tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5392230653681278662024-02-18T19:46:53.613-07:00Under the Same SkyJessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-88242067221968596732011-09-29T16:37:00.003-06:002011-09-29T16:55:54.243-06:00Our State Fair is a Grand State Fair...This weekend is the Texas State Fair Cousin Reunion in Dallas!! Sadly, it sounds like not as many cousins will be re-uning(is this a word?) this year. I'm excited to eat some fried food and get in some good hanging out.<br />I had a wonderful birthday! Thanks to all of you who sent notes. I felt very blessed! I did a log of eating and drinking DP, thanks to Dave and a few good friends, and then after church last night I ended the evening by going to Free Pie Wednesday at Village Inn Restaurant. I got strawberry rhubarb pie with decaf coffee. Not far as good as Mom's, but it was nice birthday dessert. :) Each year when my birthday rolls around, and especially this year for some reason, I am convicted about what I'm doing with my life. Am I living boldly? Am I living beyond myself? I enjoy routine and the simple life, so it's easy for me to get stuck there. Not that either of those things are wrong, but I know that those two tendencies I have can influence me stay in my comfort zone and not bless others the way that God has intended me to. So, I've been thinking about how I can be more available to God, how he's already working through me, and new or expanded ways He can work through me. As you know, I'm a fairly easily entertained and fascinated person, so all of this train of thought has kept me entertained(that's not quite the word I'm going for, but can't think of what is). Occupied maybe.<br />In othe random news - hoping to upgrade from my trash phone soon to a smart phone that will hopefully prevent the carpal tunnel that I feel like I'm developing from my current phone! How am I doing this? Family plans are way more affordable, I've found out recently, so thanks to Dave, I'm upgrading. Trying to train for the White Rock Half Marathon. This is definitely the hardest things physically that I've ever done, and still have a long ways to go. There is a 15k that I'm running at the end of October, which gives me a sooner goal to shoot for. One month. Yikes. My motto? Slow and steady...finishes the race. I'm not going for winning here, just finishing at least at a slow jog. Or a fast jog would be fine too. :) But I'll settle for a slow jog.<br />That makes me think of the song, "I'll settle for a slowdown". At least I think those are the words. ha I've been on a country music kick recently. Country music is nice in the fall, when you can blare it with the windows down. Speaking of fall, the temps have gone back up, but at least the evenings have been a little cooler.<br />Hope you all are enjoying the season, and if you're usually at the fair and you're reading this, you are going to be missed greatly!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-62991094802069952582011-09-08T16:48:00.002-06:002011-09-08T17:01:42.416-06:00Fall!We're supposed to head up into the nineties again this weekend, but fall is in the air. The angle of the sun makes things feel different as does the cool-ish breeze.<br /><br />I haven't blogged in forever, so I'm well overdue for an update. Work is going well. I'm slowly gaining clients. I'll have a high number one week and the next week I'll be back down. So I'm just trying to be patient and be a good receptionist in the process. The good part of being the receptionist is that I have learned a ton about insurance, billing, and the financial side of things. On the therapy side, I've had some interesting cases. Really, people in general are interesting. If you came into my office, I would find you fascinating even if you think you are pitiful and boring. Hopefully you don't hear me saying that you are species that I am putting under the microscope to study (although I guess a little of that goes on!), but mainly that everyone is so different. On the outside. On the inside, I think we're all about the same. Bleah, bleah, bleah, not sure what I'm really talking about. Should have just left it at - people are interesting.<br /><br />For Labor Day, the young professionals group at church went on a campout. I think 20 something people went. Tric and Dave both came, as did two of my roommates. It was such a blast. Saturday was a blast of heat, but the rest of the time was just a fun blast. We came back on Sunday so Tric, her roommate, Haley, and Haley's friend Alisha, and I could run the "Escape from Turkey Mountain" trail run on Monday morning. Again, it was so fun! They did the 5 mile and I did the 2 mile. The first part was annoying because the trail was so narrow that you couldn't pass the very slow people. I wasn't the fastest by any means, but I wasn't the slowest either. By the time I was able to pass people, I guess my coffee had kicked in because I felt like I flew that last mile. Sounded like a freight train, but I was moving pretty fast for me. Super, super fun. After that we went and got breakfast burritos. Delicious. T and I met with Dave later for deep dish pizza for lunch. Also delicious.<br /><br />This weekend, I'm trying to round up some folk to go hike at Turkey Mountain (hill). It's about 5 minutes from where I live and there are some decent trails, for this vicinity. Besides that, just planning to sleep in on Saturday. Between camping and running at 7 in the morning on Labor Day, I've been worn out this week!<br /><br />Have a great weekend!!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-15927960211753790452011-08-02T16:06:00.002-06:002011-08-02T16:10:21.961-06:00Burned UpIt is 111 degrees right now. By 4 am, we are supposed to be down to 91. I am loving popsicles and air conditioning (and my fleece that I have to wear inside, because the AC is so cold).Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-4076380560540382962011-07-12T16:54:00.003-06:002011-07-12T17:24:09.679-06:00Packing it InWe're sitting at a pleasant, but very humid 91 degrees right now. Looks like some storms are supposed to move through, so hopefully we'll get some rain. It sprinkled a little this afternoon. Trees and bushes look wilted.<br /><br />The 4th of July was super fun this year. I love fireworks, so my plan was to get in as many shows as possible. I saw two really good ones - one on the 3rd and one on the 4th. Then a couple of days after I got to shoot some off with some friends.<br /><br />This weekend was super fun. 6 friends came into town who were in Korea at the same time I was. Heather and Rachel are from Texas, Katee, Beth, and Amanda are from Canada, and Abby is from Springfield, MO. We've gotten together the past 2 summers, so it's become an annual tradition. It was so fun. We ate a lot, talked a lot, and laughed a ton. I have three roommates already, so with 10 of us, we were definitely piled in the house, but it seemed to work out pretty well. This is about to get detailed, so unless you're my mom or sister you may want to stop reading now!<br /><br />Friday evening when they all got in we went and ate Korean food, which was excellent, and then we sang in the norae-bang (singing room) they have at the restaurant - Korean karoke. It was a blast. They gave the room to us for free for one hour. It had taken the Canadian girls 20 hours to drive down, so they were pretty tired, and the norae bang ac wasn't working, so we were worn out from singing and heat exhaustion!<br />We went to a little farmer's market on Sat. morning and got breakfast burritos, then went to the Philbrook art museum - it was free that day! It's a pretty good museum and the gardens are gorgeous. The AC was a lifesaver though, because I think we were at 100 or higher that day. After that I took them to Quick Trip - a local gas station that has 59 cent drinks during the summer. Yummy DP. Then we went home and just hung out for the afternoon. That evening, we went to the riverwalk to eat at Los Cabos. We sat outside and tried to yell at each other over the super loud (but fun) band that was there. Then we strolled and a few of the girls listened to another band that was there. After that, we went to get coffee (I should have gotten decaf). I found out that my brother and his friend, Kent were going to be at a restaurant across the street, so we went to hang out with them. The trip took an even better turn there, because Kent suggested (kind of insisted) that we should go out to his family's cabin on the lake. So generous of him and such a great idea. So the next afternoon, after church, we went out to the cabin. The girls got to seem my flowers on the way out, which are majorly struggling with the heat, but at least some of them are still alive! Once we got there, he took us out on the boat and we all got in an swam. (Swam? is that the right word?) Yes, believe it or not, I did get in the lake and swim. And it was really fun. I felt a lot more relaxed once I had a float/life jacket think to hold on to. There's something about not seeing or touching the bottom that makes me really nervous, but it was a good time to face my fears! I even went in after seeing a snake along the bank by the dock. Bleah. Can't think about that too much. After that, Kent left and we hung out on the deck the rest of the night. We ordered pizza that was super yummy and sat outside a long ways after dark. It never cooled off, but it was still fun and beautiful. The next day, Amanda and I took a stroll and saw a sign for blue green algae - swim at your own risk. Great! Still don't know what that means, but Amanda still went in later. There was a little incident of a cut foot and passing out from pain and me getting just a little panicked about someone seeing someone faint, but we all survived. I'm so glad for her that it was just a minor accident. We headed back to Tulsa that afternoon, met David for supper, and then went to the Cheesecake Factory for dessert and coffee. The Canadians don't have the Cheesecake Factory. That was the perfect ending to a great visit. Katee had to be at the airport really early this morning. Abby had to leave on Sunday, but the other girls came up to my office and we went and got a hamburger and fries for lunch at Ron's. I kind of feel like I'm about to go into friend withdrawals and I'm experiencing major sleep deprivation, but what a great time. I couldn't feel more blessed. :)Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-37931654745071858442011-06-24T11:36:00.003-06:002011-06-24T12:54:44.538-06:00Metaphoring it upThis week I've been thinking a lot about the importance of gentleness, as well as expressing your love to people by offering them free will (of course they already have it, but sometimes we try to act like they don't and that we are in charge of them). What I'm about to write will relate more to gentleness than free will. I'll save free will for another time.<br />Yesterday I was weeding around some flowers that I planted a couple of months ago. When I first planted them, I planted them in dirt that I had weeded, but many of the roots were still there. It had been over a month since I had worked with my little garden. Unfortunately, most of these little flowers never had a chance, because the weeds/<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">bermuda</span> grass came up and choked them out. Add to that - my inconsistent wedding. If they weren't choked out at the beginning, they were edged out by the weeds that were allowed to get out of control and literally take over the entire space that I'd hoped would turn into a nice patch of wildflowers. When I went to weed last night, maybe 10 or 12 little flowers/stalks were there, even though I planted probably more than 100 seeds. As I began to attack the weeds, I <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">inadvertently</span> pulled up some of the flowers because they were hidden and because I was not being gentle enough. Even as I became more gentle, I found out that weeds were actually what were holding the flowers up and keeping them going. That became the tough part. The ground was super dry, so even when I was as gentle as I could be, I would end up pulling out the flower along with the weed I was trying to get. Around that time, my friend recommended transplanting the flowers altogether to a section of the ground that was cleared. So that's what we did. Maybe these little cosmos, asters, and ? will make it now. Of course they're still in an area that has weeds, so it's going to take persistence and consistency on my part to keep the weeds from becoming their support system/eventually killing them. And I'll have to keep watering, but at the beginning not so much as to drown them out, because they're still fragile. <br />Some people might say that really there's nothing in my power that I can do that will ultimately make the flowers live or die. The flowers have free will and all that, and they chose those weeds, and all I could do was plant the seeds. I don't know that I have full power to make the flowers live and die and I don't know whether they chose the weeds or the weeds chose them, or both, or maybe they were just there from previous years. What I can see is that the weeds have the power to kill the flowers or at least fool the flower into thinking that it's standing on it's own and living a thriving, happy life when really it's just the bermuda grass that's holding it up. What I also know is that consistent and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">persistent</span> love and gentleness go a long way with these little flowers that I love.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-88735118567375305992011-06-22T15:01:00.002-06:002011-06-22T15:55:19.296-06:00What I have learned from Uncle Paul:<br />-He taught me how to understand the Holy Spirit and the Trinity better.<br />-He taught me how to love and value all people.<br />-He taught me that people are first.<br />-He taught me how to get real with people.<br />-He taught me the power of commiting to pray for people - usually just one or three.<br />-I love how he and his siblings had so much fun together.<br />-I love the fun he brought to every group he was part of.<br />His influence is immeasureable. I will miss him.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-66083802436261095112011-04-15T15:51:00.004-06:002011-04-15T15:59:43.380-06:00Friday!!!Life is flying by! I seriously can't believe I've been in Tulsa almost a year. Crazy. I'm working as the receptionist right now at the counseling center and seeing clients, so my schedule right now is pretty crazy as well. The good thing that's happening right now is that Kevin, my supervisor here just got his Oklahoma licensure. That opens up a lot of doors for us to see more clients. I'm going to Boise for Memorial Day weekend!! Looking really forward to that. A couple of weekends ago the singles group at church went camping in Arkansas for the weekend. It was gorgeous there! We went to Mt. Magazine, the highest point in AR and hiked around and tried to see a mama bear and her two cubs. We never could see them, but supposedly they have a den in one of the areas there. Tonight I'm going to an Amish dinner. I have no idea what Amish cooking is like, but I guess I'm about to find out. If it matches the lifestyle, I'd guess it will be simple food with some delicious extra flavoring thrown in. My theory about the delicious extra flavoring idea is from how they throw in some extra stuff into their lifestlyes, like going to Wal-Mart, and using some nice aspects of civilization. :) Guten Friday, everyone!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-22290031405390084912011-03-13T19:40:00.008-06:002011-03-13T20:24:57.346-06:00Speaking of...<div><div><div>Right now we're sitting at a chilly 48 with light rain. I myself am sitting in a large, cozy chair with a blanket around me enjoying a nice, quiet evening at home. I have eaten a box and a half of raisins in the past hour. Delicious. I've never liked raisins until recently and they are decidedly a new fave. Great Value All Natural California Raisins. Yummmmm.</div><div> </div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 298px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583755211578721250" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8mL7M6QX-B6yBQaQc24WOcLi9ODogUpCYs0SbB-FrxM-u5pJKf5XGHmvPz3tQFpx5_NStW4TQfb0Hz-ChtBHuAQu8rL_cUICbOyiEzYx8o0SENmH2yurVpexBFN0QATWyXKRITBhyphenhyphenvN2/s400/0.jpg" /><br /><div></div><div>Speaking of deliciousness, one of my roommates has a Keurig coffee maker. </div><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 260px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 330px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583746708836689362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja1zgGOnYCQv4WYwy8veI2-xVZyrWxWBjC48rIaLIJ2_0Z9RbTj5_5O3qK1phhspGTsuQ5Wdsuqzc3MQv6jXi19M3GDpl1kjuFEUoLEehxs0FKP9itMMQ5JUdtKl_RCq83us5Ag_7JQR_A/s400/10-Keurig-B40-Lg.jpg" /> </div><br /><div>I never knew what I thought about them, but I am now a fan. You can use them for a single cup of coffee or you can just use it to heat up water for tea. The little individual cups are kind of expensive, but what a great treat! During the big blizzard it was on all day for us to have hot drinks. The different flavor options are great. My personal favorite is the Wild Mountain Blueberry. Based on my dislike of raspberry and cherry flavored coffees, I thought it would be bad, but it is berry berry amazing. :D So good.</div><div></div><div></div><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 261px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 250px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583747206701099218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvBywP3xUnRvPaNtFViSacxuJZxP1jK9aWvcmKXgNSNwvTxE8dn6P5cYlyaU4fSzlhrmyS6a_rURm8es9thI8iKjDw409AjgDExJHb5Ku6XZnWut3jJATG5OJ92sBkpU3O2U0Q3cD9q0ic/s400/10-K-Cup-Wild-Mountain-Blueberry-lg.jpg" /></div><br /><br /><div></div>Today I went to eat lunch with my friend Lisa and her baby for lunch. They are packing up to head to California to meet up with her husband who is stationed there in the army. Baby Teia is so cute! We ate at a hole-in-the-wall Chinese place that is super good. </div><br /><div></div><div>Speaking of cute babies, I thought I was hearing Kevin and Lindsey's son yell my name across the pews at church "Dess! Dess!" -- he's almost 2 -- but then I thought to myself, "Nah, quit being so egocentric." But after a minute I couldn't help myself, so I turned to look and sure enough he was excitedly pointing out to his mom where I was during the final prayer. He couldn't have done something more endearing :) </div><br /><div></div><div>David has left with his college group for Florida for spring break for the week. Because it's spring break for the Tulsa area, a couple of things I go to during the week are cancelled, so I feel like I've got a nice week coming up. </div><br /><div></div><div>And speaking of a nice week coming up... It may be in the 40s now, but we're moving into the 70s by the middle of the week. All of the artificial pear trees are in bloom and have been for the past couple of days, and today I saw a big fat robin in the backyard. Looks like Tulsa is going to have a gorgeous spring. O, spring, how I love thee!</div><br /><div></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 301px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 312px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583752911099754530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxVoAhIh76lSZX2gwWq9M6lXbUYEGp161aSlfyr9ONgKZ87YlJC8PPAfyRaW9c7iXg6oMUfjp-MMT5Bu947PL8eEfQ5MzU9_MB6De1V0EsQzLa2lSdzqu9vaDE35V6L1EPm0XtahnPl-Ib/s400/Bradford+Pear+in+Bloom_JPG.jpeg" /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><br /></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><div></div></div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-14176285652020452732011-03-08T15:03:00.002-07:002011-03-08T15:17:27.365-07:00Doing Things the Lenten WayHere's a short little briefing of my life presently.<br /><br />Lent begins tomorrow!!! You should give something up. It's good for you.<br /><br />I'm giving up all things dairy and facebook.<br /><br />I have given notice at the day care! The secretary at the counseling center has resigned so she can stay home with her kids, so I will fill that spot until I am more full time with having clients. I'll have more flexibility to schedule clients throughout the day, now that I'll be there. I start next week. I'm so so so thankful to be quitting there.<br /><br />Dad is coming in for the Tulsa Workshop on Mar. 22nd!<br /><br />It seems like I'm gradually getting more clients at the counseling center.<br /><br />Today is rainy, cold, and dreary.<br /><br />I noticed tiny blooms on trees today! Yay for spring!!!!<br /><br />I love living in the same town as David. It's been a blast!<br /><br />I'm watching Inception again this weekend.<br /><br />I'm really looking forward to family and friend reunions this summer.<br /><br />I love my new roommates and the house I'm living in.<br /><br />I'm thinking about going to Honduras this summer, but I don't love the thought of raising money.<br /><br />When you want God to reveal himself and act in supernatural ways in the natural world, he will. Just don't forget to keep watching. Don't forget to act, either. You may be the method/vessel he chooses to display something that is beyond what is natural and reasonable.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-53144916032057046572011-02-03T18:35:00.004-07:002011-02-03T19:44:56.295-07:00Blizzard of '11What day is today? Ah yes. Thursday. This week is a blur - of time and white. Monday night began the week's big adventure. And I can't lie, it's been pretty fun! I'm sure most of you know, maybe because of your own blizzard and below zero temps in your own town, but Tulsa got slammed on Monday night and most of the day Tuesday with a good ole fashioned prairie blizzard. Now we are enjoying sub-zero temps with a sub-sub-zero wind chill.<br /><br />My roommate, Chenea, and I were supposed to be out of our townhouse by this Saturday. This last Sunday seemed like a better, more available time for people to help me move, so that's when we moved most of my stuff over. Chenea and I were going to spend the week in our mostly empty place, just because our lease wasn't up until Sat., but when we heard about the bad weather rolling in, our plans changed. Chenea's parents came with her and they got all of her stuff out on Monday night. I decided to go spend the night at my new place, and am I ever glad I did that!!! Work was cancelled and has been all week. Tomorrow will be my 4th day of not working.<br /><br />Ari, the girl I'm sharing a room with, at my new house, just started her pediatric rotation this month, so she got up early Tues. morning and left before the snow got bad. Coming back was a different story. She called the other roomates (Rebecca and Sylvia) and I to tell us she was stuck out on our road and could we come push? So we layered up and went out to dig her out and push. I had measured that afternoon and we had gotten 13 inches of snow. Of course Tulsa is fairly unprepared for a storm of this magnitude, so the poor little side roads don't get plowed. We got her out and she parked down closer to a main road and then walked back to the house.<br /><br />Wednesday, Rebeeca, Sylvia, and I shoveled out our driveway with a regular snow shovel, a snow/garden shovel, a push broom and a rake. We also shoveled on the road to clear the way to get out and had to shovel a path behind my car that's been parked on the road. Then we had to dig out my car. There was a massive drift at/on the front of my car that was 3 or 4 feet deep. All of this shoveling took us 3-4 hours. The lower snow was very wet and heavy, so today all of us are pretty sore!<br /><br />Besides shoveling, I've been unpacking and squaring away my stuff that I'd moved over, working Beth Moore's Esther Bible study, eating, spending a lot of time on the phone with <a href="mailto:AT@T">AT@T</a> :(, spending time on facebook, and watching a couple of movies. Last night Sylvia and I ventured out to Wal-Mart. The roads were horrible! I guess that's why most places of business have been closed this week. Tomorrow I'm going to try to go to my townhouse and finish clearing everything out and turn in my keys.<br /><br />I'm so thankful to be in a warm, cozy house this week with a nice chance to get to know my new roomates and get settled in. More to come on a description of my new living situation. I love being in a house!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-72990987364406293682011-01-26T16:40:00.002-07:002011-01-28T14:21:01.405-07:00Breaking the fast<div>This morning I met David for breakfast and since then I've been thinking about how much I love eating breakfast out!!! Of course hanging out with Dave is always fun, and that's one of the nicest parts, is eating it with someone. Actually I really breakfast at home as well, when I'm not rushing out the door. I love a leisurely-sit-down-and-enjoy-myself kind of breakfast. Then it's also nice to be surrounded by the morning regulars downing their coffee or meeting their buddies. You know they're regulars when they talk to you like they own the place and when you feel like you live in a town of about 100 when they do talk to you. Then there are the waitresses. There's something about diner waitresses that is just delightful. It seems like they're some of the toughest, hard working gals, real people you'll ever meet. The place we went this morning is a very old restaurant that I drive by every morning. It's definitely old and doesn't have much character inside or out, but after going in today, I feel like I've discovered a jewel of Tulsa. We were going to split the cinnamon roll - that they're famous for - but it wasn't being served until 7, which is when I had to go to work. Sad, sad day. Instead we got scrambled eggs, hash browns, and biscuits and gravy. It was all good, but the biscuits and gravy was excellent! I had coffee with mine, which is another breakfast must for me. Coffee is never a question, but whether it's fruit, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, grits, breakfast burritos, coffee cake, an omlet, a breakfast sandwhich, french toast, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, oatmeal, malt-o-meal, breakfast casserole, kiche(sp?), ceareal, muffins, bagel and butter or cream cheese, or a big fat cinnamon roll, I LOVE BREAKFAST! I'm dying to go back and try out Savoy's cinnamon roll. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.</div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-52680249222668082542011-01-19T17:20:00.003-07:002011-01-19T18:01:05.117-07:00Doctor PitifulI am a bad sick person. Always have been always...well, I'm trying to do a little better. I'm a bad patient. And I'm a bad doctor/nurse. The combo of patient and nurse is a problem, when you have to be both. The problem with being a fairly healthy person (maybe extremely healthy) most of my life is that I hate hate hate when I do get sick. And I always think I'm dying (does this sound like anyone we know in the family? and you can't say me, b/c I've already covered myself). I have to say always, because I've had to remind myself that the few times I've gotten the flu, food poisoning, or even allergies, I've thought that I was dying. That makes this time not as severe - to know that I've thought that before. Then there's the part of nursing myself back to health. No thanks, I'll take the magic wand. Drink more water? When I'm sick that's even less appealing. Vicks? Slimy and gross just gets slimier and grosser when I feel bad, and you have to shower more - which is tricky when you have a fever and a defective shower. Take tylenol and nyquil. After day 6, I'm starting to feel kind of jittery and dizzy, or is just fluid on the ears that's not being relieved by the tylenol? Vicks on the feet? The chest is enough. Chicken noodle soup? I've had chicken boullion, to which the reply was, "no there's something about chicken noodle soup that's better". Today as I was back at work, one of the four year olds, said, "Teacher, are you about to cry?" No, kid, that's just how I look and feel when I've been blowing my nose for a week. She then proceeded to come pat my back. Drink gatorade? Can't stand the stuff. Honey and lemon? Show me some evidenced based research - don't like that either. Run the humidifier the brother brought for me? So much work. Vitamins? 10,000 vitamin C a day and maybe that's why my stomach's hurting now too. Nasal spray? Gag me. Literally. Sleep? Yes, please. Quotes of the day at work: "JASSIE! You best get afta that cold. You'ah lookin peaked." and another lady, everytime I blew my nose: "Bless Your Heart". Thanks, you too. :)<br />Don't be alarmed all you good doctors. I've been treating myself. I've even been using vicks and have about finished the gatorade. Yep, there's probably a reason I'm not feeling well still. I'm meant to be healthy. Don't give me any afrin nasal spray. I'm ready for the magic wand.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-66010719860796076542010-12-16T20:36:00.003-07:002010-12-16T20:48:41.725-07:00The Rtual of Blogging That I Don't PracticeI'm getting worse and worse about blogging. I though I would get better when I got done with school, but obviously I haven't! <br />I just flew to Boise yesterday and it is nice to be here. I'm really thankful to be able to spend Christmas with family. It always makes me sad to hear about people who are totally alone on holidays. They may not mind much, but I mind for them! I love traditions and rituals. My recent theory related to why I like those things so much (besides it somehow being part of my genetic code!) is that with all the transition I've had - especially during the past few years - traditions and rituals are things that stay the same. They offer consistency and a small bit of stability in the middle of chaos. I think that's part of the reason I enjoy drinking Dr. Pepper on Fridays. It's a small thing that I can do during the week that's routine and enjoyable at the same time. Side note - if you are spending holidays or birthdays or other special days totally alone, figure out something that you enjoy doing or eating or _______ that can become a tradition for you. Examples - eating hamburgers a certain night every week and really enjoying it, going by Quick Trip (my favorite gas station!) to get coffee on Thursday morning before work and really relishing it, designating a certain time every week that you spend with other people and really enjoying it - this fall I've met with a married couple I've become friends with for dinner, every other Tuesday. Traditions are nice too, because they give you something to anticipate, whereas not much in your life may be worth anticipating.<br />Tis the season!!!!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-11372164837209065282010-11-08T20:23:00.004-07:002010-11-08T20:29:06.504-07:00HmmmmI'm no scientist (at all), so correct me if I'm wrong, but is the title and concept of this article somewhat or maybe a lot paradoxical?<br />The title for this on Yahoo that caught my eye was: 'Mini Big Bang' Created<br /><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20101108/od_yblog_upshot/scientists-recreate-mini-big-bang-in-lab">http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20101108/od_yblog_upshot/scientists-recreate-mini-big-bang-in-lab</a>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-7598122503086721002010-09-30T20:21:00.005-06:002010-09-30T21:28:59.462-06:00"And I've been working all week and... It's time for a GOOD Time..."Ahhh, fall is in the air! This is for sure my favorite time of year. The leaves haven't started changing yet, but I hope the trees will be pretty here.<br />News on the job front: I'm employed!! I was approved by the state licensing board to start practicing so I had my first client last week. Very exciting. Because my amount of hours there is not big right now and may be slow in building, I've been hunting for another part time job. God provides and I got a job at a preschool/daycare here. The interviews were interesting. The owner (did a second interview with her) has started orphanages all over the world using the Pikler approach. I hadn't heard of it before, but I'm interested to learn more about it. So the hours there will be good. I'll be there from 10-2, M-F. Then the rest of the afternoon and evenings I can be at the counseling center. I think I'll start there on Monday.<br />The other thing that is not officially in the works, is that I am hoping to teach a class to home school seniors about interpersonal relationships and communication a couple of times a week. This has been one of these things that I really believe God laid on me. Soooo, I'm praying about it and will have to wait and see if people sign up. I'm interesting in combining mission work and mft, and I think this class would be potential info that I could use in other countries.<br />So that's my life at the moment. In two weekends, it's fair time, and Tricia's birthday!!! She wants to do a 5k the morning of her b-day, so I've agreed to do that. As usual, I'm not in that good of shape, but it will be fun.<br />Happy Friday and Happy Weekend!!!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-70180921521189778912010-09-09T18:04:00.009-06:002010-09-10T18:00:30.744-06:00Real Reality Really RealizedIn this post "we" will refer to myself and a few others I've met throughout my life. "I" will refer to multiple parts/views/personalities/thoughts/feelings/actions/words (that are not claimed to be original) of myself.<br /><br />Why is it that we don't like to verbalize reality? Of course some would say that it's not reality until you speak it, but I'm not going there, because I think that's only partially true. Plus, I'm the one creating reality on this blog, so I'm calling truth as I see it.<br /><br />For whatever reason, situations, interactions, feelings, thoughts, actions, and so on take on new power when spoken. There are two, maybe three sides of this. I guess there could be even more sides of this. Speech can take us in a positive direction, a negative direction, or maybe in a rare case it might not change a thing (although I don't know if this third option is really possible). Something about speaking makes things more real. Really, you say, can reality become more real? I don't know, but I said it, so now it's real.<br /><br />Often until something is spoken it's nebulous, floating, vague, maybe seemingly very real, but speaking it creates or morphs into it a new it.<br /><br />Sometimes speaking reality makes us realize that the reality we're speaking is absurd and that we really don't know what we're talking about. This usually happens when we speak that reality in the presence of others who see reality differently or more broadly than we do.<br /><br />Then there are times where we speak reality and we experience freedom. Whatever that thought or feeling or secret or interactional pattern was, has now been not only seen, but called what it is and the power of saying it makes the thought, feeling, secret, interactional pattern, etc., somehow less powerful.<br /><br />Then there are times when we speak a feeling or thought or situation, etc. that morphs reality into something that feels almost overwhelming and permanent and shall I say, real? Suddenly we realize that by speaking reality, reality is changed and we can't continue on as we have been. And even though we don't necessarily like how things have been, the overwhelmingness of verbally recognizing reality is too much for ourselves or for others, so maybe we should have stayed quiet, and we should have quietly subdued or put to rest the thought, feeling, situation, etc. So I wonder, how's that been working for us? Well, at least the unspoken reality of what we dislike is familiar. Familiar reality is the more natural way than unknown reality. At least in familiar reality, we still have control, right?<br /><br />Sometimes spoken reality is empowering. Sometimes we don't know who we are unless it is spoken by ourselves or by others to us about us. Certain parts of ourselves have been floating, hanging around, but not realized. Of course the opposite can be true, but I believe that's covered in the preceding paragraph.<br /><br />Does reality really change when spoken? (Ahh, back to the third option. I love when I come full circle on accident.) It actually depends. If we're hearing, are we listening? And if we're listening are we acting?<br /><br />Does it even matter if reality changes when it is spoken? It matters. Our choices of words matter.<br /><br />Could I have written the previous sentence in place of all those other paragraphs? Probably. But just keepking it real - it was time to clear up the murkiness of understanding reality.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-28149496674652014932010-09-08T12:55:00.004-06:002010-09-08T13:43:10.292-06:00The Screwtape LettersI started The Screwtape Letters awhile back and have picked it up again. If you've never read it, it's a series of letters from a demon uncle, "Screwtape", to his demon nephew, "Wormwood", about how to best tempt their patients, specifically Wormwood's "patients", who are Christians. "The Enemy" refers to God. And "Our Father" refers to Satan.<br /><br />Here is Chapter 8. It's kind of long, but obviously I think it's good, or I wouldn't have copied it here. It's taken from Lewis, C.S. (1942). <em>The Screwtape letters</em>. C.S. Lewis Pte. Ltd.<br /><br />"My Dear Wormwood,<br />So you 'have great hopes that the patient's religious phase is dying away', have you? I alwyas though the Training College had gone to pieces since they put old Slubgob at the head of it, and now I am sure. Has no one ever told you about the law of Undulation?<br />Humans are amphibians -- half spirit and half animal. The Enemy's determination to produce such a revolting hybrid was one of the things that determined Our Father to withdraw his support from Him.) As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time. This means that while their spirit can be directed to an eternal object, their bodies, passions, and imaginations are in continual chage, for to be in time means to change. Their nearest approach to constancy, therefore, is undulation -- the repeated return to a level from which they repeatedly fall back, a series of troughs and peaks. If you had watched your patient carefully you would have seen this undulation in every departmnent of his life -- his interest in his work, his affection for his friends, his physical appetites, all go up and down. As long as he lives on earth periods of emotional and boldily richness and liveliness will alternate with periods of numbness and poverty. The dryness and dullness through which your patient is now going are not, as you fondly suppose, your workmanship; they are merely a natural phenomenon which will do us no good unless you make a good use of it.<br />To decide what the best use of it is, you must ask what use the Enemy wants to make of it, and then do the opposite. Now it may surprise you to learn that in His efforts to get permanent possession of a soul, He relies on the troughs even more than on the peaks; some of His special favourites have gone through longer and deeper troughs than anyone else. The reason is this. To us a human is primarily food; our aim is the absorption of its will into ours, the increase of our own area of seflhood at its expense. But the obedience which the Enemy demands of men is quite a different thing. One must face the fact that all the talk about His love for men, and His service being perfect freedom, is not (as one would gladly believe) mere propaganda, but an apalling truth. He really does want to fill the universe with a lot of loathsome little replicas of Himself -- creatures whose life, on its miniature scale, will be qualitatively like His own, not because He has absorbed them but because their wills freely conform to His. We want cattle who can finally become food; He wants servants who can finally become sons. We want to suck in, He wants to give out. We are empty and would be filled; He is full and flows over. Our war aim is a world in which Our Father Below has drawn all other beings into himself; the Enemy wants a world full of beings united to Him but still distinct.<br />And that is where the troughs come in. You must have often wondered why the Enemy does not make more use of His power to be sensibly present to human souls in any degree He chooses and at any moment. But you now see that the Irresistible and the Indisputable are the two weapons which the very nature of His scheme forbids Him to use. Merely to override a human will (as His felt presence in any but the faintest and most mitigated degree would certainly do) would be for Him useless. He cannot ravish. He can only woo. For His ignoble idea is to eat the cake and have it; the creatures are to be one with Him, but yet themselves; merely to cancel them, or assimilate them, will not serve. He is preparped to do a little overriding at the beginning. He will set them off with communications of His presence which, though faint, seem great to them, with emotional sweetness, and easy concquest over temptation. But He never allows this state of affairs to last long. Sooner or later He withdraws, if not in fact, at least from their conscious experience, all those supports and incentives. He leaves the creature to stand up on its own legs -- to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish. It is during such trough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be. Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best. We can drag our patients along by conintual tempting, because we design them only for the table, and the more their will is interfered with the better. He cannot 'tempt' to virtue as we do to vice. He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles. Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.<br />But of course the troughs afford opportunities to our side also. Next week I will give you some hints on how to exploit them, Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape."Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-24749222005240272322010-09-03T11:31:00.005-06:002010-09-03T11:55:40.194-06:00The TownhouseSomehow I deleted my post when I posted these pictures, and I'm too lazy to retype. Anyway, I took these with my friend Tennille's camera when she was here last week. Her sister Lisa and Lisa's baby were over and the baby was sleeping, so that's why some of the ones in the previous post are dark. Here are a few more pictures. And I didn't get any pictures of upstairs, so this is only the lower half. My favorite part of this place is the back patio.<br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-Cth7PXGnjzZum38AYcG74cslFg5zUDhw8fUgCKsJfNboKGrSfkinTjQsIugs6VJ5uNruDyUnKv5gORCwBIUyZFz2MoHtkAITakC4xyt0sxi40jO0gFmksFVN7uUhcwLreagFqooeIUG/s1600/P1010371.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512744413839608114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-Cth7PXGnjzZum38AYcG74cslFg5zUDhw8fUgCKsJfNboKGrSfkinTjQsIugs6VJ5uNruDyUnKv5gORCwBIUyZFz2MoHtkAITakC4xyt0sxi40jO0gFmksFVN7uUhcwLreagFqooeIUG/s400/P1010371.JPG" /></a>The couch I got from Lisa and Ted, with Tennille sitting on it. </p><p><br /> </p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMD0aJsZHIuhm6jeNzyyj4ezmm5PMNWHWt4peq11CUu6zgkc3ioPFY3NzWilv-hKaYb9g9q04vuY0rehPTmYm09z04mzoVIY8l3qBzRuMcqOfAd24iR5bhO1RC6i9GoWBPNieCJ2FiTlSn/s1600/P1010372.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512744411702352898" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMD0aJsZHIuhm6jeNzyyj4ezmm5PMNWHWt4peq11CUu6zgkc3ioPFY3NzWilv-hKaYb9g9q04vuY0rehPTmYm09z04mzoVIY8l3qBzRuMcqOfAd24iR5bhO1RC6i9GoWBPNieCJ2FiTlSn/s400/P1010372.JPG" /></a> My back yard. This picture doesn't show how large the patio is. The two sides are walled/partitioned, so there's privacy from the neighbors and their little dogs.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMPChXts4OlJyAWlQ8gJRhcItMfoXIAbeiay24gB7gLHH3SQ3OUBvGdgREpXkdB6Xl2EplgyJUS-79ZCv8Xj7xrcVOBCBAaLgZgjT6_1-sevhS4sB9fmHAKO2rmD12jGQ5r23LNGI88Lq2/s1600/P1010370.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512744403764808370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMPChXts4OlJyAWlQ8gJRhcItMfoXIAbeiay24gB7gLHH3SQ3OUBvGdgREpXkdB6Xl2EplgyJUS-79ZCv8Xj7xrcVOBCBAaLgZgjT6_1-sevhS4sB9fmHAKO2rmD12jGQ5r23LNGI88Lq2/s400/P1010370.JPG" /></a> Lisa and baby Teia. There's a mirror over the fireplace which gives this part of the living room a more spacious, and I think, kind of strange look.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKPkXI3hJdqHNgnZyfWMfdgKQIbQPcc0joiyDZzYUlNEx5Q9VWLzHAiZkMUy0tG5B_RLsxYPzespPbeGFmxzODWwpqupHzT0FHgdg8RQlrVTX3gYmZ2rgVoQxAwGfvuRXLSRSvgfN-lQI/s1600/P1010341.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512742944075498322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKPkXI3hJdqHNgnZyfWMfdgKQIbQPcc0joiyDZzYUlNEx5Q9VWLzHAiZkMUy0tG5B_RLsxYPzespPbeGFmxzODWwpqupHzT0FHgdg8RQlrVTX3gYmZ2rgVoQxAwGfvuRXLSRSvgfN-lQI/s400/P1010341.JPG" /></a> Tennille and I with Dr. Peppers from Quick Trip. Quick Trip is a midwest tradition I introduced her to. And she loved it.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxf1QPnB3fIAxu1B6DY0gTgB-guvN45AGdQBTTtjTn5ipOpSWiueb_SUl1RjNcor_vM16qhie7IGOf_iFKheYLvCmS9zvJc-RQu6TL3r3F8BkNTftjsc43EVkTjPJRwqcLQ6m1hXsLpIj3/s1600/P1010349.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512742935597338098" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxf1QPnB3fIAxu1B6DY0gTgB-guvN45AGdQBTTtjTn5ipOpSWiueb_SUl1RjNcor_vM16qhie7IGOf_iFKheYLvCmS9zvJc-RQu6TL3r3F8BkNTftjsc43EVkTjPJRwqcLQ6m1hXsLpIj3/s400/P1010349.JPG" /></a> The long stairway. There is a closet at the top and my room is immediately to the right of that.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjveMMBhPO5Aheiy57IlApLFsYLBddSY-68dHLxN89GxoaAb9HD81QmmJbsCmwjRe1dAAGctyvGh01T4VUJLvU0pCJT60sg2cJiKrizhh4_E4OkEnNtfkC47OK2MG8S5WEl5a_9rCmReKNe/s1600/P1010348.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512742925262510514" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjveMMBhPO5Aheiy57IlApLFsYLBddSY-68dHLxN89GxoaAb9HD81QmmJbsCmwjRe1dAAGctyvGh01T4VUJLvU0pCJT60sg2cJiKrizhh4_E4OkEnNtfkC47OK2MG8S5WEl5a_9rCmReKNe/s400/P1010348.JPG" /></a> From the entrance. The half-bath is to the left and the kitchen, which you can't see is immediately to the right.<br /><div> </div></div></div></div></div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-57387291174963794032010-09-03T10:59:00.007-06:002010-09-03T12:01:47.657-06:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6-X3uz1oRwg9s8mFOywKkEzllGTxrkiOBmLAUMVsnZA0u9UjHQBv7UhSxMT8MO1vVd12CcUlC7fOoQIDN2mtaxc8SjDtceF6zTa9ZGIu-BAk3An1F-Go0sFiT4E8i5vKEzDsadmGBUQX/s1600/P1010347.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512738921847269554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6-X3uz1oRwg9s8mFOywKkEzllGTxrkiOBmLAUMVsnZA0u9UjHQBv7UhSxMT8MO1vVd12CcUlC7fOoQIDN2mtaxc8SjDtceF6zTa9ZGIu-BAk3An1F-Go0sFiT4E8i5vKEzDsadmGBUQX/s400/P1010347.JPG" /></a><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>View from the dining room of the front door. Not sure why I took this.</div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8EZWg5UowRFca7yFPNLm2vV6DLXtZ6p-rxbWS8C0zl9Zb0qu6IFjNKNx1pAIeHJtBgem3WT_mDRRXczLHrUwnIVhBBGSmrZmjIU6Dls73aC2G68aW3Jy1kfHYmFNNxEsp-2JNVDv_2b9b/s1600/P1010346.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512738915612144498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8EZWg5UowRFca7yFPNLm2vV6DLXtZ6p-rxbWS8C0zl9Zb0qu6IFjNKNx1pAIeHJtBgem3WT_mDRRXczLHrUwnIVhBBGSmrZmjIU6Dls73aC2G68aW3Jy1kfHYmFNNxEsp-2JNVDv_2b9b/s400/P1010346.JPG" /></a><br />We don't have a din. rm table yet, but these are the barstools that were given to me. :D I love them.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnNUJ98LmMeNJ2jeB-tqNjQt4-bZyjej7xGxCF74GjtGyDRgodr33Zfk4HmgCMX7Jm6Nvs0IODKDD0xlaYL9hOc_j7w9qNYrPtCLvysHzl4xQ6MAMQOayAMld4gax3DMB-puH26bM5nroS/s1600/P1010345.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512738903947814738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnNUJ98LmMeNJ2jeB-tqNjQt4-bZyjej7xGxCF74GjtGyDRgodr33Zfk4HmgCMX7Jm6Nvs0IODKDD0xlaYL9hOc_j7w9qNYrPtCLvysHzl4xQ6MAMQOayAMld4gax3DMB-puH26bM5nroS/s400/P1010345.JPG" /></a><br />View into the kitchen. The window is between the washer and dryer. I wish there were some doors that we could close when washing and drying because it's pretty loud. But I am SOOO thankful to have a washer and dryer - also from Lisa and Ted.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmj2ECUS6mkzn0T7w6Y3AWWyEYYPRUkRPaSPgKp9b0enJRMWrI2hGjMZ9502mOPwYdSY7-iaHfKRYB9_i1fxe-t8zWU0xJE2AroYHOg6KENQZgK6YjomO_Sodit8MBzng30XNZaqAhgTRt/s1600/P1010344.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512738902557941234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmj2ECUS6mkzn0T7w6Y3AWWyEYYPRUkRPaSPgKp9b0enJRMWrI2hGjMZ9502mOPwYdSY7-iaHfKRYB9_i1fxe-t8zWU0xJE2AroYHOg6KENQZgK6YjomO_Sodit8MBzng30XNZaqAhgTRt/s400/P1010344.JPG" /></a><br />View from the kitchen into the dining room and over into the living room.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAf5oRxTws2eHvZAx3Lg9GHjjJGJz_4fCrm50h1sHz153S8G6lPJ-bW6q2xgYVGhYO18pmX_qcyZjlvAZ_T1XoOQiUl-1UP9Z4K2QCiwS-O8nbBGf1gHWKtebS96K5h55IN8Zzc41EFaNg/s1600/P1010343.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512738890678763698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAf5oRxTws2eHvZAx3Lg9GHjjJGJz_4fCrm50h1sHz153S8G6lPJ-bW6q2xgYVGhYO18pmX_qcyZjlvAZ_T1XoOQiUl-1UP9Z4K2QCiwS-O8nbBGf1gHWKtebS96K5h55IN8Zzc41EFaNg/s400/P1010343.JPG" /></a><br />La cocina. After the patio, it's my second favorite "room" in the house.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-70971792091685064362010-08-16T10:58:00.002-06:002010-08-16T11:53:40.363-06:00Friday I submitted my application to the state for licensure, so that's another step forward in the process here to start working - counseling anyway.<br />Last night I realized I had found a great church. They had their annual BBQ contest. There was smoked and barbequed sausage, pork, beef, turkey, chicken, venison, and a couple of mystery meats. Delish. I only wish I could have tried them all and gotten more of the ones I liked.<br />My new roommate is moving in today. It may be weird after having lived by myself for the past almost 2 years. I think it will be good, though.<br />Anybody seen Inception? It's been getting rave reviews from everyone I've talked to who's seen it.<br />It's 88 degrees right now. A cool front moved in last night, I guess, and I am SO glad.<br />Good Monday!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-73980352557680261112010-08-09T12:26:00.003-06:002010-08-09T13:48:08.132-06:00Above and Beneath the TitheI just moved into the new place this weekend. I think I described it before, but it's a townhouse, 2 bdrm, 2 1/2 bth, and so far I like it a lot! They put in new carpet and painted before we moved in. David was very helpful with the move. He did a lot of loading and unloading as did his roommate Spencer. Kevin and Lindsey helped out their friends (now my friends too) Jeff and Jennie came and were over the top helpful. I've really been amazed at how generous people (including the aforementioned) have been here. I got a bed thanks to the church secretary and furniture ministry at church. It's a full and very comfortable. Then when Jennie saw I had a bar and no dining room table, she said she had some barstools she'd give me that had been sitting in her attic. On Saturday, I met my friend Tennille's sister (Lisa Dahlman) for coffee and found out they were trying to sell and give away some furniture they have in storage, sooo I bought their washer and dryer and was given a nice, comfortable, brown suede couch. God always provides more abundantly that I expect or imagine.<br />This has all made me think about: "All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." Acts 2:44, 45 I've been that one in need recently, and it's cool how people have given things or how I could get furniture for a cheap amount, and by paying, in return, help out the ones who are selling. I don't read these verses and get worried that God's calling us to political socialism :) , but rather I think it's about people with sincere spirits that seek to give and bless other people. When you are on the receiving end of giving like that, it has a domino effect. I'm finding all the time that it's not about how much you perceive that you have to give. It's about what you have, right now, and blessing other people with what you have, right now. I think giving and allowing what you have to be used, right now, is the best use of what God gives us (Matthew 25). For me, the real key is thinking outside the box and noticing the needs people have that I have the ability and means (from God in the first place), right now, to meet - even when it feels like I don't have that much and I'd like to have more.<br />Since I'm so charged up right now about this topic, let's have a little discussion board generosity regarding creative or not-so-creative ways you have given to others, ways others have given to you, or ways you observed other people give and meet needs. And be generous with your comments! :DJessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-18211515658098556642010-08-05T08:15:00.002-06:002010-08-05T09:36:37.743-06:00Traveling GraceSeeing everyone at Red Mountain was a blast! I liked what Aaron said one night about family being some of our closest friends. I enjoy (I think there's a much stronger word than that, but I can't think of it now) being around every single person who was there and really missed the ones who weren't.<br />Our trip back turned into a wild one. A couple of hours into the trip (I was driving), we realized that we were travelling south instead of east. We were involved in each other's presentations of expertise that we didn't do at Red Mountain - Matt talked about how much it costs for pharmaceutical companies to get drugs on the market, Brittany talked about the fourth wall in acting and emoting (?) on camera, broadway, etc., David talked about centralized and decentralized organizations, and I talked about how the MFT field and family therapy is different than traditional psychology therapy. It was all so fascinating and CO did such a poor job of marking their highways, that we ended up going 180 miles out of our way. Yes. 180. I just figured it out on googlemaps.<br />In Lamar the hwy signs were not clear. Apparently I was supposed to make a left turn somewhere to continue on Hwy 50, but missed it. It looked like the only reason to turn left was to take the Hwy 50 truck route. As we weren't in a truck, we of course did not take that, and that was mistake number 1. No big deal, we thought. At that point it would be quicker to continue on the Hwy south to Springfield and take Hwy 16o north to get back to Hwy 50. Right as we were coming to the area where we would turn off, we hit major construction. The two lane hwy was turned to one lane for I think at least 20 miles, maybe more? I'm not the best estimate with stuff like that. Anyway, after waiting for a very long time for the traffic to come through from the opposite direction, we finally got to go. Right after we started we saw a sign for Hwy 16o South or West pointing to the right, so we figured the turn to go North/East was just down the road a little ways. There was a road to the left at that sign, but it looked like a little neighborhood road. As we drove past that intersection, Matt looked behind us and sure enough that was our turn north, BUT we were in one lane traffic and there was no way to turn around for what seemed like a long time. By the time we were out of construction there were no hwys to turn north on, so we went on to Boise City, OK, then Guymon, and eventually we cut back up into Kansas and made it to Rock where M and B's car was parked. I think we got to Rock around 11. I don't know how long it took M and B to get back to Noble, but the way Hwy 77 curved around (we sure didn't miss any more turns at this point), we didn't get back to Tulsa until around 2. I dropped David off and headed home to my little spot on the couch. So, our trip ended up being about 15 hours. Despite the extra 3-4 hours added on, the trip was a blast.<br />Besides our presentations of expertise, :) we ate twizlers, we rocked out to Jesus Freak (that was my favorite), some Kirk Franklin, and a little Reliant K. We ate at Dairy Queen for lunch and Subway for supper. Sadly we were in such small towns most of the day that we weren't able to use the McDonald's coupons Nan gave us. When we came to Wellington, KS, and saw the golden arches we were overjoyed. Then we went in and they told us that they didn't serve frappes or smoothies. You've got to be kidding me. I was very disappointed. So, I guess we'll all be using our coupons individually. Thanks anyway Nan, for thinking of us!<br />Gentry's new roomate moved in right before I left, so they're letting me stay on the couch until tomorrow when I can move into my new place!!! Gentry works and travels a lot so I haven't seen much of her, but she has been such a great roomate. I've really enjoyed getting to know her.<br />I'll move in tomorrow afternoon, Lord willing. I need to buy a washer and dryer, a couch or futon, a bed, and maybe a dining room table. So basically I need a lot of furniture. I might have found two bar stools for really cheap. I need to see for sure how high the bar is before I buy those though. <br />Happy almost weekend!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-39091718654877611982010-07-27T14:42:00.008-06:002010-07-27T15:49:45.587-06:00Runner's HighRecently as I've been trying to up my amount of exercising in anticipation - maybe preparation is a better word - for this mud run on Sat. I've had a lot of thoughts about God and exercise and action and sacrifice. Some of it has been jumbled and some of it has not been, so here's an attempt to put it a few thoughts together. The college group and young prof. group at church have been going through James recently and it's been very challenging. I've been thinking about this stuff off and on all summer.<br />I am not a runner at heart. I don't enjoy it. Last night as I ran the longest maybe that I've ever run at one time, I kept wondering, "At what point does the runner's high come?" At one point I thought I was experiencing the high, but then I realized it was just that I was running downhill after going up a super steep one. Maybe, I thought, if I could experience that high, I would be more motivated to run further more often. Then as I was slamming my lead-weight feet on the road and gasping for breath, it came to me that even though I don't have a good feeling towards running, that doesn't change the reality that running is good for my heart - both physical and emotional. In fact, the more I thought about, it in between thoughts of "What am I doing?!? I hate this! Why did I agree to do that mud run?", I thought about how exercise has the potential to be an incredible expression of submission to God. It is more than a symbol, though. The act of running for me and pushing myself past what my nature desires is submission to and dependence on God's power. Then I thought about how running is submission, but how that act is also representative of the kind of action that God calls me to in other areas of my life. Sometimes, probably most times, submission and obediance to God and what he plans for me will be the most painful, illogical, emotionally difficult courses I will ever have to say yes to. The guy leading the study on James made the point that God is more than willing to give us wisdom when we ask, but that we need to be sure that we are not double-minded and unwilling to go through and receive the wisdom that God may be ready to give us. He also said, "God does not mold our character without our consent." I'm still thinking about that one, but I really think it is line with what James teaches. Our participation in the molding of our character by God is where asking and action and perseverance come into play.<br />All of this is to say that submission and sacrifice by definition are going to be easy to practice, but God is faithful. And it probably isn't what would be classified as "runner's high", but I was feeling pretty good and rewarded when I finished running for 39 long minutes.<br />James 4:7-10<br /> Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-51381781741820373462010-07-23T15:08:00.003-06:002010-07-23T15:15:15.336-06:00Hello mountains!TGIF!!! Due to "training" for this mud run in CO, I'm not having Dr. Pepper today to celebrate the weekend, but next Saturday it will be time to do it up big. <br />I met my new MFT supervisor today and he signed the needed paperwork, so Lord willing I will be able to submit all of the licensure stuff by early next week.<br />On the housing front, I think my new roommate and I have found a townhouse. I really like it and it's only a 6 month lease, although hopefully it will work out great and I won't have to make another move that soon. Speaking of the new roommate, I'm going to eat dinner with her and her family at her parents' house tonight. I think steak is on the menu. Yummmm.<br />One week from today David and I should be getting close to Red Mountain. We're planning to leave early Fri. morning. When is everyone else getting there? Can't wait to see all of you!!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-539223065368127866.post-49894368633617457602010-07-08T09:46:00.002-06:002010-07-08T10:04:56.197-06:00Living the lifeI counted this morning and I've been in Tulsa 5 weeks. Time flies when you're having fun and when you're out of town (WV and TX) for a couple of weeks out of that. But really, I like it pretty well here. I'm in the middle of finding a place to live. I'm going to have a roomate who's a college student here in town. A couple of girls at church suggested that we live together and it will be very nice financially.<br />I'm working as the receptionist at the Christian Counseling Center right now till August sometime I think when the regular receptionist comes back from maternity leave. Hopefully right around that time I'll be able to start doing therapy, but it will depend on the status of my licensure application. Status right now - Not submitted yet. There has been one little delay after another, so looks like by the end of next week I'll get everyone to sign who needs to. I'm looking at picking up another job for awhile and creating a some cushion for myself. Dave Ramsey recommends it. :)<br />Random thought of the day - concerning difficulties, pain, suffering, etc., I've been thinking along the themes of these two verses recently:<br />2 Corinthians 1:9: Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.<br />James 1:2-4: Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverence. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14102567733471879981noreply@blogger.com2