Episodes from the relationship file: Valentine's Day

Okay as we all know the lovely day Valentine's Day is fast approaching and I am unsure how I feel about it (this will not be a rant on Valentine's Day I promise). February 14th is coming and again I find myself without a better half (quite frankly I am a pretty awesome half, sorry some who shall remain nameless would say I am being sassy but it's true). In past years I have hated and cursed this day, sometimes I enjoyed it, and other years I accepted it for what it is. It is a day to celebrate Love. This does not necessarily mean the love between a man and woman but could be love in general. The love that God has for us, the love we have for our family and friends etc however I am not stupid and I know the main emphasis has been always on that special love.
I am echoing a friend of mine who recently posted about Valentine's Day with this post but I would like to also point out that there is hope found in love. Yes, right now I do not have a boyfriend, and quite frankly I would like one (I am being honest). I am at the stage of life where getting married and having children is what you do so it is hard not to think about it. However, I do not want to be in a relationship just to check off a box.

• I want to find that person who loves me for me, for every single part of me.
• I want them to accent my best qualities and to challenge my worst.
• I want someone who looks at me like I am the only person in the whole world.
• I want a guy who will take care of me. For so long I have taken care of everyone around me and it would be nice to be taken care of.
• Also, they better be able to make me laugh.
• I want to feel safe in his arms (trust is a huge thing for me)
• I want a guy who I can be proud of

This might sound like a bit of a wish list but I know what I want and what I deserve.
I was reading an article in Glamour (yes, I read Glamour, I even subscribe to it) that stated rules for single and married people, some of them are really good and so I am going to share them with you:

1. Marry someone you want to sit next to for the rest of your life- a Glamour reader
2. Don't trust anyone who doesn't laugh (and really why would you want to be around people who don't?)-Maya Angelou
3. Don't be with a stupid man just to be with any man-a reader's grandfather
4. Let there be spaces in your togetherness- poet Kahlil Gibran ( in other words have a life outside of your significant other)
5. You need not think a like to love a like- another reader
6. Love itself is what is left over when being in love had burned away-Captain Corelli's Mandolin

and my all time favorite......

"To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance"- Oscar Wilde

This Valentine's Day I am going to celebrate love as I find it in my life right now. God, my friends, my family, and but also remain open to what life may bring me and if that is a guy then I will do what I always do roll with it and enjoy the ride!

Episodes from the health file

So, it was good while it lasted. I have been healthy since early September but this past week illness hit me straight on. It began on Thursday with a sore throat and by Friday I had no energy, zip, nada, zlich. Needless to say I was sent home after an hour of work and told to sleep. So, on Friday afternoon I began the battle of me vs. germs! I stayed in the apartment all weekend (only venturing out to get medicine and oj) sleeping, drinking more fluids then anyone should, and just resting (thank God I have a Wii, and lots of movies). Yesterday was by far the worst of it as I had no energy at all but today I can say (thanks to my vaporizer and my pharmacist Nancy Davis) I can finally breathe and have a bit more energy. I will continue to the fluids and going to bed early but I am hoping tomorrow will be okay as my Mondays are LONG.

Thanks to all who offered tips and good cheer.

Episodes from the relationship file, what's been on my mind lately

Someday my prince will come.....

So, if you know me, you know that I have always wanted to be a wife and mother. I enjoy taking care of others, it brings me joy. The Lord has imparted on my heart a love for people, especially children, and making sure they are taken care of. Needless to say relationships have been on my mind a lot lately.

A close friend of mine and I are going through what we call "a funk". We both are single and really have little (we entertain thoughts of certain people) to no prospects in the relationship sphere. Please hear me say that I enjoy my life and where I am right now. Sure, I would like some things to be different but all in all I am the happiest I have been in a while. Still, there are some days I just wish I had someone in my life to share life with. I have friends, family, and amazing roommates but it is not the same as having someone who loves you the way a guy. My friends and I have tried to imagine what kind of guy I will end up with and all I can do is pray that if God has that in the plans for me that he will bring him into my life at the right time.

I once heard this story in regards to waiting for a relationship. God can see me and who I am supposed to be with but for right now we cannot see each other and when it is time God will reveal us to each other. I just have to learn to be content in where the Lord has me right now and be patient which is not always easy.

More to come on this topic as it is on my mind a lot lately.

Episodes from the style file

For those of you are around me often you know that lately my hair has grown VERY long. I could reach behind my back and touch it. As much as I enjoy the way my hair looks when it is long it gets to a point where it just hangs there and does nothing. That point was this weekend.


So, Monday I had the day off and headed off to Woodfield and Mastercuts to get a haircut. The girl I had was amazing and she did an awesome job. The haircut I wanted was Anne Hathaway's hair in the movie "Bride Wars"


Here is the final product:

Episodes from the holiday file: New Years

Happy 2010 everyone!

I personally am excited about this upcoming year. I feel like I have accomplished a lot but I am also glad to have a clean slate. As some of you remember from my post on goals from earlier in the year there are several things I want to be working on and I am hoping to get many of them accomplished. I also hope to have a better attitude about things that happen around and to me. There are few things I can control in this world but the biggest one I can is my attitude. I need to not complain when something does not go my way but instead remember that God has a reason for everything big and small, good and bad. I need to also remember how much God has blessed me and to count those blessings daily.

Speaking of a blessing, the last week and a half has been a blessing that at first I was not too excited about. Trinity closed down the campus for a week between Christmas and New Years which to most is a wonderful thing but for a part-timer like me not sure much but as usual the Lord had something to teach me through this time. First of all he taught me that when I rely on him and him alone I will never be in want. Yes, I was out a week of work but the Lord provided me everything I needed, the biggest thing being rest. Everyday I got up when I wanted, did what I wanted and did no work. I read, watched movies, hung out with my brother and traveled.

The first few days after Christmas I spent with Kara in Aurora. We had day of fun part 360 (not really but we have lost count) which consisted of mani/pedi's, watching New Moon again, eating at BDs, and watching movies. For New Year's I took the train and headed up north to be with my friends Britt and Aubz where we had a quiet time ringing in the new year. We watched Dick Clark and played games. The rest of the weekend was spent watching Glee with Aubz (Someone call the Vatican we got ourselves another immaculate conception! haha).

All in all I ended the year and started a new one in pretty good fashion. Here's looking at you 2010, bring it on!

Episodes from the Holiday file: Christmas Eve

Happy Christmas Eve everyone!

For the first time in 30 years my family will not be at my Aunt's house for the annual Christmas Eve party. This saddens me but I understand why. For as long as I can remember my family would head to Christmas Eve mass and then off to Aunt Joyce's to reunite with aunts, uncles, and cousins by the dozens. I would become the token babysitter with everyone dropping their kids off with me in the basement. Santa would stop by with gifts for all, and everyone would gather around the counter to grab food.

This year I am spending Christmas Eve in my apartment watching movies and baking the ham that John my brother and I will take to dinner at my parent's house tomorrow. It is a quiet night which is not necessarily a bad thing, just a little strange. It reminds me ever more that I am in a transition stage of my life where I do not have my own family yet but since I do not live with my folks anymore family times are different. I know that things will continue to change as I grow older but at the heart of it all is the love my family shares for each other whether we are near or far.

The holidays are a time of the year that I really love which is surprising since with my mom her depression tends to get worse during this time so they have not always been cheery. I just love the holiday spirit and the joy of giving. I might not get a ton of gifts but I am reminded of the blessings I have been given over the years and the greatest one being Jesus as my savior.

I pray that you all have a blessed Christmas with the ones you love. Happy Christmas!

Episodes from the busy file

Ahhhhhhhh!

That is all I can say after this week! This week was not only December Commencement, Finals, housing change and check-out but also I had a major project deadline facing me. Basically, I barely came out alive. Thank the Lord for good friends who helped me either emotionally or with my attitude or with actually do projects and things for me and for the prayers.

After working a 14 hour day yesterday I slept in today and then made some breakfast before finally getting ready. As a nightcap I am planning on watching a holiday movie and making toffee. I am looking forward to a few weeks of less stress and just fun as I head off to Aurora to see Kara and then to Lake Geneva.