Believe

I believe I can make it through Lent, blogging everyday.

I believe that I will be able to run 2.5 miles again without stopping.

I believe in Hope.

I believe that believe is one of those words that stops looking like the word after you type it a few times.

I believe that Atticus will eventually kill all the mice living in our house. (Seriously, how many can be left?)

I believe in Faith.

I believe that God answers prayers.

I believe that Bill and I will finish the guest room this weekend.

I believe that Love wins.

Wait

We have done a lot of waiting for our raffles at this retreat. There are a lot of women here and it takes Bianca (the woman who is brave - or crazy enough to put this event together) awhile to get around the room collecting money and handing out tickets.

We also waited in line for dinner. But we weren't complaining because we didn't have to cook it, clean up after it, or figure out what to do with the leftovers.

We wait for the Cricut to cut out the fancy shapes and letters.

I know this is all deep and thought-provoking. But it's 11:20pm and I'm just trying to keep up with the other gals. I'm also waiting for the midnight sale (or something equally as exciting). I'm not here to solve the world's problems or wax poetic about love.

I'm just here to scrap. And I'm getting really sleepy. But I'm going to wait and see what happens at midnight.

Place

What a perfect word for today.

I'm at a scrapbook retreat in Shipshewana. I'm in a happy place.

My happy place.

I know not everyone is a scrapbook kind of person. I get that. But this is right up my alley. I'm a crafty, creative person. I have been scrapbooking for a long time. I've always enjoyed making things. Hence my love of baking. And crocheting, and stamping cards, and playing with Lego's.

I'm with three amazing women, one of whom is a close friend, the other two were merely acquaintances but I'm getting to know them better by the minute.

We are all in a happy place. The swag hasn't hurt either.

I am taking pictures with my phone, which I will scrapbook. At some point. Just like my blog, my scrapbooking has fallen behind. I am currently working on Bill's and my 10th anniversary. I blogged about that many faceted trip starting here.

But that was five years ago. I have a lot to catch up on. I hope I don't get overwhelmed in the next couple of days. This is what I needed to get me back on track. I'm in the right place.

Very little

Maybe this is why I don't normally blog on the weekends; I got nothin'.

It hasn't rained in weeks. Bill hasn't mowed the lawn since I was in Cincinnati.

We've kept my flowers alive, which I've shown you here.

I'm working on my running. The 5k is in one week. My goal is to run it in under 45 minutes.

We've been working on the guest room, scraping and scraping paint. There are three double hung windows in the room. Bill pulled off the sashes of the two that are ganged together and striped those. He'll pull the third one off, strip it, and then take them to the hardware store for new glass.

See? It's a little dry on the writing front.

I'm really enjoying my book, "Clara and Mr. Tiffany". I especially enjoy looking at the Tiffany window in our church. I know the book is fiction, but when the author talks about the glass detail, I have to assume she did her research. Or I'm just being a romantic. Either way, it's good.

That's about all that's happening here. I'm too lazy at the moment to get the cord and the camera and show you pictures from Hell. I promise I will. Just not today.

Free no more

As I have gone up north to work for Heather W. doing summer landscaping I have been able to check my email and blog. I have not used her internet, but a neighbor's wireless. Hey, if it's not password protected, it's open.

And now it's no longer an option because they either password protected it or moved. This means I don't have internet. Unless I want to get on Heather's computer, but I really don't. It's okay if I don't check my email every night. It's okay if I don't blog every day. Sure, there are things that come up, but they can wait a day.

So if you're trying to get a hold of me, the best way would be to try my cell phone. If I don't answer, then I can't talk and just like back in the day when people left messages on answering machines, I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Or, if you can, text me. It's definitely easier to send a quick text.

things that get in the way

Laundry
Dishes
Cooking dinners
Cross-stitch
Card-making
Photography
Vacuuming
Dusting
Working
Sending emails
Working out

These are all the things I've been doing instead of blogging. Not that I wouldn't rather be blogging. I have thought of so many things to write about. That is why I set the challenge to blog every single day a few years ago. Because if I don't have a personal goal, blogging (or anything else) goes by the wayside. I don't make time for it.

Things I've wanted to blog about: art projects, french braids, our road trips to see college students, the power outage, the crafts I've made…

Maybe I'll find time to write about those things, maybe I won't. In the meantime, don't give up on me. Maybe I'll go back to blogging every day.

just a blog

I have not gotten dinner started.

I did not find any pictures to use in a post today.

I am going through my pictures and deleting ones I don't want or need anymore. 

This could take awhile...

Bill, when did you want to eat dinner???

Blog log entry number 645

Dear Blog,

It's the beginning of week two of the warmest winter in my history in Michigan. Spring will officially arrive on Thursday, but Mother Nature has already decided to play tricks on us and make us think that Spring is here to last. The crocus are done blooming. The Daffodils are blooming. There are even tulips that have the nerve to bloom. I will take pictures to record this in Blog history. There is no end in site of this heat wave. The news and farmers are worried about their crops, more specifically the fruit crops. In a state where apples, cherries, blueberries and more make it the leading grower of fruit in the country; this could be bad if there is a hard freeze. Is winter really over? Are these June temperatures here to last? What will our weather look like in June? Most importantly, if it's this nice outside: why am I sitting inside blogging?

yours electronically,
Emily

blogging too late

Just a few minutes ago, while I was still washing the dishes, I asked Bill is he would blog for me. He laughed and said no! My feelings are hurt.

Just kidding, they're not, but I can't let him off too easy. He's been a big help. He always has been, but I want to give him internet-blog props (and knowing this is his love language won't hurt).

Tomorrow my mom is coming to visit. My aunts Barb and Marilyn are bringing her. Grandma will also be along for the ride.

Bill has helped me cook dinner (not just help, he's cooked dinner) every night this week and tonight he helped me clean. I just made a pasta salad and crumb cake for tomorrow. Between painting, working (you know, my real job), laundry and dishes, I haven't had much time to do anything else.

Thanks goodness for my fabulous husband (even if he won't write a blog for me).

The funny thing is that I've given him so much kudos that it may end up sounding like he actually wrote this (he didn't, I promise).

Tomorrow, I hope it's not this late when I get to write my blog. I get more creative at night (isn't that how it always goes?) but I'm a morning person. So the creative juices either have to wait it out until morning, or... well wait until morning. Tonight was not a typical scenario. But the creative juices are happy. And possibly delirious. Good night.

m.i.a.

Where in the world is Emily?

What happened to her blog?

Why isn't there a new post?

Are you wondering any of those things? If not, I do not know why you are here reading my blog. ;) If you have been wondering those things, well I can explain. You may have noticed the Quota of Grand Rapids feed in the right hand column. That has been my focus. We just had our huge Membership Awareness Event last Thursday. As the Chair of the Committee, I was in charge of it. After last year's disappointing event I knew this year had to be better. And was it! We had 42 people in attendance. That beats last year's 16 by, well you do the math. Our theme was "Be A Star and Lighten the Burden". Hopefully we'll get photos on the blog soon. Overall I am thrilled with the turnout and the event.

I am not overwhelmed by Quota, but I am keeping busy. I am the President-Elect. As of April 22nd I will be Q.I. of Grand Rapids next club President, as long as I run unopposed. I don't think anyone has ever had opposition, so the election is pretty much set. So if you are interested in what I'm doing, you may want to check that blog first! I am one of the blog administrator's over there too. I wear a lot of hats.

As for what has been going on here, well not much. Bill and I went to the Detroit Auto show with Dave on the 17th. I have photos, but they're being held captive on my camera. I am busy with work. We have not done anymore work on our living room. Something which I plan to start again this week. Because now I'm ready to be finished with that project.

We have plans this spring, but nothing in the near future. I sound boring. So there's your update!

Maybe I'll be back again soon.

One more

I just thought I would point out that my visitor count is at 3,499. I am one away from 3,500 (in case you couldn't do the math). That's exciting. Considering I have been blog-absent. I guess it's like writing in my journal. I am excited to do it, but then to sit down and remember and take the time... especially when you don't know who's reading your blog, it gets put in the back of my mind. I've been focused on the Quota blog. Feel free to check it out! We're trying to get the word out about who we are and what we do! In the meantime, don't forget to check back here. And don't be afraid to harass me. Maybe that will keep me on top of my blog. I hope you have a great day!