Here we are again...

I'm sitting at my kitchen table. (thinking and mulling over the changes I've encountered in my life in the last month.)

They have been significant changes:
I'm now an official George Fox student! (Go BRUINS!)
I no longer fear being a missionary
My "list" has been paired down
and
I'M GOING TO SPAIN IN THE SPRING!

These are huge, massive, ginormous things that have happened to me. All I can say is it's been God orchestrating and making all of this happen. My heart has never felt so entrusted to Him, until now.

Yet again it's been a while since I've blogged. There have been times in the last few weeks where I thought, "This would be so good to blog!," and it hasn't happened. Let's see if I can try to maintain this public account about the random happenings and growings in my life. I make no promises, however I will try. :)

My hope is to write about these things in more depth, not to talk about myself, but rather what God is doing in my life. Maybe you can take what I've said and it might apply to your life, or maybe it will give you a chuckle for the day. Either way, be blessed this week and always.

~CoffeeGirl

A venture into Redneckville

If you ever need help jumping a car I can now say that I'm a professional.
Last week my friend (we'll just call her Lucky H) was having car troubles. Her transmission was broken and had an oil leak somewhere in the engine.
Anyway, I had the privilege of following her to the mechanic's place.

"I'll just need you to follow me just in case I need a jump. It should be fine though." Lucky H said with a chill manner.

"Alrighty! I'm up for an adventure." I said.

Three jumps and a couple of wrong turns later and we were in Redneckville. Neither of us had been in that area before so passing by the "NO TRESSPASNING" and the "TRESSPASSSERS WILL BE SHOT" signs were daunting to say the least.

"HEY HEY HEEEEEEEEEEY!!!" An angry man yelled. Lucky H's car had conked out a fourth time and we were preparing to jump it again.

The pit bulls strarted growling and barking, and we started praying. My heart was pounding and thinking frantically of what to do.

The man kept yelling as we realized that he was yelling at the dogs.

Oh man. It was a crazy moment for me. We were two young women, basically stranded, no cell phone service, without a defense plan to get away from our potential attacker. The good news was there wasn't an actual attacker.

Reckneckville, I shan't be visiting again anytime soon.

Replaceable

This fall, I'm transferring to George Fox University. Due to this exciting transition in my life, I'll be moving away from home which is several hours away. I'll be leaving my amazing job, family and friends.

Lately it seems that people know that I'm leaving and are coming in asking if my boss is hiring. They've left resumes and friendly smiles. This makes me sad. Sad because I'm leaving and sad because I've realized that I'm replaceable. Someone will take my job and do the tasks of dusting, talking with customers, making coffee...etc...
Is it vain to feel sad because someone will be taking your place?

Country Cruisin'

The other day I had a hankering for adventure. It pestered me all day while I was at work. I was tired of the mundane daily activities. After dinner I wasn't sure how to satisfy my restlessness, so I went for a drive down some roads I'd never driven on in my area. I took a couple of lefts and a couple of rights and wound up on a spectacular road that gave me a view of the mountains and a valley.

There were wonderfully green trees and the fields were freshly plowed. Suddenly I was struck with a love for where I live. I hear quite often how gorgeous it is, but for the past few years I've taken it for granted. The view was unreal. What started out to be a small need for adventure turned into a deep appreciation for where I live. Thank you Jesus for where you have me! :)

You know you live in a small rural town when...

1.) You notice that one of your bank tellers got a haircut.

2.) You can tell your boss the reason why you're late is because you got stuck behind a tractor on the way to work.

3.) The town goes to the local carnival/fair just to see who else will be there.

4.) The weekly police blotter reports llamas, pigs, or other farm animals on the loose and/or the town crazy who j-walked during "rush hour".

5.) People create drama just to have something to talk about.

6.) Traffic involves three cars at a four-way stop.

7.) Town shuts down by 7 pm.

8.) You can see a tourist coming from a mile away.

9.) The local bus system consists of two bus routes; one into town and one out of town. (Well maybe more...)

10) You run into at least two people you know while running errands.

It's been too long...

If anyone has been checking my blog to see whether or not I've posted anything new, today is your lucky day!
I'm back and hoping to write about my caffeinated adventures and thoughts more frequently.
Thank you (whoever you are) for your patience. ;-)

The Tale of Two Santas

The other day after work, I was greeted by the sound of jingling bells. I was on my way to a nearby store with my lovely co-worker, Gail. Then we saw him. Santa, in all his bell ringing glory. Thinking that he was a bell ringer for a charity, I smiled at Santa. He gave me a partially toothless grin and a wild-eyed "hello." That was when I realized that Santa wasn't charitable. He was outright crazy. Gail and I quickly proceeded to the store, scoped out the sales and then left. When we came out of the door, Strange Santa was waiting. I believe he wanted to say something, but we didn't give him a chance to spread his crazed jolliness.

After that strange Santa encounter I thought that I wouldn't have to see another Santa again. However, I was wrong. The next day at work, another Santa came into the store I work at. This time she was very angry. She wanted help finding a gift for her husband's great aunt. Nothing I suggested was good enough or it was a "ridiculous" suggestion. She was loud, negative, and grumpy. Aside from her outfit and her love for eating goodies, she was nothing like jolly ol Saint Nick. I was tempted to ask her if she made a mistake in her costume...perhaps a grinch outfit would have been better? But I didn't. I like my job way too much to do something like that. Oh and that's not nice in the first place.

This is my tale of the two Santas. There really was no point to this blog other than to maybe possibly make you chuckle and consider how you will treat others during this Christmas season. I know it's a hectic time in which tempers flare or one goes crazy...but that's not what Christmas is about. Drop what you're doing and reflect on what we're really celebrating. God sending His beloved Son to earth to save our lives. That's something to rejoice and think about!

What are you looking at?

The other day I went to my favorite coffee shop in a nearby town and indulged in two of my favorite activities: Drinking a latte and making use of the free wi-fi. While I was chatting with several friends via facebook chat, a middle aged couple stared at me in (what seemed to be) amazement. I was wondering to myself why they were being *ahem* odd...
...Then I realized that for the past few minutes I had been ridiculously grinning and quietly chuckling at the conversations I was having with my friends. I was, in actuality, the odd one. Silly me.

A Free Feast!

Please tell me where can one get a four-course meal for free these days?
Yesterday, I had a such a meal. Check out the following menu for that day...

Hors d'oeuvres:
Toasted Walnut bread with butter
Spinach artichoke dip with organic crackers

First Course:
Buttered Scallops
Shrimp scampi

Second Course:
King Crab Corn Chowder
Parmesan Ravioli

To Drink:
Cranberry Cocktail

Dessert:
Gourmet Carameled popcorn and chocolate...similar to cracker jacks
Sugar Cookies
Almonds

The food and service was fantastic! There were a couple of lines where my mom and I had to wait, but they cleared up fairly quickly. You may not be completely filled after this food experience, but I strongly recommend that you try the place out sometime. How is this treat possible? Well, my friends, go to your nearest Costco on a Saturday afternoon and you too shall discover the wonders of food sampling!

The 97 Cent Transaction

On Monday I went to JCPenney's in the hope of finding a couple of camis for layering. I searched high and low for my much needed camis. (When one has a long torso, layering shirts is a must!) As I was looking, there were tons of sale racks. This, my friends, is a very dangerous thing for me because I'm always up for a deal. To keep myself from going on a shopping spree, I avoided most of them...except for one.

In a corner stood a rack with a sign on it proclaiming: "LAST CHANCE! $0.97 sale!" This, I could not pass up. After perusing the rack, I quickly saw why the items were 97 cents; practically everything was an extra small, except for a teal sweater coat. I snatched it up and tried it on. It fit beautifully. Not exactly a cami, but definitely a deal.

With my prize in hand, I continued to search for what I was actually planning to buy. I didn't find them until I got to the register. The camis cost $18 each! What on earth? There's no way I'm paying 18 dollars for a little shirt that no one will see.

After deciding that I'd have to search for camis elsewhere, I proceeded to the check out and realized that I didn't have any cash. Not even a cent. So I paid for it with my debit card!
The sales clerk was amused by the whole thing, and I believe that will be the smallest transaction I'll ever make with a debit card.

The moral of the story is, always have at least a debit card on you! However, cash would be better...

Defining "Adventure"

Adventure: noun

The undertaking of something new and/or risky. Typically involves random acts of kindness, travels to places unknown, trying new foods, discovering new things, enjoying unavoidable circumstances.

For me, adventure is trying new things or making decisions that I wouldn't normally go for. It makes my life more interesting. Plus, I usually end up learning something from each experience.

Adventure can be talking to a lonely stranger.

Or it could be making a sandwich with strange ingredients...

Adventure could be choosing a different coffee shop than the regular one.

Or driving down the local streets that haven't been traveled on.

The other day, I went with my boss to Seattle in order to purchase merchandise for her shop. After buying a carload of goods, we went to Nordstrom at South Center Mall and had lunch. Instead of going for a meaty sandwich (I had worked up a hearty appetite), I chose a grilled portobello mushroom and marinated artichoke sandwich. It had a sharp white cheese and pesto instead of mayo and mustard. When it arrived at my table, I was surprised by the amount of liquid that the sandwich contained. It was very delicious, yet super messy.

"...And what did she learn?" you may ask.
Well, 1.) I discovered that I love meatless sandwiches, and 2.) next time I'll order something not so messy when eating with the boss or people of importance.

This may not seem so adventurous to the average person, but when one chooses to revel in the random littlest new or risky thing it makes life so much more exciting. It makes the bigger adventures such as high ropes, traveling and doing extreme sports exhilarating.

All of these different types of risk are good (to an extent), but after a while the excitement and adventure ends once the task has been accomplished. There is, however, an adventure that never grows old or ends. It is the ultimate adventure anyone can undertake. The greatest adventure in life is trusting the Lord. It's risky and always challenging. It's a process that makes life so rich and can't be traded for anything. The cost is high, but the rewards are higher. You can't lose when you're following God. Don't believe what I say, check out Proverbs 3:5-6.

If you're bored with life, try trusting God.

The Purpose

Herein exists my first blog entry. I'm not new to blogging, in fact I have a couple of old blogs that I have yet to terminate. It's been over a year since I've blogged. A lot has changed in the past year, so a change of blogs seems to be the best way to go.

The purpose of this blog is to entertain and document my "adventures" as I go through my life. It will reflect random moments and things that I learn about God. After all, God is the most important Being in my life.

I hope that what I say here will bless you and others who find my blog.
Be blessed and enjoy today!
~CoffeeGirl