Hello blogging sister!

I have completely forgotten about our blog these days! Honestly.. I have completely forgotten about blogging in general these days. Life has been far to scattered and inconsistent, lately. It seems like it is always this way during the spring. This spring it is much worse however, and that is to be expected with the changes that are happening this year.

I hope that we can have some peace in our lives soon and just know where we will be next year. I am starting to settle into the idea of teaching for another year. (There are pros and cons to that idea, but I am going to try and cling to the pros.)

It is awesome that you gave things up for lent. To be honest, I don't even know when lent begins and ends. The Vineyard doesn't really talk about these things in their church. However, we are doing this FREE series in our small groups and that is basically the same concept of giving things up. The whole book that we are going through is about giving up the things that keep us from being free to love God fully and live life to the fullest. It is based solely on individual freedom.. specifics to each person. It has been a really great series. I have learned a lot about how to let go of the things that hold me back. (Mostly worry and fear.)

How has your lenten season been going?

By the way.... IT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY TOMORROW! I hope that you have a wonderful/beautiful day! You are going to be visiting soon... and I am SOOOO excited!!

Well... much love and talk to you soon!!

It's my birthday month.

and soon, it will be my birthday SEASON. i can hardly wait!

how was philadelphia? i hope it was all you had anticipated and much, much more. i can't wait to hear about it. it still makes me daggone sad that you were so close and i couldn't see you. man... i miss you.

april 23 cannot come fast enough!

this is officially the shortest and most meaningless post ever. i'm really tired. but i love ya! write to me sooooooooooooonnnnnnn!!

LOVE.

WAZZZUPPP

i gave up facebook for lent. and boys. and capital letters (not really). but i gave up facebook because i waste too much time on it and it's sad. and i always get depressed when i'm on there--like hoping somehow the friends will come alive and be in my living room and we'll play hold 'em and drink troeg's... such a disappointment! i always end up just alone in my condo (which i actually pretty much love, if i'm not wasting time wishing for something else).

and boys----i gave up boys, even though i have none, because i allow myself to be stupid about them. so helen and i (one of my favorite people--you have to meet her sometime :) decided that for lent, we're not thinking about them. we're actually not sure EXACTLY what we're going to do (ooops.... i already used capital letters four days in... haha). we're going to come up with a plan in the next day or two about tangible action steps or something, but the goal is to have a 40-day period where we re-focus our hearts on God in this area of our lives. cuz i've been distracted! blah. i hate it.

and i think along with that--i really want to seek God about what's next in my life. because in the back of my mind, i've sort of been thinking, whatever is next may not be here. but i don't know. and i sometimes think: i'm not moving again alone. i want to be married and move WITH someone. i want to share it with someone. but along with the boy distraction and prayers for it to go away, has been an awareness that i might need to move alone again. and my life doesn't start when i get married; it's going on NOW. single or not. so i want to embrace that and trust that He knows best. which i do, but at the moment, i'm just distracted.

we need a phone date soon again. but until then... MUAH. and... i love your new valentine's day necklace :) tell toby i said "good job!" and don't forget the exclamation point!

Aw.. Shucks..

Thanks for the sweet love! I love you too! Question: what does B-T-Dub mean?

Sounds like you had a busy day with GREAT friends!

Toby and I celebrated on Saturday. I had a pretty miserable day teaching on Thursday, so when I came home he cheered me up by giving me my Valentine's Day gift early. He got me a really awesome necklace at Banana Republic. (Pictures will be on my blog soon... if Toby remembers to bring home the camera battery charger today.) I was possibly going to wear the necklace to school on Friday, but decided against it, because I didn't want anything to happen to it when I hadn't even worn it for him yet. Friday night we basically laid around all night.. we watched the opening ceremony for the Vancouver Winter Olympics and then headed to bed.

Saturday we got up, made cinnamon rolls, and watched some TV. Then I got ready to go, and put on my new necklace! We went to Chipotle for lunch, went and saw Valentine's Day (which I liked as well... btw... Toby and I have a tradition that every V-day we go to the movies and see a romantic film.. this is our fourth year doing so!) After the movie we had some time to kill before church, so we walked through Value City Furniture for fun and then went to Starbucks and got a cinnamon dulce latte! Yum! Then we headed to church. I was scheduled to be in the children's church to help with the little kids. It was just me and Denise (the lady in charge of the children's church) with seven little kids! It was sooo fun! I LOVE helping in children's church! After church we mingled with people for awhile and then headed to Pad Thai for dinner! We then came home and turned on the TV to watch some Olympics, but our satellite receiver decided to break on us. So instead we looked through the Design Sponge blog at the "Before and After" sections and dreamed about our future home.

Then yesterday, we slept in, got up, made cinnamon rolls and watched "Amelie." Have you seen it? Then we actually went back to bed and napped for like two and a half hours!! It was pretty great! When we woke up we decided to go rent some movies and get some lunch. We took Matson with us, because I thought she would love a break from the house. We rented "Couples Retreat", "No Impact Man", and "Whip It." Then we decided to take the Element through the car wash... and Matson was SCARED TO DEATH! We got some Quiznos for lunch and headed home. The rest of our day consisted of three movies and a frozen pizza. All of those movies were excellent, by the way! I am sincerely considering buying the "Whip It' soundtrack!

This morning I received a text message at approximately 5:45 that informed me that school was cancelled for the day! It is snowing a LOT here! (Not really in your terms.. but for us.. a lot.)

That is enough about my weekend.. let's talk again soon.

i love ya!

(I'm not very good at blowing a kiss to the camera)

Happy VALENTINE'S Day!! :)

Valentine's Day is so funny to me. I really can't describe it. I really don't wanna be one of those people who is anti-Valentine's Day and gets all upset and has to assert the fact that she's single. Cuz that's silly. Like, it really is just a commercialized day, but it's also kind of cool to take a day and just think about the love I have in my life--it's pretty awesome. B-T-Dub, I'm kinda thankful for you :)

I spent yesterday and last night with Danielle and Liz--we ate at B-Dub's and rented the Hangover, but we didn't start it until like 2am and we all fell asleep before it was halfway through! So we slept at my Bible study leader's house because Danielle is house-sitting. And then we went to church at the Weinberg Center in downtown Frederick because we usually meet in a school but all schools activities are cancelled until Tuesday per the weather. Then I went to Helen's church in Rockville and then Kayla and I went for Mexican and went and saw Valentine's Day, which was actually pretty cute :)

I was asked on a date, but I told him no and that's a whole different story for another day...

How did you and Toby "celebrate?" (if you did)

Pink Fingernails!

I thought I would share my freshly painted pink fingernails with you! All in the name of boredom and getting excited about Valentine's Day! Love you!

Kitchen renovation

When we were in Cleveland last year we went into this cute boutique called "Room Service." Well when I got home I checked out their website and found out that the owner also has a blog.. so I decided to follow it. Well I just went on and checked out what she had been blogging about and found photos of her recent kitchen renovation. I love it... but I think it would take another girl to understand! So you should go check out the rest on her blog. You should check out her shop's website too!

I'm just about to retire to bed because I, like you, prefer to be under the covers and resting on my pillow before 10p.m. And I was sick-ish on Monday. And my head is stuffed. I love sleep way too much!

Check out the "foundation" I'm going to be doing some marketing work for:

The Frederick Giving Project

It's going to be interesting. I'm not sure how much time I have to commit to it, but I'm hoping to be able to at least help them get a position in place, and if I'm unable to fill the role someone else can easily transition in. The intended audience is all people our age (twenty-somethings), single or married--doesn't matter, wants to be community-minded, and likes to have a good time. Our tag-line is seriously being considered: "Sprouting Freaking Flowers," lol. Rebecca (the chairperson and my connection to the whole thing) said that tonight as we were talking about Web site ideas--haha, she's funny.

Okay, well, check that out and I'll write again longer later. We're supposed to get 2 feet of snow this weekend!!!

Time will tell...

Thank you for the photos of Philly houses! We will definitely have to check that area out that you and Bill ventured into. We will probably not be buying a house, we will be renting. Just because then we aren't tied down to anything in a major commitment sort of way. We are going to check out some neighborhoods in between lectures at SPE Nationals. We are pretty serious about this move. It scares me to death.. but I am ready for a change.

So the order goes:

1. Toby gets a job.. we go there.

2. Toby doesn't get a job.. we go to Philly.

3. Toby doesn't get a job.. we stay here.

On another note, I tried to watch your news segment and the video would not play past the anchor ladies little speech about your project. So I will try to watch it again later.

We didn't have school on Monday because of snow. Then yesterday, I was supposed to have my formal observation from one of my administrators and when it came time for him to be in my room he was not. He called five minutes into the class to say that he would be down soon. I jokingly told him that we would wait for him to arrive before I began. So I continued teaching my lesson and then about fifteen minutes later he called back to explain what was happening. Supposedly two foster kids were discovered trying to run away. He had finally tracked them down and had to drive up to pick them up and bring them back to school. So I asked if we needed to reschedule my observation and he told me that he was just going to fill out the paper work and make it look really nice. I felt kind of guilty with him doing that, but this was the second time that I had to reschedule my observation. I was supposed to have it for the first time on Jan. 11th but we didn't have school.. due to snow. Then I was supposed to have it on Monday, Feb 1st... but we didn't have school.. due to snow. So this time, I didn't feel too badly with that sort of outcome. Plus, he must have faith in my teaching abilities if he didn't feel like he HAD to observe me.

I am not at school today because I am going back to the ENT to have them check out this bump behind my nose again. It did not disappear after taking all of the antibiotics. So I am hoping that they can come up with some sort of solution for what to do next.

Since I have been back from Christmas, we have only gotten one full week of school in. It has been really crazy because of the snow. It makes it hard to try to get into a routine and then it gets all screwed up again.

We started track pre-season conditioning and I stepped down from being paid as an assistant coach. So now I don't have the burden of HAVING to be there. Karen is taking over what I did last year and she seems to be doing really well with everything. I like track season. It gives me something to do with the students in an activity that they love and want to be a part of. Plus.. it is an easy sport to see instant results. I love seeing things improve! (I wish marriage was that easy!)

It will be sooo scary if we decide to move after this school year. I will be a nervous wreck if I have to tell my principal that I will not be returning. It just seems psycho in some ways. I have a great job, I make good money, we are moving into a brand new building with AMAZING amenities, I would be tenured on my first day next year... but for some reason I am just not 100% sure that I want all of those things! I am ready to move on and try something new! It is terrifying though. I am so scared that we won't be able to make it financially or that we won't be able to sell our house or something.

I am praying.. oh boy am I praying! I need to find peace and contentment in whatever our future holds. I also need faith and courage to do what is right. (Whatever that may be?)

I love you and hope to see you soon!

Keep writing!

I was on the news last night:

Your Sister's Famous.

The same time we taped for that, we were interviewed by Frederick Magazine, who is doing a four-page spread on the same event. It's pretty cool to be a part of :) I'm helping Jasmine Sneed (the redhead interviewed) with some of the PR and logistics and planning of the event.

I went to my Korean church again yesterday, since we were taping in the morning during Damascus Road, and it's such a cool thing. I really love the Korean culture in so many ways. They say that most Asian cultures are very community-minded, but when I'm around these people I actually experience that, and I can't even describe how cool it is. I'm really thankful God has brought them into my life :)

Then I left work early today and laid on the couch for the past ... 5 hours? I feel so lazy. Even though my head hurts. It's like: when are you too sick to leave work? When you absolutely can't function? Or when you can't exactly think straight and ache a little? I can't decide. All I know is my nose is running and my eyes are watering.

I may have looked up some Philadelphia things today.

One cool house.

Two cool house.

Okay, that's all I could find before I got too tired and frustrated. But I remember when Bill and I went downtown one time, we went to S Second St and S Front St, right on the river, and it's this really artsy, cultural, diverse area that had these amazing houses and really good restaurants and food. If you do move but you don't live there, we should at least go there when I visit.

Sorry this is short. I feel like I don't have anything interesting ever to share. I'll try to notice things more...

LOVE YOU.

Whew

Hi. Sorry. I honestly miss having nights where I just come home and sit. One year ago I would've given my #3 atrium to just have one friend that I could do something with in Frederick. And now, I have to be careful that I don't completely neglect my laundry or my alone time because I spend too much time with friends. Weird. Sometimes I really want to just come home, too, but I don't want to let one friend or another down so I hang out when I should come home. It sucks being an introvert (I DEFINITELY recharge on alone time), but yet needing approval so badly sometimes. And just loving people in general.

BUT... who cares? We live and learn; life is one big balancing act! And God has placed one awesome person after another in my life, so I can only be thankful :)

I love reading about your fun finds. I have one I want to share: the Baltimore Coffee Company. They have a shop in Frederick with this vastly overwhelming selection of flavored coffees that they just display on a counter in canvas bags. And as soon as you walk in, the place smells like coffee HEAVEN. And they serve food and desserts, too. I've only gone once, but I will go again. But not too much because the Coffee Table is like my second family.

Mmm.. and don't forget the gelato. I had some for breakfast...

I sang in church this past Sunday, and we sang this beautiful song that had the whole church silent when it was over (including us). It was cool. Sorry about the weird ending, though..

Okay, well I need to go to bed now, but more updates to come :)

Love you more than coffee in the morning,

--E

Marc by Marc Jacob's Jacket

I found this website on a blog, called Guilt. You have to be a member to view their collections. I checked it out and found this awesome jacket... I think I discovered why they called it guilt. Go here.

I imagine this for you....

Don't you just love her Grecian dress and that squid-like object in her hair!! I LOVE LOVE the trees... it is like an elf forest wedding. (The beautiful elves from Lord of the Rings.. not Santa's workshop!)

Love you!

Christy Nockels

I was doing a search for music to buy with my I-tunes gift card and came across Christy Nockels. She is from the band Watermark. You should check her out. Go to her website and look at her blog as well! She writes really inspirational things!

A little sketch

I sketched this today and played around with adding it as our title image. However, I could not edit it to where I was satisfied. If you like it, I am thinking about scanning it in and then editing it. The photo just doesn't work as a foundation to work from!

Mama's Little Babies

I have done nothing but internet perusing today, while football games consumed our television. (Disappointing finish to the Steeler's season by the way.) However, I have enjoyed stumbling upon cute online stores! I love the vintage shape of this necklace and earrings set! Check out their stuff here.

Nadinoo

Check out this cute online boutique that is priced perfectly outside of our low-income budgets! For the website, click here.

Carpe Diem!

Here is to a new year! It was so good being able to see you over break, however, we did miss out on some much needed sister bonding. Regardless it was wonderful to see you!

My thoughts for this new year are as goes...

1. Never stop being silly! I realize how important it is to just have a goofy sense of humor and be quirky whenever an opportune time arises.

2. Seize the day! Do today what matters most and enjoy doing it! Time is flying by and too much time is being spent worrying and stressing. My goals are to enjoy each little moment and not let what is unique and precious pass me by without giving it the attention it deserves.

3. Let God speak! I am looking forward to just being still and knowing He is God.

4. Relishing in my relationships. I need to put more time and energy into authentic and meaningful connections that I have made with people.

What are some of your goals for this new year?