Simple Diary

Rainy Christmas Eve: Check.

Chaotic Family Get-Together with the family: Check.

Lots of good food and good times: Check.

Tonight, I received a little book that will hopefully keep me blogging more frequently. It's packed full of random nuggets of questions, quotes, and wisdom. It is called "Keel's Simple Diary." There is a page for each day. There are several multiple choice questions and statements, and some fill-in-the-blank opportunities. I love it. I will try to share the more interesting days that I fill out. Here is tonight's entry, as well as my introduction sheet.

(All of the options I chose are BOLDED. All of my extra comments are in blue.)

Congratulations. You got Simple Diary in ROYAL BLUE.

This could mean that you

a) like Porto Ercole. I had no idea what this is- in fact, until I googled it, I thought it was a person.

b) are a thinker. Well, and I'm a Feeler, but I also think a lot. About everything.

c) dislike muffins. Untrue! I love muffins.

What you might need right now:

1. someone to tell you 

2. Oscar Peterson

3. stop your nicety!

4. less salt on French fries

5. cosmic breeding

6. trim the hedges

7. racing stripes

8. a hummingbird

9. goodwill There is a lot of goodwill in my life; but somehow, I was still drawn to this answer. I love "nice" people, and those who do good.

10. a light suitcase

Plural kills the fantasy, orchids last longer.

Not if the orchard is living with me!

In so many ways, you can't wait for this: Africa

I am so excited to be traveling to Zambia, Africa for 10 days at the end of January! I'm going with a team of others, and I be capturing our trip through photography and video. I can't to see how God uses this trip, and I also hope to be able to put together some media/art for Lifesong for Orphans when I return (we are taking the trip through this organization).

Royal blue is a relief and interestingly

a) flattering. This color IS so flattering. I really like it a lot.

b) works well on blonde. This is true, but the answer I chose is all-encompassing, because royal blue also looks good on brunettes and red heads.

c) unfashionable Untrue!

REMARKABLE

insatiable patience

palms by sunset What could be more remarkable than this?

united molecules

MEDIOCRE

long explanations

skim milk duds Go for the real deal, if you're going to have milk duds. Except I do use skim milk in my cereal.

uptight anxiety stuff

Date: Thursday, December 24, 2oo9

Your day was:

a party

a U-turn

a smarty

Explain: Christmas Eve w/the fam- it was a chaotic party!

FEELING AT HOME

1. Opening an organized, odorless refrigerator filled with everything you like.

2. A mess of your own making, reassuring diversions to keep you busy and engaged in every corner. This definitely describes "feeling at home" to me.

3. The same person or animal that sometimes makes you want to leave your home.

If it's not there, there's nothing to find out.

I really like this quote.

Are you at peace with your hair?

a) yes Truly! A rare moment, trust me... I mean, I never usually hate my hair, but I get bored of it quickly. 

b) no

With respect to your generosity:

a) no comment

b) some take advantage

c) fifty-fifty There are plenty of people who are generous to me in return, so I have to go with 50/50.

*You will either enjoy this as much as me, or you will be someone who reads this and doesn't quite understand why I would spend my time with something like this. I seriously love stuff like this-- and, I think it is a great conversation started for blog material! Thus the comments in blue. I can never just fill out questions like these and then not have additional feedback. =)

Enjoy! Love you all.

T

Sharing the Gift

Well, people keep coming up to me and saying, "I was a (insert # here)."

After giving them a confused look, recognition floods my face as my brain scans all of the possible Facebook statuses, pictures, or blog posts they could be referring to. Guilty as charged-- my last blog entry was way too long ago, and I need to update so as to give my friends, family, and potentially strangers new material to discuss with me. Ha! Although, the "personality" test was kind of interesting, wasn't it?

Christmas is quickly approaching. Christmas Eve was always the big day in our family. Family tradition was that we opened all our gifts on Christmas Eve night, after dinner of course. As a child, it was always a painfully long day. I would run over to the tree every few minutes and examine all of my presents for the thousandth time, rearranging them, shaking them, changing my mind about which one I wanted to open first. There was such anticipation in getting to open gifts. I still love it and look forward to it, but somehow, when you get older, a lot of the magic dies. Maybe it's because the "surprise" factor is taken out of it-- nowadays, I know about 90% of the gifts I will be receiving before I open them. So how is that a gift? I mean, it still is, but to me, most of what makes a present exciting is being surprised. 

We never believed in Santa. I wasn't one of those kids who had that shocking, devastating moment that I remember when I first realized Santa wasn't real, because to me, he never was. I always knew that my parents bought all my gifts. And I'm glad. Santa is great and all, and I don't mind him, but I'm fairly sure I won't be teaching my kids about him. Presents are a wonderful token of giving, and that's what I want to teach my kids. The importance of a generous heart. Not about some guy with a white beard and a bag of toys who only gives to kids who are nice, and not naughty. 

Anyway. Christmas morning in my family was "stocking" time. So you see, the whole 2 days was full of all sorts of presents. Now, it's a bit different. Everyone is married with kids, so our big family celebration this year is going to be on Christmas Eve day. I'm excited about it; I love being with my family. Christmas day, then, will be my parents and I, and we are going to spend the day with a couple of cousins. That should be a nice time, as well!

I love Christmas. I love the holidays, the music, the decorations, the food, and all the excitement that seems to be present in the air. I love all of the hype and the environment and all the stereotypical stuff that most people either dislike in the first place, or eventually get sick of 10 days into December. But to me, it's what makes the holidays so exciting. It adds sparkle and flair, and it puts a smile on my face. 

I must admit, though, that this year and even in years past, I haven't been doing the best at remembering the true Reason for the Season. I mean, I know what's it is all about. But I feel as though I haven't placed the amount of importance on it that it warrants. I think that after awhile, it is easy to go through the motions of it and chalk it up as "another year of Christmas," instead of stopping to really focus on the magnitude of what it means for all of us.

What are we celebrating? A birth of Jesus, the One who is our Saviour. Without Jesus and His death on the cross, we end up where we belong-- burning for eternity. His gift of salvation is all we really need in this life, and so often, too many of us try to find happiness in other "gifts." But just like any material gift we will receive this Season, it eventually breaks down, becomes outdated, loses its magic, or gets rusty. Does salvation break down? Does it become outdated, lose its magic, or get rusty? Absolutely not-- it's the one gift that cannot be earned, is not deserved, and should always be shared. You can't give anyone salvation, but you can tell others about how this gift has changed your life. 

Anyway, my point is, without Jesus' birth, there would be no ultimate gift. And really, we don't deserve it, anyway. But let's be glad that He was born into this world so that we have hope today.

Love you all, and I hope you have a terrific Christmas with your family and friends. 

I'll be back soon!

T

I was a 36

Well, today was crazy.

Kristi left for Florida and will be gone for a week, so I'm manning the shop by myself. I actually really don't mind being alone and enjoy the independence, but I am finding that I miss having a team mate! Especially on days like today. Everyone decided to stop in. I LOVE visitors and customers, but it was just busy! The day flew right by me. 

Anyway, I'll share this fun little test that I've known about for years. I've gotten it in several e-mail forwards, and word on the street is that this is a personality test that Dr. Phil gave on an Oprah show many moons ago. If you have a few minutes, take it-- it's kind of interesting!

Begin..

1. When do you feel your best? 
a) in the morning 
b) during the afternoon & and early evening 
c) late at night

2. You usually walk 
a) fairly fast, with long steps 
b) fairly fast, with little steps 
c) less fast head up, looking the world in the face 
d) less fast, head down 
e) very slowly

3. When talking to people you 
a) stand with your arms folded 
b) have your hands clasped 
c) have one or both your hands on your hips 
d) touch or push the person to whom you are talking 
e) play with your ear, touch your chin, or smooth your hair

4. When relaxing, you sit with 
a) your knees bent with your legs neatly side by side 
b) your legs crossed 
c) your legs stretched out or straight 
d) one leg curled under you

5. When something really amuses you, you react with 
a) a big, appreciative laugh 
b) a laugh, but not a loud one 
c) a quiet chuckle 
d) a sheepish smile

6. When you go to a party or social gathering 
a) make a loud entrance so everyone notices you 
b) make a quiet entrance, looking around for someone you know 
c) make the quietest entrance, trying to stay unnoticed

7. You're working very hard, concentrating hard, and you're interrupted; do you ... 
a) welcome the break 
b) feel extremely irritated 
c) vary between these two extremes

8. Which of the following colors do you like most? 
a) Red or orange 
b) black 
c) yellow or light blue 
d) green 
e) dark blue or purple 
f) white 
g) brown or gray

9. When you are in bed at night, in those last few moments before going to sleep, you lie 
a) stretched out on your back 
b) stretched out face down on your stomach 
c) on your side, slightly curled 
d) with your head on one arm 
e) with your head under the covers

10. You often dream that you are 
a) falling 
b) fighting or struggling 
c) searching for something or somebody 
d) flying or floating 
e) you usually have dreamless sleep 
f) your dreams are always pleasant

POINTS: 
1. (a) 2 (b) 4 (c) 6 
2. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 7 (d) 2 (e) 1 
3. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 5 (d) 7 (e) 6 
4. (a) 4 (b) 6 (c) 2 (d) 1 
5. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 2 
6. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 2 
7. (a) 6 (b) 2 (c) 4 
8. (a) 6 (b) 7 (c) 5 (d) 4 (e) 3 (f) 2 (g) 1 
9. (a) 7 (b) 6 (c) 4 (d) 2 (e) 1 
10. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 6 (f) 1

Now add up the total number of points.

OVER 60 POINTS: Others see you as someone the should "handle with care". You're seen as vain, self-centered, and who is extremely dominant. Others may admire you, wishing they could be more like you, but don't always trust you, hesitating to become too deeply involved with you.

51 TO 60 POINTS: Others see you as an exciting, highly volatile, rather impulsive personality; a natural leader, who's quick to make decisions, though not always the right ones. They see you as bold and adventuresome, someone who will try anything once; someone who takes chances and enjoys an adventure. They enjoy being in your company because of the excitement your radiate.

41 TO 50 POINTS: Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical, and always interesting; someone who's constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding; someone who'll always cheer them up and help them out.

31 TO 40 POINTS: Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful & practical. They see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest. Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who's extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expect the same loyalty in return. Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over it if that trust is ever broken.

21 TO 30 POINTS: Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy. They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder. It'd really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment, expecting you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then, usually decide against it. They think this reaction is caused partly by your careful nature.

UNDER 21 POINTS: People think you are shy, nervous, and indecisive, someone who needs looking after, who always wants someone else to make the decisions & who doesn't want to get involved with anyone or anything. They see you as a worrier who always sees problems that don't exist. Some people think you're boring. Only those who know you well know that you aren't.

Love you all!

T