Hugaholic

FREE HUGS

If I could, I would hug you.

Merry Christmas!!

Love,
Amber

I Heart Blogging

As many of you know, I have become somewhat of a blogaholic over the past year. It actually began back in March. As I look back on 2006, I remember the feelings I had on the day that I wrote my first post. I didn't' know what I would write, didn't know if I had anything to say, and wasn't even sure if this whole idea of blogging was for me. I had never been a journaler, but had started the first page of many throughout my life.



Why has blogging worked for me? I think there are three main reasons:
1.) I can check for spelling errors, edit, add pictures, use links, and make changes...which I could never do in an old-school journal.
2.) I can stay connected to and make new friends. I didn't realize this when I started blogging, but after a few months went by and I began meeting people all over the country whose blogs I had been reading and who had been reading mine too! I love meeting other bloggers and readers, my readers are my friends!
3.) I can entertain others, which energizes me. When I find out that someone laughed at a post or a picture, it pretty much makes my day.

And so I have decided for 2007 to continue this wonderful thing called blogging.

Friends

So, Ryan and I are in Grand Rapids today. He is interviewing right now and I am working from the hotel.
Last night when we got to town, we swung thru Holland to hang out with Greg Field for a minute. He is HILARIOUS!



We laughed a lot and discovered that the peppermint coffee at JP's didn't really taste like peppermint at all...as you can tell by the disappointed look on Greg's face.

We are so blessed by the friendships that we have. Some from Hope College, some from Kindergarten, some from Chicago and some from Church. Even though there are hundreds and thousands of miles between many of us, the friendships remain the same. It makes me feel better about moving in a few months, knowing that our friendships are strong and that we have new friends to make.

AspireOne Christmas Party

Saturday night we had a blast at the AspireOne Christmas Party. Ryan finally got to meet the people I work with! What an awesome team of brilliantly creative geniuses! I love that I get to hang out with them!

This was the BEST white elephant gift EVER in this history of Man. Ryan and I brought some band-aids that look like strips of bacon...which came in at a close 2nd.

Hair Emergency

I am having what some would call a "Hair Emergency." I went to get my hair cut and hilighted at this new place...and I LOVE getting my hair done...so I was really excited. I got there and was so impressed because this is one of those fancy salons that has specialties. One girl hilighted my hair, another washed it, another cut it and another styled it at the end.
Unfortunately, it didn't turn our at all like what I wanted. It was brown, for starters...and had these extremely blond streaky chunks that were very artsy...and frightened Ryan quite a bit. The problem was that the color girl went home after me, so I couldn't really talk to her about what happened. Secondly, the "two inches" that the cutter girl said she would take off ended up to be ALOT more...so my hair is much shorter than I had anticipated.
I went back the next day and explained that things had gone terribly wrong...so they fixed me up and it is much better now.
Michelle has been helping me to figure out how to style it right. I don't know what I would do without Michelle.
I can tell that my hair is mad at me for treating it with harsh chemicals and heat.
I'm sorry hair.

These are the kinds of wonderful things you can find online

while stranded at the airport...

On Flight Cancellation...

OUR FLIGHT GOT CANCELLED SO We're stranded in Cleveland for another night! Ahhhh! Apparently there is low visibility in Chicago tonight. All I can say is that it's a good thing Kyle and Sarah are here so we don't have to fork over tons of money for another hotel room!

I've been reading Mark Batterson's Book, IN A PIT WITH A LION ON A SNOWY DAY, so naturally I am assuming that this is God's way of putting us in the right place and out of the wrong place tonight.

"God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place as the right time. A sense of destiny is our birthright as followers of Christ. God is awfully good at getting us where He wants us to go. But here's the catch: the right place often seems like the wrong place, and the right time often seems like the wrong time."

Life is full of adventures!

...that is all

Lake Erie

In Cleveland with Kyle and Sarah

We're hanging out with Kyle and Sarah for the weekend in Cleveland before Ryan has his interview at Cleveland Clinic on Monday. Last night we went to Aunt Carol & Uncle Skip's house for some dinner and games. Guitar Hero II seems to be a big hit with everyone. They have a pool table, electronic dart board, and even Ryan's favorite game, FoosBall. It was so fun to see the fam.

Today we will be exploring the glories of Cleveland with Kyle and Sarah...and we are hoping that the lines aren't too long to get into the house where Ralphie Lived in "The Christmas Story" movie.

More Later...

Okay, we're back. We went to the house where the movie "The Christmas Story" was filmed. Basically, THIS GUY woke up one morning and decided to spend his days restoring the house. Amazingly, It was PACKED with people who paid $5 each to stroll around.

They were selling the famous leg lamp - (It's a major award)

I think this new museum may be just the thing to get Cleveland back on it's feet again.

On Cleveland

We're in this REALLY NICE HOTEL in Cleveland with a doorman named James who is so great! He literally chased us down the street in the cold to tell us about a jazz band playing tonight at 10pm. Now that's what I call customer service!

There are flat screen TV's mounted on the wall in every room, which is awesome!

One problem...

We went out for a dinner with some residents from Rainbow Babies and Childrens Hospital tonight for a few hours, and when we got back to the room, our window had been blown open by the wind and our room is as cold in here as it is outside! Ahhhh!

Rumor has it that Cleveland will be snowed in by morning. All the news stations are scrolling cancelled events and warning people about the snow advisory. Should be an interesting interview day for Ryan tomorrow.

That is all I can say about that. I'll be able to tell you more about the interview journey after March 15th.

I liked Cincinnati last week...It's in the south.

White Elephant Exchange

White Elephant gifts have always been quite baffeling to me. Why would I want to give someone something that I have laying around my house that I don't want anymore? Well, a few days ago at our 2by2 Bible Study Christmas Party I learned that White Elephant Exchanges might really help those who have items laying around that NEED to be removed from their shelf.
For example, this hand-made wooden sculpture depicting a polynesian head-hunter with his prize...Eric and Melissa had this thing on their dresser for years! We were happy to take it off of their hands.

You have no idea how happy you are that he is sporting a loincloth...

Whats the best White Elephant gift you ever received?

QUACK...quack...

You got choked up. Admit it!

[ht: los]

I Live Next Door to Horses

Friday night Ryan and I got to hang out with some friends who got us tickets to see Holly Laurent's comedy show "I Live Next Door to Horses" at Chicago's I.O Theater. It was hilarious and all of my Chicago Peeps should go! I'll go with you again...just call me!

Her show runs at 10:30 on Friday nights through December 29th...click here for ticket info.

Read reviews here and here ...

On Working Remotely

Well, it seems that winter has arrived.

This is what I saw when I looked out the window this morning.

It's days like these that make me so happy that I can work from home.