Sunday, July 22, 2012

Outside My Door

You know I have a flying guest. Well, I also have a bee's nest now. What is so interesting about my porch hanging?

I just want to be able to enter my house without fear of an attack from bird or bee.

96 Hours of Bliss

From Thursday at 3:00 PM until Monday at 3:15 PM last week, I was not scheduled to work. I had 96 hours of bliss, free from work, customers, and all other work related things. It was amazing. 

How did I get those days off? 

Well, it started because I asked off for the wrong weekend to visit family. Then, I thought other family was visiting, but they weren't. So, I just kept my weekend off. 

What did I do with my weekend? 

I spent time at the library. This time I put new labels on books, shelf-reading, and straitened the puzzle area. I enjoyed talking with the ladies without feeling the pressure of heading to work. 

I read. I'm rereading Harry Potter, so I finished HP1 and HP2. I love jumping into Rowling's world. I'm reminded of how a great a story-teller she is. I love realizing how she was weaving the conclusion, hinting, and setting up for all the other plot lines which come later. 

I watched some movies. Though at the moment I can't remember any of them. I think we watched Star Wars  1. (We're rewatching all of them. Last night we finished SW3. I want to watch the other three before vacation, but they say that's too many in a week.) 

I slept. I loved not worrying about staying up too late because I had to work the next day. The weather cooled some which made sleeping even better.

I wrote some letters. It only took me an hour to write two letters this time as opposed to the last time which took two hours. 

I spent time with my family and catching up with some friends. Good food, good conversation, good shopping, good driving, good times, and great people. 

I highly enjoyed my 96 hours of bliss, and I'm anxiously awaiting my (at least) 192 hours away which I'm sure will also be blissful.  

Saturday, July 14, 2012

More News on My Flying Guest

We checked yesterday, and there are four little eggs in the nest.

So, the nest must stay, and I'll probably need to find another entrance into the house while I have my flying guest.

Friday, July 13, 2012

My Flying Guest

Every time I go to my house I now have a ritual. I shake my keys, say "move" a couple of times, and move my arms around some. Why do I have this strange ritual?

A bird built it's nest in the awning over my door.

I discovered this one night, of course before the ritual started. I was unlocking my door when a bird flew right past me. My awning is maybe 3' x 3', so there's not tons of room for me to avoid the bird, or the bird to avoid me. Needless to say I jumped and may have let a small scream escape.

Then I started the ritual. The first day or so, I continued to jump because I would forget I had a guest living outside my house. Now, I remember, and I'm more faithful with the ritual.

The bird and I are starting to understand each other: I complete the ritual as I walk towards my door, and he/she realizes what my ritual means and flies away before I get to the awning. I think our relationship is deepening.

My next job is to see if there are any eggs in the nest. If so, I must wait for them to hatch, and I'll continue my relationship with my flying guest. If not, it doesn't matter where we are in our relationship, my flying guest is leaving.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

38 Years

That's how long my parents have been married.

You double my age and you're in the ballpark of 38 years.

They lived in Washington, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin as a married couple.

They traveled the States together.

They had 8 children.

They supported and raised them all on a very small educators salary.

The Lord used both of them to bring all of their 8 children to be children of God.

They instilled a passion for thinking in all of their children.

They set a Godly example to follow.

They are an example of sacrificial living.

They are an example of giving their lives completely to God no matter the cost.

They are an example of parents choosing to give their children to God and truly desiring His will for their children's lives.

They showed all their children the importance of lifelong learning.

They are an example of staying faithful.

They are my parents.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Delicious Food

This summer, I've been planning the family meals, and when I'm around, cooking them. RuthAnn suggested searching the food blogs for recipes. About a week ago I found two recipes which looked great. We tried them Monday and Tuesday, and both were a success.

On Monday night, Philip made Spicy Grilled Chicken Salad with Noodles


Click here to find the recipe. Here's what we tweaked: we used oyster sauce instead of fish sauce; we used sesame oil instead of walnut oil; we used regular chili sauce instead of chili garlic sauce; and we used chicken breasts instead of thighs because that's what I had.

It was super delicious. Nice, cool, and refreshing. We all thought it would be great to put on a tortilla and eat as a wrap. Joanna tried it in our last tortilla, and that was also great. You didn't have to worry about everything making it from the fork to your mouth. The downside was all the prep time with the cutting and julienning the vegetables. Yet, it was all worth it.

On Tuesday, I made Baked Ziti. I've always enjoyed this dish at potlucks, but it was always dry. This one wasn't.


I tweaked the amount of sauce; I had a 24 oz jar and then leftover spaghetti sauce I added in too, so I'm not sure how much I actually used. I also used dried oregano from our garden.

I loved scooping it out and cheese was stringing all over. Super simple. We had delicious crusty and chewy bread as a side. A yummy dinner.

Both meals were great food-wise, but also my family was there which made them better. And as we do, we had good family conversation. And of course we spilled water all over the table on both nights. Soon, we'll be even more scattered over the States, and our family dinners will become a rarity. So I'm trying to enjoy all of them (even when I'm crabby like I was Monday night).

Making Decisions

First, let me apologize for not realizing that my blog had changed this whole post to white, so here, hopefully, is a version you can actually read!

This post has been adapted and expanded from a letter I wrote to a friend; we've been discussing decision making.

I'm in the stage of life where decisions seem extra prominent and VERY important. I feel, and my peers too, that every decision is life-changing, and we're terrified of making a decision because it may be the wrong one. Everyday I draw closer to finishing my college education (!!!!), and I'm faced with--what's next? How am I going to make those decisions which will get me to the next stage in my life? I've been mulling this over on and off for a while; I will try and make it coherent as possible, but you know I struggle to articulate myself.

Before I start listing my thoughts on decision making I need to say this first: I believe that as a believer once you've made a decision you know that was the Lord's will because you made that decision. Now that doesn't mean every decision is going to work out perfectly for you, but you can rest secure in the fact that God is in control; that He does know best; and that He never stops taking care of His children. Also as a believer, I pray you would desire to make wise decisions. I also believe that big decisions are the culmination of many small decisions which is why we must be careful and wise with all of our decisions. That being said, here are my thoughts on decision making.

First, prayer and searching of the scriptures must be the foundation to all wise decision making. In short, you must continually build, strengthen, and grow your relationship with Christ. When you make decisions, you're searching to make decisions which will give Him the most honor, glory, and praise. A humble, willing, loving, and serving attitude toward our Father and His will is a must for decision making (also life). As you pray, it is vital to ask for wisdom from our Father, and that His will be done, not ours.

Second, research is absolutely necessary. During the whole research process, you're collecting information. Research takes many forms, and in each form, you collect information in a different way. All of these forms should be done. For some decisions, you'll need to do them simultaneously while others need some forms of research completed before you delve into other forms.

The first form is what we would consider research--reading books about something, reading reviews, test-driving, comparing prices, visiting places, etc.

The second form applies to relationship building of any kind--sibling, parents, friends, relatives, coworkers, significant others, etc. The second form of research looks like this--spending time with people, talking with and listening to them, discussing serious and funny things, observing and spending time with them in different settings. All of this assists as you make decisions about your relationship with that person--how to help them, what they need, etc.

The third form is counsel. Proverbs discusses time and time again seeking wise counsel. At our age in life, we are making decisions 'on our own.' Which means, more than ever, we need to seek wise counsel. Even though, you are at an age where you can independently make your own choices; it's not wise to forsake advice and counsel. Listen to others; don't just hear what you want to hear. Listen to their thoughts on people, situations, and anything else that relates to the decision.

For the fourth form of research, you must turn inward. You need to (re)search your own heart to discover motivations, interests, reasoning, reactions, desires, and much more concerning the decision. This is good because you can see how fickle and wayward your heart is, yet you'll hopefully also see how the Lord is changing your heart to be more like Christ. It's also good to be honest with your desires. You need to analyze what is at the root of your desires, and you need to realize that God uses our desires. He gives desires to be used for His honor, glory, and praise.

Third, you must make a choice, a decision. You cannot sit around and twiddle your thumbs while you wait for a sign from God. As nice as it would be if God texted us what to do, I believe sign waiting shows a huge lack of faith. I know that sounds harsh, but I'm afraid too many times we're afraid to make a decision without the writing on the wall to confirm our decision. God commands us to trust Him and put our faith in Him; we're to walk by faith, not sight. Having faith means, as I said earlier, you realize that God is in control of all situations; that He does know what is best; and that He always takes care of His children.

*Fourth, as you make the decision you must realize that that decision is permanent and life-changing while also realizing that that one decision doesn't mean you've chosen a life path you can never turn from. I know that sounds strange. I think part of the reason we're so afraid to make decisions is they seem so final. Yes, some decisions are final--marriage and salvation, for example. Yet most of the decisions we want a sign--college, major in college, car, house, job--are temporary and can and more than likely will change throughout our life. Personally, I know the Lord wanted me to major in the field I did, yet I may not "use" that degree for more than 2-5 years after graduation. Does a part of me regret that I chose it? Honestly, yes. But I also realize the Lord had me choose it for a reason, and even if I don't understand it now, one day or many days from now I'll know why or partially why. This doesn't mean it makes the decision any easier, yet I'm really trying to focus that my Father is in control.

So in conclusion, you must be confident in your decision, but don't rest in your confidence. Rest in the confidence of the sovereignty of your Father, and continue to build the most important relationship in your life with the most important person in your life--your Heavenly Father.

*I realize this section still needs more thought and work. 

Thursday, July 5, 2012

An Update

If you'll think back almost four weeks I ago, I was anxiously waiting to take my Praxis 2 test. As you'll recall, I didn't feel very confident after the test.

I've been waiting all these weeks for my score. I waited two weeks before I let myself check online. Nothing was available. After that I checked two or three more times before July 4, 2012.

July 4, 2012 I worked all day. Before I went to work though, I decided to check one more time before Saturday (which would be the four week mark, the time the proctor said the scores would be available).

I logged in.

And there it was. The link to my score report.

I passed! I needed a 146 to pass, and I scored a 169. Words can't describe the relief which washed over me as I looked at my scores.

All day I couldn't stop smiling when I thought about it at work. As my family was all asleep when I left, I told them the exciting news when I returned from work.

Our family has had quite the exciting happenings in the past four weeks--Philip and RuthAnn found a job, Naomi received a raise, RuthAnn received a phone, Dad's dissertation proposal was accepted, and I passed my Praxis 2.  

Working on Independence Day

If you work retail or have worked retail, you understand that you work every holiday. Thinking about, let alone asking off for a holiday is unthinkable.

I don't usually mind working holidays or holiday weekends because our family has never been big with the parties or big family get-togethers since we live ten driving hours from the nearest extended relative and most of the immediate family live five to twenty driving hours away.

I had to work yesterday, and I was okay with it until I got to work and started my shift. Then I got a little annoyed.

First of all, I realized people weren't just picking up last little things, which I assumed would be the case. No, they were doing their grocery shopping. Some were for parties, but most were regular everyday shopping. Now, I understand that you run your errands on your day(s) off. Today, I did my grocery shopping because I was off and finally had time to complete it. But come on people, you're going to do your grocery shopping on Independence Day? You're going to buy all of your party food three hours before the party? You had all weekend and the evenings up to the 4th to prepare. I'm not sure why it upset me so much, but I was actually getting annoyed.

Second people started commenting on me working the holiday. Customers would say, "Oh, I'm so sorry you have to work today." I would just stare at them while I was thinking, "Um, I'm working because of you. Why don't you do your shopping early, so we wouldn't have to be open. Why don't you stop expecting that all stores will still be open on all holidays." It was brutally hot yesterday (102 with high humidity), so customers told me I was better off working inside then being outside. Hmm, maybe they should let me judge for myself if I want to be inside (in my house or at work) or outside (pushing carts or going to a picnic).

Third, we were crazy busy. It wasn't just a couple of people who were doing their grocery shopping and picking up last minute items (because there were those too); there were hoards of people. It felt like Saturday busyness, but without all the people working on Saturday.

Fourth, I pondered staying open for holidays. I know in Europe, per Philip while on his travels, most everything is closed on Sundays and holidays. I can justify/understand staying open for holidays like Mother's Day, Father's Day, Memorial Day, and Halloween. But I truly can't justify/understand staying open for your countries Independence Day. As a side note, I'm not the most "patriotic" person ever, but it is an exciting and momentous thing to celebrate. People should understand that and plan ahead, and companies should say we're closing for more than one day a year.

In conclusion, I came home a bit frustrated. I have vowed that I'm not going to be the person who is running to pick-up things on the day of a holiday because I will have planned ahead, and I will remember my frustration with people who use it as a time to run errands.  

Monday, July 2, 2012

An Interesting Dinner

An awful dinner with great people happened last night. Here's the story

The Four enjoy trying new restaurants, especially the strange ones which our town starts. Rock River Catering is the latest one in that line-up.

We (The Four and Naomi) were all home last night, and decided it was the time to try Rock River Buffet and Catering. As soon as Philip and I walked in, we knew it was going to be an experience. The walls had woodsy paintings with birch textured paintings. The hostess, and all the waitresses, had an apron which looked like a vest. Like this:


Then we look at the prices--$11.49 for Sunday dinner. With tax, we payed $12.12 for our dinner. They made us pay before we were seated. Which I know happens at some buffets, yet it didn't help us feel that they we're trying to get our money before we ate the food.

The only food that tasted awful were the "Greek Potatoes"; they had an acidic taste which kept going and going after you finished the bite. Completely awful. Everything else was just sub-par. They had FOUR pasta and marinara/meat sauce combinations. The salad bar offered lettuce, cucumbers, and croutons. No cheese, no carrots. They offered one kind of chicken and ribs plus three kinds of fish. Since I'm not a fish fan and the chicken looked strange, I tried the ribs. They weren't awful, but it wasn't a rib night for me. There wasn't anything in the whole buffet which looked good or interesting. Plus the food was warm, not hot, just that weir d warm where it becomes even less appetizing.

We all tried each others food, so we could all say how regular it was. And then we discussed how long we thought it would be open.

We give it six months.