Visiting Denver

Here I am sitting here in the SLC airport. I have a little bit of a layover, so what better way to spend some of my time by blogging.



I wish I had some pictures to post of the time that I spent in Denver with my cousin, Tonnett and her husband Ron (he technically is my cousin too, by marriage to her, right? Of course!) But until then, I just wanted to write about some of the fun things we did, etc.



This was my first time meeting Tonnett in person. She and her husband came to San Diego several years back and I didn't go to the dinner that my auntie had made in their honor because I think I made plans to hang out with friends or something. I wish now, looking back, that I had taken the opportunity to hang out with them. I'm glad that there is a such a thing as redemption (if I could use that word, it means so much).



Tonnett and I are Facebook friends, so I have gotten to see pictures and post things on her page every now and then. But it's not the same thing, it's not as personal. I know it's nice to have that connection and all when are unable to see your family and friends but it's nothing like personal contact. Anyways....



Sometime last month, when I thought I was going to move to Houston, my cousin Alicia, told me that Tonnett would be the best person to talk to. First, she is not a crazy relative, and second, that's where she grew up.



So I called her and through a series of phone tag, we finally connected. But by then I had already decided not to go to Houston. But I still had her tell me a little bit about it. Not really a positive review at all. It's a big, concrete block. The food is good though. Mmmm, not enough reason for me to go and live. I would probably be an unhappy, fat person. Mmmm, that's okay. Plus, they have huge flying roaches. (Didn't my mother try to tell me that?) Definitely not!!!



Then she started telling me about Dever. Sounded inviting! Then she invited me to come and visit her and Ron. I was like really? She insisted. I told her that when I did that it would probably be next month (November). She just told me to let her know the dates and we will make plans. As I was talking to her, she reminded me of myself in a little way, just the way she talked. She had (has) such a fun personality! I knew we were related. I couldn't wait to hang out with her.



So I looked at my calendar, told her the perspective dates and we set on a number of dates. I called the airlines and we were set. Woo-hoot!



This story could get so very long, so it will be a series (LOL!)



Til then all I will say now is "Thank You Lord for awesome family, who love You and who are so much fun!"

New things

So it has been quite awhile since I have written on this blog. Honestly, it was a little painful to write after my last entry.

Well, since my last entry I decided NOT to go to Houston. And you know what? That's okay. There are more adventures to be had.

I continue to travel here and there! I feel so blessed that God has totally, I feel, given me the desires of my heart. Even though my travel has mainly been with work but I have taken a few detoures (sp?) of my own, which have included Montana (Idaho and Washington, the states my sister and I stayed and drove through) and now Denver (thanks to Delta for giving me a voucher for giving my seat away, just to wait one extra hour, plus I got to sit in First Class the only seat left on the plane! LOL!).

I have one more "business" trip this year, the first week of December. Then after that I look forward to going to Uganda in 2010 or 2011 but I'll looking for 2010. How exciting that would be! My friends Christy and Tad are living there and are in the process of adopting a precious little baby they have nicknamed "Pistachio". While I am there I am also looking forward to going to an orphanage to give a helping hand and loving hug to the many children that are there.

In my last several blogs I wrote about the concept of being grateful and putting that into action. I think it's time again. I was encouraged by a program that I heard on Focus on the Family about gratefulness and how fitting now that we are coming upon Thanksgiving. But as a Christian, we are literally commanded, not just encouraged, to rejoice in the Lord always and to always be thankful for it is God's will for us who belong to Christ (I Thessalonians 5:18)

I have a lot to be thankful for for these and a lot more:

-The way that God is apparently working in my friends lives (Hillary giving birth to Camille, Heather and Bill growing closer together in their love for each other as a result of Heather's illness and God's faithfulness, etc)

-A praying church

-Loving parents, who if they see their kids are straying they do not hesitate to confront with a strong loving passion

-Old friends who you know that will be there even in the different phases of life though it may look different but the love is the same

-God's pursuing love

-New cousins

-My job, really, I do have it good despite the sometimes politics

-LOVE!

Until the next post: that is my cool news for the day!

You've been chosen!

So I have a story to tell you:

This is in connection with the previous post. So, when I came back to the office, I had a feeling that my boss and manager were not too happy with me. By now they had heard that I had applied for the position in Houston. What were they thinking? Was that a cold shoulder that my manager was giving me? What has been said already? Did she talk to my other co-workers about, asking them did they know about me applying? What was she thinking? I felt so overwhelmed with negative emotion, that I had to step out of the office and call one of my favorite people who use to work in this office with me. After talking with her, I knew I had to go make some apologies, though I felt like I didn't need to be sorry for applying for another position but I felt like I needed to apologize.

So hoping and praying for courage, I ran after my boss who was on his way out to get a coffee and asked if I could talk with him sometime that day. He said sure and he knew what I wanted to talk to him about (even though I knew it was more that I wanted to say on my part). So later that day, he came around and asked if I wanted to talk, I said "yes". So we went into his office (and though I want to paint this whole picture for you at this moment, the story will be longer than your eyes can handle, longer than the time I have, and longer than my fingers want to type, so I'll get to the point; if you want the longer version, we can talk later).

Long story short, I think he made a phone call to the office I applied for. I didn't go back and ask him if he did or not. Personnel called me the next day but I missed their call because I was testing an applicant. But I was waiting in anticipation to talk to the person who called me. I called them back but being on the west coast, by the time I called, our east coast peeps had gone home for the day.

The next day, I called Personnel again and had to leave a message. Several minutes later, they called back. She said, "This is **** from Personnel and I'm calling about the Protective Support Assistant position and I'm letting you know that you have been chosen. I was also wondering if you were still interested in the position?" I said, "yes." "Well then, Congratulations! You'll have 120 days to relocate and we will be calling your SAIC."

By the time I got off the phone, I had tears smarting my eyeballs and I was like, "REALLY?! Wow."

I walked around to a couple of my co-workers that I had gotten the job! Woo-hoo! Oh my gosh! I walked throughout the day in stunned amazement and a swirling stomach, I couldn't believe my ears. I had to tell my parents.

So I wanted to wait a little bit to start telling more people. It's a scary but cool opportunity to move! Wow! Now for the adventure!

That happened all next week and now I am letting you know now, I'm going to Houston!

And that's my cool news for the day! Woo-Hoo!

P.S. I will be talking to you very soon Hillary!

Waiting

So I've been in Maryland since Monday, the 31st. The first part was for training, now I'm just having a nice time relaxing at a friend's house.

So this week, while at training, I went to go check my e-mail in the computer lab. I opened up my inbox to find that my boss had written me. He knows that I'm out of town, so what's up? So I opened up and he was requesting that I call him as soon as I can. Oh boy, what did I do. So right away I called him. He picked up and told me that he had spoken to one of the other bosses from another office (I applied for a position in Houston about a month and a half ago). He gave me high regards and recognition to this boss in Houston. So he told me this, a little dissappointed that I hadn't told him that I had applied and that it would have been to my advantage to do so because he could have given the other boss more information, etc. He really would like to see us spread our wings and try out new places, etc.

Sooo, all this to say, I COULD BE MOVING TO HOUSTON!

And that's my cool news for the day!

Could it be?

I’ve decided to go on a little tangent today.

Like many of you (or not) I tend to get some of my profound thoughts in the bathroom, normally called the Restroom. Some time ago, I finally came to understand why they call it the Restroom. It is a place for you to sit (albeit on the toilet) and think. Well, I’m sure some restrooms actually have couches on where you can sit and ponder (I know some church restrooms do *smile*).

So on my recent excursion to the restroom, I played out this scenario in head and it went something like this:

(Boy): Why aren’t you married, yet?

(Me): Um, good question. Let me think about that. Could it be because guys like you, ask girls like me why we are not married. And we sit and talk and philosophize about why we are not married and why we haven’t met anybody yet. Could it be that the person sitting in front of your face could possibly be your future spouse? Oh, no, that might be a little awkward, right? We are just friends. That could never work. So we go on through life analyzing, praying, analyzing, waiting, praying and the answer that God gave was right there all along.

(Boy): *silence* *crickets chirping*

I’m not dogging guys because trust me we girls analyze until our tongues go numb and our brains our about to burst.

So I guess this is all to say, (and believe me I am fully talking to myself in this): trust God and take chances, life is short. Love God (He’s awesome!), live free in Christ (sin cuts your life short), love your neighbor (you’d might be surprise what you find), and laugh loud (it’s good for your health)!

A new adventure in a familiar place

If you have read any of my old posts, you would have read that it was my dream this year to go traveling here and there. Even though I haven't gone to any of the countries that I listed so far, I have gotten to go back and forth to the East Coast, once to the South, and the Northwest (or would Montana be considered the mid-west?). I'm so grateful for the opportunities (even if it involves work) that I have had to go travel and see new sights and meet new people. What a treat!

So I just got the news today that I'm going to Maryland to take a class at our training center (it really is a beautiful campus). And this time I get to stay at the Residence Inn instead of the Holiday Inn. Yippee! (trust me)

I may extend my stay and hang out with my friend Sean and his boys this trip around. He's getting his house ready for sale. It looks like he's going to be moving to Texas in the near future.

So yay!! Another trip!

That's my cool news for the day!

Home, Home on the Range, where the Deer and the Antelope Play...

Awww, Montana! What a beautiful part of the United States it is. I only heard how beautiful it was until I got see it up front for myself. I made a quick decision to go to Montana with my sister to go to her friends' wedding. I was suppose to go last year but that's another story. I'm so glad that I finally got to go. It's called big sky country and that is what it is.

Sometime last summer, I picked up a bridal magazine, because I was in that state of mind at that time and I frivously brought the magazine. Hey I might as well get ideas, I might be getting married sometime soon. I haven't stopped dreaming of the possibilities. In the issue that I brought, their was a couple that got married under the big blue sky on their families ranch. It was beautiful and it had me dreaming especially since I was just talking to a guy that I had know for awhile from those parts and I thought that there was something happening between us.

Well, fast forward to this summer on August 1st, Laura and her beloved Cody, got married under the big blue sky. It was lovely! You could see the love in their eyes. So they got married on his parents piece of land and it was hot!

They are in the process of having their house built on the "piece" of land his parents gave them. That's them walking on their piece of land. A piece is the understatement of the day.

Anyways, the next day we drove to Cheryls' Master teachers home about an hour or less south of Glacier Park. Needless to say, it was also very beautiful there too. As I sat on a part of their wrap around porch, I imagined myself retiring there or just living there. Why wait until retirement?

I'm going to make a long story short. As Cheryl and I were saying goodbye to her teacher Denise, she peaked inside our car and saw a binderlett (new word) of CDs. She asked if they were a book on CD or the Bible on CD. We told her the latter. She said that it would be neat to have that while she was gardening or walking on her treadmill. And we smiled and agreed. Cheryl gave her another hug and we said goodbye. As we sat in the car to leave, a lightbulb popped over Cheryl's head (imagine that) and she told me to wait. She took the CD pack (that belonged to my dad, by the way; but he had already copied them to his computer at home) and went back to Denise's garage door and delivered them to her. Cheryl came back to the car a little emotional. We sat in the car and prayed for her teacher friend and her family that they would one day come to the Lord.

Not only did I get a wonderful taste of Montana, the big sky country, but I also got to taste a little bit of what God has begun to do in someone's life that is searching for Him. (Jeremiah 29:11-14b)

And that's my cool news for the day!

I was kissed by a prince...

The day before yesterday my boss came to my desk and told me that if I wanted to, I could take come and take a picture with someone. I said, Okay. He said, "Be sure to dress nicely", to which I thought to myself, "Do I dress like a slob?" This is coming from a man who has complimented me on my dress and when his parents came into town, they also complimented me and he agreed. So I just rolled my eyes and continued with my work.

So the day came, yesterday, to go take a picture with this very special person. I got ready that morning, making sure I looked decent, put on a smile and rushed out the door (like I usually do on my way to work, at least the rushing out the door part).

Me and my two co-workers left around 12:30pm, to make sure we got there at the appointed time of 1:00pm. When we arrived at our destination, we were unsure of where to meet our contact. So with a couple of phone calls, we were finally escorted behind the scenes.

We were told by our boss to head off to the side of the room to watch the rest of this individuals' interview. I just stood there and took in the scene, wanting to take a picture, waited there in expectation.

Finally, the event was over, people started to get into line to meet this person. I was hoping that we weren't forgotten. My boss, came to the spot to where he told us to go and escorted us to several tables for us to take a seat and wait. Wait for 200+ people to take a picture with this individual. So we waited. I chit chatted hear and there, with this person, with that person. I watched this guy who was standing outside the curtained area and thought how boring his job was. He was just standing outside, keeping watch. As we continued to wait, I decided to talk to some of my co-workers who were also working the event. We talked about this and that, and thought what very interesting stories they had. I told one of them that they should write a book.

Our time came to wait in line. So with my camera ready, sort of (the battery was threatening to be out of power), we made our way through the line. We, well, at least I did some people watching. There we all were waiting to get a picture with this person and get a word in edge wise.

The closer we got, the clearer this person was to me. My eyesight is not the greatest, especially with flourescent lights. Bleh! It was then that I asked my boss could we use our camera to take a picture and he blandly said no. Just plain no. How disappointing! He just said to trust him to get us our picture when they come into the office. I said, it's nothing like having it on our own camera. We got even closer and what do you know, there was a crack in the curtain for me to take a picture. So I grabbed my camera and to no avail, I got one blurry picture. It kind of looks like a George Washington painting, with George Washington standing next to a flag, from far away. At least, that's what came to mind.

Anyways, we stepped closer and closer and closer. Finally, it was my turn. He stuck out his hand and I stuck out mine for a handshake. I didn't know what to say. Everything that people wanted me to say to him, came to my mind and I had to find a way to shorten it. So he pulled me to his side so we could take a picture and I quickly said, "You are in our love and prayers." We turned toward the camera and smiled.

It was then that he kissed me on my temple and said, "Thank you" with obvious appreciation. He let go of my hand and I walked away.

I was smiling. And with respect and admiration, I write this. Thank you, Mr. George W. Bush, it was finally very nice meeting you!

And that's my cool news for the day!

So here I am again in transition..

As you see my page is in transition.

I haven't been here for awhile but I got this really cool idea to start up my blog again. One reason is because for a couple of days I started writing down the little (or) big blessings that God gave me that day.

For example, on my way to church, I rolled down my window to get some air flowing. Well, I came to a stop light and was waiting for a tiny bit when my light turned green. Out of my peripherial vision, I saw something coming my way and instead of going through the green light, I waited until this thing passed. This car whooshed by, through a red light. I had a flash forward. Just think, if I would have just went through the green light a split second before (because I was late getting to church), I could have been side swiped from the driver's side, end up terribly mangled or dead. The little things people, the little things. Car window rolled down so I could hear the air swishing through this cars body, side peripheral vision so I could see what was coming toward me. Those things I can thank God for. Believe me, I was thanking Him on my way to church for sure!

So here I am starting my blog, "That's my cool news for the Day!" I hope you enjoy!

I am His Beloved and He is mine