Our worship team

Hey guys! Just wanted to share some pics of some important people in my life. Daniel and I have worship practice every week. We've been getting to know the team a little better every week, and this past week, we went out to a local pizzaria to eat. Some of our team changes every couple of weeks, but D and I, Jason, and Kevin (not pictured) pretty much stay the same. We're so glad to have Sara with us for a little while!

All that to say, here's some photos from our night out together! Oh! And we sat at a table right underneath this cool rendition of "The Last Supper". We thought it was pretty cool!

Hard working woman

Here's what I've been learning to do at work. I'm so excited to be learning something new. I mean, this is way out there for me. I don't know hardly anything about making jewelry. But all that is about to change! These are two pics of some of the jewelry I've made. A bracelet and two pairs of earrings. Yea!!!

I know I'm going to look back at these one day and see all the flaws, but I think they're pretty good for my first go.

Snow, again

So it's snowing again. I don't think it will snow as much as last time, but it's still cool. Thought I'd post a few pics from our big snowfall a couple of weeks ago.

Our ducks were "trapped" by the frozen pond.

Cool rabbit tracks!

Imogen Heap - cool new artist!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

These are a few of the sights we've seen today. The weathermen predicted snow... again. But until today, those predictions never came true. Today, however, it is snowing heavily! Okay, at least for Arkansas, it's snowing heavily. Ness, Sara... I know you guys are trying to muffle your giggles!! Anyway, it's cool, and I thought I'd post a couple pictures of it. One is of our car early on in the day. The other is of tracks from our resident ducks that live in our apartment complex. They are so cute, huddled together, waddling from one pond to the other! :)

Homecoming

We went home this past weekend for a visit. Actually, we were helping Dad to continue cleaning out the house. We had to go through Mom's closet and my old room, etc. It was very difficult. Almost more difficult than when Mom first died. We found old pictures of us and her family. We found birthday and anniversary cards that she had kept from years long ago. She had kept projects that I had done in elementary school. One year we went to Disney World, and she had made us all matching bright yellow shirts with bears on them. She had kept those. Shoes, old newspapers, knitting projects, jewelry, pictures... The list goes on and on.

All this has made me think about what "home" really means. Is it the town you grew up in? Is it the people you grew up with? Is it friends? Family? A building? What is home? I found myself realizing that home has taken a different shape. It is no longer the things I thought it was. It is not a house, or a city even. "Home is where the heart is." And my heart is constantly unfulfilled with life here. I am looking forward to my final "HOME COMING"!

Louie

This is Louie. He is the protector of all things.... well, at least at my new job! He belongs to my boss, Stacey. He is a Belgian German Shepherd. If you know me at all, you would know that big dogs and I don't usually get along. However, Louie and I hit it off well from day one. He's got nothin' but love for those who are good and true. He loves to be petted a lot. Sometimes, he'll come right up by me and want me to scratch his back. I like it when Louie is there. We all feel pretty safe with him guarding us. And Stacey says he loves to be up at the shop with her. So, it looks like me and Louie will have many more days together! :)

Dark Star Visual

So I started my new job. It's going pretty good so far. Kinda slow, but hopefully things will pick up soon. I work at this place called Dark Star Visual (DSV for short) that was named after a Grateful Dead song. It is a bead shop/ hippy store. The hours are great! For January we're open 11-5. Starting Feb, we're going back to 10-6. Closed Sundays. So I get my evenings back with hubby, and don't have to miss church! Get this, the half of the store I'm currently working in has clothes, jewelry, incense, and other gift items. The other half of the store is full of beads. You can go and make your own jewelry, or pick out what you like and have someone make it for you. So cool. And guess what? My boss, Stacey, said she was going to start training me on the bead room. The girl who is there now will be leaving in May, so that would leave only Stacey to work the bead room. She might like to take a day off every once in a while, so she's going to start training me to make jewelry!! I'm so excited about that! Can't wait! Plus, she's starting to incorporate Precious Metal Clay art into the work... how fun!!

I've posted some pics of the store and two of the girls I work with. The one with the black wig was dressed up for a costume party. She normally has blond hair! And her name is Echo! She has hippy parents. The one with leg warmers on the OUTSIDE of her pants.... yeah, she's crazy! But she's leaving in a couple of weeks. Anyway, enjoy the pics. And if you're ever in the area, you'll have to come and see me!!

Cool Sky

Just thought you all might enjoy this picture. I thought the sky looked pretty awesome!

http://www.myheritage.com

Goodbye Vanity

I'd like to say that I'm saying goodbye to my personal vanity, but alas, no. I'm saying goodbye to my former employer. Yea!! Not that I didn't enjoy it, but good heavens! I always worked nights and basically had no social life! So glad that's over. I'll have to post pics of my new place when I get some taken. You're in for a treat!! Till then, here's a few of the last outfits I put together and some of the cute little high school girls that I worked with.

Laziness

Okay. OKAY! I know that I haven't posted in a while. I know! But here I am... posting. So you better enjoy it!! ;)

I was at the store buying some bread. And it's a pretty big bread section. I thought I'd browse the aisles when all of sudden I see this package. What is it, you say? Toast. TOAST! What the? Who buys bread that is already toasted?! Who is so lazy that they can't even put bread in a toaster?! I had to back up a moment and think to myself, "Self, you never know WHO might need bread that's already toasted. People without a toaster might need already toasted bread. People that don't know how to operate a toaster might need already browned warm bread." The only problem? It's not hot. Who eats toast that isn't hot? Who puts butter or jam on cold toast?!

Okay, well, some of you out there might actually buy this already toasted bread. I don't know. But I just thought it was interesting and just HAD to tell you all about it!

Christmas

The week before Christmas, my Dad came up to visit. He wanted to bring up some things of Mom's. So my sister and her family came down to visit too! It was great having a little family Christmas get-together. It didn't last very long, but it was wonderful getting to see everyone again. Thanks for making that long drive, Sis, just for a couple of hours together. I love ya!

This year, I was sick on Christmas day. It all began the day before. I had to pull a double shift at work, and we ended up staying late trying to set up the store for after Christmas. I was really late to a Christmas party, and didn't feel very well. Didn't eat much, didn't talk much, was dizzy and started getting chills. I was sitting right by an open fire and still couldn't get warm. So we went home early. I had a fever of 101+... *sigh* I woke up the next morning and still had fever. Didn't make the big dinner I had planned. I was so upset! Oh well. We're going to make dinner tonight and invite our neighbor over. She's a single lady who didn't have any visitors for the holiday either. Hopefully I'll get it all done in time.

Work

I've been getting better at putting outfits together at work. Recently, I've really enjoyed getting to try out new styles and I've been experimenting with creative ways to bring in the customer. So I thought I'd take a few pics of the ones I've really been proud of. Hope you all enjoy!!

Penquin Ed's

Okay. This is the best BBQ place we've found here so far. I love it!! It's at one of those places that you have to wait for a table because they're so packed. When we finally did get a table, this is what we saw. *See sign* If any of you come and visit us and you want BBQ, then this is where we'll go! Yummy homemade goodness!