Flashback: Fall 1999

That ringing! Isn't somebody going to answer the phone? I guess that leaves it up to me to answer it.

Up from my desk, out the dorm room door, down the long coridoor to the hall phone. The whole time I wonder to myself why doesn't this school upgrade and put phones in each of the student's rooms. Honestly, two hall phones for twenty girls, the math doesn't add up favorably.

In the past, one of the nineteen other girls would have raced to the phone, and saved me from the long walk to the phone. I'm never expected to have to answer the phone, my room happens to be the furthest from the phones.

It's strange this evening that the hall is so quiet, and of all people I must answer this phone that hasn't stopped ringing. Whoever is on the other line is quite persistant.

I pick up the phone, "Hello."

"Jen is that you?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"Laura."

"Laura?"

"Yes, there has been an accident."

"An accident? Is that the noise I hear?"

"Yes, there has been a bad accident. The van rolled and Maria and Russ are hurt bad."

"The van? The fifteen-passanger van?"

"Yes, it rolled and people are hurt bad."

"Maria and Russ are hurt and there are others who are hurt?"

"Yes, there are others hurt. I'm the only one that's not."

"What do you need Laura? What can I do?"

"You need to tell someone who is in charge at the school that the van was in an accident."

"Where are you at Laura?"

"We don't know. We were lost and trying to find our way back at the time of the accident."

"So you don't have any idea where you might be."

"No. Hurry though, Maria and Russ are hurt bad."

"Okay, Laura. I'll do my best to get you help. Can you stay on the line."

"No, the batttery on the cell phone is almost dead."

"Don't worry Laura I'll get you all help."

"Okay, Jen. I'll stay on the phone as long as I can, please hurry."

"I'll be back, hold on."

The earlier walk down the hall now was a run going back the way I came, taking just enough time to realize that I truly was the only one on the hall. Down the stairs I go, hoping that I have better luck finding someone on another hall. No one on the other girl's hall, this isn't looking good.

All that's left is to search the two boy's halls, even though it's not open hours. Using good judgement I'm sure this is an acceptable exception to the open hours rule. Good judgeme;nt pays off someone hears my call for help and comes out of their door. There is an instant relief of shared burden. The burden still remains though, our friends are in trouble, they need action.

My newly found rescuer knows the home number to the College President, isn't that convenient? He makes the call while I make my way back to phone I left Laura waiting on. She's gone now, her phone must have died. This is unfortunate since we still don't know where the accident took place.

The College President is now alerted to the situation, he will find these accident victims. Me and one other are small in number and the burden of care and sadness is great. Now is a time for prayer. Our prayers are for the safety of those injured, soon other students join us in prayer and our petitions increase. The story begins to circulate and even more students join in the prayer, and then the singing beings.

It's the first time I remember hearing the hymn "Healer of Our Every Ill." It's very appropriate considering the circumstances.

Later in the evening the offical word comes in, the students involved in the accident have been found. Miracously, they were found by EMT's that were holding a convention in a hotel just up the road. Each student had their very own ambulance to travel in while they were taken to a nearby hospital.

The College President was able to find them by calling around to local hospitals. School officials immediately drove out to be with the admitted students. Within time each student is released with the exception of three critically injured students. Reige will need plastic surgery to help the mess that is now his face. Russ has received a spinal injury he will walk again, but hockey is no longer an option for this star athlete. Maria has broken her spine and will never walk again.

Laura is the first released from the hospital and returned to the school. It is very late now and she immediately goes to bed. Laura is my roommate, I want to help her, but realize sleep is for the best at this time.

The next morning breakfast is about to end. Laura is still not up and I don't want to wake her. I go down to the cafeteria, maybe they'll make another exception and let me take a plate of food up to our room. This is definitely a time for exceptions, and they heap a large breakfast plate for Laura with my promise to return it. Laura is awake when I return and grateful for the food.

The College President has scheduled a special service this morning. There are no classes today, and every student comes out to give thanks to God for the lives He's saved. Laura is sitting next to me and I'm thankful that she's still alived and unharmed. I praise God for the blessing of His protection. I question though, God, why are Maria, Reige and Russ harmed so? Is it okay to question God's judgement? I don't have the answers, but rely on a faith that passes understanding. For it's in God that my peace comes from.

http://rockhay.tripod.com/worship/music/healer.htm

Feed a Cold...Starve a Fever...

I'm at home today in recovery...I'm told rest and fluids are what I need. Hmmm...you ask...what is her malady?

Well, my friends I have been diagnosed with good ol' tonsillitis. Unfortunately I've been through this before, and know the routine.

My symptoms started Tuesday evening, but I had other things going on and I sort of ignored how I felt. Then on Wednesday I thought it was a head cold that I had, and it was the congestion that was making me miserable. By Thursday I went to work so miserable I wanted to curl up in a ball and make everyone leave me alone. Eventually, my boss just told me to go home (with only two hours left in the work day). I went instead to the IHC (Intermountain Health Care) where the Doctor told me I had tonsillitis and gave me a prescription for an antibiotic (not pencillin).

I learned the last time I had tonsillitis that I have an allergy to pencillin. I had tonsillitis so severe that they were giving me pencillin shots each day for three days, plus making me take these monster pencillin pills. After a week on the pencillin I was starting to feel better from the tonsillitis only to break out in hives. I spent the next week taking baking soda baths for the hives and spreading that pink stuff over me to help with the itching. This really wasn't the most pleasant time in my life, but my parents helped take care of me like real troopers.

This time I'm all the way out in Utah and feeling miserable all by myself. It's okay though I've learned a few tricks about dealing with tonsillitis. For starters Children's Liquid Motrin is a miracle drug. Since it's already in the liquid form it hits your blood stream faster and gets to work numbing all the pain in the throat...BLESS this precious liquid. You wait a half hour after taking the Motrin and you can eat (soft foods of course) and talk (though I'm still not sure you could hear me) with hardly any pain. The Motrin in addition to the antibiotics is helping to speed along my recovery.

For all of you who are ignorant as to tonsillitis I found this helpful site for you:

http://www.faqs.org/health/Sick-V4/Tonsillitis.html

Marriage in Utah...

Okay, so I share with my family and friends from time to time that there seems to be a not so subtle pressure to date and marry young out here in Utah. I'm sure that most of you take me for my word on this subject, yet I still feel that you need further convincing.

Today I was online looking up tidbits on the history of Utah. I happened to stumble across the following site:

http://www.utahmarriage.org/

Yeppers, it's a site dedicated to dating and marriage. All I have to say, "Only in Utah." :-)

The History of Where I Live...

MURRAY CITY

Murray City, originally known as South Cottonwood, lies eight miles south of Salt Lake City between Big and Little Cottonwood Creeks. It is named for Eli Murray, territorial governor from 1880 to 1886. Although first settled in 1849, Murray was not incorporated until 1902. Its central valley location and plentiful water have allowed Murray to evolve from an agricultural to industrial to suburban community.

Murray was settled as part of the initial expansion south of Salt Lake City. Early residents in the area divided the grasslands south of Salt Lake into homesteads or parcels where they raised cattle and cereal grains. Most of the cattle provided dairy products, while wheat, corn, and some rye were grown to feed the family and animals.

Construction of the Woodhill Brothers' smelter in 1869 initiated Murray's industrial history. Murray produced the first silver bars smelted in Utah in 1870. The smelters continued to dominate the local economy until the close of the ASARCO lead smelter in 1950. Business and commercial enterprise prospered along with the smelter industry. Murray was praised as a shining example of cooperation between business, industry, and government early in the twentieth century; it was hailed for its own water plant, lighting system, smelter, canning factory, flour mills, and brickyards.

Murray's industry was hard hit by the 1930s depression. The smelters began to close in 1931, and major industry had all but vanished by 1940. Murray was quick to take advantage of various federal projects to compensate for this economic loss. The city actively sought federal money to refurbish its twenty-two-acre park and buildings and to purchase an additional twelve acres of fairgrounds. By 1939 Murray was the site of the annual Salt Lake County Fair.

Even though the smelters, brickyards, and flour mills that fueled Murray's industrial economy either closed or moved between 1930 and 1950, its central location makes Murray an ideal bedroom community and area of small businesses and service industries. The present population (31,282 in 1990) is employed in office, service, and industrial jobs throughout Salt Lake Valley. From 1950 to the present, Murray's population has continued to expand and prosper.

See: Murray City Corporation, History of Murray City (1976); Raymond R. Rasmussen, History of Murray, State of Utah (1936).
David L. Schirer

Cuties and Tractors...

Okay, so you're probably wondering, who's this little cutie? Well, my friends (especially any young ladies between the ages of 16-20), this adorable tyke is my little brother when he was just a tad over a year in age. He's since matured into an outgoing young man at the age of 19, who still loves Fords.

As you can see from this photo we indoctinated those in our family to the Ford brand at a very young age. There's nothing wrong with that.

Anyway, blue is such a nice color for a tractor, and the New Holland red equally stands out. Nobody needs their tractors blending in with the crops...sheesh...who thought of green for a tractor anyway :-)

Songs of Praise...

Michael W. Smith - Prince Of Peace (You Are Holy) Lyrics

You are holy (You are holy)
You are mighty (You are mighty)
You are worthy (You are worthy)
Worthy of praise (Worthy of praise)
I will follow (I will follow)
I will listen (I will listen)
I will love You (I will love you)
All of my days (All of my days)
I will sing to (You are Lord of Lords)
And worship (You are King of kings)
The King who (You are mighty God)
Is worthy (Lord of everything)
I will love and (You're Emannuel)
Adore You (You're the Great I am)
And I will bow down (You're my Prince of peace)
before You (Who is the Lamb)
I will sing to (You're my living God)
And worship (You're my saving grace)
The King who (You will reign forever)
Is worthy (You are ancient of days)
I will love and (You are alpha, omega)
Adore You (beginning and end)
And I will bow down (You're my Savior, Messiah)
Before You (Redeemer and friend)
You're my Prince of Peace
And I will live my life for You

Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter,
you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
you will again bring me up.
You will increase my honor
and comfort me once again.
I will praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to you—
I, whom you have redeemed.

Psalm 71:20-23

http://www.insideworship.com/library/Articles/2220/1/It_Is_Well_With_My_Soul_The_Story_Of_Horatio_Spafford.aspx

I encourage you to follow the link above to learn the true story of Horatio Spafford, a man who turned to God in praise during the worst of his life.

Comments Made...

At the end of each one of my entries there is a link that you are able to click if you're interested in leaving comments. For awhile most of the comments being made were spam and not at all interesting. Then a kind friend of mine, thanks Brendan, shared with me how word verification cuts down on the spam placed on blog sites. Since that time I haven't received a single spam comment, VERY nice.

Yesterday, there were two comments left, two genuine comments. (By the way I know when the comments are left because I receive them to my email account). The first one was made under the entry, "Almost too Many to Count..." written about a family with twenty-two children born into it. Here is the comment:

Guess Who said...
22 doesn't sound like too many to me! ;)

Well, "Guess Who" I'm taking you up on your offer, and my guess is that you're Stephanie Layman. Now, if I'm wrong the correct party better identify themselves. For if one of my friends other than Stephanie is considering having that many I need to know about it...muy pronto.

The other comment I received yesterday came late in the evening. I was sitting in my apartment enjoying a nice relaxing evening and catching up on the local Virginia news (yep, I get the DNR sent to me in Utah). When I suddenly heard a noise from my computer in the next room. It was a particular sound that I recognized, it was the you just received an email sound (I get a giddy pleasure from that sound). Being of the curious nature that I am, I went immediately to see who sent me an email. And there was my other comment for the day. It had been made under the entry, "Reasons You Might Need a Candle..." Here is the comment that was made:

Anonymous said...
"Thy Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalms 119:105) - Just think; as that tiny candle was light to you in the blackout, Jesus is light enough to penetrate the blackest darkness. "..in Him there is no darkness at ALL". (1 John 1:5) The magnitude of that thought always blows me away.

Whoever made this comment, and this time I have no guesses as to their identity, really spoke to my heart. There is a distinct irony in these scriptures and where I was at the time. I was in fact sitting in a dark room with only the light from the computer screen and one single bright candle shining.

Sitting there I watched the small flame of the candle shine out bringing light to the room and I reflected on Jesus' light to the world. That single candle brought just enough light into the room that I could see my way in the darkness, but it didn't dispel the darkness entirely. That's what is so wonderful about Jesus, He dispels ALL the darkness and brings light into our lives, for he is the light. As my anonymous friend has shared from the book of 1 John "...in Him there is no darkness at all."

Photosite...

Since my last entry that included a link to my new photosite, I've been working diligently to improve the site.

Because of my work I actually have a new site address to give you:

http://www.jheatwole.photosite.com

This link will put you in touch with several labeled albums, so now there is a little more order to the chaos.

I've also learned that unless I want to upgrade (pay money) I only have so much room to hold photos. This means I'll be interchanging photos quite regularly. My recommendation to you my friends is that you add the link to your favorites and check it out atleast once a month, so you never miss a picture.

Reasons You Might Need a Candle...

I'm sitting here with a smile on my face as I reflect on the title I just gave this entry. Think about for a second and tell me what it sounds like to you. {long drawn out pause} Well, it reminds me of the game show Family Feud. Wouldn't it be fun to see how a survey of one hundred people would rank that question.

Reasons You Might Need a Candle:

1. Romantic Dinners
2. To Make a Room Smell Nice
3. For Light to See By

And #3 brings me to my point. Candles are most helpful to see with, especially during blackouts.

Each morning when I'm getting ready for work I like to light a candle in my bathroom close to the sink. The smell is pleasant to me and helps me wake up and greet the morning (which isn't always so easy for me). This morning I lit my customary candle (I think it was vanilla ice cream) and I went about getting myself ready for work. I was almost finished curling my hair when suddenly the lights went out...lucky me I had a candle lit so I wasn't in total darkness. Added blessing I was almost finished with my hair and curling irons take some time to cool down, so I had heat left to finish my work.

The blackout put me a few minutes behind schedule, but nothing serious. When I went outside my apartment I realized I wasn't the only one in the dark. Then when I drove down the road I realized the apartment complex wasn't the only place in the dark either, the whole community of Murray was. This blackout made driving to work this morning a little tricky, but a whole lot quicker since all the stoplights were out of order and I didn't have to worry over red lights.

Since coming to work I heard over the radio that they have the power up and running in Murray, that's good to hear because I would like light to work by when I arrive home tonight. All in all this blackout wasn't too traumatic for me...I give a lot of the credit to the nice smelling vanilla ice cream candle.

Random Tidbits...

So, last evening I was trying to accomplish the goal of posting an entry on this blogsite. Since there is obviously no entry dated for October 20th you probably realize that I was unsuccessful in my attempt. I should mention that the word "attempt" does not quite emphasize the effort put forth on my part, it would be better to write "attempts", as in the plural. For if it wasn't one thing last evening it was another, everything seemed to be out there trying to thwart me.

I'm not daunted though, I'm just patient, and here I am writing an entry this morning at work (not like I have anything else to do). The fiasco last evening with my blog had something to do with me trying to post photos. For some reason my blog is very incorporative when it comes to photographs. Since I'm not someone who likes to deal in problems I tend to work on solutions forthright. The solution I found last evening was creating another website that will deal completely with my photographs.

Originally, the plan was to post a couple photographs of my new apartment and be done with it. Then I started going through my old photographs and continued posting ones that had great sentimental value for me. The thing about this new website is that the photographs are out of order and they don't have captions, so I'm sure to confuse plenty of people. I'm looking into how to remedy this issue, but in the meanwhile here's the new site address:

http://www.jheatwole.photosite.com/jenwinker/

So after the photo fiasco with my blog, I went on to write a very lengthy entry without the benefit of photos. I was actually quite impressed with myself for the time I put into writing this particular entry and the openness of some of my admissions. Unfortunately, when I went to spell check this literary masterpiece it completely disappeared from my screen and never materialized again. And since I don't work with problems, just in solutions, there was only one thing left for me to do, go to sleep.

Now, don't you feel privledged that I took time out of my not so busy day to explain all these circumstances to you? I'd feel special if I were you ;-)

A Day in the Life of ME...

Each morning when I arrive to work I spend a part of my time checking in with various aquintances through their BLOGS. These friends keep me up to date on their daily lives and often inspire me through their words. The inspiration today was for an entry dedicated to one day in the life of ME (well atleast a working day). The friend who inspired me to this feet wrote about his work day only because he has actual work to do at his job site. I'm writing this entry because I have little to no work to do at my job site (and wanted you all to know about it).

I arrived at the office at a minute or two before 8:00 a.m. only to realize that I'm the first one there. Since I work for a secured transport company I can't enter the building by myself (I choose to remain unarmed and can only enter the building with an armed escort). I carry a book with me for the express purpose of killing time in my car each morning, so I pulled my book out and read a chapter and a half before Melissa (office manager) arrived to let me in. Melissa unlocked my office door and then went on to unlock her own and make herself comfortable with a pillow between her head and the desk.

Being that I only have one item that must be done each and every day I tend to want to accomplish that first and get it out of the way. I sat down at my computer brought up the driver's money withdrawls and credited their accounts. This took approximately five minutes of my time and now my work for the day was done. The question that always comes next, "Now What?"

I move on to check my email (which of course is mostly junk mail). This takes up a few extra minutes of my day, the time it takes to delete the junk mail and then to respond to my friends emails. At this point I move on to reading the Blogs. There are certain days that checking up on the Blogs is a disappointment, those are the days when not one of them have posted an entry. Today was not one of those days. After reading the new entries I am thus inspired to write my own entry reflecting on one day in the life of ME.

At this time I move on to begin my entry, but am interuppted by Melissa coming back into my office to ask me what I would like to drink since Chad (the manager) is at the store and buying us breakfast. I reply that an apple juice would be nice and continue with my Blog.

Fifteen minutes later Chad is finally arriving at the office over an hour late. He comes in carrying a huge box of donuts for the three of us and drinks all around. The apple juice I had requested mistakenly became apple cider (no real complaints there). Instead of a normal size serving Chad found it amusing to buy me a 64oz container of the stuff (he was laughing at my expression when he handed it to me). Again I have no problem with the serving size, it just means I'll have apple cider to take home with me at the end of the day.

Melissa goes back to her office and her pillow, this time carrying two donuts and her chocolate milk with her. Chad sits down at the desk across from me and begins his day eating donuts drinking his chocolate milk and checking his email. Chad often receives joke emails, which he enjoys sharing with me (though I don't always enjoy listening). The email of the day today was "How Women Shower/How Men Shower." It wasn't really as funny as Chad thought it was, but I listened with a slight smile on my face.

At some point Chad receives a call from one of our drivers (each over the road driver must check into the office twice a day). This driver had a joke that he thought was funny enough to repeat to Chad, and then Chad thought it was funny enough to share with me...I was NOT amused. It went:

Driver: "I saved a woman from being raped. You should have seen her she was in a bikini top and biker's shorts."
Chad: "How did you save her?"
Driver: "I stayed in the truck."

SICK...SICK...SICK...SICK...SICK....SICK

So it was back to working on my Blog after that. I'm pretty consistently being able to work on my Blog with the occasional interruption of a phone call or a paper clip attack from Chad. Phone calls mean me answering the phone and then transferring it to either Chad or Melissa. I rarely have to stay on the phone other than the times when the drivers call and want to talk with me, and all they ever have to talk about is the typical shooting the breeze kind of conversation. The paper clip attacks like the one I just experienced come in random moments when Chad is bored and wants to surprise me.

I just received a phone call on my cell. It was the washer and dryer delivery man that was scheduled to bring my rental units to my new apartment today. He was wanting to know why I wasn't answering my door to let him in. UGH!!! This is aggravating since I spoke with the rental company yesterday and they assured me I could leave a check with the apartment leasing office and that the apartment manager could let them into the apartment with my permission. I went to all the trouble of leaving permission and a check with the apartment manager only to find out today that I needed to sign a written contract and be at my apartment when they delivered. The whole situation is a little frustrating, but instead of letting my irratation get the better of me with the delivery guy I was as nice as I could be and worked towards a solution.

The solution came with me taking time off from work next Tuesday afternoon to see to the delivery of the washer and dryer since I already have to be at home for another delivery that is scheduled to come at that time. I see what next Tuesday is like already, both companies are going to come at the same time and they'll be in each other's way and I'll just look on all innocent like. It's not like I didn't try to schedule different delivery days.

Chad has been on the phone with corporate office and now he wants someone to vent and it looks like I'm the lucky one. I don't really like it when Chad vents, his voice raises and he starts yelling like I can do something about it. I don't like it when people yell at me (though in this case it's indirect) I feel as if people can very reasonably express their opinions in a calm and rational tone.

I've noticed in my weeks here that there are certain unique personalities present in this office. First off is Chad the manager, he typically has three moods. There is angry (which is much yelling), goof off (which means teasing and paper clip throwing) and then there is serious (these are the few moments when he is actually accomplishing work).

Next is Melissa. She is the office manager here and the one I'll be taking over for when she goes on maternity leave. Each morning she comes into the office and immediately commences to her nap with a pillow on her desk. This I can understand seeing as she is seven months pregnant and is suffering horribly from morning sickness. It's not like she has any work to do anyways since I was brought on to do her job, and I'm now fully trained.

Melissa spends her afternoons working through her insurance problems and ordering baby things for the nursery. In fact, a delivery of very cute baby items arrived at the office yesterday. She is having a boy and has decided on a avaitor theme for the room. The room will be full of cute little airplanes all in shades of blue and red. It's actually quite adorable.

Miguel is also in the office occassionally. He is one of the drivers, but mostly does local loads and that gives him time to come into the office to help (though what there is for him to do is a mystery). He is an interesting little man, who speaks english as a second language. Sometimes I have such trouble understanding his english that I just want him to try saying it in spanish and maybe I could understand what he was saying.

Most of the ofter employees are over the road and are rarely in the office. I've met a couple of them, but for the most part my interaction with them is limited to our phone conversations. There are some definite characters in the group and they make my days interesting.

It's now approaching lunch time. This means that the office will order lunch (free lunch everyday) and then procede to the backroom to eat and watch tv. Personally I prefer silence over the tv shows Chad likes to watch, he enjoys the judge shows. Oh, how I hate day time tv!!! I'm of the opinion that these shows bred ignorance and laziness.

The watching of tv manages to occupy atleast two to three hours of our day. This is sad when you do the math on this, I spend ten to fifteen work hours a week watching tv. These are ten to fifteen paid hours, that I sit watching the judge shows. As you tell I don't find this job the most personally fulfilling work I've ever done. The ironic thing is that there are many persons out there who would love this lazy job that I have and that I don't really like.

I should take that last statement back. I like my job for the most part, my co-workers are fun to work with, and the work (when there is some) is enjoyable. It's just not a personally fulfilling job. I don't go home at the end of the day feeling as if I've accomplished something today.

Lunch today is cajun chicken pasta and a cup of chicken encha soup from Chili's.

====================================

The rest of the afternoon went in much the same manner as the morning, and what I had predicted about watching tv for two to three hours.

When I wasn't watching tv that afternoon I was taking care of personal phone calls. It seems that I had stuff to talk over with my Mom. My cousin Jake is bringing some of my belongings out to Utah for me, my Mom wanted me to know how he had packed the stuff into his vehicle. From what my Mom was saying I believe he used a stick to stuff some of my books into a secret compartment...hmmm?? INTRIGUING.

Five o'clock did not come soon enough, but it came. Now it is the weekend and I have two very productive days to make up for a week of "work".

Almost Too Many To Count...

This past Sunday I had the pleasure of meeting Jenny, a very dear woman in her 80's. Jenny is confined to a wheelchair now, but talking with her you soon realize just how much life she really has. She exudes energy, and after hearing some of her life story I can see why God gave one person that much extra energy. In her life Jenny has given birth to 22 children. She went on to tell me that only 14 of her children survived to adulthood. The only thought in my head at that point was, "Is it physically possible to have 22 children?"

After doing some math I conclude that it is not only physically possible but it also means that Jenny spent 16.5 years of her life pregnant. She was quite literally pregnant for that long since none of the children were twins or triplets. Jenny was also married to the same man for all those years and they loved their rather large family. I'm happy that the Lord choose to bless them in that way, but I believe I'll stick with the average 2.5, there's nothing wrong with being average :-)

On another note I found this article online today. I have heard of this family before and I'm glad to see that Mother and baby are all right. It looks like they are well on their way to matching Jenny's numbers.

http://people.aol.com/people/articles/0,19736,1116975,00.html

Like a Little Child...

"He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18: 2-4

http://abcnews.go.com/US/print?id=1205446

From the Photo Gallery...

Further proof that I've always had style. As you can see my sister tries to immulate, but it takes more than just a cute pair of shades. Naw...my sister is stylish she just needed a little more help from me over the years (take the joke Lora).





Okay, this photo was definitely taken in the 80's. I guess it's the clothes that give us away (if only you could see what my shirt says).

I also blame my complete love for chocolate on my parent's who took our family to Hershey Park TWICE for family vacations. Our family also went to the Atlantic Ocean on two separate vacations, which explains my love for seafood.

More photos to come in later installments.

Nerd...Geek...or Dork?

Take the test now...are you a Nerd, Geek or Dork?

http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=9935030990046738815

My Test Results:

Joe Normal
47 % Nerd, 17% Geek, 8% Dork
For The Record:
A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored less than half in all three, earning you the title of: Joe Normal.
This is not to say that you don't have some Nerd, Geek or Dork inside of you--we all do, and you can see the percentages you have right above. This is just to say that none of those qualities stand out so much as to define you. Sure, you enjoy an episode of Star Trek now and again, and yeah, you kinda enjoyed a few classes back in the day. And, once in a while, you stumble while walking down the street even though there was nothing there to cause you to trip. But, for the most part, you look and act fairly typically, and aren't much of an outcast. I'd say there's a fair chance someone asked you to take this test. In any event, fairly normal. Congratulations!

Expanding my Blogger Horizons...

I'd like to to thank www.bloggerandme.blogspot.com for this quote that made me smile:

"There is a fine line between sanity and insanity: I am just trying to stay on the side that has the refrigerator."

Lately, I've been trying to spend more time reading others opinions on life and stuff and less on writing my own observations of the same. Maybe I'll actually learn something this way.

The Good Ol' Days...

As you can tell from this photo I've always had style.