Surprise Weekend!

What a surprise! Christie had marked on the calendar that we were going somewhere special for my birthday and that it was a surprise and a little early, but none the less - a birthday celebration. I was told to dress up and be ready to leave the house at 6:30 PM. SO when I got off work, I come home, showered, changed clothes, and out the door we went. We picked up Christie as she was working at the school, and headed downtown. Luckily the weather was cooperating as we have had some horrible snowy weather lately. We drove down 2nd ave and to my surprise was dropped off at the Melting Pot. A FAVORITE restaurant of mine.

I was really surprised as we only go here for special occasions (due to the price). I really felt special as this was "My" night out. We sat down and was waiting to be seated and then all of a sudden I see Jillian walk around the corner. Another Surprise!!!! I was totally not expecting her to come in. What an awesome birthday surprise. We sat down and had an amazing waiter take care of us for the evening. The two hour meal was incredible. Great service, great food, lots of laughter, and lots of fun. I later learned that both the girls would be gone for my real birthday and wanted to celebrate it with me when they could. I was given a beautiful crystal ring and matching earrings as my birthday gift. It was such a special evening. The next day, we spent the whole morning and afternoon working the ministry fair at church promoting our Mission of Hope mission trip back to the Philippines. It was a huge success! We received lots of support and commitments to help. After a light dinner, we headed to TPAC to watch Shrek the Musical.

It was perhaps one of the top 5 musicals that I have ever seen. We laughed and thoroughly enjoyed the evening. It was real late when we got back home and we all crashed for the evening. Jillian had to leave early in the morning to head back to Johnson City as she had to work that evening. Yes it was a surprise and an awesome one at that!

Ed's fall

Unfortunately we had a misfortune happen. With all the bad weather, it is hard to get around. I don't drive in the snow and ice, but this Friday I had to go into the office as the owner of our company was in town, and there were several board room conferences planned for the day. Ed had told me that he would take me to work as he know that I was afraid to drive. After dropping me off, he stopped by our cousins place of work to pick something up and when he walked back to the car, he slipped on the ice and landed on his back and hit is head. He said that he felt electricity rush down both arms - leaving both arms and hands numb. He said that he laid there for awhile trying to gain his composure before he got up. When he got home, he still had numbness in his fingers. Christie called me as she was very concerned and after some phone calls, she drove him to the doctor to do CT scans of his head and neck. The CT scans were normal. The next couple of days were pretty rough as he was in pain and still had numbness. Tuesday we called the neuro-surgeon and they asked him to come in for an examination. He was then sent for an MRI of the neck which showed a spinal cord contusion. He was given Lyrica for the swelling. After several days of the medication, Ed said that the numbness has really subsided and he feels like he is getting back to normal. What a scary ordeal! Praise God that all is ok and that we don't have to have an emergency surgery.

More Puppy Adventures

I guess you can see that most of our time is spent with this new puppy. Today was his first bath. Christie had to literally get in the shower with him to give him his bath. He hated the water and the bath. He is now 12 weeks old. Christie is doing very well with him. She is taking the time to train him, and scold him for his little puppy actions.... like getting into my plants, playing too rough, or missing the puppy pad on those rare occasions.

Mr Meeko is also developed a little attitude when he doesn't get his way - and Christie is working with him on that as well. All in all...it's pretty much eat, play, and sleep!

Christie not well and Meeko knows it!

Christie has not been feeling well these last few days and Meeko definitely can sense it. He has spent most of the day sleeping at the edge of her feet. Ok....yes I have to admit...its cute!

It's Snowing

This has been one of the prettiest winters that we have had in a long time. The snow is so beautiful and such a pure white. I guess i really enjoy it because I have a job that allows me the opportunity to work from home. I plug in my work laptop and hook into my wireless network and walla....I have work email access with all my work contacts in outlook. 90% of my work is via computer networking any way - so this works out great. If my boss needs me we are just a click or phone call away. I'm blessed to have a great boss and great job!

We had a white Christmas for the first time in 17 years. It was fun to have the girls home to experience it. We only got about an inch - but it was enough to cover the grass a pretty white.

Resolutions Check up

After reading my daughters' blog - I guess I myself should look over the resolutions checklist and see how I'm doing.

1. Finances - I'm working on my 2011 budget as I speak. We refinanced the house saving us close to $500 a month and thousands over the course of the loan. Yeah! I paid off all our car notes with an inheritance from my mom's death. Yeah! Received a check from the mortgage company for escrow that had accrued from last year which will be used to pay me and Jillian's way to the Philippines on a mission trip. Yeah! Received another lump sum of money that will be used to pay for Ed's way to the Philippines. (Christie will not be able to join us this year due to her school/internships with college).



2. Non-material purchases - haven't bought anything other than food.



3. Healthy endeavors - let's just skip over this one for now



4. Quality time / My actions - I invited one of my girlfriends over for dinner and to get a little puppy advice. I really enjoyed her company and was so glad that she could come over. Talked with a family member about some miscommunication and made sure that everything was good between us. Had dinner and spent time with Glad & Prom and Don & Darlene reminiscing about our trip lat year to the Philippines and all that is in store for this year.

5. Laugh more and cry less. Haven't had any down days lately.

6. Journal/blog and prayer journal. - doing good on this one

7. Read - I just finished a great biblical fiction book that is great for ladies. Don't recommend it for the guys though. "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant. Great book! Thanks Christie for recommending it to me. Starting a new book that I got for Christmas.

8. Pray - I pray daily and specifically for those that I care about and love.

Puppy Time

Ok, for those of you who know me well - you know that I am not an animal person. We had a lab when the girls were younger, but she was an outside dog and took little to no maintenance. We had her for several years. Meeko - our new puppy is VERY different. It has taken a lot of adjustments on my part. The word "a lot" doesn't even give the meaning justice. It's like having a little baby in the house again. Constant attention, constant watchful eye, constant training....enough to wear an old lady out. But when you look at a face like this one.... all the adjustments don't seem to matter. Yes Judi - I said it! We have been going through many stages one being the nipping/biting stage which I hate! My arms look like battlefields.

He is getting much better though and loves to play.

He will play for hours with you (as a puppy) if you would allow it and have the nerves for it.

But then, Mr Meeko has his little attitude like..."are you talking to me?"

Yes - he definitely has his own personality. I guess we all do.

We are now getting the opportunity to have some snuggle time. When its time for a nap or close to bedtime, he wants to be snuggled up with you, or by the sofa with his back against it...I guess for a little security. Bedtime routine is pretty normal and we are lucky that he sleeps for 8 hours a night.

It's a definite life adjustment - but all in all, I think I love the little man!

Blog Title

I guess that I should explain how I come up with this blog title. The last blog just didn't make sense any more since Christie moved back home. When I thought about where life takes us daily - I thought - everything is discovered through clicks. We don't operate without computer clicks. It's just a way of life - some my life is just a click away.

Dinner with the Amoguis and Ericksons

I can't believe that I didn't bring my camera with me tonight. We picked up Ate Glad and Kuya Prom and met up with Don and Darlene Erickson at Maggaianos for dinner. We reminisced about our previous mission trip to the Philippines, the new friends that we made, and our visions and hopes for our return trip. Don & Darlene's daughter and son-in law are already in the Philippines doing mission work on the island of Palawan. (where we were two years ago- but much further in the jungle). We are trying to coordinate our trip with their daughters return home and with the start of school there at AUP. We have been doing so much praying about this trip as we have not had the funds to go back until just recently. We have prayed - "Lord if it is your will for us to go back and help the students at AUP, please provide for our travel expenses and show us what we are suppose to do." We feel that these prayers have been answered and he is showing us a clear path of which we are to follow. I'll keep you updated in future post, as there is a very important meeting on Jan 10th about our trip back to AUP.

A New Year

Wow, it's hard to believe that 2011 is now upon us. There has been a lot of things that's happen in my life over the last year and my last blog just didn't seem relevant anymore. "The Empty Nest" was created as a way for me to release - with both of my daughters gone off to college. I felt empty, alone, and very sad much of that time of blogging. Jillian fussed at me the other day saying - Mom why don't you blog anymore? I told her that it just didn't' fit me...and she said -"Then go change it". The more I thought about it, the more I thought about the things that has touched me so much over the last few months. I have come across many notes from my mom and uncovered many things that I didn't know about her. It sadden me that I didn't know a lot of these things when she was alive. Maybe it was my own stupid fault for not asking or for being more active with her during her lifetime. I realize now that I really missed out a lot, and for that I will forever be saddened. I also learned many things about my sister-in-law that I didn't know - through readings, through notes, and through talking with others. Again, it was me who missed out. I have made many choices in my life that I regret and I have chosen paths that have lead me down selfish paths. This selfish has also made me realize that I have stepped back from others that I care about and didn't realize the depth of their love and realtionship. So when I hear about people talking about New Years Resolutions, I have to look deep into my heart and soul and reflect on what I can do to make me a better person. A better person for me, for my husband, for my daughters, for my brother and other family, and for friends and above all a person that God wants me to be. So here are my resolutions for 2011.
1. Get my finances in order and manage money more efficiently.
2. Focus on non-material things. You can't take things with us when were gone, so why focus on
them now.
3. Make a conscious effort to be more healthy. I am over weight and not happy with me.
4. Spend quality time with people I love and care about and quit pretending to be what I'm not.
5. Make a conscious effort to realize that my actions and energy affect others
6. Laugh more and cry less.
7. Journal /blog more and write a prayer journal
8. Read more - keep my brain busy.
9. Pray often.

Today was not a good day, and I've already broken most of these resolutions so I'll start fresh in the morning with a positive attitude, a positive mind, and in solitude and devotional time with God.