Red Marbles

I got a forward today that contained a story that I thought I would share.  It reminded me how a person can impact another person's life.  I got this today as my heart is heavy for several people I know who have loss loved ones recently.  One of the lives recently lost was a neice of a lady I work with.  The girl, Sarah, was 30 years old but was diagnosed at the age of 25 with breast cancer which had spread to her brain.  She fought hard for 5 years but left for a better place this morning.  During this time she never loss her belief in God or her willpower to fight.  She was a inspiration to many and touched many peoples lives as she continued to preach and tell God's message.  With this story I was also reminded that even the most simplest gestures count and life is too short to not enjoy day as it comes, good or bad.

Red Marbles

I was at the corner grocery store buying some early

potatoes.. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and

feature, ragged but clean, hungrily appraising a basket of

freshly picked green peas.

I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of

fresh green peas. I am a pushover for creamed peas and new

potatoes.

Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the

conversation between Mr. Miller (the store owner) and the

ragged boy next to me.

'Hello Barry, how are you today?'

'H'lo , Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus'

admirin' them peas. They sure look good.'

'They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?'

'Fine. Gittin' stronger alla' time.'

'Good. Anything I can help you with?'

'No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas.'

'Would you like to take some home ?' asked Mr..

Miller.

'No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em

with.'

'Well, what have you to trade me for some of those

peas?'

'All I got's my prize marble here.'

'Is that right? Let me see it' said Miller..

'Here 'tis. She's a dandy.'

'I can see that. Hmmmmm, only thing is this one is blue

and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at

home ?' the store owner asked.

'Not zackley but almost..'

'Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you

and next trip this way let me look at that red marble'..

Mr. Miller told the boy.

'Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller.'

Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to

help me.. With a smile she said, 'There are two other

boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor

circumstances Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas,

apples, tomatoes, or whatever. When they come back with

their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he

doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a

bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, when

they come on their next trip to the store..'

I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with this

man. A short time later I moved to Colorado , but I never

forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering

for marbles.

Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous

one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends

in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that

Mr.. Miller had died.

They were having his visitation that evening and knowing my

friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon

arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the

relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of

comfort we could.

Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an

army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark

suits and white shirts...all very professional looking. They

approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her

husband's casket. Each of the young men hugged her,

kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her, and moved

on to the casket.

Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one;

each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand

over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the

mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes.

Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and

reminded her of the story from those many years ago and what

she had told me about her husband's bartering for

marbles. With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led

me to the casket

'Those three young men who just left were the boys I

told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the

things Jim 'traded' them. Now, at last, when Jim

could not change his mind about color or size.....they came

to pay their debt.'

'We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this

world,' she confided, 'but right now, Jim would

consider himself the richest man in Idaho..'

With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of

her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three

exquisitely shined red marbles.

The Moral: We will not be remembered by our words, but by

our kind deeds.. Life is not measured by the breaths we

take, but by the moments that take our breath....

Today I wish you a day of ordinary miracles ~ A fresh pot

of coffee you didn't make yourself..An unexpected phone

call from an old friend...Green stoplights on your way to

work.....The fastest line at the grocery store...A good

sing-along song on the radio...Your keys found right where

you left them.

The weekend is here again!

Happy Friday everyone! I can’t believe that it is Friday and that it is almost April! This week went by so quick. I am really looking forward to this weekend. I get to spend time with my in-laws and my parents. It will be a busy weekend but it will be nice to spend some time with the family.

I live about 6 hours from my parents and haven’t seen them since Christmas which is hard because I have a really close relationship with them. But as luck will have it I think we have plans that will allow me to see them in May, June and July! That means we have a lot of traveling coming up. I believe one of those times they are coming to us but the rest we are either making the 6 hour trip or meeting them at my granddad’s house which is about 4 and a half hours from me. But we are use to traveling and don’t mind it too much, it just makes us really value the weekends where we are home and don’t have any plans!

So besides spending time with the in-laws and a few things they have going on we have no big plans. We will be back Sunday afternoon to work on some things around the house. The weather is suppose to be nice again so it will be great to see some more sunshine.

I hope everyone has a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!

What's for dinner?

That’s the million dollar question…I don’t know what’s for dinner. I am in a dinner rut. I feel that we eat the same things over and over. I will try new recipes but usually don't find one that makes it into our usual dinner routine. I am also picky about finding recipes. I won't usually make a recipe if I don't have most of the ingredients on hand. If its an ingredient that I know I will use continuously or all of it in the recipe, no big deal. I just don't like buying something and use 1 tsp of it for the recipe and the chances of I ever using it again are slim to none. I need some help finding something good to add into the mix. I have tried several new recipes recently and we have really liked them. I just need to make them part of the routine.

A friend and I were talking recently about how we hate to come up with dinner ideas. And being that we eat generally the same things it kind of gets boring. Our dinners usually consist of beef or chicken and sometimes pork. We will occasionally do something frozen in the oven for something easy. But if we have beef it is normally in the form of hamburgers or tacos. Chicken is usually grilled, but sometimes breaded and baked. And normal dinners include some side (usually a pasta side) and a veggies (usually green beans). So as you see we are pretty boring people.

Now we will switch it up and we do have some other things we throw into the mix but we probably eat some version of the above at least half of the meals we cook at home. My husband can be a picky eater and likes a countable meal (meaning he knows he is going to like it). I like it too because I don't have to see him make faces and ask "What's in this?" And if he sees me pull out sour cream or cream cheese he automatically gets "the look" on his face. But the funny thing is that if I sneak it in the meal he doesn’t know the difference! So I have learned to not always share the ingredients used or dodge the question when asked.

So I also struggle to come up with something that sounds good for dinner and need a little variety in my life. If you have any suggestions for my rut please share!

 

Random Tuesday

A bullet post of randomness on this Tuesday:

• I had a WONDERFUL weekend.  The weather was so nice!  I got to spend some time with a good friend on Saturday and on Sunday the hubby and I went to church, ate at Cracker Barrel and did some errands.  I got to spend some time in the wonderful weather so that was a plus.  I even got to sport some flip flops!
• Spring break is this week for me!  I still have to work all week but it is nice to come home afterwards.
• Anyone watching Dancing With The Stars?  I forgot to tape it last night but I did catch Kate Gosslin dance.  Is it just me or does she dance stiff as a board?
• I LOVE March Madness!  It is probably my favorite time for sports during the year.  I do a bracket every year.  However, I'm not doing too great this year.  I had Kansas to win so its obvious my bracket is continuing on a downhill spiral.  I will continue to cheer on WVU!
• I finally got some spring decorations up!  I finally got the snowmen down and some spring cheer is now in the air.
• I am excited that we are going to the in-laws this weekend and my parents are going to meet up with us on Saturday.  I haven't seen them since Christmas and I am really looking forward to it.
• Target is having a sale on Kitchen Aid items this week.  I invested in some Kitchen Aid knifes.  The blades in my current set did not continue through the handle and some of the knifes broke off so it was time to invest.  My friend Rachel has a set and has recommended them.  I need to invest in some pots and pans next.
• On Saturday I got the mail and was surprised to see a thank you note along with a gift card to Olive Garden.  My husband and I has helped a lady at my work with some computer issues a few months ago and she was thanking us.  I so was not expecting it so it was a nice surprise.  I love snail mail!
•  I got a free pastryy from Starbuck's today thanks to a promotional sale they were having.  It went great with my hot chocolate.

Hope everyone is having a grand Tuesday!

Hello

Just dropping in to say hello! It has been a pretty boring week. I started to get sick on Tuesday night and spent all day Wednesday not feeling too hot. Today I feel a ton better but just been snotty and sneezing. Hopefully this weekend I will feel back to my normal self and we will have some sunshine! We have had some nice days but I am so looking forward to the days where it stays. I am not a fan about the time change but I do love that it isn't dark when I leave work. I am looking forward to working out in the yard, exercising in the park and wearing sandals/flip flops at all times! I did get a pair of dress sandals and a few clothing items for spring which I am so excited to break out! I can't wait for the smell of flowers and fresh cut grass!!

Hope everyone has had a wonderful week. Sorry I am a boring blogger and haven't had much interesting stuff to share!

Flashback Friday

In 2006 I went to study abroad in New Zealand.  I lived in Auckland, NZ and attended classes at a local university which had an exchange program with Marshall University (where I attended undergrad).  I spent 4 months there and learned SO many things and also got to experience a ton of new adventures.  The time I spent there meant so much to me and I think about it often. 

I went knowing one person, Jillian.  Jillian and I met our freshman year in college and became really good friends.  One day we were talking about how we always wanted to study abroad.  Her being the go getter decided to look into it further.  We found out that our university had two exchange programs, the one in NZ and one in England.  Jillian wisely said that we could go to Europe a lot easier so why not travel half way across the world and attend NZ because how likely would we get to visit there if we didn't decide to study there?  She had a good point.  So I agreed that was a grand idea, only half believing that I would be there one day.

So we did some research and found out there was an opening for two people a little over a year later.  So we signed up, me still not believing I would go.  About eight or so months out Jillian was doing research on plane tickets and found some great prices and suggested we go ahead and buy ours.  So after finding some dates I purchased my ticket, again still not believe that in about eight months I would be getting ready to embark on a 24 hour travel adventure to another country.

 About 4 months before we were set to leave I met Jeff, who is now my husband.  After a few months we were getting into a serious relationship, especially compared to any I had in the past.  I was then bound and determined that I was not going to go.  I went as far as calling the airline to see if I could get a refund on my crazy expensive flight.  But in the end I figured that if we could live 4 months apart maybe, just maybe, we could go the distance.  Between that and the fact that I knew I would miss out while Jillian was having all the fun and that maybe one day I would regret it, I decided to go.

See during this whole process Jillian did most of the research and I just followed along.  I am usually a pretty good planner but I was happy for her to take the lead on this one because during the whole process I was in denial that I was actually going to be going.

So after many tearful good byes, on July 7, 2006 I was on my way to New Zealand.  I met up with Jillian in Dallas and we flew to LA and then to New Zealand.  We took a shuttle to where we would be living the next 4 months.  We lived in a complex that composed of apartments.  Each apartment had 5 separate rooms, a living room, 2 bathrooms and a kitchen.  Jillian and I lived in different apartments and were in two separate towers of the building we were in.  The people I lived with are a whole other story for another time though...it sure was interesting.

But needless to say, once I was shown to my room I decided to take a shower because I had been traveling none stop for a day.  I took a shower and then went to blow dry my hair using the blow drying I brought from home with my handy dandy electric converter.  Well within seconds I saw sparks and blew the electric in my entire apartment.  So between that a good spell of home sickness I had a shaky time during my first several hours in NZ. 

All in all I am so glad I was able to share the experience with Jillian and went to NZ.  And in the end I was right about Jeff.  We made it through my time abroad and a little over a year after I got home we were engaged.  Jillian was also dating a guy when we left for NZ and she married him a little over a month after I married Jeff.  So maybe one day we can take our husbands to NZ and show them a little bit of what we experienced.

I did so much in NZ.  My mom even came over for about 2 weeks and we traveled the Southern part of NZ.  NZ is known for its adventure.  One thing I decided before I left the US is that I wanted to sky dive in NZ.  So before we left NZ Jillian and I decided to make the plunge.  Jeff always told me he didn't want to know when I decided to be stupid enough to jump out of a plane so I told him I had errands to do!  So today I thought I would share some pictures from my skydiving venture.  I hope to do Flashback Fridays more often and hopefully share some more of my pictures from NZ because I have some amazing ones and did SO many neat things. 

A little about my sky diving venture.  Jillian and I originally tried to skydive one weekend when we were traveling with a bunch of friends.  Several of our friends there were planning to skydive together but the wind was too bad and we didn't get to go.  So we ended going, just the 2 of us, to a local place near where we were staying.  It wasn't as nice I don't think but we still had a ton of fun.  We jumped from 12,000 feet and at first were falling around 100 mph.  We each decided since we weren't going to be doing this every day that we needed to get it caught on firm so each of us had our own camera guy.  So now some pictures......

Me and Jillian

The plane.  After seeing pictures of the plane my husband later told me he was glad I had a parachute on

Me and my professional jumper!

Hope you enjoyed!  It was a TON of fun and I highly recommend it!  I would love to do it again but I will need to find someone to go with because my husband informed me that he would would never jump out of perfectly good plane!  Maybe one day I could convince him?!?

Thankful Thursdays

So I have been lagging on ideas of what to blog about recently so I thought I would steal borrow an idea from Kate.  Every Thursday she writes about things that she is thankful for, so today I thought I would write about a few things I am thankful for.

I am thankful for my husband.  He is an amazing guy and always encourages me, makes me laugh, always there if I need someone to lean on and is my best friend.

I am thankful for my family and friends.  I am glad they are apart of my life and thankful from what they brought to my life.

I am thankful that it's Thursday which means tomorrow is Friday!

I am thankful that I get to see family this weekend and spend time with my cute little cousins (ages 6,5,3).

I am thankful for the warm weather we have had this week!  I smell flip flops in my near future!

I am thankful that I got a good grade on one of the tests I had last week (still haven't gotten the other one back).

I am thankful that I am half way through my last semester of grad classes.

I am thankful that I get to eat at PF Chang's tomorrow night (love that place)!

I am thankful for the yummy piece of homemade banana pie I had for dinner.

I am thankful that it has been a good work week and I have had work to keep me busy.

I am thankful that it is good TV night (Grey's and Private Practice)!

Random Stuff

Here are a few things on my mind and since they have nothing to do with one another I decided a bulleted post was in order!

• One of the ladies in my office has to go out of town due to a family emergency.  She asked me if I would be willing to teach an Excel class in her place on Wednesday.  See a few months ago she started teaching Excel classes during lunch for people who wanted to learn more about it.  I haven't attended the class because I know a good bit about excel and have taken several classes previously.  So I believe I am competent to teach it but at the same time nervous.  I'm not sure on everyone's skill level and I am not a huge fan of speaking in front of people.  At least she gave me a topic now I just have to figure out what to cover and how to do it in about 20 minutes!
• Restaurant.com is my new friend!  You can find some really great deals on there.  I wait until they run good sales (70%-90% off) and capture a gift certificate.  I love good deals!
• So I haven't been really good about the weight loss thing.  I haven't lost anymore, or don't think I have (I forgot to weigh the last few days), but I also haven't gained any.  However, my pants are officially too big.  I need jeans in a bad way!  I also need some khakis.  I hope to find some deals this weekend.  I don't want to spend a lot of money on clothes but figured a need a few essentials.  It's a good feeling knowing your clothes are too big, but at the same time I hate to spend the money and they go through the struggle of finding something that fits.  Oh well, I guess its better than my clothes being too small.
• My grandfather turned 93 in February.  He has always been in great health and is as sharp as a tact.  However, recently he had an MRI and the results we received are not good news.  He has more tests in the future followed by lots of doctor appointments.  I just pray that everything is okay.  I know he is 93 but I still hate that his health is going bad.  I am very close with this grandparent.  The hardest thing is that he lives about 4 and a half hours away.  This situation has been heavy on my heart and I just hope everything is okay and that God can prepare me for what the future may bring.
• The weather is SOOO nice today that I actually went out for lunch!  It is in the 60s and SO pretty.  Again, I can't wait for spring!
• As of last Saturday I am two months away from completing my last grad class!!!  Can you tell I am excited?

I think that is about it for now.  I am sure there is more to come in the near future!

Weekend Review

Hope everyone had a wonderul weekend.  Ours was wonderful!  It started out with 5 of my friends from college coming over on Friday night to hang out and catch up.  We ate pizza and shared a bunch of laughs.  I love these girls and always have a great time when I am around them.  Of course we were entertained by a little girl named Kailyn.  She is the cutest thing and we all have so much fun when she was around.  Her mother also shared some recent stories involving Kailyn.  They all just make me laugh so hard.  Makes you wonder where kids pick up half of what comes out of their mouth!  All in all we had a great night and I can't wait to do it again!

On Saturday the husband went to work for a few hours but was home by noon.  He then cleaned both vehicles (inside and out).  I did a few things inside while he was doing all this.  We also caught some of the WVU basketball game (it was a CLOSE one but they won!).  On a side note-March Madness is coming soon and it is my favorite time!  I love having a bracket and seeing how well I can do.  I usually do pretty good considering that it is a guessing game for me a lot of the time.  We will probably join a pool and see how well we can do this year.  Now continuing with our Saturday-The husband and I went to dinner that night for his belated birthday.  We had a great time enjoying each other and eating a good meal.  We ended up renting some movies through the RedBox and coming home.  We were going to go see a movie but there really wasn't anything playing that we wanted to see so we came home and got back in our sweats.

Sunday we did nothing and it was so nice.  We made ribs in the crockpot.  I got the recipe from my friend Rachel.  They were SO good!  We also had homemade mac and cheese and greenb eans.  A great meal with very little work!  I got to catch up with some stuff on DVR, take a nap and again just enjoy the day with my husband.

All in all it was a GREAT weekend!  Next weekend we are traveling to see some of my family so it won't be as relaxing but I am looking forward to it!

Friday-It's time to party!!!

Well I'm going to party, per say, but it is Friday!  This has been a long and tiring week.  Also yesterday was my wonderful husband's birthday!  I tell him that is old now that he is closer to 30 then to 20!  He is a year older then me so I can get away with it for at least this year!!  Since I had class yesterday, which included a test, we didn't get a chance to celebrate.  So that is put off to this weekend.  We are just going to do dinner at a nice local restaurant and maybe do a movie.  We also have a few gift cards so some shopping may be in order too!

Speaking of my exam yesterday it was HORRIBLE!  Now I am not saying it was hard.  Though I may be shooting myself in the foot on that one since I haven't gotten it back and I am not sure how he going to grade.  I mentioned about this class previously.  So last night was the exam I was talking about.  It wasn't bad since it was open book and we had the questions previously.  I figured that just about anyone (even if you didn't have the class) could handle that one.  But the worst part that it was all essay and had to be hand written.  I literally wrote for 2 straight hours.  We couldn't write anymore then 3 pages a question and I wrote 2-3 pages for each.  It was just long and my hand HURT!  I guess it is because I haven't done that much hand writing in awhile.  But I was so glad when I was done.  We had 2 and a half hours to take the exam and it took me a little over 2 and when I left over half of theclass was still there. 

But on to this weekend!  It should a fun one.  A bunch of my friends from college are getting together tonight.  We were all in sorority together and try to get together every month of so.  It is always a fun time!  One has a little girl around 2 and a half and 2 are currently expecting.  So I am sure the fun will keep on!  We can usually keep entertained on stories!  We are having it at my house this time and ordering pizza.  I also got some other good stuff to go with it.  I am also excited because we are getting the pizza from my favorite place!

Tomorrow I hope I can get my butt up and out of bed so I can work off the pizza at boot camp.  I went a few weeks ago and man did it kick my butt!  I could barely move the next day.  I took a friend with me and she said she couldn't walk for days.  It is very cardio intensive.  But I figured a little pain does the body good!

Hopefully in the next few days the weather will be nice and we can do some house projects.  I have been wanting to shampoo our carpets ever sense I got a shampooer for Christmas.  Hopefully I can finally do that and put the windows open a little to let the carpets dry.

But for the most part it will be a relaxing weekend with the husband.  Hope you all have a good one!

Stress

And the stress continues this week!  Just stopping in for a quick note to say that I am alive but have a very busy week ahead of me.  But don't freat, I will be back soon!  Hopefully with my hair attached!