1 thing for the 1st day of the 1st month of 2015

1. How often do you get to eat the first strawberry of the year on the first day of the year?  Odd.  Tasty, but odd!

Eleven things for the Eleventh day of the Eleventh month (of the Eleventh year)

1. Last month, I had the Ten things for the Tenth day of the Tenth month ready...and forgot to publish it. Oops.

2. Happy Veterans day. Seems like a strange phrase to say for this sort of holiday. Thanks to my friends, relatives, and strangers who hjave and are serving to protect my home.

3. I get to go to Magic Mountain with my family tomorrow. No roller coasters for me, but I get to go along and enjoy the fun that is my family at a theme park, and take pictures...and hold bags while they ride. Maybe this time I should bring a stroller.

4. It is really murky outside! It looks like Bakersfield tried to be a snow globe, but then at the last minute, forgot that we don't do snow...so it used dirt instead. Ew. Valley fever, anybody?

5. I am 3 weeks into my first class towards teaching credentials, which, somehow means that I am 2/3 of the way through my textbook. I am a stinking reading machine! The class is linguistics: teaching readings/writing, and ESL students.  It's actually a lot of fun.

6. I finally got my new car last month...but then, you've probably already read that blog, so you know. (I'm only up to six things... urg)

7. My friend gave me an orchid. It's really pretty. I forgot it at her house. Right now, my orchid is really pretty at her house. It will probably stay prettier that way.

8. I got a letter from my sweet Abigail in Ghana this week. She got promoted from P3 to P4(grades) this year, she's so clever! She started P1 at age 8, and here she is, 2 years later, all the way up to P4.

9. Somehow, whenever I get to the day number that matches the month number, I always manage to have a blog I was planning to post that day...so I feel like it has a tendency to double up, even if my blog has lain fallow all that time before that day.

10. I am really enjoying following some other people's blogs right now. First, my current favorite is by JD, the woman who has taken a gift package to my Abigail, and my parent's Emmanuel in Ghana. She is currently in Ghana right now. At this very moment, she is off the grid, because she is working at Lake Volta to free child slaves. How great is that?! So, there are no blogs being posted for a few days, but there will be, and she has quite a few blogs posted up until she had to go off the grid a few days ago that are worth reading., You can read JD's blog here.

The second blog, is actually multiple blogs. It is a Compassion Blogging trip. Compassion takes popular bloggers to a country they serve and lets the bloggers dig through records, see where the children live, see what the families have to deal with, and see what Compassion is doing in their communities. It is really great to read, and it is great to see Compassion International's dedication to integrity. You can follow their current blogging trip in Ecuador, as well as past blogging trips here. So, if you were looking for some easily accessible good reading, I have just provided you with HOURS worth.

11. I can't think of much else to share without making it a life story, so I'm just going to share soemthing else I've been appreciating: Johnny Cash.  Specifically a recent song, which is a cover of Nine Inch Nails song Hurt.

And those, blogfriends, are my 11 things for the 11th day of the 11th month (of the 11th year).  Thanks for reading, even though I disappear for long spurts sometimes!

9 things for the 9th day of the 9th month

Yes, I missed this segment a lot in recent months, but why waste time focusing on failures of the past.

1. My parents get to go sailing this weekend...without me.  So I'm just going to spend time with their children, and probably eat all their ice cream.

2. Junior high started up this week, on its new day at its earlier hour. As the blog explained, it was a little intimidating, but turned out alright for a first try.

3. I still need a new vehicle, as my once trusty vehicle feels more and more shaky as time wears on, and I am tried ofputting a hose in the coolant tank once a week.

4. I am so excited Chuck (the NBC TV show) is coming back again, but I am so sad it is waiting until OCTOBER to do it!

5. I got to go to Disneyland with my sister, and it was a lot of fun.

6. I have noticed that as Fall cools off, every year, I feel the need to start making things (such as sewing, knitting, whatnot). I think that's weird.

7. This particular blog is really overloading this week unfairly, compared to the blog count of other weeks. I can't really control when the day number matches the month number, but the unevenness of it sort of bothers me. And it bothers me that it bothers me.  (P.S. 9 is a really big number when it comes to sharing thoughts)

8. I still really want to go to Haiti to visit my friend, Liline. I just can't seem to work out the details just yet, and I am not willing to travel in a recently wrecked, third world country, all by my redheaded, nonintimidating, obvious foreign self.  If you would to come with me and be intimidating, let me know. ;-)

And finally,

9. I, by fortunate association of people, random availability, brief disappointment, and quite a bit of luck and manuevering, somehow landed a SoCal Select season pass to Disneyland, which means, I can go on most weekdays that are not school holidays through May 2012, and 5 days in June 2012. This stroke of luck has benefited me quite well so far(For instance: thing #5). Thanks Morgan!


Whew! I made it to 9.  October 10th, November 11th, and December 12th are going to be so hard!

6 things for the 6th day of the 6th month...

First thing: I nearly missed this month's N things for the Nth day of the Nth month! But then, you all knew that before I did, didn't you?

Second thing:  I have been really tired lately, which is why you may have noticed the blogs running dry, but I'll try to keep up better this month.

Third thing: My baby sister is turning 18 this month.  Isn't that weird?

Fourth thing:  I am excited about going to the VBS meeting tomorrow, because it means summer will officially feel like it is starting, even if the weather decides not to recognize it.  I will be manning the 1st-3rd grade memory verse station for my second year, and it's a beach theme.  I haven't decided what exactly I'm going to do with those games yet.  Plus, at the meeting tomorrow, I will get to see all sorts of people from church that I haven't seen in a while.

Fifth thing: I saw Kung Fu Panda II in 3-D yesterday, and though I would not say it was enthralling, or excellent, or even great, it was most definitely better than the first one (I was amazed at how "blah" the first Kung Fu Panda movie was... so that is not a huge compliment from me, but it is a compliment).

Sixth thing: Lately, my mind feels overwhelmed with a whirlpool.  There are so many things I want to do, change, or further, and so many options in getting there...and a lot of those options intimidate me.  Please, feel free to pray for me in that aspect, as this month sort of has become my "critical moment" month, where if I don't make decisions and actions now, I'm automatically making default decisions for the long run, and quite frankly, I find it unnerving.

And those, blogfriends, are my 6 things for the 6th day of the 6th month. 

5 things for the 5th day of the 5th month

1. Last night, I finished the book bag I have been working on for a few days now, and then, with the leftover fabric, finished a simpler book bag in 2 hours. I feel accomplished!

2. I still have one more sewing project I am hoping to get done before the weekend! 

3. I haven't even started a book for this month (Unless you count the Amelia Bedelia trio I started and finished within an hour.  I loved those books as a kid!), but I am excited to give The Thornbirds a shot, as well as Jossy Chacko's Madness.

4. I am truly excited to get to hang out with my gals this weekend. (Rachel, Merida, and Merida's sister: Amanda)  We have so much fun together, and we have such great plans for the weekend, that I have been blurting to others about it like a child giving the Christmas countdown!

5. Lucky for me, the 5th day of the 5th month happens to be a Thursday, so I get to cheat and use a joke for my 5th thing!

The Joke

While attending a convention, three psychiatrists decide to take a
walk. 

"People are always coming to us with their guilt and fears,"
one says, "but we have no one to go to with our own problems."
 

"Since we're all professionals," another suggests, "why don't we hear each other out right now?" They agreed this is a good idea. 

The first psychiatrist confesses, "I'm a compulsive shopper and deeply in debt, so I usually overbill my patients as often as I can."

The second admits, "I have a drug problem that's out of control, and I frequently pressure my patients into buying illegal drugs for me." 

The third psychiatrist says, "I know it's wrong, but no matter how hard I try, I just can't keep a secret."

Happy 5th day of the 5th month, and happy Thursday.

Thanks for stopping by!

Four Things for the Fourth Day of the Fourth Month

Whew! I almost missed my chance for four!  So, today, blogfriends, you get a double posting.

First thing: I am so very please that the weather is deciding to be sunny more often that gray, mushy, and stormy!  I may have been born in winter, but my soul thrives in the warmer days of late spring and summer. Hurrah for flip flops, sandals, skirts, dresses, and not having to tote a heavy jacket everywhere. It just makes me want to ride a bike!

Second thing: I have a book dilemma. I am really enjoying Parrot & Olivier in America and I only have a hundred or so pages left in it, but I really want to start and finish Out of Ashes before this weekend, which means I should probably pause Parrot and Olivier.  We shall see how that epic battle turns out.

Third thing: I am really excited about getting to go to a conference by World Impact(The reason for my wanting to finish Out of Ashes this week), and getting to learn about mission opportunities. Plus, I get to ride up with two fun couples from my parents church.  I really enjoy them, jackpot!

Fourth thing: I am a big fan of Udi's plain bagels. I think I may have developed an addiction, but they are so good. The outside tastes like it was glazed with butter, the inside tastes and feels like a firm dinner roll.  I have to admit, I keep meaning to spread something on them, but I have this awful habit of eating them before they make it to the toaster!

And those are the four random things I could think of for this blog written in 6 minutes.  Thanks!

3 things for the 3rd day of the 3rd month

I am having a good week.  This makes me have a good mood, too!

First thing:  I finished my first book of the month.  Usually, I am sweating it for the first half of the month as I work on the first book, the whole while of enjoying the book, there's a background thought of, "I've got to make sure I at least get this one finished to meet my goal!"  And then after the first book in the month is finished, all the others are child's play.  Usually the first book is finished around the 15th.  This month, it's the 3rd.  Take that, March!  The book is Unshaken: Rising from the ruins of Haiti's Hotel Montana by Dan Woolley (with Jennifer Schuchmann). Dan Woolley had just walked into the lobby of the 5 story hotel when the earthquake hit.  It took 3 seconds for the entire hotel to collapse.  He made his way to an open elevator, which quickly became his refuge and his prison.  He spent 65 hours under the Hotel Montana.  The book covers his survival, but it also covers his spiritual battle.  It addresses 2 kinds of darknesses: the darkness of being locked under 5 stories of hotel with no promise of rescue, and the darkness of clinical depression... and it is amazing how similar they are.  Summing up, this was a great read!  It flows well, and it draws you in.  There was never any point where I bawled, or had to stop reading because of tears.  Few books/movies ever manage to do that to me(cough cough Bridge to Terabithia cough cough), but there were definitely some moments where my eyelashes got wet.  Mom has first dibs on reading my copy, but I'll gladly take requests after her...first come first serve!

Second thing: I'm still just so happy about finally getting a letter from Abigail this week!  She is my monthly writer, and last month, I didn't get a letter!  I was getting a little nervous.  In reality, though, the gap in writing probably represents the period of time I got behind in my own writing to her some time in December. I didn't miss a month, but I definitely might have written at the beginning of November, and then again at the end of December.  So my anxiety is fair payback for the anxiety I probably caused her.  I asked Abigail a while ago how she managed to draw a computer so well. I was hoping to learn they had computer classes already at her project, or maybe at her school.  She says there are no computers at school, and the only computer she knows is at the Compassion Office, which she sees occasionally.  Apparently, it has her enchanted, because I have seen several drawings of computers show up on her letters to me(There was another one on this letter).

 
  She was very excited to hear about Josh's (then)upcoming wedding, and asked for more information about it. She'll be happy to learn soon that I have already sent her not only information about the day, but photos!  Abigail's prayer went out to Joshua this time.  "Congratulations to Joshua. She pray that he will have a happy marriage."  It is so good to hear from her again.  Abigail is such a cheerful, thoughtful little spirit!

Third thing: As many of you know, I am working on the direction in my life. I had grand plans after college, and those plans shattered.  The recovery portion that followed afterward has finally come to a point that allows for more than just sweeping up pieces and repairing that which is reparable, it is finally at a point of upward building.  My back is finally heading towards working properly again, and all of the legal issues are rapidly dissipating.  These are very liberating things!  I have been doing a lot of praying lately, trying to determine where to go from here.  I do not want to go into too many details, but I am finally starting to get a feeling of a possible forward motion.  I went to an informational meeting on some possibilities last night, and it just feels so very right. I am excited at the prospect of not just trudging past failures, but leaping into new possibilities! How's that for being frustratingly vague?  The point of the "third thing" being mentioned is that I am really excited just at the possibility, and I would really appreciate your prayers as I make my decisions that I would make my decisions based on wisdom and God's leading, and not succumb to making a decision simply out of eagerness to start a new adventure.

Those are my three things for today.  As it is also Thursday, you  get a joke or riddle of some sort.  This one comes from my Mom. I had forgotten it until she posted it the other day, but I do remember that it was one of my favorites as a teenager!

The 13 year old, the pilot, and the smartest man in the world:

There were three people in an airplane. The pilot, a 13 year old boy, and the smartest man in the world.  The smartest man in the world often reminded them of his status throughout the trip.

The plane started having engine problems, and they discovered that there were only two parachutes. They began to discuss who should use the parachutes, when the smartest man in the world grabbed a parachute and jumped.

The pilot, being the better man, then told the boy that he should take the second chute. But the boy was doubled over laughing.  The boy responded, "That's okay! We will both take parachutes! The smartest man in the world just took my backpack!" 


Have a nice Thursday!

-Caitlin