27 Reasons I am Blessed

Today I turned 27. At first I was not very excited. It made me think of all the things I thought I would have accomplished by now. But then I realized that is no way to spend a birthday! I am continually blessed and need to focus on what I do have instead of what I do not have. Of course there are SO many more than 27, but here's a few reasons I feel blessed at 27 years old!

• I have a Savior that loves me unconditionally and proves that to me everyday.
• I have the best two parents in the world that spoil me on a regular basis! 
• I have an amazing and loving husband that makes me smile all the time :)
• I have 2 sisters that always look out for me and have my back no matter what.
• I have a best friend (going on 17 years now) that has been through it all with me.
• I have a set of in laws that treat me as one of their own.
  
• I have a LARGE extended family that cares about me and we can always just pick right up wherever we left off.  
• I have never had to deal with a divorce in my family.
  
• I have dozens of friends that check up on me from time to time, just to say hi (or wish me a happy birthday on facebook!)
  
• I have 2 of THE cutest dogs in the world who think I am thebomb.com.
• I am part of a loving and growing church family that I look forward to seeing every week.
• I have a great job and actually enjoy going to work!
• I love the people I work with and consider many of them to be close friends. 
• I have the sweetest students that I genuinely care about and who genuinely show they care about me.
• I have the ability to run, and I'm starting to like it!
• I have all limbs attached as well as working eyes and ears (so often take all that for granted!)
  
• I married a man who can fix almost anything.
• I am blessed with good health (even though I am a slight hypochondriac). 
• I have a house that keeps me warm when I am cold, and cool when I am hot.
• I always have access to food and have never gone truly hungry. 
• I have a reliable car that gets me wherever i need to go.
• I always have enough money to pay the bills and keep the lights on.
  
• I have a closet full of clothes, even though I often complain of having "nothing to wear!"
• I have an education that will allow me many options for my career.
• I am surrounded with great people in my life that always challenge and encourage me to be a better person.
  
• I have had a great 27 years filled with great memories.
  
• Even though I already have more than I could ever need, I have confidence that I will continue to be blessed for a lifetime!
  

Too Many Boxes

I consider myself an organized person. I like to start projects and end them before moving on to the next. If I know I will not finish a project, it has to go into hiding (i.e. the unfinished dollhouse that hides in a closet at my parents' house, the cross-stiching of a lighthouse I started 6 years ago for a friend that hides in the attic, the t-shirt quilt I started a year ago hiding in the spare bedroom at my in-laws house). I say that these projects go into hiding - however, it is evident I remember all of these unfinished projects no matter how hard I try to hide them! 

I am a planner, and I don't like it when events on my calendar overlap. When Cameron and I got engaged, I had it in my mind that we were going to wait 15 months until I was able to finish graduate school. It seemed logical to me to finish school before beginning marriage. One thing at a time! When talking to my mom about our intended date, she asked why we were waiting till I was done with school. I tried to give a very intelligent, grown up response - but she came back with some of the best advice I have ever received. 

She told me that life does not fit into little boxes like I often envision it to be. You cannot live a happy life concealing everything to it's own box. Life does not happen one box at a time. It is filled with tons open boxes that we travel in between. Some we close, some we reopen, some are overflowing, some are empty, some are dumped altogether in a pile! Life is not tidy - it's messy. It's how we deal with the mess that makes or breaks us. The more I try to force life into separate enclosed boxes, the more stress I create for myself. Isn't it ironic?


Unfortunately, I still struggle with the box concept. I've felt so stressed lately and wasn't sure why. I realized this week it was because I had too many open boxes - which is a major source of stress for me! I am constantly trying to run back and forth between the boxes desperately trying to shut them, but they keep popping back open. I'm like a child running all over the playroom with what seems like hundreds of jack in the boxes all going off at once. How exhausting! I don't know why I always do this to myself - I guess it will always be my saga. 

Boxes currently open: Training for the half-marathon, Getting my students prepared for the state tests, Waiting patiently for the right time to move to counseling, Wondering when or if I should start my LPC supervision, Getting ready for the school's site visit which I feel unprepared for, Debt, Debt, Debt, Student Loan Debt, Cameron's search for a full time position, Finishing the kitchen, Finishing the back room, Painting the outside of the house, Saving for a down payment on a new home, Saving in general, Searching for a new home, etc...


Whew. 

Anxiety creeps around the corner when I focus trying to fit lids onto all these boxes. It stresses me out that I have all of these boxes open at once. I felt the need to try to close as many of them as I possibly could - and there I go with the jack in the boxes! These boxes are not going away any time soon and I need to be okay with that. I can work at some of them, but others are out of my control right now.


This week was good for me to take a step away from the boxes and look at them altogether with an objective eye. This is my life - my boxes are many, but they aren't that heavy. None of them are filled with cancer. None of them contain broken relationships. They are currently empty of grief. 

I am thankful that I had time this week to think about my boxes. I know this is not the last time I will get stressed by trying to organize and label color coded boxes in my life. It's time to dump everything out on the floor and start over. Nothing can be as perfect and clean as I want it to be - and I'm still learning to be okay with that. I am blessed and that is where my focus needs to rest.

Long Time, No Blog

It's been a long time! Very unusual for me... It doesn't seem that I've been too busy lately - I guess just nothing too interesting going on to write about. Now that Cameron and I have been staying pretty consistent on our budget, we are beginning to think about buying a house. Probably won't happen for a few more months- usually good to have a down payment :) We're also waiting to see if we can get in on that first time home-buyer grant...


I've been doing pretty well with my training for the half-marathon. I've only missed a few runs (cough, cough - like today!) But I seem to catch up okay. Only 7 more weeks till the big day!

25 Random Things About Me

I've been 'tagged' on Facebook about 40 times to do the 25 random things. I'm a pretty random person, so it's weird that it took me this long to write it - but here it is!

1. I am a multi-tasker. I very rarely focus on one thing at a time.

2. I cannot remember details about movies, especially names of actors. I can watch the same movie over and over and be entertained every time. Sometimes I pretend to know the actors my friends are talking about then secretly go home to look them up.

3. I cannot stand it when my house is messy (things not put up in their proper place). I'm okay with dirty because that is harder to notice.

4. I love getting into a bed with clean sheets. One of my favorite things.

5. I would cook more often if my kitchen wouldn't get messy. I'm one of those cooks that cleans the dishes as I go.

6. I'm trying to become a runner. It's getting a little easier, but I'm still not sure if I like it or not.

7. I could eat chips and salsa for every meal. My current favorite salsa is from the Mont.

8. I own a Wii fit, but do not use it enough. I'm one of the statistics.

9. I love my family and wish I could see them more often. I feel like a bad Aunt sometimes because I don't spend enough time with my nephews and nieces.

10. I wish I was more disciplined to read the Bible everyday. I think it would make me a better and more peaceful person.

11. I don't like to argue and I hate conflict. I like to call myself a "non-con".

12. I have a masters in counseling and am excited to put it to use someday.

13. I sometimes change my outfit as many as 4-5 times in the morning. I will stand in front of my closet full of clothes and think I have nothing to wear. This is why I pick out 2 outfit options before I go to bed to limit myself. Otherwise, I would be late to work everyday.

14. I am a night person. I usually get my 2nd wind around 10-10:30pm. I usually run into things in the morning as I'm trying to get ready. I also require either 2 cups of coffee or a Diet Dr Pepper to function in the morning.

15. I hate getting ready for bed when I am tired. I wish my teeth and face were self cleaning.

16. I used to have a blanket I slept with every night. Cameron made me get rid of it when we got married. Now my dog, Molly, has taken over the role. I have a hard time going to sleep if she is not cuddled on my left side.

17. In high school, I had a relative as my math teacher for 3 out of the 4 years.

18. I love to watch TV. My perfect day is would be staying in bed all day and flipping channels. I would start with Ellen, then Price is Right, then flip to see if True Life was on, if not - any other reality TV will do.

19. One of the first warm fuzzy memories I have of Cameron is when we were hanging out at the duplex in college and he handed me a pillow to put behind my back right before I asked him for one. Seems stupid, but one more reason I knew he was the one!

20. My best friend and I married brothers. Still blows my mind sometimes!

21. I often live in fear that something bad is going to happen to me. It seems to happen to everyone else around me, so I wonder when I am next. I think if I did more of #10, this would be less of a problem.

22. My students make me feel old when they don't get Saved by the Bell references.

23. I don't like making decisons when they aren't that important. For instance, I usually make Cameron decide where to what to eat because I honestly don't care!

24. I used to think I would be a famous singer someday. When I was little, I would record myself singing on my tape player. My hearing must have improved since then, because I'm not that good!

25. I'm a pretty open person and will share more about my life than most would consider 'normal' - so this was not too difficult.

Accomplishments during my Ice/"Snow" 3 Day Vacation

While this ride is coming to an end, I'll take some time to reflect on my accomplishments during this 3 day vaction...

The party really started Monday afternoon in the parking lot with several other co-workers. We spent over 30 minutes scraping windows in the parking lot and made sure that everyone left with a clear view. That's hard work! Cameron and I decided to make meat-loaf Monday evening. Yes, I know. That officially ages us about 5-10 years, but Cameron loves it! So we start to get everything together to make it and then we realize we don't have all the ingredients. 
No brown sugar. 
Went across the street to his grandparents house (still stocked with the essentials!) No brown sugar there. Looked up substitutes for brown sugar. White sugar and molasses. Back across the street to look for molasses. 
No molasses. 
Back home to look for substitutes for molasses. Dark corn syrup. Cameron remembers seeing that across the street so we're good to go. We were very determined NOT to go back in the elements to Wal-Mart. (We'd already been out once to Hobby Lobby Liquor to get a bottle of wine once we heard school was out Tuesday!) I actually enjoyed the meat-loaf. It can stay in our repertoire of new foods to make at home. 


Tuesday morning we slept in a bit, but woke up in time to see most of Ellen. I miss being able to watch that every morning followed by the Price is Right. After Cameron had his surgery, it was part of our daily routine. We'd even set our alarms so we wouldn't miss it. We made a big breakfast; waffles, turkey bacon, eggs, and coffee. It was a big deal and very good. We lounged around for quite awhile and decided to venture out - on foot! We went walked to the post office and went by the Booker's house, they were not home :( Once we got back, we decided that we were not done with our adventure. Once you get all bundled up, you want to get some good time outside before un-bundling! So we decided to go pick up some milk. The Corner Store was too close, so we walked to Walgreens and back. I was pooped by the time we got home! (Not to mention my arms were still sore from the scraping party in the parking lot yesterday.)


Wednesday morning, basically a repeat of Tuesday. This time we had biscuits and bacon, no waffles. No adventures for me on Day 2 of the vacation. It was a pretty boring and lazy day. The best kind! Spend entirely too much time on Facebook and playing Manacala on my phone. I did manage to get in an hour on the Wii fit. Wii fit age = 24. Yes! I've still got it.



Thursday morning (today), much less glamorous. Toast with Jelly, but Ellen and Price is Right as usual. Today I got the fire under me and decided it was time to start the training schedule for the 1/2 marathon. I got 3 days behind due to the ice excuse, but I think I'll be okay. It's a 13 week schedule, and I'm back on track starting today. I ventured out to the Y and did my 3 mile run. (Let me clarify, by "run" I mean walk/jog.) This plan only has me running 3-4 days a week so I like that. The other days are cross training - so the Wii fit is perfect! After the workout, Mandy, Cameron and I went to our travel agent and booked our trip for this summer! I'm so excited! We are going to Puerta Vallarta with Mandy and Jeremy in June. 


Sad I will miss Ellen tomorrow. Maybe I'll tape it.

Been Awhile

Been awhile since I've posted. Not much time. Here's my random update:

• Cameron has been busy making cabinet doors for the bathroom and kitchen. Haven't had doors on the cabinets for 3 years now. Didn't miss them.
• Finally cleaned the office last weekend! Hallelujah.
• The school year is more than 1/2 way over. Crazy. 
• Budgeting going well, could always use more money!
• Wondering if we will ever get a "fully funded" saving account. 
  
• Ready for Cam to start his new career. He is now a therapist!
• Getting house hungry. Wanting to finish this one and start saving and looking for a new one. 
• Already nervous about state testing this year. Benchmarks did not give me much confidence for this spring.
• Hoping to post new pics soon from the new camera. Again, little time.
• Thinking about going to the gym - too cold to run outside.
• Thinking about how long 13.1 miles really is. yikes. 
• Glad the OKC memorial allows walkers for the 1/2 marathon! 
• Excited about our 8th grade team party tonight. I heart my co-workers.
• Excited about going to Mexico this summer. It's going to happen!
• Should probably get off my rump and finish cleaning/doing laundry. 
• Wondering how the house can get so dirty within one week. 
• Gotta go.
  

Back to the Real World

Today was the first day back to work after a great 2 weeks off. It doesn't matter how long of a vacation I get - it never seems long enough! Cameron and I had an agenda everyday so there wasn't a whole lot of R&R. Let's see what we did get checked off the to do list:

• Spend LOTS of time soaking up family - Check. Time went by too fast in Bville though.
  
• Start and Finish "New Moon" - Nope. But now I have a student waiting to borrow Slatten's copy that I have now had since November. Better get crackin.
  
• Work a puzzle - No! Ah man. Trish even brought one to mom and dad's and I totally forgot.
  
• Exercise at least 2 days a week - Hah. That's funny. I really need to start training for this so called half marathon we are doing this Spring... right Mandy?
  
• Find some good deals on New Years Day - Sort of. Cam cleaned up, however! Got lots of "grown up" clothes.
  
• Clean and organize the office - Again a good laugh. Cameron and I both talked about doing that, but not so much.  

Phil and Christie leave for St. Louis tomorrow. It's Christie's turn for surgery! Keep her in your prayers. We are excited to get this one over with too so she can begin her road to recovery. Cameron and I will head up there this weekend to be there while she is in the hospital. I know that place pretty well by now. The cafeteria is great! Updates to come. 


Happy 2009!