I've been harassed that I'm not updating enough, so here's my update for you all (by the way, for those of you who are complaining, buy me a computer and I'll update more!! ... just playin' just playin'). This past weekend was an absolutely insane adventure, as I was in Perham (my hometown) for my friend, Lindsey's, wedding. Normally being involved in a wedding is something I enjoy to no end, but this one brought about a few surprises including about 10 inches of snow! God must have an absolutely amazing sense of humor to allow that much snow in the end of April - I can't wait to meet Him and get His reasoning for that one! :) So Saturday morning I woke up to find a three-foot snowdrift surrounding my car, and that was just the start of the day! Other events included a bridesmaid stranded in the ditch, roads that were nearly impossible to drive on, the photographer and entire wedding party arriving late for pictures, a ceremony starting almost a half hour late, a bridesmaid (the one in the ditch) flaking out after the ceremony and going home ... just a nutty day! The reception and dance were wonderful, though, and the entire weekend came together in one beautiful wedding ceremony, a great reception and an insanely fun dance! Congrats to Lindsey and Mike - I'm so happy for you!

Amidst all the crazy of my life, I've decided it's time to take a vacation, so I'm flying out to Reno tomorrow morning to visit my lifelong friend, Angela. I'm only going to be out there a few days (Thursday through Sunday), but I'm anticipating it to be the vacation I've been dreaming of for awhile! I haven't seen Angela in almost a year (I believe the last time I saw her was at her brother's wedding last fall), and I am SO excited to see her! I'm just hoping that, being I'm flying in on Sunday and already have plans for Sunday late afternoon/evening, I will be able to not only function but function to full ability at work on Monday. Pray for me! :)

Beyond that, my schedule is already crazy for the month of May! I'm taking a weekend trip to Perham for Easter with my dad's extended family and to celebrate Mother's Day with my mom, I'm taking a weekend trip to Jamestown, ND to spend time with my brother and his wife (and to babysit for them while they celebrate my sister-in-law's parent's 30th wedding anniversary) and am just crazy busy in between all of that traveling! YiKeS! Lord have mercy :)

That's me in a bit larger than a nutshell! So .... how are you?!

I have learned that you can't judge a person by their lifestyle - you don't know where they have been or what they have gone through to get them where they are today. I have learned that God really knew what He was talking about when He said "be still and know that I am God". I love to be still. I have learned that kisses really do make some of the pain go away. I have learned that my family will always be irreplaceable in my heart. I have learned that true love lets you be who you are 100% of the time. I have learned that sugar-coating my words hurts more in the end. I have learned that not everybody follows my schedule. Surprisingly enough, that one took awhile to learn! I have learned that laughter really is the best medicine and a hug between friends is priceless. I have learned that a phone conversation with mom is a treasure. I have learned that ice cream and chocolate truly are therapeutic. I have learned that going out of your way to help others is essential in life. I have learned the importance of knowing how to drop everything and be there. I have learned the joy of keeping a childlike spirit. I have learned the freedom that comes with dancing in the rain. I have learned that life goes by too quickly. I have learned to breathe in the moments. I have learned that children are always a blessing, whether coming to you with cheery hugs and kisses or a screaming temper tantrum. I have learned that my nieces and nephews know far more about true faith than I do. I have learned that I don't have all of the answers. I have learned the importance of trusting God. I have learned that it's okay to be scared once in awhile. I have learned the necessity of always telling people how much I love them. I have learned to live life passionately. I have learned to follow some of my spontaneous whims. I have learned to ignore the irresponsible ones! The best thing, however, is that I have learned that I still have so much to learn ....

Here I go - copying Katie's blog, sheerly because it was so enjoyable to read her 100 things! If you have a blog of your own, I hereby tag you to share your 100 with me! :) So, without further adieu, I bring you my 100 .........

1. I am incredibly random and off-the-wall.
2. 90% of the time I am an extreme extrovert.
3. My relationship with God is the number one priority in my life.
4. My family means the entire world to me and I don't know how I would function or survive without them.
5. I tend to hate and love the exact same thing a lot (i.e. I hate to work out, but I love to work out).
6. My heart's true desire is to be a wife and a mom. This will happen someday, of that I am certain.
7. Ice cream has the ability to make everything bad in my life go away for awhile!
8. I take my 4-year-old niece, Lexie, on a "girls day" date at least twice every month and always anticipate the arrival of our next date.
9. My 10 nieces and nephews are the joy of my life. I have never been so much in love with anyone or anything as I am with each and every one of them.
10. I absolutely hate having a messy house or room.
11. My bedroom is rarely ever clean.
12. I'm incredibly organized with my schedule and can't stand it when people have to cancel or change plans around.
13. I'm trying to learn to be more flexible!
14. I have a passion for working with youth.
15. I'm fairly high maintenance and won't leave the house unless I know I look presentable.
16. I love to grocery shop.
17. I hate all other kinds of shopping.
18. I'm extremely claustrophobic because my brother, Tory, put me in the dryer when we were kids and turned it on.
19. I love to cook.
20. I would rather crawl back in bed and call in sick to work than have to go there looking less than presentable.
21. I oversleep a LOT.
22. I skipped more class my senior year of high school than I attended.
23. I really enjoy a good cup of coffee.
24. I hate scary movies, but if I start to watch one I have to watch it to the end.
25. I love being in my car and truthfully do enjoy parking in a lot, opening the sunroof, reclining my seat and reading a book.
26. Deep down, I am a huge nerd.
27. I would rather play football with the guys than go shopping with the girls.
28. I'm allergic to all forms of fish and seafood.
29. I love to run.
30. I love chicken fries, but hate them because I always eat too many!
31. My 12-year-old niece knows more about today's music than I do.
32. My family tree branches out in so many different directions that I would have to draw it out for you to truthfully understand it ... and that's what I love the most about my family life!
33. My brother, Tory, and I used to play "boy band" on road trips.
34. I can stick my tongue up my nose.
35. I love cheesecake.
36. I manage a physical therapy clinic and fitness center - and I love it!
37. I meet a lot of professional athletes at work and rarely recognize any of them.
38. If I'm upset, it generally takes me about 30 minutes tops to get over it.
39. I'm incredibly blunt and honest.
40. I wear my heart and all of my emotions on my sleeve for the world to see.
41. I am completely incapable of hiding how I feel, and it's always obvious when I'm trying to do so!
42. I love the Minnesota Vikings.
43. My grandma taught me to drive when I was 10.
44. She denies that fact to this day!
45. More often than not, I feel like a 40-year-old living in a 24-year-old's body.
46. I would rather spend time talking with people my parent's age than people my own age.
47. I hate beer.
48. I think it's essential that someone invents a drive-thru fast food restaurant with truthfully healthy food.
49. In the last two years I have discovered that I have a weak stomach when it comes to medical things and pass out easily.
50. Somehow, the only time I override my weak stomach is when the medical emergency involves someone I love - then I take charge and am in complete control.
51. I tend to think logically far more than I think emotionally.
52. My dad gave me the nickname of "Goose" when I was really young.
53. He even had a theme song to go along with the nickname and he sang it to me every day when he drove me to school.
54. I love old films, especially those starring Audrey Hepburn.
55. I'm a sucker for acoustic music.
56. I have a hard time accepting unexpected gifts.
57. I am most comfortable in jeans, a cute shirt and flip flops.
58. I truthfully hate lounging in my pajamas all day.
59. I love to write and am currently working on my first book.
60. I mentor a teenage girl named Ashley whom I love with all of my heart!
61. God has recently blessed me with some amazing friends.
62. I love road trips.
63. It's not uncommon for me to make up my own words and use them frequently ... words like "relationshippy".
64. Most of the closest friends in my life live nowhere near me. I guess that's what happens when you grow up.
65. I love steak.
66. I enjoy vegging in front of the TV when old shows are on (i.e. Walker Texas Ranger, The Andy Griffith Show, I Love Lucy, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, etc).
67. My 12-year-old niece, Breanna, is almost taller than me. This I find irritating! :)
68. My purse is always equipped with a toy car and a plastic chicken.
69. My brother's opinions mean more to me than they will ever realize and it truly breaks my heart when they are upset with me.
70. I love going to the beach with a good friend and fresh fruit to snack on.
71. I enjoy playing cribbage.
72. I have learned to play poker several times ... and forgotten how to play poker several times!
73. The people in my neighborhood are some of my very favorite people to spend time with.
74. I truthfully never want to move out of my brother's house, but I SO want to move out of my brother's house!
75. Jesus is my best friend.
76. I enjoy playing sand volleyball.
77. I'm not artistic, though I really wish I was!
78. I love hosting parties and can't wait to have my own home to do so.
79. I really enjoy reading my Bible.
80. I very much dislike getting out of bed in the morning.
81. I hate blind dates and the pressure that comes with them, though I love meeting new people.
82. I almost always have a song in my head that I'm singing throughout the day.
83. It's not uncommon for me to dance around the clinic at work.
84. I truly do believe that I can do absolutely anything.
85. I hate that my sister's dogs never stop barking.
86. I love video games.
87. I have been pulled over by the police more times than I can recall, but have only received one ticket in my life (on my 17th birthday!).
88. I'm insanely high maintenance, but well aware of it, so I plan accordingly.
89. I love to laugh until my stomach hurts.
90. When my sister, Tanya, and I are together, we're insanely goofy and giggly and I just love it!
91. I want to make a huge difference in the world.
92. I love acting and miss being on stage SO much!
93. My favorite place to be is in my mom's backyard on a hot sunny day, laying in the hammock with a lemonade, a good book and a cool breeze blowing off the lake.
94. I'm 24-years-old and my brothers and I still wrestle.
95. My brothers are 27 and 32. We'll never grow up!
96. Benihana is my favorite restaurant EVER.
97. I have a huge list of goals that I want to accomplish by the end of 2008 and I plan on doing each and every one of them.
98. My two best girl friends are both expecting their first baby.
99. I love making snow angels.
100. I make the best chocolate chip oatmeal cookies EVER.

:) Tag, you're it!

Does anybody know where it is?! I'm not completely certain as to why I'm losing sleep, but my schedule is seeming to allow less and less of it, and it's starting to have it's effect on me more and more. Like this weekend, for instance. I absolutely guarantee my sleep will be little to none. I should be snoozing right now, as I'm waking up tomorrow at 6am. 6:00 on a Saturday morning?! Why would anybody choose to do that?! My neighbors, my sister-in-law and I are having a garage sale (yes, in the midst of this snowy, ridiculously cold weekend, we're going to sit outside and attempt to sell things) that opens at 7:00am. Missy (my sister-in-law) and I have much to set up in the morning, which means rise and shine at 6am. Ish. It's all good, though, I'm going to treat myself to a glorious 10 minutes in the tanning bed after sitting in the cold all morning long. Somehow I feel that it equals itself out. :)

Then I have plans to be with a friend on Saturday night, which means there's no chance that I will be in bed early, and no chance that I will want to leave so I CAN be in bed early ... which in turn means less and less sleep. Steve needs to go to the ridiculously early service at church on Sunday, and we all said that we'd go too ... though I'm thinking I may have to bail on that one, as the sleep needs to come SOMETIME.

When did it happen that, in order to LIVE and enjoy life, you all of a sudden became required to sacrifice sleep for that? Holy wow I am one tired chica. Then go to bed! Nope, still waiting on a phone call.

I'm a hopeless case! If you can catch some extra Zzzzz's for me, definitely do it -- someone needs to! :)

Loves!

I don't think that I could have asked for a better weekend than this one. I was completely on my own schedule, spent time with some of the most important people in my life and have had huge amounts of fun! Friday night was spent with the two cutest little kids in the world, which (for the uninformed) is my niece and nephew, Lexie (4) and Zack (2). My brother and his wife went out to celebrate her birthday, which meant the babies and I had the night to ourselves. Unfortunately, due to my huge amounts of missed sleep this past week, I was beat by the beginning of our night! We started the evening with chasing each other around the house, followed by a movie and lots of delicious popcorn (or "piecorn" as Zachary likes to call it!), and ended the evening with reading books, singing the "jammies" song, and tucking babies into bed. I even got a bonus, as Lexie wanted to cuddle - so we snuggled up together for awhile and talked about my friend that I had been on the phone with (she likes to know who the people are that I hang out with) and about our upcoming girls night (she and I are getting ice cream and going to the park this week, weather permitting). It wasn't long until she was asleep. Aaah yes, beautiful dreamin' babies!

Saturday was quite possibly the best part of the weekend. I woke up to a phone call from my step-Bob (my step dad), as he was in Monticello and was ready to get breakfast. This was definitely a change of plans, as we were supposed to have lunch together, but he said he was hungry and was ready to eat. At his request, I wasn't even allowed to shower -- he was THAT hungry! So I got my high maintenance, unshowered butt out of bed, dressed and made myself somewhat presentable, then got Lexie and went to pick up Bob. We had a great breakfast at Perkins and then I went with him back to the middle school where the special olympics basketball teams were competing (he drives bus for them). It was absolutely amazing to watch! After the game was over (I only watched one game), I scooted back to the house and finally got to shower and get ready for the day. Aaah satisfaction! Then I was on the road again, off to Maple Grove where I met a wonderful friend and spent the rest of the evening hanging out, laughing and having one of the best nights I've had in a long time! We went to the Sports Show at the Mpls Convention Center, followed by a VERY long walk in downtown Minneapolis, which was complete with great conversation and lots of laughs! Following our walk was dinner at The Hard Rock Cafe, then a bit more walking and the decision was made to go see a movie. We drove back to Maple Grove (as I was aware that they have a theater that only charges $3 for adults, and if you know me at all, you know I'm always up for saving money!) and killed some time at Caribou Coffee (as the movie wasn't going to start for another hour), then off to the movie. We watched "Juno". I'd rate it a B. It was an alright movie, not quite what I expected. Nonetheless, the company was great, which made the movie even better! After the movie, we decided it was time to be responsible adults and head home (as we had church to wake up for in the morning!). So I was dropped off at my car and we parted ways ... I think I lasted maybe 10 minutes before phoning him for company on my drive home. Does that make me a dork? If so, I'm more than content being that dork! :) I arrived home to find people sleeping on the floors of both living rooms (my sister-in-law's family stayed with us this weekend) so I snuck down to my room and tried so hard to sleep, but SOMEONE who was sleeping in the basement happens to snore louder than I've heard in a LONG time, so sleeping was a lost cause. Instead, I turned on a movie (I watched "Along Came Polly" for the second time in two days!) and hoped it would make me sleepy. It did .... eventually.

Today (Sunday) I woke up bright and early, battled for time in the bathroom, and then woke my brother up. Unfortunately for him, I was in an insanely goofy mood this morning, so when I went and jumped on his bed yelling, "JEREMY, It's time to get UPPPP! GOOD MORNING JEREMY!" and things of the sort, it was not well received. Thankfully, however, I left with no bruises, he was smiling, and I promised to start a cup of coffee for him! After getting ready, I jetted off to church, picking up my beloved Kristin on the way. Church was amazing - Pastor Peter preached on the beauty of God and how His beauty is in everything we see, we just need to learn to slow down and acknowledge that beauty. Like the verse says, "be still and know that I am God." After church, Kristin, Steve, Chris, Shawn and I all headed out to Cafe Latte to grab a small bite and chat. Lots of fun! Proceeding the light lunch, Kristin and I danced in the rain and jumped in every puddle we came across on our way back to the car (which was delightful, I must add!). I dropped her off and headed on my journey back home where, upon arrival, I discovered it's going to be a LAZY night in the Anderson home! It's not quite 6pm and I'm already in my pajamas and ready to curl up in bed with anticipation of finishing my book that I'm so eager to complete! Life was very good to me this weekend -- thanks to all who made it better!

Now I'm out, as my brother and his family just returned from a walk, and he's claiming to charge me for using his computer! :) Aaah the life of my favorite Jeremy ....

Life is good. Very, very good! :)