Positive Post Tuesday

As previously mentioned, we are in Canton Ohio this week getting to know our new coworker team mates. Jackie has a love of horses and she happens to actually OWN a horse. Ace lives at Dave and Tracy's barn, and Dave is one of our coworker team mates too. It's really awesome to get to work with these guys, and even more awesome that they've shared their love of horses with Sarah and I (Stoney is a big fat fraidy cat). Ace has been a bit stuborn for Jackie lately, tonight he did not want to walk forward. I got a couple of pictures of them together. In this first one Jackie has a little bit of a smile on her face, not sure why cause Ace had only stepped one step forward. None of the pictures I took on my phone actually show the breath teaming from our faces, or the horses faces, but it was a bit nippy out there tonight. All the same, we had a great time. I haven't been on a horse in 13 years now, not since Chuck and I rode in New Zealand. Sarah has been around horses in her live, but has never been on one. Tonight was her lucky night.

She and I both rode Matahute (remember that name from "The Rescuers Down Under?" (I don't, but Sarah did). Anywhoots, Matahute was just a sweet girl and very tolerant rusty experience and a sweetheart to ride.
Fun times. (I can tell I've been spending a lot of time with Sarah, cause that's her line)

Sunday's Randomness

My boss, Sarah and I are in Canton Ohio for a week. We're meeting up with the rest of the crew, our families are 'melding' into one. Much enthusiasm in this trip! Here's a brief photo journal of our three legs to get here.

Rising well before dawn, our flight left Reno at 6:05. The first leg, Stoney and I sat in one row (with Sarah across the aisle cause it was a 2 x 2 small puddle jumper prop plane). This is when I took the picture of the sunrise.At LAX we had to rush to the connection. What a pain. The 2nd leg, the long flight, Stoney got stuck in the back of the plane, and Sarah and I played cards.

The short 3rd leg, Stoney was in row 4, I was in row 10 and Sarah was in row 12, which happened to be the last row on the plane. Another puddle jumper but at least it was a jet.
That's where the moon rise picture was taken. Kind of a poor quality picture that I've not been able to improve much in Photoshop. But it was really cool seeing the moon peak through the cloud cover contrast against the wing tip. Airline was NorthWest, thus the red tip.
Arriving in Akron/Canton about a quarter til 7 (4 at home) we'd been at it for 12 hours. After getting ourselves to the hotel (LOVE MY iPHONE and Google Maps!) we settled in and got some food. Now Sarah and I are chillin and catching up with all our stuff.

I have more pictures up on my Facebook, if anyone wants to go peak at them.

What I Write About

So says the Wordle. Now if someone could show me the cool plug in to make that show up on my side bar, and update appropriately, I'd be really happy!

Looking over that word cloud, it appears most of what I write about is pretty up beat and happy. I'm glad to see that cause I sure feel like a whiner recently.

GREAT QUOTE:

Find your center and stay there:
it will allow you to live your life
to its maximum. -Barbara Ann Kipfer

I am balanced.

Sunday Stuff

My week of randomness:

• My sister arrived on Tuesday for a week visit. Of sorts. Her husband had a conference at Squaw Valley for the week. Then they were going over to Chico to visit the Sierra Nevada Brewery. But the roads had chain requirements so they're here a day early.
• It SNOWED this weekend. Dusted. a little. More is better. Ski season is waiting.
• Got news this week about "big changes" ahead for my job. Good news is I didn't totally flip out and cry myself crazy. This is always a good thing. God Bless St John's Wort.
• Meant to donate platelets on Saturday, but had scheduled myself for whole blood not platelets (user error) so I rescheduled.
  
• We went out to lunch on Saturday with Sheila and Hilly ... last minute invited Danny to join us and he and his wife Stephani actually showed. Very exciting fun times. Steph connected me to the next point...
  
• Reconnected with an old climbing friend, Rick. Would make me quite happy to be able to post 'went climbing with Rick this weekend' type posts. Most happy indeed. We'll see.
• Climbed in the gym with Danny on Sunday, my finger joints are not happy with me. Aging. Such is life.
• Got the tree today - sister's husband and my nephew Hans (age 23) got it in the stand and put all the lights on - then my Alison actually helped Hans decorate it - and I helped. This is the first year in forever that it wasn't just me, which was rather nice.
• Was emailing a friend about a scrpiture that I didn't know the reference I'd said: He knew me before [I even was] but then another friend informed me of the scripture, and I was surprised how close I was: Jeremiah 1:5 "...I knew you, before you were born ... " Huh - I was pretty darned close.
  

Yeah, so that about wraps up my week in review.

Pet Peeves on web pages

Things that drives me nuts:

• Having to fill out an entire form again because I missed one required field. (or my password didn't match)
• Clicking on "see larger image" and a new window opens up, with the same sized image I was previously viewing.

I'm sure there are more. But this is just a quickie.

Life is Life

Oh this is just fun ...


Joseph told me if I ever catch him wearing pants like that, I'm to shoot him.

Paying Attention (again ... or is it still?)

I started this post and saved it as a draft back on Thanksgiving Day - if that's when Nov 27 was. I didn't publish it because I felt I was coming off whiny and negative, and that wasn't how I wanted to come across at all. So I saved it as a draft. But now, after a series of events, (three times a charm again) I am going to post it. I'm leaving all the original text as is and am going to put my new notes in a different color to differentiate them. Not that anyone cares about my thought process, but I need to keep them separate.

The original reason (reason #1 in my paying attention) I was going to post this was based on a reaction I had to my co-worker and friend Sarah's post. She was bummed and down on herself over a party she's trying to put together.

My friend Sarah is graduating from UNR on Saturday, December 6th, then she's got finals the next week. How crazy ridiculous is that, for the university to have graduation before finals? Totally ridiculous I say.

So here's the thing. Sarah is one of the kindest most gentle people I've met in life. I wrote about her for one of my Positive Post Tuesday posts. I didn't go on about all the nice things about her. Sarah doesn't realize how much like any of the rest of us she is. That's cause at age 24 (soon to be 25) she hasn't lived long enough to experience that other people are just as insecure and self conscious as her.

I know what it is to want to be the popular one.
I know what it is to want people to like me.
I know what it is to always feel 'second' best.

I can identify with Sarah, planning and organizing events has always been a very risky business for me. I've always considered myself shy, quiet and reserved. I don't expect people to actually want to come, so I don't plan anything.

Ok, so that's all I had originally said. Somehow I thought I'd said more. Maybe I deleted it.

And then, later on the weekend (this is #2 in the paying attention part of my story) I read a post on "Where's My Damned Answer," the first post I'd ever read on the blog in fact, that really hit home. The post was titled "100 Day Challenge: Family stories". I had (and still have for that matter) no idea what the 100 Day Challenge is even about, but I read Carol's post. And I commented. Here's my comment:

I actually started to blog about this myself over the holiday, but since it sounded so negative, I decided against it.

I grew up under the shadow of my older sister. She was always “the out going one, and the pretty one,” which by default left me to be the shy one and the ‘not pretty’ one.

At age 44, I’ve finally realized I’m pretty darned outgoing myself, and I don’t think a single one of my friends would ever describe me as shy. I’ve always had a hard time believing my husband for thinking I’m beautiful. That one still stands. I’m just me, and that’s good enough.

I read this morning in the book I’m studying 1 Corinthians 15:10 - But by the grace of God I am what I am …

[I'd forgotten about 1 Corinthians I am what I am.... guess that makes reading the blog #3, since the scripture was #2. but who's counting, are you?]

So I posted my comment. Then later in the week (which would have been #3, but since I forgot about the scripture, it makes this #4 ...) I told Sarah about my aborted blog post - telling her face to face how we're all insecure beings at our core. And I told her all the things about her that I've always admired and respected in her. I told her not to worry about those people who she is trying so hard to develop friendship with. I said "The people you are going to be friends with in life, are going to be those people who like you for who you are just the way you are."

Ok, so on to #4, which by now is really #5. Apparently I won the "100 day Challenge" drawing for having posted my comment. I had totally overlooked Carol's reminder Remember to post on this or Monday’s post to be eligible for this drawing next week. And thus, I realized I guess I'd better post my post. And thus, here it is. Long winded and all. [sorry, I really am trying to be less wordy]

How does this all wrap up? And what am I paying attention too? I dunno. How's that for an answer? I just had the same subject come up time and time again. Five times in fact, in the past week. So this is my take away:

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Corinthians 15:10

I had to read it several times before the entire verse made sense to me. and his grace to me was not without effect means I noticed. It isn't in vain. I am aware of the truth that I am what I am, cause that's how I am made to be. I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me doesn't mean that I'm all that for being who I am, I am who I am because God is with me.

At least that's how it adds up to me.

Sunday's

What's goin on in Life ...

• Yesterday we were cleaning freaks. I got our spare room all cleaned out and now we have room for guests! YAY!
• Wrapped presents while "The Santa Claus
  
• Went looking for floor tiles for our kitchen remodel - looking forward to actually getting a new floor. Maybe when we've got the kitchen gutted and ripped out with nothing there, I'll take pictures and post them.
• Went to Sierra Gold for lunch with Mark and played some pool. Got my @$$ handed to me in an embarrassing way. My left thumb is taped from jamming it two weeks ago and I just didn't hold the cue right. At least I didn't bounce any balls off the table ...
• Alison is making some awesome smelling soup that she'd better share...
• Lyssa is working on a paper for school...
• Mark is on the phone with first his brother, then his Grandmother, and now with Talya...
  
• May go out and buy the floor tile now that we know how many we need ...
  
• I need half and half for my coffee!

That's all the random stuff I think anyone is interested in. :-) Have a great week!

Positive Post Tuesday

I'm gonna cheat today and post a favorite Haiku that Mark wrote me.
It's been over 7 years since he wrote this. I wish I'd dated them when he sent them.

Sanskrit Proverb

This has been posted all over the internet, and I always look it up for reference. The first four lines are my reality. And then it goes into the part about yesterdays, and tomorrows and TODAY well lived. I love this piece

Sanskrit Proverb
Look to this day
For it is life
The very life of life.
In its brief course lie all
The realities and verities of existence,
The bliss of growth,
The splendor of action,
The glory of power --

For yesterday is but a dream,
And tomorrow is only a vision,
But today, well-lived,
Makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, to this day.

Read that again. Let it sink in. Really settle in. What strikes true and real to you?

... today, well-lived,
Makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, to this day.

Friday's Favorite

The day has gotten away from me and I almost forgot to post! This quote is one that I just read in my daily email of inspirational quotes, so I can't claim it as an old favorite. But it is a NEW favorite!

To hold, you must first open your hand. Let go.
-Tao Te Ching

Let Go. Let God.

life

This is life, isn't it?

Other people's lives crashing down on yours. And they don't even notice.

My Weekend

My weekends end up being kind of three day affairs because I typically come home from the office on Friday afternoon, so it ends up feeling like three days. It's funny Friday when I go to bed I keep thinking the next day is Sunday, but it's not.

Friday night Mark and I went to Smith's and bought some movies. We wanted to get "The Bucket List" but we didn't find it. So we ended up buying four other movies just cause they were there and I wanted to buy SOMETHING.

• Two Week Notice - I picked this chick flick cause that's what I was in the mood for. The Bucket List isn't so much a chick flick, but certainly a tear jerker. I have a lot to say about this movie, I quite enjoyed it.
  
• Star Trek Nemesis - Mark picked this one cause it was the last Star Trek movie
  
• Walk the Line - Have heard so much about it that but have never seen it. Alyssa and Gary watched it last night
  
• The Princess Bride - Mark has seen this and says I should
  

Then on Saturday, Alison and I had a girls day. We ate Zagol Ehiopian (mmmmmm good stuff!!!!) and went on a mission to find "The Bucket List." We found it at Tar-ghetto but I'd seen it $5.00 cheaper through Amazon, so I saved that cash and put it toward another four movies (Three of them were $5 each):

• Girl Interrupted - Alison had seen this and highly recommended it. We rounded out our girl day watching it together - powerful, deep, insightful... I recommend it
  
• The Terminal - This is one that I've thought sounded good but have never seen (like tens of hundreds others)
  
• There Will Be Blood - Alison recommended this one and I thought Mark would like it
  
• Must love Dogs - Sheila has recommended this one to me a couple of different times, and for five bucks, why not??

While watching the movie this afternoon I cracked open the handy dandy laptop and placed my order for "The Bucket List" which should arrive in time for next weekend. With our new library, and borrowed films from friends like Stoney and Joseph, just maybe Mark and I will catch up with movies??

And then there is Sunday ... and since it is Saturday night still, I can't tell what's going to happen except that at 10:00 I am meeting up with an old friend Kelley @ the starbucks (intentionally not capitalized thankyouverymuch) to catch up.

I'm anticipating watching movies in the afternoon. We have a lunch date, Alyssa is going to join us, and maybe Alison too. My heart is set on Bangkok Cuisine ... mmmm Pad Thai .. or or even better maybe, STEAK salad ...

Monday will be a short work day, show up at 8:30 to let Sarah in and give her the key. Pick up my boarding pass and then maybe lunch at India Kabob before my flight to Vegas. Jeeze, this entire post is about food.

Quotes For Today

I got some really awesome quotes in my email today:

"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment." -- Henry David Thoreau

"Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on earth to do with such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling." -- Vincent Van Gogh

"There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the infinite passion of life."
-- Federico Fellini

"Before you can inspire with emotion, you must be swamped with it yourself. Before you can move their tears, your own must flow. To convince them, you must yourself believe." -- Winston Churchill

I think I'm going to start posting my favorite quotes that I've collected over the years. And some haiku that Mark wrote for me many years ago.

These ones are great though, don't you agree?

Good Advice

Pete Wilson:

Today is a new day. It’s a new era. Regardless of who you voted for or why, it’s time to switch gears. It’s time to pray for Obama as he transitions to become the President of the United States.

And furthermore, you need to know this is not a surprise to God. Before the billions of dollars were spent on this campaign, God already knew the outcome. He wasn’t sitting around the television last night ringing his hands like you were.

He doesn’t need a Republican or a Democrat, an electoral vote, or a state. He’s not red or blue. He’s God.

He’s God and I’m not. You’re Not. Obama is not. McCain is not.

So if your candidate lost. I’m sorry. If you’re worried your issues aren’t going to be being addressed. I’m sorry. But God is still God and He’s still sitting on His throne.

Let’s move on.

Let's move on.
Wow. So true in so many ways.
Last night was a rough night, and I'm not talking about electoral results.
It was rough. I didn't cry. But I feel empty.

Might cry now though

Blah Blah Blah Win Lose Or Draw

Today is indeed a historical day. Win or lose, it's a win for someone because as Brody Harper said in his "Positive Post Tuesday," we were gonna have the first Black president, or the first woman Vice Pres.

Congratulations America.

Positive Post Tuesday

My Positive Post is going up a bit late (probably after midnight Eastern Time) but I want to put it up all the same. Sarah is my co-worker at Pole Position Marketing . She's been with the company for nearly two years now. She's worked her tail off, working not only for Pole Position, but for up to 5 different part time positions that I'm aware of. And she goes to school at UNR. Full time. She deserves great respect for her efforts, and she's got it from me.

We've got a ton of changes ahead of us in the next few months, and I'm trusting that with Sarah and I sticking together, we're gonna be just fine. This Thursday we're planning on working 'remotely' from a coffee shop or the bookstore, or maybe the University or Community College ... as long as they give us wifi, we're gold!

Beer Bread

Last year when we went to Laramie I came home with a case of Bitch Creek Beer (from the Grand Teton Brewing Company) and I shared several bottles with my friends. I thought the name was funny. The beer itself was quite unpleasant to my palate. bleck.

This year, I bought a variety of beer from Snake River Brewing Co. and was much more satisfied. My favorite was the OB-1 (site is in FLASH so I can't link you to the details) and the most retched of this lot was the "Zonker Stout."

My mom gave me a bottle of "Bitch Creek Beer Bread" over a year ago. I decided to make it today. I didn't have the specific beer called for so I used the nasty Zonkers.

And the bread came out pretty tasty. Far tastier than the nasty beer. But it still leaves a strange feeling on the back of the roof of my mouth. At least it doesn't foam in my mouth, like the beer did. Uck.

Sunday Sunday

Just typing that title had an old song go through my head:

Monday Monday, so good to me,
Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be
Oh Monday morning, Monday morning couldn't guarantee
That Monday evening you would still be here with me.

Monday Monday, can't trust that day,
Monday Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way
Oh Monday morning, you gave me no warning of what was to be
Oh Monday Monday, how could you leave and not take me.

Every other day, every other day,
Every other day of the week is fine, yeah
But whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes
You can find me cryin' all of the time

Monday Monday, so good to me,
Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be
Oh Monday morning, Monday morning couldn't guarantee
That Monday evening you would still be here with me.

Every other day, every other day,
Every other day of the week is fine, yeah
But whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes
You can find me cryin' all of the time

Monday Monday, ...

If that's not random enough for a Sunday:

• Josh came over and made us Eggs Benedict for breakfast. At 1pm. Ok, so it was lunch, but it was breakfast cause I hadn't eaten yet.
• We looked through photos of his dad's youth. Alison and I had looked yesterday
• Alison is making tamale's ... Vegan tamales. She didn't believe the recipe that said "This is an all day project ..." and it truly is. She's wrapped more than a dozen and hasn't even made a dent in either the filling or the masa.
• I need a nap.

The end.

My Saturday ... and random thoughts

This morning I was talking with Joseph about the difference in today, as compared to last Saturday. Today is overcast, very gray and gloomy looking. Last Saturday was clear blue skies with warm temperatures. And yet I'm grateful for this day.

I just listened to a sermon given by one of my favorite bloggers, Pete Wilson, Pastor at Cross Point Church about the emotional baggage we all carry with us. I am looking forward to continuing the series. If you've been following my journey, you're in tune with my searching for a Christian community.

I've been attending Crosswinds church here locally, and listening to Pastor Pete (different Pastor Pete than from Cross Point) for a couple of months. I've enjoyed his sermons because they are very 'real' and he is very real and personable.

Now I've listened to the "other" Pastor Pete and I really enjoyed his sermon as well. Very different than Reno's Pastor Pete but the message is still very relevant.

Now I'm contemplating trying a different local church, to see how I like that one. When I was in Ohio in September I visited a church there, and can't say I cared a great deal for the sermon. Personal preference I suppose ... I can't get enough of either Pastor Pete - I can always continue to listen to the Cross Point Pastor Pete online.

But I need real people, in real flesh to worship with. Monday there is a "Women of Excellence" group that I'd like to meet with, and they're out here in my neighborhood.

I need people. Friends. There's something in the baggage I carry that makes it very important for me to have people. Because friendships are so important to me, I have a hard time letting them go. It's rough when I recognize that they aren't what I thought they were, or can't be what they once were. I've had one like that recently, and am struggling with it. So this series, by Pastor Pete of Cross Point, will be good for me.