12 Days of Christmas

I heard this song live on the Delilah show the other night. I think it is, without a doubt, the coolest version of the 12 Days of Christmas I've ever heard. I think you'll agree!

Word Blocks

I recently went to a Make and Take party at Mike's Mom's friend's house. We got to make our own word blocks. We started by painting the wood and then we applied the vinyl lettering. I really like how mine turned out!

Right now mine is on my Mom's hope chest at the top of our stairs, but eventually, when I have my own house, I would like to put it on top of the cupboards in the kitchen.

Happy Birthday!

Happy 21st Birthday Mike!

I am so happy to be able to celebrate this special day with you. I thank God every day for blessing me with such an amazing Christian man. You always put a smile on my face and I'm thankful God saw fit to put us in those same classes last year...He is the perfect match-maker. You mean the world to me and I hope you have a wonderful day. I love you!

Ladies Night Out

A few weeks ago, the local True Value hosted a Ladies Night Out. They invited a bunch of local vendors to set up tables with their products, offered free food, and had some great deals going on through the night. Heather's Dad asked me to set up an Avon table. Heather offered to sit with me and we had a great time! It was crazy busy for about the first hour and a half, and then the last half of the night was pretty slow. I handed out a good amount of brochures and business cards and sold a decent amount of products. Now I just sit back and wait for people to call and place orders ;)

Perfect fall day

A few Sundays ago, the weather was way to beautiful to stay inside all afternoon. When I got to Mike's house he told me he wanted to take me somewhere, but we'd have to drive a while to get there. That was fine with me, it was the perfect day for a drive. We drove down to Paw Paw and went to a small park there. The park is actually an island and you have to walk across a bridge to get there. My camera died after the first picture, but we had a great walk and a beautiful view. We spent some time walking, sitting on a bench, and skipping rocks. What a great day!

Farm Fest

A week from today our youth group will be participating in the very first Farm Fest. It's a very cool event that Brandon came up with to support families in Asia.

The kids have all been challenged to build their own "farm". In order to do this, they are asking for donation from people to purchase animals for their farm. The money will be sent to Gospel for Asia and animals will be purchased in India for the Dalits, or untouchables. If you go to my church and you haven't been asked by a student to make a donation, and you would like to, please let me know. I think you might be interested in learning more about the animals that can be purchased:

Chickens: The eggs provide protein and other nutrients for malnourished families. As the chickens reproduce, they can eat the meat, or sell them for extra income. You can purchase one for $11.

Rabbits: Rabbits provide nutritious meat for families. They also reproduce quickly providing more food and additional income. They cost only $11 each.

Goats: Goats produce milk which provides nutrients and can be sold for money. The goats also reproduce and the offspring can be sold for additional money. One can be purchased for $60.

Pigs: Pigs can provide meat and offspring to provide extra income. They have a lifetime of up to 15 years! They are $55.

Cows: Cows provide milk which contains calcium, Vitamin D, and protein. Not only do they provide milk, but the milk can make cheese, yogurt, and butter as well. One cow costs $375, but we are asking for donations for shares of the cow at $75.

Water Buffalo: These animals provide transportation, a plough animal, cart hauler, milk giver, and a very sturdy creature to join a Dalit family. They cost $460, but you can purchase a share for $92.

The kids are very excited about the weekend. We plan to do a variety of farm themed activities such as line dancing, pumpkin bowling, bobbing for apples, cow tipping obstacle course, and a bonfire. On Saturday we will be touring an AIDS exhibit at a nearby church. If you are interested in learning more about this weekend, please let me know or talk to a middle schooler (I can send you to one of the girls in my group).

Pumpkin Carving

Mike and I decided to carve a pumpkin...it's been years since either of us have done this and we thought it would be fun to do such a traditional fall thing.

Fall Photo-Shoot

Yesterday afternoon Mike and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful fall tres and blue skies and do a fall photo shoot. We had fun posing and goofing off for the camera.

I like how this picture shows the contrast between the gold tree and blue sky


Lots of colors at this park!

I had a hard time choosing my favorite pictures from all we took, but here are my top 4...

Makeover Monday

You may remember a few months ago when I posted about mineral foundation. Now I have discovered another mineral product--concealer! I have never used a powder concealer before, so I really didn't know what to expect! I was pleasantly surprised when I used new product. It goes on very similarly to the mineral foundation, and you can build coverage as needed. I think that for me, it does a great job of concealing, especially my dark under eye circles!

To order this, or any AVON product, please go here.

Can anyone help me out?

I am having some problems when I try to take pictures of small objects up close. As you may have noticed from some (not so good) pictures I have recently posted, these pictures turn out quite blurry. With my old camera, I never had this problem. Now the camera shows that it's focused and looks good but when I push the shutter button, it goes out of focus and takes a blurry picture. Is there something that I may be doing wrong, or does anyone have a brilliant idea to help me take clearer pictures?

Makeover Monday

I was never really one to wear lip color until I started working in the office and decided that it looked more polished and professional and I liked that. I bought a lip gloss and I really like the color, but I found that after an hour or so, the color had all worn off! So you can imagine how thrilled I was when I was looking through the "What's New" brochure for Avon and discovered that they were introducing Perfect Wear, a long lasting lip color! I placed an order for one and I will definitely be ordering more!

This isn't just your average lip color either! First you apply the colored coat. You have to let it dry, it only takes about 30 seconds. When that coat is dry, you apply the clear glossy coat. This adds shine, plus it plumps your lips! I couldn't tell a noticable plumpness to my lips, but I don't really have thin lips, so maybe that's why. I did experience a neat tingly feeling when I put the gloss on!

The best part is, this lip color really is long lasting! I put it on about 8 or so in the morning and when I get home from work in the afternoon, the color is still visible. (The gloss doesn't last too long, but that's fine with me. I don't need super shiny lips all day, but if you wanted shine, you can apply when you want). The other day Heather said she could still see the color at that was at 6:30 at night! This lip color definitely has my vote!

To order this, or any AVON product, please go here.

Everything you never wanted to know about me

I saw this on Mari's blog and I thought it looked like fun. Feel free to join in the fun!

The phone rings. Who will it be? Chances are pretty good that it would be Mike calling me. He does a really good job of calling just to see how my day is going!

When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart? Yes- it drives me crazy when people just leave their carts all over the parking lot, I don't want to be one of those people!

In a social setting, are you more of a talker or a listener? It really depends on who I'm with, but it's usually split pretty equally.

Do you take compliments well? No, not really. I always have to come up with an explanation rather than just accepting the compliment.

Do you play Sudoku? Yes, I love doing Sudokus!

If abandoned alone in the wilderness, would you survive? For a few days at least. I have a pretty good sense of direction, so I think I would be able to attempt to find my way out.

Did you ever go to camp as a kid? Yes, once in 3rd grade to Brook Cherith and once, I think it was 5th grade, to Camp Geneva.

What was your favorite game as a kid? Ghost in the graveyard.

Could you date someone with different religious beliefs than you? No, my faith is such an important part of me, that it would never work to be with someone who didn't agree with that. (I stole Mari's answer, I couldn't have said it any better!)

Do you like to pursue or be pursued? I'm old fashioned, let the guy do the pursuing!

Do any songs make you cry? Nope, not much makes me cry.

Are you continuing your education? No, I just graduated, so it will be a while before I consider that!

Have you ever taken pictures in a photo booth? Yes, in Chicago.

How often do you read books? Quite often! I read at work while I'm waiting for laundry to wash or dry. I also read a bit at home, but not as much as I use to. I'm a fast reader so I can get through many books in a short time. I just read the 4 Twilight books in 2 weeks!

Do you think more about the past, present or future? The future.

What is your favorite children’s book? Every Monday in the Mailbox. I think I checked it out from the church every other week when I was younger!

What color are your eyes? Blue

Where is your dream house located? On a lake.

If your house was on fire, what would be the first thing you grabbed? My computer! It has everything on it...all my pictures and important things.

When was the last time you were at Olive Garden? A couple weeks ago.

Where was the furthest place you traveled today? About 2 miles to work so far.

Do you like mustard? No, unless it's in a recipe and it's not so distinct.

Do you look like your mom or dad? People say I look like my mom.

How long does it take you in the shower? About 10 minutes.

Can you do the splits? Ha ha ha! NO!

What movie do you want to see right now? Couple's Retreat.

What did you do for New Year's? Last year Mike and I went to a Griffin's game and then back home to watch the ball drop on Time's Square.

Do you think The Grudge was scary? I never watched it.

Do you own a camera phone? Yes, I just got the EN V3

What’s the last letter of your middle name? E.

How many hours of sleep do you get a night? Usually about 8 or 9.

What do you buy at the movies? Nothing, Mike usually pays for our tickets. Sometimes we'll splurge on popcorn and pop or candy though!

Do you know how to play poker? I learned once, but I don't remember.

Do you wear your seat belt? Always.

How many meals do you eat a day? I skip lunch occasionally, but usually eat three.

Do you like funny or serious people better? Funny.

Ever been to L.A.? I have never been to California.

Did you eat a cookie today? No, but one sounds yummy!

Do you hate chocolate? No way! I love chocolate!

Are you a gullible person? Yes - I believe the best of people until I learn otherwise.

Are you easy to get along with? Most of the time.

One of the best ways to spend a day off :)

I had the day off today and this is how I spent it.

English Muffins


Caramel Corn

M&M cookies

Apple Crisp

Trommel Keok (Drum Cake)


Brownies with Marshmallow Fondant Filling (in the oven right now!)

Grandpa Update

Grandpa had his surgery on Monday evening. According to the doctor, it went as well as he would have expected. The colostomy was a success. Last I heard, Grandpa was doing well and in good spirits. Thank you for your prayers.

Grandpa Update

Grandpa should be going into surgery any time now. They were able to get him in sometime after 8 tonight. The surgery should take about an hour.

Update on Grandpa

Just thought I would give a quick update on my Grandpa. He did not end up having surgery on Friday. The operating doctor came down with the flu and was not able to be there. No-one else could perform the surgery, so they had to postpone it. Now he is on the list for Monday, with a "?" after his name, so it's not even definite that he will have the surgery on Monday. We are hoping he will, as this period of waiting is very frustrating for him and the rest of the family.

Grandpa

Please pray for my Grandpa today. He has been having some health issues this year and was admitted into the hospital on Monday. Sometime today he will be having a colostomy. Please pray for my mom as she is heading up the Whitby to be with the family, as well as my Grandma and the rest of the family as they spend the next few days in the hospital.

Work

I was told that I needed to update you all on my job(s). So here I am :)
I have been working at West Shore on my own for about a month now. I really really like what I do. I think I have a pretty good handle on my responsiblities, and each time the other office lady comes in, I have fewer questions for her and she has fewer things for me to fix! So that is a good thing. The office is very busy so I never have nothing to do. If I finish all my work, there is always filing to be done and things to be organized. The counselors are a lot of fun to be around too. They invited me to go out for lunch with them this afternoon and we had a good time. It was fun getting to know them in a non-work setting!
The Nursing Home is same as usual. Laundry isn't too exciting, but I like the people that I work with. We are going through some changes around our facility now, to increase our security measures, so that is definitely keeping us on our toes! It is laundry, housekeeping, and maintainance appreciation this week, so there was a luncheon on Tuesday. Unfortunately I couldn't make it, because I was working my other job.
Avon is going well also. It's challenging for me to get out of my comfort zone and gain new customers. I have ideas on how to do it, but usually I chicken out before I follow through. I need to learn to get out of my box and approach people, because that is the only way I will become successful at this!
It's sometimes challenging to have three jobs, but for me it's a good thing. I work about 40 hours a week doing all three, so it's basically like working a full time job, but better. I say better because it's always something different, and I never get bored. (Always a good thing). But I really like my jobs, and for me, that's what's important!

Take 5!

Mari had this meme up on her blog recently and I thought it would be fun to play along. You're welcome to play along too. Here's how it works. Mari got 5 words from another blogger and she did a post about the words she was given. She then offered to give 5 words to someone else. I thought it would be fun, so now I'm going to post on the five words she gave me. If you want to join in, tell me in the comments and I'll send you your own five words!

1. Work

I have been blessed with 2 part-time jobs. My favorite job is at West Shore, a counseling office. I am the office assistant there and I absolutely love it! I have been working there for about a month now and I think I have gotten the hang of what I do. My job is extremely detail oriented and constantly busy. The phone is always ringing, or there are clients waiting to be checked in, counselors needing things done, copies to be made, papers to be filed, faxes to be sent...you name it, I probably do it! My other job is at a nursing home. I do laundry there, not the most glamourous job, but it is something that has to be done. My favorite part of this job is interacting with the residents, there are so many interesting people in our home!

2. Love

Well, if you read my blog, you know that I have the most amazing boyfriend. We have been dating now for 18 months (last Saturday) and I wouldn't trade a second of it. I wasn't terribly into guys in high school, but I did wish that I would have a special guy to spend weekends with and such, especially when many of my friends were dating. But thankfully, God had a better idea, and I met Mike my second semester of college. We've spent a lot of time together, getting to know each other. I've learned a lot from Mike: I've learned the meaning of unconditional love, he loves me even when I don't feel loveable; I've learned selflessness; I've learned patience; and I've learned to say I'm sorry. Mike, if you're reading this, you've taught me so much and I'm so thankful for you! I love you!

3. Cooking

If I could have my dream job, it would be to be able to cook and bake all day! If you read my recipe blog, I'm sure you've noticed that I love to create new recipes and try out new things, modify old recipes, and try recipes from other people. I could spend hours browsing websites for yummy recipes. My favorite days during the school year were Fridays because I didn't have to go to school so I would stay home and bake all day!

4. Music

Where would I be without music? I am constantly listening to music, and I almost always have a song stuck in my head (for instance, right now it's "Lucky" by Jason Mraz). In highschool, I played the clarinet, I have taught myself how to play the keyboard, and I used to sing in my church's praise team. Music has always been a huge part of my life!

5. Car

Where do I start? I have not had much good luck with cars! I was so proud of my first car, a little green Sunfire. Then it started giving me more problems than it was worth (literally, I put about 3 times as much money into all it's many repairs as I spent to purchase it!) and I decided to sell it. Then I bought my beautiful Sebring convertible. That was such a fun car to drive, especially with the top down and the wind in your hair! Unfortunately, that car's life with me ended tragically earlier this year. Now I have a nice Stratus. It is a good car and I think it will last me a while!

I'll try to post again later this week when life slows down a bit to update a little more on my new job. But this is all I have for tonight. If you'd like me to pick out 5 words for you, please let me know!

The View

This is the last installment of my pictures from Cedar Point. The last ride we did on Saturday night was the Giant Wheel. The view from the top was pretty incredible!

Looking out over the park. The yellow loopy ride is the Corkscrew.

Looking up at the Wicked Twister (my 2nd favorite ride)!

Max Air

Another view of the park. On the right is the Top Trill Dragster. The tall ride to the left is Power Tower

More pictures from Cedar Point

We survived!!!
Me, Mike, Tyler and Jen

Excited after riding the Millennium Force

View from our resort

Behind our resort

Ride Warriors

This past weekend Mike and I, his parents, and his sister and her fiance went to Cedar Point. The weather was absolutely perfect, not too hot and not too cold. We took a ton of pictures, but most of them are of the two of us, so I won't bore you with all of those. I did select a few pictures that I think pretty much give a good summary of our trip to share.

We went on a lot of rides. We rode Millennium Force which was a lot more fun than I remembered from last year. We discovered that I tend to psych myself up too much and I get all scared for a ride and then after we go on it, it ends up that it wasn't near as bad as I had made it out to be. We also went on the Skyhawk, which was scary because you end up parallel to the ground and it feels like you're going straight into the ground and then suddenly it swings you back up. We really liked Magnum XL-200 but we weren't thrilled about Maverick. It was really rough and jerky and most of us had headaches after the ride. Wicked Twister used to be my favorite ride and it's still quite high on my list, but I think Top Trill Dragster has won the top spot now! Saturday afternoon, Mike and I and Jen and Tyler also went to the water park, Soak City, and we rode all of the tube rides. Our favorite was Zoom Flume because all 4 of us could go in together.


We went to the Snoopy's Big Bow Wow on ice. It was really neat to watch. The skaters were amazing!

These are two of the main skaters, they did lots of neat tricks like this. At one point he swung her around by her feet and her head came about 2 inches from the ice! Now that takes skill!

This is the restaurant beside our resort; we stayed at the Sandcastle Suites. We ate dinner here.

Wicked Twister is one of my favorite rides at the park. Mike convinced me to ride in the front car with him. I was a little nervous, as this was my first time sitting in the front, but it was really neat! I would definitely do it again!


This was the highlight of Mike's day. I didn't know that I would be riding in the front car so soon after Wicked Twister, but we went straight to Top Thrill Dragster. We had an hour wait (which was our longest wait the whole time at the park) and even that is not too long for a ride. Mike asked me to ride in the front car with him, and only because I love him so much, I agreed. It ended up being absolutely amazing, and we both agreed that the front car is the best way to enjoy Top Thrill!

I have a lot more pictures, so maybe later I will do a post of just pictures that we took on our trip!

Job update

I've been in training at my new job last week and this past week. There is so much to learn! I have had to learn all the computer tasks that we do, where files are stored, how to schedule appointments for the various counselors, answer the phone, take payments from clients and set up new clients. There is so much that I have arelady learned, sometimes it seems overwhelming! But there is still so much more that I still have to learn! My boss and I are planning to completely "re-vamp" how the office is run. It used to be quite disorganized, but we are determined to change that! So it will probably take us at least a month before we get the office to where we want it to be. Then it will still probably be a few months before I will know most of what I need to, it's quite a learning process! Monday will be my first day on my own...I'll let you know how it goes!!!

Makeover Monday

I am sure you have all seen or heard of a product and thought, "that's too good to be true". I had that when I saw this product for the first time in our Avon preview catalog. This Skin So Soft Fresh & Smooth Hair Minimizing Roll-On Anti-Perspirant Deodorant (long name, huh?) claims that its "Unique deodorant formula helps minimize the appearance of hair in just 2 weeks!" Since it costs just over a dollar, I figured it wouldn't hurt to try it out.
Now, I'm not a person who hates shaving or anything, I figure it's a fact of life and beauty, but if this would help minimize the appearance of underarm stubble, especially in tank-top-wearing season, I thought it definitely deserved a shot. I started using it about a week and a half ago, and I can honestly say I can tell a difference! I put it when I get out of the shower and then I do put on my regular deoderant. I think my hair is growing back less noticibly, and it looks like less hair than normal is growing. I will probably continue to shave every day, but this deoderant has definitely helped as I don't notice as much growth by the end of the day. It's a keeper!!!

To purchase this, or any other AVON product, please go here.

New Job!

I graduated from college in May and for the past 4 months I have been applying for jobs. Now-a-days most job applications are filed online, meaning that if you're lucky the potential employer will get your application. I had 2 interviews in June, but nothing came out of it. So I continued applying all over. I would estimate that I would apply at 1-3 places each day. And applying and applying. Of course, Michigan has a super high unemployment rate and more people are being laid off each week, so there are not too many jobs available right now. I thought I would have a slight advantage, being a recent graduate and all. However I found that can be both a blessing and a curse. It's a nice thing because I have all this knowledge built up in my head right now...however, because I went to college straight after high school that means I do not have any work experience in my field. That in itself can be a good or bad thing as well. Bad because I would have to be completely trained, but good because I can be trained exactly how the employer wants, without me having a set way of doing things. In early July, Mike's mom asked me if I would be interested in putting my name in for a job as an office assistant at a counseling office. Her friend works there and knew there was a chance a position would be opening up soon. I said of course I would be interested, but after a while I hadn't heard anything and I didn't really think much of it again. Well, just over a week ago, Mike's mom's friend emailed me and asked if I was still interested in this job. Definitely!!! It happened quite quickly, I had an interview on Tuesday and another on Wednesday. I thought they went quite well. Yesterday afternoon I got a phone call saying that I had gotten the job!!! I will be working part-time at the office, so I will be able to keep my job at the nursing home as well. I am looking forward to this job. There is a lot to learn and I have been told that it is extremely fast paced and I will be very busy each day. But it will be great to get the experience and be working a lot more than I have recently!

A Night Out

When Mike does something, he does it well. In this case, he told me earlier in the week that we were going out for dinner on Saturday night, but he didn't tell me where. So Saturday before I headed out to his house, he told me to wear something dressy. I had just bought a dress at a garage sale, so I decided on that. I got to his house and shortly after, we left for the restaurant. He took me to Boatwerks and because the weather was so nice he planned for us to get there early enough to get a seat outside on the patio. We sat about as close to the water as you can get and enjoyed the view of the lake and watching the boats on the water. We both decided to branch out from our normal burgers that we usually order at restaurants. Mike ordered the Grilled BBQ Pork Chop and I got Chicken Oscar. I was surprised at the combination of flavors in my meal (Chicken, Crab meat, Asparagus, and Pasta), but it was very good! Our waitress was nice enough to take our picture and suggested that we go down by the water for it. After our meal, we went on a nice little drive. Mike had worked at some houses on South Shore Drive and he wanted me to see some of them. We were able to go up on a private drive, there were some absolutely beautiful houses there! After our drive, we headed back to his house and watched a movie. It was a great night out!

Half-way point!

I am officially half-way through my 30 day work-out! A few weeks ago, I started Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred work-out video. I have been working out 5 days a week (I take the weekends off, as you're allowed 2 days to rest each week). And today marks my half-way point! I feel really good, as it's been a while since I've worked out like this. Usually I do my work-out first thing in the morning. I like that because I feel like I have so much energy to get through the rest of the day! I have found that this work-out is quite challenging but I do enjoy doing it! There are 3 levels of the workout, each one getting progressively harder. I made it my goal to do each workout for 10 days, and then move to the next level. So right now, I'm on level 2. I am starting to see results of the work-out. I can feel that my legs and abs are more defined, and I have lost about 1/2 an inch from my thighs, hips, and stomach. My ultimate goal is to lose about 10 pounds from this work-out, and I haven't weighed myself yet, so I don't know how close I am. It has been quite a challenge for me to stick with this program and do it each day, but so far I am doing well and feeling good about myself!

A sweet surprise

What is this?

There's a brand new candy store not too far from Mike's house. I had mentioned to him that I read an article in the Advance about the new store and I thought it would be interesting to see what types of candies they have there. The other day, he got out of work a bit early and decided to pop in the store before we hung out. The first (well, after giving me a hug) thing he did was hand me this huge piece of chocolate. "What is it?" I asked. "Try it and find out" he replied grinning. I got to admit, I was a little hesitant, seeing as how he was grinning and refused to tell me what I was about to eat. So, I took a bite and ooo yummy! The inside just melted in my mouth. So, did you figure out what it is yet? Chocolate covered sea foam!!! This is definitely high on my list of favorite "gourmet" candies. He also bought a bunch of malted milk balls and some Sour Warheads so we could relive our childhood!

4th of July!

What a day! Mike and I went with some friends to go tubing. We went up to Newago, got our tubes, and set out down the river. It was about a 3.5 hour trip from beginning to end, and we had a blast! On the way home we stopped at KFC for a no-clean-up meal and then off to fireworks! Mike's mom knew about a man in Overeisel who puts on an amazing fireworks show each year. I've seen a lot of shows and I would say this is one of the top 2 I have ever been to (the only better one was at Disney, so it better be good!). It was non-stop fireworks for an hour! It was kind of funny because after about 30 minutes, they set off a bunch of fireworks at once, and a lot of people thought that it was the grand finale...this happened probably 4 or 5 times! There were so many beautiful fireworks!

This is the actual "grand finale"...some of my favorite fireworks were the ones going off about 40 seconds into the video, non stop BOOM BOOM BOOM! (I tried to upload a movie of the fireworks, but after uploading for 8 hours, it still wasn't done...I'll try again tomorrow!)