Broken Down

I'm going to spend the long weekend mostly housebound again.

I went for the drive I'd planned. About an hour out of the city I started having trouble with George again. I phoned my dad for advice, and he told me to keep driving. I made it most of the way back to their house before George died entirely.

The AMA tow truck driver was the same one who towed me last weekend. Can I just say that I won't be crushed if we don't make this a weekly event?

My dad came to get me.

My mom fed me dinner.

My brother drove me home.

After a week of intense dreams about family, it was funny to be so reliant on them tonight.

I made it two thirds of the way through the audio book I was trying to get through as I drove. I would have made it all the way if George hadn't decided to give me trouble again.

The mechanic won't be open until Tuesday. My dad thinks it may be something more serious this time. More serious as in, possibly not worth it to repair my rather old car. He also told me not to worry, or borrow trouble.

I'm so not good at that last part.

My brain is running a mile a minute, trying to think up contingencies. I'm also trying to figure out little ways to get out of my house over the next two days of the long weekend.

I was feeling pretty discouraged by the time I got home. Financial things are one of the quickest ways to stress me out.

So, I decided to take control.

I grabbed my laptop, and headed for the bathtub.

M*A*S*H* was the order of the day. M*A*S*H* and a few smile list items, including:

• being thankful I went for a walk in the park last night
• remembering that I quite enjoyed two thirds of my drive today
• coconut body butter
• a family that loves me and has rescued me from car trouble twice in as many weeks
• being thankful that the car didn't break down until I was back into the city
• M*A*S*H*
• a warm bath
• a favorite blanket to wrap myself in while sitting on the couch

I'll definitely be okay if I don't keep having these sorts of adventures every weekend.

Saturday Plans

This morning started with the Farmer's Market and a quick stop at the library.

The smells at the farmer's market were great. A quick wander, a few purchases.

I have an audio book that I need to listen to this afternoon. I can't focus when I'm sitting in my house to listen. So, I'm going to take advantage of the sunny afternoon and make a drive through the mountains while I listen to the book.

I'm going to take some of the food I picked up at the market, and head out.

I may stop and take some photos, but mostly the plan is just to drive and listen for several hours, and then come home and rest.

Good To Me

I went for a much needed walk in "my" park tonight. Just time for me and Jesus to chat about some stuff. It wasn't a planned thing. But it was oh so good. Maybe tomorrow I'll post a few of the pictures I took as I walked.

But for tonight, this song came up over and over as I walked and prayed.

He is good. And I am crying out for healing and freedom from Him. He is my hope.

Friday Smile List

Well, it's Friday again, and we all know that I like Fridays. However, sometimes they start out really great, and by the time I make it home in the evening, I'm starting to feel lonely, crabby and exhausted. So, I thought I'd start the process of gratitude and choosing joy nice and early today, and share a few things that are making me smile.

• Jeans at work
• a mug of passion tea, a leftover donut, and a tin of canned peaches for breakfast
• sunshine outside my window
• a great quote for the day (see my earlier post) on the calendar that was a gift from a friend
• the memory of a greeting card I purchased recently. (I'm sure one of you will get it in the mail from me.) The front has a picture of some trees and a large grey "hill" and reads "Everyone should believe in something bigger than themselves." You open it and discover that the "hill" is a part of an elephant, and read "I believe in elephants." This is my rather twisted and deadpan sense of humor. When I saw this one, I had to purchase it.
• the large raven that just flew by my window
• the fact that I have an office window
• hemp lip balm from the body shop
• the audio book I'm currently listening to as I drive to and from work
• a very cute and comfy hoody
• the prospect of a long weekend
• plans to do a bit of shopping after work, and then head home and engage in my favorite decadent pasttime by hanging out in a nice hot bubble bath with a mineral mask on my face, watching last night's season finale of Grey's Anatomy on the internet
• owning an ipod, which lets me listen to such a wide variety of things while I'm driving to and from work
• a fun conversation this morning with a coworker
• plans to go for a nice long drive and listen to a much more heavy audiobook tomorrow while enjoying the scenery of the mountains and foothills.
• the fact that I was actually sort of hungry to eat breakfast this morning
• the memory of a prayer a friend emailed to me the other night, where she asked God to arrange for me to get some hugs this week - I have gotten a few - a few really heartfelt ones, and one really awkward one, but I'll take them any way they come!

And with that, I'm off to start what promises to be a very full day!

Today's Quote

I loved this quote that appeared this morning on the calendar that my friend recently gave to me.

"Lord, you are my lover, my longing, my flowing stream, my sun; and I am your reflection." (Mechthild of Magdeburg)