Rick Warren's tweet...

Maturity ISNT measured by how high u raise your hands when u FEEL God, but by how straight u walk in obedience when u dont.

What is your response?

I refuse to hibernate!!!

I have now officially entered winter mode…oh yes, I love winter! It seems like perfect timing too, because today is the first official day of winter. Now I will admit that freezing blustery winds aren’t the greatest but it does allow for some otherwise fun activities, or a twist on normal activities.

Last night I went to Zoolights with a group of friends and had a blast as the snow fell. We danced and played in the snow. We even seriously considered making snow angels…sadly the only clear snow was in a parking lot and that’s just not a good idea!

Of course when the snow starts to fall here, I dream of powder, who doesn’t? So to make my winter wonderland complete, CO with one of my favorites Sara for some boarding, snowshoeing and ski joring…we’re just watching that one! It will be winter perfection in Leadville!

Oh winter, I love you!!!

Love me for me...

This song keeps getting to me, and the more I think about it and pray about it I wonder in how many ways we all strive to be loved. How often do we strive for the approval of man and not of God. If I work a little harder and longer and get that corner office, how amazingly proud my parents would be. If I could just be everything to everyone…and really all I want is to be loved for me. To be loved, truly and completely the way that only Christ offers. The true love that God showed to us in giving Christ to suffer and die on our behalf! That is true love, it didn’t ask that we get the corner office or be the prettiest, or the best at anything. God simply asks that we love him, are obedient and give him our lives! Strive towards that, strive to love God more fully and forget about the rest, the love that God offers is so much more precious and pure!

Top Ten...

The best winter weekend EVER!!! And these are the top 10 reasons why…in no particular order

1) Donuts! Spinning around in circles in my car, is by far one of my favorite things to do when the first snow fall hits! That being said I discovered on Saturday night, that it was not Rosie’s favorite thing to do…she was screaming like a little girl, clenching the door and begging to be set free. Lesson learned…don’t take passengers!
2) Cuddling up with friends on the couch, watching football – that nobody is really watching and just having a good time while a blizzard hits outside.
3) Eating crap, bc you know…um….it’s cold outside and the extra food keeps you warm?!?
4) The epic re-enactment of yoga class…thanks Conor, I don’t think I will EVER be the same!
5) Aww…WHITE Christmas!
6) Bowling, through your legs, backwards, superman style…whatever it takes to have a bit of fun!
7) Baptism Sunday at Church!
8) The Park Christmas brunch, where I was actually asked if it was ok to wish people Merry Christmas – for real?
9) Yammering with Simon in China, who couldn’t figure out quite why I was doing anything, because he thought I was in his time zone! No, Si it is not 2am Sunday morning here!
10) Thad’s a college graduate, it’s fun big guy, Welcome to the Real World!!!

Quite possibly the only thing missing from this winter weekend, was a bit of ice skating and sledding…but who does that when it’s 10 degrees outside?!?

A letter to a keyboard...

Dear Keyboard,
Welcome to my desk! There are a few things that you need to understand. I will likely spill my coffee, yogurt and countless other things on you. It is not because I don't value you as a work tool, it is because I am hungry and over worked. I appreciate your cooperation in this relationship, and hope that it is fruitful. As long as you agree to actually type the keys I press you have no risk of being ejected from the window. Thanks, I'm excited for the possibilities of our new relationship.

Sincerely,
Your Boss

Welcome to Miami...you can't make this stuff up!

3:15am: my alarm goes off and I reluctantly get out of bed
4:00am: I arrive at the airport – love that early morning traffic! I was super early and there wasn’t a line at security
5:40am: I’m on my way to Miami
9:40am: Land in Miami, check my e-mail and head off to get my rental car
9:45am: I realize I forgot my GPS and it will be an interesting morning.
10:30am: I stand in line at Hertz for 30 minutes to pick up my rental car, next time I’m using National. The lady makes me prove that I actually work for Kraft – seriously!?!
10:45am: rental car secured
10:45am-11:00am: Driving around the airport lost-in my defense there was construction…
11:00am: I stop my car to try to figure out where I am, a little too close to the airport and get surrounded by cops. They determine I am in fact not a terrorist and provide directions…and an escort, since I am clearly very lost!
11:40am: After following the friendly cops directions I realize I am again lost…welcome to Miami…I stop in a design shop and talk to a very tan gentleman with notably the most beautiful teeth I have ever seen and he directs me to turn around and drive 45 minutes in the opposite direction…BAH!
12:15pm: I arrive, only a mere 30 minutes late for work and go on with my day…lovely!
12:15-4:30pm: work, work, work!
4:30pm: Return to the airport, on the highway following the very clearly posted signs…why was it so hard to get from the airport???
5:30pm: Sit down to work and have some dinner while I wait for my flight – after 30 minutes a waitress has yet to show…I settle for Starbucks for dinner.
6:50pm: my plane boards – more work
7:20pm: electrical problems, headed back to the gate…without lights or AC
7:40pm: apparently they are all fixed, and the pilot “hopes for a safe an uneventful flight” yes he really said that!
9:45pm: land in Chicago and all I want is my bed – goodnight!

I'm a horrible tourist...

I don't like living as a tourist, it's just not my style. So here's what my weekend looked like marathon weekend...

Saturday I went to the expo and at that point I was pretty sure if I did the marathon as a run/walk I could complete 26.2 miles! Those expos are good at one thing, pumping you up and getting you started on that runners high. I came home and talked to a few friends who reminded me that I was being foolish, but I think they used stronger wording. So I reluctantly decided to jump in at mile 14, because who doesn't run 12 miles without training (due to injuries I hadn't run in 2 months).

I ate lots of yummy carbs, drank more water than a fish and went to bed early. I woke up Sunday morning a little bit defeated that I wouldn't be at the start but still up for the challenge of whatever was ahead of me. Actually, if I'm going to be real, mostly defeated, I tried to go back to bed. Instead I went and met my friend Alyssa and her family and we set out to cheer on her sister Amy. We spotted her at the 4 miles mark and I thought this too might be a good spot to jump in...again Alyssa reminded me that I was being stupid...so alas a compromise, mile marker 10. So we sat in Starbucks, drank some more Gatorade, ate some more Cheerios and waited for Amy to make it to mile 10. When she did I jumped in and was off to the races...provided some encouragement and prayer and then was on my way.

I'm not really sure how to summarize the 16.2 miles that took place that morning. They were hot, and sometimes very painful. The course alert changed from green to red in less than an hour signaling that conditions had become extreme and dangerous. The visualization is probably my torn up feet and legs so sore I can barely walk. I've taken to "running" down stairs because it hurts too much to walk. One of my co-workers asked me why I do this to myself...my response...it's great when you are doing it, so great that it's worth all of this! All the cheers and the feeling of accomplishment, which I'm sure is much better if you actually run the whole thing. Bugger, I am a stubborn woman! Thankfully, I was able to get past that, I only ran the amount my body could handle that day and I am getting ready for take 2, Disney, January 9, 2011!

Thank you all for your amazing support, I'll post pictures soon!

10-10-10 as a tourist

The Chicago Marathon is this weekend, 10-10-10…and as you can guess I really want to run. I had been diligently training when I sustained more injuries than I’d like to count and I got completely derailed from my marathon goal. So what do I do in this situation, but do my best to still enjoy marathon weekend and run my version of the Chicago. I clearly can’t run the full, because without training, that’s the sort of stupidity that causes runners to break bones, tear tendons and sometimes even die.

So I am modifying my plan, I will be running as a tourist. I’m not really sure what this means, because it is a plan that I baked and hatched just today. I’m thinking the start would be a fun thing to see and possibly participate in…and from there I will probably run a few miles, jump on the el and meet my friend Kisha when she arrives at mile 14. At that point I’ll jump in with her and see what happens. Depending on my mood and the weather I may finish it out with her from there. So tourism it is, not a complete view of the Marathon, but the best attempt I can make with the injuries I have sustained this summer.

And hey, the main goal of raising funds for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society was still accomplished and the Disney Marathon is just barely off in the distance!

Thank you to everyone for their continued support, as I promised I will be running for LLS...just not quite as planned!

Not even close to real life…

These are just a few of my most recent dreams that are so far from reality they either make you laugh out loud or weep…your choice.

Last night I had a dream that a small curly hair blond kid, who was maybe about 5 was walking down Addison St. He saw a car that had a box of paper inside. He decided he wanted the paper so he broke into the car using a snack size bag of cool ranch Dorito’s. Yum yum…somehow, this empty bag of chips allowed him to grip the window and pull it down – who knows?

Here’s one that I thought was true…my friend Beth has started eating healthier. Think of a person who never exercises and lives off of McDonald’s. I am actually really concerned for her health. So at some point I had a dream that she said she was going to run a 5K, somewhere in the process I thought it was real. Today she informed me that it was in fact not real, and that I should know better. She might be cutting back on the bad food, but there will be no running!

I had a dream over the weekend that I was sitting on the couch talking to Matt. That was it, I woke up realized it wasn’t true and that was the end of that. Well not exactly, now I’m sitting on a different couch thinking how happy I’d be if I could just sit on that couch one more time and talk to Matt. Sometimes life deals you cards you don’t want to play, and sometimes dreams are cruel!

Nike SUCKS!

I gave up running in Nike shoes a few years ago, but have been using Nike products in the form of shoes, shorts, socks...whatever I needed for running since I was a small child. Now you can imagine how many miles I've spent in Nike products and how much cash has been tossed into the Nike enterprise. That was until now...

I was excited to see that Nike came out with this fantastic little chip that you could put in your shoe and it would tell you how far you'd run and then track it on your very own website. How cool is that! I was stoked, I went out and bought it and was on my way. I was having a blast until I realized that my mile splits weren't quite right, or consistant. Now I would like to think that I am some sort of amazing runner, but you and I both know that I can't sustain a 7:12 pace for 15 miles after a decade break from running. That's just not realistic! So I contacted Nike support, did what they said and it told me I was now running a 10:00 mile! Are you kidding me, also not possible! Never in my life have a run a 10:00 mile!!! And to run a 7:12 followed by a 10:00 did I break my leg?

Ugh, so I contacted customer service, the oh so friendly Mark informed me that Corp would provide a refund. Great! NOT! I called corp and they said I'd have to prove that it was defective and everything I just told you wasn't enough, oh yea and I checked the mileage against both mapmyrun.com and my Garmin Forerunner 405 (which is perfect). Even on short runs it's off, it was once off by 2.5 miles, I mean really! They shouldn't even be able to claim that it tracks your mileage with results like that!

So here's what they came up with: If and only if I can prove it is defective they will replace it with another one...that is also likely defective because the product SUCKS!

OK Nike, nicely done, you SUCK!

BOB

We live most of our lives without making an impact at all. We live, from minute to minute, hour to hour. We go to work, come home sqeeze in whatever needs to be done with little time for friends and family. But what do we really do to make a difference in the world around us? What do we really do to make a difference in the life of someone we may never meet, or even our closest friends?

Do we live these busy lives because we are scared? Are we affraid of the silence, or what happens in those moments when we just stop and let God guide our actions? I would say many if not all of us are. Affraid that if we step out and try to make a difference we will fail? Maybe you don't know where to start. If we simply refuse to move because of fear, are we not allowing that same fear to conquer us?

I want you to meet Bob. I saw his story today and was inspired. I received this because I've committed to running the Chicago Marathon for LLS with Team in Training. What I didn't realize was that along the way I would be hearing stories of both cancer survivors and those who are still fighting that would inspire me and take my breathe away! So without further ado...meet Bob, he's something special!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvN7LWbKaKA&feature=youtu.be

And if Bob moves you like he has moved me, visit my fundraising page and learn about Nancie, she's the brave lady that started me on this journey!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/il/chicago10/candress

Boom Box vs. Blackberry

Technology has really killed dating, I‘d like to blame men here because that would be really easy but I think the real answer is technology. It is very reminiscent of a song we all know and love “video killed the radio star” and isn’t it true!

Let’s think back to when we were all a little bit younger and maybe in the dating world a bit more respectful of each other….Scooby Doo moment please!

We didn’t have cell phones or caller ID, there was a real risk of someone not answering the phone and if they didn’t answer we didn’t freak out and assume they were screening our calls. The understanding was that they were not at home and we went on with our lives and called back later.

There were absolutely no text conversations, while these convos are handy and helpful when you’re stuck on the el or in a movie they really have no place when you want a girl to feel special. And ultimately if you want to date her shouldn’t that be some part of your goal?

Oh my gosh instant messaging programs like AIM , the original downfall in college and now gchat! It is so easy to flirt and talk and go really deep with a person without being intentional. There is no risk of looking a person in the eye and saying what you feel, or revealing part of your heart. Why not hide behind the screen and keyboard; it’s easy and safe right?

The problem with all of this technology is that while it is easy to start a conversation, it is also very easy to get confused. Nobody really feels special when they get asked out over facebook or by text message. And with so much communication without actual words, meaning can get very confused. Is he flirting or is he just making a joke that is seen as flirting because he’s cute…what in the world is going on?

And now my favorite memory from dating years prior to this technology craze…a guy tossing little pebbles at your window or shoes or whatever was handy hoping you’d hear him! And of course the boom box serenades!!! Where in the world has the creativity gone! It seems like the sparkle and romance of dating is completely stripped away when it comes down to the “ping” of your blackberry alerting you that there is potential suitor waiting…

A one legged control freak of a DUCK!

So now it’s Monday and we’ve all had some time to think about a few areas in our lives we are unwilling to allow God to control. I guess the question now is why should we allow God to have control of our lives and why are we so darn reluctant?!?

I speak for myself of course and ask that you search your hearts too; anyone who knows me well knows that I have struggled with control in my life and my personal walk. If you completely let go of control it can be a scary thing, it is scary to let go and not know what is around the corner; to walk blindly in faith. But let’s be real here, we’re not giving control to a person, or a random stranger that happens to be walking down the side walk. We are talking about giving control to God!

In Matthew 10:38-39, Jesus talks of losing your life to find life eternal in Him! (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Matthew+10%3A38-39) If you are holding onto control do you really think you are taking up your cross and following Him, are you really losing your life of sin and allowing Christ to bless you with a life much greater? Why would I not want this, why would any of us want to hold onto our lives on earth when there is so much greater promised? Why would we want to hold onto a life that separates us from Christ?

He has this all figured out, so what am I trying to control? Am I just a one legged duck, kicking like crazy to swim in a circle and accomplish nothing? If we’re talking about worry or control I believe yes, they both accomplish nothing! Ephesians 2:10 tells us that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Ephesians+2%3A10) How incredibly awesome is that! God loves us so much that he takes the time to prepare good works for us to walk in, to point the glory back to Him! SO cool it rocks my world every time! But let’s listen carefully here because it doesn’t say that He prepared them so that He could drag us kicking and screaming into them! So that we could WALK, while He has lovingly prepared these acts for us, we must choose to walk; we must choose to allow Him to work through us.

We cling so desperately to control aspects of our lives that we have no chance of controlling, even when we know it’s not best. We think if we have control we won’t get hurt, or we won’t fail, but that’s not really true is it! Holding onto control really just tells us that deep down we don’t trust God to take control, we don’t trust Him to take care of us or know what is best. Do you really believe that? Do you really think you know more? Are you a control freak? I know every single time in my life I have been truly devastated and broken it has started with me taking control, and every time I have seen great growth and healing God has had that control and glory! That’s enough for me, what will it take for you? When will you decide to let go of control and truly trust that God will provide?

nah I'm not a control freak...

Recently I have been spending a lot of time thinking about what it means to really surrender every aspect of life to God, to let go of control. In so many conversations I've had over the past week the topic of control has been a theme. Every time I have stumbled in my walk it has been an issue of control, not that I have for some reason felt that God has left or forsaken me but that I NEEDED control! But why??? Why would I ever be so arrogant to think that my plans are greater than God's? Let's be real when we take control that's what we are saying, that we don't trust God to have our best interest in mind. That we know more! Whoa!!!

So if you are reading this and obviously you are...think about the areas of your life that you are unwilling to surrender control. It may not be in a big way, it may just be a little bit of control you are clinging to, but think hard. Are you being a control freak too? Keep that in your heart and mind, pray about it, the areas of control that God is asking you to turn over to Him...and stay tuned...there's more to come on this topic!!!

Run Forrest.....

Since I know everyone reading my blog is as interested in my running as I am (so not true I know)...

My doctor has cleared me to run. I pushed her to define exactly what this meant and she said I could run a few miles and see how it went. So taking that under advisement I am meeting with my marathon coach on Saturday to make a plan! I'm sure that is not what she had in mind but I think it's a good compromise! At least it's not a mud run with obstacles!

Wish me luck, and please refrain from saying I told you so!

If you're going to Be Ruth - BE RUTH!

Recently I've been hearing a lot of my friends say to "Be Ruth", and go out there and be bold, but ladies if you are going to BE Ruth make sure you are really BEING RUTH! Make sure you truly know what that means before you give counsel to a friend that is hurting because she hasn't been on a date with that cute boy. I would challenge all of us to be Ruth but truly BE RUTH, all of who she was, don't just cherry pick the attributes of Ruth's character that fit with society or are easy to adapt!

So maybe now you are asking, well Camille, who was Ruth what was her character, what attributes of Ruth should I emulate. Great question! I am of course not a formally trained theologian, this comes from my understanding of who Ruth was, biblical history and of course the ways that God has used Ruth in my life. So if you have questions, ask - if you think I'm wrong, that's fine but please find the scripture to refute it, don't argue with emotions.

Let's start with a little background. Ruth was a Moabite, daughter-in-law to Naomi and a widow. There is a book in the OT dedicated entirely to Ruth, she was a strong woman who loved the Lord. I could continue on for a very long time but we don't want this to be longer than the actual book of Ruth. We need to remember that the book of Ruth is not entirely about how to attract a man but on first blush many of us would like to only see those parts. The story of Ruth and Naomi is a story of great suffering and how both Naomi and Ruth were faithful to God and he delivered them and provided for them through their suffering.

So here we go, how to be RUTH

1) Most important - Ruth followed God and had complete faith in the Lord. She was willing to leave everything that she knew for the Lord. One example is when she left her entire family and country to stay with Naomi. She pledged her devotion to the Lord and Naomi in Ruth 1:16-17. (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=ruth+1%3A16-17)

2) Trust that the Lord will provide what you need - Naomi and Ruth left the land that they lived in and went back to Naomi's homeland with nothing,trusting that the Lord would provide for them there. Ruth 1:6-7 (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=ruth+1%3A6-7)

3) Listen to strong women who are seeking hard after God - Ruth didn't ask for advice from everyone she knew! Naomi who loved God deeply told her what to do and she did it knowing that Naomi was a women who loved God and would act according to God's will. And ladies, if you are the women that are giving the counsel, and you know the guy is not interested - do not advise your friends to "Be Ruth" and put themselves out there! Ruth 2-3 (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=ruth+2%3A2-3)

So those are most of the God buckets and the really hard ones! Once those are all functioning as they should and you are seeking first God's will in the situation not your own, seeking wise counsel, asking God what to do and trusting Him alone to take care of this...then you can move onto the more action oriented Ruthisms... But remember my dear friends the first 3 must be the priority! You can be Ruth all you want but if God doesn't want you with whoever you are being Ruth towards it's not going to bring God glory, or build your character.

4) Ruth selected a man based on his heart not looks - Boaz was older than Ruth and was not as "attractive" as some of the other men. She placed herself in front of a man who had a good heart. Ruth 3:10 (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=ruth+3%3A10)

5) She placed herself in front of Boaz - she didn't wait for Boaz to come up to her standing in a corner feeling bad for herself, she showed up to work in his field day after day. But please don't interpret this as an open invite to stalk men at work - it's not! Ruth 2:3 (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=ruth+2%3A3)

6) That being said - Boaz was not attracted by her determination, her cute dress, sandals or fancy makeup - Boaz took care of Ruth because he heard of everything that she had done for Naomi and her love of the Lord. So the focus of how you would "get the attention" of a good Jesus loving man would not be from just being present but being present and seeking after God. Allow the fruit in your life to do the talking. Ruth 2:11-12 (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=ruth+2%3A11-12)

7) Accept the man's leadership and protection - Boaz took care of Ruth, he told the men in his fields to give her water and leave grain for her to glean - he looked out for her. If a man does this, allow him to. Allow him to lead and protect as much is appropriate. This is most likely his way of showing that he cares, and let's be real, if you want a man to lead your marriage you better be dating a man who is willing to lead! Ruth 2:8-9 (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=ruth+2%3A8-9)

8) She layed at his feet - now this one is always thought to be a little bit out there. But when you look at what this really meant - it was not that she was going and climbing into his bed and saying Boaz here I am! In the cultural context, to put his cloak over her would be a signal to a kinsman redeemer (which Boaz is) that she was open to marriage. Due to the age difference he would not have initiated this process. Ruth 3:8-11 (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=ruth+3%3A8-11) So from this I would say, without being so obvious that it is sick, when he has done the upfront to make it clear that he is interested (number 6 & 7) then make it clear to him that you would be interested in dating him - but please don't crawl under his shirt!

Whoo, that was long...I hope it helped! It sure is a lot to think about, glad you stuck it out!

I dreamed a dream in time gone by....

Dreams mean so much in our lives and can take over so much of who we are, and direct who we become (for better or worse). When we are little kids we dream of who we will be when we grow up, what our wedding will look like and on and on. Often our capacity to dream effects who we are, and who we push ourselves to be. But that's not the kind of dream I currently have floating around in my head, currently I find myself thinking about the dreams that invade my sleep.

Every night if you are getting good sleep, you are dreaming whether you remember it or not. And please don't test me on this because it's one of those random facts that is not sourced. But you dream all these dreams and at times they are so vivid that they wake you up. And you spend time talking about them with friends in your waking hours.

There is a part of me that loves these vivid dreams, they can be so much fun! You can spend time with old friends who have long passed gone to see Jesus, and just have fun as a spectator of the craziness of dreams. But sometimes they are just plain cruel, the dreams that would best be characterized as nightmares. The ones that wake you with screams and you can't decide if they are real. Would you take the good for the bad, the horror for the joy? What would our nights be like if we didn't dream at all? I'm guessing they'd be awfully lonely and not nearly as interesting! But for the sake of everyone involved, unless God has blessed you with the gifts he gave Joseph ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Genesis+40 )leave the dream interpretations alone!

Side note: If you can tell me the source of the title, "I dreamed a dream in time gone by..." without the use of the internet you get major points!

I'm not qualified to "Build a Bear"!

So I have recently found myself in multiple conversations about my relationship status, which is single. On a work trip a co-worker asked if I was married, my response was no, she asked why not and assured me that "someday it will happen, someday you'll find that perfect guy!" Oh geez, thanks for the vote of confidence!

Next a conversation with one of my guy friends, but the best quote I heard was from my friend Ash. "I wish I could just build a guy like you do at Build-A-Bear!" This started me thinking, because of course I have spent way too much money in Build-A-Bear in the past.

Now it has been a while since I've been to Build-A-Bear but if I remember correctly you start the bear creation process by selecting the perfect bear, and then picking out his heart, make a "wish" for your bear and then hope it all comes true.

If I really think about it, this isn't really all that different from how we date. We find a guy or gal that we find attractive and has a heart that we like and then we place hopes and dreams on the relationship and hope that it will work. At some point someone sees something that they don't like and we are back to the bear factory.

I have multiple hand crafted bears under my bed, or in my room that I thought were perfect when I made them. I thought that they were everything that I wanted. But sure enough I was wrong. Why? Maybe a bit because I was a kid and am older and wiser now. I could also argue that I will be older and wiser when I am 50 and will I want to throw my 28yr old bear under the bed like I did my 16yr old bear?

I guess this leaves me only one suitable option, I can trust God to build me a man that He knows will fit and I can forget about trying to fit a man into my mold or shape him into the man I want or need him to be. And I guess this leads back to that conversation with my guy friend, patience...I have to continue to learn and exercise patience! No more bear building, because let's be real, I'm just not qualified!

Here I am...

I am all over the place right now! I have restarted this post 3 times now...

Version 1) Life update: life is good, work is busy, wish I could run!

Version 2) Change is in the Air: Blake is home from Iraq, Praise JESUS!!! We had a joke while he was gone that different levels of excitement deserved different number of !!!! well that one deserves pages worth of them! However, while he is back and safe Simon and Jaclyn are leaving which is hard and sad!

Version 3) Community: Where do we go when we miss our friends when we have struggles in life, when we just need to be ourselves and be loved? Well first and foremost we go and I mean run to Jesus, because he is truly the only one that can make it right...but when I need arms wrapped around I go to the love that God has placed on this earth. To the friends he has placed in my life to show me His love on a daily basis. To the friends that love me when I'm a brat and sit there and remind me that they know me, know how I feel and love me fully! In so many moments I am so grateful for friends like these, and just really hope that each and every one of us on this big spinning planet find at least one friend like that!

Billy Madison is far too funny to ignore...

This is how my brain works...in case you ever wanted to know!

1) Talked about GMA smartbrief in a meeting
2) Read some articles about work in GMA
3) Got distracted by an article about Snack Pack's
4) Thought of Billy Madison, laughed
5) Found Billy Madison quotes online...laughed some more!
6) Vowed to watch Billy Madison as soon as I get home from work

Billy Madison: You know I like Snack Pack. Why can't you just give me a Snack Pack?
Juanita: I thought I was your snack pack.

And that is how a meeting about top brands turned into something so different!!!

So cool GOD, you are so COOL!

I believe with my whole heart that God knows what you need when you need it. Today I am both physically and emotionally exhausted and God met me there with some truly refreshing encouragement from a stranger!

To set up how this happened, we have a gym at work and each month there is a member of the month and you have to answer questions about yourself. Three of the questions are biggest life accomplishment, funny fact, and life motto. So I struggled with what to write down, how can I be bold but not too bold, and life accomplishment I’m only 28 – sheesh! So here is what I wrote…

Accomplishment: The kids that I mentor in Cabrini Green, the relationship that we have and the hope for their future!
Funny Fact: I will do anything to make the kids I mentor smile…this includes some pretty insane dancing!
Motto: Don't dread the hills in life, celebrate that you were given the strength to climb (I was basically trying to say, life will be hard, but rejoice because God has given you the strength to overcome – in my somewhat PC work jargon)

So the encouragement part....a random guy came up to me in the cafeteria today (there are 2500 people in my building), he walked straight up to me and said Camille, you don't know me...but I wanted you to know that I saw your profile in the gym. I read it and I was very encouraged by what you do with those kids in the city. Thank you for being an encouragement.

I was taken back, pretty shocked and thought to myself whoa God, you just found me on the most emotionally and physically exhausted day I have had in a really long time and reminded me that the work I do for you matters. It was a huge reminder that God has all of this planned out and that HE has an impact; that we cannot understand! I think with SLAM especially, I only think of the impact it has on the kids, but who knows, God is so huge and awesome and He revealed to me today the impact it could have on people I don't even know. So the encouragement I found here is that at times though we may grow weary, God has a plan much greater than anything we could ever imagine and though we may only get to see snippets, it's AWESOME when we do!!!!

Jenner Graduation

The girls that I mentor, Resha and Brittany, go to Jenner Academy of the Arts, it's an elementary school right in the middle of Cabrini. Last year a nearby school closed and 2 rival gang territories were combined into one middle school. This has caused some major problems over the course of the year but, the school has come together and today was 8th grade graduation!

Graduation took place at 10am this morning, and started roughly 30 minutes late. This is pretty normal, so we'll call this the most expected part of the day. Every other aspect of graduation was different from anything I've ever seen, but very entertaining! It started with the kids walking up on stage introducing themselves and giving some advice for success. It was great to hear their perspective and inspiration. The key note speaker, was one of the best motivational "pull yourself up by your bootstrap" speakers I've heard in a long time. Oh, and there was singing and clapping, of course!!! But my favorite part, Resha was 5th in her class!!! If I'm this proud of her and she isn't my kid I can only imagine what it's like to be a parent! Unfortunately Brittany had some choice words for her teacher and couldn't come...this truly is a ministry of ups and downs!

I've added a video of one of their songs, I think this one is Man in the Mirror...enjoy!

I feel like Nemo

Do you remember that scene in Finding Nemo where the fish just had to keep swimming and they felt like they weren't going to accomplish anything. And Dori said, "just keep swimming, just keep swimming!" Or something like that...I feel like that right now! Just keep swimming, I'm not really getting anywhere because I am going back and forth in a pool but I will just keep swimming. I am getting better at it so I guess I am getting somewhere but it is almost worse that running laps on a track. You always end up in the same place. That being said, if I didn't always have the option of stopping at the wall I think drowning might be a real threat.

Top 10 Things I've Learned
10. Proper swim goggles are very important
9. When trying to learn flip turns, avoid the bottom of the pool at all costs
8. Take a few lessons
7. Breathe before you are out of breathe! You absolutley can't breathe under water no matter how hard you try!
6. Avoid putting on a lap suit over a sunburn - ouch!
5. I can't keep up with the others, so don't even try!
4. I CAN float!!!
3. Tuesday 7pm is water aerobics, if you don't want to see a woman in a skirt coming at you swim at another time!
2. The wall comes up fast and hard
1. I am so grateful I'm not a fish!

It wasn't meant to be easy!

If a goal was easy to reach there wouldn't be much point, now would there? Well my current goal is to race the Chicago Marathon on 10/10/10. I say race because there is no real point in just running a race to finish, I want to race the marathon. Anything less would be a diservice to the marathon itself and all the training. You don't train to just finish, well I don't train to just finish. It's called a race for a reason...

Current struggle: Stress fractures (yes plural) in my left foot
Down Time: Maybe a month maybe 2 - it's not really down time though, because I'm still training just not running...
Alternative: Swimming, swimming, and more swimming...and toss in some serious weight lifting to further mess with the lack of bouyancy that is making it so hard to swim!

Some days I'm not super bothered, some days I feel like my favorite thing has been ripped away and I can't fathom what I'm gonig to do for the next 3 weeks. So here is how I am currently coping...

Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through him who strengthens me" Lord please strengthen my body!!!

Hebrews 12:1-2 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Ok so what do I take from this and why does it keep me going...first I know that I am training and running the marathon not because I thought it sounded cool, I have jacked up knees and clearly feet that would be foolish. I am running because I felt that for some crazy strange reason God wanted me to and had something to teach me. Now along this process I may have made my running an idol, and that is 100% not ok and I do repent of that, I am learning as I go. Hold everything with an open hand, allowing God to take it away if that is His will knowing that He has a better plan...in that I really hope that His better plan doesn't include me not running (I'm learning slowly people, and recognizing my human weakness as I type). And of course, I can't do this alone, only God can make this happen, back to the crappy joints, if I rely on myself alone, I can't accomplish this goal.

So Big picture take aways...give the race to God and run to bring Him glory, allow him to strengthen me, DON'T love running so much that it becomes an idol in my life! I'm sure there is more to learn but that's where I am right now, sitting in my human frailty praying for healing!!!

Voyeurism & a Waste of Time

Total Body Scanners: An exercise in voyeurism and a complete waste of time. Why would I say this about such a great way to see what everyone may or may not have to offer under their clothes…you can opt out! What in the world is the point if you can opt out, a woman ahead of me in line raised her hands in the air and walked through saying, “I opt out!” Now let’s think about this for a second, if you can opt out, what is the point? Isn’t the crazy guy with explosives strapped to his underwear also going to opt out? She didn’t even have to come up with an elaborate excuse, she just had to say she didn’t want to participate.

I can see where she is coming from. I admit I didn’t really want some random person in O’Hare examining me, with the free will to press ctrl+P whenever he pleased. Imagine the creep factor…but if you can just opt out, it is a complete waste of time and money! Whose idea was this anyhow?

Hey, if we all opt out maybe the line will go a little faster!

Option 3

There is always a bit of a challenge when you travel alone, do you run into a McDonald’s and eat crap, order room service which is overpriced or hold your head up high and dine alone? Last night I got in late and had way too much work to do so I opted for option 2 around 10:30, tonight I planned a little bit better and opted for option 3, dining alone!

There is a certain amount of confidence that you must maintain when dining alone. You can’t allow yourself to second guess or over analyze the glances from strangers.

When I arrived at Bistro Isabella I was greeted by name, and seated in a cozy little table in the window. Had I been on a date this table and restaurant would have been near perfection…but alas I was not. Until of course I decided to date myself…why not take this time to really enjoy some great wine, food and peace and quiet to myself!

If you are even in Tarrytown NY alone or with some of your favorite people, you really must visit this tiny little romantic restaurant…if for nothing more than the amazing atmosphere and cheesecake! Forget that, everything was wonderful; I may start dining alone in Chicago too!

And I’m sure you’re all wondering what I was doing for the hour I was at dinner…hmm, what would you do?

14 cents a week, and $6.95

I always knew there was a treasure sitting on the shelf of our family room but I never took the time to explore...well tonight in my procrastination I explored that treasure.

Sitting on our bookshelf is our Family Bible, it is a little tattered and very loved. It tells a story all of it's own, the story of a Bible passed down from generation to generation starting in 1881. Roses pressed flat, and newspaper articles from 1934 are tucked inside the cover, depicting a Charles Dickins story the "Life of our Lord"...on the back of the articles of course are some great ads...

...are you sick of your 6 lb iron? Um yes, if I hate ironing now imagine how much I'd hate it if my iron was 6 lbs!!! Oh and a fantastic weight loss ad, women were torturing themselves back them too! Its tag line reads, "Nobody loves a fat girl!" In a strange way it gives me comfort that women were just as hard on themselves in the early 1900s. It makes me wonder how far back all of the craziness goes! In 3 frames this poor sad women becomes rail thin and has landed a handsome tux wearing man! Afterall she's "condensed" herself!

Bailey needs a barrettte!

I'm taking care of my parents dogs for a little over a week and I've realized a few things...

1) I love my dogs and didn't realize how much I missed them.
2) Dogs are far superior to cats!
3) These little guys sleep 22 hours a day, eat and bark the other 2.

When I got here there were a few things that had to be fixed, one was that the dogs needed a bath desperately. So I washed them, and it turned out that the dirt or whatever was in Bailey's hair was controlling his coif! Now that he is clean and smells like Pantene ProV his hair is in his face. Perhaps a barrette would be a good solve!

More Like Falling in Love

Recently, I’ve had a few too many commitments and not enough time to get them all done. On Tuesday my friend Kristen asked me if I wanted to go to a house concert. My initial reaction was – eww sick, House music SUCKS! And then I realized that it was actually a concert in a house…so I said yes, after all I like concerts, and it was Jason Gray who was one of my new faves. I spent Wednesday going back and forth and driving home from work I was in my car in this awesome moment of worship, loving this song “More Like Falling in Love” and when it ended the voice in the radio said, and that was Jason Gray! It was one of those moments where I just felt like God was saying, you’ve got to go to the concert, you’ve got to go! So I got everything done and I went, and it could not have been a more amazing experience!

So this could go on forever, so I’ll try to keep in somewhat brief but…the night was a tremendous blessing! Scotty Hays opened and was quite entertaining, though I really can’t get over his guitar and exactly how it was also a drum…I resist the wording that Jason came on next because this didn’t feel like a big performance. He was more real than most people you know on a daily basis, sharing his life and struggles and insecurities. It was as if you knew him, and truly God used him to speak clearly in those moments…so here are a few things that GOD said through Jason last night.

1) Love ME, don’t be so legalistic, LOVE ME!
2) I am using your brokenness, LET ME; don’t run from the opportunity to minster through your pain.
3) I know what I’m doing; your problem may seem big now, but TRUST ME!

There were also a few other things he said that I am sorting through and just really pondering

1) Why is it that the hardest place to be yourself, and be transparent is in the Church?
2) If I tell my story right, I am telling all of our stories.
3) At the heart of our beings we are idolaters!

None of this is a direct quote of course, because my memory isn’t that good. But I hope that some of this causes you to think and listen to his music and see what God has to say to you!

And on other craziness, I got in the car to go home, turned on the radio and what was playing, “More Like Falling in Love”!

All while my foot was getting unscrewed...

So this morning I had the screw removed from my foot…and since I was completely awake and not sedated I have a few humorous conversations to report…

CONVERSATION #1
Dr. Blake: Hi, you probably don’t remember me from last time (he assists my doctor-I think)
Me: Actually I do, you don’t like your girlfriends lipstick, right?
Dr. Blake: Wow, yes and she’s my wife.
Me: Oops, didn’t remember that part.
Dr. Blake: Yea, interesting that you remember the lipstick. I guess I hoped people would remember me as nice or that I’m from Florida.
Me: You’re from Florida?
Dr. Blake: Yes, we talked about this last time.
Me: REALLY? I have no memory of this…
His phone rings, rather it neighs like a horse
Dr. Blake: In fact that’s her…we have horses.
Me: Glad to hear that, I was really hoping you didn’t have her ringer set to a NAG!

CONVERSATION #2
At this point they’ve started doing whatever it is they do with my foot and I’m not paying attention. I am actually listening to my ipod, because who wants to listen to doctors unscrew a screw from their bone…
Dr. Blake: wah wah wah
Me: Sorry, what was that? I wasn’t really listening…
Dr. Blake: Great, not even listening…if you stop listening completely you’ll have to marry me!

CONVERSATION #3
Dr. Schoene: Camille do you want your screw?
Me: What for?
Dr. Schoene: You could take it to cocktail parties!
Me: Serious?
Dr. Schoene: Well some people do…

CONVERSATION #4
Surgery is all over at this point and I’m about to be wheeled out of the operating room.
Me: So Dr. Schoene, how soon can I run?
Dr. Schoene: Camille, please wait at least a week!
Nurse: How long has it been, years?
Me: Nope, just a few days.
Nurse: Um, you were running with a screw in your foot?
Me: Yeppers!
Nurse: Hmm, OK!

3 out of 5 isn't bad...unless it's a grade!

In an effort to be super hydrated on Saturday night I was drinking tonic water and a lime. In my mind there were many benefits.

1) Hydration
2) No added calories from beer
3) Judgment in 100% unimpaired
4) Healthy alternative to so many other options on a Saturday night out…
5) And don’t forget the fruit!

Turns out I was wrong on a few of these…problem number one is that I somehow confused tonic water and soda water. I figure soda water was the sugary caloric one…soda=pop=sugar…turns out I was wrong – so there goes point number 2. As for point number 4, it turns out in order to give tonic water that kick that we all know and love, quinine is added. According to Wikipedia this had something to do with malaria. The correlation is completely lost on me and this makes me wonder if Wikipedia is making things up…but despite that skepticism, I ran across this picture that illustrates what tonic water does under UV light – it’s crazy. Tonic water glows! Are you serious, was I really ingesting glowing water thinking I was drinking bubbly yummy good for me water! There are days when I wish Wikipedia didn’t exist and I was still happy drinking my tonic water – Ignorance really is bliss sometimes!

Tiny little tree...I hope you don't die!

I had a flashback to childhood today. I was walking down the hall at work and as you may or may not know it's earth day. So there was this table set up and they wanted to make you as aware as possible of the 500 ways you could save the earth. I was in a hurry so they handed me 5 different conservation wheels and a tree! I tried to give the tree back explaining that I had nowhere to plant it, but they were not budging. It went something like this...

Me: Um, thanks but I rent
Tree Pushers: So, plant it in your yard
Me: I don't think my landlord would be pleased
Tree Pushers: Plant it inside
Me: Um it's a tree?
Tree Pushers: It won't get very big...put it in the window.

Seriously, it's an evergreen, it won't get very big!!! Well, I lost the battle and took the tree. So now there is a tree sitting on my desk and my next goal is to find it a pot.

5 hour goal: plant the tree
5 month goal: don't let it die like all the other earth day trees that died a slow and painful death in my parent's backyard!
5 year goal: find the cute little tree a permanent home, it should be Christmas tree size by then! Ooh, how about my parent's back yard - that would truly complete the cycle!

10-10-10

What could possibly be more important on the fun date of 10/10/10 than to run the Chicago Marathon?!? Now I know you are all probably asking how in the world this happened since at the ripe age of 18 I retired from running after my double knee surgery...If I know my parents they are cringing right now!

Well, long story short...I caught the bug - the running bug! The obsession is back and I am right back where I left off, my cross country career has morphed into something very different!

I was planning to run a half marathon and during a moment of joy and distraction ran 15 miles in San Fran. This caused me to wonder, was I training for the wrong race? It sure sounds like it! A whole slew of thoughts went through my head, am I nuts - probably...can I do this - most likey, is it going to hurt - definitely! And I stopped with this one, you will always fail when you never try! So here I am for better or worse...and you can read a better version of why I am running at my MARATHON site - never thought I'd say that did you!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/il/chicago10/candress

So BEAUTIFUL!!!

After 3 days of non-stop meetings in San Fran I had a 3 hour break!!! I thought this was the perfect time to take a run to the Golden Gate Bridge, it couldn't really be that far, and if it was why not just take a cab back..........
The concierge said he thought it would probably be about 7.5 miles and warned me about the major hills that were in between me and what he noted as one of the most magnificent views in the bay area.

I tucked away my trusty AMEX card in case of emergency and off I went…the first mile was probably the worst. But after that I was going past Pier 39, followed by Fisherman’s Warf, Ghirardelli Square and on and on…Crissy Field was gorgeous, and the bridge was in sight! I somehow ended up at street level for the bridge, which btw required running up the most massive hill I have ever run! Looking at my watch, I saw that I have run 7.87 miles, so of course I had to continue to make it a round 8. Making it a round 8 was the best compulsion I’ve ever followed through with. I turned the corner past the bridge, and entered a winding dusty trail. I ran along the edge of a steep drop off into the ocean, below was the most beautiful view I’ve seen in nearly a decade of runs! It was one of those moments when you so clearly see God’s glory in his creation. There could have been nothing more perfect, peaceful or beautiful!

I stayed and enjoyed this wonderful peace for a bit – glancing at my watch I realized I’d been gone for nearly an hour…unfortunately it was time to leave this peace. I decided to run as far as necessary until I could find a cab – which turns out was all the way back to the hotel. I’ve never been so happy to see the corner of Stockton and California in my life – again at the top of a very large hill and 15 miles later. It was worth every step for that view, for that tiny glimpse into HIS majesty!

DISCLAIMER: These pictures do not do it justice, but I don't run with a camera!!!

$50 for a virtual diamond ring?!?

I was sitting in my conference today and a speaker said something that was both disturbing and caused me to think, probably far more than he expected...

People will pay $50 for a virtual diamond ring as a gift, and it doesn't even do anything. But do real diamonds really do anything? His statement continued to explain that the "virtual world" is an extension of the "real world"...

So why was I so disturbed by this...well it leads me to think about why I buy the things I buy and why anyone would spend $50 to send someone a diamond ring on FB - that's just insane, or is it? Our society is all about what we can buy or BE that makes us look better, more successful and more affluent - why wouldn't that be converting over to our virtual world?!? Why is our world so consumed with status that we would waste $50 on a virtual gift - insane!

An umbrella, cab, TRENCH?!?

I arrived in San Fran after a flight that should have taken 2 hours less than it did and it seemed like a run was in order. The fitness center was covered in mirrors so I was headed outside, I got a running map from the concierge and by the time I got outside it was getting dark and had started pouring rain! The bellman thought I was absolutley insane, offered me an umbrella, followed by a cab and then wished me a nice run. As I ran off I heard another guy with the bellman saying, "you should offer her a trench coat." I shortened my run to 3.5 pretty treacherous miles in driving rain and some of the roughest hills I have run in a long time. BUT I did get to run under the San Francisco bridge and along the bay - GORGEOUS! My take on San Francisco is this: This city is absolutley gorgeous, and the people don't see runners very often!

When I got back to my room I learned that San Fran is under a severe storm warning: Oops!

Come on CHICAGO - your weather SUCKS!

Chicago why is your weather so bi-polar? I understand that if the weather here was wonderful there would be far too many people here. We'd have an overpopulation issue and who knows what other problems, but come on! I'm not really sure I approve of glorious lovely days followed by cold days where chunky rainy snowy stuff falls from the sky!

Bring on the summer!

We made a scene...

So those of you who knew me a decade ago know that I was a pretty intense runner...I loved it, and ran all the time. If someone asked me my favorite thing to do it was RUN, RUN and again RUN! I didn't really have a whole lot else going on, except for my High School beau so of course I planned runs to run past the football team...ok I digress... In 1998 I had double knee surgery and that was the end of my carefree running as I knew it...but recently - after my foot surgery my doctor said - "Go ahead and beat the crap out of that foot - you're cleared to RUN!" It had been so long since I had heard those words that I got all giddy and freaked all wrapped into one - I can RUN!!!!

Sooo, I'M BACK! I'm going to avoid the obsessive running that drove my knees into the ground but I figure I already live with constant knee pain - I can't really make that a whole lot worse.

So yesterday I was at home for Easter - Praise God for his mercy, sacrifice and healing that we have Easter to celebrate!!!! And I decided to go for a run...I may have forgotten to mention that my family doesn't run. But we do like to spend time together. So my sister and dad jumped on their bikes. I ran and they biked. Here's how it went...

Lynds: Wow, you're going at a pretty good clip
Me: Yep...so what's new?
Lynds: (tells me the story of her day and life)
Me: Um, where's dad?
Lynds: He's back there...I have a mirror
Me: Ok
Lynds: Continues...

Somewhere around mile 1.5 I realize that Lyndsey is peddaling at a semi normal pace which doesn't make any sense and I can't figure out why I can't breathe...all I can answer is ugh, ok or a groan when she's talking to me. I take a glance down at my watch and realize I just ran my first mile in 7'12" - yep that's why I can't breathe...

Me: Dude, I need to slow down a clip
Lynds: (continues her story - which I greatly appreciate because I can't breathe and it's ditracting)
Me: I've ceased to communicate...

At this point my dad catches up, and I've slowed some...my sister is on my right my dad is on my left and we probably look like a freak show. We came up behind a family that is taking a walk 5 people wide, 1 by 1 they turned around to look at us...yep confirmed - we're making a scene!

By the time I got home, I thought I was either going to get sick or die...so the moral of the story is this...if you are a runner, get a running buddy...if you are a biker get a biking buddy. Bikers do not make good running pacers, but they do make it a whole lot more fun!

Dad once we returned: Thanks Cam it was an honor watching someone work so hard, I'm glad you're running again!

Me too dad, me too!

We may have looked pretty funny - but it sure was fun to go on a run/ride with my family! We missed you mom, thanks for making dinner!

Couldn't have picked a better Guy!

First I’d like to apologize to my parents if they are reading this…I know this makes you very nervous!

So last night I was going to go pick Brittany up to hang out and she was a bit hard to find. The crazy kid doesn’t have a working phone so this is pretty normal but last night was a bit rough. I called her mom, no answer, her aunt claimed to not know her, and then sent me to her church and her cousin was not at all helpful. So after much searching and slowly driving around Cabrini, I went up to her place. The cops at the front gladly printed out a copy of my Id and I was on my way. I waited for about 5 minutes for the elevator which didn’t seem to be coming, pushed the button again and waited. Come on stupid elevator where are you? At this point I’m not nervous but you know, single white female here…a bunch of guys walk into the hall and I’ll admit at this point I’m a bit uneasy. An older guy, with a salt and pepper mustache walks up and starts pounding on the elevator buttons. The door opens and we step in, in what felt like the nick of time.

The elevator started moving; he asked my floor and kindly pressed the button. I then observed what seemed like very odd behavior, he started pounding on the 10 button, why I couldn’t be sure, and then he hit the alarm button…at this point I was both confused and not really sure what was going on. I think I kept my cool but I’m not really sure. He then proceeded to hit the door, no luck. His next move was to hit the door open button; it opened a crack and slammed shut. The final and most effective move was to press the door open button and slide the door open manually, followed by slamming it shut. At this point I know what I was thinking, “I’m never getting out of here, I should have jumped out when it was open!” Only a few minutes had passed but it seemed like much longer.

The elevator was on its way and we happily chatted about how old the elevators were and I thanked him for getting it unstuck in a way which must have seemed so awkward. All I can say is I am so grateful to God that I was stuck in the elevator with probably the nicest guy I’ve ever met in Cabrini and the one who knew how to fix the elevator! It was just one of those moments, when it was so incredible clear that God has everything all figured out, and why wouldn’t He?
Oh right – I told Brittany and her response: Yea don’t ride the elevators Camille!

KU lost...

So in this moment let's keep track of what all my co-workers and loving friends feel the need to share with me in this moment - we'll go in order...

Dave: Um....hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha (this is the moment I realized that they lost, because I was celebrating my friends wedding...thanks Dave!)

Jaime: Oh my gosh, KU just lost, I got 3 text messages, KU just lost - Go CUSE!

Some friends at church: Um how are you doing with the KU loss
Me: Surprisingly ok, they don't seem to be quite the idol they once were...

Co-Worker 1: Rought weekend I bet

Co-Worker 2: I wanted to give you some time, but I'd like to pass along my condolences on your loss this weekend. I'm really sorry that UK won't be stomping KU in the final.

Co-Worker 3: So I'm sure you've been hearing this a lot...but are you ok? Too bad KU didn't play that game!

And I'm sure it will continue...love you all so much for the tremendous support you are showing through this - - - NOT!

BLOCKED!

My blog just got blocked from work...why, it turns out that blogs now fall under innappropriate content!!! Eek, what am I going to do on my lunch break and when I just need a place for my brain to re-boot and re-charge? Apparently it won't be at my blog or reading yours!

Well it turns out I can still post to my blog I just can't look at what I posted...interesting!

This is my day today...

6:30am Coffee with Jody - wonderful fantastic time!
8:30am meeting that was let's say intense...
9:07am tried to retrieve my voicemail - received this prompt "I'm sorry that you are having trouble, please call back later."
9:27am I realized that pop-up post-its also work as a slinky - SUCCESS!!!
9:44am Singing the car wash song with my co-worker - "at the car wash yea - and work and work..."

Yep, it's going to be one of those days!

Romans 5:3-5

Every Tuesday morning Ashley and I have coffee/hot water together at Starbucks on Sheffield and Armitage…the first morning of this ritual AshMac was a little bit late and God led me outside to buy breakfast for the homeless man selling StreetWise. He was a very polite man, he was very grateful, thanked me and told me how beautiful my smile was. Why thank you sir, enjoy your breakfast!

The following week, running a little bit late I parked my car and jumped out. There he was again. He greeted me and I could see a longing in his eyes. We started chatting, and I think Ashley thought I was crazy…

Nathaniel: Can you see it, can you see the majesty?
Me: Yep I can see it. (Not really sure what he’s talking about, starting to wonder if in fact he is crazy.)
Nathaniel: I wish I was on the lake right now.
Me: Oh but it’s so much colder over there! (it was 25 degrees where we were)
Nathaniel: Yes, but it’s worth it, there is nothing better than the glory of God’s sunrise! It’s great from here, but from there…
Me: It sure is beautiful, you keeping warm these days?
Nathaniel: Yea, I’m warm enough, some day though…(he pauses)…there will be no more cold. When I’m in heaven with God, there will be no more cold! But hey, enjoy your breakfast.

I brought him some breakfast and we parted ways, until next week…
He made me think, when was the last time I truly enjoyed God’s creation so purely? When was the last time I shared that joy with a stranger? When was the last time I longed so purely to meet the Lord face to face? Nathaniel’s longings and joy were so pure, and why? Is it because he knows the Lord more deeply than I do, maybe? Is it because he is not held down by all of the materialism of the world, probably? Or is it due to one of my favorite verses…

Romans 5:3-5
3More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

GOD is alive and well on the Edens!!!

So driving to work on the Edens this morning, there was one of those moments when you are going 50 and then all of a sudden you are stopped. It is my norm in these moments to check my mirror to see if I am about to get slammed. I know this is probably a bad habit, but if I’m about to get hit, I’d kinda like to know. Well, this morning when I looked in my mirror there was a semi-truck barreling down on me. And I don’t know how familiar you are with semis but they have poor stopping power and tremendous crushing power. So that’s the backbone and the somewhat unimportant part of the story.

Here the part that was so cool! God completely showed up, and met me there on the Edens at 8am. And why wouldn’t he? I had a tremendous peace, resting in the knowledge that that God was there and he was holding me and protecting me – and HE was in control. I didn’t have to freak out about how I was going to “save” myself; He already had it taken care of! What a tremendous peace and joy! I don’t think I’ve ever stared into a situation like that before, when you think, I could be mangled in 2 seconds and felt such peace, it was AWESOME! What an amazing God we serve!

The next thing I know the semi has swerved off onto the shoulder and all is well, GOD is so GOOD, and worthy of all praise!!!

Come on PEEL!

You know that moment when you are peeling a hard boiled egg and the shell all comes off so smoothly, 1 maybe 2 pieces...you throw your arms in the air with reckless abandon and cheer VICTORY!!!!

Why can't that ever happen with an orange? It would be so cool!

Closeted...

So my co-worker and I were talking about none other than the Olympics and she said to me..."if I didn't know better I'd think you were a closeted boarder!" My response, "I am a boarder, not even a closeted one!"

So this led me to think about the things that we don't tell people at work...and then you get to chime in with one thing you either wouldn't talk about at work or aren't allowed to...

Things that are TABOO at work...
-Apparently Snowboarding
-Weekend activities
-Dating Life
-POLITICS!
-Religion - but why?
-The things closest to our hearts!
-Real Fashion
-Anything that would make people think that I wear anything other than these black pants and button up shirt!

...U S A!!!

I know I am a bit of a freak about the Olympics...but can you deny that Shaun White is anything but fantastic! Oooh, that was fun to watch. I am reluctant to admit that I do watch half pipe competitions outside of the Olympics, I know this also makes me odd...but who really cares. There is something about the Olympics that just makes you stay up far too late. It's just so much fun!!! Can I also take a moment to comment on the uniform worn by the snowboard team - plaid red white and blue jackets and board pants that look like jeans...now if that isn't preppy take on grunge boarding style I don't know what is. Hands down to whoever picked that!

I love it, love it! U S A...U S A...U S A!!!

blood:water mission

There are a lot of things in my life that I do because they sound like a great idea...I give it very little thought and then I'm committed. I haven't quite decided if this is a good or bad thing at this point. It is generally not life altering decisions, those take more thought but small things that at times turn into big things. The current one is a challenge from blood:water mission. They work to fight AIDS in Africa and also provide clean drinking water. So the challenge is to only drink water for 40 days, no coke, coffee, tea or alcohol - just water! Whatever money you save you then donate to their project to provide fresh drinking water in Uganda. Sounds like a great idea...Day 1: I have a headache and am extremely hydrated.

Cadbury Creme...Ahhhhhh!

I went downstairs to grab lunch, and wandered into the company store, and there it was, the Cadbury Creme Egg display...light shone all around it, such delight! I let out a little bit of a scream, ahhh, they're here! Eileen the store manager quipped that they were not discounted. Oh, but I do not care, don't you realize, these are creme eggs! I was like a little kid in a candy shop, the candy that I wait for every year was here, and I couldn't resist. I bought three, now I know that this should send me straight to the dentist but again, I don't care! If I knew how to type giddy sounds I would...woo hooo!!!!!

Disclaimer: Despite what current posts may lead you to believe, I am not a sugar junkie in need of intervention...

Mush...

My head hurts and I can't quite seem to form a logical sentence. The first signs of a migraine - woo hoo - and completely scatter brained.

So here are some of my scattered thoughts...

-Easy Cheese - yumm!
-I really wish I had some pretzels, and gummi bears...
-I wish this phone was easier to work, as in if I pick it up, it should answer and stop ringing...DUH!
-I just got an e-mail from Wayne Simien and I feel special...why because I do and this means that KU still loves me as much as I love them...oh wait I think they just love my money...wha wha

My head hurts...ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK - We're #1!

I want 'em, gotta have 'em!

I really want some Haribo Gummi Bears right now...GOLD series! The other kinds are just not as good. Would you still be my friend if I bought in bulk? They're just really hard to find!!!

Time Warp

I understand that the world operates in different time zones and that this is necessary but at times it is really annoying. Like right now, when I need someone on the west coast to fix a software glitch and they're not at work yet, and late at night when I want to call my friend Caroline for some girl time and she's already asleep. Or whenver I want to talk to Diana, Oz is so far off that I don't even know which way is up half the time. Basically I wish there was some way that whenever I am up everyone else was too. I fully realize this is not a possibility, but it'd be nice.

Procrastination CENTRAL

I have located procrastination central...it is in my room, in the silence sitting in my bed. The books that I intend to read tonight are scattered about, some of which need to be read before I can go to my first meeting tomorrow. But am I reading them, for some reason no. I think this is the behavior that drove my mother crazy all through my high school years...either sitting around, or completely wasting time until I am up against the wire.

I had myself convinced this behavior was gone, but alas it has returned. Hmm, maybe I should paint my nails, or read some e-mails, talk on the phone...oh my goodness WHERE DID THE LAST 2 HOURS GO?!?!?

Spring has NOT Sprung!!!

Every now and then I think it would be a good idea to have a TV in my room. This seems like a good idea when it's cold and rainy and I want to watch a movie and a really bad idea when I know that I would stay up far too late watching Law & Order re-runs I'd already seen 15 times. Yes I do that!

But today a TV would have been super helpful...in my morning rush I could have turned it on to either the news or the weather channel and I would have walked out the door with a coat on in mid-January. I know it sounds crazy but it was 45degrees outside yesterday and I was all excited that spring had sprung and nevermind the calendar. Well I stepped outside and spring had definately not sprung, in fact it was snowing...but oh well off I go, down the block to my car. At this point it seemed like a good idea to turn around, but I was late. So I drove to work, about half way there I realized how dumb this was, it's 30 degrees outside and snowing and I left my coat at home. Hmm, wow, smart one, Einstein! By the time I walked from my parking spot in Siberia to the office I was contimplating going and purchasing a coat at lunch...so basically the moral of the story is...I haven't found one yet, but I'm COLD!

Welcome to Monday 2010

I couldn't quite keep this Monday morning to myself...so I thought I'd share it with all of you! So I've been away from the office, working from home and taking vacation for the last 3 weeks, so it was a little bit harder than usual to get up this morning. I was running late but, come on what's new.

So there is this little cut through street on the way to work, and I guess the speed limit is 25, I'll pay closer attention to that in the future. But it's a 4 lane road so I don't really think that's the correct speed limit. Well either way, I looked down and realized I was going about 35 and was completely oblivious, stopped at a red light and realized there was a cop behind me...bugger. The light turned green, I turned into my own lane and the lights came on. I had one of those, ok I deserve this feelings. This is of course new to me, generally when I get pulled over I have the oh crud, how can I get out of this I hate tickets feeling. But today it was I deserve this...

He walked up to my window and asked for my liscence and insurance. I handed him my license and told him I would grab the insurance it was my dad's car. Dad, if you are reading this, your insurance card is expired. I found 2 insurance cards, the most recent of which expired in December...double bugger...I handed it to him and said I was sorry, he said no big deal it's close enough. And then asked me if I knew the speed limit...hmm, I think it's 30. No actually it's 25 and you were clocked going 48...my response was literal shock...how in the world...I blame the supercharger-lead foot combo! He asked if my address was current, now I know I'm suppose to say yes, but that is a lie...and I said no, well it's the address of where the car is registered but not where I currently live. I think I have him seriously confused at this point. He walks away, gets about half way to his car and walks back...where do you live? So of course, I tell him and he gives me the best option I've heard all morning...he can write me a speeding ticket or a minor ticket that he compares to a parking ticket and doesn't go on my record for not changing my address...what do I choose? Seriously I'm being given a choice, that's insane! The lesser offence please officer. And so it is...and that is how my speeding ticket turned into a $25 "parking ticket"!