Results: We have a tie, as usual.

Most people enjoyed the fact that Luke, who gets 25 brownie points from me because of this (no pun intended), likes chocolate. So there were a few votes for #5. Also among the tie was #8, the fact that Luke likes to expand topics of conversation to their very limits and analyze them as much as possible. :D Good job, guys! Thanks for all the comments! I think it has been proven that Luke exceeds the description of an "ok guy" into the realm of cool.

So this week has been one of the funnest of my life, and it's not even over yet. This past weekend was pretty happenin' in Kansas. Actually, not really, but it was good to see family. Note the pictures below. Phil Witzig gave us girls these ink pencils that were supposed to write like pens but erased. Weird. Here we are holding them.



Also, on the bus, my mom was sewing little beads on socks for her kid's and baby line of clothes she sells and Dennis Stoller just HAD to have a pair, too, so here he is holding his socks that my mom sewed for him.



On Monday night I got to help celebrate my little niece's 1st birthday. What a doll. Check out the beautiful cake my sister made. It was as delicious as it looks.





Tuesday night, TP and I went shopping with some friends and then met up with a bunch of people at Cold Stone. Mmmm. I split the Peanutbutter Cup Perfection with Rick and it is absolutely amazing. We got the "Gotta have it" size which was ginormous, and needless to say, it was almost gone when we were finished. Justin and I ran laps around Cold Stone, then, to counteract the calories. (Justin- I am STILL feeling refreshed from that run.)

Here is TP, Ryan and I at Gloria Jean's... I don't think any of us were ready for this shot. Oh, the essence of candid moments.



Rick and I with our oh-so-delicious ice cream.



The unfaithful Dairy Queen crew... Here are the 3 DQ workers who ate Cold Stone (try to keep this on the DL).. Seth, Durrel and me


Justin and I had our ice cream done in 2 bites


Jake and Will were rebels and went to buy ice cream FROM THE CARTON. How could they. Well, they probably saved money.


Amanda and Dani- cute... You have to understand that Amanda and her room mate Elise are the instigators of this Cold Stone run, they LOVE it there.


After that, we went to the Cabin to put together a puzzle. I thought I hated puzzles, but actually puzzles are quite fun if you piece them together with fun people and the picture is pretty.



Last night was church. It was amazing. When I got home, I threw a frozen pizza in (my supper) and then TP, Tracy and I ran to Krispe Kreme and picked up a dozen just because they sounded good. When we returned, we had a pizza waiting for us! After that, really tried hard to focus on my project: programming a Homework Board to do something and write script for it. I got frustrated, and thanks to Tammy's information, went outside and busted a group of boys trying to prank me via swarming my car (I don't know what they thought they were going to do, my car already has enough personality of its own). Actually, this ended up being a blessing in disguise because one of them so happened to be very knowledgable in the project I was trying to figure out, so I got astounding help from him. We set up a "game" on my homework board that tests your reaction time! Way cool.

Tonight, I will be going to visit the dorms girls for supper at Watterson. Very fun. This weekend is Indy Outreach, as well, so that is another blessing to look forward to. I hope to see some of you readers there... and it is my hope that you all have had a pleasant, fun-filled week, as well! I love you all. T

Notice the numerical value in the title. That means I have been doing Top Ten Tuesdays for 2 months, now. Wow. What commitment.

My subject matter for today consists of the top ten reasons why Luke is an ok guy. Here they are:



1. He works in Morton. And soon- he will live there.

2. I think he is a bigger online fanatic than me; he devotes half of his online time to his blog, and the other half validating what I tell him via "googling."

3. He always fixes my blog problems.

4. I think he is better at html than me, which is sad, because I am taking two courses in web design.

5. He likes chocolate, such as M&Ms (the best munchies EVER), chocolate chip cookies, and vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup.

6. He is an engineer (or something?) and I don't know but I think you have to be smart to be one of those.

7. He enjoys pineapple, long walks on the beach, and bright Autumn days (I just made that up, but it seems to fit the theme of these list items)

8. When I ask hiim a simple question, such as, "What is your favorite animal?" it inspires a whole nother conversation on what category of animal to be considered, such as "wild, pet, or overall." No conversation or question is left un-psycho-analyzed.

9. I learned from him that "nother," is indeed (note how it was successfully used in list item 8) an informal way to use "other."

10. His favorite animal, I finally found out, is probably a wolf or a tiger.

There they are, folks. Please vote. Love you all. T

I will have to be awake again.

I am going to Wichitaw, Kansas this weekend with the Mortonaires. The Mortonaires are a mens' singing group from the Morton AC Church. They have a history of traveling out-of-state at least once a year, and this is carried out by a dandy "bus ride."

Looking back into my gradeschool days, I see many melodious memories of Kristi Daniel, Abi Witzig and I (us 3 being the daughters of Mortonaires- a very important title) riding many-a-bus to many-a-state and camping out there for the weekend while getting to listen to wonderful music sung by well-practiced brothers in our church. We would usually bring plent of games, one of the famous games being Rush Hour. That is a good game. Nonetheless, these trips in the bus were unforgettable and a highlight of my younger days.

And so now I will return to this adventurous journey and venture over to Kansas. I go mainly because I have family in Kansas that I rarely get to see, so this was a great opportunity for me to visit them. My friend, Holly, will also be going for the same reason, and she will also serve as a companion of my age to keep me sane. :)

I won't mention that I rode on a bus for over 30 hours last weekend. That would be besides the point.

I will mention, however, that although I am making this sound like more of an obligation than a happy choice, I am quite excited. "Trips" are always fun, no matter who the company and where the destiny. Which brings me to an excellent analogy...

Our lives are like "trips." Why? Because we aren't really here to stay. When you go on vacation, it's not like you are going to decide to live there. You're just there for a few weeks. Well- our lives are likened to a vapor in the Bible, and that is sounding pretty miniscule and fast to me in the grand sceme of things; kind of like how vacations are fun little trips sprinkled into our vast lives. When we travel our destination on a trip, we need a means of transportation and, of course, some gas to get there. Let's see this as our journey (traveling) fueled by the Word (gas). With these two very important factors, let's not leave out the biggest factor that is the DRIVING FORCE behind it all- Jesus Christ. If we don't have a good map and good directions (or a GREAT leader), we will get lost. We will either hit a dead end, get slowed in the process, or end up somewhere that we don't want to be. So it is when we don't let Christ lead us...so- take this lesson- if we view our lives as a "little trip" in which we are only just here to do the Lord's work, we can look forward to our final destination- Heaven!

I have found over the past couple of years that my mind works hugely in analogies. I find connections between everything, and while they may make sense to me, I apologize if they just seem like a big unorganized mess of words to others. We all think differently; some of us in cut and dry logic, some of us in patterns and analogies, and others of us in pictures and illustrations.

Tonight, I went to Uno's Pizzeria in Chicago with some friends, and I just have to share the most delightful part of my evening. Topic: FOOD. I had the most amazing meal; a DEEP DISH pepperoni pizza and then I split a luxurious peanutbutter cup topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, drizzled with peanutbutter sauce and chocolate. Mmmm. Following are some pictures of this experience. Tracy definitely helped me out on this one. Thanks, Trace. I'm glad we made the right choice.

Before


After


Well, I'd love to stay in chat, but I'm pretty sure I'll regret that if I stay up any longer, so for the sake of the others who will be riding with me tomorrow... I best be off. I love you all, and don't you ever forget that! Jesus does, too.

T

It has been exactly 2 weeks since I have posted. Could this be a record?

Anyway, the winner from 2 weeks ago is the green Volkswagen Beetle in honor of you all being correct for guessing it as my favorite car. (And, it's just the coolest of cools).

Well, I am extremely BLESSED to have gone on the trip down to Magdalena, Mexico over my spring break. I could not think of a better use of my time. It was an amazing trip with some AMAZING people, and a huge relationship-builder for me and many others. The Lord really blessed us with safe traveling, an organized trip, and good working weather. Today's Top Ten Tuesday is dedicated to my 10 most memorable parts of the trip.

1. Building a wall out of styrofoam jigsaw puzzle pieces in "Puzzle Land"

2. Being bucket scooper with Whitney and bucket lifter on the scaffolding, and having an arm hang contest with Stephanie on the scaffolding

3. "Sneaking" into town one night to get some authentically amazing Mexican food and running into the parents at our restaurant-of-choice- I split a potato-steak creation with Natalie and some cheese cake- unebelievably tasty!

4. Walking to the taco stand one night with Will and Prevo, proclaiming that I would not eat any tacos and ending up eating 2 tacos and a Coke

5. Going on a hike up a mountain and seeing a beautiful view, and finding some bones from a (cow?) I brought the coolest bone ever home with me. I think it's a femur.

6. Holding little Timmy and carrying him around on my shoulders.

7. Going into town and walking around Magdalena with the group one night, and buying ice cream in sugar cones and eating them by the fountain

8. "Pretending to sleep" as everyone from the mini van piled into the RV on our way home (the RV had a flat tire and the van had some trouble, aslo), and being delayed 4 hours and not getting home until 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning (but we had a fun group in the RV and an amazing bible study on Daniel's prayer)

9. Leading an aerobics session outside of a gas station for Leah and Natalie on the way home

10. Staying up during the whole 1-5 a.m. shift in the minivan and talking with Jenn the ENTIRE time, keeping our trusty driver awake (he drank a 2-liter bottle of Mountain Dew and 2 Red Bulls... we ended up making a few unscheduled stops of our own and then graciously caught up each time :)

So, my trip was amazing. A lot of great memories were made, and it evoked a wonderful re-focus in the hearts of a lot of us. You never know how truly blessed you really are until you go on a trip like this and "see God in the little things," as David Mariani successfully put in in a poem he read to us Thursday evening. That night, we went around and shared out prayer partners and something we learned from the week, and our theme for the week, "I will never be the same again," coated each of our responses.

I love you all!

T

Top Ten Tuesday 6...

My Favorite Vehicles

1. Volkswagen Beetle
2. Honda Civic
3. Chevy Silverado
4. Volkswagen Jetta
5. BMW Z4

6. green
7. silver
8. black
9. blue
10. red

Ok, here's the drill. Pick the car, and then pick the color. I realize that you are limited in choices, but if you feel so inspired, just tell what your favorite car is instead... if you find it impossible to pick one from my list.


If anyone can guess what my FAVORITE car and color is from the above list, then... you will be rewarded.

Alright, I have an analogy. I am sure it has been used before as it isn't really the cleverest of clevers, but it helped me out in my conceptual thinking process this morning so I'll share it.

Here it is: Reading the Word of God is like exercising.

Staying consistent in reading the Word can be likened to exercising regularly. Let's look at exercising, first. Hopefully, at some point in our lives, we all find time to exercise our physical body. However, while a lot of us enjoy exercising, it is tough to fit into a busy schedule and can be easily shrugged off. Why? Because it takes time, effort, and it's easier to put it off than just do it. However, some may battle with the thought: "If only I would just exercise, I would feel so much better and I wouldn't regret that I did it. Plus- it will keep me in shape."

Is any of this starting to sound familiar?

When we put off exercising, not only is it easier to deny next time, but we slip out of shape. Climbing four flights of stairs for class or work gets our heart rate up a little higher than usual, and we become tired and exhausted by phsyical endeavors that used to come easily.

Now, you are all a pretty smart audience and I know you have already made the connection, but let me just represent it in writing. Staying consistent in God's Word can be the exact same way. When we don't "exercise" in our spiritual lives, they become out of shape. Life starts to bog down on us, and we wonder why we feel the way we do. However, as soon as we go back to God's Word and exercise, we feel so much better! It may be easy to put off or ignore, but why do we? What's the point? Are we too busy, too lazy, too consumed in something else? Is it time management? Is it the issue of denying other projects/interests/hobbies so that we make time for it rather than idolize other areas of our lives?

It would do us all good to remember how we feel after a good run- sure, a little out of breath (God's Word is powerful!), but ultimately- very refreshed, renewed, enlightened, and feelin' good! And in the long run (no pun intended)... it will keep us spiritually healthy and in shape so that we are ready for life's biggest journeys.

I love you all! Don't forget to vote!

T

There are no results from Tuesday because no one voted. That's alright, because it was more of a tribute to Kristi consisting of memories made with her than it was voting material. Stay tuned for an on-time, amazing topic for next Tuesday.

If you haven't checked out Luke's blog yet, please head on over to my "Lukie" link and be informed about Pandora.

Or, you could just go here http://www.pandora.com/. For any of you that love, no, even LIKE music, you will love this!

I have a family picture tonight :) and then I am going to baby-sit my very cute neice, Lola. Tomorrow night, we are celebrating my mom's birthday. She is 50-something and was born on leap year, so technically never had a birthday this year. It will be great to see her- her and my dad just returned from Israel. I am sure they will have some stories for us!

That is honestly all I have for today. I'm going to eat lunch. I hope you all have a most excellent weekend and I will write more at a later date. I love you all.

T