Goals for Last Week of Summer

Wow - there seems to be major "blogger's block" going on with my fellow bloggers! Hey, I've kinda had it too. Hasn't been much going on - just working and organizing my room (still)!

Last week of "summer" - what I need to do

• Order books for school
• FINISH the room (hang pictures, get all my stuff outa living room)
• PORTFOLIO (transfer stuff that I've already done, figure out what else I need to do, update personal sections -- too much!! :P)
• Go through purses and shoes in closet and then the closet will be DONE!
• Practice flute.
• Oh and work a total of about 20 hours! (I've worked 6 tonight!)
• and spend more time with God and His Word

So those are my goals for this week. Gotta stay focused so I can start my Junior year on a positive note. Well, I'm taking Andrew to GBS tomorrow for his first day, so I need to hit the sack. Toodle-loo.

The Great Return

She finally came home today. After nearly two months of rebellion, stubbornness, and un-cooperativeness, she decided to come back. Her little fling cost us dearly, but we are so glad she returned. Hopefully, she will be her nice submissive self from now on.

Did you guess? My car is back! Praise God! And I still remember how to drive her (a standard)!

Update - for lack of a better title

Since it's been a week since I've posted I'll do a quick daily recap of what I've been up to.

Tuesday, Aug. 5

• Went to school w/ Mom and saw Paul at Panera (last post)


• Worked at Aunt Brenda's from 9:30 - 12ish


• Went to Run, Jump, and Play Cafe from 1pm - 4pm with LBA's summer camp.


• Spent the evening with Aunt Brenda and Andrew: Chipotle, Starbucks desserts, and Ping Pong!

Wednesday, Aug. 6

• I think I started cleaning my room - like DEEP cleaning. Take everything out, dust, sweep, go through stuff, and I've rearranged some things.


• Taught my Kingdom Kids class Wednesday night at 7pm. I taught about Elijah and the poor widow, how God performed two miracles: supplying their food and healing her son.

Thursday, Aug. 7

• I got up at 4am because it was my first day to open the bakery at Panera. Kym trained me that morning. I worked till 1:30 pm and it went really well. You're so busy that you don't realize you've been there from 8 hours!


• Kept working on my room - it was really dirty. I really weeded out and have come up with 2 boxes for Goodwill (so far.)

Friday, Aug. 8

• Got up at 4am again to work Panera from 5am-1:30pm.


• Worked on room


• Watched most of the opening ceremonies for the Olympics!! Quite incredible.

Saturday, Aug. 9

• Slept in!!


• Worked on room. I'm really trying to get some organization and systems in place for all my stuff!!


• Watched more Olympics

Sunday, Aug. 10

• Worshipped


• Rested

Monday, Aug. 11

• Ran errands with Mom and Andrew. Found some frames for a watercolor picture I did in grade school and another picture I painted by number (it's an intricate painting - I think it'll look neat.)


• Ate Chipotle for lunch - can't get enough!


• Uhh - still working on room!


• Went to Andrew's softball game - 15-19 -- a close game for the guys. I enjoy the fellowship and watching them play, though.

Tuesday, Aug. 12

• Opened bakery at Panera 5am - 1:30pm - It was crazy busy today!! After work I got a Smokehouse Turkey Panini! Wow, it was good.

Well, that's what I've been up to! Can't wait to finish my room! It will feel so good once everything is in its place. We got a filing cabinet for my room, so I need to go work on that. Also I need to order my books for school because I now have a booklist! And I need to call a babysitting family back to see if I'll be able to babysit for them this weekend. And I desperately want to get with my friend Tiff before she leaves for college! Oh - I should be getting my car back in the next couple of days! Thank you God!

Anyway - gotta run! Enjoy these beautiful days God has blessed us with!

Coincidence? Naaw, it was a "God" thing

I was at Panera (a different one) in line to get some coffees, and I turn around and see this tall guy and notice - OH WOW - it's Paul Peterson!! What a small world! Paul was the Youth Pastor at Grace Community Church, my old church! I knew he would be moving to Cincinnati to plant a church, but it was totally cool running into him at Panera. What he is doing is very exciting. I've been checking out his blog and know that I'll have a lot of great reading material for a while as I catch up on his blog! Check it out -- http://paulpetersonlive.com Great seeing you Paul! God Bless you on your endeavors.

Planning / Panera / Ping Pong / Pride and Prejudice

I know this is shocking - but I'm getting a wee bit excited about school starting! I've bought a new planner and have filled in everything from the School Calendar that pertains to me for this semester. Looks like some good Jr. and Sr. recitals coming up. Perhaps, I'll get to drop in on one or two of them. I've got a whole passel of dates I have to put in the date book to request off from work. Got to makes sure I get my choir and SWSE dates - they are priority! Now if I could just start ordering my books ... oh and getting my or a car, ETC.

Work is going pretty well. I closed dining room Friday night - It was a work out! I was pretty slow and the other workers helped out, but it was my first night, and I'm sure I'll get faster with experience. I've been scheduled for three 5AM - 1PM shifts coming up. We'll see how that goes!! It's good to finally have a job and begin getting in the swing of things. Most of my coworkers are really nice and helpful - so that's good. They're trying to get the pronunciation of my name straight - its mildly humorous. :) BTW I had a Chicken Cesaer Sandwich and French Onion Soup with Whole Grain baguette today and it was all very good! I have to try everything (or just about everything) and then I think I get a raise!

So to compensate for all this extra food I'm consuming, I'm trying to move around a bit more. Tonight the fam played ping-pong doubles, and mom and dad squeaked out a 3-2 lead. Dad is looking over my shoulder, printing something from his laptop and says that he resents the squeaked out part. He said that they had it made in the shade. Anyway -- it was fun. Beautiful evening too.

I've read 12 chapters (out of 61) of Pride and Prejudice and again am enjoying my trip through the classics. Austen makes me chuckle frequently. I like to laugh.

Check out my alliterative genius of a title. :)

Party Time!

Misty and her "Belizan" tan! :)

Ping-pong was fun!

Elena, Brandon, Misty, and Brenda.

Dad and Howard grinning and picking.

Me and my new hobby - the mandolin.

Andrew and Brenda with the "Grasshopper Pie" Andrew made. Quite impressive, eh? Fourteen years old and he can already make a pie! :)

Brenda and Ona enjoying dessert.

Experimenting with Tissue Fashions

We had a little party for my Aunt Brenda's birthday. Our good friends Howard, Elena, Brandon, and Misty came as well as long time family friend, Ona. Homeade pizza, salad, and chips were on the menu. Then we enjoyed ping pong and bocce ball outside, and finished the party off with yummy desert, gifts, and music. I love our family and friends! Happy Birthday Brenda!

Is this Weird?

I just like to get on my blog and listen to my music play through. Yep that's pretty weird!

Breads, Pastries, Bagels - OH MY!

I have completed my third day at Panera Bread. It is amazing what you can learn in three days!! Let's see I have/can:

• fill a bagel order "Would you like them sliced and toasted, and any cream cheese with that?"
• ring up a U Pick 2 order and I can even figure out how to switch out bread; take off stuff, and add stuff if you'd like
• if you had a call - in order, I can ring you up for that
• need a loaf or miche sliced? - I gotcha covered
• can I interest you in a frozen lemonade or strawberry smoothie or what about a frozen caramel drink - mmm .. those are good and easy to make
• want a pastry? Is that for here or to go?
• ooh - I can slice baguette dough, stretch them out, and slide them in the oven too

Yep that's about it. I still need to learn (among many other things) how to switch/make the coffee, and how to ring up discounts without messing up the order and asking for help. Oh, yeah, and when I press the cash button and I should have pressed the gift card redeem button ... that isn't good either. But overall, I'm learning and doing okay! Tuesday is my last day of "training" and then I'm on the schedule to work Friday night, and we'll see from there.

Today, a lady came up to me and said, "You look like Chelsea Clinton! Has anyone ever told you that?" I was like, "Uh, no - no one has ever told me that" as I looked incredulously at my coworker. She said, "Oh, it's a good thing, because she is really pretty." I just laughed. A visor and an apron disguises much. Although, I don't think I would mind having curly hair.

One plus for working at Panera - they send me home with bread, pastries, and bagels to try. MMmmm...some good stuff!

I bought a new CD tonight (well actually Andrew bought it and I'm going to pay him back.) It is the 5 Browns "No Boundaries" CD/DVD. I've heard about them for a year or two and have been impressed with their talent and passion for classical music. One of my favorites on this CD is Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin.

So I leave you as I go listen to my music and eat a slice of bread. Au revoir.

Classics

I just finished A Tale of Two Cities. I read the last chapters in one setting because the story was coming together and the plot was so thick and I couldn't put it down! This book was a very good book exposing the harsh realities of the Revolution in France. It was so refreshing to read something that I truly did not know what the plot would be - and sometimes was a bit confused throughout the book. And it was also refreshing to read Dickens' unique writing style - so clever. After reading the book I got onto Cliff's Notes website and read some of the summaries of the chapters and the analysis of the characters and realized that I had understood the book quite well! :) Perhaps some day, I'll read through it again. That is what is so cool about classics - by rereading them you discover things that you missed the first time. Kinda like the Bible - an ever alive book. I'm not saying that classics are like the Bible - God's Word is by far more supreme. But you get my meaning.

I guess the next book I'll start is Pride and Prejudice. After seeing the movie, I'm quite ready to read the book. After that - who knows? Any suggestions on good classics you've enjoyed?

The Newsy and "Dashy" Post

Christianity makes so much sense!! The creation view makes so much sense!! What is people's problem??? Why can't they see it? I know one place that makes it very clear - the Creation Museum. That is where I found myself today - with my three little charges in tow along with LBA's summer camp. I had a very enjoyable day visiting the Planetarium, Men in White, the beautiful gardens outside, the petting zoo (complete with zonkeys), the "Walk-thru History" museum, gift shop, and an Italian ice / vanilla twist to top it off. I'm sure I could have taken a bit more in, read more displays, but alas, when one is responsible for three 1st grade girls, its been a good day if they all made it out in one piece, and semi - conscious. Well ... it wasn't quite that bad - I was just always doing checks - Ok, I see Nikita, Stasi, and where's Nicole - Nicole you must wait for me and not run off! And making sure we didn't break anything - I kept telling them - That's why they have these bars - we are to look not touch! But oh - it was fun. And they were actually quite good. On the way home, as I was munching on some more of my fabulous lunch my mom packed, Stasi asked if she could have some blueberries. Hey - when kids ask for fruit - they've got it! :) So I shared my blueberries with her. Then I started munching on sugar snap peas (I like to munch) and the kids wanted to try those. I thought why not - and surprise of surprise they all liked them! Such good kids. It was so priceless - when I was leaving LBA, Stasi burst out the door and said, "Thanks for the blueberries!" *smile*

Talked with Mr. Renaissance Man - Sam - on the way home from the museum. After talking, I thought I probably should have waited till I dropped off the kids. Driving while talking on a cell phone, I'm told, is not too safe! :) But God's mercy was watching out for my lapse in common sense and safety! (Still good talking with you, Sam!)

BTW - I so enjoy keeping in touch with friends. The blogging world has reconnected and helped me stay connected with so many friends! It's been fun. I've also been emailing Alea, from high school, who I haven't talked to since high school. She's doing well at Miami Oxford - I'm so proud of her!

And then I talked to my close friend Tiffany the other day - and she is doing well too. God has been answering prayer for her.

So I guess all of this is just to say - relationships are very important. I used to think I could be Miss Independent - you know - live on my island ... I don't need people! But that's not how God is - duh - He created us to have a relationship with Him. So keep cultivating that relationship with God and the people He's placed in your life!

*Step down from soapbox* :)

I am officially an employee of Panera Bread - at least my info is in the computer and direct deposit is set up! I have so much peace about this job. Everything is working out! Praise God! Saturday, I go to Planet Bread, aka, orientation, then training, and then I think I start the 30th! Wohoo!

Well, I'm going to wrap up this newsy and "dashy" (---- lol) post.

THE END