For Good

This song is from the Wicked soundtrack, and it just might be one of my favorite songs ever. It reminds me that I have been so blessed to have made a few really close friends that have changed me for good. I didn't have the most friends, but the ones I had were definitely the best. =) Here are the lyrics.

I've heard it said
That people come into our lives
For a reason,
Bringing something we must learn.
And we are lead to those
Who help us most to grow
If we let them,
And we help them in return.

Well, I don't know if I believe that's true,
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you.

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes the sun.
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.

It well may be
That we may never meet again
In this lifetime,
So let me say before we part:
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you,
You'll be with me
Like a hand print on my heart.
And now whatever way our stories end,
I know you have rewritten mine
By being my friend.

Like a ship blown from it's mooring
By a wind of the sea.
Like a seed dropped by a sky bird
In a distant wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you,
(Because I knew you)
I have been changed for good.

...

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
I do believe I have been changed for the better.
And because I knew you...
Because I knew you...
Because I knew you,
I have been changed
For Good.

Reviews coming soon!

I got my first book to review in the mail the other day. I'm super excited. And it's a hardback! I was impressed! I'm 2 chapters into it, and liking it so far. It's called Obstacles Welcome and it's about (and written by) Ralph de la Vega, who is the CEO of AT&T. He is a Cuban immigrant. He came to the States when he was 10 all by himself. His parents were trying to come, but their paperwork was wrong. So they sent him by himself, hoping to join him in a wee or so, after they got their paperwork sorted out. He stayed w/some friends of his aunt who had already moved to the States. Then the Cuban Missile Crisis hit, and a week turned into 4 years. It's very interesting thus far, and has some very practical advice for overcoming obstacles and becoming successful. So be looking for a review in the next couple of weeks.

I just went and looked at some other books that I can request after I review this one, and it makes me want to hurry up and finish it. lol. One that looks particularly interesting is called Rediscovering God in America. And I'm super jacked about getting free books. =)

Things are slowly but surely getting organized around the new apartment. Still got a good bit to do in the office, but it shouldn't take long. It's just a matter of doing it. The main thing that we need that will help SOOOOO much is getting a pantry cabinet. All of our food is just sitting out on the counter now b/c we don't really have a place for it. I've got a perfect spot for a pantry. Just gotta get one. I'm wanting to have everything basically done by Saturday night b/c we're having some friends over for dinner and fun. The boys are going to bond over Xbox and we're going to work on Christmas projects. =) I'm excited.

Well, I think I'm going to go get some reading done. =) Have a great evening!!

Busy busy week

So I haven't posted in a week and I am very very sorry about that. Things have been a little crazy around here this week. We got back from the conference Sunday night around 7. Then Monday I had to go back to work. Boo. That night was spent kinda recovering and such. We also got ourselves organized to get to work on our new business goals that we made coming out of the weekend.

Tuesday was work/school, then to Memphis that night for the business meeting we go to every week. Very productive, encouraging, and all that good stuff. And thankfully, the format of the meetings have changed a little bit, so we get out about an hour earlier. =D Which makes me much happier about going b/c it means that I get in bed before midnight, when usually we aren't even home by midnight. So that's really exciting.

Wednesday night was church, and we had potluck before, so we had to head out an hour earlier. I love the congregation we attend, but it is a little bit...I don't want to say frustrating or inconvenient b/c that sounds terrible...but it's 30 minutes away. Which is fine. And I'm not complaining, I promise. Just stating a fact. It's just that we already have to leave by 6.30 to get to church on Wednesday nights, but on potluck nights, we have to leave by 5.30. So by the time I get home at 3.45, shower, and get ready, it's basically time to turn around and go again. But once again, I'm not complaining. I mean, who can complain when it's free food?! lol. And it was Mexican week. Yummm.....
And I'm still teaching class on Wednesdays. This week was my second week. The topic was hatred. We only got halfway through it, so we get to finish the chapter next week. (Any comments on hatred would be appreciated. =)

Thursday was Star Wars installment #5. But before that, I got my hair all chopped off. =) I really like it. It's a wedge kinda, but it's not stacked in back, and it's still long enough in front that I can at least pull the top half up. So I got off a little early at 2.45 or so, ran home and showered, haircut at 4.30, movie night at 5.30. I was definitely not cooking. So we ordered pizza. =) It's kinda confusing b/c it's movie night #5, but we watched episode 2. The reason for that is that we are watching them in the order they were made, not the order of the plot. I think this one was my favorite so far.

Friday, we went to the $2 theater on campus and watched Harry Potter and the HAlf-Blood Prince. I haven't liked any of the other HP movies, but this one was good. Granted, they left a lot of stuff out. I had to fill in some of the details for Micah b/c they left out why certain things were happening. But nonetheless, it was still good. I'm actually kinda excited about #7, b/c I found out recently that they are splitting up book 7 into 2 movies, which I think is brilliant. There is so much happening in book 7 that they would have to take out half of the story to put it in a 2 hr movie.

Saturday was great. I slept in, which I desperately needed after the long weekend and week we had. Last night we went on a date to Zaxbys and to see GI Joe. AMAZING movie. Loved it. Definitely recommend it. It was funny and had tons of really good action scenes. So yeah, go see it. =)

Today was church day. We went out to eat w/some friends for lunch. It was the family that has the 2 little kids that Micah and I play w/all the time. Nap time this afternoon. Then back to church for singing night. Sometimes the congregation struggles on singing night b/c our numbers are usually kinda low, but tonight it was actually really good. Very encouraging.

Looking forward to tomorrow, b/c a good friend is coming up from HSV to visit. He'll be staying w/us for the next 2 nights. So it'll be good to catch up w/him.

Well, I'm gonna head out. I've rambled enough. I'll try to get back into posting every couple of days so that I don't have to catch you up on a whole week at a time. B/c I'm sure you're bored by now. =)

Reading list

So I'm trying to come up with some good books to read this next year. I need suggestions. I've been really proud of myself for keeping up with my daily Bible reading this year, so I want to keep it up in some form or fashion next year. (Ok, so it hasn't been 100% daily, but I've stuck with this Daily Chronological so far. I've never gotten past like, February with other reading plans like this. So I'm happy.) I read somewhere that if you read 3 chapters of the New Testament each day then you'll read it 4 times in a year. So I think I'm going to do that. Then along with that, I'm going to pick other books to read. I might even take on more than one book at a time. (Because I'm a nerd like that.) My breaks at work are always good times to read, but I think I'm gonna leave that time for whatever fiction/leisure book I'm reading. It gets loud in the break room sometimes so it's hard to concentrate. Some sort of commentary or other such book would be difficult to read and get anything out of. So what I think I'm going to do is leave my fiction book at work so I won't be tempted to read it at home.

I definitely want to read a missions book or two next year. Micah has plenty from his classes, so I might tackle one of those. I might also try a marriage book, like His Needs, Her Needs. I know I've started that one multiple times, but I don't remember if I've ever actually finished it. But I need some suggestions for good books to read. Anything spiritual, like a book commentary, or just a devotional type book. Or something non-spiritual but still something that I can get something out of. Like The Magic of Thinking Big, or something similar. So, suggestions anyone? What's a good book you've read recently?

I taught my first ladies' class tonight. It went pretty well. Our numbers were kinda down for whatever reason, so a lot of the talkative ones weren't there. I was a little worried at first. But one of the girls, Jennifer, had read the chapter and really contributed a lot. So that was good. Jennifer and her husband have recently placed membership. Micah used to play ball with him a few years ago, so we already knew them a little bit from Freed. We've gotten to know them a lot better since they've been coming out. They've got 2 little girls, which is crazy because they're about our age. (Well, in between me and Micah. I can't really say our age when we're 4 years apart, can I? lol) Next week's topic in class is hatred.

Tomorrow night is another Star Wars night. We're going back to number 1 now. They all insisted that we watch them in the order they came out, not the order of the plot.

Well, that's all I have for today. Have a good evening! Boa noite! (That's good night in Portuguese. But don't try to pronounce it because it sounds nothing like it looks. lol. The second word is pronounced something like noy-chee. Confusing, isn't it? lol.)

I must admit...

...I make a mean chicken chimichanga. My first new recipe was a success. I was full after 2...Micah liked them so much he ate 4. lol. The recipe was really simple. I got it online from Southern Living. Here's the link if you wanna check it out. Micah recommends it. =)

http://www.southernliving.com/food/whats-for-supper/whats-for-supper-chicken-dishes-00400000052554/page27.html

My first day of vacation was pretty uneventful. Slept til 9 or so. Got up and went to the grocery store. Micah and I watched a few more episodes of Heroes online. We're trying to catch up on season 3 so that we can watch season 4 on tv. After that, I cooked supper, and now Micah and I are watching tv.

Tomorrow is going to be a fun day. Casey is coming over around 11 and we're going to watch Evita. It's a musical based on a true story about Eva Peron, who was a very loved political figure in Argentina in the 40's and early 50's. She started off as the illegitimate child of some big shot (I don't remember exactly who he was...politician or something) and worked her way (albeit with questionable methods) to the top and married Colonel Juan Peron who eventually became president of Argentina. This is one of those movies that almost everyone has heard of, they just don't know they've heard of it. =) This is the movie with the song "Don't cry for me, Argentina!" Great song. I first saw the movie in drama class in high school, and I'm really excited about watching it again. It took forever to find though! I looked at 4 rental places in Henderson: Movie Gallery, Movie World, Freed's AV Library, and the Chester Co. Public Library. I was even going to try to buy it if I could find it, but alas, no one in the area keeps it in stock. Luckily, a friend had it and let us borrow it. (Janet is my hero!) So our movie date is back on.

Tomorrow night, we're having another movie night. It's installment #3 of our Star-Wars-culture-Val-nights. And I'm trying another new recipe. But I can't tell you what it is because it's a surprise! Teeheehee. =) I'll post the recipe tomorrow night, assuming it's a success. One part of the meal that I can tell you about is the honeybun cake I'm making for dessert. Be jealous. Be very jealous. =)

Story time!

This post is a tribute to someone very special to me. This is the story of how it all happened.

It was my freshman year of college and I had joined the University Chorale. I didn't really know anyone in the group except for the cute guy that was in my Interface group. (That didn't have any influence on me joining, I promise....=) I didn't know either of the girls who stood on either side of me in the (awesome) alto section. A few of my friends from my Interface group were planning on coming home with me to Big Spring Jam in Huntsville. (For those of you who don't know, it's a huge concert w/tons of different bands there and it's lots of fun.) One of those friends happened to be another cute Minnesota guy from my Interface group. (He will come back into the story later.) I happened to mention it for whatever reason to the girl standing next to me in rehearsal. I kept thinking that her name was Nicole for whatever reason, but I knew that wasn't right. I just couldn't remember what it actually was. Well, when I told her about my plans for that weekend, she said something to the effect of:: "That sounds like fun. I want to come too!" So I said sure! The more the merrier, right? Turns out her name was Lauren.

That weekend was definitely one of the most memorable of my college career. That Friday night I got pulled over for the first time. We laughed so hard about the whole incident. We goofed off and all piled up on (and nearly broke) my bed. Lauren and I shared a bed, and the whole weekend we "argued" about whether I liked Ryan (the cute Minnesotan) or not, and whether I should date him. Because Lauren had kinda started thinking that she might like him, but didn't want to intrude if I had already claimed him.

After another month of denial, Ryan and I finally dated. It was one of those situations where we were best friends, so it could have either ended really really good, or really really bad. It turned out to be the latter. And the whole time, Lauren, my new-found friend, was there for me. She is one of the few people here who has seen me really cry. She's one of the few people who understood that I didn't want to talk, I just wanted her to sit there. The rest of that semester was one of the most trying times of my life. I wasn't sure what I wanted. The only person at school that was constant in my life was my Lauren.

The next semester, things got a little interesting. Ryan and I finally got to where we could be around each other again, and the main reason for that is because of Lauren. We were both close with her, so therefore we had to deal with each other. I dated another guy for a little while, but it was never meant to last. Upon the ending of that relationship, Lauren invited me to church with her. She had told me about a guy that went to church with her who was pretty cute, but she wasn't sure if she liked him or not. When we got there, this certain guy wanted an introduction to "Lauren's cute friend," so he threw a paper wad to get her attention. Well, he missed Lauren and hit the "cute friend," AKA:: me. And that was how I met Micah. But that's another story for another day. =)

Shortly after that fateful night, Lauren and I were walking across campus. She looked over and said in her mischeivous little tone that she has: "Val, can I ask you something?" Before she could even ask the question, I answered: "Yes, you can date him." She and Ryan had grown pretty close over the past few months.

So to make a long story short, I married Micah and she married Ryan. And the weird thing is...it's never been weird at all. A friendship like ours is the only one that could survive something like that. I mean really. Who else lets their best friend date and marry their ex, and still remains best friends? It doesn't happen much. And that's how I know that our friendship is unique. I'm not sure if I'll ever find something like it ever again. She's awesome. And I have no idea what I'd do without her.

I am telling you this story now because 4 years ago today, Lauren, Ryan, and I (along with a couple of others) all loaded up in my car and drove down to Huntsville for that Big Spring Jam weekend.

This next part is for La. It's a bunch of memories and inside jokes from the last 4 years::

Chi Beta Banquet from Hades, getting our ears pierced together, Tishomingo, poor Willard, Otis Spunkmeyer muffins, Gweedo and Fillmore, our signature funny face, dying our hair, purple hair, chorale dance team, Ralph and Charlie, the love octagon, cream cheese danish, pen fights, history class comic strips, chorale spring tour, Chow Wagon, cattle battle, midget slides, anybody wanna peanut?, invisible grenades, and I can't think of any more at the moment. I hope you know you're one of the best things to ever happen to me and my life would be incomplete without you in it. Love you, girl.