Just Rannin' Around

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Long day.......but worth the sore feet.

Yesterday my baby sister got married. People always give me a hard time for still calling her my baby sister because she is 24 and not so much a baby. However whether she is 3, 24 or 96, she will always be my baby sister. It was a beautiful wedding.

There is nothing more exciting to me than to have my family gathered in one place. I don’t think that I forget how much I love and adore my family, but I think that sometimes the routine of daily life helps push it from surface to something of a hidden treasure. We aren’t a normal family (but then again I don’t think that normal exists). There are so many different personalities and hopes, dreams and desires, yet together we are one. One in wanting each other to succeed, find joy and to be able to bug the crap out of each other throughout the eternities.

Taking pictures was a chore, as usual, yesterday. I have nine nieces and nephews ranging from six to 5 months old, of course it is my three brothers that we have to get to behave. Once we finished pictures and the reception began, we were supposed to greet and mingle with the guests. Don’t tell my mom, but I think most of the time was spent talking to each other with an occasional interruption saying hi to the aunts, uncles, cousins and friends that come to extend their warmest congratulations to my sister and new brother-in-law. I don’t think that I ever had my hands free the entire night. There was constantly a niece or a nephew that needed to hold my hand or be in my arms (exactly how I love it). At one point I had both my 4-year-old nieces asleep in my lap, one on each shoulder.

As we finished cleaning up for the night, although we were all tired from a long day, there was still a longing for wanting to stay together just a little bit longer. There is something so comforting in feeling unconditional love and unconditional acceptance that we never want to leave it. However being past the babies bedtimes helps in breaking up the party, so hugs all around and kisses from the little ones and back into the cold, bitter world a little warmed up and strengthened.

We are excited for the new addition of a brother-in-law and a nephew on the way. I am blessed beyond measure to be allowed to be a part of my incredible family!

Friday, January 26, 2007

And sometimes life goes better than expected....
 
I have been blessed with many beautiful, loving, talented friends!  I have a dress for the wedding tomorrow all thanks to Venus and her wonderful sewing skills.  Not only do I have a dress, but I have a dress that is amazing and she did it all in bascially one day!  
 
I lovey, love, love you Venus!  Thank you!! 

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Sometimes things just don't work out….

 

My little sister is getting married this Saturday (that is in 5 days).  I am her maid of honor.   I received a phone call last night that there is no possibility that my dress is going to be to me in time.  Fabulous!  It only took me 2 months to find that one….finding modest dresses is not an easy thing.   Back to square one with extremely limited time.

Friday, January 19, 2007

It has been over a year.....
 
 
 
Without any end in sight.....
 
 
 
Not even a mirage.....
 
 

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

***Breaking News***

 

"Sorry for interrupting your regularly scheduled broadcast, but we have a situation in progress in Nebraska.  John, what's going on?"

 

"Well Kelli we are currently at the Lincoln Children's Zoo in Nebraska where the kangaroos are protesting the statement that they don't exist in these parts of the world.   We have also been informed that the wallabies in Little Australia in Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo nearby are in uproars.  It has been rumored that the A.C.L.U. have had several closed door meetings with all the marsupials here in the area.  These critters just aren't happy about being overlooked and nobody really blames them."

 

"Wow John that looks like quite an intense situation there.  The only question that I have is why the kangaroos want to be acknowledged being there when they were safe because Ms. JRA was sure that there weren't kangaroos in the area and was packing up and leaving?"

 

"Kelli we currently don't have the answer to that and many other questions.  All we know for certain is that JRA has admitted that she was not correct when she made the statement that they weren't in Nebraska.  We will definitely keep an eye on this story though."

 

"Thanks John.  We will now return you to the regularly scheduled program currently in progress."

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

You've got to take the time or you'll miss what really matters.

 

I know that I spend too much time worrying about things over which I have no control.  After all these years I am still trying to learn how to release it into the hands of Him whose will I need to follow rather than my own.  

Monday, January 08, 2007

Not my favorite way to start the morning……

 

I was almost kidnapped when I was in 5th grade.  If I haven't shared that story with you, let me know and I will.   Since then I have been more aware of my surrounding for that is what saved me from an early death. 

 

This morning I pulled into our parking structure a little earlier than I usually do because I had an appointment at 8:00 and I always like to beat the clients here by 15 to 20 minutes.   As I came off the street I noticed a man aimlessly walking around the parking structure.  At 7:40 in the morning most people have a fairly direct line from their car, up the stairs and into the building to start the work day and don't just randomly wonder around the parking lot so this caught my attention.   I also immediately got an uncomfortable feeling. 

 

I pulled into my regular parking spot but instead of putting my car in park and hurrying to gather my stuff, I left the car in drive (which keeps my doors locked) and scanned the area to see if this man was still around.  It was not even a full second that I saw him walking toward my car.  He walked a few feet away around the front of my car and then disappeared behind the wall next to which I park.   At this point the two of us were the only ones in the parking area.  I decided to stay in my car with the doors locked until someone else pulled up and I could safely walk into the building with them.

 

It took 10 minutes before another car pulled in and luckily two actually pulled in at the same time.  During those 10 minutes I didn't see that man again but was full aware that he was still in there since he would have had to come back into my line of vision in order to exit because there is only one exit and I was in between him and the exit.   I quickly got out of my car and walked with a faster pace toward the other two women who were making their way into work.  I looked over my shoulder and sure enough that man was standing behind a wall peering out to see where I was.   It made my skin crawl. 

 

Please everyone, be aware of your surroundings and if you don't feel right about a situation there is nothing wrong with trusting it.   After all I would much rather look like a paranoid idiot than find myself in a horrible situation. 

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Some days you just know you've got it!

 

Most days I feel good enough to at least go out and join the human race knowing that I will blend in and that most won't even notice little ole' me.  Other days, such as this past week, when I take that final look in the full length mirror before leaving my home, I know that heads are going to turn (and not because I have toilet paper hanging off my shoe).

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Taking advantage usually requires hunting…..I think that I am going to borrow the pink 22 that belongs to my 3-year old niece.  

 

I have watched and I am learning.  I have taken some risks and reaped some rewards.   I have given up some pride and seen much clearer.  I am stepping forward where I once would typically stand firm due to the fear of multiple unknowns and discovered joy, comfort and peace.   I have allowed my guard to be off duty and found strength. 

 

Opportunities are all around us.  For a long time I imagined that some people were just lucky and it fell from the sky because they never seemed to lack.   However, as I examined it with a microscope I found that most of the time, it was that those people actually were doing things that enabled opportunities to flock around them making it a fairly easy shot with chances of missing slim to none.   Also, I found that if the flocks still didn't appear it was likely due to the fact that I was in the wrong hunting grounds.  After all if you are wanting to hunt kangaroos, looking for them in Nebraska will inevitably leave you empty handed and frustrated. 

 

As much as I don't want to admit it…..I have been hunting kangaroos in Nebraska.

Monday, January 01, 2007

Welcome to 2007!

I used to take making goals at the beginning of each New Year extremely serious. As I have become older, I have realized that it is actually more beneficial to make goals whenever the opportunity needs to be taken. There is no reason putting off bettering myself till the beginning of a year. Although I do understand that it is an easy time to start fresh and so I still find myself more motivated to do the things which I know that I need to anyway.

Take today for instance. I woke up a bit on the later side, at least for me, but felt an urge to get some projects started. I didn’t immediately get out of bed, instead I picked up a book that I have been meaning to read and got involved in that for a good amount of time. After, I made my bed for the day and rather than going to my favorite place (the shower), I pulled on my workout clothes and actually took a nice run (boy am I out of shape). Wondering downstairs I had a late breakfast with my roommate which was quite yummy, spent an hour on the phone with a dear friend and then finally made it into the shower. Since then I have studied an entire unit for my class I am taking and took the first exam (which I scored 100%, thank you very much) and got caught up on some additional material. Not to mention I still have a good portion of the day left to do the remaining items that I would like to accomplish. I feel pretty good about today.

The dreaded part of a New Year is that I start thinking about the things in my life which I have known for a while that I need to clean out of my life. Why is it so terribly hard to get rid of those things which don’t bring me personal growth, happiness or help me to accomplish that which I am ultimately trying to obtain? Why do I always want to clench my fist and justify those things which aren’t encouraging and motivating me to higher planes? This year I really feel a need to make a huge emotional D.I. pile and finally get rid of it. This time I just can’t keep it because it feels comfortable. I foresee a huge battle within myself coming. Especially since some of these things involve placing people into different categories in my life and possibly causing some hurt in the process. It is definitely easier for me if it just causes me grief and pain.

I am excited what this New Year might have to offer. I still have all of my usual goals, hopes and dreams attached to this year that I have to all the rest, in addition to the new goals, hopes and dreams that I plan to work toward this year. I pray that all of you find happiness that can’t be denied, unfeigned love that doesn’t go away, friendships of perfect trust and understanding, and everything righteous that your heart desires along with the courage to go out and get it.


 

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