Outing

*NOTE: Hence the revamping of my blog, I am going to try to start updating more often (ie: more than twice a year), so please visit!

I only work 4 days a week for 10 hours each, so I get most of my Fridays off. This is very nice. Last weekend, we had my sister's kids. That particular Friday, I was in charge of Sophia (4) and Beau (1).

We started off by walking up to the root beer stand. Note-- it's not A&W anymore, it's the "root beer stand." No more A&W food, but it all tastes the same to me. Anyway, it was a wonderful warm spring day, aside from the wind that was blowing all over the place.

My favorite spot to sit is usually the sun, so I parked everyone at a picnic table in the wide open and retrieved our ordered hot dogs, fries, and root beer floats. It all seemed like a good idea until the gusts of wind started blowing our food, paper, and plastic everywhere.

What is a trip to the root beer stand without a Dairy Queen to follow? So, there we were, sitting on the big red bench for anyone driving down Main street to see. About 2 minutes into our ice cream cones, Sophia drops hers. Not just on the ground, mind you, but all over my pants and leg... following by an upside down smiley face and dramatic tears.

The tears subsided as soon as I handed her a new one. Anyway, after this, we started walking to the High School. They were having a "Farm Animal" day, so there were all sorts of creatures to walk around and pet. Sophie loved it.

At one point while we were walking together, Sophie told me, "I know where Grandpa works."

"Really?" I said, "Where?"

"Worm."

Sure I had heard her incorrectly, I said, "Where?"

"Worm."

I shook my head. "No, honey. Grandpa works at Caterpillar."

Sophie looked at me with a troubled look, and we walked along in silence for a moment. Then she pointed out, "Well, a worm and a caterpillar are the same thing."

I had to smile. I love the little connections that kids come up with, and how they communicate and learn.

Later that afternoon, the Steffen children came over to play outside.

Following are some pictures of our adventurous outing.

Sophie posing

Pushing Beau

What to get?

"Just feed me my ice cream."

Holy Cow!

Little PiggiesAlways on the Dance

Spring in IL

Favorite face

Naomi's idea of a Hug

Hey, Beau

Learning to Walk

We love Spring!

Where next?

What?

Love you all! T

It's Spring

Well, ok.

A ridiculous amount of time has passed since I last wrote, so for that I apologize. And I make no promises for the future, as I see that those are often left unfulfilled. So, here I am, writing. I may or may not return within the next 6 months.

Anyway, spring is here! I heard on the radio today that the coldest day of our winter was January 24 at 8 below, and then 3 days later, the warmest day of our winter was on January 27 at 67. Typical Illinois weather. Anyway, I keep checking my weather widget at work and home, and the forecast remains in the 40s and 50s with sunny skies for the next week. I am not complaining.

Sunnier skies yet are just around the corner... in 3 weeks, I'm going to Arizona. My cousin, who is actually 2 years younger than me, is getting married (I'm always looking for a good excuse to fly out there) and so my mom and I are making a week of it. The weather there at this time of year is about 80 degrees and perfect. I can't wait.

It's a construction zone around here. Honestly, I don't think that our house can go 2 years without part of it being ripped apart and started anew. We have officially stripped the floor in our dining room, front entry way, steps, and living room. Underneath our carpet was actually an undiscovered old hard wood floor-- very neat. However, not nice enough, to refinish. SO, we are laying down new wood and will carpet the stairs and upstairs hallway. Last Sunday afternoon, we painted the dining room a whole new color. My dad has been faithfully sanding the steps every evening. Little by little, this house is being transformed into something different. TLC should just park right outside and air daily. It'd be great.

I should post pictures tonight, but I'm really tired and it seems like a lot of effort. Maybe next post. Now that the weather is getting nicer, I'd like to drag all nine of my nieces and nephews out of doors and get some cute pictures in daylight. I'll see what I can capture over this Easter weekend.

Well, it's a wrap. Speaking of wraps, there is this amazing Asian crunchy wrap with peanut sauce that I often eat while at a small coffee shop here in Morton. It's delightful, and actually sounds really good right now. But I already at a bowl of cereal and took a bubble bath, so I'm just going to go to bed. Love you all.

T

2007 Moments

2007 in Review

The following image gallery displays some of my favorite captures in 07.
Pick a few that you enjoy and tell us all why!

Keys

Beyond

Teddy Beau

Swish

Feeling Blue

Destin

Make a Wish

Flower Girl

Falling Up

Tired

Behind the Bouquet

Fleur

Sea Buds

Boo

Antennae

Summer Lovin'

Sutsie Pie

Delightful

Owl

Little Miss

Love you all! T

3:19

Every year, I wait for 3:19 p.m. on January 2. Every year. I remind myself continuously throughout the day... and EVERY YEAR, I forget. I could put a bright yellow post-it note on my forehead to remind myself, and I'd probably forget to look in the mirror. It will be 3:39, or 4:10, or even 3:10 with only 9 minutes left and I'll STILL forget.

Why 3:19? Well, it just so happens that I was born at this time 22 years ago. And guess what. I forgot this year, too. I was sitting at work on a Macintosh computer with the digital time clearly in front of me... but it's no use.

The great thing about birthdays is that it's a great excuse to be able to do WHATEVER you want with a 100% justification. For instance, today I wanted to eat 2 brownies instead of one. "It's ok," I told myself. "It's my birthday."

Then, after work, I walked into Old Navy with the notion to just "look around," but after seeing the 50% off signs covering the store, I silently thought, "Well, I guess it IS my birthday."

After having a special birthday dinner with my 3 sisters, I was driving home and found myself pulling into the parking lot of the tanning salon. "It's 5 below out," I reasoned, "and after all, it's my birthday!"

Now, I realize that this excuse doesn't work for ideas such as, "Well, it's ok to eat that ENTIRE chocolate cake," or "Maybe the car dealership won't care that I took that brand new car if I just tell them it's my birthday." Silly, really, but I just wanted to clarify.

"It's my birthday," IS a great thing to be able to say, and for me, it will be over in 3 short hours. However, it's been a pleasure being 21, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for my 22.

love you all! T

October Daze

This post is just proof that I am not completely lost to the blogger world. *smile.*

Or, at least, proof that I LOVE to write, and since this has seemingly taken over my "journaling" time, I am destined to return. At times, when it has been awhile, I crave writing... it is almost like food to my soul. Every time that I can sit down and let words pour out of my mind, it is therapy. I have a very monotonous job during the day, and I sit for nearly 10 hours each day. I find my mind wondering in and out of stories, ideas, conversations, and potential blog posts. :) Sadly, most of the time, none of these brilliancies take place. They just float around in my mind, and get shoved down to the bottom of my brain when I get home from work at 6 p.m. and am forced to fly through what little time that I have to eat supper and catch up on my home life.

This post will be categorized into topical sections because at this point, I see no other way to organize my wandering mind. Even now, I sit on my bedroom floor, leaning against my chair, legs crossed, spooning 31 Flavors chocolate-peanut butter + mint chocolate chip ice cream into my mouth... when I SHOULD be rushing around, picking up the scattered bags, folders, and pictures that litter my purple space. I am in the process of moving my "office work," including Two Peas in a Palette records, projects, and personal financials and to a newly created office space in the basement. Two Peas in a Palette plus "Taryn's new abode" has now arrived. It is located in the lower level of our house, easy for customers to access if they want to pick up their box of Christmas cards or pictures. It consists of a big, white-washed desk, a new black leather computer chair (just purchased tonight!), and another small piece of furniture that holds supplies. And, of course, pictures and sparkles and color. Anyway, I have already gone off on a tangent that CLEARLY should have been put into a topical section, but in my need to just keeping going, I'm going to wrap here and start the topics.

PERSONALITY
Don't worry. I still LOVE to research, talk about, and think about personality. I find it so very important in my life. I don't know why, and quite honestly, I don't really remember when the feddish began. All that I do know,is that it has revolutionized how I look at my life and my relationships. This http://www.personalitypage.com/home.html is still my favorite website concerning personality types. Anyone else who takes the time to take a personality test in the Myers-Briggs realm or has any comments to make concerning this info, let me know! I love to discuss.

JOB FRONT
Still working at the publishing place in Peoria. I like what I do, yet as I mentioned, it can get monotonous. I am definitely still on the search for something else. My dad does a great job at keeping my connected with Caterpillar and all its many contacts. If I had a choice, I'd love to end up there. It's a great company, and I enjoyed my experience as an intern. Also, am looking at other local businesses, companies, agencies, and design firms around the area. If anyone happens to hear anything, let me know... :)

FAMILY
Tillie Sue is the newest cute little addition to our family. I'll post pictures soon, but not tonight. I have a lot of cute ones of the kids, so maybe I'll do one of each in the next couple of days. Gab, if you're readying-- maybe even a Top Ten mixed in. :) Anyway, I love spending time with my family. We are celebrating Tonya's 33rd bday this coming Tuesday, so that should be fun. The flu bug has gone through Tasha's whole family (she, of course, had to go to the hospital... her poor body cannot really deal with it, especially when she's pregnant. She was ok after an IV... she tends to go downhill fast when she gets the flu) and now Tate. Hopefully it stops there in that family because I doubt Melissa has time for such a sickness with her two little ones. I just passed up a flu shot at work yesterday. No thanks, I said. I don't do needles very well, especially in front of others. Actually, every time I have to get bloodwork done, nurses always say my veins are small, and the last time, it was so very painful so I would rather not invite an opportunity for that. Also, I heard that sometimes you can get sick from those? Who knows. Hopefully I'll stay healthy. When I first started working at my new job, everyone in my little office space was getting sick, so I took Airborne one morning. Well, I didn't really know how many vitamins and nutrients were packed into those little dissolvable pills, so I kept taking them every morning for a couple weeks until my medically minded friends told me that it's not good to overdose on vitamins, even if it is "good" for you. Hilarious. I probably had dangerously high amounts inside of my body. I'm clueless when it comes to stuff like that. It's why I'm in the design field. I'm just glad we have doctors out there. Needless to say, I've made it this far into the season pretty healthy... I'll write back tomorrow when I'm home sick, *knock on wood*.

Ok, sorry, the "family" section turned into a tangent. Ugh. I'm bad at this topic stuff.

FRIENDS
My best one is getting married on December 2. So weird! It's fun, though. That makes 3 Morton weddings in about a 2 month period. I love weddings. They make me so happy. I think some people get sick of them but not me. I could go to a wedding every Sunday. There are just so many people, and everyone there is special to someone, and all of the pictures and happiness and food... it's just great. Kristi is doing this 8-week wedding thing beautifully-- it's a good thing she's a pretty quick decision-maker.

Heather and I take walks every once in awhile together in the evenings. It's so nice, we'll just walk and talk really fast (both). Also, Heather, Gab, and I had a little Starbucks session the other night, and that was delightful. It's nice to be back home and catch up with some home friends. I've now officially entered the 'working and singles' group, and that's kind of scary.

So I go back to ISU Bible Study as much as possible on Thursday nights :) I just LOVE all my ISU friends. I miss them so much, and it's nice to see them when I can. I have so many special friendships to keep up between room mates, friends, and college buddies. I just went to college weekend this past weekend, and it was so neat to see everyone. I stayed overnight with a couple of old room mates and it made me want to move back in to the college scene. :) Late night talks, early morning coffee, and lots of laughs. That's the life!

College weekend was so amazing. I am always blessed by how great God is, and how His Spirit can work in so many great individuals in such different ways. I heard a lot of great messages, and even though I am an ISU "alum," I felt like I needed to hear all of it. So applicable. Also, I sang with the ISU group during the evening program, and I did not feel a bit out of place. I love it!

IT'S A WRAP
Really... if you could see my bedroom floor, you'd know why I'm leaving. Glad to be back... hopefully I'll STAY back... I'm going to post pictures soon! Love you all!

T

Fall Update :)

So, it has been entirely too long since I have posted... but it's never too late for an update.

What's New...

1. In August, my mom started selling some of her fun little baby items from her Sutsie Pie line in Washington. There is a store on the square called "Holiday Presence," which sells cute gifts and holiday treasures. It is quite a big store, and in the back, there are some spaces rented out by others who wish to sell merchandise on their own. This makes it more of a "botique."

My mom, in all of her endless creativity, sells hankies dresses, blankets, rag tags, and then additionally, her Feed on the Word dishes, and on top of that, a bunch of fun trinkets that she has obtained wholesale from many different catalogs. It has been quite the fun advernture. I have spent a few different times now sitting Indian style on the wooden floor of this store, using a pricing gun to stick a "$14.99" sticker on a snowman figurine, or sparkly ornament, or glittery candle. It is a plethora of color and fun, so stop by if you get the chance!

I also put together some of my flower photography in the form of framed wall photography + cards that I sell. Those are also displayed for sale in her space. Very fun times!

2. Work... I started a job in August at a publishing company in Peoria. I do mostly layout, typesetting, photo editing, etc. It is very fast-paced and fun, and each week brings something different. In fact, some weeks, I get Fridays off (because we work 10-hour days, so by Thursday, our 40 hours are in!) and other weeks I'm there form 7 am-7 pm and on Saturdays, too. It just depends on how busy we are. The fluctuating schedule keeps me on my toes, but I must say, I had a 4-day weekend last week, and it was NICE.

3. My best friend is getting married. SO exciting! A moment we have all been waiting for. It's a crazy 8-week engagement, but I must say-- it will be a very fun wedding!

4. God's Miraculous Moments... here's a little story I'll share. My parents were in Kiawa, Kansas this past weekend visitng some relatives. They were driving back home all day Monday (it's quite the road trip.) Just as a preface, last Wed. night in church, I heard an amazing sermon on "When bad things happen to good people." It was great, but I found myself thinking-- hmm, I've had it REALLY pretty good. It made me wonder if I would develop a seriously bad illness, or if I would drive home and find my house in a pile of ashes, or if I may see road kill on my way home only to find out it was my pet cat. Needless to say, my life continued on very nicely. Then, on Monday morning, I was listening to 88.5 on my way to work. Michael Easily is always on at 6:30, and his message that morning was, "How do we know God loves us when bad things happen? We often measure God's love based on our experiences rather than on what He did for us." It got me thinking again about how blessed I have been in my life.

Immediately, my mind went to the only area of danger it could at that moment-- my parents driving home on their 14 hour drive. I prayed for them right then and there, and made it a point to do so periodically throughout the day as I thought of them.

At about 4 p.m., my sister called me to inform me that my parents had hit a deer.

By God's grace, my parents were perfectly ok. My dad did not see this deer at all and yelled right before he hit it. My mom said she was working on a bible study and looked up just to see his hoofs flying in the air. He got caught and then flew off really quick, damaging a good portion of the front of our Tahoe. However, the amazing beauty of this story is that no one was injured.

I have to thank the good Lord for prompting me to pray that day. Obviously, this situation called for thoughts sent heaveward for safety and love. My sister also mentioned that she felt a prompting to pray that day. God works in mysterious, miraculous ways!

5. I am going to Chicago tomorrow! About 4 years ago, a group of us girls from Morton who are really good friends took a shopping trip to Chicago in the Fall time and had such a great time. Ever since then, we have continued to make it our tradition every Fall. This weekend is the lucky weekend. I can't wait to have some fun with friends, strolling the crisp, lit-up streets of Chicago with Starbucks in hand, scoping out all of the great sales and trying not to spend too mcuh money on food (this seems to be a problem area for us! One year, we joked that we spent more money on food than on clothes!)

Love you all! Thanks for reading... if you still stop by! I'll update more often... T

Worship Defined

Every week, I get "The Weekly Walk" e-mailed to me. Last night, I attended a worship singing for the first time in a long time. It was long overdue, and it was wonderful. The words below hit home!

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind . . .” Luke 10:27

We were created and saved for the sole purpose of bringing glory to God. True worship recognizes that I am for Him. I breathe for Him. I live for Him. I spend my life for Him. The essence of worship is proclaiming God’s rightful worth and position. It’s one of the reasons why we go to church: to sweep out the peripherals that have crowded God out of His central place in our lives.

So much of what passes for worship these days misses that mark. Worship is not about me-what God does for me and how He benefits me. Worship is not singing, “Hold me close, let Your love surround me, bring me near . . .” An element of testimony is fine, but worship is singing to God. The joy of worship begins when we break the chains of self to be free to focus on God once and for all. God is not some exalted human being at the top of the mankind chain. God is ineffable glory. He dwells in unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16). He is not like us at all. He says of Himself in Isaiah 55:9, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

God leads us to the place of worship because that is the place where we rightly belong. The word worship in the Old Testament means “to bow before.” It’s the picture of pressing your forehead to the ground in extreme humility and recognition of the infinite superiority of the one who is worshipped. That is our rightful place. The amazing thing is not that God invites our worship, it’s that He would care about what we as sinful people would say about Him at all and even more-that He would seek it (John 4:23).

Though I can’t explain it exactly, when the God of the universe is rightly worshipped, powerful things happen. When Jesus is passionately adored without shame or pretense, without entertainment or needless comedy, God shows up.“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind . . .” Luke 10:27

We were created and saved for the sole purpose of bringing glory to God. True worship recognizes that I am for Him. I breathe for Him. I live for Him. I spend my life for Him. The essence of worship is proclaiming God’s rightful worth and position. It’s one of the reasons why we go to church: to sweep out the peripherals that have crowded God out of His central place in our lives.

So much of what passes for worship these days misses that mark. Worship is not about me-what God does for me and how He benefits me. Worship is not singing, “Hold me close, let Your love surround me, bring me near . . .” An element of testimony is fine, but worship is singing to God. The joy of worship begins when we break the chains of self to be free to focus on God once and for all. God is not some exalted human being at the top of the mankind chain. God is ineffable glory. He dwells in unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16). He is not like us at all. He says of Himself in Isaiah 55:9, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

God leads us to the place of worship because that is the place where we rightly belong. The word worship in the Old Testament means “to bow before.” It’s the picture of pressing your forehead to the ground in extreme humility and recognition of the infinite superiority of the one who is worshipped. That is our rightful place. The amazing thing is not that God invites our worship, it’s that He would care about what we as sinful people would say about Him at all and even more-that He would seek it (John 4:23).

Though I can’t explain it exactly, when the God of the universe is rightly worshipped, powerful things happen. When Jesus is passionately adored without shame or pretense, without entertainment or needless comedy, God shows up.

Love you all! T

Chelly's Garden

Each year, our community puts on a garden walk for the Morton area. This year, my mom's beautiful garden was in the walk. The pictures below give you a small taste.

I'm back!

My reason for writing is twofold:
1. Gab keeps harassing me to update, and
2. It's been since February since I last wrote, so. That's 2 months.

Anyway, a few areas of interest, latey:
1. The weather. I mean, SERIOUSLY. It has been so gorgeous! I am absolutely an SAD victim, and the sun's warm rays just speak to me. I certainly hope that we can enjoy at least another month of this glory before we plunge into hot sticky humidity.

2. American Idol. Yeah, I don't know. Now that I'm home again, I have allowed myself to indulge in one entertaining tv show (of course, aside from The Office). I just clapped out loud for Melinda Dolittle in my living room. She is outstanding. I just adore her. I don't know if she heard me or not (probably not), but her performance was just fantastic.

3. Graduation. Yes, that's right. I graduate in 3 weeks. I realized that it won't really hit me until next Fall. Summer is always vague of school, but come next Fall when everyone is registering for classes and I am just hanging out with my job in October, it will be weird. No more homework at the end of the day. No more lecture halls. No more campus. Exciting, but also kind of sad. I am kissing a big time of my life good-bye. It has been an experience-- on that I will miss.

4. Food. Well, this is always a topic of interest. However, tonight I was able to enjoy supper at A&W with my parents, and that was just marvelous. A big ol' chili dog, a basket of fries and a rootbeer float- I mean, you just can't beat it. We ran into some friends, chatted awhile. I love that small-town feel in Morton. And recently, I had a giant peanutbutter cup dessert at Uno's, and that was really exciting.

5. Exercise. Now that the weather has warmed up, roller-blading and running become a more enjoyable means to nurture my cardiovascular needs. Ok, story time.

So, last week, I am out roller blading. I only have 2 blocks to go, as I am going to my house from Dairy Queen. Which means that I have a chocolate blizzard in my hand. Usually I haul, and usually, I am in the street. But tonight, with ice cream in hand and phone in the other, for some reason I end up on the cobblestone-like sidewalk that runs along 1st Street.

So there I go, tucking my phone in my pocket and taking a bite of my blizzard. Well, as I get ready to roll down the little ramp into the street, in the darkness of the night, my rollerblades catch an unknown object and I find myself smack flat on the sidewalk. There was no tripping involved, no stumbling. Stumbling would have been great. But, no. Just SMACK. My knees took the brunt of it, and my hands were scratched and bleeding. My blizzard had planted itself on my neck and in my hands, and all over my face. It was kind of an emotional time, especially since I lost my ice cream.

I lay there, face down on the sidewalk, trying to decide what to do. The only thing that would escape my mouth were small little whimpers, and it was then that I decided to peel my body off the ground and limp home.

I'm fine. My knees are brown & blue, and I have a couple of nice scabs on my hands. Other than that, my spirit was not crushed (because no one saw me) and it only gives me good story-telling content until I do something even more stupid.

Alright... that's enough for tonight's update. I wouldn't want to jump in full-force; that might be too much, so this light-hearted material will have to do for now. Talk at you later. Love ya'll.

T