Amazing.

From Friday, September 14th at 9 a.m. until Sunday, September 16th at 9 p.m., I.....
1. was on the road for circa 16 hours.
2. slept for a total of 15 hours.
3. rode a ferry to & from Mackinaw Island.
4. consumed ONE grande iced white chocolate mocha.  (The key word is ONE.  One in a 60ish hour timeframes. *whispers*  Who am I?)
5. consumed peanut butter fudge.
6. drove across the Mighty Mac twice.  The 2nd time paying it forward by treating the car behind us (Bryan went across with his Sis in her Corolla!) to free bridge fare.
7. got stuck in Packer traffic.
8. consumed a ridiculous amount of snacks traveling to / from Mackinaw
9. got called SIS twice.
10. got surprised by my dad.  He drove up to spend the weekend with us!!!!

My February 2016 Project ~ February 1st ~ Iron-shrapening friends

Day #1 - Monday, February 1, 2016

Today I've been thinking about the wonderful friends and family members the Lord has put in my life who have encouraged me NOT to settle.  The friends and family who keep me accountable and smack me with reality.  

It's hard to find REAL people who won't just tell you what you want to hear.

I'm blessed with the bestest friends a girl could ever want / need / have.  

They don't tell me what I want to hear.  They tell me the HARD TRUTH.

They know when I need a thrift night...or a knitting night...or a cup of coffee.  

They will re-arrange their schedule to make time for me.  


They mean the world to me!!! 

Adventures on the metra train

I'm the type of girl that likes to do a trial run.  I like dress rehearsals.  Practice makes perfect, right?  The story I am about to share happened on a day when I decided to throw caution to the wind and try something new....a new metra line.

This past Tuesday ~ mom, Bryan and I took the Schaumburg metra in to Chicago.  It was extremely affordable... $1.50 to park all day and $5.75 per person one way.  Taking the metra saved my sanity and a small fortune in Windy City parking rates. 

We arrived at the Schaunburg station approximately 30 minutes early.  The non-attendant-ran station was a bit unnerving as we had never been there.  We did, however,  discover a turn-style book rack with several good reads....including a couple of newer Karen Kingsbury books.

The train arrived promptly at 3:47 and we were off on our grand adventure in to the city.

We arrived at 5:10 which was nice because it afforded us time to find the Amtrak gates and get mom and Bryan situated.

Their boarding call came at 5:20.  They board seniors and those traveling with children ~ since my mom is technically a senior and Bryan his youngest, they were able to board early.

I, then, walked across Union Station to the metra tracks.  This is where I space-out.....  During our trip IN to the city, I had read and re-read the silly train schedule. I knew that the 5:34 train was a commuter train ~ thus it doesn't make all the same stops as the train in....yet when I was standing there with people bustling to the Big Timber Train, all sense of "maybe this is the train I should NOT be taking" fled my pretty, little head. 

What did I do?  I boarded the wrong train.

And I didn't realize it until we were pulling away from Union Station.

The ticket puncher (much like Tom Hanks' in Polar Express) said I would need to exit the train at the stop before my actual stop and sit there and wait 30 minutes for the right train.

I did as directed...however in the meantime, it had started to drizzle.

At the wrong station, the doors were locked with the exception of a very small (think bus stop small) side room which was occupied with a boisterous young couple and their 6 month old.  I learned that the "mom" was not looking forward to her upcoming court date and had quite detailed plans regarding self-medication before the bless-ed event.  Needless to say ~ 10 minutes of THAT and I went back outside to sit under the awning. 

Also it should be noted that OF COURSE my cellphone had died.  I thought to myself, I could totally get shot here and no one would know.

As promised by "Tom Hanks" (which the guy not only was hole punch happy but he did kinda look like Mr. Hanks) ~ the next train arrived right on time.

Literally 5 minutes after we pulled away from the wrong station, we were at my stop and my metra train adventuring ride was over. 

Day #3....continued...

My brother is amazing.  He brought his cordless drill to Rockford and helped me hang a curtain rod in my bedroom.  I desperately needed one because the light from across the street is obnoxiously bright. And it's not that I don't love the light because it does make the front of the building safer....it's just it's bright when I am trying to sleep.  So tonight we went to JoAnn's were I found and purchased a brushed nickel curtain rod.  After a couple minutes of measuring and marking, Bryan had successfully hung a 70" curtain rod.

I don't have curtains yet but I got the hard part taken care of...the hanging of the curtain rod.  And now to find some fabric to make some shabby chic curtains.

Visitors ~ Day #3 ~ Monday

Oooh what a wonderful blessings....getting to use vacation days while my mom and brother were visiting.

Today is our third day (It's weird to count Saturday as the first day as we spent it inside Rosie ~ my Toyota ~ traveling across Indiana and then through Illinois.).... We were slightly undecided about how to spend this sunshiney Monday until Bryan asked if he could go to Lake Geneva.  Who a.nice to say "No" to the lake?!?!?!  Do you know me at all???

We headed to the gym for a pre-lake morning work-out.  It was grand and glorious.

After the gym, we changed and got ready for our outing. I had complete confidence in the dogs self-control and ability to lounge around their humble home.  They had the t.v. on to keep them mildly entertained.  (Mostly I make them watch PBS because it's educational.  Today they got all news.  They need to be informed.) 

We headed up to the lake around 11 a.m.  It was amazing.  Sunny and high 70's.

We did however have a heart-breaking moment....we learned that as of June 15, 2014 ~ Lake Geneva's Caribou Coffee is closing. Gone forever.  Bye bye.  Talk about break a girl's heart...  In honor of this beloved establishment's demise, we celebrated with iced coffees and much picture taking.

We journeyed down near the beach and snapped photos. 

Fun was had by all.

Visitors ~ Day #2 ~ Sunday

Sunday as filled with church...followed by lunch at Jason's Deli...and then a much-needed trip to Woodman's.  Nothing extravagant. 

Visitors...

On Saturday, I arose from my slumber, prepared for my day, and then flipped a trip from Rockford to Michigan and back again.  I went to Michigan to attend a graduation open house and fetch my mom & brother.

It was a looooooooooooooong day.  Thankfully on the way back to Rockford, I had amazing conversationalists who did not judge my fits of late night laughter.  Infact Bryan even encouraged it. 

570+ miles in one day is a bit much.   We survived...but our sanity was shot.

The truest friend

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.  ~Washington Irving

Still My Soul ~ Keith and Kristyn Getty

Still my soul be still
And do not fear
Though winds of change may rage tomorrow
God is at your side
No longer dread
The fires of unexpected sorrow

God You are my God
And I will trust in You and not be shaken
Lord of peace renew
A steadfast spirit within me
To rest in You alone

Still my soul be still
Do not be moved
By lesser lights and fleeting shadows
Hold onto His ways
With shield of faith
Against temptations flaming arrows

Still my soul be still
Do not forsake
The Truth you learned in the beginning
Wait upon the Lord
And hope will rise As stars appear when day is dimming

Can you believe that it was 50 degrees outside today?  50 degrees and it's December 26th...and these photos were taken in Michigan City, Indiana!!!  Bryan and I were sitting on the patio at Starbucks discussing life when I had the notion to take our picture.  Not having a third person to actually snap the picture, we used the timer function.  Well...when I suggested that we place the camera on the table, Bry said, "What?  We would have to scrunch down like this" and then he proceeded to contort his body so that his head was level with the tabletop.  Once we stopped laughing about the contortion, Bry had a lovely idea, "Put your camera on-top of your coffee cup." 

This second picture cracks me up because we realized that I had set the timer to take three pictures with 10 second gaps between each photo.  I love this second picture because it sums up our brother/sister relationship...we really do enjoy one another's company.

I love my brother.  I love that he makes me laugh.  I love that he listens.  He loves me...inspite of the fact that I am not always worthy of the Sister of the Year award.  I am thankful that we had the opportunity to spend the day together laughing, thrifting, and just BEING.  It was so nice and refreshing. 

I'm thankful for...

Remember last month when I had mentioned that I wanted to do a series of blog-posts about what I am thankful for....well, I didn't post as diligently as I had hoped...but since then, I've done alot of thinking about things/people/places/experiences that I am thankful for.  Yesterday while sitting in my cubicle feeling way-too-overwhelmed-with-an-insanely-busy-workload-and-perhaps-a-lack-of-8-quality-hours-of-sleep, I thought about being thankful....

I'm thankful for...

...past work experience in places where the workload was overwhelming day-in and day-out.  I'm thankful that it's not like that now (yesterday, Tuesday, and Monday aside).

...former and current co-workers who have taught me alot about life...mostly good...some things were very random.

...warm beverages to consume on chilly mornings.

...my church family.  When you stop and think about -- church family is equally as important as family-family.

...my Pastor and his wife!

...slippers.

...the cottage.  I love that the Lord provided a fabulous space for me to reside...and wonderful neighbors (past and present :)).

...my family.

...the experiences, the heartbreak, the joy, etc. -- for without these lessons, I would not be the person I am today.  I'm thankful that the Lord has allowed these occurrences to happen in my life.  I'm thankful that He loves me enough to test and try me.  The calm assurance that He is with me during these times (and all times) is enough.