13 minutes 'til 30

Months ago I imagined myself spending hours blogging in my new decade of life, but life happened and blogging got pushed to the back burner.  So now, with 13 minutes left of my twenties I'm taking a few minutes to ponder the previous decade.  At some point I'd like to make a list of 30 things I may wish to do in my 30s, but tonight I'll make a list of 20 things I accomplished in my 20s.  So, in no particular order . . .

20 In My 20's

A not-so comprehensive list of 20 accomplishments from my 2nd decade 

1. Earned a college degree (B.A. in English, minor in Studio Art).
2. Earned a teaching certificate (in Early Childhood - 4th grade with an ESL endorsement).
3. Paid off 1 student loan (only 2 more to go!  :o/ ) and 2 credit cards I got when I started college.
4. Bought a house (with my parents, I must say).
5. Bought TWO cars (one's paid off, the other not so much).
6. Was a bridesmaid for dear friends 3x over.
7. Became an international traveler by visiting places such as France, Italy, South Korea, China (these first 4 were technically in my late teens, but I'll tack them on to my 20s travels), Mexico (5x or more!), Uzbekistan & England (6x!).
8. Lived in another country for the most part of a year.
9. Volunteered in a night shelter for nearly a year.
10. Became a big city driver (if you were there when I first learned to drive then you would know what a huge accomplishment this was!).
11. Made numerous, dear life-long friends.
12. Developed a deeper relationship with God.
13. Became an aunt (4x!), although I technically didn't have anything to do with that . . .
14. Developed a love for cooking.
15. Became a grown-up with a real job and everything!
16. Attended 2 U2 concerts w/ my brothers!
17. Discovered a love for children and a passion for teaching.
18. Conquered my fears and rode the Texas Cyclone at Astroworld before it was dismantled.
19. Cut off and donated 11" of hair to Locks of Love.
20. Developed a deeper love for reading and learning and read hundreds of thousands of beautifully written words!
21. Began a blog!*

I'm sure there's more, but I'll leave it at that for now.  Here's to my new decade and whatever new adventures await me!






*This is my bonus one, so please pardon me for not keeping the list at 20 . . . but it's my birthday and I'll post what I want to!

It's only a week away now . . .

So June was supposed to be full of books and coffee shops and lazy days in the pool, but life had other plans.  As crazy, wild and stressful as this month has been, I almost wish it wasn't over!

Why?

Because in 7 short days I turn 30!!!  Holy moley!  How the heck did THAT happen???

And with the stressfulness of the month all the hopes and plans for a big 30's bash flew out the window.  (Well, that and the lack of funds due to partial unemployment for the summer.)  So I suppose if anything is happening I need to throw it together in the next 24 hrs so people have ample warning.  Oi!

The month was full of such horribleness (is that even a word?), that some of the good things got buried.  So let me recount the blessings:

First, my good friend Elaine is home for the summer from Seoul, South Korea.  I've had some fun hangouts with her and I'm sad to think she's got less than a month left before she leaves again.  Although, she's lobbying like mad to get me to go teach English in Korea for a year!

Second, my friend Aleen sent me an unexpected package nearly three weeks ago that contained two books I mentioned wanting in a previous post - Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives In North Korea by Barbara Demick and My Life In France by Julia Child.  I was so surprised and happy I was practically in tears!  And I promptly shelved Eat, Pray Love so I could read Nothing to Envy (it's AMAZING and I promise to blog about it very soon!  I've already finished it but I'll leave it up on my sidebar for a little longer).

Third, my uncle gave me two free tickets to an Astros game and it was the first one I've been to in over two years!  It was a day game and I loved the laid back atmosphere.  We were even able to sit a lot closer than what was posted on the tics since not too many people attended.

Fourth, I signed up online to try Chick-fil-a's new spicy chicken sandwich the week before it was officially released.  I would've been happy with just the free sandwich, but when I went in and ordered a drink and fries to go along with it they gave it all to me for free! 

Fifth, we've had some awesome thunderstorms roll through town and thankfully no lightening struck our house/property (that happened two years ago and was no bueno!).

Sixth, the past week and a half I've had a little more time to enjoy the pool and with the 95+ degree weather it's been soooo deliciously refreshing!

Seventh, I've taken advantage of HEB's offer of a free container of hummus with the purchase of New York Style Pita Chips.  Mmmm . . . I couldn't tell ya the amount of pita chips and hummus I've consumed in the past 10 days!  Let's just say I work in the same shopping strip as HEB, so it's very easy to pop into the store for a quick buy.

Eighth, I've cut down on the amount of sugar, red meat and white bread products I was consuming - it was starting to get out of hand!  So, combined with the swimming, I'm feeling stronger and healthier.  Now if I could just adjust my sleeping hours I'll be all set!  But alas!  I come from a family of night owls!

Ninth, whatever little bugs were feasting on me in my own room are finally gone!  Actually, I'm fairly certain they were fleas and I have no clue where they came from!  I caught one and another one committed suicide by jumping into a glass of water.  But they weren't alone 'cause I still had some bites.  I washed everything possible, sprinkled borax all over the carpet and vacuumed every vacuumable surface in the room (floor, bed, drapes, chair, lampshade).  I still got one last bite after all that, but nothing since then.  That was two weeks ago.  Let's hope no new ones hatch . . .

Tenth, my bro got tics for my nephews, niece, me, my SIL and him to watch Toy Story 3.  Oh my, it was a great movie!  My nephew cried a little at the end.  So did I.

Eleventh, God is good.  And He's in control.  Nothing else matters.

Happenings

~ I'm about halfway through Stroud's God's Heart for the Poor.  It's almost like a how-to for those starting up their own project, so I mostly skim through those sections.  Still no image of the cover to be found, so it's not on my sidebar, and I'm having issues with the blogger elements not cooperating with my template, so I haven't worked it out to just list the details of the book yet.

~ I was craving something a bit more . . . literary, maybe? . . . so I also started reading Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert.  I bought it at Half Priced books a few months ago and figured I might as well read it since the movie will soon be coming out.  Only a couple of chapters in, but I like it already.  I added it to my sidebar, as you can see.

~ Last weekend I finally saw the movie Julie and Julia.  I was excited to read the book last summer because the movie trailers piqued my interest.  However, I found the book a bit hard to follow with the author's stream of consciousness.  Plus the main character, Julie, annoyed me with her selfishness and self-absorption.  And I was left wishing there was more of the Julia Child scenes in the book.  All that to say, after reading the book I wasn't bothered about not watching the movie.  But I actually really enjoyed the movie!  Julie is more palatable in it and we definitely get a lot more of Julia.  I'd like to read Julia Child's memoir, My Life in France now (which I linked, in case any of you would like to buy it for me!  :o) ).

~ I just read my friend Aleen's blog and she mentioned a book she just finished: Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick.  South Korea and China was the first ever mission trip to went on, and the organization we partnered with aimed to spread the gospel to N Koreans.  I had such amazing and life-changing experiences on that trip and stories from that country still stir my heart.  So the book sounds really good and I'd love to read it!  Of course I'll prob have to wait til it's in paperback and a tad bit cheaper . . .

~ I'll have a lot more time to read since my 2nd job just finished.  It's also a bit stressful 'cause it was my main source of income since it paid twice as much as my 1st job.  BUT I am basically all set up to substitute for the rest of the year, so I hope to do that at least two or three times a week . . . but there's only 3 wks left of school . . . *sigh*

~ I went to a job fair for an area district on Friday.  There were HUNDREDS, if not THOUSANDS, of people there looking for jobs.  It's not a good time to be an unemployed teacher, let me tell you!  I handed out all twenty copies of my resume, tho.  So hopefully I'll get some phone calls for interviews soon. 

~ I got crazy with our new vacuum yesterday -- I vacuumed my bed, my drapes, my mini-blinds, the window sills, all the shelves upstairs (using the attachments, of course), the floorboards, the walls and ceilings, the upholstered chairs, the bathroom floor, my bed again since all the dust from the other items got kicked up and resettled on it, the lamps, and the carpet.  And I slept soundly, with no mental images of thousands of microscopic dust mites crawling all over me during the night.  I suppose I could offer my vacuuming expertise for a small fee if no job prospects come up . . .

~ I'm in the last days of my 20's.  Haven't looked at the calendar to say for sure, but I'm guessing there's only about 6 wks left of 'em.  Scary!

~ I'm cooking carne guisada for dinner tonight.  Haven't made it in ages, so I'm looking forward to it!

Junkie Meets Jesus in a Trash Can

Last week I finished Colin Garnett's memoir, Junkie Meets Jesus in a Trash Can.  The BF gave me his copy when he came to visit in January.  Having come from a similar past as Garnett's, he thought it would give me some insight into the struggles and triumphs one encounters while trying to break free from addiction.  After reading this book I know one thing is for sure - it's nearly impossible to break the oppressive chains of addiction without the power of God.

That's actually a lesson I learned long ago, having invested so much over the past few years into the King's Arms Project.  There I met dozens of addicts who are eager to share their stories of heartache and pain, weeping over the tatters of their lives, vowing to give up the drugs or the drink or whatever else entangles them and holds them captive.  Yet the next day they turned up drunk again.  And the next, and the next.  An endless cycle of destructive addiction.  Most eventually lost their jobs and their families and their friends.  Some even lost their lives.  Somehow, the addiction was always stronger than their willpower and their love for their spouse or children; it was stronger than their self-respect and their dignity.  Yet, but by the grace of God, that could be me.  Or you.

I don't know what it's like to feel so hurt and hopeless that drugs are the only possible escape.  And I don't know what it's like to become so addicted to something that I'm unable to stop, even though I know it will cost me all I hold dearest to my heart.  In his book, Garnett gave me a glimpse of that.  His is an amazing story of how God can change one's life in an instant.  And it's a testimony of just how far He can pull you out of the pit, as long as you're willing to follow Him in obedience and faith.  I highly recommend you read this book.  I promise you'll love it so much you'll gladly overlook the various typos the editor missed in the last half of book and the occasional confusion caused by Garnett's stream of consciousness! 

Here's a excerpt that had me both laughing and crying:

Earl was baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and he was dunked into the water. The singing erupted once again and people were crying with Earl. I was in stunned silence. The Christians started to disperse back to their seats, and the preacher went back to his Bible. He threw a gauntlet down to me when he asked, 'Is there anyone else here tonight who feels the need to receive Jesus into their life as personal Lord and Saviour?'
The question had not completely left the minister's lips, and I was standing up and taking my jeans off. I heard myself saying, 'I do! That's exactly how I feel!'
The whole congregation turned to look at me and as they all looked at me, I felt an inner urge to turn it all into a joke and sit back down. But the truth was, I could no longer live my life under the influence of what other people thought of me. I looked at them, and in a moment's clarity of heart, I knew I could not allow these guys to define me any longer.
I said, 'I need to know this Jesus for myself.'
My jeans went one way, my shirt went another, and I climbed into this trash can of water and tearfully fell to my knees.

I hope I didn't give anything away, especially since the title basically says it all anyway, but I just love this scene!

I've been on a memoir kick over the last year.  It all started with a book a borrowed from my friend Elaine called, The Reluctant Tuscan by Phil Doran.  Oh my, that is a hilarious book and I absolutely LOVED it!  I need to reread it and blog about it 'cause it is great!  Anywho, all that to say that the next book I've started is God's Heart for the Poor by Philippa Stroud.  It's really cool because it's basically the history of how King's Arms Project got started 20 years ago.  I love reading about familiar places, even though it makes me a bit homesick for Bedford.  The book is out of print, it's another one the BF lent me, and I'm having a hard time finding an image of the cover on google.  So I'll just have to post the title and author on the sidebar without the book image.  (Nevermind, I'll just have to leave the JMJINTC pic up for now 'cause I'm having element page issues . . . )  As for Junkie Meets Jesus in a Trash Can, I posted the link to the UK Amazon site since it gives slightly more info than the USA Amazon link, but I don't even think it's in print in the US.  But if you happen to come across a copy, read it.

Earthquake?

If you live in Waco and feel the earth shaking, don't worry.  It's not an earthquake.  It's just thousands and thousands of baptists rolling over in their graves because there's dancing on the Baylor campus.  And to Michael Jackson, no less!

Quote(s) of the Week

At job #1:

Daisy:  I like your earrings, Ms. Gayle!
Me:  Thank you!
Christopher:  Don't ever by cheap earrings, 'cause my sister bought cheap earrings and she got an infection in her ear.  (Short pause)  Are those cheap earrings?
Three quizzical faces turn in anticipation of my response.
Me, taking a moment to determine how I can spin the truth that they are, indeed, cheap earrings, but not wanting to admit it to 3 seven-yr-olds:  Well . . . they're from England!
Three incredulous faces turn towards each other and exclaim, almost in unison:  WOW!  Ms. Gayle is soooo cool!



At job #2:

Karli:  Ms. Deborah--wait, is it Ms. or Mrs.?
Me:  It's Ms.
Karli, a bit bewildered:  Wait.  You're not married???
Me:  Nope.
Karli, completely astonished:  Buy, WHY???  You're soooo pretty!





Moments like these remind me how much I love my jobs!

I was 10 minutes late to work this morning . . .

. . . because of this amazing interview:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

First, watch the video and then come back and let's talk about how amazing it is!








Did ya watch it? Can you believe it???
What amazing faith does that man have! He waited on the Lord, heard His voice, and went out and found the girl who was LOST in the swamp for FOUR DAYS! Not only was that man's faith strong enough to believe God would lead him to Nadia, his faith held out despite the odds -- even though dozens of professionals had been searching for four, going on five days; even though there were doubts she was even still alive; even though it took him 2 hours of searching before he heard her response to his calls. His faith didn't waiver and God used him to show the world that His sheep hear His voice and that miracles still happen today!

Hearing this story reminds me of I Corinthians 1:18 & 28:

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God . . . . God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

What's more foolish to our society today than someone claiming that God told him where to go? And what's more weak than one man on his own accomplishing what dozens and dozens of others were incapable of?

All things really are possible through Christ.

Night Night . . .

Ok, I need sleep. I'd love to stay up reading all night, but I'm fading fast. I'll keep reading until I drift off to sleep, but I just wanted to post an official end of read-a-thon post 'cause I'll prob fall asleep soon!

I'll report back tomorrow with what I read these final hours and how much total reading I got done. Although it wasn't as much as I would've liked, it was definitely more than I would have otherwise read. So that's an accomplishment, eh?

Good night, all. Happy reading to those of you still going at it -- y'all are rockstars!

FINALLY!!!

Good grief, can't believe that took nearly all day!!! But I definitely have the sense of accomplishment I always feel when I finish a book.

I began reading Lewis Carroll's tales of Alice's adventures over six months ago and picked it up here and there from time to time. The main reason I decided to finally read it is because it's probably the only major work of literature the bf had read and I had not. To be honest, I was not too concerned with reading it before because the Disney movie kind of freaked me out when I was a kid! So, no way was I going to willing read that thing!!! And the reason I was dragging my feet with finishing it is because after reading my friend Amy's tumblr post I realized Carroll just may have possibly had pedo tendencies! So every reference to Carroll's fondness for children, esp little girls, made me cringe. And how are people not more freaked out that he wrote these stories because of his obsession with a 7-year-old he was not directly related to?? And how do all these parents let their children go off with him and allow him to photograph them??? I don't know . . . perhaps the world was a different place back then . . .

Anywho, I did enjoy all the banter towards the end of the book. For example,

Here the Red Queen began again, Can you answer useful questions?" she said. "How is bread made?"

I know that!" Alice cried eagerly. "You take some flour--"

"Where do you pick the flower?" the White Queen asked. In a garden or in the hedges?"

"Well, it isn't picked at all," Alice explained: "it's ground--"

"How many acres of ground?" said the White Queen. "You mustn't leave out so many things."

Poor Alice!

Ok, onward I go. I need a break from the children's literature . . . I'm thinking I'll read a bit of Your Jesus Is Too Safe by Jared C. Wilson. I bought it back in July and have been picking at ever since (minus the 3 months I was out of the country, that is). I prob won't finish it tonight 'cause I need time to digest nonfiction. But I'll let you know how it goes!

Break #2

I braved the pollen and ventured outside in the sun to read a bit.

My snack of choice for this round:

Yup, water and left over Easter malt eggs! Yum!!!

I was only out there about an hour and 15 min and managed to read 30 pages. I would've kept on reading but it's time to Skype w/ the bf (he doesn't have a comp, so our online "dates" are far and few between). I'll hit the books again as soon as we finish, and I'm thinking I can totally stay up later than midnight reading -- at least til 2 if not later. Late at night is when I get most of my reading done anyway, so I should knock a lot of pages out in the wee small hours of the morning.

Ok, I'll update when I'm back at it! Thanks so much for all the encouragement so far!!!

******

Update: 8:35 p.m.

Holy cow! How the heck is it already so late???? We experienced some technical difficulties, so I just now finished my Skype date and am ready to dive back in. I have the popcorn and Pepsi One ready to get me through this next leg, so here it goes!

Break #1

I've been "reading" for about 2 hours, although I use that term lightly seeing as how I had many distractions and interruptions the first hour (phone calls, noisy yard work outside, an uncooperative camera, a daydreaming mind, etc). So I only got about 45 pages read and have about 60 more to go before finishing Through The Looking Glass.

It's not a difficult read, but I keep flipping back and forth from the text to the notes in the back, back to the text and then to the beginning diagram of the chessboard (which makes NO sense to me since I'm NOT a chess person) and back to the text. Stupid editor's notes and stupid English major habits that make it feel like it's a sin not to read the editor's notes! Thankfully, I still have some cherry limeade left to keep me going, even though all the crushed ice has sadly melted away . . .

Ok, off to check a few blogs and harvest my grapes on Farmville (yeah, I'm addicted to that as well!). I'll get back to reading soon . . .

Update: 4:10 p.m.

Well, I started reading again at 3:40, but then my grandma called 5 min later, so now I'm just barely getting back to it! Yikes! I was hoping to be on book #2 by now! Oh well, I guess that's life, eh?

Update: 4:15 p.m.

OK, as soon as I clicked Publish Post the house alarm low-battery indicator started going off and I had to run down to turn it off. Seriously? Am I ever going to finish this book??? Lol!

Ready . . . Set . . . GO!!!

Ok, just got home from work and am finishing lunch while I jump into Through The Looking Glass. I'll see ya in a few hours . . .

Let's Get Reading!

HELLO OUT THERE!

So, I finally decided to brush off the dust and clean up the cobwebs of my blog and figured participating in this read-a-thon is just the thing to help me do it! This way, I'm forced to update, if just for 24 hours.

I only just found out about the event through a link my virtual friend Leann posted on FB. I clicked over and decided I'd like to participate in the festivities, and 24 hours later, here I am! I have no game plan (i.e. what hours I'll be reading, how many breaks I'll take, what snacks I'll consume, etc), and I have no strategy for reading. I don't even know how many hours of the 24 I'll actually be participating in! All I know is that I spend waaaayyyyyy too much time on FB or watching TV during my down time and far too little time reading. Hopefully this will steer me back to reading a bit more than I have been.

So, without further ado, here's my stack of books:



From top to bottom:
*Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll

*A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'engle

*Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

*The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner

*Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

*Your Jesus Is Too Safe by Jared Wilson

*Dollar Store Crossword and Sudoku puzzles for breaks

*Blink Of An Eye by Ted Dekker

Not photographed is my Bible, which I'll read a little of as well. And I have other books that may replace some of the ones listed above. I've read Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, which is half of the above book, but haven't finished Through The Looking Glass. I'm fairly confident I'll finish that one at least. Not sure about the others . . .

No, I won't read ALL of these books, but I know how I am and if I get bored of one book I wanted to have plenty of options of what to read next.

I work from 9:30-11:30, so won't be able to start seriously reading til after noon, central time. I'll update regularly and be sure to keep track of just how long I read and how many pages. I'll also post about the individual books I'm reading and perhaps include fav quotes . . . or not . . . it depends how the day shapes up! I have tentative plans to meet up with some friends at Miller Outdoor Theatre to see Cats, but that hasn't been confirmed. If so, then I'll only be reading 'til 6:30. If not, I hope to keep it up 'til midnight at least.

Alrighty then, guess it's time to get ready for tomorrow! Hope to see ya then!

Still Waiting

Exactly two months ago I mentioned that I was trying to apply for teaching positions in the UK and also for a separate visitor's visa to go back for a short visit before the start of the school year. Well, I'm STILL waiting to hear about the visitor's visa!

I completed my application online at the end of June but didn't have my appointment for my photograph and fingerprints until early July. Then when my application arrived at the British Consulate they had it over a week before they opened it. I got an email at that point, saying that if everything was in order they could make a decision within 24 hrs. Of course that was on a Friday afternoon, so I wouldn't know anything 'til Monday afternoon. Surprisingly, they emailed me Monday afternoon -- NOT saying I was granted the visa as I hoped, but saying they would need 15 more days to process my request and make further inquiries!

Good grief! What do they think I'm trying to do???

Because I'm having such a hard time getting a VISITOR'S visa, I figured there's no way they'll grant me a work permit! So I've had to shelf that plan for the time being. Something else is in the works, tho. But I don't know if it will happen for sure, so I won't say anything just yet.

In the meantime I plan to still wait for word on my visa and to start the school year substitute teaching. I'm not going to commit to a full-time position just yet, in case what I'm looking into/thinking about doing happens.

So, I've had a wonderful summer of waiting and exercising patience! And I can't believe it's nearly AUGUST! Some of my poor friends and former coworkers at my old school already go back to work on Monday. So glad I got outta that place when and how I did!

The Laws of Primogeniture

A conversation I had the other day reminded me of this poem by Linda Pastan. I don't have a deep knowledge of modern poets and poetry, but I really love her work. I think because she came to Baylor my senior year for our annual poetry festival and I attended her poetry reading. No one can bring life to a poem like the one who wrote it. So I hear her voice in my head when I read this poem, which makes it more meaningful . . .

The Laws of Primogeniture

My grandson has my father's mouth
with its salty sayings
and my grandfather's crooked ear
that heard the soldiers coming.

He has the pale eyes of the Cossack
who saw my great-great-grandmother
in the woods, then wouldn't stop
looking.

And see him now, pushing
his bright red fire truck towards
a future he thinks he's inventing
all by himself.

Seoul Check

Go check out my friend Elaine's new blog. She and her husband just moved to Seoul, South Korea -- he's in the army and she's teaching English. She's mostly blogging to keep her family and friends up to date, and she has some cool photos up of the city.

Any idea what this is???

I'll give you one hint:



I plan to send it to Locks of Love tomorrow, something I've always wanted to do! Hopefully it will be made into something beautiful for someone and become their crowning glory, as it was mine.





(((Sorry about the sideways photo, folks. I uploaded it straight from the memory card and am too lazy to put it into a program just so I can flip it once)))

It's an enigma

I love grapefruit, but I hate grapefruit juice (from a can or bottle...never tried it fresh, tho).

I love plums, but I hate prunes.

Similarly, I love grapes, but don't care for raisins (I'll eat them, but mostly I'm "eh" about 'em).

I'm afraid of heights, but I really want to go sky diving some day.

Ok, that's all I can think of right now. I'll add more later, I'm sure. Or not. Who knows.

His life is a constant dilemma: in Australia he feels Greek; in Greece he feels Australian.
"It's a bittersweet thing, knowing two cultures." Sighing, he stares at the glittering turquoise cradling the coast, thinking of his kids at the opposite end of the earth.
"It's a curse to love two countries." The man smiles wryly at his own melodramatic words. But there is sadness in his eyes.

~from Almost French by Sarah Turnbull

My sentiments EXACTLY!

As a full-time employee I used to dream of having abundant spare time, imagining all the ways I could fill it. But now that it's limitless, it doesn't feel like freedom. More like I'm free falling. Some days the sensation is exhilarating and the hours hang before me like opportunities. But mostly I'm praying for the parachute to open, the moment when my feet will plant firmly on the ground.

~from Almost French by Sarah Turnbull