Counting your blessings

I talked with a friend of mine today who recently got fired for not working on the Sabbath. She was hired on with a schedule of working part time Mon-Thurs and did this for 5 weeks. Then suddenly her manager decided that she should work on Sabbath, even though she said she could not from the beginning. I'm surprised when I hear things like this. After all, employers aren't supposed to discrimate against religious beliefs. They are supposed to make reasonable accommodations. But I guess it doesn't always happen that way. It made me realize how blessed I am to work for an organization that encourages my Sabbath rest. Thank-you Florida Hospital!

Hurricane season

On the main page of weather.com today it annonced that there were no tropical threats. And went on to say" Tropical cyclone formation is not anticipated over the next day or two in either the Atlantic or eastern Pacific."

Does anybody else worry about the fact that it is worthy to note that there are NO hurricanes headed our way? I know that a hurricane makes the news. But now the lack of a hurricane is making the news....

Kristin's Wedding

Off to Texas

I'm headed to Texas for the weekend! And yes, I do travel a lot. I know that's what you are thinking right now!

Anyways. Kristin is walking down the the asile this weekend and a bunch of us are headed out to a) walk with her, or b) attend the wedding/take pictures of it! I haven't spent a lot of time in Texas, so hopefully it will be a fun trip. I'll try to post some pics when I get back :)

Have a good weekend everyone!

Sabbath afternooon

So this afternoon I decided to lie down for a little nap. I wasn't sure I was going to ever actually fall asleep because I also read a little and then two of my friends called. But I must have because I had a dream. I don't remember a whole lot except that I was hanging out with some friends at Val's house. And Val, I must subconciously think that you have a really nice house because in my dream we lived on a lake with nice picnic tables outside! But, the odd thing was as I was walking up to the door I thought to myself, I'm not really doing this. I'm not really walking. I'm actually asleep. And the dreamy Kristen was surprised by this. But sure enough I woke up and found myself groggy and in my bed. So, I'm making coffee!

My work group

Eternal LIfe

So I watched the Alias finale last night. Overall it was rather disappointing. The only thing I really liked about the show was the ending with Sydney and Vaughn on the beach. However, I thought it was interesting that one of the culmination of the of the major plot lines of the last 5 years was Sloane's (bad guy) quest for eternal life. He spent his whole life, millions of dollars, and countless lives solving a puzzle that in the end made him immortal. Unfortunately for him (good for the rest of the world) he got to spend eternity under a pile of concrete all alone. But it got me thinking, it's amazing what people will do, and have done in real history, in hopes of enternal life. And even more amazing to think that eternal life can be ours if we want it, we just have to accept the gift.

Zodiac Signs

So my co-workers and I got into an interesting conversation one the way back from lunch today. Keep in mind that most of them are Christians. They started talking about people's signs (Like Leo, Picses) and saying that they thought there was some truth to the characteristics. Like there is some evidence that the tide pool and the first impression you get of the world around you when you are born, affects your personality. I have always thought that it was a bunch of crap. I think birth order, environment, choices, genes, and experiences can shape your personality. But the month you were born in? Seriously?

Does anyone have an opinion on this? Is there any scientific proof that people born in the same month do in fact share some common characteristics?

Congratulations Amanda!

Believe

It's easy to praise you
When all the blessings flow
It's easy to trust you
When I feel in control

But in valleys and in darkness
I seem to lose my way
I stumble and I falter
And I don't know what to pray

Lord I believe, but I think I'm falling
And I'm not sure I can see
Lord I believe, but I feel I'm losing
Lord I believe, please help my unbelief

I know that you have plans for me
And I know that they are good
And if I could erase my fears
Lord, you know I would

But tonight it seems I'm failing
And giving into rain
So Father please restore me
And grant me peace again

Lord I believe, but the way is cloudy
And I'm not sure I can see
So please guide these faltering footsteps
And help me to believe

Charlotte

I'm currently in Charlotte, NC for an Occupational Therapy Career Fair. It seems to be a nice city, although quite a bit cooler than Orlando!
I had some free time this afternoon so I went to the mall. I thought this mall was just a few minutes away, and by car, it probably would have been. But being that I did not have a car, I too the bus. And apparently the wrong bus because it took me almost 45 minutes to get there! On the way I was mildly amused by the bus driver and her very loud friend. They talked the entire time and actually called people "baby" and "sugar."
Luckily I had a shorter trip back. It was a nice mall though. I found some good sales and made one especially exciting purchase :)

Okay, I'm off to the event. I made a gift basket with Florida stuff: sun tan lotien, key lime pie cheese sticks, sunflowers, and brightly colored innertubes in a nice blue bowl.

Firsts

I ran across this poem at the store today. Personally, it sounds to me like the author had a lot of fear going on, but it's kindof an interesting poem so I thought I'd share it. Plus, I really need an updated posting! :)


When I first saw you,
I was afraid to talk to you.
When I first talked to you,
I was afraid to like you.
When I first liked you,
I was afraid to love you.
Now that I love you,
I'm afraid to lose you.

Sneaky Bisous

So tonight I decided to take a picture of Bisous for my new phone. I looked for her and couldn't find her anywhere in my apartment. I called her and brought out treats. Nothing. So then I got a little worried. I started looking around outside. I wondered around and finally walked through the crosswalk to the other side of my apartment building. There she was sitting on the top of the stairs in front of someone elses apartment. I can't believe she actually got out without me seeing her. I'm so glad I found her and she was okay!

Pictures from my birthday

Poor Bisous

Today Bisous got a bath. She was not very happy about this, but it needed to be done. She's so cute when she's all soaking wet and little. Because she has so much hair, it takes her awhile to dry off. I usually help her out a bit with the blow dryer. Yeah, she just LOVES that! Today I discovered that instead of trying to hold her still and dry her, I could just stand up and point the dryer at her and let her walk around and just follow her with it. (With the bathroom door closed of course.) I was very amused by this. I don't think that she was.

Better not to know

I watched a re-run of Greys Anatomy tonight. It has to be one of the saddest episodes ever. For those of you who watch it, it was the train wreck episode where two patients are stuck on a phone together and the surgeons have to decide who gets to live and who gets to die. I know people make decisions based on the best information possible, but I wonder if I could make a call like that, knowing I was sending a person to her death. Doctors have a bad reputation these days for being arrogant, but I have to say, it takes a confident person to be able to make the split second decisions that they make. Having a humble heart is important for all of us, but having a decisive and confident attitiude can be a very good thing as well.

Anyways. I thought the ending quote was interesting. Meredith said that as surgeons, they like to know everything, but as people, sometimes it's better not to know. Because though there is fear in the darkness, there is also hope. I thought that was an interesting perspective.

Seriously??

So this morning I woke up at 9:00 in the morning to shouts of screaming parents. I have a baseball field behind my house and apparently there was a game going on. Okay. I used to play baseball. In the summer, at like 7:00 at night. Who gets up early on Saturday morning to play baseball? I'm amazed at these people. Get some sleep. Play sports after normal people wake up on the weekends.

Okay. I'm done. Happy Sabbath everyone.

I know.

So, it's been a little while since I posted. The funny thing is that at least two of my other blogging friends have said the same thing in recent postings. No, I'm not giving up on my blog. I'm just busy and also on myspace!

This week has FLOWN by. I can't believe it is already almost Friday. But, no complaints. I'll happily take a weekend.

I saw the movie Walk the Line last night. It was very interesting. I find it unfortunate that the producer decided to spend 99% of the movie focusing on the difficult part of his life, and gave relatively little information about the 35 happy years after he and June finally got married. But it was interesting to know the story behind the songs.

Strength

Throughout my life, especially when going through a difficult situation, people have told me that I am a strong person. I always took that as a compliment and said thanks or whatever.

But today I started thinking about what people mean by that. I mean, yes, I have successfully made it through another day without giving in to crazy thoughts of jumping off a bridge or deciding that maybe I really DO want to get drunk. But does that make me strong? Everyone you see breathing around you has also made at least the first decision. If you are going to live, do you really have a choice, but to be strong?

Any thoughts?

Paul, you'd better listen. He's a smart man!