the speed of time is sometimes faster than the cheetah

... it's been quite awhile, hasn't it.

in three months to this day - troy and i will be getting married!! i suppose that is still a ways away, but time has been flying lately for me. the day speeds on and i remember it's been a week since that.. and suddenly i'm getting older. i'm old.

"how old are you? ilang taon ka na? cuantos anos tienes?" (84, and i can't even remember how i got here).. is what i'll be saying in sixty wonderful years (aka seemingly 60 months?).

i've also been reminded (by our good friend the scale) to eat better and expend energy more. that's one thing that's nice for fall (besides lovely tree colors and warm coffee drinking) - being able to comfortably run outside. my goodness - thank God the deadly hot will soon go away for a time :)

so...at the end of this day- here shows our turning, spinning, timefull earth hanging from the wooden ceiling.. sleep tight!!!

something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

i am newly engaged to be married... and i couldn't be more happy! haha. sappy public broadcasting, but - really - it's wonderful.. :)

we're not getting married for another 6 and a half-ish months. so the idea of planning for it seems silly. I've been told otherwise.

that said: i think i want a wedding color of brown.

finally, (above) here we are on a more serious note. it's a sort - of irony to the typical nature of our relationship. ba hah!!.... we laugh alot together :)

had it up to here

eeee. i'm sportin' a 'tude about the bug pests in our house. but, seriously, it's ridiculous. i woke up two hours ago to a massive (MASSIVE) amount of little black wingful pests next to my bed. most of them were dead, but some were still fluttering around, and still even some had come to snuggle up beside me. - what in the world?!?! i'm mostly in shock at this because we also have been having issues with fleas....

so, anyway, i 'cleaned the mess' - what have you - up with wet paper towels, found garden bug spray on our front porch, and sprayed that in my room. now i sit here hoping and praying for something to keep the critters away.. (note: call rental agency tomorrow.)

buttttt, i suppose i shouldn't complain so much!!.. yes, it's terribly annoying, but wait - i have a job and a home (where - if insects had to pay rent - would be free) , i'm well-fed, God's blessed me with an amazing family and friends, the world around us is gorgeous... God is my God

and so, this song just popped into my head: (haha)

Oh, God you are my God
and I will ever praise you

I will seek you in the morning
I will learn to walk in your ways

and step by step you'll lead me
and I will follow you all of my days

(do you know it?!).. the melody is simple and pretty, pretty simple.

anyway, this week i want to remember particularly to praise God in everything - even with pesty friends in the house. ba ha ;).

help, i'm alive

I have to find a job starting in july. something along the lines of teacher, barista, librarian. did you know that librarians have masters degrees. i think they often specialize in a particular area - i imagine something like ancient civilizations .

oo, or to be a museum worker - to know so much about something that you're in charge of presenting it to the masses. in fact, i'd be thrilled to visit a museum. a science museum filled with things to play with, or an art museum.

maybe i'll start writing stories. for children. or one piece comic funnies. like far side (which is hilarious).

one thing i've missed lately is traveling. i forget all the possible ways of living. and i get stuck in my middle - low class american mind-set, you know - where my world is the town i live in and not much beyond.

anyway, i'd be grateful for job ideas? :)

what to do

next week is my first spring break - as a teacher. I'm pretty thrilled about the idea of one whole week to do whatever i want. (sleep in, take short trips, hang out during the week day!)

summer is also fast approaching. how exciting!!.. there is only one thing i'm worried about: death by heat stroke in my car?... the driver's seat window of my car gave out a few weeks ago and no longer rolls down. hence, i might die this summer while in it. honestly, my car becomes this mix between sauna and steam room.. ( what's a girl to do? )

other than that, things will be wonderful :)

oh, to speak of many things

i want to grow a collectable source of conversation topics...

here are some things i already know how to talk about: foods, traveling, the beach, wishes, feelings and thoughts, personal events and memories, the Bible and things I read, running, things outside e.g. trees, sky, plants, time, plans...

here are some things i'd like to better know how to talk about: currect events - local, national, global, interesting facts - about people, animals, nature, and social organization... i want to know more about how the human body works, as well - in regards to exercise and diet, i've always found that fascinating.

anyway, one obvious conclusion would be to start reading more. i'll set a goal, something like - read from 2 sources (articles, books, adds, blogs) a day... then, I suppose, I should also start conversing more. practice, practice, practice!! so, 'have at least one interesting conversation with at least one person every day.' hah!

if you have any interesting topics for conversation, post it here. lets get this show on the road. :)

my sister and me

oh, what a beauty she is.

my, i'm sleepy.

heaven forbid, the night starts here.

goodness me :)

I'm grateful that the weekend starts tomorrow. God bless it.

also, i realize this particular post really has no purpose. i simply felt like it was time to put up something new. so bombs awaaaayyyyyy.....

bluffton

this was taken over the christmas holiday in ohio. in bluffton - where my parents live..not to mention where my eldest sister, sarah, her husband, and her two children live, as well.
I used to live there, too - in sixth grade, tenth grade, and for several summers after highschool graduation. actually, you may notice a sort of 'dot' in the lower right portion of the photo.. this is my bird-friend. gnarles. he says, "greetings from the midwest."

on another note, it's just slightly past 9:15 and i'm about to go to bed!! i must say - this teacher business that i've been involved in - for about 2 weeks now - is pretty tiring. or it's more that I need to become better about getting more sleep - namely I should go to bed at a decent hour and/or such. I've been enjoying the job, though, so far. :) my particular goal for the rest of this week is to lovingly interact with my students... yes, amen. that is what it will be. for me, this means to: smile, converse, and laugh with them, keep a never ending bowl of patience, support their learning successes - emotionally, socially, cognitively..., provide and show interesting lessons to them, and listen to them. i'm sure there's a lot more i could do. so, if you have suggestions, do tell. :)

ultimately this source of loving interaction comes from God - hopefully, at least, on my part. that said - as always, i need to be mindful of his presence and power! ra. :)

what's outside.

Blue skies and bare limbs. Room for warm growth. :)

the 12th

hmm, what a week. last week was. i barely worked which meant I had ample free-time to go here and there, to and fro. here's a picture from a mini-midweek-adventure. wooo :). it's taken from the inside of an old church.

Also, something exciting - I officially have my first real career job. i am now a career woman!. it's a teaching job and i'm thrilled. it's wonderful how God provides..in his time. in his time for my life, your life, our lives..

anyway, it starts on thursday! so, this week will be my last week working at starbucks-where i have currently been employed for almost the past two years. wow.. i'll miss it.

new years resolutions

my darling friend amy has challenged me (and YOU) in her latest blog to write down several new years resolutions.. so here:

*some of these have been inspired by others. so thankyou if you recognize something similar to your own resolution(s)...

-always be mindful of God
-be more thoughtful of others, both when with them and not with them
-read more - Bible, literature, articles
-travel somewhere i've never been - and stay there for at least a few days (maybe by myself, or with a friend. that would be nice)
-figure out how to pay school loans online and start paying them
-learn to be more confident/assertive in appropriate situations

well, i will now go to bed and chew on these resolution morsels. mmmm. :/. sorry, again, no photo. good thing i didn't make that a newyears resolution... bah ha ha.