FAREWELL

This will be my last post ever. I am going to be killing all of my blogs by the end of the month. One of my church elders was speaking the other day about putting nothing vain in front of ourselves and I seem to do that a lot. The internet world seems to be a vanity in itself.... so, I'm going to budget my time more wisely. I'm better off learning a new language, practicing guitar, reading, praying, cleaning, etc.....

If you want to keep in touch, either write me via e-mail or use Facebook. I will be keeping Facebook, but only checking it once a week. God bless!

AND SO IT GOES

Well, I'm still jobless, but I'm the busiest unemployeed person on the planet.

Currently I am illustrating 2 books. One is finishing up my own, the other is for a family at church who wrote a hilarious kid's story. I can't give anything away, but fuzzy little burrowing creatures hopefully will be the next beanie baby!
I am also singing at church now for a kids production we do once and month and will be teaching Sunday school. Our church has grown by leaps and bounds. We probably have almost 1,000 people coming in and out on Sunday's now..... if not more. In the past year I have attended, we have probably doubled in size!

I am also a volunteer track coach for Centennial High School in Meridian, ID (it's pretty much part of Boise). I love the kids I run with. I'm working with the distance runners and they are so much fun. The head coach found out that I was a photographer and has now hired me for a sports photography project. I'll get paid, but not until the end of the season when we sell all the DVD's, so until then, I'm a "free" agent.

On top of everything else, I'm just busy with 2 Bible studies, our young adult's group at church and just doing random nanny jobs. P.S. I get paid $5/hr to sleep. Nanny job. How sweet is that? I get $10/hr when I'm actually with the kids.

Did I mention I have too many friends? Oh, my gosh! I am getting to know so many people that I have to pretty much schedule hanging out with anyone. I have friends over way too much! It's cramping my work style. But I love it anyway. A huge group of us are going clubbing this weekend and I'm so excited. I am in dire need of a girl's night out because I spend way too much time with all the guys around here.

Finally, my friend John and I are starting gardens and are totally excited for it. I think we went a little overboard on buying seeds, so we are going to have so much food! Yay! I have to admit, I never really spent that much time with John before, but we had so much fun, I'm dying to spend more time with him..... although he's a super busy guy. He is so amazing and after God's heart in everything. The guy's focus is in everything Christ and I love it. In 10 minutes he encouraged me more than all my other friends and family combined over the past few months. And what is up with Michigan people? They are everywhere. John is a native Grand Rapids person.

Anyway, that's life in a nutshell. Pray that God continues to guide me and provide..... but mostly pray that I recognize all my opportunities for loving people and speaking boldly the word of God!

SAD NEWS

I returned from Arizona and seeing friends and family to some very sad news. My roommate Dave's dad died Sunday night from an infection he contracted while taking cemotherapy for lung cancer. His father was 52 years old and worked 40 hours a week up until his admission to the hospital on Friday.

Dave is in complete shock and not doing well. He's usually a very happy, upbeat person. I know he is blaming his dad, God, and himself for so much of what happened. He needs tons and tons of prayer along with his mother, sister, and 2 younger brothers. For the second time in his life, he went out and drank after his dad died. He was extrememly hung over this morning and it worried me a lot because it is not characteristic of him at all. He might have to move out due to money and needing to help out with his brothers. I'm going to try to raise money so he can stay at our place for at least the next few months. I just ask that you guys really pray for him. He needs all of it he can get right now.

HELLO CRUEL WORLD!

Hey, one and all. Lots'a news. Life is pretty good, while I'm still poor. Been loving and spending tons of time at/with people from my church. We have a very fast growing young adults group and we all get along so well. It is the first time in my life where there were so many people from so many backgrounds and everyone got along and fits in super well. No one is left out or the show stealer. All equals, quiet awesome.

Let's see. Kind of good job info. I'm still working at the Y, but that will officially end as of the 9th. It kind of "officially" ended 2 months ago, but it is one of those jobs that is hard to leave. I was hired for a part-time nanny job. So, one weekend a month I will be watching 10 and 8-year-old boys (Jack and Ryan). Very, very great kids. We all love football a lot! That'll be close to $500 just for spending a weekend with them. I had a second interview with Farmer's Insurance. They wanted to hire me, but someone within the company wanted the job and they always get first dibs. But, the second interview went well and they told me those jobs open up every couple of months. If one is to open up again, I will get it. Good to know.

In the meantime, I have decided to put myself into the Temp Agency world. I figure I might as well make a little better money, make connections, perhaps find a better job option, and still be able to walk away if the Farmer's job opens up.

ROAD TRIP

So, in celebration of life, boredom, etc.... my boys (Aaron and Aaron) and I have decided to road trip to Arizona. Unfortunately some others (Shawn and John) couldn't do it due to military engagements and missions trips. People ask why. I say, "Why not?". Warm weather, sunshine (Boise is pretty much that right now too). It'll be about 12 hours straight shot. We're leaving Wed. night and coming back Sunday. Aaron Mabey will be bringing his sis's camcorder, so we will document the whole thing via DVD! I'm so excited. The best part is the trip is practically free since we will be staying with Grandma when we get there. YAY!

p.s. Mabey is teaching me how to drive a stick. It is going better than anticipated. The worst thing for me is going from park to 1st. All the other shifting up and down is rather easy.

ICE SKATING AND BIRTHDAYS

These past few weeks have been intense Birthday days. John (friend from church) had his 24th. He had to work that night delivering pizza, so we ordered some and requested that he drop it off. When he got there, we had a whole suprise party waiting for him. It was so much fun. Alcohol and salsa music/dancing and pizza!

Then Aaron Mabey's 26th was that weekend, so we had a party for him at my place. Shawn and I (Aaron Matthias assisted) made tons of Mexican food and cake. About 10 people showed up. Afterward we went ice skating! I have never done such before, so it was interesting. I actually did awesome. (Keep in mind, I use to roller blade everywhere in high school). Ice skating is not the same as roller blading, but the balance and the way you control your movement is the same. But, iceskating is way harder. I only fell once until the last skate around when this girl just plowed into me from behind. That's when I got some intense cuts and bruises. But, I'm fine now. Needless to say, I totally want to get a season pass and do that all the time!

Finally, this past week was my friend Karin's (also from church) 27th B-day. So, I went out with her husband (Mark) and her, Angel (my landlord/Karin's best friend), and Mark's friends. We went to a bar to hear their friend Matt perform. The guy was an incredible musician and singer. Then we headed out to the clubs for drinks and dancing. It was so much fun to be out with a great group of Chrisitians, totally dancing the night away. Mark is probably one of the best dancers I've seen. And he's white! LOL! We just wished Shawn could have come because he can do just about any dance move out there. The two of them break dance and do all kinds of hip-hop. So, we were out til 2:30 am having a good old time. No one got drunk or stupid. It was so refreshing.

PSYCHO FEMALES

I am having major roommate problems. Dave is the roomie from Heaven, Jackie..... not so much. Her boyfriend has 3 months off from work and is getting California unemployment, so he decided to come out here for 3 months. Guess who he and his pitbull puppy have been living with?!? Not only living there, but using my stuff, not paying rent or utilities, and the dog has been tearing things up and using our new carpet as a toilet. And when I got pissed off about it all, she couldnt' understand why I was so upset! In fact, when the dog pooped on the floor not only did she think I was overreacting, but she and her boyfriend left the poop on the floor and went out to dinner, leaving me to clean it up. Needless to say, Dave and I had a meeting with her and the dog is no longer allowed to live at our house at all. She's mad and making our lives miserable about it, but I did put my foot down! I am about 1 inch from kicking her out. Legally I can do it, since she broke our rent contract in like 3 places with the boyfriend and the dog. But, I'm trying to be diplomatic.

What I really want to know, though, is how on God's green earth do I have this ability of attracting masses of psychotic females into my life? The woman I nannied for, lesbian bosses who hate me, terrible roommate with stupid boyfriend and dog, and others! Seriously. Thank the Lord most of the men I attract are super nice.

CRUSH

Finally, I leave on a good note, although not sure what to do. There is this extremely (or so it seems) nice guy who swims almost daily at the Y. He is ridiculously good-looking, as well. Everytime he comes, he constantly looks at me and smiles (he's probably laughing inside!). I so desperately want to talk to him, go out with him, make babies with him (okay the last was a bit of a stretch). But I am such a WHIMP! And soon I will be quiting. Granted just watching him swim really is enough to make my day, but he seems like such a cool guy. My friend Tia swims with him and thinks he's wonderful. I'm thinking perhaps I should use what little influence she has in this situation. I know he is around my age and almost positive he is single (dating wise/I am 100% sure he's not married). What to do, what to do? He is a bit shy, so neither of us has hardly said more than "Hi" to the other. And I feel so retarded around him! Anyway, it will probably never be more than just a crush, but I had to bring it up anyway. TOOTLES TO YOU ALL!

Pray for the Hunt

I am currently job hunting like a mad woman.... something to do with needing to make money to pay bills! Anyway, I have an interview tomorrow with State Farm doing claims adjusting, which surprisingly sounds interesting.

There is a lot of research and traveling involved, so I won't be sitting behind a desk all day. And the job starts at $32,000 or so a year. Which may not seem like much to some of you, but sure beats making $8.30 an hour at the YMCA. I figured it was time to find a real job since I've been out of college for a year and a half now. Pray for me, and that God will lead me to the right job.

Whew! Still No Internet

Things are going well for me out here in good ol' Boise, ID. I have two awesome roommates (Jackie and Dave) to share my spacious house with. I got the house at the end of September and will hopefully be buying it in a year or two. I love the house and will have to post pictures at some point.

I just quit my job at the YMCA (I was a head lifeguard there) and am trying to move on to bigger and better things. Hence, not having the internet. I couldn't justify paying for it when I don't have a job. No more low wage, temp. stuff. I've decided to be picky because I'm sick of barely getting by. Plus I need a new car, my baby isn't going to make it much longer.

In other news, GO OHIO STATE! Yeah, just watched the game with some guys I know and was so excited that Michigan lost. I hate that team!

DATE
I also have a date on Wednesday night with a guy I met at a costum party. I've been hanging out with tons of the young adults at my church (since they make up like 50% of that population). Some of the girls, Darcy, Katie, and Jessica, invited me to their house for a Halloween party and I met even more awesome Christians there, including Daniel. He's a great guy.... hilarious and slightly nerdy (he's an engineer for Micron, you can't be that and not be nerdy.) We've hung out a bit this last week and both like eachother. Where it all will go, not sure, but I at least know he will be an awesome friend. :)

AUGH, JEWS
The funniest story though, has to be the Isreali guys. My friend, Darcy, met a guy from Isreal who was selling aroma therapy stuff in the mall. She got his number and made plans to hang out with him and his 3 Isreali roommates who also work there. So, last night, she and I headed to their house for dinner. They made us Isreali food and we all hung out and talked. They are awesome/crazy guys who have traveled all over the world, and are barely older than we are. The food was amazing, as well as the conversation. Not to mention, they played the guitar and drums for us, while singing. They had me sing for them (Beatles songs) and told me I had a good voice! *blush* They also had some really cool juggling type tricks they could do. Darcy and I tried but only managed to hurt ourselves. They also worked on teaching us Hebrew and even showed us the writing and explained some to the grammar to us. Darcy made us all laugh when I caught her trying to read their Old Testament upside down. I took the book from her and flipped it over, their way, and the guys just about died laughing.

I have to say the best part of the night though was when we got to talk to them about Jesus. They know nothing of the New Testament or what Jesus and his disciples did. It was great because they asked a lot of questions and sometimes argued points. It was kind of funny since earlier in the day I had prayed that I would be given the opportunity to share the Word with someone. I would have never guessed it would be sitting on the couch in a strange apartment with Jewish guys. Needless to say, we made new friends and are planning on having them over to my house for dinner this Friday. Pray it all works out and they ask more questions. The guys were really surprised when I told them they were God's chosen people. They thought I was joking at first, but Darcy and I went on to explain and I think it gave them something deeper to think on.

BTW, does anyone know where I could find a Hebrew/English Bible? I want to get it for them as a gift, so we can dig deeper into this.

They also have stirred up my deep, buried wander lust. I'm tempted to drop everything and travel the world with them. These guys lead amazing lives. One of them is an artist too and has done breath-taking photography. Darcy and I do, however, hold an open invitation to go to Isreal with them sometime. I was planning on saving money for a trip to Hawaii this summer, but I honestly think I have found a new destination.

So, I am going to ask all of you now to pray for Yassi, Roy (not his real name), Yoel, and the other one (can't spell his name). May God fuel our relationship with them and open their hearts to the questions and to His love.

Here's the scoop

Don't have time to update... no internet still, but I did upload some pic's on my xanga, so check them out. Love you all. Miss you all. Come October, I should have internet. Until next time, tootles and God bless!