Eight

Oh snap! I got tagged!

8 things I am passionate about:

1. Donald
2. The restored gospel of Jesus Christ
3. My family
4. Preparing to be a mom
5. Traveling
6. My dog, Moroni
7. Children's fashion. I know... I know. A weird passion.
8. Shopping. Heeecks yes.

8 words or phrases I say often:
1. "...I miss you"
2. "Oh my goodness!"
3. "drop it! DRRRROOOOP ITT!!!!" (the dog)
4. "I love you to the moon and back"
5. "I took it into the shops and was like, hey, can you turn this into a catbus? So they did."
6. "Heeeeyyyy"
7. "Honestly,"
8. "Seriously,"

8 things I want to do before I die:
1. Stop gossiping altogether... as in - NEVER.
2. Go to India.
3. To be a mom, and excel at it.
4. Go visiting teaching, lol.
5. Parachuting.
6. Learn to play the piano.
7. Master my spending habits... have a house fully paid off, at least one rental/investment property, and my children's education taken care of by the age of 40, and be able to fully retire by age 50.
8. Have housekeeping come naturally to me.

8 things I have learned from the past:
1. It could ALWAYS be worse.
2. Hating someone who has wronged you doesn't hurt them, it hurts you. Forgiveness is freedom. (carried over from Juli)
3. You do the crime, you pay the time.
4. There is absolute truth. There is right and wrong. There ARE sides, and I must choose where I stand.
5. Happiness is a choice, which at times requires effort.
6. Love is an action.
7. When we are faithful, the Lord is bound by His word. BOUND.
8. Dress like an onion. You can always strip, but freezing your butt off isn't easily reversed.

8 places I would love to go or see:
1. India
2. Africa
3. Texas
4. Italy (going this winter! yay!)
5. New York City
6. Nauvoo
7. The Arctic!
8. Ireland

8 things I currently need or want:
1. Donald. Seriously. Only a month-ish left...
2. My own house. Not rented, leased, or "assigned" to me. I want my own home that I own and can feel comfortable in.

3. The Tales of Beetle and Bard - special edition :-)
4. My dog to be well behaved!!!
5. Furniture! I want to go shopping at MOR, Pottery Barn, and Target SO badly!
6. The war to be over. I'm not anti-war... but I won't lie, an end would be nice.
7. To clean the upstairs of my house. It looks like a bomb went off.
8. Clothes. Tops, to be specific. A girl can never have too many.

8 people who have influenced my life:
1. Donald - He has inspired me to be the best person I can be. He gives me the unabashed honesty I need to succeed in life. Few people could handle this firecracker like he does.
2. My mom - She's one of the most selfless people I've ever known. Her strictness formed my character, and has given me the integrity and strong moral compass that guides my life. She taught me right from wrong like few people could.
3. Heidi - Work ethic, reality, THE GOSPEL, organization, parenting, practicality, endurance, family relationships, tradition, reliability, and how to life life the right way. I would be a complete loser without her. No person has ever had to exorcise more patience and tolerance with me than that woman has. She helped me to see who I wanted to be, and taught me how to get there. She really unlocked the door to the amazing life I have today.

4. Ron- Never has there been a better example of spirituality and wisdom in my life than from Ron. I trust his advice and guidance above all others. Having him as a father figure during my high school years really helped form the person I am today. I can think of NO other person who's words I would take to heart more than his.

5. My History teacher, Ms. Weberg. We didn't have a notable relationship, but she was "that teacher" for me. She memorized every students name and everything short of their life story. She had the ability to make a diverse classroom feel like a family. How she accomplished the things she did is beyond me.

6. A girl I went to church with. She'll remain nameless. We were never close, but she had an impact on me. A huge one. I haven't spoken to her in years, but she taught me so much in the short amount of time I knew her. Like I said though, we hardly scratched the surface of friendship. Most of what I learned from her was done from afar.

...never underestimate what a huge influence you can be upon those around you - often the ones you least expect.

6. My Grandma - She gave me a strong appreciation for homemaking. Between her cooking and sewing abilities, she was a huge inspiration to me. I used to visit her for months at a time, and I always looked forward to those extended stays. She was a refuge. She just passed away this summer, and I wish I had been closer with her during her last years. It's been two months, and her death hasn't sunken in yet. I'm going to miss her when it does.

7. My Grandpa - He passed away when I was twelve, and to this day I still idolize him. I never saw him do anything heroic or showy; in fact, he was feeble and ill during the entire time I knew him. Growing up without a father, he was it for me. I have no idea what he did to make me love him so much, but that man had a spell cast over me. Still does.
8. My friend Pam. She stood by, and encouraged me, through some of the most difficult, yet wisest, decisions of my life. She was there when I met Donald, and I might not have met him had it not been for her. She has cried on me and let me do the same in return. Had it not been for her friendship, I may have fallen down an ugly path in life. We share morals, standards, and beliefs together... and I can be my truest true self around her - nobody other than Donald has unlocked that door.

** Juli added me as a "9th" influence, and I'm going to do the same.

Fate brought us together, no doubt. There's no other way to explain our freakish friendship. She has absolutely been my sanity this last year. Whenever I get lonely, I can sign onto messenger and count on her to be there for me. We have all the same weaknesses and the same sarcastic outlook. If I want to laugh, all I need to do is talk to Juli. Nothing exciting happens in my life without being rehashed to her within a mere hours. Between her and Catbus, a girl couldn't ask for more.

I'm supposed to "tag" 8 people. Um.
I tag Pam.

Beyond that... well, I'm sending out an open-ended tag.

My Sleepy Soldier

My husband is amazing. He's been in Iraq for 14 months now. I don't hear from him as often as I'd like, but that's what I married into and I can't complain much. He gets online once or twice (sometimes 3 or 4, if I'm lucky!) times a week, usually for about 30 minutes at a time. Phone calls are out, so our online time is all we have.

Well, he's working a job right now that's taken him away from his usual location. There, he has INTERNET IN HIS ROOM - wireless - on his laptop! He got online last night a bit after 9pm, and after having a long, long, long day... he gets online to talk with me. He ended up falling asleep at the keys within about 40 minutes. Literally. I wouldn't hear from him for several minutes, only to receive a "I love you. What? I'm sorry. I fell asleep... I love you." This pattern went on for nearly an hour. Every time I'd PM him, the chime would wake him up, and he'd try his best to respond.

The conversation was going nowhere, really. Finally, after about 10 minutes of silence, I decided to let him sleep. I stayed online for another hour or two, and watched his status go from "available" to "idle".

Of all the silly things in the world that could have made my day - THIS was it. It was as if I had physically watched him fall asleep. Just being able to share something as mundane with him as falling asleep...

it was the highlight of my week.

I've Crossed Over!

My ever faithful laptop, a mere 18 months old, took it's last breath recently. Having held vigil day and night, 24/7, ever waiting for the possibility of Donald getting online, my Toshiba Satellite pulled her own weight. Three chargers and two new batteries later, though, her life-source was faltering. To say she took her "last breath" is a bit dramatic, actually. The computer itself; the operating system and such; is still alive and kickin', and in perfect working order. It's the port where the charger plugs in that's toast. So basically, it won't charge. It's dead. A perfectly good computer... DOA.

Being here in Germany, my options for repair are limited. As soon as we move back Stateside, getting it fixed will be at the top of my agenda. Two G's down the drain would be a waste, so I'm saving her for brighter days.

Until then, though, I needed a trusty replacement.

A desktop, though, I decided.

So what did I rush out and get? Well, having never actually USED a Macintosh (Okay, maybe once. In high school. On my friend's dad's computer. For 20 minutes) of course I did the smart thing and got one. An iMac, to be specific. I did so based entirely on personal recommendations, rave reviews, and... hype.

It was a great decision. I've had it for two weeks. Now that the 15-day return policy is up, it's officially official. I love my iMac, and I don't foresee myself going PC again anytime soon.

God Works Through The Weak

I received the following in a forwarded email years ago. Just felt like sharing:

The next time you feel like GOD can't use you, just remember... 

Noah was a drunk 

Abraham was too old 

Isaac was a daydreamer 

Jacob was a liar 

Leah was ugly 

Joseph was abused 

Moses had a stuttering problem 

Gideon was afraid 

Samson had long hair and was a womanizer 

Rahab was a prostitute 

Jeremiah and Timothy were too young 

David had an affair and was a murderer 

Elijah was suicidal 

Isaiah preached naked 

Jonah ran from God 

Naomi was a widow 

Job went bankrupt 

Peter denied Christ 

The Disciples fell asleep while praying 

Martha worried about everything 

The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once 

Zaccheus was too small 

Paul was too religious 

Timothy had an ulcer..AND 

Lazarus was dead!