3 Things Meme

I was tagged by Sarah over at Rose in the Making for this meme, and it's a quiet Tuesday afternoon, so why not?

3 places I go all the time:
* Starbucks (yeah, I know, big surprise there)
* the Library (for the free fast internet)
* Kohl's (I'm trying to cut back on the shopping, but they keep tempting me back with those extra 15% off coupons!)

3 people who email me:
* Dianna who I used to work with at KB Home, sends me lots of funny jokes and forwards
* my Grandma, who at 87 has mastered e-mail!
* Aunt Jo, who lately has been e-mailing updates on her 14-day Caribbean cruise (next time, can I come?)

3 favorite places to eat:
* Claim Jumper
* Mimi's Cafe
* Gino's East of Chicago (A pretty rare event, so local pizza until my next Gino's fix.)

3 places I would rather be right now:
* at the beach
* shopping (with my lottery winnings, or failing that, someone else's money)
* on vacation - anywhere!

3 Projects I'd like to get started:
* writing a new budget
* sewing baby gifts (a couple of which are WAY behind schedule)
* my worship planning assignment for church

3 people who will do this: (I either need to make friends with more people who blog, or I need to convince more of my friends to write blogs... these are all long shots!!)
* Sarah at Life in the Key of A
* Mom at Stampin' Janny
* Sara at Sara Goetz Photography Blog

3 TV shows I could watch over and over:
* Friends
* Frasier
* M*A*S*H (long story)

Book: The Wedding

I enjoyed this sequel to The Notebook so much that this entry marks my second reading of this book. I have decided it's time to clean off my bookshelves and pass on some books to others who might enjoy them more, but I couldn't let this one go without a second reading.

I've read nearly everything Sparks has written, and have enjoyed almost all his books. There were some things about this one I liked even more than the prequel, especially the the surprising plot line at the end. I don't want to spoil it for you if you haven't read it, so I won't say more!

The Wedding
by Nicholas Sparks

I ate Sushi and lived

I know that title sounds pretty dramatic, but an adventurous eater I am not. So when my brother decided that he wanted to go out for Sushi to celebrate his birthday, he persuaded us that it would be really good and we wouldn't have to eat anything raw.

Not only did I survive, but the food was so good that I'm ready to go back tonight. And tomorrow night. And the day after that. By then, I'll be broke, but will have eaten some great food. I don't remember what any of it was called, but I did bravely try eel (very good) and tempura (fried) strawberries for dessert, which were amazing!

Too bad the our next family birthday isn't for 6 months. But it is my birthday, and my choice of restaurants... so sushi will get some serious consideration!

Aunt Rebecca

As you may have guessed from the title of this post, we had an exciting family announcement this week: my brother and his wife are expecting their first baby later this year, and that means... I am going to be an aunt!!!

I'm so excited! I can't wait to spoil that kid rotten, buy cute clothes and do some babysitting. 2008 is definitely going to be an exciting year. Junior is due November 25, and I already can't wait to meet him or her. :)

Thankful Thursday

I am finding so much to be thankful for, and have at times been overwhelmed by the blessings that are being poured into my life right now. God is so good!! Here's the update on a few things...

* About half an hour after I posted about my lost driver's license, the phone rang. Someone had found it and was calling to arrange to return it to me. I lost it at the zoo, about 50 miles away, and he was even willing to mail it so I didn't have to drive down there to retrieve it. How cool is that??

* My taxes AND my grad school application both got in on time, in spite of my using up every minute until the deadline. (I know this is not "news," but I'm still grateful, and it IS Thankful Thursday after all!)

* I was surprised this morning to find that my GMAT score has been finalized, which means the score report is on its way to the university, at least 2-3 weeks ahead of what I was told to expect. My hope is that this will mean a quicker admissions decision. One can dream!!

* Here's the best one: I'm talking with someone about some part time work as a follow up to one of the calls I got last week, and it sounds like the perfect arrangement to go along with my grad school plans!

This all serves to remind me that there are no coincidences, only "God-incidents." I didn't make this up, I just heard it once and liked it! Thinking of things that way helps me to turn my gratitude heavenward, and be aware that God places so many fabulous blessings in my life.