new beginning

well it's official. i am moving. Kaytee got the job at CMS and we got a 3 bedroom duplex together (the one on the left side of the picture). we put the deposit down. they are finishing up some touch up paint and we can move in March 1st...only a mere 3 days away. i have no ill thoughts against Caitlin, she is a great friend, and i think this will make our friendship better without living together. as for Kaytee, Carigan and me, this is the beginning of our merging together for our future ministry to Haiti and beginning to build our team together.

possiblities

the past few days have been a blur with many possibilities. my bestie was hired on at the prison pending a good pee test and background check. but come on she is a new nurse, there is no way she could have sat for her boards if she wasn't clean. this would require her moving here, especially since the cost of traveling 2 hours. i think this is critical not only for her to get her nursing experience, but it's good experience for Haiti. you work with manipulative men day in and day out and we all know how Haitians can be when they are hungry and sick. the prison isn't bad, you just get use to altercations, broken jaws and other bones, penis problems, and of yes the rude way men talk to women. but it comes with a ton of rewards. the past two days we have looked into houses and day cares. i just love house looking. it's like a new beginning in a lot of ways. but it is oh so difficult to find a place for a dog. another good thing is i feel this is a step in the right direction towards Haiti. we have always said we needed to be closer together so that we can prepare for our ministry in Haiti. so right now we are waiting with anticipation of new possibilities. i will expand more once i know more.

ICE!!!

i can officially say "i hate ice!" i love snow. i am from Alaska after all. but i hate ice. people say that is an oxymoron since i am from Alaska...but hello there is more snow then ice up there people. i don't know what it is with winter, but my ally behind the house hates ice and snow and everything in between. maybe it is because you have to back out of the driveway onto a gravel hill and go up it that makes in intolerable with my car. i so wished i had a 4 wheel drive vehicle. anyways so last night we had a wintry mix storm like thing come through town. as i drove home from work, i pulled into the ally and slid down the hill, past my driveway and was able to stop by the end of the road. i was able to get turned around but it was impossible to get back up the hill. so today i woke up, attempted to leave for class, car wouldn't move, called the free insurance roadside assistance and it took them 7+ hours to get there due to tons of accidents. in the process my good friend Steve came over to help try and get me out. he couldn't but he ended up getting his car stuck. however the good news with my car being in the ditch is that Cady got a good play in with the puppy next door. needless to say i am parking on the street until the ice melts.

Bienvenue

Bienvenue, mwen kay se ou kay. So pa vre. Mwen pa bienvenue se mwen kay. Mwen tre tres pou sa. Mwen pa vle pale avec zanmi mwen paske mwen pa vle bienvenue lakay mwen. Pouki sa? Mwen pa konnen. Men le pa pale avec mwen men le pa bon. Le pa konpran mwen e coeur mwen. Mwen vle di "mezanmi!!!" Mwen vle ale ayiti paske mwen bienvenue la. Eske ou konpran? Mwen panse sa. Mesi.

10 down

i am so not about to post every week when i weigh in and check to see if i lost. but since this is my blog and i can write whatever i feel like, i am happy to say my first mini milestone is down...10 pounds. i know it is not much, but for dropping soda, watching what i eat, and yes the famous ymca workouts, i feel like it is an accomplishment to keep me going.

onto other news i am turning in my RN school application tomorrow after i get some things notarized and background checks sent off to the state.

20

found out today i got a 20 on the ACT which is what i needed. so now i can apply for the accelerated program (LPN-to-RN bridge program).

went to the y today and got my butt kicked by Julia.

hung out with my Roxie Renee.

reconnecting with a childhood friend thanks to facebook.

that has been my day. and i am exhausted.

modern technology

sandy this is just from my heart to yours. i know a true african would understand...i wish life were simple. as i have started going to they gym again i have wished for my mp3 player. well after much time i have found it, the charger and bought new headphones. well then of course i needed new music. i found a free legal sight to download music, and then 3 hours later finally figured out how to place in in windows media player and sync it onto my mp3. modern technology can be so profound and difficult, yet make life easier as well. now i feel like i can go the gym and properly rock out to good new music.

oh and i get a 3 day weekend with nothing on my agenda at all.

3 down...30 to go

As we are in the earliest stages of preparing for Haiti in May I have decided this is good motivation for me to get healthier. So last Monday, February 1st, I had my last soda and dropped most junk foods, and joined the gym, but sadly have only been able to go once due to the snow and classes. I re-weighed myself last night at work and lost 3 lbs. Not to shabby for one day of workout and dropping soda. Hopefully the roads get better so I can get out more. But it is a step in the right direction... Oh and the goal is 33 by Haiti.

Homicide

So a funny conversation took place at work last night that I just had to share. An inmate was just told that his brother was killed and they are ruling it a homicide. A fellow nurse told me "did you hear about the humicide?" Me "a humicide? what's that?" She is like "you know when someone is killed by another human, like murder". I am like "i thought you said humicide, like death by a hummus". She's like "isn't hummus a spread you put on bread...can you imagine being killed by hummus. man i can never eat that stuff ever again, welll i never have eaten it but still!"...i guess working in prison's you can just have wrong conversations! but it keeps our nights eventful.

tithes

at church yesterday the man giving an offering message said something very simple yet profound in a way i have never heard it. he said that 10 years ago someone gave their 10% so that the church was opened when he came through the doors the first as a teenager where he ended up giving his life over to the Lord. he said in the past he has a problem giving a percentage of his income so that a man (pastor and church staff) would get an income. but he realized that he gives his 10% to make sure that the doors are open, for the staff to be paid, so that the doors are always opened when seekers come searching. he wants to make sure that the doors are always opened and someone is always there so when the lost comes, they will find what God has in-store for them. just a little food for thought...