FINALLY.......

I have Internet at my apartment. Let's say it took awhile because #1, I don't speak Chinese; #2, I can't read Chinese, and #3 EVERYTHING takes a little more time here in this great land. By God's grace (that is if he cares about Internet), I was able to install my own Internet by pushing random buttons. Also, my VPN took sometime too, but now I'm back in touch with nature via facebook and blogger.



The next step is to figure out my microphone jack on my computer so I can SKYPE with my family and friends. I seriously can't wait.



Well to whet your appetites so that you'll actually want to continue to read my blog (because let's be honest, what I've written about isn't all that much interesting), I've decided to tell you somethings that have occurred.



First, I had my first day of school on August 12th--2 weeks ago from this Thursday. My first day was weird because I didn't have ANY classes. Thursdays are my prep days and in the afternoon, I'm the library so that I can be full time. I haven't worked in the library since my middle school days, but it is refreshing. August 13th I had K-4th grade crammed in a day. I LOVE teaching and am so glad that I've been blessed with the opportunity once again. Nothing too funny or crazy has happened in the classroom but when it does, you'll be the first to know.



I did have a crazy thing happen at school but not IN my classroom. I was climbing up our stairs from the 2nd floor to the 3rd floor to bring teachers some spaghetti for lunch. Somehow, I tripped and fell on the last stair. As I was falling, there was nothing I could do to break the fall because my hands were full of the bowl of spaghetti. Miraculously, the spaghetti survived--not one drop on the floor. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about me. I had spaghetti on the left side of my WHITE shirt and I hit my face on a vase that was sitting on the stairway landing. Thank goodness I didn't break my teeth out on the vase or have a bruised face. (Been there and done that with a fall once in college, but helium was to blame for that one. It's too long of a story to share at this moment....) I hope that was entertaining for all of you readers. :)



Lastly, if you ever get the chance to come to China, DO IT!! The markets here have the best shopping that your money can buy. Make sure you go with someone who loves to bargain. Mel and I went shopping at a market the other day, and we got away with some deals that even Bob Barker himself would be proud of.

VIP I'M NOT IN!!!

So now that I'm in China I've realized a lot of things. One of which that I do NOT have VIP access to many websites such as facebook, blogger, and skype. Therefore, I will not be on facebook or blogging until 1) I get internet at my apt. and 2) that I purchase a VPN so that it looks like I'm accessing from the States instead of China. I appreciate your patience while all of this is worked out. Thankfully, Mel and Ry have a VPN, and I'm quickly updating. More to come......

100 pounds

100 pounds can seem very little or a lot. It all depends upon perspective. For example, if you saw a 5'8" woman or man that weighed a 100 pounds, your first reaction would be ANOREXIC! But if you had to eat 100 pounds of pizza, you may say YOWZERS!!! (Unless you're like my friend DH who absolutely hearts pizza) I found out these past couple days when you're trying to pack for a 2 year commitment in China, a 100 pounds is NOTHING. Well not NO thing but it really forced me to think about what my wants and needs are. What's important to me and what's not. I can't have everything that I want and in fact, too much of a good thing could be bad. So after packing and repacking my life into 2 checked bags, more and more stuff ended up in the storage unit that I share with Mel. (At this time, I'd like to apologize to Mel for all of my crizap and to Laurie who will probably have to reorganize the storage unit. LOVE YOU!)

Well with the help of my friend Shannon, my 100 pounds (stuff not my personal weight) and I left Minneapolis on Wed. night at 7 pm for Seoul, Korea. I'll be staying here for a few days with my friend Janel. As I write this, it's Friday at 10:00. I arrived here at 5 am. It was a long flight and of course, I slept. ;). As I get closer to Beijing, I'm still amazed at how God provides and answers prayer. I really wanted to teach and wasn't finding jobs in MN. I guess on the other side of that coin is be careful what you pray for: I would have never thought that I would pick China to teach. But He orchestrated it all, and I'm excited to start this new adventure with Mel and Ry nearby.

I'm a jumble of nerves and excitement for the coming year. My goal is to not take another 2 year hiatus and blog regularly. I also wanted to take the time to thank all of my friends and family for their love, encouragement, blessings, and prayers. You all have helped me go through open doors.

Wax On, Wax Off

See anything wrong with the above photo??? 

On November 20th, I decided to get my eyebrows waxed at Cost Cutters located in the Sparta, WI Wal-mart because I was leaving on Friday and wouldn't be back home until December 9th.  And when I got home, I noticed that my left eyebrow was much shorter than my right eyebrow!!

LOL!!!  Hopefully it'll grow back but for now, I'm thankful for brow pencils.  Life isn't great unless you can laugh in the face of ridiculous situations.

Great Life, Disney Life, Cedar Life or Valley Life??

I love amusement parks. Valley Fair, Great America, Disney World/Land--whatever the park, the most sought-after ride I seek; the ride that gives me the sheer thrill of going up and down and around, the sheer fear that this could quite possibly be the last ride of my life, and all the emotions: from the anticipation of getting on the ride to the stomach blowing question, "Am I gonna make it?" is.... the ROLLERCOASTER! Holla atcha girl! (I gotta get some ghetto slang in this blog)

The above paragraph does have a point, if you'll just bear with me, put your seatbelt on, and pull down on the safety lap bar. If you're not at least 40 inches tall, please skip to the last paragraph.

Because my mom decided to stay over in Madison last night with my dad, I went to Blackhawk Church in Madison this morning. The pastor spoke from Deut. 8. In this passage, God is reminding the people of Israel to NOT forget about Him in the lows AND highs of life. Let me tell you I was in a low. The last couple of days have been bad as far as my dad's health goes. He hasn't been as responsive and there was a set back with his feeding tube having to be removed: all of this amounting to a valley in life. So the Spirit began to ask me, "Maria, have you been ignoring Me in the highs of life?"

Yes I have. It's always easier to ignore God when my life seems prosperous; everything is going great. But the lows, that's when I seem to turn around to see who's tapping me on the shoulder. "Excuse me"... "HELLO!"...

There's highs and there's lows on that crazy ride, but I always enjoy the WHOLE ride. There are times that I hate the lows. Duh! I'm human, but today I was reminded that I MUST praise God, seek Him, and enjoy life as if it's the last ride I'll ever take. I was created in a way that a song can speak to me as much as a sermon would. Today we sang "Blessed be the Name of the Lord" by Matt Redman. Here are the lyrics that resounded with me:

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

So as I was walking out of the hospital today with tears flowing down my face. Because there's just those low days that I find my self mourning. Mourning because I have to see my dad in the most dependent state ever. And these lyrics came into my head. I started singing them aloud and I got into the driver's seat and just bawled. I prayed that God would teach me to praise Him in the good and the bad times of life. During the times when the sun is shining down on me or when I'm suffering, I will choose to say, "Lord, blessed be Your name." Amen. I started the car, turned on the radio, and the very song was playing. Through teary eyes, I started to laugh joyously. I LOVE ROLLERCOASTERS. I LOVE LIFE!

Ode to cow and corn.

I've been on a journey. Now granted the journey hasn't been long compared to my 28 years of life--only 2 months. My best friend, Melissa, emailed me one day. She asked me if I wanted to partake in the Rock-n-Roll half marathon with her, her bro, and our friend Emily. After running out of excuses and staring at the online registration screen, I took the plunge. And I have absolutely no regret. I've been a farmer these past two months. Patiently seeing the fruits of the Spirit that Creator has planted, like watching corn grow and attempting to milk a cow. Ok. Not the greatest analogy, but for anyone that knows me, patience is not my most flavorful fruit. But running has helped me. Today, I had the biggest accomplishment. I ran 11 miles. Yep. 2 months ago, my 3mile run was a pain. The only regret about today's run? I chose to have my route go along a road dubbed "rollercoaster road". You can about imagine running on that--not my smartest moment. But I had the greatest accomplishment when I reached the top of the last hill. Now I know how Rocky felt. Let's all hum the theme song. I know you know it: da, da, daaaah, da, da, daaaaah. Da, da, da, da, da, da, dah.....

Dancing in the Living Room

I've been inspired. Inspired for the past few weeks since I've come home from Korea. I've found inspiration by hitting the pavement on my long distance runs. I've been inspired by seeing my dad fight for life--sometimes merely clinging by a thread. But the best inspiration came from watching my 73-year-old mom dance in the living room to the Korean music on the teley (television for us non-Brits). She started dancing spontaneously because in that moment, she was moved to do so. May we all take the time in be spontaneous...live extemporaneously.