A Beautiful Mess

Happy Easter to everyone!!!

The beginning of this week I worked my tail off to clean my house, to wash the sheets on all the beds, to make sure all (7) of my towels are clean, I wiped down every surface, I cleaned up dog hair from every corner of my house (it gets everywhere and I love Dakota enough that it really doesn't bother me in the least), I cleaned the counter tops, and hid things in closets, my house was spotless as clean as it is every going to get. It was glorious and for about two hours I loved it. I relished in my clean house, a clean house brings me joy. (Seriously, I LOVE IT) And then family started to arrive.

My mom brought delightful baked goods, and bags of her stuff, my brother and girlfriend have their stuff strewn around my house, my father packs like he will be gone for six months when it is really only a few nights and his stuff is everywhere. My tiny bathroom has toothbrushes and hair brushes and other people's personal stuff everywhere. My couch has four blankets thrown about and not folded nicely on the quilt rack. My backdoor is over run with shoes (a small piece of heaven for Dakota - she would move every shoe around the house if we let her) that look like they could put shoes on everyone in a small country. My car is blocked in by three cars in my driveway and coats hang on the back of every chair in the kitchen. I am thankful for the hot water heater that tries so very hard to keep up with us all when we need to shower (note if you go last at my house the chances are high that you are getting a cold shower) I am blessed. I love it.

I can't imagine holidays any other way. We have played games, told stories, stayed up late, my brother and I have gone for a run together, and we have enjoyed our time together. It has been glorious. I am thankful for the mess in my house, I am thankful for the overfull garbage can and the stacks of dishes that need to be done and the piles of sheets and towels that will need to be washed when they leave. I am thankful for the footprints that will need to be scrubbed off the floor and the blankets that need to be folded. I am thankful for my family who is willing to drive up to spend Easter with me.


Did you get to celebrate Easter with your family?
Do you guys all pack into one place?
What does your family like to do when you gather together?

Spring Run

I did it, I got back out, I went for the run I have been waiting for, I am not certain how far I went or how long I was out exactly, however - I went. I didn't take my watch and it was liberating for my first run. Dakota and I went out and there were places in which it felt like we were barely going above a walk pace due to the ice, snow, and lakes puddles that are beginning to form in the middle of the streets.

I do love to run with my garmin forerunner- I love knowing exactly how far I have gone and at what pace - however - this first run was glorious to feel no pressure - to not worry about time - I knew I had nothing holding me back and I had all the time in the world - okay not all the time in the world, but I had more time than I knew my legs would carry me. It was GLORIOUS. It feels good to be able to taste spring and know that soon every day I will be able to spend time outside. LOVE IT!

Ahhhh welcome back spring - I can feel you coming on the horizon.
Dakota rejoices with me that we are able to get back outside and are able to do some serious running!



Side note: I bought a pair of yurbuds at the Tinkerbell Half Marathon expo and I wasn't convinced that they would be amazing - earbuds always irritate my ears and annoy me because they always seem to be falling out or hurting by the end of a couple of miles - so the lady talked me into buying them and said if after the race I didn't like them they would take them back no questions asked - I ran with them at the Tinkerbell Half and have run on the treadmill with them a ton and they are AMAZING - seriously worth the cost - they don't fall out (or haven't ever fallen out yet) and they don't hurt my ears!!!! SOOOOO AWESOME



What kind of headphones do you like to run/workout in?

Note to self:

• Just because you have fallen several times while out running you don't need to wait until every ounce of snow is gone before you get back out - you hate the treadmill - get off it and get outside
• Go buy yourself a bike - yours sucks the old lady nearly ruined yours- you got a tax return (REJOICE) - use it wisely - don't risk riding your crappy bike
• I know you are busy and holy week is happening at full pace and you feel like you are losing your mind - relax, think, pray, be - it's holy week - take the time you need
• also your family and Marc's family are here - I know you are introverted and holy week without family coming to stay at your house is an introverted hell - enjoy them - take what time you need but then spend it with family - they drove a long ways to spend time with you - suck it up and Monday you can go for a long run with you and Dakota and not have anyone else around 
• you love snow - yes I know April is on the horizon and you still have several feet of snow in your yard, but I promise it will melt - Spring will come and spring will bring lots and lots of new life
• crochet - enjoy the projects you have going - enjoy the hats you have been making and the squares you are beginning to figure out for your afghan - come summer it won't be as much fun to crochet - enjoy it while the weather is still cold
• Nala will be leaving this weekend - be patient with her - just because she is completely crazy and spazatronic (yes I am sure that is not a word - but it fits so roll with it) - Dakota loves her - you can handle her for a few more days
• Go buy milk and bread - you are out and your meals are getting a little weird
• while you are at it you should probably buy some food to feed all the rest of the people coming to your house this weekend
• Go take some fun pictures asap - the snow beginning to turn brown and the very very very faint signs of spring popping through would make for some sweet photos

What would be included in your notes to self?

Has spring arrived where you are?

Have you gotten in any good runs lately?

iPad

Sad Story: my laptop (Gladys - I named her in the midst of thesis writing in undergrad - because I was spending so much time with her and somehow it stuck - which makes me giggle now) - is from my sophomore year of college (2004) - she is getting old in the computer world, but she still works - her major default is her battery life is less than stellar and so any time I want to use her not plugged in I only have about an hour before the battery will be dead - she runs a little slow - but still runs well - and I love her - I know all the short cuts on my trust macbook, I know where things are saved, what programs she has, and her quirks. I am not ready to replace her (although I have started saving up for a new one - I haven't told Gladys this yet though - I don't want to be caught computerless and have no funds to get a new one).

True Story: I am cheap. I don't like to spend money on frivolous things (like a new computer when Gladys works just fine). My uncle every year for Christmas gives my brother and I $100 in Best Buy Gift Cards, there have been years in which I have gone out and bought things such as movies, video games, kindle gift cards, camera memory cards, camera equipment, etc. and in my later years I have learned the joys of saving up my gift cards and getting something even more wonderful, several years back I bought my wii with said gift cards (I LOVE my wii - games, amazon prime, and netflix). The past few years I have just been hording my gift cards questioning what I would buy with them, slightly debating a computer, but knowing that would take me a lot of years to get enough gift cards to get a new macbook, this year after we got our gift cards, it struck me, I was going to buy a iPad. This would extend the life of Gladys because I could use Gladys for certain things and my iPad would cover many needs that Gladys was starting to slack on. So I bought an iPad - I named her Ethel (sounded like a name of someone who would be good friends with Gladys).

Several people have asked what apps I currently love soooo here is my list: (please note above true story, I am cheap so generally I love free apps) (apps are in no particular order)

• Pinterest
• Pandora
• LOVE having access to music all the time
• Facebook
• TripAdvisor
• Super handy when on trips
• Instagram
• BBC News
• Pages
• SBR Speeds
• Remember the Milk
• my favorite to-do list app
• ELCAYMNET
• Google +
• Bible
• Songsterr
• Wikiweb
• was a free Starbucks app at some point - I actually use it quite a bit
• Where's my Water?
• Bejeweled Blitz
• Cook DASH
• Temple Run (Brave edition)
• Words with Friends
• Spider Solitaire
• Yahtzee
• Battleship
• Candy Crush
• Ruzzle
• Draw Something
• love this game
• Fruit Ninja
• Monsters Run
• Pages
• Blogpress
• I often blog from this app
• CaringBridge
• Love this app
• Amazon
• Shutterfly
• sort of a worthless app - it doesn't do a whole lot -I am often tempted to delete it but I keep hoping that they will come up with a way to work on photobooks from the app - it hasn't happened yet
• Twitter
• Amazon Prime
• Netflix
• yes please
• YouTube
• TLC
• ABC player
• yes please
• PBS
• IMDB
• I like information so I have a great appreciation for being able to have movie trivia at my fingertips
• AllRecipes
• perfect for when I am in the kitchen
• ScoreCenter
• LionBrand
• YAY crocheting patterns at my fingertips and no longer having to print out every single pattern I want to use
• Slide Shark
• super helpful for work and presentations

What apps do you use? 

Do you have any app recommendations that I don't have?

Home ownership

I own my house, the bank owns my house and I pay them my monthly mortgage payment plus some. Every month they send me a new slip to mail back to them with exactly how much I have left to pay. I have been paying over on my loan for almost two full years and I feel like my loan amount is hardly dropping. Interest. I understand how they do it and how they pull funds and blah blah blah blah and they are a bank and they want to make money blah blah blah blah however, it is seriously frustrating to not see the loan dropping that much. I have a fifteen year loan (which I am happy about rather than having a thirty) - so my interest towards the beginning of the loan is ridiculous - the amount of interest vs the amount of actual principle. Blah. Loans. Blah. Being an adult. Blah.

I am not going to lie, I know some day I will be jazzed when I get to sell my house and I get some of the money back and it isn't like I have totally just thrown the money away - however - at the moment it is annoy. At the moment I would love to have a landlord who I could call and tell them I think something is weird about my heater and my faucet still is messed up and the flashing under the gutters is falling out due to the twelve thousand pounds of ice that is built up in them. I would also love to tell my landlord that my fence on the east side is crap and falling down and that needs to be replaced.

Oh the to-do list at the house is at least a mile and a half long. The funds for making all of my dream repairs is not nearly as big as my list of things to do. Soooooo slowly but surely I chip away at my house projects with help of friends and family and youtube videos.


Do you have any projects you'd like to do on your house?
What house stuff irritates you the most?

Nala

Meet Nala - my brother's dog

Dear Nala- 

   Welcome back to my house, you have spent a ton of time with Dakota and I over the years and I am to the point that I tolerate you. Sometimes you just annoy me, you are so stinkin high maintenance. Seriously, you have in your head what you want to do and until you get your way you throw a fit. This second picture is a perfect example:

Nala - under the covers in my bed

Last night you kept whining and whining and whining and whining all while I was attempting to catch some much needed sleep. You consistently whined for two and a half hours, I couldn't take it any more and finally let you up in my bed after kicking you out what was at least 2 hours. I finally let you stay on the bed and you then threw a fit until I would let you under the covers, then you curled up and passed out like nothing had happened. Seriously! YOU ARE A DOG, Dakota is happily sleeping in her crate totally oblivious to the fact that dogs can and do sleep anywhere other than crates. You annoy me when you sleep with me, you feel the need to sleep under the covers with your head on a pillow. Your legs are ridiculously long and move from time to time in your sleep and you scratch at my back or whatever part of my body is closest to me. 

Nala & Dakota
I can't only post pictures of my brother's dog

I must confess that there are nice aspects to having you around, you and Dakota do play nice (sometimes - sometimes you like to do whatever you can to irritate Dakota and she sits and barks at you for minutes on end until I make you stop doing whatever you are intentionally doing to irritate her). You and Dakota run around the yard until you can't handle the cold any more and then you come inside and run all over the house, sometimes I think you two are playing some type of hide and go seek game because you will take turns running somewhere and stopping and then the other one of you comes and pounces on whoever has stopped moving.

The other game that you two like to play that annoys me is you both open your mouths wide and make these strange noises while you chase each other around and attempt to pounce on each other's heads. It is strange and noisy and you run like fools while you showing each other your teeth.

Sometimes you do have super sweet moments, those moments when Dakota is laying on one side of me and you lay down on the other side of me and I can sit for a couple hours reading my book and the two of you will just sleep and snuggle me. It is glorious.

You hate walking outside right now because you have such a thin coat. Every time I start to get the leashes out you freak out and don't want to go for a walk (I don't keep you out that long that you freeze - it is only a short walk) and if you don't get a walk you are cRaZy!

Please tone down the crazy. Enjoy your stay at my house, and come Easter I will be more than ready to send you back to school with your dad (my brother).

Love,
   Sarah

Friends

This past weekend, met up with three dear friends of mine down in Minneapolis, we met seven or eight summers ago on an eight week summer adventure down in Australia. We were cabin mates, we traveled with 20 or so other people, sadly of which I haven't kept in contact with most of them as well as I had hoped, but that is the way stuff happens, however, somehow, the four of us have managed to keep in contact  to a certain degree. We attempt to get together at least once a year, and are thankful for the joys of technology that allows us to text, email, facebook, and other such things.

Life has changed for us all over the years, we no longer are in college, we have moved, two of us are married, and two of us are engaged to be married this summer, one is pregnant, we have had jobs, quit jobs, transitioned to new jobs, we have loved and we have lost, and life has thrown us curve balls. In the midst of it all we have been able to support one another and stay connected. These are the types of friends who even if we haven't talked in several months we some how have the ability to pick up right where we left off, we never miss a beat. I love these ladies.

2013 Goals - Check In

Here are my goals for 2013 in no particular order - below in blue is the updates with how I am doing on my goals:

• Earn my Walt Disney Coast to Coast Medal
• This will require me to complete two races, one in Disneyland and one in Disney World in the same calendar year. I will be running the Tinkerbell Half Marathon in Disneyland and the Wine and Dine Half Marathon in Disney World
• I have finished the Tinkerbell Half Marathon at Disneyland in California and I have registered for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon at Walt Disney World in Florida this coming November - I dare to say this is going to happen! Super excited
• Learn how to fold fitted sheets
• Seriously, I have tried, but haven't been committed to it- my fitted sheets always just look like crap when they are folded - more like balled up sheets even if I have tried to fold them nicely - youtube here I come
• totally spaced this one out.... Time to get on it.
• Get Married 
• June 8, 2013 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church I will be getting married and couldn't be more excited about the whole thing - minus the dress wearing crap - seriously my least excited piece
• All the details seem to be coming together. Whoop Whoop.
• Make a fruit pie from scratch
• No real reason for this one other than I just want to do it
• I am waiting for yummy fresh fruit season to embark on this challenge, however I have practiced making a pie crust and made a pie crust with pie filling and that was pretty good so I am jazzed to try this with real fruit filling
• Paint one of the bedrooms upstairs
• I have the colors picked out and I know what design I want to do it - I am currently waiting until a little further into spring so I can open my windows and not get high off of paint fumes!
• Run 5 half marathons [I am tempted to say six because I think it would be sweet to say I averaged one every other month but that maybe too lofty of a goal]
• I have Tinkerbell Half Marathon, Fargo Half Marathon, Fargo Mini Marathon, and Wine and Dine Half Marathon on the docket already - I'd like to add one in Minnesota to my list
• One down four to go
• Finish going through all of my boxes 
• I haven't gone through all the boxes since I moved to Brainerd in June 2011, it's time to do some serious giving away
• This is seriously one of the best projects I have come across, I am LOVING IT - I am going through nearly everything I own - it has been super fun to be able to give away a ton of stuff I just don't need any more
• Organize my craft space in the loft
• Yeah haven't started this one! Looks like a tornado went through it right now
• Read 12 books for fun [I love reading but sometimes I get in a rut and do all my reading for work, which I don't totally mind, but I want to read for fun too] so far I am on track with reading one book per month for fun
• Emma - Jane Austen
• LOVED IT! 
• Red - Ted Dekker
• Found this to be a marvelous book and it kept me a bit on the edge of my seat
• Plain Truth - Jodi Piccoult
• I love all of her books and this one did not let me down
• 7 - Jen Hatmaker (in progress)
• Make my bed 90% of the time
• I am not horrible at this one - I am probably currently at a solid 50% but would like to increase this goal - I don't want to go to 100% because seriously some days I really don't care - however I LOVE to crawl into a made bed
• I would bet I am getting close to 90% maybe only at about 85% but getting MUCH better than I was before, I am reminded how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE to crawl into a bed that has been made - I don't really care what it looks like I just love crawling into it at night
• Learn to to tunisian crochet
• My friend Lindy has inspired me to do this - thanks Lindy
• We are actually working a blanket with this style of crocheting in 2013 which will demand I learn 9 new stitches, I am jazzed and praying I can figure it out
• so far I am totally on track with this project - although my squares are looking a ton like burritos!
• Run 500 miles this year
• bike to work 30 times
• swim 100 miles
• yes I know these are loft goals - but why set low goals
• My miles have come to a hault as the treadmill and I are so annoyed with each other that we are not even on speaking terms - I have gotten in a ton of miles swimming in turn due to the serious lack of running these past couple weeks
• I haven't yet biked to work - the roads are still an icy mess
• Finish the stacks of projects that I have begun and have never gotten to for whatever reason - and if I decide I am not going to ever finish them then I need to disassemble what can be disassembled and move on - no reason to have all these half finished projects
• slowly but surely this is happening believe it or not - although I suppose I could use a kick in the butt to get this goal done a little quicker
• Settle into married life
• or begin to... really this goal is all about making the transition to married life intentional
• obviously not started since we haven't gotten married yet
• Make a quilt
• it has been way too long since I have made one
• I have picked out a design and am beginning to pick fabrics
• Finish the three clergy stoles I have started
• one done two to go
• Shoot over 250 pictures a month on my Nikon D60
• I LOVE this camera but I get lazy and don't take it out to take the photos I should, I really do want to improve as a photographer, so I must practice
• TOTALLY have done this so far! Some months have been better than others - while I was in California I took thousands for January - February I shot probably just over 300 pictures with my D60 - March is lacking a ton so far but I did get some at the lock in last weekend
• Catch up on photobooks
• yeah, I am way behind, finish 2011, 2012, Summer 2012 Mission Trips book
• 2011 - DONE
• Summer 2012 Mission Trip book - DONE
• 2012 - DONE
• update 2013 photobook monthly
• I actually have found that I am best off to update this book every couple of weeks - so far so good
• Create and Finish Summer 2013 Ministry book (finish before the end of the year)
• overachiever moment here: I actually have picked out the style and size and have set it up with different sections so with each activity I only have to fill in the pages - Summer Stretch, Middle School Mission Trip, High School Mission Trip, and VBS
• Create and finish a wedding photobook (finish before the end of the year)
• I haven't done anything on this one yet
• Order 366 in 2012 photo book
• DONE and it is soooooooooooo much fun! I LOVE IT! Seriously. I hope to do another photo a day book sometime
• When books are finished order: 2011, 2012, Summer 2012 Mission Trip book
• 2011 - Ordered and on my shelves
• Summer 2012 Mission Trip Book - Ordered and on my shelves
• 2012 - Waiting for a good sale to order

How are your goals for 2013 coming along? 
                 It is ridiculously crazy to think we are already mid-way through March!
Have you altered your goals for the year at all?

Photo books

I AM ALL CAUGHT UP!

I seriously wasn't certain I would ever actually be able to type those words. I have finished all of my backdated photo books. I am up to date to the present time. It was quite the project. Thankfully Mother Nature gave me little to no motivation to go outside, so I spent quite a bit of time inside finishing up my photo books. I can even say that my 2013 photo book is currently caught up! I am so very very happy about this. This is one of those projects that has sort of hung over my head, I really did want to get them done but at first it seemed like too much, it seemed as if there was no way I could catch up on all my shutterfly goals.

I am thankful for shutterfly in more ways than I can probably articulate:

• I love that they have free unlimited photo storage
• I love that they allow and semi ocd person like me to putz and putz and putz with photobooks until they are the way I want them to be
•  I love that they allow a custom path which seems to allow me unlimited number of options
• I love that the books come in several sizes, with theme options, and then they allow me to add other backgrounds and embellishments as I want to create my own masterpiece
• I love that it seems like everything is on sale about every other week
• I love that I don't think other than about once I have ever had to pay for shipping
• I love the diversity of options of things to make
• I LOVE shutterfly (no they aren't paying me or anything to say this - I just love them this much)

What do you do with your photos after you take them?
Do you scrapbook?
Have you ever tried shutterfly? How do you feel about it?

Swimming Suits

No this isn't some random post about getting ready for swim suit weather. Blah Blah blah, bikinis blah blah blah. I wear a swim suit year round, just the reality. On top of my full time call I also work part time at the local YMCA as a lifeguard and teaching swimming lessons, and in the winter I love to swim laps. Swimming laps seems much less like death than always running on the treadmill.

I am frustrated with swimming suits. I feel like I have tried twelve thousand different brands, speedo, nike, TYR, name it and I have probably tried it. I follow all the proper instructions about how to care for suits and how to preserve them but I feel like my suits get eaten by the chlorine SOOOO quickly. It's frustrating. I hate earning minimum wage and having the suit get eaten so quickly and having to replace it.

I buy grab bag suits because I really don't care what the design is, and I try to buy nice suits not just the ridiculously cheap ones (which get eaten even quicker), and even then it is hardly worth it. It is nuts!

Anyone have anywhere where I can buy reasonably nice suits for cheapish? Does anyone else have this problem? Anyone have any suggestions?

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runDisney Wine and Dine Half Marathon

I AM REGISTERED for runDisney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon! WHOOP WHOOP! This will complete the second half of my coast to coast medal! YEAH BUDDY! I am JAZZED!!! Earning my coast to coast medal has been on my bucket list for several years now and I wasn't actually certain if I would ever be able to attain it due to crazy work schedules and life is a little chaotic but it is TOTALLY HAPPENING. I am running with what will be by sister-in-law (or really Marc's sister-in-law) and my friend Suzi.

Strange fact: I had to register as Sarah Marshall, because that is what my driver's license will say at that point. STRANGE and EXCITING, I think this is the first thing I had to put my last name as Marshall. Crazy. Ahhh transition and change is on the horizon.

I AM SUPER SUPER SUPER EXCITED.

Now, the goal is for all of this darn ice to melt away so I can get outside and log some serious miles. I am 110% over the treadmill and can't talk myself into another quarter mile on it, so I have been forced to spend time on the elliptical, swimming laps in the pool, making attempts to run outside (so far I have run three times outside and have slipped on the ice all three times), and whatever other random exercise I can find. Please show up spring!

Middle School lock-In

Everyone loves playing in the snow!

 Ahhh middle schoolers. I actually with every ounce of my being love, Love, LOVE that I am called to walk alongside youth in middle school, and every day I give thanks that I am no longer in this strange point in life. Middle school is such an awkward time in life and I am thankful to be able to come along side these youth and remind them that they have been fearfully and wonderfully made, despite what their peers tell them, that they are loved unconditionally and showered in grace, despite what they hear from the world, that they are enough, despite what they may hear from who knows where. I love middle schoolers.

One of our prayer stations Friday night

This past weekend I was suppose to head out on a one retreat at LutherCrest Bible Camp (BEAUTIFUL CAMP) and so some of my most favorite colleagues (we represented 4 different churches)  myself, and 27 of our favorite (they all are our favorites) headed down to Alexandria. We spent the night in prayer, playing tons of games, telling stories, taking a break from the world around us, the next morning we woke up ate some amazing food, did devotionals, played some more games, ate some lunch, and then channeled our inner first grader and played in the snow for a couple of hours. We packed up the vehicles and we were off and headed back to Brainerd. Sounds simple. The roads were awful. We made it twenty miles before we started calling churches to see if we could crash on their floors for the night.

After calling a couple churches we got a hold of someone who welcomed us with open arms. We spent the night at First Lutheran in Parker's Prairie. Phone calls to parents, senior pastors, and our own families were made and we began to pull tricks out of our sleeves. We played games, we ate pizza at this wonderful little pizza parlor, we worshiped, and we slept. We had an outstanding time! I am so very thankful for my colleagues, I am convinced that I have the world's best, we thought we weren't prepared for this experience. We hadn't packed anything to entertain the middle schoolers, we had no supplies, we had no food, we had no plan. I am certain however when our kids look back in this weekend, it is this portion of the weekend they will remember.

Making one of our pizzas, it was fun to watch the man throw the pizza
dough high in to the air to create the crusts

The youth were amazing and my colleagues and I were prepared, we had the gifts and the talents we needed to pull off a great overnighter with no supplies. We had years of experience of playing games, we executed worship with no music or guitars, we had plenty of food, and a good time was had by all! It was crazy and chaotic and today I still feel a bit tired from the experience, but thankful for the safe travels, flexible youth, and my colleagues.

Nikon D60

Photography. It seems to be all the craze these days, or really with the development of digital cameras we are no longer tied to the days of expensive film and developing it. We all have cameras, our phones, point and shoot, and varying degrees of more complicated cameras. I have one on my iphone, I have a point and shoot (a waterpoof Nikon that I love), and a Nikon D60. Some of my friends are REALLY good at photography and always seem to come up with really good shots.

I love pictures, I love the process of taking pictures, creating photobooks, and looking through photobooks. I need to learn how to take better pictures. I need to learn what the different shutter speeds do and how to adjust it appropriately on my camera. I need to learn what the different settings are for. I need to learn about aperture and how to adjust mine to the right setting. I need to learn about the different formats and how to get to them on my camera. I need to take photos in a million different settings so I don't get dark and blurry photos. I want to learn how to shoot amazing photos without having to do a ton and a half of editing. 

I am slowly but surely attempting to learn. Trying to gain not only a better eye for pictures but also really learn the ins and outs of my camera, learn the diverse settings. Here's to lots of online reading and challenging myself to take photos, thousands of photos, to learning how to capture what my eyes see.

Anyone have any tips on how to master the settings on their camera?

Anyone have any tips on helping me know what settings my camera should be at when shooting in different settings?

Three Months

No I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, some how my blog fell to the back burner, and really it isn't the end of the world, but I am back, more importantly my colleague is back from vacation and I can breath again. I continue to work on wedding stuff and we are exactly three months away from go time.


What's Done:

• I have a dress (still needs to be fitted)
• Church and reception hall are reserved
• Pastor - picked (complicated when many of your friends are ordained)
• Caterer - automatic when you get the reception hall
• food tasted (seriously this is the best job ever - I would love to do this every night for dinner)
• Cake - person selected now to pick out an exact design
• Photographer - Fiances uncle and a friend
• Hair appointments - reserved for bridesmaids and me
• DJ - Fiance's uncle 
• Rehearsal Dinner 
• space reserved (at a camp I co-direct in my spare time)
• menu planned
• Guest book figured out
• save the dates sent
• children's bulletins made
• centerpieces done
• reserve transportation for post wedding/ pre-reception 
• Bridesmaid dresses (ordered and several of them have picked them up)
• Invitations
• I just picked up at the printer this past week
• envelopes are addressed, stamped, and return address on them
• invites are stuffed into envelopes
• will be mailed out just after Easter

TO DO:

• Groom, Groomsmen, Ushers tuxes 
• picked but now we need them all to turn in their measurements
• set up golf outing for the guys
• Mail invitations 
• make bridesmaid gifts
• figure out groomsmen gifts
• figure out usher's gifts
• Make food for rehearsal dinner
• this can't be done until later
• Flowers
• have a date set with the florist to look at flowers and pick them and all that happy jazz

What am I missing?

**I AM TOTALLY GETTING JAZZED TO SEE ALL MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS WHO ARE COMING UP FOR THE EVENT**

Spring PLEASE come

Dearest Spring,
   While I have loved your predecessor Winter, I am more than ready for you to make your appearance. I know you have lots of work to do by melting the tracks of Winter, she conveniently just dropped about six inches on us last night and continues to drop snow on us today. I am sick of running on a treadmill and spending hours on the elliptical machine. I want to leave my car parked in the garage as much as I can and ride my bike to work, go for good long runs OUTSIDE without fear of falling flat on my face (twice last week when I attempted to run outside - note to self: still WAY icy outside don't be deceive). I want to go walk my dog and not have to put on my snow pants, boots, hats, mittens, long underwear, and my winter coat. I want to be able to go sit outside and throw the ball with her and enjoy it without my fingers falling off or losing Dakota's beloved orange ball in a snow bank somewhere.
    Let me not forget that my dog is nearly going nuts, she sits in the bathtub almost nightly and BEGS for me to fill it with water so she can play in the water. Seriously, my dog is begging for baths just so she can play in the water. Please come, melt the snow and ice so we can be outside again for long periods of time. Push, shove, be mean if you have to, it would be great to see you around here.
    Also please note that Winter's continual presence is having an effect on people around here, everyone is just a bit crabbier, a bit more cranky due to serious vitamin d inefficiencies, we need you to come and make your appearance. In fact, I am crabbier, I am more short tempered, I am frustrated by you, I am over you. 100% done with you and I would more than welcome spring.  I do love winter, I do love snow, I don't love ice that causes me to fall flat on my face, I do love you too spring, PLEASE COME HERE.
    My fitness level is not improving by you sticking around, I am trying to get in shape and I am trying to go for long runs but I can't lie to you and say that Winter is helping at all, in all reality the idea of another quarter mile on the treadmill makes me want to nearly cut my legs off. Please come and remedy my problems. I am over Winter, Spring please arrive now.

Love,
   Dakota and Me

Cardia Deo 2013: Called

This past weekend I got to spend with a couple hundred or so of the high schoolers from around my synod. We dove into what it means to be called, spent time in prayer, worship, and bible studies, work on a couple serve projects, and played and laughed hard. It was a glorious weekend. High schoolers renew my hope for the future. These youth are AMAZING, seriously, their generations is already moving mountains and I can only imagine the impact they will have when they no longer live hearing that they are too young, or not smart enough, or not old enough, or simply just not enough.

It is an honor to gather alongside them, to hear their joys and struggles, and to accompany them as we walk this road of faith together. I am always impressed with the ways in which this peer led weekend goes so well and God shows up in big ways. I had a fabulous group of kids from the congregation I serve (twelve of them) and it was wonderful to see how they worked together, grew as a group, challenged one another, and most of all supported one another.

I give thanks for this generation of youth coming up.
I pray for wisdom to know how to continue to equip them to do ministry in the world.
I give thanks for the gift of accompaniment.
I pray for energy to keep up with the youth and the changing technology.
I give thanks for the congregation who continues to affirm my call to full time ministry.
I pray for a diligence in listening to the stirring of the Holy Spirit.