Happy Birthday to Me!

HAPPY 22nd BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!

I felt so blessed today to receive so many wonderful birthday wishes (mostly via Facebook).  Thanks so much to all of my friends and family who helped make this day special.  I love you all.

And what made today even better was that it was so warm and sunny all day!  Spring is on its way! :)

Lead Me

I look around and see my wonderful life

Almost perfect from the outside

In picture frames I see my beautiful wife

Always smiling

But on the inside, I can hear her saying...

"Lead me with strong hands

Stand up when I can't

Don't leave me hungry for love

Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight

That I'm still the love of your life

I know we call this our home

But I still feel alone"

I see their face, look in their innocent eyes

They're just children from the outside

I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine

They're independent

But on the inside, I can hear them saying...

"Lead me with strong hands

Stand up when I can't

Don't leave me hungry for love

Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight

That I'm still the love of your life

I know we call this our home

But I still feel alone"

So Father, give me the strength

To be everything I'm called to be

Oh, Father, show me the way

To lead them

Won't you lead me?

To lead them with strong hands

To stand up when they can't

Don't want to leave them hungry for love,

Chasing things that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight

And give them the best of my life

So we can call this our home

Lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone.

This is one of my favorite songs right now.  It reminds me that God is in control and it's okay to lean on Him and ask for help when you need it.

Snow and Comfort Food

Last night it started to snow.  We probably got about three inches overnight.  When the snowfall slowed, I went out and shoveled a path to our car and cleared off the car too.  I had a lot of fun...who knew shoveling some light snow would be so much fun? 

This afternoon, Alec and I had to go out for a little bit - Alec wasn't feeling well and went to the doctor (he has strep throat) and we got his prescriptions, milk, and frosted cookies at Hy-Vee...you know those frosted sugar cookies that they only sell periodically and are really really yummy.  Even though they were decorated to support the Packers in the Super Bowl, they still tasted phenomenal! :)

I love how little things in life like shoveling snow and frosted sugar cookies from Hy-Vee could make me so happy! :)

an unforgettable weekend with an unforgettable friend...

This weekend, I went to Chicago with Alec and my best friend, Allison.  Alec needed to go for some umpiring meetings and Allison and I just tagged along.  Allison and I spent most of Saturday walking around Chicago.  We started at our hotel, which was on Lake Shore Drive! :)  We walked around Navy Pier, where there was a snow-sculpting contest.  Most of the artists were VERY talented...there were even some high schools that got involved too!  Then we walked to a nearby Starbucks to warm up, have a warm drink, and use the wireless internet to decide where we wanted to go next and how to get there.  While we were at Starbucks (which was attached to a "pharmacy" which was really just like a grocery store) I found some Fannie May candies for sale...I bought a Trinidad for me and a Mint Meltaway for Allison...YUMMM!  On our way to see The Bean at Millennium Park, we stopped at Walgreen's and bought gloves and matching hats...we weren't very smart when we packed for the weekend and forgot that Chicago is famous for being "The Windy City" which means it's going to be a LOT colder that usual. Who knew a jellybean-shaped mirror in the middle of Chicago could be so much fun??  Then we began our journey to find some lunch.  We knew we wanted to get to Hard Rock Cafe and we knew the general direction.  We had recently seen it on a map, but since there is no wireless internet in downtown Chicago, we had to guess.  Fortunately, Allison and I make a great team - I remembered that it was near a McDonald's and Allison remembered it was on Ontario Drive.  We were right!! :)  But we stopped at another Starbucks along the way just to make sure.  Our lunch at Hard Rock Cafe was semi-bittersweet.  My aunt, Margie, worked at the Hard Rock Cafe when she lived in Chicago many years ago, so it was really special to finally eat there.  But it also made me miss her a lot! :(  Then we walked to Sprinkles, which is a small shop that makes really great cupcakes and everyone in Chicago knew it!  We waited in a line that stretched out the door and across the sidewalk...good thing the cupcakes were really good!  On our way back to our hotel, we stopped at the Disney Store.  Allison and I felt like little kids again.  I was looking at the Toy Story items for something for Alec when one of the store clerks came up to me and commented about Toy Story, I mentioned that Alec has an obsession with Toy Story and apparently it's not uncommon for grown men to still love Toy Story, because the clerk's husband (who is 42) loves Toy Story too...I guess you're never too old for a good Disney classic!  I even got a small, free holographic Toy Story poster from the clerk...she was so nice!  We finally got back to the hotel and rested, so we would have enough energy to party in Wrigleyville.  Alec finished with his meetings early, so he and his friend, Taylor, came to our hotel room and hung out for a while.  Then they went to the Chicago Bulls game with Taylor's dad and some other guys from the umpiring meetings.  Allison rested some more and I watched House and iCarly!  Then we got ready and took the subway to Wrigleyville.  I was really excited to finally take a subway in the USA...I've only every used the subway in London and Paris...how much harder could it be when everything is written in American English??  I am really glad I had prior experience with subways, because it made the experience even better!  It was very weird to see Wrigley Field without the lights, flags, and Cubs fans...it almost looked like it was deserted.  We met back up with Alec and Taylor and went into Slugger's Bar and upstairs to see Dueling Pianos...those guys were so much fun! :)  Allison requested "any Journey song" to be played and it escalated into an epic battle between the fans of the White Sox and the Cubs.  I had so much fun this weekend with my best friend, Allison.  I can't believe we've been best friends since 6th grade!!  :)

A Life of Joy

Today, a movie that I watched was "The Bucket List".  My favorite part of the movie was when Carter (Morgan Freeman) told Edward (Jack Nicholson) about how the Ancient Egyptians believed they were admitted into their 'heaven'.  He stated that they were asked two questions and based on their responses they were allowed in or not. 

1. Did you find joy in your life?

2. Did your life bring joy to others?

Even though I do not believe that this is how you get into heaven, I think the idea of it is good to think about throughout your life.  It is important to find joys in life and make you life bring joy to others around you.

A Week of Thoughts and Highlights

So much has happened this week to be thankful for and excited about.

On Monday night, Alec and I made dinner together.  We tried a new recipe, because we had the time (we didn't have any classes!)  We made Italian Pizza Bake...we found the recipe on the back of the Bisquick box. ;)  YUM!!!  It really didn't even taste much like pizza...pretty much just chicken, biscuits, veggies, and cheese.  It was really good and we really hope to make it again soon.  It was so wonderful spending time with Alec and making dinner together.

Also on Monday, my friend, Heather, finally had her baby.  She named her Hayden Marie.  I am looking forward to seeing pictures of her.  What a happy time for Heather and her husband. :)

On Wednesday morning, I woke up at 5:00am, so I could get all ready for the day, leave home by 6:00am, drive across town to start babysitting for a family.  They have three girls: Anna (11), Aimee (9), and Marissa (7).  I had so much fun with them on Wednesday and Thursday mornings and afternoons this week.  On Wednesday afternoon, we played Trouble.  Marissa started to get upset when she started to lose and Aimee started to win.  Marissa threw a bit of a fit and shouted, "I HATE THIS GAME!  I HATE LOSING!  LOSING IS EVERYTHING!!"  Anna, Aimee, and I tried to convince Marissa that there is more to playing games than just winning all of the time.  And it's true.  It's more important to play games to have fun and enjoy spending time with people who are important to you than it is to win the games you play.  I look forward to learning more about myself and the truths of life from these wonderful girls! :)

Today, I spent some time at home watching movies and studying for my classes.  One of the movies I watched was "Bride Wars."  This movie reminded me of the importance of having really good friends who will stick next to you no matter what.  The friendship that Liv and Emma have, although for most of the movie they hate each other, is one of those friendships that will never be broken.  When it comes down to it, Liv is there for Emma when her engagement is called off.

Another movie I watched was "Confessions of a Shopaholic."  I can definitely relate to Rebecca's character, because I have found myself buying things that I don't need...even things that are on sale that I still don't need.  I love what her father said at the end of the movie: "Nothing defines me except you and your mother."  In today's culture where money and possessions seem to be the only thing that is important and the one thing that seems to define who we are, it is important to step back and see what else you have to live for. 

if it's not in the scrapbook, it didn't happen...

Last night before she went to bed, Rachel asked to see some old scrapbook pictures of herself.  So Tanya pulled out some old photos of Rachel from 2006 and 2007.  After Rachel went to bed, Jen, Lindsey, and I looked through some more old scrapbooks.  We had a lot of fun laughing at each other as we found some funny and some embarrassing photos.  We had so much fun! :)

 Jen at "Take Your Kids to Work Day" at General Mills

 Lindsey was really hungry the day they visited Niagara Falls! ;)

Blue Elephants and Dairy Cows

On Friday night, Dad and Tanya came back from Minneapolis, and stopped in Cedar Falls to visit me and go to the UNI Women's Swim Meet.  They took me out to dinner before the swim meet...we went to Hu Hot Mongolian Grill...YUM!!!  Then we went to the swim meet, which was senior night.  It was a little weird being there, because it would have been my senior night too, had I decided to continue swimming after my freshmen year.  Kelly Rose's mom made her famous scotcheroos....YUM!!  I'm pretty sure that made my night 100 times better.  Right before the National Anthem, Jill came upstairs to ask if I could help time during the meet.  I decided it would be a lot more fun to be on deck near all of the action, so I agreed.  I'm really glad I chose to help time, because I got to wish Kristin "good luck" before her dives and I also made a new friend (Jill).

On Saturday afternoon after Alec's basketball games, we drove to Cedar Rapids to see my grandparents (Grammy and Gramps).  We always love seeing Grammy and Gramps, which is why we made this special trip to Cedar Rapids to see them.  Grammy made spaghetti with homemade sauce (which contained homemade meatballs) for dinner...it was yummy.  And then she made cherry pudding cake (Gramps' grandma's recipe) for dessert.  It's one of my favorite desserts!  After dinner, we talked about the construction that will take place at the family cabin in Colorado during the summer of 2012 and Grammy and Gramps' trip to Alaska this summer.  I was a little jealous that they were going to Alaska and I wasn't, but I was more disappointed that they made it to all seven continents before they made it to all 50 states (currently they are missing Alaska, Mississippi, and Alabama). 

This morning, I went to church with Mom and Jen.  After the service, Jen and I helped Mom clean up the kitchen from making coffee.  I really wish I liked coffee, because I love the smell and it is a lot of fun to make a pot of coffee...measuring the beans, grinding the beans, and listening to/watching the pot fill up.  After church, I watched "Bolt" with Rachel.  I always cry at the end when Bolt rescues Penny from the burning building...what a great dog!  Then I played Bananagrams with Dad, Tanya, Jen, and Rachel.  We changed the rules for Rachel, so she could have up to three puzzles going at once instead of only one, so it would be easier for her to play.  She ended up winning the first round she played like that.  GO RACHEY!

Follow Me There

I love TLC shows.  My favorite is 19 Kids and Counting, but since it hasn't been on in a while, I've been watching Sarah Palin's Alaska.  Personally, my favorite episode was the one where Kate Gosselin brought her kids to Alaska and the kids had lots of fun with Piper and Sarah's dad, but Kate was totally miserable and complained the whole time.  Seriously!  You're in ALASKA!  It's not going to be a beautiful sunshiney day, but you can still have a lot fun if you give it a chance! ;)  Yea...I really wanted to pop into the TV and give Kate a piece of my mind!  I never really knew how beautiful Alaska was...I think I would really like to go there sometime.

With all of the criticism the Palin family receives from the media, I think they should really be commended for making the most of their experiences.  Family is clearly important to them and they try to make special time to spend together.  I also love the fact that they have a son who has Down's syndrome and they include him in family activities too.  I agree with Sarah when she said that sometimes children who have a disability can really help bring joy back into your life.

This morning, I found out the theme song on You Tube and from that I found out that it is  sung by Third Day and I have that CD...which means, I've been listening to the theme song all day!  And of course it's on my iPod now too! ;)

You need a place where you can find some shelter
Follow me there
Follow me there
You want a hand to hold
Someone to help you
Follow me there
Come on, follow me there

Where love like a river flows
Love like you've never known
Joy never ending lives
A place where faith can find
Hope that will never die
Follow me there
Come on, follow me there

You need a place to be your sanctuary
Follow me there
Come one, follow me there
Where you can lay down all those burdens you carry
Follow me there
Come on, follow me there

Where love like a river flows
Love like you've never known
Joy never ending lives
A place where faith can find
Hope that will never die
Follow me there
Come on, follow me there

Where the lost can find salvation
And the lonely find a friend
Where a sinner finds forgiveness
Won't you follow me there
Won't you follow me there

Where love like a river flows
Love like you've never known
Joy never ending lives
A place where faith can find
Hope that will never die
Follow me there
Come on, follow me there



Personally, I think this song is really all about hope and finding that place in your life where you can get close to God and push all the cares of the world aside, because at the end of the day they really don't matter.

New Opportunities and The Miracle of Life

Since Alec and I bought a new car at Christmas, I now have the opportunity to have a job this semester.  I'm a little nervous about keeping ahead with my classes and having a job, but I'm pretty sure I can handle it.  I interviewed with a family about 10 days ago - they needed someone to watch their daughters after school and get them to activities during the week.  I found out earlier this week that they found someone who was able to commit to working for them this summer (which I wasn't ready to commit to since I want to work at The Falls again this summer).  I was a little bummed that I didn't get the job...I really liked the family and I really liked the girls too.  Alec and I kept an eye out for more families who need a part-time babysitter/nanny and we found one on Tuesday.  I met with the family on Tuesday night and I got an e-mail yesterday which said they wanted me to start next Wednesday.  This opportunity is actually better than the first, because it is before school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and after school on Mondays and Wednesdays - which still gives me a lot of time to study and work on homework.  I guess God really does work in mysterious ways.  From this, I learned that God is really watching out for me and He really does want the best for me.  As Alec and I were walking on class on Tuesday morning (before we saw the ad for the job I just got) we were joking and saying that the only job I've ever had and I've ever been really good at was working at a pool and even though I wanted a change from that, it looked like I was going to be stuck doing that for a while. ;)

Yesterday, I had my first lab for Developmental Biology of Animals.  During the lab, we looked at whitefish blastula cells, which show a lot of cells in the various stages of mitosis, because the blastula is dividing so rapidly.  It was pretty amazing to look at those cells and think about the miracle of life.  How life begins as just two small cells combining together and as those cells begin to divide and differentiate, a life is created.  AWESOME!

Happy National Syllabus Day

Today was my first day of classes for this semester at UNI.  For as much fun as National Syllabus Day is, it was a pretty great day.  It was so wonderful knowing a few people in each class.  Sherrie is in Earth History and Evolutionary Biology.  Heather and Lora are also in Evolutionary Biology.  (And Heather is expecting a baby girl any day now!  Her due date is tomorrow, but it could be any minute!  Congrats Heather!!)  Bekha is in Developmental Biology of Animals (we are already planning to study together).  Hopefully this semester will be a lot better than last semester, where I definitely learned my lesson about studying throughout the semester and going to talk to the professor after my first poor grade.

It started snowing right before my first class.  And even though I was worried about slipping (I have horrible balance), the snow looked so beautiful as it slowly descended to the ground.  I really do love snow, I just don't like ice.

This weekend, Alec and I went to Cedar Rapids to spend time with my family.  It was a lot of fun hanging out with my family, but especially my sister, Jen.  Shortly after arriving, we sat in front of the warmth of the fireplace.  Jen shared an article that appeared in a recent issue of the Cedar Rapids Gazette.  This article contained some random holidays that occur throughout the year.  Our favorite holiday was American Teddy Bear Day, which is November 14 (our wedding anniversary).  There were some others that were pretty funny...I guess every day is a holiday!  After working on Saturday morning, Jen came with me to watch Alec referee a high school basketball game.  Alec's parents also came with his nephew, Ezra (who is 3), so we had a lot of fun watching Alec referee, keeping Ezra entertained, and talking with Alec's parents.  The games were pretty entertaining, but the real fun was in just spending time with family and watching Alec do an activity that he loves.

Alec drove Jen and me back to our dad's house before quickly running off to referee another basketball game.  Jen and I spent about two hours editing an LA paper that she has due this week.  We had fun laughing over her overuse of the word "really" and her use of contractions.  Later that evening, Jen made the statement that "contractions are what happens when you give birth and should not be used in LA papers."  Yes, I eventually broke her down to the point where she realized that it was better to just spell out the whole word than use the shorter contracted form in a formal paper.

While Jen and I were working on her LA paper, our step mom (Tanya) and step sister (Lindsey) came back home from some morning shopping.  They sat down at the kitchen table with us to eat some sandwiches.  About halfway through their lunch, Lindsey accidentally knocked over Tanya's water, which spilled all over Tanya's lap.  "AHHH!  COLD!  AHHH!"  screamed Tanya.  She then proceeded to dump a plate (which was full of water) onto her lap (to keep the water from getting on Jen's rough drafts).  "TURD!"  Yes...Tanya then called Lindsey a turd! ;)  As a mix of laughing at Tanya for pouring ice-cold water on her own lap and a mix of Tanya calling Lindsey a turd, Jen, Lindsey, and I all proceeded to roll over laughing.  We all got a huge kick out of this rare enjoyable moment.  I love my life! ♥

Our mom came and picked us up at about 5:00 and we went to her apartment to finally celebrate Christmas with her.  She made a chicken enchilada lasagna, which was really good.  She also surprised me by making a homemade cherry pie (WITHOUT PIE FILLING).  Since we know Alec would not be finished with his games until late, we opened our presents, which included some memories from our early childhoods (prior to our parents' divorce).  Alec finally arrived around 9:00 and we all spend about an hour together before our dad called and wanted Jen to go back home.  Alec and I ended up sleeping at my mom's that night instead of trying to drive back to Cedar Falls...we were both really tired!

I always love spending time with my mom.  Ever since our parents got divorced in 1997, it seems like Jen and I always have to find special time to spend with our mom.  We were all really glad that we got to spend some time together.  ♥

Ice Cream and Movies

Last night when I got home from youth group, Alec surprised me with ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery...French Vanilla ice cream with raspberries and chocolate syrup mixed in...YUM! :)  And the best part was that it was college ID night, so he bought one and got one free!

Later, I decided to watch "Ramona and Beezus."  I love that even though the Quimby family is going through a difficult time when the dad loses his job, he tries his best to liven up a stiff situation by making jokes, like when he creatively cracks a hard-boiled egg while packing lunches for Beezus and Ramona.  Or when Ramona washes Hobart's Jeep and it get ruined by a multicolored paint and instead of getting mad at her, he jokes and says it looks like an Easter egg.