Special Day

My most darling, wonderful husband's birthday is today!

So, of course, we must celebrate by riding roller coasters.



Have a great weekend!

Not The Best Of Times

The past couple of weeks have been so difficult! I'm just glad it's finally Friday.

Wednesday I was told by the other driver's insurance that I was to blame for the accident. I guess the witness (who was on her cell phone, late to work at the time of the accident) told them that I had a good 10 seconds to stop.

Can you SEE my eyes rolling all the way from here?

Needless to say, it was a discouraging day.

The next morning, at 4:30, Jono left to work out of town. I really hate being in a house all by myself. I grew up with constant commotion. And even though commotion isn't my preferred type of interaction, I still prefer interaction of some sort. It's no fun when he leaves. So, I spent several days trying to straighten things out with the wreck, as well as with the new car by myself. Things just kept going all wrong again and again, and yesterday was the absolute worst. I spent hours and hours trying to get things taken care of, and instead I accomplished absolutely nothing. It was so discouraging.

Luckily, my baby came home last night. So we went to Matt and Shelsey's to watch The Office premiere and chill out.

We are still dealing with things, but Jono has the day off so he is taking care of stuff for me today. What a guy.

I'm just so, so glad the weekend is almost here. My brain and emotions need a break.

Old Things New

Upon Joanne's request :)

Here is the bed we were working on. It's so nice to have an actual guest room ready for people. It's almost done in there! Who wants to come visit?

My Weekend Adventure

Here is a picture of my wonderful husband.



Isn't he cute? He's sweet, too. When I was in my car accident, he had these flowers sent to my work. :)



He also took me on an adventure this weekend. We started our Saturday early, leaving at 5am. We boarded a Greyhound (bus, to be specific) in KC, and were on our way.

Here is Jono aboard our not-so-spacious bus.



Here is some of the lovely, fashionable fabric spread over everything in the bus.



We saw many things on our trek to Arkansas.

Here is a woman riding a bicycle, wearing a Santa hat. I'm so glad she is full of holiday cheer on this 20th day of September.



And here is the very spot where Jono told me The Lie. We found it quite humorous the the bus stopped at such a historic location for us.

We were parked right in front of that Taco Bell. Ah, memories.



And we drove on, and on, and on. The bus made many stops on our way south, many of them (unfortunately) at McDonald's.

Finally, at about 2pm, we reached our destination. We stepped out of the bus with much delight, happy that we wouldn't have to ride it home.

And do you know why we wouldn't have to ride it home?

Well, it is because as we walked around to the parking lot, we saw the object of our adventure. The very purpose for our all-day trek to the south and back.

There it was, waiting for us.








So the three of us drove home. :)

The First Lie

Mountain Dew is weird. I mean, it's greenish/yellowish liquid that reminds you of those terrible days of summer allergies. Ew.
I always tried to explain to Jono why Mountain Dew was so gross and weird, but he never understood. Then one day he found out that I had never actually, officially, you know...tried it. He thought I really need to try it before making a judgment call of that kind, but I didn't agree. For one, it's not good for you. It's got way too much sugar and green, so why bother?

Fast forward to that day in early May. We got married, then spent that night in KC before moving along to the rest of our honeymoon. The next day we hit the road, ready to get outa Kansas and as far away from wedding planning as possible. We were finally together, and it was a good time.

We stopped in Butler, Kansas to get some refreshing drinks. Jono, being the sweet, chivalrous, new husband that he was decided to go in and get the drinks for me. He came out, smiled at me, and said, "Here's your lemonaid" as he handed me a huge, yellow drink. I thought he had a funny look in his eye as I brought the straw to my lips, but I drank anyway. It didn't taste like any lemonaid I'd had before, but it wasn't bad. He looked at me intently and asked, "do you like it?"

That's when I knew something was amiss. "What did you do?" I asked. He smiled and revealed that it was, indeed, Mountain Dew.

Yes, we had not been married for 24 hours before he told me a lie.

And, what's worse... is that everyone who hears this story thinks it's awesome.

One Of Those Days

Yesterday morning, on my merry way to work, I was hit by another vehicle.

Here is the story that was published online via our local newspaper:
By Phil Anderson

"One person was taken to a hospital by American Medical Response ambulance this morning after a two-vehicle crash sent water gushing out of a fire hydrant for about a half an hour, authorities said.


(A member of the city's public works crew waits for a Ford Tempo to be towed away. A Dodge mini-van collided with a Ford Tempo sending the Tempo over the curb and into the fire hydrant.)

The accident victim’s injuries weren’t believed to be serious, police said at the scene.

The accident was reported about 7:45 a.m.

Police said a Dodge mini-van that was westbound was attempting to turn south when it collided with a silver Ford Tempo that was eastbound.

The Tempo went over a curb on the southeast corner of the intersection where it struck a city fire hydrant. Water flowed from the hydrant.

The Tempo came to rest over the hydrant’s shut-off valve, police said. City public works crews had to wait for a tow truck to arrive and move the Tempo before the water could be turned off.

Police Maj. Warren Wilson said the Tempo’s driver was the lone occupant in the car. Several passengers were in the mini-van.

The vehicle in which the accident victim was riding wasn’t immediately known."
(some names and locations removed or changed, by me, for privacy)

Yes. I am basically famous. Or something. However, the apparent price for fame is a totally now-worthless car.

Later in the day I went to the Doctor to get some antibiotics for my wonderfully swollen and painful infected toenail (which was unrelated to the above incident). Mmmm, delicious. Unfortunately, the doctor decided that instead of antibiotics, I needed to have part of the toenail cut out. I left with an unreasonably large wrapping around my already swollen toe. I think I'm going to start some serious fashion trend with that one.

All in all, it was definitely "one of those days." Times ten.

Inspiration Drought

I guess that since I don't have anything incredibly interesting to say (surprise!), I'll just give a little update of my fairly predictable, yet happy, life.

My totally amazing husband is helping me turn our house into a home. We are painting a fun head and baseboard for our soon-to-be guest bed. We are also finally hanging all our pictures and shelves, and finding places for things that have conveniently been hiding in the extra room.

My grandma gave us lots of fun things, as she plans to move to a smaller place very soon. She gave me a practically unused sewing machine with all the extras you could ask for, including a big, tall, folding table with measurements for cutting material. (I guess I don't have an excuse to not finish that quilt that Joy helped me start forever many years ago.) She also gave us our choice of VHS movies. That may not sound very exciting, but these include many of my childhood favorites. Whenever we would go over there for Hanukkah the adults would end up talking (boring!) and us kids would go watch such classics as G.I. Joe, Transformers, and Claymation Christmas (ironic?). It was fun to take some of these home.
She also gave me a totally sweet Jewish Cookbook that her mother- and father-in-law gave her in 1964. I'm excited to dish up some old recipes this coming year.

We are still actively searching for a Bug. We came oh-so-close to buying one on ebay this past weekend, but the seller has been particularly unresponsive, so it seems like a bad idea. Time is ticking away, though, as my car is slowly (but surely!) deteriorating.

Hobby Lobby has tons of Christmas stuff at 50% off right now, so we are preparing for our first Christmas together. I absolutely love shopping for this kind of stuff. If it weren't for my very practical husband, I would spend a fortune. Luckily for me, even though he's oh-so-practical, he is also very sweet, and enjoys buying Christmas stuff to make me happy. You know...just not...TOO much stuff. ;)
I made sure to grab mistletoe this year, but I might need more...

Unfortunately, that just got me all excited about a holiday season that is still a quarter of a year away!

Let's share the holiday love, though. What are some of your favorite holiday traditions? What decorations would make it feel totally incomplete?

Trouble with Love

It's so easy for me to be generous. Before my money was shared and (somewhat) carefully saved to pay off a house, nothing would make me happier than to spend my entire pay check to buy people random gifts, cards, flowers, whatever. I loved it. It comes naturally to me (probably passed from my parents), so yeah...it's really easy.

That is, if I like you.

The problem is, that's probably not true generosity. Could you label me as a generous, giving person if I'm not willing to help anyone out that I don't know or especially like?

A couple weeks ago a lady knocked on our door. She sounded like she was in a hurry, and told us she was our neighbor a few houses behind us, and that her daughter was in day care and had a seizure. She asked if we could please give her a ride there. So, of course, we gave her a ride.

She also needed money.

Let's pause here. It is my general opinion that if someone is willing to ask a complete stranger for money, they must 1) be in a terribly desperate situation or (more likely) 2) be quite used to asking for money from anyone. I could be wrong, but that's how I feel.

But my husband is a sweet guy. And we didn't know for sure if she was a fake. So I gave her all the cash we had on us (which was $10, a lot for people who don't ever, ever carry cash).

As we dropped her off at her "sister's" after she had dropped by the "day care", I thought "we're never going to see her again." She had, of course, promised to pay back the $10 that very evening, but I knew not to expect it. In truth, what bothered me most was not the loss of $10. It was that I'm certain that this woman was not even our neighbor. She was someone walking down our street who needed a ride and some cash. How can people be that way? How can they lie and take advantage of caring people?

This bothered me for about a week. I know that we are supposed to be giving, helping the poor, and caring for others. We should give because we have, and others do not. But we are also supposed to shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. While in our car she heard some music playing and said "you guys are Christians. Amen." After stewing over this for a week, I realized that I am not the one to be pitied. I lost $10. Oh, no. $10 that I only had because God has provided Jono and me with jobs. What's more is that this woman probably has much bigger problems than lying and stealing. Her soul should concern me more than my money.

This morning I read this:
"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:27-36

He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. And I know that's true, because He is kind to me.

I still think that we should be careful with our money, because God gives it to us, and we shouldn't throw it away. But I'm willing to bet that my generosity record isn't up to par with what Jesus would want.

What would you do in that situation?

Balloon Rally

Dear Diary,

...Just Kidding! We're done with that, remember? Silly.

Dear Blog Readers,

This past weekend we hit up a local Hot Air Balloon Rally. We didn't actually ride any, but it was fun to see them all get set up and then glow as twilight set in.

This experience made me realize two things:
1) It's fun taking pictures of balloons.
2) I really should have taken more time to learn things about my camera before trying to take pictures in the growing twilight.

The result was some pictures turning out fairly nicely, and many others turning out very grainy. I had to consult my manual the next day to figure a few (basic) things out. Bleh.

I thought I'd go ahead and share some pictures with you, though. Because they are fun. And we like fun things. Ok?

Finally, An End

Well, people, that's it. That is 1998 Rachel's summary of the year.

I don't know how to feel right now. Relieved? Exhausted? Mentally ill?

Anyway, thanks for putting up with me through all these old diary posts. If anything they were a good reminder to me that things are never, ever, ever as dramatic as you think they are when you're 12. Probably the same can be said for when you're 22, as well.

Also, it's really showed me how nice it is to not feel like I have to pump out something creative for several weeks. I either need to search for more diaries, or finally think of something interesting to say.

So, let's have share time.

...does anyone else shiver when they say something like "share time"?

Seriously, though. Let's just put it all out on the table. However, being that there is no physical table upon which to put "it", I'll ask you to simply leave a comment. So, what is one of the craziest things you ever wrote in your diary? Or, if you didn't have a diary, what is one of the craziest things you ever divulged in a game of Truth or Dare?

If you haven't figured it out, the only reason I'm asking this question is to feel better about my own diary.

Thanks.

December 26, 1998

Dear Journal,
Christmas was great! I got calligraphy pens and a new Ballet bag and a book from Beth (SECRET SANTA). It was awesome!

December 22, 1998

Dear Journal,
Nutcracker is over, I made a really nice friend, her name is Ariel. I miss being in the Nutcracker, I have a lot of time on my hands. I have been bored out of my whits. Hanukkah is over and the presents were great! I can't wait for Christmas, it's only three days away! I also can't wait until X-Mas eve! It will be at grandma's house. Our cousins are coming for Christmas. They will probably stay in our room like last time! That means the girls will want to be in our room playing with our stuff. We are doing "Secret Santa" for our sisters and brothers. I got Rose. I got her a Winnie The Pooh book that makes noise. Bye.

December 1, 1998

Dear Journal,
We have finished putting up the lights, in fact, we have finished putting up all of our decorations, even our tree! It is the biggest tree we have ever had. And the other night, after we put up the ornaments, it fell over. We had to use rope to hold it up, then we did the ornaments again. Oh, we also put grandma's old tree in our basement. It is not real. Today our Jr. High and Sr. High MAACS group is meeting at our house. It is usually pretty fun. I also have ballet tonight. And tap. I need new tap shoes really bad. My old ones don't fit and I have to wear Ballet shoes that are too big! I can't do any of the steps! Bye (for now)

November 22, 1998

Dear Diary,
My dad's grandmother died about a week ago, and Israel and Matt are going with Grandpa to Colorado for the funeral. The reason mom or dad are not going is because we have plans to go to Texas for Thanksgiving. They leave tomorrow morning. They come back Wednesday evening which is too late to go to Texas with us. It is too bad, but I can't do anything about it. Today, I went to church and after sunday school Me, Magen, and Heather baby-sat in the nursery. Then we had a potluck. Right after that I went to Nutcracker rehearsal a couple hours later we went to a birthday party for four of our cousins. Oh, yeah, I also helped dad put up part of the Christmas lights.

November, 1998

Dear Journal,
It is about 9:30 tonight. Tomorrow is Saturday and I am riding with the Smiths to a school vollyball game. Sue Smith, my friend, is in the Varsity team because she is tall and has a better serve. I have to wake up at seven o'clock in the morning (duh). We just got back from taking Dad to the airport. He is going to Rhode Island. I already miss him, I hope his flight goes well. On the way home, we stopped by the McDonald's with a big "Play Place" and stayed for a while. Then we all got McFlurries. Oh, yeah, at friday classes, we are working on a play called "To Kill A Mockingbird." I am stuck with Matt and Israel for a play! I have to go now and get some sleep, I have a big day tomorrow!

October, 1998

Dear Journal,
Tomorrow is friday classes. The Dennys are coming in a couple of weeks. I am very excited. I like to be with Ruth, Hannah, Sarah and Deborah. They are fun. I also have a Jewelry Badge workshop and hike for girl scouts. Nutcracker practice starts Sunday, I am an Angel. Bye.

September, 1998

Dear Journal,
Hi. Tomorrow is the carnival for Pioneer Clubs. It is my last one. Then I will be in youth group. Ballet starts on Thursday and Friday is the beginning of friday classes. I am in my brother's class, Matt. I don't really mind. I have to go!

September, 1998

Dear Journal,
Hi! It is Thursday and tomorrow we are going to Texas. I can't wait! And my cousin, Angela, is going to the football game. Grace is sick! I hope she gets better before tomorrow. We all do. I feel sorry for her, she gets sick quite often. Well, I should go pack. See ya! BYE


[note: Grace was not the little, sick, weakling I made her out to be]

August, 1998

Dear Journal,
Today was a Ballet. Oh, yesterday we did Nutcracker auditions, I think I did pretty well. And I went to Grandma's house three hours! I got a ring of grandma's, it looks like one my mom had once. I also got eight dollars. And Kristina's party was fun too. My present to her was a Veggie-Tales movie and a stationary kit. I have nothing else. Bye!!

August, 1998

Dear Journal,
It is not really September, I just felt like writing. Tomorrow, I have to audition for Nutcracker. My best friend, Magen will not be able to do The Nutcracker. She will be in Texas the day of the performance. Too bad. It is at 10 until 11. Then at 1 I am going to Grandma's house. They just got back from a cruise to Alaska! I'm going to help her clean out closets. After that I'm going to Kristina Fazel's birthday sleepover. I think it will be fun. It is very late right now, I can not sleep. Grace is sound asleep now. I wish I were. She always gets to sleep before I do. This will be my first audition on pointe. I am pretty scared. But, I had better get to sleep. Oh, by the way, Grace's 50's birthday party was great! She had fun. Bye!

August, 1998

Dear Journal,
Last night was a board meeting. Yuck. We spent all cleaning and I am not exaggerating. My mom says we might go see The Parent Trap. But she is not sure. Gotta go.

August 26, 1998

Dear Journal,
Today is Grace's birthday. We also had a Washburn Banquet. So, we went to the McDonald's in Lawrence. It has a big "Play-Place." Then we came home and watched a movie called "The Borrowers." It's late now, and I have to clean my room because our cousins are coming at 9am until Grace's B-Day Party at 7pm! I am really tired. Bye!