Peeling Off Another Layer

Tonight I completed my fourth week of a group called Beauty for Ashes (BforA). BforA is a group offered by my church for the survivors of sexual abuse. I was molested when I was a child and in college I was raped by a boyfriend and sexually harassed by a professor. Yes, I have issues. I have been aware of my issues for quite some time; the consequences of others actions in my life. What really, completely, dawned on me tonight was the lies that are in my life. There is an almost constant stream of negative thoughts running through my mind that push me to be the over-achieving, perfectionist that I am. One of the ladies in my group this evening told me that I was kind-hearted, smart, pretty, the whole package. I didn't believe her, I still don't believe her. I've never really believed any positive thing about myself. That is the realization that I came to this evening. I know there has to be something positive about me because I am God's creation. So the walls that I have so carefully built over the years are starting to crumble; it's a slow crumble but they are still crumbling. And as painful as that it, it's a good thing.

So, my prayer this evening is that I will continue to let the walls crumble, that I will continue to let God heal me, as painful as it may be.

Love

I was going to sleep, but that's not working out so well so I'll post a blog instead. A thought that I started researching forever ago was love because I wanted to write a really thought provoking blog post. That never happened, and of course because it was so long ago I can't find my notes that I was writing. However, love is something that has come up in my thoughts quite a bit recently and so I think it's time to pour out some thoughts on this electric piece of paper.

So, what is love? Growing up, I never quite understood how people talked about love. "Oh, I just LOVE >insert some food item here< it's my favorite!" Or, how about, "I LOVE those those shoes; they're perfect for my new outfit." Or, "I LOVE the way the information is presented in this book, it's amazing." Or, "I LOVE what you've done with your hair." The lsit goes on and on. So, what does "LOVE" really mean? I've never thought of love as an emotions but rather a choice. It's a choice to follow through with a commitment that you've made, even when a person is driving your crazy. It's a choice to not way away from a difficult situation but instead work it out. It's a choice to be there for someone that is going through a difficult time in their life. Someone posted on my Facebook page, "To me it means caring for others even though you don't feel like it and sharing the joy of eternal life with someone that's lost."

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 states, "Love is patient and kind, love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends."

How many times do you use the word LOVE when it doesn't apply? I don't know about you, but I use the word LOVE inappropriately way more than I should. I'm even guilty of some of the above statements myself. I don't like that. I don't want to be saying things that just don't make sense.

This topic is kind of out of the blue. There have been no major changes in my life, still single and not dating, nothing has come up to make me question what love is. However, I've been struggling quite a bit with my depression lately.

Everyone has what I like to call a "love tank". This tank can be ful, or empty, or somewhere in the middle. Everyone accepts love in different ways (the five love languages) and everyone gives love in different ways. If someone is receiving love in a way that is not their love language then their tank starts to empty and is not refilled. I think my tank is pretty low right now, thus the struggle with depression. What I've recently realized is that I'm pretty high maintenance. Not high maintenance in the sense that I needs lots of things in my life or to be pampered, but high maintenance in the fact that I don't have one love language, I have all five. I had a friend once tell me I was like a chameleon, she couldn't figure out my love language; I would always give her and the people around her love in the way that they best received it. We had a good laugh about it, but that moment comes back to me now.

It comes back to me now because I think that there was more information in that little exchange than I realized. The reason I can love people in the way they need to be loved is because I need to be loved the same way. So how is your love tank? I would hope that most people's tanks would be full but I have a sneaking suspicion that there are many people out there running closer to empty. Maybe not you, or people in your family, or your close friends, but there are many people in the world that are alone. Who fills their love tank?

A New Post...Finally

I've wanted to write a new blog post for awhile now. But so many thoughts have been swirling in my head I haven't been able to focus on just one. Music, books, teaching, work, volunteering, friendship, love, growth, and so many other topics are constantly moving in and out of my train of thought and somehow all of them have been centered around God. This has been a major area of growth for me, putting Christ at the center of all things in my life. Now, I'm nowhere near where I should be, but looking back a year ago I am amazed at the works God has done in my life.

A few weeks ago I wrote a new poem. I was at a benefit concert listening to a band play a worship song. I don't remember what song it was, but it reminded me of my salvation and I wrote the poem below. I've been holding onto it, not wanting to share it just yet, and looking at it today it's just as true now as it would have been years ago (if I had read it then) but in a different way. It's a reminder to daily let myself go and to give Christ control of all things. I don't know about you, but being a type A personality I struggle with this on a constant basis. So, I share my poem with you now, not as a remembrance of something already done, but as a reminder of what needs to be done consistently.

True Freedom
I've tried and I've tried
but I've only died
to You I give it all
remove this deathly pall
set myself aside
throw away the pride
the broken pieces mend
no longer do I only fend
Christ is in me
now I am free!

new poem

It's been quite some time since I've written a poem. This one I wrote this on the drive home this evening, so it's a very rough draft. But here it is.

Lies

A laughing facade
when really,
I'm dying inside.

Friends and family,
work and church,
no on wants me for me
but rather the things that I do.

LIES!
my mind screams,
but my heart won't believe.

A tear rolls from my eye
for things gone unseen
while in exhaustion I lie.

The struggle continues
heart and mind disagree,
the same old news.

For Those That Asked

It was brought to my attention yesterday that I need to blog more frequently. I really do. Whether I actually post what I type or not I realized today that it's a good release. Since I have not posted in a couple of months this is likely to be incredibly long, but I'll try to keep it as short as possible.

Looking back through old posts I didn't see that I had posted anything about my family. I think this is because I've been in denial about many things that have happened in my life. So, a quick review of family life. In January my grandmother passed away from a very rare form of cancer. I used to stay with her and my grandfather during the summer. Some of my best memories from childhood are sitting up late playing canasta with her, eating a bowl of ice cream or a pickle, and talking about life and what we thought about it. I miss her. In April my uncle passed away from a rare form of leukemia. I wasn't as close to my uncle as I am to some of my other family members but I remember going over to his house as a child for Christmas parties planning what I was going to perform for everyone and then deciding at the last minute that I couldn't stand having everyone watching me. David gave me my first taste of beer, I was 5. Needless to say my mom was not happy with him. In August Carle, my step-dad, discovered that he has a ruptured intestine, not pretty to say the least. The performed surgery to fix it in September. On Halloween he was taken to emergency for his gallbladder. They can't do surgery for that until he finishes healing from the surgery on his intestines, so in January or February he'll be going through surgery again. Last month they found prostate cancer in my grandfather. He'll be having his first laster treatment this week. Oh yea, and Sam moved to Arizona. I really miss my partner in crime, having off-the-wall conversations just isn't the same without him.

Life in general hasn't been to terribly calm either. Over the summer a co-worker at Borders was killed in an accident, her car was hit by a train. Needless to say it was a blow to the Borders community. Those of us that knew her best, that worked with her on a regular basis and hung out with her outside of work were hit the hardest. Last week my doctor passed away. They're still not giving out any information all they're saying is Marsha (his wife) and the kids are ok. I'm thinking it was an accident of some sort but don't know for sure. I know this will sound incredibly cold, but I'm really not looking forward to finding a new doctor. For those that know the history, I still have my cyst problems. I have one rupture about every other month, but the pain is starting to be bearable.

I'm still teaching at the college, I have 5 labs this quarter, and am working at Borders still. I'm busier than ever with Pipeline stuff. I'm still praying for volunteers that want to help with behind-the-scenes stuff. If you know of anyone, please have them contact me. Yes, that was a plug for Pipeline volunteers; I have no shame. My big project right now with Pipeline is I'm helping plan the Family Ministries Christmas party. We have 255 volunteers in Family Ministries and a Christmas party would involve spouses and children of volunteers as well, so we're looking at about 500 people. Now albeit not all of those people will show up, but about two-thirds of that crowd is still 350 people. How do you plan a party for 350 people when you don't have your own church building without spending a small fortune on the thing? I am currently looking for solutions. I am also now leading a small group. I finally listened to God and became a small group leader. So I've added more to my plate, but there's still only 24 hours in a day. Per the little voices in my head and the not so little voices outside my head (Justin, Steven, Beky, my mom) I really am looking to cut back.

However, all of that being said, I am incredibly blessed. I have an amazing group of friends that love and support me. A small group of people I can call at any time day or night that will be there with a shoulder I can cry on or a great big hug to help me calm down. They remind me to put my focus back on God and to hand things over to Him. They are the reason I am still sane, that and a few well-timed trips to Disneyland. Disneyland has been one of my few "fun" outlets lately. Speaking of which, if anyone is still reading this and would like to join me, I am going this Friday, the 14th, for my birthday.

I think that's it. I really can't think any more right now. I'm sure something else will come to mind in the near future. If that happens I'll try to post it.

The Proverbs 31 Man

I recently read a book titled “In Search of the Proverbs 31 Man” by Michelle McKinney Hammond. What drew me to this book initially was of course Proverbs 31. There are lots of books that deal with how to be a Proverbs 31 woman, but what about the man mentioned in Proverbs 31, there is really nothing about him. What type of man deserves a Proverbs 31 woman? Since my goal is to be a Proverbs 31 woman I thought I should start looking at what type of man I need to lead me.

The first thing I want to say about the book it…read it! Whether you are married or single, female or male, I really think you will get something out of it. I highly recommend it. The second thing I want to say is, this is going to be a long summary, keep reading at your own risk.

I came up with 18 main points to a Proverbs 31 man. Here they are.

1) He makes wise decisions
- Only a man who is able to seek the rich counsel of the Lord for insight can lead his loved ones wisely.

2) He bears the consequences of his mistakes
- His spirit is not crushed by adversity, and he doesn’t blame others for his problems. He simply takes responsibility and finds a solution.

3) A praying man is a powerful man.
- Only through prayer will a man fully know how to meet his wife’s needs.

4) He has a vision for his life and a secure sense of purpose and destiny.
- He has a great sense of well-being because he feels fulfilled in his own work and accomplishments.

5) He has the heart of a servant
- True leadership requires a man to develop the heart of a servant.

6) He is able to face his weaknesses and not allow pride to keep him from seeking the help he needs.
- In the course of a man’s attaining his purpose, there is a time when a woman must be willing to fight with her man.
- There are some things that a woman can do that a man can’t and vice versa.

7) He is secure in his manhood.
- He is not intimidated by a woman’s strength because he is aware of his own strength.
- He considers the woman in his life to be an equal but unique partner.

8) He is able to prioritize the issues in his life and deal with them accordingly.
- He knows the perfect order of his life: his relationship with God first, his family second, work and career third.
- The wife is the #1 priority after God.
- He takes care of business at home first.

9) He is honest in his commitments and devotes himself wholeheartedly to them.
- He will stick to his assignment not matter what.
- He garners the trust of his wife and family and the respect of the community because he follows through with his commitments.

10) He clears the path and leads his wife on the course of righteousness.
- The married man must strengthen his covenant with his wife to keep himself accountable to her by praying together, worshiping together, believing together, and remaining transparent in his struggles.
- A single Proverbs 31 man is honest about his intentions toward a potential wife and is steadfast in godly conduct.

11) He assumes the responsibility for covering his wife.
- He does not wait for her to proclaim her need, he is aware of it, he is drawn to them with a committed heart to fulfill those needs and he takes responsibility for shielding her from all she is vulnerable to in her uncovered state.
- He takes the responsibility of caring for her needs, protecting her, and ensuring her overall well-being, spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

12) He recognizes the needs of his wife as an opportunity to bless her.
- The man receives his covering from God and then he extends it to his wife.

13) He realizes that his word equals his life and makes the sacrifice needed to honor his vows.
- He perseveres through the hard times, finds a way to work things out, and sticks with the plan until he and his wife make it through the storm.
- It is a sin to make a promise and then break it.

14) He considers the cost of a commitment to the woman in his life and pays it.

15) He knows how to romance his woman.
- He knows how to make her feel special and courts her before and after marriage.
- He shares his heart and feelings with her.

16) He views the love he shares with his wife as a sacred gift to give and receive.

17) He embodies the nature of Christ.

18) He lives a life of unconditional love.

Now, all those points being stated, I am not so naïve as to think that a single man (other than Christ) will embody all of these qualities all of the time. And I believe that a wife is to help her husband in these areas, help him by loving him and supporting him. There’s so much more that I could write but there’s just not enough time.

That being said, there is another post on the way. I’ve been formulating it for awhile, but I want to do a bit more research before I post.

My Indiana Adventure

For those of you who were unaware, I took a REAL vacation this year. I went to visit my friend Danny, who lives in Indiana. I left on Wednesday July 23rd and came home on Monday July 28th. What follows is a true story, nothing has been made up. The names have not been changed to protect the innocent.

So, July 23rd rolls around and I get up at 1:30 in the morning to leave by 3am so I can get to the airport by 5am. It's a weekday morning and I'm going into Orange County so I'm not sure what traffic will be like. My mom was gracious enough to say that she would take me to the airport, for which I was very grateful. We ended up leaving a little bit after 3, which was fine because there wasn't much traffic and I got to the airport around 4:30. The ticket counter wasn't open yet, so I waited around until a little after 5 when the people got there and got myself checked in and headed up to the gate my plane was taking off from. My flight got there on time and we even took off on time. I had a 30 minute layover in Houston so I figured I would have enough time when we landed to run to the restroom and then catch my plane. Well, the pilot must have decided to slow down a bit because when the plane landed in Houston I only had 10 minutes to get to my connection. So, I finally get off the plane and run the entire terminal (because of course my connection flight is on the opposite side of the terminal) and make it to the gate with like a minute to spare only to notice that the flight has been delayed 30 minutes. Ok, not too terrible, I got a nice little run in and now I can relax until flight time. Well 1:30 rolls around (the new time we're supposed to take off) and there's an announcement that the plane is delayed until 2. Slightly annoying, but ok, they're fixing something on the plane. Two o'clock rolls around and an announcement is made that the flight is delayed until 3. Three o'clock rolls around and the flight is delayed until 4. Four o'clock rolls around (at this point I should have been in Indiana) and the flight is delayed until 5. Five o'clock rolls around and the flight is delayed until 5:30. 5:30 rolls around and the flight is canceled. They then announce that there is only one other flight into Indianapolis that evening and there are only 30 spots on the plane (our flight was full). Needless to say, there was a mad rush to the ticket counter. I was no where near the ticket counter so I didn't even try to make it in line. As I was standing in line I remembered that Danny lives relatively near to Chicago, so I gave him a call and we decided I should just fly into Chicago and he would pick me up from there. So, I finally get to the front of the line, they switch me to a flight into Chicago O'Hare airport. My bags are still going to go to Indianapolis because they're on the plane that is sitting at the airport waiting to get fixed. They tell me that they'll deliver them to Danny's place. I give them Danny's address (because who knows what hotel room I'll be in when I get there) and a description of my bag. I get on my flight to Chicago and finally land a little after 11pm. Danny was there waiting for me so we headed out to his car and started the drive home. By the time we got to his car and started driving it was about midnight (that's 9pm CA time). So, we're driving along (it's about a 2 hour drive from Chicago to Lafayette, the town he lives in) and I look at the radio clock and notice it says 2:30. I don't think too much of it because he has been driving a little slow so I figure it's going to take a little bit longer. A few minutes later I notice a sign go by on the side of the freeway. It says "Welcome to Michigan". Michigan!!!! Danny has obviously missed a turn somewhere. So, he pulls off the freeway into a little rest stop. I get on the phone and call my friend Justin. At this point it's almost midnight in CA, I know he'll be awake and able to get online and look up some maps for me. After a couple of minutes Justin tells me where the wrong turn occurred (we missed the offramp for the 65A) and what we need to do to get back on the right track (turn around and take the 65). So, we turn the car around and head back the way we came. Well, we get a few miles from the 65 and there's a sign on the side of the road announcing that the 65 is closed. I get back on the phone and call Justin again. He does some more looking at maps online and gives me directions for how to take side streets to get around the intersection and back onto the 65. The 65 is the ONLY freeway into Lafayette, so we kinda have to take it. Well, we do our little detour and finally get onto the 65. We get to Lafayette and have to stop by a Walmart. Most of the stuff I need is in my carry-on, however the stuff for my contacts was in my checked bag (more than 3oz of fluid) so I needed stuff for my contacts. We finish up at Walmart and finally get to the hotel and get me checked in. At this point it is 5am (2am CA time), I had been up for 24 hours straight. Needless to say I pretty much fell into bed.

So, here are some pictures for you to look at. After the pictures I'll talk about my trip home.

Justin put this together for me after my wonderful first day of travel.

This is Danny and I.

I really liked the way the sky looked, so I took a picture.

Some random field of flowers.

We picked blueberries.

I made a blueberry pie. It was delicious.

This was at Purdue University.
I thought the metal work around the window was cool.

Some arches at Purdue.

They had little faces carved into buildings.
This one was the funniest.

Windows of one of the Purdue buildings.

An older house in downtown Lafayette.
They had a whole area of houses that were all over 100 years old.

A gate at one of the houses.

Another old house.

I of course had to go to a Borders.
This one is historically protected property.

Entrance to the "south side" of the store.

Entrance to the "north side".

The 2nd floor.

On Monday, since I was flying out of Indianapolis, we decided to walk around the city in the morning/early afternoon before my flight.

This monument sits in the center of the city.
It is a memorial to Indiana residents that have fought in early wars.

This was the top of the monument.

They had fountains surrounding the monument with these buffalo fountains.

This was some of the metal work towards the top of the monument.

Some of the stonework surrounding the monument, and one of the waterfalls.

A closer view of one of the sides of the monument.

A closer view of another side.

This was one of the lamps that surround the monument.

This church was across the street from the monument.
I thought it looked cool.

Ok, so we were in Indianapolis. My flight was at 6:40 so I wanted to be at the airport by 5 so I could get my bag checked and not feel rushed before the plane got there. Danny tells me it only takes 20 minutes to get to the airport so we'll leave by 4:30. Well, 4 rolls around and I'm not feeling totally confident about it only taking 20 minutes to get to the airport, so I tell Danny it's time to start heading out. By the time we got back to the car and Danny found his way to the freeway (remember, he lives in Indiana) it was almost 5. As we're driving a see that the 465 is coming up. I ask Danny if he's going to take it (on the way in I had seen a sign saying the airport was off the 465) since he's quite a few lanes over. After a moment of debating, he remembers that he needs to take the 465. At this point it's 5, I wanted to be at the airport by now. So, we start driving on the 465. 30 minutes later, Danny informs me that we went the wrong way on the 465 but not to worry because it wraps around Indianapolis. I text Justin to make sure that Danny was right in his announcement. A few minutes later Justin calls me to see what's up. I explain the situation and he tells me that, by this time, it faster to just keep going on the 465 to get to the airport. We finally get to the area where the airport is and Danny takes the wrong exit, turns around to get back on the freeway, almost got on the wrong freeway, finally got back onto the right freeway and takes the correct exit. He pulls up to the front of the airport, I grab my bags out of the car, and rush inside (it's 6:05 at this point). There's a bit of a line so I wait in line and finally get up to the counter. They can't find my ticket reservation. I show them my itinerary and my receipt for payment. The guy asks if I had some trouble with my flights on the way out. I explain what happened on the way out and how they exchanged my ticket that was from Houston to Indianapolis to a ticket from Houston to Chicago. Aparantly, what the airline did was exchange not only my ticket from Houston to Indianapolis, but also my two tickets for my flight home. I flew out on Continental, but was flying home on United so I didn't even think that they could do that and didn't think to double check that. So, the United in Indianapolis had to call the United in Houston so the United in Houston could contact the Continental in Houston to get the exchange number and the confirmation number for the exchange ticket so that the United in Indianapolis could reverse the 3 ticket exchange and free up my 2 tickets so I could get home. They finally get it all straighted out at 6:35. Luckily, security was right around the corner from the ticket counter (security had to run my carry-on bag twice) and my gate was incredibly close to security. So, I made it to the gate at 6:40, only to find that my flight had been delayed. Luckily it wasn't too much, only 10 or 15 minutes. My layover this time was in Chicago. I was supposed to have an hour layover, but since the plane was running late, I only had about 30 minutes. Which is fine, no big deal. We actually board on time in Chicago and start our trip to the runway. There were tons of planes in line to take off. I saw 7planes take off. After I saw the 7th plane take off I figured it was almost time for our plane to actually leave the runway and then our plane got out of the line of planes waiting to take off and pulled over to a little side area. The captain came over the intercom and made an announcement that there was a slight electrical problem and we would have to wait until they fixed it. All I could think was, "Oh no, not again!" But, it was an easy fix apparrantly because about 30 minutes later the captain was back on the intercom letting us know he was signing paperwork and we would be on our way. So, we finally get in the air and start flying. About 30 minutes into the flight the captain tells us he would like us to stay seated with our seat belts on because we're flying next to an electrical storm. What the captain failed to tell us, until we were landing in Orange County anyway, is that to avoid flying through the electrical storm from Chicago we flew down to Oklahoma, through Texas, and them back up to Orange County.

Needless to say I was VERY happy when we landed. And even more excited when I saw that my luggage made it as well. So, this whole experience has made me realize three things. One, I will never again get in a car that Danny is driving. Two, I never want to go to Indiana again. Three, I will not fly for a very, very long time.

Life Sucks Sometimes.

I wish I knew the exact reason why sometimes. I have the general idea of why, there are some theories floating around out there, but not the specific reason. It seems like if it’s not me then it’s happening really close to me, either an immediate family member or friend.

I’ve been hurt, I’m confused, and I want it all to stop. I keep asking God, “Why? Why are you letting this happen?”…I’m still waiting for a response. It seems like something gets taken care of and three more pop up in place of the one that was taken care of.

I do have pictures (not a lot, but some) from my trip to Indiana. My trip deserves at least 1 blog if not more. I just have been so busy trying to get stuff finished up for Sunday (Camp Day!!!!). Now it’s over and I will hopefully have time to get stuff done.

My Friday

I wrote this last night but I still wanted to post it.

Let me share with you my wonderfully craptastic day.

My day began at 6:30 in the morning. My step-dad was on the way to hospital with a ruptured bowel and my mom needed my help to get her room ready for a sub. So, I got up, threw on some clothes, and headed out the door to a middle school in San Bernardino. I spent an hour there and then we rushed into Riverside to see my step-dad. We got to Riverside Community Hospital at about 9am. My step-dad was checked in at 7:30 am. They still had not done a CAT scan and he had yet to see a doctor. It’s emergency, I can see that they would be a little swamped. I ran home, got a few things and went back to the hospital. I got back around 11am, at which point they were finally doing a CAT scan. I ended up leaving the hospital at around 2:30pm. At the time I had left one doctor had been in (for a grand total of 2 maybe 3 minutes) to give absolutely no information whatsoever and to answer none of the questions that were asked of him. The surgeon still had not been in to see him to determine if he needed surgery or not (I know I’m not a doctor but a body leaking stool out of the abdomen seems like an operation type of thing) and he was still not admitted.

I got home about 3pm, did some stuff around the house, took a shower, and left to meet a friend (Justin) to go see the Riverside Concert Band perform. About 6pm I called my mom to see what was up with my step-dad. They finally had him admitted and in a room. Come to find out the doctor that was in the room for 2 minutes had signed admittance papers but never came back to tell us, they were apparently searching for a room. The ONLY reason they found out he was admitted was because they called the insurance company…THE INSURANCE COMPANY!!!! A surgeon still had not been in to see him. After much haggling of the ER staff it was discovered that they intended to keep him over the weekend to see how he was doing, so he might not see a surgeon until Sunday or Monday. All of this by 6:30 in the evening. At this point, I’ve been up for 12 hours.

After the bands performance we went over to another friends house (Meagan) to hang out, have a couple of drinks and chill. All is fine, we’re chatting, laughing at one another, you know the typical stuff friends do. I have to use the restroom, a natural enough occurrence after an intake of fluids. Well, I forgot I had my cell phone in my back pocket. It fell in the toilet. There was nothing in the toilet, but I washed it off anyway. So now, my cell phone has the battery off, drying out so it will hopefully work again. Good times thus far. Well, around comes 1 in the morning or so. Justin and I decide we should probably take off, so we hug Meagan goodbye and head off. We’re driving back to his place (that’s where my truck is) chatting and talking about the events of the day, including my stupid cell phone mishap, and we finally get back to his place. I take my stuff out of his car, place it on the passenger side of my truck and walk around to the drivers side. Lo and behold, my truck had been egged at some point during the evening. By 2am it was dried, some parts even looked cooked. There was nothing I could do at Justin’s so I drove home. Once I got home I found a bucket and rag, poured some soap into the bucket, pulled out the hose, and washed my truck…at 2:30 in the morning.

So, here it is 3:30 in the morning. I’ve been up for 21 hours thus far. I’m typing this blog in Word because the internet is down right now. I guess I’ll try getting online after a few hours of sleep. All I can do is laugh. Because if I don’t laugh I’m going to burst into tears.

Oh, and my phone is now working! Yea!

Crafts Have Gone Too Far...

I've been online searching for images for an evite that I'm putting together for our next Pipeline All Volunteer meeting.

This is what I found...

A crocheted, hamburger dress.

And if that wasn't enough, you can get the candy corn purse to go with it.