Thinking Out Loud

Things have been weighing on my mind a lot lately.  Chalk it up to it being January or that I'm a very emotional/reflective person.  I remember at the beginning of the month, lots of articles described January being a time of great reflection for people.  Consider it a time to reevaluate your life.  You've got a whole year ahead of you to accomplish new or not so new goals.  I have previously mentioned some of my non-resolutions.  I'm really not a big fan of resolutions.  It feels like such a waste after you've been good for a month or two and then suddenly fall off the wagon.  I am making a conscious effort to change certain parts of my life for, what I think is, the better.

Without going into so much detail, some of the things that have been on my mind are not a result of the new year.  They have been going on for a few months.  Now for those of you who do not know, I am a Christian.  I am a firm believer that Jesus Christ was born and died for the sins of myself and others.  I believe that we all have a place in Heaven should we choose to accept Jesus as our Saviour.  I completely understand that there are people who do not believe this.  It is everyone's right to choose what they believe.  With that disclaimer, I have been struggling with something (we shall call it X) that I have tried to control.  In case you also didn't know, I'm a major control freak!!  I'm a planner.  I like to know what is going to happen when and all the nitty gritty details that go along with it.  There are occasions where it truly doesn't matter what is happening (roadtrips, vacations, family time, etc.).  With X, I want to be in control.  I want to know when, where, why, how, etc. all about X.  I like having security in X.  Deep down, I know that I cannot control my life.  I honestly do not believe that there are any variables that I have complete control over.  Most aspects of your life are constrained by work, friends, family, health, weather, etc.  While I've been attempting to control X, I feel like I've lost myself somewhere in the mix.  I've been stressed.  I've made myself sick, exhausted, cranky, selfish, pitiful, confused, etc. and etc.  All of this could be avoided if I would just give it to God. 

I've been reading a book called "Love Your Life - Living Happy, Healthy & Whole" by Victoria Osteen.  Her name may sound familiar because she is married to Joel Osteen, television evangelist and author, among other things.  I picked this up at Borders one day when they had bargain books $3.99 and buy one get one free!  If it looked interesting, I purchased it. :)  Anyways, in a chapter titled "Embracing What's Important," Victoria used an example of how hunters used to trap monkeys.  Hunters would fill a large barrel with bananas and cut a small hole in the side of it, just barely big enough for the monkey to get its hand and arm through.  The monkey would reach in to get a banana and then try to run away.  Small problem, the banana wouldn't fit through the hole because of the way the monkey was holding it.  The monkey wouldn't let go of it and would eventually be captured.  She uses this as an example to say that so many of us are holding onto things that aren't important in our lives. 

A few weeks ago, I was in Summersville visiting Seth.  During Sunday School, a similar story was being discussed.  This man was walking along the beach with his family.  His two sons were running everywhere gathering seashells.  Someone notices a starfish in the water and one boy runs out into the water to grab it.  Without picking it up, he runs back to shore.  He does this a few times until finally his father asks "What is wrong?  Why aren't you getting the starfish?"  The boy replies "My hands are full of shells."  This story was again saying that we need to look at our lives to determine if we are holding onto what is truly important.

Coincidence?

Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

This verse has been popping up at me practically everywhere!  It is the Youth Director's favorite (Wednesday).  I saw it at the doctor's office (Thursday) and when I was getting a massage a few days later (Monday).  It even showed up in a devotion email I get every day (Tuesday).

Both Jeremiah and the previous stories have caused me to be thinking "Hmmm.  God are you trying to tell me something??"  At first I was thinking that it was actually something in my life that I need to get rid of.  I'm not going to lie.  There are a few things that I could do without!  For the most part my activities are work, church, chores and my relationship with Seth.  I don't think God would be telling me to quit my job or stop being active at church.  I sure hope he's not saying I should get rid of Seth....  So what is it??

After pondering, having a heavy heart and literally racking my brain, it finally hit me and was further pounded into my head during church service this past Sunday.  God isn't trying to say cut an actual activity out of your life.  He's saying "Cut out the drama!  Trust in me!"  I've wasted so much energy on trying to fix X that I have turned into this monster that doesn't even look or act like me.  As I continue through "Love Your Life", I am challenged to think of my life in a different way.  I have been and am continually blessed everyday by God.  Fussing and fighting over things in my life just end up hurting me.  If I give it over to God, He can and will take care of everything for me.  It isn't easy for me.  I'm here to tell you that I am going to try my hardest on a daily basis to be thankful and to say "Lord, it is your will not mine."

I simply ask that you pray for me as I am taking this journey.  I know (via facebook) several friends and church members are also taking this journey as well.  Pray that their hearts are given peace and they will let God guide them through their lives.



“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” ~ Albert Einstein

Time Well Spent

Slowly but surely I'm realizing that I have way to much to talk about in each blog.  Maybe I need to blog more than once a week!!  On a side note, I tried to post this on Friday and then again on Saturday with no luck.  I apologize for the delay.

I mentioned in my last post that I was working on some winter wreaths to hang on my doors.  I finished those early last week and finally hung those on the doors.  I've posted some pictures below.  I purchased everything during Christmas clearance sales.  All together each wreath was about $12.  Not bad considering the wreath alone was $15 originally.

 Supplies and such...

 Project Complete!

Last weekend I spent some time with Seth which is always a blessing.  Without getting all mushy on you, I love time spent together.  We went to my parents one day, spent another at Babcock State Park and goofed off the rest of the time.  Distance sure does make the heart grow fonder.

I spent Saturday hanging out my girlfriends and their children.  It still amazes me how we went from just us girls to girls and husbands to girls with families!  Time sure flys by!!  They are all doing so wonderfully with this transition.  I'm sure some days are much easier than others but I think they are doing awesome! :)


Happy Monday everyone!  I hope your day and week are filled with joy, laughter and love. :)

“Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow - that is patience.”

It's just been one of those weeks...

Sorry for those of you who are hating all this snow.  I'm LOVING it!  It does get a tad bit annoying when it disrupts our plans.  In the grand scheme of things, I don't think it deserves all this hatred.  I've always been fascinated by snow.  Maybe it is because of my love for anything that glitters.  :)  With one good snowfall, everything is covered.  Everything is clean, smooth, mysterious even.  Everything suddenly becomes beautiful when covered in snow.

Now I say all of this with the disclaimer that I hate the cold weather unless there is snow.  I'm comfortable around 72 degrees.  Anything less and I'm chilled to the bone!  I purchased some "riding" boots several years ago and have used those the past few winters as my sludging around boots.  This year, I've been on a quest to find some real weather boots.  I purchased some rain boots through Zappos.com because it seemed like a win-win situation for me.  Free shipping both ways.  I wasn't really thrilled with my purchase so I returned them.  I wasn't out a penny!  My next selection were a pair of Sorel's.  I've research winter boots online.  I feel like I've reviewed buyer's comments on every website.  Finally selected a pair and received them yesterday.  On a side note, I purchase a pair of knee high moccasins.  I absolutely love them but I'm not quite sure if I'd ever truly wear them.  We shall see.  I have 365 days to return them to Zappos if I never wear them. :)  I was super excited to get my boots and try them on.  I rip open the box and this is what I see...

That is the other pair of shoes (moccasins) and a bubble wrapped can of Sugar Free Red Bull!  No joke! 

 I don't know what exactly possessed them to include a can of Red Bull with moccasins and snow boots.  Maybe they thought I'd be shoveling driveways or something and would need an extra jolt of energy.  Whatever!  I'm not a fan of Red Bull.  So I regifted it to a co-worker.  Random thought - I wonder if I returned my shipment, if I would have to return the can also.

So here are pictures of my newest purchase!!

They were a little loose in the heel.  I had semi thick socks on.  I'll try my wool socks tomorrow to see if that helps.  They definitely kept my feet warm which was the end goal!

And here's a few of the moccasins and my blue pajama pants.  BTW - if you are a cold natured person like me, these pants are the warmest ever!  I purchased them at Macys in the juniors department.  They are made by Planet Gold and have several different colors.  Plus, they are on sale!!

A few random things that have happened over the week.

• I've been working on winter wreaths for my doors.  I'll post pictures and such next time.  I finished one but still need to do some tweaking to the second.
• On my goal of being more financially fit, I'm in the process of cancelling credit cards that I have no need for.  I've cancelled one credit card (State travel card) and am trying to cancel another (Lowes).  It is a very annoying process.  I called one night and was instructed to call during business hours.  Then I had to verbally state I wanted the card cancelled and then fax in a written statement.  UGH!
• I purchased a buy one get one free massage from American Health Centers located right off of the 29th Street Exit.  I already had one massage.  What a wonderful way to spend an hour.  They called me to offer a free consult with the chiropractor and a free 30 minute massage.  I told them I had already visited the chiropractor.  Then they remembered who I was and said "I'll give you the free 30 minute just for answering the phone."  SCORE!!!
• Legislature is in session!  That means our year is finally over and a new one begins in the realm of performance reviews.  However, I'm still trying to finish up this report that has been a thorn in my side...  I was moved to another manager.  We'll see how that goes.
• My family has friends that live in Brisbane, Australia.  Devastating floods do not even begin to describe it.  My grandfather spoke to them earlier this week and so far they have not been effected by the waters.  However, if it raises about 3 meters, they will be.  Please say a pray for everyone being affected by the floods.  Speaking of prayers, pray for the tragedy in Tucson!

With that, I'm off to spend a wonderful three day weekend hopefully doing nothing!!

"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."  A. A. Mline

Recent Events

Look out everyone.  This is a doosy!  By the way, thanks for everyone who has become a follower of Identifying Sarah and/or page visits.  I wrote this blog and then went back through to do edits and make sure that I haven't forgotten anything.  I will definitely say I have a feeling this will be a very therapeutic process for me. 

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In my quest to become a blogger, I've thought about things to write about.  Yesterday I thought "recent events" because there has been a lot going on in my life.  Nothing of real significance.  Just things that needed to be done or I'm making a conscious effort to do for myself.

Cooking

I've never been much of a cook.  I always tell people I'm a baker.  I like the precision of baking.  You follow the recipe exactly and you get exactly what you want.  Well, it is exactly what you want as long as you have used the recipe before.  I've definitely tried a few recipes that needed some revisions.  I digress...  I am trying to be more adventurous in my cooking.  I think my biggest problem is that by the time I commute to and from work, take care of errands, get settled in, etc. I just want to have something quick to eat.  However, quick to eat usually means unhealthy and more expensive than healthy foods.

Thursday, I determined I wanted to make hush puppies.  (Not that healthy but at least I'm cooking, right?)They have always been a favorite of mine but I had never made them or even seen them be made by anyone I know.  I found a Paula Deen recipe that looked easy enough.  So I bought a few ingredients and went at it.  They really were simple to make.  I wasn't pleased with the end result though.  They were really rather bland.  I'm not sure how to make them better.  I may try adding different spices to help them out.  Nothing anytime soon though.

Saturday, Seth was in.  When he visits, I transform into Betty Crocker or something and always make breakfast try to make most meals.  So in my mad dash to Kroger, I was going to get hash browns and bread for toast.  As I walked through the frozen foods, I noticed french toast.  I haven't had it in forever and suddenly developed a hankering for it.  I called mom to make sure I knew what I was doing.  I thought you used an egg, cinnamon and sugar.  Good thing I called because you need milk in addition to all of that.  My first slice was kind of painful because the grease splashed up and got my eye.  No worries!  I survived and the french toast was awesome!!  I'll chalk that up to 1 point for Sarah!  (I also made some blueberry muffins later that evening and meatloaf on Sunday.)

Organization/Cleaning

While I've been cooking lately, I've had to throw out old food.  Usually I store flour, corn meal, etc. in the freezer so the bugs don't get into it.  Seth had never heard of this and thought I was crazy.  It's what I've always known though.  Someone please tell me they have done/seen this before too!!  I found a bag of corn meal and self-rising flour in my freezer that had an expiration date of 2006!!  Needless to say, I went through the rest of the freezer, refrigerator and cabinets getting rid of out-of-date items.  It is such a cleansing process for me though.  I get such a relief by getting rid of things that clutter my life.

I also purchased the plastic shelving units you typically use in the garage.  I meant to assemble it on Friday but didn't get a chance to do so.  My garage entire basement becomes a depository for things I want to forget about.  Because of accidents and other things, I don't use my basement except for the laundry room.  But I have tons of flower pots, gardening tools, tools, car cleaning items, etc. that are just piled on the floor in the garage that need to go somewhere.  I also have old laundry baskets that have been repurposed for recycling.  It all needs organized!  So maybe this week I can jump on that.  I did repurpose a plastic storage cart for some tools that dad leaves at my house.  I think this will come in very handy! :)

2011 Non-Resolutions

I've also tried to make a few non-resolutions for myself.  I hate to make resolutions because they never last.  But if I try to make a conscious effort every day to do things, I think that will be better than nothing at all.  I'm trying to be really good about putting things away after I use them.  Normally, I'm really good about this with the exception to coats, gloves, etc. and shoes.  As soon as I walk in the door, I walk straight over to the closet and deposit all things that belong.  Then I walk my shoes back to my room (unless they are still wet from all this snow/ice!) and put on slippers.  So far so good.  It is one easy way to keep the house organized and decluttered.

Another non-resolution for me is trying to keep up with the dishes.  My kitchen is straight from 1970.  Comes complete with avocado green appliances.  Yes, you read that correctly.  AVOCADO GREEN!  They have worked for the most part until here recently.  The light in the fridge doesn't work anymore.  Sounds like a good excuse to replace them all. :)  But the kitchen does not include a dishwasher.  I am the dish washer.  Yay me!  I loathe dishes.  They have always been a thorn in my side.  I usually let them pile up until I have none of something left to use.  I saw a Facebook friend that always has to put things away before she goes to bed.  I figured how hard would it be for me to do a few dishes every night before I call it a night.  I did this on Saturday and was very pleased with myself.  Yesterday I failed.  There were only a few from making meatloaf but I was in total bum mode.  I must complete this task tonight.  I think it will make my life SO much easier!

Finally, become more financially fit!  I've been working on this the last year and have made progress.  I really want to see this come to fruition this year though!  Maybe this is the topic of another blog because there is so much that goes into it.

Other Events

Friday, I took the afternoon off to wait for the heater guy to come check on my unit.  Most of you are thinking "Oh no.  I know where this story is going."  You're wrong.  This is a good story!!  I was hearing a humming sound coming from the unit.  It was like it was trying to turn on but not quite making it.  I called Scott-Sullivan in Huntington to come check it out.  They put the original unit in and have come to do repairs while I've lived there.  I've never had any problems with them.  Always very helpful and polite.  I highly recommend them!  They said they would be there between 1 and 5pm but would call before they come.  They called a little after 1pm. to make sure I would be there and were around 1:30pm.  I showed the guy all of the equipment, explained the problem and let him at it.  Of course, the heat was running while he was there and nothing was happening close to my experience.  I was starting to give up hope when he called me to the basement.  He finally identified the problem as my blower motor had gone bad.  So excited he figured it out.  Not so excited that he had to replace a motor.  I'm not sure how much that will cost.  I'll get the bill in a few days.

Additionally, I dropped my car off to get the oil changed and tires rotated.  They called to tell me I need two new rear tires and rear brakes and rotors.  Guess I'll take care of that next weekend...

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And on that note, I feel like I've rambled on forever.  Enough is enough!  Happy Monday everyone.  Hope you're having a very blessed day.

"You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Welcome One and All

Here goes.  My foray into blogging.  I'm a little apprehensive about blogging just because it is public information now.  I've always been somewhat guarded about the information that I reveal to people.  I often say that no one person knows everything about me.  I keep little pieces to myself.  So with that in mind, you will read general information here.  Sometimes my struggles, frustrations, excitement, etc. will come out but I'll try to keep that reined in.

My blog name was chosen by my coworker, Miss Annamarie Short.  I've been thinking about this for a while but couldn't come up with a decent name.  I've posted twice on Facebook for suggestions.  Of course, the really good ones were already taken.  I really liked Eat, Pray, Blog. Gone.  (BTW - If you have not watched the movie Eat, Pray, Love.  Do it ASAP!)  Variations  of Eat, Pray, Blog were already being used.  So after thinking about this for a while, Identifying Sarah just seemed to fit.  I wanted something that I could possibly carry with me no matter where I go or what happens in my life.  Additionally, the purpose of this blog is to talk about how I'm a 20 something that is just trying to find her place in this world.

Please be patient with me as I manipulate the text, background, colors, etc. until I've tweaked it into something I can enjoy looking at.

Before I leave, I LOVE using quotations.  For a while, I would post a new quote on Facebook every day just to get people thinking.  Of course, I have fallen away from that.  I'll try to leave every blog with a quote.  So here goes for number one:

"There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth... not going all the way, and not starting." ~Buddha