It’s that time of year again…  Time for cookies, trees, gifts, snow (if you’re lucky), songs, mistletoe, ornaments, lights, and joy at celebrating the birth of Jesus.  It’s also time for yearly updates.  Every year I receive tons of letters from my friends telling me all about the seemingly endless amounts of awesome things their kids accomplished – Johnny took his first steps, Billy said his first word, Jane walked on the moon, Susie found the cure for cancer…  And each year as I sit and read through these letters, I’m struck by just how much I have NOT done.

Or at least, the past few years have been like that.

Prior to 2005, I typically felt like I had a lot to say come December.  I was moving to or living in or traveling through amazing places – Alaska, Europe, Asia, New York City…  But then I moved back to Bucks County – not far from where I grew up – and the excitement seems to have ceased.

I debated as to whether or not to even write something for this year having felt outdone by just about everyone else out there…after all, how can you beat out someone taking their first steps?  But after some thought on the matter, I decided that perhaps it was more important do go through this exercise for 2008 because it would help me focus on finding the things that were worth mentioning.

So in the name of hoping 2008 was worth it, I give you…

2008: Year of the Rat

(I’m not making that up – check the Chinese calendar if you don’t believe me)

Let’s begin with 10 “stills” in my life (because it would be more depressing to end there – not that they’re all negatives or anything, but you know what I mean):

1. I’m still in Pennsylvania
2. I’m still single
3. I still live in the same townhouse
4. I still have the same fabulous roommate
5. I still have Chena the Amazing Dog & Brighton the Great Bird – Chena turned 2 this year and Brighton turned 10
6. I still work for the same company
7. I still have the same job…or in this environment, perhaps it’s most meaningful to say I still HAVE a job
8. I still have debt
9. I still love coffee
10. I still hate raw tomatoes

Below is a summary of 2008…such as it was:

January

I went to Atlanta to visit my family while Jo & Josh were there. I also found Dave Ramsey and decided set New Years Resolutions to lose weight, start living on a budget, and begin a plan to pay off my debt.

February

I started my budget.  I also found out that my foot which I broke in Vermont in 2005 was, in fact, still broken so I was going to have to treat it by wearing this weird bone stimulator (no, it’s not like that – get your mind out of the gutter)  10 hours/day for 6 months.  Yay.

March

Gas prices really started soaring, but I still managed to budget in a trip up to Boston to visit Esther & the girls for a long weekend over my birthday.

April

I started attending a Financial Peace University class that was being held locally and I found an amazing church…FINALLY.

May & June

Absolutely nothing of note took place.  Nothing.  May & June were a total waste this year.

July

I discovered I had a nest of yellowjackets my attic.  That was it.

August

Like its predecessors of May & June, August failed to contribute anything of interest for 2008.  I think I saw a movie.

September

The most exciting month all year!  I went to Seattle to visit Jel & Co.  A blast, as always, made even better by the fact that we had a full week to relax & hang.

October

Not as fun as September, but pretty.  Great foliage this year.  I also had new hardwood floors installed on the ground floor of my home. Oh, and I handed out candy to a lot of princesses & vampires with a few Harry Potter’s thrown in.

November

The removal of all the election paraphernalia from yards & TV was a highlight of my month, second only to the birth of my first nephew – Ronan Powell Rogers.  Yay!  And then of course there was Thanksgiving.  Yum.

December

I calculated that by the end of this year, I’ll have paid off 52% of my unsecured debt (36% of my overall debt) thanks to my budget, Dave Ramsey, and God.  I’ve lost 20 pounds of the untold amount I put on after moving out of NYC – still some to go, but I’m on the right track!  I got a Wii & a Wii Fit.

I really can’t underscore the importance of this task.  It’s huge and has required a lot of sacrifice which, in turn, has made for a relatively boring 2008.  And perhaps I should go ahead and warn everyone now that 2009 & 2010 will be going up against 2008 on that front.  In 2011, I’ll be sure to give the title of Most Boring Year to one of these 3 contenders because, let’s face it, until I get my debt paid off, I may not being doing much else between now and then…although I do foresee a trip to North Dakota to see my nephew this coming year and perhaps a smaller getaway or two if I can manage it – we’ll see if that budget will allow me that!  I became a moderator in December of last year for the GAP Adventures travel forum called The Watering Hole which, while a technically a volunteer position, carries with it some other nice perks like credit towards GAP trips which I might be able to leverage towards this end.

In closing, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  I sincerely hope your 2008 was more interesting than mine…  But now look out 2009 – here we come!

Crisp & cold, Saturday was thankfully sunny and lacking in precipitation. Took me about 2 hours to reach Kim’s hotel, and we then headed over to Intercourse (I feel dirty just typing that) for lunch.

Intercourse, PA.  So the Amish are not as pure & wholesome as they’d like us to think.  And can I just say that the town itself totally capitalizes on the whole inappropriateness of its name.  Slogans like the one from the pretzel factory where you can get ‘em “Soft or Hard” litter the billboards. It’s like a dirty marketer’s dream. I felt like I needed a shower upon leaving.

Anyhow, we met up with Beck (my friend, not the band) at Kitchen Kettle Village for lunch at the Kling House Restaurant (not to be confused with a Klingon restaurant). Afterwards, I took Kim back to the hotel for the wedding while Beck & I headed to Lititz where we grabbed Len, et. al and b-lined it for Hershey.

After much traffic, we arrived, parked, and were ready to enter when much to our dismay, discovered that the previously admission-free Candylane was charging nearly $10 per person! Apparently Hershey wasn’t satisfied with just making the money you’d spend once you entered. Right on, Hershey Corporate Decision-Makers. Way to increase people’s expenses in an already struggling economy! Good call. Really. (Can you see the sarcasm oozing off my words?)

Anyway, the fee included children, which meant to walk through Candylane in what we could stand of the freezing cold would have cost us nearly $70. Um…PASS!

So the kids were disappointed…heck, I was disappointed…but for that much money, we really had no choice. Boo Hershey.

Regardless, it was a fun few hours of driving around, and I’m glad I got to hang out with my friends who I haven’t seen in far too long.

I did manage to capture a few pics from the outside of the park and Hershey’s Chocolate World before we left, so here they are. I apologize that there aren’t more, but I’m giving you what I’ve got and so you’ll just have to make do:

That, in a nutshell, was my weekend. Oh, I guess there was just one more little thing…

I GOT A Wii!!

Yes, that’s right… After much deliberation and a full consultation with my Budget Committee, it was decided that I should get myself a Wii for Christmas. Partially for the gym membership dollars it will save me, and partially because I calculated out that by the end of 2008, I will have paid off just over $40K in debt this year!!

Now anyone who has gotten (or has tried to get) a Wii during Christmas shopping season might be wondering how I managed to obtain said Wii. Well, I had to get God involved. So I prayed. I told God I knew it was a silly thing, but that I really wanted a Wii for Christmas. I told Him I wanted the Wii Fit too, but would be happy with just a Wii.

I looked online. Everyone was sold out. I combed the stores (including while I was out in Lancaster) to no avail. Every place informed me that any time they got Wii’s in their stock shipments, they’d be sold out almost instantly. People would be waiting outside the stores before they opened in the mornings just hoping for a Wii. They said it was no different for the Wii Fit.

One store told me that the only way to get one would be to call during the week when their shipment comes in to see if any have arrived and then to come over immediately to get it. Since I work and have no one else to run my errands, this was not a valid option.

The odds of getting one by Christmas were looking increasingly unlikely. Then came Sunday night.

I was online flipping through Amazon (which I had done a thousand times before) and I decided to go check the Wii page (which I had done at least a hundred times before) when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer!  Wait…that’s not right.  Let me back up…

The Amazon page must have JUST refreshed its inventory because to my wondering eyes appeared AVAILABLE Wiis!! So I snagged one. They were sold out again within an hour or so and I haven’t seen the page restocked since. Ha ha!

Then Monday morning I had a similar tale where I managed to grab a Wii Fit off Best Buy online. They restocked, I got it. They were sold out within about 15 minutes and haven’t restocked since. Another ha ha!

So I got my Wii AND my Wii Fit. But wait, there’s more! They’ll both be arriving BEFORE Christmas!! Merry Christmas indeed!

Yay! Or should I say, Wii!

This week has been one of dinner guests, coffee dates, committee meetings, and haircuts. I have been home each evening for a total of about 1 hour before having to rush back out again only to return at bedtime.

I am completely wiped out…and it’s not over.

Tonight I have a release with work that I’m testing which I hope will not run into the wee hours of the morning (as they are sometimes prone to do). Tomorrow, it’s up early, weigh-in at Weight Watchers, and then hitting the ol’ westbound highway – destination: Lancaster.

I’m looking forward to a day in Lancaster for a few reasons:

1. It’s been far too long since I’ve visited…going on 5 years.
2. It’s Christmastime, so everything should be uber-pretty.
3. I’ll be coming home with chocolate – Wilbur’s (famous for its Buds) & Hershey’s (just plain famous).

As to the “why” behind this visit, my reasons are many…and no, the Amish is not one of them. Contrary to popular belief, Lancaster County is not the only place where the Amish live. If I wanted to see them, I’d just go to the local Amish farmers market which is only a couple of miles from my house. Granted, there aren’t that many buggies running around my area, but that’s probably for the best. Bucks County is pretty, but grossly lacking horse-and-buggy-friendly road systems – not to mention drivers. It’s sad really, but I digress.

Rather, I’m going to Lancaster to kill a few different birds with one blunt object.

One of my former NYC roommates, Kim, is going to be there for a wedding. She’s actually arriving out there today, but with the wedding not being until tomorrow night, she’s got the whole day free to hang. Additionally, one of my childhood friends, Becky, and her family recently returned to the Lancaster area from Virginia. Beck has agreed to come down and meet Kim and me for lunch and some shopping around Lancaster. Then, while Kim is at the wedding, I’m going to take a short road trip with Beck & Co. out to Hershey Park to see the lights. And hey, who can turn down going to a place where the air itself smells of chocolate?

After Hershey and the wedding, Kim will come home with me, and then I’ll throw her on a train back to the city on Sunday after church.

So it’ll be a action-packed weekend which is befitting the preceding week…however, if I’m being honest, I have to admit that I’d really like some crashing time – but I guess that’ll just have to wait until [hopefully] Sunday night.

Here’s hoping I haven’t jinxed myself by saying that.

I’m taking the camera so will hopefully get some good pictures – especially of Hershey and the lights…and maybe I’ll score a shot of a buggy for all you Amish fanatics.

Ladies & gentlemen, I give you:

Autumn in Bucks County

And on that last point, here are some pics I took today – I plan to take more, but thought this was a good start.  It’s by far one of the nicest things about living in the Northeast.

I can only assume that they were headed south and decided to make a pit-stop in my development.  Having been truly terrorized by an insanely loud bird who had decided to nest in a tree near her bedroom window this past spring, my roommate’s response when she saw the masses of winged beasts was one of minor terror.  She threatened to call an exterminator, if it came to that.  But I quickly reassured her since I was fairly certain they weren’t there to stay.

I managed to get them on video…sort of.  It was my cell phone so definitely not the best video capture (and certainly nothing to rivial the camera angles and genius of Hitchcock), but I think you’ll get the idea.  I managed to get some of them as they flew off which was pretty cool.

It has got to be the most birds I have ever seen at one time in my life.

Saturday was the day.  We were originally shooting for September 13th, but the weather had called for rain and so rather than risk it, we postponed a week.  Weather-wise, it was worth the wait.  We had a beautiful day – the kind where you want nothing more than to be outside, so what could be better than being outside while making a few bucks off your junk?

I was up at 5am, out the door by 5:30.  After a quick stop at Dunkin’ Donuts for a veritable jug of coffee and a dozen donuts, I made it to Shanna’s in time to start unloading the car and setting out the boxes and boxes of things I had managed to pull out of my attic and identify as unused, unwanted, and undeniably ugly…well, some of it anyway.
What I also found funny was how Es’s article really hit on what is so bizarre-yet-true about yard sales (and eBay, for that matter):  The things people will (and won’t) buy.  It makes no sense.  At all.  There were things I pulled out of my attic and stuck little pre-priced stickers on I thought would be snatched up within the first half-hour while other items I considered to be grotesque would surely sit as unwanted on the yard as they had in my attic.

Not so.

Instead, cute little candlesticks I picked up ages ago and have never used were barely glanced at while people were purchasing things I couldn’t imagine a possible use for outside of a gag-gift or cruel joke.  Among the hideous items were these repulsive ceramic cat figurines I used to adore as a child (okay, so I didn’t exactly have great taste at 7 – does anyone?)  Nor am I clear on why exactly I liked them at all.

To start with, I’m allergic to cats.  Strike one.  And these in particular looked like they had been crafted by people in China who may have never actually seen a cat.  Strike two.  Then adding insult in injury, they were painted with the most putrid shade of brown.  Strike three.

It definitely makes me wonder why anyone would have given them to me in the first place, not to mention why I’ve kept them so long after I came to my senses and stopped displaying them.  The best excuse I can come up with is that they had just been forgotten in their bubblewrapped existence packed away in the rafters with more of the same.

Still, thanks to someone else’s odd taste in collectibles, it was nice that all these years later these ugly cats actually managed to put a dollar in my pocket.  Collectively, my odd and unwanted items didn’t exactly bring me wealth, but a little over $80 which is more than they were giving me sitting in my attic.

I also did sell some good stuff that I hoped I would.  My giant, wire mesh drawer unit was hauled away for $5.  I also had someone offer me $15 for all of the CDs I had out.  The binoculars with a built-in digital camera which I had gotten from work walked away for $15.  And then of course there were things I had no intention of selling whatsoever that people still asked me about (”Hey, how much for the puppy?”)

Like Esther, sold or not, I refused to take anything home.  I wanted it ALL gone…even the cute little candlesticks.  So what remained ended up getting shuttled over to Good Will where I hope someone finds my candlesticks cute too and gives them a nice home.

As for the cats, considering how quickly they sold just off the yard, it does make one wonder if I could have made more off them on eBay, but I don’t really care.  After all, a bird in the hand, right?

So, how do you sell an ugly cat?  It’s not hard – if you set it out on your lawn, apparently it will draw buyers in all on its own with little-to-no effort.  Just be careful what else you set out there or you might end up accidentally selling your dog or kid…unless, of course, you want to.

Anyhow, I’ve had a lot bits floating around in my head from the day and thought I’d spending a few minutes trying to get it out on paper (or glowing monitor, as the case may be) might help me finish sorting through them.

Those of you who know me are well aware of how keen on building community I am. I think this may be one of the reasons I’m drawn so much to the PNW where the culture is much more about the outdoors and with people around town…not in lock-down at home in front of the TV or the computer.

Some of this started with my time at Redeemer where being community-minded is a way of life. Redeemer is also where I really began to see, not only the importance of community, but the biblical basis for it as well and how, as Christians, we are not only called into community with each other, but called to serve the community around us, Christian or not.

In the city it’s one thing. In suburbia this is a whole ‘nother ballgame. In fact, I’m starting to feel that it isn’t just another ballgame, it’s another sport altogether…like croquet, or synchronized swimming. And as important as it is to build and reach out to one’s community within the city (which is certainly no easy task), it is just as important to do the same in suburbia…but I think suburbia is a more difficult landscape. Allow me to explain.

Now I should probably preface my comments on this matter by saying that I look through the colored lenses of a single adult in her mid-30s, so I probably see the suburban landscape a little differently than someone who is living the typical married-with-2.3-kids-and-a-dog suburban soccer mom life (although I do have a dog). But I think that my vantage point is therefore somewhat unique.

To start with, suburbia is incredibly insular. By comparison, New York City can also be insular, but I think a greater opportunity exists to interact with one’s community in NYC. For instance, if I needed to go to the store in Manhattan, I would go down the stairs of my 3rd-floor walk-up on East 88th Street and take a stroll over one block and down to 86th to reach the nearest grocery store. While on that walk, I might run into people I knew (that happened more frequently than you’d think), but I would at least be in the company of others walking, some of whom I might even say hi to or ask a question of. A run to the grocery store now means I leave my house, close myself up in my car, drive 2.5 miles to the nearest grocery store. Assuming I manage to avoid getting into a car accident, a trip to the store now involves absolutely zero human contact.

In the city I felt I did more talking, more relationship building, and definitely more walking. My apartment was a shoebox, so I didn’t typically spend a whole lot of time there. Sundays meant walking to church, going out to dinner afterward with friends, and then walking home with some of them because we all lived within a few blocks of each other. Hello community.

Here in suburbia it often feels to me like so much is done in a vacuum. Public transportation is severely lacking and there are seemingly no sidewalks in Bucks County, so everyone is driving to work, driving to the store, staying in the house because it’s hot out, or staying in the house because it’s cold out. Getting together with others seems to take greater effort and more planning… Mostly I think that stems from those with children which only makes sense – I’m typically able to do last minute things, but I’m not concerned with shuttling little ones to piano lessons or getting people dinner.

But I think that this just makes community that much more necessary…not to mention needed. I once heard someone speculate that they believe one of reasons we’ve seen such an increase in depression with women over the last 50 years was partly due to the lack of community they (or I should say we) experience even just with each other. Women tend by nature to be more relational than men and are in need of relationships with other women. 50+ years ago, there was more of that going on – women lived and raised their children together. They had bridge clubs, quilting bees, and other ways of interacting. There’s still some of that alive and well today – seems that playdates are a big thing for stay-at-home mom’s with small children – but there certainly isn’t as much as there once was and the mental and emotional health of our communities certainly suffer as a result.

As a single adult in these crazy ‘burbs, I have come to recognize my need for community on a larger scale. Without it, life becomes very lonely very quickly. This was even a recurring theme in some of my commentary-like posts last year (Laments of a Suburban Single, Home Bittersweet Home, and Smug Marrieds). I think my understanding of my personal need for community is partly because I was “spoiled” by the community I had in NYC (if any of my New York buds are reading this, know that I really miss you guys!) which has served to show me just how important and valuable community is to my emotional, physical, and spiritual health.

It’s odd, really… As connected as we all are today with the Internet, laptops, wireless, and iPhones, these great strides of technology have also served to further enable isolation. Al told us today of a guy who changed his name legally to “Dot Com Guy” and didn’t leave his house for an entire year living solely off the Internet to pay his bills, get his groceries delivered, etc. just to prove that he could do it. How insane is that? As much as I enjoy the Internet, I don’t believe that there is any online community that can ever replace the joy of having good friends over for dinner. Not on your life.

After a day like this, I of course get fired up and want to just run out an cancel my cell phone, shut off my cable, start up a bridge club, and begin hanging out on my front porch, but I know that we can’t really run back to the 1950’s because, well, it would only really work if everyone else did it too. It was like that in NYC during the blackout of 2003 – the lights went out as did the air conditioning, Internet, TV, everything. Suddenly everyone was outside. Whole blocks were having parties because the food in their fridge wouldn’t keep, so they put it out for everyone to eat. What a unique experience, but unfortunately it only lasted a short time. So apparently we can’t bring back the 1950’s for good (not that we would want to – personally I think Wally & The Beav can stay happily in Mayberry or wherever it was they lived). But there must also be practical ways to begin reaching out to our communities in 2008.

I don’t really have the answers, so I hope you didn’t read through this whole post looking for some! I do have some ideas, but I’m still working them through so I won’t share them quite yet.

One thing I will say is I think first we have to commit to being purposeful with our interactions and look for ways to serve our communities. This is much easier said than done, but I think when we seek out opportunities and then also act on them, we are first of all showing others Jesus by loving and caring for them. I can’t think of a better way to grow and build a community than that.

The Lillies of My Garden

Originally uploaded by thewriterbee

Just wanted to quickly share a picture I took earlier this week when I got home from work. The light was just right and the flowers were looking particularly stunning.

“See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you?” (Matthew 6:28-30)

Let me explain.

Last September I was visiting a friend out of town and, while waiting for her in some doctor’s office lobby, I had picked up a health magazine and had started reading a fascinating article on the benefits being found in dairy products from grass-fed cows. You mean organic? No, grass-fed. And yes, there is a difference.

In brief, cows that are raised on pure-pasture diets (read: absolutely no grain or horomones – in other words, the way God intended) create much less milk than the average giant corporate dairy farm cow, but everything coming out of what the grass-fed cow produces (cheese, milk, butter, and yogurt) is far healthier. Grass-fed dairy products contain more beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E for starters. They also have less fat, fewer calories, more balanced output of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids, and carry as much as 500% more CLA than grain-fed cow products.

CLA stands for Conjugated Linoleic Acid which, studies are showing, may lower the risk of cancer as well as heart disease. And if that isn’t enough, they’re also finding it helps reduce body fat. Most of the references out there are highlighting the weight-loss benefits – let’s face it, there’s big money in peddling products to help burn fat – but I think the other two far outweigh.

Tack onto all of this that to support the grass-fed dairy industry is to support sustainable farming which, in our green-conscious society, makes for a nice side benefit.

Okay, so back to my story about the amazing milk that I started off this longer-than-intended post…

So I read this article and immediately set out to see what I could find out about possible grass-fed dairy products in my area. Naturally there are no products on the shelves in the grocery stores, so I started looking for dairy farms. I live in Bucks County, after all – there must be a dairy farm still in existence around here.

Sure enough, I found one. Birchwood Farm Dairy is located in Newtown not 15 minutes from my house and they supply a full-range of grass-fed products from their Jersey cows which munch happily on the pastures covering the farm. Thrilled, I headed over there to buy some milk only to discover that I had to be put on a waiting list! On one hand, I thought this is great because it shows that their supply isn’t as great as their demand and high-demand is a good thing. On the other hand, I wanted some milk.

Instead, I went on the waiting list.

My waiting ended last week when I got a call from the farm saying that they could move me onto their pick-up list if I was still interested. Yay!

So last Saturday I went over to pick up my first gallon of insanely fresh, grass-fed milk. Let me tell you – this milk is the most incredible milk I have ever tasted. It’s almost sweet and dessert-like…and yellow! Yeah, apparently milk isn’t supposed to be that pure white color we’ve all gotten used to. Who knew that cows raised on genetically engineered corn and dried hay would produce milk that’s less nutritious, less tasty, and then also be the wrong color?

Anyway, I can’t say enough good things about this milk. It’s a little more expensive, but man, is it worth it. And of course it’s just me, so it’s not like I go through milk that quickly – a gallon will likely last me a good 2 weeks so I’m set for a twice-a-month pick-up. Incidentally, I also tried some of their cheese. Double-yum.

A quick word of advice – if like most of America, milk is a staple in your fridge, check out Eat Wild – their site is filled with interested facts about grass-fed products as well as a directory of farms by state. If there’s one near you, go check it out. You’ll be doing your health, the environment, and a local business good.

In any case, there was an article in this issue which caught my attention called “Dinner Day.”  Apparently, on 23 October 2002, the Pennsylvania State Senate declared the second Saturday in January of each year an official holiday called “Invite A Neighbor To Dinner Day.”  Apparently “Dinner Day” was born from the smoldering ashes of the events of 9/11.  After reading up a little on the day from the official website, I have to admit I don’t know why this holiday should be limited to Pennsylvania but feel this should be adopted as a National holiday.

The resolution reads as follows:

“Whereas, Following the events of September 11, 2001, average Americans have sought ways to make a difference; and

Whereas, In times of trouble, Americans have traditionally displayed a kind heart and open door for their neighbors; and

Whereas, An effective means of celebrating American values to get to know or mend fences with one’s neighbors; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Senate proclaim the second Saturday of January of each year to be “Invite A Neighbor to Dinner Day” as a celebration of the values our country is built upon and a way to foster understanding, compassion and tolerance within our neighborhoods.”

Right on PA!  Of course I lived in Pennsylvania in 2003 when the first “Invite A Neighbor To Dinner Day” was celebrated.  I moved back and was here for Dinner Day in 2006 and 2007, but this is the first time I’ve heard of it. 

The Cooking Light article discusses the background of the holiday and also suggests a menu consisting of: Edamole with crudites, Winter Minestrone, Bitter Greens Salad, Lemon Chicken with Ginger and Pine Nuts OR Chile-Brined Roasted Pork Loin, Baked Pommes Frites OR Turnip Gruyere Gratin, complimented with a glass of Chardonnay and topped off with a dessert of Apple Upside-Down Cake OR Butter Rum Pound Cake with tea and/or coffee.  Yum – I wonder how many Weight Watchers points all that would be?

This year Dinner Day falls on January 12th which is only 3 days from now which is pretty short notice for inviting someone over, nevertheless, I will try.  How could anyone not want to celebrate such a cool little holiday?  Party on.

As you might have guessed, this isn’t coming out of nowhere. One of my “new” friends has been rescheduling dinner with me for four months now. FOUR MONTHS. Every time we have it scheduled, something happens (usually the day of) and she can’t make it. Sometimes they’re very good reasons and I don’t blame her for it. Other times they’re reasons like, “Oh, well, I talked to my husband and he really wanted to go out to dinner tonight, so do you mind if we reschedule?” Well, it’s getting to a point now where I’m past understanding and getting just frustrated…especially when she cancels the day of. THAT really bugs me. I mean, it’s not as though I necessarily have anything else going on, but rather it’s just the principle of it. Don’t commit unless you really mean it. Keep your promises. Be a woman of your word. Why does that seem to be so difficult for some people??

My whole thing on why I think it’s just another case of priorities is that Dana and I have been meeting for lunch once a month whenever we’ve lived within driving distance of each other. Not only is she married, but she works full-time and has two kids and she STILL is able to carve out one afternoon a month to spend with me. Now I’m sure it’s not all about me – I’m sure she does it some for herself as well since it means she can get out of the house for a bit, etc. but still. I don’t think she has ever cancelled on me. Not once in all these years.

So the whole Lesley-thing is disappointing – and this goes for all the other women I’ve met who are married with kids and “too busy” to ever have coffee or do anything else social with me. Disappointing because I feel like saying to them, “Look, I know your life is full of people and places and things – and I’m glad you have a husband and family and all…and I appreciate that it may be difficult to find a couple of hours on a Saturday to spend with your single friend(s). But do you know how lonely us singles in suburbia are? Do you know how much we look forward to things like someone else to have dinner with – or even just spend some time talking to? Do you have any idea how much it means to us when you DO take the time out to just be a friend?”

I’m just very disappointed and tired of getting let down because, let’s face it, I’m still an optimist and so every time we reschedule and I come into work on the day we’re supposed to get together, I’m still excited and keep thinking, “Surely she won’t cancel this time!” So when she does, I’m just bummed out all over again. And I don’t feel like I can tell her this because, well, 1) we’re not good enough friends yet; and 2) it would just make her feel badly because she is a very sweet and sensitive person and I don’t want to do that to her.

And so as with so many things like this, I’ll cry a little, throw it in our blog, and outwardly suck it up.

So of course it was so great to be back with Chena again! There was a lot of excitement and peeing that went on during our reunion (she did the peeing – I was just excited). This was the longest I’ve ever left her for and I missed her.

Apart from my joy in seeing her, I’m really sad to be back home. Not so much because I’d rather be in North Dakota (I’d love to see someone make that sentiment into a bumper sticker…), but because I just don’t want to be HERE. I have said on more than one occasion that I don’t particularly care for living in this part of the country. I have often gone on to say that if I have to live here, then I would at least be in NYC. But alas, I’m not.

Most New Yorkers have a love/hate relationship with the city, however the love usually outweighs the hate. For example, I adored all the people – even though that meant dealing with a few crazies. I loved walking everywhere – even though that sometimes meant walking in the rain or bitter cold. I loved how easy it was to travel from New York – even though that meant lugging my suitcase around with me all day when I was set to depart after work. See what I mean? In any case, the things that could bug me about New York are the things I don’t have to deal with out here in suburbia – but I also miss out on the things I loved, and since the loves outweighed the hates, it’s torturous to me that I not only have to live on the East Coast, but have to live outside of NYC.

But what can be done?

Things being what they are, not much right now. Since my ultimate goal is to move to the Pacific Northwest (preferably Seattle, but maybe Portland), I fail to see the logic in trying to move back into New York at this point (the process of moving in or out of NY is definitely one of my hates). By the same token, I don’t know how far out on the horizon a move to SEA or the like might be and I don’t relish the thought of spending an indefinite amount of time here.

I don’t want to say I feel as though I’m in a rut, but maybe in a way I am… From a work perspective, my career is going great. Yay. But socially, I’m barely functioning.

Another birthday has just flown by and I feel as though I’m in the same position I was a year ago (except that a year ago I had just returned from hiking the Inca Trail and hanging out in the Amazon). My fear is that if the same is true next year and I’m sitting at my desk (again) after the passing of another birthday (again) with nothing having changed (again) or looking as though I’m any closer to being able to get out of here, I may just crack.

Consider yourselves warned.

Name: Chena
Born: 30 May 2006
Adopted: 22 July 2006
Current Weight: 2.25 lbs
Current Height: 7 inches

I would like to introduce you all to the new member of my household. Chena (pronounced “Chee-na”) is here! She’s a Miniature Australian Shepherd (Mini Aussie) and I brought her home last Saturday. Over the past week we have had some great bonding time and she is fast becoming one of my best friends.

In many ways I feel like I’ve adopted a kid – my living room floor is littered with toys, I have to get up every 2-3 hours during the night to take her outside…but it’s more than worth it and I know she’s going to be a great dog when she grows up. Oh, and in case you were wondering, her name is Alaskan – I’ve been storing it since living up there to use one day.

Just wanted to give you all an update and join me in welcoming Chena to my life and home!

Instead, this letter is my way of bringing you all up to date on the happenings of 2005. Now, depending on how long you’ve been part of my address book, you may think I have done this before which is true, in part. However the difference this time is that I’m not living someplace which may be deemed worthy of a letter (e.g. Alaska, the UK, etc.) – no, what has instead prompted this Year in Review is the fact that I have had some life-changing events take place in the last few months, and since things have been so crazy, I know I have not had time to keep everyone updated (nor can I always remember who I’ve told what to).

So, rather than making this some sort of lame apology for not keeping in better touch, think of this as more my way of just making sure everyone’s on the same page. I’ll warn you straight off that this may be a little on the lengthy side so you may want to just print it out and read at your leisure if you don’t have the time right now. Furthermore, I will do my best to make it interesting but in case my attempts fail and instead find this piece of prose has coma-inducing qualities that could tire even the most chronic insomniac, I would recommend not operating any heavy machinery while reading.

And with that disclaimer, I bring you…

2005
A Year in Review

January/February.

The year really started out with the BANG that was the end of 2004. A tsunami – the like of which we have never before seen – hit parts of South Asia, including areas of Thailand where I was booked to go to on a sailing trip starting at the end of January. So the first couple of weeks of the year were a bit touch-and-go… What was going on? Were we still going to have the trip? Was it really as bad as CNN was making us believe? If we went, would we contract some sort of dreadful disease and have to be quarantined, never to return home? In the end, the trip was on for those who wanted to “brave” it. I left New York on January 21st on a flight from Newark to Tokyo to Bangkok. The next morning I flew out with a few others for Phuket and sailed around the islands of Thailand and Burma for 10 days. I didn’t return home until February 5th. I can tell you without a doubt that it was one of the most incredible trips of my life and something I don’t think could really ever be duplicated. I could spend pages upon pages trying to describe this singularly amazing time, but I feel I could in no way do it justice. Instead, I am including here a description I wrote of a coffee drink which I aptly named “Thai Island Blend”.

This really stems from something my friend Esther & I have been doing for years, usually as a way to describe something that one of us had seen/experienced. It’s about the closest thing to a short summary of my trip as I can possibly give you without going way overboard (no pun intended):

Thai Island Blend

Serene yet awe-inspiring, just like the land, our Thai Island Blend is a delicate collection of the most mild and sweet roasts we could uncover to bring you the essence of a tropical island getaway.
One sip and you’ll find yourself transported to the deck of a catamaran sailing through clear waters that appear to you to be made of liquid glass. You look around at the islands which shoot up from the sea – tall and round like giant pebbles that almost seem to hover over the water. A kayak awaits and you paddle across coral reefs teeming with life to a deserted cove. Walls of rock covered with vegetation envelop you and you spot entrances to sea caves that beckon to be explored, but you decide to save that for tomorrow.

Back onboard ship, you watch the sunset paint the sky in colors you never knew existed as the moon rises over the peaks behind you. It’s dark enough now that you can see the sparkle of phosphorescent plankton dancing in the water below. You sigh and are comforted by the warm breeze on your face as you settle back and enjoy your mug of Thai Island Blend.

March

Birthday aside, the month of March was really quite busy as well – I went on a ski trip to Killington with some of my friends from Redeemer, spent a weekend in Boston visiting with Esther & Abby, and then my actual birthday was spent in Ireland with the Grahams sandwiched between some time in London visiting old haunts and seeing friends.

April

Filled with 2 church-related retreats and visits from out-of-town friends made this month fly as well.

May

Was spent looking forward to Memorial Day weekend which I spent with my sister, Kristin, in San Francisco. This included a day trip with my friend Nancy (who I met on the Thailand trip) out to the Sonoma Valley. Fun for one and all!

June

Slow month. Spent a long weekend in Boston with Es & Abby again, but otherwise I just spent time trying to relax and gear-up for July…

July

This is where things started to get interesting. I started the month off with spending 4th of July weekend in Miami with my friend, Camerin. It was absolutely swelteringly hot, but we managed to have a good time nonetheless! On the 8th, I took off for San Francisco again, but this time for work. I got to spend a week and a half there including two weekends – one spent with my aunt & uncle who I hadn’t seen in several years, and the other spent again with Nancy who took me down to Monterey where we sea kayaked and laughed as much as possible.

Upon returning home, I had a conference call with someone from a different department (eBusiness) at my work (Merrill Lynch). He had initially contacted me because someone had passed along my resume due to an opening they had which it seemed I might fit the bill for as a project manager in their eBusiness team. We set up for me to come down to Princeton for an interview in August.

August

I had the interview, but decided I didn’t want to pursue the role further as it was Princeton-based. I was happy in my current role and had no desire to leave New York. That was part of it. The rest was that the alternative to leaving my favorite city was to do a reverse-commute to Princeton which is so time-consuming and so costly it potentially would have cancelled out any increase in pay I thought I’d see. Apparently I had underestimated their interest in me – they wanted me to come back for another round of interviews, and although I had said I didn’t think I would take the job for the reasons I listed above, they requested that I finish out the interviews and wait for their offer before making my final decision. I also couldn’t understand why God wasn’t allowing me to just walk away from what I saw as a good opportunity that really just wasn’t for me, but I have to admit I was curious.

So I had the rest of the interviews and spent the last weekend of the month hangin’ with the fam in Atlanta.

September

Labor Day pretty much kicked off September with a Thailand trip reunion which was held out at a cabin belonging to Jean, one of the trip participants, on a beautiful piece of land in Wisconsin. Most of us flew into Chicago and then drove out at varying times to the ranch and spent the weekend relaxing and catching up. Only a couple of the original people from the trip were unable to make it.

Shortly after getting back, I was called in for jury duty and had to sit on a malpractice case for a week and a half (and before you ask, no, it wasn’t exactly like living an episode of Law & Order, but still, serving jury duty in New York City was still an interesting experience!). During this time I was patiently waiting for an offer to come in from the eBusiness group when I was shocked by the news that a complete reorganization of my department was being done effective immediately which meant my whole role and team was going to be changing over. So, depending on the offer from eBiz, if I was going to make a change, it seemed I couldn’t have asked for a better situation in which to do it, and it would seem that perhaps God’s purpose in keeping this door open (despite my own attempts to close it) were becoming more apparent.

Their offer came in at 4:30 in the afternoon on Friday, September 23rd. All I can say about that is that if there was any doubt in my mind as to what I should do, it was completely drowned out by their offer. I have never been so flattered and floored and just flat out surprised in my life. I left after work for a church leadership retreat which was great because I felt I needed a couple of days for it all to sink in. Suffice it to say that when all was said and done, after years of feeling like I wasn’t really being paid what I was worth but sticking it out anyway because of the potential that I could see, I would have now (including the standard merit increase I received at the beginning of ’05) in less than 12 months been giving an overall increase of more than 40%. That in mind, I imagine it will come as no surprise that I called them first thing Monday and said, “OK”.

Now another timing issue I should mention is that, aside from the restructuring that was going on in my current role, I was also coming up to the end of my second year on the lease for my apartment in New York. Having spent the bulk of that time plagued by New York City gang mice, I did not relish the idea of having to go another round with them. Besides, if I was going to do the reverse commute thing to Princeton, it would make more sense for me to live on the West Side as that would put me in closer proximity to Penn Station than the Upper East Side did. The more I thought about that, the more I was drawn to the idea that, if I was going to move anyway, perhaps I should look into moving out of the city altogether. I didn’t really want to leave New York, but I could see where it also might not be the worst thing in the world… After all, if I moved back out to PA, I might actually be able to BUY a house and not have to keep paying for someone else’s investment, but have a little of my own. On top of which, let’s face it, I’m not getting any younger (a concept which has been hitting me increasingly harder with each passing year).

October

Took on a life of its own. This is what ended up being my last month in New York and was spent packing and packing and packing and did I mention packing? The only other thing I did as much as pack was go to U2 concerts. I’m not kidding – I went to 4 of them. All at Madison Square Garden which is by FAR one of, if not THE best venues in the world. My sister, Jo, came up from Atlanta to do both with me – pack AND attend one of the concerts.

I was also doing other things to prepare for my move. First, I bought a new car. Next, I got pre-approved for a mortgage and began house-hunting. I started the new job on the 17th and found my new home by the 24th with the settlement date set for December 2nd.

November

What should have been a relatively uneventful month ended up being anything but. I didn’t really have much going on…all of my things were moved out of the city already since my lease was up at the end of October. I was temporarily staying with my aunt & uncle as my closing date wasn’t until early December so that meant that all I had to do for November was chill out, get used to my new job, and look forward to Thanksgiving.

Well, the weekend before Thanksgiving I was slotted to go up to Killington, Vermont with some friends of mine from New York who are taking part in a ski haus with me for the season. The 18th was our first weekend of the season. Within 20 minutes of arriving, I succeeded in being frightened to death by a dog who I mistook for Cujo in the dark which in turn made me bolt for the car, trip on some rocks, and break my foot! So the rest of the weekend was spent taking me to the ER at the closest medical center and then driving back to PA which my friends had to handle since I was unable to drive my stick-shift car with only one good foot. I had to cancel my trip to Atlanta to see the fam for Thanksgiving as had been the plan, and I was pretty much out of work for the next few weeks seeing as I was to “stay off” the foot and, as previously established, I could not drive. (As a side note, I have since come into contact with people who know the dog personally and naturally the dog is completely harmless, but alas I couldn’t tell this in the dark – if only he’d spoken better English…)

December

The crutches and cast also made it difficult to do things like go to a house settlement and move. As a result, my mom flew up to help me out. She chauffeured me around to the stores and did some other necessary errands for me…including taking me to the closing on my house.

Yep, that’s right – I am now a homeowner! I’m pretty excited, but still relatively freaked out by the idea that I actually own this place… That I’m responsible for it in a way that I’ve never really been responsible for anything, except maybe my cars over the years, but that’s not really quite the same thing.

Just so you know a little about it, it’s a 2-story, 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath townhouse complete with both a front yard and a fenced-in back yard. It’s a great place, and really perfect for me. It needs a decent amount of work, however, so if you’re wondering why I haven’t invited you over yet, don’t take it personally. It needs a little TLC (not to mention a new color scheme). But now that I’m back walking around, I’m making some progress.

What is amazing to me is how much space I have now… Coming from a barely-400 sq. ft. NYC apartment (with probably about 350 sq. ft. of actual living space) to a place that tops 1100 sq. ft., I don’t know what to do with myself or how to fill it all. I think it may be awhile before I really feel like I’m truly “set up” properly here. I’m also missing New York more than I can say and consoling myself only with the thoughts that the city is only an hour and a half away (an hour from work), and it will always be there (Lord willing) if I want to move back in the future. That said, I also want to make sure that my friends in NYC know that they have an open invitation to come on down any time!

Christmas was spent doing a whirlwind tour of Atlanta from which I returned on the 26th. New Year’s plans included trying to get additional painting done (thrilling, I know) and spending some time with my friend Jennifer who came for a visit before taking off to Indonesia where she’s going as a career missionary. (Unfortunately I ended up sick and spent most of the weekend in bed!)

And so we arrive at the end of 2005. I have some fun plans lined up for 2006 as well, but if I was going to tell you about them, I’d have to write a separate section and entitle it “2006 – A Look Ahead” but you can relax – I’m not going to subject you to that…I think I’ve given you all plenty to absorb for now.

Happy New Year and may God bless you all in 2006!

It has been a L-O-N-G time since I’ve done a proper update letter, but mainly that has been due to how little there has been to update you on! Even now, there’s not much to tell which makes me ask myself why I’m even writing this, but with it being a new year and all that, I figure it’s a good time.

First, let’s talk about the “stills” in my life:

• I’m still with the same company and doing the same job in New Jersey I took after getting back from England.
• I’m still single – unfortunately my dating life has felt more like being a part of someone’s science experiment…most of the time it seems to be a choice of date the bizarre or don’t date! More recently I’ve been leaning towards the latter – can you blame me?
• I still have my bird.
• I’m still living in glamorous New Hope, PA.
• I still don’t like tomatoes.
• I still love chocolate.

Now let’s hit on some events that occurred in 2002 which you may or may not be aware of:

• My parents and both of my sisters moved to Atlanta, GA.
• I took my first trip back to Alaska last March since leaving in ’99…I also hit Seattle for a couple of days and Vancouver, BC for a few as well.
• I met Stephen King at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston while I was there for a manager’s meeting.
• I had a car accident in August (not my fault, thankfully!) which totaled my car. Naturally the accident was a horrible thing, but I didn’t really like my car to begin with so I wasn’t too sad to see it go. I have a new RAV4 now and love it!
• My sister (Jo) came back to visit in October and we took a road trip up to Newport, RI.
• I made my first trip back to Ground Zero since volunteering with the Red Cross just after the attacks.
• I have mice in my apartment which I have been desperately trying to get rid of. So far I’ve caught 7 and I’m relatively certain that there’s more.
• In early December I escaped to Salem, MA for a long weekend to unwind and recoup from a long and tiring year!

And finally we come to what I’m sure will be by far the most fascinating part of my letter – for those of you who haven’t yet drifted off…my 2002 revelations which are leading me towards decisions to be made in 2003!

Over the past few months, I have come to realize that my current location and job are not really very conducive to the kind of life I ultimately want to have. New Hope is a great little town, but it’s a LITTLE town and – unless you’re into alternate lifestyles or witchcraft – the town doesn’t offer much in the way of a dynamic social life. Church isn’t much better since the one I’ve been going to is 45 minutes away which makes it a little difficult to really get involved. Throw my job and coursework into the mix, and I’m almost never available anyway! One danger of being single without much aside from work in your life is that you tend to let work take over your life. It never seems to be the plan…I mean, I certainly didn’t agree to take this job with the thought that it would consume practically every waking moment, but it very nearly does. Long hours, responsibility, and a large land area to support with lots of traveling (I drove over 43,000 miles this past year) make for some really exhausting days and don’t leave room for much else.

That said, I am looking to make some changes in 2003.

So what’s the next stop on the Deb Express? Well, when I came back to the States, it was never my intension to return permanently to the East Coast. In my view, the decision to take this job in Jersey was a very unexciting but “adult” thing to do. A week before I started, 9/11 happened and changed everything and have I ever been thankful to have this job! For most of this past year, I was pretty content in that I felt that I was where the Lord wanted me to be (even if I didn’t really want to be here). Since Thanksgiving, I’ve been growing less and less content and more unsettled – and I think God is leading.

The direction I’m feeling particularly pulled in is to get out of the financial world (scary!) and into more the kind of work that He has given me a gift and a love for: writing. Now this isn’t to say I’m just going to become a “starving artist” type or start panhandling… I’m actually looking into getting into the publishing world and just see where that leads. Everyone I mention this to – from friends and family all the way down to some guy I ran into on the street – are supportive and agree that this is an avenue they could see me heading down very happily. I’m particularly interested in moving out to Colorado and seeing what opportunities might be available in some of the Christian publishing houses there (Focus on the Family, NAV Press, etc.). I’m hoping to make a trip out to CO in late-winter or early-spring to check out the area. Speaking of which, if any of you know anyone out there who might be willing to tell me more about the area, etc. from a resident’s perspective, I would GREATLY appreciate it – I’m starving for input!!

Now that’s my life at the moment, such as it is! As I finalize plans for the future, I will be sure to keep everyone updated. In the meantime, your prayers are of much value as always!!

Hope to hear from every last one of you, although I know the odds of that are against me.

Love to all…