not that kids and being at home wouldn't do that, I just want it in a different form. I know I will enjoy being home with kids for a while, but I enjoy having other outlets, too.

I had a craft business for a while (cards, jewelry…my dad was my best customer), but I didn't care for the part where I had to promote myself to make money. So now it has returned to being my hobby…which I haven't had time for in a while. I do still maintain another craft site called CraftsOnAWhim.com. I go in spurts with my posting depending on the time I have had to create new things!

I am trying to read more books and watch less tv. I think my mind turns into vegetable mush some nights when I get lost in shows for hours.

I keep a blog because I want to “journal” things. I am glad to have readers, but I do this for me. If you don't like the content…wait until tomorrow. You might like it then. I tend to be quite random about what I posted here. But I suppose that is because I am a very random person!

I recently learned the joys of Twitter. I love useless information about people's lives!

I am short! Only 4' 10″. I have been known to find some creative ways to get things I need that are up high and I fit well in small places…i.e. under sinks!

When I meet new people, I like to try to find them on the Internet (i.e. Facebook) and learn all about them!

I like hanging out in smaller groups opposed to larger ones. Does this make me an introvert for not enjoying large groups? Or an extrovert for liking to hang out with people in general?

I would consider myself a homebody. Nothing is better than being at home with Chuck.

My hubby works for Microsoft, but we both have Macbooks and iPhones!

I love Star Trek and did name a pet after one of the characters.

I don't like to clean. But don't seem to hate it as much as I used to in the new house. I am sure that will pass when the house is no longer “new”!

I love going to the zoo. I should really be put on one of those leash things some parents attach to their children to keep them from running off.

There are only a handful of people I would call my best friends. I have many friends, but the best ones are precious to me.

I have two younger brothers. One is 4 1/2 years younger than me and the other is 17 years younger.

I like to cook, or at least I think I do. I love looking at cookbooks and magazines. But…see next paragraph.

I get incredibly nervous to try new things, but I am working to get over that fear. It's quite debilitating at times and frankly no fun. I am mostly afraid to fail. And failing is ok. You learn from it and grow. So it isn't all bad!

I am a recovering pessimist. At least that's what I call myself. I have very pessimistic tendencies, but I don't want that to define who I am. So I am working being more positive. Life is good and I want to live that way every day.

I am happy to answer more questions if you have any. I am sure I will get inundated with spam, but if you want to contact me, you are more than welcome to do so HERE. As things change in life, I will update this or add more tidbits as I realize them!

Chuck snapped this lovely picture of me.

I remember sitting on the window seat and looking out the window. I am not sure why I decided to curl up on something that isn't all that comfortable for sleeping on. But I was conked out. I should really make a collection of all the silly sleeping pictures I have of myself!

We have had some great weekends lately. This weekend we went up to a friends' cabin. Chuck and his friends have gone up there since they were in high school together. There were a few new people up there this year, so it was fun to make some new friends. Here's a little picture from the weekend.

This was the only picture I took because 1. I didn't bring my camera and 2. I didn't look at my phone all weekend other than to take this picture. I will get photos from others that took pictures this weekend and make a link to my gallery.

And one fun little tidbit…The house two down from us….not the one I have been so diligently posting about, but next door to that, has sold. I saw a couple of people try to go in there this weekend. She looked like she was on a mission. I hope they are the new neighbors because they looked about our age! Yay! Either way, I am excited to meet more people.

I also recently found out that someone I went to high school with lives just a couple blocks away. We haven't been able to hang out, but I know we will find the time soon since we are so close! How exciting! Again, I love Rosemount!