Bright, Sunshiny Day!!

I can see clearly now,the rain is gone....

It was pouring rain this morning as a huge rain storm passed through CA today, but now it's a beautiful sunny day!

I was just thanking God for the sunshine,and the rain (because CA needs it!!)!

I can only image how beautiful the snow-capped Sierra Mountains are going to look on my drive home. I may have to take a picture if its clear enough.

The rain washes all the dirt away, cleans up air, and makes everything fresh and new. I love the smell after a good rain! So also God cleans us of all our dirty sins, habits and human desires. As the rain cleans and refreshes, so does our God!

He makes ALL THINGS NEW!!

Do I look smarter?

It's official - I am a college graduate!!
On Saturday, I took part in my online university's graduation ceremonies celebrating those who have graduated with their Associates degree! To top it off, I graduated WITH HONORS!!
I'm so proud of myself and all the hard work I put into it. It wasn't easy but will be well worth it come next year with I go through ceremonies again - but this time for my BA.

We had a great speaker, DeWitt Jones, who is a photographer with National Geographic. He had such insight and brought up some great point.
Point 1: Vision and dreams are every bit as important as our skills. Not the dreams we have when we sleep; but our goals of what we imagine ourselves doing and becoming. Without a dream to work toward, the skills could be meaningless. We must always be inspired by our dreams.
Point 2: In quoting my absolutely favorite movie, Dead Poet's Society, DeWitt spoke of "Carpe' Diem", or Seizing the Day! We must make every moment count, not wait til a better time to accomplish our dreams - for that time may never come.
He had a quote that still stays with me, and was so insightful... "Don't believe it because you see it.. See it because you believe it. "
He also mentioned that we should see problems as opportunities to see something from a different point of view. That's a very intersting concept to me. When you begin to see those problems as opportunties, you "lose your fear of failure and setback."
Wow!! That's a great way to see it!
To sum up his talk, I'll leave you with this one thought, from Mr. Jones:

"See the Extraordinary in the Ordinary."

It opens up a whole other world when you do!
Carpe' Diem, my friends... Carpe' Diem!!

NASCAR

The Daytona 500 is the first NASCAR race if the season and the Superbowl of racing! Although I'm a fan, it usually doesn't hold my attention during the whole race.. but this one was very exciting!

I especially wanted to see this year's Daytona because of friend of mine, Vincent Strader, is the artist who painted a memorial portrait of the late Bobby Hamilton Sr., which was presented to Bobby Jr. this last week. They didn't show the portrait presentation, but did have a great tributee to Bobby Sr. Bobby Jr. didn't run in the 500, but was on hand to receive the special presentation earlier in the week. Vince's brother, Tommy, is a partner in MotorSports Fine Art that presented it to Bobby Jr.

So, the race was full of exciting turns, and many accidents... including taking fan favs Dale Jr., last year's Daytona winner Jimmie Johnson, and Jeff Gordon out of the race. That wreck, which happened with only 3 laps to go, put Mark Martin in the lead. Kevin Harvick snuck up at the last 1/2 mile and inched his way passed Martin for the win. I was rooting for Martin, but was also glad that Harvick won. Kevin Harvick is Bakersfield born and raised! It's good to see some Valley blood win a big-time NASCAR race!! Way to go Kev!! Another accident had happened in the back, and I think Martin expected the caution to come out, which would mean that he would have won under caution. It looked like he slowed up just a bit, which helped Harvick sneak past him for the win. This would have been Martin's first Daytona win, in the many years that he's been racing.

The whole race, I was on the edge of my seat. Most of the cars going at speed of 140 mph, I couldn't believe how close, almost touching, these cars would get to each other. One false move, and WHAM!! An accident happens, which we saw many times during the race. I thought back to the many times I've seen someone going at high speeds down the freeway, or are so close to hitting my bumper, I start to slow to try to get the person to pass. Of course, we're not going 140 miles per hour, but still... one little bump could send us into a tail spin.

BTW- If you want to check out Vince's art, make sure you check out this pencil drawing he did of my parent's for their 50th wedding anniversary. It was awesome!!

L-O-V-E NEVER FAILS!

Love never fails!
Nothing more needs to be said.
I fall more and more in love with my husband every day!

Happy Valentine's Day, honey!
I love you!!

L-O-V-E is protective

Love always:
protects - Troy is my great protector.
trusts - Troy is a very trusting person. We trust each other fully! He's been burned by trusting some people so much, but yet he continues to give people the benefit of the doubt and trusts them. In business, there is always a level of trust... very few businesses trust fully unless they have a written and binding agreement. In our case, that binding agreement was our marriage license, and the sacred vows we took on July 22, 1995, and again in July 22, 2005, ten years later.
hopes - Troy hopes for me, and I hope for him. We want each other to be happy, and we try to please each other in the best ways possible. Sometimes its hard because we are both too easy to please sometimes. We both say, it's a good AND bad thing sometimes.
perseveres - I have never seen anyone persevere more then my dear husband. He's worked hard, and continued through a lot of failures to become the man he is. He still endures a lot of criticism and doubt from others, but he believes in himself, I believe in him, and he KNOWS that he's doing the right thing in his career choices and in life. We may not be the richest financially, but we are rich in love, commitment and in happiness!
I couldn't be prouder of that man of mine!

I love that man of mine!

L-O-V-E harbors no ill-will

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

Troy is in no way mean spirited! He's a wise-cracking prankster but he does not wish any ill-will on anyone, no matter how much they've hurt him.
He's been hurt a lot, but he forgives and rejoices in the lesson learned from it.

I love that man of mine!!

L-O-V-E is selfless

Love is:
It is not rude: Troy is definately not rude, unless he's making a joking comment, and usually toward someone who he knows will take it well. He's a teaser, but in no way is he mean with his teasing.
It is not self-seeking: As mentioned before, Troy is always trying to please everyone else. He's a little self-seeking when it comes to the tech toys he wants (like most techies) ... but he rationalizes it and we talk it over first before making any purchases.
It is not easily angered: Troy gets frustrated with situations when they don't go right, but he is not easily angered. It takes a lot to make him angry, which I've only seen a few rare times.
It keeps no record of wrongs: Troy definately forgives... not sure if he really forgets totally though. Who really does? The thing I like about my dear, loving husband is that he doesn't bring up the past mistakes or hurts as a defense.

I Love that man of mine!

L-O-V-E is patient

As Valentine's Day draws near, I wanted to put m thoughts down about the word 'LOVE'.

There are 484 references to the word "Love" in the Bible. (reference: bibleresources.bible.com)
There are numerous songs written about it.

Perhaps one of the most known scripture about Love is : 1 Corinithians 13:4-8.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails.
I'm going to break up the verses and talk about how my wonderful husband lives by these verses.

Love is patient: In this past year, Troy has been very patient with me. Through my journey in going back to school, he has allowed me the extra time to focus on my schoolwork. It's taken a lot of free time away from us being together, but the way he looks at it, the temporary inconvenience makes us cherish the weekends much more, and will be well worth the wait once I'm done with my degree!
Love is kind: Troy is one of the most kind-hearted people I know. He is always trying to please other people, despite his wants or needs. He's got a some-what generous heart and loves being of service to others.
It does not envy: He is not one to become jealous or envyous of other people. He knows he's been blessed with the life's he's had, and God continues to bless him... and us.
It does not boast: Well, he does boast a bit, but he's proud of what his hard work has accomplished... and so am I!! He boasts in a 'matter of fact' sort of way, not the 'see how great I am' way. He is quick to thank God for allowing him to accomplish what he has.
It is not proud: I guess we are all prideful in some sort of way... Troy does not allow pride and ego to get the best of him. He is proud of the man he has become and He remains humble in knowing he still has a lot to learn. I am very proud of him as well! He has sacrificed a lot, and endured a lot criticism from others. He has stayed faithful, become a stronger man of God, and knows that hard work may not bring total success, but brings satisfaction in the attempt!

I love that man of mine!!

It's raining, it's pouring......

Ok, it's not exactly pouring, but it is raining.
I'm sitting at my desk at work, looking out my window (not getting anything done-so what's new?) and watching people pass by with umbrellas. It's been gloomy all day and it finally started raining shortly after lunch.

We were beginning to see Spring on the horizon with warming temps, but nope.... false alarm. :-(

Have you ever caught yourself spacing out, watching the little drops of rain hit the cement? I'm catching myself doing that now. I NEED SOME COFFEE!!

I still have an hour left to go before I go home. I guess I should get some work done today.
Hope we have a dryer tomorrow.

Graduation is here

I officially started back at school on January 1, 2006, after many, MANY years of being out of the college mindset, and in the workforce. I decided to go back to school, allbeit online, to finally accomplish something with my life.

In about 2 weeks, I'll see the first half of that dream come true. Time has surely flown by!! On February 17, 2007, I will graduate with my AA degree in Business Administration and be well on my way to a BA in Graphic Design.

What would've taken me too many years to accomplish the conventional way, I'm doing in 2 years the more technologically-minded way! If you would've asked me when I graduated from high school that I would eventually drop out of community college, then go back years later taking classes online to get my degree, I would've told you you were out of your mind. But, here I am today, finishing my first goal, and well on my way to my second - my B.A.!

It's been a challenging and time-consuming ride, but well worth the effort to say I have a degree. With the help of friends, coworkers and a VERY PATIENT HUSBAND, I have been able to achieve these goals!

I would most definately suggest an online education to anyone who is wanting to get their degree in the shortest amount of time, going back after being out of school for awhile, and still hold down a full time job. It's especially good for stay-at-home-moms and in-home business owners that want to increase their education, or start over. I have enjoyed getting my online education so much better then sitting through classes. I have met some great new friends in my classmates and have learned so much more this way as I would have right out of high school.

At first, I thought that dropping out of college was a failure in my life. I know now that God had a specific plan for me and there was a reason for me to wait on my education. Looking back at it now, I see why. God chooses our path for us, which may not seem right to us... but He is our guide and will turn out to be just another journey to build our faith and our character. He gives us trials and "road blocks" in our life's journey to help us grow as people and as His children. It is through these "road blocks" that we run to Him for guidance and He shows us the way.

I've heard a great analogy that sums it up... Our life is a grand puzzle, and each struggle we face is just a puzzle piece that God sets in place to slowly finish the picture - our lives. We only see each piece as we face it, but God knows what the picture is going to be. I trust Him to keep putting those puzzle pieces in place, I hope and pray that I can be obedient enough to learn from each "road block" He gives me!

"Be Patient... God is Not Done With Me Yet."