I had the pleasure of spending last evening with a true princess. I couldn’t have asked for more fun. We began the evening dining at the Golden Arches then went to a divine show in Spokane for aspiring princes and princesses. Of course, I had the honor of being accompanied by a true princess which made the evening so much more enjoyable.

Isn’t she beautiful. We really did have a great time. My sister-in-law, her mom, and I took Ally. Last year it was just my sister-in-law and I and we saw the Incredible’s show. It was OK, but the Princess Wishes show was so much better. Watching Ally’s face was worth the cold and ice we endured to get there. The only time I ever remember seeing her more in awe was when she held her brother for the first time.

Till later…

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It came last night.  I love the snow.  I love winter.  But, I just wasn’t ready for it last night.  I’m loving looking out my office window and seeing the beauty that is outside but my car wasn’t ready.  I wasn’t quite ready yet.  But, it’s here so it’s OK.

My snow tires aren’t on yet.  I was going to do them today but I think they’ll get done tomorrow instead.  I’m not going anywhere today.

Last night was youth group.  We have a large mailing list of kids but each week we have about 250-300 kids show up.  It’s crazy, yes.  But, it’s fun.  Last night we had about 500 kids there.  It was pure insanity.  I’m doing check-in right now and it was chaos.  I was tired by the time we checked everyone in only to look up and see the blanket of white outside.

Sigh

I left a little earlier than usual and slid home.  Literally.  It was like ice skating the entire way home.  My friend called when I got home to check to make sure I got here OK.  I was fine.  She said she saw cars in the ditches and on their side on her way home.

I haven’t been outside (yes, I’m a wimp and I admit it).  But from the second floor I’d say there are still a good 2 inches on the ground.  Not bad for the first snow of the season.

Me, I have the heat on in my office.  I’m actually a little cold.  LOL

Till later…

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Why 40? I don’t know, my friend posted 40 so I’m going to post 40. So, I guess that’s why.

1. My loving parents
2. Being a Princess of the King
3. That my family is all healthy
4. The success of my dad’s surgery
5. That my sister is an amazingly giving person
6. That 2007 is almost over
7. That I get to be Auntie to some of the most amazing kids ever
8. My amazing job
9. My friends that are there for me no matter how crazy my life is
10. Rider
11. Ally
12. Kyle
13. The internet
14. My apartment that is SO quiet and clean
15. The Hiawatha coffee drink (trust me, I’m thankful for it and will be even more thankful when I get home and can drink it again — guess where my FIRST stop will be)
16. Living in Idaho
17. Friends that pick me up at the airport or drive me there when I’m leaving again
18. Creatinin levels being super low
19. My Christmas shopping is done
20. My plane ticket home is purchased and ready for me to use in ONE week
21. I have new jeans that I’ll fit in again soon after I get home and start eating my own food again
22. Haircuts (and especially Becky who makes me pretty)
23. Barrettes that keep this insane mass of incredibly long hair out of my face (until I get home and can cut it again)
24. People who call to see how my dad and sister are even though they’ve never met either of them
25. Deer that show up in my backyard to make me feel less lonely
26. Chocolate
27. My car that runs and keeps my behind warm in the winter
28. Lemonade, Vodka, & Disaronno
29. My church
30. My home group
31. The people who help me keep my business running (and me sane in the process)
32. Music
33. DVR
34. Homemade Tacos
35. That I’ll be home in 158 hours (yeah, I know that will be less by the time you’ve read this)
36. Hugs from little guys “just because”
37. Plants that I’ve not killed
38. Grey’s Anatomy
39. My living room furniture and bedroom set
40. That even though this was really hard that I truly do have A LOT to be thankful for.

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It’s official, I purchased my ticket tonight.  I’m going home the Friday after Thanksgiving.  I’m really excited to get home and excited because it means everything is still going great here.

Maybe I’ll get home in time to do some Black Friday shopping.  :)  I got some GREAT deals last year.  :)  I don’t do the early morning crowds and when I was in CA I didn’t do ANY Black Friday shopping but since I moved I found that Black Friday shopping can be kind of fun.

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This was kind of fun. It’s like the donate a mammogram website only you learn something while you’re there (which also means you’re there a little longer). For every word you define correctly you donate 10 grains of rice. In just a couple minutes I donated over 400 grains of rice. That may not seem like much but since October 7, 2007 (when the site began) over 1 BILLION grains of rice have been donated. Doesn’t cost you anything, doesn’t get your inbox jammed full of spam. It does, however, stretch your brain with vocabulary. It’s fun. Great. Give it a try.

Till later…

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A friend has been posting a lot lately on perspective.  I’ve been listening and at the same time thinking “yeah, but you don’t know what I’m going through!”.

I told someone this week how much I’m looking forward to January.  I just want this year to be OVER.  In March when people were asking me how old I was going to be I kept saying 34.  Problem was I turned 33 this year.  For some reason I wanted to skip 33.  Well, this year has been H-E-L-L.

Seriously.  I was talking to someone and she agreed…the past 12 months have been just horrible.  Have I survived it?  Yes.  Have I learned from it?  Yes.  Do I want to go through it again?  NO!  It’s 54 days, 2 hours, 39 minutes and 37 seconds until 2008.  Am I looking forward to it?  YES.  I’m convinced 2008 will be better.

I’m about to just give up.  I actually threatened to find a cave and stay there until January 1st.  Seriously, there are times when I think it would be safer for me to just go into hiding.

Then perspective hit.  And it hit H-A-R-D.  I was pondering that cave in the middle of nowhere when I got an e-mail from a very good friend who’s daughter was supposed to be having much needed surgery in January.  Instead they found that things are worse than they thought and she only has 1-3 years to live.

Wow.

Here I am overwhelmed because my life sucks right now.  Here I am complaining because I want this year to be over because it’s been horrible.  Here I am freaking out because I got in a small accident this morning and have to pay to have my parents car fixed.

Perspective.

My life will improve (at least I keep reminding myself of that even when I doubt it).  Yeah this year has been bad but I have a home, my dad made it through surgery and is doing great, I have a successful business, heck I HAVE NEXT YEAR!

I’m not asking you to feel sorry for my friend.  She’s not asking anyone to feel sorry for her.  Her daughter is 4 1/2.  She’s had 4 1/2 WONDERFUL years with her that she wouldn’t trade for ANYTHING.  She’s not crawling into a cave to hide for the next three years.  She’s having ice cream for breakfast.  She’s going frog hunting at dawn and she’s going to go to the zoo 7000 times.

You know what?  Perspective.

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