Hello? Hello? Is this thing on??

I realized I haven't written anything in over a month. How sad is that? It's just that Josh and I have been pretty busy this summer and, well, we're pretty boring :) I figured I better write something though or else I'd never get around to it!

We went on vacay to LBI in July and it was faaaabulous! I seriously think I could live there year round. Josh says "NO WAY" so sadly, I will only dream about living on the beach. For now. It's on my list of things to do before I die though! If you haven't been to LBI, you should go. It's awesome. Yes, it's the Jersey Shore, but it's NOTHING like the Jersey Shore that is publicized everywhere.. NOTHING at all like that. That area is further south I believe and I have no desire whatsoever to go to that type of environment! This area is much more family friendly, laid back and has a small town type feel to it.

We had a really great time up there, as usual. My folks were there and Daniel went up with us. Unfortunately, Emily had to work so she couldn't make it up this year. We got into Philly really early on the 3rd so we hung out around town for awhile. We stopped in at Jim's Steaks and got some Philly Cheese steaks. They're supposed to be one of the best ever and it definitely didn't disappoint. Josh and I both got Whiz on ours. Yum...

Look at all that deliciousness. It was gone in like 2 seconds.

In front of Independence Hall on July 3

Seriously, my dad can't go ANYWHERE without seeing someone he knows. This is a friend of his that lives in Philly and plays near the Liberty Bell on a regular basis. We stopped and dad played a song with him.

Once we got to the island, we pretty much stayed on the beach all day, every day. The water and weather couldn't have been more perfect. The water was unusually warm for early July and crystal clear! I mean seriously, how gorgeous is this place?! Even with a lousy iPhone picture it's beautiful!

The boys even surfed with sharks!!

Just kidding... they're just dolphins :)

Here's Josh and Daniel boogie boarding

Like I said, the water was amazing except for the last day we were there. It was still warm, but it was ANGRY. The waves were big and constant... it just looked like the water was boiling. Hardly anyone was going out, even the surfers. They were getting beat to death just trying to get out and decided it wasn't worth it.

Luckily the bay side was still pretty so the boys took the wind surfer out for a bit.

This is the day we had to leave, July 10. We're standing on the exact spot where Josh proposed to me 6 years ago that day! (except he proposed at sunset and not 10 AM!) It was fun to be there again on the same day!

So that was NJ... Great fun and I so wish I was still up there!

Days of Elijah

The Days of Elijah - by Robin Mark

These are the days of Elijah
Declaring the Word of the Lord
And these are the days of his servant, Moses
Righteousness being restored
And these are the days of great trial
Of famine and darkness and sword
So we are the voice in the desert crying
Prepare ye the way of the Lord

Behold he comes
Riding on a cloud
Shining like the sun
At the trumpet's call
Lift your voice
It's the year of jubilee
Out of Zion's hill salvation comes

And these are the days of Ezekiel
With dry bones becoming as flesh
And these are the days of his servant, David
Building the temple of praise
And these are the days of the harvest
The fields are all white in the world
And we are the laborers that are in your vineyard
declaring the word of the Lord

Behold he comes
Riding on a cloud
Shining like the sun
At the trumpet's call
Lift your voice
It's the year of jubilee
Out of Zion's hill salvation comes

There's no God like Jehovah
There's no God like Jehovah
There's no God like Jehovah

More info about the song and what it means:

http://www.worshipleader.com/index.cfm?tdc=dsp&page=features_detail&aid=32

http://www.crosswalk.com/spirituallife/worship/11540702/

Somewhere in the Middle

"Somewhere In the Middle" - Casting Crowns

Somewhere between the hot and the cold
Somewhere between the new and the old
Somewhere between who I am and who I used to be
Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me

Somewhere between the wrong and the right
Somewhere between the darkness and the light
Somewhere between who I was and who You're making me
Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

Fearless warriors in a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle
With eyes wide open to the differences, the God we want and the God who is
But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle
Are we caught in the middle

Somewhere between my heart and my hands
Somewhere between my faith and my plans
Somewhere between the safety of the boat and the crashing waves

Somewhere between a whisper and a roar
Somewhere between the altar and the door
Somewhere between contented peace and always wanting more
Somewhere in the middle You'll find me

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

Lord, I feel You in this place and I know You're by my side
Loving me even on these nights when I'm caught in the middle

Rambling

They say "Life's too short to stay at a job you hate"

That's true... unless you got a general communication degree and aren't qualified to do anything BUT be an admin...

*sigh*

Work Friday Haikus

Friday's here at last
Been an insane crazy week
I need a snow cone

If you retire
3 days notice - not enough
I think I might scream

Coffee urn is gross
You left it out for two weeks
I'm not cleaning it


Compressed air is fun
Entertains me all day long
Can is empty now

Please keep your voice down
Don't congregate at my desk
Expense reports suck

Painting with Light

This past weekend, Mother's Day weekend, we went down to G.R. for the annual LSSDS Dulcimer festival. So.Much.Fun!!! As usual, we spent some time down at the river.

On Friday night, we did some painting with light. If you haven't done this before, you simply must! It's so much fun. All you need is a tripod (or something incredibly steady to put your camera on) and some flashlights. We used flashlights and laser pointers.

Some of these pictures are a little blurry because either A) the people moved after we focused the camera, before the shot was taken or B) They moved when the light was on them. It's harder than you think to hold perfectly still for 15-30 seconds! Our group of participants was Daniel (brother), Emily (sis-in-law), Carrie (sister), Bobby Duke, Blake, Jessica, Josh, and me. My parents helped out a little on some as well.

Josh's name. He's there, but he didn't get the flashlight on his face before the exposure finished. Sad day. And he didn't want to be in anymore! So, my husband will be remain shrouded in mystery.

Moi!

Here is my brother, Daniel, cussing. Those who know us know that this is as close to cussing as our family actually ever gets. Unless you count "crap" as a cuss word....which I don't ;)

This is probably my favorite one.

Double light saber stab! This is a little morbid, what with all the blood and stuff, but that's how we roll :)

This one was a lot of fun to do. Daniel punching Bobby's head off

Supposed to be super fast punches

Ok, I won't leave Josh shrouded in mystery. Here's a picture of us on Saturday down at the river

The Negotiator

I've been feeling pretty down and very stuck-in-a-rut lately. I don't know why. I mean, life is pretty good right now (really, it is! Even my panic attacks are at an almost all-time low! Praise the Lord!) but I'm just feeling blah. Kinda like this (er, minus the "ded" part lol)

I feel like I need to get away and do something. I need a break from everything here to clear my head and get back on track! I just want to pack a bag for me and Josh and go have fun somewhere for awhile. Awhile meaning 7-10 days, minimum!

Obviously, I have a major itch to travel right now. Like, horrendous case of poison ivy type itch. That's bad. I really want to go overseas again. I love the States, but I want to explore more of the world. High up on my hit list right now are Greece, Italy, Ukraine (specifically Kiev!), and Israel. I've been perusing all the usual suspects : Travelocity, Kayak, CheapTickets, and Priceline. Scoping out all the options and how to get the best deal. And I've come to one conclusion.

I'm Cheap.

I admit it and I embrace it. I always shop sale racks and am not afraid to barter. Why would it be any different for travel?? Which brings me to.....

I love the Name Your Own Price feature on Priceline.com. Back when Josh and I got married, this is how we got our hotel in Houston the night before we left for Jamaica on our honeymoon. I put in a paltry amount and low and behold, it accepted it! We got to stay at a really nice hotel for pennies! Ok, so it was a Marriott... which I realize isn't the most extravagant hotel ever, but when you were lucky to get to stay at Motel 6, Econo Lodge, or a Super 8 motel (high living!) instead of a 20 year old pop-up trailer with glow-in-the dark dinosaurs on the roof, the Marriott is pretty darn magnificent!

Now, I'm not knockin' the camper by any means. I have a lot of fantastic memories in that little green Coleman with orange plastic beds! I spent many nights staring at those dinosaurs, praying the bear outside wouldn't come in and mangle me. True story. All good times. And I hope to someday have my own little pop-up trailer so that I can torture my kids by making them sleep on the furthest outside bed where the bears can get them because it's their brother or sister's turn to sleep on the inside bed. I absolutely plan on sticking my hand up the side from the outside and grabbing them, scaring them half to death. And I most certainly will hold their underwear out the door while yelling "Wooooooooweeee!!!" and shaking them around. Heck yes. If I had to go through that, you can bet my kids do too.

But I digress. That was a whole other rabbit trail. My point is Priceline and the wonderment that is Name Your Own Price.

Since I'm cheap and since I really want to go somewhere, I've been naming my own price all day, just for kicks. Unfortunately, my idea of cheap is the airlines' idea of "Absofreakinglutely Ridiculous". *sigh*. Normally I wouldn't play roulette with our hard-earned money, but I figure it's most likely not going to get accepted (glass half empty, anyone??) and if it miraculously was accepted, well... Josh loves me and would forgive me as we dined seaside in Italy. Right?

Alas, none of my bids have been accepted yet though. I don't understand why any of the airlines won't accept my bid of $250 for an overseas flight! I mean, c'mon! Work with me American! Work with me Lufthansa! Work with me Continental! C'mon William Shatner... Flex your bargainus maximus for me! I'm on a budget here!

I don't truly think I'll get anything, but it's worth a shot. I was shocked before, so maybe, just maybe I'll be shocked again! Maybe some head honcho at one of the Airlines (Hi Mr. Gerard Arpey! Remember me? I used to work for you! Give me a deal!) will see this (ha ha) and pity me and tell "them" to accept my bid, therefore giving me the trip of a lifetime! I'm not holding my breath...

In the meantime, I will go day dream about walking the streets of Jerusalem, visiting the Acropolis, seeing the Colosseum , or hanging out with my awesome cousins in Kiev...

A girl can dream, right?

A Smattering

I am a terrible blogger so apologies to the 4-5 people who actually read this silly little blog (and who likely already know most or all of this!). Here's a quick rundown of what's been going on with us lately.

1. We moved!! The house is incredible and we're loving it! We've almost got things put away, but pretty much every room still needs work. We haven't hung any pictures yet. I can't wait to get that done so it really starts to look like home! Hopefully next week we can get to that! The 'hood is great, our neighbors are great, the space is great! I need to get some pictures up, but honestly, I just haven't had a chance. Hopefully soon! Come on by!

2. This weekend is the Dulcimer Festival in G.R. Can't wait!! The weather has been gorgeous and we've been dying to go camping. We're looking forward to relaxing by the river, hanging out with family and friends, and listening to great music. We'll probably only be camping one night this year though which is a first for me.. I've NEVER in my entire life missed a night. It's for a good cause though because.....

3. We're going to the Pregnancy Lifeline gala on Saturday! I'm totally stoked about it. God has been laying a possible ministry idea on my heart and I want to find out more about this organization and see if it might be a good partner. I really have no idea how I would begin this ministry idea, but literally a few days after He brought it to my attention, this opportunity came up. Voila. We'll see.

4. I'm considering breaking up with Facebook for a variety of reasons. I'm struggling with that though because it's such an easy, convenient way to keep up with family and friends overseas. It's just turned into such an annoyance though. It's almost like a popularity contest and it's so "ME ME ME" driven. I'm just as guilty as anyone, but regardless, I'm considering pulling the plug. Strange timing since Josh JUST joined too. Ha! I kinda want to bring back the old fashioned letter writing era. I used to write letters like CRAZY and I really miss that. Modern conveniences like FB, email, and phones that can call anywhere for nothing, have almost put letters into extinction.

5. I still am employed. Things are ever changing up here, but they haven't told me to stop coming yet. I'm working for someone now that is a lot better, which is good. I'm actually keeping fairly busy. And the crazy people have stopped being so crazy all the time. Granted, there are still days here that make me want to scream, but things have quieted down. Or maybe I'm just so used to it that I've given up caring how much I dislike it.

6. We're debating going to Jersey this summer. We'd really like to, but we're not sure if we can swing it because we're going to California in November for a wedding. I'm not sure if I can wait until then because I NEED to get away... We shall see. If we go to Jersey, it'd probably be in July or August.

7. I am very sad that 24 is ending soon. What will the world do without Jack on Monday nights?! Oh yeah... probably go out and live life instead of rotting on the couch. And I speak as much to myself as anyone! I'll miss 24, but it'll be nice to not have to give an hour or two up every week. I'm not giving up Chuck though. Nope. Sorry. Not unless Jesus calls me to and right now, I don't think He is.

8. Josh is still busy with his studying through Liberty. He seems to really be enjoying his classes. I'm very proud of him! He has way more discipline than I ever did in school. He comes home and studies every night, never complains, aces his tests and quizzes, and is just doing a great job!

9. I just realized that it's already May 3 and we haven't had a single tornado warning. Dude. Where am I?! Not that I am complaining! ** before I could finish this post, the wind started fiercely blowing as a storm is apparently blowing in. I don't think it's tornado-worthy though!**

10. We got a new car! I love it! It's a Honda Accord Crosstour. I NEVER thought I'd own a foreign car, but here I am, driving a Honda. It's super awesome though. We really loved our Jeep, but it had been acting up lately and we were afraid it was going to have something major go wrong with it. So, we decided to trade it before it was too late! We ended up leasing the Crosstour which is a first for me too. I've always been leery of leasing because of all the horror stories out there. But it just made sense for us right now. I have a habit of wanting to trade my car every 3-4 years anyway, so it just made sense to have a smaller payment and the option to trade in 3 years! We'll see how it goes. Either way, I am loving the new car! So fun to drive!

And lastly, 11. My wonderful in-laws got us the Word of Promise set for Christmas this past year. I've been keeping it in my car for the last few months and listening to the CDs. So far, I've made it through Matthew, Mark, John, and I just started Luke. I have been in a major funk and felt like I needed to start fresh at the heart of Christianity. It's been AMAZING. I really can't put it into words. I have always had a habit of putting in a CD and forgetting to change it for weeks, sometimes months, so I've been listening to the gospels over and over and over and over. Just pounding it into my head. It's really been incredible. I want to move on to other parts of the Bible, but I just don't feel like I'm ready to yet. I just want to keep chewing on the Gospels. Every time I listen, I catch something new. Anyway, if you are looking for a great audio set, check it out here. It's read like a play in a sense in that different actors play the voices. There are sound effects and it just really grabs you. Check it out.

I think that's basically it in a nutshell!

Jurassic Daniel

Finally got the video to load! This is my brother Daniel doing his Jurassic Park impression. He's awesome :)

Psalm 96

Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!
Sing to the Lord; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.



Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does



Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods.



The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the Lord made the heavens!



Honor and majesty surround him; strength and beauty fill his sanctuary.



O nations of the world, recognize the Lord; recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.



Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his courts.



Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before him.



Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!” The world stands firm and cannot be shaken. He will judge all peoples fairly.



Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!



Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy! Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise before the Lord, for he is coming! He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with his truth. - Psalm 96


* all photos taken in our neighborhood