Finally......

It’s hard to believe that in less than 2 weeks I will no longer be a college student! There were times when I thought that day would never come, times when I wanted to quit, and times when I thought I wouldn’t survive the pressure...but here it is ~ the light at the end of the tunnel.

I have almost all major assignments done – or at least in the final stages of “done.” Now it is just a matter of putting the finishing touches on them, doing one last presentation and sending out 2 peer evaluations.

Once that is done and I return from India I get to figure out what a “normal” routine will be for me. I’m looking forward to it.

And The Verdict Is......

I am the winner of bronchial pneumonia AND an ear infection!!!

What is my prize???

$50 worth of medicine and a trip to bed!!!!

Maybe I’ll feel better when I wake up.

Trying to Make it Through the Day

I am trying everything I can to make today very productive. My goal is to have the rough draft for my thesis complete before going to bed tonight. Is it a realistic goal ~~~~ I don't know.

Honestly, I feel like a truck ran over me. I have a really bad chest cold and just breathing makes me tired. I know the stress of finishing my classes isn't helping. I literally fall asleep and dream of the assignments, so no real rest even then.

You may ask why waste time here, then?? I guess you could call it a "brain break."

Oh, and for those still wondering......yes, I will be going to Germany when we go to India in two weeks.

And the Winner is.......

Well, I ended up with 2 votes for Paris, 2 votes for Hong Kong, and 0 votes for London or Germany. Ultimately, Unisys won out in the choosing since we were getting so close to the deadline. So here are some pictures of where we will be going this time......see if you can guess my destination:

Choices, Choices

If you were booking an airline flight and got to choose where your layover was, which one of these would you choose:

London (went there last time)
Paris
Germany
Hong Kong

This is kind of fun:

This was on my friend, Starr's, blog and I thought it was kind of neat!!

The Omnivore’s Hundred:

The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all.

The instructions are quite explicit...

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.

2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.

3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

*I did remove all the references to liquor and alcohol as I don’t drink and don’t promote drinking.

1. Venison

2. Nettle tea

3. Huevos rancheros

4. Steak tartare

5. Crocodile

6. Black pudding

7. Cheese fondue

8. Carp

9. Borscht

10. Baba ghanoush

11. Calamari

12. Pho

13. PB&J sandwich

14. Aloo gobi

15. Hot dog from a street cart

16. Epoisses

17. Black truffle

19. Steamed pork buns

20. Pistachio ice cream

21. Heirloom tomatoes

22. Fresh wild berries

23. Foie gras

24. Rice and beans

25. Brawn, or head cheese - not happening!!

26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper

27. Dulce de leche

28. Oysters

29. Baklava

30. Bagna cauda

31. Wasabi peas

32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl

33. Salted lassi

34. Sauerkraut

35. Root beer float

37. Clotted cream tea

39. Gumbo

40. Oxtail

41. Curried goat

42. Whole insects

43. Phaal

44. Goat’s milk

46. Fugu

47. Chicken tikka masala

48. Eel

49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut

50. Sea urchin

51. Prickly pear

52. Umeboshi

53. Abalone

54. Paneer

55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal

56. Spaetzle

59. Poutine

60. Carob chips

61. S’mores

62. Sweetbreads

63. Kaolin

64. Currywurst

65. Durian

66. Frogs’ legs

67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake

68. Haggis

69. Fried plantain

70. Chitterlings, or andouillette

71. Gazpacho

72. Caviar and blini

73. Louche absinthe

74. Gjetost, or brunost

75. Roadkill

76. Baijiu

77. Hostess Fruit Pie

78. Snail

79. Lapsang souchong

80. Bellini

81. Tom yum

82. Eggs Benedict

83. Pocky

84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.

85. Kobe beef

86. Hare

87. Goulash

88. Flowers

89. Horse - probably wouldn't

90. Criollo chocolate

91. Spam

92. Soft shell crab

93. Rose harissa

94. Catfish

95. Mole poblano

96. Bagel and lox

97. Lobster Thermidor

98. Polenta

99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee

100. Snake

How about you? How'd you do with this list?

A New Week

Yep, it’s the start of another week.
I must admit that I don’t really hate
Mondays. I’m probably strange, but
I actually enjoy them....they are the
Start of a new week!!!

For me this week will be a very busy one.

As of my last post my assignment list was at 8. This morning I am down to 6. Here is what is left ( with dates that I am attempting ot have them done by):

1. Submit Executive Summary section of Business Plan (Tonight – the 17th)
2. Submit completed draft of Business Plan (Thursday – the 20th)
3. Complete detailed Strategic Plan (Saturday – the 22nd)
4. Conduct peer evaluation for draft Business plan (Monday – the 24th)
5. Submit final business plan, hard copy of plan, Powerpoint, and video presentation (In other words ~~ the completed thesis) Our group is taping on the 29th.
6. Complete peer evaluation for final Business Plan (Sunday – the 30th)

If I can stay on track I will have completed everything by December 1st!!!! Pray for me – this is a very tight timeline and a lot of major work that needs to be done to accomplish it.

I started my 2009 Bible Reading Schedule this morning ~ and yes, I do know that I’m a little ahead of the game here. I must admit that I didn’t do very well in the daily reading department this year and I want to do better. So....instead of waiting for January – and continuing to put it off – I have started today!!

Things I Will be doing Today:

Conference meeting from 10am – noon
School with kids
Racquetball with Nick at 5pm
Making beef stroganoff for dinner tonight
Get assignment turned in before midnight
Watch some football with my hubby (while doing assignment)
ALL THE NORMAL DAILY STUFF INBETWEEN

8 TO GO....

Here is the list of what I have left before I can officially say I have completed my Master's Degree:

1. Lead Discussion Group #8

2. Submit Financial Plan section of Business Plan

3. Submit Executive Summary section of Business Plan

4. Submit completed draft of Business Plan

5. Complete detailed Strategic Plan

6. Conduct peer evaluation for draft Business plan

7. Submit final business plan, hard copy of plan, Powerpoint, and video presentation (In other words ~~ the completed thesis)

8. Complete peer evaluation for final Business Plan

All this must be done no later than December 5th. On December 6th I then fly back to India for 2 weeks. I will get home on December 21st - just in time for Christmas and New Year.

All I can say is ~~~ WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thus Saith the Lord.....(not just me)

Have you ever wondered why some people are just never happy? This is something I have been thinking about a lot lately. It seems we live in a society that is full of miserable people – and they LIKE being miserable.

That is what is so odd. It seems they enjoying complaining, gossiping, saying hurtful things about others, grumbling about little things, and the list goes on and on. The Bible defines such people as “speaking evil.”

How sad!! What is even sadder is that they want those around them to be just as miserable. Well, I for one, am NOT going to surround myself with that unnecessarily anymore. Life is too short.

When I see someone growling in a store I am going to smile and them and point out what a beautiful day it is, when someone tries to complain to me I am going to share a blessing from the Lord with them. Here are some verses I found today to go along with my train of thought regarding evil behavior and speech and that which is good:



Genesis 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

Deuteronomy 30:15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; (See ~ everyone has a choice every day as to which way they will choose to go!!)

Psalms 34:14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Psalms 38:20 They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.

Proverbs 17:13 Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Amos 5:14 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.

Amos 5:15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

Matthew 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

Romans 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

Romans 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

1 Corinthians 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.

1 Peter 3:10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

A Look Ahead

The countdown is really on now. If I go by the official last day of classes, I have only 30 days of school left ~ BUT.......it doesn’t look like I can go by that date. It looks like I will need to finish sooner than that.

I of my classmates that I am doing a group project with is moving to Japan on December 8th, so we wanted to get done early for him. Now it looks like I may be headed back to India on December 7th ~ yet another reason to finish early. We are trying for the 5th, which means I have 25 days of school left. For so long it seems like this time would never come, now I can’t believe it is almost here!!

Regarding the India thing...it would only be for 2 weeks this time. It would be me and another co-worker, Kristin. We have put some stipulations on it, so we are waiting to hear back as to whether they are willing to meet those. I should have a definite answer sometime this week.

Thought for the Day:

PRAISE GOD ANYHOW!!!!

This statement was made to us during out revival last week – and what a wonderful saying is it. Take some time to REALLY think about it. No matter what is going on in your life, Praise God Anyhow. This is the Biblical thing to do!!

The phrase “rejoice in the Lord” is used 9 times in our Bible. And in those 9 times, not once does it say to only rejoice when things are good. As a matter of fact, just the opposite is true:

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

Did you need that ONE word that is so important in this verse ~~ we are to rejoice ALWAYS!!

Praise and Rejoicing are wonderful things.

"Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely." (Psalms 147:1)

Do you ever have days that nothing seems to go right. I think we all do – and some of those days are worse than others. Instead of griping and complaining about our circumstances, we need to praise the Lord.

Here are some examples:

Your car breaks down - praise Him that no one had an accident.
Your furnace broke – thank God for the blankets you have.
All the kids are sick with the flu – thank God for medicine to help them feel better
We could look at much worse things, but I think you get the idea. No matter the circumstances we should praise the Lord. Think of Job.

I will give one more personal example. Anyone who knows me knows that just over 9 years ago our 12 year old son died in an accident and went Home to be with Jesus. Did it break our heart...YES....Did we praise God anyhow....YES, for many reasons – the biggest one being the God allowed us to have Steven with us for 12 years. He could have taken him away earlier, or never given him to us at all. And we know that one day we will all be together again.

Can you sing praise to God in the midst of trials?

Try it, you'll like it and so will God.

Our Week

Have you ever had a week that you couldn’t keep the days of the weeks straight? That was me this last week. We had a revival start on Sunday and go through Wednesday, so every morning I woke up and had to try to figure out what day it was.

Thursday finally felt like Thursday. Then, just as soon as I was feeling normal we had a blizzard!!
That meant no one worked on Friday, the neighborhood kids didn’t go to school, and all of a sudden Friday felt like Saturday. Hopefully I can go to bed tonight and wake up tomorrow knowing and FEELING like it is Sunday. I’m ready for everything to feel normal!!