"Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

Stop what you are doing. Go to amazon.com or your local bookstore of choice or the library and get this book. Or better yet, order it here, and part of the proceeds will go to helping the children in Pakistan and Afghanistan!

Yep, I like it that much. I am ordering you to read "3 Cups of Tea."

This book really speaks to the power of one person when on a mission. Greg Mortenson stumbled (literally) into a small village in Pakistan and the rest is just his determination to make a difference for the people who chose to love him and take care of him. From there he continued to stumble in this journey, but yet things took off-- because he chose to honor his promises to people he met along the way, he chose to love people who showed him love first.

Now he is the director of the Central Asia Institute; the CAI has built 80 plus schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He feels that a balance education is the only way to fight the Taliban and other extreme terrorists. After reading this book and really listening, I have to agree.

So, instead of me telling you more about his stories (including the time he was kidnapped by the Taliban, or how he hid from warlords, etc), pick up the book. READ it! I promise... you'll learn a lot about how to fight terrorism, about yourselves, about what (in my opinion) being the hands and feet of Christ can look like (although Mortenson may not be a evangelical Christian, I do believe that God is using Mortenson to do many great and awesome things)!

Random Question

What is growing down here in the basement that I work in (well, semi basement) that makes it so I cough constantly each and every morning?

If you could answer that for me, it would be amazing.

Thanks! ;-)

Congratulations Jonathan and Lizzi!

This weekend I was up in Michigan (woot! so much fun to see old friends). My excuse? Mr. Jonathan Tyrpak was getting married to Ms. Lizzi Glassman.

The wedding was beautiful, and their personalities definitely shone through... like when the pastor was getting ready to introduce them Lizzi started bouncing up and down with excitement! (:-)-- too cute).

The reception was also fun. I mean, how can you go wrong with yummy food and dancing? You can't. It was a little weird to be part of the "old college crowd." Yes, I am now in that boat. We (Dan, Sarah, Jenn, Josh and I) kept referring to ourselves as the first generation (the bride and groom were two years younger than us). And we were! It was weird... but to be expected I guess. July 11th is my three year anniversary for moving down here.

Anyway... thanks to all my friends for hanging out with me, both at the wedding and in Ann Arbor on Sat/Sunday. And congratulations to Jonathan and Lizzi! I wish you all the best!

The girls before the ceremony -- had to entertain ourselves. What beautiful women I got to sit with! :-)

My lovely table... too much fun catching up with these people!

The first dance... now if I could only remember what they dance to. Maybe "God Bless the Broken Road?"

Happy 2nd Anniversary Joel and Ann Marie!!

Joel and I met on Summer Project (yea VaBeach 04!). Despite the fact that he is a Buckeye, he is one of the coolest guys I know. From almost day one I remember thinking "this man is quality." One of my first memories of Joel is the day my friend Brianna got sunburned... it was overcast so she didn't put on any sunscreen. Well, by late that night she was beyond pink and in a LOT of pain. Joel, not wanting us to go to Wal-mart by ourselves, drove us there at around midnight to get aloe and painkillers. He had already gotten in to his pajamas and everything.





Anyway, he is quality. I also remember later that year (after we were back at school) talking with him about this girl he liked. And now they are married... AND living in VaBeach! Yep, that is right. They now live where they both went on Summer Project (Joel in 04 and 06; Anne Marie in 05). Fun times.





Thanks for inviting me to be with you on your special day, Joel and Ann Marie!

Where's Jaye P been?

Good question! Sorry I have been missing for a couple of days (more like a week and a half). Just got busy... didn't have much to offer as far as thoughts. Or maybe I had to much going on in my head to be much good here. I don't know... anyway, I have some fun things to share...

Expect a blog entry on:

-- trip to Michigan
-- Jonathan's and Lizzi's wedding
-- thoughts on moving
-- shag dancing
-- Fort Caswell wrap up
-- book: 3 cups of tea

Wow... maybe I have more to say than I thought. ;-)

Anyway, I should be back. I have posted just some small entries below. Nothing too spectacular, but I am hoping it will hold you over until I can get around to down loading the pics from this past weekend.

Debt

I have talked a little bit on my blog about my credit card debt. I am so thankful that God has convicted me to clean up my spending habits. I still have quite a ways to go, but I feel like at 25 I am leaps and bounds above where I could be...

Here is one article that just forced me to stop and be thankful and praise God for where He has brought me to my knees. $60,000 -- I can't even imagine being that far in debt and then being forced to begin taking furlough. Or even worse... lose your job! Praise God that I have a job that seems (for the time being) stable and one that I enjoy. Praise God that I am not that far in debt!

I also really enjoy this portion of Dave Ramsey's website... gives me hope that someday I'll be able to call in and yell FREEDOM! I will be there someday! And hopefully sooner rather than later.

Jon and Kate... no more.

I think I wrote a blog post about Jon and Kate semi-recently.

This whole situation just makes me sad. For so many reasons... the children... the testimony that they no longer have... what celebrity can do to a marriage... so much to say and it all is sad.

I find it very interesting that most of the people who I know that watch the show will no longer watch it. All over Facebook the status messages have read: "stop watch Jon and Kate." "sad for Jon and Kate, for now I say good-bye." People don't want to watch this, watch the kids go through this, watch something where there was hope go down in flames. I certainly don't.

As of last night, I am no longer watching Jon and Kate. I still pray that God will change their hearts and that God will repair their marriage. I think that is the saddest part! They made this marriage in front of God, a covenant and it can't just be dissolved like that. Sorry, I digress.

There were lots of articles today that I found interesting. But as of this morning... again, I will stop reading the articles. I am only one person, but in order to help the kids as much as possible, they need to step (or be forced out of) the limelight. I'll do what little I can.

Join me in praying for them.

Last-Minute Lasagna

I tried a new recipe! (remember that was one of my 26 things...).

This time I made Last-Minute Lasagna, a recipe I found in Real Simple. And it was delicious! I will definitely be making this again. Yummy is all I have to say!

I forgot to take a picture, but let the one on the recipe page on Real Simple be enough to entice you to try it. Just remember: the spinach and the ravioli have to be thawed BEFORE you can begin to cook it (made dinner very late last night).

Do you have any new recipes you want to share with me?

50 Things

Got tagged, so I thought I would participate.

Here's what you're supposed to do... and please don't spoil the fun... copy and paste, delete my answers, type in your answers and send it to a bunch of people (tag) -including me...

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:45
2. How do you like your steak? medium rare... but at restaurants I ask for medium just to be safe
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? He's Just Not That Into You? NO! Wolverine
4. What is your favorite TV show? RW/RR Challenges or One Tree Hill (oh, guilty pleasures)
5. What did you have for breakfast? an apple and cereal
6. What is your middle name? Patricia
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Italian... bread and pasta, yummy!
8. What foods do you dislike? most veggies... things that are mushy
10. Favorite dressing? Italian
11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? '07 Ford Fusion
12. What are your favorite clothes? pajamas
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation? Hawaii, Europe, Australia, New Zealand
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? most day's its half fun
15. Where would you want to retire? somewhere near a beach
16. Favorite time of day? don't know... definitely NOT getting out of bed
17. Where were you born? Virginia Beach, VA
18. What is your favorite sport to watch? College Football
19. Who do you think will not tag you back? considering I don't really tag people to do these things....
20. Person you expect to tag you back first? see #20
21. Pepsi or Coke? COKE!
22. Bird watcher? nope
23. Are you a morning person or a night person? night
24. Do you have any pets? Yes. :-)
25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? I am taking the GRE in Aug!
26. What did you want to be when you were little? Marine Biologist
27. What is your best childhood memory? summers at Lake Michigan, the Low Rent Regatta
28. Are you a cat person or a dog person? even though I own a cat, both -- I think they each have their own benefits.
29. Beer or Margarita? Margarita
30. Always wear your seat belt? yes... and I'll make you put yours on
31. Been in a car accident? yes
32. Favorite Restaurant? Chick fil a... or Khanki
33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? any kind of meat
34. Favorite Flower? don't know... but I like colors in a bouquet
35. Favorite ice cream? Ben & Jerry's Cinnamon Bun
36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Chick fil a
37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? zero
38. From whom did you get your last email - my mom
39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Target
40. Bedtime? between 10 and 11
41. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? what kind of questions are these?42. Broccoli? blech
43. What was your favorite vacation? Little Point Sable, MI or Disney World
44. Last person you went out to dinner with? Laura, Rachel and Jenny last night -- we went to Applebee's
45. What are you listening to right now? my "Let's Get on the Road" playlist
46. What is your favorite color? blue... crystal clear blue
47. How many tattoos do you have? none
48. How many are you tagging for this quiz? none
49. What time did you finish this quiz? 10:12am
50. Coffee drinker? no, if I need caffeine I grab a Coke

Ok, did you notice there is no #9? So, really this should be 49 things.

Weekend Update

I didn't get nearly enough done this weekend... ah, well that is normal for me. BUT, I did get some things done.

Here's the recap, just in case you really wanted to know:

• clean out filing cabinet -- started... only about 1/5 of the way through
• purge closet (I did this to my dresser about a month ago, now it is time to move onto the closet) -- nope didn't even start
• organizer crafts into new scrabook rolly bag :-) -- began, but I just don't know what I should get rid of!
• plan Sunday School Lesson -- DONE!
• spend 2 hours studying for the GRE -- about that...
• scrub the bathroom -- I dusted it...
• go grocery shopping (you don't want to know the last time I went) -- I officially have food!
• AND, I got laundry done!

So, a semi productive weekend... I was able to at least begin some of these bigger projects.

What I really realized this weekend was that my room isn't going to be clean again until after I move. I have too much that I'll be cleaning/throwing out/going through/packing until then. Oh well... at least I can come to terms with that now.

No Doubt

Last night I went to the No Doubt concert. It was about as amazing as I remember the concert being in High School... and Middle School.


So in case you aren't following, this would be my third time seeing them. Yep.


This time around one of my co-workers asked if I wanted to join her. Her daughter, Kate, who is in 8th grade, wanted to see Paramore; tickets were at an awesome price ($10 for the lawn), so she asked if I would go and be her adult company (two middle schoolers are a LOT to handle. was I really like that?). I went gladly!


I have to say, No Doubt knows how to command a stage, especially Ms. Gwen Stefani (aka, Mrs. Gavin Rossdale). She has so much energy -- I can barely do the Cupid Shuffle without becoming winded and here she is running around, doing push ups and dancing all at once. How in shape do you have to do that? Not anything I can do, that is for sure!


I really enjoyed this concert. Maybe because they played most of the songs off their Tragic Kingdom album and that threw me back to middle school. Maybe because I just really enjoy a good concert and good live music. I don't know... it was awesome, though.


Here are a couple of pics from the evening:

Are you planning on going to any concerts any time soon? I will try to posts some videos later (yes, I took videos... had to when Don't Speak came on).

Watch Out Weekend

Over on another blog (one of the ones I enjoy reading), I saw her Watch Out Weekend post and thought it might help me if I let all of you know what I have planned for this weekend.

• clean out filing cabinet
• purge closet (I did this to my dressar about a month ago, now it is time to move onto the closet)
• organizer crafts into new scrabook rolly bag :-)
• plan Sunday School Lesson
• spend 2 hours studying for the GRE
• scrub the bathroom
• go grocery shopping (you don't want to know the last time I went)

Ok, think that is enough... even this might be somewhat ambitious. But, worth a try! What are your plans for this weekend?

BLAH!

Today is a blah day. I don't know how else to explain it.

I think a lot of it has to deal with the fact that I have a lot swimming around up in my head...

...should I go to Hawaii? but it will cost a LOT of money! and what about time off?! I mean, I technically have the time to take. BUT, then I'll have no even two full days off!

...will I ever be in a relationship? am I just too dorky? not funny enough? too tall? not outgoing enough? too controlling? would I be ok with being single for the rest of my life?

...work! ACK! why have I been such a slacker? I need to: -book the rooms for next year's meetings; -plan my Admin Meeting for next week; -return phone calls; -schedule and plan Try It Troops; -find volunteers to lead troops; -fill spots on my Admin Team; -and the list goes on and one

...back to am I likeable? well, maybe if you said this differently, or did this differently is what then starts to run through my head...

...what is God teaching me? That I need to know myself better. But what does that look like? Am I afraid to see myself, who He has created me to be?

And really, that is just a small glimpse into my mind. And only what has run through my mind in the last hour or so. It makes it hard to even concentrate long enough to get something done at work.

Do you know who the theologian Jonathan Edwards is? He wrote all those "resolved" statements. Part of me feels like today would be a day we I would write some of my "resolved" statements.

Like...

Resolved: I will no longer sleep through my alarm.

Resolved: I will be a good steward of my time at work. This will be shown through no longer playing spider solitaire as a "mental break" and returning all phone calls the same day they are received.

Resolved: I will not focus on being single. Each time that thought crops up in my mind I will instead begin praying.

And on and on it could go...

And part of me is serious in making these resolutions. Maybe I should at least consider trying to redirect many of my thoughts... especially when trying to be productive at work.

What about you? Do you all have days like this?

Fort Caswell: Revive

Last year at Fort Caswell, Josh Wilson came and led worship for us. He was a huge blessing and such a talented guy. It has been fun to see his ministry and career take off this past year.

And then this year, Revive came and led worship for us. Check them out! They are so much fun! This band is extremely talented and you can see God's hand in their story. It is by no mistake that they have been called to be musicians. They were so cool, too! They hung out at the beach with us, joked around with us. I hope they felt how grateful we were to have them lead worship for us and to just share their lives with us.

I bought their CD's at the retreat and they have been playing in my car non stop since then. I really enjoy "Losers" off of the Tarfalgar St. Album and "You Know" off the Chorus of the Saints Album.

SOOO... go and check them out! And in case you are too lazy... just watch this video of them telling their story (and yes, they are about that funny and awesome in person, too!):

Fort Caswell: Carolina Beach Day

Every Memorial Day since I moved down to NC, I have gone on the Single's Retreat to Fort Caswell. And every year I have had a GREAT time... this year proved no different. :-)


As you know from this post, I spent that Friday night camping at Carolina Beach with the girls. It was such a great time! Well... except for the drunk army men who came over and asked us, "Could we get warm by your fire?" Yea, I am not kidding.


Or the 2 am LOUD music from the people on the other side of us.


We learned that next time we camp on the beach, not to do it on a holiday weekend. They party goers are a little intense.


But, did you know that we had quite the adventure trying to get down to Carolina Beach?

First, we wanted to leave at 7:30 to make sure we got there at a good time (beach spots are at a premium). Well, needless to say we were a little late. Luckily the guys who were driving down with us (and then spending the night at Caswell Beach) were gracious (and running a little late themselves).


THEN, on the way down a nice old man waves us down and says "your car is smoking." Uh-oh.

We pull off the road, and here is the proof:

It looks like we are leaking oil (and that was after a 30 minute stop where the boys are crawling under the car and talking to Amanda's dad). Yikes!


Well, we finally get to the beach. You can drive on the beach... and that is the whole reason we drive Amanda's car. It "has" 4 wheel drive... or so we thought. It never engaged and we get stuck in the sand about 100 feet onto the beach. Again... YIKES!


This time, so young men in their HUGE trucks (one a Toyota truck with a camo Lexus sticker on the back...) pull us out. Again, the guys with us are so gracious. They never once complain. They never once make fun of us. They help us at each step. They exude patience. They drive us to our campsite so we don't have to carry all of our stuff out on foot. AND then they set up the tent for us. Yea- they win. Single ladies, these are guys you date. ;-)


And, no... I didn't get a picture of the truck getting pulled out.


Needless to say, that first day was quite the day. We did enjoy spending the afternoon on the beach and then spending the night on the beach. We ate at Big Daddy's... talk about some GOOD seafood. I was happy -- definitely forgot about all of it.


Jenn Lowther saved us later that night. She had Matt's truck with her and became our 4 wheel drive girl (she did an awesome job)! So, we didn't have to carry all of our stuff back out. It was great! :-) I would do it again... but maybe with a little less stress.


Tomorrow, I'll talk about the actual retreat. It was fun weekend!

30,000

I bought my car October 21, 2007.

Do you remember?

Remember when my Stratus (oh, how I loved that car) looked like this? stupid garbage truck.

Do you remember when I bought the new car? Oh, it was a proud day. Such a good day, that I took pictures of that, too:

But let me give you an idea of how much I drive:

That is right. I bought my (used!) 2007 Ford Fusion with about 800 miles on it. As of yesterday, I hit 30,000. In approx 20 months I have put 29,000 miles on my car. That averages to almost 1500 miles a month.

Do you think I drive a lot? How much do you drive?

Good Things: May

Well folks... welcome to June! This post cracked me up... make sure to check out his opinion on it "already being June."

That being said, it is time for me to stop an think "What was so great about May." According to my calendar where I keep track of these things... lots!

1- Oasis 414 event- Shag Dancing. why was it so good? Well, I love to dance... I felt myself around everyone... AND, we went to see Wolverine afterwards
2- I bought my new cell phone. And yes, I love it!
3- whew, what a busy day. I enjoyed it because I actually played kickball -- yea, I know. I never play sports where I have to embarrass myself.
4- finished Twilight...
5- ...
6- ...
7- went Shag Dancing at North Hills. I, of course, danced like a fool. Yep, not surprised.
8- work only a 1/2 day. headed to Va Beach so I could drive to MI with mom. I drove the whole way with the windows down. It was beautiful and I enjoyed it!
9- got to spend some quality time with the grandmas
10- finished New Moon
11- had a great time with my parents
12- found a new apartment, for a great deal. Yea God for working that one out. (remind to tell you all sometime how God has continually proved faithful in the living situations).
13- had a nice restful evening after one crazy weekend
14- another awesome night at North Hills... I of course was on the dance floor quite a bit. :-)
15- Cook Out at Amanda's
16- Strawberry picking... Prayer and Praise night that evening
17- loved the evening service at church
18- dinner at the Niemans! spent much of the time playing games with the girls
19- slept in... was totally worth it
20- dinner w/ Rachel at Neo-China (YUM!)
21- Area 23 Recognitions Night; somehow managed to get everything done on my "to-do" list
22- Vacation Day! Spent it at the beach... and then camped on the beach!
23- Caswell!! spent the afternoon on the beach, talked to people, photo scavenger hunt, great convo w/ Amanda
24- Caswell!! Dancing in the evening, great teaching, Prayer and Praise at the Fort
25- home... great time catching up with Laura once we got home
26- good time w/ Rachel
27- Pizza at B's
28- good solid quiet time... first in quite a while
29- bought TOMs shoes (still waiting for them to come in...); signed up for the GRE; paid a big chunk of a credit card off -- just a good day to feel like I am accomplishing something
30- Sarah Hannich came to NC!!! I spent the day in Winston-Salem with her and her family. What a fun family... and I love just hanging out and talking with Sarai-May
31- kind of a rough day... but had a great time shag dancing at TJ's.

What about you? Have you been having a great time as the weather gets warmer and warmer? I hope so!