Day 26-Picture of your family

Mi familia.

 y

.
El fin.

Day 25-Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs

1.  "A Horse with No Name" -America
2."Fergalicious" -Fergie
3. "Let's Get Away From It All" -Sinatra
4. "Amazed" - Lonestar
5.  "All You Need is Love" -The Beatles
6.  "Do You Wanna Dance?" -The Beach Boys
7.  "The Break-Up Song" -American Hi-Fi
8.  "Satellite" -Anna Nalick
9.  "Famous People" -Brad Paisley
10.  "Everything" -Alanis Morissette

Day 24-Something you've learned

I've learned a lot of things in the past year.  I've been faced with some trials that are difficult and difficult when they happen altogether, such as being pregnant, getting laid off, and finishing a master's degree.  From that great experience I learned patience and trust.  

I had some complications in the pregnancy and even though I worried, I knew I had to give it up to God.  Lots of people say that ("give it up to God") and to be honest, it used to really bother me.  I thought, "Oh yeah, that's it, just pass on the problem to God, don't use your brain He will solve it all."  Actually, what people should say is give your worry up to God.  So I gave up my worry, BUT I prepared, I used my brain and I prepared.  I asked the doctor's lots of question and was persistent in the care of myself and Matthew.  My friend told me that our kids are God's children and he picks us to raise them here on earth, however that may be and with whatever challenges come with it.  I learned to trust. 

This past year I also realized how short and precious life is.  Every day people pass, but the passing of two special souls really touched me.  I'd rather not get into details, but I realize that miracles happen everyday, even in ways you might not expect them.  God provides laughter even in times of sadness.  And to cherish every moment, as if it were your last.  I know that sounds cliche, and it is, but it's true. 

Something else I have learned through my profession and especially being a parent is I am still LEARNING. 

Day 23-Favorite vacation

Here's where ya'll will start to think I am weird.  Or, if you thought I was weird, this will only confirm it.  Here is a list of my favorite places to vacation:

Gettysburg, Pa
Yellowstone National Park
Washington D.C.
Sugarcreek, Oh
Vero Beach, Fl
Fresno, Ca
Coronado, Ca

Yes, they are in particular order, my most favorite to just plain favorite.

Okay I just deleted a whole explanation as to why I like Gettysburg.  To sum it up: these places are appealing because of historical significance, family, and tranquility.

The end.

Day 22-Favorite city

How about favorite town?  Okay then.  Sugarcreek, Ohio.

I like to say I'm a city suburbs girl.  I think I probably am, but the idea of living in a town like Sugarcreek is enchanting.  My dad's aunt lives there and we try to visit once a year.  It's a place where you know everybody and it's so "small town", the big news of the decade was when they got a McDonalds.  When we're there visiting, we go somewhere, like say, the local restaurant, and the hostess will say, "You must be Helen's family."  Why yes we are, how did you know?  Well, seriously, you don't say the latter because they will usually start asking about California, since they already know we're from California.  It's fine we say, we don't want to tell them what a dump it has truly become.  Side track.

I think the whole shoveling snow and below freezing temperatures in the winter thing in a place like Sugarcreek might get to me, because I really enjoy the warm California weather we have (although lately it feels anything less than warm- but that's a 60 degrees mind you!).  What's in Sugarcreek you're probably wondering.  I will tell you.  Amish, farms, a "downtown" area with crafty shops and the like, a glorious restaurant called Dutch Valley where they serve my favorite peanut butter pie, and of course, also in Sugarcreek is my lovely lovely Aunt Helen (who I think puts illicit drugs in her homemade cookies because they are so addicting and delicious.... I'M JUST KIDDING NO SHE DOESN'T THEY ARE JUST REALLY REALLY GOOD!)

When we usually make our way to the small town, it is summer, or spring.  The weather is beautiful and the sun is shining.  In the summer the sun is out until 10 pm.  They sell fireworks before the 4th of July in a neighboring town, but you have to swear you are going out of state to shoot them or fire them or whatever it is you do with fireworks, because it's illegal there to shoot them off, so we buy them and swear, and then Aunt Helen let's us shoot them off in her driveway.  She watches, ready with the hose in case something goes wrong.  So far, we have a good record.

We are going again to Sugarcreek very soon and I cannot wait.  Matthew will love watching the Amish buggies go by, and we will have to take him to the auction barn to see the livestock.  I'll probably get him a little Amish boy straw hat.  We will sit with Aunt Helen while she crotches and watches the Indians play, and parade around town and show him off to the locals, which I will love, what mom doesn't love to show off her kidlet?  Perhaps he will wave at one of those passing buggies.

Sugarcreek always reminds me of the simple life.  It's not what you own, who you wear, or what you drive, it's about love and relationships and people.  It's really all that simple.

Day 21-Picture of yourself

Me, plus a few others.

Day 20-Nicknames

I don't have any nicknames.  I like it that way.  My name can't really be shortened to something else, and honestly I wouldn't want it to be.  I am happy with my name- thanks Mom and Dad! <3

Day 19-Something you miss

Purple Days at Caryn Elementary.

Life was simple and fun.  Waking up Friday mornings, tired from a night of studying for spelling, mad minute math, and states tests.  Ready for assemblies, honor roll and student of the month awards.  Grabbing my Caryn Cougar t-shirt and mom tying a purple ribbon in my hair- I was ready for Purple Day.  At recess, a sea of kids in purple tees cover the hard court; ball wall, basketball, and Chinese jump rope.   Just carefree.

Purple Days were that extraordinary, yet ordinary thing that was a big part of such a simple life.

Day 18-Something you regret

Something.  One thing I regret.

I regret making a quick big decision.  That's all I'll say.  I have learned a lot.  I've learned to research and take it slow when making a big decision.

Day 17-Something you're looking forward to

I am looking forward to several things.

Dumping this challenge, and just blogging about normal things. 

Matthew growing and learning, he is so fun to watch.  He just learned how to wave, it's probably the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Breaks from work.

Warm weather.

Vacation in Sugarcreek.

Winning.

Day 16-Dream house

I live in it.  Seriously, I am happy in my home and don't think I would want anything different.  Except maybe a wrap around porch, but it wouldn't fit the style of my house.  Okay, okay, here you go...

How beautiful is that?  All it needs is a dog or two on the front porch!

Day 15-Bible verse

Behold God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid... Therefore with joy you shall draw water out of the wells of salvation."

-Isaiah 12:2-3

This one has been a guiding light to me for many many years. As a Christian, it speaks volumes to me.  It answers every question I have about life, death, worries, and what-ifs.  It is applicable to every situation.

Example:

I am so worried about there being a giant earthquake in SoCal....

Answer: I will trust and not be afraid.  Don't worry about it, this verse speaks, God has it under control, don't waste your time worrying about it.

What is going to happen with my job???

Answer: God is my salvation.  God will be there for you.  Your job is not the end all be all of this life.  Nor is your house, your car, your credit, or your Uggs.  You will not have these worldly possessions, but you will have God.  Always.

What happens if I just trust God, give it up to him, and my situation goes down hill???

Answer: with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.  In eternal life, you will be rewarded for your faithfulness.  Don't sweat the small stuff, with faith and good works, you will rejoice in salvation with the Lord.

Although, I often share my faith, I don't too often speak of my personal relationship with God.  I'll read the Bible, and I kept to myself.  So a post like this is very different for me to do.  Anyways, it felt good.

Day 14-A picture you love

Day 13-Goals

I want to be a good mom.  

I want to balance my career and being a mom.  Sometimes, I want to give up the career and just be a mom, but financially that is not a possibility right now.  So, I'm going to "downsize" my career for now, and have more time with my baby.  Eventually I want to put my masters to use and advance in my career.  That will be way in the future though, when I am ready to put more time into the career portion of my life.

Honestly, I can't think of anymore goals.  I mean there are several things I want to do in life, but I wouldn't call them goals.  I think before I had my baby, I had a lot of goals, like running a marathon or whatever, but now, my goals revolve around my role as a mom.

Day 12-What you believe

I believe a lot of things.
First and foremost, I believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.  I believe He is the Son of God and died on the cross for our sins and salvation.
I believe that everything is grey and nothing is black and white.
I believe in looking up information on your own, reading details and researching information, not just following CNN or Fox News.
I believe that smarts are useless if there is no work ethic.
I believe there is good in most people.
I believe that we are all connected in one way or another.

Day 11-Favorite TV shows

It's tomorrow already!

I LOVE TV!  It's such a waste of time, but I truly enjoy watching tv.  I don't get to watch much of it anymore.  My favorite show of all time is "Friends", even though it's over, I still enjoy the reruns.  I have all the seasons on DVD, but I am considering getting rid of them, since four channels run reruns every single day.

Currently, I am loving Southland.  It's raw.  And, I don't know why, but I have thing for guys in uniform.  ;)

Can you even do emoticons in a blog?  I just did.

Some honorable mentions include:
Seinfeld, The Office, Soup, The Dish, a few of the "Real Housewives of...", and Jeopardy!

Day 10-Something you're afraid of

Oiy.

I used to be afraid of being shot or bit/eaten by a shark.  Those might seem like some pretty off-the-wall things to be afraid of, but I was.  I would see a story on the news where one of these things happened to someone, and I would think,  "I hope that doesn't happen to me."

Now that I'm a parent, my fears have multiplied.  If you're a parent, then you know what I'm afraid of.  We're all afraid of the same thing.  We want our children to be untouched by anything negative, by anything that can harm them.  From burps to bullies to colds.  And anything and everything else there is.  I'm being honest, and I don't want to be.  I want to be funny and witty in this post, but I just can't.

FDR said "There is nothing to fear, but fear itself."  I always wonder when someone gives a speech and says something like this, do they know ahead of time that their words will be quoted and repeated throughout history.  Did Roosevelt have any idea that this simple sentence would have such a lasting impression, and be twisted and turned in so ways, to be applicable to many different situations?

Thanks FDR, because this quote is liberating to me.  I try hard not to waste my time on my fears.  I try.  I think if we live in fear, we miss out on life.  And I don't want to miss anything.

My next post HAS to be witty.

Underwears

I was at Target the other day cruising for some shorts.  Since I was pregnant last year, I haven't worn my summer clothes in two years.  I'm pretty certain that my summer clothes may fit, but are definitely out of style.  Well let me tell you about the kind of shorts Target is carrying these days; short and skimpy and small, I can't wear them for several reasons, the  biggest one being that I have underwear bigger than the actual short itself.
I wondered "who the hell wears these?"  Oh yeah, people and they SHOULDN'T.  The butt hanging out, the thigh jiggles, the chaffing, oh the horror.  Even teeny tiny girls can't pull these shorts off.  Listen Target, listen Fashion. nobody looks in stuff like this.  Stop making it, stop selling.  Ladies, please leave somethings to the imagination.
Actually, I don't even want to imagine it.  at. all.

Day 9-A picture of your friends

Here are all of my friends at the beach!

Ah just kidding.  Going through my photos on my computer, the only pictures I have with my friends are from our wedding or include something I don't want to post (ie: weird faces, bad hair, dancing no one should ever be subjected to).  Since I graduated to being a grown up, I typically don't take too many pictures of my friends and I hanging out to post on myspace later on.  I just bombard facebook with pictures of my baby.