Battery

Last month Paul's car needed a nearly $500 brake job and this month it needed a new battery. This evening, without notice, the battery quit on Paul and his car wouldn't start in the parking lot we were in. Luckily we were together and I had jumper cables in my car so we were able to get his battery charged enough to make it to Wal-Mart where we had a new battery installed.

My "pic of the day" is from the airshow we attended last month. The way the sky divers rely on each other reminded me of how my husband and I had to rely on each other tonight.

Life

I chose this "pic of the day" because I was thinking about how great it would be if it were as easy to succeed in life as it is in the Skee Ball game (or at least for some people it is easy to win at Skee Ball).

Cool Food

I chose this "pic of the day" because we have been eating a lot of salads recently since it's been so hot, and since I like black olives on my salad. This pic was originally taken at a wedding, and its always been one of my favorites because it's a close-up with a varitey of colors.

Today was a lot easier than Friday at work, and was otherwise unremarkable, except that I joined a new committee at work. Other than that, Paul and I were glad to have the pool to overselves to swim laps and bounce around in after I came home from work.

Summer Storms

My "pic of the day" is inspired by all the green vegetation that has sprouted up from the rain, hot temps and humidity which has created a nice "greenhouse effect." Late this afternoon we had a summer storm that rolled through our area and cooled us down to the upper 70s.

Hot Weekend

It was another very hot summer day with a heat index in the 100's. This evening we braved the heat and humidity to attend the grand opening of Stephen Lake Park's amphitheatre which featured a family theatre performance and music from the community band. Outside of that we had a pretty quiet day trying to catch up from the week. My "pic of the day" is from another recent hot day that we spent blowing bubbles.

Challenging

It was a really challenging day that ended an equally challenging week. Then I came home to a jury duty summons for the one week next month that I had earmarked for vacation. Ahhhhh! My "pic of the day" is representative of craziness.

Busy Day

A busy, busy day with a lot of personal things I had to take care of. I wish I was at the resort in my "pic of the day", which is a pic I took of our Mexico resort we were at the last time we had an actual vacation in '07.

On a side note, I was so busy last night preparing for today's "busyness" that I actually forgot to do my blog until it was after midnight and I was already in bed.

Long Day

It was a long 12 hour work day, and a very hot day with a heat index over 100 degrees. The first half of my day was spent with summer welcome and the second half with Employer's Summit. So my "pic of the day" is of a vacation resort because I wish I was there.

Rapid Fire

I chose this as my "pic of the day" because some of the appointments I have make me feel like I'm under rapid fire. Today feels like a hodge podge of stuff...lots of appointments, getting ready for a big work event on tue. and wed., and hearing that two people that Paul used to work with just lost their jobs.

Thought For Today

A thought for today was brought up in the church sermon at The Crossing today. The pastor referenced to the oil leak/spill in the Gulf and said that just as it is devastating lives; so are our own "idols" of the heart. How many of us have things (careers, money, success, power, vanity, ect.) that we are so preoccupied with that we put a greater importance on them than God? When this happens, over time it can lead to devastation in our lives. Sometimes God will take these things from us when they become unbalanced in our lives. Or at times God will not give us what we ask for because he knows they will lead to our destruction. There are many different kinds of idols, everything ranging from obsession with money to pleasing others. We each have our own idol(s) and we need to be aware.

Hot

Another hot day. It reminded me of the day we spent in the Botanical Gardens, so I thought a "pic of the day" of a mansion from the Gardens would be appropriate.

Hot, Hot, Hot...

One word, hot, that describes today with temps in the 90s and the heat index pushing 100. My "pic of the day" is of Paul in the pool with his noodle because that's where we spent time this evening after work.

Hot

A very sunny and hot day with temps reaching the 90's. It's hard to believe that just three months ago we still had pockets of ice on the ground! We headed straight for the pool as soon as I got home and it's so nice to be in the pool without getting goose bumps! My "pic of the day" is of a glass blown sculpture we saw at the Botanical Gardens last month.

Finding Your Passion

One of my appointments today made me really think about finding the right career fit for oneself. It made me think about finding one's niche in life and figuring out where one belongs amongst all the options available. My "pic of the day" is of a path which serves as a visual reminder that we each have to find the road which leads to our passion in life.

Carving Out Paths

I find myself void of all creative inspirations tonight, as I've been struggling all day to do the things I need to do. Hopefully I will get out of this slump soon. The theme running throughout this day seems to be helping others get on track or back on course. I met with entering freshmen and current probation students all day and helped them either carve out a path for their future or correct the current path they were on. So, my "pic of the day" is of what else, but a path.

Needed: Time to Rest

My "pic of the day" is from the Botanical Gardens in St. Louis. I chose it because it is a nice tranquil garden scene that seems fitting on an evening when my husband and I are both tired. Today was not particularly stressful, but I sure felt tired about half way through. Hopefully we'll get better sleep tonight.

Giant Redwood Log

My "pic of the day" is of part of a Redwood tree that Paul and I found on display last weekend when we were at the Lake. Tucked in behind several businesses along the Bagnell Dam Strip was the section of this tree. I'm sure it has been on show for some time, but it's the first time I've ever come across it and I've never heard any of the locals talk about it. I had Paul stand against the tree with his arms out. Since he is 6'5", one can get a real sense of just how big this redwood log is, and can imagine how big the actual tree would have been.

I tried to take a picture of the sign which told a bit about it which I've included below. The sign reads, "Each ring on the cross-section of this redwood log represents one year of growth. By counting the rings, the age of the tree can be determined. This Giant Redwood was over 1000 years old when it was cut in the 1960's."

"Make a tree good, and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit." (Matthew 12:33)

Weekend Fun

Paul and I made a new friend today from our 20's & 30's Meet-Up group, as we had a new person come over as part of the group to an event we had scheduled to watch the World Cup Soccer game (England vs. USA). After the game we played the Wii version of Trivial Pursuit. It's been a pretty peaceful day (minus the mid-afternoon thunderstorm) so that's why I chose the pic of a peaceful nature seen that I took several years ago.

Whac-A-Mole

Many times at work we have joked that our work is much like the "whac -a -mole" arcade game on days that we spend all day putting out fires, or in back-to back appts. Today was one of those days.

I was very pleased to find the actual "Whac-A -Mole" game recently and have a feeling I will use it quite frequently on this blog to demonstrate the kind of day I had.

Lake Weather

I chose this "pic of the day" because it was hot and humid enough to crave a jump in the lake. I came home from work wanting to take a swim, but our apt. pool was pretty full of kids so Paul and I opted for a walk instead, ugh.

What stands out to me today is my seemingly bad luck to attract weird situations at the same time our new advisor is observing me for part of her training. How awkward it is to come across problems that I don't know the answer to time and time again. I've encountered so many things like this all week that I haven't had happen since I've been in my job. How strange!?

A Different View

I chose this "pic of the day" because I just saw a hot air balloon (not these particular ones) floating around in the sky as I looked out the window. This pic was taken at a balloon derby several years ago. Our apt. complex is the perfect place for hot air balloon spotting as there must be a field or something nearby that is perfect for launching balloons. We often see balloons start to float up into the sky and sail across our viewing area.

I've never been up in a hot air balloon, but I'd like to someday. I can just imagine the perspective one must get from viewing the world from above. It's a good reminder that we need to take a step back and remember how small we are in comparison to our surroundings. Today I heard a good tip...that we can't always remove the things from our life that we don't like, and sometimes we have to learn to like/live with them.

Sturdy Structure

My "pic of the day" is from the remains of the "castle" at Ha Ha Tonka State Park. Paul and I visited the park and toured through the structure on Friday. I hesitate to call it a castle because my British friends would laugh at me, it's really more like a mansion I suppose. Building on the castle was started at the turn of the century and then the owner was killed before it was finished. The owner's son tried to finish it, but if memory serves me right there were a couple of fires that kept the building from ever serving its true purpose.

This pic representing a sturdy structure is illustrative of the solid foundation we are trying to build at work in anticipation of our busy freshmen orientation season of the summer. Tomorrow is the start of that busy time which will run into the first part of July.

Fresh Flowers

I wasn't able to post yesterday because the blogger service was unavailable. My "pic of the day" is of the flowers my husband surprised me with when I came home from work today since I didn't have the best day. I had talked to him earlier about some problems I had and it was so sweet to see that he had listened, and that he chose to surprise me with something special to help make my day better. Funny how flowers can make a day turn around! After I got home we also went for a nice swim too.

Bubbles

My "pic of the day" is of bubbles that Paul was blowing from a bubble container we won as a prize at an arcade place. It was a simple prize, but gave us a lot of fun as we took turns blowing bubbles and taking pictures of them floating through the sun. It was a really good day filled with time with Paul, play at the arcade and a sunset dinner overlooking the lake. If only every day could go so smoothly and feel so good.

Journey

My "pic of the day" is of our neighborhood geese and their goslings that were passing through our apartment complex one morning toward their day's quest. I noticed them while I was getting ready for work. This picture reminds me that each day is a new adventure full of surprises as we go along our journey. This weekend Paul and I are on a small journey of our own, at least doing something out of the ordinary.

Frustration

Today marked the start of summer welcome and the freshmen/transfer student orientation and advising sessions for the next month at work. It was a busy a day. I have tomorrow off for a 3 day weekend, and I came home disappointed that I had been delayed at work for an additional hour. Then one weird thing ran into another and three hours passed at home with frustration and tears. Hopefully now we are back on track to start off our weekend on the right foot. My "pic of the day" is another photo from the Botantical Garden.

Vitamin D

Today I found out that I am very low in Vitamin D which has most likely been the root cause of a lot of my recent health problems. My "pic of the day" is of a glass blown sun sculpture from the Botanical Garden. What I also found out today is that while we do get vitamin D naturally from the sun, the sunscreen we put on blocks the vitamin D. Many people are vitamin deficient and don't even know it, ask your doctor about getting checked with a simple inexpensive blood test today!

Brakes

My "pic of the day" is from the Botanical Garden's Japanese Garden section. It is a garden that promotes tranquility and rest. Something that I need today after returning to work and finding out that our car needs a $435 brake repair. Paul and I spent the evening working with our accounts to arrange to pay for it tomorrow.