shillyshara's Xanga

Friday, November 06, 2009

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:05:54 GMT

For those of you who are not already aware, I'm switching from xanga back to blogger. Partly because xanga is blocked at work and blogger is not (hehe), and partly because I've entered a new phase of life (i.e. marriage), and a new blog seemed appropriate. I've created a new blog, as opposed to resurrecting the old one. Feel free to check it out at http://shillyshara.blogspot.com. The goal is to stop blathering about myself and start thinking about deeper things. We'll see how well this goes!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:45:11 GMT

If I were into titling my blogs, I'd call this one "Fun with Vacations". I was pondering the other day about who all Daniel and I want to visit in the coming year.

my folks/maternal relatives - Phoenix, AZ
his folks - Columbia, MO
his sister/bro-in-law - Kansas City, KS
my sister/bro-in-law - Buena Park, CA
his maternal relatives - Katy, TX
more maternal relatives - San Antonio, TX
his paternal relatives - south Houston, TX

And I only have 2 weeks of vacay a year! ::sigh:: Good thing they're all really gracious about the time we are able to give. Will there ever come a time again when I can spend all the time I want with family?

Friday, August 28, 2009

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 01:27:08 GMT

Taking suggestions for car names! Options/suggestions so far:

Rudy
Rudolph
Ruby
Lucy
Rojo (red in spanish)
Rouge (red in French)
Rosso (red in Italian)
Rot (red in German)
Vermelho (red in Portuguese)
Tomato (pronounced "toe-mahtto")
Something to do with Communism
Linux

Anything else? No official name will be chosen until I receive my license and registration, so we have time to chat.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:21:08 GMT

Out with the old...

and in with the new!

That's right folks, I am now a statistic: I traded in my "clunker" -- 1998 Ford Explorer -- for a 2010 Ford Escape while in A-town for seester's wedding. The complicated part of this was that the old car's paperwork was still in my mom's name, so technically she had to buy the new car -- that is, she had to fill out the paperwork. Made for some craziness on top of a wedding, but she got everything done on Thursday so that all I had to do was hand over a check and the keys to my clunker when I arrived on Friday. It was sad to leave my Exploder behind, knowing what they will do to it, but I got more money for the trade-in than the car was worth, so there really wasn't a better way to do this.

He's preeeeeeeeety. Now for a name...

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:13:56 GMT

Well, my sister is married! (I'm sure she'll blog about everything later, hehe.) It was a crazy weekend, following a crazy week. I worked four 10-hour days Monday through Thursday so that I could take Friday off and save my own vacation time for my honeymoon. Not being used to this schedule, I was wiped out by the end of each day. Friday morning, I got up waaaaaaaaay too early to drive to A-town. Long story short, I was planning on buying a car there (I'll elaborate in a separate post), so I needed to get there fairly early in order to make it to the scheduled events the rest of the day. I left my apartment at 5:50 in a nasty thunderstorm. I ended up on the wrong freeway at one point because I was in an exit only lane and didn't notice till it was too late. It worked out fine, but it was stressful. A couple years ago, I had a minor "mishap" on the freeway in a thunderstorm, so I was pretty nervous. It poured for most of the first 80 miles/2 hrs of my trip. Not a good start to the day. But, the next 130 miles were perfect. I arrived on schedule to pick up the new car and trade in the old. I headed to the opposite end of town where family was gathering for a pizza lunch. After lunch we had a little time to chill before rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. I took a nap, haha. Rehearsal dinner was really nice... we had some good Texas bbq! I wish my tummy were bigger, because it would have been great to stuff in more tasty meat! D's flight came in late that night, so I had to stay up to go pick him up. Getting up at 5 and not getting to bed till after midnight is not my favorite thing to do, but anything for my love and my family. :)

Saturday wasn't quite as early, but it was definitely just as busy. I got up and showered, and made a quick Sonic run for breakfast before the hairstylist arrived. We -- seester and all 3 of us bridesmaids -- had fun laughing and being girly doing hair and makeup, which was entertaining since the three of them are not super girly. We were late leaving for the venue, but since the wedding can't actually start without the bride, we were right on schedule! We spent some time getting dressed, primping, and taking a few pictures.

The ceremony was beautiful, and I almost cried, hehe. I swore I wouldn't! I did have a maid-of-honor panic moment... I forgot the groom's ring in the bride's room!!! Thankfully, there was a way to work it out without being awkward. My dad and my uncle co-officiated the ceremony, with my uncle taking first shift so my dad could walk seester down the aisle. When they traded places, I grabbed my uncle and quickly explained where it was, and he managed to find it and get it to me in time. Whew! Disaster averted. The reception was lovely, the food was good, the dancing was great, and I think a good time was had by all! After the wedding, the family went back to the hotel to crash.

Sunday we got up and loaded seester's stuff into a truck, and everyone hit the road. D and I headed back to my place via returning the tuxes. We were pretty wiped out and took it easy for the afternoon. I took him to the airport early Monday morning -- getting up early and saying goodbye being my two least favorite activities.

T minus 39 days and counting!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:05:24 GMT

I think God has been trying to teach me something for quite a while now, and I am just not willing to learn. Most of my life, I have had a desire to hear directly from God, whether it be about a decision, or just a very specific lesson for me, or whatever. God, in His infinite goodness, has chosen to force me into a trust and faith that are very foreign to an independent soul such as mine, by never speaking clearly but always whispering through dozens of different sources. My "Christian pride" -- for lack of a better term -- has balked at becoming humble before God's word spoken through sermons, through fellow believers, through life lessons, through books, through whatever. I want to "learn" for myself, to dig in and hear God's voice very specifically. This is somewhat of a catch 22 for me, as I am extremely lazy and don't want to invest the time and energy to pursue Him. Yet I continue to feel resentment and indifference to the lessons learned by those around me. What if God were trying to teach ME through life experiences of others, but I am too proud and lazy to pay attention? This past week I have been trying -- through the grace of God alone -- to be more disciplined in the things I do: chores, cleaning, cooking, personal hygiene, taking care of myself, etc. As I have been mildly successful (again, all glory to God for this... I've been a huge slacker for months) in smaller things, it has made me ponder what other more important areas of discipline God wants me to tackle. My attitude, maybe? Grace for those in situations I can't possibly fathom? Humility to learn hard lessons? A regular quiet time so that I might gather the resources to face this list? Humbling myself (see a theme?) to submit to Godly fellowship in the form of pouring into other believers, more than I have? (Specifically: whether or not to join the YOU group, or attending general hangouts where I feel like an outsider because I feel like everyone else is so close and I'm being left out of fellowship.)

After typing all of this, I see a theme different than the one I intended to ponder. I thought I was learning lessons about discipline, when in reality I need to recognize humility and grace. Maybe they're related. It's so much easier (or so I think) to keep up my "whatever" attitude about things going on. You're pondering a verse and shared it with the rest of it? Whatever. You're struggling with something? Poor thing. Whatever. This is the thought process that sometimes goes through my head, and to be honest, it's not Christ-honoring, nor is it loving to my neighbor. Why is this humility thing such a tough pill to swallow? Why is discipline to take captive my prideful, hateful thoughts so difficult? Why is pursuing the Lord so daunting?

That's where I am this week. Thanks for listening.

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 00:58:26 GMT

I'm all moved in to the new place! But I think most of you knew that by now. D flew out last weekend to help. With the aid of a good friend, the two of them managed to move most of my stuff in one day on Friday, such that only the washer and dryer (plus some other misc. things) needed to be moved Saturday. It was a huge load off my shoulders. D is a wonderful man, and I am so thankful for him!! We got the living room and kitchen into functional shape, and then spent the rest of the weekend relaxing.

The new place has its good things: more space, new carpet, hot water and water pressure, and knowing that D will be here in less than 2 months. But there are a few down sides, as there always are: elephants upstairs, loud AC, not quite enough parking right out front. Guess it's time for me to learn a little patience!

Wedding planning is coming along... just a few small tasks to take care of, and then bring on October 4th! Invitations were mailed this week; it's fun to receive the reply cards! Makes me keep my spreadsheet up-to-date.

Ok, that's all for now. I need to go turn the ceiling fan on so I don't melt, and then pop in a movie to sleep to. Or just wait for D to call.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:51:14 GMT

Well, packing commences this week. That's right, I'm moving again. This will be my 4th apartment in the area since 2006, and I have to tell you that it very likely will not be the last move. So a couple friends are coming over tomorrow while I am at work to start boxing things up. Why pack, when I'm moving a couple hundred yards, you ask? (Everyone keeps asking that... and I'm rather surprised at the question.) It will save everyone quite a bit of time and effort if things are consolidated and organized. Can you imagine grabbing an armful of books and tromping across the courtyard that way, 10 times? Or... picture yourself carrying a slightly heavier box 5 times. See? Efficiency! Time and energy saved. I'm an engineer... it's the way I roll. Plus, the new apartment is not as close as you think, and both are on the second floor, so after going up and down the stairs a few times, I think you will be glad things are organized. It also gives me the chance to purge things that need to go. I toss things out as I'm putting them in boxes, so that there are fewer things to move.

::sigh:: At least I am getting a roommate out of the deal. And he's cute, to boot!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:14:31 GMT

Nothin' new here... lots of work deadlines. Lots of wedding planning (it's coming along!). Lots of missing D. Lots of general craziness. Just wanted to let you know that I'm still alive! I don't want to elaborate on this stuff because I know that it's really annoying to read blatherings about weddings and fiancés and work deadlines unless the author is good enough to make it really entertaining, and I am not that good. So just know that I am still here, reading blogs, thinking about writing my own, and trying to keep my head above water.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:48:06 GMT

There wasn't much of a sermon this weekend at church as it was baptism and communion weekend. But God kind of spoke to me about hope, and He used the hymn "In Christ Alone", particularly the verses I have below...

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

I was reminded that He alone is my source of hope; not my beloved, not TVC, not DFW, not family, not friends. None of these things are worth holding onto so tightly. Only Christ alone can satisfy, can comfort, can save me from myself. God is not limited to my immediate circumstances or surrounding. He was, He is, He will be. He has complete control over the entire universe. This includes my own uncertain future. He will not abandon me. He will be with me, and it will be for His glory, and for my good. Nothing I can do will change His love for me, or His plan for my life.