Hello 2011!

It is hard to believe that 2010 is over as of tonight. Wow! The year went by so fast!
It has been a good year. God has been so good to me. It has been a busy year and I've been able to do some fun things. I've become so thankful for my friends both near by and far away as well as my family near and far.

I'm really looking forward to 2011. I know that God is going to do some great things this year. I don't know what He has planned, but I know that He has planned it. I love having that reassurance. Seriously I don't know how people live without having the hope that Christ give us. Recently I realized that I've been taking it for granted, but 2011 is where that is going to change. I have several things on my New Years Resolutions list, but the one thing I want to do is grow in my relationship with God. And how is that relationship going to grow if I hardly spend any time with Him?! Tomorrow is a brand new year and things are going to change for me. I am feeling very determined. And I hope that I will be able to update you in a month or so and say that I have been following through with that determination.

In addition to this here are the other things I'd like to do for 2011:

1. Read from the Bible everyday.
2. Exercise twice a week. 
3. Mail out birthday cards to my friends. 
4. Save $1000 for my emergency fund. 
5. Pay off my credit card from car repairs. 
6. No tv before bed - read instead. 
7. Have 2 Tastefully Simple parties a month. 
8. Check my budget and spending every week. 
9. Host a tea party every other month.
10. Keep up with my grading so that I'm not cramming it all in at the end of the quarter. :) 

Yikes, I hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew. 

Recap on Vacation

I thought I'd check my list of what I wanted to do over my vacation and see how I'm doing. I know there are a few things that I need to do still. 

1. Sleep in - done pretty well with that one
2. Read a book for fun - I'm reading Inkheart, but still have a ways to go.
3. Take my car in to get fixed - it is there as I'm typing this

4. Clean my apartment. I mean really clean! - Almost done! One room left to tackle!
5. Get through a few books I need to read for work - ok I haven't started this one yet. Yikes!
6. Get a massage - scheduled for Wednesday - Yes, I finally scheduled it!
7. Finish typing out my Grandma's recipes
8. Cook a few of my Grandma's recipes - made my Grandma's meatballs on Christmas Eve
9. Work on my Christmas quilt- almost done cutting out the fabric. Then I can start piecing it together.
10. Organize my Tastefully Simple business
11. Clean out my closet and get rid of a few clothes that I don't wear.
12. Read a book at Starbucks - Planning on going there this afternoon. :o) 

Well, not too bad. Most of them are in progress.  Better get going on some of them. Only 5 days left.

Puddles...a blessing and a curse

I have had quite the experience with puddles lately. And I have to say I truly have mixed feelings about them.
On the negative side, my car does not like puddles. I don't just mean any ordinary puddle. I mean the really big ones. You see when I drive through large puddles, which doesn't happen too often, my car throws a fit.
You know that belt in your car's engine? The one that controls the engine fan, water pump, alternator, power steering, and I'm sure a few other things?
Yup, that's the one. When I go through large puddles that belt come off. Not off in the sense that I lose the belt, but off in that those things in my engine are not functioning. So far this winter it has happened three times. It is really obvious when it happens too. I didn't realize how much I appreciate my power steering! My arms are killing my from when it went out this evening.
Grr! Tonight was one of those oh so lucky nights. And I realized it was the same puddle that had made it come off the time before. Yes, I'm learning. My mechanic says that it is common in the type of car I have and there isn't anything that can be done to stop it.
So, I am avoiding giant puddles.
After all that negative there are ways I am seeing how God is taking care of me.

1. Every time this has happened I have been close to home or work.
2. Someone just has to put it back on, and it doesn't cost too much money.
3. One of the maintenance guys at my work can put it back on for me. Thanks Shannon Guisti!
4. The last two times it came off I was very close to work.

God is so good!

Ok, now here is the reason why I find puddles a blessing.
Danika loves putting on her rain boots and jumping in puddles. The other day we went for a walk specifically looking for puddles to jump it. (she did all the jumping, I forgot my rain boots)
It is so much fun. Every little bit of water we saw she wanted to jump in it.
Finally we made it to a public school near my parent's house and found some good puddles in the parking lot. I think she would have stayed there all day.
So much fun!

Thank you, Lord for your many blessings and for showing me the positive in the negative. You are so good. -- Jamie

Jesus Paid it All by Kristian Stanfill

Top 5 Christmas Movies

Here is my 

Top 5 Christmas Movie List 

1. White Christmas

2. A Muppet Christmas Carol

3. The Santa Clause

4. Elf

5. Mickey's Christmas Carol

I have to admit though that I have hardly watched any Christmas movies this year. 

I feel like Christmas snuck up on me. And it is almost here!!!

What to do...

As of Friday, I am on Christmas Vacation! I'm a little excited to have some time off of work. Vacation time is one of the perks of being a teacher, for sure.

I was thinking the other day of all the things I'd like to do and get done during my two week vacation, so I thought I'd make a list to help motivate me to get them done. Hopefully I can get some things crossed off the list.

1. Sleep in (woke up at 7:30 today, that is a start!)
2. Read a book for fun
3. Take my car in to get fixed
4. Clean my apartment. I mean really clean! (planning on getting a good start on that today)
5. Get through a few books I need to read for work
6. Get a massage
7. Finish typing out my Grandma's recipes
8. Cook a few of my Grandma's recipes
9. Work on my Christmas quilt (maybe I can finish it sometime this year to use it next year)
10. Organize my Tastefully Simple business
11. Clean out my closet and get rid of a few clothes that I don't wear
12. Read a book at Starbucks (I've missed that in the last few months. It is so relaxing)

Ok, I'm sure the list could go on, but it is only 2 weeks people. :o) I'm so looking forward to the time to relax, get some things done and spend time with my family. The last few weeks have been crazy busy and I've only seen them here and there.

Happy Birthday!

Another Year

I’m wishing you another year
Of laughter, joy and fun,
Surprises, love and happiness,
And when your birthday’s done,
I hope you feel deep in your heart,
As your birthdays come and go,
How very much you mean to me,
More than you can know.

By Joanna Fuchs

I love you Julie! I'm so thankful that God gave me you as my little sis! I'm praying that this year is the best one yet!

How to survive the end of the semester...

Well, the procrastinator in me is showing right now. I always get mad at myself for putting things off to the last minute. Grr. It is the end of the semester and here I am trying to frantically get my grades all done in time. (Well I really want to get them done a few days early) So I'm taking a little break and I am writing about it. :)


Here is how I survive the end of the semester...

Christmas gift exchange with the class

It was a little crazy, but fun at the same time.

A nice hot cup of Butterscotch Kisses Cocoa. So amazing.

Gotta have great dessert when you have a bunch of papers to grade. These were made by one of the parents at school. Perfect!

Comfy and cozy slippers. 

And last but not least Hulu. 

I've got some favorite shows to watch while I'm entering my grades and correcting paper.

My Christmas Vacation is just around the corner. Monday is going to be wonderful with no school work to do.

Uncle Bubbles

I'm not always the best with my words and I really have a hard time sharing my feelings, but today (tonight...ok this morning) my heart is very sad. Today very suddenly Wayne Kuhner went to be with the Lord. My heart is very torn because I know that Wayne is safe in the arms of his loving Savior but at the same time I am very sad that he is not here anymore.

I have known Wayne my entire life and for as long as I can remember I have called him "Uncle Bubbles." He blew bubbles for me when I was little. My family used to spend a lot of time with the Kuhner family. Unfortunately, over the last several years we have not spent as much time together because of busy schedules, but they are still great friends.

Wayne was an great man of God. He cared for so many people. I loved peeking into the Church office on Sunday mornings to see if he was in there. He'd always give me a huge hug, say "hey sweetie!" and we would chat for a while. Every time I sang in church he would tell me that he thought it was my mom who was singing and that he loved it. I was always so encouraged by him.

Every time I think about him tonight I cry, hence the lack of sleeping at the moment.
The Kuhner family is in my prayers right now as I'm sure this is a very hard time for them.

Thank you, Lord, for your perfect timing, even when we don't understand. Thank you for the time I was able to have with Wayne. I am so thankful that he is at home with You in paradise. Please bring comfort and peace to those who knew and loved Wayne.

Raindrops

Raindrops are such funny things.

They haven't feet or haven't wings.

Yet they sail through the air,

With the greatest of ease,

And dance on the street,

Wherever they please.

playing on picnik

I've been having fun lately playing around with pictures on Picnik. I love how I can change the colors and just play around on it. I think my favorite thing to do it brighten up the colors. Here are a few fun things I figured out recently. :o) 

Thankful - Day 30

I realize that I'm a little late on this one, but I've been sick. I finally made it to the doctor today and she told me to try a few over the counter things. So at least I don't have to be on antibiotics (yet).

On the 30th I was definitely thankful that I was able to call in sick for the next day. (And today for that matter) I'm very thankful that I work for people who are understanding and who will even tell you to stay home when you are sick. I tend to be the person who just wants to push through. I didn't even think about using one of my sick days on Tuesday until someone told me I should.

I guess it comes down to the fact that I'm thankful for those people who look out for me. :o) God has richly blessed me.