In Memory...

An odd thing happened last week. My Uncle Malcolm (uncle by marriage) posted a bulletin on myspace.com through his nephew's site. It was a plead. Apparently, Sam had been missing for 72 hours and his family didn't know of his where abouts. Knowing Sam is an avid cyclist, hiker and photographer I figured that he must be out doing just that. So I said a little prayer. Today I wondered, hum, I wonder how Sam is, if anyone has found out where he had been. Unfortunately, Sam McFarlane was found, just not in the condition that his family was praying for. Wednesday, September 19th, Sam McFarlane (my cousin by marriage) was found dead in a ravine in New Mexico. This is extremely tragic. And I will forever remember the time that I was able to hang with and get to know him while visiting my aunt and uncle a few years ago in Santa Fe.


Below is his obituary as printed in the Albuquerque Journal:
Obituary for MCFARLANE
Published in the Albuquerque Journal on Monday September 24, 2007
Samuel Sanders McFarlane, 27, a resident of Albuquerque and graduate student at UNM in Photography and an avid cyclist, went home with Jesus on Wednesday, September 19, 2007. He is survived by his parents, Graham and Lee McFarlane of Dallas; brothers, Joshua Jemison McFarlane and wife, Emma of Memphis, TN and Benjamin Williams McFarlane and wife, Jill of Kalispell, MT; nieces, Violet Kathleen McFarlane, Eve Leeann McFarlane; nephew, Josiah Benjamin McFarlane; grandparents, Eva and Bill Jemison, Jr. of Memphis, TN; aunts and uncles, Gay and Mike Rhodes, Julie and Bill Jemison III, Jan and Roger Possner, Bonnie Rivers, Cheryl and Don Bartlett, Carla and Raymond Roy, and Megan and Malcom McFarlane; and many cousins. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Frances and John McFarlane of Atlanta, GA. We grieve at the loss of our beautiful Samuel, but we are assured he is in the arms of Jesus having passed over the Crystal River and upward into the Celestial City. He was such a light. He loved beauty, the mountains, his brothers, his friends. He was a gentle soul who portrayed creative majesty and love in the brilliant way of photography. He was so gifted but too tender for this world. We picture him dancing with Jesus, never more alive, never more home, never more happy. He would want to tell you to never give up hope, life is fragile, life is precious, and there is always joy in the morning. He was a precious son whose name Samuel means, "Heard of God." Truly God has heard our prayers for Samuel and we who live with the joy and expectant hope of saving faith in Jesus Christ our Lord are looking forward to being with Samuel again in the City of God. Services will be held on Monday, September 24, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. at French Mortuary - Lomas Blvd. NE, 10500 Lomas NE. The family would love to see and welcome as many members of his University of New Mexico community as can attend. Interment in the mountains is expected to follow. French Mortuary, Inc. 10500 Lomas Blvd. NE 505.275.3500 www.frenchmortuary.com

If you are interested in viewing some of Sam's photography please stop by his website at www.sammcfarlane.com.

Please pray for peace and healing for the McFarlane family during this hard time.

Honore Wedding

On September 15th I attended a wedding. A very hotie, totie wedding held in my home town. The groom was a classmate of mine, and his family are good family friends. Here are a few pictures for you. Sorry, none are of the bride and groom...

Me before hand.


(Hilmar) Cheese display. Yummmm...cheese...


My and my BFF. She's getting married in 2 1/2 weeks!


My BFF and her Fiance!

House Update

Update on the house for you with pictures!...

1. The kitchen is completely gutted. Well, except for the dishwasher that is bolted to the floor. Here is a picture of the before.


2. The bathroom is completely gutted. Even the spot where the medicine cabinet sits in the wall.


3. The doors that are propped against the wall in the living room are now hung with care.


4. The lone chest sitting in the middle of the living room has been cleaned up and stained and painted.


5. All of the windows have been replaced.

Ok, so I don't have current up-to-date photos, but I will. Camera battery died though :(

On the road again

Today I pack. Tomorrow I travel to Lake Tahoe. Yeah!

If you need to find me, I'll be staying in this cabin:

But I'm guessing if it's urgent the cell phone would be a better option.

Please pray for safe travel. Safe bachelorette party celebrating. Good weather (it's supposed to be in the 60's all weekend with some raining). And good times had by all.

Is red the new yellow?

This is a typical scenario that I've witnessed lately:
I'm driving in town, going from here to there. Having a red stop light I, as the law abiding citizen, stop. My light turns green. Green means go, right? Wrong. I've got to wait because vehicles decided to just blow right through their red light.

How does that happen? What makes a person think it's ok to throw caution to the wind and risk their life, and others, and run a light? Honestly! This situation happens to me daily. I know darn well that if I decided go through a light like that a cop would caught me and hand me a fat ticket. So where are the cops for all the rest of these goons? Why is everyone in such a hurry that they can't wait the few extra minutes at a light?

So this is how it apparently looks now:
Green = stop a little longer
Yellow = goes fast
Red = Go, go, go

You can't go wrong...

than spending an evening with friends having dinner. (That'd would be 99% fat free chili for me and regular chili for the rest.) Hanging out. Drinkin' some wine. And relaxing. Nice.

I can see clearly now...

That the dusty, dirty, old, icky windows are gone. Well, almost gone. Don's Mobile glass will start installion of the 21 new windows tomorrow! YEAH! Dad was installing the new back door today. And another truck load was taken to the dump. Tonight, after someone has come and talked to us about what they can do to help with the construction side of things, I'm going to close all the (old) windows and set off some bug bombs. Kill whatever spiders, ants, and other creepy crawlies are left in the house.

I think the fire has finally been lit...

House Update

Slowly little by little things are getting done. And I know I told you that I'd post pictures, and I will, I promise! So here's what we got done over the weekend:
-Load of cabinets and counters to the dump
-New front door installed!!!
-Cabinets in utility room knocked out (I did it all by myself)
-Spray painted the new layout on the floor (dad said he wanted to see it drawn out...)
-Windows are all in at Don's, now to just schedule them to come install
-Took a trip to Lowe's with family. Nothing was purchased, but one thing was accomplished. Dad said to just go ahead and schedule Lowe's to come measure for cabinets to have them install them. Got prices for bathroom stuff, now to just have a plan and purchase.
-Construction guy friend going to come tomorrow to look at things and tell us what he can do, what we can do, etc.

Tada! It was a busy weekend at the House. As an incentive (hopefully), I told him I would host appetizers and wine for Thanksgiving. So we'll see...

Weekend Ahead

So as I'm sitting here thinking about my weekend, I'm realizing that I've got quite a bit going on. Let me give you a quick snippet of what I KNOW I'm doing.
- I'm taking a trip to Lowe's to purchase bathroom stuff (toilet, tub, vanity w/ sick, etc.). Hopefull this will be happening tonight, but it depends on how dad is feeling after a routine procedure he's having done this morning. If not, tomorrow afternoon or Sunday will be the trip.
- Big giant huge fancy smancy wedding to attend tomorrow evening. We're talking 550 people sit down serve. The groom was a high school classmate, we went through the same confirmation class at church, went to the same college (where he took a few extra years to party), good family friends all around. I'm ready to party like a rock star. (I'll post pictures after the shindig)
- *crossing fingers* Taking a trip to IKEA to purchase couches Sunday.
- Working on house when I can.
- Finish the Oktoberfest invitation, get them to Kinko's to get copies made, finish the labels, and get them in the mail.
- Oh, and I just told HCC Catering (past employer) that I could help set up tomorrow morning for said giant wedding mentioned above. They are desparate for help. I can use some extra money. So why not?
- Church. Let's pray I can make it this Sunday. I've been a heathen lately. Bad me!

Wow, that's all I can think of for now. I'll enjoy the resting while I can get it. Like next weekend in Tahoe...

New Job

Can I just say that I'm thoroughly enjoying my new job! It just dawned on me that today is Thursday. I'm just skating through the week without really caring or worrying what day of the week it is. Now, if I were still working in the VC I would have been counting down the days until Friday starting Monday. Although I've got a lot yet to learn with my new position in QA, I'm enjoying the environment, co-workers, everything. That's all I have to say about that. God does bless those that are patient.

The End.

House Progress

So, here's what we have completed with the house in the past month (pictures to follow later).

- Had a yard sale in August to sell stuff and empty house. Whatever was left over got moved to the church for the church yard sale in October.
- Bathroom completely gutted!
- 75% complete with removing cabinets and counter in kitchen.
- Removed felt pad in living room. Did this mainly to remove any smell being held in it and to reduce dust.
- Removed mid-wall trim and crown molding in kitchen and utility room.
- Purchased new front and back door!
- Central heating and air installed.
- Cabinets, counter, and back splash picked out for kitchen.

There is still a TON to do. We're not even close to the painting stage, but hopefully soon enough we will be. Feel free to stop by if you're in the neighborhood. I'd be happy to give a tour!

September

Time for September's resolutions...

1. Actively seek God in my day to day life, worshiping Him and bring Him glory. Being like Jesus to people. Hold me accountable, please.

2. Change my eatting habits. By doing this it'll be easier to losing weight. There are only 35 days until the wedding that I'm in. I know I can do this!

3. Go somewhere at least an hour away from home - Tahoe here I come!

4. Quit rewarding myself with food. Time to reward myself with something different. A pedicure, manicure, new shirt, or purse, or whatever (and I'm making enough money to do that and not worry too much now!).

5. Exercise. Swim, walk, Bosu ball, anything! I found that Pilates makes me sore = working muscles that need to be worked. Time to do that more often.

6. Have at least one major thing completed on the house. Attempt to have bathroom partially done.

7. Do something BOLD or DARING!

8. Purchase couch for house.

9. Start tanning again. I can't be a white bridesmaid...

Bye Bye August

August Resolution Results

1. Actively seek God in my day to day life, worshiping Him and bring Him glory. Being like Jesus to people. Hold me accountable people, please.
Ok, so I'm a complete heathen. I haven't gone to church in months. Pray for me. I've fallen off the wagon. Not that I'm doing bad things, I'm just not where I was a year ago.

2. Losing weight. Summer is almost over, and I only have 2 months left until my best friend's wedding in October. My goal, which is totally obtainable, is to lose 10 pounds (5 pounds per month) by then. For those of you that I eat out with regularly, please hold me to it.
I don't think I lost any weight. But, I did start walking with Rylen fairly regularly, even in the heat! I feel I'm eating better and exercising, just not getting any results. Grrrr...

3. Go somewhere at least an hour away from home.
I went to IKEA in Sacramento, does that count?

4. Quit rewarding myself with food. Time to reward myself with something different. A pedicure, manicure, new shirt, or purse, or whatever (and I'm making enough money to do that and not worry too much now!).
I don't know how you gauge this one.

5. Exercise. Swim, walk, Bosu ball, anything!
Walking about 3 times a week, or doing pilates. Plus at work alone I walk about 2 miles, no joke I clocked it with a pedimeter.

6. Try to be at the painting stage by the end of the month at the house across the street. Which mind you, as soon as it's done I can move it. But there is lots to do to it.
Yea, who was I kidding. We're not at the painting stage yet. Not even close, but we are closer. I do have a new front and back door, just not installed yet.

7. Do something BOLD or DARING!
Hummmmm.... I don't think I did this. Oh, I bought a plane ticket to go to New York!

Wanna hear a funny story...?

I always knew I was in store for a "funny story" when my college roommate would come home from where ever she had been and would ask me, "Wanna hear a funny story?" Those were great times, times that I will remember and cherish. What's great is that after living 3 years outside of the state, on the other side of the country, she's moving back with her husband and daughter. I was lucky to be one of their stops on the last leg of their trek back from Sacramento to Fresno. It was great to see them, even though it's only been a couple months. My family got to see them, some of whom had never met Macie.

But I do have a funny, no really it was an ahhhh, story for you. I was sitting on the kitchen floor with Macie in my lap while everyone was standing around visiting. Now, mind you, Macie just turned 2 years old. She turned and looked up at me with her big blue eyes and her little sweet voice and said, "I so happy to see you." Ahhhhh, my heart melted and I shed a tear. She's so precious.

But watch out Melissa! I'm gonna get to share with Macie all of her mommy's "funny stories".

Fire Lighting

Have you ever tried lighting a fire under someone's butt to get a move on things, but they really aren't in any hurry? That's where I am right now. I'm trying to suggest a sense of urgency on getting going full speed on the house, but I keep getting turned down. I ask Mom, please call so and so to have them come out and look at things, mainly to get their professional opinion before we do anything detrimental. She doesn't. I ask Dad, what can we do now? What can we knock down? We're about at a stand point until we get answers. He says, draw up some plans on what you'd like to have done. But I want to know what we CAN do before I spend time drawing plans. Grrrr! Don't they understand that once the house is livable that I'll be moving OUT of their house and INTO that one? Crimney!

FACTS and SECRETS

Best, Last, Today, Tomorrow, Favorite, Currently, and True or False.

Best...
1. Friend: my neighbor

2. Cousin: hummm....

3. Things to do: travel

4. Time of Day: super late at night when I get my second wind

5. Day of the week: Friday

6. Food: ice cream

7. Memory: so many, which one do I choose...?

Last...

8. Person you saw: where? right now, my brother

9. Talked to on the phone: Katie, right now.

10. Text: Rylen

11. IMed: ????

Today...

12. What are you doing now: watching Scrubs and filling this out

13. What are you wearing right now? jeans and a cute top (what I wore to work)

14. Better than yesterday? it's Friday, so yes

Tomorrow
15. Is : busy working on the house

16. Plans: maybe dinner with J&A

17. Dislikes about tomorrow? busy working on the house

Currently...

18. Missing: my childhood

19. Mood: easy going, chill, relaxed

20. Wanting: to be done with the house so I can move in

True or False:

[I am a cuddler] true

[I am a morning person] false

[I am a perfectionist] true/false

[I am an only child] false

[I am currently in pajamas] false

[I am shy with the opposite gender] pretty much true

[I can be paranoid at times] true

[I like country music] true

[I enjoy talking on the phone] true

[I have a hidden talent] false

[I have all my grandparents] false

[I have or had broken a bone] true (as long as a toe counts)

[I have changed a lot over the past year] grown, true

[I have done something illegal] true

[I have friends who have never seen my natural hair color] true. But then again if they haven't seen my natural hair, which I've had for awhile, then maybe they aren't truly my friend.

[I have had major/minor surgery] true

[I have had the cops called on me] false

Today
-----------

1. Talk to a boy/girl you like? no

2. Learn anything new? no

3. Talk to an ex? no

4. Miss someone? no

-Last Person-
------------------------

5. Laid in your bed? me

6. Made you cry? mom

7. You went to the movies with? J and G

8. Went to the mall with you? Chris

9. You showered with? no one

10. Who Made you laugh? Paige


--General stuff--
-------------------

11. Favorite location? with friends

12. What are you most scared of this second? never finding love and getting married

13. Where do you want to get married? somewhere pretty and romantic

14. Does anyone like you? doubt it

15. Do you like being around people? most of the time yes

16. Have you ever cried? duh, yes

17. Are you lonely right now? yes

18. Song stuck in your head? nope

19. Been on radio/tv: yes

20. What is your favorite color? turquiose

21. Ever liked someone who treated you like crap? no

22. What color shirt do you have on? purple

23. How much cash do you have on you right now? $1.67

24. Are you bored? yes

25. Whats your favorite show? Grey's Anatomy

26. Who got you to join Myspace? my siblings

27. Wish someone was next to you this morning when you woke up? sure

28. What web sites do you visit the most? myspace, my email, friend's blog

29. Do you have plants in your room? what room?

30. Who was the last person to hug you? Paige

Secrets

1. WHAT IS YOUR DISPLAY NAME ABOUT? my name...

2. WHERE WAS YOUR DEFAULT PICTURE TAKEN? my "room"

3. WHATS YOUR HEADLINE MEAN? exactly what it says

4. HONESTLY, IF SOMEONE WERE TO TELL YOU HOW THEY FELT, WOULD YOU LISTEN? definitely!

5. WHAT'S YOUR MOST VALUED POSSESSIONS? my puppies

6. HOW ARE THINGS IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP? what relationship? friends? going good!

7. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, AND CHANGE SOMETHING, WOULD YOU? of course

8. IF YOU MUST BE AN ANIMAL FOR ONE DAY, WHAT WOULD YOU BE? a turtle...

9. EVER HAD A NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE? I've had a life threatening experience.

10. WHO DID YOU COPY AND PASTE THIS FROM? Abby

11. HAVE YOU EVER SANG IN FRONT OF A LARGE CROWD? yes

12. WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE BOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX? general appearance

13. WHAT DO YOU USUALLY ORDER FROM STARBUCKS?? a 2 shot, tall, non fat, no whip, white chocolate mocha

14. DO YOU STILL WATCH KIDDY MOVIES OR TV SHOWS? sometimes, Disney channel isn't that bad!

15. DO YOU HAVE BRACES? not anymore

16. NAME SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED TO YOU TODAY: I purchased stuff for Rylen's bachelorette weekend... muahahahaha...

17. DO YOU SPEAK ANY OTHER LANGUAGE? spanish, kinda

18. IS THERE SOMEONE ON YOUR MIND NOW? kinda

19.WHAT HURTS YOU AT THE MOMENT? my back aches

A Work in Progress

So a few years back my family purchased the house from an elderly man that lives across the street from us. At the end of May, the man's family finally got him to move into an assisted living facility. So, now comes the remodeling of the house, being as the house hasn't been cleaned in over 30 years. It's a bit disgusting, but with the right TLC it'll be a really cute house. Here are some pictures of the house. Keep in mind, we went in last February and cleaned a majority of the trash (old newspapers, junk mail, to-go boxes) out in a giant dumpster. We had another dumpster a couple weeks ago that collected the rest of the junk/crap/trash.

This first group of pictures (taken end of June, beginning of July) were taken before we went in and cleaned with the 2nd dumpster:
View when you first walked in the back door.


Picture of the kitchen. Just think what it was like before we cleaned out the cabinet.


View from the kitchen down the hallway to the master bedroom. Ick!


Dining room area with builting cabinets. The table last winter was no joke pile about 2 feet tall of junk mail!


Part of the living room. Wouldn't you want to live there?


Picture taken of master bed room. Believe it or not, there is a bed under that pile.


The second group of pictures (take beginning of August) were taken after the bulk of the "stuff" was removed and discarded:

The house from the street. The outside needs work too, mainly just flowers and grass.


View of the living room from the front door. That pile of stuff was all for the yard sale.


Damage above the fireplace.


Shot from inside the master bedroom.


The bathroom. You don't even want to know what it was like before. But this doesn't look good, so you can only imagine...


View from the kitchen to the back door. That stuff is gone, sold in the yard sale.


Back bedroom.


Down comes the antennae.


Wow! Look at all that trash. And yes, we did recycle what we could.


So that is my current project. Now, time to get busy! There is a lot internally structurally that we'd like to do. It's gonna be work, but it'll be great! When it's all done, drum roll please, I'll be moving in! I'll rent from my parents, and after some time either approach them about purchasing it or wait until they split the lots and build another house and purchase that one. That's the plan, it's a pretty darn good one if you ask me.

Success!

The yard sale was a big success! It was pretty much all profit because the stuff didn't belong to us to begin with. We made about $500! That's $500 to go straight into the house.

Yard Sale!

For those of you who are yard sale junkies or like vintage/antique items then stop by on Saturday. My family is having one tomorrow! Most of the stuff is coming from the house across the street from us that we own and are cleaning out. Lots of unique things!

Vintage/Antique 1930's - Current

8467 Acacia Street in Hilmar
(if you know where I live, it's across the street from our driveway)

Starting at 7am - 2pm

Get a hold of me if you have any questions!

Words to Live By: Obedience

o-be-di-ence, noun.
1. acquiescence to a command.
2. an act in submission to authority.
3. fulfillment of an expectation.
4. Biblical: compliance with the voice of authority.
5. Personal: a lifestyle of deference to God's will.

We ought to obey God rather than men.
-Acts 5:29

The Christian man is the freest lord of all and the most obedient servant of all.
-Martin Luther

If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.
-Isaiah 1:19

"Obedience means relying on an authority outside of yourself to know how to fly, to know how to live your lives. You can't trust yourself, so you have to rely upon God, his Word, and the leaders he puts in your life."

Learning obedience is hard. I am a prideful human that has been affected by my forefather, Adam. Adam was disobedient towards God, and his rebellion has passed down from generation to generation and on down to me.

How is one obedient? How does one become obedient? It's actually quite simple, but it's much easier said than down. One is obedient when they submit their will to God and listen to his authority. Even Jesus had to obey, and he was perfect. I struggle with being obedient. And I struggle because I want the instant gratification. I want to be obedient and then quickly receive the fruits of my labor or my rewards. I don't want to wait, I don't want to be patient. But going through that is all part of the learning to be obedient.

For the past year and 9 months, I was working in a position, or department, that I was not happy in. But I knew that if I wanted to stay within the company I needed to just wait it out and pray that a position would become available that would be a perfect fit for me. I was obedient to God, or so I thought. I was the good Christian that was going to church, participating in a Bible Study, befriending strong Christian people, praying, going to Sunday School. You name it, I was doing it. You know what I found out though, works does not equal obedience. Obedience is matching my lifestlye and my heart to God's will for me. As I grew closer and closer to being an obedient person I grew stronger and more encouraged that although my time with my place of employment had not been pleasant, that there was a perfect place for me within it where I feel valued and be valuable.

And here I am now, 3 days into a new position where the people are friendly and understanding of the learning curve that I have. Where they want to see the employees excel and improve. Where I feel valued, yes, even after 3 days. I am where I am now because I was obeying God's command. I am reaping the fruits of my obedience. And boy does it feel good!

Now... let's see how else God will reward my obedience as I continue to obey...

We are born subjects, and to obey God is perfect liberty. He that does this shall be free, safe and happy.
-Seneca