Cheap thrills...

I know I should be blogging about deep philosophical topics... but there are certain things that make me feel great and I just want to write about them.  One thing that is in my top 10 of making me excited is a GOOD DEAL!  I love finding something great and paying very little for it.  This also spills over into food.  I love making a super yummy meal for really cheap that would cost a lot in a restaurant.  Tonight... we had broiled tilapia that was marinated in lime and cilantro with a mango/avacado/tomato/red pepper/lime salsa and corn on the cob.  I estimate that I fed my family of 3 with that meal tonight for less than $7... that's not per person... that's TOTAL.  Ahhh... that makes me happy.  It was good and it was healthy and it was CHEAP!  Woo hoo! 

A fun week in Seattle

Mattie and I just got back from 8 fun days visiting my parents as well as my brother in Seattle.   It was generally a mellow week, just what I needed.  I realized that it had been a year and a half since I'd been home.  I think that is my lifetime record.  I usually visit at least twice a year.  Bob ended up not coming up for any of the trip this time.  He was able to go backpacking with his friend Chris near Yosemite the first weekend we were gone.  I was very happy for him to get that opportunity.  He needs to be in the mountains regularly and I'm glad it worked out for him to go.  Much of our week was spent shopping.  Seattle has tons of awesome 2nd hand stores.  There is a kid's consignment store I particularly love and I even discovered a new one.  My brother's fiance, Heidi, introduced me to a terrific 2nd hand store for women's clothes and I picked up a few really fun things for myself.  But generally, my focus is loading up on clothes for Mattie.  I always buy for the next size up.  This trip I was focusing on finding clothes and shoes for the next school year.  Another store I love is Fred Meyer.  They have great quality kids' clothes and cheap prices.  I wish we had Fred Meyer down here.   Other than a couple of pairs of shoes I bought, I didn't spend more than $6 on any one item for Mattie (most were $4 or $5) and no more than $8 on any item I bought for myself.  Now that's awesome!  I'm one of those crazies that gets a cheap thrill off of a great deal.  I think I like certain clothing items even better because I spent less on it.  Of course, my downfall is that because I save so much, I tend to buy more quantity.  I'm working on that.  After my trip up there, I think I'm going make a more concerted effort to hunt down the best Good-Wills here, since there are hardly any consignment or 2nd hand stores around here.

In addition to shopping, I got to spend some good time with family.  My mom had some long-time family friends, the Madsens, over for dinner along with my brother, Heidi, and her daughter, Sophia.  Dick Madsen was Branden's Bible study leader for like 6 years or something crazy like that when Branden was in jr. high and high school.  The Madsens are all too familiar with pain and loss.  Dick has been fighting leukemia for over 10 years.  He is a walking miracle!  Their son, Rick, died of the same leukemia his dad has 10 years ago.  He was in his early 20s.  Jeanie's 1st husband and daughter were killed in a car accident leaving Jeanie and her son Paul over 30 years ago.  Then the Madsen's adopted daughter almost got killed in a head-on car accident 10 years ago or so.  They have been dished a way too large of portion of pain, loss, and tragedy in their lives.  It was really good to spend time with them.  It had been a long time.  Later that week I got to spend an hour or two just with Jeanie for coffee and muffins at her house.  It was nice to talk to her, to talk to someone who understands loss personally.  Jeanie is passionate about grief counseling (for good reasons!) She gave me a good book that talks about ways to help children grieve.  It has many good ideas. 

There is more to write... but no more time to write it. 

1st Post...

This is my first post.  It feels very much like starting a major "term" paper or something... I don't know where to begin.  So I thought I would just start by saying just that.  This is a blog just for me.  I have a blog for Mattie, my 4 1/2 year old, and a blog for my sweet Julia, who now waits for me in Heaven.  But I desired a space for me.  A place to process the ups and downs of life.  A place to vent.  A place to question.  A place to seek God.  My life growing up and even past college was pretty easy and uneventful.  However, life has definitely been different in many ways than I would have expected since then.  This includes both unexpected joys and well as unexpected grief and trials.  I can say, however, through every mountain and every valley, God has been at my side.  And though I would like to be spared pain, it is in every painful place where God has met me head on and carried me to deeper places.  Romans 8:28 ^"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  That does not mean for one millisecond that God spares us pain!  It means that God can take all the crap in our life, all the things life throws us, all the bad choices we make, and He can use that stuff not only for our good but for the good of His Eternal plan.  The bigger pictures.  And sometimes our "good" is not roses and rainbows.  God cares about a deeper relationship with us more than anything.  So if life throws us pain, He will use it to draw us to Him in a deeper way and maybe even reach others.  And that is good.  


Well, it's time to spend some time with my husband.  Until next time...