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What to do tonight?

Nichole — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:27:38 +0000

Ever since summer started life has been crazy. There was the Black Hills Camping trip and then a quick roadtrip to Montana with my friend Christina, then of course you have camp for five weeks, getting a job right after camp, and ever since trying to get everything sorted out for starting school in the fall and catching up on my “To Do List” that got behind during camp. And of course I’ve been trying to develop some new habits like a consistant quiettime, excercising, etc. So I haven’t had a whole lot of time to relax and do something I enjoy. So tonight I think I will spend some time either with a book or get crafty which I have been dying to do. That is of course after I do my Bible reading, bike ride, and piano practice. I think I will be getting off work early today though since there isn’t a whole lot to do. I’m manning the office at the moment with nothing left to do until the boss (my Aunt) comes in. I’m just guessing that she will send me home early which would be nice.

God is Good

Nichole — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:25:14 +0000

Sometimes I can’t believe how good God is and how he is working in my life. I had been praying about a job since I quit my job last November, I wasn’t feeling led to go out and apply for jobs, but I knew that at some point I needed one. The time off couldn’t have been more perfect. Seeing where the company I worked for is and has done since I left makes me so glad that I left when I did. And when I quit it was like a huge weight off my shoulders. It just wasn’t what I needed, the work I did was not appreciated, it was just added upon, there was no flexibility or understanding of the time needed to be involved in the ministries I feel called to. It was time to get out of there and I am so glad that I did.

So I have been praying about a job ever since that time and this summer my Aunt asked me to work for her Abstracting company. I took the job on a trial basis for a couple of weeks, filling in while my Aunt and Uncle went on vacation, and house sitting for them. I found out that I really enjoy the work, the hours are flexible, the pay is good, I get to work with family, there’s lots of potential for expanding my skills, and I feel that this is exactly where God would have me be at the moment.

On top of the exciting news about the job, I will be starting online classes in Elementary Education. I have come to the conclusion after several years taken off after high school that it is important for me to get a degree whether or not it is used as a career, it will always be something to fall back on. I love kids and want to home school my own kids someday so this seems like a perfect fit. The other thing I decided was that I don’t want to go into a future marriage with college debt, so I am on a part time schedule which allows me to pay as I go and not take on any loans. I started working on a Budget this month that will hopefully be implemented starting September so I can stay on track. It is more tracking where I spend my money than anything and being a good steward of what I have been given, cutting back my spending on areas where I tend to over spend and the like.

I could go on and on with cool stuff God has been teaching me and doing in my life. What has God been doing in your life lately?

Tag! You’re It.

Nichole — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:47:40 +0000

Camp has been going extremely well so far. Last week was Sr. High which was a lot of fun to staff for, and this week is Staff Week which has been extremely fun all around. Not a whole lot to say at the moment about either and I haven’t taken any pictures, but being at camp again this summer has been very encouraging and challlenging in my walk with Christ. I’m always amazed at how much I grow every year.

On a completely different subject… I’ve been tagged for the first time by Alison, so here goes.

Six unspectacular quirks of mine:

1. I have an obsessive need to pick up trash that I walk by. In fact, a friend and I were just talking about this subject yesterday. I CAN NOT walk by a piece of garbage. I’ve tried. LOL. You just wish you could hear the conversation going on in my head when I try to walk by a piece of garbage.

2. Leaving milk in cereal bowls bugs me. Unless it is pure sugar because of the kind of cereal you were eating, why waste the milk? Come on. Just drink it.

3. I crave salsa. Anytime is a good time for chips and salsa. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not craving the chips. It is definitely the salsa, you just need something to eat it with.

4. I am unambitious. I’m pretty happy with where I am, I’m not sure exactly where I’m going and I’m okay with it. My future is in God’s hands and if I am focusing on him, he will direct my paths. I don’t want to create huge goals and accomplish great things by my own will and power, God’s plan is so much better then I could ever dare ask or hope. My all is for him, wherever he takes me.

5. In every personality quiz I’ve taken, I fall almost directly in the middle ground. Not to far one way or the other. Even-keel describes me to a T.

6. I believe on waiting for the man that God has picked out for me. I have also decided and set aside my first kiss for my husband on our wedding day.

I tag… Rhonda, Moorea, Katy, AJ, Niki, and Valerie.

Breakaway 2008

Nichole — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 22:57:08 +0000

This morning was the end of Breakaway (Jr. High) week at camp. It was an awesome week, I am completely wiped out. Above is a picture of me and my cabin. I had so much fun with them this week. Next week starts Sr. High and I will be maintenance staff. What’s going on in your summer? Talk to you all next weekend!

Crazy Summer Schedule

Nichole — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 15:00:09 +0000

Hey all! Life’s been crazy lately. Since my last post there has been a camping trip in the Black Hills, a road trip to Montana, a camp made ready for the season, and staff gathered for the first week of camp. My schedule continues to get crazy as I have five non-stop weeks of camp starting today. I may or may not get some blog posts up on the weekends. Hope your summer is great and I’ll catch up with you all when I can.

Mosiac

Nichole — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 20:38:07 +0000

I found this game idea from Stacy. The first image is google search results, the second is flickr results. It’s fun, try it.

The concept:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr/Google Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name? Nichole
2. What is your favorite food? Taco Salad
3. What high school did you go to? Dirks Prairie Academy
4. What is your favorite color? Blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Christian Bale
6. Favorite drink? Cherry Coke
7. Dream vacation? Europe
8. Favorite dessert? Teramisu
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Teacher
10. What do you love most in life? Bible
11. One Word to describe you. Creative
12. Your flickr name. daisykit

Back to Quilting

Nichole — Sat, 31 May 2008 04:11:30 +0000

I’m back to quilting again. I have been working on this quilt for quite a few hours today. The quilt top is done and now I am just working on the backing. I realized that I didn’t have enough of one fabric to do a solid back, but that I do have a bunch of scrap pieces and leftover pieces from the front of the quilt. So I am doing some random piecing on the back. It will look very interesting when I’m done. Basically the quilt will be reversible. I would love to have it done soon so that my room will be completely finished. Everything else is done. In fact, I am sleeping in our new house for the first time tonight. It is just me and my brother out here at the moment. Our family will be living between two houses until our other house sells, hopefully soon. I will probably be back and forth between the two houses over the next few days. On Monday I am heading out for a week long camping trip with soon youth from our church, and then from there to Montana on a 2-3 day road trip. Life is going to be crazy as soon as June starts. Crazy is good though. I love summer.

Room Makeover

Nichole — Thu, 29 May 2008 20:19:03 +0000

I finally got my camera back. My brother Jonny keeps using it and when I need it he’s never around. Plus, it seems like I am never in the right house for the thing I am looking for. Since we got back from our trip to San Diego we have spent all of our time painting and then moving. We have much more stuff at the camp house now then we do at home. All of my stuff is moved except my mattress. Above you can see the before and after pictures of my bedroom. Quite the makeover I would say.

My computer and sewing machine have a new home. I got the butterfly mobile in Old Town San Diego.

The paper lanterns above my bed I got last fall when I went on a road trip down to Carbondale, IL. Also, you see my one lone cat picture. I used to have cat pictures from calendars posted all over my wall. I’ve toned down my love for cats just a bit.

My bulletin board was one of my creative projects for my room. I took my old big bulletin board, cut the frame off, and then cut it in half. Then I put a layer of batting and a layer of fabric on it. It’s held together by duct tape in the back and nailed to the wall. Love it!

My other creative venture for my room was this pictures. I bought some old picture frames at the thrift store, spray painted them black, and then printed off some pictures I took on our San Diego trip. I love how it turned out.

Summer is approaching fast…

Nichole — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:50:33 +0000

It is hard for me to believe how fast summer is approaching. April flew by and I know that May will be the same way. Lot’s of things have been going on since my last post and tons more happening this month. One of things I decided that I will not cheat by posting “catch-up” posts. So no more posts for the days I skipped. It should help keep me from procrastinating or at least honest about not having time to post a certain day. I’ve also decided to take each day as they come and not beat myself up over things I was not able to accomplish during a day. If I forgot to post on my blog yesterday is it really a huge deal?

Last weekend I went on a trip with our youth group to the E. Free Youth North-Central Districts Conference in Rochester, MN. It was lots of fun and very challenging. Myself and the three other girl’s and my room decided to challenge ourselves to get up in the morning, 6:30 am on weekdays, and do half an hour of prayer, Bible reading, and memorization before our days got started. This has been something that I have felt God calling me to do for a while, but I have not wanted to surrender those extra minutes of sleep to Him. Finally surrendering and spending that time with Him first thing in the morning has been such a blessing and really helps me to focus my day on my Savior.

We are moving! It’s official. We will be moving out to Lost Timber Bible Camp as on-site managers. We have gotten the house pretty much ready to be moved in. I think we have painted every inch of that house. We will start taking things out there and have a big move sometime later in the month. You can pray that this house sells soon. So if I’m not blogging you know what I’m doing. We are moving.

Lastly, I did get my blog mostly switched over to Wordpress. It’s great. I still have some posts to edit and pictures to move but that can happen later on. I’m also looking for my camera, I think one of my siblings has it. When I find it I’ll have pictures for my blog posts.

Fun in the Pool

Nichole — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 05:31:03 +0000

Lot’s of fun pictures I took while everyone was having a good time in the pool. LOL. It’s really hard to believe we were swimming a week ago. This weekend we had another snow storm up here in Minnesota.