Last Week's News Today

I tried to post this last Thursday, but blogger wasn't cooperating with the pictures. So I got a chance to try again today. Sorry for the delay...

Well, I had a good weekend with Grandpa! We played a lot of games and that was great - it's one thing I definitely miss about living alone. We played 6 dice, Kings-on-the-Corners, Sequence and we even played several games of pool up at the "big house". It was gorgeous weather (IMHO) and their leaves were prettier than ours, though ours have made tremendous progress in the past week. The drive to and from was uneventful.

I did find an excellent radio station on my way home going through Anderson/Indianapolis. They were playing some great Christian music and I liked it because it was quite a bit of older or lesser known songs - not just the "what's hot right now" pop Christian tunes. Don't get me wrong, I like those too, but there are sooooo many songs out there from the past that I get frustrated at hearing the same things over and over day after day. Anyway, I made note of the station number and when I got to work on Monday I brought up my good friend "Google" and found the station. I can play it through the computer here at the office, which is great because ever since I moved to my new office several months ago, my usual "pop Christian" station hasn't come in very well on the radio, so I've just been doing without. The extra bonus is that as I've listened this week, I've found that this new station also has many excellent Bible-based talk shows each day... Midday Connection, Focus on the Family, etc. and I've found that since my work requires little to no thought processes, I'm able to listen all day as I work. This has really been helpful this week and I'm learning alot.

Also over the weekend, we finally made it over the last hurdle in my home computer saga!! WOOHOO!! Marc, my incredibly patient and muchly appreciated resident computer expert, put in the new power supply (yes, they finally sent us the correct replacement part). I talked to Mom on Tuesday night and as far as I can tell, it's working like a dream! Praise God, this 6-month journey is finally over.

I found out today that the other big thing that I had in the works I did not get. I'm wrestling through receiving that news. Although I didn't necessarily get my hopes too high, I really wanted it - as it sounded exactly like what I've wanted to do for several years - and therefore, it was really a let-down. I will now begin my own search in the next day or two. So please continue praying about this in general and I'll update you when anything happens.

Mom and Dad had a good trip last week to Delhi and accomplished what was needed. Dad did catch a cold though and has missed at least half the week of work once they were home. He did go to the doc and is taking some meds and getting quite a bit of rest. I'm hoping he's back in the office tonight and I'll get to talk to him and see how he's feeling. We are praying that he recuperates quickly and that Mom keeps from catching it as well. Mom told me that they bought two different sets of fabric for me while they were there and we will have them made up into salwar kameez's when I'm over there in February. Today she sent me pics of the fabric - take a peek...

Reflections

Well, it's been a terribly long time since I've updated this and I've been meaning to for some weeks now, but just hadn't made the time. So here I am... I've skipped an entire month and am watching October rapidly disappear as well!

September was busy, but nothing really significant going on. The first weekend of the month (Labor Day weekend) I took another scrapbook store tour with my friends on Saturday. We went to 2 stores in Cookeville and then headed to Bowling Green for a third one. During the ride I made arrangements with one of the girls to buy her used QuicKutz blue handle and cradle for $15 - for those of you not in the SB (ScrapBook) world, this is a terrific deal! So at the first store we went to they were having a sale on the QK and I purchased the Marisa font alphabet/numbers in the classic size, includes both upper and lower case. I also bought a binder to store them in. I've since purchased a Phoebe skinni mini on Ebay for $70 - again a terrific deal for upper, lower and numbers. They have all kinds of shapes for die cuts, but I don't plan to do very many of those - at least not right now due to the expense. But the alphabets are a tremendous addition to my supplies and will be used a great deal I'm sure. Anyway, we had a lovely day and all spoke of doing it again when possible!

My aunt and uncle and my aunt's parents were in town for a week during September and I enjoyed playing tour/restaurant guide in the evenings. My uncle's yearly conference was being held at the Opryland hotel so we operated out of there. I was lucky enough to join them on a Saturday night for dinner and a performance at the Grand 'Ole Opry. We also had dinner 4 other nights, so if you are ever wanting a recommendation for a nice dinner out on the town here in Nashville, please let me know - I've now had a chance to try some of them out! It was great to be able to chat and catch up each evening as well and I enjoyed spending some time with them all!

I enjoyed two Pampered Chef parties - one the end of August and one in September. These are always fun for me! Whether I'm able to buy anything or not, just getting together with friends, and talking about kitchen stuff and sharing tips is a blast for me. Probably because I love to cook and bake. Speaking of which, I tried 2 new homemade soup recipes the end of September that are absolutely scrumptious - in fact I'm still finishing them up for lunches! One was a creamy tomato basil and the other a cream of asparagus, but I liked the fact that neither really has a lot of cream in them, they are mostly thickened by pureeing the veggies. The asparagus one also had leeks in it, which was a yummy combination. So if you love soup like I do, and are looking for something new, let me know, I'd be glad to share! Tonight for dinner is a leg of lamb roast with garlic and rosemary and sweet potatoes and parsnips - can't wait!

The last weekend of the month I went to Croptoberfest in Sevierville, TN (east over by Gatlinburg in the mountains), which was a scrapbooking retreat at a Baptist Youth Camp. It started on Thursday, but since I had to work on Friday, I arrived at the place late on Friday night. I loved the scenery and being in the mountains and woods! I got quite a bit accomplished and enjoyed my time with the others as well.

You will all be happy to know that after so many months of frustration my home computer is 95% back. It has been up and running well for the last several weeks on it's old power supply waiting for the 2nd new one to come in (the 1st new one having died in less than 30 days, I was able to exchange at no extra charge, but the first time they sent me a motherboard instead of a power supply). The 2nd new one is here now and is just waiting on Marc to have a few minutes to come and change it out for me. YEAH!!!

The weather here has been unseasonably hot until this past weekend, which was gorgeous. I was able to have the windows open all weekend long and really enjoyed it. I also spent several hours out working with the pool trying to prepare it for winterizing and covering. It still needs some work, but I'm progressing. It's a challenge as the water is already pretty cold. These past couple days it's been back up in the 80's again, but I've heard it's supposed to drop back to fall weather again by week's end. I hope so. Our leaves have not really begun to color yet, but are beginning to fall, we really need a visit from Jack... Frost that is. I'm hoping for a really nice winter this year and praying for at least one good bout of snow, if not a couple.

Last week I tried once again to take my nephews bowling, but "I'm sorry we don't have any open lanes until 9pm" and since their bedtime is between 7:30 and 8:00, this was not going to work again. We've been trying on Wednesday nights (that's when we went last year when I took just Ethan) because they have a special - $0.99 per game! Well, needless to say, we were disappointed and returned home. The boys did a great job in understanding and not being too upset. I promised them we would try again, maybe this time we'll try a Saturday and plan to be there when they open. I was just so proud of their reaction and flexibility - they are growing up so fast and learning all the time. Elijah is beginning to read now - it's so exciting! He also told me a couple weeks ago that he was "a Christian with God". Indeed, he has recently prayed that special prayer and accepted Jesus as his Savior! Praise His name for another soul saved!

This weekend I'm heading to Grandpa's and am looking forward to spending some time with him. I'm hoping for good weather for the drive as well as looking forward to maybe seeing a little more color up that way than we currently have. Did I ever mention this is my favorite time of the year?!?! I don't know if he has any plans for us or not, but I'm looking forward to playing some games at least. I'm singing in church on Sunday morning and really need to get some practice time in before then.

I've begun on some Christmas gifts and am making great progress so far. I can't mention what they are, of course because I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise for anyone reading this, but I'm enjoying myself that's for sure. It's coming faster than you think!

I have one other big thing in the works, that I emailed some of you about a week and a half ago. It is still in process, so please continue praying for me. From what I can tell the possibilities are very good, I'll keep you posted. While you are at it, please keep my parents in your prayers. Two things - one is an administrative issue that actually effects two of the company offices in their city, theirs and another. I musn't give any other details, but this could potentially be serious (though no one is in danger) and is time critical - this has nothing to do with the recent events and all are safe. Please pray for the Master Organizer to be at the center and work out all the details according to His plan and in His timing. The second is they are actually out of their country right now on a business trip into one of the countries they support. They arrived there this morning (US time) and will return home Sunday evening (US time). Please pray for their safety as well as the accomplishment of His agenda. There are some peculiarities of their location that could make their tasks challenging as well. Thanks so much for your pleas to the Father on their behalf!

Speaking of travel, that's one other thing that we've gotten accomplished in my absence from here. My ticket is purchased and I plan to spend the last 2 weeks of February with them in their city. We intend to do some sightseeing in the area, take another cooking class, and possibly take a couple side trips to neighboring countries (a day or two each), then at the end of the trip they are going with me to Bangkok for a couple days before I leave to come home, so I will get to see some of that city as well. I'm also looking forward to attending church with them this time, which I was unable to do last time I was there.

Well, I guess that's about it for now. I think this hits the highlights of activities and news that has occurred during my sabbatical. Please leave me comments, I really enjoy hearing from you too! Have a great rest of the week!