You all must be wondering why in the world I have not reported my holiday travels.

Its because I don’t leave until tomorrow. Tommow? Yes. Tomorrow. On Christmas. I am able to fly into Waterloo tomorrow for the price it would have been for me to fly to Omaha or Des Moines today.  Also, its less busy. Good plan, right? Maybe. The Midwest is experiencing some suspicious weather patterns, much like last year. All of the flights out of Minneapolis into Waterloo have been cancelled.  (I know, right? Can I get an oy vey?)

This year, if I get stranded, I have travelers insurance a friend who will come and get me in Minneapolis so I am not alone on Christmas. I guess you could say I am trying to defy Murphey’s Law of Vacations.

Let’s just see if it works.

I still have a hope since tomorrow’s forecast in Waterloo looks much better than today. There is snow, but hopefully not enough to cancel flights.

Have a Merry and safe Christmas, y’all. And remember, the birth, death,  and ultimately the resurrection, of Christ is the reason for the season.  And of course my sweetie agrees.

Yesterday was my church’s Christmas program. As part of our program, a group of adults from our church read the following prayer. It can be found in a book of Puritan prayers entitled the Valley of Vision, which you can find here. Slow down for a minute during this busy season and read this to yourself and aloud as well. Let the beauty and truth of the words sink in as we truly remember the reason we celebrate: the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

O source of all good,
What shall I render to You for the gift of gifts,
Your own dear Son?

Herein is wonder of wonders:
He came below to raise me above,
was born like me that I might become like Him.

Herein is love;
when I cannot rise to Him He draws near on wings of grace,
to raise me to Himself.

Herein is power;
when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart,
He united them in indissoluble unity,
the uncreated and the created.

Herein is wisdom;
when I was undone, with no will to return to Him,
and no intellect to devise recovery,
He came, God-incarnate, to save me to the uttermost,
as Man to die my death,
to shed satisfying blood on my behalf,
to work out a perfect righteousness for me!

O God, take me in spirit to the watchful shepherds,
and enlarge my mind!

Let me hear good tidings of great joy,
and hearing, believe, rejoice, praise, adore,
my conscience bathed in an ocean of repose,
my eyes uplifted to a reconciled Father!

Place me with ox, donkey, camel, goat,
to look with them upon my Redeemer’s face,
and in Him account myself delivered from sin!

Let me with Simeon clasp the newborn Child to my heart,
embrace Him with undying faith,
exulting that He is mine and I am his!

In Him you have given me so much that heaven can give no more.

When I turned the Big 25 last week, my festivities were delightfully sedated compared to last year’s nearly French-language-only dinner debacle.  This year, I woke up to about seven inches of fresh snow, which I found perfectly acceptable, since my birthday is one of the few days a year I actually enjoy it. I was able to leave work early to head out with Irene to the Cheesecake Factory. Since Irene’s birthday is December 17th, we celebrated it as a combined birthday bash.  After we had a delicious and ridiculously filling late lunch, we ordered the REAL reason why I requested to eat at the Cheesecake Factory: DESSERT. As I scoured the menu filled with endless options, my eyes came to rest of a dream come true: red velvet cheesecake. Two of my favorite desserts, combined into one decadent, delicious, creamy,  I- might-have-a-heart-attack- and-die-at-the-age-of-twenty-five-but-at-least-I-will-have-died-HAPPY dish of amazingness.

Behold, the Best Birthday Cake EVER!!

Makes you want to eat it right off of the screen.

The slice we received was so huge and rich that Irene and I had to share. We barely managed to eat the last bite, but we did. No way was I wasting something so wonderful.

Wednesday, I did some Googling and was able to find this recipe for red velvet cheesecake. I look forward to trying it out someday when I have the right equipment. I would like it for my birthday every year.

So, how about you, Internet? Do you have a favorite dessert, special birthday dessert, or even special birthday tradition? Let me know!

Hey peeps, I wanted to let you know that I wasn’t alone on Thanksgiving. I went to my pastor/surrogate family’s home (Chuck and Irene Brocka) for Thanksgiving dinner. When I was there, I made the mashed potatoes for 12 people, based on my Dad’s recipe. (Butter and heavy cream, btw.)

Anyway, here I am pictured cooking. As usual, I am being bossy and directing Kenny from church around. So here you go peeps, you have proof that I do indeed cook and that I would actually USE a KitchenAid Stand Mixer. (Makes a great gift!) This one IN the photo happens to be Irene’s, and I want one too, pleaseandthankyou.

Tomorrow is my 25th birthday. Don’t you think something as amazing as a KitchenAid Stand Mixer is a proper gift for a momentous occasion such as my quarter-century birthday? Maybe for my upcoming wedding in April? Either way, I just really want one. And I wanted to let you know. You know, like I haven’t said that before, a few times? Like last year? Didn’t mention it then.

So anyway, that’s all. The End.

Dear Max Hall,

Your ending comments after this year’s BYU-Utah game are what make this rivalry so much deeper than just an in-state rivalry.

Your comments reveal to me exactly why I dislike the spirit of BYU sports.  In fact, your ending comments put my dislike for BYU sports to a level of dislike on par with how much I dislike Michigan. And Mr. Hall, that is a lot of dislike.

Before I go, Mr. Hall, I did want to mention that this football game doesn’t necessarily establish who has earned God’s favor. I don’t think God is a football fan. But if He is, I like to think He likes the Iowa Hawkeyes.  Maybe you should take a page out of Kurt Warner’s book and graciously give glory to God, in wins and losses.

Oh yeah, I will leave you with one more thought…  who is going to a BCS bowl this year? By the way, it’s not your team.

GO HAWKEYES!!!

For Scott and I, our engagement has been more of a process than an event. I have had people say, “Well, how did he pop the question?” That’s a great question, actually. One that Scott and I have tried to figure out ourselves!

It all started back in August, during my visit to Sioux Falls. We were sitting around his house, relaxing, when out of the blue Scott asked me, “You would marry me, right?” And, of course, I said yes. I mean, here was my Husband List in human form. How could I turn that down? I have dated enough of the wrong kind of guy for me to know that Scott was the one I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. And if you know either one of us, that’s no shock to you.

The marriage discussions progressed through September. We started thinking of potential wedding timing. At first we thought of October of 2010, then moved it to May. Eventually our ideas for May started to unravel. About three weeks ago, Scott and I set a new date: April 17th, 2010. We began to set plans in stone. I told my supervisor of my impending engagement, since this would mean I am moving back to the Midwest soon. Last week, it was announced that I would receive my third position at the bank this year. When I went to the VP’s office to be briefed on my new responsibilities, the first words out of his mouth were, “Congratulations.” Uh oh, if he knew, the whole office knew. Scott and I weren’t even officially engaged, and soon everyone where I work would know I was getting married. Yet our friends and most of Scott’s family had no idea what was going on. Somehow, it didn’t seem fair. Scott and I discussed the dilemma… do we wait until we see each other next to make the engagement “official” or do something about it now?

It didn’t take me long to find out Scott’s decision. I received a message from him giving me instructions to check my Facebook account. When I logged on, there was a request from Scott for us to change our relationship status to “Engaged.”

Of course, I accepted.

Yes friends. You read that right. I pretty much got engaged on Facebook. I am happy this is all out in the open, but I do regret the fact Scott’s sisters Amy and Natalie found out about our plans this way, as well as the fact it robbed Scott of a more romantic proposal. I suspect he will present my ring to me in a more formal manner when I see him next at Christmas.

But really, can you say that you have a proposal as creative as mine? Doubt it! Anyway friends, how did you pop the big question, or how was the big question popped for you? Also, I started a wedding planning blog. If you want a link to it, respond to this post. I chose my wedding gown Saturday, but I don’t want Scott to see it, so this link will be shared stealthily. I will also make you promise not to tell him, cause you know, if you do, I might have to kill you.

First off, I  want to apologize for not keeping up with my bargain and making November a NaBloWriMo. Last weekend I went to Indiana for my friend Racheal’s wedding, and last week was very… eventful. I have a lot of big changes I am preparing for, and I want to let you all in on them now.

First of all, Scott has decided he is changing the seminary he attends next year. I fully support this decision. Recently, the seminary laid off five teachers, and it dawned on Scott that his education would be even more lacking due to the limited resources being stretched even leaner. His seminary is small, and he thinks if profs are teaching more classes, that the class quality will be greatly reduced. He has decided the education he is obtaining from Sioux Falls Seminary is not as biblically conservative as he likes, and would prefer something doctrinally deeper. What does this mean for us? Business as usual. Scott will not be moving from South Dakota. He has a house and has no intentions of leaving. Instead, he will pursue his Master of Divinity degree via distance education. He has narrowed down his schooling choices to the Master’s Seminary in California, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. To our delight, both of these schools will provide a good, conservative, quality education, and both have lower tuition rates. Seminary cheaper? Yes, please!

Secondly… Scott and I are engaged. We set a wedding date of April 17th, 2010. I plan to move to South Dakota in February.  Moving across the country again will be hard, but it will be wonderful to be closer to family and friends in Iowa for a few years before Scott enters formal ministry. I still can’t believe I am going to be a pastor’s wife. It is an almost frightening prospect, yet it is exhilirating. I can’t wait to be Scott’s wife. Yet, leaving Utah will be very hard. I am having  good time with wedding planning already.  I am researching locations to have our reception,  compiling a guest list, and yesterday I chose my wedding dress! I was excited to find the gown of my dreams. Please pray for us, as we prepare for our marriage and ministry together.

So, this is my new roommate. Her name is Evie.

Yes, my new roommate is a cat. In fact, she is a cat I am not supposed to have. (I know, please don’t remind me.)

Every morning, Evie would wait outside my door before work. Every morning, I would stoop and pet her and be late for work. It seemed as if she had a home before, because she appeared to be well cared for, and friendly with people. Within a few days, I discovered she had been thrown out of the home of one of my neighbors when they discovered their lease did not allow pets. I happen to have the same lease. I hated the thought of that poor, sweet cat just being dumped, and not being given a new home.

Two weeks ago, it was snowing outside. I was sick. My roommate Shea and her friend Ashley walked in the door, and discovered the cat huddling underneath a truck. Evie would come to both of them and allow them to pet her and play with her. They knew she was friendly. I knew her history, that she had been an indoor cat until very recently… and I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her out in the snow. My roommate Emily has wanted a cat, and Evie was friendly, and there.. so we brought her in. Evie has adapted to her new home quickly. She is very “talkative” and affectionate. She sleeps on my bed with me and is friendly with others. Evie has even earned her keep with already catching two mice. This morning, I received a text message from our manager telling us that Evie had to go. I pleaded with her to give us a week to find her somewhere else to go. I have had my friend Jenni offer to take her until I move again (which would be February). I have to check with Scott’s family to see if we can eventually have her after we are married, since Scott’s parents own the house he lives in. (Wait, did I just say that? Okay, I’ll be honest. We have a wedding coming soon. As if none of you hadn’t already figured it out.)

So this is where I need your help.

I want to find a foster home for her, or a permanent home, until I can make arrangements to keep her myself.

Any takers? Seriously, I will fly her to you.

I really like having Scott around, and I hate it one of us has to leave. But right now, its not possible for us to be together all the time. Long distance. That’s how we roll. So everytime I see him, we hatch plots to keep the other around. This time, I was done playing… I actually tried to keep him here. I decided to use Facebook to gather some kidnapping suggestions from friends.

One friend suggested I shave Scott’s beard. As you can see in the picture below, my man is hairy.

Scott is part werewolf

 My friend theorized that Scott could not bear the shame of a beardless chin, and would be forced to stay at least as long as it took to grow back in his beard.  This was a good plan, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. It would be too much like trying to shave Aslan’s mane… it’s pretty much against all that is fair and good.

Back to the drawing board…

I had one friend suggest to steal his clothes. I hid them, but not well enough, because he found them. When Scott went back to re-packing his clothing, a piece of Brocka’s western home decor caught my eye. A solution came to mind! In fact, why hadn’t I thought of it sooner?

That’s right. I literally lassoed my man.

But he had such a sad look on his face, I couldn’t let him stay like that…

Who can resist those blue eyes?

So now he is back in Sioux Falls. Of course.

I miss you, baby…

I love Kitchen Aid Stand Mixers. Love them. Especially in red. When Scott and I were wandering around the mall, he found out just how much I love them.

I mean, seriously, have you ever seen a kitchen appliance make anyone look so happy?

Wouldn’t you say that this would be a wonderful gift for me? My birthday is coming up on December 8th. Christmas is December 25th. Maybe you should get me one for my wedding!

 Um, hi Scott! Don’t worry, I will let you decide if there is a wedding or not. Cause seriously, after finding out what a crazy woman I am, I wouldn’t blame you if you decided against attaching yourself to me for the rest of our lives.