A Year in Reflection

So here we are, 2005 is about over and we are about to start a whole new year and to be honest I am kind of sad to see this year come to an end. For some of us it has been a year of large changes, for some it has been a year of new jobs, new homes, marriage, new pets, starting new schools, and moving to new states.
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Well I should tell you that I had this long typed out post with many deep insights about this last year but since my computer decided that it didn't want these deep insights to be shared with the world that it would reload my web page and I had lost almost every thing that I had typed. The only part of the message I had saved is the part at the top of the page. So now that I am tired and I don't remember all that typed you now get a summary of what I typed.

• I said something along the lines of how I look forward to this new year and all the new things that it would bring.
• I talked about a lot the changes we have all experienced over this last year. I wont go into all I had typed before but you all know the changes you have experienced this last year so I don't need to go into them again.
• I encouraged us all to continue growing in our friendships and that we would spur each other on to continue growing in our relationship with God.
• I summed up this last last year with the themes of change and growth and I wanted to encourage us all to look forward to change because it brings about growth.
• I talked about some funny stories from our friendships... so feel free to laugh right now as if those stories were still here.
• Lastly I talked about giving thanks to God for the growth and changes He had brought into my life this last year and how thankful I am for the friendships I have with all of you.

Now that last thing I would like from all of you, my adoring fans, I would like to know what you look forward to this next year? Do you have any hopes for 2006? Or what are some of your favorite memories for 2005? What will you miss about this last year? Let us reminisce and reflect, so POST!

Happy New Years!

The View from my Living room

So I woke up this morning and looked out my window and this is what I see. Well okay, so this isn't really the view from my living room but when I saw this I thought it looked cool, so I needed to share it with you all! It also made me glad that Portland doesn't get ice like this bad. Imagine trying to scrap the ice off your car when it look like this pic that's some thick ice and most of us scrap the ice off our cars with a credit card...wow...that would take forever! I'd just go back inside and go to bed.
Seeing pictures like this always make me want to sit in a nice warm house with some hot chocolate, enjoying the warm glow of my computer monitor. Seriously though, winter is one of the coolest (no pun intended) times of the year. Being able to go for walks in the snow (or rain if your in Portland--which is not nearly as much fun), celebrating Christmas, drinking warm Egg Nog, hanging out with friends and family, 24hour Christmas music radio stations (although they can be a curse too) but the best thing about winter time...Snow days. Again the problem being Portland just doesn't get many snow days...*sigh*...oh well.
So what's your favorite thing about winter? And if you have some cool winter pictures, post them or give a link to find them. Well that's all for now, so Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Well it is now that time of year, people are putting up Christmas lights, buying Christmas trees, shopping for friends and family, drinking egg nog, wondering when it might stop raining (at least in Oregon we wonder that), and trying to get through finals. Now I know that for many of you this is no longer an issue, you are out enjoying all the things on the list above without the added weight of finals. Well to quote Napoleon Dynamite (and not Tre'); "Lucky!"

Now in reality I really don't have that much to complain about (and I really am not complaining....just envious of all of you who are done with school), I am only taking three classes one of which doesn't have a final, one is take home and the other however, is a Patty class. So maybe I am dead, this happens to be my first and most likely, last Patty class. Now this post is not really about the stresses of being in school but rather it is a focus on the anticipation of being done with school. Assuming everything goes well this semester and next, I will final be done in May. Woot!

So what I want to know what are the best things about being done with school? I want your inspiration to help spur me on so that I will finish well. So tell me what are the things you like most about being done and out of school and for those of you not done, tell me what you are looking forward to. I am close to being done and I see the light at the end of the tunnel, I can see the finish line, its just I am notorious for tripping within feet of the finish line and landing on my face. So inspire me.