Having Faith

Having faith can be very hard.  Trusting that someone has things under control even when you feel like things are spiraling out of control or seem hopeless can be a very hard thing to do.  Even when time and time again things work out, it’s still hard to remember that they always work out, and that they’ll work out this time too.  That’s something I’ve struggled with a lot in the past six months, but everything up to this point has worked out.  It might not have been my timeline but it’s worked out and for that I’m so thankful.  Having faith can be a hard thing though.

I was so excited when we started car shopping before my 16^th birthday.  I had saved money and we had a budget.  I was going to get the most amazing car ever.  Then I saw what my money could buy and my hopes became a little less high.  We looked at so many different dealerships and nothing stood out.  Everything we found was too much or in bad shape or something or other.  I was convinced that I wouldn’t find a car when I turned 16.  I imagined myself an old woman with no car still.  After a couple months we took a trip to a dealership a couple hours away.  I was so frustrated and beginning to think we should just stop looking for awhile.  That’s when I saw it, a purple car I fell in love with AND it had a sunroof.  I hadn’t even dreamed of a sunroof!  I was ecstatic.  We negotiated and long story short, I drove that car to school the day I turned 16 (after I got the license of course!).

A couple years later I was getting ready to graduate and go to college.  I had dreamt about going to AZ for years although I could never come up with a very concrete reason for that.  I just knew that I wanted to leave my little town and Arizona was the destination I had in mind.  I had worked hard through high school and had hoped for a scholarship.  I was ecstatic the day I got a letter in the mail informing me of my scholarship to ASU.  ASU hadn’t been my first choice of schools in AZ but it had some great benefits and in the end I decided it was the best option for me.  Obviously the move worked out great because it’s where I met Mr. C and I honestly can’t imagine my life without him.   My original choice of schools had been U of A, but then I never would have met Mr. C or so many other people that have touched my life.  Everything worked out, and it was even better than I could have imagined.  Clearly someone was guiding me. 

When I approached my college graduation, I job searched for months.  I actually had a white board with every place I had applied at written down.  It began as a way to keep track of where I had applied, however after time I began to refer to it as “the rejection board”.  From time to time, I’d look at that and feel sorry for myself and worry about what I was going to do once I graduated.  I wanted a job in the design field so bad but it just wasn’t working out.  I ended up getting a full time spot at the place I had worked at through college.  I loved the office, the people, and I already knew what I was doing so although it wasn’t the high profile design job I may have wanted, it was a job I enjoyed and I think that’s saying a lot.  I was extra grateful when design studios began laying people off and I knew I was safe in my job.  Again, things worked out.  Not in the way I had planned, but so much better.

I come up with weird, random ideas all the time.  There was the time I wanted to move to Chicago and informed Mr. C. of my plan.  He just went along with it, probably hoping it would all blow over soon enough.  It did once I looked at the price of apartments there. 

Somehow I decided one day that I wanted to be a teacher.  I looked into it and found this program that sounded too good to be true where I’d go to school while teaching full-time.  I found a position after the semester had already started; I would be the 3^rd teacher or so to attempt the position.  Things weren’t working out with paperwork and although the school had offered to guide me, especially in the beginning since I had no training, they weren’t really holding up their end of the bargain and I hadn’t even begun yet.  I felt alone, confused, and had no one to help me.  It was so terrible and over in a second.  I had known that something felt wrong from the beginning but I wanted it so bad.  As it turns out; maybe I should have listened to that little voice.  You can only fight so much.  At a certain point God must figure, ok, I’m running out of obstacles and she’s not getting this through her mind.  I’ll give her what she wants and see how long it takes to realize it’s not really the answer she wanted.

So here we are now, at another crossroads.  Waiting to see what happens.  It’s coming down to the wire and I feel like I’m thinking in terms of maybes all the time.  I’m not sure what the plan is for the future but this time it’s so much different.  I’m remembering the times when things worked out, when someone was guiding me and the path was perfect.  This time I’ve learned to let go and trust that it will all be okay, or I’m trying to do this anyhow.  The answer might not be what I want right now, but it might be the unexpected answer I really need.  This time I’m just going with the flow, something that’s not easy for a girl who likes her ducks in a straight little row months ahead of time.   This time I’m recognizing that if it all falls into place, it’s probably meant to be, and if not then that’s probably a sign.  Either way I’m not trying to be the one in control, and not pretending that I have a clue about anything.  This time around I’m clueless and it’s perfectly fine with me because I know that God has big plans for me and will help me figure out where I need to be!

The dramas of shopping with men

Mr. C and I recently took a trip to The Container Store.  If you haven’t been there, The Container Store is simply amazing.  It’s super organized and has the most beautiful closets ever.  Well, they aren’t real closets…they’re samples of how great your closet could look if you shop with them.  It’s almost like heaven for me. 

Mr. C and I talked about selling some of our bedroom furniture we’ve outgrown and getting new stuff that fits in our house when we actually buy a house.  I figured that we should start finding something to keep our clothes in during the transition period between dressers since it’ll be a good 6 months, if not more.  Enter The Container Store. 

We walk into the store and I can already tell that Mr. C is not as excited as I am (shocking I know).  As I begin pointing out all the amazing products in the store he shoots me a look of boredom before asking me to focus and reminding me why we’re there.  What he doesn’t understand is that there might be some amazing product out there I didn’t know about that I could discover on this trip!  We finally find the plastic drawers I had been looking for.  As I examine them and decide which color would be best, he looks at the price ($16.50), gasps, and asks me if I’m crazy.  He then proceeds to tell me that he is NOT paying that much for plastic drawers and he will find his own storage.  To his credit, they were pricey, BUT I checked Target and those were just as bad (Yes, I do know there are more stores than Target)!  We walk down the aisles and search for other options.  Upon finding none, he proudly tells me that he’ll just keep his clothes in crates.  I figure I’ve got him now because I know he is clueless about the price of crates in this store.  I happily offer to walk him to the crates where I point out the $10 price tag.  He does something dramatic again and then turns around to find a $5 tub.  He tells me that he will use these tubs because they’re much more realistically priced.  Unfortunately for him he had failed to realize that those $5 tubs had no lids.  Well, they didn’t have full lids anyhow.  They had little flaps that really only functioned for stacking purposes.  He practically yelled at the top of his lungs, “where’s the rest of the lid?!?”.  At this point the sales people really thought we were weird….and probably figured we were not buying anything.  This conversation officially ended when Mr. C told me he had decided to use the floor because it's FREE.  I'm super looking forward to living in an apartment where the floor is the only means of storage.  Score for me.

We wandered down some more aisles and he stopped to play with the trash cans.  I found one that was motion sensored and told Mr. C that mine was cooler than the one he was currently playing with.  He walked over to argue with me, realized that it was motion sensored and his eyes lit up.  I think he even gasped again.  Every single time we walked by the trash can he had to wave his hand over the motion thing. We walked by at least five more times.  I think three of those times we were walking by just to visit the trash can.  I felt like I was with a toddler.  At least it would be acceptable to put a leash on a toddler though.

I realized then he was not only a lost cause but he was also totally embarrassing me.  I figured it was time to leave and we began walking towards the door.  That’s when I realized he was no longer next to or behind me.  Of course he wasn’t, he was in the bungee chairs bouncing up and down with a huge grin on his face.  Awesome.  I should have known.

Sedona in the Spring and #58

It’s so sad that as I’m writing about our last Sedona getaway I’m thinking that we need another!  Life has been so packed full of things lately that I haven’t had much time for relaxing or even packing for that matter!   Our weekend was wonderful though and I’m so glad we somehow fit it into our packed schedules!

I’m very stingy with my vacation time.  Usually I save it all up for something important, like visiting family in the summer or Christmas.  I have so many people that I miss seeing during the year that I figure if I’m going to go to the work to fly back and spend time with family and friends, I better have lots of time to do it!  I think I can count on one hand the number of days I’ve taken off when I wasn’t going home or to California for an actual vacation.  Mr. C and I picked a weekend to go to Sedona (this time when there would not be snow).  I was so excited and even had it written in my calendar – in permanent marker!  Then I realized that I hadn’t booked the room which was pretty important because I’m not the camping type.  Mr. C called to book and found out we had waited too long because Saturday night wasn’t available anymore.  Eventually we decided to go Friday instead which meant that I’d have to take Friday off (gasp!).  Although I felt guilty since I didn’t really NEED the time, I did it anyhow and I’m so glad I did!

We had a plan this time around and it worked out perfectly!  We drove to Sedona in the morning and arrived around 1, just in time for a picnic!  We had stopped at AJ’s on the way up and picked up a few delicious things which tasted even better than they looked.  We drove up 89A which is a scenic drive along Oak Creek with tons of trees and red rocks in the background.  We got lucky and even found a table for our picnic.  This was very fortunate because I forgot to bring a blanket in my Sedona/picnic excitement.  The food was delicious and we got to enjoy the sounds of the creek as we ate.  Mr. C’s favorite was the mini fruit tarts which he scarfed down pretty quick.

After lunch we continued driving down the windy 89A and found a great spot to stop.  We walked awhile and came to this beautiful spot on the creek.  The water was crystal clear and all we could hear was the sound of the creek. 


Mr. C got a little crazy with the camera and took about a million pictures.  I got a few in :)

We headed to our B & B and checked in so we could wander around for awhile before dinner.   We stayed at the same one as last time and it was just as nice as I remembered.  We sat outside for awhile and had planned to watch the sunset but the clouds apparently didn’t agree with our plans.  We were able to spot some ducks though and enjoyed the creek.  Here’s the beautiful view we saw from our patio. Unfortunately I couldn’t capture the sound of the creek to put online! 

We had another delicious home cooked breakfast the next morning and after checking out we spent some time at the art galleries picking out the art we’d buy when (not if, WHEN) we win the lottery someday.  We finished our trip uptown at the ice cream shop where we were mistaken for locals.   We were both pretty excited we didn’t look like the fanny-pack toting tourists! 

Now I’m just dreaming of going back…  Fall would be beautiful but we’ll see what’s in store for us in the next few months!

The Science Center is NOT just for nerds!

While we were taking the S’s to the airport Monday night, our next set of guests arrived!  My aunt and her 2 grandsons came to stay with us for a few days.  We hadn’t actually seen them since our wedding over three years ago so it was a great surprise that they were able to visit.  Coconut loves kids and was excited too but she looked pretty worn out after playing with the kids all day!  I worked Monday while Mr. C entertained our guests a little bit, but mostly they entertained themselves.  I think they were about the easiest guests we’ve ever had actually! 

I only worked a half-day on Wednesday so we could all spend the afternoon together.  The gang picked me up from work and we headed out for some delicious pizza.  Getting off in the middle of the day is awesome in itself and adding a great lunch of pizza to that just topped the day off!  Might not have been the healthiest choice but it's not like I ate a whole pizza!

Mr. C LOVES the science center but a lot of the exhibits were broken the first time we went.  With the boys here, we thought it would be a fun place to go.  As an added bonus, we were excited to learn that one of the boys especially loves science.  Unfortunately we didn’t really think about the fact that everyone else was taking advantage of spring break and exploring Phoenix’s sights as well so there were a few more people at the Science Center than we had planned.  Even with the crowds we had a wonderful time though and I think we all learned something!  Plus, we got to play around all day and that’s just always fun.

There were a few highlights of the trip and I actually have pictures of most of these!  First up - the planetarium.  I always learn something new and it’s just cool!  Mr. C pretty much always falls asleep during this part and he didn’t break his routine this time.  He probably needed a few minutes of shut-eye though.  There was this little boy during our planetarium show that kept asking (yelling) questions and it would have been annoying but he was just soooo cute!  He was entertaining enough alone to make the planetarium great though!

Mr. C coming out of the slide that made farting sounds...it took a lot of work to talk him into this!

Next would be the exhibit in the body section of the center that looks like a huge nose.  You throw these spongy balls in the nose and it eventually sneezes on you.  That is by far my favorite exhibit in the whole place!  I know sneezing on doesn't SOUND fun, but it really is!  My aunt and I laughed like little girls when it sneezed the balls (buggers) all over.  Mr. C and I need to get one of those for our house!

I'm not sure if this last one was interesting or just weird but we all tried lying on a bed of nails.  It felt….well, weird, but not painful. 

We spent a large majority of our time in this room.  There was a tug-of-war thing going on but the ropes were at two different heights so one side was almost always guaranteed the win.  When we got there, there were 2 little girls competing against a few boys and the girls won.  The girls had no idea it wasn't an even fight, and thought they were so amazing.  Of course we weren't about to burst their bubble.  At points there were kids against adults and it got very serious and competitive!  Mr. C got in there a few times, usually on the side that was slated to lose.  I think he's a sucker for the underdogs.

We finished the day out with a game of Clue which I LOVE but NEVER win!  Per my usual, I lost but it was still fun!  All around we had a great time though and we were pretty lucky to get to spend our spring break with so many people!  Thursday morning our guests continued on their way and that evening Mr. C and I worked super hard at vegging out on the couch.   I can't remember the last time I was so unproductive, but it felt sooooo good! 

Superman, dinosaurs, elk, and some love

I've been working on this for awhile now and finally decided I just needed to post it!  Be warned that it's a long one!

To kick off our spring break one of my best friends from high school and her husband came for a visit. From here on out they will be known as Mr. and Mrs. S or just the S’s because that’s just so much easier! A little history – Mrs. S and I became friends in fifth grade.  During our junior high and high school years we most definitely got in some trouble together (nothing serious of course) and probably encouraged some not-so-smart decisions of each other but we managed to have a lot of fun and make some great memories.  Once we called my brother and sister-in-law to rush over to the house to fend off the attacker we heard on his way to get us.  I still SWEAR that we heard something but of course no one was there when they got there…just us locked in the bathroom deciding if it was bad enough that we should break the window and make a run for it.  At least we knew we had people to come save us though!   

Mrs. S is one of the friends I haven’t kept in super close contact with as much as I’d like but I know she’ll always be there if I need someone to listen and I think she feels the same.  She and her hubby tied the knot this past year in NE and Mr. C and I were lucky enough to be able to attend.  We were super excited when they said they wanted to visit over spring break because we hadn’t had much time to spend with her new hubby until then and with the distance I hadn’t seen her too much since moving to AZ either.  In case you were wondering, we decided that we still like her and he’s pretty awesome too :)

Friday

Friday night we picked the S’s up from the airport and headed over to one of our all-time favorite dinner spots, The Spaghetti Factory.  As usual, I thought the food was amazing and nothing beats spumoni for desert!  However, the most exciting part of our restaurant excursion happened before we actually got into the restaurant.  I’m so disappointed in myself for not taking a picture because I doubt you’ll believe this next part but I'll tell you anyhow.  Mr. C parked the car while Mr. and Mrs. S and I walked into the restaurant.  I looked to the left to check out the lightrail and you’ll never guess what I saw.  Just try.  Nope, guess again (I’m just assuming you’ll never guess but if you did then my apologies).  I saw Superman!  Yes, I said (or wrote) SUPERMAN!  He was standing at the lightrail with his hands on his hips and his sunglasses on.  He wasn’t just loitering or hanging around; he was obviously on a mission and looked pretty serious.  He was most definitely facing the restaurant looking very superheroish.  Like I said, I’m super disappointed in myself for not having a picture.  When I finally realized I could take a picture on my phone I turned around and he was gone. 

Saturday

The next day we headed over to the stadium for my very first spring training game.  It was the first warm day this year I can remember but being in the shade made for some perfect weather.  Mr. C fell asleep every once and awhile, I zoned out A LOT, and Mr. and Mrs. S wandered around every now and then but I thought it was pretty fun overall.  Sometimes I like the idea of doing things better than actually doing them!  The IDEA of a game is great but then I get there and don’t even realize when it started.  I’m not saying this happened but I’m not denying it either… 

Sunday

The next day we left early for the Grand Canyon.  This was definitely my favorite day with the S’s.  Apparently there was a little communication error and Mrs. S thought the trip was 4 hours in total but it was really 4 hours each way.  Thank God for gmail so I was able to prove that I wasn’t crazy and I really did tell her 4 hours EACH way.  We had a good laugh and no one threw anyone else out the window during the drive so it worked out.  Being stuck in a car with someone for 8 hours is a great way to find out more about them!

On the way to the GC there’s this random Flintstone camping/diner area so of course we stopped for some random pics.  So there’s a Flinstone car, a huge Fred, a dinosaur and of course a jet.  What?  A JET?  Yes, I was confused at first too.  After careful deliberation however I realized that the jet must have come to protect the flinstones from the dinosaurs.  This clearly explains why the dinosaur is a skeleton.  I’m just brilliant sometimes.  Here are a few of my favorite pics from the Flinstone/jet stop.  Notice how super strong Mr. C is in one. 

After lunch I drove us into the park.  I saw something down the road a little bit but didn’t think much of it until we got closer and I noticed it was a big ELK!  I stopped a little suddenly and the Elk hung out for a few minutes.  I’d never seen one before and I have to say I was pretty impressed.  I always get mad when I see those signs that say to watch for certain animals for like 100 miles and then I NEVER see them.  Of course we didn’t see any other animals but at least I got one checked off my list!  This was my fourth trip to the GC and it never gets old.  In the words of Mrs. S, it’s “very grand”.   We drove around the south rim stopping every now and then for pictures.  Mrs. S and I were a little jumpy when the guys got close to the edge to get some pics.  I really didn't want anyone in our group to be in the news for getting too close to the edge.  Obviously we all made it out alright and they probably weren’t that close to the edge…we were just edgy.  Ha ha. 

Monday

After lunch we headed to the Scottsdale Civic Center area to look for this love sculpture I’ve always wanted to check out.   Since we had the new camera we figured it would be perfect to take some pics there and I’d get to see how my photography skills were.  I’m not sure I learned much about my photography or directing of people skills though.

A spring training game was going on so we couldn’t find a parking spot, well not a legal one anyhow.  We were going to just park in a not-so-legal spot but I was a little worried about a ticket or coming back to no car.  Then we spotted a guy leaving so Mr. S ran down to stand in the spot while Mr. C pulled the car around.  Group work!  Thanks to that the car was not towed and we managed to find the sculpture (which is amazing cuz my directions left a lot to be desired.  Here are a couple of my favorite shots. Dave and Buster’s was our last stop before the airport and I was so excited to be going on a Monday.  Weekdays off work are like candy to me!  They’re just the best!  We racked up a bunch of tickets and had a lot of fun playing games even though I did pretty horrible on about everything I tried.  I think the little kid next to me on skeeball got like 20 tickets in one game.  I only got one per game and I think that’s just the pity ticket so you don’t leave empty handed.

So, a great weekend and such a great way to kick off spring break!  I’m so glad we got to spend the weekend with Mr. and Mrs. S.  We hope to have many more fun weekends with them, especially if the plan to move closer pans out!

#91 and a bunch of ramblings

Some weeks it feels like I rack my brain to think of something to write about.  Other weeks, it seems that I have too many things floating around my head and not enough time.   This week is one of those occasions I have A TON to write about!  I actually took some time off this year during spring break and have a bunch to write about that!  Unfortunately I was so busy that I didn’t have time to write so I’m catching up now (after having caught up a little bit on sleep).  First up though is a little “housekeeping” - one of my 101 in 1001 items that I’m super excited to have checked off my list.

Mr. C and I have been shopping around for over a year for a D-SLR camera.  I don’t know about you, but I think a year is a very long time.  We didn’t even shop around a year for mattress, or wedding rings, or a computer, or socks.  Hey, socks are super important and should not be selected lightly.  And, wedding rings are forever!  Anyhow, we knew we wanted a Canon but didn’t want to run out and buy just any camera.  We shopped around, I watched for deals, stalked the reviews on amazon.com and we FINALLY decided on a Canon Rebel T2i. 

We were still waiting for the right time though and couldn’t quite take the plunge.  A few weeks ago we were in Sedona taking pictures of the beautiful scenery with our little point and shoot camera (which I still love).  The pictures weren’t turning out like I wanted because my zoom just couldn’t cut it and everywhere we looked there were people with their amazing SLR cameras taking amazing pictures with their amazing zooms (I’m sure zooms is a technical term).  That was it.  When we got home I found the best deal I’d seen since we started looking.  Last week we proudly walked out of the store holding our new purchase.  We were like little kids with our bike, or tickle-me-elmo or something like that.  Although tickle-me-elmo is awesome no matter what age you are.  Elmo just rocks.  Not sure how this is related to the SLR purchase at this point though…but nevertheless Elmo rocks.

In the beginning it was just me that wanted the camera but then Mr. C started catching on.  He says he always wanted it but I don’t remember this and it’s my blog so we’ll just say he wanted one after I began obsessing over them.  We both knew we’d like the camera but I never expected to love it as much as we do!  We might have to eventually buy another (a long ways down the road!) because we’re fighting over who gets to use it already!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the clarity of the photos.  The night we got it we were super excited that it showed the dust particles on the dresser!  (Yes, I know this is totally lame, and probably means I should dust more often).  Plus, it just does stuff our old camera just couldn’t.  I’m also excited that the lenses are compatible with other Canon SLR’s so if we upgrade down the line or end up purchasing another (we joke that we’ll become a wedding photography duo soon on the side) then we can still use our lenses which I LOVE!


Luckily we purchased the camera before our spring break guests arrived, meaning that we got some great pictures of off the festivities.   I tried my best to take lots of pics so the next posts will probably be packed full of them.  It might end up like a picture book with like three words for every photo.  I’ll try to contain myself! 


I also feel the need to mention that I know I’ve been slacking on my 101 in 1001 list lately.  I just get so busy that at times I forget about it (gasp - I know it’s terrible).  I’m sure you’ve all been distraught at home wondering when I’d get to my list.  Right?  Yeah, I know I’m not the centner of your world (get it!) but you never know!  When I read the 101 list I get tingly and excited all over again (because we all know about my love affair with lists).  So, after checking #91 off my list, I’m hoping to start getting serious on #’s 5-12 which are my scary fitness goals.  Honestly, most of them aren’t that scary, they just require a little time and some accountability.  Stay tuned for more riveting posts on these.  I know I’m rambling but I’m just telling you so I don’t flake out on them :)   My friend told me the other day that I’m really good at saying a lot of words without actually saying anything.  Why yes, I do believe I’ve perfected that art.  I considered taking a poll on this but I assume the outcome wouldn’t be good for me!  Ok, I’m stopping myself now. 

Reality Check

On the books today: a little more serious post that’s actually NOT about me, well not really….

I’ve had some rough days in the past couple weeks.  I’ve been anxious, sad, happy, worried, and a bunch of other emotions.  I sound a little crazy when I put it this way, but there is a point to this.

I like to keep up-to-date on current events because I think it’s important to understand what’s going on in the world and to have a focal point other than myself.  Obviously the tragedies in Japan have been flooding the news lately.  It’s amazing what these people have been through, first the earthquake, then a tsunami, and now issues with radiation.  They don’t know if they can trust the news they’re hearing and who can blame them?  Today I’m tired, have a headache, and have so many things running through my mind.  But, the point is that this doesn’t even begin to compare with the devastation these people are going through.  At the end of the day I go home to my house, husband, puppy, and know that my family and friends are safe and tomorrow will be a new day.  I can catch up on my sleep, take something for the headache, and I know that my small worries will work themselves out.  It’s heartbreaking to watch videos, to see the numbers of dead and missing growing too quickly, and to consider the emotional toll of losing even one loved one.

This weekend was a great weekend for me and I’ll be blogging about that later, but when I logged online this morning to check on the latest in Japan it hit me that I was so lucky to be able to take a “break” from the media’s depressing news stories.   How great it would be to take a break from anything bad in our lives.  These people cannot take a break from this though.  I watched a clip of a man in a shelter and thought about how different my life could be.  I can’t even imagine being in a shelter, knowing I had no home to return to.  I’m not even sure what you do all day.  I’m pretty sure I’d want to just sleep until it was all over.  I have days like that now and they’re pretty minimal.  Disasters are so devastating because they’re fast and unexpected.  At any time something like this can happen and shake us all out of our happy, safe, and too many times self-centered bubbles we live in. 

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook but this week I was fascinated with the comments posted concerning prayers for those in Japan, videos shared, the comments from people who have family and friends in Japan, and even Farmville’s encouragement of donating.  I guess it just reminded me that we’re all connected and we all have to look out for one another.  This tragedy hit Japan, Hawaii, and the West Coast, but it should affect all of us in the sense that we’re all mourning for those who lost their lives and the ones left behind who now have the responsibility of picking up the pieces.  We can all help in our own little ways.  While I know I can’t help literally pick up the pieces, I can donate and most of all I can always pray.  So last week, today, and for many days in the future, my heart and prayers go out to those who are dealing firsthand with this terrible disaster.  I hope we can all remember just how blessed we really are, even when it feels like the sky is falling down on our little world.