Sept 9, 2007
Salma's first annual Short-Short Film Festival!!
first of all i just have to say that Salma is amazing! she is so my hero! love her.
she got this great idea and just went with it. she sent info to a bunch of people in congregations all over spokane to make their own movies and then tonight was the big showing. chris and i have just been too busy to make one ourselves, but we still went to the show. there were so many people there all sitting on lawn chairs in her driveway and she projected the movies onto her garage door once the sun went down. such a cool idea! there were 6 movies made and a couple wouldn't play (for whatever reason) but the ones that did were so great! there was one done by the CO and his wife....an old western-esk movie. black and white, very funny...with cute "extra features." and then there was one called "blondzila" very well done. the had actors and when the guy "picked them up" they turned into little figurines. it was great! we had popcorn and candy and hot chocolate. every had a great time. hopefully chris and i will be able to have a movie made for next summer. chris is planning on building a new computer and making it for movie/picture editing and music production. hopefully we will have something cool for her next short short film festival!
today is also a special day in that it was one year ago that chris and i had our first kiss. we were at the fair in okanogan waiting for KJ to finish her ride and we were just standing together facing each other. he hugged me close and brushed against my cheek, and then we kissed. it was such a beautiful moment. all the emotions we had bottle up for so long came rushing out. i just knew i was supposed to spend the rest of my life with this man. i can't beleive that was a year ago already....and look at how far we've come. now we are husband and wife, happy, together, and falling even more in love with each other every day. :)
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Sept 3, 2007
yesterday and today have been so perfect! since there was a special meeting saturday we didn't need to go on sunday, so we got to sleep in....really sleep in! and then we just spent the whole day together, just the two of us, watching movies and just being together. it was such a treat! i didn't even leave the apartment all day and chris only left to get more movies. then on monday we both had the day off so we did pretty much the same thing only at 2 in the afternoon we went to jon's plance. he made us dinner and we watched some movies he had. it was so nic eto just be together and not stresing about life, and work and money and stuff. just a good couple days to CHILL! we so needed that. i love my husband so much. finding him was such a gift. he is so kind and giving and hardworking. and he loves me---me! imagine that! i never thought i would find someone, let alone someone like him who understands me so well adn loves to laugh with me. i am so excited to see wehre our lives and our love takes us. it is a fun process...learning each other and figuring things out. i love chris more that i can even say. he makes the poet in me feel inadequate!
yesterday and today have been so perfect! since there was a special meeting saturday we didn't need to go on sunday, so we got to sleep in....really sleep in! and then we just spent the whole day together, just the two of us, watching movies and just being together. it was such a treat! i didn't even leave the apartment all day and chris only left to get more movies. then on monday we both had the day off so we did pretty much the same thing only at 2 in the afternoon we went to jon's plance. he made us dinner and we watched some movies he had. it was so nic eto just be together and not stresing about life, and work and money and stuff. just a good couple days to CHILL! we so needed that. i love my husband so much. finding him was such a gift. he is so kind and giving and hardworking. and he loves me---me! imagine that! i never thought i would find someone, let alone someone like him who understands me so well adn loves to laugh with me. i am so excited to see wehre our lives and our love takes us. it is a fun process...learning each other and figuring things out. i love chris more that i can even say. he makes the poet in me feel inadequate!
Sept 1, 2007
wow, september 1st already! this summer went by so fast. today is the first day of the new service year. my plan and goal is to continue to pioneer. i didn't make my time last year and with everything that's happened i have been pretty discouraged about myself being a pioneer. i love service, i love Jehovah, i love people, and especially since i've moved to spokane i have found real joy in my ministry. i'm worried and scared that i am somehow disappointing everyone. but i am going to try to be more organized and actually have and stick to a schedule. and i think that having chris to encourage me will definately help. i have a big day on thursdays planned with salma. i also got a really cute encouraging card from Pam DelBiaggio, a sister in my old hall. its just said that she appreciated the good example i have been setting in putting Jehovah first and serving where there is need. it was very sweet. it made me feel like maybe i really can do it and maybe what i do can help encourage others. :)
another thing that was good about today was a special ASL meeting. we had a brother and some families come from the group in kennewick to give us a special public talk and then we had our watchtower study. it is so encouraging for me to go to the meeting and to be able to understand and comprehend. and aslo to be encouraged by the information. the talks aren't any different...but the beautiful language just makes it so clear. the truth has just really come alive to me again. i love being a part of this and i am so enjoying this opportunity.
wow, september 1st already! this summer went by so fast. today is the first day of the new service year. my plan and goal is to continue to pioneer. i didn't make my time last year and with everything that's happened i have been pretty discouraged about myself being a pioneer. i love service, i love Jehovah, i love people, and especially since i've moved to spokane i have found real joy in my ministry. i'm worried and scared that i am somehow disappointing everyone. but i am going to try to be more organized and actually have and stick to a schedule. and i think that having chris to encourage me will definately help. i have a big day on thursdays planned with salma. i also got a really cute encouraging card from Pam DelBiaggio, a sister in my old hall. its just said that she appreciated the good example i have been setting in putting Jehovah first and serving where there is need. it was very sweet. it made me feel like maybe i really can do it and maybe what i do can help encourage others. :)
another thing that was good about today was a special ASL meeting. we had a brother and some families come from the group in kennewick to give us a special public talk and then we had our watchtower study. it is so encouraging for me to go to the meeting and to be able to understand and comprehend. and aslo to be encouraged by the information. the talks aren't any different...but the beautiful language just makes it so clear. the truth has just really come alive to me again. i love being a part of this and i am so enjoying this opportunity.
Aug 31, 2007
tonight we had Derek and Juliet over for dinner. chris cooked another absolute masterpiece! he is such a good cook! :) then we just hung out talking and visiting till 11:30. Juliet and i went into the bedroom and i showed her all my scrapbooks. it had been awhile since i had even looked through them. i loved showing them to her because she really looked, ansked questions and read all my journaling. the we just started talking about life and our past and future plans. we both work and banks so we had that to talk about too. all in all, it was a very enjoyable evening. its fun being a couple and having couple friends. :)
anyway, back to my scrapbooks. the last thing i have in there is from november of 2005! how sick is that? i have not even scrapbooked one thing about chris--nothing at all. i seriously need to get on that! ASAP! i have all the stuff to do Kelly's wedding album for her, and a little mini-album as a present from my wedding. i just can't seem to find the time and my scrapbooking room/office is such a disaster. it will take me all day just to organize it, nevermind scrapbook anything. i almost had a new job at a scrapbook store here. i had an interview and everything, but the owner gave all my hours to another girl that already worked there. that totallly would of been just the inspiration i need to get motivated again. to spend my days surrounded by paper again. man do i miss it! so bad! hopefully on monday chris and i will organize things a bit. i think that will really help. my soul is in desperate need of something creative! i think i'm going to start small just to get into it again. then jump on my 2 years of life i'm behind on. i'm am getting excited about it. truly can't wait!!
tonight we had Derek and Juliet over for dinner. chris cooked another absolute masterpiece! he is such a good cook! :) then we just hung out talking and visiting till 11:30. Juliet and i went into the bedroom and i showed her all my scrapbooks. it had been awhile since i had even looked through them. i loved showing them to her because she really looked, ansked questions and read all my journaling. the we just started talking about life and our past and future plans. we both work and banks so we had that to talk about too. all in all, it was a very enjoyable evening. its fun being a couple and having couple friends. :)
anyway, back to my scrapbooks. the last thing i have in there is from november of 2005! how sick is that? i have not even scrapbooked one thing about chris--nothing at all. i seriously need to get on that! ASAP! i have all the stuff to do Kelly's wedding album for her, and a little mini-album as a present from my wedding. i just can't seem to find the time and my scrapbooking room/office is such a disaster. it will take me all day just to organize it, nevermind scrapbook anything. i almost had a new job at a scrapbook store here. i had an interview and everything, but the owner gave all my hours to another girl that already worked there. that totallly would of been just the inspiration i need to get motivated again. to spend my days surrounded by paper again. man do i miss it! so bad! hopefully on monday chris and i will organize things a bit. i think that will really help. my soul is in desperate need of something creative! i think i'm going to start small just to get into it again. then jump on my 2 years of life i'm behind on. i'm am getting excited about it. truly can't wait!!
Aug 30, 2007
"The Most Disgusting Service Story EVER!!!"
so i went out in service today as planned. salma bought me lunch as a bribe to stay out longer for the afternoon and it worked! so, at 2 or so mercades had a bible study to go on and asked me to go with her. now i've been on this study before, and let me tell you----it is the most disgusting house i have ever been in. the woman is deaf and very, very sickly. she looks probably twice as old as she really is. her husband, who is crippled is the only care-giver she has. the house stinks so bad that one wiff could knock you over. she has a big chair in the middle of the room in front of the tv that she pretty much lives in. and in front of that is one of those port-a-potty seats, but not only does she use it for that, she puts a peice of cardboard on it and uses it like a tv tray to hold her remote and her food! it is just nasty! so, initially i told mercades i couldn't go because it was so bad. but she guilted me into it saying theat she has just as hard a time. so i went. the study actually went very well. it was the most responcive i' had ever seen her. we watched 2 paragraphs onthe DVD and she understood and answered the questions. that was about as long as we could stand to be in the house, but as we were leaving she asked us if we could take her BAG FULL OF POOP outside to the garbage. she lifted the cardboard off the toilet and she pulled this bag out. if the smelll could get any worse, it did. mercades almost lost her lunch right there and headed to the door after appologizing. i just grabbed the bad and ran outside, found the garbage can adn we ran to the car. i have never felt so dirty in all of my life!!!! human poop, in a gab, being carried by me!! YUCK! its truly amazing what people expect. how bout that for a story!!??
"The Most Disgusting Service Story EVER!!!"
so i went out in service today as planned. salma bought me lunch as a bribe to stay out longer for the afternoon and it worked! so, at 2 or so mercades had a bible study to go on and asked me to go with her. now i've been on this study before, and let me tell you----it is the most disgusting house i have ever been in. the woman is deaf and very, very sickly. she looks probably twice as old as she really is. her husband, who is crippled is the only care-giver she has. the house stinks so bad that one wiff could knock you over. she has a big chair in the middle of the room in front of the tv that she pretty much lives in. and in front of that is one of those port-a-potty seats, but not only does she use it for that, she puts a peice of cardboard on it and uses it like a tv tray to hold her remote and her food! it is just nasty! so, initially i told mercades i couldn't go because it was so bad. but she guilted me into it saying theat she has just as hard a time. so i went. the study actually went very well. it was the most responcive i' had ever seen her. we watched 2 paragraphs onthe DVD and she understood and answered the questions. that was about as long as we could stand to be in the house, but as we were leaving she asked us if we could take her BAG FULL OF POOP outside to the garbage. she lifted the cardboard off the toilet and she pulled this bag out. if the smelll could get any worse, it did. mercades almost lost her lunch right there and headed to the door after appologizing. i just grabbed the bad and ran outside, found the garbage can adn we ran to the car. i have never felt so dirty in all of my life!!!! human poop, in a gab, being carried by me!! YUCK! its truly amazing what people expect. how bout that for a story!!??
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Aug. 28, 2007
so i bought this book like a month ago with the best of intentions...since i don't have access to the internet, i was going to write in this and then add each entry to my blog when i had a chance. great concept...but as with everthing else in my life right now, it slipped away from me. so i'm going to start today, tryand cath up a bit, adn continue on. we shall see.....
so in review:
July was rather wier for me. work had just seriously gotten out of control. summer is hard at banks. we were short on tellers with vacations and things, and had one new one in training, which means she hangs around getting the way. ant it seemed like nothing i did was good enough for my boss, Jackie. so to say the least, i was stressed out about that. at the same time Chris was having just as harda time at his job. more hours, less money, and drama up the wazu! you'd thing people could just deliver packages in peace, but NO! and both of us aren't very good at just leaving work at work. on top of that i had really not been feeling like myself for awhile. I was honestly sinking into depression. everything was just getting so overwhelming and really hard to handle. it was hard for me to get out obed to go in service, to go to work, to do anything. It seemed like every day soemthing new would pop up, there was no break or time to recouperate before the next thing. it really all came to a head on Tuesday July 31st. after a long day at work, chris and i were heading to the meeting adn my car just died while i was driving. At just first glance we couldn't see what was wrong. So we pushed teh car back to the apartment and took chris's car to the meeting. that night on the phone i told my mom: "its the last straw...till the next one." and i guess i was right. i pretty much hit rock bottom the next day at work. Later Chris said that it was my body's physical reaction to the emotions and stress i was dealing with. by about 4 that afternoon i cound't not even lift my left arm and i was having trouble breathing. i hurt so bad, and was frustrated by it all and ended up in a lump on the floor crying and in so much pain. i called chris and he called a sister in our hall to come pick me up since i didn't have a car. she came and got me and took me to emergency, adn sat with me till chris got off work and came. i don't remeber much of that evening....only that it took forever and that x-rays hurt. by 9 that night all we knew was that it wasn't a collapsed lung. the doctor wrote me a perscription for some powerful pain meds and sent me home. we had people staying at our house that ngiht, but i just went to bed. the next day my loving husband stayed home from work to take care of me. that day he took me tothe chiropractor in hopes that that would make a difference. apparently i didn't eat enough with my pills that morning because while at the office i painted and then threw up. not the greatest first impression. but the doctor did and exam and adjustment and figured out that my ribs were out and that was causing the nerves in my shoulder to be pinched off and making it hard to breath. initially it made me feel better. then i went home and slept the rest of the day. chris took very good care of me. he has been such a wonderful supportive husband through all of this. that afternoon he went into the bank and talked to my boss about the stress iv'e been under adn explained a bit about how i've been feeling. she was pretty impressed by him and said so when i went back to work. she said he handled things well and that she could really tell how much he loved me.
the next weekend was chris's grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary. on friday night we drove to wenatchee and then teh next day drove the rest of the way to Oak Harbor. it was my first time meeting all of chris's family so i was pretty nerveous. especailly felling how i was at the time. i was not myself and not the girl Chris married. it went well, though. Everyone was very kind and friendly. i showed off pictures from our wedding and talked a lot about that. and i met chris's sister too. my in-laws had warned me about her, but she was ok to me for the 4 hours we were there. the trip was really nice. beautiful weather for the parts of it i was awake. then we drove the 7 hours home on sunday afternoon. rought one physically, but chris and i had a good talk. we discussed all the things that had been going on and tried to figure out what might be wrong with me. one huge possibility we came up with was a negative reaction to my birth controle. so we decided that i would stop taking my pills, wait for it to all get out of my system and see if that made a difference. it was wierd getting out the habbit, but by the next weekend i was pretending to feel good less and less.
that sunday evening our congregation had a wedding reception/welcome party for chris and i. iwas a bbq and karoke party. we both had a lot of fun and really enjoyed ourselves. august was a really busy month too. we did a lot of traveling. on the 18th i turned 21! Wohoo! big thing to be able to drink in the US. one fo the girls from the bank took me down to a bar downtown at 1 in the afternnoon to buy me my "first shot." good times. then chris and i drove up to canada (to castlegar) for my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary party. wow, what a weekend. there were so many people there that i haven't seen in forever, and family members i hadn't even met. the party was really nice. good food, dancing and a really nice picture slideshow. it was great to see everyone again and visit. the next morning my Auntie Gwynn had everyone over to her house for breakfast, so we had more of a chance to visit. it was so nice to introduce my husband to all of that side of my family. we were able to stay the night at good friends of mine from when i was younger. they were like my second parents, so it was fun to visit and spend some time with them as well. our drive home was pleasant. i got to show chris some plances from my childhood. there were some family that came for the party from Pensylvania,, my 1st cousin tye and his daughter alanna, who is my age. we've been pen-pals for years. they flew into spokane and were leaving monday afternoon from there. i met up with them and had breakfast before their flights. it seemed like forever since we'd had a chance to talk. i enjoyed that. on monday my dad, megan, and katrina went to silverwood in Idaho for the day then came to our place for dinner and spent the night. it was their first time seeing my apartment or visiting me in spokane. chris made his famous corn chowder and we had an ejoyable evening. the girls watched back to the future and fell asleep. the next morning my dad took me out for breakfast before i had to go to work. its been awhile since we've really "talked." it was good to have a chance to visit, just the two of us.
by this time i had been off my birth controle for a couple weeks and i could see a difference in my mood and stuff. gradual.... i went out in service on thrusday starting early with salma and mercades, like usual, but by mid-morning i was crying. i hadn't really talked about any ofthis to anyone yet, so finally being able to talk was good. kind fo a release. i stayed out until 3:30. my longest day in awhile. at this point i'm no where near my hours, so to just be out was good enough for me. it felt good.
on friday night chris and i met up with a bunch of people to go out and sing kareoke. so much fun!!! it was the most fun i've had in awhile. i got to try a couple new dring and sing my hear out. i love that chris and i have that in common....a love for music and singing. we both had a fairly good week so it was nice to just relax and be together. we continued that pland by heading to wenatchee for the seekend once i was done work. we had dinner at mom and dad's and then met up with everyone over at rory's place. we hunt out, visited, watched comedy, and then drove over to Nate's for an impromtu "jam session." first time the band had played together in 3 months. and the sounded surprisingly good! :) it was good to see chris back with his friends again. i fell so bad about taking him away form his friends and his band. i'm really glad we went to see them.
the next moring we went to the meeting and chris's dad is the watchtower overseer. he called on me and said " Sister Longstreet" for the first time. then he kinda smiled to himself and said "i like saying that." it was pretty cute. i love beeing a Longstreet. signing my new name makes me smile. i am a dork. i know! for my whole childhood i always wanted a signature with flourish like my dad's. now i've perfected one that i love!
anyway, so back home and back to the grind. on monday i completely cleanecd our apartment. still trying to organize all our stuff. then we went shopping and spent $100. it just makes me sick how much life costs. :( but we rented wild hogs and laughed away the evening.
and now its today....back at work, but Jackie's gone so its not that bad. Chris had to work late tongiht again, so i'm going to the meeting by myself. they had two drivers quit this morning, so chris had to cover. i hope he's not out too late.
well, that only took 12 years to write out! i'm glad i did it though. not writing is not good for me. i need to get back into it. not just my blog, but my notebook too. :)
so i bought this book like a month ago with the best of intentions...since i don't have access to the internet, i was going to write in this and then add each entry to my blog when i had a chance. great concept...but as with everthing else in my life right now, it slipped away from me. so i'm going to start today, tryand cath up a bit, adn continue on. we shall see.....
so in review:
July was rather wier for me. work had just seriously gotten out of control. summer is hard at banks. we were short on tellers with vacations and things, and had one new one in training, which means she hangs around getting the way. ant it seemed like nothing i did was good enough for my boss, Jackie. so to say the least, i was stressed out about that. at the same time Chris was having just as harda time at his job. more hours, less money, and drama up the wazu! you'd thing people could just deliver packages in peace, but NO! and both of us aren't very good at just leaving work at work. on top of that i had really not been feeling like myself for awhile. I was honestly sinking into depression. everything was just getting so overwhelming and really hard to handle. it was hard for me to get out obed to go in service, to go to work, to do anything. It seemed like every day soemthing new would pop up, there was no break or time to recouperate before the next thing. it really all came to a head on Tuesday July 31st. after a long day at work, chris and i were heading to the meeting adn my car just died while i was driving. At just first glance we couldn't see what was wrong. So we pushed teh car back to the apartment and took chris's car to the meeting. that night on the phone i told my mom: "its the last straw...till the next one." and i guess i was right. i pretty much hit rock bottom the next day at work. Later Chris said that it was my body's physical reaction to the emotions and stress i was dealing with. by about 4 that afternoon i cound't not even lift my left arm and i was having trouble breathing. i hurt so bad, and was frustrated by it all and ended up in a lump on the floor crying and in so much pain. i called chris and he called a sister in our hall to come pick me up since i didn't have a car. she came and got me and took me to emergency, adn sat with me till chris got off work and came. i don't remeber much of that evening....only that it took forever and that x-rays hurt. by 9 that night all we knew was that it wasn't a collapsed lung. the doctor wrote me a perscription for some powerful pain meds and sent me home. we had people staying at our house that ngiht, but i just went to bed. the next day my loving husband stayed home from work to take care of me. that day he took me tothe chiropractor in hopes that that would make a difference. apparently i didn't eat enough with my pills that morning because while at the office i painted and then threw up. not the greatest first impression. but the doctor did and exam and adjustment and figured out that my ribs were out and that was causing the nerves in my shoulder to be pinched off and making it hard to breath. initially it made me feel better. then i went home and slept the rest of the day. chris took very good care of me. he has been such a wonderful supportive husband through all of this. that afternoon he went into the bank and talked to my boss about the stress iv'e been under adn explained a bit about how i've been feeling. she was pretty impressed by him and said so when i went back to work. she said he handled things well and that she could really tell how much he loved me.
the next weekend was chris's grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary. on friday night we drove to wenatchee and then teh next day drove the rest of the way to Oak Harbor. it was my first time meeting all of chris's family so i was pretty nerveous. especailly felling how i was at the time. i was not myself and not the girl Chris married. it went well, though. Everyone was very kind and friendly. i showed off pictures from our wedding and talked a lot about that. and i met chris's sister too. my in-laws had warned me about her, but she was ok to me for the 4 hours we were there. the trip was really nice. beautiful weather for the parts of it i was awake. then we drove the 7 hours home on sunday afternoon. rought one physically, but chris and i had a good talk. we discussed all the things that had been going on and tried to figure out what might be wrong with me. one huge possibility we came up with was a negative reaction to my birth controle. so we decided that i would stop taking my pills, wait for it to all get out of my system and see if that made a difference. it was wierd getting out the habbit, but by the next weekend i was pretending to feel good less and less.
that sunday evening our congregation had a wedding reception/welcome party for chris and i. iwas a bbq and karoke party. we both had a lot of fun and really enjoyed ourselves. august was a really busy month too. we did a lot of traveling. on the 18th i turned 21! Wohoo! big thing to be able to drink in the US. one fo the girls from the bank took me down to a bar downtown at 1 in the afternnoon to buy me my "first shot." good times. then chris and i drove up to canada (to castlegar) for my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary party. wow, what a weekend. there were so many people there that i haven't seen in forever, and family members i hadn't even met. the party was really nice. good food, dancing and a really nice picture slideshow. it was great to see everyone again and visit. the next morning my Auntie Gwynn had everyone over to her house for breakfast, so we had more of a chance to visit. it was so nice to introduce my husband to all of that side of my family. we were able to stay the night at good friends of mine from when i was younger. they were like my second parents, so it was fun to visit and spend some time with them as well. our drive home was pleasant. i got to show chris some plances from my childhood. there were some family that came for the party from Pensylvania,, my 1st cousin tye and his daughter alanna, who is my age. we've been pen-pals for years. they flew into spokane and were leaving monday afternoon from there. i met up with them and had breakfast before their flights. it seemed like forever since we'd had a chance to talk. i enjoyed that. on monday my dad, megan, and katrina went to silverwood in Idaho for the day then came to our place for dinner and spent the night. it was their first time seeing my apartment or visiting me in spokane. chris made his famous corn chowder and we had an ejoyable evening. the girls watched back to the future and fell asleep. the next morning my dad took me out for breakfast before i had to go to work. its been awhile since we've really "talked." it was good to have a chance to visit, just the two of us.
by this time i had been off my birth controle for a couple weeks and i could see a difference in my mood and stuff. gradual.... i went out in service on thrusday starting early with salma and mercades, like usual, but by mid-morning i was crying. i hadn't really talked about any ofthis to anyone yet, so finally being able to talk was good. kind fo a release. i stayed out until 3:30. my longest day in awhile. at this point i'm no where near my hours, so to just be out was good enough for me. it felt good.
on friday night chris and i met up with a bunch of people to go out and sing kareoke. so much fun!!! it was the most fun i've had in awhile. i got to try a couple new dring and sing my hear out. i love that chris and i have that in common....a love for music and singing. we both had a fairly good week so it was nice to just relax and be together. we continued that pland by heading to wenatchee for the seekend once i was done work. we had dinner at mom and dad's and then met up with everyone over at rory's place. we hunt out, visited, watched comedy, and then drove over to Nate's for an impromtu "jam session." first time the band had played together in 3 months. and the sounded surprisingly good! :) it was good to see chris back with his friends again. i fell so bad about taking him away form his friends and his band. i'm really glad we went to see them.
the next moring we went to the meeting and chris's dad is the watchtower overseer. he called on me and said " Sister Longstreet" for the first time. then he kinda smiled to himself and said "i like saying that." it was pretty cute. i love beeing a Longstreet. signing my new name makes me smile. i am a dork. i know! for my whole childhood i always wanted a signature with flourish like my dad's. now i've perfected one that i love!
anyway, so back home and back to the grind. on monday i completely cleanecd our apartment. still trying to organize all our stuff. then we went shopping and spent $100. it just makes me sick how much life costs. :( but we rented wild hogs and laughed away the evening.
and now its today....back at work, but Jackie's gone so its not that bad. Chris had to work late tongiht again, so i'm going to the meeting by myself. they had two drivers quit this morning, so chris had to cover. i hope he's not out too late.
well, that only took 12 years to write out! i'm glad i did it though. not writing is not good for me. i need to get back into it. not just my blog, but my notebook too. :)
"Accidental Discoveries"
the paper version
FYI: a few months i bought a notebook with the hopes of writing in it what i would want to write on here. i've been doing pretty good about writing in it.....just haven't got to the getting up on my blog yet. so i'm going to start today transfering what i've got written down and we'll see how it goes. :P i'm going to do it in chronological order, like as if i had actually posted each day. hope that makes sense. :)
Friday, July 20, 2007
in search of a new job
yup, you've guessed it.... once again i am in search of a new job. the reasons? i think that pushing products on people when they come in simply to make a small deposit is not right. i'm not comfortable with it and i'm not doing well with that being the main focus of my job. my boss is not pleased with my lack of results in the sales department....even though im the best teller she's got. oh well, its just time to move on.
i've got a few different prospects. i was offered a job at David's Bridal. that would be a fun job, but still stressful and its also commision based pay, which is something to consider. there are a few scrapbooking stores i have applied at. i would really like to get back into that business. i miss it a lot. i'm also planning on just taking my resume to a bunch of different offices up on the hill to see about maybe a receptionist job.
well, whatever happens i know that jehovah will take care of me. he has so far.
chris and i are doing really good. we're having a lot of fun just being together. we cook together and hang out and do our family study. we've both been pretty stressed out with our jobs, but it makes such a difference knowing there is somehome at home waiting for you. it is a real comfort.
anyway, just a quick update. now its back to the grind....headache and all. laters! :)
yup, you've guessed it.... once again i am in search of a new job. the reasons? i think that pushing products on people when they come in simply to make a small deposit is not right. i'm not comfortable with it and i'm not doing well with that being the main focus of my job. my boss is not pleased with my lack of results in the sales department....even though im the best teller she's got. oh well, its just time to move on.
i've got a few different prospects. i was offered a job at David's Bridal. that would be a fun job, but still stressful and its also commision based pay, which is something to consider. there are a few scrapbooking stores i have applied at. i would really like to get back into that business. i miss it a lot. i'm also planning on just taking my resume to a bunch of different offices up on the hill to see about maybe a receptionist job.
well, whatever happens i know that jehovah will take care of me. he has so far.
chris and i are doing really good. we're having a lot of fun just being together. we cook together and hang out and do our family study. we've both been pretty stressed out with our jobs, but it makes such a difference knowing there is somehome at home waiting for you. it is a real comfort.
anyway, just a quick update. now its back to the grind....headache and all. laters! :)
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Friday, July 13, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Mrs. Longstreet
First off i want to appologize for being pretty much MIA on here for the last few months. planning a wedding is a lot of work....especially from 3 hours away. i know...excuses, excuses. anyway, i'm back.
JUNE 22, 2007
my new favorite day. the day i became the wife of the most amazing man. my chris. :) our wedding went so well. everything was so simple and perfect and just how we wanted it.
this is my favorite picture from our wedding. there is just something about it. i think it perfectly captures the love that we have for each other.
this is us walking down the isle together. this picture is also probably my favorite shot of my wedding dress. i found it at David's Bridal in Spokane and my dear friend Kimi was able to alter it for me to make it perfect. she added the brown sash and the sheer neckline. i love my dress. it was just what i wanted and it made me feel so beautiful! 
chris's dad gave our wedding talk, which just added to the intimacy of our wedding day. it was very personal and humorous and so very us. there were a couple times we laughed pretty hard. 
OUR FIRST KISS AS HUSBAND AND WIFE
the reception was lovely. we had it at a small bistro-style reseraunt owned by a sister. they made meals for all of our guests and she also baked our wedding cake...and it turned out perfectly. it was so nice to have all of our close friends and family there to share our amazing day with us.
i feel so blessed to have found a love like ours in this system of things. i thank jehovah every day for my husband and the life we have together. :)
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Thursday, April 05, 2007
YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2007 when...
1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.
8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )
12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.
14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.
AND NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.
that is brilliance at its best! :P
1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.
8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )
12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.
14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.
AND NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.
that is brilliance at its best! :P
Monday, April 02, 2007
I'M ENGAGED!!!!!
march 31, 2007
wenatchee, wa
the most amazing day of my life
we are designing my engagement ring together so to propose chris used a box of pieces of white gold and the pink sapphire stone we are using. it was so perfect.... in our spot at the park, with the wind blowing slightly and the sun setting.
i have never been so happy before in my entire life. i can't wait to spend the rest of my life with this amazing man. i love him so much.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Official Lesson #1
tonight i went to jon and mercedes's place for dinner and my first offical ASL lesson with LeRae. we went over basics of grammer, simple vocab, and spiritual vocab. i have a couple books to read on deaf culture and one of LeRae's books from her class at the college. then we sat down with the Require brochure DVD and watched it together. she explained the signs that i didn't know and helped me through the paragraphs so i could understand. she has given me a list of sentences to practice, so i have homework! yay... :)
work is going well. i've been doing good with my sales and my boss has been nicer.
tonight i went to jon and mercedes's place for dinner and my first offical ASL lesson with LeRae. we went over basics of grammer, simple vocab, and spiritual vocab. i have a couple books to read on deaf culture and one of LeRae's books from her class at the college. then we sat down with the Require brochure DVD and watched it together. she explained the signs that i didn't know and helped me through the paragraphs so i could understand. she has given me a list of sentences to practice, so i have homework! yay... :)
work is going well. i've been doing good with my sales and my boss has been nicer.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
oww!!!!
i cut my finger this morning on my cheese slicer. it bled so bad!!! i was pretty much freaking out. it was really strange being by myself. i called my mom. she tried to calm me down. then i called channa and she came to my apartment and bandaged me all up. she rocks! then we spent the day watching movies. not very productive, i know. but much needed. :)
Saturday, February 10, 2007
homesick for the first time
i went to wenatchee on wednesday night to see chris for the first time in like a month... never letting it go that long again. that was way too hard on me.
strange thing though... i got homesick for spokane while i was there. never before in my life have i ever really been homesick. i've had so many different "homes" so i've never been not at home. till now.... this city is so my home! i love being here.
it was so nice to be with chris again. i miss that man!
life is good. life is hard. life is brilliant!
i went to wenatchee on wednesday night to see chris for the first time in like a month... never letting it go that long again. that was way too hard on me.
strange thing though... i got homesick for spokane while i was there. never before in my life have i ever really been homesick. i've had so many different "homes" so i've never been not at home. till now.... this city is so my home! i love being here.
it was so nice to be with chris again. i miss that man!
life is good. life is hard. life is brilliant!
Monday, January 22, 2007
WHAT A WEEK!!!!
i can't beleive that its already been a week of living on my own. i *heart* my apartment. :) i have unpacked all of my boxes 'cept one: my box of elephants. waiting to really be "organized" so i have a place to put all of them.
funny (perhaps ironic...perhaps not) stuff: i don't have any pots. i have no way to cook my dozens and dozens of packages of top ramen. lol. and i don't have a kitchen table...or a couch or anything in my living room but my rocking chair. kind of looks sad and lonely. chris is planning on bringing his couch over for me to use, but thats a matter of finding a truck to use to move it. we'll see what happens.
its strange...i am hardly at my apartment, though. feels like i just come in the door, crash in bed, wake up, shower, and leave again. crazy busy week. crazy but fun!
tuesday: worked and then came my first official post as greg and channa's chapherone. LUV THEM. :) we went to "the big easy" concert hall for the augustana concert. GREAT STUFF!! they are the band that sing that song "boston." its like my theme song for my move to spokane. good music...good fun!! tonight they also asked me if i would like to be channa's 4th bridesmaid in their wedding! i am so excited and privleged. what a night!
i can't beleive that its already been a week of living on my own. i *heart* my apartment. :) i have unpacked all of my boxes 'cept one: my box of elephants. waiting to really be "organized" so i have a place to put all of them.
funny (perhaps ironic...perhaps not) stuff: i don't have any pots. i have no way to cook my dozens and dozens of packages of top ramen. lol. and i don't have a kitchen table...or a couch or anything in my living room but my rocking chair. kind of looks sad and lonely. chris is planning on bringing his couch over for me to use, but thats a matter of finding a truck to use to move it. we'll see what happens.
its strange...i am hardly at my apartment, though. feels like i just come in the door, crash in bed, wake up, shower, and leave again. crazy busy week. crazy but fun!
tuesday: worked and then came my first official post as greg and channa's chapherone. LUV THEM. :) we went to "the big easy" concert hall for the augustana concert. GREAT STUFF!! they are the band that sing that song "boston." its like my theme song for my move to spokane. good music...good fun!! tonight they also asked me if i would like to be channa's 4th bridesmaid in their wedding! i am so excited and privleged. what a night!
i am sooo falling in love with this city!
wednesday: worked all day. that was fine. i really like the girls that i work with. and we all mutually detest the manager! lol. then we had our TMS and service meeting wednesday because the other congregation was having their CO visit. every two weeks the ASL has their own school...and this was one of those weeks. i went and actually understood part of the talks!!! not everything, of course, but i'm picking up new signs all the time...and then including them with ones i already know and understanding concepts and things that people say. sooo cool! :)
thursday: was another full day in service. i got to work with mersades all day. she is the deaf pioneer sister. she is so great! it is amazing to me how much i am able to pick up the language already. mercades is really helping me. she is patient with me and willing to teach me. she is working on coming up with a name sign for me. only a deaf person in the deaf culture can give you one. she wants to really get to know me first so that my name sign has to do with my personality. i have a teasing name sign for now...its the letter "S" next to your ear. supposed to be because i'm always on my cell phone! lol. then i went with channa and greg and her family to the bookstudy. had a great day!friday: went in service in the morning with mercades again. we are actually having full conversations together. it is amazing the power to understand and be understood. so cool! then i went to work from 1-6. and you'll never guess what happend!:: i got a raise!!! WAHOOO!!! thank you jehovah. i so need it right now. things are pretty tight. i expected it...but this will for sure help! :) then after work greg, channa, and i went and saw "night at the museum" at the IMAX. loved it. funny movie! micky rooney, dick van dyke, owen wilson, robin williams, and ben stiller, to name a few. if i could i would see every movie at the IMAX. very neat! then when we came out of the theater it was snowing soooo hard! almost 2 inches in 2 hours. we walked back to the car and we were covered in snow. so beautiful! the lights the snow the city. loved it. a quick stop at sheri's for an early breakfast (2 am) lol. and then home.
saturday: i worked until 1. then i met up with channa, her mom, and 2 other bridesmaid's @ David's Bridal to go shopping for our dresses. this is the one i got:
her color is apple red. love it! its going to need some alterations cuz she wants them shorter and stuff..but i feel so pretty in my dress! the wedding is in July...so its going to sit a bit in my closet. poor dress! lol.
then i was invited to Deb (my old pioneer partner from omak) son chase's place for dinner and more wedding chat. debbie's daughter is getting married in march and they wanted to "pick my brain" (deb's words; not mine) about invitations and photography and decorations and stuff. we went shopping and stuff together. good fun. and deb gave me my going away present: the cutest cup and saucer set with matching double-sided placemats and napkins. and lots of hot chocolate. so perfect. i love them! :)
sunday: ASL watchtower @ 9:30. i gave my 2 prepared answers and everyone said that i did a pretty good job. i am feeling good about the ASL group. loving being a part of it. and i am learning every day. it makes me so happy that i get to serve jehovah in this new avenue of service. what a privelge. then i spent the afternoon at home finally. some quiet time and such. i got all my thank you cards done and finished unpacking. its feeling like home.
life is good....life is busy.... what more could i ask for? :) night all.
Monday, January 15, 2007
MOVED IN!!!!
on saturday my parents and came from omak with a u-haul full of all of my stuff. chris was here already, and so we all got together with some of my other friends and moved all my stuff into the apartment in less than an hour. wow! :-0
i can't beleive im really moving in and on my own.
in other news: lory is no longer moving out with me. some things have happened and decisions made...so right now is just not the right time for her to move.
but jehovah always provides! the same day i found out about the things with lory, a sister in the ASL group, jade, found out that she had to find herself a new place to live. so...jehovah answered both our prayers in the same provision. she has a place to live and i have a new roommate. i'm so excited. i dont' really know her very well, but she seems so sweet. and having her around all the time will make learning asl easier. i'm really looking forward to getting started!
that is all for now...working, service, unpacking.
so grateful!
on saturday my parents and came from omak with a u-haul full of all of my stuff. chris was here already, and so we all got together with some of my other friends and moved all my stuff into the apartment in less than an hour. wow! :-0
i can't beleive im really moving in and on my own.
in other news: lory is no longer moving out with me. some things have happened and decisions made...so right now is just not the right time for her to move.
but jehovah always provides! the same day i found out about the things with lory, a sister in the ASL group, jade, found out that she had to find herself a new place to live. so...jehovah answered both our prayers in the same provision. she has a place to live and i have a new roommate. i'm so excited. i dont' really know her very well, but she seems so sweet. and having her around all the time will make learning asl easier. i'm really looking forward to getting started!
that is all for now...working, service, unpacking.
so grateful!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Friday, January 05, 2007
snow fall and city lights
tonight was "first friday" downtown spokane. artwork all over the place...galeries....people....
but oh was the snow falling and the wind blowing. quite a night.
there was a big group of us walking around downtown from place to place. looking at all the artwork and just hanging out. lory's mom, angela is an artist and had a lot of her work on display and entered one painting in a contest. great stuff.
then we had reservations at the coolest place called ella's. its a jazz lounge. awesome! good music; good food! great people.
i had a wonderful evening.....
today wasn't that bad either. early morning service with jade and mercades. bus stops and deaf search and telephone witnessing. then regular service. i'm learning more signs every day. and just being around it all the time, i'm slowly picking up on it just from watching conversations.
i went to work @ 1. was late... still getting used to timing the drive. it will be no problem once we're in our apartment. its only 5 minutes from the bank. but i did a bit better today. i got 2 sales and felt productive. still a learning process. but i'm trying. really trying.
tomorrow i work in the morning and then i'm planning on going to wenatchee to see chris. i hope that the weather will cooperate with me. :P we'll see.
tonight was "first friday" downtown spokane. artwork all over the place...galeries....people....
but oh was the snow falling and the wind blowing. quite a night.
there was a big group of us walking around downtown from place to place. looking at all the artwork and just hanging out. lory's mom, angela is an artist and had a lot of her work on display and entered one painting in a contest. great stuff.
then we had reservations at the coolest place called ella's. its a jazz lounge. awesome! good music; good food! great people.
i had a wonderful evening.....
today wasn't that bad either. early morning service with jade and mercades. bus stops and deaf search and telephone witnessing. then regular service. i'm learning more signs every day. and just being around it all the time, i'm slowly picking up on it just from watching conversations.
i went to work @ 1. was late... still getting used to timing the drive. it will be no problem once we're in our apartment. its only 5 minutes from the bank. but i did a bit better today. i got 2 sales and felt productive. still a learning process. but i'm trying. really trying.
tomorrow i work in the morning and then i'm planning on going to wenatchee to see chris. i hope that the weather will cooperate with me. :P we'll see.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
today...
the first day of the rest of my life.
not the greatest day, by far. 1st day at the bank was harder than i expected. not harder really...just different. you might think: "oh yea...i've done this before." but its not the same. not the same at all. as i have now learned, every bank runs things their own way. i feel very inadequate and strangely out of place in a world that should be familiar to me. i've been a bank teller for 9 months. i cried today. yeah...pretty bad. pretty pathetic too.
but i'll be okay.
i know i can do this.
its just a matter of pretty much erasing everything i thought i knew about banking and starting from scratch. maybe i'll learn it right this time.
in other news: the other aspect of my move is off to great start. i went to my first meeting in my new hall on tuesday night. the sign language group meets with the regular english congregation, so i am still able to get spiritual food from the meeting, even though i don't understand all the signs yet. but cool things: i was a substitute householder for a talk, and gave a comment on the bible highlights and in the KM parts. i met the brothers there, got my magazine order done and joined the school. and made arrangements for service for the rest of this week. :) :) good evening.
i feel wanted and needed. i feel like i can perhaps be used by jehovah in his organization. i'm going to try my best. a younger sister in the ASL group is going to be helping me with signing. right now they don't have a class like they normally do, so she's kind of going to take me under her wing and study over things with me. i can't wait. i'm so looking forward to this!
so service tomorrow and friday morning. that will be good.
then i'll try the bank again friday afternoon. i'll keep you posted.
(and micah....thanks. i love you)
the first day of the rest of my life.
not the greatest day, by far. 1st day at the bank was harder than i expected. not harder really...just different. you might think: "oh yea...i've done this before." but its not the same. not the same at all. as i have now learned, every bank runs things their own way. i feel very inadequate and strangely out of place in a world that should be familiar to me. i've been a bank teller for 9 months. i cried today. yeah...pretty bad. pretty pathetic too.
but i'll be okay.
i know i can do this.
its just a matter of pretty much erasing everything i thought i knew about banking and starting from scratch. maybe i'll learn it right this time.
in other news: the other aspect of my move is off to great start. i went to my first meeting in my new hall on tuesday night. the sign language group meets with the regular english congregation, so i am still able to get spiritual food from the meeting, even though i don't understand all the signs yet. but cool things: i was a substitute householder for a talk, and gave a comment on the bible highlights and in the KM parts. i met the brothers there, got my magazine order done and joined the school. and made arrangements for service for the rest of this week. :) :) good evening.
i feel wanted and needed. i feel like i can perhaps be used by jehovah in his organization. i'm going to try my best. a younger sister in the ASL group is going to be helping me with signing. right now they don't have a class like they normally do, so she's kind of going to take me under her wing and study over things with me. i can't wait. i'm so looking forward to this!
so service tomorrow and friday morning. that will be good.
then i'll try the bank again friday afternoon. i'll keep you posted.
(and micah....thanks. i love you)
Monday, January 01, 2007
this is my new adventure
I AM IN SPOKANE!!! today was the big day. the first day of the year and the first day of my new life. things feel so fresh and new. for the next two weeks i am staying at lory's place until we can get into the apartment on the 13th.
i can't believe that its already the first day of 2007. when did that happen?
umm....shaina....it happened at about midnight. lol.
i am so excited about this. or to use lory's word: "stoked!!" can't wait. it just feels like time....to move out on my own and start my own life. i think something i'm really looking foward to is just making my own name for myself...with the community and with jehovah. i can just be me. :)
plan for tomorrow: sleep sleep sleep. yay. one last day. i start my new job on wednesday. speaking of sleep... should probably get some now. so, tata for now.
g'nite
I AM IN SPOKANE!!! today was the big day. the first day of the year and the first day of my new life. things feel so fresh and new. for the next two weeks i am staying at lory's place until we can get into the apartment on the 13th.
i can't believe that its already the first day of 2007. when did that happen?
umm....shaina....it happened at about midnight. lol.
i am so excited about this. or to use lory's word: "stoked!!" can't wait. it just feels like time....to move out on my own and start my own life. i think something i'm really looking foward to is just making my own name for myself...with the community and with jehovah. i can just be me. :)
plan for tomorrow: sleep sleep sleep. yay. one last day. i start my new job on wednesday. speaking of sleep... should probably get some now. so, tata for now.
g'nite
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