Christmas Eve Eve

Yesterday I drove home just in time to join my cousins, Jenny and Jeremy, and Charles in playing Christmas Carols. It had been a little while since I played the violin, so I'm not sure how much beauty I added, but it was fun! I love the sound of stringed instraments together.

Today my mom and I baked things and got ready for the weekend. Tonight I am going to Heather's new house for dinner and a sleepover. It should be fun. I can't remember the last time we've had a real sleepover! I might have had to ask permission..... :)

I hope everyone is having a good time in your respective homes. One thing I appreciate about the holidays as I get older is just the time spent with friends and family. It's nice to have an excuse to get together, bake good food, and enjoy each others company.

A moment of Silence for Tennessee Christian

Today the news was finally announced. Tennessee Christian is being sold to HCA. The transaction should take place on Febuary 1 pending state approval.

So, I guess I have an end date on this rotation. I'm still not sure what my next job will be. But at least I have a time frame for this rotation.

It's a sad moment for Adventist Healthcare. Tennessee Christian is 100 years old and many Adventist have spend time here for various reasons: the nursing school, the school of anesthesia, working at the hospital, living in the community... My grandparents met here many years ago.

However, I think that given the circumstances, it is the best thing for the hospital and the community. It will be an interesting transition from a not-for-profit faith-based hospital to become a for-profit hospital.

For more information visit http://www.ahss.org/newsdisplay.asp?ID=6053

Ironic

Have you ever noticed that often the person that you love the most can also hurt and frustrate you the most? It's like an all access pass to your emotions, inspiring both excited and happy ones as well as deeply saddening and maddening ones. Funny how that works.

Most of you know that I am a big fan of the self-help book. I love reading books like "The Five Love Languages" and taking different personality assessments. It's interesting to me to understand how I am and how other people are that are different from me.

I believe that any marriage/relationship can benefit from reading a good book on the subject of relationships each year; however, I'm coming to the conclusion that it's %^$* hard to really love someone and make things work.

I used to be quite idealistic about love and marriage. And I know I still am to a degree. But just because some one is your "soulmate" doesn't mean you don't want to scream at them once in awhile or that you are always going to connect in a positive way.

I personally think that this sucks. I'm all for good feelings and not fighting and just being happy. But being emotional myself, I know that just doesn't always happen. Sometimes feelings get hurt. Sometimes people overreact. Sometimes we aren't nice to those we love.

How one deals with this is still a bit gray to me. I know there must be a better way then what I sometimes fall into. But I'm also learning that there is no perfect solution nor is there a perfect person. I guess the only thing you can do is keep trying and with God's grace, hopefully improving a bit every day.

One class down!

I just submitted my Marketing plan and now I am finished with my first MBA class! I'm quite excited about the break from homework. Now on to finishing my Christmas shopping :)

Defrosting

Yesterday it was some cold temperature resulting in frost on my car and a general cold all around. Today I'm happy to report that the high was in the 70's and it's not very cold at all :) I do love Florida in the winter time. Granted, a bit of cold is nice so that I can wear my coats and scarfs and such. But I don't need months and months of it. I rather like being able to run around in a sleeveless shirt in Februrary. Yay for Florida sunshine.

Such a great show!

Commander and Chief came on again tonight. It's such an inspiring show. Last week I went to a Leadership Retreat and one of the topics was "level 5" decision making. This is where a leader makes a decision that is difficult, and risky, but is the right decision for the good of society. For example, when the Washington Post published the Pentagon Papers, they didn't know if the Supreme Court would sanction them and cause them to be shut down. They received strong threats from the Nixon administration. But for the love of journalism, the leader made the decision to publish the papers. That's a "level 5" decision.

Mac makes these kinds of decisions in every episode. Today she choose to save a woman who was going to be stoned to death for adultary even though it had dangerous foreign policy implications.

Anyways, it's a good show if anyone has free time on Tuesday evening. :)

Snow village

Tonight I went to JoAnn's Fabrics in search of a wreath. I came a way with the beginning of a Victorian snow village for only $20! I got a cute little house, 4 sets of people, some street lamps and Christmas trees. I've always thought these little villages were cute so I'm rather excited about this addition to my Christmas collection.

Commander and Chief

"The right thing isn't always the opposite of the wrong thing."

This was spoken by the president's husband as she debated over a difficult decision. I thought it was a thought-provoking statement.

This is becoming one of my favorite shows. It comes on ABC Tuesday nights at 8:00 Central if anyone is interested. :)

Circles

I was recently reminded of a poem I wrote in in high school. I added a few lines.

You draw your circles
And I draw mine
No one dares reach over
To step across the line

Your circles shut me out
My circles shut me in
My friends cannot be yours
And I can't be your friend

Trapped within our circles
By what we won't look past
We lose potential memories
And friendships made to last

Only you can stop your tracing
Only you can let it clear
And let the water wash it clean
Till the circles disappear

Meeting the Family

Things have actually gone pretty well so far. Anitra and Tony are both very nice and have made us feel very comfortable in their house. Most of Kevin's family has been very friendly. His dad even made a point of welcoming me in front of everyone.

There have been a couple "moments" that I thought you would find amusing.

The first happened last night. Anitra and Tony invited two of their friends over to watch a movie with us. As we were waiting for Kevin to take a shower or something, we started watching TV. Of course, Malcom X came on. THAT was awkward. My personal favorite was in the beginning where he apparently tried to look white and was seduced by a blond white girl. Luckily Kevin came in around that point and we pressed play for the "Polar Express" Saved by an animation.

The next was today. Here is the conversation between Kevin's aunt and me.

Me: So where are you going to church tomorrow. (Huntsville is like Collegedale. There are a bunch of churches here.)

Aunt: We'll probably go to Oakwood.

Me: Is the Oakwood church kindof like the Collegedale church?

Aunt: Well, it's not really like the Collegedale church because most everyone is black.

Me: Really?!??? (Can you hear the sarcasm?!)

Kevin and I had a good laugh over that one.

So, I still don't know where we are going to church, but I did learn that the Oakwood church has a mostly black popluation. So surprising considering its location. :)

Happy Sabbath!

Reason number 3456 not to shop at Walmart

#3456- Terrible customer service.

I was on a mission to buy the Newlywed game for an office party. I called Walmart to ask if they carried the game.

Walmart Rep #1- Hello.

Me- I am looking for the BOARD game, The newlywed game. Do you have it?

I am transfered to electronics

Walmart Rep #2- Electronics

Me- I am looking for the BOARD game, The newlywed game. Do you have it?

Walmart Rep #2 - Uh, does it have anything to do with a computer?

Me- No. It's a board game

Walmart Rep #2- Uhhhh. Sorry, I can't help you.

Me- Can you transfer me to someone who can?!

I am transferred

Walmart Rep #3- Hello

Me- (Hoping I haven't been transfered to houseware) Who am I speaking with?

Walmart Rep #3- Bill

I say my speech for the third time, he disappears, and returns saying that they have the game.

So, I go to Walmart. No game. I ask to speak to a manager. 15 minutes, and 5 pages later, no manager.

I leave emptyhanded and very annoyed reminding myself to stay away from that horrid store as much as possible.

Take a quick vote

I'm trying to decide what to make for Thanksgiving. It has to be something that most people would like. So, here are the options. Pumpkin pie, strawberry trifle (strawberries, whipped cream, pudding...) fall decorated sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, or ginger cookies. Please respond with your pick. Thanks!

Thanksgiving suprise

I had a sudden change of plans this weekend when my parents suggested I go to Kevin's sisters place for Thanksgiving. I'm glad they suggested it and I think it will be a good thing as I have yet to meet any of his family. But...I'm a little nervous. Hopefully they like me and it doesn't like like a bad scene from Guess Who. At least they know about me! Anitra actually doesn't live very far away from me, only a couple hours. So that will be good. Hopefully I don't get lost in the middle of Alabama. Do cell phones work there? :)

Gabrielle and the M&Ms

There once was a girl named Gabrielle who liked M&Ms very much. She especially liked the yellow ones. Yellow was, after all, her favorite color. She tried to buy M&Ms that came in bags of only yellow ones, and when that wasn’t an option she would just throw out the rest. Oddly enough all of her friends and relatives were the same. They even had jokes about the phenomenon and would call each other names like “sunshine” and “banana.” One day she was having an M&M craving and bought a huge bag from Target to munch on during her trip home. She opened the bag with excitement, but she discovered that in the entire bag there were NO YELLOW M&Ms! What to do?! After much debate she decided to try a red one. She didn’t know what to expect, but as the taste sank it she discovered something. IT TASTED THE SAME! She was surprised at this revelation. How could it taste like a yellow M&M when it so obviously looked different? So she did some research on Google and discovered something. The only difference between yellow M&Ms and red one is food coloring. That’s it. No extra preservatives, no funny flavors. Just food coloring. What a relief! Now she could actually eat the entire bag of M&Ms. But will the rest of the yellow fans stop throwing away perfectly good M&Ms? That remains to be seen.

Commander and Chief

Wednesday nights at 9/8 there is a very interesting new show about the first female president. It's actually quite good. It gives you insight into what it is like to be a political public figure. The President is a very interesting and likeable character who you wish could actually be president. Kindof like Harrison Ford/

Christmas is coming!

Today I went shopping at this great mall. It had Cheesecake Factory and Pottery Barn and even a Lucky Jeans store. I didn't buy anything, but it was still fun. A few stores have brought out the Christmas decorations. I know it's still a month away, but for some reason I feel like Christmas. I'm even listening to my Christmas music. Happy Holiday Season Eve! :)

Yay for the weekend

Weekends should come much more often. I have had an interesting week. I got sick this weekend and went to the doctor on Tuesday. She said I had bronchitus and told me to stay home from work the next day. I had a career fair at Southern yesterday and was able to have lunch with Mike, my boss from Corporate. Today I worked from home. I'm hoping to get some good sleep this weekend and feel better. And hopefully enjoy the nice weather here. I love fall in Tennessee.

Hurricane Pictures

The surf just before the hurricane hit.A little building outside our shelter during the storm.
Same building after the storm Our shelter and the plywood that protected us from the winds!

I am alive!

Thank-you to everyone for your prayers for me this week. I finally made it home last night. For those of you that don't know, I was in Cancun on "vacation" last week. The plan was to spend from Wednesday through Sunday on the beach and relax. Sadly, this didn't work out. Thursday morning we had to evacuate the hotel and go to a school for a shelter because Hurricane Wilma was headed out way as a category 5 storm. We slept on a blanket on the concrete floor. The eye of the hurricane was supposed to hit Friday morning. Instead the hurricane sat over us until Sunday morning. It was the longest strongest storm ever recorded to hit the Caribbean. It literally sat over us and went from a strong category 4 to a tropical storm over us. During the worst part, the plywood that was separating us from the storm was creaking and bowing and even cracking. Needless to say, I was a bit scared. Thank God it held and we are okay. We made it onto the first Delta flight out yesterday and got home. The shower felt wonderful :)

Decisions: facts or feelings?

How do you fall in love
How do you say I do
When is the perfect time
To spend the rest of your life
Seasons may come and go
And sometimes it rains and snows
And there will be highs and lows
So only you will know
You never know just where it will find you
’cause it can come on you so fast
Seems like it takes forever
When you want it so bad
But don’t ever take it for granted
’cause it’s more than sowing some seeds
It takes sun and water
So give it what it needs
And that’s how you fall in love
That’s when you say I do
That’s when you know it’s time
To spend the rest of your life
Now seasons may come and go
And sometimes it rains and snows
There will be highs and lows
So only you will know
There will be highs and lows
So only you will know

I've always thought this song was beautiful. But it would bug me that the writers would never really answer the question "How do you know?" I have always been a combination of analytical and romantic. I like to sort things into collums and weigh pros and cons. But sometimes you can't explain why you know something. You just know it. Many people I have spoken with confirms this phenomenon. When it's right, you will know. This is often said with regard to marriage. And I think it is true. But I think it also applys to other matters in life. It's helpful to get all the facts, to gain understanding and perspective and above all to pray. But I think all these things come together in a sort of gut feeling. And in the end, you know the right decision to make.

Any thoughts on this?