randomness...

So, clearly I suck at blogging these days. It may have to do with the fact that I no longer have internet at home but who knows. I feel like I'm back on the World Race again and finding coffee shops to use internet. Sad but true.

In small group this week we decided that we are going to figure out a "risk" to take in the next 2 weeks until our next meeting. This can be simple, hard, whatever. Lately I have been awful at doing my quiet time so I made it my "risk" to read the Bible every day even if that meant getting up before 6am (which would be dreadful). So far I'm 1 for 2 but today's not over yet so I think I should be good...that and I have an extra hour to do it. :)

Here's a few randoms...
-I'm starting to get really, super excited for Christmas. Now I just need to find my Christmas decorations....hhhmmmm....

-I'm also really loving the Caribou sayings. Like the "hold hands, not grudges" one...or the "dance to your own rhythm" one.

-I learned I am the color orange when it comes to my personality. I love personality tests. I think I'm going to make my whole family take the quiz at Thanksgiving. Family fun time!

-Matea was a ladybug for Halloween. SO cute.

-I'm sad that garage sale season is over. :(

-I'm happy that there is brand new Goodwill opening up by my house soon!

-Tomorrow the Vikings play the Cardinals. I think I'll be happy with whoever wins but I still hope that Vikings win. Although they have been a slightly pitiful lately so who knows.

-I made Roman-Style Chicken this week. It was AMAZING. Everyone should probably make it.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/roman-style-chicken-recipe/index.html

That's it for me. I am heading to babysit now. I lead such a fun life, don't I? :)

it's time to start writing again...

Back on the Race I used to write lots of blogs. Blogs about what God is teaching me. Blogs about the hard times. Blogs about the amazing experiences. They weren't well written or too insightful but they allowed me to process. I sometimes processed when I didn't know I even needed to process.

Yesterday I brought my journal to church so I could take notes that would be permanent rather than thrown away at the end of the service or the next time I cleaned out my purse. As I flipped through the pages I was reminded about what I went through this past year. Sometimes it's so easy to forget. It's easy to forget that this time last year I was in Montenegro gardening, cooking and carving pumpkins at the English Cafe. It's easy to forget that just a few months ago I was going to the bar every night with Hope (literally and figuratively) and Mel praying that our new friends would understand how much God loved them. It's easy to forget the many lessons God taught me...or how He taught them to me...or maybe that's just me selectively forgetting those times. :)

Brandon and I were hanging out before we went to dinner last night and I started talking about Phuket and Diamond and going to the bar. An hour passed and I was still talking. I didn't even realize it had been that long...it had felt like 10 minutes. Then I realized something. I don't really write anymore. I don't really blog, I don't really journal...at some point I just stopped. I know that God is still teaching me things and I'm still processing but I remember how I felt on the Race when I would finish a blog and think, aaahhh....it feels so good to get that out. Even if nobody reads it or even cares, I was able to express myself, think through things that were going on and really understand them. It's kind of like you really understand something when you teach them to somebody...I can really understand what I'm going through when I can write it out for other people to read.

So here's to me being intentional. To really write and learn and process. Enjoy. :)

#85....check

Good news! Remember my list? Well I can officially cross off #85...buy a car!!


Friday night I officially purchased a 2003 Ford Escape. Yes, it's a 2003 and yes there's more miles then I probably would like BUT it's a 4 wheel drive so I will no longer have to call Aaron to come pick me up when it's snowing so I'm not stuck in my apartment by myself like the good old days. It's also big enough for my skis (so I can officially learn how to ski this winter) and it'll be great when I find a job and an apartment and I have to move. Another bonus, it's yellow. :)

All it needs is a good name...it's fondly being called "the short bus" for now but I think a more fitting name needs to be found. Any ideas?

God did.

Back on the World Race we always talked about "God dids". Like the little things in life that make you smile...for example, losing your favorite pen and being really sad about it but then stopping outside to pick up the trash bag that had fallen out of the garbage can only to find your lost pen in the midst of all the garbage. God did...found my pen.

Well, yesterday was the start of my BIRTHDAY WEEK!!! My birthday is probably my 2nd favorite day of the year...after Christmas of course...so birthday WEEK is like the week of Christmas. In other words, amazing. I had gone to a wedding Saturday in Rochester and woke up Sunday morning too late for continental breakfast. Bummer. My 2 friends and I headed out to this restaurant we found on our GPS only to find out that it was CLOSED. Double bummer. We whipped out that trusty GPS again to find a new restaurant only to find that there was a PANNEKOEKEN just 2 blocks from where we were standing. I was beyond excited since I thought that all of the Pannekoeken's in America had gone out of business. I frolicked the whole way to the restaurant in sheer delight of the fact that God gave me a Pannekoeken to start off my birthday week.
The pannekoekens were fantastic and the boys are now in love with them as much as me. Or close. The only sad thing is the coffee was SICK. It was the weakest coffee I've drank in a long time...think so weak that you can see the bottom of the cup. Gross. Nothing that a little Caribou couldn't fix though. ;)

So happy birthday week to ME!

anybody want some jewelry??

While I was in Thailand, I worked with an organization called SHE. Here's their website. SHE gives girls working in the sex industry a second chance. When a girl decides they want to get out of the bars she can go live at SHE for one to two months. If the girl chooses one month then SHE houses her and gives her a full day of hands on training to work in a hotel Monday-Friday. The one moth option does not include any sort of pay. If the girl chooses the two month program she spends half the day getting training and the other half of the day making jewelry. The jewelry is then sold so the girl can make a set salary each month. Most of the girls choose the two month program since many of them send money home each month to their families.

This is where I come in. SHE is in need of more people buying their jewelry. They have it online and they have a few people selling it in the States but the more jewelry they sell, the more money they can make to fund their ministry and give the girls a salary to live off of. Before I left Thailand, I bought quite a bit of jewelry from SHE to sell back in the States and I am happy to announce I am finally ready to start selling them!

Below are pictures of a few of the items. Some have multiple colors as noted below the picture. If you have any questions at all feel free to email me (jennifer.lee.flavin@gmail.com) or call (763-464-5726). I can always take more pictures so you can see length or other colors.

Thailand is known for their pearls so all of the pearls used in these pieces are real.

Shipping costs $3. If you spend $50 or more, shipping is free! As of now I can receive payment via checks...I'm setting up a Pay Pal account and will put that information up when it's all done.

NECKLACES

also available in brown

also available in blue

BRACELETS

also available in purple and pink

EARRINGS

also available in blue

RINGS
also in blue

101 in 1001

To start the transition home and away from the World Race I decided I'm going to start blogging here for a bit. And I just finished my very own 101 in 1001 list so there's no better time to start! The idea is from the Day Zero Project website...it's basically making 101 goals in 1,001 days.

So here's the list...let me know what you think!

Faith

1. Lead or co-lead a study on The Life You’ve Always Wanted

2. Find a church

3. Join a small group

4. Do in-depth studies of 5 books of the Bible (0/5)

5. Start a Bible Study at my workplace

Health/Wellness/Vanity

6. Run a marathon

7. Meet Kendra somewhere in the U.S. and run a half or full marathon

8. Qualify for Boston

9. Learn how to cross country ski

10. Compete in a cross country ski race

11. Buy dumbbells and use them twice a week for a month

12. Rock climb twice a week for a month

13. Take a ballet class

14. Get back to my normal weight

15. Do a detox of some sort

16. Fast from sugar for one week (0/7)

17. Eat ice cream every night for a week (0/7)

18. Run a half marathon in under 1:40

19. Run a 5k in under 21 minutes

Exploring

20. Go to Applefest

21. Go sailing

22. Go to DC

23. Go to a local art fair, meet an artist and buy something

24. Eat at 10 restaurants I’ve never been to (0/10)

25. Go to Canada

26. Go to the MN State Fair

27. Go for a picnic

28. Go to 5 states I’ve never been to (0/5)

Artsy Fartsy

29. Begin designing my own jewelry

30. Learn how to make jewelry

31. Paint a painting that is cool enough to hang in my house

32. Make a coffee table book with pictures from the WR

33. Go to a ballet

34. Figure out how to use my sewing machine

35. Sew an apron

36. Sew a skirt

37. Take a pottery or glass blowing class

Family & Friends

38. Pick up the bill at a family dinner

39. Bake everyone in my family a special dessert on their birthday

40. Cook Grandma a meal including some African food

41. Visit Andrew and Joanna in CA

42. Take a trip with Athena

43. Have a sisters weekend

44. Send Becca a care package at grad school

45. Spend a weekend with Matea

46. Send Mom flowers just because

47. Go to IHOP with Dad

48. Go to a show with Aaron

49. Do a beer tasting with Gary

50. Take Grace and Sophie on a fun date

Being an adult

51. Find a job

52. Find a place to live

53. Create a business plan for a fair trade shop

54. Start my business

55. Make a budget and stick to it

56. Pay off my student loans

57. Learn one thing about the government every week for a month (0/4)

58. Have 3 months’ salary saved up

59. Sponsor a missionary or a Compassion Child

60. Not stress for a day

Volunteering/Encouragment

61. Put on a fundraiser to raise money for Alice’s school

62. Send someone flowers just because

63. Send out 25 random cards (0/25)

64. Randomly give out 3, $5 Caribou or Starbucks gift cards (0/3)

65. Pay for someone’s drink or meal behind me in line

66. Serve at the homeless kitchen with Mom and Dad

67. Help an unexpected citizen cross the road

68. Go back to either Mexico or Poland for a mission trip

Cooking

69. Make sushi on a regular basis

70. Make a cookbook of some sort

71. Try a new recipe once a week for a month

72. Make a homemade pie for Thanksgiving

73. Host a dinner party

74. Take a cooking class

75. Perfect Vicky’s bread

76. Do a wine tasting (preferably in Virgina)

77. Learn how to make really good pad thai

78. Learn how to make martinis

79. Learn how to make scones

80. Host tea time once a week for a month (0/4)

81. Learn more about wine

82. Learn how to make Euro Cream pancakes

Splurge

83. Get a facial

84. Get a pedicure

85. Buy a car

86. Buy a great pair of heeled boots

87. Buy a really good facial lotion

88. Buy a really cute winter coat

89. Buy a bottle of OPI nail polish

90. Invest in a really good hair staightener

91. Revamp my underwear drawer

Misc.

92. Go horseback riding

93. Have fresh flowers in my house every day for a month

94. Go see a movie alone

95. Get a pet

96. Take a community ed class

97. Build a snowman family

98. Plant a tree

99. Go on a sleigh ride & bring hot cocoa

100. Take a car class

101. Dress up really fancy and then go to a fast food place

Happy Mother's Day

My mom is amazing.

At everything...
She can draw perfect circles.
She can answer any cooking question.
Her house is always clean.
She runs....far...and fast.
She's very organized.
She decorates fabulously.
She is very generous with her time, money and possessions.
She is spontaneous.
Her garden flourishes instead of wilts.
She can bowl, play mini golf and swim. I can't do any of those.
She sends me Caribou gift cards and bags of chocolate chips...life's necessities.
Her faith in God shows in her actions every day.
And of course, she's beautiful.


So, Mom, thank you for being just a phone call away to answer all of my silly questions and to let me vent, or share stories, or just simply say hi. You are amazing and lovely and I don't know what I'd do without you.
I LOVE YOU!!!