Road trip

Today my mom and I made our annual trek to Bronner's. Bronner's is the World's Largest Christmas Store, and if you aren't in the mood for Christmas when you arrive, you certainly will be when you leave. Either that, or I am biased since Christmas is my favorite holiday. I could spend hours in that store! They have the most incredible Christmas trees I have ever seen. I womder if the employees ever get sick of Christmas?

We also stopped at Birch Run, and I found a few little gems at Pottery Barn Outlet, and AMercian Eagle. Outlet malls are a work of genius!

Overall, a very good day. I was a little sad because I haven't been feeling well the past couple days (just exhausted) and I thought I may be pregnant. Uuhh..no such luck. I'm trying to remain positive.

Words

I've been thinking a lot about the power of words. Words that come out of your mouth can affect someone else whether you meant them to or not. But how often do we censor what we say? I think that we've grown accustomed to speaking our minds, regardless of how that makes others feel.

I've seen a lot of that this past weekend at work. Since I am in retail, I am in the business of customer service. I am not, however, in the business of being a customer's verbal punching bag. Yet, so often, customers think they can talk to me or my associates however they feel, like it's their God given right to be rude. Now, no one was nasty to me this weekend, but they were to my co-workers. And frankly, it's disgusting. So often, customers come in with the "ME" mentality. What are you going to do for me? How can you give me what I want? When they don't get what they want, out comes the words of ridcule and hate. You wouldn't believe the things people say when they don't get their way!

Although I work full-time (and it seems I live at work!), I know that the power of words have impact on my life outside of work as well. I think a lot about the things that I have said to people I love that came from a place of anger, dissapointment, or frustration. And I realize then, that I am no better than those customers making a scene in my store.

Even though I am venting about the words we say, what about the words we don't say? I cannot even begin to count the number of moments when I chose to be silent when I should have spoken up. Those are moments I can't get back. Is someone I love wondering how I feel? Could someone in my life have benefitted from words of encouragement?

I guess I'm just wishing that I could always think before I speak, and that other people could also. I am hoping that the right words never fail me, and that I won't be silent when my voice needs to be heard.

You're on my mind

This week has been pretty uneventful, and I am thankful for that.

Nevertheless, it seems that a lot of people are going through some hard stuff in their lives. I wish I had the words to bring comfort, or impart some words of wisdom, but I think I would fall short. I really feel for everyone that is facing something difficult right now.

So all I can offer are some prayers..

I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving kindness.
I will build you up again
and you will be rebuilt..---Jeremiah 31:4

The Hills

The Hills is one of my guilty tv pleasures. I cannot in any way relate to this show, but I can't stop watching it either! Everytime I watch it, these thoughts come to mind: These people will never have to have a "real" job for the rest of their lives, they have more money right now than I make in a year, they never seem to have a bad hair day.

And for those of you who do watch, don't you just want to drop kick Spencer? He is such a tool.

Faithful Friday

My thoughts on prayer have changed significantly over the past year or so. I recall praying as child more out of fear than anything else. My prayers always seemed to take on a solemn tone, and I remember thinking that God wanted me to be very serious when praying to him. I think I held onto that way of thinking even into my early twenties.

I'm not sure exactly when things changed for me, but about a year or so ago, I changed the way I pray. While I think that prayers can be solemn, I don't think that they always have to be. I began having "conversations" with God, like he was my long lost best friend (maybe he is!). Praying this way has changed my spiritual life! I actually look forward to my time spent in prayer versus thinking of it as an obligation.

Enter "Girl Talk, God Talk" by Sally Miller. This book is one that has helped me widen my views on prayer, and I wanted to take some time to share it with you. Here's just a small peice of the book!

"Prayer is not about a coerced conversation with God or a required spiritual motion. It's about embracing life with Christ...It's about celebrating Christ's birth and life. Rejoicing in our relationship with Him, talking to Him from a place of desire, devotion, excitement and contentment.
It's about painting, singing, dancing, even breathing our prayers. It's about feeling God's touch in the breeze, hearing his laughter in the wind. Prayer is receiving His grace in a note from a friend or a book from the Bible. It's about talking to God with joy and meaning and a light heart.
AS we begin to pray because we want to, not because we ought to, we realize that our most joy-filled prayer experiences are just tiny foretastes of the communion we'll have with God in heaven."

Mike

I woke up today and for some reason, I was missing my hubby Mike. A lot. The strange thing is, it's not like he is out of town or anything. But I couldn't stop this feeling in my heart that I was missing him like crazy. Maybe this is why...

*He makes me laugh.
*He is way hot!
*He's not afraid to be goofy.
*He's always the strong one (even though he doesn't have to be).
*He can read me--he knows something is wrong without me saying a word.
*He does things even when he really doesn't want to.
*He wrestles and plays with the dog.
*He kisses me goodbye in the morning, even when I'm still half-asleep in bed.
*He doesn't care that our DVR is filled with "my" stuff.
*He's going to be a great dad someday.
*He just gets me.

Mike is the love of my life.........

On my way to grab lunch today, my attention was diverted by this new store that had recently opened. AERIE--by American Eagle. If you haven't been to one of these stores, it specializes in "comfy clothes", like camis, sweatpants, sweatshirts, t-shirts, and undies. Well, this was right up my little alley.

The pictures are of what I purchased today. I am now avoiding the store like the plague so I won't be tempted to shop!

I am totally drained from my last day of Jury Duty. It was probably the hardest day because we had to deliver our verdict today. It was heart-wrenching.

Since the case is over, I am finally able to share some details.

The case involved a married couple who was suing a local hospital, and in particular, one nurse. 7 years ago, this couple brought their 7 week old daughter into the ER because they said she had congestion, was fussy and crying more than usual. They claimed they sat in the ER without being seen for 2.5 hours. There is no evidence as to what time they actually arrived. It was later determined that their daughter had bacterial meninigitis, and not only that, but that she had one of the rarest and most devastating forms of it. After being admitted into the hospital, doctors began treating her with general antibiotics used to treat bacterial meningitis until they could get the lab results telling them exactly what type of bacterial meninigitis it was. Shortly after finding out what type it was, they treated her with an antibiotic that works specifically for the type she had. 1/2 hour after receiving the anitbiotic, she began to have seizures followed by several strokes. She suffered severe brain damage, hearing loss, and vision loss.

She was eventually cured of the meningitis, but her brain damage was so severe that she ended up passing away at the age of 3. Her parents, obviously devastated and angry, thought they should sue the hospital because the triage nurse didn't see them until 2.5 hours after they said they arrived and that they felt this led to their daughter's terrible outcome.

I feel for these parents, and I CANNOT imagine what they have gone through. They have lost their daughter. But the sad thing is, the severity of their daughter's disease would have been the same regardless of when she was treated. The type of meningitis she had was that bad.

So even though I know we rendered the right decision by not finding the hospital negligent, I still feel unexplainably sad. I am sad for the parents who will never see their daughter grow up. I am sad that there is a million things I am sure they wish they could tell her.

I'm going to end this post with a video I saw on Without Wax. I think it speaks for itself.


'Say' Music Video from Matthew Singleton on Vimeo.

Blog Makeover!

I'm sure you have noticed that my little blog has gotten a makeover! Much love and thanks to Jaime for doing this for me. If you want your blog to have a new look, please give a shout out to Jaime over at http://www.jaimepottphotography.blogspot.com/.

Thanks again, Jaime, for the sweet new look. It's perfect for me!

Tagged Again!

I've been tagged by Jaime. www.jaimepottphotography.blogpspot.com
And forgive me for not posting the tagging rules on here!

So here goes...

1.) I love black and white photography and am interested in learning more about photography. In fact, I would love to invest in a better camera.

2.) I have lived in South Carolina, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, and now my home state of Michigan!

3.) I'm crazy about jewelry. I love silver jewelry and am always on the lookout for new and fun pieces.

4.) I am conservative politically (hmmm... I wonder who I'll be voting for?)

5.) My current favorite nail polish is OPI's Midnight in Moscow (almost black!).

6.) Love to scrapbook but hardly find the time to do it.

7.) Have known Jaime (jaimepottphotography) since we were about 3 or 4 years old!

I know that I am supposed to tag 7 people after this, but I can't do that since I don't know 7 bloggers (personally, anyway!). Ok, so I'm not a good choice for tagging. Sorry!!

Sunday

Coffee, laundry, sweatpants, Fox News, blogs, playing with the dog, snuggled in bed, breakfast...

contentment...

all is right with my world...

Mood Swing

I was in such a good mood yesterday and then today, I am so crabby. I have to work tonight and tomorrow and it's such an awesome day outside. All I want is to spend the weekend with my hubby and just relax, but that is not going to happen. And I am not too thrilled about it.

I know I have the power within myself to change my mood and try to be positive, but I really don't feel like it today. I think I just want to be crabby...

My week

Not a lot has gone on this week except for my jury duty, which has been interesting! But I have discovered some things this week--

There are a lot of cool places downtown GR! Since my jury duty is downtown, I've spent my lunch hours tooling around the city with my fellow jurors, checking out the places to eat. There are some really beautiful older buildings downtown, and a vibe that you get when you are walking around like something exciting is just around the corner. Either that, or it's the caffeine talking.

I am not as directionally challenged as I have led myself to believe. However, I've learned to trust my instincts when given directions, and I always find where I'm going! But, I can't GIVE directions to save my life.

I mentioned in my last post that I am very shy but often have to force myself to come out of my shell in social situations. I feel like I really came out of my comfort zone this week, and made 2 new friends along the way.

It has actually been nice to be away from work this week and to do something out of my normal everyday routine. So even though I didn't want jury duty to begin with, I think it has been a interesting opportunity!

Tagged

I've been tagged by my friend Jaime, so here it goes!

7 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME

1.) I am a perpetual list maker. I make lists for everything--what to buy at the grocery store, what needs to be done around the house, books I'm interested in, songs I want to download, etc. You name it, I probably make a list about it.

2.) I am pretty shy. It's hard for me to start up a conversation with people I don't know very well. Of course, in my line of work, I am often forced to, but it's something I struggle with.

3.) I want to write a book. I have some ideas, but nothing concrete yet.

4.) I love coffee! Carmel Marvels from Biggby is my coffee of choice, although I do sometimes brew my own at home.

5.) I love rainy days.

6.) I have had short hair all of my life except for when I got married. Note:long hair does NOT look good on me!

7.) I'm not that into shoes. You know how some women loooove to shoe shop? Not me--I would rather buy clothes or a really cute handbag. I think I can count on 2 hands the number of shoes I have, although Mike would argue that it seems I have more shoes since I leave them everywhere!

Jury Duty

I'm on the jury!

I must have some kind of luck...or maybe this will turn out to be a blessing? I'm not sure yet, but it's official and the trial starts Monday. I can't tell you the details or what the trial is even about until the whole thing is over, but it's probably going to go through the 14th.

As much as I have dreaded today, after hearing what the trial was about, it has made me interested to know more and to render a fair verdict. People's lives will be affected so I feel the weight of making a fair judgement.

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!!

My Civic Duty

This past spring, I was sent a letter in the mail to inform me that I was possibly going to have jury duty. All I could think was ,"Not again!". See, I had jury duty many years ago and I ended up getting on a murder trial. The victim was a young single mother walking home from work one night who was viciously raped and killed. It was hard to sit there and listen to all of the testimony and evidence (including autopsy pictures). I remember having nightmares every day while on jury duty.

So you can probably understand my lack of enthusiasm for getting another letter for jury duty. I actually deferred it as long as I could, but here it is. I know that it's my civic duty and all, and that I may have an opportunity to help get some criminal off the street, but I am NOT looking forward to this. I am secretly hoping that I won't get selected. I'll let you know how it goes...