Missing a Pinecone or Two

I just finished making 48 cupcakes for a friend's baby shower tomorrow and I'm super tired! Went camping for about 24 hours and decided that I really am not a country girl. I like my comfort, including my a/c, mattress, and filtered water. Oh yes, and pit toilets (I don't like them). This particular one was quite clean, to my pleasant surprise, but it did host the requisite number of flies that flew about in angry circles, their furious buzzing a minor irritation to say the least. And I did see a mother bear and her cub cross the road (thankfully I was in my car at the time, and at least 50 feet away!) so that was pretty exciting.

My tentmate and I were functioning on very little sleep and when we turned in for the night last night, it was already nearly one in the morning. Amidst many giggles, she finally wiggled into her mummy bag and proceeded to stretch out, only to discover a rather disconcerting matter. Her feet were higher than her head. Neither of us feeling faint at the moment and not needing extra flow of blood to the brain, we decided to sleep with our heads by the entrance of the tent. After shuffling our mats and various asundry items about, we decided to give it another shot. It was much better. Except for the fact that we were, again, on a slope. A rather slippery one as the floor tent was made of plastic. I started the night out with about a foot of space between our sleeping pads and found myself about 15 minutes later with about a millimeter inbetween instead! I replaced my mat, but woke up in the middle of the night right back in the same position, so I gave up. Sleep was more interesting to me at that moment than rearranging my mat every two minutes!

I learned a lot in the past 24 hours. I could probably write a book about it all, but here are a few pithy thoughts:

• It is not nice to make fun of others, even in jest or as a means of explaining something
• Everyone has a right to be heard
• Everyone has the right to have their own opinion
• I need to learn how to accept other people's opinions
• Not every well-meaning action is right
• Injustice exists and Christians are not called to roll over so they can be stepped on; we have a duty to address sin
• Behaviours which used to be seen as aberrations but are now much more common are still not addressed as such
• It's okay to be me

I Only Want My Money Back, Seriously!

So I went to Fry's the other day, right? Well I got home and found out, much to my dismay, that the cleaning tape which the sales representative had assured me was the correct one, would not even fit in my camcorder because it was too big. Rather frustrated, I realized I had to return it before 30 days, or I would be seeing a repeat performance of the time I tried to return a cable on day 31. Needless to say, there was no mercy.

I popped in this morning and a young lady rang up my return. She shoved two full-size pieces of paper towards me and asked me to "sign here, please." I did. Then, instead of receiving my refund, I was directed to go to the line of cashiers to claim my refund. I did so. A second young lady again rang up my return, shoved the papers towards me and asked me to "sign here, please." I did. Then we had to wait another 10 minutes while the computer decided to process the information. After waiting another minute for her to get the printed receipt, I was finally able to leave the store. With my $10.81 in change.

Well, I have vowed that I will not be returning to Fry's again as the customer service there is seriously lacking. Not only that, it appears that if a person pays with cash, they are treated with great suspicion! I think I will be going to Walmart and Best Buy. Oh, Target has the best customer service for returns, by the way!

Random Thoughts

Yesterday my priority date came current for my green card. I was excited and then I proceeded to make and cancel 3 appointments for my medical exam. I think I'll stick with the one I have now.

Today I spent 3 hours working on a project that became a rush one and yet could have been prioritized months ago. I was frustrated.

Tomorrow begins 9 days of madness. Personal and work responsibilities will rush by and not allow me time to rejuvenate. I'm waiting for it to all be over.

Someone's status says "best week ever." My status, if I had one, would read "worst month ever."
 
I do not understand injustice yet my silence is not loud enough to pierce the walls built thick and impenetrable.

A Question

Is it better to be in the world and be lost or to be in heaven and be lost?

Fingers Crossed

It's been one of those days. You start it with high hopes, just knowing that today, the scales will tell you that you've dropped another 2 pounds, today you'll get the news you've been waiting for a month (and actually five and a half years) to hear, today everything will come together like magic at work, and today will be your day.

Then reality hits.

The scales go up instead of down, even though you were extra careful over the weekend to not overindulge. The news you've been waiting to hear is delayed yet another day as government red tape continues to snarl. And of course today would be the day that you have to sit in meetings all day so you can't get any of your pressing tasks done. On top of that, the beetroot salad you make for lunch turns out like mush, the cucumber you bought on Friday has gone rotten already, everyone at work is mad at you because you're not superwoman and refuse to work 18-hour days so that the class schedule (which keeps changing) will get done, and your car got covered in thick red dust (again!) because they decided to move the gravel from the parking lot without letting anyone know.

So it's been one of those days. I guess tomorrow can only get better, right?

Indescribable

I was one of the lucky 50 to receive a copy of the Women of Faith "Worship" CD and it has quickly become one of my favourite CDs to listen to. The CD has got an eclectic mix of upbeat songs mixed in with more peaceful worship songs. The words of the different selections feature hope and faith in a very real God Who cares about us.

The CD has 10 songs, each of them focusing on God and His relationship with us. "Just Wanna Say" and "Glorious" are fun songs, making you want to sing and dance along. For those who like a quieter style, "Lead Me To The Cross" and "Indescribable" reflect on salvation and creation.

My absolute favourite song is one that brought tears to my eyes when I first heard it. "You Are God Alone" reminds us that God is in control, that He is above all the junk we encounter on a daily basis in this rotten world, and that He is God alone. It's my favourite song to turn up loud (when the neighbours are out!) and sing along, knowing that God hears my voice and understands my heart.

If you're looking for a CD to cheer your heart, lift your spirits, or soothe your soul, Women of Faith Worship is an excellent choice.

Note: the above review was written with the contemporary listener in mind. If you prefer more traditional music, this CD may not be what you are looking for.

Feelin' Good!

I feel good. I just spent the last 8 hours doing housework, cooking, cleaning and tidying, and now I have a studio apartment that I am proud of! I still have some deep cleaning to do, as my goal is to get rid of every single thing that I don't use or need, but finally my place is presentable! My mom and sister surprised me with a clean and neat apartment when I came back from Europe in June, but it's been two months since I've purposefully set aside time to get everything in order. Okay, I have been working on it, throwing out or giving away what was just taking up space, but today you can actually see the difference! I'm excited and feel like I am finally getting ahold of my life. Funny, isn't it, what a little housecleaning can do?

Every year on my birthday and on New Year's Day, I like to make some goals and dream some dreams for the coming year. Here's a sneak peek at what I wrote on June 17, 2010:

• Lose weight (30+ pounds)
• Have an exercise routine
• Be active socially
• Volunteer @ a women's shelter
• Write a book

I'm excited to say that I am steadily working towards those goals! I have a daily exercise routine where I walk 2 miles in the morning before breakfast. It's the first thing I do before I've even properly woken up yet and I am feeling healthier, fitter, and less stressed out. My best friend and I have joined a local church's young adult group that meets twice a month to eat dinner and study the Bible together. As for the other goals, I plan to dedicate some serious time to them when I go to half-time at work and have more time in my day. I am looking forward to incorporating some low-impact aerobics into my exercise routine and experimenting with low-fat tasty spreads and soups so I can continue to work on my first goal of losing weight. I also plan to look into volunteering some time each week at a women's shelter or some similar place so I can be a blessing to others and learn more about how to help those who really need it. And finally, I will start serious work on my book (still wavering between a cookbook, my personal story, a weight-loss book, a compilation of some of my posts, or some other ideas I have up my sleeve).

It's only Sunday, but I'm feeling like I've had an excellent start to my week. The best part is that I haven't spent all afternoon stressing out about going in to work tomorrow, because I've been so busy working hard! So here's to the hope of an awesome week and continued success in achieving one's goals.