Some more random things about me

30. I met Bo Jackson at a Sox convention that my friend Chris dragged me to. The whole excruciating experience and the long, long lines were worth it when Bo told me I have a beautiful smile. Bo knows ladies too.

31. I once was stranded in Mexico with no money. True story. Friday before we were supposed to leave, I went on a horseback ride. About half way home my horse (whose name was slang for "coke-head") decided to go into a gallop and being an inexperienced horse woman, I was not ready and fell off. When we got back to the ranch, my bag was missing. My bag had among other things: my room key, my last 50 pesos, and my ID! The airport would not let me fly back to O'Hare fearing a huge fine. The rest is another story for another day.

32. The very first crush I remember having was on Kenny Rodgers. When I found out he had plastic surgery and saw the results, I was very, very sad.

33. I was in a relationship with a guy for 8 1/2 years. We were engaged, and passed the wedding date, thank God.

34. I cried more when I lost my following May-September romance. That really broke my heart.

35. I have bit my nails as long as I can remember. My parents tried everything short of removing my hands to get me to stop. I still bite them, especially in the movies.

36. I have been a Cubs fan since I can remember and had a crush on/my favorite player was Ryne Sandberg. It wasn't until many years later that I found out my whole family are Sox fans, and we only watched Cub games while I was growing up because they were on TV. I am the black sheep in my family!

37. I hate Christmas movies, especially Its a Wonderful Life. No, I won't ever change my mind.

38. I have old matchbox cars that were handed down to me by a friend my parents had when growing up. I used to think they were so cool, now I am not sure if I should sell them or keep them for any future kids.

39. I never ever thought that the place I would most want to be on a Saturday night is a church, but it is! I love being at the Yellow Box and "doing church"! I spent 5+ hours at church Saturday night and still had to come back Sunday so I could attend service!

40. I find it easier to give things and love away than to accept things and love. Working on that.

41. I missed coffee, beer, and wine when I was pregnant, but mostly coffee. The upside to a miscarriage is you can have all three way sooner than you thought!

42. Legalists have kept me "away" from God for a long time. Yet the closer I get to Him, the more I want to obey Him. I try to remember this when I minister to others.

43. I was a smoker for many years, and the abnoxious non-smokers made me NOT want to quit. I try to remember this when walking past smokers outside.

44. If money were no object, I would buy a great camera, a great computer, and great programs to edit. Also likely video as well. I love photography, and while I would never make money doing it, I enjoy it. I like to find the beauty in people in things.

45. I am truly torn, I want/need a new computer (Mac) for me and (PC) my husband, a Tivo type device, and wi-fi for our new laptops. But, I don't want to add to our debt, and with a court case ongoing, I don't see anyway we can do this. That and I am trying to store treasures in heaven, chase the Almighty, not the almighty dolla'.

46. I found out that the house I was considering buying is back on the market but there is no way we could make enough money selling this place to move. I want to live closer to the Box, but I think God is keeping me here for a while on purpose.

47. How come the sermon series is about money just when money issues start attacking me? God, thanks for reminding me what is important! Actually Dave says the sermon always relates to his life. He has asked that he be warned if they are ever preaching on murder.

48. My dream is to one day be debt free and actually live within budget while still being able to give money/things away to people who have less. With this court case, it seems like it will be decades before we pay off the money we owe.

Weigh IN.... and travelling and pants

Last weigh in weight: 238.5
Today's weight: 242.7
Total weight lost: 34.9 lbs.
Weight to lose to mini-goal: 17.7

This is what happens when you go to Burger King, McDonalds, or Sonic every day.
Also you spend a lot of time on your butt in a car or plane.
Also your Aunt Flo is in town and she is not in a very good mood. She brought a lot of baggage with her.

Celebrating this week: I went to the Old Navy jean sale on Saturday. Jeans were 12 bucks for adults. The largest size they have is a 20. I fit in them! Too bad they don't make my butt look like that<----- The great news is that I can finally shop at Old Navy and have Old Navy jeans. This has been a lifelong dream of mine, odd but true. See I have always had to shop in the Men's section, and now I don't have to, except for my husband, and now I can buy pants (for me!). Hopefully, my old pants will travel to someone who really needs them, as I will be donating them. I have a lot of reflections for the week, but it requires a separate post.

West Coast

For those of you following along, we are safe on the west coast, and things are going well for the visit so far. Please keep praying!

Yesterday was overcast, and it rained only at 9pm.

Today looks sunny so far, and we should have good weather for our entire visit.

I miss my dog and cat and friends, will see you all soon!

We are home

Things went well and we are home safe. Tired. Lots of laundry and catching up to do. First, the sleep...

Be back next week

For those of you that know us, please keep us in your prayers. Will let you know soon.

2007 Year in Review

Wow, just looking back on Blogger for my entries over the past year... I am amazed at two major points... I was sick an awful lot, and the fact that God has really been sculpting me this year, its so awesome to see it happen. Here are some highlights:

1. I got married. It was probably the best event ever in my life so far. Thanks to all my friends and family who made it happen. I have the best husband ever.

2. I went on my Honeymoon and finally got to see the Grand Canyon. I felt so tiny in comparison to that. Yet it was really comforting to know that God cares for me, despite my insignificance in the universe. Sedona was also super cool. It was an experience I won't ever forget. Thanks to Dave's folks for the plane tickets and the rides, and Dave's brother for the house. And thanks to all the friends and family for all the cash gifts at our wedding, we couldn't have enjoyed our honeymoon without your generosity.

3. I got to wear a suit at work. This is odd for a person who wears pajamas (scrubs.) I will be doing this again in '08!

4. I changed my schedule. God put it in my heart to do so, and so I have, and it has literally changed my life. I enjoy being a part of Celebrate the Journey EVERY Tuesday.

5. My cousin Tammy got married! I was a first time bridesmaid. It was a fun wedding, Tammy glowed! Oh and I like her husband too! I will miss them when they move to Indy in the early spring.

6. Mom was laid to rest. On the one year anniversary of her passing (07-07-07) we scattered her ashes into Lake Michigan, and then went swimming! It was so awesome, and freeing. I love you Mom, see you when I get there.

7. Ignite Chicago! I got to see my two favoritest bands in concert! Tree 63 and David Crowder! It was fun, and my sister adopted a child.

8. Babies! A good friend announced that she was pregnant. Also several people at work are also pregnant, or were and now have babies!

9. I gave in and joined Facebook. Be my friend, I need more people to poke, bite, and bomb.

10. The great remodel. We moved into Dad's house for 6 weeks and lets just say I am so glad to be home, so much so we vacationed here.

11. Abby tore a cruciate ligament in her knee, she now limps.

12. We moved back in the house, then had a small fire, lived in a motel for 9 days. Yeah, its was fun, not! Praise God that its all good now.

13. I won the most likely to star in her own reality TV show at work. Funny, my life IS like a reality show.

14. Miss Daisy Mae joined Muffi and Georgie and several others in Doggie Heaven. She was a good dog. She is missed.

15. I gave my testimony. Me, I got up on stage and told intimate details of my life to friends and strangers. It was one of the most freeing experiences of my life, and I did a good job.

16. The thing we haven't made public yet. No, I am not pregnant, but intimate friends know whats up. I pray for a peaceful resolution in '08. I know its redundant putting up something I cannot tell you, but lets just say it is that big and affects me that much.

17. The spare room is occupied. Pray that our friend Paul is able to get on his feet soon.

Happy Old Year to all of you. I have grown more than I could ever imagine, and I have to give God all the glory.

Here's to an even better New Year....

Vacation time

Well, while this is not my pets, they look similar. Too cute.

Dave and I are enjoying our vacation. Yesterday we got to visit some seniors that Dave knows from work, and it was great to spend some time getting to know them. We also spent some time volunteering at church (I stuffed programs, and Dave helped Lupe). I had an MRI of my bad ankle (finally) and we stayed up late watching Live Free or Die Hard. Dave also took me out to dinner at our favorite restaurant, BD's Mongolian BBQ! He got us a pair of gigantic Mongo Mugs to stuff our stockings. (Okay, the likelyhood they will ever touch a stocking is low, but its the idea...)

Wednesday, we bared the deep fog to visit some good friends of ours out in Sycamore. Driving down 88 is scary when you can only see two car lengths in front of you! Hector and Michelle served us a terrific dinner (thanks!) and we got to kick some butt playing Skip-Bo with them. Their baby boy is growing up sooooo fast!

Today we are hoping that the weather will accommodate us to drive around to see Christmas lights. We are also going to do some more movie watching and generally be lazy today. I made some killer grilled beef and cheese burritos for lunch!

Some people are amazed that Dave and I still volunteered while on vacation. The truth is, we would rather volunteer than work, but money is a necessity. We really find peace and happiness in giving ourselves.

Oh, and I never thought I would love kissing old people so much, but they love it! You know, the nice quick peck on the cheek.... it means so much to be able to bring them a moment of joy. It amazes me how they remember my name, I am so bad with names. Hopefully, that is something that gets better with age.

More than you could imagine

I have to apologize for the lack of posts recently. Life has been throwing me some bones, and I have wound up with more than I could imagine on my plate right now.

But it is all good.

I have a huge thing that I can't mention yet for legal purposes, and some other nuggets that I should share. And despite it being a big deal, I know it will be alright.

For one of the larger nuggets, I will be giving my testimony next Tuesday at Celebrate the Journey. This is a big ordeal because I am going to be vulnerable to people I don't know in the hopes that it can help them to better their lives. No one likes to talk about their past, but when we do it, we are actually setting it free. I really hope that I don't trip on stage, but if I do, oh well, it shows I am human, right?

I have this vacation planned to catch up with folks that I haven't seen in a while. If this is you, call me! Vacation starts Tuesday. I recently got texted by an old, old pal and hope that we can get together next week.

The Christmas tree is up, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care, and most of my shopping is done, except for my dad and Yola, I don't know what to get them... probably another gift certificate for (oh wait, what if he happens to read my blog, its rare, but it happens so thus ends this sentence.)

My cousin and her new husband will be out of town for Christmas this year. It will be weird, x-mas without them... (and before you un-informed people e-mail me, x is an acceptable, non-blasphemous substitute for Christ in Christmas! Do some research!)

My sister, Megan, has caught the cold. Pray for her.

Guess what is coming? Vacation!

Did you know that there are only 15 days left until Christmas? Good thing I started some shopping this weekend. Also thanks to my buddy doing some heavy lifting, I was able to return some unused construction stuff too!

We couldn't decide what to eat on Saturday, so we ended up at the buffet. I never knew that I would not like salad. The dressing was horrible, I couldn't finish it. The meat was gristly, my bench kept coming apart from the base. However they did have a killer cherry cobbler which I topped with soft serve. Yum.

Now I just have to make it through until my vacation. My first day off is a week from Tuesday! Where am I going? Well nowhere or across the country, but that's a whole other story... Lets start with insane and go from there...

I love my friends. They know when I need hugs. Thank you friends.

My own Reality TV Show!

Yes that's right folks, according to my co-workers, I have been nominated most likely to star in their own reality TV show. I think this is hilarious. You know why? My life IS a reality show.

I look back over the last few years and wanted to share some highlights that probably got me qualified to "win" this title.

~I got stranded in Mexico (lost my ID and couldn't fly)
~My best friend shoved a piece of cake in my face at work (no, I did not laugh)
~I have been known to break into dance at random (especially at shift change)
~Mom's illness/death
~Dad's marriage to her caretaker 4 months after she died
~My engagement of only 3 months
~numerous "work" related dramas (I dare not say more)
~my dryer fire post remodeling
~an current event I cannot post yet

I laugh, I find this all funny, because I have survived! I am alive, and really happy (unlike most reality stars.) I don't care that people see me and my life and laugh, because I laugh. This is the joy of having Christ in your heart. Life is not easy folks, but it is for living and loving and laughing... enjoy! Thanks God!

Happy Independence Day

Hurry up and grab your flags!

It is holiday time, which means I am working, because hospitals never close. I don't work every holiday, just feels like it sometimes.

My recent obsession is internet cats. I have been looking for cat pictures like teen boys look for porn. I think it is because they make me laugh, and I need all the smiles I can get.

It seems like everyone is on vacation. What is up with that? Summer I suppose makes people want to run away from home? I feel so out of the loop because I am not going anywhere or doing anything.

I do have some things planned. Saturday we go to Kenosha to go out on Lake Michigan. Mom's memorial service on the lake. July 21 we go to an awesome all day concert festival in Schaumburg. That should be fun.

Maybe its because I am still in a funk that I feel this way. I hope to make more plans with friends. Hello, friends? Oh, sorry, they are on vacation too.

I don't glow in the dark, and you won't either.

After my lovely 5 days off in a row (the not quite a vacation vacation,) I head back into work today.

Sometimes the last thing I ever want to do is go to work. It is not that I hate my job, because I don't. It is just the fact that I have to work for a living and cannot live like a cat or dog, you know, the good life. I really enjoy what I do, I love taking care of patients and making their exams the best I can for them.

It is scary to be in the hospital. You don't know what is going on, and sometimes the doctors order all these tests and you don't know what they are and what they are for. Even a routine chest x-ray can frighten patients. I tell them that it is a screening tool that most doctors use when you come into the hospital, or come for surgery and it can tell you a lot of things. Also, they want a baseline for your admission should the situation change, that means get worse OR better. It is almost as routine as a CBC (that is a complete blood count, the most simple blood test there is.) A good rule of thumb is to never, ever lie to your patients. They always find out the truth.

Most people don't realize that the amount of radiation they receive from a chest x-ray is the equivalent to flying one hour in an airplane. Most people never hesitate to fly, but yet they question an x-ray the doctor orders. In other words, it is not that much radiation. Pilots and stewardesses get more radiation in their job than I do in mine.

And for the last time, x-rays do NOT make you glow in the dark! You would not believe how many times I hear people say this. Sometimes they are joking, but many times people are serious, they truly don't know this.

One of my favorite things to do is show kids what their insides look like on the x-rays. Most of them like it, and I encourage them to bring the x-rays to show and tell at school. I like to point out all the important parts to them; like in a chest x-ray: these lines are your ribs, these boxes are your spine, and this gray blob is your heart, the black area under the ribs is all the air in your lungs. Truthfully, I think many adults wish I would do that for them too.

What I cannot do is "read" your x-rays. That is up to the radiologist to do. He is a doctor, I am a technologist. Two years of school for me verses a billion years for the doctors, trust me you want them to read your films. Yes, I can see obvious fractures, but I bet you can too if I showed you the picture. Those are usually the people who come in with their arm going in two separate directions asking if it is broken before we take the x-ray, we can usually say yes, especially when the bone comes out through the skin, that is not normal.

I grew up being taught that the only dumb question is the one unasked. So, go ahead and ask me, because I don't mind. If I don't know I will say it. Some things I just cannot answer, or are better asked of your nurse or doctor, so don't be mad if I say so. Just don't ask if you will glow in the dark because I already answered that one.

Sentimentally yours

After my cousin's wedding on Saturday, I got sentimental. First, I have to say that Tammy was the most beautiful bride I have ever seen. Maybe it is because of the sparkle in her eyes, maybe just because she is... I don't know. Mike is one lucky guy. Too many highlights, plus it is not my story to tell. Just know that I had a blast and am truly blessed to have Tammy as my cousin, and I loved being her bridesmaid.

Sunday was Father's Day and Megan, Dave and I threw a BBQ at my dad's house. Dave's folks also came by, and we had a good time hanging out and eating yummy food. Megan made dad's favorite cookies and I got to bring some home (lucky me!) Abby also got to hang out with Rugby and Daisy, so it truly was a family outing.

Today I had plans to hang with a friend, but the power went out and changed her plans. I ended up at my dad's house looking at my wedding photos on his computer (my DVD drive is busted on my computer, so I had to go somewhere else!) Then I went shopping for some scrapbook stuff. I feel like I didn't do much. I only say this because it is a "vacation day" for me, and I didn't have to work. The rain doesn't help my mood any either.

I am feeling sentimental, and looking forward to getting these photos I am having printed back tomorrow. I am looking forward to ordering more and doing my wedding album. I can't wait to see Tammy's photos when they are available.

I am so glad that I got married. I know it sounds cheesy, and some people don't get it. It's okay because I do, and that is all that matters. Dave and I looked at each other a lot during Tammy's ceremony. I hope I always carry that feeling of being in love in my heart, that this is not a "honeymoon" phase. I think it will as long as we never stop growing. Looking back and being sentimental is a way to appreciate how far we have come.

Man, have we come far...

Thank you for the Cross

Believe it or not, I took this photograph on vacation (you know, the honeymoon!). It is one of my favorites that I took. Why? Because amidst all of the beauty that he created, I found beauty in the cross where Christ was crucified. The place where he was pinned bloody and broken and humiliated for me, for my marriage, for my brokenness. That with the pain comes beauty, sunshine, promise and glory. With the cross comes light. With the cross comes resurrection.
It took me a long time to find the power that comes with accepting Christ into my life. Now that I have it, I want to remember it and celebrate it every day. I want to shout it from the rooftops. When I was at the Grand Canyon, and viewing the red rocks in Sedona, it was a religious experience. God has so much beauty in this creation, one can only fathom the beauty of heaven.
God, you have blessed me so much with my life, all that I have, and the people in my life... my wedding was a testimony to that. For that I feel that words fall short of thanking you, so I ask for your help in living my life, my marriage, as a testimony to you. Thank you Jesus.

"I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!" Philippians 3:10-11