Saturday, January 10, 2009

Winter Storm Warning

Right now we are under a Winter Storm Warning. We have been since late last night and it will continue throughout today. Right now we are getting just plain freezing rain. I took the dog out about 915am and realized then that my driveway is nice and crunchy and slick; just full of ice and slush! Yuk! After this, we may have some sleet or just plain ice off and on and then snow. I am not sure how many inches we are supposed to get; I have heard anywhere from 1-3" to 3-5" this afternoon/evening. Nice.

This is one of those days when I wonder if I manage to get down the driveway in the car (I need to just run down the road briefly), will I be able to get back up the driveway? When I came home last night, it (the driveway) already had slick spots when I tried to come up it and maneuver the car into the garage.

Oh, thank goodness for the garage!! I won't have to scrape all of this off of it!! Its not much of a garage, just can fit the car in it, but at least its a roof over the cars' head!! I park in the garage at school too, for the same reason. One of these days I will come out of class, it having snowed a great deal, and I won't have to worry about clearing the car; just getting home!! I truly thank God for these small 'favors', truly.

My dryer is having problems. We are hoping that it is the heating element; especially since my Pops found the part for it and shipped it over-night from Kentucky on Thursday (it did arrive yesterday on time). The set is about 14 years old and they are Whirlpool. This is the first bit of trouble I have had with them all of these years. Hopefully it is the heating element (it takes forever to dry my stuff when I do laundry, but there is still a little warmth to things when I pull them out), and when my friends come to replace that this morning, that's all that will have to be done. If we replace the heating element and that doesn't fix the problem, I am told it could be possibly be the thermostat or a sensor. So , we will see. They (the set) have to get me through College and graduation. By then, I plan to have all but my school bills paid off and hopefully able to get a new set on credit (if I need to) by then, if I need it.

My car also needs some help. Evidently I have a hole or the beginnings of a hole somewhere in the muffler system. It sounds just awful and I am embarrassed to drive it with it making such a loud noise. I do not know if it is possible to perhaps put a patch on the hole or if I need to replace the whole thing. I am going to try to seek out a mechanic through my Church and see what they think. Pray that it can just be patched right now and that the patch will hold until I can get rid of the car and get something else. Thanks, ya'll.

Well, I have been given the okay to share that big news. I have found a JOB! It came through my small group at my Church (how cool is God?) and was just amazing how it all came about. When I realized that I did have this opportunity and we first talked about it, I actually cried (this was before Christmas and we were in a restaurant at Easton). I have been looking for 'that' job for so long; since the end of last July/beginning of August! It's just like my mom said: God would provide the right job at the right time, and He has! She had even said last fall when I got a little discouraged about it all, that maybe the job didn't even exist yet (little did she know!). God is just so great!!

Ok. So here is a little about the job. It is just getting started, first of all. Not just my job, but the business in general. It is called B.L.E.S.S. INC. (how cool is that?). That stands for: Building Lasting & Evolving Steps to Success. Cool huh? Our mission is: "We are dedicated to providing exceptional customer care to people in need of assistance with breaking barriers, dealing with life changes, and building to self-sufficiency." As I said, we are just getting started, but hope to be fully up and running by the beginning of February and have our office downtown set up by the first of March. It's going to take a lot of work, but God is with us. My boss and I truly believe in this and that God wants us to work together on this.

So, that's a little bit about it. I worked a few hours last week and this week and will again this coming week, steadily increasing my hours. The pay is beyond what I even prayed for; where she wants to put the office is exactly what I prayed for; and it comes with benefits!!! God does provide for all!!! He knew exactly what I needed in every aspect of this position, right down to the pay and benefits, and has provided exactly what I needed and more!!! WOW! How amazing and cool is God??

Things are a little better with the soon to be ex too. We have both made our apologies for the other night. We have talked some, though not a great deal. He has agreed to come a week from this Monday to help start working on the house and sorting through things. I appreciate that very much. Just keep us in your prayers. I am ready for this to be over with; however, at the same time, I don't want him to be my mortal enemy at the end of this either. I don't think we will be great friends (maybe good friends?), but I still hope and pray that some day we will come to a point where we can at least share a meal and talk once in a blue moon or so. But, there will be some hard times (not necessarily harsh, like the other night) before that happens and we both have a lot of healing to do yet, but that is what I hope. I want him to be well, happy and where God wants him to be.

Well, I guess that is it for now. I could probably write tons more, but I should get started on the house-cleaning and continue working on my homework. I need to find a song and I don't know what to pick for today. Hmm. Be back, going to look. Ok, here we go...

"Awesome God" by Michael W. Smith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38V8jnN1Kpw

Ok, this next one is kind of long, but WOW! I hope it moves you like it did me.
"Agnus Dei" by Michael W. Smith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPBmFwBSGb0

God Bless and Ya'll Keep Safe.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Winter Quarter Begins

Well, winter quarter started this past Monday (5th). And it came with winter!!! What a surprise! Right now it is about 19 degrees with a wind chill (stressing the word chill) is about 9 degrees! So nice and cold! And there is snow on the ground. It snowed most of the day (at least down by campus it did); we don't really have that much snow, but it just makes it feel that much colder! But wait!! This next week, we are going to have highs in the teens and lows in the single digits!! How pleasant is that??? Find me a warm beach with some sun NOW!

It has been a long, long week. I am only taking 2 classes this quarter, but they are going to kick my butt. Its not that they are that difficult, just a lot of work; a lot of reading and assignments, a project, and just regular homework. Tuesdays and Thursdays are my long days and boy are they long! I am thankful, however, that my Political Science professor gives us a break about half-way through (its a 2 1/2hr class each day we meet) to get up and move around, take care of other business, whatever. So, I am glad for that.

With that and another thing that will start taking up my time on a more and more regular basis, I am going to have to drop one thing, I think. It's just too much with everything else that is going on right now.

So, today just to add to my stress (as if there isn't enough in my life already), my car decides to throw its two cents worth into the mix and start acting up. Took me about 10 minutes to get it started this morning. It was beginning to get to the point where I thought I was going to have to call for a ride so I wouldn't miss my classes, and it finally started. It hesitated on the way home, but started and then began making this awful racket. I don't know what it is, but its loud and right under my feet and I can feel the vibration in my feet on the pedals. Nice huh?? I hate that piece of junk.

I had my "independence day" over the weekend. My soon to ex was stopping over to get a few things on Saturday at a time I wasn't going to be able to be here. So, I left him a big (Rubbermaid) bin full of his stuff, clothes, pictures etc., in the kitchen for him. I left him a nice note and asked him if he would please take the bin full of his stuff. I also asked him to drop his house key in the mail slot after he locked the door and was leaving. To my surprise, when I got home later in the evening, he had taken the bin, left his key and no nasty text messages, emails or notes about it. That really surprised me; his attitude lately has left a little to be desired on my part and there have been times when he was just down right rude and mean over the holidays. But, I did that (I emptied his dresser into the bin) and asked for his key as a means of taking my life back and saying ' you can be as mean and rude as you want, I have a life and am going on with it.' IT FELT GREAT!!!

I got rid of my engagement ring over the holidays. I took it back to the store where we purchased it over 18 years ago and asked what I could do with it. So after looking around and doing some thinking, I traded it in on a nice pair of diamond earrings. It was a little difficult ( I shed a few tears in the car afterwards), but I had a friend with me, and after a few minutes, was fine. It felt great to do that too and I must say, I look great with the diamond earrings in two of the many holes in my ears! Another piece of the puzzle of getting on with my life and not letting anything he says or does (and believe me, a few things have not been all that great) get to me or affect me. He'll have to deal with whatever consequences his actions bring upon him, not me. I am done. DO YOU HEAR ME??? DONE!!!

So, I am laying here in bed last night, watching tv. It's bedtime and I had taken my bedtime meds, but was watching a tv show I like and I got to paying attention to the theme song and really liked it. I at first thought it was old school David Bowie, but after doing some digging, found out that it wasn't him after all. It's a group called 'The VLA'. The song is 'When I am Through With You', I particularly like the chorus. Now, I will put a disclaimer here and say this isn't directed at any one person. However, if some person should see this and hear the song and pay attention to it, maybe it will send this person a message of sorts.

As the sign I saw in the mall last weekend said "If you can't be nice; just leave!"

And as always, here is the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNU2nOo1EwM