My Observations #2

I've made it to work, but I want to turn right back around and head home except I don't ever want to deal with the stress of driving in this horrendous weather again! My drive to work was tense, I had rain coming from above, below and on the sides plus dense fog. (insert sarcasm here) Yup, it was a great drive to work. :-D (end sarcasm) I saw four accidents on the way in. I kept thinking if I can only get down the hill I'm sure the rain will mellow out... No such luck. The rain was just as hard, the only good thing about getting to the bottom of the hill was the fog was behind me. Now that I'm at work I'm moody and frustrated. Part of me wants to pack up and just drive back up the hill but then I'd have to deal with it all over again. There's barely anyone here at work so that makes it twice as hard to have to stay.

I'm also on edge because my family is packing and having a moving party on the 8th but we have no place to move to. :( So we may just be moving it to a storage unit. My parents have two places they are looking into today and I'm feeling extremely anxious. I have plenty of offers to stay with people but it would only be temporary and frustrating to have to live out of a suitcase until we found a place. I would deal if I had to, but I desperately don't want to have to. My hope and fervent prayer is that one of the houses they look at today will be the answer. I know God is in control but sometimes it's hard to let him take control of these types of things. Things that may make my life uncomfortable. But God won't give me anything I can't handle, but he will stretch me... This might be a stretching time, and well I should be grateful because as my favorite book of the bible, James, says "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." Ok so Jesus is testing my faith to develop perseverance. Ok Lord, I hear ya... I'll keep my hope in You.

So ok sorry about that. God was speaking to me as I wrote that. I know "in all things give thanks", so thank you Lord for this trial, it is meant to bring me closer to you.

Well I should get to work.

CD Player: Jimmy Eat World

Mood: Tense

Link of the Day: The Bible Gateway - where I look up the scriptures when I need to reference them.

posted by Charity at 12/28/2004 09:05:00 AM

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!

It's the eve before Christmas and I have been totally overwhelmed at how blessed I feel this year! I got sooo many wonderful gifts I'm not sure how to take it all! My family's tradition is to open all our gifts on Christmas Eve and wake up late on Christmas morning. There has been a vast change in my feelings about Christmas. I have for the last few years (as I've stated before) felt a little distant towards this season, but this year it has been quite different! I was really looking forward to everything; hanging out with the family, Christmas pageants, and the presents I bought for people, just everything! I sometimes wonder if my change in feelings towards Christmas is because I didn't have high expectations. But in regards to gifts alone, even if I were to name everything off that I got for Christmas I think anyone would think that it was a lot of great gifts! I almost feel bad. And I don't believe that I've justly expressed what I even feel.

Lets see..

- Sam bought me a car stereo which I absolutely love! And David played a huge part in getting it installed. :)

- My best friend Rachel got me a plate of goodies and included 3 gift certificates! Bath & Body Works, Barnes & Noble and Best Buy! :D And also a really cute book mark.

- Dick from work got me some candles and a cute address book, journal box set.

- The youth even got me a blue glass vase (which I have collected for a while) and also a gift certificate for Barnes & Noble!

Oh and I received $100.00 from my boss at our work party!

Tonight I opened up what my family got me...

- My parents bought me the Anne of Green Gables DVD Trilogy! A movie which was a HUGE part of my childhood! I can't wait to watch it tomorrow! :D

- Grandparents got me This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness.

- My sister got me these adorable pink slippers! They are soooooo comfy! I love em!

- My brother bought me the biggest shock! An iPod! And not just any iPod but a U2 Special Edition iPod!!!!

Oh and Carlos at work drew me a picture of an image that has a lot of meaning for me. And he's going to complete it in a series of three images so I can get them framed! Here is a scan of the picture below. Isn't he an awesome artist!?

Christmas has been an enormous blessing. And my family loved what I got them so it was even better! I am just so appreciative of everything that I've been given. It's more then I could have ever even hoped for!

So I say goodnight and wish you all the very best this Christmas!

CD Player: Franz Ferdinand & Jimmy Eat World are my favorites tonight.

Mood: Overwhelmingly grateful!

Link of the Day: MinneSoLong - Interesting blog I ran across in surfing the web. It was her photography that caught my attention.

posted by Charity at 12/24/2004 11:59:00 PM

I'm sitting here at work on David's machine waiting for our pizza to arrive. I'm getting a lot accomplished today which is a nice change. The last few days have been hard to concentrate due to the holidays. I'm looking forward to my time off work because my Anne of Green Gables Trilogy came in today so I'll get to watch it on my time off! And then my mom got me the book series "This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness" that I will be able to sit down and read. :) So I have plenty to keep me busy on my time off.

oooh pizza's here... Gotta go!

posted by Charity at 12/21/2004 01:43:00 PM

Yesterday I had the bestest best Christmas present/prank played on me!!!

Sam bought me a car stereo for my Christmas present and I'd been asking him when he'd get a chance to install it. Well Friday was no exception. I had hoped that I could come over today (Saturday) and get it installed. But no such luck, both Sam and David were going to be busy. I told Sam I would have to give them both the puppy dog eyes. Well as we all went to lunch I pulled the puppy dog eyes and sadly it didn't work. Both were talking about how they had things to do. They said it was possible to install it Thursday of next week. I was totally bummed, but realized I couldn't expect them to do it and I'd have to be patient because it really was on their time schedule.

I went about my day... About an hour after lunch David calls me and tells me his wife Erin was broken down and she had Lilly and that he just tried his jeep and it wasn't working and Sam was gone or he'd ask him but he needed a car. Before he could ask I offered mine. He came by and picked up the keys. Tim was there so he and I had a long conversation so I was quite occupied. Jason had come up to me a little later and asked if I had heard from David and how his wife was doing, I of course said no.

At about 2 hours after David had come to pick up my keys I went to the bathroom and for some reason it hit me just then, David has a brand new car! How could it have broken down? So I started putting two and two together. I started to wonder, did he take my car to get my stereo installed!? But I didn't want to get my hopes up. I had told Ronda at work about David taking my car and his reasons, then went up to her and told her my suspicions, she agreed. So I went about my day, luckily I was VERY busy and didn't even have time to call and see if I could get any information out of them...

So at 4:30 I call Sam and he tells me he's wrapping up at a customers site and he'd be back in the office in plenty of time for us to leave at 5pm. But he didn't mention david. So I called back and told him David had my car, he asked why all surprised, I told him that Erin had broken down. He acted all shocked and then said he'd call david. At this point I'm smiling ear to ear playing along with it. I mean if it's my car I could easily call David myself. So Sam "calls" david and then calls me back to tell me that david was on his way back to the office and should be there in 5 minutes. When I asked what happened with Erin, he said david didn't go into detail and he sounded stressed. So I chuckled and left it at that. So David calls me almost exactly 5 minutes later thanking me for the use of my car and then proceeds to tell me this elaborate story of how Erin was emotionally distraught over possibly ruining his new car, and how it was something to do with wiring and everything froze up and she lost steering and everything. At this point I'm starting to second guess my theory of the install. I mean this was pretty elaborate, almost too elaborate that it might actually be true. So I told him I was glad I could help and then hung up the phone still not knowing whether or not it was true...

So I get asked to take the deposit to the bank, Ronda having known my car was gone apologized and asked if I'd still be able to do it, I told her David had been back and I just needed to grab my keys. So Steve asks me how David's wife was doing, and if I'd heard from them. So at this point I couldn't imagine that David would lie to Steve so I started to believe that it was a valid story. But just the same I told Sam I had to leave and needed my keys, he made a big issue about meeting outside with them because they were about ready to be done anyways and they'd meet me outside with my keys. So I went outside and they were still at the office door closing up so I took a peek inside my car as I walked by... Sure enough! I stereo I didn't recognize!!!! I grinned, relishing the moment and wondering how I was to approach this. So I go up to Sam and tell him to hurry his butt up because I think I've waited long enough to see it. He of course acts sheepish, "why Charity, what on earth do you mean?" hahahaha I told him I knew they installed it and we had a good hearty laugh about their elaborate scheme!

I couldn't help but feel utterly special that they had gone through so much trouble to make up the story! And that they got Jason and Steve in on it! I'm still in shock about having a car stereo. I'm not sure though what was the better gift, the actual stereo, or the effort they went through to install it without my knowledge! It meant a lot to me. And this had been planned since Tuesday and I've been buggin Sam all week! And he knew! hehe I love those guys! Talk about great friends!

So I've been enjoying my new stereo! It's been great driving and being able to listen without the static any everything else. It's a nice looking stereo and hearing all the work they put into it, it wasn't just a simple basic install. They soddered everything instead of the quick crimping, etc...

This has been a novel I know. And there's way more I'd like to share but I think this is enough for one entry.

Car Stereo;) : NIN Pretty Hate Machine

Mood: Feeling Blessed

Link of the Day: Another Mopmonster Link. He's been working on a covers project and I have to say I am impressed and amused so I thought I'd share it. Good job James!

posted by Charity at 12/18/2004 11:20:00 PM

It's my last morning at Sam's place. It's been a nice time away from the stress of having to move. Though I fear having to go back home and having reality slap me in the face. I've enjoyed my time here.

I have had a pretty eventful week at work. I've been apart of a lot of co-workers happiness, and frustration. I rather feel like I haven't been working. Carlos and I are still putting together the goals charts. He got some good news himself, he's receiving a raise and is being allotted a dollar amount that he can divide amongst his staff! Both of those were excellent news to hear as we went to lunch. I'm sooo happy for him. He's well worth it! Then Renato has been training me in sales. He's a really cool guy and very driven and full of charisma which makes him great for sales. He's accomplished a lot at such a young age. He's completed his BA and moving onto his Masters and I admire people that have completed their education. I guess it's because I want to do that as well. I know of two people that are graduating today with their BA's and I have to say congratulations! Then there was a 2 1/2 hour lunch with my friend David. David and I had a lot to talk about and it's been needed but never done. It was a good talk. A little hard to take at moments but in the end I believe only good can come from it.

So it's almost Christmas and I have more then half my list to still shop for. Luckily I know what I want to give everyone, and luckily the majority of them are gift certificates. :) Hey it's the easiest way to go to make sure you get someone something they want. I know they are a bit impersonal but I'd rather get them a gift certificate so that they can pick what they want instead of having to return it.

Last night my church had a progressive dinner. It's where you start at one house for the soup and salad, go to the next for the main course, and the next for the desert. The cool part was we had to go in groups, get to the next house as quick as possible and couldn't come in without singing the entry song, which was different at every place. I have to admit I was lucky I had a group of good singers with me. ;) hehe So it was a lot of fun, and fast paced! Though in the end I don't think my stomach liked being so rushed and on the go... And back at the final house which ended up being my place we had a gift exchange. Instead of buying things we just took things we had around the house that were either new and never used or in good condition that we had to give away. We actually read a story and moved the gifts from left to right until the story ended, at the end of the story we were allowed to trade with others but only before opening the gift. I have to admit I cheated because I knew what my brother-in-law brought and I wanted it... It was a shop vac! :D A mini shop vac never opened! I figured it would be good for my car or what not. Either way it was a lot of fun and I'm really glad I went.

Well it's getting late. I need to get going. I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend! Bye!

CD/DVD Player: NIN nothing DVD

Mood: Content

Link of the Day: don't have one for today

posted by Charity at 12/11/2004 09:45:00 AM

So it's now my sister Heidi's birthday! Happy Birthday my sister! I love my sister so much! I'm chatting online with my sister now.

Well I'm still at Sam's place. Getting ready to do the billing for drivenIT. I'm anxious for Sam to get back not only because I miss him but he's also not available for me to talk to whenever I need or want to... But I have been enjoying his place. It's been hectic having to drive between work, here and up the hill. Tomorrow and Wednesday will be insane. I have to get up, drive to work, after work drive up the hill for youthgroup (Tuesday) and class (Wednesday) and then back down to Sam's place to sleep.

Right now I've actually finished everything that I needed to a lot sooner then I expected. So now I'm just relaxing and listening to some of the music I can find in Sam's computer that I actually like. ;) hehe

Oh and my best friend Rachel has her hope of being a mom either temporarily or permanently fulfilled! A friend of her family was watching a little girl who's mom was in prison for a year. Well she's pregnant and started spotting and is forced into bedrest and can no longer watch the little girl. So they called Rachel to watch her for the year. This was all brought to her this morning and they had to decide right then! Well when they decided to do it, the mother was called to find out if she would be willing to give legal guardianship over to Rachel and Tom and the mother said she didn't care what they wanted, even if they wanted to give the kids to CPS! So obviously the mother doesn't really care about the kids. So at this point who knows what's going to happen. But for now Rachel has a 2 month old little girl to take care of for a year. I already went to Target to buy her stuff since she has nothing and they dropped the little girl (Rosey) off tonight already! So I went shopping and had all sorts of stuff in my basket and finally decided the best thing to do was to get a gift card. :) So Rachel and I can go shopping for her together. I'm excited for Rachel but also nervous about all the drama that could come out of this with the mom in the future. But for now it's a blessing for Rachel so I'm happy.

Well that's all for now. Goodnight.

CD/DVD Player: Cranberries

Mood: Drained

Link of the Day: Anne of Green Gables: Trilogy Box Set

What I'm hopefully getting for Christmas. Even a longer epic then my other favorite movie Pride & Prejudice!

posted by Charity at 12/06/2004 08:52:00 PM

So it's my brother-in-laws birthday today. Happy Birthday Jeff! I called but he must be out partying it up. hehe

Well I'm sitting at Sam's computer at his apartment. I fed the cats so they are happy and I'm chatting with Sam online. He's in Rhinelander, WI visiting our old manager/good friends Marc and Jess. I wish I was out there with him. But I just got back from North Carolina and well Sam desperately needed a vacation. I'm happy for him. Though its kind of lonely without him.

Work has been really exciting as of late. Carlos and I are working closely on setting goals for the tech department. Well at this point it might become a company wide procedure. But Steve's totally liking the ideas and he's supporting giving out cool awards! He even commented on possibly getting iPods or Nintendo DS's! I am looking forward to it. He's also stated that the Christmas party is going to be downsized to an office event and the money he saves he's going to hand out bonus's! Let's just hope these aren't empty promises.

I was at work from 8:30am to 8:00pm!!! It wasn't too bad, I was so tired I became loopy and pretty much everything was funny. And I'm still struggling to get over this cold! It's sooo frustrating. My voice is all raspy, I sound like a 75 year old smoker... real sexy. ;) hehe And well I'm just not up to par... And tomorrow night I'll be at the youthgroup Lock-In which means we won't sleep all night! So I'm planning on leaving work as early as possible, head up the hill to get ready for the lock-in to start at 7pm and stay up ALL night and watch the sunrise and send the teens packin'! But it should be fun. I'll just need to stay high on caffeine and sugar! When I crash, just build it up again! No sleeping is allowed and if you do fall asleep people get to draw scary things on your face! hehe If I get tired enough I may just chance to scary drawings though. :D

Well goodnight. I'm tired.

CD/DVD Player: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Mood: Loopy!

Link of the Day: Feeding Frenzy on MSN Games

posted by Charity at 12/02/2004 09:17:00 PM

Goodness! I'm finally home from my fun-filled weekend!

Today is my little nieces 11th birthday! Happy Birthday Amber!

Lets see though, there is a ton I missed out on telling. Do I want to go back and relive the last week or so? Or do I want to just go over the highlights? I think highlights would be best.

So after my post on Monday November 15th, I did something to my back. I'm still not sure what it was but I'm better now and I know I was healed! I was unable to move without feeling the most intense overwhelming pain I believe that I've EVER felt in my life! I could not stand, walk or sit without wanting to cry. I forced myself to go to work Tuesday but left early. Wednesday I went to work again in huge amounts of pain but that night at church I had everyone pray for me. It wasn't immediate but the next morning the pain was minimal by the time I finished getting ready in the morning. Friday the pain was minimal by the time I was half way finished getting ready in the morning and so on until one morning the pain was gone! And it truly affected my outlook on everything! I was so grateful to be able to walk without the pain that I exuded joy! I was full of happiness and thankfulness!

Oh and the snow! It was wonderful! It was the most snow that I've seen since I've lived here! It always snowed through the night but stopped in the morning and would melt by the afternoon. This time it snowed for more then 24 hours straight! And the snow stayed on the ground for 3 WHOLE days!!!! It was great! I loved it!

Then Thanksgiving... It was a lot of fun! My family came over and since my mom has her foot in a cast she couldn't do a lot of the cooking so we had fun doing it with her trying to get involved and us forcing her back to her seat! :) The food was great! And we just relaxed and had a good time.

I went to bed fairly early because I needed to be awake at the butt crack of dawn the next morning... And no I didn't go shopping... I went shooting! I decided not to brave the insane stores but to go out with Sam and company and have fun shooting. I'm not very good. But it's fun. I played with a lot of new guns, mostly hand guns. There were more people out this time then the last time I went with everyone so I actually did enjoy a lot of watching... David and his brothers are really good and fun to watch. We got out there at around 9am and stayed till about noon. We stopped off for food and headed back.

When I got to Sam's I got directions for my brothers place and headed out to Oxnard for the weekend! The first night at my brothers we went out to dinner and I pretty much just vegged in front of the tv.

Saturday we went driving and went out to Barnes & Nobles and Brian was looking for books on the business and I enjoyed reading about Vameer's art. It seems rather silly that I read the book "A Girl with A Pearl Earring" and then watched the movie and now have an interest in his art work. Though I had recognized a few of his paintings from my art history class. It was just interesting to read about the history of most of his work and how often he used the same pieces of clothing or accessories for his subjects, and used his own household items in numerous paintings. So after that we went to watch "Alexander" and well it was a 3 hour movie! And as much as I'm grateful they did not take the gay overtones as far as they could have it really wasn't a great movie.

Sunday, this morning, I got up and Brian and I went to a church. He hasn't found a home church but this was the first one we tried. It was decent. They taught pretty much our beliefs though I know Brian will try more churches before settling into one. We went out to lunch and then back to his place to work on a flyer for drivenIT. It ended up not being very fruitful so I decided to head home and work on it from here.

So there you have it. My fun-filled weekend! It feels like I've had a week off of work, though I'm not ready to go back. But it was a good time and now I'm just exhausted! I need to get busy on the flyer.

CD/DVD Player: Ben Folds "Rockin the Suburbs/ Return to Me (David Duchovny & Minnie Driver)

Mood: Warn Out!

Link of the Day: Don't have one for today

posted by Charity at 11/28/2004 08:58:00 PM

Pictures of North Carolina are FINALLY complete!

Family Pictures

Landscape

The Outer Banks

Gotta get to work! I'll try to update soon!

CD/DVD Player: Ben Folds (Live)

Mood: Tired!

Link of the Day: I think you have plenty above ;)

posted by Charity at 11/24/2004 08:11:00 AM

My friend James, whom I've often referred to as Mopmonster had a quiz on his website. I thought I'd check it out and create my own....

Do you really know Chair? Take my Quiz! and then Check out the Scoreboard!

posted by Charity at 11/21/2004 07:20:00 PM

IT'S SNOWING!!!!

Big, huge glorious flakes! It's beautiful! White! Magnificent! It's just billowing down. One huge flake after another! It's 1 in the morning and I'm out there throwing snowballs at my dog!!!! And at my dads office window while he sat inside scowling at the snow while he finished up working! How I've missed the snow! I mean TRUE snow, non of this half an inch crap! Glorious full blown snow! You'd think I was kid! I was totally giddy! Running about in it! I so wish it was earlier in the evening and I'd *still* be playing in it!

But alas I must sleep... Goodnight

CD/DVD Player: A Girl with A Pearl Earring

Mood: Elated!

Link of the Day: Of course a link to pictures of actual snowflakes!

posted by Charity at 11/21/2004 01:31:00 AM

Ya know, I have to admit I've missed writing on my blog. I know there are some that just don't quite get how it feels to journal, and whether or not people read it's a release for me.

I came back from North Carolina with a huge load of crap landed in my lap. I haven't felt that frustrated about things in a long time! I came home to knowing that we have to move out of our house. Yup... It's official, January 15th. So not knowing what I should or can be doing is a bit frustrating. My parents want me to continue to live with them and well as much as I love them I want to move out on my own. But I know they could use my help. So right now it's kind of up in the air about what we're going to do or where we're going to live. My dad can't really get a loan because he doesn't have proof of income being that the church pays him what they can when they can. So I sometimes wonder if maybe I should try for a loan. I just paid off my car yet I feel my credit is so bad no one would approve me. But I figure what's the harm? I get to apply for a loan to help my parents out and get my credit score all in the same time. The worst that could happen is that they pre-approve me for a TINY loan and then we'll know that's not the route we can take. So we shall see. I am feeling rather skeptical about being given a loan large enough to buy a home, but I don't want to not try to do something to help.

Work was hectic my week back. I had a lot of catch-up to do. Also I was supposed to start today working 4 hours a day in the sales and 4 in billing. The deposits thankfully have been taken off my shoulders and that is the most time consuming task I have in billing. So when I got into work this morning I was mentally prepared to take sales calls but had no clue how to log into the sales queue or what to do. So today was not a good example of what an average day would be like for me. I'm hoping that they will have my login ready in the next couple days. In the meantime I will just go where I'm needed.

I just feel like my life is in upheaval right now. Everything is so uncertain. I have my moments when I feel scared, then excited, then frustrated, or in denial... I feel tired right now. It hasn't overcome me but I feel like it's all a blur. I have more that I've dealt with that I just don't know how to share.

I have been working on my North Carolina pictures. I'm not sure when they will be posted. I hope soon though. I went to see Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and must admit that the 1st one hit more to home then the 2nd. The 1st was about a girl who wrote in her diary for everything, she also had a choice between two men, one right for her and another that was not right for her. I had both situations in my life at the time. She struggled with being heavy and insecure. I think it hit home for me. The 2nd was very good too, but she rarely wrote in her diary, and it was basically dealing with relationship issues. Colin Firth was still gorgeous. Hugh Grant was a hottie too. But I think because I liked the first one so much, the 2nd just didn't meet up to the 1st for me. But I will still own it when it comes out on DVD. :) hehe

well this has been in my drafts for a couple days now. I'm gonna go ahead and post it. I have yet to complete the pictures of North Carolina. But I will try again tonight.

Bye

CD/DVD Player: Air1 radio - online

Mood: so-so

Link of the Day: Cool Car Transformer - Another one of Sam's cool links

posted by Charity at 11/15/2004 07:54:00 PM

This is my last day in North Carolina. It has been a wonderful trip. I've been to the farthest point east which is really cool. I got to go to The Outer Banks... It was beautiful! And definitely a trip I hope that I will always remember. I didn't capture enough of the beauty with my camera. I rolled up my pant legs and touched the Altantic Ocean. The water wasn't cold at all even though the air was a bit chilly. I didn't get as much time out there as I would have liked. The drive there was 7 hours! We had only a few hours there before we had to drive back. We left the house at 6:30am and still only had 5 hours there. We of course had to eat lunch. We stopped at a place called Dirth Dicks. And not only that their tagline as vulgar as it sounds was "I got my crabs from Dirty Dicks!" and I seriously had to laugh! Quite vulgar and clever if you could be both in one. :) hehehe The food was ok. The prices were too high. And there was a wedding reception going on. We drove to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse which is the most famous of all the lighthouses along The Outer Banks. I saw another one on the way but we didn't have time to stop by and see it. It was a fun trip. I only wish I had the whole day to be there.

The rest of my time here has been great. I've had my moments because of PMS but I knew I was just being too touchy. So that aside I really did enjoy myself! I spent time with my neices and nephews which was awesome! I miss them sooo much! I took a couple nature walks and got some great shots of the area around my brothers house. I even got to ride a motorized scooter! Which was surprisingly fun. hehe So hopefully I'll get the pictures of my trip up soon... Though when I get home I'll hit the ground running. I will arrive in Ontario at 10:55pm and get home and in bed hopefully by 12:30am and wake up at 5am to a beyond full day of work, then rush home for youthgroup. Then get to bed and get up for another day of catchup at work and get home in time to get to my wednesday night class which is a test that of course I didn't take time to study for while I was out here. Oh lovely! So Thursday I'll go to work and hopefully have a night of relaxing.

There is one thing I'm uncomfortable about and not sure what to do. My parents have had an issue come up with the place that we're renting from. The lady wants to sell the house. We're not sure if that's going to happen. We're thinking about buying the house but are still not sure what God has in store. If we move to another place I might have to move out on my own. Which my mom is totally against. But who knows what's going to happen. It's just a bummer since everything was worked out and I've been used to that house. But God has a plan. I just hope I'm ready for it.

CD/DVD Player: Nothing

Mood: Anxious

Link of the Day: Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

posted by Charity at 11/08/2004 06:17:00 AM

Again I'm sitting in the dining room at my brothers house in North Carolina. It's 8:55pm which means it's only 5:55pm in California. I had talked to Sam and Rachel at about 7:30 and it was still light out there and it was completely dark here. It was an odd feeling. Youthgroup hasn't even started yet! They are having a dressup game night and I'm rather bummed I'm gonna miss it.

So today I actually got out and saw the local North Carolina. We went to the Concord Mills which is a twin of Ontario Mills in California. Even the annoying greeting as you walk through the different enterances letting you know what neighborhood you're in. I bought a bunch of gifts for my neices and nephews to make up for the lack of birthday presents sent to them this year. hehe The stores were pretty much the same. I found one store named Past and Presents that looked rather cool. They had a similar store to Barnes and Nobles named Books-A-Million. I ended up buying The Hobbit for my fly home and pretty much any of my relaxing time here. I bought The Girl with a Pearl Earing at the airport in Ontario and finished that in two settings. So I needed more reading material. After the many pages of Harry Potter books these 200+ page books seem like mini reading. hehe I'm still looking forward to Book #6 coming out for Harry Potter. I'm still not sure when it's going to be released. Oh well.

Anyways, right now my mom, Brenda, Rachel (person living with shawn and brenda), and myself are watching An American President as we change over for Presidential updates. I'm glued to cnn.com for the election updates showing the details of what state voted for who. Looks like I'll have to be up for a while to get a good view of what's going to happen. The link will be below.

So right now I'm pretty relaxed though it was a long day with a bunch of kids. I'm really not sure how Brenda does it. I was exhausted by the time 5pm came around and we were in line to watch Sharktale.

Well I'm gonna enjoy the rest of my evening. Goodnight.

CD/DVD Player: Nothing

Mood: Peaceful

Link of the Day: CNN Presidential Election Updates

posted by Charity at 11/02/2004 06:28:00 PM

So I'm sitting in the dining room of my brothers house in Cornelius, North Carolina typing on my sister-in-laws Sony Vaio. It's a cool little machine. Though my fingers are a little big for the keyboard. It's about 12:50pm here and about 9:50am in California. My trip out here was fairly uneventful. Surprisingly not a lot of people were on the flights. So that was nice. And luckily I got exit seats for both flights. Sam dropped me off at the airport at 10:15am and I left Ontario at 12:05pm pretty much on the button. I stopped off at Minnesota and arrived in North Carolina at 9:55pm. I got there and the girls were totally shocked to see me! I wasn't even sure if they'd even recognize me!

The next morning I woke up and got ready for church. I got to see my nephews that had been sleeping the night before. I went to church and ended up seeing more people then I had expected to know of me and where I came from. I explained that I was from the desert but it was rather funny when she asked if it was around Hesperia, Ca. I laughed cause that's exactly where I live but no ONE even in California knows where Hesperia, Ca. is. :D hehehehe She had known a family that was part of the church we went to before my dad became a pastor. I also had a lady introduce herself to me and asked if I remembered her. Her husband taught in the school we went to in Alaska! I didn't recognize her but I recognized him as the teacher who taught my older brothers and sister. After church we went out to lunch at a buffet and as we walked out I tripped that people were actually smoking inside! I am grateful that law was passed in California.

That evening my neices kicked out their parents and we had the night with the kids. We watched Finding Nemo after the girls did their performances for my video camera. It's kind of interesting to watch them perform. They were in bed before their parents got home and I stayed up late with Brenda watching tv.

I woke up this morning at 9:15! Gotta love it! I took my time getting ready. Now we're just hanging out around the house. The girls and Jack are at school. It's 12:46pm here. I'm definitely enjoying my vacation so far. Tomorrow the girls don't have school so we're hoping to get to the beach. :D YAY! I can't wait to see the Atlantic ocean from land. hehe We're still not sure how or when we're going to get to the Outer Banks where all the lighthouses are. I'm still hoping that will happen.

Well Brenda needs her machine. I'll try to update later in the week.

CD/DVD Player: Nothing

Mood: Relaxed

Link of the Day: JibJab Video of Bush and Kerry in honor of election day tomorrow.

posted by Charity at 11/01/2004 09:50:00 AM

I'm sitting here listening to Mopmonster's "Serious Business" MP3 and find myself bopping my head to the beat as I'm typing. Rather catchy beat. ;)

So my car was fixed Saturday! Praise God. My car broke down Wednesday night if you hadn't read my prior posts. And was just fixed this Saturday by some awesome guys at the church. In all it costs $87.00 for parts. One person in particular was working on it, but we had a work party at our house to work on a trailor we're setting up for people in the church with emergency housing needs. The trailor needed a lot of work but when there's a car being worked on the men seem to gather. hehe I didn't mind. Apparently I had really bad spark plugs that caused the coil to go bad as well as blowing a fuse. I also was not necessarily scolded but pressed to check my oil on a more regular basis. I guess I was a quart and a half low. The sad part is I've been on empty so I thought that was pretty good! hahaha I know I'm the reason girls have a bad name for car care. But with all my driving I actually check it more regularly then most. Anyways, my car's all better and I am no longer dependent on others! YAY!

While people worked on my car or the trailor on the side of our house I was actually at the church working with the youth girls with our "Hands On Mission Work". We're making hand puppets for the kids in Africa. We did pretty good on our first try and finished 1 complete puppet, have to sew the head on another and have everything cut out for the last 2. :) So my guess is that these won't make it out as Christmas presents. hehe oops!

So I finally finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix! I had read a good portion on my forced day off Thursday, then read for another 5 hours Saturday night, and then finished the last one hundred or so pages this evening! Now unfortunately that means I have to wait until she comes out with the next one before I can go on. :(

OOOOOOH! oh oh oh I totally forgot! Friday night I was working late because I was forewarned that traffic was a nightmare because the shortcut I normally take was blocked off due to mud slides! Well the weekend I went to my brothers out in Oxnard I rode with his roommate Mike who has a Subaru WRX and well he showed me the power of the car. I told him about the owner of linkLINE having an BMW M3 and they started talking that car up. I told them I hadn't been offered a ride though I had heard he was good with the car. My brother had told me that if I wanted a ride I needed to go up to him and tell him something like he didn't know how to handle a car like that. So I did just that... "My brother says if I want a ride in your car I need to let you know that you don't know how to handle a car like that." And sure enough an offer was made but I never had the opportunity all week. So finally friday he asked if I wanted to go for that ride! So here I am in the owners BMW and he's squealing around corners at 80 mph! And we took a straightaway at 125mph!!!! He said that was a record for surface streets and having someone in the car! I was laughing hysterically the whole time! It felt like I was in a racing game. Everything flew by unnaturally fast! It was a blast and before I knew it he pulled over and said "ok... your turn." At first I wasn't sure what to say, but I was bold and decided to go for it! When else was I ever going to drive a BMW!!?!? So I got in and looked down and said "uh oh, you don't want me to drive, this is a stick, I can't... Nevermind." And of course he protested and I just decided what the heck and went with it! I had a blast! It was an awesome experience. I was laughing and giggling and out of breath it was such a rush! I was screaching around corners. Poor guy! He was being tossed all over the place with my inability to shift the gears smoothly since I've not regularly driven a stick shift EVER! He was kind and said I was doing fine and if there were any real damage happening to his clutch he wouldn't let me drive anymore. But it was a blast! Now I didn't go anywhere near the speeds he did. But I was racing around this corner and I seriously felt like I was at Dave & Busters riding in the racing cars!!!! NO JOKE! It was the most fun I've had in a long time! I couldn't get over the rush. I finally was tired of screwing up the driving and pulled over and let him drive back to the office. But that was an experience I won't soon forget! :D

So now it's my bedtime and I have to get up early for work in the morning.

Goodnight

CD/DVD Player: Mopmonsters "Serious Business" MP3

Mood: Refreshed

Link of the Day: Mopmonster "Serious Business"

posted by Charity at 10/24/2004 10:05:00 PM

So the rain not only was a nightmare to drive in, it was even more of a nightmare to have your car breakdown in! Wednesday evening as I was driving up Baseline and in the left turn lane to Etiwanda and my car just died on me... I tried to start it up again and it would turn over but the engine just would not start. It was pouring outside! I called the first person I could think of... Sam. He was halfway home and met me about a half an hour later. Moments before he made it to where I was a couple guys were cool enough to help push my car out of the way of the traffic. The rain had finally subsided to a light drizzle but still wasn't fun for them to be pushing my car in it. Sam checked out a few things, confirmed it wasn't the timing belt. THANK GOD! And at this point I had to go to the bathroom soooo bad I was seeing yellow. I'm sure all the rain didn't help! ;) hehe Sam took me to a gas station and the biggest blessing of the night was that Sam had AAA and had the plus membership that allowed for 100 mile tows! My house was at least 45 miles away! Normal memberships have 7 miles and then $9.00 every mile after that. We were told the tow truck would be there in about 90 minutes. So we just got comfortable in his car and only had to wait 30 minutes. Once the guy arrived it was seriously moments before we were on the road up the hill. I drove Sam's car while he went with the tow truck. We had a slow section right before 138 and saw a huge boulder the size of the lane had caused a 5 car accident. Again we had just missed it and luckily were early enough in the traffic that the highway patrol just got to the scene and no flares were even set up. When we got to my place it was about 8:45pm and I was tired and my car still wouldn't start. Sam and my dads guess is that it's electrical. Sam mentioned that the traffic on his way home had backed up rather quickly on the North Bound from that boulder. So again we were blessed to have not been involved in the accident and were blessed to not be stuck in the traffic behind it. I don't know what I would have done if Sam hadn't been able to help me.

I had no way of getting to work Thursday. My parents both were using their cars so poor me had to take the day off. ;) I actually wasn't happy about it at first. I was really pissed off that my car wasn't working. I hate being stranded. I like my independence! So I finally allowed myself to accept the fact that I had no way of getting to work and I was going to make the best of it! I slept in till about 8am and made the call into work to let them know I wasn't going to be able to make it. Luckily it all worked out with my duties for the people in the office to do at least the deposit. I went back to sleep until about 9am and then laid there enjoying the fact that I was still in bed and the sun was up! I took a shower but decided not to wear makeup or do my hair! And then I got comfy and just sat in my comfy chair and read a good book which I had been daydreaming about doing all week! It was wonderful! I read all day. I'd take breaks and talk with my mom and dad and they came in and out. I even found that I took a nap as I was reading. I had to go to the church that evening and help decorate for a 40th bday party. Also there was a lady in the church doing Mary Kay and needed to do 30 faces in 30 days. We had her meet us at the church and we'd do our faces while decorating. It worked out pretty good. I got home and read another half an hour and went to bed.

I woke up this morning completely refreshed and ready for work. I am barrowing my dads car today and hoping that someone from the church can look at my car Saturday to see what is going on with it. It's frustrating that I still don't know what's wrong with my car but luckily this month we're gonna have 3 paydays and I can actually afford to fix my car! I mean if it had to happen anytime, now was a good time. I'm just hoping it's a quick fix and I can have my car back. :)

Well I have to get back to work.

CD/DVD Player: INXS "Greatest Hits"

Mood: Happy

Link of the Day: None

posted by Charity at 10/22/2004 08:33:00 AM

The rain made my drive to work a nightmare! No one seems to know how to drive in the rain. It's really not that difficult. By the time I got to work I was so fed up with driving in it that I had a headache. I love the rain! But I think I prefer rain when I'm sitting in my comfy chair cuddled in a blanket with a good book. :)

So Mopmonster had this quiz on his livejournal so I took it... :) What file extension are you?

You are .mpg You live life like it was a movie. Constantly in motion, you bring pleasure to many, but are often hidden away.

CD/DVD Player: Depeche Mode "Ultra"

Mood: Wistful

Link of the Day: Nintendo DS :)

posted by Charity at 10/20/2004 08:42:00 AM

So it's exactly 10 days since my last post. Craziness! My internet connection was down from Monday Oct 11th to Monday Oct 18th, so that had a lot to do with me not updating my blog. Work has been too insane to take a break and update, so now there is a whole mess of new things to write about. Unfortunately I have to go study for a pop quiz we're going to have at tomorrow's class. You might ask how it's a pop quiz when I know about it, lets just say it's nice to live with the person who's teaching the class... ;) hehehe He doesn't even know that I know. :-O Shhhh! And even if we don't end up having the quiz I still need to finish my homework. But I wanted to update so that everyone didn't think I was dead. I will hopefully have time to update tomorrow.

Lets write down the updates I need to write about so I won't forget.

My whole dsl issue

Friday and Saturday with Carlos, Nancy and Sam

Youthgroup being a parent meeting

Rita

My extra room

The person living on our property

Coming Events

Ok ok ok gotta get to work. I'll write more later.

Goodnight.

CD/DVD Player: The Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring

Mood: Amped

Link of the Day: Mini Video - Again one of Sam's cool links he sends me throughout the day.

posted by Charity at 10/19/2004 09:08:00 PM

Man it's been a crazy weekend! Or week, or couple days. :) I'm just now sitting at my computer at home for the first time since Wednesday night! I have posted at work but it had to be quick.

So yesterday after work I drove straight over to my brothers house in Oxnard. It took me two hours and I got on the road at 4:30 and got to his place at 6:30! It was a long drive. I got the tour of his really nice place and we hung out for a little bit and then went out to dinner at one of those chinese restaurants that have the cook in front of you while they fry up the meal. It was excellent food! And being my first time attempting to eat the whole meal with the chopsticks I did REALLY well! :) I never once used my fork and believe that I actually finally got the hang of it. hehe It was good food and it was a lot of fun to hang with my brother and his roommate. Afterwards we went for coffee and drove around and they showed me how close they are to the beach. I would have liked it if I had more time. But we've already planned on having a weekend where I stay all three days. We got back to their place and watched tv. I made the bachelors watch "What Women Want" with Mel Gibson. I realized that it was a total chick flick but they have all the time in the world to watch the manly movies. ;) hehehe I made them suffer. It was really sweet. My brother went all out for me. He bought me a towel so that if I was gonna take a shower I wouldn't have to use his. And he washed his bedding so I could sleep on clean sheets! He gave me his bed and slept on the floor in the living room! He paid for everything. And well he genuinely seemed happy to have me there. I can't wait to go back for a whole weekend. I woke up this morning at around 8 and had to leave his place at 9:30 to be back at my place by 11:30 for the ladies luncheon.

I just got done with a ladies luncheon. We brought a bunch of gifts for a family out in Africa that are having a baby. It was my dads interpreter when he and my brother were out in Africa last time. We will send the package and it will hopefully get there before the new year when the baby is due. I am looking forward to the pictures of the baby in the outfits and stuff that we got.

So I am actually supposed to go to a baby shower for my friends Brian and Laurie but I am not going for 2 reasons. One is I ran out of time to get ready and get in touch with someone to give me directions. Two, I lost the invitation and can't even do a mapquest search on the address for driving directions. So I am going to email her and see if we can meet for lunch or something so I can give her the gift and it'll help me so that I hit two birds with one stone, give her the present and get together. :)

Tonight I also get to go ice-skating with the youthgroup! I can't wait! Though I ironically am not going to be iceskating myself, but it should be a lot of fun! Of course I'll have to post pictures. I still owe pictures of Santa Monica Pier also! Well I need to go get ready for the day.

Bye

CD/DVD Player: Star Wars Episode IV

Mood: Excited

Link of the Day: Marc N Jess - I know I posted this before but it's been updated and revamped. And they're also expecting a baby!!!

posted by Charity at 10/09/2004 01:39:00 PM

New pics of my nephews! I'm just sooo excited to get out to North Carolina and visit them! Though my brother Shawn messaged me the other day with "Hi from Thailand"! Lucky dog! Now the whole family should be in Alaska and get back to North Carolina shortly before we get there.

Jackson the cutie! He's gotten so big! I can't wait to get to know him better when I get out there. :)

Little Gabriel! Getting bigger and bigger every time I see a picture! Now you can really see his daddy's mouth and nose. The eyes... still not sure who he looks like there.

Well I gotta get back to work.

CD/DVD Player: LAUNCHcast Radio

Mood: Average

Link of the Day: Icon Story - Sam sent this to me, I thought it was cute.

posted by Charity at 10/07/2004 01:55:00 PM

Rachel, Andie and I are sitting here going through Quizilla's quiz site. We ended up doing the "What band from the 80s are you?" quiz. Here are the results

Andie - We didn't even know who Peter Cetera was!

You're a sap. Either that or it's all just a way
for you to get some ass. You might have an
illegitimate child somewhere.

What band from the 80s are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Rachel - She wanted to find out which one she was, the good looking one or the dead one?

We all know about this one. Chances are that a lot
of people will like you... until they find out
how fake you are. You suck, and that's how
you'll go down in history.

What band from the 80s are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Me - I was exstatic! Depeche Mode is my absolute favorite band! How perfect! :-D

You're just looking for love. You're very
emotional, and a lot of sad teenagers are going
to turn to you when they feel like shit.
You're also into BDSM, you devil, you.

What band from the 80s are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

posted by Charity at 10/02/2004 05:21:00 PM

The new chapter in my life has begun.

It's odd how when you make a decision about what direction to take your life God suddenly does something that you can't quite figure out. God has brought a lot of people back into my life in the last couple weeks. But mostly all of them showed up this week! So I've decided to post pictures.

A couple weeks ago my friend Russ looked me up online and we began to catch up after a year of not talking. He is into computer graphics and animation like I am. We met online and met for the first time in Pasadena. He's probably one of the first people I've met completely outside of my area that ended up being a good friend.

Russ and his fiance', now wife Mel... 12/02/03

I caught up with my friend Joe online who's bday was Monday 9/27/04 (Happy Birthday Joe!). He was going to be working by the Ontario Airport so we decided to meet for lunch. He and I haven't hung out since a friends Halloween party like two years ago.

Me and Joe at the Halloween party 10/25/02

My long lost friend Andie called me to wish me a happy belated birthday! She, Rachel and I are getting together this weekend at my place and it will be the first time all "Three Muskateers" have gotten together since Andie's wedding if I remember correctly! :) I'm really looking forward to it!

Brenda, Andie, me, (?her name is drawing a blank!) and Rachel at Andie's wedding 6/28/03

Then last night I was woken up at 12:28am with a call from Johnny one my old youth kids who is now too old for youth group. He was going through a really hard time and wanted prayer and someone to talk to.

Johnny at a Youth SuperBowl Party 02/03/02

Then of course you have my ex who I haven't been seeing since June of 2002. He calls every once-in-a-while and we touch base with how he's feeling. Well we haven't talked in a while and then he called me last week too.

Easter 2002

So there you have it. Oh and all my friends with babies!

My good friend Matt Bodell, who got married 10/19/02

just had a baby girl 9/21/04!

My friend Mel got married 7/05/03

And had a baby girl in June of 04 (I don't know the exact date)

My friend Diane just had a baby girl. I don't have any pictures of her other then one with me and her.

My friend David at work just had a little girl too. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the baby yet.

My friend Brian and his wife are expecting a little boy and wanting to name him Dominic. I don't have any recent pics of the family. I'm planning on going to the baby shower next Saturday if I remember to RSVP.

I'm sure there's more but this is plenty for now. :) So it's been kind of fun to see where everyone was and is in just two years. I mean pretty much I lost contact with most of my friends about two years ago. All my friends that married about 2 years ago are now having babies. It's crazy!

Well I'm gonna go clean my bathroom... I think. Either that or go to bed. But either way I have to get going.

Goodnight

CD/DVD Player: U2 - The Best of 1980-1990

Mood: Enjoying a look back and where people are now.

Link of the Day: Sam's CoH (City of Heroes) Character

posted by Charity at 10/01/2004 11:35:00 PM

I have been doing A LOT of thinking about my life. It's almost as though God has opened my eyes to a glimpse of where my life is and where it's heading to and it has brought up a DEFINITE amount of re-evaluating. Things that I thought I was ok with in my life I am now questioning. It's like I realize a new chapter in my life is beginning. I'm a little nervous but excited at the same time, but am very ready for the change.

One surprising twist of thought is lately I've been thinking a lot about studying the bible. Not just reading it but getting into the nitty-gritty and just going for it! The idea is intriguing to me and I'm not sure why. I just started a bible college class this last Wednesday but my feelings have changed before then. I have thought since then that maybe I would like to actually go to a bible college and get a degree. This seems so different than my usual thoughts on the subject that I feel it’s genuinely a call from God.

I also know someday I will be able to quit linkLINE and work for my brother full time. Though I wish that could happen tomorrow something tells me it will be a while, but possibly in the next year.

Friday I went to Magic Mountain for their Hallelujah Jubilee and I miss the concerts. I don't want to be a groupie or anything. I just want to enjoy the live shows and as many of them as possible.

I realize that my involvement in the youth may change as well. I still feel strongly about being involved in the teens lives and being their support, a listening ear and someone to offer godly advise without being a hypocrite! I also still feel strongly about working/volunteering at a youth center.

I know for me to do this my schedule would have to change dramatically. But if I started working for my brother I could go back to school no problem. I still have to pay off debt so I am steadily getting there. In mid-November I will have my car paid off which will be a great relief and I’ll take that money each month to pay off my credit card debt in hopefully a year.

A lot of my friends are married and having babies. People ask why I’m not married or having kids yet. Of course 27 years old is not old but I’m not getting any younger. I’d like to get married and start a family, though right now the prospect of getting married just doesn’t seem to be happening. I want to marry a man that is wholly serving God heart, soul and mind. I wish so desperately that God would help that man or that I would find the one that will help me put God first above all others. That I could communicate my thoughts and views and he would share deeply with me as well. I don’t want to have to dig for answers for his thoughts. I pray that whether or not that man is in my life that God would prepare his heart.

I just visualize myself in a completely different world in about a year. I want solitude. I want to be alone. I want to search out and experience new adventures and get back into old ones. I know that sounds like a contradiction from the paragraph before but I would rather be alone and seek out new things and learn and then come together with someone in the end of this chapter and live happily ever after. Hehe But God knows the time and place for everything and it seems that he is preparing my heart for a new chapter. I’ve only scanned through a couple sentences and haven’t been able to make out the basis of the chapter … Yet. But I will.

Well I’m tired and going to crash. Sleep Well - “Sleep well and must I to kill you in the morning” The Princess Bride.

Goodnight.

CD/DVD Player: nothing - my niece Megan is sleeping next to my bed... Shhhh!

Mood: Definitely deep in thought

Link of the Day: Concept Art - go to the forums, they have awesome daily or timed challenges.

posted by Charity at 9/25/2004 08:47:00 PM

Isn't it funny how one thought will lead to another and leave you smiling? Well I was chatting with my sister-in-law Brenda about how I'm anxious to get out there. I'm not thrilled with having them see how much I've changed and how I've gained weight. I started to think about how I went to Alaska for a visit back in 2000 and how I had been in fairly good shape though I would say I look better now because of how I dress, do my hair and makeup etc. Then I thought about how when I was in Alaska I went to breakfast with a girl that used to be somewhat dorky in school and how I thought she had grown up to be a rather cool chick, dating a band member and managing bands and working at a coffee shop for the church I used to go when I lived in Alaska. Then I thought of how surprising it was that she married that band guy and how as a kid I would have NEVER thought she would have become who she was. I remember talking with the guy I had a crush on for all my elementary school years, and how he had a tattoo on his arm and explained to him that I was dating a guy who had full sleeves and the shock that he showed in finding that out about me. I thought of how weird it must have seemed to people who knew me to find out that I dated someone with full sleeve tattoos, peircings and a shaved head. And that thought made me laugh because I can't imagine myself now dating someone like that. Not because of my ex but just if I saw someone that looked like that I just don't see myself dating them. And well I found it amusing enough to share. It's strange how as our lives change our tastes and outlooks and views all change. I guess that's what they call maturity. ;) hehe

Well I've gotta get back to work.

CD/DVD Player: LAUNCHcast Radio

Mood: reflective

Link of the Day: The StarWars Trilogy is coming out on DVD!

posted by Charity at 9/20/2004 10:43:00 AM

It's 10 minutes before my bed time and I am just now finished getting my pictures of Labor Day weekend completely ready to post! I already have two more events that I've taken pictures for that need to be posted as well. 1. Trip to Santa Monica Pier. 2. Bailey's 7th birthday party.

So here they are...

9.4.04 - My birthday (24 images) We went shopping at Lane Bryant and hung out and had a few laughs.

9.5.04 - Sunday (5 images) The family just hanging out. Heidi making dinner for us.

9.6.04 - Disneyland Labor Day (42 images) My Aunt and cousins had never been to Disneyland! So of course we HAD to go. It was mainly for the kids so we spent a majority of our time just doing the kiddy things. It was still a lot of fun!

My guess is that I will have the other pictures ready to post in another couple weeks. ;) Well it's about that time. I'll try to be better about updating.

Goodnight!

CD/DVD Player: "Someone Like You"

Mood: Expectant

Link of the Day: PopCap Games I'm addicted to InsanaQuarium!

posted by Charity at 9/19/2004 09:50:00 PM

I have all my pictures from my birthday weekend all cleaned up I just have to make thumbnails and post them! I'm not sure if that's going to happen tonight though. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow. The youthgroup is going to the Santa Monica Pier and Prominade after church. I love the Prominade! It should be fun. Since I had to work today I think my weekend will feel cut short. Oh well.

I'm feeling kind of blah at the moment. I'm zoning and don't really want to do anything. I'm not even motivated to get my pictures posted. :-\ Well I will do my best. Just thought I'd catch up on my writing.

CD/DVD Player: "What a Girl Wants" hmmm Colin Firth ;)

Mood: Blah

Link of the Day: Santa Monica Pier

posted by Charity at 9/11/2004 09:46:00 PM

Guess who's my inner sexy cartoon chick? HAHAHAHAHA

You're Betty Boop!

Bettie Boop

Who 's Your Inner Sexy Cartoon Chick ?
brought to you by Quizilla

posted by Charity at 9/10/2004 01:47:00 PM

Today I'm struggling with compassion for people who can't handle the same stress that I deal with on a daily basis. The Bible says that we don't know each others troubles or trials. So it's not fair for me to be so insensitive. I know that I have my limitations as well. Why is it that I can't overlook their limitations and appreciate that their stress can be just different then my own? I look at them and think they must me lazy. I have a demanding schedule and yet I don't whine about it all the time. I don't get the opportunity to do what I want every time I want to do it. I have responsibilities. I guess it's frustrating when others don't like taking on theirs. But isn't that what being a grownup is all about? I know if I were to think about my limitations in comparison I would feel foolish for thinking this way. But I just needed to voice my frustration and go about my day.

CD/DVD Player: Depeche Mode "The Singles 86>98"

Mood: Unsympathetic

Link of the Day: Zip Code - Enter your zip code slowly. Sam sent this to me. It's pretty cool.

posted by Charity at 9/10/2004 08:13:00 AM

At this moment 27 years ago I was born! Happy Birthday to me!

posted by Charity at 9/04/2004 10:04:00 AM

It's Thursday night and the day before everything starts. :) All week every day I've thought it was Friday. I finally came to the conclusion that I'm so excited for Friday to be here that I've just made every day Friday. When I've left work I've had to keep myself from saying "Have a great weekend! I'll see you on Tuesday!" hehe So if any of you have been reading this you know what is happening this weekend! :-D So what exactly starts tomorrow... well lets see here... We have payday! Gotta love payday! It's the end of the work week and the beginning of a 3 day weekend! Gotta love 3 day weekends! And you gotta totally love a 3 day weekend that happens to fall on your birthday! It's the day my aunt and cousin fly in from Montana! I mean what could make a better reason to LOVE the fact that tonight is the eve of all that!!?!

Work has been hectic. For myself it's been a crazy kind of chaos that I thrive on... But for others, it's been a week where they've longed for the 3 day weekend to take them away from all the crap they have to deal with. I've started doing billing for drivenIT. :) So far all that entails is having Quickbooks installed and a nice new printer all to myself! :D I've always had to use someone else's and not that this is mine but I can use it for my stuff too.

So since my moms little sister is coming out she of course had to spring clean the entire house and I was her tall helpmate! Everything above eye level I had to reach, wipe, spray, straighten... and all that stuff. It's helped me get focused on my room. But I've run out of time and had to pile things away. Oh well I guess my spring cleaning will come when I move into my office. :)

Well I have to go give my mom a french manicure. Goodnight and I will post when I can. I'll be taking loads of pictures this weekend so I'm sure that'll be delayed but I'll post as soon as I can.

CD/DVD Player: The Princess Bride

Mood: Excited/Happy

Link of the Day: The Mopmonster - My online friend who I've never met in person and can not talk to for weeks on end and still enjoy a great conversation when we do.

posted by Charity at 9/02/2004 08:42:00 PM

Ooops! Forgot to post the most recent picture of my nephews in North Carolina... Aren't they sweet!?!

posted by Charity at 8/30/2004 10:14:00 PM

I've had a pretty good monday. My weekend was too short but working over the weekend usually has that affect. I got off of work and went up the hill. I totally spaced one of my youth kid's parties and went straight home and vegged.

Sunday I rededicated my life to Jesus. I have always done the right things, went to church, committed myself to activities and ministries, I've not felt like I'm going in the wrong direction, but that I'm just not going in *ANY* direction. So I made the decision to build my relationship with Christ. I want to *know* Him and not just know *of* Him. I want to be closer. I want to live my life for Him and not myself. It was a heart change. It felt good. It was humbling and humiliating if there's even a difference. God showed me the real me within 5 minutes time-frame and it was not a pretty site. I felt ashamed... unworthy. But in the end, my life is in a new direction. I have not changed drastically. But it's a mindset that has changed.

Well I've been scanning through some of my old pictures. There are a TON. Looking at my transformation to what I look like today. I wish I could change back to what I looked like a year ago with a snap of my fingers, but alas it is not that easy. Losing weight takes work. A LOT of work and patience. It took me a long time to gain the weight and well it will probably take twice as long to lose it. It's odd thinking back to when I was smaller and how I thought I was so fat and now I wish I could even just go back to that size and start from there. When I worked at Lane Bryant I felt the best. I was working out a lot and though I was just down to a size 14/16 I was really ok with what I looked like. I mean there were parts of my body that I didn't like but I was genuinely happy and felt content. Now I'm just miserable and wishing I could just literally cut off the fat. I wonder how I could have allowed it to get so bad. And now trying to get back on track ... geez... it feels overwhelming. And it's an obvious difference but to others I'm sure it's not that bad. But to me... well I see myself without clothes on. Eeek! hahaha :)

I've scanned through my archives and it's amazing to see all that's happened over the time I've started this blog. Some things feel like ages ago, others I'm surprised were that long ago... I'm feeling very nostalgic, reflective. I'm enjoying looking back to see where I've come. There is a lot that is good in my life. I am not at all frustrated with anything substantial. My weight has always been a problem but right now it's a bigger problem then it's ever been and that's all. It doesn't change my life too much. I wasn't happy about my life before Sunday. But it feels like a fresh start somehow. Like New Years Day but not. I am starting out new. I can change, it's not too late.

Well it may not be too late to change my life... But it's late and time for bed. ;)

Goodnight

CD/DVD Player: Depeche Mode "Violator"

Mood: Reflective

Link of the Day: Olympic Cartoon - I found this rather funny, probably more because my dad is the one that sent it to me. :)

posted by Charity at 8/30/2004 10:12:00 PM

So I'm sitting here at work on a Saturday afternoon trying to stay motivated to be at work. I'm making up for my day off on Tuesday to go pick up my dad at the airport and I'm behind on cancellations... Oh joy.

Here are the most recent pics of my brothers family

clockwise

Sierrah, Brenda, Shawn, Amber, Jackson and baby Gabriel

Gabriel at 8 weeks

So my schedule has gotten more hectic. Remember last post well there's more added.

August 25th thru 29th - My brother Brian is hoping to move to Oxnard and will need our help packing and stuff.

September 3rd - My aunt Darlene and cousin Joey and her little girl Madison are coming into town.

September 4th - My bday!

September 5th - My dad hopes to fly out to be with my grandparents in Minessota.

September 6th - We hope to take my aunt, cousin and her daughter to DisneyLand.

September 7th - Aunt and cousins go home

September 9th - My mom is to fly out to meet my dad in Minnesota.

September 18th - Parents return from Minnesota.

October 1st - Two men are coming from Africa to stay at our house for 3 weeks. One is a pastor and the other his interpreter.

October 25th - Men go back to Africa

October 26th - Drive parents to airport to fly out to North Carolina

October 30th - Fly out to North Carolina - just missing my dad heading back home.

November 8th - Come home from North Carolina

Then you have the standard end of the year rush of holidays...

November 25th - Thanksgiving

December 24th - Christmas Eve

December 25th - Christmas Day!

December 31st - New Years Eve!

January ? - Our host family when we went to Lesotho will be coming out !!!

My next few months are going to be a BLAST! It's gonna go by soooo fast but it'll be a whirlwind of fun!

I went online on Wednesday to find tickets for my trip I've been wanting to make to North Carolina by the end of the year. I found some for just under $200.00! I called my sister-in-law Brenda who said that was an awesome deal and to jump on it. I called my mom who was so excited about the prices she wanted me to get her tickets. Turns out Shawn and Brenda are going to a convention on Oct 26th and wanted my mom out earlier to watch the kids which my mom was excited to do. But I couldn't take that much time off of work. That's when we decided to let my mom get their early and I'd meet up with her. My dad wanted to go to the convention that Shawn and Brenda were going to so he wanted to go out with my mom but since he's traveling so much he couldn't miss any more sundays away from church. So he's coming back home the day I'm flying out to North Carolina. :) Talk about a fun night of trying to figure out ticket arrangements and making sure we all had the same flights! But I'm sooo excited! I can't wait! It's been a few years since I've been there and I miss them so much! My nieces and nephews are getting so big.

Well I gotta get back to my cancellations. Bye!

CD/DVD Player: LAUNCHcast

Mood: Rested

Link of the Day: My Fairytale - I was surfing the Disney website on my lunch break and ran across a fun game site. It's kind of like a madlibs but they offer your choices. I picked the oddest combinations and that is what came out.

If you want to make your very own Click Here. When you go there click on “games and activities” select “My enchanted Story”

posted by Charity at 8/28/2004 01:18:00 PM

Well my grandparents were in a car accident on Sunday night. Some teenagers didn't stop at a four-way stop and t-boned my grandparents car and pushed them into a light pole! They are still in the hospital and my grandma fractured her pelvic bone and is heavily sedated. My grandpa is doing worse! :( He is in Intensive Care! He got the brunt of the hit... He gashed his elbow, they said it was crushed. They did surgery on it but there are still some pieces that wouldn't come out so they can't close the wound until it drains out. ewwww... And he has a pretty large cut on his head from his ear to the top of his head. And he may have broken some more bones. He bit his tongue almost all the way through and it is so swollen that he can't get any air in so they had to put him on a breathing machine (can't think of the name). But either way I'm pretty shook up. It was my dads parents and well we didn't want to tell him over the phone so we had to wait till we picked him up today. I took the day off of work to go with my mom and pick my dad and brother up from LAX. My mom is not familiar with that airport and didn't feel comfortable going alone. So once he got in the car we had to present the news. He was pretty shook up. He said the joy of being home was somehow taken away and that all his peace left. We prayed and we tried not to talk about it till he could get home and make some calls.

After getting home he called everyone to get the story and find out what was being taken care of and what not and it was pretty much decided that he needed to get there. His sister is going out now and so that they can cover more time he will wait till she has to go home and then go out for two weeks and then his other sister will take over for another couple weeks. My mom will meet him later and spend a little over a week there. So far the news from the hospital is that my grandparents are stable but my dad was anxious to talk to their actual doctor and confirm whether or not he needed to push to get there sooner. So far no update on that. I'm anxious for them. Them = parents, grandparents etc. I just wish we didn't live so far away. I talked to my grandma on the phone on the way to the airport and she seemed in good spirits but she also sounded pretty drugged up too.

So the next couple weeks are going to be pretty hectic.

August 25th thru 29th - My brother Brian is hoping to move to Oxnard and will need our help packing and stuff.

September 3rd - My aunt Darlene and cousin Joey and her little girl Madison are coming into town.

September 4th - My bday!

September 5th - My dad hopes to fly out to be with my grandparents in Minessota.

September 6th - We hope to take my aunt, cousin and her daughter to DisneyLand.

September 7th - Aunt and cousins go home

September 9th - My mom is to fly out to meet my dad in Minnesota.

September 18th - Parents return from Minnesota.

October 1st - Two men are coming from Africa to stay at our house for 3 weeks. One is a pastor and the other his interpreter.

Goodness! I love chaos but this is gonna be a bumpy ride! :) I have been praying for my grandparents. I know my dad wishes he could get out there now. But they believe it would be more beneficial to spread out the family visits to help out for a longer period. I have always thought of my grandparents on the Ring side to be strong and healthy and I know this is going to take a long recovery. I'm hoping that the hospital is expressing the truth when they say they are stabalized and it's just a matter of healing now. My grandpa has always encouraged me to write. He and I have always kept close through letters, even though I haven't been able to get out there. And the worst part is that I've been thinking more and more that I want to get out there soon. When I thought about heading to my brothers house in North Carolina I thought that my next trip needed to be to visit them. The last time I was able to get out there was when I was 14! I'm almost 27! that's insane! I mean they've come out here but I need to get out there. They are older and it's harder to travel. I just hope that they heal quickly from this accident and that it doesn't leave long term effects.

It's good to have my dad and brother home. I'll pick a couple pictures out and post them in the next week sometime. It's getting late and I have had a LONG day.

Goodnight.

CD/DVD Player: Nothing

Mood: Drained

Link of the Day: Mission Outfitters International - My brothers Non-profit Company.

posted by Charity at 8/24/2004 09:49:00 PM

I finally took the time to get the pictures from the last few weeks up on a page. It would take me too long to create the html in my blog so I generated the pages and will add links to them.

Starting with my PartyLite candle party on August 5th, 2004.

Click Here

Also my sister-in-law sent pictures on August 12th, 2004...

Relaxing in the pool at the hotel in North Carolina when they went to look for houses.

Gabriel's first picture smiling. :)

Their North Carolina house which I will be visiting in the next couple months.

On August 13th, 2004 I took pictures for Tim and Annette's Rehersal and dinner that followed.

Click Here

On August 14th, 2004 I went to Tim and Annette's wedding.

Click Here

And now that I've completed a task I had hoped to complete by the end of the weekend I feel very good. This has been a busy week. I'm grateful that my brother is coming home soon. I so desperately want to work soley for drivenIT but I know that it's all in God's timing. I can see how much God is working in my life. I was told Thursday that I would be working part-time in sales. At first the news was rather frustrating because I was not sure why I was being put in two different positions. I was concerned that it was a lack in my work that caused it. I spoke with Steve who was rather surprised that I would consider it a step in the wrong direction. He felt it would be a positive move. He made it clear that he was satisfied with my work and believes strongly in me being a positive addition to the sales department. I believe God did this to teach me sales. If I'm going to ever work for drivenIT I was told I would need to help in sales, if potential customers called in I would basically act as a sales representative being that I would be their first contact. It took a couple hours to realize that this wasn't a step in the wrong direction.

I'm also excited with what I am doing for the morale for the company. I'm excited about the reward and recognition programs I have that are soon to be put in place. I enjoy work a lot more lately. Especially from a few weeks ago. Things are definitely looking brighter, or my outlook is brighter, either way I'm happier.

So this weekend I have accomplished a lot. I ordered my new glasses which will be here in about a week or so. I have done most of the billing needed for drivenIT. I went shopping with my mom and bought a pair of jeans and I am excited to say I went a size down! :D YAY! That feels great! I tried that same size on back in July and couldn't even button them! It was just an aweome feeling. The rest of the night I just watched movies with my mom. Today was church and afterwards I just took it easy and continued to hang out with my mom. :) I had a rough time earlier tonight just being frustrated with my lack of energy and time to get things done. But this was before I completed posting pictures which was on my list to complete by the end of this weekend. :) And I've been listening to christian music which always helps.

But it's getting late and I should be heading to bed. Good night!

CD/DVD Player: Jeremy Camp "Carried Me"

Mood: Satisfied

Link of the Day: Red Loft Studios - The photography team that took awesome pictures at Tim and Annette's wedding.

posted by Charity at 8/22/2004 05:27:00 PM

Here it is only 5 days from my last post and I feel like it's been ages! I had the most wonderful weekend! It's been busy but for sure it's been worth it! Right now I'm finalizing my pictures of Tim and Annette's wedding! It was the best wedding I'd been to in a long, long time! I don't even know where to begin!?

Ok lets see the last time I posted was... Monday. Wow.. the beginning of my week without my supervisor and the week where I had to do some of her job while she was away along with mine. Luckily the rest of the week went MUCH smoother then the first day! Tuesday after work I rushed back up the hill for youthgroup which was thankfully just a game night and I was able to relax. Wednesday I closed my candle party and headed home by about 6pm. Thursday I went home to spend time with my mom and ended up being busy with stuff for my brothers business DrivenIT.

Friday I got off of work and Sam and I met Tim, Annette and their wedding party at the rehersal and took some pictures there. I felt odd being introduced with the rest of their friends and family. I am their friend but not close enough to be introduced with their wedding party. Afterwards we met them at their rehersal dinner. Again feeling out of place I just kept myself busy with the reason I was invited in the first place. To make sure to get shots of the family hanging out and having a good time. Tim knows I'm an amature photographer and love taking photos, and he likes my work, so this was the main reason I was invited along. I had a good time testing out new food, it was chinese cuisine, and to my surprise VERY good! The only chinese food I've ever had was Panda Express, and though it's good, it's basically fast food chinese style. :) hehe After that Sam took me home and I crashed by 12am.

Saturday I woke up at 8am and got everything done before we had to leave for the wedding. We got to Malibu sooner then expected but I was grateful for the time to have fun with the camera! The scenery was gorgeous! The wedding was at Stauffer Chapel at Pepperdine University! Looking past the gorgeous chapel you saw the ocean view that was breathtaking with all the beautiful flowers! I had a blast turning in every direction to get pictures! The wedding started shortly after 4pm and was short and sweet and we made our way to Duke's Malibu for the reception. We had our tables assigned and everyone at linkLINE was at one table. We ended up being table #9 and I somehow remember that being the pathetic table in the movie "The Wedding Singer" but I could be wrong. Nevertheless I still asked Tim who said it wasn't intentional. Later I found that I could not have been placed at a better table. I was right next to the photography team and got to see all their shots from the day. And it made me want to do photography for a living so badly! They were awesome and had very imaginative ideas! I like abstract and a lot of their shots were! Very artistic! Needless to say I pretty much had my head turned to look at them most of the time. And what was even more cool was they had it set to a slideshow and set it up for people to glance at the photos of the day. It was a very good team! They did their engagement photos as well, Red Loft Studios if I'm not mistaken. Pricey but worth the money that's for sure!

So the reception went on. The group of us went on the patio and watched the surf. It was pretty amazing that we were up against the ocean. It was an incredible view. I was having so much fun. I really got along with Nancy (Carlos' wife) who happened to be a clubber like myself back in the day. Every song that came on we both were kind of bopping to. Finally we couldn't handle it anymore and went out there and danced! It was so much fun! I haven't been dancing for a LONG time and felt very comfortable. I was a little conscious of the people from work looking at me but I didn't care. I know I can't dance but it was still a blast! I even got Sam to get out and dance a slow one with me. I was very glad he did! It meant a lot to me. Finally we were all tired and ready to head home. It was bout 9:30pm! I said my goodbyes and congratulations to Tim and Annette for their marriage and the success of a truly fun wedding! And even asked Annette if I could take one of the centerpieces, which happened to be a beautiful Orchid! She told me she was actually on her way to find me and tell me to take one. YAY! It's beautiful! On the way back to the office to get my car I checked through my photos of the weekend and was pretty satisfied with what I took. Though as I got out of Sam's car I realized that dancing works a new set of muscles! hehe

Oh and Friday I was anxious to weigh myself and find out if I had lost any weight. I had been feeling really good about my week and it turned out I lost 5 pounds! woohoo! So all-in-all this has been a great weekend. Today I'm hangin out with my mom and we're going to pick my sister up and go see Princess Diaries 2. I'm looking forward to it. I'm gonna have to end this and get my mom up so we can go pick up my sister. I'll leave you with this...

CD/DVD Player: nothing

Mood: Excited to post pictures!

Link of the Day: Tim and Annette's Wedding Site

posted by Charity at 8/15/2004 02:27:00 PM

I'm sitting here at work breathing a HUGE SIGH of relief! The day is almost over! It's been a hectic day! It's the first day of my supervisor's vacation and lets just say nothing went right! I have been in a panic mode all day and now that I've finally completed everything I'm sitting here finally allowing my heart to settle down from my nerves being shot.

So I can't say much right now, I've got a lot on my mind that I want to share but will hopefully get more time later tonight to do so. I just had to get that out really quick and know that today is almost over and I only have 4 more to go! :)

CD/DVD Player: nothing no time to put anything on :(

Mood: Relieved

Link of the Day: Ok I need to apologize for those of you who saw this link. I had only seen a couple clippings from this site and hadn't delved into it further. It's extremely horrific and I am taking it off my links.

posted by Charity at 8/09/2004 04:04:00 PM

Well I'm on my lunch break. I can't believe the week already half over! This has been a good week! Especially if I'm not counting the hours to Friday. ;) And it's even payday Friday!

It's my brother's bday today! Happy Birthday Bro! He found a place in Oxnard that is an apartment that will take a large dog. It's only a 10 min drive from the beach! Lucky dog, and that could mean both of them. ;) So when he gets back from Africa I'll be helping him move.

So Tuesday morning my alarm didn't wake me up... I had been so worried about sleeping through my alarm again that I didn't sleep very soundly and woke up 3 minutes before my alarm actually went off! I got to the gym only to find that my sister didn't make it! I called her when I was home from the gym and she had turned off her alarm and fell back to sleep! hahaha I couldn't help but be relieved that she had left me hanging too and it was even and I wasn't the only flake... hehe

Tuesday was a much more productive mellow day. I was busy but nothing terrible happened. Actually I talked to Steve about the morale/motivational things I'd like to do for the office and got more and more excited and when I told him he was all excited and told me to go for it! And then I asked about a celebration luncheon for the opening of the LA office, and then he suggested an open house for the new location and inviting all our customers and then told me to head it up! Eeek! So I'm gonna work with Rita about setting up something nice. I just need a budget and we'll play with it.

Youthgroup was good. We talked to the family that is coming back to the church and they are all excited about coming back. I practically cried when she was explaining how she just missed the people from the church.

Today has been a fairly fast paced day. Though I haven't accomplished everything that I would have liked to. My desk is finally becoming more and more visable as I get rid of all the stacks of paperwork that I needed to sort. I also took my flowers and decided to dry them. They were dying so I didn't want to take a picture of them like that. So they are hanging from the ceiling now. :) Tonight I'm gonna bake cookies for the PartyLite party, and of course I still owe Fernando cookies so I told him to stop by tomorrow and I'd have a plate of them for him.

Well I should get back to work. My break isn't over but I think I'm going to clock back in early. I want to clear my desk a little more. hehe

Have a good day!

CD/DVD Player: Coldplay/ Live 2003 on Launchcast Radio

Mood: Happy that the week is going by fast

Link of the Day: PartyLite

posted by Charity at 8/04/2004 12:21:00 PM