Marathon

Tomorrow I start my own personal marathon.  My marathon is not the running kind, as me and running do not get along.  My marathon is work related but will require pacing and endurance nonetheless.

Last week I started my new job as Clearinghouse Coordinator for Love In the Name of Christ of the Cedar Valley.  I am in the office almost the entire day on Mondays and from about 8-1 on Wednesdays and Fridays for a total of 15 hours each week.  My basic duties include overseeing the volunteers that staff our phones during the Clearinghouse hours (MWF 9-12), reviewing client information, making determinations on the requests we receive, and fostering relationships with our partner churches and agencies.

There is a lot to learn and not much time to learn it since 9 of the 15 hours I am at work the phones are on and I have be completely available for the volunteers.  My first day was particularly harrowing as we received an inordinately high number of calls.  I basically sat back and just watched how the process works and started to learn how to make decisions about client needs (there was also a lot of wondering what I'd gotten myself into....).  God gave us a break on Wednesday and Friday, giving me the chance to really engage in the process.  So far I am enjoying the organization and the volunteers and I feel like I can do a lot of good in this position.

The only real downside to my new job is the fact that I still have my other job.  There are some days that I work 13-14 hours between the two positions.  Thankfully that is not every day, but between the two I am working practically every day.  Tomorrow starts a stretch of 17 straight days of working one or the other or both.  While it may sound like it, I am truly not complaining.  I know I am young and that it's good for me.  I know the experience I am gaining at Love INC is invaluable.  I know I'm building character.  I know God won't give me more than I can handle.  And I know I'm probably going to be exhausted.  Prayers for stamina would be appreciated.

Other happening in my world include beginning a small group class at church.  The class is called Emerging Journey.  We meet Tuesday mornings from 7-8:30 to discuss three primary questions: Who is God?  Who am I?  What does God desire to do through me?  There are two group leaders and about 8 students.  I am the only female in the room every week.  We also have two guys who are currently competing for the same position at church.  We have a guy who is eerily similar to Marshall.  We have an ex-con.  We have a farmer (he warned us he may miss a week or two as harvest really gets going).  We have a guy who helps run a stock car race track.  We are an incredibly varied group of individuals who would probably normally have nothing to do with the others, but we come together every week to discuss incredibly personal topics.  I am really enjoying the class, despite the early hours.  The only struggle I have encountered so far is finding a mentor.  The structure of the program relies both on the small class group and the input of people outside the class.  Each student is supposed to have a mentor they meet with every week to discuss the week's lesson one-on-one.  I have yet to find a mentor, but I am sure that will change in due time.

The only other major news is that my store is being converted into something called a Dual Store in November.  A dual store is similar to the Dress Barn model; both missy and plus sizes in the same location.  We used to carry a small selection of the plus line in our store, but the merchandise was pulled out of our location at the end of July.  After receiving a large number of complaints and coming to the realization that the plus did very well in our store, the company is giving it back to us and giving us way more than we ever had before.  We'll pretty much be half and half starting November 10.  We get to close for a few days in preparation of the change, which will be nice.  We are super excited for the conversion and can barely wait for November to arrive.

Clearly there is a lot going on in my world right now.  Thankfully it's all good.  Blessings abound in my life and I am incredibly grateful.

I should be getting off to bed so I can get up and go to work tomorrow!  Much love to you all!

~g

(Btw, the gospel text at church today was the text that inspired the name of my blog.  I realize I have never really explained why I record my life under the heading "Be Subject To One Another", but that's for another time.

Vacation!!!!! (Part 2/Recap)

I made friends with a crusty, eclectic, kind-hearted, old-but-not-that-old cowboy/horseman.

I learned how to patch a hole in a barbed-wire fence, attach fencing clips, drive a tractor, grade a road, drive a t-post at an angle, and work cattle with border collies.

I was hired for a new position with a nonprofit agency and started a weekly class (in which I am the only female) at church.

All of these things have happened in the past week.

It was quite the week.

I feel like there is plenty to say about everything listed above, but I am having trouble figuring out how to start.

Did you know there is a way to tell how respected and appreciated you are by a cowboy/horseman?  All you have to do is listen to how they address you.  For example, last Friday I started the morning as "ma'am", was "hon" by noon, and ended the day as "darlin'".

Chuck has a good friend named Gary.  Gary is ex-Army, ex-pro bull rider, current school administrator, and, just for kicks, an ordained Lutheran minister who specializes in cowboy weddings.  Seriously.  Even if I really tried I would never in a million years be able to create a character like Gary.  He is certainly unique.

Gary came over last week to give us a hand with some fence repairs before the branding.  He arrived just as we were getting ready to eat breakfast, so I offered him a plate.  He turned me down with a "no thank you, ma'am."  I asked if he was sure and assured him we had plenty.  "Yes, ma'am.  Thank you, ma'am."  He did take me up on my offer of coffee.  "Thank you kindly, ma'am."  I felt like I had stepped back in time to the 1800s, but I got a kick out of it and knew that he was being genuinely polite and respectful.  I don't understand women who get upset by being called ma'am.  So long as the term is not said in a mocking or patronizing manner who cares?

Anyway, after we finished our breakfast, Chuck, Gary, and I headed out to the first (and biggest) hole in the South fence line.  I had spotted the hole the day before while rounding up about 20 head of cattle that were on the wrong side of the pasture fence.  Because I knew exactly where it was we headed there right away.  Chuck and Gary talked about the best way to patch the hole and then Gary and I did the actual patching since Chuck is still recovering from back surgery and this particular hole was down in an arroyo.  Both Chuck and Gary taught me the particulars of fencing and it wasn't long before we were done with the patch and heading off to the next trouble spot.

The next set of fixes required moving strands of barbed-wire and replacing fence clips.  Chuck showed me how he likes his fences and clips to look and then I went to work on my own section.  Gary passed by me a few times and occasionally put a tool in my back pocket or commented on how well I was putting on the clips.  It was during one of these moments that I realized I had been upgraded to "hon".

Gary and Chuck drove about 10-15 new posts and Dad and I followed up with straightening out the wire and attaching the clips.  Most of the posts were driven with the bucket of the tractor, but the last post of the day was set at an angle.  The tractor was no use so we had to drive the post in my hand.  Gary held the post for me and got it angled correctly and I used the post driver to pound it in.

(Side note, if you've never driven a t-post by hand you have no idea what serious exertion it requires.  Do that all day and you'll never have the need to set foot in a gym.)

I drove that post all by myself and we finished with stringing the wire.  Once that was complete we were done for the day.  As we wrapped everything up Gary informed me I was a "good hand" and, as he was climbing in his truck, called out, "See you tomorrow, darlin'!"  I'd moved up again!

Gary and I ended up working together during the branding, mugging calves and making sure gates were in the right positions at the right times.  One of my favorite moments of the whole day happened after we had run a few more calves through to last holding corral before they would be put on the calf table.  Gary and I were walking back to the gate we were leaning on as we watched the branding when Gary threw his arm around me, hauled me in for a huge one-arm bear hug, and sung out, "How you doing, darlin'?"  Even as that whole thing was happening I was seeing it in my head like a scene out of a movie.  I knew I had made a buddy and I also knew that to be considered Gary's buddy is quite the honor and compliment.

It was wonderful to visit the ranch again.  Chuck has established himself in a small corner of the Garden of Eden.  The land, the animals, and even all of the chores, come together to create a special kind of paradise.  I look forward to many more visits in the coming years.

I am sure I will have a lot to report about my new job and the class I am taking at church, but those topics are for future posts.  For now,

Love!

~g

Vacation!!!!! (Part 1)

I am currently enjoying my first-ever PAID vacation!  After nearly two years of solid work with only long weekends as my breaks, I finally requested some time off.  After schedule coordinating with Dad and Jody, I decided a trip to Colorado was in order.  It's been too long since I have had some real mountain time.  Additionally, the dates I was looking at for my vacation coincided with the fall branding at the ranch, which I was able to help with last year.  Everything fell into place so the tickets were bought and the days anxiously counted down.

Yesterday morning, September 10, I was up bright and early.  I got ready for a day of travel, finished packing my bag, then drove to Minneapolis to catch the first of two flights that would eventually deliver me to Grand Junction.  I was a bit hesitant about traveling on the weekend of the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorists attacks, but was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly security moved.  There were definitely more security officers present than the last time I flew, but other than that there was no definite difference in how everything operated.  I was through security in a matter of minutes, which gave me time to grab some lunch before boarding the flight that delivered me to Dallas/Fort Worth.

The flight was nothing special, save for the B2 bomber that flew remarkably close to our plane.  I had a window seat (I always have a window seat when I fly) and was just sitting looking out when all of the sudden a Stealth Bomber appeared underneath us, heading in a perpendicular direction.  I did a double take and was saying aloud, "That's a B2!" when the captain came over the intercom with, "If you'll look out the left side of the plane...."  By the time people could look, though, the B2 was gone, probably heading off to buzz a couple of football games.

We arrived in Dallas half an hour early, which normally would be awesome, but it only added to my layover time in the airport.  With the early arrival, I ended up with 3.5 hours to kill before boarding the plane to Grand Junction.  I found the concourse I needed and spent some time in a very comfy recharging lounge.  While I sprawled out in a leather chair, my phone was plugged in and getting charged up.  I gave it about an hour then went in search of some food.  I walked practically the entire concourse before deciding upon a buffalo chicken wrap (which was really quite tasty).  After eating I headed back to my gate to just sit and wait.  I ended up talking to several older women who were also waiting for the Grand Junction plane.  One of them was frankly kind of annoying, but the other woman was quite sweet.  We had a good conversation, which helped the time pass quicker.

While waiting at the gate my attention kept getting drawn back to a soldier in full uniform sitting directly in my line of sight.  One could tell just by looking at him that he was exhausted.  He kept readjusting his position and falling back asleep, only to jerk awake and readjust again.  When the call came to board the plane he was one of the first in line.  By the time I boarded he was once again fast asleep, this time in the seat across the row from me.

The first 45 minutes or so of the trip the soldier kept doing the fall-asleep-jerk-awake routine.  During one of his waking moments I leaned over and asked if he wanted a shoulder to sleep on (there was no one in the seat next to me) or my sweatshirt to use as a pillow.  He declined both with a smile and found a new position to try to sleep in.  He lasted about 10 minutes before he was stretching and grimacing.  At that point I just threw my sweatshirt at him.  He looked at me like I was crazy for a second, so I motioned him to use it as a pillow.  He didn't argue further with me.  Instead, he made himself a pillow, found a comfortable position, and didn't move for the rest of the flight.

He and I deplaned together.  He thanked me for the pillow, I thanked him for his service, and we parted ways.  I found out later from Dad and Jody that the soldier was returning home from 6 months in Afghanistan.  No wonder the poor man was so tired!

I have found myself thinking about that soldier a lot on this infamous anniversary.  It seems unreal that it has already been 10 years since we were brutally attacked on our native soil.  In many ways, the lessons of that day have been forgotten and we have once again slipped into a misguided sense of invincibility and complacency.  What grieves me most, though, is the sense of normalcy we have attributed to having massive numbers of troops deployed in foreign conflicts.

I am just as guilty as the rest of us.  I go about my daily life and often do not think about all of the fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, husbands and wives, daughters and sons, friends and grandparents that have a loved one serving overseas.  I go days without thinking about all of the men and women so far from home, putting themselves in constant danger for me.  For you.

That soldier yesterday was a reminder to me to look beyond myself and remember the sacrifices so many have made and continue to make for the security of us all.  I challenge you to do the same.  That's all I have to say in regards to this particular day.

Tomorrow is a day of errands before Monday Night Football (Broncos v. Raiders at Mile High...woot!).  It should be a good time.  Then off to Denver before heading to the ranch.  More vacation updates, complete with pictures, to come.

In the meantime, much love to you all!

~g

What I've been up to

I haven't written much in the past few months, partly because I haven't really felt like it, partly because I have been busy with various things, and partly because I felt I really didn't have anything worthwhile or interesting to say. This post will be a catch-all-catch-up.

My manager returned to work 2 weeks ago after being off for three months. She was being all lazy and thinking that being in active labor for five weeks and then actually giving birth earned her the right to sit at home. Sheesh. There's just no understanding how some people's minds work. In all seriousness, though, after a very troubled pregnancy, compounded by the fact that this was her first, Dani gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Although the baby had to spend her first few days in the NICU, all is well now.

In Dani's absence, the running of the store fell to me. For the most part I think I did a decent job. I ran into a few issues here and there, but with the support of my district manager and the manager of the Cedar Falls store we made it through. We managed to win not one but TWO company contests in the 12 weeks Dani was away, both of which had prizes of extra cash in everyone's paychecks. I'm always up for extra money!

I am quite glad Dani is back, as I missed having her around, both as a coworker and a friend. And I am happy I am no longer responsible for everything. Yes, yes, apparently I'm lazy.

On the spiritual front, there wasn't much to report, especially in the month of July. In truth, I was waiting for the church I had been attending (Nazareth Lutheran) to show me some of the same attention and concern as they did when I first came through their doors last year. After I accepted Christ into my life this past March I was anxious to get more involved in the church and made my wishes known to the pastor, but then heard nothing for months. I was feeling invisible and unimportant and was quite happy to blame it on the church. Luckily I came to my senses a few weeks ago (OK, let's be honest, God kind of scolded me for wanting everyone else to do all of the work) and so I approached the pastor after the service. When he asked me how things were going I was straightforward with him.

"Well, I haven't lost my faith in God, but I'm losing my faith in the church, and I'm feeling like a one-night stand. It's like the church wined and dined and seduced me and got what it wanted (a convert) and then left before dawn and never plans on calling again." (I should say at this point that I know some of you may be scandalized to know that I talk to my pastor that way, but he's a good guy that values incredible honesty and he and I established this very blunt relationship right from the get-go). He was very concerned to hear how I was feeling so he and I set up a time to meet and talk more in-depth. Through the course of that conversation I learned that my information had been passed along to several people in the church last March when I asked to get involved and connected, and the pastor, not hearing further from me, thought the connections had been made. And since I didn't follow up, the issue only got worse.

We don't want the same thing to happen this time, so, working together, we pretty much laid out an action plan for getting me plugged in to the church. I will be joining a 16ish-week class/Bible study that meets ridiculously early on Tuesday mornings (i.e. my ever-changing work schedule will never interfere in being able to attend class). Additionally, Nazareth is distinctly lacking in programming and activities for people like me... post-college, mid-to-late-20s and 30s, and childless and/or unmarried. A few people are starting to work on this problem and I will be joining in to help fill this need. As my work schedule allows I am also attending various church functions. Just this past Sunday there was an end-of-summer church picnic that I volunteered to help with. It's easy to get acquainted in a kitchen! And finally, my pastor directed me to a local Christian non-profit that has a job vacancy.

Which transitions me into the job interview I had today! The organization is Love In the Name of Christ, or Love INC for short. If you are unfamiliar with Love INC I highly encourage you to check it out. In a nutshell, Love INC organizes churches of all denominations in a community to work together to meet individual and community needs. Requests are made of Love INC for services, and after verifying the legitimacy of the request, including finding out if the need is already being met or if the person has made an effort to meet the need, Love INC basically figures out how to meet the need by using the resources of the various churches affiliated with Love INC. The idea is that no one church/social service agency can meet every need, but working together, with each church contributing something (be it money or time or some type of special service) the need can not only be met, but the underlying cause of the need can be taken care of.

The more I have found out about Love INC the more I have gotten excited about the possibility of actually working for the organization, although I'll be volunteering with them no matter what happens with the job I interviewed for. The job is Clearinghouse Coordinator. Right now it is only a 15-hour-per-week position, so I would be keeping my retail job, but the schedules work well around each other. The Executive Director and I talked for an hour and a half today about the job and I have a very good feeling I'm going to be called in for a second interview. Over the next few weeks, if you have the time, I would appreciate a few extra prayers regarding this job. I feel very strongly that I can do this job and do it well, and it's a step toward the type of career I hope to ultimately have.

Other things of note in my life lately include: being pulled over for the first time (speeding, verbal warning), getting new glasses (two pairs... pictures following at some point), blowing out a tire on my car while travelling on the highway (at 60 MPH around 9:15 at night), buying two new tires (you think the two events were related somehow?), planning for my first-ever paid vacation (Colorado, Sept 10-19), turning 27 (EEK!!!!), attending an air show (see previous post), getting a really good haircut (ladies, you all know a REALLY good hair cut is a thing of note), and.... actually, I think that's it.

Oh, and Facebook just reminded me that two years ago on this date I was eating an amazing giant piece of cake. Another point in favor of deleting my Facebook account...

Love!

~g

Thunder in the Valley

Today I went to an air show. If I have ever been to an air show before, I can't recall it, so today was a lot of fun for me. It was the inaugural day for the Cedar Valley Air Show, Thunder in the Valley. Parking was free, tickets were only $10, the weather was mostly sunny, 80 degrees, and there was a wind of 10-15 MPH all day. All in all, the perfect day for an air show.

Given this was the first-ever air show at our local airport, I was quite impressed with how well executed the whole day was. Mom, myself, and one of mom's co-workers arrived about an hour in advance of the anticipated show start. We were efficiently directed to a parking space and only had to walk about a mile to the entrance (truly, I didn't find that too bad at all). Then it was time to stand in line for 25 minutes to gain entrance to the air field. A quick bag search and body wanding by some cute military personnel, and it was time to find a place to park our lawn chairs.

Things kicked off about 11:30 am, roughly 30 minutes late, with the U.S. Army Black Daggers. The Black Daggers are a Special Operations Command Parachute Team. Throughout the day the Black Daggers made several jumps, but every single time each jumper made a perfect standing landing on a circle about the size of an ice cream pail lid. I've always thought it would be fun to make a skydiving jump, and after watching these guys today it seems even more intriguing. Definitely one for the bucket list.

After the Black Daggers got the show going there were a lot of individual aerobatic planes and teams. And a school bus with a jet engine on the back that reached runway speeds of about 350 MPH. That was pretty cool. And more than a little ridiculous. And then the Stealth Bomber arrived.

I've seen B-2 bombers before. In fact, I was at a ceremony at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri when one of the B-2's arrived and was installed. I have always found the Stealth Bomber to be a fascinating plane, and today's example only added to the allure. The plane was flying over the crowd before anyone realized it was there. The B-2 made several passes before heading off to other air shows and to buzz a few football games. Each time, despite being only a few hundred feet above the crowd, the plane was quieter than the typical sound you hear when a car passes you. Of course, that's the point, but it's still pretty darn neat.

After the Stealth took off for locales unknown, it was back to aerobatics for awhile. There was one stunt flyer who was pretending he didn't know how to fly. Most of his performance was only 10-15 feet above the ground. The stuff thousands of feet in the air was cool, but then, so was the stuff that happened right in front of us, on our level. While we had fantastic seats and were able to see all of the ground level stuff, I did feel bad for the majority of the crowd that was unable to appreciate the skills of all of the performers.

Mid-afternoon the pace of the show slowed down as the USAF Thunderbirds prepared to take to the skies. There was an Air Force recruits swearing in ceremony, and then all of the final pre-flight checks for the Thunderbirds. And then the real fun began.

The Thunderbirds performed for almost 45 minutes, making multiple passes. The level of skill, precision, and obvious dedication was nothing short of awesome. And inspiring. It was the perfect way to end the show. Everything was wrapped up by 4:30 in the afternoon, only 5 hours after it all officially began.

It was a wonderful day. I cannot remember the last time I was able to just sit and enjoy time in nature, with family and friends, and not have to worry about accomplishing some task. It was a gorgeous day, I'm only mildly sunburned (thanks to about 10 applications of sunscreen and the giant umbrella we took to provide periodic shade), and I got to see some pretty amazing things.

And now for pictures!!!

Stealth Bomber. It was quite stealthy. Impressively so, in fact.

The AeroShell Aerobatic Team. Normally this team has 4 planes but today performed with just two. They made some great smoke designs and provided a good demonstration of precision flying. Of course, the Thunderbirds kind of outshone these two pilots later in the day...

USAF Thunderbirds, Diamond formation

The announcer called this one the "photo pass". I wonder why.

5 of the 6 Thunderbirds on one of the last passes of the day. The whole demonstration was quite impressive, and yes, made me feel just a little more patriotic.

And for a final bit of fun....

Love!

~g

Quality Control

Clean sheets - Check

Clean blanket - Check

Fluffed Pillows - Check

Hospital Corners - Check

Kitty Quality Control at every stage of the bed-making process, including a final test of overall bed softness and sleep readiness - Check

It's about time

For another blog post, although frankly I do not feel as if I have much news. But here I go anyway.

My store manager is officially out on maternity leave. She started having troubles with the pregnancy around Week 27, but managed to hold on and keep working until about Week 33, when she was put on bed rest. She has been in active labor for nearly 5 weeks (it will be 5 weeks on Monday) but has yet to give birth. Some complications from a surgery she had several years ago have actually helped her hang on to the pregnancy and get her to Week 38. She's understandably ready for everything to be done and for her daughter to officially arrive. She has been contracting every 8-10 minutes around the clock for 5 weeks, has the back pain, and is nauseated most of the time. Additionally, she's bored out of her mind with sitting at home and barely moving. This is her first child so any prayers you may want to give up for her and her husband and their baby girl would be appreciated by all.

With our manager out I have taken over the running of the store. I have figured out I am pretty decent at doing schedules and have through the end of July planned out. We have a new sales associate that I am training as well. And we're on track as a store to win some contests that the corporate office is sponsoring. Work has its moments of stress and annoyance, but really when looking at the overall picture things are not too bad.

I am still finding jobs to apply for. I sent out several applications in the past few weeks to local governments around the nation. Now it's just a waiting game.

On the personal level, I was seeing someone during April and May, but that came to an end a few weeks ago. I am not entirely certain what didn't work out. One day he was telling me how glad he was that we had met and how much he was enjoying getting to know me, and the next day (and I do mean the next day literally, not figuratively) he was calling to break a date and then stopped communicating with me altogether with absolutely no explanation. Sometimes men really stink. :) Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. Anyone out there have a nice single guy to introduce me to?

In the spiritual part of my life we've been doing a seven-week series at church called Lead Me. Each Sunday we look at a different Biblical leader and the ways in which that person was a leader for God. The series started off decently but seems to have gotten a little stagnant these past two weeks. I am still very much enjoying attending church, but am not quite as happy with the church I have been attending as I was a few months ago. I think I may check out a few of the other churches in the area in July. Several of my really good customers have invited me to their churches. I think I'm going to take several of them up on their offers. It's always nice to know at least one person when in a new place.

That's about it. My life is not that interesting. I work, I hang out with friends, I go to church, I look for jobs to apply for, I do laundry and dishes, I cook, I sleep, I watch movies and read. I can't really complain though. It may be a small life, but it's meaningful to some and it's productive. I think that's all one needs to be living successfully.

I am looking forward to seeing most of you at the reunion. It's going to be a good time!

Love!

~g

Life Rules

I was talking to a friend recently and in the course of the conversation said, "It's one of my rules for life." I found myself thinking about that statement after our conversation ended and I wondered how many of us have rules for life. I'm guessing all of us. But how many of us have actually thought about what those rules are, or taken the time to make the list real instead of just storing it in our head?

I do not claim to have life figured out, nor do I claim to live by my rules every single minute of every single day (isn't it the rule that rules are made to be broken sometimes?). Still, I have some general philosophies that I think I adhere to pretty well. The following are just some of my rules. How does my list compare to yours?

Celebrate small wins... doing so means life will always be going your way

Care deeply... despite the risk

Forgive quickly... no matter how hard it is

Hug... a lot

Sing loudly... even if you're off-key or flat

Recognize the blessings of simplicity... then even the most basic things will bring you joy

Don't be scared to say what you think and feel... it's the only way people will truly know you

Remember peace, joy, faith, hope, and love... these five things are all you really need

Accept others as they are... there is always a reason for why people are the way they are

Cherish family... no matter what

Trust in God... always

Love!

~g

Randomness

Don't even try to figure out the central theme or reason for this post... there isn't any. This post is nothing but a collection of completely unrelated thoughts, observations, and happenings.

I've been drinking a lot of iced tea lately. It tastes the best when it's made with filtered water.

Ice cream should be eaten out of a mug.

Giving a pregnant woman chocolate is guaranteed to make her happy. My manager is 30 weeks and practically inhales chocolate in any form.

A good customer of mine invited me to church with her for Easter. While I have other Easter plans, the invitation was quite heartwarming.

Gas is getting pretty expensive. It's a good reason to walk more.

I can hear Justin singing in the basement. He's got an excellent voice.

I'm currently reading "The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus" by John R. Cross. It's simplistic but quite interesting. And frankly, simple isn't all bad.

Tootsie Roll Frooties are quite yummy, although they really need to do away with the vanilla flavor.

I am actually quite proud of the restraint I have shown in regards to Cadbury Creme Eggs this year.

I'm noticing a lot of these statements revolve around food. I don't know what that indicates.

Skirts and dresses have been quite appealing to me lately. Apparently I want to dress like I live in the 1940s.

I am quite sure none of this is very interesting to anyone but me.

I have this weekend off. I am looking forward to it.

That's all I have to say for now. If you stuck with me, I'm impressed.

Love!

~g

MCR

Mentally Challenged Robin.

MCR lives in our yard. He spends his days eating insects and worms and in general being a basic bird. But he also spends a good portion of his day doing this repeatedly:

On occasion, I am a little saddened by how easily I am entertained.

Love!

~g