A Weekend (Slash Sick Day) In Pictures

So I was sick on...Thursday? Yes. Thursday and I stayed home with Vindaloo, our new cat. I learned on that day, that I could get her to jump around like a crazy cat by flailing her toy around. Of course, I needed pictures of said thing. I tried to do a video, but obviously need to re-read the manual on the camera.



Because of the bed bugs, Vindaloo needs to be out of the apartment for 8 hours, so we bought her a harness...which she hates. Also, she is afraid of the world. No joke. When outside of the apartment, she stalks around with her hind legs lowered down. She's ridiculous. But I got some silly pictures.





And because I was sick, I wanted a nap(s). Vindaloo was totally willing to take one with me. She goes INSANE when she hears the camera (because she wants to chase the light) so I got 2 before she lost her mind. She looks so cute when she's relaxed.




Happy Halloween! Eh. Halloween is eh for me. But I LOVE handing out candy to kids. I grew up on a dead-end street with no street lights. Seriously. But that was after I was 5. Before I was 5, we lived in a city. My parents would buy 12 bags of candy and STILL run out and have to turn out the porch light. So when we moved to Canal Fulton, they thought, well, not as many kids, we'll buy 8 bags of candy. I think they had 5 trick-or-treaters that night. To make a long story short, we started to get more trick-or-treaters when we passed out the giant candy bars. Not King Size, GIANT.

Like the ones we bought for our trick-or-treaters tonight:




We were excited! We put Vindaloo in her harness (come on! Black cat on Halloween!?!) and set some chairs in our doorway and waited. ...and waited.

This is Vindaloo being terrified of the hallway:



Why do you make me wear this stupid harness?



This is how much candy we had at 7pm, which was half-way through trick-or-treating in our building:



This is Vindaloo and Steve. Vindaloo got out of her harness and we were trying to calm her down. By the way, guess who we found out is allergic to cats? Yes, the man holding one. But that's okay. We're keeping her. He also found out he's allergic to chicken. Like...eating chicken. He claims he's not going to stop eating chicken until he goes into anaphylactic shock.



This is Steve and Vindaloo right before she dug as much of her claws into his skin to get away from him as she could. Once again...fraidy cat. Steve kept calling her a 'big pussy.' Well...yeah. But what does she care? At this point, she uses my legs for warmth, as a stepping stool when I'm in the way on the couch, and as a holder for her play toy. I still love her.



Would you like some candy? We still have 5 HUGE bars (Steve just finished the Kit Kats) and took 3 down to the doorman. No joke. We STILL have that much candy. Not including the Reese's and Milky Ways that are the normal size for Halloween.

To keep my mind off of the ridiculous amount of candy in the apartment, Steve and I walked in the rain and bought a ton of cake pans and cupcake pans so that I can have a ridiculous amount of cake in the apartment tomorrow. :)

What a weekend! But it's been fun. Now we just have to finish packing up all of our stuff for the exterminator.

How's your weekend?

Thankful Thursday

Hey guys! I'm going to be quick today! It's kind of crazy for the moment... But if you're thankful to God, go here and sign up!!

God, I wanted to thank You today. Sure, I'm feeling sick as a dog (cat?). My eyes feeling like they're bulging and I haven't been able to breathe well for a few days. The cat threw up on the carpet...twice. Which is fine, because we have to throw it out because of the bugs anyway. I found a bed bug crawling near my neck, Lord. MY NECK. And through all of this, I just can't thank You enough. Because all of that really doesn't matter when I see the sun and I feel like You've really given me Your peace today.

So thank You. Thank You for every breath of life that You give us. Whether or not it's strained or tired or frustrated. It's still a gift from You.

What are you Thankful for?

The Funniest Joke Ever

If you need a pick-me-up. Or maybe it's just me...

Two sausages are in a pan. One looks at the other and says "Gee, it's hot in here." and the other sausage says "OH MY GOODNESS IT'S A TALKING SAUSAGE!"

Happy Wednesday!

It's Just Money

...but that doesn't mean that I'm not on the verge of tears.

Our bed bug issue is somewhat all-consuming and is definitely putting a huge damper on my mood this week. And it's all becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy as my work week is getting worse and worse too.

Our couch will be wrapped for 3 months. We can't hang our clothes in the closets for 3 months. A small thank you to God that we will barely be in our apartment in December.

And it is going to cost us over half of our savings. And more then what we pay in rent, which, in New York, is probably twice what a good amount of my friends pay in mortgages and I know it's more than my in-laws pay for their 3-bedroom house in Ohio.

I know that God provides. Maybe this is the parable of the Rich Fool. I JUST read it a few weeks after we had a sermon about where we put our money and about the young rich man and the camel/needle thing, you know? And then the rich fool about building his barns. I was reading something and someone asked, 'Well, how narrow IS the gate' since the path is narrow and few enter? Well, now that our money is going to the exterminator, I guess we don't have to worry as much about that...

But God, why can't I be giving this money to You? Or to children in Africa? Or something else that ISN'T a nasty infestation in our apartment that our landlord isn't taking care of? But maybe that's because I wouldn't have done any of those things with that money anyway. It would just sit there. Partly because I want it to. Partly because my husband wants it to.

Where your treasure is...

Growing up, we actually had very similar family situations. It was about the time of 10 where it began to diverge.

I will say up front, that I have never known my family's finances. Ever. My parents were always of the idea that it was not our business and we just needed to know that we were provided for. My parents were married while my father was still in college and my mother was pregnant almost immediately (with me!). I don't remember the days where my family didn't buy groceries so they could pay rent or when we only got one present from Santa or my father driving a car that literally would fall apart. Those things all changed for me when I was 10. My father was sent to Poland to check Timken's plant there (anyone from Northeast Ohio here? You know Timken!!) since he was Timken's main accountant. To make a long story short, he ended up with an international position in his job. He worked very hard for what he has and deserves everything he's received and I couldn't be more proud of him.

Steve's mom will tell us how poor her family was growing up. And though Steve's family isn't poor, I think most of you know how ridiculously underpaid teachers are. His mother is a teacher and she fears that she will be laid off or forced out of her job because she's hit the pay ceiling and everyone wants to get cheaper, newer people in the work force. Steve's dad is a copier salesman and you know how retail is too.

But I'm sorry. Now I'm diverging. It's just that I know that my husband is always afraid that there won't be enough to pay bills. That there won't be enough in general.

And I...

Well, I've always kind of considered it our adoption fund. I want to adopt internationally. I don't know why. It's always been in my heart, I guess. I never thought that a child had to come from my womb to be mine and I always tried to voice that when people would look at me funny about it (I grew up in Ohio. I know that people adopt in Ohio, but I did get some funny looks when it was brought up). Every child deserves love. And as of late...I don't know. Maybe I DO want a baby. I'm still clueless. And I kind of want to move out of NYC before anything like that happens. But...I guess I get a little sad when money comes out of that fund.

Oh well.

It's just money, right?

Awards!

I want to thank Beth at Laugh Until You Cry. It has been one LOUSY day between bugs and work and she gave me two awards!!

Here's one:



Here are the rules for this award:
1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link to their blog.
2. Share 10 honest things about yourself.
3. Present this award to 7 other whose blogs you find brilliant in design or content. (Okay...I'm just doing six...cause I'm tired!! Sorry!)
4. Tell those 7 people they have been awarded.

Ten honest things...let me think.

1) I name the rats I see in the subway. Often, they get the first names that just pop into my name.
2) I feel like I don't do enough in my life to share the love that God has given to me.
3) Growing up, I always said that I would NOT be pregnant, I did not want vagina babies. I really REALLY would love to adopt a toddler, but as we can't keep money in our savings account, this is looking less and less likely. At the same time, every once in awhile, I get this urge to be pregnant, but it scares the HELL out of me.
4) I danced from the age of 5 to 12. I was REALLY bad and it was a lot of work for me. My mom said that I should have been named 'Grace' because I lacked it. She was just kidding though. ;)
5) My husband and I have been together since I was 14 and he was 15. We met in the marching band. He played percussion and I played the tuba. This year, it will be our 10-year-anniversary. Not marriage, just being together.
6) I have been to something like 18 or 19 countries. My family lives in Hong Kong and all of our vacations and holidays are now over in Hong Kong and then we spend a few days in another country. The next few trips we have planned are Hong Kong, The Philippines, Macau, South Africa, and Ethiopia. Then, possibly Scotland and England.
7) I've never seen a Bond movie, Back To The Future, Gone with the Wind, any of the Indiana Jones films, or anything with Rambo or Rocky.
8) I didn't eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich until I was in college and I don't like pizza.
9) I have had one major surgery in my life. I used to be a DD...you can guess the rest. :)
10) My papa was a butcher. He passed away 10 years ago, but some of the first memories of my life involve walking through the upside-down full cow carcasses in the walk-in freezer at his meat plant.

My mom likes to tell the story about my dad:

My dad took us to see the animals at the meat plant. There were cows and sheep and they were so cute! So we pet them and we went back to my grandma and grandpa's house. We went back to the meat plant later that day and all the animals were gone! Daddy, where are the animals? We asked and...he took us into the freezer. My mother found out and she was FURIOUS. I love that story.

So who should I award this to?

Grains of Sand
BlogBaby
Heart 2 Heart
Livin' In A Fishbowl
Baby Be Blessed
boylerpf

These people are great and their blogs really mean a lot to me. Thank you for this award, Beth!!

Friend-Makin' Mondays

Serious cat face.

You know what? Yeah...it kinda sucks. I've cried and debated on cleaning our savings account out today, but it'll be okay. God is with me.

'He has made everything beautiful in its time'
- Ecclesiastes 3:11

So, for now, I'm going to focus on other things. Like how much I love you all.

If I could, I would give you all a hug today. Hugs are never out of style. And I freaking love them. I'd especially give one to you.

And I'll do Friend-Makin' Monday. If you'd like to join, head over to Amber's blog here.



The question for today:

If life were a movie, which movie would you want to live in?

Laugh at me all you want, but I would live in The Big Lebowski.



I love ridiculous movies and I would totally go bowling everyday. And eat blackberry pancakes.

As soon as I saw this movie a few months ago, it became my favorite. It even replaced Pulp Fiction (though one of my favorite clips of all time is still in Pulp Fiction).

I could quote this movie all day. And maybe I wouldn't be a naked, rich feminist or a lazy, slacker who drinks White Russians and bowls daily. ...Or a Shabbas-observing, Vietnam-veteran with a major temper...but I'd totally live in that world.

What movie would you live?

It Kinda Sucks

So...after I posted my last post...our night went into the toilet.

Steve went to change Vindaloo's water and...there was a BUG floating in it. And not just any bug. An f-ing BED BUG.

BED BUGS, BED BUGS, BED BUGS.

We have bed bugs. I mean, I kind of thought that MAYBE we did because I do have about 6 consecutive bug bites across my collar bone... So I cried my eyes out because a co-worker had bed bugs and they had to move stuff, throw out half of their stuff, and they spent $3,000.

We do not really have $3,000 just lying around.

But now, we're being told that our landlord might have to deal with it. And we may have found someone to do it cheaper. But I still think that we have to buy a new vacuum. BLAH!

Plus, for the community luncheon, they were chopping onions. I do kind of bad with onions unless I have my onion goggles. It appears that I have sties in both of my eyes. So they're both swollen. But it could be because I was crying last night and this morning.

I know, I know. Bugs aren't too big of a deal and God will get me through. It just sucks.

I'm A Planner...And I Could Always Use Your Help!!

It's been a good weekend! Lots of luncheons, both at church. One for the community and one for Reformation. Happy Reformation Sunday! And we also did Bread For The World Sunday, where we wrote letters to our senators and congressmen to help solve world hunger.

AND...

I'm allowed to have another luncheon to help Project O! And it's going to be on Valentine's Day!! So I'm super excited. It gives me plenty of time to plan. I know that I want to do a cupcake-cake.

Like this...



But probably not as nice. And varied colors. What do you think?! I'm all excited about it. My husband says I'm a planner. :-D

We also have our hotel room for Ethiopia!!! And I'm so excited for my trip to the Philippines/Hong Kong and then to South Africa/Ethiopia and THEN I have a friend who wants to do a trip to Kenya in 2011 so we can go here...



This is the Giraffe Manor!! I mean, we'll see if we'd be able to go, but how cool is that?!

How was your weekend? What are you up to?

Thankful Thursday! (And A Prayer Request)

I love Thankful Thursday. So very much. If you'd like to join in with this meme, please feel free and click here.

1) I am thankful that my husband is as ridiculous as I am. Sure, maybe we're a bit immature, but I've only been out of college for 2 1/2 years now!

Here are some text messages between us that took place while I was at work and he was at the grocery store:
Steve: Anything other than fruit?
Danae: Your mom. And maybe some cat food? But that's it.
Steve: My mom is sold out.
Danae: Dang it! Well, also, if you could buy some sexy? But just get a receipt in case I want to bring it back.
Steve: Sexy is out too. You can only get it packaged with your dad.
Danae: I don't think I want any then. But thanks for looking!
Steve: Sure

2) I am thankful that my sister got a job! She's going to be a massage therapist in Ohio and I couldn't be prouder of her!

3) I am thankful for our freedoms. Though I'd love to move overseas, America has so many freedoms that we don't even think of. Did you ever read about the Hong Kong actor who had taken video of all the actresses he had sex with? It was a HUGE scandal in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong mafia was offering HK$500,000 for this man's hands.

For my mom, it wasn't a big deal until she saw the police arresting people and they had bags over their heads. She said it was a huge wake-up call that they aren't exactly living in a democracy.

4) I am thankful for my voice-over work. My voice-over work at MTV is pretty much making it so that we can travel to South Africa/Ethiopia this coming May and that I can go Christmas shopping and such.

5) I am thankful for God's love and that there are so many people spreading it. My church shows it's love during a community luncheon that they host every month for those without home or food enough. And you! I can't believe all the things everyone in the blogosphere does! You are incredible!

6) I am thankful for my family. I miss them, but I'm going to see them in December. Hong Kong, be prepared!

7) I am thankful that my husband has loved me these 10 years. We haven't been married for 10 years, but we'll have been together for 10 years on November 3rd. I don't know what my life would be without him, honestly.

Also, could you please say a prayer for my friend Sam, her father, and her family? Her father went into the hospital yesterday with heavy breathing and sweating. He has stints in his heart and three of them are blocked. He has a triple bypass scheduled for tomorrow. Would you please pray that God be with the surgeons and that he have a fast recovery time? Thank you.

Where You Live Should Not Determine Whether You Live

One of my blogger friends saw this on Vashti's blog and thought it was a wonderful quote. As much as I wish that I could take credit (I really would, it's awesome, right?!), it comes from Invisible Children, a cause that I support, have written about for MTV.com, and have marched across the Brooklyn Bridge for.

Invisible Children is about the child soldiers of Uganda. They are kidnapped in the night and forced to fight. The girls are raped and given to Lord's Resistance Army soldiers as wives. Boys as young as 10 are forced to fight and, sometimes, kill their siblings as a show of solidarity with the soldiers.

What child has ever deserved this? What child should to be torn from their families, raped, forced to fight, or be killed as a warning for others?

Invisible Children are trying to pass the LRA Disarmament Bill in Congress and are trying to get people to sign a petition. Would you be willing to sign this and pass it along?



You can sign the petition here.

I Am Not Good Without God (And Some Updates)

My TOMS shoes came!! It makes me really happy. And I've got at least 5 or 6 (okay...maybe like 8) dolls coming for when I go to South Africa to meet Vashti and the Project O orphans. I'm really excited about it and it's helping brighten my week. Plus, I get to see my grandparents tonight.

MY SISTER GOT A JOB!!! She's a massage therapist and she lives in Ohio (of all the places to get a job right now, you know?) and she JUST got a job. With a chiropractor. So proud of her.

The photo is dark, but it's one of my favorite of us.

But the title...the title. It's a small rant, so you can ignore it if you wish. I was looking at the AM New York yesterday without reading it. And the cover said, 'Got God?' Then I was watching NY1 and here's what it's about.

Atheists-NYC are paying for a campaign on the subway. That's fine by me. I mean, there are ads advertising Christianity and Islam and everything else under the sun. There are even ads about how you shouldn't drink Snapple because it'll make you fat! Ridiculous. Here's the ad:



And here's my thought. I am not good without God. I feel empty without God. And I'm not just good with God, God makes things GREAT! God gives us the courage to go on in faith and in love.

My office, for the most part, is very anti-Christianity. And it sucks. Well, for me. And I know that they wonder why I believe in God when, to them, they see no evidence.

Have you ever seen a sunrise or heard a child laugh? Yeah, yeah. Maybe it's a cliche, but there is so much beauty in this world. Even in our deepest pain, you can find beauty.

My friends have started an organization entitled History Starts Now. It deals with child trafficking and a wish to end it in our lifetime. These children are suffering greatly, but I see beauty in their love that my friends are showing in wanting to end the suffering children they will never know or meet. Or Vashti at Project O. What did she know about orphans in South Africa? And it's hard. It's brutally hard to see these children suffer, but I know that she loves them all. How beautiful is the heart of a person who loves like that?

And I don't think that love just came out of a swamp or anything like that. I don't think the way we think or feel is natural at all. And if it's not natural, then where did it come from?

So no. I am not good without God. But with Him, I can do great things. He makes the ordinary extraordinary. He is changing the world.

Sorry :) I just had to let it out. I hope everyone is having a good day! (And 'When The Saints' is DEFINITELY on repeat today!)

'When The Saints' by Sara Groves

This has been a joyful week for me. I'm babysitting a beautiful little boy tonight and tomorrow I'm going to see my grandparents before they visit my parents in HK. But I'm still working on my faithfulness. I feel like I can do it today, but I need to constantly pray. And I thought I'd share this song with you because it helps me both when I'm sad and when I'm ridiculously happy.

So I just wanted to share this with you quickly before my day whirls by. :)

As a side note, I have no idea who the people are in this video. It was just the best quality one.



Lord i have a heavy burden of all I've seen and know
it's more than I can handle
but your Word is burning like a fire shut up in my bones
and I can’t let it go

and when I'm weary and overwrought
with so many battles left unfought

I think of paul and silas in the prison yard
I hear their song of freedom rising to the stars

and when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them

Lord it's all that I can't carry and cannot leave behind
it all can overwhelm me
but when I think of all who've gone before and lived a faithful life
their courage compels me

and when I'm weary and overwrought
with so many battles left unfought

I think of Paul and Silas in the prison yard
I hear their song of freedom rising to the stars
I see the shepherd Moses in the pharaohs court
I hear his call for freedom for the people of the Lord

I see the long quiet walk along the underground railroad
I see the slave awakening to the value of her soul
I see the young missionary and the angry spear
I see his family returning with no trace of fear
I see the long hard shadows of Calcutta nights
I see the sister standing by the dying man’s side
I see the young girl huddled on the brothel floor
I see the man with a passion come kicking down that door

I see the man of sorrow and his long troubled road
I see the world on his shoulders and my easy load

and when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them

Friend-Makin' Mondays

Oh, how I love Friend-Makin' Mondays!! If you'd like to join in, please click here!

What Makes You Happy?

What makes me happy...

1) God makes me happy. I don't give Him as much credit as I should, but I'm pretty sure He's doing a ton of good stuff in my life and I need to acknowledge it more.

2) My husband. He's ridiculous and caring and always there when I need him. He's my travel companion, my right-hand man, and my partner-in-crime.



3) My family! Sure, I'm being very cliche, but that's fine by me! I only see my family twice a year and so it makes me appreciate them more and more.



4) Vindaloo!! We've only had her for about a week, but she's cute and I love her. Even when her butt is in my face at 6am or she's knocked my wedding ring over. Or that she's meowing her head off while I'm in the kitchen. No, cat, I am not feeding you again!



5) My voice-over work. I haven't really mentioned it on here, but I do voice-over work for MTV.com (also where I am a production assistant). It brightens my day every time that I can get in the VO booth and do some recording.

6) Sweater weather. Not what we have now, but when it's like...say...60-65 degrees. As of the moment, it's freaking freezing!!

7) Hong Kong. It's become like a second home to me and I can get around Central like I've lived there forever. If I could move there, I would.

8) My friends. I should say now, that this list is in no particular order. I love my friends from college and the friends I've made in NYC. AND all my blog friends. If you would have asked me a year ago if I'd ever have blog friends...but I LOVE you guys!!

This is my friend Rachel. She ran after an ice cream truck to get me chocolate ice cream. I love her :)


9) Getting mail. I LOVE receiving mail. LOVE IT. I've always loved getting mail, even as a kid. I was always the one who walked across the street or, later in life, the quarter of a mile down our driveway to pick it up.

10) Bubble tea. I was supposed to get some this weekend, but I didn't. Oh well. It does make me happy!!

11) Baking and cooking. I was the girl who used to burn all the macaroni into one big rubber ball. But I've gotten a LOT better and I love to cook and bake (I'm better at baking). It makes me happy...but not the cleaning up part!



12) Okay, last one. Random incidents. I love random things. I love finding forks in the road in upstate New York or...when I used to have a yellow car (A yellow Ford Focus hatchback, to be exact!), I was pumping gas at a gas station. A van comes roaring in beside me and three people jump out. They say, 'We're doing a church scavenger hunt and we need to get a picture pumping gas into a yellow car!' So they take the picture and I'm like...ooookkkkaaaayyyyyy. So I'm about to get into my car and...another van pulls in! They jump out and start to explain and I say, 'They were just here a minute ago!' So they run, take the picture, and speed away. What a crazy day!

But this picture has to be my favorite. I was with my family about a month before the Olympics in Beijing. A school class saw us and, recognizing we were probably English speaking, all started to yell, 'hi!' So we got together and took a picture with them. They then asked my sister if she would stay with them and if she was a movie star.



So what makes you happy?

Creative Centerpieces?

Please excuse the Glad Bags on our oven.

I'm in charge of the Consecration Sunday luncheon in November and I'm already FULL swing into the planning. That's a centerpiece I created with some flowers and a mini-pumpkin. I would say that it took me 10 minutes.

I'm fine with them, I think they're REALLY cute, but another girl on the committee thinks that, with everything else, it might be too much time to make them. I would need to make 16.

Wow. Don't mean to interrupt, but there are random fireworks over the Statue of Liberty for some reason. Happy Diwali?

But anyway...

So hear me out. They want this luncheon to be fancy. It's an international potluck. I'm THINKING that I could get the youth group at church to be servers and serve drinks and appetizers. What do you think?! Of course, I am that crazy person who wants to make 300 spring rolls for the youth group to walk around with on trays. Too much?

I also volunteered to make all the desserts for 150 people. One of our pastors (who we lovingly refer to as P-Sud) said that he didn't want to 'dampen the spirit' but he figured that they could buy cakes at Costco. But we'll see. ;) I am crazy enough to attempt making both of those items and the centerpieces.

But do you have any simple centerpiece ideas that are cute and inexpensive?

What's Wrong With 'Forever'?

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1

I grew up in church, but church was something we did on Sunday. Then, I got really involved in the church and loved it. But the adults at my church kind of ruined it. I didn't go to church then for a few years. I found a service I loved after a few years in college. Then I moved away. We went to at least 4 churches in Manhattan and in Jersey City. We had some good experiences, but it never felt like home. Then we found the church that we're at now and it feels like family.

But I still have moments of doubt. It's never over anything big - it's always the small things that grab me and it's almost always at night. Just small questions about faith and about the nature of Jesus. About the nature of God. What Heaven is like. Does it really have to be all white? What did Jesus look like and why can't I picture him other than being really clean, white, and handsome?

Then I start to feel REALLY guilty. REALLY guilty. What if all my questions have upset God? What am I doing?! Then I start to think about the concept of 'forever' and that's it, I can't sleep. I was that one kid in class that, when we read 'Tuck Everlasting' about living forever, I was the one that wanted to die. The concept of 'forever' horrifies me. What could you do with all that time?!

Have you ever read Donald Miller? He really helps me grapple with some of my questions. And I always stumble upon things when I need to. I read something once that Jesus was one of three things: He was either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord. And that Heaven isn't a white puffy cloud that we all just play harps on, but a place where we feel so much love we could just burst. Where we feel complete. Not fat, not ugly, not tired, not stressed, not pained. And I read these things and they bring me to tears and I know it's true...

And then I start back at the beginning. And it frustrates me.

But I guess that's how it works, right?

We work on being God's masterpiece and some things...He's able to chip that away really quickly, but other pieces...other pieces he goes to paint, to finish that brush stroke, but I keep trying to dry the paint before it gets to me.

I just need to let Him paint me in the way He wants to.

Thankful Thursday!

I love Thankful Thursday. A person I know posted on Facebook, 'If you're having trouble getting sleep, count your blessings instead of sheep.' And I like that. So that's what we're going to do today! If you'd like to join in, click here.

What am I thankful for?

1) Vindaloo! I love our new kitty even though she felt like waking us up at 6am this morning. We are (lazy) lucky people and don't have to get up until 7:45-8:00am to go to work. But Vindaloo is keeping us on our toes. And batting at our faces way too early.

2) Youth TOMS! I was thankful for these last week because they were supposed to come out. They came out this week instead!!

3) For my church family. I'm on the stewardship committee at church and we're getting ready for Consecration Sunday in November. They push me to love God in ways that I feel I am not good at. But I'm working on it. And they've also convinced me to run a luncheon. It's a good thing I like to cook and set things up...

4) My health! I just got a check-up. Though my cholesterol is a little high, they said that my good cholesterol is SO high, that it's helpful. Which is good. Heart disease runs in my family. I need to be more diligent about my eating! But, they said, for the most part, I'm good :)

5) That God loves and cares for me. I'm dumb. And I do dumb things. But God loves me even in my blondest moment, my darkest hour, and my most joyous song and what could be better than that?

6) My husband! In a few weeks, we'll have been together for 10 years. Not married, but together. We started dating when I was 14 and he was 15 and I wouldn't ask for it any other way.

What are you thankful for?

Aaaaaannnnnnddddd...it's gone.

This is before Vindaloo was comfortable with us and this is Steve with a 'stache.

That title is technically about a few things. We have a few things that are gone. But the biggest one is...

My husband's mustache.

He couldn't do it anymore. Plus, I kind of made a deal. I volunteered us to give a talk, together, as a couple, at church on tithing and he was like, what?! And then after that, he said okay...but that he could shave the mustache. Which is fine because...really...it was like he'd JUST hit puberty. I love him, but growing facial hair is not his thing.

But at least he raised $80 for pediatric cancer!!


What? I don't think that you're busy at all...



This is our not so timid cat. She is ridiculous. I woke up this morning and she was on my head. And then, just a minute ago, she was trying to drink my husband's brandy. Right now, she's chasing a light all over our apartment. I love it :)

I would also like to ask a favor. I've been praying for a few people and if you could pray for Kenz as she struggles in her journey with the Lord and praise God with Karsie who's finally going home after being in the NICU since her birth. I know that God is working through us for each other and prayer is such a huge vehicle. :) Thank you!

How are you doing? How's your week been?

YOUTH TOMS!!!!!!

Go ahead. Call me crazy. I am SO excited for Youth TOMS that I was checking every day and...it paid off!!

I'm trying to purchase as many pairs of shoes as I can to take with me to South Africa for Vashti and her orphans at Project O when I go visit in May. Maybe I won't have to worry about too too many since VASHTI MET BLAKE!!!

But I had to share with you since that had been in my Thankful Thursday last week. :)

How are you doing today?

P.S. If my husband doesn't get any more donors, he's going to shave his 'stache this week. If you're interested, you can visit here. He's kind of okay with it though. It's a very sad mustache.

Friend-Makin' Mondays

Woot! Always a fun time of the week. If you'd like to join, please click here.

Here's the question:
What are you going to be for Halloween?


My pumpkin is in the middle...with the ketchup and mustard and the bottle in it's mouth.

So, it's been awhile since we've dressed up. Actually, this year, we're just ECSTATIC that we can pass out candy. We haven't been able to pass out candy since we've been married and we're just so excited!! We have to sign up to do it and put a special sticker on our door so that kids know that they can knock (we live in an apartment building).

But I can tell you what I HAVE been for Halloween in years past.

1) Velma. My husband, when he lets his facial hair grow and wears a green shirt looks EXACTLY like Shaggy. So we went as Velma and Shaggy to a Halloween party once.

2) The Boston Tea Party. Yes, I'm somewhat of a nerd. I wore one of my mom's old prom dresses, a tie-dye shirt, and a floral crown. I was like, 14. Give me a break.

3) Cereal killer. I covered a black sweatsuit with mini-boxes of cereal.

4) Ghost. But not just any ghost. My mom cut out a hole on the top of the sheet and stuck my ponytail through it. Then, she put lipstick around the mouth hole and eye shadow and mascara (this is all in paint) over the eye holes. I was the cutest darn ghost around.

5) Ophelia. My brother is awesome. He is the coolest kid on the block. His first year trick-or-treating, he carried a skull around and was Hamlet. He was 7. A 7-YEAR-OLD DRESSED UP AS HAMLET!!! I taught him young. :) So we went to a costume party together. I was Ophelia and he was Hamlet.

What about you? You have any costume plans?

Mustaches, Vindaloo, and a Prayer

It's been a good weekend. Steve is off to a great mustachioed start of Mustaches Vs. Cancer!! Though his mustache is somewhat sad. Just a bit. He looks a bit creepy in that picture, right? Maybe it's just me. He was saying, 'No one is going to want to donate to me with that picture!' He's a dork. If you'd like to see his page for Mustaches vs. Cancer, please click here.



Vindaloo has been looking for a good five minutes for the light that she was trying to attack in this picture. No joke, she's STILL looking for it. And she's kind of upset that she can't find it.

But we did find an awesome alternative.



Lastly, so my blogger friend Vashti told me a story!! Tell me how awesome this is. She was walking around in South Africa (where she lives) and this guy walks by and says, 'Hey, you're wearing TOMS.' And she says, 'So are you.' BAM. She realizes that she's talking to BLAKE, THE CHEIF SHOE GIVER. Aka: The guy who started TOMS SHOES!!!!! HOW F-ING AWESOME IS THAT?! I freaking love my TOMS. So comfortable. She told me that story and I almost peed myself. FREAKING AWESOME.


Me in my TOMS

So she told him what they do for the AIDs orphans in South Africa and he wrote down all their information. Could you please pray that Blake loves their mission and wants to help their orphans? That would change things so, so much.

I'm sorry. What did you say? You said that you'd like to also e-mail and send letters to Blake? I think that's a great idea!! You are so thoughtful. That's why I like you.

Here's where you can send letters:
TOMS Shoes
3025 Olympic Blvd., Suite C
Santa Monica, CA 90404
800-975-TOMS (8667)
310-566-3170

And e-mails can go here.

Thank you!! You guys rock.

Meet Vindaloo!

Meet Vindaloo, the new addition to our family! She's too cute. She's a year old.

So I went to the shelter and I get there and...I don't have anything with our current address with my. My friend, Kate, is coming to meet me and we then find out we have an hour to wait for adoptions to open. My husband gets a cab alllllll the way from Jersey City to the upper West Side to the shelter.

Kate, Steve, and I all go in and start looking at the cats. Because there are SO many older cats, so that they don't have to euthanize them, they started giving any cat a year or older away for free, with a free office visit, and a goodie bag.

The first cat we picked out, I loved. She looked like Sprite (the last cat I had) and was a short hair and had these soulful eyes. She was a stray and the named her Tiger. PROBLEM. We went to adopt her and they said that we couldn't even submit papers on her until 5:59 pm tomorrow. We have friends coming over and we couldn't come until Monday and then there was no guarantee that she'd still be there. So I found another cat named Kimmy and...she was okay. Eh. Then my husband said, well, I kind of liked this black cat...

AND SHE HAS THE MOST SOULFUL LITTLE EYES. The perfect amount of fur (she barely sheds so far) AND she's ridiculously calm. She's still a little bit afraid, but, for the most part, she's taken to us and only hides under the bed when she hears the train (we live near the light rail), the washer and dryer, and when there's something loud on tv (we were watching Men In Black). We found out that she had been dropped off today at 11:21am by her owner and the reason was (they include the reason): 'Did Not Have Time For Cat.' There was a 15-year-old cat beside her and the reason was 'high vet bills.' *sigh* I guess what makes me sad is that they do euthanize cats at this shelter if they've been there for a month. Vindaloo was there for TWO HOURS!

I love it :) Thank you for all of the advice!!!

A Little Disappointed

Not big disappointed, but little things. The TOMS shoes did NOT come out. Liars. They were supposed to be available, but they are not. Oh well. That just gives me time to save up for more!!!

But here's the big one: now I'm starting to worry that we shouldn't get a cat.

Here's my thinking. What about when we go on vacation? Who will watch our cat for us? We could put her (I want a girl) in a kennel, but everything seems to be geared for dogs.

I really want a cat, but I don't want to neglect it. I'm praying about it and I'm heading to the shelter today to look. If there were cats like Oreo and Yunyo (previous cats we would have taken in a heart beat), I would totally do it.

I guess it's more of fear of what I've never done before? I've never had an indoor cat before. Ever. And I'm just nervous about it.

What do you think?

Thankful Thursday!

This has been a crazy week and not in a lot of good ways. But I have SO much to be thankful for this week too. If you'd like to join, just go here!

1) For my husband! Sure, he might be starting to look like Ned Flanders, but he's doing a great thing for pediatric cancer. And even though it took him 4 days to build a dresser that is already falling apart, he still did it for me. :) Now he's going to help me save up so that we can ditch that piece of crap.

2) Even though I got the rejection letter from a job interview I just went on (Okay, I did cry a little), I know that God has got better things for me. In due time.

3) YOUTH TOMS COME OUT TODAY!!! I have been saving up for this. I want to buy some for our sponsor children and Project O and such. And I have been WAITING for 4-6 weeks for this!!
Update: I cannot count. I think these come out TOMORROW. So then I will be ALL OVER THIS with my new TOMS. :)

4) That our apartment is slowly coming together. We got our wall divider in and tonight we're going to clean up. And I found that we might need more furniture for our mini apartment! So I'm very excited. I mean, who knows when we'll purchase anything, but that's okay.

5) That God let the sun come out today! It was a windy, cold walk, but the sun was shining and that counts.

6) TOMORROW IS KITTY HUNTING!!!! I really can't wait to go to the Animal Care & Control Center to see if there is a kitty for me. I never EVER in my life thought I would want a cat more.
Update: One more time. This counting thing is throwing me off. Today is Thursday. SATURDAY is kitty hunting

7) Baby Be Blessed. I won a doll from them and I'm having it made for my Ethiopian daughter. I can't believe I'm actually going to MEET her in May! So I'm trying to get things together for her now (I know, I know. My husband says I'm a planner). I can't help it! I'm excited! PLUS, I get to meet Vashti and our Project O kids. How could I NOT be excited?!

What are you thankful for?

Kitty Hunting in NYC (UPDATE: And A Small Prayer Request)

This is not a cat I've ever owned, but my friend's Dave and Nina. This is Samba and I, also, am planning on dressing my cat up in embarrassing items.


Growing up, we ALWAYS had cats. Up to 7 at a time. I can name some of them for you:
Tigger
Peaches (there were like...6 Peaches)
Sprite (for the X-Men Character, not the drink. Yeah, I was a dorky kid)
Spider
Carmel
Boots

And they all came to an untimely end. No joke.

The first Peaches was mauled by our neighbor's dog in front of my sister and me. I can still remember it too. It was winter and there was SO much snow. The dog (a Doberman with a fixation on cats) ran after the cat and the cat ran up on our porch. There's a reason the cat ran on the porch too: that was the safe zone. The dog wasn't allowed on the porch; my mom would always tell it no and it listened. But my mom wasn't out there and my sister and I were running, screaming at the dog. The dog ran up on the porch and the cat, realizing this, ran off the porch and tried to climb a tree. We had just had an ice storm. Honestly, I remember blood in the snow and my mom telling us to run and lock ourselves in the garage, thinking that the dog was in such a frenzy that it would come after us. We learned later that the neighbor across the street (not the one who owned the dog) had heard us screaming and was loading his shot gun because we were screaming so loud that he thought the dog had one of us and not the cat.

Depressing.

But I've decided to turn over a new leaf! I was never an animal person and after spending time at the Manhattan Animal Care & Control Center, I realized that I really want a cat. An indoor cat. That will be pampered and not be near dogs, trains, or cars (I told you! Untimely ends!).

I kind of want a female cat, somewhat playful...and we have no ideas what names would be. All of my previous animal/teddy bear names (that I've come up with when I was older then 16) have been historical. My teddy bear's name is Mr. Roosevelt. My turtle's name was Filibuster.

Any ideas what kind of name a female cat deserves? Or should I wait and see what type of cat I end up with?

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These are our friends, Mike and Margaret. Margaret is in the running for a really great job that would be perfect for her. She had a really rough interview today and is feeling really depressed about it. I know that God is with her, but we all have those days, you know? So if you could say a small prayer that the President of the college that she's applying to will consider her as a candidate. Thank you!