Holiday Letter

Well I have been getting several Christmas cards and some of them even have the annual update of the family who sent the card. I for one do not send Christmas cards to anyone, in fact I only bought one Christmas card this year and it was for my secret pal at work. I guess the main reason that I do not send out cards is because there is not much going on and I do not want to send any of my spare time addressing or writing Christmas cards - that might be rude but it's true. So since I am now considered a "blogger" I figured that I could write one letter and whoever checks out my blog will get to read it.

First of all Happy Holidays to you and your families.

Update on Me:
Well the last year has been a little bit more exciting than normal. In June I had Arthroscopic Shoulder surgery on my right shoulder. The doctor thinks that it was due to the wear and tear that I put it through playing softball all those years and then one day while teaching/playing PE with the children it had enough and popped. The doctor repaired my cartilage in my shoulder and with some fun therapy and a beautiful brace I am happy to report that it is fully healed. I got to wear a full brace that had my arm attached to my stomach 24 hours a day for 5 weeks and I did some physical therapy for about 9 weeks. Overall it was not that bad, I did get bored from being limited on what I could do, I did hear some reports that I was not such a great patient the first few days - I am sure that had something to do with the pain and lack of sleep due to uncomfortness. To be honest there were only 2 things that were extremely painful 1.) the day that Yoh and I tried to take the surgical tape off my bandages - it was so painful that it brought tears to my eyes and tore some of the skin off my back and neck. 2.) the third time I went to therapy she pushed me real far and whoa it was painful.
In December I turned 30!! Yep that's right the big one. It was a good time, my friend Yoh through a surprise party for me - which I found out about - it was fun and I appreciate all that came to enjoy my day with me. On my actually birthday my car broke down and I spent many hours dealing with that and waiting for the tow truck. Let's just say I was really glad that I got to do something the night before to enjoy my day! I am going to Jamaica to celebrate with all my other old friends in July I can hardly wait - its 210 days !!! Also in December I finished my Master Degree from Baker University. My degree is a Master in School Leadership, which is just a fancy term for saying I could be an assistant principal or a principal in a school if I wanted to. However at this time in my life I am comfortable where I am.
I am still teaching at the same building that I started, I am teaching physical education in a middle school in the Blue Valley School District - this is my 6th year. I have been coaching 3 sports since I have been at this school, however this year I felt that the Lord told me I should only coach 1 so that I can focus on my masters and spend more time doing the things that I enjoy and also this would allow more time for me to do things for the Lord and strengthen my walk with Him. So I am the Junior Varsity girls basketball coach at Blue Valley Northwest High School. I love it - it is one of the best things that I do every day, I look forward to it!
The answer to the question that I get asked the most is no! I do not have a boyfriend at this time. I am still waiting for the Lord to bless me with one of those when the timing is right. So if any of you know a nice man who loves Jesus, wants to learn about Jewish roots, and likes an athletic girl who has a busy schedule - you just tell him to check out the blog and give me a call :) :)

Update on my family:
My mom started a new job at Key Bank in downtown and she loves it. Yes she would still love staying at home and not having to work more, but at least at this job the people she works with are nice to her and pleasant to be around. She enjoys her job now. My little bro, Mark, is living in Wichita Kansas and working in theater down there both as an actor and as the technical directory - so he is busy as well. I think that he likes the work for now, I do think however that he is almost ready to move on to something a little bigger. However there are some things that will probably keeping him there. My dad is doing good also he is an electrician for a company and he is working on his own company called Clay-Platte Electrical. My dad and I recently went to Washington D.C. for veterans day, my dad goes often and this year he invited my brother and I - I was the only one who could go. It was a really fun time and a good experience to see my dad with all of his old army buddies. I took several photos which are on this blog site somewhere so check them out.

Spiritual Journey:
Alright they say you save the best for last, so here it is, my walk/journey with the Lord. I belong to a small house church called Kingdom Living, check out the website: www.merriamhop.org. It is a group of people who are going hard after the Lord and trying our best to do what the Lord asks us to do. We also are learning lots about Messianic Jews, I have even taken one course on Jewish roots. Which was mind blowing but amazing all at the same time. I have also been attending the services on Friday nights(when my schedule allows). I know that this is where the Lord wants me to be, however it is truly different than the way I grew up, but I do enjoy it. But at the same time I am learning many things about the way Jesus wanted things and meant for things to be before we as humans tried to do our own things without listening to what the Lord wanted us to do. Okay that might have been too much or hard to understand - so I will stop now, but if you have questions please don't hesitate to ask me.

Okay well I wish you all a great holiday and a happy New Year. I also hope that you have many blessings in the year 2008!

A Shout out to DJ - Happy 30th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Birthday Girl is the one with light skin!

Well on Sunday December 2nd my good friend Alicia M. Johnson is turning the BIG 3-0 so I thought I would post a blog all about her and how amazing she is! Plus she did ask a few weeks ago when I was going to post about her again - she is the megabus girl that was posted earlier. Let me start by saying that Alicia and DJ are the one in the same DJ is her nickname-which she has had since 1996 when we were freshman in college-I will give you a small hint on where the nickname came from the show FULL HOUSE!

I like to give DJ a hard time because she is a whole week older than me, truthfully I give her a hard time because she seems to care about getting older a little more than I do so I just razz her some about that. I met DJ in college my freshman year when both were in the same sorority- I know its hard to believe I was in a sorority but its true. I am not 100% sure when we became really close friends, it just sort of happens when two fun and amazing people hang out together they just become friends for life.

We have been through a lot together in the 11 years that we have known each other here is a list from off the top of my head so I am sure that I will forget many things: a spring break cruise in college, New Orleans for New Years (at least 4 times, maybe 5), random weekend trips to Iowa, Maryville, Nebraska, DC, St. Louis, we have seen Albert the Bull at least 4 times, planned wedding shows and baby showers for other people, her dad's death, my parents divorce, dealing with both of our moms emotional processes, several family/friend deaths, living with siblings (hers was a little more hectic - her bro is a little anal), and much much more but those are the items that stick out to me.

DJ - I know that getting older can be sad but just look back at all that you have gone through and accomplished and be amazed at how amazing the Lord is and how he does have a plan for you. You were able to raise money in the Race for the Cure for your dad, you walked several miles in a walk to raise awareness for suicide, you got to go to Ghana Africa to help with AIDS orphans and with their education, you are currently doing amazing work with American Cancer society, and you are also paying a tutor to give a better education and life options for one of the orphans that you met while in Ghana! WOW!!! You have an amazing heart for people and you are doing great things for people all over the world, GOD has His hands on your heart and I am just blessed that He has chosen to keep our friendship going strong! DJ I love you and have a fantastic birthday - sorry I cannot be there - darn that coaching job :) :)

A few photos from DC

Here are a few photos that I took while in DC with my dad. I took almost 200 - no worries I did not post them all!

Korean War Memorial

Arlington Cemetery

My dad and Doc at the Korean War Memorial - my favorite one

Washington Monument

My Dad (stocking hat) and his friend Doc at the Vietnam Wall

Tis the Season

Well it's that time of the year again- - basketball season! It started this past Monday November 12th. There are so many things about basketball season that I love: the smell of freshly varnished gym floors, the sound of basketballs bouncing, the girls saying "hey maase", the sound of squeaking tennis shoes, the sound the net makes when the ball goes through the net, all the sounds that you hear when you just stand at practice for your eyes closed for just a minute. Of course there are a few things that I do not like about the basketball seasons: the hours(i spent24 hours in the gym for practice in 6 days- YIKES!), that the season is during all the fun holiday breaks from school-so I don't have much of a "break", dealing with parents who complain, trying to get everyone into the game..I'm sure that there are more but I am to tired to remember them, but I do know that the pros do outweigh the cons or I would not do it.

I do think that the teams will be more successful and more competitive against other schools than we have been in the past. My team - the JV team - should be pretty good, and be able to handle ourselves against the other EKL teams, they might even be able to press more often which is something that is fun to do and watch as a coach.

So if you have not seen me in awhile or heard from me it is because I am mostly likely doing something related to the high school basketball team that I coach. You can come catch a game anytime you want. The schedule is located at www.highschoolsports.net just find the school which is Blue Valley Northwest and select girls basketball - JV and you should see the schedule, if that doesn't work then just email me or post a comment.

A little over a month left in my 20s

Alright so I have just a month and a few days left in my 20s, pretty exciting! I have never really cared about getting older - since my 22nd birthday they have all kind of been the same and not too exciting, don't get me wrong I love my birthday and I look forward to it every year. I'm just saying that some people freak out about getting older, not me though, doesn't matter much - it's not like I can change it. Since I am turning 30 this year lots of people have asked questions since it is suppose to be a "big" birthday, so I thought I would answer a few of them here.
1. What are you going to do for your BIG Birthday? Well my birthday falls on a Sunday this year, so on my actual birthday I will probably spend time talking on the phone, eat lots of food that is not too healthy (I am trying to eat healthy and only cheating on holidays and the 15th of every month - yes my birthday counts as a holiday), might go to my moms, and probably go to worship night at KL if I do not have bball practice. However I am going to Jamaica in July with 9 friends and most of them will turn 30 sometime this year.
2. When you were younger and you thought about 30 what did you think? I thought it seemed old. I thought I would have kids by now oh yes and a husband. I always thought I would get married around 27, maybe cause that is what age my parents got married. I also thought it seemed so far away-even at 21, but man it got here really fast.
3. What are some things that you never thought would have happened to you before you were 30? Parents divorce, running a marathon, owning a house all by myself, been in so many weddings without a date, being in a community where everyone knows my "stuff" and still loving me and not talking about it behind my back, finding a roommate that is more than a "roommate" and an amazing little kid in my life named Parker.
4. What do you hope the next 30 years brings? Whatever the Lord wants for me!

As for leaving my 20s it will a good change I think. I am growing every year, so going into my thirties will be great, sure there will be some bumps in the road but this last year has brought many of those and I think that they went pretty smooth - with the Lord's help of course!

HEAT

Well the colder season is among us. There are only a few things that i like about this season: basketball, my birthday, snow + snowdays, Christmas. Well last night it was chilly in my house so I went to turn the heat on just a tad so I did not freeze when i got out of bed the next morning. Well the heat never came on - oh it was blowing but that was not warm air coming out of the vents - - it was cold air. Needless to say when I woke up it was 59 degrees in the house - yikes that is not pleasant after the warm/hottish shower!! So I called a heat company to come look at it tonight. Most of the time when a maintenance person (pc - but usually a man) comes to my house it is someone that is in the age range of my dad or older. But today the Lord was giving me a high five - with a upper 20's handsome worker man. He even looked handsome after he put those little shoe booties on over his shoes. :) Well he fixed the heater/furnance in a a matter of minutes, just some things blocking the pipes. Way to go Matt!! Then we started to talk about KU sports and fitness things...two of my favorite topics. He stayed for about 30-40 minutes jsut talking sports and what not. I so wanted to ask for his number....but chickened out I guess. Should I have asked for his number?? Aren't guys suppose to ask girls? Maybe it was because he was working? Crud, Lord I sure hope I did not miss my chance but if I did thanks for giving me a nice glimpse of what kind of great men you still have out there for me!

Megabus

Some of you have already heard about this great way of traveling the US, but some of you still have not so I feel it is my duty as a blogger to spread the word about megabus. First of all it is located at www.megabus.com.
So awhile ago my friend Alicia, aka DJ, found out about megabus as a way of traveling by bus cheaply from St. Louis to KC. She heard about this fantastic bus from Rebecca Abraham...she deserves a shout out for telling others about it. Way to go girl!
A few months ago DJ came to KC for a wedding and she traveled to St. Louis to KC and back to the Lou for a grand total of $21.50!!! That's right and that was the more expensive ticket because she had to book it late, only because she was unaware of this amazing bus. The travel time was about the same - in fact she even got to KC a little early. She did say that the bus was a little chilly so she does recommend bringing a blanket.
Well since then I have told a few other people about the megabus and just last week my homie, Yoh, was checking out traveling prices to fly, bus, and/or drive home for the Christmas break to Whootown Ohio. The megabus only travels from KC to Chicago or St. Louis but then you can connect (or get on another bus) to travel to a different location. The megabus does travel to Toledo, OH. which is an hour away from the little town where Pat Yoh lives. Well lets just say that Yoh booked a trip home last week from KC to Chicago to Toledo for a really cheap price, and she will not be driving by herself for 11 hours in her Gold (fake) Grand AM. She is going to be traveling home for a grand total of $8.50!!!!!!!! I know completely amazing isn't it. Her ticket from KC to Chicago was only $1.00 - - keep in mind she did book this 6 weeks in advance -- the earliest that you can book, (i believe)
It makes me wonder how the heck does the megabus company afford gas for the buses, and how do they pay the drivers?? Lots of questions here, but not many answers. All I have to say is if you feel like traveling but don't want to do the driving you should check out the megabus...megafun...megacheap