Christmas stinking ROCKS! Part 2

I downloaded this WYSIWYG blog editor, Qumana, last night this morning, so I'm praying this will finally be the answer to all my blogging woes. So, here goes nothing...
So where was I? Oh right, the gifts. Awesomeness. ^^
So Friday I got my present from April, though I wasn't allowed to open it until Christmas (which I did as soon as I'd finished wrapping presents around 0030 that morning ^^); Sunday, Robert and Melissa blessed me with some cash in a card (did I mention I love them? (^w^) ), and another friend of our family gave us some pecan pralines in a cute tin (oishii!). Grandma Dorothy send us kids some money as well, and on Christmas Eve, Hilary gave me a beautiful pink and black houndstooth scarf/wrap:

and a tin full of the yummiest cookies. And let's not forget the cute little gold necklace I wound up with at the Well Christmas Dinner's white elephant gift exchange on Saturday.

Now, Christmas morning had come, and my wonderful mother gave me the entire Harajuku Lovers fragrance collection, complete with Love, Lil' Angel, Music, Baby, and G mini-spritzes, collector's drawstring bag, and collector's "stage" box;

and the prettiest pearl-and-diamond watch with a mother-of-pearl face:

(SmartBargains.com has got the most incredible prices on jewelry, I tell you!) She also ordered this coat for me from Victoria's Secret (they actually sell some great clothes!),

and she also preordered the Halo: Uprising graphic novel (brought to us by Marvel Comics),

and The Art of Halo: Creating a Visual World

for me a couple of months back from Amazon, and they should ship on Monday, 29 December. I'm so excited! 8(>v<)8

But nothing prepared me for the surprise I knew Dad had awaiting us the third-car garage: a near-mint condition Bowflex Extreme 2 (upgraded from the standard 210-lb capacity to 310 lbs)!!!

But, oh man, you should've seen the look on Mom's face when she opened the plain envelope Dad handed her to find a picture of the exact refrigerator she'd been looking at in to paper that morning cut out, with a promise to bring home the real thing! That's one thing she definitely didn't see coming! (^v^) Dad went to Howard's and bought it today, and it'll be delivered tomorrow. The coolest thing is that this is the first brand-new, mint condition fridge they've gotten (and boy, is it a cool fridge-no pun intended ^^;;).

Finally, I opened my inbox this morning to see a $15 gift certificate waiting for me from taking a customer survey for the Press-Enterprise a couple of weeks back. Now I can get those last two Halo novels from Borders! (^v^)v~Score!

And, as if all of that weren't enough, the 20% pay cut and cut in hours that my dad was going to have to take because his print shop hadn't enough work has just been completely reversed in specific answer to our prayers that their biggest client would increase their orders. In fact, not only will he not have a cut in pay, he will actually be working more than usual now! God is so AMAZING!!!

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21) Note the lack of a comma after "exceedingly": this verse is saying that not only can He do abundantly beyond our wildest hopes, but exceedingly so! "Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace among men in whom He is well pleased!" (Luke 2:14, American Standard Version)

Christmas stinking ROCKS!

Okay, so today was pretty stinking AMAZING. And not just because of the presents or the turkey, or even because of being able to spend the day with my family with nothing to do and nowhere to be, but because of the amazing gifts that God so freely bestows on me, a wretch among wretches! I mean, seriously: like it wasn't enough to give us His Son, and even after the way we savagely murdered Him, to give us Heaven for free, new mercies every morning, and abundant grace according to His riches and glory! It's too much! WHY?!?!?! (*w*) *Sigh* Isn't our Lord good?

I've been working the last few weeks on a lovers' mitten and glove set for Brian and April (cutest couple ever), and I got to hand-deliver it today while they were at April's house, since I only finished it at about 0130 this morning. ^^;; I was excited about how the yarn had worked up so exactly all on its own, and about the fact that I'd even had a little left over (about one

 color repeat), so this could potentially be something I could sell, either completed or as a kit someday (most likely as a kit ^^;;) if the concept was well-received by my unwitting test subjects although they ere actually the ones who thought of the moneymaking opportunity for me ^^. However, I was a bit nervous as to the reception of the gift: would they think it was lame? Would the gloves/mitten even fit? Well, I am pleased to say that all of my fears were unfounded: they loved them! <(^.^<)(>^.^)>\(^o^)/ They even modeled them for me for my

 blog (it wasn't until later that I realized I'd forgotten to take pictures before wrapping them

 and all... Oops. ^^;;) Here they are, the dynamic duo (aren't they adorable?):

That short visit was such a blessing for me in so many ways! Thank you, Father; You always know just how best the bless me! (^w^)

Even though our family had to cut back our spending, we all got some amazing gifts for each other, and mine started with April's present on Friday: the most kawaii Hello Kitty Origami Letter Set and Hello Kitty bubble gum! (She knows me so well! ^^)

Ugh. I'll post the rest tomorrow. Blogger is being evil again, and this little semi-post has taken over THREE HOURS. CURSE YOU, BLOGGER!!!!!!! "P"(>.<)

Ryan's Sweater, Part 2

This Sunday, Robert gave me some pictures he took of Ryan's reaction upon receiving his perfectly-fitting sailor sweater. He told Mom and me that once Ryan touched it, "he was all Mr. Giggles," so he just had to take pictures and show us. These being extra copies, I got to keep them,  so now I'm working on making this adorable little boy and Internet celebrity. Or something like that. To my relief it was soft enough for the little guy after all. How cute!

A Sailor Sweater for Ryan Benjamin

One of the guys my dad ushers with at church, Robert, got married just over a year ago (or maybe longer, I don't really remember (^_^;) ), and not many months thereafter announced the impending arrival of his firstborn: a son to be named Ryan Benjamin (or, as his father put it, "Ryan been jammin'!"). He and his wife are so sweet, I decided to knit little Ryan a sweater, and settled on an adorable little sailor sweater pattern very quickly. Based on past experience, I assumed that while I had way more than enough time to complete it before his arrival, my remaining on task was unlikely at best, so I was relieved to find that the smallest size for the pattern was for 6 months. Sure enough, I've only just finished it today, and Ryan is a couple of months old. (^_^;) Thankfully, the yarn I had at my disposal was wool, so by the time he's big enough to wear it, it will be seasonally appropriate. Isn't it amazing that God is watching out for me in every way?

As always with my knitting, seeing a young girl knitting in public tends to draw a lot of attention from bystanders, and several people asked about it. I finally replaced the batteries in my digicam, and took come very nice photographs before I wrapped it up for surprise delivery tomorrow morning so that all of you could see how it turned out. So, without further ado, I give you... pictures!!!

Waiting for the other shoe to drop

Lately my life has been just amazing, which leaves me wondering when the other shoe will drop, and things will return to my sad excuse for normalcy. Which then prompts the question: where did that phrase even come from? Here's what UrbanDictionary.com has to say:

Waiting for the other shoe to drop

To await an event that is expected to happen, due to being causally linked to another event that has already been observed. Gets its origin from the joke in the example. A guest who checked into an inn one night was warned to be quiet because the guest in the room next to his was a light sleeper. As he undressed for bed, he dropped one shoe, which, sure enough, awakened the other guest. He managed to get the other shoe off in silence, and got into bed. An hour later. he heard a pounding on the wall and a shout: "When are you going to drop the other shoe?" Thus the term "waiting for the other shoe to drop."

I mean, lately my life has just generally been going right for once: I have a few amazing friends whom I get to see quite regularly at church, where I have resumed attending the Sunday and Wednesday night services after a long (and mostly just lazy) hiatus, I have finally been able to start unraveling the cause of my sudden weight gain earlier this year, and it is starting to (slowly) come back off (^o^) due to my new eating plan (not a "diet," mind you) and stepped-up workouts, I have been getting lots of compliments from my peers on my appearance (which I must confess I owe mostly to my mom's hairdressing skills... (^_^;) ), and all manner of other various and sometimes seemingly random blessing from Father, to the point of it being just ridiculous. Some of these aforementioned blessings may seem insignificant and even petty to some, but for someone with my history of rejection and ridicule, they mean so much... (TvT)

I feel like for the first time in my life I really belong, and that I am actually wanted... And that feels just too incredible for words. I am truly blessed, and I owe it all to the Lord! One thing I know: my past heartaches and failures have prepared me for my future, which He has promised me is good (Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11, etc.). I just can't wait to see what He has for me, and I'm so glad that He has used these things in my past to make me into who I am today. I'd actually be friends with me now! (^_~)

People actually like this crap?

I think the Lord has been poking me lately to reanimate this near-defunct little Web log, and He has lately had to resort to some very strange measures to get my attention... And He's got it.

Last night I came home from Bible study to find an e-mail in my inbox from a Messianic Jewish pastor on the east coast, commenting on this post from last year.  He said he'd been studying the title Scripture for a sermon he was writing for a student of his in Ghana, and stumbled across my blog on Google. He said it was rare to find so young a person with such strong convictions, and that he'd felt led by the Holy Spirit to let me know that I was on the right track. I can't tell you how much this e-mail blessed me; I felt as though I'd been stuck with a blessing grenade in the heart by the Lord Himself! (Apologies for the "Halo" reference; I'm kind of a nerd that way... (-_-;) )

So, tonight, I get a text message from Facebook saying some person I don't know has sent me a message. I come upstairs about 2300 hours, open up the message, and I get another tac-nuke of a blessing: he'd googled the same Scripture, John 13:35, and says he's sorry for the bad experiences I'd had, he's gone through the same sort of thing, and wanted to let me know that there were people out there who care. If it weren't for my parents sleeping in the next room, I would've burst into laughter at the amazing grace of God to a wretch like me!

I am just astonished at the glory of our King, that with all of the universe to look after, He would sent these two messengers to minister to me in just the way that I needed (though before I knew it not), and at the same time, remind me of how far I've come these last 16 months. Why on Earth would He bother with me? It boggles the mind.

Baruch hashem, our Lord is good!

Facebook actually isn't evil after all

I see now that I am just going to have to force myself to post on a semi-regular basis now, because if I just wait until I feel like it, you get lulls of five months between posts... (-_-;) So here I am, posting a new one. Hurray.

Well, my room finally got redone, and I'd post pictures, but it's kind of messy right now and I forgot to take pictures sooner, because I keep expecting further improvements and delaying my photographic endeavors until I feel it's really "finished". I will soon, I promise! (^_^;)

I've also decided to get certified as a personal trainer and performance nutrition specialist with the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA), and then work at the gym by my house for a living. The awesome thing about it is that not only would my family's memberships be free, saving us $150 a month, but I would be getting paid to help people get healthy and fit, my job would actually make it easier for me to get my workouts in, it's close to home, it pays well, and I'd finally start pulling my weight (no pun intended) at home, easing the financial strain on my family! On top of that, the hours would be largely self-determined and flexible, and when I get married and have a family, there's a daycare on the premises so my children could come with me to work. The only "lose" in this situation is that I'll have to put to death my laziness, a price I'm willing to pay. (^_^)

I'm enrolling and ordering my course materials tomorrow morning, and since my credit card's APR just got lowered to 1.99%, I can charge the whole thing and pay it off myself, or with help from my wonderfully willing parents, with very little inconvenience. The whole deal, including the two certification courses, a weekend training seminar, and CPR/AED certification, will cost only about $1200! Once I start working, the savings in gym dues alone will pay for it in only a matter of months! I'm so excited, I can hardly wait! (^v^)

In the meantime, I finally ran out of reasonable excuses for avoiding Facebook, and signed up. I had no idea that so many people I know are on there! It's truly amazing how quickly I have acquired 27 friends already! At first, it seemed clunky and unwieldy, but I am quickly getting used to the interface, and I am already loving the advertisement policies. Unlike the often-inappropriate and immoral ads on Myspace, these all have been very tasteful, and give you the option of rating them as well. To top it off, the very first ad I saw, I kid you not, was for Knit Picks! How could I not fall in love with the whole scheme? (*w*)

I have been very remiss in putting off this post for so long, and by God's grace, I shall post much more often in the future. Keep checking back for updates! (^o^)"/"~bye!

The Hunter

Deep, deep, in the scariest corners of my closet dug I this day, till lo! I stumbled upon more poetry of old, which I shall magnanimously share with you now. It had no title, so I dub it now

The Hunter

There's a chill in the air tonight

The stillness runs deep in these woods

Snow muffles the screams

Silently, so silently, the hunter creeps

Closer, closer to the unwitting prey

Never saw it coming

Believe it or not, I wrote this in church waiting for service to start, with the original intention of writing a... are you ready for this? Love poem. *Sigh* Such is my life.

The Wolves

I've been rearranging some stuff in my room due to the recent renovating that started while I was at The Well's Refresh Retreat the weekend before last, and I came across this poem I wrote when I was seventeen, and studying Language Arts Through British Literature, including poetry, for my junior/senior year of high school. Add to this not terribly shocking discovery my recent promise to post a new blog soon, and I give you, without further ado:

The Wolves

They sing! They dance!

With regal stance

They run through woods so still

And prance and play

And still they stay

Rulers of the wooded hills

Over hill and over dale

They follow prey whose scent is stale

Till suddenly, a scout, she howls--

Her voice is taut

The scent is caught!

Their only competition owls

The hunt is silent

The kill is violent

The chase a wondrous thrill

The pups all drool

But know the rule

No food till Father's had his fill

The pack moves on

And though the sun

Is strong, the wind is bitter cold

Their camp they pick

Their coats are thick

All are warm, even the old

The snow is white

The night is bright

Overhead the moon is full

The stars the glitter

A small child shivers

Even from town he hears the call--

A scout has found

A thing profound--

A lame and wounded moose alone

The pack moves out

The cubs they pout

They're left behind with just some bones

And a sentinel

Their stomachs rumble

It's past time for a fresh-caught feast

The hunting slow

Because the snow

Has made grass rare to say the least

The elk and deer

And the moose queer

Faced with a dilemma real

Search on for food

Chased on by doom

To find or to become a meal

Alas! the wolves

Who ruled these woods

(Like royalty on high they reigned!)

Rule them no more

And from them were torn

By Man, over whom he let Fear reign

"And that's all I have to say about that." Aptly put, Forrest (teehee! No pun intended).

Goodbye, teenage years...

Well, yesterday was my twentieth birthday, and a pretty swell one at that. After so many fitful and tumultuous days prior, it was peculiar and very welcome to have a day where even the unexpected inconvenience of a blown tire and subsequently mediocre sushi were not wholly unpleasant. I owe my gratitude to God for that wonderful birthday gift, to be sure.

I'm a little irked with my current loss for words to properly convey that which I had planned to express here, so I think I shall have to continue this post at a later time. Please accept my apologies, and enjoy this little "teaser" post as well as you can, looking forward to a soon appendage to it.

Prayer Request

I don't know if anybody will actually read this before this post becomes irrelevant, but if you do, would you please pray for my dad and brothers and their three traveling companions? They are in the Arizona mountains, on the road coming home from Oklahoma, and they are caught in a blizzard so bad that even the snowplow is stuck. The snow is coming down several inches per hour, and they are stuck in their rented minivan waiting for the roads to clear. Please pray for their speedy and safe return, and also for the other stranded motorists's safety as well.

Thank you all so much!

Erin

UPDATE: Praise be to God! Within an hour of posting this, God provided a way for the snowplow to make a way out, and Dad, etc. were able to get out of the mountains safely, and arrive home on time that night! Thank you all for praying, and please forgive me for not posting this update sooner! (^_^;)

Homecoming

Just what is it about knowing that I should blog regularly makes it seem like such a drag, and sucks all the creativity out of me at the mere thought of actually doing so? What is it with the way my thoughts reassemble themselves all poetically once I finally do? And what do I type now that I've completely lost my train of thought? Hmmm...

Ah! I've got it: camp. Or more specifically, my homecoming.

I'd been deeply involved in my church's high school ministry since I was a freshman back in... was it 2002?--up until I graduated in 2005, going to the high school study on Wednesday nights and a sort of spin-off house fellowship led by one of the youth leaders on Tuesdays, singing in the fledgling Worship Revolution Choir, going street witnessing with the SWAT Team on Friday nights, and attending Sunday night services with my friends (and, of course, with my mom, being unable to drive myself). Me and my proclivity for developing crushes on people bound to break my heart and never know it had gotten me pretty depressed and was probably a main contributing factor in causing me to pull away from my friends, none of whom I saw outside of church, and before I realized what had happened I had become completely separated from that whole ministry, not even attending on Sunday nights, and spending Wednesdays in the main Sanctuary with my parents. I stopped attending on Tuesday nights as well after becoming fed up with the people attending completely ignoring me, and descending further into my hermitage.

For two very blurry years I spent a good deal of my time volunteering in the church's evangelistic outreach Office of previous mention (whether or not any of those posts survived the recent freak spontaneous deletion is anyone's guess), during which time I learned a very hard lesson in the importance of guarding my heart against those whose personalities seem taylor-made for mine but whose spiritual priorities were ambiguous at best. Because of the crushing loss that resulted I spent much of this last summer in debilitating nausea and indigestion, having stuffed my emotions deep inside rather than face the harsh reality of the duplicitous nature of the former object of my affections and my own failure in being so very foolishly deceived.

It took me several months to recover emotionally, but after a few months I returned to Sunday night Bible study, driving my brothers as my "excuse" to myself, and allowed the Lord to really minister to me there, reconnecting myself with some family friends and relearning how to interact with my peers. Finally, one sunny Sunday afternoon late in the year I suddenly realized that I truly had moved on. I no longer felt the desperation of still being single at nineteen with no prospects, and discovered a divine peace in my heart about my future. I distinctly felt like I had been through a winter season in my walk with Jesus and was coming into spring. I even resumed attending the Tuesday study in December, ready to try once more to connect with my brothers and sisters in the Lord, though still a little unsure of their reception of the fundamentally changed me.

So early this year, after several weeks of prayer and seeking the Lord, I talked to my youth pastor about getting involved as a camp co-counselor again. It had been two full years since my first camp as a leader, and that time I'd had to leave early due to my maternal grandfather's unexpected departure for Heaven. While I was preparing for camp and attending the pre-camp leadership meetings I felt the Lord might be calling me to continue and expand my pursuit of Christian fellowship with people my own age, so I began attending the college and career group on Friday nights, and opening myself more and more to the godly people I found myself surrounded by, who have graciously reached out to me like I can barely recall anyone doing before.

Once I got up to camp the weekend before last, I realized the incredible opportunity before me once more to pour my heart into the young girls in the church and comfort them with the comfort I have received from the Lord Jesus Christ, rediscovering a passion for the youth in my own heart, long ago forgotten. And as the Lord ministered to me at camp, and used me to minister to the girls in my charge, I felt Him tugging at my heart to get more involved in the high school ministry.

My mother had been struggling with whether or not to remain in the women's Bible study on Wednesday mornings, and finally received such clear confirmation from the Lord that she (and I) dropped out. I immediately felt the Lord's peace about it, as I wasn't really growing in it, and leaving my study group in the morning allowed Mom and me to get enough sleep to be able to make sure my brothers, who are both in high school, were able to attend Wednesday nights. This was especially significant for me since Tuesday night's studies keep me up pretty late (especially when I do things like this at times like this---yikes!), and I have been seeing so much more spiritual growth in my life since I started coming again.

So finally this Sunday night I was able to talk to the youth pastor's amazing wife before study about getting more involved in the high school ministry on Wednesday nights, and was met with eager approval (I really love this lady--she's just so sweet and godly!!) and advice. And last night, I was back in ministry, to the delight of a couple of my young friends, and to my own grea blessing. I am currently looking forward to continuing to deepen my involvement in the ministry and am met with a deep-seated peace and joy, and a feeling of coming home. No fear or trepidation hold me back now, but faith and hope sustain and propel me in this race against time for men's souls.

I am home.

Oops! Missing posts!

Somebody has hacked into my blog and deleted some of my posts, a couple of which I have been able to recover (though I had to make an educated guess on the dates). Sorry for the mix-up! It won't happen again.

Promised Pillow

I kid you not, I did not plan a single thing before making this pillow. I just started cutting and pinning and sewing. No sketches, just a general idea of what I wanted which continually evolved throughout the creation process (no puns were harmed in the making of this blog).

Here's my pillow next to the pincushion I knit for myself last year or the year before and the Hello Kitty sewing machine I got for Christmas from my brothers. I love them to distraction. And I really hate the red color on my bedroom walls. I am waiting for the weather to cooperate so I can paint it the color the Pacific turns in just the right summer conditions, at which point I will redecorate with my pretty Simply Shabby Chic duvet (and shams, I think?), this adorable little accent pillow (and hopefully some new friends for it soon), the "Sweetest, Softest Nap Blanket and Lambie (pillow) on Earth" (from Bath & Body Works) which I also received for Christmas, from Mom, and pink sheets yet to be purchased.  I will also be repainting all my furniture ivory and sanding the edges for that coastal Shabby Chic look I love so much but can't afford (Can't you drop your prices a little, Rachel Ashwell?)

Here's the front:

And the back:

Close-up of front:

 

Up and Up

So, what have I actually accomplished since my last post?

1. I frogged my sweater fronts down to the beginning of the neck and have started to knit them up again the right way (albeit slowly), both on the same circular needle to avoid the "Sweaterfront" variation of Second Sock Syndrome;

2. I finalized my collar pattern (or so I recall);

3-5. These are useless to start until the sweater is actually finished, so I haven't bothered;

6-7. I decided to start spending some alone time with God and my guitar, so there's another accomplishment;

8. Just 1500 envelopes left, and my gym dues just came in yesterday, but I may have a new job looming on the horizon (praise God!);

9. Camp meeting was last night, and there's another meeting for the girls tonight, and I'm so excited!!

10. Mom has decided I have enough underwear, seeing as I "can only wear one pair at a time," so that's that;

11. $5 for 8oz. of my signature fragrance is pretty sweet: I--I mean, Mom saved $7;

12. The new Guitar Hero III controller actually works (what a concept);

13. PacSun just ran out of Zach's size belt in that style (every store all at one, I kid you not), but he found one he really liked instead (for the same price! Isn't God good?), so it's cool;

14. Vitamin levels are looking good;

15. Mom wasn't in the mood to buy me extra supplements that weren't essential (and by the time I found them it was too late anyway), so no glutamine;

16. Lunch was smashing for two Wednesdays in a row (though the second was eaten on the way home from study as I wasn't needed in the Office);

17. Both Bible studies were finished (the important parts, anyway), though the second was finished at study;

18. Found out online that I just needed to loosen the screw on the bobbin case, so my tension problem's fixed;

19. Calibration is for wimps! Who needs accuracy anyway?

20. I made my discipleship calls a week late, and I have some more to make by tomorrow;

21. I'm still working on the whole "bedtime" thing, but I'm getting better;

22. Made that training appointment and a few others;

23. Threw out some bad stuff, and this morning I found some rice from the ninth in the back of the fridge that needs to be thrown out;

24. Used up my iTunes gift card but I'm waiting for some yarn to come back in stock at Knit Picks;

25.  Cam up with new to-dos and such, blah, blah, blah.

The important thing is, I actually got some stuff done, and more besides! For example, I have a pillow ready to be sewed that took me all day Tuesday to cut and arrange (you'll see why when you see the pictures of the finished product). I also knit and unraveled a rainbow-colored beret --twice. I have returned the yarn to its former skein form, complete with reattached label. I'll try to find another pattern for it someday, but it just wasn't enough for a beret. Oh well.

So that's all for now; I'm too tired to think right now and Mom promised to knit.

And knit she surely shall.

To-Do Blues

To Do:

1. Unravel both sweater fronts to top of button band, put band stitches on holder, reknit the rest (with slight shaping modifications).
2. Make final adjustments to collar pattern and knit the collar. Don't forget to factor in the white trim!
3. Weave in all loose ends.
4. Block and assemble. Take pictures for blog.
5. Redraw charts and write out pattern. Prepare Sailor Sweater pattern for submission.
6. File nails short enough to play my guitar again.
7. Practice playing my guitar.
8. Stuff 9,000 envelopes to pay off bills. Try not to think about the gym dues coming in later this month.
9. Prepare for High School Winter Camp '08. Make a list, check it twice, don't forget organic snacks for the girls in my cabin. And extra underwear.
10. Buy said skivvies.
11. Buy more body lotion at Bath & Body Works.
12. Exchange Zach and Nate's Guitar Hero III controller at Best Buy.
13. Exchange Zach's belt for the next size up at PacSun.
14. Buy more coral calcium and fücothin at Vitamin Shoppe. Make sure everything else is well-stocked before you go.
15. Oh, and pick up some glutamine while you're there.
16. Pack lunch tonight for between bible study and volunteer work at church tomorrow morning/afternoon.
17. Finish Bible study before it starts tomorrow morning.
18. Call Janome and find out how to fix bobbin/thread tension on Hello Kitty sewing machine I got for Christmas. If they aren't helpful, try a Jo-Ann store. Or Nancy your next-door neighbor.
19. Find a composite track and calibrate Nike+ sensor so it stops grossly overestimating your achievements. Try not to be too disappointed with the truth.
20. Make discipleship follow-up calls later this week.
21. Start going to bed the night before the morning on which you plan to awaken.
22. Get ready for personal training session Monday morning at 0830 hours.
23. Check kitchen and medicine cabinet for products of questionable viability and throw out anything that's expired. Look surprised when all of the boys' horribly unhealthy foods magically disappear around the same time. ("Who, me?")
    
24. Figure out what you're getting with your $15 gift card for iTunes and your $40 gift certificate for Knit Picks. Have fun spending other people's money again. (^_~)
25. Try to remember anything else I may have forgotten. Sigh.