“God gives his gifts of grace where He finds the vessel empty enough to receive them.”

- A.W. Tozer

Day 286

i went to the dentist tonight, i HATE the dentist. i would rather run two marathons in a row, that is over 50 miles, than go to the dentist. alas, i gave in to the fact that clean, healthy teeth are important for a healthy lifestyle and went. it was awful!! but, this was the view from the parking garage, not bad.

i'll post a picture later today, but i read this devotion when i got into work this morning and had to post it. it is from one of my most favorite christian authors and women's ministry leaders, nancy leigh demoss.

You can find Bible teachers these days who'll tell you that if you're walking with God you'll be healthy, you'll have money in the bank, your husband will be crazy about you, and you won't have any dry times spiritually.

But then I look at Jesus. Mark's Gospel tells us, "The Spirit drove Him into the desert." Jesus hadn't sinned. He was right with God and full of the Holy Spirit, yet He faced forty uncomfortable, lonely days in the desert undergoing intense temptation.

Sometimes we find ourselves in a desert because of our own sin, but that's not always the case. Like Jesus, we may enter a dry, difficult time so that God's good purposes can be fulfilled.

Don't get discouraged. Even though He may seem a million miles away, He's with you. The next time you experience the desert, remember this: You're only following the footsteps of our Savior.

praise the Lord :)

Day 285

this is me trying to get a picture for this evening. i couldn't seem to master it tonight so this will have to do. i went for a run before i cleaned my bathroom - yuck!

Day 284

the new issue came today - yippee!!

Day 283

Galatians 6:9 - Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

this is me roping myself in, a very humbling experience.

Day 282

pia and i went to evanston athletic club today to talk with the trainer we will be using come february. his name is brian and he rocks! he totally knows his stuff and seems to be just as psyched for us to summit mt. ranier as we are :)

Day 281

tonight ashley came over and we ate pizza and ice cream and watched a movie, oh and last night's grey's anatomy. quality girl time :)

i had to include the you tube clip below of the priceless backpack commercial 'cause i LOVE it! these little boys are way too cute!!

MasterCard

Day 280

it's thursday, that means prayer meeting. jenn and jamie agreed to be my "subjects" tonight. such good sports :)

Day 279

yum!

Day 278

i am having some girls over for dinner next weekend so i thought i would start looking for some good recipes. this is an entire menu... think i might try it :)

Day 277

i flew back to chicago this morning. left for the airport before the sun was up, 6:35 am flight. this is the sunrise from the tiny 8 seater i was in.

Day 276

today was the wedding. it was such an elegant and charming wedding. one of the nicest i think i have been to.

kelly and her brother brian on their way to the ceremony

kelly and justin cutting the cake. justin is in the coast guard so they used his sword. loved it!

Day 275

today i flew to cape cod for my cousin kelly's wedding. had to get a pic of my nephew. he is so going to be walking soon!!

Day 274

today they painted my new office for me. i got to pick the color, its called ozark mountain... i didn't think it would be quite as purple as it is, but i like it. way better than the off-white it used to be :)

Day 273

i got home from prayer meeting tonight and my fundraising packet for summit for someone was waiting for me!! yippee! i am so stinkin' excited about this :)

Day 272

i tried to capture the color of the sky tonight and then had some fun playing with the saturation levels and such :)

Day 271

while i was driving home this evening and to meet my friend anne for some DQ, i saw these plates and had to get pics of them. i am totally fascinated with how many vanity pates there are in illinois.

Day 270

tracy came over tonight and we had some good catch-up time. she commented on the very old eucalyptus in this pic. the funny thing is, i go to the store and i've looked at buying new flowers, new eucalyptus and yet every time, i'm like, nah, i don't want to spend my money on it. seriously linds, fork over the 5 to 10 bucks, it's old!

Day 269

i finally took care of part of my to-do list that has been around since i moved in, i bought a TV stand and i put it together all by myself this afternoon. tracy and tojy also came by and took all her left over things. my living room looks a whole lot bigger without tracy's arm chair in it. so amazing how such a small change can make such a big difference.

Day 268

after a day of running errands it was time to have fun. pia came to pick me up so we could go see the movie, into the wild. i had to get a picture of her driving a minivan, you have to know pia to know that when she showed up, all i could think, was something just doesn't look right here :)

by the way, into the wild was a good movie and i definitely recommend it.

Day 267

when i forget to take a picture during the day it is pretty much guaranteed my dinner will get a picture. tonight i decided to treat myself like a 5 year old and made good old mac & cheese. i haven't had this in so long - yum! i don't think i will ever grow out of mac & cheese :)

Day 266

today, my friend pia and i took the plunge and signed-up for no-doubt, the hardest physical challenge of our lives, summitting Mt. Ranier in Washington State!! we are going with a group through the program summit for someone and will be fundraising for a group called big city mountaineers. the photos below give a good idea of what we will be doing - are we insane? yes! but we love it!!

we have about 10 months to train and raise the funds ($3800/each) and we will definitely need all that time to train, as we have to be able to carry a 40 lb. pack up the mountain in very high altitude (Mt. Ranier is 14,410 ft. high).

please pray for us as we embark on this HUGE adventure :)

view of mt. hood from camp muir

that's gonna be us!! holy smokes!!!
photos taken from whittaker's bunkhouse web site

Day 265

my chalk-filled nail beds from climbing tonight. i went to an indoor gym and it was great, but so intimidating. the people that were there tonight are hard core, and totally know what they are doing - me, not so much. i enjoyed watching them as much i enjoyed climbing. they totally intimidate me, but i know by watching them i'll learn so many techniques that i wouldn't otherwise. very cool :)

Day 264

And this is my new office. i must say, this one is a little nicer, its bigger, doesn't make weird strange noises through the vents and things, and i have to say, i like the fact that the furniture doesn't match the wall color. although, we are looking into painting it - yippee! fun project :)

Day 263

today was my last day in this office, tomorrow i move into one just down the hall as we are growing our department

Day 262

it's amazing what you can do from a couch. i paid my bills, read a book, watched some TV, ate dinner. hmm... maybe that isn't a good thing?

Day 261

dinner with some of the girls tonight. sooo good! we went to bistro campagne in lincoln square, highly recommend it. great atmosphere and awesome food :)

pia and amanda

maribel, me, elva

Day 260

my sister sent more pics of my nephew and i can't get over how cute he is!!! spaghetti face :)