Sharing is Caring.

Share Bear: The root of Sharing is caring. :)

I am not really sure where I was going with the Care Bear...I feel like I have really been wanting to share what's been going on for the past couple months...but I am very easily distracted.

Could I have A.D.D.? Nah. Just got a lot going on, and I must have a very malleable brain. I have the TV on...

    So, I think Ryan and I have come up with some more concrete plans than we have had in the past...
A. Ryan likes his job... so we are not in any rush to move from the area.
B. I came in contact with an old track coach at work and when asked what I was up to, I replied : "I am saving up money for Grad School."  So, I guess that is in the forefront of my mind.
C. We are very happy with the puppies right now, so any plans for babies have been postponed! We will not "be trying" or anything of the sort.

I could never understand how some people could become so attached to a pet, I mean it is not a person. Then I got dogs, and my husband started working third shift and having a different sleeping schedule than I did. So, I now understand: I spend more time with those two puppies than any other mammal. They have really become my buddies. I now understand why dogs are listed as man's best friend.

They look like little angels right? Well, they aren't but... I love them just the same.



On a completely different note: a while back I bought The Five Love Languages at Good Will. It was very, very interesting and a good read as well as very understandable. I read it in one day. :)

I found out some interesting perspectives about myself, although it was not as clear about Ryan.

I watched a video about the Love Languages in High school at a youth group function. Everyone there insisted that I must have physical as my primary love language...and knowing me in high school, that is not a surprising assumption. But, as the years have passed and I have become a bit more reserved, I discovered my  primary is definitely quality time. I place a high importance on togetherness. I feel loved when I am given personal attention. While physical touch does come in second...I could not get by on just that. I think that this is the reason that I love photos so much. I can look at a picture and think back on time we spent together.

Another random fact: I am really loving this COOLTV stuff. So I have never been a real music video junkie, but this free station has a really nice mix: Madonna, Bruno Mars, John Mellencamp, Rihanna...Bowie.
Good stuff.

So, I am hoping to bring out my more creative side now that I have a bit more free time. Remember how I posted about a cooking course book? And how I was going to start it... still haven't. :( But I did create my own version of a Chicken Pot Pie that I improvised and was very easy to make as well as tasty. :)

So, if the cooking thing is going to happen...I have changed my focus. I bought a calendar with stupid pictures, and instead of posting that in my home, I am going to create my own. Like a scrapbook page for each month! I am pretty excited! I really hope it does not turn out stupid.

Final and actual original train of thought:
Journaling. I have always been the journaling type. Probably because I have so many thoughts and I would overwhelm the world If I actually said them all out loud. :) I have been receiving journals as gifts for years for all occassions: bridal showers, graduation gifts, Christmas, birthdays, etc.
Not that I am ungrateful, slowly I have been working my way through my collection.
I received one from a very nice young lady while at Purdue: Miss Jackie. She gave it to me as a bridal gift, and wrote a lovely note in the front cover:
"Dear Toni Kay, 
This is a journal for you to write your thoughts, prayers, and emotions in during your first few years of marriage. Marriage is an amazing gift from God. He is so excited for you and He longs to be a part of the journey that you are about to embark on. Run to Him when You Need his Comfort. Sing praise to Him when He Blesses your marriage. Cry to Him in moments of weakness. And Glorify Him for everyday of your Union. I am so excited for you! I am thankful that I was blessed to get to know you this semester. Never forget that you are first and foremost the bride of Christ. I love you My dear friend. - Jackie"

The sweetest thing ever, right?  Well, the first of February, I filled the last page of this journal. And being the pensive being I am, I looked back to the first page. And what was it dated? February 1, 2010. It took me exactly one year to fill that Journal. Then I began thinking of all the things that happened in those 365.

This year has definitely been a year of Spiritual ups and downs, a lot of Changes: 
Graduation, Moving North, Being Ashamed to not have a Job using my degree, Living with my Parents, Encountering Relationship Struggles, Acquiring Prudy, Getting New Jobs, Getting a New Place, Acquiring Dinah, Being Lonely, Having a Love-Hate Relationship with Once Again living in the Area I Grew Up in, Losing 20 Pounds, Starting a New Year and a New Decade with New Friends and Growth in Old Friendships. 


After looking back I prayed that I would learn from the experiences I encountered in that Year, and I hope with all my being to grow stronger, braver, more reliant on God, to live more joyfully, to love more deeply, to trust more freely, and to know that God has a place for my life.
The future is a bright, sunny day; a winding path of experiences yet to behold, not a jumble of nothingness.