We got the Christmas tree taken down and all that’s left is vaccuuming up the big pile of pine needles where it used to be as well as the trail going toward the door. We are soooooo having a fake tree next year.

After the tree was taken down, we had family naptime with Jon and I snuggled under the covers and the cats curled up on top of us. The cats then helped me strip sheets and make the bed. They are very helpful creatures. 🙂

In Sunday School today, I needed something to do with my kids that did not involve “Veggie Tales” or “Little Dogs on the Prairie” (prairie dogs talking about faith issues — very cute). My solution: since it’s Candlemas today, I drew a picture of a candle for them to color. This went over *VERY* well. My little ones *love* to color and though I couldn’t convince them that it wasn’t a birthday candle, they loved my badly-drawn candle. I’m already plotting — I mean planning next week’s picture.

I’m a bit less angsty than I was last night. I applied for a few jobs on Monster, called the LCMS congregation that is sitting on my secretarial app from last fall to see if there was any progress, got part of a stripe on my scarf done,got some layout changes on my candidacy blog up, and actually had a healthy dinner (spinach salad with feta cheese, mandarin oranges, and walnuts). My financial paperwork for next year came today, as did my unemployment paperwork. I’m aiming to mail in the unemployment stuff tomorrow. My in-laws have been trying to tell me that filing unemployment is a way to stick it to the government and keep them from being able to afford nukes for the war in Iraq. If it were the federal government paying it, that would make sense. However, I don’t think the State of Ohio is buying any nuclear weapons any time soon.

Thank you to those who commented. There’s always the fear that when you lay yourself out bare, that someone is going to say something hurtful; and I’m thankful that I have people who support me and remind me of the strength that I can draw upon.

I do get angsty from time to time, partially because I’m in a weird position this year. It’s kind of like having a glass placed over me on the walk of life — I’m stuck in one place for a period of time and I can’t proceed until the glass is lifted. I can’t believe that my time in Newark is half-over and that in 6 months, we’ll be back in Cols or in St. Paul. It’s also been a stressful year because it’s our first year of marriage (living with someone is always strange for the first year), I’m doing my candidacy process for ordained ministry this year, I’m trying to narrow my options down for seminary, and this is the first year since I was 4 that I haven’t been a student. This was supposed to be a year of rest and November 24 to January 24th was not restful in the least. I’m praying that the secretary job does come through because it’s not as stressful as retail was.

Off to create a few bookcases!

OK… it was [like] the BEST game. The Raiders actually did score a few TD’s in the 2nd half but they were no match for the Bucs. The Halftime show wasn’t great (well… Shania Twain was but No Doubt and Sting weren’t all that great) but it was an exciting 4th quarter.

The best part: THE RAIDERS LOST!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well… it’s the half time of the Super Bowl. Tampa Bay is winning — they’re playing the OTHER Bay Area team, so I’m pretty jazzed. Some highlights thus far:
-the commercials!!!!!
-Celine Dion singing “God Bless America”
-the Dixie Chicks singing the national anthem — ohmigosh!!!! Such a tear jerker because they did it so well and the harmony was so awesome.
-the fact that Tampa Bay is leading right now!!!!

Well… the virus given to me by my in-laws has reared its ugly head. I woke up yesterday with severe stomach pain and had to have Jon call me in sick to work. (I’m amazed that I’m still working there since I’ve been out more days than I’ve been in this month.) I spent the day praying that it wasn’t a.) a Crohn’s flare up or b.) appendicitis since appendicitis is a hereditary condition in my family. (I’m the only one of my cousins over the age of 21 that hasn’t had it on my mom’s side. Mom is the only one of her siblings who hasn’t had it.) Oh yes… Jon’s scar from his scalp surgery started bleeding profusely yesterday morning so when he woke me up for help, he was covered with blood from his head to his waist. (I got the bleeding stopped and the doctor on call told me that I’d done all the right things and to get him stitched up if he started bleeding again.)

If I’m not on a lot in the next few days, it’s because I’m in bed. I have to work Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday this week and I’m praying that I can get through all of those shifts. I worked on the 11th and barely made it through my shift after the first part of this virus.

This morning, I tuned into the religious channels (PAX and EWTN) for some edification since I missed church for the first time since August. (I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve missed church in the last two years if that tells you anything.) On PAX, they were playing some Vineyard settings of Psalms. On EWTN, there was a speaker on teaching teens about sex and dating. I then caught part of Mass before turning off the TV to engage in some LBW Matins. Jon brought me Communion which was really nice. (There are some advantages about being married to a pastoral intern.)