Remember who made you.

Remember next time you want to complain about the rain to be thankful for having a car, a driver's license or someone to get you around town. Today I had a wonderful day at school, Nathan dropped me off around 7:50 at SCC and I was there until around 1:15. It happened to be someone's birthday today so he was giving out banana nut muffins that a teacher made for him. He must be a star student or something. I don't know. I happened to be starving as I had forgotten my granola bar I put out on the counter at home. I take this as a great blessing to prepare me for my journey home. I was weak before getting that muffin and knew that I would have a ways to go before getting home. It takes me over an hour from the time I get out of my last class to the time I can set foot at home where all my earthly comforts are.
I trudged out of the building into a pouring rain, unprepared. I happened to forget my umbrella even with the knowledge of rain in the forecast for the day. Nice one, Dorry! Well I walked to the library to wait for the bus, wishing and praying I would happen to run into someone I knew. That didn't happen and it is probably best it didn't. I have been exposed to the swine flu, though I am not sick and won't know until it happens.
The bus showed up, I got on board. The ride took 45 minutes of torture and time. I do not like the bus. It smells awful. I finally got off at the stop at main street and walked from downtown to home in the pouring rain. It didn't let up at all. Being a mountain town in a valley, pools of water gather by the sides of the streets in every direction and down every street. There is no avoiding them.
I found myself heading in the direction of home, water soaking me in an instant and my feet buried in these pools and streams of water. My shoes are mostly material and completely porous. My socks, after two minutes of walking under the weather, were soaked. My feet grew numb pretty fast. By the time I got home, water was dripping off my hair, the tip of my nose, and was beaded up on my eyelashes. I secretly thanked God I do not have to depend on glasses in order to walk as that would have been a pain to have water streaking down the lenses. If it were summer time I would have welcomed this walk in the rain. It was cold today. The rain felt numbing, and there was no avoiding it. It felt like forever before I finally arrived home, soaked to the bone and shivering.
One day I will own a light rain jacket and one day I know I will be a driver, but it seems when events like this happen to me, things could not get any better. I know we all have a hard time seeing the good in things like this especially during the moment it happens. I wanted so much to be angry at all those who drove past me at break neck speed splashing me with one of the many unavoidable puddles of water. I also wanted to be angry at those who had no sympathy while driving through the four way stop making me stand there for a long time just to find a moment to walk across the street.
I know that these trials must happen to soften me and mold me to God's will. To see His purpose. It can be hard when it happens and I always want to try putting a smile on my face when it does. But it always happens unlike how I imagined it. It is always later that I see the rainbow among the clouds. I know see why it is important that we live near downtown while I am not a driver. I have so many things nearby. I can walk to my bank, my doctor, the hospital, the store where I sell water bottle carriers, the ice cream and pottery store to visit some dear friends, and also where I can go to pay our internet bills. I have walked there to get a card last minute, a Christmas present, a book, and knitting supplies. If I had had a mile to walk home or more, it would not have been possible to get home safely on a day like today. A long walk would have been harsh and sickness would have been the result.
So please, next time you complain about the rain, remember what you have, even if it is very little. Your heart is beating and it is all because of God. Even those who hate him still have a beating heart. He still sustains them. I am alive! And all because of Him! Rain is the very least of my problems.

vegetable noodle soup under $5.

I was out of everything dinner like in my refrigerator last night and was planning on eating cereal as a last resort. We never go to the grocery store on Mondays because that is our night to go out to eat at the karaoke bar to support our local singer and friend Ray. Ok so we only eat an appetizer and drink lemonade and sweet tea, I don't know if this counts for "eating out." Anyway, so we usually eat cereal. Nathan told me he needed something warm to eat instead of cereal. I racked my brain and told him, "ok."
Here is what I came up with:

Beef stock, broth or bouillon
Two Carrots Sticks, peeled of outer ridges and chopped
Two Red Potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1"cubes
Two Celery Stalks, washed and diced
and
A bag of Raman Noodles, without the spices

Boil water and add beef stock etc. I used stock and no-sodium, no-msg-added bouillon package or two. The amount really doesn't matter. I use a package per cup of water and then add the stock or broth to give more volume depending on the amount of soup I make.
add all vegetables and boil until the potatoes are soft. Add noodles and simmer for about thirty minutes before serving. It makes a lot of soup surprisingly. I would say that it would be enough if you have one to two of the above veggies per person. And one bag of the raman noodles per two people.
This was a last minute "crazy plan" of mine made out of the bare essentials. I had no noodles so I used raman noodles. I will try it with egg noodles and cubes of beef in it next time.
Hope you get to try this one!

Very busy lately.

Somehow between homework and house work I have found time to give a little bit of an update.
Math has somehow become a monster for me, with so many complications! I can only dream of catching up already on my first week of school. I am not complaining though. This is what I wanted! A busier, fuller day in my life. General Psychology is fun and enjoyable. History is so far my favorite. Western Religions is frustrating when the book is written all politically correct, but I expected that much. I have yet to experience Expository Writing, but I welcome it wholeheartedly and with great anticipation.
Yesterday was Nathan's thirtieth birthday. Lovely him decided to take ME to dinner. Fatz Cafe was our only choice since he got an email from the Fatz fan club saying that he gets a free Calabash chicken plate. Yummy. I got the free plate and he chose to get a $15 plate. We ate cheap for an outing. Being his birthday, I gave him a laser pointer though my cat knows it is hers!
Tomorrow I have classes again, so I am off to bed! I'll try to update again soon! So much to say, so little time to do it! Ahhhh gotta love busy life!

Since June...

A lot has happened.

I have...

...Become a college student

...full time!!

...helped Mama (Nathan's mother) start a ministry.

...been getting yarn donations for the ministry.

...gone through my yarn to give to the ministry.

...started way too many projects than I can handle.

...discovered the Macon County Transit

...which is only $1 one way to the library and college campus.

...been frustrated a lot with things that haven't worked out.

...prayed a lot!

...not slept much.

...really not slept at all some nights.

... honestly, it has been a week since I have slept all through the night.

...been given a very generous donation for my college tuition by an anonymous someone in our church.

...cried a lot for happy, sad, and angry moments, but that is not out of the ordinary.

...been attending a ladies Bible study for the first time in my life and I have been thoroughly enjoying it! Very refreshing!

...overall been blessed with more than my heart can understand. I am overwhelmed by joy and love right now. God is so good to me.

swagbucks.com

I want to see how many people I can recruit to using swag bucks website as a search engine. All you have to do is click this link http://swagbucks.com/refer/Dorrylady sign up for free, use the search and you get swag bucks while you are using it to search. save up enough swag bucks and you can get free stuff. It is legit. No fees. Also if you order stuff through swag bucks you can earn more swag bucks. The more friends you have on swag bucks, the more you get. And when your friends and friends' friends gain swag bucks, you get swag bucks also. How cool is that? Instead of using google, you can be using swag bucks and searching online and earning just by searching. It is pretty neat.


Just give it a try! I figure if every day you search for a swag buck and get two or one per day that is 365+ swagbucks a year, and if you have friends who are searching and they were your referrals, that is multiplied by two or more. http://swagbucks.com/refer/Dorrylady it can't hurt to try.

My cats are missed

You really don't know how much life is around you when you are at home until it isn't there. In my case it is my cats whom bring so much life in my dwelling. I am accustomed to being at home alone all day, but I didn't realize just how much I wasn't alone until we actually made the decision to leave our cats in Cashiers for an entire week. This was not an easy decision for me at all. There are times when I get frustrated with them for all the mischief and mayhem they display, but that is my preference over the silence I have been experiencing for two whole days now. Our house feels so dead right now. My reason for leaving them in Cashiers was merely to let the hairs settle and vacuum them up before my family comes to visit on Saturday. Dad is allergic to cat hairs. Is it worth not having the cats here a whole week in order to make my dad comfortable? Absolutely! But this doesn't mean I can't miss my cats something fierce. My constant companions aren't here by my side, the cat bowl is empty, the tub is empty of the small pool of water I have accustomed myself to seeing, I don't have a cat to snuggle with in bed. When I practice piano, Copper isn't there to walk up and down the keys! Where are those swishing tails to greet me when I enter the room they abide? where are those meows to greet me when I wake up in the morning? where are the claws that so lovingly scratch me to announce cuddle time? why won't they come when I call? Though today Nathan and I celebrate our second anniversary, it really isn't the same without cats to interrupt. Until I have children of my own, they are my kids and joy when I am alone all day. I do look forward with eager anticipation to bringing them back home again!

Nathan: my gift from God

for
NATHAN

Thank you for all that you are to me! I cannot thank you enough. You have been a splendid light and joy in my life.
When you are there to wake me up in the mornings, I don't thank you because I don't know how. Grumbles are all that ensue and the only way I know how to respond. I am sorry that I don't thank you then, but I am thanking you now!
Thanks for the roses you give to me on my birthdays and Valentine's Days.
For the understanding you show when I am down and dreary.
For the times when you have been there to cry with me.
Thank you for the tickles and laughter.
For reading together with me. Those times are my favorite!
Thanks for all the smiles and goofy remarks to help me smile too. You have no idea how much they mean to me!
Thank you for the late night cuddles and whispers when I can't fall asleep.
And for taking time to understand and sort out my problems, even when the problems are silly ones to you; you know just how to make me feel better!
Thank you for showing me how to think outside the box. That was the beginning of our adventures together!
Though I may get angry or upset with you some days, it is wonderful that you understand me even still and will be right by my side at the end of the battle. Thank you ever so much for that!
For the care you show when I have fallen, tripped, stubbed my toe, fallen again, slipped on nothing, etc., etc., I am truly grateful! Thank you for showing me I can laugh at my blunders and clumsy mistakes.
Thank you for showing me that my mistakes don't have to be my worst enemy and nightmare. That I can either overcome them or live with them and move on in life.
When you give me your undivided attention, and amaze me by it =), I am blessed and especially thankful for it.
Even in times when I want to be right and you show me truth, though I may not at first admit I am wrong, I do thank you for giving me the time to come to my understanding of the truth.
Thank you for your patience in listening to my constant chatter during one of my most blissful days.
Thanks for knowing how to be romantic.
And for scooping the kitty litter; it isn't a pleasant job!
For holding hands with me in the grocery store even though you don't want to be there.
Thank you for taking me grocery shopping. You have no idea how much I hate walking to the store to do the shopping!
And for coming home to me everyday! There are many husbands today that aren't faithful and make up lies of where they need to be instead of home. You are not one of them!
Thank you thank you thank you for your contentedness! It is an inspiration to me when I find little things here and there that I want or feel that I need.
Thank you for going to work everyday, that we can have food, clothing, and a place to sleep. Though some days you wish you had a higher income to provide more, how much money you make isn't what creates the strong bond that we have in each other!
And most of all I thank God for creating you! That you are who you are and that you aren't anybody else but you! That you are mine! The joy I have for you wells up in me and grows ever stronger by the moment.
You are my knight in shining armor, my hero, my sweetheart, my prince charming, my first boyfriend, my dream come true, my best Christmas present of 2006, and most of all, my husband! Thank you for the best two years of marriage I had never thought I would live, but was given anyway! God gave you for me to be my other half and to complete me. And that is just what you are and do! No one else could do it better than you!


Happy Anniversary!

Aches and Panes

This morning around 6:40, Nathan helped me out of bed to get me started on breakfast. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just the simple routine I am used to by now. Also something that is ordinary is for me to be groggy and slow. My stomach decided to have a bit of aches and kinks in it this morning, causing me to be extra slow. Looking at the time, I discovered that the clock read 7:15 and the bread wasn't buttered. I called to Nathan to butter it for me while I cracked the eggs into the frying pan. Nathan usually leaves for work every morning around 7:35 or 7:40. Breakfast is usually on the table by 7:10 or 7:15 at the latest.

While we were working on breakfast, Scrabble showed up meowing louder than usual and seemingly begging for attention. Not a big surprise to us. Nathan finished buttering the bread and sat on the floor Indian style to give her the much needed attention. After standing up, Nathan chatted a bit with me and all the while, Scrabble meowed as if to say she wasn't ready for all that loving attention to end. We talked to her and looked at her while she proceeded to talk and meow back at us and again, very loud! This was a bit out of the ordinary. I told Nathan she probably wanted him to hold her on his shoulder and walk around patting her back like she likes it. Nathan didn't have time for that and breakfast was nearly ready. In the meantime Scrabble continued meowing and rubbing herself against my legs while I stood at the stove.

Breakfast on the table, we ate quickly, Scrabble meowing the whole time, and pretended this was normal. After Nathan got ready for work, we exchanged goodbye hugs and kisses. Finally, I had the time to give her the special attention that I thought was all she wanted. I picked her up, cuddling her against my right shoulder and perceived that she was shaking! I realized something traumatic must have happened and patted her back while walking the length of the house.
During the second lap, as I walked closer to one of our living room sofas, I noticed the quilt had fallen off the back of the sofa in the right hand corner. I remember thinking it must have been Nathan who did it, if he had been reading in that sofa, but it wasn't an ordinary reading spot for him. Scooping up my furry bundle in one hand, I tossed the corner of the quilt back into place and at the same time noticing our storm window behind the sofa was covered in cracks and missing a whole chunk of glass.

Scrabble leaped onto the sofa again and meowed loud. I gave her reassuring pats and strokes while trying to figure out how this happened.

The best I can figure out is this:
Sunday night upon returning from Cashiers, we began opening up as many windows as we had wood support props. The last window we opened was the far right window behind that sofa. Later that night, before settling in bed for the night we lowered the inner window only and left the storm window as it was: the screen lowered and the glass pane that is on the outside of the screen, we kept up for when we wanted to open the window the next day.

Some time this morning, Scrabble was sitting in the window sill enjoying the morning breeze. Gravity had already been working on the window and the outer glass pane dropped to the down position, cracking the entire window pane while one huge chunk flew out of position and crashed on the pavement three stories below. This happened possibly while we were making breakfast, as I recall Scrabble racing into the kitchen meowing.

I imagine it happened while she was in the window because of the quilts state of array. I know for a fact that our cats do not race through the living room in the mornings and therefore it cannot be caused by the cats, but rather by gravity and it being an old window that often comes off its track sometimes when we raise and lower it. A heavy breeze may have caused it to fall off its track and plummet like it did.

Scrabble did get over it once she knew I had seen the window and reassured her it was ok. She has recovered well and is currently sleeping with Copper in the guest bed in safety. God is good to us and protected my cat from any harm. Through all this we got some extra giggles over Scrabbles behavior this morning and some extra cuddling time.

Bread Maker!

I bought myself a deal of a bread maker on Friday. Actually I left a check with my mother-in-law as Nathan and I were heading down to Ga to visit my family and former church for the weekend. And she paid the used furniture and houseware store for me and picked up my $30 clearance bread maker. Boy am I loving it!! I have used it nearly every day this week except Tuesday. Here you will see a picture of a roll I made using the bread maker to make the dough while I formed it into miniature herb bread loaves and baked it in the oven. Well, ok I lied, the picture is of me eating the roll.
I wish I could have taken a picture of the first loaf I made. It had arms and a head!!! Not a pretty one, that's for sure! My second bread was a banana bread. Then today I made four pizza crusts using the machine to make the dough and afterward I made a lovely smelling maple oatmeal bread. I am told that there is a bread maker cookbook waiting for me in Cashiers! Originally, the cook book that I discovered with the bread maker was dropped off at the store by a lady claiming that it "was too much work!" Whatever! Well my mother-in-law came back without the book and I began to wonder. This week she went back and the lady didn't seem to recall saying that it came with the bread maker. My mother-in-law went to pay for it and the lady gave it to her. Maybe she remembered my enthusiasm over a simple bread maker? Maybe she just wanted to be nice and give it anyway? Who knows, but I am ecstatic over everything bread machines nowadays and will have to remember to thank her for the bread machine cookbook.

what tastes great on a cheese pizza?

Tater tots!!! No totally! I promise it does! Last night I made pizzas and put pepperoni on Nathan's and tater tots on mine. I cut them up into small pieces, topped it all over the pizza, and cooked it. MMMmmmmmm. I loved it! Really you should all try it. It is like a breakfast, hash brown pizza. I even was brave this time and put pizza sauce on my pizza crust. I normally hate pizza sauce, but when I spread the sauce thinly over the pizza crust and topped it with lots of cheese I didn't have to taste thick sauce and was ok with it. But really, the tater tots on top were heavenly! Now go make pizza and get some tots, believe me, you will be impressed with the flavor!

a year from now..

...our car will be paid off.

cold

So today was really cold. 15 degrees outside is hard to endure inside. I have been bundled up in front of our heater and knitting nearly all day. Tomorrow is scheduled to be warmer, and Wednesday even warmer. In four more weeks it will be spring. I can't wait to transform my screen porch into my knitting, tea sipping, and book reading haven.

An Old Hobby of Mine

It has been a while since I have knitted. Last week I was hunting down all my knitting books and tools to consolidate them. That was when I found my favorite knitting needles. I probably shouldn't have picked them up. Now I am planning an afghan and trying to endure hand cramps along the way. I can hardly type this, cut the chicken up for our soup dinner tonight, sweep, wash dishes, wash my hands, or merely hold any object with my right hand without it cramping and contorting in pain. I have experienced this with crocheting. I thought for sure that knitting would be different. I just never have gotten this serious over knitting before. Do you think four hours of knitting is too much for one sitting? Probably. But it is addicting when I can see the end result of my afghan and the anticipation of it is what pushes me to keep at it.

OK so I am sure I am boring you about afghans and cramps. Life hasn't had too many turning points or life changing events for us much right now. I did enjoy a wonderful Valentine's week with Nathan last week.Wednesday night I made him a special chicken noodle soup with candle light, doilies, and fine china attiring the table. Thursday, Nathan took me out to Fatz and gave me a teddy bear with chocolates. Friday, he drove me out to Waynesville for my first time. We mainly went to the Walmart and for the beautiful drive. Saturday, Valentine's Day, I had a rose delivered to Cashiers where we stay on weekends. Nathan had to work that day so I was sorry we couldn't spend that day together, but I did have a wonderful time babysitting Cici and being with Mama and Daddy (my in-laws). Sunday we had a church soup and sandwhich gathering to celebrate the addition of a new elder.

It was a wonderful week for us and very enjoyable at that! This week is much slower. The most I have done is just housework and knitting around our house. Not much else has been needed. And it has been cold out so not warm enough for walks. I will be glad when spring comes along.

My hand tells me I need to quit.

lack of inspiration today

This morning, I sat by my kitchen window like I do when I need inspiration to write in my blog or journal. I sat expecting that I would know just what to write. On this beautiful sunny morning, nothing came to mind. Usually drinking coffee in my favorite mug helps me. I even had a blanket wrapped around my shoulders and was all cozy. Nothing came to mind. A big blank. hmmm. I want to write something beautiful and rich, but fuzz is in the way. I have of lately, been experiencing a longing to write from my imagination, and the one things that usually inspires me to write, has failed. Was it because my hands needed to be wrapped around bigger mug? Maybe I should try tea instead of coffee? I sighed to myself and prayed to God for a peaceful heart and mind and when I opened my eyes I found contentment and thankfulness for the beautiful trees, mountains, and the bright blue sky. I decided just to drink it all in and not worry about writing anything beautiful. Instead, I would enjoy what is before me and know that not everyone can share this view or this moment. I am living in a home, with food on a daily basis, clothing, and even though it is cold in our home in this season, I have ways of warming myself. Writing is the least of my worries and is just something I do for pleasure. I am not unfulfilled if I can't think of something to write. If tomorrow comes for me, I can always try again! God is wonderful to me in giving me today and sustaining me through the night. He is all I need in life, but yet I still am richly blessed with all the material blessings I have. I dont need them, but He cares for me and provides them for me.  What a wonderful life I have in Him. 

doilies, drapes, and a USA flag pillow

Currently I am in the crafting mood and have been enjoying planning and creating things for our home and for gifts. I had finished a doily for a Christmas present back in December for and extra gift "just in case!" I enjoyed making it so much that I found myself wanting to crochet some more doilies. A visit to a friend's house gave me the desire to crochet smaller doilies and frame them to give them the antique look. I have yet to get frames, but I have found dozens of small and antique looking doily patterns. The vintage style will look just wonderful on the wall and in frames. All I have to do is glue some scrap material on top of the cardboard backing of a frame and spray a fixative to the material where I will place my doily. So far I have completed three doilies and am nearly done on a fourth one. Two of these are small enough for framing.

Living in an old apartment complex has proven cold on winter days when the cold fronts come through so Nathan and I have been trying to find ways to make it warmer. Next after buying a propane heater we found a fleece blanket to use for a drape next to my side of the bed over the nearest window. Nathan was going to tape it, but I refused. Instead, folded the fleece down five inches and used my sewing machine to make a "pocket." I hung it on a metal curtain rod over my window, which currently has an air leak. The blanket had only cost us 3.79 at walmart. The next day Nathan and I returned to wal mart to get four red blankets and found that they were down to $2! I sewed them into drapes and had them hung that very night. The look of the red wine drapes was magnificent to our eyes. I have plans of adding lace edging to the bottom and at the sewn seam. Because we liked the results, we went yet another day and picked up four more fleece blankets. two blue, one red, and one tan blanket (the color of our original drape that was for my window). I had them all sewn and hung the next day. The blue for our guest bedroom, the tan for the dining room, and the extra red for our bathroom. Already I have noticed a huge difference in the temperature indoors. I have not had to use the propane heater, but only four days.

Friday, after I had help hanging the drapes in the dining room, I decided I wasn't done sewing and wanted more to do. I remembered I wanted to make a USA flag pillow for our guest bedroom, which is our red, white, and blue room. I already had a small hand flag I had found for a quarter at a thrift store in Cashiers. I used a stitch ripper to take off the white loop that kept it to the plastic flag pole and then sewed a better edge in its place. I happened to have an antique pillow form my Mom had covered with three or four layers and had given to me when I needed throw pillows for my apartment. After taking off all the layers, I had stuffed it in a closet and forgotten about it until now. Placing the flag over the pillow, I was shocked to find that it would fit perfectly without having to sew scraps of fabric to add to the flag's width and length, which I was planning on doing if I chose to go the route of using a pillow form. Using a navy blue fabric and lace I pinned everything together once I cut out the shape for the back of the pillow. It took me nearly an hour to pin it all and get ready to sew it. I wanted it to be perfect. I remember making a note to myself about backwards, inside out and right side in for pinning it and sewing it, knowing full well it has to be flipped right side out for the inserting of the pillow later on. I have done this many times and have made several pillows. No sweat, this will be a piece of cake, I thought to myself. HA! When I had finnished sewing three sides to the pillow cover and flipped it right side out, the flag was wrong! I had spent the past hour and half getting it all right, and now THIS!!! It was depressing. "I will be known for being a USA hater if I leave it like this," I told myself. I made my way to the guest bedroom, groaning the whole way, to show Nathan how "cute" the pillow is. I hugged it to myself with stars and stipes on the inside and blue backing facing him. I flashed him a huge smile as best as I could muster and then flipped the pillow around. He smiled too! Right before putting his hand over his mouth and laughing! I showed the pillow to my sister-in-law later that day and got the same results. *Sigh* It is really cute! I just wish I hadn't pinned it together wrong. The part about the flag slippped my mind because I was so worried about the lace boarder being perfect I didn't stop to think about the flag being BACKWARD when I flipped it out. I did however do research to make sure it didn't make me a USA hater if I went ahead and left it the way it is and sew up the fourth side to complete the pillow. I am not a USA hater and am not carrying around satanic signs of conspiracy against my country. There is no "backward" flag, it is only the perspective of being on a different side of the flag while it is waving in the wind. If you notice the USA flag patch on the right shoulder of USA troops, the flag is with the stars to the right instead of the left. This is a symbol of courage and also signifies the flag as a soldier runs to battle with the flag flying back in the wind as one stares at it from the right of the soldier.

I now plan to find another flag and do a seperate pillow and have them both on the same guest bed. There will always be a story behind this pillow. Only this time the other pillow I plan to make will have the stars on the left top corner. Though I won't call it the "right" way and I won't call the one I have now, "backwards" because when on a flag pole it is all relative and can't be bawkward. So how can it be backward when really they are meant to fly on a pole in the first place, I just happen to put it on the pillow instead.

I hope to post pictures of the doilies, drapes, and the pillow. Right now my camera batteries are dead.

Christmas Blues and New Years Resolutions

I really enjoy the Christmas season. Really, I do! Following shortly after Christmas, I have found myself down in the pits and wondering what the cause of it is. I had not felt this way before? I wake up, make breakfast, kiss Nathan goodbye and hold onto him for as many seconds as I have left before we tear apart and go our separate ways for the rest of the day. Immediately following Nathan's departure, I am in a cloud and can't get out of it. What is wrong with me? It dawned on me yesterday that it is just the simple case of the Christmas Blues. Where after Christmas, I am left with nothing more to do than take down each Christmas ornament one by one while remembering where I got each one of them and hoping I don't break any of them.

This year Nathan and I got a real Christmas Tree. Nathan didn't get to go with me to pick it out, but he helped me set it up and put the lights on it. Not only that, but he saw to it that I got a Christmas angel to put on the top instead of last years gaudy blinking star! Today, I took down all the pretty tree ornaments and put them in their boxes slowly and carefully. I thought about all of the wonderful memories of Christmases in times past and all the warmth and sharing that came with them. I also thought about my family and all that they mean to me.

I don't have many Christmas ornaments since last years Christmas tree was three feet tall and this years tree was five feet. Not to mention we have only had two Christmases as a married couple. So it didn't take me long to take them all down and put them in their rightful boxes. It did take me long, however, to pull off the lights since this time Nathan wasn't here to help me. The tree being up against the wall makes it hard to walk around it. But, I was able to go partway around the tree, hang the wound up lights on a branch, go around to the other side, pull them toward me, wind some more, and get them all completely off the tree. I hated taking down the ornaments and lights. Stripping the tree of its skirt, I felt so sad and almost moved to tears that it had to end to suddenly. I didn't even have time this past Christmas to make hot chocolate with whipped cream on top and sprinkles on the whipped cream and sit under the tree reading my favorite Christmas story. I didn't even get to read a Christmas story. I stayed so busy.

I had wanted to watch Little Women at least once for a good Christmas movie. That didn't happen either. (And by the way, the newer movie has a Christmas feel to it for those who never watched that for a Christmas movie.) There were so many Christmas traditions I wanted to start, but none of them happened. I did however get to bake cookies, drink hot coffee on cold mornings while gazing out the window, bring out my best sweaters and wear them, host a Christmas party, see my best friend for three or so hours, but all in all, it is the before Christmas Day time that is more exciting than the day of Christmas. As soon as everything is opened and paper is thrown away and food is eaten, its over! It happens too fast, and this year much much too fast. I do enjoy watching people open their gifts from me and seeing the looks on their faces, but even so, it seemed like so much more in the box with paper and a bow around it.

I thank God for all the times spent on Christmas Day or any day that I spend with family and friends, but it is the weeks after Christmas that are so sad. Especially the un-lighting of the tree and un-hanging the ornaments. I know in another week I will be over the Christmas blues. I look to God for comfort in these lonely and quiet times.

I now know why people come up with New Years resolutions, to get on with their life after Christmas and to help get over the Christmas blues. It has helped me. This year, my resolutions are to start on Christmas presents right away, doing three gifts or more a month, and to read through the Bible in a year. So far so good. I have nearly completed one gift and I have been keeping on track with the Bible reading schedule and enjoying it. I don't remember if I have ever on my own read through using one of those schedules. So this year I am going to see how I do. It has been an adventure for sure.

I do look forward to the coming months ahead of me and what this year has in store for me. Nathan and I will be married two years this May, I have hopes to start selling books on ebay here shortly, and hope to help Nathan rebuilt and sell a computer of his and raise money this way so that one day we might be able to build and sell computers to help out with the finances. We have just been discussing the possibility of making money this way. It is worth a try. Since my salsa idea really hasn't made much to count for anything, I have been a little disappointed in that field, but I have to move onward and keep trying new ways. There aren't many openings for employment in our area for either of us to make more money so that one day we can have a home and kids. And we really have no desire to live elsewhere. We like living in the mountains where we get all four seasons and snow comes with winter. Prices of living may be higher up here, but jobs sure are hard to find. So I really do hope I can start selling items that we have, and don't need, on ebay. Then if I make sufficient amounts of money and do well with ebay I would love to put it aside and save for a downpayment on a home and second car.

I have great exepectations for our future this year.