Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Hope & Faith

A phone call.

Disbelief.


Panic.

What do all of these have in common?

Well, today at work I received a phone call from my mom telling me that my aunt, who has always treated me like the daughter she never had (she has a son, who is almost my age), has "acute leukemia."

Disbelief starts to set in. And a thousand questions. And the feeling of panic because I want so badly to do something--to fix it--to feed her and comfort her. I think to myself, I can learn how to sew and make her a quilt. I can fix her some of her favorite foods (because undoubtedly the hospital food will suck). I can give her a hug...

...But I can't.

The doctor said if she doesn't undergo intense treatment, she will only have 90 days left to live. She's going to spend a month in the hospital undergoing chemo and strong therapies to fight off the disease. She can't have visitors because her immune system is too weak--one person with a cold could kill her.

The only thing I can do now is pray for her, for my cousin and for my uncle and have hope that things will be okay.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Busy Busy Bee

I love having time to hang out with friends, and basically do whatever I want now that my seasonal job at the mall is over.

Well, now I have a (good) dilemma, and I need your input.

Here's the situation. I basically have three invitations for the weekend of February 5 & 6.


Option #1: A women's retreat. I've gone to this retreat for two or three years now and each year I've had a great time. This retreat is only held once a year, and the reason why I like it so much is because I feel like I can just be myself. That, and it's in the mountains, and it's only $89 total, which includes meals and lodging for both days.

Option #2:Celebrate a friend's birthday. I actually invited my friend Kristen to the women's retreat, and via text message, she told me that weekend is her birthday. Eeeks! I didn't know that. Obviously, I can celebrate with her on that Friday night before the retreat (if I go) or after the retreat, but if I didn't go on the retreat, I could take her out.

Option #3: Go to a baby shower. Yesterday I received an invitiation to a baby shower for another friend, whom I have known since I was 16. We aren't bffs, but we do see each other like twice a year. She's expecting her first child, and it'd be super awesome to be apart of her baby shower. I've been meaning to make plans with her, so this would be good timing.

If I don't attend, I could make plans to give her/the baby a gift, but I kinda hate to miss her baby shower. I've thought about going to the shower and coming to the retreat late, but I'd still miss most of the day, because the shower isn't till 1:30. Then let's say it lasts two hours...that's 3:30, plus an hour to drive to the mountains...that's already 4:30, and the retreat ends around noon I think on Sunday.


So, what should I do? What would you do? How do you handle it when you have too many invites?

Thursday, January 6, 2011

2011: Bring on the fun!

I don't do new year's resolutions because I think they are all a load of crap. Personally, for me, if I want to achieve or accomplish something, I call it a goal.

That being said, a few of my "goals" for the year include:
  • Gettin' crafty. 
  • Watching what I spend (i.e., trying to eat more at home and not waste food)
  • Have fun!
I'm already off to a great start!

During the summer last year I had to attend a conference for work. Well, one of my sessions was canceled, so I walked to a B&N, and grabbed some magazines, one of which was Real Simple. I saw the coolest idea for organizing your jewelry. It was called a jewelry board. Ever since the summer, I've wanted to make one, and one the first day of the new year, I did just that.

Waaaala!

So pretty!


I'm really proud of how this turned out. My next project that I want to do is create a scrapbook. I'm still unsure if I want to do one devoted to my trip to China or one of college memories. It's a toss up, but I'm looking forward to it!

Speaking of having fun, I attended my first ever painting and wine class this week and had SO.MUCH.FUN. Seriously, I can't wait to go back. Here's my interpretation of a dandelion:


The first week of the year has certainly been off to a great start...happy new year!!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Why my family is crazy and another reason why I need to move out

Here's reason #1,4562,165 why I need to move out of my parent's house.

Today was filled with laziness, productiveness, and a bit of fresh air.

It wasn't until an hour ago that things took a severe nosedive.

You see, my little brother, 10, stayed up way too late last night and didn't get enough sleep. Therefore, around dinner time he got grouchy. He was mad that he had to clean the dishes. Well, my other brother who is home for winter break from college, decided to egg him on and taunt him about the fact that he had to do his 4+ pages of homework after he cleaned the dishes.

The little brother didn't appreciate that and thought he would take a roll of sealed wrapping paper and try to hit my other brother. A 10 year-old versus a 21 year-old makes for a bad loss on my lil brothers end. Basically, my other brother decided to show him who was boss, and took him into a headlock while making him walk down the stairs. I watched the entire thing happen.

Obviously my little brother freaked out a bit, but once he did that, my other brother loosened his grip. They get down to the kitchen table, and we hear my little brother crying and yelling about being choked, but we don't think anything of it. I went upstairs and ate some chocolate.

Well, then we get a call. My dad looks at the caller id and it says "Adams." Who could that be? With an incredulous look upon her face, my mother reluctantly answers. I figured it was some call asking for donations. Um, yea, I was wrong.

Turns out it was the 911 dispatch center calling in response to an emergency call. Turns out my little brother called 911 and then hung up. Classic, I know. I remember when I did it was a little kid and my friend Michelle and I knew the cops were coming so we hid behind the washer/dryer. We got in big trouble.

Anyways, turns out they already dispatched a cop to come over, even though we insisted everything was fine. In the 15 to 20 minutes it took for the cop to arrive at our house, my mom started cleaning like a madwoman. She yelled at me to hang up all the coats and to put all the dirty laundry that was sitting on the landing upstairs into baskets. Seriously, makes no sense to me. I mean, who cares that we have laundry sitting around? We live here, duh!

After pacifying my mom with household chores, I kept looking out my bedroom window for the cop's car. I warned everyone when he pulled up to the house.

He knocks, but we didn't answer, so he just lets himself inside the house. I put the dog downstairs.

The officer asks why my brother called 911, to which he flat out says, "because my brother choked me." The cop looks to my mom for confirmation, and my mom says no. My brother says she's wrong. The officer basically ends up giving my brother a lecture about how 911 is for emergencies only, and to not call if he's not getting along with his brother and to only call if something is being stolen or if someone is hurt.

Thankfully, that's how it ended and the cop left.

But seriously, what a way to start off the new year....