welcome!

(I had a picture to add to this post, but Blogger is being cranky right now)

It's good to be back - I had about a week off of work around Christmas, and this is my first day back in the office (then I have 4 days off before coming back full-swing. I know, my life is hard.) It was SO nice to have some relaxation time - we visited with family, caught up with some friends, and recharged our batteries a little bit.

Not a whole lot happened in the past 10 days that was noteworthy - I just have a fabulous general feeling of contentedness. I treasure those moments when they creep up on me (unlike Paul, I have not learned the secret to being content in every circumstance....) - but I'm getting better at it. God has really blessed my life with lots of gifts - it's so good to sit back and enjoy them!

accomplishments

Yesterday I...
Drove Sam (our neighbor) to school at 7:30am
Unpacked from the weekend
Went to the dentist (regular check-up & cleaning - except the new hygienist I saw absolutely terrorized my poor teeth. I was happy to leave there...)
Went to work - saw 4 students, caught up on emails
Went to the gym - ran 2.5 miles on the elliptical
Went to Meijer - bought stuff for dinner
Ate with Brooks - salsa salmon, Caesar salad, biscuits
Wrote out 30+ Christmas cards while watching Friends with Brooks
Fell asleep on the couch at 9:30pm

I like productive days - you can look back and think that your time was well spent - and yesterday, I did a lot of things I'd been meaning to do for a long time (like the Christmas cards, and working out...)

Tonight my coworker Jayne and I are going out to eat, and probably getting a little Christmas shopping done, too. I'm excited to spend a little more time with her - we're the same age, did our Master's degrees together, but have so little time to socialize while at work (go figure). Hopefully I feel really accomplished by 9:30pm tonight, too.

movies and stars

I'm Feeling: a bit headache-y, actually
Background Noise: What Child is This by Sarah McLachlan

Last night we tried to figure this out - and I think Mark and I have watched 12 movies in the past 10 days... 4 in the theatre, 6 at home/rentals. YIKES!! I like movies a lot, but that's about 24 hours worth of sitting on my rear end and staring at a screen. I think it's time to get some stuff done...

Our weekend "away" was fabulous - we slept in, stayed up late, went shopping at the outlet malls, watched movies, cooked dinner, ate out, laughed a lot. On our way up to the cabin on Thursday night, we had an amazing display of Northern Lights, (not quite as bright as those pictures, but definitely a large, glowing green band in the sky... it was awesome!) and TWO shooting stars (that shot straight through the pretty light show we were watching). The next day, we saw two separate rainbows on the way to the outlets. God was putting on quite a show for us... it was awfully cool.

Mark's on his way to the UP right now, to return on Thursday - so I'm gonna write Christmas cards, work out, have dinner with a friend from work, wrap some presents, and get ready for next week while he's gone. I always miss him when he's gone, but it's so nice that we just got to spend a good chunk of time together.

looking forward

A lot of times when I look forward, the result is that I stress myself out. Things are busy, and I have an uncanny ability to make it seem like I'll never be able to relax for the REST OF MY LIFE. It's never true, but sometimes it feels that way.
However - today, when I look forward, I see some fabulous, relaxing stuff coming my way:
-tomorrow - I'm taking the afternoon off work, getting a massage with my friend Jane at 12:30, then going home to pack because Mark and I are...
-spending Thursday night through Sunday at Uncle Tom's Cabin (it's Mark's actual Uncle Tom's cabin up near Midland, not some strange literary theme park...). Just the two of us - movies, board games, books, cooking dinner... I'm so excited.
-next week, I'm off Thursday, and don't go back to work until the 29th. We'll have a Christmas dinner with just Mark, Brooks and I; we'll travel to IL to celebrate Christmas with my family (which includes going to the lovely Christmas Eve Service at my old church - although I'm partially heartbroken to not be at Riv...)
-we're having a New Year's Eve Party - 007 (James Bond) theme - it'll be crazy, but lots of fun (although, once again, partially heartbroken that we can't party with Dan and Suzanne and some other friends because they're hosting a party too...)
-back to work for real on the 3rd of January, starting a new semester. I've rearranged my schedule to hopefully have every Wednesday afternoon off (I'm not so excited about the earlier mornings, but I'm completely pumped to have an afternoon off each week!)

So that's it. Even though I still have some Christmas shopping to do, and some Christmas presents to finish making - I'm not that worried. I'll have lots of time, and right now, I feel really good about the things to come!

lazy weekend, busy Monday

No joke - everyone needs a weekend like mine once in awhile. Mark and I had unprecedented amounts of free time, and it was fabulous!! We went to the movies (twice!), had dinner together, ate lunch with a bunch of friends, and just enjoyed being able to relax, ignore the laundry, and be in each other's company. Just what the doctor ordered...
And that made it a lot easier to come to work on a very busy Monday. Finals week is upon us, but that often brings the students out in droves - worried about grades, admission to the college, courses for next semester, and much more. It was a rewarding day, however, busy as it was. Lots of fun meeting new people, and (hopefully) easing some anxiety.
And I'm off for our last WyldLife of 2006 - we'll be on hiatus until school is back in session!
Happy Monday!

changes and choices

I'm not sure why this has been on my mind lately, but I've been reminded of how easy it is to think that life is beyond our influence. I tend to let myself feel like I'm in a little boat on a VERY big ocean - waves push you around in different directions, and there's just not much to be done about that.
But I just don't think that's true. I may not have much control over the waves - the big events in my life - but I have every control over how I respond. When I was driving home yesterday, it occurred to me that I used to be a lot better about keeping my mindset positive and improvement-focused. That bummed me out. I'd really like to turn that around - and the cool thing is that I can just change my mind. I may have to remind myself of the change fairly frequently in the beginning... but it is possible.
Honestly, a big motivator for me is to be the kind of person that other people want to be around. I've been feeling overly busy and lonelier than usual, and it's easy to feel sorry for myself at those times. But I also know I'm not doing everything I can to be desirable company. No one really likes to hang out with someone who is whiny, or needy, or depressed or cynical. We like people who laugh, people who like us, people who look at life with hope and love, and people who want to serve those around them. I want to be that girl.
In summary... a quote that I find fairly compelling in this area:
"Find out who you are and do it on purpose." - Dolly Parton (the fount of all wisdom) :)

extreme makeover: blog edition

Thanks to Zoot's Free Designs - my blog finally has a new look! Hooray!
What do you think??

oh that it were true...

You Are Sunrise

You enjoy living a slow, fulfilling life. You enjoy living every moment, no matter how ordinary. You are a person of reflection and meditation. You start and end every day by looking inward. Caring and giving, you enjoy making people happy. You're often cooking for friends or buying them gifts. All in all, you know how to love life for what it is - not for how it should be.

What Time Of Day Are You?