thankfull?

this thanksgiving was a good one. i actually got to hang out with my mom and dad this year. usually they are out of town at a clogging show with buzz and jess. but - this year the whole gang got together. loved it; good times eating, chatting, laughing, and playing games. cuz it was so nice outside we decided to play a little football game. matt (my nephew) is totally a football nut. he loves it...and he knows so much about the NFL> it's a little scary how much he knows. anyways. i find myself very thankful for many many things, but a couple that i am extra thankful for. #1 being my parents- they are so willing to do so much for me...and they never get tired of it. they spent all weekend with me re-doing my floor in my house and never one time did they complain; unlike me! and they work way more than they have to, and again they never complain; unlike me! and they love me unconditionally. something that i have been challenged with the past months. #2 - i am very thankful for my job. i highly enjoy it and it pays the bills well. #3 - i know i mentioned unconditional love...but i am so thankful that God loves me all the time no matter how much i screa roof over my head and the money to have a home...a nice home; along with the money to fix up my home. i have spent the past three days installing new laminate flooring in my kitchen, dinning room and hallway. it was a frustrating job, a fun job, a hard working job and a 'wow' it looks so good job! i am thankful that i and my parents have the abilities to do home improvements. good times!!! a couple pics of the work we did the past three days. i have the new carpet to do yet, and...i just found out i need to have my furnance replaced, which is a big bummer...but i will role with it.







step 1 - removing carpet













step 2 - put down 1/2 inch ply wood and the layer of fome.












step 3 - laminate floor being laid. it took 2 days!!!











step 3 continued...mom taking a break from the hallway job. it sucked!!!!







step 4 - IT'S DONE>>>>taking it easy for a second or two. (i love you dad and mom...you rock my house!!!!)

Hosanna

i love my church; i think i have mentioned that before. the past couple months (maybe even a year or so) i have been stuggling with finding a passion for my walk with Jesus. i think like most people; i am going through a season in my life were i am 'dry'. it's tough...being joyfilled and full of passion for God all the time. also, the past couple of weeks i have had a very heavy heart for some friends of mine that are going through some really yucky (for lack of a better word) stuff. with my lack of passion and the heaviness i have been feeling; i've been very emotional. my freind Jen told me a couple years ago that she never sees me cry...well i feel like this past week thats all i've done. but-no worries, it's been really good. a good crying...a awakening my soul crying! and today at church i honestly felt my heart soften and open to the realness of how much i need God in my life. it's been a long time since i have felt that! most of the time i feel it when Pastor Dave says something profound that speaks life and truth right into my heart. today it was a song. i enjoy music and i enjoy singing along- but today...i found myself overwhelmed by a song that was totally speaking life and quenching a thirst i have had for a long time. i'd like to share the chorse with you.
"Hosanna Hosanna
You are the God that saves us
You are worthy of all praises
Hosanna Hosanna
Come have your way amoung us
We welcome you here with us"
i know it would be better if i could include the whole song along with the music...but....anyways.
the main thing that spoke to me was the pharse- 'God save us'. No matter what i do, no matter how much i do life on my own, no matter what sin i am stuggling with or what i am trying to over come, or how far away i get from God- HE still saves me! that simple pharse brought instant tears to my eyes. i really want to have passion for the ONE and only person that will take the real me...the good, the bad and the ugly.
the second pharse is 'have your way amoung us (me).' I think praying that during the song allowed me to release some of the heaviness i have felt the past week. i want to 'make things better' for my friends (and myself) that are struggling and i cant. i NEED to remember that God is the one that needs to have his way amoung me and those i love the most! it was a good song- one that i think has brought a bit of water to a really dry land.

on a complete different note. i got to hang out with my God-son today- Will. He is soooo cute. he and i hung out while his ma and pa went christmas shopping! we played, we took a nap, we ate (ok he ate), and i drank up his spirit. there is something intoxicating about babies. i really want one. - (Gods timing- right!) i also got to enjoy dinner at my house with Will, his parents, Emma (his sister - who is also my God-daughter), Chummer (who is Will and Emma's God-father), and Keith, Allison and Clara (who are Wills aunt, uncle and cousin). ordered out some applesbee's and hung out on my living room floor! it was great- gotta love good friends. sorry no pictures! i left my camera at school- whoops. next time.

perfection but with jelly fish

so today was my last day here at myrtle beach...and it was perfect. had a short conference this morning til 11:30, packed up my bag, checked out of my room, found a place to store my bags and than headed to the beach for some R-n-R time. it was perfection! i found a lawn chair on the beach and took a nap...naps are the best, but naps on the beach are even better. got some pretty good sun, along with a sun blister or two on my lips...so that sucks; and got to finish up a book i was reading! decided at about 2:30 to take a walk before i headed to the airport to spend my evening on the plane(s). as i was walking i realized that the ocean today was very very clam...almost lake like calm. the waves were so small that they hardly had a white crest to them. i enjoy the sound of big waves and the sight of the power that comes along with them, but looking at the ocean with hardly any movement was pretty peacefully- a good way to leave myrtel beach. i also noticed, due to the lack of waves, the jelly fish in the water. i guess i didnt know that SC had jelly fish...but they do, a big ones. there were many to look at up close and personal that had got caught on the sand dunes so i got to see what they actaually look like, and in the water as well. good thing it was a bit to chilly to swim- but... here i sit at the airport slowly watching the sun go down awaiting my call to board the plane with this thought..."cant wait to get home". as much as i LOVE warm weather, the beach, the sun, the sounds that come along with those things, and just the freshness here...i also enjoy home! consistency is good and MN brings that for me. a great family, a good job(s), good friends, lots of supporters, a oh so comfortable place to live (although the sheraton was an aswesome expereince), and a church that i love. and even though i know i am going home to snow and cold 30 and below weather- i still am excited! so i will leave you with my last few cherished moments here in myrtle beach and say...'get me on that plane'.

afternoon session

last night i checked into the weather for today here in myrtle beach SC...just to make sure there was going to sunshine and it looked like clouds and possible rain so i was very bummed out as i went off to sleep last night. as i awoke this morning i was still bummed as i checked out my ocean view patio door to find clouds, rian and what looked like to be a pretty crappy day. so, as i went to my conference sessions i had come to terms with NO 'lunch time' tanning session. but to much of my surprise as i headed outside to check it out...it was beautiful and sunny. windy yes, but still nice. so- our conference leader Eddie decided that we would hold our afternoon session on the beach. since we are phy ed teacher we decided we needed to share some 'games' with each other. and since we had no gym we decided the beach would have to do. so i spent from noon to 4:30 today outside on the beach. I LOVE EVERY SINGLE MINUTE OF IT> and yes (LINDA) i did learned new games and some fun things to use in my gym classes- so i wasn't just play time, regardless what the picture shows!!! :)
as i started to pack my things up and head back to the hotel i ran into my friends and we decided that we needed a little snack. and i feel in love wtih japanese soy beans, otherwise known as Edamame. they had become my new favoirte food!!! love them. i have had them at almost every meal so far. geting lots and lots of protein from them. anyways-ya all gotta try them.
so one more half day or so here in SC. i am going to be at conference in the a.m and on the beach til 3 pm....and off to catch a flight back to snowy MN. fun times. night.

78 degrees!!!!!

the first day of conference was good. learned a lot about how other schools and other teachers grade there phy ed classes; it is always good to get other peoples ideas! also spent a couple hours coming up with criteria discriptors, which if you dont know what that means...thats ok, i do! spent lunch today laying on the beach...it was 78 degrees out today! oh goodness- how i would love to live in a place were its sunny and warm year round. (not that i dont love MN>>>cuz i do!) the NVJH'ers hung out at the beach together after the conference was over as well. it gets chilly after the sun goes down, so we didn't stay long. (left to right - Viv, Jen, Danielle, Chad, Lauren and me) we're a spunky bunch, full of life! we definatly decided that JUNIOR HIGH teachers are way to much fun. tonight we decide to go all out on our dining experience and went to a place called Yamoto Steakhouse. Great fun, great food...the dude in the picture is cooking our food at our table. yes, thats a ton of food, and that was just the veggies we got - not the rice or the meat we ordered. he pulled out some pretty funny stuff. had a little man doll that peed water on the stove and on our food, made a volanco out of oinions, tossed shrimp in the air for us to catch in our mouths, and pretended to squart ketchup on me....those are just a few of the laughs we had. we had more than enough food, and i left with a full belly and some major heart burn ( i know you all wanted to know that). as i retire to sleep in my very fluffy bed with my very fluffy pillows...i say this! Visit Myrtle Beach sometime.

since the picture posting thingy is working tonight i will post a couple pictures from yesterday that i wanted to show ya all...enjoy.
playing in the sand rules, no matter how old you are!

ocean vs snow

so when i left for mytle beach south carolina friday morning for a teacher workshop i couldn't have been happier. as the snow started to fall in MN early friday morning, i was excited to get to a warmer, sunnier, with a ocean view sort of place! upon my arrival i checked into the Sheraton, which let me just say is a top notch establishment to spend a 'working' weekend. after i dropped my bags off in my room i headed for the beach- a two block walk from my room. it was so nice....mid 70's when i arrived. a couple of my co-workers (Jen and Danielle) and i headed to find a place to eat... we ended up at Soho. a nice little joint with out door seating; so we could enjoy good food and good weather. We spent a couple hours just kicking it on the beach chatting. it was nice to get to know jen and danielle better. i dont get a lot of one on one time with other teachers while at school, so i am thankful for time to get to know some pretty cool ladies. We than headed back to the sheraton where the conference is being held to check in an get our name tag and papers. Than we started out on our 'adventure' for the evening. we were going to hook up with another co-worker (chad) who was staying at the hampton inn, which we were told by the nice door man, was only a 10 minute walk away. so we got directions and started out. about 30 minutes into our walk we started to wonder if we were on the right trail. and come to find out we were in the complete wrong place. so after walking for a little over an hour we were back at the sheraton no closer to chad and the hampton inn. the girls ended up hailing a cab to find the hampton inn, and i retired to my room to chill, and really....sleep. i was tired, so i ditched out on their late night adventure. i wanted to post more pictures but for some odd reason my blog site will not let me. so....the view of 'my' beach for the next couple days is all you get. for those of you in MN, i hope it warms your heart like it does mine. and yes, ball girls...i am getting some color!!!!!!!!!!!

club 3

so i ventured out with a new found friend, Jen (who bye the way is a cool chic and i'm glad i made a new friend thanks to sara) to club 3 for a concert. i really wanted to go cuz Red was playing; along with Run Kid Run, Disciple, and Kuctless. Red is pictured here and i never thought in a million years that i would totally dig a band where the lead singer wears black eye liner, the guiter player (who was hot) had some sort of sweat pants on...but they were tight at the bottom...weird, and they are totally nutty in a screaming sort of way for Jesus. i loved them! we didn't really arrive early enough to find a spot and seattle in to enjoy run kid run. Disciple was good, but a bit to crazy for my taste- although they did get the crowd totally into it. the lead singer is a small lad that produces a monster like scream! i have no idea how he screams the

way he does and or how he dances (or maybe the word is jump) around and has enough breathe to sing. Jen was excited about Kuctless; and they were worth the wait and were really cool. the drummer and the base player had most of my attention. the base player, again was a small lad, that enjoyed playing with his back to the crowd but had some funcky groves and moves. the drummer busted out and major solo that had everyone amazed! we stood the whole concert in the balcony area where it wasn't as jammed packed full of people. as you can see (sort of) there were a ton of people at this show. it was pretty cool to see people getting nutty for Jesus. outside the good music i am enjoying the process of making a new freind. it's funny how you still have to make freinds at the age of 31....that process must never stop with age. i wish i would have taken a pic of jen and i to display along with the bands- but...my camera went dead. next time!

halloween and lack of sleep

( i am doing to themes in one blog...i hope you can follow)

happy halloween, a couple days late. so i'm not much of a halloween celebrator, but love the candy part of it. anyways- i went over to my best friends house (chad and jen millers) to hang with them. the twins were so cute and were all sugered up. instead of candy i got them both a my little pony. i loved my little ponies growing up and i guess good toys are good toys regardless the generation you grow in. it was a fun night with the millers and a solid way to spend halloween.

i have a question to ask you all. how do you know when you are tired???? well, here are some signs i have learned iabout being tired in the past 24 hours.
you know your tired when...
-you dont have time to brush your teeth and you dont care
-when you arrive to work right when the bell rings...and class starts and you dont care
-when your eye lids feel like cement blocks and look like racoon eyes
-when you cant finish a sentence without having to be reminded about what you were talking about
-when you fall sleep during your lunch break...and you have druel all over your desk
-and than you fall sleep at your desk one hour later and you have big spiral notebook marks on your face
-when your in your car and you stop at a stop sign and just sit there cuz you think you are at a red light....and after about six cars pass you realize that you are doing something very wrong!!! (at least no one honked at me)
-when you go into Walgreens with the soul purpose in getting a sympathy card for a friend and come out of walgreens with vitamins, antibacterial soap, and a wedding card...not a sympathy card - oh my goodness!!!!
-when you dont want to play basketball...for me, thats a major sign i am tired.
anyways- i hope some of these made you laugh....the car one made me chuckle at myself and the walgreens one made me very frustrated. i need some solid sleep. 1o hours straight would be perfect. my basketball practice schedule is sure kicking my fannie....
later.