Money Meme (a.k.a. Time in a Bottle )

I nabbed this meme from Connie at Practicing Theology.

Here’s how it goes, grab ten coins out of your pocket, purse, couch cushion or wherever it is you keep your loose change. You have to have ten uniquely dated coins, so if you get a duplicate, pull out another until you have ten unique dates. Next, tell your readers a little about YOU the year that the coin was minted.

1978 ~ Married for 4 years, teaching 2nd grade in the Public School system and pregnant with our first child who was born in January of 1979. Josh was 10 lbs. and I had him naturally, ouch! Living in Huntington Beach, Ca. Dear has decided to work for someone else instead of being self-employed. He gets a job in the Rock and Sand Industry.

1983 ~ Married for 9 years. SAHM with two boys ages 4 and 2. Living in Huntington Beach, California with plans to move to Ventura to cut Dear’s commute time down from 2 hours each way to a wee 10 minutes. Dear worked the swing shift so I’m home alone with the boys from noon to midnight each weekday. Only had to go to emergency twice during this time with son #2. Thankfully my sister Vera lived around the corner so I could drop off son #1 on the way to the ER. At this time Dear is working in a quarry digging and loading trucks with sand and gravel with a front end loader. (We moved to Ventura in 1984)

1985 ~ Still living in Ventura, California with our boys in Kindergarten and 2nd grade. We’ve met some lifetime great friends at Bible Fellowship Church in Ventura, Dr. Dave and Jody. I’m pregnant with baby #3 and Dear’s father Rex passes away in October before Katie is born. She comes early on December 27th. Katie is delivered by our friend Dr. Dave who is doing his residency at the County Hospital in Ventura. We dropped our boys off at Dr. Dave and Jody’s and picked up Dr. Dave to go to the hospital so he could deliver Katie. It really was great having a good friend deliver our little girl.

1991 ~ Living in Bothell, Washington for 3 years. Verna my widowed MIL is living with us. I was very busy with a Cleaning Business helping to put Dear through school. Verna filled in the gaps watching the kids when I wasn’t there. We moved to Washington so Dear could complete his B.S. degree and attend Pharmacy School at the University of Washington. GO HUSKIES! Our friends Dave and Jody had moved back to Washington for Dave to start a Family practice so we had great friends already in Washington which made our transition easier moving so far from our families.

1994 ~ Dear has completed his schooling and a residency program and is finally getting a great income working full time for a Start Up Biotec Firm in Seattle. I’m looking forward to retiring from my house cleaning business. The kids and I take a trip to Los Angeles to be with family and attend as many World Cup games and activities we can. Dear joins us for part of this trip.

1996 ~ This was a year of many trials by fire for us. We had a major landslide behind our home up to the foundation of the house. We walked away from our 4600 square foot home and all of our equity because the landslide threatened the foundation and stability of the house and the price tag for sinking pilings and stabilizing the land around the home became more than we could ever afford. We had a mother in law apartment in the basement of this home where Dear’s mother lived. We had to find other arrangements for her, also. We started the life of moving yearly from one rental home to another. I began homeschooling Katie who was socially persecuted at school. She was in a gifted program and at recess the other girls in this program called her the germ and told anyone who played with her that they would get infected. Her persecution was very hurtful but the decision to homeschool her was a wonderful healing experience for all of us.

1997 ~ My MIL Verna died in May. Our oldest son graduated from high school in June and in the August headed off to Westmont College in Santa Barbara, Ca. It was a very emotional year of separations for me. In the fall we had to move to our second rental home.

1998 ~ Moved to our third rental home and within a month were informed the owner would be selling it out from under us. Not wanting to face moving all our stuff again we made an offer on the house and it was accepted. Then miracle of miracles the bank gave us a loan with no hassles. We were living in a home of our own again. We thought this would be impossible so soon because of defaulting on a loan and giving a previous home back to the bank. But for some reason (God) the bank chose not to ding us with that on our record. Nothing showed up about our default. 2nd son in his senior year of high school. Daughter in last year of junior high.

2002 ~ Oldest son is married to his High School sweetheart for one year. Husbands company bought by Amgen. His department moved to Thousand Oaks, California. Dear decides not to move. He took some time off and then was called to work as a contractor for Amgen. During his time off Dear and I took a winter trip to London over Valentine’s day. What a wonderful time just tubing into London each day from So. Kensington. We also took a train to attend a Worship Conference at Tim Hughes’ church outside of London. Another day trip we took was out to Cambridge that was so beautiful and very cold. While staying in So. Kensington we discovered a great drink, a Kensington Dream, that Dear watched the bartender make and still makes for me once in a while here in the states. He’s threatening to post the recipe on my blog soon. Hopefully I won’t lose many readers cuz I enjoy a hearty drink here and there (in moderation if you please…) 🙂

2006 ~ Another year of big changes for us. Dear’s contracting days in Washington ended and he made the decision to finally take a full-time job with Amgen in Thousand Oaks. We decided not to sell our home in the Seattle area but to let our 2 adult children who aren’t married yet live in it and take care of it while Dear and I live in Southern California. We ended up buying a one bedroom condo in So. Cal. We had already planned a trip to Britain for a walking tour with our good friends Dave, Jody, Bob and Jan and when Greg accepted the company’s offer for employment he made sure they were ok with his leaving for 2 weeks just after starting his job. What a great tour of Britain it was and we’re so happy we stuck to the plan.

Change has really been the theme of life for us over the last couple of years. We are learning not to hang on to tight to whatever situation we are in today. We know who holds our future and we are working more and more on trusting Him with it!

Boy if you made it through all of this congratulations! If you feel like playing this meme let me know ….

In Other Words Tuesday ~

This Tuesday Sting My Heart is hosting “In Other Words”, a meme that originated on Christian Women Online. A quote is chosen by the host to consider and we are invited to write our “take” on the quote. Here is the quote that was chosen for Tuesday August 14th.

“Blessed Be Your name
When I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name…”
~ Matt Redman ~

Psalm 34:19 ~
Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Isaiah 43:1-3

But now, this is what the Lord says-
he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel;
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior….”

Isaiah 43:18-19~
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

So God promises to bring us through the wilderness. He does not abandon us. We can cling to these next great promises for our future…

Isaiah 35: 9,10 ~
But only the redeemed will walk there,
and the ransomed of the Lord will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Romans 15: 4~
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

So I hope these verses encourage you to know that in the midst of our wilderness times, our times in the desert, and times of affliction (which are inevitable here on this earth), our hope, the promise that sustains us and lets us say “blessed be the Lord” is that Jesus has gone before us on this wilderness road and He promises because of his saving grace to bring us through our wilderness to our amazing gift in the future in heaven with Him. We have a future with Him without “sorrow and sighing.”

Romans 15:13 ~
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Blessed be His Name!

If you’d like to read more thoughts on this quote go over to Sting my Heart…

Eight Random Things Meme

Guide lines: List eight random things or habits about yourself. At the end of your post, select eight people to follow suit

Susanna Rose from Mommy, Inc. has tagged me for a meme. Something I learned from her meme is that she is named after Susanna Wesley and she puts marshmallows in her tea! Here we go then….

1. If someone offered me a free trip anywhere I’d go to The British Isles again and again….

2. I was raised Semi-Kosher. We did not eat pork or shell fish and even avoided butchers who used the same knives to cut beef and pork. I’ve seen the light and read Peter’s vision in Acts 10, so I can really enjoy BLT’s now.

3. I really enjoy soccer (World Cup 2004 post coming soon). I like to watch World Cup Soccer Games live so I’ll get up at the crack of dawn to do that.

4. All my children are adults now, 2 sons and a daughter. My oldest son is married. They all live in Washington State. Dear and I are in California where Dear is working right now but we would both love to be back in Washington State.

5. We own 3 Toyotas. The 1992 Corolla has 240,000 miles, the 1999 Camry has 125,000 miles and the 2007 Camry has 7500 miles. They are all original to us. We run them into the ground before we give them up.

6. I’ve developed this new habit/hobby called blogging. Since I’ve started blogging curious people have come out of the woodwork wondering what I do all day or how many hours I spend blogging.

7. I sat in the press box at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles with Elton John’s mother and a few others during his concert there in 1975. All I can say is that it was so darn loud I couldn’t see straight. I tried stuffing T.P. in my ears but it didn’t help. I was used to loud music but I’m saying this was over the top hurt your ears and head loud! I’m not sure the bragging rights are worth it especially since the only thing I remember about it was his mother and my poor ears…

8. I have a habit of conversing in song lyrics at times. So if I leave a comment on your blog that sounds vaguely familiar and lyrical you’ll know what I’m up. You should know though if someone does that you’ve got a friend. So if you need a commenter you just call, call out my name, and you know wherever I am I’ll come runnin to comment again…

Oh my who to tag? As I always say ignore this if you’d like and if you play give me a holler so I can read your randomness!

High School Meme ~ Memories

Montebello High School is located in the San Gabriel Valley approximately 8 miles east of Downtown Los Angeles. Its famous alumni include tennis champion Jack Kramer, baseball great Bobby Knopp, basketball player and coach Jerry Pimm, Nobel Prize winner Bruce Merrifield, actors Edward James Olmos and Jack Larson, and California Democrat Party Chairman Art Torres.

I saw this meme over at Fiddledeedee. Dee Dee got it from another blogger. You know how that goes. Since High School was 39 years ago I’ll see how my memory is holding up. Yikes did I say 39 years ago…2007 minus 1968 = 39, Ouch! Have fun at your 20th year reunion (oops I mean 30th!) Dee Dee!

1. Who was your best friend? My best friend in Junior High and High School was Judy T. and Nanc M. (I want to respect their privacy so no last name even though they’re married).

2. Did you play any sports? I did enjoy sports. I was part of G.A.A. (Girls Athletic Association). I didn’t play any organized sports on an actual team, just in Phys Ed.

3. What kind of car did you drive? I drove whatever second hand car was available. I didn’t have my own old jalopy till college.

4. It’s Friday night. Where were you? Football games, basketball games, or baseball games. I was a Song-Leader part of the Pep Squad so I attended most every sporting event and cheered and danced away! I lost about 5 lbs. (water weight) every Friday night!

5. Were you a party animal? No, I really didn’t see the point of parties.

6. Were you considered a flirt? Not typically. I did get along with boys and sometimes better than I got along with girls.

7. Were you in the band, orchestra or choir? Cheer Squad was my gig. I was part of the Russian Baptist Youth Choir.

8. Were you a nerd? Nope, not smart enough to be a nerd!

9. Were you ever suspended or expelled? Never!

10. Can you sing the fight song? “Long ago she rose and stood, Montebello dear old high, Mid the sunlight’s golden flood, Montebello dear old high, Where the blue and gold flag flies, sheltering splendid enterprise, neath California’s summer skies, Montebello dear old high.” That doesn’t sound to fight songish. I think the fight song was more along the lines of “On Montebello, on Montebello, Fight on for your team da da da da da da da…..

11. Who was your favorite teacher? Mrs. Sawyer ~ English

12. What was your school mascot? Ollie the Oiler

13. Did you go to the Prom? We had a Junior/Senior Prom. I went to the prom in my junior year but not my senior year. Our prom was at the now demolished Ambassador Hotel (where Bobby Kennedy was assasinated). My date took me to the Coconut Grove for the pre-prom dinner and show and we saw the Righteous Brothers.

14. If you could go back, would you? No way, no how, well…maybe just to set the things right.

15. What do you remember most about graduation? The tiring all night party at a bowling alley and the senior trip I took with my best buddies right after graduation.

16. Where were you on Senior Skip Day? We did not have a senior skip day.

17. Did you have a job your senior year? Yes, I worked for Link-Belt as an office assistant. I got off school half-day because I had enough credits.

18. Where did you go most often for lunch? Cafeteria with my sack lunch that my mom made for me every day.

19. Have you gained weight since then? Mercy, mercy me! Yes, anywhere between 10 – 60 with pregnancies, etc. Right now I weigh 26 more pounds than I did in High School. I’d like to get that down to 20.

20. What did you do after graduation? I attended University of Redlands and then Cal-State Los Angeles, both in Southern California. I graduated with a degree in Home Economics and a k-8 teaching credential.

21. What year did you graduate? I graduated from high school in 1968.

22. Who was your Senior Prom Date? Senior year no one, Junior year with Adam M.

23. Are you going/did you go to your 10 year reunion? I went to my 10 year and my 30 year. There weren’t enough of my old buddies at the 30 year reunion :(. I was happy to see the few that were there.

Please feel free to play along! Then let me know if you do…

5 Random Questions Meme

Angie from The Toybox Blew Up tagged me for a question meme. The rules? Simple, she posed 5 random questions for 5 different bloggers who answer them and come up w/ 5 new random questions for 5 more lucky people….and so the cycle of the meme continues on and on! Thanks, Angie. I hope I can come up with 5 questions to pass along…

So here’s Angie’s 5 questions for Leslie, Linda, Ellen, Kim, and

1. You are given the chance to produce something that would help moms around the world… money and outlandishness not an issue… what would it be? I would produce an extra set of hands for mom so she can keep more than 2 kids in tow and multitask.

2. You can star in anything you want (stage, radio, tv, etc…) what would your dream role be? My dream role would be Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.

3. What’s a *secret* talent that you have that would make you the life of the party? I can dance up a storm when no one is watching.

4. What was one of your biggest successes? failures? One of my biggest successes was finishing college and getting a teaching job. One of my biggest failures was not being good at submitting to authority.

5. Name something you despise doing, and what creative excuse/method do you use to get someone else to do the dreaded task. I despise confrontation, especially face to face. I try to avoid these situations by pretending there isn’t a problem. I’ve tried writing letters in the past to deal with this but that is not the best solution. Face to face problem solving is the best method for resolution.

Now here are my 5 random questions:

1. God has decided to send you on a Mission trip, where are you going and why?

2. You have a free afternoon to read uninterrupted. Where would you choose to read?

3. You get to choose where your kids will go to college, money and grades are not an issue. Where would you want them to go and why? If you don’t have kids where would you have wanted to go to college if money and grades were not an issue?

4. If you were stuck in an elevator for over an hour what music would you want playing while you were stuck?

5. You have to travel from the west coast to the east coast of your country, what 5 cities would you want to spend time in?

I guess I’m going to tag Lana, Kathie, Sara, Bee, and Kim. Ladies if for any reason you choose not to participate there are absolutely no worries… 🙂

If you do play make sure you send me your link so I can see your answers. Blessings…

First Name, First Letter, Meme

Saw this meme over at Karen’s Simply A musing blog. She double-dared anyone to try it, so what’s a dare-devil to do… Now that you’ve read this, consider yourself double-dared, too! The game is SCATTERGORIES…it’s harder than it looks! Here are the rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following. They MUST be real places, names, things…NOTHING made up! If you can’t think of anything, skip it. Try to use different answers if the person before you had the same 1st initial. You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

Your Name: ~ Ellen
1. Famous Singer/Band: ~ Enya
2. 4 letter word: ~ Easy
3. Street: ~ Elm
4. Color: ~ Ecru
5. Gifts/Presents: ~ Earrings
6. Vehicle: ~ Explorer
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: ~ Ewer, Extinguisher, Exotic items, Exit sign, Emblems (Okay I went overboard with this one)
8. Boy Name: ~ Earl
9. Girl Name: ~ Elizabeth
10. Movie Title: ~ Escape from Alcatraz
11. Drink: ~ Elderberry Wine
12. Occupation: ~ Engineer
13. Celebrity: ~ Dale Evans
14. Magazine: ~ Easy Home Cooking
15. U.S. City: ~ Englewood
16. Pro Sports Teams: ~ Evesham United
17. Reason for Being Late for Work: ~ Emotional meltdown
18. Something You Throw Away: ~ Egg shells
19. Things You Shout: ~ Enuf!
20. Cartoon Character: ~ Elmer Fudd