Words to Live By

My mom just sent me this beautiful quote...seems like some words that need to be hung up in the house as a constant reminder:

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

Happy rainy Tuesday!

(I'm grateful for the rain as it means pretty flowers next week:)

Rike rotarry, rude!

Translation: Like totally, dude!

I know I may be dating myself here but, doesn't she look like a valley dog in this pic?

Ok, before you think I'm nuts for dressing my dog in a T-shirt, first know that we don't typically do that...she's usually all natural. Little Abbey was spayed a few days ago and a T-shirt is much more acceptable prevention (in her opinion at least) to her licking her wound than the E-collar. This picture was taken the day after her surgery, when she was already up and around and driving us crazy!

Happy New Year

A quote I got from someone at work (slightly modified by me):

May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy; may the problems you had forget your home and work addresses. In simple words...may 2010 be the best year yet!!!

Happy New Year all!!!

Good thing she doesn't have free run of the house!

We did our normal Christmas routine this year...morning and early afternoon with B's family and late afternoon and evening with my family. The difference this year? A 5-month puppy at home. Here's a pic of our little Abbey Rose, since I haven't written about her yet.

A couple days a week, she's at home by herself (in her crate) for about 9 hours. But, since our families live over 1-1/2 hours drive away (one way), she was cooped up in her crate for 13-1/2 hours! And this is what we found...

Thank goodness for crates is all I have to say...Lord knows what she would have done, had she had free reign of the house:)

Book Report: "The Five People You Meet In Heaven" by Mitch Albom

It's taken some time to get completely through one of the books on my reading list, but I have accomplished it at last. It was my intention to read "The Color Purple" first and, although I am most of the way through, I picked up "The Five People You Meet In Heaven" by Mitch Albom and I struggled to put it down ever single time I picked the book up!

First off, I have to say that Mitch Albom wrote this book beautifully. It was not at all what I expected the book to be. I never expected that it would be a fictional story, but that it would be more of a "how to" or "spiritual" book of sorts. The story of Eddie (the main character) was exceptional...great in concept, well written, and it taught a couple valuable lessons about life.

There is this question that many of us might ponder from time to time...what is heaven like and how will it all happen? Many people may have an idea of what it's like and/or how the transition from this life to the eternal life will happen. I've never had any ideas about this, so it was easy to use my imagination while reading Eddie's story and this idea of what the experience in heaven may be like.

I don't want to give the story away as I think it's much better to leave the twists and turns for the reader. All I can say is, if you haven't read the book...please do! It's 200 pages of easy reading with deep and thought-provoking concepts and lessons along the way, with a few surprises chucked in there. Mitch Albom has a way of writing that is tender and engaging...so much so that today I picked up his latest book "Have a Little Faith" (a non-fiction book about an event in his life) and I can't wait to read it and his other non-fiction "Tuesdays with Morrie".

If you've read "The Five People You Meet In Heaven", I would love to know what you thought of the book!

My Ever-growing Reading List

While packing for my move from NJ to PA last March, I realized how far behind I am on my reading...TONS of books! Fortunately, I've had opportunity to read a few over the past 6 months; but, my reading list has also grown during that time since a friend at work and I have begun to recommend books to each other and have begun a little book exchange between the two of us.

I love to read, even if I'm not the fastest reader so, in an effort to keep myself reading, I decided to post my reading list (or at least a portion of it). And, I thought I'd post little "book reports" as I finish the books, since I know how I hate to pick up a book without it first being recommended. Maybe the 3 or 4 people who read my blog could benefit from the books reports. So, here's the list (in no particular order):

1. Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul by John & Stasi Eldredge (I'm actually about 1/2 way through this one)
2. The Color Purple by Alice Walker (I think I'll start this one next)
3. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
4. Fair Game by Valerie Plame Wilson
5. Patty Jane's House of Curl by Lorna Landvik
6. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
7. Emma by Jane Austen
8. The Flight of the Romanovs by John Curtis Perry & Constantine Pleshakov
9. Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
10. Me: Stories of My Life by Katherine Hepburn
11. The Dive from Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer
12. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
13. The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Klaus
14. Shindler's List by Thomas Keneally
15. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah (I'm actually about 1/2 way through this one, but will need to backtrack a couple chapters...it's been awhile since I picked it up)

Well, that's my starter list...there are others in my pile at home, but I thought I'd limit to 15 so I don't get too overwhelmed. I don't have any particular timeframe to complete these...that would drive me crazy...just want to have a method to stay on track.

Hey, and if you have any suggestions for books that I should add to my list, please share. I don't mind adding to the list...like I stated earlier, I LOVE to read:)

Beauty in the Storm

I've been thinking of writing this blog for several weeks, but life has gotten in the way. After events in my life in the past couple weeks, I can put this off no longer.

Several weeks ago, "B" and I were enjoying a quiet evening and I looked outside and saw this:

Probably one of the most beautiful storms I've ever seen...to attempt to show the sheer size of these clouds:These pictures barely begin to capture how beautiful the sky was that evening, but I knew there was a blog post in my future. When I started to think of what the blog might be titled, I came up with the title you see above. Then my mind started working overtime, thinking in the abstract of the other types of storms we experience in life.

I've been through my fair share of "storms"...the past couple of weeks haven't been the biggest storms, but I feel like I've gone through a storm nonetheless. Our household has faced what felt like the plague (in actuality, a REALLY bad flu/cough thingy), I had a rash which turned out to be an allergy to a lotion, we've had little things breaking left and right around the house, normal daily stress, and the worst of all...our dog got away at the park and has been lost for over a week now. Again, small compared to the storms that some people face in life but added all together, these things wear you down.

So you might ask what "Beauty in the Storm" has to do with this? I'm a true believer that God has a plan for all things, even the "storms" we go through in life, meaning that all things happen for a reason. What that reason might be varies greatly, whether we ever see the reason for going through life's storms is not always certain, who benefits from God's plan for those storms is not always the individual going through the storm. But as I look through the storms I've been through in life, I nearly always can see the beauty...just like that storm several weeks ago that took my breath away. The difference is that the beauty we can see in life's storms (and, yes, it IS there) is the lessons we learn, growing closer to God, growing closer to friends and family, teaching others about God, learning more about ourselves, etc.

Oh, it's easy to sink into a pity party (at one time over the past couple weeks I told "B" that it felt like someone had a voodoo doll of me) but, even now, coming out of these rough couple weeks, I'm starting to see hints of the reason(s) why I've gone through this.

I'll leave you with this thought...there IS beauty in EVERY one of life's storms. The beauty can be found in any number of ways, but it is most certainly there, many people just often choose not to look and see. It's like the person who complains about the pouring rain, but forgets of the beautiful flowers that are the result. Or the person who can't stand the cold weather in the winter, but doesn't realize that we need the cold to reduce the bugs the next year. EVERYTHING happens for a reason, we just need to weather the storm and then look for the beauty on the other side (and sometimes even as you go through the storm). The beauty is not always obvious, sometimes needing to be found. So, the next time you are going through a life storm, I encourage you to look for the beauty. You might be surprised about what you find and oh how wonderful to know that there is a purpose to all the craziness!!!

Welcome, Sadie!

We did it! "B" and I are now the proud owners of a very sweet (though a little shy), 3-4 year old yellow lab. It all started 2 weeks ago when we stopped in the shelter we saw as we drove past. "Glenda" (her former name) wasn't even available for adoption yet but stole our hearts so we completed the application and found out just this past Monday that we were approved. So we made the trek today to complete the adoption.

We have renamed her "Sadie". She's shy with new people so is still warming up, and she's afraid of some sounds, but I'm already seeing her relax. We think her shyness comes from not getting any affection earlier in life, until about a month ago when she was rescued. She's warmed up to me pretty quickly probably mostly because I sat in the back seat with her on the 2 hour drive home, petting her the entire way. By about half way home, her head was in my lap and she kept inching closer and closer to me. Now she follows me around the back yard like a shadow.

So, here are a few pics of our first 1/2 day with Sadie.

On the car ride home, while she was still far enough away from me for me to take a picture:)

Bonding time with "B".

Just chillin' in the back yard.

Another pic with "B".

I love how it sometimes seems like she's smiling:)

Welcome to your new home, baby girl!!!

Getting ready for the pitter patter...

...of little PAWS!!!

B and I broke down and started looking for a new addition to our family...a dog (awww). We both knew that we'd be taking this step in a matter of months of getting married, since I just can't go for too long without a furry friend. Well, I've been without a furry friend for 3 months now and I'm hankering for a little wet nose to be running around and that clickity-click of the paws across the tile floor.

So, we officially started looking for a dog this weekend. We accidentally found a purebred that we both thought was so sweet but we would much rather adopt from a rescue. We're just leary about the type of mix we might get with the rescue since when I was looking previously, most of the puppies were lab/pitbull mix (no Pit please!) Today I looked some more and found a few very sweet looking puppies for adoption and put in a request for an appointment to meet them in person. There is one in particular that we like the looks of but, personality speaks volumes so, we'll see.

We're looking to get a young, female lab mix. I prefer a more yellow or brown dog, but we'll get whichever ones is "the one". We're hoping that we'll have a new addition within the next month. We have a little work to do around the house to get ready for the little girl but I'm just tickled that we've taken the first steps!

"Flavorful"...

...That's how my hubby described a new recipe I tried out this week. He also said that he wasn't sure which part he like best, the chicken or the sauce. I was a very yummy recipe, so I thought I'd share. Oh, and it's easy too (bonus!).

Cumin Chicken Breasts w/ Latin Citrus Sauce

Rub for the chicken:
2 tsp packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbsp olive oil

For the sauce:
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/3 cup lime juice
1/3 cup orange juice
3 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro (finely chopped)
3 Tbsp fresh mint (finely chopped)
salt to taste

1. Combine the brown suger, cumin, salt, and cayenne in a small bowl. Rub all over the chicken. Cook in the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for ~5 minutes per side until chicken is cooked through and golden brown. Put chicken on a plate and cover, set aside.
2. To make the sauce, add the garlic to the same skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly for about 15 seconds. Stir in the lime juice, orange juice, and honey. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and mint and season with salt and cook another minute.
3. Serve the chicken on a plate (goes wonderfully with black beans and rice). Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

It's easy and will stimulate your tastebuds. Oh, and did I mention that it's pretty darn healthy too!

P.S. I have to thank my brother and future SIL, because this recipe comes from a cookbook they got me. It's a fantastic cookbook. I've tried 3 recipes from it and they are all healthy, delicious and easy! Thanks guys!!!

...A Mighty Good Man

When "B" and I got married, I moved from NJ to PA. What used to be a 1 hr commute (each way) into work is now a 1 hr 40 min commute (each way). So, I bargained with my boss and I now work a few days from home and commute just 2 days into the office. To make the commute even easier AND to spend time with family, I spend the night every Wednesday in NJ with family and am away from my new hubby.

With the long commute, I get home late from work on Thursday nights (usually around 8:oopm) and there is always a fresh green salad ready and waiting for me in the fridge when I get home, made by my hubby.

Well, tonight here's what I came home to:


It put quite a smile on my face after a long, rough day at work. Isn't he sweet?!?

Mmmmm, flowers

Although I can't take credit for 99% of the flowers in our yard (they were planted by the prior owners), I do get 100% of the pleasure in nurturing them, watching them grow, cutting a few for the house, and enjoying the wonderful aroma of some. I'm planning a few changes to our floral abundance:

1. Thin out the irises that are starting to take over the yard.
2. Move around some of the daffodils...some clumps are too much, others too sparse, and I'd like to make them juuussst right.
3. Thin out one of my climatis plants...it's downright unruly!
4. And next year I'll corral in our lovely peonies so they don't fall over.

But for now, I thought I'd share some pics of our floral bliss. Here are some Blue Flags and our unruly Climatis:

Here is my favorite of our 4 Climatis bushes (mind you, only 2 of them have flowered so far, but this is SO FAR my favorite). Just look at that color!

This is a strange Peony bush, it grows both pink and white blooms:

Another of our Peony bushy, this was such a perfect bloom, I couldn't resist!

And here is a picture of a bloom on my unruly Climatis bush, such a nice white, with a touch of purple:

Missin' my hook

Now that the wedding is done and I've begun to settle back into a more normal sort of life. Part of that normal life is one of my all-time favorite hobbies...crocheting!

I had to set down my crochet hook after the summer ended so that I could focus on the increasing deman for my time to be spent on organizing all the wedding details. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I picked up my crochet hook a little over a week ago to begin work on a stuffed animal (my first real stuffed animal, btw). What a wonderful feeling to crochet once again, to peruse the aisles of the craft store for that perfect yarn, to feel the softness of the yarn and the relaxation in my shoulders that occurs when I settle in...ahhhh, pure bliss!

I have many friends who are expecting (babies, if you didn't guess) between now and the end of the year, so now that I've picked up my hook I'm armed and ready to create fun animals and blankets!!! I don't think I'll get all the goodies done by the time each baby gets here because 3 of them are due within 4 months of each other (rain checks anyone?) but I've started and will be a crocheting fool for the next several months!

I'm so happy with how my first stuffed animal turned out that I just had to share some photos. Here he is...

Just peeking my head in...

I know I've been M.I.A. for a couple months now, but everything has just gotten a bit hectic. So, I thought I'd poke my head in to say "HI" and briefly let my few readers know what I've been up to. Of course, most of my readers probably know 'cause it's my friends and family:)

This past couple weeks has been a complete whirlwind...what with packing boxes (for my move to PA) and having the final meetings with wedding vendors and getting the last wedding details all sorted out, printed out, and worked out. On top of that, work has really picked up, which is great, but it's been a challenge to find that balance. I'm now realizing that I did absolutely the right thing in deciding to take a full week off work prior to the wedding. It won't all be relaxation, but at least I'll be able to focus on the move and the wedding and I'll have my entire family from Oregon here to help with stuff.

I think I'll do a couple posts on the honeymoon (yeah wifi!)...reflecting on my wedding planning experience. It is so much more than I ever thought it would be. I don't mean the stress (although that's a little bit of it). I'm more referring to the many things God has taught me through the process...which was completely unexpected. I just figured it would be like planning a big party, but God has shown me so much and has blessed me in countless ways. The whole process has not been without its trials, but even those have been learning experiences. Like I said, I will share more from the honeymoon when my brain is emptied of all the craziness and I can completely reflect on my experience.

For starters, though, I have found that God has provided me exactly what I have needed, exactly when I need it. Should I know that He does this? Yes. But my being human sometimes gets in the way of what I should know and tucks itself back into the deep recesses of my mind. And I don't mean that He just provides what we need financially (though that's a little piece of it), what is even more important is how He provides for me spiritually, emotionally, mentally. The times when I've felt that I didn't have an ounce of strength to carry one more box down from my 3rd floor apartment, "somehow" I make it...the time when I felt I didn't have enough energy to handle the noise and activity of the 25+ kids at AWANAS, "somehow" the night flies by and I'm energized...and just recently when one of my bridesmaids (and myself) experience a great loss and I don't know how to pick the pieces back up enough to enjoy the last few weeks before my wedding, "somehow" my work just happens to throw a surprise wedding party for me, reminding me that it's ok to be happy. I have no doubt in my mind that the "somehow" is God.

Putting Oregon on the map!

Now everyone has heard of popular states like New York, Texas, California and even Maine and could point them out on a map. But I come from one of the lesser talked about States...Oregon. I was appalled the first year I moved from Oregon to N.J. that one of my well-educated colleagues thought Oregon was in the midwest (I guess "well-educated" is a relative term).

So, imagine my surprise to open my Snapple All Natural Green Tea bottle today (yummy, btw!) and see the following under the cap "There is an underground mushroom in Oregon that measures 3.5 miles across." So I looked it up and found out more information here! Just a little something to put Oregon on the map:)

Here's a little public service announcement about my home state from yours truly: Oregon is a beautiful state with lots of outdoorsy type stuff to do. The far western side is quite rainy, but once you get past the Cascade Mountain Range, the weather is desert-like in the summer and quite snowy in the winter.

Fragile (fra-gee-lay)

And this is why you never, NEVER mark a box "Fragile"!!!!

This is the box that one of the favors for the wedding came in. These pictures show EXACTLY how it was when I got it. Yes, that includes the top being open! Thankfully, the inside packing was fantastic and nothing was broken. Whew, crisis averted:)

So, take this as a lesson to never mark a package "fragile" no matter how fragile it is. Just make sure to pack it really well.

Holy wedding bells, Batman!

I woke up this morning and realized that it is exactly 3 months before the big day! I feel a mix of satisfaction and trepidation as I realize that I have so many tasks complete, yet so many tasks yet to even get started on. I feel very good about what I've accomplished (with the help of friends and family) but I definitely need to kick it into high gear...I DO NOT want to have a ton of things to get done at the last minute!

I'm also feeling a tremendous mix of emotions. The excitement I have for beginning my life with "B" is just boundless but, at the same time, I have so many other emotions mixing with it:

• Fear - of all the changes that will be taking place in my life...new home, sharing a home with another person (pets don't count for preparing for this day), getting to know each other in the day-to-day humdrum of life. And the thing I'm always the most fearful of...the unknown and that whole not knowing what the future holds.
• Sadness - that I'll be further from friends and family than I've been in the past 12 years. They are SO important to me and I get sad thinking that I may not see them quite as much (sniff sniff). I must say, I'm truly bless that "B" totally understands how important my friends and family are to me and has been very sympathetic to know how difficult this change will be.

As I ramp up for the next few months, I'm daily becoming more aware and appreciative of all the wonderful people in my life. My deepest thanks and love to my friends and family for all that you are, all that you do, and for all your love and support...you know who you are!

Prayers and raffle

I covet your thoughts and prayers for a friend of a co-worker. Here's the story, from my co-worker's words:

A friend of mine was in a serious accident over the Thanksgiving holiday. He was critically injured when struck by a hit and run driver while crossing the street. Thankfully he is making major progress in his recovery and was just discharged to Magee Rehab but he has suffered major brain trauma and has a long way to go. As you can imagine, he and his wife will be faced with some serious bills in the coming months as Brian will most likely need constant home care after his month at Magee.

Brian's local hangout has organized a raffle to help his family mitigate some of the financial burden during this difficult time. I've offered to help my co-worker in selling some of the raffle tickets so, if you're in the area and are interested in purchasing one or more raffle tickets, let me know. Here's the details:

• Cost: $3 per ticket or 2 for $5
• Prizes: 1st prize = Basket of Cheer; 2nd prize = sports memorabilia (probably Eagles-related); 3rd, 4th, and 5th prizes = gift certificates
• When: Drawing will be on January 25th

Just shoot me a note or call me if you're interested in participating in the raffle. And please be thinking and praying for this couple and their family and friends as they learn to adjust and cope with the added stress of not only the financial burden, but also the changes this will have on their lives.

A home for the holidays!

For anyone interested, I thought I'd post an update to my earlier post about my most recent foster cats. I am so happy to say that they have found their forever home which just happens to be a woman a work with. I could hardly believe it when she told me she wanted to adopt them BOTH.

What a great success story and I know they are in a wonderful, loving home. So, no more living on the streets or abuse for these little wonders.

Oh, and I get visitation rights!!!

I get my next set of fosters on the 23rd and will have them over the holidays. It's a set of 3 young, tortoise-shell calicos. I'll post pics once I get them.

Straight No Chaser

These guys are pretty clever and I hear they now have a Christmas CD out. Check them out!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8