Snuggly Cat

Since I talk about her so much, here is a picture of my snuggly cat/hot water bottle/lap warmer/book rest/purr machine/meow-meow named Licorice.

Thanksgiving Day @ My Parent's

The top picture is me with my mom and dad at their house for Thanksgiving. The bottom one is me at my house. I might upload some more pictures of my house, on the inside later today.

Thanksgiving day was a riot. Had a good time, ate some good food. Can I just say stuffing made from cornbread, pecans and sausage? It was all I could do not to have seconds. Also, had what I am hereby dubbing mashed "fauxtatoes" which was really mashed cauliflower with some other ingredients. It was actually pretty good. If I was more of a mashed potato lover, I might have missed the real thing, but as it was, the "fauxtatoes" were actually pretty good. The turkey was good as well, and I even had a small piece of pumpkin pie. Then, it was time to face the music, and lo and behold, I managed to lose half a pound last week. Not my best week ever, but all things considered...pretty good.

I went and saw "Walk the Line" this weekend, the biography of Johnny Cash, and it was actually pretty good. I thought Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Whitherspoon did a pretty convincing job.

They are talking snow out here tonight, and if I didn't have to work tomorrow, I might be more excited. However, it is really only nice when you get a day off school because of it. Boy, am I turning into my mother.

No other news here, really. Just had a nice, relaxing weekend.
Erin

Update photo

Ok, after popular demand, here is an updated photo of me taken Wed. 11/23/2005. I'll have some more photos on here soon because, as you may have guessed, I finally broke down and bought my own digital camera. So, here you have it....me with 20 lbs. gone.
Erin

Gobble, Gobble

There is the funniest Thanksgiving video here: http://www.msn.americangreetings.com/view.pd?i=382219626&m=1652&rr=y&sou I laughed out loud when I watched it. Speaking of Thanksgiving, I am headed over to mom and dad's in Puyallup tomorrow for the big feast. I had someone ask me at work today what I was going to do regarding food for tomorrow and I have a few plans: 1. Eat only those foods that I can't have any time I want them. Like rolls; I can have those any day, so I will skip them tomorrow. 2. Take a loooong walk tomorrow after dinner. 3. Eat only small amounts of the unhealthy stuff. 4. Eat very lightly, but eat, earlier in the day. Hopefully those tips will keep me on track.

I got an email from pastor Brian yesterday. I had emailed him about the possibility of us partnering with YWAM in the UK. It turns out I might be able to make it back there more than one time this upcoming year. In Harpenden, just north of London, YWAM has a Discipleship Training School (one of 40, if I am not mistaken) and they want a group from our church to come for a week in January to teach and pray with their students. That is an option. Then, in May, ChristChurch Fulham (the church I worked with this summer) is putting on a leadership conference and we might work with them then. So, that is an option too. I am not yet sure I can make it to the YWAM base in January, due to lack of vacation. However, if I cut my "just-for-me" trip in February to a week instead of two or go for the week in Jan. instead of Feb., I can swing the May trip. We'll just have to see. I can't buy my ticket to London for a while yet anyway (whether I go in Jan. or Feb.) which gives me enough time to figure out when I should be going, and which trips I should be going on. I would love, love, love to go in January, I just don't know if I'll have the time to do it. Maybe I could go in January briefly, skip the Feb. trip, and then go again in May. So many options. Regardless, I think whatever I end up doing, I will only go for a week this winter instead of two. That way I can save the rest of the vacation to go again later in the year. I just want to do the right thing. If I DO go in January, I would love to add a day or two onto my trip to head down to London to see folks at ChristChurch. We'll just have to see. Please pray that I would hear clearly what the Lord's will for these trips is. Right now I am leaning towards the Jan. trip, skipping the Feb. trip, and then going again in May. If anyone prayes and the Lord shows them anything, please email me and let me know.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, to all of my American friends!
Erin

Thanksgiving

I hit the 20 lb. total loss mark this week at WW. And, for passing my first goal, I got this cool metal keychain. It is shaped like a lock, which I think is supposed to symbolize the fact that I have unlocked the secret to weight loss, or some such thing. It was kind of cool to get. I think I will be happy if I just don't gain any weight this week. I have Thanksgiving coming up this week AND I went to Seattle on Saturday and had Pad Thai PLUS ordered a piece of cheesecake to take home. I have been allowing myself four bites of it per day until it is gone. I am hoping by spreading it out during the week, it won't be so bad. But, I am already planning/dreading the thought of all the food that will be available to eat on Thursday. Yikes. If I make it without gaining, I'll be pleased.

I have not been feeling well, the last week or so though. Tuesday night I got a sore throat and have been sucking on zinc lozenges and spraying ZiCam (kind of like Airborne) to try to fight it. I have been coughing for several days and it has been interrupting my sleep. I am a zombie at work today for that reason. Thankfully, this is a shortened week at work, due to Thanksgiving. I have Thurs and Fri off this week. Hopefully I can make it until then to recover. On Sat. night I was awake coughing until 3:30 AM and then awake again at 8 coughing some more. I spent all day on the couch yesterday, but got to rent a couple of fun movies and watched the Seattle Seahawks barely squeak by in their win over the San Francisco 49ers in football. It has been a strange illness overall. As I have not been too stuffed up, nor have I been sneezing much. It pretty much went right into my lungs. So, I don't sound too bad, but I am coughing a lot and definately tired.

I did get enough sleep on Friday night that I went up to Seattle on Sat. with roommate Sara and some friends. Yes, I saw "Pride and Prejudice" again. I think I am addicted. Hee! Just kidding! During the previews they showed one for "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" which comes out on Dec. 9. This is one movie I'll probably be seeing on opening day. It just looks fantastic.

I have been wearing my glasses for the last week or so, and it is a great reminder of how thankful I am for contacts. I am wearing them due to an eye appointment I have next week to see if my eyes qualify for LASIK eye corrective surgery. I am looking into having this done in January so I can be free from the need for contacts forever! They make you wear glasses for two weeks before your inital consultation because contacts change the shape of your eye significantly enough that it would interfere with the exam. So, I am wearing glasses for two weeks. If I do qualify, I am getting a pretty hefty discount because of my job. They are offering a discount to those of us who have Regence Blue Shield for health insurance. Plus, my job also has something called a personal choice account. Basically, my job will pay for the surgery and I reimburse the county a small amount out of each paycheck. This way, it is paid for up front, and then I just pay it back over the course of a year. Pretty neat deal.

In other non-Erin news, a close friend, and her boyfriend are on a break right now from each other. They love each other, but they are trying to work out some issues that they have personally before moving forward in their relationship. They have been dating for well over a year, and my friend still does not know for sure whether her boyfriend is the one for her. It is interesting to see what is happening here and all the issues that are coming up for my friend. I am learning a lot through her process in figuring things out.

So, in honor of Thanksgiving, I will write a short list of all the things I am thankful for right at this moment (this is not meant to be the ONLY things I am thankful for, just those that pop into my head right now):
Weight Watchers, Pumpkin Cheesecake, DVD players, electricity to run DVD players, roomates Sara and Julie, proper fitting clothes, going an hour without coughing, zinc throat drops, a fall day without rain, watching the leaves turn red orange and yellow, a shortened work week, that I have a job to pay for shortened work week, diet coke, pad thai leftovers, Jane Austen (hee!), snuggly blankets, snuggly cats, contacts, coffee, flanel sheets, and, of course Jesus!
Erin

The Great Romance

I have been thinking over the last couple of days why I liked the move "Pride and Prejudice" so darn much. I have come to realize that I *pause for dramatic effect* desire to be romanced. Ding, ding, ding! I mean, I think all girls know this anyway, but I have been making connections between the movie and the book "Captivating." If you have not read the book, I highly recommend it. I mean that...stop what you're doing, go buy the book and THEN come back and read my blog. :-)

I see so clearly why for so many years I was addicted to romance novels.... and why so many women just LOVE chick flicks. We desire to be pursued and romanced. These books and movies capture the essence of that desire in a strong way. I am no different from any other woman in this way.

My life up until this point has contained very little in the way of a grand romance. Not that I am disillusioned to think that the way things are in books and movie is the way it is in "real life." Don't get me wrong, my expectations of what real life is like are not clouded by girlish nonsense any longer. But somewhere in there a gal just longs for someone to say to her "You have captured me, body and soul" the way Mr. Darcy tells that to Lizzie. Isn't that what we want, someone to be captivated by us?

I had a dream once, and the setting was of me on my wedding day standing in front of the altar with my groom and he can't stop talking to me. I am a bit puzzled and maybe slightly embarrassed that he wants to talk to me during the ceremony, but he says to me "I can't get enough of you. I can hardly wait to hear what you are going to say next." When I woke up and the Lord said to me "Erin, your husband will be fascinated by all that you have to say." What an encouragement!

I know that the Lord pursues me and is captivated by me in the way that I long for. The Bible also speaks to an earthly marriage as the closest thing to understanding what being the bride of Christ is about. I don't want to live discontent and disappointed that the Lord is my only husband right now, that is not my heart at all. I just also desire to have someone say to me..."I can't believe you are still available for me to pursue!" That he would see in me all of the things that the Lord already does. Maybe that is my selfish heart, but it is the desire of my heart. Since I am created in the image of God, I also know that it is His heart too.....that He longs for us to pursue Him and revel in who He is.

And so, I am identifying more and more with Christ in this struggle....to love and be loved. As much as I long to be loved by my future husband, the Lord longs to be loved by me in an even greater way. And, he longs to love me back in a way that my husband will never be able to. That is the revelation of today.
Erin

Pride and Prejudice

Have you seen the new version of this movie? It came out in limited release this weekend, and I just HAD to see it. First of all, I love, love, love the A&E/BBC miniseries version of this movie. Second, it is my British fix for the week (though I have another update on this in a minute). So, it came out in Seattle, and I spent all day Friday trying to find someone to go up and see it with me. Even though I had the day off, a lot of people still had to work, and so, I had to wait for Saturday. And, I must say that I think I liked this version BETTER than the A&E/BBC one!! It was like a freight train, due to the fact that they were trying to fit a five hour movie into two hours. However, I thought the characters were much more realistic and not as over-the-top as the A&E one. I alos felt like they did a better job showing the attraction that the two characters, Lizzie and Mr. Darcy, had for each other from the beginning. I remember halfway through the A&E version saying, "I don't think I even WANT them to get together!" But with this one, you can see from the beginning that at the very least these two people have some very serious chemistry with each other. And, one scene at the end where Mr. Darcy comes upon Lizzie when neither of them can sleep is just heart pounding. The final scene is the best! I can't wait for this to come out in wide-release on the 23rd of this month. For more information on this movie head to http://www.prideandprejudicemovie.net/splash.html and check it out. Just divine.

So, speaking of all things British, I got a call on Sunday from Julie Walton, who had been on the trip to London this summer with me. She proceeded to tell me that one of the kids from this summer, Danny, had gotten saved!!! This kid is, no joking, the kingpin for that neighborhood. That he got saved is like the first domino in a row to fall....watch for all the others to follow. What the Lord is doing in that part of London is just miraculous. I got to hear the message that Danny and Andrew (the youth pastor) left for Julie and we just both started crying. You should have seen me dancing around my house. I think my roommate Julie Smith must have thought I had gone crackers. Great fun.

I still am looking into taking a trip out to London early next year (Feb. or March), but I am wondering if it is truly wise to use my vacation for a "pleasure" trip. The more Brian talks about how we will be/are being sent around the world, I start to wonder if I should save it for a more strategic trip. I will have to do some serious praying about it. If anyone has some wise advice, I'd love to hear it, as I am not sure what to do. Part of me feels like I should go, but part of me is not sure. It is endlessly frustrating to me, and something I regularly have to pray through, that I can't just go when I want. I know I have to work, that is where the Lord has me right now, but boy do I want to be able to just go!!!

Only lost .4 lbs this week at WW. That's OK though, considering the T.O.M. Now fitting into a size Medium shirt. Pretty cool.
Erin

Purging

I have been in what I call "purge mode" the last few days. What I mean by this is I am ruthlessly going through my house and getting rid of all of the extra stuff that I have never used, haven't used in a long time, or will never use again. It has been cathartic. I think as I have been thinking about the ability to be more mobile, or the thought of what I'd get rid of if I was moving has given me new vigor to "clean house." Some of the stuff I have just had to ask myself "Why are you still saving this?" Like half-burned candles. Let's be real, folks, I am not going to keep half-burned candles around. You should see the pile of stuff in the middle of my room waiting to go to charity. And, it keeps growing by the day. One of the fun results of this is that I actually found a couple pairs of pants and a couple of dresses that I had stored away some years ago when they no longer fit. For some reason I kept them....and now, they fit again. It is like going shopping in your own closet. I have some more cleaning out to do, and some things I think I am going to try to sell rather than give away. But, all in all, it feels good to be cleaning stuff out.

I had lunch on Sunday with my good friend Jessica, and we were talking about callings and how much I wanted to go back to London, and how that could work, or what might happen with that. Then, that night, Brian and a bunch of folks who had been leading a freedom conference at Youth With A Mission headquarters this last week were back. Basically, the gist of his message was.....we are being sent out NOW! Prophetic words that our church would be used across the world are happening now. We are offically partnering with YWAM and going to be going to all of their Discipleship Training Schools in 40 different countries to teach restoration and freedom ministry! Brian said, we could, in theory, be sending teams out EVERY WEEK to various places across the world to lead freedom classes etc.! I got home on Sunday night and felt the pull even more....how soon can I do this??!! I think it led me to want to do even more cleaning, because I got home last night and went though another closet, cleaning and getting rid of stuff.

I was down 2.8 lbs. this weekend at weight watchers. And so, to celebrate officially being at college graduation weight, I went to the mall to get a proper fitting pair of trousers and got a haircut too. Since, I needed some new makeup, I went and got a makeover as well. So, on Saturday I emerged wearing new clothes, new haircut, and new makeup. Felt pretty good, and it was fun!
Erin

Random Update

Have you ever spent an hour and half by the side of the road waiting for a tow truck? That was my day yesterday. I got in my car to head off to a class I am taking one day a week and as I pulled away, the car was acting funny. I thought it was just cold and needed a little warm-up driving. And so, I drove it to Starbucks with it kicking and sputtering all the way. Then a little light on the dash started blinking at me and telling me "I'm not happy."

So after getting a latte (very important business) I pulled out my owners manual and it said to call the service department if the light is flashing. So, as I drove my protesting car away from Starbucks, the guy at the service station on my cell phone is telling me "if you are too far away to drive it in, pull it over now and call a tow truck. You shouldn't be driving it." And so, I called roadside assistance and was assured that my tow truck would be arriving shortly. An hour and a half later, it finally showed up. Now, I wasn't THAT far from my house, and if I'd known it was going to take that long, I would have just crept my way back home and waited for the truck there.

And so, what do you do in a car for an hour and a half. I sang, while practicing opening my mouth wide, returned some phone calls, and just generally sat there. Not so fun. At least the car didn't have a major thing wrong with it and it was still under warranty.

I am also experiencing a strange phenomenon.....getting hit on. This hasn't happened to me a lot, but recently, it's been happening more and more. I just don't really what to do when it happens. Anyone out there with some ideas?
Erin

The Sound of Music

Last night I did about the hardest thing I have ever done: I took a singing lesson. Now, for some of you, singing in front of someone is no big deal. And you probably can't fathom why this would strike terror in my heart. I don't think I fully understand it myself, except for the fact that I have been told my whole life I cannot sing ("You should really focus on playing an instrument, Erin"). Most women have a higher voice than me, so, for someone who is probably an alto, trying to match the pitch of a soprano feels like torture, sounds like torture, and probably is torture. The reality of the situation is that I haven't ever been taught how to properly sing. I have NO IDEA what I am doing. And, for someone who fears failure as much as I do, there is a very real possibility of failing here big time.

Gretchen was great in our singing lessons. Very encouraging, as I knew she would be. And, I wasn't half as bad as I thought I would be. My years of playing an instrument have allowed me to hear a note and be able to match it pretty well. I am, however, holding back. I am not opening my mouth enough, or singing loud enough. Gretchen said that there is a voice in there somewhere and it's her job to help get it out. We have something to work with here, people!

Now, you may also be wondering how in the world I came to be taking these voice lessons. Because there's no way this was my idea on my own :-) I have been writing songs for some months now and emailing them to our pastor Brian, and the worship pastor Aaron. They have both been extremely encouraging. Brian to the point where he was ready to have me leading worship with the little kids each week. When he heard that my singing experience was about zero and that the only instrument I play is the violin (awfully hard to lead worship while playing the violin) he suggested I join the choir. And thus, terror struck! "Me, sing?!!" I think were my exact thoughts. Probably followed by maniacal laughter. Then I realized.....this is an area I has been closed off for my whole life. Maybe, just maybe I have been writing these songs for a bigger purpose. In my mind I just thought Aaron would take them and HE would be the one to sing them. I was content with that. It seems the Lord has other purposes and plans. We'll see where He takes me.
Erin