The Start of 2012

Here I sit, late at night, on a small, mostly empty plane on my way back to Montana. We all know after I finish this I will most assuredly fall asleep. I can’t believe my visit is already over. I guess it was pretty long but it just seems to have gone by so fast. I spent it almost exclusively with family, a bit different then previous trips home but somehow even more special. Most of my friends are off on the adventure that is their lives, even if they are still in the area. We aren’t all home for extended breaks at the same time anymore.  Of course that’s disappointing, but in some ways exciting. Many great things are happening for people and just because I don’t get to hear about all of them in person doesn’t make them any less significant. The world is no longer measured in semesters. I did however get to see my good friend from Pcola, April, who moved down to Tampa recently. I’m so happy that worked out!

New Years Eve, April came over for a bit and had dinner then played board games with the family. Games in the Mettetal household are always interesting. You have Mom, who makes up rules as the game progresses according to what benefits her at the time, Brenda, who is fairly competitive and known for dishing out some trash talk, and me, who doesn’t really get competitive until I win then it’s “IN YOUR FACE” (in so many words). The final character is Dad who walks in and out of the game and contributes to whatever team he feels like whenever he thinks of an answer. He’s like drawing a wild card. It’s fantastic when he happens to come up with a last minute needed answer for your team but when it happens for the other guys this method of contributing is much less appreciated. April carried her own and I’m proud to say she and I won 2 out of 3 games of Outburst. Other scores for other games need not be mentioned…

As it got later April went home and we found ourselves under a blanket on the couch waiting for the ball to drop. Brenda and I saw Mom falling asleep and tricked her with a fake countdown. She didn’t think it was nearly as funny as we did. The ball dropped, we cheered, then fell asleep like the crazy party animals we are.

News Years Day, I got to go back to the church I grew up in for the first service of 2012. A lot has changed there but through it all we know we serve an unchanging God. I decided to make some New Years resolutions and post them here in the hopes that someone will try to hold me accountable.

*I will do my best to maintain daily devotions. I will not however beat myself up when I miss one. I will not regret decisions or mistakes made. I will cherish lessons learned. 

*I will send at least one note a month to encourage another person. Preferably by mail.  I will make an effort to tell people how much they are appreciated.

*Any attempts made at losing/maintaining weight will be done for purely health reasons, not vanity. As a temple what goes on inside is what important, not what the temple looks like. Does that make sense? That said, maybe if I think of it that way it will be easier to make healthy choices.

*I will not purchase or acquire clothes/shoes/etc. without getting rid of an equal number.

*I will not save insignificant things purely because they belonged to someone else before me. A person is in a memory, not an item. Someone else may can use it more than my sense of nostalgia.

*I will  secure my own mask before assisting others. (Okay that one was inspired by the slight turbulence we just experienced.)

2011 was a crazy year for many people. 2012 is a new chance, as is each day, hour, minute. Let’s all see what we can do with the gift of time God has given us.

I think I’m ready for my in flight nap.

Dreaming of a Warm Christmas

I love Christmas: carols, cheesy clay-mation movies, cookies (especially cookies). Everything about Christmas time just makes me feel merry and bright, for lack of a better expression. I especially love that Christmas is a family time. Being 2,500 miles away is great for adventure but not so great when it comes to keeping in touch with your family. Because I have some of the most fantastic friends ever, I was given a round trip ticket to be with my family for Christmas. I don’t know how I would have been able to go home without the generous gift.  Shout out to those awesome people—you know who you are :)

I was supposed to arrive in Ohio to meet my Mother and Sister on December 23. Before that, I’ve been loving spreading a little Christmas cheer around Deer Lodge. I decorated my apartment using 2 rolls of wrapping paper. I didn’t want to invest a lot in decorations I don’t even have room to store, so I figured this way I could just recycle my decorations when they were done. Plus I got the paper for about $1 a roll so it fit well into the VISTA budget. I made a tree on my wall with the help of John and Jill when they came visit. I also made wrapping paper wreaths and covered my table with wrapping paper instead of buying a themed table clothe (which worked out way better than I anticipated). I used a 99 cent box of candy canes to make candle holders.

Wrapping paper Christmas tree. Space saving, green, and quite adorable if I do say so myself. I would never have been able to make it even and level by myself...

I was peer pressured into decorating the first floor of the courthouse as well. Apparently, the top and middle floors usually go all out for Christmas and the bottom floor is the Scrooge floor. Not this year! I told you, I love Christmas.

            Then the time came for me to go home. I will admit here to the internet world something I am highly ashamed of… … … I missed my first flight. It was scheduled to depart from Helena at 6 am so my plan was to leave Deer Lodge at 3:30, get there at 4:30 and have plenty of time to get through security, etc. Around 11 pm the night before, I still had a bunch of stuff to do but I was absolutely exhausted and decided I would allow myself a little power nap. I set my alarm to ring at midnight so I would wake up with plenty of time but not be in danger of falling asleep on the drive over aafter being up all night. I was out like a light and when I woke up, dazed but refreshed I looked at the clock to see that it was already 3:30 and I hadn’t done anything I needed to wake up for, not least of which was packing.  So. I threw a bunch of stuff in a bag and did the bare necessity of my to-do list and flew out the door on my way to Helena. I called my mother in a panic as I was flying down the Montana interstate on my way to McDonald’s Pass (which is plenty scary when you’re not running late at 4 AM). Long story short, I made it to the airport 15 minutes before my plane was supposed to depart and the security line was 50 people deep. I could hear the intercom calling the last call for boarders. I asked to skip ahead in the line and was told that could cause someone else to miss their flight—point taken. I was pretty upset about it then. I felt irresponsible and even a little stupid for doing something so careless. As these things do it ended working out for the better. The nice man at the ticket counter rescheduled me for a flight the next day that would take less time. I went home, got some sleep and actually got everything done that was needed for me to be gone for 2 weeks. I even got to finish up some last minute presents. Just when I begin to feel like an adult is when something happens to remind me that I can grown up but never grow out of making mistakes. Lesson learned. For now.

Needless to say I made it in PLENTY of time for my next flight and got to Ohio safe and sound. It was great to be with the family and spend some time with loved ones I usually only get to see about once a year. Ohio also means shopping galore, which I have become unaccustomed to with the VISTA budget. After a few days in Ohio, Mom, Brenda and I piled into the car for the traditional 18-hour drive-a-thon back to Florida. We ate junk food, shared memories, talked about the last 6 months, sang songs we knew by heart and made up words to the ones we didn’t know then changed some to words we liked better. You know, the usual. I’m pretty sure the annual road trip is something the three of us all look forward to.

It was a wonderful Christmas and I still get to be with my family until January 5^th. Looking forward to soaking in some of that Florida sun I always took for granted.  I can’t believe that God would bless me so richly to give me a family I love, friends willing to be there for me any way they are able and even strangers who will go out of their way to help. Thank you Lord for sending your son as a baby so that we might be saved.  We can never repay the debt we owe but hopefully we can st least learn an example of giving to each other just as you gave to us.

I treasure this time with family and realize this means my year is just about half way over. I can’t wait to see what’s in store next!

PS. Writing Christmas cards is hard y’all. I think I’ll have to put off starting that tradition for yet another year.

A VISTA Thanksgiving

I was SO SO SO excited to have two awesome friends, John and Jill, come up to visit me for Thanksgiving. Not only that, but we were joined by two of my wonderful new friends, Allison and Sam. I decided that I wanted to host my first Thanksgiving this year. I have been doing a lot more cooking lately, thanks to my "From Scratch" experiments (learning how to make one new thing from scratch a week). My only goal was not to set anything on fire. Setting the bar pretty low means less chance of disappointment.

Well I'm pleased to say not only did I not set anything on fire, but by the grace of God everything came out how it was supposed to, and warm all at the same time. Beginners luck you could say. I was so incredibly grateful and have John and Jill, and Allison and Sam there. I realized I have plenty else to be thankful for as well. It's easy to think of the big things, but every once in a while when the overwhelming grace of all the small blessings add up it really makes a big impression!

My first blessing was thinking of all the new people I have gotten to know here. VISTAs are great and a lot of fun to be around. Everyone works very hard and is passionate about what they do, and yet somehow no one takes themselves too seriously. Then there are the people in Deer Lodge who have opened up and welcomed me in, as if I've always belonged here. People have given me their phone numbers to make sure I had someone to call "in case of homesickness." Others have left small gifts around the office for me if they thought it was something I might need. As a matter of fact, the majority of things I used to make and serve Thanksgiving dinner were all borrowed from people working at the court house. I asked to borrow a roaster and a knife from one woman. Instead, she lent me a roaster, a knife, 2 plates, a huge thing of foil (how did she know that would be so handy??), and a bread basket. Another woman heard that I was trying to make my first Thanksgiving and just volunteered to bring a bunch of serving plates and bowls, just in case. I ended up using everything they loaned me. Everything fit perfectly, and I had exactly enough. Thank you Lord for a delicious, blessed Thanksgiving.

I was given a book to read called "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. In it, she stresses the importance of being content with the gifts God has given you, as well as recognizing those gifts. She raises the point that sin is created out of ingratitude. We are searching for more and more, never fully realizing the miracle it is to just have life. Instead of constantly thinking "I will never be fulfilled if I don't..." it should be more like "I can't believe I already have so much in my life." That's especially important for me to remember now. It's easy, at least for me, to get distracted from the idea that I am merely a vessel. I become preoccupied with the good I am trying to do, or the things I need to accomplish. When instead I need to remember that just being alive is a gift. I need to do nothing with that gift besides use it as God intended. John said something while he was here, "Also, you come from a background of faith." At the time, I had been going on about how it wasn't that hard to adjust to life in Montana (besides the weather) because I enjoy the company of people of all ages. I can't even remember all the other pointless things I was saying. But when John added in that small sentence, without intention of correcting or preaching, I knew he was totally right. It could matter less about any other element that seems to have helped me along the way up here. What matters in a background of faith.

I still don't know where I am going after this. I'm looking in to a lot of different options and have many different ideas. But I'm not worried. After all, it's not about what I think needs to happen, it's about knowing that whatever happens is a gift. I long to find myself a shining diamond of God's love, set in a ring of faith, on display only for His glory on His hand.

I'm off to craft like a Christmas fiend. Less than 2 weeks until home (and warm)!!

Who stole my October?

It's a chilly November morning here in Deer Lodge. That's right, I said November. Can you believe it? Because I can't. Somehow or other the month of October has flown by and I neglected to post anything about the awesomeness that's happening up here.

Let's start with an update on the job:
I have very exciting news that all started when the hospital association decided to build a brand new hospital. The old building that used to be the hospital  belongs to the county and has very strict limits on what can occupy it because of the loans used to renovate it. Due to the restrictions and limitations, no one place a bid on this giant building that is in relatively good condition. The new hospital is beautiful and state-of-the-art, but many Deer Lodgians (as I've dubbed them) are bitter about the move because of the giant carcass left behind that will become a serious drain to taxpayers without the hospital occupying it. As you might imagine, Montana winters do a number on buildings that are not being properly maintained so the options were to have the county pay for maintenance until whenever someone comes along super expensive, or leave the building there to crumble and depreciate super wasteful.

Are you wondering how this is exciting yet? Here comes the good part! A group of community members started meeting to discuss needs in Deer Lodge and Powell County that could possibly be fulfilled with the use of the old building. Long story short, a coalition formed with the Powell County Economic Development Corporation (a small local group that had been inactive for a few years) to be the umbrella corporation leasing the building to smaller non-profits INCLUDING a transition home for victims of domestic violence! If everything goes as planned, this will be an even better alternative than a house. There will also be an assisted living in a part of the hospital which will create an opportunity for on the job training and even mentor-type relationships between the residents. The county has been  supportive and now it's just a matter of getting all the paperwork in place and, of course, finding funding. The Commissioners agreed to pay for maintenance until we are ready to move in, hopefully in just a few months. This will keep costs to the county low but also keep the building from being yet another reminder of emptiness. I just applied for a Pepsi Refresh Everything Grant and had to make a little video to go with it. Musical Theater class of 2007 will remember this song! I couldn't help myself... It just fit too perfectly.  Read fast! They only give you a minute so the slides are pretty short.

 

Everything else is going well too, thanks for asking. My sister came up to visit early this month and we went down to Yellowstone. I took her up to the Courthouse introduced her to a bunch of people I work with. We carved a pumpkin and spent most of our time just laying around and doing nothing. In my mind, those are the best kinds of visits. Oh, and eating. There was lots and lots of eating.

I have a winter coat but I'm still working on warm/snow shoes. Fortunately, there are plenty of experts up here to ask for consultation! I'm holding firmly to my protest that it should not be 30 degrees in November, but so far my argument is falling on deaf ears. I'm not the only one having to adjust to the differences however. Ethel is taking Montana roads pretty hard. Driving back from an excursion, I heard a load thump suddenly and didn't know if it was the roads or Ethel. I switched lanes and it stopped so I kept going. When I got home, I saw that somehow, something, someway tore the tread off my rear passenger tire which them broke my tail light and dented/scratched up the back area a bit. Unfortunately, my usual repair method of adding a bumper sticker over it just wont cut it this time. I am grateful that I made it the rest of the way back to the apartment before I saw the damage. AND I am flabbergasted by the fact that the tire didn't pop! It never even deflated during the time it took me to get a replacement one. Just another little reminder that God is watching over me up here.

The apartment stays relatively clean. I think it helps because when I look around and think "How did this mess get here?" there is literally no other answer than "Oh. Right. Me." Maybe I'll get a turtle I have someone else to blame trouble on... John and Jill are coming up to see me in less than 3 weeks and I could not be more excited!! I'm thinking I might have to do some Thanksgiving decorations since someone will be around to see them. Hmmm....

Well, I'm off to do the laundry I haven't done in about a month. The sock situation has become dire.

Thanks for stopping by! If you think about it, say a little prayer for the efforts up here as well as the people suffering from abusive situations. A little extra love goes a long way.

Wallflowers

Everyone who visits my office is greeted with a smile and a burst of color from my "paper garden". When I first got here I decided the office needed more spice but wasn't sure how to go about it. Using things around the office, I ended up making giant magazine flowers to hang up for that extra dose of fun. Many people have asked me how I made them so I figured I would explain it!

The "wallflowers."

You will need: (I substituted with things on hand)

A magazine

scissors 

ruler/any straight edge (I used a 3-hole punch)

cardstock (An old file folder worked perfectly)

ribbon

staples/tape/adhesive of your choice. 

1. Cut the pages of your magazine to a perfect square. I wasn't very choosy about the pages I used. Because I'm lazy, I folded the top corner into the spine to create the square. 

2. Use a straight edge (I used a 3 hole punch) to tear the bottom of the square. I find the cleanest rips were when I pulled up from the corner and ripped from the spine and the bottom at the same time, done rather quickly. You can make the squares any size, as long as they are squares. You will need 11-12 squares depending on the size of your flower. 

3. Roll the corners of your squares in to make a cone. Staple the ends shut. Repeat with all squares.

4. Out of your cardstock (or old colorful file folder) cut a circle large enough to cover up to the half way point of the cones all the way around. Any bigger than half and the circle might show through. I just eye-balled it. Staple the cones around the circle. I also taped the inside of the cones down in the center. 

5. Add the finishing touches! I cut a smaller circle to cover the center where I taped the cone points down. My supervisor had lots of ribbon and stickers from awareness events in the past so I stapled a large ribbon down the center as a stem and attached a small leaf cut from the same file as the circles. I added some stickers to the center of the circle for texture and fun.

The neat thing about these is that you can make them any size from teeny-tiny to humongous and because everything is attached to the circle in the back they're very easy to hang. I used one tack up at the top of the circle. You can't see it between the cones. I'm sure you could use sticky tack too.

Have fun! I'm thinking I need to change these out now that Summer is over (sigh)... Anyone have an ideas for Autumn decorations?

Exploring Part 1: Glacier National Park

I actually went to Glacier a long time ago but I'm just now uploading the pictures which means I'm just now writing about it. So far, half the time I travel out to meet up with people I somehow miss them. I get lost or we both loose cell reception or some other dilemma arises to keep me alone. I don't mind being alone. Of course it would be nice to spend time with new VISTA friends but being alone in the beautiful outdoors under the wide open skies of Montana has its perks.

The first of these social-turned-secluded outings was my adventure to Glacier. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip:

Welcome to the park!

A view of some of the mountains.

I started getting hungry and found this little place right outside the park. I was the only person there so I got a LOT of attention from the very sweet couple who owned it. After an hour of getting to know my new friends, I was on the trail again. 

Yes, I was driving. Yes, I was driving slowly. Yes, I was hanging my arm outside the window holding the camera.

Ethel soaking up some sun.

This might be my favorite picture of the day. I think it captures the mood I found myself in at the park.

Eventually, I caught up with the other VISTAs and had a very nice weekend in northern Montana. There were no swings or slides like the parks I'm most familiar with but I have the feeling my memories will be just as fond.

God created this!

What's in a Quiche?

It's official. I'm a grown up.

What makes me say that?

It's not the fact that I've been living away from home for years now. Or that I'm now 2,500 miles away. Or paying my own bills. Nope, none of that. Today. I made a quiche all by myself. Not even Google helped me (which we all know doesn't count anyway).

How does that make me an adult?

Well, it's because I made it simply to use up groceries so they didn't go bad while I am away at a conference. I remember Mom making things because they would go bad soon.  I just thought that was her way of not having to cook more. Little did I realized that it takes MORE ingenuity to come up with something out of what you have, rather than fulfilling the needs of a pre-made recipe. I never really had many groceries in college because I didn't have a lot of time to cook. But now, here I am full circle, having to make a quiche to use up my groceries like a big girl. (Yes, I am aware that making a quiche with leftovers is about the safest thing you can do with leftovers but don't take this away from me. It still could have gone terribly wrong. Trust me.)

In addition to the benefit of using up groceries, it turned out beyond perfect. I didn't have crust ingredients so I buttered the dish and lined it with spinach. Yep, spinach. Then mixed the eggs I had left with leftover ham, mushrooms, more tiny pieces of spinach, and cheese. Plus a little garlic. Popped it in the oven for what I guessed would be the right time and right temperature and FOOD appeared. As you may be able to tell, I'm highly satisfied with the outcome of my efforts.

Every once in a while it's nice to realize that you are ready and able for the tasks ahead of you, no matter how small.

Thank you Lord not not letting me burn the apartment down with my leftover efforts.