I just started reading Lord of The Rings and I haven't even read through the entire prolouge and it's already an amazing book. I am in awe of how JRR Tolkien was able to create this world of his own, with so much history behind it, and with all that detail. I have already learned so much about the story and the Hobbits.
I am glad that I have seen the movies before I read the book because it helps to visualize certain places when they are named and I can actually prononce the names. Hehe. Anyway, I will probably be posting about my journey through LOTR and if any of you have read it, would love to discuss it with you as well. And this might also keep me accountable to reading the book consistantly.
In other news...
I have updated a few of my other sites, one blog and one website, feel free to check them out. I love to share what's happening in my life. :)
As I sit at my desk with little to do this morning, it has given me time to reflect on this past year. Normally I don't do this in the middle of the year, but seeing as how so much has happend since January 1 I can't help but think about the amazing things that God has done in mine and Kirk's life, in our friends lives and our family's lives. Since January we have been witnesses to 4 weddings, been apart of two engagements, seen a child born, seen the creation of 2 new babies in the making, seen a friend nearly die and recover, seen friends and family move to different parts of te world, go on mission trips, and so on... and it's only July 24th.
July 24th! Holy cow, it's almost August! We are 80 days away from our due date... possibly 66 since I hear that half of pregnancies happen two weeks before their expected due date... wowwy! Where has this year gone? I find myself reflecting a lot these days. Knowing that mine and Kirk's life will be changing dramatically very soon and beginning to grasp on to the fact that we will no longer have time to ourselves. That we have another human being that we are fully responsible for, who's spritual life will be determined by how we live in front of him, who's view of what a husband should look like will be determined by how I respond to my own husbands leadership and how well my husband leads me. No pressure...hehe. Each morning is different for me, hormones they are a raging. Some mornings I wake up with an overwhleming amount of joy, others I wake up sad for some reason and on those rare mornings I wake up not wanting to see or talk to anyone because I want to slap someone. This morning was more of a downer, I woke up, got ready, even had the opportunity to have a morning drink with my husband while we were waiting for breakfast to be done, and I said nothing. When he left I felt like I could cry because didn't kiss him goodbye. I was more focused on my stupid bagel. What a lame-o. Why was this morning any different than those while he is still in bed? I often long for those mornings of getting ready together, having long talks about nothing in the morning and then kissing him goodbye as he walks out the door. I hate it when I miss opportunities like this one.
Anyway... reflection... this year...
My mom and Mike moved up north this year, which is still a pretty large adjustment. It's wierd, even though Kirk and I moved away almost two years ago, I have always had the luxury of driving two hours to go and see them and now, we have to actually plan a time to get together so that one of us can purchase a plan ticket. I don't like that. It was especially hard these past couple of months when I was in the desert almost every weekend for two months for wedding stuff and I didn't get to see my mom once. What most people don't realize is that my mom and I have become really great friends since I became an official adult and even more so since I got married. Don't get me wrong, she still has the mother role down in my life and I have the utmost respect for her, but we have reached a different level of relationship that I know I will never have with anyone else in my life, because she is the only mother that I have. :) All that to say, I really miss my mom and wish we could live close again, but I guess that this is something that we all need to experience on some level in some point of our lives.
Our relationships here in San Diego have grown closer. I am so grateful for our friends. They are truly unique people. Not because they are all corky in their own special way, but because they hold an overwhelming sense of love and compassion for Kirk and I. There is a couple specifically who have welcomed us into their family and treated us like they've known us for years that help make this ongoing transition even easier. I am so grateful for them. We have a weekly gathering with another couple who we love dearly and I am super grateful for that time as well. As usual, we have loved having Summer, Assad and the boys here. They are a staple for us. A little taste of home. And now Chris and Melissa have moved out here, life is good. I would love for a couple of other friends to move out here, but that may take a little longer than I would think or like for that matter.
I think that's all the time I have for reflecting at the moment, I've got some stuff I need to get to. That was fun though. Also, the picture above was taken by Gina, she's pretty amazing.
After checking the latest updates in my little LJ bubble, I was inspired by Serena who recognized that she had not posted in awhile and realized that I am in the same boat. it has been a long while since I posted anything of significance. I don't really know who still reads my journal or who even cares to, but ultimately I know this journal is more of a reflection for myself than others and I just choose to make it public. :)
My "desk job" will officially be over in about 2 and a half, 3 months and I can't even begin to describe how super excited I am about that. I will be taking maternity leave before I go and then I will most likely give my resignation. However, they are going to hold my position for me in case I decide I would like to come back. They will "temporarily" hire someone to cover me until I officially make that decision, but I think it's pretty sweet that they want to honor my choices before they go and make a decision for me. The actual coming to work thing has been really difficult these past few months, I feel that my boss is preparing for me to leave and as a result of that is treating me differently. Not like he's kicking me out of the door, but just that he has less respect for me and less confidence in my abilities to carry out my tasks. I feel like there is something new everyday that I can complain about because he just doesn't affirm me like he used to. I now realize that I need to be told that I am doing well in my job or that I can handle my responsibilities without someone needing to constantly remind me what I need to do. It has become a pet peeve of mine to have someone constantly checking up on me to see if I have finished a task. I interpret that as someone not trusting that I will get the job done. This is also something that I have communicated to my boss but he just doesn't know how to quit micro managing. I have told him how it affects me also and it obviously hasn't made a difference. I guess that's why I feel like I am not being respected as much, because no matter how much I try to explain how certain ways of managing make feel and how they beat down my confidence it doesn't make a difference. There are about a million other things that I can describe that make me feel like crap while I'm at work, but I am going to choose not to for the sake of my own sanity while I am still here. :) You can pray for me in that area, because it's hard to tolerate stuff around here.
This past weekend was so awesome because I got to witness two of my closest friends get married. Not only that, but both Kirk and I got o stand up for them in their party and it was such an honor to be given that role. I think the wedding was wonderful and that it ran smoothly. I was a little worried about some people and how they would act, but I think everything and everyone did well. There's always certain people that can make things difficult at a wedding, unfortunately I had to deal with that kind of stuff at my own wedding so I know how distracting and frustrating it can be when it's supposed the best day of your life. Anyway, Melissa looked absolutely fabulous and Chris was very handsome. Now they are out here in San Diego and we have been able to spend the past couple of days with them helping get their home ready and then yesterday hanging out at the zoo. I am really looking forward to having them closer to us, because this weekend (and the past four weekends at that) have made me realize how much I miss their company. They make me smile and laugh and we are able to be very open and honest with each other, which Kirk and I don't have a lot of with other couples. They leave Thursday morning on their honeymoon and I know that they will have the best time... honeymoon's are the greatest.
Well, I think that that is a pretty good update, if I think of anything else I will be sure to add some more, but for now I think that this works.
~LYNZ~ :)
Their wedding was absolutely beautiful and seemed to go pretty flawless. Melissa looked beautiful, Chris looked very handsome. Watching those two as they were saying their vows was a little surreal, imagine what it felt like for them. This has been three years in the making... freaking awesome! I love these two so much and am so excited for them and am even more excited (selfishly) that they are now living in San Diego. We have already been able to spend some really awesome time with them in their new home and I think that they are going to do very well living here. God has truly blessed us by bringing friends out to this area and not just any friends, but our closest ones. First Summer and Assad and now Chris and Melissa. Who's next on that list? Hehe. Anyway, Congratulations my friends and I know that you new life together will be so wonderful and filled with love.
I put together a website for little Elijah. Feel free to check it out. That's where I'm doing all of my updates and whatnot during this pregnancy and hopefully will continue as he grows. :)
I'm just going to put these photos all in one post. I learned from
this project that if I have to take pictures of people I prefer to take candid shots. So for this afternoon, I followed a friend and her two boys around her home as they played and got into anything and everything possible. The biggest critic on these photos was the lighting coming through the trees. When it comes to editing photos, I realized it makes it very difficult to have different strengths of lights splattered throughout the photo. Oh, well... that's how you learn.
This photo was taken at my Mom's most recent birthday party. It was a lot of fun and I figured I could get some good shots out of the night. The counter top of this bar reflected the shot glasses really well, and I felt like I caught a good photo of the most expensive bottle of liquor in the placed being poured into glasses to only see seconds of life before being thrown down into the mouths of some very happy people.
This next photo was taken while I was in Minnesota and it wa a pretty amazing day out. I didn't to much to capture this shot unfortunately, but I think it came out pretty neat. However, I don't think my photo teacher felt the same. I like the fact that the sun was really bright and very in your face... he felt differently.
This is the first of my Vantage point assignment. I took this photo in Las Vegas and have had some good feed back on it so I decided to turn it in. I took this photo with a longer exposure because it was taken at night and I wanted to try to capture the awesome-ness of this feax-Eiffel Tower.
on Flight of the Conchords- Business Time